Sunrise

20

(Double track chapter!)

"Hey, Pap! Come look at this!" Alex crouched near some bright violet flowers. "Here's some you could use!"

Papyrus ran over to her. "Let me see, Human!" He knelt down next to her. "Yes, yes! These are PERFECT! Thank you, Human!" Pap lifted Alex up with ease and spun her in his arms. "We'll have this done in no time!"

Alex laughed and squealed as she was spun. It was one of her favorite things Pap did when they were outside. "Throw, throw!!"

"Alright, Human!" Pap gently tossed Alex up, not realizing how much momentum he gained while spinning her. She flew back into a bush. "Oh no. Human? Alex, are you okay?!"

Alex's head popped out of the bush. She was laughing so hard, tears streamed down her cheeks. "Again!"

Pap chuckled. "No, Human. We're not doing that again." He plucked Alex from the bush and set her on his shoulders. "Can you mark this spot for later?" Pap lowered his voice. Sans was nearby watching them and Pap didn't want him to hear.

"Okay!" Alex took a deep breath before conjuring up a purple flag (A/N: You can also change the colour of Alex's energies to your liking. However, there's always a tinge of violet because of Arial) and planting it in the ground.

"Not bad, Human! You're getting to control your power so quickly!"

Alex giggled. Ever since she woke up, Alex had realized that she was now able to perform magic, like the monsters. She also gave Undyne back her eye patch. Her left eye hadn't healed, necessarily, but she was able to use it. It now looked like Sans and Pap's eyes. No one really thought about why.

"Hey, guys! We gotta get back soon! Tori just said she's making dinner!" Sans shoved his phone into the pocket of his hoodie, the screen dimly lighting up the outside of his pocket. He looked much more rested than when Alex had woken up. It had been a week since then, and he'd been able to get some rest.

"Alright, Sans!" Pap waved to Sans to make sure he understood. Sans gave a thumbs-up. "We'll come back to these later, Human... and we'll bring Undyne with us instead of Sans so we can finish this thing. Okay?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Now, let's go, Human!" Papy lifted Alex onto his shoulders. They followed Sans back to the cabin just in time for dinner.

Later that night, Pap, Undyne, and Alex all went back to areas marked with a dimly glowing violet flag. Undyne would pull the flag out while Papy picked flowers from the spot. The flags would disappear and Alex would hold the picked flowers. When the trio finished picking all the flowers they needed, they sat down in a small clearing in the woods. Undyne laid back and enjoyed the evening air while Alex and Pap started weaving the flowers together into a neat little flower crown.

"Sans is gonna love this. Right, Pap?"

"Definitely, Human. I'm glad you came up with this idea. He didn't really sleep at all that whole time you were asleep. Neither did I. We were all worried about you. Sans really couldn't live with himself after putting you out like that."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. He's Sans! He's... So much more complicated than I could ever know. I didn't think too much about the fact that I just fought you and my mommy. I just... Thought of it as... I was saving a friend." Papy gently set down the flowers he was working with. "It wasn't until I saw Sans crying when you woke up... That I finally realized what we really did... I'm so sorry, Human."

Alex stood up, a string of weaved flowers in her hands. She looked down for a moment before reaching up and putting the flowers around Pap's neck. "It's okay... It's what was best. Did you really have much of a choice?" She carefully tied the ends of the flower string together. "Besides, I'm okay now."

"Yeah..." Pap sniffled. "You are okay..." Pap hugged Alex. "Thank you, Human."

Undyne groaned. "Would you two crybabies cut it out already?! Jeez, and I thought you were soft before!"

Alex giggled. "Says the one who agreed to help us pick flowers."

"Yeah, well I-" Undyne growled. "Whatever."

Alex and Papy looked at each other and laughed. "Well, we're done anyway, Undyne. We can head back now." Pap let go of Alex and stood up. "We have a present for Sans to deliver!"

Alex lifted a flower ring in the air. Her hands were bleeding pretty badly, but a red rose hid that fact pretty well. "Yeah!"

Undyne sat up. "Finally." She got up and sighed. She really enjoyed being outside with her friends, but she didn't want to show it. She was tough, dammit!

"Let's go home, Human." Pap started walking in the direction of the cabin. Undyne followed him. He stopped and looked back to see if Alex was following. "Human?"

Alex was looking down at the flower ring. Papy's words caught her attention. "Hmm? Oh, right! Coming!" Alex moved the ring to one hand. She felt a thorn pierce her hand.

*The SOUL shatters

Pap gasped when Alex fell to the ground and began to disappear. "Human! Human, no!" Pap ran to her side. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?!"

"It's okay." Alex's voice was quiet and weak. "I'll be back home. The save point's in my room. I'll... Meet you there..."

*Whoosh

Pap wiped tears from his sockets. "Right... Let's get back home, quick!"