#… she got moved to dipper’s story and mabel got shoved in the b plot for more boy crazy shenanigans

[perenlop]

ik its kinda blasphemy to say this show has flaws bc its upheld as the best 2010s show (for good reason, it IS a good show and i have fond memories of it) but man. why did gravity falls do mabel like that

[advocatewrites-blog]

Into the Unknown Part 3 Chapter 4

Into the Unknown

Fandom: Undertale, Coraline (book), Over the Garden Wall, Paranorman, Gravity Falls (season 2)

Characters: Frisk, Norman B., Dipper P., Mabel P., Coraline J., Wirt, Greg, the Cat, the Frog; Sans, Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore,; the Other Mother, the Beast, Agatha P., Bill Cipher, Asriel D., Chara D.,

Pairings: Not the focus. Alphys/Undyne, with mentions of Papyrus/Mettaton, sans/Toriel/Asgore, and Wirt/Sara. Due to the nature of Undertale and the dating segments, there is also interpretable Papyrus/Wirt, Undyne/Mabel, Alphys/Dipper, Napstablook/Norman, Mettaton/Norman, Mettaton/Mabel, Sans/Dipper, Sans/Norman, and Sans/Greg.

Rated a high +K for violence, mild language, horrific elements that may be disturbing to younger readers,  mentions of child abuse and bullying, character death that is sometimes permanent, and mentions of suicide that may be triggering. These elements remain relatively unchanged from their source material, which most all are for children, but discretion is advised nonetheless.

Disclaimer: Undertale was created and owned by Toby Fox. Coraline was created by Neil Gaiman and owned by Bloomsbury and Laika. Over the Garden Wall was created by Patrick McHale and owned by Cartoon Network. Paranorman was created by Sam Fell and Chris Butler and owned by Laika. Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and owned by Disney. Any other work mentioned or homage are property of their respective owners. This is a fan-made, nonprofit work that only seeks to entertain. Please support the original franchises.

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Chapter 4

More people came outside. They stared at the zombies. The zombies stared back.

Finally one woman moved and pulled a shotgun from behind her back. “KILL ‘EM IN THE HEAD!”

Frisk rushed out between them. They started to sign.

“THEY HAVE A HOSTAGE!”

“SOMEBODY SAVE THAT CHILD!”

Frisk tried to say something else. They were shoved back before they could get their hands up, past the crowd of the zombies.

Judge Hopkins took them by the shoulders and steadied them. With one hand, he gave them back the book of fairy tales and the notebook. With the other, he took his hand of Frisk’s shoulder and pointed into the forest.

Frisk nodded in understanding.

A gunshot rang through the increasingly large crowd. Judge Hopkins nearly fell over as it collided with his stomach. Instantly, Frisk opened up their FIGHT menu and ran a Check.

Judge Hopkins 80 ATK 80 DEF

He fell down a long time ago. He let his fear control him.

“Are you serious?” said Norman and Alphys at the same time.

“OHHHHHH YESSS!!!” said Mettaton. “GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS!

“AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OR CORRESPONDENT IS OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE! BRAVE CORRESPONDENT! PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT! OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!!”

It was a bit hard to see clearly with the sets Mettaton had put up, but there were objects that looked out of place scattered across the platform. A basketball that looked more plush that rubber, a binder, a CD case…

“A dog?” Norman asked aloud.

The dog barked and wagged its tail at him.

“WHAT A SENSATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A STORY!” said Mettaton. “A DOG EXISTS SOMEWHERE. FRANKLY, I’M BLOWN AWAN.”

The dog continued to wag its tail. A glint of black and orange at the end made Norman’s head turn.

“MY COULD THAT BE…IT IS! IT’S A BOMB!”

The backdrops fell apart. Mettaton hovered closer to Norman.

“OH MY!” said Mettaton. “IT APPEARS EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM IS A BOMB! THAT PRESENT’S A BOMB! THAT BASKETBALL’S A BOMB! EVEN MY WORDS ARE—!”

Boom!

“BRAVE CORRESPONDENT,” Mettaton continued. “IF YOU DO NOT DEFUSE ALL OF THESE BOMBS, THS BIG BOMB WILL BLOW YOU TO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES! THEN YOU WON’T BE REPORTING ‘LIVE’ ANY LONGER! HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING! OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK DARLING!!”

Panic swelled in Norman. Was he being serious?

The phone rang.

“Is now really the time?” Norman asked as he answered.

Alphys squeaked. “S-sorry, but don’t worry! I installed a bomb-defusing program on your phone!”

That one took Norman aback.

“Why would you have thought of that?” Norman asked.

“u-uh, I—“

“YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME, DARLING!!” Mettaton spoke up.

He was right. Norman would just have to ask about that later.

The riots did not stop even after Frisk got away. They wondered if there was anything that could make them stop. They dove inside a nearby alley and hid. Occasionally, they would poke their head behind the corner and watch as things got progressively worse.

There was fire now. The smoke blended in with the rest of the storm.

It took longer for the Cat to find them. The townspeople were probably superstitious of him, too. He gave Frisk a quick glance over to see they weren’t seriously hurt. His eyes narrowed at the book in their hands.

The Witch was watching them. The swirling clouds above began to take shape, and two glowing eyes stared down at them.

Frisk opened up the book and opened their mouth. Their voice seized up.

The cloud’s mouth opened. The sounds of cackling collided with the sounds of thunder. Lighting struck down, and as Frisk faded into unconsciousness, they heard something.

“I’m not listening to that story anymore.”

NAPSTABLOOK22 sent you a friend request. Accept?

The notification vanished before Norman could even tap it.

Seems like it rejected itself… said the Undernet.

Norman sighed as he put the phone away. He would have to find a way to talk to Napstablook later. Right now, he had more pressing concerns.

Behind this door must be the elevator to the King’s Castle. If he could get through it, and then get past the king, he would be home. Something swelled in him that he could not quite place as he stepped inside.

The room was surprisingly empty. Only a few lights were overhead, as dim as they could get. A chill ran down Norman’s spine as he took a few more steps forward. He wasn’t sure if he should be surprised when he saw Mettaton waiting.

“OH YES,” said Mettaon. “THERE YOU ARE, DARLING. IT’S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT’S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE ‘MALFUNCTIONING’ ROBOT. …NOT!!!

“MALFUNCTIONING? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT. ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME. AND NOW, IT’S TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR.  AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHYS IS WAITING OUTSIDE THE ROOM. DURING OUR ‘BATTLE’, SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO ‘DEACTIVATE’ ME, ‘SAVING’ YOU ONE FINAL TIME. FINALLY. SHE’LL BE THE HERO OF YOUR ADVENTURE. YOU’LL  REGARD HER SO HIGHLY SHE’LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO LEAVE. …OR NOT. YOU SEE, I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON’T THEY? AND WHAT’S A GOOD SHOW…WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?”

“h-Hey? What’s going on?” Alphys’ voice echoed from behind the door.

“SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM’S BEEN CANCELLED!!!” Mettaton continued. “BUT WE’VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!!”

The platform lit up in magenta stage lights. It shot itself up into the air, Norman and Mettaton still on it.

“REAL DRAMA!! REAL ACTION!! REAL BLOODSHED!! ON OUR NEW SHOW…ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!”

Norman’s Soul jumped from his body. Instinctively, he reached for the phone and pressed the yellow button.

“THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON’T WORK ON ME,” said Mettaton. “DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT ACTING IS?”

The phone started to ring. He answered.

“U..uh…I can’t see what’s going on in there, but…” said Alphys on the other end. “Don’t give up! Th…there’s o-one l-l-last way to beat Mettaton. It’s…um…it’s…This is a work in progress, so don’t judge it too hard…if you can turn him around and press the switch on his backside, he’ll…he’ll become…vulnerable. G-gotta go!”

She hung up before Norman could get a word in edgewise.

Mettaton was still monologuing about something. He probably did not even see him on the phone.

If he was right, Norman realized, then there was no reason to trust Alphys. And if he was right, Norman realized, he was out of options anyway.

“H-hey Mettaton,” Norman spoke up. “There’s a mirror behind you, if you want to get ready for your big show?”

“OH???”

Mettaton turned.

The switch was huge, nearly taking up half the back panel. Someone had even taken time to hastily write “SWITCH” with an arrow over it. Norman decided not to waste any time. He jumped forward and flipped it.

Mettaton froze.

“DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH?”

Norman did not get the chance the answer. Mettaton spun. The lights on his face lit on and off randomly. The mechanical bits of him screamed. Puffs of smoke and fumes seeped from his joints, nearly blinding Norman.

And then it stopped.

“OHHH YES…”

“…on this day, you have been charged for the horrible crimes of witchcraft…witnessed by those whose testimonies have been heard…”

They were somewhere dark. Eyes watched them from every corner. Out of the shadows stood the judge.

“…you have been found by this court to be guilty…”

But this was not their judgement.

“I was only playing,” said a weak voice beside them.

There was a girl beside them, only a little older than Frisk. The eyes focused onto her, and she shrank under their gaze.

“Aye,” said the Judge. “Playing with fire! And it is passed on you, according to your grievous crimes, execution!”

The shadows with eyes came out of the shadows and approached them, taking up the space.

“No! I didn’t do anything wrong!” said the girl. “Leave me alone, or I’ll make you sorry! I’ll make you all sorry!”

The girl’s skin lit up with yellow magic, and the bright lights broke apart the darkness.

When Frisk came back around, they were on the floor in an unfamiliar room.

“You know,” said the Cat, his mouth full of their sleeve as he dragged them along. “One of these days you’re going to have to accept that you can’t fix everything.”

It took them a moment to figure out what he was talking about. The storm outside still raged, and the voices of the mob were muffled through the building’s walls.

“OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS! WE’VE REACHED OUR 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!”

The phone started to ring. Norman took a look at the caller ID and his eyebrows shot up. Not knowing what else to do, he put it on speaker.

“HI, YOU’RE ON TV! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR FINAL SHOW?”

“oh…hi Mettaton…” said Napstablook.

And just like that, Mettaton’s demeanor dropped. His wild expressions vanished, now replaced with a thin expression that looked like it was holding back a lot. His eyes drifted from the floor to the phone.

“I really liked watching your show…” said Napstablook. “my life is pretty boring... but…seeing you on the screen…brought excitement to my life…vicariously…”

Mettaton’s expression cracked again, and this time it became clear he was holding back tears.

And then Norman put it together.

“I can’t tell, but…I guess this is the last episode…? I’ll miss you…Mettaton…oh…i didn’t mean to talk for so long…oh……………………”

“NO, WAIT! WAIT, BL—” Mettaton stopped as the dial tone became louder than him. “h—They already hung up...”

“You left him behind,” said Norman.

“I THOUGHT…” said Mettaton. “IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE BODY I WANTED. THE LIFE I WANTED.”

“And what did you do to the person who got you that life!” Norman said. “You’ve left Alphys behind, too!”

“I DIDN’T MEAN—” Mettaton stopped himself. “HERE, JUST HAND ME MY LEG SO I CAN SLAP MYSELF.”

“What would happen if you took my Soul and crossed the Barrier?” Norman asked. “Would you leave them behind too?”

More and more messages poured from the viewer call in.

“Mettaton, I don’t know what I’ll watch without you!”

“Mettaton, your show made us so happy!”

“Mettaton, there’s a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-shaped heart!”

With every new caller, Mettaton’s eyes fell just a little more.

The fight was over. Norman’s Soul retreated back into his body. There wasn’t any point to sticking around. Norman walked past him and went towards the door.

“WAIT, DARLING…” Mettaton spoke up.

Norman stopped, but did not turn back.

“THIS BODY’S ENERGY FORM IS…INSUFFICIENT. IN A FEW MOMENTS, I’LL RUN OUT OF POWER AND…WELL, I’LL BE OKAY. BUT…WOULD IT BE TOO MUCH TROUBLE TO ASK YOU TO TAKE ME TO THE TRANQUIL AREA OF THE WATERFALL? THERE’S…A FEW PEOPLE I NEED TO MAKE UP TO.”