Never Die Again

7. All or Nothing

Two golden urns sat on an altar, illuminated by candlelight. Beside each was a portrait, Toriel on the left, and Alphys on the right. Chara and the others stood solemnly before them. There wasn't much they could do until Cathleen showed herself, so they had decided to honor the departed while they still could. Chara clasped her hands together as they fidgeted nervously. She... figured some closure would help.

"Umm, does anyone want to say something?" Elodie asked.

After a moment of silence, Mettaton was the first to speak. "Guess I'll start." He rolled over to the altar and faced everyone, with no lights on his screen. "So, uh, as you all know, we're here to mourn the passing of Toriel, our former Queen, and... Alphys, our former Royal Scientist. Admittedly, I never knew Toriel well, but I can tell she cared deeply for her children, and for Fri..."

He cleared his throat, not that he had one. "Back when we were trapped Underground, we all had dreams of what we would do if we made it to the surface. Not all of us have realized those dreams, but Toriel was fortunate enough to have achieved hers. Free of the Ruins, she was able to be the teacher that she always wanted to be, loved by no small number of students, and she was able to do what she had never thought possible, watch her children grow to adulthood. That said, it is still a tragedy that her life was ended here, and she will be missed."

Chara's chest tightened. She couldn't say that she had expected anything so heartfelt from Mettaton. He was hardly the type to put others before himself. What had brought this on?

"A-as for Alphys," Mettaton continued, "well, how could you ask for more? After being fired as the Royal Scientist, she bounced back and became the founder and CEO of her own company. Some humans were skeptical that monsters - isolated from the greater world for millennia - could possibly match them in technological prowess, but boy did Alphys prove them wrong. AlTech's share price soared within weeks of its founding; yours truly might have gotten a cozy little piece of that himself. Her advancements in dimensional storage, energy production, and r-robotics will change the world for generations to come. W-we should all be thankful for e-everything that she has done for me...

"... us. I-I mean us, of course. I know how hard this must be for some of you, b-but don't worry about me. Alphys and I w-weren't close or anything. She just... made my new body; that's all. It was a s-strictly professional relationship. I'm n-not broken up about it at all, h-haha...

"... e-excuse me. My v-vocal processor seems to be m-malfunctioning. I'll g-get out of your way now."

Mettaton quietly rolled back into the crowd. Now Chara understood. Mettaton was never going to lose sleep over Toriel's death, but that was only natural. Their connection ran no deeper than plush dolls of Toriel's body with Mettaton's face. Alphys, on the other hand, had a much closer relationship with Mettaton than he cared to admit, so it was a small wonder that her death phased him more. Alphys had been more important to him.

Chara knew better than to resent him for it; she wasn't a hypocrite. She certainly didn't value all lives equally, but...

Is that why you've sided with her, Frisk? You've decided that it's acceptable to risk everything if it means saving the ones close to you?

Yes, in Frisk's mind, it was all or nothing. That fool - she loved him - but that fool.

Did he really think he could have everything he wanted?

Did he really think he could have infinite power, and not pay a price?

That idiot.

"Uh, anyone else?" Elodie called.