Chapter 37: Ebenezer
Months had passed before Alphys had a working body. Mettablook looked at it in profound awe. It was a robot rectangle.
"er...I don't know if this is such a good idea," Alphys said. "The body isn't even 100 percent complete yet."
"Relax Alphys, I'll be fine," Mettablook said.
She phased into the rectangular body. Suddenly the machine began to light up and flicker. A part of arms extended from the machine.
"OH YES, I'VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE."
Mettablook got up.
"SO HOW DO I LOOK?"
"Um er, you look nice."
"METTATON. I THINK IT HAS MORE SASS," Mettablook said.
"Sounds catchy. Are you sure this is gonna work?" Alphys asked.
"RELAX DARLING, YOU WANT TO SEE THE KING RIGHT? ALL YOU GOT TO DO IS SHOW ME OFF. THERE'S NO WAY THE KING CAN REFUSE."
A large line of monsters were in a line outside the elevator leading to Asgore.
"OH THAT'S JUST GREAT. IT'LL TAKE US FOREVER FOR THE LINE TO DIE DOWN."
"Well at least we could watch videos on my phone," Alphys said.
Mettaton groaned.
It took hours before the two were the first in line to see the king.
Asgore called her in as he was watering his flowers.
"A-according to your flyer y-you said y-you wanted us to present a creation showing our abilities. Therefore I-I introduce you to Mettaton."
Asgore looked up from what he was doing to glance at the rectangular object.
"What does it do?" Asgore asked.
"It...er..."
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GET FLUSTERED, ALPHYS," Mettaton said.
Asgore's eyes widened.
"Wow, it talks."
"OF COURSE I TALK."
"As you can see it talks."
Asgore stepped closer to the contraption, shrewdly glancing at it thoroughly.
"It doesn't really do anything else does it?" Asgore asked.
"No, it's probably underwhelming to everyone else."
Asgore chuckled softly.
"He he, only if they made anything more impressive than yours."
Alphys blushed.
"You mean..."
"I haven't seen anyone build a talking robot before. Most of the monsters just gave me these wooden puzzles. Luckily I was quite the puzzle master back in the day."
Alphys let out a strained chuckle.
"You needn't feel the need to carry on this farce with me. I'm sure you're a good person at heart, you needn't be so polite."
"Really?"
"Of course.
Want to know a secret?"
"Uh sure?"
"The reason why I'm hiring a new royal scientist. Everyone knows the last one was responsible for building the CORE but I'm not looking for someone like that. I'm more interested in finding a way to shatter the barrier without the use of needless bloodshed.I'm opposed to killing humans if I can help it. Unfortunately I haven't found a way to shatter the barrier without the use of seven human souls. If there was a way to create a human soul though there would be no need for useless bloodshed."
"Really? There's no way for even one monster to pass through the barrier?"
"No."
Asgore looked away avoiding her eyes.
"I'm theorising based off the work from the previous royal scientist that utilizing determination on monster souls may be the key and you seem to know a lot about monster souls? Do you think you can handle this job?"
Alphys blushed.
"Of course."
Nearly a week had passed after Alphys had got the job. Of course she immediately told Catty and Bratty the good news.
"Good for you, Alphys."
The next week on Saturday, Alphys received a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"This is Tootie from the CORE's live action news."
"ALPHYS, YOU HAVE TO ANSWER THE DOOR. THIS IS MY CHANCE TO BECOME POPULAR."
Alphys opened the door. She spotted a monster who was literally a blue four fingered hand with red painted nails who wore an orange dress.
"Er...what do you want?" she asked.
Tootie held a microphone in front of her face.
"Is it true that King Asgore hired you to take on the role as the Royal Scientist?"
"Uh yes."
"I heard it's been ages since King Asgore has hired a royal scientist. What makes you any different?"
"I don't know. I guess I'm very smart and very pretty. Not many monsters can say that."
"Wanna bet?"
Tootie sneered under her breath.
Mettaton scoffed pushing Alphys aside.
"OH PLEASE AS IF. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT I'M THE PRETTY ONE AND I'M HER FIRST CREATION."
"Ha, ha at least Dr Alphys has some class. We wouldn't want a witless incompetent taking over the position."
She was just about to leave when Mettaton lit up.
"CALL ME. HERE'S MY NUMBER."
The robot handed her a slip of paper and with that she left.
Mettaton slammed the door.
"MY MY ALPHYS, YOU CAN'T HOLD A DECENT CONVERSATION TO SAVE YOUR LIFE."
"I thought I did pretty good."
"DARLING YOU SEEM TO BE CONFUSING SOCIALLY BEFITTING WITH SOCIALLY AWKWARD. I BELIEVE HUMANS REFER TO WHAT YOU DID AS PUTTING YOUR FOOT IN YOUR MOUTH. IF IT DIDN'T OFFEND EVERYONE WATCHING THE BIG SCREEN I'D MISS MY GUESS."
"What'd I say?"
"YOU BASICALLY GAVE EVERY MONSTER THE MIDDLE FINGER BY BOASTING ABOUT HOW SMART AND PRETTY YOU WERE COMPARED TO OTHER MONSTERS. YOU MAY HAVE STARTED ANOTHER WAR."
"Oh I didn't realise."
"IT CAN'T BE HELPED. LUCKILY I'M AROUND TO SAVE THE DAY."
"Wow, you sound pretty confident."
"EVER SINCE I'VE BEEN IN THIS BODY I FEEL LIKE I'M ON CLOUD NINE."
"I'm glad I could help with that."
Alphys smiled.
Nearly a week passed before Mettaton had received a response. It had become a habit to fetch Alphys her mail. It was always placed neatly on the orange rug in front of her lab.
They had rummaged through her mail finding a letter addressed to them. They're eyes lit up after reading the contents of the letter.
"ALPHYS THEY REPLIED," Mettaton said with excitement. "IT'S A LETTER FROM THE NEWS STATION. THEY WANT TO HIRE ME AS A REPORTER. ISN'T THAT GREAT?"
"Uh...yeah. I guess it is."
Still apart of her couldn't be in high spirits over it.
Perhaps it was the idea that Mettaton had been her friend despite everything and even supported her dreams. Not even Catty or Bratty had thought she would have been hired by Asgore himself or encouraged her to take the initiative.
All week, Mettaton did evening shifts.
During this time, Alphys would work on some new inventions like refrigerators, ovens and stoves.
One day however Mettaton had come by early and caught Alphys working on a contraption.
"I was just working on this oven," she said.
"YOU MEAN YOU'VE BEEN AT THIS ALL NIGHT?"
Alphys chuckled and rubbed the back of her head.
"Well yeah."
"YOU DO THIS EVERYDAY? WHAT HAPPENED TO WORKING ON THE KING'S PROJECT?"
Alphys sighed.
"I don't even know where to start. How would I even get ahold of a sample of determination?"
"I DON'T KNOW DARLING BUT THIS IS NOT GOOD WORK ETHIC. YOU ARE A MESS. WITHOUT A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP YOUR BRAIN WON'T BE PERFORMING AT IT'S BEST SO TAKE MY ADVICE AND GET SOME SLEEP."
Alphys smiled.
"Thanks Mettaton."
The next morning Alphys got up and headed to the kitchen to fix cream cheese on bagels.
She spotted Mettaton in a pink frilly apron in her kitchen.
Her mouth dropped.
"What are you doing?"
"I'M FIXING YOU BREAKFAST. CREAM CHEESE IS VERY HIGH IN CHOLESTROL AND ALL THE FAT WILL GO TO YOUR HIPS."
"Really? I don't see anything wrong with it."
"WELL I'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE TROUBLE OF MAKING YOU A FRUIT SMOOTHIE AND TO THOSE MONSTERS WHO CAN'T HAVE YOGURT DUE TO PRACTISING A STRICTLY VEGAN DIET I HAVE ADDED A PROTEIN SUBSTITUTE. IT IS A KEY COMPONENT TO LOSING WEIGHT. I'M NOT SAYING YOU'RE FAT BUT YOU CAN NEVER START TOO EARLY."
Alphys took a drink of the smoothie.
"I've had awful smoothies before but this is good."
"WHY THANK YOU DARLING. I SAW YOU PUT SOME OF YOUR FOOD ITEMS IN THIS LONG RECTANGULAR DEVICE THAT LOOKS LIKE A FRIDGE."
"It is a fridge."
"THE ONLY ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE A PROPER FRIDGE. I MEAN IT MAKES ICE IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. YOU REALLY SHOULD TRY SELLING YOUR INVENTIONS TO MAKE SOME EXTRA GOLD. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT'LL COME IN HANDY, DARLING."
"I would but I don't think anyone would buy it."
"MAYBE IF I ENDORSED IT."
"Then I'd have to make a machine that could mass produce it."
"THAT ISN'T TOO HARD FOR DR ALPHYS IS IT?"
"N-No, not at all."
Later that evening, Mettaton dropped by the news station. Leaning over her desk, he addressed Tootie.
"HEY DARLING WHAT STORY DO YOU GOT FOR ME TODAY?"
"I got the perfect story for you. I want you to hand in a report on Moby the Dick in concert."
"TSK TSK DARLING, NO ONE EVEN GOES TO SEE HIS CONCERTS."
"Then you'll be perfect for the job now won't you?"
"ANY REASON WHY YOU WANT ME TO MAKE THE REPORT, HMM?"
"Because I'll dock your pay if you don't."
"SASSY, I LOVE YOUR STYLE EVEN IF YOU ARE AVOIDING THE QUESTION."
She chuckled.
"I'm not under any obligation to answer it either."
"DARLING, I'M AFRAID THAT'S NOT ENTIRELY TRUE. YOUR SECRETARY WAS SICK SO SHE CALLED ME IN EARLY."
"So?"
"AND I MIGHT HAVE PENCILED IN AN APPOINTMENT WITH MADAM PRIMA."
Suddenly the air became chilly.
"You didn't."
"I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU BUT I GUESS IT JUST SLIPPED MY MIND."
"You little robotic devil."
"I TRY," Mettaton said glancing at their nails.
Madam Prima was a beauty guru or at least one in name.
In the underground, monsters could take many professions without any experience or license.
Unfortunately with the perks of being able to sell anything, there was bound to be scams and Madam Prima was one of them.
She was a black slime with curly black hair, one eye and no fashion sense but she was quite the gossip.
Mettaton had spotted her lurking in the theatre one day and the two talked for hours on end and that's how they knew about 'the incident' as Tootie loved to refer to it.
"What do you want?" Tootie asked icily.
"THE TRUTH IF YOU PLEASE."
"You're still writing the story."
"I KNOW."
Tootie sighed.
"That fish happen to be one of our number one sponsors for this station."
"I SEE SO HE'S LITERALLY GOT YOU WRAPPED AROUND HIS FINGER BY LITERAL CHAINS OF MATERIAL WEALTH," Mettaton said."IT'S GOT THE BEST OF US. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THE FIRST TIME AND IT CERTAINLY WON'T BE THE LAST."
They left the building before Tootie could reply.
"If I didn't want to jump his circuits, he would have been fired ages ago."
Mettaton headed to the theatre in Hotland when they saw a large plane sleeping behind the front desk.
"WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET SOME SERVICE AROUND HERE?"
"Hm," the plane grumbled. "What's that? Who's there?"
"WAKE UP SUNSHINE, YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER."
"A customer? Oh," the plane sputtered. "Are you here to see Moby in Concert?"
"WHY CERTAINLY, DARLING. MY BOSS ALREADY PAID FOR MY TICKETS."
They handed over the tickets.
"I think the show is just about to start."
Mettaton headed inside to the front rows of the theatre to sit down.
After the show had ended, Mettaton let out an applause.
"So I take it that you liked it?" Moby asked.
"IT WAS A GREAT PERFORMANCE, DARLING."
"Say aren't you that new robot that's working for King Asgore?"
"WHY YES, DARLING."
"I've always wanted to have dinner with the king. You're so lucky," Moby said. "It's a pity some of us have to pay to get ahead. If I had money I'd buy me a home in that ol' apartment complex that leads right to Asgore's castle. Forget a career like this."
"SO WHY CAN'T YOU? I'M SURE YOU'D DO GREAT. YOU'RE VERY FAMOUS, YOU KNOW."
Moby blushed.
"Ah you're just sayin' that."
"NO, I'M BEING COMPLETELY HONEST."
"I have an addiction to gambling. I owe this big shot a lot of gold. I'm paying him off with a little monster dust and he got my work at this joint to pay off the rest."
"HOW MUCH DO YOU OWE HIM?"
"9,999 gold. It was more but I managed to pay some of it off."
"WELL WHY DON'T I TAKE YOU OUT TO CELEBRATE A GOOD TIME?"
"Really?"
"CERTAINLY. TELL YOU WHAT, IT'S ON THE HOUSE."
The two headed into a fancy restaurant nearby.
"Would you like something mister?" A large green dragon asked.
"I'LL HAVE YOUR STRONGEST DRINK," Mettaton said.
"I'll have what he's having," Moby said. "Fancy place huh?"
"YEAH, I FIND IT HAS THE MOST SPECTACULAR VIEW."
Moby saw that they were seated beside a large window and could see the bright lights coming from monster houses.
The waiter came back with their drinks.
"CHEERS," Mettaton said, clinking their glass with Moby's.
Mettaton put a straw in their drink and put their screen towards the straw.
Moby followed suit and began to drink.
"Man this stuff is strong."
Mettaton smiled.
"BUT IT'S GOOD RIGHT?"
"Yeah," Moby said. "So what do you do for your job? It must be boring working for the king."
"MOSTLY TRANSLATE ANY LEGAL DOCUMENTS. THEY ALWAYS COME IN A VARIETY OF LANGUAGES."
"What k-kind of 'hic' languages?"
"FRENCH, ENGLISH AND SPANISH."
"I see."
"SO WHO'S THE PLANE WORKING AT THE DESK?"
"Glyde? Oh he's a co-worker. He really helped me when I was in a jam. He goes to the Monster Club. It's a casino across from this joint. We play poker. We both lose money but he tends to lose it more often," Moby said. "One day we got really plastered and ol' Ebenezer lost a ton of money. It must have been a very unlucky day for him. He was very sour about it. Pity, it's always hard when you have a daughter to feed. What was her name again? Avalon or Ava wait Avian."
"GREAT NAME, HUH?"
"I can provide an invitation for you this Monday if you like."
"WHY CERTAINLY DARLING."
Monday the following week, Mettaton went to the casino.
Two diamond headed monsters wearing black suits greeted them at the door.
"Do you have an invitation to join Cat's party?"
"I DO. I WAS INVITED BY MOBY."
"That's good then."
The two walked to the side and Mettaton headed in between them.
Just as Mettaton had stepped inside Moby greeted him with a smile.
"Oh you made it, good. You could sit between me and the boss."
Mettaton took a seat between a grumpy looking brown cat with a grey and black combover and Moby.
"You must be the guest Moby was talking about. Name's Ebenezer, nice to meet you," he said holding his hand out.
"SO WHAT ARE WE PLAYING?" Mettaton asked.
"Blackjack," Moby supplied.
"I'M AFRAID I MUST ASK DARLING BUT HOW DO YOU PLAY?"
Moby explained the rules to Mettaton.
"OH WHAT A FASCINATING GAME."
"I got you some chips to start off with."
Ebenezer dealt out the cards. Mettaton got a three. Moby had a jack and Ebenezer got a ten.
"Excuse me," Ebenezer said. "I have to adjust my tie."
Mettaton watched him from the corner of his eye.
"I CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT."
"No it's alright. I can do it myself."
"HIT ME," Mettaton said.
Ebenezer gave him an eight.
"HIT ME."
Ebenezer chuckled when he got a seven.
Mettaton let out a gulp.
"I'LL STAND."
Moby got a four next turn.
"Hit me."
Ebenezer chuckled.
"Are ya sure? Don't ya think that's a risky play?"
"What can I say I love risky business."
Ebenezer gave him a seven.
"That's a bust."
Ebenezer flipped his cards.
First card was a three and the second one an eight.
"What do you know, a blackjack," he said with a smug grin. "I'll be taking the entire pot."
Just then a monster that looked like a green bull joined the table with a tall black goop like monster.
"Oh Bullo and Smoky, glad you could make it."
"Mettaton, do you want to play again? I'm sure with time you'll get the hang of it," Ebenezer said.
"DARLING, I THINK I'LL SIT THIS ONE OUT."
Ebenezer dealt the cards to Smoky and Bullo.
Mettaton glanced over their shoulders.
"MY MY YOUR HAND ISN'T LOOKING SO HOT."
Smoky wasn't amused.
"GET IT BECAUSE YOUR NAME IS SMOKY."
Smoky grumbled.
"Hit me."
He got a bust. Smoky turned towards Mettaton with a growl.
"Who invited this hooligan? We don't need backseat gamers."
"Don't be a sore loser," Bullo said.
"NO NEED TO GET STEAMY IF YOU WANT ME TO BE QUIET YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAID SO," Mettaton said.
Smoke emitted from the black monster.
"You better watch yourself you wouldn't want to deal with me when I'm angry."
"Simmer down, Smoky," Bullo said.
Ebenezer dealt again. Mettaton saw Bullo had been dealt 15.
"I'D STAND IF I WERE YOU."
"Well I ain't askin' ya. Hit me."
Bullo got a seven.
"SEE I TOLD YOU."
Steam came out of Bullo's ears and Smoky glared at Mettaton.
"I'll kill him," Bullo said.
"I'll join you," Smoky added, cracking his knuckles.
"Boys, boys let's not fight. Why not enjoy the celebration," Ebenezer said.
Smoky cracked a fist at Mettaton.
Moby caught it before it could hit them.
"Smoky calm down. It's not worth it, think about your blood pressure," He said.
"Moby get out of the way before I hit you."
"Don't even try it. You wouldn't even get the upper hand. You don't want to cross me."
Smoky calmed down and he and Bullo sat down at the blackjack table.
"I THINK I'LL JOIN THIS TIME."
As Ebenezer dealt the cards. He lost several hands.
"DARLING YOU LOOK TIRED. WHY DON'T I DEAL THE CARDS?"
"Eh?"
"Here have a drink. It's my treat," Ebenezer said as he poured everyone a glass of alcohol including himself. "So I heard about that lady you work with. She used to live by the dump, huh? The king must have felt sorry for her, huh? If it was me I wouldn't hire someone like that. They'll only bring you down with them."
"OH SURE."
Ebenezer handed the deck to Mettaton. That's when Mettaton started winning.
This had gone on for most of the night until Mettaton had acquired most of Ebenezer's money and even the deed to the theatre and the apartment complex that lead straight to Asgore's kingdom.
Ebenezer wanted to play another hand to earn it all back.
"DARLING, I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH FOR TONIGHT."
Mettaton left the building without a word.
The next day, Mettaton got up to give Tootie the story they were working on. Alphys caught him on his way back.
"ALPHYS, YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENED. I THINK I'VE STUMBLED ON A MARVELOUS OPPORTUNITY."
"That's great."
It was about a week later that the lab received a knock.
Mettaton answered the door and saw Moby.
"MOBY DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"I'm broke, I lost my job and Ebenezer is pissed. What did you do to get him so mad. He asked me to beg you for the money back."
"I'M AFRAID I CAN'T DO THAT DARLING. YOU SEE I EARNED THAT MONEY FAIR AND SQUARE AND I HAVE BIG DREAMS BUT NOT TO WORRY. I WON'T FORGET ABOUT YOU, GORGEOUS."
Moby sighed.
He headed into Ebenezer's hotel room just as B was coming home from school.
"So what did he say?" Ebenezer asked.
Ebenezer had opened a letter.
"B, the principal said you got busted smoking on campus. What do I have to do to keep you out of trouble?"
Moby coughed.
"Ahem."
Ebenezer glanced at Moby.
"He refused."
"Great," he spat before glaring at his son. "This is your fault. I wouldn't have got into such trouble if you had a decent job. Ungrateful son and this is the thanks I get. Get a job or you're not coming back."
Ferdinand caught him at Grillby's. B was nursing a glass of beer.
"Hey B, are you alright? You seem in low spirits today."
"My father kicked me out of the house. He said i wasn't comin' back til I get a job."
"So you trying to work for Grillby?" Ferdinand asked.
"I guess."
"Well be careful. I heard he's been very pissed lately after one of his employees was late for work."
"Hmph. Most monsters would fire them."
Ferdinand chuckled.
"This guy bought some food without payin' for it."
Just then a short skeleton stepped inside. He took a seat in front of the pub.
"You're late again," Grillby spoke, icily handing him a tray. "I can't afford to feed my employees everyday."
The skeleton's left eye winked at him.
"Ah, you know you enjoy the company."
"After you finish eating, I'm leaving you in charge of serving the customers. I expect you to be on your best behavior, Sans."
"Well now would be a good time to ask for any openings instead of sulking like a lil' kid," Ferdinand said.
"Alright already, geez," B snapped, before he walked to the front of the pub.
"Excuse me, can I help you?" Grillby asked.
"I was wondering if you had a position open here. I'm kinda lookin' for work you see."
Grillby took out a box of papers.
"You hould take one if you let him do it, he'll burn them all," Sans said.
B laughed nervously before taking a job application and returning to his seat.
"Hah, I got the job application."
"Do you have a pen to fill it out?"
B groaned and slammed his head to the desk.
"I forgot," he moaned. "I'm hopeless."
"Ah don't worry about it, you can borrow mine," Ferdinand said handing B a pen.
B quickly filled out the application and then handed it to Grillby over an hour later.
"Phew, I must have wasted over half my cat years from that alone."
Ferdinand chuckled.
"Then why don't I buy you a drink to celebrate your victory," Ferdinand said. "It's on the house."
B smiled.
"Beats nothin'."
Barby dropped by their table.
"Can I get you fellas anything?"
"Just a pitcher of beer for my friend here."
Barby took their order and left.
"Well enough about my problems, what about you? You look busy. Finally got yourself a girlfriend?" B asked.
Ferdinand sighed.
"For a while I was with this gorgeous babe. She had the most beautiful eyes. She said I only cared about myself before she dumped me. I was only tryin' to prioritize my school work. I just want to get a good job is that too much to ask."
Barby returned with a pitcher of beer. Ferdinand poured B a glass.
"Drink up."
"What about you? Still single?" Ferdinand asked.
"Shuddap, there's nothin wrong with that."
"Ha ha, you're not exactly the most confident guy I know. I worry about ya."
"Hmph."
Over half a hour had passed and the pitcher was nearly gone.
"You know I think you're jealous of me," B said.
"What? How did you come to that conclusion? You were kicked out of your own house."
"Who needs a house when I can work. It's a dream come true." B said before he started giggling.
"You're drunk."
"Am not."
"I think I should take you home."
Ferdinand reached for B. B smacked his hands.
"Nonsense I'm fine. Hey waiter, can you get me another pitcher?"
Sans dropped by their table in a white button up shirt and black trousers with a small notebook in his hand.
"Ha ha, who let the skeleton out of the closet? Did anyone ever tell you that you're a sight for sore eye sockets. Can you see through those things or do you have to wear glasses?"
"Don't be rude, B."
"haha," Sans chuckled, his pupils completely gone. "that's not very funny but I can let that slide."
A chill crept up B's spine.
"Dude, where's your eyes?" B asked.
"you look a lil' spooked i hope you didn't choke on a hairball it'd be a shame to see those nine lives disappear one by one."
"Ha ha, you're quite a skeleton charmer. Want to go to my place and then we can have a nice chat and-"
He reached out for Sans.
"just try it.
He raised his hand and a gaster blaster appeared behind him.
"Run!" Ferdinand said. "Let's get out of here."
The two left horrified.
Grillby sighed.
"In the future, please try to refrain from scaring my future employees."
"heh."
The following week, Mettaton took Alphys to the apartment complex.
"Wow Mettaton, the place looks great."
"I KNOW I ALREADY SENT THE EVICTION NOTICES. I'M GOING TO TURN THIS PLACE INTO A FABULOUS HOTEL."
"Eviction notices? Mettaton those monsters won't have any other places to stay," Alphys said.
"RELAX DARLING, THEY'LL HAVE PLENTY OF PLACES TO STAY IF THEY HAVE THE MONEY."
Alphys sighed.
"THOUGH I'M HAVING DIFFICULTIES PERSUADING ASGORE TO REMOVE THAT STATUE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING."
Alphys chuckled.
"Of course you would."
Mettaton's lights were out.
"YOU NEEDN'T BE SO PATRONIZING DARLING, NOT EVERYONE CAN BE AS CLEVER AS YOU ARE."
Alphys flushed.
"I mean don't you know the reason it's there? It's a monument made in dedication to Prince Asriel."
"OH I SEE, MY APOLOGIES. I THOUGHT THE KING WOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE ON FROM HIS GRIEF BUT I SEE I WAS MISTAKEN."
"Move on? MOVE ON?! These things take time, Mettaton."
"DARLING, I'M A GHOST. I'VE LIVED FOR MUCH LONGER THAN YOU HAVE AND I'VE HAD MY FAIR SHARE OF GRIEF. IT WILL PASS. HE ONLY NEEDS TO MOVE FORWARD. THERE IS NO POINT IN DWELLING IN THE PAST WHEN YOU CAN EMBRACE THE FUTURE. PERHAPS YOU ARE EXACTLY WHAT HE NEEDS."
Alphys shrugged.
"Me?" Alphys asked, her face red.
"EXACTLY YOU CAN PERSUADE THE KING TO GET RID OF THAT STATUE."
"I don't know," she said, looking nervously at her feet.
"ALPHYS, YOU'LL BE FINE. NOW GO GET 'EM."
Alphys sighed and left the building
One evening, Papyrus dropped by Grillby's.
'HE'S LATE AGAIN.'
"Did you want anything?" Grillby asked.
"HAVE YOU SEEN MY BROTHER? HE'S RUNNING LATE AND I'M A LITTLE WORRIED."
Just then a handsome skeleton in a fancy black wardrobe sat next to him.
"sup' bro."
"SANS? ARE YOU WORKING HERE?" Papyrus asked, eyes bulging from his eyesockets.
"yeah, i'm workin' off my tab."
Papyrus sighed.
"YOU WERE RUNNING LATE."
Sans glanced at his watch.
"oh i didn't realise it was getting so late. i must've worked myself to the bone. i'll finish up here. will you wait for me?"
"OF COURSE, DEAR BROTHER."
After Sans changed into his regular clothes, he headed out.
As they walked outside Grillby's, Papyrus asked a question that had been on his mind.
"SANS, ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT? YOU LOOK A LITTLE PALE."
"i'm fine bro."
He swayed to the right and Papyrus caught him.
"YOU'RE CLEARLY NOT FINE. I HOPE YOU AREN'T OVERWORKING YOURSELF."
"relax papyrus, i'm fine."
Not more than a second later, he fell over unconscious.
Luckily Papyrus caught him in time.
When Sans awoke, Papyrus was by his bedside.
"what happened?"
Papyrus frowned.
"YOU PASSED OUT. LOOK BROTHER, I'M NOT GOING TO PRETEND TO UNDERSTAND YOUR REASONS BUT IT ISN'T GOING TO HELP YOU FORGET."
Sans' pupils dialated.
"i feel so useless i have to do something," he snapped before shoving the covers off of him and walked out.
"BUT SANS."
He ran towards him but he vanished before Papyrus could finish. Sans teleported outside the lab eager to discover a way to find his father.
He tried opening the door and discovered it was locked before knocking.
"Who is it?" A chirpy voice asked from the other side.
"a visitor."
The door slid to the side and a short yellow reptilian monster wearing a white lab coat greeted him at the door.
"w-who are you?" Sans asked.
"Me? My name is Alphys. I'm the new royal scientist."
"what?"
His eye sockets had large bags under them and his pupils dialated.
"My, you look like you seen a ghost. It's almost as if an anime fan such as myself will never get her wish to get a sequel to the epic series of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. So what's your name?"
Sans introduced himself.
"Sans the skeleton? What kind of name is that?" Alphys asked, chortling with laughter. "You mean like that old computer font, comic sans?"
"ha, you're the royal scientist?" Sans scoffed. "you seem to know more about this anime than quantum physics ."
Alphys blushed.
"Are you calling me incompetent?" she asked.
"yes i believe i am. the king is looking for someone more experienced in their field, not an anime fanatic."
Alphys snorted.
"You're wrong."
"am i?"
"Well your opinion hardly matters. Asgore hired me anyway. I must have some potential," Alphys said before smirking smugly.
Sans gritted his teeth. This monster rubbed him in all the wrong ways.
"You're wrong."
"am i? i highly doubt that," he said, before falling face forward.
"Oh dear," Alphys shrieked. "What to do, what to do."
Later that afternoon, Papyrus headed to the lab knocking on the front door.
"Who is it?" Alphys asked.
"THIS IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS SPEAKING."
'Is this a joke?' Alphys thought before she opened the door spotting a tall skeleton. She assumed he must be Sans' brother.
"Are you related to Sans?"
"OH THAT'S MY BROTHER. I THOUGHT HE'D BE HERE," he said. "CAN I COME IN?"
"Sure "
"AND WHAT'S YOUR NAME, DOCTOR?"
"Heheh, it's Alphys."
As they headed downstairs Alphys' eyes darted to Papyrus' at select intervals as if she had wanted to say something.
Finally she mustered the courage.
"You said you knew your brother would be here so you would have to know why he came here right? So why was he here in the first place?" Alphys asked.
Papyrus was silent in deep contemplation.
"I DON'T KNOW. MAYBE BECAUSE MY BROTHER USED TO WORK FOR THE KING."
"You mean your brother was the former royal scientist?"
Papyrus shrugged.
"MAYBE?"
As Alphys showed him downstairs, Papyrus saw Sans lying on a red couch.
"SANS!" Papyrus cried out and kneeled by the couch.
"He needs bedrest, he's probably overexhausted," said a gruff voice from the right.
Papyrus glanced at him. The dog monster looked very familiar.
"DO I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?"
"Oh you're that skeleton who was staying with the king. So I'm guessing that skeleton I was looking over is your brother."
"UH YEAH."
"I see your memories are still a little shaky, huh? You can call me Dogtor for now."
Papyrus frowned.
"YEAH BUT ONE DAY MY MEMORY WILL GET BETTER AND I'LL REMEMBER EVERYTHING."
"I sure hope so."
"IS MY BROTHER GOING TO BE ALRIGHT?"
"He should be alright with plenty of bedrest."
"IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?" Papyrus asked stroking his brother's forehead softly.
Dogtor provided a list that he gave to Papyrus. Papyrus picked him up in his arms.
"I'M GOING TO TAKE HIM HOME."
Alphys smiled.
"See you later, Papyrus."
"BYE ALPHYS."
"Is that all you needed me for dear?" Dogtor asked.
"Yes, sorry to call you on such short notice."
"Don't worry about it. I completely undertand," he said. "I have a son so I kind of understand. That skeleton must have been really worried about his brother."
"You have a son?" Alphys asked.
"Yes, his name is Doggo. He's was born with permanent blindness. You can see for a dog it's pretty hard to get a job when most things require eyes."
When Papyrus came home, he set Sans gentlely on the couch.
A couple of minutes later Sans began to stir.
"b-bro?"
"BROTHER YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE. DO YOU WANT A GLASS OF WATER?"
"you don't have to do that papyrus."
Tears came flowing down Papyrus' eye socets.
"JUST LET ME TAKE CARE OF YOU FOR ONCE."
Sans' pupils dialated.
"YOU'VE ALREADY DONE SO MUCH FOR ME ALREADY. I NEVER ASKED HOW YOU WERE FEELING."
Papyrus got up and retrieved a glass of water and gave it to his brother.
"thank you papyrus. you're the best brother a guy can ask for."
The next morning, Asgore dropped by the lab while Alphys had been about to plop Volume 3 of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie in her DVD player.
"Hey Alphys."
Alphys jolted from where she was standing taking a book off the shelf with the author W.D Aster written on it.
She quickly stuffed the book with the DVD and the DVD case.
"Your majesty, I didn't expect to see you here."
Asgore smiled.
"I was just checking up on you. How's your week been so far?"
"It's been good. A little hectic but good."
"Really? What happened?"
"Nothing really. There was this skeleton that came by yesterday. He looked very surprised to see me too. Gave me a good spook when he collapsed."
"Oh he did?"
Asgore sighed.
"I guess everything must be so hard on him. That's why he left wasn't it?"
Asgore shook his head.
"That's not quite right. See Sans has reason to believe that a human killed someone close to him. He thinks it was his brother. So you can see why I fired him."
"Oh I didn't know. That's so sad."
"Hehe, in some ways it is sad to lose someone important to you," Asgore said, a look of sheer melancholy in his eyes.
'Could he be talking about his son?' Alphys thought.
Later that afternoon, Sans had received a knock on the door.
"WHO IS IT?"
"It's me Papyrus."
"IMPOSSIBLE SOMEONE ELSE IS ALSO NAMED PAPYRUS."
Asgore chuckled.
"Is Sans here? I need to speak to him."
"SANS GET DOWN HERE. SOMEONE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU."
He said before speaking to the king.
"DO YOU WANT TO COME IN?" He asked.
"Sure."
Papyrus opened the door, his eyes bulged out with surprise.
"YOUR MAJESTY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"heya!"
Papyrus jolted turning around surprised at his brother's sudden appearance.
"SANS! QUIT TELEPORTING SPONTANEOUSLY BEHIND ME."
"You look well," Asgore said.
"heh all in a day's work."
"I just got through talking with Alphys. She was telling me you dropped by the lab yesterday."
Sans snorted.
"and if i did?"
"You scared that poor woman."
"i'd have thought she was made of stronger stuff since you hired her."
"It's her first month on the job."
Sans sighed.
"i don't like her. something about her rubs me the wrong way."
just as the two had left, there was another knock at the door.
"It doesn't matter because in the end it's my decision," Asgore said. "If you give her a bad time you'll pay."
"Don't blame him. It's not his fault," Alphys said.
Asgore and Sans turned around.
"I don't understand why you dislike me but I think I have some idea how it feels like to lose someone. I'm really sorry about before."
"of course you are," Sans said, grinning slyly. "i hope you don't think this makes us friends."
"SANS!" Asgore growled.
Alphys laughed.
"Heh he, I guess not but thank you Sans."
Alphys ushered Asgore out the door.
As they walked back to the castle, Alphys felt her face heat up from where she had been holding Asgore's hand.
"Your majesty, may I ask you something?" Alphys asked.
"Sure."
"What happened with your son?"
Asgore told Alphys everything.
"Then I guess you kind of understand how Sans feels."
Asgore sighed.
"He's grieving. At first I wanted to kill the humans after my son died too. I was angry, filled with grief. I thought collecting human souls was the answer but even if we did there's no way the humans wouldn't hate us because of this. I realised we were no better than the humans that we hated. I want to tell everybody this but I also don't want them to lose hope. Would you call me a coward for that?"
"No," she said. "Realistically there's no right way to go about it. You're going to upset somebody no matter what you do."
"Ha, maybe she's right. Maybe I should've just told them. Unfortunately I can't bring myself to be so cruel."
"That statue in that apartment building in Hotland was made in your son's honor right?"
"That's right," Asgore said. "It brings back bitter memories."
"Really? Why don't you get rid of it then?" Alphys asked, a part of her took advantage of the opening he had left her while the other part was speaking out of genuine concern.
"Sometimes it's better to keep things even if they bring back bad memories."
"It's clearly giving you more bad memories than happy ones though and you deserve some happy memories."
Asgore chuckled.
"Ha, maybe you're right. I always look to the past when there's potential for an even better future. There must be something to look forward to, right?"
"My robot, Mettaton has always wanted to entertain monsters."
"Yes, I recall he wanted permission to get rid of that statue in the apartment. He said it was too melancholy and dreary. At the time I had just got home from visiting my son in the garden but I think it's time that I move on and let someone else bring some happiness to the underground."
Alphys inwardly squealed with excitement. She had never been the most persuasive monster but it all payed off in the end.
At around the same time, B had got up to a massive hangover.
"Dude what happened?" he asked.
"You were a nightmare," Ferdinand said.
B groaned and tried to sit up before running to the bathroom.
"Are you alright?"
B dryheaved into the trashcan.
"Next time don't drink so much."
B grumbled.
"So how did it go?"
"The bartender said to stop by in a couple of days. Don't you remember?"
"It's a little fuzzy."
Flashes of a skeleton appeared in his mind and faint memories of a harsh threat.
"You know I think I might get a rain check, I just have this horrible feeling that there's this skeleton who wants me dead."
"So you did remember."
"What? You mean that happened?"
He shook Ferdinand.
"If he's here, I'm definitely not going."
"B, don't be such a scaredy cat."
"I'm not did you see those blasters that he had. He wields those things like some gangster working for the mafia."
Ferdinand sighed.
"Will you be alright here by yourself?" he asked.
"Yeah"
He dropped by Grillby's after school. Barby dropped by the table to get his order and that's when Sans dropped in.
"Pleased to see you walking around after that fiasco two days ago," Grillby said.
Barby regarded Sans for a moment and flushed.
Grillby had finished serving a drink to Peter who had taken to spying on Barby.
"So do you intend on working today?"
"no paps wants me to take it easy for a while."
Barby came by to deliver a burger to Sans. Sans looked at her with confusion.
She winked.
"It's on the house. I'm just so glad you're alright."
"My daughter was a little worried about you, Sans."
"haha, thanks," he said digging into the burger.
Grillby saw Ferdinand in the corner of his eye.
"So where's your friend. He usually drops by around this time doesn't he?"
Ferdinand chuckled, nervously glancing at Sans every now and then.
"He's kinda afraid to show his face around here with that incident that happened the other day. I don't think he wants to work here."
Grillby sighed.
"Well, that's a shame."
After Alphys had told him the news, Mettaton had hired monsters to remove the statue from the building and replaced it with a statue of him.
"HOW DO YOU LIKE IT, ALPHYS? I BELIEVE IT ATTESTS TO MY LOVELY BEAUTY."
Alphys chuckled nervously.
"YOU KNOW MAYBE I COULD SELL THOSE TVS THAT YOU MADE. THEY ARE GOOD FOR EVERYONE TO SEE MY FANTASTIC BEAUTY."
"I don't know."
"YOU'D RECEIVE COMPLETE CREDIT FOR IT."
Alphys sighed.
"Alright, Mettaton."
But it didn't stop at TVS. Most of her inventions were sold as MTT merchandise.
Alphys had become concerned when Mettaton hadn't followed through with what he said.
He was spending less time at home as well preferring to film his television shows.
'What if he leaves me?' she thought.
Later that afternoon, Ferdinand met with his girlfriend in Waterfall.
"It's about time you showed up."
A yellow bunny with swirly eyes greeted him. They wore a striped dress.
"Sorry I guess I lost track of time," he said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"You always say that. I'm beginning to think I'm not that important to you."
"Don't say that, Dizzy. I always have time for you," Ferdinand pleaded.
"I've had it. I'm dumping you."
"What?"
"Listen it's not you, it's me. I've had it. I'm tired of being your second priority."
Ferdinand sighed.
"Haha, I guess there's nothin' I can do to convince you to take me back is there?"
Dizzy shook her head.
"No, there isn't."
Later that evening, Alphys dropped by the hotel.
"Excuse me, Tootie. Is Mettaton here?"
"He's busy at the moment," Tootie replied coolly.
"Then I'll wait."
"He's working ALL day," Tootie said, clacking her two fingers at her desk.
"I'm a patient woman," Alphys muttered bravely, folding her arms in defiance.
Tootie folded her fingers over her body. Alphys had the feeling she was glaring at her.
"AHEM, AM I INTERRUPTING SOMETHING DARLINGS?" Mettaton spoke.
"Alphys is here to see you," Tootie said.
"OH DEAR, I'M GOING TO BE ON AIR IN FIVE MINUTES," Mettaton spoke. "ALPHYS DEAR, CAN YOU MAKE IT QUICK?'
"There may be a slight problem with..."she spoke before inching closer to where Mettaton's ears would be if he were human.
"...your robotic suit."
"WHAT?!"
Tootie glanced at them in bewilderment.
"Oh Tootie. It's nothing dearest."
Mettaton leaned closer to Alphys.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A PROBLEM?"
They sputtered under their breath.
"There's a big chance that the battery power will only last for a couple more weeks before your core shuts down," Alphys said. "I'll have to replace the battery. It's not a big problem but you may have to take it easy on that day."
She chuckled nervously.
Mettaton sighed.
"IT CAN'T BE HELPED. MEET ME LATER IN THE EVENING. I CAN'T HAVE THEM THINK THAT I'M FRIENDS WITH YOU. NOTHING PERSONAL, IT'S JUST FOR SHOW."
Alphys left feeling more unease than before.
One day Ferdinand dropped by his apartment in Hotland. He spotted B waching something on a big screen.
"Hey B, what are you doing?"
"Your mother came by and dropped off the TV yesterday while you were asleep. So I decided to take it for a spin."
"What are you watching?" Ferdinand asked.
"Rock n' roll with MTT. He had this awesome guitar riff. You should have seen it," B said.
"Cool. I don't mind if you stay here but you should get a job. Maybe you can send Mettaton your resum'e.?"
"That's not a bad idea," B said. "You think he'll actually look at it. He is famous after all."
Ferdinand chuckled nervously.
"Hehe, of course."
Several days later while Alphys was in the lab, Asgore dropped by.
"Your majesty, what are you doing here?"
"I just dropped by to ask you a favour. I owe a dog a great debt."
"A dog?"
"He told my father to take care of his son to repay the debt. You see his father was a great warrior. He was the former king before he resigned and allowed my father to take the position. His son has the skills of a great warrior but he's too small to fit in our armour."
Alphys chuckled.
"Oh I see. I'll see what I can do."
Asgore glanced away from her a light blush on his cheeks.
"Er thank you."
"Don't mention it but Alphys I'm a little concerned. You're not running into any trouble are you? I know I just gave you this huge task without any guidance."
"I'm fine."
"You needn't lie to me, Alphys. There is literally no way you'd know anything about determination at all."
Alphys blushed before she let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry, your majesty," she said before looking away in shame.
"Don't be. I foresaw that this would be a problem and managed to get ahold of the blueprints from the previous royal scientist. I'll deliver them to you next week."
"How do you know that seven human souls will shatter the barrier?"
Asgore sighed, looking away.
"My father made a deal with the humans. Seven wizards to be exact. We were trapped down here to keep us safe. These wizards said when the time was right, they'd come down to shatter the barrier. Theoretically humans with their souls should have the power to counteract their magic."
"I see."
"I suppose you might be able to find some research on your own though there can't be much information on humans, can there?"
"I can only try."
"I'll also deliver some of his books when I find the time," Asgore said.
Several days passed before Alphys walked to the castle through the CORE. The long trek had nearly knocked her out of breath.
"Your majesty?" She called out.
Alphys caught him as he was heading out.
"Alphys, did you need something?"
"I was trying to do some research at the library in Snowdin. The librarian tell me that the castle might have what I'm looking for. I heard you had some old books from the surface."
"Yeah, you're free to peruse the library at anytime."
Alphys blushed.
"Thank you, your majesty."
"I'm going to leave. Will you be alright by yourself?"
Alphys nodded.
After Asgore left, Alphys explored the castle before finding a room north of the throne room surrounded by shelves of books.
"Oh dear," she said. "Where to start?"
Carefully Alphys dragged a long set of stairs to the right and climbed it reaching for the books of the shelf.
As she was heading back, she ran into Asgore.
"Your majesty? Are you finished with your walk?"
"Yeah, it always feels so good to feel the fresh air against your fur."
"Oh I took some books from the library, I hope you don't mind if I borrow them for a while?"
"It's not a problem, Alphys."
Upon getting to the lab, Alphys had set the books on her desk.
It had taken months to move in the desk, her computer and the VCR/DVD player which she had attached to the projected that had already been installed in the room when she had arrived.
With excitement, Alphys began to read through the books.
Later during the week, Mettaton called in for B to stop by his office in Hotland.
Earlier in the week, B had filled out a job application and had given it to the secretary. B came by later that afternoon.
"Excuse me, I'm here to discuss the job opening," B said to Tootie.
"Ah have a seat." She said.
B waited for about an hour before glancing at his watch.
"Geez, what's taking him so long?"
About another thirty minutes passed before B planned on giving Tootie a firm talking to when the door to Mettaton's office opened.
"COME IN DEAREST."
B headed inside.
"HAVE A SEAT, DARLING."
He took a seat on the other side of the desk.
Mettaton rolled around and took a notebook from their desk.
"ACCORDING TO YOUR APPLICATION, YOU'RE EIGHTEEN, NEVER BEEN EMPLOYED AND HAVE NO EXPERIENCE DOING ANYTHING. NO NOTICABLE SKILLS OR TALENTS WHATSOEVER."
B chuckled nervously.
"Well you see sir, I need a job to get experience but I also need experience to get a job so I gotta start somewhere."
"OH DEAR, HOW TRAGIC."
"Tragic?"
"WELL NOT EVERYONE CAN BE A BIG STAR LIKE ME."
"I see I'm sorry to waste your time. You must be so busy with all the fanmail you get every day," B said, his ear drooping. "I really love your show. Would it be too much trouble to ask for your autograph."
"A FAN? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER? I COULD USE SOMEONE LIKE YOU FOR AN EGO BOOST HOWEVER DON'T EXPECT ME TO GIVE YOU A RAISE AND YOU BETTER NOT DADDLE. I AM PAYING YOU TO WORK AFTER ALL. COME IN TOMORROW AND WE'LL SEE ABOUT GETTING YOU A UNIFORM."