"Are you sure you are well enough to travel, Tenebris?" Frisk asked with worry evident in her voice.
The shadow-eyed human chuckled. "Truth be told, I'm still feeling a bit sore from Undyne's training. I knew training for things like becoming royal guards is demanding, bit that's just ridiculous..."
"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we earned her begrudging respect." Selendis stated with a huff. Undyne made it clear that she wasn't friends with the humans, she merely respected them. She had the highest respect for Tenebris because of how long he lasted in their fight, but even with that she didn't want to be true friends.
Sans shrugged. "eh, i'm sure you'll be fine. not something that's flaunt-worthy, but it help to know that you've got the captain of the royal guard's respect. she had stated at one point in time that she would never trust or respect humans despite their... 'history', so you've got that going for you." Looking at Tenebris, he shook his head. "anyways, remember what i said about 'that' okay?"
Tenebris nodded. Sans had taught him how to do the disappearing eye trick, or in Tenebris' case the disappearing iris for one eye, and had pretty similar results; it even made Sans break out into a cold sweat, which made Tenebris question the logic considering he doesn't even have pores. Sans made him promise not to abuse it too much not just because scare tactics are a second-last resort, but also because using it too much diminishes it's effect on others.
Selendis sighed. "Guess we should head back to Hotland again. Not looking forward to such a hot place, I'm surprised we never burst into flames because of how much lava there was."
Tenebris shrugged. "Convection schmonvection? I wouldn't think too deeply about it, especially when you're talking to a human infused with shadow magic and a skeleton."
"touche..."
After bidding Sans and Papyrus farewell, The trio boarded the boat to Hotland. The river person, who was silent the first time they rode on his boat, was now singing. "Tra la la... The answer to everything is closer than you think." This confused the humans, but didn't spend too much time mulling over it.
When they reached close to where they saved Undyne, they learned from the new pair of royal guards stationed there that the elevators were malfunctioning. The reason why they were standing there? They were on the look out for any humans that may of gotten that far, which prompted the trio to head into the nearby labe nervously.
When they entered, the first thing that caught Selendis' attention was the only thing glowing in the dark room. "Is... that us?" Sure enough, all three humans were on the screen."
This unnerved Frisk a little. "Someone was spying on us this entire time... I don't like this one bit."
"We should dawdle here longer than we should, I'm already getting a bad feeling from this place... especially down below." Tenebris whispered. "Keep your eyes peeled, reflexes ready, and your buttocks covered, let's move."
Frisk gave him an amused look. "Buttocks?"
"You question my word choice now of all places?" Both girls giggled at how indignant he sounded.
When the lights suddenly came on, all three humans froze. Standing in front of them, not even aware the humans were there, was a yellow lizard-like monster with glasses and a lab coat. This implication came across their minds: they were technically trespassing even if it was the only way forward. What surprised them even more was when the monster noticed them and started freaking out in a way they didn't expect. "Oh, my god! I-I didn't expect you three to show up so suddenly like this! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, this place is a mess and..."
The humans gave her a confused look. She was, more than likely, the one spying on them, but was she actually expecting them to come by? Noticing their looks, the monster giggled nervously. "H-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys, Asgore's royal scientist!" Noticing them tense up, she waved her hands frantically. "B-but I'm not one of the "bad guys"! Actually... ever since you three stepped out of the ruins, I've... um... been "observing" your journey through my console."
Tenebris shrugged. "At least we know who our stalker is now. Question is, why didn't you call the royal guards on us?"
She stuttered nervously. "I-it's just that... after watching everything you three went through during your journey, I'll... concede I was originally going to stop you, but watching things like that makes you want to root for them. So, now I, uh, want to help you instead!" Selendis gave her a discerning look while Frisk thought over it. Tenebris didn't know what to really think about her; for a royal scientist, which could be also classified as a head scientist, she seemed pretty ditsy and not at all like the last head scientist he had the displeasure of being experimented on by. He jumped a bit when Alphys suddenly said, "Especially you, Tenebris. Your magic hasn't reached it's full potential even with training from Sans of Snowdin! I could try and help you in that regard while helping all three of you through Hotland!"
Frisk nodded. "Okay, I trust you, Alphys. Tenebris could use every morsel of information he can get in terms of his magic and someone who's done research before will certainly help!"
Tenebris gave her yet another indignant look. "You're saying the like I have no chance of finding anything out on my own!"
Selendis shook her head. "You know full well that's not what she meant, Tenebris. Anyways, Alphys, we need all the help we can get, so I also accept your help."
Alphys let out a cry of joy. "Oh, thank you for letting me help you! Except... uh... just one problem."
"There's always a problem. What do you need us to do?" Tenebris sighed. Even if she was ditsy, he didn't really trust scientists after his own experience.
"Well... it's not so much something I need you to do as it is something I need you to be cautious of. Thing is, a long while back, I built a robot named Mettaton. Originally, I built him to be an entertainer, like a robotic TV star or the like. Thing is, I... in a brief moment of... weakness, decided to make him more useful. L-l-like... um... anti-human... functions." Tenebris rolled his eyes. There it is, the thing that's potentially going to screw them over. "I decided when I started rooting for you to remove those features, but sadly I may of made a... small mistake in doing so. Now... um... he's... now an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?!"
Frisk let out a small squeak and Tenebris faceplamed hard. Selendis groaned, "Have you ever heard of the term "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? I'm pretty sure he would of been fine without any adjustments what-so-ever."
"S-s-sorry. Like I said; moment of weakness. H-hopefully we don't ever run into him."
Tenebris sighed. He waited for a bit before there was a loud clang. "Knew it, tempting fate is never a good thing..."
Frisk looked around after a few more clangs, worried. "Where is that coming from?"
Selendis slowly tensed up. "I'm afraid we're about to find out..."
Right on cue, the wall between Alphys and the humans exploded. Suddenly it grew dark and a robotic voice rang out. "OOOOOH YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES..." Suddenly a spotlight shone one what looked like a rectangular box on wheels with a grid for a face. "... TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!"
Confetti started falling a bit and multi-colored lights started shining as the rest of the room slowly brightened. Selendis had an unamused look on her face while Tenebris and Frisk looked at the wall opposite to the robot, where a camera suddenly appeared. "OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR LOVELY CONTESTANTS!"
More confetti rained onto the humans as now all three looked surprised. Frisk spoke up, "Wait, us? We just got here and... are we being broadcasted?!"
"THAT'S EXACTLY IT, DARLING! NEVER PLAYED BEFORE? NO PROBLEM FOR ANY OF YOU, FOR IT'S VERY SIMPLE! WE HAVE THREE CONTESTANTS: THE YOUNG KID, THE SHADOWY MALE, AND THE STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL BLOND IN THE MIDDLE!" Selendis squeaked and blushed while Tenebris stiffened with a less amused look. Mettaton was hitting on her. "ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS CORRECTLY..." His yellow 'face' suddenly started flashing red. "... OR YOU DIE!"
The area grew dark again and everyone's souls emerged. On the other end, Mettaton was now colored monotone with Alphys, who was not looking very pleased with the situation. The three humans found themselves in front of what looked like an answering... pedestal, with four buttons labeled from A to D with small screens beside them and a bigger screen in the upper middle. Frisk whimpered. "We never got a choice in the matter..."
Mettaton seemed to notice. "POP QUIZZES ARE LIKE THAT, DARLING. BUT SINCE YOU'LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO ANSWER, I'LL START YOU OFF WITH AN EASY ONE!" The question appeared in front of Frisk as the other two were forced to step back. Mettaton read it out loud as well, "WHAT'S THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?"
Frisk nervously pushed the B button. "M-mercy?"
Mettaton zapped her soul directly with a laugh as Alphys cringed. "YOU WISH! WRONG! NOW WOULD THE SHADOWY MALE STEP FORWARD FOR HIS QUESTION."
Tenebris growled lowly as Frisk stumbled backwards from the zap. He managed to heal her before going forward towards the pedestal. Mettaton whistled. "AH HAH! SO THE MAGIC BEARING HUMAN CAN HEAL? OH WELL, WE SHALL CONTINUE ON REGARDLESS. WHAT'S THE KINGS FULL NAME?"
Tenebris looked at his options before noticing Alphys doing something with her hands. It looked like she was making a 'C' shape, so he pressed the C button, which got him a jingle. "CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER! THE MAGIC-BEARING HUMAN IS ALREADY FARING BETTER. NOW WOULD THE BLOND BEAUTY STEP FORWARD PLEASE; SHE IS A REAL HOTTIE!" Tenebris clenched his fist as he watched Selendis go up to plate, his eye's iris beginning to fade. "WELL, SINCE YOU ARE SUCH A LOVELY LADY, LET'S TALK ABOUT ME! WHAT ARE ROBOTS MADE OF?"
Selendis took the same cue from Alphys as Tenebris did, which made him tell Frisk about it in a low whisper. From then on, the humans didn't even pay attention to the quiz questions, they just subtly looked at what Alphys signaled to them, though the "ghost smooching" one was a bit out of left field for Selendis. However, every time she was called up to plate, Mettaton would flirt with her, getting Tenebris even madder each time. For the first time since coming down to the Underground, he started to hate someone.
Frisk looked at Tenebris and noticed something that frightened her more than Mettaton's punishment: his eye had a bit of a red gleam to it. She frantically tapped his arm, making him look down at her close-to-crying worried face. When he realized what she was trying to tell him, he tried calming down; he was more than likely playing into Mettaton's hands. He pats her on the head. "Thanks, kid. Where would I be without you? Still... I, unfortunately, cannot hold any promises in regards to that rust-bucket."
"But..."
"Don't worry, I'm aware of what's at stake. He just... infuriates me so much... but I'll try to keep it on a leash." Hearing his name called out for the next question, he steps up to the plate with a subtle glare at Mettaton.
Mettaton chuckled a bit at feeling a lot of hostility from Tenebris, but didn't comment on it. "SEEMS THIS QUIZ IS PRETTY EASY FOR YOU HUMANS. I THINK IT'S TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS! IN THE DATING SIMULATION GAME "MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE" WHAT IS MEW MEW'S FAVORITE FO-" Alphys suddenly interrupted with a long-winded, yet passionate answer to the question, only to start slowing down when she realized she let slip that she was helping. Tenebris and Selendis cringed while Frisk sighed as Mettaton tutted. "ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS... YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANTS, ARE YOU? OOOOOOH! YOU SHOULD OF TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO! ALSO, ALL THREE CONTESTANTS CAN DEBATE ON THIS AND ANSWER IT. WHO DOES DR. ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON?"
Selendis sighed as she stepped up with frisk and looked at the answers. "Well... guess we have no choice..?"
Frisk looked at the answers as well. "A is Undyne. That's... oddly specific."
Tenebris nodded. "B is Asgore, no surprise there. C is... are you for real?!" C was listed as 'the kid'. "That's a definite no-no!"
Selendis subtly glared at the last option. "'The magic male'? Definitely not that either; on both accounts we had just met!" Frisk detected a hint of jealousy in her sister's voice, which made her smile a bit. Despite Mettaton's constant flirting, she hasn't swayed.
Tenebris sighed. "Then that leaves just Asgore and Undyne..."
"Undyne. I'm still kinda sour over her chasing us for so long and putting you through that training, so I say put her on the spot as well." Selendis stated before hitting the button.
What shocked the humans was when Alphys started flushing furiously and Mettaton laughed. "SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS, TO THE POINT WHERE ALL THREE HUMANS FIGURED IT OUT! YES, HUMANS, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!" Somewhere else in the Underground, a certain captain was celebrating.
Crumpling up the paper he had the questions on, he let out a sigh. "WELL WELL WELL... WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU, THE SHOW NO LONGER HAS ANY SORT OF DRAMATIC TENSION, EVEN WITH THREE HUMANS! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS, BUT SINCE THIS IS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE, THERE WILL BE MORE DRAMA, MORE ROMANCE, AND MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME TO YOU, MY LOVELY VIEWERS!" He compacts himself and rockets out of the building.
Alphys was still blushing as she giggled nervously. "W-well that was something..."
Selendis approached her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Alphys. I didn't realize it, I just chose Undyne because I was still bitter about her chasing us throughout Waterfall."
"I-it's fine. I know you guys aren't that malicious. Thing is, that last question? He wasn't supposed to ask that one; he uses that same quiz a fair amount of times." Tenebris noted a bit of an... off tone when she said the last part, but ignored it.
Frisk nodded. "Alright... do you know any other ways through Hotland? The elevators are down right now, so..."
Alphys perked up. "Ah, yes! Just go through those doors over there and it'll take you on the path to a different elevator that should be working."
"Thanks! We don't want to be hanging around when Mettaton comes back, so we should get a move on."
"Hold on, let me give you my ph-phone number. Then if you... n-need help I could... wait, where'd you get that phone? It's ANCIENT! No texting or anything..."
Selendis looked at the phone. "It... was given to us as a parting gift..."
"Oh, I-I see. Don't worry, I'll only upgrade it!" Alphys took the phone and dashed off with it. Suddenly, the humans heard some mechanical sounds, which baffled them. What baffled them even more was when she came back already. "And now it's upgraded. It can do texting, items, it's got a key-chain. For a little something extra, I even signed you up for the Underground's #1 social network! Now we're officially friends!"
Tenebris snorted. "Through Real I.D.?" Alphys pointed at him like she got the joke as Selendis facepalmed. After an awkward silence, she excused herself to the "bathroom" before running off. Shrugging, the humans continued through the door.
Not even a few steps out of the lab they got an update on their phone from Alphys: just realized i didn't watch undyne fight the humans v.v
Tenebris deadpanned. "Looks like that crush really is true."
"What, you needed more confirmation?" Frisk teased. He merely rolled his eyes.
They didn't get very far when Alphys updated again: well i know she's unbeatable i'll ask her about it later ^.^
Selendis sighed. "How much do you wanna bet that's going to get annoying?"
"Hence why I never use social media sites." Tenebris huffed.
Suddenly another update: wait i just found out that one of my cameras recorded her fight against tenebris. it looks epic gonna save it for later viewing
Selendis smirked as Tenebris blushed. "What was that before about your fight with her being meaningless?"
"S-shut up!"
She giggled before suddenly groaning. "Why is it so hot here?!"
She suddenly started taking off her shirt. Tenebris squeaked and looked away with an even bigger blush, not knowing that she had a tank-top underneath. "S-Selendis! Decency!"
She grinned as Frisk took off her sweater, revealing a light blue t-shirt underneath. "Aw, getting flustered over there, Tenebris? You do realize I have a tank-top on underneath this shirt, right?"
"H-h-h-how w-was I-I s-supposed to know?!"
"Magic." All that got out of the now flustered male was a groan and a stifled giggle from Frisk. The next post from Alphys didn't help his situation.
After walking on a conveyor belt for a bit to the next section, something Frisk enjoyed immensely, they got yet ANOTHER post from Alphys: gonna call them in a minute! =^.^=
"Sheesh, is she going to actually call us or not?" Tenebris burst out to try and get his mind out of the gutter.
"She doesn't seem like the most confident of social person I've ever met. I doubt she ever gets out much." Selendis stated in a matter-of-fact voice before smirking. "Kinda like a certain someone we know now, hm?"
"I've no idea what you're talking about." Frisk let out an extremely loud snort, grabbing his attention. "What was that?!"
"A very painful stifled laugh." Tenebris double-facepalmed which got a laugh out of Selendis.
After more conveyor belt rides, they got an expected update from Alphys yet again: I HATE USING THE PHONE I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^
"Why's that a LMAO?" Tenebris asked before shaking his head. "This girl is not making any sense at all. Then again, considering my history, I don't want to." That got a flinch out of the sisters; they forgot about his bad experience with scientists.
What directed their attention was a massive steam vent with an arrow painted on it. Selendis looked at it for a bit before blanching. "We have to ride the steam?! We'll get steam burns!"
Frisk looks at the gap between platforms. "The distance doesn't seem too massive... think you can jump us over without the steam vents, Tenebris?"
"Guess I'll give it a shot. Lifting and jump enhancement auras should help, but if I use them too much, I might... run out of 'steam'!"
Selendis sighed. "Ignoring the pun, I suppose that's the only way to do it. Can you carry both of us at once?"
"I think so, though it might be awkward. Actually, thinking more about it, I could just enhance the filter-barrier enchantment around us to prevent burns." Tenebris was trying his best not to re-ignite his blush at the thought of carrying Selendis around. "I'll... test it out first to ensure it actually works."
Sure enough, the enhancement to their barriers worked. Frisk was once again having the time of her life flying through the air, Selendis was secretly glad she didn't wear a skirt, and Tenebris was really nervous about hitting the vent wrong and getting sent into the lava-filled abyss below. Throughout their steam-hopping endeavors, they found a burnt pan which went to Selendis; she was the best cook out of the three.
One one of the platforms, they got another update: omg i've had my claw over the last digit for 5 minutes omg i'm just going to do it i'm just going to call!
"Grammer doesn't seem to be her strong suit either." Selendis snarked before noticing something. "If she's updating using her phone, how is she updating and about to call at the same time?"
"Never underestimate what phones can do." Tenebris stated flatly. He didn't really care about upgrading phones unless his old one died, but he knows enough about the more modern ones.
After hopping onto the next platform, the phone rang. When Selendis answered it, they realized that whoever called hung up already. Shrugging, they continued until they got another call when they were right in front of an orange laser. "Uhh, h-hi, so, the blue lasers..." She stopped herself short before stuttering a few times. "Uh, I mean, Alphys here!. S-so, the blue lasers won't hurt you if you don't move. Orange ones y-you have to... um, be moving... I mean you have to, um... th-they won't harm you as long as you're moving! uhh... bye!"
The trio stared at the phone for a second. Tenebris inhaled. "Oooooookay... well we already knew about the blue ones from Snowdin, but now we got orange lasers, and by extension attacks, to deal with now and they're the opposite. Just wonderfu-" He got interrupted by a status from Alphys: OMG I DID IT! claws haven't shook like that ever since undyne called to ask about the weather... v.v
Selendis frowned. "It still bothers me that there are attacks and hazards that don't harm you if you do specific actions. It feels like everything down here should, but I guess not..? Still, even if we mess up, we still have protection... also, since when was there weather down here?"
Tenebris shrugged. "Magic?"
"That'd better not become a thing."
Frisk nodded before suddenly running through one of the lasers. Both of the older humans gasped before seeing she was alright. "Alphys is right, the orange ones don't harm you if you keep moving!"
After finding his breath again, Tenebris sighed. "Perhaps we should go one at a time, just to prevent any mess-ups from collision." Frisk nodded before continuing on. She waved to her companions after she got through all of the lasers.
Selendis went next, but she stopped after the first two orange lasers to check an update from Alphys that made her burst into laughter: WAIT THERE'S NO WEATHER DOWN HERE WHY DID SHE CALL ME
"What are you laughing about?" Tenebris asked with confusion. When Selendis read the update, the other two burst into laughter as well. "That's classic!"
Frisk waited for a bit before noticing a red switch. Selendis shrieked when she misstepped and was about to get hit by a blue laser when it suddenly shut off. "W-what just happened?"
"Oops... didn't realize the off switch for those was right beside me..." Tenebris busted a gut laughing at both Frisk's awkward voice and Selendis' outraged look. It was made even funnier when The older sister tackled her younger sister and started to noogie her as punishment before joining them beside the switch.
Continuing on, the interrupting updates continued: Oh My God i Forgot to Tell THem Where To Go
"Do you realize how hard it is not to go grammer nazi on her right now?" Tenebris stated with an indignant huff. Selendis giggled while Frisk continued nursing the top of her head. What stopped them dead in their tracks was another post, this time of a picture: CUte PIC OF ME RIGHT NOW ^.^
The picture was a garbage can with pink, glittery filters over it. This got a flat "what" from all three humans, who were confused before Selendis shook her head. "I knew she had social anxiety, but calling herself trash?"
"Gimmi that!" Tenebris swiped the phone from Selendis and started imputing a response to the picture. The account they were using was called TheHumanTrio: T: Alphys, why are you calling yourself trash? Look at me; I'm 16 years old and I already have no future.
That last sentence got him a smack in the head from Selendis. "How many times do I have to tell you not to be so harsh on yourself?"
"It's technically true. The humans on the surface will never accept my magic because of how ingrained in everyone's mind how darkness is always evil. Plus, they will fear my magic talent regardless of my intentions." Tenebris trailed off a bit. "Besides... I'd probably get handed over to some laboratory to be experimented on... again..."
Frisk piped up, "But we aren't staying with them! We're going back to Toriel, remember?"
Tenebris sighed. "R-right, sorry. I forgot we technically do have a home down here; it just sucks that my inner demons couldn't leave me well enough alone on that prospect..."
Selendis shook her head. "That's why we came with you, Tenebris. There's no reason to go through everything down here by yourself." Frisk nodded, hope in her eyes.
"Thanks you two... to be honest, I probably wouldn't of gotten this far without you two. Let's get everything over with so that we can return to Toriel and our new home." Selendis nodded, but had a dreadful feeling in her gut, like something was going to go horribly wrong or that they are missing key information that could screw them over permanently.
