The sound of the elevator coming to life fills the dead silence like filling in a jelly donut. I felt some sort of dread fall onto my shoulders as we went up. I guess it's because of what I'm about to encounter. Alphys and Undyne know about this other human who is portraying as me to escape from the Underground. But, I have a gut-feeling that it's more than that. Especially, since Undyne has been acting weird before, during, and after we hung out. And, I am sure that what she said isn't what she wanted to say. Ugh, why do people like hiding stuff from me?!

I groaned loudly and pulled my hair, in frustration. I felt exhausted and told Gaster that we might need to stop somewhere to rest.

¨I believe there is a hotel in Hotland that we could stay in to recharge our batteries.¨ he replied and took control of my arm as we exited the elevator. However, I tugged my arm away when I saw a small orange flame-monster. I smiled and approached it. He smirked and nodded his head.

¨Heh. I'm Heats Flamesman. Remember my name!¨ Then, he stopped talking to me after that. I frowned and nodded at him, leaving him to bask in cockiness.

¨Well, he seemed......nice.¨

¨Nice. More like self-obsessed.¨

¨Eh, can't blame the guy. After all, Mettaton is the same way.¨

¨Yes and how horrible he is.¨

I roll my eyes as we keep strolling through the sands of Hotland. We pass another sentry station along the way but I couldn't help thinking about Sans. He's probably mad at me for Papyrus but I didn't do it! I'm sure if I tell him what's going on, he'll understand. He's such a laid-back dude. I don't think he would stay mad at me forever.......

Would he?

I was brought out of my senses at the sound of my phone ringing. I jump a little at the ringing and fumbled for the cellular device. I, finally, grabbed it and answered.

¨H.......hi.....! It's Dr. Alphys.¨

¨Alphys, for the last time, I already know it's you. Nobody else is going to call me.¨

¨O...Oh....right......This p-puzzle is kinda.............um....timing-based. Y-you see those switches over there?¨

I look towards the where she was saying and spot a switch on the two pillars.

¨Yep.¨

¨Y-you'll have to press all three of them within 3 seconds. I-I'll try to help you with the rhythm.¨

¨Wait, Al-¨ And, she hung up. I wasn't even able to ask where the third switch was. I sigh and walk towards the runway with Gaster trailing behind me. He looks down at me and, for some time, doesn't speak. With his piercing gaze, it was a lot harder to concentrate. I gulp and step onto it, getting my hands ready to press some buttons.

Button one.

Press!

Button two.

Press!

Button three.

Press!

After slamming my hand quickly into the button, the laser in front of me vaporized into nothing. I sigh and wipe the sweat off my forehead. Man, Hotland plus puzzles is bad for this outfit. I sigh as I feel my clothes sticking to me. I probably need a shower, too. Yuck.

¨You did....pretty well.¨ As I beam from his compliment, he rolls his eyes and scoffs. ¨But, you could do slightly better with the reaction time. Your movements were quite sloppy and could have wasted a lot more time on a simple-¨ I growl in annoyance and run off ahead of him, leaving him to criticize the air. He teleports next to me and continues to walk aside me, acting like nothing happened. Cheeky snob.

In silence, we complete the puzzles ahead of us and continue on our journey. With each passing second, I get hotter and hotter. And I can tell he wasn't taking it so well either. He was huffing softly after we make it across the jumping pads. I decided to ignore it since Gaster could handle himself. After all, he did make the Core so he has worked through the puzzles himself. We make it to a save point and I save quickly.

I glance at him and observe him for a little while. He looked very tired and sweat was dripping down his face. I look down and start rummaging through my bag for a water bottle. I grab two and hand one to him. He looks at the liquid and at me, then back at the water.

¨N....No t-thanks......I...I'm not thirsty.¨

¨Stop being stubborn and take it. You're going to need it if you are to help me.¨ I insisted, raising the refreshing beverage towards him. He takes a moment but, eventually, takes the bottle and takes two gulps of it. I stifle a laugh and take a swing of cool water into my dry mouth. I already felt so much better and started to pick myself up. ¨Alright, we need to get going if we want to get to Asgore's castle.¨ I push forward as I walk ahead.

As I started to turn a corner, suddenly I hear someone shout at me.

¨Hey! You! Stop!¨ Turning around, to see the two guardsmen from before and grumble.

¨Ugh, not now.¨ I sigh and greet them, my hands shaking. ¨H-Hi.¨

¨We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a human wearing a striped shirt.¨ the guy who shouted at me said.

¨Yea, they told us they were wandering around Hotland right now............¨

¨Oh, really? Well, I hope you find them then. But, I must really be-¨ I was stopped by a sword blocking my path. I gulp.

¨Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?¨

The other guardsman sighs. ¨Bummer. This is, like........Mega embarrassing. We, like, actually totally have to kill you and stuff.¨ Then, I was sent into a fight. Darn it! I growled. 'Alright, I can handle this.'

*Time skip! Mostly because this fight kind of makes me uncomfortable so......yeah. Brought to you by: https://68.media.tumblr.com/dc1745f91b5454d50fc83e12f9b2db9d/tumblr_o342qykAHN1v854lio1_500.gif*

We continue walking after sparing the two guards, who went out for ice-cream or something. I start walking and are encountered by an extremely dark room. I hold onto Gaster's arm tightly and walk forward, not leaving his side. Then, I hear the sound of my phone and pick it up.

¨A-another dark room, huh?¨ Alphys asks.

¨Let there be light, Alphys!¨ I say, dramatically. She giggles and turns on the power, however, I'm in a room with a camera looking straight at me. I jump back a little and see a TV, looking towards me. Oh no.

¨Are you serious?¨ Alphys exclaims.

¨OHHHHHH YESSS!!! GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS! ¨ Mettaton exclaims. The scene behind him looks like regular news station and he was wearing a red suit with a yellow tie. He was, currently, holding up note-cards and looking towards the camera. Then, behind him, there was me looking towards where the TV is. I gulp towards the camera and wave nervously. My cheeks turn red and I felt my hands sweating.

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

I start to walk around aimlessly and run into a glass of water. I hold it up for the audience to seem like a model in a QVC live show.

¨OMG!........IT'S A COMPLETELY NONDESCRIPT GLASS OF WATER. BUT ANYTHING CAN MAKE A GREAT STORY WITH ENOUGH SPIN!¨ Deciding that there might be more to report, I inspected the area. In the area, there was a dog, a movie script, a videogame that looks vaguely familiar, and a present. Not thinking twice, I start to report the dog. Mettaton seems pleased either way.

¨ATTENTION, VIEWERS! OUR CORRESPONDENT HAS FOUND....A DOG!¨ Then, like on cue, a group of 'aww's sounded across the room. Man, Mettaton sure has a captive audience.

¨THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS! IT'S THE FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE YEAR! LOOK AT ITS LITTLE EARS, TINY PAWS, FLUFFY TAIL..........WAIT A SECOND!! THAT'S NOT A TAIL! THAT'S......A FUSE!!!¨ I gasp as I look towards the cute white dog as its tail lights up in a spark. It was, indeed, a fuse. Which means..............

¨THAT'S RIGHT........THAT DOG.......IS A BOMB!!! BUT DON'T PANIC! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THE ROOM YET!!!¨

¨What's that supposed to mean?!!!¨ If only I didn't say anything. The stage collapsed and the objects changed too! The script was open to reveal a black bomb and the video game is opened just to let out two sticks of TNT. ¨Are you kidding me?!¨ I screech at Mettaton, who is now floating in front of me.

¨OH MY! IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IS THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY A BOMB! THAT PRESENT'S A BOMB! THAT BASKETBALL'S A BOMB! EVEN MY WORDS ARE............!¨ Suddenly, the words he was reading fell to the ground and exploded. I yelped and jumped a few feet back. How is that even possible?!!

¨BRAVE CORRESPONDENT.....IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL THE BOMBS...........THIS BIG BOMB WILL BLOW YOU INTO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES!¨ he cackled and pointed to a huge bomb above me. I gulped and watched as it laid there. ¨THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING 'LIVE' ANY LONGER! HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING!¨

¨You sound more excited than afraid.¨ I growled.

¨OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLING!~¨ Then, he was gone. Left me to my own demise. A deadly one indeed.