Cohen stared at the measuring tape Alphys was wrapping around his knuckles. The orange paint on him was starting to peel off. "I'd have never guessed you were a weapons dealer, doctor"
"N-No, I'm the Royal Scientist, but I thought I should h-help, since you g-guys helped me...and since I didn't get a Persona..."
"Why's that? Was your Shadow too tough?"
"No, Syphus and Annie defeated her, but I...I wasn't brave enough" she really didn't want to keep talking about that. This human had managed to do it, from what Annie had told her. Now Alphys was measuring his hands to be able to adjust the gloves and knuckles she had created. Syphus had also left the most recent piece for the barrier-shattering spear, as well as even more materials for more weapons to be made. All in all, Alphys had a lot of work to do.
Alphys glanced at the screen that was currently showing different parts of Waterfall. There was a human child with a striped sweater traversing that area of the Underground, she had been following them through the video feed, thanks to all the cameras installed throughout Waterfall. From time to time she'd take out her cellphone and tell Undyne about where the child was. Syphus had said the child would be okay, and Alphys really hoped he was right.
Her reaction when he had asked her to tell Undyne about that child's presence in the Underground had been of disbelief. Why'd he want that? The child would be in danger! But he had said it was necessary, that the child was expecting to meet Undyne, and that they should heed their wishes. "And one thing more, Alphys: they'll need help to pass through Hotland too. Do you think you can do something about that?"
"I-I'm not sure, I could think of something, but..." her mind had immediately gone to the charade she had organized with Mettaton. She wasn't willing to do that anymore, but maybe she could modify it so it wouldn't have as many lies and deceit as before? Instead of digging a deeper hole for herself she'd try to amend her mistakes, be honest with the child from the beginning. "Leave it to me" she had decided.
Ananas was sitting near the screen, watching that unknown kid walking through parts of Waterfall she didn't know. "Uh, Cohen, are we sure Syphus knows what he's doing?"
"To be honest I don't think he does. That guy's many things, but a clever strategist he's not" he scowled, putting on his leather gloves "Why'd you agree to go along with this, doctor?"
"It's what the ch-child wants"
"Then that child has a death wish. I have heard so many things about Undyne and none of them is good. We should get that kid to safety"
"No! A-And Undyne isn't so bad..."
Ananas gasped, approaching the screen. "Monster Kid is there too! He'll keep them safe"
"That kid?" Cohen made a skeptical face and turned away from the screen. It was unlikely one child would be able to protect anybody against someone like Undyne.
Time passed. Ananas had been partly right, just by being there, Monster Kid had saved the human child at least once. Cohen wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose or not – well, it had to be on purpose. Monster Kid knew about humans; it was impossible he wouldn't know that was a human. "Cohen, do you think they'd get a Persona?" Ananas asked, watching them.
"I doubt it. That's just some random kid, what'd they be able to do"
"Then what about someone in the village? Byssa could kick the Shadows while you punch them"
Cohen hid the face of displeasure he made. Byssa? As if. "Definitely not. And nobody else has any fighting skills. We'd have better luck trying to convince Undyne to join us"
Ananas scratched one of the false eyes she had glued to her face. "So it'll be just us three...she won't help us"
Alphys brought them some ramen for the wait. "I t-think Undyne would help you, if...if she knew what w-was going on"
"Even if we're humans?"
"I don't s-see why not. I know Undyne, she'd help"
The problem was that it'd need someone to attack her and make her fall down for there to be a chance for Undyne to get a Persona. "And nobody would be as stupid as to try to harm Undyne" Cohen said to himself, sitting on the couch while Alphys looked for something to watch with them.
Ananas was about to say something else when she saw the child advancing towards where Undyne was waiting. It was almost time.
-ooooo-
Deep in thought, Syphus almost didn't see Undyne standing on top of a stone arch, only when he heard murmuring he looked upwards. Undyne was talking to herself, practicing a speech and making dramatic movements with a spear, clad in her heavy Royal Guard armor. "Undyne?" Undyne interrupted her practice, glaring at Syphus.
"What do you want? Keep going, there's nothing to see here"
If Undyne was waiting here, then that meant... Frisk is coming. He had to find Frisk before they confronted Undyne, he wanted to talk and make sure they'd be okay – and make a SAVE point, just in case. There was always a possibility Frisk would fail and die, and that was something Syphus wouldn't tolerate. Syphus was going to do anything to ensure everyone would survive in this final timeline.
...everyone? I'm forgetting something, what is it?
There wasn't really much time to sit down and try to remember what it was. Undyne's location meant Frisk should be nearby. The path towards the rock arch was devoid of any bystanders, Syphus waded through the water, staying alert for anyone that may be approaching. He was walking slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. Would Frisk change their mind if they saw him? Maybe. He wasn't going to risk that.
Just as expected, soon he heard the steps of someone approaching, splashing in the water. Syphus covered his mouth and dashed towards the wall, all caution thrown into the wind. Hoping the darkness near the walls would be enough to conceal his white feathers and shirt, Syphus curled in the water, keeping his eyes above the surface and holding his breath.
Frisk entered the passageway, continuing forward without suspecting anyone's presence. They passed in front of Syphus without noticing him, and turned around the corner. Okay, it's time Syphus thought, standing up and ignoring the wet clothing sticking to his skin. Controlling his breathing and making sure to step on solid ground as much as possible, Syphus followed Frisk. There was something nerve-wracking about trying to be stealthy. Every step he took sounded like it reverberated in the cavern, his breathing sounded like a gale to him. He felt like in any moment he'd make some noise that'd make Frisk turn around.
They never did. After a few tense minutes, the rock arch was visible. Syphus extended his hands and made a SAVE point, just in case something went wrong. Frisk stopped, staring at the arch in the distance, and gathered their determination. "Everything will be okay" they were saying, stepping forward very slowly, keeping his head up, showing no fear.
Syphus observed how Frisk got in front of the rock arch and tried to pass through it, only to be stopped by Undyne, out of Syphus' sight. How after a speech Syphus barely heard she jumped to the ground, ready to fight Frisk. Frisk being given a spear to defend themselves against Undyne's bullets, the child handling the spear with a lot of ease – as expected from having done this countless other times.
Once she got tired from trying to reach Frisk with one of her bullets, she jumped forward and swiftly knocked the spear out of Frisk's hands, that spear vanishing and leaving them defenseless. Not even for a moment Frisk looked at a loss of what to do, though. As soon as spears crossed the air, trying to strike them, Frisk dodged them with ease, their red SOUL avoiding the worst part of the attacks. They had perfect control over its movements, instead of having it as close to as possible to themselves like Syphus had done in his own FIGHT with Undyne, they weren't afraid of having some distance between their SOUL and their body. Spears whizzed between them, Frisk threw themselves onto the floor, rolling, standing up and always keeping their eyes on Undyne. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, trying to aim at the floating red heart, but it was as if Frisk was predicting her moves, no matter how many spears she created or from what directions they flew, she hadn't touched neither Frisk nor the SOUL not even once.
"Nghaaaagh! Stop moving!" she yelled, turning the SOUL green and once again passing a spear to Frisk for a fair match. Knowing what they had to do, Frisk made sure to keep their SOUL close to them, again repelling all the bullets with the spear Undyne gave them.
The cycle continued for a moment before Frisk had the chance to flee. As soon as his SOUL returned to its normal color, they ran forward, looking like they're going to lunge at Undyne. Undyne grit her teeth, steeling herself for impact, but Frisk changed directions at the last second, going towards the path behind Undyne. "Where do you think you're going, punk?!" Undyne shouted, getting into the pursuit. As soon as they got out of sight, Syphus advanced to try to keep an eye on them. He got to the rock arch just in time to see Frisk managing to escape again, much to Undyne's frustration. Her screams of anger reverberated in the cavern.
In matter of minutes Frisk managed to lead Undyne further away, towards Hotland, with Syphus keeping his distance far behind them. Despite Syphus' fears, Frisk was doing extremely well, getting away despite being caught a couple times. The temperature of the atmosphere started warming up, the red glow in the distance turned larger, until Undyne and Frisk were no more than silhouettes, framed against the opening at the end of Waterfall. Undyne caught Frisk, grabbing them and shoving a spear in their hands. "That's enough! Stop running away! When are you going to fight?!"
Frisk didn't reply, instead dropping the spear onto the ground and running again. "Again?!" Undyne shouted, having realized she forgot to turn Frisk's SOUL green. By then Frisk had gotten to the sentry station, passing in front of Sans sleeping there. Syphus, taking a bit of a risk, got closer, until he could see the other side of the bridge over the large chasm full of lava. He stepped on the bridge, trying to look forward, the wood creaking beneath his foot. He started to advance, hoping to be subtle enough to not be noticed-
"hey"
Syphus jumped backwards, not having expected someone to talk to him. Sans, having opened an eye socket, was looking at him with amusement. "Be quiet, Sans!" Syphus urged as softly as possible, without turning to look at the skeleton.
"so you managed to catch up to them. kudos to you, bud. now what?"
"Now I—here she comes" Syphus got behind the sentry station, crawling inside it to hide. Sans was gone, the station was empty, so he huddled underneath the counter, listening to Undyne's heavy steps. When the clanking of her steps was gone, he peered over the counter, not seeing neither Undyne nor Frisk.
"you don't have to hide anymore, 'phus"
Caught off-guard again, Syphus slipped in his attempt to get under the counter again, hitting his chin against the wood of the station. "Could you stop disappearing and appearing over and over?" he groaned, holding his jaw.
"sorry. habit. but really, what're you gonna do now?"
Syphus let go off his jaw. "I suppose I'll try to talk to Frisk, ask how things are going...it has been a while since I talked to them"
"you don't think they're capable of doing whatever they want to do?"
"That's not it, I just want to make sure they'll be okay. That's what friends do"
Sans shrugged. "did you know in every other timeline i have gotten info on the kid got out of the underground two weeks ago? this is the most they have lived here"
"I get it, Sans, my presence and other stuff made everything different. You don't have to tell me again" Syphus was about to add something else, but when he turned his head around he found Sans was gone again. That skeleton is going to give me a headache one of these days Syphus thought, standing up and going towards Alphys' laboratory. Cohen and Ananas were supposed to be waiting there – if not at the village, as agreed, but if Undyne and Frisk had been going around Waterfall he really hoped they had chosen to be at the laboratory.
Well, at least he was sure Undyne hadn't killed them and obtained their SOULs, or she'd have reacted differently to Frisk, mentioned she had some SOULs already, something. They had to be okay. I hope.
-ooooo-
They were okay. Syphus escorted the rest of the team back to the Hidden Village, hearing them talk about Alphys. Cohen thought Alphys was a respect-worthy person, and Ananas was talking about the wonders of anime, having never seen something like that ever before. "Do you think there are magical cowboys? Can I be a magical cowboy?" she was asking, with a spring in her step.
"You're already magical" Syphus said.
"Oh. Right! I'll need to think of a pose. Magical Bullet Attack!" she spun around on one foot before aiming with her fingers forward "Something like that"
Cohen turned his head around away from her. He looked like he wasn't sure he should smile at that. "Blame Alphys for that"
"You liked anime too, I know you did" Ananas said, making the old man feel sheepish, admitting he did enjoy it.
Overall it was a nice day, everyone was satisfied. Once Syphus made sure Cohen and Ananas would be safe at the village, he left, hoping to find Frisk. If he remembered right, after the fight Frisk would go to Undyne's house with Papyrus, so they had to be there. Not wanting to intrude, Syphus instead stood aside the pond near Undyne's house, playing with the brooch pinned to his clothes.
Everything was going rather well...maybe a bit too well. Could things be so simple? Be prepared to get into someone's SOUL, defeat their Shadow Self, gather stuff, give it to Alphys, and repeat until everything was over? It seemed a bit too simple. He was starting to feel there had to be some sort of trap, some obstacle yet to come, but he couldn't imagine what it could be. He was still mulling that when from the corner of his eye he saw someone coming. Caught by surprise, he ran to a side, instinctively bracing himself for an attack.
"Woah!" Syphus got as close as possible to the wall while Undyne zoomed by, with no armor. She greeted him with a big grin without stopping, and vanished in the depths of Waterfall. That was unusual. It was true Undyne was energetic and prone to showing off her physical prowess, but why would she be running like that? Did something happen, or...oh! Right! There was one moment where Undyne would run all the way from her home to Snowdin, and that was right after she and Frisk turned friends. Finally!
Effectively, Syphus found Frisk right when they were leaving the passageway that led to Undyne's house. They seemed to be in excellent mood, humming cheerfully. "Frisk! Over here!" Syphus approached Frisk "You look happy today!"
"Undyne is my friend again" Frisk said, grinning brightly.
Good! Frisk's plans were going just fine. "Has any monster attacked you? Do you have enough healing items?" he kept asking questions like those, Frisk patiently answering them, until they passed in front of the entrance to a snail farm. Frisk stopped, looking with attention. When Syphus was about to ask if they had seen something strange in that direction the child asked an unexpected question:
"Do you want to race snails?"
Although Syphus wasn't sure why Frisk would suggest that, he accepted. The ghost that manned the farm seemed happy to have visitors in the farm – Syphus wasn't sure, he couldn't read the ghost's tone - and prepared the Thundersnail terrain for the race. Frisk generously paid every time and managed to always win, gladly letting Napstablook earn the so-called profit of one coin. The longer they raced the more thoughtful they looked, until they got tired of the game.
Frisk didn't choose to leave the farm, though. Instead they leaned on the fence, staring at the snails, with melancholic expression. Syphus watched the snails slowly going around the terrain. "You went silent, Frisk. What're you up to now?"
"You're still doing stuff with the timeline, right? You're the one who can SAVE and LOAD now"
"I'm on it. Don't worry and leave it up to me" he supposed Frisk was still concerned about how things would go with someone who wasn't them having such ability. He was mistaken, though.
"Okay" Frisk got on the fence, precariously leaning forward to look better at the snails "...I'm not used to not being able to LOAD...I have gone through the Underground many times. You know that, right?" Syphus nodded "I have been doing the same things over and over, I want to free monsters and help them live over the surface, but we always return here. I lost count how many times I have done it, and despite all that...I haven't given up yet! And I don't want to give up" Frisk swallowed, closing their eyes, and asked:
"Is that bad?"
"Why'd you think that?"
"I have been doing this for so long and I don't want to give up. It's the same thing every time. I feel I'm like a thousand years old already"
Syphus fretted, uncomfortable. His obsession to look for a perfect timeline led to this kid not being able to continue further than the same months over and over, even if Frisk themselves looped back countless times by their own choice. Trying to suppress budding feelings of guilt, Syphus hunched over, not looking at them. "I don't know. You tell me why you do the same thing over and over"
"Because I want my friends to be happy" Frisk replied immediately, they seemed rather sure about that "I like Papyrus, and Sans, and Undyne, and Alphys...and Mom and Asgore. I like all the monsters, and I want everyone to be happy over the surface"
Syphus smiled a bit. "Then there's nothing bad about that! You're worrying too much"
Frisk scratched the wood of the fence, frowning. "I never get tired of meeting them, and being friends with them over and over again...what if I'm doing something wrong and that's why the timeline keeps repeating?"
"Listen to me: it's not your fault"
"I LOADed lots of times. Even if that's bad I don't want to stop. But...but it's different now, I can't SAVE or LOAD. I'm scared of what'll happen if I make a mistake and I die forever..." Frisk's voice started trembling "...a-and if one of my friends accidentally k-kill me...that'd be worse, and I—"
Despite the repeating timelines, despite technically being hundreds if not thousand years old and trapped in the same few days, weeks or months over and over...Frisk was still no more than a child, a determined child that only wanted the best for monsterkind. That was easy to forget, but now, seeing Frisk so scared about the possibility of a permanent death, Syphus felt both pity and increasing guilt. "Okay, seriously, listen to me" he said, taking a sterner tone "I'm rooting for you. You won't let me go with you, but I'll protect you the best I can. If anything happens to you I'll bring you back no matter what, so don't be scared"
"I'm not scared! I just don't want to die..."
"Then don't let it happen" that sounded like an obvious statement, almost idiotic, but what else could he say? "Keep healing items with you at all times. Don't rush into anything. Be careful, and the most important part of it all: believe you'll survive. You have survived thousands of times, you can survive one time more" Despite how generic it all sounded, Frisk seemed to be listening attentively, as if they were being revealed something extremely important "Besides you have your friends' support! Don't be afraid of asking them for help"
"I see. I'll be careful" something in Frisk's voice showed they weren't completely satisfied with what Syphus had said, but they appreciated the effort.
Frisk confided their worries on you.
The Human Child Social Link has reached Rank 5!
Your power to create Personas of the Fool Arcana has grown!
"So what's your plan now? Go into Hotland and hope for the best?"
"Yes. I have to see Alphys now" Frisk was about to explain who Alphys was, but Syphus stopped them, saying he already knew her. "I'll get going now. By the way...Syphus, have you met a..." they stopped.
"Met who?"
"Has a little yellow flower tried to talk to you?"
In that moment Syphus felt his heart plummeting. That was it. That's what he had forgotten. Flowey...what was he doing? He wouldn't just stand aside and let stuff happen, surely Flowey would try to get involved, watch closely what was going on. Where was he? "N-No, no flowers at all. Why, have you seen one?"
Frisk frowned. "No, I haven't"
-ooooo-
Sisyphus looked up from the board, leaving the pieces to continue their lives without his input. Instead he looked at Cornio, with impassive expression. "Where's Flowey?"
"What do you mean?" Cornio looked straight at Sisyphus' eyes, even though he wanted to divert his attention anywhere else.
"That flower's not going to sit back without getting involved somehow, but I haven't seen not even trace of him anywhere" Sisyphus leaned forward, putting his elbows on the edge of the table and resting his face on his hands. He sounded very calm, but something about his tone put Cornio in high alert. Trying to get an idea of what to do, Cornio glanced at Lucia, who mouthed a single word:
'Lie'
"Flowey is my—my secret attack. You know how that is, in a game you prepare lots of strategies. This is another awesome strategy I have prepared!"
The lie seemed to calm Sisyphus down. Although he was skeptical about it, he chose not to continue pressing about it, hoping Cornio knew what he was doing. "Oh, alright, that makes sense! Sorry, for a moment I thought something had gone wrong with the timeline"
"That's impossible, Syphus. We don't make mistakes like that" Lucia intervened, grabbing him from the shoulder and making him sit back on his chair "Keep going, okay? Don't worry too much"
"Right. Okay, what happened the next day, Cornio?"
-ooooo-
The moment Syphus returned to the Hidden Village again he tried to contact Papyrus. If he remembered right, Papyrus was the most likely person in the Underground to know about Flowey, and if not him, then Sans. Someone had to know! Only when he had Cohen's cellphone in his hand he realized he didn't have a way to contact them besides going all the way to Snowdin, he didn't know his cellphone number. Since going all the way to Snowdin so late at night was something he didn't want to al, all he could do was ask Ciruel if he had heard anything.
"A yellow flower?" Ciruel crossed his arms, thinking "I haven't heard Paps mention anything like that. Is it important?"
"Very important"
"Then I'll ask him next time I see him" the scholar adjusted his glasses "Not to be rude, but why don't you do it?"
Syphus looked around, as if he expected Flowey to be watching "There could be trouble if I do. I want this to be kept as secret as possible" Although Ciruel didn't look satisfied, he accepted to ask Papyrus about that next time he saw the skeleton. Now that the scholar had been asked to do that, the next day Syphus started working on what he'd planned to do ever since Alphys told him Toriel made the Royal Guard's armors.
New Home was the capital of the Kingdom of Monsters. Built around the Royal Castle, it was a group of gray buildings where all kind of monsters resided. It wasn't a particularly large town, taking around ten minutes to cross on foot. Besides the hospital, the aquarium, the castle itself were the most notable buildings, especially since the castle had more than enough space to allow all sorts of activities and groups to reside in. It was to be expected New Home's Royal Guard Headquarters would be at the castle. Okay, Syphus, you just have to go inside and not be suspicious. It wasn't like anyone would find out he looked human, not as long as he had the brooch. So what if he was going to be in the same building than the King of All Monsters, the one who had declared war against humanity and indirectly forced several humans huddle miserably in a place in Waterfall? Everything would be okay.
"Can I help you?" 027 was standing guard at the entrance of the headquarters. Syphus approached and explained why he was here. 027's stood up straighter, surprised "Now this is new! Go inside, we'll get the current person in charge to see you"
"You mean Undyne?" she was the captain, after all. Would she be the one to welcome him? 027 shook her head.
"No, the deputy will do it. Captain Undyne had an emergency at her home" 027 looked around, inflating her cheeks like a frog, and leaned forward "I heard she burned her house again!"
"...again."
"It happens every few months. You'll see, she'll build a new one all by herself. She always does. Oh, there comes the deputy"
Just like she said, another monster, dressed with the armor everyone in the Royal Guard had, approached, holding a clipboard. It took Syphus a moment to recognize that monster. Oh no. "Someone came to try to be an aide? About time somebody—" Royal Guard 047 stopped, having recognized Syphus too "You have got to be kidding me"
"You know him?"
The monster made of clay's featureless face seemed to crinkle, but he simply sighed. "Kinda. Come over here, we'll start" 047 took Syphus to the depths of the headquarters, taking him to a large storage room where lots of armors were strewn on the floor. Swords, halberds and other types of weapons were attached to the walls, and a large shelf at the far side of the room had several jars of mixtures Syphus hadn't seen yet. 047 rummaged through the armors, talking all the way. "I can't believe my luck. I know the Underground is a small place, but of all people you had to be the one to come"
"Look, I'm sorry for everything that happened before, okay?" Syphus hurried to say, something 047 didn't seem pleased to hear.
"Forget that already. If it were up to me I'd tell you to get out, but I can't, so I'll give you a fair chance. Don't cause trouble and you'll be okay" he warned, passing a large breastplate and a jar of shiner "There's a lot to do everyday so speed is essential. Show me your technique"
Despite 047's obvious dislike, he wasn't lying when he said he'd give Syphus a fair chance. He made sure to give precise instructions, almost spartan-like, and appraised Syphus' effort with no intentions to mince words. "Disgraceful. Look here, the hilt of this sword is starting to fall down. You have to attach it tighter than this!"
"Like this?" Syphus pushed the blade deeper into the hit
"If you want it to fall apart in a guard's hands then yes. Now leave that aside and look at these armors. Look at where the joints of the arms fit into the rest. Some of the guards have more than two arms, the care for their armors is different"
There was a lot more variety in this job than Syphus had expected. Coat the right armors with cooling dirt, make sure everything was in top-shape, examine the manual weapons to make sure a monster's magic would be channeled properly, organize the helmets according to the guards that would be in duty later and the next day...it was no surprise the Royal Guard needed help, it was a lot of work to be done. "Very few helmets are the same. Some guards have ears, other have fins, other need different shapes for their heads – part of the job would be to make inventory and make sure every guard has at least one spare helmet"
After a couple hours, 047 wrote a few more things on the clipboard and sighed. "Okay, listen here: I don't like you, and you fall way below my standards. It's obvious this is the first time you hear about most of this stuff, you didn't even bother to research what the job would entail. Are you sure you want to work as an assistant here?"
I need to. It'd make things a lot easier for my team. "I'm sure of it"
047 rubbed his chin, making a noise that sounded like grinding stones. "Then you're hired. Come whenever you can"
Syphus blinked. "Wait, what? Just like that?"
"There aren't that many monsters in the Underground. You're the only one who has come here in two weeks. I doubt you'll come every day, but try to be here as often as possible. The pay is nothing amazing, but you should have no complaints" 047 didn't have a face, but Syphus was pretty sure if he did, it'd have a very smug expression "And you don't look like the disciplined type to me. We'll keep looking for more assistants" It wasn't like Syphus was in liberty to protest. He really needed the job if he wanted access to good armors for the team. 047 took him to the hall, pointing at the entrance "Now get out of here"
What mattered is that he had been successful. So what if 047 didn't like him? He had obtained the job and that's what mattered.
-ooooo-
There was something awkward about measuring someon's body, in Syphus' opinion, so he left it to an expert. Byssa, self-proclaimed seamstress of the Hidden Village – having made the robes and shawls everyone wore in the village - agreed to give Syphus the measurement for armors. "That's purely hypothetical, right? You're not going to get them armor"
"Of course not! Where'd I get one anyway?"
Byssa had laughed derisively. "You're not fooling anyone, everyone's seen those weapons you three have. What are you all planning?" Syphus refused to answer that, so she shrugged "Fine. That's none of my business. Let's start with you. Extend your arms to the sides"
It seemed that leaving the weapons and other stuff somewhere else was a good idea. Alphys' laboratory seemed like the best option.
Getting access to the paperwork to request armor was rather easy. 047 pretty much shoved it into his hands. "Take notes. The crew at Waterfall have been losing their armors lately, we need these replacements..." he said before relaying a dozen or so armor parts they needed. Now the problem is to convince Undyne to sign the orders for Syphus' team's armors. Unlike the day before, Undyne was that day at the headquarters. Syphus found her in her office, stretching and trying to touch her toes.
"...that couch is the worst thing ever. It must be filled with rocks or something" she was muttering when Syphus entered. "Syphus? You're the new assistant? Congrats, I didn't think you'd really have the guts to try!"
"I have the guts to go wherever I want!" Syphus grinned cockily, passing the paperwork to Undyne and trying to think of the best way to bring up what he was looking for. Seeing the small pile of paper, Undyne sighed, rolled her eyes and sat on her desk, her armor clanking.
"Damn it, more of this stuff..." Undyne frowned "Wait, what's this? And this one?" she took out from the pile the paperwork for Syphus' requests.
"Yeah, about those—"
"027 is the only one around here who's close enough to this size, but she doesn't need new armor" Undyne looked up from the paperwork "Do you know about this?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Those are for me"
"For you?" Undyne looked at the measurements in some of the paperwork, then back at Syphus "You're a scrawny twig, snake, but that'll be too small even for you"
You could have said that without the 'scrawny twig' part! "Look, I can give the materials and the money to make it, but I can't go see the Queen and ask her just like that"
"Ooooh, I see now. You're trying to use the Royal Guard as your way to get her to do what you want without even bothering to ask her face to face" she narrowed her eye "That's scummy, Syphus"
Syphus' feathers flattened, he had the good grace to look embarrassed. "I'm not happy about having to resort to this kind of strategy. I really don't want to bother the Q—our Queen"
For a moment Undyne said nothing, looking at Syphus with an intimidating glare. The fact he had tried to do this was something she didn't like. Couldn't he have asked the Queen directly? That was what bothered her the most, that he was behaving cowardly. "...wait a second...you presented yourself to the Royal Guard just to ask me this!" she realized, actually sounding upset about that. Syphus nodded slowly, chastised.
"Yeah, that was what I was hoping"
"What do you want armor for, anyway? Are you going to try to pretend to be part of the Royal Guard? Is that it?!"
Damn it, no! "No, of course not! I just...one's for me, the others are for a couple friends. Undyne, we need armor urgently. If we could, we would get it from somewhere else, but we need some really good stuff" Syphus tried to emphasize that, looking a bit desperate "I'm not kidding, we need all the help we can get!"
Undyne's immediate thought was to say no, but then she thought a bit more. If Syphus went as far as to get a labor-intensive job at the Royal Guard for this, then he must be rather desperate. Besides, was he really the kind of person that'd do something bad with these armors? Undyne wanted to believe he wouldn't – the problem was that he was rather underhanded. He looked meek and harmless, but this was the second time he tried to pull the wool over her eyes. What was up with him?
"...fine" her mouth formed a line, realizing what she had just said. She decided it'd be cruel to back off now, so she continued "Look, as long as you don't do something bad with these then I suppose this is okay" she signed the paperwork, commenting: "If this small armor didn't have arms or needed a tail I'd have thought it was for Monster Kid, you know" Once everything was in order, Undyne got off the desk, starting to lead Syphus out of her office "Bring me the materials and pay the gold, and you'll get the new armors in one day, got it?"
"Thanks, Undyne, I owe you a big one, seriously!"
Undyne grinned broadly "And you'd never fool me. I know who's in the Royal Guard. These are the people I work with for a common goal! A few dozen hearts, all with the same goal-!" slowly, Undyne's grin vanished. Instead she stopped, staring towards a side of her office. "...hey. Syphus, wait"
"What's it?"
She put a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch. He hadn't expected such sudden contact, but she seemed too worried to notice how his body didn't fit the monster's shape. Her fingers curled on his shoulder, she wasn't trying to coerce him or intimidate him, she just wanted a grip to show how serious she was now "Tell me, do you think we should take human SOULs from every human that falls down here?"
"Why do you ask that?" That wasn't the kind of conversation he thought he'd get into with Undyne. It made him rather nervous, even though he managed to keep a neutral face.
"Just answer me!"
Syphus involuntarily stood straighter. "The Barrier needs the SOULs, but I don't like the part about killing humans"
It seemed that was the answer Undyne had been hoping for. She let go off Syphus' shoulder and clapped him on the back. "That's what I wanted to hear" she went to the door and looked into the hallway. Nobody was coming. "Syphus, come see me tonight at my hou—oh, right. Come see me at Snowdin, okay? I'm staying at Papyrus' house. He lives in this big house that's-"
"I know Papyrus and Sans, I know where they live" he said, giving a quick farewell before leaving to return to his job.
While Syphus went to return to the storeroom he worked at, he mulled about what Undyne had said. Something about Undyne had changed, and Syphus was sure it was Frisk's influence. Frisk, they had befriended her. That had to have affected her, so it was likely that was what Undyne wanted to talk about.
Should that make him nervous? He wasn't sure about that, but for some reason...he actually felt prepared. Things were going rather well! Despite the general situation and the fact there was a lot of effort yet to do, he felt largely positive! Breaking the Barrier was looking more and more like a real possibility!
You feel like you're getting closer to the goal.
The Last Timeline Social Link has reached Rank 3!
Your power to create Personas of the Aeon Arcana has grown!
With renewed panache, Syphus entered the storage room and grabbed one of the gauntlets to start cleaning it, sighing at the pile of work he had yet to do. It was going to be a long day.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 5
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 2
Priestess - Alphys - RANK 4
Empress - Toriel - RANK 2
Emperor - Cohen - RANK 4
Hierophant - Ciruel - RANK 2
Lovers - ? - RANK 0
Chariot - Ananas - RANK 5
Justice - Undyne - RANK 3
Hermit - ? - RANK 0
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - ? - RANK 0
Hanged Man - ? - RANK 0
Death - Cornio - RANK 2
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 2
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 3
Judgment - Team - RANK 2
Aeon - Syphus - RANK 3
Jester - Alphonse - RANK 2