Chapter 34
What should have happened, or at least what Frisk thought should have happened, was a bunch of monsters who were hidden in the shadows jumping out to fight everyone. What happened was far from Frisk's expectations.
"Good afternoon, beauties!" Mettaton exclaimed, speaking into a mic and standing in front of the camera Muffet held. "I hope you all are sitting down at home because I have some exciting news you will not believe. You might have heard the rumors, and I can confirm they're true. The fifth installment in my action-packed trilogy will be coming to a theater near you next summer!"
Frisk, Sans, Alice, Mon, Undyne, Papyrus, and Temmie all exchanged looks with one another before returning their attention to the robot.
Face palming, Mew Mew shouted, "And in other news?"
"Oh, have a little patience, would you?" Mettaton shook his head before smiling back at the camera. "In other news, I have a special guest to introduce!
"As all the Underground knows, we are one final human soul away from King Asgore becoming a god, shattering the barrier keeping us all trapped under this mountain, and waging war on humanity. You might have heard rumors of a human Underground and scoffed at the idea. 'Another false rumor, I tell ya!' Well, I'm here to tell you that this is no rumor! That's right, darlings. I'm proud to announce that right here, right now, I'm standing in the same room as the seventh human. Muffet, my love, how about we show the audience our special guest?"
In one fluid motion, Muffet turned the camera onto the group. She zoomed in on Frisk and prompted, "Say hi to the camera!"
Not knowing what else to do, Frisk slowly lifted her hand and offered a small wave. "Uh, hi?"
"Hey, Mom!" Papyrus exclaimed, leaning over Frisk's shoulder. "I'm on TV!"
"Hoi! I'm Tem!" Temmie shouted as she, sitting on Papyrus's shoulder, was also in the shot.
"Yo!" Mon popped her head in view on the other side, and Alice tried to pull her back.
"Yes, yes, you are," Mettaton said, pushing the monsters out of the camera's line, "but please don't take the spotlight from the star of the show. Moi! Oh, and our special guest. So, human, do you have a name, or will 'human' suffice?"
Frisk looked around the room. The others were still stunned in place, Sans and Undyne exchanging looks as they tried to figure out if they should wait this out or just attack. Muffet still held the camera as if she was happy to do so, and Mew Mew stood in the back with her arms crossed like some unhappy producer.
"My name is Frisk," she finally said.
"And your last name, Frisk, darling?"
A last name? Frisk had never thought about it before. She had one on the surface, but she had no plans to use it Underground. The question never arose when she lived with Toriel, so she didn't know if Toriel had kept the name Dreemurr or resumed her maiden name. Frisk bit her lip and thought about her response.
"Fox," she finally said. "Frisk Fox."
Frisk didn't think clearly under pressure.
Mettaton, however, didn't seem to question it. "Frisk Fox, ladies and gentlemonsters! Tell me, Frisk Fox, where are you from?"
"Enough of this!" Undyne snapped, finally making up her mind on what to do. "Let's get to the part where I kick your butt."
"Finally!" Mew Mew threw her hands up. "I was waiting for things to get interesting. Now, guys!"
Again Frisk expected an army to come out of hiding and attack. Again she was wrong.
Instead of an army, two monsters came from behind Mew Mew. One was a rabbit, and the other a dragon. They each grabbed a rope on the side of the doorway and yanked.
A net Frisk didn't know she and the others stood on was pulled up beneath them, trapping the seven inside. Everyone squirmed to find some sort of comfort, but they only succeeded in punching and elbowing their friends in the process. More than one of them shouted at another to "Watch where you kick!"
"Subverting expectations," Mettaton sang from under the net. "The best way to capture an audience! Literally and figuratively."
"Let's not forget your gift for being on the show," Muffet said, using four of her arms to hold four identical items in the air. "A great afternoon nap!"
Muffet threw the grenades at the net, and a sleeping gas burst out immediately.
Trying to fight it, everyone squirmed more than when the net was first pulled over them. Frisk pushed her face against the edge of the net. It was inevitable that she would eventually inhale the gas and fall asleep, and her eyelids already began to droop, but she wanted to take one last look at her enemies to figure out what to expect.
Mettaton talked into the camera, but Frisk couldn't make out what he was saying. Mew Mew approached Muffet and spoke quietly to her. More monsters came from down the hall, two cages of sorts hauled behind them.
Frisk's attention was dragged away when she felt something in her pack rub against her thigh. Her eyes found Sans's hand reaching into her bag. Unable to find what he was searching for, not that Frisk had anything of use in the first place, he withdrew his hand, winked at her, and dropped his head. Before Frisk could ask herself if any of it really happened, she too fell into the unwelcoming realm of unconsciousness.
"The best way to shock an audience is to subvert expectations!" Mettaton, pleased with the outcome, exclaimed after the camera was turned off. "They had no idea they had literally walked right into a trap!"
"I admit, I'm surprised it actually worked." Using a staff, Mew Mew poked each monster and the human to make sure each was asleep. She held her breath as she did so to not risk inhaling any residue gas. She stepped away when she was done. "They're all out. Ozzy, Brisingr, lower the net slowly."
After the net was on the ground, Mew Mew's men carefully pulled everyone out of the trap. It didn't escape Mew Mew's notice how they were particularly careful with Undyne, but she tried to keep how she felt about it from showing on her face. What she did instead was walk towards the laid out human and knelt down to inspect it further.
"She's just a kid," she muttered, studying the face for the first time. The day she and the human initially crossed paths all those weeks ago, Mew Mew was so hungry for victory that she hardly focused on anything else. Now that victory was obtained, Mew Mew wanted to know what exactly it was she conquered.
"You can determine the age of the human?" Muffet questioned as Mettaton helped her put the camera away.
"I met humans before," Mew Mew replied. "Although not the youngest human I've seen, she's not the oldest either. Probably late teens, early adult."
"Sometimes I forget you're a fellow ghost," Mettaton said. He quickly gave directions to some monsters about putting away his equipment before adding, "You met the first human, the real first human, didn't you?"
Even though Mettaton knew better than to say Chara's name, Mew Mew still felt the flash of anger thinking of the dead prince brought. Her eyes narrowed onto Frisk's neck, but the locket wasn't there. Mew Mew didn't know if it's absence should concern her.
"I did," she finally replied.
"What was he like?" Mettaton could not have sounded more like a star struck child if he tried.
"What, are you a fan of Chara Dreemurr?"
"I would be lying if I didn't say making a movie about him with me starring in the lead role hasn't been an idea I played with for the past year, two, or three."
"I didn't think you would ever want to play a villain."
"Heroes are so last decade. Villains and anti-heroes are all the rage now."
Mew Mew shrugged. "I knew him. We weren't friends, but we shared a mutual friend."
Who was one of his many victims, Mew Mew thought bitterly.
"Yes, yes, we can talk about that another time," Muffet said, waving her hands in the air. "Right now, we need to worry about getting everyone packed away before the gas wears off."
The human was put in one cage, and Undyne and Sans were put into another. As for Papyrus and the kids, they were bound at the wrist and ankles with plain rope. When those four woke up, Mew Mew would see to it that they would be taken someplace safe. Since they all wore blue, it would be highly unlikely they would admit where their Blue villages were. Nonetheless, Mew Mew would do everything in her power to keep them safe until she knew for certain if they were truly traitors to the crown or simply didn't know better to make the right decision.
"We'll see you soon, dearie!" Muffet took Mew Mew's hands in hers as Mettaton helped load the cage with the human inside. "Until then, don't forget to watch Mettaton's show tonight! He's going to interview the human."
"Are you really sure you want to do this instead of just giving it to King Asgore?" Mew Mew asked. "This human isn't stupid, and it has to be a strange kind of strong if deathlust didn't kill it."
Eyes quickly flickering to Mettaton to make sure he was still busy, Muffet leaned in and answered, "I know Mettaton really wants to make a big spectacle of this, and I won't deny him the opportunity to boost his ratings when they mean so much to him, but I'm not stupid either. I told Asgore Mettaton's intentions the day Mettaton planned his show. After I call to let him know we have the human, Asgore will be on his way to the studio. I doubt he'll interrupt the show – he's a bigger fan of Mettaton than I am – but it would be nice to have him close by in case this human tries something.
"Besides," Muffet forced a smile onto her face, "Asgore killing the human live is going to draw in a serious audience. Once I can figure out how to have Asgore do the work but Mettaton still get all the glory, Mettaton will be pleasantly surprised."
Mew Mew allowed the smallest chuckle out. "As sinister as she tries to be, the spider queen can be a real sweetheart when she chooses."
"Of course, but I'm very picky about when I choose." Muffet winked. Then she surprised Mew Mew by hugging her. "If all goes according to plan, the barrier will be broken soon. I can't believe we have come so close already."
Unsure how to respond, especially since Muffet wasn't typically the hugging type, Mew Mew hugged Muffet back. The hug was quickly broken, and Muffet winked. Mew Mew smiled in response.
"Eight o'clock tonight, right?" Mew Mew asked.
"Primetime," Muffet answered with a nod. "Don't miss it."
Eyes shifting to her own prisoners, Mew Mew grinned. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Head hurting worse than when Mettaton's heel kicked him in the skull, Sans placed his hand on his forehead and groaned. His spine hurt from the crooked position he was in. Pushing himself upright, Sans opened his eyes to see Undyne staring at him. Her arms were crossed, and she seemed furious. Not at him, but furious nonetheless.
Instead of speaking, she nodded her head as a way to point behind Sans. He turned around to see his brother and the other three monsters waking up. Frisk was nowhere to be seen.
"I can't believe I let us get captured so easily," Undyne growled, and it was then clear to Sans with whom she was furious.
"You can't blame yourself," Sans replied. "We all stood around like a bunch of idiots and let it happen."
"Yeah, but I should have known better. I'm the one who trained that stupid cat."
"I thought she was your training dummy before she found that body."
"I trained her and her cousin who still is a dummy when they requested to join the royal guard a year ago. After knowing all my attacks, it wasn't like they couldn't figure it out on their own if I refused to teach them."
"It's not your fault, Undyne," Papyrus said from the other side of the room. Wherever they were, it was cooler than the Core. Not much cooler, but cooler. "We'll get out of this. Sooner or later, you'll think of a plan! The Great Papyrus knows you will."
Undyne smiled before looking around. "There's nothing to pick the lock with," she muttered to herself.
"Why pick a lock when I can just teleport us out?" Sans snapped his fingers for effect, but when nothing happened, he looked at them as if they were broken.
"What the?" He snapped a few more times.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you this cell is made out of magic draining crystals," Undyne explained. "I already tried to tear it apart with spears, but I can't even form the smallest bullet."
"They aren't messing around with us." Sans turned around to see the others bound with simple rope. "Papyrus, they don't know you can teleport."
"I forgot I can teleport!" Papyrus exclaimed, to which Mon mumbled, "Not so loud. My head hurts."
In a matter of seconds, Papyrus teleported out of the rope and stood in front of the cell. "I can search around for the key! Or maybe something to pick the lock with. I guess that would look a lot cooler even if it would be harder. Well, it doesn't matter! I, the Great Papyrus—"
"No," Sans interrupted, his one word putting an abrupt end to Papyrus's speech.
Papyrus's face fell. "What?"
"I need you to teleport the others out of here and take them back to The Island," Sans said, pointing at Alice, Mon, and the Tem.
"Um, excuse me," Alice cut in, "but I'm not—"
"Yes, you are." Undyne spoke so firmly Alice clenched her jaw shut. "Look, I'm grateful you knew how to undo Peter's tethering magic so I wouldn't stay stuck to this bonehead, but I really shouldn't have let you kids come with us, especially after it was decided we were not going back to The Island. Bringing you along when you could potentially get hurt was incredibly reckless of me, and I'm not about to put you children in any further danger."
Alice didn't respond, and Mon opened her mouth only to shut it again without speaking.
Undyne looked to Papyrus. "Sans is right, you need to take those three and go."
"But what about you?" Papyrus asked. "Shouldn't I come back after I get them home?"
"No, you stay with them. Besides," Undyne offered a weak smile, "I'll think of a plan. You know I will."
When Papyrus didn't say anything, Sans added, "Come on, bro. We'll be fine. Just take the kids home, and we'll catch up with you soon."
For a minute, Papyrus looked as if he was going to argue, and Sans was afraid he would. This wasn't the time for Papyrus to try to be a hero. Sans needed his brother to be safe if Sans was to figure out how he and Undyne were going to get out of their own predicament.
Finally, Papyrus sighed. "Fine, but I'll start looking for you if you take too long."
"Deal," Sans replied. "Now hurry, before someone thinks to check on us."
Moving sluggishly, Papyrus put Temmie on his head and threw a girl each over his shoulder. He was so careful that neither girl cried out as Papyrus picked them up. With all three monsters in his grasp, Papyrus cast Sans and Undyne one final look before he teleported away.
His brother now gone, Sans sighed in relief. "I thought he was going to put up more of a fight."
"He's serious about searching for us if we take too long to escape though." Undyne looked around the room again and growled. "If we can't use our magic, then how are we supposed to break out of here?"
"The same way Frisk would," Sans said, surprised by the words that came out of his mouth. Looking at Undyne, Sans added, "We feign giving up, and slip away when least expected."
Head pounding, Frisk forced her eyelids open and pushed herself upright. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the scene around her. With furrowed brows and pursed lips, Frisk wondered if she was seeing things.
It was a bedroom. A nice one, too. The bed she lied on, decorated with a bright pink comforter, was the softest she had ever felt. A white nightstand on the side, a white vanity across from the bed, and a white dresser by the closet. There was a window with pink curtains on the otherwise bare wall.
Standing to shaky feet, Frisk treaded towards the window and drew back the curtains. The "star" gems dazzled from above, and the water ran below. Echo flowers dotted the black field. It was a beautiful sight. It unnerved Frisk more than if she woke up on the stone cold floor of a dirty prison cell.
Her eyes scanned the room again, and she saw her pack on the nightstand. Wasting no time, Frisk ran back to the bed and scooped up her pack. Desperate to know what had been taken, she dumped the contents onto the comforter.
Frisk swallowed. Everything was there. Everything. Including the locket. The very thing she gave to Sans to keep away from her.
At the thought, Frisk recalled her last memory before the sleeping gas took effect. Sans had his hand in her pack, but he wasn't trying to take something out. He was putting something in.
Knowing they would be separated, Sans gave Frisk the locket back.
A lump formed in Frisk's throat, and she blinked back the burning tears. Why? No matter how many times she tried to escape Chara, it always ended in failure. First she stole him back from Sans. Now Sans gave him back.
Biting her knuckle, Frisk screamed. She was tired of this back and forth, but she knew it couldn't last now that the locket was again in her possession. It was as if destiny bound them together, allowing them times to get away from the other but never apart for long.
Quickly, Frisk put everything away. She stared at Chara's ring for a moment before slipping it into her pocket. When she was finished, the locket was the only thing left out.
I shouldn't, Frisk thought, yet she reached out all the same. Before her fingers could graze the necklace, she jerked her hand back as if she had been burned. Shaking her head, Frisk tearfully admitted to herself that sooner or later she would give in.
Filled with self-loathing, Frisk picked up the locket.
