A/N: Ah, another chapter. Sorry it's short compared to the others. But it's important all the same. Before we begin, I would like to thank lostbetweenhereandthere for favoriting and following this story! glad you like it! now, let us begin!

Arcana of Tricks
The Surgeon and the Rebel
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Fake

Inside the clinic, the atmosphere was so different from outside in the thralls of the palace as well as in the real world. It was dark and dreary and dusty. Definitely not something a kitchen of all places should be. What's more? it felt totally and utterly empty. Joker put his free hand in his pocket as he walked in. He was used to dark, as unnerving as it was. But this was dark. Unnaturally dark.

It radiated loneliness.

Fox glanced to the left, studying the structure of the building. Basic, dreary. Noir stuck close to Oracle as Skull brought up the rear. Queen eyed the right side of the clinic. Then she turned towards the others. "Oracle, we'll need you to see."

The door shut behind them. To the right side of the kitchen there was another door, marked as the shower area and bathroom, and to the left was a wall that held plumbing and gas pipes separately. Flowey shuddered, biting his lip. "There's a small ramp somewhere leading to the beginning of the patient hallway. To the left…" It was clear he didn't like what his clinic was standing for. The fact he could hear what sounded like Asgore whispering menacingly made it worse.

Oracle had already started to make a map when Flowey spoke. Joker actually stopped when he heard the whispering. Asgore? what was he doing in this palace? torturing someone? forcing someone to drink poison, maybe? with how Eduardo'd acted around Asgore before, Joker wouldn't be surprised.

A whisper from Fox interrupted his thoughts. "Would that lead us to the treasure?"

Joker and Queen looked to him. Then everyone looked to Oracle, who stared into her goggles, as if she hadn't heard. It seemed like she was sucked into them. "The treasure's near," Oracle suddenly began. "But we have to go left," she pointed, "and then back around."

"Back aro…-?" Flowey furrowed his brow, but had cut himself off from finishing. Yes, they had to go left in the kitchen to take the little ramp up into the main area, then go right. And there were also no shadows other than just one, stationary deep in a hall, which added to the empty atmosphere. "I think I get it…"

Another thing about this clinic. Instead of clean and warm dirt floors, the floors were wood, rotting and peeling away, and among the wood were pieces of metal hurriedly bolted down to seal up any holes. It was truly as if this clinic had futuresque apocalyptic vibes the Marketplace had only hinted at. The whispery voice of Asgore kept on, seeming so so far away. Joker looked to where Oracle and Flowey had mentioned the ramp would be. His grip on his cane tightened. Might as well get going. The gang followed as a group this time for safety.

He glanced at the floor occasionally as he led the group. With this decrepit floor, he wanted to be sure he didn't end up falling through it or tripping on a pothole. He'd already nearly died once from uneven ground.

What a disgusting place. Trying to escape could easily bring down the whole building.

He slowed when he reached the ramp. Not for long, though, just enough to make certain he saw where it was. Couldn't be too careful with this crushing darkness and whispering. Oracle pulled up the location of any shadows as they crossed into the next room.

There.. weren't any shadows, except one major one deeper in, and the Thieves all crowded into a hallway to the right that had a ton of doorways lining either side. The whispers just got louder now, since they were a bit closer. "Put your backs into it! the humans want to kill you! all of us! it's time we show them what we all can do!"

Flowey bit his lip. That can't be Asgore. Yet it sounded just like him. It can't be. ...no, Flowey.. this is just his shadow… stop… caring… and then his eyes snapped open. He thought back to Thanatos. Undyne's death. The beatings. And how Joker treated them all. The young man… didn't care about these shadows… did he?

Joker glanced to either side before heading to the right. That was where Oracle had said to go. For the moment, he elected to follow the sound of Asgore's voice if possible. A cognitive Asgore might be the guard if the treasure was this deep. Oracle kept an eye on where the treasure was in regards to them. Queen kept her eyes on the doors. Who knew what might lurk behind those.

And they were nearing the treasure. The hallway was a straight shot, no twists or turns, just like the real clinic. The only difference were the creaks of wood underneath their feet. Nothing popped out at them. This was a truly empty place. And Asgore's voice only got louder. "What's a couple fifty losses? it's not anyone's problem anymore."

Red Tide bit his lip, glancing down at the floor.

Joker slowed as they got further down the hall. They'd be approaching it soon, he knew it. Then suddenly, Oracle tapped his shoulder. "Joker," she murmured urgently. "Next room on the right."

He stopped. Then he dashed against the wall. Now Joker had his back and arms plastered against it. He carefully slunk up to the door frame, keeping his body against the wall.

Skull leaned an arm against the wall as if to halfheartedly follow his lead. Oracle merely took a few steps forward as Fox and Noir covered the back. Makoto kept watch on the side before turning to Joker. Mona joined Joker against the wall in front of his feet. Joker carefully leaned his head past the doorway, peeking out just far enough to glance around the corner. Mona leaned forward, but waited for a moment. Then he followed suit.

And this so happened to be the very last patient room in the clinic. The room Eduardo was stuck in. The voice of Asgore was louder now, and they saw why. There was Shadow Eduardo, lying on the bed wearing a mask of the boss monster's face, and hooked up to him were slim wire mechanisms that changed and boosted voices across space, and the mechanisms were in turn hooked up to the weird monitor on the wall, green spiking up whenever the man spoke. They hadn't heard the voice because it was only so the shadow monsters could hear.

And directly behind the bed… was a shimmering, distorted light. The treasure. Flowey blinked. There wasn't this much space at all in his regular clinic, and all this machinery…

That made a lot of things clearer. Mainly why non one saw Eduardo here, and why they hadn't encountered his shadow before. Joker straightened back up, glancing to Oracle. His voice barely a whisper, "Tide, would you be able to climb on those machines and snag the treasure if needed?"

Mona backed away from the doorway as well. He crossed his paws and added, "I could, but if a fight happens, I'll be occupied."

Queen then added, "You're also smaller and lighter. You'd be better adept at crawling atop machines without disturbing anything."

The voice kept droning on, barking orders at the shadow monsters, almost as if indoctrinating them. "Humans are superior. But you can be so much more than they are. Steal their souls, and we'll finally be free."

Flowey shuddered, biting his lip. He thought about it. He then replied in a whisper, "I'm not used to climbing machines… but if it helps stop Eduardo, I'll do it. Hm… I might even be able to just use my vines to snag it."

Joker then nodded at that. Good, they had a plan and backup plan depending on what happened. Queen crossed her arms. "Then I think this route's secure. We're done here for the day."

Mona's tail swished. "We'll just need the card then."

"Then let's go get that done!" Skull almost screamed as he straightened up. But he managed to keep his voice down.

The sooner we threaten his shadow, the better.

Joker nodded, as he stood up and started to walk back. The gang got ready to follow, save for Oracle who held her hand out for Flowey. The demon plant noticed Oracle, and slithered off from Skull's shoulder down to the floor and wrapped his vines around her hand, attaching himself to her. He then took to staring at Shadow Eduardo's prone body. After all this time, they were finally done. It felt like forever. But then again, he had the feeling they weren't quite done yet, what with the card Mona mentioned and the fact that this was just an infiltration to get the route down. He wondered what would happen...

With that, the gang snuck their way out of the clinic. Once outside, they made their way back to the front of the palace with little effort to hide. Nothing would exactly want to stop them after every fight they went through.

A successful infiltration.

A/N: Finally, we reach the end of Eduardo's palace... it took several chapters and months but we finally made it. Give this a round of applause! ...but that doesn't mean the story's over. Not by a long shot. :D
Clock had Joker, Arsene, Queen, Skull, Mona, Oracle, Noir and Fox. And I had Red Tide/Flowey and Shadow Eduardo. Next chapter will be longer, I assure you. In fact, I know it will. :3
Also, Spring Semester is starting January 13th for me, but since I can't register, I can't go. But I know a lot of you have started school again and so I want to say good luck to all of you. Happy 2020!