The Silver Soul

12

I jolt up in a cold sweat, panting heavily. That dream again. That dream has been coming more frequently, and been more brutal. It takes longer to break out of the dark, hazy veil of sleep, to banish the sight of that golden corridor, and the blood from my body.

I can hear Toriel in the living room, bustling around. The familiar sound snaps me back into reality. I'm safe. I'm home.

Fast footsteps come down the hall. Frisk. I roll over and pretend to sleep. She bursts into the room, and upon seeing my apparently sleeping form, bounds over and starts shaking me awake. I groan and turn onto my stomach, pretending to deny that it's morning. She persists, and I get up and out, making a huge show of it.

"What's the plan for today, Frisky?" I yawn. She grins, rather wickedly.

"We're going to see Mettaton."

The sterile, white lab stretches before me, almost foreboding. But Frisk steps right up to the reinforced metal door and knocks twice. The sound reverberates in my chest. I jump at the sudden bang of metal. The bangs get louder and keep the same rhythm. Footsteps?

The door to this lab slide open with a mechanical whir, and I find myself standing in front of the strangest thing I've seen so far.

It's like someone took a human, and then coated them with metal and black, white and pink plastic. Their hair is black and hangs in a way that one eye is covered, there is a small pink heart on their stomach, and their legs are rather long.

"Oh Frisk, darling! So good to see you!" Their voice is definitely male, and rather sensual. "And who is this lovely creature?" he says, eyeing me. Striding over to me, he grabs my face and turns it side to side. "Hollow cheeks, strong jawline, large eyes, and such a peculiar shade too, fabulous hair," he says. He grabs my shoulders and squints at me critically. "Slim figure, delicate hands, tall. My my, you really are perfect! And human too! That'll give my show fantastic ratings."

"Um. Who are you, again?" I stammer. I wonder if this guy is the craziest person in the Underground.

"Mettaton, darling! Only the very best TV presenter and the Underground's most popular star!" he says, waving his arms around to illustrate his point.

"Well, I'm Will, and it's nice to meet you too."

"Oh, Will? Ah, so you're the one creating such a fuss around the Underground," he drawls. I tilt my head. After confirming my power, we told everyone we could trust. Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and even Asgore. Mettaton must've heard from Alphys. "Hm. I've never in my life heard of a human that can use magic."

"So has everyone else I've met so far. And, oddly enough, I've found that it's kinda hard to change traits," I say, looking dead into his eyes. It's getting tiring listening to everyone wondering why I am like how I am.

Mettaton smiles, revealing very white, and very fake-looking, teeth. "Well. Not only are you beautiful, you've also got a fiery temper. Well, darling, how about you star in my new movie, 'Delta the Space Princess Against Killer Zombie Chickens.'"

Frisk giggles. "Thanks, but no thanks. I can't act, and I'd rather not. Now, if you'd excuse me, we would like to come in. It's getting hot out here." I push past the dumb-struck robot into the blissfully cool interiors of the building.

The lab is typically sparkling white, with polished oak furniture covered in paper with symbols all over them. There are glass test tubes, some of them neatly stacked in a cupboard, others on the tables, filled with brightly coloured liquids. I practically slide across the shiny floor. Frisk tugs my hand.

"This place used to be really messy. After I made it through the Underground, Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Mettaton and I helped Alphys clean it up. I mean, Sans slept for most of the work, and Mettaton had a photoshoot, but we got the job done eventually," she says. Huh. Seeing this place now, it's impossible to imagine it dirty.

"O-oh! H-hey g-g-guys. How are y-you?" Alphys says, as she trots into the lab.

"We're great, Alphys! How about you?" Frisk replies. The little scientist blushes slightly. She speaks again, her stammer getting worse.

"W-w-well I-I-I'm f-fine, a-actually. Th-thankyou f-f-for a-a-a-asking. A-anyway. I-I c-c-c-called you h-here t-t-to test your m-magic c-c-c-capacity. I-it shouldn't t-t-take long." She leads us over to the other side of the lab, where a large and shiny machine awaits us. Alphys twiddles the knobs on it, and the contraption makes a clicking sound. "C-can you show m-m-me your s-s-s-soul?" I obey, taking it out, ignoring Mettaton's gasp. The glow is blinding, leaving me wondering how exactly Alphys is carefully attaching electrodes onto it.

The machine bleeps twice, and makes mechanical whirs as it tries to process the oddity that is my soul. A holographic image is projected on the wall behind it, casting blue light on Alphys' face. It projects numbers and words that don't make much sense. I look at Alphys, who's face is now a mixture of awe, shock and, am I imagining it? Or is there actually terror in her gaze?

"Well?" I prompt, when the silence stretches for too long. Alphys jumps slightly, almost as if she's expecting me to attack?

"Th-the m-m-machine is g-g-going into overdrive. B-b-but, I-I g-g-got a g-g-glimpse of th-the magic r-r-reading." Alphys looks dead into my eyes, her stare a stark contrast to her voice, strong and fierce. "W-well. You've g-got the highest r-r-reading I've ever s-s-seen. Your r-r-reading is 100,000." Something inside me plummets. "Most m-monsters only have a reading of 6,000. The highest I've e-e-ever seen is a s-s-soldier in th-the Royal G-Guard. And th-that was only 25,000," she says.

With trembling hands, Alphys removes the electrodes carefully. My soul phases back into my chest. I watch it warily. How can something so unassuming be so powerful?

"Frisk, dear. Why don't you go run around in the Ruins?" Toriel suggests, gently slapping Frisk's hand away from the fire. "And take Will with you? I do not think she has been there yet."

I'm pretty sure that it's with relief Toriel shoos us out of the front door and into the room made of purple rock. Frisk bounces around with energy that is going to guarantee her passing out in bed later. She shouts something that sounds like 'place where I fell down', before sprinting out. I run after her, yelling at her to slow down. We run through red leaves and jump across tiny streams of water. Frisk confidently weaves her way through numerous puzzles, me trailing closely behind, desperate not to lose her.

"Where...are....we....going?" I pant, grabbing onto the child's shoulders. Frisk finally stops for breath, doubling over and wheezing. She shakes her head, refusing to tell me, before running on. I groan and jog after her. I'm pretty sure the only thing keeping me going is the magic in my veins. Otherwise, I would be a pale, sweaty lump on the purple stone floor.

We hurry through more rooms. I'm starting to consider walking back when we go through a door with an elaborate archway. This room is dark, foreboding. Frisk just skips happily through. I tread cautiously, feeling an odd aura about.

A shout snaps me out of my trance. Without a second thought, I sprint toward the noise, ignoring the burning feeling in my stomach.

There's a long corridor, and light at the end of it. I can make out Frisk kneeling next to...a human. She sees me and yells. "Hurry up, Will. He's hurt." I jog over to them.

The human beside Frisk is about my age. He has floppy blond hair that falls over startling green eyes. He watches me warily.

"Um. Hi," I say awkwardly. "I, uh, might be able to help heal whatever you've hurt. If you, um, tell me what you've injured." He extends his hand, which is swollen and red around the wrist. I take it tentatively. "Oh! And my name's Will. This is my adoptive sister, Frisk."

"I'm Michael Evan Collins."

A/N So, here it is. The first big thing. What do you think will happen between Michael and Will? Place your bets!

@GreyTheGrim don't you freaking dare say anything you little crap.

For the rest of you, I hope you enjoyed this!