VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 23

Mettaton ducked and dove and flew all throughout Voxis, thanking his perfect self that the city was so lax at night, as the sun had since dipped below the horizon and stars filled the air. He'd managed to keep a trace on Psycho, who was as hard to follow as a snake through weeds, but thanks to his latest update of sonar hearing and infrared vision, he managed to keep up, all while getting some practice in with the new features.

Mettaton wasn't sure if Psycho knew she was being followed, but judging from her speed, it seemed unlikely. He was doing a good job of keeping up, this new body admittedly a lot more maneuverable than the previous one. He was already imagining all the new dance routines he could do with this newfound flexibility.

Suddenly, the signal stopped moving. Mettaton paused, ducking behind a few dumpsters. He began looking around for Psycho, fingers crossed that he hadn't been detected.

He was lucky; she'd entered an old apartment complex. He had lost her signature, and none of his abilities involved seeing through walls, so he'd just have to sneak his way inside as best as he could.

Quickly, the robot dashed toward the front entrance, wary of anybody out and about. Fortunately, not a soul was stirring. Was this some kind of . . . base? Or was she simply hiding here to wait out the police? Mettaton had no idea, and frankly wasn't very keen on waltzing into this complex, but he didn't have a choice, unfortunately. Well—he did, just not any good choices. He continued pursuing Psycho, quietly, though still wasn't aware of her location.

Using his new sonar enhancements, he tried to pick her out through the apartment once he entered. He could hear several different sets of feet moving about, but only one was moving quickly . . .

It seemed to be on the floor he was on, not too far from his position. Still wary of his surroundings, Mettaton made to follow, snagging a convenient heavy overcoat from a rack in the hall and throwing it on, feeling much more comfortable all of a sudden.

Mettaton wasn't sure what Alphys had put into this new body in terms of weaponry, so until he got the details from her, any and all self defense would have to be done with his hands and feet. There were apparently several people here, including Psycho, but who were they? Was she being chased, or had she simply come back to acquire more subordinates? Mettaton had a lot of questions as he raced through the apartment complex.

The sound of a distant elevator ding made him hurry his pace, and when he rounded what he counted to be the third corner, he came to a stop at a dead end; an elevator door just in front of him, the floor indicator at the time reading '0A', then '0B', then '0C', and so on until it reached '0R', and came to a stop.

Zero? If this was floor one, then that meant there was more to this building underneath . . . Oh, god. The fabulous Mettaton had to be going underground for this chase, and he was definitely not happy about it. Not only was he unprepared, but he wasn't sure if they could recover his body if something happened to him again down there, not to mention, there were numerous enemies presumably beneath. He would practically be walking into a trap.

Suddenly, he heard a crackle in his ear, and Alphys' voice rang in. "M-Mettaton? A-are you there?" she asked.

"Loud and clear, darling. I like the new sound system, I must say. And the infrared vision? Mwah! Astounding," the robot replied.

"Sounds like you're doing okay . . . are you still following that woman?"

"I am! I'm fine, by the way, thanks for asking. Turns out there's some underground fortress beneath some apartment complex . . . 'Clyde's Sleepy State' I think is what it's called. I was just wondering . . . what other upgrades do I have?"