Important note: So we are now switching perspective to the other side of the Rift. we are taking it from the top again, this chapter starts the day after the battle where Chara exploded.

Now that you're at least vaguely oriented, you may proceed with the reading of the chapter.

"Now," Mettaton started. "You just need to put the casing back in place,"

"Right," Felix replied, stooping a little, double checking the wires to make sure they were all right. After everyone had returned last night, most had gone home to rest and grieve from the incident. Frisk had come back stone silent, not making a single sound, not even to Rex, as they hurried home and sealed themselves away.

"You know, repairs were not what I had in mind when I woke up this morning." The cat shook his head. "Boss, you could go outside without getting damaged you know," he said in a gruff, but somewhat joking manner.

"But then you wouldn't get overtime pay," Mettaton pointed out. "And then I still wouldn't be calling you by your real name."

Felix rolled his eyes. "I make one stupid mistake, and it tries to haunt me for the rest of my life…but yeah, at least there's overtime for patching you back up. Even if you have to walk me through every step."

"I'd ask Blooky, but…"

Felix's ears drooped, he glanced to the bed beside them where the ghost slept. "…how are they?"

Mettaton sighed. "Better, but barely. Their magic is slowly replenishing, but if they do anything at all, they lose more than they gain. If they were a regular Monster, I could properly donate blue magic to them, but…"

"Ghost monsters can't accept magic donations that aren't purely of their own," Felix clarified.

"You did read that book," Mettaton observed.

"This beats flipping hamburgers; of course I read the book."

Mettaton nodded. "But you're right…Blooky has to regain the magic on their own…unless I can figure out how to reverse that weapon. It still has their magic in it, if I could reverse it…" Felix gave a hum to assure he heard as he slid the casing back into place, fastening it carefully back in. "Unfortunately," the robot started. "That has to be put on the back burner."

"Because of those Beast Monsters you mentioned on the phone briefly? You know, I still have no clue what's going on."

"When things settle, I promise to explain in detail," Mettaton assured. "Let's just say you certainly missed out on your vacation days."

"Of course," the feline muttered. "The time I choose to take a break is when something happens."

"Well of course, Darling, how else was it going to go?"

"I would say 'my way', but that never happens."

The robot shook his head. "Someday, this will all smooth out, Felix. It has to," he reasoned.

"I call dibs on supporting actor in all your stuff then."

Mettaton smirked. "You can't take them all," he chided jokingly.

"Watch me try—and I'm done." The feline stepped back. "How…how is that?"

Mettaton turned, moving his one arm in a slow circle, and then he summoned his wings. They both came in fully, and he tested their movements. "Perfect," he assured. "I think I'm back in good condition."

The cat smiled as the robot's wings vanished. "Now, downstairs," the robot said, hurrying off. "We've got a little more work to do."

Felix jerked, and then hurried after him, finding the robot already at the computer. "Got anything?" the feline asked as he approached. Mettaton had been scanning for something before he had even got to the lab to help with the repairs, and the robot had let it continue searching while they were working.

Mettaton nodded. "Yes, the strange energy readings…there's a faint trace in another area on the mountain."

"Going to go check on it?" the cat guessed.

"Of course, I need to see if there's…anything else still there." Felix noticed a shudder in the robot, and his keen ears twitched at the faint clanking of metal on metal. Mettaton sighed, and stood. "Felix, I have two jobs for you while I'm gone."

"And…what are those?" Felix asked.

"First: Napstablook," Mettaton began to open something else on the computer. "If they wake up, there's a plate of ghost sandwiches in the fridge that you can give them. However, if…their condition… deteriorates in any way, call me."

"No problem, so long as the food isn't on a ghost plate."

Mettaton shook his head, knowing the cat was trying to distract him from Blooky's condition. "The second thing…I'm running scans on that weapon. The computer should be able to handle things on its own, but if it stops or finishes…let me know. The sooner I can figure out how to reverse it, the better off Napstablook will be."

"Relax, boss, I've got this," the cat assured. "Basically, I just have to sit around and make sure nothing happens to the computer or your cousin."

"Right…that should be everything—what?" he asked as an amused snort escaped the feline.

"Oh, nothing, you're just fretting like a mother hen, that's all. I didn't even realize you could be like that until Frisk was…"

Mettaton sighed dramatically. "Yes, yes, it's not my usual behavior, but with everything happening, it's hard for me to stay calm and collected about all of this. That's Grillby's department."

"That guy?" Felix asked with an amused smile, whiskers twitching. "He's calm and collected about everything. Do you think the end of the world would even phase him?"

"Heck if I know," Mettaton grumbled.

"Anyways, boss. Relax. I got this," the feline assured. "Keep it up, and I'll start recommending you for mother hen roles whenever you get back into show business."

The robot rolled his eyes. "Oh for goodness sake, Felix…" Then, he started to head out the west door. "Try to keep everything in one piece until I get back."

"Hey, between the two of us, I'm less likely to break things."

"It makes me feel better if I say it though."

Felix shook his head, a brief look of concern showing on his face, but it disappeared quickly. "How about you just come back in one piece again so that I don't have to fix you?"

"Don't you want overtime pay…?"

Felix gave a short laugh. "Yes, but not because you keep falling apart." With that, he headed for the stairs, and Mettaton left. Felix cast one last glance at the retreating robot, his feline ears drooping. He knew there was more going on, but he was left out of the circle.

Mettaton took to the air the moment he left the Underground, wanting to find the source of where the Rift had opened up when it switched places. If it was the Abyss, then there was nothing to be done But his readings were telling him otherwise, and that was causing him some worry.

If it wasn't the Abyss that those Beasts originated from, then…where had the Rift opened up? Beast Monsters were always being hunted—especially after the ones that rampaged on the Human city about a year or so back.

Regardless, he headed straight for it, his mind going back to those on the other side of the rift, his eyes dimming. Their Chara…gone…gone because of an abomination from his side. However, he focused more on Alphys. She was so much like his own, and it worried him greatly.

His Alphys had contemplated the thought…the idea…to do something cowardly. He didn't want to think that the other Alphys was the same, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't bear losing Alphys twice. Especially since the Alphys on that side had a son…

Alexander… Mettaton sighed softly. Would they have had such a child on their side, if things had gone right? Would they still have the chance to have him? Mettaton shook his head, his robotic mind giving him the hard truth. No. They wouldn't ever have an Alexander running around, even if they did figure out how to fix things.

No, the best both worlds could do, was salvage the remains, and move on. In some ways, it seemed best to separate themselves. There was so much damage on this side, and from that one little visit, it had seeped into the other.

His thoughts went to his Frisk. They would be hurting the most, he knew. Yet, something bothered him. They had seemed…deathly pale when they had stepped out of the Rift. He had been more focused on Muffet at the time, and wasn't able to pursue it, but… He sighed inwardly. His Frisk wore their heart on their sleeve, and more than once, he watched them get hurt because of that.

Mettaton made a mental note to check on them after this was all said and done—though his list of things to do was just getting longer and longer with how everything was going. Even if he dealt with the beasts, he had to contain the Rift, keep researching the weapon and tend to the drained…and he had a feeling he'd have to help with Muffet as well.

Thankfully, Felix was kind enough to come in, and help with the ever increasing workload. He may be a robot, but Mettaton had his limits.

He paused in mid flight, hovering as his scanner beeped. An image appeared in front of his electronic vision, telling him that he was close. However, there was a dense forest below him, on the opposite side of the mountain from the city. He looked around, and sighed, reluctantly landing, his wings retracting into nonexistence.

The robot checked his readings. He was close, and he, at the very least, still had a connection in case something went wrong and he needed help. Mettaton looked up at the looming trees as he entered the woods, disliking how they blocked out the sun. He ignored it though, and pressed on, unaware of what he would soon find further in.

Within about five minutes, the robot went completely still, and silent, his eyes darting around. His scanners were picking up sounds from up ahead, and he didn't like them. Slowly, he continued through the woods as the noises came increasingly louder. Mettaton stopped as he came upon a large, deep crevice.

The crevice, in width, could easily swallow a house. And as Mettaton glanced from side to side, he couldn't even see the ends of it in length. When he looked down, it was too dark to figure out how deep the crevice penetrated into the mountain.

Instead, he took a rock, and dropped it into the black. He waited, focusing his sensors in the hopes that he could pick it up despite the rest of the commotion coming around. Several long moments later, he finally detected the impact. The crevice seemed to go deep into the mountain, but… Mettaton frowned, looking over maps of the mountain in his mind.

Rapid calculations were made, and he was able to conclude that the crevice thankfully didn't connect to the Underground Kingdom—at least, not anymore. However…there was something down there. The robot peered down, activating his sensors further, using the sounds he heard to make a sloppy map in his mind.

Finally, when it formed, the robot nearly shorted out from shock as he stared down into the black. There were things moving down there…some were small, others…others were of terrifying size. He couldn't see them, but he could hear them all moving, picking up grumbling growls and snarling roars.

Beast Monsters. This, was where the rift had opened. It had allowed entry from this crevice that was somehow full of Beasts. It didn't make sense though. Yet, as he watched, he began to feel sick. When Beast monsters had no prey to chase, they were known to turn on one another, and that was what was currently happening.

Mettaton turned to the side, drawing an arm up to shelter his vision. "Oh gods…" He looked back, and then flinched, covering his face with a sickened moan. They were tearing each other apart down there, he just knew it. The image was disgusting, even if he was only picking it up on his radar.

Though, he focused on what was wrong with the image. Those Beast Monsters couldn't have been that recent—they should have fallen down there prior to the war. As the only Beast Monsters after that had either been captured or killed by Humans, or were formed in the Underground.

Yet, the bottom of this crevice had to be covered in squirming Beasts; it just wasn't adding up. Mettaton decided that since they weren't climbing out anytime soon, that he could fly back and talk to a few others on what exactly to do with the crevice full of Beasts. He wasn't about to go down there and try to kill them one by one…especially with those bigger ones that he detected.

As powerful as his cannon could get—it just didn't amount to much with the larger Beasts. The robot whirled, running off, glad to leave the crevice behind, wishing to erase the image from his mind, but he couldn't delete it just yet. Not until it was dealt with once and for all. He had to make sure those creatures were killed, so that there was never the chance of another coming out.

He would have considered just leaving them to kill each other... except if the Rift malfunctioned, and they weren't finished down there…the events from before would repeat again, and he couldn't let that happen.

He was swift with returning to the Underground, finding Gerson at the Royal's home. "Gerson…?" he asked.

"There's the walking calculator. Got the repairs done?"

Mettaton nodded, and looked around. "…is Frisk…?"

"Still in their room," he replied. "Won't even let Rex in…tried talking to them but…"

The robot sighed. "The moment Blooky is better, I'll have them talk with Frisk…they have that way of helping with this kind of thing."

"Agreed," the turtle said as he drank tea at the table. "So…why did you come talk to me? It doesn't sound like Frisk was the full reason for this."

"Right…" Mettaton murmured. "Well…I tracked down where the Rift had opened…and…" He explained everything to the turtle, who nodded with concern as he listened. "But you see," Mettaton said. "It doesn't make sense. Shouldn't they have torn themselves apart ages ago?"

"Well, remember that big one?" Gerson said. "It might have been wedged in there. Too big for smaller things to kill it, but also made it impossible for them to get at each other to kill because there was just too many of them down there. Beasts don't die from natural causes as far as we know, so they were basically just rotting there until they could move…when the rift opened…"

Mettaton sighed. "The big one got out, along with some others, and the rest could then get at each other. Though I'm worried about how they all got in there in the first place."

"Who knows," Gerson said with a helpless shrug. "What matters is that they're down there and need to be put out of their misery." His eyes narrowed. "And so that they can't inflict more misery on others…"

Mettaton lowered his head, not saying anything for several moments as he tried to stop Chara's death from playing in his memory. "…what should we do then?"

"They're in a crevice not connected to the Underground, with quite a bit of solid rock between us and them…do what Grillby would do."

"You're…telling me to set them on fire?"

The turtle warily peered down the hallway to make sure they didn't have any prying listeners. "Blow them to kingdom come," Gerson said, sounding deadly serious. "Unless you want to go down there and fight them one by one…"

"Right…and I'll keep quiet about this, don't need the darling to know about it…"

"No…they don't," Gerson agreed quietly, and rose. "I'm going to see if I can sway them over with hot chocolate. Let me know how it goes…"

Mettaton nodded. "Will do, Gerson."

"Good luck, Calculator."

The robot paused in the archway, and sighed. "Sure thing, Fossil."

The poking fun was still there, but there wasn't as much amusement in it as usual. Mettaton quietly headed out, preparing himself for what he had to. He had to go back out there…and silence many lost souls. There was nothing else to be done, and he had to make sure that they didn't ever get out.

Late that night, Felix jerked his head up to see Mettaton trudge in. "Boss?" he asked in concern. The robot slumped against the wall, and slowly slid down, tucking his legs in as he lowered his head. The feline silently approached. "…Mettaton…?"

"…I feel awful," he muttered, before letting out a heavy sigh.

"…w…what's wrong?" the cat asked. To see Mettaton at his emotional limit... Felix would never have imagined it was possible.

"Heh…tell me what's right, darling. I saw someone die before my eyes because of a Beast Monster…and just now…I had to silence a crevice full of them before they could hurt others…"

The feline's whiskers and ears twitched in alarm at the news. However, he sighed, and then slid down next to the robot, resting a hand on his shoulder. He didn't say anything; he didn't trust his words for that yet. Mettaton was silent, but he appreciated the company.

And so they stayed, unaware that deep, deep down below them, things were stirring in the dark.

Author's note: Looks like they didn't come out of the Abyss after all...