Alice in Undertale
By Lolitafreak88
Chapter 9 Painting the Roses Blue
"HUMAN. ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS." Papyrus gave an opening statement that made Alice very surprised to hear.
"Complex feelings you say?" Alice inquired.
"FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS… THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!" Papyrus declared, his silhouette pointing towards Alice in the fog.
Alice repressed a deep sigh. Papyrus was so far off it was rather amusing. Perhaps if Alice wasn't so nervous of the fact she knew Papyrus was going to attempt to capture her one last time, she would've felt feelings similar to those. The joy of eventually solving that elusive crossword with Papyrus, the admiration for San's intelligence and charm, the desire to learn more about the Underground and see Waterfall. There were also feelings of missing home, wishing that things could've been different, and of course a dread about being hunted down. Considering all this, Alice soon devised an idea on how to pacify Papyrus. I need to simply talk him down from attempting to capture me, Alice thought.
"I really wish I was feeling that way Papyrus but there are feelings I have right now that are really making things difficult for me. Like fear… and loneliness…" Alice said as she hugged herself for a bit more warmth.
"HMM… WELL I CAN'T SAY I HAVE EVER WONDERED ABOUT WHAT IT'D BE LIKE TO HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS. I AM VERY GREAT YOU KNOW. BUT FOR YOU TO FEEL THAT WAY… I PITY YOU ALICE… WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER!" Papyrus spoke with a tone that was bright and brimming with excitement.
"R-really…? How will I no longer be alone?" Alice asked as she felt a burst of hope from that statement.
Maybe he really has seen reason, Alice thought as she tried to catch a glimpse of the expression Papyrus was wearing through the fog. If she could see that face… it would certainly fill her with the DETERMINATION she needed. To know that after having finally gone out into the Underground, she made a friend.
"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR LAWFUL… FIRST… N-NO… NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG!" Papyrus's voice seemed to crack with doubt and he turned around.
"P-Papyrus…?" Alice flinched at this sudden outburst.
"I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND! YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM! POWERFUL, POPULAR, PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS!"
Alice looked heartbroken and dismayed as the words she heard slashed at her determination like blades. Truthfully, and based on what Sans had told her, she had slightly expected Papyrus to still try to capture a human. After all it had been his lifelong dream to become a member of the Royal Guard. He could've been pursuing that dream for years and now that Alice's arrival signaled his first real chance at attaining the glory he wanted, he wasn't going to simply let it slip away. However, this meant that Alice had not been able to convince him of her innocence or convince him to give up capturing humans altogether. No matter what smiles they had shared, it seemed he would use her as a stepping stone. She had really hoped that he would understand she didn't deserve to be brought over to Ashore simply to be killed and used. Alice looked around desperately through the fog, finding it to be much more limiting than she had initially given it credit for.
"W-wait… Papyrus… please… don't do this. It's… it's… unreasonable! What would Sans think?!" She pleaded as she tried to make sense of a way to get past Papyrus stealthily.
"... SANS… SANS WOULD BE PROUD OF ME! NOW ALICE, PREPARE YOURSELF! YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE NEWEST MEMBER… OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" Papyrus confirmed his resolution.
At that moment the mist almost magically disappeared in an instant, revealing the surroundings clearly. Papyrus was blocking the way and Alice identified him as someone who likes to say 'Nyeh heh heh' a lot. Alice felt so vulnerable and betrayed. She had to wonder if he didn't entirely understand what it meant to capture Alice? True, Alice reasoned optimistically, maybe he's been told capturing the human and bringing them to Asgore means something else. Either way though, Alice was not feeling as DETERMINED as she had been when facing Toriel to leave the Ruins. There wasn't even a sign of any golden light around. It was as though the fact that Papyrus was going to try to capture her had stolen her of her confidence. Papyrus cackled and to Alice's surprise, three bones appeared to conjure out of the air and were flung towards her in a straight line. They were surprisingly big, up to Alice's waist, and stood tall like pillars. Alice was able to step out of the way in time however to easily avoid the bones.
"You monsters definitely seem to come up with your own creative styles of fighting. Perhaps you could give me some private lessons in how to do so?" Alice asked, rather charmed.
"W-WHAT?! PRIVATE LESSONS? AS IN… A DATE?! HOH… SO YOU REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS AT LAST!" Papyrus seemed perplexed by Alice's question and tone.
"Ultimate… feelings? A date? Oh… do you mean like a very important date? Well I suppose we could reasonably have a date.. not that I'm unsure what this very important date would be." Alice pondered aloud.
Unfortunately, not being one who thought much of love, she didn't really understand at the moment what Papyrus had meant. Instead she recalled dreams of the White Rabbit sputtering that they were 'late for a very important date'. So 'date' to Alice meant some sort of meeting or a party or something generally less intimate than what Papyrus was thinking.
"I AM A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS! PROVE TO ME YOU ARE WORTHY OF SUCH A DATE!" Papyrus demanded.
"Err… um… well I… did really want to try your spaghetti as I recall."
"OH NO! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS! I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU…? LET'S DATE L-LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!" Papyrus stammered in a flustered way.
There won't be a chance to do that if I'm captured. Alice had to accept that fact but right now she was doing fine in the battle. Another three bones in a line went avoided quite easily. It seemed Papyrus, true to his skeletal nature, was utilizing bones as his attacks. Papyrus appeared to be thinking hard about something so Alice took the time to try to persuade him.
"Papyrus, do you really need to capture me? I understand you have a dream to fulfill by capturing me but…" Alice couldn't think of what to say next without pushing it.
Papyrus seemed to be in his own little world though as he didn't seem to regard Alice's words as much as she had hoped.
"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT… THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!' Papyrus commanded his bones to attack.
Alice gulped as this was the technique Sans had specifically warned her about. She stood perfectly still, trying not to let herself move an inch as a flurry of blue bones surged towards her like a stampede. They all passed quite harmlessly through her and gave Alice somewhat more confidence in her abilities. In fact it seemed a bit disappointing that such a fabled attack was so easy to avoid if you were aware of what 'blue' meant in the Underground. Alice was about to try reasoning with Papyrus again but then the most bizarre thing happened.
"A-ahh!" Alice shrieked as she suddenly felt an incredible force drag her down.
It was as if gravity itself had increased and Alice flopped to the ground rather roughly. The snow did help cushion her fall but Alice was finding it extremely difficult to move and there was a strange blue glow around her. Before Alice could start thinking about what this was all about, she felt something rather hard ram into her. She gasped in pain and cringed as she realized a bone had just pelted her while she had been down. That instantly proved it was Papyrus's doing but what he had done to her still seemed up in the air. Alice tried to get up to her feet but it was very difficult as gravity was still holding her down. As she managed to barely get onto her two feet, Papyrus said,
"YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
"That's… very innovative… ngh…" Alice moaned as the sensation of being 'blue' began to overwhelm her.
She was reduced to standing on her knees and hunching in this state. It didn't hurt but it felt as though she was undergoing some extreme pressure. Yet the worst part about all this was that Alice wasn't able to find the DETERMINATION she needed to help her. At the very least, it seemed her conflicting emotions and fear was hindering her ability to be determined. She felt as though she was utterly helpless to these upcoming attacks.
"HMM… I WONDER WHAT I SHOULD WEAR…" Papyrus thought aloud as more bones were sent towards Alice.
These bones appeared to be normal-colored like the one that had just hit her so Alice barely was able to fling herself out of their path and landed on the snow. It had took a lot of endurance just to act like this so Alice was feeling a bit frustrated.
"P-Papyrus…are you thinking about that important date?" Alice asked with a huff.
"WHAT?! ALICE DON'T BE SILLY! I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT DATE THING!" Papyrus denied as he seemingly put some rather strong smelling fragrance behind his ear.
More bones were sent towards Alice and the little girl was already beginning to pant. They even seemed to be homing more towards her in addition to growing taller. Alice was able to avoid most of them but one did hit her and it hurt rather bad. There's no end to this is there? Alice thought as she realized that the monsters did have a plentiful supply of magical power. After all, Toriel had conjured all those flames back in the ruins and surely could've conjured more if she had felt like it. Alice was quickly losing her stamina and continued to watch Papyrus ramble onward and put a number of different and quite mundane substances behind his ear,
"YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK! I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY! PAPYRUS, HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"
"B-but… Papyrus… do you really want to be a part of a guard that would hunt me down…?" A worn and somewhat hurt Alice asked.
The speed and number of bones was quickly getting to Alice, and having gravity drag her down so much left her even more vulnerable. She could roll or dodge out of the way but more bones would follow and strike her down.
"THEY ARE RESPECTED ALICE! POPULAR! ADMIRABLE! UNDYNE WOULD BE REALLY PROUD OF ME! THE KING WILL TRIM THE HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE! MY BROTHER WILL… WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH." Papyrus exclaimed happily before realizing he had no ears and feigning a gasp.
"Papyrus… that's- ungh! T-that's… the trouble… Asgore… do you know why he has the Royal Guard bring humans to him? Ahhhhh!" Alice was hit from behind and the front respectively.
She imagined if someone was watching this whole fiasco they would find the bones morphing out of thin air and performing an intricate dance. A bone would dash towards Alice from the front and another bone would dash towards Alice from the back, essentially closing in on her. Small bones yes, but very quick and eventually Alice was quite exhausted from ducking and rolling and flinging herself out of their paths. She was feeling weak and bruised in several places with her hair messier and her hairbow becoming crooked. If there had been any DETERMINATION it was transferred into essentially begging for Papyrus to stop. Fortunately, her question did seem to get Papyrus to become quiet.
"... A-ALICE… YOU DON'T NEED TO FEAR KING ASGORE… HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER! HE'D GLADLY TAKE YOU TO THE BARRIER IF YOU'D ASK HIM! JUST SAY PLEASE AND THANK YOU." Papyrus spoke in such an innocent way that Alice was horrified.
"N-No… Papyrus… you don't understand at all... i-if… oof!" Alice took another hit and thumped face first into the snow.
"I'LL HAVE SO MANY ADMIRERS BUT I MUST SAY YOU SEEM TO FEEL SO STRONGLY TOWARDS ME ALICE… IT'S VERY RARE… AFTER YOU'RE CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY THOUGH… IT'D-"
"You'd never see me again…" Alice's voice was a hurt, fragile whisper.
"... W-WHAT? HUMAN… WHAT ARE YOU…?" Papyrus looked genuinely baffled by what Alice had said, with a hint of concern.
He had not been oblivious to any of Alice's statements. Papyrus was just so caught up in that wonderful, blissful vision of everything he would earn by capturing Alice and becoming a Royal Guardsman that he didn't really think she was this fragile. Alice had a few bruises on her from all the bone strikes and she was panting and on the verge of collapse. She also seemed really sad which was what worried Papyrus most. He tried thinking of all the ways that Alice could be this upset with him about. Was he too naive? Was it the things he tried putting behind his non-existent ear? Was it that he hadn't yet used his special attack? Had she wanted to see their house or say goodbye to Sans before she was captured? So many possibilities made Papyrus look to Alice with deep concern.
"Asgore… will… kill me… unh…" Alice, down to 1 HP, fainted to the snow.
"AGH! N-NO… OH ALICE… URM…" Papyrus stammered in shock and dismay as he scratched his head upon seeing the fallen maiden fade into unconsciousness.
When Alice came to, or perhaps seemingly came to as this surreal feeling felt strangely familiar, she found herself upon what was not snow but rather grass. It was very dark with a strange shade of moonlight that made everything seemed grim and haunting. The moon itself was… red? Furthermore, now that Alice thought about it, if they were underground how could there be a moon? The same reason that mouse monster from Snowdin had said there was no sunlight. This must be a dream, Alice concluded with some regret. She recalled how bizarre the last dream she had in the Underground had been. Her seeing some parallel, murderous version of herself kill Toriel without remorse and claim that it was the only way to leave the Ruins. Alice had proven that dream's message wrong by comforting Toriel, showing her DETERMINATION, and left honorably. So the one immediate positive Alice drew upon this experience was that it served as a warning for what was ahead and allowed Alice to think up of countermeasures to whatever scenario the dream portrayed.
"... I suppose I best not keep this dream waiting then. I do hope it'll at least be more pleasant than the last one." Alice spoke hopefully to herself as she picked herself up from the grass and walked around.
She seemed to be in a wide open space with some trees scattered around, like the park she was beginning to miss more and more. But the whole atmosphere with its harsh red moon and overall lighting made it suggest this was not very family-oriented. In fact it started to remind Alice of a place that she had heard about though never precisely visited before. In fact, she was dreading the idea of visiting this place that she was thinking about in the future. That's when some figures finally came into view for Alice. Alice noticed there was three figures, two on the ground and one standing. The two figures on the ground were shaped like some type of stone or tablet like that of an ancient ruin. The figure standing was…
"...! T-that's me…! Or the other me…" Alice gasped.
Indeed, the platinum blonde locks, the lavender dress, the grey ribbon, and newly-discovered grey stockings and white mary-janes belonged to this figure. She looked like Alice in almost every way but was dustier and paler. This 'Alice' was also in a sense more regal and other-worldly. Interestingly enough, it did not appear as anyone was with her and she was holding something with both her arms but Alice couldn't see what it was as once again, the mysterious 'Alice' was facing Alice. Alice didn't want to approach 'Alice' at all. It could not be forgotten that 'Alice' was dusty from all the monsters they killed. Alice pondered if she had the means to stop or even confront 'Alice' but then they spoke,
"I'll almost be home soon… you'll be able to rest in peace when I finally return. I've certainly made a lot of memories here and have so much to tell you…"
Alice broke out in a cold sweat. 'Alice' sounded genuine and a lot more like the real one this time around than in the other dream where she had sounded menacing and had made challenging statements in a frightful tone. This time though she sounded somewhat hopeful, if melancholy and slightly in denial of their implied actions. The darkest part of what actually was a rather beautiful statement from this 'Alice' was that she said 'rest in peace'. That always referred to a GRAVEYARD. A resting place. That she was saying this to people who had died. Alice gulped and tried to silence her echoing curiousity, waiting to see what 'Alice' would do next. They seemed to set set something down between both the figures on the ground, which Alice could now identify as tombstones. Then 'Alice' tilted her head up to the sky and laughed… a rather bitter and low chuckle, not a psychotic sound but a very despairing sound. She then walked away and Alice could finally make out what had been laid down there.
"It's… a bouquet of roses… white roses…" Alice gasped as she unconsciously put her hands to her mouth in shock.
Roses held a special pedestal in Alice's Wonderland. There were trees lavished with beautiful red roses in the name and honor of the volatile Queen of Hearts. However, she had once imagined a scenario where by accident, the queen's card soldiers had planted white roses by mistake. The part that they all dreaded, was that for this costly mistake they would be beheaded. So Alice had to briefly wonder why 'Alice' chose to set a bouquet of pure and pretty white roses rather than rich and often very provocative red roses. White was a color of purity and sacrifice, the color of winter's first snow, and in some cultures a color of mourning. Alice felt that here it was indeed being used as a color of mourning. With 'Alice' away, this left Alice with the freedom to investigate more closely.
"I can't bear to think of who has died here…" Alice said, deeply afraid of what awaited her.
She walked quietly and approached the tombstones with a subtle grace that she always seemed to have. There were indeed two tombstones but one was rather big compared to the other one. Neither of them were marked with any sort of engraving, perhaps some strange rule of the dream, and so Alice frowned at not knowing who was buried here. She then looked to the bouquet of beautiful roses. There did seem to be a tag attached to it which was both a sign of proper gifting and a sign of an inevitable horrible truth. Alice looked around for any sign of another tombstone or a person but her eyes could not find anyone or anything else. So with a heavy sigh, Alice looked at the tag.
"From down the rabbit hole, I hope you rest in peace from up above…" Alice read some of it but then when she looked at the rest she choked.
She started crying, she looked at the tag in horror, her hands trembled. Her world was slowly but surely beginning to fall apart.
"S-sister… D-D… Dinah..! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Alice wailed in despair.
That was the first thing she had feared when she had heard she was in the future. She had been living on the eve of a new century and now it appeared she was in the century after that. No reasonable person Alice knew could live over a century and unfortunately no cat either. Perhaps some people could live to be over 100 but Alice's sister had already spent a number of years in her life compared to Alice. So in horror, the cruel truth that Dinah and her sister had passed away was revealed to Alice. They had probably died a long time ago and what was worse was what it meant. It meant that Alice truly had disappeared that day and that Dinah and her sister were probably looking frantically for Alice that whole day, the next week, and for the rest of their lives. That in itself was a far worse torture than being hunted down for your soul. How could they ever know that Alice had fallen into the Underground? Nobody knew she was here and it was all because Alice hadn't listened earlier. Or perhaps it was that when she first saw Chara, she wasn't going to listen to anything else but her curiousity.
"Uu... hnn… oh Dinah…" Alice pulled out her cloth and quickly began dabbing her eyes as she sobbed.
It was too hard and too impossible for a girl at Alice's age and mindset to simply say good-bye to the closest figures in their lives. So in this very inhuman world, Alice did a very human action: She mourned. The hardest part about accepting this was that Alice had said goodbye in her own way to Dinah as she tumbled down. However, her sister didn't have the blessing of Alice's final goodbye. She had been teaching Alice valuable history lessons and then Alice decided to wander off with Dinah in hand and thus it became the last moment shared between sisters. Now she had no one, she was all alone. Left to be eventually hunted down by Asgore and slain. It seemed foolish to think about how she would be slain so Alice didn't. She continued to mourn for all that she had being lost to her forever. She likely would've continued to mourn until this dream's end but then something unusual happened. It was almost instantaneous but at that moment, Alice felt as though there was another presence.
"... O-Oh!" Alice gasped when she turned to her right and saw a very familiar face.
Sans was standing there, overlooking a new tombstone that Alice knew had not been there before. Both he and the tombstone seemed to have magically appeared at once. Alice was at first honestly relieved to see Sans though also feeling slightly ashamed knowing how dreadful her encounter with Papyrus had been. However, when she looked at Sans closer, there was something different about him. First he appeared to be wearing something new on his usual outfit. It looked like… a red… scarf... Alice was suddenly feeling very scared and tense. That was no doubt Papyrus's but the question is why was Sans wearing it? She felt as though that Sans and Papyrus weren't the type of brothers to simply share clothes with one another regularly. Also his expression…
"papyrus…" A groaning voice of despair perfectly reflected it.
He had no pupils at all, just two caverns of darkness fitting for a skull. What he said was heartbreaking as it almost seemed to confirm the identity of the tombstone he was standing over immediately. Alice wasn't sure what to say for she had no idea how this came to be. After all, she had just seen Papyrus and had been defeated by him. There was no way for her to commit the murder of Papyrus and while she felt heavily betrayed by him, she couldn't have done it. Furthermore, and it was rather sad this wasn't the first thing that came to mind, she was in a dream. Then again by that same reasoning, Alice thought, could it be true that Dinah and my sister are still alive? That seemed unlikely even though Alice so desperately wanted to deny it. Toriel's dream had some truth to it, as though it had portrayed a future scenario. So here… it could very well mean that certain details like the deceased were true. Papyrus's death on the other hand wasn't true so that made Alice assume that part of the dream was another prediction.
"w-well… I brought you some dinner… it's not as good as yours were but… i tried. it's my special recipe. bone appetit! heh…" Sans, clearly trying to sound as upbeat as he could for Papyrus's spirit, set down a bowl of spaghetti in front of the tombstone.
Alice wondered what she would have in front of her tombstone as offerings from people. Probably some picture books, maybe some freshly-brewed tea, a drink that said 'drink me' or a cake that said 'eat me', and generally things that would probably reflect Alice's imagination and interests. Alice was already wishing she was back into reality as this dream seemed too painful to continue but she was afraid of approaching Sans. She remembered how incredibly intimidating he had been when Alice had insulted Papyrus. What if she angered him by interrupting this moment he was having in front of his brother's grave? That was too risky to try so Alice tried to stay quiet. Then she heard a strange voice that somehow sounded familiar,
"If a human ever goes through this door... could you please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?"
" i hate making promises… and look at how that human turned out, slaughtering monsters left and right and now papyrus. IT'S TOO MUCH." Sans growled defiantly at the words that had seemingly been spoken out of thin air.
Alice looked around and saw that there was no one else around, much less 'Alice' coming back. It really did appear as though some omniscient presence had spoken these words to Sans. The purpose for such words was definitely intriguing to Alice. It seemed as though Sans had been told these words before and made a promise to someone… through the door. Alice gasped as she realized exactly who it was that was speaking to Sans. It has to be Toriel, Alice thought. There was something strange about it that fact though. Sans clearly seemed capable of doing that, of protecting a human, so why had Toriel still hesitated to let Alice go? Truthfully Alice didn't know when that promise had been made but it still seemed strange that Toriel didn't trust Sans enough as a protector to let a human go into the Underground. Or maybe she had been so disheartened by the previous deaths and Alice's eagerness at the time that she didn't want to take any chances. Either way, it was clear Sans was not happy about this promise anymore.
"If a human ever goes through this door... could you please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?" Toriel's voice echoed the same request as before.
"i-i don't want to… not anymore… i could've saved him if i hadn't made that promise…" Sans's pupils returned to his eyes but it was clear that he was only more distressed by this.
"If a human ever goes through this door... could you please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?" A third repetition.
"There must be some meaning behind this…" Alice said to herself, having stopped crying by now and wondering what to do about all this.
As she saw Sans grasp his head with his hands and looking fragile, she began to count the amount of times that Toriel's voice would continue to ask this question from Sans. So far it had been stated three times. Three was a significantly magical number in life but Alice had a hunch it would repeat more times.
"If a human ever goes through this door... could you please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?" A fourth repetition.
"p-please don't ask anymore… yo-you respected me so that's why i agreed… b-but… this promise… KILLED EVERYONE!" Sans bellowed angrily at no one in particular.
"If a human ever goes through this door... could you please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?" This fifth question sounded significantly quieter than the previous four.
"NEVER AGAIN! s-so… stop!"
"If a human ever goes through this door... could you please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?"
"GRARHHHHHHHHHHHHHhHHHHNGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" A primal roar from Sans and then there was silence.
Alice had counted six times and while six was certainly a fairly odd number there was an instance of six being significant down in the Underground. There were six human souls that Asgore had come into possession of. Thus it seemed Toriel was almost scolding Sans for the six human souls that hadn't been protected by him. Which seemed unnecessarily cruel given that Papyrus had died but Alice had to remember this was a dream and seemingly a dream that was trying to break her will. She regrettably had to admit it was working to some extent. It certainly seemed to breaking Sans' will as he was hunched over, tears plummeting onto the spaghetti, and looked absolutely crushed. Alice wasn't sure what to say or do as the dream didn't appear to be ending and she was afraid of infuriating Sans. She decided though that maybe it would be best to end this dream in some fashion and so she spoke to Sans hesitantly,
"S-Sans… it's ok… I-I mean this isn't real… everyone's-"
"going to die. not if I stop you though." Sans finished his statement almost as though the sound of Alice's voice awakened hidden emotions within him.
"...! Wait!" Alice suddenly felt extremely terrified and held her hands out as though trying to pacify.
Sans stood tall and then turned to Alice with a menacing, heartless glare. The left eye was hollow but the right eye appeared to be glowing with blue fire. There was no calm before the storm, there was a storm brewing right in front of Alice. He looked cold and menacing and Alice was absolutely petrified. She quickly began begging for her life,
"Sans, WAIT! I-I would never kill Papyrus! H-he's been such a gentlemen in his own way. B-besides, he defeated me! I lost fair and square."
"He died you know? I found his scarf lying on the snow… WHY SHOULD I SPARE SOMEONE WHO WOULDN'T EVEN SPARE MY BROTHER WHO WAS SO KIND TOWARDS YOU?!" Sans demanded furiously.
"H-he was going to capture me and bring me to Asgore! I was going to DIE!" Alice replied as her emotions got the best of her.
Sans looked to Alice for a few tense moments, a staredown unlike anything Alice had experienced, then looked way with a gruff 'tsk'. Alice wasn't sure what this meant but what she couldn't see was that there was a bone floating behind her that was glowing with blue energy. It was a silencer, an act of revenge, and what it would take to finally break a promise. Alice didn't know this of course and in a sense it was better that way. That way when she returned to reality, she wouldn't remember what ended the dream.
"Listen… Sans… I've lost my family too… my sister… Dinah… t-they're all gone… but I-"
"kid… not another word…"
BASH! At that point Sans didn't want to hear more from the killer, the little girl who took away his brother from her, the brat who epitomized the regret he had for accepting such a promise. So with a simple hand gesture that indicated 'come towards me', the bone was flung towards Alice's head. In a matter of moments, Alice's right side of her head was smashed and red paint fell onto the white roses lying at the tombstones of Dinah and her sister. Painting the roses red so no one would lose their head. Alice vaguely understood what was happening when she suddenly felt a sharp pain and then numbness throughout her body. In a sense she was relieved, this meant the dream would end. But in another sense, she felt great pain in not only that she was being killed after seeing the ones she loved most dead, but that this dream held some truth to the future. Papyrus was dead, it seemed Sans was very willing to kill Alice if not for a promise, and worst of all… Dinah and her sister were long gone. It was about the time Alice's corpse hit the ground, life drained out of her and white roses painted red, that Alice finally woke up.
"Hah..!" Alice gasped as opposed to a scream when she awoke.
Perhaps it was an unconscious desire to not alert or alarm anyone who might be with her. Or perhaps it was that the dream took out any energy Alice had to scream in genuine defiance or shock. Or it may have simply just been wanting to be a bit more refined. Either way Alice found herself in what appeared to be some kind of shed. There was a bone-shaped squeaky toy, a dog bowl filled with dried food, a bed that looked too small to sleep on, and some sort of note. There were also a set of crude wooden bars that actually looked big enough for Alice to slip through. Normally Alice would've been extremely relieved that it was easy to escape but after that dream, and the knowledge of being beaten so easily by Papyrus, she was still rather unnerved. After all, it was clear Papyrus was intent on capturing her no matter what. Then eventually she would be brought over to Asgore and…
"Why do I always end up in these dire situations?" Alice asked herself moodily.
Alice picked up the note and read it for the sake of clarity. 'SORRY, I HAVE TO LOCK YOU IN THE GUEST ROOM UNTIL UNDYNE ARRIVES. FEEL FREE TO MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME! REFRESHMENT AND ACCOMMODATIONS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED. -NYEHFULLY YOURS, PAPYRUS'
"Up to his usual nonsense then…" Alice sighed as she crumpled up the note and hurled it at the bars defiantly.
It was true, the Royal Guardswoman Undyne would be coming to apprehend her and bring her to Asgore. Trying to hide in Snowdin probably would not work, even if she tried the tunnels, as Papyrus and Undyne would look all over for her. It was a rather hopeless predicament for her and yet the dream seemed to imply she could move forward by killing Papyrus which was equally hopeless. Then there was what she learned about Sans which scared her even more from killing Papyrus. Sans had promised Toriel not to harm any human who passed through the door but was perfectly willing to break that promise should any harm befall his brother. Alice couldn't blame Sans for acting that way. If someone were to harm someone she loved in front of her and Alice had what it took to do something about it, she'd take that chance in a heartbeat. Or would that go against Toriel's ideals in a way? Probably… Alice thought as she was mentally drained and exhausted. She didn't know what to do anymore or how to continue her journey. Someone else, however, knew how the journey should be continued. Having watched Alice with disdain for a long time, they were ready to shake up the Underground and make good use of this pitiful pawn.
"A bit of advice Alice," A familiar, cold tone echoed in the guest room.
Alice cringed as she recognized that voice instantly but she was sure there was no one else in the guest room. In fact, this voice symbolized one of two things. One, an opportunity to solve this doomed dilemma or two, trouble. Possibly even both knowing Chara. Alice instinctively turned around to see Chara flying towards her with their arms outstretched. It was as if they were some kind of panther trying to secure its prey. Alice was too exhausted to be terrified of this display and yet she knew enough to know this was not to her favor. In Chara's perspective, this was their last chance to get Alice to follow the road they wanted her to. She had clearly been too passive and too innocent to harm anyone. So instead they were resorting to a more terrifying technique.
"...when Papyrus makes you blue, you jump over the bones. That's the trick." Chara finished their statement as they seemingly entered Alice's body like a ghost.
Alice then felt a sensation that felt as curious as shrinking or growing but also as numb as the last moments she had in the dream. She felt like she was asleep yet she still could see what was in front of her, smell different scents, and hear voices. But she had no control over her movements as when she tried to speak, she couldn't and when she tried to move, she stayed put. Instead it seemed as though she was being puppeteered by some arcane force for her body moved without Alice directing it to. Even her mind seemed clouded in very negative, dark thoughts. Where am I…? She asked herself. To her horror someone answered her in her head, a place that was normally reserved for her alone. You're in the back seat, said Chara, and now it's time to drive them all down.
"It's been too long…" Chara said using Alice's body, wearing a twisted grin that morphed her features into something terrible.
Then to Alice's amazement, golden light appeared to metamorphosis around Alice's right hand and became a warrior's blade. Firmly grasping it, somehow Alice knew what sort of blade it was… a Vorpal Blade. Compared to the last time her DETERMINATION manifested, there was something different about the golden sheen of the conjured weapon. As though it was fool's gold or darker than regular gold. It wasn't even something peaceful like the White Rabbit or the tears, but a true weapon. What was worse is that Alice had not done that out of her own free will, Chara acting as Alice had done that. It seemed they were familiar with wiedling DETERMINATION as a weapon. However whereas Alice had used it to pacify and bring a peaceful solution… Chara was no doubt going to use it to cause harm. No...
"Now… let's break the Great Papyrus to dust together, shall we?" Chara spoke malevolently as Alice.
To Be Continued...
