Alphys blinked her eyes open…her vision swimming at first. The last thing she remembered was everyone showing up at the barrier to show their love and support to Frisk. And then…she couldn't remember what had happened, but she remembered feeling fear, and…guilt. It was a familiar and frequent occupant of her mind and heart, but what she had been feeling guilty about she couldn't quite place. Still, it made her feel uneasy that the last two things she remembered were those emotions.
She sat up slowly, worried something might go wrong if she did so too fast. Now, as she looked around, she didn't recognize the room. There was a patch of yellow flowers and some short green…was that grass? It wasn't like the grasses of Waterfall, no, this was surface grass! But…she wasn't on the surface. Upon further examination of the room she stood in she realized it wasn't much of a room at all, but rather a cave. Light spilled in from somewhere above, and she wondered if, perhaps, it did come from…
"You're awake!" said a smiling child in a blue and purple sweater.
"F-Frisk…w-where…uh…where are…we?" she stuttered out.
"In the ruins where I fell into the Underground," they replied, "I brought you here because…well…I need to ask for your help."
But how did you bring me here? How could I have walked all the way from the barrier to here and not remember it? I thought I blacked out at the barrier, did you carry me here? These questions, however, could wait, for now her mind latched onto the last thing Frisk revealed, "U-um…s-sure! I can, uh, help f-fix or find you a…any electronic d-device! Or, um, I can s-suggest a good anime to watch! O-other than that, I-I'm not that…uh…good at other th-things."
Frisk took a deep breath in and out, hyping themself up for something, "Look, Alphys, we don't have much time to talk now. So I'll just get straight to the point. I need your help as a scientist, specifically one in the soul field."
"W-what?! NO! I-I mean…ohmygoshwhywouldFriskevenaskthis" her initial yells of shock turned into a rambling mutter.
"Alphys, I know you don't believe in yourself but-"
"T-there's g-ood reason for t-that." Alphys couldn't believe she was actually interrupting, "Everything I've ever d-done is a f-failure. I-I've-I…never succeeded at anything but h-hurting people as a scientist."
"That's not true!" Frisk stomped their foot, "You made Mettaton a body." A bit of panic flashed in their eyes before they continued quieter, "Yeah I know he's a ghost, that just makes it more impressive."
"Y-you know…?" The shock was almost enough for Alphys to not say anything else after, but she had to continue, "T-that…that doesn't matter. Li-like you said, I just…um…made him a b-body, he-he's a ghost…he can possess w-whatever he um, wants."
"It's no-where near that simple and you know it! You made it possible for him to live his dream and entertain thousands! A-and...you've accomplished more than that!"
"L-like what?" The challenge in her voice faded into sadness, "W-what have I done other than fail? I…you've seen the amalgamates…t-that was the u-ultimate result of my efforts to break the b-barrier… I c-can't do anything…right Frisk…"
"That's not true! You may think they were failures…but your experiments brought people back from the dead!" Frisk then added quickly, "Or at least, they're the closest anyone ever came."
"N-no! I…ruined lives…c-caused immense s-suffering. Wh-what they do now can b-barely be called…living."
"But they are! It's true they're fused together, but their families were happy to see them. They're still breathing, and feeling, and able to be l-loved by them." The words plowed forward like an unstoppable force, thick with emotions Alphys couldn't quite sort through, "Before they were going to die. You may think they would be better off that way, but if they and their families have decided otherwise, who are you to keep thinking so? People are only mad that you hid it for so long! And now you know what not to do. That's what mistakes are for."
Alphys stuttered as she tried to think of something to say, but she couldn't string a coherent thought together as the human continued to speak. "And there won't be a chance for the same thing to happen. You aren't going to be trying to bring back monsters. What I've been trying to tell you is that I want you to help me bring the human souls back. Give the kids a second chance at the life that was taken from them. They never did anything to deserve being trapped in a jar stuck between life and death for all time."
Alphys was surprised at this request, nobody has ever asked me to do anything with souls other than break the barrier…but I guess Frisk would be the one to request something like this. "W-well…now that, um, As-Asgore….isn't, uh, g-going to try and b-break the barrier and declare…uh, w-war on h-humanity…"
"Oh!" A look of realization crossed Frisk's face, followed by one of apprehension and excitement, "Sorry, I should've told you right away. The barrier is broken!"
"W-what? B-but…that's…im-impossible! Y-you're r-right here…and-" she was cut off again by Frisk.
"Well, it happened! And it wasn't me who did it, at least not alone. I want you to meet a friend of mine." Frisk smiled up at Alphys before starting to walk toward the other room, "I'll be right back!"
Stunned, Alphys tried to process what Frisk had just said for a moment before calling out, "W-wait-" but Frisk had already left. The barrier's broken? But how did it happen…and why are we here then? Wouldn't I have wanted to look at the surface before coming here? And who is this friend they speak of? She remembered how she felt before, guilt and fear. Something's not right here. I…don't know what it is but I don't like it, not at all.
Frisk came back holding hands with a cat monster who looked to be a child as well. Alphys was instantly reminded of her friend Catty. But I've never seen a cat monster with white fur before… The cat monster was fluffy with big, expressive, green eyes. Right now they were filled with anxiety. And the anxiety only got worse as they looked her way, as the two got closer, she saw fear entrench itself in the face of this young cat monster. And she nearly ran right out of the room, seeing how much they were afraid of her. I guess…I have done some pretty awful things. They have a right to be afraid of me.
"Um, uh, I th-think your friend is uncomfortable…around…uh, me. H-have you t-told them a-anything?" She wanted desperately to stop making the fear levels of the poor creature rise, but they only got worse as the young monster tensed when she said this, and they looked at the ground with an ashamed expression.
"Uh," Frisk said, and hesitated for a second, "he's a bit shy. Doesn't like strangers and all that. It took me quite a while to become his friend. He'll warm up to you eventually!"
The cat monster blushed.
"Anyway, his name is Fluffy!"
Fluffy shot Frisk a look, and then gave a slight smile to Alphys.
"D-does he…I-I mean…is he, uh, always so…I mean…can he, uh, talk?" she asked, knowing some monsters couldn't.
"No, I can," he spoke up, his voice somehow even quieter than Alphys when she was nervous.
"U-um, that's uh, good. Nice to m-meet you Fluffy. I-I don't kn-know what Frisk told you…but I ha-haven't agreed to help with anything," when she saw he was on the verge of tears she quickly added, "yet!"
"Are you helping or not?" his voice had changed…it was more assertive than before, but that wasn't what threw Alphys for a loop. No, the voice was now feminine and had a sing-song quality to it. He covered his mouth with his hands, and he seemed to be thinking rather intently, his eyes flashing through different emotions, sometimes showing multiple at once.
"W-what…h-how…"
"He has the human souls. He used them to break the barrier. But they aren't tools to be used! They're kids with their own memories and personalities. And right now, they're all inside his head. If he lets them go, they'll just…" Frisk's voice petered out for a second before choking out the next word, "die…for good. So he's stuck with them and they're stuck with him for now. So we have to find a way for them to live on their own. We already tried using the power he has currently to will them back into their bodies after healing them. It didn't work."
How was the barrier broken with just 6 souls? Were we wrong? Could we have done it all this time? But there were more pressing anxieties at the moment, "I-I see…but…I'm…not, um…the one for the j-job!"
"You are the only one who could help me at all! Who else knows as much as you about souls? The souls are human, Alphys, practically made of determination, a little more wouldn't kill them. Nobody's going to melt, this is nothing like before." Frisk certainly sounded confident, looking Alphys in the eyes as they spoke. They said the last words slowly and gently to let them sink in. They were right about the facts, determination would melt the souls like it had the monsters…
"W-well, let me, uh, see the s-souls. I'm not s-saying yes! I…I'm just curious," this was a once in a lifetime opportunity…nobody had ever had a chance to study a monster who had absorbed a human soul, let alone multiple. But…no, she couldn't do this. She did want to help the humans that had been killed…but…she couldn't risk making everything worse like she always did. What if determination still had an adverse effect? What if she tried something else that hurt them? She would just take a look at the souls, and then say that she couldn't help…again.
Fluffy looked to Frisk, who nodded, a spark of uncertainty in their eyes. Then, he took a deep breath, and put a hand to his chest, cupped it as if he was holding something, and slowly brought it forward, hand shaking.
The souls rose out from the spot, one at a time, spreading out so that all six were visible. Their colorful display was mesmerizing. But Alphys covered her mouth and gasped when she saw something else. All around the souls was wisps of a red substance. It looked almost like a liquid, swirling around as it moved from place to place. Both the red wisps and souls seemed to be bouncing off the edges of a circular area, and Alphys could just barely make out a thin red line keeping them in.
Red? But that's the color of…determination! It might not be too surprising if she hadn't seen all the human souls the king had collected. None was a determination soul. And she quickly recognized the six souls hovering in the red fog, they were all accounted for. So, the red had to belong to the monster that held them, which made sense given there was no white soul anywhere to be seen. How could a monster survive so much determination that it shows up in their soul? And why isn't it remotely soul shaped?
All this thinking took place in a few moments, as Fluffy realized why Alphys was gaping at his soul…or rather soul collection. He flailed trying to put them back in, and as he did so Alphys seized this opportunity to gather more information.
She checked him. His name was unreadable, with several names stacking on top of eachother. His description said "he seems to be hiding something…and you have an inkling as to what it is." But when the lizard monster saw his LV, she backed away instinctively. 100 LV?! How's that even possible? There's not enough monsters in the entire Underground to get that much from killing them. Has he already been to the surface and killed some humans too? What else are they hiding from me?
As Alphys started hyper-ventalating and looking around the room wildly for a way to get out, Fluffy finally managed to get the souls back into his body, where nobody could examine them anymore. "S-she checked me! I…I didn't know that- Frisk, why didn't you tell me?!" Without giving them a chance to respond, he went on, "I-I...told you this was a bad idea…" he muttered, staring off into nothing before whirling around and sprinting away without warning.
Frisk started after him, but Alphys, fueled by pure adrenaline, found herself between Frisk and the exit. "D-d-don't…go…after him."
"I have to! Can't you see he's upset? He's my friend and this was my stupid idea. It's all my fault and I have to make it up to him!" They spoke with an increasingly frantic intensity.
"B-but, he's dangerous Frisk! I'm um…sure…you didn't…um…know, or at l-least know…how much, but…he's hurt people Frisk. A l-lot of p-people, and that makes it easier for-"
"Him to hurt more people? Yeah, I know about Level of Violence, alright? Sans explained it to me. And I know he probably has an astronomically high LOVE! But he's not like that anymore. And I can handle him even if he is, I've been up against worse. Now, move out of the way," Frisk looked at her with an expression she hadn't seen on the child's face before. The child was hurting, furious, and going to get their way. It made Alphys wonder if maybe she should check Frisk too.
An involuntary shiver went up her spine, and this made Frisk blink, "Look, I'm sorry, alright? It's just...he means a lot to me. You won't understand, even if I tell you why. And…those souls mean a lot to him. He cares about everyone but himself. If we can help the souls then…" the child trailed off.
"I-I'm s-sorry Frisk...I c-can't let you go after him…it's dangerous." She remembered before when she led Frisk into danger intentionally to pretend to save them. But this time, she was going to be a good friend. Toriel would be devastated if something happened to Frisk, so would Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne. She was being a good friend to them all by not letting the child walk off to their death.
"Fine, have it your way," Frisk's tone changed again, and Alphys made a sound of surprise as the child swept her legs out from under her with ease and jumped right over her.
Her breath escaped her as she hit the ground hard. She laid there, winded, hearing the sound of the child's running getting further away. Soon it was mere echoes. Alphys pondered how quickly the child had changed tactics as she laid on the cold, hard stone. They manipulated me! I let my guard down… Well…I suppose it's only fair. But I was actually trying to help this time… She pondered whether she should go after them. That's what Undyne would want her to do…not give up, but I'd never catch up in time…what's the point? I'm already too late. I'm sorry Undyne. I'm sorry everyone, I've failed again…I couldn't protect Frisk, all I'm good for is hurting people. All she could do was hope that Frisk was right about their 'friend'.