Every so often, as Alices and Undyne slowly made their careful way down the mountain, Undyne would hear Alices's phone vibrate. Granted, she was using it as a flashlight, so she already had it out, but every time it vibrated, Alices barely paused, switching between apps and replying quickly, not a misstep to be had.

Undyne was impressed; she knew Alices could multitask, but seeing it was something different.

"Everything okay?" she asked after the tenth one, her eye fixed on the ground beneath her boots.

"Yes," Alices said softly, her voice a little distracted. "It's just... the others. They wanted to know about you."

Undyne's eye flicked to her for a moment, noticing how carefully blank Alices looked. "What did you say to them?"

"I..." Alices hesitated. "Undyne, I... I lied to them, for now. I said we're still making plans."

Undyne nodded, surprising her. "Good," she admitted.

"Good?" she echoed in her confusion.

"Yeah," Undyne agreed. "We don't want to get everyone's hopes up if this doesn't work."

Alices stared at her for a moment; she was right. "What should I do once I go out of range?" she wondered.

Undyne thought about it. It was weird, being asked for advice like this. Truthfully, she was used to giving orders as Captain, but it seemed strange to be in a similar position with anyone else, let alone Alices. She realised, with a little lurch in her gut, that she might have to get used to that, and probably quickly, too.

"Just... let it. We can explain later," Undyne said after a moment. "Just hint that if you lose the signal that they're not to come to New Home, but stay hiding."

Alices nodded, hurriedly typing that down. It was very good advice, and once she sent that message, she peered at Undyne closer, noticing that her friend stood a little taller than before they started their walk. The closer they got to the city, the more nervousness she felt, but Undyne seemed to only feel challenged by it. She admired that. She certainly had confidence in Undyne - well, as much as possible; she was worried about Undyne's loose mouth - but she had zero confidence in herself.

Just enjoy what you have now, she told herself angrily. Because once she finds out all the lies you've told, you're going to lose her. This is all you'll ever have with her. Don't waste it, you idiot.

She bit back a sigh, blinked back a sudden sting of tears, and focused ahead. The flashlight app was a good one, and it lit a reasonably good amount ahead of them - which was good, as the path was rather rocky and uneven.

"No wonder brats fall," Undyne muttered, kicking aside a rock before Alices could trip or even step on it. "This place is a disaster."

"I'm starting to think..." Alices murmured. "I'm starting to think that they really have forgotten about us. I mean, if they were still afraid, wouldn't they have kept some humans around this mountain to keep watch? Wouldn't they still be here, even at night?"

Undyne nodded. She not only agreed, but found the sound of Alices's voice oddly comforting. She realised that she was feeling rather skittish, being on terrain she wasn't used to, under a sky so wide and endless. Even thinking about the sky made her heart race nervously, so she instead focused on Alices, and felt better.

"And remember," Alices continued, on a tangent, now. "When Asgore and the Queen were expecting their son, we'd integrated some of their technology by then, from the era they call 'the 80s'. And when their human child fell, it wasn't long after that. And it's been who knows how long since then!"

Alices sighed. "Time is a tricky thing. We get their technology and their media second-hand, so it's notoriously difficult to date any of it. Who knows what era we're in, now?"

Undyne was speechless. This was a very good point, one she'd never even thought of when consuming said media, yet clearly Alices had though of nothing but.

"It's been long enough that Asgore had six souls, from kids who fell," she said slowly.

"Yes," Alices agreed. "But even I don't know how long it took, and I worked with those souls... I-I m-mean... I..."

She winced as Undyne stopped suddenly, following suit so as not to lose her in the dark, and from the phone's light, Undyne's expression was clear: she was shocked.

"You what?" Undyne said, her voice odd.

Alices looked away, her hands starting to shake so hard the light wavered. "U-Undyne," she murmured, "th-this is prob-probably n-not the t-time for this..."

Undyne eyed her closely. She looked guilty and scared, as though trapped in a scenario that was painful to her. But Undyne was genuinely confused, and didn't like the sudden sinking feeling she felt when she thought about Alices said.

Worked with the souls? What does that mean? And why does she look that way...

But then, Undyne did trust Alices - quite a bit. If she worked with the souls, Undyne figured it was safe to assume that it was as the Royal Scientist, and thus for Asgore. She didn't like how Alices looked, but she still trusted her.

How can I not?

"You're right," she said, clearly surprising Alices, who looked over at her with that surprise. "Tell me later." She smiled. "Let's keep going."

Alices bit her lip, her heart aching. She went back to Undyne's side with a small nod, and again, they continued their journey.

Together.

At least for the moment.

Alices didn't know how long the silence hung over them, but it did. She was both concentrating on staying on her feet as well as trying not to think.

Therefore, when she was suddenly grabbed and pulled off the path, the sound she made reflected her shock.

Undyne's hand went over her mouth as she yanked Alices backwards into a shady patch of bushes and trees, quickly kneeling down with her. Alices stopped struggling once she realised, instead instantly paralysed by the sudden wave of fear that hit her. She grabbed hold of Undyne's arm and shut her eyes tight, Undyne holding her to her chest close.

"Don't move," Undyne whispered, and Alices nodded, her eyes opening but still half-blind with fear.

Undyne could feel her shaking in her arms, her claws digging into her arm so hard they stung. She had never seen Alices so afraid before - nor had she felt so afraid, either, which was why she held Alices so close; both for her comfort as well as Alices's.

Then, they both heard what Undyne had detected: several pairs of footsteps.

Alices shut her eyes again, and Undyne felt her moving closer to her, which was fine: it saved her from doing it, first.

"Shh," she whispered again, and she felt Alices nod.

They heard voices, and they weren't familiar, so they stayed still, opting for listening, instead, both trying to hold their breaths.

"This place is horrible," they heard one say. "No one comes up here anymore for a reason."

"Do you not want privacy or not?" The second voice was lower, teasing and sounding amused, and they heard the first voice laugh.

"You do have a point, sweetheart. But what if we fall?"

"I'll catch you."

"Cute, but I mean fall in, like the stories?"

"You really think that shit is true?"

The voices were slowly going away the higher they went, and suddenly Undyne realised that she couldn't let them go up there.

The barrier was broken, and the path, while not easily found, was still open.

She couldn't let anyone touch her people, ever again.

"Alice," she whispered, and Alices nodded against her hand. "I have to stop them."

There was a pause, but then Alices nodded again, her hands suddenly going soft on her arm. She then felt, against her palm, Alices trying to mouth something.

She pulled her hand away, and Alices said, "Not alone."

Undyne blinked at her, barely able to see her in the dim light, but she could see how serious Alices looked - despite how much she shook. And if she were honest, Undyne wanted Alices at her side, very much.

So she nodded, and together, they got to their feet

"Don't put any lights on," Alices whispered, as they followed the sound of the pair of humans. "Maybe if they only see us in the dark, they won't be able to tell what we are."

"That's... brilliant," Undyne agreed, realising that her only idea was to threaten them until they either fainted or ran away screaming. For yet another time, she was so glad that Alices was here.

"Let's go," Alices advised.

It didn't take long to catch up to the two humans, and when they were close, Undyne called out, "Hey!"

They stopped, and in the dim light, Undyne noticed that they looked like two human males. Neither looked threatening, but both looked surprised. Undyne suddenly felt Alices not only grab her hand, but move behind her, and Undyne held tight and moved so that she could shield her better.

"Hey," the second human answered. "Uh, what's up?"

Undyne suddenly saw him do the exact same thing with the first human as she did with Alices, which oddly made her feel... warm inside, though it was very small.

"I..." Undyne started, her voice suddenly weak. "You... you can't go there."

Inside, she was disappointed. This was her first contact with the surface? This was the first human with whom she'd speak to? A horny couple she only stopped to keep them away from the mountain?

Alices moved closer, her other hand going to Undyne's back, and she felt her claws dig in.

"Why not?" the second human asked.

"There's... there's..." Undyne hesitated, and Alices whispered, "A hole." She repeated it, adding, "It's pretty dangerous. We, uh, almost fell in."

The first human sighed in annoyance. "Aw, damn!" he said crankily. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure," Undyne agreed. "Very, very sure. It's too dangerous. We were just going back, to tell someone about it."

"Probably easier to just post it online," said the second guy. "It'll reach more people that way."

"Uh, right," Undyne agreed, her heart racing. "So don't go up there?"

Was it working? Was she fooling them?

They paused, exchanging a look.

"We can find another place, hon," the second guy said, and the first sighed again, but nodded. "Hey, thanks," he added, looking at Undyne, now.

"Uh," Undyne answered. "No problem. Uh. Anyway, we're gonna--,"

"Wait, I know I'm not high, so it can't just be me," the first guy said, peering around his boyfriend. "The one behind you, uh..."

Alices shifted closer, her shakes increasing. Undyne held her hand tight, swallowing hard.

"What about her?" Undyne said, her voice tight, her eye narrowing.

"She looks--," He hesitated, and Undyne gritted her teeth.

"Undyne," Alices whispered fearfully. "Don't."

"Actually, come to think of it..." The first guy was saying. "Even you look a little--,"

Undyne panicked.

There was no other word for it. She was scared, afraid for Alices, and she was still shaken up over everything else.

So when Undyne backed up a few steps and suddenly summoned up a spear, even she, herself, was surprised.

The blue light lit all four of them up, and she could easily see the sudden shock upon the humans' faces - especially when they saw Undyne clearly.

"Undyne," Alices cried, moving to her side and trying to lower her arm, in hopes of forcing the spear to vanish.

Undyne, instead, used her other arm and pulled her close to her side.

"What..." the second human shouted suddenly, his eyes huge on his face. "What are you?!"

Undyne was frozen inside, seeing that fear and finding herself confused by it, feeling one almost identical to it. All she could feel was the urge to protect Alices, to protect everyone, but seeing a similar look on a human's face... one so different than the first one she'd ever met face-to-face...

"Please," said the first human suddenly. "We-we don't know... we didn't know... What are you?!"

Undyne was breathing quickly, trying to find a way to speak, trying to find the words she needed to speak. But all she could think was about how many of her people had died from a single human and how, suddenly, she was faced with two - adult - humans, and no words would come. Instead, her grip tightened on her spear.

This was it.

This was what she was supposed to do.

This was what they were all counting on her for, and she was screwing it up.

But she was frozen in place. She was letting them all down, despite everything that had happened.

Asgore was wrong.

She couldn't do this at all.