Ruins (Sans X Alphys)

Sticks and Stones

The dust mingled with her tears as she sat there, realizing that it was over. It had been hours since Sans had killed the Human, and there was no sign of a reset. She had no way of knowing how many times he had won, how many times the Human fell before they finally gave up. She wondered how many more times Undyne would have had to have done it. She wondered how many times she had done it.

Alphys cringed. She remembered it then. The self-sacrifice. The glory. The majesty. Undyne had become a god, for just a moment. She was so strong. So selfless. So determined. She had transformed into something the likes of which had never been seen, and would likely never be seen again. And in that moment, for the first and last time, she had had hope. When Undyne unlocked the true power within her, becoming the Undying, when she had showed the Human what monsters could really do, when she had set out to complete a task on the behalf of the whole world, it was then that Alphys truly believed that Undyne could succeed, that she could achieve victory for her people. That she could SAVE the WORLD.

But she couldn't. Eventually, Undyne fell just like every other monster. The only LOAD that Alphys remembered was the last one. The one where Undyne fell. The Human had dodged so effortlessly, struck with such force and precision. They weren't surprised by Undyne's transformation, and they were perfectly ready for it. And it was on this horrifying note that Alphys watched as Undyne the Undying gave lie to her name, falling to the ground and scattering to dust.

Alphys wished that she could remember. She wished so much that she could remember all the times Undyne's spear had hit home, all the times the Human had fell. She wished she could recall the feeling of joy that must have swirled through her as she saw Undyne succeed, she wished she could remember the look of elation that would have undoubtedly covered Undyne's face as the Human took their last breath.

But none of that had ever happened. The only one who could remember it was the Human, and now they were gone too. It was a strange feeling. Alphys felt like there was a hole, deep inside her. Like there was something missing. She knew what it was, of course. Undyne, Papyrus, everyone. She had lost so much, and yet there was something else.

Even when the Human had been destroying her world, piece by piece, there was a sense of normalcy. As if she had always known it would happen. As if, even with everything that was happening, she could still count on one thing.

But now even that was gone. The world was broken. The Human was gone. Everyone was gone. And now, sitting on the couch in her lab, stained with tears, dust, and ramen noodles, she wondered what was left. Sure, about 75 monsters were still alive. Sure, Sans had won, and the King was still there, and she was still alive. But for what? The Human's SOUL had shattered in a final act of defiance. They couldn't escape. They were still stuck here, and no one had gotten by without loss. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends, spouses, everyone had lost someone. The poor comedian who's son had died, the two of them still on bad terms. He had never had a chance to apologize to his son.

The girl who had been trapped in Hotland, waiting patiently for Alphys' laser to deactivate so she could go visit her grandfather- now dead.

The dozens of monsters who adored Mettaton above anyone else, and who watched in abject horror as they saw their superstar die.

All of them, now, were crushed. Destroyed from the inside out. Even if their bodies hadn't turned to dust, their hearts had. And Alphys couldn't see one reason to go on. Not one reason not to end everything now. It just seemed like it would solve a lot of problems.

It seemed like what she deserved. She looked around. There were so many ways it could be done, and yet none of them seemed appropriate to the circumstance. She looked around and looked to her flowerpot, filled with buttercups. Perfect.