Surface: an Undertale Fanfiction

Chapter Seven: Stay Determined

"Alphys sure has been in that room for quite some time," Papyrus said anxiously. His voice had begun to lose its bounce. Like a dog awaiting his owner's return at the front door, the skeleton stared at the door leading to the True Lab. Alphys had indeed been gone for at least forty minutes. No one had any idea when she would return or what she was doing with the body of the human girl they all loved so much.

Grillby stood beside Papyrus. He gave him a gentle pat on the back, making every effort to comfort him. He turned his head to observe the girl's goat-family, huddled together, sobbing. He had no idea what he could possibly say to make the situation any better. A sense of guilt fraught his heart. If only he hadn't made that call... But he never thought Sans was capable of murder. He didn't think this would happen.

"Grillby?" Papyrus asked as he looked up to the flaming man. "The human is going to be okay. Right?"

What was Grillby suppose to say? He couldn't lie to Papyrus, but in all honesty, Grillby had no idea if Liz was going to be okay or not. His gut told him no, but how could he tell Papyrus that? Not only would he be without his brother but also without one of his bestest, closest friends. He didn't think Papyrus would be able to handle that. "Yeah, Papyrus," said Grillby. "She'll be okay."

Papyrus looked away from his friend and continued to eye the elevator door. He was seated in a small chair by the wall. Grillby was too anxious to sit. Taking one last look over at Toriel, Asgore, and Asriel in the corner of the room, he poured a cup of water from the cooler by the door and ventured outside to find Undyne sitting on the ground and against the building. Her armor was lying around her and her eyes were puffy with tears. Grillby bent down and offered her the cup of water. She reluctantly accepted it. She drank it down in one large gulp.

He sat beside her, not knowing how to begin with what he wanted to say. By surprise, Undyne spoke first. "You didn't have to."

Grillby raised a brow. "Huh?"

"The water," she said. "You didn't have to get me it. I know you're not real fond of the stuff."

Grillby smiled. "Don't worry about it. I wanted to." He paused for a bit before finally telling the fish girl, "I called Papyrus's phone." Undyne was confused. Grillby went on. "Sans had just started out on his rampage through Snowdin and I called Papyrus, thinking he could maybe come and calm his brother down. Liz picked up instead. I told her what was happening. She instructed me to keep everyone safe. She came down to Snowdin without telling anyone where she was going. When I saw her, I almost told her not to go after Sans, but she had told me she knew what she was doing. That was when Asriel called from Papyrus's phone. I had to tell them then that the human had gone after Sans..." He stopped to observe the look upon Undyne's face. She was in an incredible amount of denial, but reality had already been laid out for her. There was nothing she could do about anything now. Liz could no longer be saved. Somehow, she knew, even with Alphys's help, there wasn't a lot of hope left for the girl. Grillby didn't know what else to say besides, "I am so sorry."

Undyne put her face in her palm and shook her head. "No. Y-you were just looking out for Papyrus's brother. Liz is a strong kid. None of us could've predicted this."

Grillby nodded, trying to reassure himself. The guilt in his heart had not budged. "You placed Sans in the old dungeon?"

Undyne bobbed her head. "Yes, but that monster is not Sans anymore. Something very sinister has overtaken him... So I'm going to execute him."

"What?" Grillby was startled at Undyne's words.

"Even if Liz somehow lives, he still destroyed half of Snowdin and made an attempt to murder someone in cold blood." A dark, unfamiliar look in her eyes appeared, giving Grillby a chill... If that was even possible. She went on to say, "I don't think there is any way to bring back the Sans we once knew, so for as long as Sans is in this unpredictable form, we can't risk having him here in the underground and we can't let him roam the surface. He's a dangerous monster. He must be dealt with."