"GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS!" the robot buzzed. "AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OUR CORRESPONDENT HERE ON LIVE REPORT! MISS GINGER WINGREN! PLEASE! FIND US SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT! OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!"
The spotlight came onto the human, and she whispered to Alphys over the phone.
"Does he turn every little thing he does into a T.V. special of some sort?"
"Heh...Th-that's Mettaton for ya."
"Well...Guess I might as well play along."
Ginger scanned the outside of the newsroom booth he'd set up, her eyes falling upon several different things; a basketball, a booklet of some sort, an intricately-wrapped box...
A dog.
THAT dog, to be precise. That mischievous little mutt from Snowdin who'd sabotaged Papyrus multiple times.
The little white furball of an animal simply stood there, looking up at her as it wagged its little tail. It certainly was an interesting specimen; perfect for a news report.
Safely assuming that Mettaton had a camera of his own on her somewhere, she decided to wing it, approaching the dog and standing beside it.
"WHAT A SENSATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A STORY! WHY, I CAN JUST SEE THE HEADLINE NOW...'A DOG EXISTS SOMEWHERE.' QUITE FRANKLY, I'M BLOWN AWAY! WHY DON'T YOU GIVE US THE SCOOP, DARLING?"
"Good morning, people of the Underground," Ginger announced. "As you can see here, I've stumbled across a dog. You may look down at it and say 'What's so exciting about a dog?', but this reporter says there's more to it than meets the eye. This little white...RUFF-ian has recently terrorized the skeleton residence in Snowdin, making off with what I estimate could be a good hundred bones, as well as Papyrus' renowned Special Attack. Dog, do you have anything to say to the viewers on the topic?"
"Bark, bark!" it yipped, seemingly oblivious to the criticism directed at it.
"I'M ASTOUNDED!" the news host gasped. "I DOUBT ANYONE WOULD HAVE EVER EXPECTED WITH THE ADORABLE RUSE IT PUTS ON! I MEAN, JUST TAKE A GOOD GANDER AT IT AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN! IT'S AN ABSOLUTE DEAR! THOSE LITTLE POINTED EARS, TINY PAWS, FLUFFY TAIL..."
His voice trailed off suspiciously.
"...WAIT JUST A MOMENT, VIEWERS...THAT'S NOT A TAIL."
"I don't know, blockhead; looks like one to-"
She didn't know if her eyes were deceiving her, but it looked like the tip of the dog's tail spontaneously combusted.
"...Me?"
And then she heard a faint hissing sound coming from inside the animal.
"WHY, IT'S...A FUSE! AND THE DOG! IT'S...A BOMB!"
The walls of the newsroom fell away, and Ginger was frozen with shock.
"OH, MY! IT SEEMS AS THOUGH EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM IS A BOMB! THAT PRESENT IS A BOMB! THE BASKETBALL IS A BOMB! EVERY BLESSED THING IS A BOMB!"
"WHAT!?"
"BRAVE CORRESPONDENT," Mettaton continued, paying the human's apparent terror no mind. "UNLESS YOU CAN DEFUSE ALL OF THE BOMBS IN THE NEXT TWO MINUTES, THAN THE BIG BOMB UP NORTH WILL BLOW YOU TO SMITHEREENS! THEN INSTEAD OF REPORTING 'LIVE', YOU'LL BE REPORTING DEAD! HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING! OH, OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE REALLY GOING TO ENJOY WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLING!"
"Alphys, I think I'm going to faint..." the human exclaimed, her voice so weak it broke mid-sentence.
"No no no no no no no! S-stay with me! You' got this! I-I know Mettaton better than anyone else, so I came prepared for this, too! I also installed a bomb defusing program on your phone! J-just press the button when the bomb is in the DEFUSE ZONE, and it'll take care of the rest for you! N-now, go get 'em!"
"On it."
Since the dog was already right there, she went for it first...But it had decided to run around and play at the worst time; it looked like she would have to time the hit.
"Come on, stay still...Go riiiight there..."
The light on the phone turned green, indicating it was in the right spot, and she pressed the button as soon as she saw it. The dog's tail went out, and the hissing stopped.
"Okay! One down!"
"That's how you do it! T-try getting the one down the walkway past the lasers to the south!"
"Glaux, not the lasers..."
She followed the doctor's instructions, finding three lasers standing between her and the next bomb. two orange an stationary with a blue one moving between them.
It was a close shave, but she managed to pass them without getting clipped by the blue laser, and approached the next explosive, which was made to look like a video game.
This one was moving to, and every time she tried to aim the defuser at it, it moved off to the side.
"How'd he get these things to move?!"
"I w-wouldn't put it past him to have put little rocket jets in them, or something! Uh...J-just a hunch, though."
"Hold on. I think I know what I gotta do."
She held the defuser out in front of her and waited for just the right moment for the bomb to pass into its range. It slid to the right and tried to go past her.
But the second the green light flashed, she zapped it with the defuser before it could get back out of range. She passed through the lasers again-difficult to work around quickly, with such little space and such little time, but it was possible.
"Great! Now head to the row of conveyer belts! W-work counterclockwise!"
"You don't have to tell me twice."
The movie script was moving swiftly across the belts from side to side; she took the middle path, and waited for it to cross her again before pointing at it and defusing it as the device came at her head on.
She didn't need Alphys' instructions for the next one; it was the gift box, just beyond the belts, and she got to the island via the steam vents provided.
The box was orbiting the island like a speedy satellite; at least this gave it a predictable path, which was good for her case. Ginger just barely managed to hit it in the defuse zone before the light flashed red again.
"To the island with the big one?"
"You've got the idea! Th-the basketball's next! Careful; looks bouncy!"
"Okay..."
She was launched to the island with the large bomb; it had only forty-seven seconds remaining on it.
As for the explosive basketball, it bounced her way, and the human pointed the defuser at it, following the bomb's pattern of movement until she was absolutely sure she would time the press and the aim correctly.
With the deactivation, the basketball fell to the ground limply, and without any more bounce.
"Okay! Last one! Head back to the center! I'm using, uh...EM fields to trap the glass of water there!"
"How did he fit a bomb in a glass of water!?" Ginger questioned as she headed back down the metal path of pipes towards it. "Unless it's not a real glass of water!"
"Oh, i-it's real alright. E-explosives nowadays can be surprisingly small a-and hard-to-notice!"
The water was floating in midair, in a tight circular pattern, and was the fastest one yet. But it was getting deactivated, speedy or not.
It was a good thing the circle was so tight, because it passed into the defuse range every few seconds, and on the third loop, the human pressed the switch...
And it came to a complete halt before sinking back down to the ground.
"...Was that all of them?"
"WELL DONE, DARLING! YOU'VE DEACTIVATED ALL OF THE BOMBS!" Mettaton buzzed, confirming her hopes. "IF YOU DIDN'T DEACTIVATE ALL OF THEM, THE BIG BOMB WOULD HAVE EXPLODED IN TWO MINUTES...AND NOW IT WON'T EXPLODE IN TWO MINUTES."
"Oh, thank GLAUX..." Ginger huffed, letting herself fall onto her knees. "We did it..."
"INSTEAD, IT'LL EXPLODE IN TWO SECONDS!"
"What...!?"
"GOODBYE, DARLING!"
"Oh, no, no, NOOO!"
As an attempt to survive the oncoming explosion, she fully hunkered down and covered her entire head, waiting for the telltale "BOOM" that would happen...
Right now...!
...
...
...Right...Now...?
It felt like a lot longer than just two seconds had gone by. At this point, it seemed more like that'd added up to TEN. What happened?
"AH..."
The robotic news host sounded equally confused.
"...IT APPEARS THE BOMB ISN'T GOING OFF."
The phone system inside him went off again.
"That's b-because!" Alphys exclaimed from the other end. "While you were monologuing...I...! I f...fix...Um...I ch-changed-"
"OH, NO. YOU DEACTIVATED THE BOMB WITH YOUR HACKING SKILLS, DIDN'T YOU?" Mettaton finished for her.
"Yeah! That's! What I did!"
"CURSES! I'VE BEEN FOILED AGAIN! CURSE YOU, HUMAN! CURSE YOU, DR. ALPHYS, FOR HELPING HER SO MUCH!"
"That's, ah, kinda strong language there, ain't it, Mettaton? What about the kids?"
"OH, DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT THE KIDS! KNOWING HOW MUCH THEY ALL LOVE UNDYNE, THEY'VE CERTAINLY HEARD FAR WORSE! AND BESIDES, I DON'T CURSE MY EIGHT WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR TUNING IN! WELL...UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!"
He whizzed off in a rush.
"...I wonder if he's going to set up another dark room for me to stumble across farther down the line," Ginger remarked. "...Say, you said this glass of water here was real?"
"Uh, yeah? Why?"
To answer, the young human scooped up the glass of water and chugged it down in one gulp, then flung the empty glass into the sea of magma below to further trample Mettaton's precious television face.
"...Oh."
"Yeah. I needed that right about now," Ginger continued, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Hey...Thanks for disarming that big one back there. Don't know what would have happened if it went off.
"A-and awesome job with the smaller ones. Heh...Wow...W-we really showed him, huh?"
"I should think. By the time we're done with him, maybe the Underground will finally see just what a big fat jerk he is. I mean, you built the guy, and he's an entertainer, and that's great, but what does he do for you in return? Craps all over your dignity in front of the entire monster race? More than once? What do you call that?"
"Ah, don't worry about my dignity," Alphys reassured. "Heh, I-I never had much to begin with anyway, so..."
"Come on, Alphys, don't keep putting yourself down like this. If it weren't for you, I'd have probably gotten my rear end demolished a long time ago! Give yourself a pat on the back once in a while; it'll do ya some good."
"Heh...Uh, h-hey, about that. I...I know I came off as s-sorta weird at first, but..."
"No, Alphys, you didn't come off as weird, I promise."
"Ah...W-well, I, a-as I was saying, I think that I'm finally starting to feel...Uh, more...M-more confident about guiding you."
"You are?"
"Y-yeah! So...Don't worry about that b-big d-dumb robot, a-and his little setups! I-I'm here for ya, and I...I'll protect you from him!"
"Aww...Glad you're startin' to look up, pal."
"Th-thanks."
Ginger saw that the path continued further northeast past the column of row of conveyer belts, and she began to follow it.
"Erm...I have sort of a w-weird question." Alphys told her.
"What's that?"
"Do you...Um...What do you think of...The Underground, a-as a whole?"
"Well, I mean, I've got people on the surface wondering where I'm at, so I have to get back up there, but if I didn't have anything to return to up there, then...Heck, I might have decided to stick around. Sure, it's ah...kinda got that trapped feeling, but for a subterranean kingdom, it's...Really not bad. Not at all. It's spacey for the most part, it seems, it's got nice scenery, climate variations...Hey, it even has weather! Not something I expected possible underground. We've got wind, snow, rain...Is it magic-induced?"
"O-oh. You mean Snowdin a-and Waterfall...Yeah, I think so."
"Furthermore, most of the people down here are splendid. Hey, even if I'm technically supposed to be the enemy in this place, they still don't really want anything happening to me, it looks like, and I tip my imaginary hat to the folks down here for that. Especially Sans and Papyrus, Gerson, the Temmies, and...Well, you."
"Oh, well, I...Erm...Uh...So, I-I'm just speaking hypothetically, but...If, for s-some reason, it c-came down to it, we...You know...You could always just t-turn...Uh..."
"Alphys?"
"...Yeah?"
"I think I see where you're getting at. Just...Even after I'm gone, just keep your head held up high. For me, okay? I'll keep thinkin' of all you guys, no matter where I'm at. And...I might even try to find a way to get you all out of this place, once I'm up there. Might even tell my folks about it; they might be able to help. That way I can make sure I see all of you again someday!"
Ginger heard a sniffle from the other end.
"Alphy? You...You're not crying again, are you?"
"I-I know I've said this all before, but...Thank you. Thank you for just...B-being my friend. Being a friend t-to all of us. I feel...hopeful. More so than I have i-in a long time."
She was choking up again; the human found herself holding the phone just a bit tighter.
"Alphys, I know you said you couldn't let anyone know, but are you sure there's nothing extra I can do for...Whatever it is you've been going through?"
"I...I-I'm sure," the raptor monster squeaked. "But thanks f-for caring so much."
"Oh...Wish I could hug ya through this phone."
"Heh...Aw, ghee..."
Ginger turned westward; the CORE in the distance came into view again, looking closer than before.
"...Hope everything goes over well with King Asgore," she said over the phone. "Isn't he the one who wanted to kill us humans in the first place?"
"I...Yeah, but...H-he doesn't really want to, I don't think. I-in fact, he, uh...I know him. The k-king's actually a really nice guy. I-I'm sure he'll let you discuss things with him, and convince him to...uh...let you cross the Barrier with your...your human SOUL and...Go back home."
"I've heard similar things about him. I ain't teasin', or anything, but I guess it's no wonder you've been eyeing him up!"
"Oh, um...Yeah, about that, it's...Like, I think he's sweet, a-and kind and...well...k-kinda...uh..."
"What? You tryin' to tell me he's hot?"
"Ah, well! That! Would...S-sum it up pretty well, I think. But I-I don't really have much of a chance with him, you know. He...I mean, th-this is Asgore we're talking about. King of Monsters. He's way out of my league. B-besides, he...Has other people on his mind, I'm pretty sure."
"Hey, well, even if you don't get him, there are still plenty of fish in the sea."
"U-uh, heh heh...Fish...Yeah...P-plenty of those! Uh...A-anyway, d-don't worry about Asgore. Just f-forget about it and smile, alright?"
"I'll do that," the human assured before letting a sigh slip. "...I'll miss you, buddy."
"Erm...I...I had a thought."
"What's on your mind?"
"I d-don't know what made me think of it, but I...I, uh...Would it be a problem if I...like...F-followed you into Hotland, a-and if we met somewhere i-in the CORE? M-maybe if I'm there, too, then...Maybe the king will...Since he knows me, a-and all, I-I thought it might be-"
"Not a bad idea! Makes doubly sure of things, you know? If you've got the time for it, at least."
"Oh. Uh...O-okay, ah, y-yeah...Then, I guess I-I'll be heading your way here soon, then. Uh, b-but don't sit around and wait for me! That'd, uh...be a waste of time? Maybe? And, uh...J-just stick on the path to the CORE, and if you need help with anymore puzzles, j-just let me know, a-alright?"
"Sounds like a plan. See you soon, then!"
"Okay. Uh...Later!"
The call ended, and the human kept heading down the west path until she came to yet another elevator, this one being labeled "L2". She entered it, and was met with another selection of options for her destination.
Left floor 3 sounded right; she'd already been to all of the other elevator locations given, so she went with that one. The elevator shifted a bit about halfway up the shaft, making an odd noise of some sort, but Ginger brushed it off as the inner mechanisms brushing against each other.
And the ride up was short, so what kind of time would there be for something to go awry?
The doors slid open, and the human stepped out again, back onto Hotland's hot, parched earth. The pat headed back east, and she followed it until she reached...
What looked like a parlor of some sort.
There was a long table situated along the path, covered in a pink and white checked cloth. The monster sitting there got her attention.
"Hello there, dearie!~" she chirped. "Would you be interested in some spider pastries? All proceeds go to real spiders!"
A shiver went down the human's spine. There was something about this monster that felt...off.
She had six thin, uncannily humanoid arms, a pair of sharp fangs sticking out of her small smile and...One, two, three...FIVE eerie-looking eyes that appeared to be staring right into the depths of her SOUL.
Some sort of spider monster, it seemed; judging by the number of limbs and arthropodan features, it looked to be the case.
That plus the fact that there appeared to be cobwebs hanging ALL OVER THE PLACE.
Say, wait a minute, she realized. Spider pastries...Is this the second Spider Bake Sale that the Riverperson told me about?
They'd said it was in Hotland...And she was in Hotland, so what else was she supposed to assume?
Well...Might as well put some more of this gold to good use.
She approached the two webs to the right of the table; another Spider Donut sounded pretty good. And it was only, what? 7G? She could afford...
'Holy racdrops...' she mouthed. The Spider Donuts, as well as the Spider Cider, were each a whopping 9,999G! What'd happened to 7!?
She breathed in deeply, and was about to calmly and politely offer a bout of constructive sales criticism towards the spider monster's ridiculous pricing of this location, but when she turned to face her...
Something about her seemed even MORE unsettling.
All five of her eyes blinked one after the other in a line across her face, and she was running her pointed grey tongue across her lips in an almost...seductive manner.
Now it was just as disgusting as it was creepy.
Ginger found herself slowly backing away from the humanoid spider, moving through the next hall, and passed by someone standing there, nearly bumping into him.
"Ah, hah...Same woes, huh?" he mumbled, not wanting the saleslady to hear him.
Ginger got a better look at the monster; a lime-furred feline creature in a yellow shirt. He looked just as disturbed as the human, and was looking down at the Spider Donut he had in his hand regretfully.
"I bought this thing, e-even though I didn't want to," he explained to her as they both exited the parlor. "That girl, though...When I told her 'no', she just...kept staring at me the way she was to you, blinking her eyes in that freaky way and licking her lips...Long story short, I'm broke now."
Ginger sighed sympathetically.
"Well, at least you did something for the spiders, and you got a pretty good spider pastry to boot."
"Heh...Yeah. Are these things, uh...Any good?"
"I'd say. The little crunchy bits of the legs give it a nice savory touch."
"Legs? Uh...Wait. You mean to tell me these things are made of actual-"
"Before you go throwing that thing into the lava, rest assured that they're delicious. I should know."
"Ah, hah, hah..." the cat monster exclaimed softly, now looking at the Spider Donut he'd purchased in a much more literal sense. "Are you sure...You don't want it?"
"You're the one who bought it; I'm not gonna let your money go to waste. Trust me. They're delicious."
"I...I still don't know. I mean, snails is one thing, but...Spiders? Almost makes me queasy."
"Just try it, man, okay?"
"Well..."
The green felid took a cautious bite out of the pastry. Immediately, he could feel the telltale crunch of a spider's leg in his teeth. He swallowed it with a shudder.
"Oh, oh no...I almost couldn't get that down..." he lamented.
"Hmm..."
Ginger glanced behind her, making sure the spider monster wasn't paying them any mind anymore, then pulled him over to the next steam vent puzzle that was beyond the parlor. The noise of the whooshing steam drowned out their quiet conversation.
"How 'bout this? The one I paid for in the Ruins was 7G. If you really wanna give that to me, then...Well, I don't have any 9,999G, but I do have at least 20. I'll give you 20G for it. But you gotta accept it, ya hear?"
"Oh...Oh, you're a lifesaver. You've got yourself a deal!"
The exchange was made; a Spider Donut for 20G. Not as cheap as the first one, but it sure as hagsmire beat ten thousand.
"I...I gotta get home. Thank you, kind stranger."
He passed by the parlor again, making sure not to make ANY eye contact with the spider lady running the ridiculous joint, then disappeared into the elevator.
Ginger eyed the Spider Donut eagerly and began working at it; even if it did have a bite out of it, it mattered little compared to the taste of the delicacy. And the little crunchy savory spider bits? Really, she had no idea why people didn't like the stuff.
Each to their own, I guess...
It wasn't long before the Spider Donut was completely gone. When it was, Ginger sighed contently, then diverted her attention towards the steam vent puzzle before her.
There were no pressure plates involved this time, so despite the sheer number of plates, it looked easier to figure out.
That was when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey! Alphys here! Uh...Th-this room is kinda like the one we saw before; we need to complete the puzzles on each side of the room in order to proceed!"
"Got it; let me get past these steam vents and then we'll go ahead and tackle those."
"J-just remember, if you need help, just call! Uh...Hm...W-wait! I have an idea!"
"What's that?"
"L-let's be friends on UnderNet! Then you can just ping me whenever you need help!"
"Um...You already signed me up for Undernet, remember?"
"I did? I...Oh. I did. I DID sign you up, didn't I? We're already friends on there, aren't we? Uh...I-I'm checking my friend list...Uh...'DefinitelyNotAHuman?' Was that YOU talking about that Jur-something park movie, or whatever it was called?"
"'Jurassic Park III?' That'd be me."
"Ah, i-if we're friends, then that means...Y-you've been getting all of my posts, haven't you?"
"Yyyyep."
"Uh...th-then...Well! I hope! You agree with me! About Mew Mew 2!"
"Don't really know anything about it," she admitted as she started trying to make her way to the southern pathway with the vents. "Care to explain?"
"Uh...Well...'Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.' I'm talking about the, uh, the movie sequel. Which wasn't good at all."
"I got that memo."
"B-but the television series! That's...It's, uh...A human T.V. show, f-from the surface? I-it's pretty great; it's, uh, m-my favorite show. Have you, um...heard of it before?"
"Can't say I have. I gotta admit, though, the stuff from the surface IS pretty intriguing; don't blame you for thinkin' the same. Heck, that's where I got 'Jurassic Park III' from. As well as a few other pretty interesting things. It's crazy what some humans throw away..."
"Really? Like...W-what else did you find?"
"Well, there's this one thing I have packed away; it's a plush of some sort? I don't know if it's supposed to be a fox or a rabbit, but it's something like some sort of mammal."
"...Huh...Sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't quite put my claw on it..."
"And then I found all the stuff I needed to make my bow and arrows, so that was convenient. But anyway, you were saying about this other thing you watch?"
"O-oh, yeah! Uh...Are you...like...Interested?"
"Perhaps. Uh...Hold on."
The human had made it to the southern end of the steam vents, and the sets of moving conveyer belts had blue lasers moving across them.
The conveyer belts.
"Um...Alphys? How am I going to handle these blue lasers without getting fried?"
"Oh...Um...H-how about you try moving against the direction of the conveyer belt, and then staying in that spot until the laser passes over you? It might work!"
"And...if it doesn't?"
"Uh...Well, if you're worried, I could just hack into the system again and turn the lasers off. I-I can access the database from my phone, so no need to go back to the lab!"
"You already leave?"
"Y-yeah! I haven't gone that far yet, though, heh...J-just hold on a second."
Ginger watched the blue lasers moving across the belts for a minute before she saw them shut off, and she went ahead down the conveyer belts to the puzzle entrance.
"Nice going."
"Heh...Thanks!"
"So, about this 'Mew Mew Kissy Cutie' thing you were talking about?"
"Oh! Right, So, i-it's about this human girl named Mew Mew who has cat ears...which humans don't typically have, s-so she's all sensitive about them, but like eventually she realized that her ears don't matter and that her friends like her despite them and WHOOPS SPOILERS THIS MIGHT SOUND WEIRD BUT LIKE EVENTUALLYSHEFINDSOUTTHAT SHEHASTHISPOWERTOCONTROLANYONESHEKISSESNADSHEUSESITTOHAVEPEOPLE..."
Ginger's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets upon hearing Alphys' unrelenting passionate gushing about her favorite show. She never would have thought the timid little Velociraptor was capable of such a feat. Hagsmire, she wasn't even stuttering!
...If only she could UNDERSTAND her; she was going so fast, most of what she said was completely incoherent.
"SOLVEALLHERPROBLEMSANDTHEYDON'TREMEMBERANYTHINGAFTERWARDBUT IF SHE MISSES THE KISS! IF...If she...Uh...Well, uh...E-eventually, she realizes controlling people isn't really...Okay, well, I just spoiled the entire show, I think, I'm so sorry."
"Ah...Don't be. I didn't understand three-quarters of that anyway, it went by so quickly."
"Oh, uh...Well! You might like it! Maybe...! Uh...I-if I don't get the chance to show you before you leave here, then...Maybe you could watch it s-somewhere on the surface?"
"I'll definitely consider it," she promised. "Here, I gotta see about this puzzle here."
"Oh, o-okay, uh...Hey. Listen."
"Yeah?"
"Uh...N-normally, I, uh, don't like giving away puzzle solutions, but, I'm willing to make an exception i-in your case. Uh...Consider it me paying you back for, uh...You know, everything you've done for us so far. S-so, keep me on. These are, uh...A bit harder...th-than the last ones."
"I'm goin' in now...Hmm...I only have one shot, it looks like."
"Oh. Yeah. Uh, I'm pulling up the layout sheets from the archives right now. Let's see, directions...Uh, you gotta get two over to the right, in that row of space, a-and then make the other two go off to the left; i-in order for it to work, you gotta get the first two all the way to the right, or else y-your shot will still be blocked!"
"First two go all the way to the right. Got it. Lemme give it a go...Uh, if for some reason I screw up, am I able to reset the puzzle?"
"All you have to do i-is leave the room, and it'll start from the beginning layout! B-but if you need more help then, uh, j-just ask!"
"Noted. Alright..."
Just knowing which blocks went in which direction(paired with a bit of patience and movement prediction)made it a lot easier than it would have been, and she'd cleared her path and destroyed the enemy ship within a minute.
"Got it!"
"H-hey, that was pretty good! Uh...The one to the north's gonna be harder still, though. Like last time, I-I wanted to start off with the easy ones first. You know, sort of like, uh...I don't know, a-a warmup-type thing, I guess? Uh, d-does that method of doing it, uh...Work? O-or should we have done the harder ones-"
"No, I think it's working pretty well so far," she agreed. "You know, you and I make a pretty good team, eh?"
"Y-you think so...?"
"Heck, yeah! You bring the wit, I bring the grit; we'll be indomitable! ESPECIALLY once I introduce you to my piers! They'll love ya! In fact, I think they'd like all you guys!"
"Uh, well, I, heh..." she stammered. "S-sounds cool!"
"Ha...Heh...Yeah. My...piers." Ginger said as she exited the puzzle and started working her way north again. Alphys noticed her sudden shift of mood.
"S-something wrong?"
"Oh, uh, no. Nothing's wrong," she fibbed sharply. "Let's just keep heading north. I've got some more high-flying to do here."
"What did you say!?"
The phantom voice came from off to her side, hovering over the sea of magma below.
"Um...Let me call you back, Alphys."
"Oh, um, o-okay. Uh...Bye."
She hung up, and Ginger turned to face that same airplane with the pink hat again.
"You again, eh?" she remarked. "Do you, like, want something from me?"
"What!? No! I don't want ANYTHING! Not from YOU!"
She tilted her port wing and came barreling at the human again, to which she ducked, clipping the green zone of her attack.
"Then why are you back? Come to think of it, how did you even know I was here?"
"I...I didn't know you were here! Why is it your issue!? Are you FOLLOWING me...!?"
"What? No; I'm just minding my own business. We've already spoken before, now would you mind letting me get back to these puzzles?"
"Hmph!" the airbus huffed. "You've got some nerve...!"
"I'M the one with nerve here? You're the one bein' feisty; I'm just passing by."
"Wh-FEISTY! So, THAT'S what you think of me as!? Well, good day to you! Don't come back!"
She turned tail and zoomed off.
Ginger thought the plane was an oddball at first, but this time around, there was no doubting it. The only question she had now was what she was even trying to accomplish with her; did she want a rematch? A conversation? A friendship? Was she jealous of some of the other monsters being chummy with her? She might never know.
The human crossed the steam vents and made it to the north puzzle. She gave the Royal Scientist a ring once she entered.
"How about this one?"
"U-uh, this one...This one's kinda tricky; once you make one mistake, i-it's kinda hard to fix it from there. But...See if you can solve it first, anyway! If you want! Maybe..."
"I'll see what I can do."
The young human tried her hand at it, but it turned out Dr. Alphys had a point; she was only five moves in when she realized she'd messed up, and trying to fix it from there just resulted in more confusion and building frustration.
"Alright, I see where you're coming from with that, Al'. I'm stuck."
"Oh, okay. I-I'm looking over the solution right now, and...Oh. Wow."
"What?"
"Th-this is gonna sound crazy, but it, uh...The solution's actually a-a lot easier than you might think. Here, s-start the puzzle over, and I'll tell you what to do from there."
She complied, stepping outside of the room for a few moments before going back in to meet the reset layout.
"Okay."
"Right. N-now, just go up, left, down then left again and that oughta do it."
Ginger gave it a try, not fully convinced that it could possibly be that simple.
But it was. Her path was cleared and the shot was fired.
"Uh...Did it work?"
"Heh...Yeah. Look, I get you're a scientist, so you're super smart about this stuff compared to me, but it being THAT simple and I didn't see it? Well, now I feel stupid..."
"Hey, d-don't beat yourself up about it. We don't always know the answer to everything, you know? We all goof up here and there...heh...a-and some people screw up m-more than others, so it's...It's not a big deal. Promise.""
"If you say so...Where's the door at? Off to the east?"
"Ah, yep! Off to the east! That's right!"
"Heading that way now."
They continued their conversation as Ginger rode the steam vents.
"Sooo, this, uh...I guess she's a monster? She's run into me, like, twice now, and she's givin' me weird vibes."
"Oh, uh, r-really? What's she look like?"
"Get this; she's a plane wearing a hat. Not something you see everyday up on the surface."
"Oh, I think I know who you're talking about! Uh...Tsunderplane, I think it was? Yeah, Tsunderplane! That's her name."
"Sorry, what? 'Thunderplane'?"
"N-no, no, 'Tsunderplane. As in, a tsundere that just so happens to be an airplane."
"What the actual heck is a 'tsundere'?"
"It's, uh...It's a term for, like, a-a person who starts off being cold, and m-maybe kind of, uh...mean, but then b-becomes more warm and friendly over time, when they realize that some people, uh...t-treat them well, o-or, uh...Like them? That's the basic definition..."
Ginger processed this for a moment; a person that started off as mean, but then progressively became more friendly. That sounded a lot like...
Oh, Glaux...
"...If that's the case, then I'm just as much a Tsundere as that plane."
"Uh...Well, looking at the way you were on my camera feed, I guess you could say that?" Alphys agreed, though somewhat hesitantly. "B-but it's not like that's a bad thing, or anything! I-it's a good transition from, uh, what you were doing to Undyne! I-I finally found the time to watch the fight; it was...uh...pretty nerve-wracking, actually. I-if I hadn't known the outcome of the fight already, I-I might've passed out. Heh heh..."
"Oh, trust me. No matter how friendly I get with all of the other monsters down here, I would ABSOLUTELY duke it out with that awful fishwife again should I be challenged."
"U-uh...Really? Y-you'd fight Undyne again?"
"Just to kick her butt in battle, like I did the last time. I tell you, most of the monsters down here are awesome at best and tolerable at worst, but Undyne? I think she's awful, especially in a comparative sense; loud, nasty, violent, foul-mouthed...The only reason I didn't tear her apart limb from limb is because I know how much everyone else looks up to her down here. I guess it's a Mettaton deal there, ain't it?"
"Uh...Yeah..."
"AND she's pretty darn ugly. Glaux, those teeth...Reflects her personality well, doesn't it?"
"Uh-huh..." she answered halfheartedly.
"...Something the matter?"
"No, n-nothing, I'm just thinking about stuff, is all," she answered, almost curtly.
"Well...Okay. I'm at the door."
And surely enough, the giant metal door slid open, making a loud, metal rumble as it did so.
"The, uh, s-service doesn't work that well down this way. M-maybe call me back once you're back out?"
"Sure thing. See ya later, Al'."
She ended the call, and she passed through the doorway and into another corridor. There was a Save Point right ahead, which she brushed against, as usual.
*Hotland-Spider Entrance
*File Saved
"Uh...'Spider Entrance'?"
Maybe some more spider monsters lived up in the next room she was approaching; it certainly looked like it, seeing how many cobwebs were hanging around outside of the doorway; in fact, there were so many of them, she could practically smell them. They had a flat, dusty, almost musty sort of scent. Interestingly, this was exactly what she'd expected spider webs to smell like.
She entered into the next corridor; the light was dim, and the walls were almost white with webbing spun around them. In fact, there was sticky-looking webbing almost everywhere in the room, from the ceiling to the floors...ESPECIALLY the floors, really. There were so many webs scattered across the ground that Ginger found her feet sticking to them as she continued through. And with each step she took, it appeared as though they were getting thicker, and even stickier. Her legs felt like they were about to be stuck; sure she could always use an arrowtip to cut through the webs, but this was pretty ridiculous.
"Ugh...Someone needs to call an exterminator," she joked to herself.
"Did you hear that, my pet? She says 'someone should call an exterminator'...Didn't I tell you I was right about humans?"
The phantom voice came from somewhere above, and the sound of it made the human swiftly draw her weapon and ready an arrow in it.
"Who's there!?" she called out, thoroughly spooked, and her darting eyes searching for anything suspicious.
"Oh, my...Humans must have terrible memory, too, don't they...?" the voice remarked. A female voice, Ginger noted; it was high pitched, like Alphys', but quite a bit more... sinister. And oozy. She didn't like it.
"I hear they hate spiders," the hidden figure continued. "...I hear they like to step on them. I hear they like to rip their legs off, one by one, slowly and painfully."
It was then that the human realized she DID recognize that voice. From not so long ago, actually. Wasn't that the voice of...
That spider monster running the bake sales?
Finally, the monster showed herself; the lights brightened some to the side of the hallway on her left, and there she stood.
"And I also hear they're awfully stingy with their money," she finished.
"9,999G for a sprinking donut," the human retorted. "And WE'RE the stingy ones? You best be glad your products are at least good, or nobody would be buyin'."
"So...you're not a stranger to spider pastries?"
"Hmph...You could say that. Your Hotland prices might be ridiculous, but at least you know how to make a good donut."
"Oh, so you have good taste, do you? How wonderful!"
"Well, I suppose it's acquired, but it's certainly refined."
"What a treat! In fact...It sounds like your taste is exactly what this next batch needs!"
"Wait, wh-"
That was when she felt her legs become ensnared in a tangle of webs summoned by the spider monster, who now had an uncannily hungry spark in each of her eyes.
"Oh, no..."
A.N.: Oh, boy. You all probably know where this is going. Sorry if I ended this on sort of an odd note, but as usual, I didn't want to go too overboard with the length. If I included this whole battle, it would have DEFINITELY exceeded the given maximum. This chapter seemed a bit on the filler side again, but the story's gotta go on somehow, and I want it to be as accurate as I can to the actual gameplay(albeit with a few twists here and there, considering that this isn't exactly Frisk we're following here)I'm honestly really looking forward to writing out some more battles coming in future chapters, so I'll keep it up until then! Also, sorry if it's been a while since I updated and you're greeted with...not much in the way of interesting plot stuff, but I've been sorta busy over the past few days and haven't had as much time to write. Hey, at least I got this chapter out, eh?
Okay, well, in case I don't update until next decade, Merry Christmas! :D