Undertale: Reason to Live

Chapter 25

Sans appeared in front of Alphys' lab where Flowey had been created. He lifted his right hand and glared at the creature. He was still unconscious but breathing. His condition was unchanged.

"If you can hear me, weed, remember this," Sans said. "I know everything now, so know I am not doing this for you. You are only alive right now because Frisk asked me to leave ya alone. Now, I keep my promises, but if you leave this lab, well, let's just say you will have a bad time."

If Flowey heard him, he didn't respond. Sans lowered his arm and entered Alphys' lab.

Sans looked around, but Alphys was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, Alphys?!" Sans said climbing the escalator to the top floor. "I brought you a surprise. Dr. Alphys? Hello?"

On seeing that no one was there, he took the escalator back to the bottom floor. That was when he noticed the large monitor showing a live feed of Frisk and everyone else as they arrived home. The camera didn't go inside the house after they entered, but it stopped right outside the front door. Nevertheless, Sans was freaked out.

"What the…?" Sans said as he walked to the monitor and started typing in commands on the keyboard with his free hand.

Much to his dismay, Sans found that there were cameras set up all over the underground, in the Ruins, in Snowdin, in Waterfall, everywhere. It was disturbing to say the least. He knew that the Underground's royal scientist was expected to stay vigilant, but this was more than a little much.

"Wonderful, isn't it?!" a mechanical voice said startling Sans where he stood. "You can see everything in the Underground, except the insides of people's homes, of course."

He turned around to see Mettaton.

"Hello, Sans," Mettaton said. "Long time, no see. What brings you here?"

"I'm here to talk to Dr. Alphys," Sans said. "Do you know where she is?"

Mettaton pulled out some sort of wipe to clean himself up with and said, "The good doctor was just giving me some updates. The work was a little messy so she's cleaning herself up. She shouldn't be too long, but I'm curious. Why have you come here? Do you have romantic intentions? Is that why you brought the good doctor a flower?"

Sans clenched Flowey more tightly and said, "I do believe that is none of your business, Mettaton."

"Maybe, but I should warn you that I don't think Dr. Alphys swings in your direction if you know what I mean…" Mettaton said.

"That's not why I'm here," Sans said crossing his arms.

"Whatever," Mettaton said rolling away towards the exit. "It is a pity, though. It would be so sweet to give that boy a sister."

If Sans had a heart, he felt it stop.

"What did you say?" he asked anxiously.

"I was watching a bit of the show with Dr. Alphys while she updated me," Mettaton said pausing in place and dramatically turning around. "I know that you've taken in a human child. We watched some of your parenting when you stood up to that monster to protect him. It was so touching. The dramatic tension was so real. We could feel it. I almost cried at the emotion, which reminds me…"

Mettaton quickly rolled over to Sans, put his arm around him, and started talking in his flamboyantly animated and excited tone, "I am so glad you've come by. This feels like destiny because there is something important I wanted to ask you. I am always looking for new ideas for the next season and wondering which exciting direction to go next. Seeing you, your brother, and the human got me thinking. What if I hosted a reality show starring you, your brother, and your adopted little brother?! This has been done with monsters. Sure, but never with monsters and a human living together under one roof! Just think about it. All the drama, the action, the heart-warming family moments! What entertainment! What ratings! Of course, you would get a slice of the pot that you could put towards his college education or whatever and you could do whatever you wanted on the show, unless things get too boring of course. But you can't say no to an opportunity like this. What do you say?"

Sans short cut away so that he was standing in front of him and said, "No, Mettaton. He does not need or want that kind of attention. He's just a kid. I'll come back later."

"Are you sure, Sans?" Mettaton whined in disappointment following Sans while he walked away towards the exit. "Can't we at least have him on a talk show? There is so much our viewers would love to know about humans. There is so much I'm curious about, too. Like for instance, why does he refuse to fight? He's clearly been through some scuffles before. He has bandages on his arms for God's sake. What changed his mind?"

Sans finally turned around to reveal his glowing blue eye and said, "You stay away from him or you're gonna have a bad time."

"Wow, you're so overprotective of him already…" Mettaton said.

"Mettaton, that's enough," another voice called out from inside the lab. "Go home and leave Sans alone please. We need to talk."

Sans looked past Mettaton and saw Dr. Alphys standing next to the entrance to her secret lab.

"Fine," Mettaton said pulling a card out of nowhere and handing it to Sans. "But, if you ever change your mind, just give me a ring."

Sans took the card without saying anything.

Mettaton rolled past him to the exit and said, "Thanks again for the updates, doctor! I'll see you later."

Then, he said quietly just before exiting, "Go get her, Sans."

The lab door slid open and shut behind him. Sans breathed a sigh of relief when the robot finally left.

"I'm sorry about him," Dr. Alphys said nervously. "The video feed was going on during the initial updates, so he ended up watching some of the footage with me before we got into the gritty work. I didn't think there was any harm to it. He hasn't seen the rest of it, though. He doesn't know that Frisk is depressed or anything like that. I've kept that from him…"

"Thank you," Sans said as he slowly walked towards her. "Please keep all that from him. The last thing Frisk needs is that nosy robot trying to exploit him like some kind of sideshow freak."

"So, Sans, what's the occasion?" Alphys asked shyly. "What is that you're carrying?"

Sans stopped and took a deep breath before he lifted his right hand and said, "You know what this is."

Alphys had to stop herself from falling backwards in shock at the sight of him.

"Flowey?!" Alphys said. "But how…?! How is he still alive? I thought, for sure, you had killed him…"

"I wish," Sans said looking him over. "But he's stronger than he looks. Frisk has told me a lot of disturbing things about him, but oddly enough, he still wants him to live. Alphys, I know that you brought him to life. You're the only one who can save him."

"Of course," Alphys said holding out her hands to take him.

Sans dropped the flower into her hands. Alphys quickly turned away to carry Flowey into her secret lab.

Sans hesitated a moment before he finally said, "Alphys, I need to talk to you about some other things, from one scientist to another. Can I go down with you? You know if there's anything I know how to do it's keep secrets. You can trust me. Besides, I don't think you want to be left alone with him."

Alphys paused in front of the door and stood in silence looking down at the flower.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Alphys replied, "Yes, follow me."

Sans short cut next to Alphys as she opened the door to her lab. She smiled weakly as they walked in together.