The otherworldly electric blue glow shone through like Undyne's spears. Ginger found herself drenched in it, as it lit up the whole inside of the tower. Throughout its walls, she heard the whooshing sounds of steam pouring out and the metal mechanisms within clanging and whirring.
She was in the CORE.
The first thing she saw when she entered into it was an elevator door staring her smack in the face.
"Okay! See that elevator just when you walk in?" Alphys pointed out from the other end.
"Staring straight at it."
"Go ahead and use that! I-it should take you right to the second floor!"
The Huntress approached the metal doors and ordered for it to go up with the press of a button on the side...Only to find that nothing happened.
"Alphys?"
"S-something wrong?"
"I think this elevator's out of whack, too."
"What? That's weird. Isn't the one in the hotel not working either...? W-well, then! I guess we'll have to do this the longer way? Head over to the right of the elevator; th-there should be a passage there! Just head on through and keep heading up!"
Sure enough, there was a doorway to the right. Ginger hastily went through it...
Only to find that it was a dead end. Beneath the floor holding her up, there was nothing but a flaming pit. She explained what she saw to the Royal Scientist, wondering if she'd accidentally given her the wrong direction.
"...That pit isn't showing up on my map," she remarked. "...Guess we'll have to try the left side!"
"Seems that way."
She tried the left...This path didn't lead into a dead end, thankfully. All that sat in the middle of the path was what appeared to be a small, black, curly-topped wizard's hat...A bit odd, but Ginger brushed it off as someone just having lost it.
"Okay. This path looks clear."
"Great!"
"Wait a second..."
That was when the hat on the ground began to tremble. She stared down at it...
And in an instant, out popped a monster!
"Huzzah!" it exclaimed, startling the human.
"...I'm gonna have to call you back, Al'."
She slid the phone back where it belonged, and to counter him, she pulled out her bow and arrow to ward him off. But he was unbothered by her threat of a gesture, and the glowing orbs he had at either side of him began to shine brighter, a smug grin spreading across his face as they launched a series of bullets at her.
With a swift roll off to the side and a few well-placed ducks and swerves, she dodged them all, then aimed at him again.
"Watch it, pal," she warned. "I don't care how shiny your-"
The monster interrupted her with a stream of nonsense coming from his mouth. Whatever he was uttering, it made no sense to his opponent. They were so strange, it nearly made Ginger dizzy listening to it...
But she shook her head to ward off the feeling and fired her arrow right between his booted legs, to which he was quite surprised.
"I'm almost where I have to be," she said to him. "And you're in my way."
"Tough crowd, eh? Well, then, good day to you. Alakazam!"
With a puff of white smoke, the monster completely disappeared.
"D-didja get him!?" Alphys hollered from the other end. "I saw him jump you on the security feed, a-and I dropped the phone and missed it!"
"He left. I'm fine. He's fine. It's all fine...But what do you think he's doing here?"
"I was just about to ask myself that. Monsters d-don't typically hang out in the CORE; it's barely habitable! Not to mention the humidity..."
"...I don't know," Ginger answered. "But I'll be able to handle myself with them, if they try anything."
"Well, th-that's reassuring...Um, let's just keep going forward!"
"Great idea," she mused, heading up the hall and entering through another gateway.
The path turned a corner to the right just up ahead, and when she followed it, Ginger found herself face-to-face with a laser blocking the path ahead.
"Um, okay! You see those deactivated lasers lining the path ahead?"
She looked along the wall to see them; it looked like they were supposed to come right at her.
"I do."
"W-well, you can press the switch right there to your left to unblock the path...But it'll reactivate the lasers a-and make them pass through you. I'm tapping into the database now...It looks like they'll come in the order of orange, orange and blue. G-got that?"
"Clear as day."
"Okay! G-give it a shot!"
The Huntress flipped the switch, and the lasers came fast.
And as soon as she saw the two blue lasers coming at her, she froze instinctively, and then stepped forward out onto the path as the final, orange laser whizzed by.
"Oh my God! I'm sorry! I meant blue, blue, orange, not orange, orange, blue!" Alphys exclaimed from the other end upon realizing her folly. "A-are you okay!?"
"I'm okay," the human assured her. "But you might wanna double-check next time, alright? Never hurts to double-check."
"A-alright. Good point. Um...Let's just keep at it."
"On it."
She continued in the given direction, and in the next room, Ginger came to a fork in the road.
"Alphys, I'm at a crossroads. Should I keep to the right or take the north path?"
"Stay to the right. Th-the northern path just leads to another dead end."
She followed her instructions, and sure enough, the right path continued. And up on the corridor ahead, there were more colored lasers.
Tons of them, this time.
"Oh, Glaux..." she muttered.
"M-more lasers? I don't remember those being here...A-alright, no more risk-taking. I'll just deactivate these! Just give it a second!"
So she waited a moment...That moment became two...then five...then ten.
Finally, the dinosaur spoke.
"They...They're not turning off. I-I-I can't turn them off, I-"
"Don't freak out, Alphys, whatever you do...So, they aren't turning off on your command, huh?"
"I-it's almost like someone's c-completely blocked out external interference!"
"You don't think the CORE itself might be responsible for that, do you?"
"I-I-I don't know! I've altered the programming for the power here before, and it hasn't ever...Wait. Wait, wait, I know what I can do! I'll just turn off the power for the whole node! It'll get kinda dark, but you can still see enough to know where you're going!"
"Great! See, you've got this."
"Heh...Uh, okay, I-I'm inputting the code now! Get ready!"
After a few more seconds, the lights flicked off. The blue glow coming from the previous room was enough to light her way to the other side.
"Okay, go!"
The human made haste as she went along the path, passing through a whole string of deactivated lasers as she speed-walked. This sure was a long trail of them.
"Wait, WAIT, STOP! FREEZE!"
Alphys' cry from the other end made itself plain, and Ginger complied with her outburst-
Just when the lights flickered back on, and the blue lasers ran right through her as they reactivated.
"...Why's the power back on...!?" Ginger squeaked, startled by everything that'd just occurred.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God, I don't know! I didn't do that, I swear! I...Um...Uh, I-I have an idea. I'll turn the power back off so you can keep going, b-but stop every couple seconds in case it comes back on, okay? If it does, I'll just keep turning it off until you get to the end!"
"That might work."
"Alright. Turning the power off...now!"
The room went black again, and the lasers went off with the lights, so the young human took a good six long, swift strides forward before pausing again. She was just in time; the lights flickered, then when they flashed to solid, the lasers started working again. So she waited there still for a few moments until the room went dark again along with the lasers, and she kept going until they turned on again after no more than another three seconds.
When they turned off the next time, she made a sprint for the end of the line and skidded to a halt once she was in the clear. She looked back to see the lights flicker back on and the blue lasers reactivate.
"How does anyone even navigate this place without your help?" she asked Alphys.
"I-I don't know, really. These stationary lasers had been orange the last time I worked on them! Did...Did s-someone change the code for them? Weird...B-but we're past that now. Go on and see what's up ahead!"
She turned the next corner, and was met with another crossroads; one path lead straight ahead north, one to the left and the other to the right.
"Okay, which one do I take?"
"I...Wh-what?"
She sounded confused.
"Th-this doesn't look like my map at all...D-did they rearrange the CORE's layout? Already? I didn't think it was supposed to be switched up for another month...This...Um... I-I have to go, Ging'. There's something...Off about this. I'm gonna have to look further into it. C-call you back later...Maybe? I-if we don't run into each other, that is."
"Wait, are you in the CORE right now?"
"Y-yeah! I'm...uh...k-kinda...sorta...l-lost, though. Trying to find my way through here right. My map is...I-it isn't right."
"You want me to come looking for you? You can't be that hard to find."
"NO! I mean, uh...N-no trouble; don't worry about where I am, just...Just keep moving, o-okay?"
"Well...If you say so. In the mean time, how about I see if I can figure this out myself?"
"Um, yeah! Okay! Sounds good! D-do that! Uh...Bye!"
She hung up in a hurry. Ginger saw another Save Point in the center of the four-way intersection, drawing near it.
*Hotland-CORE Branch
*File Saved
With that done, the Huntress looked over her three options. There were signs on the left and right branches, and she read each of them accordingly.
"North, the warrior's path.
West, the sage's path.
Any path leads to The End."
"The warrior's path, you say...?"
She was no sage, but certainly a warrior, so she decided to stick with what she knew the best. Her gait brisk, the Huntress continued straight ahead, ignoring every detour the path tempted her with along the way. She just had to keep going straight. For her fellow warriors. For honor. For glory.
And for freedom.
Finally the road turned to the right, and Ginger detected faint movement in the shadows along the path ahead of the monsters that lied in wait for her. She wasn't about to go in unprepared, however, so she took a moment to slip her cloak, pack and boots of in order to don the rest of her Temmie Armor before entering combat. On went the leather leggings, the tassets, the gauntlets, and then the boots again...She'd been wearing the boots for a while, she'd remembered, having slipped them on during Mettaton's live performance just in case the need be, so she had to remove them in order to do everything in the correct order.
She noted, as she slipped her chest plate on, that the Symbol of Bhachtyr she'd painted across the front of it had since lost some of its fiery luster, having turned from bright red to a dull shade of crimson, and it had even chipped away in some places...She mused for a moment that it was a sign of some sort; one that said her dedication to the Tytonic Union was beginning to fade with her time spent so far from its reach, but the young general was quick to dismiss the idea; she might be human, now, but she was still just as much a Pure One now as she'd been before her fall into the mountain...Right?
Yes. Right. No exceptions, she falsely assured herself. Keep going. You're almost there. And hopefully...You'll be able to see them again.
With all of her armor on, she flung the messenger bag back on over it, then pulled out her bow, along with several arrows. That was when Ginger realized she was running low on them; she'd managed to make so many of those arrows, the thought of running out of them hadn't crossed her mind until now.
Hopefully she wouldn't have to resort to actually using them.
With her armor secure and her weapon ready, she finally slid the cloak back on and tugged the frayed hood over her head, casting the eerie shadows over her face. The cape of the cloak had received a lot of damage itself since she'd been given it; there was a good chunk torn out from the bottom of it now, and the edges were lined with tears of all sizes. Not to mention she hadn't ever washed the thing, so it gave off a strange, mixed odor of earth and perspiration.
But she had grown accustomed to the smell, and now, she even proudly associated it with the scent of a seasoned, well-trained warrior.
And this was a warrior's path, so it was a warrior they would get.
"Alright!" she called out to her hiding opponents as she ventured forth onto the path ahead. "Show yourselves!"
There was a deep croak and a flutter of wings, and her first two opponents made themselves visible along the path. Ginger blinked when she saw them; they looked cannily like monsters she'd encountered in the Ruins, a Froggit and a Whimsun.
But they were a might...different-looking. Bigger. Stronger. More battle ready.
"Have at thee!"
"Crrrrroak!"
The monsters fired up a team attack, and the human found herself trapped within a ring of white bullets fluttering around her like moths as the Froggit summoned its array of fly bullets out towards her. She only had so much room to dodge without touching the edges of the moth trap...It was a good thing the flies moved as slowly as they did, and she was fortunate to come out of the attack without injury.
She aimed her arrow threateningly, but flashed them both a smile.
"Not bad, fellas," she said to them, deciding to use her mind as her weapon instead of her dwindling arrows. "Keep it up, and you could be surface soldiers someday."
They each looked at each other. The Froggit nodded thoughtfully, but the armed moth refused to go down so easily.
"No regrets," it said to itself before firing up another ring of moths. The Froggit stood idle as it watched Ginger maneuver carefully about the enclosed pace as the moth circle grew wider, then smaller, then wider again, and moved about from side to side and up and down.
"You put up a good defense," it complimented her.
"It's the best offense. And you've a good one yourself."
"I have found my peace..." the creature remarked. "...Proceed, human."
She nodded as the two monsters retreated back into the shadows, allowing her to continue forward. It was only a matter of seconds until she heard a mischievous cackle from the side of the path, and the figures emerged emerged from the shadows. It was another one of the cheeky wizard monsters in the black hats, and he was accompanied by a much larger creature; her huge, draconic face was on the body itself, surrounded by dark armor, and she held a sturdy spiked club in her hand.
"Ha ha! You haven't a chance against us, human!"
"...Farewell."
"We'll see about that, shall we?" she quipped, moving with the grace of a swan around the cross and particle bullets that had now scattered across the battlefield as though with no effort at all. Even the tricky wizard was amazed by her poise; he and his fellow mercenary had sent out so many projectiles at her, and she'd received nary a scratch!
"How is it so!?" he asked her. "I demand to know!"
"The secret ingredient is practice," she told him flatly.
"That can't be all! There must be a trick! Is it some sort of spell, or a magical stick?"
"Nothing of the sort."
He rose his head, revealing the curious eyes he had hidden beneath its shadows. He was very perplexed by Ginger's incredible ability to dodge such advanced attacks.
"Very well, human huntress, you've gotten quite far. But behold my companion and her spiked morningstar!"
The wizard monster bounced out of the way, and the giant, looming dragon slammed the bottom of her weapon onto the ground in a threatening manner before raising it into the air and approaching the human with it. The Huntress ducked and dove beneath her open legs to dodge the first swing, and then swerved to the side to avoid a lethal bash on the head seconds later. The creature was strong and well-armed, no doubt, but her heavy, lumbering size made her slow enough to evade easily.
And now that she was getting a better look at her, Ginger noticed how weary her large eyes appeared to be. It was almost like she hadn't slept in days.
"Whoa, hey, there," she told her. "Haven't you considered a break?"
It was like she didn't even hear her. The monster kept swinging her spiked club at the human in her vain attempt to clobber her, but the more she tried, the more disoriented she seemed to get. The monster could barely aim right in her fatigue, and her concentration on the target had been lost.
"...Adieu."
She fell down to one knee in exhaustion. She would likely just fall asleep any moment.
Honestly, that was something Ginger wanted.
The human stood over her kneeling form, placing her ganutlet-covered hand on the monster's shoulder.
"The war is over," she reassured the beast. "You can rest."
Her adversary let out a bellow of a yawn, her eyes growing heavy. The Huntress found herself whistling out a familiar tune to her; the one from the music box in Waterfall. It was exactly what was needed, as the monster slowly slipped from her knee to the floor as she listened to it, receiving the sleep that she so needed.
"Well, well, well!" the wizard drawled quietly. "You've bested us, it seems. To you, good luck, and to her, sweet dreams."
He hopped out of view, and Ginger stepped over the form of the armed dragon in order to proceed down the path. She looked down at the bow in her hands again; she wasn't sure how much she would need it now, seeing how else she was able to deal with the foes she came across. Nonetheless, this was still the Warrior's path, and she couldn't let her guard down just yet. So with the weapon held tightly in her gauntleted hand, she stepped forward. And when she caught sight of the end of the pathway, just up ahead, she beamed. She was almost there.
Her initial happiness was short-lived, however. Just a few more yards away from the end, she was jumped not by a duo, but a trio.
Three familiar figures blocked her path; the figures of a Whimsun, a Froggit and a Loox. It was almost like the CORE had taken pages from the book of the Ruins.
"Surprised to see us?" the Loox drawled.
"Three of you this time?" she retorted. "What a nightmare!"
"Well, it's a nightmare she wants, boys...You know the drill."
"You don't frighten me, human," the Whimsun told her.
The spiked Froggit croaked menacingly, and they each readied their attacks.
A stream of moths, flies and floating orbs of white magics materialized around her, coming from every direction. But the monsters were merciful enough to make their attacks slow, and the human ducked, swerved and spun about them until they disappeared again, only clipping one of the orb bullets along the way, receiving minimal damage.
Thank Glaux for Temmie Armor, she reminded herself. And the Temmies that make it.
"Not half bad, human."
"A formidable opponent, for sure."
"Robbit, robbit."
"How much you guys wanna bet those arrows are just for show?" the Loox taunted. "Yeah...She can't really aim them right."
In response to his mockery, Ginger drew an arrow from her messenger bag without any second thoughts, tilted her bow towards the sky and fired it upward. A few moments passed before she spoke to them again.
"Hey, Loox. I'd move to the side if I were you."
The monster stepped a ways to the side, not seeing any malicious intent in her piercing blue gaze, and the moment he did, the arrow she'd fired landed right where he'd been standing, the tip of it embedded into the floor.
"So...I was wrong, eh? Well...Too bad she can't recognize monsters as well as she shoots."
"What ARE your names, then?" she pried.
"Astigmatism," the monster answered. "Not Loox."
"Whimsalot," the second corrected her. "The Whimsun in the Ruins are related, but we are not one and the same."
"Crrroak..." the third croaked thoughtfully.
"Final Froggit," Astigmatism said for him. "And if I'm not mistaken, he seems pretty impressed by what you just did with that arrow."
It nodded to her understandingly, then hopped away from the scene.
"...Guess he changed his mind about all this."
"Well, human," the Whimsalot addressed her. "You'll have to do the same to us if you want to pass!"
"You have a weapon of your own, don't you, Whimsalot?"
He looked down at the tiny, double-tipped spear he held.
"No magic business. I want to see how well you fight head on. What do you say?"
"...I've made my choice," he decided, gripping his weapon more tightly. "...I'll do it, and I'll finally bring honor to our kind!"
"Then, give it your all!"
The tiny creature fluttered towards her, but its strike was blocked by Ginger's bow, which was more than double the size of Whimsalot himself. Astigmatism watched as he and the Huntress clashed their signature weapons against each other repeatedly, the little moth monster intent on landing a hit. The human was impressed by him, really; he wasn't strong, but he was incredibly fast with his double-edged spear, and finally, she moved too slow to block it, and one of the spear tips landed in her side, cutting through the tough leather and reaching her side. She was lucky that it left no more than a small break in the skin, because it definitely could have done deeper had she been unarmed.
But she exaggerated her wound just a bit so that the Whimsalot might feel a tad more proud of himself.
"...Pretty good," she praised, laboring her breathing some. "You'll go far...on the surface."
"The long battle, finally ending...I bid you good luck."
He flapped his tiny wings and flew away. Now it was just the Astigmatism that stood in the way to the end of the path.
"...Yeah, I'm gettin' tired of this, too," he admitted. "One more attack, then I'm out."
"Make it a good one."
"Alright..." he shrugged.
His final attack was a series of floating, rotating, abstractly-shaped missiles. They moved slowly enough at first, but it soon turned out that their rotation made them harder to avoid, so she swerved around them as best she could, ducking beneath some. Finally the assault ended, and Ginger was still standing tall.
"...Not bad for a human."
"This human's seen and done a lot, Astigmatism."
"...Touché. You may go."
And he retreated back into the shadows, leaving the remainder of the path open. Ginger sped to the end, and quickly caught sight of a switch on the wall. It was red, which usually meant that whatever it activated was turned off. Therefore, she decided to turn it on and see what activate...Hopefully no lasers blocking her path. But she would find that out if she saw them, and just come back here to turn the switch off; simple as that.
She flipped the switch, and it started flashing green and yellow instead. She nodded, satisfied, then turned around to head back the way she came. The monsters that she'd fought were still lurking in the shadows, but they didn't come out to attack her again. Instead, they watched on silently.
"You made it to the switch, did you?" Whimsalot's voice came from the darkness.
"I did...So, what does it do, does anybody know?"
"You reactivated one of the elevators, I think," Astigmatism creaked. "In order to get to the functioning one, you'll have to pass through another room. You'll know the turn when you see it; there's another elevator sitting right next to it...But that one leads to the bottom floor of the CORE, and not New Home, so don't confuse the two."
"One more trial awaits you, before the end," the wizard monster called out to her. "So be ready, dear Huntress; it's your final duel, my friend."
"Good God, Madjicks, why do you talk all weird like that? You're almost as bad as that freaky Riverperson," Astigmatism berated.
"Astigmatism, when will you quit? You bare the marks of a hypocrite. Now go, young Huntress, take the path to the right. Within lies the exit, and therein lies the fight."
"...Goodbye."
"Ribbit, ribbit."
"So long, warriors," she bid them all, turning south again and leaving the warrior's path.
...She had to admit, though, Madjicks did sort of speak in riddles...But she was at least able to piece together that there was one more challenge awaiting her arrival at the end of the CORE.
Not wanting to waste any time, Ginger took the next right turn she came across. It came to yet another intersection; the northern path lead to a dead end, with nothing but a garbage sitting in it, and the other, which lead south, lead to yet another intersection. She decided to keep to the right, following the Madjick's instructions, taking the path heading east, and she was met by a bridge extended over a deadly pit of molten metal of some sort. The substance burned so hot that it almost glowed white, and the smell of ozone filled the atmosphere. It was a good thing the bridge was plenty sturdy-looking, or she might not have risked crossing it.
Not wanting to bother worrying about falling in, she flung her cloak to the side confidently and sprinted across the bridge, her metal boots clanging against the metal planks. The memory of Undyne's clanging boots pursuing her through Waterfall came back to her; it was only a handful of days ago that the captain was pursuing her like a hungry lion through the marshland, throwing her endless barrage of magical weapons at her and trying to impale her from underneath with her rising platform spears.
But she'd been able to best her when the finally met face-to-ugly face. Undyne wasn't the only one who ad a few tricks up her sleeve, and as a slipgizzle, Ginger knew the importance of having an ace to play when things looked bleak. And the most reliable card she had was her quick mind; she could conjure a lie, a defensive maneuver, or even a witty comeback in a split second to in order to save her hide. It was a trait she cherished and used to the fullest, and she was glad that her mind had not changed with her body when she first fell down the mountain.
Who knew? If the case was that she remained human upon reaching the surface, maybe, just maybe, she would be able to track down the Pure Ones again if they'd decided to stick around a while longer, and maybe the owl-turned human had just the tiniest chance of still being allowed in their ranks anyway. A human among Pure Ones...It was an interesting, almost abstract thought. But even if she could no longer fly, she could probably make it up somehow...She was physically stronger, right? And larger; any raccoon, which would have once posed a great danger to her, would now scamper off at the sight of her towering over it. And she could fight five owls at once, should she be given a sword to slice them with.
...Then again, why would the Pure Ones believe some human that came wandering by claiming to be one of them?
Once more, she shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts. She'd have more time to think about all of this later. Right now, she had to finish what she'd started before her hope failed. And the last thing she wanted was to back down now, especially seeing how far she'd come, and how close she was to her goal.
The Huntress stood before the entrance to the next room, now. The elevator to the lower floor of the CORE sat next to it. And just beside the elevator...
She caught it from the corner of her eye, but she knew it when she saw it, and looked down at it. Right there on the floor hovered a shimmering Save Point. Not knowing how powerful the entity beyond the door was, she brushed her boot through the little yellow star, not wanting to take any risks.
*Hotland-CORE End
*File Saved
There. This was it. Time to face the music and fight her last foe before her meeting with the king.
Cautiously, she stepped out into the next room; the floor was painted black, and the narrow hallway lead into nothing but darkness.
Ginger readied her bow one more time, along with an arrow, as she traversed the dark room.
"I don't know what kind of monster you are, or what you plan on doing," she called out to her hidden enemy. "But I'll have you know I came armed."
"AND I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I'M ONE STEP AHEAD OF YOUR GAME, WHETHER YOU BELIEVE IT OR NOT."
She whizzed around to face the all too familiar voice, and a spotlight came on, shining down on the Underground's long-running T.V. star.
"...It's you," she snarled.
"OH, YES. OF COURSE IT'S ME, DARLING," he drawled. "READY FOR OUR FINAL SHOWDOWN?"
"Hmph," she scoffed. "I'll give you a showdown. You'll be incapacitated when I'm done with you. And once you are, Dr. Alphys will finally get the chance to drag your stuck-up metal rear back to the lab and get rid of your crazy anti-human combat features."
"YOU STILL BELIEVE ALL OF THAT? AND HERE I WAS THINKING THAT YOU AT LEAST HAD SOME SEMBLANCE OF A BRAIN, IN TERMS OF HUMAN STANDARDS. MALFUNCTIONING? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL, SWEETHEART. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW."
"I've had enough of the riddles!" she finally snapped, drawing her arrow back farther and threatening to fire it. "Tell me what's up and tell me now!"
"OH, DEAR. YOU TWO HAD GROWN SO CLOSE. IT'D BREAK YOUR HEART IF I-"
He was interrupted when the sound of elastic recoiling sounded off, and the next thing Mettaton knew, there was an arrow stuck in his metal body, having just missed his dashboard by an inch or two.
Like it was nothing, he pulled it out, a superficial dent in the arrowtip's place. But contrary to his usual face, he was not amused by this in the least bit. He looked up at the shooter; if looks could kill, he'd have broken down in an instant from the sight of Ginger's deathly glare. But they couldn't. And he was still standing tall.
"...FINE. YOU WANT TO KNOW SO BADLY? IT'S YOUR PRECIOUS FRIEND, DR. ALPHYS. SHE'S BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THIS WHOLE TIME."
Ginger scoffed at the idea.
"Like I'm going to believe that; especially from the likes of you," she sneered. "She'd never do that."
"WOULDN'T SHE, NOW?" he snapped back. "MAYBE IF I DUMBED IT DOWN A LITTLE, YOU MIGHT UNDERSTAND. AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON THE CAMERAS THROUGH HER MONITOR, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR LITTLE JOURNEY. DID SHE NOT TELL YOU THIS FLAT OUT HERSELF?"
"Yeah, but-"
"NO BUTS. THE MORE SHE WATCHED YOUR ADVENTURE, THE MORE SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT...SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY. SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. DIDN'T YOU SEE ALL OF THOSE MONSTERS HANGING AROUND THEM? ISN'T IT A BIT OF A COINCIDENCE THAT THE PUZZLES AND ELEVATORS THAT WOULD NORMALLY BE OFF OR RUNNING, RESPECTIVELY, WOULD BE IMPEDING YOUR JOURNEY NOW, AT THE LEAST CONVENIENT TIME?"
"You can't-"
"AND DID I MENTION THAT SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
Now with this claim, Ginger was made absolutely speechless.
"SURPRISED? I FIGURED YOU'D HAVE GUESSED BY NOW. THE QUIZ SHOW? PLANNED AHEAD OF TIME. THE JETPACK SHEBANG? HER IDEA. THE NEWS PROGRAM? RIGGED FROM THE START. THE MUSICAL, AND THE COLORED TILE PUZZLE? A COLABORATION PLANNED BETWEEN US EVER SINCE YOU WERE IN SNOWDIN. THIS WAS ALL A FARCE. ALPHYS SET THIS ALL UP SO SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT NEVER EXISTED. ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK SHE'S THE GREATEST PERSON...THAT SHE'S NOT."
He sounded so serious about this; he had no eyes to look into and read, but her gut gave no uneasy twist to indicate that he was lying. The human shook her head in denial; there was no way that Alphys could have done all of this to her. Besides, it didn't matter how grim he sounded about this; he was a television star. An actor. He could pull off a convincing lie if he wanted to, almost as well as she could herself.
"YOU STILL DON'T BELIEVE ME, DO YOU?"
"I don't see why I should."
"WELL, HERE COMES YOUR PROOF. NOW IS ABOUT THE TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR. AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHYS IS WAITING OUTSIDE AS WE SPEAK. DURING OUR LITTLE 'BATTLE,' SHE'LL INTERRUPT. AND SHE'LL PRETEND TO 'DEACTIVATE' ME, 'SAVING' YOU ONE FINAL TIME FROM PERIL. SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE, AND YOU'LL REGARD HER SO HIGHLY FOR IT...THAT SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO LEAVE."
She was about to protest, but then, everything went silent. Mettaton cupped one of his gloved hands to an imaginary ear, signaling for Ginger to listen for something. The human did the same, and tried to pick up a noise.
That was when she heard the light clicking sound of claws against the metal floor approaching from outside.
"...No," she dismissed him again. "This...This is just another one of your tricks."
"FINALLY, YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT SOMETHING."
"What do you mean?" she almost growled.
"I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANITY ITSELF. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. ALL I REALLY WANT, MS. WINGREN, IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, DOESN'T THE AUDIENCE DESERVE A GOOD SHOW? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW...WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?"
The door that Ginger had entered the room from slammed shut, and a familiar voice came from just outside.
"H-hey! Wh-wh-what's going on!? Th-th-the door just locked itself!"
"No..."
The floor began to glow red.
"SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD SHOW'S BEEN CANCELLED! BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT'LL DRIVE YOU WILD!"
And just as suddenly as everything else that'd happened, the floor they were on began to rise, just like the drawers from the cooking show.
But on a much greater and more imposing scale.
"REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED! ON THE GRAND FINALE OF MTT-PROGRAMMING...'ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!' YES, HUMAN! I WAS THE ONE WHO REARRANGED THE CORE! I WAS THE ONE WHO HIRED ALL OF THE MERCENARIES TO FIGHT AGAINST YOU! I ADMIT THAT WAS A SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER? KILLING YOU MYSELF! IF ASGORE GETS YOUR SOUL, HE'LL USE IT TO DESTROY HUMANITY. BUT IF I GET AHOLD OF IT? THE SKY'S THE LIMIT, DARLING! NOT ONLY WILL I SAVE HUMANS FROM CERTAIN DOOM, BUT I'LL FINALLY BE THE GREATEST STAR I'VE EVER DREAMED OF BEING! THE BIGGEST STAR AMONG BOTH HUMANS AND MONSTERS!"
"NOOOOO!"
Ginger's SOUL flashed to yellow again, and she fired at him relentlessly. But the little projectiles did nothing.
"THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME, DARLING. DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT ACTING IS!"
He sent his own attack from above; a series of shootable blocks that, once fired at, dissipated. Ginger managed to carve a path through them, but she was growing hopeless. It was true; Alphys actually had played her for a fool. Why? How could she? Especially after everything they'd been through? Why hadn't she questioned any of this!? Why did she trust her so blindly!? She was hurt. She was betrayed.
She was absolutely seething with rage.
"OOH, FELLAS! WATCH OUT! OUR DEAR BELOVED HUNTRESS APPEARED A MIGHT TICKED OFF BY THINGS!"
Mettaton sent down another array of bullets; a column of white bars, each of them sporting a yellow spot to shoot at. Ginger fired at the spots, and the bars moved out of the way. Then came with another row of blocks. There was an odd-looking bullet in the center of them, and she purposefully avoided it, instead shooting her way through the blocks themselves to make it into the clear.
"Do you have any idea what's going to come out of this!?" she scolded him. "Do EITHER of you know!?"
"OF COURSE I DO! GLITZ! GLAMOUR! SO WHAT IF A COUPLE PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!"
"I'll give you show business!"
She straightened her gauntlet, not caring how many punches it took just to dent him, but she was getting close and personal with him this time. No holding back.
That was when her phone rang. And there was no doubt to who it'd be.
Ginger answered it, still steaming mad, and the caller opened her mouth first.
"U-uh, I-I can't see what's going on in there, b-but don't give up, okay!? I happen to-"
"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF ALL THIS!?" the Huntress roared at her.
"AH! AH! Augh!" Alphys panicked from the other end. A bit of a whimper followed.
"J-just listen to me, please!" she begged. "I-I built Mettaton! I know his weak point! There's a switch on his back! I-it, um...it's a work in progress, so d-don't judge too hard, but...It won't turn him off, but it'll definitely make him more...uh...v-vulnerable to attack!"
"How do I know this isn't another ploy!? Why should I trust you!?"
"Because it sounds like you're in real, actual danger in there, Ginger! J-just please, please, I don't care if you can't forgive me, I just want you to come out of there alive!"
She was gone as soon as she'd called, too ashamed of herself to say anything else.
Now knowing what she knew, Ginger barely trusted Alphys anymore than she did Metatton himself...But she was running out of options. The switch was on his back, was it?Well, she'd have to be subtle about it in order to get him to turn around for her.
"Hey, dialup face!"
"SO, WHAT'D THE NOT-SO-GOOD DINOSAUR SAY? SHE GIVE YOU HER FINAL FAREWELL?" he taunted.
"No," she answered him. "But before you do me in, check yourself in the mirror behind you. You don't wanna look all RUSTY for your grand finale, do you?"
"OH, HEAVENS, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!"
He turned around, and lo and behold, there was the very big and obvious switch on his back.
"HMM...I DON'T SEE IT. WHERE IS IT?"
He got no answer, but instead, Ginger strode up behind him and flicked the switch on his back to the right.
And the moment she did, he froze.
"...DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH?" he asked, sounding unnaturally, genuinely surprised.
Before she could confirm, Mettaton started to buzz and whirr, and his rectangular form vibrated with energy building up from the inside.
Good Glaux, he was going to explode, wasn't he!?
Ginger ducked for cover just as soon as a blinding white light filled the room. This was it, wasn't it?
"Oh, no..."
And then she heard it.
"OHHH YES."
A.N: "OH, THE MELODRAMA! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT TIME!?
WILL THE AMAZING METTATON DEFEAT THE PUNY HUNTRESS ONCE AND FOR ALL?
WILL THE ENEMY HUMAN COME OUT ON TOP?
AND WHAT ABOUT DR. ALPHYS? AFTER EVERYTHING SHE AND THE HUNTRESS HAVE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER, WILL IT ALL BE SWEPT UNDER THE RUG NOW THAT THE CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG!?
OH, THE SUSPENSE IS ABSOLUTELY MADDENING! WELL, DARLINGS, TUNE IN NEXT-"
Mettaton! What are you doing in my Author's Notes!?
"WHAT? OH, HELLO, AUTHOR. YOU WERE TAKING A WHILE TO SHOW UP, SO I WENT AHEAD AND DID THEM FOR YOU!"
You're taking up my space! Get out of here and don't break the fourth wall again, or I'll take a blow torch to you!
"FINE, FINE, YOU WIN. WELL, TOODLES, READERS! MY LEGS AND I WILL SEE YOU NEXT TIME..."
And stop spoiling the next chapter! *Eaugh!*
...Finally. I thought he'd never leave.
Well, I guess I don't need to say much, now. I will admit, I didn't think I'd get this done as soon as I did. But I guess I surprised myself, eh?
Well, tune in next time to see how it all goes down. Later! :D