Muffet took a slow step behind Mad Dummy as she cautiously peered at the angry ghost. Nobody said a word, and it seemed as though the silence lasted for several minutes.
Mettaton stood up and regained his balance, staring straight at Napstablook. "B…Blooky...?"
"Now you choose to notice me." Napstablook's voice was completely monotone.
Mettaton twitched involuntarily. "...What?" He was at a loss for words.
"Oh..." Napstablook dismissively shook his head. "Forget it...you probably don't care...you never did, anyway..."
"Napstablook...are you alright?" Mad Dummy wouldn't admit it, but even he was actually intimidated by his cousin's abnormal behavior.
"Hm...?" Napstablook looked over at him. "Oh...I'm fine...I mean, that's what you always assume...right?" He never rose his voice, nor did he change the vacant expression on his face. "Why would you worry about my behavior now when I've been dealing with your quarrels for practically forever...?"
Mad Dummy felt a shiver run down his nonexistent spine, and Mettaton was completely frozen.
"You can go on, now...don't let me ruin your fun..." Napstablook calmly backed away and looked at his cousins expectantly.
Not one sound came out of them.
Napstablook trembled. "Just do it already!" One thing Mettaton and Mad Dummy knew about Napstablook was that he never yelled. "You never had a problem with arguing in front of me before!" When he still received no response, more tears fell down his face before he could stop them. He took off before anyone had the guts to respond.
"Blooky!" Mettaton yelped as he chased his cousin down. He tried to grab him, but this time, Napstablook let his hands phase right through him.
"You two never stop to think about how this makes me feel..." Napstablook whispered, stopping only for a brief moment. "I've been standing in the middle of all this conflict for years...and I can't deal with it anymore!" He started flying again.
"N-no—Napstablook! Please!" Mettaton cried.
"STOP!"
The two froze in place, reluctantly turning around to face the voice.
Mad Dummy hung his head as he hopped over to them both. Muffet followed and tried to help calm him, but he shook away from her. He stopped when he was between his cousins, but he didn't look at them. "You both deserve to know why I got so worked up over last night."
Mettaton shook his head. "Mad, you don't have to explain yourself. It was all my fault; I lied to you! And I completely forgot how you didn't like being put on the spot—"
"That's not the only reason I got upset," Mad Dummy cut in. Everyone expected him to explain, but he didn't speak any further.
Mettaton frowned, and Napstablook flew a little closer to them. "Then…what is it, Mad?"
Mad Dummy turned away. "I never told you both the real reason I left you guys years ago. The real reason I wanted a body so badly. It wasn't because I was bored…it wasn't because I had some dream I wanted to achieve. It…i-it…" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
"M…Mad…you don't need to—" Mettaton began, but the dummy shook his head.
"No. The thing is, people nowadays make me out to be some stupid, immature bully. But the truth? Back underground…I was the one who was bullied."
Napstablook's eyes widened. He had been picked on several times, too, due to his sensitive nature, but he had no clue he wasn't the only one.
Mad Dummy glanced his way and nodded. "Yup. Napstablook knows the feeling. The only difference with me, however, was that they didn't go 'easy' on me. I wasn't one to ignore it as easily as Napstablook, either." He frowned. "Everyone always walked all over me like I was some doormat, and I hated it! I was always teased on my 'adorable' appearance, harassed because of my short temper, and especially taunted about how I could 'never hurt a fly'! It's because of that, well...I wanted revenge." He glared at the ground. "I wanted to teach every single one of them a lesson. Something to show them that I was not weak. That I was not all harmless and innocent as they thought. That I actually could hurt someone instead of always phasing right through them."
Mettaton covered his mouth in shock. "But..." He slowly lowered his hands, feeling incredibly guilty for not knowing of this sooner. "But you...you never said a thing about—"
"Yeah? Well that's because I didn't want you to stick up for me," Mad Dummy grumbled, not looking at him. "That would just make them pick on me even more. I wanted to get back at them all by myself, so I left you guys in the dark, and for that, I'm sorry. That was when I decided to leave. I went out to find a new body—something that would prove to everyone that I wasn't some doormat they could walk on and make fun of at every turn."
"So you...found a dummy...?" Napstablook whispered. When Mad Dummy looked at him, he shrank back, not wanting to offend him.
Mad Dummy sighed and rolled his eyes. "I admit...a dummy wasn't necessarily the body I was looking for in particular, but it was good enough. Anyone that came across me, I scared away, and nobody ever picked on me ever again. Finally, I was alone and satisfied." He gave a weak smile. "Heh. But...after time passed...I'm pretty sure you all know how I felt then."
Muffet stayed back and listened silently, stunned by his story.
Mad Dummy frowned again, looking at Mettaton. "The reason I got so angry last night was because I thought it'd happen all over again. All the taunts, jokes, harassment…I was paranoid that everyone would judge me just like before. It's my own fault that I relapsed. I know I reacted a lot harsher than I should, and I'm sorry." He looked at Napstablook. "So…if you have anyone to be mad at, be mad at me. I'm the one who started this. I should've just forgiven Mettaton and put all this behind me."
"No, I…I'm so sorry, Mad..." Mettaton covered his face. "I made a terrible mistake...I should've known..."
"Mettaton, it wasn't your fault. I've been keeping this hidden for so long, it was only a matter of time before it broke me. Still, that's never an excuse to hurt my own family." Mad Dummy looked around at all the damage he had caused from the missiles. "I guess my name isn't 'Mad' for nothing, huh?" He chuckled dryly.
Mettaton reached out and hugged his cousin tightly. "Mad…I promise you that I will never make that mistake again. It was incredibly selfish of me to lie to you and insert myself into what was supposed to be such an important night for you. Please forgive me."
Mad Dummy lowered his head. "As long as you forgive me for...y'know...trying to blow you up..." he mumbled.
"Darling, I'm not the least bit upset over that!" Mettaton told him. "What really matters to me is the fact that, just now, you were honest. You brought up a painful subject, and you trusted us with it. Truthfully..." he chuckled in embarrassment, "I never thought you would ever open up to us like that. But y'know what? That's just a sign that we're growing closer as a family." He hugged him again. "Thank you."
As they hugged, they noticed how Napstablook remained distant.
"...Blooky?" Mettaton frowned.
"I…I didn't mean to sound so...rude..." Napstablook whispered, floating back a bit. "I was just so tired...I-I couldn't take all the fighting anymore..."
"Napstablook—you had every right to be upset. We practically ignored you, for crying out loud." Mad Dummy shook his head.
"We're so sorry, Blooky..." Mettaton spread out his arms. "Can you forgive us?" Napstablook didn't even hesitate. He burst into tears as he flew into Mettaton's arms.
Mad Dummy couldn't help but laugh. "He never is one to hold a grudge, after all..." He felt a tap on his back and turned around.
Muffet crossed her arms. "Mad…you are one of the strangest people I've ever met." The dummy raised a brow at her, puzzled. "What made you become so enamored with me? I, who practically screamed at you and chucked a sign at your head?" She snickered. "I'm pretty sure I was judging you."
"Heh..." He blushed as he looked down again. "Well...you never threatened me or kicked me out of the bakery, so I still say you treated me better than anyone else…"
Muffet lifted his chin and kissed him on the nose. "Then you wouldn't mind if we tried again?~" she giggled.
Mad Dummy blinked. "You mean...a second date?" He was surprised she was willing to, seeing how their first date ended up a complete and utter disaster.
"Of course! In fact…why not tonight?"
He stiffened. "Uh...I…well...um...I mean...I—"
"Of course he will, darling!" Mettaton winked, and Mad Dummy gave him a harsh look until he added, "And Napstablook and I will stay home tonight. Won't we, Blooky? We can listen to some of your new mixes!"
Napstablook smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah...that sounds nice..."
Mettaton patted Mad Dummy's back. "How about you run along and get ready? I'm sure you already know how." He smirked.
Mad Dummy looked up, still red. "Th…thanks, Mettaton."
"Of course, Maddy. Come on, Blooky!" Mettaton took Napstablook's hand and they headed off.
Once Mad Dummy and Muffet were left alone, an awkward silence fell upon them. "So..." Muffet cleared her throat. "Um...I suppose we'll be going somewhere other than MTT Resort?" she asked with a nervous smile.
Mad Dummy thought about it. "Well…I suppose we can go back there and start over again. Besides—I should probably trust Mettaton this time."
Muffet gave him a hug. "I'm really glad you two finally made up. It was very brave of you to tell us everything that you went through." She let go and kissed his cheek before whispering in his ear, "And if anyone ever picks on you again, I'll see to it that my pet has an extra snack later. Ahuhuhu~" He couldn't hold back a grin as she let go of him. "Well, I'll see you tonight, dearie!~"
"Bye..." Mad Dummy smiled as he watched her leave.
"Oh, Maddy!?" He turned around and saw Mettaton run to him. "Um...do me a favor and clean up the area a bit?" The robot grinned nervously as he gestured to items around the area that got destroyed from the rockets.
And, just like that, Mad Dummy's glee immediately dropped to zero. "...Are you kidding me right now...?"
"Well, this place won't clean up itself..." Mettaton began, but by his tone, the dummy could tell he was joking. "Alright—you got me. You go on and get ready for your date, Maddy. I'll clean up, and if anyone asks, a jealous hater threw a little tantrum after one of my performances." He laughed.
Mad Dummy chuckled a little, but it died off after a while.
Mettaton could tell what he was thinking. "Don't worry...Mad. I'll be sure that nobody thinks unjustly of you after what happened today. After all, I think I'm mostly to blame." He smiled, and Mad Dummy felt a lot better. "Have a good time, darling!"
Mad Dummy nodded as he hopped away. Looking back on the day's events, he actually felt as if he had gotten a lot off his chest. Because of that, he was finally content. His family had grown closer, he found someone who genuinely cared about him, and it seemed that things were looking bright for his life on the surface. Of course, this didn't mean that his anger management issues had drawn to a close or diminished in any way, but satisfaction was nearly at its peak, and he knew he could finally be happy—an emotion he had never expected to feel in a long time.
"Everything's…really going to be okay."
That marks the end of this story. I greatly appreciate all your positive feedback! Without the encouragement, I probably would've ended the story a lot sooner. XD But don't worry—I plan on writing more with these three cousins in the future ;)