1Alphys clutched the phone in her shaky grasp. Her claw unsteadily hovered over the call button. She felt as if her whole body would freeze up inside.
"N-no, Alphys. You can't be like this, not when there is a whole kingdom you must care for," she scolded herself. "Besides, yo-" Alphys felt the sudden presence of another monster. She dropped the cell phone.
"Hey there, Alph," greeted a familiar face, plastered with the signature stagnant grin, "What'cha doing?"
The yellow reptilian monster almost breathed a sigh of relief; it was Sans. Alphys met the skeleton from science fan clubs and such before, but she never really knew him well until recently. Some weeks ago, a human fell from the Surface. As the curious Alphys watched it, the more horrifying this "human adventure" became. They-no, it- slayed everything in its path, leaving no monster behind. With soulless, gray monster dust sprinkled all over its hands, the entity actually sought out to kill Undyne, the Underground's beloved heroine and friend. Undyne, true to her title, was struck down by a single blow to protect a child from the entity. The dying heroine refused to give up, however, and she discovered her passion for both monsters and humans. Undyne transformed into an undying champion, determined to defend the world from this venomous murderer. But determination alone wasn't enough. Undyne was eventually slain by this demonic being. From a monitor screen, Alphys watched the murder unfold in front of her very eyes. Sans found Alphys grief-wracked in her lab, and he had comforted her. He also became Alphys' closest advisor when she was chosen to be ruler of the Underground.
"Hi, Sans," Alphys returned the greeting casually. She stopped questioning Sans' ability to appear out of nowhere. "I was contemplating about... that," the reptilian monster knew Sans would understand what she was referring to.
Sans decided now was not the best of times to make a pun. Though Alphys' self-esteem improved since she was elected to lead the Underground, he was completely aware of her lingering insecurities.
Instead, he offered an open conversation, "If you'd like to talk about it, I'm listening."
Alphys wanted to explain everything to her only living friend. She trusted him. So, she started from the beginning when she tracked the foreign being's massacre to her witnessing Undyne's fading to dust. Yet, the more she recalled every hurtful detail, the more Alphys' heart felt like shattering into millions of crushed fragments. It was too much for her. The defeated monster's tears streamed endlessly down her face, as she broke into sobs, crying for Undyne.
Alphys collapsed weakly to her knees, weeping. She continued to fall forwards, burying her tear-riddled face onto Sans. "Oh, U-Undyne, h-how can I d-do this without y-you?" she sobbed, "I-I'm th-the queen of this p-place, b-but at what p-p-price?"
A surge of emotion shot through Sans. He couldn't help but place an arm around the poor soul, patting her back gently. "Alphys," Sans began, softly, "We can get through this." He tried to carefully speak over the grieving monster, his heavy heart aching, "My brother, he was always so innocent. No matter how much I urged him, he was always so willing to guide the human onto the right path. But in the end, he... he..." The skeleton wasn't able to finish his thought, and he began choking up. Sans' vision started to blur, and he, too, kneeled down with Alphys.
When Alphys regained some of her stability, she gasped, "Oh, Sans... I didn't realize." She returned Sans' favour, giving him a tender hug, as she patted his back delicately, whispering, "I'm so sorry." Wiping her wet face with the sleeve of her soft, white lab coat, Alphys said thoughtfully, "Papyrus... he was such a kind person. Did you know how strong he was? He valiantly stayed true to his beliefs..." She trailed off, realizing that reminding Sans of the incident wasn't going to make him feel better. Instead, she continued to let her friend cry on her.
Sans eventually looked up, "Alph, I appreciate it." He somehow managed to make a genuine smile. "Sometimes, the best way is to cry it all out," he spoke while he stood back up. He offered his hand to Alphys, and soon, she was back on her feet as well.
Alphys nodded in agreement while dusting herself off, "You're right." She focused her gaze upwards, as she continued, "But, I think there's one more thing I need to do."
"And what's that?" Sans gave Alphys a surprised sideways glance. She was bending down quickly to pick up her phone. Alphys opened up to the call interface.
"This time, I'm not nervous," she asserted.
Sans immediately picked up on the situation. He grinned, "Care to let me input the tele-bone number?"
Alphys looked at Sans and smirked, "If you insist." With a steady grip, she handed over her phone to Sans.
"Alright, I've got the number," Sans informed Alphys, who was standing beside him. When the voicemail recording began, Alphys was given back the phone.
"H-hey," Alphys began, somewhat unnerved, "So... you are the one who killed all my friends." She started to feel jittery, her hold on the phone loosening with every word, but she had resolved to get this message passed. "I called to tell you," she took a deep breath, "I hate you." Saying those words gave her the courage to continue, "Yet, strangely... it's because of you that I was forced to become a better person." Alphys felt her body stop shaking, giving her strength. "When I first saw you hurting people, I just sat there and watched. Honestly, all I could feel was hope that you'd come and destroy me too," she confided, "But when Undyne called me, I heard the crazed desperation in her voice. I realized I had to do something. E-even if it meant everybody would have to learn the truth about me." She solemnly mused, "Strange, isn't it? Even after all the horrible things I did, people treated me like a hero." Alphys looked at her surroundings for a brief moment. Afterwards, the queen returned her focus to the phone call, "Then, they asked me... they asked me to run everything. So now, I'm trying my best here. In fact, I think I have some good policies, but y-you know, talking to people still makes me nervous."
"In the end, I am no Asgore," Alphys spoke wistfully. There was a thoughtful pause. She continued, "Oh, god, I miss everyone. Now that they're gone, it... it's so clear what I should have done and what I should have said." Her throat tightened as she quietly croaked the names of her departed friends, one by one, "Undyne... Asgore... and Mettaton..." Alphys cast a glance at Sans, "Well, at least Sans is still here. With him around, I..." A sigh. She decided it was time to get straight to the point, "You know, just daydreaming here, but..." Her voice hardened, "I really should have killed you when I had the chance."
Alphys hung up.
Thank you, dear reader, for taking your time to read this! I hope you enjoyed this little Alphys moment, sprinkled with feels-y Sans' friendship.
To be honest, I'm looking to improve my writing, so if you have anything to say, compliment or critique, please don't hesitate to send a comment or PM to me!
This fiction going to stay a one-shot, so there won't be any new chapters.