Day 44
It wasn't like Syphus had much time to think about being once again under his master's command. He knew it meant things were back to..."normal". Sooner or later someone would fall down again, and he would have to go into a soul and fight another Shadow Self. Who would be the next one? What would he do? Would that person be a new team member? He had spent most of the night awake, unsure what the next day would bring.
Cohen noticed it. When he returned the night before, after once another uneventful night as the guard of the village, he sat on his bed, rubbing his aching legs. "You look like you heard terrible news, Syphus. What's wrong?"
Syphus didn't get up from his mattress. He just kept staring at the ceiling, hands crossed over his chest. "Nothing. I just have a lot to think about"
"You know you can trust us with whatever's bothering you, right?"
"I know, I know. Trust me, if it wasn't a private matter I'd tell you" Hard to explain to anyone how you're just a piece for someone in what seems to you like an upper plane of existence.
Cohen didn't press further, all he did was say again the team would help Syphus with anything he wanted, he just had to tell them. They were a team, and they had to cooperate to achieve a common goal. The least they could do was lend each other a hand.
The next morning, when Syphus woke up, tired and wishing he had slept well, he found Cohen was waiting for him. The old man had taken a chair and sat in front of the entrance. "About time you woke up" Cohen said grumpily, glaring at Syphus as if he had done something wrong. What? What did I do?!
"Did I oversleep?"
"It's past noon. Undyne told me you have a lot of work piling up yet you're here, snoozing without a care in the world. How old are you, again?" Cohen asked rhetorically, frowning with disapproval "You can't be a proper adult if you don't take your job seriously"
"...thanks for the sermon" It wasn't really the first thing he wanted to hear in the morning, especially after sleeping badly. Cohen's expression softened.
"Sorry for giving you a hard time. There are other things I need to talk to you about" Cohen looked at the small clock on the table, crossed a leg over the other, and got comfy. It was going to be a long wait.
What followed was a long spiel about a variety of topics. About keeping the cottage clean, about Byssa saying Syphus should stop eating double rations, about Undyne's comments regarding Syphus' work ethic, about keeping the bags of armor and random trinkets stashed in his cottage, again about his work ethic...it was as if there was no shortage of topics to nag about. Syphus would be impressed, but being the target of all the nagging got rid of any admiration he may have felt.
After twenty minutes, Cohen finally took a pause to breathe. His ashen skin was slightly tinged blue, so much for a moment Syphus thought he was going to faint from lack of air. "Got it, I understand"
"I'm not done yet, young man. Respect your elders"
I'm not Annie, you know. I'm twenty-six. He knew saying that would just make Cohen add 'respect your elders' to the list of grievances to discuss. Before Cohen could get a second air and pick the first random topic he could think to nag about, someone knocked on the door in a manner that clearly meant something was going on. Whoever it was knocked a few times, stopped, and then did it again, following a rhythm. Cohen exhaled with relief, stepping away from the door. "Finally. I was running out of ideas"
"Ideas?"
"To keep you in here before it was ready for you" Cohen opened the door, all surly demeanor was gone, replaced by a surprisingly earnest cheerfulness. Confused, Syphus stepped outside, Cohen pushing him in direction of the unfinished cabin that had been under construction since a few weeks ago.
It was finished now.
A new, rustic cottage was available now. The only windows were on the front wall, with bright glass embedded into the frame. The porch was covered with sawdust, Graham was sweeping it away while Byssa walked around the perimeter, examining the end results. When Syphus approached, staring at the cottage as if it was the first time he was seeing anything like it, they all looked up, welcoming him. "Look who finally woke up" Byssa greeted. Celia and Ananas were nearby. Ciruel was nowhere to be seen – it stung, but Syphus didn't have any doubts why he wasn't there.
Smiling proudly, Graham approached, opening his arms widely towards the cabin. "Look at this beauty! Not bad for a month and a week of work, eh?"
"I can't believe you built this by yourself!"
"I didn't. Byssa and I build the cottages, and Mom helps us when she's around. She's inside right now" Graham patted the wall. "This here is your new home"
He had figured that out quite some time ago, but hearing it made it much more meaningful. It was the confirmation he had been accepted in the community. That was now his home, the cottage he could say was his. He wouldn't have to sleep anymore in Cohen's cottage. "Wow..."
"In the name of everyone here, I'd like to give you a warm welcome into our village" Celia said, rolling her wheelchair towards Syphus "It took some time, but here it is: the place you can say is yours"
"It's not going to be easy living down here but you can rely on us for anything" Graham reminded him. Syphus and Cohen shared a conspiratorial look. They wouldn't ever find out if everything went okay their stay would be much shorter than they thought. Feeling a curious warmth in the bits of soul he had, Syphus smiled, touched.
"Thanks, guys. I really don't know what to say, I didn't expect..."
"You didn't think we'd have you sleeping forever in that old man's cottage, did you?" Byssa said, teasing Cohen. Said old man didn't seem amused at all. "Go inside already. We'll bring your stuff"
And so they did. Byssa, Graham and Cohen went to Cohen's cabin, intending to bring the few possessions Syphus had, while Ananas said she'd be at the sentry spot. Meanwhile, Syphus entered his new cottage, to check out how it was like inside. It was just like every other cottage in the village, but knowing it was all made for him made it all seem more comforting, homely.
The bare wooden walls were rough, like they had been recently cut. The floor was bare; the bedrock of the cavern was good enough as a floor. Graham and Byssa had gotten rid of the protruding rocks, leaving a mostly flat surface. In the center of the cottage there was a small basket filled with the same stuff everyone else in the village had – marked with his name with marker. Cutlery, plates, other basic needs that were now his.
Toriel was on the back, in a smaller room that seemed to be a storage. She had just organized some boxes for Syphus, including one that clanked and sounded like it had many metallic objects inside. Some of what she made recently, most likely. When she noticed Syphus was there, she turned around, smiling pleasantly. "Oh, Syphus, perfect timing"
"I heard you helped build this cabin. Thank you" Syphus said earnestly. Toriel waved a hand, as If that had been no big deal.
"It was nothing. Everyone needs their own space, and this is yours. Look, I already left a few gifts for you" she patted one of the boxes "I even made you a robe, like everyone else has. You're officially a resident of this village"
It was hard not to feel flattered. "Thank you very much! So, this box..." flustered because of the attentions he had been receiving today, he tried to change the topic "What's in it?"
"It's the armor you asked for. I think you'll find it'll fit you all better. When you're as old as Cohen, you need a bit more of padding to carry the weight of the metal"
Syphus didn't notice the implications of what she said at first. Only when he opened his mouth to ask how much gold they owed her it hit him. She knew. "W-What...?"
"Undyne told me. I'm afraid you can't fool me. I asked Undyne for the truth, and she told me a few details" The whole point of requesting armor through the Royal Guard was for Toriel to not find out who it actually was for, yet Undyne had gone and ruined that. He didn't understand why. Toriel added, conciliatory: "Please forgive her, I asked a lot of questions. We may have started to get along better recently, but she's still the captain of the Royal Guard, working for the royal family. It's expected of her to not deceive us"
"I guess so..." still, it didn't mean he liked it. "What did she tell you?"
"I know it's for you, Undyne, Cohen and Annie. You need armor 'on the down low', which is why you were asking for it through the Royal Guard. The materials you give me were found around the Underground. That's all"
Apparently even though Undyne had talked, she did keep the important parts a secret. What surprised him was that Toriel hadn't obtained the reason why they need armor in the first place. It was hard to imagine she hadn't asked that. Toriel adjusted her cape, pensive. "She did not want to talk about why you wanted armor. All she said was that I could trust you're not causing any trouble"
"We're not, I promise"
"I sure hope not. You're getting a child involved, after all" she looked him straight to the eyes. "You're not placing Annie or anyone else in danger, are you?"
"No, absolutely not" Syphus immediately lied. He was surprised it was coming easier to him each time. Toriel seemed to be trying to gauge how sincere he was, and, unable to determine if he was lying, simply nodded.
"Thank you for the reassurance" she seemed to not be convinced, so in another effort to distract her, Syphus tried to go into another tangent. Apparently that was his way to dodge the questions and topics that were inconvenient for him.
"Why are you making armor for the Royal Guard, anyway? No offense, but the queen isn't really the person I thought would make them"
Toriel noticed Syphus was trying to distract her, and although she wanted to find out exactly what he and the rest were getting into, she decided to humor him. "Indeed, there's a blacksmith specially hired to serve the Royal Guard, but I asked to be sent some of the work.
It's just a way for me to stay in contact with the Royal Guard and New Home despite living here in the Ruins"
"You haven't gone back to New Home?" he asked, as if he didn't remember he had seen two monthly speeches in TV from Asgore and Toriel.
"Of course I have. I may not spend more than a few hours there, but I go often enough"
"There has to be a better way to stay in touch and help them than this. New Home is also relying on you"
"I know; I just need time to compose myself. I don't feel ready yet to return home"
"You're not ready yet?"
"My subjects will understand. If I can't work for their best interest—"
Syphus pressed a hand against a crate, unsure if he should press on, but thinking he had to. "You have to return"
"I do not want to talk to Asgore for the time being"
"When will you do it, then?"
Toriel's voice had a tinge of contempt when she replied. It wasn't towards Syphus himself, but it was rather noticeable nonetheless. "When he admits his behavior has been unreasonable"
Okay, how to say this... "I don't know, Toriel. It's hard to think you're not the one being unreasonable"
For a moment Toriel seemed rather taken aback. She didn't expect such a straightforward response, especially coming from Syphus. She didn't react badly, instead saying measuredly once she recovered: "We're talking about the lives of everyone above the surface, and those of the monsters who will follow us. Asgore wants to use their souls to shatter the Barrier and wage war against humanity. No matter how you look at it that's unacceptable"
"I mean, that's a given"
"His war declaration on humanity was done in a moment of anger, I know he wouldn't be able to actually go to war" Toriel paused for a moment "No, that's wrong. Actually, he would do it but he would delay that moment as long as possible"
"So what exactly do you intend to do? Just...wait until Asgore changes his mind?"
"I tried to convince him, and decided to give him some space to think" she said delicately. Syphus held back the urge to roll his eyes. Toriel wasn't behaving rightly and she didn't seem to realize that – or she knew and was so stubborn she refused to change her mind. Neither of them was a good thing.
It was undeniable Toriel was a good person, and had taken this decision out of concern for the many lives that could be ruined or lost both in the Underground and on the surface, but she had a big flaw: she thought she knew best, and was willing to force things go her way if she thought it was necessary. At least she was willing to listen to dissensions instead of immediately shut them up, she wasn't so stubborn she would ignore what other people say. Still, it was the first time he had seen her be so stubborn she was putting all monsters in jeopardy.
Maybe she didn't realize it. Trying to think of the right way of saying it, Syphus rubbed his face with both hands, making sure he'd be wide awake for what could be a troublesome discussion. "I really think you should return. I know he's doing something wrong, but you're causing as much trouble as he is"
"I am?" Toriel seemed a bit surprised. She hadn't realized, apparently.
"I don't mean to tell you what to do or anything like that, I just..." whatever assertiveness Syphus had vanished immediately. He wasn't talking to just any monster, he was talking to the Queen of All Monsters, and he was about to rebuke her. Would he be capable of doing such a thing? He inhaled through his teeth, trying to get back the courage he had just a moment ago, but nothing happened. He was afraid.
Thankfully, Toriel noticed Syphus' doubts. She gently put a hand on her shoulder, encouraging. "I promise I'm not going to get upset by anything you say. Please speak your mind"
"Thanks..." that did help make him feel better. If she wanted to listen to him then he had to say it. "Look, it feels to me like this problem between Asgore and you is causing a lot of trouble to everyone in the Underground. Look at yourself. You're the Queen yet you're living in the Ruins, it's like you're in a separate world from everything else. Can you really watch over monsterkind and do what's best for them when you're locking yourself here?"
Toriel averted her eyes. "Of course I can. Being queen doesn't mean living in the castle, what matters is—"
"When's the last time you did something that wasn't for us humans? Other than making armors, I mean"
"The last time I did something for my subjects..." she stared at the empty wall. For a minute Syphus said nothing, waiting for Toriel's response. Once it was clear she couldn't think of anything, she folded her hands, embarrassed. She couldn't even look at him anymore. "I have made a mistake"
"Really?"
"Yes. I have left all monsters to their own devices instead of doing my duties as the queen. I have been irresponsible – and I hadn't realized it until now!" Toriel frowned. Despite her subdued reaction, her lips had curled in an expression of disgust. "I have chided Asgore in my mind for so long yet I have been neglectful!"
"I don't think it's anything unsolvable, I'm sure you can do it"
"I believe I can. I shall start working on this matter. For now I have to thank you. I believe I needed to hear it from someone else other than myself.
I admit it's not easy for me to realize by myself I'm not right. It's..." Toriel sighed "...let's call it a bad habit. Thank you for pointing out how wrong I am"
Toriel seems willing to correct her mistakes
The Toriel Social Link has reached Rank 3!
Your power to create Personas of the Empress Arcana has grown!
"Right..." how was he supposed to word this tactfully? 'I told you so?' Absolutely not. 'That's a start' was a bit condescending, and so did 'good luck'. Or maybe he was overthinking it all. Still, he limited himself to asking: "What are you going to do now? Are you going back to New Home?"
"...no. Not yet"
Syphus raised his eyebrows. This wasn't really the response he hoped to hear. "Why?"
"It's not as simple as walking back into the castle" Toriel said "I ask you not to gossip about this. To be frank, it's something I'd rather not talk about" the 'with someone I don't trust enough', was kind of implicit – or at least that was the impression Syphus had. He had already pushed his luck being straightforward with Toriel. He knew she had a lot of patience, and she wasn't the type to get angry all of a sudden, but he didn't want to risk making her upset.
He wanted to know, though: "Is it something about the Ruins?"
"You could say that" Toriel replied "It's a personal matter – a family matter. It's a long story"
That narrowed everything down. It was likely it was related to the part of the Ruins she had actively taken measures to close down in this timeline. Given how the Ruins were open to everyone, that Toriel was living there, and how invested she was in keeping the humans in the Underground alive, he figured she had gotten more attached than usual to Chara's grave.
Hard to make a few humans' survival a priority without remembering the one human you couldn't protect, even if it wasn't her fault.
That wasn't something Syphus wouldn't be able to fix. Only Toriel herself could face her grief and move on, for the Underground's sake.
"So, about that armor" Syphus again took the reins of the conversation. No use in talking further about that topic. She already had taken the decision to make up for some of her mistakes, that was good enough for the time being.
-ooooo-
Doing once again her duties as queen should have been easy – and it was, there were just so many she had to take a moment to organize and prioritize.
Going in person to talk with the many communities spread throughout the Underground was the priority. She had to go see what they needed, and arrange everything so all the villages would receive what they wanted. She wasn't sure how well Asgore was taking care of the monsters. It was possible some had gotten less attention than others.
The Hidden Village and all the humans she had kind of adopted would have to be relegated to a lower priority for a while , but there still was something worrying her. She knew it was impossible anyone except Undyne and Monster Kid knew about the human village, that meant most of the humans would be safe, except one: that child people had been talking about recently. She had heard about them. She knew they had shown a lot of kindness towards all the monsters they had encountered, despite a rather rough first impression with the Royal Guard stationed on the way to Snowdin. Toriel had been rather relieved to hear that. The day before she had gone to Snowdin to try to meet the child, but they had already left the town and gone into Waterfall.
While helping the communities was the priority, nothing would change in the Underground unless she convinced Asgore to call off the war against humanity. The child was being treated with kindness from those they befriended, but nothing guaranteed the rest of the humans would be welcomed with open arms if the word about the Hidden Village ever got out. Getting Asgore to recant the war on humanity was important, and for that, she was already forming a plan.
That child was getting along with monsters, and was already widely known in Snowdin and part of Waterfall. It would be matter of time before they got through Hotland and into New Home. Something could go wrong along the way, though, and the thought of a child being in grave and possibly deadly danger made her heart ache. Toriel wanted to find them, and once she made sure they were safe and healthy, the two of them could appeal to Asgore. Maybe she could also ask a few other monsters to join them. Everyone's good word should convince the king – Asgore had many faults, but she knew he truly listened to monsterkind, for better or for worse.
Hoping she'd be able to find them soon, and wondering if it'd be too soon to take them to the Hidden Village, Toriel entered Snowdin. There was someone she had heard about, a skeleton who worked in a couple sentry stations and was always seen slacking yet still managed to do the bare minimum requirements of his many jobs. Maybe he knew something.
-ooooo-
The moment he swallowed the first and last bite of that spaghetti, Flowey wondered if maybe he should have gone with that Syphus guy. At least he wouldn't give him badly cooked spaghetti.
Unaware of how much Flowey regretted giving it a try, Papyrus awaited Flowey's opinion. His eye sockets were shining with hope; he was hoping he had improved. To his side, Ciruel watched with uncertainty, crossing his fingers the flower wouldn't spit it out and say something rude.
"It's good!" Flowey lied, smiling widely. "You're such a talented chef, Papyrus"
The compliment pleased Papyrus a lot. He looked between Ciruel and Flowey, vibrating with joy. "DID YOU HEAR THAT? MY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE RECIPE HAVE BEEN PRAISED! NYEH HEH HEH! I KNEW MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS COULD REACH NEW CULINARY HEIGHTS!"
"It really was an improvement. It was less chewy, and for once you could feel the taste of tomatoes instead of..." Ciruel's face scrunched up "...the taste of your gloves. I insist you should stop smashing the tomatoes with your gloves"
"UNDYNE SAID WITH THESE I CAN SMASH THEM MORE EFFECTIVELY"
"That I can't deny. Maybe the taste of glove is an acquired taste" hard not to smash a tomato with a glove five times bigger than it, it was practical. Ciruel was going to add something else when they heard a familiar voice outside – Papyrus recognized it from the televised speeches, and Ciruel from hearing it every week for years already. "It's the Queen!"
"OH NO! QUICK, HIDE UNDER THE DESK!"
"Calm down, there's no reason for her to think I'm here" Ciruel said, but hid under the desk nonetheless. Flowey watched this with some curiosity.
"What's going on? She doesn't know about you?" when he had asked earlier how Ciruel had arrived to the Underground and where he was staying, he had refused to answer, leaving Flowey to make guesses. He thought Ciruel lived in the shed, but maybe he had been wrong?
"Uh, she knows I'm here in the Underground but I sure hope she doesn't know I'm here" even though he was a grown adult and could do whatever he wanted, in his opinion, he sure didn't want to disappoint Toriel or endure a speech about the dangers of leaving the Hidden Village. The former scholar put a finger to his lips and refused to say another word, while Papyrus went out of the shed.
Wondering what Toriel was here for, Flowey left the shed as well. Once he emerged between the trees close enough to listen without being seen, he tried to ignore the cold and focused on her voice.
"...the child left? How long ago was it?"
"just a couple hours ago. they'll be fine"
"MY BROTHER IS CORRECT! FRISK IS VERY CAPABLE AND CHARISMATIC, JUST AS MUCH AS ME. YOU CAN BE SURE THEY'RE OKAY"
"Hotland can be dangerous for a child without supervision. I shall find them as soon as possible and escort them the rest of the way"
Neither Sans nor Papyrus seemed too enthused about that – Sans hid it pretty well, only revealing it because Flowey saw how his back got a bit straighter and more alert, while Papyrus immediately started a 'UUUUH'. "Is there an issue?" Toriel asked.
"I THINK THEY WANT TO GO ALONE"
"you know how kids are. they like to do everything by themselves"
That wasn't convincing at all, but Toriel hesitated nonetheless. It was true they had survived and taken care of themselves so far. Still, she'd feel better if she could meet them at least once...
She didn't say a word about that to the skeletons. Instead she thanked them for their assistance and walked away, towards Waterfall. While Papyrus returned into the shed and Sans went to who knows where, leaving Flowey to think about what he had just heard.
A human child in Hotland. That meant a third human in the Underground – three out of seven that were needed. Had monsters gathered them? Were they waiting to have all seven before claiming their souls? Something unusual had happened while he was dead, and he wanted to find out what it was.
For now, finding the child Toriel and the skeletons were talking about seemed like a good idea. Without even saying goodbye to Papyrus and Ciruel, Flowey vanished into the icy soil, starting his way towards Hotland.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 5
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 3
Priestess - Alphys - RANK 7
Empress - Toriel - RANK 3
Emperor - Cohen - RANK 4
Hierophant - Ciruel - BROKEN
Lovers - ? - RANK 0
Chariot - Ananas - RANK 6
Justice - Undyne - RANK 5
Hermit - Gaster - RANK 1
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - Celia - RANK 2
Hanged Man - ? - RANK 0
Death - Cornio - REVERSED
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 3
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 3
Judgment - Team - RANK 4
Aeon - Syphus - REVERSED
Jester - Alphonse - REVERSED