Dipper and Mabel made it towards where the River Person was waiting and was humming a tune to themselves. "Ah, welcome back." The River Person greeted them as they approached, "Hiya River guy slash gal!" Mabel greeted in return with a wide cheery grin as they boarded on the boat, "Where shall we go today?" The River Person asked them. "Back to Hotland. Also, I don't wanna be rude but could you maybe like speed things up a bit while we're heading over there?" Dipper requested when Mabel glanced over at him, "What's the hurry bro?" Dipper rubbed his chin in wonder, "Not that much of a hurry just that...I think I might've seen some large complex while we were there. It looked like a factory or a lab I'm not sure. Might be worth exploring.." He replied as Mabel nodded once, "Ooo! If its a factory it's gotta be a factory that makes Monster Candy! Or Several Timez plushies! Oh! Or..or...SWEATERS!" She said in sheer excitement with wide sparkling eyes causing Dipper to roll his eyes with a smirk, "REAPER PERSON! HIT THE TURBO!" Mabel ordered with anticipation with the River Person nodding once in acknowledgement. "Then we're off..." They said, when suddenly, the boat looked to have hovered a few inches above the water, when in reality, it actually grew four pairs of legs that had the appearance of a dog's legs. This was more evident in the fact that a dog's face formed on the front side of the boat much to Dipper's shock and bewilderment but Mabel's excitement grew all the more so she did not took notice of it that much.
And in an instant, the boat literally galloped across the surface of the water with great speed, creating large splashes with each trot on the water. Dipper yelled in fright as he held onto to the boat tightly in fear of falling off, but Mabel was having a great time as she cheered in entertainment while raising her arms up. After a mere few minutes, the boat came to a slow halt with it standing on the surface of the water instead of sinking in. "Here we are." The River Person said as they stopped next the area where they first met the River Person and took a ride with him. Dipper was breathing heavily as he tried to swallow his heart back in his chest, holding onto the boat like a frightened cat with wide eyes and grit teeth. "Woo hoo! That was fun! We gotta do it again!" Mabel said which prompted Dipper to instantly pull her back with a shrill look of disapproval, "NO! No! Never again." This in turn caused Mabel to let out a sound of sadness as Dipper pulled her with him off the boat. They walked up the long stairs and already could feel the oncoming heat from the environment, "Awe Dipper where'd your sense of excitement go when we had that snowball fight?" Mabel asked him as Dipper glanced at his sister over his shoulder briefly, "It's still there, Mabel. But there are limits to my tastes of entertainment." He replied only serving further confusion to Mabel, "Limits? Pssh c'mon! Who needs limits when you're having fun?!" She questioned in a bubbly manner. "Mabel you've always gotta have limits. Otherwise you'll be having so much fun you'll end up six feet under." He responded ominously.
"Six feet under? You mean like...go bungee jumping and hit the ground so hard we get buried six feet under the ground?" Mabel questioned innocently not understanding the true meaning behind the term. "Yeah. That." Dipper answered, not exactly wanting to clarify the meaning in case he scars his sister. "That actually sounds like fun!" Mabel then said with a grin causing Dipper to stare, "This is why I'm always scared when you, Grenda, and Candy ask me to join you on your 'girl time'." He remarked as they reached the top and re-entering the volcanic environment of Hotland. "Oh please you're just scared because you're a boy and you can't ever see the real fun behind what us girls do." Mabel shot him comically as she placed her hands on her sides while Dipper glanced around briefly with a sigh, "And I prefer it that way. Besides, the same applies to you! You can't understand the real fun behind what us boys do!" He shot back at her with a smug look before walking forward causing Mabel to emit a sound of offense, but a friendly one. "How dare you, sir!" She voiced crossly. "I dare because I'm a sir, MA'AM!" Dipper raised his voice at her when Mabel took his scarf and tossed it making it spin around his face and completely wrapping it up, "You're darn right I'm a ma'am. But I'm the ma'amiest ma'am in all the land! Heh that rhymed." She cracked with a chuckle. Dipper removed the scarf off his face and tickled her face with the tassels of his scarf, "H-Hey!" Mabel laughed as she raised her hands up in defense.
"Your ma'am power is no match for my MAN power!" Dipper proclaimed with an amused grin. Mabel reached over and tugged his cap down blocking his view, "Not when your man power is blinded haha!" Mabel chortled as the twins shared a sibling moment exchanging a few laughs before they continued on. "Glad to see you happy, bro bro." Mabel told him softly giving him a nudge on his arm, "Couldn't be without you, Mabes." Dipper stated with a smile and making her blush, "Awe you." She giggled as they passed by a familiar monster who was standing next to the water cooler. It was the clam monster that was performing his rap verse during the concert with Mabel and Shyren. The twins looked at each other then back at the Clam Guy when Mabel waved to him, "Oh my gosh! It's the Clammy dude that was saying all that gibberish back in Waterfall!" She said in euphoric surprise. "Really? Huh. What're you doing here, man?" Dipper asked him when his shell opened to reveal his face, "Oh, n, n, n, n, n, nothing. I was thirsty so I came over from Waterfall to get a drink!" He answered before his shell closed again. "Seriously? But Waterfall is like...filled with water couldn't you have just drank the water from there?" Dipper questioned him with a raised eyebrow. "O, k, k, k, k, k, k. I may as well do that if the water as good as the one in that cooler!" He responded with his shell closing again after it opened from his response. "Um...well okay then." Dipper could only say when Mabel patted his back, "Just leave him, bro. He's got a point the water there isn't really that tasty."
"Mabel water doesn't have a taste." He told her when she shushed him, "Shh." And with that they were off once again, crossing the bridge and finally made it towards the large complex that Dipper saw several feet away when they first entered Hotland. But it was no factory, it was in fact a laboratory which was obvious from the name that showed the identity of the complex; being 'lab'. "Whoa. Mabel! That's it! That's the one! And it's even better than a factory!" Dipper exclaimed in excitement since it was laboratory and with him having a massive affinity for science and technology. But Mabel was none too thrilled of the revelation, "Awe, man! I really hoped it would be a factory of sweaters and candy." She said in disappointment with a pout. "Don't worry, sis. It's a lab. These places make the candy there and hey you could even find clones of Several Timez in there." Dipper told her in assurance, earning a gasp of shock from his sister, "Oh em gee! You're right! Let's skedaddle to the lab of wonders!" She declared as she ran in front of her brother who grinned, "Now you're talking, sister." Before taking off as well. When they made it over to the laboratory entrance, they saw that its size was not really that massive. It looked to have the height of a small cuboid building but with a white metallic appearance and several coils and vents stationed around the construct. They stopped when they noticed something else at their left.
There were two large and overly built guards wearing an all black armor with the visors on their helmets obscuring their faces. Although the difference between them was the shape of their visors as one's helmet looked to have floppy 'horns' of sorts, resembling the ears of a rabbit while the other had two curvy horns. They stood tall and firmly guarding a pathway that looked to be leading towards an elevator of sorts at the far end. "Who're those guys?" Mabel asked her brother to side upon noticing them, "I'm not sure. They look like they're one of the Royal Guards. I think it's better if we keep our distance." Dipper said, a little intimidated by them due to their appearance. "What? Why? We're friends with Undyne now and we made friends with all the Royal Guards we've met at Snowdin!" Mabel stated but Dipper didn't look too convinced, "Yeah I know but...look at these guys, Mabel! They look like they could give even Manly Dan a run for his money." Dipper said anxiously. "Oh pishy poshy. I'm gonna go say hi and prove it." Mabel declared as she walked over ignoring her brother's pleas. When she made it, along with a hesitant Dipper, they stood in front of the two guards who looked to be around six to seven feet in height, making them massive in the eyes of the twins. "Hi there big muscle guys!" The second guard with the curvy horns said nothing but the one with the floppy horns answered, "Hi there little sweater wearing dudette." His tone of voice matched that of a surfer on the beach. Mabel let out a squeal as she nudged her brother, "He called me, dudette! That means we're already off to a great start!" She lowly said to him with a wide grin.
Clearing her throat, she then said, "Can I just say that you two are doing an amazing job of being Royal Guards?" They were both surprised by this when the first guard said, "W-Wait, really? You, like, really think so?" He questioned with eagerness behind his voice, "Do I really think so? I super duper think so with sprinkles and chocolate on top!" Mabel answered with an optimistic tone raising her arms in the air, and the two guards were more than happy to hear, "Bro! Bro! Did you hear that? This little dudette says we're totally doing a great job to where, like, sprinkles and chocolate are covered on our progress!" But the second guard remained quiet only uttering a grunt, "I know! Thanks little dudette. We, like, totally try our best." The first guard told her. Mabel giggled and winked towards Dipper's direction who was now at ease and had a small smile on his lips, "Say, can you two sweethearts tell little ol' cutie me why you're guarding this part?" She asked them in an adorable manner. "Oh! Undyne, like, told us there was totally humans in the area. So, like, us Royal Guards are blocking off the elevator for now." He answered much to the surprised looks of the twins. "Really? Undyne told you that?" Dipper asked with the two nodding in confirmation. Dipper looked over behind them and noticed that the elevator was not running on power, "But...that elevator looks like it's not even working." He pointed out which in turn caused the first guard to stomp his foot strongly in response.
"Ngah! Even if the elevators aren't working anyway, we'll do our best! By the order of Ms. Undyne!" He declared with pride and determination. "That's the spirit big guy! Keep this up and Undyne will give you a promotion! In fact, I'll be sure to tell her to give you guys just that when I see her." Mabel told them folding her arms much to the, obscured, stunned looks on their faces. "Wait, you can like, totally tell Undyne that?!" The first guard said. "Mhm. Her and eye happen to be pretty tight." Mabel smugly said making a scissor gesture with her fingers. "That is like, totally rad brah! If you see her, tell her to give us more Nice Cream breaks!" He pleaded to which she nodded with a thumbs up, and the first guard expressed his gratitude by fist bumping with Mabel. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She said before taking out her sticker pad, and removing two before planting them on the guards' chest. "Womp womp!" The guards looked at the stickers and saw an orange with a smiling face saying 'orange you doing a good job' and the second guard has a sticker saying 'smile like a rainbow' which had a rainbow with googly eyes on it and a goofy grin. "Whoa...dude...look...there're for us! We, like, totally got our first badges!" The first guard exclaimed with joy while the second guard just grunted a sound.
"Ta-da! My seals of approval for being totally awesome Royal Guards and professionally guarding an elevator! Cause you guys are not just guarding an elevator you're preventing a major disaster from happening!" Mabel told them with the two guards giving each other a glance then back at her, "Like...preventing a human from totally hi-jacking an elevator?" The first guard wondered when Mabel took a step closer, "Even worse...you're making sure that those evil elevators say off because THEY CAN TOTALLY MAKE YOU HEAVE!" She suddenly revealed in a dramatic manner earning a gasp from the first guard, "Yo! Dude! She's right! What if, like, we totally rode the elevator and I heaved in my helmet?!" Dipper stared at the scene before he shook his head and pulled his sister away, "O-Kay that's enough of that. Time to go, Mabel." He said as Mabel waved to the guards, "Bye guys! Remember: with the power of those stickers nothing can pass by you!" She yelled to their direction while the guards waved to her in return. "Bro, this chick is like, a total rad brad." The first guard told his comrade who just sighed, "I know bro! We'll definitely hang these badges n our walls and then, like, everyone can see we're not total weenies!" The first guard declared with confidence. After that, the twins walked over to the entrance of the lab, "See bro? That wasn't so bad was it?" Dipper had to admit that it wasn't the scenario that he saw in his mind, but something tells him that they will not hear the last of those guards, "Yeah but, didn't you hear what that guard said? They got orders from Undyne to block off the elevators in case a human gets through here! Which means they don't know that it's cool between us and Undyne." Dipper said with slight anxiety until Mabel patted his shoulder, "Ah don't sweat it brosef. They don't know that we're humans so there's nothing to worry about." She assured him as Dipper sighed with a shrug, "Yeah I guess so. Well, let's get this over with." When they walked closer to the door, it suddenly opened but they could see nothing but pitch black darkness inside.
The twins looked at each other with apprehension before going inside the lab with the door closing behind them. When they entered, they were now walking in darkness much to Mabel's discomfort as she instinctively stuck close to her brother who held her hand as they slowly walked forward in the dark lab. "Ugh what is it with these guys and the dark? Don't they get like...dark-o-phobia or something?" Mabel wondered apprehensively as she and her brother's eyes were squinting in a vain attempt to focus their vision through the dark. "Well after living in a hole for so long you'd get used to it." Dipper casually replied, and wishing that he still had the lantern back with him. After taking a few more steps, they jumped with a frightened yelp from a sudden sound of machinery next to them as well as shielding their eyes from the light that burst. Lowering their arms, and blinking a few times, they were immediately in a state of shock to see that what was in front of them was a large monitor. But what was truly shocking is the fact that they were the ones being shown on the screen as though they were being recorded. They were quiet for a few moments when Mabel broke the silence, "Whoa...are...are we...on TV?!" She suddenly exclaimed in excitement snapping Dipper out of his stunned state. "Huh? What?!" He stuttered when Mabel continued, "Dipper we're on TV! And man do I look dashing and cute!" She complimented herself, winking to the screen with a prideful grin and chuckle. "Mabel we're not on the air. We're being watched." Dipper said now cautious of his surroundings. "Duh! That's what TV is, dummy butt. You go on the screen and you get watched." She stated completely unaware of the true meaning behind the scene itself.
"What? No, Mabel! I mean like there's a camera here somewhere and someone's watching us in another part of the lab!" Dipper clarified with frustration, "Oh please, if this was really a lab they wouldn't have a TV. For all we know this could be a studio. And it's gotta be if it captures your head like that haha!" Mabel cracked with a laugh earning a groan and palm to the face from her brother when he paused from that last sentence, "Wait a minute...what's wrong with my head?" He questioned her with narrowed eyes and a frown, "Oh nothing. Just that it's so big from all the nerdy things going on in there." Mabel teased him making Dipper take a strong step forward, offended, "Hey! My head isn't that big! It's only a little wide because I'm just smart!" He proclaimed as he shielded his head from his sister's view making her laugh all the more in amusement. She was about to say something when she stopped upon hearing the mechanical woosh sound of a door being opened quickly replacing their faces with panic. "Someone's coming...shoot!" Dipper whispered in sheer panic and grit teeth as he looked around in an attempt to find a place to hide. He took Mabel by the hand and rushed forward but stopped when he heard foot steps out in front. His heart felt like it was racing as there was no way he could find a place to hide with Mabel in time. The lights were turned on, and they were rather surprised by who was the one that emerged from the door. "Ugh...this is probably the last time I order a jumbo strawberry milkshake with sprinkles..." The person said revealing it to be female but sounded as though that her nose was clogged like she had a cold of some sort. She turned away from the light switch and her appearance was fully shown to be a yellow, reptilian monster of similar height to the twins. She has scales, round glasses, protruding teeth and is wearing a white lab coat.
She scratched her rear end when she looked up and her eyes widened like dinner plates behind her glasses upon meeting the twins. Dipper had the same expression but Mabel did not seem to be all that alarmed or panicked as she smiled and waved, "Hi." She greeted in her usual mannerisms of positivism. But the female scientists jumped once taking a step back and gripping her head, "Oh. My gosh..." And was then sent into a state of hysterical distress, her eyes darting around and sweating, "I didn't expect you to show up so soon! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, it's all messy, and...and..." she was beginning to calm down slowly in her hysterical fit as realization soon swept on of how awkward this was now while the twins could do nothing but stare oddly at her. "Umm..." She managed to utter after a few moments, "Hi there, friend!" Mabel waved and greeted her once again catching the scientist off guard briefly but was able to put on a strained but nervous smile, "H-h-h-hiya!" She stammered in her own greeting. "I'm Mabel! And this is Dipper, my brother! Are you a fellow nerd like him? -gasp- Are you some kind of monster version of Willy Wonka!? If you are can you make sweaters made out of candy and has Several Timez on it?!" She introduced themselves with Dipper giving her a look as she quickly jumped to where she thought this lab would make candy, sweaters, Several Timez clones or all three into one, then turned it back to the stranger who was caught off guard by array of questions but managed to gain a hold of herself. "I'm Dr. Alphys. And y-y-yeah I'm also a fellow...um nerd. Because I'm Asgore's royal scientist!" She also introduced herself while fiddling with her hands. "Wait...Dr. Alphys...? Hold on, so you're the one that made the puzzles back there in Snowdin?" Dipper asked her which looked to have made her more anxious in the process, "Oh um...u-uh yeah! Yeah I'm the one that...provided Papyrus with the p-p-puzzles." She replied.
"No wonder they were so good! They only had to be made by someone that's a super nerd!" Mabel bluntly and bubbly pointed out. "But I'm wondering if she also made them to try and keep us off so we could get captured." Dipper said with furrowed eyebrows and crossing his arms. Alphys held her hands out waving them in assurance and denial, "O-oh no no no no! I'm not one of the 'bad guys'!" She proclaimed but Dipper simply rose one eyebrow in doubt, "Do you have any proof of that?" He questioned her making her glance to the side and return to fiddle with her hands, "W-W-Well um...actually...since you two stepped out of the Ruins, I've, um...been 'observing' your journeys through my console." She revealed with a sheepish grin and nervous light chuckle. "Wait what? You were watching us the whole time?" Dipper said with wide eyes, "Y-Yes! Your fights, your friendships, everything!" Alphys furthered in the revelation, "Oh my gosh! We were on TV this whole time!? I haven't even put on any make-up!" Mabel stated in shock as she covered her face, "Hold on! Why were you watching us? Were you trying to find out a weakness that we have so you could report it to your king and make him use it against us?" Dipper pointed with an aggressive tone making Alphys flinch, "No! No! That's not the case I s-swear! Well...w-was the case. But listen I was originally going to stop you, but...watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them." She replied with a shrug causing Dipper to narrow his eyes until Mabel nudged his arm, "Hey Dipper come on chillax. I mean look at her! She looks like she wouldn't harm a fly at all. Plus she's like that totally adorable nerdy girl type." Mabel said in assurance.
Alphys became flustered when Mabel said that she was adorable and shook a little. "Hmm. Then what about the puzzles?" Dipper questioned Mabel. "Those puzzles weren't trying to hurt us silly. Just test our brain power! Plus they were fun and you even said it yourself. They're puzzles and not traps, Dip Dip." Mabel chuckled which actually made sense to Dipper now that he thought about it and his antagonistic thoughts towards Alphys eased down by a lot but he was still cautious nonetheless, "Exactly! S-so, ah, now I want to help you!" Alphys announced, which was something that made Dipper's eyebrows raise in response, "Help us?" He repeated her last two words in thought, "Y-Yeah! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you two through Hotland! And I know a way right through Asgore's castle, no problem!" Alphys said with confidence. Dipper put some thought into it, it was obvious that she was quite intelligent judging from the puzzles that were made in Snowdin as well as the advanced machinery that he could not help but admire in the laboratory. "Really? Aww Alphys that's so sweet of you! We totally appreciate it cause we'll need all the help we can get!" Mabel cut in cheerfully. But, they noticed that Alphys' expression changed to one of concern, "Well, actually, um, there's just a tiny issue." She brought up with a tense voice earning the attention of Dipper from his thoughts, "Issue? What issue?" Dipper asked with his own concerned expression.
"Oh well, u-um, you see a long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton. And originally I built him to be an entertainment robot. Uh, you know, like, a robotic TV star or something." Alphys explained, with Mabel giving Dipper a sly look on the fact that she believes that this was more of a studio for live television only for Dipper to roll his eyes and then say, "Okay? What's the issue with that?" Alphys took a moment before she answered, "Um, well, recently I decided to make him more useful." Dipper's eyebrows now furrowed with ever growing concern, "What do you mean useful?" Mabel then said, "She probably gave him some built-in cup holders." In a whisper. "Oh you know, just some small practical adjustments. Like um...anti...anti-human combat features?" She blurted the last sentences out nervously but Dipper caught it and was now alarmed, "What?!" He exclaimed with Alphys quickly then saying, "Of c-course when I saw you coming I immediately decided I have to remove those features!" Mabel hopped once in a cheer, "Yay! Nothing to worry about!" But that is when Alphys let out a weak and anxious chuckle, "Well there is something to w-worry about. Because unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so." She said as she was sweating, "And um, now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?" The royal scientist elaborated with extreme awkwardness. Dipper felt his jaw hit the flew and that his eyes would widen to the point where they would pop out of the sockets, he shook his head, gave himself a moment when he then said rather calmly, "So you're telling me that there's an unstoppable murderous robot out there that's programmed to exterminate any human he comes across in the most painful and brutal way possible?"
A few moments of silence passed as Alphys' eyes darted left and right, sweating profusely now. "...y-yes?" She meekly answered. "AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO PUT A REMOTE SHUT DOWN SWITCH WHEN YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND?!" He shouted angrily gripping his head as he too was now in panic making Alphys yelp and hid her face, "Whoa calm down bro." Mabel told him but the fact that a murderous robot is out for their blood is all but assuring, "Mabel! There's a rampaging human-killing robot out there! You really expect me to calm down?!" He exclaimed as she raised her hands up, "Hey! It's a robot, Dip-Stick. You're a nerd so you can pretty much turn him off easily! Not only that but you also have another nerd with you! Alphys! With two nerds, there's no way that Metal-Ton can stand a chance." Mabel told him in an attempt to raise his confidence and courage again, "It's Mettaton." He corrected for her, "Same thing." She simply said. "Y-Yeah! Your sister's right! And hopefully we won't run into him." Alphys joined in with a sheepish grin. Dipper was about to say something when they all felt a strong metallic thud echoing around the lab. The three put on looks of confusion, when another metallic thud erupted this time more strongly as though it were a tremor. "D-Did you hear that...?" Alphys asked them both as she looked around anxiously. Just then, the sound was followed by five more thunderous strikes, getting stronger with each blow and nearly knocking the twins and Alphys off their feet. Mabel huddled up to her brother as she and Dipper were looking around as well in extreme caution. When it stopped, Alphys' eyes widened in realization and horror, "Oh no..." And right on cue, the wall that was in the middle of their stations was destroyed by a large explosions and earning sounds of fear and surprise from the three.
Thick smoke covered a good portion of the lower level of the lab making the twins and Alphys cough as they were engulfed in it, just then a robotic voice erupted from where the explosion erupted by the wall, "OHHHH YES! WELCOME BEAUTIES..." The voice introduced in the darkness, when a drum roll was heard and a spotlight shown on the source of the voice, the robot known as Mettaton. However, his appearance is not what was expected as his appearance consisted of him being a gray, largely rectangular box with a grid of lights at the top which can change color depending on his various actions. He has four dials along the bottom of his body, and from the bottom, he has a single leg which ends in a wheel. He has two segmented robotic arms which end in white gloves. He was holding a microphone and raised one robotic arm before finishing his last sentence, "...TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!" Immediately, entertainment music was on with colorful party papers falling down below in celebration to the 'show'. The twins and Alphys had a spiral ray of multi-colored lights circulating around them coming from the two mirror balls above. A large neon banner which had the words 'GAME SHOW' on descended down and stopped a few feet above Mettaton. Dipper had no words to be spat out as this was beyond unexpected but Mabel was not complained as her face was lit with extreme elation and pursing her lower lips with her front braces filled teeth out, hopping in place.
The audio of an audiance cheering loudly can also be heard in the back ground even though they were the only ones here. "OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT SHOW!" Mettaton said before he gestured over to the twins, "EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANTS!" He introduced the twins to the audience as he clapped along with the 'audience' but Dipper's eyes darted around in both confusion and trepidation, while Mabel squealed loudly, exhilarated as she sent out kisses to the non-existent audience and winked to their direction as well. Dipper jumped when Mettaton wheeled over and stood between the twins putting his hand on Dipper's shoulder making the boy all the more anxious and fearful as he desperately wanted to keep his distance from the robot, "HELLO THERE! THE NAME'S METTATON! AND WHO MIGHT YOU BE, BEAUTIFUL?" He asked Mabel who grinned widely, "I'm Mabel Pines! Glitterer, Artiste, and Knitter Extraordinaire!" She introduced herself like a famous individual, "MABEL PINES? A FITTING NAME FOR SUCH A LOVELY YOUNG LADY! AND WHAT ABOUT YOU, YOUNG MAN?" Mettaton then turned to Dipper as he lowered the microphone to him making him flinch, "U-Uh...I uh..." He stuttered, "GREAT TO MEET YOU! I CAN TELL THAT YOU TWO HAVE NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, EH?" He asked them, "Nope! First time to be here, sir!" Mabel answered as she was strangely unaware of the fact that this was the robot that was out for blood, but due to his personality, it was hard to believe yet this did not stir Dipper out of his caution. "AHAHA! FIRST TIMERS ARE ALWAYS NERVOUS! NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE! ANSWER CORRECTLY..." But before he could finish, two podiums emerged from the floor in front of the twins and raising them up to the microphones with rectangular block chairs, catching them by surprise. Mettaton's grid of lights all flashed dark red, "...OR YOU DIE!" He finished his voice taking a dark tone.
"W-what the heck is this?! Mabel!" Dipper tried to reach his sister but was electrocuted upon trying to leave making him yell loudly with pain, "Dipper!" Mabel called out to Dipper in worry, "DON'T WORRY, GORGEOUS! IT WAS JUST A LIGHT ZAP HE'LL BE FINE!" Mettaton 'assured' her as a slot opened from his side, taking out several small cards and looking at the twins, "NOW THEN LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!" He glanced at the first card, all while Alphys was in the back as she gazed at the scene with concern. "WHAT'S THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY? A) MONEY B) MERCY C) NEW CAR D) MORE QUESTIONS?" He told them the question. Mabel was still worried about Dipper who was shaking his head and rubbing his arm, "Dipper you okay?" He nodded a little, "I'll be fine. Let's just do what he says lest he pulls a switch and we fall in a tank full of sharks." Dipper told her as they both were now in thought at the question, "Um...a new car!" Dipper answered but he was given a zap making him fall down with a pained sound, "NOPE!" Mettaton said, making Alphys cringe from that as she nearly hid her face. Mabel tapped her braces in thought when her face lit up, "More questions!" She answered and a sound effect that signaled victory was heard revealing it to be the right answer, "RIGHT! SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT!" Mettaton said waving the cards around and causing Mabel to cheer for herself while Dipper got back up with a pained groan. "HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!" He looked down at the second card, "WHAT'S THE KING'S FULL NAME? A) LORD FLUFFYBUNS. B) FUZZY PUSHOVER C) ASGORE DREEMURR OR D) DR. FRIENDSHIP?" He asked and this was one they both knew, "Asgore Dreemurr!" They both answered. "CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER!" Mettaton said loudly with enthusiasm.
Dipper and Mabel's expressions were lit in happiness and high fived each other, they also noticed Alphys was giving them a thumbs up in the back ground. Metatton wheeled over between them, standing by the podiums. "ENOUGH ABOUT YOU, LET'S TALK ABOUT ME!" He looked down at the third card and read out, "WHAT ARE ROBOTS MADE OF? A) HOPES AND DREAMS B) METAL AND MAGIC C) SNIPES AND SNAILS OR D) SUGAR AND SPICE?" He gave them the question. The twins gave each other a glance, Dipper was knowledgable in the field of robots and he knew that most of these answers were not exactly the right one. So, he decided to pick the more logical one given the nature of this place. "Metal and magic!" Dipper answered which was the right answer, "TOO EASY FOR YOU, HUH?" Mettaton told them before he wheeled out in front of them, "THEN HOW ABOUT AN EASY ONE?" He suggested with a hint of mischief behind his robotic tone, "Two trains, Train A, and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A, and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards Station A. If both trains departed at 10:00 AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?" Mabel felt like her brain was split in two and replaced with static from the question alone but Dipper was very attentive on it, "A) 31.054 minutes B) 16.232 minutes C) 32.049 minutes D) 32.058 minutes?" He asked the two, but mainly Dipper since Mabel was trying to reboot her brain.
"32.058 minutes!" Dipper answered eagerly. "WONDERFUL! I'M ASTOUNDED FOLKS!" He loudly expressed his surprise and knocking Mabel out of her trance, "Huh? What? Was it A?" Mabel mumbled as she looked around in confusion. Alphys nodded approvingly with a grin and gave two thumbs to Dipper who returned them with his own light grin. "DON'T COUNT ON YOUR VICTORY." He reached behind them and pulled out a jar full of flies, "HOW MANY FLIES ARE IN THIS JAR? A) 54 B)53 C) 55 OR D) 52" Now the intelligent twin was stumped as the flies continued to fly around sporadically making it all the more difficult for the both of them. They were in rushed thought and were trying to restrain their panic as it would cause them to blurt out the answer unintentionally which would result in a painful failure. Alphys noticed their dilemma and then formed the letter 'A' with her fingers and hands, discreetly showing the twins the answer from behind. The twins noticed her hand sign making their eyes lit up with them both answering, "54!" They both replied, which was correct, and luckily Mettaton did not notice, "CORRECT! YOU'RE SO LUCKY TODAY!" Mabel looked over at Alphys and worded out a silent 'thank you' with her lips along with a heart shape formed with her fingers making Alphys blush red. "LET'S PLAY A MEMORY GAME!" He then showed a holographic picture of what looked to be the Froggit, "WHAT MONSTER IS THIS? A) FROGGIT? B) WHIMSUN C) MOLDSMAL D) METTATON?" Dipper scoffed thinking this to be some kind of joke.
"Pfft really? That's not even a question. It's the Froggit." He answered smugly, however, it was revealed to be the wrong answer as he was electrocuted causing him to release sounds of pain before falling to the floor behind his podium, "OOOO WRONG!" Mettaton said when he showed the entire picture which was actually Mettaton wearing a Froggit shirt, "Ooooooh you rapscallion!" Mabel chuckled at the robot, "BOY, THAT'S GOTTA BE EMBARRASSING FOR YOU, HUH?" Mettaton told Dipper who shakily got back glaring harshly at the robot, "...I hate you." Alphys flashed a 'really?' look towards Mettaton who did noti notice it "NOW CAN YOU GET THIS ONE?" He read the card, "WOULD YOU SMOOCH A GHOST?" In an instant, Mabel happily yelled out, "Heck yeah!" Without hesitation as she was reminded of Napstablook, "GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!" Dipper and Alphys looked at Mabel oddly who was in her dream land as she affectionately thought about the melancholic ghost. "OKAY HERE'S A SIMPLE ONE." He read the card, "HOW MANY LETTERS IN THE NAME METTATON NNNNNNNNNNNN- " The twins and Alphys noticed that not only were the number of Ns increasing, but also the numbers in the answers increasing accordingly. "H-Hey! What the heck?! That's not even fair!" Dipper exclaimed angrily, but Mabel noticed Alphys forming a 'C' with her hands and answered, "C!"Mabel then performed her victory dance by moon walking and thrusting her shoulders up and down in tandem, "OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU!" Mettaton said growing frustrated now. Unbeknownst to them, this show was indeed being broadcast live around the Underground. And that includes none other than Papyrus and Undyne who were watching in his abode as they sat on the couch while eating a bowl of buttered popcorn.
"Hah. Amateurs. I can answer these questions with a second eye patch on me." Undyne proclaimed as she took another chunk of popcorn. "I'M NOT SO SURE, UNDYNE. THESE QUESTIONS ARE PROVING TO BE CHALLENGING EVEN FOR ONE AS INTELLIGENT AS I." Papyrus said as he was rubbing his skull. "That's cause you don't do your homework as often as you think, Papyrus." Undyne told him with a cheesy sharp-toothed grin. "HEY I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I HAPPEN TO BE VERY PROFICIENT IN THE ART OF QUIZZES! SO MUCH SO THAT EVEN METTATON HIMSELF ONCE TOSSED THE CARDS AND LEFT THE STAGE BECAUSE I WAS TOO SMART!" Papyrus said as he put on a proud stance, but Undyne knew otherwise, "Yeah. He sounded really blown away by the answers you were giving." She then sighed, "WHAT IS WRONG, UNDYNE?" Papyrus asked her. "Huh? Oh nothing. Just wish Alphys was here. She loves these quiz shows." She said in a down mood. "OH THERE THERE. YOU CAN VISIT ALPHYS YOU KNOW? AND WHEN YOU DO YOU CAN ASK HER TO WATCH THE QUIZ SHOWS AND THOSE BIZARRE CARTOONS YOU TELL ME ABOUT." The tall skeleton told her trying to cheer her up, "Yeah if she freaking has time to hang out! These days she keeps saying that she's busy working on some stupid project or she was having one her bathroom problems again! And I'm like who cares about that stuff? When I wanna hang out you will give me a hang out!" Undyne exclaimed. "THAT'S THE SPIRIT! JUST KEEP PERSISTING UNTIL SHE GIVES YOU WHAT YOU WANT! IT'S HOW I MAKE IT THROUGH IN LIFE DAILY!" Papyrus cheered for her, "Yeah and you gave me sleeping problems in the process." Undyne told him grumpily before tossing a piece of popcorn in his nose making him release a sound.
"ALRIGHT TIME TO BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS!" Mettaton announced before he read the card, "IN THE DATING SIMULATION VIDEO GAME "Mew Mew Kissy Cutie" WHAT IS MEW MEW'S FAVORITE FOO-" But before Mettaton could finish at the last second, Alphys was the one who answered in an extremely eager and sporadic way, "OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE! IT'S SNAIL ICE CREAM! IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH! AND SHE BUYS ICE CREAM FOR ALL OF HER FRIENDS! BUT IT'S SNAIL FLAVOR AND SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS IT! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE GAME BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY POWERFUL message about friendship and..." She then began to slow down in the last few sentences, glancing around at the stares from the twins as well as Mettaton. But the robot surprisingly laughed at this, "ALPHYS ALPHYS ALPHYS. YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANTS ARE YOU?" He asked her and Alphys immediately shook her head stuttering out incoherent words while the twins could only look on tensely with concern. "OOOOOH! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION...YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO." Mettaton said ominously which the twins noticed that Alphys' expression was growing into one of horror as she bit her nails with frightened wide eyes. "WHO DOES DR. ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON? A) UNDYNE B) ASGORE C) ONE OF YOU TWO D) UNKNOWN" And the audience emitted a loud and sly 'ooo' in the back ground, and Mabel shared their curiosity since she was a girl. Dipper himself could not help but also be curious. "Hmm. Let's see...who does Alphys have a crush on...Dipper?" She asked her brother. "Not sure. Could be anyone." He casually said as he was thinking of which is the right answer while Alphys desperately tried to keep them from answering.
"She's a nerdy girl...a nerdy girl has a crush on handsome strong guys. So maybe it could be Asgore but...nah too easy. Wait...strong guys. So basically strong people.." Mabel thought to herself while Dipper was also in thought, "Strong people, huh? They're also tough and don't take crud from anyone...that could mean that her crush is..." Alphys shook her head profusely, "P-Please don't..." But it was too late as both Dipper and Mabel answered, "Undyne!" And surely that was the correct answer as Alphys let out a strange squeal-like sound, covering her face with her hands and shaking in place with her face being visibly flustered red. "CORRECT!" Mettaton said. Back at Papyrus and Sans' house, Papyrus was in a state of thought as he examined the two humans on the television, "HMM...THESE CONTESTANTS ARE VERY FAMILIAR. THEY REMIND ME OF TWO PEOPLE I KNOW..." Papyrus said not knowing it was the twins. Undyne, however, looked like someone shot her in the heart and was in a state of sheer shock. Her eye was wide as a dinner plate, and a visible dark blue blush was streaking across her face clutching the fabric of the couch tightly upon hearing the answer of who Alphys' crush is. "UNDYNE? ARE YOU OKAY?" But his answer was met with Undyne lifting the couch high in the air with Papyrus still sat on it, "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!" Undyne hollered at the top of her lungs with immense cheer and exhilaration upon learning that Alphys has a crush on her, which clearly shows that she too returns the feelings judging by her reaction while Papyrus could only look in confusion before he yelled upon being tossed along with the couch creating a loud crashing sound while Undyne went ballistic in a happy way.
Papyrus attempted to crawl out from under the couch only to be grabbed by an overjoyed Undyne, laughing hysterically as she placed him in a head lock, piling driving him, while rolling around the floor kicking her legs as poor Papyrus became the victim of her violent outbursts of joy. Back in the lab Mabel also shared the same joy, though not as intense, upon learning of this revelation "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! Alphys and Undyne?! Aaaaaaaaaah!" Mabel squealed loudly making Alphys hide in her lab coat as she curled up on the floor. "OH EM GEE! I HAVE NEW SHIP! I HAVE NEW SHIP! DIPPER OH M- AHHHH!" Dipper rubbed the back of his head while his sister was letting her fangirling antics overcome her, "SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN THE HUMANS FIGURED IT OUT." Mettaton said with a mischievous chuckle, "Wait it was obvious?" Dipper then asked with a raised brow. "YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES. SHE NAMES PROGRAMMING VARIABLES AFTER HER. SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER... SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE. PROBABILITY OF CRUSH: 101 PERCENT. MARGIN OF ERROR: ONE PERCENT." The robot quipped. "Okay then that's one way to calculate a crush. So, tin head what's next? What else you got?" Dipper challenged him until Mettaton looked at him, "SORRY KIDDO, BUT THIS IS THE END OF THE SHOW FOR NOW. BECAUSE WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU...THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE JUST CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS." The robot responded while Alphys was still suffering on the ground, "BUT. BUT! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE! MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS...!" And with that the quiz show was over when Mettaton's arms and leg retracted in his body before he shook and rocketed upwards, smashing through the ceiling with pieces of concrete falling down while the twins could only stare up where he left. A few moments of silence passed when Dipper broke it by saying, "Well, that was certainly something."
"Yep. But it was fun!" Mabel said happily, "...and painful not to mention." He grumbled rubbing his stomach and head. "Awe but at least it was fun. Not only did I freaking call it that it was a TV show...but that Alphys and Undyne...aggh! Oh my gosh I can't believe it!" Dipper cleared his throat interrupting her, "Um, Mabel? I'm pretty sure this isn't the time.." He told her, motioning to Alphys who remained curled up on the ground mumbling a few incoherent sentences in embarrassment from the ordeal. She jumped upon hearing Dipper call her name out, "Alphys? You all right?" But Alphys answered by burying herself more in her lab coat with a whine, "Awe come on, Alph! There's nothing wrong having a crush on someone!" Mabel told her but that did not calm her down in the least, "Not w-when the whole u-u-u-underground knows about it..." She stuttered as she brought her knees up more to her chest. "Oh don't give me that dilly dally." Mabel said as she then helped her up with a grunt, "So what if the whole place knows now? Everyone has crushes all the time it's no big secret. Even animals have crushes on each other and I can totally see it the way Gompers looks at Waddles." Mabel mentioned the goat and her pet pig, Waddles. Alphys slowly lowered her hands away from her face but did not meet Mabel's eyes as she gazed at the floor, "B-But...he wasn't supposed to...a-ask that question..." Alphys was silenced when Mabel placed her index finger on her lips before comforting her by rubbing her head as Alphys whined and slowly leaned in to rest her head on Mabel's shoulder. "Don't worry, Alph Walph. It's totally normal for a geeky girl to have a crush on another big strong cute guy or gal. Wait...I'm not even sure if Undyne's a gal...well she does hav-" Dipper cut her off, "She's a woman, Mabel." Mabel nodded in understanding, "Oh oh oh yeah right doi! But that don't mean that I'll be going crazy about it the whole way." The Pines girl told her which did not serve to make her mood all the more better.
Dipper sighed as he looked over at Alphys who was still cuddled up to Mabel as she comforted her, "Hey come on, Alphys. It's not that bad." Alphys shook her head, "It is bad! L-Like...have you met Undyne? She's way o-o-out of my league and I'm just...this. I've got no chance whatsoever..." Dipper glanced to the side for a brief moment, he could not help but relate to Alphys' plight as he was fully aware of such shame given how he, a twelve year old, has hidden affections towards a fifteen year old girl who was also out of his league in every aspect. "I'm gonna be frank with you Alphys and say I know exactly how you feel..." Dipper spoke up with Alphys looking at him with slight surprise, "Y-You do?" He nodded along with Mabel but prominently on her part. "Oh you have no idea, girlfriend. Like, he has this massive crush on this girl called Wendy back up. To where it's like an obsession now. I mean he can't even go two seconds without even just saying her name." Mabel told her while teasing Dipper as well much to his chagrin, "What?! No I don't...Wendy. Shoot!" He cursed himself as Mabel laughed, "See? Plus, I found him practicing how to kiss her by kissing a picture of her that was glued on the pillow." Dipper glared at Mabel, "Mabel..." But she continued, "And there was this one time where I even heard him singing about her and that was totally made up! But man you should hear it! I have it as my ring tone whenever he calls me." Mabel said with a devious grin making Alphys giggle silently, "WHAT?!" Dipper exclaimed and Alphys now laughed a little with a snort, "See? It worked. There's that adorably cute nerdy buck toothed smile!" Mabel squeaked as she pinched Alphys' cheeks making her blush even more, "Alright, now that that's done. It's time to go cause I don't wanna stand around while there's a bloodthirsty game show robot on the loose." Dipper said as he prepared to leave when Alphys stopped him, "Wait, wait!" He looked at her as he turned around.
"Let me give you my ph-phone number!" Alphys offered with Mabel thrusting her arm down, "Yes! Another friend added to my contact list!" She said in victory. "Oh, um, sure." Dipper took out the phone, "But I'm assuming it's not just to make friends, right?" He questioned her with a raised brow, which confirmed his assumption as he noticed Alphys glancing to the side with a fluster, "W-Well...um...I mean like...if you n-need help...I could..." But she stopped when her expression was now that of a shocked one upon seeing the phone, "Wh...where'd you get that phone?! It's ANCIENT!" She exclaimed stunned as she gently took the phone from Dipper's hand examining it, "But not as ancient as Grunkle Stan's wrinkles! Heyo!" Mabel cracked with a goofy laugh as she slapped her knee, which earned a chuckle from her brother as well. "Seriously, it doesn't even have texting. Hold on a second please!" Alphys urged before rushing up over to her work bench at the second level of her lab, where the twins could not see what was going on other than hearing various sounds of hammer thunks, power drills, and wrenches being twisted and seeing that she switched from tool to tool that were scattered about on the table as she upgraded the phonel. What was truly impressive was the fact that Alphys was able to complete this task in less than three seconds as she rushed back to the twins and handing Dipper the phone back. "Here, I upgraded it for you!" She told them eagerly. "Really?" Dipper glanced at it along with Mabel, "Yeah it can do texting, items, it's got a key chain..." Alphys listed the features she added and sure enough they were there as she guided Dipper in where they were on the phone.
But Mabel was engrossed in the key chain as she blankly played with it like a cat while giggling in a goofy manner. "Wow. I gotta say Alphys this is pretty impressive. Not just that but there's stuff here that could pretty much help us more than we thought while we're down in this place." Dipper said commending her for her skills which earned a blush from the royal scientist until she remembered another feature she placed before saying "Oh yes! I even signed you up for the underground's No. 1 social network!" Alphys added as she held her hands together, "Social network? I didn't know there was even one down here." Dipper said which earned a gasp from Mabel, "Oh my gosh! Now we'll even get to have more friends! Not just that but internet friends on Monster Book!" She excitedly said squishing her cheeks as Dipper nodded his head approvingly of the upgrades Alphys placed on the phone, "Because that's not weird at all...then again with the stuff we've seen it shouldn't even be weird..." He said with an amused smirk. "Yeah! Now we're officially friends and we can be like, you know, weird together!" Alphys shuffled in rather meekly, "I'm totally fine with that. I have a habit of being weird while Mabel...yeah you can tell how Mabel is." He chuckled with Mabel glancing over by playfully sticking her tongue.
"Mmm! And I'm proud of it too! Cause I'm the weirdo that ends all weird!" She declared with a laugh with Alphys joining in as well "Ehehehe! Hehehe...heh..." Her laugh died down as the three were now standing in awkward silence, well mainly for Dipper and Alphys' case since Mabel was too focused on the phone. With only feature which truly intrigued her was the key chain itself, with it being a figurine of an anime girl with cat ears, wearing a pink dress, having a white tail, and winking as she batted it around childishly with her hands. Dipper coughed slightly before glancing around in thought, while Alphys also glanced around as she fiddled with her hands and finger while tapping her feet on the ground. All three simply stood close in silence, when in reality, both Dipper and Alphys were wanting someone to break the silence. This is evident in the frequent sounds they make such as coughing, whistling, and sniffing as a way for either one to someone just make a statement of any kind. After several long moments, Alphys broke the silence by quickly saying, "I'm going to the bathroom." She bolted to the bathroom next to them with the door closing behind them as Dipper looked to where she went. Mabel looked up finally snapping out of her trance, "Huh? Oh sorry pfft...this key chain is just too much like I can't even haha.." The Pines girl said as she pressed a button which activated a Japanese anime song that also showed the cat's anime eyes glowing in various colors to the song while Mabel bobbed her head to the beat. Dipper could do nothing but stare until he sighed and rubbed his eyes and nose, "This day just gets weirder and weirder by the second..." He muttered to himself.
I don't own Gravity Falls or Undertale. Read and Review.