Aeon

by ReadingForever

Sequel to Overmyth. Thirty years passed without any progress in the creation of the timeline he wanted, and other people were getting involved now. Now he finally had a chance to achieve it, but there were two conditions: One, Syphus must accept responsibility for ALL his actions. Two, the Barrier must be broken without using human SOULs. What's the power of Persona, though?

21. Alphys' SOUL

Alphys' real laboratory had two elevators: one she used to go to the Hotlands laboratory where she lived, and the other to be able to go to New Home and the MTT Resort if she wanted. Knowing that, Undyne held tight onto Alphys' unconscious body and hurried to the other elevator, pressing the button to get to New Home. When the elevator doors opened and she stepped outside, to New Home's gray pathways, she shoved the crowd aside. Many monsters tried to stop her, asking what had happened, but she ignored them, going straight to the hospital.

"Undyne?" a familiar voice had asked her. She turned her head around, finding Syphus standing not too far away. He had been on his way to the Castle – or so he said later to Undyne. The snake monster looked at Alphys, his mouth hanging open. "What happened? Why's Alphys-?" There was no time for banal questions. Undyne didn't reply, continuing her way "Hey!" She didn't stop Syphus from following her.

The New Home hospital was a small building, made of gray stone like everything else in the capital. Given the small quantity of monster population in the Underground and the many uses of magic to heal and keep monsters healthy, there were no more than a dozen rooms at the hospital, only around half of them occupied with monsters who had fallen down, close to the end of their lives. Besides them, only three monsters more rested at the hospital, receiving treatment for conditions they hadn't been able to deal with by themselves. Alphys was quickly interned and left in her room, she was quickly assessed while Undyne and Syphus stood outside.

The prognosis wasn't good: Alphys really had fallen down and was at the brink of death. When Undyne heard that, she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, dazed. Alphys was going to die? Impossible! Just an hour ago she looked healthy – how did this happen? Was it the elevator crash? Once the medic left, Undyne looked at Syphus, who had taken the news with unexpected stoicism. There he was, looking into Alphys' room with a strange expression. For a moment Undyne felt a revolting feeling of disgust. How could he look like what was happening was no worse than a minor inconvenience?! She wanted to shake him, shout at him about how he could stay so calm while his friend was dying. "What are you thinking?" Undyne asked, trying to stay civil. Lashing out at Syphus wouldn't be of any help.

Syphus stared at the floor. "It was so sudden...I wouldn't have guessed this'd happen to her. How did she look last time you saw her?"

"When I saw her she had gone upstairs; you saw it too!" she replied. Syphus was silent for a moment before approaching her. His voice did show he was trying to stay calm, like he was bottling more intense emotions right now.

"Are you going to stay with her?"

"What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I'm staying here! I can't leave Alphys alone!" her reply made Syphus wince. Had she shouted too loud? Syphus nodded, said a farewell and walked away. His calmness was infuriating, Undyne threw back her fist like she was going to punch a wall, but refrained from doing it. Damaging the hospital was going to do more harm than good. After taking a deep breath, she entered Alphys' room, sitting to the bedside.

She was going to stay with Alphys as much as she could.

-ooooo-

There was no doubt in Syphus' mind that what happened to Alphys was the same than Frisk and Ananas had gone through. That meant he'd need to use the firefly brooch on Alphys. The problem was Undyne. Distracting her enough for him and Ananas to do their task could be difficult to do, and showing themselves as humans in front of the captain of the Royal Guard seemed like a spectacularly bad idea. Picking up Ananas from the Village was easy. Once she heard that somebody had fallen down, she immediately changed into her cowboy costume, picked up their hooded cloaks, and went with him, making sure her gun was loaded. Curiously enough, there was no sign of Cohen. Where did the old man go? "Who are we rescuing?"

"Alphys" The blank stare from Ananas said it all: she didn't have the slightest idea who that monster was.

Making sure Ananas was wearing her cloak and hiding her face, Syphus led her to Hotland, having remembered he had left the steel halberd at Alphys' laboratory. Luckily for him, the doors opened easily, letting him pick up the steel halberd before going to the hospital, wrapping it the best he could with his own cloak so he could enter with it to the hospital. To cover it even more, he shamelessly rummaged through Alphys' lab coats, using most of them. Sorry, Alphys, this is kind of urgent!

Getting to Alphys' room was unexpectedly simple. Even though Syphus entered with a long object wrapped in a thick layer of clothing and accompanied by a short cloaked person, the monster at the reception desk didn't even look up from her work. Not wanting to risk Ananas being discovered if they dillydallied for too long, they hurried to the outside of Alphys' room. Undyne was still inside, sitting there with forlorn expression. Ananas' face got a bit pale when she was told Undyne was there, but to her credit she didn't try to run away. "Undyne...we won't fight her, right?" she asked, badly disguising how much she wanted to avoid a fight with Undyne.

"I hope not. If we can think of a way to distract her and keep her outside of the room while we do our thing, we should be okay"

Ananas breathed in relief at being told they wouldn't have to fight Undyne. She closed the hood of her cloak a bit more, hiding her face further. "I have an idea. Wait here" she said before running away in direction of the entrance of the hospital. Just in case, Syphus made a SAVE point, hoping he wouldn't have to LOAD to stop Ananas. A couple minutes later the receptionist came to the room, peering inside. Syphus went to hide nearby

"Captain Undyne, there's an urgent message for you from the Royal Guard headquarters"

"What?!" Undyne stood up "What did they say?"

"I don't know, captain. I wasn't told the exact details"

Undyne looked intermittently at the receptionist and Alphys before nodding, leaving the bedroom and not seeing Syphus. The receptionist followed suit, going back to her usual spot. As soon as those two walked away, Ananas appeared from behind the corner, the hints of an impish grin visible from underneath her hood. "Done!"

"...how did you..." Okay, I can't complain. What was important was that Ananas managed to get Undyne out of the room. It was likely Undyne was going to run as fast as possible to the headquarters, quickly finding out there was no urgent message, and return to the hospital. Could they finish their task before Undyne returned? No way. "Help me move this bed, Annie" Syphus said, managing to get behind the back of Alphys' bed and pushing it forward. Between the two of them they blocked the door with the bed, the still unconscious Alphys lying on it.

"I don't think this is going to stop Undyne, Syphus"

"It won't, yeah..." Syphus was banking on Undyne not wanting to harm Alphys by shoving the door open by force. That should gain them a bit more of time. Not much, but maybe it'd be enough. Syphus also moved a chair to the side of Alphys' bed, positioning it on the blind spot between the door and the wall, close enough for him to lean and touch Alphys once it was time. "Hide under the bed, Annie"

"Oh, I almost forgot, I took these from the reception too!" Ananas took out of her vest several small boxes, filled with some sort of mush. The label on the box said it was hospital food. "This should be good, right?"

"I don't think you should take food that doesn't belong to you" Syphus frowned, then thought it twice, mumbling to himself slowly "Then again, this is hospital food...made for patients...surely it's also full of healing magic...and it isn't like they can't make more later...you know what, let's take it" Better to have something to heal ourselves. After making sure Ananas was hiding under the bed and grabbing Syphus' shoe, and that Syphus had the halberd with him, he pinned the firefly brooch on Alphys' hospital gown, making sure to keep it out of sight from anyone who peers inside. He still didn't want to risk someone taking off the brooch before they were done. "Are you ready, Annie?"

"I'm ready" Ananas said, her hand gripping his shoe a bit tighter. Syphus made a SAVE point and put his hand over the firefly brooch. Well...here goes nothing! He thought, pressing the brooch and activating it. The now-familiar sensations of blacking out enveloped him.

-ooooo-

Syphus didn't even have to open his eyes to notice that whatever place he was at was strangely bright. Once he opened his eyes he found out where he was at. It seemed Alphys' SOUL had taken the shape of the True Laboratory, but it was way different than Syphus remembered it. Perhaps it was because they were right now in a monster SOUL?

Frisk's and Ananas' had been desaturated, almost dark, but Alphys' SOUL was turning out to be rather bright, almost unnaturally so. The walls were completely intact, the floor was clean and shiny, and the atmosphere generally showed it to be much different than surely it was in reality. Could the Shadows be different than human SOULs too? It was unavoidable they'd find out very soon.

The biggest change was that there was a bright blue door nearby, door Syphus recognized. It was identical to the one he had seen at the Ruins, Snowdin and Waterfall. Opening it confirmed it led to the Velvet Room. Taking advantage that Ananas still was out-cold, Syphus decided to enter quick to the Velvet Room and create a few Personas, make use of the strength they'd gain from his recent Social Links.

When he returned, Ananas was awake and walking around with her gun ready. "How do you feel, Annie?"

"...I don't know. This place feels...off. Is this how my SOUL was?"

"Kinda. Don't lower your guard. Let me see your Persona" Ananas nodded and lifted her hands high, shouting 'Hippolyta!' Unlike her attempt in the real world, this time there was a blue glow coming out of her, which gathered and formed the Persona. The girl with the excessively large axe levitated, indolent. Ananas confirmed that yes, Hippolyta knew fire magic and was weak to electricity.

"What's yours? Show me your Persona"

Syphus smirked, getting ready. He had just made a Persona fueled by his bond with Ananas, so to say. His Rank 5 Social Link with her had allowed him to give a rather good amount of power to one of the Personas he fused, most likely giving him the edge against what may come. Syphus focused, prideful, summoning the Persona.

Shiki-Ouji of the Chariot arcana was a rather tall Persona, almost reaching the ceiling of the laboratory. It seemed to be entirely made of paper, a veritable golem of paper that towered over them and looked intimidating thanks to its size, despite what it was made of. Ananas stared at Shiki-Ouji's horns, impressed. "This big guy here is immune to fire and ice. You could hit it with Agi spells and I'd feel absolutely nothing" Syphus bragged. If he had a higher rank in his Chariot Social Link, it would also have been immune to physical attacks, but it hadn't been high enough for that.

Now that he thought about it, the Social Links really were showing their use. Besides Shiki-Ouji, he also had made other Personas, another of the Chariot and one of the Magician Arcana. There had been a fourth one, for healing purposes, but given that he had no Social Link of the Temperance arcana, it received no boost in its power.

After making sure to check what each one was weak and strong against, Ananas and Syphus decided to get a move on, walking slowly and staying alert against any Shadows that may approach. It felt like any normal trip inside a SOUL...at least during the first few minutes, but after around five minutes without seeing not even traces of any Shadows, Syphus started getting worried. Is this normal? "It's empty around here" Ananas commented, wary of how calm everything seemed to be.

"Keep your eyes open" Syphus raised the steel halberd a bit more. They continued in silence for a while more until they say something in the distance. A Shadow! Preparing Ara Mitama for a quick physical attack, Syphus approached. The small red drop materialized in the air, staying a bit behind Syphus, ready to tackle the Shadow at the first opportunity. Ananas also got ready, raising her hand in preparation to summon Hippolyta.

There was no need for such precautions. When Syphus approached closer, he started recognizing what it was – how not to recognize her, when she had been a Persona he had once? That beautiful green woman with a red dress? The shock of seeing Silky made Syphus stop, mouth agape. Ara Mitama disappeared. "What? What's going on? What are you waiting for?" Ananas whispered behind him, still in high alert. That seemed to have gotten Silky's attention. She turned around, floating in the air, and with the serene smile on her face.

"Oh. Greetings. Do you need something?"

What's going on?! Is she...really talking to us? Was that how monster SOULs were going to be? "Uh...no...not really?" Syphus murmured. Ananas, who also hadn't expected Silky to speak, dropped her hand, watching and unsure what to do.

"Alright. I won't bother you" Silky bowed politely and floated away. After a moment of befuddled staring in the direction Silky went away to, Syphus gingerly grabbed the side of his head, still astonished.

"What the hell was that?!"

-ooooo-

Silky wasn't the only "Persona" in Alphys' SOUL. They definitely weren't mere Shadows, the lack of masks and the ability to talk showed it. Would calling them Personas be accurate? How am I supposed to know?

The presence of "Personas" and the lack of Shadows didn't mean there was no danger, though. Not all of those "Personas" were willing to overlook Syphus and Ananas' presence. Kodama – a strange paper-thin talisman with red spirals on its head and body – was the first sign they still needed to be cautious. Not too long after Silky was encountered, they stumbled upon Kodama in another hallway. Ananas and Syphus tried to ignore it, but Kodama noticed them. It tried to call for them with its whispery voice, making the duo walk faster. When the voice turned raspy and menacing, Ananas glanced back and shouted, having turned her head around to see the moment Kodama was ripped apart from the inside by Shadows.

Ananas screamed, stepping back when the Anguish Basalt and the Brilliant Cyclops emerged from Kodama. "Syphus, watch out!"

"Got it!" Syphus raised the halberd, quickly evaluating the situation. A quick analysis showed physical attacks against the Basalt wouldn't be effective, so he focused his efforts on the Cyclops despite the spikes, making it spin on its place.

"I'll deal with this!" Ananas claimed, jumping back to dodge the Basalt trying to crush her and summoned Hippolyta. A burst of fire emerged from the tip of Hippolyta's axe, hitting the Basalt in the air. The Shadow was propelled back a bit, almost crushing the Cyclops.

"Annie, wait until it's in the air again! You'll know what to do!" Syphus said, using the butt of the halberd to keep the Cyclops away, it was trying to spin and harm Syphus with its spikes. Ananas, quickly deducing what Syphus was thinking, shouted at the Basalt.

"Hey, you big dumb rock! Try to crush me if you can!" she challenged. The Basalt didn't react to the taunt, it simply jumped again to try to crush Ananas. Having wanted that, the girl immediately made Hippolyta smack the Basalt with her axe, rocketing it towards the Cyclops and pulverized it, making it vanish in black smoke.

Syphus grinned widely, stepping back to give it the final blow. "My turn!" he shouted, summoning Orobas. The red horse person jumped in the air, clinging to the top of the Basalt, the Shadow tried to move and get the humanoid horse off it, but Orobas held on it tightly. "Fire!" Syphus shouted right when from Orobas' palms emerged bursts of fire, hurting the Basalt until it dissolved away. That had been overall an easy fight, despite the surprise of Shadows appearing out of a "Persona". Syphus held his hand for a high five, elated. Having two people in a team really did make things easier! "Okay, new plan: we won't ignore any of those things if they talk to us. Got it?"

"Do you think there are more of those?"

"Many more, I'd say. With some luck we won't have more trouble, but...let's not get cocky" At least now they knew what to expect from the "Personas" around.

-ooooo-

Why, when things seem to be simple and nice, it turns out it's harder than it should be?

Not enraging the "Personas" was much more difficult than Syphus or Ananas had expected. The "Personas" were very unpredictable. Sometimes the simple act of talking to them was enough for them to burst into Shadows, forcing the team to fight for their lives. Other times Syphus or Ananas said something that would logically enrage the "Personas", but it ended making them react cheerfully and let them continue their way. One of them had even given them gold when Ananas challenged him to a fight. "It's nice to see today's youth don't let people walk all over them" it had said, plopping several hundred gold in Ananas' hands before flying away. "Syphus, where did the Shadows get gold?"

"How do you expect me to know? I stopped trying to make any sense of all this" he said.

The fights were generally easy, Hippolyta always hit quite strongly, and if there was any need for more support besides the halberd Syphus always had a Persona ready to help. Despite that, they both suffered hits, painful enough for them to agree try to find some kind of armor once they returned to the real world.

They were in middle of walking and eating some of their stolen hospital food when they found someone familiar standing in front of a large steel door. The yellow monster in a lab coat was unmistakable. "Alphys?" Syphus hurried to her. They did it! They found Alphys in record time! The royal scientist turned around, having heard Syphus calling for her.

The golden eyes said it all.

Ananas, not knowing the detail about the golden eyes nor knowing Alphys at all, tried to approach her, but Syphus stopped her. Shadow Alphys didn't make any move to try to hurt them, staring and waiting them to do the first move. Syphus didn't get on the offensive, but positioned himself so he'd be able to use the halberd at the first sign of danger. Ananas, noticing how tense he was, prepared to summon Hippolyta. Well we can't stay here staring at each other's faces all day. "Alphys. Let's get going"

His disposition to attack at any moment made Shadow Alphus get her guard up. She stared at them, recognizing the girl. When she talked there was no sign of Alphys' stutter, her tone sounded more certain, almost like an entirely different person "I know you. You're that human girl that's at Waterfall"

"Don't talk to her!"

Shadow Alphys ignored that, smiling smugly. "I knew you existed. I knew it! And you..." she turned to Syphus "...you're Syphus. Those clothes, your size – it's all the same. You're Syphus, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?"

The Shadow Self laughed softly, almost squeeing in joy. "That's pretty much a confession! I knew it! Of course I knew it, I'm always right!" she grinned almost unnaturally "Don't tell anyone, but I'm very smart"

Oh. Of course. Shadow Selves were supposed to be parts of themselves everyone suppressed and kept away from sight for one reason or another. What had Undyne said? 'A person can be too modest. Alphys should be prouder of her accomplishments' Looks like we found Alphys' confidence and pride. "Alphys, we need to get going. Stop that already"

"That's going to be a problem. You're looking for my other self" she pointed with her thumb at the metal door behind her "The other me is behind this door. Looks like she locked herself in there"

"She...locked herself? How could she do that?" Ananas asked to Syphus, but Shadow Alphys took the chance to answer that.

"This world is my SOUL, and it can reflect what my other self feels. She's trying to isolate herself from the truths she doesn't want to face" Shadow Alphys explained "All you have to do is find a way through this door" she stepped aside to give access to Ananas and Syphus. Thinking that there may be a bit of truth in what Shadow Alphys just said - supposing she hadn't already possessed Alphys – he wordlessly indicated Ananas to examine the door. He'd be in charge of watching Shadow Alphys and react if she tried to hurt anyone.

Ananas approached the steel door, examining it and the place it was at. The True Laboratory was shiny and clean, but near the door there was a serious state of disrepair. The walls were slightly cracked, the paint was peeling off, and the floor was grimy, almost sticky. Was the real Alphys really behind it? "It's so dirty" Ananas said, rubbing the door with her hand and seeing the stains of grease and dirt on her fingers.

"Any hints on how to open it?" Syphus asked, not looking away from Shadow Alphys, who didn't seem to care about his constant vigilance.

"I don't see – wait! There's something here!" Ananas wiped the grimy filth off a part of the door, revealing what was under it. There was a small inverted heart, where three locks could be seen, one at each end of the heart "I think we need three keys to open this door, Syphus. Have we picked up a key?"

"Not yet. We only have rocks and metal so far" Hearing keys being mentioned seemed to get Shadow Alphys' attention, who started rummaging through the pockets of her lab coat

"I can help with that. Take it" she took out a key from the pocket, golden in color "...with one condition: you'll let me go with you to the other side of the door"

Syphus instinctively was going to refuse, but instead he tried to find more information. "And why'd you want that?"

"I want to see the other me. There's a few truths I want to tell her" What you want is to take over her!

"I don't think she needs to hear any of your truths"

"Then you won't be able to enter there" Shadow Alphys put the key back into her pocket "I'm not giving it to you unless I go too. Bargaining isn't an option here"

"Wow, this Alphys person must be a tough bandit" Ananas murmured to herself. Tough bandit? There wasn't really much time to think about Shadow Alphys' demands. Taking the key by force was an option, but...somehow, fighting and risking harming or killing a Shadow Self seemed a bit dangerous. Not wanting to do something that could be a mistake, Syphus sighed and nodded.

"Fine. You'll come with us"

Shadow Alphys grinned slightly. What would be an otherwise dorky face was sinister when done by Shadow Alphys. "Thank you. Of course, as I hope you both noticed, we need two keys more. I'm sure other Shadows have them"

Ananas adjusted her hat. "Are we going to fight them?"

"You are going to fight them, if necessary. I'm not a fighter"

At least Shadow Alphys was going to try to make herself useful. She started guiding the team, navigating the halls of Alphys' SOUL with ease. "Over here the Shadows are very strong. If my deductions are correct, one of the keys should be there" she was saying, pointing at a section of the laboratory.

"Uh, Syphus...? I think I don't like doing what she says..." Ananas mumbled, nervous about fighting strong Shadows.

"We don't really have any other option here"

-ooooo-

"We should fight her and take the key, Syphus, why are we doing what she says?"

"We have to"

"But she's evil! I thought we had to fight the copies to rescue people, why aren't we fighting her?"

"Let's wait and see what happens"

"Fine! But I still don't like it"

"You two know I'm hearing every word you're saying, right?"

The three of them were traversing Alphys' SOUL. Contrary to what Syphus had expected, Shadow Alphys was actually being moderately helpful! The team had gotten into more fights, and this time Syphus didn't even need to ask for analysis. Shadow Alphys informed them of what weakness their foes had. "Those over there are weak to fire. You know what to do" she'd say just from glancing at the Shadows. If it hadn't been for her, fights would have been harder. Neither Ananas nor Syphus was happy about having to let her tag along, but they both were silently grateful for her tips.

It didn't mean they liked Shadow Alphys, though. Syphus vastly preferred the Alphys he knew, mostly because Alphys didn't lord her intelligence over everyone else. Everything Shadow Alphys said was correct, but she tended to remind them that without her they wouldn't know it. It had gotten old rather fast.

Ananas peeked around the corner, seeing their target somewhat away, as indicated by Shadow Alphys. "There's a big one over there! I think it's...an angel!"

"An angel? Let me see" Syphus said, looking as well. Ananas wasn't wrong, that definitely was an angel, and one that could be dangerous, judging by how it was wearing a knight's armor and holding a sword. The angel floated in the air, held there by its large wings.

"Think it twice before making it angry. I sense powerful Shadows within it" Shadow Alphys said, backing off a bit. She didn't even take a look at what it was, exactly "It has one of the keys"

"Syphus, you think we'd be able to fight it?" Ananas whispered, pressing her back against the wall. That thing looked very strong! Hippolyta was no slouch, but this was her first expedition, she didn't feel prepared for a powerful opponent.

"...it's not like we'd have much of an option. Let's just try to not anger it"

"Good luck. I'm staying here" Shadow Alphys said indifferently, receiving glares from both humans. Syphus really wished the real Alphys was here instead of her Shadow. The team slowly walked towards Archangel, ready to fight if needed.

Archangel saw them coming and didn't make a move to threaten them. Instead it descended to the ground, the tip of the sword touching the ground. Okay, here we go... "Give us the key" Syphus demanded without even bothering to say a greeting. Archangel's expression continued stony, guarded.

"I have no reason to do such thing"

"So you do have the key!" Ananas said.

"I do. The door this key belongs to shall stay closed"

The girl glared at Archangel from beneath her hat "We need that key. You'll give it to us"

Suddenly, Archangel sprung forward, propelled by its wings, but instead of aiming to Ananas it aimed to Syphus, extending its hand towards his head. Syphus didn't have time to react before Archangel grabbed him from the neck, slamming him against the wall – making him drop the halberd - and pointing the tip of the sword at his chest. Countering quickly, Syphus made Shiki-Ouji materialize right behind Archangel, raising a fist and looking prepared to smash Archangel's head. To its side there was Hippolyta, aiming the hole at the end of her axe at Archangel's wings.

"Let him go" Ananas demanded, aiming her gun as well. Archangel looked at each danger, judging that although it'd be able to kill Syphus, everything else would manage to hit and destroy it in no time. It didn't acknowledge Ananas, instead identifying Syphus as the leader of the group and talking to him.

"I will give you the key – if you manage to obtain the third one. Until then I'm going to keep it. Understood?" it said. Syphus' eyes darted around. It wasn't like he had options, if he refused he was as good as dead, and although he would return to the SAVE state before entering Alphys' SOUL, dying was an experience he wanted to avoid. He nodded and was dropped unceremoniously, Shiki-Ouji vanishing due to Syphus getting distracted. He coughed, still feeling like Archangel's strong hand was around his neck, while Ananas approached and helped him stand up. Archangel didn't make a gesture to help them, instead returning to the air. That thing's going to pay Syphus thought bitterly, being led away once he picked up his halberd. There was one last key to find, after all.

Shadow Alphys followed them, not commenting about what she had seen. "The other key should be in that direction. The odds a strong Shadow has it are rather low"

"Yeah, whatever" Syphus grumbled "Why are you helping us, anyway? You could have let us trek around by ourselves"

She shrugged, pointedly not looking at Syphus' eyes. "You two are my ticket to reaching the other me. If any of you die that door will stay closed"

"Are you sure that's all?" Ananas asked "You're the evil version of this Alphys monster, but you're not being too evil"

"Annie..." Syphus warned, although Shadow Alphys didn't seem offended. Shadow Selves weren't inherently 'evil', apparently. They could be merciless and not hesitate to kill them – judging by his experience with another two – but it wasn't like they were evil twins of the person they represented.

-ooooo-

"Are you sure that's the right one?"

"Completely sure" Shadow Alphys nodded emphatically. Koppa Tengu didn't seem like a dangerous creature, but then again, appearances were deceiving, especially when it was about Personas and Shadows. They couldn't lower their guard. The "Persona" they were eyeing resembled a short person with wings and a mask depicting a bird, quite different from Archangel.

"You think we'll have to find something for this one too?" Ananas wondered. Syphus frowned.

"I hope not. I wasn't planning for this mission to turn into a series of fetch quests" Two of them approached Koppa Tengu, Shadow Alphys staying behind like before. They waited for Koppa Tengu to notice them, when the masked person with bird wings saw them, it froze in the air. "Uh? W-What? What's this—who are you?"

Ananas trained her gun on it. "Give us the key you have" The "Persona" didn't react as badly as it could have, no Shadow burst out of its body. Instead is screeched like a crow and started flying away, shedding feathers all over the place. "Hey!"

"Don't let it get away!" Syphus shouted, starting to run. Ananas, being younger and shorter, was left behind a bit, although he didn't notice. Koppa Tengu was flying rather noisily, the flapping of its wings echoing in the hallways. Objects like beds, sinks, lush plants, it all was thrown in the way by the target, forcing Syphus to jump over all that to try to reach it. Not being as athletic as he should be, Syphus was rather slowed down by that, until he lost sight of the target, having arrived to a place where three different hallways diverted from the one they were at. "Damn it!"

"What? Where did it go?" Ananas asked once she managed to reach him.

"I don't know! It was here a second ago!"

Shadow Alphys arrived, walking as if this was a leisure trip and not a pursue to catch something they needed. She was completely focused on what was going on, even if her speed didn't show it. "It's over there, to your right. That hall twists to the left and into a circle, ending here" she pointed at the middle hallway"

"Oh. Really? Let's see...Annie, can you block this way?"

Ananas nodded, Hippolyta forming in the air. The girl and her Persona stood at the end of the middle hallway, prepared for when the target would come. Since this end of the hall was secured, Syphus entered to the right, finding Koppa Tengu not too far into it, shaking with fear. Its body and clothes were marred with cracks that oozed smoke, it seemed to be on the verge of shattering and releasing the Shadows inside. "Come on, give the key and we'll leave you alone!" Syphus shouted, brandishing his halberd and preparing to strike. Koppa Tengu shook, the cracks closing a bit.

"I-I'm not going to l-let you go in...I won't let you..."

"We're not going to hurt Alphys! Give it now!"

"No!" it went flying again. I had enough of this! He followed Koppa Tengu, driving it to where Ananas and Shadow Alphys were waiting. The girl smirked, having expected it.

"Cleave it!" she shouted, Hippolyta raising her axe and swinging it to hit the target on its chest...and missed "W-What?"

"I-I-I-I-I'm not g-giving this to you-!" the target shouted, not noticing the single line of magic bullets that blocked the way. It crashed against the bullets, the damage being enough to knock it down from the air. Koppa Tengu fell, unmoving.

"Got it!" Ananas got on the target's back, right behind its wings, hoping that'd be enough to hold it down. Koppa Tengu didn't try to get her off, still shaking and fearful.

"I give up! I'm s-sorry, I don't want to give it, I'm sorry—"

"...I feel like a major jerkass now" Syphus mumbled. It was one thing to fight Shadows who were no more than instincts and feelings given form, it was an entirely different thing to assault a 'Persona' that seemed to be bordering on sentience. I don't get it. What's going on? Making a mental note about asking Igor what was all this, he crouched in front of Koppa Tengu, staring into its mask.

"Give us the key. That's all we ask"

"F-Fine! Here it is! Le-Leave me alone!" as if that was all the 'Persona' needed to say, the key literally jumped out of its back, levitating in the air over it. Ananas hurried to take it, jumping back as if she feared a sudden attack now that she had the key, but Koppa Tengu didn't move, it was still almost completely immobile. Disturbed with how full of feelings it seemed to be, she showed the key to Syphus, who nodded. Shadow Alphys started walking back to where they had left Archangel, but Ananas and Syphus stayed behind. I don't like this he thought, approaching Koppa Tengu.

"Hey...will you be okay?"

"I gave you the k-k-key, leave me alone!"

No matter what they said, Koppa Tengu kept saying the exact same thing over and over. Seeing that the 'Persona' wouldn't stand up or try to do anything but whimper about the key, the team left, not without feeling uncomfortable about what had happened. Okay, now I'm completely sure: I need to ask Igor about all this stuff. Shadow Alphys wasn't of any help when Syphus asked if she knew about the 'Personas', all she did was stare blankly at him and say "Let's focus on what's important right now"

Archangel was still on the same room than before, hovering over one of the operating tables. When the team and Shadow Alphys entered, it turned its head around, its armor making noise. "We got it! We have the key!" Ananas proudly proclaimed, showing it. Archangel froze, stiffened.

"Impossible..." it said, its voice deforming. Unbeknown to the team, a large crack formed on its back, sludge started to seep through it.

"We did it, so give us your key!"

"No. I won't"

"What?! That's unfair!"

"We did what you wanted. Do your part of the deal" Syphus said, crossing his arms. He wasn't going to tolerate any more fetch quests, now that they were so close to gathering the last key they needed, he was willing to force Archangel to give the key one way or another.

Archangel really didn't like Syphus' tone. Smoke emanated behind it in noticeable amount, making Ananas get her guard up. "I'm not going to let you reach her. You'll hurt her. I won't let you hurt Alphys any longer!"

"W-What? We didn't—" Ananas tried to defend herself, but Archangel wasn't listening. Shadow Alphys didn't reply to the accusations, closing her eyes and enduring it.

"I know what you're planning!" Archangel pointed its sword towards the group "I will stop you no matter what! Alphys shall stay safe!" suddenly, its back burst with a noise like metal scraping against metal, Archangel getting obliterated to bits by the large Shadow it had inside. Oh, crap!

"Everyone back off!" Syphus shouted while the large blob of ink-like substance settled, starting to form a rather large shape. Shadow Alphys and Ananas stepped back, eyeing with fear and caution the Shadow towering over them, almost reaching the ceiling of the laboratory. Ink gave the way to metal, blocky shapes stacking together, a very large and sturdy sword held by a fist so big it could crush anyone's head without effort, the sword was dripping more of that horrid sludge that formed Shadows. The bright colors of the Shadow would have been striking and appealing if it wasn't for the fact the Shadow was going to try to kill them all.

Ananas's pupils widened in shock, seeing the Shadow rising to its feet. "What's that? A robot...?" Syphus slowly nodded, stammering a yes.

"...although I think the right term is 'mecha'" he added.

Steel Machine

Resistant to everything, yet weak in health.

Shadow Alphys' analysis wasn't good news at all. No weaknesses and strong to all magic and physical attacks? "Guess we'll have to attack constantly" Syphus said, summoning Shiki-Ouji from within him. The Steel Machine was prepared for that, though. It swung its sword. Syphus defended the team with Shiki-Ouji's arms, expecting the sword to crash against them, but it didn't. Instead it swung to the floor, leaving a trail of ink on the floor, smaller Shadows coming out of it. Four Mayas, with completely different masks to the ones the team had seen so far, came to life, raising their arms.

"Those are Cowardly Mayas. They're not going to be a problem for you"

"Annie, we're relying on you for this!" Syphus stepped forward with his halberd while Shiki-Ouji grappled with the Steel Machine, holding its arms to stop it from doing any attacks and unfortunately stopping himself from doing any attacks with his Persona. The halberd was the only way he had now to attack.

"Got it!" Ananas shouted, Hippolyta readying its axe and firing a ball of fire at one of the Mayas. It was defeated immediately, much to her delight "I found a weakness!"

"Keep it going!" Syphus replied, using his halberd to parry another Maya's arms. Noting that the girl was the biggest threat, the Mayas focused much of their magic on her, trying to hurt her with ice spells. Several of them hit Hippolyta, but Ananas endured on, trying not let it distract her even if it hurt. The girl didn't use her gun, exclusively using her Persona. She had a very limited amount of bullets, she didn't want to use them unless it was absolutely necessary. While Syphus was thrown to the ground, hit by one of the Cowardly Mayas, Ananas continued her fire magic, quickly defeating the few enemies. Once that was done, Syphus stood up, taking out one of the hospital food packages. "Ugh..."

"That was easy!"

"Easy for you" he had been busy trying to keep the Steel Machine at bay. It had been mercilessly punching Shiki-Ouji's side, the paper golem tried to hold the mecha's fist, but it managed to get out of the Persona's grasp, slashing with the sword towards it. Shiki-Ouji swung its thick arms, hitting the Machine like a bludgeon. The Machine fell to the ground, overwhelmed. "This is our chance!"

"I'm right here!" Ananas and Syphus ran forward, taking advantage of the moment of weakness, and hit the Steel Machine with everything they had, holding it down with their Personas while they stomped and hit it with their weapons. The advantage lasted a few seconds before the Steel Machine whirred and rose violently, throwing the humans back. More Shadows formed in front of it. The next wave!

Two Brilliant Cyclops on their slabs faced them, immediately jumping in the air somehow, shining brightly, and slamming right in front of them, cracking the tiles. Ananas jumped back, holding onto her hat. "We don't have anything to crush those with!"

Shadow Alphys looked at the new Shadows from over her glasses, analyzing them. "It shouldn't be too difficult. Keep your distance away from them"

"It's too late for me!" one of the Cyclops was trying to spin on him, forcing him to keep blocking the Shadow's round slab with his halberd. Once again Ananas showed to be useful, her fire hitting the Shadows since Syphus was unable to fight. The Machine, having seen two more of its recently created minions had been defeated, again swatted Shiki-Ouji aside, but this time it plunged the sword into the ground and left it there. The sword started to grow like a water balloon before bursting, something large and heavy coming out of it. "That has to be the last one, it must be!"

Ananas put her gun away, judging it'd be useless even if she wanted to shoot. The last Shadow to fight wasn't the kind that seemed vulnerable to guns, after all.

It was an armored tank, rumbling and moving slowly towards them, its cannon swiveling and aiming at them. Shadow Alphys made sure to stay as far away as possible from the danger. "That one is dangerous! No weak points and no resistances! Get rid of it before it kills you!"

"Why? What does it do?" Ananas looked back between Shadow Alphys and the tank. The Arcane Turret started glowing, its cannon gaining a bright blue shine. Syphus gasped, recognizing that glow. That samurai Shadow in Frisk's SOUL had done that too right before...

"RUN!" he shouted to Annie. The girl looked like she was about to say something, but when the cannon of the Turret reached a blinding white color she bolted to a side. The Turret's attack was stronger than she had seen so far. A ball of ice was fired from the Turret, impacting against the wall. From the point the ball hit the wall it started to be covered by ice, creeping quickly until a disc several meters wide formed. Without warning, the ice shattered noisily, leaving many larges holes on a wall made of concrete and steel. Syphus could feel himself tensing at the sight of what the tank's magic had done to the wall. That's no joke. We have to finish that thing immediately!

Ananas stayed near the opposite wall, as far as possible from the tank, and focused on attacking with her Persona. Shadow Alphys hadn't lied, despite the tank's obvious defenses, it was still vulnerable to Hippolyta's axe. The Arcane Turret aimed at Hippolyta, quickly firing several rounds of Bufu spells to try to take her down. Given Hippolyta's small size, it was able to dodge the ice spells easily, spinning through the air and attempting to cut the cannon of the tank off. "I need help over here!" Ananas shouted when the Turret aimed at her instead of the Persona.

"I'm busy!" Syphus shouted back, still grappling with the Machine with his Persona, that Shadow had approached them while they were distracted by the Turret. He hit the Machine's legs with the blade of the halberd, leaving no more than gashes on the paint. The Machine moved its arm, moving to punch Syphus on the face "Ack!" he reflexively gasped, barely managing to move Shiki-Ouji, it grabbing the Machine's fist when it was mere inches of breaking Syphus' face. Shiki-Ouji forcibly moved the Machine's hand away, twisting and making the metal screech.

Not having more option than to deal with the Turret by herself, Ananas gathered her courage and faced the tank. "You won't get me, weirdo!" she yelled, making Hippolyta fire a torrent of fire at the top of the tank, right where the Shadow's mask was. The Turret made no noise, it simply accelerated to get away from the fire while keeping its cannon aimed at Ananas. More volleys of ice crossed the air, hitting around Ananas, the girl throwing herself to the ground to dodge them. Seeing its chance, the tank roamed towards her, trying to run her over, she had to roll over to dodge it. For a moment she didn't know where was what, slightly dizzy, until a Bufu hit her right on the back, throwing her forward and on the floor, shivering. "Ah...s-s-so cold..." she muttered, standing up with tears in her eyes from the pain. Seeing the need to keep herself from being hit again, Ananas made Hippolyta stand right in front of her, using fire to defend against more of the Turret's ice attacks. "I really need help!" she had barely said when a bolt of lightning fell from the ceiling on the Turret, stopping it momentarily from attacking. Ananas turned her head around, Shadow Alphys had approached enough to help.

Shadow Alphys extended a hand, another bolt striking the Turret. "Don't stop, keep going!"

"Alphys?!"

"Just do it!" she yelped, having missed once with her spell. The Turret, not liking being attacked by two people at once, whirred noisily and sped towards Shadow Alphys, forcing her to retreat to the hallway. Ananas grit her teeth with frustration, drying the tears off her eyes.

"Leave her alone!" she screamed, a burst of energy reinvigorating her. She could feel her attack increasing, her Persona gaining strength, using it to bury the axe deep into the tank's armor. The Turret was yanked away from the hallway, taken to the other side of the room and mercilessly battered by Hippolyta's axe, many deep gashes left on the tank. Genuine smoke poured from underneath the Shadow's mask, the top of the Turret tilting to a side as if it felt dejected by all the damage it had received. Ananas, not realizing that with each physical attack she had been slumping more and more, her energy drained by her Persona, had to stop her onslaught to take a breath, not understanding why she felt so tired. Hippolyta stopped in the air, floating nearby. The few seconds of rest were enough for the Turret to take aim at the Persona. The ice hit Hippolyta, making it vanish and Ananas cry in pain. As if that was exactly what the Turret was waiting for, its cannon swiveled to aim at Ananas, two balls of ice crossing the air in quick succession.

One hit her on her belly, making her double over, the other one hit her right on her face almost immediately. Ananas was thrown back by the force of both impacts, her hat falling on the floor and Hippolyta vanishing momentarily, the Turret advanced immediately, its top twitching. The cannon aimed resolutely at Ananas' heart. Ananas, panicked, got Hippolyta to appear again, trying to focus on using the Persona's fire skill, but nothing happened. She was mentally exhausted; she didn't have the strength to not even boost her attack and finish the tank. "Why isn't it working?" she mumbled, holding her head, it was pulsing painfully. Boosting her attack earlier had consumed the little that remained of her spirit power.

"Annie, get away!" Syphus shouted right when Shiki-Ouji jumped on the Turret, its hand pressing hard against the cannon. Ananas could only stare, not having expected Syphus to stop fighting the Machine. That other Shadow, free from Shiki-Ouji's fighting, started coming near Syphus, its steps sounding heavily on the tiles of the floor. "Go!"

The Turret almost jumped in shock, revving up and slamming against the wall in an effort to get Shiki-Ouji off it, Syphus winced with every slam, keeping his eyes on the Machine and keeping his distance. Not wanting to leave Syphus undefended, Ananas tried to attack, but there still was no magic, leaving her with no other options than using her gun or doing what Syphus said. There was no more time to think about it once the Turret started glowing, charging up to boost its magic power. Ananas ran towards the hall, where Shadow Ananas was waiting. Syphus retreated as well, leaving his Persona clutching the Turret's cannon and the Machine approaching towards them.

For a moment the only thing the three of them saw was a blinding flash and the boom of an explosion, forcing the three of them to cover their ears and close their eyes, cold wind blasted them without hurting. Syphus felt a very strange sensation, something had hit his Persona but he felt no pain at all. Once it was safe for them to look inside the room, they saw the result of what had happened.

The walls and floor were cracked and covered with a thin layer of frost, glittering in the blinking fluorescent lights. They barely managed to see the fading red particles from when the Arcane Turret was obliterated by its own attack. Shiki-Ouji was standing still, unaffected by the icy explosion from the charged attack, and the Steel Machine...

...the Machine was on its death throes. Not only it had received an ice blast from very close, Syphus' constant attacking had managed to do a number on it before the Turret exploded. The Machine was staggering, leaning back and seemingly about to fall down. "It's almost done" Shadow Alphys informed "I'd say a strong enough blow would be enough to destroy it"

Syphus glanced at Ananas. "Do you want to do the honor?"

"I don't feel strong enough..." Ananas said weakly. Syphus took out another of the hospital meals, giving it to her. "This is going to help?"

"It'll make you strong enough to finish that thing"

It was just like Syphus said. The hospital food reinvigorated her in no time, enabling her to summon Hippolyta and ready the axe. The pulsing headache was still there, but at least she felt strong enough to deliver the final blow. Ananas pointed at the Machine and shouted:

"Finish it, Hippolyta!"

Hippolyta crossed the air, spinning with the axe forward. The noise of metal being torn to pieces in one swift move made Syphus cover his ears, involuntarily closing his eyes. When he opened them, one moment later, the Machine was gone. Ananas was leaning against the wall, holding her head with one hand. Shadow Alphys had approached her and was murmuring to the human girl, very few words reaching Syphus' ears.

"...exhaustion...inexperienced..."

Syphus rummaged in the stuff he had gathered during the trip through Alphys' SOUL, giving it to Ananas. It was a strangely shaped bud-like object, small enough to eat. "Eat this. It'll help you" not having enough energy to protest, Ananas simply nodded and ate the bud, almost immediately feeling the headache vanish. "Wow...what was that?"

"It's a soul...soul something. I don't remember what it's called" Syphus took one for himself too "Using a Persona's magic skills will tire your soul, and using a Persona's physical moves will use your, uh, health. Think of it like this: using your Persona at all will need something from you. Got it?"

"...I think I understand" Ananas walked into the room to recover her cowboy hat. Syphus followed her to pick up the key that was where the Steel Machine used to be. They did it, they had gathered the three keys. Once he returned to Shadow Alphys, she took out her key, giving it to him.

"I knew you two would do it"

"Yeah..." Syphus muttered coldly and started walking ahead. Ananas was about to follow him, but before that she approached Shadow Alphys. Ananas played with her braid, unsure of what to say. It took her a moment to ask what she had in mind.

"...you tried to help me. You're the...the hidden side of this Alphys person but you helped me. Why?" she asked. Shadow Alphys didn't reply, so she continued "I thought you'd try to kill us, but you tried to help me. Really, why?"

"Because you two are the help I need to reach the Alphys you know" Shadow Alphys replied coldly before following Syphus. Ananas stared at her back, not understanding a thing. Her Shadow Self had tried to kill Syphus and Monster Kid, by all logic Shadow Alphys should do the same.

...maybe Shadow Alphys was biding her time. Instead of attacking right when she met them, surely Shadow Alphys was waiting for the right chance. It had to involve reaching the real Alphys. Ananas tried to focus, she couldn't remember how exactly she had met her own Shadow Self. No, wait, she did remember something.

Walking to Undyne's house and getting near it. She never saw her own Shadow Self directly. All she remembered was getting near Undyne's house, and then her own voice was whispering to her some truths she'd have preferred not to hear. When Syphus and Monster Kid had arrived it felt like she was watching from afar, not like she was talking to them. If Shadow Alphys reached the real Alphys...

"Annie, get over here"

Ananas gasped, not having realized she had started walking. Syphus and Shadow Alphys were in front of the steel door, the keys already inserted in place. The doors slowly opened, stale air emanating from it. Unlike the rest of Alphys' SOUL, the tunnel beyond the doors looked musty and sinister. Syphus pointed forward with the halberd. "Annie, you go first"

"What? Why me?"

"Because Alphys' Shadow will go in the middle and I'll go last" he looked threateningly at Shadow Alphys, who didn't pay attention to him "I'm better prepared than you to deal with her if she tries anything funny" He wasn't wrong about that, with his many Personas he should be able to watch out for any attacks. Ananas nodded, accepting the reasoning, and got on the front of the group, keeping her distance from Shadow Alphys. "Alright. Here we go. Alphys should be just ahead"

"What are we going to do once we see her?"

"I don't know yet. Guess we'll see where this takes us" Going without a plan seemed like a very bad idea, but it wasn't like they had plethora of other options. Grimly, the three of them entered towards the depths of Alphys' SOUL.