Alice in Undertale

By Lolitafreak88

Chapter 19 A Very Merry Unbirthday

After parting from the hug at long last, Alice decided now was the time to get a bit more acquainted with Alphys and the lab. Clearing her throat, she asked Alphys,

"May I look around your Lab Dr. Alphys?"

"O-oh sure…! I mean m-my lab isn't anything special down here… upstairs though there's bound to b-be some stuff you'd like! Although can I just say something cr-crazy…?" Alphys asked in turn with a nervous tone.

"Well can't be anything crazier than some of the things I think of everyday." Alice chuckled.

"Let me give you my ph-phone number! Th-then… m-maybe… If you need help, I could…"

"Oh well… of course. I don't see any harm in that." Alice eased Alphys's worries by agreeing to the offer and pulled out her cell phone.

However once she had pulled out the phone, Alphys looked at it and stepped backward, her arms placed in a defensive positioning as if averting her eyes. She looked flabbergasted at Alice's phone and made Alice feel a bit lost. At least until Alphys spoke again,

"Wh… where'd you get that phone!? It's ANCIENT! It doesn't even have texting."

"Truthfully I got it from someplace equally ancient… and what's 'texting' if I may ask?" Alice felt slightly embarrassed as she answered.

"T-texting is basically sending messages to o-one another through typing on a keyboard on your p-phone… it's like… c-chatting from far away… W-wait a second, please!" Alphys replied and then snatched Alice's phone and ran off.

Alice wasn't sure what Alphys was planning on doing until she heard some peculiar sounds fill the air. Dinging and buzzing and slamming as if she had stumbled upon a construction site. Oh, she must be upgrading my phone then! Alice realized. Granted Alice wasn't quite as excited about this phone in the first place as opposed to other things in the Underground but she decided a favor was a favor and appreciated it. Sure enough, the Royal Scientist ran over and handed her a clearly sleeker, more metallic, and detailed phone. There was also something attached to it, made of metal like a small chain and it had something rather cute on the end of it made of fabric. If Alice had to describe it honestly it looked like a very small reindeer with an unusual design. It was wearing a pink top hat similar to Napstablook's dapper look with a white 'X' on it in very big print, a metal brace on it's right antler, burgundy shorts, a blue nose, white eyes with huge black pupils, light brown fur, and was standing and striking a pose that seemed to indicate a greeting. It was extremely cute if a bit unusual in the portrayal of a reindeer in Alice's eye.

"Here, I upgraded it for you! It can do texting, items, it's got a keychain.. I even signed you up for the underground's No. 1 social network!" Alphys took advantage of Alice's curiosity to explain all she had done to the phone.

"... If I may inquire, who exactly is this character… and what do you mean by social network?" Alice asked, holding a finger up.

"... Err… t-that I do not know… but he's a cute little guy isn't he…? And by social network i-it's basically a site where a lot of monsters and hu-humans can get together and share their daily life to everyone and have friends. Now we're officially friends! Ehehehe!" Alphys giggled giddily and clapped once.

"I suppose that's reassuring. I really haven't gotten used to all this technology though… I'm impressed it's progressed this far. Thank you Dr. Alphys." Alice confessed before showing her thanks with another curtsy.

"Yeah… hehehe…. Heheh…. Heh… …. …. …." Suddenly Alphys looked very self-conscious and looked from the left to the right before settling on the open close door that Alice had noticed before on this floor.

On cue, the door opened suddenly and Alphys stuttered,

"I'm going to the bathroom."

She then promptly ran inside and closed the door. Alice was a bit amused to find out that room was a bathroom but also confused as to why Alphys was being so shy and just letting Alice walk off on her own. As tempting as it was to do it without letting Alphys know, it didn't seem very honest or kind for Alice to do that.

"Wait a moment, are you sure about this? You're fine letting me look through the Lab alone…?" She asked politely.

"O-oh sure… j-just be careful not to touch any of the machines… and the e-escalator isn't too fast… j-just make sure to step off it before it sinks too low... " Alphys advised as her feet tapped just behind the door.

Alice smiled, kind of glad that someone was giving her permission to be curious for a change rather than her maybe being a bit presumptuous in exploring on her own. Not to mention she knew fundamentally not to play around with any of these advanced machines. There was one more thing though that Alice wanted to ask,

"Also Dr. Alphys, would it be ok if I stayed here the night? I've just been so exhausted from my recent adventures that I could use a place to sleep in peace."

There was a small silence with the foot tapping coming to a halt as Alice waited to hear from Alphys. It was a strangely long silence but in the end, Alphys did give Alice an answer.

"Yeah… of course Alice, I th-think you deserve a nice place to rest. J-just be sure to sleep somewhere comfortable a-and not on the floor ok?" Alphys compromised.

"Definitely! Thank you Dr. Alphys." Alice cheerfully remarked as she used the escalator to get onto the next floor.

Upon reaching the next floor, Alice found herself face to face with five bookshelves, filled with a variety of books, cases, and other knick knacks and colored differently much like that of the Snowdin Library. From right to left they were mint green, dark green, yellow, blue, and red. Peering into the first shelf, Alice found some scientific books that were very dusty and looked of complicated but informative subject matters. Alice knew it'd take much too long for her to peer through all these books though and there were other things to see so she moved onto the next shelf. All the books were labelled Human History. Oh… these must be the history books Undyne was talking about, Alice recalled that confusing statement Undyne had made. The warrior had said that she thought humans were cool based on Alphys's history books but then listed giant robots of all things as an example. This was Alice's chance to see for herself the legitimacy of Alphys's sense of human history. Peering into a book and she saw a colorful image of a giant robot fighting a beautiful alien princess in an outfit so revealing her sister would've tossed the book away. It definitely wasn't at all accurate for giant robots, let alone normal robots, didn't exist around Alice's time. The next bookshelf was filled with strange things that looked like small boxes and cases with different designs on them with the titles of cartoons. Oddly enough they were also labelled "Human History" despite clearly not looking like books. What are they even supposed to be? Alice questioned herself with slight impatience. The next bookshelf featured a comic book of two scantily-clad chefs flinging what appeared to be energy pancakes at one another…

"This is simply rubbish!" Alice scowled as she shoved the comic book back into the bookshelf and pulled out a book from the final bookshelf.

It was yet another comic book, this time about a hideous android running to school with toast in its mouth. Seems like it's late. Once again, incredibly inaccurate. I can't believe Undyne believed Alphys with this, Alice thought baffled. Moving along the room, she noticed a lot more things on this level than she had initially spotted. There was a very strange machine with two pink levers, green stuff poking out on top and within the machine, a tube much like an elephant trucks that spilled pink ooze into a metal bucket on the ground. It looked a bit disgusting though also intriguing. There were several tools hanging on the wall behind it as well. Further along appeared to be Alphys's work table, particularly dusty for being one, with a diagram of an unknown formula on it and two metal tools. Above it on the wall was a very cutesy pink poster with hearts and some sort of girl with fluffy hair, cat ears, winking and striking a very cheerful pose. Clearly her taste in different interests extends far in wide, Alice thought. The diagram was particularly interesting as she saw what appeared to look like a SOUL being portrayed on the paper though the text was unreadable. Alice continued on into the floor to find something else of interest and gasped in surprise,

"Are these letters…?"

She had no interest in the wardrobe as she felt it would be a bit rude to pry into someone's closet and see what their clothing was like so instead she passed it by to find another table with drawers, a pretty blue lamp with salmon pink fish on it, and a stack of letters. The names were marked from many monsters that Alice recognized. Froggit, Snowy, Doggo being the ones on top and unopened. How unusual, Alice thought, why would Dr. Alphys receive letters from those monsters? It didn't seem like the Dog Guard to send letters to the Royal Scientist who lived in Hotland from Snowdin, it didn't seem like Snowy to even know who Alphys was, and Froggits were usually in the ruins. Perhaps it's an invitation to some sort of gathering? Alice thought further. What was the most puzzling thing besides the fact Alphys received letters from these specific monsters was that she hadn't even opened them. Alice peered at the envelope closely to see if she could get some idea of when it was sent. The letters had been received rather recently, four days ago. Alice was tempted to open one of them herself to see the contents inside but in her heart she knew that would be going too far and would betray Alphys's trust in the little girl. Placing the letter back and making sure the stack was exactly where Alice left it, Alice turned her attention to a strange blue box and another poster that had a similar pink color scheme to the last one but was pink and seemed to feature Asian kanji.

"Now I wonder what this sort of thing is…" Alice said to herself as she grabbed onto it.

To her surprise, it appeared to extend outward and flatten up into a perfectly sized bed. Alice gave a delighted giggle, happy to have a perfect bed to sleep in. Still she noticed one more thing in the room that caught her eye before the power of drowsiness began to overcome her. It appeared to be a vibrant poster of Mettaton, talking about his TV premiere and even had the intended air date on it. There was also something written on the flap of the poster that said "Thank you for making my dreams come true."

"Oh… well that's very sweet." Alice remarked positively.

Even though Mettaton was after her and did seem to throw Alphys under the bus, this single message was proof that the robot held a great loyalty to the Royal Scientist for creating him and giving him the opportunity to become the star of the Underground. The fact this poster was displayed so proudly in the Lab meant Alphys had similar feelings about him and was extremely proud of Mettaton. Alice then looked uncertain, recalling how it seemed that Mettaton's current aggressive hunting mode seemed to be brought on by her arrival. It wasn't something she could help of course but it didn't make her feel proud that she had unintentionally disrupted Mettaton's normal lifestyle. Didn't he say he was broadcasting that quiz show, Alice corrected herself in the heat of the moment. So maybe Mettaton was simply just good at balancing his programming times with his times to hunt Alice. It'd also explain why he had left her be instead of ensuring she was killed.

"... A-anyways… I need to get some rest… I feel so weary…" Alice sighed to herself as she yawned and waddled over to the blue bed she made.

She plopped on down, got comfortable, and instantly fell into a long, deep sleep. Moments after falling asleep, Alice felt a similar sensation to one that was quite hard to forget. The feeling of something unusual having just happened right after she went to sleep. As she stirred awake due to this unusual sensation, her suspicions were confirmed. She was in another life-like dream such as the ones she had before. The last dream had in a way been the most peaceful and the most gentle so far as she hadn't been killed, she saw that mysterious goat boy, and no sign of the strange other 'Alice' but here it was still uneasy. These dreams were filled with clues that related to the Underground's lore, happenings, and characters but also seemed to be predicting Alice's future or show another potential result that would've happened had she done things differently. I must remain alert and be mindful of my surroundings then, Alice told herself much like a military soldier would to mentally prepare his or herself. She realized she was still laying down so she sat up and rubbed her eyes before taking a look at her new surroundings. What she saw though was perhaps as baffling as the most nightmarish of these dreams, the one where she had been killed by Sans by the graves of her sister and Dinah. She was in a completely new area unlike anything she had seen before in the Underground.

"... I-is this… a hospital…?" She inquired silently.

She noticed first that the room itself was quite dark, as if someone had turned off the lights yet still had a strange pale light providing enough vision to make out what was in the room. There also appeared to be some unusual fog or smoke hovering in the room and it smelled rather damp and chemically like medicine or that it hadn't been used in a while. Several surprisingly alive-looking potted plants were in upper left and bottom right corners of the room with what appeared to be a dog bowl lying on the floor empty and abandoned. There appeared to be nine beds in total that appeared to have a metal frame but a classically soft mattress with pillows and red and purple checkered blankets. There also appeared to be a hallway to the left though it was too dark to see where it would lead. There was also a broken clock, some strange message board that Alice couldn't read from the bed she was lying on, an ominous entryway, and another hallway to the right of that entryway. The overall vibe made it feel like some kind of hospital resting area though the atmosphere also suggested it had gone unused for a countless amount of time. It was extremely creepy… though Alice had to admit the beds still felt rather comfortable.

"... Hmm…" Alice began to think about this.

Granted each dream's location had varied a bit differently. The first dream had indeed taken place in the Ruins though at the time at an area Alice hadn't come to yet, the second dream seemed to have been in a location not quite within the Underground but more so something that perhaps Alice would've seen in her world, and the third dream had taken place in the original area where Alice arrived in the Underground. New, unknown, and familiar. What if this location is a combination of all three attributes? Even with that unique reasoning, Alice wasn't sure if she recalled there being a hospital in Snowdin or Waterfall. It was possible this was Alphys's lab but there was no other rooms to be found from Alice's exploration so how could it be connected and why was it kept so unkempt? The unknown and new parts seemed to fit in just fine but not the idea of it being a familiar place. Before Alice could think anymore on this, a sudden and startling voice broke through her thoughts and cast her on edge,

"I'm so glad you're finally here… it would be quite a shame to miss your Unbirthday Party."

"Eep…! W-who…?" Alice gasped and her eyes darted around the room until she saw the source sitting in the bed next to her.

Alice had heard of stories about an 'evil twin' or a 'doppelganger' but even so, she much rather would've taken a chance on meeting either of those than being in the presence of… 'this'. It was the mysterious and paler 'Alice' from her dreams who had both killed brutally and mourned tragically. Granted from the last few appearances, this was perhaps the most casual Alice had seen her. 'Alice' was smiling, looking cordial with her hands placed daintily in her lap, one leg hanging over the bed and the other presumably crossed under her skirt but the main difference between her and Alice was the pale colors of the clothes 'Alice' wore. This was the first time though that Alice was seeing 'Alice' face to face. Thus Alice saw that 'Alice's eyes seemed to be lavender as well and her skin was snow white. A haunting contrast to Alice's pure and bright hues in every way. Still 'Alice' looked quite lovely, not even from a vain standpoint of Alice admiring herself in another form, and her smile at the moment was rather reassuring. It's certainly better than taking a risk with Sans or Chara again, Alice reminded herself. Still, Alice was quite stunned to see her being so sociable and talking normally much like how she did at the graveyard. She quickly identified 'Alice',

"... Y-you're… me…?! The other me… in my dreams! The one who-"

"Is trying to find a way home desperately? Yes, so it is. I am grateful you called me 'me' though. It is truly tiresome when someone denies themselves in such a tedious fashion. We're 'Alice' together." 'Alice' seemed to talk in an almost sing-song fashion.

Alice was perplexed. There were hints of her usual polite dialect and soft voice in 'Alice' but her vocabulary seemed even more unusual and rhythmic than how Alice would've spoke and she also stumbled upon an unusual concept of them being the same person. Were they the same person…? If Alice had to base this question off the previous encounters of 'Alice' in the dreams, then she could say that 'Alice' was who Alice could've become had she not followed Toriel's advice and mercilessly pursued an escape from the Underground on her own. It would explain why those dreams felt so realistic though it didn't explain that particular moment with the unknown Graveyard or the strange goat boy. After all, she hadn't seen either of those before and if she was to go even deeper with the goat boy knowing 'Chara'... it didn't seem reasonable that this 'Alice' was some alternate version of her. Unless the Underground differs in other universes? Oh what am I saying, this is preposterous! Alice groaned. She decided instead of giving herself a headache that it was best to speak to 'Alice'.

"I-I have no idea how you know me… o-or what exactly your existence is like… but can you at least tell me where we are?" Alice asked her other self.

'Alice' though chuckled and tapped her finger against her chin with a coy smile. There was something familiar about her whole demeanor, fanciful and playful. Almost as if she came from Wonderland herself.

"I don't believe it'd be fair to give away the answer to a riddle that you haven't even come across yet. Just wait and you'll see… or wait and be killed by ASGORE or SANS, it's really all up to you and how your Pacifism plays out." She replied with a wink.

"..." Alice flinched.

It seemed even 'Alice' was aware that Sans had a great deal of power up his sleeve despite no mention of Sans to 'Alice' in either dream. Now she was outright saying that Sans would possibly go after her or kill her like Asgore had had Undyne do. Though that seemed to conflict extremely with the fact Papyrus was alive. Why would Sans go after her after having spared his brother? Although it would explain why he hasn't stopped checking up on me, Alice thought grimly, making sure he knows exactly where I'm at… Alice felt she had redeemed her initial hostile behavior towards Sans with all she had done so far. They even were able to share laughs and decent conversations with one another so surely Sans wouldn't be as willing to kill her as the other 'Alice'. Dreams notwithstanding anyway since Papyrus wasn't dead. 'Alice' kept speaking though as Alice continued to think in silence,

"I will give you a hint though, there's no need to worry about any unexpected intruders. I've cleaned them all out so this area is perfect for an Unbirthday Party."

Alice frowned at not only the way 'Alice' worded "cleaned them all out" but also the fact she was freely using Wonderland terminology much like how her daydreams played out. It was almost like she was teasing Alice about Wonderland truly existing and that she had been there and was closer to it than Alice was. All for some desperate proof that 'Alice's No Mercy route had bigger benefits than Alice's Pacifist route. Alice huffed angrily at 'Alice' and folded her arms.

"... What makes you think I would even enjoy an Unbirthday Party with you? Or that you won't kill me before we get to the cake? Or that I AM the cake?!" She bellowed.

To Alice's concern, 'Alice' didn't seem at all affected by the outburst. She tilted her head in a confused and innocent way.

"I don't think humans would taste very good to be honest. I doubt that the six dead children had their bodies baked into a pie after all. It's not as appetizing as say custard or mustard or jam and ham… Besides, why would I kill 'myself'? That's the height of idiocy." 'Alice's sugary sweet tone seemed placed to hide the subtle malice and insanity in her words.

She's acting just like how the Mad Hatter or the March Hare would, Alice thought with some horror. It began to occur to her that if this WAS another version of her… that this meant Alice went completely mad. It was disturbing on a whole different level than 'snail pie', it was an insight to how vulnerable Alice could be. It was a statement that the Underground could literally drive you mad whereas with Wonderland the madness was there from the start and was practically celebrated. Not to mention that 'Alice' showed that she was still strangely acute and spoke sense while somehow still speaking nonsense. One thing sounded intelligent and logical but was phrased in an absurd way like a riddle. It was the kind of conversations that Alice recalled most struggling with in her daydreams about Wonderland or at least was something she was afraid of encountering in a world of her own. Alice sighed and tried to regain her composure.

"You certainly seem willing to kill anything or anybody that stands in your way…" Alice pointed out.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong Alice. I haven't killed the special guest." 'Alice' winked at Alice as she made a flashy gesture towards her left.

Alice was confused but followed as 'Alice' strung her along with the promise of someone else being here. To her shock, Alice saw that whoever it was wasn't merely sitting but floating over the bed. It was Napstablook. Which given the recent question Mettaton had imposed on her seemed a bit too on the nose to be a mere coincidence. What was more bizarre was that Napstablook had not been floating besides 'Alice' throughout this whole discussion up until this moment. The most likely conclusion was that he arrived or appeared when Alice's attention was completely on 'Alice' or thinking to herself. However, Napstablook looked quite… shattered from when Alice last saw him. Something told Alice that this Napstablook was not the one she knew of but rather the one that 'Alice' knew. Either way, Alice was still finding it hard to believe Napstablook had appeared in her dream like this.

"N-Napstablook…?! W-what are you doing here…?!" She asked.

"... alice… i… i don't understand… how could you have done that…?" Napstablook replied in such a sorrowful tone that Alice was convinced he didn't trust her.

Alice suspected he was talking about something 'Alice' did yet she couldn't help herself from feeling hurt. Being questioned by a friend for something you didn't do, no matter the circumstances, was particularly painful.

"It wasn't me it was the other 'me'! You can tell the sheer difference between our appearances. Look how dusty she is compared to me!" Alice stammered as she gestured towards herself.

Napstablook barely took notice, not even looking to 'Alice' to compare like Alice had requested. It was truly the kind of behavior Alice would expect from a traditional ghost. That was what made this very heartbreaking for Alice to bear witness to. Napstablook opened his mouth again,

"... but… then how come you didn't res-"

"Clean cup, clean cup, move down, move down…!" However 'Alice' suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, scaring Alice.

"W-what…?! Move down… and what do you mean clean cu-" Alice was about to object but then 'Alice' lunged at her.

'Alice' grabbed Alice roughly by the wrist and dragged her out of the bed, stunning her badly and causing her to fall to the ground. 'Alice' then pulled Alice over to one of the other beds, one towards the right side of the room and plopped her on there. Alice was a bit dazed and her wrist suddenly tender, though she was thankful that 'Alice' hadn't done anything else. Alice wondered if 'Alice' had done that purposefully to change the subject away from Napstablook's statement. She looked over and saw 'Alice' was sitting in another bed as was Napstablook so they had also 'moved down'. But then there was something else… something there that wasn't there before. Standing over by the wall, behind them was a new figure. It was a figure unlike anything Alice had seen yet in the Underground and was extremely spooky. They had a black body with a white front and a white head with lithe hands. It's eyes were empty and soulless similar to that of Sans when his pupils disappeared and there were line-like markings over his eyes, one going down to the mouth and the other up into its head. It was fairly tall and it just stood there motionlessly. What could it possibly be…? She thought as she turned to 'Alice' with a timid expression.

"... 'Alice'… w-what's that thing over there…?" She asked 'Alice', pointing to the figure.

To Alice's relief, 'Alice' did make an effort to answer it, turning to look over where Alice had pointed towards. However 'Alice' looked confused and tried looking other directions which indicated that she clearly wasn't seeing the figure.

"Hmm? I don't see anything… unless you mean a rather boring wallpaper." 'Alice' replied.

"T-there's a monster right there! I-it's eyes a-are hollow… there are strange markings… and it's hands are… moving…?" Alice at first was angry but her response lost steam as she noticed the monster doing something bizarre.

It was moving this time and also its white pupils were visible. One was unusually bigger than the other which only served to make it even more scary for Alice to witness. It's hands were nimbly forming different shapes in an effortless fashion and Alice realized it was using sign language. Unfortunately Alice hadn't yet learned how to decipher modern sign language so she had no idea what it was trying to say. Although I oddly prefer this than to hearing what it might sound like, Alice looked on the bright side of things again. 'Alice' had a different reaction though. She suddenly nodded and had a smile on her face, clearly having realized something about what Alice had been trying to say. 'Alice' turned to Alice and spoke in a 'matter-of-factly' sort of way,

"Well there is a funny story that the riverboat captain says… something about 'beware of the man who speaks in hands'. Perhaps it's wanted to come to the Unbirthday Party."

"I never… well I guess I haven't really gotten to talk to them but… is that a real story…?" Alice asked nervously.

Napstablook nodded grimly and 'Alice' showed great confidence in her smile, confirming Alice's answer. Alice suddenly regretted not really taking the boat captain up on their offer as it seemed she missed a curious tale and some more good advice. Still this also left quite a bit more questions for Alice to get answers for.

"... B-but then won't it try to kill us or interrupt this Unbirthday Party…? Why must we be wary of it?"

"How can you interrupt when you don't even exist? How can you exist when you've fallen beyond Wonderland? Those are all things I've learned in this world that could explain why you have nothing to fear about him." 'Alice' seemed unusually defiant in her answer.

"... Then you know his name…?" Alice raised an eyebrow at this change of tone from 'Alice'.

She seemed awfully familiar with the subject despite Alice herself clearly not having even heard of this 'man' though granted 'Alice' did basically confirm she did things differently than Alice did. Although her talking about 'him' not existing seemed unusually questionable and more outward of a lie given that he was standing right there. It would confirm though why the man was standing there, having not moved from that spot and not trying to come join them in any way. It had no true physical form to interrupt or take part in the Unbirthday party and was just a mere apparition of what it once was. This was why 'Alice' was clearly unafraid of him either despite not seeing him like Alice could. 'Alice' however shook her head.

"Don't worry, he's relatively unimportant. If he was very important I would've pursued him, but since he's unimportant, he's merely some trivia. I don't know his name but… rumor has it that he was the previous Royal Scientist." She spoke like a giddy school-girl gossiping about something.

That certainly caught Alice's attention, though Alice had to wonder if 'Alice' had mentioned this fact in a way to place suspicion on Alphys. Through this statement she could be saying 'he doesn't exist anymore because Alphys did something to him so she could become the Royal Scientist' as an example. Granted the tone was more cheerful than playful so it did seem like 'Alice' genuinely thought to share this fact with Alice and she had described it as 'trivia'. This made Alice feel confident that it wasn't some sneaky wordplay to rouse suspicion on Alphys. Actions speak louder than words after all, Alice reminded herself. She noticed that the former Royal Scientist seemed to react to 'Alice's words and stopped moving his hands and just stared stupefied at them. Worried, Alice gulped.

"Before Alphys…? … W-well what happened to-"

"Clean cup, clean cup, move down, move down!" 'Alice' however seemed determined to put a halt to this chat and once again moved Alice by force to another bed.

This all 'moving down' business had been in Alice's daydreams before, in the midst of a difficult and frustrating tea party. Though naturally this was a lot worse than that tea party had been for the mere fact there wasn't even any tea or colorful teacups and the scenery was gloomy as opposed to animated. Alice frowned as she sat down on her new bed and looked sympathetically over to Napstablook who still looked very out of it. However, when she looked over to where the former Royal Scientist stood she noticed he had suddenly disappeared. She thought to ask the other witness in the room if he had seen him,

"N-Napstablook… where did that figure go…?"

"... oh i h-hadn't noticed anyone… i don't even think there is anyone else besides us… everyone's gone…" Napstablook spoke sorrowfully, even more sorrowfully than when Alice first met him in the ruins.

"... I'm really sorry that happened to you… but don't worry. In my world, everyone's alive…" Alice felt it was futile but couldn't help herself from trying to lift his spirits.

"... sounds like a lovely world... "

"It's a hopeless world though. She'll never return home the way she's acted." 'Alice' interjected with a seemingly bitter statement.

"You don't seem to have escaped either 'Alice' so I wouldn't make such hasty assumptions yet. Now there is something I've been meaning to ask you. What… have you done so far?" Alice straightened out her skirts as she challenged 'Alice'.

"Well… to be fair our sense of time is quite warped… one step forward for you is approximately five steps forward for me." 'Alice' explained.

That answer did seem consistent with the whole foreshadowing dreams idea and also explained a bit more on why 'Alice' knew things Alice didn't or why Napstablook was acting this way. Though it was rather intimidating thinking that all this time 'Alice' had been following Alice's journey ahead of her and had done things drastically different. What lied ahead for Alice then…? Also it was suspicious that 'Alice' didn't mention Mettaton at all even given that was the next thing Alice was about to face which made it seem like 'Alice' didn't have her best interests in mind. Or at least until 'Alice' spoke again after giving some time for Alice to think,

"In fact… I believe you are currently residing in Alphys's lab are you not?"

"W-why yes! How did you know?" Alice exclaimed with wide eyes at her correct guess.

"The Cheshire Cat told me. He's very up to date on these things you know." 'Alice's answer though only served to perplex Alice.

"... The Cheshire Cat doesn't exist here though…" Alice objected rather weakly with a subjective answer.

The Cheshire Cat had been a very unique deity in Wonderland, with the power to seemingly be anywhere he wished. He was cheeky, unpredictable, though always up for a chat and did often speak to Alice on a level the other residents of Wonderland could never reach. Naturally though Alice wasn't in Wonderland and yet 'Alice' had said his name casually as if he existed in the Underground. Unless she's really that far gone to the point of hallucinating, Alice thought hesitantly. 'Alice' didn't look discouraged at all by Alice's statement. In fact, she seemed rather glad Alice had pointed that detail out.

"Perhaps not to you. Some go this way, and some go that way. He prefers the shortcut. He would never appear before you normally or as something obvious." 'Alice' replied, pointing in different directions.

"... Wait, then do you mean he's the DETERMINATION? Or at least all those shapes I can make are him in some way?" Alice offered the first theory that came to her head.

"You could say that, though he speaks to me more often than to you. Either way, from where I am at… I'm about to enter a very sacred place. Everyone is dead or on the run, which is why I was rather unexpected to find some Momeraths here." 'Alice' changed the subject unexpectedly and confused Alice further.

First was the fact she said that the Cheshire Cat spoke to 'Alice' more than Alice herself. It sounded a bit more like a description fitting of Chara who had shown capabilities of talking within individuals or towards individuals by appearing and disappearing at will. Second was how she said 'a very sacred place'. Now in England, that would normally refer to a church or a castle or a monument or occasionally a resting place like a graveyard. Given all the clues so far, it seemed reasonable to believe 'Alice' was entering King Asgore's castle, the one Alice had seen with Monster Kid. Finally, Alice had once again used another Wonderland term as if it applied to the Underground as well. By now it was clear 'Alice' was using these terms as metaphors for something she didn't know or understand yet in the Underground. That made Alice's curiosity heighten greatly and lower her initial anger towards 'Alice'.

"Momeraths…? Oh yes, they were from the Tulgey Wood… but what do you mean they were here? Or are you referring to the Temmies? It's rather hard to tell when you speak so… bizarrely." Alice asked as she brushed some hair out of her face.

"... Not quite. I've come to understand the Temmies but these were of a completely different genus. It's not like I know what their names were so I just call them something else. It saves time." 'Alice' shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.

"What did they look like?"

"I won't answer…" 'Alice' stiffened, eyeing Alice with a look of disdain.

"Why not…?" Alice suddenly felt a little angry again.

"It's difficult to care about the dead and asking about deceased killers is were, and in your case are, happy to see us die… I think that's quite a considerable offense in a court in Wonderland. Besides, there is no other way out of the Barrier beyond the usual method. It's ridiculous to think that there might be another way." 'Alice', for the first time since this encounter in the dream occurred, finally sounded much more serious like Alice had remembered her to be.

"But until you've tried every possible direction, there is no telling if there is or isn't another way! I mean what I've learned down here is how the roots of DETERMINATION are based on striving for going that extra mile to find or pacify or help. It means we can't simply lose our nerve no matter how bleak the situation seems and keep trying." Alice defended her beliefs.

"... I would agree with you but there's a little voice in my head that refuses to be quiet and says to deny everything you said. I think you should listen to them." 'Alice' winked at Alice.

Alice heaved a heavy sigh as her suspicions had just been confirmed as well as the fact there was probably nothing more to gain from this.

"... If the truth about all this is that I've merely been talking to Chara this whole time then there's really no purpose to this dream." Alice got up from the bed as she spoke in a resigned tone of voice.

She had no idea how she would end this dream prematurely but perhaps leaving the area would do the trick. However, 'Alice' reacted in a way Alice never expected. She reached under the bed and pulled out a colorful birthday cake with lit candles, frosting, and a plate. It looked just like the one that had been presented to Alice at the Mad Tea Party. 'Alice' also looked very desperate in her expression, as if she was regretting pushing Alice away and wanted to say something.

"W-wait… Alice STOP! AT least if you are going to leave the Unbirthday Party so soon can you listen to my warnings and blow out the candles and make your wish come true?!" 'Alice' pleaded, holding the cake shakily.

Alice decided that she wasn't going to be heartless to another version of herself and that 'Alice' had shown she had a wealth of knowledge about what was going on. If she was to proceed properly in the Underground it was best to listen to someone with more experience. She wasn't all that happy either way about speaking with 'Alice' again but understood that this was the right reason to take.

" I don't really have a choice in the matter do I? Very well, what is it that you have to warn me about…?" Alice put her hands on her hips and gave 'Alice' her attention.

"Well you don't really have to worry about Mettaton… or at least I didn't have to worry about him so much. I took a different path so anything I say has a chance of not applying to you but it's a precaution after all. But… just know that Sans… he doesn't trust you. No matter what's happened he's never trusted you… I don't know why but this is why… I just know he's been taking his time… waiting… waiting to strike you with some twisted revelation or cruel battle. Just like all the others." 'Alice' described in a very quiet voice.

Alice hadn't expected that sort of answer and suddenly looked rather timid. She was rather relieved to know that 'Alice', genocide or not, wasn't worried about Mettaton which meant that even she likely had a chance as a pacifist. This revelation about Sans was another story. Granted Alice didn't know all of what 'Alice' had done opposed to her or what sort of encounters she previously had with Sans but the idea of Sans having such a powerful distrust of Alice to begin with was uncomfortable. Was my first impression really that bad…? She asked herself with slight disbelief. Also the fact that 'Alice' had said 'twisted revelation or cruel battle' meant that it was clear Sans was hiding something from Alice, his sheer combat capabilities and potentially some inside knowledge. Alice recalled that the last big revelation she had gotten from one of these encounters was Toriel describing how the king would be set to kill her in the ruins and Undyne telling more about the history of the Underground and what the monsters had gone through. Those definitely had made Alice question her thoughts at the time so the idea of Sans having something important to reveal to her and possibly doing it in a malicious fashion due to distrusting her made her very disturbed. However...

"I-I know he's suspicious but wouldn't you say you bought his distrust on yourself by killing his own brother? I certainly didn't kill Papyrus and I've even stayed at their house! Aren't you simply-"

Alice had somewhat gotten used to being interrupted but not quite in the manner in which she had been interrupted this time. 'Alice lunged at her but instead of shouting 'clean cup' she grabbed Alice's shoulders and stared at her with a desperate, mad look. 'Alice' pleaded to her in a voice of panic,

"Why would I want to watch myself die before I ever get a chance to return to the surface?! Or break the Barrier?! Let's not be silly Alice! I'm just warning you! I still doubt you are any righter than I am or that I'm any righter than you, but regardless! You must know that things aren't what they seem! Why is a raven like a writing desk?! Is there or is there not another way?! What will break the Barrier once and for all in the end?! You have to answer this world's ultimate riddle yourself Alice!"

"... 'Alice'... alright…" Alice replied softly as she found herself shocked at this heartfelt display of emotion.

Clearly 'Alice' didn't want to see Alice risk her life or die from wherever she resided and was encouraging Alice to take matters into her own hands. It was almost like 'Alice was encouraging Alice to prove her pacifist ways could yield the result she had been seeking by being active. It also seemed to confirm that no matter what, 'Alice' felt that Alice's attitude of not being suspicious of Sans would result in her death and she desperately didn't want that to happen. It made Alice upset that she at this rate she couldn't fully trust Sans like she wanted to or that Papyrus would've wanted her to but at this rate 'Alice' had a point. If anything's truly going to get done or if I want the answers I need, I'm going to have to be a bit selfish. Alice reasoned resolutely. Alice then turned to the cake that was lying on 'Alice's bed, clearly placed there right before 'Alice' had lunged towards her. The candles still burnt very gently and the frosting looked lathered with a professional's touch. Alice walked over to the cake gently, 'Alice' releasing Alice to look at her anxiously. Napstablook also looked over towards Alice, wondering what was about to happen. Alice knew though what she wanted to do, and also what she wanted to wish for. However, she was never going to say it, for that would jinx it into not coming true and she ever so wanted it to come true.

"A very merry unbirthday to me." Alice sighed and blew the candles out.

It was at that point that Alice was jolted awake by the sensation of the dream ending and sat up. It seemed that a white blanket now covered her, probably given by Alphys who had stumbled upon her. Alice felt a rush of feelings about not only the ominous warnings of 'Alice' but also a desire to solve more mysteries of the Underground, figure out what Sans was up to her and why he didn't trust her, and of course prove that the 'pacifist' way that Toriel taught her would save her and the Underground in the end. Still Alice was thankful to have not had a nightmarish experience besides that strange former Royal Scientist and the overall implications of what 'Alice' represented. Rested and feeling determined, Alice got up from the bed and dashed towards the down escalators. She knew she had to keep going and not delay herself or the hopes and dreams of the monsters any longer. She made across the hall, passing by another work desk, a bag of dog food, and the fridge and left the Lab on the exit side. The beckoning heat of Hotland hadn't cooled down once and from time to time she noticed a strange pulsating red glow that was jagged and long like a line from her surroundings.

"... Certainly a bit more eerie than the other areas." Alice said to herself.

It was very much like a desert in that regard and it made Alice a bit uncomfortable. She was still curious to see what she could see but she wasn't sure how pleasant this journey would be as opposed to the puzzles of Papyrus as an example. At that moment though she felt a jolt from her pocket, then another, and then a third. As if someone was calling her but without the ringtone. She pulled out her phone and noticed three new 'messages' had been posted regarding Alphys. She read them all carefully and was surprised by their contents. "just realized i didn't watch undyne fight the human v.v well i know she's unbeatable i'll ask her abt it later ^.^ for now i got to call up the human and guide them =^.^="

"... I-is this one of her upgrades?" Alice asked as she looked at the unusual use of characters in these messages with doubt and slight amusement.

She could gather though that Alphys was curious about her friend Undyne and how the match went and also how she intended to call Alice and help her through the Hotland. Alice smiled at the Royal Scientist vocally stating she would keep her promise and with that motivation, she truly began to enter Hotland.

To Be Continued...