//------------------------------// // Chapter 29: Attack Of The Killer Robot! // Story: Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers // by Lucar //------------------------------// Papyrus and Undyne left soon after, returning in Snowdin. With Undyne's house being damaged by the fire, she planned to crash at Papyrus' home until it was repaired. Once they were gone, Sweetie Belle made a necklace from gold and embedded the renamed Magic Orb in it before placing it around Frisk's neck. She made the necklace look like a golden flower with small vines wrapping around each others, the Orb replacing the usually white part of the flower, based on the form Frisk decided to give her magic. "Thanks! It's beautiful!" "You're welcome! Now, let's continue our journey." Sweetie Belle then teleported the two of them back beside the Save Point not far of Undyne's house. "You. You! YOU!" someone suddenly shouted in crescendo. And then, a dummy floated down from above in front of them. "What now?" Sweetie Belle wondered. "You're that human, right? The one who spooked my cousin out of their dummy when you talked to them!" the dummy said. "Uhh, uhh, what?" Frisk asked. "The dummy I talked to?" "Yes! That dummy! What, you thought that it was just a simple dummy? Well, NOT AT ALL! My cousin lived in it, but then, you spooked them out of it with the horrible things you said to them!" "What? But... I did nothing b-" "IT DOESN'T MATTER! Not anymore. I thought that it was UNFORGIVABLE what you did to them! And I was planning to avenge them by taking your SOUL! But then. But then! BUT THEN! I saw you hanging out with Undyne! And if you're okay in her book, then I suppose that I can give you a second chance." "Um... Thanks." "BUT! Don't think you're off the hook! If you ever do something like that again, this time, I'll kill you!" The dummy then floated away. "Uuhhh... What was that?" Sweetie Belle asked. "that was one of my cousins..." another voice said from behind them. When they turned around, they saw a ghost approaching. The ghost looked like your typical stereotype of a ghost. A floating, white, formless being looking as if that was someone hiding under a sheet. However, the ghost looked to have a rather low moral... Frisk apparently recognized the ghost because she smiled at... him? Them? "Napstablook! Nice to see you again! So that was another ghost?" "nice to see you too. and yes. one possessing a dummy... sorry about them... as you saw, they have some... anger issues, but don't worry about them... while living in this dummy, we call them mad dummy. who's your friend?" "I'm Sweetie Belle! I'm helping Frisk in her journey to the Barrier! Nice to meet you Napstablook!" "nice to meet you too..." "I met Napstablook in the Ruins," Frisk informed. "and she had been very nice to me," the ghost added. "She's nice to everyone," Sweetie Belle said with a giggle. "...my house is in this direction," Napstablook said as they waved their head in direction of a weirdly-shaped white house beside a similarly-shaped pink house. "just... in case you want to come... but i understand if you don't. you are probably busy. i just thought of asking... just in case..." "Well, we have time to spare. right, Frisk?" The human nodded. "that's great. i guess..." So they went toward the house, only for Sweetie Belle to remark a fence not far when she looked at the right before entering. "What is that over here?" "oh... this is the blook family snail farm. the family business... we raise snails, sell them, and we even have a race for snails that is called thundersnail. i'm currently the only employee." This seemed to interest Frisk. "Really? The only employee?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What about your cousins?" "they are distant cousins, so they aren't part of the blook family, and aren't interested in the business anyway. i do have a closer cousin who used to live in that other house... but they left to accomplish their dream to become a famous entertainer. you may have heard of them. they now call themself mettaton." "Mettaton... Mettaton..." Sweetie Belle repeated as she tried to recall if she had heard this name. Frisk quickly said that she hadn't heard it until now, but Sweetie Belle felt that it reminded her of something. Then, it clicked. "Mettaton! MTT! I heard this on the TV in Papyrus and Sans' house! I thought this was just a brand." "the name of mettaton is now a brand, yes, but mettaton themself is the greatest entertainer of the underground, and the only television star. they now mainly live, and work, in hotland. you may encounter them if you go there. they aren't a ghost however. not anymore. they managed to fully incorporate themself into a robot." "A robot entertainer. Noted." They then entered Napstablook's home where they discovered that Napstablook mixed musics. So they listened to their "spooky" work which would be perfect for Nightmare Night. The Spookwave one especially gave one heck of an ambience. Napstablook was really good! The ghost eventually offered them some food... Or ghost food, which phased right through Frisk. Sweetie Belle, however, was able to eat it. After that, they spent a few minutes following Napstablook's family tradition: lying on the ground feeling like garbage. It... really was an unique experience. They then went to have a look at the snail farm, which raised some very strange snails, and Frisk looked at the more normal ones with visible hunger. It seemed like she loved snails... on a plate. Sweetie Belle knew that humans were omnivore, but she didn't know that they could eat something as disgustingly-looking as snails. She didn't even want to think what that tasted like! They did a "quick" snail race too, and they lost. After that, they waved goodbye to Napstablook and left, returning at the Save Point. It was then that they remarked that they had forgotten to turn off Napstablook's music, which could be heard all the way to the Save Point. Here, they encountered Aaron and a Woshua, but the music spooked them and they left, Aaron being especially affected. Sweetie Belle made sure to "record" Napstablook's musics to use them in case they encountered Aaron again. And so, they took the last path, the one leading to the exit of Waterfall. But first, they stopped by a shop run by an old tortoise-monster wearing an archaeologist attire named Gerson. From his shop, Frisk bought a tea that apparently had the effect to rise speed, which would be useful during a hard battle. After that, they talked a bit. Frisk was particularly curious about that symbol that was on the wall behind Gerson, a sphere with a pair of wings above three triangles. She had apparently seen it before and wanted to learn more. They learned quite a bit. The symbol was the emblem of the Kingdom of Monsters called the Delta Rune. The triangles apparently symbolized the monsters while the circle with the wings represented an angel, and there was a whole prophecy behind it about said angel coming from the surface to free the monsters. Most interpreted it as freeing them from the Underground, but some began to interpret it as freeing them from this mortal realm... As in, the angel would exterminate all of them... Yeah, Sweetie Belle and Frisk preferred the first interpretation. Also, Gerson called Asgore "King Fluffybuns" for some reason that he couldn't remember for now, but that made the children laugh a lot. "Oh! Are my eyes playing tricks, or is it really a Magicorb that I see in that necklace around your neck?" "A Magicorb?" "Wait, that thing is actually called a Magicorb?" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in shock. "Yeah, again, it's our good King Fluffybuns who named them. Ahahah! His naming skills are really legendary! Magicorbs were made by monsters back when we lived at the surface. They were created to help humans use magic. Most of them really sucked at it. I thought they had all been destroyed during the War." "Not this one, it seems," Sweetie Belle said. "So it really is one! I didn't expect to see one again! Take really good care of it, kid." They then talked again a little. Gerson had that funny grandfatherly thing that just made them want to continue to talk to him. But, eventually, they had to continue their journey. So they eventually waved goodbye to him, hoping to talk to him again once the Barrier was broken. The path opposite to Gerson's shop just led to a river, probably the same one than the one passing beside Snowdin, so Sweetie Belle and Frisk continued to the right of the shop. It wasn't far before they found more glyphs. Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful SOUL can leave. There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human SOULs, attacks the barrier... It will be destroyed. But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here forever. And it was over... Frisk just gave a sad sigh before the sadness was replaced by determination to free the monsters. "It seems like the hole from which you fell wasn't present back then. It probably resulted from the collapse of the ground here," Sweetie Belle observed. After that, they continued, reaching a dark area where they had to use glowing mushrooms to find the path in what revealed to be a small maze (thankfully for Sweetie, an easy one). On the way, they encountered a strange monster that looked like a cat but also possessed dog ears in addition to the cat ears. Beside the fur, the monster also possessed hair like humans, and was even wearing a blue shirt. And the monster was constantly vibrating! Frisk quickly CHECKED it. TEMMIE - RATED TEM OUTTA TEM Loves to pet cute humans. But you're allergic! Then, the Temmie said, "awwAwa cute!!" before attempting to pet Frisk, stretching her limb! Frisk immediately moved to not be touched. She wouldn't mind being petted if it wasn't for that "you're allergic" part. Instead, Sweetie Belle petted the Temmie. "OMG!!! F3lt... SO GOOD!" the Temmie shouted, stopping her attempt to pet Frisk. Frisk, with hesitation, decided to do the same. This caused her hand to swell and to hurt, but the Temmie was now in heaven. "OMGfzpoyjqponfxxa!!!!! Human pets me!!! BeSt day EveR!!! (dies)" And the Temmie fell on her back, becoming so excited that she lost consciousness. Then... "want be petted by human too!" "hOI! Human Pet Temmie Too!" "Pet! PEt! pEt!" "HOI! Cute HUman pets me!" "hoI!" More and more Temmies came from a path not visible yet and shouted to gain Frisk's attention, wanting to be petted too. Frisk grabbed Sweetie Belle's head in panic and shouted "Teleport us outta here!" And Sweetie Belle did so, bringing them back to the Save Point not far of Undyne's and Napstablook's houses. They eventually returned to the dark area, Frisk now cloaked, and her hand healed. Temmies were now patrolling, intently searching the human to be petted, but they thankfully didn't recognize her under that cloak. However, they eventually reached a part of the area without mushrooms. Instead, the path was directly visible, but the area little by little darkened until nothing was visible anymore excepted some glowing purple or pink crystals. Some glyphs on a wall said: Without candles or magic to guide them Home, the monsters used crystals to navigate. There were also lamps here and there that could light the whole area, but they didn't last long once activated, so they had to regularly reactivate them. Sweetie Belle eventually decided to use her magic to light the path. And on the way, they had an encounter with two Moldsmals, only for one of the Moldsmals revealing to be a Moldbygg when the children got too close, a taller version of Moldsmals seemingly made of several layers of the former monster with a single eye at the top, staring at them. Frisk understood that the Moldbygg didn't like people getting too close and stepped back with Sweetie Belle, and the Moldbygg was grateful for this. After that, they traversed the maze-like area without problem. Following the path, they passed more echo flowers and found some last glyphs. However... There is a prophecy. The Angel... The One Who Has Seen The Surface... They will return. And the underground will go empty. Exactly like Gerson said, and it was up to interpretation how this Angel will empty the Underground. They traversed then a long bridge above a bottomless pit, very dangerous as the bridge wasn't large and didn't have fences to stop people from falling. After that was the end of Waterfall. A tunnel passing through a crag, behind which they could see the air becoming red, probably from high temperature, lightening the area. Tall structures could also be seen poking out from behind the crag. Hotland. Entering the tunnel in the crag, the path turned into a bridge passing above the river where they could see the ice blocks thrown by the wolf pass. Then, there was a giant neon sign with red lights forming "WELCOME TO HOTLAND!" scrolling across it from right to left. Then, they exited the tunnel, entering Hotland. The area was in total contrast to Waterfall. Where Waterfall had cold colors, lot of darkness, and water everywhere, Hotland had warm colors, ground orange, air hot, and there was a literal sea of magma below. The temperature quickly forced Frisk to let go of the cloak. And the area looked also much bigger, and very complex. Paths were twisting left and right, at several levels. There were tall towers linking them, probably elevators. And they could see some other structures here and there, including a large one not far. A sentry station was at their left, with Sans in it, sleeping. They stared at him. And Frisk called Papyrus. «YES?» Papyrus answered. «Hey! Punk!» Undyne shouted. "Hello again! Uh, did you know that Sans has a third sentry station?" «UGH... DON'T MENTION IT! YOU WOULD THINK THAT HE IS A WORKAHOLIC, BUT THAT'S JUST MORE OCCASIONS FOR HIM TO SLACK OFF!» «So I presume you reached Hotland's entrance?» Undyne wondered. "Yes, we just did... And Sans is sleeping." «SLEEPING ON THE JOB? WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED.» «This is not permitted to continue! If the station wasn't at Hotland, I would run right now to give Sans a piece of my mind! Papyrus, you go do it!» Papyrus groaned. «OF COURSE! THIS IS MY DUTY, AS HIS BROTHER, TO ENSURE THAT SANS DOESN'T LAZY AROUND! DON'T BOTHER WAITING, FRISK. CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY TO THE CAPITAL. AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING SANS' LAZINESS TO MY ATTENTION! AND BE CAREFUL! HOTLAND IS VERY DANGEROUS WITH ALL THAT VERY HOT MAGMA! IT WOULD BE VERY EASY TO FALL IN IT!» «Speaking of, there are Royal Guards stationed there. Sorry, but I can't tell them to leave you alone! Not only I can't just tell them that I changed my mind, but I saw in these animations that Alphys showed me that humans have mind control powers, so I told them that if I began to defend you, then I would probably be under your control so they should disregard EVERYTHING I say! But I'm sure this shouldn't be a problem for you! Also, you shouldn't be far from Alphys' Lab. Too bad I won't be able to see her reaction when she will see you! She loves humans! I told you about these animations, she has a ton of them! And books! And other stuff!» "I see," Frisk said with a giggle. "I can't wait to meet her." She ended the call just as Sweetie Belle finished drawing glasses and a mustache on Sans' head with a marker pen, giggling. "You couldn't help yourself, uh?" Frisk asked. The filly just answered with a big smile. They then left Sans to be annoyed by Papyrus - or Papyrus to be annoyed by Sans - and traversed another long bridge as dangerous as the previous one. After the bridge was a water cooler, and after it, they arrived at a crossroad with a Save Point in the middle. The path at their left was leading to an elevator but was currently blocked by two Royal Guards, one seemingly being a rabbit-monster judging by the long ears poking out of the helmet. It was hard to say however what was the second one. The guards didn't seem to recognize Frisk as they didn't attack her, so she and Sweetie Belle went to ask them if they could pass. "Sorry... Undyne, like, told us there was totally a human in the area. So, like, us Royal Guards are blocking off the elevators for now. Ngah! Even if the elevators aren't working anyway, we'll do our best, Ms. Undyne!" the rabbit Royal Guard said with fervor while the other remained silent. The path at the right led to a river where they could see a small boat with a cloaked being on it. Apparently, it was a ferry to return to Waterfall and Snowdin. Finally, the last path, in front of where they arrived, led to the lab, a large building entirely metallic. The door opened when they approached, letting them enter the building. The inside was plunged in darkness, so Sweetie Belle used her magic to create some light. They then passed beside a big monitor displaying Frisk much to the girl's discomfort as she understood that she had been watched all this time. After it was a messy desk covered with stacks of paper, piles of used bowls, a computer with some notes on it, a couple of figurines, and a mug. It was just beside a filled trash can and a fridge, and beside the fridge was a large purple bag of dog food. Then, a door opened, and the light was turned on, letting the children see a yellow reptilian monster somewhat hunched over wearing glasses and a lab coat coming out of some other room. The monster eventually spotted them and was very surprised. "Oh. My god," she said before she began to talk quickly as she panicked. "I didn't expect you to show up so soon! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, it's messy, and..." She then stopped fretting as she calmed down and faced them, very anxious. "Hello! You're Alphys, right?" Sweetie Belle then began, hoping to ease the monster. "Y-y-yes! That's me! Dr. Alphys, Asgore's royal scientist! I see that Undyne told you about me. I could see that you somehow managed to befriend her despite... her..." Sweetie Belle and Frisk both glanced at the monitor at this, and the filly said, "We could see that..." "I-i-i-i'm not a stalker if this is what you think!" Alphys quickly said, blushing. "It's just my duty to keep an eye on you through the many cameras installed in the Underground. Since the moment you stepped out of the Ruins, human, I have been observing you, and I was supposed to report your status to Undyne and the others. But, uh, don't worry, I'm not against you. In the contrary, the more I observed you, the more I grew fond of you. You know, watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them. And then, pony, you appeared, and together, you went through many funny moments, battled, made friendships... It's really hard to remain against you when you're both so nice! And adorable! And then, pony, you revealed to have all these incredible magical powers and fighting skills it was like watching an anime and you're now my new model!" Alphys rambled a little before she calmed down. "S-so, ahhh, I want to help you! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland! I know a way right to Asgore's castle, no problem!" "It would be really appreciated, Dr. Alphys!" Sweetie Belle said happily. "Oh, please, just call me Alphys. We're friends after all. R-r-right?" "Yeah!" both kids affirmed. "Really? T-thank you! Hotland is full of dangerous puzzles and traps, but you can count on me! Well, umm, there's actually a tiny issue. A long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton." Sweetie Belle and Frisk glanced at each other. Wasn't that Napstablook's cousin? "Originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot. Uh, you know, like a robotic TV star or something. Anyway, recently, I decided to make him more useful. You know, just some small practical adjustments. Like, um... Anti... anti-human combat features? Of c-course, when I saw you coming, I immediately decided... I have to remove these features! Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so. And, um... Now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood? Ehehehehe..." Sweetie Belle and Frisk now frowned at each other. There was something wrong here... Could a ghost now inhabiting a robotic body lose control? Also, Alphys talked of Mettaton as if they... he was just a robot, and not a ghost in a robot. "Heh. But, ummm, hopefully we won't run into him!" Three... Two... One... Sweetie Belle counted in her head. BAM! They suddenly heard something hit the wall at the left! "Called it..." the filly muttered. BAM! "Did you hear something?" Alphys asked before there were more sounds, each making the building shake. "Oh no." There was then a sudden flash, and the building was plunged in darkness again. And then... "OHHHH YES!" a robotic voice shouted. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES..." There was a drum roll coming from nowhere, and a single light in the ceiling turned on like a spotlight, revealing the new arrival: Mettaton, a gray, rectangular robot with a grid of light at the top and four dials at the bottom, as well as two segmented arms finishing in white gloves, one of them holding a mike, and a single leg with a wheel who had come out of the wall after destroying it. "TO TODAY'S SHOW!!!" And the lights fully turned back on as music played, revealing that there were now a big neon sign with written on it "GAME SHOW" on the wall, two balls in the ceiling with lights of all colors rotating giving a festive ambiance, confetti raining everywhere, and cameras. "What the heck..." Sweetie Belle said while Frisk got closer, not sure what will happen. "OH BOY!" Mettaton continued with enthusiasm. "I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVES A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANTS!" And Mettaton clapped while there was a clapping sound effect playing. "NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS? NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY... OR YOU DIE!!!" the robot yelled as his grid of lights flashed red. And Sweetie Belle and Frisk's SOULs came out while Alphys quickly moved behind Mettaton. Frisk immediately CHECKED. METTATON - ATK 30 DEF 255 His metal body renders him invulnerable to attack. "Not that I plan to attack him..." Frisk said to herself. "Me too, and I could totally destroy him," Sweetie Belle whispered to her. "LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!!" Mettaton began. "WHAT'S THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?" he asked, reading it on a paper. Then, four answers appeared on the ground. A: Money B: Mercy C: New car D: More questions And Mettaton's lights began to count down from 30. "We have to move on them?" Sweetie Belle asked. "YES! EXACTLY, DARLING! AND YOU SHOULD HURRY UP!" Frisk began to move toward the answer B, but Sweetie Belle stopped her and pointed at the D. "Oh..." Frisk gave a sheepish smile before they both moved to the answer D, not spotting Alphys silently forming a D with her hands. And it was the right answer, indicated by a sound effect and more confetti raining. "RIGHT! SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT! HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE! WHAT'S THE KING'S FULL NAME?" A: Lord Fluffybuns B: Fuzzy Pushover C: Asgore Dreemurr D: Dr. Friendship Sweetie Belle and Frisk laughed at the answers before they moved to the C, again not seeing Alphys forming said letter with her hand. "CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER! ENOUGH ABOUT YOU. LET'S TALK ABOUT ME! WHAT ARE ROBOTS MADE OFF?" A: Hopes & Dreams B: Metal & Magic C: Snips & Snails D: Sugar & Spice Again, the answer was obvious in the middle of all these ridiculous wrong answers, and they moved to the B. This time, Sweetie Belle took the time to glance at Alphys, seeing that she was giving the answer. She just gave a thankful smile without saying a word in return. "TOO EASY FOR YOU, HUH?????????? HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!" And Mettaton began to read what seemed to be a long mathematics problem about two trains departing from two different stations asking how long it would take before they would pass each other after giving the necessary information. "Uhhhh...." Frisk began to think in her head. Sweetie Belle didn't bother however, briefly glanced at Alphys who was forming a D with her hands, and moved toward the answer D, bringing Frisk with her. This quiz show wasn't as easy as the first few questions suggested. "WONDERFUL! I'M ASTOUNDED, FOLKS! DON'T 'COUNT' ON YOUR VICTORY... HOW MANY FLIES ARE IN THIS JAR?" A screen then appeared, showing a jar full of flies. It was impossible to count them! And yet, somehow, Alphys immediately had the answer: the A, so Sweetie Belle and Frisk moved to the A. "CORRECT! YOU'RE SO LUCKY TODAY!!! LET'S PLAY MEMORY GAME. WHAT MONSTER IS THIS?" The screen then showed what seemed to be a part of the head of a frog-monster, and Frisk began to move toward the answer A which said that it was a Froggit. But Sweetie Belle didn't trust this question, not after the two previous ones, and stopped Frisk before glancing at Alphys who was giving the answer D: Mettaton. So Sweetie Belle moved to the D. "What? But this is-" Frisk began to say, only to be interrupted by the sound effect indicating that the D was the right answer. "What?" The screen then showed the full image, revealing it to be actually Mettaton wearing a shirt with a Froggit head on it. "I'M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBERED!" Sweetie Belle gave a deadpan look at the robot, but couldn't stop an amused smile from showing itself. "BUT CAN YOU GET THIS ONE??? WOULD YOU SMOOCH A GHOST?" A: Heck Yeah B: Heck Yeah C: Heck Yeah D: Heck Yeah Now, both Sweetie Belle and Frisk were giving Mettaton "Seriously?" looks, and even Alphys was giving him a funny look. There wasn't even a timer for this one. Well then, they just moved to the answer A. "GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!!!!!!! HERE'S A SIMPLE ONE. HOW MANY LETTERS IN THE NAME METTATONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN" And he continued the n without stopping, earning another deadpan look from Sweetie Belle and an annoyed one from Frisk. And Alphys was STILL giving the right answer: the C. "OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU! TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!! IN THE DATING SIMULATION GAME "MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE" WHAT IS MEW MEW'S FAVORITE FOOD?" Before the answers could appear, Alphys suddenly couldn't stop herself from yelling the answer excitedly, even explaining the passage of the game where the information was learned and beginning to say why this passage was great before she stopped as she understood what she just did. "ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS. YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANTS, ARE YOU?" Now, Alphys looked like she was caught with a hand in the cookie jar. "OOOOOOH!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION... YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO!" This made Alphys panic. "WHO DOES ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON?" A: Undyne B: Asgore C: The human D: Don't know And no timer again. Frisk and Sweetie Belle had no choice but to answer. But they had to think of the answer before. Asgore? Having a crush on the king wasn't impossible. She was the royal scientist after all. The human? So, Frisk? Nah, she was too young. D clearly was a no. It had to be one of the three proposed names. What about Undyne? It was clear that the two passed a lot of time together, Alphys making her watch animes and read comics. So it could either be A or B. Having better knowledge of Alphys' relationship with Undyne than with Asgore, they went to the A. They didn't have to wait for Alphys' reaction. Her whole face was now red! And she was hiding it behind her hands, embarrassed. So she really had a crush on Undyne? "SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN THEM FIGURED IT OUT. YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES. SHE NAMES PROGRAMMING VARIABLES AFTER HER. SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER... SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE. PROBABILITY OF CRUSH: 101 PERCENT. MARGIN OF ERROR. ONE PERCENT." Poor Alphys. She clearly wished now to be the ghost so she could turn invisible. But maybe that it was what had been needed to turn this crush into a real love story! Hoping that Undyne was watching, of course. However, getting her crush revealed to the whole Underground? Yike... "WELL WELL WELL. 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...!!!" Mettaton's limbs then retracted into his body before a reactor activated, propelling him up and right through the ceiling. "...Well that was certainly something," Alphys commented, trying not to think about what just happened. "Y-you can explore the lab if you want. I... will just remain here and... try to forget that I just got my crush revealed to everyone... It's not your fault! Don't feel guilty! This is just a small price to pay to do what is right." Sweetie Belle and Frisk took this as their cue to leave her alone for now as the scientist began to mumble to herself. The filly immediately went to check the new hole in the wall through which Mettaton came, discovering that there was a very small room just behind with no entrance or exit visible. So this meant that Mettaton was here from the beginning, seemingly waiting for the right moment to show up. "...Let's go to the second floor, Frisk. There's something we need to talk about." "Uh? Uh, okay." So they took the escalator leading to the second floor, just beside the door through which Alphys had come from. Passing shelves full of comics, mangas, VHSes and DVDs, and normal science books, they stopped beside a machine that turned sea-grass into a pink goop and beside a table with a chainsaw, an electric screwdriver, and a plan about how to use a phone to turn a SOUL so it could fire projectiles. "Listen, Frisk, I think that this whole thing is an act." "Really? Well, it's true that this was weird..." "Yeah, Alphys who lies about Mettaton's true nature, Mettaton who had been waiting behind that wall for the right moment, and for "a killing machine with a thirst for human blood," Mettaton didn't seem to be that 'bloodthirsty'." Frisk nodded. "What do you think is going on, then?" Sweetie Belle thought about this for a few seconds before she answered. "I'm not totally sure, actually. But it seems that it has something to do with Alphys wanting to help us, like she did during the quiz show. She had all the answers, even to the questions that were impossible." "Well... It feels like... She really wants to help us, so..." "So she made Mettaton act like that so she could help us. I think I see. In her eyes, we're heroes, like in these animes and mangas. And she wants to participate, to join us in our journey. And Mettaton plays the role of the bad guy." "Sooo... What do we do?" "Well, if she wants a chance to be like in her animes, why deny this to her? No harm is done. And the quiz show was actually fun, so I want to see what else Mettaton has prepared for us. What do you think?" "Mmh... You're right, this may be fun. And I don't want to make Alphys sad. So let's be heroes!" "The program of today: Frisk and Sweetie Belle Against the Killer Robot Entertainer!" Sweetie Belle proclaimed before they both giggled.