PLD Chapter 8

> **CHAPTER 8: Ruthless Rivalry Reaches Round 3. Robot Rumble Leads to a Return Home and Revitalizing Recovery.**
>
>

## Sub-Entry 71: "Back to Hotland":

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. My first outing to try to make Dr. Alphys' acquaintence didn't end well, no thanks to to my least favorite ghost. I'd let this go for a spell, it was time to attempt to befriend another potential ally.

Back to Hotland again. Boiling hot lava. Flame pits and technology. A wrong step into 9,000 degrees of searing pain. Bridges and conveyor belts and steam-driven vents that served as springboards. Elevators leading up and down several levels.   :determination:   (Music Link)

The acrid scent of molten carbon, sulphur, melted rock, trace minerals and such. The sound of magma bubbling, the roar of the rising air currents, the hiss of the steam vents, and the overlapping cacophanies of machinery and electronics. The sight of a world warped and wavy from the intense heat waves; a dark, black atmosphere illuminated and contrasted by ambiant yellow, orange, and reds amonst the silvery steel among the dry and cracked ground. And all. That. SWELTERING. Heat. I loved it. Loved it to death.

I don't know why a werewolf such as me, covered in this much fur, wasn't dying of heat stroke. And I didn't care. This environment suited me. It fueled me. Drove me. Compelled me. I never felt so alive in a place like this. I got to enjoy it now that I was no longer being hunted by Chara in Alphys' body. In short...just being here filled me with DETERMINATION.

I stopped long enough to bump into Sans at that hot dog stand. In the human world they were made from anything ranging from pork to beef to chicken to turkey to...questionable mixtures of mystery meat.

I know what they were made of in the Underground but when hunger is the best spice...I just didn't care. Slap some mustard on a water sausage and a starving man will shove it down his throat long before he complains about where it came from. As much as it would have been whimsical, I didn't feel like taking the hot dog stacking challenge.

And yet...I felt an unease around Sans despite the fact I hadn't done anything to incur his wrath or draw his suspicion. It bothered me that I just couldn't figure out how to get the same friendly vibe as everyone else...and feel like it was the genuine article and not a clever act to hide something more...sinister beneath the surface. I could never quite tell whose side he was on. And why he of all people was judge, jury and executioner just before Asgore.

Sure he was Frisk's external conscience but I couldn't picture him as a cricket giving a little whistle. Besides...I knew how the unabridged version of that story ended once a little wooden-head became a real boy. Suffice to say it would make Muffet quite horrified had it been a spider instead of a cricket.

A stroll down the paths finally lead me to the fork in the road. The left path lead to the Royal Guards. I'd deduced they were a rabbit and a dragon underneath the heavy armor. But I wasn't about to make that the focus of my journey. Straight ahead was Alphys' lab.

During all this time I hadn't given any thought back to W.D. Gaster. I wonder what this instance's version of him was like? I hoped a lot more benign than the emotionless entity that kept his back turned to a crying Asriel for 100 years. I envisioned a more stable incarnation of him, sipping a cup of coffee or tea while proudly displaying "Number 1 Dad" button on his coat. Uh-oh. Was this another instance of channeling another AU? Out of the sandbox. Back-pedal, Arcade! Or suffer the Council's wrath.

I could see the outline of the lab ahead. Now the trick was getting Alphys to answer the door or at least unlock it. I had to get my story straight. Alphys might be a ball of nerves and barely any semblance of self-esteem, but she was no idiot. Conversing with her and leaving key details out or covering things up would be a lot more delicate and touch-and-go task than Toriel or Papyrus. And a little less hands-on than Undyne. And hopefully less weird than encounters with Onion-chan, the Mad Dummy, Monster Kid, and of course Muffet.

"Well, better get started practicing some kind of cover story, Volt." I said aloud to myself.

"It's only the only other reputable scientific mind in this known Underground...who just happened to meld fallen monsters together, turn Asriel into a nightmare death flower, and create a robot game show host who'd be too crazy and violent for the position of Smash TV's host."

I must've been really lost in my worries to be talking to myself and bringing up obscure case files where there was big money and big prizes and a Mutoid Man. There was a case that would cause contorversy if brought to other worlds.

"I mean...how hard could it be to win her over--"

"S-SOMEBODY H-HELP MEEEE!"

## Sub-Entry 72: "Alphys, Take Two":

Oh. We were doing this again. At least she wasn't the attacker. Just once...I'd like something to go off without an unexpected hitch.

I saw the yellow-scaled pangolin in the lab coat and glasses running toward me, stumbling awkwardly every so often and quite out of breath; not from the heat but from being terribly out of shape.

Going at me full tilt, I took a knee and braced for impact. Alphys found herself tumbling into my arms.  :justice:  (Music Link)

"Whoah there. Where's the fire...I mean besides all around us?"

"Oh! I'm s-sorry, sir! I wasn't watching where I was g-going and...hmm?"

Alphys adjusted her spectacles, looking me over.

"C-curious...I d-don't recall a m-monster species like you in my xenomorphology database. Are you a m-mutation or--" She cut herself off, abruptly.

"Oh! You're wearing a lab coat! Another scientist! Oh thank goodness. M-mabye you can help me. The safety of the entire underground d-d-depends on it!"

I had a chance to examine her a little closely. Honey mustard yellow scales. Stubby but pointed lizard tail. Tiny little nostrils I could barely make out on her snoot. Elongated eyebrows. The back of her head spiked outward, reminding me vaguely of Lisa Simpson. Her front teeth sported a heavy overbite which only made her awkwardness even nerdier in appearance. The huge eyelashes that even her tiny horn-rimmed spectacles didn't manage to cover up. A lab coat that absolutely reeked of body odor, shame, and...dog food?

"Yeah. I'm a man of science. And what do you mean? You look like you're in trouble. Is there something wrong, Miss...?"

"Doctor." She corrected me. "Dr. Alphys. I'm er...the Royal Scientist."

"Oh! Forgive me. I didn't expect to come across someone so important."

Liar.

"Look, there's n-no time. I'll explain on the way, uh...?"

"Arcade. Dr. Volt Alessandro Arcade. Scientist from...well, elsewhere."

"D-Doctor, what field of study do you specialize in?"

"All of them, really."

"Robotics?"

Oh crud. This was about Mettaton, wasn't it?

"Y-Y-yes. Y-you see I've been tasked with a l-lot of responsibilities under the kings orders. Most of my research is...er...well...classified (yeah, that's it. He won't suspect). B-But a long, long while back I w-worked on a personal project which I though would...m-mesh well with my current objectives. But...there's become a...tiny issue..."

"Hmm?"

"A long time ago I made a robot named Mettaton. Originally I built him to be an entertainment robot. Uh, you know...like a robot TV star or something. Anyway...recently I decided to make him more useful. You know...just some small practical adjustments."

I knew where THIS was going. This would probably get glares from the ethics committees back home in Neo Arcadia City.

"Like umm...anti.......anti-human combat features? Of c-course from my recent studies of the latest human to enter the Underground in question...I decided immediately that I had to remove these features!"

"Seems contrary to the King's agenda. I guess you have your reasons. So? What's the problem?"

"Unfortutunately I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so. And um..."

Just say it, Alphys.

"Now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood? Eheheheheheheh...heh..."

"Well if its target is the human why is the whole Underground in danger?"

"Well, you see...I was able to convince him not to go through with his new purpose. At least I thought I had. And we were going to agree to remove the features and should we encounter the h-human, it'd just be harmless puzzles and such...y'know--"

I really didn't want to point out that the whole scenario was Alphys being manipulative and creeping on Frisk; trying too hard to make a friend and have adventures but not for any sinister reason. But this was exactly the case as Mettaton would pretty much confirm over the course of the TV adventures Frisk was in for.

The laser hacking, the bomb-defusing, the jet pack in the cell phone...everything...she was the one masterminding it all, just to try to win over a friendship under false pretenses........exactly what I was doing. Oh gods. I'm trash, aren't I? It pains me to admit we really were kindred spirits underneath our bad choices and mistakes.

"But...?"

I sensed something was off. Something was not progressing normally. I couldn't put my finger on it but something told me that events had and were happening that shouldn't be in a Pacifist Timeline.

"I got too...cautious and p-paranoid when I learned that the human got into a battle with Undyne and...I got s-scared and may have...overreacted. I was g-going to contact her but...something compelled me to t-t-take action instead; I was afraid that Undyne would beg me t-t-to stay away from the human if she l-lost."

"Action?"

"Mettaton normally has a second form...an EX form. Y-you see his current form is more like a m-mechanic i-incubator. It has an incomplete auto-repair s-s-system that would allow him to return to this form if his EX form is badly damaged. But...considering the possibility that his EX body could be destroyed I...set about creating yet another body for him."

Another...body. Oh no. No. No. NoNoNoNoNoNo...!

"I c-c-called this form Mettaton NEO."

"And it was armed to the teeth, wasn't it?"

"Er...well actually even his teeth could be a weapon if I fully activated that feature but...yeah. Dangerous amount of firepower and such. But...I was worried that his defense would be far too low and this form was far more vulnerable than the EX form. I failed to reenforce it as time was l-limited. So...I eventually abandoned it without telling Mettaton."

"Let me guess. It woke up and went rogue."

"In s-s-s-so many w-w-words." Alphys shrunk back into her awkward pangolin hunch; her arms hanging with hands overlapping one another over, one foot on top of the other. Very much as normal pangolins did in the human world.

"I found Mettaton's EX body badly d-damaged, particularly around its main core, and his boxy shell also damaged and discarded. It wouldn't do any good, its auto repair wasn't working and it would be incompatible with the Neo body. Seeing that both were unoccupied--"

"Unoccupied?"

We hurried through the lab to the other doorway and back out into Hotland.

"Um...yes...y'see...at his core, Mettaton is acutually a ghost--"

Suddenly I had my answer as to where Napstablook's cousin had gone.

"He's literally a Ghost in the Machine?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Y-yes."

"What you're saying is that--" I started before Alphys interrupted.

"Obviously. Since the Neo body is missing and since Mettaton isn't occupying the two damaged bodies...he must've found the NEO body and gone after the human. But I think it's more than that. I-I think he may destroy the core in the process."

"It would be total genocide for the Underground." I reasoned.

"Worse. The core going critical wouldn't just affect our world. In all l-likelyhood it will cause a geothermal chain reaction that will reach all the way to the center of the planet and--"

"Judgement Day..." I muttered.

I saw the big picture and what was really going on. "Come on, Doctor. We have a robot to stop." I charged ahead.

"W-w-wait for m-me!" Alphys struggled to keep up.

I stopped long enough for Alphys to open the door to her lab. There wasn't time to sight-see. We ran out the back door and deep into the bowels of Hotland.

"I d-d-don't understand. I thought Mettaton was happy. I thought he l-liked the body I made for him Why? Why w-would he do this? Why is he acting so--"

"Strange and horrible?" I cut in.

The same description a defeated Asriel had used when explaining himself to Frisk.

"Exactly!"

"Guess we can ask him when we deactivate him."

"D...D-Deactivate?"

"If he's become a threat, Doctor, we have to take him down."

"Ohhhh...what have I done?! Why did I m-make this infernal machine? Why couldn't I...j-just be happy with the EX body? I'm s-such a failure. I don't fix things, I only b-b-break things worse than they were. I'm such t-trash."

"Don't be hard on yourself, Alphys. We can all screw up at times."

"But no one else has made a mistake that could explode the whole world."

"It hasn't exploded yet. We still have time to fix this.  I know we can fix this.  You just gotta believe."

"Why are you s-s-so confident? We have less than 0.001 percent chance of success when we c-catch up to him--"

"I don't give up. A little determination goes a long way--" Crap. Wrong thing to say.

 You just gave yourself away.  She figures it out in 3...2...1...

"......" Alphys stopped in her tracks. She pulled out her cell phone and started accessing apps. There was a sudden gasp.

"This much determination being radiated... You...you should be..."

"I'm sorry. I said too much."

"Do...do you know what Determination does to monster bodies? Why? Why aren't you... If anything...y-you...you're actually gaining strength. Your composition...it's all wrong. I can't find any magic in you."

I heard Alphy's cell phone warbling. She was...scanning me?

"These numbers...they're n-not consistant with--" Alphy's eyes widened. "What...what are you?"

"...something that shouldn't be on your world...but someone who can't afford to not care what happens to it...to everyone. I'm sorry, Doctor. But I'm neither human nor monster. I'm something in between. If you're as intelligent as I think you are...you have a good idea what that might be just from those scans. By now...you've pretty much figured out the nature of my soul. So...I'm going to leave it to you to decide whether you trust me or not."

"My god....your soul isn't monster. And it's not human. No...it's something far more powerful. And the equipment on you... This energy...some kind of symbiosis of tachyon and chronoton...evidence of flux dispursal (Does he have a working...flux...capacitor?).\*GASP\*......t-t-t-time traveller?!"

"You are more intelligent than I would have ever imagined. I'm sorry, Doctor but--"

"What's...really happening to our world? There have been sightings of weird...glitches and...strange cases of intense deja vu. I think...I think Papyrus' brother, Sans...knows something. Dr. Gaster knew something but--"

"It's...not something I can talk about freely. My organization limits me from interacting with recorded history on other worlds."

"Then there's...proof of other worlds out there? Other civilizations?"

"More than that. There are other timelines. Other universes. Your timeline is just one of millions. I'm sorry. But If I reveal anything more to you, Alphys......you know the knowledge is dangerous in the wrong hands."

I faced her.

"You of all people understand why secrets have to be kept."

Alphys turned away, sadly.

"You know. Don't you?"

"I know. About them. About...him. He...is the reason I'm here. It's...complicated."

"I tried. I really did...but I can't bring back what was lost. I let the King down. I let the Queen down. And...I've let our poor fallen prince down. I just keep letting everyone down. The moment the kingdom finds out what I've done...they'll...they'll......." Alphys buried her face in her hands and started crying.

"I'm sorry. I can't say any more. But...I'd like to think if he were still...himself. He'd forgive you.  Maybe...another instance of him...already has."

I didn't know if this was the case.  My Asriel wouldn't feel like there was anything to be forgiven for.  Who could say if that other Asriel in that one AU--the one I had nicknamed Dimension A.D.R.--had forgiven Alphys.  The only other AU version of him I confirmed was alive but not from the same circumstances or method I had used.

One thing I had doubt about; it was unlikely any other iteration of Alphys ever forgave herself.  Though chances are...there were other AU versions of her that weren't as likable and empathetic.  Just like Gaster.

As I pondered further I considered other instances of Asriel besides the "reborn" that I had...sneaked peeks of.  There was one with...pieces of a soul.  One who wore a rainbow scarf.  One who was...human?  One who wasn't...the best person in the world while Chara was the nice one.  And one who had his own case of role reversal in an AU where Monsters were the masters of the surface while humans were imprisoned in Mount Ebott.

While I wasn't sure I also swore I saw others that were just as unique.  One example included an AU that seemed to have crossed over with Soul Eater territory.  Violet suggested that there was even one which crossed over with Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  And that gave me image of our little cinnamon roll in Baby Herman's diapers.  Imagine him crying that his cinnamon bunny got knocked out of his grasp when Frisk shoved his baby carriage down the hall.

Yeah...guilty pleasure looking out of the crystal walls of my own AU only to see who was staring back from the other glass-like walls of their own dimensional cube.  Just because the Council said no, doesn't mean I didn't...swipe a glance at the other sandboxes.  I suppose this was my own unspoken equivalent of the guy who sticks his tongue out behind the boss' back and dreams of sitting in his chair when he was out of the office.

By now we were getting closer to the core. It was...a lot less marvelous to watch Alphys navigate the conveyors and steam jumps when Chara wasn't in control of her. I had to intervene several times to prevent her from meeting an early end.

Finally I saw the island before the main super-tower in sight. I could make out the figure of...something or someone.

"Dr. Alphys. Wait here."

"B-but I'm his creator. I should--"

"Not endanger yourself needlessly."

"By y-yourself?"

Alphy's eyes widened as I generated two large spheres of crackling electric plasma in each hand.

"I'll manage." A wash of lightning wrapped around me.

"That's...that's not...that's not magic, is it?"

"No."

"Good luck to you, Doctor. And......I promise I'll keep your secrets safe."

"And I will keep yours, Alphys. For as long as you need me to."

I walked across the bridge to the main island. There was plenty of space to battle. More than enough. But the main machine tower...it was as glaring a target as anything. I'd have to be on my A-game......no....my S-game to keep it from being damaged.

I stopped behind the villain in question. He didn't turn around but he knew I was there.

"Welcome, beauties...the show is about to start. And I promise it'll be a show where I'm absolutely...killing it."

## Sub-Entry 73: "Mettaton NEO":

"Don't be shy, introduce yourself to our viewing audience--"

"Save it, Chara."

"Ohhh. Such a buzzkill." the mechanical being shifted his huge arm cannon.

"Stopped trying to possess the living and you've downgraded to machines, now?"

"Downgrade? This is an upgrade. A body that doesn't get tired. Stronger, faster, and better than anyone out there. And it won't turn to dust when it falls. Slap in new wiring and it gets right back up and keeps going."

"Well. You're a big time villain now. Regicide. Multiple homocides...multiple genocides over multiple timelines. And now total global extinction. You couldn't dig yourself any deeper with the drill from a oil derek."

"That's all a matter of perspective, Arcade. From where I stand I have a lot high ground to ascend to once I make it off world."

"You're not getting anything out of me."

"Ohhh, I don't know about that. There are plenty of ways to get to the truth. And the truth will set you free...or maybe it'll set Asriel free from where you've imprisoned him."

"So you're still convinced."

"Don't try to deny it. He's alive and you're harboring him."

"You must know he's not your Asriel. You killed your Asriel when you led him to the human village with your dead body. What part of you had no clue that he wouldn't fight back? Just because you made him promise to do something that goes completely against who he is as a person? You don't get a second chance with him. You don't get a new Asriel after you broke the first one then destroyed him."

"Doesn't matter which Asriel he is. I will have my brother back simply because he IS Asriel. Just the simple fact of who he is will be enough for us to fulfill our destinies."

"And you still haven't learned a thing--!!!" I drew back and smashed both electric plasma orbs together, fusing their energies and then unleashing the resulting Lightning Laser; a river of electric current. More than enough to carbon score Mettaton's electronics down to the last Zener diode.

But to my horror, the beam washed around something...invisible and spherical around Mettaton NEO's body. A force barrier?!? How?! Alphys didn't have this kind of technology--

Not-Mettaton grinned devilishly before licking his mechanical tongue over his teeth, like he was savoring the taste of something sinful.

"I've learned plenty."

"What have you done...?" I growled angrilly.

"How was it that you put it? About me going up against your mental prowess? About being mentally naked? I'd say you're the one who's the dirty, naked beast."

"I asked you a question."

"What? You can't figure it out?"

"All that time in Alphys' body...after destroying the Proton Pack...the giant head start you gave me. You didn't just have control over Alphys' body...you had control over her knowledge and memories, too. You used that to reverse engineer the pieces of the positron collider and reconfigure it into--"

"Into a device that could compensate for Mettaton NEO's pitifiul defense.  As well as a whole new arsenal that Alphys only wishes she invented on her own.  And the end result.  Well...it's going to be absolutely beautiful when you experience the new improved death by glamour." Mettaton NEO turned around and integrated into the armor was the four-light accelerator unit from the Proton Pack, flashing in sequence as its internal rotors and magnets spun.

"So tell me now, Dr. Arcade...who really is the idiot here?"

My temper flared.  No.  No!  She did not get to win this with so many lives at stake!  She did not get to make light of me soo callously!  I'd come too far and suffered to much to lose to this damn brat!  I wasn't about to let my mentors' technology be bastardized for her sick, twisted games!  In a rage I charged blindly at Chara-ton NEO. And I most certainly reached the pinnacle of stupidity...

I found myself grabbed by the throat...then the arm cannon shoved into my mouth. And then my thoughts, memories and everything else just stopped for...who can say how much time. THe next thing I remembered was everything blinking back into existence...nothing but total white light everywhere... and then fading back to blurry images...and searing pain in everything from my fangs to my throat. I could feel every cell pop pack into existence in a stampede. I could only image how gruesome it must have looked.

"That felt good."

I gurgled and tried to whisper. My vocal chords were still raw.

"WHAT?" Chara taunted smugly. "Speak up."

"Oh no...oh no." Alphys covered her cheeks and shuddered.

"Why do you exist? What reason could this world have for allowing a megalomaniac like you into it?" I strained my voice as the last patch of fur resurfaced. Gods, I hated when my immortality worked against me.

"Somebody's got to call bulls...(insert Flowey cackle) when people talk about how great this world is. You know when the little ghost that confronted me after I kicked him out of his body...he had the gall to say I wasn't completely evil. That he took comfort that both Alphys and humanity on the surface would survive. Said that I was holding back when I destroyed that pink nightmare he called beautiful."

Not-MTT flashed another wicked grin.

"Oh sure, he acknowledged I'd wipe the floor with Asgore...but to doubt my evil so callously? Well...challenge accepted. When I'm done with you, I'll chuck you into the lava where I know you'll never be able to swim your way back out after sinking to the center of the planet. And then I'll just have to tear the Doctor limb from limb."

I finally got a look at Mettaton NEO's form. Almost entirely black. The shoulder armor extended into impossibly lengthy pauldrons with bent spikes. The right half of his white face covered with black plating. THe right eye looking like cross-hairs minus the circles. The impossibly impractical wings that look ed like they were cut out of black sheet metal.    :determination:  (Music Link)

Where there would normally be two hearts--a black one on the chest and an upside-down white one underneath...the white one was covered up by the Positron Collider which was wired in layers of cables and hoses leading into multiple circuit patches.

The next few moments were filled with pain of various kinds. Brutality which should not be described. Body parts...regenerating that should be kept to myself. Torture that I cannot in good conscience describe in these logs.

"You going to take me to Asriel or not?"

"...N....N....N-Not...." I coughed up a splatter of blood, soaking the automoton in it.

"Hmm...wrong answer." Mettaton NEO hoisted me up and smashed me down in a backbreaker over the knee. I felt my spine sever for only a moment...and then feeling return to my legs almost instantly.

This was messed up. MTT NEO shouldn't be able to dish out this much and not at least get scratched in the process. How effectively had Not-Alphys re-engineered my equipment?

"I've dreamed about doing this for so long. Do you have any idea how much I wanted this? I just so want to kick you in your perfect teeth. And now. I can."

I caught sight of a few broken fangs flying out of my jaws, trailing blood. A few moments later, the broken and missing teeth were healed up again.

Iago the Parrot said it best: It's amazing what you can survive. I'd hardly call this amazing, though...more like prolonged torture.

"That should be enough toying around with you. I want you conscious when I tear your secrets out of your head." Again I felt the cannon shove into me. This time underneath my jaws. At that angle it would completely take my head off and not just the back of my throat and brainstem.

Mettaton NEO hoisted me up on the blaster.

"I just might have to force the Doctor to invent a way to read your memories. One way or another...it gets me closer to Asriel."

Alphys was fixed on my limp form, debating to cover her eyes or watch every gorey detail.

Neither of us noticed the arrival that went unnoticed.

Chara started energizing the cannon again, diverting all power to the weapon.

"Smile you son of a--!"

None of us heard the spear whiz through the air so it took us all by suprise when it impaled through the robot body from behind, spearing straight through the Positron Collider assembly.

"GAAAAH!  MOTHER...(insert Flowey cackle)..er!" I was dropped suddenly as the sudden power losses fluxuated througout the robot's circuits. I coughed violently, losing another untold amount of blood.

"Who...!" A whirl. "YOU!"

## Sub-Entry 74: "The Team-Up We All Knew Was Going to Happen"

Undyne flashed a menacing grin as the spear quickly turned to water and sparks began shooting out of the ruined assembly.

"This is why nerds shouldn't get into fights! I leave you dorks alone and this crap happens. Hey, Arcade! Leave this to a TRUE HERO!"

I barely made out her form as my vision was still a little blurry.

 She was definitely sailing through the air across the length of magma separating the main island from where she arrived. And most assuredly, that was the sound of her landing on the ground. Another spear in her grasp...I think.

"Yo, listen up, punk! You messed with the wrong pup and now you're going to get my fist through your skull."

"Undyne! Y-you came!" Alphys looked so relieved...all four of her...wait...that was just the dizziness.

"Hey. You're not taking a dust nap are you? Gonna be a lot more pissed at this walking trash can if you fall."

"Just give me a minute to er...let my healing spells take effect and I'll help you kick its ass."

"Hope you're better at fighting machines than you are fighting royal guards, fluffy."

"Show some respect for your elders, tall, dark and scaley. I'm not the one who smells like sushi."

"I don't know what sushi is, but it sounds like something that should piss me off!"

"Are you two done with your play date yet? Because I'm really in the mood to kill something."

"What's your damage, freak? If anime has taught me anything, robots are supposed to be cool. You're a total loser! And losers get their faces smashed in and crushed under boulders!"

"Oh dear, sweet Undyne. Always trying to prove how tough you are. Still the butch bully you ever were.  How's the eye treating you?   Maybe you'd like me to make sure you have a matching pair."

"Sorry. I don't speak crazy, messed up, machine. We supposed to know each other?"

"Think it over when I send you back to Asgore in an urn--!"

Mettaton NEO suddenly lurched forward with four pained grunts in a row as each of the quartet of colored electric plasma balls of my Voltage Orb Lightning and Thunder (V.O.L.T.) Strikes hit home; each a ball of red, yellow, green, and blue plasma marked with the letters V, O, L, and T respectively.

Admittedly...it was a vain signature attack. But it left an impression. One that never let my enemy forget who just electrocuted them. Sometimes being a "superhero", as Asriel described me, meant puffing out your chest, flexing your ego and being a little arrogant.

"I got my second wind. Time to reenact Captain America and Winter Soldier beating the snot out of Iron Man in Marvel's Civil War..."

I cracked my knuckles then sailed forth with a cocked fist charged with dense magnetism which had the same effect as boxing gloves loaded up with mercury. Mettaton NEO went flying into Undyne's next punch and then flying straight back at me. We traded off pounding the bolts out of the machine for a bit until a 360 degree sweep of the cannon's constant beam sent us both in opposite directions. It looked like Not-Alphys had completely overhauled Mettaton NEO's entire weapons array using the parts from the Neutrona Wand and Positron Collider. All those upgrades in the Proton Pack became very nasty weapons of mass destruction.

"This tin can fights dirty!"

There must've still been enough energy left in the Positron Collider's main capacitor bank to keep MTT NEO's defenses up. But without a generator to keep them charged, they'd burn out eventually. And the more attacks the bucket of bolts threw at us, the less energy Chara would have.

"We're draining his power but it's not enough. Maybe if I draw its fire--"

"No way. You're not doing something reckless after I saved your furry hide."

"ANd you think I'd be okay if he kills the Head of the Royal Guard after she just saved my life? I have issues with sacrifice plays on the field of battle."

"Don't you get self-righteous on me!"

"THis isn't the time to argue!"

We bickered back and forth, not noticing that Chara was about to take advantage of it. But we were all quickly silenced when of all things a cascade of bones shot up out of the ground like spikes, impaling the evil winged machine.

"What the--"

"Dammit, Papyrus! What the Hell?!"

"Nyeheheheheh! I have come to the rescue, Undyne! Be amazed as I prove once and for all that I have what it takes to join the Royal Guard."

"Papyrus, this isn't a sparing session! This guy means business! You mess around with him and--"

"You there! Evil robot! I challenge you to a duel! When I defeat you, you will be so moved by my greatness that you will turn over a new leaf and reform! This will surely prove that I am skilled and powerful yet merciful! Nyeheheheh!"

"Of all the times...is it too much to ask for Papyrus to y'know...not be Papyrus for just a few minutes?" I asked Undyne.

"I swear if anything happens to that bonehead, I'm going to lose so much sleep at night!"

"Oh! It's you, strange Greater Dog! I didn't realize you and Undyne were on such friendly terms!"

"Well uh..."

"I knew it! I'm assembling quite the circle of friends! Nyeheheheheh! I never miss a moment. I have a sharp eye for details............but really. Has your fur always been that color? And what strange clothes you are wearing. I've never seen fashion so...unique."

Good grief.

"Three on one? You're still no match for me! I'm going to completely dust you all!"

Another swarm of bones followed up by Water Spears. It was slowing Mettaton NEO down and damaging him but it wasn't stopping him. And despite being outnumbered he was still evenly matched against us all--

\*CHUFFFF!\* My ear twitched as soon as I heard it rocket through the air then impact with a sizzle.  Whoah...the size of that fireball!  There was only one person who could have cast it.

I looked in the direction it came from and sure enough there was a cloaked figure on yet another island near the main one we were battling on. I could make out a furry white hand with claws on the fingers.

"Who the Hell are you now?"

"What a terrible beast. Terrorizing these wonderful people. And so foul-mouthed. Cease your attack. This is your only warning."

"Screw you, lady!"

I was genuinely suprised that Chara didn't recognize Toriel under the hood and cloak.

Chara was quickly answered by more fireballs and sweeping wands of flame. Only one person could control fire with this much power, speed, and range.

I sniffed the air and despite the acrid stench of the lava and such, I could make out her scent. Hello again, Toriel. This was a familiar side to you. I was so glad I wasn't on the receiving end.

At some point Undyne hesitated after watching another barrage of fireballs.

"...wait...is that...? Is that you, Queen Toriel?" She blurted out. But her words were drowned up by the noise and battle. It was probably something that shouldn't be revealed to Papyrus at this point or Alphys at this point.

It was surprising that Chara didn't figure it out.  If Undyne of all people could recognize Goat Mom under her pretty flimsy disguise, how could Toriel's own daughter not put two and two together?

"Four on one. Fine. I'll take you all on. You won't have time to turn to dust once you drown in the lava pools. But before that I"m going to make you all hurt and suffer."

Between Undyne and Papyrus fighting in close quarters, me in the middle ground, and Tori sniping from long range, we stood a good chance of taking Chara down. But I realized the moment that happened, she'd spill the beans.

There would be questions. Toriel would especially be impacted by this. I don't know if I could properly neuralize them all within reason. And if I did it would be like a mini reset. I'd have to start over on friendships.

And so the beat down went full force. The tide had turned. She was on the ropes, now.

Not-Mettaton clutched its sparking arm, having lost power to the cannon. "So this is what you're about. Four idiots have to gang up on one robot? I see how it is. Some honorable beings."

"Why you--!" Undyne snapped.

"No. That's just what this tin can wants. But he fights alone. There's no one in his corner. No one's got his back. He's just a sad, abandoned, pile of malware and virus-laden chips and D.I.P. switches."

"I don't WANT or NEED anybody!!!"

Mettaton NEO pointed his arm cannon straight down and forced the electric current to jump the gap in the broken wiring, giving it power for one last shot. The resulting explosion threw us all in separate directions. WHen the smoke cleared, Undyne and Papyrus were out cold and it was just me.

 I put on my Scanner Glass and checked their HP levels just to make sure they were okay.  I breathed a sigh of relief as they were both mostly full.  They were just KO'd, that was all.

The shock of it all even caused Alphys to pass out. Toriel began circling back around to try to get to Alphys, intending to check to see if she was injured and needed healing before daring to cross the bridge over to us.

## Sub-Entry 75: "Battle's End"

The massive energy release had drained the last of the positron collider's capacitor bank.  What defenses and power boosts she had before was gone.  And the stress on the machine's systems coupled with the damage was on the verge of tearing the mechanical being apart from the inside out.  Mettaton NEO swayed a bit, trying to keep balanced.

"Okay. Fess up. What have you done with the real Mettaton?"

"Why so worried? You can't kill a ghost, now can you?"

"I won't ask again."

"Heh heh...he's...around. But I don't think he'll be in any mood to show his face."

"That body is barely holding together."

"It'll hold long enough."

"You're not getting away this time."

Chara staggered the machine toward me, attempting to slip by me.

"You're in my way."

"After all that...you still keep coming."

"Now do you understand my determination? I won't stop until every last one of you is dead. I'll find Asriel. Then we can finish the plan. And then...then...then I can make the human race extinct."

"You really don't get it, do you? How can you insist on underestimating your own species?"

"You shut your filthy mouth! You can't understand what it's like to be part of the human race!"

"Oh...can't I?"

It was time to take the biggest of risks. One last mind game for the road.  It was beyond naive.  It was stupid for the sake of pride.  It was a completely bad idea.

I had a little bit of time before Toriel would wind her way back to where Alphys was. It was at that time Alphys woke up again and saw the changes to the battlefield. And it wouldn't be long before she had company. But it wasn't Goat Mom...

"Doctor! Doctor! There you are!"

"Wh...what? Mettaton?! You can't be here."

Sure enough it was the ghostly form of Mettaton. A ghost not that different from Napstablook but pink instead of blue. And with a noticeable spit-curl in his...er...hair?

"It's definitely me, deary. Why can't I be here?"

"If you're here...then...who's that fighting--!"

"Oh my! That's her! That's the evil spirit that did this to me! Destroyed my body and hijacked that......." A pause.

"That body. Doctor...you and I need to talk. Why is there...another robot body tailored to my image but so...badly scarred and twisted? Was my EX body not perfect? Not beautiful enough?"

"N-no! No, that's not it at all! I'm s-sorry. I overreacted when I got scared of the human's progress through the Underground. I...I...I had a nightmare that Undyne wouldn't survive her encounter with the human. I feared for us all s-s-so I made a new robot body with more advanced anti-human combat f-features. But...its defense was so low that it wouldn't have stood a chance againt the human despite its incredibly high offesnvie c-capabilites. S-s-s-so I abandoned it. But if you're not in control of it...who is?"

"I know not her name, but this spirit is quite malevolent. I think...I think it was once human."

"H-H-Human?!"

"It really has it out for someone named...Arcade, I think? There was a room in the...well...True Lab which only you had access to...but somehow she was able to use it for her own purposes. Such anger and hatred...the walls are covered with all kind of disturbing things. This Arcade's name comes up a lot in them. Along with...one other name I don't quite recognize. Maybe you know what it means?"

"Hmm?"

"Doctor...does the name "Asriel" mean anything to you--?"

A huge gasp.

"Oh no...it...can't...be..." Alphys' eyes widened.

"Doctor?"

"Is that...is that r-reallly the first fallen human...the Prince's best friend and sister...the Dreemurrs' adopted princess... Ch-Ch-Chara?" She uttered.

Back on the island...

"So you don't think humans are capable of compassion, selflessness, and love and friendship. That it's impossible for a human to comfort a broken mother longing for her dead children. To befriend a skeleton whose belief in people is unconditional despite them being friend or foe. To earn the respect of the head of the Royal Guard in battle? To save the life of a reptilian scientist who has to really try to find reasons to go on living in spite of all her sins......all these things are something a human wouldn't understand? Is that it?"

"We eat creatures like you for breakfast. Tell me I'm wrong. Or better yet...ask Asriel...my Asriel if I'm wrong. Oh wait. You can't. Because he's dead. The humans KILLED HIM. So again. Tell. Me. I'm Wrong."

"No. You tell me that that I'm wrong." And with that I demorphed, taking the risk.

Alphys' attention had been diverted to comforting Mettaton.  Papyrus and Undyne were still out could and Toriel was on her way through the maze to try to circle around back to where the good doctor and the ghost were.

"Wh...what the f--! No...no...no this is some kind of trick...!"

I put my glasses on and stared through her, arms crossed.

"Don't feel bad for losing to someone who's both monster and human. You don't even have a body to call your own."

With that the robot body just stopped moving and collapsed. Must've used up the last of its power. Chara's spirit form rose up out of it. She was ominously silent for a bit, just hovering there, with a stunned expression. ANd then...she started laughing...really laughing. Her laughter became more and more disturbing and maniacal. She grabbed handfuls of her hair and continued laughing. She threw back her head and laughed toward the heavens. She just kept laughing and laughing and laughing, tears starting to pour out of her eyes.

"I can't...I can't believe...I can't believe...I can't believe..."

"Sad. This is just sad--"

"I can't believe...you're SO STUPID!!!" She snapped her head back down, her face distorting into its Gaster-like ichor-dripping incarnation.

She wasn't wrong.  This was completely crazy and stupid.

"You just made my job a cake walk! Without those powers of yours I'll easily possess you!

Crap. This was where the risk came in. But I was prepared for this. I brushed a new E.N.G.I.N.E. dot and released the weapon I had brought along...the bow of a Quincy Archer. Resembling a neon cyan spider-web in construction, this sucker had plenty of firing rate to go around. It could give my vulcans a run for the money.

Let's just say...I didn't spent all of my time traveling abroad in the Karakura Town only learning the ropes of a substitute Soul Reaper. Let's just say...I had just as much experience as a substitute Quincy. Let's just leave it at that and let the situation spell itself out.

And so I unleashed 1,200 rounds per minute of Reishi-powered arrow HELL! They were small and very low potency but they'd wear Chara down and keep her at a distance for the time I needed to set up, altering the battlefield to my advantage.

I kept the pressure on, every so often charging up for a large blast. It seemed though the large blasts would miss their target each time. I managed to squeeze off 5 charge shots before Chara's next slash with the Real Knife knocked my weapon out of my grasp. I landed in a crouch.

"No more tricks. This time it really is the end. I'll take good care of your body. Who knows what sights I even see with it. I'll be sure to repay all of your friends in kind for everything you've done to me."

"Y'know...for a slow learner? You just surpassed a certain orange-headed numbskull in Karakura Town." I taunted.

"Defiant to the end."

I suddenly grinned darkly as I slipped the Sprenger weapon from behind me where I had it tucked in my black belt. I unfolded it and stabbed it straight into the ground.

"What are you doing?"

I opened the tiny vial of clear liquid. Holy water? I'd never tell.

"Hey, Chara."

"What?"

"You lose again."

I let a single drop of the liquid splash down on the head of the dagger as five neon cyan lines of energy tore through the ground and formed a run. A large circle formed around each of the Charge Arrows that had missed and impaled in the ground in a ring. And then the next thing Chara knew the world turned white as a shaft of light erupted into the "sky" of the underground, going up and up and up, as high as the Core tower...maybe higher.

Chara opened wide and screamed but there was no sound as everything went silent.

When the light cleared Chara was face down, attempting to crawl away. As far as a spirit went...she was in very bad shape. She hastilly dove back into the metal corpse of Mettaton NEO and brought it back to life with what little power it had left. As she was doing that I re-morphed and approached as she tried staggering away across the bridge.

"You never figured it out, did you? There was another reason transformed into my human form other than to screw with your mind. I needed to be in human form to access my substitute Quincy powers. It was the only way to use Sprenger and Selee Schneider. And everything else in my arsenal."

"It's...not...fair...why can't I...win?"

"You've learned nothing. You can't win."

"You can't kill me. I'll fight you as many times as it takes to get Asriel back."

"And I'll fight you as many times as it takes to keep him away from you. And right now...I feel like punching you in your perfect teeth."

"Because you can?"

"Because I can."

I charged up, wrapped a hand around my fist and swung into the broken robot.  I could think of a million one-liners I could use a send-off.  But at that moment I felt she deserved a quote or two from Epic Rap Battles of History.

"I'll double-fist-punch you, you slave-making b...(insert Flowey cackle)!"

I battered the machine repeatedly. It almost lost its footing several times.

"Now. Take your genocidal ass. Off. My. BRIDGE!"

I gave my strongest roundhouse kick and sent Mettaton NEO flying off and into the magma below.

It liquefied near instantly. I saw the hazy traces of Chara's weakened form escape amongst the smoke and steam.

I'm sure Violet would ruin the moment by saying I missed a perfectly good opportunity to set Chara up by getting her to call this whole thing "madness".  And then screaming in some variattion of "THIS.  IS.  SPARTA!"  Before kicking MTT NEO in.  ...I owed her a thwap upside the head now...

Oh well.  I guess she'd have to settle for "How was that spin-kick, Walker, Texas Ranger?"

In the aftermath, Toriel, still maintaining the hooded cloak to keep her identity secret with the help of Alphys and myself managed to get Undyne and Papyrus back to the lab to recover.  She quickly departed once she was sure her healing spells had restored the both of them to full HP and that they would wake up with possible bad headaches but no permanent damage.  Once Alphys had left the room momentarily, Toriel pulled off the hood.  She smiled.

I silently mouthed the words "Thank you."

She replied with a silent.  "You are welcome."

We exchanged heart-hands gestures.  This was our secret handshake now.  So to speak.

As a thank you for calling for backup from Undyne and keeping my secrets, I offered to help Alphys with the repairs to Mettaton's EX body. She accepted and we toiled away, making the repairs in record time before the skeleton and the fish-girl awoke.

Mettaton was more than a little grateful to us both.  Seeing him stow his pride and make amends with Alphys was more than I could have ever planned to pull off.  It just...happened.  It made me feel good inside.

I declined his offer, though, to appear on his TV show.  It...would get complicated.  But just to show there were no hard feelings I gladly replied to his spontaneous question, 'Would you smooch a ghost?' with a hearty "HECK, YEAH!"

That made him feel better about the whole situation.  And of course it looked like he and Alphys had patched things up over the NEO body.  I gave a thumbs-up moments before the boxy shell snapped around Mettaton EX, doing what I could only describe as an attempt to curl into Samus Aran's "maru-mari" morphing ball form.

The final repairs would have to be done by Mettaton's boxy computer shell body. It would be a while before we could flip his switch again.

Toriel, however didn't stick around. She hadn't been a queen for some time.  She was already setting out for Snowdin.  Off to the Ruins again.  It was better this way...better that her people didn't know her identity. She did however give me a sign of thanks as she turned around from the distance outside of Alphys' lab.  I could make out her forming a heart with her hands the same way my family and I did in the photo we gave her for Mother's Day.   I gave an answering "heart hands".

You're very welcome, Tori.

"Doctor...?"

Alphys pulled me asside while she had a moment.

"Thank-you." She wrapped her arms around me and hugged longingly, streaming tears.

"No. Thank you." I smiled and placed a hand on her head. "I have to get going but...I'm glad I could help."

"You can c-count on me if you ever need...y'know...a f-friend."

As soon as Undyne and Papyrus were on their way...

"The human child will be arriving soon. Try...to go easy on them. They haven't hurt anybody and...I think they could just use a friend."

"I'll...try not to do anything rash."

"Good luck to you, Doctor. And...let's just keep those secrets between you and me. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Until we meet again, Dr. Alphys the Royal Scientist."

"Good-bye, Dr. Arcade the Time Traveler."

A wave good-bye and I was en route to the Deloreon.

## Sub-Entry 76: "Even the One Who Stands Can Still Be the One Who Falls..."

I returned to town and piloted the Deloreon back to my shop's garage and exited. Bunnie, Mitzi, Callista, Scott, and Asriel were already waiting.

"Volt! You're back!" Asriel looked so eager to see me.

I made my way over.

"Asriel! I'm so glad...to...to..."

What...why am I...so......dizzy...vision...blurry...

"Volt...?"

"Commander?"

"I....I...." I staggered and swayed... "...I don't...feel...so..."

Everything...going...dark...ground coming up--

"Asriel...looking so...aghast...no...can't...do this...to him......please...no..."

"VOOOOOOOOOOLT--"

\*thud\*

CRYPTOSMASHER LOGOFF

TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED...

\*static\*

CRYPTOSMASHER LINK REESTBLISHED.

TRANSMISSION RESUMED.

Voices...muffled but getting clearer...

Is that...is that Asriel? I hear him...sniffling...sobbing......pleading...

"...w...k....p......Pl...s....wa....up....co....ba ....ple....c....ack..."

Open your eyes, Volt. Open your eyes! Open your eyes, dammit! Open them, now!

"Please......wake up...."

And then...eylids...fluttering open. White light...blurry images...a face......Asriel!

I heard his gasp. I saw his eyes widen. I saw his cheeks already stained with tear streaks. I saw his face scrunch up and his eyes well with more tears.

And then he tacklehugged me and just bawled his eyes out.

"You came back! You're okay!"

I moved my gaze around. I was definitely in the medical bay, bed-ridden. How long had I been out-- Oh no. No. No. No. NoNoNoNoNoNo...!

My eyes snapped completely open as the realization set in.

No. THis can't be. How could this happen? I...I...I put Asriel through the exact same thing Chara did. I made him worry. I made him suffer. I made him feel that same thing again.

And then I began to cry. Really cry. Really, REALLY cry. And it didn't take long before I was completely wailing as bad as a defeated Absolute God of Hyperdeath when his cries of demanding Frisk to stop were no use.

"Volt?" He stopped crying, noticing that I was more upset than he was.

"Volt, what's wrong? Why are you...?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Volt?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I...I made you worry. I made you sad...I...I...I didn't mean to...I--"

"Volt, it's okay. You didn't die--"

"But I put you through the same thing that Chara did. I...I feel so terrible...I swore to myself I'd never let you feel that again."

"Volt...I...I'm okay. Everything's...everything's fine now."

"But...but..."

"I knew you wouldn't die. You're nearly immortal, right?"

Logic told me Asriel was right.  The power of the Genie's Lamp & Pandora's Box wouldn't let me die.

"You really pushed yourself, didn't you, Dad?" Elektra was on hand, in her human form. That medical uniform was unmistakable. Candy apple red hair that really stood out whether she was in her fair-skinned human form or her fiery red-orange furred werewolf morph.

"You just can't stop working yourself until you drop."

I heard Lisa's scolding tone next. That cute dress and strappy heel sandals that I went ga-ga over. Blue-haired, blue-eyed; styled into the same hair-bowed, pony-tailed style as Roll Light; the sister of Pit's old partner, Mega Man. Also in human form. But when she was morphed, that blue fur of hers...that slender wolfess build, that magnificent tail...gods she was beautiful. Even when she was angry at me she was beautiful.

"What...what happened?"

"You got into one of your battles to the "death" that you can't really die from.  You pushed yourself beyond your limits that you've exhausted yourself. Just because you don't die doesn't mean you can't collapse form exhaustion. About the only thing you're not suffering from is heat exertion. I'll never understand why you don't get heat stroke like normal people do in volcanic temperatures."

You're one to talk, dear daughter.  You have a fire/heat element.  You once bathed in a magma flow as a teenager, just to show you could (freaking me out in the process).  Lecturing me on that?

Elektra shook her head.

"You overexerted so much it slowed your ability to recover a little. But fortunately I have a prescription to get you back up and on your feet. A nice session in the RAIDEN mk-17 should perk you right up."

That made me smile weakly.

"What's...a RAIDEN mark seventeen?" Asriel questioned.

"It's the general name we use for the Lab's underground orbital plasma cyclotron." Elektra explained.

"Cyclotron?"

"A new-age particle accelerator. Well...let me explain it like this. Have you ever watched a thunderstorm?" Elektra went on.

"Yeah...it rained really hard not long ago. And there was thunder and lightning and...I got scared and hid under my bed. We...don't have anything like that in the underground."

"Your first clash with the weather. Anyway. Lightning is just big bolts of electricity. Well. Particle accelerators are used in science to create new kinds of matter; new materials by spltting or fusing their atoms together in chain reactions. One like the RAIDEN is designed such that the energy released is converted into massive amounts of electricity." Elektra explained.

"And by now you know Volt absorbs electricity. It strengthens him and speeds up his healing process. He can also generate and store it for incredibly powerful attacks. He was born with this power so...it's as natural as breathing for him. So in other words...instead of a small snack, he's going to have a huge banquet feast. It'll get him on his feet and feeling better than ever in no time."

## Sub-Entry 77: "Lightning Strikes With Raging Thunderstorm Force":

With Lisa and Elekta helping me walk steadily, while Asriel followed, we went down several levels below the main lab and sub-labs, deep underground into the RAIDEN chamber. A massive hollowed out cavern that had been covered with heavy metal, EMF shielding, polished to a mirror shine and able to withstand the intense electromagnetic energy buildup while keeping it from leaking outward and causing problems above ground or to anything buried nearby.

Asriel was asked to wait in the observation deck. Heavily insulated, lined with equipment and powerful magnets and static accumulators to generate a damper field to cancel out the electromagnetic force radiation and absorb any electric arcs or plasma discharge. Plus it would give a safe view of what was by far the biggest artificial lightning storm on the planet.

As a precaution, all three of them were suited up in heavy EMF radiation suits. I could see how uncomfortable Asriel was but it was for his own safety.

I walked out onto the catwalk into the center of the modded aparatus at the core. Cables, lightning arresters, spark gaps, glass tubes filled with crackling lightning, huming coils, and all kinds of other industrial tech wrapped around everything and filled the room. It was a sight to see.

It amused me that the particle accelerators on Earth Prime had to be so ridiculously big by comparison. Several miles of long track to accomplish what we could do in a compact cavern this size. The CERN Particle Accelerator was the 21st century's pride and joy. Heheheh...how quaint. But I suppose it was hard to be modest when the technology level on our world was as high as it was...and yet the Galvans still turned up their nose at it and looked upon us like we were some peasantstock, backwater mudball in the universe.

Again, Asmyth. You continue to stay on your high horse. I wonder how long it would be before you came knocking to express your displeasure at me adapting Unitrix cores for...certain purposes. Well. If he could find easier ways to allow Hybrids and Lycans to walk around planets that were entirely human populous, he was welcome to give us a clue. Now I felt inclined to take you down a peg the next time Benjamin Kirby Tenneyson was around. I'm sure he'd be on board just to mess with you.

I strapped in, buckled up, and locked down my limbs. The majority of the electricity would be focused straight through this center point. Admittedly it was hard to stay conscious. I guess Elektra wasn't exhaggerating how bad I had drained myself.

The final lockdowns, shieldings and protections were engaged; and then the machinery started up with loud roars that kept building and building.  The arcs of purple lightning began the fill the room.

I think saw Asriel step back a big, bumping into where Elektra and Lisa were standing. Elektra put her hand on his shoulder, reassuringly.

The thunderstorm grew and grew, increasing in intensity; becoming quite erratic and violent. The density of the tangles of lightning became more like a magnified view of a neon sponge. There were soon too many tangles and mini tangles of purple lightning spider-webbed together to even think about counting. And every moment or so massive bolts ripped across the room, harmlessly dissipating across the mirror polish and the shielded and fielded layers of glass of the observation deck but definitely giving jump-scares.

The energy began gathering at the epicenter where it poured through me.

If I may borrow one from Mettaton:

"Ohhhhhhhhh yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!"

Every folicle of my fur was now rippling and bristling wildy from the energy. Every nerve felt alive but not in pain; quite the opposite. From the time before now, when my body kept telling me I can't wake up, at this very moment I could feel it..I could feel it wake me up inside.

And I immediately felt I was channeling something again. Eh. Too good a mood to care. Worry about it later. Electricity now!   :detemmienation:   (Music Link)

To say the feeling was like a trillion GP still undersold it. This feeling. Nobody could understand this feeling. This was mine to feel and mine alone. As much as I wanted to, I could never share it with anyone. Asriel would never know what it was like to be me at this moment in time. All the problems, Chara or otherwise just melted away. It was the purest, cleanest, most unspoiled thing I could feel at this moment.

To be one with the electricity. To bond with it. draw life from it. This was what it meant to be elemental werewolf; with the power of electricity and magnetism at your fingertips. Much as Sally had her speed world. Much as Lupe was connected to the very essence of life itself. Much as Bunnie became one with the cosmos through meditation. And much as Violet could emerse herself in a world of 1's and 0's at such speed, in such volume that would kill a normal person's brain. This was where my nirvana lay.

"At last. I am reborn!" I cried to the heavens...maybe overselling it juuuuuust a bit. Y'know. For dramatic flair. Hey, Violet can't have all the moments of being questionably overzealous.

"I'M ALIIIIIIVE! I'M ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!" And then I threw back my head and laughed like a mad man.

You know this really should have scared the pants off of Asriel who was already scared to death of the lightning in the room.  So who could have predicted...?

"Wow!  He sure seems happy down there."

Lisa beamed brightly with a short chuckle.  Elektra facepalmed. "Don't encourage him, Mom."

And before I knew it...seemingly as soon as the feeling began...it passed. The Cyclotron slowed and its energies subsided.

"Was that really necessary, Dad?" Elektra rubbed her temples.

"Let your father have his fun." Lisa was a little more jubilant about it.   Lisa was guilty of being a little childish and crazy herself at times.  I loved that about her.

It took a few moments for Asriel to snap out of being stunned by the biggest, most intimidating thunderstorm he ever saw.

"Volt? Are...are you okay? Talk to me. How...how do you feel?"

The locks and restraints opened, allowing me to get myself out of the machine and back onto the metal walkway. The excitement faded to completely laid back and mellow. In short...suddenly very chillax.

"Groovy." I said with a blissful grin, channeling a little bit of a mood-slime soaked Raymond Stantz following Vigo the Carpathian's defeat. It was then he noticed I was completely lit up and glowing with an almost blinding gold aura of energy, latent static coursing over my fur to the point of humming with a 60 cycle-per-second transformer buzz. Violet would joke I was about to go SSJ Goku. Add another to the thwapping total I owed her.

"It might be a bit before his energy levels calm back down. I'd recommend waiting for that to fade before hugging him; for your own safety, Asriel."

Asriel just nodded.

## Sub-Entry 78: "Luck of The Fox-ish"

Later on, as everyone else waited outside of UCIAT HQ, I came back out, still glowing and huming with the energy aura and feeling like I was walking on air...which I actually was as I superconducted just to show off a little. It brought me back to my encounter with Sans.

Mitzi was standing by with one of her Co-workers, Foxy "Colleen" Flannigan.  Rusty brown fox with dark red hair, piercing green eyes.  She was wearing a lengthy green dress that looked kinda like Renaissance Fair cosplay with green shamrock-buckle sandals.

"I knew you'd be okay, Commander."

"But a wee bit o' luck certainly didn't hurt your chances, laddie." Foxy mused after adjusting her shamrock-buckle sandals from where she was sitting at the fountain.

"Oh, Asriel, this is Foxy Flannigan. She's one of the workers at Rock-Afire Pizza and an old friend of mine."

"Howdy, Miss Foxy. I'm Asriel."

"The pleasure is mine, wee nipper." Foxy's thick Irish accent was as distinct as ever.

"How did you and Miss Mitzi meet?"

"Well, I"m glad ye asked. Back in the days of Pizza TIme Theater, when Mitzi's ex was starting out, he started booking guest acts to draw more attention. I was his first guest act. I sang and conversed with him and his group. Mostly folk songs from me home country. But as time went on, I began to feel sniped by his commentary. I was soon dropped and the next acts were lined up. Soon they were feeling the sting of his insults on stage and in many cases it got uncomfortable on stage."

Foxy looked on.

"I tried to keep my career going but I didn't really get a second wind until I got to be part of the production of Riverdance. Got to meet Michael Flatley himself. I danced my heart out and even had a few instances I could pick up a violin and fiddle away. A few months after Mitzi was situated in UCIAT, she thought to contact me and I gladly came over after spreading to word to any of Pizza Time Theatre's previous guest acts. Many answered the call like Harmony Howlette and Sal Sashay the Disco Skunk. The King Cousins. And more. And so here we are, helping out at Rock-Afire Pizza during the busy hours."

"Foxy's been a wonderful friend and is great for holding down the fort when UCIAT needs me on missions and such."

We hadn't explained...UCIAT's continuing missions in assistance to the crown; whether Miranda or our alies in Raxis, De Midian, Augustgrad, etc. But I figured I'd wait until Asriel was older before I involved him with our more dangerous action adventures.

On an unrelated note, I'd finally gotten Violet to promise to stop making Five Nights at Freddy's references around her.  Just because her name was Foxy didn't mean that there was any connection to...well...that.  I think it bugged Mitzi and her friends when comparisons were made to FNAF.

Foxy smiled.

"So. Feel like dancing a jig, Foxy?" I asked.

"Wouldn't be much of a colleen if I didn't." Foxy beamed.

She reached down and clicked on her sandals and activated the tap-soles that had been modified into them. She got some distance from the fountain. Mitzi opened her smart phone and accessed the soundtrack to Lord of the Dance, putting on its title music. And Foxy proceeded to dance her heart out. Girl was good. What Mitzi had in singing talent, she easily had in dancing ability. And Foxy excelled at Celtic. In seconds she went from zero to a complete storm of high speed taps and stomps.   :detemmienation:  (Music Link)

Asriel was quickly absorbed in the impromptu show. Admittedly, I was a little mesmerized myself.

Faster and faster the moves came until Foxy came to a complete and total sudden stop on the last note, holding her position like a statue. From a kinematics stand point it was absolutely remarkable how she managed to transfer and disperse all that motion for such and instantaneous stop. But for someone watching a show...it was definitely a showstopper.

Asriel, Mitzi and I rewarded her with a round of applause. Foxy broke position to catch her breath and take a little bow then click off the tap extensions. This girl would be an instant hit on Mettaton's show.

After a bit my electric aura faded and I was safe enough to touch. There was that overdue hug that Asriel owed me. It was good to be me at that moment in time.

## Sub-Entry 79: "The Overworked are Overdue for Some Rest":

Per doctor's orders I was grounded from making any more trips to the Underground any time soon. Which meant the delayed meeting with Asgore was postponed even further. I wonder if William White had this much trouble finally getting his ninth creation, Beck off the ground after...multiple setbacks. But that was a mission for another time...provided Dr. Sanda had any intention of making that little mechanical skirmish public. It was one "mighty" big problem let me tell you what.  But did I think it was worth the wait to meet the new mechanical marvel?  "Xel", yeah!

As much as I wanted to check in on Doctor Alphys...as much as I wanted to shoot the sh-(Flowey Cackle) with Undyne...as much as I wanted to enjoy a moment with Papyrus and challenge myself to not chuckle good-naturedly from him being...well...himself...as much as I wanted to thank Toriel for everything......yeah. I guess it could wait.

As for STC, I had Command simulate a "convenient" ion storm that would keep the Council off my case for a while while rerouting A.E.O.N.S. omni-telemetry logging for my I.D. signal. It would go straight to planetary memory colony, bypassing the Council's viewing stream. What happens in Miranda City or elsewhere in the continuum stays in Miranda City or elsewhere in the continuum.

There were a number of off world places I wanted to show Asriel but......I had decided he was still too young and vulnerable for that. The risks outweighed the benefits. Besides. There was more than plenty on this world for him to explore and experience before I considered having a little buddy along for the ride on visits to old territory.

Hopefully the first place he'd get to see was Neo Arcadia in Kaeleron on the other side of this world; my other adopted home. And brother...there was more than plenty to explore and exprience. From Neo Arcadia City itself to MItiz's homes in Green Meadow and Neon City to Sally's place in Technopolis, maybe South Plumbington where Rotor called his hometown, and more. Already I was pondering the sights to see.

Obviously there was meeting the family. The ten founders. Arcade Industries C.E.O. and UCIAT founder--Dr. Garfield Powerhouse Arcade, my father figure; Professor Odie Megabyte Arcade, my first mentor and teacher, Dr. Nermal Stephanie Gamepro M.D., mother-figure and Mitzi's high school friend; General Arlene Williams "Sarge" Pinball, my source of discipline and gym teacher (and drill sergeant); and Edward Theodore Videomax, automechanic and the source of my sense of humor (Sans would love this guy). They were the core five and the best family i could have ever asked for.

Of the secondary five, there was rarely seen B. J. "Spellman" Wizardman the Third, one of the very few hybrids gifted with magic; Kitty Rosetta Dimitir, our own paper wizardress and legal council; Kimiko "Shin" Kazama, UCIAT's spiritual guru and one of Bunnie's many senseis over the years; Ariel X. Rastajive, UCIAT's party-centric master of extreme sports and outgoing, spontaneous thrill-chaser; and finally Ivan Vectorgraffinski, UCIAT's on Russian Intelligence Agent who could rival James Bond.

Beyond the meet and greet there was seeing my world away from my world. UCIAT Corporate and Industrial HQ was even bigger and more impressive than our own Miranda HQ. Plus there were everyone else's homecoming and sights. Like the very 1950's throwback of parts of Neon City--the City of One-Hundred-Million Lights and One-Hundred Billion Smiles or the small and quiet town of Green Meadow where she spent her childhood. Sally would most certainly want to show off the Turbotropolis Speedway, Technopolis Beach where her condominium was, and of course Gravitron Park--biggest amusement park in Neo Arcadia. And Rotor might have a few photo op locations in his home of South Plumbington; at the very least Plumber's Peak was worth a climb.

My mind was made up. This coming month I was taking Asriel and as many of us as I could swing to Neo Arcadia for a much-deserved summer vacation for at least a week. I was looking at the week of the 19th. Father's Day to start the week out. It was perfect. Now how to get the hustle behind the scenes without defying doctor's orders? I'd...have a few favors to call in. But if it went according to plan...it would all be worth it. I vowed I'd give Asriel a vacation...no...a life's experience he'd never forget...or ever want to.

## Sub-Entry 80: "A Simple Drive":

I figured I owed Asriel some bonding time. But I had to choose something low stress or Elektra would lock me out of the workshop and the lab. So I figured...what was less stressful than a nice road trip to nowhere in particular. I called Asriel to the shop and opened up the garage and got the 1957 Chevy Bellaire out. It was the first time I had really showed it to him. He was impressed.

"So...shiny!" Hands on the cheeks, eyes like dinner plates. Yeah. It wasn't that hard to wow him.

"C'mon kiddo. You got shotgun." I opened the passenger's side seat for him.

Once he was in and buckled up I hopped in the driver's side and started her up again, gave her a few revs, slipped on a set of shades and we were on our way.

I'd brought bottle water and snacks. Asriel of course made sure he had his cel-phone and his cam-corder.

It was just the two of us. Just a drive up and down roads, highways, through towns and cities. Just sight-seeing. Exploring the landscape. Having some bro-time. Whatever whas the appropriate way to describe it.   :detemmienation:  (Music Link)

I stole a glance of Asriel enjoying poking his head out the window while we were on a lone stretch of highway with very little traffic to speak of and letting his ears flop in the wind. So much laughter. So much happiness. This was what it was all about. This was the cure for that bad experience I put him through while bed-ridden.

We of course got caught up on things as well. Granted there was a lot I couldn't discuss with Asriel. He wasn't ready to know the true nature of his world; the multiple timelines. I honestly don't know how I was going to keep him in the dark for years to come with the hopes he'd be ready to know some day.

Along the way we visited small tourist traps and museum stuff. Spent the night at a motel along the way.

"I'm glad you came into my life, Asriel. I've met and bonded with a lot of people over the years on my missions. All of you are special to me.  Each and every one of you is my extended family."

"Will I get to meet any of them some day?"

"I won't rule it out. It's very possible. But it may be some time before that happens. There are...complications to sort through."

"And...I'm still young, aren't I?"

"I....well...yeah."

"I understand. That's what being patient is all about, right? All good things in time?"

"Well said, kiddo." I patted his head.

That night we watched some old movies on the motel room television. We uploaded some of our trip pictures from my smart phone and video from the cam-corder to my and Asriel's online blogs via the laptop Violet had given us (after I made sure she didn't slip anything NSFW onto it that would cause me to freak out and Asriel to cover his blushing face with his ears like he did when he was embarassed.)

The next morning we enjoyed a hearty continental breakfast and set out for home.

I dropped him off at Scott and Callie's place and headed home. There would be other adventures down the road and there would be opportunities leading up to our summer vacation. And hopefully before then I be cleared to resume the quest to see King Asgore.

Until then...I'd have to find ways to fill the void. And I'm sure it would be lots of laughs, cries...and hopefully no hurling (Damn you, Violet.). Until next time...

Chapter 9

Back to Part 1

Back to Project: Lost Dreemurr