The path through Waterfall was as wet and annoying as usual. At least Monster Kid hadn't been way too off, he really had been taking Syphus in the right direction. It was right at the end that the child had gone the wrong way. Toriel was a better guide, she walked with more certainty and didn't run a couple dozen feet ahead of Syphus, fact he was eternally grateful for.
Both the queen and he were wearing cloaks obtained from the 'room under renovations'. She had insisted on using it, arguing that even if he had a disguise, it'd be better to simply hide from everyone. "Won't people be suspicious of a pair of cloaked people wandering around?" he had asked while she made sure his face was well hidden. He had activated the illusion, just in case.
"Monsterkind comes in all kind of forms and shapes, young man. They don't pay attention to what other people are wearing or how they look like"
That was no guarantee, in Syphus' opinion, but he supposed that if the Queen of All Monsters herself walked around Waterfall in a weekly basis and no one ever noticed it was her then maybe she was onto something.
Syphus was quickly finding out it was a hassle, though. The cloak, soaked from all the water and the puddles strewn on the ground in Waterfall, weighted a lot and hindered his movements. Toriel wasn't having such problems, used already to the inconveniences of wearing a cloak.
She also insisted in not talking during the journey. The one time she did say something, it was to tell Syphus she was silent just in case there was someone nearby. Some people could recognize Toriel by her voice, after all, and better to be safe than sorry.
The path Toriel led him into was a narrow cavern hall. The only landmark it had was a cluster of fluorescent mushrooms on the ceiling, mushrooms were something so common no one paid much attention to it. Toriel looked at the mushrooms and nodded. "Over here" she whispered, walking to the wall and looking at the ground. She pointed a slope that led into a crevice, directing Syphus to take a closer look. The piece crouched and peered inside, finding a path that diverted from the hall and into the depths of the cavern. It was large enough for Toriel to enter without any problems, but anyone merely passing through the hall wouldn't notice it.
Syphus descended first, slipping down the crevice until he got to the bottom, entering a dark and foreboding section of the mountain. Toriel followed behind him, taking off the cloak and instructing Syphus to deactivate his illusion. "We're close. I trust you'll get along with everyone"
"Don't worry, I will" he did get along with them back in his origin timeline. How difficult could it be now? Who knew, maybe he could even get Social Links with them right out of the bat! Six Social Links would be a considerable boost of power and variety to the Personas he would fuse in the future! He was immersed in such thoughts when a yelp and a squeaky scream echoed in the cavern. He had collided with someone short and light. A little girl, to be more precise, and she had fallen onto the floor.
"Criminy!" she yelped.
"Oh dear!" Toriel moved past Syphus and helped the girl stand up, gently grabbing her in the air for a moment. "Are you alright, my child?"
"I'm okay!" she said, sounding like she hadn't just crashed onto someone "I didn't see you"
"It's too dark for you to see anyone in this tunnel. Here, let's return to the village" Toriel grabbed the girl's hand, starting to lead her towards the end of the tunnel, with Syphus following at the back. The voice of the girl was unfamiliar. Who was she?
At the end of the cavern there was a large and well illuminated chamber. The tunnel ended in a natural platform, from where stairs descended onto the ground. Not too far from there, Syphus could see a few rustic cabins surrounding a plaza, and a bit further than that, a larger wooden building that resembled some sort of communal center. The lights in the windows were turned on, the residents had some privileges, apparently. It was kind of a shabby village, but for the purposes of living in the Underground and hidden from everyone else's sight it was good enough. Syphus turned around to take a look at the girl he had encountered in the tunnel.
She was both familiar and a stranger at the same time. It was a curious sensation, like he knew he should recognize who he was seeing but couldn't pinpoint a name. There were a few things that hinted her identity, though. The cowboy hat, the hopefully fake gun strapped to her thigh, the determined yet now innocent expression in her face...
"...Annie?" Syphus muttered, but he said that way too softly. Ananas didn't hear him. Besides, she was too busy getting scolded by Toriel.
"You shouldn't leave the village. You know it's dangerous to go outside"
"I'm sorry, ma'am" Ananas replied, looking at the ground.
"What would have happened if someone saw you? Your life is in danger"
"I wanted to take a walk, ma'am"
Toriel crouched, placing her paw on Ananas' shoulder. "I know it's not easy to get used to this place, but you have to understand it's for your own good. I'm not trying to play jailer" Ananas didn't reply to that. Instead, she looked at Syphus with confusion.
"Who is he?"
Syphus lowered the hood of the cloak, showing his human face. Ananas' vivacious eyes widened. "A new person for the village!"
"That's correct. Let's guide him to meet the rest, shall we?" Toriel again took Ananas' hand and took her down the rudimentary stairs, going towards the village. Syphus stood still for a moment, a tad flabbergasted. Sure, her usually tanned skin looked discolored, but there was no mistake, that girl was Ananas. It was jarring to think that. Last time Syphus had seen her in person she had been an adult, almost sixty years old. Now she was a child, no older than ten years old. It was hard to believe, but then again:
The iterations from the timeline he came from weren't the same iterations from this timeline.
Clenching his teeth in an effort to keep his jaw from falling open, Syphus followed them to the bottom of the chamber and into the village. Toriel let go of Ananas right at the edge of the village, the girl running inside and stopping near the plaza. "Where could he be? Usually he's around here..."
"I apologize, Your Majesty. I had to help Celia for a moment" a figure hurried to the edge of the village, exiting from one of the cabins. He was an old man, moving as if he were younger than he actually was. When he got close enough Syphus had to stifle a gasp, taken aback by the old man's appearance.
His skin had the color of bleached petrified bark, and looked dry enough to feel like one, too. Unhealthy spots covered his skin in some places, and the skin itself was tense over the bones. His eyes were dully colored, but there was a spark of intelligence and life in them that reassured Syphus the man wasn't going to fall over dead in any second. "...are you feeling alright?" Syphus asked before he could stop himself, shuddering at the old man's rather unpleasant appearance.
"What? Of course I feel okay! Why would you—" the old man stopped, scoffing and looking at his own hand, bony and gnarled "It's because of how I look, isn't it? That always makes the newcomers stare at me"
"...yeah, it's that. You look...uuuuh..."
"If you think how I look is bad then you better not see the one human who is older than me!"
"Cohen, this is Syphus. He fell into the Underground earlier today" Toriel introduced him, then turning towards Syphus "This is Cohen. He's the leader and guardian of the Hidden Village"
"Pleased to meet you" Cohen extended his hand, shaking Syphus' with a surprising amount of strength for someone as old as Cohen "You're the first adult I see fall into this place. It'll be nice not to have to deal with a child making a ruckus"
"I leave him in your hands, Cohen. I'll return next week with more provisions"
"Got it, Your Majesty"
"If you ever need anything, young man, please don't be afraid to call me. I must have a...oh dear" Toriel looked in her pocket, finding nothing in there "I thought I had a cell phone here. I must have left it in the Ruins"
Once Toriel left, Cohen clapped once, the noise echoing in the large cavern. His face took a rather serious expression "Right. First things first:
I don't expect you to love everyone to bits, but these are the people you're likely to live with until the end of your life. The least you can do is be cordial. Got it?"
"U-Understood" Syphus nodded. At least it couldn't be denied Cohen was mortally serious about that.
"The people who live here are all good people. I don't want to hear you're causing trouble to anyone"
"I won't, sir!" Syphus refrained from saluting.
"Excellent. One last thing: never leave this village. We were brought here to survive, and to survive we need to stay hidden, unseen. It's going to take time for you to get used to such a small place, but once you do you'll be fine.
Remember, this is your world now" Well isn't that a cheery thought?
Once Syphus confirmed he had understood all the instructions, Cohen stepped towards the plaza. "Let me give you a short tour of the place. Come on, follow me"
The tour didn't take long. Other than the cottages, there was only one building more, at the north of the plaza. Cohen pointed at it. "See that place? It's our communal cabin. In that place there is the kitchen and the dining room, and a small stage for ceremonies or for when Toriel wants to give a speech or something. Got it?"
"Got it. Uh...who cooks in this place?"
"You'll meet her later" Cohen said, leading Syphus to the nearest cottage. "This is Celia's cottage. She's the oldest person among us"
"Older than you?" So that was how this went. The former oldest person was now a child, and Celia, who Syphus knew as a little girl, was the oldest one around, and quite old, if she was older than Cohen. "How old is she?"
Cohen leaned forward as if he was going to tell an amazing secret. "Celia will be one hundred eight years old in a month"
"One hundred eight years old?!" That was way older than he thought she'd be! It was a miracle she was still alive. While Syphus' expression showed the surprise he did feel, his guts coiled into a knot at the thought of her advanced age. She could die at any moment, right? Then that meant he didn't have infinite time. Who knew what the consequences of someone dying could be. "How healthy is she?"
Unaware of the turmoil Syphus was feeling, Cohen shrugged. "She's healthy enough. The magic food and ingredients Toriel provides us keeps us way healthier than we would be otherwise. Why do you ask?" Syphus didn't answer that. That was a bit of consolation, at least Celia wasn't going to drop dead in matter of days...maybe. He hoped. He really hoped. When Syphus requested to see her, Cohen shook his head. "No. You can't go in. Only when she summons you you'll be allowed to enter her cottage" the old man jabbed a finger towards Syphus' chest "Understood? I don't want to see you trying to sneak in"
"I-I understand, jeez!" I'm not some kind of hooligan, Cohen.
"Good. Now—look, someone is coming out of the cottage" Indeed, there was a woman exiting Celia's cottage, a black-haired woman carrying a tray and an empty dish. "This is Byssa. She's in charge of providing us with food and clothing. If you need anything like that talk with her, because no one else will be able to be of help"
Byssa was now the third oldest person, but compared to Cohen she was positively young. Her skin had a pasty ashy color and her cheekbones were sticking to her face despite not looking badly fed. Byssa stopped, observed Syphus for a moment, greeted him with her head and walked in direction of the communal cabin. All the time she looked at Syphus she regarded him with disdain and distrust. It wouldn't be unusual to regard a complete stranger that way, but there was something else in her stare that bothered Syphus, even if he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Seeing that maybe Syphus was offended, Cohen patted him on the back for a moment. "Don't pay attention to her. She's like that with everyone at first. Just don't antagonize her, or else she'll kick you in the shins. She does know how to make that hurt" he rubbed his own shin before taking Syphus to a side of the village. There was a garden of sorts, filled with vegetable plants. Not too far from there, a pile of wood, hay and other constructions materials were against the wall. There was a teenager piling up some rocks, he looked rather strong yet he had some sort of calming aura that felt comforting to Syphus. "That here is Graham. Hey! Kiddo!"
Graham turned around, wiping the sweat off his brow. "What's new, grandpa?" he noticed Syphus and approached quickly "This was fast! It hasn't even been a year since Annie fell down!"
"At least he's grown up. We won't have to deal with two kids at the same time"
"Yeah, we won't want you to throw your back out, do we?" Graham smirked slyly, but there was affection in his voice. The teenager put his hands on his hips, taking a better look at Syphus "My name is Graham. Nice to meet...meet...you?" his gaze had stopped in Syphus' face. He stared, confused and rather taken aback by what he was seeing. Uncomfortable by the strange reaction, Syphus cleared his throat before trying to get his attention.
"What? Is there something wrong with my face?"
"...n-no, I just..." after a moment Graham stepped back, hesitating "Nice to meet you but I think I have to go away for a moment. See you!" the teenager trotted away, looking back at Syphus once he was far away. Okay, what was up with that?! That was not the kind of reaction he had expected from Graham. Graham had always been known for his rather kind demeanor and willingness to accept anyone who came by. Was his personality way too different from that? To be rejected like that, and for reasons Syphus had no idea about...it did hurt.
"Don't take it personal" Cohen said, unsure "Maybe he did have something to do. Either way, Graham is the one who will build your cottage. It should take a few days to have a roof over your head, so meanwhile, you're welcome to spend the night in my cottage. I must have a spare mattress somewhere-"
"Thanks, Cohen" Syphus replied. To be completely honest, he didn't think he'd spend long in the Hidden Village, not even to sleep. Besides, he still had a lot of gold, surely he could spend a night or two in an inn somewhere.
The last person to meet in the Hidden Village was inside his cottage. Cohen knocked on the door, and a voice sounded from inside. "I'm busy! What do you need?"
"We have a new comrade here, Ciruel. Come greet him" Cohen said, rolling his eyes. His voice was straining under the effort of being civil.
"Tell him to come back later, I said I'm busy!"
Cohen didn't go away nor let Syphus get away, though. The old man merely put a finger to his lips, gesturing Syphus to stay silent. "He'll be here in ten seconds". Six had passed when the window of the cottage opened, Ciruel sticking his head out. His face still had the dark blue paint.
"Okay, okay, let me see" Ciruel saw Syphus, and raised his eyebrows "Oh! Not a kid this time"
"This is Ciruel. Anything Graham or Byssa can't do, he'll lend you a hand"
Somehow Ciruel sounded a bit more carefree than Syphus remembered. I guess people behave differently if they grew up in a different place. Without his family to rely on, it was to be expected Ciruel wouldn't be as refined and stiff as he was in the original timeline. The former scholar stepped away of the window. "Uuuh...excuse me, why are your eyes so..." Ciruel tapped the lenses of his glasses, but instead of clarifying what he meant he just shook his head "Nevermind. It's not my business"
"Your face...have you left the village again?" Cohen demanded to know.
"...maybe I did"
"I have told you many times not to leave this place!" the old man raised his voice belligerently "Not everyone is going to be fooled by your little twigs-and-paint disguise!"
"I know what I'm doing! Can't you leave me alone?" and without waiting for a reply, Ciruel closed the window. Cohen clenched his fist, looking as if he was about to punch the nearest object around – Syphus stepped back just in case – but he calmed down after a moment.
"That little stubborn..." Cohen muttered, turning around "Tour is over. If you have any questions you may choke on them. Thank you"
"What's wrong with you?!" Syphus spat before he could stop himself. Cohen, realizing his demeanor when Syphus replying with as much vitriol as he had just used, raised his hands in defense, sighing deeply.
"Sorry. I know I shouldn't take my anger on you, but..." a vein on the old man's forehead swelled a bit "It's like no one cares we need to stay in here. I swear every single one of them takes any chance they have to sneak out. It pisses me off"
"You can't expect people to just accept being forced to stay in such a small place"
"It's so we stay alive! That can't be so hard to understand" Cohen's shoulders dropped "Maybe I'm a bit too rough on all of them, but I mean this:
In this village, my word is the law. What I say, goes. Without someone to rein them in, everyone except Celia would have wandered away and gotten killed long ago"
It isn't like you can force them to stay here Syphus was starting to feel some sympathy towards Cohen. Cohen always had a rather strong and anger-fueled streak, and although his heart was in the right place, his behavior tended to push people away. Growing in completely different circumstances didn't seem to quell such trait, apparently.
"Cohen, I don't think it's so bad. Maybe you could try to not to impose your thoughts like that...?"
"...I could try, I guess, but I can't promise anything" Cohen crossed his arms "Would it be correct to suppose you're going to do the same and sneak out of the village once I turn my back?"
"Now why would I do that?" Syphus smiled sheepishly. Cohen wasn't fooled by that. The old man rubbed his face with both hands for a moment, sighing deeply, before lowering them and raising his voice a bit.
"Look, these people are under my supervision, and you...you're one of these people now. We humans need to stick together and watch for each other. How else are we going to survive? So listen here:
I promise that, as long as you live in this village, I'll do everything I can to watch over you. So don't be afraid of telling me anything. Good old Cohen will deal with it the best he can" he even dared to smile boisterously at that point.
Cohen has taken you under his wing.
You feel a faint bond forming between you and Cohen
Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond
You shall be blessed when fusing Personas of the Emperor Arcana
It couldn't be denied Cohen had good intentions. If only he also had the sensibility and the kindness to go along with those...Syphus thanked him, and frowned. It bothered him that most of the people he had met in the village had acted strangely towards him.
"What's with that long face? Something wrong?" Cohen asked. Syphus grimaced at that "If you have questions go ahead. Ask them"
"Did I give a wrong impression? Everyone was acting as if I had grown parasites all over my face or something"
Cohen rubbed his chin. "How do you expect me to know? But it may be because of your eyes"
"...my eyes?" What was so bad about his eyes? Cohen nodded.
"I don't think anyone here had ever seen anyone with such bright golden eyes"
-ooooo-
The good news was that he had found the Hidden Village. The bad news is that he had no idea where this was supposed to go from here. Yeah, he had found the humans. He had just confirmed they were all okay, or at least well enough to survive for the foreseeable future, if nothing went horribly wrong. So now what?
"I think I got stuck" Sisyphus murmured to Lucia, who was staring at the pieces attentively. Lucia didn't answer for a moment, pointing at several of the pieces and muttering to herself.
"...rook to A5...pawn forward two squares...bishop is in danger..."
"Lucia?"
Lucia snorted, putting her hands on her knees. "You need to get your piece's ass in gear already. Congratulations on making an advance towards Cornio's side, but he's preparing something big" she glanced at Cornio, who was looking at her and Sisyphus with curiousity.
"What? What do you think he's going to do?"
"See here? He's flanking this part rather well. You made a bad move, and now it'll cost you dearly"
That says absolutely nothing! Sisyphus took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Don't blame me. I'm not a seasoned player like you" after a short pause, he put his glasses back on. "How bad is it?"
"Checkmate levels of bad. It's guaranteed he'll manage to put your king on check"
"Fantastic. Well, not all is doomed yet. Let's see..." Sisyphus looked at his own pieces, analyzing the situation. It certainly was like Lucia said, he had left his defenses way too open. Even though Cornio was supposedly inexperienced with all this, he had pulled the strings and made the residents of the world do his bidding rather admirably. "Any suggestions?" Sisyphus said to Lucia.
Lucia put her chin on her hands, her eyebrows raising over her blindfold. "You know what I think? That kid is what you need right now"
"You mean Frisk?"
"Yeah, Frisk. Your big mistake was to let them go. You were told several times the Underground was a dangerous place. Your piece said it himself! Yet...look! They're traversing the Underground alone. That's what you did wrong"
Right. She was right, it was a major mistake to let Frisk go and not make a bigger effort to follow them. "So all I need is to find Frisk again, and stop them from continuing their usual attempt to reach Asgore. That doesn't sound so difficult. I know where they'll pass through"
"Then do it. You don't have long"
By Sisyphus' calculations Frisk would take no more than an hour to get to Snowdin – it was taking them an unusual amount of time to pass through the forest - but if it were that simple, it wouldn't be a game changer. If the problem was that Frisk was traveling alone, what could be its consequences? There was one thing that could happen, at least at first sight "Frisk is going to die"
"If you don't do anything, they will" Lucia nodded "It seems to me that if the kid reaches Undyne they're as good as dead...and you'll lose the game. Badly"
"Then we better find a way to stop them" Sisyphus raised his hand to move one of the pieces, but his hand froze midway. He didn't like this at all. He had an idea of how to stop Frisk from moving for at least until the next day, but the way he'd do it made him a bit uncomfortable. There was nothing he hated more than seeing a kid hurt.
Forgive me for this, Frisk. I don't see any other option. I need to gain time here!
And so Sisyphus made his move.
-ooooo-
Where was Sans? Where was Papyrus? Where were all the puzzles? Where were the dogs?
Frisk kept traversing Snowdin, starting to feel disoriented. They had experienced the same events countless times, and in all those times, the skeletons brothers welcomed him to the Snowdin forest area through puzzles and japes. It was something they never got tired of, no matter how many times they experienced it. That was why the complete absence of the skeletons bothered them so much. The missing puzzles was a bad omen too. Where were their friends?
And during it all, Frisk had seen several guards they didn't know. They had to take a lot of deviations from their usual path to avoid all the unknown guards, not wanting to risk being seen yet. The Underground may as well be a completely foreign place again, like the first time. Toriel, Sans, Papyrus...would Undyne and Alphys be gone too?
Frisk was too busy with those ponderings to notice one of the guards they didn't know had taken notice of them. "Hey! I think that's a human!" the guard shouted to a nearby partner, pointing in direction of the kid. Only when the two Royal Guard members stood in front of them, Frisk took notice.
Without saying a word, Frisk's neutral expression changed ever so slightly while a cold chill went down their back. They didn't know the guards that were right in front of them, and the axes they were carrying presaged nothing good. Keeping their breath level, Frisk raised their hands defensively, preparing themselves for the FIGHT.
It shouldn't be that much of a problem, right? Frisk had experienced dozens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of FIGHTs. By now they should know how to end it peacefully.
-ooooo-
He's hurting Frisk! I can't believe it!
Cornio had paid attention to what Lucia and Sisyphus had been discussing. Sisyphus hadn't noticed the influence of Cornio's moves and decisions until it was too late to stop any of them. He had managed to sink his claws into the innards of the hearts of monsterkind. It didn't mean monsters didn't have free will. Any of Cornio's decisions would be more like an insidious suggestion in their heads, a way to spur them to do what he wanted instead of outright controlling anyone. It was already unsavory he was going to take control of one single person in the entire Underground, but he had promised himself it'd only be for short periods. Although he didn't like it, it was a necessary action. That one person was the key to cause all the obstacles and mayhem he had in mind.
Cornio had finished the base for the entirety of his game, now all that remained was to start the core of his plan:
Start attacking the Victims, and really, really hope Sisyphus would be skillful enough to save them before the corruption and consequences of Cornio's manipulations took root into the Victims' SOULs.
And the way he was going to attack the Victims was by using their Shadows, of course.
Lucia had seen straight through Cornio. Indeed, Frisk was going to be the first Victim. Just like Lucia had said, Frisk was going to be attacked right before they got to Undyne. What Cornio had never expected was that to gain time and stop Frisk from getting to Undyne anytime soon Sisyphus would make monsters attack the child. It seemed the Royal Guard the child encountered would only rough them up, enough for Frisk to need rest and time to heal a few minor wounds, but it was too much for Cornio. You're supposed to save them. How can you do this to someone you're supposed to protect and save?!
"Something wrong?" Sisyphus noticed Cornio's face slightly contorting with anger. Cornio took a deep breath before making the best naïve and clueless expression he could make.
"It's all fine" he smiled, and Sisyphus looked away, again talking with Lucia. ...no, I'm wrong. Normally he wouldn't do this. It's just because he needed a way to stop Frisk on their tracks, that's all. I can trust him. I can...I can trust him. Again Cornio started having doubts playing with the timeline was the right thing to do.
I must trust him.
-ooooo-
Since the Hidden Village was found and Syphus was sure he'd be able to return at any moment, if so he needed, he decided to return to the other plan: find Frisk. The more time passed, the guiltier they felt about not trying harder to find Frisk and keep them from continuing alone. The clock on the wall in Cohen's cottage showed it was around 9:00 PM. "I didn't know there still was a cycle of day and night down here" Syphus commented.
"It's a remnant of what used to be life on the surface" Cohen answered, putting on a pair of tattered leather gloves. The pink color it had had faded away long ago. "Monsters made the magical light in the Underground get dimmer after a certain hour, so it's 'night'. You should get to sleep already"
"What about you?"
"I have to make the nightly guard. Don't worry about me, I'm used to it" Cohen smiled wryly "Anything for the safety of the village"
It shouldn't be too hard to get past him, right? Just one old man, trying to watch over the cavern that'd lead towards Waterfall and the rest of the Underground. A distraction could be enough to escape. Cohen went outside, waving his hand as farewell, while Syphus got on the mattress Cohen had loaned him. After a few minutes, and once he was sure Cohen had left and was far enough Syphus left the cottage.
Syphus slowly walked towards the edge of the village, hiding behind one of the cottages and keeping his ears open to any sounds. No one seemed to be nearby. Where was Cohen? Did he watch from a place hidden from view? Was he watching him right now? Syphus didn't dare to step far from the cottage, just in case. He really needed to plan how he'd escape. The piece looked at all the possible paths, examined the ceiling of the cave, took note of all the dark spots where he could take cover in case Cohen came nearby. Shouldn't be too hard to use all this data to craft a plan to escape—
"The bull eyes the world beyond the corral. Can he get past the cowboy?"
Syphus gasped when he heard a voice he recognized, a voice with a rather exaggerated accent. Ananas had gotten beside him, crouching and smiling cheekily. "Y-You..."
"Howdy, bucko! Shouldn't you be sleepin' right now?"
"...can you not do the whole old west talk thing? It's distracting" He didn't really have time to decipher her way of speaking right now. The more he stood around talking, the less likely he'd be able to escape.
Ananas grinned. "I'm sorry! So, are you trying to get out?" Syphus nodded after a pause "I can help you. I have gotten past Cohen so many times I could do it with my eyes closed" she whispered as if that was a big secret.
"Can you teach me?"
"No" Ananas crossed her arms, pouting "I'm going to help you today, but you'll need to find a way how to do it by yourself. I don't want old Cohen to know how I always escape" once she got Syphus to agree with that, she put a finger to her lips, giggling a bit "Be ready to run"
The girl tiptoed towards a side of the cavern before speaking loudly, looking at a small hole on the wall. "It's a calm night in the dry meadow. How are you doing, my deputy?"
"...stay in your cottage. I mean it" Syphus could faintly hear Cohen's voice.
"But I don't want to go to bed yet! I want to do a stakeout with you"
Syphus started slowly walking along the shadows, hoping Ananas was keeping Cohen from looking in his direction. "We have talked about this several times. Go to bed"
"Make me"
"What's gotten into you tonight?!" from the wall out came Cohen, taking Ananas' wrist and taking her to one of the cottages. While she pretended to be glumly led away, she turned her head around and pointed with it towards the tunnel.
"Get going" she mouthed. Syphus didn't need that to be told twice, he ran as silently as he could towards the wooden stairs that led to the tunnel. He had barely got to the small platform at the top when he heard light steps ascending the stairs. It was Ananas.
The girl got to Syphus' side, bouncing with excitement. "You did it! Well done! Now let me escort you to Waterfall"
"I'm not sure you should leave the village, Annie"
"Don't call me Annie. I'm the Sheriff around here" Ananas tipped her cowboy hat forward "Here, follow me" and without waiting for reply, she entered the tunnel. Not wanting to get in a fight with a child for pretty much no big reason, Syphus sighed and followed her.
"By the way, thanks for helping me" Syphus said "I don't know if I could get past Cohen"
That made Ananas grin with excitement. "He has a short fuse. I just need to be a little brat and he'll try to get me stay in my cottage. It's that easy!" her grin vanished "But I did want to do a stakeout with him...I want to learn how to do it. I want to know how to fight, too, but he doesn't want to teach me"
Syphus nodded. That did seem a bit familiar to him...Ananas had always been the type to take action instead of sitting around doing nothing. "Why are you interested in doing that?"
"I want to be the next guardian of the village! It's my biggest dream" she raised her head high "Someday I'll be the one taking care of everyone"
Syphus felt a warm feeling in his chest, he wanted to grab Ananas and tell her she's the type of person that'd achieve anything she wanted. She had the courage and willpower, all she needed was a chance. "And what's stopping you?"
"Old Cohen doesn't want me to even think of being the next guardian" she said a bit drably "He says I'm too young for that. I'm eight already! Even if I'm little now, I won't be little forever, right?"
"Have you told him that?"
"I did, but he says...he says he doesn't trust anyone to do this better than him"
It was one thing to think that, but in Syphus' opinion, if there was anyone capable to protect the village, it'd be Ananas, once she was a bit older. She had the right attitude, all she needed now was the skill. "You know what? I'll help you"
"What?!"
"What you heard. Sheriff, I promise I'll do everything I can so you're the next guardian! I don't know yet what I'll do but there must be something. I'll try to talk with Cohen"
Ananas stopped, astonished and completely silent. It was so sudden Syphus for a moment thought he had said something he shouldn't have. The silence was broken by a sob. "Do you...d-d-do you mean it...mister?"
"I do. I don't make promises lightly, kid! You'll be the guardian of the village even if it's the last thing I do"
The sobs stopped. Before Syphus could think of anything to say and maybe make the situation not look as awkward as it seemed, Ananas clung to Syphus' leg, squeezing it with all her might. "N-No one had ever said they'd help me with this! Thank you, thank you so much!
Mister, you're the best!"
You have taken Ananas under your wing.
You feel a faint bond forming between you and Ananas
Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond
You shall be blessed when fusing Personas of the Chariot Arcana
Ananas let go of Syphus' leg, drying the tears on her eyes. "C-Confound it, a cowboy doesn't cry...we're tough! I won't cry ever again!"
"There's nothing bad with crying, Sheriff. Cowboys do cry too"
She covered her face with her hat, swaying from side to side bashfully. "Cohen says I'm too young, but I'm strong for my age. I bet I could fight any monster that tries to attack us.
I'll show everyone...that I'm the one who'll protect them all!" As if that needed even more emphasis, Ananas pressed the hat over her head, flashing a bold smile. Syphus knew she meant every single word of that, and he had no doubt that she'd manage to gain all the humans' respect once she had the chance to show what she was made of.
Even although she returned back to the village once Syphus got to Waterfall, she promised she'd sneak out of the Hidden Village the next day. "We need to train. I have to get even stronger" she had said, looking from side to side of the cavern to check if anyone was nearby "Let's meet over there tomorrow.
There's a small chamber at the end of this path here. That's where I train and play"
Syphus raised his eyebrows. "Right where anyone could see you? Annie, that's dangerous—"
"You sound like that old man..." Ananas mumbled before taking off her hat, flipping it in her hands with confidence "I'll be okay. I made sure I wouldn't be found" she grinned impishly.
"What did you do?" Trusting Ananas' words blindly would be foolish. Better to know what exactly she meant by that.
Ananas' grin widened. "There was a camera there. I covered the lens with mud and turned it around"
...the cameras! Syphus had completely forgotten about the cameras spread through all places in the Underground. The Ruins was pretty much the only place without cameras, but ever since it had opened up as a tourist spot, it was not a safe refuge. Syphus made mental note to be more careful, if any of the cameras saw him as a human or helped Alphys find out where the Hidden Village was...who knew what could happen. Alphys wasn't the kind of person that'd harm a human just like that, but there was no guarantee only Alphys would know.
"Mister? Mister, why are you making weird faces?"
"...where's that camera? Show me"
The girl led Syphus to a small chamber at the end of the hallway, disquietingly close to the crevice that'd lead to the Hidden Village. The chamber branched into a maze-like series of tunnels and rooms, a veritable playground for active children like Ananas and Monster Kid. Now that he thought about that, Monster Kid and Ananas were friends, weren't they?
Maybe I should keep an eye on MK too. If he was about to bring me here maybe he'd bring other monsters too.
"Over there" Ananas pointed at a small shelf-like protrusion on the wall. Syphus walked to the protrusion and stood on the tip of his feet, peering over it.
"Sheriff, there's nothing here"
-ooooo-
In another place of Waterfall, Royal Guard 047 grasped his sword with fury and slashed at the training dummy again, pouring all his frustration onto it. Hotlands! He had been assigned to Hotlands! Well, it wasn't that bad – he lived in Hotlands and it was a rather nice place for someone who was mostly made of clay – and it was going to take much less time to go to work now, but the spot in the Ruins had made him proud. Having it taken away was humiliating.
And all because he had let curiosity overtake him. Damn it.
The flat of the sword hit the dummy, sending it hurtling towards a nearby bench, making it fall behind the bench and out of sight. Satisfied with how far it had flown, Royal Guard 047 sheathed his sword and let out his breath. He had to calm down. This wasn't the end of the world. Life goes on, and in matter of days surely he'd have gotten used to the new area he had to patrol and it'd be like nothing happened. "All will be okay. I'll be fine as long as I never see that guy ever again".
Having calmed down enough for the moment, Royal Guard 047 left the room, leaving the dummy abandoned beside the bench.
Shadow Self:
Unlike the lesser Shadows, they appear as twisted mirror images of the person they represent, often with red or golden eyes. Despite often embodying the repressed negative qualities of their counterparts, Shadow Selves wish to kill their originals and take their place in the world. Shadow Selves fight either with a "Reverse" version of their counterpart's initial or ultimate Persona, or they transform into a large twisted version of the Persona they will become once accepted.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 1
Magician - ? - RANK 0
Priestess - ? - RANK 0
Empress - Toriel - RANK 2
Emperor - Cohen - RANK 1
Hierophant - ? - RANK 0
Lovers - ? - RANK 0
Chariot - Ananas - RANK 1
Justice - ? - RANK 0
Hermit - ? - RANK 0
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - ? - RANK 0
Hanged Man - ? - RANK 0
Death - Cornio - RANK 1
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 1
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 1
Judgment - ? - RANK 0
Aeon - Syphus - RANK 1
Jester - Alphonse - RANK 1