Loving Every Bone in Your Body

Chapter 1.11 || Waterfall, You Will be Mist

If the giant neon sign flashing "Welcome to the Hotlands" didn't hint to the new area, the lava pits below and the heat creating sweat on the mid of your back sure did.

The cool temperatures of Waterfall were completely gone and you felt like you and Frisk had been teleported to a completely new biome once again. From freezing, to lukewarm and damp, to blazing hot. In your minds map it was such a short distance, though it didn't feel short to your aching legs, it amazed you that so much was in a simple cavern under Mt. Ebott.

"Her place is just up ahead." Frisk signs once you look down to them. You smile and nod, taking notice that their once damp clothes had dried in the heat of Hot Lands. So had yours. You hope the sudden change from soggy from cold water to soggy from sweat wouldn't spark a cold in either of you.

"So...Alphys huh?" You say once you and the kid come face to face with an oddly white and large building. It stood out greatly compared to the red and oranges of the land surrounding it. "Undyne said she was the...Royal Scientist?"

"She works for Asgore...I think?" Frisk signs, then snickers. It's raspy and quiet. Something that, when you were growing up, bothered you, but now it was as normal as the habit of signing while you spoke.

Coming upon the lab that the Alphys character supposedly worked - lived - in looked out of place. It was giant, much bigger than you were expecting. Though... You can't say you're that surprised by the size. She was a royal scientist afterall. However the giant white and pristine building in midst of all the dark red and burning orange seemed like the building was cut and pasted into the area.

You ignore the armored fellows blocking off the only other path that didn't lead to the lab. If only because Frisk signed that you two would handle them later. And though if anyone else told you those words you'd find them hauntingly foreboding, you knew that Frisk probably meant you'd have a friendly chat to get them to move in the future.

The lab doors open automatically when you and the kid get close. The black void twists something in your gut, a warning, but Frisk walks on in and you of course immediately follow.

The inside is just as dark, making you reach blindly forward to grab Frisks shoulder to make sure they were still close. When your eyes adjust they immediately catch a glowing screen to your left. It wasn't blinding, but it definitely cast a soft hue of blue across the scare objects around it. You notice a bit late that the sounds of the churning lava and the odd hollow emptiness had immediately disappeared to be replaced by mechanical whirling and metal sliding against metal. It was almost as if your ears had felt cupped while being outside and they had popped as soon as you entered.

Frisk still marches happily forward, replacing their shoulder with their small hand to continue to drag you on, as if to reassure you nothing was going to happen in the dark room.

Now in front of the glowing screen you realize it's a live video feed of you and Frisk. The tv was split in two, one completely focused on your head, the other on your sibling's. You glance around, wanting to know how the feed worked, but immediately give up to instead check on your appearance.

Tired, disheveled, and slightly dead looking. All the worry and anxiety you had felt for Frisk over the months they had been missing before they restarted to retrieve you showed, even if they "never happened". Purple bruises hung under your eyes, as if life had beaten you instead of worry and lack of sleep. You looked like you had just woken up from a sleepless coma with the way your hair looked and how your face had paled. Apart from the naturally caused "wounds", you had a couple of real ones that shined. A bruise on your cheek bone, a couple of cuts that fled into your hairline, and when had you fallen into the dirt? Or...was that another bruise? As you licked your fingers and rubbed at the odd mark on your forehead, Frisk tugs at your free hand to pull you away. You follow, but still push at the dirt(?) stain on head.