Chapter 3
2260 Words
"Here's the problem," Frankson said, breaking both Undyne and Alphys from their mutual reverie. "We're not the only ones you have to convince, here. There's one more person you need to talk to, and I'm pretty sure she's not going to be an easy nut to crack."
The other three nodded, though Cathy looked annoyed by this reminder.
"How do you propose we address the... what was it?" Asgore hesitated. "The Mega-Mayor?"
Ng snorted a little, then blushed. Radi gave her a sharp look, but Tagaq looked away and up at the ceiling, his lips twitching. Frankson looked at all three with a long-suffering look, while Cathy sighed.
"You can refer to her as Mayor McCallion," Frankson said. "As the title is, truly, a little silly, despite it being legitimate and true. And she takes it immensely seriously, too."
Undyne winced a little. "How hard is it gonna be?" she wondered. "I mean, Ca--uh--Mayor Awad told us that it would be hard to convince the four of you, and yet all four of you are happy to help. Is it likely that maybe she'd be the same way?"
This time, all of them, save Cathy and Frankson, laughed for real.
It annoyed Undyne, who narrowed her eye, and made both Asgore and Alphys flinch. Laurel blushed and looked down at her hands, her fingers fussing with her bracelet.
"As you could probably surmise from that mature answer," Cathy said, raising an eyebrow, "no, it won't be easy. But we will try, Empress. And we'll try our best." She glared at her peers. "Won't we?"
"Oh, definitely," Ng replied with a smile, and the others laughed.
Once they calmed, Asgore broke in. "Well, what do you propose we do, while we wait for approval to see Mayor McCallion?"
"Let us handle getting a hold of her," Cathy replied. "If the five of us contact her as one and send her the Papyrus Pact, then she has to listen. She can ignore me all she wants, but the five of us?"
"Especially Tagaq," Ng giggled. "She loves you, Tagaq."
"I don't even know why," he sighed, adjusting his braid a little. "Everything I say opposes her old-school ways. Plus, you know, she's white. Our goals tend to be different, after all."
Alphys blushed, confused. "I... white?" she echoed, her voice soft. "I-I don't really understand that. Wh-what do you mean by white? What does that have to do with anything?"
All five mayors looked at her in surprise, while Laurel blushed so red she hid her face behind her hands.
"I can explain it to you later," Laurel told them behind her hands. "It's stupid, believe me, but it's true."
"Either way, she likes you best," Frankson said to Tagaq, who sighed and looked like he wanted to disappear. "It would be best if you probably helmed the email from all of us."
Radi looked thoughtful for a moment, before looking right at Alphys. Her expression was almost vulnerable in its honestly - something rare to see on a politician. "
You truly don't understand what we mean by 'white'?" she asked softly.
Alphys went redder than Laurel, feeling stupid. "I... I-I... I'm sorry!" she squeaked out.
Undyne touched her shoulder gently and rubbed it, and she lowered her head, unable to speak anymore.
"We don't," Undyne agreed. "I mean, we were raised on your media, and we know humans come in a bunch of different shades, but we've never seen white before. We've seen a lot of pink, though."
"Oh, sweet heavens," Radi replied, her eyes wide. "This is... kind of wonderful, don't you think? Monsters have a lot to teach us, don't they? And clearly, they're diverse. I mean, look at the Empress and her consort."
Asgore was silent, his face carefully blank.
Undyne eyed him closely for a moment, and she had the inkling that he knew exactly what the humans were talking about.
"What did you say about me and Alphy?" Undyne wondered, her voice a little sharp.
"Empress, trust me: nothing bad," Cathy replied with a kind smile. "Laurel will explain it to you... as will Lord Asgore, I think." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he nodded. "For now, if you please, allow us time to deliberate and agree on an approach to Mayor McCallion."
"O-oh," Alphys nodded, as Laurel got to her feet. She followed suit, and soon so did Asgore and Undyne.
Asgore bowed to them, as did Laurel, but Undyne merely nodded. Alphys was too flustered, and she actually curtsied - which made everyone smile (and Ng laugh again, but not in a mean way; Mettaton, however, snorted from the seats, and she blushed even redder and tried to hide behind Undyne).
"Laurel," Cathy said, and the Minister looked up. "I'll contact you the moment I find anything out."
"Please," she agreed. "And you four, please do the same if you have any questions regarding the Underground and my work."
When they nodded, she and the others filed out.
They met Mettaton outside of the room; he looked elated, as if his latest album went platinum.
"You curtsied!" he said immediately, grabbing Alphys into a hug and lifting her off of her feet again, making her sigh and shut her eyes; he squeezed hard.
"I know," she whined, feeling a sinking in her stomach. "I'm such a loser."
Undyne came forward and extracted Alphys from Mettaton with a glare. "First of all, Mettaton, go pound sand."
"I can't, darling; it'll mess up my joints."
"Second of all, Alphy," she continued, ignoring him. She still held Alphys off her feet, and Alphys slipped her arms around her neck to hold on. She looked up at Undyne and blushed again, but Undyne kissed the tip of her nose and smiled. "You're fine. You were polite, and you were also panicked. If that's the least you do, then I'm gonna have a great wife at my side."
Alphys buried her face into Undyne's neck with a squeak, clinging onto her tight, now and forgetting there were others around them. Undyne always knew exactly what to say, even when everyone knew she had done something embarrassing and stupid.
"I love you," she whispered, digging her claws into Undyne's back, and Undyne laughed softly, holding her close.
Asgore then cleared his throat. "My dears," he said softly. "We still have things to do."
Both Undyne and Alphys looked up, but Undyne didn't let go of Alphys, not even a little.
"Like what, Dad?" Undyne wondered.
She'd been saying this more often, lately, and often without any hesitation. When Alphys asked her, she explained that now that Asgore was back in her life, she wasn't going to let him go out of it without a fight. She thought of him as a father-figure, and she wanted to make sure he knew it, too.
He smiled, like he always did when she called him that. "Well, Laurel and I have much to explain to you about one of the major conflicts that humans face, and that I think you need to know about before we proceed. I think it will help you understand humans better."
Laurel went red, but nodded, looking saddened by the prospect.
"And then what?" Undyne wondered, adjusting Alphys more comfortably in her arms - something Alphys rather liked, though she wondered if she should be more self-conscious about.
Laurel then lit right up, her blush turned to one of pleasure. "I have a surprise for you, one I've been holding in all day. I've only told Lord Asgore--,"
"Laurel, dear, do just call me Asgore."
"--er, right, okay. But yes, it's so important!" She even bounced a little.
Mettaton eyed her closely, a frown on his lips and his arms crossed. He had an inkling, and he felt torn about it. He looked over at Alphys for a moment, and if anyone had noticed or seen it, they would have seen a very deep look of... something, coupled with regret.
He hoped he was wrong, but for purely selfish reasons.
He wasn't.
"Okay. Let's go to the hotel, then. We can hang out there, since hanging out anywhere else would mean stupid f*****g cameras in our damned faces," Undyne suggested.
"M-may I walk, please?" Alphys wondered, only halfheartedly, it was true.
"No," Undyne replied with a grin, and Alphys shrugged and rested her head on her chest, closing her eyes.
While Undyne did it often - picking her up and holding her close like this - Alphys liked it, and was growing used to, to a point that she felt very comfortable, despite how silly it was.
"Alright," Laurel said, practically bouncing, now. "Let's go!"
After an annoying trip back to the hotel, one that involved more cameras than they cared to admit, they all sat down - once Alphys got everyone drinks, something that made Undyne smile affectionately - and Laurel finally explained what they were talking about when they meant "white".
By the end, everyone but her and Asgore were confused.
"That's..." Mettaton said, his expression sour.
"...really f*****g stupid," Undyne finished, her voice just as sour.
Alphys chewed on her lip for a moment, her eyes narrowed. "It explains a lot of the things I never understood when watching some of the programs on TV," she admitted. "I never really got it until now. I... I think I liked it better when I didn't understand."
Laurel was scarlet, looking like she wanted to hide under the couch. "Humans are kind of... complicated," she said softly. "We're... kind of stupid when it comes to things like this. We're doing our best, and things have gotten much, much better than they were, but yes, we still come across problems like that."
"Is Mayor McCallion a... what did you call it? A racist?" Mettaton wondered.
"Well, no, not really," Laurel said, playing with her bracelet. "She's just old-fashioned, and sometimes things that could be construed as racist, or at least borderline-racist, come out of her mouth. She always apologises after, but she still does it. She's in her eighties, so that's bound to happen. It's mean to say, I know, but those of her generation tend to be a little tactless."
Asgore sighed. "I knew about this, because I saw it when I was still on the surface. Humans, even back then, had the habit of dividing themselves by colour. As monsters, of course it was none of our business, but it was still awkward."
"You're pink," Undyne said flatly, holding up a hand. "Where does white come from?"
"It's a long and stupid history lesson that I do not want to get into anymore," Laurel admitted. "Let's go to something more happy." She sat up and smiled, her eyes going right to Alphys and Undyne. "I have some really good news for both of you."
Alphys blinked, and Undyne grinned. "I like good news, especially if it's for both me and Alphy," she said. "Spill."
"Before you do," Mettaton said suddenly, his expression strangely thoughtful. "May I ask you something, Minister?"
When she nodded, he went on.
"Is it likely that the big mayor will be... racist... towards us? As monsters?"
His words brought on a small silence, as clearly this was something neither of them had thought about - save Laurel, who looked regretful.
"It's possible," she admitted. "Unfortunately, it's very possible. Though I don't think she'll be cruel, I do think she may let some comments slip that will be offensive to you. Keep in mind, she's older, and old-school, and old-fashioned, and really not big on change. There's a chance she will likely say some things that she will probably regret later when it comes to you."
Undyne narrowed her eye. "And should we take those comments as hostile?"
"No," Laurel said immediately. "Not unless they sound hostile. She may bandy about the word 'monster' at you, instead of 'person', and she may say things careless like that. But ultimately, she still is a good politician, and I think she'll have a little tact."
Asgore coughed. "A good politician doesn't necessarily mean a good person, dear Laurel."
"And I agree with you on that completely," Laurel said with a wry smile. "I just... think we should all prepare to take whatever she says with a grain of salt, and remember that she is what she is, and won't change."
"Well, Undyne is the Empress of salt, so that will be easy," Mettaton said with a smirk.
Undyne glowered at him, but as he was on the couch and she was on the chair with Alphys, all she could do was that, and he looked triumphant.
That is, until a small blue spear appeared above his head and stopped just centimetres away from his forehead. He froze, his eyes on it and wide, and she grinned maniacally.
Alphys, however, placed a hand on hers, and said, "Please don't murder him, love. We do need him."
Undyne sighed and let the spear vanish, and Mettaton relaxed. "Fine," she said, "but only because you asked me, Alphy - and so sweetly, too." Which earned her a smile.
"So, Laurel, you said you had good news for us?" Asgore broke in. "That would be lovely. What is it?"
Laurel lit up again, her hands clenching together in excitement. "You two want to get married on the surface, right?" she asked Alphys and Undyne.
Both blushed, but Undyne nodded with a wide grin.
"Well, then," Laurel replied, beaming. "How would you like to get married, today?"
- Writer
