Sans felt his eyes water at the sight before him. Mettaton's hotel-apartment complex was in shambles. The windows were boarded, the fountain dry as a bone. Dust covered the rugs and the counters. The footsteps of the group echoed painfully loud.

"He's not here Papyrus. No one's seen him in months." The tall dark skeleton was in the lead of the party, but he was sure the robot would be here.

"Exactly. And this place has been closed down for months. Where else would he be? Definitely not the lab."

"Pap…" Sans didn't want to believe what he was seeing. "W-what happened here?"

"It was soon after my brother came to power. He gave Mettaton a strict set of rules for his performances, and he refused. Mettaton always said his performance was more important than anything else…" Papyrus seemed to be somewhere else for a moment before continuing. "Let's just say my brother was no please with Mettaton's disobedience and punished him as he saw fit… no one's seen him since then."

"But what happened to Mettaton to make him go into hiding?" The human wasn't very good at picking up on social hints.

"No one is quite sure child… all we know is that it was inhumane and vile." Papyrus spit the last words out, visibly trembling at the thought of the robot being tortured. The human curled into themselves a little and Flowey placed a leaf on their cheek as a comforting gesture.

"Should we split up?" Undyne had regained her authoritative air, but she was smart enough to know she wasn't in charge of this mission.

"No. It is too dangerous, especially for Sans and the human. We must stay together, no matter how long it takes." Sans let out a breath be hadn't realized he had been holding. He was afraid of splitting up.

"Let's check the rooms first. He might have taken over one as his hideout." Everyone nodded and headed to the elevator. They went up to the first floor. Between Papyrus and Sans' powers, they had no trouble unlocking the doors, but there was no sign of life anywhere.

All the rooms were as they were left, all those months ago. Some had bags and suitcases, covered in a thick layer of dust. A handful had small piles of ash in different places, some on the bed, some by the door – trying to escape. Sans wouldn't let the human near those rooms.

It took almost three hours to check all the rooms, but all they had to show were some very frustrated monsters and a very tired human. They found themselves back in the lobby, and the silence was as deafening as always.

Suddenly there was a sharp crack from the room to their left. The Restaurant? Another loud crack. Papyrus and Sans pushed everyone behind them and walked towards the door slowly and carefully. Papyrus pushed the door open with a tentative hand.

The room was pitch black, but a hole in the ceiling acted as a natural spotlight on the stage. There was a faint light around the stage, and they could see the tables were destroyed, broken in half or flipped upside down. The tablecloths were ripped and stained, with what no one wanted to even guess. The dust particles floated lazily through the light, and a lone figure was collapsed on the stage in a broken looking pile.

Another crack came from the stage, but it wasn't a crack. Two metal hands came together causing a snapping to fill the stagnant air. The bundle began to twist and quiver, but no one moved. The bundle tried to stand, but collapsed back. NO one dared to move.

Papyrus was the first to break the spell and rushed to the stage, his hardened exterior cracking with every step. He stopped mere inches from the stage.

"M-mettaton?" The figure on the stage lurched violently, causing the tall skeleton to take a fraction of a step back. "Mettaton is that you?"

His voice was trembling, but not with fear. With something far more dangerous.

Hope.

The figure lifted something, but Sans couldn't make out what. From his angle, it was a knot of metal and rust. The light shifted a little as a piece of wood snapped from the rafters and fell to the ground with a thump, disturbing the dust.

It was a head, Sans realized. And it was Mettaton? Sans felt his chest constrict painfully. Out of all the twisted monsters in this timeline, this was the most horrific thing Sans had seen.

That thing wasn't Mettaton anymore. Papyrus knew that, but he still knelt next to him and placed a gloved hand on the robot's cheek. His hair was the same as usual, other than the rust covering most of it.

His face was distorted with an extra set of eyes placed right under the first pair. The second pair were pitch black, no iris or pupil to be seen. There were obvious welding marks along his face where the second pair was added on. His mouth had obvious welding marks as well, and when his jaw creaked open everyone saw how sharp his teeth were.

"P…pap…yrus?" His voice sounded like the old gramophone Sans found in the dump one time, grainy and far away. Papyrus jerked when Mettaton recognized him, dark blue tears welling up in his good eye. A metallic hand snaked from the pile of wires, the usually gleaming metal tarnished and rusted. The hand squirmed in the air for a moment before landing gently on the skeleton's face, right on the crack over his eye.

"Yes it is I, dear Mettaton…" Papyrus leaned into Mettaton's touch. "I've missed- We are here to help you."

The robot pile made a whirling sound and Sans took a step forward ready to pull his brother out of the way if need be, but his concern was unnecessary. Mettaton's mouth curved up into a painful smile and a red tear worked its way from the top set of eyes.

"I…am… tan…gled…" His gravelly voice bounced painfully off the walls.

"I can see that. We will help you untangle, so be patient." Mettaton closed his jaw and smiled again, the hinges creaking with disuse.

"Th…ank…you…" His jaw was closed but his gramophone words oozed from the speaker on his chest.

"Brother, Undyne. I need to you help with his arms. Human…" Papyrus hesitated and unwrapped his cape from around his neck. "Human, take this and try to shine him up a little…"

Everyone went to work instantly. Sans and Papyrus using their powers over gravity to gently lift and move the limbs. It became glaringly obvious the second set of eyes wasn't the only modification made. Mettaton had two sets of arms as well, all four limbs ensnared in each other. Many of the points where the arms were touching had developed a layer of rust.

Sans cursed under his breath, realizing that Mettaton had to have been in this position for a very long time, without moving. Papyrus realized the same thing because he looked at the shorter skeleton for affirmation.

"This must be how they dropped him off here…" Sans' voice was uncharacteristically somber. Papyrus clenched his jaw and went back to work. It was tedious to say the least, but eventually it was complete. The human had done a good job of shining him up as best as they could. There was nothing to do about the rust at the moment, but most of the smudges and dust was gone.

Mettaton was sitting up, mostly by himself. He was leaning on Papyrus shoulder slightly, but he looked more like the Mettaton Sans knew.

Sort of.

His usually vibrant pink and black paint was chipped and dull. The rust in his hair made it look like he had highlights put in. His four hands rested in his lap, and his four eyes were closed. He couldn't breathe, the same as Sans and Papyrus, but he mimicked the motions perfectly.

The worst part, more horrifying than all of that combined, were the wending marks covering almost every inch of his body. It was like he was taken apart and put back together again two dozen separate times. Sans scanned the robot, to see if there was an external damaged, when his noticed something that made him double over and retch.

Mettaton's soul was gone.

Short update, but I thought this was the most impactful way to end it. I'll begin the next chapter sometime tonight, and probably post it in the next few days.

Until next time!

~Starlight