Alphonse stared at the map Cornio had given him. The witch had arrived, intending to do what Lucia had done not too long ago: give Alphonse a puzzle to solve. Cornio looked rather out of place in the Velvet Room – with his tattered clothes and his unkempt mane of hair – but Alphonse didn't mind. Igor didn't make any comments, either, all he did was stare at Cornio with interest.

Cornio was grinning like a child with a secret, barely withholding his excitement while Alphonse looked at the map. He looked like he was about to start bouncing on his seat. "So? Any ideas yet?"

"Uh...so the camera can watch from end to end of the hall, I get that. Okay, the attacker blocked the view of the camera before attacking Ananas"

Cornio sputtered rather ungraciously, holding his hands in front of his face with glee. "No. The camera's view wasn't hindered at any point!"

"Then it was turned off! All the attacker would have to do is turn it off and they'd be able to do whatever they wanted in that corridor"

"Only Alphys can turn off a camera"

"Then Alphys may have been an accomplice"

That theory made Cornio be far less amused. His grin disappeared, although he didn't lose the playful mood, it was much more subdued now. "...no. There were no accomplices. And Alphys wouldn't do that"

Alphonse took off their repairman cap and scratched their head, puzzled. "I don't get it...how can Ananas have been attacked without the camera seeing anyone except her?"

"I told you the attacker grabbed her with their own hands and made her fall down"

"I know! That's why I don't understand how they got away without the camera catching them"

Cornio smiled. "Magic?"

"Aw, don't say that again! That can't be the default answer for everything"

"Monster and witches can explain everything with 'magic'" Cornio seemed to be much more at ease with Alphonse than while playing the game with Lucia and Syphus. He was smiling more often, and sounded more carefree. He sank in his seat, relaxing "All witches say everything is done through magic, but there's always a solution, trust me!"

"Do you mean it?"

"There's always an explanation that doesn't involve magic! It's a cruel game, but it's supposed to be fair"

Alphonse rolled up the map. "I don't get it...the first case was easier than this one. I can't solve it" But there had to be a way for the attacker to have done it, he knew it. All the clues were there. The camera, the kids' shoe, the print in the mud..." the attendant put his cap back on, thinking, until they finally managed to notice a possible way to get to an answer. "Cornio, say this: the culprit was wearing the shoe" Maybe this way they could narrow down who the attacker was! Cornio noticed too what Alphonse was trying to do, he shook his head.

"I refuse"

"What? Why?"

"I have a reason to refuse. I'm sorry"

Well that was a dead end.

-ooooo-

It had been a week since the game started and progress had been made. Two materials charged with magic had been gathered already, ten more were needed. By a rate of two per week that'd mean the Barrier would be broken after just a month and half. That wasn't too bad of a timeframe! Not as quick as some would have hoped, but it was better than having to spend a year working on this. I really hope I didn't just jinx it.

Life was going to be deceptively simple until the next time someone was attacked. Until it happened again, he had to live a normal life, as if he was one monster more and not a witch's piece who fights with a personification of his psyche. It wasn't going to be that difficult. Having a part-time job, having to return to the village every night...it was certainly 'normal', in some ways.

It didn't mean he had forgotten he was supposed to get stronger until it was time for another trip into somebody's SOUL. The Social Links weren't going to rank up by themselves, and there were many that hadn't been started yet. Where could they be? Which ones could he improve?

Two days after the Barrier Breakers team was established, he decided to visit the MTT burger parlor before going to Snowdin to work. He didn't intend to buy anything, but that worker...could it be that he could be a Social Link? It was worth a try. Just a few minutes after the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium opened, Syphus strolled inside, going straight towards the counter.

Just like last time, the worker had been staring into space until Syphus approached, even though it had been just minutes since the place opened. The worker gave his fakest grin and recited the usual welcome spiel. What did that reptile want now, he wondered? Once he was done, Syphus leaned on the counter. "So, I was wondering something...do you know-?"

"I'm sorry, mister" the worker's smile didn't falter, but he sounded anything but apologetic "It's against company policy to talk with customers who haven't bought anything"

"...oh" Syphus looked at the menu and asked for the cheapest product he could see, which was still rather expensive. Did I just buy a milkshake full of glitter? After receiving the Starfait he left it aside, he didn't come here for a Starfait. "So, what's cooking?"

The worker's eyes darted around, clearly uncomfortable. Uh. Syphus was starting to regret coming here to shoot the breeze. "Would you like to buy anything else, mister?"

"...no, I just wanted to talk"

The smile strained a lot, he started shaking slightly. "It's against company policy to talk with the customers"

This was quickly going nowhere. Syphus sighed, unless he salvaged this conversation, this could only end in disaster. "Want to hang out after you're done with your job?"

"Why?" the worker abandoned all pretense of mild professionalism and showed how annoyed he was. "I don't even know you!"

"Oh, my bad. My name is Syphus. What's your name?" I should have thought this through before coming here. Syphus wasn't the only one wishing for someone to save them from this awkward conversation, judging by the worker's twitching.

"Do you have a question or anything, mister?" he said, his voice shaking. Syphus had been about to reply he had nothing to say, when he remembered a certain thing Ananas and he had been wondering for a while already.

"Now that you mention it, yeah, I do!" Syphus gestured towards a Glamburger "What are those made of?"

The worker didn't like it. The smile didn't break away, but his eye twitched before he replied to such asinine question, his voice dripping hostility. "What do you think?"

"...nevermind" that was it, better to go away before Syphus begged for the earth to swallow him. He had been about to step away when another customer approached the counter, looking at the menu.

"I'd like a Glamburger, Burgerpants"

Syphus looked at Burgerpants, who quickly gave the client the requested food item. Once the customer had gone away, Burgerpants noticed Syphus glancing at him. 'Why haven't you gone away yet' he muttered before saying aloud: "It's a nickname, not my name"

"Believe it or not, I didn't think for a second that was your name" there was a very tense silence for a moment "It doesn't seem you're fond of the nickname"

Somehow, the answer was apparently unexpected to Burgerpants. Perhaps he expected Syphus to start calling him that? He froze for a moment, unsure of how to reply, before shrugging. "It doesn't really bother me, it's just a bit. You know. Annoying. But that's what everyone calls me"

"Mind if I call you 'BP'? It isn't as bad as 'Burgerpants"

Burgerpants shrugged. He didn't really care about that. This insufferable monster would get out and hopefully never return, and for that to happen Burgerpants was almost willing to let Syphus call him whatever he wanted. "That's fine"

There! Progress. May as well get moving, leave before Syphus said anything that'd ruin everything. "I'll come back some other time, BP. Sorry for bothering you"

The relief of being freed from this badly done social interaction flooded Burgerpants. "I, uh, I'm sorry for being rude. I didn't want to be reprimanded" the worker blurted before realizing what he had said. Mentally berating himself for what sounded way more welcoming than he actually felt, he sighed and resigned himself to being hassled by a customer "It is against company policy to talk with the customers"

"You're really patient, you know. I'd have snapped already if I were you!"

"Talking to you was better than. You know. Staring at the ceiling" Burgerpants moved around awkwardly "But I think you should leave"

"Fine" The situation was barely salvaged, it could all have gone much better. Before he could step away he did feel the familiar warmth of a Social Link being established. Yes!

Burgerpants has begrudgingly accepted your presence.

You feel a faint bond forming between you and Burgerpants.

Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana

Mission accomplished. Syphus hadn't been sure if Burgerpants was a good option for a Social Link, but now that it had been achieved it wasn't like he had any other option than nurturing that Social Link the best he could. He wasn't sure how, and Burgerpants wasn't exactly the most amicable person to ever exist, but Syphus was willing to try.

"See you someday, BP" It was possible Syphus wasn't going to return tomorrow, or the day after that, so maybe it was for the better to leave it vague and come by surprise whenever it was time. Burgerpants nodded and didn't bother to look at Syphus, instead falling once again in the same usual boredom. Well, that was almost a trainwreck, but beggars can't be choosers Syphus thought, exiting the restaurant.

-ooooo-

Despite how many times Syphus had worked at Grillby's, the Royal Guard dogs didn't get any calmer. All of them still were very wary of him, looking at him while he cleaned around. "It's odd. Usually they don't fear anyone" the red bird had commented.

"I hadn't even talked to them before working here!"

"Relax. Surely it's a misunderstanding" the bird took his glass, drinking it in one gulp "You smell like a human? That'd explain it"

Syphus stopped scrubbing a particularly tough stain, glad he was facing the floor or the bird would have seen the uncomfortable expression of his face. "How exactly would that explain it?"

"The dogs once said there has been this weird smell around town since a year ago"

"...I wasn't around here a year ago. It's not me" And no way it was Frisk. It was more likely it was Ciruel, going around with his fake antlers and his makeup. It had been a relief that Snowdin and the Royal Guard stationed there were rather accepting of Frisk, but Syphus really doubted they'd appreciate the presence of a second human, especially an adult.

As if they had been waiting right for that moment to move, all the dogs suddenly raised their snouts, sniffing the air. Two of them – Lesser Dog and Dogamy – went to the door, sticking their noses outside and looking in direction of the skeletons' house. After a few seconds Dogamy exhaled, shaking his head.

"...the child again" Syphus heard him whisper once he returned to the table with Lesser Dog. Lesser Dog was tilting their head, looking a bit confused.

"You sure? The smell is different" Doggo bit into the dog biscuit he had in his mouth.

"It has to be them. There's no other human around here"

Syphus plopped the rag on the counter, wiping his hands on his jacket. It had to be Ciruel. He had to be with Papyrus right now. "Boss, can I go on break?"

"...go ahead"

Fifteen minutes, that's all he was given, but that was enough. As soon as Grillby gave his approval Syphus went to the door, hurrying towards Sans and Papyrus' house. He knocked on the door, pounding it with his fist. "Hey! Papyrus! We need to talk!" There was no answer from inside the house. Syphus had been about to try to peek through a window when the door of the shed opened, Papyrus peeking outside.

"OVER HERE! FOLLOW MY VOICE!" Papyrus waved. Syphus entered the shed, disabling the firefly brooch, while Papyrus left the shed and closed the door. Right there, underneath a window patched up with duct tape and a wooden plank, was Ciruel, his face covered with that purple gunk he used as a disguise. The former scholar greeted with his head, focused on what he was writing.

"Please be silent, I'm in middle of something here" he said. Syphus didn't really have time to wait for Ciruel to finish, though. He approached, looking outside the broken window.

"The dogs know. If they catch you – I don't know what'll happen, don't let them catch you" he said, talking faster than usual. Ciruel didn't seem worried at all, nodding and making 'hmhm' noises as if Syphus had said something completely unimportant.

"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me"

"That's—that's all you have to say?"

"I have been coming and going for a year already, I can take care of myself"

He had a bit of a point there. Ciruel wouldn't have survived until now if he wasn't careful or smart. It wasn't going to stop Syphus from worrying about Ciruel, but it wasn't like the scholar would accept anyone trying to limit his actions. "How have you been avoiding being caught, anyways? I doubt putting branches on your head is enough"

"I have my ways. Never had to deal with those dogs, though" Ciruel pushed his glasses higher up his nose "Hey, read this and tell me if it sounds right" Syphus took the notebook and read what Ciruel had written. What's this...? Whatever Syphus had imagined it sure wasn't this.

It was a recipe for spaghetti, and not a very good one. Syphus was by no means an expert cook, but he was pretty sure that making spaghetti didn't involve setting the stove on fire. "Papyrus is learning cooking and I'm the official taster. He made me credentials" Ciruel flashed a card that proclaimed him as Papyrus' aide in the kitchen, all said in the most endearing terms Syphus could imagine.

Right then Papyrus opened the door, bringing a few pots full of spaghetti. "HERE IT IS! THE LATEST BATCHES OF MASTER CHER PAPYRUS' HOMECOOKED PASTA!" he slammed the pots on the table, beaming with pride. Ciruel stood up from the floor and slowly walked to the table, looking into the pots with appraising expression. After a few seconds of watching, he stuck his face almost to the rim of one of the pots, taking a deep breath.

"Hmmmmm...no smell at all. That's an improvement"

"Improvement?" Syphus raised his eyebrows.

"Last batch had a, uh, unflattering aroma" Ciruel gestured vaguely, taking a fork from one of the pots "Alright, Paps, ready to take notes?"

"I'M READY FOR THE VERDICT!"

Ciruel spun the fork in the pasta and raised it. His face curled into a slight expression of disgust. The pasta was almost melting. "Paps, did you hold it to the fire before placing it in the pot?"

"YES! JUST LIKE WE AGREED"

"I think we made a big mistake"

"HERE, SYPHUS! YOU GET TO TASTE MY COOKING TOO" Papyrus pushed the pot towards Syphus, who gingerly took some of the spaghetti. After glancing at Papyrus, who was staring at Syphus with a hopeful grin, Syphus put the pasta in his mouth.

He regretted it mere seconds later. The spaghetti was terribly chewy yet it felt like a lot of powder had suddenly filled his mouth. Syphus held back coughing, not having expected the lack of quality of Papyrus' cooking. "I-I see...alright" Syphus murmured with raspy voice.

"IS IT GOOD?"

"It is..." Syphus swallowed, trying not to shudder. Papyrus was looking at him with excitement, his eye sockets almost sparkling from the illusion of hearing praise for his cooking. How to tell the truth to someone looking at him with such joy? Syphus cleared his throat and smiled weakly "It's fantastic!"

Papyrus gasped rather exaggeratedly, sounding as if he was about to explode from joy. "REALLY?! WOWIE! CIRUEL, I DID IT!"

"Let me see" Ciruel put a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth. His face immediately turned sour, almost resembling a raisin. He dropped the fork and held his head in his hand for a moment.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

"It's awful. Two out of ten"

"Ciruel!" Syphus blurted out, horrified. Ciruel had said that in such blunt tone Syphus couldn't stop himself from shouting in protest. Papyrus wasn't the slightest bit offended, though. The skeleton let out a 'A FAILED ATTEMPT!' and took that pot away, getting another one on the table.

"HERE YOU GO. UNDYNE HELPED ME WITH THIS ONE!"

"Did she punch the tomatoes again?" the corners of Ciruel's mouth twitched upwards.

"SHE DID! THIS IS OUR COLLABORATION" Papyrus seemed much happier announcing this one than the one he had made by himself. Ciruel took the fork and sampled the spaghetti, choking almost immediately. He held his hand against his mouth until he swallowed.

The former scholar sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Paps. Another two out of ten"

"OH. I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE GOOD ONE!"

"It's a bit of an improvement, but not enough"

The other two pots didn't fare much better, although one registered an uptick in Ciruel's approval scale. Papyrus was elated when he heard 'three out of ten' - "SUCCESS! JUST AS EXPECTED!". Despite the bluntness of his criticism and how stoic he was during the tasting, once it was done Ciruel lightened up considerably, with a joyful attitude one would have expected from a child, not from a thirty-something man. Papyrus and he discussed how to attempt to improve the paste cooking a bit more, talking quickly and loudly. They seem to be good friends...can't say I expected that! Once Papyrus left the shed, leaving behind one of the failed pots, Syphus approached Ciruel.

"Don't you think you're being a bit tough with Papyrus?"

"Tough? No, not at all. It's my sincere opinion"

"He was so proud about what he cooked, you could have softened the blow"

Ciruel was silent for a moment. He grabbed the pot Papyrus left behind, staring into it. "Papyrus isn't going to improve at all if he keeps being told what he does is excellent without that being true"

"Still, saying it was awful was harsh"

"Do you think so badly of Papyrus you think he can't take a little bit of criticism? Now that's insulting" Ciruel scowled "Papyrus isn't some kind of child for you to mince words" Ciruel stuck his hand into the pot, slathering it with sauce, and started rubbing his hand over his neck and the back of his head. That should help disguise his smell, just in case the dogs were paying attention "My father used to say something:

Your best effort is worth nothing if it doesn't produce the best results.

I believe in that. Papyrus may be doing his best, but he can do even better. I just want to help him with that"

You feel you understand Ciruel a bit more.

The Ciruel Social Link has reached Rank 2!

Your power to create Personas of the Hierophant Arcana has grown!

Ciruel continued covering himself with sauce, looking a bit uncomfortable with the slightly burnt smell emanating from it. Okay...Ciruel isn't wrong, but still... "I still think you could have been a bit less blunt about it"

"Come on! Why do you want me to coddle Paps?" Ciruel looked away, his already cloudy glasses turning opaque. He even sounded slightly bitter. "I'm not going to, no matter what you say"

It was useless to try to argue with Ciruel on this, that much was obvious now. While Ciruel's persevering nature influenced him Syphus felt there was something else going on, something tinging Ciruel's behavior. He'd have liked to try to find out, but given the fifteen minutes Grillby had allowed were almost over, he had to leave right now. "Fine. Just be careful, okay? If something happens to you—"

"I know. Trust me, I'll be okay" I'm going to hold you onto that promise. Just in case, as soon as Syphus stepped outside he made a SAVE point. If Ciruel died he was going to return and escort him back to the village, even if he had to drag Ciruel by the neck of his ugly sweater all the way to the depths of Waterfall.

-ooooo-

Alphys was the Royal Scientist, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything that could stump her. This glass, for example. She had examined it in every way she could think yet she hadn't found out how exactly it had so much magic inside, or why. What was stranger was that although the readings showed the glass was so full of magic, accessing it was rather difficult. That didn't discourage her, though. It was a challenge, and although Alphys wasn't into challenges as much as Undyne, this was interesting enough for her to want to work with it.

And then Syphus came by during the evening, bringing her what seemed to be pieces of armor, some of them just as filled with magic as the glass. A couple pieces even had more. "O-Okay, where are you finding this stuff?"

"You know, around. These were in Waterfall" Syphus had said.

It was a relief that Syphus was alive. As soon as Alphys saw him, she blurted out 'are you alive?' and then hid her face behind her claws because who asks that?

"Yeah, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"S-So, um...do you remember...meeting a human?"

"Not really" Syphus tilted his head "I think I'd have noticed if I had"

He was lying. There was no way he wasn't lying. Unless there was more than one snake monster with limbs and feathers in the Underground, it had to be Syphus. He had the same clothes, the same colors, everything was just like the monster she had seen attacked by that girl dressed like a cowboy. Alphys left him enter the Laboratory and took the pieces of armor, turning them around in her claws. "What do you want me to do with these?"

"Can you combine them with the stuff I gave you last time? I was thinking about a..." Syphus extended his hands in a straight line from side to side "A weapon that could pierce the Barrier. You know, something sharp!"

"Oh! I can do something like that!" Alphys cheered up a bit. She had immediately thought of a spear "I-I'll start drawing the specs later, you keep bringing materials. Now..." Alphys put the armor away "Syphus, are you sure you d-don't remember a human?"

Syphus faced Alphys but his eyes looked to a side. "Completely sure. Why do you ask?"

"I want you t-to watch this" Alphys went towards the large screen and picked up a few discs and tapes. She grabbed the right one, the one that showed the human girl's attack on him, but all she did was stare at it, unsure. Why did Syphus deny it? She didn't understand, it was a lie that could be easily debunked, he knew that, right? There had to be a reason for him to lie so transparently! And if there was a reason...was it really a good idea to confront him? It was bad enough that Sans hadn't made the slightest effort to tell her Syphus hadn't died at the hands of a human – thanks a lot, Sans – she didn't want to get into more unneeded trouble. Things were complicated enough already; she didn't need to add worries about people she didn't even know well.

A few seconds passed, Alphys staring at the box intently. "Hmmm...is everything okay?" Syphus asked.

"Oh? Oh! I-I'm fine. I just...got distracted" Alphys turned around, hiding the disc with her body, and looked around "I left this disc outside of its box, give me a second" Alphys took the case of the DVD Syphus had returned not too long ago, taking out the anime DVD and putting inside the disc with the recording of the human girl attacking. That'd keep it out of his reach. "I wanted you to watch this! It's a good anime, I think you'd like it"

"...anime?" the feathered snake monster looked at a side with reluctant expression while Alphys started to sweat. He didn't sound interested at all. For a moment Alphys panicked, her mind immediately going 'oh god, I shouldn't have said anything' several times, until Syphus looked at her without turning her head around. The visible yellow eye focusing on her showed a lot of doubt "What's it about?"

"I...uh...it's called...Mew Mew Kissy Cutie and...it's very good" Alphys smiled nervously "Y-You should give it a chance, you'll l-like it"

"Yeah, but what's it about?" Syphus repeated, finally turning his head and looking at her with stony expression. Alphys took air, ready to explain her favorite anime.

"I'll try not to give you spoilers, but here I go...the main character is a human w-with cat ears, and she..." it wasn't long before she launched into a very extensive speech about the anime, taking faster with every word, to the point where Syphus had difficulty following her train of thought. Plots, chapters, names of characters, events, it all mixed together in a litany he just didn't understand. It was a bit amazing how Alphys was able to say all that without stopping for air for long.

After a couple minutes of Alphys explaining extensively while Syphus stared, dumbfounded, she finally stopped, huffing for air. "...and that is...Mew Mew Kissy Cutie...so you want to watch it?"

Syphus stuck his claws in his pockets and shrugged. "Sure, why not? You lead the way, Alphys"

What started for Alphys as a mere way to distract Syphus and hide that she was going to show him something turned into genuine enjoyment for her. Once the DVD was inserted in the machine and the anime started she relaxed considerably, watching it with happiness. Syphus, seated nearby, stared at the screen, looking more confused than anything else. I don't understand anime. After around ten minutes Alphys seemed to remember she had a guest. "I watch this often with Undyne...we like the plot"

"Captain Undyne of the Royal Guard?"

"Yeah, she is my, uh...my best friend?" It wasn't anything further than that yet, much to her disappointment "We watch anime a couple times per week" there was a very subtle red glow in Alphys' face, one she tried to hide. It wasn't like more people needed to know about her crush on Undyne.

The captain's tastes on entertainment were old news for Syphus, but he feigned ignorance. He smirked, amused "Undyne didn't seem to me like the type to like anime!"

"She does! Especially if it has a good fight...and sometimes p-princesses!" Alphys leaned forward, her eyes watching the TV screen with attention "I-I'm sure if you ask her she'll tell you some good a-anime..." they watched the screen in silence for a few minutes more before Alphys stammered something else "B-But yeah, you wouldn't guess Undyne likes anime, just by looking at her..."

"Ah, that's how people are"

"W-Well, yes, but if you asked Undyne if she liked anime she'd reply something like..." Alphys clenched her fists "'NGAAAH! So what if I do?!'" she enjoyed that private moment of amusement, judging by the way she was holding her face in bliss "And I like that of her, she'd reply without fear immediately...not like me"

Syphus frowned. "I thought you were proud of watching anime"

"I am! And I'd tell anyone who asks if I like anime, but...but Undyne feels a lot more confident about that than me. And sometimes when I think about it I realize that...that I don't deserve her attention and friendship..."

The piece slammed a hand against the side of his seat, startling Alphys with the loud noise. "What are you talking about?! You're overthinking it. Alphys, you're no lesser than anyone, not even Undyne"

"Really?" Alphys didn't sound convinced at all.

"I'm serious. Why'd you even think that?"

"...I have...many reasons to think it...no, to know I'm lesser than her..."

You saw a glimpse of some of Alphys' insecurities

The Alphys Social Link has reached Rank 2!

Your power to create Personas of the Priestess Arcana has grown!

It was a rather depressing thought, and Alphys wasn't able to immerse herself in the anime. After several minutes of staring blankly at the TV without realizing what she was seeing, she shook her head and stood up from the couch. "Sorry, I can't focus on this tonight...would you...please leave?"

Syphus frowned. "Are you okay?" Did I say something bad?

"...no. Just leave, p-please..."

It was useless to try to talk with her right now. For a moment Syphus considered LOADing to undo the last few hours, even if it cost him the rank up with Alphys' Social Link, but that was a bad reason to LOAD. If he rewinded the timeline every time a social interaction with anyone didn't go okay, he'd be stuck in the first few days, never progressing. Syphus simply stood up and exited the Laboratory after saying his farewell.

Alphys didn't even watch him leave. She had blurted out a lot of ridiculous stuff, hadn't she? Why had she said anything about that? In times like these she'd just lie on her bed and eat ice cream in her pajamas, but she didn't feel like doing that. Thirty minutes later, right when she was going to retire to her bedroom to try to sleep, her phone started to ring. "Who...?" she grabbed it, seriously considering not answering. Such thoughts were thrown away when she realized it was Undyne. "H-Hello, Undyne..."

"Alphys! Still up for watching something fun tonight?"

Oh. Right. Alphys slapped herself, she completely forgot tonight Undyne was supposed to come! And she had told Syphus about that, how could she have forgotten? "S-Sorry, Undyne...I'm not feeling well tonight"

"What?!" Alphys had barely said the final syllable when Undyne shouted that into the phone, forcing her to separate the phone from her head a bit "Are you sick? I'm on my way"

"You don't have to, Undyne..." Alphys said, grinning to herself bashfully. It wasn't like she was going to try too hard to stop Undyne. Surely she was already running as fast as possible towards Hotland. She may hate that part of the Underground, but she endured it if it meant coming to the Lab. Indeed, she arrived to the place in matter of minutes.

Once Undyne arrived Alphys had to tell her that things weren't grave at all, and that there wasn't really a need for her to make the effort of coming all the way here. Not that it stopped Undyne from declaring she was going to stay for a while, if only to make sure Alphys was going to be fine. Alphys, cheered up from everything she had told to Syphus, simply relaxed and let Undyne do whatever she wished. That was the mistake.

Wanting to make Alphys feel better, Undyne took the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie DVD case. "Come over here, we're going to watch the one you like the most" she said, inserting the disc into the DVD player. When Alphys entered, there was the human girl in cowboy clothes, slamming a monster over and over with her fist. Undyne was staring at the screen, not having expected to see it...but it was undeniable. That was a human in the Underground.

"U-Undyne...?" Alphys tried to get her attention. Mentally she was kicking herself for forgetting about the disc, there was no way she'd be able to pass this as anything but what it seemed to be.

"Did you know about this?" Undyne asked, the eye uncovered by the eye-patch glaring at the screen. That human girl was attacking Monster Kid too! Alphys gulped and lied without even realizing that was her first reaction.

"No! I didn't know"

Undyne glanced at Alphys, she saw she believed her lie without a shred of doubt. Once Alphys realized she had just lied, she opened her mouth to try to explain herself, but no words came out. Not that Undyne gave her time for that. She immediately left the Lab before Alphys could stop her, walking away with celerity.

That place...Undyne had recognized which part of Waterfall that was. So there may be a human nearby? That video was from the day before; the human could be far away! But nobody had alerted her about the presence of a human, it was unlikely she had gotten into Hotlands or into Snowdin. No, the human had to still be in Waterfall.

First things first: gather backup. Humans were tough, and that girl had attacked monsters already. Usually Undyne would confront the human by herself, but this was going to be her first time fighting a real human. Making a mistake would be too dangerous, she couldn't allow that! What'd happen to the Underground if she failed to acquire the first human SOUL?

No, this was the start of monsterkind's liberation from their imprisonment, and all first steps needed to be flawless. She'd gather a few guards more and explore the area with them.

She'd find that human girl.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Fool - Frisk - RANK 4

Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 1

Priestess - Alphys - RANK 2

Empress - Toriel - RANK 2

Emperor - Cohen - RANK 3

Hierophant - Ciruel - RANK 2

Lovers - ? - RANK 0

Chariot - Ananas - RANK 5

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 2

Judgment - Team - RANK 1

Aeon - Syphus - RANK 2

Jester - Alphonse - RANK 2