Frisk walked through the lobby of MTT Resort, immediately making for a door in the back. After stepping through, he gasped. There was machinery, everywhere. This surely had to be the core. As he stepped in, he got yet another phone call from Alphys.
"Ready? This is it! The elevator takes you to the top of the core." Frisk walked up and pushed a button for the elevator, yet nothing happened,.
"Alphys, it isn't working.
"What? The elevator should be working…okay this is fine. Go down that door to your left. From there we'll get to the rest of the Core. Frisk walked through the door into the rooms behind. He was immediately hit with a long hallway full of lasers. He put the phone back to his ear.
"Don't worry, I'll disable the lasers." He could hear keys on a keyboard clattering in the background, then Alphys voice, sounding panicked. "Th-They're not turning off! O-Okay…this is fine. I'll turn off the p-power for the whole area. Then you can walk across." Moments later, all the lasers were off. Frisk started to cross. Suddenly when he was beside a swarm of the laser generators, he heard Alphys.
"W-WAIT!" Frisk paused, juts as a mass of blue lasers erupted from the generators. He remained perfectly still, remembering the rule.
"Th-The power…it's turning itself back on. D-Damn it…t-this wasn't supposed…okay. I'm going to turn it off again. When it comes off, move a little, then stop. You keep doing that, and you won't get h-h-hurt." Frisk decided to take Alphys at her word. When the lasers went off, he broke into a sprint. Suddenly he saw lights on the generators and he skidded to a stop, just as the lasers reactivated. This pattern kept up for only a minute, until Frisk was on the other side.
"S-See? I've got EVERYTHING under control." Alphys insisted. Suddenly, the line went dead.
"Alphys? ALPHYS?!" Frisk shouted into the phone. When he heard nothing, he shoved it into his pocket and continued on. It took time, but finally he found a door that looked very different. He slowly entered into the darkened room. There, directly in front of him, was Mettaton.
"Oh yes. There you are darling. It's time to finally 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 from the screen, she grew attached to your little adventure. She wanted to be a part of it. So, she decided to insert herself into you. She's been reactivating puzzles. Disabling elevators. She enlisted me to torment you! All so SHE could save you from dangers that didn't exist. So you would think she's the great person that she's NOT. Now, it's time for her finest hour. She'll be at this room any second now. During our battle, she will interrupt. She will pretend to 'deactivate me', 'saving' you one final time. She'll be the heroine of your adventure."
Frisk could feel his heart sinking. All this time…and he had been played for a chump. Worst of all, it had worked. Who knows? He could have already been home had Alphys not slowed him down.
"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?!" Frisk heard the door slam shut and lock behind him, then Alphys's voice on the other side.
"H-Hey! Wh-Wh-What's going on!?"
"SORRY FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED!" Mettaton announced as the room lit up.
"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!"
Frisk immediately pulled out the knife, staring down Mettaton.
"Listen, darling. I've seen you fight. You're weak. If you continue forward, Asgore will take your soul. With your soul, Asgore will DESTROY humanity. BUT…if I get your soul, 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! I'll FINALLY have it all! So what if a few people have to die? IT'S SHOW BUISNESS BABY!"
Frisk reached for the phone as he felt it vibrating. Alphys immediately started talking when he picked up.
"Listen, don't give up! T-There's one last way to defeat M-Mettaton. It's…um…it's…this is a work in progress so don't judge it too hard. You know how Mettaton always faces towards you? It's because of a switch on his backside. S-S-So if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around…um…"
Frisks's response was cold.
"Hit the switch on his back. Got it." He abruptly hung up on Alphys.
'Come on…THINK Frisk…'
"Uhh…Hey Mettaton! There's a mirror behind you! Want to see how fabulous you are?"
"Ooooh! I have to look good for our grand finale." Mettaton turned, and Frisk rushed forward, immediately flipping the switch on Mettaton's backside. Mettaton suddenly froze.
"D…Did you…just hit…my switch?" The robot began to shake and shudder. Frisk backed away as smoke engulfed the robot. Suddenly, it cleared. The original form of Mettaton wasn't there, but in his place, was still Mettaton, only he looked a bit more human. Mettaton EX.
Frisk pocketed his knife, knowing that it would do nothing against Mettaton's robotic form. It would be pointless to try. This was a show right? So maybe…Frisk put a foot forward and crossed his arms.
"Alright then you pile of scrap metal…think you can hit me?! Because I think you'll be a bit too slow!" Mettaton stared down at Frisk, a pleasant gleam in his eye.
"Oooh a challenge!" Immediately one of Mettaton's legs flashed out. If Frisk hadn't sidestepped when he did, he would have quite a nasty bruise on his face, or worse.
"You've had such a big heart today darling…so why don't I show you mine?" Frisk suddenly saw a mechanical heart of Mettaton he had revealed. Acting fast, Frisk grabbed his knife and charged forward, avoiding Mettaton's strikes as he went, managing to strike the metal heart. He immediately jumped back. Mettaton seemed unfazed.
"How are you on the dance floor?" Mettaton chuckled. Suddenly Frisk saw a disco ball above with many tiny laser generators inside. He jumped to the right, then the left as the lasers fired out, striking the ground. The lasers kept coming, faster and faster. Frisk had to jump, sometimes tuck and roll to avoid them. The last laser went flying past his ear. He did a spin on one foot and landed in a mocking pose. He could just barely see a ratings screen on the side, the bar growing close to a yellow line. Frisk suddenly noticed the heart was exposed.
He took another running start at the robots weak point, but then faked back as Mettaton sent the disco ball smashing to the ground. Frisk dealt another blow to the heart. Mettaton shuddered slightly, and his arms exploded off.
"A…Arms? Wh…Who needs arms with legs like THESE?! I'll still win!" Frisk was caught off guard for a kick from one of the legs. He ducked off to the side, but not fast enough, and the sharp end of his foot just nicked Frisk's arm.
"ENOUGH of this! Do you really want to perish? Or do you just believe in yourself that much?!"
"Well, I can be a stubborn person I guess." Frisk retorted in response. The heart was still in the open. If he could strike once more, then maybe…Mettaton sent a miniature bomb flying in Frisks's direction. He dove to the right, landing on his side as it exploded on the other side of the room. He scrambled to his feet to see Mettaton preparing to throw another.
"How inspiring! However, darling, it's me or you. I think we both know who's going to win." Mettaton threw the bomb. Frisk took a running start. The bomb was just barely bigger than his hands, and light enough that he could grab onto it. He started a spin as he grabbed the bomb, using its momentum to turn it around and throw it back. The bomb struck home, slamming straight into Mettaton's heart before exploding. When the dust cleared, Frisk could see Mettaton still active, but with no arms or legs this time. His chest was heaving.
"Ooh, look at these ratings!"
"W…What?!" Frisk asked, exhausted from having to dodge the attacks.
"We've reached the viewer call-in milestone! One lucky caller will get the chance to talk to me, Mettaton EX, before I leave the Underground forever." Immediately a call-in phone began ringing.
"Hi, you're on TV!" On the other end, was what sounded like a little kids' voice.
"Oh…hi…Mettaton…I really liked watching your show…my life is pretty boring…but…seeing you on the screen…brought my excitement to my life…vicariously. I can't tell, but…I guess this is the last episode…?" Mettaton's smug grin began to fade.
"I'll miss you Mettaton!" The caller hung up. Frisk stared at Mettaton. Or…what was left of him at least.
"I…I see…everyone…thank you. Darling…perhaps…it might be better if I stay here for a while. You humans already have stars and idols. But monsters…they only have me. The Underground would lose its spark if I left. I'd leave an aching void that can never be filled. Besides, you've proven yourself to be very strong." The cameras stopped. "Maybe even strong enough to get past Asgore. I'm sure you'll be able to protect humanity. It's for the best anyway…truth is, this body's energy consumption is…inefficient…hey. Knock 'em dead, darling." Frisk looked up and gave a small smile. "Will do."
Mechanical whirring sounded as Mettaton slowly shut down. Just then Alphys rushed in through a now unlocked door.
"I…I managed to open the lock! Are you two…" Alphys's voice trailed away as she ran over to Mettaton's powerless form. "Oh my god. Mettaton…are you…oh, thank god it's just the batteries. If you were gone, I would have…" Frisk leaned closer to Alphys, who stopped talking. "Why don't you go on ahead?" Frisk nodded, and brushed past Alphys into the corridor beyond. A couple moments later, Alphys caught up.
"S…Sorry about that! Let's keep going…" After waiting for Frisk to catch up, Alphys spoke again.
"S-So you're about to meet Asgore, h-huh?" Frisks's response was blunt.
"Yeah. Guess so." There was more walking in silence before Alphys spoke again.
"You'll finally get to go home!" They soon reached the elevator that would bring Frisk up to the Kings castle. As he opened the door, Alphys called.
"W-wait!" Frisk stopped and looked. Alphys looked…sad.
"I was just going to say goodbye and…oh I can't take this anymore." She turned around, but spoke over her shoulder.
"I…I lied to you…a human soul isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone."
"What?" Frisk felt crestfallen. "Then how?"
"It takes at least a human soul…and a monster soul…if you want to go home…you'll have to take his soul. You'll need to kill Asgore. …I'm sorry." Alphys didn't wait for a response, simply walked away, back to tend to Mettaton. Frisk stepped into the elevator and nearly collapsed against the wall. Kill the king? But how? He wasn't strong enough…was he? The elevator dragged him further and further up, towards the barrier…and to Asgore.