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Alice in Undertale Chapter 21

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Alice in Undertale
By Lolitafreak88

Chapter 21 So Sorry Bout It

After the previous discussion with Alphys, Alice kept along the path, peering at the CORE one last time before she found yet another strange object. Or at least it seemed to be a strange object at first for it was tall, silver, streamlined with lights that glowed between, red, orange, maroon, yellow, and plum. A sign entitled “R1” was also glowing in synchronization with the other lights and there were doors that looked like the ones from Alphys’s lab and a monitor with two buttons shaped like arrows pointing up and down respectively. Alice quickly realized this was an elevator and by far the most modern-looking elevator she had ever seen in her life. Twiddling her fingers at first as she wondered if this was the one that’d take her to the Core, she pushed the up button and the doors opened. As the little girl made her way inside, she saw the floor had a pretty peach and yellow checkerboard pattern with similar colors for the walls. A monitor hanging on the wall boasted 9 buttons in rows of three and Alice realized these were probably the different floors she would be allowed to take. Oddly enough, she noticed some of the buttons distinguished between ‘Left Floor’ and ‘Right Floor’.

“D-does this elevator go sideways…?” She asked.

Now which way is it that I ought to go? She asked again but this time in her thoughts. Often times she imagined herself pondering the right way to go in Wonderland and here she found that it would be even more important to go the right way. With Mettaton on her tail there was no telling what consequences the wrong turn would cause for her. She decided to pursue the right floor and pushed the button. The elevator closed and Alice found herself moving downwards. It was uncomfortably shaky and even seemed to worsen slightly upon hearing her destination, forcing Alice to lean against the wall for balance. It stopped smoothly upon arriving to the Right Floor and Alice found she needed to choose another one of the buttons. “Right Floor 1” or “Right Floor 2”. Naturally she chose Right Floor 2 as it was logically the next step in her journey. After another shaky ride, the elevator stopped and opened its doors. Alice emerged to find not much had changed about the area compared to the last one she was in though she did find a rather adorable little boy made of fire like Grillby.

“Hello there!” Alice waved hello to him and offered a cheerful greeting.

“Heh. I’m Heats Flamesman. Remember my name!” He replied with a bit of a cocky vibe.

At least he’s specific, Alice chuckled to herself. After moving into the next area, Alice stopped in her tracks. To her amazement there was several other monsters present. A green bird-like woman clad in a pink dress clutching what appeared to be a hot dog, a Vulkin with a hot dog settling inside its crater of lava, and… Sans. At another sentry post. Grinning. Snow covering the roof of it. In Hotland.

“... SANS?!! You have stations here too?!” Alice exclaimed.

Sans turned to face Alice, as did the bird-lady (Alice was now wondering if it was a harpy like of Greek Mythology) and the Vulkin. The bird-lady and Vulkin then instantly went back to eating their hot dog, clearly not interested in a discussion between two strangers. Now this was the normal way for Alice to react upon seeing Sans but almost instinctively after blurting that out, she recalled the last nightmare she had where the other ‘Alice’ warned her of Sans not trusting her and had been taking his time waiting to possibly harm her. It seemed plausible now that Alice had found Sans once again in another station set up along her journey as though to monitor her but why? Alice knew this would be a chance to get some answers she needed although the presence of the Vulkin and harpy made her a little more nervous about trying anything. As she thought all this, Sans spoke,

“you betcha buddy. what’s up? wanna buy a hot dog? it's only 30G”

“... A hot dog you say?” Alice’s eyes lit up.

A hot dog indeed sounded quite delicious, a nice, warmly cooked sausage in between a bun like a sandwich. Particularly given that Alice hadn’t had many opportunities to eat some of the Underground’s cuisine and that the cooking show with Mettaton had stirred her appetite. Still, the little girl didn’t want to be swayed so easily by food and she cleared her throat.

“Why exactly though are you selling hot dogs instead of sentry duty?” She asked.

“eh, you gotta make a living somehow. plus i’ve always loved ketchup and the best thing ketchup goes on is a hot dog. It’s a big hit with the hot dog royal guardsmen.” Sands replied cheekily.

“So then you sell these in Snowdin too?” Alice inquired.

“nah, just didn’t want to let the pun get away. so do you want any?” Sans shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.

Alice frowned slightly. Was this happy-go-lucky personality of Sans some sort of mask for the serious revelations he may have possessed? As well as the fact he was a bit too obsessed with bad or at least obvious puns. Still, Alice was getting hungry and it did look very delicious. Only a fool would reject something they absolutely needed, Alice told herself.

“Yes please.” Alice said.

“thanks, kid. here’s your ‘dog. yeah. ‘dog. apostrophe-dog. it’s short for hot-dog.” Sans remarked as he handed Alice a juicy looking hot-dog.

“I don’t think you need to correct grammar when it’s spoken aloud.” Alice pointed out, a bit flustered as she handed the 30G.

“well just between us, my grammar’s usually incorrect anyway. i rest my lower-case.” Sans spoke as a matter of factly.

Alice looked puzzled at what Sans was trying to do. Whether it was a joke or some sort of advice was impossible for the little girl to determine. Letting the conversation go, she took a bite of the hot dog. It tasted simply scrumptious with a rich juicy meat, perfectly balanced bun, and some ketchup that Sans had put on it for added flavor. Alice was careful to eat it cleanly and neatly as she didn’t want to spill anything on her delicate attire. On the other end, Sans watched Alice with a grin. He often grinned towards Alice but usually the meaning behind the grin wasn’t always the obvious meaning. This grin was a poker face to hide the thinking going on inside his skull. This girl to him was still very much an enigma of sorts being smart but prideful, graceful yet flighty, eager but short-tempered. These traits both served well and had hindered Alice from what he could tell in the Underground. However, what was Alice ultimately hoping to accomplish? Freeing all the monsters was selfless but how’d that benefit her? Why was she so quick to put things she didn’t like or approve of down? All of it made her difficult to understand for Sans. Let alone the fact she was the newest human to drop down here…

“how’s the ‘dog?” He asked her, expertly hiding his reservations.

“Mmm… the meat is very tender and this bun is well-made! I see that Papyrus’s cooking aspirations might’ve come from you.” Alice said with a radiant smile.

it’s comments like that that throw me off the most, Sans thought as he looked a bit surprised. Might as well have fun with it though.

“you really like my sausage huh? you can have more if you really want to.” Sans winked as he attempted a more forward joke.

“Well it’s not quite your sausage… if anything it’s a sausage you’ve obtained or cut from another sausage and then cooked properly with all the other ingredients to make the hot dog. Also I believe one is quite enough, I would hate to overeat along my journey. Thank you for the offer.” Alice replied so innocently that Sans had to resist the urge to facepalm.

guess she probably wouldn’t know that kind of joke, he thought. Sans wasn’t counting though on what Alice asked next.

“Excuse me… Sans? May I be frank?”

“... i’d think ‘alice’ is more feminine than ‘frank’ but if you really want to you can be called frank.” Sans purposefully misunderstood her question.

“... Err, not quite what I meant Sans. I wanted to ask you something serious.” Alice folded her hands onto chest as she addressed him.

Sans knew he couldn’t show any signs of weakness in front of Alice. She was analytical and acute at discerning details that others wouldn’t think of attempting. He had to admit he knew a lot more about what was going on than he let on but he couldn’t trust her enough to share that with her. After all, she had openly berated his brother without a second thought and often displayed a sense of entitlement to gathering information or being in the right. He’d seen what that kind of attitude could lead into, particularly with them having the power of a human SOUL. Although he felt as though Alice was a lot more relaxed at this moment than other times he had spoken with her and he hated to admit it but he probably hadn’t helped comfort Alice as much as he could’ve at times. It was almost a good thing that Papyrus wasn’t around to see any of this as Sans felt he would be letting his brother down by not giving Alice the same level of trust that Papyrus did. Sans relented and allowed Alice to speak with a nod.

“... Have… I earned your trust yet? I’ve noticed how often you’ve reappeared along my journey… like you’re watching over me. It’s a bit reassuring but… recently I’ve suspected-”

“i’ve always had these stations alice. papyrus himself set them all up for me a while back, it’s not like i’ve been following you constantly.” Sans replied bristly, more than he intended to, after she used ‘suspected’.

“But weren’t you at Shyren’s concert? That certainly didn’t involve any sentry duties…”

caught. The skeleton flinched.

“well... i know papyrus talks a lot about you at home and wonders how you are doing. he’s also been dying to introduce you to his friend undyne. he’s been resisting the urge to ‘bone’ in and ask why you haven’t met him down in waterfall. that’s why i’ve been checking up on you alice, to make sure you were alright for papyrus.” Sans gave a truthful answer but also an off-topic answer.

Alice looked a bit embarrassed after hearing what Sans had said. It was a bit more of a positive reaction than Sans respected and lightened the tense mood just enough for him to regain his composure.

“O-oh…? He was serious about that. Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry… I’ll see about meeting up with him after I’m all finished with my journey… i-it’s the least i can do after hearing of how much he cares about me...” Alice stammered.

“he’ll be happy to hear that…” Sans said before clearing his throat.

“I suppose so… um, but in all fairness… do you trust me yet Sans? And if not what must be done to regain some of your trust…?” Alice asked again however, startling the skeleton.

“...”

Sans wasn’t sure how he should go about this. Be honest and risk her wrath or lie and risk her being suspicious? He appreciated that Alice was at least asking him how she needed to regain his trust. A dependency, and a vulnerability that Sans could actually read and understand… It wasn’t very nice of him to see her in this way but it was the way he had grown used to. He was prone to giving up on things like these.

“i-i can’t say i’d trust you with my will i can tell you that much but… if you really do fulfill that promise you made… to free the underground then i would trust you and repay you with some more skeleton puns.” He settled on a witty though kind statement. Or at least a statement that was rather kind in his mind, he wasn’t sure if he could trust Alice with kindness. Yet. yet at least sounds like something papyrus would say, he thought.

“I would really appreciate that Sans. Moreso the trust than the skeleton puns I’m afraid.” Alice replied earnestly.

“figures. most puns become unBONEable after a while. anyways, you should run along now alice. there’s a lot of cool stuff that can be found around here. have fun.” The skeleton prematurely ended the conversation, desperate to send Alice away.

Alice felt a bit uncertain with Sans behavior. Something did seem a bit unnatural as soon as Alice opened up the topic of trust and while Alice could tell when he was being honest, she could also tell when there was a careful and obvious consideration he was taking with his answers. If she had to compare it to someone it reminded her of the Mad Hatter, someone who could seem caring and considerate but then do confusing or contradictory things that made Alice frustrated. Here she wasn’t so much frustrated rather than more curious and a bit concerned of what Sans was truly thinking. Also he’s simply trying too hard with these puns lately, she thought in pity. She was a bit happy to hear Papyrus was still brimming with such care for her well-being even if he couldn’t follow her on her journey and a bit ashamed she had taken him seriously on his offer. The prospect of seeing Undyne anytime soon was still much too terrifying to take, even with Alphys’s unconditional praise about her. Alice knew she had to continue on her journey to and find a way to free the monsters and herself to earn everyone’s trust.

“Thank you Sans. I hope you sell more hot dogs today.” Alice spoke, curtsying politely before heading into the next area.

She regretted not being able to speak with the harpy and Vulkin but it did seem as though Sans wanted her to keep going and they seemed enamoured with their hot dogs so it wasn’t too big of a loss. She also decided to dial Papyrus’s number to give him a call, mostly just to see what he thought of Sans’s hot dog career. In all honesty, the little girl was smiling brightly for she was looking forward to this.

“WHAT? MY BROTHER’S ACTUALLY AT HIS STATION? BUT SOMEHOW, HE’S SELLING HOTDOGS INSTEAD?” Papyrus questioned with a potentially aggravated tone.

“You mean you don’t know where he got them from…?” Alice asked surprised.

“HARDLY! USUALLY WE ONLY HAVE SELECT GROCERIES, FOOD FOR MY PET ROCK, 28 DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA, AND CONDIMENTS!! SLACKING OFF BY DOING WORK… TRULY MY BROTHER IS A MASTER.” Papyrus conceded begrudgingly.

“He told me he was making money though… isn’t that advantageous for you two?” Alice offered.

“NO FURTHER COMMENT.” Papyrus grumbled before hanging up.

I guess this Papyrus only sympathizes with culinary escapades that suit his tastes, Alice realized. She found herself in the next area, which appeared to be an ordinary path with gears rotating in the background when she suddenly got another alert on her cell phone. Alice suppressed a groan to read it. ‘dinner with the girlfriend ; )’ along with a picture of what appeared to be a cat girl figurine next to a bowl of instant noodles.

“At least it isn’t the Cheshire Cat…” Alice said, noticing that the figurine looked a bit overexaggerated in its shape.

To her surprise, she got another alert but this time the post was from someone else entirely. Coolskeleton95 who posted a picture with the message ‘ARE WE POSTING HOT “PICS???” HERE IS ME AND MY COOL FRIEND’. Even without knowing who the username belonged to, the picture revealed exactly who Alice assumed this monster was. The picture was of Papyrus flexing in front of a mirror wearing sunglasses. Somehow he suddenly appeared to have giant muscular biceps over his bones and they were wearing sunglasses. It was a little dopey but Alice appreciated seeing a post from someone other than Alphys. This also means that I’m not the only one seeing these messages, Alice added thoughtfully, so that way I’m not as alone. Moments after that message from Papyrus, Alphys made another status update. ‘LOL, CoolSkeleton95! … that’s a joke, right?’ ‘THE ONLY JOKE HERE, IS HOW STRONG MY MUSCLES ARE.’ Alice giggled at Papyrus’s enthusiastic answer and finally stopped in place as she noticed that she was at a crossroads. Or at least there was a path leading to the left of her. Alice saw no harm in traversing that path and came upon…

“Oh it’s an apron! Aww… it’s stained though. I don’t think I could use this quite as efficiently as I would’ve liked.” Alice sighed with some disappointment upon discovering an apron lying on the ground.

Just at that moment, she found herself getting another alert but this time it was from someone she had never ever imagined…

“NAPSTABLOOK22…? Napsta…?” Alice looked surprised.

He was sending her a friend request with permission for her to either accept or reject it. Alice’s eyes sparkled in excitement, not only at the idea of him making her his friend but also her having him around indefinitely. Just as she was about to accept it though… Napstablook’s request rejected itself. Alice’s face fell dramatically and she looked a bit baffled. Perhaps he’s not comfortable on this sort of medium, Alice thought optimistically, I’d certainly understand in that case. Either way, Alice was glad to hear from him again in some shape or form. Little did she know that Napstablook was currently feeling very embarrassed at his home, a bit ashamed of his cowardice but also flustered of how close he came to a commitment. Alice decided to pick up the messy apron anyway, perhaps in the event she could find something to clean it with, she placed it into her pockets and went back onto the crossroads. Although when she arrived on the crossroads and stared straight ahead at what appeared to be empty black space, she noticed something peculiar. It was as though there was a transparent substance lying at the tip of the ground and the empty space, like glass. Alice’s eyes widened as she crouched down and tried to feel the empty space without risking falling down. It was a glass path of sorts, big enough for Alice to walk along and it appeared to go straight forward into the darkness. The little girl instantly felt a rush of excitement upon finding what appeared to be a secret path and stood up.

“I wonder where this path shall lead?” She asked herself as she crossed carefully but quickly along it.

It led to a lit up area that didn’t appear to possess anything special beyond three earth pedestals that held three cacti with yellow blossoms and a sign in the middle of the space. Alice frowned slightly at the fact there wasn’t anyone around or any particularly extraordinary sights. The sign looked promising enough to her so she walked over to read the sign. ‘Art Club: Meet here! Next meeting: October 11th 8PM’. Alice had to admit this was fairly interesting information. The idea of a Art Club in the Underground was quite curious to Alice as it was her first real knowledge of a group or a real pastime organization being functional in the Underground. Not even Snowdin appeared to have a club that met together for some activity, the Dog Guard notwithstanding as they were protectors. Although the extremely specific meeting time seemed unusual to Alice. It had not been autumn when Alice had gone to the park with her sister that morning so when had this sign been posted? Also why meet so late in the day? That seems rather counterproductive as you’re exhausted by then, she thought. Alice looked around the area to see if there was anyone around, which there wasn’t. It was probable it wasn’t October 11th but Alice still was curious to see if anyone would come. The worst thing that could happen was that King Asgore was in this Art Club after all so Alice called out,

“Hellooooooooooo?!! I’m here for the Art Club meeting!! Is there anyone around?!”

Several moments of silence later and Alice heard footsteps fast approaching. They sounded heavy though as opposed to the footsteps she would leave behind and whoever it was sounded like they were in a rush. Alice turned around quickly to see what it was and was astounded at what happened next.

“Ahhhh!!! I’m late!!! I’m late!!! I’m so sorry!!!” A squeaky and somewhat meek masculine voice hollered.

From the path Alice herself had took, a rather large and plump monster dashed towards her. He appeared to be some sort of lizard like Alphys but with bigger ears, a much longer tail, a yellow and brown marked skin tone, chubby arms, unusually shaped legs, a blue sleeveless vest, long and somewhat lustrous brown hair, a snout, and a dapper hat. It all together created one of the more intriguing if unusual monsters Alice had seen so far in the Underground. The creature skidded to a halt in front of Alice, blocking her in politely and then began to twiddle his fingers and shuffle in place rather nervously. Alice quickly identified his name as… So Sorry.

“... T-that’s your real name? But it’s a phrase.” Alice pondered in confusion.

He also seemed to be in the wrong time and space, much like Alice apparently.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! How clumsy of me… I’ve bumped into you. I’m such a klutz, I was just here to find something to draw and…” He lamented with an expression so pitiful Alice felt a desire to hug him.

“I assure you, you nearly bumped into me but you stopped just in the nick of time. There’s no need to fret.” Alice remarked.

“R-really? Oh, I’m so glad… I’ll give you a gift to make up for your troubles. Let me look in my vest!” So Sorry seemed relieved and turned around to start looking.

However, Alice didn’t realize quite yet until it made itself prominent that his tail was swinging slowly but precariously towards her and was the same color as the Blue attacks from Papyrus and the Orange lasers Alphys had warned her to move through to avoid damage. Alice however had little time to react and found herself being slammed to the ground by an orange tail.

“Oof! Oww… how big is that tail anyway?” Alice groaned as she held her cheek and struggled to get up.

“Ummm, I couldn’t find anything I want to give away. Wait, wait! I’ve got my notebook!” So Sorry cheerfully exclaimed as he pulled out a notebook with a smiley face on it.

Alice wasn’t sure whether to be cross at him being oblivious to hitting her or appreciative of him earnestly trying to find a gift for her. The notebook did appear to be quite adorable at the very least and perhaps now that she was more careful, she could avoid being accidentally hit again.

“Are you going to draw me perhaps? I’ve never been a formal model before…” Alice pondered aloud.

“Yeah, I’m quite the artist you know. I’ll draw you a GREAT picture!!!” So Sorry announced with almost a bit too much bravado.

After he turned around again to draw this picture, Alice found his tail swaying wildly again and this time was able to avoid being smashed. Then, So Sorry turned around to face Alice and held up his drawing to Alice, looking noticeably perturbed. The finished drawing on the open notebook page was… unusual to say the least. It was indeed Alice but there was something very off-putting about the way she was portrayed on that piece of paper.

“Ahh… um… w-why do I look so overstuffed in this depiction of me? A-and serpentine? I look like some bizarre stuffed animal.“ Alice remarked nervously as she suddenly felt flushed.

The picture in question portrayed Alice as though she was a lizard like So Sorry, but her body shape was completely swelled up and a bit grotesque if she had to describe it. It appeared she was exhausted as well in the picture and it just didn’t look flattering in the slightest. The only positive she could give the drawing was how So Sorry perfectly captured her clothes and her physical features. Alice hated to be unappreciative but it was such a bizarre art style and interpretation of her features that she felt a bit ashamed that this was how So Sorry saw her. So Sorry looked positively embarrassed upon Alice’s critiques and tapped his fingers sorrowfully.

“S.. sorry… the drawing didn’t come out very well. Wait! I know the problem! I just have to find a better piece of paper for it!” So Sorry spoke a bit more optimistically as he scrambled in his vest again.

“The parchment wasn’t the probl-oh! Hey!!” Alice groaned as she suddenly felt a surprisingly painful piece of scrunched up paper bonk her on her head.

So Sorry was throwing out lots of scraps of paper behind him, completely mindless of Alice’s positioning or the environmental threat it posed. Alice was able to easily step out of the way of the rest of the paper scraps but sighed in exasperation at the carelessness So Sorry was displaying. She was about to comment towards the anxious So Sorry but he once again was facing her.

“None of my papers are good enough to use… IT’S OK!!! I know what I can do!! I’ll-”

“Calm down already! You need to be a bit more careful as an artist to not lose your cool and to have confidence in your art form. I think your drawing was perfectly fine in terms of the quality, just the portrayal left a lot to be desired.” Alice halted his recklessness by clasping his arms tightly and speaking to him.

“O-oh…? You really think so… b-but how about I show you my magic pencil? As soon as I can find it under some of these papers somewhere!!” So Sorry stated.

“How about we look together?” Alice offered as she instinctively moved next to him as his back turned.

“T-through my vest…?” So Sorry asked a bit shocked as he rummaged.

“... W-well when you put it like that I suppose not.”

“Here! I got it!! My magic pencil is amazing! Everything I draw with it looks… COMPLETELY REAL!” So Sorry cheerfully held what looked like a very simple pencil.

“Oh, like DETERMINATION.” Alice said thoughtfully, holding a finger up.

“I don’t know what that is… b-but um here! Lemme show- EEP!” So Sorry scribbled something quickly but then cowered back when the results seemed to not be what he wanted.

At that moment, two unusual beings appeared on either side of So Sorry. They appeared to be of a round shape with two small horns, thin long arms, and small heeled legs. They looked very similar to the Loox Alice had encountered in the Ruins although with longer arms. They stood there, seemingly harmless but Alice was concerned about them due to So Sorry’s next words,

“Uuuuhhhh, oh no!! That’s a little too real!”

“Well you certainly weren’t overloading expectations then.” Said Alice.

They proceeded to spew out what looked like scribbled orbs at both her and So Sorry. Alice was nervous as to what they would do if they hit So Sorry and thus the little girl grabbed ahold of him and helped to navigate their way through the pattern of attacks.

“AHHHHH!!!” So Sorry shrieked in fear and perhaps nerves.

“Don’t worry So Sorry. At this point in my journey I can safely say handling these encounters is easier than croquet with flamingos and hedgehogs.” Alice tried to reassure him with some of her artistic visions and stood ready to face the drawings.

She found that she could ‘Draw’ something to counter the two drawings, perhaps with determination. Holding her fingers as though she was wielding a writing utensil of her own, she drew two boats that the drawings themselves found placed on. Amusingly, they sailed away into the empty darkness of the surrounding area. Indeed, it had been very effortless. Unfortunately their effects still lingered…

“I’ve messed up. I’ve really messed up. Oh no. I’ll just use a regular pencil! I’ll try my best!” So Sorry seemed desperate to try to prove himself.

“So Sorry... “

“Are you ready!? I just finished. Here’s your picture! What do you think!? It’s a representation of your deepest essence…” So Sorry held another picture he had drawn to show to Alice.

This picture however did appear to be remarkably different from the last one. It portrayed Alice lovingly telling So Sorry a story, her sitting on the ground daintily and while So Sorry did look very fat in the picture, he seemed to be enjoying the story. Their expressions were simply captivating and Alice looked very much true to herself in the picture, her dainty figure and all. It was at that moment Alice realized that she looked so unchanged, unscarred by all that she had endured in the Underground. She didn’t appear depressed or tired or weak, she was still full of life, eager, happy, and not at all terrified over her experiences. This was how So Sorry saw her, her deepest essence of someone who actually appeared to belong in the Underground or who was still being herself there. Even more than that, it was the same scenario Alice and her sister had been in before she fell in the Underground. Her sister had been reading her a history lesson that day in the park and Alice was listening. She wasn’t sure if this was a coincidence or some rare level of insight on So Sorry’s part, but being reminded of that memory was very appreciated. Alice looked as though she was about to cry at the sheer beauty of the piece and So Sorry noticed.

“It’s great, right!? … I-I mean I hope you don’t think it’s terrible or anything-”

“It’s priceless… I-I can’t imagine I still look like that even now… I seem so at ease and happy… it’s a wonderful drawing. Thank you so much So Sorry.” Alice curtsied elegantly as her first tear of happiness shed.

“Wow…! T-that’s one of the first times anyone has liked my art…! Maybe it was worth coming here despite it not being the right time… thanks so much uh… what is your name?” So Sorry asked, looking extremely relieved.

“Alice… a-and can I keep this please? I would very much like to show this to someone special to me.” Alice asked as politely as she could.

“Of course. I mean I do commissions all the time… though usually it’s oddly specific. I thought for you I’d try something a bit different since you didn’t like my last one all that much. Um… so what kind of art do you like?” So Sorry questioned as he handed Alice the drawing.

“Mostly paintings. I’ve always liked the idea of painting things in a number of beautiful ways, whether it be a house or a masterpiece or roses.” Alice answered, calming down from the initial awe of the drawing and putting it into her apron pocket.

“Painting roses…? T-that sounds familiar…”

“Apparently it is quite familiar to those in the Underground.” Alice remarked with a giggle.

I wonder if this means Wonderland is a very popular art subject, Alice thought recalling what Alphys had told her. However So Sorry looked around anxiously and sighed.

“I-I’d love to stay and chat with you some more and offer you Art Club membership, b-but  am a busy guy! Plus it’s not actually time for the club meeting... I hope we can meet again someday!” So Sorry bowed his head nervously and admitted what he was feeling to Alice.

“I would appreciate such a future meeting. Thank you again. I had a nice time.” Alice said sweetly.

“Goodbye! See you later! Sayonara! Nice knowing ya! Hasta la vista. … I should leave.” So Sorry said numerous farewells to Alice before ultimately dashing away from the scene just as fast as he had arrived.

Feeling enlightened after this fun and appreciated intermission, Alice returned to the crossroads using the secret path and then followed the proper path to the next area. Alice quickly identified two conveyer belts with three metal pedestals that boasted three red buttons. On the other side of the conveyer belt was a giant blue laser that seemed to have conjured a ball of said electricity in the middle of it all. Alice quickly deduced that this was probably another puzzle that she would have to solve. But before she could figure out for herself the requirements of this puzzle, her phone rang again. Considering she hadn’t been bothered once by the phone during her and So Sorry’s encounter, Alice found this an unwelcome reminder. Alice answered it with the slightest bit of hesitation.

“H… hi…! It’s Dr. Alphys.” Answered the very familiar lizard.

“Of course it is. Who else would be calling me this consistently?” Alice remarked with a huff.

She was aware that she was being rude and it’d be due to a scolding from her sister, but she felt exasperated with how often Alphys was using her phone like this. Not to mention it still made it seem like she was monitoring Alice far too often for her privacy’s sake.

“... Sorry… I-I’ll try to limit my calls in the future… ahem! This puzzle is kinda… um… timing-based. Y-you see those switches over there? Y-you’ll have to press all three of them within 3 seconds. I’ll t-try to help you with the rhythm!” Alphys explained.

Alice approached the conveyer belt closest to the switches and braced herself to be pulled along. She placed her feet upon the metal device and felt herself be tugged along. Careful to reach out her arms in time, she was able to trigger the first two switches successfully. Something bizarre happened though once she got to the third trigger, the phone rang again and disrupted her focus. Alice was stunned and confused and found herself losing her footing as she reached the end of the conveyer belt and fell onto the ground. Upon regaining her footing, she grimaced and answered the phone angrily.

“Excuse me Alphys but why did you call when I was attempting to solve the puzzle?!”

“OK! Now press the third butt… oh. …….. …….. H-h-hey! Looks like you!!! Only needed to press! Two of them!!!” Alphys rambled on as though she was going with the flow.

“W-what do you mean…?” Alice asked before looking up to where the laser once stood.

Indeed it had vanished, meaning the area was accessible to Alice although Alice hadn’t been able to see how and when it vanished due to being distracted by Alphys. It all seemed very much like some kind of mind game to Alice and she began to feel frustrated. Even worse, it seemed Alphys had hung up on the little girl, escaping her wrath. Alice frowned and stood up, dusting her apron and folding her arms angrily. She didn’t appreciate these sort of antics when she was trying to explore on her own and freely. Deciding she needed to calm down a bit, she elected to call Papyrus again.

“WHAT? YOU HAVE TO SOLVE A PUZZLE ON THE CONVEYORS? THAT GOES AGAINST PUZZLE DESIGN 101…” Papyrus remarked with distaste.

“They certainly aren’t as fun as your puzzles either Papyrus. The person helping me with the puzzles is also proving to be a bit obnoxious at this point. She keeps calling or posting stuff endlessly and I can’t even gain the time to reason about when Mettaton will strike again or the like!” Alice complained.

“OH, WELL I TOO CAN GET A BIT OBNOXIOUS… USUALLY WHEN IT COMES TO MY COOLNESS. I CAN BE SO UNDENIABLY COOL THAT MAYBE I OUTCOOL SOMEBODY ELSE. SO I HAVE TO COOL THEM UP TO BE EVEN COOLER! I-IS THAT A GOOD COMPARISON?” Papyrus asked.

Alice realized he had tried to sympathize with the person Alice was describing in a more intellectual way like she herself had used. It sounded a bit odd on Papyrus but it did seem that Papyrus knew she was referring to Alphys. In a sense he was saying that Alphys was almost being too doting on Alice and so maybe Alice needed to possibly prove to Alphys she didn’t need as much doting as she was very capable on her own. That sounded like a very convincing argument to Alice and would allow her to ignore Alphys’s phone calls without the guilt or dishonor of not properly answering to someone like her sister would’ve said. Alice nodded to herself and replied,

“I see what you mean Papyrus. Thank you for the ‘cool’ advice.”

“AND BEFORE I FORGET, REMEMBER THE ONE IMPORTANT OPINION I HAVE ON CONVEYORS. THEY ARE AWFUL AND NEVER SHOULD BE USED!!!””

“Agreed.” Alice said with a chuckle as she ended the conversation and kept going deeper into Hotland.

To Be Continued...
AT LONG LAST! I'm back in business ladies and gents, monsters and humans! ;) College semester is over so I got all the free time needed to get back to this amazing story of mine. By far my most successful fan-fiction ever, I'm really proud of myself for coming this far but I do feel bad about making all of you wait months for an update. Sooooo I posted a special journal with some EXCLUSIVE sneak peeks that you should definitely take a look at for a glimpse at some future scenes in Alice in Undertale.

Journal in Question: lolitafreak88.deviantart.com/j…

Now as for this chapter in particular... the most prominent thing in this chapter is definitely... So Sorry. I personally quite like the guy and I feel he fits in well with Alice in particular as both of them are artists and I definitely wanted to include him into this tale as unlike Gaster Sans, he doesn't really require postgame to get and based on the way you can encounter him in regards to Alice, she could definitely come across him on her journey if she looked hard enough. Plus he's a lot of fun in general XD. Also some big story hints with Sans and also as much as I wish I could've included the hot dog stacking, we know Alice wouldn't be caught dead trying to do something THAT silly. Still I think this chapter is fun, entertaining, foreshadows a bit, and is a good reintroduction into the rest of Alice in Undertale. I hope you enjoy ^_^.

Alice in Undertale Chapter 21 So Sorry Bout It

Previous Chapter: lolitafreak88.deviantart.com/a…
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MissJulyFarraday's avatar

*Sans makes a D joke to a pre-pubescent child*


FBI, OPEN UP!!!