The air was smoldering with the lava bubbling down below. The hot air rose and made it almost impossible for me to even be out here. I needed to find shelter from the poisonous fumes as fast as possible.

Off in the distance, there was a giant metal box promptly labeled "Alphys's Lab." This would have to do.

The heavy steel doors slid open when I got close, and I stepped in. The room was oddly dark, except for the light from a large screen in the middle of the floor. The screen was playing some sort of TV show, and it was being watched by someone. It was a monster, but it looked pretty friendly. It was of a tan reptilian variety, and was shovelling popcorn into its mouth.

I got in a little closer, and the TV show flashed up with a pokemon.

"Catch that Onix, Ash!" the monster yelled, still failing to realize that I was there.

I cleared my throat.

The monster shuddered and popcorn flew into the air and all over the ground. "W-when did you get here?!" The lights of the room turned on.

Now I could see what was really in the room. Machines that resembled the pokemon healing devices from pokemon centers lined the walls, and there were all sorts of data sheets and an unusual amount of junk food trash.

The monster stood up and wiped the spilled food off of its body. "Oh, how embarrassing! I was even supposed to be watching for your progress, but I got too wrapped up in the show to realize all the time that had passed!"

Watching my progress?

The screen paused its show and flickered to another screen. This one was a live feed from a camera, with me in the center.

"Oh don't worry! I was trying to be creepy or anything! I was just told to keep an eye on the human by the king! The name is Alphys by the way." She nervously pressed her fingers together, eyes averted.

That's when a certain skeleton made yet another appearance. "Hey Alphys!" shouted Papyrus as he entered through the automatic door.

"Oh, Papyrus! What do you need?"

He noticed me standing there and temporarily and unintentionally ignored the professor. "We meet again, human! You know, my friend Undyne was looking for you! I would watch out if you see her though... she seems a little murdery today!"

You could say that again.

"What brings you to my neck of the woods?" asked the perpetually socially awkward scientist.

"You know, the usual! This human here beat me in a pokemon match and I need to heal my pokemon!"

"Doesn't Sans have a healing machine though?"

"He does?! To think that he didn't have the BACKBONE to tell me... I can't believe it! Well, I guess I'll just heal up and head out then!"

"Go right ahead. You know how to work the machines."

The scarfed skeleton went up to one of the machines and deposited a few of his pokeballs.

Before he officially turned it on though, I walked over and deposited my Pikachu into the machine.

"What's this?! You need to heal a pokemon too?! Don't tell me!... Did Undyne beat you?!"

I shook my head the obvious truth.

"I guess you're just too strong! Anyways, let me heal your pokemon too!" He pressed some buttons and twisted some dials, and the machine sprung to life. Enough colored lights flashed on and off to make one wonder if they were all actually necessary or not. After a few seconds, it once again fell dormant, and Papyrus handed me my pokeball. "Be careful to not lose again! See you later!" And at that he scooped his own capsules into his hands and ran off.

"He forgot to say goodbye to me..." Alphys complained, feeling left out. She perked up almost right after that though. "That reminds me! Give me a few minutes--I have something to give you!" She scurried off to some unknown location in the lab and made quite the din in the process.

However, despite all of the loud noises, I heard a strange sound from inside a library. It sounded like a pokemon. Considering how I had yet to see any wild pokemon, this made me curious, and the curiosity got the better of me. I made sure that Alphys wasn't coming back any time soon, then I slipped into the elevator. There wasn't anything there.

Well, I'm here anyways I guess. I shrugged and hit the lowest floor button on the panel: basement floor 5.

The room buzzed as I moved deep down into the earth, undoubtedly passing the depth of the lava pools that I had seen earlier. The trolley stopped with a bit of a bang, then the doors squeaked open.

I stepped into the room, a suspicious thin mist rolling at my feet. The room was darker and was only lit up by the lights of a few monitors.

There was a sound of warped laughter across the room, but it didn't sound like a pokemon. Something wasn't sitting right about this situation.

Worried and suspicious, I gingerly pulled out my Silph Scope and looked through it.

To my horror, it was neither pokemon nor monster. Instead, it was a disfigured blob, faces placed at random intervals like bandages slapped on a popped balloon in an attempt to put it back together again. A tentacle-like appendage pointed to its side, then it disappeared completely.

Shivers ran down my spine when I stepped forward. I pulled out a flashlight and pointed it to where the figure had suggested. Resting on a pedestal there was a journal of sorts.

Against my better judgement I decided to read it.

The kingdom is in panic because of the sudden disappearance of our magic abilities. I have been reassigned to a new project: find a way to defend ourselves. If the humans come through the gate as we are now, we will be defenseless...

I have found a possible solution to our problem, but it's rather extreme. Inspired by a TV show that I found in the human garbage, I have decided to make pokemon. They have powers similar to that of magic, and would be able to defend us if problems arose.

Engineering new creatures has proven to be quite the challenge. The body structures are one thing, but animating them is another. I'm considering abandoning the project to search for a different magic substitute.

Catastrophe has struck the kingdom. The sudden removal of the magic from the children's' bodies is too much for them to handle. They're getting horribly sick by the dozen, and we've even had a few casualties.

In a last ditch effort, I've tried transporting the souls of the children to the pokemon bodies. While the experiment is working now, there were a few failures in the beginning. The weight of what I have done is crushing me.

What do I tell the families of the poor children? For many it will be easy, since they have taken on new lives as helpers of certain higher up individuals, but for the few that did not make it my heart weeps. A few of the broken ones have merged together into one form and have forgotten their identities. Now that I've made enough pokemon, I'm closing the lid on this project for good, and I hope that it stays under wraps forever.

I finished reading the journals, and I closed the book softly. I didn't know quite what to think of what I had just read.

The doors of the elevator closed behind me, and the cart ascended, leaving me trapped in the dark, abandoned underground laboratory.

I waited in suspense for the elevator to make its return. I could hear it getting closer and closer, eventually squealing as it stopped moving. The doors opened up, and the lights of the old lab turned on all at once.

Alphys stepped out of the elevator, teeth chattering in terror. She was carrying a cell phone, but dropped it upon entering the room. "D-did you read what was in that journal?"

I looked down at the floor to keep us from making eye contact.

"O-oh. I see..." She paused, clearly thinking many things through. Without warning, she stomped her feet on the ground and drew my attention in. Her face was a mix of determination and uncertainty. "I-in that case, I guess I'll just have to defeat you to keep you quiet! Please help me, Megaton!"

The three headed magnet ball pokemon came out and floated in midair. It looked at me with sad eyes. It knew where it came from, and being reminded of that chilling fact disturbed it.

What am I supposed to do? Do I beat her, or do I just not battle?

The dinosaur-like monster shook viciously where she stood, anticipating my next move. I'm not sure that I've seen that sort of fear in anyone else's eyes before.

I stepped forward.

"Stop him! Thunderbolt!"

The magnet pokemon hesitated, but it obeyed.

Electricity tingled through my body, and it hurt, but I still pressed forward. Heh. This isn't like me, but I can't see any other solution. Someone has to do it, and I'm the only one here.

"What are you doing?!"

I didn't falter in my steps.

"Stop! Please! I'm regret was I did! I really do!"

I reached her, and I reached down and hugged her. I didn't utter any words, but I got the message across. I let go and looked at her.

She was crying. "Is it really okay for someone as terrible as me to keep on living? All those things that I did... I didn't consider the consequences with enough weight. Why am I the one that gets to live a normal life?"

I looked down at the floor again. I wasn't sure of those answers myself.

We heard a small whimper in the corner of the room, and we looked at it. It was a hazy form, but I'm sure that it was the very same creature that I had seen earlier with the scope. It slowly moved forward, but had no aggression to its movements. It stopped in front of Alphys and looked at her.

"What is this? Do... do you forgive me?"

The hazy figure appeared to do a small bow, then it faded away for good.

"Why is everyone being so nice to me? I don't understand."

The elevator once again moved on its own. We both looked confusedly at it until the door opened.

"Undyne?"

"I saw everything. You left the terminal on upstairs."

"Oh..."

The fish lady sighed. "I hate to admit it, but the human is right. You were just trying to help." She looked at me. "I guess you aren't as bad as I thought you were." She took Alphys by the shoulder and started leading her out of the room. "How about we get some nice cup ramen?" she said to her friend.

Alphys sniffled. "That sounds nice."

The elevator doors tried to close, but the scientist stopped them with her foot. "That reminds me, human. The Core is where you want to go. If you fly across the lava with your Charizard you should be able to reach it in a few minutes. It's a big blue metal building--you can't miss it."

The sliding door closed and they were on their way.

I'll give them a few minutes to themselves before I head up.