First, I'm very sorry that I've been unable to respond to most reviews; I've been pretty busy, but I should be able to start replying soon. After I've had a rest.
Second, halfway through writing this chapter I remembered that vampires aren't supposed to show up in videos, mirrors, sensors, etc. Whoops. My bad. Not much I can do to change that now, so I'll just say that in this story that doesn't happen.
Well, that was interesting. The Hunger commented as Alphys left after having upgraded Frisk's phone. Frisk snorted.
That's an understatement. Who knew I'm so good at counting and that I can do it in that amount of time?
Certainly not me. You're getting better at controlling yourself as well. Good job.
Thanks. Anyway, shall we have a look around this place? It seems pretty interesting so far.
You're asking as if I have a choice.
Frisk moved around the lab, inspecting items of interest, gaining amusing comments and also a cup of instant noodles. When they'd finished looking around the bottom floor of the lab, they moved past the door that was labelled "Approved personnel only" which Alphys had gone into, and over to a conveyor belt that headed upstairs. "Upstairs" being a loose term since there were no stairs and the only way up was on the conveyor belt.
When they got to the second floor they had a look around, taking in the things labelled "Human History" and also a machine that was oozing pink goop, as well as a worn down work table with many strange tools and blueprints on it and an anime poster above it. At the end of the room were two special beds that fold into convenient, easy-to-describe boxes when not in use, a closet filled mostly with lab coats and a couple dresses, and a poster of Mettaton that had "Thank you for making my dreams come true" written on it.
When they'd finished inspecting things on the top floor they took another conveyor belt down to the ground floor and went out the other side of the lab.
It seems we're finally making progress. The Hunger sassed. Frisk didn't bother replying because as soon as they'd left the lab a notification went off on their newly-upgraded phone. They pulled it out of their pocket and read the notification. It was from the site that Alphys had signed them up to, Undernet.
ALPHYS updated status.
* just spoke to the new human and upgraded their phone
I hope she isn't one of those people who updates their status all the time, because we're going to have to put up with SO many notifications if she is. The Hunger told Frisk as they put their phone back and walked further along the path, while taking in the scenery. They appeared to be on a cliff path surrounded by lava and glowing machinery. They were snapped out of their scenery-ing when their phone went off again.
ALPHYS updated status.
* now i gotta call them up and guide them =^.^=
Oh god, she is.
Stop groaning, we can deal with it.
Frisk headed along the path and ended up near some more conveyors. There was steam coming out of contraptions to the side of the path, and some of the floor seemed to be made of pipes. Halfway across the conveyor belt, they bumped into a monster and were dragged into the battle. The conveyors stopped moving.
Interesting. Frisk thought before looking at the monster they'd bumped into. It seemed to be a mini volcano with legs and a face. They checked it.
VULKIN – ATK 25 DEF 0. Mistakenly believes its lava can heal people.
Aww, it's so cute! Frisk gushed as they went up to hug it, after avoiding some lightning attacks.
Hey, I don't think- The Hunger stopped its thought as Frisk hugged the Vulkin. You give Vulkin a hug. It warms your heart… and your whole body! Ouch! Your DEF dropped!
"Ahh… so… LOVEY!" The Vulkin said as it was hugged and its eyes turned heart-shaped. Nevertheless, it still shot fireballs at Frisk before letting them spare it.
Suddenly, the conveyor belt started up again. Although not so suddenly that Frisk didn't have time to grab 40G that the Vulkin left behind. They ended up at the other side of the belt, and continued on the path.
ALPHYS updated status.
* gonna call them in a minute! =^.^=
There were more conveyors, going in strange directions. It was almost hard to not get thrown off into the lava below. They soon made it to the end of them, though, and headed further along the path. There were lots of pipes in the ground, but those receded as they went further.
ALPHYS updated status.
* I HATE USING THE PHONE I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^
In front of Frisk were what seemed to be contraptions billowing steam with glowing arrows on them. They stepped on one, and it threw them across a chasm that had lava at the bottom. They landed perfectly but decided to just jump the next time they needed to use one of them. Suddenly…!
Tsunderplane gets in the way! Not on purpose or anything. Frisk snickered a bit before checking the plane. TSUNDERPLANE – ATK 25 DEF 26. Seems mean, but does it secretly like you?
The plane used mini planes to drop bombs that exploded into pillars of fire when they hit the ground to attack Frisk. They were actually pretty hard to dodge.
Tsunderplane gives you a condescending barrel roll. Frisk approached the plane. You get close to Tsunderplane. But not too close.
"Eeeeh? H-human…?" The plane looked flustered, and there were green areas around the mini planes that were now dive bombing Frisk. After hitting enough of the green areas, the Tsunderplane shook its nose dismissively at them. It had a massive blush – which in itself was a great feat, since planes can't blush. Obviously, Frisk flirted with it.
You tell Tsunderplane it has an impressive wingspan.
"H-huh?! Y-you sicko!" The plane said, looking away shyly.
I can second that. The Hunger said as Frisk spared the plane and got 60G for their efforts. They jumped a couple steam gaps before stopping because of another status update.
ALPHYS updated status.
* omg i've had my claw over the last digit for 5 minutes.
* omg i'm just gonna do it
* i'm just gonna call!
Please do. Frisk hopped another gap before their phone started to ring. They picked up the call but whoever had been calling had already hung up. They headed further onward before getting to another piped area, but this one had what seemed to be lasers.
Their phone rang again. They picked it up. "Uhh! H-hi, so, the blue lasers… Uhh! I mean, Alphys here! Hi! The blue lasers won't hurt you if you don't move! O-orange ones, um… Y-you have to be moving, and they… Um, they won't, um… Move through those ones!"
"You don't say." Frisk replied, sounding amused. Alphys hung up with a hurried bye.
ALPHYS updated status.
* OMG I DID IT!
* claws haven't shook like that since undyne called me to ask about the weather… v.v
Frisk moved through the orange lasers and, just as they got to the moving blue laser, they got another update.
ALPHYS updated status.
* WAIT THERE'S NO WEATHER DOWN HERE WHY DID SHE CALL ME
Frisk snickered to themselves while waiting for the blue laser to pass, before moving on and repeating the process a couple more times. Eventually they reached a switch, which they pressed. The lasers were deactivated. They moved on further. The ground was starting to become more of a mix between actual, rocky, ground and pipes.
ALPHYS updated status.
* Oh My God i Forgot to Tell THem Where To Go
ALPHYS posted a picture.
* CUte PIC OF ME RIGHT NOW ^.^
It was a photo of a garbage can with several pink, glittery filters over it. Frisk headed further along the path.
"Ugh, not more steam jumpy things!" They groaned out loud. Before they could hop over the gaps, they were called again.
"A-A-Alphys here! Th… the northern door will stay locked until you… S-solve the puzzles on the right and left! I... I think you sh-should g-g-go to the right first!" Alphys hung up.
Well then, if she says so. Frisk thought, hopping right.
To the right of the steam jumpy things was a building that was purple and red with an upside down soul hanging above the doorway. It seemed like they should go inside. There were also some people lounging around outside, but they ignored them. Inside they found what seemed to be a puzzle, and a bouncing cat head in the corner who was muttering about its co-workers not helping to solve the puzzle.
Frisk read the instructions to the puzzle and easily finished it, before heading back the way they came and then to the left. When they got to the left area, there seemed to be an impassable blue laser. They got a call.
"Alphys! Here! Th-that blue laser seems totally impassable! B-b-but! As the Royal Scientist, I h-have some tricks up my sleeve! I'll h-hack into th-the Hotland laser database and take it out!" The laser deactivated and Frisk walked past, ignoring two teens in school uniform who were loitering around.
Frisk entered a building that looked vastly the same as the other puzzle building and found a more complex shooting puzzle. It took them a little more time to complete it, but they managed in the end and left the area again.
They jumped across north and watched as a set of big, intimidating, runed doors grinded open before walking through them. Then they groaned in agony. There was a row of steam jumpy thingies, and it was the only way they could go. They braced themselves and stepped on the first one, being launched across one by one and spinning all over the place before landing at the end on a tiled area, traumatised but otherwise fine.
They took a moment to look at the floor. It was completely different from the rest of Hotland so far. It seemed more… kitchen-y. Their suspicions were confirmed when they entered a dark room, which they could see perfectly in. It was definitely a kitchen.
They took a couple steps forward before getting a call from Alphys. She explained that she was about to turn on the lights, and when she did she uttered an "Oh no" before Mettaton rose from the ground behind the kitchen surface, exclaiming "OHHHH YES!" He was wearing a chef's hat.
Frisk couldn't help but grin as Mettaton started rambling and some nice music started. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!" A sparkling sign appeared that said "Cooking With A Killer Robot" in cursive.
"PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPIE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING… A CAKE! MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS. EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!" Mettaton clapped his hands and confetti rained from the ceiling. It got stuck in Frisk's hair again. "WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS. GO FOR IT, SWEETHEART!"
Frisk moved to the counter behind them that held the sugar, milk and eggs, grabbed all three, and brought them back to the kitchen surface. "PERFECT! GREAT JOB, BEAUTIFUL! WE'VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE! MILK… SUGAR… EGGS…" Mettaton paused for dramatic effect. "…OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!"
The music stopped. Frisk looked straight at Mettaton, instead of grinning at the camera. He had pulled out a chainsaw. "A HUMAN SOUL!"
Mettaton moved at just the right dramatic pace towards Frisk with the chainsaw revving, before getting interrupted by his phone ringing. "HELLO…? I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."
"W-wait a second!" It seemed the call was connected to some kind of microphone or something, as they could hear Alphys talking. "Couldn't you make a… Couldn't you use a… Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipie?!"
"…A SUBSTITIUTION? YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? …WHY?" Mettaton asked.
"Uhhh, what if someone's…" Alphys paused to think. "…Vegan?"
"…VEGAN."
"Uhh well I mean-" The gameshow music came on.
"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS! ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND-ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOUR-SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH… IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!" The camera panned over to a counter near the edge of the set that held a can of the substitute. The camera panned back to Mettaton and Frisk. "WELL, DARLING? WHY DON'T YOU GO GET IT?"
As Frisk walked over to the counter, the camera following them, the counter suddenly shot up into the air and out of their reach. Mettaton walked over to them. Well, wheeled.
"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE. IF YOU CAN'T GET THAT CAN IN ONE MINUTE… WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GET BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN! SO… BETTER START CLIMBING, BEAUTIFUL!" Mettaton flew off as Frisk got a call.
"Oh no! There's not enough time to climb up! …F-f-fortunately, I might have a plan! When I was upgrading your phone, I added a few… features. You see that huge button that says… 'JETPACK'? Watch this!" The phone, shockingly, turned into a jetpack.
What a plot twist.
"There! You should have just enough fuel to reach the top! Now, get up there!" Alphys said as Frisk launched into the sky. Along the way to the top, Mettaton threw eggs, flour and sugar at them to try and slow them down. Most of the food missed, but Frisk imagined they'd be trying to get that flour out of their hair for a long time.
When they reached the top, Mettaton started talking again. "MY MY. IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD THE HELP OF THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS! OH, I LOATHE TO THINK OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU WITHOUT HER! WELL, TOODLES!"
Mettaton flew off and Frisk sat down on the pillar/counter as it retracted itself back down. Alphys rang them at the bottom. "Wow! We… we did it! We… we really did it! Great job out there, team!"
No problem, glad I could help. The Hunger replied. Obviously, Alphys couldn't hear it.
"W-well, uh, anyway, let's keep heading forward!"
And so Frisk did.
Chara leaned back at the end of the live episode of "Cooking With A Killer Robot." They had enjoyed it much more than usual. They couldn't wait until the next time they'd see the new human… Uh, the next time Mettaton's show was on, they mean.
Someone's a little tsundere... and it's not just the Tsunderplane.