VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 99

The tunnel led to an abandoned train station, which then led out to the older part of Voxis, the original city that had existed there before the UCA had built the modern version of the city, once known as Hamburg. The tunnel led out to a waterway, mostly concealed by a mass of vines, the waterway filled with still waters. Frisk hadn't spent much time on this side of town, never had much reason. She was used to living among the middle class, something she would never parade around, but it was . . . strange being here. She could hear people, this place actually seemed to have some life. According to Undyne, Lower Voxis (the term used for the old, poor part of the city) was the least affected by the martial law enacted by the Messiah. It was like a place separated from the events going on. When Frisk asked why they hadn't hid in there, if the Messiah didn't bother them, the answer was pretty simple. Undyne made it clear that hiding there would have made the folks living there targets.

They moved on, the sound of Lower Voxis fading into the background, replaced by an eerie silence. Undyne was intending to meet up with Mosu, another Messiah Lieutenant who'd left the Messiah, like Magnum, Truck, and Raptor. He was supposed to have been looking for Sadie, so hopefully she'd be with him.

The streets they passed were empty, as expected, but it was weird to see it like this. Voxis was always such a lively place at this time of day. It almost felt like she'd stepped into a post-apocalyptic timeline or something. The only things missing were the zombies and the dilapidated structures.

They had to take cover in alleyways a few times when a gang on motorcycles would ride through, or police cars would cruise by. According to Undyne, the Messiah had the VCPD and the city's gangs under their thumb. Not surprising, considering the Messiah controlled seemingly everything else, too.

On the way, Undyne described to Frisk how Terrence was abducted in better detail than Gregory had provided. Gerson, Greg, and Terrence had been waiting for Undyne to show up and were ambushed by the Messiah. They fought hard, but Terrence was captured just before Undyne had shown up and managed to fight off the remaining Messiah. No casualties on either side, except maybe Terrence. That made Frisk's gut clench. Undyne was supposed to find a new meeting place with Mosu once they met up, and she made sure to alert Frisk and Layla that they could be walking into another ambush.

However, there was none. When the three arrived, they found the street corner was empty and silent, right near Aaron's Crossfit Flexing. Nobody was inside, though Frisk was already aware that Aaron was safe at the old base, still flexing away. The only other monsters that she didn't already know were dead that also weren't in the safety of that place were the Temmies, Catty and Bratty, and the Fire family, consisting of Grillby and Fuku. The Temmies would be fine. They were out of the way, barely anyone knew where, and they kept to themselves. Wouldn't hurt to make sure they were still fine, though. Catty and Bratty . . . right now, Frisk had to assume the worst, but maybe they were still around. Grillby and Fuku too, didn't have a lot riding on their survival. Grillby had been last seen battling Krashna, and Fuku had last been seen with Sadie, neither of them seen since.

At this point, Frisk was actually curious about Grillby and Fuku. She had killed a lot of monsters in past timelines, but the Fire Elementals? No. She'd assumed the need to dump them in the icy rivers of Snowdin to win, though the event had never come to pass. Frisk felt a shiver run down her spine, realizing she was thinking so casually about those past sins. Shaking her head, she shook the thoughts from her mind. That was a life she never wanted to revisit.

It was only a few minutes before Mosu arrived. He was a few inches shorter than Undyne, with messy black hair, pale yellow skin like Frisk's, though of a lighter variety, and beady black eyes. A fresh cut sat on his cheek, which seemed to have recently stopped bleeding, his clothing was dirty, parts of it ripped, and he was carrying the hilt of a sword, except there was no blade attached to it. He looked quizzically at Frisk and Layla as he approached. "About time," Undyne said, and he gave her an awkward smile in response.