Nemo and Frisk made their way back to the main path, before using the puffing arrow to get sent to the middle path. The middle path didn't go very far before reaching a set of double doors, both doors having a glowing emblem on them. "I guess that means we can go through." Noted Nemo.
Suddenly the doors opened. "I think you're right." Said Frisk. Nemo chuckled as they walked through. The went forward and took a right, before reaching the end of the path, which had a puffing arrow on it. Suddenly the phone pinged.
"Alphys updated status. Whatever. I'll just explain it." Read Nemo. Then the phone started ringing. Nemo answered it. "Hello?"
"Uuuh, I think… Umm… Hey! About the puzzles on the left and right…! They're a bit difficult to explain, but... " Said Alphys.
"We already solved them." Said Nemo.
"... uhhh, you already s-solved them?" Replied Alphys nervously. "Awesome!" The phone clicked as she hung up.
"Wait, isn't she watching us? How did she miss it?" Questioned Nemo.
"She has been on her phone a lot." Said Frisk. "Maybe she didn't notice?"
"I guess…" Said Nemo before putting the phone away. "That aside, let's keep going." He then focused on the arrow. "Alrighty then…" He slowly stepped onto the arrow before getting sent flying forward, and landing on another arrow, and being sent flying again onto another arrow, then being launched to a fourth arrow, and then onto a very colorful platform. His landing was less than graceful. Frisk came flying after him, and their landing was very graceful in contrast. "Show off." Said Nemo with a pout.
Frisk giggled at him. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get better." They said.
"I hope we don't stay down here long enough for me to get good at this." Commented Nemo drily.
"Yeah… I guess you have a point." Said Frisk as they continued walking.
Suddenly it was very dark. "Stay behind me." Said Nemo as he put a hand behind him, gesturing for Frisk to stay back.
"Alright." They replied softly as the pair slowly made their way forward.
Suddenly the phone began to ring, causing both of them to jump. Nemo pulled the phone out. "Dang it Alphys what!?" Demanded Nemo.
"O-oh! Uh… h-hey, it's kind of dark in there, isn't it?" She asked nervously. "Don't worry! I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!"
Suddenly the lights came on and the duo realized where they were. "...Is this a kitchen?" Asked Nemo.
"Oh no." Said Alphys over the phone. Suddenly Mettaton, who was wearing a chef's hat, just straight up rose from the ground.
"OHHHH YES!" He said into his microphone. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW! COOKING WITH A KILLER ROBOT!"
"Ah crud." Said Nemo.
"PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING… A CAKE!" Declared Mettaton.
"Huh… that sounds safe…" Said Nemo.
"MY LOVELY ASSISTANTS HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS. EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!" Said Mettaton. There was a sound of applause as confetti rained from the city and landed on the heads of Frisk and Nemo, the latter of whom grumbled as he pulled confetti out of his hair. "WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS. GO FOR IT, SWEETHEARTS!"
"And why are we agreeing to play along with this?" Asked Nemo.
"BECAUSE OTHERWISE YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO LEAVE!" Replied Mettaton.
"Fair enough." Sighed Nemo as he turned and went to the back counter, which had all the ingredients. "Frisk gimme a hand and grab the milk."
"Ok." Said Frisk as they ran over and grabbed the milk carton while Nemo grabbed the sugar and eggs. The duo brought the ingredients over and placed them next to the sink.
"PERFECT! GREAT JOB BEAUTIFUL!" Said Mettaton happily before turning to Nemo. "...AND YOU TOO I SUPPOSE."
"Hardy har." Deadpanned Nemo.
"WE'VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE!" Said Mettaton. "MILK… SUGAR… EGGS… OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!" Nemo looked at the robot in confusion. Suddenly Mettaton's screen face turned red as he pulled out a freaking chainsaw. "A HUMAN SOUL!"
"Uh… uh oh." Said Nemo nervously as he started backing away from the killer robot. Mettaton approached the duo as his screen flashed between yellow and red. He stopped when he heard a phone ring.
"HELLO…?" He responded. "I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."
"W-wait a second!" Said Alphys over the phone. "Couldn't you make a… couldn't you use a… couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?!"
"... A SUBSTITUTION? YOU MEAN, UAE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? ...WHY?" Asked Mettaton.
"Uhh, what if someone's… vegan?" She said uncertainly.
"Seriously?" Asked Nemo internally with a flat expression.
"...VEGAN." Said Mettaton.
"Uh well I-" Started Alphys.
"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS!" Said Mettaton happily. "ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOR-SUBSTITUTE!"
"Seriously!?" Nemo thought in annoyance.
"A CAN OF WHICH… IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!" Said Mettaton as he pointed to a can on a distant counter. "WELL DARLINGS, WHY DON'T ONE OF YOU GO GET IT?"
"Sheesh." Said Nemo as he walked past Mettaton and over to the counter with Frisk close behind him. Just as Nemo reached the shelf, it retracted into the ground. "What…?" The counter then began to shake before hyper extending into the air. "Woah!" Said Nemo as he stepped back and watched the counter to continue to become taller. By the time it stopped, it was practically touching the roof of the underground. Nemo looked over at Mettaton. "...Why?"
"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN IN THE NEXT MINUTE… WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN!" Said Mettaton.
"Are you kidding me!?" Demanded Nemo as his head snapped back to the top of the shelf.
"BETTER START CLIMBING DARLING!" Said Mettaton.
"Dude, don't call me darling, it's weird." Said Nemo with a flat look. Mettaton didn't say anything in response, and instead opted to fly up to where the can was. "Cruuud!" Shouted Nemo in frustration. Suddenly his phone started ringing. "What now Alphys!?" He said into the phone.
"Oh no! There's not enough time to climb up!" Said Alphys.
"Wow, really!? I didn't notice!" Nemo snapped.
Alphys was quiet. "F-f-fortunately, I might have a plan! When I upgraded your phone, I added a few… features." She said.
"Meaning?" Asked Nemo.
"You see that huge button that says… 'jetpack'?" Asked Alphys.
Nemo blinked and examined the phone, seeing the button in question. "How did I miss that?" He asked.
"Press it and watch what happens!" Said Alphys.
Nemo pressed the button and watched it float into the air and become a jetpack. "Woah." He said. THe pack then equipped itself onto his back.
"There!" Said Alphys as the jetpack fired up. " You should have just enough fuel to reach the top! Now, get up there!"
"Right!" Said Nemo as the pack carried him into the air. Unfortunately, Mettaton decided to play saboteur as he started to throw the ingredients down at Nemo. "Bleugh!" Said Nemo as he got facefuls of eggs, milk, and flour. His face was covered in ingredients by the time he reached the top.
"MY MY. IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD THE HELP OF THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS! OH, I LOATHE TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO YOU WITHOUT HER." Said Mettaton. Nemo gave the robot a flat look. "WELL, TOODLES!" Mettaton flew off before returning. "OH YES! ABOUT THE SUBSTITUTION… HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A COOKING SHOW BEFORE? I ALREADY BAKED THE CAKE AHEAD OF TIME! SO FORGET ABOUT IT!" Nemo's eye twitched in annoyance as Mettaton flew away and he was returned to the ground and the jetpack became a phone.
"Nemo?" Asked Frisk.
"I… really… hate that guy." Said Nemo as he wiped away some of the mess on his face with the back of his wrist. Suddenly his phone began to ring. "What?" Answered Nemo drily.
"Wow! We… we did it!" Said Alphys. "We… we really did it! Great job out there, team! W-well, uh, anyway, let's keep heading forward!" THe phone clicked as she hung up.
Nemo sighed. "Gross, I think this stuff is starting to dry." He said.
"Hang on, there's a sink over there." Said Frisk as they tugged at his wrist and pointed at the sink.
"Thanks." Said Nemo as he walked over to the sink and turned the water on. After a few minutes Nemo's face was clean, albeit wet. The duo continued onwards from there, after a short walk, they found themselves at another star. "What are these even doing here? Did someone put them here? Or do they exist on their own? Can everyone see them, or just people who can… what'd he call it, reset? But then why can I see them?"
"Why are you asking me?" Asked Frisk as they looked up at him in confusion.
"I… I'm not sure, I just want answers, and the lack of them is starting to frustrate me." Said Nemo with an annoyed expression.
"Oh… ok." Said Frisk. Nemo rolled his eyes before letting out a huff of amusement and ruffling Frisk's hair.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter, we should keep going." Said Nemo.
"Alright." Said Frisk as they reached over and touched the star. Nemo pulled Frisk into a one armed hug as they walked further into Hotland. They didn't get far before their phone began to ring.
"Hello?" Asked Nemo.
"S-see that building in the distance?" Asked Alphys.
Nemo turned his head to the left and he saw the building Alphys was referring to. "Yeah? Why?" He asked.
"That's the Core. The source of all power for the underground." Explained Alphys. "It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity, by… uhh, anyway, that's where we're going to go. In the Core is an elevator directly into Asgore's castle. And from there… you can go home."
"Thanks Alphys." Said Nemo just before she hung up. The pair walked for a while before reaching an elevator. Above the door there was a letter and a number, reading 'R1'. "I wonder if there's an R2… and a D2." Said Nemo. Frisk rolled their eyes before entering the elevator. "Yeah… that was kind of a stretch." Said Nemo as he followed them. In the back of the elevator there were some labelled buttons. "I can't read those so I'll be leaving the decision to you."
Frisk nodded before pressing a button. The exit to the elevator shut before it began to shake as they moved. They stopped very soon and the exit opened up again. The duo walked out and down the path, only to find themselves at the star in front of Alphys's lab. "Oops." Said Frisk.
"Meh, we can just take the elevator back." Said Nemo.
"Yeah, I guess so." Said Frisk as the duo doubled back to the elevator. One short ride later and they found themselves in a new location.
They exited and spotted a short fire monster. "Heh. I'm Heats Flamesman. Remember my name!" He said.
"Ok…" Said Nemo as he and Frisk continued on their path. They soon found an area with another one of Sans's stations, and it had Sans in it as well. There was also a weird floating monster next to it holding a hotdog and a Vulcan with a hotdog resting in the top of it's head. "Hey Sans!" Greeted Nemo as he and Frisk approached the skeleton monster.
"Hey buds, what's up? Wanna buy some hot-dogs?" Asked Sans. "It's only thirty G."
"Two please." Said Nemo as he pulled out the money.
"Alright then… well, I've only got one dog left, so I'll give you a hot-cat instead." Said Sans. He handed them two pieces of food, one was an ordinary hot-dog, and the other was a hot-dog with cat ears on it.
"Heh, weird." Said Nemo a chuckle as he handed the hot-dog to Frisk. The duo then bit into their food. There was a pause before Nemo spit it back out. "Blegh! What the!?" He pulled the 'meat' out of the bun, only to realize that it wasn't meat, but a water sausage. "Sans…" Nemo said with a glare. Sans could only chuckle and shrug. Frisk simply shrugged and kept eating. "Seriously?" Asked Nemo drily, but got no response. Nemo could only sigh before the duo continued on their way, while Frisk continued to eat. "I'm not gonna question how you can stomach that thing." As they walked, their phone pinged. "Alphys posted a picture. Dinner with the girlfriend. Emoticon." He read. "Wait, girlfriend?" He asked in confusion. He looked over at Frisk, but all they could offer in response was a shrug. Nemo turned his attention back to the phone, and opened up the picture. It was a picture of a catgirl figurine next to a bowl of instant noodles. Nemo could only stare flatly at the picture for a solid fifteen seconds before sighing and putting the phone away. "Best not to go down that rabbit hole… er, lizard burrow… is that what it's called? I don't know." He said as he shook his head and continued walking with Frisk right behind him.
The duo didn't make much distance before Nemo's soul manifested and a Pyrope bounded toward him. Nemo made the first move as he punched the monster in the torso. It's body was hot (not like that, get your minds out of the gutter) but not enough to burn Nemo as he stepped back. "Burn baby, BURN!" Cackled the monster. It summoned orange magic fire balls with ropes to the sides of it that went flying at Nemo. Nemo moved quick, passing through the orange magic unharmed for the most part, but then at the end he got caught on a rope and it whipped his stomach and left hip. Nemo let out a hiss of pain before spinning and kicking the monster. Nemo sighed as the monster faded to dust.
"It's been a while since I killed a monster." Said Nemo flatly as he stared at the Pyrope's dust.
"Yeah…" Said Frisk softly.
"C'mon, let's keep going." Said Nemo. Suddenly their phone pinged. Nemo pulled it out. "A- oh. Coolskeleton95 posted a picture." He said in surprise. This caught Frisk's attention. "Are we posting hot pics? Here is me and my cool friend." Nemo let out a chuckle as he showed Frisk the picture of Papyrus flexing in front of the mirror while wearing sunglasses. Giant, muscular biceps were pasted onto his arms. The biceps are also wearing sunglasses. The picture made Frisk laugh as well.
Suddenly the phone pinged again. "Alphys updated status. Lol, Coolskeleton95! ...that's a joke, right?" Nemo read. The phone pinged again. "Coolskeleton95 updated status. The only joke here, is how strong my muscles are." Nemo couldn't help but chuckle, and neither could Frisk. The phone pinged again. "Napstablook22 has sent you a friend request. Sure, why not." Said Nemo as he pressed the Accept button. But it seems like it had already rejected itself. "Oh.." Nemo looked over and noticed something forward and to the left. "What's that?"
The duo walked and took a left at a split in the path, and came across a stained apron. Frisk bent down and picked it up. They then removed their glasses before putting the apron on. "What do you think?" They asked.
"Not bad." Said Nemo as he sent the glasses to the dimensional box via the phone. "Now c'mon, we should keep moving."
"Alright." Said Frisk as the pair continued their trek to the Core.
Page 23 End