Would you believe me if I said those translators came back to bite me? 'Cause they seriously came back to bite me. I had to actually add words to make Mettaton's dialogue understandable!
...
...
...
"what? no. you can't be mettaton!"
"Oh I am Mettaton~!" the wolf giggled, "Are you remembering now, Sansy?"
"i- you-!"
The skeleton shot you a disbelieving look as he sat half frozen in the snow, leg caught firmly in the wolf trap. You shot him one back that said 'Don't ask for my help!' and went back to trying to shove the overgrown dog's paw off your chest.
The wolf, named Mettaton apparently, laughed at your struggling and pressed down hard enough for you to feel your ribs bend into your lungs. He smiled as you fought to breathe, pushing the air right back out of your body whenever you managed to gasp any in. You returned his smirk with a glare. Of course you hadn't been imagining things earlier; the look you kept spotting on the creature's face was one of sick enjoyment. It was one you'd learned well in the anti-void.
The sound of rattling saved you as Mettaton turned toward it, unintentionally removing some of his weight with the movement. You gulped down the freezing cold air so hard you almost choked.
Across from you, Sans was vigorously shaking the trap on his leg, furiously trying to pry it off. His eyes were black voids as he stared down the smiling wolf. Even though he was in a vulnerable position it looked like he wanted to make it clear just how pissed he was at the creature's betrayal.
"Oh so, irony!" Mettaton declared with a click of his tongue, "Sans, monster villager, trapped in his own cage made for me! You've always been cruel at me, darling."
"i didn't- i don't even know you!" Sans yelled back in frustration, the ice forming around his body cracking and scraping as he moved.
"Oh, yes, amnesia…" the wolf scoffed, lifting its paw from you to flick its mane haughtily- only to slam it back down before you could roll out of the way and snickering at the wheeze you released. "Not as satisfy when are not being remembers. But still enough to enjoy~!" He punctuated his statement by suddenly jumping and landing both his front paws square on your chest, making you choke. Damn, he was heavy! Just a bit more pressure and one of your ribs could end up cracked…
You were given a moment to collect yourself as Mettaton bounded playfully around you like a pup with a new toy. With nothing holding you down you were able to roll onto your side and almost hack up a lung from your coughing. It would have been a good opportunity to run or fight… if you weren't already halfway frozen again.
What kind of hell had you landed in that you could become so cold so fast!? The feeling of snow melting and freezing itself into your clothes and over your unprotected skin was one of the worst sensations you had ever experienced. You'd never been subject to something so slow and torturous in the anti-void - probably because the only resident there capable of such extensive manipulation was usually more focussed on breaking bones- y'know, more familiar territory.
"no, stop! you don't understand!" Sans continued to yell as the wolf giddily kicked up powdered snow over your head, "i really don't know you! we came here from a different universe!"
...
You hoped the look you shot the skeleton really communicated just how fed up you were with his constant idiocy. The moment of silence seemed to stretch on for eons before Mettaton just about doubled over laughing, the sound making your dead stare look all the more dry.
"D-different -snrk!- different universe!" the wolf practically howled with laughter, "Poor Sans, you broke! Worse than forgetting! Now you are all mad in your skull, too!"
Very suddenly the laughter stopped. With a single leap the wolf launched itself over your body and landed directly in front of Sans, teeth bared in a ferocious growl. The skeleton tried to back up as the creature loomed over him, jaws snapping and drool gathering in its maw, but was held in place by the wolf trap and its chain anchored deep in the snow.
"Even without remember; do not mock me." it growled, jaws snapping as it brought its muzzle down in front of Sans' face, "I am deserving more, Sans. I dislike your joke of me. I want your fear. Look at me and see all dust I spill, see the children cry and night scare I bring. Fear. Fear and admire, Sans."
A tense moment passed as Sans and Mettaton locked eyes, the wolf staring into the dull lights in the skeleton's sockets, practically daring the trapped monster to give him a reason to snap his teeth down over his head.
You watched the interaction from the you-shaped hole Mettaton had made in the snow with your body, feeling around with subtle movements for some kind of weapon. You'd hoped you could find something lying nearby, but all you seemed to grab ahold of was more snow. It was ridiculous! Everything in the universe you'd landed in was solid, it existed, and it was everywhere! So why couldn't you find a half decent weapon in a reality where everything seemed so present?
Reaching further, your fingers grazed against something smooth and just as numbingly cold as the rest of the forest. Looking up you found your hand brushing against a large tree; its frozen surface shining a sparkling blue beneath your touch. There was no way you could reach any of the branches that towered above you, and any that had fallen in the past were likely buried deep beneath the snow; but the roots had accumulated large ice pikes around the base of the tree, creating a sharp circumference of spikes each as long as your forearm. Any one was potentially perfect for a stabbing weapon- if you could snap one off quickly enough, that was.
To his credit, Sans didn't let his eyes flicker even once in your direction as you began to move, instead continuing to meet Mettaton's gaze directly as you quietly stood and wrapped your hands around the nearest icicle. He smiled wider as you readied to snap off your new weapon, making the wolf growl threateningly as he watched the Sans' expression empty of fear. Without even looking at you properly, the smug skeleton seemed to know what you were thinking, and was eager to play the distraction.
"y'know what, mettaton? ya could be right. maybe i don't know you after all," Sans laughed with a shrug and a relaxed smile, "but even if you're not the mettaton i know, you're still all bark and no bite." To add insult to injury, he even added little jazz hands to his joke as Mettaton quite literally howled in rage.
A large, clawed paw was slammed down on the skeleton's chest, making him gasp as a pair of snarling, jagged jaws came snapping down over his head. However, just before the enraged animal could crush his skull between its jaws, you snapped the icicle clean off the tree's base and launched yourself at the stupid creature.
The sound of thick ice colliding with the side of Mettaton's face echoed sickeningly through the woods along with his pained yelp. You couldn't help but smile at your little victory. It was a good feeling, to be able to hurt someone who'd hurt you first. It made you feel powerful- for all of two seconds before Mettaton was turning his rage-filled sight on you.
He lunged at you with his full body, knocking you back but not quite tripping you over. You raised the icicle with both hands and managed to catch the creature's jaw on it, watching in horror as sharp teeth ground into the ice and a fat tongue wriggled about in the wolf's eagerness to chew through the obstacle and rip open your flesh.
"Sans! Do something!" you yelled as you tried to push the wild animal back.
"'m tryin'! i've been tryin' since i got stuck! 's not working for some reason!"
With a mad laugh the wolf gripped its teeth onto the icicle and reared itself upwards onto its hind legs. The unexpected action pulled you forward and even upwards as you desperately gripped onto your frozen weapon. Before you knew it you were slammed back into the snow again, Mettaton's full weight keeping you pinned as he lay diagonally over your torso. The ice was ripped from your hands, an unsettling peeling sensation occurring on your palms as your skin was pulled away from the freezing object. With a resounding snap and the sound of ice splinters falling into the snow, your weapon was no more and the window of escape firmly slammed down on your fingers.
"Oh ho ho~ Oh, you try, you try!" Mettaton laughed as you angrily punched and pulled at his fur, "Almost having me, but too smart! Too bad Sans makes bad memory and bad traps! You forget; cannot magic in trap!"
You groaned as Sans' eyes widened and he looked over the wolf trap once more. Of course the trap was magic proof. Because that was just your luck, wasn't it? Why hadn't you taken Mettaton's moment of distraction to run away? What use was there in saving Sans anyway? The guy had proven himself to be a damsel in distress more often than not and was practically twice as useless.
"Ooh, but friend is brave! You are human?"
A smug and curious snout was immediately pressed into your face, sniffing and wetting you with the tip of a disgusting and cold nose.
"Haven't you heard of personal space?" you growled as you swung an angry fist at the prying muzzle. That turned out to be a mistake, however, as your arm was quickly caught between two sets of razor sharp teeth.
"Careful, darling," the translator buzzed even while the wolf's mouth was occupied with your forearm, "You see what I do to ice. Humans are soft…"
Your only response was an emotionless stare. Having your arm broken wasn't a threat to you, it was a common hazard in your pitiful life. If Mettaton simply got up and left you to freeze in the snow it would actually be more intimidating in its uniqueness. Having your body snapped, broken and bled out was something you'd already adjusted to long ago. At some points you'd even purposefully tried to tempt others into making it happen so you could finally 'escape'.
Actually, since the offer had come up…
"Go for it."
Bemused, the wolf stared down at you, shifting its weight in interest and accidentally making you more comfortable as a pointy joint was moved from your stomach to your more resistant lower ribs.
"Huh? You want death? Oh! I see! Die by famous paw! Yes, you will be remember forever as victim!"
"Sure. Whatever."
The wolf snickered in amusement as it sank its teeth through a few layers of your skin. It eyed you carefully for any signs of pain as blood slowly beaded and dripped from its teeth, staining your jacket and your skin in thin trails. However, you didn't even flinch. In fact, part of you was disappointed in the display. Just a few layers of skin? You could do worse to yourself. If the animal actually intended to kill you, it really sucked at it.
Realising that pain had no effect on you, Mettaton huffed and dropped your arm from his mouth, sticking out his stained tongue.
"Ugh. Sour." he complained, though he didn't move off of you. His gaze landed back on Sans, who still hadn't managed to free himself and was staring nervously at your blood soaking into the snow.
You watched as Mettaton's expression morphed into one of mischief and he stood, one paw strategically placed on your chest to keep you pinned.
"What's shame, you taste bad. But no waste left in my forest sooo… I'll have to eat fast!"
Before you could even blink, Mettaton's teeth were around your throat. You felt your breath catch as you waited for them to snap shut, crushing your neck and ripping you open. It wouldn't be a pretty death. It would be painful. But if it meant that you never had to wake up again… then it would be alright in the end.
But there was no pain. The teeth remained around your neck unmoving as Mettaton looked at Sans with a twitch of a smirk.
"Hmm? Objection, Sans?" he crooned as he blinked innocently.
"what? no… i… don't even know that person."
"Right, you don't knowing anyone. Amnesia must be hard," Mettaton mockingly soothed, "Must why you are attached. Knowing no one, and you must be lonely! Only one friend in the world and also glorious Mettaton! Would be sad if friend die…"
"... they'd thank you for it. it- it's not my business."
Twisting your head as much as possible, you managed to spot Sans over the top of the wolf's muzzle. He was still trapped and sitting uselessly in the snow, head turned to the side and away from you.
"Oh? You never be sad? Ah, cruel Sans! It really does not matter for you?"
The question made the skeleton flinch a little- just enough for his eyes to wander and lock with yours. In that moment he didn't look like the same Sans who'd harassed you into waking up and joining him on a mad escape plan. His sockets seemed deeper and deathly tired. His body appeared more heavy and limp. All the enthusiasm and confidence looked to have up and left his bones, leaving him hollow and dry.
You'd seen that look a thousand times. You could even say that it was a classic among your temporary visitors in the anti-void.
"no. it doesn't matter." he mumbled.
It was then that you realised: Sans had finally given up.
On you.
That… made something twist inside of you. After all the fuss he'd kicked up, after all the convincing and frustration, he just… gave up on you. And why not? What was there to gain from someone who had been so eagerly awaiting death like you had? Why put in the effort to care about someone who pushed others away? He'd finally accepted your want to give up. He was willing to let you die.
You knew you deserved his apathy. You just hadn't expected finally hearing it to hurt like it did.
"-pfft, fun ruin- Well! If no matter, then I taking friend to my lair like promise! Too cold to eat here, and so late out!"
Moving his teeth from your neck to your collar, Mettaton hurled you onto his back with a single strong flick of his head. You landed uncomfortably on his shoulder blades, but didn't move or make a sound. You were going to die soon anyway. Sans had gotten the gist of it: it didn't matter.
"But you're stay here until dawn!" the wolf crooned as he leaned over the ice-covered skeleton, "I like my treat frozen! Try not to falling asleep! Or do~ You won't feel the freeze if you sleep! Hahaha!"
With a final round of mocking laughter ringing throughout the forest, Mettaton bounded giddily away with you on his back.
You didn't move to look at Sans as you were taken away, too busy thinking. You could barely even believe that you'd actually tried to fight the wolf earlier. Death was something you'd both been expecting and hoping for when you agreed to the skeleton's plan… Even if it had been for a single brief moment, why had you forgotten that?
You would have chalked it up to your human Determination again if not for your past experiences with it. Determination only ever seemed to rear its ugly head when you were about to die, not make you forget about the possibility of death entirely. Sure, maybe a part of you had experienced a surge of determination when you moved to attack the wolf, but it wasn't Determination that made you want to seek out a weapon and defend Sans and yourself in the first place.
Not that any of that mattered when you were about to become wolf kibble. It was just a bit… unsatisfying to know you were going to die in such a way. Remembering Sans' promises of a safe universe away from Error only made you more annoyed. That bastard, promising things that you knew he would never deliver on. He'd probably go on to meet many more weirdos from many more universes, going through emotional highs and lows as he searched for the time travelling Soul that would eventually restore his world. You were just an introductory character in the first act of his quest; killed off to make the audience sad and remind the main character that their journey would be filled with angst and regret. Would it all be worth it in the end? Would it be a happy ending? Or would it be a bittersweet one where your face was just one among many who died along the way?
… What the hell were you even on about?
You couldn't help but snicker at your dramatization of your incoming doom. Maybe you should've written a book, just for kicks. Too bad no one ever left a pen and paper floating around in the anti-void for you to use. Or a computer for that matter. Or a typewriter.
Oh, who were you kidding. You were a Reader, not a writer. Writing required motivation and you simply weren't-
WHUMP!
"We are heeereee~!"
As you got used to your back suddenly being in contact with cold, lumpy stone, you tilted your head back and stared disinterested (and upside down) at the cave you'd been carried to. The walls were covered in glittering crystals of deep blue and the occasional red, forming natural patterns almost comparable to the lines on a computer chip. In one corner there was a pile of quilts, rugs, silken sheets, and satin pillows (likely Mettaton's bed). The rest of the room contained trinkets, gold, toys, baubles, sticks, gems, bones and the occasional jar filled with dust. It was also warmer than outside, which was all you really cared about in the end.
"Oh ho ho! Now we will be finding if I bring you pain, proper!" Mettaton boasted as he smiled down at you.
"Uh-huh."
Disgust and irritation painted the wolf's features as he side-eyed your bored expression. Taking a moment to huff dramatically and toss his mane yet again, Mettaton grabbed you by the hood of your coat and dragged you over the floor to his weird pile of treasure. He left you there a moment as he searched through the miscellaneous junk for something, occasionally looking back to see if you were going to try and escape. He almost seemed disappointed when you didn't.
Finally he made a noise of victory, pulling out an old magnifying glass from among the piles and piles of various odds and ends. He trotted back over to you quickly, dumping the glass onto your chest and seating himself comfortably over your legs, fore-paws crossed confidently over your stomach.
"I see! Very human!" he hummed in amusement as he stared at the magnifying glass, "Up side Soul with bright colour. Hmm, but maybe not so bright? And strings! What are your strings for? No lying this time!"
At the mention of strings you perked up once more. Looking down at the magnifying glass over your chest, you could see something shining. Instead of magnifying things like you would expect, the glass on your chest seemed to show something entirely different. The distortion created from your odd angle made it difficult to see anything other than darkness and a few faint lines of blue.
Lines of blue…
A mixture of anger and fear seeped through you at the thought of Error's strings still being attached to you. You couldn't feel them, but knowing they were there made you want to rip them out. You didn't want to be found by that lunatic, he'd just drag you back to the anti-void for another round of isolated hell. Being mauled to death by a flashy canine wasn't the way you had thought you would go out, but you'd be damned if it got interrupted like all those other times.
But Mettaton didn't like it when you tried to reach down and do something about the damn things, uncrossing his paws and pressing them over your wrists to keep them pinned, growling in your face in a way that was actually pretty intimidating.
"Do not move, prey." he snarled at you before falling back into his smug demeanor again, "I'll ask again: What are your strings?"
"None of your damn business." you spat back as you continued to wriggle.
"Ooh~ a secrets!" Mettaton cooed happily and wagged his fluffy tail, "Oh, doing tell me, darling! I'm love the gossip."
You grinned with an obvious hint of bared teeth.
"Let go of my hands and maybe I'll tell you."
That, of course, made the creature start laughing again. Though, instead of lunging at you like he'd lunged at Sans after his 'joke', Mettaton simply continued to watch you with amusement shining in his eyes.
"I supposed, if it is secret, I'll just guess?" he hummed mischievously, "Hmm, ooh~ Matching strings? Are you and Sans, may being… tied by fates?"
Another round of laughter erupted from him as you gave an unamused glare. As scrambled as the wolf's words were thanks to his shitty translator, you still caught his insinuation. It didn't make you laugh.
Fate wasn't real anyway. Well, unless you could count the method through which the multiverse calculated and created every action until every possible scenario was acted out at least once as 'fate'. If you lived in a universe which existed so that certain scenarios would happen, then perhaps the people who were drawn together by universal requirements could be considered to have 'met by fate'. But Sans and you had met outside of reality, so even in its most clinical terms 'fate' had nothing to do with anything.
You probably would have explained that to the giggling canine, but you had a feeling that he wouldn't care about your philosophical ranting.
Completely unaware of your internal eye-rolling, Mettaton continued mocking you, "Oh, but how sad! Fate being rebelled by Sans! He abandons you, friend. Now you and Soul belonging to the big, badly wolf~"
You craned your head away from the creature as much as possible as he leaned down to smile smugly in your face, eyes cruel and piercing and nothing that you hadn't already seen before.
"Do you know the respecting I will have with human's Soul? Mettaton: the fearing wolf, breaking of barrier and most beautiful cruel monster! Oh, I like it very much!"
"Oh, so you're one of those 'trapped above ground' types," you muttered, more to yourself than to the wolf. But Mettaton still heard your words and tilted his head.
"'Above ground'?" he repeated, "Yes, being above ground, but so cold! The lights barrier are pretty in our sky, but how can I find somewhere warmly when blocking? Snow is so wet! Every day is ruin my poor fur! I deserve better, drying spot where I more people see me beautiful! Don't you agree?"
"I'm sure I wouldn't even if I knew what you were saying."
"Humph! Well, you do not needing to understand! I hearing that there is human in the town and get very excited. Soul for me to pass barrier with! I'm sure that King can be collecting the seven one later- yours is for me only darling~"
In an instant the smug smiles and relaxed posture of the wolf was gone, replaced by raised haunches and bared fangs. It was easy to figure out that your little chat had come to a sudden conclusion.
As Mettaton stood, snarling and snapping over your face, you at least hoped that he would kill you quickly. It would be boring for both of you if he decided to draw things out. Though, maybe if he did Sans would have more time to escape from that trap back in the forest. Wait, why were you thinking of that? It didn't matter if that guy died or not. You wouldn't even be around to care anyway. But maybe if he lived... your life would have had some meaning after all?
...
Nah, that guy was doomed.
With a deep growl and a final snarled 'Goodbyes, darling', Mettaton went straight for you jugular. You quickly guessed that, unlike before, he had no intention of performing a second fake out.
However, that didn't stop him from getting blindsided by a wave of large bones.
The whimpering wolf was thrown halfway across the cave where he landed with a crash and the sound of a lot of his trinkets falling and scattering across the cave floor. Before you could figure out what was happening and why you were still alive? seriously? god damnit?, Sans appeared out of nowhere with one of the greatest one liners fit for the history books;
"hi."