Her Majesty

Chapter XII - Abomination

Somehow, they'd managed to get a little sleep.

Once Alices had contacted Mettaton and sent him a code to use to track her by her phone in order to find her on the surface, she suggested that it was probably best to try sleeping.

Neither expected it to work, as both of their minds were flooded with intense thought and emotion. They went as deep into the most shadowed copse they could find, then sat down beneath a tree and leaned against it beside each other.

Then, Undyne sighed and reached over, grabbing Alices easily and pulling her into her lap. Alices went scarlet, but admittedly, she was a little cold, and it felt much better to lean against Undyne. She curled up in Undyne's arms and was asleep in minutes, clearly exhausted.

Undyne held her close, slower to get to sleep, her reflexes on hair-trigger and her mind still full of regrets. However, once she managed to focus just on Alices, and how she was not only still with her, but in her arms, somehow, she calmed down enough to fall into a light doze.

She didn't know how long she was asleep, but she snapped awake the moment she heard what sounded like footsteps in the grass.

She pulled Alices closer - something that woke her up and had her clinging on - and got to her feet, about to summon a spear, when a familiar voice hissed out, "It's me!"

"Oh!" Alices slid out of Undyne's arms and ran towards it, and soon there was the sound of flesh hitting metal as Alices and Mettaton hugged tight.

There had been no hesitation or awkwardness, as once they both understood what the human was, they immediately dropped their planned ruse and instead teamed up to help evacuate everyone. In that time, their friendship, one that would have become strained otherwise, became stronger.

The Mettaton Alices held onto now was his humanoid form, one with the capacity to shift into a battle form if he needed it. She was slightly worried about this, as in that form, he ran out of power quicker, but as long as he didn't need to attack or defend, it would last longer.

"Did you bring it?" Alices asked when she thought of it, still hugging onto him.

He nodded against her shoulder. "Of course. Wouldn't of come without it." He was referring to his charger, one she demanded he bring, despite just having had a fresh, full charge.

"And the others?" Alices added, her voice wavering a little.

"They're okay, Alices," he agreed. "All of them. I checked the True Lab, too. They're very worried about you."

"But you didn't tell them, did you?" Undyne broke in, now standing with them.

Mettaton pulled away from Alices, who held his hand for a moment before letting it go. He stared at Undyne in shock, able to see the changes in her even in the dark. It took anything he'd wanted to say away from him, and he just gaped at her.

"Mettaton," Alices said, snapping him back.

He blinked, still staring at Undyne. "I lied," he said. "I said you needed me in New Home, to help with the souls. What... what the hell...?" He raised his hand and pointed at Undyne. "You... you look like..."

"I know!" she snapped, blushing angrily. "I still have the souls, okay? And no, we don't know why or how, so don't ask!"

Mettaton closed his mouth for a moment, his hand dropping to his side. "Alright," he said calmly, one eyebrow going up. "Now I'm starting to see why you two need me."

"Shut up!" Undyne grumbled.

"Calm down," Alices sighed, pushing her glasses up on her forehead and rubbing her eyes. She was tired, still, and yet they had so much they still needed to do. "Mettaton, we don't need you to come with us, but we do need you to watch the barrier."

Mettaton glanced at her, looking ill-amused, now. "Why the hell did you ask me to come see you, then?"

"Because we need you to watch it from here," Alices answered sharply, her eyes narrowed when she replaced her glasses. "We can't have humans get near the barrier entrance at all, and the only way we can do that without scaring everyone is with you."

"But why me, Alices?" Mettaton shot back. "I'm not exactly a human!"

"Neither are we," Undyne answered. "But you... humans are familiar with robots, if we go by their media."

Mettaton glanced at Alices, who sighed, then nodded. He looked back at Undyne. "Darling, you know that a lot of that is made up," he said gently.

"Shut up, I know!" Undyne snarled, though she'd actually for the moment forgotten. "But media still reflects the culture! And they clearly have some experience with robots!"

"Hm," Mettaton said, his hand to his chin. "Well, that's true."

"Of course it is, you dumb breadmaker."

Alices covered her mouth and looked away for a moment, swallowing a laugh. It oddly calmed her, how easily they fell back into bickering with each other, like they used to in the Underground. It was comforting, in a way.

"Well," Mettaton huffed, turning away from Undyne and back to Alices, who looked back with her hand still over her mouth. "Tell me what you need me to do, then, and I'll do it."

Alices let her hand drop, smiling now for a completely different reason.

Before all of this happened, she and him had a selfish kind of friendship, one solely based on how they could benefit themselves as well as the other. But when the Underground started to fall, Mettaton suddenly seemed to shift gears, and he had begun to actually volunteer to help her with things, like the evacuations or the messages to the city's people.

Though he was still stubborn and haughty at times, Alices was now seeing a far more mature side of him, one she really liked.

"Mettaton," she said gently, "this comes with a risk. You can say no, and I'll understand."

"Oh, shut it, dear," he replied flatly. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what I can do, understand?"

He paused, then said, his voice sombre, "I'm afraid for them, too. I want to protect them, too."

Alices couldn't help herself; she threw herself at him and hugged him tight. He caught her easily and returned it, and it was a real, genuine hug, and not a pity hug like she always used to get from him.

Undyne glanced at them, feeling a little sad, as well as angry, too.

They were only in this situation because of that damned demon-spawn claiming to be a human, and she almost wish it were still alive, just so she could kill it again. Their entire lives had been irreversibly changed, and not for the better - not even close to that, yet.

Seeing Alices and Mettaton hug like that reminded her of it.

It also made her miss Papyrus, making her wish he was here, too, so that she could tease and hug him, and order him around while he playfully postured around like a war hero.

She looked down at the ground, biting her lip and swallowing her tears. Now was not the time, she knew.

"In that case," Alices was saying, now back on the ground and holding something out to Mettaton. "Take this with you, too."

It was the syringe of DT.

Mettaton stared at it, then her. "But..."

"I know," Alices agreed. "But... I-I c-can't..." She gritted her teeth. "Just take it," she concluded, her voice sharp.

Mettaton did, holding it and staring at it for a moment, before he looked back at her.

"Okay," he said softly. "I'll text you with regular updates. Every hour?"

She nodded. "Yes. Make it an even number, and consistent."

He smiled. "Got it."

He grabbed her hand, squeezed it, then nodded to Undyne, before turning around and heading back and a little up along the mountain's base.

Undyne placed her hand on Alices's shoulder, startling her.

"Okay," Undyne said gently. "What now? It's not long til morning."

Alices blinked, her eyes going to the sky, and noticing that she was right: the sky was already a little lighter.

She looked back at Undyne. "What do you think we should do?" she wondered.

Undyne paused, taken aback by this question, her fingers twitching a little on Alices's shoulder. "I..."

She bit her lip, her mind going blank for a moment, before she was able to focus again. The little sleep she had managed to get hadn't been enough for her to be able to think better under pressure.

Alices, however, didn't rush her; instead, she waited quietly, reaching up to touch her hand still on her shoulder.

Undyne shut her eye for a moment, Alices's touch helping her to concentrate.

"Okay," she said finally, opening her eye again and meeting Alices's curious gaze. "I got it, but if it sucks, please tell me."

"Of course!" Alices replied easily - then blushed when she realised how it sounded.

Undyne grinned, however; this was the Alices she knew and loved, for sure. "Okay."

She went over it quickly, blushing by the end, but Alices was nodding by then, her eyes wide and excited.

When Undyne saw that, she was surprised. "Wait, none of that bothers you?!" she demanded.

"No, of course not!" Alices replied, smiling. "It's risky, and might not work, but it's insane enough to still be good!"

Undyne sighed in relief, closing her eye again for a moment, before she opened it again and returned that smile. "Sweet. Then let's go, Alice."

When Alices nodded, Undyne grabbed her hand tight, and together, they ran towards the lights.