Alice in Undertale
By Lolitafreak88
Chapter 17 The One Who Wields The Spear Of Justice
Alice, extremely relieved to be away from the Temmies, began to follow the path like it had originally been intended. I can't believe that an entire race of monsters can out-nonsense the nonsense I imagined for Wonderland, she thought to herself. She was almost a bit envious that her own imagination out been basically outdone in whimsy and that the concept of 'everything is what it isn't' had been so frustrating to witness firsthand. It almost made her wish she was more careless with her thoughts so that she could maybe have appreciated the Temmies more than she had. As Alice carried on her way, she noticed that some of her encounters were becoming more diverse. She encountered a Woshua and an Aaron together, an unusual pair in her mind, and managed to deal with both effectively and gracefully. Eventually she stumbled upon the next area which was actually a little spooky. There were purple crystals, glowing and pulsating in a manner that seemed to imply great power. Given the natural darkness of the area and it gave an unsettling vibe to Alice as she noticed there were no more mushrooms. To her surprise, there was a sign to her left and she read it nimbly. 'Without candles or magic to guide them Home, the monsters used crystals to navigate.'
"Huh… I would've suspected these crystals to have been made by the monsters but apparently it's the other way around." Alice spoke to herself.
Wandering through the path, she spotted a lantern of a very tasteful design and turned it on. It seemed to ward off the crystals glow but kept the area illuminated consistently. The trailing path was extremely long and Alice found herself having to not only fend off monsters but keep the lanterns lit just long enough for her to see where she was going. She noticed one path seemed to lead to another area though to her regret, it appeared to be some sort of waterway like the junkyard was. She instantly grimaced at the idea of getting wet again but considered that she needed to keep going lest she be found by Undyne. So lifting her skirts, she paced through the water carefully, shivering slightly at the cold temperature of the water. Though something unusual began to happen, the entire area around her seemed to darken completely except for what she could make out right in front of her. It didn't seem natural to her at all and Alice stopped instantly and listened carefully.
"... Hello…?" She whispered meekly towards someone who may or may not have been there at all.
Alice was feeling paranoid and a bit angry that whatever was causing this didn't seem to care for her at all. It was making her feel upset and terrified. That's when she noticed an Echo Flower, among one of the first in quite awhile. She gleefully triggered it only to find perhaps the worst possible message at the time,
"Behind you."
It had been spoken so slowly as well that Alice couldn't consider it a joke. Her eyes widened as the area's lighting suddenly became crystal clear, revealing a patch of grass to her left. Alice willed herself to turn around and saw her. UNDYNE. Much like at the bridge, she had Alice cornered and walked forward with unforgiving steps. Alice was shaken and desperately looked around for some opportunity to escape but Undyne actually spoke to her for what was the first time,
"... Seven. Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king… King ASGORE Dreemurr… will become a god. With that power, ASGORE can finally shatter the barrier."
She sounded rather young compared to what Alice expected, but still certainly an adult female. She held a gruffness but also a dignity and pride to her voice and her words were just as severe as her identity. Alice held some relief though that she could potentially converse and plead with Undyne properly since Undyne was capable of conversation. Alice swallowed her nerves and straightened up.
"I understand a lot of the creation of that barrier and your sorrow at being trapped but… you can't seriously continue to murder humans because of it can you? You've slain six souls already and they meant absolutely no harm to any of you." Alice scolded.
"Humans like you trapped us down here. It's nice of us to stop ourselves from dancing on your graves! Not to mention you've taken away more than just our freedom from us… That is why this must be done! ASGORE will finally take the surface back from humanity… and give them back the suffering and pain that we have endured. I don't suppose you understand though, human. The way you're talking back to me." Undyne seemed to be condemning Alice.
"... I refuse to allow my soul to be used for revenge. Let alone involve myself with your revenge scheme. Besides, I intend to free the barrier my own way that doesn't involve any sort of death!"
"... So you're throwing away your chance at redemption then. Very well then, I'll tear out your soul from your body." Undyne assumed a fearsome stance like a lion bracing itself to a pounce after speaking.
Alice gulped as Undyne conjured another magical spear in her grasp and wondered if she was going to have to fight back. To her horror, Undyne dashed forward with incredible speed, too quick for Alice to have created a significant thought to counter it. Though to her surprise, Monster Kid popped out of the bushes and stood between Undyne gripping her spear and Alice who was looking at him with great confusion.
"Undyne! I'll help you fight!" He declared.
"... You must be joking…" Alice couldn't hide her displeasure at him throwing himself into a dangerous situation but also couldn't hide her amusement at him coming to her aid in such a fashion.
"YO! You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!" Monster Kid exclaimed as he looked between both women.
Undyne wasn't even flinching from her aggressive stance, staying motionless and quiet though Alice had to wonder what her expression was through the helmet.
"… wait… who's she fighting?" Monster Kid asked when he showed a lack of understanding about the situation.
"To be perfectly honest she was-" Alice however found herself interrupted by an unexpected twist.
Undyne made her spear vanish, stood up straight, and pinched Monster Kid by the ear. She then proceeding to stomp away, dragging him behind her.
"You're not gonna tell my parents about this are you…?" Monster Kid asked worried as he and Undyne disappeared into the darkness.
Alice found this to be very reminiscent of when her sister would sometimes drag her along when Alice lingered around too long. Yet she severely questioned Undyne's priorities. While Alice appreciated Undyne keeping Monster Kid out of this conflict, it was the umpteenth time that the Royal Guardswoman had spared her or at least passed on the chance to kill her directly. Perhaps it was just Undyne having a strange way of killing her targets but Alice had to find herself stunned that she got away cleanly again. Although she was hesitant about going back the way she came, she had no other option.
"... Curiouser and curiouser." She commented to herself regarding Undyne's mysterious behavior and went back into the water.
To her shock, she spotted a path that had opened up along where a wall used to be. It was lined with grass and on a solid ground. Now Alice was even more perplexed but knew it would be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity. Continuing on her way, Alice spotted Echo Flowers up ahead. Silently hoping their messages wouldn't be as morbid as the last one, she quickly began to check them.
"...hmm… if I say my wish… You promise you won't laugh at me?"
"Of course I won't laugh!"
This is the conversation from way back then, Alice realized as the mentioning of a 'wish' brought a memory fresh to Alice's mind. Delighted to find out what the wish was, she continued to investigate.
"Someday, I'd like to climb this mountain we're all buried under. Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around… That's my wish."
"..." Alice didn't know what to say to that and shifted her feet awkwardly.
It still felt weird to accept she was under some fictional mountain called Mt. Ebott as opposed to a park in England. Then there was how the manner of the wish was so sweet and honest. Whoever said that, presuming they were still alive, had to accept their wish still hadn't come true. Surely the news of Alice's arrival had reached their ears and… might've wanted it more than ever to come true. Alice began to understand at last why all the monsters were going to such sheer lengths to go after her and simply try the solution they knew would work. The needs of many would always realistically outweigh the needs of one after all. So… even if it cost Alice her life... No I mustn't think like that… that's the same as wanting to die, Alice shook her head furiously and gave herself some much-needed good advice. Another thing about all this was that every monster thus far had hit her repeatedly with this logic, and Alice just couldn't accept it. Even if it was a newborn who had made this wish, would they truly want their wish granted but corrupted by the fact that a human girl had to die for it to come true? In fact it was already corrupted with six slain souls, but if Alice could do something to change that… it would redeem that wish once and for all. Upon reflection, Alice decided this was the healthiest interpretation of that side of the argument. She took to the next flower only to be surprised by very abrupt laughter.
"... hey, you said you wouldn't laugh at it!"
"Sorry, it's just funny… That's my wish, too."
Five Echo Flowers altogether had told an exquisite and heartfelt conclusion to the story. Alice definitely wondered who the two speaking people were and what kind of relationship they had. They seemed completely understanding of one another and a ray of hope for the Underground. At least when it came to their levels of trustworthiness and morality. To her surprise though, Alice spotted another sign up ahead. 'However… There is a prophecy. The Angel. The One Who Has Seen The Surface… They will return. And the underground will go empty.' That's the prophecy the turtle was talking about, Alice realized. Ever one to put a lot of thought into the information she received, Alice assumed a thinking position and started to theorize. The turtle had mentioned the monsters being split upon a positive interpretation of the Angel and a negative interpretation of the Angel. One theory being that either that this Angel would free the underground and the other theory being that they would leave no one left alive to fill it. Though Alice was interested by how it was phrased 'The One Who Has Seen The Surface'. Realistically, wouldn't that sound like this prophecy was describing a monster who had seen the surface as the Angel? They had to have known humans lived on the surface of this world and thus it seemed strange that for this prophecy it had 'The One Who Has Seen The Surface' as the title instead of 'The One Who Has Lived On The Surface'. 'Seen' and 'lived' are two very different descriptions after all, Alice imagined. 'Seen' would mean that this prophecy is describing one of their own who has seen the surface in some shape or form while 'lived' seemed more appropriate to use if the Angel was a human.
"... I suppose maybe they thought a monster had escaped imprisonment on the surface. They predicted it would've developed the means to come down here and free the rest of it's kind. I mean it even seems like this prophecy was made before any of the previous six souls fell down here if they used a term like 'Seen' before 'Lived.'" Alice proposed to nobody but herself.
Considering her imaginative mind and desire to prove her intelligence, it was very common for her to talk to herself as if trying to reassure herself. It was becoming especially more common of a routine due to her lonely state of affairs. Still, by proposing this idea out loud, Alice felt it gave her a clearer picture of what she was trying to visualize and it made sense. After all, it seemed that the kingdom was united and friendly at first based on the stories she heard and the lore she read. Then when things went bad, they became more desperate and reliant on the killings of fallen humans and old prophecies took a new form with the Angel being seen as a human and a destroyer. It probably lost it's original meaning long ago, maybe once describing a monster who still remained on the surface as the Angel. Alice decided this was enough thinking for now as she already knew what it meant if the Angel was a human and carried on her way. To her somewhat nervous reaction, she found herself facing another bridge. It was much thinner than previous bridges in Waterfall, similar to the one that led to Snowdin but with no railings, straighter, and had a rock base to hold it up. Alice however did have bad experiences with bridges and decided the best thing to do was to hurry up. As she neared the other side though without any trouble, she heard a voice,
"Yo!"
Instinctively, and quite used to that greeting, Alice knew it was Monster Kid. She turned around and saw him on the bridge walking slowly towards her. It seemed unnatural but Alice knew she had nothing to be fearful of. Oddly enough, Undyne was nowhere in sight and she suddenly also realized that Undyne hadn't kept him out of danger if he was still around.
"Monster Kid! W-why didn't Undyne take you back? T-there's no reason for you to trouble yourself with me anymore. I think your field trip from your family has gone on too long." Alice couldn't help herself but scold him in sheer worry about his safety.
Monster Kid didn't say anything though and eventually was right in front of her before looking off towards the chasm below the bridge.
"Yo, I know I'm not supposed to be here, but… I wanna ask you something." Monster Kid spoke rather seriously and even a bit sadly.
"... I accept your question…" Alice said with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips.
"... Man, I've never had to ask anyone this before… Umm… Yo… You're human, right?"
"Oh. Well of course. I can assure you I'm no goddess and am just a little human girl." Alice seemed relieved at the simple question and giggled to herself as she answered.
"Haha! I knew it! … well, I know it now, I mean… Undyne told me, "stay away from that human." Monster Kid's tone seemed very insecure.
Alice looked cross, not at Monster Kid at all but at Undyne's ruthless yet non-ruthless tactics. Going back to earlier, Undyne could've killed her and finished her off much more quickly had Monster Kid not arrived that time and even further back on the bridge prior to ending up in the garbage dump. But yet she was now resorting to trying to turn Alice's friends against her which seemed cruel and rather idiotic in her opinion. Furthermore the fact Undyne was involving Monster Kid into this whole conundrum was unforgivable. He was a young monster and practically like a little brother in maturity and innocence. Why should he have to be involved in this wild and barbaric goose chase?
"I think that's entirely wrong of her to say. Anyone is welcome to be friends with one another. Be it a wolf and a sheep, or a mouse and an elephant, or a rabbit and a fox, OR a monster and a human. Furthermore, I mean absolutely no harm… but I wish she had taken you out of harm's way since it seems she's going after me no matter what." Alice explained herself.
"... W-we don't have to be enemies? That's good… I kinda stink at that… but… I know she doesn't trust you a-and… I don't want to let her down… can you at least pretend to hate me or say something so we can be enemies…? Please….?" Monster Kid sounded fairly desperate.
"... Well I am upset you haven't returned home yet. Don't you know it's rude to stay much past your curfew?" Alice winked at Monster Kid as she said this as she perfectly understood his situation.
In Wonderland, she often had to play along with certain things that were absurd or were very questionable but would result in severe punishment if they were questioned. So if Monster Kid had to live up to a higher power's expectations, Alice was perfectly willing to aid in that.
"Y-yeah… I'm such a turd… though I had a lot of fun on my adventures here… and seeing Undyne was everything… I'm gonna go home now…" Monster Kid chuckled and looked to make a hasty exit.
However, Alice suddenly saw Monster Kid stumble and lose his balance and then… topple over the side of the bridge, clinging onto the edge with dear life as he fell over. He was in a very precarious situation. Alice gasped and quickly began to make her way over as Monster Kid shouted,
"Yo, w-w-wait! Help! I tripped!"
"I-I'm hurrying as fast as I can!" Alice pleaded as she decided only a channeling of DETERMINATION could resolve this.
Golden light once again appeared and metamorphosed into the most valuable and effective tool Alice could recall seeing in Wonderland, a stepladder. On one side, the stepladder was held by another figure of Alice's DETERMINATION, the one who Alice remembered seeing have this stepladder. Bill the Lizard. A character who had Alice's utmost sympathy after he was blasted up, up and away after a crazy and incidental fiasco at the White Rabbit's house. Adorned in pants, shirt, jacket, and a hat, all in a fine shade of gold, he held the stepladder for Alice as she quickly climbed onto the side facing Monster Kid and climbed down to his level. Alice hadn't really climbed ladders for a living but her sister had taught her the proper technique in case of an emergency in their lessons together and so she was easily able to do so. Right next to Monster Kid, she grabbed him while still holding onto the ladder, and carried him with her as she climbed back up. Then Bill helped her get back onto the bridge and thus Alice had efficiently and mystically saved Monster Kid.
"My that was a close one!" Alice sighed and put a hand over her heart as Bill did a sending-off motion and disappeared along with the ladder.
"T-thanks so much Alice… oh…" Monster Kid looked enthusiastic until he noticed somebody who had appeared without Alice or him noticing.
It was Undyne, clutching one of her magical spears but in a stance that showed hesitation. It seemed as though she had took notice of Alice's DETERMINATION and looked intimidated but also drew her spear at the ready in case she was to misuse it. Alice was instantly scared and ashamed of herself for not noticing though also thought this showed that Undyne did care for Monster Kid enough to be there in case things went wrong. Granted it was only a small step towards redemption in Alice's eyes but Alice was unsure of what to say to the soldier in this situation. Her mind had no ideas as it had been all spent on crafting a solution to save Monster Kid. So it was up to Monster Kid to speak for Alice,
"Y…y… yo… dude… If… If y-you wanna hurt my friend… You're gonna have to get through me, first."
"Monster Kid…" Alice looked at Monster Kid as though he was a royal knight.
He was speaking his mind and his voice was strong and spoke of justice. It was very selfless… if very risky to his bond and relationship with Undyne. However, it showed he considered his relationship with Alice just as if not more important and he didn't want Undyne to hurt her. Alice had a hunch Undyne wouldn't hurt Monster Kid though and to prove her point, Undyne made her spear disappeared and took several steps backward. Then, the Royal Guardswoman left the way she had presumably came.
"She's gone… Yo, you really saved my skin. There's no way we're going to be enemies again. We'll just have to be friends instead." Monster Kid said after turning to Alice, smiling with great relief.
"And you saved mine… I certainly would enjoy being your friend." Alice spoke and curtsied as professionally as she could to demonstrate her sheer appreciation for the deed Monster Kid had done for her.
"... man, I should REALLY go home… I bet my parents are worried sick about me!" Monster Kid exclaimed.
"... I-I agree… they would definitely be worried sick… you shouldn't make them worry any longer. Or you might be grounded."
Alice realized that Monster Kid's words and concerns applied to her perfectly. At this moment her sister and Dinah must've been absolutely worried for her and where she had gone. And even worse, if what all she had discovered was true, she was far into the future. They could possibly not even be around anymore… so she had left them behind worried sick and worried sick up until their deaths. She really was grounded… grounded to knowing that fact and at the same time being hunted for her life. Alice didn't want to make Monster Kid fear for her though and Alice was hoping there would be something down here that could help her return home, so Alice tried to hide her sudden sadness with a mixed smile. Monster Kid, to her relief, began to walk away. He stopped though and turned to Alice.
"Later Alice!"
"Farewell…" Alice waved good-bye as Monster Kid dashed away.
Alice sighed to herself as she knew that this probably wouldn't keep Undyne down for long but she was relieved Monster Kid had finally gotten his way out of this whole mess. This meant that Alice's only choice left was to continue to go forward… and probably encounter Undyne once again. She was still shaken about being reminded of the fears and concerns she left her loved ones with but knew that nothing was set in stone about fixing that. So she crossed the rest of the bridge and went into the next area. It seemed to be the remains of the caverns and there wasn't much to be noticed… except an exterior that led to outside the caverns. Upon reaching it, Alice found that she was at the base of a relatively huge mountain. There was another, extremely tall and menacing cavern entrance but there was also something else. Alice noticed, beyond the increased windiness, that a shadow was eclipsing over her and that meant something was above her. Alice looked up and that's when her suspicions were confirmed. Undyne was standing at the very top of the mountain, standing out amongst a very curious backdrop. It had a gorgeous red and purple sky, like that of dusk, with the shadows of strange buildings towering in the distance. Undyne however was clearly the center of attention, her back turned to Alice.
"Undyne…" Alice said mostly to herself as though to brace herself for any spears and get mentally ready.
"Seven. Seven human souls, and KING ASGORE will become a god. Six. That's how many we collected thus far." Undyne turned to face Alice as she seemingly repeated what she had said not too long before.
"Scavenged" is the more appropriate word thank you very much." Alice talked back to Undyne with her arms folded, miffed at how Undyne was not only repeating what she had said earlier but also that she was making it sound so simple.
"If that's how you want it to be, once we've scavenged your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed." Undyne replied with surprisingly less temper that Alice expected.
"Transformed…? But aren't you just trying to break the barrier?" Alice asked, puzzled by Undyne's usage of that word.
"It'll be a transformation for the monsters born down here who've never even seen the surface… and the monsters who had to suffer down here when their lives were transformed for the worse. At last it'll be a transformation for the better. First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far… I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started long ago..." Undyne spoke with passion after a brief pause.
I already heard this before as well, Alice thought impatiently but also hoping that she wouldn't have to feel depressed again. However, something very unexpected happened. Undyne stopped speaking and seemed to look away. Then she clenched her fists and sharply turned to look down at Alice. When she spoke again, her voice seemed to change entirely and with no warning,
"No, you know what? SCREW IT! WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY TO AN UNGRATEFUL, OBNOXIOUS LITTLE BRAT WHO'S ABOUT TO DIE?! NGAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Her voice had lost some of it's dignity and instead sounded very rash and spirited, like a young female coach of some sports team as opposed to a female knight. It even showed in her newly… questionable choice of words and furious tone. The winds seemed to gather though at her command, blowing quite fiercely and Alice was forced to avert her eyes. When she looked up after the winds died down, Alice noticed that Undyne's helmet had vanished. There was a blue head with a fiery red ponytail blowing in the wind and fish ears that seemed just like the ones that the house she and Napstablook had seen contained. Her back was turned to Alice… until she turned just enough so that Alice could see a narrowed golden eye that glinted dangerously with fury. Undyne then turned around entirely and Alice finally got a look at her true features. Sharp teeth, sharp eyes, sharp eyebrows, and an eyepatch adorned on her right eye. This was definitely an intimidating woman and right now, Alice knew exactly what she wanted. Though she had to admit she was very surprised at this sudden change in Undyne's character. I bet this is why Monster Kid is so fond of her, Alice thought as she did see some mirrored characteristics with him in her words just now. Unfortunately for Alice, Undyne wasn't finished going off on the little girl.
"YOU! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys's history books made me think humans were cool… with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen. BUT YOU? You're just a coward! Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again!" Undyne shouted and pointed an accusing finger at Alice.
"... W-what…? We don't have giant robots whatsoever… though we did have a Joan of Arc for swordswomen I suppose… and Monster Kid was the one who stood up for me! I wasn't hiding behind him." Alice retaliated as best she could given how shocked she was at all the new information.
It seemed that Alphys was acquainted with Undyne as well and that she had history books that apparently were horribly inaccurate. It was like the monsters had been educated badly about humans and thought absurd things about them. Such a concept of humans having giant robots seemed extremely offensive to Alice's pride as she felt that she and other humans would loathe being misrepresented like this. I'm going to have a firm word with Alphys once I see her about this, Alice told herself. Otherwise, Undyne did seem justifiably skeptical of Alice's connections with Monster Kid so Alice sought to defend herself as soon as she could.
"You deceived him with your wimpy goody-two-shoes schtick! Ooooh! I'm making such a random a difference by hugging random strangers! This is soooo curious. I'm just a curious little girl…! BAH!" Undyne mocked Alice with a surprisingly hilarious expression despite the severity of the message.
"W-well when you… snrk… put it like that I suppose I was behaving strangely." Alice resisted the urge to laugh as she did consider that she was interacting with strangers thus far in ways her sister would've definitely questioned.
"You know what would be more valuable to everyone than being interrogated by you? IF YOU WERE DEAD! That's right, human! Your continued existence is a crime! Your life is all that stands between us and our freedom!" Undyne once again condemned Alice.
Alice found herself quite infuriated by that statement. It was being constantly told to her that she should die to free everyone ever since leaving the ruins. At this rate she would go insane or be forced to agree with them and so she decided to make her most powerful rejection yet,
"Is it a crime to fight for my OWN survival? To also want to be free from the Underground?! I have been pressured and pressured to give my life up for your cause but yet you have taken six other innocent lives without remorse and I have no doubts in my mind you didn't try to persuade them as much as you have towards me. In fact I could accuse all of you of committing first-degree murder upon six innocent children but I have more of a grasp on the situation that I can at least understand that you are acting out of desperation! How then, have none of you considered there to be another possible way to break the barrier? In fact, why haven't you even TRIED to figure out another way that didn't involve someone losing their lives?! Because of your recklessness you have already tarnished your reputation and at this point are making the humans look like the more sensible species. You have a chance to change that and that chance is what I'm urging you to pursue instead of me!"
"...! Y-you… you have no right to talk as though you've experienced what we have! Your hopes and dreams are NOTHING compared to the hopes and dreams of all the monsters whose hearts are pounding at this very moment! They've waited all their lives for this and yet you want to make them feel guilty and terrible for doing so. You also are insistent on defying us no matter what but we're not nervous about whatever it is you might try to do. When everyone puts their hearts together, they can't lose! We'll break the barrier the way that everyone wants and knows will work! There's no way we're going to torture ourselves by listening to some infuriating child who is involved with our imprisonment. We aren't going to suffer another century, another millennium, another year, not even another day until we can finally step foot on the surface again! Now, human! Let's end this, right here, right now. I'll show you how determined monsters can be! Step forward when you're ready! Fuhuhu!" Undyne reacted boldly but with a voice that almost suggested she was of a higher power.
It was clear that she was the epitome of the underground's psyche, the same passion that the monsters shared to be free and not wanting to suffer another day to do it. Alice respected her point of view and also respected that they had been down here in agony for an extremely long time. Their patience probably had run out a long time ago and they wanted freedom now. After all, trying to find another way would cause more delay and if anything, might prove to have been fruitless all along. However, Alice believed that nothing was impossible, especially given she was able to imagine her own Wonderland and her desires to have a world of her own manifested into this incredible adventure. She didn't want to see any of these sympathetic, sweet, and interesting monsters taint their innocence and dreams with any more blood on their hands. She also desperately and genuinely wanted to survive and see more of the Underground for those who trusted her with the future. With that, Alice felt a passion and a sheer fire in her that was akin to the same kind of DETERMINATION she had when breaking free from Chara and it's hold on her. She was prepared to face Undyne and use Toriel's advice as always to show how mercy could open up the way to the truth and bring peace to the underground. The wind was howling loudly and Alice's hair and skirt blowed in the breeze, Alice was filled with DETERMINATION and so she stepped forward.
"I believe I shall show you then how determined humans can be… to keep surviving!" Alice announced with an unconditional confidence.
"That's it, then…!" Undyne licked her lips with an eager delight.
She summoned her spear and twirled it around effortlessly like a baton before bracing herself and leaping off the mountain stoically. She clutched onto the spear and propelled it down towards Alice, her first move already been made.
"No more running away! HERE I COME!" Undyne howled as she fell at a rapid rate.
"...!" Alice quickly sidestepped the furious attack and Undyne crashed into the ground where Alice had been.
The impact was so strong that it created smoke and vibrations that made Alice stumble slightly though she regained balance immediately and distanced herself from Undyne. Undyne emerged from the smoke unscathed and wielding her spear. Up close, Alice could see she did have rather feminine features and her presence, while much more furious than she had been with her helmet on, still commanded great respect from those who faced her. As Alice looked at Undyne, she realized she wasn't sure where to go from here. Unlike Papyrus or Toriel, she didn't have any real destination or goal beyond the vague notion of surviving. Maybe I need to get to wherever that cavern leads, Alice thought. While she was thinking though, Undyne waved her spear at Alice and while it didn't propel anything at her, Alice suddenly noticed that a green aura had developed over her body. It was just like the 'BLUE' attack that Papyrus had used on her that had caused her to lose badly to him in their encounter. This one was 'GREEN' however and Alice didn't feel like she was heavy… but then she suddenly found out something worse. When she tried to move backward, she hit an invisible wall and was stopped in place. Alice turned around and found out indeed there was a wall in front of her. Spreading out her hands and arms to examine her surroundings helped her realize that she had been completely surrounded in some sort of invisible barrier that limited the amount of space she could cross.
"En guarde!" Undyne gave what seemed to be her final causal words before the battle truly began.
Alice tried to push this invisible wall but it was of no use. It seemed Undyne had done something to trap Alice in an area where she couldn't be as evasive as she had been previously. It was troublesome, worrying, and slightly crippled Alice's confidence. This would mean she would have to face the spears head-on and there would be no way for her to escape. She looked at Undyne, the heroine that NEVER gives up, and asked,
"This is one of those colored attacks isn't it? What did you do?"
"Guess you do know about us a bit better than I gave you credit for... As long as you're GREEN you CAN'T ESCAPE! Unless you learn to face danger head-on… You won't last a SECOND against ME!" Undyne replied, flashing a menacing smile, and then began her assault.
She hurled three spears in quick succession at Alice. Despite Alice's limited maneuverability, she did have enough movement to adjust her positioning. She remembered how effective the card soldiers had been earlier at deflecting and protecting Alice from Undyne's attacks and so she mustered her DETERMINATION to summon a 7 of Hearts to deflect the three spears with it's lance. Undyne gave a surprised glance at this quick reaction from Alice.
"Not bad! Then how about THIS!?" Undyne shouted as she hurled two more spears towards Alice.
Alice however noticed four more spears had appeared in addition to the two coming forward, with two from the left and two from the right. They were approaching at different speeds as well with the forward ones being the fastest, the left ones being the second fastest, and the right ones being the slowest. She's attempting to create mind games with how she throws her spears, Alice realized. However this wasn't going to be enough to dissuade Alice and she summoned two more card soldiers, the 2 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades to cover her from the left and right as 7 of Hearts continued to deflect the spears from the front. As easy it would be to aggress on Undyne like this, Alice naturally refused to harm her.
"For years, we've dreamed of a happy ending…" Undyne sighed as she pounded the ground thinking of her friends.
Another barrage of spears this time had one spear coming from the back. Alice summoned one last card soldier, the 10 of Clubs, to protect her from the back. Although they were now all effectively covering each of Alice's side, Alice knew she had to keep them focused with her DETERMINATION to block the spears at the right time and the right angle or else the spears would pierce through them and hit Alice. Alice continued to listen to Undyne's words with careful consideration.
"And now sunlight is just within our reach! I won't let you snatch it away from us!" Undyne cried as she bounced impatiently.
"I haven't snatched anything away from you Undyne! If anything it's fate that has kept the sunlight away from you. You can't simply use me as a scapegoat for your troubles." Alice commented as she continued to have the DETERMINATION constructs block the spears.
"Can it! Scapegoat or not it's just how things are and it was your kind that got us into this mess in the first place. Consider it retribution! NGAHHH! Enough warming up!" Undyne growled as a strange sushi aroma filled the air.
The spears were being hurled with great accuracy and great speed, with Alice barely able to block them all. Then suddenly, Undyne waved her spear again and Alice found that the green aura surrounding her vanished. Alice was confused as to why Undyne enabled her to move freely again until she heard the sound of a spear piercing through the 2 of Diamonds. The spear then hit Alice head-on, piercing through her before vanishing. It didn't leave a single wound but the impact of the spears edge definitely hurt Alice and caused her to give a small shriek of pain. Undyne smirked unpleasantly at her successful strike.
"Mercy, HA! I can't believe YOU want to spare ME! Especially when you've been unable to land a single blow on anyone so far!" Undyne taunted Alice who was clutching her side.
"I… I don't need to strike blows on anyone! In fact I'd much rather- eep!" Alice found that her chance at speaking back was cut short.
Undyne started leaping to and fro, left and right, and up and down, and hurled various spears at Alice from all different angles. Alice fortunately found that she wasn't confined to a single space anymore and so she was able to run, twirl, and dash about to avoid some of these spears. She also sent forth the 4 of Spades and 10 of Clubs to dash forth and parry some of the spears Undyne's hurled while the 7 of Hearts helped to cover Alice. For some reason this whole fight was a lot more favorable for Alice than the Papyrus fight had been despite the severity of Undyne's attacks. Maybe because since Papyrus lacked Undyne's discipline, he was reliant on using a powerful colored attack whereas Undyne knew how to think ahead of her opponent and mix up her tactics.
"But even if I spared YOU…" Undyne said calmly.
Alice suddenly noticed blue lights appearing beneath her feet, much like Undyne's original attack patterns had been back in the chases of Waterfall. She was able to dodge them easily but realized she also had to direct her card soldiers to avoid them as well. Compared to other characters in Wonderland, the card soldiers were extremely dependent on orders so they had to be directed properly compared to how characters like Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum could act on their own. Alice was able to do this efficiently but then found Undyne waved her spear again, casting the 'GREEN' attack upon Alice again.
"No human has EVER made it past ASGORE!" Undyne declared.
"I imagine so, seeing how he seems much more willing to simply finish off a human rather than toy with them and try to tarnish their reputation!" Alice responded with some criticism of Undyne as she found herself having to use her Card Soldiers to deflect the spears again.
"Excuse me?!" Undyne asked incredulous as she flipped her spear impatiently.
"What you tried to do to Monster Kid, to change his opinion of me was uncalled for! If you were really certain of me being the key to freeing the Underground, you would've simply ripped my SOUL out of me like you claimed earlier. Yet on the bridge before then, when I was cornered, you hesitated to land the fatal attack and claim my SOUL. You simply let me fall, not even bothering to come after me to pick up my SOUL had I died. Perhaps there's more mercy in you than you think Undyne."
"Grrr… STOP being so damn resilient! And stop talking back to me brat!" Undyne shouted as her spears were practically flying faster than bullets.
Alice was still able to deflect them effectively despite all this and noticed Undyne once again dispelled the 'GREEN' attack while hurling another deceptive spear. More prepared for it this time, Alice had all three remaining card soldiers parry it with their lances combined. Alice was then surprised to see Undyne supplex a huge boulder, perhaps as some way of venting her frustrations towards Alice, or maybe just because she could.
"My name is Alice!" Alice decided to clarify her identity towards Undyne as she was getting tired of the insults and vulgar language Undyne was using.
"Like I care! Geez, what the hell are humans made of!? Anyone else would be DEAD by now!" Undyne growled in disbelief as she went into her emerging spears attack.
"A great deal of things! Look Undyne, I've heard a lot of wonderful things about you and I sense that you're an admirable, powerful female warrior. It's incredibly inspiring, but I cannot condone you trying to kill me. All I want is for us to be friends…" Alice tried to plead with Undyne as she once again dodged that phase of attacks.
"...Alphys told me humans were determined… I see now what she meant by that!" Undyne frowned, it seemed she had been reminded of someone and her attacks became less extreme afterward.
Throughout this whole battle, Alice found herself shifting from being 'GREEN' and free to move constantly and was beginning to realize that this strategy was extremely brutal on the defender. While the card soldiers were proving effective, Alice was starting to wear herself out on both dodging and controlling them. Suddenly she noticed a strange backwards spear that was heading towards her. It zigged quite suddenly and suddenly flipped forward on a totally different angle and got past Alice's defenses, striking her.
"Uahhhh…!" Alice screamed and fell to her knees clutching her side.
"That's right… I'm determined too… and I'm determined to finish this right NOW! ...RIGHT NOW…! …. RIGHT….. NOW…!" Undyne found herself repeating her declaration of the final blow as Alice was proving to be very difficult to bring down.
"... Doesn't look… so finished… huff…" Alice pointed out as she was really running out of stamina at this moment.
Even Undyne looked tired, having flung countless spears and yet only managing to have hit Alice twice so far. Alice was exhausted though and the frequency of spears was still very quick and relentless, there would be no way for her to last past ten more rounds of attacks. Alice realized there was no way to pacify Undyne in the slightest so that left only one thing left for the little girl to do. I have to get out of here right now, Alice thought! Looking at her options, the 7 of Hearts, 4 of Spades, and 10 of Clubs, she quickly formulated a plan. It was a brief plan but it was Alice's only shot of getting enough distance away from Undyne.
"NGAHHH! DIE ALREADY YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Undyne howled as she pointed her finger heroically to the sky.
She sent forth her most vicious assault yet, one of the zig-zag spears hit Alice once more, but then Undyne waved her spear to free Alice. This was what Alice had been hoping for. Alice sent forth her three Card Soldiers to charge straight at Undyne, their lances armed as she made a break for the cavern. Undyne looked flabbergasted at this sudden change in her target's movements, and knew that she had to block the Card Soldiers first before going after Alice.
"H-hey!" Undyne growled rather weakly as she quickly twirled her spear and slashed at the three Card Soldiers.
To her even further astonishment though, the card soldiers dissolved into a flurry of simple playing cards upon impact, all made out of DETERMINATION. They didn't hurt and had the same feeling of cards, but swirled around Undyne and obscured her vision as Alice gained greater distance and managed to flee into the cavern. Undyne was absolutely furious and began to swap and slash the cards swirling around her like a pack of bees, desperate not to let Alice get away. Meanwhile, Alice found herself running in a panic through the new cavern. It was surprisingly luminous and Alice could see a river flowing down below with a block of ice bobbing to and fro. Amazing how Snowdin's rivers extend all the way down here, Alice thought but then had to stop. She was so worn out from dodging the spears that she felt like she couldn't keep going without having to pause and catch her breath in between. That was when Alice noticed a golden radiance appear beside her.
"E-eh…? Oh Bill…!" Alice exclaimed when she saw that Bill the Lizard had once again materialized but this time not by her own will.
He was standing there with his stepladder and had a supportive smile. Though his very presence and appearance was very unusual to Alice. She had not thought of him but yet here he was. Could it be some sort of instinct that Alice's DETERMINATION was developing to help her, or maybe it was some lingering feelings of saving Monster Kid that led it to manifesting to save her? No matter what the answer was, Alice realized Bill was offering to carry her and run for her as long as she got on and held onto the stepladder. Agreeing with that plan, Alice climbed onto the ladder and made sure she was high enough that she wouldn't obstruct his vision but also low enough as to not increase the weight he was carrying. Bill picked up the ladder with impressive strength and soon began dashing forward, Alice holding onto it as she found herself on a makeshift ride of sorts. Their speed seemed decently fast but unfortunately Alice looked behind her and saw Undyne quickly catching up. She looked very pissed at the distraction Alice made earlier and wasn't going to let the little girl get away.
"You seriously think I'm going to let a PACK OF CARDS stop me?! STOP RUNNING AWAY!" Undyne screamed.
Alice was nervous as she wasn't sure what would happen if Undyne did catch up to her and Bill but Bill seemed to have a plan. As soon as they found themselves turning to the right, and Undyne was nearly right behind them, Bill stopped in place. Then he swung the ladder with incredible strength, Alice clutching tightly to not be flung off, and slammed it into Undyne and sending her flying backwards.
"What the he- GRAHHHH!" Undyne shrieked as she was caught off-guard by the sneak attack and sent crashing to the ground a ways back.
"Whoaaa… w-warn me next time please…" A suddenly dizzy Alice muttered as she had barely been able to hold onto the ladder as it had been swung so dynamically.
Although being swung like that alerted her to something very unusual placed along the left wall. It was a giant and very long sign outlined with green and with unusual-looking red letters sliding from right to left amongst a black background, spelling out a message before disappearing and reappearing. It said 'WELCOME TO HOTLAND!' Another new location, Alice thought excitedly, splendid! It was at that moment though, Bill taking off again, that Alice got an unexpected phone call. Alice was perplexed at the idea of getting a phone call at a time like this and trying to hold onto the ladder as best she could, quickly grabbed her phone and answered it,
"H-hello…?"
"HEY! WHAT'S UP ALICE!? I WAS JUST THINKING! YOU, ME, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME! I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS! LET'S MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER!" Papyrus seemed to have just come up with this idea and expressed it jubilantly to Alice.
"H-her house…? I'm really unsure- hello?" Alice suddenly heard the other line click off and realized her answer would go unheard.
Admittedly that had been very reassuring to hear Papyrus calling and caring for Alice like that yet his proposition would definitely be tabled for now. Bill managed to get Alice out of the caverns and set down the stepladder gently so that Alice could climb down. As Alice climbed down, she suddenly noticed a number of amazingly curious things in her new surroundings. One, there was a harsh, bold lighting as if it was a sunny day. Two, the ground seemed to be sandy and with rugged rocky cliffs. Three, there was another wooden bridge over what appeared to be genuine lava. Fourth…
"SANS?! W-what are you doing here…?!" Alice exclaimed in complete disbelief as she set her feet on the ground.
Indeed he was there at another one of his sentry stations, snow still on top of the roof, sleeping. Fast asleep. Even though Alice had just called his name he didn't wake up. Also another thing Alice noticed was that it was suddenly quite hot out, as though a heat wave had just hit the Underground. Alice recalled the cape that Sans had given her back in Snowdin Forest and realized she would most likely not need it anymore. So she took it and placed it on the counter, returning the favor at long last. Bill and his ladder disappeared with the same cheerful send-off as Alice felt she could make the rest of the trip on her own but at that moment, Undyne emerged out of the caverns and hurled a spear at Alice.
"Eep!" She gasped as she barely ducked the spear just in time and was forced to abandon the still napping Sans.
Alice began to make her way across the bridge though looked back to see Undyne a bit annoyed at San's napping habits as well. It seems like she knows Sans as well, Alice thought. The little girl reached the other end of the bridge, still tired from the whole ordeal and baffled by the heat and the fact that there had been pure lava below the bridge. She then noticed that there was a strange machine standing over by a wall of black earth that was filled with what appeared to be water. There were two levers, one marked red and the other blue and some sort of tube containing a bunch of plastic cups. It must be like a fountain of sorts, Alice decided. Alice was about to investigate the machine when she heard Undyne speaking behind her,
"Armor… so… hot… But I can't… Give up…"
She sounded extremely sluggish and it was clear by her slow steps forward that the heat was getting to her. She reached out towards Alice who flinched in fear, before suddenly flopping down to the ground unconscious and her tongue sticking out. She looked dry and like she had overheated. Alice knew she couldn't simply just leave Undyne lying out in the heat in such a vulnerable state. Papyrus would've been extremely worried had he known about this after all. So Alice dashed to the machine and examined the levers closely. The colors seemed to indicate what water temperature each lever would dispense and thus Alice figured out that the blue lever would release cool water. So she grabbed a cup and placed it under the lever and activated it, sending a stream of water into the cup as long as she held it down. What a convenient device! I imagine it'd be very useful for tea parties, Alice thought gleefully. She then raced to Undyne and poured it gently on top of her to hydrate the Guardswoman. Undyne stirred and stirred until she finally got back onto her own two feet and looked around dazed. She then faced Alice with a look that was neither bitter nor thankful, rather it was just shaken. Perhaps it had been the fact she knew she couldn't continue chasing Alice in this 'HOTLAND' without sustaining harm to herself and thus had to surrender for now. Alice wisely said nothing as she didn't think she needed to anyway. Without a word, Undyne simply turned around and walked away back towards Waterfall. The huntress had ended her hunt and Waterfall was finally all said and done with.
"... Finally the chase has ceased… and now… I'm in HOTLAND." Alice sighed to herself as she turned to look around at this new land, this new stage in her adventures underground.
To Be Continued...
