Chapter ten: Hotland part II
Ruby marched up the stairs, waving to the guards she fought before. Finally, she found herself at the front entrance to the MTT resort.
"Ruby!"
"Sans?" Ruby gasped, walking over to the skeleton.
"I need to talk to you, come on."
They walked into the alley and found a back entrance to the resort, taking a seat at a table. Ruby let out a relaxed smile as she sat down.
"So, what's up?"
"Sigh, welp, here we are. Your journey's almost over, huh? You must really wanna go home."
"It's no disrespect Sans, but my family is on the surface, and I can't even begin to imagine how worried they are. Especially my sister Yang. She watched me fall."
"It's fine. I get it. I know the feeling buddo. Though maybe it's better to take what life's given you instead. Down here you've made so many friends, all of which will miss you if you leave. Is what you have to do really worth it?"
"Sans, I understand, but my family-"
"Ah forget it. I'm rooting for ya kiddo. Now, let me tell ya a story. So, I'm a sentry in Snowdin, right? I sit there and watch for humans, it's kind of boring. Fortunately, deep in the forest there's a door. It's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes. One day, I'm knocking them out like usual, I just say "knock knock", pretty standard stuff, when I hear this woman's voice. "Who's there?" So naturally I reply "Dishes." "Dishes who?" "Dishes a very bad knock knock joke." Then she just starts howling with laughter, as if it was the best joke she's heard in a hundred years. So I keep them coming, and she keeps laughing, when suddenly she speaks. "Knock knock?" I say "Who's there?" "Old lady." "Old lady who?" "Oh! I didn't know you could yodel!" Needless to say she's extremely good."
Ruby wasn't really listening all that much. She felt really tired and just wanted to keep going so she could head home.
"We kept telling each other jokes for hours" Sans smiled, continuing his story. "Eventually I had to go, it was late and my brother gets really cranky without a bedtime story. But she told me to come back so I did. Then I did again, and again, it's kind of a thing now. Telling bad jokes through the door I mean. It rules." His smile fell. Ruby realized he was getting to the point, so she started listening. "One day though, I noticed she wasn't laughing very much. I asked her what was up, and then she told me something strange. "If a human ever comes through this door, could you please, please promise me something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?" Now, I hate making promises, and I don't even know her name, but, there's just something about people who sincerely love bad jokes that you just can't say no to. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"To be honest… no?"
"If she hadn't said anything, and I never agreed to that promise…" His eyes went completely blank as he stared Ruby down. "Y O U ' ."
"Red flag! Major red flag!"
"Ah…" Ruby screamed, falling out of her chair. She started backing up, and Sans' eyes lit up again.
"Huh? Hey lighten up Ruby, I'm kidding." Sans chuckled nervously. Ruby cautiously got back in her seat. She was definitely awake now. "Besides, haven't I done a great job protecting you? You haven't even died once. So stop worrying. "Heh, that's all I gotta say. Take care of yourself will ya? Because someone really cares about you. I'm going to Grillby's, see ya later."
As soon as Sans left, Ruby jumped out of her seat and ran.
A save point was in front of her, so she gladly pressed it.
"The relaxing atmosphere of this hotel fills you with determination."
Ruby clenched her fists and walked through the Core entrance, prepared to head over to Asgore's castle. Two shadowy figures entered the building just ahead.
Ring
"W-what?" Alphys gasped. "No one else is supposed to be here. Oh well, we can't worry about that now!"
Ruby took a deep breath and walked forwards.
"Home. I just need to walk through here, and I'm home…"
"Ready?" Alphys asked. "Just take the elevator up to the top of the core, then you're in the clear."
Ruby eyed the elevator suspiciously. There didn't seem to be any power in the elevator. She looked to the left door, then walked in there.
"H-hey why didn't you try the elevator first?"
Click
Ruby hung up and put her phone in her pocket. She pulled out her scroll. It was cracked, and had zero signals.
"Guess I'm still out of range…" She sighed, putting the scroll back in her pocket. "Oh well, I'll be home soon anyways.
"Watch out!"
The shadow monsters jumped out at her. Ruby bit her lip and prepared herself for a fight.
"Madjick huh? What can I do to befriend you?"
Ruby mystified the monster by pretending to pull her thumb off. But soon realized it wouldn't do much about the monster's orbs. She pulled out Crescent Rose and sniped them, allowing herself to spare the monster.
"I'm sorry about your orbs."
"It's fine, they grow back!"
The other monster attacked. It was a large monster named Knight Knight. Ruby simply sang her a lullaby until she fell asleep.
Ring
"That was close… why are there so many monsters here? It's no problem, right? You can handle them!"
"I appreciate the confidence, but I haven't slept in days, stamina is limited."
"Then I know a fast way to repair the elevator, you just have to trust me."
"Against my better judgement, I'm listening.
"Okay, when you get to that intersection up ahead, keep going forwards. There will be a bunch of lasers. No worries, I'll shut off the power, then, just in case, just use your semblance and run."
"Got it."
Ruby kept walking straight until her path was blocked by lasers.
"Ready?"
"Go for it." The lights went out, and Ruby ran forwards. She couldn't quite make the distance before the power turned on, and she got a pretty bad burn across her torso as she ran through a laser."Aagh!"
"O-oh my god, are you okay? The power turned itself on, I couldn't do anything!"
"It's fine Alphys…" Ruby snapped, biting her lip to keep herself composed. She got up, and followed the path.
"The air is filled with the smell of Ozone. You're filled with determination."
Ring
"Okay, you need to go west. There's a shooting puzzle that will fix the elevator."
"Got it. by the way, don't think I glossed over the fact that you wanted me to use this elevator."
"Heheh… right."
Ruby walked into the puzzle room and shot down the opposing ship. A loud buzzing noise filled the air.
"I take it the elevator's back on?"
"Y-yeah. You should head back to the elevator now."
Click
Ruby made her way back, but quickly made her way into the resort for two starfaits, just in case. She walked into the elevator, feeling nervous.
"I'll admit, even I have the jitters. It's been a hundred years since I last saw my dad."
"You must miss him."
"I really do…"
Ding
"I guess this is it."
"Behind this door must be the elevator to the king's castle. You're filled with determination."
"Okay, let's go."
Ruby walked in the door, shaking a little. Who she saw next was not one she expected, but probably should have.
It was Mettaton.
"OH, HELLO THERE DARLING! YOU'RE HERE EARLIER THAN EXPECTED." The robot sighed, filing his nails.
His gloved, robotic nails.
"Um… hi Mettaton. I have a feeling I don't need to ask why you're here."
"IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOW DOWN. IT'S FINALLY TIME TO STOP THE MALFUNCTIONING ROBOT. NOT! "MALFUNCTIONING"? GET REAL. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT. SOMETHING I AM VERY GLAD YOU CAUGHT ONTO. YOU AREN'T AS STUPID OR NAIIVE AS ALPHYS PREDICTED. SHE WANTED TO DO ALL THE WORK FOR YOU, MAKE HERSELF THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. BUT AS A HUNTRESS, YOU DIDN'T NEED HELP. SHE GREW DESPERATE TOMAKE HERSELF LOOK MUCH BETTER THAN SHE IS, BUT HAS FAILED SO FAR. EVEN AS WE SPEAK, SHE'S ON HER WAY HERE. HER PLAN IS TO SHUT ME OFF, SAVING YOU FROM A DANGER THAT DOESN'T EVEN EXIST. BUT I'M STOPPING THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE NOW. IT GOT RATHER BORING AFTR THE COOKING SHOW. YOU DIDN'T EVEN PLAY ALONG FOR THE BOMBS OR COLOURED TILES. BESIDES, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS. FAR FROM IT ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, AN AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, RIGHT? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?!"
SLAM
"H-hey! What's going on? The door closed!"
"Welp, Alphys just arrived."
"SEE? PREDICTABLE TO A FAULT. SORRY FOLKS! THE REGULARILY SCHEDULED PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED. BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!" The floor started raising, launching the combatants upwards. "REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED! ON OUR NEW SHOW ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!"
"Okay… I am so confused."
"WHAT'S TO BE CONFUSED ABOUT? I RE-ARRANGED THE CORE, I HIRED THE SPIDERS TO KILL YOU. THAT WAS A SHORT-SIDED PLAN THOUGH. YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER? KILLING YOU MYSELF."
"I thought you didn't want to hurt humans!"
"YOU SEE, THIS IS WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU RUBY! YOUR ATTENTION TO EVERY SMALL DETAIL IS ADMIRABLE. EVEN IF IT IS JUST COMMON SENSE."
"Maybe this might help." Ruby decided, pulling out her phone. She pressed the button, hitting Mettaton with the yellow bullets.
"THAT WORTHLESS PEA SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTING IS?" Mettaton sighed. "LISTEN DARLING, I'VE SEEN YOU FIGHT DOWN HERE. YOU'RE WEAK. IF YOU KEEP GOING THIS WAY, ASGORE WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL. AND WITH YOUR SOUL, ASGORE WILL DESTROY HUMANITY. THOUGH WITH RUMOURS GOING AROUND ABOUT THE CREATURES OF DARKNESS UP THERE, I DON'T SEE WHY HE SHOULD PUT IN THE EFFORT, WHEN HUMANITY IS BEING DESTROYED ANYWAYS. LET ME TELL YOU A SECRET, NONE OF THE SOULS WE COLLECTED ARE FAUNUS. THE FAUNUS ARE OUR ALLIES. THE FAUNUS NEVER KILLED US AND TRAPPED US UNDERGROUND FOR NO REASON. THAT BURDEN IS THAT OF THE HUMANS, AND THE HUMANS ALONE. BUT, IF I TAKE YOUR SOUL, I CAN STOP THE KING'S LUDICROUS PLAN! I CAN SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION. BUT WITH YOUR SOUL I CAN CROSS THE BARRIER AND BECOME THE STAR I HAVE ALWAYS DREAMED OF. HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS, NO, MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME EVERY DAY! GLITZ, GLAMOUR, I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL! SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE?"
"I'm very confused right now…"
"That makes two of us…"
"YOU TWO DON'T UNDERSTAND, AND YOU PROBABLY NEVER WILL. OH WELL. IT'S NO SKIN OFF MY NON-EXISTENT TEETH."
Ring
"U-uh… I can't see what's going on!" Alphys panicked. "But, what you need to do is turn Mettaton around."
"And I'm supposed to trust you on this? What about literally everything else?"
"I know! I don't expect you to ever trust me again, but you need to trust me on this. There's a switch on Mettaton's back, that if you flick it, it will make him vulnerable, then you can actually fight him. His weak point will be his heart shaped core. Ruby, you need to trust me here."
"Fine, just this once. Hey Mettaton! There's a mirror behind you!"
"REALLY? WHERE? I NEED TO LOOK MY BEST TO PRESENT TO THE HUMANS!"
Beep
"DID YOU… JUST FLICK… MY SWITCH?" Mettaton started spazzing out as the room filled with smoke. Ruby thought he was going to explode, so she started backing away as far as the pillar platform would allow without her risking taking a fall to her death.
"Oh no…"
"OH YES!"
"Oh god what now?"
"Oh my… if you flipped my switch, that could only mean one thing." Mettaton called out through the smoke. Ruby could faintly make out the figure of a humanoid creature, definitely not Mettaton. "You're desperate for the premiere of my new body." Correction, definitely Mettaton. "How rude. Luckily for you, I've been aching to show this off for a while now. So as thanks I will give you a handsome reward. Ruby, I will make your last living moments absolutely beautiful!" The smoke cleared, revealing a robot that looks far more human. He's wearing a ton of pink and black, and he stinks of hairspray.
"Mettaton?"
"Are surprised darling? You shouldn't be. Someone this sexy can't be a work of fiction, nor can I be copied. Get the cameras rolling! It's show time!"
Back at Grillby's, Sans was having a conversation with one of the fellow patrons.
"So I said 'patella'? I barely know her!"
"Hey! Mettaton's show's on!" Dogamy announced.
"(Is that the weird puppy from before?)" Dogaressa asked.
Sans never really paid attention to Mettaton TV, it never interested him, but a certain voice caught his attention.
"Okay I'll bite. What the heck is going on?"
"RUBY?" He gasped, snapping his head to the television in the corner.
Ding
Papyrus: SANS! RUBY IS ON TV!
Sans: I know, I'm watching it now.
"GO HUMAN!" Lesser dog barked, wagging her tail in excitement.
"Here's the deal hot shot!" Mettaton explained, we're going to entertain these monsters, sound simple?"
"I guess so?" Ruby responded, still very confused. The spot lights on her were very warm. Mettaton started dancing, aiming his legs at her. He was much taller than her now, and his boots were very sharp. He was trying to step on her. Ruby started dancing to avoid the attack, zig zagging around him as he stepped down. She glanced over to the ratings board. It was going up. "Ha! You aren't going to hit me Mettaton!"
"You say that now Darling." Mettaton smirked, pressing a button. Bombs and mini Mettatons rained down. Ruby shot at them with her pea shooter, and dodged what she missed. The ratings were sitting at a gradual 4000, and were still going up. Ruby smirked and posed dramatically to taunt him. "Smile for the camera darling!"
Ruby had to avoid more mini Mettatons, but this time film reels flew at her, and she had to shoot a certain spot on them to avoid the impact.
"You're gonna need to try a bit harder than that."
"Oh? But it's time for a pop quiz. I hope you brought a pencil."Ruby checked her pocket, and strangely enough there was an MTT pencil in it.
"Where did this come from?"
A mini Mettaton crawled out and waved at her.
"This one's an essay question! What do you love most about Mettaton?"
"Considering how focused he is on his legs, I think it's a safe guess that that's the answer."
Ruby nodded and wrote "Legs so hot"
"Correct! You two make a great team!"
The ratings reached 6568 but started dropping.
"We need to keep those ratings up! It may be our only hope!"
"Your essay really showed everyone your heart. Why don't I show you mine?"
The core in Mettaton's abdomen floated out, and Ruby shot at it with her pea shooter, avoiding lightning bolts as they shot out. She got hit by one, and fell over in pain.
"Agh!"
"Are you alright?"
"Just 3hp off. I'm fine."
"Hp?"
"Yeah. With how my aura works down here, it's pretty much a health bar. Like in video games."
"You're talking about video games with someone who died about 60 years before video games were invented. I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Are you two done? Because I'd like to continue the fight now."Mettaton Interrupted. Ruby responded by shooting his heart core again. His arms fell off.
"Oh my Oum! I'm sorry! You aren't hurt are you?"
"I'm a machine. I don't feel pain. Besides, who needs arms with legs like these!" He scoffed. "How are you on the dance floor?"
A disco ball appeared over head. Ruby stayed in place when the lights were blue, and shot the ball when they were white. It turned them blue.
"Come on Ruby!" Sans pleaded. "You can do it!"
"Lights! Cameras! Bombs!"
Ruby was shut inside a small box, just barely wide enough to move side to side. A box and a bomb fell at a time, and she shot the bomb, taking shelter underneath the box. It was easy enough, but the space was undesirable.
"Talk about claustrophobic…"
"It could have been worse."
Ruby was caught off guard and kicked in the head. Shaking off the dizzying pain, she got back up, dancing around Mettaton's legs. She could feel blood running down her face.
"Are you okay? That was a bad hit."
"Chara, if I go on licking my wounds for every attack, I'll get absolutely nowhere in these fights."
"Eating a starfait wouldn't hurt."
Ruby had to admit, she was right. She pulled out the starfait and poured into her mouth, forcing herself to swallow the nasty dessert.
"Oh! Are you promoting my brand? I'm flattered!" Ruby prepared for an attack that never came. "Time for our union-regulated break!"
"I forgot we were on tv."
"We've grown so distant darling! How about another heart-to-heart?"
Ruby smiled as the core came out of his abdomen, ready to shoot at it. she glanced over at the viewer counter, which was at around 7000.
"Show me your love Mettaton." She teased, pointing the pea shooter at his core. She shot at it, but missed too much. A block bashed her in the back of the head and she stumbled."Ow…"
"How about some more explosive action?" Mettaton smiled, putting Ruby back in that box. She shot the bombs, narrowly avoiding the last explosion. Miraculously, even her cape was unscathed.
"These are too close of calls for my taste."
"Enough of this!" Mettaton huffed. His eyes were flickering. He was running low on power. "Do you really want humanity to perish? Or do you just believe in yourself that much? How inspiring. Well darling, it's either me or you, but I think we already both know who's going to win. Witness the true power of humanity's star."
"He's assuming an awful lot, isn't he?"
"Yep."
"You two are so close minded, always thinking that it will be you who wins. One of these days you won't get that lucky."
"You don't know anything about me!" Ruby snapped. "On the surface, I've watched friends die, while being damn close to it myself. Don't tell me that I think I'll always win, I already know otherwise."
"Wow…" Mettaton trailed off, he wasn't expecting that. He coughed and released his core, and Ruby shot at it, refusing to miss. Before she knew it, Mettaton's legs were blown off. "Then, are you the star? Can you really protect humanity?"
"It is my job." Ruby smiled. Blades in the shape of Mettaton's legs shot out of the floor, and Ruby had to dodge as quickly as possible. A blade scratched along her arm, making her fall to her knees in pain. With a trembling hand she ate the other starfait, and her arm mostly healed. With wobbly legs, she stood up, looking completely exhausted. She shot her way through the disco ball, then shot at his still floating core. Finally the ratings hit 10000
"Ooh! Look at those ratings!" Mettaton cheered giddily. "If I had hands I'd be clapping. This is the most viewers I ever had!"
"Good for you! Congratulations." Ruby smiled, applauding for him.
"We've reached the viewer call-in milestone! One lucky viewer will have the chance to talk to me before I leave forever."
"Is it over?"
"I think so."
Ring
"Hello! You're on tv!"
"Oh… um hi Mettaton…" a familiar, depressed voice spoke over the phone. "I really liked watching your show. My life is pretty boring, but seeing you on the screen brought excitement to my life… vicariously. I can't tell, but this is your last show? I'll miss you Mettaton. Oh, I didn't mean to talk so long. Ohh….."
"No, wait! Wait, Bl- oh. They hung up already. I'll take another caller."
Soon enough the entire room was full of the sounds of people calling in. all of them demanded the same thing: Don't leave Mettaton, we'll miss you! Ruby couldn't help but feel bad for these monsters.
"Maybe you should stay. These monsters need you Mettaton."
"You're right. The surface is full of celebrities and movie stars, but the Underground only has me. This dark prison would lose its only spark, so I have to delay my big debut. Besides, you've proven that you're very strong. Look at you, running on three sleepless days and you still won. You might be strong enough to beat Asgore. I'm sure you'll be able to protect humanity. You're a very brave huntress Ruby. You'll go far. Ha ha… it's all for the best anyways. My form, this image that I took on, its energy consumption is very… ＩＮＥＦＦＩＣＩＥＮＴ．Soon I will run out of power. But, I'll be alright. Just be careful Ruby, you're monster kind's only hope. Knock 'em dead darling. And everyone, thank you. You've been a great audience."
Mettaton's eyes went black as he ran out of power. Ruby cringed, memories of Penny's lifeless body on the ground echoing through her mind.
Grillby's was a mad house. Every one of the patrons was cheering Ruby on for her victory. Sans was cheering the most, telling Grillby that everyone was to get a free drink on him…
Grillby said no.
"Finally! I got the door open!" Alphys cheered, running inside. Ruby only stood there, letting the platform lower back to the ground. "So what happened? Oh my god! Mettaton!"She ran to the broken robot on the floor, relieved to see him in working condition. "Phew, it's just his batteries… If you killed Mettaton I would have… I would have… I-I mean, it's no big deal. He's just a robot. If you messed it up, I could have j-just built another. Why don't you go on ahead? I need a minute."
Ruby nodded and left the room, collapsing to the floor soon afterwards.
"RUBY!"
"I'm okay. I just need a minute."
Panting from exhaustion, Ruby reached into her pocket for her mini first-aid kit. She wrapped her arm up in bandages, then tried to get back up. Her legs didn't want to work.
"You look awful."
"Thank you for your kind words."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I just needed to- oh my goodness!" Alphys panicked, running over. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?"
"I'm freaking exhausted." Ruby muttered. "My legs gave out."
"W-well, then rest for a second. I need to talk to you."
"You talk, I'll force myself to stay awake."
O-okay. I don't even know where to begin with this… um… I've been lying to you. About more than just Mettaton. I lied to you about how to get home. You can't get through alone. it takes at least the power of a human soul and monster soul. Or a human and Faunus, but there are no Faunus to steal the soul of down here. What I'm saying is, in order to go home, you have to kill Asgore. I'm so sorry."
"Oh…" Ruby muttered, looking down. She didn't want to kill anyone.
"I'm so sorry. I can't go further with you. Good luck Ruby."
Ruby watched as the dinosaur left the room, heading back to where she came from. She sighed.
"Chara?"
"Go ahead."
"What?"
"Kill Asgore." Chara stated calmly. "If it's your only way home, I don't mind."
"Okay, if you say so."
She walked into the elevator without saying another word.