A/N:

…

SaintHeartwing:

There is an explanation for that… which I will get to… shortly. The thing is… you're probably not going to like it. Power levels in Undertale are incredibly vague and sketchy as hell, and this is merely one consequence of that fact.

It's very difficult to exactly quantify how much power Flowey and Asriel have at specific points in the game… because those encounters are based on themes and themes alone. They are based on themes of forgiveness, which is why I've begun to resent the inherent preachiness of the matter.

Sans's powers are theme-based, so people love to exaggerate about his personal qualities. That's another reason why I don't like him.

Asgore's role is theme-based. He's supposed to be a lovable goofball in a Catch-22 situation, and it's looped around to making me resent him for his uselessness in the narrative. That's why he never absorbs the human souls… and he anticlimactically dies in every route except for True Pacifist, were all of his problems are solved without forcing him to get off his throne and do something of his own volition for once in his life.

Undyne the Undying is based around a theme (portraying Frisk/The Player as the sole villain of Undertale, which I do not agree with), so she only gets that power boost in the Genocide Route. Otherwise, she just melts into a puddle. Like she did in the last chapter that I wrote.

Don't even get me started on the Fallen Child.

The reason I wrote the scene with Undyne that way… was because I was going for a specific theme, which is apparently one of the most important parts of writing, according to more than a few so-called literary connoisseurs.

Were you really expecting me to just give her something she didn't earn?

Simply because she demanded it?

Because she's a beloved character of 'The Friendly RPG Where No One Has To Die?'

Because she's 'the heroine that NEVER gives up?'

Also, that Justice soul didn't come from a random corpse that Kenneth found lying in the street.

Have you ever wondered if human souls could hold grudges?

(Also, Frisk uses they/them pronouns in this setting. I don't have strong opinions regarding that form of political correctness… but isn't this something that greatly angers a certain portion of the fandom? Just look at Aidrian, from Ask Frisk and Company. I've been thinking about that as of late.)

Chapter 17: MTT And Science Stuff

Ahem.

As a familiar music track known as 'Live Report' to play from a ceiling-mounted television, the ghost monster inside a robotic body known as Mettaton… began to speak.

"OHHHHHH YESSS! GOOD AFTERNOON, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES OF RIVERVIEW CITY! I ASSUME THAT YOU ALL KNOW WHO I AM, BECAUSE WHY WOULDN'T YOU? BUT JUST IN CASE ANY NEWCOMERS IN MY AUDIENCE ARE EVEN THE TINIEST BIT CONFUSED, ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MY WONDERFUL SELF!"

The monster adjusted his tie.

"THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS! AS YOU ALL KNOW, INTERESTING EVENTS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING IN THIS WONDERFUL CITY, AND IF THERE IS ANYTHING I LOVE OTHER THAN MYSELF, IT'S THE ENJOYMENT THAT I DERIVE FROM SNOOPING INTO PRIVATE AFFAIRS AND BROADCASTING THE RESULTING TIBITS OF JUICY GOSSIP! AND WHO BETTER TO GET US STARTED THAN THESE LOVELY LADIES? SAY HELLO TO CATTY AND BRATTY!"

The two female monsters had been eager sitting across a small table on a small couch, but upon being address by their idol, they both beamed.

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

"I'm Catty, and this is my best friend, Bratty!" said Catty. "We're being interviewed by Mettaton!"

"And Mettaton just signed my friend's butt!" said Bratty.

"But as much as we'd love to gush over my robot husband-" said Catty.

Bratty coughed.

"Sorry, OUR robot husband… we all know you're hear for some sweet, juicy gossip!" said Catty.

"Says you! I've already got a totally-not-fake marriage certificate-" said Bratty.

"LADIES, LADIES… I KNOW I'M THE UNDERGROUND'S MOST DESIRABLE BATCHELOR, BUT WE HAVE A BUSY SCHEDULE TO KEEP!"

As the three monsters began to chat about random and meaningless topics, some interesting titles began to scroll along the bottom of the screen.

MTT-BRAND STILL TOP-RATED (CURRENLY MAKING PREPARATIONS TO DEAL WITH ANY AND ALL COMPETITION)

LOCAL METTATON STILL VERY RICH, FAMOUS AND GORGEOUS

SNOWDIN CANINE UNIT COMPLETELY ANNIHILATED BY A MYSTERIOUS ASSAILANT, 'TOTALLY NOT A MONSTER'S HANDIWORK,' SAYS LOCAL GROUP OF 'POLITICALLY CORRECT' HUMANS

STRANGE FIGURES SEEN IN LOCAL WOODS

LOCAL BURGER RESTRAUNT DEMOLISHED BY MAGICAL EXPLOSTION, ARE HUMANS TO BLAME? YES, SAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TEN PERCENT OF LOCAL MONSTERS

KING AND QUEEN APPEAR TO BE GOING THOUGH A ROUGH PATCH IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP, NOT HELPED BY RUMORS OF SEPARATE AFFAIRS

THAT'S RIGHT, OUR BELOVED QUEEN WAS LAST SEEN HAVING AN EMOTIONAL CONVERSATION WITH A SHORT, LAZY SKELETON WHO THINKS THE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND HIM (TOTALLY NOT PROJECTING, BY THE WAY)

KING FLUFFYBUNS SEEN TRAILING AFTER SOME UNIMPORTANT HUMAN WOMAN LIKE A LOST PUPPY, HIGHLY UNUSUAL AND EXTREMELY SCANDALOUS

DOCTOR ALPHYS HAS RECENTLY TAKEN UP A MYSTERIOUS JOB OFFER WITH A STRANGE WEREWOLF WHO IS REPORTED TO BE 'TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME'… HOW SCANDALOUS, GIVEN THAT THE GOOD DOCTOR ALREADY HAS A GIRLFRIEND… NO OFFENSE UNDYNE, BUT YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER FINDING A LESS PROMISCIOUS GIRLFRIEND-

"Bastard."

Ignoring Alphys's mutterings, Gerson sighed.

After all that nasty business with Undyne's… Undyne in general… the old turtle had briefly hoped that everything that had happened was merely part of a fever dream.

Of course, that hope hadn't lasted long, just like the few good things that Gerson had experienced in his rather long life.

Bless you, Gertrude… may the Angel have mercy on your shrewish soul.

But putting those pessimistic thoughts aside, Gerson pondered if there anything he could actually do about the terrible situation he had found himself in.

After Undyne had… urk.

After Undyne had… melted… the mayor had scooped up the… liquid… and taken it away, but not before inviting the two of them to see how he would restore Undyne's body.

A modern miracle, he called it.

Hmph. He most likely wanted to add insult to injury, like a sadist.

Every fiber of Gerson's body was now screaming at him to pursue justice… but what good would that do?

The old turtle had no way to bring Undyne back to life by himself.

He could make an attempt to acquire a human soul of his own… but there was no chance of that ending well, no matter the outcome.

Gerson had a sinking feeling that the werewolf's pistol wasn't just for show.

That's what happens when an old man ignores his problems for far too long.

Looking in Alphys's direction, he noticed that she had curled up into a ball, muttering obscenities under her breath.

Gerson reached out to give her comfort… only to be interrupted by a shriek from the next room over.

You have one guess as to whose voice it was.

Undyne found herself walking along a narrow, rocky path.

All around her, there was nothing but a black abyss.

The path behind her was slowly swallowed up by darkness, so she had no choice but to wearily press on.

Not unlike a fictional captain who once walked into Dubai because he wanted to 'feel like a hero'… or some other stupid phrase used by a pretentious game developer.

In any case, Undyne tried to find a way out as she walked.

She called out into the abyss.

There was no response.

You all know what happens when people stare into the abyss, as noted by famous literary figure…

But this time, the abyss got annoyed and answered back in frustration.

"When it comes to monsters, y'all act like a bunch of god-damned hypocrites. Ain't that precious… you varmint."

Staring into the distance, Undyne saw a small human child with a cowboy hat and a toy gun.

"What the-"

BANG. BANG.

Upon entering the room, Gerson noticed four individuals.

The first was Kenneth's daughter, who was clutching a puncture wound in her abdomen. It was sizzling with the color of gold, and dust was trickling out.

Hovering over the young lass was the mayor's son, who was attempting to cancel out the Justice trait with his Integrity trait… with limited success.

The third was Kenneth, who was holding his left palm outstretched in order to maintain a Perseverance barrier that divided the room into two sections.

The barrier was visibly cracked, even as dozens of Justice spears were flying in all directions… originating from Undyne, who was flailing around while clutching her ruined, dust-leaking eye sockets, as she had already freed herself from her restraints though brute strength.

Kenneth's right hand twitched, but no pistol appear in his hand… yet.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK-"

"You have no one to blame but yourself, Undyne! It's hardly my fault that you don't have the proper acumen to harness the power of a human soul, you stupid bit-"

As the two monsters shouted at each other, Gerson tried to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

Gerson cursed the mayor for setting up this accursed situation.

Gerson cursed Undyne for not knowing when to leave well enough alone.

And Gerson cursed himself for being just as useless as his two old friends-

Squelch.

Gerson suddenly felt cold and numb.

Looking down, he saw a bright yellow spear that was protruding from his stomach.

The last thing that Gerson felt before losing consciousness… was a complicated bundle of emotions.

The spear looked impressive, at the very least.

He wouldn't have expected anything less from his honorary ward.

In another timeline, Gerson was absolutely sure that Undyne would be the one to strike down the genocidal child.

But we all know how that turned out.

And the child never forgot what the old turtle had said to them.