turned and Saw Frisk and gasped.

"Oh. My god….u-uhh…h-h-hiya!" Frisk looked at the monster curiously. This stutter was not one of nervousness, more from social anxiety.

"I'm Dr. Alphys, Asgore's royal scientist!" So this was Alphys. "BUT…I'm not one of the guys trying to kill you. Actually, since you stepped out of the ruins, I've, um…been observing your journey through the underground…your fights, friendships, everything!"

"Ok…" Frisk thought to himself. "Bit creepy…but ok…"

"I was originally going to stop you, but watching someone, after a wihle you raelly want to root for them. So…now I want to help you! I know the shortest route to Asgore's castle through Hotland. No problem!"

"But…?" Frisk asked, able to tell that there was definitely a 'but' coming in.

"You see there's a little problem…a long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton. Originally, I made him to be an entertainment robot. You know, like a robotic TV star or something like that. Anyways, recently I decided to make him more practical. You know, just some small adjustments. Like…uh…ant-human…combat properties…Of course when I saw you coming, I immediately decided I have to remove those features!" Alphys continued to ramble, while Frisk worked on making sense of it all.

"Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake in doing so. And, um…now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?"

Frisk felt his jaw just about hit the ground. "A WHAT?!"

"BUT! Uh…hopefully we won't run into him!" Alphys spoke quickly. Suddenly there was a thump from behind one of the walls. Suddenly a loud smash, and out rolled a robot on one wheel. Frisk jumped back, as did Alphys.

"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO TODAYS QUIZ SHOW!" The robot shouted loudly.

"OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW!" The robot continued to speak loudly. Frisk glanced awkwardly at Alphys who had her head in one hand.

"EVERUONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!" Mettaton indicated to Frisk. "NEVER PLYAED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?"

"Well—"

"NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! There's only one rule. Answer correctly…OR YOU DIE!"

Frisk tried not to let his jaw hit the ground again as the robot zeroed in on Frisk.

"LET'S START EASY! WHAT IS THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?!" A list of choices appeared in front of Frisk. He was about to move for mercy, but then he spotted Alphys making a D motion with his hand. Instead, Frisk turned and tapped on an icon that said "D: MORE QUESTIONS!"

"CORRECT! NEXT QUESTION! WHAT IS THE KINGS FULL NAME?!"

"Oh that's easy. Asgore Dreemurr!" Frisk replied confidently, to which Mettaton applauded him. The questions kept on rolling in. However, at one question, Alphys jumped up and started rambling something about anime for the answer. He suddenly cut himself off when he saw Mettaton staring at him

"Alphys, Alphys, Alphys…you aren't helping our contestant are you? Ooooh…you should have told me! You'll be sure to know the answer to this next question. WHO DOES ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON?"

"Uhhhh….I don't know…" Frisk responded, looking at Alphys awkwardly.

"…Correct." Mettaton responded. "You see, Alphys has a crush on the unknowable. You see, Alphys believes there is someone out there. Someone watching her. Someone she thinks is "cute" and "interesting. Hello theoretical person, Alphys likes you. Too bad you are not real. Well, with Dr. Alphys helping you, the show has no dramatic tension! We can't go on like this! But…next up, more drama! More romance! MORE BLOODSHED!" And with that, Mettaton wheeled away. Frisk turned slowly to Alphys.

"Well that was…"

"…interesting…" Alphys finished Frisks' sentence.

"Here, let me give you my phone number. If you need help, I can easily contact you."

"Hmm? Oh sure." Frisk allowed Alphys to program her number into his phone. After this, he set out, and walked out the exit, back into the thick of Hotland, determined as ever to reach the kings castle, and hopefully, the exit.