Nemo and Frisk stood before another fork in the road with two conveyor belts that went opposite directions. "Oh goodie." Said Nemo drily. Suddenly their phone began to ring. Nemo pulled the device out and answered. "Hey Alphys, what's up?" He asked.
"H… hi…! This p-puzzle is kinda… um… timing-based. Y-you see those switches over there?" Asked Alphys.
"Over where? I can't see where you're pointing through a phone." Said Nemo.
"O-oh, right…" Said Alphys.
Suddenly Nemo felt Frisk put their hand on his arm. Nemo looked down at them and saw that they were pointing in a direction. Nemo followed their finger and saw the switches. "Oh. Nevermind that last part, we found them." He said.
"O-ok!" Said Alphys. "Y-you'll have to press all three of them within three seconds. I'll try to help you with the rhythm." She then hung up.
"Ok…" Said Nemo as he walked to the start of the conveyor belt. Nemo took one last look at where the switches were before stepping onto the belt. The belt carried him across. As he neared the first switch, Nemo stuck his hand out and smacked it, and he repeated the process with the second button. But as he reached the last button, the phone began to ring, which threw him off, and caused him to smack the metal pole instead. Nemo let out a hiss of pain and shook his hand as he reached the end of the belt.
"OK! Now press the third one!" Said Alphys. Nemo said nothing and instead continued to hold the phone with an annoyed expression. Suddenly the laser blocking their way from moving ahead turned off. "H-h-hey! Looks like you! Only needed to press! Two of them!" The phone let out a click as she hung up. Nemo looked to his side as Frisk caught up to him.
Nemo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Moving on…" He said drily before putting the phone away. He and Frisk continued to walk ahead. As soon as they reached the next puzzle, the phone pinged. "Alphys updated status. That's the last time I try to help with a puzzle lmao." He read. He sighed before analyzing the puzzle. Suddenly the phone began to ring. "Hello?"
"Uh, h-h-hey! I'm going to the bathroom, so I'll be MIA for a bit. I'm… I'm sure you can handle this puzzle yourself!" Said Alphys before hanging up. Nemo pinches the bridge of his nose before turning his attention back to the puzzle.
"Alright… this looks somewhat easy." Said Nemo. It was just a pseudo maze of launch arrows. "What's with these glowing tiles?" He questioned as he stepped on a white tile with a glowing red spot next to the arrow. Doing so altered some of the arrows. "Oh…" Said Nemo. This caused him to sigh again. "And thus, this becomes a lot more difficult."
"Should I go first?" Asked Frisk.
"Nah, I'll try to chart a path out, just leave it to me." Said Nemo as he waved off their concern. He then steps onto the arrow and gets sent to the next platform. It takes some experimenting, being sent to the conveyor belt that returns him to the start more than once, going in multiple circles, and nearly falling into the lava below on three separate occasions, but he finally makes it to the other side of the puzzle. Nemo's hands are on his knees and he's panting from exhaustion. "Whew… I… made it… c'mon Frisk!" He said.
"Coming!" Said Frisk. They then step into the puzzle, and they reach him in about thirty seconds.
Nemo does a pretty good impression of Papyrus's bug-eyed face as he looks at them. "H-how?" He asked.
"I watched you." They said simply. Nemo blinks and his eyes return to normal. He can't decide if he should be flattered or embarrassed.
"Let's just keep going." Said Nemo.
"Ok." Said Frisk with a small smile. The two of them continued to walk and found themselves at another star that was floating next to a… microwave?
Suddenly their phone pinged. Nemo pulled the device out. "Alphys updated status. OMG, people think Mew Mew 2 is better than Mew Mew 1? Lolllll that's a joke right…" He read. The fact that he read it in such a flat tone with a completely straight face didn't fail to make Frisk laugh. They continued to laugh as they walked over and placed a hand on the star. Nemo rolled his shoulder, which had taken a hit during that last puzzle, as the feeling of warmth came back.
He then turned his attention back to the microwave. He opened the door to see if there was anything inside, but all he saw was a piece of melted cheese. "Nnno thanks…" He said as he closed the door. "Let's keep going."
"Ok." Said Frisk with a nod.
Suddenly their phone pinged again. Nemo pulled the device out and read aloud. "Alphys updated status. Omg… don't they get it ruins Mew Mew's entire character arc." Again, his straight face the entire time made Frisk giggle. The phone pinged again. "Alphys updated status. My Mew Mew 2 Review: Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 is neither kissy nor cutie. It's trash. Zero stars." Now Frisk was outright laughing. Nemo couldn't help but smile at their laughing.
They resumed walking. Only to be stopped right before the next turn on the path by someone shouting. "Hey! You! Stop!" Nemo and Frisk turned around to see two fully armored monsters approach them.
"Ah shoot." Said Nemo as he watched the monsters approach. "Ok, stay calm, when I give you the word, run, I'll distract them long enough for you to get a lead and then follow you."
"...Ok." Said Frisk softly.
When the monsters reached them, one of them spoke up. "We've, like, received an anonymous tip about two humans. One in a striped shirt and the other wearing a scarf. They told us they were wandering around Hotland right now… I know, sounds scary huh?"
"...Does this guy seriously not know what humans look like?" Nemo asked himself mentally. "Well, I can't say I've seen any scarf wearing humans around these parts." Which was technically true since Nemo hadn't encountered a single mirror since arriving in Hotland. "So my friend and I will just leave you to your search. Good day Royal Guardsmen." Nemo turned and grabbed Frisk's hand before walking away from the armored monsters.
"Wait, we're gonna bring you someplace safe, ok?" Said armored monster. Suddenly the other monster looked at his partner. "Huh? What is it, bro?" The monster nodded at Frisk and Nemo. "What about their clothes?" He then turned and took another look at the humans. "Bro… are you thinkin… what I'm thinkin? Bummer. This is, like… Mega embarrassing."
"Ha ha… tell you what? You let us go, and we won't tell anyone that you couldn't recognize what a pair of humans looked like?" Suggested Nemo.
"We, like, actually totally have to kill you and stuff." Said the armored monster. Suddenly their souls manifested in front of them.
"Frisk. Go." Said Nemo. Frisk nodded and took off.
Nemo turned his attention to the monsters. "Like, team attack!" Said the first one.
"...Team attack." Said the other one. Suddenly four-pointed stars started flying around. Nemo did his best to dodge, though one did catch his left forearm. Nemo turned and punched the louder monster. His fist was a touch sore because of it, but he could tell that it did actually have an impact.
"Like, perish and stuff." Said the first monster.
"...Sigh." Said the second monster.
"Wait, did you just say the word sigh?" Asked Nemo. This time they used… what were those, carrots? Nemo really couldn't tell, but he did dodge them. This time he kicked the second monster in the stomach.
"Like, give us the soul, brah." Said the first monster.
"...Sigh." Said the second. Carrot things again. Two of them pelted Nemo before he was able to dodge the rest. He then turned and punched the second monster.
"Like, perish and stuff." Said the first monster.
"...Heh." Said the second monster. Ok, Nemo seriously had no idea what those carrot things were. But after dodging them, Nemo noticed that the first monster was distracted polishing his face. Nemo decided to punch it.
"Like, 'you're dead and all'." Said the first monster.
"...Heh." Said the second. Carrots again. Nemo took one to the stomach and the other to the leg, but he was able to keep moving, and punched the first monster, but he tripped up and the punch lost a lot of it's force.
"Like 'you're dead and stuff'." Said the first.
"...Sigh." Said the second. Nemo wasn't able to dodge all of their attack, but despite the hits he took, he managed to strike the second one.
"Like, 'you're dead and all'." Said the first monster uncertainly.
"...What?" Questioned the second. Back to the stars. Nemo ducked under the attack before landing the finishing blow to the first monster.
His partner silently watched him fade to dust before saying, "One…" He then looked at Nemo. "You…!" A barrage of stars came at Nemo, one that he couldn't completely avoid. Nemo wheezed as the hits stopped and the second monster's breathing intensified.
Nemo approached then second monster. "Nothing personal." He said before punching him. The lone monster said nothing as he faded to dust. Nemo turned and walked away, as a gust of wind blew the dust of the two monsters away. Frisk came rushing in and hugged him. Nemo said nothing, instead he clenched his sore fists. He heard the phone ping, telling him that Alphys had probably updated her status again… but Nemo really didn't feel like checking.
After his decision to ignore Alphys's messages, the duo walked a short distance before finding themselves in a dark area. "I can probably guess what this means…" Said Nemo. Suddenly their phone started ringing. Knowing that this would be important, he answered. "Hey Alphys."
"Okay, I'm back!" Said Alphys. "A-another dark room, huh?" Don't worry! My hacking skills have got things covered!"
"Cool…" Said Nemo flatly. When the lights turned on, Nemo and Frisk saw a giant cardboard cut out to their right with a square hole in the center.
"Are you serious?" Asked Alphys, which confused Nemo and Frisk since they couldn't see anything.
But then a familiar voice made everything clear. "OHHHHHH YESSS!" Said Mettaton.
Page 24 End