//------------------------------//
// Cooking up Trouble 
// Story: The Moon in the Dark 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	Woona carefully made her way further east along the kitchen tile into total darkness.  She walked carefully, worried about who might be hiding in the darkness.  As she took a few steps forward, however, the phone rang.  Desperately, she picked it up.  "H-hello?" she stammered nervously.

"Hey, it's kind of dark in there, isn't it?" Alphys asked, her own voice showing signs of a stutter.

"C-can you fix it?" Woona asked worriedly.

"I think so," Alphys replied.  "Let me just..."  The sound of tapping keys echoed over the line...and the lights came on, revealing a kitchen.  "Oh no..." Alphys murmured.

"What's wrong?" Woona asked, confused.  "It seems rather peaceful-"

Mettaton slowly rose from behind the counter.  "OHHH YES!!!" he proclaimed happily into a microphone, settling the chef's hat atop his head.  "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S NUMBER ONE COOKING SHOW!!!"

A large sign appeared, displaying the show title..."Cooking With A Killer Robot".

"Uh oh," Woona whimpered, her eyes wide.

"PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY!" Mettaton proclaimed proudly.  "WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING...A CAKE!  MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS!  EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!"

Woona gasped in surprise as she was applauded.  Smiling, she hopped onto the counter and gave a graceful curtsy as confetti fell.

"WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS!" Mettaton instructed.  "GO FOR IT, SWEETHEART!"

Nodding, Woona glanced over to the opposite counter, seeing the ingredients laid out.  Reaching out, she caught the milk and eggs in her magic.  She started to reach for the sugar, but paused as she felt her magic wavering.  Apparently, she was too worn out presently to grab all three at once.  As such, she brought the eggs and milk over, gently depositing them in front of Mettaton.

"VERY GOOD!" Mettaton proclaimed.  "BUT YOU FORGOT ONE!  WHERE IS THE SUGAR?  GIVE ME SOME SUGAR!"

Woona's eyes widened, and she grinned impishly.

Do it, Chara goaded her.

Leaning in, she gave Mettaton a smooch on the side of his display.

"D-DARLING!" Mettaton gasped, leaning back, his display turning a blushing pink.  "WE'RE BROADCASTING LIVE!  HOW SCANDALOUS!"

Giggling, Woona brought the sugar over in her magic.

"WELL, WE'VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS NOW!" Mettaton proclaimed.  "THERE'S JUST ONE LAST THING WE NEED, AND IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!"  Mettaton's screen went red, and he lifted a chainsaw.  "A HUMAN SOUL!"

Woona gasped dramatically as she slowly backed away.  "Oh no!  And my soul has human properties!  Whoever shall save me?"

Hamming it up much? Chara teased.  Keep this up, and the cake won't be Kosher.

...huh? Woona asked, confused.

...never mind...

At that point, Mettaton's phone rang.  He paused and picked it up.  "HELLO?  I'M KINDA IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE..."

"W-Wait a second!" Alphys gasped from the phone, which was on speaker.  "C-couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?"

"A SUBSTITUTION?  YOU MEAN USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT?"  Mettaton turned this over in his mind.  "WHY?"

Alphys began to stammer, still nervous about talking over the phone on live TV.  "Uh...w-well...w-what it..."

Chara turned towards the nearest camera, knowing Alphys would be watching with the special view that let her see him.  He mouthed, Pretend you're talking to Napstablook!

Alphys paused in her speech.  When she spoke again, her voice was much steadier.  "Well, for one thing, Woona's soul is only 10.78% human!  Won't the 89.22% pony mess up the recipe?"

"THAT IS NO MATTER!" Mettaton proclaimed.  "THE RECIPE CALLS FOR THE SOUL TO BE DIVIDED ANYWAY, SO I'LL EXCISE THE HUMAN PORTION AND MAKE A SMALLER CAKE!  IT'S IMPORTANT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT TECHNIQUE TO THE VIEWERS AT HOME!"

"W-well," Alphys stammered, not having thought that counter would fail, "what if someone's, uh...vegan?" she asked desperately.

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, DR. ALPHYS!" Mettaton proclaimed, his screen once more yellow as he put the chainsaw away.  "ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE!"  He gestured to the east, where a small can sat on a table.  "MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVORED-SUBSTITUTE!  WOONA, WON'T YOU PLEASE GO FETCH IT AND BRING IT HERE?"

"Of course!" Woona agreed readily, racing over to the smaller counter...only for it to shoot into the sky as a tower.  "Oh no!"

"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE!" Mettaton proclaimed wickedly.  "IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN IN THE NEXT ONE MINUTE...WE WILL JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN!"

"I can't fly that fast!" Woona whimpered.  "Dr. Alphys, help me!"

"Don't worry, Woona!" Alphys called out through the speakerphone.  "On your phone, there's a button labeled 'Jetpack'.  Push it!"

Nodding, Woona pulled out her phone.  "You mean this phone you upgraded for me to help me in any number of situations?" she asked.

"Y-yes!" Alphys replied.  "That phone!"

Smiling, Woona found the button and pushed it.  She gasped in amazement as the phone expanded into a jetpack that strapped itself to her back under the Chilled Apron.  As the jetpack ignited, Woona shot upward, one hoof extended above her head as she surrounded herself with a cone shaped magical aura.  "The flight of Super Moon begins!" she proclaimed, shooting upward.

Above her, Mettaton attempted to slow her flight to 'add drama', but the eggs, milk, and sugar he dumped towards her slipped off the aura surrounding her.  Reaching the top, she snatched the can off the counter.  "Yatta!" she proclaimed.  "We did it, Dr. Alphys!"

"MY MY, IT SEEMS YOU TWO HAVE BESTED ME!" Mettaton proclaimed.

"I owe it all to Dr. Alphys!" Woona replied.  "Without this jetpack she made me, I'd never have been able to get to the top!"

"I-I didn't do that much," Alphys stammered in embarrassment.

"WELL, I'LL BE OFF NOW...UNTIL NEXT TIME!"

"B-but what about the cake?" Woona stammered.

"HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A COOKING SHOW BEFORE?" Mettaton asked.

"No."

Mettaton stared at her.  "I ALREADY BAKED THE CAKE AHEAD OF TIME!"

"But...but I thought I'd actually get to learn to bake a cake..." Woona whimpered.

"SORRY, BUT I SPENT TOO MUCH ON THIS KITCHEN TO LET IT BLOW UP LIKE UNDYNE'S HOUSE!" Mettaton countered, flying off.

Woona pouted as she flew down to the ground again, the jetpack running out of fuel and reverting to a phone just as they got there.  She hung her head sadly.

"D-don't worry, Woona!" Alphys spoke up from Woona's phone.  "I-I can teach you to bake once you're done in Hotland!  I'm...okay at it, sorta...well, Undyne likes my snacks..."

Woona cheered right up.  "Thank you, Alphys!" she squealed happily, the idea of learning to bake from someone as smart as Alphys filling her with DETERMINATION.