thisavrou_log | Where Did This Ghost Come From?

Upon being revived, Mettaton immediately realized something was wrong. How could he not, he'd lost at least 3 feet in height, and he was no longer solid!!

As soon as he was able, the small ghost disappeared from the medbay, but he didn't go to his room. If he did, it would be like admitting that he wasn't a robot, and he absolutely was! Being a robot had granted him so much freedom, he didn't want to go back to being a ghost...it wasn't fair. Of course, no one but himself could really understand that, but it didn't make his anxiety any less. In fact, it made him twice as anxious to be identified by anyone on the ship, especially someone who had an idealized picture of who he, Mettaton, really was...

Most of his wanderings are done in panicked appearances across the Moira, from the gardens, to the aft, and any other location in between. The ghost appears to be distressed and capricious, disappearing if no one was around. If someone called out to him, or brought attention to his presence, then he would likely give pause, but better be quick before he vanishes into thin air.

Edited 2016-07-05 06:49 (UTC)

After some time has passed, Mettaton seems to gather his thoughts and affirm a goal to himself; locate his body. He realizes that it's probably going to be in an awful state, but what frightens him more than that is the idea that someone had found it, thought of it as scrap, and either chopped it for parts or threw it away

Since he isn't bound by the need to charge or the need to sleep, the small pink ghost carries out a days-long search for his body, floating through walls which he was permitted to cross--almost all of them, honestly. He's a freaking ghost--and peeking in likely hiding spots for his body. If he found most of it, that would be a boon in and of itself! Then, uh. He'd have to find the arm that had fallen off, he supposed.

From time to time, Mettaton comes across an understandably occupied public area. If it's not too densely populated, he'll float up to people with a quiet question.

"Have you seen a broken robot anywhere? It's important that I find it, you see. Oh, or if you found an arm that would be helpful too. I--eh, that is...it was broken badly during a fight."

It's been almost a week since Mettaton had been stuck like this. He had no corporeal form adequate enough to possess, and even if he did, he wouldn't try. Dying had put things into perspective for him. He had gotten scared because he couldn't leave that body...the malfunctioning wreck of his EX form had been home for his soul, and he couldn't leave it.

He was scared of the implication.

More than that, he was starting to feel...very unlike himself. Sure, he'd had those kind of thoughts before. It was why he had never really been happy in his incorporeal form before meeting Alphys, at least. He just hadn't felt so...out of place in such a long time. He would try using doors without thinking, or to pick up things without using magic, only to have them pass through his nubby hands.

Mettaton was already worn of this. Which was why he was laid out under the tree in the garden area, staring quietly at the weaving branches and trying to ground himself.

Normally this activity cleared his mind and he was able to forget the oppressively unhappy things he dealt with, including his flaws. Unfortunately, it only made him feel worse for the moment.

He's not back yet. He's still not back. You're lucky to be "alive," and look at all the violence you caused.

Papyrus didn't hurt anyone...but you were so mad that you tore those people apart. Who would want to be near such a destructive person?

Mettaton's one visible eye outline seemed to wobble, and a tear gathered at the corner.

He wasn't meant to feel sad. All he wanted was to forget how sad he was, and to be near someone familiar...really, just be near anyone.

Waking up in cryo had been a strange experience. He'd been on the other end of the process once before, after Sans had been dusted by the human, but it was a whole other thing to lose consciousness while crumbling, trying to use his dwindling time to be encouraging or helpful to Frisk, and then remembering nothing until his eyesockets opened again, nearly a week later.

Of course the first order of business was to check in on his brother and friends. As it turned out, most of the monsters were in the same situation he was -- they hadn't stood a chance against the Caducans. The more he heard and saw, the more worried he got. Mettaton must have been in the middle of it all too, right?

People had seen him, but not lately.

Messages sent to his MID went unanswered for the first time.

A part of him felt strange, hollow. Weighed down in a way he still wasn't used to. Tobi had left too, and a couple of his other cool friends. Had that happened to Mettaton as well?

He'd never gotten a chance to properly thank him for the gifts. Or for helping him find Sans in the void. Or, well... any of it, really. He owed the guy so much, and now it seemed he was just. Gone.

The ghost in the garden didn't spook him. He was somewhat used to seeing Undyne's neighbor (what was that guy's name again? Napperboo? Spookybooks?) lying around someplace, usually forming some sort of shape with their ethereal tears. You know, as ghosts tended to do. This was a different ghost, but they looked sad all the same. Man, what was with ghosts and crying? You'd think they'd be happy with the ability to float through walls and fly around without spending magic!

He took a moment to put his best smile back on before entering the area. No point adding to their sadness when he might be able to take some away, after all.

"Hello, there!" He approached with his usual stride, looking for all the world like nothing had ever happened.

If you could ignore the glass arms.

"Are you new? I didn't think we'd gotten a new shipment of friends yet!"

Edited (typos) 2016-07-06 22:02 (UTC)

Mettaton's first reaction is...panic. He'd rolled over when he heard the sound of footfalls, but as soon as Papyrus spoke, he jolted upright. Funny how the skeleton was the one spooking the ghost, if you think about it.

He wasn't thinking about that. Instead, he was thinking about how much he wanted to apologize for not being there for Papyrus, for letting him die when he should have taken care of him. Some of these thoughts are combated by his common sense saying "um, that's his brother's job not yours" but he couldn't bring himself to believe that.

Furthermore...Mettaton had killed a lot of Caducans, how could he even own up to that when he wanted Papyrus to keep admiring him?!

But the most important thing right now was not letting Papyrus know this was him...

"I--yes!! Ah, I mean no!!" the ghost said faster than he could stop himself. He floated backwards a little from the skeleton, still surprised that he was back. It wasn't a bad thing, naturally, he'd just been waiting so long for Papyrus to return that he hadn't expected it.

...He hated how very different his voice sounded without the pitch regulators his robot body afforded, and unfortunately his frustration did show a little.

"I mean...you just haven't seen me around, I suppose! I'm the kind of ghost that keeps to themselves."

Gross. He's such a liar. Papyrus is going to be cross with him later, he knows it. But maybe he wouldn't have to find out...if only Mettaton could find his body, and repossess it as soon as possible.

For now, Papyrus' glass arms are put to the wayside in favor of him being alive. Besides as far as this "ghost" knew, Papyrus didn't look any different, right?

Still. Who knew that could happen to someone in cryo?

Edited 2016-07-06 22:46 (UTC)

"That sounds likely!" Coming from anyone else, it might've sounded like the least funny brand of sarcasm, but Papyrus meant it. Some people on this crew were less friendly than others, and he was excited to finally meet one of the more elusive ones.

"I hope I didn't bother you! I was... looking for a friend. He seems to have gone missing." He rubbed at the back of his neckbones, rustling the orange scarf he'd been quick to find and put back on. After a moment, he brightened and turned back to the ghost with renewed interest. "Oh! You haven't seen him, have you? He's a bit taller than I am, made out of metal and magic? He looks human sometimes, but don't let that fool you! He also has an amazing square shape that made hims very famous where I'm from!"

Mettaton was starting to catch onto the fact that Papyrus often said very sincere things that weren't meant to sound sarcastic. It didn't bother him, of course! It was part of why he was so attracted to the tall skeleton monster. He was just so genuine.

"You didn't bother me," he responded kindly, a nubby arm (hand?) rising up to wipe a tear from his eye. Wow, he'd really been upset hadn't he? He still was, honestly, but it was hard to stay that way around Papyrus. His optimism and personable nature just had that effect. "It's nice to talk to someone every once in a while."

Ohhh, and when Papyrus goes on about his "friend", Mettaton's eye lights up. That's him, that's the real him!! Metal and magic and good looks!!

"Oh!! I know who you're talking about~" he said, unable to resist indulging himself. "Mettaton, right?!"

He'd been grinning already, but as soon as the ghost said that name, Papyrus's face lit up even more. "Oh my god! Are you from the Underground too?" It was always nice to see another monster, but introductions could wait.

"Have you seen him? I haven't heard from him since I... since we went to battle with those angry people, and I'm starting to get a little worried. Not that I don't think he can take care of himself!" He's quick to clarify. "I just want to know that he's all right."

"I am! How else would I know how great Mettaton is?"

Maaaybe. Just maybe...someone's digging himself into a bit of a hole, but this is the first time in over a week that he had been truly pleased talking about something! He was going to enjoy it!

Well, as much as he could anyway, because eventually he had to quietly, reluctantly shake his head no. It still wasn't worth telling Papyrus that his idol was nothing but a silly pink ghost...

"I haven't seen him lately though. I'm sorry, honey."

"Oh..." It was kind of silly to get his hopes up, but maybe Mettaton was still busy. He could be charging, or getting repaired. That would explain the missed messages, the radio silence.

It was just kind of lonely, especially given how much they'd been hanging out lately.

Papyrus sat down next to the ghost friend, sighing a little before cheering back up again. No point being sad when he was about to make a new friend, right? "Well, like you said! You don't talk to people much, right? I'm glad you finally came out so I could meet you! My name's Papyrus, and I'm a morale officer here on the ship."

That one single "oh" brought Mettaton right back down to earth. Literally. He drooped so close to the ground he was almost touching it.

Oh, Papyrus. He really wanted to say that everything was okay, he's here and he just looks different. But Mettaton's own apprehension stopped him from doing so, because again, how could Papyrus ever idolize a ghost the same way he idolized the star of the Underground?

"It's nice to meet you Papyrus," he says brightly, defaulting to his usual optimism! Just because he wasn't feeling up to it didn't mean that he couldn't fake it. "I'm...um..."

SHIT.

Papyrus waited for a polite amount of time before raising his brow bones. There was something about this ghost that rang familiar, in a way. Had they met back home? "It's okay if you don't remember your name! I'll give you one! You can be, hmm..." He took a moment, scrutinizing the little guy. What sort of name should a ghost have? Especially a cute pink one who clearly had a little style.

"Fabstablook?"

...Surprisingly, that gets the ghost to blush. He brought his nubs up to his cheeks, a flush of slightly darker pink spreading across his face. Mettaton didn't notice. He wasn't used to blushing.

That was such a nice name!! It was a compliment wrapped in a layer of naivete and he loved it!

"Yes, let's go with that!! It's a lovely name!" he hummed, looking pleased. "You can call me that, honey!"

Edited 2016-07-07 00:07 (UTC)

There was definitely something familiar about this ghost. Every time he called him honey it was there, right on the tip of his metaphorical tongue, nagging him in a way that he hadn't felt since before finding out Asriel was secretly Flowey all along. Did this one have a secret identity as well?

He'd have to puzzle this one out a bit longer, clearly!

"Excellent! I'm so glad we got that out of the way!" He couldn't help but be pleased. Fabstablook looked so much happier already. "Was that why you were upset?"

He was happier. Really, he was. When Papyrus had happened upon him, he had been very upset by the fact that he would be exposed, but now...Mettaton was just relieved to see that the skeleton was back and perfectly fine. Nothing had really changed.

Of course, his anger before had been genuine, and he was still aggravated that the Caducans had killed his favorite fan. But...Papyrus was back, and that was what mattered.

"Mm, actually no. I was upset about other things. Such as the fighting, and that I wasn't much use. It's a sad state of affairs, don't you think?"

Without really thinking about it, he leaned towards Papyrus, settling against his shoulder. It would probably feel weird, since, y'know. Incorporeal. But it made Mettaton--or Fabstablook, rather--feel better.

Papyrus couldn't really feel him at all, not beyond the little soul coming into closer proximity to his. It was a nice feeling all the same, warm and sociable. What a friendly little ghost! Papyrus couldn't imagine why he would hide himself away if he was this affectionate.

"It's not so bad! Believe me, those guys were really strong. They might have even been able to beat up a ghost! You were smart to stay out of the way!"

"I can only imagine," the ghost mumbled, making a face. They had been pretty tough, but he'd done his part in making sure they didn't get a chance to kill too many more people. Shame it came too late, right?

"...Though I rather doubt they'd be able to hurt a ghost! My darling cousin used to always disappear from his problems!! That's the good thing about being so...underwhelming. No one really notices if a ghost disappears."

If Papyrus had a heart, that would have pierced straight through it. As it was, he lifted his hand and did his best to pat Fabstablook on the head without phasing entirely through him. Not sticking body parts through incorporeal friends was probably rule #1 of ghost etiquette, and he prided himself on his manners.

"No, I don't think that's true!" He was concerned, emphatic. He cared about this little sad ghost and his problems. "I would definitely notice! Ghosts are cool people too, after all."

"Oh, darling. You would say that," Mettaton replied, looking a fraction less morose. "Still, I agree. Ghosts are lovely!! It's just a matter of getting to know them! After all, Blooky's always been good at music, but no one ever noticed until...well you know, later!"

He appreciated that Papyrus didn't put a hand through his head, but honestly? Mettaton wouldn't have minded at all. He could forgive this sweet guy for doing anything.

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Papyrus dear."

I'm sorry that I'm lying to you.

Oh no, it's cute --

That's the first thing to pop into his head when he's asked. He'd come back up to the observation deck, just to try and take his mind off of everything. No one else was there, so it made for a perfect place to sulk. His frame still hurt, a lot. But... maybe he was avoiding Riptide, just a bit. For a little while.

But that's not what he expected to see up here.

Sideswipe blinks a few times. Looks around -- is anyone else here? Is this somebody's joke, or--?

"Uh, no, dude," he says, finally. "Sorry." A beat, then: "What's it look like?"

Mettaton seemed to deflate a little when he's told this guy hasn't seen his body. Yeah, that's what he expected. It wasn't a small body, but by and large, he was one of the more conservatively sized robots at 7 feet tall.

Well. He used to be. Now he was just a ridiculous, not-very-important ghost.

"It's a seven foot high bodyframe, with silver face and extremities! Pink chestplate, core container in the abdomen...oh! I have great hair, and super excellent legs too!!"

Mettaton seemed to have gotten himself excited for a moment while describing his body, but after he realizes he's hovered several feet upward and gotten way into "himself," he floated back down reservedly.

"So yes. That would be my body."

Poor Mettaton might not feel very important right now, but... he actually gets a laugh out of Sideswipe. Not a mocking one, just a real, amused little laugh. Which is borderline miraculous right now.

"Sounds like it's awesome, dude. Like something out of a movie," he says. The smile is a bit more real this time. Less forced. "Oh wait... "

He frowns again, thoughtfully. "I saw a guy like that at the leg thing," he says, slowly. "Was... that you?"

...Shit, did he seriously end that with 'that would be my body'?! What kind of idiot outright admits what they're trying to hide--oooh, Mettaton was so mad at himself! Clearly being like this was stressing him out to the point of compromising his entire stealth plan, and now he'd just admitted that he was really a ghost! Ugh.

He sighed, reaching a nubby "hand" up to flick at his bangs while looking frustrated at himself.

"...Yes that was me. Please do not tell anyone."

"Oh, uh --"

Well scrap. That wasn't what he was going for. Sideswipe grimaces himself, and rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck. Picking at bits of paint.

"Sorry... I mean, I liked it! It was cool! You're cool." Wait, okay, no, there's got to be a better way to make this better. Deep 'breaths'. And he looks down.

"Yeah, I won't say anything, man. No worries there." His optics flick up a little shyly. "Kinda lame to run around telling peoples' secret stuff, y'know?"

Unless it's Strongarm. Then it's always a good time. And hilarious.

Where Did This Ghost Come From?

OPEN POSTS

I Woke Up Into A Nightmare!! (Various random locations)

Hide and Seek (Various locations)

It's Not Me... (Garden)

disclaimer: idk what my resurgence penalty is yet; Papyrus's condition is subject to change :V

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