"The Priestess arcana is the arcana of wisdom and passive potential. The reversed Priestess is likely to involve emotional distortions - and it's often accompanied by an inability to free yourself from it"
"That's complicated! How do you know so much about the meaning of this stuff?"
"My master taught me. It's what I need to know to do this job"
"Then you must know...do you think we have Shadows in our SOULs?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I was just thinking about that, what if we have Shadow Selves too?"
"It'd make sense if we do. The other day I was- Master?"
"Us residents of the collective unconscious don't tend to have Shadows. A Persona can be used only by those who have control over their desires and egos. It'd require a lot of turmoil for someone like you or your horned friend here to manifest a Shadow Self"
"So it's not impossible...what do you think, ASRIEL?"
"Wait, I can use a Persona?"
"You should try that later, but why were you asking about Shadows?"
"I was just...wondering..."
"Is there something wrong?"
"No. Nothing"
The hallway got darker and darker the more they walked, the fluorescent lights blinking and looking on the verge of turning off at any moment. Their steps echoed while they walked on the dirty floor, the dim lighting showing mold between the tiles. Compared to the rest of Alphys' SOUL, it almost seemed like this was a completely different place. Nobody was saying anything; everyone was on edge about what could happen. There wasn't any sign of the real Alphys yet, the hall seemed endless...
...until suddenly it ended in front of another pair of steel doors. Ananas stopped, knocking on them. Nothing happened, so she turned around, looking lost. Wordlessly, Syphus approached and forced his eyesight through the darkness, taking a look at the doors while Ananas watched over Shadow Alphys. The doors were tightly closed, smooth and without any scratches. There weren't any handles or locks. There must be a way to open this... to the side of the doors there was a tiny panel with only one button, which he pressed. The doors opened immediately, a bright light coming from inside.
It was an elevator. It didn't look abnormal or unusual, it just had one single button on the panel attached to the back of the elevator. Syphus examined the inside of the cabin, not finding anything to be wary of – besides the elevator itself. "Alright, go in" he said to the other two. The three of them stood inside the elevator, waiting for it to finish descending to the place it was leading to.
"Syphus, where's this elevator going?" Ananas asked.
"I don't know. Alphys' laboratory isn't supposed to have something that leads further down"
Shadow Alphys turned her head around almost like an owl. "How do you know that?" Syphus scratched behind an ear, trying to think quick.
"I mean, the laboratory is already underground, if it goes any deeper it'd plunge into lava. Alphys wouldn't survive that, I think. Would she?" the half-assed excuse didn't convince Shadow Alphys, but she didn't press on. The elevator ride continued in silence until it stopped. "We're going to continue just like we agreed before"
"I'll be going first" once the doors opened, Ananas stepped outside, immediately tripping on many objects on the floor and crashing down. "Aaah!"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine! I just tripped on something here..." Ananas took what she had stepped on. It was a can of soda "It's junk. Hey...this place is full of junk!"
She wasn't wrong. The floor was littered with a thick layer of cans, small cardboard boxes and detritus like screws, cables and bolts. It all made it a tad difficult to walk at first, but after a moment they all managed to get their footing. The ceiling had many pipes of varied sizes, all of them gurgling with liquids within. The biggest pipes were leaking something colorless and of intense smell. "Be careful. That's petroleum ether. It's not corrosive, but if you absorb too much of it through your skin you won't like what'll happen" Shadow Alphys warned. The three didn't have to walk for long before they saw someone not too far away.
"Alphys?"
"O-oh?" effectively, it was Alphys. The royal scientist was looking around, confused. "W-Who are you? And...you too, w-who are you? And... Why's there a—is that a clone of me?"
"That's the real Alphys?" Ananas asked to Syphus, who nodded.
"Wait...I know you! You're that human girl w-who was at Waterfall the other day!"
"...what? How did you know-?" Ananas got distracted for a moment too long.
Besides, there were two things Syphus forgot. One, Shadow Alphys could see the weaknesses and strengths of anyone they encountered, and that included them, and second:
Ananas was weak to electricity.
The Mazio from Shadow Alphys hit without warning. One moment Ananas was asking for Alphys recognized her, the next moment several bolts of lightning fell from the ceiling, hitting both Syphus and Ananas. Ananas was thrown onto her back, and Syphus instinctually hurried to help her, realizing too late that wasn't the right thing to do right now. Shadow Alphys hurried forward and got to the real Alphys' side, too late for Syphus to stop her. The real Alphys tried to get away, but Shadow Alphys grabbed her from her shoulders, stopping her "You're not going anywhere. We need to talk"
"T-Talk? Who are you? W-Why do you look like me?!"
"I'm you. I'm the part of you you're refusing to listen" Shadow Alphys aggressively grabbed Alphys' shoulders and managed to make her kneel down, keeping her rooted in the same place. Syphus tried to come closer, but Shadow Alphys looked at him and snarled "Don't come closer!"
"Let her go!" Syphus pleaded, but she didn't listen.
"She has to listen to me already!" Shadow Alphys's claws got tighter. Alphys stammered, sweating heavily, her hidden self inching her face closer with furious expression.
"This has to end already. You have done a lot of things you know you should regret. Why are you digging the hole deeper and deeper every single day"?
Alphys tried to avert her eyes. "I'm not doing that—"
"You know you have doing it! You have lost count of how many things you have been hiding from everyone" Shadow Alphys' look softened just a smidgen "Undyne...Asgore...Mettaton...you have lied to everyone and you know it"
Alphys couldn't deny that. She had been precisely thinking that right before the incident that made her enter her own SOUL, but being confronted like that by someone with her own face...the words simply didn't come out. Her silence seemed to infuriate Shadow Alphys, who shook her. When Ananas and Syphus tried to approach to get her away from Alphys, the Shadow Self extended a claw, somehow managing to hold Alphys down with only one hand. Her fingers crackled with electricity. Damn it, most of the Personas I have are weak to electricity! "Why aren't you saying anything?!" she shouted at Alphys, which didn't encourage her to talk. For a moment Shadow Alphys stared at her, breathing harder and more anxious each time, until she finally dropped her on the floor. While Shadow Alphys sighed, taking off her glasses and rubbing her closed eyes, and Alphys whimpered, still confused and at a loss of words.
"This is our chance" Ananas whispered to Syphus.
Knowing that she was right, Syphus started approaching, intending to take Shadow Alphys away, but once he got close enough something made him stop. Maybe it had been an order from the witch he belonged to. Maybe it was Shadow Alphys' truly dejected face, or how Alphys seemed to be on the verge of sobbing her eyes out. It seemed like such a personal moment for Alphys for a moment he wasn't sure what to do. Sure, it was almost certain this'd lead to a fight with Shadow Alphys, but...
...but Alphys really needed to hear what her other self needed to say. Had this been how Frisk and Ananas had faced their Shadow Selves, even if it was an internal struggle instead of seeing their Shadow Selves face to face? Both of them had come out of their SOULs with renewed understanding of their own feelings, thoughts and fears.
Could it be facing their Shadow Selves wasn't as damaging for the people as he had supposed it'd be? They still needed to be rescued, but...perhaps facing their other self could be a turning point in their lives?
The doubts Syphus had made him lose his chance to get Shadow Alphys away. She didn't try to grab Alphys again, but she continued talking, her voice filled with scorn. "I can't believe I have been reduced to this. I can't believe all that's left of the person I was is...
...is you"
Alphys looked like she had just been slapped. Okay, maybe we should intervene! "Stop that! Alphys didn't do anything wrong, she-" Syphus said without thinking. Shadow Alphys had to been about to reply what surely was going to be a disrespectful comment about her other self, but the real Alphys mumbled something. "Uh...what did you say?"
"...I said she's right"
"That's not true! I don't know you, but—" Ananas tried to defend her too, but Alphys cowered until she almost was a ball.
"I have been lying to everyone...i-it's my fault. Everyone will know I'm a liar – I'll be h-hated, I'll be r-rejected, Undyne will leave me – it's over for me..." nobody said anything. Syphus had closed his eyes and looked away, very unsure of what to do. Alphys was deep into her self-loathing, and having her inner self shout at her about that had worsened it. He really hoped that this meant she was rock bottom and that the only possibility now was to get better. Alphys continued her reverie, uninterrupted "...I deserve it, for being such a c-coward...I don't even know why I...I started some of t-these lies. At the time...it seemed like the r-right thing to do, but now...
...m-maybe I should just go away while I still h-have the chance"
"What am I supposed to say? Syphus, I don't know what to say" Ananas whispered to Syphus, looking at Alphys with pity. The tense silence continued for a minute or so before someone finally broke it with something Syphus wished he had thought:
"And what are you going to do about it?" Shadow Alphys said, loud and clear. Alphys was so surprised to hear that with her own voice that she raised her head.
"E-Eh?"
"What are you going to do about it?"
Alphys looked down. "There's nothing to be done...it's too late t–t-t-t-to fix it. Leave m-me alone"
"No" Shadow Alphys started approaching, thick black vapor flowing from her scales "I won't. Alphys, we're both the same person. You know very well that you want to fix it. There's no other option for you. What do you have to say to that?"
"...I...?"
"You coward" Shadow Alphys spat, grabbing her by the back of her lab coat "At this point you're only hurting yourself, and you're hurting everyone around you, and if you don't see it...
...then I'll have to show you myself" the Shadow Self's claws started sinking into Alphys, making her panic. The intense aura emanating from Shadow Alphys intensified, enveloping the real one. Shadow Alphys turned her head towards the team. "Thank you for your help, but there's one thing more you need to do: Don't let me kill you, because I won't hold back!"
That was all the warning they had. The fusion happened almost immediately, leaving only Alphys standing there. Her eyes were wide open behind her glasses, looking around in panic, the lights hanging from the ceiling dimming until they could barely see Alphys' silhouette. Her now bright golden eyes were still very visible, though. "Are you okay?" Ananas inquired, unsure if she should approach.
Alphys grabbed her head, pained, shaking it as if trying to get something out of it. "Don't look at me! S-Stay away...all I do is l-l-lie and d-deceive!"
"She's losing control! Get ready!" Syphus said to Annie, preparing himself for the unavoidable fight. Alphys continued screaming at the top of her lungs, shaking more and more.
"I-I-I don't deserve anything I have! Everything I have is b-because I lie! Stay away, go away! You must forget about me!"
"We're not leaving. Don't try to convince us to go away"
The cans and junk around Alphys started moving like something was rippling underneath it, as if it was water, until it rose and completely covered Alphys like a blanket. Here it comes! Just a few seconds later the debris subsided, revealing Shadow Alphys' form.
It looked completely identical to how she was before, despite the dim lighting they could see that. "Well that's underwhelming..." Shadow Alphys, not having heard that, seethed in her own despair, crackling with electricity.
"I-I warned you...I'm g-going to destroy you! Th-That's all I do!" Okay, here we go! The analysis didn't show anything new, it seemed analyzing the strongest Shadows pretty much never gave any useful results.
Shadow Alphys, Priestess Arcana
The team decided to make the first move. As a way to measure what she'd do, Syphus decided to keep his distance and attack with a Persona for now, summoning Ara Mitama for a quick tackle. The strange red drop that was the Persona flew through the air, hitting Shadow Alphys in the face. Her head was forcibly turned to a side, but she didn't seem hurt, not even slightly affected by an attack that should have been decent enough.
"She wasn't even fazed!" Ananas got Hippolyta ready, and since Syphus had done a physical attack, she went for magic. The ball of fire that was Ananas' magic hit Shadow Alphys square on, but that didn't seem to affect her either. "That didn't work either!"
She must have a weak point... What was for sure was that electricity wasn't going to be it. Screaming in rage and despair, Shadow Alphys raised her arms, a magic attack unlike the ones they had seen so far happening. Shadow Alphys seemed to have much bigger control on her magic than Frisk and Ananas' Shadows, bolt after bolt of thunder falling, forcing them to run in separate ways. Running on the cans and junk around was rather difficult, especially in the dark. "Oof!" Ananas tripped with some random debris and fell down, chance Shadow Alphys used, thunders weaving together in a spiral that hit where Ananas was, with such strength that the trash around her flied in the air like hail.
"Annie! Are you okay?" Syphus shouted.
"...oooow...that one hurt..."
"Damn it!" at least she was still conscious, albeit weakened. Luckily for them, Syphus calling for Ananas made Shadow Alphys change her target, chance Ananas used to stand up and ready Hippolyta's axe, swinging it down on Shadow Alphys' head.
The blow that'd usually leave anything reeling had absolutely no effect on Shadow Alphys. Instead it sounded like the axe hit something metallic. "What?!"
This'd be much easier if something I had resisted electricity! Or at least if most of his actual Personas weren't weak to it. Unsure of what to do, he swung the halberd towards Shadow Alphys, forcing her to retreat even if she wasn't hit not even once. Hippolyta again tried fire, hitting Shadow Alphys on the back, but that didn't seem to help. "I warned you..." Shadow Alphys jumped, a strange clinking sound emanating from her, and grabbed onto Syphus' halberd, stopping it without effort "...you should have sta-stayed away when you had the ch-chance" she hissed before unleashing a strong electric current through the steel halberd.
It was an indescribable sensation, similar to what anyone would feel sticking a fork into an electric outlet. One moment Syphus was seeing Shadow Alphys from nearby, the next it felt like dozens of needles were directly touching his nerves. He lost his footing, falling on his knees and hands. "Stop that!" Ananas shouted, throwing junk at Shadow Alphys. Shadow Alphys started to advance towards Ananas, forcing her to run away. Okay, first thing I'll do once I'm out of here is wrap the handle of this thing in rubber he thought, standing up with shaky legs and retreating to the side.
Keeping themselves with as much health as possible was the priority, but Shadow Alphys turned out to have excellent aim. If Syphus had been alone it'd have proven impossible for him to win, the only Persona he had for healing was weak to the electricity spells Shadow Alphys kept throwing around. Ananas, despite her own weakness, had managed to distract it for long enough for Syphus to heal them both each time. It turned into a constant cycle they all had a hard time getting out for.
It didn't help that no matter what Syphus did, Shadow Alphys wasn't affected by anything – and it didn't help that Syphus didn't have many attack options. All he had was physical attacks, fire, and electricity magic. None of that proved useful at all. "There must be something we can do. I refuse to lose just because of my lack of moves!" Syphus whined, healing Ananas again. They were now hiding in a dark corner of the room, whispering to each other while Shadow Alphys attacked the spots where she thought they may be hiding.
"But nothing's working!" Ananas had lost her hat somewhere, her clothes had a lot of burn holes "I don't get it, nothing is protecting her! Why does it sound like we're hitting armor or something?"
...yeah, that's weird. Ananas wasn't wrong, that strange sound that resonated with each blow was unusual and didn't fit with how Alphys looked. "I have an idea. I'll go to the other side, be ready to hit my Persona with Agi"
"What? Why?"
"Just trust me!" Syphus didn't wait for a reply, instead running ahead and making as much noise as possible with the cans on the floor. Shadow Alphys turned around, immediately hitting the walls with Mazio, a barrage of electricity hitting the walls just an instant after Syphus passed nearby. Stopping across the room, Syphus stomped on the floor. "Now!" he yelled, summoning Shiki-Ouji and focusing on what the sound may be.
The impact of fire against Shiki-Ouji's body made absolutely no sound. Perhaps we're just not seeing something? He didn't have much time to think about it before Shadow Alphys hit Shiki-Ouji, making him stumble back. "I'm right here!" Ananas got Shadow Alphys' attention, Hippolita trying to cut at its torso unsuccessfully, but at least it was keeping Shadow Alphys busy enough. "What was that for?"
"I think she's not invincible, it may be something we're just...not seeing. It's too dark in here"
"Then let's turn on the lights" Ananas pointed upwards, at the hanging lightbulbs, all of them currently turned off.
"I don't think there's a light switch anywhere" Syphus said, advancing with Shiki-Ouji and try to crush Shadow Alphys with its fists. Both Personas were keeping Shadow Alphys busy enough for the team to briefly talk.
"Then find a way to turn the lights on!" Ananas left, leaving Syphus to figure out by himself how exactly he was going to turn on the lightbulbs. Looking for a light switch was useless, there was no way things would be as simple as that. The lightbulbs were high in the air, hanging from feeble cords. Beams thick enough to stand on them crossed high in the air, the gurgling pipelines sticking to the ceiling. There's no way to turn on the lights unless... Maybe it would work! All they needed was some magic.
"Think you can resist for a minute or so?"
"I think I can!" Ananas was shaking after another electric shock. Hoping the girl would resist during the short while it'd take Syphus to test the idea, he retreated to a side, dispelling Shiki-Ouji and changing it for Orobas. The red bipedal horse roared while Syphus looked for a way to get it up to the beams. There was nothing. "Annie, I need a boost over here!" Syphus pleaded while Orobas ran towards Hippolyta. Thinking fast, Ananas made Hippolyta lower the axe, providing a platform for Orobas. As soon as the horse stepped on the axe, Hippolyta launched it upwards, high enough to grab onto one of the cords of the lightbulbs. Here goes nothing!
Electricity coursed through the cord, reaching the lightbulb and turning it on, casting a small cone of light towards Shadow Alphys, revealing the true form of their foe: a cluster of garbage. Packages of ramen, cables, miscellaneous pieces of junk, together it made the deformed shape of Shadow Alphys, looking like it was going to crumble down at any moment. She was trash.
IMAGE SHADOW ALPHYS
"What...is this why nothing affected her?" Ananas was looking at Shadow Alphys with pity. Shadow Alphys cowered under the light, shaking, some of the cans forming her rattling.
"Don't look at me! STOP STARING AT ME!"
Syphus ran ahead, the spike of his halberd on the front, plunging it with ease into Shadow Alphys' flank. Shadow Alphys howled in pain, although it should have made anyone listening to it regret, after so many failed attempts to deplete her health it was a welcome change. "It's working!" they didn't waste any time. Hippolyta started smashing Shadow Alphys with the axe while Syphus did the same with his halberd, pieces of Shadow Alphys flying out of her crumbling body. The onslaught lasted a few seconds before an expansive blast of garbage made both Ananas' Persona and Syphus to step back, Shadow Alphys screaming as loud as it could.
"Stop that already!" it wailed, the junk covering the floor starting to move. The junk rippled before it rose, forming a flexible pillar, moving back and forth. The pillar slammed onto the ground, aiming towards Syphus, who barely jumped out of the way before the garbage flattened everything that was there. As soon as that pillar merged with the ground again, two more appeared, the cycle repeating until there were several pillars, all trying to crush the team.
It all got so bad Syphus had to get rid of Orobas to summon Shiki-Ouji again to fight the pillars while Hippolyta faced Shadow Alphys in close quarters, to the point where the constant attempts to cleave their target got Ananas drained and tired. "I need some healing!"
"Eat food, I can't heal you right now!" Syphus grit his teeth, Shiki-Ouji grabbing onto a pillar and breaking it, throwing the pieces at Shadow Alphys' face. Shadow Alphys cowered meekly before sinking into the junk on the floor, effectively making herself invulnerable once again, until the lightbulb Syphus had turned on dimmed and turned off. The true appearance of their enemy would be concealed once more, Ananas' progress on depleting its health immediately stopping, and the pillars fell into nothing.
Shadow Alphys emerged from the garbage, glaring at the humans. "You...why won't you leave me alone already?!" With deceptive speed, Shadow Alphys bolted forward, towards Syphus, managing to hook her claws into his clothes "I have to push you all away!" she jabbed her fingers into his chest. A sensation of nausea and chills invaded Syphus as soon as Shadow Alphys removed her fingers. It's poison!
"It's invincible again!" Ananas barely managed to pull Shadow Alphys again before being zapped, but that was enough. Syphus fought back the intense feeling of sickness, looking upwards towards the lights. They had to keep the lights on for long enough to fight Shadow Ananas, but the analysis showed it still had a lot of health. We need a way to keep the damage coming constantly, but how...? "Turn the lights on again!"
"I-I'll do it, but..." Syphus took a deep breath and tried to focus. He really hoped the poison wasn't going to last for long or he'd be in trouble. Feverishly, he looked around, trying to see anything that could help. There was nothing new anywhere, despite the garbage being moved around. "There has to be something...anything that can help...!" Even if he turned on the lights, Shadow Alphys would simply blend into the garbage again. They had to do something to stop that from happening.
"Syphus! The lights!"
"I'm thinking...!" in that moment, a drop of something fell on Syphus. He slowly touched the point where the drop had touched him, examining the colorless fluid. What's this...? It took him a moment to recall what it was, immediately making him wipe his finger from that substance.
"Be careful. That's petroleum ether"
The largest pipes on the ceiling were still leaking petroleum ether at a very slow rate. Syphus tried to distinguish them, trying to see through the darkness which pipes were the right ones, when a sudden ball of fire startled him. "I'm sorry!" Ananas said, having gotten too tired to continue with the physical attacks. Syphus didn't reply, staring slack-jawed at Hippolyta, then at the dripping pipes, then to the lights. His mind created a wild idea, reckless and definitely not the kind any sane person would consider a good option, but at this point he was growing desperate. 'Petroleum' means it's flammable, right? It was worth a try. Trying to keep the shivers under control, Syphus called at Ananas, summoning Shiki-Ouji.
"Keep going!" Syphus called to Ananas before he started climbing his Persona. It was tall enough for him to reach the beams near the ceiling, he just needed to get to the Persona's head. Ananas' befuddled staring made Shadow Alphys look behind it. It had no idea what was going on or why Syphus was climbing Shiki-Ouji, but it had to stop such antics. Shiki-Ouji was blasted by sparks, making Syphus cringe and stop his progress, hanging onto the paper golem to not fall down.
"Stop that!" Hippolyta's axe hit Shadow Alphys' head, forcing it to stop attacking Syphus' Persona. Thanks, Annie he thought, standing on Shiki-Ouji's shoulder and grabbing its horns, managing to stand on them despite his ailment. The garbage-covered floor looked far away through his dazed eyes, he tried to not look down, instead forcing himself to propel onto the beam, grabbing onto it in a tight hug. Damn it... he was still shivering. "Syphus? Syphus, are you okay?!"
"I'll be fine" he mumbled, Shiki-Ouji disappearing "I think I got poisoned"
"Poisoned?!"
"I should be okay" standing up on a thin beam while not being on the best conditions seemed very risky. For his own well-being he clung onto the beam like a sloth, Shiki-Ouji materializing right behind Ananas. Without bothering to even give a warning, the piece made Shiki-Ouji grab Ananas and lift her up, right where Syphus was clinging. Syphus got Ananas up with some effort while Shadow Alphys tried to hit Ananas with more electricity spells but missed due to the distance.
Once Ananas was standing on the beam Shadow Alphys could only stare upwards, unable to hit them with anything – it was dark enough up there that she wasn't sure where the team was. "Why are we up here? It's so high!" Ananas didn't seem to be having any problems standing up there, thankfully.
"We're going to get rid of all the garbage we can" Syphus weakly pointed at the pipes "We need to break the large pipes"
"I'll use Hippolyta's axe and—"
"No! We don't know what the other pipes have. The stuff in the ones we want to break is bad enough for us to get sprayed with something else"
Ananas' hand automatically went to the holster of her gun. Finally, her chance to shine. The gun only had five bullets, would that be enough? With a determined look in her eyes, she nodded. "I need some light" Syphus looked down at where Shadow Alphys was roaming, trying to see them.
"The moment I turn on a light, she'll attack" They needed the lights to be able to defeat Shadow Alphys, anyways. Doing it now was the only option "Will you be able to do it quickly?"
Ananas grinned, flipping up her hat with a flick. "'s goin' to be as easy as pie, pal" she said with a false accent, brandishing her gun. She was about to walk away on the beam when Syphus stopped her.
"Wait!" he took off his track jacket, passing it to her. Better to keep her safe from the chemical that was going to rain shortly. He'd be unprotected from it, but at least Ananas was going to be okay...kinda "Put this on you. I'm counting on you, Sheriff" Ananas took the jacket, putting it on her head and body like a cloak.
Shadow Alphys narrowed her eyes, trying to find where exactly her foes had gone. It was all too dark, she could see the hanging lightbulbs and the beams, and although she could hear them, she wasn't sure where to aim at. Suddenly, one of the lightbulbs turned on. Shadow Alphys immediately zapped the area near the light, scorching the pipelines above it. Another lightbulb turned on nearby, she could now see the pipes' outline. "W-Where are you?" Shadow Alphys stammered, annoyed. Third, fourth, fifth lightbulbs turned on, almost no place in the room was dark.
A silhouette jumped from one of the lightbulb cords to another. "G-Got you...?" she was about to use as many electricity spells as possible when a different noise startled her.
"Yes!" Ananas whispered to herself, fist pumping. One of the big pipes had been pierced, a clear liquid pouring out and onto the garbage on the floor. Without even looking if the petroleum ether had fallen on Shadow Alphys as well, Ananas crawled on the beam to the next part. She aimed her gun, biting on her tongue, and fired, the bullet hitting another pipe. Petroleum ether splashed on the jacket Syphus had lent her while she tried to go to the next target. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think the poison is going away" Syphus was lying down, his Persona Orobas applying electricity on the last lightbulb. The whole room was now illuminated, Shadow Alphys was still trying to hit Orobas and missing. Now that his part of the plan was done, Syphus dispelled his Persona, sighing with relief and trying to ignore the petroleum ether sprinkling him. A third gunshot and the wet sound of liquids pouring out let him know Ananas was still doing well.
"What's...what are y-you doing?!" Shadow Alphys had stopped her spells, instead once again making pillars of garbage, trying to use them to plug the holes on the pipes.
Ananas fired her fourth bullet, piercing the last pipe Syphus had told her. "Done!" she said, pretending to blow smoke off the cannon of her gun "Now what?" Syphus waited for Shadow Alphys to plug that fourth pipe. Most of the garbage below, as well as Shadow Alphys, had been soaked with petroleum ether. If he remembered right his meager knowledge of chemistry, liquids like petroleum ether burned very hot and ran out fast, it'd be a fire lasting for a short time yet it'd destroy the garbage and – with some luck – damage Shadow Alphys enough to defeat her. Syphus nodded at Ananas.
"Fire"
"Fire!"
Hippolyta's fire blast hit one of the pillars of garbage plugging a pipe, lighting it up on fire. Shadow Alphys, standing near the base of the pillar, jumped back, pieces of junk falling off her shape. "N-No! S-Stop!" she pleaded when another of the pillars was set on fire "I-I surrender! Stop this!" It couldn't be stopped. The magic fire spread at startling speed, molten steel and plastic starting to pile up on the floor. Up on the heating beams, Ananas hissed, enduring the intense heat without much complaint, while Syphus felt nothing, having changed to Shiki-Ouji again.
"I-I-I-I surrender! P-Please, stop it!" Shadow Alphys wasn't set on fire, but the heat was enough to hurt her. All around her the garbage melted and burned away, all lasting for a minute more before the fire extinguished. All that was left of the junk was a thick layer of solidified goop, with Shadow Alphys lying on it. "...I...g-give up..."
The petroleum ether had stopped flowing, the holes on the pipes sealed by the burning materials. Syphus and Ananas descended by climbing down Shiki-Ouji, landing on the solidified remains of the garbage. Slowly, the two walked towards Shadow Alphys, a bit wary. "...you win...Th-Thank...you..." she said. Her shape trembled for a moment before some of the trash fell away, showing underneath it yellow scales and white fabric. She's here!
"Got you!" Syphus and Ananas grabbed the fabric, pulling from it. It was like trying to pull away gum from hair, but soon they managed to make progress. As soon as her head appeared, Alphys gasped, she was completely unharmed. Alphys grabbed Syphus and Ananas' sleeves, holding onto them so tight her claws teared into their clothes.
It took a couple minutes but they managed to get Alphys out of her Shadow's form, the three of them falling onto the solidified slop. For a moment no one said anything, just resting from everything that had happened. A while later, Ananas took off the jacket Syphus lent her, passing it to him. "Thanks..." she said. The jacket was mostly covered in petroleum ether, had many burn holes, and overall was tattered and ruined. Syphus just let it fall aside.
"...uh...I can't believe you two saw...such embarrassing behavior from me..." Alphys stammered, looking at the shape of Shadow Alphys still standing there, immobile. Ananas approached, putting a hand on Alphys' shoulder.
"Don't worry! Mine wasn't much better"
"You...you saw your ugly other side too?"
"Kinda" the girl extended her hand "I'm Sheriff Ananas. Nice to meet you, Alphys"
"Uh...same?" Alphys awkwardly shook Ananas' hand, then looked at Syphus with doubt. "I feel like I know you...but that's impossible, I have never seen you before"
"It's complicated to explain, but I'll try later. Right now what matters is that" Syphus gestured at Shadow Alphys' frame. Alphys closed her eyes, sighing.
"Oh. Her. Everything she s-said, uh...i-it isn't like she said, I'm not, uh..."
"Don't worry, we understand" shaming Alphys would be a rather low thing to do, it wasn't any of their concern. Still, it'd be nice if Alphys faced the chains she had inflicted on herself and managed to obtain a Persona "You should do something about that, though"
"What am I s-supposed to do?"
"Defeat it. You'll have to deal the finishing blow"
"The what?!" Alphys shook her head "I-I'm not killing anything!"
"You're not going to kill it. You'll defeat the parts of you that represent what you have to overcome. That's all you have to do"
"I-It isn't as easy as you make it sound! I-I don't know – that's not – I don't know if I can!"
"You can do it. Come on, we believe in you!" Ananas tried to encourage, but she sounded a bit too forceful. Alphys didn't seem encouraged at all. The time for discussion ended immediately, Shadow Alphys' remains started moving forward. The ruined hands extended forward, sharp claws at the ready to grab Alphys. Alphys gasped, stepping back and falling on her rear.
"It-It's moving!"
"Alphys, now's your chance! Do it!"
"B-B-But I don't know – I don't understand anything!"
"That's another side of yourself. You're the only one who can tame it and start building up something good out of it. You have to do it" Syphus tried to explain in a few words, Shadow Alphys getting closer and closer.
"That's me? I know i-it looked like me, but-"
"You have to overcome that thing! Do it!" Ananas took out her gun, not liking how this was turning out to be.
"Wait, this is going too f-fast! I'm not—that can't be me! I'm not a liar, I—"
"It's getting closer!" Syphus warned.
"I-I may have lied a bit, but I'm not—you have to believe me!" she yelled. Shadow Alphys grabbed Alphys again, lifting her. The Shadow Self wasn't in any condition to attack anymore, but these simple movements were enough to spook Alphys. "H-Help me!"
"Do it! Come on, do it already!"
"I...I..."
"Alphys, now!"
"I can't do it!"
Alphys' shriek startled Ananas, who raised her gun with a whimper and fired her last bullet at Shadow Alphys. The bullet cleanly pierced through the trash. Shadow Alphys froze, immobile for a few tense seconds, until slowly it crumbled away, turning into a pile of trash on the solid melted garbage slop, the Shadow Self itself leaving those objects. Alphys fell to the floor, struggling to keep herself together, while Syphus sighed and Ananas hurried to get to Alphys' side. "Are you okay?"
"I...I'm fine..." Alphys managed to say "I just want to go home...please take me home..."
"We will" Syphus said dryly, disappointed. He had thought Alphys would be able to face her own obstacles and gain a Persona, but her fears had been too much for her to handle in such short notice. Syphus picked up cans and junk that once formed Shadow Alphys while Ananas calmed Alphys down.
"What're we going to do once we're back?" Ananas asked to Syphus when he approached. The piece shrugged, a bit absent-mindedly.
"We'll have to get out of the hospital. I don't know how much time will have passed, but Undyne may be nearby. Stay hidden under the bed until it's safe to go"
Alphys frowned "The hospital...?"
"You'll understand once you wake up" Syphus looked at the neck of Alphys' clothes, finding the firefly brooch there. Once he was sure everyone was ready and that they weren't leaving anything behind, Syphus pressed the brooch. It'd be nice to have a third team member at some point...
-ooooo-
When Syphus felt his consciousness returning, the first thing he heard was the scraping of the door against the floor, pushing against the bed where Alphys was lying on. "NGAAAAH!" he heard, completely waking him up. Undyne! She was going to enter the room! Syphus pretty much teared the brooch out of Alphys' clothes, attaching it to his pants.
He had barely activated it when something hit the door, moving the door further away enough for someone to enter. Undyne peeked inside, her eye widening when she saw the bed blocking the door. "What the HELL?!" she murmured, barely managing to keep her voice down.
"Uh...hey there..." Syphus meekly said, moving the bed to unblock the door and hoping Ananas would stay underneath and uncaught. Undyne stomped inside the room, looking around.
"What happened here? Why was the bed against the door? Why are you here? Why are there so many lab coats on the floor?!" she was shouting when the receptionist entered too. Unlike Undyne, the receptionist paid no attention to Syphus, instead going towards Alphys on the bed, who was starting to wake up. The receptionist turned her head around.
"The patient is waking up!"
That was enough for Undyne to pretty much ignore Syphus' presence, rushing to Alphys' side. "Are you serious?!" she was in disbelief. A monster who had fallen down just woke up! That was very uncommon! When she saw that it was true, she wasn't sure what to say, but it felt like a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders.
The receptionist went to the side of the room where the bed had originally been. "Here, bring the bed over here. She should stay with us tonight, just in case"
"Got it!" Undyne grabbed the planks underneath the bed, barely missing Ananas hiding, and lifted the bed up. Having her hideout taken away, Ananas grabbed her cloak and threw it over herself. Luckily for her, lifting the bed had all of Undyne's attention and the receptionist couldn't see her yet, so Syphus opened the door a bit more and wordlessly gestured Ananas to crawl away. Ananas hurried to escape, standing up once she got to the hallway, and Syphus, without even daring to get Undyne's attention, exited the room shortly after, clutching his halberd.
"We did it. We really did it. Let's go away now"
"Is Alphys going to be okay?" Ananas inquired.
"I think so. Come on, let's go home before Undyne comes out to snap my neck for the mess we left in there" he pushed Ananas forward a bit, the two of them quickly running through the halls until they left the hospital.
-ooooo-
The trek all the way to the Hidden Village was done mostly in silence, Ananas didn't want to talk while there were so many monsters nearby. Only once they existed the MTT Resort and started crossing the bridge over lava that led to Waterfall Ananas said something. "Sorry about your jacket" she said, looking at the ruined jacket with some pity. Syphus was carrying it as if it was the grossest thing he had ever touched.
With a sigh, he let the jacket flutter down towards the lava. "It's ruined. Wearing that thing ever again would be dangerous"
"Are you going to be okay without it?"
"I'll just have to use the white shirt I have right now until I get more clothes. It's no big deal"
"I think Byssa is almost done with your robe"
"...I don't think I could run wearing a robe" the conversation died until they descended into the crevice to walk into the village. Ananas rubbed a sore spot on her arm, a bit forlorn.
"Is Alphys going to be okay?"
"Yeah, most likely"
"That copy of her with the yellow eyes...it was creepy how she fought with Alphys. But Syphus, uh...can I ask you something?" Syphus hummed a 'hm?', so Ananas continued: "Are you a copy too?"
That made Syphus slow down a bit. He reflexively was about to stick his free hand into the pocket of his jacket, only finding air when he realized he wasn't wearing one anymore. "Why do you ask?"
"Your eyes...they're yellow like Alphys' copy. Are you one too?"
Syphus thought for a moment. In his opinion it was possible he was his master's Shadow Self, as weird as that could be, but he wasn't completely sure about that. Still, Ananas wanted an answer. "Maybe. I don't really know"
"But you don't seem like a bad person to me. I think you're kind...if you're someone's copy, does that mean the real person is a bad person?"
That's a very good question, now that I think about it. He didn't really know much about Sisyphus. All that he knew was that he was currently holding a piece of Sisyphus' SOUL, and he also had most of Sisyphus' memories. Despite that, he wasn't sure what kind of person Sisyphus was...but if he somehow was himself, there was no way Sisyphus was evil, right?
...right?
Ananas seemed to sense that the question had been a touchy topic for him, so she stopped talking about that. An uncomfortable silence settled over them while they descended down the stairs towards the village. Once they got near the cottages they noticed there was unrest. Graham and Byssa were around, talking to each other with panicked expression on their faces. "There they are!" Byssa exclaimed when she saw them approach. She came closer, looking at them from head to toe "They seem to be okay!"
"Thank god..." Graham said, approaching "Are you two okay? Nobody tried to attack you or anything?"
"No, not really. Why?" Syphus said. Byssa and Graham looked at each other before Graham answered that question.
"We hadn't seen Cohen since noon, we started looking for him twenty minutes ago. Byssa just found him at that hole in the rock he likes to sit at" Graham said. Ananas went around Syphus, looking around as if hoping to see Cohen.
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"
"She found Cohen there. Looks like he fainted, but he hasn't woken up"
"He's not dead!" Byssa hurried to add when Ananas made a horrified face "He's just unconscious. There's nothing to worry about"
"Nothing? He fell down!"
"No, I think he was sitting down when Byssa found him" Graham said.
"Sitting down? Are you joking?" she turned to Syphus "Can we help him? Syphus, we must help him!" That much was obvious, but they had just finished a trek into someone's SOUL. Syphus felt exhausted, the thought of having to go find Cohen in another SOUL right now made his whole body ache. The pained look he gave to Ananas didn't need any other words. "But we should do something!"
"We need to rest first"
"What if something else happens to Cohen?"
"We'll be looking over him" Graham said kindly, not understanding what exactly Ananas and Syphus were talking about. It took a while for Syphus to convince her that it was important to rest now, that once they were refreshed they'd be able to tackle Cohen's SOUL without much trouble. Syphus was about to walk to where he usually slept when he stopped, having remembered he usually slept at Cohen's cabin. That's where Cohen was right now, wasn't it? ...it'd be weird to sleep near Cohen's unconscious body... he thought. It was a selfish and kind of ugly thought, but he didn't want the constant reminder of what they need to do as soon as possible. Downtrodden, Syphus went to the Communal Building and laid down in a corner, the cold hard wood making a really poor bed. The smells of dinner were still in the air. Tomorrow we'll deal with what happened to Cohen. We'll be able to do it...hopefully...
-ooooo-
Ananas woke Syphus up at breakfast time, shaking him. She shoved toast in Syphus' hands, pushed him a cup of coffee, and made him stand up, all the while talking. "Okay, eat up. That's the breakfast, and I also got some of that gross coffee thing adults like, so eat it and then we'll go"
"H-Hey, let me eat in peace!"
Ananas exhaled. "Sorry, I want to help Cohen as soon as possible...I didn't think he'd fall down too..."
"I know, but we can't hurry and go unprepared" That was enough to get Ananas off his back during the rest of his breakfast. She walked around, vibrating until Syphus was done, and as soon as he finished the coffee she was once again near him. Syphus sighed. "I wish that had been cocoa..."
"You're done! Come on, let's go!"
"Calm down, Annie. Look, give me a moment. We'll go later" Wait what? What did I just...? Ananas was as aghast as his own thoughts.
"What?!"
"I mean; we gain nothing by going in right now. Give me a while, I'll tell you when I'm ready"
"Why? What are you going to do that's more important than helping Cohen?!"
I don't know! Syphus held his head for a moment before replying. "Ugh, just leave me alone. Cohen isn't going to go anywhere. He's not going to die just because we wait for a few hours longer"
"How can you say that?!"
"Just trust me, Annie. I know what I'm doing" What the hell am I saying?!
Ananas sighed. "Fine, I'll trust you, but...I don't like this...we need to help Cohen"
"I know. We'll go later, I promise" he said. Ananas didn't look completely convinced, but she didn't insist. Now that he managed to calm Ananas down for now, Syphus stood up and left the building, going in direction of the exit of the village. While he was walking there, he was turning his own words around in his head, not understanding why he had said such things. Even now, although he wanted to stop, he found himself still walking towards the stairs. Come on, what am I doing? I should be going to Cohen's cottage! We need to get him back!
Why am I doing this? He knew very well what was the likely answer, but he didn't understand the reasons why his master would force him to ignore Cohen's situation and leave. Where was he even going?
But it wasn't like he could go against what Sisyphus decided – not because he couldn't, with some effort maybe he could do it – but pieces that went against their master's will tended to suffer horrible fates. Death would be the most merciful punishment he'd receive if Sisyphus took it as a personal insult.
Besides, the witch could look at the whole board. If he was sending the piece away, surely there was a reason for that. "I must trust him. It's possible he's me, I wouldn't do this without a reason. Yeah..." It was then when he noticed his way of thinking had changed:
When had he started to think the witch was another part of him?
-ooooo-
Cornio looked intermittently from the board to Sisyphus, who was staring back without any shame. "Why aren't you trying to rescue Cohen?" he asked, confused.
"I'm just biding my time, you know, preparing myself further"
"Oh. I suppose that may be fine" Leaving someone to the mercy of his own machinations was something Cornio didn't like, but it wasn't like he could force Sisyphus to play well. Cornio was already trying not to make the game unwinnable for Sisyphus, and that was as far as he could go in terms of giving a handicap. I'll trust he knows what he's doing Cornio decided "What do you plan to do?"
"I think there's time during the day to improve one, maybe two Social Links, and then I'll go in. That should help get even better Personas"
"That could help" at least it did seem like Sisyphus had a plan in mind, that gave him some peace of mind.
Lucia was less convinced about it, though. She leaned forward, looking straight at Sisyphus' eyes for a moment. Sisyphus raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
"No, nothing" she leaned back, mouthing one last word: 'yet'. Something about that made Cornio take a decision. No, he wasn't going to sit back and let things take a swerve towards a situation he didn't like. While he was thinking about it, a very familiar voice started talking inside him, one he knew very well. It was very rare to hear it nowadays, but when it had something to say...
"We can't let this continue!"
"I'm not sure about this..." Cornio said to himself.
"Sometimes you must assert yourself. We should do something if we can!"
Cornio was silent for a moment. "Okay. I will". The voice coming from his SOUL didn't reply, but that had been all the encouragement Cornio had needed for now. He stood up. "Lucia, help me with something over there" he said, leaving the lounge.
The request was something Lucia hadn't expected, but she didn't reject it. She stood up and followed him out of the lounge, closing the large doors behind her. The hallway was clean and elegant, showing the swirling purple skies beyond the window. The manor really was like an island in a sea of emptiness. The two of them stood in front of the window, making sure Sisyphus wasn't listening. Cornio hid behind a plant, just in case, and deactivated the firefly brooch he had in his pocket, showing his true form to Lucia. The arcane witch calmly acknowledged that.
"What did you want to talk about, ASRIEL?"
The former Prince of All Monsters leaned against the wall, his horns clicking against the marble. He had grown quite a lot during the ten years since he had been...abducted from his world, several heads taller than Lucia. During that time, it had turned rather obvious he had gotten more physical traits from Toriel than from Asgore. Although he was rather strong, he didn't have much bulk to show, his facial features were rounder than his father's, and other than the abundant tuft on his head, his fur simply refused to grow like Asgore's. His eyes were pretty much the only trait he inherited from his father – which is why Lucia had taken pity of him and given him a mane of hair for his human-looking illusion.
ASRIEL tilted his head. "I think this is starting to go wrong. Are you sure about what we're doing?"
"The truth is that I'm not sure anymore. You saw his SOUL?"
"Not really. Is there something wrong with his SOUL?"
Lucia crossed her arms. "Oh, right. I haven't told you. Allow me to tell you the risky methods of the Witch of Hope" she took a moment to organize her ideas, trying to think of a simple way to explain it. The exact methods were complicated, but maybe she could tell it all in a way anyone would understand? "Pieces on a game board usually aren't aware of our layer of existence. Only when a witch wants it, it can be aware of it, and even then it's unlikely it'll have the same thoughts and desires of the witch. So how to make a piece that not only is aware of the existence of this world, but also is very connected to the witch?"
ASRIEL thought for a moment. "It sounds like it's related to the SOUL. Is that why you were talking about it?"
"Yes. Nice, you were paying attention!" Lucia smiled for a moment "I had expected you to suggest to use the Shadow Self as a piece, and in theory that should work since it's the same person – just with certain traits amplified – but witches don't have a Shadow Self. It's part of our nature. So we decided to create a Shadow Self for him.
We grabbed a Shadow from the collective unconscious and inserted into it a tiny piece of Sisyphus' SOUL. The intention was to give it Sisyphus' former appearance, and his mind, memories and feelings. It worked! It was all working perfectly"
ASRIEL wasn't having much of a problem following such explanation. The implications of that was something he had already figured out earlier, but he hadn't known the specific method behind it. "But it's not working anymore!" Or at least that's what it seemed, judging from her behavior Lucia smiled wryly.
"It's going awry. I didn't think the piece would start gaining its own ego...making its own decisions, different to Sisyphus'. I just checked his SOUL. I'm not sure yet, but I think the piece is starting to drain the rest of Sisyphus' SOUL"
"Then we must stop this! It can't be too late yet!"
"It is too late. We can't stop the game; we have done too much just to stop it now!"
"Then what can we do? I don't want to hurt Sisyphus, what's going to happen to him?"
Lucia glanced at the closed doors. "I don't know, but if I had to guess...the more the piece starts differing from Sisyphus, the more it'll take their SOUL until it isn't stable anymore, and once it happens..." she went silent. Once ASRIEL spurred her to finish her thought, she placed her hand over her heart, unsure "I think the more the piece steals his SOUL, the more of Sisyphus' hidden desires will start showing in him.
It'll be as if his Shadow Self is sitting right there with us – and it'll pretty much our creation"
The thought of having to see first-hand the other side of Sisyphus' more concealed side of his personality was sickening in a way, ASRIEL felt as if something had grabbed him in a vice. Lucia's expression softened a bit. "Speaking of SOULs, how's yours?"
ASRIEL looked unsure. "I still have that voice inside"
"That's unusual. In Sisyphus' case the fusion was immediate. I'm not sure why you're not stable yet, but give it some time. Trust me, okay?"
It wasn't like he had any other option. Now that he thought about it, these last ten years pretty much everything had relied on Lucia's help. He still needed to thank her properly. She sure could be kind, for an evil witch. ASRIEL activated his brooch again, taking the illusion of the ragged person Sisyphus had met. "Let's go back before Sisyphus goes looking for us" Cornio suggested, grabbing the handles of the door. Lucia nodded.
"After you, little prince"
"I'm not little anymore, I'm pretty much an adult by now!"
"Could have fooled me. You're still a child in many ways. Maybe when this all is over you'll finally have a chance to grow up" she pointed at herself with her thumb "But don't ask me to help you unless you're interested in seeing stuff being ruined"
"You're not as bad as you think you are!" he said with complete honesty. Such naïve statement elicited a laugh from her, which she barely suppressed.
"Oh, you have absolutely no idea..." she said, opening the door "Good luck with Sisyphus"
He really was going to need luck, if things were starting to be as dire as they sounded.