I OPENED AN ASK FOR EQUATIONTALE!

See the bottom for details.

As the pair continued forward, they were thrust into a dense fog that pushed the snow away like the presence of a lion leaping proudly forward, letting out a loud roar and scattering the field mice around it. It was dense at first, so much so, in fact, that they could see more in the blizzard behind them than they could three inches in front of their face.

The cold pressed around them and into the robot's metallic skin just as thickly as the fog, both beginning to let loose to a warmer, clearer atmosphere once the sound of rushing water entered their perception.

"We're in Waterfall," Mettaton heard his companion state as a few glowing mushrooms(?) came into sight.

He glanced down at Alphys with a smile, though looked away upon noticing the fog pass through her.

"Up ahead should be the Dump! W-well, really far ahead."

The robot nodded, his mouth staying shut. The thicket around them parted its airy vegetation in order to grant the duo passage through the Garden of Eden. Mettaton felt his shoulders relax as the fog cleared and they entered their rainy paradise.

The ground beneath his high heels was wet, he noticed, though his eyes had already taken in the river and waterfalls behind them. What he was more concerned with was the child in front of them, the one perched on a rather dark stone ledge. A few steps closer, and Mettaton could make out that this was, in fact, a very steep ledge that the child was poised on, with a waterfall just about a foot or two away from them. They swung their legs over the side, dangling however high up they were- hundreds of feet? Thousands? Who knows? And their arms? Their arms must be under their poncho! Or...sleeveless shirt? They had arms, right?

He looked over the side again, then took several steps in the opposite direction.

Mettaton didn't even notice the mournful look on Alphys's face or the snow on top of the empty wooden sentry station as he turned to face the orange monster that stood...sat…? in the corner. It had an fish-like tail that it was standing (sitting?) on top of and two black, hollow eyes, staring directly into the human's heart.

"This is an echo flower," it said. "It repeats the same thing it heard, over and over…"

The robot then turned his attention to the blue flower, his eyes becoming captivated for a split second by the faint glow it emitted, however was able to tear them away when another shimmer caught his magenta vision, this one much more familiar than the glow of the echo flower.

Mettaton reached into his bag to pull out his notebook and was about to sit down, when something flashed in the corner of his eyes. In the sentry station beside him, a teenager sat, coat lopsided with uneven buttons and crinkles, as if it had just been flung on, as well as heavy shadows underneath their eyes. Their hair was a complete mess, strands flying about in every direction. Their black T-shirt underneath became evident, though despite this look, the human still looked like they'd just heard the best joke in the world.

"Frisk?" Mettaton asked in almost disbelief. The kid hadn't been there before, had they? He certainly didn't think so…

They turned to face him with a wide grin, throwing in a small wink with it. "Hey, cutie. Is it hot in here or did your internal fan system crash?"

He glanced over at Alphys, who had finally managed to tear her eyes away from the kid sitting on the ledge and began to chuckle. Was there something he was missing? What the heck was an internal fan system?

"Excuse me?"

The human shrugged. "I'm gonna head out on break now. You wanna go grab some Java?"

From Alphys's half-twisted smile, Mettaton assumed that was supposed to be some sort of joke, but he didn't particularly care at that moment. "We have to keep moving."

Frisk, however, didn't seem to catch the hint, and they slid out from behind the counter, revealing a pair of knee-length brown cargo shorts. "Aw, c'mon. Just for a few minutes?"

The robot sighed. "Frisk, we need to keep goin-"

"Nice bolts. Wanna screw?"

He then shut his eyes, bringing one hand up to pinch his nose and letting out yet again another, this time shorter, breath of air. "Just because you have wifi doesn't mean you should connect with everyone who sends you a signal."

Instead of the response Mettaton was expecting, which involved becoming slightly offended, as most people often were at his remarks (either that or absolutely enthralled- it went either way), the human placed one hand over their chest and laughed, smile tearing at their closed eyes as they leaned over the corner of the counter they stood beside. "That's great. I'll have to keep that one back here."

They then gestured toward the station, shook their head, and opened their eyes to look back to Mettaton.

"Anyway. You wanna go now?"

"You're not going to take a no, are you?"

"Ah… You know me so well."

They held out their hand, which Mettaton stared over for a moment before reluctantly meeting it with his own.

Frisk smiled, their boots sloshing against the wet stone floor as they paced forward. "C'mon. I know a shortcut."

Shortcut to where? he wanted to ask. He felt a second hand grab hold of his metal arm, but paid no mind to it; it was familiar enough that he knew who the claws belonged to without even looking.

Mettaton blinked. He hadn't thought much of it, as it was such a natural thing to do, but when he reopened his eyes, the cold re-engaged his system and snow fluttered softly about the two. They were just outside the bar in Snowdin.

"When…?"

"Fast shortcut, huh?"

Our protagonist narrowed his magenta eyes at the human who stood beside him. There was something about the way they smiled so innocently, snow fluttering about them, eyes lazily sliding to the entrance doors, that screamed there was something strange going on. Then again, there was something strange about everyone here, so maybe he shouldn't think too much about it.

"The Armory" the brick wall read in fancy cursive letters. Mettaton had just managed to catch this as the two made their way inside. Well, three, technically, though she didn't need to use the door.

Inside wasn't too bad. There was a wooden floor beneath them and several torches lining the walls. A couple taps were stationed behind the counter, one of which was currently in use by a monster dressed in full body armor (other than his head piece, which had been removed to reveal a green, scaly complexion, pointed...ears?, and a long snout; the guy almost reminded Mettaton of a dragon, but surely those only exist in fantasy). He held a mug underneath it while a bubbly, beer-colored flui- wait, was that beer?

Seeing the two approach, the dragon anthro set the mug down on the counter just as Frisk slid into a seat. He gave a small nod, accompanied with a smile, to which Frisk returned the gesture and began chugging it.

"That's not alcohol, is it?" the former human questioned.

Frisk's eyes widened. They froze, letting the mug linger over their lips before bringing it back down onto the hard counter. Oh, right, uh…

"No, it's…" Their eyes darted about the area surrounding them in an effort to summon any inspiration for a small fib, however, their mind was not trained for such a thing. It normally fell silent in times words were needed. It was only just recently Frisk was being able to pull themself out of that. "...it's fine. I have a high tolerance."

The used-to-be human frowned. "You said you were sixteen."

And, in return, the current human shrugged. "The monsters don't care."

Their gaze fell down to the counter as Mettaton's lingered on the teenager for just a little longer before giving a mental shrug. He certainly wouldn't partake in such a thing (to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure that his body could handle food at this point), but perhaps it was socially acceptable to drink at sixteen down here. Or maybe Frisk lied.

The bartender approached them, placing his elbow nonchalantly against the counter and nodding to Frisk.

"Hey, Two. Just the usual."

"And you?" the guard-looking bartender asked as he turned his gaze to the robot.

Said robot shook his head and held up a hand. "I think I'll pass."

Two gave a small shrug, observed the pair for a brief moment, then stepped aside to prepare the meal.

Mettaton glanced around the room at all the monsters, at the warm feeling the torches emitted, wondering how tavern-esque it seemed in comparison to the rest of the Underground. Was everything this Renaissance looking? The bubbling of the other customers served to liven the atmosphere, at least.

"Hey, Frisk!" a shrill voice called from a nearby table, and the protagonist's attention was directed to a little white rabbit in a well worn outfit that scrambled over to the pair, holding his hands out as he did so. His eyes barely moved.

"Hey, Kiff," Frisk said with a smile as they swung around in their seat.

"I knew it was you!" the kid exclaimed, jumping. "I heard your voice!"

"You sure did," they replied and reached their hand out to give him a quick pat on the head. "Your hearing's getting better."

"It definitely is," one of the two remaining rabbits at the table replied, leaning forward slightly and pressing her paws together. "My little bunbun is making great improvements!"

"Moooom!" Kiff whined, to which the third rabbit merely chuckled.

"Kiff, you're such a doll."

"Auntie Rabbi!"

Mettaton felt his breath hitch for some reason, though fell lax again once both women returned their gaze to the cards in front of them and the smaller rabbit scurried back into his seat by the dog that- oh, that's the dog Mettaton kicked in the side. That's nice.

After chugging the rest of the golden liquid and setting it down gently on the counter, the human smiled broadly. They swiveled in their chair to face Mettaton.

"So."

"Hmm?" Mettaton's focus redirected to the human beside him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think of Temmie?"

Alphys, who shifted slightly beside the robot, center of attention constantly meandering the room to make sure she wouldn't be stepped on at any point, then turned back to her metal companion. *Cute! she muttered, a small smile on her face that only dropped at the remembrance of Mettaton's words back with said furry. *Or, um, uncute…

"Cute," the robot repeated, voice wavering a small bit as his eyes fell to his left.

Frisk, then, mimicked the motion he had done but moments before, their eyebrow climbing up their forehead while leaning forward. "Just cute?"

"Yes, darling. Just cute."

They then frowned. Their back arched to its original position and they turned to face the bar once more.

A silence soon fell over them. The robot fidgeted in his seat with his body leaning forward and back, head swiveling around as if to look for someone, while the person beside him simply tapped their fingers against the empty mug.

Alphys, on the other hand, seemed only to encourage Mettaton's anxiety. Her own focus was placed on the three rabbits at the card table, each one too enthralled in the game to pay much mind to them. The youngest one was the most amusing to watch. Nearly every round he would stare intently at the cards in his hand before picking a random one to throw at the center card, however missing by a few inches. The pup beside him would then bark and one of the two women would chuckle, shake their head, pick it up and hand it back to him, explaining why that wasn't the right card to play. He would then rebut something akin to, "I didn't play that card."

This pursued for perhaps a minute or so before the most alive of the three main characters sighed. They opened their mouth to speak, however, kept their gaze on the glass.

"temmie's more than just a cute face."

Both pairs of eyes redirected at Frisk, though Frisk's attention still refused to meet theirs. "everyone thinks of tems as cute and dumb, sometimes annoying. but there's more to them than that."

Once more Mettaton tried to bite his lip, and once more he felt it was too solid to be satisfying.

Frisk merely shrugged, allowing their head to roll onto their elbow as they leaned against the bar, now facing Mettaton, though observing his purple-and-blue striped shirt, which was at eye level with them.

The robot twitched slightly. His arm patted the countertop, anxiously waiting for Frisk to reply, then snapped once. "Really?"

Frisk nodded.

Mettaton turned to face Frisk, a small bit of impatience flaring in his magenta eyes. "How so?"

"well," they continued in a voice that seemed rather drained. They paused, eyes rolling upward, before finally meeting Mettaton's. Their head still rested on their elbow. "temmie's rooming with me because she wants to be in the royal guard. left her family and everything for it. but she wants to get into the royal guard because of her family."

Mettaton nodded, slowly, shifting a little bit toward Frisk and leaning their weight onto one arm which rested against the countertop. "Oh?"

Frisk's eyes dropped back to the counter. "yeah. my papa's the head of the royal guard. she assumed he still lived with me…"

When their weak smiled further fell, so too did Mettaton's, and he arched his back toward them, lowering his head. "Are you alright?"

"Who, me?" they asked. Instantly their head raised off of their arm and their back straightened so that they were as close to eye level with Mettaton as they could get. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired. But when am I not?"

"You looked like I hit a sour note."

Frisk shook their head. "Anyway. Long story short, she begged him to be in and he finally agreed. Now they're training. It's, uh…" They snickered. "It's a worker in progress."

The protagonist began to form a reply when the bartender stepped in front of them, exchanging the salad plate in his hand for the empty beer mug in front of Frisk. The two locked eyes, and Frisk nodded. He then turned to the tap.

"You want some?" the younger asked, looking to Mettaton for an answer after stabbing a piece of kale with a fork.

Mettaton held up his palm. "No thank you. I'm not entirely sure this body can eat."

They shrugged, popped the piece in their mouth, then nodded in thanks as Two placed their mug down beside them. It wasn't until Two left, though, that they picked back up the conversation.

"Oh yeah. I wanted to ask you something."

Through the bustling noise of the tavern, Mettaton tilted his head, eyes trained on the human, waiting for Frisk to continue.

"Have you heard of a talking flower?"

Mettaton squinted. "You mean the echo flower?"

They nodded. "Yeah. It repeats the last thing it hears. They're all over the marsh."

"What about it?"

Frisk blinked, staring into the liquid they swirled around in their mug. "Temmie told me something interesting. Sometimes, when no one is around, a goldfish will pop out of the water. It screams encouragement at her. It screams some…" Their shoulders dropped. "...other things."

"Oh? Like what?"

They paused, their own attention set on the glass as a few pieces of dialogue entered their mind. When the thoughts fled, they continued to swirl the mug before sighing lightly. "Part of me thinks it's a prank with the echo flowers, but since he said the same thing, I…"

"Who?"

Frisk shook their head. "It's nothing. But, uh, just keep an eye out for any goldfish, 'kay? And let me know if you hear of anyone by the name of Undyne."

Alphys's head perked up.

Though, this went unnoticed by the human. They smiled, downing the rest of the beer and sliding off their seat. "Man, that was a long break. Can't believe you pulled me away for that long."

"Me? You're the one that offered to come here."

"I'll catch ya later."

"Wait, what about your food?"

Frisk's footsteps paused, their hands inside their coat pockets, and they shrugged. "Eh. I lost my appetite. Tell Two to save it for later."

"Aren't you going to pay for it?"

They turned back to face the door and waved a hand. "Put it on my tab. Oh, and," they turned their head to gaze over their shoulder, though only briefly, "please don't say those things to Temmie again. She tries her best. She really does."

The pair watched as Frisk dragged their feet out the door, slamming the door shut behind them. Mettaton jumped, quickly faced the bartender, waved him over, and pointed to the food left on the table. "Two- I believe that's your name- Frisk said to save this for them for later."

The dragon rolled his eyes. He seemed to pick it up rather reluctantly, though still set it aside, presumably for a further point in time. Mettaton wasn't too concerned with this. It wasn't his food and it wasn't his bar; why should he care?

The protagonist swirled around to exit, however, was soon met with a small furball stumbling around a bar stool to reach him.

"Ug...why do inanimate things not move?"

The child held both paws out in front of him, flinging them around to fondle every object he could touch, until he was able to successfully pat down the metallic creature.

Mettaton's eyes drooped nearly closed. "Do you mind?"

"Aha!" Kiff exclaimed, jumping back. "I found you! I'm gonna warn you only ONE time, okay? Frisk is MY best friend! So don't go thinking you can just steal them away or anything!"

The robot then squinted, leaning back a small bit before tilting his head to the side. "Alright…" He wasn't exactly planning on interacting with Frisk anymore than necessary, but okay.

"And if THAT isn't enough to convince you," Kiff continued, though Mettaton would much rather shove him aside at this moment, "then I bet Frisk is really creepy to you! Like, sometimes you don't even hear them coming! It's so creepy."

And thus, the weirded-out smile slithered its way onto Mettaton's face as he slowly crept off the chair and onto his high heels. What? Okay? Why are you telling him this?

"That's right," the child hissed in what sounded like was supposed to be a threatening voice. "Back away. BACK AWAY!"

Mettaton pushed the kid aside, heels clacking against the wooden floor. He didn't stop. He didn't bother to open his mouth until they left the bar. He didn't even bother to look over his shoulder until he found his way emerging from the fog separating the snowy town and wet marsh.

Kiff is Monster Kid's twin brother confirmed notreally.

WOO! Now we're FINALLY done with Snowdin (until Mettaton goes back to date everyone).

First off, I OPENED AN ASK FOR EQUATIONTALE!

Take a look at my DeviantArt, KuraiTsukiMajutsu, or the EquationTale tumblr (it's just called EquationTale) to ask!

Second, I feel like Frisk is sort of OOC (out of character). Is that just me? I don't know. I have a reason for Frisk acting the way they do. After all, the Frisk in the cannon UnderTale game, that's how EquationTale!Frisk acts when they're eight. They're sixteen now. When I was eight, I was a stuck up brat that thought the world owed him everything. People change.

Eh. Maybe this is just me feeling the need to justify myself. Don't worry. I'll keep Frisk pretty much the same, just older, a bit more mature, hormones...you know the drill.

On a separate note, there's a really great song that I just feel like fits Equation!Frisk really well for some reason. It's called Toxicity by System of a Down. I'm not really sure why to be honest. Maybe it's just me...

Next, fanart! :D

Two people did fanart!

AmamillaLaTortilla and Ristorr, both on DeviantArt!

The colors on both of them are wonderful ;u; seriously go look at them.

This is random, but I realize that I've attracted a lot of Mettaton lovers with this fanfiction. Gee I wonder why.

Finally, reviews!

NoItsBecky: I no!? HOW CUD U INSULT RICH HISTRY OF TEMM! IS UNAKCEPTABLES!1!1!

Aria: Oh, I know Papyrus is powerful. But just because Temmie is in his spot does't mean she is. Because she's not. Not really. Cannon Papyrus is powerful- Undyne says it herself. Don't worry, I'll give him credit. Or at least...I think I will. I haven't written that part out yet.

I love Papyrus. I will never underestimate the Great Papyrus.

Though I have to question, if Sans is Gaster, why is Temmie constantly referencing him? He may or may not be (I did draw a picture of him, though, on the EquatoinTale tumblr/my deviantart), but that's still something to consider.

And Papyrus is Great.

Great Papyrus.

The algorithm gave him a great spot to be great in (no it's not Asgore).

:3

Amamilla: And what makes you think that Sans is in Undyne's spot?