Alphys was doing her absolute best to keep it together, but she couldn't keep the tears from coming. Undyne, in complete shock and having no idea what to do, stepped forward hesitantly and set her hand on Alphys' shoulder. Mettaton avoided Undyne's gaze, still staring down at his arms.
"Alphys," Undyne said softly. She shook the lizard's shoulder gently.
Alphys sniffled and raised her head. "S-s-sorry," she choked. "U-um, r-right, let's g-get you h-home, Mettaton. T-then we c-can figure out what to d-do."
The lizard forced herself to her feet, refusing Undyne's help. She held out her hand to Mettaton to help him up with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, but he seemed to be in shock and wasn't moving. She turned to Undyne in desperation, but the fish had it covered.
"Uh, alright, Mettaton. I'm just gonna pick you up, is that okay?"
The robot slowly raised his eyes to hers and gave a tiny nod, past caring about his pride.
Undyne brought her arms under Mettaton's body and gently lifted him up, bridal style. She cradled his head to her chest, his legs swinging slightly as she walked out of the studio and took a long detour to Alphys' lab so that no one would see them, the lizard trailing just behind them.
Undyne glanced down at Mettaton in her arms to see that he had fallen asleep, his head resting in the curve of her bicep and shoulder. He looked terrible with his hair tangled and makeup running down his face, but the pain and misery his expression had held while awake was gone. For just a moment, he looked almost peaceful, asleep in Undyne's arms.
The first thing Mettaton noticed when he woke up was how much his head hurt and his arms ached. He opened his eyes to see a pair of big brown eyes staring down right at him.
"O-oh, sorry!" Alphys exclaimed as Mettaton jerked up in shock, nearly knocking her over. "Um, how are you feeling?"
The robot looked down at his arms, unable to ignore the searing pain. He blinked in confusion upon seeing the shiny new screws and flawless robotic skin, expecting instead to see wires and screws still sticking out everywhere or at least for the new plating to look out of place amid the old surrounding skin.
"I was able to fix all of the damage," Alphys explained. "It was difficult, though. Since, um, that kind of damage couldn't have caused by any technical malfunction or normal wear and tear, I wasn't really sure what to do at first, to fix the snapped wires and such…" She bit her lip.
Mettaton finally met her gaze. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Alphys felt her eyes welling up with tears again. "W-why, Mettaton? Why would you do that?"
She started crying in earnest as she approached the robot again and hugged him tight, as if afraid he would disappear. He flinched at first but soon softened into her arms, hugging her back.
"I just…" he began. "It's…" He sighed and then smiled brilliantly as if nothing was wrong.
"Alphys, darling, it's fine," he said airily, brushing her arms aside. "I was just a little tired after my show. You know how it is, sometimes the stress gets to me, but I'm perfectly ok now! See?" He stood up and spread his arms wide, giving a little twirl for good measure, trying to keep from grimacing in pain.
Alphys simply stared at him. "I don't believe you," she said.
Mettaton's grin faltered at the anger in her normally timid voice.
"You really hurt yourself. You had me and Undyne worried sick, and I'm still really worried about you. The least you could do is t-tell me what's going on!"
Mettaton lowered his gaze and he slowly sat back down on his pink bed, placing his head in his hands as he realized he couldn't keep up the façade. "I'm scared," he whispered.
Alphys sat beside him and rubbed his back. "Mettaton, whatever's going on, you can tell me. Everything will be okay. No secrets between us, remember?"
The robot nodded but he still couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. "I'm so alone, Alphys."
That was all he said. The lizard frowned and scooted closer to him.
"But Mettaton, you're not alone! You have me, and Undyne, even if you two don't always get along, and all of your fans! Everyone loves you and looks up to you!"
She was trying to help him feel better but instead he started to cry again, running his hand through his dark, rumpled hair.
"You don't get it. Everyone loves me but no one really cares about me! I'm the star of the Underground, an untouchable idol. Everyone wants to be me and yet I can't get my own pathetic life together!
"No one would care if I left. They might say they would but all they would be missing is the shallow entertainment provided by the programmable entertainment robot.
"You're the only friend I have, and I treat you like shit. I've worked so hard to get to where I am now, even though I don't deserve any of this success, and still, I'm not happy? No matter how many performances I give or how many autographs I sign, no matter how many fans profess their undying love for me, it doesn't get any better. I make everyone in the Underground smile with my shows. Shouldn't I be fulfilled by that? But it's just… not… working!"
Mettaton flung himself off his bed in rage and punched the wall of his bedroom with his fist, making Alphys flinch. He turned and looked down at his fist, now dented and scuffed in several places, and crumpled to the floor, sobbing.
"Mettaton." Again, Alphys dropped to his side and gently took his damaged hand. "I'm sorry you're feeling this way. You may not believe me, but… I know what it's like to feel like… l-like things are never going to get better. Really, I do. And I wished every day that I could just completely give up, but then I met Undyne and I met you and… It took time, but I'm happy now. I have amazing friends. And you're one of them."
Mettaton rested his head against the wall and shook his head, disgusted with himself. "You shouldn't say that," he said. "I haven't been a good friend to you. You've done so much for me and all I've done is belittle you and your interests. You've supported me from the beginning and I didn't do the same for you."
"That's not true! Well, yes, sometimes you can be a bit of a diva and, um, I can remember some occasions when you've said some, some not nice things, about anime and stuff…"
Mettaton snorted. "That's putting it mildly."
"But Mettaton, I mean it when I say you're a great friend. You're my best friend. You're a g-good person and I love you. Not just because you're a star, but because of who you really are, just being you. You inspire me every day to believe in myself, because if I don't, who else will? If it wasn't for your support, I might never have gotten the courage to confess to Undyne. You're not perfect…"
The robot huffed slightly, his habitual narcissism kicking in in response to being accused of not being perfect.
Alphys smiled slightly. "…But you're pretty darn close." She grinned as Mettaton looked up and squeezed her hand, giggling slightly at the compliment.
"You're irreplaceable, do you hear me?" said Alphys. "Don't you ever say things like that again. I don't know what I'd do without you. I'll be here to support you through whatever you need, alright? We're here for you, me and Undyne both. Got it?"
Mettaton gave a small smile and nodded. "Thank you, dar… Alphys. I appreciate it."
The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a little while, until Alphys spoke up. "You know what we need?"
Mettaton tilted his head questioningly.
"Some good food, some bad laughs, and some nice friends."
Alphys stood up and Mettaton followed suit. "Stay right here," she told him as she padded out of his room. "I have a couple of phone calls to make."