Quick reminder that I can't reply to guest reviews but I do read them.
I felt bad about taking ages with the last one, so here's another chapter of the same length.
Chara watched with thinly-veiled excitement as the human's soul was drawn into the fight. It was already yellow again, although the change in colour couldn't hide the crack that was still there. Mettaton was speaking over the battle music.
"YES, I WAS THE ONE THAT RE-ARRANGED THE CORE! 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?" Mettaton asked, and the beast-human shook their head slightly. "KILLING YOU MYSELF!"
The human shot some yellow bullets at him. They bounced off. "THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME, DARLING. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTING IS?!" A bunch of magic boxes rained from the sky, and the human shot bullets at them to clear a path. "LISTEN, DARLING. I'VE SEEN YOU FIGHT. YOU'RE WEAK. THIS'LL BE AN EASY WIN FOR ME!" A couple more boxes fell, along with some boxy arms with yellow bits on them. The arms retracted out of the fight when the yellow bits were shot.
"WHEN I'VE DEFEATED YOU, I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL AND CROSS THE BARRIER! HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS, NO MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME!" The attacks got more complicated. A bomb was thrown in with the rest, which exploded in a plus sign of magic beams when shot. "GLITZ! GLAMOUR! WHEN I BEAT YOU, I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL! SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!"
Suddenly, the human's phone started ringing. They picked it up and Doctor Alphys was heard through the receiver. "H-hey, d-d-don't give up just yet! Th… there's o-o-one way to beat Mettaton… It's… um… it's… This is a work in progress, so don't judge it too hard… but you know how Metttaon always faces f-f-forward? That's because there's a switch on his backside. S-s-so if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around… um… and, umm… press th-th-th-the switch… He'll be… um… he'll be… Vulnerable. Well, g-g-gotta go!"
"Hey, Mettaton! There's a mirror behind you!" The human told him, thinking fast. It was the first time Chara had properly heard their voice, and it was great.
"OH? A MIRROR? RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FINALE! HMM… I DON'T SEE IT… WHERE IS IT…?" There was a big switch with a huge, obvious label. The human flipped it. Mettaton froze. "DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWICTH?"
Mettaton turned back around and freaked out, spinning around everywhere making robotic noises. The human looked rather nervous. There was a flash of light, and when everyone recovered their view of Mettaton was obscured by a cloud of smoke. Spotlights fell on it and everyone distinctly heard Mettaton's signature "Ohhhh, my." But this time it was in a much less robotic voice, and sounded quite sexy. His silhouette appeared in the smoke, but it was completely unlike his old one as far as Chara could tell. It looked quite humanoid.
"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, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So… as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments…" Another flash of light and the smoke was cleared. They could all clearly see Mettaton in a new, more humanoid body. His legs were amazing, with pink high heels on (or as) his feet. His arms were the same, but his torso was very… pointy. And it had a lot of robotic looking things covering it. He also had black hair which covered one eye, with his face showing a metal plate under the other eye. "ABSOLUTELY beautiful!"
A rating board appeared on the screen, starting at 5000. 'Mettaton EX makes his premier!' It said. He was posing all over the place. The battle music changed.
"Me 'n Alphys spent ages working on this!" Betty told everyone. The rest of the family commented on that, but Chara wasn't paying attention to anything other than the show. (Which is why they didn't notice Toriel shoot Asgore an amused look. (Asgore didn't notice it either.))
The human checked Mettaton EX. The stats appeared on the screen. METTATON EX – ATK 47 DEF 47. His weak point is his heart-shaped core. He sent a bunch of magic leg attacks that were no longer boxy and were now shaped like his new legs. They moved in different patterns as well. "Lights! Camera! Action!"
The human boasted that they wouldn't get hit at all. From the knowledge they'd gathered from the previous shows, Chara thought that it was quite likely they actually wouldn't. The ratings gradually increased during Mettaton's turn.
"Drama! Romance! Bloodshed!" Mettaton said, as he sent a mass of bombs and mini bots that looked like box MTT that were holding umbrellas and shooting magic hearts at the human. True to their word, they dodged all attacks. They even managed to shoot some of the bots before they reached them. The human posed dramatically on their turn. Chara thought it showed off their butt pretty well.
Mettaton's next attack was a complicated leg pattern attack with some boxes floating in the way to make it harder. The human just barely got out unscathed. "I'm the idol everyone craves!" Clearly, Mettaton still had an ego the size of the Underground. The human turned and scoffed at the audience that were cheering by the edges of the arena. As the audience booed them, Chara swore they could see a smile tugging at their lips.
"Smile for the camera!" The next attack had one of the older arm attacks, with the yellow box that they needed to shoot for it to get out of the way. There were also more mini MTT's that they shot as well. The ratings were going up a lot, and were now at 6000. The human posed again. They definitely looked like they were enjoying themselves.
"Oooh, it's time for a pop quiz! This one's an essay question!" Mettaton tossed the human a keyboard and a prompt appeared on the screen 'What do you love most about Mettaton?.'
The human immediately wrote 'Dat ass.' Chara snorted and laughed while Mettaton told the human to try and keep it PG. He was grinning as well, though, and the ratings went up by 150. (Toriel wasn't amused, however.)
"Your essay really showed everyone your heart. Why don't I show you mine?" Mettaton said, after storing the essay away for future use. His soul came out of his belt and shot lightning bolts everywhere as a couple of mini bots shot their heart projectiles at the human. After a while of dodging, the human sent a couple yellow lasers back at Mettaton's soul. He drew it back into his body with a puff of smoke. The ratings were now at 7000. The human posed again.
"Ooooh, I'm just warming up!" Mettaton sent a wave of mini bots at the human, who shot most of them and dodged the rest of the heart projectiles. The human kept posing.
"But how are you on the dance floor?!" He asked, and a disco ball popped out of the ceiling, sending magic lasers in patterns around the human. Most of them were blue, but there were some white ones that seemed unavoidable, until the human shot the disco ball to turn them blue.
"Can you keep up the pace?!" The disco ball spun a lot faster and the human was hard pressed trying to change the lasers. They were hit once and the ratings went up. Everyone loves a little violence. Or a lot, depending on the person. The human posed once more, and boasted that they wouldn't get hit.
"Lights! Camera! Bombs!" Mettaton sent some indestructible magic boxes along with some bombs that the human had to shoot and move to the side as to not get hit. They were hit once by a bomb laser, however. They hissed in pain. It was a more animal sound than a human one. They pulled a Starfait out of who knows where and drank it. The audience loved the brand. The ratings were at 8500.
"Things are blowing up!" It was the same attack as before, but faster. Luckily, the human avoided all the lasers that time. They posed once more. For some people it might've been becoming boring, but Chara couldn't get enough of it. "Time for our union-regulated break!" The break only lasted for a couple seconds but the human used it to calm down a bit. Chara wouldn't have noticed had they not been looking for it.
"We've grown so distant, darling… how about another heart to heart?" Mettaton pulled his soul out again, but this time it was surrounded by magic boxes so it wasn't shot. It was sending out more lightning bolts again. The human shot some of the boxes so they could get at the soul, but the remaining ones spiralled away and came back reformed. They still got a couple hits in. Surprisingly, when his soul went back into his body with another puff of smoke, Mettaton's arms fell off. The human looked quite shocked and worried. So did Mettaton.
"A… arms? Wh… who needs arms with legs like these?" His eyes had gone dark. "I'm still going to win!" He sent rows upon rows of boxes and bombs, which the human had to shoot through. After a while they reversed and rose up again and they had to make their way back the way they'd came. The human boasted once again.
"The show… must go on!" A mass of bombs and boxes fell from the sky and the human barely got out unscathed. The ratings were at 10000 now. "L… lights… C… camera… Enough of this! This ends now! Do you really believe in yourself that much?" Another one of the indestructible boxes and bombs attacks was sent towards the human, but they managed to get out on top.
"Haha, how inspiring! Well, darling, it's either me or you! But I think we both already know who's going to win. Witness the power of a true star!" The soul came out again, with bombs spinning around it this time, not boxes. It was still shooting lightning everywhere, but now there were also lots of legs popping out of the side of the arena. After a couple shots, the soul popped back into Mettaton's body, and this time his legs fell off. "…then… are YOU the star?"
His soul came out again, but this time it wasn't protected by anything, and it was letting out bolts in small, accurate bursts of three. One set of them hit the human straight in the centre of their soul and they staggered backwards with an "oof" and a growl. Before Mettaton could follow up on the attack and get the advantage, he happened to glance at the ratings. It was lucky he did so while it was still his turn, because the human was not reacting well to that direct hit.
"OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS! THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE EVER HAD! 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!" Mettaton was using his stage voice again. It was quite annoying. The speaker on Mettaton's chest started ringing. "HI, YOU'RE ON TV! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR LAST SHOW?"
"….oh… hi… mettaton… 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 tell, but… i guess this is the last episode…? i'll miss you… mettaton… oh… i didn't mean to talk so long… oh…" The depressed voice cut off. Mettaton looked distraught. Sad music was playing.
"NO, WAIT! WAIT, BL… H… THEY ALREADY HUNG UP. …I'LL TAKE ANOTHER CALLER!" More rings sounded.
"Mettaton, your show made us so happy!" "Mettaton, I don't know what I'll watch without you." "Mettaton, there's a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-shaped heart."
"AH… I… I SEE… EVERYONE… THANK YOU SO MUCH. …DARLING. PERHAPS… IT MIGHT BE BETTER IF I STAY HERE FOR A WHILE. HUMANS ALREADY HAVE STARS AND IDOLS, BUT MONSTERS… THEY ONLY HAVE ME. IF I LEFT… THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE ITS SPARK. I'D LEAVE AN ACHING VOID THAT COULD NEVER BE FILLED. SO… I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DELAY MY BIG DEBUT.
BESIDES. YOU'VE PROVEN TO BE VERY STRONG. I WAS WRONG ABOUT YOU. HA HA… IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST, ANYWAY. THE TRUTH IS, THIS FORM'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS… INEFFICIENT. IN A FEW MOMENTS I'LL RUN OUT OF BATTERY POWER, AND… WELL. I'LL BE ALRIGHT. KNOCK 'EM DEAD, DARLING. AND EVERYONE… THANK YOU. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!"
The cameras cut out, and a message appeared on the screen: 'Reminder that this was all just a show, and no one was harmed in the making of it!' Chara highly doubted that second part was true.
After the cameras cut out, the battle ended and the platform lowered itself back to where it started. The doors opened and Alphys rushed in to look at Mettaton. "Why don't you go ahead?" She told Frisk as she replaced MTT's batteries. They nodded and headed up out the door that had been previously blocked by Mettaton. They entered another tiled hall that curved right. After a bit of walking, Alphys caught up with them.
"I… I'm sorry… about not telling you that it was a-all an act, I mean." She apologized.
"Nah, its fine. It was kind of obvious. That last fight was great!" Frisk replied enthusiastically.
"W-well… his limbs weren't supposed to f-fall off like that." Alphys sounded worried. "B-but, I shouldn't have lied in the first place. I-I just wasn't sure… if it was best for you to go to the capital. I can tell that I can't convince you otherwise, though."
"Yeah…" Frisk suddenly felt a lot less enthusiastic.
"O-oh, and… I, uh, know what you, um, are…" Alphys said nervously. Frisk snapped their gaze onto her. She continued. "I-if you want… maybe I could… make a b-blood substititute…?"
"That would be pretty good, actually. Thanks." Frisk said after a moment of thought. They were suddenly very aware of how hungry they were. "Call me when you've got some, please. …Oh, and we never got to watch that anime! We should do that sometime."
Alphys visibly cheered up at that. "Y-yeah! That'd be nice! But, uh, you should probably get going. My partner says there's someone in New Home who's looking forward to meeting you." They'd been walking as they talked, and they'd reached an elevator.
Alphys uttered one last "sorry about lying" before rushing off back down the hallway, leaving Frisk to wonder about who could possibly want to meet them.
I forgot to add this for the last chapter, but for those of you who don't know what discord is, it's basically like Skype but without video calls and focused more on gaming.
Also, woo! Almost at New Home already, and it's only been about a month since I started this! (Granted, I did skip a lot of Snowdin.)
On a happy side note, this story has now reached 5,000 views on FFN (that's this site) and 1,500 on AO3.