VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 85

Something was very . . . very . . . wrong.

The multitude of screens before her, including the ones she could easily flip stations between, had all gone haywire, for lack of a better term. The images were distorted, glitching inconsistently between one another into an incoherent mess that she could not solve.

The only answer was obvious; she'd been hacked. Or perhaps, there was a Messiah bug that had survived her purge when she'd originally been hacked. Nothing else could wreck her entire surveillance system like this. All of the secret eyes she had set up around the city were all useless now.

Something was happening.

Alphys fearfully tapped her claws against her desk, praying for a miracle- maybe, just maybe, this was some kind of mistake, just a little glitch. In the back of her mind, though, she knew that was false. Nobody was answering her calls. Not even Undyne, who hadn't left the laboratory that long ago . . .

She literally jumped up from her seat when she heard a knock at the door, peering over through her thick glasses. Who could be visiting at this time? Maybe one of her friends had come to check up on her, maybe Undyne was back! She rushed over to answer it, sweating like a pig from how nervous this whole situation made her. Normally she would have checked her security camera, but obviously that wasn't exactly an option right now, and for some reason she'd never thought to get a front window or a peep hole or something, considering the glass door was made of privacy glass.

She stopped at the door, flattening her lab coat and pulling at the sweater underneath before letting out a sigh, hoping that maybe this was something . . . good. Something that wouldn't confirm her suspicions of another Messiah attack, considering their extended silence as of late.

Wrapping her fingers around the doorknob, Alphys opened up the door while whispering under her breath, hoping this would be something good. Oh, please let it be something good . . .

But it wasn't.

Alphys was met with the sight of a human woman who stood over her, gazing down through burgundy-brown eyes. Her hair was styled in purple curls that ran down her shoulders, though it was straight in the back, two white ribbons pinned on each side of her head.

Alphys recognized her, and it took a few seconds of standing there wordlessly, but she knew who this was. It was Trickster—one of the Messiah's most dangerous lieutenants, the one who'd destroyed Mettaton's body. She was dressed oddly, much more casually than Alphys would expect from someone in such a prolific criminal organization, sporting a black hoodie that covered down to about the center of her thighs, most likely wearing some kind of shorts underneath it too. Slung over the lieutenant's shoulder was what looked like an easter basket- okay, now this was confusing.

"Alphys, isn't it? I don't believe we've met," Trickster smiled kindly, extending a hand.

Alphys reproachfully took a step backwards, the hand hidden behind the door subtly moving to silently hit a button against the wall. With that, she proceeded to answer her.

"I know w-who you are," she stated, face notably a lot paler than just a minute ago. "Bastette Amour. Lieutenant of the Messiah. Tasked with the destruction of Mettaton, a-and if you're here . . . I guess me too, now."

"Bingo," Trickster's smile widened as she stepped forward, entering the laboratory and making Alphys scoot back even more, trembling. "Oh, don't be scared. You're not in any danger if you don't resist."

Alphys paused, staring at Trickster through wide eyes, which only looked wider through her lenses. "W-W-What . . . ?"

"Come on, I'm not an idiot," Trickster laughed dryly, her eyes locked onto the short monster in front of her, unblinking. "I'm here to see Magnum. I know she's here. If you cooperate, I just might be able to get away with sparing your life today."