The reflection of the lava onto the Core made the machinery shine brightly.
"I gotta admit," said Yakko, "that's kinda intimidating."
Alphys texted them.
*are you worried about meeting Asgore?
Wakko texted back.
*Not really, he sounds nice from what we've heard!
Alphys responded.
*he really is. Im sure you can talk to him and you can pass through the barrier with your souls! Or if youre that serious abt freeing everyone you can convince him not to kill you. So no worrying, ok? Just keep smiling and forget about it.
Dot texted back.
*Whatever you say, Alphys.
They arrived at another elevator and entered.
"Let's do L3 this time!" said Wakko, pressing the button.
The elevator shook as they were being taken to the next floor. Compared to the rest of Hotland, it looked very different. They were in a black room covered with red spinning gears and the floor was painted red-purple.
"Just what we needed," said Yakko, "a change in scenery!"
A purple-skinned spider girl with black hair in double pigtails stood by a table covered with checkerboarded cloth.
"Welcome to our parlor, dearie~"
"Thanks!" said Wakko.
"Interested in some spider pastries? ALL proceeds go to real spiders~"
Wakko's mouth watered.
"No thanks," said Dot, "we just had hotdogs an hour ago."
"If you change your mind, check out the webs to make a purchase~"
The toons walked away, then saw a green cat about to have a breakdown as he stared at the donut in his hand.
"Hey," said Yakko, "you ok?"
"I...I...I ended up buying a donut...I...I...I didn't want to, but that girl...even though I told her no, she...kept staring at me in this creepy way and licking her lips. N...now I'm outta cash."
"Tough break," Dot muttered.
Wakko patted his back.
"You'll be alright."
As they walked into the next room, Alphys updated her status.
*omg the humanfolk were reading my posts the whole time
*i hope they agree with me about Mew Mew 2
"No comment this time," said Dot.
The platforms in front of them were covered in the steamy arrows.
"Guess this is like that other puzzle from two chapters ago," said Yakko.
They stepped on the arrows, whooping as they jumped. Left, up, right, down, down, right, up, up, left, and up. Before they could get to the first puzzle, they were attacked by Tsunderplane! Not because of being jealous Vulkin paid attention to them….
"You're doing a great job!" said Wakko, encouraging Vulkin.
"Ahh! Ahh! Does my best!"
"Hey babe!" said Yakko while approaching Tsunderplane, "Want some of this?"
"Eeeeh? H-humanfolk?"
Planes fell through the box and fireballs were launched from the side. A fireball hit Dot on her arm, taking away 2 HP.
"Ouch!"
Yakko narrowly touched the green sides of the planes as he approached, making Tsunderplane blush. They spared them, receiving 100 gold and allowing them to pass. As they entered the room, they realized it truly was the same puzzle.
"Okay," said Dot, "we got only one bullet this time!"
"I got this one," said Wakko.
He moved the joystick left, then right. It cleared the boxes from the pathway, allowing him to shoot the ammo at the target.
"We won, we won, we won!" they cheered.
Leaving the room, they found two diamond monsters outside. One was red and wore a baseball cap backwards, and the other was green and wore a blue striped shirt.
"Hey," Yakko asked the red diamond, "what's your favorite Mettaton Moment(™)?"
He momentarily gawked at his change of speech.
"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."
"And yours?" Dot asked the green diamond.
"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."
"Cool," said Yakko.
They went to the other side. Down, down, left, down, down, right, right, down, left, and down!
"Wow," said Dot, "conveyor belts and blue lasers? This one's gonna be hard."
"It looks impossible," said Wakko, stepping on the conveyor belt with his siblings.
"Nah," said Yakko, "it just means we can't get to the other side without getting hurt."
They got hit by the first blue laser, but it didn't hurt them. Instead, it summoned a boundary box and three extra lasers.
"Don't move!" Dot shouted.
They stood still as three more blue lasers passed over them. Moving back on the conveyor belt, the same thing happened but with one blue laser followed by two orange ones.
"Run!" Wakko shouted as they went through the orange lasers.
The last one summoned the same pattern.
"Here we go again!" said Dot, repeating what she did last time.
A platform separated the conveyer belt in two, letting the Warners get off to the next puzzle. But as they stepped back on normal ground, Alphys called Dot.
"Hey Dot!"
"Hey Alphys."
"This um, doesn't have anything to do with guiding you...but...Uhh, Hey, would you want to watch a human TV show together? Sometime? It's called, um, M...Mew Mew Kissy Cutie…"
"Sure!"
"R-really!?"
"Yeah, it sounds like the kinda show I'd like!"
"It's so good! It's, um, my favorite show!"
Then she started talking in rapid-fire mode. Dot could barely keep up.
"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!"
"Uh, Alphys?"
"That her friends like her despite the ears! It's really moving! Whoops, spoilers"
"Alphys, slow down!"
Yakko chuckled, seemingly the only one who could understand Alphys geeking out at that speed.
"Also, this sounds weird, but she has the power! To control the minds of anyone she kisses! She kisses people and controls them to fix her problems! They don't remember anything after the kiss I mean! BUT IF SHE MISSES THE KISS! THEN! Then, uh, and, uh, also I mean of course"
"That sounds crazy," said Yakko.
"Eventually, she realizes that controlling people OKAY WELL I almost spoiled the whole show, but uhhh, I think you'd really like it!"
She took a few breaths, then continued talking.
"We should watch it! After you get through all this!"
"Sounds like a plan," said Dot. "Can't wait!"
Alphys hung up, allowing them to solve the next puzzle.
"This one looks tricky," said Yakko. "I'll handle it!"
He moved the joystick as Wakko and Dot kept jumping and shouting which way to go.
"Left, no up, no down!"
"Left! Keep going left!"
"Move it down a bit!"
"Down, right, no up!"
"Left, left again, right!"
Soon, it formed a straight line. Yakko shot the target, completing the puzzle.
"Woo!" they all cheered.
They skipped over to the conveyor belt.
"These puzzles are pretty neat," said Yakko.
They kept skipping, then stopped in the middle to look at a randomly placed cactus.
"What's that doing there?" said Dot.
"I dunno," said Wakko, "but its flowers smell nice."
"Now we gotta get back to the right."
Up! Left! Up! Right! Right! Right! Up! Right!
"Got some high energy back," said Yakko.
They were met with two metal doors. On each side was a green glowing symbol. They flashed, then the door opened with a strong vibration, shaking the ground.
"Whoa!"
They waved their arms around to keep balance.
"That was intense," said Dot.
On the other side of the doors was a yellow twinkling star.
"Good thing those stars fill our HP back!" said Wakko.
The smell of cobwebs filled the air as the rest of the path changed. The sides changed colors from red to purple, leading to a hole in the wall.
"I guess this is some kinda spider entrance?" said Dot.
"Yeah," said Yakko, "there's webs everywhere!"
They zigzagged as they walked by, avoiding the spiderwebs on the floor.
"Ahuhuhuhu…" a shrill voice rang out. "Did you hear what they just said?"
Normal-looking spiders lowered themselves down from the ceiling, then back up.
"They said three cartoon children will come through. I heard that they hate spiders."
A large clump of webs appeared in front of them.
"Jeez," said Yakko, "ya think they'd clean up around here…"
As they stepped through the webs, their legs made squishing sounds.
"Gross…" said Wakko.
The shrill voice spoke again.
"I heard that they love to stomp on them. I heard that they like to tear their legs off."
"That's just cruel!" said Dot.
"Uh, sibs?" said Yakko. "...I can't move."
"Me neither," said Wakko.
"Same here," said Dot.
Looks of dread appeared on their faces as the spider girl from earlier appeared in a large web with four normal spiders by her side.
"I heard...that they're awfully stingy with their money. Ahuhuhuhu...You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, deary?"
They rapidly shook their heads.
"Ahuhuhu...I disagree with that notion. I think your taste...Is exactly what this next batch needs!"
An encounter started as the spider, named Muffet, trapped them in her webs. The Warners struggled to wriggle free.
"Diiiiiisgusting!" Dot shouted.
Muffet covered her mouth and giggled.
"Don't look so blue, my dearies~"
She poured purple tea inside the boundary box. Filling it up rather quickly.
"Gah!"
They tried to run away, but were cornered at the other end of the box. They held their breaths as they drowned in the purple tea. Their souls turned purple and were transported to the center of the box. Three purple lines were neatly placed across the box, the Warners being on the center line.
"What the-?!"
"...I think purple is a better look on you! Ahuhuhu~"
"It's not our place to say stuff like this," said Dot, "but she's BONKERS!"
One of the normal spiders held up a sign saying what attack would come next.
"Here," said Wakko, "ya want this?!"
He threw 40 pieces of gold at Muffet. She reduced her attack.
"Why so pale, children? You should be proud~"
"Pale?" said Yakko. "Our faces are always white!"
Spiders bounced across the purple strings of Muffet's web. Two top, two bottom, then two middle.
"Duck!" Dot shouted as they descended onto the bottom web.
One spider crawled by on the bottom web as they did so, hitting them.
Muffet continued her sentence.
"Proud that you're going to make a delicious cake! Ahuhuhu~"
"Are ya sure ya can handle us?" said Yakko. "Toon-flavored stuff is hard to stomach."
"Besides," said Wakko, "we taste awful!"
"Don't be so modest~"
They climbed up and down the web as more spiders were fired at them. Middle, low, two middle, two high, middle, low.
"Can ya PLEASE let us go?" Dot asked, making puppy-dog eyes.
"Let you go? Don't be silly~"
"Oh no, she's immune to cuteness!"
They were cornered by two spiders, one in the middle and the other on the bottom.
"We're not gonna make it!" said Wakko as they tried climbing back up to the top.
They got hit again.
"Jeez," said Dot, "we got hit only twice and we already lost 8 HP!"
Muffet did a synchronized dance with the other spiders, who clapped to the music as the Warners continued dodging.
"Your SOULS are going to make every spider very happy~~~"
"Up, down, down again, stay!" said Yakko. "ACK! Eyeball spiders!"
They climbed back to the top.
"Oh, how rude of me! I almost forgot to introduce you to my pet~ It's breakfast time isn't it? Have fun, you two~"
The boundary box bounced back and forth, moving to the side as she kept attacking.
"Oh god," said Dot, "it's shaking!"
Middle, up, middle, down, repeat the process three more times and here comes the spider-dog! The kids screamed as Muffet's pet chased them. They had to climb high, but not too high, or else they'd be hit by more spiders!
"Come on, come on, find a gap!" said Yakko.
They narrowly avoided three clumps of spiders, but were hit twice when the gaps they searched for closed right as they were about to jump through.
"Oof!" said Wakko, clutching his stomach.
"One more hit and we're done for," said Yakko. "Got any more items?"
Wakko pulled out the jug of spider cider.
"Oh hey," said Dot, "almost forgot we had that!"
"Drink up, sibs!"
They each took a sip from the jar, maxing out their HP.
"Huh?" said Muffet. "Where did you get that…? Did you steal it? Oh, my pet~ It's time to show them what we do with thieves~"
The Warners tried to inch away.
"Wait, wait, we can explain-"
Just then, another spider brought a letter to Muffet, pausing the fight.
"Huh? A telegram from the spiders in the RUINS?"
She took it and started reading it.
"What? They're saying that they saw you, and...you helped donate to their cause!"
"Yeah!" said Wakko.
"Oh my, this has all been a big misunderstanding~ I thought you were children that hated spiders~"
"Nah," said Dot, "I'm pretty sure my pet's part spider."
"What gave ya that idea?" said Yakko, more curious than irritated.
"The person who asked for those SOULs...They must have meant DIFFERENT cartoon children~ Sorry for all the trouble~ Ahuhuhu~ I'll make it up to you~ You can come back here any time...And, for no charge at all…"
"Faboo!" said Wakko.
"I'll wrap you up and let you play with my pet again!"
Their eyes bulged.
"No thanks!" said Yakko.
"Ahuhuhuhuhuhu~" Muffet giggled. "Just kidding~"
They sighed with relief.
"I'll SPARE you now~"
She unwrapped them from the web.
"Thanks Muffet!" said Wakko.
"Ahuhuhuhu…That was fun! See you again, dearies!"
She faded away in the distance, allowing them to progress.
"I gotta say," said Yakko as they kept walking, "she ain't too bad."
The next room was painted a brighter purple, and a poster for Mettaton's latest stage performance was plastered to the brick wall.
"A tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers," Dot read, "kept apart by the tides of fate…looks like we're in for a treat!"
"Come on," said Wakko, "they're about to start!"
They ran ahead, onto the set. It was painted blue, with black houses in the background and a large tower with a vine ladder.
"OH? THAT SURFACE DWELLER..."
They looked up to find where Mettaton's was coming from. Three stars and a full moon were hanging from the ceiling, and they saw a window by the tower. Mettaton stuck part of his face out to look down at them.
"COULD IT BE…?"
Mettaton showed his full body, revealing he wore a blue princess dress. The Warners had to cover their mouths so they wouldn't be heard laughing.
"...MY ONE TRUE LOVE?"
An angelic harp played as Mettaton carefully rolled down the stairs.
"Who's he gonna pick?" said Wakko.
"I dunno," said Yakko, "but this is gonna be good…"
As he rolled onto the floor, he held Yakko's hand and serenaded him. Wakko and Dot could barely hold back giggles.
Oh my love
Please run away
Monster King
Forbids your stay
Mettaton walked around the stage, taking Yakko with him and pulling him into a waltz. Yakko was curious to where Mettaton was going with this, but decided not to interrupt him. He chuckled a little; it was the first time a gay robot serenaded him.
Humanfolk must
Live far apart
Even if
It breaks my heart
Cherry petals fell down from the ceiling as Mettaton broke away from Yakko.
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.
A shooting star passed by them as the music stopped.
"Wow…" said Yakko. "That was beautiful…"
He and his siblings shed some tears. Yakko pulled a handkerchief out of his pants and blew his nose.
"SO SAD. SO SAD THAT YOU ARE GOING TO THE DUNGEON."
He pulled out a remote and pressed the red button.
"WELL, TOODLES!"
The Warners screamed as the ground gave way from under them. However, they managed to nail the landing as they made contact with another lava rock platform.
"OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO? MY LOVE AND HIS FAMILY HAVE BEEN CAST AWAY INTO THE DUNGEON. A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOUR WILL SURELY PERISH!"
"Fear not, Mettaton!" Yakko shouted. "We'll find some way to escape!"
As the toons looked ahead, they found the colored tile puzzle Papyrus set up for them earlier.
"Oh jeez," said Dot, "not this one!"
"O, HEAVENS HAVE MERCY! THE HORRIBLE COLORED TILE MAZE! 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?"
"You were watching us too?" said Yakko, modestly extending his arm out. "I'm flattered."
"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...YOU'LL BE INCINERATED BY THESE JETS OF FIRE!"
He maniacally laughed.
"It's so on!" said Dot, cracking her knuckles.
Her brothers stretched their arms and legs, ready to make it through.
"MY POOR LOVE! I'M SO FILLED WITH GRIEF, I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING! GOOD LUCK, DARLINGS!"
They ran onto the conveyor belt standing in between them and the tiles, singing backup to the second verse of Mettaton's song.
Oh my love (Pink green orange purple)
Has fallen down (Pink pink blue blue)
Now in tears (Pink green orange purple)
We all will drown (Purple orange pink purple)
Colored tiles (Blue blue blue pink)
Make them fools (Orange green purple orange)
If only they (Purple blue pink orange)
Still knew the rules (OW shocked back to blue)
Well that was (Dunno what we're doing)
A sorry try (But we're just choosing)
Now let's watch (To make it out)
Them fry (Alive)
They were just about to step on the clumps of the green tiles, but the timer ran out right before they could do so. The tiles faded to gray as Mettaton stared them down.
"OOOOH, I'M SO SORRY! LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE OUT OF TIME!"
Dot snapped her fingers as she and her brothers shared looks of disappointment.
"Aw man!"
"We were so close!" said Wakko.
"Well," said Yakko, shrugging, "guess we'll die."
The flame jets closed in on them.
"HERE COME THE FLAMES, DARLINGS! THEY'RE CLOSING IN!"
The Warners counted down on their fingers.
"GETTING! CLOSER! OH MY! ANY MINUTE NOW!"
But Alphys didn't show up. Mettaton stopped the flames before they could touch the kids, releasing a robotic cough.
"Don't worry," said Yakko, "she should be here in three...two…"
Yakko received a call from Alphys, and he gladly answered.
"And boom goes the dynamite! Take it away, Al!"
"Watch out! I'll save you! I'm hacking into the firewall right now!"
The flames disappeared.
"OH NO! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? FOILED AGAIN BY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS! THA-"
"That's right!" her Phyllis Smith-esque voice squeaked, improvising. "Come on, Mettaton, give up already! You'll never be able to defeat us...Not as long as we work together!"
"Hey," said Dot, "not bad! She's finally growing a spine!"
"Your puzzle's over...Now go home and leave us alone!"
The Warners whooped and clapped for Alphys.
"PUZZLE? OVER? ALPHYS, DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT…? DID YOU FORGET WHAT THE GREEN TILES DO? THEY MAKE A SOUND, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER. WELL, DARLINGS...THAT MONSTER...IS ME!"
He approached and began an encounter.
"THIS IS IT, DARLINGS! SAY GOODBYE!"
"Bring it on!" said Yakko.
Just then, Wakko's phone chirped.
"IS THAT YOUR PHONE? YOU'D BETTER ANSWER IT!"
Alphys texted them.
*hey this seems bad but don't worry! See that yellow button I put on your phones? Go to the [[ACT]] menu and press it!
The buttons glowed.
"Can't believe I never noticed that before," said Dot.
They pressed the buttons. Their phones resonated with Mettaton's presence. Just then, the Warners felt something weird happen within them. Their souls turned upside down.
"Ackggh!"
Their hands also had minds of their own, turning towards Mettaton and making finger guns. They shuddered once they stopped moving, realizing their souls and bodies turned yellow. Getting the idea, they pulled their triggers and shot tiny yellow bullets out of their fingers and at Mettaton.
"Pew pew!" said Wakko.
"Bang bang!" said Dot.
"Stick 'em up!" said Yakko.
As Mettaton responded, however, it sounded phoned in.
"OOOOOOOOOH! YOU'VE DEFEATED ME! HOW CAN THIS BE, YOU WERE STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT, ETC. WHATEVER."
He rolled away as the Warners waved.
"Bye Mettaton!" Dot shouted.
"Can't wait to see what you're up to next!" Yakko shouted.
They received another text from Alphys.
*looks like you beat him! You did a really great job out there
Wanting to make her feel important, Wakko texted her back.
*All thanks to you!
*what? Oh no, I mean
*you were the ones doing everything cool! I just wrote some silly programs for your phone.
Yakko texted back.
*But you're the one who's been cheering us on the whole time! Sure, it's one thing if we're doing it on our own, but we get more motivation when we've got somebody on our side.
*i guess you're right
*hey this might sound strange but
*can i tell you something?
Dot responded.
*Go ahead! We got plenty of time.
*before I met you I didn't really like myself that much. For a long time I felt like a total screwup. Like I couldnt do anything without ending up letting everyone down
*but guiding you has made me feel a lot better about myself. So thanks for letting me help you.
Yakko responded.
*Anytime!
Wakko texted back a hugging emoji, then Alphys texted again.
*uh anyway we're almost to the CORE
*its just past mtt resort
*come on! Let's finish this!
The Warners smiled at each other.
"Ya know," said Dot, "I think she's finally growin' on me."
As they walked up to the next area, they found a familiar face.
"Hey," said Wakko, "it's the Nice Cream man!"
He perked up as he saw them walk by.
"Hey! It's you again!"
"How's it goin'?" Dot asked.
"Business is excellent here! These two fellas bought ALL my ice cream!"
He pointed to 01 and 02.
"So," said Yakko, "that means ya got none left?"
"Afraid so. Sorry kids. But I still got something for you...a big smile!"
They smiled back.
"Let us know when ya refill!" said Wakko.
They approached 01 and 02, who leaned against the wall.
"Hey guys!" Dot waved.
"Oh," said 01, "hey. We're, like, taking a rain check on that killing-you thing. Like, don't tell Undyne about this, okay?"
"No worries," said Yakko, "Fish Stick's a friend of ours! She's cool with this."
02 didn't say anything, but seemed happy. They then walked to the right to find the flame man again.
"Hey, hey! Did you remember my name?"
"Yeah," said Dot, "Heats Flamesman!"
His eyes bulged.
"Wh-WHAT!? You REMEMBER!? How could I be so easily defeateeeeeeeeed!? I'll always remember that you remembered!"
The Warners laughed at Heats' reaction. It seemed as if their presence really seemed to catch everyone off guard. Their unexpectedness filled them with determination.