VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 84

A white light enveloped the entire courtyard, and Mettaton could feel an intense heat swallow his entire body as it interrupted his warning. He could feel paint drip off of him, and his circuitry didn't appreciate this heat- but he was going to survive this. Papyrus, on the other hand . . . where was he? Mettaton had to make sure he was alright . . .

When vision returned, he found the skeleton lying against the far wall, the front of his body blackened, unmoving—but not dust. Mettaton stared at him for a moment, feeling a small part of him deep inside of himself writhe in pain.

His eyes suddenly flashed red, maintaining their scarlet appeal as he turned back to face Warmth, face going slack, displaying no emotion. With the dust clearing, the robot stared forward, its anti-human programming kicking into overdrive.

For now, Mettaton was gone.

All that remained was a programmed killer.

Warmth had experienced the same blast as the monsters, but he didn't seem all that bothered by it despite his charred black skin, his now complete lack of hair and clothing (it actually reminded Mettaton of a burnt hot dog) . . . actually, he seemed to be struggling with his own problems, burnt facial expression beginning to contort, before returning to normal. His Stabilizer was damaged and now the prototype was only putting in half of the current it originally had been. Now, he was struggling to remain in control.

His facial features kept going from 'charred normal' to 'charred rabid dog,' and each time, he only seemed to grow more and more upset, fighting for his own body.

'Mettaton' didn't intend to give him a single ounce of pity, nor time, flying forward and thrusting his cannon-arm forward to try and blast the lieutenant's head off at point blank. Unfortunately for 'Mettaton,' Warmth ducked below the blast and grabbed his leg with what was left of the Stabilizer, slamming the machine down into the concrete, hard enough to crack it.

Mettaton didn't react to the attack at all, simply swiping his free leg, knocking Warmth aside, blood and spit flying from his mouth. The robot rose to his feet, and as Warmth attacked first this time, it was Mettaton who countered it, jabbing his fist into Warmth's throat, forcing him to choke and step back as Mettaton's canon arm slammed into his gut, knocking the air out of him, before the canon fired, blasting him to the ground, where he barely rolled out of the way of Mettaton's leg as it stomped the concrete he'd just been.

He went to strike Mettaton again, moving faster and with more ferocity, but the robot was barely deterred as his face literally cracked from the hit, and he grasped Warmth's arm before striking his elbow, a crack sounding through the air as his arm was broken.

Warmth received another throat jab before Mettaton raised his boot, and slammed it into him, launching him into the wall, where he fell to a knee. While he was having trouble focusing, one thing was obvious: whatever had happened to Mettaton seemed to boost his combat proficiency, but at the cost of defensive capabilities, something that could easily be exploited.

Mettaton wasted no time going on the offensive once again, flying forward. Warmth moved his head just in time, the robot's boot crashing through the concrete just behind the lieutenant. Right now, it appeared that the spirit that possessed Warmth was gaining more and more control with the bulk of the stabilizer gone. With a vicious snarl, the man grabbed hold of Mettaton's leg, beginning to slam him back and forth on the concrete.

Though the robot showed no sign of feeling pain, his body was certainly taking a beating as he was mercilessly slammed into the cracked concrete ground below. Finally, after a few seconds of being brutalized, Mettaton kicked free and flew over to the far wall. This wasn't to calculate or go on the defensive- it was to try and gain leverage for another attack. This programming was forfeiting all better judgment to destroy the lieutenant, and under normal circumstances, that would lead to Mettaton's demise.