Royal Blue

The Game Begins (Chapter Thirty Eight)

Sans had always been smart, almost eerily at times.

He had a certain uncanny intelligence to him that, if Alphys were anyone else, she may have thought of as divine.

Sans was clever too, even though he rarely showed it. But it was more than that... It was the kind of thing that really couldn't be taught, learned from a book, or even really put down in words.

Sans was good. Not just in an altruistic sense, though Alphys supposed, in recent light, that may fit as well.
Sans was good; more as a broad skill. Good at hiding things. Good at getting what he wanted.
Good at making use of what he had; hence why Alphys was still around.

But that wasn't the point.

Alphys shakes her head. Her claws tightening around themselves, clutched tight and clammy.

There's no time to be escaping into her own head, not right now anyway.

Even if the discomfort in the heavy-hot air made even her terrible mind seem more inviting. She had to push through. Break through the weighty discomfort in the air. The near physical pressure; a chilly embodiment of the common thought of: 'Well... what now?'

This was, of course, a dumb question.

Of course, there was only one thing.

Alphys's glasses glint in the heat and the light as she looks around.

Undyne's sharp eyes narrow, as Zero busy-talks with Asgore and Toriel about the specifics of the old machinery —specifics that Alphys really should be listening in on, but can't bring herself too. Not right now.

Even as he gestures, Zero's armor doesn't move much, barely scraping against itself, shifting almost mechanically; but something it him just screams of lethargy.

The room chills, slowly.

The humidity turning into something that adheres to her scales, it sticks to the walls and the back of her throat and drips from the tall metal pipes in the long winding halls.

Alphys looks over at Papyrus. He seems hesitant, his eyes flick, but steady near Zero. 

He crosses his arms, then uncrosses them; he fiddles with his armored gauntlets, a self-soothing gesture. He needs to be comforted, but without his brother around it was hard to find that.

He leans toward Undyne, then away. Toward Zero, then away-

Alphys shakes her head.

It doesn't matter. There's one thing, and one thing only, that matters. Beyond the muffled words. Beyond the steady beeps and bright monitors.

Beyond the smokey smell that, for some reason, makes her almost feel...

Determined.

—A shadow's hands tighten on her shoulders. A pale face narrows closer.—

Alphys's shoulders tighten. Her teeth ache with the pressure of her clenched, grinding jaw.

She remembers what she promised.
She won't just stand by anymore.

Her tail drags across the cold floor as she walks, swishing in a tight arc, back and forth. 

She stops right next to Zero; he's taken a pause in explaining.
It's quiet.

The monitor beeps slowly, something electric buzzes.

"S-So... y-you have ye-yet to actually say," Alphys says, quiet but stern. She takes another step closer, it's uncomfortable, but she knows it's advantageous. Putting yourself in someone's physical space makes it easier to apply social pressure.