Chapter nine: Hotland part I- Hotland
For those of you who are confused, part II is The Core. This chapter contains the fight with Undyne and the hang out with Undyne.
"Okay, I'm teleporting you this far. No closer." Sans informed Ruby as they appeared on the bridge.
"That's more than I could have asked for. Thanks Sans."
"No problem kiddo. Just don't get hurt will ya? I'm not dragging your unconscious butt back to my house again." Sans warned, though flashing a toothy grin to know he's only kidding. Ruby started laughing and nodded.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Bye Sans."
"Good luck kiddo."
Ruby walked across the bridge and stood in front of Undyne.
"I'm ready for ya Undyne! I'm rested and feeling better! Give me everything you have!"
"That's it then!" Undyne yelled from on top of the cliff. "No more running away! HERE I COME!" Undyne jumped off the cliff, spear in hand, and skewered it into the ground to break her fall. She stood on it, and spawned another one to give to Ruby. "I know you have your scythe, but it would never withstand my spears. I like a fair fight, which is why I didn't kill you when you collapsed. I was waiting for you to die on your own, but then Sans showed up."
"Uh… Thanks, I guess…"
"En guard!" Undyne yelled, slashing at Ruby. It didn't do damage, it just changed her soul colour to...
"My soul is green?"
"Yeah you little punk! You can't move your body when your soul is green, and the only option you'll have against my spears is to block with that one in your hand!"
"God… can she get any louder? I'm a ghost and I have a headache."
Ruby had no time to answer the ghost because there were spears flying at her. She took the spear Undyne gave her and blocked the attacks, which disappeared on contact.
"That's actually pretty useful…" She muttered to herself. "Undyne! I don't want to fight you!" She pleaded, but the warrior wasn't listening to her.
"Not bad. But can you dodge this?!"
There were more spears, in different directions this time. Ruby managed to block all of them, but the last one was a close call.
"You call that "Hard to dodge"?" Ruby taunted. Undyne grew angrier.
"Ruby! You idiot, don't taunt her!"
"For years we have dreamed of a happy ending! For years we have wanted peace and equality! And with your death, we will get what we deserve!" The spears flew at Ruby faster than before. Ruby could still block, but it was a closer call than before. "Sunlight is just within our reach, if you die now!" More and more spears flew at Ruby. And with that, Ruby struggled to dodge more and more. "I won't let you snatch it away from us human! Just like you snatched it away before! You humans are the problem! But if you die now, you can also be the solution!"
"But you're going at it the wrong way! You're murdering innocent humans who fall down here! Innocent humans who just want to go home!"
"Liar! There are no innocent humans! I know how your aura works! So does the king! He used his magic to enchant the underground! Now instead of having that force field that was an unfair advantage, your aura works the same as a monster's! if your aura goes down, you die!"
"That's why I kept getting hurt."
"And why Asriel died to the humans."
"All you humans are scum beneath my feet. So be a good little girl and just DIE ALREADY! NGYAH! I'm done warming up!"
Ruby anxiously blocked the spears flying at her. She knew Undyne wasn't gonna give up until she died. So she just has to prevent such a thing from happening. She made it this far, and she didn't plan on stopping there. But the next spears moved even faster when she attacked, and Ruby couldn't stop them. She got hurt, bad, and her aura went down 40%
"Ugh… not my best run…"
"Speaking of run… your soul is red now, get out of there!"
"Right!" Ruby fled the encounter and ran as fast as she could despite how much pain she was in. Undyne caught up to her quickly and threw her back into the fight.
"You're not getting away from me this time! Honestly I'm doing you a favour kid. The sooner you die, the less pain you'll be in, and I know you're in pain."
Ruby ate a nice cream and felt her aura go back up. She read the label. "Have a nice day!" she smiled at it and started laughing. "Who's in pain? It sure as heck isn't me."
"Agh! You brat! Just sit there like a good girl and take the damn hit!"
Ruby avoided more spears, waiting patiently for her soul to return to normal.
"No one has ever made it past Asgore! Honestly, killing you is an act of mercy, kid."
"Killing is literally the complete OPPOSITE of mercy!" Ruby cried out as she blocked more spears. Undyne launched a spear at her and her soul turned red, allowing Ruby to run off again.
"Ugh… not this again! Hey! Get your ass back over here!"
"We're on our way to Hotland! She's a fish, I'm not sure she could handle the weather!"
"What do you expect me to do? Go Uh, Undyne, we're heading to Hotland, will you be okay to keep running?"
"I'll be fine you little brat!" Undyne yelled in response, grabbing Ruby's cape and forcing her into combat. "You've run away from me for the last time!"
"No, I'm sure there'll be more times where I run away." Ruby smiled. Undyne growled at her and threw more spears.
"Alphys told me you humans were determined. I just think you're a pain in the ass!" A spear flying at Ruby suddenly flipped behind her and stabbed into her back.
"Agh!" the strike only took off 15% (3hp), but it hurt like it took off 50% (10hp). Ruby caught her breath and focused back in on the fight.
"I now see what she meant by that. But I'm determined too!"
A lot of spears kept changing direction. But luckily, Ruby figured out the pattern and blocked them.
"I'm determined to end this RIGHT NOW!"
More spears were thrown, and more spears were blocked.
"Right…. now!"
More fighting, more blocking.
"Right… now…."
More fighting, more blocking. Undyne is beginning to tire.
"Ha… ha….."
"Undyne, please… I just want to go home to my-"
"NGYAH! DIE ALREADY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"
"Undyne, PLEASE!"
Undyne turns her soul red and she runs as fast as she can.
"Stop running away!" Undyne yelled, throwing a spear and skewering it into Ruby's cape. She didn't turn her soul green, so Ruby was able to unhook it and continue running. Suddenly, Ruby's phone went off.
"Hello?"
"HEY RUBY! WHAT'S UP?"
"Oh nothing much. Running for my life from a warrior fish lady. Y'know, the usual."
"THAT SOUDS SUPER EXCITING! I WAS JUST THINKING…"
"That's a dangerous thing." Chara scoffed.
"YOU, ME, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME! I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS! LET'S ALL MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER, OKAY?"
"Yeah, wow, that sounds great!" Ruby hung up the phone and looked at Undyne. "Really? You just waited for me?" The monster just shrugged. Ruby sighed and continued running. She ran past Sans, who was fast asleep at his sentry station. "Sans, you being awake would be super helpful right now!"
"What? Hey! Skeleton! Wake up right now!"
Ruby took the distraction as an opportunity to cross the bridge. She heard footsteps behind her, which were slower than usual, then…
THUD!
Undyne was on the ground. Her armour, plus the heat of the area, must have been unbearable for a fish monster. Thinking quickly, Ruby ran over to a nearby water cooler and filled a cup with water, then ran over to Undyne and poured it on her head. Undyne slowly woke up and got off the ground.
"What just happened?" she looked up and saw Ruby with the cup in her hand. Assuming she saved her life, Undyne simply got up and walked away.
The next area contained two guards and a laboratory. There was a save point on the ground.
"Seeing such a strange laboratory in a place like this fills you with determination."
"So this is Hotland, huh?"
"Yeah, it is. Ruby, you're almost home."
"Home…" Ruby smiled, tearing up. All she could think of was her friends and family. They were making her just a bit more determined. She decided to investigate the lab.
The inside of the lab was dark and quiet. Seeing a door on the other side, Ruby started walking through the hallway, until a dim light caught her attention.
"A monitor?" Ruby asked to herself, not even noticing what was on the screen.
"Wait… is that…YOU?" Chara asked in shock.
"Wait… what?!" Ruby looked up on the monitor, and sure enough, there she was, staring back at herself. The monitor followed her every movement. "Is this in real time? Is someone stalking me?" suddenly the door opened.
"Oh my god!" A high pitched voice cried from behind Ruby, followed by a crash. The huntress looked over to see a dinosaur looking monster wearing a lab coat standing there, a broken bowl of ramen noodles at her feet. "I didn't expect you to show up so soon! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, and it's all messy, and… Um… H-Hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm Asgore's royal scientist."
"Ruby. But, can I really trust you? You're literally stalking me." Ruby points out, nodding her head towards the monitor.
"B-b-but, I'm not one of the bad guys! Actually, um… since you stepped out of the ruins, I've been observing your journey through my console."
"Yeah. I can see that."
"Watching a person on a monitor really makes you root for someone, y'know? I was originally gonna stop you, but I couldn't. So, now I… ah, wanna help you! Using my knowledge, I could easily guide you through Hotland."
"I don't know…"
"Please! I'm useful! I know a way to Asgore's castle, no problem! Well, actually… there is just a tiny problem."
"Oh, whoever might have guessed?" Ruby muttered. This girl was getting on her nerves. She's so close to home, and this monster is determined to prevent it, she could almost feel it.
"A long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton. Originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot. You know, like a robotic TV star or something. Recently, I decided to make him more useful. Just some small, practical adjustments. Like… um… anti-human combat features?"
"Awesome. Just great! Because I want another monster interfering with me just wanting to go home! Because that's allowed to happen, right?" Ruby scoffed, losing her temper, which is unusual for the young huntress.
"W-wait! Hear me out! When I saw you coming, I immediately decided to remove those features. Though, I may have made a teeny tiny little error while doing so…"
"How teeny tiny?"
"Now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood."
"That isn't what I would call teeny tiny."
"I know; I'm sorry. But, um, hopefully we won't run into him!"
Suddenly, banging could be heard from behind the wall.
"Um… did you hear something?" Alphys asked in confusion. Ruby nodded and started looking around, moving towards the wall.
"It came from around here…" Ruby replied, before the wall blew open.
"Oh no! Are you okay?" Alphys asked in a panic, helping the huntress to her feet.
"I'm fine… Is that the robot you were talking about?"
"OHHHHHH YES!" A square robot cheered, standing amidst the rubble surrounding his single leg. "Welcome, beauties, to Mettaton's quiz show!" he begins applauding, followed up by an applause audio cue. "Oh boy! I can already tell it's gonna be a great show! Everybody give a big hand for our contestant!" more applause.
"What the heck is happening here?"
"Never played before, gorgeous?"
"I have a boyfriend, thanks. And no, I have never played before."
"No problem! It's simple. There's only one rule. Answer correctly… or you die!"
The game show began and Ruby was thrown into combat. Mettaton was standing there with a script, and Alphys was looking worried.
"Okay… what the actual fuck?"
"Language, Ghost inside of our contestant's head! This is a family show!"
"Okay, whaaaaaaaat?"
"Let's start off with an easy one, alright beautiful? What is the prize for answering correctly? Is it A: Money, B: Mercy, C: A new car, or D: More questions?"
"B?"
"Gahahaha! You wish wrong!" Mettaton boasts while zapping Ruby with a laser.
"AGH!" Ruby cried out in pain, falling to the ground. Alphys covered her mouth in shock.
"Ruby!" Chara cried in alarm. The attack took off 50% (10 hp) of her aura, and she was unable to stand from the pain. She started crying.
"Screaming is against the rules! Now onto the next question. What is the king's full name? Is it A: Lord Fluffybuns, B: Fuzzy Pushover, C: Asgore Dreemurr, or D: Dr. Friendship?"
"C, right?"
"Correct! What a terrific answer! Enough about you, what about me! Onto the next question! What are robots made of? Is it A: Hopes and Dreams, B: Metal and Magic, C: Snips and Snails, or D: Sugar and Spice?"
"B?"
"Wow! That was too easy for you, huh? Here's another easy one for you! Two trains, train A and train B simultaneously depart from Station A and Station B. Station A and Station B are 262.5 miles away from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, while Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards Station A. if both trains departed at 10:00AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other? Is it A: 31.054 minutes, B: 16.232 minutes, C: 32.049 minutes, or D: 32.058 minutes?"
Ruby took too long to answer, causing another laser to be fired at her.
"Wrong, wrong, WRONG!"
"AAAHH!" Ruby screamed. Mettaton only started laughing.
"I thought I told you screaming was against the rules, beautiful." Ruby only cried quietly in response. Her Aura was dropped down to only 25% remaining (5hp).
She reached in her pocket for her last remaining nice cream, and felt better. "Your claws are looking sharp." She felt offended until she remembered that these are for monsters, and then she smiled. She placed the wrapper in her pocket and stood up.
"Back for more, gorgeous? Don't count on your victory." He then proceeded to pull out a jar from a compartment in his chest. "How many flies in this jar? A: 54, B: 53, C: 55, or D: 52?"
"B?"
"WRONG! Completely, utterly WRONG!" Mettaton shot her with another laser. Ruby didn't scream, she only bit her lip. She was avoiding taunts as much as possible. "Let's do a memory game. What monster is this? A: Froggit, B: Whimsum, C: Moldsmal, or D: Mettaton?"
"D."
"Correct! Looks like you've been paying attention! But can you guess this one? Would you smooch a ghost? A: Heck Yeah, B: Heck Yeah, C: Heck Yeah, or D: Heck Yeah?"
"Really? Fine… A."
"Great answer, I love it! And I think your little companion loves it too!"
"What? No- I uh…"
"Relax beautiful, I was only kidding! Here's a simple one, how many letters in the word Mettatonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn"
"69."
"Correct! You really have been paying attention. Time to break out the big guns! In the dating simulation Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, what is Mew Mew's favorite food?"
"OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!" Alphys cheered, waving her hands in the air. "IT'S SNAIL ICE CREAM! IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH, AND MEW MEW BUYS THEM ALL ICE CREAM BUT NOBODY WANTS IT BECAUSE IT'S SNAIL FLAVOURED! IT'S MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GAME BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY A really… powerful message… about… friendship…" She paused her rant and looked awkwardly towards Mettaton, who, despite the lack of a face, was judging her immensely.
"Alphys, Alphys, Alphys…" Mettaton sighed, wagging his finger. "You aren't helping our contestant, are you?"
"N-no!" Alphys yelled, waving her hands in front of herself. "I swear on my role as a scientist that I wasn't!"
"Oooh… you should have told me that you were… I'll ask a question… that you'll be sure to know the answer to. Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on? A: Undyne, B: King Asgore, C: The Human, or D: Don't know?"
Ruby looked over at Alphys, who was wildly waving her hands. This question is clearly getting to her. Using slight logic of the fact that two options were female…
"A."
"See? It was so obvious that even the human got it. Yes! Dr. Alphys is in love with Undyne! Doodling pictures of her, writing her name on every line in her notes, writing equations that had her in it."
"I hate you Mettaton!" A very flustered Alphys whimpered, trying to hide her bright pink face. Mettaton was laughing.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have cheated, right Alphys?"
"But… it's so personal…"
"That concludes tonight's game show! Goodbye beauties!"
"… Well that was certainly something." Alphys snickered, trying to ease the awkwardness of the situation.
"Ruby! I just want to make things clear that I have no romantic feelings towards you! Mettaton was-"
"It's fine Chara…"
"Who's Chara?" Alphys asked with genuine confusion. Ruby remembered the yellow monster was there and looked in her direction.
"Well… you know how Mettaton brought up my "Ghost companion"?"
"Yeah…?"
"Their name is Chara. Heads up, if I'm talking to myself, its Chara."
"Got it." Alphys replied with a chuckle. Ruby went to leave when… "W-wait!"
"What?" Ruby snapped, already annoyed at the delays she was facing. Then, realizing how mean she was acting lately, she calmed down and sighed. "Sorry, I mean, what would you like?"
"L-let me give you my phone number. Th-then maybe, if you need help… I could… Wha- where did you get this phone? It's ancient!" She screeched, grabbing the cell phone from Ruby's hand. "It doesn't even have texting! Wait just a moment." She ran off into her back room with the cell phone. She ran back out only about ten minutes later. "Here! I upgraded it for you. it can do texting, allow you to access boxed items, and it has a nifty little keychain. I modeled the charm off of the rose you have on your hood."
"Oh, okay… neat."
"I also signed you up for the Underground's number one social network. Now we're officially friends, heheheheh….." she proceeded to look around the room awkwardly. "I'm… uh, going to the bathroom."
"What's with these monsters and acting so strange?"
"I'm pretty sure the monsters in Hotland are just that extra level of crazy. I visited here when I was a kid, and the man who worked here before Alphys was… unique to put it nicely."
"Who was he, do you remember?"
"That's the thing… I don't know. I don't think anyone does. He just vanished one day and afterwards everyone forgot he existed, including me to some extent. All I remember is the letter "G" and some slight personality traits."
"Creepy…" Ruby uttered as she stepped out the door to the lab. "In retrospect, spending a lot of time in air conditioning then stepping out into a lava filled area isn't the best idea…"she had stepped back out the front door and decided to go visit a path she glossed over before. At the end of the path was a hooded figure on a boat."
"Tra la la… I am the Riverman! Or am I the Riverwoman…? It does not matter. I love to ride my boat, care to join me?"
"Sure, sounds fun."
"Where would you like to go?"
"Waterfall I suppose."
"Then we're off."
The boat started sailing away, not seeming to be controlled by anything. But when Ruby looked at the water, it appeared to be pushing them forward.
"Dr. Oobleck did say that monsters have semblances, and Sans did too. Maybe hydro-kinesis (Or however it's spelt) is this monster's…"
"Here we are tra la la!"
"Thank you for the ride." Ruby smiles, bowing respectfully at the cloaked figure, who only nodded.
"While we're here, might as well go hang out with Paps and Undyne."
Honestly, if she tries to kill you, it isn't my fault."
"She won't." Ruby brushes off.
Are you really that certain?"
"Hi Papyrus!"
"Ugh whatever…" Chara scoffed, clearly being ignored.
"OHO! SO YOU'VE FINALLY MADE IT!"
"Sorry, I got sidetracked in Hotland."
"DO NOT APOLOGIZE, MY DEAR FRIEND! WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES! ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE?"
"Probably about as ready as I'll ever be."
"GOOD, BECAUSE SHE IS WAITING FOR US! I HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE YOU TWO GREAT FRIENDS!"
"Great…" Ruby smiled awkwardly. Papyrus beams and directs her behind him.
"STAY BEHIND ME, COME OUT WHEN I TELL YOU TO." He whispered harshly as he knocked on the door. "PSST. MAKE SURE TO GIVE HER THIS." He ordered, holding a bone out to Ruby. "SHE LOVES THESE." Ruby nods and takes the bone, humouring the skeleton.
"Hi Papyrus!" Undyne greeted as the door opened. She wasn't wearing her armour, so she looked a lot scrawnier than she appeared when they fought. She also appeared to be way nicer around the young skeleton than around her, though she expected that. "Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?"
"YOU BET I AM!" Papyrus exclaimed excitedly. "AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!"
"Hi! I don't think we've…." The fish monster trailed off, realizing who was in front of her. She seemed uncomfortable about the situation, which is something Ruby had in common with her. "Why don't… you two… come in…?"
"Actually, I gotta go-" Ruby began, turning around before getting her cape yanked by Undyne.
"No way out of it!" Undyne then whispered in her ear. "Listen kid, I hate this just as much as you do, but if I have to humour him, so do you." Ruby just gulped and nodded.
"HERE, UNDYNE! MY FRIEND BROUGHT YOU A GIFT ON THEIR OWN!" Papyrus exclaimed, gesturing Ruby forward. She nodded and held the bone out. Undyne rolled her eye and took the gift.
"Uh… thanks. I'll… put it with the others!" She quickly walked away and placed the bone in a drawer with several others. Ruby then figured out that Undyne humours the skeleton regularly. "So, are we ready to start?"
"WHOOPSIE DOOPSIE! I JUST REMEMBERED! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! YOU TWO HAVE FUN!" Papyrus exclaimed as he ran for the window. He tried to jump through it, but just smacked his face on the glass. Embarrassed, he rubbed his jaw and opened the window, then proceeded with jumping out the window. Ruby facepalmed, while Undyne appeared completely unfazed. She just glared at Ruby.
"So… why are you here? To rub your victory in my face?" She asked, continually getting closer to Ruby. The huntress backed away, feeling very uncomfortable about the situation Papyrus placed her in. "To humiliate me even further? Is that it?"
"What? No! Of course not!"
"Then why are you here?"
"Well… I-"
"Wait! I get it! You were hoping to be friends!"
"Well… yeah, that would be nice." Ruby smiled, failing to hear the sarcasm in the fish's voice.
"Really? How delightful! I accept!" Undyne replied with heavy sarcasm, a big grin on her face. "Let's all frolic in the fields of friendship! NOT!"
"What? Why?" Ruby asked, genuinely hurt by the warrior's words.
"Why would I ever be friends with you? If you weren't my houseguest, I'd beat you up right now! You, you're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams, kid! I WILL NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND, NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She screamed this last part, spawning a spear and pointing it at the door. Ruby nodded and began to leave when she heard a voice coming from the window.
"DANG! WHAT A SHAME! I THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BE FRIENDS WITH YOU! I GUESS I OVERESTIMATED HER! SHE'S JUST NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE." He smirked as he ducked back out from the window sill.
"Challenge? What? Papyrus, wait a second!" Undyne scolded as she ran for the window. The tall skeleton was nowhere to be found. "Damn it! He thinks I can't be friends with YOU?!"
"I feel like I'm about to be invited over…" Ruby muttered to Chara. The ghost giggled and agreed.
"Yeah. As stupid as Papyrus might act, he's clever when he needs to be."
"FUHUHU! What a joke! I can make friends with a wimp like you any day! I'll show him! Listen up, human!"
"My name is Ruby." Ruby sighed, rolling her eyes at the monster.
"Fine! Listen up RUBY! We're not just going to be friends! We're going to be BESTIES!"
"Um… okay…" Ruby smiled, finding the situation she's in to be rather funny.
"It'll be the ultimate revenge!" Undyne grins, looking rather giddy at the plan she came up with. "I'll make you like me so much, you won't ever think about anyone else!" She began laughing hysterically until she regained her composure. "*ahem* Why don't you take a seat?"
Ruby walked over to Undyne's dining room table and sat in the closest chair. But then she noticed a giant sword against the wall, so she got up and investigated it.
"Where did you get this, Undyne? It's so cool!" She beamed, practically drooling over the weapon.
"Well… humans suck, but their history kinda rules. Case in point is this giant sword. Historically, humans wielded swords up to 10X their size, right?"
"Well… I don't know about quite that size, but there are some pretty big weapons. Take Crescent Rose by example." Ruby smiled as she pulled her beloved weapon off of its harness.
"That is a big gun." Undyne commented, inspecting the weapon closer. Ruby giggled at the comment.
"It isn't just a gun." She smiled, flicking a switch that allowed her to fully extend it into its scythe form. "It's a scythe slash customizable, high impact sniper rifle. I'm a bit of a dork when it comes to weapons. I went a little overboard in designing this baby."
"Whoa, you designed this?"
"And made it. I had to at my school."
"Damn Ruby, you're less of a total weenie than I thought."
"Um… thanks, I guess."
"Wait…" Undyne took a step backwards and glared at the young huntress, looking like she's ready to defend herself if necessary. "How many monsters have you hurt or killed with this thing?"
"On purpose… none, in fear, almost two. They scared me and I reacted, but thankfully I have enough restraint and practice to avoid doing damage. Ironically, one of them I'm good friends with now."
"It wasn't Papyrus was it? Because if it was…"
"It wasn't… it was Sans, but he understood the fact that he scared me, and even told some jokes after the incident."
"You're lucky kid. if you so much as scratched him, he would have died. You hear me?"
"Loud and clear. Like I said, it was an accident."
"Whatever kid. let's move on, huh?"
"Yeah, good idea…" Ruby walked over to the table again and sat down, this time not getting up from her chair.
"Comfortable?" Undyne asks, trying her hardest to be friendly. Ruby nods. "I'll get you something to drink!" Undyne walked to her counter and placed down some stuff to choose from. Ruby was having trouble seeing the options, so she stood up to get a closer look. "HEY! DON'T GET UP! YOU'RE THE GUEST! SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOURSELF!" She screamed, throwing a spear at her table, splitting it in half. Ruby was stunned, afraid to move another inch. "Why don't you just point at what you want? You can use the spear."
"I'll… uh… take some tea then." Ruby suggested, pointing the spear at the pile of boxes.
"Tea, huh? Coming right up!" Undyne smiled as she walked over to the counter. She put on a teapot and waited awkwardly for it to boil. "It'll take a moment for the water to boil."
"That's fine." Ruby smiled. The two were slowly becoming friends until Ruby brought up the fact that she almost hurt Sans. Everything went downhill from there. Now things are back to being awkward.
"Okay! It's all done!" Undyne smiled, walking over with two teacups in hand. She placed one in front of Ruby and smiled. "Careful, it's still a little hot." Ruby only stared at it for a little bit, reluctant to taste the tea. This clearly frustrated Undyne because she had a grip on the now broken table and actually broke off another chunk of wood. "It isn't that hot, just drink it!" Ruby gulped and grabbed the teacup. She took a sip and winced. It was burning hot.
"It's good." Ruby smiled. It was genuine too. The tea was really good.
"Of course! Nothing but the best for my absolutely precious friend!"
"That's very kind of you, thank you Undyne."
"Don't mention it! Actually, it's kind of funny you chose that tea. Golden flower tea. It's Asgore's favorite kind."
"It's true. It was what he had for breakfast every morning with Toriel's snail pie."
"Actually, now that I think about it, you remind me a lot about him. You're both total weenies!" She started laughing, and Ruby awkwardly chuckled in response. "…Sort of. You know… I was a pretty hotheaded kid."
"I never would have guessed." Ruby commented with a smile. Undyne glared at her but returned the smile.
"Oh haha! Once, to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight Asgore. EMPHASIS ON TRIED! I couldn't land a single hit on him! The worst part is the entire time he refused to fight. I was so humiliated. Afterwards he apologized and said something goofy. "Excuse me, would you like to learn how to beat me?" I said yes, and from then on he trained me. One day, during training, I finally managed to knock him down. I felt bad, but he was beaming. Never before had I seen anyone so proud to get their butt kicked. Anyways, long story short, he kept training me, and now I'm head of the royal guard. Here… I've got a picture somewhere…" Undyne got up and went into her room briefly, walking back out with a picture of herself as a child hanging off of the arm of a built goat monster with a thick golden blonde beard. Ruby smiled at the picture. It reminded her of her times with her uncle Qrow. How they would train together and just enjoy themselves. Even down to the arm gestures. She didn't even notice a tear going down her cheek. "Hey, are you crying?" Undyne asked, snapping Ruby back into reality.
"Uh, sorry, this just reminds me of someone back home… My Uncle Qrow."
"Uncle Crow?" So he's a bird?"
"No, Qrow is spelt with a Q, not a C. though he can turn into a bird."
"Cool! Is that his semblance?"
"No… it's more complicated than that… anyways, you were saying?"
"I'm now the one who gets to teach dorks to fight! Like Papyrus…" She looked uncomfortable about the mention of Papyrus, like she was hiding something. "But… to be honest, I don't think Papyrus will ever get into the royal guard. Don't tell him I said that! He's just… well… I mean, it's not that he's weak! He's pretty dang tough! It's just that he's… too innocent and nice. I mean… look! He was supposed to capture you, but he wound up being friends with you instead. I could never send him into battle. He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds. All I care about is him being able to protect himself and his brother if there ever was a need. Especially with how frail Sans is. But that's why I've been giving him cooking lessons, y'know? So that maybe he'd be able to do something else with his life." Ruby nodded and took the last sip of her tea. Teaching Papyrus how to cook? That's genuinely sweet of her to do. "Oh, sorry. I was talking for a while there. You must be out of tea. Here, I'll get you some more." She grabbed the teacup and walked back to the stove before stopping dead in her tracks. "Wait a second…"
"Undyne? What's wrong?"
"PAPYRUS! HIS COOKING LESSON! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE IT RIGHT NOW!" She yelled, dropping the cup onto the floor. "And if he's not here to have it, I guess have it, I guess you'll have to do itfor him!" She jumped on the counter and slid across, clearing everything out of the way.
"Really?"
"That's right Ruby! NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer together than COOKING! Which means that if I give you his lesson, we'll become closer than you can ever imagine!"
"Um…"
"Fuhuhuhuhuhuh! Afraid? We're gonna be the best of friends!"
"Uh… Okay." Ruby smiled. "Ren has been teaching me how to cook back at home too, so maybe this could help a little…" She thought to herself, though she lost her train of thought when she suddenly felt something grab her head. Undyne had picked her up to carry her to the counter in possibly the most painful way possible.
"Let's start with the sauce shall we?" Undyne suggested, stomping her foot on the ground. A few vegetables fell onto the counter from the ceiling, despite the distinct lack of anything to store them in, literally there was nothing there. "Envision these veggies as your greatest enemy. Now, pound them to dust with your fists!" Ruby didn't want to punch vegetables, but she also didn't want Undyne to scold her about not doing anything, so she just kinda… patted them. "What the- DON'T PET THE ENEMY!" I'll show you how it's done!" Undyne uppercut the vegetables, splattering them everywhere. Both girls were covered in bits of tomato. "We'll uh… scrape these into a bowl later."
Ruby grumbled and grabbed a dishrag, wiping the food off of her face. "This ought to be exciting." She sighed, placing the cloth back in the sink.
"Great enthusiasm!" Undyne cheered, stomping on the ground again. This time, a pot and a box of noodles fell from the ceiling. The pot was full of water, but didn't spill a drop."NOW! Time for the NOODLES! Home-made noodles are the best! But I just buy store brand! They're the cheapest!"
"Amen to that!" Ruby smiled as she picked up the box from the stovetop. "How do you want this done?"
"Uh… just put them in the pot." Undyne replies, smiling calmly at the huntress.
"I'm not buying the calm attitude. If she wants this done fiercely, do it fiercely!"
Ruby nods and slams the noodles into the pot with the box.
"YEAH! I'M INTO IT!" Undyne cheers. Ruby smiles triumphantly. "GREAT! Now it's time to stir the pasta! As a general rule of thumb, the more you stir, THE GREATER IT IS! Ready?"
Ruby grabbed a spoon and began stirring the pasta. Undyne was smiling at first, but gradually became more and more impatient.
"UGH! LET ME DO IT!" She spawned a spear and continuously stabbed the pot with it until it was dented to hell and the spoon was pretty much obliterated.
"Um… that's one way to do it…" Ruby joked, wiping hot water off of her face.
"YEP! THAT'S THE STUFF! NOW FOR THE LAST STEP! TURN UP THE HEAT!"
"What?" Ruby asked in disbelief. The stovetop was already at a super high temperature.
"Yes! Let the stovetop symbolize your passion! Let your hopes and dreams turn into FIRE! READY?! Don't hold anything back!"
Ruby strained to reach the dial on the tall stovetop. Undyne didn't clarify which way to go, so she first tried left. It didn't move.
"Go to the right! This burner only goes one way! Never mind let me do it!" Undyne cranked the burner until the pot was completely engulfed in flames."There, you see-" Though she was cut off when the stovetop exploded, knocking the two on the floor. Ruby slowly sat up, dazed from the event that just transpired. Undyne was coughing, but smiling. "Ah… Man, no wonder Papyrus sucks at cooking…"
"The stove exploding probably has nothing to do with Papyrus' cooking skills." Ruby commented as she got up from the floor, also coughing. She winced at the sudden pain in her arm. There was a small burn near her shoulder, and it hurt.
"You're right. Thanks for that Ruby, I needed some encouragement. So, what's next? Friendship bracelets? Scrap booking?"
"Um…" Ruby trails off, not sure exactly what to say here.
"You should leave soon; this place is literally on fire."
"Thanks captain obvious!" Ruby whispers at the ghost in response.
"Oh who am I kidding?" Undyne yells, punching the counter. "We both know I really screwed this up! I can't force you to like me! Some people just don't get along with each other!"
"That's not true, really!" Ruby tries desperately to encourage the warrior, but to no avail. Undyne is convinced that she hates her.
"Stop Ruby. It's okay. If we can't be friends, that's okay! Because, if we're not friends… I CAN DESTROY YOU WITHOUT REGRET!"
"What?" Ruby cried out in alarm. "After all that you're just gonna try and kill me again?"
"That's right!" Undyne cried as she pulled Ruby into combat. "I've been defeated, my house is in shambles, and I even failed to befriend you. That's it… I don't care if you're my guest anymore. One final rematch, all out on both sides! IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN REGAIN MY LOST PRIDE! NOW, COME ON! HIT ME WITH ALL YOU GOT! NGYAAAAAAHHHHH! And to make it fair, I'll heal your injuries sustained from the explosion."
Ruby felt a warm sensation around her body, separate from the flames all around her. The burn on her arm healed quickly and only left a scar, and the throbbing pain in her head vanished too.
"Okay, Undyne… get ready…" Ruby wound up her fist, looking ready to hit her full force, but not wanting to hurt her, she only lightly bopped her in the nose. Undyne just stared at her in confusion.
"That's it? Even attacking full force, you just don't have it in you to hurt me?" Undyne's confusion and anger slowly faded into a sad smile as she dropped her weapon. "Sigh… you know what? I don't actually want to hurt you either. At first, I hated your stupid saccharine schtick, but then… the way you hit me just now… it reminded me of someone I used to train with. Now I know you aren't some kind of wimpy loser. You're a wimpy loser with a big heart!" She beamed. Ruby smiled at the fish woman. For someone who hated her guts less than an hour ago, she's actually really nice. "Just like him. Sigh…" Undyne frowned again, appearing to have something important to get off her chest. "Listen Ruby. It looks like you and Asgore are destined to fight. But knowing him, he probably doesn't want to. Talk to him, I'm sure you can persuade him to let you go home. Eventually some mean human will fall down here, and I'll just steal their soul instead. That makes sense, right?"
"Yeah, I guess it's fair." Ruby smiled.
"Oh, and if you do hurt Asgore, I will take the human souls, cross the barrier, and beat the hell out of you. That's what friends are for, right?"
"No worries Undyne, I promise to not hurt your king. I swear it on my role as a huntress."
"You better keep your word, or I'll kill you. Now let's get the hell out of this burning house."
The two ran for the door, gasping for fresh air as they walked out the door.
"Undyne, word of advice for ya… Next time you want to fight, how about you don't do it in a burning building?"
"Duly noted…" "Undyne agreed. "But that was fun; we should do it again another time… At another location."
"Where are you gonna go? You can't stay here."
"Eh, I'll probably crash at Papyrus' house. Though I should talk to Alphys about those MTT brand ovens; that exploded at way too low of a temperature. It could have gone at least 300 more degrees Fahrenheit!"
"MTT?"
"Yeah, Mettaton. Anyways, gotta go, see ya!"
"I'll tell Alphys you said hi!"
"Let's just head back to Hotland."
Ruby agreed and walked back down to the Riverman, and climbed on the boat to return to Hotland.
"Tra la la. Beware of the man who speaks in hands."
"Weird…"
What's wrong Chara?"
"Something felt strangely familiar about that statement…"
"We have arrived, tra la la."
"Good to be back!" Ruby sighed, stretching. She walked through the lab and out the back door. "Whoa…"
Hotland is huge. It has conveyor belts, gears, lights, wires, air vents, and doors bigger than Ruby's house. Ruby walked foreword, mesmerized by all of the machinery around her. She heard a ding come from her pocket, and grabbed her phone.
"Alphys: Just realized I didn't watch Undyne fight the human… :("
"Right. Social media. I hope this doesn't become too annoying…" Ruby quipped as she placed her phone back in her pocket. She didn't even take another step before her phone dinged again.
"Alphys: Well, I know she's unbeatable so I'll ask her about it later ^.^"
"That's gonna get really annoying really fast…" Chara sighed. Ruby chuckled and placed the phone in her pocket.
"Chill Chara. It's just a phone. You could always just return to Waterfall and chill with Blooky."
Don't be stupid. If I do that, you'll die for sure. I can show you how to get through here alive."
"Awww… is big, tough Chara actually caring for me?"
"Shut up."
Ding.
"Alphys: For now I gotta call up the human and guide her. =^.^="
"Bitch! That's my job!"
"Relax Chara." Ruby giggled as she walked up to a conveyor belt. It goes up to a higher ledge over a direct lava flow. Ruby was hesitant, in fear of falling to a fiery doom.
"It's okay, this is actually safe. Just take a deep breath and step on the belt. You'd think a huntress who literally puts her life at risk to fight deadly soulless beings (aka the creatures of Grimm) would be easier going with this."
"This… this is different."
"Shut up and go."
Ruby took a deep breath and stepped onto the conveyor belt. She wobbled a bit as she lost her balance, but quickly gained her footing. The top of the conveyor belt was right in front of her, so she stepped off, and then she was thrown into combat.
"Hiiiiii!" A cheerful little volcano monster cheered. It was absolutely adorable.
"Hi there! What's your name?"
"Vulkin! My lava can heal, wanna see?" She asked with a smile, shooting lava at Ruby.
"Her lava can't heal, avoid it!"
"Oh boy!"Ruby muttered as she quickly avoided the young monster's attacks. "Um, Vulkin? Your attacks aren't helpful. In fact, they're a little dangerous!"
"Not… helpful…? Okay…" Vulkin pouted, sulking in a corner.
"But it's okay, you were trying to help." Ruby smiled, hugging the small monster. She burned at the touch, but Ruby didn't care. She made someone happy. The encounter ended and the huntress continued on her way.
"This place is so creepy…" Chara commented. Ruby wasn't able to say anything before her phone went off. "Throw the damn thing in the lava already!"
"Relax will ya?"
"Alphys: gonna call them in a minute! =^.^="
"Okay, so I should expect a phone call- eep!"
Ruby froze, paralyzed by fear as she looked at the conveyor belt in front of her. It changed directions rapidly and was super fast. She looked down to the lava below, and started panicking.
"Ruby, you need to calm down. I know you're scared, but you can't go home if you can't even step onto a conveyor belt."
"I don't see you trying!"
"I'm dead. I kind of can't." Chara sighed. "It's the same as before. Take a deep breath and step onto it. There will be scarier things than this, trust me."
Ruby let out a slight whimper as she stepped onto the conveyor belt. She fell over and was stuck in a sitting position as she was thrown around the conveyor belt, terrified of being thrown off the entire time.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry! I didn't know that you'd fall!"
"I'm fine… a little shaky, but I'm… I'm fine." Ruby gasped, out of breath from when she fell. "Let's go."
"The whooshing sound of steam and cogs… it fills you with determination."
"I dunno. Finally going home fills me with determination."
DING
"Alphys: I HATE USING THE PHONE I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^"
"Good. Don't."
"Chara! That's rude!"
"What's rude is you subjecting me to this torture by not ignoring her."
"Yeah yeah whatever." Ruby put her phone into her pocket and walked forwards, suddenly being lifted into the air again and again. "Uh… what just happened?"
"Steam vents. You just stepped on one and set it off in a chain reaction. Don't freak out or anything. That's what you were supposed to do."
"That… was… AWESOME!" Ruby cheered. "Please tell me there are more of those than conveyor belts!"
"Well… yeah. But are you seriously more afraid of conveyor belts than being lifted in the air over the lava?"
"Don't ruin this for me."
Ding.
"Speaking of ruining things…"
"Alphys: omg I've had my claw over the last digit for like five minutes. Omg I'm gonna do it. I'm just gonna do it."
"Ring… ring… click…?"
"Huh? They hung up."
Ruby walked through the door and found a path of lasers. Before she could do anything her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Um… h-hi! So the blue lasers… they won't hurt you if you don't m-move. O-orange ones, um… Y-you have to be moving and they… they won't um… Move through those ones! Um… bye!" Alphys hung up, leaving Ruby both informed and confused.
"What the hell just happened?"
"I don't know…"
Ding.
"Alphys: OH MY GOD I DID IT! Claws haven't shook like that since Undyne called about the weather."
"I-"
"Don't even say it Chara."
"I was gonna say that was adorable. But now that you mention it…"
"Chara…"
"Fine! Fine. I'm totally over it."
Ding.
"HOLY SHIT, BURN IT! BURN IT RIGHT NOW!"
"Alphys: WAIT THERE'S NO WEATHER DOWN HERE WHY DID SHE CALL ME?!"
Ruby chuckled and walked forwards. There was a small switch on the wall. She pressed it and it turned off.
"Would have been useful on the other side of this thing."
Ding.
"Alphys: Omg I just realized I forgot to tell her where to go."
Ding.
"Alphys: Cute pic of me right now! ^.^"
"Is that a picture of a garbage can?"
"With pink glitter filters all over it?"
Ring… ring….
"A-a-a-Alphys here! Th.. the northern door will stay locked until you solve the puzzles on the right and left. I… I think you should go to the right first!"
Click…!
Ruby stepped on a vent and was shot forwards, the wrong direction.
"I think you missed." Chara teased, to the amusement (Or lack-there-of) of thee huntress.
"What do you want me to do then?" Ruby asked, stepping on the vent to carry her back.
"It rotates. Just wait for it to face the way you want it to go, and it will take you there."
After some very tedious vent timing, and some very mundane puzzles, Ruby was through the door. Around the corner was a line of steam vents, which Ruby happily launched herself across. A very dark room was ahead. With caution, she entered.
Ring
"H-hey! Alphys here! It's kind of dark in there, isn't it?"
"Gee, what was your first clue?"Ruby asked, trying to look into the darkness.
"Sorry… u-um I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!" Alphys cheered, hanging up. Suddenly the lights were on, and Ruby was in the middle of…
A kitchen.
"Oh no…" Ruby sighed, pinching her nose.
"OOOOOOHHH YES!" Mettaton cheered, popping up from the floor. He was wearing a chef hat. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES! TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!"
A neon sign that read "Cooking with a killer robot" appeared over head. Ruby looked outwards awkwardly, but there was no one there, not even a camera.
"PREHEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING… A CAKE! MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL NOW BRING OUT THE INGREDIENTS!"
Ruby gave the machine a dirty look before walking to the counter, making sure to do it slowly, and mess with him even further. She was close. She was so god damn close to being home, and this robot was only making it harder.
"Is this good?"
"YOU'RE DOING WONDERFULLY DARLING! NOW BRING THE INGREDIENTS TO THE TABLE!"
Ruby happily walked over to the table to deposit all of the ingredients.
"There! Done."
"PERFECT! WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS FOR THIS CAKE! MILK! SUGAR! EGGS! OH MY… WAIT A SECOND! WE ALMOST FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT INREDIENT!" Mettaton paused, realizing his error. Ruby looked at the rectangle with confusion. She got everything, right? "A HUMAN SOUL!"
Ruby backed away as the robot pulled out a chainsaw.
"Um… can we talk about this? Please?" She asked, recoiling as she felt her arm get shocked. An electric barrier. Perfect.
Ring.
"HELLO! I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING ALPHYS!" Mettaton sighed, putting down the chainsaw.
"W-wait a second!" The scientist panicked over the phone. "Couldn't you make a… couldn't you use a… Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?"
"A SUBSTITUTION? YOU MEAN A NON HUMAN INGREDIENT? WHY?"
"What if… somebody's… vegan?" Alphys suggested. Ruby bit her lip, hoping that it would work.
"Alphys you better know what you're doing…" Chara muttered. Ruby swallowed and nodded.
"VEGAN? THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA ALPHYS! ACTUALLY I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND ALL-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOUR-SUBTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!" Mettaton pointed excitedly to a small counter in the corner, which has a can sitting on it. "WELL RUBY, WHY DON'T YOU GO GET IT?"
"Wait, was your fate decided by a can of artificial human soul flavouring?" Chara asked. "This level of stupidity makes my head hurt."
Ruby walked over to the counter, but just as she was about to grab it, the counter launched about fifty feet in the air.
"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A VERY STRICT SCHEDULE! IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN DOWN IN THE NEXT ONE MINUTE, WE'LL HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN!" Mettaton explained. Even without a face you could practically see him smirking at Ruby. "SO! BETTER START CLIMBING!"
"I hate this guy."
RING
"O-oh no! there's not enough time to climb up!" Alphys panicked.
"I dunno." Ruby contemplated. "With enough momentum my semblance could carry me up there."
"N-no! that's too risky! I have a plan! I added a few features to your phone! You see the huge button that says "JETPACK"?"
"The what?" Ruby asked, pulling her phone enough to look at it.
"P-press it!"
Ruby hesitantly pressed the button and it started to shake,jumping out of her hands. It split apart into a jetpack, just like in anime.
"T-there!" Alphys called out, speaking through a tiny communicator. It was still a phone after all. "You should have enough fuel to reach the top."
Ruby rolled her eyes as the jetpack launched her upwards, getting pelted by sugar, milk and eggs on the way.
"Ew ew ew gross!" She muttered, eggs and milk allowing the sugar to stick to her. She was gross, sticky, and she had sugar in her eyes. This was the worst.
"This is nasty!" Chara agreed. "But at least we're almost there!"
"MY MY! IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME!" Mettaton sighed, holding a gloved metal hand to his face(?). "BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOOU HAD HELP FROM THE BRILLIANT DR. ALPHYS! OH I LOATHE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU WITHOUT HER!"
"Your acting isn't fooling anybody y'know." Ruby sighed.
"WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN?" Mettaton scoffed. "I MOST CERTAINLY AM NOT ACTING! HOW DARE YOU?!"
"Whatever you say."
"FINE! NOW, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE CAKE. THIS IS A COOKING SHOW DARLING, THE CAKE IS ALREADY BAKED."
Ruby was about to say something when he flew off.
"Okay, so he was just trying to kill you." Chara realized. "I really don't like him."
"No point dwelling on it." Ruby sighed. "Come on, let's go!"
"An ominous structure looms in the distance, filling you with determination."
RING
"Grrrrr….."
"Relax Chara." Ruby sighed. "Hello?"
"S-see that ominous building in the background?
"It's a little hard to miss." Ruby joked.
"Maybe… ha ha. Anyways. That's the Core! The source of all power in the underground. It transfers geothermal energy into magical electricity by- uhh… anyway! That's where we're gonna go. Inside is an elevator that leads straight to Asgore's castle. From there you can go home."
"Thanks Alphys."
"Are you excited?" You're almost home."
"Yeah… I miss my family. How long have I been down here? A month?"
"Not quite that long. More like 12 days."
"That's still a long time." Ruby pointed out, stepping into an elevator. They moved on to another floor, walking over to see Sans at yet another sentry station.
"Heya Ruby!" Sans greeted. "Wanna buy a hot dog?"
"Nah, I'm good." Ruby smiled.
"Wanna just stack them on your head then?"
"What?" Ruby just stared as he grabbed a hot dog and put it on her head. "Um…"
"Just hold still."
Sans stacked a good twenty of them before they were out of reach. He took out a phone and snapped a picture, just before Ruby lost her balance and fell over.
"W-woah!" She gasped, landing on her butt.
"Are you okay?" Sans snickered, offering her a hand up. Ruby nodded and took it, pulling the hand right off.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't hurt you did I?" Ruby panicked, remembering what Papyrus said about how fragile the skeleton was.
"Nah, it's normal." Sans smiled, simply re-attaching the limb.
"Phew…"
"I gotta hand it to ya though, it was nice of you to make sure I was okay."
"I would feel really guilty if I hurt you."
"You know what Ruby, you're a good kid. Now get going so you can go home."
"Bye Sans!" Ruby smiled, waving as she ran down the path.
Ding
Alphys: Dinner with the girlfriend ;)
"That's Just a Mew Mew Kissy Cutie doll and instant noodles."
"I don't know whether to be concerned or not…"
Ding
Coolskeleton95: ARE WE POSTING "HOT PICS"? HERE'S ME AND MY COOL FRIEND!
"Is that Papyrus?"
"He's wearing sunglasses, while wearing fake biceps. Wait a second… are those biceps wearing sunglasses?"
"Typical Papyrus." Ruby chuckled. A distant laugh could be heard. Ruby had a feeling Sans saw the picture too.
Ding
Alphys: Lol, Coolskeleton95!
… that's a joke right?"
Ding
Coolskeleton95: THE ONLY JOKE HERE IS HOW STRONG MY MUSCLES ARE!
Ruby turned left, coming across a dead end. At the end of the path was an apron.
"That's armour. It'll probably be useful in a later on fight."
Ding
Napstablook22 has sent you a friend request!
Ding
Request has been taken back by sender.
Ruby sighed and picked up the apron, putting it on. She wasn't sure how protected she was, but at least the apron was cute.
She left the room, spotting a conveyor belt puzzle.
"Oh my Oum…"
Ring!
"H-hi! It's Dr. Alphys! This puzzle is kind of time based. You see the switches? You need to press them all within three seconds."
"I can manage that."
"I'll try to help you with rhythm."
Click.
"Okay puzzle… don't start trouble, and there won't be trouble." She stepped on the conveyor belt and pressed the first two buttons, but missed the third one when her phone rang.
"Okay! Now press the third one!" Alphys cheered excitedly. After an awkward three second pause the laser gate shut down. "Hey look at that! You only needed to press two!"
Click
"Yeah, there is definitely something strange going on here…" Ruby sighed, putting the phone in her pocket.
"I told you not to trust her."
"I've never really trusted her."
Ding
Alphys: That's the last time I help with a puzzle lol.
"Whoa…"
This next room is a steam vent puzzle, full of buttons and platforms. It looks extremely difficult.
Ring
"H-hey! I'm going to the bathroom, so I'll be MIA for a bit. I'm… I'm sure you can handle this puzzle yourself."
Click
"Wow. Thanks for the help Alphys, you're a real pal." Chara sighed. Ruby looked over the puzzle, trying to figure it out.
"Wait, there's no laser gate on the other side, so I just need to get across… Maybe if I just use some well aimed jumps using my semblance, I don't need to worry about the steam vents."
"That is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have ever heard."
Ruby ignored the ghost, getting in a position to jump. The first few were fine, but after miscalculating how far the next platform was, Ruby found her jump to be a bit too far, and found herself falling towards the lava below.
"AAHH!"
"Gotcha!" A new voice called out, grabbing her by the wrist. Next thing she knew, Ruby was on her feet, safe and sound on the other side of the puzzle. A bit of calming down and a deep breath later, she had the time to see who her saviour was.
"Sans?"
"Are you stupid?" He asked, face palming. "You couldn't have just done the puzzle? You had to jump across? This isn't the Ruins, Ruby. If you screw this up, you're dead. There's no save point that'll bring you back from that."
"Sorry…"
"I know…" Sans sighed, his face still buried in his hand. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks. How did you know I was in trouble?"
"I may be lazy, but I still do my job sometimes. I was patrolling the area and watched you fall."
"Oh… guess I was just lucky then."
"Lucky doesn't even begin to cover it… I gotta get back to work, try not to kill yourself, will ya?"
"Okay." Ruby smiled, watching Sans teleport away.
"I told you that was stupid."
"I know, I know."
Ding
Alphys: OMG! Ppl think Mew Mew 2 is better than Mew Mew 1? LOLLLLLL That's a joke right?"
"Knowing the mouse one day might hack the computerized safe and get the cheese fills you with DETERMINATION."
"That one doesn't even make any sense."
"You jumping over a pit of lava makes no sense."
"Touché."
Ding
Alphys: OMG don't they get it Ruins? Mew Mew's entire Character Arc!
Ding
Alphys: My Mew Mew 2 Review: Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 is neither Kissy nor Cutie. It's trash. 0 stars.
"Hey You STOP!" A deep voice called out. Ruby jumped and turned her head, watching meekly as two guards in full suits of armour approached. It was the bunny who spoke.
"Um… hello. What can I do for you?"
"We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a human with silver eyes and a cape. They told us they were wandering around Hotland right now. I know, sounds scary huh? Well, just stay chill, we'll bring you somewhere safe, okay?"
"Um…"
"Roll with it."
"Sure. Thanks."
"Hold on a sec." The dragon whispered, pulling the bunny close.
"What is it dude?"
"That person has silver eyes, and a cape. Just like that person said."
"Okay… this is… super awkward… We, like, actually need to kill you and stuff." The bunny muttered, scratching his head.
Ruby glanced at the guards, trying to figure out how to stop them. She checked her options for both guards, finding an option to "Clean armour" on the dragon guard. She ripped off a loose part of her cape and soaked it with water she had in her pocket, running around the guard and scrubbing his armour as fast as possible.
"Armour… too hot…" He panted, pulling off his breast plate. Ruby covers her eyes, but the bunny starts sweating. Ruby notices, and a jolt of realization sweeps over her.
"Mr… Bunny guard, is there something you need to tell your, um, bro?"
"Dude… I can't… take this anymore. Not like this! I like…like you bro! the way you fight, the way you talk, I love doing team attacks with you. I love standing here with you, bouncing and waving our weapons. 02, I want to stay like this forever."
"Aw…"
"Um… I mean… Uh, Psyche! Gotcha bro! Haha!"
"01?"
"Yeah, bro?"
"Do you wanna… get some nice cream after this?"
"Sure dude. Haha."
"You two have fun now." Ruby smiled, walking away.
"Yo, see you around human!" 01 smiled, waving. The guards grabbed each other's hand and walked away.
Ding
Alphys: Oopswait how's the human doing?
Ding
Alphys: Top ten shows that'll make you forget to do your frickin job.
Ring
"Okay I'm back! Another dark room, huh? Don't worry, my hacking skills have got things covered." The lights turned on, revealing that Ruby is just on a screen, if that makes any sense."Oh you have got to be kidding me."
"OOOOOHHHH YES!" Mettaton cheered excitedly. He was a news anchor, complete with the suit. "GOOD EVENING BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS! AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY OUR CORESPONDANT IS OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE! BRAVE CORRESPONDANT, PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWS WORTHY TO REPORT! OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!"
"I found a basketball."
"BASKETBALL'S A BLAST, ISN'T IT DARLING? TOO BAD YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH THESE BALLS! THEY'RE MTT BRAND FASHION BASKETBALLS! FOR WEARING, NOT PLAYING! YOU CAN'T GET RICH AND FAMOUS LIKE MOI WITHOUT BEAUTIFYING A FEW ORBS!"
"Oh, there's a dog over there."
"WHAT A SENSATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A STORY! I CAN SEE THE HEADLINES NOW! "A DOG EXISTS SOMEWHERE!" FRANKLY I'M BLOWN AWAY!"
"Fine, if you're gonna be like that, this will be what I report on."
"MY MY! SUCH AN ATTITUDE! BUT THIS DOG IS NO ORDINARY DOG! IT'S A BOMB!"
"Wait, what?"
Sure enough, the dog's tail lit up like a fuse.
"WHAT AN EXPLOSIVE STORY! BUT YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THE ROOM! EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM IS A BOMB! THAT GLASS OF WATER'S A BOMB! THAT BASKETBALL'S A BOMB! EVEN MY WORDS!" Random words fell and blew up, knocking Ruby backwards. Things did not look good. "BRAVE COORESPONDANT, IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL OF THESE BOMBS, THEN THAT BIG BOMB WILL BLOW UP IN TWO MINUTES. THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING LIVE ANY LONGER! HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING! OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO ENJOY WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK DARLING!"
Ring
"D-don't worry! I installed a bomb-defusing program on your phone. Use the defuse option when the bomb is in the defuse zone. Now go get em!"
Click
"Ow!"Ruby winced, trying to get up.
"What's the matter?"
"My ankle. I think I hurt it when the bombs went off."
"Well, eat then!"
"I can't, I can't access my inventory."
"What are you going to do then?"
"All I can do is wait it out and hope Alphys figures out how to defuse that big bomb."
"I thought you didn't trust her."
"I don't have much of a choice right now."
"TIME'S UP DARLING! YOU DIDN'T DEFUSE A SINGLE BOMB! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, DON'T YOU? IT MEANS SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR LIFE, BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT TO GO UP IN SMOKE." A very awkward amount of time passed, revealing the fact that the bomb wasn't exploding. "AH… IT APPEARS THAT THE BOMB ISN'T GOING OFF…"
Ring
"T-that's because… while you were monologuing… I fixed- I…I changed…"
"OH NO! YOU DEACTIVATED THE BOMB USING YOUR HACKING SKILLS!"
"Yeah, that's what I did!"
"CURSES! IT SEEMS I HAVE BEEN FOILED AGAIN! CURSE YOU HUMAN! CURSE YOU DR. ALPYS FOR HELPING HER! BUT I DON'T CURSE MY EIGHT WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR TUNING IN! UNTIL NEXT TIME DARLING!"
Mettaton blasted off, leaving Ruby alone. she reached into her pocket for a crab apple.
"That won't help."Sans informed, teleporting in front of her.
"Oh, hi Sans." Ruby smiled, placing the fruit back in her pocket.
"There's no point in wasting items on an injury it won't heal. It didn't affect your aura, so it won't do anything for you." He kneeled in front of her and grabbed her ankle, using magic to heal it.
"What are you doing?"
"Heeling you." Sans joked, winking at the human.
"Mmhm." Ruby smiled awkwardly.
"There, good as new. Here." He handed her a container.
"What's this?"
"Figured you were hungry. It's been about a day or two since you last ate, so you could definitely use the food. I just got this from Grillby's so it's still fresh."
"Wow, thanks Sans."
"You know, I could always just take you to Asgore's castle."
"No thanks." Frisk smiled, getting off the ground. "Thanks for this though, that was so sweet of you."
"Hey, no prob." Sans smiled, teleporting away with a salute.
"He likes you."
"I know." Ruby giggled. "It's a little obvious."
Ring
"Um… I've noticed that you haven't talked as much the last few phone calls. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Alphys."
"Are you nervous about meeting Asgore? Well, don't worry okay? The king is a really nice guy. I'm sure you can talk to him, and with your human soul you can pass through the barrier. So don't worry okay? Just forget about it and smile."
"Okay… if you say so."
Click
"I can't believe I'm so close to home!" Ruby smiled. "It's been almost a month! I've never been so excited in my life!"
"Yeah, there isn't too much left to do here in Hotland. Better make sure you still have that cider though."
"Yeah, it's in my pocket."
"Good, you're going to need it."
On the next floor, there was a little bake sale, but the prices were outrageous, so Ruby kept walking.
In the next room was another jumping puzzle, and on the north and southern ends there were more shooting puzzles. Ruby figured them out rather quickly, so she made it out of the puzzle room rather quick. On the other side was a save point, and tons of spider webs.
"Ew…I hate spiders…"
"The smell of cobwebs fills the air,. You're filled with determination."
"Ahuhuhuhuhuhuhu. Did you hear what they just said?" A creepy voice echoed through the cobwebby corridor. "They said a human with a red cape would pass through here." The voice was high pitched, and slightly British. "I heard they hate spiders." The voice was distinctly female. "I heard that they like to stomp on them. I heard that they love to tear their legs off. I heard…" The person who was speaking made her presence known. She was a light purple spider girl. Her hair was in two pigtails on her head, tied off with bows. She was drinking a cup of tea. "…that they're awfully stingy with their money. Ahuhuhu! You think your taste is too refined for our pastries deary?" She laughed, bringing one of her hands to her mouth as she giggled. "I disagree with that notion. Your taste is exactly what this next batch needs."
"Muffet will attack you unless you pay her, but the best way to beat her is just to consume whatever item you bought in the Ruins."
Ruby pulled the jug out of her pocket and popped the cork, taking a long swig of the liquid inside. she gagged, but forced herself to swallow the nasty liquid.
"What? Where did you get that?" Muffet asked, looking rather angry. "Did you steal it? My pet, why don't we show this human how we deal with thieves."
"Chara!"
"Give it a second."
"Huh?" Muffet glanced down at the spider that ran into the room. "A telegram from the spiders in the Ruins?" She picked up the paper, reading it over. "Oh, I apologize deary. It appears I have made a mistake. You didn't steal that. As a thank you for supporting our cause, I will let you pass. Feel free to stop by and play with my pet." She smiled, petting a giant muffin monster."Just kidding. Now run along deary."
Ruby ran out of the room and vomited. She didn't know what that liquid was, but it was definitely not apple cider.
"I thought you said it was apple cider!" She gagged.
"It is!" Chara defended. "Just, it's crab apples."
"Ugh…"
"And I think beetles."
Ruby threw up again. "Ugh, I'm pretty sure that was the nastiest thing I have ever put in my mouth…"
"ATTENTION BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! MY COSTAR HAS JUST ARRIVED!"
"Oh no…"
"PUT YOUR PAWS AND CLAWS TOGETHER FOR THE HUMAN!"
"What the heck?"
"COULD IT BE… MY ONE TRUE LOVE?" Mettaton asked, putting on a show. Music started, and the rectangle started to sing. "OH MY LOVE! PLEASE RUN AWAY! MONSTER KING FORBIDS YOUR STAY! HUMANS MUST LIVE FAR APART! EVEN IF IT BREAKS MY HEART! THEY'LL PUT YOU IN THE DUNGEON! IT'LL SUCK,AND THEN YOU'LL DIE A LOT. REALLY SAD YOU'RE GONNA DI! CRY CRY CRY! SO SAD IT'S HAPPENING!" He sang, seemingly making it up as he went along. The music stopped, and so did the singing. "SO SAD… SO SAD YOU'RE GOING TO THE DUNGEON! WELL, TOODLES!" He cheered, pulling out a remote. He pressed the button and Ruby was in a free fall, using her semblance to make sure she didn't hurt herself.
"Why didn't I do this before?" She asked herself with a smile. "This could have saved a lot of pain in the Ruins."
"OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO?" Mettaton whimpered, holding his finger to his screen, pretending to wipe away a tear. "MY LOVE HAS BEEN CAST AWAY INTO THE DUNGEON. A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOUR SHALL SURELY PERISH! OH MERCY ME, IT'S THE HORRIBLE COLOURED TILE MAZE! EACH TILE HAS IT'S OWN SADISTIC FUNCTION! FOR EXAMPLE, A GREEN TILE IS AN ALARM TILE, AND WILL ALERT A MONSTER TO FIGHT YOU! RED TILES WILL… ACTUALLY, 'T WE SEE THIS PUZZLE ABOUT A HUNDRED ROOMS AGO?"
"Is he talking about Snowdin? But he wasn't even there…"
"He does kind of look like the randomization puzzle…"
"THAT'S RIGHT! YOU REMEMBER ALL THE RULES, CORRECT? GREAT! THEN I WON'T WASTE YOUR TIME BY REPEATING THEM!"
"But I didn't answer…"
"OH, AND YOU BEETTER HURRY. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IN ABOUT THIRTY SECONDS, THIS FIRE WALL WILL BURN YOU ALIVE." The sound of robotic laughter filled the air."OH, MY POOR AMOUR! I AM SO FILLED WITH GRIEF I CAN'T HELP BUT LAUGH! GOOD LUCK DARLING!"
"Semblance don't fail me now!" Ruby smirked, jumping into the air and launched herself across, landing on the other side.
"MY MY! IT APPEARS WE HAV A CHEATER ON OUR HANDS LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! I GUESS YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO FRY INSTEAD!"
Ruby watched as the flames slowly closed in on her, feeling the heat on her face.
Ring
"Watch out, I'll save you! I'm hacking into the fire wall now!"
The walls shut off, leaving a very relieved Ruby standing there.
"OH NO! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? FOILED AGAIN BY THE BRILLIANT DR. ALPHYS!"
"That'sright! Tou'll never beat us! Not as long as we work together!" Alphys cheered excitedly on the other end. "Your puzzle's over! Now go home and leave us alone!"
PUZZLE…OVER? Alphys, DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STEP ON A GREEN TILE RIGHT?" An awkward pause filled the room. "WELL WELL WELL… WELL WELL WELLY WELL WELL…" Robotic coughs drowned out the silence. "YOU DIDN'T STEP ON GREEN TILES… OH WELL!"
Mettaton attacked Ruby, forcing her into combat.
"Oh I can't wait to go home so I won't be forced to have this as my primary fighting system…"
"THIS IS IT DARLING, SAY GOODBYE!"
Ring
"IS THAT YOUR PHONE? BETTER ANSWER IT!"
"H-hi Ruby!" Alphys practically shouted. "This seems bad, but don't worry! There's one last thing I installed on your phone! See that big yellow button?"
"Um, yeah."
"Press it!"
"Okay…"
Ruby pressed the button and watched her soul turn yellow. It rotated upside down. she pressed the button again, and her soul shot bullets out of it.
"OOOOOH! YOU'VE DEFEATED ME! HOW COULD THIS BE, YOU WERE STRONGER THAN ME ETC." He rolled away.
"L-looks like you beat him. You did a really great job out there."
"Mmhmm"
"uuuummm… can I tell you a secret? Before I met you I didn't like myself very much. For a long time I felt like a total screw up. Like I couldn't do anything without letting everyone down. but guiding you has made me feel a lot better about myself."
"Aw, Alphys…"
"So, thanks for letting me help you. Anyways, we're almost to the core. It's just past the resort. Come on, let's finish this."
Click
"I'm almost home…"
"Does this fill you with determination?"
"You're damn right it does."
