VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 131

Frisk could feel her gut tightening in anticipation. Chara knew why, had already been poking at her about it. The simple idea of having this little loophole around "not killing." Frisk could deal the damage, and the others, especially Mettaton, could take the lives. Mettaton wasn't afraid to kill, never had been, so that could be used to their advantage. Some of the lieutenants, like Ember, had a chance at redemption. Magnum, Mosu, and Truck were proof of that. But these leaders?

They'd fight to their dying breath. So die they would. Three leaders were on the agenda, but so was saving some captured individuals who hopefully weren't dead yet. Terrence, Grillby, Greg's team, and to figure out what the hell Greg himself was doing as well.

They navigated through the snow, and in no time the tall form of Obatech Industries could be seen. Frisk shivered, hugging herself. The jacket she wore wasn't really doing much, so maybe the HQ would be warm inside, make for some less unbearable battles. "Where's the entrance at!?" Frisk yelled as the snow blew sideways at them. She looked toward Magnum, whose pink hair was basically white, not to mention her eyebrows were pretty covered in snow as well. Frisk probably looked much the same.

"Plain sight!" Magnum replied. "Mettaton, remember that base you and Papyrus infiltrated!?"

"Hard to forget, darling," Mettaton replied, voice light as he simply amplified his volume.

"Same idea; the elevator works the same! Open the panel and select the only option, it'll take you down to the lobby!"

Frisk felt that was a pretty lame thing, and probably not useful for the Messiah HQ, but Obatech Industries did seem to have a lot more elevators than necessary. Maybe that was the compensation for quick travel between HQ and the surface.

As they reached the large glass doors that led inside, they were opened by a figure in a heavy rain coat, holding a police cap to his scalp, squinting at them. "You're just in time!" he yelled. Frisk blinked, momentarily confused, before she recognized who this was. Carl Stanton, the officer she herself had earlier mentioned. After helping everyone evacuate about two days ago, he'd disappeared. Possibly Gerson's work, if she was being honest with herself. That old turtle liked to think ahead.

"Officer Stanton!?" Frisk called, looking for confirmation. He waved them inside in response.

"We'll talk inside, the lobby is empty!" Carl assured.

Even though she knew they were about to head into the most dangerous battle of their lives, Frisk felt a great deal of relief the moment she stepped into the building, the teeth-chattering cold replaced by a temperature that at least felt pretty warm by comparison. Carl Stanton had a very grim expression on his face, watching as the group recovered from their trudge through the snow.

"It's no secret that the Messiah has had a firm grip on the entire city," Carl informed them as he stared on, his arms folded over his chest. "Undyne might've been the only officer who didn't know about the, uh . . . "bribes" our chief took from them. The higher-ups of the news stations are always getting paid off too. And the Messiah gets away with it because nobody can stop them," he said, before pausing. "At least . . . until now. Not sure how, but you've pushed them. Hard," he directed his attention to Frisk.

"I know it's risky," she admitted, "but something has to be done, right?"

"Of course. But once you go forward, Frisk, know that there's no going back. If you are to succeed, it might be the biggest step toward freedom and safety this country has ever seen. If you don't . . . then I'll do everything in my power to evacuate everyone. After being cornered by your rebellion, there's no telling how dangerous the Messiah has become."

". . . You're a good cop, Officer Stanton," Frisk told him. "Thank you. I'm glad you were Undyne's partner."

"Just doing what's right," Carl smiled, which looked a bit goofy in contrast to the speech he just gave, especially with the bits of snow in his unkempt beard. "I sent some of my good men to help out Gerson, so he should be showing up soon enough. Good luck, Frisk. Good luck to all of you."