When they finally made it to the plateau, they found that there was a, conveniently enough, doorway leading into a Mystery Dungeon. The dungeon itself was filled with tough bug and electric-type monsters, all inside what looked like a brightly lit factory, with neon blue walls. It was even so tall that there was a midway point, safe from any other hostile monsters. However, as soon as the two set foot inside the midway point, they heard a distant howl. It almost even sounded like the same howl that came from Amalgamate statue. The two stopped to glance at each other, both with the same expression.
There was something up ahead. And it was big.
"Yo, looks like we've almost made it to the top." Monster Kid observed. "I wonder what's waiting for us up there. And if that….That super powerful monster is really up there too!" Frisk nodded, their mind wandering slightly.
If the monster truly was up there, this was possibly their one chance to find out who they really were. A chance to discover their past. They hadn't even told Monster Kid about their suspicions yet. The time to tell him never really did come up, after all.
They watched Monster Kid rather carefully afterwards as they began climbing through a different part of the dungeon. They kept looking for an opportunity to bring it up. And, thankfully, they saw their chance just as they had finished dealing with a pair of stubborn Bug-type monsters.
Frisk first reminded him about the legend, asking if he really did believe that a powerful guardian rested at the top. He, naturally, said yes and asked why that question suddenly. They took a deep breath before Frisk explained that they believed that they had come there, as a human, and met this monster, who had given them amnesia.
"Yo! So that's why you've been more quiet than usual!" Monster Kid exclaimed after Frisk had finished. "Dude, if that's true, then we could just ask this monster if they've seen you before! That's so cool!" He gave Frisk possibly the biggest smile they had ever seen. "Now we've definitely got to meet this monster! I wanna know all about you when you were a human!"
Frisk couldn't help but sigh out of relief, before nodding and firmly agreeing. They had to get to Magma Lake, no matter what.
Meanwhile, far back down at the base of the dungeon, the rest of the guild had made it to the Amalgamate statue, with neither Papyrus nor Team Skull in sight.
"so, this is the thing, huh?" Sans asked Whimsun, who had been rather nervously leading the group. "never thought i'd see one this close before."
"S-S-So you know what it is?" Whimsun asked, a bit impressed. Sans only gave a grin.
"well, i'm not head of guild intelligence for nothing." He replied. "amalgamates are basically monsters who melted then fused together. dunno what causes them to melt, i just know it happens."
"W-W-What would happen if…..if you fought it in a b-battle?" Whimsun timidly asked. Before Sans could reply, an unearthly howl filled the area, even making the ground shake a tiny bit.
"well, i think we should first try to figure out what in the world that was." The skeleton said. "c'mon, let's try this way." He ended up leading the rest of the apprentices down the same path Team Determination had taken. But, Vegetoid suddenly fell behind, hearing something behind the group.
"Vegetoid, sssssssomething wrong?" Parsnik yelled, startling Vegetoid. The carrot monster simply frowned, looking as if he was trying to locate something far behind them.
"I thought I heard something. Like moaning and groaning." He replied. "You think someone's hurt or something? It sure sounds a lot like it."
"It'ssssss probably jusssssst your imagination." Parsnik said. "Come on, let'ssssss not fall too far behind!" Vegetoid continued staring off in that location for a couple of minutes before rushing after the rest of the group.
The second part of the dungeon was much easier to complete when compared to the first, only taking 7 floors this time. Upon exiting the dungeon, Monster Kid and Frisk found themselves in a rocky clearing, wide enough to hold what looked like hundreds of small enough monsters.
However, the strangest part about it was the small piles of what looked like fur scattered everywhere. This fur had dirt, pieces of browned tennis balls, and even bones sticking out at odd angles. Neither of them dared to go near it, out of fear that they'd get sucked in never to be seen again.
"This has got to be the highest point." Monster Kid said confidently, as the two stopped in the middle of the clearing. "It's gotten super hot too, so I bet we're close to Magma Lake too!" Frisk nodded and suggested they keep going. As soon as the words left their mouth, the entire ground shook and the same haunting howl met their ears, even louder than before.
"S-S-S-So….you never d-did answer my question, S-S-Sans…."
"huh, i didn't? well, what was it again? refresh my memory."
"Y-Yo, what's that? T-The ground's shaking…." Monster Kid stammered, backing away slightly. "Something b-big is coming…."
"I-I-I asked what would happen if you f-f-f-fought an Amalgamate?"
A single white paw suddenly slammed down from out of the shadows, followed by six more and an entire, melting body. Muscles shifted unnaturally underneath the skin as a strange foamy, blue liquid fell from the thing's mouth.
"fight an amalgamate? that'd be like throwing your life away. amalgamates are fusions between monsters, meaning that it has a lot more power than your average monster. a friend of mine that i met on one adventure was experimenting with them and discovered that they're possibly even more powerful than any current monster we know about."
"T-T-T-That powerful…..w-w-woah…"
The very same creature they had seen in the statue, the Amalgamate, stood before them, ears folded back and a distorted growl rumbling in its throat.
"T-T-That's the s-s-same monster from before!" Monster Kid yelped, now fully hiding behind Frisk. "I-It's real?!" The Amalgamate looked before the two, before it gave another howl.
It was angry.
"whO dARes cOmE hERe? whO daREs tO deSecrATe sAcRED gROund!?" It howled, sounding as if its voice was made of millions of different voices.
"W-We just came to find Magma Lake, w-we don't mean to hurt anyone!" Monster Kid replied. The Amalgamate stared at them, before letting loose another growl.
"fOOlS! i aM tHE gUArdiAN of MagMA lAKe!" It hissed. "i Am endOGEnY!" It slammed two of its paws down. "yoU wiLL neVEr lEaVE thiS plACe aLIVe!" Pointed rocks suddenly shot out of the ground. Howling once more, Endogeny sent them flying towards the two.
It looked as if there was no getting around it. They needed to fight him.
They split up, just barely managing to dodge Endogeny's Ancient Power. And it seemed that no matter what they did, their attacks would just pass through the Amalgamate's melted body. Frisk even lamented that their fire attacks would only make things worse and that maybe even ice-type attacks could work better. That is, until Monster Kid accidentally kicked up sand using his Quick Attack. The particles of dust clung to Endogeny's body.
That's when Frisk got an idea.
They ran to one of the rocks and tried to pick it up. Surprisingly, they were able to actually pick it up. As Endogeny readied another Ancient Power, Frisk threw the rock as hard as they could muster. The rock hit Endogeny hard, sending it stumbling back slightly. It clearly didn't like it, but its movements seemed more sluggish than before.
Monster Kid quickly hit it with one of his most powerful Thundershocks yet, causing the Amalgamate to howl in pain as it stumbled back. Exchanging a nod, the two then unleashed attacks both at the same time, Frisk using Ember with as much power behind it and Monster Kid using his Thundershock once more.
Endogeny let out a screech this time, stumbling back before it hit the ground with a massive thump. The two stood there, breathing heavily as they watched it carefully. It laid completely still, not even breathing if you looked closely enough. Suddenly, its outline became fuzzy and moved in and out of focus.
That's when it hit Frisk. The Endogeny they had fought was nothing more than an illusion. A hologram. A fake. While Monster Kid just stared dumbfounded at the flickering Endogeny, Frisk called for whoever was out there to show themselves. That their illusion had failed and they had beaten it fair and square.
"W-Wow….I wasn't e-expecting anyone t-to beat it….if I'll be honest….." A voice suddenly said, coming from absolutely no where. "Y-You two really are s-strong! A-And that Rock Throw too! I-I had no idea G-Goat-like monsters could learn a m-move like that!"
"W-Woah?! Who's saying that?! Show yourself already!" Monster Kid yelped, jumping slightly. "W-We….uh….also don't want to hurt anyone or anything! W-We only came here f-for information!"
"I-Information? Really?" The voice repeated, sounding both skeptical and slightly surprised.
"Well….if there is a possibility that we could leave with treasure, we'll take it…." Monster Kid confessed, before he quickly added; "B-But if that's a problem, we'll be happy with just some information!" The voice was silent for a few moments, as if considering what he had said.
"...O-Ok. I'll t-trust you." They said. The Endogeny illusion faded away, as a small ball of yellow light took its place. Once that faded away, it revealed a monster only a few inches taller than Frisk or Monster Kid. She looked distinctly dinosaur-like, with bright yellow quills pushed away from her face, as if to look like hair. She wore a white lab coat, with glasses perched on the very edge of her nose despite the fact she had no visible ears. Finally, a long scaly tail wove its way out from underneath her lab coat, trailing on the ground behind her.
"U-um…..H-Hello there. I-It's not often I get visitors a-all the way u-up here…." She said, waving rather nervously. "E-Even then….m-my Endogeny projection t-tends to scare them away."
"Yo….who...who are you?" Monster Kid asked, blinking in surprise. "Wait! Are you that super powerful monster people talk about?"
"M-Me? Powerful? T-That's a good one!" The monster laughed, shaking her head. "E-Er….well, I g-guess in a way I'm kind o-of strong. B-But I guess that w-would be me…." She gave a small cough, before holding out one hand. "M-My name is Alphys. And l-like I said before, I-I'm the Guardian of Magma Lake."
"Woah….this is so crazy….." Monster Kid breathed. Alphys just gave another small laugh, before waving for them to follow.
"S-So, you said you just w-wanted information right?" She asked, getting two nods in return. "W-Well, just follow me. Magma Lake is j-just up ahead." It made sense, considering the only way back was down through the dungeon. The two followed Alphys through another tunnel, covered in various cartoon posters with strange writing printed on it. It wasn't long before they emerged once more in a boiling hot area, the small outcrop of land surrounded on all sides by molten lava.
There was a small island in the center of the lava lake, lit by a faint green light. Frisk couldn't tell what it was about the light, but it made their heart race about 10 times faster just seeing it. What was it? They absolutely had to know what it was now. So, once Alphys stopped just at the edge of the lake, they asked it right away. She couldn't help but look slightly amused, as if she was expecting the question.
"T-The green light in the c-center? W-Well, just look really c-close." She suggested. Frisk squinted, until they could see what looked like a small blue gear sitting in the middle of a complex pattern. "I-I don't know if y-you've ever seen one of those before, b-but it's called a Time Gear. A-And that's why I was put here, t-to protect it and Magma L-Lake."
"But how?" Monster Kid asked, tilting his head. "Well, I mean, it's just you said that you weren't exactly powerful, like a lot of people say." Alphys looked slightly embarassed for a moment, before turning and waving one claw. Endogeny reappeared, flickering in and out of existence like static on a TV screen.
"W-Well, I might not be strong p-physically, but I have really strong P-Psychic abilities." She explained. "N-Normally the fog and Endogeny h-here are able to fend off intruders, b-but there are monsters who make it t-through. W-When that does happen, I-I just wipe their memories."
"Wipe their memories…" Monster Kid repeated, before yelping. "Oh! That's right! Alphys, we have something super important to ask of you!" She blinked and gave a questioning look, as if to say "Go on?". "Okay, so you see my friend here? They look like a completely normal monster, right?"
"O-Other than the fact they somehow m-managed to learn Rock Throw, y-yeah?" Alphys said.
"Well, prepare to have your mind blown! My friend Frisk was once a human, but was turned into a monster and lost all of their memory!" He continued, getting a shocked gasp from Alphys. "So, since we heard the rumors, we kind of wanted to know. Has Frisk-"
"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!" Alphys squealed, rushing closer to Frisk and immediately checking them all over. "Y-You were a human once?! B-But how could you have t-turned into a monster? M-Maybe it was some kind of s-spell, o-or a weird power a monster nobody has ever seen before did this! O-Or it could be just like in this one anime I watched, where the human turned into a creature because they were-"
"Uh….Alphys?" Monster Kid said, cutting her off before she could spoil anything. "We just needed to know if Frisk has been here before." Alphys backed away, sparks of embarrassment flying between her quills.
"H-Heh...sorry, I got a bit t-too excited there…." She apologized. "B-But to answer your question, n-no. I've never s-seen…Frisk was it? I-I've never seen them here. T-To be completely honest, I c-can only take away memories of Magma Lake. I-I could never take away all of the memories of s-someone. That w-would be cruel!" She gave an apologetic shrug upon seeing the disappointment on both of their faces. "S-Sorry, but I'm not the r-reason for your amnesia, I-I guess. And I-I certainly don't h-have enough power to turn a h-human into a monster."
"Oh….dang, I thought we really had something there." Monster Kid sighed, before giving a small grin. "At least we got to meet you, Alphys! And see this really pretty view!" Alphys gave a smile in return, looking as if she was about to say something when a loud yell interrupted her.
"A TIME GEAR, EH? A SHAME, BUT WE CAN'T POSSIBLY TAKE THAT!"
The three spun around, only to see Papyrus emerge from the cave, completely unharmed. He rushed over, instantly taking Alphys' claw and shaking it enthusiastically.
"HELLO THERE! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!" He said happily, catching Alphys off guard. "I WOULD SAY HELLO TO YOUR OTHER FRIEND BUT HE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ALL TOGETHER AT THE MOMENT!"
"pap! there you are!" Frisk turned, as the rest of the Guild followed in behind him. "i got pretty- what in the world-?!" All of them jumped back upon seeing the Endogeny illusion, crying out in alarm and panic.
"OH DON'T MIND HIM, HE DOESN'T REALLY NOTICE MUCH DOES HE?" Papyrus said, waving it aside. That is, before he gave a big gasp. "OH OH! LOOK, LOOK AT THE STEAM RISING OFF OF THE LAKE!"
All of them turned, only to see various bug-type monsters, all glowing, start flying across the vast lake, coloring the steam every so often with bright white or yellow lights. The glow coming from the Time Gear suddenly increased, until it shot upwards in a straight line, parting aside the clouds.
"I-It does that every so often. I-I've been trying to figure out why." Alphys said as the rest of the guild all gathered around. "F-From what I can t-tell, it happens whenever the Time Gear n-needs to let out e-excess energy. All of t-the surrounding monsters know when i-it's about to happen too, so they make sure t-to light up the steam when i-its time. I-It's always so pretty, n-no matter how many times I see it."
"Yo….the treasure of Magma Lake….it's gotta be the view!" Monster Kid said, eyes wide with wonder. "I'd say this view was definitely worth the effort!" Frisk silently nodded, more preoccupied with what Alphys had told them.
They hadn't been here, then why did it feel as if they knew this place? And the Time Gear, the overwhelming sense of wonder they felt just from seeing it. Was it somehow connected with their past? It felt as if they had honestly gotten more questions than answers by coming here. At least Monster Kid was right.
The view really was incredible.