Author's Note:

Here's the second part, I feel like I need to add a disclaimer... Either way, I hope you enjoy and give me some reviews.

Chapter Six: Hotland, the CORE, and the Fabulousness of Mettaton Part 2

Just as I reacted to the poster, I released a high pitched yelp as a rope was wrapped around me and I was dragged off stage. Frisk reached out for me, and I was suddenly beside Mettaton wearing a dress.

"Oooh darling, I'm sorry but this part was designed with only two in mind. You'll have to serve a distant supporting role, and not as the deuteragonist of this developing storyline!" I nodded with a tired sigh, and gave Frisk a thumbs up from the sidelines. She nodded, and took decisive steps forward, until she stopped just short of a fake vine. And there he was, in a long and well made blue and white dress emerging from the left corner of a prop building. I sat in that same corner, on a plush chair, only slightly worried. At least until the maze puzzle comes up.

"Oh? That human…" Mettaton sounded hopeful, staring down at Frisk from his vantage point.

"Could it be? My one true love?"

"Yes it is I!" Frisk declared, her shining armor plate visible under her billowing cloak. Mettaton elegantly walked down the stairs of the building he was on, his gown flowing in the wind made by a fan offscreen. Elegant music made the scene more dramatic, and I rolled my eyes under my hoodie. And that was when Mettaton started to sing.

"~Oh my love. Please run away. Monster and Human king forbids your stay~" The spotlight briefly shined and me and I waved politely.

'Snrk…' Chara floated away, unable to take the scene seriously and not wanting to distract Frisk.

"~Humans must. Live far apart. Even if. It breaks my heart~" Pink petals started to gently fly down, held aloft by more fans. I easily untied myself and pulled out my phone. Gaster was hidden, and keeping a close eye on Frisk for me. Chara looked down, curiosity evident on her face.

'I'll keep an eye socket out for you. Just in case he attempts to pull anything.'

"Heh okay." Gaster jumped down, and followed after Frisk as she fell into the dungeon. A sudden wave of exhaustion sunk me down to the floor, and a nervous Chara took a seat beside me.

'Are you okay?' I shook my head, as I felt a strong ache in my soul. I think I had overexerted myself. Magic doesn't seem to run out, but the output might be limited by experience.

'Yeah just might have used a bit too much magic.' Chara nodded, her three bangs bouncing with the action. She was sitting in a fetal position, and I tilted my head to emulate confusion. Frisk and I have more in common than you might think in having fairly unchanging facial expressions. Chara gave me an off putting smile, and I smiled back not knowing what to say. Chara then scooted up a bit closer, I felt a phantom feeling of warmth next to me.

'Um what are you looking at?' She seemed to be nervous getting up this close, and I wondered if there had ever been humans who hadn't treated her terribly. She was suspicious at first, and even a little angry but she was much calmer now.

'That's all you and Frisk's fault!' I backed up, as Chara got up in my face with her red cheeks puffed out in frustration.

'How so?' She shimmied away and pulled back a stray strand of hair.

'I…the connection let's me see you guys for who you really are. Other humans I didn't know whether they would be my friend, or only hurt me. I-I know you guys wouldn't do anything, Frisk is too nice and you… have a sense of morals that wouldn't let you hurt people. E-Even someone like me…' Chara grew deathly silent, and I panicked.

'There's nothing wrong with you!' I flinched when her blood red eyes glazed with rage, and she snarled.

'I KILLED HIM!' Her voice died down and she broke down into sobs. I noticed there weren't any cameras and brushed her semi-solid hair with a soft touch.

'Our plan was so STUPID! We didn't have to do what we did we shouldn't have gotten so close to the town. We could have grabbed a human soul from I don't know a car crash, or maybe we'd wander around for souls willing to help us. But no I had to get power hungry and vengeful, and try to massacre a village of humans!' Her sobs grew stronger and she collapsed into me. I suppose our encounter with Flowey had brought back some unpleasant memories as well as old regrets.

'I should have listened to Gaster' I froze and Chara's eyes widened as her mistake was heard.

'I…I." I sighed and ruffled her semi solid and messy mop of reddish brown hair.

'It's okay. Hey when you get your full body back, we should get some ice cream. Would you like that?' I asked and reassured in my gentlest tone and Chara nodded.

'MOTHERFU—OWW!' I thinks that's Frisk… She sounds really mad, and in pain right now.

'Stupid piranhas stop nibbling my toes! I-IT TICKLES!' I could hear Frisk's cute giggling from here, and I jumped right off the tower, slamming into the ground like Undyne did back in our fight. Chara darted past me, slowly phasing through the floor. I noticed an inconspicuous lever close to where Mettaton has been standing. I ran to Frisk's previous spot and with some concentration created a purple tendril to pull the lever. I fell down, but got snagged on a stalactite hanging above the randomized maze puzzle. I tried to move, but couldn't as my hood was stuck to the rock.

Well then this is a little embarrassing.

'Sup Gaster' I sensed mild surprise and then bemusement from Gaster, and a flash of orange broke the large rock, and I then landed on a cushion of blue magic. Again I was off camera, and it seemed like Frisk's fight with Mettaton had begun.

"H-Hey! T-This seems bad but don't worry. T-There's one last thing I installed on your phone." Frisk nodded confidently, her phone in her left hand, and a frying pan on the right. "Y-You see that yellow button…? Go to the phone's menu and press it!"

"Okay." Frisk did so and at first nothing happened but then…

A pulse of yellow ripples from the phone and into Frisk's SOUL. The color shifted from red to yellow, and Frisk gave Mettaton a cheeky throat-slit gesture. The bouncing and fight ready robot bounced more fabulously and curled his cartoon hands into fists. Frisk lifted up her yellow glowing index finger and fired. A dozen hits shook Mettaton to his core. Another dozen hits and the robot was now wobbling on unsteady wheels.

"OOOH! OOOOOOOH! YOU'VE DEFEATED ME! HOW CAN THIS BE, YOU WERE STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT!" He wheeled away to the left, waving as he did so.

"It looks like you beat him. You did a really great job out there. All thanks to you…" frisk tilted her head at the tone of Alphys voice.

"…umm, h-hey this might sound strange, but. But can I tell you guys something." Frisk nodded her consent and quietly waved me over. I suspected that Alphys had already known I was there.

"B-before I met you guys, I didn't really…" My hand curled up at the raw emotion in Alphys voice. "I didn't really like myself very much. For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw-up. Like I couldn't do a-anything w-without… without letting everyone down."

Dammit…it hurts to hear that from another person. I could easily empathize with the people of this land, but only because I had information I hadn't earned. Not that it was my or their fault.

"B-But even if this is all faked, guiding you has made me feel… a little better about myself. So…thanks for letting me help you."

"It's hard to not want to help you, though I've never been particularly good at that." Alphys let out an understanding hum, and then a cough to say her ending statement.

"Uhhh, anyway, we're almost to the CORE. It's just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let's finish this!" The phone call ended, Alphys leaving with a slightly higher self esteem.

"Oh wait does that mean all the traps were activated by her!?" I nodded, and Frisk facepalmed with an added head tilt.

'She has…really low self esteem.' Chara mentioned, and I snorted at her, she gave me a weak glare in response.

"Like any of us are one to talk." She seemed ready to protest but after a few moments of mulling it over she stopped.

"Fair enough…" I gave Gaster a sideways look as he had an odd smile on his face.

"I'd say I have too much esteam." He punned gesticulating to our surrounding location.

"No." Gaster's expression dropped and I grabbed Frisk's hand to walk back up into Hotland. We could take some rest up at Mettaton's overpriced hotel, before entering the CORE.

Maybe once we defeated Mettaton EX I would have all the answers I wanted from Gaster. There wasn't much to mention afterward, we simply walked up the steps, and before we knew it we were at MTT Resort. A letter on the ground caught my attention and I picked it up to read.

I raised an eyebrow as I read the letter, telling me to go into a creepy alleyway like it was a perfectly normal request. I put it back down, and gently pulled Frisk toward sans leaning against the resort. Gaster followed behind us, while Chara was taking a short nap floating a few feet in the air as if she was lying down on a bed.

"hey. you guys must be heading to the core. how about grabbing some dinner with me before you go?" Frisk looked at me and patted her belly, and I quietly said "yes."

"great. we should get going then. over here I know a shortcut." Gesturing with his left hand to the other less creepy alleyway. We followed and a blink later we were suddenly inside a fancy restaurant. The only issue, was the odd lack of seats, but that was okay. There was a nice calming soundtrack playing, one that was very familiar for me.

"well, here we are." I nodded, smiling lightly as Frisk looked around the restaurant in wonder. There were several other monster patrons around here, but they politely kept their distance and I heard no rude gossip either.

"so…" I lifted up my head, my eyes stopping at his nose(nose hole?). Frisk had a look of deep concentration that faded into a far-away look, her eyes tinged with a red glow. She blinked and the strange effect was gone as if it had never been there in the first place.

"your journey is almost over, huh?" Frisk's eyes widened in shock and anxiety twisted her expression. "you must really want to go home." That was directed at me rather than Frisk, who didn't really have anything to go back to anymore. "hey. i know the feeling, buddo." His smile dropped a bit, and he drummed his fingers in a rhythmical pattern.

"but then you've must've heard this conversation a thousand times already."

Twice… more including comics and fanfics.

"if this had been the first time. i would say you'd be dead where you stand, but there's no point anymore. so let's talk about something else."

"Yeah okay." I replied with some trepidation. He looked at something and his grin grew a bit.

"your magic has gotten stronger hasn't it. personally never saw human magic before, at least i can't remember if I have." I rolled my wrist, and nodded. He lifted up his hand to call a waiter, and a female flame monster I had never seen before showed up with a menu. She was around the same height as Grillby and wore a shinier and more gaudier variety of his outfit though fitted to her far more curvaceous form. Her outer suit/vest was colored purple, while the inner dress shirt was black. She had a fiery heart-shaped face and two evenly spaced glowing spots that acted as her eyes. Her fire was blue-white rather than Grillby's orange-red color.

"Here are your menus." Her voice had the same twang as Grillby, indicating a possible relation either by blood or coming from a similar area and sharing an accent. I took a menu, and Frisk looked weirded out as she read her own menu.

"Steak in the Shape of Mettaton's face?" The Fire monster let out a sigh, clearly used to the question from previous customers. She pulled out one of those notebooks waiters use, and Frisk directed the monster to the Glamburger. She scribbled it down, and changed it to two as I ordered the same. Gaster ordered the Starfait, while sans didn't order a thing only pulling a ketchup bottle in response to the waitress's question. She left without saying a word, as after a single silent minute she came back with our orders.

The glamburger was a monstrosity… a mix of edible sequin and glitter. I had forgotten what it was made of.

"I know right?" Frisk nodded agreeing with the fire monster, and stored the food away for later. Losing her appetite with the odd color, and I did the same. Gaster has no issue with his starfait and within a couple of seconds it was all gone.

"Thank you for the food miss…" The fire lady jolted and twiddled her thumbs in nervousness before answering.

"My name is Wildfire." Her voice cracked a bit at the end, so she probably wasn't much older if at all than I was then.

"You're Grillby's niece then." She nodded, and there was a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. A high pitched cough interrupted them, and Wildfire was taken aback as Frisk gave her a flirty look.

"You look a lot like him." Wildfire tilted her head in confusion. "Just as hot." The waitress's hair flared up in a bright white and I heard Frisk congratulate herself under her breath.

"heh, never change frisk." sans chuckled at the fire ladies expense, and I grinned as I figured out a way to tease Frisk.

"Ohhh you think Grillby is hot? I didn't know you were into older men." Frisk's confidence dropped and she grumbled cursing me under her breath.

"welp i think it's time for me to get going." sans took a step back away from our table. "you have about five hours of time before you need to get moving onto the core, more than enough time for a good nap." We waved goodbye to him, and he vanished in a flash of blue light. Wildfire looked bewildered, but didn't closely question it.

"Uh thank you for the hospitality." Wildfire bowed her head and gave me a smile, though it was hard to tell with all the fire and all. She left to serve other patrons, and we were left alone. Frisk's eyes widened as she noticed what had to be Snowdrake's father. She decided to walk up to to make conversation.

"Hi." The wrinkly drake startled into action, his tired eyes twinkling just a bit brighter at the sight of an excited child.

"Hello there." He had a southern accent, and I wondered why it was so common in the Underground.

"Um…I know this might be a silly question but are are you Snowdrake's dad?" His eyes widened to their fullest extent, and his breath hitched.

"Um yes…I suppose he already told you why he left if you know his name then?" She nodded and the old monster sighed, his emotional exhaustion clear to see. "I… considered his comedy a disgrace to the family, not very funny I know. But when his mothah passed on, he ran away unable to stand his family any longer." Frisk looked really mad until she saw the look in his eye. "I-I'm a terrible fathah." His self loathing muttering were stopped as Frisk grasped his wing.

"You feel sorry to what you did right?" He nodded, and she beamed.

"Then things can get better." He seemed hopeful for once, and his attitude improved just a bit. I couldn't help smile at the sweet scene, and the drake turning his gaze toward me, reminded me that I wasn't watching from a screen.

"How is he anyway?" He asked me, most likely because I was closer to his age than Frisk. I pondered on how to answer him, we had met him only once and he seemed to be doing better.

"He's doing alright, he's trying to improve his comedic skills." The monster seemed unsure, but he shook his head as if to shake off old prejudices.

"He's funny." Snowdrake's father sounded proud, that his son managed to make someone laugh. His puns weren't bad, just cringy but I've learned to appreciate puns over the past several months.

"Really?" Frisk and I nodded truthfully even, but I hoped Snowdrake could seek soar for even higher horizons.

"I believe you wanted to rent a room for some rest remember." Gaster was right, and we hesitantly turned to leave. The drake stopped us grasping my arm with his wing and gave us a grateful look.

"Thank you…" I flushed and felt Frisk give me a light tap to get moving. We skipped the green blob employee, and entered into the "elegant" fountain room. There in the center was a statue of box Mettaton spewing out a sinful waste of water onto the expensive carpet. Chara floated by, and had been woken up. She was cranky and she looked livid at the sight of the statue. Frisk didn't give it a second glance, and saved forcing Chara to speak once again.

'The relaxing atmosphere of this hotel… it fills you with Determination.'

"Do you want to take a quick look around?" She nodded, and was drawn to a small crowd near an elevator. She spoke quietly to a cat monster and they replied back.

"This elevator goes straight to the capital. But it stopped working. The hotel's doing its best to accommodate everybody stuck here." Frisk nodded in thanks. I noticed the hotel was a fair bit larger than intake, and it seemed to be closer in size to a modern upclass hotel. I asked Frisk to save once again, and I walked over to the counter to ask for a room. There a monster with a blue human hand with an L shape(that or a horrible uniform) for a face sighed.

"Yes, we know. The elevator to the city is not working. But because of this incident, rooms are running at a special rate! 200G a room."

'Stupid money grubbing little ba…' Chara's hateboner fueled rant faded as Chara phased through a wall by mistake. I paid for the room, and a monster I didn't pay close attention to escorted us in. Frisk's jaw dropped at the size of the bed, it was bed big enough to fit Asgore and Toriel. And the both of them were over 8 feet tall! The room was fancy, but honestly I just wanted to sit down.

"Ahem…" I turned to find that Gaster was looking a little sheepish. I told him to go on, curious on what he had to say.

"Well…there are some things I must attend to. Important things." I couldn't see why not, and he left us alone, closing the door in a hurry.

It was quiet… I closed my eyes, for a moment appreciating the silence after such a long day. I stepped over to the gigantic bed, and thankfully there was a step to get onto the bed with how high it was. I pulled a yawning Frisk up the bed and she lied down on the blanket, tired out from the day.

"Ugh magic uses a lot of energy." She groaned into the soft bed, muffling her soft voice. I agreed and placed my head on the one pillow on the bed, which was kind of cheap actually. The pillow was fine, a bed this size should have multiple pillows. Huh, wonder what time it is now? I should check the phone, which is still at 100% battery despite it turning into a jetpack at one point.

8:06 PM

We aren't going to get much sleep tonight then… hmm? What's Frisk doing? She's getting closer? I—oh.

Frisk had curled up next to me on my right, and was looking at my phone with greater curiosity. She was actively cuddling me, and sighed with childish happiness.

"Please stop cuddling me." She gave me a set of puppy eyes, and I felt my face warm up. She in fact got closer, and my face felt like it was on fire not used to affection like that.

"No…" Her voice was low and soft, and her lower lip trembled just the slightest bit.

"Seriously what is with you and the cuddling?" Frisk gave me the dryest look I had ever seen in my 17 and and 9 plus months of life. She gave me a poke on the nose and a glare.

"Besides the fact I've been derived of any form of human affection for about three years, as well as having a human who actually cares about me for the first time since then."

Oh… well that makes sense…

"Well cuddle away then…" She lit up, and I looked away from Chara's smirk.

It was kind of nice though…

I looked down at my phone, and felt someone shifting to my left. Chara had gone on my left but wasn't anywhere near as close as Frisk had approached. I checked my YouTube to find that it was still perfectly functional, I just couldn't log into my account or post anything. I still had a tab for spacebattles open, but still logged out. I could read things, but not post things back. I checked my emails but was disappointed as apparently the messages had been lost in the transit. Everything else only worked because Gaster and Alphys had fixed it.

Still it was a start…

"Do you guys want to watch something? Maybe a half hour to an hour and then we sleep" Chara seemed okay with that and seemed to have a suggestion, though she seemed a little embarrassed.

"Um… something about dinosaurs or err ancient animals?" She lit up when Frisk nodded with energy. Hmm I already had an idea, for what we could watch.

How would they like to watch some videos from PBS Eons?

The CORE, the powerhouse of the Underground, the machine made by Wingdings Gaster, and one of his greatest creations. A machine that used the cooperation between a human and a monster. That was where Gaster had gone, and to the deepest and most dangerous part of the CORE's machinery. The skeleton rushed to an area inaccessible to most, the current royal scientist only knew how to repair the outside parts of the massive generator. She never knew what converted the massive geothermal energy of magma, into the magical electricity that fuels the Underground. Which was unfortunate, because Gaster knew that one day the CORE would fail and kill everyone in or around the mountain and shatter the barrier with it's unstable power.

He had five hours, to repair the inner layers, as well as create documentation on how to repair it, and how to create a new more compact CORE if necessary. The outside of the CORE was unwieldy and primitive in appearance but its deepest center resembled the internals of a fusion reactor. Various large tubes directed heat into a glowing object with a narrowly visible outline of a shape. Gaster placed on a heat resistant hazmat suit he had acquired. The shape being fed with energy was now obvious. A large clear crystal converting thermal energy into magic energy and then injected into a small grey heart with a large crack nearly splitting it in half.

He retrieved a small bottle of red liquid and dabbed it onto the ethereal object's crack vanished and the heart pulsed red before returning to a pale grey. He went to work on repairing the inner walls which had been cracked and rusted by centuries of use. The heat in the room decreased as the machine became more efficient. He started to repair a cable that redirected over 99% of the energy generated into a certain area buried deep below the earth. The final minuscule dregs then powered the entirety of the Underground with ease. Another half hour, and disaster was now averted. He returned to the lab with a pop and placed several dozen backup copies for Alphys to study, as well as a suit to enter safely.

"I still have more work to do, my work must be completed. The barrier and the reset with it need to be destroyed." The ancient skeleton sighed, and with a flash of blue he was gone.

In two labs two machines flicked on once more.

Ugh what's that really annoying beeping sound? Oh I really don't want to open my eyes. But we have to go, it's time to enter the CORE and end this little charade with Mettaton once and for all. I kept my eyes closed for just a little extra time, until I heard a quiet feminine snore muffled by my side. Frisk had insisted on cuddling, and I just… couldn't say no with her dang puppy eyes.

Damn my weakness for cute things. I… tend to go a little stupid when there's something cute like a baby or a baby animal, and Frisk is even worse. With her eyes, and the way she looks at me like…

I matter…

R-Right um anyway need to wake her up, and get a move on.

"Frisk wake up." I shook her lightly, and with a sigh she opened her eyes.

"O—ahh" She yawned, but she slapped her face, waking herself up. Chara had been sleeping at the edge of the bed. Over time I've noticed she's been sleeping more and more, maybe a consequence of the energy needed to generate a physical body. I doubt she was making it from scratch though, maybe just making human cells from the surrounding organic matter with magic. It would take a great deal of energy, to do that and with her soul as weak as it is, it would tire her out. It then made me wonder on how far along her progress was.

"Hello?" I blinked as Frisk waved her hand in front of my face, I flushed and bumped her head. She only gave me a smile before moving away.

"You're a really spacey person aren't you?" I let out a nervous chuckle, agreeing with Frisk's assessment.

I was always a very easily distracted person, daydreaming on a consistent basis. Probably not the best combo, in a place where you could randomly get ambushed by monsters.

"Um yeah, so shall we?" She shook her head, and I watched curiously as she got under the covers and was only visible as a bump under the covers. I was startled as music startled to play while Frisk wormed her way under the blankets. She slowly made her way toward an irate and still sleepy Chara and I heard a mischievous giggle as she drew closer.

Wait is she humming Jaws?! And as she stopped just short of Chara's mushed face she roared, but fell out of the bed in the process, as did a terrorized Chara.

"Gah!"

'Son of a—!' Two thuds marked them falling onto their faces, and I cackled not able to help it.

"Brandon!" Frisk whined and I jumped off the bed myself, walking over to help her up. I would have done the same for Chara… but you know ghost.

'You will regret this.' Frisk looked away, and opened the door to get away from the furious blushing girl. I followed after her, and she briefly tried to chat up a janitor until thinking better of it, and leaving him to his work. We eventually headed back into the lobby, nearly getting lost in the surprisingly large hotel. We were at the entrance to the CORE.

"Um could we do what that letter said first?"

Letter? Oh right Catty and Bratty, uh I can't see why not. I nodded my assent, and she pulled me with surprising force and speed.

The alley… was really dark and creepy, in the eerie light I could just make out the silhouettes of the crocodile and cat monsters. Catty was around my height, while Bratty was about a head taller than that. The two monsters seemed happy to see us, and Frisk waved to the two older girls

"Hey! Check it out!" Went Bratty.

"Yeah! Check it!" Went Catty, continuing her friend's train of thought. They both had the stereotypical valley girl manner of speech. Incredibly annoying to hear in real life, but I was doing this for Frisk's sake rather than mine. Frisk's eyes widened and she skipped over to the now surprised valley girls.

"Hi what are your names?" I really hope this wasn't going like I thought it was. The two girls grinned lightly at the nearly teen girls excitement and decided to answer.

"I'm Bratty, and this is my best friend Catty"

"I'm Catty, and this is my best friend Bratty." They spoke simultaneously, and gave each other a glance before bursting out into laughter for a few seconds. I hadn't really noticed too much, but talking with monsters had the same usual screen as battles but I just hadn't bothered to notice since we never used it. The both talked at nearly the same time again, and Frisk closely paid attention to the girls marketing.

"We found it in the garbage!" There was a brief hilarious pause at Catty's mistake that was quickly glossed over by the two girls. I wasn't paying much if any attention, because while they were interesting. Social interaction just tended to drain me, unless I really liked the other person enough. I noticed Frisk's expression subtlety shift as she learned new information. Eventually they ran out of topics, and wait Frisk is buying the gun(?!). She placed it away into the dimensional boxes and left it there. We waved goodbye and I heard the two girls make some conversation as we left.

"You know, the boy was kind of cute."

"I know right!"

I put on my hood and walked faster, while Frisk gave me an amused smirk that made me growl. We left the alley and headed back into the hotel. I could see that Gaster hadn't come back yet and I wondered what he was doing. I suspected he would not be with us, for most of the CORE. Which was unfortunate, we were now nearly completely without a guide.

'Ahem.'

Except for Chara of course, still wonder what her deal is with Gaster. I opened the doors of the hotel, and marched right to the entrance to the CORE. I opened it, and the music from the hotel slowly faded away. I could see two monsters hiding in the shadows, and sneaking away from us. A ringing gave away Alphys calling, and Frisk picked up.

"Huh! Who are they? No-nobody else is suppose to be here… Oh well we can't worry about that now!" Frisk gave me a worried look and I wondered if Mettaton had changed his mind on the not killing us thing. We walked along the path, and then.

We were here…

—Play CORE—

The elevator was completely nonfunctional, and couldn't take us right to king Asgore. Alphys call went in without prompt.

"What? The elevator should be working…" Her confidence was shaken. "W-Well then! Go to the right and keep heading up!"

'Chara check the right please.' Chara gave a half salute and went through the door. She came back with an annoyed look and shook her head.

"It's a dead end." Alphys gasped her confusion self evident.

"It s-shouldn't be! Uh forget it! Let's try the left side." There wasn't anywhere else I could go. We ran over and entered and Alphys spoke up again.

"Okay, you should be able to make it through here…" Two shadowed monsters appeared and Alphys gasped in shock.

"W-Watch out!" The monster figures merged into one, revealing themselves to be a Madjick popping out of a hat.

'Madjick pops out of it's hat.'

"He—." The monster spoke an unending barrage of meaningless gibberish, and I felt the world spin around me.

"Tinkle tinkle hoy." Puureee nnomsemse, danit I can barely think straight. Chara was slightly dizzy, but still almost completely unaffected by the words. I wobbled, narrowly avvoiding hi—S strange attacks. I nnedded to clear my mind.

I thought of home…

Let's give the little guy some mercy then. Madjick vanished back into his hat since we had defeated him. Frisk was shaking the dizziness off, and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"T-That was close… Why are there so many monsters here?" Alphys was slowly melting down, and I didn't know what to do.

"Just take a deep breath Alphys, this is just how things have to go." I replied, and she let out some breaths.

"H-How much do you know?" I sighed, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

"I know about that lab." There was a hitch in the reptile ladies breath, and Frisk only looked confused and out of the loop.

"Are you sure everything is going well?" I shrugged.

"Things are bound to go wrong, but there are people more qualified than me working on keeping us alive, and that includes you."

She hung up…

We stopped at the laser/Lightning bar blocking our path.

"Uh well when the button is pressed, the lasers should come in pattern of orange, orange, blue" We nodded to her prediction.

"Blue, blue, orange." We pressed the button and as usual two blue lasers, and then an orange one came up. We were now on the side of the glass sided bridge.

"You know this was going to happen didn't you?" I nodded, with some guilt. There was some realization in her voice. "Wait you can't or aren't supposed to change how things are supposed to go!"

"You got it in one." I complimented her on her quick assessment. We jogged, and skipped the Knight Knight on the right. The absolute shit load of magical lasers seems to frighten Frisk. I grabbed her hand to reassure her, hoping it would help. Frisk seemed the more touchy-feely type in the way she wants to be comforted, and I would comfort her however I could.

No matter how much I want her to just stay at Toriel's that could never happen. One, she, Chara and I probably need to be in close range for the load and save to work effectively. Two the storyline can only have minor alterations, Frisk has to be there. And three though I felt guilty about even thinking it. I don't know if I could this alone, and wanted Frisk to be beside me. This would be so much easier if she wasn't just a little(kinda?) kid, but I guess I don't get what I want all the time.

…Let's go right.

"M-More lasers… Okay I'll just turn them off okay."

"Turn off the power of the node." I heard a quiet self admonishment over the phone. Frisk grasped my hand even tighter, and it actually started to hurt.

She was terrified and I…

Don't panic, it'll only scare her more.

"Just remember to stop the second she tells you okay." She nodded meekly, and I hoped Alphys wouldn't miss her cue. We power walked across the narrow bridge and I hear the crackle of the phone. I stood stock still, as did an even more frightened Frisk.

"STOP!" The blue lasers activated but did no damage as we weren't moving.

"The power… It's turning itself back on. D-Damn it this isn't, oh who am I kidding of courseit's supposed to happen."

"I-It's okay please don't c-cry." Frisk's voice cracked and I held tightly keeping her as still as possible.

"I'll turn it off, and you need to move a little." We didn't say anything, and the lights flickered off. We pose walked again, and stopped as the lasers to turned back on with some warming. We moved again, and it took two more bursts of movement before we walked out of that death trap.

"You're all going to be fine okay." Alphys was reassuring herself as much as she was reassuring us.

That was terrifying… and Frisk seemed on the brink of tears. We stopped at a crossways with a SAVE point acting as the center, and I heard Alphys panic even more, no longer knowing what to do.

"I still remember the way if it hasn't been changed, it's going to be fine I promise." I heard Alphys nod on the phone and a click signaled that she had hung up. Frisk walked up and pressed the star, and Chara spoke up her voice a little shaky.

"The air is filled with the smell of ozone… it fills you with Determination."

Right, we go left… oh there really was an odd smell in the air. I have no clue how Frisk would know how ozone smells like however. At the turn in the path though…

I could barely keep my eyes on the bright superheated layers of, is that plasma! Frisk eyes lit up as she saw the massive ice block pass on a conveyor belt. It dropped onto the floor and melted with a small explosion of steam, rattling my ears. I practically dragged Frisk, wanting to get this over with as quick as possible. The floor was red, an I walked away from the sign already knowing what we need to do. There was the shooter game, again and I needed to manipulate it just right.

The I stopped as I remembered a third path, we could simply wait at the end for a minute and it would open. I thought of grabbing the Glamburger but we still had the two from earlier, so there was no need. I walked back from the plasma filled path, and went onto the eastward path and read the sign.

I cannot fight. I cannot think. But with patience, I will make my way through.

I took a seat on the warm metallic floor, in a criss cross position. Frisk sat with me, despite her questioning look. There was a powerful barrier blocking our way and I waited. I closed my eyes, and thought about what was coming next. We were going to be facing up against Mettaton, and then this would be the home stretch. We could go straight to Asgore but that would create a Neutral run and we would have to fight Omega Flowey. I think we have to help Alphys with her feelings for Undyne first, then maybe skip the True Lab if we're able. I don't want to traumatize Frisk more than she already is.

"It's open." Frisk was amazed, and I stood and walked in front of her to shield her. She gave me a look of irritation, and I shook my head as an Astigmatism drew near. It's strange eye closed into a malicious grin, and I placed my hands up ready to fight.

"Pick on me!" I dodged left and right to avoid the white interconnected circles that acted as his or hers attack. Fortunately, there was an invisible barrier that kept me from falling off the edge and to my death. I decided to pick on Astigmatism.

"You're weird looking!" Not my best insult, but I couldn't be bothered. The monster looked happy, and their malicious smile grew. I dodged another wave of circles, side stepping them. Frisk was too far back to get hurt by the attacks, and I let out sigh of relief as no one was hurt. It's eye opener again, and it left growing bored of of our fight. But not before dropping 50 gold that Frisk picked up and stored away. No more monsters attacked us, and we were now at the door to Mettaton and then straight to Asgore. Frisk pressed the next save, and let out a shuddery breath.

'Behind this door must be the elevator to the King's castle. You're filled with Determination.'

"Should… do you want to keep going?" I decided to ask Frisk, with how clammy her hands had gotten. I wondered what was so different now, how has she managed to go through the Pacifist route if she was like this. She was a good enough person to want to save everyone, but… no something was different. The ideas I was having about what made the first one different weren't ones that put me at ease.

They said that the… demon had taken her over after the true ending. But then how long had that thing been waiting. Or had it been there the whole time, biding it's time or even influencing Frisk so she would finish the ending. If she could manipulate Flowey like that, surely she could do the same to Frisk. I turned back and pressed the button to go down, Frisk needed a break before going back up.

"Come on." Just as I placed a foot inside, I was stopped as Frisk grabbed me and pulled me back. The elevator closed and went down without us. I turned over, and was shaken just a bit by Frisk's determined face.

"I-I can do this, let's go." I nodded hesitantly and we walked side by side to the next room. Chara looked worried but steeled herself and kept pace with us. She frowned as we entered.

'I really hope you know what you're doing.'

Me too.

"Oh yes. There you are darlings. It's time to have a little showdown. It's finally time to stop the 'malfunctioning' robot. But you already know this, I don't know as dear old Alphys hasn't told me a thing." Mettaton stood perfectly still while he continued his villainous speech. There was no funky music, no fake applause, just silence. I shuffled my inventory, to placed the Glamburger in front.

"This was all a big show, and you all followed for reason I don't understand. She's waiting outside this room to 'save' you. I had a whole deprecating speech ready, but unfortunately it would fall on deaf ears. But I've had enough of this charade. I won't harm humans, my only desire is to entertain. To put on a good show, and what's a good show without a plot twist." The door behind him locked shut, and there was banging on the door.

"Dang it Mettaton what are you doing?!" Alphys sounded angry and I took a low stance, as spotlights five spotlights shined down, one white, and four red.

"Sorry folks! The old program's been cancelled!" Mettaton changed the programs while waving a hand in the air. "But we've got a finale that will drive you wild!I heard a mechanical clunk, and then…

BWOOM! The platforms flew, rising high up into the air and Mettaton let out a laugh.

"REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! ON OUR NEW SHOW…ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!I felt a lurch in my stomach as we stopped and held down the rising bile. Metal crusher played through the speaker within the room and the final boss fight before Asgore was here. I felt a pulse of energy from my phone and my soul turned yellow. I pointed my index finger, and it glowed with yellow energy.

"Yes I was the one that rearranged the CORE! I was the one to hire the monsters you skipped! It was a short-sighted plan. You know what would be a better plan! Taking your souls for myself!" Frisk' eyes widened and she shot her lasers, as many times as possible. They only bounced off, and Mettaton laughed.

That motherfucker!

"Don't you know what acting is darling." I gave him a glare and he only laughed harder. There hadn't been enough time to inform Mettaton about our plan Frisk gave up, and seemed unsure of what to do next.

"You had whatever your little plan was, but I see no proof of either of you being able to convince or defeat king Asgore. He will kill you and take both your SOULS and with their power destroy humanity." I guess he did know something about the plan, but it wasn't convincing. He started his attack a wave of boxes being thrown at us. I felt a surge of power, and pumped it into my finger. We jumped away from the attacks, and shot any that got to close. There was a long pause, and we looked at each other in confusion.

"At least that was what I would say, if a little spider hadn't given me some information."

Muffet?! Mettaton gave a haughty laugh at the look on my face.

"Oh yes, she told me how you fought valiantly to defend her against a nefarious and mysterious flower. Oh darling you should have seen the way she swooned, as she described her tale." Frisk stifled a girly giggle at my blush and I probably pouted in embarrassment.

"The strength of your bodies, as well as the power of your magic! Perhaps there is hope yet." We smiled, maybe there was a chance for us to get around him without any more fighting.

"But…"

Oh no…

"You need to prove yourselves. Show me your resolve here and now darlings! Because if you are not strong enough…" There was a flip of a switch as Mettaton grasped with his right hand himself. Both Frisk and Chara jolted as they felt a burst in magical energy radiate from Mettaton's body.

"You will die, and I will stop Asgore's plan myself!" Mettaton's boxy body shook with unleashed power.

"THIS WILL BE MY LAST SHOW!" Frisk gasped, and I heard Papyrus cry out from miles away. An explosion followed, and Mettaton glowed with an aura of power and magic. His body twisted and turned, shifting his form. His upper half exploded upwards, revealing a shadowy thin figure. His gorgeous legs were the first to approach from the fog, his model thin torso revealing itself next. His arms and arms came out next, his manicured fingers pointed directly at us. His new face now revealed to the world, and he posed with a wide and cocky smirk. He was tall, rivaling Toriel and Undyne in sheer height. He lifted up a long leg and a heeled foot cracked the stage floor with one kick.

"Oh no!" That would be me.

"Oh no!" That would be Frisk

'Oh no! And that would be Chara.

"OHHH YESSS!"

Mettaton EX was here…

The stage lit up in a purple hue, and dozens of cameras were filming our every movement. Frisk closed her eyes and removed her cloak revealing the shining armor underneath, she tied the sleeves together and tucked in the hoodie, turning it into a full on cape. Mettaton paused for a moment, shiny eyes actually widening in subtle horror at the now more obviously noticeable marks on her arms. He shook his head, and went back to his smirk masking any discomfort. Music started to play, and my eyes widened as "Death by Glamour" played.

—Play Death by Glamour Nitro—

Instead of removing my cloak like Frisk did, I instead reached out for the power of my SOUL. My body lit up with energy, generating a powerful aura.

"PROVE YOURSELVES! PROVE TO THE UNDERGROUND THAT YOU CAN SAVE HUMANS AND MONSTERS!"

Oh de—

I paid for my distraction with a heel kick to the stomach and the wall behind me cracked as I hit it. Frisk yelled out, but a shield blocked a triple air kick from the long legged TV star, and it resonated with the impact.

'Oh no he's hot!' Chara said horrified and Mettaton laughed haughtily.

"Why thank you darling, your compliment is much obliged!" I took a sore double take at the realization that Mettaton could see Chara. She looked like a deer in headlights. I noticed out of the corner of my eyes, a huge screen with ratings staying steady at around 4000 plus. I took a look at my HP and my eyes widened.

30/30 HP

I had more HP now, but I hadn't killed any monsters. Maybe those stats can just increase naturally?

Oh cr—

I leaped away as Mettaton threw a supercharged slice of his hand, and I could see the air displaced by the magically enhanced attack. He snapped his finger, and dozens of miniature robot drones started their attack. Frisk smirked and jumped up into the air. She hopped from robot to robot, her makeshift cape flapping in the wind. Each robot exploded as she stomped on them like robotic goombas. She landed in a superhero landing.

"Not the best landing for your knees?" She nodded painfully, but she stood up anyway.

"Hey Mettaton!" The fierce robot fighting machine remained as cheerful as ever. I kept still as a barrier formed under my fight and rose up into the air. She communicated her idea through our minds and I skied with glee. I placed my hand onto it and injected it with some integrity. The barrier flexed back like a spring and…

"CATCH!" I was lunged forward and gave Mettaton a kick right in his pretty face. I swear I saw a circular ripple of air as the diva exploded backwards. A resounding boom echoed, and from a small pile of rubble, the robot picked himself up completely unscathed. He looked right pissed and with another snap of his fingers summoned laser shooting disco balls. He cleaned away some motor oil from his lightly scratched face and I grinned.

"Oh this is going to a good show!" Mettaton rocketed forward, throwing down kicks that I dodged over and over. The ratings had already gone into the 5000s, and Frisk let our a war cry. She swept aside Mettaton's blows, and generated a bubble, but for just a moment time seemed to slow. A little addition of some red, and spikes formed taking the robot down a notch or twelve.

"I'm really on a roll huh!?" Frisk spun her hamster ball like a tire and dust clouds were blown as it acted like a giant fan. She flew at Mettaton, and smacked into him like a wrecking ball. It was my time for a one liner.

"Don't think you'll beat me so easily!" I gave him a cheeky grin, and summoned a purple lasso. I wrapped him up, and pulled.

I swung him round, and round, like a merry go round.

"Stop." One turn.

"SPI—." Two turns.

"ING" Three turns.

"ME!" I let go and watched with an admittingly sadistic glee, and the ghost once known as Hapstablook crashed into another wall. He screamed, struggling out of his binds. I gave Frisk, and with a nod we began.

"I guess Mettaton is a little tied up." He struggled even more, and the ratings hit 6000.

"We have him on the ropes." Mettaton started to glow with unadulterated rage. Chara gave him a strong look of contempt, and it was now her turn.

"Wonder how the fabulous Mettaton will get out of this bind." Her voice was spoken out loud, and Chara let out an eep as the microphones picked up he voice.

"THAT'S IT!" My rope exploded, and a seething Mettaton hit me with a roundhouse kick to the jaw.

CRACK!

Oh god the pain! Frisk growled, and with surprising quickness reset my jaw in its rightful place. I took out a Glamburger and all the cameras immediately focused onto the disgusting product. Mettaton smiled as an opportunity for advertisement arose. I grabbed the sandwich and started to chew on it's strange purple taste. Don't ask me how food tastes purple, I don't want to know.

"Ohhh! It seems our guest stars know just what brand they need for themselves. A delicious and wonderful Glamburger. Fantastic for a life or death situation!"

"You m— dang it I can't say anything bad on live air!" Chara was furious, unable to express her true feelings since people can actually hear her now.

"Ohhh my there seems to be a third contender in the ring! Chara was it? Say hello to the audience my darling" Chara grew pale, and I stiffened as I noticed that she was visible if fairly faint to the eye.

What?

"What?"

"What?"

Toriel had been taking a nap until she had heard some commotion outside. She rushed out from her home, to find some monsters viewing an event from a 60 inch television. She had no idea what they were watching but grew curious as the whispers grew in intensity and excitement. She lifted up her big ears, wanting to eavesdrop on her fellow monsters.

"Ribbit Ribbit."

"(Naveen look it's the humans from before.)" Toriel stiffened, fearful and paranoid as to why the two young ones were on television.

"They're battling Mettaton." The second a shy Whimsun uttered battle, Toriel was there barrelling into half a dozen monsters on her motherly rampage. She sat down, and watched intensely as the fight with… is that little Hapstablook(?) started. Her fear eventually shifted into amazement and pride, as the two humans children faced off against the odd robots attacks. She was worried as they fought back with immense power until she took a closer look. She smiled, while their attacks looked powerful, the hostile ghost possessed robot accrued no real damage. She gasped and giggled and two humans antics. But her eyebrows started to furrow at some of the odd statements the monster was making, but one especially froze her to the CORE.

"Ohhh my there seems to be a third contender." The monster women only shook her head, before narrowing her eye at a blurry green figure off to the side

"Chara was it? Say hello to the audience my darling!" Toriel felt a cool chill down her spine, and collapsed to the ground as she heard that for the first time in what felt liked decades.

"M-My child…" She whispered and her vision went blurry with tears, as the confused outline became more clear.

That should not be possible. It can not—

"C-Chara." Toriel cried out, scarcely able to believe her own words.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!

"~Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure Mettatonation~"

"Stop ruining my movies you son of a b— uh gun!" Chara ducked under the purple glowing karate chop of Mettaton.

"Halt Mettaton, Stop this madness!" Frisk said in a strangely familiar voice.

Wait… is she copying English dub All Might's voice? The young girl wall kicked, and in midair fired two yellow bolts from her fingers. The bolts flew through the air, and Mettaton arms were nearly ripped out of their hinges. I fired in the robots moment of distraction, and his arms were fully blown off.

"Uh this isn't going to kill him right?" Frisk looked a little guilty at the armless robot.

"Nah, he should be fine." Mettaton shook his head, and his smirk rose up again. He tapped his heels together, and in a burst of light dozens of Minis and bombs appeared.

"Smile for the camera!" Half of the wave targeted Frisk while the other half went after me.

I charged up, and blasted the Mini's ducking and weaving around the bombs. I grabbed several with ropes and threw them back toward the magnificent robotic star. There was a loud crack and his left leg smoked, the plating damaged but still standing. He leapt toward, with his right leg aimed for my head. I jumped back and reciprocated with my own kick, which he blocked with his left. A shockwave blew us apart and I felt a pop in my leg. I reached out for food and was pleasantly surprised by a Starfait, and ate it gladly. Out of of the corner of my eye, I could see that the ratings were now in the 10,000s. He turned to Frisk, instead of me and they danced.

Frisk cart wheeled away from another kick, and held up her entire body with one hand. She gave the surprised superstar a flirty wink, and with a smirk hand sprung into the air and back on her feet. She tapped her feet on the hard floor, dodging further attacks from Mettaton. She leaped into the air, and fell into a crouch thus ducking under another kick. She blurred and was suddenly behind a shocked Mettaton, she hooked her arms behind the robot and suplexed him because she could. Mettaton got a foothold on the floor, and jumped away from his temporary entrapment. He kept his distance, and Frisk had a mischievous look on her face

Frisk gyrated her hips, and gave a furious Mettaton a come-here gesture with her fingers.

"Why you!" More of his drones attacked, and I decided to save Frisk the trouble. My fingers turned purple instead, and dozens of small strings wrapped around all the bots. I knew exactly what I wanted to say.

"COME OVER HERE!" I pulled them all back, creating a ball of twisted metal and magic. My left fist glowed purple and once the ball was within arms reach, I pulled back fist and with a twist of my body punched. The ball exploded in a ball of fire and harmless shrapnel. I posed and brushed my hair back dramatically, going full on anime pretty boy.

Mettaton came close to growling, but stopped and with another click of his heels a three drones with a screen hovered over to us.

"Ohh but before we can continue our battle, a pop quiz!" The screen flashed and the essay prompt was shown.

Essay Prompt:

Why do you

love most about

Mettaton?

Chara had a flat look on her face, but accepted the challenge anyway. She was pensive but typed quickly. I followed behind her, and Frisk went into action furiously typing into the tablet like screen. There was a buzzing sound as he received the answers.

"Oh an interesting answer if simple answer from the handsome gentlemen and the lovely young lady" I glanced away, growing flustered while Frisk flipped her hair confidently. Though her light blush betrayed her actual embarrassment.

"They answered the prompt with "Legs"I nodded, feeling it was the correct answer.

"Now for the other lovely young women." Chara scoffed, and glared openly against Mettaton. He read the multiple sentence she had written, and blanched. He coughed, and I wondered just how bad it was.

"You should know that this is a family friendly show." She shrugged, we and went back to fighting.

He was angry. Close to a hundred drones were summoned and I gave Chara a look of horror.

"What the heck did you say to him!?" Not believing what I was seeing out of Mettaton.

"You and I both know you don't really want to know what I just wrote." I sighed and ducked under another kick.

"You can't defeat legs like this." Mettaton openly posed, showing his long, long legs.

Ahem… Frisk dual wielded two finger guns, taking out dozens of robots. She spun on her back, and slowly lifted until she was spinning on her head like a top. Any robots that got too close was sucked in and kicked to pieces.

Holy hell, where did she learn moves like that?

WHOOSH!

I slammed my hand into Mettaton's and with a metallic clang bitched slapped him into a wall. I looked at my hand in amazement, and then it—

Oh jeez, OWWW that fucking smarts! I waved my hand, trying to block out the pain of slapping super dense metal.

"Let's finish this!" Frisk had taken down the rest of the drone's with a spike bubble explosion attack.

"Let's finish this indeed my excellent guests!" Mettaton pulled himself out from some more rubble, a dented mark on his pretty face from my slap. It almost made me feel bad, that I had ruined such a pretty face. He got into a stance and dashed toward us. I swore I heard a sonic boom as he tried to tackle one of us, and with a side look with Frisk we fired.

Four powerful bolts of justice detonated against those beautiful legs and Mettaton fell into a limbless heap. A small green barrier cushioned his fall, and I turned to Frisk, thinking she had helped. She shook her head, looking at me with wide eyes. I looked at my right hand, to find that it was splayed out and had a green glow.

Huh, neat…

"It seems you have won, darlings…" I picked up the talking torso with a grunt, and placed him upright on the shiny floor.

"I guess…" Frisk scratched her head in slight guilt at the immobile machine, and I patted her head with a smile. A ringing sound started to show up, which I tracked to Mettaton.

"Their calling you."

"Ah yes, could one of you please lend me a hand."

"Ehhh." Frisk snapped her fingers at the pun, and Mettaton's eyebrows twitched.

"Uh where?" I asked, deciding to speed this up.

"The button on my chest." I sighed and pressed the button and multiple calls went in from the speakers in the walls.

"Ohhh, the first call on my last episode! Speak your mind!" There was a long pause that disturbed the robot ghost, and Frisk seemed concerned herself.

"…oh…hi mettaton…" Mettaton froze as the quiet and sad voice of his cousin could be heard through the speakers. "i really liked watching your show…. i think's it's nice that…you want to protect them…. i wish it wasn't like this though…. i could live vicariously…through you. i'll miss you mettaton…. oh…i'm sorry…. i took up too much time…. ohhh…sorry…"

"NO WAIT BL—." Mettaton was too late and couldn't reach out of his cousin one last time. "Oh… oh my."

Other calls were coming in, and I decided to answer for him. Frisk rubbed her hands together in nervousness.

"OH MY GOSH METTATON DON'T GO! WE LOVE YOU!"

"YEAH TOTALLY!"

Three guesses who those two were. Another call went in, and Mettaton had a sad expression.

"Hey, don't go. It'd be a mighty shame if you left, I-I liked your show." That was Wildfire I think, didn't know she was a fan."

Frisk tapped to the next desperate caller.

"Please don't go, I couldn't bear to have a Mettaton sized hole in my Mettaton sized heart!"

"Hey…"

Undyne?

"I'm not really a big fan of your show but tonight… YOU AND THE KID'S WERE AWESOME! LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF AN ANIME! If you made more shows like that, I'd totally watch it!" Mettaton sounded moved by the fish knights unusual compliment.

Next call…

"DO NOT FEAR METTATON! BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS AM HERE! I'LL HELP YOU WITH CHANGING KING ASGORE'S MIND! TOGETHER, WE CAN END THIS WAR AND SAVE MONSTERS AND HUMANS!" There was a shuffling on the line, and the clicking of small claws.

"You're a strange one alright but… you have a good heart. Metaphorically speaking of course. I know some people who live near the mountains, who would enjoy the color and joy you would bring in their lives. That's not something that's common on the surface but you monsters could change that…" Mettaton glanced at Frisk's old injuries, and she covered them in anxiety. The speakers grew silent, as a despondent Mettaton stopped taking any more calls.

"I…see…. Everyone thank you so much for the support." Chara's hate for Mettaton seemed to soften at the sincerity in his eyes. She visibly relaxed, and she drifted down to the ground, a thud as her feet met the cold floor.

"It seems I may have to delay my debut on the surface for some time…but only until you reach Asgore and convince him of the truth."

"I promise you we'll save everyone and break the barrier!" Mettaton smiled at Frisk's resolve. Her brave expression faltered, as the lights of Mettaton flickered and his expression fell.

"Ah…the battery efficiency of this form does not seem to be quite to snuff."

"H-Hey w-wait!" Frisk started to panic until the robot diva gently shushed her.

"I'll be alright. As long as Alphys is around. Now…it's up…all of you… to save us…"

Mettaton's eye closed shut, and his light shut off.

All at the same time, all the power went off. The lights, the background music, the screens, and the cameras. We were left in relative darkness, only the light of our souls left to shine in the shadows.

I heard a whoosh, and a panicked and worried Alphys skittered inside. Her feet pattering, and scratching the ground for traction.

"OH! OH MY GOODNESS IS HE OKAY!?"

"He's alright." I picked him up with relative ease. Just his torso must have weighed dozens of kilograms, but I managed.

"His battery died." Frisk explained the situation sufficiently. Alphys reaches out for Mettaton and I passed his body to her. She placed him down with shaky hands and claws. She felt out his body and frowned at the scuffs and scratches all over his metal plating. Before she went to speak, she caught Chara in her peripheral vision. The look on Alphys face was unreadable, and I brushed my hair aside unsure of what to say.

"You're going to explain this." Alphys gesturing to the ghost girl. "Eventually right?" We nodded, seeing no reason to hide it any longer.

"But now isn't the time, first let's get him out of here." We nodded and the three of us picked him up. We moved him close to the entrance before deciding to clean up the place a bit. I focused on integrity and lifted up the rubble from our fight into several neat piles. What I couldn't pick up was moved by Frisk and Alphys and we were done.

"Uh how are we going—."

"Hello."

"AHHHH!" All four of us screamed, with a smug Gaster clearly enjoying our terror. He was a little scuffed up, and gulping down several Nice creams. Alphys face turned red and she punched him in the arm. He drew back in shock, while Alphys eeped as she realized what she had done.

"I deserved that." He rubbed the back of his and then his bruised(?) arm.

"But I can get you to the lab to repair him." She nodded and the two popped out of existence. We waited for a couple of seconds and he returned with another pop.

"To Snowdin?" We nodded, wanting to rest, but just before he could placed his hand on our shoulders, Frisk's phone rung. She took it out of a pocket, and when she saw the number she gaped. She picked up the call with haste and I wondered why she was in such a hurry.

"I watched the… show…." I quirked an eyebrow as freaking Toriel was calling. That was when it hit me.

Mettaton mentioned Chara's name and she had become visible during the battle.

"Uhhhhh…yeaahhh." Man Frisk was nervous as hell at the tone in Tori's voice.

Wait…can I give her a nickname? I'm going to be an adult in a few months, they can do that kind of stuff right?

Not the best time for a tangent Brandon…

And don't talk to yourself in the third person.

Because that's crazy…

"We're going to have a lot to talk about young lady." Toriel's voice was stern and Frisk whispered into the phone with fear. The phone call ended in silence. She rushed over to me as we teleported and we were now in Snowdin.

"Goat mom is scary." She whispered and I nodded. She reminds me way too much of how angry my mom can get, when I frustrate her. She gave me a hug, and with a sigh I hugged back.

"At least you wouldn't punish me right?" She batted her long eyelashes at me, and I gave her a weirded out look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chara facepalmed and Gaster gave me a dry look. My breath hitched just a teensy bit at the look that Frisk was giving me.

"Just because I…um it's nothing." She looked despondent and I hugged her tighter, unsure of how to feel about this.

"I…sorry I didn't mean to make you feel bad." She looked up at me with a sweet smile, and I flushed just a little bit.

NOT A LOT!

S-Shut up Gaster, I can hear you laughing at me!

Frisk reluctantly let me go, and pointed with her lips to something behind me. There Undyne, sans, Papyrus, and Red were casually walking side by side, Frisk looked at me for permission and I nodded. She grinned and leaped clearing the 30-meter distance in a quarter of a second. Undyne grinned, and ruffled a happy Frisk's hair. I walked in a pseudo jog and got there in a couple of seconds.

"YOU'RE OKAY HUMANS, ALL THREE OF YOU! NOT THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS WORRIED OR ANYTHING." I grinned up at the goofy skeleton, and with some trepidation gave him a friendship hug. He beamed and hugged back, and accidentally picked me up.

"You're finally getting the idea that physical affection is great." Frisk said with her index finger and her thumb rubbing her chin, and her eyes closed.

Shut up, Frisk. Papyrus put me down, and I stumbled as Undyne gave me light punch that felt more like a body slam. I trembled but my body kept itself upright despite the force.

"Man you guys were badass out there, you put up a better fight against Mettaton this you ever did against me. But your technique could really use some refinement." Is she saying what I think she's saying? "So maybe I can give you guys some training if you want." She looked a little bashful and I nodded ferociously.

"YESS!" Frisk clearly wanted in and her smile grew massively, while Chara shook her head in bemusement at her enthusiasm.

"Ah my little bird." Red was ecstatic to see Frisk, and brushed his head against her neck. She smiled more softly and gave her "great uncle." a warm hug. The old man bones seemed a little rattled. I heard a small sniff, and some snot left his nostrils. If he was human, there would be old man tears frozen on the ground and I would feel uncomfortable.

"heh, he was a little worried when he got wind of the fight." That makes a lot of sanse.

"I…I'm sorry that we messed up and failed to keep that damn flower off your tail." Undyne seemed ashamed and I shook my head, not wanting her to be down.

"Everything was fine in the end and nobody got seriously hurt." Frisk nodded and Undyne sighed and rubbed her face in frustration.

"Right, so uh Gaster how long do we have until that thing gets out of wherever we put him."

"Oh he's already left."

What?

Before Undyne could scream out, he stopped her with his hand and he kept talking.

"Let me finish. He's been freed but it will take him time, and he's been forced to return to his usual role." I really hope we don't all die.

"He hasn't seen the fight right?" Maybe if he knew Chara was there he would stop? Gaster froze and he slapped his face with his right hand with a deep sigh.

"That would have made things so much easier." I groaned and rubbed my head, as I felt a headache coming in.

"MOVING ON FROM THIS TOPIC. I BELIEVE UNDYNE HAS A LETTER SHE WANTS YOU TO DELIVER!" Undyne became flustered and I heard her quietly babble in embarrassment. She rubbed her hands together and I could hear her psyche herself up under her heavy breath.

"Uh right I have a favor to ask." I nodded. "Since you're already friends with Alphys could you give her this letter." She passed it onto my hands and I gave to Frisk as revenge for getting Tsunderplane interested in me, and laughing at me with my girl troubles…

But mostly because I'll be hilarious as all hell to watch.

"Ok sure." She grinned and gave me a nervous thumbs up.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to leave you again." Gaster looked apologetic, and Frisk's frowned.

"yeah, we have something we need to take care of for our plan to work." sans said surprising his brother.

"SANS?" Papyrus questioned the eldest but sans shook his head.

"it'll be fine. it's some science stuff we need to prepare, it's easy peasy" Papyrus nodded, sufficiently mollified by his brother's confidence.

"SHOULD WE WAIT HERE?"

"yeah, you'll know when you need to go." sans pointed in a certain direction.

"you're gonna have to take the River Person to Hotland to deliver undyne's love letter." Undyne flushed at sans instructions and grumbled under her breath. The two older skeleton's waved goodbye and disappeared in a flash of blue. Red stayed behind, and I was relieved that we wouldn't be going alone.

"Shall we get going?" We nodded and Frisk unfurled her cloak, blocking out the biting cold.

"Yeah let's go."

We were reaching the end of the Undertale.

"are you sure this is a good idea? the last time this machine was active a bunch of people were dusted, and you were erased from existence."

"Of course I'm sure! I've had a literal eternity to figure out what I had done wrong. Besides the only reason that happened was because I was completely out of my head."

"oh definitely…" The long drawn out voice of sans made Gaster groan and he lightly tapped his numbskull of a son on the head.

"but why do you need to combine the DT extractor with the machine?" sans asked with a curious and wary tone as they hauled the machine hidden in the basement into the True Lab, though the Amalgamates seemed to ignore them. The two scientist were thankful, and the strange machine under the sheet was connected together by Gaster for an unknown purpose.

"It's the only way to stop her from taking this timeline for herself, and it will weaken her power substantially, returning the Determination she's stolen from countless alternate universes."

"how do you know that?" sans grew angry and suspicious as Gaster didn't seem to have any prior knowledge on the anomaly in the flashback he had been shown.

"You have no idea, do you?" sans shivered at the self loathing within the doctor's voice. He took a step back as the skeleton laughed bitterly and with a hint of madness.

"This cycle of death and insanity is all my fault. You think a mere child would have enough power to destroy our reality with a single attack! Don't make me laugh." Gaster pulled off the cloth, revealing a triangular shaped metal structure. He lifted it and and the DT extractor was placed into its center. He modified the wiring to isolate the potentially volatile system, and the machine started to hum with power and energy.

"what the hell did you do?!" sans asked bewildered and even frightened by his father's statement.

"Without my madness, without her whisperings we would all have been free since the very first timeline. We can't destroy her, but we can reduce her to a mere deity rather than the GOD that she currently is."

"dad…" sans could only watch as his father berated himself. Gaster sagged and his hands touched the sides of the machine he had fallen into all those years ago.

"I have to fix everything I destroyed when I brought her to this world."