VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 86

"Still think you'd be better off just runnin'," Raptor shrugged as he sat against the wall of the cell, arms crossed, head down, his chin dipping into his chest, his eyes closed as the generator began to hum with the descent of the elevator.

Magnum stood up, stretching her arms. "Yeah, you said that," she replied, taking a deep breath. "But tonight's the night. Gonna profess my allegiance or whatever to uh... Asgore, I guess. Monsterkind has really limited leadership figures."

"There's Undone."

"Undyne."

"What did I say?"

"Quiet," Magnum hissed. "Soon as the doors open, you keep your trap shut and let me do the talking. Especially if Undyne is with her."

When the elevator doors slid open, Magnum was fully prepared to say something, but the words were caught in her throat when she saw that it wasn't Alphys nor Undyne that had come down. Trixie stood there, a twinkle in her eyes upon seeing Magnum.

". . . This is gonna be bad," Raptor mumbled, immediately feeling himself grow nervous upon seeing his fellow lieutenant. They'd never really gotten along all that well, and Trickster could be even scarier than Psycho at times. She never failed missions, never questioned her authority . . . she was essentially the top lieutenant, though Demon would probably be above her if he wasn't so independent.

"Trin!" The purple haired girl practically squealed, rushing over to the energy barrier that separated them, cautious about passing through, deciding not to risk it and remaining on the other side. "I finally found you- oh, you have no idea how hard I've been searching! I only slept two hours this week, but it was worth it! Because . . . here you are! Why do you look so surprised? You didn't think I forgot about you, did ya?"

Magnum still found her words stuck in her throat, but when she finally spoke, her words wiped the grin off of Trickster's face.

"Where's Alphys?"

There was a moment of silence as the two stared at one another, before Trickster formulated her reply. "Uh . . . how about 'it's so good to see you, Trix, I've been thinking about you every day since I got captured'. Alphys is fine, if that really means that much to you."

Magnum gulped, blinking a couple of times. "I—yeah, I'm stoked to see you, Trixie. Just . . . surprised. I guess . . ."

"Uh . . . are you alright? You're kind of freaking me out here, Mag . . ." Trickster looked a little baffled as to the other girl's behavior. She didn't sound or look excited in the slightest, but Trixie was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Poor thing had been locked down here for a while, maybe she was a little off.

"How does this barrier work?" Trixie asked.

"Um . . . you can like, pass stuff through from that side, but not the side I'm on," Magnum explained, failing to make eye contact.

"Ah, good. Here, check it out, I got all your favorite goodies," Trixie smiled, slipping the easter basket off her shoulder and slowly passing it through the barrier. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of things Magnum liked, including snacks, magazines, games, and an autographed picture of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

". . . Trix, there's something I have to tell you," Magnum replied, staring down at the basket.

Ouch, that was a bit of a knife in the heart. Maybe she was overthinking it, but Trickster had just spent a restless two weeks tracking Magnum down, and this wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting. It was like she was afraid of her.

"What's wrong? You're not hurt, are you?"

"No. Not at all. In fact, uh . . . I wasn't even hurt when I got captured."