Warm Kitten
Ahead, more of the conveyer belts lay in wait. This next one twisted about like a serpent's slither. At the end of it was a little island with a golden sparkle. Whooshing of the steam vents nearby filled their ears.
"The whooshing sounds of the steam and cogs fill you with determination."
The cracks in their soul mended themselves. Vents decorated little islands in a confusing mess of ground and steam. Upon stepping on one of the vents, they were launched in the air and fell onto the ground of the island. Frisk stood up and dusted themselves off. "Oh goodness. Isn't there a better way of moving around?"
"Probably. But monsters love intricacy and puzzles," Flowey admitted. The whirring of an engine stopped them. Frisk and Flowey halted and turned forward. A helicopter with a bonnet hovered before them. Yanderecopter gets in the way… completely on purpose.
"Yanderecopter- Attack 25, Defense 26. HP 80. This helicopter means business… does it really like you?"
The helicopter huffed, "No way. Why would I like you?" The helicopter spun about the air around them. Little bombs rained around them. Although Frisk and Flowey were able to dodge them, the strips of smoke and fire were not easy to dodge. Cracks reemerged in their soul. Yanderecopter showed off its tail blades, its gaze bright and yet sharp.
Flowey glanced at Frisk. "Ah… I don't like the look of this helicopter."
Frisk narrowed their eyes and smiled. They took a step toward them. "You're looking nice today."
The helicopter hovered a few inches away. "E-eh? What?" A green aura faintly glowed around the copter. Frisk waved their hand through it. The helicopter backed off further. "E-eh-? Whatever. Keep your hands to yourself." The helicopter scoffed and flew away.
"That was weird," Flowey commented. "Let's keep moving, though."
Frisk nodded and wandered about some more. They ended up getting to a piece of land that held a large half-circle of conveyers around it. There was a gap, however, between the stone and conveyers. Both of them led around to the island. On one side, a frying pan was on the ground. Nothing was on the other side.
"There are some arrows here," Flowey commented. "Well, one arrow. But it's changing constantly. Is the steam moving with it…? Frisk, when I tell you to jump on it, jump, okay?"
"Okay. What's special about this one?"
"Jump!" Flowey encouraged. Frisk hopped onto the vent. It launched them onto the small island with the frying pan. "The direction of the steam changed with the direction of the arrow. So, what's that?"
"Burnt pan: Attack 10. Food heals more. Attacks are consistent."
"Oh! It makes food better," Frisk informed him.
"It only works if you're holding it, though," Flowey pointed out.
"I can't carry a frying pan in my hand all the time, though!" Frisk pointed out.
"Put it in your bag and take it out during battle," Flowey advised. "It also has a large area. Maybe you could block attacks!"
"Oh! That actually sounds really cool. Thanks!" Frisk set their gloves inside of their bag along with their pan. With that, they trompted off, feet light and head in the air.
The next area they came to was full of lasers. Frisk tipped their head. "Should we ask Dr. Alphys for help?"
Flowey shook his head violently. "No! Er- isn't Papyrus good with puzzles?"
"Oh yeah! He is! Thanks for reminding me." Frisk took out their phone and dialed the number on it.
"HELLO? HUMAN?"
"Hello, Papyrus!" Frisk purred.
"OH! DID YOU NEED SOMETHING…?"
"Well, I'm at a puzzle," Frisk replied. "I can't figure it out. But you're good with puzzles. So, I thought I'd call you!"
"INDEED, I AM GOOD AT PUZZLES! WHAT DOES THIS ONE LOOK LIKE?" Papyrus prompted.
"Well, it's just a long hallway with a bunch of lasers. There are a bunch of orange lasers that are standing still. There are a few blue ones that are moving back and forth. The lasers are kind of low so I can't go under them or above them. Do you know what means? Er- what they do?" Frisk inquired.
"ORANGE AND BLUE LASERS? OH OF COURSE! DO YOU REMEMBER RED ATTACKS? WELL, BLUE LASERS ARE SIMILAR TO RED ATTACKS. YOU CAN'T MOVE WHEN THEY HIT YOU. IF YOU DON'T MOVE, THEY WON'T HURT YOU! ORANGE ATTACKS, AND LASERS, ARE THE OPPOSITE OF RED ATTACKS. THEREFORE, YOU KEEP MOVING THROUGH THEM!" Papyrus explained.
"Oh! Thanks, Papyrus!" Frisk purred. "I'm going to see if I can do it, now."
"CALL ME BACK ANYTIME!" Click.
Frisk walked straight through the orange lasers. When the moving blue lasers came, both Frisk and Flowey stood stock-still. Once the lasers passed, the two continued. When the lasers came back, they stopped. Eventually, they were able to get past the lasers. A button on a tall pillar stood on the other side. Upon tapping it, the lasers were deactivated. "That was simple enough," Frisk purred.
The next puzzle wasn't that simple.
There were three pieces of land that all encountered the same wall. All three had entrances, but only the middle had doors. A vent went to all three and all three had vents that went back to the center.
Flowey looked about. "Hmm… let's try going to those side rooms. Let's go right, first."
"Okay!" Frisk jumped onto the vent once the arrow pointed right. The entryway with an upside-down heart above it led to a small room. A game with a ship on either side and squares in the middle lit up upon entering. There was a note on the ground. Frisk knelt beside it.
"'Shoot the opposing ship. Move blocks to complete your mission,'" Flowey read aloud. "Okay. Simple enough. Start up the game. I'll tell you where to go." The screen lit up. Four white, full boxes filled the corners. Two hollow boxes were in the space on the top and the space on bottom. Two tear-drop, red icons glowed near their 'ship'. "Okay. Down one, right one." Frisk complied. One empty box filled the left empty space. One of them blocked the entryway. "Shoot twice." Frisk pressed the 'shoot' button twice. The empty box exploded from the first shot. The enemy ship broke upon being hit with the second attack. "Good job!"
Frisk beamed. "Yeah! Hopefully that did something!" They turned and trotted outside. The upside-down heart above the door glowed with neon lights.
The left side held the same puzzle. However, this puzzle was guarded by a laser. It was a stationary blue laser. "Oh dear," Frisk mumbled. "We can't go through there."
Brriiiing! Briiing! Br- "Hello? This is Frisk."
"Frisk." Dr. Alphys' emotionless voice came out of the receiver. "This blue laser will hurt you if you move through it. I am deactivating it now. If you come across impossible puzzles like this, wait for me to call. Goodbye." Click. The blue laser shut off.
"She's helping us," Frisk informed him.
"I don't trust her," Flowey stated. "I don't. But let's get this over with."
This was just a bit more complex. The screen was wider and there were more white boxes and empty boxes. Flowey thought for a moment. "Hmm… okay. Down. Left. Up. Left. Shoot. Shoot. Nice!" The puzzle, complete, deactivated itself. Frisk trotted out of the room, a happy smile dressing them. The door, now that both puzzles were solved, opened.
This next area was a bit odd. Frisk turned the corner and jumped onto a vent. This launched them onto another vent which launched them into a third. Finally, they landed on shiny ground covered in blue tiles with gold circles in the center. Frisk looked about and kept going. Upon entering a door, they were greeted by pitch black. Before they could walk back out, the door shut and locked itself. "O-oh no," Frisk breathed and looked about. "Oh dear. What's happening? What-?" They cut themselves off. Or, rather, they were cut off.
Lights blazed in the kitchen that they were in. Frisk looked about. Flowey copied. However, upon hearing a familiar, robotic voice, both turned to see the third entity on the room. Behind the counter and wearing a chief's hat, Mettaton called, "OH YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!" Pink words in curly writing flashed above them. "Cooking With a Killer Robot." Sparkles danced about the words before they faded. Mettaton went on, "PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING… A CAKE! MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL BE GATHERING THE INGREDIENTS. GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE EVERYBODY!" An audio tape of people clapping sounded somewhere nearby. Glitter swirled around them. Flowey coughed as pieces of glitter got in his mouth. "WE WILL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS. GO FOR IT, SWEETHEART!"
Frisk looked about. "Er…"
"Up on the counter, under the, uh, window. They're all there," Flowey instructed. Frisk tromped over to the counter where the ingredients were indeed there. Flowey carried the heaviest ingredient, the milk, while Frisk carried the flour and eggs.
After Frisk and Flowey put down the ingredients, Mettaton crowed, "PERFECT! GOOD JOB, BEAUTIFUL! WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE! MILK… SUGAR… EGGS… OH MY! WAIT ONE MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I HAVE SO EASILY FORGOTTEN THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT? A HUMAN SOUL!" Mettaton, cackling in glee, aimed his canon-hand at them.
"W-wait!" Flowey cried. "Are you not thinking about your audience?" Frisk jumped and looked back at their flower friend.
"WHAT?" Mettaton prompted.
"I mean, how could you use a living ingredient if you have vegans in your audience? And of people who cannot acquire a human soul?" Flowey prompted. "They'll need to use a substitution. But you're the one making the show, so how could they know what to look for?"
Mettaton hesitated and lowered his canon-hand. "OH, SILLY ME! YOU ARE COMPLETELY RIGHT, FLOWER! THANKFULLY, I DO HAVE A NON-HUMAN SUBSTITION. MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT-HUMAN-FLAVOR-SUBSTITUTE! MY FRIENDLY ASSISTANT, DO YOU MIND GRABBING IT? IT'S JUST ON THAT COUNTER OVER THERE." He waved his hand at the wooden counter just out of the kitchen.
Frisk darted over to the counter. Before they could take it, the wooden counter shuttered, lowered, and then raced up. Frisk and Flowey watched as the counter raced higher and higher.
"OH! BY THE WAY, DARLING. THIS SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE. IF YOU DON'T GET THAT INGREDIENT IN ONE MINUTE, WE'LL HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN! BETTER START CLIMBING, BEAUTIFUL!" Mettaton purred. He flew up into the air.
Frisk took a deep breath. "Well. This is a problem. We're just going to have to find a solution. I can't climb, and even if I could, that is way too high. Can you reach it? Or climb?"
"I could, but that would take a while," Flowey answered. "Since it's not a piece of the ground, I can't go there on my own."
Briii- "Hello? This is Frisk!"
"Frisk. I altered your phone. There's a jet-pack on it. Press the button." Click. Dr. Alphys hung up the phone. Frisk looked at their little red and yellow phone. Flowey pressed the little button labeled "jet-pack". The phone expanded. Within seconds, it was almost as big as Frisk. That and it snapped to their back like a magnet. It pushed the backpack with Flowey up a bit. Frisk and Flowey were shot into the air.
Frisk screamed in fright and held out their arms to stabilize themselves. Somewhere above them, Mettaton laughed. Then, he started throwing eggs at them. "Oh my God." Flowey looked up at the tiny projectiles. "He's throwing eggs at you. Okay, follow my direction. Left. Left! Stop. A little to right. Keep going. A little bit forward! Ugh. That one was close." Eggs stopped raining from the sky. Mettaton whipped out a bag of flour and began to throw bits into the air. Although Frisk attempted to dodge, some flour still got on them. Eventually, the flour was put away and replaced by milk. The milk was replaced by eggs and it started over again. By the time Frisk and Flowey got to the top of the counter, They were both covered in flour, eggs, and milk. Flowey sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God. Let's just get this thing and get out of here, huh?"
"MY, MY," Mettaton clicked. "IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. BUT NOT WITHOUT THE HELP OF DR. ALPHYS. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS. I'VE ALREADY PRE-BAKED THE CAKE. TOODLES!" Mettaton zipped away.
The young human and the flower gently descended. Their jetpack shrunk back into a phone. "Blegh!" Frisk huffed. "I have enough 'ingredients' on me to bake two cakes!"
"Got that right," Flowey huffed and coughed up some flour. "I hope there's a bath or something here. I'm sort of missing Waterfall."
Frisk chuckled. "No kidding. It's fitting we're in Hotland, though. Maybe if we wait long enough, we'll become a cake!" A yellow sparkle appeared before them as they walked on the thin trail.
"Thinking of becoming a cake fills you with determination."
"What's that?" Frisk inquired. A large dark mass broke up the red lava.
"It's the Core," Flowey explained. "It supplies the entire underground with electricity. You can get to an elevator to the king's castle from there."
At the end of the trail was an elevator. "Oh!" Frisk gasped. "Wasn't there an elevator back by the guards?"
Flowey nodded. "Yeah. Are you thinking we can go there and wash off in Waterfall?"
Frisk nodded in enthusiasm. "Yep!"
It turned out that Waterfall wasn't the best place to wash off. Although it was full of water, there was no place where there wasn't someone. So, they got to wash off their clothes at the same time as themselves. This proved problematic as Flowey, somehow trying not to get too wet washing himself off, fell into the river. Frisk had to dive after him. So, wet and cold, the flower and human sloshed back to the elevator. The guards had left, surprisingly. Getting to the floor labeled 'F-2' was easy enough.
Frisk walked down the trail. Eventually, they came across a very happy Vulkin who had a hotdog in its crater. Sans' hotdog stand stood nearby. The skeleton raised an eyebrow at Frisk and Flowey. "what happened? got in a fight with a water puddle?"
Frisk shook their head. "Nope. We got dragged into Mettaton's cooking show and he nearly drowned us in milk, flour, and eggs. We thought Waterfall would be a good place to get washed up. One of us fell in." Frisk shrugged. "The other had to help them."
Flowey huffed, "It wasn't my fault! You put the backpack too close to the water."
Frisk looked back at them. "Uh-huh. It was a perfect distance away. You just wanted to see your reflection." Flowey huffed and Frisk giggled in his indignance. She turned back to Sans. "Anyway, what's up?"
"just running a stand," Sans answered with a shrug. "nothin' big. wanna hotcat?"
"A hotcat?" Frisk echoed.
"yeah. a hotcat," Sans answered.
"Is that like a hotdog?" the young human prompted.
"…sure. 30g." The small skeleton shrugged and held out a hand. "Want one or not?"
"Should we?" Frisk prompted. "I've never had a hotcat before!"
"We don't have very much in the way of g, though," Flowey pointed out.
Frisk dug through their pocket. "No. No, when I dug you out of the river, I found some coins. So…" they pulled out a handful and started counting. "…28, 29, 30. 30! Here you go!" Frisk dropped the coin in Sans' hand. They received a hotcat in return. It looked like a hotdog, but with cat ears.
"here's your hotcat."
"Aw! It's so cute! Look, Flowey!" They held up the food item for Flowey to inspect.
Flowey nodded. "Yeah. Cute. Let's go."
"Okay." Frisk gently put away the hotcat. "Thanks, Sans!"
Sans' smirk widened. "hey, kid. i, uh, just remembered somethin'. i have some 'dogs if you want them."
Frisk brightened. "Really? Thanks! How much?"
"eh… 30g."
Flowey cut in, "Sorry. We don't have it. Guess we'll have to get going."
Frisk pouted. "Sure, we do!"
"Don't pay him!" Flowey growled. "You'll only encourage him!"
"To do what?" Frisk prompted. "Sell hotdogs?"
"Yes," Flowey agreed.
"Where I lived, selling food was an acceptable position," Frisk informed him. "Besides, it's tradition to encourage people selling food like hotdogs, pizza, ice cream, popcorn, and that stuff."
"Ice cream?" Flowey prompted.
"Yeah, ice cream. You know, the ice cream man? He passes out ice cream and snow cones and stuff?" Frisk prompted.
"I never heard of it…?"
Frisk hesitated. "You know… that explains a lot, actually. When we get to the surface, I'm taking you straight to the ice cream shop! …what were we doing?"
"you were buyin' a 'dog," Sans piped up.
"Oh! Right!" Frisk handed Sans the amount needed.
"enjoy your 'dog, kid. wait. looks like your hands are full. …guess i'll just put it on your head." Sans set the hotdog on Frisk's head. Frisk looked up and chuckled.
"Can I get another?"
"yeah, sure. it's on the house. what i mean by that, is it's on you." Sans set the hotdog on top of the first one on Frisk's head.
Flowey piped up, "We have room in our bag, you know," Flowey pointed out.
Sans set another hotdog on their head, before Frisk had asked. "nah, really? oh well."
Frisk giggled. "Oh! Another!"
"Frisk…" Flowey groaned. "You're going to fall and hurt yourself!"
Sans lifted another hotdog with telekinesis to land on their head. "there ya go."
"Another!"
"heh. another." Sans stacked another hotdog on their head. Eventually, it got to the point where there were thirty hot dogs on their head. "now, kid, i'll be frank with you. as much as i love putting hotdogs on your head, thirty is just an excessive number. twenty-nine? now that's an acceptable number. but thirty? no."
Frisk giggled and patted the hot dog stack on their head. "Wow! That's so cool!"
"yeah. now, how are you going to get them down?" the skeleton prompted.
Frisk's smile slowly left them. Sans snickered. Flowey glowered at him and turned to Frisk. "You do realize you had this coming, right? Let's see if we can just knock a few off…"
Sans drawled, "i would try not to let them all hit the ground. it's bad for business for my food to be on the ground, you know." His eyes flashed. "bad for business is bad for the offender." Frisk's eyes grew round in terror. Flowey looked up at the stack of hotdogs on their head. Sans burst into laughter. "god, kid! i'm teasin' you. you really get worked up, don't you?"
Flowey hissed at him and turned forward. "Goodbye, trashbag." He whacked the stack of hotdogs on Frisk's head. They managed to catch an armful, though only a few more could fit in their bag.
"See ya around!"
"see ya."