[Mettaton's grip around Asriel tightens. He's struggling himself...it's hard to do this when he's still utterly shaken from his own experiences. It's not as if he wanted to be captured and forced to kill again.

Honestly...he wanted someone to tell him it was alright even if it wasn't. To hold him while he fell apart and began to cry about his situation and scream how unfair it was.

But he can't. He's the adult. He can't be weak. He can't give in.

And the more that he thinks that, the number he starts to feel. The more that feeling begins to take over, the less effective his magic becomes, so he just cuts it off after a few seconds.

He can't let Asriel see him hurt.]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done this. I should have forced Chara away from this but I didn't push hard enough.

[He'd tried to push them before. Even when he didn't, they shredded him to bits. He was tired of it, so the effort he expended to push this idea from them was minimal. It's his fault.

His fault.

Mettaton can't stop himself from shaking.]