"I DO SAY, UNDYNE…" Papyrus promptly finished his plate of spaghetti and eagerly folded his hands together, "THIS COOKING LESSON IN PARTICULAR FELT A BIT LESS…PASSIONATE THAN USUAL."

Undyne rested her fist against her cheek, glaring at the wall. It was hard to tell if she was even listening or not.

Papyrus finally seem to take notice that something was off. "ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT, UNDYNE?" He looked concerned.

Undyne groaned lightly and wearily covered her face with her hands. "I just don't know what to do, Papyrus!"

Papyrus scratched his head. "EH…DO ABOUT WHAT?"

Undyne slammed her fist onto the table. "It's Alphys! She's always staying cooped up in here all day! I've tried to get her to go out and get some air or something, but I…I can't!" She nearly pulled her hair. "I'm worried about her, Papyrus. She keeps telling me she's okay, but what if something is really wrong?"

Papyrus frowned, stepping forward to comfort his friend. "DON'T CRY, UNDYNE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE FOR YOU!"

"I'm not crying, you dork." Undyne grumbled, gently shoving him back. "I just…I don't know what to do. I want her to go out, but I want her to be happy, too…"

Papyrus blinked for a moment. "HM…YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ALPHYS IS HAVING ISSUES WITH YOUR YARD-FRIEND, IS SHE?"

"My yard-friend? What are you—" Undyne cut herself off, realizing that he was talking about Mad Dummy, who lived in her yard. "Oh. No, not that I know of." She shook her head. "As far as I know, they rarely even communicate. But that's only because she stays inside all day! And as for Mad, he just sticks around in the yard all day—" She paused.

Papyrus raised a brow. "UNDYNE? DO YOU—"

"Shut up for a moment. I've got an idea." Undyne's eyes widened.

"OOH! WHAT IS IT?"

Undyne grinned. "Papyrus, you're a genius. I'll be hittin' two birds with one stone on this one."

Papyrus gasped loudly. "U-UNDYNE? NO! DON'T HIT ANY BIRDS!"

Undyne nearly leapt from the table and headed down the hall to Alphys's room. "Alphys!"

Alphys was in the middle of an anime episode on her laptop, but she quickly paused it upon hearing Undyne. "Y-yes, Undyne? Is everything okay?"

"I have a bit of a favor to ask of you, Al." Undyne gestured for her to follow, and they both headed out towards the front door.

"U-Undyne…? What are you doing—"

Undyne jerked the door open and searched the yard for Mad Dummy. "YO, MAD!"

Mad Dummy grudgingly stuck his head out from behind a bush. "Ugh…what…?"

Undyne saw him and smiled. "Hey, Mad. You know Alphys, right?"

Mad Dummy raised a suspicious brow. "Uh…right—"

"WRONG!" Undyne promptly cut him off as she tossed Alphys out the door. Luckily, her fall was broken by the dummy as they both hit the ground. "You two should get out there and get to really know each other!"

Unharmed, Alphys scrambled to her feet as Mad Dummy shook off his dizziness. "Wait…what—"

"YEAH! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FRIENDSHIP!" Papyrus poked his head out as he beamed in agreement, and Undyne chuckled.

Alphys rubbed her head. "Undyne, w-what are you talking about?"

"What? You seem lonely, and Mad seems lonely! I'm doin' you both a favor! Go out there and have fun! Live a little! Talk a little! Enjoy the fresh air! You both need it!" Undyne patted Papyrus on the back.

"I'm outside all the time, dummy! I've got plenty of fresh air!" Mad Dummy grouched. "I'm going back to sleep."

Undyne narrowed her eyes at him. Before he could hop away, she stormed down the steps and snatched his neck. "Don't argue with me," she hissed lowly. "I'm doing this for Alphys. She needs to get out more, so just be nice; show her around town or something. I mean, heaven knows how much you need to get out more, too."

"Since when do I have to listen to you?" Mad Dummy snarled.

Undyne started laughing, and Alphys looked at her in concern. "My property, my rules, punk. I'm surprised you haven't learned that in the entire 15 years you've lived in my yard." The dummy groaned and rolled his eyes, but Undyne still didn't release him. "Oh, and one more thing—if you so much as raise your voice at Alphys, you can say goodbye to that knife of yours."

Mad Dummy's scowl immediately vanished, and his eyes widened in horror. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

They both stared at each other quite intensely for a moment, but Mad Dummy finally cracked. "Okay okay OKAY! Fine! I'll do it. But don't think this means I'll be doing favors for you all the time, now." He sighed as he hopped over to Alphys.

"U-Um…" Alphys looked at Undyne, who simply gave her a thumbs-up and a smile. Alphys still wasn't too sure about this idea, but knew she couldn't back down now. "I…guess we can g-go now…"

"I'll lead the way," Mad Dummy muttered, hopping away. Alphys reluctantly followed, not wanting Undyne to be upset with her.

"ARE YOU CERTAIN THIS WILL HELP THEM OUT?" Papyrus asked Undyne once they were out of earshot.

"Definitely, Papyrus. After all, Mad can be a pretty good guy. It's about time they get to know each other since he practically lives with us." Undyne shrugged as they headed inside.

Alphys and Mad Dummy didn't speak one word to each other once they left, and even when they made their way into the city. Both of them seemed too intimidated to even look at each other.

"So…" Mad Dummy finally broke the silence, and Alphys flinched. "You're the one who created Mettaton's body, right?" He was staring at the ground.

Unbeknownst to them both, Alphys had been also looking at the ground the entire time. "Y-Yeah…it took a really long time, b-but…I guess it was worth it in the end." She almost expected the dummy to ask her for a body, too, but he just nodded and remained silent. Feeling as though he was too shy to ask, she decided to help him out. "U-Um…is there…uh…any particular reason you asked? …O-Or—"

"I don't really want a body, if that's what you mean," Mad Dummy sighed. When seeing her look of surprise, he rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll admit that I was a bit jealous of Mettaton's body and all, but…I've been the 'Mad Dummy' for so long, and I don't feel like changing my name again!" He pouted, but his visage gradually began to soften. "Besides…being corporeal doesn't really matter to me anymore. There's no way I'm letting that get in the way of my cousins ever again."

Alphys stared at him a bit before nodding. "O-Okay…s-so you don't mind being a dummy at all?"

He scoffed. "Been one for nearly 20 years. Why would it bother me now?" He thought more about it and grew quieter. "Also, I…I don't want a body like Mettaton's because…I don't want people to know I was jealous of him. I don't want anyone to make fun of me for it, or judge me, or…" He shook his head, not wanting to stay on the subject. "It's best I just stay the way I am, and I'm fine with that."

Alphys nodded, her gaze falling back to the floor. "Wow…"

"What?" He frowned.

"It-it's just…I never would've thought that y-you'd be the type to care about what people think of you. I a-always imagined you to be someone who j-just…um...seemed so bold, a-and…" She trailed off, not quite sure what else to say.

"Why do you think I stay in the yard all day?" Mad Dummy grumbled. "To stay away from people. I hate people."

"O-Oh." Alphys became a lot quieter after that.

Thinking he offended her, Mad Dummy quickly spoke up, "I don't hate you, Alphys. It's just…hard for me to trust people due to past experiences. In fact…the main reason I stay in the yard all day is because I trust you and Undyne far more than I trust most people."

Alphys looked his way in shock. "B-But…we hardly even know each other. Why would you trust someone like m-me?"

"Well, I've known Undyne for over 15 years. And…well, I've seen how happy you make her. Not to mention all that you did for Mettaton…" He shrugged. "You seem like a nice person."

"R…Really?" Alphys whispered. "I m-mean…I'm not really the g-greatest person…trust me…"

"At least you're better than me," Mad Dummy told her. "You don't threaten to stab whoever looks at you funny."

"Heh…" Alphys laughed a little. "W-Well…th…thanks. To be honest, I…didn't think you liked me that much…" She looked down.

Mad Dummy didn't seem to look surprised. "Yeah…I tend to have that effect on people," he mumbled. "But trust me when I say that I never thought anything bad of you. Mettaton talked about you a lot once we reunited. I…sort of been wanting to thank you for a while now, but I just…um…never got around to it until now, I suppose." He glanced away. "Sorry. I've just never been good at talking to people."

"I-I understand," Alphys smiled. "You're n-not the only one who...um…is afraid of people sometimes..."

"Whoa whoa whoa—hold it right there! I said I hated people; I'm not scared of them…" Mad Dummy began, but his words trailed off once he began to realize just how right she was. He whipped his head forward, turning red as he refused to speak any further.

Alphys could sense his embarrassment. "It o-okay…" she said quietly, patting his back. "W-we can stop t-talking about it, if you want."

Mad Dummy only responded with a nod as he stared at the ground.

"Y-You know…I think I've figured out why you and Undyne get along so well."

He frowned. "Why?"

"You're…you're a lot like her, y-yet you're a lot like me, too," Alphys pointed out.

Mad Dummy blinked for a moment. "I…am?"

Alphys nodded. "Y-you're aggressive and t-tough like her, but o-on the inside you have…insecurities about yourself, like me." She twiddled her thumbs. "That's why we b-both tend to stay away from people…why I stay inside and you stay in the yard…"

Mad Dummy hated admitting his weaknesses, but he couldn't bring himself to object to her words.

"Oh, I'm s-sorry," Alphys immediately shook her head and looked nervous. "I-I said we'd stop t-talking about this, didn't I? S-sorry…I wasn't thinking—"

"No, it's fine," the dummy interrupted in a mutter. "You're right. I guess this is why Undyne forced us both out, huh?" He rolled his eyes.

"I do a-admit, though…" Alphys looked down at her feet, "…I think it was a pretty good idea. I f-feel a bit better talking to someone who…um…understands my i-issue, I guess."

Mad Dummy had to admit, it helped him a bit, too. "Yeah," he mumbled, but soon shook his head. "But if you tell anyone about this—"

"Who would I t-tell?" Alphys asked with a small laugh. "What were we just t-talking about?"

Mad Dummy stared at her for a moment, then got what she meant. He chuckled and decided to forget it, knowing that she obviously wouldn't go around telling people about his personal issues. "Thanks."

Decided to give Alphys some love, too, since I've hardly written anything with her. XD I've put so much interaction between Mad Dummy and Undyne, but none between him and Alphys.