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Mettaton rolled through Hotland at the speed of light, hoping he would get to the laboratory before it was too late.
The human was coming, and they hadn’t just destroyed every monster in their path. They had deliberately searched out monsters to kill until there weren’t any left. It had happened in Snowdin and Waterfall already, and as far as he knew at the moment, Undyne was holding them at bay.
But for how long?
He reached the lab and found Alphys sobbing at her computer desk. “Alphys! What happened?... Did Undyne…?”
“Sh-she’s gone. She did her best, but she’s gone.” Alphys wiped her eyes. “The human’s coming. I—I can’t be crying like this! I have to evacuate Hotland.” She began typing furiously on her keyboard. “I’m not sure h-how much time we have left. It might be too late.”
“I can buy you time.”
Alphys was silent for a minute, as if she hadn’t heard Mettaton. Then she blinked. “Wh-what?”
“I can buy you time. I have NEO. I can distract them long enough for you to get everyone to safety—”
“No, Mettaton, you can’t!” Alphys launched out of her seat and grabbed Mettaton by the arms. “You’re not strong enough, you’ll die!”
“Darling… I know.”
It seemed to take a minute for the full force of his words to hit Alphys. Tears began falling from her eyes. “Mettaton…”
“It’s the least I can do. I… I haven’t been treating you very well, darling, and I wish I had time to say how sorry I am for that.” If Mettaton could have cried in his box form, he would have. “Come now. The people of the Underground are relying on us both! We don’t have time for tears.”
Alphys wiped her eyes and stood as tall as she could. “Y-You’re right. Thanks, Mettaton.” She got back in her seat and began typing again. “I’m sending out text messages to everyone still in the Underground, and I’ll do a mass call as well. And… and I have to warn Asgore. He’s got to be ready.”
“Good luck, dearest.” Mettaton’s voice was but a whisper.
After Alphys left the lab, Mettaton waited there in the dark. He looked at the screen, now black, where Alphys had watched Undyne die. He had never been overly fond of Undyne, but he never would have wished death on her.
But at least she had died a true hero.
Now, Mettaton wondered, would he die a hero as well?