A Maelstrom's Tale
Chapter 8: A Grudge Match and a Deathly Showdown
"Come on Frisk, just what was it I did to make you so upset," asked Naruto as they exited from the spider nest and were currently walking through a purple hallway.
"I don't really know…," said Frisk with a small frown, she didn't really understand the reason but knew that it had something to do with Muffet being so close to him.
Both were snapped out of their thoughts when they heard Nikan barking and turned to see the wolf pup standing before a poster on the wall. It turns out to be an announcement of Mettaton's latest stage performance which depicts a tragic tale of a love triangle.
"No doubt that this is another one of Mettaton's shows ahead of us and we don't have any other way to avoid it," said Naruto with a small frown.
"I'm sure Alphys will help us out of it like the ones before since she knows how Mettaton is like," said Frisk.
"I hope so, might as well get on with it,"
Naruto and the others continued on through the hallway and soon found themselves standing on a stage with designs which reminded them of a well-known scene from Romeo and Juliet. Before they could make sense of this scene, a rather familiar voice called out to them from above.
"Oh…those humans," they turned to see Mettaton peeking out from a doorway of a tower "Could they be…my destined ones?" he emerged from the doorway dressed in a light blue ballgown and began descending down the stairs towards them.
"Why is he wearing a dress?" asked Frisk.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders in response "I have no idea in the least right now," even Nikan tilted his head in confusion at all this.
Once reaching the bottom, music began playing in the background as Mettaton started to sing.
BGM start: Undertale OST; Oh! One True Love
Oh my love
Please run away
Monster King
Forbids your stay
Humans must
Live far apart
Even if
It breaks my heart
(Sakura petals began falling onto the stage at this point)
They'll put you
In the dungeon
It will suck
And then you'll die a lot
Really sad
You're gonna die
Cry cry cry
So sad it's happening
BGM End
"So sad, so sad that you're going to the dungeon," Mettaton suddenly held out a remote "Well toodles!"
He pressed a button to activate a trap door right underneath the humans and wolf pup to fall through and find themselves in the aforementioned dungeon with Mettaton hovering above them with a rocket thruster.
"Oh no, what ever shall I do? My destined ones have been cast away into the dungeon with a puzzle so dastardly that my paramours will surely perish!" said Mettaton with a dramatic flair.
"What puzzle is it?" asked Naruto with a quirked eyebrow.
"Naruto look over there, doesn't that look familiar?" Frisk pointed as she spoke.
The blonde looked across the conveyor belt and his eyes widened in recognition "Hold on, that's…,"
"O heavens have mercy, it is the horrible colored tile maze! Each colored tile has its own sadistic function. For example, a green tile sounds a noise and then you must fight a monster, red tiles will…," Mettaton paused for a moment "Wait a second, didn't we see this puzzle about a hundred rooms ago? Of course, you remember all the rules, right?"
Naruto attempted to explain "Actually we-,"
"Recall the rules? That's great, then I won't waste your time repeating them!" said Mettaton.
"Wait! We don't really-," Frisk tried to speak.
"Oh, and you better hurry though. If you don't get through in 30 seconds…," suddenly a wall of flames appeared from behind the children and wolf pup "You'll be incinerated by these jets of fire!" Mettaton cackle evilly "My poor loves I'm so filled with grief, I can't stop laughing! Good luck darlings!"
"Come on Frisk-chan! Nikan! We need to get through this maze fast!" said Naruto urgently.
"B-But we don't remember all of the tiles," said Frisk worriedly.
"I know but we don't have much options right now, let's go!"
BGM start: Undertale OST; Oh! Dungeon
They ran along the conveyor belt which slowed them down a bit to reach the colored tile maze with the wall of flames gradually coming after them as Mettaton hovered above them and was singing a song.
Oh my love
Has fallen down
Now in tears
We all will drown
Colored tiles
Make them a fool
If only they
Still knew the rules
"Oh sure, rub it in why don't you? Like anyone was expecting us to remember all that for this moment," Naruto grumbled in annoyance
He and Frisk tried to make their way through the maze but their attempts led them to being zapped, bitten and blocked off every step of the way and the approaching flames weren't making it any easier for them in this situation. Mettaton continued to sing, further annoying the blonde.
Well that was
A sorry try
Now let's watch
Them fry
They hardly made quarter way through the maze when a buzzer sounded to signal that their time was up with the titles turning grey and another wall of flames appeared at the other end to block their way.
BGM End
"Darn it, we didn't make it," Naruto growled in frustration.
"Oooh, I'm so sorry darlings but it looks like you're out of time. Here comes the flames!" Mettaton declared with the walls of flames drawing closer to the children.
Frisk took out her phone and called Alphys "Um Alphys, we could really use your help here!"
{Hold on, I'm hacking into the firewall right now!} said Alphys.
"Please hurry," said Naruto while eyeing the approaching flames and sweat dripped down his face a bit.
"The flames are closing in…any minute now…," Mettaton then noticed the flames dying and realized what happened "How could this happen? Foiled by the Great Doctor Alphys when I was so close too!"
{T-That's right! I'll keep countering you in every way. Just go home, your puzzle is over!} said Alphys confidently.
"Puzzle? Over? My dear Alphys, you seem to have forgotten something,"
{What is it?}
"Surely you haven't forgotten that stepping green make a sound and you will have to fight a monster. One of you darlings stepped on a green tile and now you shall face a monster…which is ME!"
BGM Start: Undertale OST; Metal Crusher
Naruto and Frisk's SOULS emerged from their chests to signal a battle, the former is unsure of how they can fight him since the CHECK informed them that he's completely invulnerable to attacks.
"This is it darlings, say goodbye!" Mettaton approached menacingly with the children backing away, not knowing what to do about this.
"Um Naruto, what do we do?" asked Frisk worriedly with Naruto standing in front to protect her. Naruto was about to respond when Frisk's phone began to ring.
"Is that your phone, you better answer it since it will be your last!" said Mettaton.
Frisk nodded hesitantly and answered the phone "H-Hello?"
{It's me Alphys, I-I know that things are looking bad but I've installed one last thing into your phone}
"What is it?" asked Naruto.
{Frisk, press the yellow button on your phone!}
"O-Okay," Frisk pushed the yellow button which suddenly cause her SOUL to change colors from Red to Yellow "Wow, just like the last two times,"
{Now aim the phone's antenna at Mettaton and press the yellow button again to fire at him!}
Frisk took aim at the robot and pressed the yellow button, surprising her and Naruto when a yellow bullet shot out of the phone's antenna like a bullet and hit Mettaton who winced in pain.
"Hmph, to think that you still have a trick up your sleeves thanks to the doctor. But this won't be the last you'll see of me!" said Mettaton before flying away yet again.
BGM End
{You guys really did a great job keeping Mettaton away}
"Well we have you to thank for it, we wouldn't have been able to this without your help," said Naruto gratefully.
Alphys chuckled nervously over the phone {Um, can I tell you something?}
"What is it?"
{Back before I met you three…I-I didn't really like myself very much}
Why's that?" asked Frisk.
{For a long time, I felt like a screwup. Like I couldn't do anything without letting everyone down. B-But guiding you has made me feel a lot better about myself. So…thanks for letting me help you}
"You're welcome, also thanks for helping us so far. Hearing your words further encourages us to avoid fighting the monsters who aren't our enemies," said Naruto with a smile.
{Uhhh, anyway, we're almost to the CORE}
"You're right, let's keep moving," Frisk ended the phone call before they continued on their way out of the 'dungeon'
The group exited from the dungeon to a familiar crossroad but it was no longer blocked off by the Royal Guards as they're having ice cream bought from the Nice Cream Guy close by so they could now freely access the northern path now.
"Wow….," said Frisk in wonder at what she was looking at.
"I know what you mean Frisk-chan," said Naruto in agreement.
The trio were gazing upon a rather swanky building before them which reminds them of those fancy hotels that they see on tv or brochures. There was a neon sign above the entrance which said 'MTT' and saw two symbols resembling Mettaton on both sides.
"It looks like this place has a lot to do with Mettaton," said Naruto thoughtfully when he felt his SOUL pulse from within "…,"
"Naruto, there's a note here," Naruto turned to Frisk who was pointing at said note on the floor "Something's written on it," they took a closer look at the note to read.
Hey! Go up to the creepy alleyway on the right for some great deals!
"I think it's a shop Naruto," said Frisk.
"Sounds like it, but let's be careful in case it's a trap," Naruto pointed out with Frisk nodding in agreement.
The trio went through the alleyway until reaching the end of it where they came upon a pair of two female monsters.
One is a tall crocodile monster with green scales and yellow hair which flows into curls, she wears a pink shawl with yellow and blue designs on the sides.
The other is a chubby cat monster with purple fur and black hair with a blue streak through it. She wears a pair of blue overalls with yellow buttons and tufts of yellow artificial fur sticking out from under it at both sides, and a yellow earring on her left ear.
BGM start: Undertale OST; Dating Start!
"Hey check it out!" said the alligator monster.
"Yeah, check it out!" said the cat monster, both were gesturing to the items spread out on a cloth before them on the floor.
"Okay, but could we know who you two are?" asked Frisk politely.
"I'm Bratty, and this is my best friend Catty," said the alligator
"I'm Catty, and this is my best friend Bratty, and the cat.
Both ended up speaking at the same time before looking at each other and laughing at what they just did with Naruto smiling in amusement and Frisk giggling at their antics before looking at the items on sale.
Junk Food 25G
Empty Gun 350G
Cowboy Hat 350G
Mystery Key 600G
Like the previous times, Naruto felt the urge to purchase the Empty Gun and Cowboy as he felt his SOUL pulse in resonance with them before putting them away in one of the dimensional boxes after payment.
Frisk then decided to ask some questions while they were there "Um, do you two know about Mettaton?"
Bratty and Catty suddenly had dreamy looks on their faces
"Oh my god Mettaton, he's like our robot husband and we're so going to marry him," said Bratty.
"We're both like already married to him, he just doesn't know it yet," said Catty.
Frisk blinked in confusion at the answer to her question "Um okay, but it's true that Mettaton was built by Dr. Alphys,"
Bratty shrugged her shoulder "That's what they tell you, but like Mettaton acts like it was his idea to be built. Even after he was built, he and Alphys acted like they were friends,"
"But they're like not friends anymore," said Catty.
"Is that so?" said Naruto thoughtfully "What can you tell us about Alphys herself?"
"Alphys, she used to live with us and was like our big sister," said Bratty.
Catty spoke up "She showed us the coolest places to find trash at the garbage dump though she has always been collecting these weird cartoons. But then she became the Royal Scientist and we haven't seen her in forever…," she looked a bit saddened as she spoke.
"So how did Alphys become the Royal Scientist for the king?" asked Frisk curiously.
"Well, Alphys had like always found Asgore to be cute so I'm pretty sure that she made Mettaton to impress him," said Bratty.
Catty continued "A robot with a SOUL is like SUPER relevant to the king's hobbies so he asked her to do all this science stuff for him. But nobody has like seen her ever since, never leaving that lab of hers,"
"So Alphys had never left the lab? Makes me wonder how she met Undyne?" thought Naruto before snapping back into focus "So, how's Asgore like?"
"Oh my god, he's a total goober and a fuzzy goofball!" Bratty laughed as she spoke.
Catty nodded in agreement "But we love that guy, he's so nice,"
"And we're like so hyped for the destruction of humanity!" the two monsters spoke simultaneously.
Hearing this made Naruto and Frisk feel rather uncomfortable and painfully reminded that not all monsters are as friendly as the ones they've met throughout their journey through the underground, even Nikan was whining a bit at this tense atmosphere.
"Well…thanks for everything, we'll be on our way," said Naruto, beckoning Frisk and Nikan to follow him back out of the alleyway.
"No problem, be sure to come back soon as we would have more cool stuff to sell by then," said Bratty.
"So, like come back to buy more stuff," said Catty.
BGM End
The group made it back to the front of the MTT Resort and were about to contemplate on whether to go inside or not when they saw someone familiar.
"Hey there kiddos and pup," said Sans with his usual grin.
"Sans, what brings you here?" asked Frisk.
"I figured that you'd be here by now and waited so I could invite you to have lunch with me,"
Naruto hummed thoughtfully "Well we could use a bit of a break, so sure we can join you for lunch,"
"Great, thanks for treating me," said Sans, making the children blink in confusion at the sudden turnaround of the subject "Come this way, I know a shortcut,"
They followed the skeleton into the left alleyway and suddenly found themselves sitting at one of the tables of a dine-in restaurant of the MTT Resort. Frisk was a little confused unlike Naruto and Nikan who had experienced this before back at Snowdin.
BGM start: Undertale OST; It's raining elsewhere
"So, your journey's almost over huh? You must really want to go home," said Sans.
"Yeah, otherwise we wouldn't have started this journey to begin with," said Naruto seriously.
"Hey, I know the feeling buddo, though…,"
Frisk looked at Sans "What is it?"
"Maybe sometimes it's better to take what has been given to you. Down here you have food, drinks, friends…is what you have to do really that worth it?"
Naruto frowned in response to that, to him this journey is very important to him. He has to return to his mother as she's all he has and vice versa. He doesn't want to even imagine what she's going through in his absence. The blonde silently glanced at Frisk who was looking down that the table, unable to tell what is going through her mind right now.
Sans looked at the children before speaking up "Ah forget it, I'm still rooting for you kiddos,"
"Thanks Sans," said Naruto gratefully.
No prob, by the way, wanna hear a story?" asked Sans, receiving nods of affirmation from the kids "As you that I'm a sentry at Snowdin forest and supposed to watch out for humans which gets boring as time goes on, but then I found a large door in the forest which was just perfect to practice my 'knock knock' jokes. One day I was doing a knock knock joke when I heard a female voice saying 'Who's there?' so I naturally responded; 'Dishes' 'Dishes who?' Dishes a very bad joke' then I heard the woman howling in laughter on the other side. Ever since then, we've been doing knock knock jokes together,"
The children realized whom Sans was talking about, he had been talking to Toriel this whole time but they weren't too sure if the skeleton had realized who she really is,
"…then one day I noticed that she wasn't laughing as much and asked her what was up besides the ceiling above our heads and she told me something strange; 'If a human ever comes through this door, could you promise me something? Watch over them and protect them, would you not?'," Sans turned away so they wouldn't be able to see the expression on his skeletal face "Now, I hate making promises and I didn't even know this woman's name. but someone who likes my jokes can't be all bad and I couldn't find it in myself to say 'no' to her,"
"She really is a kindhearted monster," thought Naruto with a soft smile with Frisk feeling the same way albeit more strongly.
Sans continued to speak "Do you two understand what I'm trying to say here? What would have happened if she hadn't said anything at all?" he still didn't look at them "Buddies…you would be dead where you stand,"
"!"
The children simply sat there in silence until the words were fully processed in their minds that they reacted. Frisk let out a gasp and went to hide behind Naruto along with a frightened Nikan as she just couldn't believe that Sans had just admitted that he was willing to kill them without a second thought, she felt hurt that someone she thought could be trusted would kill her regardless of everything. Naruto himself was put off by the statement with a hand instantly gripping his bokken to draw it out at the first sign of an attack and his red SOUL was still pulsing, he thought that he could trust Sans fully like Papyrus but now the blonde wasn't so sure anymore. There was even a disturbing thought in his mind that Sans might have killed some of the humans before they fell into the Underground, making him all the more tense around the skeleton.
Sans stood there silently before turning to smile at them "Lighten up buckos, I was just joking!"
"I beg to differ," thought Naruto, gradually letting go of the bokken but his body is still tense with Frisk peeking over Naruto's shoulders.
"And besides, haven't I been protecting you three this whole time? You never died even one," said Sans causing Naruto to look at him in alarm "What's with the look? I'm simply stating facts,"
"Could he know of the SAVE ability? Him even saying that must mean that there's more to it than we know," thought Naruto.
"Well, that's all," Sans proceeded to walk away before pausing for a moment and turning to face them with his usual grin "You better take care of yourselves kiddos, cause someone really cares about you," then he left with the children sitting there in silence.
Frisk finally spoke up "Do we keep going Naruto?"
"…yeah, let's head for the CORE but be ready for anything," said Naruto.
The trio made their way out of the restaurant and into the lobby where they took a moment to muse at the Mettaton statue at the fountain then making a stop at the MTT Brand Burger Emporium to buy some food before exiting through the north path towards the CORE. However, they noticed a pair of silhouettes up ahead entering the CORE as well.
"I wonder who they are…," Frisk wondered.
"I don't know but we need to be careful," said Naruto.
BGM start: Undertale OST; CORE
The group went along the bridge into the CORE and were quick to take note that their environment had changed drastically. It appears to be a rather hi-tech place with multicolored neon tubes to serve as wall decorations, the floors are engraved with intricate patterns and no doubt that there's a lot more to see deeper inside.
Frisk's phone started ringing which she answered for Alphys to speak to them "Hello Alphys,"
{Now that you're at the CORE, take the elevator in front of you to reach up to the top} said Alphys.
"Roger that," Naruto went to push the button for the elevator doors to open but it didn't work, he pressed the button a few more times but didn't get any kind of response "Uh Alphys, the elevator isn't working,"
{It isn't? but it should be working, then try the right door and keep going straight}
The trio complied with the direction and went through the right path only to come upon an obstruction in the form of a fiery pit.
"Alphys, this way is blocked too," said Frisk with concern.
{B-But this isn't on my map, l-let's try the left path and hope it's the right way}
They backtracked into the main lobby and went through the left path, this time there was a clear route to the next area. The trio hardly took a few steps forwards when a black silhouette leapt out from the shadows and began to attack them.
It turned out to be a monster with the appearance of a stereotypical wizard, wearing a curved hat, a pair of boots and two rotating orbs emitting cross-shaped particles. Thye quickly used Check to identify the monster as Madjick which could only speak in magic words. They had to watch out for the orbs which would attack them by either firing magic crosses or deploying homing orbs with Naruto using his bokken to knock the latter away from him and Frisk. Nikan revealed the monster's weakness by snarling at the orbs which incapacitated them, giving the group a chance to run away from Madjick.
Alphys called immediately after their escape {Are you all okay?}
"We're fine, we were able to get away," said Frisk.
{B-B-But I don't understand why there are so many monsters in the CORE…no matter, we should just keep moving forward!}
"I think I should keep my bokken out of the sheath for now," said Naruto as they ended the call.
Things got even tricker compared to before, first was when Naruto and the others came upon a bridge which was blocked off by a forcefield. Alphys informed them that flipping the switch nearby will deactivate the forcefield but also send a group of lasers towards them, she told them of the order that the lasers would come being Orange, Orange, Blue. But when they flipped the switch, the order was rather Blue, Blue, Orange! They barely avoided the majority of the lasers but still got hurt and had to consume some Monster Candy to recover with the scientist apologizing for what happened.
Second was when they arrived at a crossroads with a path leading north and the other continuing east, Alphys was feeling unsure due to the route again not matching the one on her map and suggested that they take the north path. The trio complied but ended up at a dead-end where a monster laid in wait for them. This monster resembles that of a stereotypical knight as it wields a Morningstar in hand and was known as Knight Knight, this monster had a lot of power which made things rather difficult, it was fortunate when Naruto's phone began playing a song to signal a notification which lulled the monster to sleep and allowed them to escape then take the east path.
Things continued to go against them as they came upon another bridge with many blue and orange lasers moving about followed by a massive wall of blue lasers, there was no way they could bypass this on their own. Alphys quickly moved in to help by turning off the lasers but it wasn't working so she decided to cut the power for the entire area for the children to cross the bridge. Naruto and the others were halfway across the bridge when the power suddenly came back on and reactivated the lasers, forcing them to stop in place within the wall of lasers. Alphys discovers that she can't keep the power off and so advises them to move then stop when the power turns back on, Naruto and Frisk carrying Nikan followed the instruction and were able to cross the bridge without getting hurt before moving on to the next area.
"What do you think is happening Naruto?" asked Frisk worriedly.
"I don't know exactly, but it seems like someone has changed the entire layout of the CORE and is messing with anything that Alphys tries to do to help us," said Naruto thoughtfully.
"Do you think it's Mettaton?"
"So far, everything seems to point to him. Best we be careful here,"
Frisk nodded in affirmation "Okay,"
They reached a four-way intersection where there's a SAVE Point in the middle for them to access.
(The air is filled with the smell of ozone…it fills you with Determination. Save? Yes/No)
Frisk was quick to call Alphys for directions, hoping that she could help in this one "Alphys, can you tell us where to go from here?"
{Okay you should…y-you should…} Alphys trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"…Alphys?" asked Frisk worriedly.
{I don't know, this doesn't look like my map at all. I'm sorry…I…I have to go} she ended the call.
"I guess we're on our own this time," said Naruto.
"So, what do we do?"
"Let's check around the area for clues which could give us ideas of where to go,"
The children didn't have to look too far as they came across some signs on the wall informing them that the northern path is the Warrior's Path, the west is the Sage's Path while the east leads to The End, but the first two paths all lead to The End.
Naruto hummed in thought "So, the warrior's path is about testing one's physical capabilities while the Sage's path focuses on knowledge with The End meaning an exit from the CORE,"
"So which path do we take?" asked Frisk.
"Let's look for The End path first,"
They took the east path which had them walking along a pathway above an ozone thick to the point that they cannot see the bottom before continuing north to reach the next intersection where they saw the east path barred by a forcefield which meant that it was The End route with a nearby sign even confirming it.
"Frisk-chan, I want you and Nikan to wait here while I take the Warrior's Path which is north of here," said Naruto much to the girl and wolf pup's surprise and worry.
"But why not together?" asked Frisk, Nikan whined in agreement.
"Out of all of us, I'm the most physically attuned and trained so I should be able to handle what lies ahead, plus I don't want either of you getting hurt too," Naruto explained.
"…okay, but please be careful,"
"I will,"
Naruto began his way along the northern path to a bridge which he proceeded to cross, but he began encountering monsters that appeared to attack him with some which resembled the ones he and Frisk saw back at the Ruins like Whimsalot, Final Froggit and Astigmatism, even Madjick and Knight Knight made a return but he was ready for them as he knew how to incapacitate them. Soon he reached the end of the bridge and came upon a control panel with a red switch in the wall, Naruto flipped the switch and a few moments later received a call from Frisk.
{Naruto, the forcefield has turned off} said Frisk.
"Great, then I'll be making my way b…," Naruto trailed off in midsentence.
{Naruto…are you there?}
"Yeah, just that another monster has appeared," like Naruto said, there was a black silhouette waiting for him at the end of the bridge and his SOUL was practically thumping against his chest "I'm gonna have to call you back,"
{…o-okay} said Frisk unsurely before ending the call.
BGM End
Naruto crossed the bridge, noting that the monster backed away from the bridge and went to stand at a larger area to wait for him. He soon got across and cautiously approached the figure to get a clearer view of who it is.
The monster appears to be a female humanoid about his height as she wears a dress with the Delta Rune on it, a red cape with a long-curved hood which conceals her hair save for a curl sticking out from under it, a red bow at the neck, and a pair of white knee-high boots with heels and gloves. Naruto also took note that she was also wearing a pure white porcelain mask.
"Um hello, my name is Naruto. What's yours?" asked Naruto politely.
"…," the monster didn't reply.
"Well uh, are you by any chance a member of the Royal Guard?"
"…,"
"So, what brought you all the way out here?" Naruto was feeling rather uncomfortable with the silence and the stare from the monster in front of him.
"…what's with you?" the monster finally spoke up albeit annoyed.
Naruto blinked in confusion "What do you mean?"
"Just straight up trying to start up a polite conversation while in battle? I mean, who does that?"
"But I'm not looking for a fight and I have no reason for that," said Naruto, trying to calm the monster.
"…you know what? If you don't want to fight…," she suddenly brandished a saber and pointed it at Naruto with his SOUL practically leaping out of his chest and pulsing strongly "…I'll have to make you!"
Something at the back of Naruto's mind screamed at him to jump backwards which he did just as the monster swung her saber in an arc and the ground where he stood sliced opened and a wall of energy shot up for a moment before dissipating.
"Whoa…," Naruto was taken aback with what he just saw and sweat dripped down his forehead "I've never been gladder that Frisk and Nikan aren't here with me,"
BGM start: Undertale Red OST; Dummy! Remix (Pacifist)
Naruto used Check to learn more about the female monster before him while trying to figure out a way to avoid fighting her.
['Rude Baby Red', if you're not gonna fight, Red is going to have to MAKE YOU FIGHT]
"Tell me something I don't know," Naruto thought with a roll of his eyes as he faced Red "Look, please calm d-,"
"You think I haven't heard of you already?" said Red "'A new world has been opened up for us!', 'I've never been so excited!', 'Bark bark, arf arf!' W-What a bunch of nonsense!"
Naruto's eyes widened in recognition as he remembered who said those words; the Dogi couple, Doggo and Lesser Dog!
Naruto snapped into focus as he saw Red throw a bomb at him and slashed rapidly to make those magic walls like before, he jumped in between the spaces before they rose and saw the bomb being boxed in one of the spaces before exploding, giving him an idea of what would happen if he gets trapped in a space along with a bomb.
"You're a human, you and the other human are the final keys to our freedom!" Red declared as she rushed up to Naruto and thrust out her saber to stab him.
The blonde barely parried the blade with his bokken and redirected her attack to the side before taking on the Gale Form stance, Red was upon him once more and attacked with a barrage of thrusts and slashes whilst Naruto was deflecting them just as rapidly in succession but was being pressured until she leapt back to glare at him through her mask.
"I won't let you get away, not when we're so close!" Red stretched an arm out to summon large spinning gears before launching them towards Naruto who was forced to move out of the way especially since there's no way he could physically deflect those ones then quickly deflected plus shaped slash attack from Red and moving away to create some distance away from her.
"She may be different from Undyne but some of her attacks are too much for me to handle head-on," thought Naruto, then he recalled something with his father's voice echoing in his mind.
"As much as the Gale Form is helpful in combat, there will be times where you would face enemies whose physical capabilities far surpass that of your own. Hence you need to be nimble to avoid both damage and recoil altogether while at the same time repositioning yourself to inflict critical damage upon the enemy. To be anywhere and everywhere, such is the Storm Form. In simple terms, you can't hit what isn't there to begin with *Chuckles*,"
Naruto smiled sadly at the memory before snapping into focus and taking on a new stance as he stood with legs slightly apart while holding the bokken in one hand, pointing diagonally towards the ground.
"So, you have finally decided to fight back?" asked Red, Naruto took note of her tone of voice.
"Not at all, I won't fight," Naruto's left eye began glowing with a white flaming aura.
Red growled in annoyance "You're so infuriating!" she dashed towards Naruto and slashed rapidly with her saber but Naruto proceeded to evade the incoming attacks via sidesteps and dodge rolls before somersaulting over a thrust attack and landing with a roll behind her.
"Y-You can be as much of a sweetheart as you want, but it's not going to change anything!" said Red.
Naruto blushed at what she said "M-Me…a sweetheart? I-I didn't know I was being l-like that,"
"Oh really? You trying to say that you aren't aware that you're obsessed with becoming friends with anyone you meet while risking your very life?!"
"It's not like that!" Naruto protesting before darting away from the spinning gears launched at him by Red until they dissipated after some time.
"Why even bother doing this, you're just going to get yourself and the other human killed!"
"You're wrong, I promised to protect Frisk and Nikan no matter what!" said Naruto with a frown. Red tossed several bombs and slashes about to raise some magical walls, Naruto rolled into a space to avoid getting hit but realized that there was a bomb inside with him. He quickly crossed his arms and braced himself right as the bomb exploded, the smoke dissipated to reveal that his body was shrouded in a white aura which reduced the amount of damage by a bit with the magic walls fading away.
"If you continue this route, you will break the hearts of all those monsters you have befriended the moment you die!" said Red angrily.
Hearing those words actually made Naruto pause in thought, he realized that she made a valid point. He and Frisk had befriended so many monsters since their journey began through the Underground, coming to care for them and vice versa. Should either of them die, he couldn't imagine the kind of sorrow they would feel.
Naruto shook his head and turned to Red "Then I just have to protect Frisk-chan even fiercer than before and not let ourselves get killed,"
"And you think you can do that by not fighting?"
"Yes,"
Naruto leapt out of the way to avoid a charging stab from an angered Red who turned to pursue the blonde "You're so naïve!"
"If being smart means hurting those who are innocent, then I'll choose to remain naïve for the rest of my life!" Naruto backflipped away from a diagonal slash before dashing sideways from a vertical uppercut.
Red's grip on her saber trembled with emotion "…Why?" she sent spinning gears at him only to miss the target but he didn't attack "Why won't you fight back?!" she unleashed a barrage of highspeed slashes with Naruto taking evasive actions to dodge a majority of them while getting some scratches but remained defensive "Why won't you fight?!"
Naruto readied himself as Red launched even more gears and this time creating the magic walls in combination for the gears to ricochet of the solid surfaces and making dodging even harder for Naruto. He continued to avoid the gears the best he could when he felt something descending from above and rolled to the side right as Red stabbed where he once stood and quickly raised his bokken to block the saber of an angered monster.
"WHY WON'T YOU FIGHT BACK?!," Red yelled in frustration.
"BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT MY ENEMY, YOU NEVER WERE AND NEVER WILL BE!" Naruto yelled right back at her before being pushed away.
Red raised her saber into the air for another attack with the blonde ready to react to whatever comes next, then he noticed that her hand was shaking before collapsing to her knees on the ground and the saber clattering next to her.
"…I…I HATE this! I HATE THIS SO MUCH!" Red yelled out, almost bursting into tears.
Naruto lowered his bokken and cautiously approached Red who made no sign of wanting to fight anymore then called out to her "Um, what's the matter?"
BGM start: Undertale Red OST; Friendship
Red let out a tired sigh before speaking calmly "…when I first heard of your arrival from the Canine Unit in Snowdin…it scared me. Not for my safety, mind you….I don't see myself a terrible fighter, but because all the things they said about you were positive, they all considered you and the other human as friends,"
"…," Naruto remained silent to let her continue talking albeit smiling that they still like him, Frisk and Nikan.
"I was actually terrified that you would befriend me as well," said Red.
Naruto frowned at that "Why would you be scared of being befriended by Frisk and I?"
"The thing is that no human has ever made it past Asgore ever since he redeclared war on humanity. Six humans that fell here were reduced to six human SOULs and I felt that you two would be no different. If you were kind to me only to be killed by our king…," Red looked down at the ground in depression "…I…I don't know what I would do…I didn't want to lose anyone else…,"
"She must have lost people very dear to her…just like me," thought Naruto sadly.
"So…I did everything to shut you out, I refused to like you. And then, you appeared…," Red raised her head to look at Naruto, revealing to have taken off her mask and pulled down her hood to reveal short pink curly hair and a pair of dog ears atop her head "Showing concern to me, and I'm sure you would have been asking other things about me…god, I would have hated every minute of it. And you know what?"
"What?" asked Naruto curiously.
"Forcing yourself to hate someone…," Red crossed her arms and puffed up her cheeks "…IT SUCKS! Like wow, what a lousy way to live!"
"That's true," said Naruto, trying to hold back on his laughter upon seeing Red pouting so cutely like that.
Red began fidgeting shyly "So um…thanks for being so patient with me and uh…sorry for trying to slice you open. I guess? These kinds of things happen!"
Naruto simply nodded as he sat cross-legged before Red after sheathing his bokken and his left eye having long since returned to normal "It's okay, Frisk and I understand where you and the other monsters are coming from. So, are you okay now?"
"Ummmm, I can say that I feel a lot better…only just really hungry. Panicking with a sword can really take a lot out of ya," said Red nervously.
The blonde chuckled "That's true…hold on a minute," Naruto reached into his waist pack to bring out a Glamburger and a Sea Tea which he split the latter in half handing both over to Red whole took them gratefully.
"Oh nice, thanks a bunch!" she happily ate the food and drink.
Naruto looked at Red's dog ears and had a thought "Hmmm, if she has dog ears then I wonder…," he quickly took out his bokken and threw it into the air "Fetch!"
"Arf arf arf!" Red excitedly got to her feet all the while barking before jumping to catch the bokken with her teeth before returning it to with a look of pride "Did you see that? That's some MTT level skill right there!"
"Indeed I did, awesome catch," Red never felt any prouder.
Naruto smiled but then he remembered what he needs to do right now "Sorry Red-chan, but I need to be on my to meet up with Frisk-chan and Nikan so we can resume our journey,"
"You're leaving already?" Red looked surprised and rather sad to hear of his departure "I guess you have places to be and kings to meet,"
Naruto nodded "Yeah,"
"Asgore is our king for a reason…him being strong doesn't mean that he's mean. I'm sure you two can be friends with him just like you're friends with me,"
"I'm happy to hear that you see me as a friend, I hope you could be friends with Frisk-chan and Nikan. No doubt that they would be happy about that," Naruto stood up and patted the dirt off his clothes "I hope to see you again," he turned to leave but then felt something pull at his pant leg, Naruto looked back to see that it was Red holding his pant leg "What is it?"
"…don't…actually kill anyone please? If you do, I'll…I'll…I'll be so peeved!" said Red with a pout.
Naruto chuckled with a foxy grin "No need to worry Red-chan, I haven't killed anyone since the beginning and I don't plan on stopping that,"
Red smiled upon hearing that "Good, that's what I'd like to hear! Bye then!"
"Yeah, see you later!"
BGM End
Naruto began making his way back to Frisk with Red waving goodbye, he soon met up with them and felt guilty upon seeing the look of worry on Frisk's face and Nikan bounding over to leap into his arms while whining.
"Are you okay?!" asked Frisk worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm doing okay. I was able to come to terms with the monster and we're friends now. I'm sure you would like her," said Naruto.
"'Her?' you mean a girl monster?" asked Frisk.
"Yeah, she's nice and can also be scarily strong too," said Naruto, having not noticed Frisk pouting "Anyways the path is open so we move forward now,"
"…okay," Frisk followed after Naruto with a small frown "Why is it that every time Naruto talks to a girl or they come too close to him, I feel this prickling feeling in my heart. I'm not getting sick, am I?"
Catching up to Naruto, the trio made their way across a bridge hanging over a thick cloud of ozone to the other side where they came upon a doorway outlined with flashing neon lights as well as an elevator which is currently out of order. There was a SAVE Point for Naruto to access as well as heal both himself and Frisk.
(Behind this door must be the elevator to the King's Castle. You are filled with Determination. Save? Yes/No)
Upon confirming the SAVE, they went through the doorway to find themselves in a dark room, there they saw Mettaton at the center as if waiting for them.
"Oh there you are darlings! You are finally here, which means it is finally time to stop the 'malfunctioning robot'…NOT!" Mettaton declared.
"Um, what do you mean?" asked Frisk curiously.
"Malfunction, reprogramming? Get real, all this was just a big show. Alphys has been playing you all for fools all this time,"
"Al this time, you have been pretending to malfunction?" asked Naruto.
"Indeed for you see, Alphys grew attached to your adventure as she watched you two and desperately wanted to be a part of it. That is when she decided to insert herself into your story by reactivating puzzles, disabling elevators and enlisting me to torment you so as to save you from dangers that do not exist. All this to make you think that she is a great person whom she's not, and now is the time for her finest hour where she awaits outside this room to swoop in to the rescue by 'disabling' me and 'saving' you one last time, hence becoming the heroine of your story all so she could convince you not to leave the Underground,"
"That explains so much, I had always found these puzzles and traps to be strange. Alphys must have set this all up before we arrived at the laboratory, but what was her true goal in deceiving us besides trying to have us remain her," said Naruto with a small frown in thought of everything till now.
Then Mettaton spoke up "But you see, I've grown rather tired of this predictable charade. But you needn't worry about me trying to harm humans, I actually wish to entertain. Also an audience deserves a good show, and what kind of show would it be…without a plot twist?"
Suddenly they heard the sound of a door locking behind Mettaton and someone began banging against it and Alphys' voice could be heard.
"H-Hey! Wh-Wh-What's going on?!" said Alphys confusedly.
"I-I have a bad feeling about this Naruto," said Frisk with concern.
"I know, we need to be very careful here," said Naruto, his body already tensed for anything and Nikan stood next to him to help them both.
"Sorry folks, the old show has been cancelled! But we've got a finale that will drive you wild!" Mettaton declared as the floor lit up in red neon lights before rising into the air
"Real drama! Real action! Real bloodshed! On our new show…," Naruto and Frisk braced themselves as their SOULs emerged from their bodies "'Attack of the Killer Robot!',"
BGM Start: Undertale OST; Metal Crusher
"Tell me Mettaton, was it you who changed the layout and traps in the CORE or it was Alphys?" asked Naruto as he unsheathed his bokken and took a stance with Frisk and Nikan staying close to him.
"Oh yes darling, I was the one who rearranged the layout, reactivated the traps and hired everyone to kill you. Though I must admit that it was a rather shortsighted plan, what better way to acquire the SOULs than to kill you by beauteous myself!"
"I hope this works," Frisk took out her phone with the color of her SOUL changing to yellow before firing yellow bullets at Mettaton only for them to bounce off of him.
"Sorry darling, but that pea shooter won't do a thing. I'm was merely acting like it hurts before," said Mettaton in amusement.
"I was afraid of this," said Naruto with a frown "Just why do you want our SOULs? To give them to Asgore?"
"Oh dear me no, I've seen you two fight and I fear that you won't stand a chance against Asgore and he will use your SOULs to destroy humanity. But if I get your SOULs, I can disrupt Asgore's plan and prevent the destruction of humanity. Also, I get to be a superstar with hundreds, no thousands of humans gazing upon my beauty and style!"
"But people would still be killed," said Frisk with concern.
"So, what if some humans die, it's showbiz baby!"
"All the more reason for us to not get killed, we won't allow either you or Asgore to take our SOULs," said Naruto with his left eye glowing with the white fiery aura of Determination.
Frisk's phone began to ring for her to answer it "Hello?"
{Uh…I-I can see…what's going on in there…but don't give up!} said Alphys.
"But what can we do? Nothing works on him," said Naruto, watching Mettaton continue with his monologue and not paying them any attention at the moment.
{Actually…there is, but it was a…uh…work in progress. Do you notice how Mettaton always faces forward?} Naruto thought back and realized that Mettaton had never once turned his back to them, always moving around while facing them.
"Yeah, I recall,"
{That's because there's a switch on his backside, if you can turn him around and press the switch…then he'll become…um…vulnerable. Well, I-I-I gotta go!} said Alphys before ending the call.
"So, how do we make Mettaton turn around?" asked Frisk.
Naruto hummed in thought, glancing at the robot who was still in his monologue and suddenly snapped his fingers as an idea came to him "I got it, I know how to get him to turn around!"
"Really, how?"
"Just watch," Naruto then called out "Hey Mettaton!"
"Yes darling?" asked Mettaton.
"I just wanted to let you know that a mirror has just been put up behind you," said Naruto, pretending to look past the robot at a non-existent mirror.
"Oh a mirror? How convenient! I need to look perfect for our grand finale!" Mettaton turned around, exposing the switch to the children "Hmmm, I don't see the mirror…where is it?"
"NOW!" Naruto rushed for Mettaton's and pressed the switch before quickly jumping back "Made it!"
"Way to go, Naruto!" said Frisk happily.
Mettaton stood there frozen until finally speaking up "Did you…just flip…my switch?"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow in response "Uh…yeah?"
No sooner he said that, Mettaton grabbed head and began shaking rapidly while making loud beeping sounds before releasing a bright flash of light which forced the children and wolf pup to close their eyes to avoid being blinded.
"OOOOHHHH YEEESSS!" a deep sultry voice echoed all throughout the room.
BGM Start: Undertale OST; Oh my…
Suddenly spotlights lowered down from the ceiling and shone their light into a thick fog, Naruto and Frisk looked at the fog and could make out what appears to a black silhouette in the shape of a human.
"Ohhhh my, by flipping my switch, it could only mean one thing. You are desperate for the premiere of my new body," said the voice.
"New body, could that be…," Naruto realized who it is in the fog despite the change in the tone of voice.
"How rude of you two… but to be honest, I've been wanting to show off this body for a long time. So, as a reward for this…I will make sure that your last living moments…,"
The fog finally dissipated to reveal Mettaton's newly transformed body; he now has humanoid body, sporting black hair with a long fringe that seems to cover his right eye, pale 'skin' and visible metal segments below and above his left eye. Mettaton has a pink chest piece, a narrow metallic waist with a box contraption containing his monster soul, black shoulder pads above his segmented arms which end in gloves, and long black-clad legs ending in pink high-heeled boots.
"…are ABSOLUTELY beautiful!" said Mettaton.
"Um Naruto, I think things have gotten a bit more difficult," said Frisk.
"I was thinking the same thing," said Naruto.
BGM Change: Undertale OST; Death by Glamour
Like always, Naruto and Frisk's SOULs emerged from their bodies to signal a battle as they use CHECK for any change in information concerning Mettaton and were fortunate to see so.
[His weak point is his heart-shaped core.]
Music began playing in the background as Mettaton started to tap his feet to the beat before moving about in a dancelike manner while striking stylish poses along the way. Naruto and Frisk took note of a large tv screen hanging above the which was displaying a Show Rating meter.
"Lights! Camera! Action!" Mettaton leapt towards the children and wolf pup with a stylish jump kick.
"Watch out!" Naruto called out in alert, they quickly moved out of the way with Mettaton targeting Naruto, attacking him with numerous punches and kicks all the while being stylish about it. Naruto was dodging the attacks the best he could but made a costly mistake that allowed Mettaton to successfully land a kick to the stomach and send the blonde tumbling away from the robot.
"Naruto!" Frisk tried to make her way over to him with Nikan but ended up drawing the attention of the robot.
"Drama! Romance! Bloodshed!" Mettaton went on to deploy Mini-Mettatons with umbrellas to glide towards Frisk and Nikan, throwing heart-shaped projectiles at them. They dodged as hard as they could but still got hit by some of the attacks and falling to the ground "I'm the idol everyone craves! You better start picking up darlings, lest this show will be a short one,"
Naruto shook his head while getting up on a knee to look at Mettaton "That hurt, I kinda wish that I didn't flip that switch…huh?" he noticed that when Frisk and Nikan got hit, the ratings suddenly rose "Wait, does this battle have something to do with how our actions affect the ratings?" wanting to test something out, Naruto reached into his waistpack and took out a Glamburg then ate it to heal himself which caused the ratings to increase quite a bit with the audience cheering in approval "So that's it, this gives me an idea!"
"Hey Mettaton!" Naruto called out to catch said robot's attention "Let's try this again!" he then struck a pose with a smirk much to Frisk's confusion, Mettaton took note of the ratings increasing in reaction to the blonde's pose.
"Very well darling, smile for the camera!" Mettaton went in to attack Naruto who's left eye glowed with Determination, he weaved in and out of the attacks and taking note that Mettaton's attacks are akin to that of dance moves, so he just needs to fight fire with fire. He managed to evade the attacks and got himself to Frisk.
"Are you two okay? Here, take these…," Naruto handed over a Glamburg to Frisk and Nikan ate Cinnamon Bun to recover with Naruto noting the ratings increasing again.
"Um Naruto, why were you dancing around?" asked Frisk confusedly.
"Because I managed to figure out that this battle is like a show, the ratings react to whatever we do," Naruto explained, helping Frisk to her feet.
"So, what happens when we increase the ratings?"
"Don't know, but we'll see what happens at that time,"
"I-I don't know if I can do this, I'm really shy," Frisk looked down in embarrassment.
"Of course you can, I believe in you," said Naruto with a smile and Nikan barked in agreement, filling Frisk with confidence and Determination.
Mettaton called out to them "Oooh, it's time for a pop quiz! I hope you brought a keyboard...This one's an essay question!"
Naruto and Frisk received prompts on their phone which asked the question; 'What do you like most about Mettaton?' they thought for a moment before typing on their keypads to send their response. For Naruto, it was 'Dancing' and Frisk chose 'Personality'.
"Wonderful! Amazing! A+…I AM completely stunning," said Mettaton happily "Your essay really showed everyone your heart. Why don't I show you mine?" the panels on Mettaton's waist opened up for his pink core to emerge and float around while shooting lightning bolts in a circular blast formation, keeping the children from getting any closer to it.
Frisk took a look at the core then her phone before having a thought "I wonder if…," she aimed at the core and fired a yellow bullet which seemed to have an effect this time compared to previous attempts "It works!" she continued to fire at the core whilst avoiding the lightning bolts but several mini-Mettatons appeared to attack her, Naruto quickly stepped in front of her to deflect the heart-shaped projectiles with his bokken until the core returned to Mettaton.
Naruto then had an idea "Hey Frisk-chan, since it's a show then let's change our looks to fit in,"
"Okay Naruto,"
The children used their phones to access the dimensional boxes and bring out the items they could use for the battle. Naruto took off his goggles to put on the Manly Bandanna and donned the Tough Gloves, Frisk wore the Old Tutu and Ballet Shoes, this caused the ratings to further increase.
"Those really look good on you," said Naruto with a smile.
Frisk looked away with her cheeks tinged pink and smiled shyly "Th-Thank you, you also l-look nice too,"
"Alright then, let's put on one heck of a show!"
Naruto struck a pose by taking on a fighting stance and Frisk followed suit by imitating a pose like those ballerinas she saw on TV and Nikan stood in front of them while trying to look as intimidating as it could, making the audience cheer loudly in response and increasing the ratings.
"Oooh, I'm just warming up!" Mettaton sent more miniature copies of himself to attack the children and wolf pup, Frisk took to shooting them down with her phone whilst Naruto utilized his Gale Form to deflect the incoming projectiles with his bokken and Nikan was running about and tackling the Mini-Mettatons to drive them back from the two "I see you've got some moves… But how are you on the dance floor?"
A disco ball lowered down from the ceiling and began to project laser beams in either blue or white, Naruto and the others took to avoiding the white beams and remaining still for the blue beams to pass through them without getting hurt and Frisk discovered that shooting at the disco ball would make the beams switch between the two colors.
"Not bad Mettaton, but your attacks won't be able to land on us!" said Naruto with a smirk, really getting into this battle/show.
Mettaton smiled in response to the challenge "In that case, let's see if you keep up the pace!?" the speed of the laser beams from the disco ball increased, making the children move faster to defend against them as Frisk shot at the disco ball to change the colors of the beams which they wouldn't be able to avoid in time until disco ball turned off "Most impressive, how about this?"
"Lights! Camera! Bombs!" Mettaton snapped his fingers to make a cluster of black spherical bombs with pink plus signs on them fall down from above towards the children, Frisk shot at one of the bombs with her phone but they had to move out of the way when it exploded into a plus-shaped blast upon being shot "Things are blowing up!" he made more bombs fall from above.
"I don't think I can shoot them all," said Frisk worriedly.
"And I can't risk deflecting them with my bokken since I'm likely to get myself blown up," said Naruto with a small frown, suddenly he felt his SOUL pulse and something was enticing him to reach into his waistpack which he did and took out the Cowboy Hat and Empty Gun "Wait these are….huh?" he noticed that his SOUL has changed its color from red to yellow and the Empty Gun doesn't feel empty anymore, making him realize what's going on.
Frisk was trying to shoot the bombs as fast as she could before they drew any closer, then she heard gunshots from behind her and the other bombs were being shot down. She turned around to see Naruto now wearing the Cowboy Hat and holding the Empty Gun in hand while the bokken was put away and his SOUL is now yellow like hers.
"Naruto?" asked Frisk.
Naruto tipped his hat with a smirk "Well howdy do, ma'am,"
"But how are you able to use it?"
"I don't really know myself but I'm not complaining, now to keep the ball rolling,"
Mettaton smirked at this new development which is no doubt raising the ratings of the show "We've grown so distant, darlings...How about another heart-to-heart?" he let out his core once more and this time, it was surrounded by white squares marked with black circles orbiting around it like a shield.
"Let's get those things out of the way so we can go after the core," said Naruto.
Frisk nodded in affirmation "Okay,"
The children began shooting at the boxes to destroy them and target the core but at the same time had to watch out for the lightning bolt projectiles launched their way, the Mini-Mettatons would glide down on their umbrellas to attack as well but Naruto ensured to shoot them down as well before they got the chance to attack. Never has he been so grateful for all those trips to the arcade to be able to shoot accurately. They landed enough shots on the core to make Mettaton's arms fall off before returning to its containment.
"Guess we aren't so weak now that you've lost your arms," said Naruto, striking a pose by twirling the Empty Gun with a finger and blowing off an imaginary smoke off the muzzle.
"Maybe you can stop now," Frisk suggested, wanting the battle to end before anything bad happens.
Mettaton scoffed in response "A...arms? Wh...who needs arms with legs like these? I'm still going to win!" with that said he lunged at the duo and lashed out with multiple kicks at the same time deploying multiple Mini-Mettatons to attack. Naruto had to be rather creative with his offense and defense as he would block some of Mettaton's kicks and shoot at the miniature copies of himself before finally rolling away from Mettaton with Frisk and Nikan moving up next to him.
"You're really going for broke, aren't you?" asked Naruto.
"Why of course, The show... must go on!" Mettaton now sent a large number of bombs and white squares to overwhelm the group.
"Aim for the bombs, they'll destroy most of the white cubes!" said Naruto with Frisk nodding in affirmation, they began to shoot at the bombs and making sure to avoid the plus-shaped explosions after hitting them, refusing to let themselves back down.
"Haha, how inspiring! Well, darlings! It's either me or you! But I think we both already know who's going to win. Witness the true power of humanity's star!" Mettaton's core emerged once more while surrounded by the white cubes and began to launch lightning bolts straight towards the children at the same time attacking in close range with kicks.
"If you're going for it, then so will we! Frisk, go for the core while I keep Mettaton at bay!" said Naruto, unsheathing his bokken to hold in one hand and the Empty Gun in the other. Frisk jumped back to build some distance to focus on the cubes and the core, Naruto took to utilizing the Storm Form to use his agility defensively to parry and evade the kicks then helping Frisk the best he could to shoot down the cubes. Mettaton lashed out with a spin kick when Naruto's left eye suddenly flashed and he jumped to place a foot on the leg then propelled himself into the air, somersaulting several times before landing on the ground with a roll and striking a pose which caused the audience to roar in excitement and a crazy increase in the ratings.
BGM End
Mettaton looked up to the screen to see that that the ratings were practically through the roof and was quite vocal about it.
"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!"
"Does it mean that the fight is over?" asked Frisk.
"I'm not too sure," said Naruto, remaining on guard in the meantime.
"Let's see who calls in first!" they didn't have to wait as the phone began to ring for Mettaton to answer "Hi, you're on tv! What do you have to say on this, our last show?"
BGM Change: Undertale OST; For The Fans
{...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...}
"That sounded like Napstablook, I guess he was watching the show too along with the other monsters," said Naruto, he noticed the rather saddened look on Mettaton's face as the caller hung up.
"No, wait! Wait, bl...H...they already hung up...," Mettaton tried the cheer himself up "I'll take another caller!" many more monsters called with messages of their own.
{ 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.}
All these and more had Mettaton feeling something different compared to what he was expecting. With a soft smile, he turned to speak to Naruto and Frisk.
"Darlings. Perhaps...It might be better if I stay here 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. Perhaps...Even strong enough to get past Asgore. I'm sure you'll be able to protect humanity,"
Naruto smiled as he put away the bokken and Empty Gun "You can count on us, you just keep doing what you do best,"
"You're the reason why the monsters continue to smile after all these years, Mettaton, they need you just as much as you need them," said Frisk.
Mettaton chuckled as he collapsed with the children quickly checking on him "Ha ha...It's all for the best. 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, darlings. And everyone...Thank you. You've been a great audience!" then his eyes dimmed, signalling that he has run out of power.
BGM End
"Mettaton…," Naruto muttered in silence, looking upon Mettaton's unmoving body with the platform lowering back down, the door behind then was unlocked and Alphys made her way inside.
"I...I managed to open the lock! Are you all...Oh my god. Mettaton!" Alphys ran over to check on the state of the robot "Mettaton, are you..." a closer look led to her letting out a breath of relief "... thank GOD, it's just the batteries. Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have...I would have...I m-mean, h-hey, it's no problem, you know? He's just a robot, if you messed it up, I c-could always... J-just build another,"
"Mettaton is more than just a robot and he's a close friend of yours," Frisk pointed out to the Royal Scientist.
"…why don't you go on ahead, I need a moment to myself," said Alphys.
Naruto nodded in understanding "Okay," they both went through the door ahead to go through a hallway, soon Alphys caught up to them albeit looking nervous.
"Sorry about that, l-let's keep m-moving," said Alphys, the walk through the hallway was a rather awkward one given that neither knew exactly how to begin a conversation given the tension between them "I-I guess that y-you must be p-pretty excited to m-meet Asgore and finally go h-home,"
"…yeah, I'm just hoping that we can reason with him and avoid any fights," said Naruto with Frisk nodding in agreement.
"…,"
They arrived at the elevator and pressed the button to open the doors and were about to enter when Alphys called out to them.
"Wait! I-I just want to s-say goodbye and um…uuuuhhh…," she trailed off not knowing what else to say.
"Is there something wrong Alphys?" asked Frisk concerned.
"…I can take this anymore…," Alphys turned away with her back to them, sighing sadly "I…I lied to you…A human SOUL alone isn't strong to cross the barrier. It takes at least a human SOUL and a monster SOUL,"
"So, what does that mean?" asked Naruto.
"If you want to go home, you will have to take his SOUL…you will have to kill Asgore,"
"!" they were stunned speechless upon hearing this revelation, the only way to leave the Underground is to kill the King of Monsters and take his SOUL. This ultimatum is like a slap to the face after everything they've gone through to avoid killing innocent monsters up to this point.
"I'm sorry," Alphys quickly left with feelings of shame and guilt.
"…Naruto…what should we do now?" asked Frisk unsurely.
"…I…I don't know. let's…let's keep going," said Naruto, appearing rather lost due to the revelation told to them.
Naruto and Frisk, along with Nikan entered the elevator with minds still reeling from what they were just told.
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, we are now drawing close to the confrontation of Asgore and facing down Flowey as well. I'm really going to had to pull out the stops for this one, i kinda got some ideas from the vids of the Mettaton battle from Youtube to make things interesting. For those wondering, Red is an OC character created by Taxiderby from the Undertale Red Fangame. Canonically she is a possessed doll but I decided to base her on Cerise Hood to make things more interesting along the way.
Be sure to read and review like always.
This is Hussbek from Ghana.
Signing out and staying alive.