Undyne was pacing. For the past two minutes, she was wrecked with anxiety. Upon the Royal Guards' timely arrival, Papyrus was taken to the temporary medical station along with other injuried monsters.

Due to the lack of space, she was told to wait outside, which she grudgingly agreed to. Meanwhile, the remainder of the Royal Guard worked to restore the serenity of the town before Flowey's arrival. Luckily, the townspeople were only shaken, so it did not take as long as she feared to calm them down.

Some time after Undyne reached Snowdin, Sans and Frisk came in a rush, especially for the former, who was drenched in exhaustion. As soon as he found out that Papyrus was okay, he flopped onto the nearest chair and fell asleep.

Frisk, having nothing to say, simply got a seat and fiddled around with their thumbs restlessly. Noticing that they seemed bothered, Undyne went up to them. "What's the matter?"

They stopped what they were doing and looked at her blankly, as if they were in deep thought. "Just thinking about what's happening," they responded after a while.

"Oh yeah, you wanted to tell me about something before I had to hang up," Undyne said. "What did you want to say?"

"I'll say it when everyone is here," Frisk told her, their gaze fixed on the direction of the treatment area. She did not know why, but there was something dark and unsettling about it that she could not figure out.

Ugh, why are expressions so hard to read? She sighed inwardly. Especially that punk. They are practically unreadable!

The door creaked open and Papyrus stepped out, fully recovered, though the same could not be said for his favoured "battle body". One of its shoulders pads had a scratch on it, but what was more frightening was that the back of the torso was streaked with cracks.

Immediately, Undyne went up and gave him a hug. "I'm glad that you are safe."

His usual grin drooped a little. "I'm sorry I made everyone worried. I just wanted to save them."

"I know, Papyrus. It's just like you to do that," she said as gently as she could muster. "Next time, please tell me when you are going to do it."

"Got it!" Papyrus grinned.

"Well, I'm guessing that everyone has a lot of things to say, but let's do it somewhere else," Undyne continued. "Is it okay if we do it at your house, Papyrus?"

"Of course!" He put one of his hand on his chest, smiling widely. "I, the Great Papyrus, shall be your grand host!"

Seeing him prance forward and carry his sleeping brother in his arms brought an unconscious smile on her face as she followed him, with Frisk at her heels.

~~~~

Undyne had been in the skeleton brothers' house before, spending the previous night there due to her burning house. Their couch was horribly uncomfortable to sleep on, and the simple thought of it made her shudder, determined never to sleep there again.

Now, she was sitting on one of their spare chairs beside Frisk, facing Papyrus and Sans, who was beginning to wake up.

"So, what is it that you want to say?" Undyne asked, feeling a glimmer of hope in her soul. "Did you find out anything about Alphys?"

It was then Sans snapped awake, and with that came a look of dismay that was impossible to miss. She felt her soul falling into a sinking chill as she saw a similar expression reflected on Frisk's face. The edges of Papyrus' usual grin drooped as he became aware of the darkening situation.

Undyne turned to Sans. "Tell me, Sans. What did you find?"

The short skeleton looked down, avoiding her gaze. "I-I..." was all he could manage.

She stormed up from her seat and advanced forward until they were face to face. "Tell me!" she shouted, with all of the will in her soul desperately praying that what she feared most was not true.

"Alphys is dead," Frisk spoke quietly.

It was like the entire room was frozen, as everyone took in what they had said.

Those three words struck her like a shockwave, intensifying every time her brain processed them in attempt to confirm what she heard.

"... video recording... Flowey... killed her."

Undyne did not have to listen to the entire sentence to understand its meaning. A red haze threatened to overcome her as she clenched her fists, and stormed out of the house.

I couldn't protect her.

She barely covered a couple of steps away from the door before half collapsing onto the snow filled ground, falling to her knees. She wanted to yell, shout, or even let out a drawn out cry of grief, but all that came out was a weak punch to the ground and a series of choked sobs.

I couldn't protect her.

The monsters who witnessed the scene were stunned, especially the Royal Guards, who had never seen their valiant leader in such a state before. None of them went up to comfort her, perhaps afraid of her contained rage and sorrow that was ready to explode at any moment.

The chill in Undyne's soul intensified, as if a freezing scarf was wrapped around it. In that moment, she felt alone, and colder than she ever felt in her entire life.

I... couldn't pro-

"Undyne."

She stopped, seeing a shadow in front of her, signalling that someone was standing behind her. The familiar, monotonous voice, the iconic blue and purple striped shirt... she was not expecting Frisk to be the one to come after her.

"Frisk... what are you doing here?"

"I just thought... that you looked sad, out here all alone..." they muttered. Pausing for a while, they continued, "It's... not your fault Alphys died."

Undyne took a shuddering deep breath. "I know, but I feel so awful, so guilty, as if I was the one who sent her to die. This... feels like my soul is being torn apart, to have the hopes I had been carrying shattered in a moment. I wish I could have been there to protect her. If I can't even protect my best friend, or Papyrus, or my people, what kind of Royal Guard am I?"

Frisk was silent, their eyes shadowed. They stood there, unmoving, their face revealing nothing. Finally, they spoke softly.

"Alphys... didn't die for nothing. Whatever she was doing... she took the risk because she wanted to help someone."

"What...?" Undyne rose to her feet slowly, fixing her gaze on them.

"She did not die for nothing," they repeated.

Hearing those words again struck something inside her. If what they are saying is true... then, what am I doing? She won't want me to just stand around, paralysed by grief, doing nothing!

Undyne smacked herself. Get a hold of yourself! You are the Captain of the Royal Guard, and you have a duty to uphold.

"Let's get back inside," Frisk said. "It's cold outside."

"Right..." She walked up to them. "Frisk?"

"Yes?"

Undyne took a deep breath. The pain was still there, but the strange chill in her soul was overwritten by something warmer. Facing them with a sad smile, she spoke.

"Thank you."

------------------------------------------------------------

Neutral Route flashbacks.

My personal headcanon is that anyone with high enough determination would feel warmer if they are more determined (that's why monsters melt). So, if they feel unusually cold, it's not a good thing.

As always, votes and comments are appreciated.