When they walked through the door, they were greeted with a small room, with another door at the other end of it, and Mettaton standing on top of a small pedestal in the center. He looked slightly annoyed.
"Well, what do we have here?" Corsiva asked the question, not hoping to get an answer. "You really don't know when you're beaten, do you?" Mettaton didn't give an answer to his question, and only spoke, somehow sounding somewhat exasperated as he did.
"OH YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLING. IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE 'MALFUNCTIONING' ROBOT. ... NOT! MALFUNCTION? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT. ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME. AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON THE SCREEN, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE. SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT. SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY. SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU. ALL SO SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST. ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK SHE'S THE GREAT PERSON... THAT SHE'S NOT." Corsiva was somewhat expecting something like this to be true, but it still hurt to hear Alphys being talked about like this, to hear someone saying Alphys was doing something less than moral.
"AND NOW, IT'S TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR. AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHYS IS WAITING OUTSIDE THE ROOM. DURING OUR 'BATTLE,' SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO 'DEACTIVATE' ME, 'SAVING' YOU ONE FINAL TIME. FINALLY. SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. YOU'LL REGARD HER SO HIGHLY SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO LEAVE." Mettaton was silent for a few seconds, the tension high. In Corsiva's eyes, he was letting all the information sink in, letting them realize what had really been going on. In Frisk's head, things were suddenly making sense. Alphys calling late after things had already happened, Mettaton always somehow being close to killing her, only for her to be rescued by Alphys.
"… OR NOT." Mettaton finished his dramatic pause, his voice slowly regaining his flare, his showmanship. "YOU SEE, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON'T THEY?" Corsiva very quickly became aware of some of the cameras around them. "AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW…" Both Corsiva and Frisk noticed how the platform they were standing on looked very strangely like a stage. "…WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?" Corsiva, Chara, and Frisk all noticed it immediately when the door behind them suddenly slammed shut, and locked itself.
They heard Alphys on the other side of the door, and heard her banging on the door.
"H-hey! Wh-wh-what's going on!? Th-th-the door just locked itself!" If Mettaton had a mouth, Corsiva was sure he would've been grinning.
"SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED! BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD! REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED! ON OUR NEW SHOW… 'ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!'" The stage they were standing in suddenly shot up into the air, moving extremely fast, and spotlights appeared on the stage, as well as around the stage.
"YES, I WAS THE ONE THAT RE-ARRANGED THE CORE! I WAS THE ONE THAT HIRED EVERYONE TO KILL YOU! THAT, HOWEVER, WAS A SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN. YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER? KILLING YOU MYSELF!" Frisk quickly pulled out her phone, and pressed the yellow button, her SOUL once again turning yellow. She pointed the palm of her hand at Mettaton and began firing upon him, only to be shocked as the bolts bounced off of his body. "THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME, DARLING. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTING IS!?" Mettaton began attacking Frisk in response. Frisk continued to dodge the attacks, albeit with some difficulty.
"Hey, here's an idea." Corsiva started, tapping her on the shoulder. "How about you fire at the attacks instead of Mettaton? The magical power of the shot should be equal to the average magical attack." Frisk nodded, and shot at one of the magical attacks. Upon coming into contact with the attack, both the attack and the bolt evaporated.
"LISTEN, DARLING. I'VE SEEN YOU FIGHT. YOU'RE WEAK. IF YOU CONTINUE, ASGORE WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL. AND WITH YOUR SOUL, ASGORE WILL DESTROY HUMANITY. BUT IF I GET YOUR SOUL, I CAN STOP ASGORE'S PLAN! I CAN SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION! THEN USING YOUR SOUL, I'LL CROSS THROUGH THE BARRIER... AND BECOME THE STAR I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING! HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS... NO! MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME! GLITZ! GLAMOUR! I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL! SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!"
Frisk continued to dodge and destroy the attacks, when suddenly, her phone started ringing.
"Should I answer it?" Frisk asked Corsiva.
"Look, I said earlier that I knew Alphys. And I didn't lie. Even if what Alphys did wasn't the right thing, she still had her reasons, and was doing what she thought was right. And now that it's all collapsed, she'll want to make up for what she did." Frisk nodded, and answered the phone.
"PLEASE tell me that you have some way to stop him!?" Frisk almost immediately said upon picking up the phone.
"U..uh... I can't see what's going on in there, but... D-d-don't give up, okay!? Th... there's o-one l-l-last way to beat Mettaton... It's... um... it's... This is a work-in-progress, so don't judge it too hard... But, you know how Mettaton always faces f-f-forward? That's because there's a switch on his backside. S-s-so if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around... um... And, umm... press th-th-th-the switch... He'll be... um... He'll be... Vulnerable. Well, g-g-gotta go!" Alphys hung up her phone, and Frisk thought for half of a second for what to do.
"Hey Mettaton! There's a mirror behind you!" Corsiva looked at Frisk, impressed. Nice. Playing to his vanity.
"OH? A MIRROR? RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FINALE! HMM... I DON'T SEE IT... WHERE IS IT...?" Frisk immediately rushed forward, and flipped the switch. "DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH?" Mettaton turned back around, his tiled face flashing all different colors at a rapid pace. Suddenly, the lights flashed extremely bright, and faded to black.
"Ohhhh YES." Mettaton's voice was echoing, and magnified. As fog suddenly flooded the stage, and spotlights appeared, Corsiva, Frisk, and Chara were suddenly greeted by a black silhouette of a tall figure, in a spectacular pose.
"Ohhhh my. If you flipped my switch, that can only mean one thing. You're desperate for the premiere of my new body. How rude… lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So… as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments…" Suddenly, the fog was dispersed, and in front of them was Mettaton, in a fantastic new body, complete with fabulous hair, legs, and a pink, white, and black color scheme.
"ABSOLUTELY Beautiful!" Mettaton finished, as the groups eyes finished adjusting, and they saw the stage they were on was now in front of hundreds of monsters, and a giant billboard showed the ratings. Corsiva immediately heard music playing, and he instantly recognized it as a song he gave to Mettaton a while ago.
"Death By Glamour, Huh?" He asked aloud.
"But of course, Corsiva Darling." Mettaton winked. "You make fantastic music." Corsiva smirked.
Stats? Frisk asked him. Mettaton EX makes his premiere! LV: 1/20. EXP:0. AT: 47. DF: 47. HP: 1900/1900. His weak point is his heart-shaped core. All he cares about are his ratings, and his fans. Impress the fans, get the ratings up, survive. And I know just how to do it. Corsiva cleared his throat.
"Mettaton, I challenge you to a duel!" A soft gasp was heard in the audience. "If we let the ratings on your show get below 2999, or either me or the human dies, then you win. If you win, you can take the Human's SOUL, and go do what you want to do. But if WE win, you have to let us pass." "And what kind of duel would this be, darling?" Mettaton asked Corsiva. "You should already know, you're so good at it. Showmanship, impressing the fans, multitasking. But for the most part…" Corsiva posed dramatically. "…I'm challenging you to a Dance Competition."
As soon as he posed and finished his phrase, the ratings spiked from around 3000 to 5000. Mettaton's eyes widened as he stared at Corsiva, impressed, and at a loss for words.
"Very well." Mettaton regained his composure. "I accept the challenge!" The ratings once again spiked, rising this time to 6000.
"Challenge starting now." Corsiva then quipped, before breaking out into a flurry of long and complicated dance moves. As he moved, the ratings continued to grow, and grow, and grow. Soon, he stopped dancing, and finished in a dramatic pose, his mouth in a smirk. The crowd yelled and cheered, and he gave a small bow of acceptance.
"Alright Mettaton, your turn." Mettaton gave a wink, before launching his own attack of dance moves. After he too, finished, the audience gave a cheer that was practically the same as the one they gave Corsiva.
Corsiva looked over at the board; the ratings had reached 8000, and still continued to gradually rise.
"Well, since we apparently are as good of dancers as each other, let's break this up into phases, shall we?" Corsiva said aloud. "Phase one, complete. Phase two: Multitasking. Let's see how well I can dodge your attacks while doing other things. If I can last three minutes, the phase ends, and I get a point. If you land a single hit on me before three minutes are up, you get a point. Sound like a plan?"
"Certainly, darling." Mettaton winked. "Let's see if you can last it."
"Bring it on." Corsiva got into a battle position, ready for anything.
Surprisingly enough, for the first minute and a half, Corsiva was completely silent, as he dodged all of the attacks whilst dancing simultaneously. However, as soon as Frisk checked her watch and saw that a minute and a half had passed, Corsiva got a bit more cocky.
"You know, you can see some weird stuff at 3 o'clock in the morning when in Waterfall." He started, scratching his chin slightly and smirking. "Now, while I know that you should never start off a sentence with you can see some weird stuff at 3 o'clock in the morning, let me elaborate. I was up at 3 in the morning, not because I wanted to be, but because I NEEDED to be. I had a meeting I had to go to at a friends' place. You may know her as the captain of the royal guard, I just know her as Undyne, the human knows her as their new friend who tried to teach them how to cook and ended up burning their own house down. That is besides the point, but I digress. You do NOT want to be late for a meeting with Undyne, no matter how good of friends you are with her.
"So I get there at 3 a.m., and I'm already in a bad mood because of how early it is. So when I come across an equally mad person, you know that nothing good is going to happen. The person I came across happened to be a ghost monster who had decided its ideal body was a literal training dummy. Now, this dummy was also having difficulty actually becoming corporeal, something they were incredibly upset about. So, when they saw me, they lashed out at me, insulting me, calling me names, etcetera etcetera. And I, being in such a bad mood already, and being myself, immediately made like the Empire and struck back."
Corsiva quickly got into the swing of it, and kept talking nonstop, until eventually…
"…And that's how I managed to teach a ghost how to tell the time. Speaking of time, I think the three minutes are up." Frisk looked at her watch again, and nodded. "I think I would make a good comedian." Corsiva said aloud, though mostly to himself. "Like John Mulaney. Or Brian Regan." Frisk snorted. "Anyways, now we move onto phase two. If I win one more point, then I win the competition. But it you win this one, you get a point, and the score will be tied up. We'll have the human come up with a new challenge on the spot. But for now, phase two is complete. Onto phase three: multitasking. Mettaton edition."
The crowd cheered, as Mettaton also moved into position. Corsiva summoned some bones, and started throwing them at the robot in a complex, yet fair, pattern. Mettaton was mostly silent as he danced and dodged his way through his three minutes. As was the case with Corsiva, Mettaton managed to completely avoid all attacks that were thrown his way, and made it through his own three minutes without getting touched a single time. Corsiva frowned.
"Alright, that means the points are all tied up. Human, if you would, please just come up with a tie-breaker challenge?" Frisk looked surprised for a moment, before her face scrunched up as she tried to think. She eventually smiled, and gave her answer.
"Singing." She said. "If you want to play the instrumental accompaniment while singing, go ahead."
Mettaton smirked, and went into a musical rendition of lyrics that he had clearly came up with himself to go along with the song Corsiva had provided him. As he finished up, the crowd gave a loud cheer of appreciation. Corsiva gave a small nod.
"Not bad, not bad." Suddenly, the music stopped, and Corsiva was somehow sitting at a piano that wasn't there before. "But I think I can do better. For my song, I will be singing a favorite of mine from a now disbanded band from the Surface." He cleared his throat, and began to sing and play.
"I've paid my dues. Time after time. I've done my sentence, but committed no crimes. And bad mistakes, I've made a few. I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through! We are the champions, my friends. And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end! We are the champions. We are the champions! No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions… of the world!" The crowd cheered, but he still played on.
"I've taken my bows, and my curtain calls. You've brought me fame, and fortune, and everything that goes with it, I thank you all! But it's been no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise. I consider it a challenge before the whole human race, and I ain't gonna lose! We are the champions, my friends. And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end! We are the champions. We are the champions! No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions… of the world-We are the champions my friends. And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end! We are the champions-WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! NO TIME FOR LOSERS, 'CAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!" As he stopped singing, and the instrumental accompaniment finished with a grand conclusion, the audience cheered and screamed. "Thank you Underground! I love each and every one of you!"
"OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS! THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE EVER HAD! WE'VE REACHED THE VIEWER CALL-IN MILESTONE!" Corsiva looked over at the ratings board, having been caught up in the moment. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, as he saw that the ratings had raised above 12000. "ONE LUCKY VIEWER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO ME... ... BEFORE I LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND FOREVER! LET'S SEE WHO CALLS IN FIRST!" A phone appeared, and it started ringing. Mettaton answered it, and put it on speaker, pushing it up to a microphone. "HI, YOU'RE ON TV! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR LAST SHOW?" As the caller started speaking, Mettaton froze, his perpetual smile disappearing.
"... oh... hi… mettaton… i really liked watching your show… my life is pretty boring, but… seeing you on the screen… brought excitement to my life… vicariously." Mettaton's expression progressively got more and more sad, and if he was able to shed tears, Corsiva was sure he would be crying right about now. "i can't tell, but… i guess this is the last episode…? i'll miss you… mettaton….. … oh…. i didn't mean to talk so long… oh..."
"NO, WAIT! WAIT, BL…" Mettaton stopped, realizing they had already hung up. "H… THEY ALREADY HUNG UP." Mettaton looked extremely upset now, but it was quickly replaced by another smile, in an attempt to either cheer himself up, or cover up what he just did. "I'LL TAKE ANOTHER CALLER!" The phone rang again, and Mettaton quickly answered it.
"Mettaton, your show made us so happy!" Suddenly, the phone rang again, to be answered again.
"Mettaton, I don't know what I'll watch without you." And again.
"Mettaton, there's a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-shaped heart." Mettaton slowly turned off the phone, looking slightly forlorn, and unsure of himself.
"AH… I… I SEE… … EVERYONE… THANK YOU SO MUCH. …DARLING." He directed his attention towards Frisk. "PERHAPS… IT MIGHT BE BETTER IF I STAY HERE A WHILE. HUMANS ALREADY HAVE STARS AND IDOLS, BUT MONSTERS… THEY ONLY HAVE ME. IF I LEFT… THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE ITS SPARK. I'D LEAVE AN ACHING VOID THAT COULD NEVER BE FILLED. SO… I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DELAY MY BIG DEBUT. BESIDES." He seemed to cheer up again. "YOU'VE PROVEN YOURSELF TO BE VERY STRONG. PERHAPS… EVEN STRONG ENOUGH TO GET PAST ASGORE. I'M SURE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PROTECT HUMANITY.
"HA, HA… IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST, ANYWAY. THE TRUTH IS, THIS FORM'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS… INEFFICIENT. IN A FEW MOMENTS, I'LL RUN OUT OF BATTERY POWER, AND… WELL. I'LL BE ALRIGHT. KNOCK 'EM DEAD, DARLING. AND EVERYONE... THANK YOU. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!" And with a bright flash of light, it all went silent once more.
A/N - Blah Blah Blah Number 8 Blah Blah Blah Comment and/or review Blah Blah Blah Have a good day
-SF