Three heavy knocks forces Aofil to cover up their sleeve. The knocker doesn't wait for an invitation though, and barges in.

Pointing with the clipboard, "You!" the chief monster motions for Aofil and Alphys towards it, "Out!" with great prejudice, "Now!"

Behind the monster Aofil hears loud laughing. Carried just behind the clipboard chief by a hobbling Mettaton is Undyne, hunched over in his arm, and unable to move due to her chuckling and guffawing.

The clipboard monster's eyes scream bloody murder, and Aofil's not feeling like they want to challenge those. They help Alphys pack her tools, and then they follow the twitching monster through the hallway. Mettaton opens an exit, and throws Undyne out of it.

She lands with a roll, and bounces up on her feet as she's thrown out of the backstage exit. Still giggling, she catches Aofil in one arm, and Alphys in the other. The clipboard monster huffs angrily at them as Mettaton moves to block the door frame, "You can return to your other duties, love," Mettaton informs, "I need to speak with these," he pauses to reattach his chin, "ruffians."

The clipboard monster bows, and heads back into the hallway. Mettaton closes the door behind him, and takes position overlooking Undyne and her baggage of friends. While plucking some strewn about strings from around him, he waves an eccentric finger, "Never in my life have I seen such blatant disregard, dears! Nothing I planned came to life!"

Undyne puts down her friends, and steps up the stairs leading to Mettaton. She rolls her shoulder, "And you know what?" she smiles. Her hand dives into her pocket, and she pulls out a small card, "We should earn two stamps for that!"

Aofil cocks their perplexed head. Stamps? The hell?

Mettaton shakes his head, "Absolutely not! One stamp per event, that's the rules. I have to give Aofil a card now as well, so that will be your second stamp."

His wrist opens up and Undyne hands her card to him. With a mechanic thunk the card is stamped. Undyne turns around and stretches out her arm to Alphys, "Give me yours."

Alphys has one as well? Aofil is confused as all hell. Wasn't Undyne just fighting Mettaton off as he tried to escort her out of the building? Her clothes are all torn up from the battle. Mettaton is missing one leg as well. His wheel is taking its place, and he's looking rather pissed about it. Would've certainly been a good show, Aofil can imagine. But what's happening right now?

"Until next time," Undyne smiles towards Mettaton, "you deranged radiator," she adds under her breath as she makes her way down the stairs on her own volition.

"I still heard that, Undy," Mettaton let's her know.

"Enough for another stamp?" she replies while flashing the three cards in her hand.

Mettaton either scoffs, or some gizmo inside him blows off steam. Same effect, either way. He closes the door after a wave goodbye to Alphys and Aofil.

Undyne hands Aofil their card, apparently, "Here you go!"

"What's?" Aofil rotates the card around in their hand, "What's this?"

The card is black with red stripes. Mettaton's face is on the back of it, obviously. The front side is donned with ten boxes, with one stamped with a crossed circle. Same red as the lines on the back of the card. The tenth boxed has the words 'Free Meal' written across it.

"Two more, Alphys!" Undyne pats Alphys on the back before pocketing her card, "Then I'll finally get to taste that garlic bread he's so proud of!"

She doesn't notice that Aofil's not following her, and it takes Alphys to point it out after a couple of steps.

"Aof! Come on! We still haven't had lunch on your expense! But I guess that getting a stamp counts as one. Ngah! I'll whip something up when we get back home to us!"

What the hell is this card?

Alphys taps on Undyne's shoulder again as Undyne swings back around and starts marching away, "A-Aofil's still not moving."

"Hey!" Undyne yells, "It's a card! You humans have plenty!"

'Free meal'? Why a free meal?

Undyne lets her arms flop down dramatically. She exhales an equally dramatic sigh, and throws a spear that lands right in front of Aofil's feet. They recoil back from the impact, and Undyne snaps her fingers, "Aofil?"

They show their card to her, "What is this?"

"Ten bans from Mettaton, and you get a free meal. That's how he always fills his restaurant." Undyne explains with a twirl of her hand, "He calls it 'unorthodox entertainment', but I call it being a real Jerry about hiring proper entertainment."

"So," Aofil furrows their brow at the card, "it was all for a show?"

"Yeah!" Undyne flashes a bright smiles and stretches her back, "But I get to trash that trashcan, and he rewards me for it! So I'm not complaining. Ngah! He asked me to try and be more creative next time," Undyne summons a spear in one hand, brings it up to the other, and splits the spear in two, "And oh boy is he gonna regret that!"

Alphys takes a step back from Undyne's mock battle she has with something next to her, "S-sorry for not telling you, A-Aofil. It's al-lways hard to tell with Mettat-ton what he wants. H-he's stingy with t-these c-cards, so I didn't t-think he'd inc-clude you."

"Just a show?" Aofil repeats while turning the card over. Mettaton's face is smiling, "And we were all in on it?"

Alphys nods.

"Even Muffet?"

"Ha!" Undyne scoffs loudly, "That arachnid probably has a consultant contract with Mettaton about this," she lets her spears fade away, "Mettaton has her on speed dial, I'm sure of it."

The card suddenly becomes a lot heavier in Aofil's hand, "He has?"

Undyne's smile turns into an annoyed frown, and she crosses her arms over her chest, "And I betcha that she gets two stamps for her involvement."

Aofil's cheeks runs colder, especially the one Muffet chose. Their arm is soothing as well. Coincidence? Aofil doesn't really want to answer that. They pocket the card and sigh silently, "We're gonna walk back?"

"I'm gonna take a look around the corner and see if I can spot that spiky pipsqueak and convince him to give us a ride. We didn't even get to open that champagne!"

Aofil's not so sure, "You think he'd help us?"

"He's a big fan of me," Undyne brags with a flash and a heroic pose, "I'll give him an autograph and a picture of me as payment!"

"Papyrus?"

Undyne's smile fades, "No, I'm not bragging like he does, Aofil."

"Not what I meant. Why don't you call Papyrus? He's still acting chauffeur, right? For Asgore and Toriel?"

"Yes, but he doesn't have any champagne in his car," Undyne reminds.

"Fine then," Undyne has a good point, "See if you can find MK then, Undyne," and it might give Aofil a bit more time with Alphys.

"Wait here!" Undyne says before taking off, leaving Aofil and Alphys alone.

Aofil checks that the coast is clear. They spot a camera, and position themselves so that's it's not obvious to it what they're doing. They roll up their arm again for Alphys, "Anything you can tell by looking?" they ask her.

"C-can I touch it?"

Aofil allows her, and Alphys carefully put her hand on the white fur. Her claw tickles, and Aofil's arm twitches out of reflex. They assure her that it didn't hurt. Twice they have to before Alphys examines it further.

"It's soft," she notices with furrowed brows, "Almost like..."

"Yes, it's the same fur Asriel and his parents have."

"I see," she doesn't find anything else, and she returns Aofil's arm to them, "And you said you suspect it has something to do with you and Asriel fusing?"

"I do."

It's surprisingly easy for Aofil to say that. Perhaps because this time they have a chance of fixing it.

"That would explain why your fur is the same as his. Somehow the piece of Asriel's soul inside yours have an influence on your body. For monsters that wouldn't be strange, since we're made out of our soul, so to speak," Alphys scratches the top of her head, "But a human? Your souls work in symbiosis, one supplying the other. Your form isn't influenced by it. Unless..."

"My soul is broken, remember?"

Alphys nods, "So it's not so much a fusion as Asriel souls filling the cracks," Alphys ponders out loud, "I can see that being the case. I've never heard of it happening before though, so I can't really say more without further testing," she hangs on the last word with an increasing deepness to her eyes. She shakes it away, "Any symptoms?"

Aofil makes double sure that they're out of reach from the camera, "Under the presence of magic I feel, well, determined. And not in the good way."

Alphys' eyes widen, and again they grow deep and distant, "I… It's b-been a long t-time since I h-heard that w-word," her hands ball together, "A l-long t-time. I t-thought it was l-left behind in the Und-derground.," and her tail curls around her, "t-that it was n-no long-ger r-el-levant."

"I'm sorry that I have to remind you of it, but I need your help. You've researched determination, Alphys. If there's anyone to figure this out, it's you."

Alphys shakes her head, "No."

"Alphys..." Aofil pleads.

"No!" she steps back from Aofil, "I-I r-refuse. N-not again! N-never! It's all in t-the past! N-new chapter! It's all g-gone. I delet-ted it! Purged it all."

Aofil opens their mouth, but Alphys turns away from them with her head and back hunched over with her hands over her face, "N-never again!" she sobs, "I-I can't. I w-won't!" she whimpers, "I p-promised myself!"

Aofil puts their hand on Alphys' shoulder, but she moves away from it, "I'm s-sorry," and shakes her heavy head, "I c-can't."

No, Aofil's come too far. This is their only chance, they're not gonna let it slip away. Hopefully they can keep the damage to a minimum, but they have to force Alphys if she doesn't want to, "You're the only one that can help me, Alphys," Aofil repeats with the least amount of hostility in their voice as possible.

She lowers her head in response.

"I've tried to take medicine. Human medicine," Aofil continues while trying to move around her to face her, but she squirms away, "It hasn't worked. I'm constantly afraid that I'll snap. I can't be near magic, and magic is spreading like a wildfire around me. More monsters on the Surface, and integrating more and more into society. I know that it's wonderful, but not for me! I want to be happy that it's happening, but I physically can't. Not with this on my arm."

Finally they grab hold of her shoulders, and force her still. Aofil forces contact with Alphys' eyes. She's doesn't want to, but that's not enough for Aofil to back down, "It's just a matter of time before it becomes too much for me to handle. I can control my curse without this catalyst, but with this patch on me it keeps bringing me closer and closer to the line. Eventually I'll cross it, so I'm gonna ask you again."

Alphys averts her eyes again, "Please, I beg you," Aofil pleads.

Alphys lets go of her tail. Reluctantly she reaches for it again, but she halts herself. She suppresses a tear and a sob with a visible swallow. Afterwards she sighs a shaky exhale.

"Curs-se?" she asks, her breathing slowing down for a moment as she waits for the answer, "You said s-something about a curse."

"I think," Aofil meets her eyes again, this time theirs are solid as a brick, "you know which one."

"Do I?" Alphys snaps her head up towards Aofil. Her eyes dart all over them, and her lips starts shaking in fear, "No..." she takes a step back, "No..."

Aofil let's her go, "I don't want to succumb to it, Alphys," and places their hand over the fur. It's so soft, so gentle, but it's none of those feelings, "I want to come back, but I can't if I'm a danger to you all."

"I c-can't..."

"I'm afraid I have to insist, Alphys. I've tried to live with it, but I can't. I don't want to have these thoughts in my head. Sometimes I can't even distinguish them from my own, because they are my own. You are the only option I want to pursue, so I have to ask you again."

Alphys looks up slowly as Aofil tilts their head down to her, "I need your help, Alphys. With my entire heart, my entire soul. Please," Aofil dries away a tear forming in their eye, "help me. All I ask is that you try. I can't stay with any of you the way it is now. Give it enough time and I'll not be able to stay anywhere. I want to ask you as a friend, but a friend wouldn't put you in this situation. I know that, and still I ask this of you, Alphys. That is how serious this is."

Alphys grabs her tail as she dives into her thoughts. She squeezes the increasingly red tail, lets it go, and squeezes it again while mumbling to herself. Aofil can't make it out the exact words, but she's debating with herself. Reasons for and against trickle out of her incoherently, but Aofil can't tell which side has the upper hand.

With a weary mumble Alphys meets Aofil's eyes, "H-how can I if your human doctors can't?"

"I don't know. Human medicine didn't work, so now my last option is monster medicine."

"W-we don't have anything f-for this, t-this has never happened."

Aofil nods sympathetically, but they're still determined to convince Alphys, "Which is why I asked the only monster I know that's an expert in determination."

"N-not a w-willing one..."

"Please..."

"I-Is this the one t-thing stopping you from moving back?" Alphys asks, "I know t-that we all w-want you b-back."

"Do you want me back as well?"

Alphys smiles, "I-I k-know that we might not have had s-so much time together, b-but it feels like we've d-done so much, you and me."

Aofil begs that her memory doesn't overwhelm her like it did Muffet. They need to use it though, it's their only hope of convincing her.

"It's a thing stopping me, not the one thing, but it would help me immensely. I don't want to force you, Alphys, but who else can I ask?"

Alphys moves her eyes to the patch of fur, and back up to Aofil's pleading eyes. She grabs her tail, and twists it, "H-how long? Y-your curse, if t-that's w-what we're g-gonna call it."

"My curse?"

Alphys nods again very faintly, "S-so that I h-have somew-where to start. We'll d-do some t-test when we get h-home, b-but if I h-have s-some grasp on w-what the curse is I c-can be more efficient w-with the f-first test."

Aofil kneels down, and embraces Alphys, "Thank you," they say, their voice struggling to escape their choked up throat.

"I-It's alr-right, Aofil," Alphys comforts very clumsily with a series of reserved pats on Aofil's back. Despite it, Aofil feels what she so awkwardly wants to say.

Aofil quells a relieved chuckle, "W-what did you mean by first test?"

"It's gonna t-take more than one, I'm afraid-d."

"How many?"

"I c-can't tell. Sorry..."

"Compared to what I've been through," Aofil releases Alphys and she gives Aofil an uncomfortable smile as thanks, "I think that I'll manage."

Aofil steadies their breathing, and calmly exhales, "I've had my curse since I was born. Together with my..." Aofil halts their tongue. Alphys might figure it out though, but hopefully she doesn't.

"P-parents?" Alphys guesses, "Did they have the curse as well?"

"Not that I know of. I know that dad knew magic though. He got it from the Barrier or something."

Alphys forms a fist under her chin, "And he didn't show any magical abilities before?"

"As far as I know, no."

Alphys' brow furrows in thought, and she picks up a notebook from her coat pocket, "Latent magical expression," she removes the pen stuck to it and scribbles something down, "Or perhaps," she taps the pen on her forehead, "soul trait activated by magic seeping from the Barrier. The Barrier itself maybe? It was made by human mages, so perhaps it responded to human mages? Empowering them? No, that wouldn't make sense. If anything it would empower the mages once broken, to contain us again. You have any other family that could do magic, Aofil?"

"Umm," Aofil searches their mind for anything that might be applicable, "Granddad pulled coins from behind my ear."

Alphys' eyes shoot wide open, and she starts writing like crazy.

"But that's just a trick!" Aofil halts her, "Like me pulling my thumb off."

"Oh," she remembers, hopefully it's a benign memory, "I see. So, no other magic?"

Aofil shakes their head, and Alphys erases a page or two of text. She furrows her brow harder on the notes remaining, "Maybe it's recessive? Dominant would have surfaced more cases. We would've seen at least one during our time up here."

"What?"

"The curse, maybe it's a recessive trait. It would explain why there aren't so many around. Just you, and maybe..." Alphys halts her tongue. Aofil might figure it out though, but hopefully they don't.

Aofil nods rhythmical as to make sure that Alphys doesn't know that they know about Chara, "Yeah, perhaps."

"Y-yeah, t-that's my thinking. Has there been any other ways magic influenced you before you knew you had a curse?"

"There was some involved when my soul broke, but I don't really want to talk about it. It's not relevant."

"A-are you sure? Anything m-might be a lead."

"I'm sure," Aofil states very clearly and sternly, "Absolutely sure. The only thing I can think is slightly relevant is that dad healed what was left of my soul, and how much of a toll it took on him."

"T-that s-sounds relevant t-to me."

"Yeah, I know," Aofil realizes with a hand on their forehead, "Just, trust me, please. I know I've already asked way too much of you..."

"I-it's f-fine. It m-might requir-re more t-tests though."

"Fair enough."

Alphys reads back through her notes, "I-I think this might be enough to get me started." and pockets the pen and paper, "I s-still have to take some s-samples."

"Is it gonna hurt?"

A dark shadow emerges on Alphys' eyes, and they grow distant and deep, "The ones I did before didn't feel pain… The ones that did at the beginning..."

"Sorry," Aofil says, hoping that it's enough to not have her slip back into her own memories, "I'll keep my questions to a minimum."

"T-thanks."

The shadows disappears as the sounds of screeching wheels fly around the corner. Aofil moves themselves and Alphys out of the way, just in case, and the long limousine halts in front of them. The back door is kicked open, and Undyne leans out.

"'Sup, nerds! I got the champagne! Betcha it's gonna taste wonderful since we're stealing it from Mettaton too!"

Aofil watches her blow the cork off towards the camera. It hits the lens directly, but bounces gently off the glass. Undyne throws a small spear through it for good measures, and waves Aofil and Alphys inside with the bottle.

"Who wants some?"