Sorry this one took a bit to get out, I went on a small hiatus and then started another story. But I'm back now and hopefully for a while for once.
As always, reviews!
Gabrieloliveragurgel: Glad you're enjoying! I don't really plan on using LV as a measurement of strength. It was mostly used to establish Flowey's initial fear of the two heroes and Sans' initial distrust of them. I didn't plan on implying Chara to have a crush lol, but I may change that eventually, depending on how I feel about romance down the road.
As always Your reviews are appreciated, and on with the story!
"I'm gonna be honest, I wasn't expecting Undyne to have such a 180 in her opinion of us just by being given a challenge."
Seito smirked and shook his head.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again. Monsters down here are weird."
"So we're headed towards Hotland, right?"
"Yeah, that's the next step on our way outta here."
"Oooh! Hotland?! Temmie's never been there before! Lets go!"
"You know, I've been noticing a trend. 'Snowdin', 'Waterfall', 'Hotland', whoever named these places is really bad at it."
"Well, it's not really our place to call em out on it. I mean, we named our cities A through Z."
Seito laughed. "I guess you have me there."
The group continued on for a while until they came upon the spot where they battled Undyne.
"Judging by that giant electric billboard saying 'Welcome to Hotland', I'd say we're pretty close."
Badd grunted. "As if the increasing heat wasn't obvious enough."
As they continued on, the heat got more and more intense, until they discovered why Hotland was named what it was.
"Is that deadass lava?"
"It appears that it is. Good thing they had the foresight to install railings."
Below the platforms and bridges connecting the area together, there was a giant lake of flowing magma. The sight was rather unnerving for Temmie and Zenko.
"And hey look. There's a huge white building just up ahead. I bet that's where this Alphys lives."
"Well I guess there's only one way to find out."
Badd went right up to the door and went to knock, only for the door to open on it's own.
"Huh. Guess it's automatic. Hello? Anyone home?"
Badd went to go inside, only to be stopped by Seito and Zenko.
"Big bro, what are you doing? You can't just go into someone's home without their permission! That's trespassing!"
"Yeah, what are you doing? Just because we're in a different society doesn't mean that common decency is any different!"
Badd scratched his head, embarrassed. "Heh, right. What was I thinking?"
Suddenly, a nervous, feminine voice came from inside the building. "Oh. My god."
The group turned towards the open door to find that the lights were on, and there was a yellow lizard like monster with a lab coat pacing in the middle of the room, muttering to herself.
"I haven't dressed, the lab's a mess and... and..."
The monster turned to the confused humans outside of her lab.
"U-uh, hiya! I'm doctor Alphys! C-come on in!"
The humans stepped into the lab, marveling at the various contraptions that were up against the wall.
"Whoah! did you build all this?"
"M-most of it, yeah. There's still some leftover machines from the last royal scientist, but they're f-far and few between."
Seito was looking at a giant screen that was currently broadcasting them.
"Is this a security system or something?"
Alphys looked over to see what he was talking about and immediately became flustered.
"U-uh, w-well, it's... uh, the feed from a microscopic drone that I may or may not have had follow you through the underground?"
Seito's gaze immediately hardened into a glare.
"So you've been observing our entire journey?"
"EEP! P-please don't be mad! It's just part of my j-job! I-I'm supposed to m-monitor any human that enters the underground."
Seito didn't brake eye contact, but his gaze softened a tad.
"My opinion on this rests on what you'll do with the information you've gathered."
Badd and Zenko came over to see what was going on, Temmie poking her head over Zenko's.
"U-um, well, at first I was planning on stopping you. B-but, watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them. So now I want to help you! I'm really familiar with Hotland, so I should be able to guide you through it pretty easily!"
Seito leered at her for a moment longer, before he dropped the glare.
"Fine. I suppose I don't have much to lose by believing you."
Alphys sighed, bowing her head slightly. "Thank god..."
The scientist looked back up at them, looking slightly worried.
"Oh. Th-there's one more thing I should mention. A long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton. At first, he was made to be a performer, someone that could bring entertainment to the underground. B-but um, recently I decided to make him more uh, practical."
Seito didn't like where this was going. "In what way?"
"U-uh, by installing an-anti human combat features?"
Badd and Seito gave the scientist a half lidded stare. "Of course."
"H-however! As soon as I saw you coming, I knew I had to remove those features! Especially because there's a child with you. But, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so. A-and now He's a killer robot with a thirst for human blood? Ha ha..."
Seito slapped his forehead while Badd muttered to himself.
"Nothing can ever be easy can it..."
Zenko was the only one who stayed optimistic. "Well hey! Hopefully we won't run into him! Right?"
"Y-yeah, what she said! H-Hotland is a pretty big place, so there's a good chance you won't even have to worry!"
Badd and Seito just groaned. "Did you two seriously have to say that?"
"Yeah, I've been a hero long enough to know that the worst possible thing often happens after someone says it won't."
"Come on bro, You're being superstitious!"
Suddenly, the building shook a little. Temmie jumped and clung to Zenko tighter.
"UWAA! Earthquake!"
A second tremor, more powerful than the first, made the floor and walls noticeably tremble.
"You sure about that Zenko?"
"U-uh, maybe?"
A third tremor occurred, knocking some items off of a nearby table and making Alphys readjust her glasses. The scientist groaned.
"Oh no..."
The lights went off and the room went pitch black, and a nearby wall was heard breaking. Suddenly, a flamboyant, slightly robotic voice echoed through the darkness.
"OOOH YEEES!"
Spotlights suddenly started swirling around the room before they came to stop on a lone figure. A metal box with a flashing screen and two arms was being propped up by a singular wheel.
"what the...?"
The box held up a microphone, stretching it's spare arm out dramatically.
"Welcome beauties! To today's quiz show!"
The lights came back on, and confetti and colored lights came down around the room while a theme song played in the background.
The floor under the human's feet shifted, and three seats shot up from under it, clamping their wrist down with metal straps.
Badd grunted as he tried to pull his arms free to no avail. The straps seemed to be made of a particularly strong alloy. He could probably pull himself free if he pumped himself up, but he was too dumbfounded at what was happening to attempt to do so.
"Oh boy! I can already tell it's going to be a great show! We've got three very special guests for you here today! Not only are they three humans, But two are very well known even on the surface!"
Seito narrowed his eyes. "He knows who we are? How?"
"Some of you may have heard of them from the magazines from the trash dump in Waterfall, But for those of you who haven't, I'll introduce you! First we have the hotheaded hero known to most humans by his hero alias Metal Bat!"
"Hey, rolling Nokia! What the hell is going on here?!"
Mettaton wagged his finger, before he pressed a button and sent a current of electricity into Badd's chair, zapping him.
"Agh! What the?"
"Tut tut! No swearing on my programs! There's kids watching you know!"
"So you think it's reasonable to electrocute me?! I'll smash you into scrap metal when I get outta this chair!"
Mettaton ignored the threat, instead deciding to move over to Zenko.
"And here's our second contestant! She's the little sister to Metal Bat, give a big round of applause to Zenko!"
"Whoa! Am I really on TV?! Hi everybody!"
"Well folks, seems like she's a much better sport than her brother!"
A cheesy laugh track played in the distance.
"And let's say hello to our final contestant! He's arguably the most famous person on the planet, He's a successful musician, model, and a powerful hero to boot! Even I admit I'm a fan! Say hello to Sweet Mask!"
Mettaton clapped excitedly, a cheer track playing in the background.
"Yeah, as nice as it is to be back on the air, could you release me from this chair please? I'd prefer to be a willing participant when I'm on TV."
"Afraid not gorgeous! That would ruin the whole point of the show!"
Badd glared over at the robotic celebrity.
"I still don't get what you even want us to do?"
"Didn't you hear my fantastic intro? We're doing a quiz show! Don't worry! The rules are simple! Answer correctly, Or you die!"
Seito blanched. "Your planning on committing homicide on live television?! Are you insane?!"
"Being insane kind of goes along with the whole maniacal robot thing darling! Now, let the quiz show begin!"
A giant screen came down behind Mettaton and lit up.
"Let's start with an easy one! We'll go from left to right! Question 1!"
What's the prize for answering correctly?
A. Money
B. Mercy
C. New Car
D. More Questions
"Uh, more questions?"
"Correct! What a terrific answer! Your up next Zenko darling!"
What is the king's name?
A. Lord Fluffybuns
B. Fuzzy Pushover
C. Asgore Dreemurr
D. Dr. Friendship
Zenko rolled her eyes. "Even if I didn't know his name, the other answers are so dumb that it'd be easy! Asgore Dreemurr!"
"Correct again!"
Mettaton rolled over to Seito.
"I already know about you, so it's time you learn something about me!"
What are robots made of?
A. Hopes & Dreams
B. Metal & Magic
C. Snips & Snails
D. Sugar & Spice
Seito just looked at the board with a bored stare before answering.
"B."
"Too easy for you huh?!"
Mettaton rolled back over to Badd.
"Here's another easy one for you!"
Two trains, Train A, and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A, and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards Station A. If both trains departed at 10:00 AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?
A. 31.054 Minutes
B. 16.232 Minutes
C. 32.049 Minutes
D. 32.058 Minutes
Badd chocked on his own saliva when he read the question. "Wh'what the hel-heck! I don't know that!"
Mettaton pushed the button, electrocuting Badd again.
"OOOOH! That's too bad! If you can't answer the question, you suffer the consequence!"
The robotic host left a smoking Badd and rolled over to his sister.
"Don't 'count' on getting this one right!"
A video of a jar of flies came up on screen.
How many flies are in this jar?
A. 54
B. 53
C. 55
D.52
Zenko was sweating a bit. She looked around the room to try and find something to help her, when she saw Alphys making an A with her claws.
"Um, A?"
"...Correct! I'm astounded folks!"
Zenko breathed a sigh of relief, mouthing a 'thank you' over to the scientist.
"Alright Sweet Mask! Let's test your memory!"
An incomplete image of a monster came up.
What monster is this?
A. Froggit
B. Whimsum
C. Moldsmall
D. Mettaton
Seito leered at the screen, staying silent for almost half a minute, before he finally answred.
"D."
"...D... Is absolutely correct!"
The picture zoomed out to show Mettaton wearing a Froggit shirt.
"I'm astounded you got past the trick question! Truly, you are a master of the art of TV!"
Mettaton went back over to Badd, who was still slightly smoking, but nevertheless alert.
"Here's a simple one!"
How many letters in the name Mettatonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...
All of the answers are randomly fluctuating numbers, making it impossible to decipher which was correct.
"Ok! This is definitely rigged!"
Mettaton pressed his big red button again, sending Badd into another shocking session.
"Don't be ridiculous darling! Everyone is being given an equal chance!"
With that, he moved back to Zenko.
"I guess it's time to break out the big guns!"
In the dating simulator 'Mew Mew Kissie Cutie, what is Mew Mew's favorite food?
All of a sudden, Alphys' voice burst out of her.
"Oh Oh! I know this one! It's..."
Alphys went on a rant that no one really understood before she slowly stopped when she realized everyone was giving her confused looks.
"Alphys Alphys Alphys. You haven't been helping our contestants have you?
Alphys frantically shook her head.
"OOH! You should have told me! I'll ask a question you'll be sure to know the answer to!"
Alphys' face immediately turned red when the question popped up on screen.
Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?
A. Undyne
B. Asgore
C. Mettaton
D. No one.
"Oh, and by the way, you can all answer this one!"
Seito responded without missing a beat.
"D."
"Oh! Feeling rather chivalrous are we? Well, I suppose it would be a tad rude to go spilling such a secret on the air. But regardless! 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 time, more drama, more romance, more bloodshed! Until next time darlings!"
Mettaton waved to the camera until it shut off, and then everything promptly collapsed in on itself until all of the broadcasting equipment was in a tiny little cube. Mettaton then stuck the cube inside of a compartment inside himself and flew through the roof, making even more of a mess.
As soon as he was gone, Alphys immediately went over and unhooked the humans from the chairs. Temmie, who had been hiding behind Alphys, jumped back on Zenko's head.
"Th-thank you for not saying anything about that on live TV. I'd never live down the embarrassment."
"It's Undyne right?"
"I-I'm sorry?"
"Your crush. It's Undyne."
Alphys blushed hard and covered her face with her hands.
"I-I don't want to talk about that right now."
"Oh. Sorry for prying. It just seemed like the two of you are rather close given how much she talks about you."
Alphys peeked out from behind her hands. "She... talks about me?"
"Yeah. She seemed rather proud of how smart you are."
"Oh. O-oh gosh."
Badd butted in before Alphys could get too flustered.
"Hey. Well it's been nice, apart from that robotic bastard anyway, but we should probably get going."
"H-hey! Wait a minute! Do any of you have phones?"
"Uh, yeah, why?"
"Well, I was just going to see if I could add you as a contact so I can help guide you through Hotland."
"Oh, uh sure. Here."
Badd and Seito handed Alphys their phones.
"Oh. These are pretty run of the mill, aren't they?"
"Well, the Hero Association gave them to us. They're pretty basic, but that's because they're only supposed to be used for contacting others."
"Hero Association? I think I've heard of that from one of those human magazines. B-but anyway. Do you mind if I give them a little upgrade? I'm not going to change the look of it or anything, just add a couple of features."
"That depends. How long'll it take? I wanna get going as soon as possible."
"Oh, It shouldn't take more than a minute I have the parts on hand."
"Just a minute? Not even Metal Knight could do something like that that quick!"
"W-well, I have a type of magic that can manipulate electronics, so building and remodeling doesn't take nearly as long as usual."
"Well, as long as it doesn't take too long, I'm fine with it."
Alphys nodded, before she rushed upstairs and got to work. Multiple noises were heard coming from upstairs, until she came back down.
"H-here you go! I added my contact info and signed you up for the undernet! So now we can talk anytime! I also added acouple of extra features, one of which is the dimensional box. It can store up to 20 pounds of items."
"Dimensional box? How does that work?"
"W-well, it was invented by the previous royal scientist, so I don't really know the specifics. Basically, it harnesses raw magic to create a pocket dimension that can store items."
Zenko looked at the phones with sparkles in her eyes.
"That super cool!"
"Yeah, it is. Thanks Alphys!"
"Of Course! A-anything to help! The back exit's that way, that's ho you'll be able to make it to the rest of Hotland."
Badd took off his leather jacket and tied it around his waist.
"Hotland is right. I'm sweating even in here."
"Y-yeah. Well, call me if you need any help!"
Alphys went into the back of the lab and opened a door, before walking in.
Badd suddenly looked confused. "I just realized. We didn't hear from Chara since that metal bastard showed up.
Said spirit immediately made her presence known. "That guy annoyed me from the first word he spoke, so I retreated into your soul to spare myself a headache."
"Can spirits even get headaches?"
"It's a figure of speech dumbass."
"You're really crass for a child, you know?"
"I've spent a couple thousand years alone stewing in my own rage and depression, what do you expect?"
The group continued their banter as they headed out of the lab and into the rest of Hotland, not knowing what to expect.