Ben and Frisk enter the next area, and it's pitch black. Despite the darkness, Chara's ghostly form is still very visible.
Ben gets a phone call from Alphys, and he answers it.
Ben: "Hello? The room we're in is pretty dark."
Alphys: "Really? A-Another dark room, huh? Not to worry! M-My hacking skills have got things covered!"
When the lights turn on, some loud music can be heard, music reminiscent of a news station.
Alphys & Ben: "Are you serious?"
Mettaton: "OHHHHHH YESSS!!! GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS!"
Ben: "Of course he has a news station."
Chara: "And considering what Mettaton has attempted to to you guys at this point, this can't end well."
Mettaton: "AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OUR CORRESPONDENTS ARE OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE! BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS, PLEASE DIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT? OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!!"
Frisk: "Okay?" She looks over at a dog a couple of yards away. "How about that dog?"
Ben: "Sure." He shrugs. "Couldn't hurt to try."
Chara: "I mean, it could."
The three go over to the dog.
Mettaton: "WHAT A SENSATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A STORY! I CAN SEE THE HEADLINE NOW: "A DOG EXISTS SOMEWHERE." FRANKLY, I'M BLOWN AWAY."
Ben: "Then this will be what we report, I guess."
Mettaton: "ATTENTION, VIEWERS! OUR CORRESPONDENTS HAVE FOUND....A DOG!" He starts whispering. "(CUE AUDIENCE AWWS)"
Frisk and Chara giggle a bit at that, and Ben just chuckles in amusement.
Mettaton: "THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS! IT'S THE FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE YEAR! LOOK AT ITS LITTLE EARS, TINY PAWS, FLUFFY TAIL...." There's a short pause. "WAIT A SECOND. THAT'S NOT A TAIL!"
Ben: "What?" He kneels down to inspect the dog's tail. "What is he talking about?"
Frisk: "Not sure." She kneels down as well. "Nothing seems wrong with it."
The end of the dog's tail suddenly starts burning.
Mettaton: "THAT'S A FUSE!"
Ben and Frisk jump back, with the latter freaking out a bit.
Frisk: "Oh my god!"
Mettaton: "THAT'S RIGHT. THAT DOG IS A BOMB!! BUT DON'T WORRY! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THE ROOM YET!!!"
Mettaton suddenly flies in, wearing a red suit and a yellow tie.
Mettaton: "BECAUSE IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IN THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY A BOMB!" He points at a present. "THAT PRESENT'S A BOMB!" He points at a basketball. "THAT BASKETBALL'S A BOMB!"
Frisk: "O-Okay, this is different." Her breathing picks up in pace. "I am v-very scared right now."
Ben: "It's going to be okay." He rubs Frisk's back. "We'll take care of this."
Frisk slowly calms down, relaxing into the back rubs. She meekly nods her yhead as Mettaton continues.
Mettaton: "BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS, IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL OF THE BOMBS," He points to a larger, red bomb in the upper area. "THIS BIG BOMB WILL YOU TO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES! THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING "LIVE" ANY LONGER!"
Chara: "That's pretty graphic."
Mettaton: "HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING! OUT NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLINGS!"
As Mettaton flies away, Ben's phone gets another call. He answers it while still rubbing Frisk's back.
Alphys: "D-Don't worry! I installed bomb-defusing programs on your phones!"
Chara: 'That's awfully convenient. Who would put bomb-defusing stuff on a phone?' She starts stroking her chin. 'Come to think of it, why would she put a jetpack feature on it either? Unless she...knew they would need it later?' She shakes her head. 'I'll see what Ben and Frisk think of this later.'
Alphys: "Use the 'defuse' option when the bomb is in the DEFUSE ZONE! N-Now, go get 'em!"
Alphys hangs up, and Ben quickly puts his phone away.
Ben: "We both need to defuse as many as we can, okay?"
Frisk: "G-Got it!"
The two run off to defuse as many bombs as they could.
=============================================================================================
Both Ben and Frisk meet up at the big bomb, shortly after taking care of the basketball and the cup, with 45 seconds to spare. That's when Mettaton flies back in.
Mettaton: "WELL DONE, DARLINGS! YOU'VE DEACTIVATED ALL OF THE BOMBS! IF YOU DIDN'T DEACTIVATE THEM, THE BIG BOMB WOULD'VE GONE OFF IN TWO MINUTES! INSTEAD, IT'LL EXPLODE IN TWO SECONDS!"
Ben puts Frisk behind him, and he reaches for the Omnitrix, ready to use it at a moment's notice.
Mettaton: "GOODBYE, DARLINGS!"
Well over two seconds pass, and nothing seems to happening, putting the humans at ease.
Mettaton: "AH. IT SEEMS THE BOMB ISN'T GOING OFF."
Ben gets another call from Alphys, which he answers, putting it on speaker.
Alphys: "That's b-because!!!! While you were monologuing...I.....I f...fix....Um...I ch-change..!"
Mettaton: "OH NO. YOU DEACTIVATED THE BOMB WITH YOUR HACKING SKILLS."
Alphys: "Yeah! That's what I did!"
Chara: 'Mettaton just finished Alphys sentence. Something is definitely wrong.'
Mettaton: "CURSES! IT SEEMS I'VE BEEN FOILED AGAIN! CURSE YOU, HUMANS! CURSE YOU, DR. ALPHYS, FOR HELPING SO MUCH! BUT I DON'T CURSE MY WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR TUNING IN!!! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!"
Mettaton flies off, likely to start some other scheme.
Alphys: "W-Wow...W-We really showed him, huh?"
Ben: "I guess so."
There's a short pause, which is broken by Alphys.
Alphys: "H-Hey, I know I was kind of weird at first, but I really think I'm getting more....uh, more....m-more confident about guiding you two!"
Frisk: "Well that's good to hear!"
Ben: "Especially considering we kinda need you to get out of here."
Alphys: "T-Thank you." She clears her throat. "A-Anyway, don't worry about that b-big d-dumb robot. I'll protect you from him! A-And if it really c-came down to it, we could just turn...um, nevermind. Later!"
Alphys hangs up, and Ben puts his phone away as the three start moving forward. Again.
Chara: "Hey, I just thought of something a little bit ago."
Frisk: "What was it?"
Chara: "I'm not completely certain, but I think Alphys may be working with Mettaton."
Ben: "Huh? What makes you say that?"
Chara: "Well, for starters, she made Mettaton. Secondly, your phones have twice now had something we needed to get past Mettaton. I don't believe that's a coincidence."
Frisk: "If that's the case, why would she help us? If Alphys was working with Mettaton, would Alphys be helping us?"
Chara: "That's what I'm trying to figure out."
Ben: "Let's just not jump to conclusions. It's possible that Alphys put those features on the phones in case we DID need them. She is a scientist after all."
Chara: "That is true." They start waking down a path, where they can see the core from their right. "I just feel a bit uneasy is all."
Ben: "Well, don't worry too much about it. Me and Frisk will take care of it."
Frisk nods enthusiastically, somewhat easing Chara as the three continue on their way.
=============================================================================================
After a short elevator ride, meeting a spider lady, solving some puzzles, and hearing about Alphys's favorite show, the three humans reach an area full of webs and spiders.
Chara: "Ick." She floats a little higher off the ground. "I hate spiders."
Ben: "They literally can't hurt you. You're a ghost."
Chara: "That doesn't make them any less disgusting!"
Ben rolls his eyes and the three start moving through the room, with Ben and Frisk having to trudge through some webs.
???: "Ahuhuhuhu." The sudden voice stops the humans. "Did you hear what they just said?"
Ben: "Okay, it doesn't seem like she's talking to us." He whispers, and he begins tip-toeing away. "Let's move."
Frisk follows his steps, and the voice continues speaking.
???: "They said a human wearing a striped shirt, and a human wearing a white jacket will be coming through here."
Ben and Frisk continue to sneak through the room, trying to be as quiet as possible.
???: "I heard that they hate spiders."
Ben and Frisk tip-toe a little bit faster, eventually having to trudge through much thicker webs.
???: "I heard that they love to stomp on them." The voice continues. "I heard that they like to tear their legs off."
Ben and Frisk try to keep moving, but they eventually get stuck.
Frisk: "I can't move!" She whisper-yells as she struggles against the webs. "I'm stuck!"
Ben: "Same here!" He tries to rip off the webs, getting his hands stuck in the webs. "What is this stuff made of!?"
???: "I heard..." The voice makes the two stop struggling, and they turn to see Muffet on another web in front of them. "...that they're awfully stingy with their money."
Ben: "Firstly, your prices are absolutely crazy. Secondly, why are you doing this?"
Muffet: "Because it seems your tastes are too refined for our pastries, dearie." She giggles. "Which, I disagree with that notion."
Frisk: "You're doing this because we didn't want anything from your bake sale? Seriously?"
Muffet: "Exactly, dearie. And I think your tastes are exactly what this next batch needs!"
Webs wrap around Ben and pull him into the air, leaving him suspended upside down in the air.
Ben: "If I had a nickel for every time someone wanted to eat me, I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot, but it's weird this is happening a second time."
Muffet then wraps more webs around Ben's face, preventing him from seeing or talking. Fortunately for Ben, Muffet left his nose uncovered so he could breathe.
Frisk: "What are you doing to him!?"
Muffet: "Oh, don't worry, dearie. I'm saving him for later." She giggles. "Right now, I only need you."
A battle is initiated, which leaves Frisk alone in the fight.
* Muffet traps you!
Out of instinct, Frisk goes into ACT and presses Check.
* Muffet - ATK 8 DEF 0
* If she is invites you to her parlor, excuse yourself.
Chara: "That seemed pretty obvious."
Muffet: "Don't look so blue, my dearie~."
Muffet pours purple tea from her teapots, which completely fill the fight area. Frisk holds her breath as she is submerged beneath the liquid. Luckily, this isn't needed for long, as the liquid disappears shortly after. However, her soul is no longer red, and it is now purple.
Muffet: "I think purple is a better look on you! Ahuhuhuh~!"
Frisk: "What in the world?" She pokes her soul. "It's like with Papyrus and Undyne, but what does this do?" She looks around and sees the three purple lines going across the battle area. "Hm?"
Frisk takes a step forward, but is sent right up to the line in front of her.
Frisk: "Woah! Okay, so that's what it does."
* You're trapped in a strange purple web!
Frisk: "Okay, let's see here." She opens up ACT, looking at the options. "Hmmm."
Frisk looks over next to Muffet and sees a spider holding up a sign saying "Up Next" with a picture of a spider on it.
Confused, Frisk just picks struggle. She struggles to escape the web. Muffet covers her mouth and giggles at her.
Muffet: "Why so pale? You should be proud~."
Frisk takes a deep breath and prepares for the worst.
=============================================================================================
(I skipped this fight because it was way too complicated to put into words.)
Despite a relentless assault of spiders, boomerang croissants, bouncing donuts, and Muffet's pet cupcake, Frisk has endured. However, right now, she is at 8 HP and has already used one Cinnamon Bun already.
Muffet: "You're still alive? Ahuhuhuh~! Oh, my pet~! Looks like it's time for dessert~!"
Frisk prepares for another batch of fighting, but a spider shows up, holding a letter.
Muffet: "Huh? A telegram from the spiders in the Ruins?" She takes the telegram and reads it. "What? They're saying that they saw you two, and..." She gasps. "You both helped donate to their cause! Oh my, this has all been a misunderstanding~. I thought you and him were people that hated spiders~."
Chara: "Well, there is one person here that does."
Muffet: "The person that asked for that SOUL must have meant different humans in a striped shirt and a white jacket~. Sorry for all the trouble~." She starts letting Ben down from the ceiling. "Ahuhuhu~! I'll make it up to you two~. You can come back here any time and, for no charge at all, I'll wrap you up and let you play with my pet again!"
Chara: 'Oooh~ Kinky.'
Frisk: "Uh, n-no thanks. That won't be needed."
Muffet: "Oh, don't worry~. I was only kidding~. Ahuhuhuhuhuhuh~! I'll spare you now."
* Muffet is sparing you.
With zero hesitation, Frisk opens up MERCY and picks Spare.
* YOU WON!
* You earned 0 XP and 0 Gold.
Chara: "What a surprise."
The battle ends, and the cocooned a Ben is set down gently onto the floor. Muffet grabs a knife and cuts Ben, who seems to have fallen asleep, out of his cocoon.
Muffet: "Ahuhuhuhu...That was fun! See you again, dearie!"
Muffet scuttles away, all while giggling. After she's gone, Frisk kneels down and shakes Ben awake while eating another Cinnamon Bun, putting her HP back at 20.
Frisk: "Cmon. Wake up."
After a few moments, Ben stirs awake. He sits up, rubbing his head.
Ben: "Ugh. My head hurts." He looks up at Frisk. "What happened?"
Frisk: "I had to fight Muffet by myself, which was pretty difficult. She turned my soul purple and I had to move between three lines going across the battle area."
Ben: "So you could only move side-to-side freely?"
Frisk: "Mhm. I also had to use my two Cinnamon Buns during the fight."
Ben: "Seriously?" He slowly stands up. "What else happened?"
Chara: "Muffet threw spiders, bouncing donuts, and boomerang croissants at her. She also had this giant cupcake-spider hybrid as a pet."
Ben: "Yikes." He stops rubbing his head. "We should go now, before she changes her mind about eating us."
Frisk nods and the three make their way out of the spider room.
=============================================================================================
As they continue forward, they walk past a poster for a performance starring Mettaton. The poster also said something about a love triangle or something.
Anyway, they make it to a stage. After reaching the center of the stage, they are stopped by a voice above them.
Mettaton is currently patting Ben's head, his face has a 'wtf' face. Frisk's face is deadpanned, and Chara is laughing her ass off.
Mettaton: "SO SAD. SO SAD THAT YOU ARE GOING TO THE DUNGEON." He backs up, pulling out a remote. "WELL, TOODLES!"
Mettaton presses the button, making the floor open beneath Ben and Frisk. Chara remains above, still laughing her ass off, before eventually realizing what happened before flying down.
When Chara reaches Ben and Frisk, they're on the floor, with the Frisk being protectively hugged by Ben, who fell onto his back.
Chara: 'Tch.' She flies in closer. "You two okay?"
Ben: "Yeah." He groans as he and Frisk get up. "Where are we?"
Mettaton flies down.
Mettaton: "OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO? MY LOVES HAVE BEEN CAST AWAY INTO THE DUNGEON. A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOURS WILL SURELY PERISH!"
The humans look over to their right, seeing a multi-colored tile maze.
Mettaton: "O, HEAVENS HAVE MERCY! THE HORRIBLE COLORED TILE MAZE!"
Ben: "He is enjoying this way too much."
Frisk: "Well, he enjoys putting on a show."
Ben nods in agreement as Mettaton continues speaking.
Mettaton: "EACH COLORED TILE HAS ITS OWN SADISTIC FUNCTION. FOR EXAMPLE, A GREEN TILE SOUNDS A NOISE, AND THEN YOU MUST FIGHT A MONSTER. RED TILES WILL...ACTUALLY, WAIT A SECOND." He scratches his head. "DIDN'T WE SEE THIS PUZZLE ABOUT A HUNDRED ROOMS AGO?"
Chara: "We did, actually."
Mettaton: "THAT'S RIGHT. THAT MEANS YOU REMEMBER ALL THE RULES, RIGHT?"
Frisk: "Actually, could you go over them agai-."
Mettaton: "GREAT! THEN I WON'T YOUR TIME REPEATING THEM!!!" He goes to fly off, but stops suddenly. "OH, AND YOU'D BETTER HURRY. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IN 30 SECONDS..." A wall of fire appears behind them. "YOU'LL BE INCINERATED BY THESE JETS OF FIRE!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! AHAHA....HA...HA! MY POOR LOVES! I'M SO FILLED WITH GRIEF, I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!"
Ben: "That doesn't make any sense."
Mettaton: "GOOD LUCK, DARLINGS!"
=============================================================================================
Ben and Frisk attempted to get through the maze, but they were unable too. After the 30 seconds were up, the tiles all turned gray, and Mettaton flies in front of them.
Mettaton: "OOOOH, I'M SO SORRY! LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE OUT OF TIME!!!" The walls of fire close in from both sides. "HERE COME THE FLAMES, DARLINGS!" The flames get even closer. "THEY'RE CLOSING IN!"
The flames get so close that they are only about half a foot away from them on both sides.
Mettaton: "GETTING! CLOSER! OH MY!" The flames are now just an inch away. "ANY MINUTE NOW!!!"
Ben and Frisk hug each other, preparing for the heat. However, nothing happens. Mettaton makes a fake cough. Shortly after, Alphys calls Frisk and she answers.
Alphys: "Watch out! I'll save you! I'm hacking into the firewall right now!"
The walls of fire disappear, with Ben and Frisk separating.
Mettaton: "OH NO!!! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?! FOILED AGAIN BY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS!"
There's a short pause where no one talks.
Mettaton: "That's-."
Alphys: "That's right!" She interrupts Mettaton. "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. Now go home and leave us alone!"
Ben & Frisk: 'I'm starting to see what Chara was talking about.'
Chara: 'Looks like I may be right.' She crosses her arms. 'I hope I'm not though.'
Mettaton: "PUZZLE? OVER? ALPHYS, DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? DID YOU FORGET WHAT THE GREEN TILES DO?"
Ben & Frisk: "Oh no."
Mettaton: "THEY MAKE A SOUND, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER. WELL, DARLINGS....THAT MONSTER IS ME!"
A battle is initiated.
* Mettaton attacks!
Ben opens ACT and chooses Check.
* METTATON - ATK 10 DEF 999
* His metal body renders him vulnerable to attack.
Mettaton: "THIS IS IT, DARLING! SAY GOODBYE!" Ben's phone starts ringing. "IS THAT YOUR PHONE? YOU'D BETTER ANSWER IT!"
Ben answers the phone, with the caller being Alphys.
Alphys: "H-Hey! Th-This seems bad, but don't worry! Th-There's one last thing I installed on your phone! You see that yellow button?"
Ben inspects the phone and sees it.
Ben: "Yeah, I see it."
Alphys: "Press it!"
Ben presses the button, and the phone is resonating with Mettaton's presence.
Mettaton: "THIS IS IT, DARLINGS! SAY GOODBYE!"
Before Mettaton could supposedly attack, Ben's soul turns upside down and turns yellow.
Ben: "Woah! What's going on?"
Frisk: "I don't know. But it seems pretty cool."
Alphys: "Make a finger gun and fire!"
Ben does what Alphys says and he fires several yellow bullets at Mettaton, which seems to hurt him.
Mettaton: "OOOH! OOOOOOOOH! YOU'VE DEFEATED ME! HOW CAN THIS BE, YOU WERE STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT, ETC!"
Mettaton runs off, ending the battle.
Alphys: "L-Looks like you beat him! You two did a really great job out there."
Frisk: "Only thanks to you."
Alphys: "What? Oh no, I mean, you two were the only ones doing anything cool! I just wrote some silly programs for your phone." She pauses for a couple of moments. "Umm, h-hey, this may sound strange, but c-can I tell you something?"
Ben: "Sure. What is it?"
Alphys: "B-Before I met you two, I d-didn't really.....I didn't really like myself very much."
Ben and Frisk feel a bit sympathetic, and they listen closely. Even Chara feels a bit sympathetic, despite her suspicions.
Alphys: "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. But guiding you two has made me feel....a lot better about myself. So, thanks for letting me help you." She pauses. "Uhhh, anyway, we're almost to the CORE. It's just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let's finish this!"
Alphys hangs up, and the humans make their way to MTT Resort.
Chara: "I guess we may now know her motivation for helping Mettaton, if she is."
Frisk: "Are you saying she might be helping Mettaton in order to feel better about herself?"
Chara: "Maybe." She shrugs. "It would make sense."
Ben: "Let's just hope you're wrong."
=============================================================================================
After passing the Nice Cream Guy and the two Royal Guards, the humans make it to the entrance of MTT Resort. There, they can see Sans hanging out by the front door.
Frisk: "Sans!" She runs over to him. "It's been a while since we last saw you."
Ben: "It sure has." He and Chara walk over. "It's good to see you again."
Sans: "it's good to see you kiddos as well." He chuckles. "anyway, i heard that you were heading to the core."
Chara: "That's true."
Sans: "well, how about grabbing some dinner with me first?"
Ben: "That actually sounds pretty good right now. It'd be nice to just sit down for a few minutes."
Sans: "great. thanks for treating me." He says with a wink, walking off to the side of the resort. "over here. i know a shortcut."
Sans walks into the alleyway, and the humans follow him. Everyone, but Sans, feels a bit sick as they close their eyes. When they open them, they're in the middle of a fancy looking restaurant. Sans is sitting on one side of the table, Ben and Frisk are sitting next to each other on the other side, and Chara is floating off to the side.
Sans: "well, here we are."
Frisk: "This is a nice place." She looks around. "Pretty empty, though."
Sans: "yeah. business is pretty slow at this time of day." He pauses for a moment. "anyway, your journey's almost over, huh?"
Ben: "Yeah. We're not that far from reaching Asgore."
Sans: "indeed." His eyes look over at Chara. "you two must really want to get back home."
Chara looks back at Sans, before looking at Ben and Frisk.
Chara: 'How am I going to tell them about what I did?' She looks down at her hands. 'How am I going to tell them what I nearly did? If Asriel didn't stop me, or us, it's possible that neither Ben nor Frisk would've been born.'
Chara clenches her hands and pays her attention back to the conversation.
Sans: "hey. i know the feeling."
Frisk: "What do you mean?"
Sans: "me and my bro lost our parents a long time ago, and nowhere has ever felt like home since." His eyes dim, before lighting back up. "though, maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you. down here you already got food, drink, friends...is what you want to do really worth it?"
Ben: "Of course it is. I have family back on the surface. I can't just abandon them." 'Besides, I could technically leave whenever I wanted. I just want to free everybody down here too.'
Sans looks off to the side, seemingly contemplating something, before turning back to Ben and Frisk.
Sans: "fair enough. i'm rooting for you two." He turns to Chara. "and i guess you as well."
Sans rests his hands on the table, tapping his finger slightly.
Sans: "hey, let me tell you three a story." He looks at Chara. "i'm sure you'll all find it entertaining."
Chara: "Okay? What story is it?"
Sans: "well, so i'm a sentry in snowdin forest, right? i sit out there and watch for humans. it's kind of boring."
Ben/Frisk/Chara: "Yeah?"
Sans: "fortunately, deep in the forest, there's this HUGE locked door."
Ben/Frisk/Chara: "The entrance to the Ruins."
Sans: "exactly. and it's the perfect place for practicing knock knock jokes."
Ben facepalms, Frisk giggles, and Chara rolls her eyes.
Ben/Frisk/Chara: 'Of course that's what he would use it for.'
Sans: "so one day, i'm knocking 'em out, like usual. i knock on the door and say "knock knock". and suddenly, from the other side, i hear a woman's voice."
Ben: "That must've been Toriel. What did she say?"
Sans: "it was indeed Toriel, at least, that's what she called herself. anyway, she responded by saying "Who is there?". so, naturally, I respond: "dishes"."
Chara: "Dishes?"
Sans: ""Dishes who?". "dishes a very bad joke.". then she just howls with laughter. like it's the best joke she heard in a hundred years."
Chara: 'Mom always did love puns.' She giggles, a small smile on her face. 'It's nice to know that Sans was able to keep her company while she was alone in the Ruins.'
Frisk: "I'm guessing you just kept cracking jokes?"
Sans: "you know it." He chuckles. "she's the best audience i've ever had. then, after a dozen of 'em, SHE knocks and says "Knock knock!". i say "who's there?". "Old lady!". "old lady who?". "Oh! I did not know you could yodel!". wow." He winks. "needless to say, this woman was good."
Ben: "Sure sounds like you two were quite the match."
Sans: "you could say that again, because we kept telling each other jokes for hours. eventually, I had to leave. papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story."
Frisk: "Aww, that's cute."
Sans: "yeah. anyway, she told be to come by again, and so i did. then i did again. and again. it's a thing now."
Chara: "Well, it's not everyday that someone likes your terrible jokes."
Sans: "heh. you're definitely not wrong, kiddo. telling bad jokes through that door is the best." He looks off to the side again, before looking back at Ben and Frisk, his eyes slightly dimmed. "one day, though, I noticed she wasn't laughing very much. 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 me something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you now?"
Ben: 'Toriel did mention other humans leaving the Ruins, which were likely the other human children that have disappeared over the past ten years.' "When did she ask you this?"
Sans: "about a few months ago, which was about a year after the last human fell underground. why do you ask?"
Ben: "Just curious is all."
Sans: "hm." He shakes his head slightly. "anyway, i hate making promises. and i barely knew this woman for very long. but, someone who sincerely likes bad jokes has an integrity you can't say "no" to."
Frisk: "So you've been protecting us since we walked out of the Ruins."
Sans: "exactly."
Sans looks down at the table for a couple of seconds, before looking back up at Ben and Frisk.
Sans: "do you get what i'm saying?"
Ben & Frisk: "Huh?"
Sans: "that promise i made to her. you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?" He closes his eyes. "kiddos."
He opens his eyes, revealing nothing but dark holes that were seemingly looking into their souls.
Sans: "Y o u' d b e d e a d w h e r e y o u
s t a n d."
Ben, Frisk, and Chara are completely frightened. Frisk grabs onto Ben's hand and squeezes it hard, and Ben squeezes it back.
Despite having nearly died numerous times, Ben is terrified of Sans's stare.
Ben: 'Why is that stare so damn frightening?' He looks down at his other hand, which is shaking. 'I've never even shaken like this when facing off against Vilgax.'
Ben looks back up, reluctantly staring back into Sans's eyes.
Chara: 'Fuck, that's scary.' Her legs shake slightly. 'And his stare is so eerily calm.'
Frisk: 'That's so terrifying!' She squeezes her hand around Ben's more tightly. 'How is Ben able to handle this kind of stuff!?'
Sans closes his eyes, and opens them back up, his eyes back to normal.
Sans: "hey, lighten up, would ya?" He winks. "i'm just joking with you. i wouldn't have actually killed ya if i didn't make that promise."
Frisk: "W-Well, it wasn't funny!"
Chara: "Do you really expect us to just let it go?"
Ben: "Yeah, man. You basically said you would have killed us."
Sans: "but i didn't, did i? besides, haven't i done a great job at protecting you two so far? i mean, look at yourselves. you haven't even died once."
Ben, Frisk, and Chara don't respond. But they do have sour looks on their faces.
Sans: "alright, alright. i'm sorry for insinuating that i would have killed you. you three gonna stop acting so sour now?"
Ben/Frisk/Chara: "Fine/S-Sure/Whatever."
Sans: "that's good to hear." He stands up from his seat and looks back at Ben and Frisk. "that's all. take care of yourselves, kiddos, 'cause someone out there really care about you two."
Sans walks off towards the further wall of the restaurant, and the humans see him disappear in the blink of an eye.
Frisk: "And we didn't even get any food."
Ben: "Well, considering Sans's tab at Grillby's, we should have seen this coming." He turns to face Frisk. "Also, could you let go of my hand now? You're crushing it."
Frisk: "O-Oh!" She lets go of Ben's hand. "Sorry!"
Ben: "It's alright." He rubs his hand before standing up. "We should probably see if we can get a room. I'm pretty tired."
Chara: "That sounds like a great idea."
Frisk: "You're only saying that so you can cuddle with him in his subconscious."
Chara: "And what if I am?"
Ben: "Girls, now's not the time for cat-fighting. We should go now, just in case the hotel is normally busy."
Frisk and Chara stare at each other, before looking back at Ben and agreeing.
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Luckily for them, the rooms were running at a special rate of 100 Gold a night.
Once reaching the room, Ben and Frisk get into the insanely large bed together, with Frisk cuddling up next to him.
Ben turns off the lamp next to the bed and wraps his arms around Frisk, her returning the favor.
Ben: "Goodnight, Frisk."
Frisk: "Goodnight, Ben. Goodnight, Chara."
Chara: "Goodnight, Frisk. Goodnight, Ben."
Ben: "Goodnight, Chara. See you in a minute."
After a couple of minutes, sleep takes over both Ben and Frisk, with Chara entering Ben's mind in order to spend some personal time with him again.
(Ben's Items: Pie, 2x Cinnamon Bun, and Hotdog.)
(Frisk's Items: Pie, Hotdog, and Snow Piece.)
Box: Punch Card.
That's the end of the chapter. See you in the next one!