Somehow, barely stopping the timeline from ending in a major disaster was something that made one sleep like a log. He hadn't even done much, but apparently even small actions can affect way more than he expected. The moment Syphus returned to the village and laid on the mattress Cohen had lent him, he fell asleep. Cohen woke him up at noon. The magical illumination in the village was at its brightest. "Hey. It's almost lunch time. When are you going to get up?" the old man growled, shaking him up. Syphus had never slept for so long, had something happened to him? Syphus sat up on his mattress, suppressing a yawn.
"What?"
"Usually you're up and ready much earlier than this. Something wrong?"
Syphus shook his head. "No, I was just tired. Don't worry about it" but now that he was awake, may as well start his day. He had at least one thing to do today. He needed to tell Frisk to get moving. Stopping their journey had been a big mistake, and although Syphus feared that Frisk could get hurt or worse, he had no other option than trusting them and hoping for the best. It wasn't like they could stick with Frisk, he had to let the child go alone – although maybe Sans would watch them from afar.
Once Syphus felt ready to leave the village and go to Snowdin, he started to go in direction of the way out, but Graham stopped him. "Come here, I want you to take a look" he said, guiding Syphus to an unfinished cottage, where Cohen was already waiting "Do you like how it's looking so far?" Well I'm not sure what to say... Was there really a way to know if the progress was going well or not? Graham had built a couple walls, and the rest of the cottage's limits were marked on the ground. It didn't seem like it'd be different from the rest of the cabins.
"Thanks, Graham, I like it"
"I must say, you have been more tolerable than I thought you'd be" Cohen commented "I didn't know what to expect from having to host someone in my cottage, but you're okay"
"...thanks, I guess" Syphus mumbled morosely. Graham and Cohen exchanged a glance.
"Are you sure you're okay? You're acting a bit...gloomy"
"That may not be none of our business, Cohen" Graham whispered to him.
"Sorry, I just...had a bad night" after a pause Syphus sighed "Take care, both of you"
"I can take care of myself very well" Cohen smirked "I may be old but I can give a lot of fight" A grimace crossed Syphus' face, the image of Cohen lying limply against the wall flashing in his mind. The grimace didn't go unnoticed "You doubt me? I can show you what I mean, anytime"
"Cohen's right, he's the best fighter we have in this village. Not that the rest of us know any fighting at all" Graham raised his eyebrows "Isn't there a saying that says 'he with one single eye is the king among blind'? or something like that"
"If you all tried to learn fighting I'd gladly teach you, it's not my fault nobody but Annie is interested" the implicit 'and I don't want to teach her' was subtle, but nobody commented on it "You know how I do this. Right first, then left, try to look for the chance for an uppercut...
...why are you looking so pale, Syphus?"
I have to keep my mind busy. I don't want to think about this, damn it!
-ooooo-
Working at Grillby's right now was the last thing Syphus wanted to do. He felt too drained to subject himself to half a day of working. Syphus knew that was an immature thought, but he simply didn't feel like it, maturity be damned. There were other things to do. ...knowing it's wrong yet doing it is even more immature, isn't it? he thought, cringing. He was going to be particularly productive next time, to shut up this nagging feeling.
Papyrus was the person to open the door, greeting Syphus with the usual enthusiasm. "SANS! WE HAVE A GUEST! STOP BEING LAZY AND COME GREET THEM!"
"sup"
""SUP" IS NOT A FITTING GREETING FOR A FRIEND VISITING US!" he shouted, shaking Syphus' hand with energy before ascending the stairs to his bedroom.
Sans was on the couch, to his side the big bag filled with materials Syphus had brought last time. In his hands he had another brass replica of the snow Sans in Snowdin Forest. When Syphus approached, Sans passed the bag and the lump of brass, saying he had been unable to do anything with any of that, and telling him to sell it all in Temmie Village. Giving Toriel the fabric and asking her a favor was an option, too.
"...I'm sure the Queen has a lot of more important stuff to do than sew stuff for random vassals"
"who knows. you'd be surprised"
"SANS! WHERE'S MY CAPE!" Papyrus was walking around noisily in his bedroom "I HAVE TO GO TRAIN WITH UNDYNE TODAY!" Neither Sans nor Syphus tried to answer that, instead trying to continue their conversation.
"Where's Frisk? I need to tell them something"
Sans pointed with his thumb through the window. "they left a few hours ago. you didn't expect them to stay here for as long as you wanted, did you?" before Syphus could panic about that Sans winked "relax. i'm keeping an eye socket on them"
"YOU HAVE BEEN SITTING THERE ALL MORNING!" Papyrus shouted from his bedroom.
"a well-deserved break after watching over that kid. now that you're here, 'phus, I have a favor to ask you. paps has been a bit down these days, could you walk with him to undyne's house?"
"Sure" Since Frisk wasn't there, walking to Waterfall after having failed to fulfill the one thing he had wanted to do was a rather sad perspective. Having company should help him feel better. Sans looked at Syphus with more attention than before.
"the way you're standing, that expression of yours...you saw something you'd rather forget"
Syphus tried to make a more neutral face, but that was as good as a confession to Sans. He wouldn't have any reason to feign calm unless something had happened. "I just had a bad dream, don't worry about it"
"what kind of bad dream?"
"The 'everybody dies' kind" the piece said with even tone. Sans chuckled, looking tired.
"those are always tough—hey there paps"
Syphus turned around, noticing Papyrus had descended the stairs. For a moment Papyrus had a rather conflicted expression, like he wasn't sure what to say. It lasted no more than a couple seconds, enough for both Sans and Syphus to notice. "I'M READY! LET'S GET GOING, TO UNDYNE'S HOUSE! NYEH HEHEH!" he said, his voice getting louder than usual – a sign he was nervous.
The walk through Waterfall was rather silent, a blatant indication something was very wrong. Since when was Papyrus the type to walk in silence, without attempting to do some sort of animated conversation? Not even when they encountered many monsters, the usually friendly and encouraging Papyrus never tried to establish any sort of communication with them, not even a greeting.
The silence got so overbearing Syphus was getting more and more nervous, until he decided to try to shatter it no matter what. "So, what's eating you? You have been very silent since we left Snowdin"
"SILENT? WHO HAS BEEN SILENT?" Papyrus looked away pointedly.
"You. I haven't known you for long, but I don't think you're the type to be silent. Is there something bothering you?"
"NO! EVERYTHING IS JUST FINE! LIFE IS GOOD FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" that statement was received with a blank look that oozed doubt. "PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT"
"...fine. I won't ask you again" that was going to be the end of the conversation, but Papyrus started vibrating, making a noise that resembled an engine, until a moment later he threw his hands in the air.
"NYEEEH! FRIEND, YOU MUST TELL ME: ARE YOU OKAY?"
"W-What? What do you-?"
"I HEARD YOU HAD A BAD DREAM. SANS HAS THOSE ALL THE TIME. HE SAYS IT'S NOTHING IMPORTANT, BUT IT SEEMS VERY IMPORTANT, PERHAPS THE IMPORTANTEST THING RIGHT NOW" he grabbed Syphus' shoulders comfortingly "ARE YOU HAVING BAD DREAMS TOO?"
"No! That was a one-time thing, I'm sure of it" the piece said. Papyrus didn't seem convinced, but he let go of Syphus' shoulders. They continued walking, thankfully still talking instead of letting the silence settle again.
"SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE SANS IS HIDING SOMETHING FROM ME" Papyrus said. Of course he is. Bad dreams? That was unlikely. That was more likely to be Sans' way to disguise everything he knew from other timelines, or maybe to explain why he was to apathetic and lazy "WHAT DO YOU THINK?"
"I don't know what you want me to tell you"
"DO YOU THINK SANS COULD BE HIDING SOMETHING FROM ME?" the skeleton made a hopeful face that didn't last long "SANS IS THE BEST BROTHER ONE COULD EVER HAVE! THERE'S NO WAY HE'D TRY TO LIE TO ME!
...
...RIGHT?"
"No! Of course not!" Syphus replied immediately, not daring to shatter Papyrus' image of Sans. Right after saying that, Ciruel's words came to mind: 'Papyrus isn't some kind of child for you to mince words' He was right, Papyrus deserved to know that Sans was hiding something. Syphus had no intention to reveal the exact details – Sans should do it, not him – but maybe he could encourage Papyrus to find out more? "...maybe?"
"MAYBE? OH NO! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT?"
"It's possible. I don't know, you're going to have to talk it with him"
"BUT IF SANS IS LYING TO ME THEN THAT MEANS HE DOESN'T TRUST ME?"
Crap! "That's not what I said!" Syphus hurried to clarify "Sometimes people keep secrets from others, that doesn't mean he doesn't trust you"
"OH. I'M SORRY. HOW COULD I HAVE DOUBTED SANS? NO, IF HE'S NOT TELLING ME SOMETHING THEN THERE MUST BE A REASON FOR THAT! SANS KNOWS BETTER THAN ME. I SHOULD TRUST HIS JUDGMENT"
Despite such words, Papyrus didn't seem like he fully believed in them.
You're starting to understand the depths of Papyrus' worries.
The Papyrus Social Link has reached Rank 3!
Your power to create Personas of the Sun Arcana has grown!
"I don't know, Papyrus. I'm not the best person to talk this with" Syphus stuck his hands into his jacket, looking at the ground "You should talk this with Sans"
"YES! I WILL. SOMEDAY. NOT TODAY. SOMEDAY" That's better than nothing, I guess...
When Papyrus and Syphus got to Undyne's house, the piece stayed back while Papyrus strolled to the door. The skeleton raised his hand to knock on the door, but then he noticed Syphus was way behind him. "OVER HERE! YOU SHOULD MEET UNDYNE. I THINK YOU AND HER WOULD GET ALONG!"
"I already met her. I don't think she likes me very much"
"NONSENSE! IF YOU'RE AFRAID THEN DO NOT FEAR! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN EARNING UNDYNE'S FRIENDSHIP"
"Eeeeeeh..." Syphus stepped forward hesitantly. Undyne wouldn't get angry and make a scene if Papyrus was there, would she? Papyrus knocked on the door and waited. After a couple minutes it seemed that Undyne wasn't going to open.
"HOW UNLUCKY...UNDYNE ISN'T HOME"
"Too bad, eh?"
Syphus' hopeful interjection and attempt to get out only served to encourage Papyrus more. "WAIT, I KNOW! IF SHE ISN'T HERE, SHE MAY BE AT THE GARBAGE DUMP" Welp. He wasn't wrong. It took no time to get to the garbage dump. The piles of junk and garbage didn't stink, everything looked strangely clean. It was almost a pleasant place to be, if it wasn't for the foot of water covering the floor.
Noises of someone rummaging through the trash sounded from further inside the garbage dump. Papyrus took the lead while Syphus followed, reticent. He was sure that even if he left right now, Papyrus would somehow continue and go further. Better to stay and try to let this go according to his own terms.
Undyne and Alphys were there, digging through a pile of junk. Undyne did most of the physical labor, grinning and showing most of her teeth while picking up large pieces of steel with ease. Alphys, staying back and looking at the trash with appraising eye, pointed aside, where a few objects had been left aside. Undyne left there what seemed to be part of a large satellite dish. "UNDYNE! I'M HERE NOW!"
"Papyrus!" Undyne sounded genuinely happy to see him. She swept away the sweat from her face "Ready for a training session?"
"INDEED I AM! AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!" Papyrus stepped away, leaving in plain sight what seemed to be a bunch of feathers stuffed into a green track jacket. "DON'T BE SHY, SYPHUS! COME OVER HERE!"
"Hey, I don't think we have—" the realization came to Undyne immediately. Those clothes, that brooch, the feathers...it was that guy! The snake that had made her look like a fool in front of Alphys! Undyne tensed up "Hello...nice to see you again...punk" Syphus waved half-heartedly, instead stepping around and approaching Alphys. Alphys was far more welcoming, although hers wasn't exactly an effusive greeting.
Soon Papyrus and Undyne were training. Syphus had supposed it was because Papyrus was still convinced someday he'd be called to aid Syphus, but Alphys clarified that the training was mostly Undyne's idea. "She wants Papyrus to not stop training even though h-he doesn't want to be part of the R-Royal Guard anymore" Alphys frowned "H-He still hasn't said why he quit trying..."
"What has Undyne said about that?" Syphus inquired, watching their training. Papyrus had formed several bones protruding from the ground, bones he was using to strike cans and other small debris Undyne threw around. His accuracy and strength were notorious, despite the uneven terrain and the obstacles the bones moved with precision towards the cans, extending as high as needed to hit them in the air. The cans were often fired away from the garbage dump, too far for anyone to take the time go pick them up. 'YEAH! KEEP GOING' Undyne would shout every time Papyrus did a particularly impressive move.
Alphys sat on a dry pile of junk, wincing at how uncomfortable it was. "She didn't like it, of course...s-she thinks Papyrus was being a quitter. Maybe you don't know, but Undyne is n-not the type of p-person that would let anything stop her..."
"Yeah, I can see it" he said. Undyne commanded Papyrus to lift a heavy piece of machinery with bones, telling him to hold it up for a minute. 'YOU'RE DOING GREAT. KEEP HOLDING UP!' she was shouting. Alphys and Syphus stared in silence, although Alphys was focusing more on Undyne than Papyrus. She wasn't blushing or acting too unnatural, if Syphus hadn't known that she was interested in Undyne he wouldn't have noticed. Maybe I could try... The Social Links seemed to lead to a bond of trust between him and other people, and that involved his newfound friends revealing some sort of fact about them or their lives. Perhaps that could be forced to happen at a quicker pace? Syphus thought for a moment, looking for something Alphys would usually have hidden but would reveal to somebody she trusted. Undyne.
"So, when are you going to ask her out?"
"W-What?!" Alphys turned her head around so fast some would have thought she almost snapped her neck.
"You fancy Undyne. Why don't you ask her out?"
"Th-That's n-none of your b-business!" She wasn't wrong about that. What Syphus was doing truly was gratuitous snooping into other people's affairs. He didn't seem to care, much to Alphys' frustration. "Is it that obvious?"
"It's not that obvious, I just had a lucky guess"
"I'm going to t-talk with her when I'm ready" she murmured, watching. Undyne had made a spear, attacking Papyrus while he blocked with bones "There's no hurry, and...I-I-I don't know if she feels the same. I won't dare if I don't know for sure she is...i-interested in me too..."
"You can't keep waiting forever. That's the kind of thing people come to regret"
"I know, but—" Alphys got off the junk pile "Don't tell h-her. Don't tell anyone. This is something I must do myself...s-someday...I'll have to..."
You feel you have gotten a bit closer to Alphys
The Alphys Social Link has reached Rank 3!
Your power to create Personas of the Priestess Arcana has grown!
"And...Syphus? Please don't do that again" Alphys sounded rather serious "That was private, you shouldn't – you shouldn't do that" her tone showed she completely meant that. Was it so wrong...? If Alphys of all people protested it, then anyone with a more assertive personality would react in ways that'd make him regret it a lot.
"I'm sorry, Alphys..."
Alphys looked at him for a moment before raising her voice. "Undyne! Um, Undyne? Syphus said he wants to train with you"
"What?!" Okay, even Alphys would make him regret it. It was official: being nosy and unsubtle was an awful idea. Undyne approached with her hands on her hips.
"Really? And what makes you think I want—"
"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA! UNDYNE, YOU SHOULD TRAIN HIM!"
Undyne turned towards Papyrus. "I don't think I should do that"
"OH. THAT'S A PROBLEM" Papyrus sighed a bit theatrically "AND HERE I HAD THOUGHT YOU'D HAVE WHAT'S NEEDED TO TRAIN HIM"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I MEAN THAT ONLY YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO TURN SYPHUS INTO A VERITABLE WARRIOR! HE'S HOPELESS WITHOUT YOUR HELP, UNDYNE" Papyrus scooted towards Syphus, doing a stage whisper "YOU'RE NOT HOPELESS. EVERYONE CAN BE GREAT, INCLUDING YOU"
Undyne stared at him for a moment, seemingly considering it. "I don't know. What do you think, Alphys?"
"Do I get a say on this?" Syphus tried to protest, but Alphys smiled slyly at him before replying, looking straight at him:
"I'm afraid you don't" That both Alphys and Papyrus were pushing her to train Syphus was something Undyne wasn't happy about. Well, sure, why not. Just one training session and that'd be it. She would be able to say she tried. Then she'd tell Syphus they were done, and that'd be the end of this. It was easier than trying to argue and convince them to not to force her a dead weight on her.
"Fine. You!" Undyne pointed at Syphus' chest "Come here tomorrow morning. I promise you I'm going to train you so hard you'll be unable to move for a week!"
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Papyrus beamed with pride.
"Wonderful" Alphys chuckled. It was fair payback, and a lesson for Syphus to not to meddle into other people's private affairs like he did. What kind of person would do that, really? Seeing that Alphys and Papyrus wouldn't simply let him reject such generous offer and that simply not meeting Undyne the next morning was only going to make everything worse, Syphus sighed, resigned, and nodded weakly.
"Got it. See you tomorrow, Undyne"
"PUT MORE ENERGY INTO YOUR WORDS!" Undyne suddenly demanded. Syphus stood up straighter, barely resisting the urge to salute.
"Thank you and see you tomorrow morning, Undyne!" This is going to be a pain in the ass...
-ooooo-
Who'd have thought stuff like a brass lump with Sans' name would sell so well at the right place? The Temmie Village shopkeeper had given him so much gold Syphus could afford to not go work at Grillby's for a couple weeks, if he wanted. Not wanting to get rid of all the materials so quickly, Syphus refrained from bringing the rest. But the sudden influx of gold and the knowledge he had more gold available at any point just by bringing more seemingly useless stuff here made him feel like his worries about gold didn't have any meaning anymore.
To celebrate, Syphus decided to give good use to the gold and go see Burgerpants again. It was likely that to talk to him he'd need to buy another Starfait. He still didn't want to guzzle down glitter in a milkshake, but...maybe a sip or two would be good...
The MTT fast food restaurant seemed much less busy than it had been last time Syphus had been there, and Burgerpants was once again staring into the distance, utterly bored. When Syphus entered, Burgerpants barely glanced at him, only when the piece approached the counter Burgerpants straightened and said the usual spiel. "How's life treating you, BP?" Syphus asked, leaning on the counter.
"I'm sorry, mister, it's against company policy to talk with customers who haven't bought anything" he replied immediately. Syphus frowned, taking out gold from his pocket to get a Starfait.
"Again with that...do you get a commission for each sale or what?" he asked jokingly.
"I could earn money when other people buy something here?" Burgerpants seemed genuinely surprised to hear that. Syphus' coy smile disappeared, avoiding to look at Burgerpants.
"Forget it. It was a joke"
"Oh" Burgerpants looked like this was once another disappointment more for the pile "Too bad. That'd have made his hellish hole much more bearable"
Syphus stared at the list of products of the Burger Emporium as if it was the most interesting object ever. "You really don't like this job, do you?"
"Are you kidding me?" Burgerpants made a very fake cheerful grin, swooning around "I love this job! And by love I mean I'd rather to have my teeth pulled out with pliers!" he glanced around as if he expected to see his boss standing nearby, listening to that momentary outburst, but he wasn't around. When Burgerpants noticed Syphus was doing no more than staring at him blankly, Burgerpants muttered: "Yeah, I don't like my job"
"I understood that, I just didn't expect you to have such strong feelings about it"
"Well, I do, and you know why?" Burgerpants looked around again before lowering his voice, just in case "Just between you and me, I wanted to be an actor!" Burgerpants confided. That was a nice goal, and one Syphus sympathized with! Why was he working in a job he clearly hated, then? Syphus asked that, getting as a response a look that said 'are you kidding me?' "Have you realized where we're living? This is the Underground. There's no chance for me to be an actor"
"Have you even tried?"
"Tried? Where would I try? There's nothing I can do!" Burgerpants took out a cigarette "And even if I had a chance, I would have Mettaton as my only competition. It's an automatic loss for me! How would I defeat Mettaton in his own game?"
"Mettaton? Who's that?" Syphus knew very well who was Mettaton, hard not to know after watching the timelines several thousand times. Burgerpants shot him a disbelieving look.
"Have you been living under a rock?" As response, Syphus pointed upwards. Right, they were underground. Burgerpants actually gave a short laugh, amused. "Touché. Mettaton is "the star of the Underground", that's what he calls himself, and since he has no competition no one can deny it. And who would dare to?"
"That'd be a reason to try to achieve that dream you have, right? Stick it to your boss"
"You can't be serious" he narrowed his eyes, taking a drag of his cigarette "I'd like not to waste my time on something impossible. Life is too hard already for me to ask for more trouble"
That severely defeatist statement tugged at Syphus' heartstrings. Burgerpants was young, he should have a bright outlook of the future, yet here he was, trapped and without any enthusiasm about what may come. It was rather disheartening to see someone so defeated. "Don't let that discourage you, BP..."
"I have wasted nineteen years of my life. I'd rather not to waste any more in senseless dreams" Burgerpants scowled "There's nothing to be done here in the Underground. It'd be different if there was a chance to go onto the surface, but we're all trapped here...
...and we won't ever get out"
Burgerpants has confided in you.
The Fast Food Worker Social Link has reached Rank 2!
Your power to create Personas of the Magician Arcana has grown!
The worker put the cigarette aside. "Bah...now I'm in bad mood...please leave before my boss sees you. I don't want to get in trouble again" It seemed that there was no more option than to leave for now. Syphus nodded.
"Alright, I'll leave. Good luck, BP"
"Same to you, bud" he replied, showing a tired grin. This really was the image of a person who felt already defeated, and who despite hating his dead end situation simply saw no way to solve it. It was a rather pitiful situation, one Syphus actually wanted to see changed. How to help, though? Syphus had barely stepped away from the counter in direction of the exit when he heard a faint 'oh no' behind him. The cause of that 'oh no' was obvious immediately after that.
"OH YES!"
From the other side of the glass doors the monster Burgerpants wanted to see the least appeared. The doors parted, and a robot entered. He had a rectangular body, with a bright grid of lights as a face. Gloved arms, flexible and expressive, and a single wheel on an axle protruded from the body. Syphus stopped, not having expected to see that monster in person.
Mettaton had arrived.
"GOOOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES!" Mettaton exclaimed as soon as he entered. A group of clients surrounded him, begging for autographs. Mettaton shook a few hands while he slowly approached the counter, where Syphus stood, at a loss about what to do, and Burgerpants tried to not seem as frustrated as he really felt. Mettaton, extending his hands and letting his fans put pieces of papers in his hands, started giving autographs while talking to his worker. "MY, MY, WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?"
"What do you mean...boss?" Burgerpants' eye twitched for a moment.
"I DON'T SEE THE SIGN ABOUT OUR NEWEST OFFER TO OUR DEAR PUBLIC. DID YOU FORGET IT, DARLING?"
"Oh. That" Burgerpants took a sign from behind the counter, placing it on the surface. It informed – in rather flowery terms – that MTT's Burger Emporium had a contest: eat a jumbo-sized Steak in the Shape of Mettaton's Face and win a room in MTT's resort for a month. The contest would continue until there was a winner someday. It'd have been a rather engaging contest if it wasn't because of the price depicted in the sign. You'd have to pay how much for one attempt?!
Mettaton's lights flashed red for a moment, signaling his displeasure towards Burgerpants, and then he turned around to face the ten or so monsters that had gathered. "BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! MTT PRESENTS YOU A NEW CONTEST!" with a lot of enthusiasm that sounded rather authentic Mettaton gave a quick summary of the contest as indicated in the sign. "AND TO MAKE IT BETTER, THERE'S NO DEADLINE TO TAKE PART IN IT! prizeisnon-transferablenosubstitutionorcashequivalentofprizesispermittedbyparticipatingyouacceptmttburgeremporium'sconditionsandforfeitanyintentiontoholdmttburgeremporiumaccountableforthecustomersactionstermsandconditionsapply" The small crowd cheered. Mettaton relished in the applause for a moment before approaching Syphus "AND NOW, TO DEMONSTRATE THE DELIGHT THAT'S OUR JUMBO-SIZED STEAK, A LUCKY CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO ENJOY IT – FOR FREE!"
Syphus stepped back, raising his claws. "Uh, I don't think this is a good idea—"
"IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA, IT'S A WONDERFUL IDEA! DON'T BE SHY, DARLING, STEP AHEAD!" Mettaton turned towards Burgerpants "DON'T LEAVE OUR PUBLIC WAITING! IS THE STEAK READY?"
"It is, sir" he gave a pitying look to Syphus before leaving a very large plate on the counter, a ridiculously sized steak lying no it. There was no way anyone would be able to eat all of it in one try.
"LOOK AT THIS MARVELOUS STEAK!" Mettaton gestured at the steak with the shape of his face "A SCRUMPTIOUS, PERFECTLY COOKED STEAK FEATURING MY VISAGE. WHAT ELSE CAN ONE ASK? AND NOW, OUR LUCKY CUSTOMER WILL BE THE FIRST PERSON TO TRY IT!
WILL HE HAVE THE DILIGENCE, KNOWLEDGE OF HIS OWN LIMITS, MENTAL ENDURANCE AND PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO OVERCOME THIS CHALLENGE? LET'S FIND OUT!"
"Now?!" Syphus squeaked, eyeing the challenge in front of him. Mettaton seemed to have noticed, he approached and lowered his voice enough to whisper to Syphus.
"Just do it. Everyone simply needs to see somebody eating it"
It wasn't something Syphus really was into, but Mettaton didn't seem like someone who'd let it go if the piece refused to comply. Praying he wasn't taking a very bad decision, Syphus sighed and nodded. May as well get done with it. Besides, free food.
Soon he found himself sitting with the plate of rectangular steak in front of him. Mettaton and other five monsters were looking at him, waiting for Syphus to take the first bite. Syphus wasn't sure how eating something with the illusion of a monster body that had a much longer face than his real face was going to work, and being observed didn't assuage any fears of screwing up. Syphus hesitantly took a piece of the steak and steeled himself for what would come. If I hesitate they're going to get antsy. Okay, me, let's do this quick and clean... Everyone saw the snake monster open his maw a bit, showing a row of pointy thorn-like teeth. The snake pushed the forkful of steak deep into his mouth until it seemed like he was going to eat the fork as well. One of the monsters watching went away, not liking what they were seeing, but the rest waited for Syphus to say something once he took out the empty form out of his mouth.
"...wow, this is really good!" It was not meat of any kind, that was for sure, but it was rather savory. Maybe it wasn't worth the hundreds of gold asking for one of those would cost, but at least this wasn't a dinner Syphus would loathe.
Mettaton didn't waste any time, he immediately got to Syphus' side, clapping him on the shoulder. "ANOTHER WONDERFUL MTT-BRAND PRODUCT!" he proclaimed while the few bystanders cheered Mettaton's success. The small crowd disbanded, leaving Syphus and Mettaton alone. The robot seemed to be in very good mood, the lights on his face twinkling. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION, DARLING. REMEMBER THAT IT'S FREE THIS ONE TIME. ANY NEW ATTEMPTS WILL COST YOU NINE HUNDRED GOLD"
"...fine" It wasn't like Syphus planned to try ever again...although...the thought of having a room in the MTT Resort for free during one month...it was quite tempting, honestly. Satisfied, Mettaton left, and Syphus, not having anything better to do, kept eating the steak, hiding part of his face with his hand, just in case.
It was true it was impossible to fill oneself with monster food thanks to its properties, but that didn't mean one could eat as much monster food as one wanted. Its magic interacted with monster bodies, making monsters not want to eat more once they reached their limit, and although humans were more tolerant by virtue of having physical bodies, that same magic would sate humans nonetheless after a certain point. Syphus had eaten around half of the huge steak before he felt like he couldn't take not even a bite more. Defeated, Syphus took the plate and brought it to where Burgerpants was waiting. The employee once again looked at him with pity, although he quickly disguised it with a derisive grin. ""Really good", eh?"
"I wasn't lying. It's good" Syphus pushed the plate with the leftovers of the steak, wincing. He felt strangely light and a bit dizzy, like he was going to start floating in any moment. Burgerpants rolled his eyes.
"It's not even real meat. It's mushrooms. I don't know why people like it so much, it tastes like mud to me" Burgerpants threw away the leftovers "So what do you think of the boss?"
"He is..." Odd "...overwhelming"
"Try insane. He's insane, yet everyone adores him. What's wrong with people? What do they see in him?" Burgerpants scoffed, stepping away from the counter. It was closing time, after all. "I don't get it. Why's everyone so focused on that guy? Why does everyone think he's so wonderful?" His voice was full of bitterness. He truly hated Mettaton, that much was for sure, but was there something else? Chances are there was something else gnawing at him, something he needed to overcome. Syphus watched him go to the tables, intending to clean them, and left in silence. There was something about Burgerpants, all that bitterness...
"His wishes of acting" Syphus murmured to no one in particular. It had to be rooted into his ruined hopes...Mettaton is the only competition he'd have. Working for him may be humiliating for Burgerpants. Still...it wasn't something as simple as telling him not to give up. Something else had to be done...but what?
Something was sure, though: Syphus was planning to visit the MTT Burger Emporium several times more in the foreseeable future...and maybe he'd try the jumbo steak again. It was amazingly good. Maybe the nine hundred gold for each attempt were worth it.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 4
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 2
Priestess - Alphys - RANK 3
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 2
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 1
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 3
Judgment - Team - RANK 1
Aeon - Syphus - RANK 2
Jester - Alphonse - RANK 2