So I beat Undertale Yellow today and decided to write this on a whim. I may have ended up making it something bigger than just a TF story. Whoopsies!

“Well, today’s the day.”

Martlet sighed as she sat down on the cold, empty ground next to the row of coffins within King Asgore’s Castle. They were all marked neatly with heart icons, from red all the way to indigo. Martlet was sitting next to the third one in line, emblazoned with a yellow heart icon. Her friend’s final resting place.

“My two weeks are up. I’m gonna be leaving the Royal Guard, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to visit anymore. King Asgore normally doesn’t mind people wandering around his Castle, but I don’t think he would appreciate frequent visits from me. Especially due to my own incompetence while on duty.” Martlet said, chuckling to herself.

The coffin returned no response beyond cold indifference, so Martlet sighed and gently placed her hand on it.

“Just know that… no matter what… you’re still my friend. Even if I can’t see you anymore. I know you did what you had to do, and I can’t hate you for it. I could never. You changed my life for the better, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. I won’t ever forget what you’ve done for me. For Dalv. For Starlo. For Ceroba. For all of us here.” Martlet said sadly.

Even though it was just her imagination, she swore she could feel a faint warmth from the coffin. A warmth of love, and of comfort. Martlet sniffled a bit as she felt her eyes begin to well up with tears, but she quickly wiped them away.

“Right… What am I crying for? I know we’ll see each other again someday. And when we do, I’m going to give you the biggest hug imaginable, and we’ll have all the time in the world to catch up.” Martlet said with glee, before gently rubbing the black metal plate inscribed with the following text.

“Soul #6. Willingly donated by a human named ‘Clover’. Retrieved by the efforts of Royal Guard Martlet and co.”

“Hey, are you done yet? It’s time for the Resignation Ceremony.” said a gruff voice from the stairwell. Martlet shot up and turned to see Captain Undyne standing there, her face obscured by her intimidating fanged helmet, which paired well with her black steel armor that covered her entire body. Only her piercing yellow eye and red ponytail could be seen.

“Ah yes! Sorry Captain Undyne! I mean Undyne! I mean-” Martlet was all panicked and merely tripped over the edge of the coffin, but managed to catch herself. Undyne saw the whole ordeal and just sighed.

“Just hurry up.” she said before trotting up the stairs, her armor making heavy clangs with each step. Martlet sighed and took one last longing glance back at the coffin before departing up the stairs.

“Royal Guard Martlet. You have given your two weeks notice and are to have your status revoked and your licenses for puzzle construction and guard duty nullified.” Undyne announced to the gathered knights in shining armor.

Martlet felt severely underdressed with her usual attire of her blue sleeveless shirt, denim pants, and brown fluffy boots compared to the ensemble or armored figures who surrounded her. Even though she wasn’t in trouble and was leaving the service willingly, she still felt like she was getting grilled by a teacher.

“Though your career was rather… rocky let’s just say, your passion for your duty and intriguing puzzle design has aided us in securing a sixth human Soul. For that, we are grateful for your service, as short as it was.” Undyne said with pride. Martlet felt her face light up a bit. It did feel nice to see her hard work did pay off somewhat, even if most of the work was done by Clover.

“Before you are relieved of duty, any parting words you’d like to give?” Undyne asked. Martlet felt her heart sink. WHAT? PARTING WORDS? This wasn’t in the manual at all. She wasn’t prepared in the slightest.

“Uh… uh uh well… you see… when you…” Martlet stuttered out, her brain on the verge of falling to pieces. The knights all looked at her in confusion and she could feel her soul dying and begging for the end.

“...” Undyne just stared at her wordlessly as she kept trying to come up with something, anything at all to say.

“Uhhh…. Thanks for the cool book?” she said, holding up her Royal Guard Manuel. The gathered knights were all silent and she heard one cough in the background. The throne room was cast into utter silence as only the faint sound of birds chirping could be heard through the windows.

“...can I keep it?” she quietly asked Undyne, trying to move on.

“...Yes.” Undyne said.

“...thank you.” she said meekly before putting the book in her pocket and just wished she could fly out that nearby window.

“...anyways, Royal Guard Martlet, you are relieved of duty. You are excused. May you continue to make the Underground a safer place for all monsterkind.” Undyne said, before pounding her steel gauntlet against her chest. The knights followed suit, filling the throne room with a resounding clang. Martlet smiled and did the same with her wing, before turning away.

“Oh wait!” said a deep, friendly voice. Martlet and all the guards turned towards the doorway at the far end of the throne room and saw a tall and imposing figure emerge from the darkness. He bore a great purple cloak over his body, had two impressive horns, and a small golden crown upon his golden locks of hair.

All the guards and Undyne immediately got down to one knee and bowed their heads, and Martlet realized it was King Asgore standing there. She yelped a bit and followed suit, almost falling over from how fast she got down. Asgore raised his hand to put the knights at ease and they all rose up in sync.

“Ah Martlet, before you depart, I wanted to give you a gift for your bravery and efforts during our service.” said Asgore. Martlet rose up from the ground and looked up at the king in awe as he brought over a potted plant. It was a brown ceramic pot filled with soil and crowded to the brim with golden flowers. Their yellow petals and white faces shined in the afternoon sunlight as Asgore walked up to Martlet and handed it over. Martlet gently took the pot in her hand and smelled the flowers. A pleasant sweet, grassy scent emanated from them.

“Thank you, King Asgore,” said Martlet. Asgore held up his hand and shook his head.

“Please, call me Asgore. You’ve earned it. Thanks to your efforts, we’re one soul closer to escaping this place.” Asgore said with pride, and the other knights let out cheers of joy and happiness, including Undyne. Martlet gave a soft cheer, but as she held the golden flowers and reminisced about their yellow color, she felt her heart sink again.

“Yeah… we are.” she said sadly.

Martlet departed the King’s Castle soon after and walked through the streets of New Home, still clutching the flowers in her wings. She watched the many residents mill about or enter and exit the homes and businesses that lined the streets and was unsure of what to do next. She figured she should return home first and unwind.

However, as Martlet approached the elevator down to Hotland, she saw the Lab in the distance at the base of the Core. The residence and research center of Dr. Alphys, the Royal Scientist, and her former posting.

Suddenly, Marlet remembered she left some things at Alphys’ Lab behind and figured it would be best to grab them before heading home properly. Last thing she needed was another long trip to Hotland after the destruction of the U.G. Aviator. Flying was tiring work.

So Martlet entered the elevator down to the UG Apartments and selected the ground floor.

Some time later…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“...oh you don’t have to knock so loud. I’m coming.” said a quiet voice from inside the Lab.

Martlet wiped some sweat from her brow as she clutched the flower pot she was gifted. Hotland’s molten lava cast a warm orange glow on the rocky crags that surrounded the lab, a glimmering silver building decorated with fancy technology Martlet scarcely understood.

The metal doors slid open and there was the Royal Scientist herself, Dr. Alphys. Her yellow scaly skin shined from the bright fluorescent lights of the lab behind her as she adjusted her glasses to keep them from slipping off her snout. She wore her usual attire of a large white lab coat and some sweat pants and a light blue tank top underneath. Martlet wasn’t sure this was customary attire for Royal Scientists, but hey she could walk around without that heavy armor weighing her down so who was she to judge.

“Oh! Martlet. I’m surprised to s-see you since I heard you were leaving the Royal Guard.” Alphys said with an awkward smile.

“Oh yeah don’t worry. I’m just here to get my things then I’ll be out of your hair.” Martlet said.

“Oh no don’t worry it’s n-no bother. Come on in.” Alphys said before stepping aside to let Martlet in. She entered and was hit by a wave of cold air as the Lab’s air conditioners were set to max settings. It felt utterly relieving.

The Lab was much the same as Martlet had last seen it. Bright lights illuminated desks with massive computers and stacks upon stacks of documents and blueprints. A large window to the right revealed a sweeping view of Hotland and the distant Waterfall, while to the left was a stairwell leading up to Alphys’ private residence. The far end of the Lab housed a door leading to Eastern Hotland and a bathroom stall marked with an icon of Alphys (or any other generic lizard monster who happened to be yellow).

“I l-left all your stuff over by your desk. If you need help grabbing any of it I’d be glad to help.” She said with a smile. Martlet smiled back and that’s when Alphys noticed the flowers.

“Ohhh.. are those for-” Before Alphys could finish, a faint buzzing came from her pocket and a blaring 8-bit song played from the lump inside it.
Alphys seemed to almost jump out of her skin and quickly grabbed her pink brick phone from her pocket before hitting the large pick up button.

“H-hello?” she asked into the receiver. A gruff male voice came out of the speaker and Alphys listened to it intently.

“I-I see…. It’s overheating again?… Well, add more coolant… We’re out…? What do you mean the Steamworks pipeline just closed off?” Alphys said with hints of panic and frustration.

“Alright… alright You don’t need to shout… I’ll go check on it… bye.” Alphys said before hanging up the phone and sighing.

“Sorry Martlet. The Core’s coolant pipeline from the old Steamworks has some sort of blockage. I gotta go check on it. Can you h-handle getting your stuff? I’ll leave the Lab open for you.” Alphys asked. Martlet nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful not to mess with anything.” Martlet said, and Alphys smiled.

“T-thanks. Well actually… Thanks for all your help while you were h-here. You’ve been a big h-help with all my work and for protecting the Lab’s a-assets. Even though there’s not much here to s-steal.” Alphys said as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Awww it’s all in a day’s work. It’s no biggie” Martlet said. As she did, she felt a faint rumble from below and realized the whole building seemed to quiver. Alphys suddenly looked more panicked.

“OK I gotta go! Don’t worry, the Core’s super s-sturdy. It’ll take a while before it hits a full me-meltdown.” Alphys stammered out. As she did, another rumble hit the building.

“AHokmaybenotthatlongsoIgottagookbye!” Alphys shouted in a panic before running through the far doors towards Eastern Hotland, in the direction of the Steamworks. Martlet was left alone in the building.

She sighed and set down the golden flowers on one of the vacant desks before walking over to her own. It was a quaint wooden desk and chair set up next to the far door, which was decorated with a framed portrait, a desk lamp, and some feathers scattered about.

Martlet looked over the papers hse had left on top and saw her numerous puzzle blueprints all left there, which she had doodled during her slower shifts. She gathered them all up and made sure they were neat and tidy before shoving them into her Royal Guard Manuel, which was already chock full of them.

She found an old cardboard box for official documents she had turned into an unofficial wastebasket, which she quickly dumped into the actual wastebasket right next to it. She made sure the box was fully clean before piling the desk lamp and many of her feathers into it. She grabbed the framed portrait and looked at it.

It was a photo of her and Chujin taking a selfie in front of his workshop in Snowdin. Their smiles were beaming as the snow fell and speckled the photograph. Martlet smiled and held the photo close to her chest for a moment before storing it in the box.

Martlet opened the drawers of the desk and found some official looking documents in all of them. All reports she submitted during her guard duty, which had been returned due to numerous typographical errors on her part. She took them and tossed them into the wastebasket before making a mental note to empty the basket into lava to effectively destroy the paperwork.

The other drawers didn’t contain much of note beyond supplies, a stress ball with a yellow and black smiley face, a couple gold coins (which she stowed in her pockets for later use), a single uneaten Monster Candy (which quickly became eaten), and a shining glass object at the far end of the drawer.

Martlet reached for it and pulled it out. A syringe with a silver needle, grey plunger, and a vial full of a shimmering rainbow liquid. Martlet remembered one day, when Alphys seemed particularly gleeful and had handed this to her out of the blue.

“T-this is a very important tool. Only u-use it in case of an emergency. It’ll g-give you the power to keep going, e-even if all seems lost.” she had said with a big smile. Martlet was grateful for the gift and made sure to keep it close, but had stored it away after her encounter with Clover. She figured she didn’t need it anymore.

In fact, Martlet had asked her further about its contents a couple days later after Clover’s passing, but by that point Alphys’ whole demeanour had changed. In fact, she had asked her to toss it away and said it was “worthless” and “dangerous”. Martlet hadn’t gotten around to that part, so she supposed now was the best time.

As Martlet gently grasped the needle and carried it to the bin, another rumble hit the building. Marlet felt the syringe begin to slip from her grasp and panicked a bit. She grasped it harder but her sweaty hands from the heat caused it to fully slip from her grip. She tried to reach for it but couldn’t move fast enough as it fell…

…and stabbed her right in the knee.

The plunger depressed slightly from the gravity and she felt the strange fluid enter her body. Martlet yelped and yanked the syringe out before tossing it away, causing it to clatter against the floor. She looked down at where it had stabbed her and didn’t see or feel any differences from it. Just a dull sensation of pain from where it had pierced her skin.

Then, came a slight feeling of heat across her body.

“Ohhhhhhh dear.” she said, feeling the heat spread from the syringe’s injection point. It started as a dull warmness, but it quickly began to heat up as Martlet felt some sweat from her brow. She went to wipe it away, but realized this sweat felt different. More gooey. She brought down her wing to get a better look and realized with horror it wasn’t sweat.

It was a blue goop that was formerly her feathers. Her body was changing.

“Oh no! Dr. Alphys! I need- ACK!” Martlet called out for help but felt herself fall to her knee. An intense heat washed over her body and she could feel it beginning to melt like ice in water. She opened her eyes and looked down at her wings, seeing her feathers beginning to droop before turning to mush.

“Oh god! I need to… need to get… help?” she said, trying her best to move. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, and her clothes quickly became drenched in sweat (or at least she hoped it was sweat). Martlet feared this was the end. That she was going to become nothing more than a pile of mush on the floor of the Lab.

THUMP THUMP

…No

THUMP THUMP

..NO

THUMP THUMP

Martlet felt this burning passion light up in her breast. Her very Soul felt like it was resonating with a newfound power.

A power of will.

Of determination.

As she attempted to get up once more, this newfound power began to course through her veins, and her body started to shift.

Her wings began to darken as her feathers started to stretch out. They shifted from a light, pleasant blue to a deep, dark blue which seemed to sparkle in the light. Her fingers lengthed and dug into the laboratory floor as her feathers grew razor sharp and began to poke out more from her arms. They stretched out in front of her and dragged across the tile floor, making an awful scratching noise that caused Martlet to clench her beak.

Her wings spread out and grew further, becoming nearly twice their normal length. Martlet felt the power spread and become one with her soul, causing the changes to spread in turn. Her back cracked and popped as she could feel herself beginning to get taller. Her feathers poked and propped her shirt as her shoulders popped out and her neck stretched out.

“URK!” Martlet let out a strange caw as her beak began to stretch out slightly. Itt’s edges went from round to triangular as her feathers along her face darkened. They shifted from blue to deep blue, then nearly black, while her beak shifted from yellow to a bright blue. Her hair quivered before beginning to stretch out, trailing down her back and over her head.

Martlet opened her eyes and saw her reflection on the tiled floor. Her eyes shifted from black and white to yellow and black, and she could feel her hearing, smell, and sight improve. She could feel the changes along her body hasten as it spread down her spine and crossed her stomach and waist.

“Woah! This feels… so strange.” she said, her fear gone. Replaced instead with an intense fervour to keep going. Her hair stretched out further as Martlet realised her clothes were getting tighter. Her blue shirt stretched up over her stomach, where its feathers had also shifted to dark black. The bottom of her shirt began to squeeze her stomach, and Martlet could feel the cloth beginning to tear.

“Oh dear… I hope… this doesn’t leave me… AUGH!” Martlet couldn’t finish her though as she felt her talons in her boots suddenly pop and stretch out. The feeling of them slamming into the front and back of her boots was most unpleasant, and Martlet gritted her beak once more. She turned around and looked back at them to see them beginning to bulge out at the front and back.

“Oh no.. no wait! Maybe slow down a-” POOF! Before Martlet could ask, her newly blue talons pushed through the front and back of her boots. Bright blue sharp nails on the tips of two dark front toes and a single back toe popped out of the front and back of her boots respectively, and Martlet sighed.

“Dammit… I liked those ones.” she said. Uncaring of how she felt, her talons kept growing, pinching the bottom of her pants and causing the gap between her soles and the top of her boots to widen. Martlet felt similar rips appearing along the bottom of her shirt as she was growing taller and bigger.

Muscle packed onto her thighs and legs as she could feel herself getting stronger. Her soul felt like it was on fire now, and Martlet managed to stagger to her feet as the changes kept going. The soles of her boots put up a valiant fight, but ultimately they snapped and flopped off her massive talons as she clenched them against the feeble leather.

The bottom of her shirt ripped away and left her with her stomach exposed, which Martlet could feel herself blushing because of. As if by instinct, a flash of metal suddenly appeared across her chest as a dark black breastplate covered up her chest and stomach and two large pauldrons grew out of her shoulders, but left plenty of room for her wings and neck fluff of feathers. At the center of the breastplate, a steel blue heart emerged and glimmered in the light.

“W-woah! That feels so… oh!” Martlet felt her height shoot up as she could feel her body beginning to stabilize. The tops of her boots tore away as her talons bulged and stretched out one last time, and the bottoms of Martlet’s pants ripped and tore against her new muscles. Martlet felt her wings stretch out one last time and her hair swooshed down her back and nearly to her feet as she began to flap her wings.

Her body lifted off the ground and Martlet took a deep breath, before letting out a loud screech of newfound power. The screech echoed all around the empty lab and made Martlet feel even more powerful. She flapped in place for a moment, catching her breath from the sudden power boost, before descending to the ground and landing on her new massive talons.

“Oh my… oh my goodness.” Martlet said, her voice having a slight echo to it now. She looked down at her now massive wings and body, which towered over her former statue by quite a lot. In fact, she was confident she was taller than Undyne and Asgore now. Her ebony black feathers and armor stood in contrast to her bright blue pants, talons, beak, and hair. Her yellow eyes shined with a newfound power, which reflected back at her in the reflection of the tiles.

“Wh–what was that stuff? It feels so… so good.” Martlet said as she gently rubbed her new wings and talons. The power coursing through her veins was nothing she had ever felt before. Not LV or EXP that the manual or Undyne spoke of. This was a new power. And a powerful one at that.

Curious to its power, Martlet eyes the wastebasket filled with the old document, and drew back her wing. In a flash, she swiped it towards the basket and felt a storm of feathers detach from her wing and immediately regrow. The feathers flew through the air near instantly and cut the wastebasket and its contents to pieces, leaving scraps of paper and metal on the floor. The remaining feathers embedded themselves in the wall before fading away into magical dust.

“H-HOLY SHIT!” Martlet shouted. She had never been able to cut wood, much less metal with her magic. Now, she didn’t even have to try. It felt surreal.

The sound of a door sliding open took Martlet out of her shock as she turned to see Alphys walk through the Eastern Hotland door, looking down at a clipboard.

“Whew. That didn’t take too l-long , thankfully. Just some old robots who got activated by the h-human got caught in a traffic jam in the pipe. I’m sure now it’ll be-” Alphys was stopped when she accidentally walked into Martlet’s stomach. She dropped her clipboard and quickly pulled herself out of the feathers and readjusted her glasses.

“Whoops! Sorry M-martlet. Didn’t see you stand…ing…” Alphys' voice drifted off as she realized Martlet wasn’t exactly Martlet anymore. She looked down at her exposed talons and ripped clothes all the way up her new body to her piercing yellow eyes and flowing blue hair, and her expression shifted from confusion to fear.

“Wh-wh-what??!!?!? Martlet are you… did you…” Alphys looked down at the floor and saw the syringe and her expression somehow got even more fearful.

“Uh Dr. Alphys! I’m so sorry there was a rumble and I accidentally stabbed myself with the syringe and I know you said I should throw it away but I never got around to it and-” Martlet began to explain, but Alphys began to breathe harder and harder and her eyes were quivering. Martlet realised she was having a panic attack.

“M-m-martlet listen you… oh no oh no not again I gotta… you gotta… oh no what do I do what do I do what do I do” Alphys continued to ramble and panic as she began to sweat profusely and sparks of electricity arced off her horns. Martlet crouched down next to her and looked at her with concern.

“Dr. Alphys? Are you…” Martlet asked, but Alphys seemed distracted and kept rambling to herself and looking around, her breathing getting more frantic and heavier. Martlet sighed and drew back her wing before gently slapping the scientist in the face with her wing, causing her to stop.

“DR. ALPHYS! Stay focused. What is this stuff, and why did you want me to get rid of it?” Martlet asked, which caused Alphys to take a deep breath.

“Right… sorry. It’s… when humans… die… their souls are able to persist after death because… of a substance we… I dubbed… DETERMINATION.” Alphys began. Martlet had always wondered how Clover’s soul had managed to stay intact long after their passing, but quickly buried the memory. She couldn’t let her mind drift to that right now.

“This substance… when given to monsters… can give them a power boost unheard of… It’s why I… why I..” Alphys staggered out.

“Why you gave me a syringe of it?” Martlet finished, to which Alphys nodded before taking another deep breath.

“But… monster bodies… aren’t as sturdy as humans… and they can’t handle concentrated doses of it…” Alphys continued. Martlet remembered the burning and melting sensation she had felt when she injected herself by accident, and feared where this conversation was going.
“So… if it isn’t removed in… a short period of time after injection… or the body is strained too much… you’ll… the body…will…break down” Alphys finished, her expression shifting to sadness. Martlet felt a pit in her stomach and couldn’t help but begin to panic herself. But she remembered Royal Guard Guideline #14. “When the situation seems dire, always stay calm and focused. Panic and emotions will only make you sloppy in battle.”

“I understand. In that case, is there any way we can get it out before… that happens?” she asked. Alphys seemed to glance around the lab before her eyes settled on the bathroom door. Martlet could see her expression darken, and the gears turning in her head.

“Uhh… maybe I’m wrong… maybe if it’s still a living monster it’ll-” Alphys began, before stopping herself as if she had said a curse aloud. Martlet raised an eyebrow as Alphys collected herself.

“No! I’ve got an idea but… I need you to wait here for a m-moment. I gotta do… something first.” Alphys said. Martlet stood up fully as Alphys walked over to the bathroom door and tapped the sign with her claw. The sign flipped over and revealed a number pad, which she entered a six digit code into with quivering fingers before the door to her right opened. It revealed an elevator in place of a bathroom Martlet usually saw, as Alphys stepped into it.

“J-just wait here Martlet! I’m going to fix this just… give me a moment. And whatever you do, d-don’t try using any magic or otherwise s-strain your body. Just r-relax.” Alphys said with the utmost seriousness before slamming the bathroom / elevator door shut. Martlet heard the elevator depart with a quiet whirring as she sighed and looked down at her body.

She crossed her massive legs under her and sat down, ner newly grown body making a loud thump on the lab floor. She looked down at her talons before picking up the scraps of her boots that lay beside them. They were hard to replace since the brand that had made them closed down a year back, so Martlet sighed and just tossed them away as she sat there, trying her best to not strain herself too much.

With all the thoughts racing through her head, it was hard not too. Was she going to die? How much did Alphys know about this Determination substance? How did she know all of this? Was it all connected to what had happened to Kan-

Martlet’s maelstrom of thoughts was interrupted by Alphys’ return. She stepped out of the elevator and turned to face Martlet, her hands quivering.

“O-ok! Just follow me t-through here and I’ll get you all fixed up.” Alphys said with a nervous smile. Martlet got up and followed Alphys into the elevator. She crouched down to avoid hitting her head and squeezed into the tight space as Alphys squeezed in after her. The elevator felt a little cramped, but Alphys reached the buttons and set it for the bottom floor, a part of the Lab that Martlet didn’t even know existed.

The elevator began to descend and an awkward silence descended upon them. Martlet wanted to break up the silence with dialogue, but couldn’t think of any topics. She didn’t think Alphys was one for conversation at the moment either, as she was biting her claws and clenching her teeth the whole ride.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, revealing a dim hallway lit up by dull, yellow lights. Alphys squeezed out under Martlet’s wing and gestured for her to follow. Martlet stepped out and was able to stand back up straight, which her back thanked her for. The elevator closed behind her as Alphys began to plod down the hallways, her claws making light taps on the cold purple and orange tiles. Martlet followed, her talons making deeper taps that broke up the still air.

“N-now this part of the lab is normally r-restricted. Even to Royal Guards or… former R-royal Guards like yourself. B-but here is where I keep a m-machine capable of extracting D-determination from the Human Souls. It’s how I g-got so much of it and…” Alphys realized she was dragging on and just chuckled nervously.

“J-just stay close. There’s d-dangerous experiments down h-here. Wouldn’t want you to g-get hurt.” she said, before looking back at Martlet’s new body and chucking again.

“N-not that anything could h-hurt you when you’re like t-this.” Alphys stuttered out. Martlet chuckled a bit in response.

“A-anyways, we can use the machine to e-extract the Determination from you before… before it…” Alphys paused as she looked down the hallways prematurely (as if checking to make sure someone or something wasn’t there), before continuing down towards a doorway at the far end.

The duo entered the doorway and stepped out into a large lobby room, with a bench, a vending machine, some plastic plants, and a doorway marked with red, blue, yellow, and green lights. Alphys stepped to the right of the door towards an open metal door that led into a much larger room.

The room had a large arched ceiling with several beds laid out in rows, all of which had messy covers and well-used pillows. Some more plastic plants and a couple tvs and posters line the walls, but it was an otherwise empty and eerie space. Martlet could feel a tinge of nervousness run down her spine. Just what purpose could this room serve?

“N-now the machine will be through h-here.” Alphys said, gesturing to a hallway at the northern end of the room. Martlet followed her towards it and that’s when she heard a strange banging noise. Alphys heard it too and they both looked towards a sealed door at the far right end of the room. The door was sealed and paclocked, but Martlet could hear heavy thuds from the other end of it.

“Uhhh… uh… that’s a new project I’m w-working on! A new partner for M-mettaton. Unfortunately, they’re… uh… a bit… ‘aggressive’ in their entertainment r-right now. So I had to… had to… lock them away for the t-time being.” Alphys said nervously. Martlet narrowed her eyes a bit and was confused by how organic the thuds sounded if it was a machine. Was Alphys hiding something?

Alphys quickly hurried into the northern doorway and Martlet had no choice but to follow. As the duo left, they didn’t notice a strange, white goop pool under the door before slithering away towards the doorway they entered.

Martlet followed Alphys through the dark hallway towards another massive room, this one dominated by a strange, deep red machine at its center. It was vaguely shaped like a goat’s skull, with two hollow eye sockets, several tubes connecting it to the ceiling, and a large mandible shaped bottom. On its backside was a massive glass tube, which looked like it hadn’t been used in ages.

“H-here it is! The DT E-extractor. This thing will t-take all the Determination o-out of you. Now let me j-just get it working.” Alphys explained. She walked over to a nearby control panel and began fidgeting with it. Martlet walked up to the machine and was unnerved by the machine’s design. It faintly smelled of dust. Monster dust. Martlet felt herself shiver a bit.

“T-there we go. You should be able to hop inside it n-now. It’s built to handle someone of your s-stature.” Alphys said, gesturing to the cavity on the bottom of the machine. Martlet nodded and walked towards the opening before squeezing into the small space. She barely managed to fit after tucking her talons and wings inside. Alphys walked over to the front of the machine.

“A-are you ready? This process shouldn’t hurt b-but still… let me know if it d-does.” Alphys asked. Martlet gave a hesitant nod as Alphys walked off to the side and hit a button on the control panel. The walls of the DT-Extractor closed in front of Martlet, casting her into utter darkness. She felt claustrophobic and couldn’t help but begin to panic, but them small lights lit up along the interior of the machine and a deep whirring noise came from it’s surface.

“All right. H-here goes nothing.” Martlet heard Alphys say, before a loud beep played. Suddenly, Martlet felt like her own soul was being ripped out of her body as the lights blinded her. She felt his skin boil and through the bubbling surface, fragments of shimmering light drifted away and into the numerous machinery along the wall. The pain was indescribable, but Martlet gritted her teeth and toughed it out.

The machine felt like it ran forever, before all of a sudden, the machine suddenly shut off and Martlet was cast back into darkness. She breathed a sigh of relief, but still had trouble moving.

“Martlet? Are you… are you… hold on let me get the door!” Alphys shouted from outside. The machine doors opened up again and Martlet popped out of the machine. She was surprised to see that Alphys was still shorter than her, and realized she still felt different. She looked down and saw she was still pretty tall, although her feathers had lightened up to a deep blue and her wings were now a similar hue. She no longer had the armor on her chest, but her clothes were still intact luckily.

“I still look different?” Martlet asked, and Alphys noticed as well.


“Hmmmm. Well you did take a concentrated d-dosage of it. It could be taking a while to w-wear off. You may look different for a f-few hours after, but you s-shouldn’t be at risk of… of… melting.” Alphys said nervously. Martlet nodded as she looked at her wings, which were still monstrously huge.

As Martlet took a step, she suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion hit her, and she almost stumbled. Alphys seemed to panic and ran over to her.

“Oh no Martlet, don't p-push yourself too hard right now. Your body is still r-recovering from the Determination. Just get some r-rest. Here, let me grab you some f-food.” Alphys said, before running off to the entrance of the Lab. Martlet sat down on the ground and could still feel her body tingling. The changes were subtle, but she could feel herself reverting to her usual self.

Drip…drop…drip…drop…

Martlet became aware of a strange noise from the room north of the DT-Extractor. She looked over into the darkness of the doorway and saw a figure standing in the darkness.

“H-hello?” she asked, but the figure gave no response. Instead, it slowly began to walk out of the darkness, the dripping noise following it.

Martlet got up, her body still unsteady, and backed away from the figure. They stepped into the light and Martlet saw they had a hospital gown on, which was pale white and seemed fused with their body. They had long, gangly limbs that dripped an amorphous brown liquid, which slithered away from their body.

“W-what are you? Don’t come any closer!” Martlet shouted as the figure drew closer still. Martlet drew some feathers and was prepared to fire them, when the figure began to speak.

“...whe…re… is… North… Star?” they said.

Martlet felt her feathers leave her grasp and her eyes shrunk. That voice… It can’t be…

“...Mommy… is that… you?” said the voice, which seemed to belong to a young girl. Martlet’s breathing quickened and she began to hope this was all a bad dream. The figure drew closer, and Martlet could make out scant details of her face. A short snout, brown hair, and two big ears.

Martlet began to breathe harder as the figure looked up, revealing a melted face that belonged to someone she thought was dead.

“Who…are you?” asked Kanako.

Martlet fell to her knees. Kanako Ketsukane, daughter of Chujin, her old mentor, and Ceroba, a fearsome warrior. She had fallen down after a failed attempt by Ceroba to utilize her soul to empower monsterkind, and had been taken to the Lab. She had supposedly died here, and yet, here she was.

“...Kanako?” Martlet asked, her voice quivering. Kanako seemed to acknowledge her name and turned her head towards Martlet’s voice.

“...that’s… my name… where is everyone… Where is the… doctor? She fixed… me… she fixed… all of us. But… I need… her now.” she said with great effort, as though speaking in this form was unbearable.

Martlet slowly walked over to Kanako, realizing she wasn’t a threat, and gently brushed her wing against her. Kanako seemed to shy away from the touch, and her amorphous body seemed to quiver from the touch, but Martlet didn’t pull away.

“...I’m Martlet. I’m a friend of your mothers.” Martlet said. Kanako seemed to perk up at the mention of Ceroba.

“...mommy… did her plan… work? Are we… stronger?” Kanako asked. Martlet didn’t know how to answer, and she didn’t get a chance to, as right behind her she heard something soft hit the floor. Martlet turned around to see Alphys standing there, the bags of chips she was holding against the floor and her expression one of utter fear.

“...No no no no no oh no this isn’t right… I… I didn’t… you gotta… Martlet…” Alphys tried to stutter out some words as Martlet could feel her fear and confusion shift to one, solid, hard emotion. Anger.

“What. Did. You. Do.” she said, her voice echoing off the walls. Alphys seemed to get smaller as Martlet stood up and walked towards her. Her shadow covered Alphys like an encroaching storm.

“...Martlet please… you gotta un-understand…. I had to-” Martlet stomped her talon, which scared Alphys and caused Kanako to quiver a bit more.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Martlet shouted. Alphys looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she sniffled and held them back.

“W-when the fallen down monsters got here… I was attempting to p-preserve their souls so we could u-utilize them to break the Barrier. I injected them all with D-determination, and at first, nothing ha-happened. But then… instead of turning to d-dust, they woke up, and walked around like n-nothing happened.” Alphys said. Martlet looked back at Kanako, who was just standing there and listening, before back to Alphys as she continued.

“B-but then… their bodies… began to break down. They fell a-apart, merged together… and turned into… amalgams.” Alphys said. Martlet felt her anger flare up again, but let Alphys continue.

“I-I was horrified. I managed to keep K-kanako away and kept her from m-merging with them… but the damage was a-already done.” Alphys said, pointing to Kanako.

“After what h-happened, I couldn’t… I couldn’t… I couldn’t tell anyone what happened. I tried everything to fix it but… nothing has worked. Their souls and b-bodies are so intertwined and stuffed with Determination that the DT-Extractor would…would just rip them a-apart.” Alphys said, the tears beginning to flow. But she still continued.

“And the w-worst part is that they can’t even f-fall down and die anymore. The d-determination keeps them going and I can’t… I can’t bring myself to tell anyone what happened to th-them. Least of all h-her.” Alphys said, once again gesturing to Kanako.

“If-if Ceroba found out what I did, she would… she would…” Alphys began to sob and covered up her eyes, as Martlet and Kanako both stood there and watched her. They decided to let her get it all out before she rubbed her eyes and took off her glasses.

“It’s why… I decided to not let you use that stuff anymore. Why I urged you to th-throw it away.” Alphys finished, her eyes all puffy and red. Martlet couldn’t understand how to feel. On one hand, she wanted to drive Alphys’ head through a wall and take all the amalgams and Kanako back to their families.

On the other, she understood the pain Alphys was feeling right now. The pain of carrying such a heavy burden and being so deep in your lies you can’t see any way out. Alphys was suffering, and though she ended up in a trap of her own making, she also needed to be the one to confess to her own crimes.

“Alphys… you know you can’t keep this a secret forever. Sooner or later, Ceroba or the others will come looking, and when they find this… if you don’t do anything to soften the blow…” Martlet didn’t want to finish, but Alphys got the point.

“I… I have a plan already. I’m working on Mettaton’s new b-body right now. My final project. Once it’s done… I’m going to… go away… and finally let everyone know what happened…” Alphys said sadly. Martlet felt a chill run down her spine and had a feeling she knew what Alphys was implying.

“No! You don’t get to run away from what happened. You need to tell people and stand up! No matter what happens, don’t you think Ceroba of all people deserves to know the truth? Her husband was one of your colleagues after all.” Martlet scolded. Alphys seemed to shrink even more and Martlet didn’t know how else to convince her.

“Y-you’re gonna tell all of them… right?” Alphys said meekly. Martlet didn’t know what she wanted to do. Would Alphys honor her deal and actually tell, or was it another lie. Martlet knew people looked up to Alphys as the hope to help liberate monsterkind with her work. Was she going to tear away the facade, or let the happy mask stay on a little longer?

“...no. I won’t. That is your burden to carry, and your burden to tell. But, I’ll give you until Asgore gets the final human Soul. Once we are all free, if you haven’t told anyone and try to leave them to rot, I will hunt you down and drag you before Ceroba myself.” Martlet said, her tone dead serious. Alphys nodded nervously.

“I…I can’t… not right now…” Alphys stuttered out, and Martlet sighed. She had looked up to Alphys for her duty as her lab guard. Now, she didn’t know what to think.

“...are we… going home… yet?” Kanako asked. Martlet and Alphys looked over and Alphys laughed a bit.

“Sorry… not today Kanako.” she said, before looking back at Martlet. Martlet gave her a look of disapproval before turning, and walking away. Alphys gave her a sad glance as she walked away before turning back to Kanako.

“Now, let’s get you and the o-others to bed.” Alphys said gingerly. Kanako nodded and followed Alphys out to the bedroom as Martlet stormed down the hall out of the lobby area. Alphys and Martlet locked eyes one last time before she scoffed and turned back towards the entrance of the lab.

The dingy lab felt stained with guilt as Martlet departed up the elevator, leaving Kanako and Alphys in the dark.