Chapter 7: Hotland

As Frisk exits Waterfall, Chara appears next to him. "Nice job against Undyne, Frisk. You never cease to impress me." Frisk didn't reply to Chara's praise because he was thinking about Undyne's last words before she died. A couple moments later, Chara realized that Frisk was deep in thought. She sighed and appeared in front of him, blocking any further progress through Hotland. "Hey, Frisk! You aren't actually believing what Undyne told you, are you? I told you. They deceive you to make you trust them." Frisk looked angrily at Chara. "If that's the case, then why would Undyne waste her final breaths to lie to me? Explain that for me, Chara!" Chara stood stiff where she was, surprised that Frisk shouting at her and was rendered speechless.

Frisk curled his hands into fists. "Why the fuck would they all say similar things before dying, Chara?" Chara was again surprised by Frisk's boldness. She didn't think her lie would fall apart so quickly in front of Frisk. She had to think of something quick to keep him on her side. After a couple moments of deep thought, she looks at Frisk. "Frisk, you really can't believe what they say, even when they're on the brink of death. If you believe them and let your guard down, you'll end up being stabbed in the back like I was." Frisk let out a heavy sigh and looked at Chara for a moment. "Fine. I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt for now."

Chara sighed in relief. The last thing she wanted was for Frisk to RESET all the progress that they've achieved. She looks up at Frisk with a slight smile on her face. "Let's head inside. It's really hot out here." She received a silent nod from Frisk and head into the Lab that was behind them. They both looked around for a moment before continuing forward. Blocking the way to the other side of the lab was a rectangular robot that appeared to use a singular wheel to get around. He spoke with quite a bit of sass in his voice. "Oh, there you two are. You've made quite a name for yourselves. You've both stirred up quite a bit of chaos and drama as you made your way through the Underground.

Chara took a sarcastic bow in reply to the sassy robot. "I love when someone appreciates my work." The robot turns to face her. "I, the Fabulous Mettaton, will not let this stand for much longer. I advise you to change your ways or I will be forced to stop you myself." Frisk looked at Chara worriedly as she breaks into a fit of laughter. "Ch-Chara, are you… feeling okay?" Chara looked at Frisk, barely being able to halt the laughter long enough to answer him. "I'm fine, Frisk. I just found what Mettaton said to be absolutely hilarious."

Mettaton gave a mechanical sigh and faced them both. "I really do think you should heed my warning for your own safety." Chara had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing anymore. Seeing that Chara was about to have another outburst, he left the lab. Once Mettaton left, Frisk helps Chara up off the ground and regain her composure. Chara smiled and let out a chuckle. "Wow. I haven't laughed that much in a long time. It was rather refreshing, actually." Frisk impatiently crosses him arms as he looked at Chara. "Come on, Chara. We have work to do." Chara nodded to Frisk. "Right. Let's get going."

The walked for a moment before reaching a conveyor belt. Chara smirked a bit. "We have to get on this." Frisk seemed a bit uncertain, but after a few moments of thought, Chara and Frisk step onto the conveyor belt and quickly move to the other side, killing a Vulkin as they step off the conveyor belt. Frisk walked to a SAVE point and saved. Chara then smirks evilly. "39 left." As they continued through Hotland, most of the monsters stayed out of sight. They continue until they reach two monsters in black, ironclad armor.

Chara smiled and chuckled a bit as the two members of the Royal Guard turn around to face Frisk. "You…" RG01 said. "If you're here… that means…" He looks down as RG02 completes his partner's thought. "Undyne… We'll avenge you!" The two guards get into a battle stance and a battle ensues. Frisk chuckled nervously and pulls out his knife. He approaches the guards and swings the knife, delivering a fatal hit to RG01. RG01 turned to dust, leaving RG02 in shock. Seeing how easily his partner fell, RG02 tries to catch Frisk off guard by increasing the speed of his attacks.

Unfortunately for the Royal Guard, Frisk manages to dodge most of the projectiles. He looks at RG02, not even giving him a chance and slices RG02 down. Frisk's LOVE then increased to 13 as he proceeded through Hotland until reaching Muffet's cavern. Walking slowly into the cavern, Frisk and Chara hear a shrill laughter. "Did you hear what they said?" They continued a little further before being interrupted by the laughter again. "They said a mean human with a striped shirt would come through this cavern."

Frisk was surprised by the words. He didn't know he'd be expected, let alone that there was anyone aware of what he's done. They went a little further before getting stuck in a large spider web. A large spider monster appears in a web of her own across from him. "Ahuhuhu~ I heard that you hate spiders. Well, dearie, that simply won't do. After what you've done up to this point, I think you need to be taught a lesson." Muffet giggled a bit and an encounter began.

Once the encounter began, Frisk took the opportunity to Check Muffet's stats. His face scrunched up in confusion at what he saw.

*Muffet – ATK 38.8 DEF 18.8

*If she invites you to her parlor, excuse yourself.

Soon enough, it was Muffet's turn again. She dumps a strange liquid over Frisk's soul, making it turn purple. Three matching strings appeared for his soul to move across. Unfortunately, it seemed his soul was confined to these three strings.

Chara stayed silent and watched the fight progress. This was new to her. She'd never seen anyone who used purple magic while she was alive. Frisk raised his knife to strike Muffet down, which got Chara's attention. Sure enough, Frisk took down Muffet in a single hit. Sighing in relief, the two continued through the rest of Hotland until they reached the opening of MTT Hotel, where a yellow lizard monster stood, blocking the way.

She looked firmly at Frisk. "S-so you're t-the one w-who's been k-killing monsters and c-causing s-so march chaos throughout the Underground. You… Y-you're the one I h-have to s-stop." Frisk looked at her, a bit of curiosity in his eyes. "That's right. I've killed everyone up to this point, but… I just want to get home." The monster locked eyes with Frisk. "I-I'm Alphys. The Royal Scientist of the Underground and the one that will make you pay for what you've done." Frisk looked at Chara for a moment, whose expression showed only surprise.

"Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that this cowardly monster has the bravery to try and fight us, Frisk. Let's end this quickly. We're almost finished." Frisk nodded in agreement with Chara and steps towards Alphys. "I'll show you exactly why challenging me is a mistake." He chuckled evilly and the battle began.

(A/N: Hello everyone. Been a while since I've made an Author's Note. Anyways, I meant to post this chapter a couple weeks ago, but I couldn't get away long enough to finish typing the chapter. I hope the chapter and story as a whole is enjoyable. Arc I is almost finished and let me tell ya, I've got plans for the rest of this Arc to lead in to Arc II, which is the Pacifist run.)