A Different Kind of Pacifist

by nightelf37

Instead of an innocent unarmed child, a seasoned young adult equipped with the greatest weapon and armor humanity has left thanks to the Tasen enters Mt. Ebott. Like the child, this adult refuses to kill. Unlike the child, this only extends to a personal level. How much will change? How much will stay the same? This is a writing experiment. Rated T for casual mention of death.

7. Gauntlet of Guards and Mercs

nightelf37: With so much going on in my life (work-searching, let's plays, errands), I feel like I will have to stop doing these things soon. But I vow to finish at least this one. It's the only one of its kind. Promise.

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Cinnamon Bunny, Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hot Dog…?, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Satchel inventory:

Supplies, Canteen, Water-Purifying Pills, Flashlight, Pen, Tasen Logbook, Flares, Stick, Barbs of Wire, Bookmark, Box of Raisins, Toy Knife, Worn Glove, Worn Glove, Manly Bandanna, Ballet Shoes, Bag Of Misc. Junk, Torn Notebook, Stained Apron

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Sea Tea, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, [Empty], [Empty]

Tasen Logbook Records:

directions_to_snowdin, ascii_catgirl, color_tile_puzzle_guide, monster_compendium, temmie_village_directions, gaster_note, the_undertale, underground_compilation, ask_gerson_about_the_king_later, negotiation_proposal_(draft)

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Ansaksie's Phone Inventory:

Abandoned Quiche, Crab Apple, Bisicle, Bisicle, Cinnamon Bunny, Sea Tea, [Empty], [Empty]

To linkthetoaoftime: Unfortunately, that will never be seen. I'll only say it involved quite a bit of teleportation, but not that many given Iji essentially asked both of them to go easy on each other.

---

It was worrying that Sans might be such a powerful monster, possibly stronger than Undyne, to catch up to a Komato Assassin like Ansaksie and either convinced her that he was a friendly and she stopped, somehow forced her to use up so much of her teleport charges she eventually had to stop before she ran out, or somehow outright prevented her from teleporting away. But if he was hiding powers similar to Papyrus's and he was stronger than his brother, how would that power stop teleportation? She could believe Undyne's power doing that, but Sans? Then again, there's so little she knew about the skeleton, so there was no point in speculating right now. They'll be waiting for her at MTT Resort, and it's just on the way.

Iji got her thoughts back to the current situation at hand, acquainted herself with the new area, found the only way forward was to the left, and immediately walked that way, Royal Guards 01 and 02 following her. Sans and Ansaksie will have to wait.

They shortly encountered a table with a food stall, a sign, and a monster regretting his decision for some reason.

The food stall was being tended by a spider monster with periwinkle/lavender skin, five eyes, six arms, and two legs. She wore a red outfit with pantaloons at the bottom, buttons in the front, a red ribbon across her chest, as well as two more ribbons in her hair. According to the UnderNet, this was Muffet, who sells pastries and cider…made out of spiders. Then again, some spiders tend to be cannibals, so it sort of makes sense. Iji will have to add a chapter in her proposal specifically for those with unnatural alignments like her (and Vulkin).

"Welcome to our parlor, dearie~" Muffet spoke in a cute alluring voice. "Interested in some spider pastries? All proceeds go to real spiders~ Check out the webs to make a purchase~"

"Miss Muffet?" Iji asked, mentally holding back a chuckle upon recalling a certain nursery rhyme as she also recalled something else. "Would you also happen to know about the Spider Bake Sale in the Ruins beyond the door in Snowdin Forest?"

All five of her eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh~ You've managed to make it in there?"

"I came from there, and managed to leave before its guardian closed the doors again."

"I see~ And have you made a purchase there?"

"Yeah. But they don't print receipts, so…" Taking out her phone, she opened her Inventory, then took out the Spider Donut she had all this time. Even she knew not why she does what she does sometimes, like that time in Sector 9 where she blasted herself all the way to the top of an area with an MPFB Devastator, finding the Banana Gun among other things in the process. I mean, how did I even anticipate this?

"Have you killed any spiders?"

The human shook her head. "No. They help keep insect the population under control. Worst I do is shoo them away so that they don't get stepped on."

Muffet stared at Iji with four of her eyes, scrutinizing for any deception, and sparing one to glance at the royal guards. And then she smiled.

"Don't worry~ I believe you~," the arachnid-esque monster replied.

"Thank you, Miss Muffet. Might I ask, you seem to be fundraising for something big. I admit I'm curious as to what it is."

"Since you've purchased from our stores, I think I can let you know…later~ Meet me at my lair~ It's just on the way to the CORE~ That is where you're going, right?"

"Yes. You watched Mettaton's show?"

"On occasion~ Shouldn't you be on your way? You wouldn't want to be late, would you?"

"I guess not. But…" I've helped the Nice Cream Guy with his sales twice before. Maybe I can help her too. "You look like you could use some help in making money. I could offer some free advice, but please don't ignore it out of hand. And if you have flyers, I can distribute them to advertise your…store."

Muffet smiled at that. "I'm listening~"

---

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Cinnamon Bunny, Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hot Dog…?, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Sea Tea, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, Spider Ad, Spider Ad

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad

Ansaksie's Phone Inventory:

Abandoned Quiche, Crab Apple, Bisicle, Bisicle, Cinnamon Bunny, Sea Tea, [Empty], [Empty]

"NanoAnomaly75 updated status. To TDZCora42: I got some ads in the other box. I'll explain to him.

"NanoAnomaly75 updated status. To anonymus: Could you two do a small favor for me? Ansaksie will probably have bundles of ads in her Phone. Could you two distribute them? Also, I'd like the ads spread to Snowdin as well if possible.

After a considerable amount of time discussing and giving stern talk-downs to Muffet about her current sale methods, Iji continued on her way, now packing several ads (which Muffet already worked on and Iji revised) in her phone and Dimensional Boxes, with Muffet's spiders handling the rest. She also sent notifications to Ansaksie and Sans. Despite the Komato's current situation, she felt she can trust the skeleton despite the warnings about him that she was given. There was nothing she could do about it now, anyway.

Also, she went and ate her Spider Donut…which was surprisingly palatable. She could swear tasing some trace of chicken and cod, or some form of shrimp. Then again, the food products were made out of spiders, so that made sense.

Just as she, 01, and 02 reached the next area, which comprised of several vents leading to three different areas, one of which was closed, a call came, which she answered.

"Hi, Alphys here!" it came.

"Hey, doc," Iji greeted. "So what's here?"

"This room is like the room we saw before. There are two puzzles to the north and south. You'll have to solve them both to proceed! … A-also… I'd like to say! I don't really… like giving away puzzle solutions. But if you need help, just call me, ok?"

"Don't worry, Alphys. I will."

"Well, I hope you agree with me. About Mew Mew 2."

"Like I posted before, I want to judge it for myself."

"Okay. Later."

Determining she should go to the north first, while the guards took the vents, Iji skipped them and jumped across the platforms, though she did wait for 01 and 02 to catch up once she reached the north side before continuing on. The area was generally empty, and the entrance to the puzzle room was the same as ever. But getting in their way were a Tsunderplane and a Vulkin. Upon noticing the Hotland guards accompanying her however, they backed away, but she tossed an ad in the Tsunderplane's direction so she could catch it (she already knew not to get too close to the aircraft monster). 01 gave an ad to Vulkin anyway, though it naturally got incinerated.

Once the human got inside the puzzle room however, upon holding the console, she saw that she only had one "shot" to solve the puzzle in front of her. It was a little difficult, but she solved it. Once she was out, she saw two more humanoid child-sized monsters there. Both wore denim shorts, brown shoes, and striped shirts, and their heads were diamond-shaped with two alternating colors. One had a red cap worn sideways, their shirt had orange-and-purple stripes, and their head was pink-and-black and more like a square turned 45 degrees. The other had no cap, their shirt had blue-and-purple stripes, and their head was light-green-and-black and was shaped like a classical kite.

"Hey, boys," she greeted. "I hope I got your genders right."

"You betcha!" greeted the green one. "We're waiting on Mettaton's next performance. Got any fave Mettaton Moments™?"

Iji made a guess. "As in moments you liked something Mettaton was doing in his show?"

"Well, obviously!" said the other boy monster.

"Well, given that I'm actually a recent subscriber, I'll have to say that my fave Mettaton Moment™ was either when he featured those new legs of his (I heard he used a single wheel before) or when he brought a chainsaw to a cooking show when none of the ingredients were tough enough to need a chainsaw to cut."I'm probably too tough for it, anyway.

"…You'll get better moments in time," said the green one. "My fave Mettaton Moment™ is when he beats up the heel-turning villains! Even if it's during what's supposed to be a quiz show. Oh! And I like when he tries on all kinds of different fashionable outfits! Even if it's during what's supposed to be a newscast."

These feel like hints somehow. But why am I thinking that? Iji turned to the pink one. "And yours?"

"My fave Mettaton Moment? Right when everything looks the baddest, he poses dramatically. Like when he's on a cooking show and the eggs don't turn out right. But! Then he says! 'Even if you suck at cooking you can always buy an MTT-brand Glamburger!' Then he eats one! Everyone loves it!"

"How does he eat it without a mouth? Unless he can transform or something."

"Uhh… well… Watch the show!"

"Actually, I'm today's guest star."

"Cool! That explains your entourage! Well, better not keep you waiting!"

"Yeah!" added the other boy. "You going against expectations in the cooking show and news report were the latest best thing since Mettaton saved our faces from those mean lizard beasts who came from the ceiling!"And that was yet another reminder of the Komato (and Tasen) attack in the Underground. "But you're getting no spoilers from us!"

"Okay. Guess I'll find out myself."

With that, she jumped the platforms all the way to the south, 01 and 02 following her via the vents.

---

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Cinnamon Bunny, Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hot Dog…?, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, [Empty]

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Sea Tea, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, Spider Ad, Spider Ad

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, [Empty], [Empty]

Ansaksie's Phone Inventory:

Abandoned Quiche, Crab Apple, Bisicle, Bisicle, Cinnamon Bunny, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, Spider Ad

The next are comprised of two conveyer belts, one of them guarded with lasers, and the other has a potted plant next to it. The former led to the puzzle room, and Iji took it. Seeing blue lasers coming her way, and taking into account their velocity and the belt's, she tried to backpedal fast enough to be still by the laser's perspective. But that was an impossible thing to do, she took damage, and she decided "screw it" and hotfooted it to the other side while her SOUL flashed from the recent damage. (1)

Once she made it, as she watched 01 and 02 cross as well—and counter their velocity perfectly so that their SOULs are considered not moving according to the blue lasers, Iji got another call. Once again, it was from Alphys.

"Hey! This um, doesn't have anything to do with you… but… Uhh, hey, would you want to watch a human TV show together? Sometime? It's called, um, M… Mew Mew Kissy Cutie…"

"I already gave you my answer. Yes. In fact, before the Alpha Strike, I was going to watch that show. But then that happened, and anime just left my list of priorities."

"R-really!? I'm so sorry! It's just that so good! It's, um, my favorite show! It's all about this human girl named Mew Mew who has cat ears! Which humans don't have! S-so she's all sensitive about them! But like… eventually! She realizes that her ears don't matter! That her friends like her despite the ears! It's really moving! Whoops spoilers."

"Stop right there," Iji interrupted. "No more spoilers, please, or you might say something that'll scare me off."

"O-o-okay. Uhhh, I think you'd really like it! We should watch it! After you get through all this!"

"Maybe after a couple more weeks. I'll still need to arrange terms with King Asgore after I break the Barrier. Peace takes priority."

"R-r-right! Um, see you later."

Once the call was concluded, Iji went to the Puzzle Room, solved it, and went on the other belt to get back before returning to the platforms with vents, where she went to the east side. Once there, after waiting for 01 and 02 to catch up, she went to the closed door, just like the last one that needed Puzzle Rooms solved to unlock. Once the three approached the door, it slowly opened, granting access.

---

The next area led to an immediate right turn to an indoors place and a purple floor, and cobwebs were everywhere. As 01 held 02's hand, Iji thought to herself, I wonder if Is this Muffet's place? Filled with determination, she made it through the entrance, ducking as it was too short for her. 01 and 02 did the same as they followed.

Inside, there were a lot more cobwebs and spider threads littering the room. The trio walked forward, avoiding the big webs on the floor. Just as they did, a familiar voice rang out from the shadows.

"Ahuhuhuhu… Did you hear what they just said?"

Muffet? "Miss Muffet? Is that you?" she called back, but there was no response.

A few more steps later, Muffet's voice came again. "They said a human wearing a striped shirt will come through. That armor's not hiding it, dearie. We have eyes everywhere here."

Ahead was an unavoidable bridge made out of spider silk. Knowing that spider silk can be stronger than steel of the same thickness, and the possibility that spider monster silk may be different, Iji tested its weight before finding it. After concluding that it was stiff enough to cross safely, even with the likely weight of the Nanogun, Iji traversed it, though it seemed to be tangled enough to impede her movement speed, though the strength of her legs made this negligible.

"I heard that they hate spiders."

She motioned for 01 and 02 to wait until she's all the way to the other side, and they complied.

"I heard that they love to stomp on them."

Soon, she found herself closer to where Muffet's voice was coming from.

"I heard that they like to tear their legs off."

Eventually, she reached the middle of the "bridge". She thought of lighting a flare, but that would be dangerous to everyone, herself and the spiders. There was also the flashlight, but…

"However…" A web to her left seemed to appear from the shadows, with Muffet hanging on it. And spiders began to surround her, some even dangling on silk strands. 01 and 02 did not visibly react to this. "…I already know that isn't true. Ahuhuhu…After all, you have helped donate to our cause. And you offered help in promoting our business venture. All the spiders want you to know how thankful they are! We're in your debt, dearie~" She ended this with a chuckle. "As for what I was fundraising for…you do remember asking be earlier, right?"

"Yes, I do," Iji answered.

"You see, the spiders in the Ruins have been trapped there for generations. Even if they go under the door, Snowdin's fatal cold is impassable alone. But with the money, we'll be able to rent them a heated limo. And with all of the leftovers, We could have a nice vacation, or even build a spider baseball field."

"That's…pretty ambitious, Muffet. But you mentioned leftovers, and I'm thinking…you're planning on taking in something big to get so much Gold at once." Memories of Asha began to surface. "Is it a bounty hunt on me?"

Muffet's five eyes widened in surprise as she then gave a surprisingly honest answer. "Why, yes. You see, someone offered a lot of money for a human SOUL like yours."

This made Iji tense up.

"They had such a sweet smile and… Ahuhuhu. It's strange, but I swore I saw them in the shadows… Changing shape…"

Is it Flowey? "Can you describe this individual? Or did they ask for confidentiality?"

"I see no reason not to tell you. The contract was made quite a long time ago, before I was old enough to run my own business. I wanted to get the bounty for what is now the sixth human SOUL, but I was unfortunately beaten to it by the guards."

"But who was the contractor?"

Muffet put one of her hands to her chin as she contemplated. "Ah, yes. I recall that it was Mettaton. I didn't really care about his fame. As long as he doesn't harm spiders for the sake of it, he was fine in my book."

Guess it's not Flowey. But what does Mettaton have in store for me? Or maybe he and Alphys were planning something different before my actions forced them to change them. I'll have to see if I can ask him in private later. Definitely can't confront Muffet about this directly, though. "I see."

"But we'll see how your business strategy goes for now. Perhaps I'll watch Mettaton's show after this. See you again, dearie~"

"Bye, Miss Muffet."

And with that, the spiders retreated and Muffet vanished back into darkness. With that over with, Iji made it all the way to the other side, seeing the exit that was also too short for her or the guards. Speaking of them, the moment she stepped off the bridge, 02 had urged 01 to go on ahead while he watched their backs. Once 02 was on the other side, the three crossed the exit.

---

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Ansaksie's Phone Inventory:

Abandoned Quiche, Crab Apple, Bisicle, Bisicle, Cinnamon Bunny, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, [Empty]

The next area consisted of a small hallway with brick walls and a poster to the left. Iji checked out the poster, seeing it as an ad for Mettaton's latest stage performance. A tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers, kept apart by the tides of fate…, so the sign said. And according to the time, it's about to start in a few minutes.

"I have a feeling the stage is up ahead," Iji said as she turned to the guards. "Let's knock 'em dead." She then registered shock and hostility from 01 and 02 respectively. "Figuratively, of course. No one's gonna die here." This made them relax. "All right. Let's go."

The next area comprised of a stage depicting a quiet town in the night, with the moon and stars dangling from wires. Just as the trio made it to the middle, a familiar voice rang out.

"OH? THAT HUMAN…" The three turned to the balcony and stairs in the set (which turn out be be just a ramp) to their left. Mettaton's head, facelights in red, peeked out from it. "COULD IT BE…?" He then showed himself…decked in a blue-ish white dress with sleeves and ribbon, though not many frills. "…MY ONE TRUE LOVE?" His facelights turned yellow as he began to descend the steps on his fancy legs, using his arms to hold the dress up.

This…feels like an iconic scenario from somewhere else. "Please. Doth profess their faith for me," she decided to say.

And then he began to sing as he danced around the stage, his facelights red. And it was…quite lovely, actually, despite the lyrics. (3)

Oh my love, please run away
Monster King…forbids your stay

Humans must…live far apart
Even if…it breaks my heart

Flower petals began to float down across the stage.

They'll put you…in the dungeon
It'll suck…and then you'll die a lot

Really sad, you're gonna die
Cry cry cry, so sad it's happening.

The petals then stopped, so did the song, and a meteor flew in the background, but was likely special effects.

"SO SAD. SO SAD THAT YOU ARE GOING TO THE DUNGEON." He sidestepped away before producing a single-button remote. "WELL, TOODLES!" He then pushed the button…as Iji jumped away from her current spot as a trapdoor opened beneath her just an instant later. Mettaton pressed the button again, and the spot she landed on opened up, dropping her through…except it was small enough for her to catch the sides with her arms. A third press then opened up those panels as well, and she fell for real.

After landing on a rock platform with a bridge ahead, she thought, Crap! Mettaton must have the entire floor with trap doors so that I'd fall no matter where I was at the end of the song. I'm sure 01 and 02 are okay.

She then looked further ahead and saw a familiar set of colored tiles. Wait. I think I've seen this before! Immediately, as Mettaton hovered down on his thrusters, which did not burn his dress, she took out her logbook and accessed the color_tile_puzzle_guide file.

"OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO?" said Mettaton as his "one true love" read her logbook to review on its text. "MY LOVE HAS BEEN CAST AWAY INTO THE DUNGEON. A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOUR WILL SURELY PERISH!"

Okay. Rules successfully reviewed! Now for the maze itself. Iji put away her logbook and turned her attention to the maze to try and formulate her path to the other side.

"O, HEAVENS HAVE MERCY! THE HORRIBLE COLORED TILE MAZE!" Mettaton continued, which she ignored. "EACH COLORED TILE HAS ITS OWN SADISTIC FUNCTION. FOR EXAMPLE, A GREEN TILE SOUNDS A NOISE, AND THEN YOU MUST FIGHT A MONSTER. RED TILES WILL… ACTUALLY, WAIT A SECOND. DIDN'T WE SEE THIS PUZZLE ABOUT A HUNDRED ROOMS AGO?"

She responded with just a nod.

"THAT'S RIGHT. YOU REMEMBER ALL THE RULES, DON'T YOU? GREAT… THEN I WON'T WASTE YOUR TIME REPEATING THEM! OH, AND YOU'D BETTER HURRY. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IN 30 SECONDS…"

Behind her, she could feel a wall of fire form. Better make this quick. The fire could be magical.

""YOU'LL BE INCINERATED BY THESE JETS OF FIRE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHA… HA… HA! MY POOR LOVE! I'M SO FILLED WITH GRIEF, I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING! GOOD LUCK, DARLING!"

Immediately, Iji took off in a sprint as Mettaton began to sing once more.

Oh my love

Making it to the bridge, she traversed it. Best not risk jumping.

Has fallen down

Once she was on the first tile, she replayed the path in her head as she traversed the puzzle.

Now in tears

Okay. Pink, green, orange (smell), purple (lemon smell) slide, water, pink, two water—

We all will drown

Pink, green, orange (smell), two purple (lemon smell) slide, orange (smell), pink, purple (lemon smell) slide, cross the water—

Colored tiles

Pink, orange (smell), pink, orange, green, purple (lemon smell) slide, orange (smell), two pink—

Make her a fool

Purple (lemon smell) and slide into the water, pink, orange (smell), purple (lemon smell) and slide into the water—

If only she

Pink, purple slide into the water, green, orange (smell), pink—

Still knew the rules

Pink, purple (lemon smell) and slide into yellow—

The electrocution from the yellow tile did nothing to her.

Back to purple, cross pink, into the water, purple, orange (smell)—

Well that was

purple (lemon smell) and slide into orange (smell), purple (lemon smell) and slide into pink, water—

A sorry try

Green, and I'm home free. (4) She began to saunter across the remaining green tiles, finding that the red tiles seem to block her from even laying a hand over them.

Now let's watch

Her fry

Just before the 30 seconds were up, Iji stepped off of the puzzle, and the tiles turned gray as a jingle rang, signifying her success. Though a jet of fire still barred her way further, which comprised of stairs leading upwards to the left.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" commended Mettaton as he flew over to her. "YOU MADE IT THROUGH THE PUZZLE! AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE FLAMES WILL BE DEACTIVATED!" And true to his word, the 'fire wall' (heheh!) was turned off. "NO! MORE! FIRE! …BUT IT'S AS THE PHRASE GOES. 'OUT OF THE FIRE AND INTO THE FRYING PAN.'"

"Actually, it's the other way around," Iji explained.

"THAT'S RIGHT, DARLING! EVEN IF YOU MANAGE TO BEAT THE HEAT, YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND MY HOT METAL BODY!"

Shoot! The green tiles! But there's nothing I could do about that.

"PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY—"

The robot was interrupted by a phone call. Iji put the caller, Alphys, on speaker.

"Great job! We've got him on the ropes, now!" (5)

"Do you really wish to take me on?" Iji added as she one-hand unholstered her Nanogun and aimed it at Mettaton. "Because I got a doctor's appointment waiting right here for you!" Damn, was that a good one-liner?

She and Mettaton stood off for a few seconds, her gesturing him to make a move.

The robot was the first to relent. "YOU'RE RIGHT. OUR SHOWDOWN SHOULD TAKE PLACE SOMEWHERE MORE CLIMACTIC! WE SHALL SETTLE THIS AT THE CORE! TRY NOT TO DIE ON THE WAY! WE'LL SEE YOU THERE!"

And with that, he took off, his dress flowing in the wind.

Once he was gone, Alphys spoke up once again. "L-looks like you beat him! Y-you did a really great job out there."

"Uh-huh."

"…umm, h-hey, can you turn the speaker off for a moment?"

She complied before putting the phone next to her ear. It wasn't actually necessary, but it helps tell others that she's busy on the phone. "Sure."

"Thank you. This might sound strange, but…c-can I tell you something?"

"Anything, Alphys."

"T-thanks again. B-before I met you, I d-didn't really… I didn't really like myself very much." This caught Iji's attention; maybe she could use this to help and further befriend Alphys. "For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw-up. L-like I couldn't do a-anything w-without… w-without ending up letting everyone down. B-but…! Guiding you has made me feel… A lot better about myself. So… thanks for letting me help you. And I promise to help in the rebuilding effort. Anyway, we're almost to the CORE. It's just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let's finish this!"

"Hold on. I just realized how late it is now. I plan on going to sleep in a bit. Preferably at the resort, which means—"

"This finale will have to wait until tomorrow?" Alphys finished. "I-I-I guess that makes sense. K-k-keep the viewers in suspense as they anticipate the next episode."

"Yeah. I even warned you two about that, right?"

"O-o-of course! Our scripts aren't too rigid to not account for such things. Good thing we managed to prepare for that inevitability. See you tomorrow!"

And with that, she ended the call, and Iji continued onward.

---

The next area consisted of a crossroad, the stairs now behind her, the theater from before to the left, an elevator to the right, and stairs leading upwards ahead to what looked like the MTT Resort. And in the middle was not only the Nice Cream vendor, but 01 and 02 as well as two more royal guards, all treating themselves to Nice Cream. One seemed to be mantis-like judging by her helmet and exposed right forelimb, and the other seemed to be feline for the same reason. And both wore friendship bracelets on their exposed right 'hands'. (6) 01 and 02 acknowledged her presence and greeted her before returning to their Nice Creams.

"Hey! It's you again!" the vendor greeted.

"I see you finally found an ideal place," Iji greeted back.

"Business is excellent here! These four fellas bought ALL my ice cream! I've actually sold out of everything! …sorry. Wait! I've still got something for you! …a big smile! How about that!"

"I hope you know of a place to restock. You could get more GOLD that way and serve a lot more monsters."

"Well, the resort and by extension the elevator to the city is just ahead, so I'm not worried."

"I see." She decided not to ask about the secrets behind the Nice Cream's creation; even he would probably know not to do that. She then turned to 01 and 02. "So, you guys not coming with?" Meanwhile, the other two guards turned to look at Iji, but just continued eating Nice Creams as they watched.

"Perhaps later?" 01 requested. "These Nice Creams are so good."

02 nodded in affirmation.

"Okay. There's someone I'm meeting up ahead. I'll be back for you once I'm done."

"See you later."

"Later," she bid goodbye as she went up the stairs ahead to the next area. Wow. Either monster guards in general have low acceptance standards…or all the best ones died fighting the Komato. Neither are comforting thoughts.

---

In front of Iji was a fancy entrance to a building. The front sign read MTT, and was flanked by two winged Mettatons, and now she was thinking of one of those Biblical angels. (7) An orange-and-white checkered awning stood between the sign and double doors out of glass, which had a rec carpet in front of it, as well as a dropped piece of paper to the right side of its end. Five identical windows flanked the door and filled the side on the second floor. Two bushes were planted between the doors as well. Two alleyways flanked the building (with graffiti on the right side), and two fences like the ones used in cinema and amusement park queues stood on either side of her current position.

And at the left side of the building were Sans and Ansaksie. It was weird seeing the Komato alongside a monster, but it couldn't be helped.

"hey, iji," Sans greeted in a casual manner, though both non-monsters now know his potential. "you had us waiting."

"Yeah," the human replied cautiously. "You managed to convince her? I'm surprised."

"Sans proved…" Ansaksie trailed off as she looked at Sans, and seemed a little intimidated by him somehow. "…really convincing."

"i heard you're going to the CORE."

"My next showdown with Mettaton is there, yes."

"how about grabbing dinner first, the three of us? my treat."

Iji turned to their Komato companion, "I sort of forgot to consider it when we first met, but…"

"Monster food can sustain me without side effects, and same goes for human food," Ansaksie replied. "Tried it out myself before deciding to stay on Origin."

"Okay," the human turned to the skeleton. "I guess we can."

"great. over here. i know a shortcut."

Sans led the two females to the left alleyway, after which he apparently did his teleportation magic since both could swear they saw it was a dead end before finding themselves somewhere indoors.

Their new location was primarily purple, with plenty of tables suspiciously looking somewhat like Mettaton, a fork, knife, and candle on each, and the walls had all sorts of things like creeper vines, ficuses, corkboards with papers pinned on them, a TV set, a mini-stage for people to do things like stand-up comedy or karaoke, and so on.

The three were now sitting at a table, and steaks in the shape of Mettaton's face were served alongside what looked like parfaits with star shapes in them.

"well, here we are," Sans started.

"Yes," affirmed Iji. "Here we are."

"so. your journey's almost over, huh?" He began to cut a piece of the meat to eat it. "you must really wanna go home."

"Actually, I'm here to see the king, break the Barrier, and establish peace between our kinds." Iji and Ansaksie were doing the same. "I wanted to tell both you and Papyrus at the same time, but I guess it can't be helped."

"huh. you really think you can do it?"

"With everything I learned about monsterkind, each species and each of their different personalities and mentalities, I plan to. And not on my own, of course. Once the Barrier is broken, King Asgore will be able to meet up with other representatives, and we can all discuss together ways of reintegrating monsterkind. Of course, that can take a long time, but that'll make it worth it."

Sans closed his eye sockets (somehow), then opened them again. "i see. you really seemed to have thought this through."

"Oh yeah. Dr. Alphys said that very same thing."

All the while, Ansaksie watched quietly as she ate as well, but her helmet was specially designed to allow for food/drink consumption without the helmet's removal. And Iji was too busy listening and talking to see her face right now.

"say…" Sans paused as he took a bit. It looked strange to see a skeleton to sustain himself like this. "maybe sometimes, it's better to take what's given to you. down here, you've already got food, drink, friends… is what you have to do… really worth it?"

"This is not something I can shirk. This mission is too important to just give up on. There are too many people counting on me."

So Iji hasn't told him about Origin's situation yet, Ansaksie noted. But she's told Toriel and Undyne, and probably Alphys and Mettaton.

"ah, forget it. sorry for treatin' it lightly." He took his fifth bite. "i'm rootin' for ya, then."

"So you haven't told him yet?" said Ansaksie, one-third done with the steak as she took some of the "Starfait". "You already told Undyne and Toriel."

Now Sans was curious. "told me what?"

"About the situation outside the Underground," Iji replied.

"why not tell me later? there's a story i want to tell first."

"Okay…" said the extraterrestrial among them cautiously.

"so i'm a sentry in snowdin forest, right? i sit out there and watch for humans. it's kind of boring. fortunately, deep in the forest, there's this HUGE locked door. and it's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes."

A huge locked door? Iji noted. The door to the ruins?

"so one day, i'm knocking 'em out, like usual. i knock on the door and say 'knock knock.' and suddenly, from the other side… i hear a woman's voice. 'who is there?' so naturally, I respond: 'dishes.' 'dishes who?' 'dishes a very bad joke.' then she just howls with laughter. like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years."

She blinked in surprise, and she was sure he saw it. Sans has been in contact with Toriel?!

Meanwhile, Ansaksie was coming to the same conclusion as she and Iji continued eating.

"so I keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing," Sans continued. "she's the best audience i've ever had. then, after a dozen of 'em, she knocks and says… 'Knock knock!' i say 'whos there?' 'old lady!' 'old lady who?' 'oh! I did not know you could yodel!' wow. needless to say, this woman was extremely good. we kept telling each other jokes for hours. eventually, i had to leave. papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story. but she told me to come by again, and so i did. then i did again. and again. it's a thing now. telling bad jokes through the door. it rules."

Sans paused to catch his breath, as well as take another portion of steak and another portion of his Starfait.

"one day, though, i noticed she wasn't laughing very much. i asked her what was up. then she told me something strange. "if a human ever comes through this door…" "could you please, please promise something?" "watch over them, and protect them, will you not?" now, i hate making promises. and this woman, i don't even know her name."

This surprised Iji. What? Sans doesn't even know her name?

"but… someone who sincerely likes bad jokes… has an integrity you can't say "no" to." By then, he was finished with his food. "do you get what I'm saying? that promise i made to her… you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?" He then closed his eyes. "…buddy." When he opened his eyes again, the white lights within them weren't present as he spoke more slowly. "…You'd be dead where you stand."

Immediately, Iji's hand went for her Nanogun in its holster, and Ansaksie readied her blade, both of them prepped to battle Sans right here, though the Komato seemed…unsure of victory for some reason.

Sans attempted to lighten up the mood. "…hey, lighten up, bucko! i'm just joking with you."

"We know you're not," Ansaksie said. "I saw your powers for myself. And I'm sure Iji now knows, too."

"Don't worry about that friend of yours," the human assured. "Her name's Toriel, I've met her, and she's still alive."

"That's right. Toriel was definitely alive when I last saw her."

As the skeleton gave a hard look to determine if what they speak is the truth, the human tried to project her sincerity with her eyes, while the Komato glanced at her companion before attempting to do the same thing. Half a minute passed before Sans finally decided.

"okay. i can always find out later. by the way, you said you wanted to tell me about what's goin' on in the surface?"

And under hushed tones, that's what they did. Ansaksie let Iji choose what to convey while only correlating with her statements. The human covered the basics she already conveyed to the ones she let know. She really hoped to tell this to Papyrus as well, but Sans wanted to keep it a secret, which she wasn't happy about, having been subject to the same thing by her brother. She argued that it's better to let it out right now than let it build up to the point where it could ruin any trust between them, but he replied with the fact that Papyrus is all but a child; he doesn't want him to be broken. Iji countermanded that this secret-keeping cannot go on forever, and that he should at least be told some of the truth, in which Sans did relent to; and the two discussed what to tell Papyrus, with Ansaksie supplying other info on occasion as the three long since finished their meals.

Eventually, after coming to a satisfying compromise, the skeleton parted ways with the two non-monsters. "take care of yourselves."

Once he was gone, the two took the time to share information, though Ansaksie didn't provide much that Iji already knew given she was spending much of her time being covert, and later evading Sans before he caught her.

"So, guess we should part ways, then?" Iji asked.

"Actually, given I'm no longer being pursued, perhaps I can accompany you from here on out," suggested Ansaksie.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm running low on teleportation charges. To be honest, I never really had to worry about that back when I was working for the Imperial Army, where I can just acquire some thanks to our Nanotechnology. I have my ways of resupplying it, but I didn't bring them here. I wasn't expecting to take this long, and for some reason, I can't teleport out."

This caught the human's attention. "What?! Dammit, I was hoping you can contact my friends if I can't break the Barrier."

The Komato shrugged her shoulders, a gesture she picked up from humans and monsters. "Sorry. Looks like there's more to the Barrier than we thought."

"Yeah. In addition to preventing any living thing inside its bounds from crossing out of it unless it's a human and monster SOUL combined, and protecting the mountain it's in from a Tasen Alpha Strike, apparently it can stop teleports, too."

"But not our transmissions," added the Komato. "We've heard of the anomalous mountain during the…'final war', though I didn't think much of that before I was called down to…well…"

"Right. Well, let's get moving. But first I got to see if I can gather information. And no offense, but having you with me might affect what they would be willing to say."

"I get it. As a Komato, monsterkind won't forget my kind so easily. Don't worry, I'll wait. Mind if I check your logbook?"

"As much as I appreciate your company, I'm not to the point where I can trust that my stuff will not be tampered without me watching," Iji replied. "There's still plenty about you that I don't know."

"Fair point. I guess I'll wait here."

"Sorry. I'll try and make it up to you."

"That won't be necessary. I chose to stay in Origin, so I'll have to live with the consequences."

"Hey, don't think like that. Once I'm finished with integrating monsterkind, I'll make sure to spend time to help you. I admit I want to help you right now, but my current mission has left me too occupied. I certainly wasn't prepared for you following me."

"Get going," Ansaksie said, impatient with Iji's stalling. "Go get your intel. I can wait."

"Right."

With that, the Human Anomaly got up. Sans had already took care of the things to do after eating. She headed across the restaurant, noting the stuff along the way, like the a TV show featuring Mettaton on the mini-TV, the corkboards showing a performance schedule featuring comedians, dancers, and Sans (though they were currently on break). The Wall of Fame only had quotes and photos from Mettaton.

After ignoring the one that was licking dew from the ficuses (because he didn't want to look like he messed up, which he already is), one of the monsters they passed had an interesting tidbit to say. He was reminiscent (to Iji) of a Japanese Oni, had muscular arms, red skin, a yellowish-white undershirt, green pants and black shows, and mildly impressive black facial hair.

"Originally, we dug mazes with puzzles in order to foil human attacks. But now, building things winding and confusing… It's some awful tradition. You can't go (ugh) two feet without being up to your armpits in puzzles."

The monster sitting across from him was reminiscent of a mole and wore a white hard hat with a green cross. "I work at the CORE," he said. "The inside is a maze made of swappable parts. That means we can shuffle the layout at will. Boy, was today a FUN day! I sure love PUZZLE!"

Easy intel. Spies will have an easy time. Good thing that's not what I am. After handing them ads for Muffet's Spider Bake Sale, Iji then proceeded to converse with the Snowdrake-like monster just in front of the mini-stage.

"I'm the resort comedian. I'm very funny. People laugh at my jokes. Now, my son. He wants to be a comedian like his fathah. But his jokes. Aren't funny. He tells this awful puns. He's an embarrassment to our family. Ha ha ha ha… That's not funny."

Oh, damn. didn't think he (or at least one of the Snowdrakes) was having a hard life. Guess that's how things are in here.

"Since his mothah passed on, he couldn't stand. Living at home anymore. So he ran away. I haven't seen him since. I'm a terrible fathah. Ha ha ha ha… That's not funny."

Iji decided to ask a question this time. "Sir, assuming you live in the city, how were things there after the…earthquake?"

"It was a dreadful time. Only me, and my son. And a few distant cousins survived. Talking to you about this… It's breakin' my heart. Ha ha ha ha… That's not funny."

"I should leave you be. Sorry for dredging up those memories."

"Eh, it's all right. Venting my issues helps sometimes. Ha ha ha ha… That's not funny."

And with that, after handing over an ad, she waved farewell to "Snowdrake Senior" and went back to Ansaksie, who saw that she was done, got up from the table, and joined her fellow non-monster companion as they then left the restaurant, bypassing the huge green fish-like monster receptionist who reminded them to reserve their table, chair, food, and even silverware to eat here.

[break]

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Cinnamon Bunny, Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hot Dog…?, Spider Ad, Spider Ad, [Empty], [Empty]

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Sea Tea, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, [Empty], [Empty]

The first thing that greeted the two was a fountain with a statue of Mettaton spewing out water…outside its bounds and into the floor in front of them. Red carpet surrounded it as well as made a path to the main entrance as well as the exit opposite that. On the fountain was an inscription.

Royal Memorial Fountain

Built 201X

(Mettaton Added Last Week)

"Huh. This fountain was built that recently?" Iji noted.

"That or monsters run a different calendar system, just like our kind do," commented Ansaksie. "With differences between 'starturns' and 'years', 'longturns' and 'months', 'cycles' to 'minutes', and so on. They haven't even seen the sun, so they have to have had a different way of measuring time."

"That's true."

It was a relaxing atmosphere, at least for the human, but somehow, it filled her with determination. The CORE was close. But it was late and she needed to sleep. However, she needed to inform 01 and 02 of this. She did promise to come back for them, after all.

As they went for the exit, though, the receptionist there, who was very small, pink-and-blue, and had an origami-like form.

"Welcome to MTT Resort — Hotland's biggest apartment building-turned-hotel! Whether you're here for a night or still live here, MTT Resort prides itself on a great stay! Just passing through…? Nice! MTT Resort prides itself on being passed through!"

Once they were out of the building, after Iji read the dropped paper (which read Hey! Go up the creepy alleyway on the right for some great deals!) and placed it somewhere it can be easily read, they made it back to the intersection where the Nice Cream Guy was, and the four Hotland guards were still there. All four immediately drew their swords at the sight of Ansaksie, but Iji immediately got between them and defused the situation by explaining everything she could about the Komato that was with her. For the sake of caution, though, 03 and 04—the mantis-like guard and the feline guard respectively—decided to accompany the non-monsters as they made their way back to the Resort to rent a room.

But first, Iji asked about the elevator, noticing the monsters waiting in line (a green dragon on the phone, a black one-eyed slime with a red bowtie, and a white 'manticore' with red heels on their forelegs, glasses, and a black mane and spiky tail as well as a briefcase), and 04 explained that it wasn't working right now as a result of the alien attack. Repairs were still in progress. To the left of the elevator was a pair of double doors leading to a food store called the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium.

Upon reaching the blueish-purple hand-shaped monster with red fingernails on the desk, they said, "Yes, we know. The elevator to the city is not working." It seems she's had to repeat this a couple of times. "Because of this incident, rooms are running at a special rate! 200G a room. Interested?"

"Sure." Iji readied the Gold so she can fork it over. "But what kind of rooms are available?"

"Right now, we have a room with a queen-size bed. Enough to accommodate all of you."

"Just for two, please," stated 03. "We guards will be on duty."

"Room rates are the same either way. So, how about it, darling?"

Iji put the money up front. "We'll take it."

"Fabulous! We'll escort you to your room."

---

"I'm guessing Komato have different beds?"

"With all the genetic modifications our kind have subjected ourselves to, flat beds like these aren't something our bodies are made for anymore. But I'm getting used to it, with my time here on Origin."

"Still strange to sleep beside one, though. But then, sleeping beside anybody in general, even other humans, has some level of awkwardness unless the two are close in terms of intimacy or family."

The room (which Iji remembered to ask a key for after the receptionist forgot to) had all the basic commodities of a hotel room just like the Snowed Inn; in addition to the bed was a shower (though still no toilets, naturally), a kitchenette, two small Mettaton-esque dressers (one with a lamp without a light switch and says that stars make their own light, and one with a giant bottle of Eau de Rectangle perfume with a comically large cap, which she can still open), and a long portrait of Mettaton under a starry sky with a crescent moon.

While 01 and 02 stood guard outside the door, 03 and 04, being females like the non-monsters they're guarding, stayed inside. Iji managed to store yet another change of clothing, and was now wearing a green t-shirt, though not like the one she woke up in after the Tasen Alpha Strike. This one was smoother in texture, was of a lighter shade, and was collared for slightly more formal occasions. As for bottoms, she changed back to simple long shorts like the pair she had on post-cyborg conversion.

Ansaksie had no change of clothes (apart from spare Assassin uniforms, which she left outside the Barrier), not having thought that far before deciding to stay, and will likely need a personal tailor; protection was not an issue as Nanofields already cover that, though only she knew what civilian wear was appropriate. Compared to Komato, apart from accounting for size, Tasen can wear human clothing just fine.

The two of them were presently sharing the bed, the former on her back with her Nanogun on her hands as always while the latter lay on her side due to her body shape. 03 and 04 stood guard over them, cautious of the weapon the human wielded.

"I should try and get some sleep," Iji yawned, the exhaustion of today's events getting to her.

"One of us should stay awake in case they try anything," Ansaksie warned.

She understood her companion's caution and didn't argue. "If you say so. Wake me when it's my turn. Don't tire yourself out."

"All right."

---

Aside from the watch cycle Ansaksie insisted on, the entire night was completely uneventful save for 03 and 04 making subdued friendly gossip, or after 01 and 02 debating taking the bed for themselves after switching in for the female guards, which they never did.

Through the night, after updating her negotiation_proposal_(draft) file in her logbook, Iji thought of what she should do for the finale of Mettaton's show and reflected on what she's been told both by the celebrity himself and Alphys during their preparations as well as other monsters who watch the show. Eventually, she managed to form together a plan.

However, just as she went to sleep, she began to dream again. In this dream, that child from before was there once more. They were in the same black landscape as before, but this time they were floating, as if in zero gravity.

"Greetings," the child said, gender still indeterminable.

Iji decided to ask the child, "Who are you? What's your history with the monsters?" Because I definitely never met you until then.

The child gave a smile as the two locked eyes, and it unnerved her as they refused to answer the questions. "Wouldn't you like to know? I still don't get what you stand for. Your recent past is so confusing. Advocating peace here when you have so much blood on your hands. Yet the friends you made in that time don't regard you like such. Why is that?" (8)

These words shook her. Deep down, she knew her reasoning wasn't something a sane person would follow, but she felt it better than succumbing to anger because she knew at the time that humanity was in no shape to fight back, and even with her weaponry and the reputation she garnered, she was just one woman, and she feared that if she gave in, she might do something rash and screw everybody over. With the entire planet at stake, she had to keep a clear-ish head. (8)

"I did what I had to do. I'm not sure if you can understand that. I was short on time to fully plan on what I should've done. And you haven't answered by question."

The child closed their eyes before opening them again and speaking. "You're right. It was impolite to not give my name, Iji."

How did—wait. Given they've somehow looked into my past, they'd naturally know my name.

"I am Chara. I should thank you. Your power awakened me. My 'human soul'… My 'determination'… They were not mine, but yours."

"What do you mean? Why is it only in Mt. Ebott that you've reached me?"

"I think you can figure out the answer to that."

"I know you're the first human that fell here, and met King Asgore's son Asriel. When you fell ill and perished, he absorbed your SOUL to fulfill your wish to see the flowers from your village. It didn't end well, and he perished as well by the time he got back. But why are you in my dreams? Are you a ghost? Is there an afterlife?" Do Tasen and Komato ghosts end up in Earth's if they die here? Do they even have ghosts?

"I don't know, either," replied Chara. "After our plan failed, Asriel turning to dust was the last thing I remembered. The next thing I knew, I was inside your mind."

Iji worried about the implications of that. "Wait, so you're now sharing my mind or something?"

"I…think so? To be honest, I'm new to this situation, too. I…never even read about how humans think of ghosts when I was still…alive. It's pitiful to see how far humanity has fallen from this Alpha Strike."

Should I ask about body control? Or is that too soon? Probably too soon. "Oh yeah. I'd like to ask. How did you come across the Underground in the first place?"

Chara seemed hesitant. "I…can't say right now. I'm not ready yet. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm here in you at all."

"Well, given that you can look inside my memories, mind if you share yours? Life before the Underground."

"I guess that's fair. I'm sure with everything you've been through, you can handle this."

And throughout the evening, Chara narrated their life prior to entering the underground. It was…a rather tragic tale, to put it mildly. It even justified the evil vibe Iji felt the first time she "saw" them while "feeling like garbage" with Napstablook.

Once that was done, even if it might be pointless, given that they're basically stuck together, Iji decided to do what she can to teach Chara things until they've reached the same maturity level as her. After all this is over, she'll have to think on this further.

---

Come morning, everybody was ready to go. Ansaksie didn't look like she needed to do any morning rituals. It was as if she had been taking a nap and that was all she needed; she was ready in an instant, probably from her training as an Assassin. As for Iji, she was a little groggy, but it was nothing a handful of water to the face couldn't take care of. All the Hotland Guards already took care of their business (and breakfast) before then.

Once everybody was ready to face the new day, the group of six left the room, Iji keeping the hotel key in her pocket. But before proceeding onward, Iji decided to check on the other tenants in hopes of gleaning more information, but they all assumed she was room service and refused to think otherwise. That said, she did have some of the items they were asking for, and as a result, she got 99 Gold for trading in a Sea Tea, 99 Gold for trading in a Cinnamon Bunny, and a "Hush Puppy" (a "wonderful spell that stops a dog from casting magic"; physically, it resembled a small, savory, deep-fried ball made from cornmeal-based batter, like real hushpuppies, but smoother in texture) for trading in a "Hot Dog". (9) And insisted on giving a Spider Ad along with each item, which they thankfully kept.

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hush Puppy, Spider Ad, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, [Empty], [Empty]], [Empty]

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Ansaksie's Phone Inventory:

Abandoned Quiche, Crab Apple, Bisicle, Bisicle, Cinnamon Bunny, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, [Empty]

After that, she decided to check out the Emporium, remembering some of the advice she was told regarding Mettaton. She also decided to take Ansaksie with her so she could eat as well. To avoid a potential scene, 03 accompanied them.

According to the script, there will be a final showdown somewhere at the CORE, where Mettaton reveals his true colors and they will undertake a epic and flashy showdown to appeal to the audience. This means MTT-Brand items, postures, outfit-changing on the fly (maybe a few accessories would suffice), and promoting Mettaton. Maybe she could promote Muffet's bake sale as well? She'll have to ask Alphys.

Stepping inside the Emporium, she was greeted by an orange cat-like monster at the counter. He wore a small hat with the letter M on it, as a part of his job working for the Emporium. And it looked like he was trying too hard to smile, which left her a little concerned.

Behind him was a menu with the available items for purchase, and the usual fast food kitchen stuff appliances and such. The menu showed the following item for sale.

Starfait (60G): A sweet treat made of sparkling stars.

Glamburger (120G): A hamburger made of edible glitter and sequins.

Legendary Hero (300G): Sandwich shaped like a sword.

Steak In The Shape of Mettaton's Face (500G): Huge steak in the shape of Mettaton's Face.

The ingredients looked questionable, but given that this was monster food, what goes down the stomach doesn't matter as it immediately gets converted into energy.

"Welcome to MTT-Brand Burger Emporium, home of the Glamburger," the cashier announced. "Sparkle up your day. What can I do for you, ma'am?"

"Hello, sir," Iji greeted as she prepared 980 Gold and a Spider Ad. "I'd like to purchase one Starfait, one Glamburger, one Legendary Hero, and one Steak In The Shape of Mettaton's Face, please." She then turned to Ansaksie. "What would you like?"

"Same, minus the steak." She handed over 480 Gold after that.

"Um, one Glamburger to go," 03 said as she forked over 120 Gold.

He assumed a freakishly happy face upon hearing that and accepting the Gold. "Thanksy! Have a FABU-FUL day!" With that, he took their orders (and it seemed to be a slow day somehow since she seemed to be the only one in line) and had the chefs get to work. He also accepted the ad.

As they waited, Iji decided to see if she can get some intel from him just like she has with the Snowdin shopkeeper and Gerson. "So, I'm kinda new to Hotland. Is there anything you can tell me?"

For some reason, he looked very, very nervous. "What? Why do you keep trying to talk to me?

"Um, this is just my first try aside from the order."

"I'll get in trouble if I get chummy with the customers. Sorry."

"Oh, okay." And Iji decided to back off.

However, the cashier seemed eager to jump in. "So, I wanted to be an actor."

Cautiously taking this as an invitation to small talk, she decided to ask—

Try some life advice.

Wait, what? Those definitely weren't her thoughts. Was it Chara giving her tips? Um, I'm pretty grown up already.

It's for me. I haven't seen this monster.

Looks like it really was from Chara. This situation the two have with each other is still strange. All right. She turned her attention back to the cashier. "So, any life advice?"

In probable violence of regulations, he said, "Well, I'm getting on in years, so let me give you some advice, ma'am. You've still got time. Don't live like me. I'm 19 years old and I've already wasted my entire life."

Huh? How could he waste his entire life when he's just a year younger than you? Chara commented in Iji's head.

Once the Barrier's broken, he'll find out he hasn't, she replied.

Okay. Try asking about romance.

And she did so.

"Listen," said the cashier. I like you, ma'am. So I'm gonna save you a lot of trouble. Never interact with attractive people. Unless you're "one of them," they're just gonna take advantage of you. Like that time those two chicks asked me to sneak them some glamburgers. And I, naive teenager that I was, said yes to them. Bad idea."

"Why? What happened?" Iji asked without any input from Chara, curious about this herself. 03 and Ansaksie were also showing interest.

"Well… So I went out to the alley to see those two ladies, and uh… you know, see what'd happen next. …Then my boss, uh, saw me and asked me what I was doing. I was so startled, the hamburgers in my pockets tumbled out onto the ground." Iji held back a laugh. "Not wanting to lose face, I scrambled to pick them up! But, as I was leaning over, the weight of the remaining hamburgers…caused my pants to fall down. Then the girls laughed at me. Everyone calls me Burgerpants now. But you won't, will you?"

She took a look at his name tag. It said Burgerpants, just like he said. "Unless you give me your real name or at least another name, I can't do that."

"Well, regulations won't allow me to tell my real name, so just call me B."

"All right. Mine's Iji." And she introduced 03 and Ansaksie as well.

Can you ask about Mettaton? requested Chara. I can't remember him being around when I was in the Underground.

Right. I need to know more about him myself. She then asked B, "What can you tell me about Mettaton?"

"When I first came to Hotland, it was my dream to work with Mettaton." He paused for a moment as he implied how well that went. "Well, be careful what you wish for!"

The more you know… "Why is Mettaton bad?"

"God, have you even looked around? This place is a labyrinth of bad choices. And every time we try to change something for the better, he vetoes it and says "that's not how they do it on the surface." Oh! Right! Humans are always eating hamburgers made of sequins and glue."

Iji frowned at this news, and Ansaksie looked confused. Well, this is a problem. That'll be the first to go. I'll have to tell Mettaton about this after the show. "What else can you tell me about Mettaton?"

"Why do people find him so attractive? He's literally just a freaking rectangle," B continued before pausing for a moment to catch his breath. "You know, one time, I bought one of those, uh, kits online… to… Uh, make yourself more rectangular. …They don't work."

Ask about the future, Chara suggested. What do they think?

Seeing that the orders were almost done (technically, only the steak was still in progress), Iji considered asking this one last question.

"Future? WHAT future?" scoffed B. "Nothing down here ever changes. I'll probably be trapped at this stupid job forever." He mulled over in despair. "But wait! There's one thing that keeps me going! If Asgore gets just one more SOUL, we'll finally get to go to the surface! It'll be a brand new world! There's gotta be a second chance out there for me! For everyone!"

It'll be a brand new world, all right, Iji mused. But we'll have to work to make it.

I hope you have something in mind for this, Iji, Ansaksie thought.

"So stay strong, Iji," B continued. "When I make it big, I'll keep you in mind."

Around that time, the steak was finished, and it was indeed in the shape of Mettaton's face. It was a third a long as her Nanogun, too, and half as thick, though like everything else, it was properly packaged for on-the-go eating.

After storing her purchases inside her phone inventory and giving the other food items to her companions, Iji thanked B. "Well, I'll see you soon."

"Any time."

---

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hush Puppy, Glamburger, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, Starfait, Legendary Hero, Steak In The Shape Of Mettaton's Face, [Empty]

Tasen Logbook Records:

directions_to_snowdin, ascii_catgirl, color_tile_puzzle_guide, monster_compendium, temmie_village_directions, gaster_note, the_undertale, underground_compilation, ask_gerson_about_the_king_later, negotiation_proposal_(draft), business_advice_to_mettaton

The next thing Iji checked out was the right alleyway outside the resort, and she asked the royal guards to hang back so as not to scare off whoever's there and asking Ansaksie (who was taking the time to eat the food she bought) to stay with them as well as "leverage" so that she won't ditch them.

At the alleyway, she found two monsters. One of them was a tall (not as much as Iji, though), green alligator monster that wore a primarily pink shawl with yellow and blue details on the sides. She also had yellow hair that flowed into curls. The other was a plump purple cat monster who wore a set of blue overalls with yellow buttons and tufts of yellow hair coming out from under it on either side. She had black hair with a blue streak in it, and a yellow earring on her left ear.

Their "store" had a sign with their names scrawled on it in eloquent script (Bratty and Catty, though she wasn't yet sure which was which), and nearby items include a dumpster, two trash cans, and a back door leading presumably to the resort's kitchens.

"Hey! Check it out!" said the gator monster.

"Yeah! Check it out!" agreed the feline monster.

"Let's see your wares, then," said Iji.

And they did. They had Junk Food (with bites taken out of them already),a battle-worn Cowboy Hat, an Empty Gun (antique Wild West-style revolver with no ammunition, but she figured that intent to harm is enough for even this weapon to deal damage against monsters; perhaps Undyne lost an eye to this gun?), and a mysterious key. Iji decided to purchase all except the Junk Food, and she had good reason to believe that the hat and gun were left by the last human who fell here and lost their SOUL. As a matter of fact, she found a name in the hat, marking it as the property of Clover. (10) She also insisted to hand over a Spider Ad to the pair.

Not really wanting to believe that the Temmies were the only ones who will buy stuff from customers, and given that this store wasn't exactly official, she then asked if there's anything they'd like.

"Thanks, but we, like, don't really need anything," said Bratty, whose name was provided when her partner squeed "Bratty! We're gonna be rich!" upon Iji buying one of their items.

"Oh my god, can you go get us some Glamburgers?", said her partner right after.

"We don't. Really need. Anything," Bratty asserted.

"Wait! I'll pay you 1000G if you get Mettaton to autograph my butt!"

While she had no reason to, Iji said, "I'll probably take you up on that, um…what was your name?"

"I'm Catty, and this is my best friend Bratty," she introduced herself.

"I'm Bratty, and this is my best friend Catty," her friend did the same simultaneously.

The two stared at each other upon realizing that before then laughing at the moment, joined by their customer.

"So, where'd you get your goods?" Iji then asked.

"The stuff inside, is like…" Bratty began, referencing most likely the stuff in the resort.

"Totally wicked expensive," Catty finished.

"But, like, this stuff we found is like…

"Totally wicked cheap."

"You should…"

"Like…"

"Totally wicked buy all of it?" the duo finished simultaneously.

Seeing their customer look unimpressed, Bratty continued, "I mean, like, where does anyone get guns, or food, or…"

"We found it in the garbage!" Catty spouted out before cutting herself off as if she wasn't meant to say that, which was supported by Bratty's disapproving look.

She tried to salvage the conversation. "It's good garbage." Key word being "tried".

"It's like, really good garbage."

"Where'd you get this garbage?" was Iji's next question. Of course, there was Waterfall, but surely the monster city had its own places, too.

"Where do we get the garbage?" replied Bratty. "Like, the garbage store, duh!" Seeing her customer's raised eyebrow, there was a beat of silence before she and Catty laughed again. "Waterfall mostly."

"I found a gun in a dumpster!" added Catty.

Iji decided not to ask further on the gun (or the hat) and changed topics. "Given Mettaton's a big deal around here, what can you tell me about him?"

"Oh my God. Mettaton." Bratty.

"Oh my God, Mettaton." Catty.

"He's like…my robot husband."

"Actually he's like…my robot husband."

"I think we're like… both going to marry him."

"We're both like, already married to him. He just, like, doesn't know it yet."

Iji rolled her eyes; it was just typical rabid fangirling. "So, what else about Mettaton?"

"So, like Dr. Alphys built Mettaton, right?" Bratty started.

"That's like, what they tell you," Catty added.

"But like… Mettaton always acts like…"

"…being built was his idea somehow."

"And even right after he was built…"

"…he acted like Alphys was an old friend."

"But they're like…not friends anymore."

"Yeah! Unlike me and Bratty! Best friends for-EVER!"

Huh? This revelation got Iji thinking. If Mettaton acts like being built was his idea, does that mean he didn't start out as he was now? But what was he before? Some lesser robot before getting his current body, or perhaps… An idea came to her. …a ghost like the Dummies and Napstablook? Only way to know is to ask him, though he might deny it.

She decided to ask one more question, though it may come with a few addenda. "So, you're familiar with Dr. Alphys?"

"Oh my God. Alphys." Bratty.

"Oh my God, Alphys." Catty.

Oh dear. Are they fans, too?

"She used to live on our street."

"She was like a big sister."

"I mean, like, if your big sister…"

"Takes you on trips to the dump."

"She showed us the coolest places to find trash."

"She was always collecting these weird cartoons."

"Then she became the Royal Scientist…"

"Yeah, we haven't seen her in forever…"

That's new. "So you knew her personally?" Iji asked. "What else do you know about her?"

"So Alphys has always, like…" Bratty began again, as per usual.

"Thought ASGORE is a SUPER cutie," added Catty, as per usual.

"So, like, I'm pretty sure she…"

"Made Mettaton to, like, totally impress him."

"A robot with a SOUL…"

"That's, like, super relevant to his hobbies!"

"So after seeing Mettaton, ASGORE…"

"Asked her to do all this science stuff for him! But nobody's, like, seen anything from her yet."

"Or… her at all…"

"She must, like, just stay in her lab all day."

"Like, live a little, girl."

"Yeah! Like us!"

So Alphys hasn't even left her lab after becoming the Royal Scientist? What could her reasons be. Setting that aside for later, Iji decided to ask what they know about King Asgore.

"Oh my God. He's a total goober."

"He's a big, fuzzy goofball!"

"Like, I love that guy."

"He's like, so nice."

"God, we're like…" both then spoke at once. "…so hyped for the destruction of humanity."

Too bad the Tasen beat them to it.

Ask them about Burgerpants, suggested Chara. I wanna hear their side of the Glamburger story. And Iji decided to humor the child spirit inside of her, though she was honestly curious, too.

But before she could do that, Catty seemed to notice something from the human's phone. "Oh my God. Is that a Glamburger? OH MY GOD! GIMME!"

She made to grab the phone, but Bratty pulled her back. "God, Catty. Try to have some self-control."

"Sorry…"

"'Cause they obviously brought that Glamburger for me."

"NO WAYYY!"

"Wait, she can smell items from a phone's inventory?" Iji asked.

"Actually, it's more like the smell of it lingers in the phone, meaning you must've ordered from the Burger Emporium inside," explained Bratty.

"I see. Speaking of the Emporium, what's your opinion on the cashier?"

"Oh, that guy from the store? Yuck, what a creep."

"Yeah! He's a creep!" agreed Catty. "But he's kind of cute, too."

"C'mon, Catty, don't you have any standards?" admonished the gator monster.

"Nope!" Catty said with pride.

Bratty shook her head before continuing. "OK, like, the annoying thing is…"

"He'd be OK if he just treated us with some respect," Catty continued.

"But he just acts… Really weird."

"And then acts like it's our fault that he acts that way!"

"Like, when we asked him to get those Glamburgers…"

"He dropped them and ran away before we could even say anything!"

"We were, like, going to share them."

"Really? I wasn't."

This shocked Bratty before they both laughed. "Catty!"

Hmm, perhaps we should tell this to Burgerpants, Chara said.

I dunno if I have the time for this drama, Iji argued mentally. I still have Mettaton's show to be at, not to mention the Barrier to break.

C: You went out of your way to befriend Papyrus and Undyne.

I: That's because the former is an honestly nice guy who got in my way too many times, and the latter is the captain of the Royal Guard. I was doing it to earn favor, though I'll admit it's nice to make new friends. As far as I can tell, these two and B are just merchants. And while Bratty and Catty were friends with Dr. Alphys, the key word is were.

C: I don't know. Maybe something will happen in your favor down the line. I looked into when you got that Banana Gun. And when you Nuked Asha, and destroyed Sentinel Proxima using only your weapons and not the terrain.

I: Honestly, I have no idea what came over me those times. But all right. I'll see what I can do.

"Bratty, Catty," Iji said aloud. "Do you use the UnderNet?"

"UnderNet?" Bratty.

"I wish." Catty.

"We're, like, not rich enough to have a computer, let alone a phone that can use the Net."

"Why else do you think we're here in the alleyway selling junk?"

"That won't do. Perhaps I can put a word in to Dr. Alphys," proposed Iji. "I'm currently on Mettaton's show after all. Maybe I can even ask him to autograph you, Catty."

Bratty was shocked. "Really? You're gonna do that?"

Catty was too, but for different reasons. "Really? You're serious about that?"

"Sure, why not?" Iji replied to to gator monster before turning to the cat monster. "I hold you to your request."

"Okay."

"All right, all right. 1000G if you actually get him to autograph my butt."

"Well, I better get going, hope to see you soon."

"Like, see you later!"

"Like, later and stuff!"

---

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hush Puppy, Glamburger, Mystery Key, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Satchel inventory:

Supplies, Canteen, Water-Purifying Pills, Flashlight, Pen, Tasen Logbook, Flares, Stick, Barbs of Wire, Bookmark, Box of Raisins, Toy Knife, Worn Glove, Worn Glove, Manly Bandanna, Ballet Shoes, Bag Of Misc. Junk, Torn Notebook, Stained Apron, Empty Gun, Cowboy Hat,

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, Starfait, Legendary Hero, Steak In The Shape Of Mettaton's Face, [Empty]

Tasen Logbook Records:

directions_to_snowdin, ascii_catgirl, color_tile_puzzle_guide, monster_compendium, temmie_village_directions, gaster_note, the_undertale, underground_compilation, ask_gerson_about_the_king_later, negotiation_proposal_(draft), business_advice_to_mettaton

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Ansaksie's Phone Inventory:

Abandoned Quiche, Crab Apple, Bisicle, Bisicle, Cinnamon Bunny, Sea Tea, [Empty], [Empty]

And with that, Iji rejoined the guards and Ansaksie, but she wasn't done yet. She went once again to the Emporium to see B.

"Hey, Iji. What can I do for you?" he greeted.

She relayed to him what Bratty and Catty talked about him.

"The girls were… Talking about me…? They say I should stop acting like they owe me and if I want to be friends with them, I should just… uh, try to see things from their perspective? Wow. So, uh, what time would they wanna hang out?" (11)

"I'm guessing you can't take a break, huh, B?"

"Can't. Still got customers to serve, and we're short-staffed since the attack. In fact, I'm the only cashier still alive."

Right. Can't forget that. "Oh. All right. I'll go and ask those two girls."

"Okay."

Once more, she went back to Bratty and Catty and relayed what Burgerpants (since they know him by that name) said.

"Oh, uh…" Bratty was a bit unsure.

Catty however wasn't. "Yeah! He should come look for junk with us!"

"But like, if we let him hang out with us… I just worry it'll…"

"… be really super fun!" Catty guessed Bratty's next words.

"Um, that was not what I was gonna say."

"But I was close, right!?"

Ask what kind of guy do they think B is, Chara suggested.

I was about to do that. "What kind of guy do you think he is?" Iji inquired.

"Well, that kind of guy," Bratty explained. "You hang out with him once, then he wants to hang out. All. The. Time."

"But don't you feel bad for him, Bratty?" Catty pleaded to her friend. "Poor Burgerpants… Think about how cool we are compared to him! We'd be saving his life with our friendship! His life, Bratty!"

"Uh, so?" She wasn't convinced.

The feline decided to go for another reasoning. "…Think of all the glamburgers he could get for us!"

The gator monster seemed to be sold on the idea after that. "…so is he free after work?"

"Can't one of you ask him yourself?" Iji asked them. (12)

Catty began to laugh nervously. "Huh. Perhaps we should."

"You go do that. Someone, like, needs to manage the shop."

"Okay!" And Catty made to dash out of the Alley, but Iji stopped her.

"Hold on, before you go, do either of you have any problems with the royal guards?"

"No, why?" Bratty cautiously asked.

"Well, there are a few waiting outside for me, and I didn't want to do business with you in front of them."

Catty waved it off. "Pfft. Nah. We're cool with them. One of them even buys food from us. She loves the stuff."

"Okay, then." She let the feline go before turning to the gator monster. "Well, be seeing you, then."

"Like, see you later!"

And with that "side-quest" over, Iji returned to Ansaksie and the guards.

"Are you done?" asked the Komato.

"Yeah. Let's go meet Mettaton."

After entering the resort once more, the entourage crossed the carpeted hallway between the elevator and receptionist's desk to the double doors on the end that had the CORE sign right above it. For a bit of dramatic flair, Iji pushed both of them open and stepped forward, beholding a walkway of pipes leading to a rectangular doorway with blue lighting. There were also guardrails for the walkway at the perimeter outside the CORE building itself, as well as a balcony with yellow lights on the resort side.

And at the CORE entrance were two indistinct shapes that went inside. Iji decided to notify Alphys. She couldn't remember if this was part of the script.

"Huh? Who are they?" she parroted. "N-nobody else is s-supposed to be here… Oh well! We can't worry about that now!"

"Is it part of the script?"

"Uhh…they're probably workers. It's time for the shifts to change."

"Okay."

"Remember, I got guards escorting me, try to take that into account."

"R-right! See you there!"

Once the call was over, Iji decided to call Papyrus (and Undyne if she's still there) next. "Hello?"

"HI, IJI! HEADING INTO THE CORE?" the skeleton asked.

"The CORE is a huge tower of electric energy," Undyne pitched in. "So I don't think your phone will work through it."

"OH NO! WHAT WILL YOU DO WITHOUT US?"

"Don't worry, guys," Iji assured. "I'm not going in alone."

"RIGHT! THE GUARDS!"

"You have something to do, right?" said Undyne. "Well…even without words, we'll be with you in spirit, OK?!"

"YEAH! YOU CAN'T GET RID OF US!"

"We're counting on you, so don't mess it up! See ya!"

And the call ended. And the group walked forward. Once they were inside, an elevator and two pathways beheld them. The floor was blue as well as the walls and had lines on them depicting a high-tech theme.

Another call came from Alphys. Iji decided to put it on speaker. "Ready? This is it! Take the elevator up to the top of the CORE!"

Iji approached the elevator button an pressed it. But it wasn't working. She decided to try and hack it but Alphys spoke again.

"What? The elevator should be working. W-well then! Go to the right and keep heading up!"

"Can you go check that for me, Ansaksie?" Iji asked as she lay her hand on the elevator buttons to find a way to hack the thing to work again.

"I'll do it," 04 volunteered as she checked in the Komato's stead. "The alien's staying where most of us can see her."

"Okay."

A few seconds later, 04 came back. "There's only a dead end and a fire pit that way."

"What?" said Alphys over the phone. "That pit… isn't on my map. Forget it! Let's try the left side!"

Like before, 04 checked it out. This time… "Clear!"

"Okay, let's go," Iji said as she went off that way with the guards and Ansaksie.

"You're not gonna finish cracking that?" asked the Komato as they walked.

"Actually, I want to see more of the CORE, and going the long way might help. I need to learn as much as I can before arranging terms with King Asgore."

---

Crossing the left pathway took them to a short hallway flanked with pillars with red glowing electric lamps. And then they were greeted by what looked like a classical fancy wizard (monster) with two floating orbs in place of arms before it decided to retreat. According to the compendium file, it was a Madjick.

"Alphys?" Iji asked anyway on the phone. "Who was that?"

"I-I-I don't know. Wh… why are there so many monsters here? B-b-but I mean… It's no problem, r-r-right? W-w-we've just got to keep heading forward!"

"Mercenaries," said 03. "King Asgore had to pay a lot to protect us them when the aliens attacked. Of course, they were also defending themselves, but he needed as many of his people as he can safe."

They're most likely after me, given that most of monsterkind is still after my SOUL. But how would they know I'm a human if other monsters don't? This is confusing. I wonder why Mettaton hasn't called them off yet, assuming he's their contractor. But given they've fled, I'm thinking they don't want to mess with the guards.

"Let's keep moving," Ansaksie broke Iji out of her reverie.

"Right."

---

The next are consisted of a right turn with a small pathway lined with lasers in the middle. A force field blocked the way forward, and there was a switch nearby, which Ansaksie approached.

"Looks like you can't proceed until you hit the switch." Alphys said. "B-but, those lasers will activate when you do. Ummm… Looks like they'll come in this order: Orange, Orange, Blue."

"Make sure that's correct," Iji said. "Remember that there are guards with me."

"R-right! They're probably in the reverse order."

"Thank you." She turned to the Komato. "Ready."

Once Ansaksie flipped the switch, three lasers came in from the direction of the hallway. And they were colored Blue, Blue, and Orange in that order.

"Move on the third!" Iji immediately barked as she stood still, then did as she said. 01 got hit, but Ansaksie backflipped to dodge the orange laser. The rest managed to get by unharmed. "I think the script only called for me to do this alone. Perhaps it's best I walk ahead of the rest of you so this won't get hurt like this."

"We're not leaving you," 02 said. "Guards have to learn to dodge lasers too."

"It's often a part of training," 04 added. "So you don't have to worry."

"If you say so," Iji replied before they proceeded onward.

---

The next area consisted of a short hallway with a fork to the left, which the group ignored after 02 went ahead and verified it was a dead end. The area after that however consisted of a long hallway filled with lasers. The first set seemed passable enough, with four moving blue lasers and one stationary orange one, but after that was a whole set of stationary blue lasers. If Alphys doesn't have a way to turn these off, Iji will have to destroy them. Speaking of, she spoke on the phone.

"M…more lasers… Okay, I'll just deactivate the lasers and let you through."

A few seconds passed, but nothing happened. But that was part of the script. " They're… They're not turning off… I can't turn them off, I… I-i-it's okay! I have this under control! I'm going to turn off the p-power for that whole node. Then you can walk across."

As she said, the power was turned off.

"Okay, go!"

Everybody scrambled to cross the laser hallway, but it was so narrow that nobody could sidestep one another. Well, the non-monsters can jump really high, but Ansaksie's conserving her teleportation charges, and Iji doesn't trust her own judgment to land safely or not break the glass.

A few seconds after Alphys gave the signal, she shouted, "W-wait! Stop!"

Iji parroted those words to everyone just as the power went back on and trapped her, Ansaksie, and 01 in blue lasers, with 02 just behind, and 04 and 03 having to navigate the lasers further back.

"Th-the power… It's turning itself back on. D-damn it… Th-this isn't supposed to… I…" Alphys calmed herself for a moment before speaking again. "I'm gonna turn it off again. When it turns off, move a little, and then stop. OK? Y-you won't get h-h-hurt."

Once the power went out again, everyone knew to take that as a cue to get moving. Once they saw the light flicker, everyone stopped.

As soon as Ansaksie made it to the other side after Iji, she commented, "This reminds me of a game Komato kids used to play when they wanted to be Assassins."

Iji decided not to ask further on that except to respond with a raised eyebrow as the other guards joined them. After which Alphys spoke again. "S-see? I've got everything under control. Everything's under control!"

"Does she?" asked the Komato as the group continued.

"So far, everything's according to script," the human replied.

---

The next area consisted of a crossroads and two digital signs, and the place began to smell of ozone. Also, Alphys made herself known again. "OK! Y-you should… you should… I don't know? This doesn't look like my map at all... I'm sorry... I... I... I have to go." And with that she hung up.

"Still part of the script?" Ansaksie asked Iji.

"I don't think so. From what I heard from a CORE worker at the restaurant, it seems that the inside of the core has swappable parts, and the layout can be shuffled at will. Alphys sounds like either she doesn't know, or this wasn't part of the script."

"So what now?"

"Let's check the signs."

And that's what they did. The one to their right said East… The End while the left said North, the warrior's path. West, the sage's path. Any path leads to The End.

"Looks like there are two puzzles in this area," Iji deduced. "Solve either one and I'm thinking the path to The End will open. Just to be sure, let's do both."

She led the party to the west, where they reached a right turn after crossing a short bridge. They also found a conveyer belt in front of them just a jump away. It also happened to be carrying ice cubes off and dropping them into the bright substance below them.

So the ice from Snowdin goes all the way here… "Say," Iji turned to the guards. "Is the ice from Snowdin for cooling the CORE down?"

"No, actually," 03 said. "Though it does help. The water down here is actually ozonated water, which is used for cleaning clothes, sanitizing food, and purifying drinking water."

"Ah."

---

The next area was a straight path with a left turn that had another sign that said Solve this puzzle and The End will open. The party immediately took that turn and beheld a shooter puzzle just like the ones in Hotland. Iji immediately got to the controller and proceeded to solving it. It took a while, but she managed to do it. Neither Ansaksie nor the guards made any comments throughout this, which Iji found a little odd but let it slide. She then went back to where the sign is and turned left again, going north, which led to another short corridor with a right turn. Ahead was a dead end with a trash can, which she immediately checked and found a perfectly good (wrapped) Glamburger.

It was tempting to take it, but she didn't want to give a bad example to Ansaksie, so she ignored it. But 01 thought it was a good idea and took the Glamburger.

"Don't follow his example," Iji told her Komato companion.

"Komato know how to keep clean too," Ansaksie replied. "Outside of matters of war, that is. What do you take us for?"

"Given the Tasen love their hot drinks in temperatures far above human standards, and Vulkins think their lava heals, I needed to make absolutely sure. Assumptions can get you killed."

"I see."

After 01 got back with the rest of the party, they took the right turn, where they found another cross path and another digital sign that said Traverse the northern room, and The End will open.

"Let's see," Ansaksie said. "Given where we've passed, north is to the left. But do we need to go there?"

"Now that you mention it, perhaps we should check The End first, see if it is indeed open. Given how much of a maze this is, let's backtrack."

In a while, the group was back at the starting point after the laser hallway, and they took the east path, which had a turn like on the west path, but minus the conveyer belt for ice cubes. The area after that had a sign saying I cannot fight. I cannot think. But, with patience, I will make my way through. on the right while the left sign said To the East! This is The End. Which they followed, taking a long bridge with a wall to their left, and pillars with red glowing electric lamps to their right.

And at the end of the bridge was not just Madjick, but four other monsters as well, and they all seemed to be positioned in an obstructive formation. These were quite obviously the mercenaries 03 mentioned.

One of them was a monster that wielded a great staff with a sun symbol in their right hand, wore a suit of black armor and what resembled a horned helmet with a crescent moon emblazoned on their forehead. The helmet's eyepiece occasionally widened and unwidened during battle as if it was their mouth (and could very well be). Their torso was dominated by an avian face whose beak will open and close, revealing a small eye. According to the compendium file, this was Knight Knight.

The second basically consisted of a large ball and four spiked limbs. The ball was accompanied by two "horns" on each side. At first, it looked like a Loox-like monster with three eyelashes. However, it shortly changed when upon closing its eye, the eyelashes turned into a marking and two eyes while the original eye became a smiling mouth with teeth. This was an Astigmatism.

The third bore a lot of similarities to a Whimsun, except their antennae were thicker, there was a muff on their head that branched in two, a knight mask blocked their face, they wielded a two-bladed spear, and their ghost-like torso was skinnier and shorter. This was Whimsalot, and they've come a long way.

The fourth had spike-like creations on their head and eyelids, accompanied by a crown-like muff on top of their head. Their "shoulders" were decorated with sharp excrescents, while the silhouette between their legs formed a face with triangular smile and cross eyes. Final Froggit was its name, quite obviously improved from when it was a Froggit.

When Iji glanced back at her companions, she couldn't help but feel they were about to have a showdown of sorts for some reason. She really hoped not to; she's only fought monsters up to three at a time. She's never seen monsters fight one another with intent to harm, only heard of Undyne's training under King Asgore, as well as her physical shenanigans with Papyrus she sometimes hears on the phone or according to Undyne herself during their talk in her house.

And then the mercenaries parted, allowing the party to pass. (13) Iji was briefly confused, but decided to pull back for a bit before gesturing to the Hotland Guards. 02 immediately got the message and they assumed a formation where they guarded her (and Ansaksie). The mercenaries got the message as the party passed.

"Mettaton is past that door," said Knight Knight in a deep yet feminine voice. "Your performance is about to begin."

"Don't leave us waiting," said Astigmatism. "We already got tickets."

Madjick just gestured to something past them door and bowed.

"I hope you're ready," said Whimsalot, certainly sounding braver than Whimsun.

Final Froggit just croaked.

As the group reached the end of the bridge, they saw a decorated doorway leading somewhere to the left, as well as an elevator just past that.

"Okay," said Iji. "Given what I've learned so far about Mettaton, I'll need to be geared up." She then knelt down, took out her satchel, then took out her phone, opened the inventory systems, and started rearranging all her stuff.

STANDARD

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hush Puppy, Glamburger, Mystery Key, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Satchel inventory:

Supplies, Canteen, Water-Purifying Pills, Flashlight, Pen, Tasen Logbook, Flares, Stick, Barbs of Wire, Bookmark, Box of Raisins, Toy Knife, Worn Glove, Worn Glove, Manly Bandanna, Ballet Shoes, Bag Of Misc. Junk, Torn Notebook, Stained Apron, Empty Gun, Cowboy Hat,

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, Starfait, Legendary Hero, Steak In The Shape Of Mettaton's Face, [Empty]

Tasen Logbook Records:

directions_to_snowdin, ascii_catgirl, color_tile_puzzle_guide, monster_compendium, temmie_village_directions, gaster_note, the_undertale, underground_compilation, ask_gerson_about_the_king_later, negotiation_proposal_(draft), business_advice_to_mettaton

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, Spider Ad, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

Ansaksie's Phone Inventory:

Abandoned Quiche, Crab Apple, Bisicle, Bisicle, Cinnamon Bunny, Sea Tea, [Empty], [Empty]

|
V

FOR THE SHOW

Iji's Phone Inventory:

Glamburger, Mystery Key, Starfait, Legendary Hero, Steak In The Shape Of Mettaton's Face, Manly Bandanna, Cowboy Hat, Spider Ad

Satchel inventory:

Supplies, Canteen, Water-Purifying Pills, Flashlight, Pen, Tasen Logbook, Flares, Stick, Barbs of Wire, Bookmark, Box of Raisins, Toy Knife, Worn Glove, Worn Glove, Ballet Shoes, Bag Of Misc. Junk, Torn Notebook, Stained Apron, Empty Gun

Box Storage/Dimensional Box A:

Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Snowman Piece, Old Tutu, Cloudy Glasses, Spider Donut, Note from Iji, Dog Salad, Dog Residue, Instant Noodles, Hush Puppy

Dimensional Box B:

Beans Can, Spaghetti, Bisicle, Sea Tea, [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]

During her re-sorting, Alphys called and asked to be put on speaker and told them the following. As they're nearing an exit out of Hotland, the Royal Guards will have to leave Iji. Not being part of the show, Ansaksie was to stay with the guards, and at the end of the show, she'll be accompanying the human again.

It took a few minutes before she was ready, but soon, she was geared up for her showdown with Mettaton. She stepped through the doorway, ready for whatever Mettaton has in store.

---

nightelf37: So, yeah. I decided to put Mettaton's showdown on the next chapter. I think this one was running a little too long.

Sometimes, I wonder. Perhaps an alternate tale where the Child falls in sometime after Iji, but unfortunately, due to the alien attacks, they've become xenophobic and commit genocide on monsterkind out of paranoia and fear, and going that other path. But then I decided otherwise; such a killer would easily be stopped by a non-monster. My mind can wander sometimes.

(1) Let's be real. There's no way one can properly be 'still' in that situation. Your body bobbing up and down as you walk will still likely count as SOUL movement.

(2) I'm sorry. I couldn't figure out how to translate Muffet's battle into text, so I decided to skip it, and that's also why I had Iji keep the Spider Donut until she made it to Muffet.

(3) I can't do the "dance" justice, so I won't describe it, not even in the musical format I have for Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic series.

(4) Just like the train question in the quiz show, Iji's thought process here provides the answer to the puzzle.

(5) Of course, Iji told Alphys that she's very likely to solve the colored tile puzzle, and the scientist was more inclined to believe a fellow adult on this.

(6) I was planning to write a Fight against RG 03 (the cat) and RG 04 (the mantis), but decided against it and put them here instead.

(7) I'm sure everyone who's familiar with the angel Metatron saw how similar the name was.

(8) In Iji 1.6, Even though you can potentially slaughter so many enemies with reflected shots, because they don't add to your kill count, NPCs you meet don't regard you as a mass murderer.

(9) In case you don't know, hushpuppies are real food.

(10) A reference to a fangame titled Undertale Yellow.

(11) I'm sure Burgerpants can tell the difference between a child and an adult.

(12) No reason Bratty and Catty can't, right?

(13) I was a bit impatient to end this soon, not to mention I have no clue how monster-vs-monster conflicts go, so the mercenaries weren't going to fight the royal guards.

Up next: The Showdown with Mettaton truly begins, Alphys finally reveals something she's been hiding, Iji is forced to accept the truth she's been ignoring, and she finally meets up with the King.

See ya on Third!