Dipper and Mabel continued to venture forward through what appears to be the East section of Hotland. They took a turn as they remained on the only path that they could walk on. They were passing by several lines of pipes that were producing jets of steam from them. Dipper was still in small bewilderment at what occurred back there between the two Royal Guards, so much so that he flinched from time to time whenever not just the scene between the two guards would emerge, but also the exchange he had with Tsunderplane. Dipper resorted to reading from the journal as he was walking forward, trying to get his mind off of these two highly awkward scenarios, and it would be far more helpful if Mabel would not taunt him or remind him of those incidents every once in a while. Whenever she would he would bonk her on the head with the journal or simply flip her hair over her face allowing the remaining pieces of flour to bat her in the face. Around twelve minutes have passed as they continued forward, and Dipper still was reading from his journal, more specifically he remained to be in the sections that concerned Mt. Ebott. As he flipped through three pages, he noticed several monsters popping up with information regarding them as well, these monsters in particular, were the ones that he and his sister encountered through Hotland. This caused Dipper to raise his brows in surprise, as the inclusion of the monsters that are resident to Hotland would only strengthen the evidence that leads to the author actually having once been in the Underground. The thought of that alone excited him and made him jittery. Mabel appeared to have noticed it as she was occupied in texting on the phone, specifically, she heard the small but not-so-discreet squeal from Dipper.
"Whoa there bro, you sound like you found another attractive Math equation haha." Mabel mocked him but Dipper did not care as he stopped and stood in front of Mabel, showing her the contents of the journal. "Mabel! Check this out!" Dipper said with rising joy as his sister leaned over to inspect the contents that he was presenting, being the denizens of Hotland itself. "What is it? They're just really bad drawings of the monsters here." Mabel stated not exactly aware of the purpose behind his showing. "What? No! Well...yeah maybe but hey cut the guy some slack okay? He was a scientists not an artist." Dipper told her with a frown to which his sister simply shrugged, "But that's not what I'm talking about, the monsters of Hotland being written in this book can only mean one thing. And it's that the author of this journal was probably here! Right here walking through Hotland at some point and encountered these guys!" Dipper exclaimed with high excitement and a wide grin with wide eyes. Mabel too raised her eyes of this revelation, "Whoa that's pretty neat! Wait, but you couldn't find any more stuff about this place. If that's the case then how're there stuff on the monsters here?" She asked him now having one brow raised in confusion to which Dipper then had his brows furrowed together in confusion and intrigue as well, "That's the thing. If there's limited information on this place, then there shouldn't be information about the monsters here either, especially considering that Hotland is as far as we can go into this place." He said before turning and continuing to walk forward with Mabel behind him. "Another thing which bugs me is that Sans told me himself that he's never met the author...so I can only assume that neither have the other monsters either because if I showed them this book they would've remembered it or something." Dipper started to ramble.
To which Mabel then tugged his cap down over his eyes making him grunt, "Bro! Bro, chillax. You keep this up the heat won't be the only thing that's gonna get your brain fried." She remarked with a smirk as Dipper sighed and adjusted his cap over his head, "Yeah I know. It's just that...if what I'm seeing here gives me the right idea it also means that somehow I'm close to finding out who the author is and what he's like. I honestly thought if the monsters here knew him if he was ever down here, I'd have the answers I was looking for back up solved but...I guess it's just another mystery." He said with a down expression and tone. "Hey! You behave yourself, mister." Mabel pointed to him as she was next to him now making him glance at her from the side, "There'll be no frowny faces or any drama sad scenes in this place. Not when I'm around. Look bro bro, a mystery is a mystery. And honestly, whenever I see you looking through that journal thing and you're solving some stuff on it, you get excited aside from getting all 'so mad that I chew a million pencils' mode." Mabel elaborated as Dipper listened, "You were just excited now when you showed it to me, I mean sure you thought it was gonna lead you to the nerd who wrote it, but I guarantee that you're gonna get excited again as you just dive into it more. I know, Dip." Mabel finished with a smile and wink to which Dipper returned with his own small smile as he scratched his head from beneath his cap, "Heh...you got me there. Man, I have no idea how you deal with me, Mabel." He said a little sheepishly to which she giggled and put an arm around his shoulder, "It's because we're twins and you're my brother. How many times am I gonna have to bonk you on the head to make you remember. I mean sheesh, I know you're smart but you don't have amnesia, bro bro." She remarked with a laugh.
Dipper could not help but laugh himself, "Yeah I don't know about that. I mean I keep forgetting to pick up my clothes every time." Mabel shot him a look, "That's because you know you gotta pick it up but don't cause you're afraid it'll mess up your 'big boy' habitat." She mocked as they were walking forward with various machinery on the wall by their side a few feet away and several machine cogs visible as well, having a dim red color likely from the heat source they were helping to produce through the Core. Numerous sounds of machines whirring and creaking could be heard echoing throughout the region of Hotland as well, it was like as if they were taking a tour through factory that produces metal. "Hey, hey, from the comics and shows I've seen almost all private investigators on the supernatural have messy offices and apartments. So, if I'm gonna be a world renowned investigator I gotta keep my -clears throat- 'detective' vibe up. Thank you." Dipper shot back at her but she simply laughed softly at him, "Whatever makes you happy, Mister Conspiracy." She said with a taunting grin. As the twins walked, they were starting to notice that the area they were in was beginning to lack any form of light. Feeling anxious at first they continued nonetheless, and as they did it grew darker to the point where the lava below them was no longer in sight, and Dipper had to suspect that they have entered a chamber of sorts. "Oh great just what we need. More dark." Dipper said sarcastically when Mabel suddenly yelled out, "SPARKLE SPARKLE SUNSHINE!" In an attempt to hear an echo startling Dipper and covering her mouth, "Mabel shhh! What the heck are you doing?! Are you trying to draw attention?!" He exclaimed in anger as Mabel pushed his hand down gently, "What? Naw, I'm just seeing if we're in like a big cave or something so we don't get lost." She grinned causing Dipper to scowl at her, "Mabel, it's almost pitch black here how's that supposed to help us?" He questioned with slight irritation.
"By becoming a bat, silly! Duh!" Mabel answered cheerily. Which earned a palm to the face from Dipper, "Mabel, echolocation isn't gonna help. We're gonna do it the old fashioned way. Where's the phone?" He asked when the key chain figurine lit up with an anime melody, "Hehehe, right here, bro." Mabel grinned as she bobbed her head to the song with wide glittery eyes adoring the key chain when Dipper snatched the phone from her and called Alphys. With one ring she immediately picked up, "Alphys you there?" Dipper addressed her. "Y-Yes! I'm here! I'm back!" She responded quickly. "Hey, we've got another dark room problem. Mind getting the lights for us?" He asked her to which she nodded rather happily in response with a lit expression, "O-of course! M-my hacking skills have got this covered!" She assured when Mabel giggled, "Alphys you baaaaaaad." Dipper simply stared at her when five seconds later, the lights in the area lit up. However, the moment they erupted brightening up the room, Dipper and Mabel noticed that they were not exactly in any ordinary chamber. In fact, they looked to where it seems that a camera was point in their direction. And panning backwards it's revealed that Dipper and Mabel were actually being recorded right now, with the two of them appearing in a large broadcast. Next to the screen was none other than Mettaton himself, dressed in a red business suit, properly sorting the script in front of him with small piles of papers neatly folded to his sides. The robot was sat behind his desk, and the front of the desk itself had the words 'MTT' branded on in gold. The backdrop of the station had what looked to be a city being lit in the nighttime. It did not take long for Dipper, Mabel, and Alphys included to realize that they were on live television. "...are you serious?" Both Dipper and Alphys said at the same time, completely baffled by Mettaton's methods of exterminating the humans.
"OHHHHHH YES!" Mettaton began as the theme for the news station was heard, "GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS!" He announced, with the whole scene suddenly becoming a live report, even the black banner that was shown at the bottom of the screen was here offering additional content to the viewers. The content in question ranged from news that involved schools being canceled due to puzzles getting reactivated, a plane-like monster flirting with a small wimpy girl or boy, or scientists discovering health benefits for using computers only for the words 'just kidding lol' to appear next to it in brackets. "AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! BUT FORTUNATELY, OUR CORRESPONDENTS ARE OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE!" Mettaton said earning a look of surprise from Dipper but one of joy and excitement from Mabel, "Oh my gosh!" She squealed with her hands over her mouth, "Wait what? Okay hold on we're not-!" Dipper was about to rebut only for Mabel to suddenly step out in front of the camera, adjusting herself, checking her breath, dusting her shirt and straightening her hair. "This Mabel Pines here! Reporting on behalf of MIT- "She began when Dipper corrected her, "MTT." And she continued with the correct term, "...MTT News along with sensational nerdy egg-head Dipper Pines! As I'm standing here right now I'm looking out from where I am and I could see pretty bizarre and strange things. It's not looking good Mettaton!" She finished playing along with Mettaton as Dipper stood by in an awkward stance. "OH GOODNESS DEAR ME! BRAVE CORRESPONDENT EGG-HEAD DIPPER! PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT!" Mettaton told him making Dipper pause and glance around, "Wha- But I don't-" Dipper tried to say only to be cut off again, "NOW NOW! I KNOW THIS IS HARD TO TAKE IN! BUT WHO CAN BLAME YOU THIS IS SHOW BIZ! BUT DO IT FOR OUR VIEWERS, DIPPER PINES! OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!" He motivated him, although Dipper had no intention of going along with Mettaton's games, he knew that if he does not comply, the robot will find resort to more brutal methods and he cannot risk Mabel getting injured in the process because of his defiance.
Dipper sighed and walked to the first thing he sees: a basket ball. He picked it up, looking left and right in uncertainty, before presenting the basket ball to the camera. "Uh oh! Watch out, everyone! Looks like Dipper's found something...Hooper-natural!" She quipped on camera to which Mettaton then activated the laughter of the studio audience. Back in Snowdin, Papyrus was sat on the couch alongside Sans, who somehow made it all the way back from Hotland to his home town, as he was laying lazily on the couch with a cushion over his head. Papyrus threw his arms up in the air in frustration, "ARGH! I JUST WISH THIS NEWS REPORT WOULD BE MORE SUSPENSEFUL WITHOUT THE PUNS!" He complained before crossing his arms. "heh i dunno, bro...if every broadcast had this kind of humor in it i wouldn't be falling asleep each time they're on." Sans remarked with a chuckle causing Papyrus to eye him, "OF COURSE YOU WOULD FIND ENJOYMENT IN THIS, SANS." Sans simply shrugged, "hey it's what i live for and if that means i gotta make the news 'live' then so be it." He joked causing Papyrus to suddenly bolt his direction towards him with an angry look, "QUIET SANS!" He barked as his brother chortled from his own pun. "OH WELL, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS, METTATON IS ALWAYS CAPABLE OF MAKING THESE SORT OF THINGS MOST ENJOYABLE!" Papyrus stated with anticipation as he observed the news on television, "i know right? he's pretty rad-tangular." He quipped once again as Papyrus nodded in agreement not knowing it was a pun until later, "INDEED! ...WAIT..." Upon realization he took the cushion from his side and threw it at Sans with an angry shout, "NYEH!" Sans laughed at this as he flinched from the cushion hitting his head.
Back to the news, "INDEED IT IS! BASKETBALL'S ALWAYS A BLAST, ISN'T IT, DARLING?" Mettaton questioned before continuing, "TOO BAD YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH THESE BALLS, THOUGH." Mabel rose an eyebrow, "Oh? And why is that my lovely and generous rectangular host?" Mabel asked when Mettaton then replied, "BECAUSE THEY'RE MTT-BRAND FASHION BASKETBALLS OF COURSE! FOR WEARING, NOT PLAYING." He revealed to which Mabel laughed, "I should've known. I mean you can't get famous and sparkly like moi without beautifying a few orbs!" She remarked with pride as Dipper stood there in awkward silence before placing the ball back down on the ground, "Okay then...I'm just gonna...keep looking then..." He simply said before walking towards the next item he sees, which looks to be some sort of script that had Mettaton's outline branded on the front. The camera zoomed in on the script, "OH NO! THAT MOVIE SCRIPT! HOW'D THAT GET THERE?" Mettaton wondered dramatically. Mabel moved on the script as she examined the script herself with a raised eyebrow, "What's up with this script, Mettaton?" She asked when Mettaton regained his composure, "I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED, BEAUTIFUL. IT'S A SUPER-JUICY SNEAK PREVIEW OF MY LATEST GUARANTEED-NOT-TO-BOMB FILM: METTATON THE MOVIE XXVIII! STARRING...METTATON!" He revealed raising his arms up with the studio audience cheering and clapping in the background. "Whoa! That's wicked awesome! Care to tell us what the movie's like?" Mabel again asked as she looked to the camera with Dipper simply standing there fiddling with his fingers, "WELL IF YOU INSIST, MY SWEET! BUT I WON'T GO INTO SPOILER TERRITORY. YOU SEE LIKE THE OTHER FILMS IT CONSISTS MOSTLY OF A SINGLE FOUR-HOUR SHOT OF ROSE PETALS SHOWERING ON MY RECLINING BODY." He responded to which Mabel fanned herself with the script as though she's flustered from the description, "Ooo hohohooo! With content like that it needs PG rating." She remarked with a wink.
"OOHH! BUT THAT'S NOT CONFIRMED!" Mettaton then said, "YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN THE MOVIES UNLESS YOU SEE THEM YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT SORT OF SURPRISES LURK WITHIN!" He said when he pulled the collar of his shirt nervously, "YOU WOULDN'T -cough- SPOIL MY MOVIE FOR EVERYONE WITH A PROMOTIONAL STORY, WOULD YOU?" Dipper looked to Mabel who discreetly shook her head, however, Dipper did not see the point as the plot of the film had already been spoiled, if one could call it a plot anyway, "...why even bother, anyway?" The boy shrugged as he stared at the camera. "PHEW! THAT WAS CLOSE! YOU ALMOST GAVE ME A BUNCH OF FREE ADVERTISEMENT." Mettaton sighed in relief. "Indeed that was a close one folks! But we're just getting started! The tension rises! The butt cheeks are clenching! The eyes are popping! And I'm just looking cuter with every frame! But don't lose all the water from your bodies just yet because our wonderful egghead here still has some things worth checking!" Mabel told the ten viewers to the camera. Dipper sighed himself rolling his eyes as he approached what looked to be a video game, "Gee I wonder what this is.." He sarcastically wondered but he was cautious nonetheless as he knew that eventually there was a trap waiting for the both of them. "OH LA LA! THIS VIDEO GAME YOU FOUND...IS DYNAMITE!" Mettaton said when Dipper looked to the camera then inspecting the box, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it involves you just going around drop kicking bad guys with purple stiletto heels." He stated as he looked at the screenshots which showed just that, "RIGHT YOU ARE, DIPPER PINES! THOUGH I DON'T EXACTLY MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN UNTIL THREE-FOURTHS IN." Mettaton said then continued, "BUT I LIKE THAT. APPEARING FROM THE HEAVENS LIKE MANNA, SLAKING THE AUDIENCE'S HUNGER FOR GORGEOUS ROBOTS." The robot elaborated as a spot light slowly shined in him like he was touched by the heavens themselves, "Thaaaaat's Mettaton!" Mabel stepped in for the closing speech triggering the studio audience to laugh and cheer.
Dipper's eyebrows furrowed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "You know what? I'm just gonna report this one because clearly this is a waste of time." He said with agitation, "OH GOODNESS! ATTENTION VIEWERS! OUR CORRESPONDENT HAS FOUND...A VIDEO GAME!" Mettaton presented with the studio audience emitting a loud dramatic gasp, "But I wonder! What could this video game be!?" Mabel questioned in a dramatic manner herself. "THIS IS THE TYPE OF VIDEO GAME THAT IS GUARANTEED TO BLOW YOU AWAY, DARLING!" He replied, "STRANGE ENEMIES! STRANGE ALLIES! AND ATTRACTIVE ROBOTS! FEATURING UP TO SIX ARBITRARY DIALOGUE CHOICES AT ONCE!" He explained which actually earned a confused look from Dipper, "How does that even work?" He asked himself as Mettaton continued by addressing the Pines boy, "CORRESPONDENT! GIVE US A LOOK INSIDE THE CASE!" A drum roll was heard as Dipper sighed, "I hope it's not a CD with a picture of Mettaton posing like a Victoria's Secret Model...cause that would be something I'll have nightmares about for weeks." He remarked sardonically before opening the case, when his eyes widened like dinner plates in alarm upon what he saw: they were four pairs of actual dynamite that were lit causing the audience to gasp in the background, "...THOSE RED CYLINDERS WITH BURNING FUSES." Mettaton said lowly, allegedly in alarm as well. "Oh no...this game...LITERALLY IS DYNAMITE!" Mabel exclaimed in a dramatic fashion. And adding to the tension was the 'dun dun dun' sound, the first causing the camera to cut to Mabel's shocked face, then to Mettaton's on the second, with the third and final on the case of dynamite. "I GUESS THEY WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG! VIDEO GAMES DO CAUSE VIOLENCE! OR AT LEAST THIS ONE'S ABOUT TO." Mettaton said when Dipper started to panic as he looked around frantically in an attempt to keep the dynamite distant from them, "Oh man...oh man oh man oh man oh man! Oh man what the heck do we do!?" He exclaimed in terror as he set the box down taking several steps backwards and pulling Mabel back along with him.
"OH DON'T GET TOO EXCITED, HANDSOME! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THE ROOM YET!" Mettaton revealed when suddenly, the backdrop of the news station along with the desk and everything else fell apart and collapsed downward, with Mettaton now hovering in the air, holding his microphone to his grid-like face. "Wait what the heck?" Dipper said in sheer bewilderment as Mabel gasped, "Ohhhhhhhh, Mettaton you sly little rectangle you!" She giggled narrowing her eyes at the robot who chuckled in response. When the props fell off, Dipper and Mabel saw that they were surrounded by few items: one was the basketball, a glass of water, the movie script which was open and had a bomb set on it, a present which was unwrapped and open revealing another bomb inside it, and strangely the small white dog from before. The twins looked around themselves as Dipper's panic was beginning to rise even more keeping close to his sister. "OH MY! IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IN THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY A BOMB!" Mettaton stated as he hovered above the twins when Mabel looked over to the small white dog standing by panting nonchalantly, "Pssh, oh come on there's no way that cute little puppo can be a bomb." Mabel scoffed with a dismissive wave of her hand, "OH BUT THAT DOG MOST CERTAINLY IS A BOMB, BEAUTIFUL!" Mettaton retorted when suddenly, the dog's tail was lit but the canine was not bothered by this in the least. Mabel just stared for a while and then shrugged her shoulders, "Eh, what do I know?" Mettaton pointed over to the basketball, "THAT BASKETBALL'S A BOMB!" And on cue, the coloration of the basketball melted off revealing the black metallic color of a bomb also being lit. "EVEN MY WORDS ARE...!" Mettaton finished as those very words emerged from his face grid, tossed out and exploded when hitting the ground, startling the twins as they shielded themselves with their arms and shutting their eyes from the sparks and small pieces of dirt coming at them.
"MY BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS...IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL OF THE BOMBS..." Mettaton began when he flew over and hovered above an even larger bomb at the far side of the area, being pink in color and having a timer set to two minutes, "THIS BIG BOMB WILL BLOW YOU TO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES! THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING LIVE ANY LONGER." He quipped darkly. "WHAT?! What the heck, man!? How's that even fair!?" Dipper exclaimed with fury and panic but Mettaton was not fazed, "IT'S UNFAIR INDEED! IT'S TERRIBLE! IT'S DISTURBING!" Mettaton mocked dramatically when the tiles of his face grid turned red, "BUT WHO CARES? OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLINGS!" He wished them good fortune before hovering away. Dipper tried to get him back when he looked around himself seeing that all the bombs were lit and were about to go off any minute, and the much larger bomb at the one side of the area did not make things any better, "Oh man! Oh my gosh what do we do!? What do we do?!" Dipper began to hyperventilate as he gripped his cap and tugging it down his head in sheer fright, Mabel rushed over and held his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down, "Whoa brosef calm down! You're a smart guy aren't you! Diffuse those bomb thingies!" Mabel told him when he replied with, "How the heck should I diffuse them!? I've never diffused a bomb in my life!" He said in sheer panic when the phone rang and Mabel pressed the answer button, "G-guys! It's me!" Alphys called much to the relief of the twins, "Alphys! You gotta help us out! Tell us what to do!" Dipper urged her. "C-Calm down! Listen, I installed a bomb-defusing program on your phone! Use the defuse option to scan the bomb, go past the coding, and it'll defuse it! But go for the ones that will work on only those type of bombs." She explained as Dipper had to grin wide with relief and joy, "Oh thank you so much, Alphys! You're a life saver!" He expressed his gratitude, "N-No problem, Dipper! Now, g-go get em!" The Royal Scientist cheered for them.
"Alright, listen up, Mabel. You get the dog, I'll get the basketball. We'll do this individually and we gotta do it fast." Dipper told her to which Mabel had a strong look on her face with a smile and gave him a thumbs up, "You got it, Dippingsauce!" Dipper nodded back before they both said, "1, 2, 3, BREAK!" And they split up. Mabel approached the white dog who was slumbering. She approached the dog with caution in case it woke up and ran. As she was close enough, she jumped on the dog, holding it down, "GOT'CHA!" However, her victory was short lived when the dog woke up in surprise and ran off with Mabel latched onto him. She shrieked as she was dragged across by the white dog speedily. Dipper was trying to catch the bouncing basket bomb, but each time he would swing his arms at it and jump up to catch it, he would miss and infuriate him even further. Instead, he waited for the right moment and finally caught the basketball bomb. Taking the phone out, he pressed the DEFUSE option, scanning the bomb before various codes popped up on the face of the orb then shutting it down, defusing it. "Got it!" Dipper yelled in victory. "Great job! Keep heading around the room!" Alphys called out from the room. "Right!" Dipper complied as he stood up and rushed over to the others. Mabel was screaming as the dog was running around the area, panting heavily, with Mabel holding on for dear life trying to 'defuse' it. "PUPPY! PLEASE! JUST LET ME TURN YOU OFF" She urged loudly when she paused, "Wait...how do you even defuse a dog?" She asked herself in thought when her face lit up from seeing the glass of water that was supposed to be another bomb. Her face became sternly determined and reached out before grasping the cup of water when the dog ran passed it as she held on. Mabel poured the glass of water over the dog's tail effectively defusing both it and the glass of water."I got it! WHAAA!" Mabel then shrieked as she let go and got dragged across the ground with several grunts of pain.
Dipper, meanwhile, was running as fast as his legs could carry him on a conveyor belt that had the movie script bomb at the far side. "Come on...come...on...come ON...!" Dipper growled with grit teeth pushing himself forward, sweating profusely before finally reaching far enough and jumping forward reaching the movie script. Panting heavily, he shakily held up the phone and used it to defuse the script. "...That's...another..." He uttered out of breath. "Dipper! Catch!" He heard Mabel yell out to him when he looked up and saw the present bomb being tossed over to him, making him yelp in fright and carelessly catch it, "MABEL! Watch it!" He exclaimed angrily, "Sorry!" She apologized then said, "I've got the puppo and the glass of water! You get that present I'm going for the explody video game!" Dipper sighed and gave her a weak thumbs up before carefully setting the present down. Mabel hurried over to the video game box full of dynamite, but not before hopping on one leg in order to pass the lasers which were guarding it as though she was playing hopscotch. "Nailed it." She said under her breath before rushing to the sticks of dynamite. Pursing her bottom anxiously, she glanced around in uncertainty seeing that only 30 more seconds remain when the bombs explode. She inhaled before licking her index finger and thumb in both hands then carefully put out the sticks of dynamite defusing them in the process. With a sigh of relief she looked over to see Dipper using the defuse option on the present bomb, allowing the phone to scan it in an attempt to go past the encryption and deactivate it. "Come on...please...come on..." He muttered urgently as sweat trickled down his face when the bomb then defused successfully causing Dipper to throw his hands up in the air in victory, "YES! YES! WE DID IT!" He cheered before joining up with Mabel as the twins laughed in victorious joy, holding each other and hopping in place, "Way to go, Dippingsauce!" She praised her brother, "Couldn't have done them all without you, sis!" He returned the praise. "I know." She smirked which earned her a playful shove from Dipper with the two laughing. However, Mettaton soon hovered down from above clapping his hands.
"WELL DONE, DARLINGS! YOU'VE DEACTIVATED ALL THE BOMBS! IF YOU DIDN'T DEACTIVATE THEM, THAT BIG BOMB WOULD'VE EXPLODED IN TWO MINUTES." Mettaton said as the twins looked up at him. "Well jokes on you Metal Ton!" Mabel pointed at him mispronouncing his name. "Now that big bomb won't explode in two minutes cause my brother and I just took care of all the little bombs! So take that!" She taunted with a mock grin, "THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT, SWEETHEART! IT WON'T EXPLODE IN TWO MINUTES. INSTEAD IT'LL EXPLODE IN TWO SECONDS!" Mettaton suddenly revealed. "Exactly...wait...WHAT?!" Mabel exclaimed in shock and horror as did Dipper, "GOODBYE, DARLINGS!" Mettaton waved to them with the two looking over to the large pink bomb seeing that it was on the two second timer, then one. Dipper and Mabel gave out shouts of alarm and fright before shutting their eyes tightly, and holding onto each other whimpering believing this to be their end. However, after a short while, Dipper slowly opened one of his eyes, glancing left and right before fully opening them now wide and alert but also in shock. "Hey...hey...Mabel! It didn't go off!" Dipper said, stunned. "A-Are you sure? Maybe...-gasp-...maybe it did and we didn't feel it now we're up in the clouds!" Mabel said still fearful for her life when Dipper shook his head, "No no! Look! We're still alive!" He reassured her as she opened her eyes at well, inspecting herself when she looked to Dipper. She reached over and pinched his arm, "OW! Hey!" He yelped in pain rubbing his arm, "Yep. We're alive." She grinned earning a shrill look from her brother. "AH. IT SEEMS THE BOMB DIDN'T GO OFF." Mettaton pointed out as he adjusted his yellow tie. When then Alphys' voice emerged from the twins' phone, "That's b-because! While you were monologuing I...!" She began to say in an attempt to sound heroic when her stutter and nervousness returned, "I f...fix...um...I ch-change..." Mettaton then finished for her in his own dramatic fashion, "OH NO. YOU DEACTIVATED THE BOMB WITH YOUR HACKING SKILLS." Alphys nodded sheepishly, "Yeah! T-That's what I did!"
Mettaton raised his fists to the air in 'defeat'. "CURSES! IT SEEMS I'VE BEEN FOILED AGAIN! CURSE YOU, HUMANS! CURSE YOU, DR. ALPHYS, FOR HELPING SO MUCH!" He cursed to the heavens as Dipper could only rub his head while Mabel stood there in a heroic pose, "All in a day's work, folks!" Mabel winked to the camera with her braces-filled grin. "BUT I DON'T CURSE MY EIGHT WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR TUNING IN! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!" And with that the robot took his leave, leaving behind the twins again. "Next time...great. Can't wait to see how that goes." Dipper said sarcastically with a frown when Mabel took the phone from him, "Alphys! Girlfriend! Have I ever told you how much you totally rock!" The girl praised Alphys for her skills to which the scientists blushed red in response from the compliment, "T-Thanks but I-I don't think I did much a-anyway..." The Royal Scientists replied. "Didn't do much? Alphys you're kidding right? Honestly if you weren't there to help us out with those bombs we would've been turned into piles of ashes." Dipper stepped in when Alphys's eyes widened at that, "Well gee when you p-put it like that..." She fiddled with her fingers, glancing to the side briefly before saying, "H-hey, I know I was kind of weird at first...but I really think I'm getting more...uh m-more...more confident about guiding you!" She managed to blurt out the last few words. "Pssh, you thought you were weird? Have you even met us for that long, Alphys?" Dipper scoffed in a friendly tone. "Haha! Yeah! I mean you should see the amount of sweaters I wear on a daily basis. Or the number of pens Dipper chews when he's in conspiracy theory mode." Mabel began with Dipper joining her, "Or how we found Soos trying to eat his pants at one point. In fact...our home town above? It's just the epicenter of weirdness, Alphys." He finished as the scientist was baffled by this revelation. Not only were those bizarre for some reason, they struck a cord of familiarity within her. But this is mostly due to the fact that these type of incidents mostly happened with the residents of the underground, at least the ones that she knows personally. "W-ow...I never knew that..." She muttered a bit. "So don't you worry, Alphie! You may think you're weird but to use you're as normal as a pig and goat getting married." Mabel oddly clarified. "T-Thank you, guys...really..." She thanked them glancing to the side with a small smile twiddling her thumbs. "
"So, what'll happen when Mettaton comes back?" Dipper asked to when Alphys replied, "Oh you d-don't have to worry about that b-big dumb robot...cause I'll protect you f-from him!"She strongly said as best she could. "Aw, Alphys! I'm totally positive that you would!" Mabel giggled. "A-and if it really c-came down to it, we could uh...nevermind. Later!" And with that she ended the call with Mabel looking at Dipper with a grin, "She's so cute I swear." His sister squealed lowly with glittery eyes and a wide grin. "Eh, she can be interesting I suppose." Dipper responded when the two later left the area as they were along a pathway where they could view the Core from a different angle in the far distance. As the twins were walking, Mabel was in some thought. She fiddled around with her sweater sleeves while the sweater itself was wrapped around her waist as she was thinking. The mentions of Soos and the others up in Gravity Falls once again reminded her that when they reach the Core and go past it, they will be able to exit the Underground and finally return home. However, a part of her feels like she does not want to leave. She is aware that she should ignore that part for she is also well aware that her family is not present in this place. She looked up to Dipper who was walking forward, navigating the terrain in Hotland with a firm look on his face. She looked to the side, rubbing the back of her neck in uncertainty. Mostly because if she brought this topic up again, it would result in an argument. She was about to speak when Dipper then spoke in her stead, "Hey, Mabel?" The girl was startled slightly from this, "Oh, uh, yeah, bro?" Dipper glanced at her over his shoulder, "Are you okay? You've been really quiet for a while." He asked her with concern to which she dismissively waved her hand at, "Ah I'll be fine, Dip. It's just the heat in this place. It's got my throat all dry. Look." Mabel stuck her tongue out showing how dry it is with Dipper making a face at it, "Sheesh. Well, don't worry. I'm sure there's gotta be another dispenser around here somewhere." He told her patting her shoulder as they walked forward.
"Haha yeah...I'm sure there is." Mabel lowly said those last words. She was again silent for a moment when she called her brother, "Dipper?" "Yeah, Mabel?" He responded. "Are you...like...worried about meeting this Asgore guy?" She asked him a little nervously to which Dipper paused but continued to walk nonetheless before he sighed, "Honestly? I have no clue..." He answered much to Mabel's surprise and confusion as well, "Wait what do you mean?" She asked him once again. "I don't know whether I should be worried or just calm about it...cause like...I know from what the others have told me...that he's like this really nice dude or something but...in the one hand there was something that Toriel said about him which kept making me think otherwise...and that like caused World War III inside my head." He began to say as Mabel was now walking next to him. "What? What'd she say? Is it about those other people?" Dipper nodded in response with a frown, "Yeah, we weren't the only ones down here. And from what Toriel said...they didn't make it. And she also said that Asgore was the one that got rid of them...likely ordered the Royal Guard to do it...but on the one hand-" He began when Mabel placed a sticker on his cheek, "Hold your horses there, broskey." She cut him off before sighing, "Yeah...I know that you think the King's a bad guy because of what he did...but honestly? You really shouldn't worry too much." She began to say when Dipper looked at her with raised eyebrows at those words, "And why exactly shouldn't I do that?" Mabel continued, "Because it's like people said...he's a pretty sweet and nice guy. And if we just tell him 'can we go home please' he'll let us through. I mean like...I probably sound like a turd for saying this but...but the people that were here before us? I don't think they were nice people exactly..." She said glancing off to the side rubbing her arm. "Not saying that they deserved what happened to them! Far from it I swear...but maybe...maybe there was something about them that...the monsters had to defend...ugh forget it...I sound stupid..." Mabel sighed as she looked down with Dipper giving her sympathetic look.
He placed his hand on her shoulder, "Mabel, you're not stupid. I get what you're trying to say and I know it's hard for you to take it all in...but I promise things will get easy." He told her in a soft voice. "Look, I know you think that ever since this whole thing about the other humans that came down here got killed by Asgore, I've had nothing but distrust and contempt to that dude. And even though the other monsters say that he's like the nicest guy around here...it still doesn't ease my suspicions." He continued with his eyebrows furrowing together causing Mabel to glance at him concerned, "But Dipper-" However, he cut her off before she could rebut, "But...I'm gonna try it your way." He finished with a small smile earning a stunned look from Mabel, "What? You will?!" He smiled even more and nodded once in confirmation, "Yeah. We're gonna do it the Mabel way. My way would probably lead to a fight and then a grueling death which I'm definitely not looking forward to anytime soon. But, I'll try being nice to the guy if what everyone says is true about him. So, fingers crossed I guess." He stated scratching his head to which Mabel then threw her arms around him in a tight embrace and swung him around with a wide and happy grin, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She expressed her gratitude in sheer joy as Dipper chuckled and laughed, returning the embrace with one arm as he was swung around left and right. The twins continued to venture through Hotland as they were walking by the facility being the Core itself in the distance. Mabel looked at it from where she was as she walked next to Dipper, "So that's where we gotta go?" She asked to which Dipper nodded in response, "Yeah, Alphys said that when we go through there, we'll reach the King's castle and we'll be home free." He said as his anticipation was rising once again inside him but hid it.
"Ugh, Dipper, I know we're on a schedule or something here but can we like not walk all the way over there with no breaks?" Mabel whined as she paused for several moments, rubbing her feet from being sore due to the amount of traveling distance they accomplished. Dipper glanced at her and nodded, "Of course, Mabes. Who knows? Maybe this place probably has a resort too. If there's one, we'll set up a room there and get some rest." He told her to which she sighed in relief as she bent her leg backwards, relieving it of muscle tension, "It better be there. This is no place for a little lady like me. Man, I should've stocked my Mabel juice then I wouldn't have this problem." She complained with an adorable pout. "Uh yeah, something tells me the Mabel juice is gonna be both the problem and the solution." Dipper pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "What? Pfft. You should never underestimate the power of Mabel juice, Dipper. It's made with love, care, glitter, sunshine, and rainbows!" Mabel retorted with a wide grin and raising her arms, praising the effects of Mabel juice but Dipper knew otherwise before she stood back up and they continued to walk. "Mabel the last time Grunkle Stan had some of your Mabel Juice he coughed out a plastic dinosaur." Dipper reminded her of that one incident but Mabel giggled at that memory, "Yeah. Good times. Although you can't blame me for that. Grunkle Stan just wasn't patient enough to wait for his coffee." She crossed her arms with a look. "Heh yeah you got me there. Honestly, it doesn't matter what Grunkle Stan drinks as long as it's something that's strong as coffee in the early morning." Dipper chuckled as he removed his cap and wiped his forehead with his forearm. "But..when it comes to Mabel juice, it's more along the lines of him thinking he's still in a nightmare." He remarked when Mabel flashed him a cross look, "Hey! Don't be a butt to Mabel juice!" She scolded him pointing and poking his nose repeatedly, "Agh I'm sorry! It was his words not mine!" Dipper apologized as he flinched and made a noise from how much Mabel was poking him, "Uh huh. And how come you would always make a face like you're constipated whenever I give you the Mabel juice." She told him with a skepticism and narrowed eyes and a raised eyebrow.
"Uh what? Nah...it's not like um...nah. It's just so good that I was in a state of shock." Dipper lied with a sheepish grin to which Mabel grinned in return as she patted his head, "Good! That means you get the honor of having a full bucket of Mabel juice!" She declared cheerily but Dipper was not even remotely thrilled of that honor, "...hooray for me." He mumbled lowly as they walked forward. Around five minutes later, they approached what looked to be another elevator. A lit sign above the doorways said 'L1' which likely meant that this was the first left floor. "Another elevator. Great. Hopefully this one takes us to the Core faster." Dipper said as they approached the doors when they slid open, upon entering Mabel gasped upon seeing a water dispenser stationed next to the buttons. "WATER!" She exclaimed in delight quickly rushing over to it and pressing the faucet of the cold water, leaning down on her knees and guzzling the ice cold water not bothering to use a cup, "Whoa hey Mabel relax!" Dipper attempted to calm her but she made a gurgling noise in response before leaning back panting heavily, "No way! I've went a bizillion years without water! No way am I losing this fight now, bro!" She declared loudly before leaning her head back down and below the faucet as she poured more cool water in her mouth effectively having it coat half of her face but she could not care less. "At least save some for me." Dipper told her placing his hands on his hips, but Mabel continued to make several odd sounds of delight and satisfaction as she was getting soaked. Dipper rose an eyebrow and sighed shaking his head before walking over to the buttons. He inspected on which floor to choose, but seeing that they were on the left, he would have to take an upper left floor, he hoped it would take them at an area which is closer to the Core itself. He decided to press the button which said 'Left Floor 3' when the doors then closed and the elevator trembled gently before taking them up. Dipper leaned against the wall when suddenly, "Hey Dipper..." Mabel called to him to which he looked at her in response, "Yeah?" But his response was meat with water being sprayed at him making him shout in surprise as he attempted to shield himself from the oncoming water. "Try to stay cool!" Mabel laughed as she used her hand to press against the faucet with it activated and ricocheting it towards him. "MABEL! HEY! HAHA QUIT IT!" He yelled at her with a laugh as he was getting soaked. This happened all the while they were reaching another destination in the land of Hotland.
I don't own Gravity Falls or Undertale. Read and Review.