The boat ride over was very relaxing, but you had to take off your winter coat as you entered hotland. It was sweltering!
Papyrus got off, helping you off next.
"Thanks Paps! So, this is the place?" You asked, looking up at the large and glamorous hotel.
"INDEED! LET'S GET YOU INSIDE, IT IS MUCH TOO WARM OUT HERE!" He announced, taking your winter coat from your arms and holding your hand.
As Papyrus led you into the building, you couldn't help but be dazzled by the lights and pristinely waxed tile floor. There was even a beautiful fountain in the center!
"Wow Paps! This place is gorgeous!" You said happily, noticing a large 'on air' sign ahead of you both, currently off.
"Is that where he hosts his show?" You added as you both headed towards the double doors.
"YES! I HAVE OUT TICKETS RIGHT HERE!" Papyrus said, showing his tickets to the doorman, letting you both through.
Since the seats were reserved by ticket, you didn't have to worry about fighting for them. Papyrus somehow managed to get you both center and front row seats!
"How did you manage to snag these seats?" You asked Papyrus, looking around you at the other viewers.
"I DO COME OFTEN WHEN I HAVE FREE TIME! I'M METTATON'S BIGGEST FAN!" Papyrus said with excitement.
"Mettaton does seem like a pretty cool guy!" You replied, getting comfortable in the seat.
"JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE HIS NEW MODEL! HE WAS GETTING SOME MAINTENANCE RECENTLY SO HE HAD TO USE HIS BOXY FORM... YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO SEE WHAT HE USUALLY LOOKS LIKE!" He laughed.
"Eh?" You said, tilting your head in confusion.
Suddenly the lights in the audience dimmed, and the stage curtains pulled back slowly to reveal a kitchen set with stainless steel appliances.
"Hello lovelies!" A voice came from the left side of the stage, a high heeled sparkly pink boot sticking out from behind the end of the curtain.
Suddenly waltzed in... Mettaton? He looked fabulous! It was a shock to see him look so different, and wearing such a frilly pink apron. You were a little jealous to be honest, he had so much courage being up there every day!
"Welcome back to Cooking with a Robot!" He announced with a dramatic pose, a sign slowly lowering from the back of the stage.
It was a neon sign with the words 'Cooking with a Killer Robot' on it, but Killer was unlit... purposefully?
"For today's show, we will be picking someone randomly from the audience to go head-to-head with yours truly!" Mettaton said, posing dramatically again.
Random lights began to flicker around the rows of seats, aiming directly at a one seat then flickering to the next, seemingly searching to select a seat.
You laughed, whispering to Papyrus, "I like it when he poses like that, it's so theatrical!"
Suddenly a bright light shot into your eyes and you quickly shielded them.
The light stopped on you, your heart stopping for a second.
"You are the lucky contestant! Come, come!" Mettaton spoke out, walking over to the edge of the stage and holding out a hand for you.
You nervously looked between Papyrus and Mettaton, before Papyrus put a hand on your shoulder and gave you an ensuring nod with a wide smile on his face.
You nodded back, straightening in your seat and mustering up your confidence.
'I gotta do this for him! Do it for Paps! Paps is his biggest fan!' You convinced yourself, getting up out of the seat and shakily taking Mettaton's hand as he pulled you up on stage.
"You'll be needing this, dear!" He said, handing you a frilly pink apron like his.
You put it on, following him as he stood behind the cooking set.
"Why don't you introduce yourself to crowd? I thought I knew everyone in the underground, but I've never seen a face like yours!" Mettaton said excitedly, placing a clip mic on your ear and the connected battery pack in your apron pocket.
"U-Uh," You said awkwardly into the mic, "I'm Buttercup, and I learned to cook from my mother?"
"Splendid! Today, we have a special guest on our show to judge our baking today! Give it up for our previous special guest... King Asgore!"
Clapping deafened your ears. If your stomach wasn't in your stomach yet, it definitely was now. You felt your blood drain from your face as you turned, facing the imposing king as he walked with ease on stage.
He was much bigger in person. It was very intimidating. He's a lot less scary through a television screen...
"It's a pleasure to be back, Mettaton! I can't wait to judge your backing, I'm starving!" He said with a boisterous laugh, shaking Mettaton's hand.
He turned to you quickly, extending a hand to you for a shake also.
Shakily you placed your hand in his as he gripped his hand around yours, shaking it up and down with force.
He definitely wasn't as gentle as Toriel, but he did remind you a lot of her. He let go of your hand and took a seat at the judging table to the side, the small seat bending a bit beneath him.
It made you miss her a little bit, it's different now not spending all your time with your mother.
"It's been many years since I've had this recipe, I've been craving it for a long time!" He said with a solemn smile on his face.
Quickly you turned to look at the recipe sheets on the countertop of the cooking set, the ingredients immediately becoming familiar to you.
It's Toriel's butterscotch-cinnamon pie. You weren't good at getting it exactly right but you've come pretty darn close to hers! She always changes how much she adds, funnily enough. It's never 50/50 with the butterscotch and cinnamon.
"Today's challenge will be a dessert of King Asgore's choosing, with no directions - just the ingredients!" Mettaton announced to the crowd, applaud ensuing.
A timer turned on behind you next to the glowing show-sign that you didn't notice before.
"Ready? Set? Start!" Mettaton shouted, posing dramatically before grabbing his ingredients joyfully.
Carefully you began mixing the dough, and before you knew it, you had the pie in the oven.
Flour covered your hands, arms, and apron. Cooking and baking Toriel's recipes was always so meditative for you, especially since you've made them so many times.
Looking up, you see Papyrus looking at you with wonder in his eyes, sitting on the edge of his seat.
Quickly you face flushed, heat rising in your cheeks, quickly turning to look at your timer. You'd have to take out the pie in 15 minutes, so you took this time to set up the pie plate, cutlery, and gingham cloth napkin to set your slice on.
You turned to watch Mettaton who was... sweating? He seemed nervous, and kept glancing between you and his busy work as he tried to make this pie.
Stepping over carefully next to him, you looked down at his pie as he rolled out his dough for the lattice work.
It didn't look half bad! The edges weren't pressed in yet so you reached out to press them in for him.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" He said defensively, stopping his rolling.
"Ah, it just looked like you could go faster with an extra pair of hands. Is that alright?" You asked softly, not wanting to set him more on edge.
It was quiet for a few seconds before he stuck his nose up, "Fine! But I don't owe you anything, alright?"
You laughed, beginning to press in waves in the crust of the dough, "Of course! I didn't expect anything in return after all. I just don't like seeing anyone suffer like this."
As you finished, you helped him cut out even strips to lattice the cover of the pie, setting the temperature as he placed the pie in the oven.
You both stood back up straight after closing the oven, turning to each other. Nervously, he stuck his hand out.
"Huh?" You asked, looking at his hand and back at him.
"It's a handshake, darling! Obviously!... Thank you for the assistance." Mettaton said, turning away from your gaze.
You shook his hand, hearing your timer go off for your pie. Running over to your station, you put your cooking mittens on and turned off the oven, pulling out the pie.
The smell of this pie never gets old. It's not overwhelmingly sweet because of the cinnamon and had a lovely warm scent. You would need to let your pie set for a minute to cool down before you cut it, or the filling would melt all over the place and not hold its shape.
"How do you know how to bake so well? You seemed to know exactly what you were doing from the beginning." Mettaton asked, cleaning the flour from his metal hands.
"I cook a lot with my mother, or well, would cook a lot. The only reason I can do this so confidently though, is because Paps is cheering me on." You blushed, looking out into the crowd at Papyrus who met your gaze, waving at you excitedly.
You waved back a little, turning to hear Mettaton's timer go off as he pulled his pie out of the oven. He grabbed a knife, ready to cut into the pie.
"Wait! It needs to cool for a minute or two, or it'll melt all over!" You said quickly.
"Oh! Thank you, darling! I would have made quite the mess!" He laughed, setting down his knife and looking at the timer behind you all. You both still had half an hour on the clock, so there was plenty of time.
Turning slowly to look at the king, you gaze immediately met his.
How long had he been watching bake!? Shaking your fear off, you stood back up at your pie and cut carefully into it at Mettaton cut into his, both placing your pieces on your respective places.
Carefully you both walked over to King Asgore, setting down your plates before him as the timer stopped behind you both.
Asgore looked down at the pies, both you and Mettaton standing next to each other sweating in nervousness.
He took a bite out of each one slowly, Mettaton's first, a smile appearing on his face.
When he took a bite out of your pie, he... froze?
Was it that bad?
Suddenly the king stood up from his chair, walking over to you quickly.
You stiffly froze, looking between Mettaton and the king, scared as to what to do.
The king suddenly pulled you into a rib crushing hug, lifting you feet off the ground as he laughed loudly and spun you around.
"WOAH!" You yelled out, "CAN'T...BREATHE!!!"
He set you down, grabbing your hand and raising it in the air, pretty much lifting you off the ground.
"We have a winner!" He yelled out, laughing and letting go of your hand, carefully landing on the ground on your feet.
Confetti erupted from above the stage and out into the crowd, screams and applauds filling your ears. Embarrassment gave you butterflies in your stomach, looking around the crowd to see Papyrus standing up from his seat, clapping as loud as he can.
He looked so happy to see you win! You were happy to make him proud.
You really did love Papyrus.
"Do I get to keep the apron?" You asked Mettaton.
"Why not! Don't forget your trophy though!" He announced, handing you a golden trophy of a pie on a stand.
Inscribed at the bottom wrote, 'Bake-Off Champion'. You held it up with pride, for Papyrus and everyone else to see.
"Look mom! Look!" You laughed as you yelled out, looking into the camera.
Before you knew it, it was over. People filed out as you handed Papyrus your apron.
"If I get to keep the trophy, I want you to have something too! You brought me here, so we won this together!" You said, Papyrus giving you a big hug.
You laughed, hugging him back tightly, letting go as King Asgore approached you both.
"Here," Asgore said, handing you a letter with a purple wax seal in the center, "Visit the castle some time if you can! Your baking was amazing. I haven't had pie like that in a very long time."
You nodded, a large smile growing on your face, "Yeah! Thank you, King Asgore!"