Alice in Undertale
By Lolitafreak88
Chapter 20 It's getting Hotland in here
When Alice finally made her entrance into an area of Hotland she was surprised to see that the ground seemed to be attached to piping. This piping served as a sort of pedestal for Alice to walk along and also led to something Alice hadn't seen before.
"The path is moving…?" She asked aloud.
Indeed, a strange grey, rubbery sort of path seemed to be constantly in motion right in front of her. The left path moved upward while the right path moved downward. The question remained though how on earth was this possible? Would it lead her the correct way or would it potentially lead somewhere else? How was Alice supposed to properly navigate a path that was constantly in motion? It was as precarious to one's balance as stepping onto the ice in Snowdin Forest. It's not like there's anywhere else I can go though, Alice reminded herself. It was becoming almost obnoxious to even herself how much she had to state the obvious to herself. She figured it was a coping mechanism at this point but it wasn't like she should be scared of something she had no other choice but to try. Alice placed one foot upon the rubbery path and instantly found herself tugged forward by the motion of the path.
"Eee…! Oof!" Alice, unprepared for how sudden and fast it pulled her, lost her footing and fell onto her rump.
The path carried her over to the other side, on a patch of ground which gave Alice enough time to regain her footing. A little miffed though at the accident, Alice was surprised to hear her phone chirp with a text's arrival. It read 'gonna call them in a minute! =^.^=' Alice was confused as to why she'd be texting her such a message and use 'them' instead of 'you'. Then on second thought, she noticed the message seemed to be an update to Alphys's status, as if she was chronicling this in a diary of sorts. It wasn't nearly as absurd as Alice's habit of talking to herself so the little girl knew she had to concede with this fact. What she didn't realize was that something was approaching her very quickly. It was a very unusual but also somewhat charming and cute creature called 'Vulkin'. It looked like a miniature volcano with some lava dripping from the top like an overfilled glass of water, four small legs, a particularly sleepy expression that also had prominent blush, and smoke puffs emerging from its top in sequence. For some reason, upon checking it further, Alice saw it had 8 HP, -10 ATK and a blank DG stat. It mistakenly believed that its lava could heal people which made Alice feel a twinge of sympathy for it.
"Speed will help dodge!" Vulkin cried in a voice that sounded diminutive but sweet.
A small cloud with a face strikingly similar to Alphys's face text appeared above Alice and shot out miniature bolts of lightning in a shower. Despite not having had to face a monster in some time since Undyne, Alice's knowledge of dodging quick came back to her and she was able to dodge each bolt with surprisingly graceful motions. For some reason it smelled like a lava lamp even though Alice had no idea what that meant at all. Alice wasn't sure which way to go with Vulkin though he had given some practical good advice so she opened with a compliment,
"You're doing a great job giving support and healing people."
"Ahh! Ahh! Does my best!" Vulkin replied with incorrect grammar and also unusual moans.
To Alice's dismay, walls of lava appeared to either side of her, blocking her in, with a flurry of strange flames flying in a boomerang-motion. Alice found herself struck by one of the projectiles and cringed heavily. It felt just like Toriel's flames, not as intense but still hot and a bit painful. It didn't leave any telling burns or marks but the sensation of pain couldn't be ignored. My compliment made its attacks more extreme, Alice realized. Fortunately, as Vulkin paraded around proudly, Alice sensed she could spare it now which she did with positive results. As she headed to the next series of moving paths, she noticed blue flames would light up in the darkness away from where she was momentarily. They were quite ethereal but not quite as beautiful as the things she found in Waterfall. As for the next moving path, Alice tried a different stance with her legs fairly wide and her arms out for balance. It worked especially well when this moving path proved to have turns and different directions at which it moved and made the little girl wonder how they were constructed. She then found a straight bridge made of piping that was extremely curious and a bit unnerving to cross. There were no gaps but the slight curve of the pipes made Alice very worried about stumbling and falling off the pipe bridge into the dark abyss below. So she chose her footing and steps carefully and eventually crossed quite safely.
"Wow… i-is that supposed to be fire…?" Alice exclaimed when she noticed something unusual in the next area.
An intense, fiery red glow from the abyss popped in and out of the blackness beyond the path and there were puffs of steam and a powerful whooshing sound that echoed in her ear, as well as the sound of the cogs of clockwork. It filled Alice with DETERMINATION but also seemed to imply a very intense atmosphere. Alice looked to her right and noticed there were two paths leading forward and left. However the forward path appeared to have some sort of square with an arrow marking on it, surrounding by piping, with steam puffing out of it in spurts. It appeared to be some sort of invention and it did make Alice curious about what it did but then something more distressing revealed itself as Alice analyzed the scene. The left path had a dead end, only leading into a big drop downward into some lava while the right path also appeared to have a dead end with this arrow square. Before Alice could remark aloud in sheer puzzlement, her phone chirped again. 'I HATE USING THE PHONE I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^'
"I take it she's holding herself back from making that call…" Alice sighed as she wondered what she was to do about this.
Realistically, going back the way she came seemed the more reasonable option as she had no intention of risking a leap across and potentially fall to her death. The arrow square was the only thing that Alice could try if she wasn't keen on going back the way she came but there was no telling what it would do. Before Alice could come to a sheer decision, something got directly in her way, not on purpose or anything. It looked like a small metal glider or perhaps a 'plane' as she had heard mentioned in certain discussions about new developments. It was long, streamlined, with numerous small windows, and was wearing a charming bonnet with a ribbon on it. The idea of something metal wearing clothes in such a casual way seemed more absurd than her increasingly old-fashioned rabbits wearing clothes idea. It was called Tsunderplane and left Alice perplexed on how it was supposed to properly be pronounced. Tsunderplane seems mean, but does it secretly like you?
"Wait… how can you like someone you just met? You haven't even formally introduced yourself to me." Alice stammered, dumbfounded.
"You're telling me! No way! Why would I like YOU" The clearly female creature reacted harshly.
Small flying planes seemed to hover over Alice, dropping bombs that exploded with decisive range and impact. Alice was able to dodge this arsenal of attacks with less difficulty than the surprising manuevers of Vulkin. However, Alice found that Tsunderplane accidentally bumped her with its wing, causing Alice to rub her arm.
"You should really be more careful you know." Alice scolded, approaching Tsunderplane closely but not too closely.
"Eeeeh? H-human…?" Tsunderplane suddenly spoke in a flustered fashion and seemed shaken.
Alice noticed plane projectiles heading toward her with great frequency yet there was something else about them. They were surrounded by some unusual green energy that seemed to be of the same category as BLUE attacks. As the green energy passed Alice by, it soothed her and she felt some of her weariness go away. Oh it must be some sort of healing energy, Alice thought with a smile. With each healing pass through the energy, she noticed Tsunderplane blushed much more heavily, flattered it seemed. It tried to shake its nose dismissively at Alice but Alice could tell it was ready to be spared. After sparing the flying female, Alice decided not to waste any more time and stepped onto the arrow. To her astonishment, she suddenly felt a sudden burst of air envelop her from underneath her feet.
"W-whaaaaat is thissssssss….!" Alice shrieked as she found herself flung forward and into the air.
Her skirt and apron lifted up as well, revealing Alice's undergarments to the world and causing her to reactively hold her skirt and apron down. She was a bit embarrassed at this incident though she found this embarrassment short-lived as she crashed onto another mound of land with another arrow-square pointing upward.
"Oww… w-well at least I seem to have found the Hotland's means of transportation." She grumbled as she got up and dusted her skirt and legs off.
Alice realized that these squares would sink when she stepped on them and release powerful wafts of air that propelled Alice towards the direction the arrow was pointing towards. It seemed dangerous as a concept but it seemed whoever developed these mastered the balance between direction, air speed, and timing to make it a usable form of moving from place to place. Even if it seems completely unnecessary, Alice thought as she remembered the much more straightforward bridges of past locations. She found that up ahead there were two arrow squares pointing to a left mound of land and a right mound of land that Alice could see from where she was standing. It was hard to determine which way was the right way so Alice took her chances and decided to head towards the right mound of land. Now a bit more prepared, she was less rattled by the sensation of being lifted into the air though still felt the need to hold her skirt down to protect her modesty and dignity. Eventually, by following the right side and the arrow squares, she came across what appeared to be a small puzzle. The arrow on the square was changing directions every second between left and right with moving paths ensuring Alice couldn't just cross from one to the other. Alice saw that there was a lone frying pan on the left side of this area. Now Alice knew frying pans were solely meant for cooking but she had heard of them being useful as makeshift weapons in several tales or scenarios throughout history and stories she had read. Wielding one could come in handy as a self-defense sort of tool, Alice told herself. Smiling and agreeing with this, she used the arrow-square to move to the left side and collected her pan before returning to the previous area through the moving path. Returning back to the first crossroads of arrow-squares, Alice was about to take the left side but she got another Alphys update. 'omg i've had my claw over the last digit for 5 minutes omg i'm just gonna do it i'm just gonna call!'
"Dr. Alphys is more indecisive than I thought… though I agree that these phone conversations are a tad bit informal." Alice reasoned with herself.
Just as Alice took the left arrow-square and spotted a new path that she could take, her phone rang. Alice knew this had to have been Alphys but just as she was about to answer it, it clicked off instantly. They had hung up prior to Alice trying to answer back. Alice frowned slightly and moved into the new area where she discovered another path made of pipes and…
"W-what is that beam...?" Alice gasped with some fear.
She saw that there was some sort of floating mechanic shell or perhaps bell emitting what appeared to be a bright orange ray of light directly across the path. There was something off-putting about this though, as though it was some kind of obstacle in Alice's way. She didn't recognize what it was at all and if anything the orange color reminded her of fire and other dangerous elements. Luckily her phone rang again and she was only glad to answer it.
"Uhh! H-hi, so, the blue lasers… Uhh! I mean Alphys here! Hi! The blue lasers won't hurt you if you don't move! O-orange ones, um… Y-you have to be moving, and they… Um, they won't, um… Move through those ones!" Alphys explained.
Upon mention of the blue lasers, Alice looked on ahead to see a mix of blue and orange lasers, the blue ones seemed to move from side to side at a fixed rate and distance. It seemed that Alphys knew of these and her advice did sound as though it had evidence to greatly support it. Also the idea of 'lasers' itself sounded a bit complex but she wondered if it was along the lines of a bullet from a gun in that it was a focused projectile. She would have to be very careful to fulfill these conditions.
"I see… so it's much like the attacks from before. Thank you Dr. Alphys." Alice expressed her gratitude calmly.
"... Uh, bye…" Alphys shyly signed off.
Almost instantly afterward, Alice's phone announced another status update. 'OMG I DID IT! claws haven't shook like that since undyne called me to ask about the weather… v.v' I wonder what would've happened if I answered 'Undyne' in that question Mettaton asked, Alice wondered as she picked up on how both female monsters mentioned the other quite fondly. Either way, there was no time to lose. Alice carefully but with enough movement crossed through the orange lasers and sure enough, she felt no ill effects. Perhaps a strange sensation of passing through something along the lines of a wind tunnel but nothing else. She had crossed two of the orange lasers before receiving yet another update. Alice slightly frowned, noticing how frequent these updates were becoming and wishing she wasn't being interrupted like this all the time. 'WAIT THERE'S NO WEATHER DOWN HERE WHY DID SHE CALL ME'
"There's no weather…? But then how is there rain and snow…?" Alice asked as she suddenly realized Alphys was right.
Granted in Waterfall it was plausible that the rain was perhaps an upper waterfall dripping downwards in a rain-like manner and that the overall temperature of the Snowdin area was cold enough to permit snow and that Alice hadn't seen actual snowfall over there herself. Though there was that strange mist that appeared when she encountered Papyrus on the road to Waterfall…
"I-it's unimportant. I might as well proceed with what's truly important." Alice waved her hand dismissively as she gave herself more sensible advice.
The first blue laser was right in front of Alice and so measuring the time it took to move across, Alice stopped carefully in place for the blue laser to pass over her in the direction she was coming from. Then she used the time given to hurry through the orange laser and then get into proper position for the second blue laser. The same solution repeated once more until she had to carefully position herself in consideration of two blue lasers. As soon as she crossed the final orange laser, Alice knew she was in the clear. She sighed a breath of relief and wiped some sweat from her forehead with her arm. That's when she noticed a convenient looking switch attached to a long, layered metal contraption. Pressing it made the lasers disappear and so Alice could easily move across the same path without needing to worry about said lasers. Alice proceeded into the next area with improved confidence… or at least improved until she got another status update. 'Oh My God i Forgot to Tell THem Where To Go' There's only one direction I can go, Alice thought as she put a hand to her hip. Even more off-putting was another update right afterward. This time though it featured a picture of something rather cute. It was a photo of a garbage can with several pink, glittery filters over it.' It was charming but about as trivial as a book with no pictures in it. Oddly enough, Alice herself didn't even know what a 'filter' was but somehow instinctively used it. The caption read 'CUte PIC OF ME RIGHT NOW ^.^' With a delayed shrug of her shoulders, Alice turned left along with the path that was back to being of dirt but was lined with pipes like a railing. That's when she saw another sort of crossroads with three new mounds of land and four overall arrow squares that shifted in all directions every second.
"Goodness… it's as if Hotland is intent on having me leap around like a frog." Alice exclaimed.
A phone call luckily made Alice realize Alphys was about to assist her again.
"A-A-Alphys here! Th… the northern door will stay locked until you… S-solve the puzzles on the right and left! I… I think you sh-should go to the right first!" Alphys advised.
"The right first… is there a specific order to these puzzles?" Alice asked.
"I-it's the easiest one to start with… um… yeah…" Alphys murmured before hanging up again.
Alice was a bit eager to challenge some new problems so she quickly head over to the right side first. When she got there, she spotted three curious things. Two of them were new monsters it seemed, sitting down on the edge of land with their legs hung out. One was a green oxen with shades, a blue suit and tie, white shirt, and black shoes. The other was a black flame like Grillby in a pink, sleeveless and rather revealing top with green pants, no shoes, sunglasses, and was carrying a warm drink. They both appeared to be monsters of an adult age and so Alice spoke to them politely,
"Good afternoon. What are you doing here?"
"The way to work is blocked, so I had time to catch Mettaton's show on phone… The special effects were amazing today! That human almost looked REAL!" The ox said.
"I believe that is because I am most certainly real. I am that human, Alice." Alice introduced herself.
Both monsters turned to her with increased interest and even some small smiles.
"Wow! You're really lucky to be on the show with the most popular star in the Underground! His fan club probably has at least two… no, THREE dozen members!" Said the flame.
"Fan Club? That sounds like him to have one indeed though I don't think I'm going to like this experience that much…" Alice confessed.
"Lighten up, it'll be exhilarating and maybe you'll become famous yourself and get some fans of your own." The ox monster pointed out.
Alice thought it absurd, the idea of her having any fans. She was certainly not a vain person and there wasn't anything too astonishing about her that would garner her fans. Wonderland itself wasn't real at the moment and she was too young to have any sort of career so she just didn't find it possible for her to have fans at the moment. Unless of course you count Papyrus or Alphys as a fan, Alice offered to herself, as they do seem very fond and supportive of me. Alice also appreciated these monsters opening up to her and giving her some advice and information on Mettaton. It made her feel that the monsters really weren't as brutal or instinctively prone to dark measures as Chara implied. At that moment though, Alice heard another update, leading her to check it awkwardly. 'wonder if it would be unfun if i explained the puzzle' It was true that the puzzles were best left unexplained for the most part if there was to be a fair challenge. That was when Alice took notice of the third thing, a chamber of curious architecture with an 'arrow' insignia carved over the door.
"The puzzle in question must be in here." Alice said as she entered.
Inside the chamber was something rather unusual to Alice. There was a square with smaller squares within, a 3x3 grid though two squares were black with the other four being white and the middle row was left empty. A white note was stuck to what looked like a small wall with a strange set of controls in front and there was an orange cat with shades off to the corner of the room. If this was a puzzle, the way it functioned was quite unclear to Alice. Alice first went to the note as it seemed like the most likely to instruct her on the basics. 'Shoot the opposing ship! Move the boxes to complete your mission.' Alice observed closely and did spot two 'ships' shaped like arrows, one on her side and the other one being across from the grid. So I have to somehow hit that ship to solve the puzzle… Alice found this was much less intellectual than she had hoped. Alice next tried talking to the cat.
"The door leading through the area is closed? So I tried the puzzle? But I kept running out of ammo, and it kept restarting? And my two co-workers won't help? It's like they don't wanna go to work?" He rambled on and seemed annoyed.
"Sorry to hear that… I'll see if I can solve this puzzle for you." Alice spoke up with sympathy, realizing the two men outside were the co-workers and not quite as invested towards their work.
Alice clutched the controls and saw she had two bits of ammo that appeared to be like upside down pins and that one of the squares moved, namely the one from the bottom. It zigged and zagged until it had moved to the first column, leaving only one square in the middle column. Alice quickly realized that with her two ammo, she could strike that square down and make an opening to hit the 'ship'. Clicking down, two yellow-reddish projectiles propelled forth from Alice's 'ship' and obliterated the square and the enemy 'ship'. The disappearance of the other black square, a blue 'Congratulations' and a jingle indicated Alice indeed succeeded at this puzzle.
"Well isn't that nifty! I did it!" Alice exclaimed with a smile.
"Wow? You solved it? I'm impressed? You must be a total nerd?" The cat stammered with genuine surprise.
"I wouldn't say I am so much a nerd as I would say I am a curious little girl… and that I sincerely enjoy doing puzzles." Alice remarked humbly and she departed from the chamber.
Leaving the right side, she now attempted to tackle the left side of the crossroads as that would be the last one to unlock the door in the north. There she found there was a blue laser completely cutting off Alice from the chamber and two new monsters. Both of them seemed to be schoolgirls based on their uniforms but one was a green flame and the other was a purple creature with long locks, a red ribbon and an autumn orange skateboard. Alice's phone rang before Alice could begin trying to find ways to get past the laser.
"Alphys! Here! Th-that blue laser seems totally impassable! B-b-but! As the Royal Scientist, I h-have some tricks up my sleeve! I'll h-hack into th-the Hotland laser database and take it out!" Alphys spoke much more confidently than she had started off as.
A moment after the phone call was ended, the blue laser was shut off. Alice however was starting to wonder about something. Wouldn't it have been much more simple for Alphys to deactivate that laser in the first place? Especially if one considered that it had blocked off two monsters from trying to leave the chamber area towards the crossroads. It seemed awfully inconvenient and random to have a laser to potentially guard what was only a puzzle and not something valuable. Not to mention that Alphys seemed to be speaking and calling in a rehearsed manner, as if she knew Alice would have instantly noticed that blue laser and could nobly declare how she could shut it off to appeal to her.
"It's certainly a strange form of stroking my ego… and for what purpose?" Alice asked aloud, folding her arms as she approached the two monsters to get their side of the story.
"Finally! Someone turned off that laser! Now that we're free we can… Well, uh, I guess we'll just keep standing here." The green flame confessed.
"You have to go to school still. It's important to be educated." Alice spoke with a frown.
"I-I know… but I bet our teachers are gonna be so mad at us…"
"We were handing out when suddenly, a bunch of puzzles reactivated out of nowhere. This is a HUGE problem… It rules! They've GOTTA cancel school over this!" The purple monster explained.
"They would only cancel school in this case if the puzzles were within the school. Where is this school anyway?"
"It's not far from here but it's kind of out of the way from the path… and man, I wish they could cancel it… I don't like being behind."
I wonder if Mettaton was the one who reactivated the puzzles then, Alice pondered. This story seemed to explain why Alphys might not have found out about the laser until Alice had noticed even though it did seem she was familiar with the northern door being locked before this discovery was made. After all, if the puzzles had been reactivated that would include this laser, and yet Alphys knew the puzzles needed to be solved to unlock the door. There's definitely some inconsistency here, Alice concluded. Continuing into the puzzle chamber, Alice noticed the difficulty seemed to have increased with a 4x4 grid, 5 awkwardly laid out white squares, and 6 black squares wrapped around the middle. Turning on the controls, Alice found her ammo hadn't increased or decreased and that the black boxes moved once more to and fro. It was strangely graceful how they moved, much like a synchronized swimming or dancing team. Waiting patiently, she found an opportunity where she could use her ammo to penetrate a box and get straight to the 'ship'. Taking advantage of it sealed the deal and Alice completed the puzzle. Now all that was left was the northern door. Retracing her steps, Alice found herself face to face with the northern door. It was made of granite and had a green, glowing insignia. The doors pulled away, sinking into the walls and opening a new pathway for Alice.
"Strange sort of locking mechanism…" Alice said as she crossed into the new path.
Noticing how similar it looked to previous areas, Alice pondered if Hotland was mostly constructed or was more natural like Snowdin was. There was all this machinery and technological developments but based on the lack of bridges and the lava and the raised earth, it seemed like there was a balance between this development. However, another update soon emitted from Alice's phone. 'whatever! i'll just explain it!' She really is a bit late on these isn't she? Alice asked herself with growing exasperation. She didn't even bother moving forward as she knew she was about to be interrupted by yet another phone call.
"Uuuh, I think… Umm… Hey! About the puzzles on the left and right…! They're a bit difficult to explain, but-"
"Dr. Alphys, I already have solved them on my own. They even had notes provided to explain how to solve said puzzles." Alice clarified with slight frustration.
"... Awesome! I'll just be signing off…." Alphys recovered as best she could and then hung up.
Alice sighed and got onto an arrow square pointing to the right. To her amazement, it propelled her to another arrow square, and then another until she finally reached a very unusual floor. It was blue with lime green polka-dots and seemed to be of a glassy texture. It wasn't at all natural so Alice suddenly had a bad feeling about where this path would take her. She didn't even see anything up ahead, just pure darkness. Compared to the sensation of being hunted down by Undyne's, there was something more unpredictable about this experience of being hunted by Mettaton. There was still an element of surprise but Mettaton's sheer wackiness and desire to entertain and appeal to viewers meant he might do more extremes than Undyne did. The one reassuring quality was that Mettaton wasn't directly intent on harming her in the meantime so Alice could walk along without fearing a sudden spear being flung in her direction. With this comparison made, Alice kept going into the darkness.
"Jiminy… I can't see anything…" Alice remarked with displeasure.
At that moment her phone rang which at this point was much more welcome.
"H-hey, it's kind of dark in there, isn't it?" Alphys asked meekly.
"Yes… is it possible to illuminate the area Alphys?" Alice asked as she decided moving too much was risky. Especially given there were turns and lava and ledges in the previous areas of Hotland.
"Y-yes, I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!" Alphys answered brightly.
Speaking of bright, right after this declaration, the entire area was illuminated. However… there was something not quite right with the area. Alice noticed she was in what looked like a kitchen of someone's house, with various counters, cupboards, and cabinets possessing cooking utensils with other appliances like a refrigerator standing around. Looking closely in the background, Alice saw a green railing of sorts hanging overhead. It looked like a set piece more than an actual kitchen as there was no way anyone would place a kitchen outside their home and in such a hot place like Hotland. Alice gulped nervously and lowered the phone into her pockets just as Alphys uttered weakly,
"Oh no."
Alice knew instinctively that this might be some sort of cooking affair but she was worried about what was to be cooked. Before she could contemplate what was on the menu, Mettaton emerged from the counter, now wearing a toque and still carrying around a microphone. Alice flinched upon seeing him and tried to subtly make sure she was as far away from him as possible.
"OHHHH YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!" Mettaton announced excitedly.
To Alice's amazement, an animated logo magically appeared before them with accompanying sparkles and a fanciful pink font. 'Cooking with a Killer Robot.'
"... A-at least you're self-aware…" Alice complimented flatly and gulped again.
Alice though had to wonder if this cooking show was where Papyrus learned how to make his… unique spaghetti or at least was the inspiration for pursuing cooking. It would be reassuring to know if Papyrus was watching her right now but also a bit more distressing for if something happened to her directly, he would see it and blame himself for not being there to stop it. Without any real knowledge of Mettaton's habits though, Alice had to wait and see what it was that Mettaton intended on doing. He pointed to the camera excitedly with another loud bellow of energy,
"PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING… A CAKE!"
"A cake…? That sounds very reasonable indeed." Alice admitted, always appreciative of fine desserts.
"MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS. EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!" Mettaton clapped as he finished speaking.
Alice was miffed that Mettaton was forcing her to work for him even when he was intent on killing her though the cheerful applause and the sudden descent of colorful confetti lightened the mood a bit. There was also the fact it'd be foolish to try lashing out in front of T.V or when Mettaton held all the cards in his hands.
"WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS. GO FOR IT, SWEETHEART!" Mettaton commanded.
"Goodness, I suppose I'll be taking orders from Dinah next." Alice pondered to herself as she headed for the counters in the back.
Fortunately for Alice, all three ingredients were neatly placed on the counter and easy to carry. She placed all three ingredients onto the main counter Mettaton was going to use for the show. Milk, sugar, and eggs were ready to be used. Mettaton appeared delighted and satisfied at Alice's simple achievement.
"PERFECT! GREAT JOB, BEAUTIFUL! WE'VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE A CAKE! MILK… SUGAR… EGGS… OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!" Mettaton exclaimed with a dramatic placement of his hands to his head.
"The most important ingredient… well I suppose if we're making a fruit cake we are missing some delectable fruits… do we also have frosting?" Alice offered as she put a finger to her chin in thought as she carefully looked over all that was on the counter.
It didn't seem they were missing any utensils and everything was in order. It seemed odd as well for Mettaton to be unprepared for a live performance of his cooking show. So what was the missing ingredient? As Alice was about to try looking back towards the counters she suddenly noticed Mettaton wielding something far bigger than any cooking tool in his arms. It was orange, mechanical in nature, and a long, thick silver part that seemed lined with spikes. Something about the device was incredibly unsettling as it looked like some sort of modernized club from ancient times. It didn't help that Mettaton said with a much less family-friendly voice,
"A HUMAN SOUL!"
Mettaton then begin flashing red and yellow, and the strange tool in his arms roared with an alarming sound and silver part began to shake and move in a circular motion. It appeared that whatever it was, it was a weapon designed to slay Alice. Alice shuddered and considered making a break for it but then she remembered she had collected something she could use to defend herself.
"J-just a moment there! Even I know well enough that a good cake doesn't have any body parts within it!" Alice shouted her best comeback as she pulled out her frying pan and slammed it against Mettaton's hand grasping the weapon.
"YOWWWW!" Mettaton cringed and stopped momentarily in place but it didn't seem to dissuade him from loosening his grip on the weapon and it was still armed and dangerous. Either way, Alice recognized this bought her enough time to make her escape… or she would've until a phone that wasn't Alice's rang. When Mettaton made a motion of confusion to answer it, Alice felt a sense of relief.
"HELLO…? I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE." The killer robot grumbled.
"W-wait a second! Couldn't you make a… Couldn't you use a… Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe!?" Alphys struggled to word it but eventually unveiled her idea.
"... A SUBSTITUTION? YOU MEAN USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? … WHY?"
"Uh, what if someone's….. Vegan?" Alphys was absolutely brilliant in her reply.
"Y-yes…! It wouldn't be suitable to include a unnatural ingredient in a cake, particularly one harvested from a living being, if we want this recipe to be available to all tastes.." Alice added informatively, trying to play up to the camera to further influence Mettaton.
"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS! AND MY GORGEOUS ASSISTANT! ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOR SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH… IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!" Mettaton exclaimed and pointed off to the right.
Alice looked and indeed spotted a small counter with a single red can placed on it. Alice though found it interesting that the monsters had developed something that was akin to an actual human soul. Fake or not, it made Alice realize they may very well have been developing things that could mimic souls and potentially serve as a model towards finding other ways to break the barrier. Mettaton didn't seem like the best character to inquire about this so Alice tabled this level of reasoning for now. Mettaton also made his strange weapon disappear and a microphone was in its place instead.
"WELL, DARLING? WHY DON'T YOU GO GET IT?" Mettaton said with a slightly condescending tone.
"Humph… very well then 'Killer Robot'." Alice lashed out a bit as she stomped over to the counter in question.
Alice put away her trusty frying pan and scoffed. Mettaton had definitely been an irksome presence and didn't have the same values and passion as Undyne had. In fact he seemed to be mocking her, forcing her to fetch a canned ingredient for his own entertainment affairs. As Alice approached it though, it suddenly sank and lowered to the floor at level with Alice's feet. Alice looked confused and reached out to grab it when it suddenly shifted and shook and then… elongated magnificently into the air like a beanstalk. It grew to unimaginable heights and Alice couldn't even see the can anymore. Mettaton's wheel squeaked along the strange flooring as he approached a dumbfounded Alice.
"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE. IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN IN THE NEXT ONE MINUTE… WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN!"
"Are you absolutely insane?! This isn't even a remotely fair puzzle! I have no means to get up there and it's far too low a time limit. If you insist on harvesting my soul why not just jump straight to the point?" Alice asked with furious hand motions and tone.
"WELL… WE ARE ON AIR AND I CAN'T EXACTLY BRUTE FORCE… IT'S SOOOO BENEATH ME! SO… BETTER START CLIMBING, BEAUTIFUL!" Mettaton announced before he mysteriously flew up towards the top of the counter tower.
Alice folded her arms and frowned as she peered up towards the top. At this rate I might as well make a break for it, she thought with a huff. Before she could consider the great escape, her phone rang an umpteenth time.
"Oh no! There's not enough time to climb up!"
"I know… and thank you for trying Dr. Alphys but at this point we should perhaps consider evading Mettaton for now…" Alice suggested quietly.
"H-he's too fast… he'll catch you and not go easy on you… F-f-fortunately I might have a plan! When I was upgrading your phone, I added a few… features. You see that huge button that says… "JETPACK?" Alphys pointed something that Alice hadn't noticed before out to her.
Alice indeed saw the said button but looked at it with confusion. She had never even heard of a jetpack before.
"W-what's a jetpack?" Alice asked.
"Push it and watch!"
"If you say so…" Alice pushed the button.
The phone floated up into the air in front of Alice, standing still as if hung onto a Christmas Tree. Then it suddenly seemed to duplicate itself and was attached to one another with a certain motor of sorts. It then clasped and fastened itself around Alice like a backpack, rather tightly as well. Alice felt a great uneasiness overcome her as she touched and examined this 'jetpack'.
"Uh… I don't know about this Dr. Alphys… OH!" Alice gasped as she suddenly felt a charge of it turn on and there were two flames sprouting from beneath the motor.
"There! You should have just enough fuel to reach the top!" Alphys said
"A-are you saying that this jetpack will make me… f-fly…? But that's impossible! I mean it's so small and just the idea of flight is-"
"Now, get up there!"
"Just a mommmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkk!" Alice screeched as her feet were lifted off the ground and she found herself hurtling upwards like some sort of geyser.
It reminded Alice of the ascending sensation when she ate the growing mushroom except it was more severe and there was a strong gust in the air. Alice felt her clothes and hair fluttering downwards and a slight uncomfortable shaking. It was incredible but also incredibly terrifying. It was like she was never going to stop rising into the air and furthermore everything looked so small from down below. I hope this is a one-time thing only, Alice thought in a panic. Forgetting about her current goal, she began to scream,
"Put me down, put me doooooooownnn! I'm not a serpenttttttttttttttt….! Somebody heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllppppppppppppp!"
At that moment though, she suddenly spotted Mettaton flying overhead, seemingly shocked to see Alice in the air. He then pulled out an egg carton and seemed to be trying to drop the eggs onto Alice. Alice gasped and barely was able to maneuver herself to dodge them all, finding herself only more panicked whenever she moved. It was quickly followed by piles of sugar and drops of milk. Before the cycle repeated.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Please stooooooooooooooppp-oof!" Alice, now crying tears of fear before she was walloped by an egg.
Alice cringed as she took the yolk and shells out of her hair and flung them downwards in disgust. It did help to remind her what she was after though and that she needed to reach that can within the minute. As high as this tower was, Alice's ascent was astonishingly fast and she soon found herself nearing the peak where the can was held. Going at it with more determination and dodging the rest of the food-based projectiles sent by Mettaton, she miraculously found herself straight at the top. The can stood there innocently and unaware of the fate it had decided.
"MY, MY. IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD THE THE HELP OF THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS! OH, I LOATHE TO THINK OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU WITHOUT HER! WELL, TOODLES!" Mettaton taunted before floating away.
"Well I imagine you'd be much lazy about getting my soul!" Alice growled angrily.
Shockingly, Mettaton returned back, causing Alice to cower slightly.
"OH, YES… ABOUT THE SUBSTITUTION… HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A COOKING SHOW BEFORE? I ALREADY BAKED THE CAKE AHEAD OF TIME! SO FORGET IT!" He bellowed before leaving for good.
Alice found herself descending downwards, but at a pace much similar to that when she had fallen down the rabbit hole. As soon as she landed to the ground, the Jetpack unhooked and reverted back to a phone and Alice put her hands and knees on the ground. Embarrassingly, she was very tempted to kiss the ground at the relief of returning to the floor. Her phone rang again and Alice answered it and spoke out first,
"That was completely out of this world! I could've fallen to my death had anything gone wrong!"
"Oh… s-sorry… I forget you don't know too much about some of t-these inventions.. But you adapted well… and we did it! We… we really did it! Great job out there, team! W-well, uh, anyway let's keep heading forward!"
"Do you have to announce it so publicly though… I mean it's just between the two of us and I'm sure Mettaton's cameras have shifted focus." Alice questioned why Alphys was sounding so… overexcited.
Alice didn't mean to be ungrateful but it seemed timed too well, even from the Royal Scientist's jubilant tone sounding like it was playing to the cameras of some show. If Alice was to tell a story to kids, she'd also emphasize a lot of the happy or triumphant moments to the kids to get a positive reaction out of them. This is precisely what it felt like and considering the 'kill or be killed' nature of this world (Or at least that the monsters were fundamentally after her soul) it seemed like a red herring. Alphys appeared to go quiet which made Alice feel slightly bad about her honest analysis. Eventually though, she spoke again,
"I-I… just felt we outsmarted Mettaton t-together… and that the odds were against us but we can still survive.."
"That's certainly true… I'm sorry, I'm just still shaken up about flying like some sort of friendly, how-to-do bird." Alice confessed.
"I-it's ok… we better keep moving…" Alphys murmured and the phone call ended.
Upon entering the next area, Alice found that there was a magnificent building over in the distance. At least the scale of it was magnificent though as upon closer inspection, Alice noticed some distressing shapes and an ominous intensity coming from it. It looked much different from Asgore's Castle in the distance in that it was brambled, severe, less stoic, and of a dark tone. It filled Alice with determination but it also made her uneasy. It was like a startling reminder of Alice being in a totally different time when fairy tale castles were more relevant as the height of architecture. Alice wasn't sure what the building was though when a phone call rang again. I wonder if I should establish a limit on how often she calls me, Alice grumbled in her head before she answered.
"S-see that building in the distance? That's the CORE. The source of all power for the underground. It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity, by… Uhh, anyway, that's where we are going to go. In the CORE is an elevator directly towards ASGORE'S castle."
"Why would the king have an elevator down to the core? Does he have to replenish it with magic?" Alice asked curious though looked at the building with a depressed glance.
It definitely was a reminder of how times had changed for Alice and also felt like a destination where something big would happen. Alice found it interesting to hear though that within the CORE was such a method to get to the king. Normally to get to a castle you'd have to get in through the gates or a drawbridge guarded by knights yet this seemed like a much more casual if secret way into the castle. It doesn't sound like such a serious ruler to make such an easily understood oversight, Alice thought, unless he didn't count on his Royal Scientist supporting me and is meant to be a secret. Alphys's reply was a bit vague,
"Well… he does check up on it but usually he stays t-to his throne room… from there though, you can go home… I hope the b-best for you…"
"... I hope the best for all the Underground. I want all of us to go home." Alice spoke to herself as soon as Alphys had hung up. She had no intentions of returning home alone yet, she was DETERMINED to cover every factor in reaching the surface again.
To Be Continued….
