Her Majesty

Chapter VIII - Descend

Chapter VIII - Descend

But then, Undyne heard a voice cut through the dark.

"C-calm down. We-we're just as-as scared, o-okay? Pl-please, j-just hear m-me out."

Alices had slipped out from behind her and was now standing between her and the humans, her hands held out in front of her and shaking, but she didn't move, nor did she run away.

The humans stared at her, clearly even more shocked at the better sight of her, but they didn't run away.

"We-we're... m-monsters," Alices then said carefully. They stared at her. "We-we came from the-the mountain--,"

"Holy s**t," the second human interrupted. "Those stupid nursery rhymes are true?!"

"I-I don't know," Alices admitted. "B-but I know we're j-just as scared as you."

"Alices," Undyne finally got out. Her voice was terse, and she saw from the corner of her eye the humans flinch from it.

Oddly, instead of making her feel better, it just made her feel... like a failure, somehow.

But she didn't bother to dwell on it; her eye remained on Alices.

"Get back," she added, moving a step forward.

"Undyne," Alices answered gently, slowly moving so that one hand was pointed at her, the other at the humans, as she stood in the middle. "It's okay. We have options, right?" She turned to the humans, trying to pretend that they couldn't see her hands shaking. "Y-you could b-both forget this, j-just head b-back down. C-couldn't you?"

"Alices," Undyne broke in. "Please, move back?"

She was starting to get nervous, especially when she saw the humans hesitate, some of their fear clearly abating.

"C-couldn't y-you?" Alices said instead.

"Uh," the second guy said, his own voice sounding small. "I... we've been drinking a bit," he admitted.

Alices offered him a small smile, nodding. "R-right!" she agreed. "You-you could th-think that this is all... just a bl-black-out!"

"Wait, but it's not, we're not that drunk," the first guy suddenly said, his eyes narrowing. "And you... Where are you going?"

"Alices," Undyne said again, not liking his sudden shift in tone.

"W-we... uh..." Alices looked over to Undyne for a moment, her expression panicked, before looking back, unable to smile. "We... d-don't matter," she concluded.

"No, no," was the sharp answer. "We're not that drunk. You're real. And... you came from the mountain."

Undyne's breathing suddenly went funny. She summoned up a second spear with barely a thought, and with one in each hand, she and Alices were definitely revealed to be monsters.

The humans moved back a bit, as they noticed her moving forward.

"We came from no where," she hissed out. Her eye glinted bright, but not from the reflection of her magic. "We're no one, and if you can't get that, I'll make sure you never tell anyone, myself. Permanently."

Alices stared at Undyne, now, her eyes wide. Undyne was glaring at the humans, now, her teeth bared and her stance poised. Alices could also almost feel something in the air, something almost visceral, as if she were instinctively meant to be afraid of something. For her, it was minute.

However, the humans were another story. Within the humans of Ebott especially, even generations later, was that latent fear of monsters - especially those who were at their most inhuman by possessing a human soul. Undyne had seven. They suddenly felt that deep, inherited fear fill them, and they were frozen by its potency.

Alices noticed and quickly turned to Undyne, carefully moving between the spears and putting her hands on Undyne's shoulders gently to stop her. Undyne didn't look at her for what felt like forever; it was as if her entire being was now focused on one thing, alone. And that was being threatened.

She was at risk.

Alices was at risk.

Everyone left in the Underground were at risk.

Though she felt sick by the idea, there was also a stronger part that knew that she could - and would - kill these humans if it meant protecting everyone. The feeling burned through her blood and steadied her hands - and also bathed her in power.

"Undyne," she heard Alices then say, her voice sharp and loud.

Undyne jumped, her mind suddenly yanked back from that haze, and her eye fell on Alices, the colour dimming and her expression calming as she did. Her heart was suddenly racing with the realisation of what she'd almost done, and the spears vanished in her shame.

Alices was a shadow in the dim light and her unaccustomed sight, but she could tell that she smiled, and felt her hands on her shoulders go gentle and almost soft.

"Stay with me," she added, her voice as kind as her hands. "We're okay. We're still okay."

Undyne nodded, staring at her while her eye slowly adjusted to the dark, again. She reached up and shakily placed her hands on Alices's forearms, nodding slowly, allowing herself to relax and move out of her stance.

"Thank you," Alices said, her voice sounding in such a way that had Undyne's heart racing again, but for different reasons.

This was made worse when she felt Alices touch her cheek briefly - so briefly she wondered if she imagined it - before Alices moved away, turning back to the humans.

"L-like I s-said," she said weakly. "We're... we're scared, too."

She had her phone in her hands, and the humans didn't notice it, their attention still on Undyne.

When Undyne jumped suddenly, feeling her phone vibrating, they did, too.

"It's okay," Alices said, holding up her phone and turning the flashlight app on, facing it at them but not at herself or Undyne. "I was just getting this out, t-to post a warning online, l-like you ad-advised."

Undyne was now shadowed a bit, she saw, so she reached for her phone and took it out, turning to hide its light from the humans.

Alices had sent her a text message: "We need to knock them out. So they can wake up and pretend it was a dream. I can stun them with my phone, so I need you to step back. Trust me."

She would always trust Alices, so she did exactly as asked, though she was nervous, still.

"What is that?" one of the humans asked, the second one. "Is that... is that a phone?"

"Yes," Alices said. "W-we have them, t-too. W-want to see?"

"Uh, sure?" he said, exchanging a look with his boyfriend. They moved closer, and Alices held it out to them.

The moment the second human touched it, there was a small electric shock, followed by a faint fizzing noise and two bemused grunts. The phone's light went out for a moment, before coming back on. The shock had been strong enough to not only hit the second human, but his boyfriend, too, as they were still holding hands.

They both dropped to the ground, dropping the phone as they did.

Alices jumped forward and grabbed her phone quickly, turning the light off. She stared at the humans, expecting them to get up again, unsure if the shock was strong enough to keep them down. However, the longer they waited, and the longer the humans didn't move (and kept breathing), the more Alices felt reassured.

"Let's go," she said, darting back to Undyne.

Undyne was staring at her - or at least the shadow of her - absolutely enthralled.

She couldn't help it.

She hadn't expected that, any of it: Alices having so quick a plan, how smart she was for even thinking of it, how she didn't hesitate to put herself in possible danger in order to make that plan work...

It was a side of Alices barely anyone got to see - and this was Undyne's first time seeing it.

And she was instantly smitten.

She stood there, her face burning, her whole body burning, really. She felt so much, all at once and all in one way, and she'd never felt like this before. She'd felt attraction to Alices, strong enough that she had to physically stop herself a few times before starting anything, but this... This was something she'd never felt before.

Within her, Undyne's heart not only raced, but blazed. The emotion she felt was overwhelming, but the degree of it was intense - and she knew she'd never been able to feel this way before now.

And it wasn't just because of Alices.

She didn't move, struggling to calm down. It was as if everything was catching up with her, and this was the final straw for her. She'd lost too much, too many, and needed to remember that she was still alive. And that she was alive, still, because of the help of one other person, one she knew wouldn't abandon her.

"Undyne!" Alices hissed out to her. "Come on! Before they wake up!"

"Alice," she answered softly, trying to say more but unable to find the words.

Undyne's tone had Alices veering back quickly in worry. Soon, she felt her hand quickly held and shaken gently, and she focused on the dim outline of Alices in the dark.

"Undyne, what's wrong?" Alices asked gently. "Are-are you alright? You-you didn't even use my full name."

Undyne swallowed, her eye searching Alices's, noticing the faint glint of worry there, even in this low light. Shakily, she reached up and carefully placed her other hand on Alices's cheek, startling her, but she didn't jerk away. Instead, her hands tightened a little for a moment.

"Are-are you...?" Alices asked, her voice wavering.

Is something wrong with Undyne? Why is she... why is she...?

Her thoughts died immediately when she felt Undyne's slightly-cool fingers brush over her cheek slowly. She felt herself blush, unable to help her body's reaction to this.

"Are y-you okay?" she finally got out, her eyes finally able to see her better.

Undyne looked... she looked...

Alices stared at her, now, in shock. It's the dark, it has to be the dark, there is no way...

But then Undyne leaned down and kissed her, right then and there and on the lips, proving Alices completely wrong.

Alices stood frozen, her hands grabbing onto Undyne's and holding tight, her whole body suddenly flashing hot. Undyne lingered for a moment, then moved to pull away, but then Alices reached up quickly and took hold of her face, pulling her back and returning the kiss at last.

When Undyne realised she not only was being held closer, but being kissed back, something almost seemed to break in her, and she slipped her arms around Alices's waist and pulled her up and closer, so that no air passed between them. Undyne closed her eye, the feel of Alices against her like a dream - both the feel of her in her arms, and the feel of her lips against hers.

For a moment - too long a moment, probably - they forgot everything. In that moment, they only remembered this one this they shared - sensed but barely acknowledged, known but never named. They kissed, and they both knew that their feelings matched. They held each other, and they both knew that what they'd wanted was always there.

Neither would ever forget it.

But then, shocking both herself and Undyne, Alices jerked away as though slapped, covering her mouth and backing away, her eyes wide.

"No, no, no," she whispered, stopping only when she backed into a tree. "No, no, we can't..."

Undyne stared at her, feeling suddenly very cold and very alone. "But... you..." she whispered. "You... do, too..."

"I know," Alices agreed, her voice choked. "I do. So much. So, so much."

"Then why--,"

"Because you're going to hate me," Alices answered, her voice a whisper, now. "You'll hate me soon, and break my heart... and I d-don't want... you to br-break it twice at once."

"What are you talking about?" Undyne wondered, her arms dropping to her sides. "You keep saying you have something bad to tell me, but you never do."

"Undyne, n-now isn't the time or place f-for any of this!" Alices snapped, turning away. "We need to put as much distance between them and us as possible, okay?"

She started down the mountain again, the flashlight app going back on.

Undyne let her go ahead, then began to follow. It was true, but it didn't slow her heart down, nor did it hurt any less.

"Okay," she said softly. "But, we'll talk about it then," she concluded, her voice sharp.

Alices said nothing. She couldn't. She was crying too hard to speak.