"I didn't know humans could do magic. That was a scary one you pulled off."
The human waits for the energetic music to hit a low point before answering, "Pun intended?"
"Wa ha ha, no. Why didn't you tell me your arm was broken, human? Must've hurt to pull off your finger like that as well. You want me to bandage it as well?" Gerson tightens the bandage around the arm and the stick supporting it, and hoists it up against their chest with some cloth around the human's shoulder. They grunt in pain, "You want it to hurt a little bit now and not a lot later, trust me," explains Gerson with a smile on his lips.
A Temmie splits the curtains above Gerson and the human, and vibrates gently to the ground. Gerson puts a finger to his mouth and the Temmie head shakes in response. If it was willingly or not the human can't tell, but Gerson seems satisfied with the answer. The Temmie jumps back through the opening it created with a gleeful squeal. Gerson returns his attention to the human's arm as the music climbs back up in intensity.
"This is what I was talking about! Don't be fooled by the music and my spectacular dance moves, dear viewers. Do be swept away by them though. Hands off me, guard! This is an attempt at censorship if I ever saw one!" informs Mettaton loudly and sternly. Presumably to his camera.
Gerson scoffs, and dries off the spit from the human's cast, "Alphys, why did you ever invent him? I need to have a talk with her as well. Maybe she can dial back him a bit."
The commotion on the other side of the scene drowns out the already loud music. Metal against magic, roars against laughter.
"I think he might be enjoying himself," the human thinks out loud.
Gerson puts a hand behind his ear, "Pardon?"
"I said," the human leans nearer, "I think he might be enjoying himself!"
"Hundred gold says his viewership is coming close to the fight he had with Frisk. I don't like that," his hands stop with the bandaging, "Wait, should I have said that?"
A magenta dagger cuts through the fabric and disperses as it ricochets off the rocky wall behind the scene.
The human puts their hand behind their ear, "Heard what?"
Gerson shrugs his shoulder, "Nothing, just rambling," the human sees his silent sigh of relief, "By the way, sorry for not remembering that Mettaton was here earlier."
The vertigo is still present with the human from how high Mettaton hauled them up on that chair. What's more vivid is the fear and shock on Mettaton's face as they did their thumb magic once again. The memory wins, and the human smiles.
With a last tug of the bandage Gerson brushes his hands off on his jacket, "Good as new. I mean."
"I know what you meant," the human nods, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it, kid. Now," Gerson motions for an opening in the cavern, "let's see if we can get out of this without being noticed."
"Do you see this, sweetie viewers? I am being held by multiple guards!" exclaims Mettaton in a panic.
The human peeks under the curtains to assess the situation. Mettaton is indeed being held by four guards, but that doesn't stop him from running around in a circle unhindered, and flailing his arms. Two small monsters are holding on for dear life as his arms curl around like cooked spaghetti noodles. His face is always pointed against the camera and his woes about how he's being silenced and the unspeakable amount of gratuitous violence against him.
"You can join in the fight, by not switching channels during this commercial break," he prays to the camera before kissing, "See you soon, darlings."
The commotion stops, and Mettaton eye's focus on his hair, "Could you just make sure my fringe is hanging right, darlings?" he asks the monsters on his arms, "Maybe give it a bit of a trim with that gorgeous dagger of yours?"
Perplexed the guard monsters look at each other. Mettaton rolls his eyes and scoffs in annoyance, "I'll do it myself then. Though you are some fantastic actors, I need to get you all some contracts. Bob!" he shouts, "Get me a stack of contracts!"
While he's busy admiring himself in the mirror extended from his body Gerson leads the human along the dark wall to the exit.
"You think the guards will manage Mettaton?" the human asks after they're sure they're out of hearing distance.
"Wa ha ha, don't you worry, human. Mettaton won't hurt them. It would make him look bad in front of his viewers, or worse," Gerson takes strain on the human as he's laughing so much, "dent his body."
The human laughs with Gerson, "Sounds about right."
"I've trained them," Gerson reassures with a nudge with his elbow, "and I promise you that they're not giving it their all. I just ordered them to keep him occupied, that's all. If there's one thing that can defeat Mettaton without dust being spilled, it's his ego. His greatest power, and weakness."
"It was kinda funny seeing you just walk through it all, Gerson. I thought Mettaton would grab you."
Gerson gives the human a cheeky wink, "I'm not allowed on his show after the last time I was there. Took Monster Lawyer an entire hour just to explain to me why my three season contract was terminated after one episode."
The human nods towards their makeshift cast, "By the way, where did you learn to treat broken bones like this? Can't monsters just heal injuries? You didn't do it before."
Gerson's gaze seems to stretch for miles as his steps slow down, "I watched and learned from you humans a long time ago," he takes a deep breath and his eye returns to the human, "Here's where our paths diverge, human," he informs with a finger towards a turn the both of them just passed, "There's just some very pretty views ahead of you until you reach Hotland. Good luck with your arm. And may I apologize again for jumping to conclusions?"
The human takes his outstretched hand, "Don't think about it, Gerson."
His whistling blends with the energetic music as the human continues down the turn alone.
A field of Echo Flowers lies before them, and as they near it the flowers start talking about how exciting it is for the monsters to finally move to the Surface. A myriad of voices surround them with hopes and dreams of a shared future between humans and monsters. A lot of it sounds familiar.
The human spots a notebook and a worn down pencil next to a flower. The paper has smudged paw prints on it. Seems like Mettaton got as much originality as he payed for.
"Now, I've talked to you about Echo Flowers, and in here I asked my people to talk about their vision of our future," Asgore voices says from the flower at the end of the room. His voice is radiating with pride, "Please, hear their words. Take your time."
The human looks over the field of glowing flowers casting the room in a dim, but still sharp, cyan color. The light mixes beautifully with yellow as a swarm of fireflies dance around them. As they land on the flowers different monster voices talk about how cool the Surface is, "Yoooo, it's the best!", says one as a fly lands on it. It takes off after a second, "There's like, rain and stuff," the flower continues.
"Hello there, friend!" a jolly and innocent voice calls, "You must be a human. Asgore told me to get you a free nice cream. If you want one, that is."
A nice cream shaped like a human is handed to the human, "Thanks," they thank with humanity present in their voice. The humanity they have, not the one they were given. Though they're thankful for that humanity though, even if it's currently outside them. Though soon it will be inside them, along with their other humanity.
Nice Cream Guy waves his confused hand in front of the human's face, "How are you, friend? Brain freeze? You haven't had a bite yet, how come?"
The questions snaps the human back to reality, "No, sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts. Thank you for this."
The blue bunny nods and his ears follow his head a second afterwards, "Anytime, friend. Say, where is your group?"
"They're up ahead, in Snowdin."
"They're up ahead, in Snowdin," repeats a nearby Echo Flower as a firefly lands on it.
Nice Cream Guy's ears and shoulders sink, "Drat, I was sure I would catch them. I missed them in Hotland. There was this huge dog that just landed on my stall. It was melting, probably from the heat. I heard a voice call for it and it took off. It knocked over my cart," he pats it gently, "so I had to get more. I thought I would make it, but."
The flowers around Nice Cream Guy echoes his deep sigh and the fireflies disperse like the crackles after a firework.
"Mettaton and the entire Tem village is fighting the Royal Guard just up ahead. They will probably be sweaty," the human unwraps their nice cream and puts it in their mouth, "Just saying."
There's a silent crack as Nice Cream Guy's ears whip upright, "No kidding? They'll sell like crazy."
The human stops Nice Cream Guy for just a moment before he takes off running. They remove their humanity from their mouth, "You said you came from Hotland, right? First off, did you see a a yellow flower walk by you? I'm looking for one."
"Nope, sorry."
"Second, is there anything or anyone there that might go out of their way to do anything to me because I'm a human?"
After a couple of seconds of thinking the blue bunny furrows his brow, "No?"
"No one?" the human repeats, "You sure?"
"I don't know, you're kinda scaring me with this question."
Why can't he answer? It's just a simple question. The human tightens their grip on the bunny's arm and drops of melted nice cream run down his arm, "I'm just a bit tired of being jumped every step of the way. I can't walk ten steps without something happening. Just tell me what I'm up against!"
"I-it hurts," Nice Cream Guy whimpers, "Let go."
The human drags him towards them, "Are you in my way?"
"N-no."
"Then why aren't you answering a simple yes or no question?"
"I just want to sell my nice cream."
The human snaps their eyes on theirs, "Wait, is it magic?"
The bunny nods weakly.
With great effort the human commands their hand to let go of the blue arm, "Sorry. Just go."
There's a faint sniffle that's picked up by the flowers around the cart as it's wheeled with one arm back towards Mettaton.
The human sighs and throws the nice cream away. The fireflies flock towards it and the way ahead darkens.
Their stomach rumble, but they manage to quell it. Just barely though. It's silent once again, hopefully it holds up. The human welcomes it, though they fear that it's just for a moment.
Of all the days to wake up, it had to be the one where the human delegate was visiting. It had to be the day where everyone is on their toes about humans. Not a day earlier, not a day after. Fantastic.
"Hey, aren't you a human?" asks a monster child with a shirt saying that humans are cool, but not as cool as Mettaton.
"Case in point," the human sighs.
"My child here have always wanted to meet a human," says its parent, "Could we have your autograph?"
"The human group is in Snowdin. If you hurry you can catch them," the human replies without stopping. They ignore the begs from the two monsters and turn the last corner.
On top of being poked at with every step the human's pretty sure that they're farther from their goal now than they were when they set out for it. They've no idea where Flowey is, for a starter. Is he even in the Underground? Not a clue. Is he Asriel? Not a clue. Is he even alive? Not a goddamn clue.
Sans is crushed under a big boulder, so now his plan is shrouded in dust as well as mystery. Frisk is probably gonna try and reset when they find out. And that will further extend the memory problems this journey was supposed to fix.
"Stay determined," the human reminds themselves, "Stay determined, it's the only way to get through this. If Frisk could then so can you."
This plan has to work, they have to get through this! The monsters will never be able to survive on the Surface with all the memories they've plagued them with. They're all flawed, they've all done horrible things. But the human has killed them all once, so who are they to judge?
Warm air breezes by them and a red glow replaces the blue atmosphere of the Waterfall. The human dips their head carefully into a small waterfall to cool off before they finally reach Hotland. They embrace the uncomfortable warmth, but there's still no Flowey in sight. Not a vine, not even a root. Just lava and jagged rocks as far as the eye can see.
The rope bridge makes no fuss as the human walks over it. They fill a cup of water for the road, and take a sip immediately.
Up ahead is the Lab standing white and silent in contrast to the red and busy surrounding. The human shakes their head at it and instead head for the elevator to MTT Resort.
"Magical identification required," informs the elevator with an emotionless voice.
The human curses with an emotionfull voice and throws the cup at the console.
"Magical identification failed. You do not have access, Onionsan," informs the elevator again.
The Lab doors open with a mocking hiss. The human sees their annoyed face in the monitor and it isn't helping them feel any better. The bathroom door has a dent in it. The human flexes their fingers on their broken arm and breathes through their teeth as it informs them that it's still broken.
They exit the Lab on the other side and their shoulders sink when they see the narrow and sharp way in front of them. Steam is shooting from the pipes they walk over, and some almost burn their feet. A series of conveyor bend have them flailing around with their one functional arm just to stay upright and not fall on their broken one.
"Fuku, look! Another human is going the stupid way. Let's see how they react to the jump vents!" shouts a young voice from above.
The human stops and looks at the pad in front of them. Just one more step and they will be launched over a long drop into lava. Thing is, it was strong enough for Frisk, and they've no idea if it has enough strength to launch an adult human.
"Why is it stupid?" asks another monster from up above.
"They could just take the elevator? You know, like anyone sensible would do?"
"But it's closed. They said so in school. Something about a human parade."
"Explains why I didn't know about it."
"Hey!" the human finally addresses the young monsters on the rocky passage above them, "Is there really no other way other than this one and the elevator?"
The purple monster kicks its skateboard up into its hand and sits down with their legs swinging over the edge, "Not from where you're standing, human. You think you can ollie up here perhaps? Otherwise I have no idea."
"Standing?" asks the green fire monster, "I have an idea!" it stands up and waves to something high up, "Tsunder! This human likes you!"
Loud engine noises close in on the human and they duck as a plane swoops in just above their head. It hovers in the air, just observing the human, before blushes form on its its metallic cockpit.
"W-why did you call me, Fuku? It's not like I w-want to see another human," it says while not meeting the human's eyes.
"But they want to see you," repeats Fuku with a smile on her sparkling face, "Look at them."
"N-no!"
"They asked us to ask you to show them around Hotland."
Tsunder glances at the human, "Is that true?"
The human looks at Fuku, who nods with a wink, "Yes," they say carefully, "I'd love to?"
Tsunder's engine rev up and their hat flops down over their cockpit's window, "No way! Why would I like you? You're a human."
The human again looks to Fuku who spreads her arms out repeatedly, "Um, you have an impressive wingspan?" Fuku makes a circle under her arm, "And nice turbines?"
The plane makes a rolls over in the air and its hat falls next to the human, "Don't touch it!" it squeals as the human bends over to pick it up. Slowly it glides down and nonchalantly bumps against the human with a wing.
"If you learned this in school I would almost consider attending," whispers the purple monster into Fuku's ear. Fuku hushes them with a harsh finger.
"So," the plane hawks loudly and almost seductively, almost, "you should go, human. I don't care."
The human can tell that it cares. Fuku motions for the human to turn around. Tsundere dives uncomfortably fast and stops the human in their step, "I could do it myself, but can you just remove this rock from my back?"
The human catches a glimpse of a broken stalagmite above them. The cut looks very fresh. They grab the rock, causing Tsunder's blushes to turn as red as the lava below them. The human feels Tsundere's engines against their leg.
"Hmph! H-human? Your leg is stuck in my engine," its voice can barely contain its excited giggling, "Why did you do that?"
"I didn't," the human informs as they jerk their leg back from the spinning turbine.
"Yes, you did!" the plane looks away, gracing the human with their winglet in the process, "Not that I care or anything."
"Tsunder!" Fuku yells again, "The human needs a ride to MTT."
Tsunder's engine stops, "Y-you do?"
"Yeah, sure. Could you give me one?"
"No!" Tsunderplane shouts. It turns itself and waves to the human, "Get on then."
"Didn't you say no?"
"No. Hurry, I have cool places to be. Because I'm cool! Not like you, you're a," Tsunder sighs lovingly, "a human."
Fuku nods to the human as they look up one last time for advice. The human puts their hand on Tsunder and climbs on its fuselage. Another pleased sigh is exhaled from Tsunder before it takes off without warning.
"T-thanks for the ride," the human says with a forced smile as they land right outside MTT Resort. Their pale face struggles to hold in their sick, "Could I ask for less loops next time?"
"You didn't like them?" Tsunder asks, "W-whatever," it stutters out, "It's not like I care."
Drops of oil hit the ground as it takes away in a sulk. The human takes a moment to collect themselves from the wild ride they just went on.
"You alright there?" worries a sharply dressed monster at the door leading into MTT Resort, "I can't let you in if you're already intoxicated."
"No, it's not that," the human assures, "It's just how we humans look when we're excited."
The monster opens the door, "If you say so. Welcome to MTT Resort."
The human looks around, but still no Flowey. They head straight for the elevator on the other side of the floor. To their enormous joy it opens.
A long ride later the button labeled 'New Home' flashes bright. The human steps out onto the gray that is the city's skyline.
The door to Asgore's house is askew, and the light inside is turned off. The human opens the door carefully and flick on the light, "Hello?"
From the edge of their vision they see a door closing. Chara rushes towards it and throws it open. They can barely make out the color of the green sweater worn by the small figure in the dark. It turns around while wringing its sweater.
"I'm sorry, you weren't supposed to see me like this," the figure pleads with a pathetic whimper.
Chara narrows their eyes, "Asriel?"