A/N: I apologize profusely for taking so long for this. Many, many things happened but I got through it and have this chapter. I write a chapter in advance just for these cases where I have nothing to post, but I was stuck at almost the end of the next chapter that I thought I could hold off. Either way I'm here now and will endeavor to have the entire thing done by the end of March. (Also, I made Alphys a man. Letting you know so you don't get confused.)

Nafi turned the last corner and the Hotlands sign came into view, including the small blood stain from where she had patched herself up. She sat down next to it, putting her head into her hands to hide the tears for a second.

She wanted to continue, she wanted to get out of here before she got stabbed in the back, yet she couldn't bring herself to move. No one was ever this nice. Even the monsters in Waterfall didn't seem to want to hurt her.

And the one that did, the one that she had felt the most comfortable with, the one that she didn't feel too guilty in trying to kill; she weaseled her way into Nafi's heart and then tried to kill herself.

This was why she didn't want to get attached. No one wants to help her; they want to be friends and discard her once she loses her usefulness. They only want to hurt her in whatever ways they could think of. Why did she think they were any better than the humans?

Papyrus probably already took Undyne to his house where they'll conspire on how to make-

"kid?"

Nafi looked up from her ball, glaring at Sans with as much hate as she could muster. It wasn't much given her emotional state.

Sans sat down next to her, opposite the small blood stain. Nafi buried her head back down into her arms as Sans asked, "what's wrong?"

She sat in silence for a few seconds, then murmured, "What do you want with me? What type of friends doesn't… doesn't... hurt?"

Sans sighed, "kid… nafi, i don't know much about what life's like on the surface, tori knows more than me. but we never lived it, you did. i don't know what all this 'friends hurt you' business is, but that's not how things work down here."

Nafi looked back up, tears dripping out of her eyes. "How do I not know your lying?"

Sans' permanent smile seems to fade slightly. "i could promise pinky promise you, but you probably wouldn't trust it either."

Raising her head, Nafi asked, "Pinky promise?"

Sans raised his hand and stuck out his pinky bones. "you stick out your pinky like this and the other party sticks out their pinky and you shake hands but just with your pinky."

Nafi chuckled at the childish action, but stuck her own pinky out saying, "This is crazy, but most things are crazy down here." Dropping her hands, she lost her earlier humor and continued, "I don't trust you, but I'll believe you for now."

"that's all you need to do," Sans said as he helped Nafi to her feet.

Nafi took a deep breath of the warm cave air and nodded. She walked back into Hotland, the bandage on her shoulder keeping most of the heat out.

Sans took his spot at his sentry station, looking after the human. Something happened on the surface to change things drastically, and he was certain it had something to do with the square eyes.

Walking past the water cooler, Nafi approached a three-way fork. One path was blocked by some guards, one seemed to lead to a river, and the last led into a large building marked, "LAB". Since the door was open and the other two paths were unhelpful, she entered the lab.

It was dark, the only light she had was a screen on one wall that showed her as she walked through the darkened lab. Then a yellow lizard wearing a white coat walked out of a side door, and the lights turned on.

The lizard turned towards Nafi and started walking before noticing her standing there.

"Oh. My lands," the lizard said, panicked, "I didn't expect you to show up so soon! I haven't showered, I've barely dressed, everything is messy, and…"

Nafi opened her mouth to say something as the lizard calmed himself down but found she didn't have much to say.

Calmed down, the lizard turned back to Nafi saying, "Umm… H-h-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm Asgore's royal scientist!" Alphys seemed to panic again slightly, "B-b-b-but, ahhhh, I'm not one of the 'Bad Guys'! Actually, since you were dragged out of the Ruins, I've, um… been 'observing' your journey through my console."

Nafi interrupted, "Is that the big thing that's showing a real time picture of my face?"

Alphys blushed, "Y-y-yes. I was originally going to stop you but watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them. S-so, ahh, now I want to help you! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland! I know a way right to Asgore's castle, no problem!"

Not trusting the monster, Nafi asked, "Is there a catch? Do I have to answer questions or do tests?"

Alphys' eyes widened, "N-no, nothing like that, unless you want to. I am curious about things, b-b-but I want to help you first."

The room suddenly shook, knocking Nafi slightly off balance as Alphys mutters, "That doesn't sound good..."

The room shook again and Alphys quickly explained, "I forgot to mention that I had made an entertainment robot and ended up giving it some anti human measures."

The room shook a third time as Nafi yelled "What?!"

Alphys yelled back, "I tried to remove them! But I made a mistake and now Mettaton is an unstoppable killing machine and won't listen to me!"

The room shook a fourth and fifth time before the lights went out and Nafi heard Alphys whisper, "Oh no."

A robotic voice shouted through the dark "OOHH YES! DID I HEAR SOMEONE SAY QUESTIONS? WELCOME BEAUTIES…"

A bright spotlight turned on, illuminating a boxy robot holding a microphone. It brought the microphone up to the colored grid on its front and continued, "TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!"

The rest of the lights came up suddenly, followed by a rain of confetti falling from the ceiling, multicolored lights projecting spinning circles on the walls, and a giant glowing sign lowering from the ceiling. The whole thing was a dizzying spectacle, and Nafi couldn't do more than stand there with her eyes closed as she adjusted to the rapid light changes.

The robot continued as Nafi stood there, "OH BOY, I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!"

Nafi recovered as the robot clapped along with a recorded crowd clapping noise. Didn't Alphys call him Mettaton? She started backing up, trying to get out of the room, activating her HUD as she went.

Heath: 9999, Attack: 10, Defense: 999.

Ok, so basically immortal. Great.

"NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?" Mettaton asked, "NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE IS ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY..."

Nafi found her escape route blocked as Mettaton rolled into her path.

"OR YOU DIE!"

Nafi jumped back, landing just as her soul appeared and she was pinned in by laser beams on all sides. Mettaton rolled back to his starting position, and Nafi saw Alphys following behind and staying just out of sight. He would know the blind spots; he built the thing after all.

Mettaton pulled out a sheaf of papers, "LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE! WHAT'S THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?"

As he rattled off the options too fast for Nafi to keep up, Alphys in the back waved his hands to get Nafi's attention. Once Nafi looked over Alphys' way, he stopped waving and made a letter with her hands.

Confused, Nafi said out loud, "D?"

"RIGHT! SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT," Mettaton cheered as Alphys gave a thumbs up in the background.

So that's how this was going to work. Something seemed wrong, but if trusting Alphys got her through this then she would trust Alphys. For now, at least.

"HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE," the robot continued, "WHAT IS THE KING'S FULL NAME?"

The answer was obviously Asgore, but she didn't catch which letter that answer was. Alphys said C so Nafi answered, "C."

Mettaton cheered again, "CORECT WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER! ENOUGH ABOUT YOU. LET'S TALK ABOUT ME! WHAT ARE ROBOTS MADE OF?"

He seemed to be intentionally slurring his words on this one, but Alphys heard something that could be used.

"B."

"TOO EASY FOR YOU HUH? HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU..."

What followed was a long stream of words about trains, time, and math. Nafi didn't even catch when the answers were said as her attention drifted halfway through. She glanced over at Alphys just as he finished the calculation and gave the answer.

"D."

"WONDERFUL! I'M ASTOUNDED, FOLKS! NOW..."

A jar came flying out of nowhere and shattered on the floor, releasing a giant group of flies and scaring Alphys into hiding his head.

"HOW MANY FLIES WERE IN THAT JAR? A: 54, B: 53, C: 55, D:52."

The answers were legible this time, but with Alphys trying to clean up everything and not able to help, Nafi was on her own. Which letter hasn't been the answer yet?

"A?"

"CORRECT! WOW YOU'RE SO LUCKY TODAY! LET'S PLAY A MEMORY GAME," Mettaton pulled out a picture of a Froggit mostly covered, "WHAT MONSTER IS THIS? A: FROGGIT-..."

"A," Nafi interrupted. Alphys hid his face as Mettaton sent a beam of electricity into Nafi, yelling over Nafi's muffled screams, "WRONG! THAT'S MY FAVORITE SHIRT. THE ANSWER WAS D: ME."

He pulled the cover off the picture revealing Mettaton wearing a shirt with Froggit's face on it. Nafi shakily stood up, as he tossed the picture away and said, "WILL YOU GET THIS ONE? WOULD YOU SMOOCH A GHOST? A: HECK YEAH, B: HECK YEAH, C: HECK YEAH, D: HECK YEAH."

Alphys glared at Mettaton as Nafi facepalmed and sighed, "A."

"GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT! HERE'S A SIMPLE ONE. HOW MANY LETTERS IN THE NAME METTATONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN-?"

He seemed to glitch and get stuck on his name, but Nafi realized he was doing it on purpose when Alphys formed the letter C. How did he know the answer? Was he working with the robot?

Stay on topic Nafi, get through this first.

"C."

Mettaton snapped out of his fake glitch, saying "OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU! TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS. IN THE DATING SIMULATION GAME 'MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE' WHAT IS MEW MEW'S FAVORITE FOOD?"

He didn't even have time to give out the answers as Alphys yelled, "OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE! IT'S SNAIL ICE CREAM! IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER..."

And Nafi stopped paying attention, prioritizing putting her hands over her ears as Alphys voice echoed louder and louder in the long room. After the noise levels in the room died down, she removed her hands to catch what Mettaton said next, "-LPHYS, ALPHYS. YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANT ARE YOU? OHHHH YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO. WHO DOES DR. ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON? A: UNDYNE, B: ASGORE, C: THE HUMAN, D: I DON'T KNOW."

Now she knew Alphys had lost control of this thing, he was so nervous there was no way he could have done this. Might as well be sort of nice then.

"D."

Mettaton shrugged, "CORRECT. ALPHYS HAS A CRUSH… ON THE UNKNOWABLE. SEE, ALPHYS BELIEVES THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE. SOMEONE WATCHING HIM. SOMEONE HE THINKS IS "CUTE" AND "INTERESTING". HELLO THEORETICAL PERSON. DR. ALPHYS LOVES YOU. TOO BAD YOU AREN'T REAL."

He laughed as Alphys glared at him again and Nafi stared at him in complete confusion. Alphys interrupted him, "H-Hey, I've done research about this. There are alternate universes out there! S-someday, maybe, I could meet them…"

Mettaton looked over at her, deadpanning, "YOU SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT "MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE". BUT I'LL GIVE YOU THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. PERSON, IF YOU ARE OUT THERE… HOW ABOUT GIVING US A SIGN, RIGHT NOW?"

Nafi surreptitiously pulled out her phone and randomly texted, "SOme1extAlpis". Not two seconds later, Alphys phone dinged. He pulled it out and looked at it, then stuffed it in front of Mettaton saying, "Look! Someone messaged me!"

"SO, SOMEONE DID… THAT SETTLES IT DOESN'T IT," Mettaton turned back to Nafi as she put her phone away, "WELL, WELL, WELL. WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU… THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS! BUT. BUT! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE! MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS…"

He then pulled his arms and wheel into his main box body and rocketed away. The lasers shut off and Nafi's soul disappeared.

The two left in the room looked at each other in silence. Eventually, Alphys broke it, "Well that was certainly something."

Nafi nodded and started heading for the other door.

"Wait, wait," Alphys said as he ran closer to Nafi, "Let me give you my ph-phone number! Th-then… m-maybe… if you need help, I could…"

He suddenly grabbed Nafi's phone. "Wh… Where did you get that phone?! It's ANCIENT! It barely has texting. Do you mind if I upgrade it?"

Nafi shrugged, "Sure, have fun. Just leave the numbers in there alone."

"Of course!"

Alphys walked over to her table and started working on the phone and Nafi stood there waiting. When Alphys was done, she came back and handed her the phone, saying, "It's been upgraded. It has better texting, item storage, it's got a keychain… I even signed you up for the Underground's No. 1 social network! Now we're officially friends! Ehehehe! Hehehe...heh..."

Nafi looked at the lizard as he stood there awkwardly. What is with down here and friends? Well, she guessed it made sense, everyone needed her soul to get out. It was just easier to help her get to someone who could easily kill her.

Alphys muttered, "I need to go to the bathroom," and walked back through the door he came from. Nafi turned around and walked through the door she had been heading towards.

Seconds after she left, her phone dinged. She pulled it out and read, "Alphys updated status: just realized i didn't watch undyne fight the human v. v"

Was this the social media? Just spilling what you did to everyone? No thanks.

She fiddled with her phone until she got it to mute the 'updates' and continued. Coming across a path of moving platforms, Nafi gingerly stepped onto one moving in the direction she wanted to go. She was thrown forward with a shout of surprise and fell to the ground when she stopped just as suddenly at the other end.

This wasn't going to be fun was it?


No, no it wasn't.

Moving paths that tossed her every which way, steam vents that propelled her over large gaps, and lasers that Alphys just barely managed to explain through his stutter, annoying block puzzles that were required to open doors, and the constant interruptions by other monsters wanting to fight over lava pits!

Nothing about this place was fun, and she hadn't even been walking for more than 20 minutes!

Finally, she reached a place that wasn't scorching hot. It was dark and she couldn't see, but she wasn't sweating out in the heat.

Ring… Ring…

Nafi picked up. "Hello?"

"H-hey," Alphys replied, "It's kinda dark in there, isn't it? Don't worry, I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!"

A few seconds later the lights turned on revealing a kitchen.

Nafi heard Alphys say, "oh no," through the phone as she watched Mettaton rise from the floor in front of her.

"OH YES!" the robot exclaimed, "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE- ACK!"

Nafi interrupted him by running up to him, using him as a springboard to get over, and running out the other end of the room; saying, "Nope," on repeat the entire time.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE! YOUR MY LOVELY ASSISTANT!"

"NO!"

Nafi kept running, passing by a large metal machine in the distance. She ducked into the first room she found and, finding it to be an elevator, pressed a random button. After a tense few minutes where nothing happened other than the elevator moving, her phone rang.

It was Papyrus.

She debated with herself a few moments before she declined the call.