PATCHWORK SOUL

The ZZZ Arc Chapter 41

Alphys could never really make up her mind about how she felt about the CORE tower. On one hand, the sharp atmosphere and cool fog around it was a little refreshing. She imagined maybe that was what clouds on the surface felt like. On the other, it also sped the pulse in her soul with nerves. The thought of things that had gone wrong always lurked in the back of her mind. Something about the place always made her a little sad. She wasn't sure why.

Mettaton, with express permission from King Asgore, had secured what seemed to have once been a little outpost for whoever ran the lab a long time ago. The room now had an elevated stage, cameras, lighting— the whole shebang— and was connected to his other little studios with built-in sets scattered throughout Hotland. Hidden behind doors the same colours as the walls were greenrooms, a control room, and what was essentially Mettaton's living quarters. It hadn't started out that way, but he pulled enough all-nighters working on his show that an area with a mini-fridge and a bed became a necessity. Despite the fans, the lackeys; a figurative skeleton crew, much of Mettaton's work was a one monster show.

Now, he strutted about the place, pink high-heeled boots clicking across the polished floor as he took Alphys to a small elevator back behind the control room, passing by switcher boards, ancient computers, and only slightly newer, wired in television monitors. He punched in a code on the old, circular number keys on the wall, and there was a distant grinding sound somewhere in the building. He then went to something that looked like a stack of tape decks on a wide counter. One of them was running. He pulled a cassette from seemingly nowhere and popped it in one of the slots. He pointed at the switcher board.

"Be a doll and hit the green button over there?" he said.

Alphys jolted and rushed over, standing on her toes. She pressed the green button and it lit up. He pressed another button with a little arrow on it on his end and then grinned.

"Thanks for the help, Alphie. Seriously," he said.

"Y-Yeah, well, I h-hope it's worth it." She smiled slightly. "I'm, um... n-not much of an actor."

"Nonsense, you did just fine," he assured her. "Now, come with me! You said you wanted to look at the broadcast blaster, right?"

"R-Right now?!" Her eyes went wide, but she nodded nonetheless. "Y-Yeah, thanks, that'd be great."

He nodded and slid over to the elevator. It opened to reveal a pastel pink interior decorated with rhinestones. Alphys tilted her head. She stepped inside.

Their destination was another control room, pink, silver, and blue, near the peak of the core, under magic-generated, clear shell. From there, through the mist, one could see almost the entirety of Hotland in one direction and a chunk of New Home in another. Alphys was awestruck for a few seconds. She had never been this high up before. Or, maybe technically she had, but it had never felt quite like this.

There was a lot less clutter here. There was just one large device perched in a similar way to a telescope, attached to a few different kinds of receivers. There was also a desk setup with a microphone and an audiometer, and a small mixer board with sliders that were backlit with rainbow colours. Mettaton beckoned Alphys to what had to be the "broadcast blaster". It was something reminiscent of a long, black oboe, with gold and blue accents on little metal pieces, and an insert for what looked like a power crystal. Alphys's eyes went wide. She stood on her toes, and then dragged over the chair from the desk to help her get a better look.