Taking cover <Frans>

CHAPTER 90: Gullible

Frisk POV:

I woke up with tired, defeated eyes. They were definitely swollen and puffy from the night before. I was pathetic.

I looked around me to distinguish my surroundings inside the old apartment lobby. It was definitely broken down, the entire city had been abandoned due to the poor living conditions. A few beggars and scavengers come by the abandoned cities every once and a while, but everyone knows that. It's common sense.

All they're looking for is some food for them or their families, if they had any family left during this age. You only had a family if you were under the protection and rule of a powerful mafia. Sometimes, they will even intentionally try to find some people to kill to satisfy their savage thoughts and needs.

It's all in the same though. It's stealing either way. We're all stealing something at every point in our lives. For good, or for bad.

Looking around the apartment lobby, I could recognize the debris and infrastructure well. It was then I realized I didn't run all that far from the Mafia. My tiny legs couldn't carry me any more after that sprint in such little time.

It was the same run down apartment that I had parked my motorbike all those months ago.

Come to think about it, it's beginning to be 4 Months since I've been here. Time sure does fly, huh?

The debris was slightly different of course, but it had the same tattered wall paper pattern, and dark mahogany check-in, receptionist desk. The same rugs in the same places. Of course the dancing breezes of the cool autumn, the short season, now passed, had shifted the glass pieces scattered across the ground and the littered newspapers were near the back west corner of the room.

I could envision the old me. The me with two personalities, desperate to hunt down the enemy Mafia for C. H. E. S.  S.' sake. Not even minding my own health in the process. i could envision myself parking my old motorcycle I used to ride while working at C. H. E. S. S. and making my operation plan to infiltrate the MMO secret HeadQuarters.

Oh how the old me would scoff at my actions.

I grabbed my stuff together, packing my small bag up and getting up on my wobbly feet. I was exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open in the sunlight through the multiple broken windows.

Why couldn't I just get a decent amount of sleep last night? It's like the world doesn't want me to leave the HeadQuarters.

I shook off the thought, and checked the time on my small cell phone. It was just about dead and a small incoming text message came from Sans.

"Where the hell are you? Come back to the apartment!" Sans sent urgently. The ringtone was loud and high pitched. It made me jump and it echoed through the empty building. I didn't even look at it, not even the next text that came through next shortly afterwards.

I shut the phone off, powering it down fully to conserve battery. A small pain could be felt inside of my soul. My everything for hurting him and Papyrus.
For hurting everyone.

I put the small phone in the bag and ventured out and into the oblivion. If you weren't careful, it could look strangely like the apocalypse. It technically was, to the people trying to kill the monsters.

My water and food was low. Sans and Papyrus didn't have much. If I was lucky, I'd arrive by sundown. Then I'll kill Chara before she can even get into the HeadQuarters. I put my hood up, and starting walking at a fast, yet steady pace.

Multiple hours passing by, the hot sun was beginning to set once more. My hungry stomach growled loudly in desperation after I had eaten my last few rations during the first part of the afternoon. Water was out too.

My legs were weak, and I was slow. I didn't get enough sleep last night for the journey that was ahead of me today. And I seriously regretted forcing myself to get up and start walking, but I needed to move.

I walked for hours upon hours. Hours turned into days, it felt like. A never ending day where the sun never sets. The sun was hot on my black hoodie, but the cool winter winds danced around me, keeping me cool and somewhat hydrated.

At least I'm not sweating it out and losing even more water. That would be bad. That's one good sign of this trip.

After cutting through Smithtown, I was on the main highway, which lead me straight to CCC HeadQuarters. I'm glad I remembered the shortcut or I would have been screwed. I wouldn't have know what to do.

I kept my head down as an occasional car would fly by, beeping their horn at me, blowing trash and debris into my face, going 115 in a 70.  People didn't give a shit anymore, not in the dangerous areas anyways. They'd break as many rules as they could just to tell the stories to friends and followers at home.

It's ... I can't even say anything about it. I tried everything to get the praise of Alex. Anything. I'd do crazy things I couldn't see myself today doing. Mostly because it would nearly get me killed.

I then laughed at the irony of my own thoughts. I wouldn't get myself killed for praise, but I would get myself killed for others. Not exactly praise, but I would give my life to protect them.

Oh how I've changed these past months. Mostly because of my memories flooding back. Cooking with Papyrus and Toriel. Gardening with Asgore. Sparring with Undyne. Watching anime with Alphys.

Making jokes with Sans.

My walking sped up from my slowed pace. Thinking of them have me a newfound determination that I had once lost in my soul. I had forgotten what if felt like to feel my own soul trait.

I had forgotten who I was.

I marched on, despite the shape I was in. Despite how hungry or thirsty I was, I was going to survive and make it to the Mafia. I was going to stop Chara, even if it killed me.

I'll take the knife in my bag and stab myself in front of her.

It hurt, the thought. But I will not let them get hurt because of me. Because of my actions and my problems.

I smiled, reaching the small village off of an old road on the highway. The road turned to dirt, and the old 'Dead End' sign showed to let normal people turn back.

The forest grew darker and thicker, getting deeper and deeper into the woods. I was looking for a facility. A white facility. I followed the very faded markings on certain trees, just like the spies in C. H. E. S. S's intelligence told us.

My smile grew as I grew closer, the White was seen through the trees as the sun began to set fully. The shadows grew longer.

But

I could see the facility.

I saw the white building covered in red spray paint, or at least, I prayed for it to be spray paint. As I neared the building in awe, the smell of dead corpses grew stronger and the metallic smell of the large word along the side of the wall convinced me it was not paint.

My eyes widened at the large word along the side. You would have to have killed the entire facility to write such a large word. A small smiley face completed the sinister feel of the abandoned building.

'G U L L I B L E  = )'