…
…
She shivered.
It was really cold. Alphys curled her tail around herself, tightening her body into a little ball. The ground crunched and shifted beneath her, stinging her scales with just how stupidly cold it was.
…
Wait.
Why was it cold? Why was she laying down?
What happened?
Alphys's shivering gave way to trembling and she straightened her body out. There was white in front of her…. She reached a hand out cautiously to touch it, and it sunk right in. Damp and cold.
"Snow!?" Alphys yelped to herself, jerking up straight. Sure enough, there was snow on her hand. And everywhere else. It was falling from the sky too.
Now, she wasn't an expert on weather on the Surface, but she was pretty sure it didn't snow when it was warm out.
But as she looked up she found out….Well, she wasn't on the Surface.
"I'm back Underground….?" She questioned out loud, her breath coming out in a puff of white mist. That…. Didn't make sense.
Alphys stumbled to her feet, swishing her tail about to help her keep her balance. Her feet were cold (as was the rest of her, her feet were just colder due to their direct contact with the snow). A shudder went down her spine. She hugged herself, rubbing at her arms to warm them up a bit. Looking down the long, empty path flanked by huge evergreen trees…. Alphys was pretty sure she was in Snowdin Woods.
She decided to just call someone….Preferably not Sans (she was pretty sure he was mad at her), but she might have to if she couldn't get ahold of anyone else. Alphys reached into her pocket to get her phone-….
Where was it? And why was she wearing a labcoat?
…
Oh.
"Oh!" Alphys squeaked, flinching at the volume of her own voice. She shuffled her feet nervously, looking around.
That's right! The machine-! She was working on the machine and- And something- No! No, she activated it! That's right, she switched it on and….
She…. Guessed it didn't quite work.
Alphys sighed. Well….. Step One: Get back to the house.
….
Step Two: Tell everyone she didn't die.
…
…
Step Three: Date and marry Undyne.
…
Maybe she was jumping ahead a bit there.
Alphys chuckled a bit at her own internal joke before sighing, hanging her head. Walking back up there was going to be a pain. Maybe the Riverperson still hung around down here? If so, that would make the trek a bit less obnoxious.
Her tail swished a bit in agitation. The stupid machine of hers didn't work. But….she could just try again, she guessed. Just. Focus on getting back home, first. See if she could find a way to communicate to someone she didn't die while she was at it.
Alphys took a deep breath to steady herself. Being sleep deprived might be a blessing in disguise here. After all, she was too tired to panic! Hooray!
She turned away from the Ruins, took a step forward, and tripped over someone.
"Ow." Said the person she tripped over.
Alphys flinched. Slowly, shaking, she turned her head to see some blue… She rose her foot a little to get a better look…. She poked him in the face with her toe as he rose an eyebrow at her….
"O-o-oh." Alphys stammered, looking away from him "H-h-hey, Sans."
"Sup?" he said.
"Not m-much. Just. Uh. Just…." She blinked and her attention snapped back to him "Wait, what are you doing down here?"
"Could ask ya the same thing." Sans said through a yawn. He took a moment to try and push himself up (not really. He just pressed his face back into the snow) before giving up on that and just teleporting himself into a standing position.
Alphys snorted a bit at his antics. She winced, turning away from him "Uh…. Um… Well, I – EEP!" The lizard monster was aboutto explain, but was cut off by Sans casually picking her up to place her back on her feet like she weighed nothing.
"O-o-oh my gosh, you're r-really strong?" Alphys said, staring at him. Sans's grin turned stiff and he took a step back, offering a shrug.
"Heh heh. Yeh. Got…like, invisible muscles and shit." He said, pocketing his hands and looking away from her.
"Ew, why would you want invisible shit?" Alphys said because she was going off of three hours of sleep and a gallon and a half of coffee and not because she really didn't want to see Sans with that expression ever again because it made her feel like the scum of the earth.
…Maybe a mix of all that. Whatever it was that prompted her to say it, the crude joke did its job as Sans let out a wheezy chuckle.
"Aw crap, Alphy, that was a shit joke, low-brow humor." Sans said through his chuckling. Alphys sighed a bit, relaxing just a little. Seemed like that lightened the mood. She laughed a little just in relief.
"W-well, uh…. S-sans, why are you down here….?" Alphys said with a slight tilt of her head.
"'Ell if I know." Sans said with a shrug, scratching the side of his face. "I went to check on ya, somethin' 'sploded and I woke up 'ere."
Alphys squeaked "O-oh my g-g-gosh, are you okay!?"
Sans made a show of checking himself over. He stared at his hands intently a second and slowly shook his head.
"O-o-oh no!" Alphys said, taking a step forward "Wh-what's wrong, how can I help-"
"I'm not okay. I'm a skeleton." Sans said like it was the most devastating revelation in the world. He swayed with a dramatic wail, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and flopped back onto the ground.
…
Alphys shot him a peeved glare. Sans chuckled, shrugging a bit as he got back to his feet "Sorry, sorry, couldn't help it. But. Uh. Yeah. Why 'splosion?"
Alphys swallowed nervously. "….Science?"
Sans rolled his eye(light)s. "Duh?"
Alphys fidgeted with her claws, shuffling her feet "I…Uh, I was… Well, I-" She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I-"
Sans slapped a hand over her mouth, pulling her close to his side with a whispered 'be quiet'. His eye sockets were narrowed as he scanned the area. Alphys swallowed, holding her breath.
…
…
…
SNAP!
It came from behind them. Sans turned on heel, his left eye bursting into blue and yellow sparks and he shoved Alphys backwards. She fell onto the snow with a thump!
Facing off with Sans was someone wearing a green hoodie, with red eyes that seemed almost like they were glowing and a smile that was too large for their face.
"Greetings." They said "I am Chara. What brings the two you here?"