Alice in Undertale

By Lolitafreak88

Chapter 16 say hOI ALISE!

Stepping outside of Napstablook's house after being told there was more to see, Alice followed Napstablook as he led her along towards the right path past the houses. Given that she was within his company, she felt perfectly safe as well as excited to spend more time with him. She had no idea what to expect either so naturally she was surprised when she found something that was actually something she would've found at home. There was a pen, much like one you would find at a farm, with several snails within it. One snail looked like it was counting bills, one looked very plain, the other seemed unusually big with a suit and feeling they were overdue for a second house and the last one had a mustache and seemed to speak to her. With a curious mantra of 'snail, snail', Alice translated roughly,

"A long journey extends in front of you… Reach far and stretch beyond the horizons. So Snaileth Sam Byool."

"S-snails…?" Alice asked as she put a hand to her mouth in surprise.

"awkward... i'm working right now… i mean… welcome to the blook family snail farm… yeah. i'm the only employee." Napstablook admitted after being a bit transparent until Alice had come closer.

"A snail farm? What do you farm snails for?" Alice asked with confusion.

She had heard of snails being used in dishes like escargot but she also knew they were known as garden pests. She couldn't imagine why anyone, let alone a ghost, would have a whole farm of them.

"well... it's for a special sort of activity that our customers loved to watch… this place used to get a lot of business… but our main customer disappeared one day… now it's just some hairy guy that shows up once a month…" Napstablook said as he looked at the three snails with a bit of pity but also a smile of care.

"Well if need be I could be a customer. This activity sounds very fascinating." Alice said trying to be kind.

"... thanks alice… i just hope you enjoy it… it's not for everyone…" Napstablook said as he seemed to disappear.

Alice was about to follow him when she realized something. Out in the open and safe, she finally had a chance to check in with Papyrus and let him know she was alive. She quickly reached into her pockets to pull out her phone. Despite her skirt having been in water earlier, the contents within her apron seemed perfectly dry. That's quite fortunate, she thought. Dialing the number quickly, she soon got a spirited response from Papyrus,

"AH! ALICE! THESE SNAILS ARE JUST LIKE MY BROTHER. ROUND, SLOW… AND CONSTANTLY EMITTING SLIME?"

"Papyrus! It's simply lovely to hear your voice again. I was able to survive a very close encounter with Undyne and it was quite scary." Alice confessed, a little surprised Papyrus knew exactly where she was.

"WONDERFUL! NYEH HEH HEH! I KNEW YOU COULD SURVIVE! ERR… NOT THAT MY FRIEND WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT BUT… I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU ARE SAFE AND SOUND. SO WHY HAVE YOU CALLED BEYOND SENDING THE WORD OF YOUR SAFETY?"

"Well… I finally figured out from a good friend down here that MTT stands for Mettaton. I recall you watching a show from their production company and I was simply wondering if you knew anymore information on it." Alice stated.

"AH, METTATON! HE'S MY FAVORITE SEXY RECTANGLE! A CELEBRITY, A HERO, A GREAT-"

"Pardon me but… 'sexy?' I've never heard that term before... and what do you mean by rectangle?" Alice inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Granted she was glad to hear confirmation that Mettaton was a 'he' but the description of a 'rectangle' made absolutely no sense and what could 'sexy' mean? She had never heard that term before and even if it was in England at the time, her sister hadn't used that term towards her. It seems to be a positive adjective at least, Alice thought given Papyrus's tone. To her even greater confusion, Papyrus was currently stammering on the phone. He sounded like a child who had just been caught sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar. It was actually rather amusing though Alice wasn't sure why he was acting like this.

"U-UH… W-WELL… ALICE… YOU SEE… BY RECTANGLE HE'S… UM… A ROBOT… OF SORTS… A-AND I DON'T REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT 'SEXY' MEANS…" He said it in a tone that sounded truly embarrassed.

"A robot?! Wait… you mean… like a genuine robot that actually can act on its own? That's… actually quite revolutionary." Alice gasped with amazement.

"Y-YES… ALPHYS ACTUALLY DESIGNED HIM. HE'S… VERY APPEALING… AND HE'S ALSO THE MAIN SOURCE OF ENTERTAINMENT IN THE UNDERGROUND." Papyrus sounded a bit more relieved but it was clearly he was choosing certain words carefully.

So then it's essentially a performing robot that is in charge of the televised entertainment, Alice concluded. It seemed odd though for the Royal Scientist to design a robot to do something so trivial though. Granted I've never met Alphys so it's not very appropriate to assume anything about her. Given the fact that Napstablook also seemed to know Mettaton and felt uncomfortable about him seemed to be a rather important clue of sorts. Maybe it was the actual concept of a non-living robot being able to grasp and hold things physically that sparked some sort of envy within the ghost? Or was it something deeper and more personal…? Alice had a hunch it was more along the lines of the second one as Napstablook was extremely humble and didn't seem the type to get jealous at all. Finally it said a lot about the capabilities of Alphys and that she did justify her title with seemingly exceptional results. However…

"Um, you still haven't explained what 'sexy' means and although I might be being demanding, I would love to learn a new word. It's rare to hear a word I've never heard before that's not a nonsensical word of my own creation."

"... *SIGH* I GUESS FOR YOU ALICE. BUT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ONLY USING THIS TERM FOR SOMEONE YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT OR TRULY BELIEVE THEY DESERVE TO HEAR THIS WORD… OR BETTER YET USE IT WHEN THAT 'SOMEONE' ISN'T AROUND. IT BASICALLY MEANS VERY APPEALING AND EXCITING, ATTRACTIVE AND DESIRABLE." Papyrus explained carefully and considerately.

"... Like a parade?" Alice offered an example of what she considered 'sexy' to try to understand it better.

"YES! A PARADE! LIKE A PARADE OF BONE ATTACKS… WAIT! NO NOT LIKE THAT! I MEAN UM… LIKE A BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS." Papyrus clarified after referencing one of his own attacks.

"Ohhh, so it's like 'gorgeous' or 'lovely' in that regard."

"EXACTLY!" Papyrus exclaimed happily.

"Well thank you then Papyrus for teaching me that word. Is there any way I can thank you?" Alice inquired sweetly.

"W-WELL… YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE TO DO ANY FAVORS FOR ME ALICE. AS A TRUE, TRUE FRIEND THE GREAT PAPYRUS RESPECTS, I'D RATHER NOT DEMAND ANYTHING FROM YOU LIKE THIS." Papyrus replied with a whimsical tone.

Alice however felt as though it was sensible and also very respectful to give some sort of thanks to Papyrus so she quickly brainstormed several options on how to do it. One idea in particular stood out to her and seeing how things were going on her journey, rather plausible.

"Papyrus… how about if I introduce you to Mettaton personally should I run into him? I could call you up and you could hold a conversation with your idol." Alice offered.

"... WO-WOWIE… Y-YOU'D DO THAT…? OH B-BUT WHEN? A-AND HOW WILL I BE ABLE TO MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY BRACE MYSELF?" Papyrus, who sounded positively charmed by the idea, asked.

"Oh… well I suppose I can't really guarantee a time and place for this to happen but I'll make sure to definitely do my best to make this meeting possible." Alice concluded.

"THANK YOU ALICE. ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU DO A GREAT JOB SURVIVING UNDYNE AND GET TO SEE METTATON!" Papyrus wished Alice good luck.

"Yeah. Good-bye. "Alice finished the phone call.

She definitely appreciated Papyrus's refreshing honesty and pure spirit in moments like this. She felt incredibly safe with Napstablook yes, but she couldn't shake the knowledge she was currently a target for the huntress. Talking with Papyrus and Napstablook about the Underground, seemingly trivial things, and in joyful spirits was one of the finest pleasures Alice could indulge in during this adventure. Although, Alice thought, I wonder how a robot can be considered 'sexy'. I suppose it's a 'see it to believe it' sort of case. To Alice, the Underground had clearly different ideas from her own world so perhaps their sense of what was beautiful was different too. Even if a robot seemed very orthodox or at least unappealing to Alice, perhaps there was something about this Mettaton's design that got Papyrus to say that.

"alice... is something the matter?" A familiar voice got Alice out of her daydreams.

"Oh Napstablook! I-I'm sorry… I was having a phone call with one of my close friends. Sorry for not coming when you asked me too... " Alice apologized guiltily.

Napstablook was indeed floating besides Alice but fortunately Napstablook didn't look too disappointed in her and seemed very patient.

"it's fine… to be honest if i wasn't so used to the tradition of a snail farm… i'd probably hesitate before seeing what it was all about too…" Napstablook confessed shyly.

"I don't really think I would. I mean I come up with countless impossible or at least perplexing things in my head every day. Most of which reside in my Wonderland. So if I heard about a snail farm, the first thing I would do is learn more about it." Alice offered sweetly.

"that's... kind of a dangerous way to think but it also has a lot of merit too… a-and i appreciate how kind you are by wanting to see it so badly." Napstablook replied.

"...… Well then shall we see it." Alice felt slightly dejected but she had a feeling Napstablook spoke correctly about her curiousity being a bit dangerous at times.

Napstablook nodded and led her to something just as interesting as the last area. It looked like a race track had been set up with a classic checkerboard starting line and finish line. There were three snails of red, blue, and yellow shades and a picket fence blocking off the participants from the bystanders. Alice was instantly reminded of the Cacus Race activity that was rather popular in Wonderland. It involved running around bottom to the top, never a beginning and there could never be a stop, started it tomorrow and finished yesterday. Granted it was an exhausting activity designed to stay dry but for some odd reason it was usually held by a beach with waves constantly splashing the participants around and… I shouldn't get sidetracked again, Alice thought as she realized she didn't want to leave Napstablook unattended again.

"Races? Is this the true purpose of raising the snails then?" Alice asked, impressed by the beautiful simplicity of the idea.

"yeah... it's a game called thundersnail. the snails will race, and if the yellow snail wins, you win. it's 10G to play…" Napstablook said.

"A pay to win game…? So it's much like gambling then… I don't think I'm old enough to gamble unfortunately but… I suppose my sister wouldn't scold me TOO harshly if it's such a small affair." Alice reasoned with herself but eventually accepted the offer.

"okay... press [Z] repeatedly to-"

"Z? What is 'Z'? Does it mean something?" Alice asked as she didn't recognize that symbol or that action at all.

"oh um... just basically encourage your snail. that will help get the snail moving." Napstablook clarified with a small blush of embarrassment for confusing Alice.

"Encourage? … I understand." Alice mumbled.

Alice was not exactly peppy as some girls her age, rather she was more demure, lady-like, and curious. So the idea of basically trying to uplift someone with enthusiasm and spirit seemed more suited to someone like Papyrus. Still, she decided to give it her best go. As the race begin, Alice went for what she considered a fine balance between cheering and silence. After all, cheering too much would be obnoxious and pressuring and cheering too little would be basically the same as not cheering at all. She kept at this almost uncharacteristic display for a while, though it seemed as though the yellow snail was trailing behind the red and blue snail quite a bit. Ultimately though, it actually managed to surpass the other two when it mattered most and the yellow snail achieved a stoic victory.

"Oh how wonderful! I'm so glad I was able to help it succeed." Alice clapped in a delightful way at the heartwarming scene.

"you won… congratulations. as a prize, you get 9G." Napstablook said as he seemed to magically hand Alice 9G to her hand.

"... Wait a moment… that's even less than what I initially paid for." Alice pointed out the contradiction in a more baffled way than upset.

"sorry... we have to make a profit somehow…"

"Hmm, I can see why you would resort to such measures seeing you are the only one left running the snail farm. Plus you are a good friend so I wish to forgive you." Alice spoke earnestly.

"thank you alice… that really means the world to me…" Napstablook said.

"Hmm… so how about we explore a bit together? For old time's sake?" Alice inquired cheerfully.

"oh sure… i mean i usually adventure only towards the ruins or more quiet, secret places but with you i could do anything…" Napstablook said.

"Then adventure we shall find!"

Namely the only things nearby to explore together were the leftmost path and the path next to Napstablook's house on the left of it. Alice and Napstablook went over to the leftmost path first. To her surprise… it led to a very familiar sight.

"Oh it's the little duck I saw earlier! This must be the same area only I'm on the other side!" Alice exclaimed cheerfully.

"this duck is pretty cute… i don't think it talks though…" Napstablook said.

"Yeah. In my world though, every animal was able to talk. Or at least I wanted it to be so. If I could only have heard my cat Dinah speak, it would've been a dream come true." Alice reminisced about her dear kitten.

"i hope it can still come true in some way…"

"Ehehe… I just wonder what she would say if she was here." Alice said bittersweetly.

She had already mourned enough for the fact the world she knew was gone and that she only had this world to stay in so she didn't feel too heartbroken about it anymore. Still it was incredibly important not to forget those she she left behind so she felt that bringing them up helped her remember. It also reminded her that in some shape or form they were still with her, guiding her, keeping her from losing her sanity. She wasn't sure why she was making the careless decision of talking about things that made her sad in front of her friend but perhaps it was the softness and eager smile of the duck that sparked her memories of Dinah. Napstablook didn't know what Dinah was like in the slightest but he sensed Alice hiding a lot of sadness as she pet the duck. So he offered in what was his best impression of a kind-hearted cat,

"... i really like being with you alice... "

Alice, surprised, stood up and look to Napstablook in surprise.

"I beg your pardon?" She asked.

"oh... i just thought that might've been something dinah would say to you…" Napstablook looked away shyly, wondering if that was a bit too much.

"... You know, I think you might just be right there." Alice said with a big smile.

After leaving the ducky, they investigated the path next to Napstablook's house, which led to what was perhaps the strangest example of architecture the Underground had displayed thus far to Alice. It was a igloo-shaped house that appeared to have as much complexity as a sculpture with visible eyes for windows, strange shutters that looked like spiky ears, an unusual rooftop that extended like a garland down into a ponytail, and a teeth-like door. There were also two rugs outside that had an image of a skeletal fish on it and another dummy that appeared to be living. Alice also observed half the house was cast in light and the other in shadow. Like twilight… Alice thought. Looking slightly awkwardly over to her ghost friend, she inquired,

"Um… now who do you suppose lives here?"

"i'm not really sure… i just know they are kind of noisy…" Napstablook admitted.

"Ah. Well they certainly have a… daring sense of design. Who built these houses?"

"monsters migrating over and having learned from the humans… built these houses from scratch. it's actually quite a relief that we had that luxury…" Napstablook said.

"Fascinating. Well I suppose we better leave. I don't really think now's the right time to be knocking on a stranger's door." Alice said.

"... yeah."

Eventually the two friends found themselves standing in front of the crossroads again. Alice hated to admit it but she felt as though it was time to leave Napstablook again. It hurt her that she couldn't bring him along, but she knew that with Undyne on the loose it would only make involving him very risky. So she gathered as much courage as she could to break the news.

"N-Napstablook… this truly is a crushing decision I have to make on my part but… you see, since I am being hunted right now I just don't think it's safe to be around me. Plus my journey's not yet over and I want to learn more about the Underground. It was wonderful and truly a pleasure to reunite with you and get to learn more about you but I have to go now." She said humbly.

"... it's only natural… i mean… i completely understand alice… that sort of desire to learn is what got you here right…?" Napstablook seemed to be trying to be more confident in his words.

"Indeed. I… just want you to know that I must sincerely thank you again for giving me that determination to keep going. I wouldn't even be here if I hadn't had your friendship and trust in me." Alice said sweetly.

"you didn't treat me any less than how i thought of myself… that was such a new experience for me and i liked it… and what you've done is admirable. you're always welcome… and you're welcome to come back and visit…"

"... Y-yeah… I would love that… and I would also love to free you…" Alice couldn't stop herself from feeling extremely sentimental and tears started to emerge in her eyes.

Leaving Papyrus and Sans was also rather hard but because they were both brothers who had each other and that Napstablook was alone and the one to open her mind to the possibilities of this world made this departure so much more sad. She even felt slightly bitter that she couldn't bring him along but understood he also had a life of his own and that being hunted constantly would only implicate those around her. It took a lot of effort to pacify Toriel and Papyrus and there was no telling how much longer she could continue to pacify others. So this was the best and most hopeful choice Alice could make right now. Yet it still hurts, Alice thought regrettably. At least I can say though that my choices so far have been mostly the right ones and that Napstablook understands this.

"i know you can do it… and maybe then i could do something for you in repayment… like a concert or something." Napstablook offered.

He was smiling just as tenderly but with eyes just as watery as Alice's. He truly was a ghost who wore his heart on his wispy form.

"Ah… that would be lovely. Well then… good-bye Napstablook." Alice stated with as much optimism as she could and curtsied with as much refinement as ever.

Napstablook bowed in air and even shed a tear as the final words were said. Desiring to leave him a positive, hopeful, determined last impression before she left, Alice skipped away as cheerfully as she could. It even helped her feel better about her spirits though a tear or two still fell. She didn't look back, she couldn't look back, it was time to move forward. After all, she still had a duty to show mercy and to hopefully free the Underground. Napstablook watched her go with dripping tears but a happy smile. Alice had taught him a lot about himself and made him feel better about a number of things. He felt comforted, confident, and like he wasn't entirely worthless or alone anymore. He looked over to the path leading to his house and… his old neighbor's house. He wish the old neighbor was still there though Napstablook knew he had accomplished his dream and was living a cheerful life. But at what cost…? He thought. Still it was clear dwelling on the negative would wear him down over time so Napstablook decided that perhaps it was time to reconsider how things went down and make something better come out of it.

"for alice…" He said out loud with a radiant expression that had not been worn on him in quite some time.

Alice continued down the path to find that there was an entrance to some sort of room on the left, a turn to a path on the right, and that the forward path she was on kept going. Furthermore there was another one of those nifty boxes lying on the ground outside the room. Alice decided that the thing that drew her curiousity most was the entrance to the room and so she went inside. Inside, it turned out that this room was a very special cavern den. There were gorgeous gemstones of pinks, purples, and blues on the wall and a very curious engraving that appeared to be carved on the wall. It looked like an angel, or perhaps a mountain with a bird flying over it, or any number of very ethereal looking imagery. There was also someone inside here…

"Woah there! I've got some neat junk for sale!" Said a charmingly old and jolly voice.

"Oh! W-why hello there sir… oh my goodness… you're a turtle!" Alice exclaimed with marvel.

Indeed it appeared to be an old turtle dressed in a very comfy and very active looking outfit similar to that of a soldier's uniform but khaki and with short sleeves and shorts. He also wore a cap that seemed durable and designed for exploring and carried with him a magnifying glass. He was green with one eye shut, the other having brown pupils, and had a long white beard and white eyebrows. There was something cordial and even uplifting about his appearance and presence that made Alice feel quite safe.

"Why yes I am dearie! I'm the oldest turtle you'll ever meet. Welcome to my store, how may I help you?" The turtle asked.

"Ah another store? These sure seem to be placed at convenient locations. Um, so could you open up about yourself? My name is Alice." Alice asked as she introduced herself with a curtsy.

"Well Alice, I've been around a long time. Maybe too long. Studying history sure is easy when you've lived through so much of it yourself! Wa ha ha!" He laughed.

"I would definitely support that perspective… although it appears I've skipped much of the history you are no doubt referring to… it's a long story." Alice blushed as she confessed her unfamiliarity with recent history.

"Really now? That's pretty particular wouldn't you say? You're almost suggesting that you traveled through time! That's pretty crazy!"

"To be fair, my imagination is certifiably crazy by my society's standards… or at least my sister always called it 'nonsense'. Either way, forgive me if I don't know about things around here as well as you. Maybe you can help me grow more acquainted by telling me about that symbol behind you?" Alice asked sweetly.

"That's the Delta Rune, the emblem of our kingdom. The Kingdom… of Monsters… Wahaha! Great name, huh? It's as I always say… Ol' King Fluffybuns can't name for beans!" The turtle teased.

"That's… definitely been proven over time to me. Although that nickname sounds rather silly… does he like being called that?" Alice asked feeling rather sorry for Asgore.

"OOH there's a great story behind that in fact! … I can't remember it. But if you come by later I'm sure I'll have remembered the story. Ah… it wouldn't be the same though if he was to ever step down as king or have proper naming skills."

"It's great to see you depend on him so loyally… hmm?" Alice was on her way to complementing the turtle when she suddenly noticed something about the Delta Rune that was unusual.

The symbol actually looked strangely familiar to Alice now that she got a clearer look at it. It was as if she had seen it before but just hadn't been able to fully describe it until now. Wait a moment, Alice realized, Toriel had this on her robes didn't she? Indeed on closer inspection, the Delta Rune was the exact same insignia she had saw on the goat mother's clothes. Yet that seemed contradictory as she had no business or trust in the King at all. Why would she be wearing the emblem of the Kingdom on her clothes?

"Sir… can you tell me more about this Delta Rune?" Alice asked feeling a little antsy.

"That emblem actually predates written history. The original meaning has been lost to time… All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle above symbolizes… Somethin' else." The turtle concluded his reply after a dramatic pause.

"Perhaps the concept of freedom? Like a heaven above the Underground?" Alice suggested philosophically.

"Well relating to heaven anyway, most people say it's the 'angel' from the prophecy…"

"Prophecy?" Alice asked with a sudden dread as prophecies in most fiction would always involve melodrama and incredible danger.

"Oh yeah… The prophecy. Legend has it, an 'angel' who has seen the surface will descend from above and bring us freedom. Lately, the people have been taking a bleaker outlook… Callin' that winged circle the 'Angel of Death.' A harbinger of destruction, waitin' to 'free' us from this mortal realm… In my opinion, when I see that little circle. I jus' think it looks neat! Wahaha!" The turtle tried to smooth over the clearly morbid subject matter with some humor.

As Alice expected, this prophecy brought about some form of a dismal future though it appeared to be brought upon by the growing negativity of the trapped monsters. In fact it was startlingly accurate after encountering Chara. It wanted nothing more than to cause pain and suffering to the Underground and seemingly came from the surface like Alice did. If it didn't fit the second interpretation of the prophecy by the monsters, what else would? Alice felt further relief at the knowledge she had prevented Chara from using her to possibly carry out this prophecy of doom and also wondered if the positive part of the prophecy referred to her. She was doing her best to find a solution to free the monsters though she would never be so bold to call herself an 'angel'. It also seemed that if Toriel was wearing the Delta Rune, with her loving and kind nature, she probably had believed in the positive side of the prophecy. That interpretation made a bit more sense as to why Toriel had been wearing the symbol herself. Although I don't know why she would still be wearing something connected to a Kingdom ruled by someone she dislikes, Alice reminded herself.

"That's very interesting… monsters down here sure have a lot of abstract beliefs." Alice said as thoughtfully as she could.

"You betcha! Anything else you want to know Alice?" The turtle inquired.

"Can you tell me more about the King?"

"King Fluffybuns? He's a friendly, happy-go-lucky kind of guy… If you keep walking around long enough, you'll probably meet him. He loves to walk around and talk to people." The turtle stated.

"... Even though he's done some rather unfriendly things?" Alice couldn't help herself but point out the inconsistency in the turtle's description.

"... Hmm… well since then at least he's really mellowed down. Although I kind of have to agree with you there that he isn't perfect… but Dreemur's still a monarch we respect and admire. Plus he has a green thumb. Wahaha!" The turtle chuckled after leveling with Alice a respectable amount.

"I have heard about his skill with gardening. Now lastly, what can you tell me about Undyne?" Alice asked with a small giggle.

"Undyne? She's a local hero around here. Through grit and determination alone, she fought her way to the top of the Royal Guard. Actually, she just came through here asking about someone who just looked like you…"

"..." Alice gulped nervously as she awaited what else he had to say.

"I'd watch your back, Alice. And buy some items…It might just save your hide! Wa ha ha!" The turtle hollered.

"T-thank you... " Alice said awkwardly.

Granted what the turtle told her mirrored what Papyrus and Monster Kid had said about Undyne in a number of ways and at last she could effectively confirm they were absolutely right. Undyne was a persistent, determined, and very deadly leader of the Royal Guard and fighter. Alice knew she wouldn't last long if they were to ever combat one another face to face and that pacifying her was the only shot she had of surviving another encounter. She did feel a little disappointed she didn't get any more clues from the turtle that could help her figure out why Toriel had the Delta Rune on her clothes. It seemed a lot like a family crest and exclusive to those who were a part of the Kingdom so it just made a very curious mystery for Alice to solve. Lastly she felt some relief that this turtle was helping her and also sympathized with how Asgore had indeed done vicious deeds before. All in all, it had been a worthwhile visit and now it was time to go. Alice left as the turtle wished her to be careful and went down the other optional path besides the long forward path. To her surprise however, it was a dead end and seemed to lead to a river. Unlike the river in Snowdin Forest though, nothing else was around.

"Huh… seems odd to place another path here then." Alice said to herself and decided to head back and continue going forward.

The first thing she found was another sign, similar to the ones that had been chronicling the history of the Underground so far. Alice looked nervous as they had all been very sad and she suspected this one would be no different. 'Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only those with a powerful SOUL can leave.'

"Magicians? That doesn't make sense… humans don't naturally have magical powers… and how would they even specify how this barrier works?" Alice asked, legitimately stumped as to how this could work in real life.

If they had constructed a barrier physically that would make more sense though arguably would probably be destroyed by the monsters easily. Yet this text was claiming that the humans had at least seven magicians on their sides to construct a magical barrier that could effectively prove as physical and sturdy as a barrier made out of wood for instance. Alice had already discussed the differences between her world's magic and the Underground's magic with Chara before and it had merely said that it only mattered if you had DETERMINATION as that was what gave you the power to harness magic in either world. Yet it was still very odd to Alice how humans could unexpectedly develop magic in the first place and even figure out how DETERMINATION worked. The only reasonable theory Alice could make was that this was an alternate world she was in, especially given monsters seemingly had been around on earth for awhile. The humans were taught this power or possibly learned by observing this power being used by monsters and found out they were naturally stronger with it. Which lead to the war when tensions got high and the human's ultimate victory over the monsters.

"... I do wonder though why they lost patience with one another." Alice mumbled to herself as she noticed another sign up ahead.

'There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human SOULS, attacks the barrier… It will be destroyed.' That indeed sounded consistent with all that Alice had been told and learned about the situation though she was still hoping to find another way that didn't require her or another human life being taken. As she passed by several pretty echo flowers too far to reach and small waterfalls, she found one last sign. 'But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here forever.' It seems Mt. Ebbot has been hidden well, Alice thought remembering the precise way she entered the Underground. Alice did feel very sympathetic for these monsters though, being trapped indefinitely in a limited space was bound to affect your thought process negatively. Even if it did seem a bit melodramatic to think this way, it was just the feeling of the only possible option being a once in a lifetime chance to break the Barrier that made the situation seem so hopeless to the monsters. It did make Alice wish even more that she could see what the Barrier looked like right away so that she could perhaps finds some sort of weak spot or how it worked. As she was thinking about this though, something suddenly ran out in the middle of the path.

"Eh?!" Alice gasped as a small thing stopped right in front of her.

It looked like a very adorable yet somewhat bigger than average cat or dog with long black feminine hair, a blue shirt, a small doggy tail, and cat ears with dog ears on the side as well. It had an unusual yet somewhat whimsically happy expression and looked quite adorable. In fact, it seemed appropriately debatable whether it was cuter than the mysterious goat boy in her dream. It appeared to be a special enemy named Temmie that had appeared to defeat Alice. It loved to pet cute humans. But you're allergic! Oh dear, Alice thought as she never liked being allergic to anything.

"awwAwa cute! (pets u)" The Temmie spoke in an extremely unusual yet animated way before one of it's paws stretched out to abnormal lengths to reach out towards Alice.

"Goodness…!" Alice gasped as she quickly sidestepped the initial paw and then maneuvered herself to avoid being touched until it retreated.

Temmie next attempted to glomp Alice but Alice was alert and quickly brainstormed ways on how to pacify this curious cutie. She started with a simple hello but quickly got back,

"hOI! i'm tEMMIE!"

Then Temmie proceeded to do something very alarming. It grew to a very tall, almost elephant size with impossibly long and thin legs and started walking over to Alice in an shockingly fast speed.

"W-wait! Ack-! Oof...!" Alice groaned as she was immediately trampled by the unusually tall Temmie and found herself lying flat on the ground.

Temmie returned to normal size but by now Alice was realizing she was dealing with a very out of the ordinary creature. Fortunately she discovered she could spare it right away and proceeded to do so with a huff. Temmie cheerfully yelped and ran away. That was not as much fun as previous encounters, Alice grumbled to herself as she picked herself up and dusted herself. Entering the next area brightened Alice's spirits up significantly. She saw a beautiful dark and dense forest trail with luminous mushrooms like the ones she saw before but also trees that glowed like shining pillars. It reminded Alice a lot of Tulgey Wood and she even saw spots in the grass that glowed, providing a trail to follow. Though it seemed that the trail of grass stopped to a certain point.

"Hmm… what if I examine this mushroom?" Alice asked herself as she laid a gentle hand on the plant.

The mushroom felt just as hard as a regular mushroom but also surprisingly warm and sure enough, a new trail of grass suddenly lit up. Finding a great deal of glee in this method, Alice followed the trail of grass downward and quickly kept going from mushroom to mushroom. At one point though she found herself encountering two Moldsmal again but there was something unusual about one of them. Trying the similar method of appeasing Moldsmal, which was to flirt uncharacteristically triggered a shocking reaction out of the second one.

"Guoooh!" Groaned what appeared to be a new creature altogether.

That Moldsmal suddenly grew in height, layers of a gelatin-like body revealing themselves with a sunflower-esque shape to the head and an unnerving single eye. It had become a Moldbygg and seemed to need distance. Alice was slightly frightened by the shift in appearance and even in characteristics and quickly dodged a series of projectiles flung by both of them.

"I'm terribly sorry for not respecting your space initially, I'll leave you alone then." Alice said soothingly to Moldbygg.

It seemed to appreciate her respect of its boundaries. After dodging more projectiles, Alice successfully spared the duo. And carried on her way when she noticed something.

"Oh… there's a secret path leading down here… even in the darkness!" Alice exclaimed excitedly.

Naturally curious and not wanting to leave any part of the Underground unattended, she went down the dark path and found herself in a completely unique new area. The first thing that stood out was a very cheery atmosphere and that there were FOUR Temmies standing around in front of a strange painting that featured some draconic creature with a Temmie on it. There were also several signs scattered to and fro. This certainly is bizarre, Alice thought to herself as this was the first time she saw a place that specifically consisted of one species of monsters. The little girl quickly rushed to the first sign to try to make some more sense of this unusual space. 'hOI! welcom to… TEM VILLAGE!'

"That's not how you spell 'welcome'... or 'hi'." Alice unconsciously corrected the sign's errors for herself.

"hOI! im temmie! and dis is my friend… temmie!"

"hOI! im temmie! and dis is my friend… temmie!"

"hOI! im temmie! don forget my friend!"

"Hi. I'm Bob." Four voices in quick succession rang out to greet Alice.

"Eep! O-oh… w-well um… hello there." Alice, who hadn't been paying attention, quickly turned around and addressed the four Temmies who had spoke to her..

They certainly are quite upfront with their introductions, Alice concluded.

"what's ur name?" Asked one of the four.

"Oh… my name is Alice. It's a pleasure to meet you…" Alice awkwardly curtsied as she introduced herself.

"hOI ALISE!" Said three of the Temmies.

"Hi Alice." Said the fourth and final Temmie.

"... Lovely." Alice frowned slightly at the fact some of them had said her name wrong and turned to look at the painting, hoping silently that the four Temmies would leave her alone.

As complex and surprisingly detailed the painting was, all she could make out of it was that is was a 'Rich history of Tem'. No major names, no major events, and not even a date were imprinted on the painting and left curious Alice feeling a bit disappointed. While she did have a lot of questions about this Temmie Village, it seemed the answers were intent on confusing her. The other two signs didn't help much either. 'hOI! u shud check out.. TEM SHOP!' and 'yaYA! i AGREES! shud check… TEM SHOP!' Alice at this point was feeling… something and it wasn't exactly a positive feeling. A strange detemmienation of sorts. She did notice some other interesting things though like another room entrance similar to the one the turtle was in with an exclamation point sign hanging above it. There were also several other Temmies, one of which was next to an egg, a well-crafted statue of a Temmie titled 'Tem', a mushroom that appeared to have a face, and a hole in the wall where a Temmie was very clearly looking out from within.

"Well isn't this certainly nonsensical… um, excuse me sir-" Alice walked up to the Temmie with the egg first only to be interrupted.

"tem... WATCH EGG! eg... wil HATCH! tem... PROUD PARENT!"

"But cats don't lay eggs! Where'd you even get it?" Alice asked.

"a STORK!" The Temmie gave a rather ridiculous answer.

"... Well I suppose it's the eagerness of raising a child that matters most…" Alice decided to give the Temmie the benefit of the doubt and walked past the hard-boiled egg.

She next approached the mushroom to find that it suddenly began to wiggle and move its arms rhythmically. A strange performance that the mushroom itself described as,

"Mushroom dance Mushroom dance Whatever could it mean"

"What exactly does it mean?" Alice asked as it stopped dancing.

To her surprise the mushroom looked up to her with somewhat narrow blue eyes and spoke in a somber yet intelligent tone,

"It symbolizes my inner torment, trapped here by my hyphae. My struggle to pull away. My struggle to escape. But alas, to no avail."

"Oh dear… I'm very sorry to hear about that but it was quite… refreshing to see." Alice offered some sort of compliment in an attempt to cheer it up.

The mushroom however didn't reply and resumed a neutral expression. I wonder if eating him would give you any sort of powers like in Wonderland, Alice thought briefly as she talked to another Temmie. Or at least she approached it as she was quickly beginning to lose her desire to talk to these things.

"p... tem heard human allergics to tem… dat OK… tem understan… tem… ALSO allergic to tem!" Shouted this particular Temmie.

Four red and rather big bumps emerged on Temmie's face one after the other, signifying it had an allergic reaction to Alice's presence. Alice normally would've tried to console the creature but the simply off grammar and how ridiculous their behavior was to Alice seemed overdone and frustrating.

"Are you ok…?" Alice eventually mustered up enough common sense to ask it if it was alright.

"hOIVS!"

"I don't think there's a medicine for that but perhaps it'll go away in time." Alice said and then departed over to the left

She had no interest in questioning the Temmie currently hidden within the walls watching her and the 'very famus' statue of 'Tem' and thus she moved on to the final Temmie who was outside.

"awawawawah! humans... such a… CUTE!" He or she said.

"For heaven's sake at least TRY to use proper grammar." Alice complained in frustration.

"swrry... temmie are seekin colleg! CHANGE LIVEZ!" The Temmie replied.

"College? Oh so you are seeking a higher education. I suppose that's understandable. Forgive me for my rudeness then…" Alice apologized after realizing they also had a will to learn.

With one one last place to visit in this strange Temmie Village, Alice entered the Tem Shop. The first thing she noticed was that the Temmie storekeeper was wearing a blue and yellow striped shirt, similar to several other striped shirts she had seen thus far in the Underground. Then she noticed various different things hanging about like a bone, a stick, a vial of purple liquid, stockings, a trash can, and oddly enough a picture of the Annoying Dog. Granted it looked surprisingly cozy though not nearly neat enough to be a shop. I suppose it's a matter of different tastes, Alice thought. Still she had a hunch that it was impossible to carry any sort of proper conversation with these Temmies...

"hOI! welcom to… da TEM SHOP!" The shopkeeper greeted her.

"H-hello… um just right off the tongue and while it's fresh in my mind, how much does it take to go to… 'colleg'?" Alice asked, attempting to mimic the Temmie's the best she could.

"1000 G."

"That much?! Goodness… then again in England, colleges are just as expensive to get into. In fact, college is expensive in general. Err… anyways, could… oh never mind. You'll probably only just say hi…" Alice grumbled as she figured that it wasn't worth trying to ask anything about them.

"y'kno, us tems have a DEEP HISTORY!" The shopkeeper attempted to capture Alice's interest.

"Really…? Like what…?" Alice asked with a small glimmer of hope.

"lik the foundin of TEM SHOP! yaYA! go to TEM SHOP!"

"... That's it. Goodbye. I can't afford to listen to any more nonsense like this… though I'll see what I can do about getting you into college." Alice groaned as she facepalmed deeply and made her stride.

"bOI!" The shopkeeper bid Alice farewell in a very excitable way.

Next time I think I'll just stay on the path, Alice told herself as she made a quick escape from Temmie Village.

To Be Continued...