After what happened at Waterfall, the group entered the Hotland area again. And now that they were more focused without a fight in the middle, they could feel that the environment did justice to the name, with wide lakes of lava everywhere.

"If we fall down there, we're not counting it," Noka said, looking at the lava below.

"Well, the further away we are from the lava, the better," Catilia said.

Along the way, they saw a pair of guards in huge black armor blocking the way to the north. And preferring to avoid any more trouble than necessary, the group decided to continue forward. It wasn't long before they came across a huge technological structure with the word LAB above the door.

"A laboratory?" Nami asked.

"We better go in. We have no other options right now." Eris said, entering through the door that opened automatically as they passed.

The interior of the place was dark, barely allowing them to see what was around them, but as they moved forward they noticed a monitor next to them. When they got closer they got a surprise.

"Hey, isn't that us?" the human asked.

Just as he said, they could be seen on the monitor, being constantly watched as they moved. Apparently, someone had been watching them the whole time. At that moment Gida remembered the hidden camera she thought she saw as soon as she left the ruins.

"Looks like someone's been playing Big Brother with us," Noka said.

"Yeah, I see that," Eris said, punching the console and damaging the monitor. "If I find out who's been spying on us, he will feel sorry for it." She said with a frown.

The group continued to advance through the darkened laboratory until suddenly they heard the sound of an automatic door opening up ahead, revealing a silhouette emerging from said door. Shortly after, the lights of the laboratory turned on, revealing what looked like a yellow reptilian monster of a similar height to the human with a somewhat hunched posture, which gave it a nervous appearance, dressed in a lab coat and a matching pair of glasses.

After advancing a little towards them, the monster noticed their presence.

"Oh." She began to speak with her hands on her head in shock, her voice revealing itself to be female. "My god."

"We already know who our watcher is," Catilia said, with Eris clenching her fists.

"I didn't expect you to show up here so soon!" she exclaimed, all flustered. "I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, it's all messy, and…"

The group looked at each other in confusion at the monster's reaction until it calmed down, looking at the group.

"Ummm…" The monster began to speak. "H-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm Asgore's royal scientist! B-b-but, ahhhh, I'm not one of the 'bad guys'!" Alphys exclaimed. "I'm not even on the Duke's side!"

"And we haven't even asked her," Noka commented.

"In fact, since you stepped out of the Ruins, I've, um… been 'observing' your journey through my console," Alphys said, blushing.

"Oh, 'that' console?" Eris asked, pointing at the console Eris had just destroyed, making Alphys nervous.

"I-I think I should have asked for your permission earlier," Alphys commented. "Though it did help me to root for you. Especially you and the human. I still can't believe you're capable of using that power!"

"Fine," Eris said, frowning.

The human raised his hands to calm Eris before speaking. "And do you have any idea how to make up for spying on us?"

"E-e-easy! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland!" Alphys exclaimed. "I know a way right to Asgore's castle, no problem!"

Then Alphys was silent for a moment. "Well, actually, umm, there's just a tiny issue."

"How tiny?" Eris asked, crossing her arms.

"A long time ago, I made a robot called Mettaton," Alphys began. "Originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot. Uh, you know, like a robotic TV star or something."

"I get the idea," Gida said, nodding her head.

"Anyway, recently I decided to make it more useful," Alphys continued. "You know, just some small practical adjustments. Like, um… anti… anti-human combat features?"

"Are you serious?" Catilia asked, frowning like everyone else except the human.

"Of c-course, when I saw you guys coming, I immediately decided… I have to remove those features! Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so." Alphys said, her voice shaking.

"Let me guess, you've caused the opposite effect, haven't you?" Noka asked.

Alphys laughed nervously, causing the Togruta Padawan to put her hand to her forehead with a gasp.

"But, ummm, hopefully we won't run into him!" Alphys exclaimed.

Eris looked seriously at Alphys. "Better be like that for you, otherwise-"

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard, shaking the entire laboratory, and causing everyone to look around in confusion. The noises began to get louder and more frequent as time went on.

"Oh, no," Alphys said, imagining what was happening.

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the lights in the laboratory went out as the wall next to them opened violently.

"OHHhH, YES!" a robotic voice exclaimed. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES…" After a drum roll, a spotlight lit up, revealing a checkered robot with lights that flashed on and off constantly, with two arms, one of them holding a microphone, standing on a wheel. " TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!"

Dozens of lights lit up like it was a TV show, even with a [GAME SHOW] sign above the robot. "OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANTS!"

The robot started clapping as confetti fell on the group. Eris looked at the others with her hands on her hips. "Seriously? What is that wheeled can?"

"I think that's Mettaton," the human said.

"NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?" the robot asked, receiving a cold stare from the group. "NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE!"

"THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY…" There was a short silence, followed by a drum roll. "OR YOU DIE!"

"This robot is dumb," Eris exclaimed. "Will anyone turn this moron off or should I do it like usual?"

"MISSY, FOUL WORDS OUT OF THE PROGRAM, PLEASE!" exclaimed the robot.

"I don't know, that robot seems very sturdy," Catilia said.

"We better play with it," said the human.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!" Mettaton exclaimed.

What is the prize for answering correctly?

A- Money.

B- Mercy.

C- New car.

D- More questions.

The group raised an eyebrow at the strange question, and even more so at the strange answers she was giving. Eris didn't know if she should take this seriously, but the human noticed how Alphys was secretly making the letter D gesture with her hands.

"D." The human replied.

"RIGHT! SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT!" Mettaton exclaimed.

The girls looked at the human in confusion as he answered the first one, but decided to let him answer for now.

"HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!" Mettaton said, the prize being another question.

What is the name of the king?

A- Lord Fluffybuns.

B- Fuzzy Pushover.

C- Asgore Dreemurr.

D- Dr. Friendship.

This time the group was almost thrown off by the question, as it was even more stupid than the previous one, and anyone could have answered it.

"Really?" Noka asked. "Anyone knows what the C is." She said, not noticing Alphys making the C with her hands.

"CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER!" Mettaton congratulated.

"This is almost as ridiculous as the skeletons' pranks," Eris said with a sigh.

"ENOUGH ABOUT YOU. LET'S TALK ABOUT ME!" Mettaton said.

What are robots made of?

A- Hopes & Dreams.

B- Metal & Magic.

C- Snips & Snails.

C- Sugar & Spice.

The girls looked seriously at the robot as if he had lost a screw because of the question he asked, while the human looked at Alphys' hand again, making the B this time.

"The B?" the human asked innocently.

"TOO EASY FOR YOU, HUH?" said the robot. "HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!"

Two trains, Train A and Train B, simultaneously depart from Station A and Station B. Station A and Station B are 252.5 kilometers apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7 mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5 mph towards Station A. If both trains departed at 10:00 and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?

A- 31,054 minutes.

B- 16,232 minutes.

C- 32,049 minutes.

D- 32,058 minutes.

The group was completely perplexed by the 'simple' question the robot had just asked. Eris even threw a rock at the robot!

"Your mom answers that, you piece of junk!" Eris exclaimed angrily.

The human soon noticed Alphys' hand, which was indicating the answer D.

"Is that the D?" the human asked.

"WONDERFUL! I'M ASTOUNDED, FOLKS!" Mettaton exclaimed, receiving another rock from Eris.

"Another question like that and I'll send you flying!" Eris threatened while Noka and Nami held her back.

"DON'T 'COUNT' ON YOUR VICTORY…" Mettaton said.

Of the questions asked above, how many correct answers have the same letter?

A- 2.

B- 1.

C- 3.

D- 4.

The group tried to remember how many answers matched the same letter, but the human noticed Alphys' hand, making the A. At that moment Gida noticed this too.

"The answer is A."

"CORRECT! YOU'RE SO LUCKY TODAY!" Mettaton congratulated.

"Let's see what weird thing he comes up with this time," Nami said.

"LET'S PLAY MEMORY GAME," Mettaton said.

"What monster isn't made of meat?"

A- Skeleton.

B- Zombie.

C- Merman.

D- Mettaton.

Eris was tempted to answer her face, but Gida suspected it was a trick question, soon noticing Alphys' hand, which was pointing at the D, as strange as it was.

"It's the D, isn't it?" Gida asked.

"I'M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBER!" Mettaton congratulated.

Eris almost threw herself at the robot if she hadn't been held back by the others, as she was already fed up with the robot's games.

"BUT CAN YOU GET THIS ONE?" Mettaton asked.

Would you smooch a ghost?

A- Of course!

B- Of course!

C- Of course!

D- Of course!

The group collapsed to the ground at such a question, which was the most stupid of all, not to mention the answer.

"I think the answer is pretty obvious, isn't it?" Catilia asked nervously.

"GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!" the robot exclaimed.

"Can I ask for question that isn't a joke or something?"

"HERE'S A SIMPLE ONE," said the robot.

How many questions have been asked so far, not counting the current one?

A- 9.

B- 7.

C- 8.

D- 10.

The girls were left thinking because, with all the fuss about the questionnaire, they had forgotten how many questions they had asked so far. But the human noticed Alphys and her hands.

"It's the C, isn't it?" the human asked.

"OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU!" the robot congratulated.

"Seriously, with so many stupid questions my brain is going to melt," Eris said with her hands on her head.

"TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!"

In the dating simulation video game "Mew Mew Kissy Cutie" what is Mew Mew's favorite food?

The group stared at the robot at such a question, but…

"OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE! IT'S SNAIL ICE CREAM!" Alphys exclaimed excitedly. "IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH! AND SHE BUYS ICE CREAM FOR ALL OF HER FRIENDS! BUT IT'S SNAIL FLAVOR AND SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS IT! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE GAME, BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY POWERFUL message about friendship and…" Alphys finally trailed off, nervously looking at the group who was staring at her like they'd seen a clown ghost walk by, before looking at Mettaton.

"ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS." The robot said. "YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANTS, ARE YOU?" Alphys started shaking her head, sweating profusely. "OOOOOOOH! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION… YOU'LL BE SURE YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO!"

Who does Doctor Alphyshave a crush on?

A- Undyne.

B- Asgore.

C- The human.

D- I don't know.

Alphys was very nervous, physically asking them not to answer the question.

"Look, I've had enough of this nonsense for one long time!" Eris exclaimed. "So either you leave her alone, or I'll spin you around like a top!" She warned the robot.

"WELL WELL WELL," said the robot. "WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU… THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS! BUT. BUT! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE! MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS…!" After those words, Metatton left the place as if he were a rocket.

The group looked in the direction Metaton had flown to, only to see Alphys with an expressionless face.

"Well, that was certainly something," Alphys commented.

The girls frowned at Alphys's comment.

"A-at least let me give you my ph-phone number!" Alphys said, approaching the human. "T-then... m-maybe… if you need help, I could…"

Alphys was surprised to see the human's phone.

"W-where'd you get that phone?! It's ANCIENT!" Alphys exclaimed. "It doesn't even have texting. W-wait a second, please!"

Alphys grabbed the phone and ran to another part of the lab, soon hearing the sounds of her working on it.

"As if we needed that," Eris commented, receiving a glare from Noka, Gida, and the human. "What?"

It didn't take long for Alphys to return with the phone, which seemed to have been physically enhanced.

"Here, I upgraded it for you!" Alphys said, handing the phone to the human.

"Come on, let's get out of here before that giant toaster comes back," Eris said, starting to walk towards the exit of the lab, followed by the rest of the group and leaving Alphys behind.


Outside the lab, the group made their way through the caverns of Hotland, seeing how the entire place seemed to make use of the ambient heat of the place to power all the machines in their path.

Despite some traps they encountered along the way, the group was able to advance through the territory without any problems. And if that wasn't enough, the phone kept beeping for some reason. However they soon saw that Alphys must have signed the human in some kind of digital social club, and it kept changing status every three minutes or less.

They also encountered some of the Duke's monsters, but these were no problem for the group, while Eris wondered why they weren't sending in the big guns by now.

After wandering around Hotland, they found themselves in a completely dark place.

"Anybody wants to light a fire?" Eris asked.

At that moment Gida and Noka ignited their lightsabers, which illuminated the place a little, but not enough apparently.

Just then the phone started ringing, and the human picked it up.

"A-alphys here!" Alphys exclaimed into the phone, although her voice sounded like she was going to hang up at any moment.

"Hey, are you still spying on us through one of your monitors?" Eris asked, approaching the phone.

"Y-yeah. That wasn't the only monitor. And n-it's not spying!" Alphys replied. "H-hey, it's kind of dark in there, isn't it?"

"Yeah, we already noticed that," Nami said.

"Don't worry! I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!" Alphys said.

Soon the lights came on, showing that they were inside a kitchen, in front of a kitchen table.

"Oh, no," Alphys said.

"Seriously?" Eris asked.

At that moment Mettaton appeared wearing a chef's hat on top of the box.

"OHHHH YES!" Mettaton exclaimed. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!"

A sign immediately appeared that elegantly read [Cooking with a Killer Robot].

"Yes, seriously," said the human.

"PREHEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY!" Mettaton announced. "WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING… A CAKE!"

"Well, that's pretty normal," Nami said.

"MY LOVELY ASSISTANTS HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS. EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!" Mettaton said, clapping as confetti rained down on the group.

"This is a joke, right?" Eris asked.

"I doubt it," Nami said. "Let me handle this."

"Okay…" Eris said with a frown, approaching the others. "All of you pay attention."

"WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS." Mettaton listed. "GO GET THE-" At that moment Mettaton saw how Nami had brought the three things to the table, leaving the robot speechless for a moment. "THAT'S WHAT I CALL EFFICIENCY, BEAUTIFUL!"

"What did you expect? Having to cook for three people, one of them being a glutton." Nami said.

"Please, not here!" Eris exclaimed blushing, while Gida, Noka, and the human snickered. "Can we just jump to where things get out of hand, please?"

"WE'VE ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE!" Mettaton said. "MILK, SUGAR, EGGS… OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET!" The robot exclaimed. "WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!"

At that moment the robot pulled out a chainsaw from under the table. "A HUMAN SOUL!" The robot exclaimed, starting to approach with it, but a blue flash passed through the saw, breaking the blade in two and leaving the robot without a functional chainsaw. It turned out that Gida had cut the chainsaw with her lightsaber.

"OK, DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING," Mettaton said. "I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT A STRONGER CHAINSAW. JUST WAIT A SEC!"

At that moment a phone started ringing on the set and was picked up by the robot.

"HELLO…? I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."

"W-wait a second!" Alphys exclaimed into the phone, being the one who called. "Couldn't you make a… Couldn't you use a… Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?!"

There was a short silence at that moment.

"... A SUBSTITUTION?" the robot asked. "YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? ... WHY?"

"It doesn't matter. Anything is better than that." Nami said.

"Uhh, what if someone's… Vegan?" Alphys asked over the phone.

The girls and the human nodded quickly.

"...VEGAN." Mettaton said.

Alphys continued talking, nervousness in her voice. "Uh well I mean-"

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS!" Mettaton exclaimed. "ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE!"

The girls sighed as they watched the danger pass.

" MTT BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVORED SUBSTITUTE!" The robot announced. " A CAN OF WHICH… IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!"

The robot pointed to a can that was on a counter quite far from the kitchen.

"WELL, DARLINGS? WHY DON'T YOU GO AND GET IT?" Mettaton asked.

"As long as we finish this silly program, I'll be fine with that," Eris said.

"Eris, don't laugh at the kitchen," Nami scolded. "But seriously, canned food? Isn't there anything better?"

"NOT WHEN IT COMES TO THE MTT-BRAND!" The robot exclaimed. " MTT-BRAND USES ONLY THE FRESHEST ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS AND CHEMICALS!"

Nami frowned at that answer, but the group moved forward towards the counter. But for some reason, it began to rise and ascend until it became unreachable.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Catilia said.

"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A VERY STRICT SCHEDULE." Mettaton said as they approached. "IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN IN THE NEXT ONE MINUTE… WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN!" The robot exclaimed, pointing at the human. "SO… BETTER START CLIMBING, BEAUTIFULS!"

With those words, Mettaton began to rise. And just then the phone rang, and it was Alphys who was calling.

"Oh no! There's not enough time to climb up!" Alphys exclaimed.

"I hadn't noticed that," Eris said sarcastically. "And the robot will most likely cheat on the way."

"F-f-fortunately, I might have a plan!" Alphys said. "One of your friends, the Jedi."

Gida and Noka looked at each other when Alphys named them. Although they were surprised that she knew what they were.

"Could you use your ability to drop the can from up there?" Alphys asked.

"We could try, master," Noka said to Gida.

"Either that, or we can spend the rest of the show cutting chainsaws," Gida said.

"Let him try it!" Eris exclaimed. "If he comes near me with one more of those things, I'll smash it over his head!"

Gida closed her eyes and raised her hand to the top of the counter, making small gestures with her hand. At the same time, the can on top began to shake a little until it fell over, starting to roll to one side until it fell off the side of the counter into the abyss. It was immediately caught by Nami before it fell to the ground.

"Well done!" the human exclaimed.

"MY MY," Mettaton said as he descended. "IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. AND IN THE ODDEST WAY POSSIBLE I'VE EVER SEEN… BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD THE HELP OF THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS! OH, I LOATHE TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN WITHOUT HER! WELL, TOODLES!"

At that moment the robot began to move away.

"Hey! You forgot your ingredient!" Eris exclaimed mockingly.

Then the robot returned to the set.

"OH YES! ABOUT THE SUBSTITUTION… HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A COOKING SHOW BEFORE? I ALREADY BAKED THE CAKE AHEAD OF TIME! SO FORGET IT!"

The robot walked away from the spot again.

"Seriously, you forgot this!" Nami threw the can towards Mettaton, managing to hit him with it even from a distance.

"Nice throw," the human said.

At that moment the phone rang, it was Alphys again.

"Wow! We… we did it!" Alphys exclaimed. "We… we really did it!"

"Was there any doubt?" Catilia asked. "Good idea, by the way."

"W-well, uh, anyway, let's keep heading forward!" Alphys said before hanging up.

"What a strange woman," Eris said.

Without another word, the group left the set.


As they moved forward, the group stopped to observe a huge structure in the middle of a huge lake of lava.

"Have you seen that?" Catilia asked. "Is that thing really that big?"

"If the visual distance is correct, yes it is huge," Gida said.

"But not as big as the city since Waterfall," Noka said. "I wonder what that is."

At that moment they received a call from Alphys.

"I-I suppose you've seen the building in the distance, right?" Alphys asked. "That's the Core. The source of all power for the underground. It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity, by…" She then fell silent for a moment. "Uhh, anyway, that's where we're going to go."

"And why is that?" Eris asked.

"In the Core is an elevator directly to Asgore's castle. And once there… The human can go home." Alphys said before hanging up.

"That's good to know," Nami said. "That'll save us from walking all over the city."

"We'll get there, then," Gida said. "And it won't be easy with that crazy robot after us."

The group continued to advance through the intricate caverns and paths of Hotland, avoiding any encounters with the local monsters, while also dealing with the real monsters that kept coming their way, but it was no problem for Eris and the others.

And all at the same time the human kept receiving status changes from the underground social network, being mainly random things from both Alphys and Papyrus.

But it wasn't long before they were intercepted by the two guards who were initially guarding one of the passages in the region right near Alphys's laboratory, forcing the group to stop.

"What do you want?" Eris asked, crossing her arms.

"We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a human wearing a striped shirt," one of the guards said. "They told us they were wandering around Hotland right now…"

At that moment the guards noticed the human, and Eris was already preparing to beat them up, but Noka got in the way.

"This is not the human you're looking for," the Togruta said seriously, waving her hand at the rest of the guards.

"This is not the human we're looking for," the guards said as if in a trance, confusing the group.

"Look elsewhere for the human you are looking for," Noka said in the same tone.

"We will look elsewhere for the human we are looking for," the guards said. "Have a nice day."

The guards then began to walk away before the confused gaze of Eris and the others.

"What just happened?" the human asked.

"A mind trick. A Jedi technique," Gida said. "I see you've improved."

"Thank you, master," Noka replied.

At that moment the guards stopped, looking at each other, causing Noka to turn to them.

"... Huh? What is it, bro?" One of the guards asked. "The orange lady? … like, what about her?"

At that moment they both turned to the group, before looking at each other again.

"Are you thinkin… What I'm thinkin?" the guard said. "Bummer. This is, like… mega embarrassing."

They looked at the group again, before looking at each other again.

"If she can, I don't know, control the mind… what else could she do?" The guard said. "Let's just leave the human alone and, well, get out of here. How about we, I don't know, spend the rest of the day together?"

After a while, both guards walked away from the place, holding hands.

"What just happened here?" Nami asked, scratching her head.

"Mmm, the time length still leaves a lot to be desired, but you're doing well," Gida said, while Noka laughed nervously.

The group continued to advance through the place until they ended up in another dark room.

"Does anyone think the same as me?" Eris asked.

At that moment Alphys called on the phone.

"Okay, sorry! I left for a moment, but I'm back!" Alphys exclaimed over the phone, with the human explaining the situation. "A-another dark room, huh?"

"You go ahead and turn on the lights, okay?" Eris said.

Soon the lights came on. At that moment they realized that they were being observed on a news set, with the image focused on the human.

"Are you serious?" Alphys and Eris asked at the same time.

"OHHHHHHH YESSS!" Mettaton exclaimed, wearing a red suit. "GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FOR MTT NEWS!"

"I'm giving up on trying to understand all this!" Nami exclaimed.

"AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OUR CORRESPONDENT IS OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE!" Mettaton reported. "BRAVE CORRESPONDENT! PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT! OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!"

"Only ten? Is this program that bad?" Gida asked.

Both the human and the group looked around, seeing all kinds of strange objects: a glass, a book, a game, a ball, a dog, and a present. And each of these objects gave them a very bad feeling.

"Hey, why don't we skip the drama, and you activate the trap so we can disable it and keep going?" Eris asked.

"WOW. IT SEEMS THAT ONE OF OUR CORRESPONDENTS DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A NEWS IS," Mettaton said. "BUT DON'T WORRY, YOUR FAVORITE NEWSCASTER WILL FIX THIS!"

At that point the set was dismantled, giving a clearer view of the location and the things that were there.

"AND I'M NOT JUST SAYING THIS, IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IN THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY A BOMB!" the robot warned.

"Bombs? Really?" Catilia asked.

"BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS… IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL THE BOMBS…" Mettaton showed a huge bomb near the scene. "THIS BIG BOMB WILL BLOW YOU UP INTO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES! THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING 'LIVE' ANY LONGER!"

"That thing could make a pretty big hole in the middle of the place," Gida said, looking at the large bomb.

"HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING! OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLINGS!" Mettaton reported before walking away.

"Nine now?" Noka said. "With shows like this, it's normal that the ratings are so low."

"And how do we deactivate them?" Eris asked. "Because of course, if I punch one, it will blow up for sure."

"We'll take care of the bombs," Gida said. "You guys make sure no one tries any dirty tricks."

Eris and the others nodded.

"Well, we better split up," Gida said to Noka. "You go get three of the bombs. I'll go get the other three."

"As you say, master." Noka nodded.

At that moment, both of them separated in opposite directions while leaving the human in charge of the others.

Noka reached the bomb dog first, which she disarmed in the simplest way possible: by splitting it in two with her lightsaber, which nullified the bomb. She also headed north towards the bomb ball that was bouncing around, though she was able to split it in two without any problems.

Gida, for her part, headed south, avoiding the traps along the way and cutting off the bomb game with her lightsaber, then searching for and locating the bomb book and neutralizing it in the same way. After this, she advanced north, reaching the bomb gift and cutting it in two like the rest.

"Okay, there's only one left!" Nami exclaimed.

Soon Gida and Noka were reunited, trying to reach the bomb glass that was moving at full speed, which added many problems to cancel it just because of its small size.

But they both decided to use a little trick with this bomb. As soon as it was within reach, Noka grabbed the glass with the Force and dragged it towards her, a moment that Gida used to cut the glass in two and nullify it.

"Alright, bombs out!" Eris exclaimed. "What do you have to say to that, bucket of nuts?" she asked Mettaton.

At that moment the robot approached the place.

"WELL DONE, DARLINGS!" the robot congratulated them. "YOU'VE DEACTIVATED ALL THE BOMBS! ALTHOUGH IN A SLIGHTLY UNORTHODOX WAY, TO BE FAIR. IF YOU DIDN'T DEACTIVATE THEM, THE BIG BOMB WOULD HAVE EXPLODED IN TWO MINUTES."

Eris stuck her tongue out at the robot, mocking him with her hands on the human's shoulders.

"NOW IT WON'T EXPLODE IN TWO MINUTES!" Mettaton said, confusing Eris and the others. "INSTEAD IT'LL EXPLODE IN TWO SECONDS! GOODBYE, DARLINGS!"

"Cheater!" Nami exclaimed.

Everyone expected the worst at that moment, but something strange had happened. Two seconds passed, and nothing happened.

"AH. IT SEEMS THE BOMB ISN'T GOING OFF," Mettaton commented.

The phone rang, it was Alphys who was calling.

"That's b-because! While you were monologuing… I…!" Alphys said seriously, but she started to get nervous. "I f… fix… Um… I c-changed…"

"You were looking so good, and now you're making yourself smaller," Catilia commented.

"OH NO. YOU DEACTIVATED THE BOMB WITH YOUR HACKING SKILLS." Mettaton said.

"Yes! That's just what I did!" Alphys exclaimed with nervousness in her voice.

"CURSE! IT SEEMS I'VE BEEN FOILED AGAIN!" Mettaton cursed. "CURSE YOU ALL! BUT I DON'T CURSE MY EIGHT WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR TURNING IN! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!"

The robot soon flew away from the spot.

"W-wow… W-we've really showed him, huh?" Alphys said over the phone.

"Yeah. You were pretty quick at defusing that bomb," Nami said, sighing. "I could see myself flying out of the Underground from the explosion."

"T-that's not possible," Alphys corrected. "If it had been possible, w-we would have tried it a long time ago."

"Yes. And it was a good idea for us to take care of the bombs," Noka said.

"True, though I'd rather avoid more traps like this. They're starting to get tiresome," Eris said. "And I'm already looking forward to seeing how tough that box of nuts is."

"Don't worry. I'll protect the human from that big dumb robot, no matter what! Even if I have to turn…" Alphys was suddenly struck dumb.

"Even if you have to, what?" Eris asked.

"Em, nevermind," Alphys said. "We're already halfway to the core! Let's go!" Alphys then hung up.

The group looked at each other for a moment.

"I don't know about you, but this whole thing is starting to feel a little strange," Gida said.

"Yes, twice we fell into the robot's traps, and twice Alphys saved us from the fire," Catilia said.

"Do you really think this is all a trap?" the human asked, tilting his head to the side.

"From the way she talks, she seems to want to help us," Nami said. "But there is certainly something strange."

"We'll find out if we come across that metal box again," Eris said. "Let's try to leave this place for now."


The group continued to advance through Hotland, fortunately without having any other mishaps with the native monsters or the Duke's servants. However, they began to hear a noise that made them look everywhere. However, it didn't take long for them to realize that it was the human's stomach.

"Wow, you're hungry, huh?" Eris asked. Then her stomach started rumbling as well, causing her to blush.

"With so many problems, I don't think we've eaten in a while," Nami said.

"Yes, ever since we left the Ruins," Gida said. "It's hard to tell what time it is down here."

"Well, we better get something to eat, don't you think?" Noka asked.

"And where do we find food here?" Eris asked.

The human then pointed to a stall that was run by a purple humanoid monster girl with five eyes and a spider face with six arms wearing a cute dress with braids, with what looked like pastries displayed on the table.

"Hm, look at it," Catilia said.

The group approached the food stand, looking at the donuts and croissants on display.

"Who does these things?" Nami asked.

"Oh, we make them ourselves!" the spider girl exclaimed with a smile.

"Really? Food made by spiders?" Noka asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry. I've already tried one and they're pretty good," the human said.

"Oh! And where did you get one, little one?" the spider asked kindly.

"From some spiders that live in the Ruins," the human replied.

"From the Ruins?! And how are they?!" The spider girl exclaimed, getting too close to the human.

"Relax, don't take up his personal space," Catilia said, moving the spider away from the human.

"Well, if they're so good, we can try and see," Eris said.

The hellhound looked at the price of the donuts and croissants, but this one's eyes widened at the price.

"NINE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE?!"

Eris's voice was heard throughout Hotland, and probably throughout the underground, startling everyone present.

"What are those prices?! It's an armed robbery!" Eris exclaimed to the spider girl, slamming her hands on the table. "Why is this so expensive?!"

"You see, there's a very simple reason. All proceeds go to real spiders~." The spider girl said with a smile.

"What a lame excuse," Eris said.

"I told you. I've seen exaggerated prices, but so much for a bun?" Gida asked.

Eris began to walk away sulking, unable to try anything from the table. Until something hit her arm, pushing her aside, turning to yell at it, but she stopped. It turned out to be several Duke's armored monsters heading towards the spider girl's table, ignoring the rest.

The armor that was the boss simply hit the table, growling at the spider.

"Really? Again?" the spider asked, as if she was already used to it, but tired at the same time. "How much is it this time? 500?"

The armor growled again, pointing at a bag of money the spider had nearby.

"Oh, no, not that!" cried the spider. "That's all I have to finance the transport operation! It took me a lot to acquire all this money! You can't take it!"

The armor looked irritated, raising the axe he was carrying, ready to do something to the spider. But before he could lower the weapon, Eris grabbed his arm tightly, catching the spider's attention.

"Hey, you. If she said no, then she said no." Eris said, surprising the spider. "One thing is to charge things to ridiculous prices, but another thing is to steal money for free."

Eris threw the armor aside, causing it to glare at her, while the rest of the armors prepared their weapons.

"I'll tell you this once. If you don't want to end up the same way your other friends did when they found us, I suggest you get lost, okay, you pile of animated tin?" Eris warned the armor, clenching her fists with flames in her eyes.

Ignoring her warning, the armor lunged at Eris along with the rest of the armors.

But in no time at all, Eris sent each of the armors that had attacked her flying, sending them crashing off the platform into the lava below. Eris shook her hands after dispatching the armors, while the human applauded at the spectacle she had given.

"She was really angry. She sent them off all by herself!" Noka commented.

"You'd be mad too if someone tried to rip you off right in front of your face," Nami commented, with Noka nodding in agreement.

"Oh, thank you so much! I appreciate what you've done for me," said the spider girl.

"No problem. I needed to vent myself. You don't know what a day I've had." Eris said.

"I know. Those thugs always took my money under the excuse that it was taxes to be paid according to the Duke." The spider girl said. "But now my funds are safe!"

"Yeah, but you better place them somewhere better, got it?" Eris said.

Then, without warning, the spider girl presented the group with a tray of donuts and croissants. "Take these!"

"Really?" Nami asked, tilting her head.

"It's the least I can do to save my money," said the spider with a smile.

"Well, if you insist," Eris said, picking up a donut and taking a bite. "Mmm, it's good!"

The rest of the group grabbed a donut or a croissant and started eating it, really enjoying it.

"By the way, miss…" The human began to speak.

"Muffet," the spider said with a smile.

"That's it, Miss Muffet," the human said. "You mentioned something about a finance. What is it about?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked, honey~" Muffet replied. "You see, I want to help the spiders in the Ruins get here. I know they're capable, but there's a problem. To get here, they have to go through Snowdin, and the little ones wouldn't be able to survive the cold."

"And you want to hire someone to bring the spiders from there, right?" Gida asked.

"That's right!" Muffet smiled. "That's why I'm setting these prices, to help my beloved spiders trapped in the Ruins."

"That's a good reason. But I think if you sold everything at a more affordable price you would have more sales." The human said.

"Yes, but one can dream, right?" Muffet said. "But maybe I can lower it by at least 10%."

Eris almost choked upon hearing that, slapping her hand against her chest.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Muffet asked innocently.


After leaving the place, the group continued to advance through the burning caverns without many problems. But it was not long before they found themselves in what looked like a stage set for a play.

"Really?" Catilia asked. "Is this another one of that droid's tricks?"

"Most likely," Gida said. "Keep an eye out for anything."

"OH? THAT HUMAN…" They heard Mettaton's voice from a high place, looking up, and seeing the robot peeking through a window. "COULD HE BE… MY ONE TRUE LOVE?"

The group stared at Mettaton as if they had seen the strangest thing in the world. And in part, they did, as the robot seemed to be dressed like a princess in a blue gown as it walked down the nearby stairs to the sound of music playing.

"Are you serious?" Nami asked, seeing the robot's outlandish attire.

Mettaton, as he came down the stairs, prepared to give some kind of song.

"ENOUGH! STOP THE MUSIC!" Eris exclaimed with her hands outstretched, causing the music to stop, with everyone looking at her.

"WHAT'S UP, DARLING?" Mettaton asked.

"What's up? If you're going to sing opera, sing it to your grandmother! You're driving me crazy with all your damn cheating!" Eris exclaimed, looking seriously at the robot. "So how about we skip the joke and go on to your cheating crap?"

The robot was silent for a moment.

"WELL, IF YOU WANT TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ACT, AS YOU WISH," Mettaton said.

At that moment a trapdoor opened beneath the group, causing them to fall to the ground on a lower floor, landing them all on their backs.

"Ow! My butt!" Nami exclaimed upon landing.

"Could you let yourself go next time?" Noka asked. "Maybe next time he'll have a pillow ready or something."

"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand that robot anymore," Eris said.

At that moment Mettaton flew down, staying in the air.

"WELL, SINCE IT SEEMS THAT ONE OF OUR ACTRESSES DOESN'T WANT TO TAKE PART, PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BETTER TO SKIP TO THE MAIN ACT OF THE PLAY," Mettaton said.

The human looked to the side, warning the others of what was next to them: a jumble of tiles of different colors.

"THAT'S RIGHT, DARLINGS! THE COLORED TILE MAZE!" Mettaton exclaimed.

"Isn't that the labyrinth Papyrus tried to put us in at Snowdin?" Gida asked.

"The one that went so wrong?" Eris asked.

"Well this one seems to work," Nami said.

"OH, I SEE YOU'VE ALREADY KNOWN THE LABYRINTH, DON'T YOU?!" Mettaton asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, pinks don't do anything, reds act as a wall, greens make you fight, yellow electrocutes, orange makes you smell like orange, purple makes you smell like lemon and makes you slide like ice, and blue is water, which electrocutes you if there's a yellow nearby, and has piranhas that bite you if you smell like orange, but not if you smell like lemon." Noka listed. "Did I get it right?"

"PERFECTLY, DARLING!" Mettaton exclaimed. "BUT DON'T THINK YOU HAVE ALL THE WORLD'S TIME. IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IN 30 SECONDS, YOU'LL BE INCINERATED!"

At that moment a pillar of fire appeared beside them.

"We better run, little one," Eris said to the human, at which point Mettaton began to sing. "Seriously?"

The group tried to memorize and follow the strange maze of tiles, the configuration of which was really convoluted, putting the group in serious trouble as time went on. And the song that Mettaton was singing wasn't much help. It wasn't good either that both the human and the girls ended up getting confused about which block acted with what, and what each one smelled like, making it a real headache.

Then without warning all the blocks turned grey as time ran out.

"Yeah, why not?" Eris said, looking around as she saw that they were now surrounded by two columns of fire.

"OOOOH, I'M SO SORRY! LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE OUT OF TIME!" Mettaton exclaimed as the flames came closer. "HERE COME THE FLAMES, DARLINGS!"

The group placed the human between them, as they searched for a way out of the trap as the flames approached.

Suddenly the phone rang, and it was Alphys who was on the phone.

"Watch out! I'll save you!" Alphys exclaimed. "I'm hacking into the firewall right now!"

At that moment the flames went out. The girls breathed a sigh of relief at that moment.

"OH NO! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? FOILED AGAIN BY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS!" Mettaton exclaimed.

The group stared at the robot in silence for a moment, waiting for any barbs he might make.

"THA-"

"That's right!" Alphys exclaimed. Though Gida was the only one to notice something strange at that moment. "Come on, Mettaton, give up already! You'll never be able to defeat us… Not as long as we work together! Your puzzle's over. Go home and leave us alone!"

"PUZZLE? OVER?" Mettaton asked. "ALPHYS, DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT…? DID YOU FORGET WHAT THE GREEN TILES DO?"

"Yes, it's fighting a monster," Noka said.

"THAT'S RIGHT… AND THAT MONSTER… IS ME!" Mettaton exclaimed.

The robot took off its princess outfit and landed on the ground.

"THIS IS IT, DARLINGS! SAY GOODBYE!" Mettaton exclaimed.

"Finally! I really wanted you, you piece of junk!" Eris exclaimed, approaching the robot.

"AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, DARLING? MY BODY MAKES ME PRACTICALLY INVINCIBLE!" the robot exclaimed.

"There are many ways to take down someone invincible," Eris said, and at that moment she grabbed the robot's arm. "Do you want to dance?"

"DANCE? IT WILL BE A PLEASURE!" said the robot.

Suddenly Eris began to shine with her gift, starting to spin around herself like a top while pulling the robot, making it spin at the same time as her. The group tried to keep up with the rhythm of the spins, but the human was the first to get dizzy from all the spins Eris was giving the robot.

"LET'S FLY!" Eris exclaimed, sending the robot flying at high speed.

"METTATON BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Mettaton exclaimed as he disappeared over the horizon of the cavern.

Eris shook her hands with a smile on her face. "I feel so good!"

"L-looks like you guys beat him!" Alphys said over the phone. "Y-you did a really great job out there."

"Thanks to you," said the human on the phone.

"Yeah, thanks for disabling that trap," Nami said.

"What?" Alphys asked in surprise. "Oh no, I mean… You guys were the ones doing everything cool! I just disabled a few traps…" She then fell silent for a moment. "… erm, h-hey, this might sound strange, but… c-can I tell you something?"

"What?" the human asked.

"B-before I met you, I-I didn't really… I didn't like myself very much." Alphys began to say in a depressed tone. "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…!" Her tone of voice brightened for a moment. "Guiding you has made me feel… a lot better about myself. So… thanks for letting me help you." For a moment, there was a small silence on her side of the call. "Uh, anyway, we're almost to the Core. It's just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let's finish this!" She ended up hanging up the call.

Eris crossed her arms, suspecting that something was wrong with this whole thing with Alphys.


The group continued through the region until they came to what looked like a gigantic hotel that stretched upwards for several meters and looked elegant with the name 'MMT Resort' on it.

"Is this the MTT Resort?" Catilia asked. "What a place."

"Yes, almost as the robot itself," Eris said. "At least it's not that hot in here."

Eris took a step forward, suddenly hearing a loud fart that made her stop dead, blushing red as the human held back its laughter. Eris looked down, seeing that she was stepping on a whoopee cushion with her foot.

"hehe, that never fails." Said Sans who was standing at the side of the hotel entrance, receiving the pillow in the face shortly after.

"I'm sick of your jokes!" Eris exclaimed angrily.

"hey, i heard you guys are going to the core," Sans said. "how about grabbing some dinner with me first?"

"Dinner? Now?" Nami asked.

"Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with eating something," Noka said.

"great, thanks for treating me." The skeleton said, immediately receiving a glare from Eris, Catilia, Nami, and Noka, with Gida and the human behind them.

"Hey, calm down, don't be like that," said the human, trying to calm them down.

A short while later, the group was in the restaurant area of the MMT Resort, sitting at a table for seven people, one of them being Sans.

"well, here we are." Sans said calmly, as the group looked at him in silence. "so… your journey's almost over, huh?"

"Yes, but I'm sure things are going to get more complicated before we get to the end," Gida said.

"you must really wanna go home," Sans said, looking at the human, who was silent. "hey, i know the feeling, buddo."

"And this is said by someone who is looking for any excuse to slack off," Eris said, rolling her eyes to the side.

"though… maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you," said the skeleton. "down here you've already food, drink, friends… is what you have to do… really worth it?"

Nami leaned on the table. "Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you end up somewhere other than your home, and want to go back?" The cat girl asked, closing her eyes. "And I'm not speaking from personal experience. We've been running away from home all our lives, after all." She looked at Eris, who closed her eyes.

"ah, forget it," Sans said to the human. "i rootin' for you, kid. ror you and the others."

The skeleton was silent for a moment.

"hey. let me tell you a story," said the skeleton. "so i'm a sentry in snowdin forest, right?"

"Yes, and one of the worst ones," Eris commented.

"yeah, i admit it's kind of boring," Sans said. "fortunately, deep in the forest… there's this huge locked door." The girls looked at each other, knowing which door he was referring to. "and it's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes."

"so one day, i'm knocking 'em out, like usual." the skeleton continued. "i knock on the door and say 'knock knock'. and suddenly, from the other side… i hear a woman's voice. 'who is there?'"

Eris looked at the skeleton. She was referring to Toriel.

"so, naturally, I reply, dishes.' 'dishes who?' 'dishes a very bad joke' then she just howls with laughter," Sans said. "like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years."

"I didn't know Toriel liked this jester's jokes," Eris commented to Catilia in a low voice.

Sans continued to explain his strange relationship with Toriel, who he had no idea of her identity, and how they started to become closer friends with each bad joke they told each other. It was clear that there was good chemistry between them despite being separated by that stone door, laughing at each other's jokes.

But then Sans was silent for a moment.

"one day, though, i noticed that she wasn't laughing very much," Sans said. "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?'" Sans said. "now, i hate making promises. and this woman, i don't even know her name. But… someone who sincerely likes bad jokes… has an integrity that you can't say 'no' to."

The skeleton was silent for a moment.

"do you get what I'm saying?" Sans asked the human. "that promise I made to her… you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?... buddy."

The skeleton looked to the side, speaking in the most sinister tone they had heard him speak since they met him.

"You'd be dead where you stand."

Although the human grew nervous at Sans' ominous words, Eris frowned, bending a fork in her hand as if it was made of rubber, silently indicating to the skeleton that that would have been very difficult to do.

"hey, lighten up, bucko! i'm just joking with you." Sans said in his casual tone. "besides… haven't I done a great job protecting you?"

"It depends on how you look at it," Noka said. "We've done all the work…"

The skeleton shrugged before rising from the chair.

"well, that's all. take care of yourselves. 'cause someone really cares about the human." Sans said before leaving.

The group fell silent after the conversation, thinking deeply about what had happened, and understanding Toriel's eternal concern for the human, and for any human who fell there. But they couldn't stay here for long. They had somewhere to go.


The group left the motel through the back, spotting what looked like a massive steel structure with an entrance in front of them, but they noticed some figures standing in front of the entrance before heading into the building.

"We may not be alone there," Gida said.

"Let's be careful, this might be a trap," Nami said.

"Okay, you know the drill. Stay in the middle," Noka said to the human.

"Yes, and don't move from there," Eris said, clenching her fists.

The group entered the Core, finding an elevator in front of them, but Catilia found that said elevator was inoperative.

"Okay, this isn't working," said the tiger girl.

The human's phone rang at that moment, and he picked it up using the hands-free device.

"I-I just accessed the Core cameras, and that elevator should be working," Alphys said from behind the phone.

"Well, it doesn't seem to have any power," Gida said. "Couldn't you turn it on?"

"S-sorry. I can't access all the Core systems, and that includes that elevator," Alphys said. "But it's okay! Go right and continue straight!"

Nami went to investigate the route on the right but soon returned shaking her head. "There is no way through there. There is a burning pit blocking the way."

"That's weird… that pit… it's on my map," Alphys said, confused.

"It doesn't matter, we'll go the other way," Eris said, as the group began to advance along the left route, entering a long hallway.

"Okay, you should be able to make it through here…" Alphys said until a figure began to approach the group from the shadows, soon revealing itself to be a suit of armor with a large shield in one hand and a large sword in the other. "W-watch out!"

As Nami pulled the human to safety, Eris launched herself at the armor, but her fist was intercepted by the enemy's shield, which withstood the attack, forcing her to jump back to avoid the armor's sword that was swung at her. Catilia leaped at the armor with her sword, clashing weapon against weapon and holding the enemy back long enough for Gida to reach the armor's back and slash it with her lightsaber. The armor fell limply to the ground before incinerating into black ashes in the process.

"Th-that was close…" Alphys commented over the phone. "Wh… why are the Duke's monsters here? They're supposed to be banned from here."

"Are you sure about that?" Noka asked.

"S-sure! Undyne told me that Asgore ordered the Duke to do it!" Alphys said. "Although you may not believe it, the Core is quite sensitive and vital to the Underground. And… Well, I doubt those monsters have the word 'delicacy' in their vocabulary."

"That's right," said the human.

"Well, other than that, there's no problem, r-r-right? W-w-we've just to keep heading forward!" Alphys said before hanging up.

The group looked at each other for a moment before continuing along the route ahead of them until they reached another room which was blocked by an electrified lock.

At that moment Alphys called the group again.

"Looks like you can't proceed until you don't press the switch. B-but, those lasers will activate when you do." Alphys said. The group looked ahead, seeing that there were several laser emitters up ahead. "Ummm… Looks like they'll come in this order: Orange. Orange. Blue. G-got it?"

"Well, I think if I'm not mistaken, the blue one only deals damage if you move, but what about the orange one?" Eris asked.

"Orange attacks deal damage to anything that stays still. So if you see it, just move." Alphys said before hanging up.

Noka then had a feeling, approaching the button.

"Noka, what are you doing?" Nami asked.

"I have a bad feeling about this. You go back to the previous room. I'll take care of this," the Togruta said.

The group looked at each other for a moment until Gida nodded. They all retreated to the previous room, and when everyone was safe, Noka activated the button, deactivating the barrier and activating the lasers. But they activated in the opposite pattern to the one said with Alphys, being this one blue, blue, and orange, approaching her. But she was quite agile and acted accordingly to avoid suffering the effects of the lasers when they passed through her. When the danger passed, the group ran back inside.

"Are you okay?" Gida asked Noka, who nodded.

"That order wasn't correct, was it?" the human asked.

Alphys rang the phone again.

"Oh my god, are you all okay?!" Alphys asked, alarmed over the phone. "I… I'm sorry, I gave you the wrong order."

"Calm down, nothing happened here," Noka said.

"A-anyway, you'll soon reach a crossroads. So when you get there, head north, okay?" Alphys said before hanging up.

"First the monsters, and now this," Noka said. "I have a feeling someone is messing with us."

"Who, Alphys?" Catilia asked.

"I don't know, but we better keep moving," Gida said.

The group continued until they reached the crossroads Alphys had mentioned. But suspecting it was a trap, Eris suggested they ignore the path Alphys had mentioned and continue forward, but just as they were about to continue, several skeletons with halberds and spiked flails appeared from the northern pass, blocking their way.

Noka and Gida used the Force to push several of the skeletons into the pit beside the hallway, while Eris grabbed one of the skeletons' flails and hurled it at the other skeletons. Nami and Catilia stayed behind to protect the human from several of the skeletons that tried to attack him by surprise.

As the skeletons were dispatched, Eris grumbled and picked up the phone, who was the one who attempted to make a call, although the human had to intervene so that she wouldn't destroy it trying to call Alphys, who eventually picked up the phone.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Eris asked angrily. "Do you want to kill us?!"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Alphys asked confused.

"First the elevator, then the pit, then the monsters, then the lasers, and now the skeletons coming out from the route you told us about!" Eris exclaimed. "If this is a trap, I swear I will go to your lab and I will-"

Gida picked up the phone before Eris could finish her words. "Alphys, does this place have a section-swapping system?"

"Yes, that's right," Alphys replied. "It was designed to help maintain the Core. And what's this about them coming from the north?"

Gida was silent for a moment. "Alphys, I think someone is messing with us, and has altered the entire Core system."

"Really?" Alphys asked confused.

"Yes, which means that both your maps and your knowledge of the Core's security are no longer useful," Gida said. "Don't worry, we'll see how to proceed."

"I'm sorry… I… I… I have to go." Alphys said before hanging up.

"If what you say is true, who could have done all this?" Nami asked Gida who handed the phone back to the human.

"Who else is betting on a certain square-shaped robot obsessed with shows?" Catilia asked.

"I should have thrown that metal box further away," Eris said, clapping her hands together.

"Come on, let's keep moving. We'll deal with him when we find him," Gida said.

The group began to advance through the Core without Alphys' help. The place seemed to have become some kind of convoluted labyrinth, which made them constantly go around in circles. And that was not the only problem, as they could see the place was infested with the Duke's monsters, which made the journey more difficult than it should be. Not to mention the traps that seemed to have been placed all over the place.

They finally reached what looked like the end of the Core, with a strange symbol on the top of the door. After crossing it, they found themselves in a large dark room, and in the center of it was the robot Mettaton.

"OH YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLINGS." Mettaton said. "IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE MALFUNCTIONING' ROBOT."

"Alright, I'm going to beat the shit out of you this time and turn you into an art sculpture," Eris said, stepping forward and clenching her fists. "I think I'll call it 'punished idiot robot.'"

"WAIT!" Mettaton exclaimed. "MALFUNCTION? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL." That left Eris and the group confused. "IT WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT."

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

"ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR FOOLS THE WHOLE TIME," the robot said, surprising the group. "AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON THE SCREEN, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE. SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT. SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY."

"Wait a minute, what what what?" Catilia asked, totally confused by what the robot was saying.

"SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU. ALL SO THAT SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST. ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK SHE'S THE GREAT PERSON… THAT SHE'S NOT." Said the robot.

"What?" Eris asked, starting to think. "So that's why she ended up leading us all along that route and making us go through those tricky traps. That blasted bastard!" Eris cursed.

"AND NOW, IT'S TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR. AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHY IS WAITING OUTSIDE THE ROOM. DURING OUR 'BATTLE', SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO 'DEACTIVATE' ME, 'SAVING' YOU ONE FINAL TIME." Mettaton explained.

Eris turned around, clenching her fists in anger, waiting for Alphys to appear at the entrance to punish her for her deception.

"FINALLY. SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. THE HUMAN WILL REGARDE HER SO HIGHLY SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO COULD CONVINCE HIM NOT TO LEAVE," Mettaton said.

"Well, let her come now. I'm going to say a thing or two to that smarty-brain!" Eris said, gritting her teeth.

"If what you say is right, why are you revealing all this to us?" Catilia asked. "If it was all her idea, wouldn't this revelation go against her plans?"

"TRUE," said the robot. "AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON'T THEY? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW… WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?"

At that moment, the door leading into the room closed, surprising the group, who soon heard someone knocking on the door from the other side.

"H-hey!" Alphys exclaimed from the other side. "Wh-wh-what's going on?! Th-th-the door just closed itself!"

"What does this mean?" Eris asked, confused by the turn of events.

"SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELED!" Mettaton exclaimed as the room lit up with spotlights. "BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!"

Before the group could understand what was happening, the ground began to rise upwards.

"REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED!" Mettaton exclaimed. "ON OUR NEW SHOW… 'ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT'!"

As the platform came to a stop, the group gathered around the human as Eris prepared to face the robot.

"So you were the one who changed everything here, right?" Gida asked.

"YES, I WAS THE ONE THAT REARRANGED THE CORE!" Mettaton confirmed. "I WAS THE ONE WHO CONVINCED THE DUKE TO LEND ME HIS MINIONS TO KILL YOU. THAT, HOWEVER, WAS A SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN. YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER? KILLING YOU MYSELF!"

"Well, in the end, it turns out that you have a malfunction somewhere," Nami said.

"Well, I'll take care of you first, and then your creator," Eris said, ready to pounce on the robot.

"LISTEN, DARLING. I'VE SEEN YOU FIGHT," Mettaton said. "THE HUMAN IS WEAK. IF YOU CONTINUE FORWARD, ASGORE WILL TAKE HIS SOUL. AND WITH HIS SOUL, ASGORE WILL DESTROY HUMANITY."

"Well, he'd have to step over me first!" Eris said, giving the robot a powerful punch, but it simply recoiled from the blow and returned to its position, with no visible damage on the outside. "My, it's tough."

"BUT IF I GET HIS SOUL, I CAN STOP ASGORE'S PLAN! I CAN SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION!" Mettaton said. "THEN, USING HIS SOUL, I'LL CROSS THROUGH THE BARRIER… AND BECOME THE STAR I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING! HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS… NO! MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME! GLITZ! GLAMOUR! I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL!"

"Yes, and all this at the expense of an innocent!" Nami said, standing in front of the human.

"SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!" Mettaton said.

"Well, a show where lives are taken is rubbish in my opinion," Eris said, trying to offend the robot.

At that moment the human's phone began to ring, and he picked it up.

"U...uh... I can't see what's going on there, but..." Alphys started talking on the phone.

"Shut up!" Eris exclaimed. "You manipulated us and got us into this mess! As soon as I smash that pile of junk, I'll deal with you!"

"C-c-calm down! I just want to help…" Alphys exclaimed.

"If you truly wanted to help, you could have just kept quiet!" Eris exclaimed, walking over to the phone angrily. "Admit everything! The robot has confessed everything! So do us a favor and get lost!"

"That's enough!" Catilia exclaimed angrily, giving Eris a resounding slap that marked her face and silenced her immediately. "Put your hellhound side aside and start thinking."

Eris stared at Catilia in shock after the slap, unable to say a word.

"HAVE TO ADMIT, DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING," Mettaton commented.

"Look, that robot is clearly immune to your punches! And you're yelling at the only person who can tell us how to bring it down!" Catilia scolded. "So calm down and let her talk! We'll discuss what to do later."

Eris rubbed her cheek where she received the slap, letting out a defeated sigh. "Alright, talk. And let it be good this time."

"Th-th-thank you," Alphys said. "Th… there's o-one l-l-last way to beat Mettaton… it's… um… it's…"

"Spit it out already!" Eris exclaimed, receiving a serious look from Nami and Catilia. "Please?"

"This is a work in progress, so don't judge it too hard…" Alphys commented. "But, you know why Mettaton always faces f-f-forward?"

"The truth is that we have never seen him turn his back on us since we met him," Gida commented.

"That's because there's a switch on his backside," Alphys said. "S-s-so If y-y-you c-c-can turn him around… um… and, um… press th-th-the switch… he'll be… um… he'll be… vulnerable."

"Thanks for saying that," the human said, hanging up the phone.

"So, what do we do now?" Noka asked, looking at the robot.

"Hey!" the human exclaimed. "There's a big mirror behind you!" The group looked at the human in surprise.

"OH? A MIRROR?" The robot asked. "RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FINALE!" The robot turned around, revealing a large button on its back. "HMMM… I DON'T SEE IT… WHERE IS IT…?"

Eris was quick and approached the robot, flipping the switch on its back.

"DID YOU JUST FLIP MY SWITCH?" The robot asked in shock. Suddenly the robot began to shake violently as everything inside it went crazy, until everything suddenly lit up, blinding everyone present.

"Did it work? Do you see anything?" Gida asked, blinded by the light.

"I have no idea!" Nami exclaimed, also blinded by the light.

"OH YES." A robotic voice exclaimed, different from the one Mettaton used.

When the light cleared, everything was dark, until several spotlights illuminated a smoke screen in front of them, illuminating a humanoid figure within the smoke.

"Ohhh, my," Mettaton said in a more normal voice than the one he used before. "If you flipped my switch, that can only mean one thing. You're desperate for the premiere of my new body. How rude…"

"Your new body?" Catilia asked.

"Lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So… as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments…" The robot finally revealed itself to them, displaying a humanoid form with dark hair and bangs covering its right eye, pale "skin" and visible metal parts above and below its left eye, a pink metallic chest with a dial on one side, and a speaker on the other, black shoulder pads over arms that end in gloves, and long, airy black legs with pink high-heeled boots. "ABSOLUTELY beautiful!"

"Wow, that's nothing like what we saw before," Noka commented.

"But first of all, let us give a warm ovation to the sponsor of today's program, our respected Duke!" The robot raised its hands, revealing a large screen with a hooded figure whose face could not be seen.

"Ah, so you are the human, and the females protecting you. It is quite an honor. After all this time, the last human soul is within our grasp." The Duke said as Eris frowned at the screen. "Mettaton, or should I call you Mettaton EX, I am aware of your plans with the soul. We will discuss later on what to do with it, but right now, if you don't want me to cancel your program, you know what to do! Don't disappoint me!" The Advisor pointed with his hand, revealing it to be a skeletal hand.

"Don't worry, Duke. I guarantee that today's show will be to die for!" Mettaton EX exclaimed.

"Lights!" Several spotlights began to illuminate the platform with a dance floor.

"Cameras!" Three floating platforms appeared on the sides, with several dozen skeletons with blue skulls on each of them that began to dance as the music started to play.

"Action!" Mettaton EX exclaimed, being lifted by a floating platform that raised him above the ground.

At that moment several monsters began to appear, these being skeletons and armor with axes on the platform, surrounding the group and making them prepare to fight surrounding the human.

"Oh, no no. Let's save the main course for last." Mettaton EX said, causing a floating platform to lift the human away from danger at the same height as Mettaton EX.

"Well, at least it leaves our hands free to deal with these monsters," Nami said.

"Well then, let's clear the stage!" Eris said.

Nami and Catilia took direct charge of the skeletons with their claws and swords respectively, while Gida and Noka cut the axes that the armors threw at them, leaving the way clear for Eris to destroy them with her own fists. All this while Mettaton EX danced and made various gestures on his platform, while the monsters that were shown on the screens encouraged the group. It didn't take long for them to take care of the group.

"Not bad, but let's see what you can do now," Mettaton EX said. "Come on, my actors! Start your act!"

The dancing skeletons jumped onto the main platform, and holding hands they formed three divisions between them, beginning to dance as if they were doing the cancan, moving in a circle in that formation.

"Hey! Watch out for those legs!" Nami exclaimed, moving away from the dancing skeletons.

The bizarre dance of the skeletons forced the girls to keep moving if they didn't want to be kicked by the skeletons as they spun, but they had to find a way to end this dance if they wanted to get out of it.

At that moment, Eris noticed that the skeletons in front of her were turning their backs on her due to her dance, and she launched herself at them. She skillfully managed to grab the group of dancing skeletons from that third, forming a large ball with the skeletons before throwing it into the air.

With the skeleton dance stopped, Noka and Gida held the ball of skeletons in the air with the Force, at which point Eris leaped up and kicked it hard, directly impacting Mettaton EX, destroying the group of skeletons and in the process leaving the robot without arms, while the remaining dancing skeletons returned to their platforms.

The people cheered at the maneuver performed by Eris and the others.

"Hey, how do you feel about being armless, tin can?" Eris asked the robot.

"A… arms? Wh… who needs arms with legs like these?" Mettaton EX asked, moving his legs. "I'm still going to win!"

The Duke snapped his fingers, and soon several skeleton soldiers, armored knights with spears, and mermen appeared on the stage.

"I'm starting to get tired of this show," Eris said.

Gida and Noka faced the armored knights and cut their spears with their laser swords, while Nami and Catilia dealt in their own way with the skeleton soldiers who attacked them with their swords, and Eris let off steam by getting rid of the newts who defended themselves with both their claws and their fire breath.

"Enough of this!" Mettaton EX exclaimed, stopping his leg dance. "Do you really want humanity to perish?! ... Or do you just believe in yourselves that much?"

"We've survived until now. Isn't that proof enough?" Eris asked, clapping her fists.

"Haha, how inspiring!" Mettaton EX laughed. "Well, darlings! It's either us or you! But I think we all already know who's going to win. Witness the true power of humanity's star! Dance, Darlings!"

The dancing skeletons jumped onto the platform, forming a long line that divided the stage in two with half facing one side and the other half facing the other side, beginning to perform their dance with their legs and spin while holding on.

"Again?" Catilia asked, avoiding the repeated kicks of the dancing skeletons.

The group moved ahead of the skeletons who kept spinning and dancing in that formation. But Eris thought about repeating the move, although she had to delay it when the dancing skeletons turned around, starting to spin in the opposite direction from before.

"Hey, warn me before I do that!" Eris exclaimed as she began to run in front of the dancing skeletons.

The group had to start moving with the new dance pattern of the skeletons that changed rhythm and direction without warning. But luckily Eris found an opportunity and managed to grab half of the dancing skeletons, forming a ball of skeletons with them that she sent rolling across the ground. At that moment Catilia hit the skeleton ball into the sky, and Eris jumped as high as she could, hitting the ball and impacting Mettaton again, this time leaving him without legs.

People started to celebrate how the battle was going at that moment. Even the human celebrated with a jump and a fist in the air for this victory while the remaining skeletons jumped back to their platform.

"…then…" Mettaton EX began to say slowly. "Are YOU the stars? Can you really protect humanity?!"

The Duke looked quite annoyed as he snapped his fingers again, this time causing three suits of armor to appear with shields and swords.

"I'm already fed up with that guy," Eris said, glaring at the screen where the Duke was.

Noka and Gida faced one of the armors, while Gida and Noka faced another of the three armors, leaving Eris to face the third armor alone. Unlike the other monsters, these armors were tougher than normal, they knew when to defend themselves with their shields, and their sword attacks were obviously devastating, so they had to be very careful not to be hurt by these tough enemies. In the end, the girls managed to destroy the armors.

Without any reaction from the robot, the Duke gestured for the last group of dancing skeletons to jump onto the stage, forming a circle and starting to dance while doing their dance kicks. This dance formation of the skeletons was more problematic than the previous ones, as they kept spinning in a circle, while said circle moved all around the dance floor, forcing the girls to avoid being hit by the circle of dancing skeletons.

Seeing that she had no other choice, Eris made a great leap over the skeletons, landing right in the middle of the circle. This allowed her to grab all the skeletons as if they were a ball and throw them into the air, jumping behind it and hitting it hard, this time hitting not Mettaton EX, but the screen where the Duke was visible, making him disappear.

The crowd cheered as Eris landed on the ground. Even the human was celebrating with joy.

Mettaton EX ignored what had happened at that moment until he noticed the audience indicator that was present.

"OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS!" Mettaton EX exclaimed upon seeing the audience numbers. "THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE EVER HAD! WE'VE REACHED VIEVER CALL-IN MILESTONE! ONE LUCKY VIEWER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO ME… BEFORE I LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND FOREVER! LET'S SEE WHO CALLS IN FIRST!"

"Really? Now?" Eris asked, arching an eyebrow.

Mettaton EX started receiving calls from dozens of viewers, but they all said they were sad that this was going to be Mettaton's last show, leaving a hole in the heart of every monster who was a fan of the robot.

Mettaton EX closed his eyes after hearing the calls.

"AH… I… I SEE…" Mettaton EX said, falling silent for a moment. "EVERYONE… THANK YOU SO MUCH." The robot fell silent for a moment before addressing the group. "DARLINGS. PERHAPS… IT MIGHT BE BETTER THAT I STAY HERE FOR A WHILE. HUMANS ALREADY HAVE STARS AND IDOLS. BUT THE MONSTERS… THEY ONLY HAVE ME. IF I LEFT… THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE ITS SPARK. I'D LEAVE AN ACHING VOID THAT CAN NEVER BE FILLED. SO… I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DELAY MY BIG DEBUT."

Eris closed her eyes for a moment before looking at the robot. "To humans, I don't know, but certainly to the monsters down here, you're like a hero. And a true hero does what's right."

"WISE WORDS, DARLING." Mettaton EX said. "BESIDES, YOU'VE PROVEN TO BE VERY STRONG. PERHAPS… EVEN STRONG ENOUGH TO GET PAST THE DUKE AND ASGORE. I'M SURE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PROTECT HUMANITY."

The robot laughed a little at that point. "IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST, ANYWAY. THE TRUTH IS, THIS FORM'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS… INEFFICIENT. IN A FEW MOMENTS, I'' RUN OUT OF BATTERY POWER, AND… WELL. I'LL BE ALRIGHT. AND PLEASE, DON'T BE HARSH ON ALPHYS. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SHE HAS A BIG HEART. JUST LIFE WASN'T KIND TO HER." The robot said.

Eris said nothing to the robot's request.

"KOCK'EM DEAD, DARLINGS. AND EVERYONE… THANK YOU. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!" Mettaton EX finally said before turning off, with the entire platform returning to its original state and the human returning to the group.

"Are you okay?" Nami asked the human, who nodded to them.

When it was all over, the front door opened.

"I… I managed to open the lock! Are all of you…?" Alphys started to ask as she walked in, seeing what had happened. "Oh my god. Mettaton!"

Alphys went to inspect the powered-down robot, concerned about its condition.

"...thank GOD, it's just the batteries," Alphys said in relief. "Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have… I would have…" Alphys noticed how the group was staring at her, making her nervous. "I-I mean, h-hey, it's n-no problem, you know? He's just a robot, if you messed it up, I c-could always… j-just build another."

The group simply stood in silence, with Eris crossing her arms with a serious look.

"L-look… I'm sorry I tricked you… I just…" Alphys said, unable to come up with any excuses. "I-I just wanted to feel useful… at least for once… and now, I only know one way to be useful to you right now."