~Clover~
Clover wasn't surprised when she saw Mettaton blocking the way. She was, however, very annoyed. Couldn't the kids get a break for ten seconds?
"OH YES," Mettaton said. "THERE YOU ARE, DARLINGS. IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE 'MALFUNCTIONING' ROBOT." He paused. "... NOT! MALFUNCTION? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW."
"Called it!" Clover yelled, folding her arms.
"YOU ALREADY FIGURED IT OUT?" Mettaton asked.
"That this is all fake?" Clover asked. "Yeah, I guessed so." She furrowed her brow. "I just wanna know... why. Why did you do all this?"
"IT WAS ALL ALPHYS," Mettaton responded. "SHE'S BEEN PLAYING YOU ALL FOR FOOLS 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 CHILDREN. ALL SO SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM THE DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST. ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK THAT SHE'S THE GREAT PERSON... THAT SHE'S NOT."
"I knew it," Melody grumbled. "It felt all scripted and fake and..."
"She... she was lying to us?" Cody looked heartbroken.
"Where the HECK is she?!" Brayden growled, putting his fist in his palm. "I'm gonna-"
"SHE'S RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR, ACTUALLY," Mettaton answered. "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS HER FINEST HOUR. DURING OUR 'BATTLE', SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO 'DEACTIVATE' ME, 'SAVING' YOU ALL ONE FINAL TIME. FINALLY. SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. YOU ALL WILL REGARD HER SO HIGHLY SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO LEAVE."
"I don't think so." Clover growled.
There was no way she would listen to a traitor. A selfish traitor.
"... OR NOT." Mettaton said. "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? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW... WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?"
Suddenly, the door behind the kids slammed close. Someone furiously knocked on the door. She sounded like Alphys.
"H-hey!" Alphys squeaked. "Wh-wh-what's going on?! Th-th-the door just locked itself..."
"Oh no, we're screwed." Percy uttered.
The floor lit up a bright red. Clover grabbed onto her brother with one arm and pulled out her gun with the other.
"SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED! BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!" Mettaton exclaimed. The floor began going up. "REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED! ON OUR NEW SHOW... 'ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT'!"
Clover glared at Mettaton. "You were the one that rearranged the CORE, werent'cha?"
"YES, I WAS THE ONE THAT REARRANGED THE CORE!" Mettaton exclaimed. "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?" If he had a face, he would've grinned sadistically. "KILLING YOU ALL MYSELF!"
Clover fired bullets at Mettaton's solid metal body. They flung off like ping pong balls.
"THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME, DARLING," Mettaton chuckled. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTING IS? YOU WERE NEVER ANY THREAT TO ME. QUITE FRANKLY, I COULD'VE EASILY OBLITERATED YOU, EVEN IF THAT OP RED-SOULED HUMAN HAD BEEN THERE."
"I'mma punch him!" Brayden gritted his teeth. Percy stood next to him.
"His body is made of metal," Percy informed Brayden. "You'll break your hand if you do."
"SEE? THAT PURPLE HUMAN KNOWS WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT!" Mettaton clapped. He faced Percy. "THEN YOU SHOULD KNOW SOMETHING ELSE, SHOULDN'T YOU, DARLING? THE TRUTH ABOUT WHEN YOU MEET ASGORE."
"Um..." Percy frantically flipped through his notes. "C... Chara?"
"OH YES, THE FALLEN ANGEL!" Mettaton exclaimed. "OUR SAVIOUR!" Everyone frowned at that. "YOU KIDS ARE WEAK. IF YOU CONTINUE FORWARD, ASGORE WILL KILL YOU AND TAKE YOUR SOULS. HE WILL USE THEM TO RAISE THE FALLEN ANGEL AND DESTROY HUMANITY."
Blocks rained down on the kids. Clover whipped out her gun and began firing. She managed to shoot the majority, with only Melody getting hit on the head.
"BUT IF I GET YOUR SOULS, I CAN STOP ASGORE'S PLAN!" Mettaton continued. "I CAN SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION!"
More blocks rained down. Instead this time, they were lines. Clover continued firing, protecting herself and her friends. She was actually kind of enjoying herself.
"THEN, USING YOUR SOULS, I'LL CROSS THE BARRIER," Mettaton said. "AND WITH MY GOD-LIKE ABILITIES, I'LL BECOME THE GREATEST TV STAR YOU'VE EVER SEEN! YOU THINK I WAS NUTS DOWN IN THE UNDERGROUND? DARLING, YOU ARE NOT PREPARED FOR WHAT I WILL SHOWCASE ON THE SURFACE! HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS... NO, MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME!"
"Well, humans would find a robotic TV star less terrifying than a living, breathing skeleton." Percy pointed out.
Clover glared at Mettaton. He wanted to take the souls of the kids and become god-like? No thanks. It made him no better than any other monster. She wasn't having any of that.
She wondered... was there any way to stop Mettaton...? The eighth human might know. And indeed they did.
There was an off switch on Mettaton's back. Alphys called to talk about it, but Clover refused to listen to her. She didn't listen to traitors.
"Hey!" Clover yelled. "Mettaton! There's a mirror behind ya!"
"OH?" Mettaton asked. "A MIRROR? RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FINALE!"
He turned around, revealing an off switch on his backside.
"Let's end this, you vermin." Clover grumbled. She flipped the switch. Mettaton's body froze.
"Um... Clover..." Cody eyed his sister. She held her breath.
"DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH." Mettaton spoke every syllable slowly.
He suddenly started shaking at an immense rate, his lights going haywire. The kids were forced to take a step back. The eighth human wore a pair of sunglasses (that they got from who knows where). A bright light consumed their vision.
A voice boomed, "OH YES!"
Smoke covered the stage. Some kind of figure was standing behind it.
"Ohhh my," the figure chuckled. "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 children, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So, as thanks... I'll give you all a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments..."
A glamorous monster appeared, with the sexiest legs you've ever seen. His black hair was swept over his robotic skin, a heart in the centre of his chest.
"ABSOLUTELY beautiful!" he exclaimed.
"Oh no..." Melody shook her head. "Clover, what have you done?"
"Do you think I wanted him to become that thing?" Clover retorted, glaring at Melody.
"He looks like a vocaloid now..." Percy said with wonder.
"WAIT, HOW DID HE CHANGE INTO MICHAEL JACKSON!?" Brayden asked, staring at Mettaton. His expression was hard to describe. "AND WHY ARE HIS LEGS MAKING ME FEEL WEIRD?!"
Mettaton swung his legs at the kids, knocking them back in surprise.
The eighth human poked Clover's side. They pointed at her gun, then at Mettaton's legs. Clover nodded. She fired at the legs. They swerved around, making them easier yet somehow harder to dodge. A heel kicked Clover in the cheek. She grumbled, falling to her knees. She wiped her cheek, giving Mettaton the stink eye. The ratings had increased by a solid 90 due to the violence that was portrayed.
"Drama!" Mettaton yelled. "Romance! Bloodshed!"
"HEY!" Brayden taunted, waving his arms. "I'M NOT GONNA GET HIT AT ALL!"
As soon as he said that, a bomb exploded near his face, knocking him out cold. Another great move from the Fanta-coloured soul child.
"Watch this!" Melody yelled.
She did a pirouette, raising her arms. The audience clapped and ratings went up.
Meanwhile, Mettaton's little robots - Minitons - threw a bunch of sweetheart-like things at the kids. The eighth human pulled Percy back, using their body as a shield. Clover stood in front of her brother and Faye, shooting at Mettaton's legs.
"Clover, look out for those!" Cody pointed at some blocks. Clover gritted her teeth.
"Just has to make this harder for me." she grumbled.
The eighth human suddenly ran in, holding out their sword. They batted away some of the Minitons. Clover gave them a grin. They returned it.
"I'm gonna help Brayden." Cody said.
He ran over to Brayden, who was rubbing his forehead. Faye kept slinking back, holding onto her toy knife.
Brayden ate a Glamburger he bought back at that wacky MTT Resort. His HP increased and so did the ratings. He cheered.
"Guess who's BACK, SUCKERS!" Brayden yelled at the cameras.
A Miniton landed on his head, knocking him out for a second time.
Faye started dancing in the corner, making a bunch of... interesting hand movements. Somehow, this increased the ratings.
"Smile for the camera, darlings!" Mettaton exclaimed.
"Ugh." Melody turned on her heel and scoffed at the audience, raising the salt levels over 9000.
The audience rooted for her destruction. Minitons chased her around. Clover sighed and fired at the bots, saving Melody's life.
"Oooh, it's time for a pop quiz!" Mettaton said, poking his tongue out.
"Put that tongue away this instant or I will kick you where the sun doesn't shine!" Melody yelled.
"Melody!" Clover stared at her. "Girl, that's too far."
"He's being too far, Clover," Melody responded. "Look at him! Disgusting."
Clover rolled her eyes.
Mettaton spoke over them. "I hope you brought a keyboard, or notepad, or a reviews section... this one's an essay question! What do you love most about Mettaton?"
Clover frowned. She wasn't quite sure what to write for this one.
...
👍👍SUPERMAN👍👍: HE'S GOT NICE LEGS...?!
OtakuBoy: He looks like an anime boy.
~MelodyTrust~: Although he's gross, he's got some nice moves.
Ilikecooking6: Um... he's a kinda nice guy?
sevenleafclover: guess hes got some cool fighting moves
imfayedingaway: his fanart is cool...
mynameisnotchara: ...
...
"Oh my!" Mettaton exclaimed, reading everyone's results. "These are fabulous!"
Mettaton is saving your essays for future use.
"Legs..." Brayden said, hypnotized by Mettaton's legs. Melody rolled her eyes again.
"Those essays really showed everyone your hearts," Mettaton said. "So why don't I show you mine?"
A white heart floated out of Mettaton's chest, releasing barrages of lightning bolts. Minitons flew down and dispersed some more sweethearts. The lightning bolts were everywhere. The kids were forced to scatter. Clover stood back, keeping an eye on her brother. She held up her gun. The eighth human gestured at the gun and held out their hand.
"You want it?" Clover asked.
The kid nodded. Clover bit her lip, putting the weapon into the determined child's hand. And wow... even Clover was shocked by their skill. They shot the Minitons with ease, colours exploding everywhere. They moved like they were the Flash, determination in their every step.
"But how are you on the dance floor?" Mettaton asked.
The eighth human flipped the gun in their fingers, like they were mocking him. A disco ball appeared above the kids, spewing out blue lasers. The kids stayed still for the blue lasers. When a white one appeared, the eighth human fired a bullet at the disco ball, changing the laser to blue.
"THAT'S RIGHT SUCKERS!" Brayden yelled at the audience, pointing at the eighth human. "THEY'RE THE BOSS! THEY KNOW WHAT'S UP!"
Brayden nearly got knocked out again, but the eighth human swooped in and fired at the Miniton about to hit him in the head. Eighth human 20, everyone else 0. Faye danced in the corner again. Melody danced alongside her. The ratings continued to rise.
"Lights! Camera! Action!" Mettaton exclaimed. The eighth human turned and blew a raspberry at the audience. They screamed and cheered, rooting for their destruction.
"SANS!" Papyrus yelled. "WHY DO THOSE HUMANS LOOK SO SIMILAR TO THE ONES THAT SLEPT OVER AT OUR HOUSE?"
"dunno bro," Sans shrugged. "must be a coincidence."
"YEAH KIDS!" Undyne yelled. "YOU SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS!"
"oh no..." Napstablook said. "the red one is so op... and mettaton... he's nice i guess..."
"Co... dy...!" Maya squeaked, lava squirting out of her head.
She was still at the MTT Resort because the CORE was too dangerous for her.
"Those darn kids," Burgerpants chuckled. He frowned. "I can't believe a bunch of foetuses are achieving more in five minutes than I did in my entire life."
"YOU RULE GUYS!" Monster Kid cheered.
"METTATON! METTATON!" All of MTT Resort chanted.
"These attacks are obviously too easy for you," Mettaton chuckled, doing a few dance moves. "I guess that means I'll have to release my special attack! Hold onto your kneecaps!"
Clover frowned. "What does he mean by-"
Suddenly, Mettaton's legs detached themselves and approached the kids like missiles. Quickly. Almost like lightning. Clover was meaning to jump out of the way, but one pierced her through the stomach and carried her up into the air. Her sight went dizzy. All sounds around her dispersed. Her arms went limp. She couldn't feel anything but pain.
Pain...
"clover..." Sans frowned. He covered his brother's eye sockets.
"CLOVER!" Cody screamed, his voice cracking.
The eighth human propelled themself up using their sword, grabbing onto the leg. They moved upwards with Clover, eyeing the poor girl. They grabbed her waist and pulled her on board the leg. She felt numb. Blood was splattered all over the leg.
She wanted to die... die so the pain could go away...
The eighth human stuffed something in her mouth. Suddenly, she felt the pain disappear. Her stomach felt normal again. Clover blinked.
"Th... thank you," she thanked them. She raised her brow. "What... what did you feed me...?"
The eighth human wagged their finger, as if they were saying, 'it's a secret.' They grabbed onto the rear of the leg. Darkness was on their face.
"Ya wanna drive this thing?" Clover asked. The eighth human nodded. Clover grinned. "Pardner, I like your style."
The leg holding the two children came zooming down. Everyone gasped and stared.
"YEEHAW!" Clover yelled, which she really should've done ages ago. "WE'RE BRINGING YA DOWN, YA CHEATIN' VERMIN!"
"They're riding a flying leg," Percy said, adjusting his glasses. "Life doesn't get much more exciting than this."
"Oh myyyy GOD!" Mettaton yelled. "THAT'S ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!"
"CLOVER!" Cody yelled in joy. "STICK KID!"
"I WANNA RIDE A FLYING LEG TOO!" Brayden yelled.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS GOING ON!?" Melody yelled, grabbing her hair.
"SANS!" Papyrus yelled. "SANS! A FLYING LEG, SANS!"
"heh heh," Sans chuckled. "atta girl, clover."
"YEAH!" Undyne cheered. "NOTHING STOPS MY KIDS!" She blushed. "Did I just call them 'my kids'...?"
"METTATON'S LEG! METTATON'S LEG!" the whole MTT Resort screamed.
"Leg so hot you fry an egg!" Catty and Bratty squealed in sync.
"CROAK!" Froggit croaked.
"WHY IS EVERYONE SCREAMING?" Burgerpants screamed. "SHUT UP! I CAN'T HEAR MY OWN INTERNAL SUFFERING!"
The eighth human held up Clover's gun. The leg flew over Mettaton's head. In slow motion, the eighth human fired a bullet at Mettaton's heart. It shook, like it was going to crack. It returned to Mettaton's chest. His arms wobbled. His eyes went dark. Smoke came out of his armpits.
"The show... isn't over yet...!" Mettaton cried. "Do you really want humanity to perish?!" He paused. "... or do you just believe in yourselves that much?!"
Minitons swarmed from left and right; the eighth human rapid fired at them. Clover was still impressed by that. They were very talented. Maybe too talented...
"Well, it's either me or you kids!" Mettaton yelled. "Witness the true power of humanity's star!"
Lightning bolts once again rained down from everywhere, as well as Mettaton's heart making one more appearance. The eighth human prepared to shoot.
"Wait," Cody held them back. "I think that's enough."
"Cody's right," Percy said, looking up from his notes. "It seems Mettaton's body is about to collapse." He paused. "Alphys was right. In this form, he truly is vulnerable."
So the kids avoided the lightning bolts as best they could. Like Percy said, Mettaton couldn't handle the pressure and lost his arms. His eyes went white and his armpits continued to smoke.
"Looks like Mettaton's been... disarmed." Faye chuckled. Everyone groaned.
"OH MY!" Mettaton exclaimed. "LOOK AT THOSE RATINGS!" The ratings, yes, had gone over 9,000. Actually, over 15,000. More kids, more fame.
"THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE EVER HAD!" Mettaton gasped. "WE'VE REACHED THE VIEWER CALL-IN MILESTONE! ONE LUCKY VIEWER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO ME... BEFORE I LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND FOREVER! LET'S SEE WHO CALLS IN FIRST!"
Someone rung in.
Mettaton grinned. "HI, YOU'RE ON TV! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR LAST SHOW?"
"oh... hi... mettaton..." the viewer responded. They sounded... familiar. "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 really tell, but... i guess this is the last episode...? i'll miss you... Mettaton... oh, i didn't mean to talk so long... ohhh..."
"NO, WAIT!" Mettaton shouted, his voice full of melancholy. "WAIT, BL... H... THEY ALREADY HUNG UP..." He brightened up. "I'LL TAKE ANOTHER CALLER!"
"Mettaton, your show made us so happy!"
"Mettaton, I don't know what I'll do without you."
"Mettaton, there's a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-shaped heart."
"Oh wow, Mettaton..." Faye said quietly. "It seems monsters really like you..."
"Yeah," Cody agreed. He shrugged. "Maybe... you should... not leave?"
"Have to agree," Clover said. "You're pretty special down here, Mettaton. On the surface, we've got tons of pop stars and stuff already. But what 'bout the Underground?"
"From my general observation, you seem to be the only celebrity down here." Percy said.
"As a performer myself, I can tell you it's always good to stay loyal to your fans." Melody added.
"Yeah, MTT!" Brayden grinned. "The Underground needs you and your legs!"
The eighth human gave Mettaton a thumbs up.
"EVERYONE..." Mettaton appeared emotional. "THANK YOU SO MUCH." He looked at the kids. "DARLINGS... THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU'RE ALL RIGHT. IF I LEFT... THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE ITS SPARK. AN ACHING VOID THAT CAN NEVER BE FILLED. AND... DARLINGS, I CAN SEE IT NOW. YOU'LL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO GET PAST ASGORE. YOU'LL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PROTECT HUMANITY."
"Aww..." Faye smiled.
"One more thing we should tell ya," Clover said, holding up a hand. "It's about Chara."
The kids explained Chara's plan. Mettaton looked quite astounded.
"WELL... I WOULD HELP YOU... BUT I AM NEARLY OUT OF BATTERY POWER," Mettaton sighed. "BUT DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME. I KNOW YOU ALL CAN DO IT. KNOCK 'EM DEAD FOR ME, DARLINGS! AND TO EVERYONE ELSE... THANK YOU... YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!"
A bright light shimmered. Mettaton was gone.
"Mettaton..." Cody eyed Mettaton's upper body lying on the floor.
His eyes were black. Clover wrapped an arm around her brother. She had to admit, she felt a little upset. She was starting to like the robot, even if he was a little arrogant.
"I... I managed to open the lock!" Alphys burst in. Everyone was too upset about Mettaton to have a go at her. "Are you guys..." She gasped in horror when she saw Mettaton. "Oh my God. Mettaton! Mettaton, are you..." She turned around and stared at the kids. "... thank GOD, it's just the batteries. Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have... I would have..."
"Would have...?" Clover asked, raising her brow.
"I m-mean, hey," Alphys quickly changed the topic. "It's n-no problem, you know? He's just a robot, if you guys messed it up-"
"He's not just a robot," Percy interrupted. "He's a ghost inside a robot's body."
"W-what?" Alphys asked, staring at him.
"Please, he has a better grasp of emotions than I do," Percy responded. "If he really was a robot, he'd be acting more like me. And putting two and two together, I think he's related to Napstablook."
Clover wondered how he figured that out...
"Well... you're not wrong..." Alphys sighed. "I met him at the... Human Fan Club at his house. Back then, he was indeed a ghost. But he'd always wanted to be a performer, so I... designed a body for him. And... it all began from there."
"Well there you go," Melody said. She stared at Percy. "How did you figure that out?"
"I force myself to pick up on speech patterns and behaviour to attempt to learn about how one must communicate socially," Percy responded. "I'm terrible at it, but it helped me out in my investigation."
"Will he be okay?" Cody asked Alphys.
"Y-yeah, he'll be fine..." Alphys replied. "I can always build another..." She looked down. "Anyway, why don't you guys go on ahead? I'll catch up, I just... need a moment."
"YEAH!" Brayden yelled. "TO ASGORE'S!"
He raced off.
Clover sighed, adjusting her hat. "Let's get outta this dump."