A/N: So I went back and edited Chapter 55 to change the scene with the echo flowers because besides the occasional cryptic canon business that was thrown out the window like Suzy being related to Kid, I'm trying to keep this closest to canon as possible. In the Japanese version of the game, the echo flowers don't use boku which is a male version of saying 'I' but rather watashi thus sinking the idea that Kid who is definitely a boy was having the conversation with his sister so I have another idea for the echo flowers. There is some other stuff I got from the Japanese version of the game too that I'm going to incorporate as well so be on the look out for that as well.
Ch 58: The Yellow Soul
Frisk awoke after feeling something brush her shoulder. She looked up and saw a daddy long legs crawling on the desk in front of her.
'I guess I'm in another one of these dreams.'
She caught sight of a young, blond, short haired boy winking at her.
Frisk held out her hand in front of her before the spider crawled up her hand.
She carefully put it on the floor below her desk.
"Ms Collero, is there a problem?"
Frisk felt her face heat up.
"No, it's nothing."
After class, two boys walked up to Frisk.
"So what was that all about?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Zack said he put a spider on your desk."
"Yeah?"
"Well aren't you scared of spiders?"
Frisk shook her head.
Their eyes widened.
"You're not?"
"No."
"You used to scream every time you saw one on your desk."
"I guess I got over it."
Later after lunch, the teacher began to talk about class elections.
"Who wants to be a candidate for president?" the teacher asked.
Zack raised his hand.
"I do."
The teacher put his name on the board.
"Why?" one of the boys asked.
"Don't ya think it's kinda cool being a leader? Everyone looks up to you and respects you."
'This is stupid.' Frisk thought. 'It doesn't matter anyway. It's only for school.'
Zack seemed to be favored by the entire class.
Considerably strange since he thought he was a nasty prankster who had no respect of personal space but maybe he wasn't bad to everyone else.
Maybe it was just her.
During class, Frisk heard two girls talking among themselves.
"I don't understand what everyone likes about him. He's so mean always putting spiders on my desk and putting whoopie cushions on my seat."
"Have you told the teacher?"
"Yeah but I feel like such a snitch."
"It's the boys isn't it? They're the ones that called you that. Those morons."
The teacher caught her after school when she was packing up and getting ready to leave.
"Is Zack teasing you again?" they asked. "You were very quiet. I was worried."
She was quiet but it wasn't for those reasons.
All of the teachers she had the fortune to meet always associated her with trouble.
Talking always prompted verbal attacks on her.
"No, he wasn't teasing me."
While she had felt sorry for the girls, it wasn't really her business.
The day jumped slipping to the next day like it was a transition in a dream.
She managed to find her way to her classroom just as the substitute teacher came in introducing themselves.
Most of the children were talking loudly among themselves.
"Silence."
The class became silent.
"Today we'll be doing a group project so listen up while I call out your names."
The substitute called out names.
One of the girls from yesterday was paired with one of the boys.
She rose her hand immediately.
"What is it?" the teacher asked.
"Can I switch partners?"
"What about me?" one of the boys blurted..
"Quiet," the teacher snapped. "No one is switching partners."
"Why?" Zack spoke up. "She clearly doesn't want to be his partner. Don't you see how uncomfortable she is?"
The teacher snapped.
"Well it's not your place to question my authority. Do you want to be expelled from this school?"
Zack snorted.
Frisk was beginning to see why everyone liked him so much.
Even if he was a prankster, she couldn't deny he had a strong sense of justice.
Everyone was quiet as the teacher finished partnering up everyone.
Frisk winded up with Zack as her partner.
"Hey partner," he said waving coyly at Frisk.
Frisk sat next to him.
"So have any ideas about what we should do for our project?"
Frisk shrugged.
"Nothin'? Really?" he asked, very surprised.
"It's stupid," Frisk said.
"Ah don't be like that. It's not because we're partners is it?"
Frisk was silent.
She turned to stare at him noting the visible sweat on his face and the way his fingers clicked against the desk.
"No. I've never liked group projects that much."
"Why?"
"I've learned never to put my trust in people. They always let you down."
"Not everyone, my dad's never let me down," he said. "He's always there for me. There was this time that this kid was picking on me in class, the teacher thought I was asking for attention but my father stuck up for me."
"Really? You didn't seem too confident when that teacher threatened to expel you."
"I don't want to cause any trouble for him. He's been so busy and I just don't want to start trouble. I mean not all teachers are out for blood."
Frisk snorted.
"It doesn't matter. We only go to school to learn. No one said it was fun."
"It is fun, though. We learn all these cool things. My dad went to school, that's how he became a police officer."
She must have looked very unimpressed.
"You know what he does? He arrests the bad guys."
'How simple minded.'
"Who're the bad guys?"
"The people who steal, the ones who kill, those who bully the innocent."
"So those like the teacher, then?" Frisk asked.
"Huh?"
Zack looked taken aback.
"Don't ya think that teacher was bullying the innocent? None of us really had a say. The teacher threatened to suspend you for defending another person. "
He looked shy.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Zack was silent. He seemed to be contemplating something.
"So what do you want to do? For the project I mean?" Frisk asked.
"I always wondered how they pulled those stunts in the movies. Y'know those people who jump off the bridge onto the train."
"You mean a stuntman?"
"Is that what people call them?"
"Yeah."
"Let's do that."
Frisk smiled.
He stopped, his face turning red.
"I mean only if you want to."
"Yeah, sure. Let's do it," she said.
"Y'know I've always wanted to be a stuntman before but my dad always told me to do a job that helps people. I know it's not a realistic dream but that's why I wanna be president when I grow up but if I don't do that, I want to be a stuntman. What about you?"
"Me?" Frisk asked. "I always wanted to do something in the science field. Astronomy specifically. Someone who studies the stars, planets and the mysteries of the universe."
"That's cool. Do you think they're other worlds out there?"
She smiled.
"Definitely."
"The project is due tomorrow so use your time wisely."
"Well we better get started," Frisk said.
"I don't want to."
Frisk heard commotion from behind her.
"Come on, we got to start or we won't get the project done before tomorrow."
"Well it's not all about you."
"I got to get a good grade or my parents will disown me."
"There is no fighting. That'll be a zero for today."
One of the kids started to cry.
"Serves you right, crybaby. It's your fault we got a bad grade."
"It's not their fault," Zack snapped.
"Oh? Then who's fault is it?"
"It's not fair to punish them just because you can't agree on anything."
He turned to the teacher.
"Can't you give them another chance?"
"Are you talking back to me?"
"No, I just think they deserve a second chance."
"Perhaps you should try to convince the principal then."
"Bully."
The teacher's eyes glanced at Frisk.
"It's because of people like you that nobody ever learns. Ever thought that all you needed was to give us encouragement but instead you think of us like puppets to do your bidding. People like you make me sick."
The teacher's face turned red.
"Get out and don't come back."
"With pleasure," she said with a grin.
With that she left the classroom and Zack joined her minutes later.
"Why'd you come too?"
"You're right, that teacher was a bully."
"You're not worried about what your dad might do?"
"No, it's not like I'll ever see him again."
Frisk glanced at him with surprise.
"So you know then?"
Tears fell from his eyes.
"This place isn't real, is it?"
Frisk shook her head.
"Not quite."
"My dad's been dead for quite some time I'm dead too. Are you dead as well?"
"No, I'm not. I'm alive."
"Are you lying to me? It's okay if you are if you think it'll make me cope better."
"I wish I was. Lying I mean. I'm still not quite sure how I continue to talk to dead people like this but I figured I'd be the one to start it this time."
"You can talk to dead people?"
"There were others who fell in the underground before you, right?"
"Well yeah."
"So how did you die then?"
"I was killed down here by a monster. I assume the others were as well."
"Why?"
"I don't know but thanks for what you did back there."
"Huh?"
"I guess I can't be brave all the time but you've taught me that not speaking your mind when the people we respect steer us wrong is just as bad and it takes courage to do that."
The dream began to fade to black as the room she was staying in came to view.
"You look like you had a bad sleep," Chara said.
'Why do you say that?'
"You were tossing and turning."
'I just had another dream with one of those souls that fell down here."
Chara huffed.
'Don't be so jealous. You ought to be thankful that you weren't able to hear my thoughts in that dreamscape.'
She got ready and headed to work.
Once she arrived in the front of the resort she was intending to drop by to say 'hi' to her co-workers only to find that everyone was silent.
'This is strange. Is it usually so quiet?'
Chara shrugged.
"Don't know."
She stared at their faces. All of them looked solemn.
"What's going on? Why is everyone so quiet?" she asked.
"Mettaton usually shows up now to tell everyone they're doing a good job. It's strange for him to be late."
Frisk turned to B.
"Is that true?"
"Well you seen him yesterday didn't you? He's usually the one who goes over the plans for the day. You don't think Smile and Cat day were just annual events did you?" B asked.
"I see and he hasn't arrived yet?"
"Not at all."
"That is strange," Chara supplied.
"Even if I was having a bad day, we'd always give each other a thumbs up. Oh what am I doing, I'm not being very professional," Tootie said with a sniffle.
"Where's his office?" Frisk cut in.
Tootie showed her to a door on the right side of the resort in the long hall.
Frisk knocked.
"Mettaton?"
Tootie flicked open the door with her thumb and middle finger.
Pieces of circuitry and metal were scattered across the floor.
Tootie knelt down, looking horrified.
"Who could have done this?"
Frisk spotted a glass of black liquid at his desk.
"What's that?" Chara asked glancing at Frisk in confusion.
'It's Grillby,' she thought. 'But why?'
"Grillby? How do you know that?"
'Those drinks Grillby taught me how to mix. This was one of them. It eats at wires and happens to be a very explosive liquid."
Tootie spotted a piece of paper in the mess.
"If you want to see your daughter alive kill the following monsters and bring me their dust."
"Huh," she stammered.
"What is it?" Frisk asked.
"I'd always see him with these two other monsters delivering these crates to Muffet. This powder stuff would always come out from the corner of the box. I never knew what it was until now," Tootie said.
"It's kind of strange though. He don't seem to be that kind of guy."
"You got to be kidding me. Even you had to be aware that the robot is a narcissitic self-absorbed prick," Chara said.
'That may be true but someone who is highly absorbed in themselves wouldn't risk their reputation over a little threat. Think what would have happened if everyone knew what he had been up to. It would be a sharp jab to his self-esteem.'
"I think your overanalyzing this."
'Still...'
"He has to have a reason."
"I know that, just as well as you do," Tootie said.
"It's probably my father," B said.
"Your father?" Frisk asked.
"Yeah, Tootie I told you about him right?"
"I remember. He was the previous owner of this establishment before he gambled off the deed to Mettaton."
"Gambled off?"
Chara chuckled.
'That's hilarious."
"Mettaton managed to get close to the guy and they bonded over a game of cards. Mettaton being the sly dog that he is manipulated the game to his advantage making him gamble off the deed. Since then he had been trying to win it back but he never gave it up."
"Have to give him props for that. He managed to get him to-haha gamble off the deed haha," Chara stammered.
"What does that have to do with this mess?"
"You don't know him like I do. Ebenezer was the big shot who had control over most of the things that happened back in the day. He had control over the information, the food, the money even the king. He also never let others escape their debts to him. To put it bluntly he was and still is a ruthless monster. So you could see why he might have killed Mettaton."
Frisk scoffed.
'I just love how some monsters can be so deluded.'
"What are you talking about now?"
Frisk felt her face heat up. She had nearly forgot that Chara could hear her thoughts.
Still he didn't need to know of the skeleton in her mind.
"Looks like things aren't as peaceful at they seem after all."
"So what now?"
"If you are right and his father is involved somehow then he may have just staged a kidnapping."
"What?!"
"Where does he live?" Frisk asked.
"I think he still lives in the capital last I saw him," B said bitterly.
Frisk headed up past the resort.
"I'm coming with you," Tootie said.
"Why?"
"I just can't stand around and wait while his murderer roams free."
"You must really like him, huh?"
"Yeah."
The elevator ahead unfortunately was closed down.
"Cr-p," Tootie said.
Frisk headed to the right.
To the far north, Frisk could see three figures walking towards them.
Frisk grabbed Tootie's thumb and pulled her in the corner.
"Wha-"
"Shh."
The two peered around the corner.
Frisk was surprised when she spotted Muffet with the green bull monster and Smoky from the costume party.
"Who are they?" she whispered.
"They work for Mettaton," Tootie said.
"What do you want from us?" the green bull monster asked.
"Ahuhuhu, news had been going around that you've killed your boss."
"How do you know about that?" Smoky asked.
"Word flies around when you have spiders who do your bidding. I'm surprised you'd kidnap your niece. My how stingy you are."
"You didn't come here for that," the other monster said.
"Ahuhuhu, you're right."
Chara seen something shimmer in the air.
"Is that-?"
Suddenly the monsters were sliced to pieces. White dust coated what now was obviously string.
"You've killed one of my important benefactors. I'm merely collecting my reward."
"Why?" Tootie stammered before she could think. "You just killed those monster."
"They were trash honestly."
Muffet turned towards them, spotting them.
"Oh it's nice to see you again," she said to Frisk.
"You two know each other?"
"Yeah, Mettaton saved me from getting eaten by her pet."
"You're a monster," Tootie said. "Did you tell them to kill him too?"
"Such words don't bear any meaning to me. I'm not the one who killed your precious boyfriend." Muffet said. "I'm merely paying a debt."
"A debt?" Frisk asked. "Why?"
"I was engaged to marry someone I loved. Her parents died before it could be cemented. Then my fiancee went missing. You asked why I killed that monster? His parents were the original owner of the place where I currently reside. He built a factory there and his son carried on that business. That monster I dusted was his on. That place was created to feed the underground. I'm only continuing to run that place because no one else will. Mettaton was helping me with that. Those monsters were merely a hindrance to my plans."
"Do you know where Grillby's daughter is?"
"I didn't take her, deary. If I was gonna blackmail anyone I wouldn't have them kill someone for me. Ideally I would do it myself."
"Savage," Chara said.
"She was taken by a greedy cat but it should be no problem for you to get her back."
With that Muffet walked past them.
Frisk let out a sigh of relief once she was certain she was gone.
Something about the whole exchange was unsettling.
"I don't think I like that spider at all," Tootie said.
'Have to agree with you there.'
As they continued, Frisk continued to walk ahead seeing a body of water carrying a huge block of ice to the left side of them fall into the fire next to it.
"Didn't we see those huge blocks of ice coming from Snowdin? I seen them in Waterfall too."
'I didn't notice. I wonder where they're coming from?'
"So what's the deal with the ice anyway?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tootie asked.
Frisk pointed to the ice that was falling in the lava.
"It's nothing impressive. It just cools down the CORE," she said.
The two continued to walk until they reached another elevator.
"This should get us to the capital," Tootie said.
The two headed inside the elevator as it went up. Once outside, Frisk looked around.
It looked like they had arrived in the area that looked almost entirely identical to Toriel's house in the ruins.
"Say Tootie, what is this place anyway?" Frisk asked. "I've been wondering about it for a while."
"This is King Asgore's place."
"Really?"
'So that's why it looks identical but that would mean. Maybe it is.'
"What are you thinking about now?" Chara asked.
'I think Asgore is Toriel's husband though it's more likely given the circumstances that he is now her ex-husband.'
"Wait, that would mean that Toriel was once the queen of the entire underground."
'I'm surprised you didn't recognize her. You are the prince right?'
"Some stuff is just foggy alright.'
Luckily having reached the familiar basement was still easy as the chain had been unlocked. Quickly the three headed down through the basement.
Up ahead was the capital.
Some monsters walked around the city.
"Would you happen to know where we could find Ebenezer the cat?" Tootie asked a black manticore creature who was talking on her cellphone.
"He owns a real estate agency known as Cat Estates."
They walked around the capital until they found the building.
The two headed inside.
A cat was behind the desk.
"Can I help you?"
"We need to see Ebenezer," Frisk said.
"He's busy at the moment."
Tootie thrashed the desk with her clenched fist.
"Go, while she's distracted," she said.
"Wow, what a bada-s," Chara said.
Frisk ran upstairs.
She looked through the office spaces intent on finding Barby.
Finally she stumbled upon a locked door with no windows.
Frisk inched closer to the door to hear voices inside.
"He's coming up here, huh? Well he can't reach me when the door's locked."
"Who?" a familiar female voice asked.
"No one who you should be concerned about."
'Hah, you think a locked door is gonna stop me. I eat locked doors for breakfast.'
Frisk took out her knife picking the lock on the door until it opened with a click.
The cat monster, Frisk assumed was Ebenezer looked up in surprise.
He was a haggard brown cat with dark circles under his eyes.
Barby was huddled in the corner.
"So she was here," Chara said.
"Barby, get out of here," Frisk said.
Barby ran past her.
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine."
Once Barby left he finally spoke.
"Even if she survives, she'll never be able to live with her father being a murderer. Once I discovered his plans to blackmail the bartender, it was so easy to capture his daughter," he said smugly. "I would have got his son too if that skeleton hadn't stepped in when he did. You gonna kill me now? That's what you do to the monsters that p-ss you off, right? I've heard about what you've done."
"I should," Frisk said with gritted teeth. "It's not my place though."
"Oh you gonna let me go free then."
Frisk conjured a blue bone in her hand and tossed it at Ebenezer. It landed straight into his chest.
Ebenezer gulped before smiling smugly.
"Is that the best you can come up with. What's a blue bone gonna do?"
Frisk smirked.
"Well, if you move it might just turn you to dust. So try to stay still."
He chuckled nervously.
"There's someone downstairs already waiting to take out the trash."
She headed out, back downstairs.
Tootie was already down there with Barby.
"So what are you gonna do now, Tootie?" Frisk asked.
"I guess I'll have to continue his legacy. That's what Mettaton would have wanted me to do. I have to remain calm and stable for everyone's sake."
"I suppose."
"What about you?"
"Me?" Frisk asked.
"I mean you don't even have to pay him off anymore now that he's dead."
"I suppose that is true."
"If you want you could stay at the resort with us."
Frisk sighed.
"As much as I want to, I didn't get this far by giving up. Besides I still have a promise I intend to keep."
"You're still going on about that promise?!" Chara asked. "You do know at this point there is no turning back?"
'I know.'
"Well take of yourself alright," Tootie said.
"Be careful. Don't do something I wouldn't do," Barby said.