Frisk turned to Alphys only to see her nod hesitantly as they walked into the underground lab.

"What is this place?" Frisk asked hesitantly only to notice Alphys looked miserable before taking her hand. "Actually, whatever it is I know things will be ok."

Alphys closed her eyes at that before swallowing nervously. "This was the old lab, where I conducted experiments that… Well it's where I…"

Suddenly a white conglomeration of different monsters appeared and moved towards them causing Frisk to cry out in fear.

"It's ok, they won't hurt you." Alphys reassured Frisk before turning to the creature. "I'll bring you food in a little bit… ok?"

The creature roared before moving away as Frisk timidly turned to Alphys.

"What… was that thing?" she asked fearfully only to notice the sad expression on Alphys' face.

"That… was my greatest mistake. I was attempting to understand the power your human SOULS possess… the ability to persist after death." Alphys answered. "I hoped if I could figure out the source of that power then…"

"Maybe you could use it to break the barrier, and free everyone." Frisk realized only to frown. "But… what happened?"

"I managed to tap into that power, I call it Determination and I was able to extract some of it from the human SOULS we already had." Alphys revealed as she and Frisk walked through the lab to a large device. "I used the blueprints to build this, that's how I was able to extract pure Determination. I tried implanting it into monsters that were on the verge of dying to hopefully allow them to live… and it worked."

Frisk's eyes widened in shock. "You were able to bring them back from the dead, that's incredible."

Alphys frowned. "No, it isn't. They were ok for a little while but… unlike humans, monster bodies can't handle Determination. They started melting and before long they…"

Frisk gasped in horror before turning in the direction that creature slowly shambled off. "Wait… do you mean, that thing from before was…"

Alphys just nodded sadly. "Everyone's asking when they can see their loved ones again but, how can I tell them what I did?"

Frisk frowned before closing her eyes. "My big sis would say that you were only trying to help, and everybody here is so nice. I know it's scary, but you have to tell everybody what happened."

"I can't… they'll be disgusted and hate me and…" Alphys started before Frisk gently took her hand. "Frisk?"

"They won't hate you, they're all too nice and you really wanted to help. Is everybody down here mad about what happened?" Frisk asked.

"Well… I don't think they are, but it's been so long and…" Alphys started before frowning. "I just can't tell them."

"Yes, you can. I'll be with you." Frisk smiled reassuringly. "It'll be ok, I promise."

Alphys looked at Frisk only to close her eyes sadly. "I just don't know… so many people have been asking about their loved ones and I couldn't tell them the truth."

Frisk smiled gently. "A lot of things are scary but big sis told me that you have to tell the truth and be a good person. Some people might be mad, but you just tried to help them, and your heart was in the right place."

Alphys looked at Frisk again before closing her eyes sadly. "Maybe… maybe you're right. If we're going to be free, I can't keep this secret, it's supposed to be a new beginning for us, right?"

Frisk nodded. "Yeah, it is."

With that said Alphys closed her eyes before frowning. "Well… before that there is one other thing, I need to tell you."

"Huh, what is it?" Frisk inquired only to notice Alphys looked uncertain. "Dr. Alphys are you ok?"

"Determination, it's the will of a human SOUL to persist after death… so I conducted one other experiment." Dr. Alphys answered slowly. "What would happen if something that isn't a human or a monster was injected with Determination? I wanted to see that and so I injected Determination into something else…. A single golden flower from the king's garden."

Frisk froze hearing that. "A… golden flower?"

"You saw it? Not long after I injected the flower with Determination it vanished." Alphys explained. "I… I don't know what it's doing now that it has the will to live."

Frisk looked down nervously before closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Well, whatever it's doing hopefully it appreciates what you did."

Alphys looked at Frisk uncertainly before nodding only for another creature that slightly resembled a dog to approach them. "Oh… how much of that did you hear?"

The creature growled sadly before laying down on the ground near Alphys and Frisk.

Seeing that Frisk slowly approached the creature. "You're scared, aren't you? I know how it feels to be afraid to do something."

The creature stood up and seemed to stare at Frisk as she spoke.

"Dr. Alphys tried to help you but it didn't work like she thought but she's been taking care of you since then, right?" she continued. "Your families probably miss you, and in a little bit you'll all be free and able to go back to the surface."

"Frisk…" Alphys whispered seeing that before looking down and taking out a cell phone before sending a short message as two other creatures approached them. "We should head back… do you want me to go and send the elevator back down or should I wait down here?"

Frisk turned to Alphys before looking at the creatures around her. "I'll stay down here."

Alphys looked at Frisk uncertainly before nodding as they walked back towards the elevator that led to the above ground lab.

(Frisk has learned of Alphys' experiments with Determination and learned the origins of Flowey. Next chapter Alphys will upgrade Frisk's phone, and Frisk will continue traveling through Hotland on her journey to reach Asgore and the barrier. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)