More Faulty Cooking

Teri's POV

"Uuh, I think… um… Hey!" Alphys's exclamation made the receiver screech. "About the puzzles on the left and right…! They're a bit difficult to explain, but…"

"Oh, we already solved them," Ray replied, shrugging. "Don't worry."

"Oh… Awesome!" Alphys hung up. Frisk put their phone back in their pocket before leading the group toward another steam vent. Teri squinted to see an entire path of steam vents. Frisk stepped onto the first steam vent, which bounced them to the next one, and the next one. Teri went next, gasping as the steam blazed her skin. She bounced up and down before being dropped on the hard tile beside Frisk. Teri pushed herself onto her feet. The group continued into the next room, where darkness obscured everything from vision. Teri couldn't even tell if her eyes were open or closed. A ring sounded. Frisk pulled out their phone, to which Alphys's voice echoed through the room.

"H-hey, it's kinda dark in there, isn't it? Don't worry! I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!" Bright light promptly flooded the room, revealing a counter in front of the group. "Oh no," Were Alphys's last words before she hung up.

"OHHHH YES!" Teri flinched, turning to see Mettaton (in a chef hat) in front of the counter. Where did he come from?! "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW: COOKING WITH A KILLER ROBOT!" A huge sign appeared above them, with those words written in pink and sparkles all over it. Teri was unable to stop herself from smiling. Fabulous. "PREHEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING... A CAKE! MY LOVELY ASSISTANTS HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS. EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!" As Mettaton clapped, confetti rained down from the sky. Teri jumped around a bit. "WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS. GO FOR IT, SWEETHEARTS!"

"Why does he have so many shows?" Ray murmured to Teri.

"I don't know but it's awesome," Teri replied, beaming.

Clover chuckled a bit as he nudged Teri's shoulder. "Alright, get your head out of the clouds. Let's find those ingredients."

"They're over there," Kat replied, pointing at the counter. Teri, Kat, and Clover each grabbed one of the ingredients. Kat dragged the bag of flour, Teri carried the jug of milk, and Clover tiptoed toward the counter with the eggs in hand.

"GREAT JOB!" Mettaton exclaimed, pointing at the counter. "JUST PUT THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS COUNTER." Teri and Kat slammed their ingredients on the counter. Clover gently placed the eggs down. "PERFECT! GREAT JOB, DARLINGS! WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO BAKE THE CAKE!"

"No you didn't," Kat replied, cocking her head, "What about the flour? Butter? Baking soda?"

Mettaton ignored her. "OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET!!! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!" Mettaton grabbed something off the ground, pulling it up to reveal a chainsaw. "HUMAN SOULS!" Screams filled the room. Teri stumbled back, her eyes wide. Frisk bolted toward the door, but a forcefield appeared in the way, knocking Frisk back with a grunt.

Mettaton rolled toward them, vibrating along with the chainsaw. A ringing sound filled the room. Mettaton stopped instantly, tapping something on the counter. "HELLO…? I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."

"W-wait a second!" It was Alphys's voice. Teri gripped her pounding heart, letting out a sigh of relief. "Couldn't you make a... Couldn't you use a... Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?!"

"A SUBSTITUTION?" Mettaton asked, tapping his fingers on the counter. "YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? ... WHY?"

"Uhh, what if someone's... Vegan?"

"Vegans don't eat milk or eggs," Kat grunted, facepalming.

"...VEGAN?"

"Uh, well I mean-"

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS." Teri let out a sigh. "ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOR-SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH... IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!!! WELL, DARLINGS? WHY DON'T YOU GO GET IT?"

"I've got it," Frisk grunted, pushing themself to their feet. They limped forward, gripping their stomach. Kat rushed toward them.

"Are you okay?" Kat asked, wrapping her arm around Frisk's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Frisk grunted, their head hanging low.

"You know what, I'll get the can," Teri replied, dashing toward the counter. As she stopped in front of it, the counter began vibrating before shooting up into the sky. "What the?"

Mettaton rolled toward her. "BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE. IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN IN THE NEXT MINUTE... WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN! SO... BETTER START CLIMBING, BEAUTIFUL!"

Is it a habit of his to call everyone 'beautiful?' Teri raised an eyebrow. "Trying to make this interesting, huh? Okay!" Teri pulled out a drawer and jumped into it, scrambling to grab the next one.

"Teri!" Clover called, rushing toward her. He was holding out the phone. "Press the 'jetpack' button." Teri raised an eyebrow. However, she took the phone and pressed the huge button labelled 'jetpack.' The phone floated out of her hands. It extended into a jetpack before attaching to her back and shooting her into the sky. Teri squealed, flailing her arms and legs around. Straightening herself, Teri held her arms out in front of her and took to the sky. Mettaton appeared above her. His wheel was missing, replaced by a flame. Pulling out a basket, he shook it around, to which eggs rained down from the sky. Teri weaved around them.

"Still trying to make this a challenge?" Teri called, barely flinching as an egg cracked on her palm. "Well, bring it on you floating calculator!"

"AS YOU WISH, DARLING!" Mettaton called, flying back and forth above her. He shook his hands up and down, to which giant puffs of sugar rained down on Teri. She found the gap in each row, flying through them. The milk came next. At first, they looked a bit like pies. However, Teri flinched as one of them hit her and dripped down her arm.

"You call this a challenge?!" Teri sneered, slipping through a line of eggs. "The people at home probably changed the channel by now!" Mettaton growled in annoyance. Eggs and sugar splatted down on her head, fazing her for a moment before she continued forward. Finally, the jetpack screeched to a halt in front of the can. Teri cheered.

"MY MY." Teri glanced at Mettaton. "IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD THE HELP OF THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS! OH, I LOATHE TO THINK OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU WITHOUT HER! WELL, TOODLES!" Mettaton floated away.

"Um… what about the substitution?!" Teri called, grabbing the can. Mettaton floated back.

Mettaton floated back to the counter. "OH YES! ABOUT THE SUBSTITUTION... HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A COOKING SHOW BEFORE? I ALREADY BAKED THE CAKE AHEAD OF TIME! SO FORGET IT!" Teri's cheeks turned red.

"Oh… Okay, continue then." Mettaton floated away. Teri lowered herself to the ground, spinning the whole way down. She landed on one foot. Removing the jetpack, she put it back to normal and put the ringing object against her ear.

"Wow! We… we did it! We… we really did it! Great job out there, team. W-well, uh, anyway, let's keep heading forward." Teri smiled and hung up.

"Teri!" Kat gasped, rushing toward her. Teri froze as Kat wrapped her arms around her. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks," Teri replied, patting Kat's back. "But really, it was nothing."

"That was nothing?!" Clover asked, his eyes wide. Teri shrugged. She shook her hair around, shaking out some of the milk and eggs. Sugar sprinkled out of her tutu as she shook it.

"Let's go," Frisk grunted. They were still gripping their stomach but they could now walk straighter.

"You gonna be okay?" Teri asked, resting her hand on Frisk's shoulder.

Frisk nodded. "I just have to walk it off," they replied, continuing forward. They stopped to touch something before a ringing sound filled the air. Teri handed Frisk the phone.

"S-see that building in the distance?" Alphys asked through the phone. Teri glanced across the lake of lava to see a metal building on the other side.

"Yeah," Ray replied with a nod.

"That's the Core," Alphys informed. "The source of all power for the Underground. It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity-"

"What's geothermal energy?" Ray interrupted, stepping closer to the phone.

"It's energy from the heat of the earth," Alphys answered. "Anyway, the Core is where you're going. In the Core is an elevator directly to Asgore's castle and from there… You can all go home."

"Oh good," Clover sighed, letting his shoulders droop. Frisk hung up.

"But what about Ace and Poppy?" Teri asked, tilting her head to the side. "They're… they're coming home too, right?"

"And what about freeing the monsters?" Kat added.

"Poppy said she'd catch up," Frisk replied, pocketting the phone. "But Ace… he seemed pretty comfortable with staying with Toriel forever…"

"Even if it meant never seeing the surface again?" Clover asked, raising an eyebrow. Frisk nodded.

"But how can we break the barrier without seven human souls?" Ray asked, stomping his foot into the ground.

"We could find someone on the surface to help us," Teri suggested, raising her hand. "I mean, it's just one soul. There's gotta be someone who'll help us."

"I hope so," Frisk sighed, shambling forward. The group stepped into the elevator. Teri grabbed the railing as the elevator rose and stopped on floor 'R2.'

Poppy's POV

Poppy's eyes were fixed on the TV. Her friends were with Mettaton again, this time on some strange cooking show gathering cake ingredients.

"How many shows does your cousin have?" Poppy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh… a few," Napstablook muttered, shifting in their spot.

"GREAT JOB!" Mettaton exclaimed, directing Poppy's attention back to the screen. "JUST PUT THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS COUNTER." Teri and Kat slammed a jug of milk and a bag of sugar on the counter. Clover gently placed a carton eggs down beside them. "PERFECT! GREAT JOB, DARLINGS! WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO BAKE THE CAKE!

"No you didn't," Kat replied, making Poppy chuckle, "What about the flour? Butter? Baking soda?"

"OH MY!" Mettaton exclaimed, seemingly ignoring Kat's question. "WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!" Mettaton grabbed something off the ground, pulling it up to reveal a chainsaw. Poppy let out a gasp. "HUMAN SOULS!" Screams echoed from the TV.

"NO!" She cried, lunging at the TV. Mettaton rolled toward Poppy's friends with the chainsaw in hand as they ran around the room screaming. Teri stumbled back, her eyes wide. Frisk ran to the door, being knocked back as something appeared in the way. The others ran around blindly. A ringing sound erupted from the TV and Mettaton froze. He tapped his phone.

"HELLO…? I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."

"W-wait a second!" Replied a nervous voice on the phone. "Couldn't you make a... Couldn't you use a... Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?!"

"A SUBSTITUTION? YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? ... WHY?"

"Uhh, what if someone's... Vegan?"

"Vegans don't eat milk or eggs," Kat grunted, facepalming.

"She's giving you an out!" Poppy exclaimed, grabbing the sides of the TV. "TAKE IT YOU IDIOT!"

"...VEGAN?" Mettaton replied.

"Uh, well I mean-"

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS." Poppy shrank away from the TV, letting out a sigh. "ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOR-SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH... IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER! WELL, DARLINGS? WHY DON'T YOU GO GET IT?" Poppy's eyes widened. She struggled to her feet, turning toward the door.

"I… I have to help them," Poppy gasped, walking in a circle. "They're in trouble!"

"You can go." Poppy glanced back at Napstablook, her eyes wide. "I'll be fine alone. Your friends' safety is more important."

"Thanks for understanding," Poppy replied with a nod. "Do you know where I can get a ride to Hotland?"

Napstablook nodded. "The Riverperson can give you a ride there in their boat," they explained, floating up off the ground. "I'll show you where they are."

"Thank you!" Poppy exclaimed, rushing to open the door. Napstablook floated through the marsh. Poppy trailed after them, her heart pounding in her throat. The ghost stopped in front of a river. A small boat floated on its surface, where a hooded figure stood in the centre.

"Tra la la, care for a ride?" the figure asked.

"Yes, can you take me to Hotland?" Poppy asked, gripping her heart.

"Of course." Poppy's eyes lit up. "Hop on board." She stood on the back of the boat, glancing at Napstablook.

"You sure you'll be okay alone?" Poppy asked, sitting down in the boat.

Napstablook nodded. "I'll be fine. Go save your friends." Poppy glanced up at the hooded figure with a nod. Then they were off. The boat's legs shifted back and forth, guiding them forward across the water. Poppy raised an eyebrow. Magic. The boat skidded to a halt before an identical shoreline. Poppy jumped off the boat.

"Come again some time, tra la la," the Riverperson murmured.

"Thanks," Poppy replied with a nod. She dashed through a hot orange terrain, probably breaking and entering into a lab, and making her way across a conveyor belt. Before she could continue, her soul appeared in front of her. Poppy let out a grunt. She turned to see a little volcano-like creature standing before her.

"Ugh, not right now!" Poppy turned and dashed away, her soul eventually receding back into her chest. She continued on, making her way through conveyor belts, lasers, and steam vents, before finally stopping before the kitchen on TV. Poppy skidded to a halt. It was completely quiet aside from her breathing. Nothing even moved. Poppy gripped her heart, which pounded even faster.

"If they're gone that either means Napstablook's cousin killed them or they got out and he's preparing his next twisted TV show," Poppy muttered to herself, walking in a circle. She sprinted out of the kitchen, through the barren land of Hotland. She went up an elevator, her eyes widening.

"GUYS!" she cried, rushing toward the group.

"Poppy!" Teri gasped, throwing her arms around Poppy. Her eyes widened before she returned the hug.

"Oh thank goodness you're all okay," Poppy muttered into Teri's ear.

"Poppy!" Poppy looked up at her brother, who gazed at her wide-eyed. "Where the heck were you?"

Poppy pulled out of the hug. "I was with Napstablook," she explained, her heart pounding as she spoke, "We were watching that show you were on and I was worried and-" Poppy slowed down. "I ran to find you after the sicko pulled out a chainsaw."

"Oh, well we're okay," Teri replied, patting Poppy's shoulder.

"Yeah, he didn't use the chainsaw on any of us," Ray pointed at Frisk. "The only reason Frisk is hurt is because they ran into a forcefield."

"But I'm fine now," Frisk insisted, standing up straighter. They continued on. The others followed.

"Well, that's a relief," Poppy sighed, her shoulders sagging. "I should probably stick around though. You know, just in case he attacks you again."

"At this point he definitely will," Clover grunted, rolling his eyes.

"They're not really attacks though," Teri replied with a shrug. "The worst thing he did was drop cake ingredients on me."

"He zapped me for getting a question wrong and threatened us with a chainsaw!" Frisk exclaimed, continuing forward.

"So he could use our souls for a cake!" Clover added, crossing his arms.

"He wasn't gonna do that," Teri argued, cracking a smile. "Come on, why would a monster eat our souls?! They need them to open the barrier." The group exchanged glances.

"That is strange…" Kat replied, resting her finger on her chin.

"Mettaton is one weird guy for sure," Ray replied with a shrug.

Frisk's POV

Frisk lead everyone down the trail. The group skidded to a halt in front of a hot dog stand.

"Sans!" Ray exclaimed, resting his elbow on the stand.

"Heya kid," Sans greeted with a wave. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to. Figured you'd gotten bored."

"No," Ray shook his head. "Undyne came by and tried to kill me so I punched her in the face and went with my other friends."

"Heh, nice." Sans raised his hand and the two high-fived. "Well, glad you're safe. Anyways, wanna buy a hot dog? It's only thirty gold."

"Sure!" Ray took out some gold and put it on the counter. Sans took the gold. He grabbed a sausage from the back and put it in the bun.

"Here ya go kid," Sans placed the hot dog on Ray's head.

"Why'd you put it on my head?" Ray asked, raising an eyebrow.

"For the giggles," Sans replied with a wink.

Ray's eyes lit up. "More." Sans chuckled, putting another sausage on Ray's head.

"Here ya go kid," Sans replied, winking. "It's on the house… well no, it's on you-"

"More!" Ray exclaimed. Sans put three on. "MORE!" Sans kept stacking sausages on Ray's head until they towered above the hot dog stand. "MORE!"

"I'll be frank with you-"

Ray cut him off. "But how can you be Frank when you're Sans?" Poppy slapped Ray's shoulder, glaring daggers at him. Sans cracked a smile.

"Heh, you're right kid," he chuckled. "Then I'll be Sans with ya. As much as I like putting hot dogs on your head… Thirty is just an excessive number."

Ray let out a sigh. "Okay."

"What are you even gonna do with all those hot dogs?" Poppy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Probably waste them," Chara muttered. Frisk swatted at the air as if there were a fly there. Chara chuckled. "You know you can't hit me, right Frisk?" Frisk shrugged.

"Hot dogs for everyone!" Ray cheered, sliding across the ground on his knee. The hot dogs tumbled off his head. Frisk lunged forward, catching a hot dog in each hand as a horde of them rained down from the sky. Ray jumped up, pulling some hot dogs into his hands. Clover and Kat each caught one in their hand while Teri kneeled down on the ground.

"Five second rule!" she called, grabbing two off the ground and jumping to her feet. Kat made her way toward Sans.

"What's the meat made of?" she asked, kicking up a clod of dirt.

"It's a water sausage," Sans replied, picking up one of the sausages. "It's a plant that grows in the marsh. It has a more 'serious' name but I don't remember it."

Kat shrugged and put the hot dog in her pocket. "Works for me. Now let's get going." Frisk continuing to lead the group through the scorching, barren terrain of Hotland, encountering a few monsters and puzzles along the way.

"Ugh, that puzzle took forever," Frisk grunted, wiping the sweat off their brow. They reached out to touch a save point before continuing.

"It would've taken less time if you'd listened to me," Chara muttered.

"I told you we should've asked Papyrus for help!" Ray exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. "He's a puzzle genius! He could've done it!"

"Or that," Chara added.

"Well at least we got past it," Teri added, shrugging.

"After like an hour," Poppy grunted, crossing her arms. Clover nodded.

"Hey! You! Stop!" A voice called. Frisk skidded to halt. They turned to see two armoured figures approaching, both holding swords. Their faces were entirely covered by their helmets, one of which had wings on it, while the other had horns on it.

Poppy snickered, covering her mouth with her hand. "Who let you steal Loki's helmet design?" she muttered to herself.

"We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a human wearing a striped shirt with a bunch of other humans following them." Frisk's eyes widened. "They told us they were wandering around Hotland right now…"

"Oh… really?" Kat asked, shaking as she faked a smile.

"Yeah, sounds scary, huh?" the guard asked. Clover nodded, trembling like a volcano about to blow up. Ray glared at the guards and Teri bit her trembling lip, though none of them said a word.

"Well, just stay chill. We'll bring you someplace safe, okay?" Frisk exchanged a glance with Kat, who nodded vigorously.

"Seriously?" Poppy muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Just go with it!" Kat whispered, still shaking. The group trailed after the guards until they skidded to a halt. One of them whispered something to the other that Frisk couldn't quite make out.

"...Huh? What is it, bro?" The talkative one asked. "The shirt they're wearing?... like what about it?" The guards turned to face the group, gazing at them in silence for a while.

"Run!" Poppy muttered, her eyes wide.

"Run?" Ray repeated, cocking his head. "What are you afraid of?!"

"Bro…" The guard continued, "Are you thinkin'… what I'm thinkin'?" Frisk stared at the guards, frozen in place. "Bummer. This is, like… mega embarrassing. We, like, actually totally have to kill you and stuff." Kat shrieked as everyone's souls appeared.

"RG one and two," Chara informed. "One has polished shiny armour, and two has stuffy armour."

"Well let's fix that." Frisk approached RG-two and rubbed the dirt off their armour with their hands.

"Frisk, what are you doing?!" Poppy exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Getting… warmer…" the guard muttered.

���Like, team attack!" RG-one exclaimed, swinging his sword. Frisk leaped backward as stars rained down from the sky. They weaved around them with ease.

"...can't...take it! RG-two exclaimed, shaking a bit. "...Armor...too...HOT!" The Royal Guard's chestplate popped off, revealing his bare chest. "Much better." Frisk raised an eyebrow. They glanced back at their friends.

"Did you mean to do that?" Poppy asked, pointing at the Royal Guard with a raised eyebrow.

"No…" Frisk replied, with a shrug.

"Look at him," Ray snickered, pointing at RG-one. Frisk glanced at the Royal Guard, who convulsed in place, glancing at his fellow guard's bare chest.

"Oh my gosh, he likes him," Kat murmured, her eyes wide.

Teri let out a gasp. "I get it!" She rushed toward RG-one. "Be honest with your feelings," she murmured into his ear.

"I… I…"

"What?" RG-two asked, tilting his head to the side.

"D-dude... I can't... I can't take this anymore!" RG-one exclaimed. "Not like this! Like, O-two! I like... I like, LIKE you, bro! The way you fight... The way you talk... I love doing team attacks with you. I love standing here with you, bouncing and waving our weapons in sync... O-two... I, like, want to stay like this forever…" The other guard didn't respond.

"Uh... I mean, uh… Psyche! Gotcha bro!" He forced a laugh.

The other guard hesitated for a moment. "O-one."

"Y-yeah bro?"

"...Do you want to… get some ice cream… after this?" the guard asked, inching closer to him.

"Sure dude!" RG-one exclaimed. The two guards gazed at each other happily.

"Now's our chance," Poppy murmured to Frisk, "Let's go!" Frisk nodded. The group turned and dashed past the guards, who continued to gaze into each other's eyes as they passed them. They rounded a corner and their souls disappeared. Frisk stopped to sigh.

"How did you know THAT would work?" Clover gasped, clutching his chest.

"I didn't," Frisk replied with a shrug. "I… just kinda went with my gut I guess."

"That was the weirdest thing you've ever done," Chara murmured.

"I wish I could say that's the weirdest thing you've ever done," Ray replied, resting his hand on his forehead.

"Wait what-"

"But I gotta admit," Teri cut off Chara. "Those two are pretty cute together."

"Yeah…" Mutters of agreement coursed through the group before they continued forward.