"The Emperor is the card of authority figures and order, and it also has another meaning: changes in your life. But, just as many other influences, indulging excessively in the fortitude this arcana represents can lead to being insecure, putting emotions ahead of rational decisions, and using other people for your own personal gain"
"...is that just a coincidence?"
"Did that strike too close to home?"
"It fits a bit too well with what we have been doing"
"I don't think we got to that point yet. Don't worry. I trust you know what you're doing"
"...I don't"
"...hm...you know you have my support, right? If you ever need to talk about it, you can tell me, Azzy. I'll support you"
"Thanks. Thank you, I really needed to hear that"
Shadow Cohen looked at the team with contempt, as if they were no more than a nuisance that chose a bad time to appear. Cohen was never the type of person to regard others with warmth or affection, but he had never showed so much disdain towards someone as his Shadow was doing now. Syphus simply glared back, but Ananas, having known Cohen for longer, was cowed. She refused to draw out her gun, staring at Shadow Cohen's feet instead of his eyes. "...what do you mean?" she inquired mutedly.
"Let's face it, the only reason why you're all alive is because of me. And that's obvious! Who else other than me would be able to fight and defy any monsters that'd try to take our SOULs?"
"But I can fight too!"
Shadow Cohen looked at her with amusement. "What do you know, you little pest? If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from me – from everyone" he crossed his arms "Why did you have to arrive...everything was okay before you fell into the Underground"
"What?"
"I'm the guardian. I'm the one in charge of the village. What you lot have to do is shut up and let me call the shots"
"I don't understand..."
"Don't listen to him" Syphus tried to remind her, but Ananas didn't pay attention to Syphus. She knew she shouldn't listen to what Shadow Cohen was saying, but there was something morbidly alluring about it all. She closed her eyes.
"But you had to appear in our lives" Shadow Cohen stepped towards Ananas slowly, glaring at her with loathing "You had to defy me. You really think you have what's needed to be the guardian? Don't make me laugh, you moron"
Ananas shook her head. "I didn't mean to defy—"
"You're no more than a foolish, prideful brat who thinks you deserve more than what you already have. Isn't it enough to be safe under my wings? Just stay with everybody else and don't get too big for your britches"
"I want to protect everyone. Is that really so bad...?"
Something about what Ananas said seemed to amuse Shadow Cohen. He laughed, lowering his voice. "You? What'd you be able to do for us?"
"That's enough!" Syphus shouted. Shadow Cohen ignored him, still talking to Ananas.
"Ah, look at that, someone has to jump in your defense! If you can't defend yourself against mere words then how do you expect to defend anyone?" That made Syphus shut up. He groaned, refraining from saying anything else, for Ananas' sake. The girl silently implored Syphus to leave this up to her. Not having anyone defying him, Shadow Cohen continued. "I'm not going to step aside so you can take the throne from me. Listen very well what I'm going to say:
Stay away from the position...and you won't get into more trouble than you already are"
That position is something you created! Cohen was ridiculously protective of something that hadn't existed until he had made up the role. Syphus had to literally bite his tongue to avoid saying something, instead settling with staring daggers at Shadow Cohen. He really hoped Ananas had enough fortitude to face the man who had tried so hard and so often to discourage her, even if it meant hurting her feelings.
For a moment Ananas kept her eyes closed, rubbing them hard with her hands to try to keep tears inside. This was the right moment; she couldn't just step aside any longer. Either she faced Cohen right now, or she never would. After taking a deep breath, she swallowed, slowly taking her gun out of the holster, her fingers playing with the safety of the revolver.
"...no."
"What?" Shadow Cohen spat.
"I won't go away. I had enough of you, old man...I'm not going to listen to you anymore"
"Do you know what you're doing—?"
"I'm not going to give up just because you tell me to do it!" she glared at Shadow Cohen "Now leave Cohen alone! I'll defeat you first, and then I'll show Cohen I'll do a good job!"
For a moment Shadow Cohen said nothing, looking at her coldly. Without saying a word, he extended a hand to the air, smoke gathering there until a shape formed: a sword. It was a bright and sharp-looking orange sword, as tall as Cohen. Syphus and Ananas watched the sword, in case he tried to attack them with it. "...if you say so, Annie...it's too bad, though. You could have stayed well-protected and trusting me to deal with the danger. You'd have nothing to worry about, just like the rest" he turned his face towards Syphus "And you...you're on the same side than her, aren't you? Don't lie, I know you are"
"What if I am?" Syphus snarled, defiant. Shadow Cohen ignored the question, instead testing the sword's movements.
"You'll both see now...you'll see what happens to fools like you two. If you're not going to accept to be under my heel for your own good...
...then you're both useless to me"
Ananas put a finger on the trigger of her gun. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I'll kill you both now. What else could it mean?"
The sword started extending over Shadow Cohen's hand, like molten metal covering him. In matter of seconds, the orange fluid had covered him, compressing him more and more until he was just a faceless human-shaped blob, smaller than Ananas. The team could only stare, waiting for Shadow Cohen to make a move. Suddenly, a large vertical eye opened in the center of the being's head, staring at them unforgivingly. Their foe started trembling, noises like metal scrapping together echoing from him, until something ripped out from his back. A large piece of metal, like a wing, extended outwards, much bigger than Shadow Cohen.
The same process repeated several times in matter of seconds until Shadow Cohen had six large metallic wings, with pulsing orange veins connecting them to the tiny body. "That's Cohen's true nature?" Ananas gasped.
"More like a twisted version of him" That's the guardian. Of course it'd be an angel.
Shadow Cohen twitched his wings until they enveloped him, forming a ball for a moment. The junctures shone with a bright orange light, but the Shadow removed the protective cover it had made, swinging the sword. "You'll regret rejecting my help!"
"Syphus, what's the plan?" Ananas whispered.
"I don't know, but it can't be as simple as hitting him. Let's see how this goes" Queen Mab emerged from Syphus while he analyzed the foes. Lucia's voice not only picked up the one they had to fight, she also analyzed the Mayas behind him, for some reason.
Shadow Cohen, Emperor Arcana. No information available.
After that, the voice listed every Maya's name and arcana. Hierophant, Chariot, Temperance, Fortune, Strength, Hermit...all with the same sentence:
Extremely weak. One hit and it's gone.
It was rather depressing that those weaklings were how Cohen's SOUL had represented them.
Ananas immediately increased her attack and went ahead, Hippolyta's axe shining bright. Shadow Cohen didn't move, instead taking the blow stoically. Although apparently he did take damage, he didn't react, instead raising his sword high. "You'll see..." he muttered, sparks gathering on the tip of the sword. Electricity again? At least now Syphus was better prepared. Before Shadow Cohen could strike, Queen Mab levitated in front of Ananas, extending her arms and catching the spell the Shadow casted.
"I'll cover you, you hit him as much as you can!" Syphus instructed. Ananas didn't reply, instead using her increased attack to shoot at Shadow Cohen while her Persona used fire. Shadow Cohen still made no move to defend himself, simply staring at the Personas.
"You two are being extremely foolish. I thought you'd stop after a few hits...but looks like you're serious about this" he drawled as if he wasn't being slammed by a giant axe.
"We're not leaving!" Ananas yelled. Shadow Cohen made a strange rumbling noise, almost like a laugh.
"Okay. This'll be your funeral" Shadow Cohen's wings started contracting until they once again formed a ball around him. Unlike last time, he didn't undo it immediately. Instead, the wings compacted against each other, although there were fissures and holes between them, it was unlikely they could manage to hit the Shadow's small orange form inside. On the outside, on each wing, there was a round gem, each one of a different color: light blue, green, purple, yellow, red and blue.
"Let us start" the ball started vibrating, a strange buzzing sound emanating from it. Ananas simply frowned, not affected by it, but Syphus doubled over, his Persona vanishing. He felt dizzy for a moment, but the crackling coming from the ball got his attention. There was no doubt Shadow Cohen was once again trying to use an electricity spell. Just like before, Syphus positioned Queen Mab over Ananas to protect her. The lightning bolt struck the Persona, Syphus immediately falling to the floor due to the shock. What the...I should have nullified that! Shadow Cohen had gotten rid of his immunity to electricity! Changing to another Persona immune to such attacks would only mean their foe would nullify it again, it'd be a waste of time.
"What're we going to do with those over there?" Ananas inquired, trying to carve through Shadow Cohen's shield. Near the sentry station, the Mayas were waving their hands ineffectively.
"I don't know" Syphus said "Those aren't doing nothing, let's leave them be" They had bigger fish to fry. Shadow Cohen was surrounded by a red glow "His defense has increased! I'll help you!"
It wasn't easy to try to get a hold of Shadow Cohen. The halberd and Hippolyta's axe could only do scratches, and Ananas' bullets kept bouncing from it. There was more luck through the use of spells, at least. "Move!" Syphus yelled at Ananas, the girl jumped to a side right before Shadow Cohen slammed against the wall with the strength of a wrecking ball. Rocks fell from the ceiling, tinkling on the metallic surface of the Shadow. Without even a second of wait, the ball spun in the other direction, striking Syphus' Persona.
"I got him!" balls of fire hit Shadow Cohen, sizzling and burning the wings. Slowly, the metallic shell uncurled, the orange being inside swinging his sword towards Ananas, hitting her right in the chest and using his wings to block Syphus from hitting his back with his halberd's spearpoint. Syphus tried over and over, thrusting the spike through any holes he could see, but since Shadow Cohen had six wings he wasn't able to hit not even once.
The bullets struck Shadow Cohen's tiny body, pushing him back and forcing him to attack from the distance, making a wide sweep with the sword and forming an arch of energy towards Ananas, the barrier from her ring activating and making it bounce towards the Shadow "You little brat...!" Shadow Cohen grumbled, pushing Syphus back with a swing of the sword and aiming with the tips of the wings towards Ananas. In a moment, six bolts of electricity completely wrecked the space around Ananas. She screamed in pain, dropping her gun, moment Shadow Cohen used to bolt forward and slam Ananas' head with the sword.
"Annie!" Syphus only heard the sounds of what happened, but it sounded like Ananas fell unconscious, if not something worse. Choosing to retreat for a moment, Syphus got to the more open space, circling around Shadow Cohen and making the Mayas scatter. Ananas wasn't too far away, lying on the rocks with her cowboy hat not too far away from her. Syphus grabbed Ananas' unconscious form, pulling from her before Shadow Cohen could bludgeon him with the sword. The onslaught was brutal, the Shadow moving the sword with expertise, hitting him several times in quick succession. There had to be something Syphus could do to wake Ananas up, he wasn't going to last for long alone against the Shadow. Wait, that's it! He took out the small box of beads Papyrus had bought from Mettaton's shopping show. Hoping it'd work, Syphus took one out, he had only gotten it close to Ananas' face when she woke up. That's effective! She even was strong enough to get out of his grasp immediately, her hand immediately going to the empty holster on her thigh.
"My gun!" she gasped, seeing it on the other side of the place and hurrying towards it right in front of Shadow Cohen. The foe tried to stop her, but Syphus threw a rock at him, distracting him long enough for him to take the halberd and hit him with the blade. That gave Ananas enough time to pick up her gun and hat, huffing from the effort. She managed to shoot Shadow Cohen a few times before he once again formed his shell, shielding himself from the physical attacks and again increasing his defense. "This is taking too long!"
"Keep using fire!" Better that than hitting with the halberd over and over, at least. While Shadow Cohen turned all his attention towards Ananas, once again trying to crush her against the floor, Syphus healed her and tried to assess the situation. The shield was too much of an advantage, and breaking it didn't seem like an option. "There must be a way to bypass it..." he mumbled before Shadow Cohen turned his sights on him, the ball dropping to the ground and rolling towards him. His immediate action was to raise his halberd and try to block the incoming attack. All he achieved was to get run over, thankfully the halberd taking most of the strength of the attack.
"Are you okay?!" he heard Ananas.
"...I think I am okay"
"He's going towards you again!"
Syphus rolled to a side almost automatically, just in time to avoid Shadow Cohen. When the enemy stopped, it levitated over the ground again, turning towards the team with a malicious twinkle in its eye. "You two are hopeless" neither Ananas nor Syphus replied to that, trying to think of a way to counter whatever it could do next. That shell was very resistant, breaking it wasn't going to work... What are those for? The colorful gems around Cohen's outline, it seemed like they were simply decoration, but what if...
"Shoot the gems!"
"Uh, alright!" Ananas wasn't sure how that was going to help but she raised her gun, aiming at any of those gems. The bullet hit it right in the center but nothing happened, not even a crack "Nothing's happening!"
"Keep trying!" But after a while it was obvious that was useless, shooting them didn't help at all. Those gems were as resistant as the shield, that much was obvious after a few bullets more. Syphus went back, healing Ananas again, when his foot stepped on something slimy – one of the Mayas. The Maya scurried away, whimpering and without even trying to attack. "That's it!" That had to be it! Six gems, six Mayas...there had to be a reason why they were still around. "We have to get rid of those Shadows!"
Ananas looked at the cowering Mayas for a moment. "I'll do it if you keep Cohen busy!"
"Go!" Syphus changed to Rakshasa, fighting Shadow Cohen with something resistant to physical attacks seemed like a good way to keep him busy while Ananas dealt with all the Mayas. The Persona slammed its sharp swords on the shell a few times before kicking it away, hitting the wall. Ananas shook her head and focused on her task, trying to ignore the sound of metal against metal and the slam of Shadow Cohen's shell against the rocks. Ananas stood in front of the group of Mayas.
"Alright, pardners, it's high noon for you" she muttered, Hippolyta rising the axe high and slamming the blade into the ground. The Maya she had been aiming for moved astoundingly fast, a trail of ink left on the floor "Come on...!" Hippolyta tried over and over to hit any of the Shadows, but missed every time. To heighten her chances, Ananas used her gun as well, firing carefully where she judged the Mayas would go next.
"Get down!"
She didn't even reply, instead throwing herself to the floor just in time to dodge the blast of electricity that crossed the air right where her back had been a moment ago. Did that mean they were on the right path, that getting rid of the Mayas would be of help? "Leave her alone!" she heard Syphus' voice, followed by a screeching metallic noise like nails on a chalkboard, and Syphus yelping with pain. He kept trying his best to keep Shadow Cohen busy and, thankfully, there were no more attacks towards Ananas.
It took an excessive amount of time – several minutes – to finally land a hit on one of the Mayas. The one with the green mask was hit with a ball of fire, dissolving immediately. "Yes!" The effects were noticeable immediately. Syphus was about to try to pry open Shadow Cohen's shell with his halberd when suddenly the Shadow started trembling and burst open, Shadow Cohen falling to the floor. One of his wings shook and started recoiling until it was unusable, he seemed to be having a lot of trouble even getting back into the air.
It's my chance! Syphus didn't waste any time in taking advantage of Shadow Cohen's momentary weakness, directing Rakshasa to pummel Shadow Cohen with its swords. The foe wasn't able to get up for just enough time for Syphus to suffer a lot of damage. The moment it managed to get off the ground and try to hurt Syphus with its weapon, Rakshasa got in middle and deflected the blow, forcing the Shadow to hit himself. "I won't let you walk all over me!" Shadow Cohen grumbled before taking shelter into his shell once again.
"Here he goes again...Annie, it's working! Do it again!" Despite the damaged wing, it seemed Syphus still wouldn't be able to get through it, getting rid of more wings was necessary. Ananas tried again, but the death of one of the Mayas had gotten the rest rather fired up, sliding around with a lot more speed than before. Sometimes one of them came and hit Ananas. It was more annoying than painful, like getting slapped by a wet fish.
"I can't hit them!" Ananas notified after several failed hits with her Persona and her gun.
"Do something! I don't know how long I'll last here!" Syphus used Rakshasa to drive Shadow Cohen to the ground, trying to hold it down.
"They're too fast!" she couldn't even stop them from moving. She ran after them, not even getting close to catching them. One of them approached to hit Ananas again, managing to slap her in the back, only to die when the ring activated and reflected the meager attack. Two done, four left...with the bad luck that none of the Mayas dared to approach Ananas anymore. There was nothing else she could do. "I'm missing all my attacks!"
"You—you'll have to—think of something" Syphus said, huffing, while he cleaved Shadow Cohen's exposed orange body.
"But I..." there was no sense in arguing. Ananas stepped to the edge of the room, dispelling Hippolyta, and analyzed the situation. The Mayas kept dodging her attacks no matter what. They weren't that smart, but they were aware enough to dodge incoming attacks. Just to test the waters, she aimed at one of the Mayas, firing one single bullet. The Maya dodged it immediately and with ease, as expected, but Ananas was paying attention to what the others were doing. The rest of the Mayas seemed to get...relaxed. Careless, like they felt safe they weren't targeted. "If only I could do something with that..."
"He's recovering!"
"I'm thinking!" She had an idea, but the problem was that she just didn't seem to have the way to fulfill her plan. She had fire magic, but she could only attack one target at a time. If she could do more than that...it was worth a try. "Hippolyta" she summoned and turned towards where Syphus was trying to hold Shadow Cohen at a distance.
Looking forward while trying to keep tabs with what was happening behind her was difficult, and even more when she didn't feel confident she'd be able to do what she wanted to do. It was going to be the first time she'd try something like this; it wasn't like she could practice right now. She raised her gun, feigning to be aiming at Shadow Cohen, while the Mayas all gathered together, watching her with apprehension. Ananas felt a bead of sweat on her forehead while she focused, trying to envision what she wanted. Above her, Hippolyta gathered fire inside her axe. "I must do it...I need to do it..." looking at Cohen's own flaws and desires, the detestable creature that was Cohen's hidden side, it made her furious. Slowly, her doubts turned into anger, she grasped the handle of her gun until her knuckles turned white, the fire inside Hippolyta's axe increased in intensity. "I'll do it...because I won't let him stop me!" she didn't notice she had shouted that until Syphus and Shadow Cohen turned towards her, surprised.
Shadow Cohen floated back, the wings forming his shell contracting a bit, and Syphus mumbled a 'what are you...?' before Ananas turned around, mentally commanding his Persona to unleash the accumulated fire, hoping it'd work like she wanted it. Hippolyta, in one swift move, extended her arms and held the axe forward, spinning around and tracing a large arc in the air.
It worked. From the core of the four Mayas left a fire erupted, tearing them apart. She had done it, she had managed to attack more than one enemy simultaneously, and not only one, but four! The Maragi spell worked, all the enemies were soundly defeated, vanishing in puffs of ash and smoke.
Just like expected, that was enough to weaken Shadow Cohen greatly. Shadow Cohen stood completely still. "No, no, no!" he shouted while the entirety of the shell curled and was left unusable and rusty. Syphus waited to see what'd happen, expecting some kind of trump card or something, when the shell opened, the orange body of Shadow Cohen falling to the ground again, still grasping his sword.
"Did we do it?" Ananas asked, approaching.
"I think we did...no, step back" the piece said. While Shadow Cohen was greatly weakened, he hadn't given up yet. Just in case, Syphus renewed the physical attacks barrier on Ananas and stayed back to avoid Shadow Cohen's sword. The enemy had gotten on his feet, the wings hanging from his back like shed skin, weighing him down. He walked with difficulty, swinging the sword wildly.
"I'm...I'm the guardian...and I won't let two morons like you...look down on me!" he targeted Ananas, who glared at him without fear. The sword clashed against the barrier, making him fall to the floor. Exhausted, Shadow Cohen fell to the floor, not knocked out yet, but he was clearly on the brink of fainting.
Syphus put the halberd away. "Want to do it, Annie? It's your chance"
Ananas nodded, summoning Hippolyta. "...I'm very sorry, old man, but it'll be my turn now" she pointed forward "Take him away!" she yelled, while Hippolyta spun on her place a couple times, swinging the axe with a lot of speed, until it hit Shadow Cohen as if he was a golf ball. The Shadow flew through the air and hit the sentry station with such force most of the wall crumbled away, falling on it. While Hippolyta vanished, Ananas sat on the ground, exhausted. "Did we win? Did we?"
"We did"
The rocks moved, Shadow Cohen emerging from among them. Once he was completely out of it, he slowly curled his wings around him again, but instead of starting to levitate and try to kill them, he stayed still for a few seconds before opening again, and this time Cohen fell from inside. "Cohen!" Syphus hurried towards him, taking him away from the Shadow. Ananas, not tearing her eyes away from Shadow Cohen, approached as well.
"Is he okay? We didn't hurt him, right?"
Syphus nodded, quickly making sure the old man didn't have any injuries. "He's okay. He's just tired" Cohen was trying to stand up, muttering something along the lines of 'what the hell's going on', until he managed to be by himself. Once he did, he dusted off his clothes and looked at Syphus and Ananas.
"Will someone tell me what just happened?"
Ananas looked helplessly at Syphus, who shrugged. "Uh, we'll tell you later?"
"Or maybe we could try to give him the condensed version...I had hoped Alphys would get a Persona, and given what happened with that Shadow in the storage and all I think we really need a new party member"
"Wait, you want to get Cohen to join us?"
"...trust me, I'm not a fan of this idea, but what else can we do? We're kind of in a bind here!"
Cohen looked worriedly at the creature behind him, getting further away from it. "What are you two mumbling? Tell me already what's up with that!"
Okay, think quick. "I'll explain in detail later, but for now this is what you must know. That..." Syphus pointed at Shadow Cohen "...that's part of your personality, the, uh, side you hide from the rest of us? And Annie and I beat the crap out of it to save you"
"You did what?!" Cohen shook his head, confused "What do you mean that thing is part of me? That doesn't look anything like me!"
"It's complicated"
"He said a lot of things about you being the guardian. You really don't remember...?" Ananas said.
Cohen was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. "I...I kind of do. Damn it, I said so much stuff to you two..."
"If that's how you really feel—"
"I can explain" Cohen took a deep breath. After a moment he started talking "You already know I don't want you to be the guardian. I have told you many times you're not fit for that, and that I'm the only person around who can be the guardian. That's something I fully believe. There's another reason, though. I..." he paused.
"What do you mean?" Ananas pressed on, hanging onto every word Cohen was saying. Cohen made a reluctant expression and continued:
"...I have been in the Underground since I was a tyke like you. I was okay for like eight years, until I was sixteen. Celia tried to get out of the village. I don't know what happened, but she...I found her near the stairs. She had fallen from the plateau. She has been in that wheelchair since that day. I don't know what happened, but I have the feeling she was running away from a monster. What else could have happened? That day I promised myself I wouldn't let something like that happen again.
...but...I guess at some point my feelings changed" Cohen examined his Shadow all over. That thing was part of him? It almost hurt to think it was "I have been doing the same thing for more than sixty years, Annie. At first I was pretty good at stopping people from going out, from encountering monsters. But at some point I just...stopped doing that. I let everyone do whatever they wanted, and despite that I kept thinking I was doing some sort of big effort"
Cohen wasn't wrong. Despite his many threats and all, he hadn't really tried to stop Ciruel or Ananas or him from going out. The only thing he had done was bother Ananas to the point of making her cry, and make Ciruel dislike him. Syphus continued listening respectfully. "I guess it's because this is the only thing I have done during my entire life" Cohen looked at Ananas "Then you arrived. You came, and started talking about being the guardian.
...you, Syphus and everyone else are what makes me matter. Without the guardian position and you all as the people I need to protect, there'll be nothing left" Cohen grimaced and continued, pushing out the next few words with some difficulty. "I'm sorry, Annie, I'm very sorry for everything. You didn't deserve to be the target of my hate. That's just me being stupid"
For a moment the girl said nothing. She looked down, hiding her face with her hat. Syphus simply watched, not daring to meddle. "I'm not going to let you be nothing" Ananas finally said "I won't stop trying to be the guardian no matter what. You know what that means? It'll be my turn of help everyone...you included. Even if I'm not the guardian right now I'll help you"
"Are you sure about that?"
"I'm not lying, I'll help you! That's why I'm here, because I wanted to help!"
Cohen smiled weakly, touched. "...you're a good person, Annie. I hope you never lose your drive to help others"
"I won't, I—"
Shadow Cohen started rising to his feet, interrupting Ananas. The orange being shambled towards Cohen, dragging his wings behind and saying something incomprehensible. Cohen cracked his knuckles, staring at his Shadow. "Syphus, you said that thing is part of me?"
"Pretty much, yeah" Syphus answered.
"...freaking pathetic..." disgust and frustration bubbled inside Cohen. That thing had showed thoughts he had kept deep inside him for years, represented everything that was wrong with him, and to make it even worse, attacked two of the people he had sworn to protect! If that strange being was part of him then he had to do something about it "I'm not going to let my own ego hurt other people again. I will change so I'll never have something like you in my head ever again!" Cohen swung his fist, punching Shadow Cohen right in the middle of its eye. Shadow Cohen was pushed back, and for a moment nothing happened, just Cohen rubbing his knuckles and wincing.
Then the Shadow was enveloped in a bright blue light. It shone strongly, like a beacon, and Cohen watched, enraptured. The wings of the Shadow retracted, covering the body, and the body itself started getting larger. Soon the change was complete, and everyone could see Cohen's Persona.
Cohen has taken the decision to break his self-imposed chains and reach his true potential. The strength of his heart has bestowed him the Persona Ajax
If Ananas' Persona was a warrior focused on offense, then Cohen's Persona was more focused on defense. It held a sword, but its main element was the heavy armor covering its body, gray and golden like the figure of virtue Cohen had imagined himself to be. Sturdy plates covered its back and arms, it didn't seem like the Persona would be able to form a shell, but it did look like it could have impenetrable defense if positioned correctly. A vertical eye decorated its visor, looking stonily at the man the Persona represented. There even was a mane of thick black hair coming from the Persona's head.
"That's a part of me?" Cohen looked at it with a bit of pride. Ajax was much more flattering than a weird thing that threatened to crush other people. Ajax returned to the person it came from, leaving Cohen to try to understand what just had happened. "...I got one of those things now. I remember you two have them too"
"It's a Persona. It's like the strength of your heart" Syphus tried to explain.
"Really? Huh" Cohen nodded after a moment and slouched over, tired "Alright, I don't really get it, but fine. So now what? How're we returning home?" Syphus got him to show the brooch he had attached to Cohen's clothes "That's the brooch you have on you all the time. So that's what you used to get wherever this is?"
"Yes. It's a long story, but for now let's just get out of here"
"I got the stuff!" Ananas had salvaged the materials dropped by Shadow Cohen, now they could leave. Ananas grabbed Syphus' shirt, letting him press on the brooch. The now familiar sensation of vanishing overcame them.
-ooooo-
Syphus heard the screams of terror right before he opened his eyes. There was something terrifying about hearing an old man like Cohen screaming like that, like he was being tortured. He sounded desperate, horrified, so much that Syphus scrambled to stand up, looking around to see what new and awful danger was nearby. For a moment he didn't know what to do, but when he saw there was nothing he hurried towards Cohen.
"What happened...?" Ananas was frozen on her spot, staring at Cohen with eyes wide open. Had something gone wrong? Alphys hadn't done that, why was Cohen screaming like that?
"Cohen, calm down, it's us. We're back. It's all okay" Syphus hurriedly tried to calm him down. Right when Cohen was starting to calm down, Graham, Ciruel and Byssa burst into the cabin.
"What's going on here? We heard screams and—" Byssa stopped when she saw Cohen "He woke up! Finally!"
"Wait, don't move him. He was unconscious for more than 24 hours. There may be something wrong with his head" Graham advised Syphus. The piece stepped back while Ciruel approached, crouching to the side of Cohen's bed.
"Okay, try to focus on my finger here" Ciruel moved his finger from side to side "Why were you yelling so much?"
Cohen followed the finger with his eyes, talking slowly. "I just woke up. I didn't expect to see someone in here, that's all" The lie didn't sound very convincing, but nobody tried to refute it.
The former scholar made a few other examinations before standing up, adjusting his glasses. "He seems to be okay. Who knows, his state of unconsciousness may have been because he's old" Cohen made a face of disapproval, and Graham came closer.
"It was because he's old? You sure about that?"
"He's old and he pulls all-nighters all the time. Frankly I'm surprised he didn't faint for so long before"
"Oh, shut up" Cohen mumbled, letting his head fall heavily on the pillow. Ciruel, annoyed, exhaled through his teeth and started leaving.
"Where are you going?" Ananas tried to get him back, but Ciruel ignored her, going towards his own cabin. A bit downtrodden at Ciruel's behavior, she returned to the rest of the group, everyone trying to talk with Cohen to make sure he was okay. Once it was clear the old man was okay despite his extended period of unconsciousness, Byssa and Graham left, although Graham promised to stay during the night to make sure he'd be okay. Once the team was alone, Cohen sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Ciruel really doesn't like me, huh. Can't blame him, I have been pushing him away too"
"He'll get over it" Syphus said half-heartedly.
"Heheh...not unless I make some sort of effort to help him. Talk about a pain in the ass" Cohen sighed again "You two should go rest...I'm exhausted. I'd like to sleep"
Ananas brought him his quilt, passing it to him. It seemed she had been gathering courage to ask something, because once Syphus left to get some stuff from the communal building she lowered her voice. "Cohen, did you...before you got your Persona...did you see something weird? I dunno how to describe it, but..."
"I did" Cohen replied. There wasn't need for any further words. Ananas nodded and left, leaving Cohen alone with his thoughts.
-ooooo-
Alphonse examined the map of Alphys' Hotland laboratory. There had to be a trick, a way for the seemingly impossible situation to work...but how? "I don't get it..."
ASRIEL smiled kindly. "I think it's a clever trick"
"Maybe it is, but I just can't see it...tell me those truths again"
"Alphys was the only one to be inside the elevator at all times. When Alphys opened the elevator, there was nobody inside"
"So that means other than Alphys nobody entered the elevator?"
"Yes, that's what I mean"
Alphonse frowned. There had to be a trap somewhere. Remembering everything ASRIEL had said about witches' games and their intricacies, they smiled a bit. "What does 'entering the elevator' mean?"
"What?"
"I'm just asking for a definition. That's all"
The question seemed to get ASRIEL nervous, he looked away. "That means nobody stepped on the floor of the elevator"
There it was, a possible way to deal with this! Alphonse held back an exclamation of victory. "I see now, the attacker reached into the elevator where Alphys was. That's how she fell down! That way nobody but Alphys entered the elevator at all, it was enough to just reach inside and attack her!"
"That's not what happened. You're wrong" ASRIEL's shoulders dropped in relief "Once Alphys was inside the elevator, nobody could have reached her. Except Undyne, but that's after it was over"
"...I thought I was onto something..." Alphonse thought about it all for a bit longer. ASRIEL had mentioned the modified cellphone, Syphus' halberd, and Alphys' lab coat, but no matter how much Alphonse thought about it, they couldn't see how all that and Alphys' situation was all linked. The parts of the solution had been given to them already, why couldn't they link it all together? "I'll leave this one aside. Are you sure I don't need a map for Cohen's mystery?"
"You don't need one. He was in his sentry station when he was attacked. Nobody saw anything, and there was no trick"
Alphonse started folding the map over and over "I think after making Alphys fall down, the attacker went to the Hidden Village and did the same to Cohen. That'd mean everyone who was in places like New Home, Snowdin or the Ruins can't have done it...but I can't solve this if there's nothing to solve!"
"Wait, that means you..."
"Sorry, Azzy, I give up"
ASRIEL frowned. "My bad, I didn't mean to make it so difficult"
"That's not bad, if it's difficult then you need to think about it. It's just that I have never been good at solving puzzles"
ASRIEL tilted his head, his ears swinging a bit "It has been a while, and my memories are a bit jumbled right now, but I'm very sure I have never solved puzzles either"
"No? I thought you knew Papyrus" and anyone who knew Papyrus had to have solved a puzzle, at the very least. That was almost a universal constant.
"I know him, but that's back when I was..." ASRIEL looked away, he really didn't like to mention this "...when I was Flowey"
The silence that followed was rather tense. While Alphonse had no idea what the whole deal with Flowey had been, they did know it was a time ASRIEL preferred not to think about. "Sorry for mentioning it, Azzy"
"Since I started playing this game I have been thinking if this is the same than everything I did as Flowey. Lucia, Sisyphus and I are manipulating everyone in my world"
"But you don't even do that, everybody does what they want"
"It's because I'm trying to make the world around do what I want. I know it's for everyone's good, and Lucia says there's no other way, but I don't like it"
Alphonse looked at where Igor would be sitting otherwise. While most of the time he was there, for the moment he had left the Velvet Room, leaving ASRIEL and Alphonse to discuss the game. Although Alphonse had tried to talk about it with Igor, for some reason Igor had showed to be a bit dismissive about it. 'It'd be unbecoming of me to intervene in our guests' business'. Did that mean it really was all for the better? "We're relying on Lucia's opinion. If she's wrong or if she does know another way and isn't telling us—"
"You think Lucia is lying?"
"I don't know her as well as you do"
ASRIEL looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't. Alphonse was showing to be rather reticent to trust her. He wasn't used to seeing the person in front of him as distrustful, and something about that made him feel rather conflicted.
It took him a moment to remind himself Alphonse wasn't the same person he had known before in his world. Different timelines have different versions of people, after all.
"I don't know Lucia well either, but I think she's saying the truth. I want to believe in her" Even though she kept saying she wasn't a good person and that her intentions were less than noble. Someone who truly had ulterior motives to help him like this wouldn't be so upfront about not being honest, right?
"Okay, Azzy, I'll believe in her too" Alphonse yielded. Satisfied, ASRIEL stood up, said his farewells, activated the illusion brooch and left the Velvet Room. He stepped out, the cool atmosphere of the Hopeful Star receiving him. He closed the blue doors behind him and opened them immediately, the parlor of the manor receiving him. Sisyphus waved at him from his seat, putting the gameboard back on the table.
"About time, Cornio!" he said, smiling with friendliness. Cornio reciprocated, getting settled into his chair and leaning towards the board. So far everything was going more or less okay, leaving aside the unknown variant that was Sisyphus' piece siphoning its master's SOUL. It was likely things were going to be okay, as long as no nasty surprises arose anytime soon.
Four out of twelve dungeons had been completed so far. Surely the other eight would be no big deal, right?
-ooooo-
It was true there was no sunlight in the Underground, but Frisk knew it was early in the morning. They liked to imagine they'd be leaving Snowdin, walking towards the sunrise with a smile on their face. Today was the day, they weren't going to stay in Snowdin any longer if they could help it. There was a lot they needed to do.
Sans was staring at the readings of his machine, his grin present in his face like usual. The creases around Sans' eyes told Frisk the skeleton was very tired, though. "Are you going to stay there all day?"
"of course not, kiddo. i'm done" Sans made a strange noise, one Frisk interpreted as a yawn.
"You should sleep"
"i will, i will. trust me, there's going to be a lot of naps in my busy schedule today" Sans winked, turning off the machine. Frisk, stopped rummaging through all the snacks they had obtained for the trek through Waterfall, just in case they needed healing, and approached Sans.
"Did you see something?"
"If he had seen something unusual he'd have told you" Chara piped up.
Sans waved a hand. "nothing at all. it's as unstable as usual. whatever that guy's doing isn't changing anything"
"Maybe he needs a bit more of time"
"good for him he has infinite time" he said bitterly. All he wanted was for the timeline not to cycle, was that really that much to ask? He knew the odds of him being the one Sans residing in the one timeline that would exist without looping back were astronomically low, so he had absolutely no hopes about it. He was resigned from the beginning that he'd be locked in a timeline with a dead end. Syphus' efforts would lead nowhere. "you sure about what you'll do?"
"I can't wait any longer. Syphus will do his thing, but I want to see Asgore"
"you're a stubborn one, kid. you do your thing" Sans accompanied them outside. The roads of Snowdin were empty, Frisk wouldn't be interrupted at all. With some luck, they'd get through Waterfall without any problems. Frisk walked in direction of Waterfall, waving at Sans with enthusiasm. "good luck"
-ooooo-
Cohen was in much higher spirits the next day. Syphus had insisted to watch over the old man, mostly for the sake of having privacy with him. The less interruptions the better. Cohen, who accepted to let Ananas stay in the sentry station while he was in bed, was resting but awake. Syphus had brought him breakfast, Cohen ate while Syphus explained what was going on with the Shadows and the Personas. Judging by Cohen's face, he didn't fully understand the convoluted explanation, but accepted it nonetheless. "That's all a bunch of weird stuff for me, pure nonsense"
"The important part is that you have a Persona, that's not nonsense"
"I can say it's nonsense and accept it at the same time, you know" he chewed, thinking "I'm still embarrassed my Shadow said all that to you two, but you know what? Screw that noise. I'm going to man up and accept that yeah, most of what my Shadow said is what I really think"
Syphus crossed his arms, unsure where this was going. "I-I guess that's great. What are you trying to say?"
IMAGE
"I'm trying to say I'm the most pathetic person you'll ever meet. Look at me, I'm a guardian who does it just to protect my ego, what's more pathetic than that?"
"Props to you for admitting it, I guess...it's brave of you"
"It'll be braver if I try to fix that. I don't want to let go of my position yet, but I should at least change my behavior" the old man left his plates aside, mulling what Syphus said the Shadow had said "If everyone in this village were as weak as I think then they would be dead by now. Look at Ciruel, look at Annie, they get out all the time and nothing happens to them. I bet if Graham and Byssa tried to leave too nothing would happen to them"
"Ciruel must be really good at being unnoticed, if no monster knows about them"
"I know. But I think...I'm jealous of him and of Annie. They go out while I stay there, sitting and protecting the village from any monster that may come here. You know how many monsters have been here besides Toriel and that kid?" Cohen clenched his teeth for a moment "Zero. A big, fat zero. And there I stay, sitting there! Doing nothing!"
"Does that mean you—"
"Of course not, I like being the guardian! But sometimes I wish there was more to it than waiting for something that hasn't happened in all this time" Cohen was silent for a moment until he hit his fists together, nodding "Okay, I have taken a decision"
"What's it?"
"Take me out of here. I want to leave this village for the first time ever"
Syphus raised his eyebrows. "Wait, what?"
"I want to get out. Listen here, I have been in the same place for decades. Maybe if I get out of here at least once then my mind will expand. How about it? Lend me a hand here"
It wasn't a bad idea. If Cohen only knew this tiny piece of world in what was already a small world in the first place, then going out could be greatly beneficial for him. Nothing like new experiences to encourage a new way of thinking. "It's a deal. I'll help you with that"
"Thanks a lot. I'm counting on you, Syphus"
You feel Cohen's bravery.
The Cohen Social Link has reached Rank 4!
Your power to create Personas of the Emperor Arcana has grown!
Cohen managed to sit on his bed, his bones creaking loudly. He made a face of slight discomfort before nodding, trying not to look at pained as he felt. "Alright, what's the first move?"
"Well, you got a Persona now, so...I guess Annie and I should give you the choice. Or more like The Choice, with capital letters. Do you feel strong enough to walk now?"
"You bet. But how are we going to walk outside without monsters noticing we're humans?"
"Don't worry about that, there are cloaks large enough for—"
"Cloaks?" Cohen spat that word as if it was a grave insult "You're going to rely on cloaks to hide how we look? Seriously?"
"It has worked before, it'll work again!"
"No. I'm not down for that, we're not doing that" the old man went to the door of his cottage, looking outside "As much as I hate to admit this, we're going to ask Ciruel for help. I have seen he pretends to be some kind of deer or something. He'll make costumes for us"
It wasn't that bad of an idea, and chances are it'd work better than wearing a cloak, but Syphus wasn't sure about this. What'd Ciruel do to help them? Cohen wasn't taking a no for an answer, though. Before Syphus could tell Cohen to think this twice, Cohen had already reached Ciruel's cabin, knocking on the door. Okay, it's worth a try.
-ooooo-
Burgerpants was cleaning the counter for the eleventh time that morning when the doors opened. He looked up, putting on his retailer attitude, but his smile wavered when he saw the small group that entered. "...you can't be serious" he said softly, managing to recover his composure when they started approaching.
He had never seen monsters like two of them, a child and an adult. What he didn't understand was why they'd have rocks glued on the old one's face, what seemed to be paint covering their skin, and who knew what else. The child even had glaringly fake mandibles, flat and made of cardboard. And the monster accompanying them—"It's that guy again. Should have guessed..." Syphus. Of course that weird guy would do something like this. The child looked happy, while the adult looked like he wished for the earth to open and bury him immediately. Syphus seemed amused.
The unknown adult monster approached. "...believe that guy just took a few rocks and called it a day"
"But it's working. Nobody has said anything about you-know-what" the child said, going towards one of the tables. Burgerpants got ready to take the order, deciding to ignore the strangeness of his clients. He had a job to do, after all.
The old monster examined the menu before focusing on the promotion. "This is interesting...hey, Syphus, you got enough money for that?"
"Are you sure? It's expensive, and I don't feel like burning money today"
"Just—just give it to me. I'm going to finish that thing"
"Fine" Syphus and Burgerpants exchanged an incredulous glance, but Syphus did give the gold.
Once Cohen was seated with the rectangular steak in front of him, he started chomping it down with gusto, having a grand time. "I can't believe monsters have this type of food! This is the best steak I ever had since I was a kid!"
"At prices like these I sure hope so" Syphus mumbled before trying to get to the matter at hand "Okay, Cohen, tell us about your Persona"
"Dumphoo washdere to say" he said with his mouth full before swallowing "I'm great with electricity, but looks like I'll break if I'm hit with ice. Its name is Ajax"
"Perfect, not the same than me. Sounds good" Annie nodded "Welcome to the team!"
"Syphus doesn't seem happy about that" he gestured at Syphus, who had been kind of scowling before Cohen noticed "What's wrong?"
"It's just that I'm not sure if we should take someone as...old..." he felt a bit stupid bringing that up "...as you to join us. This is going to be dangerous and needs physical prowess"
Cohen raised his eyebrows "You let the eight-year-old join your team. How can you be worried about age?"
"She's young, you're not"
"How old are you, Syphus? You look very old too" Ananas said.
"Old? I'm just forty-two!"
Ananas looked at him without expression for a second. "See? You are old. Let him join too"
"You look rather young for someone who is more than forty. I thought you were in your twenties" Cohen dug into the steak, hiding his face of disapproval "You don't act like you're forty, too. Kinda immature..."
"It's a long story" Syphus wasn't sure exactly why he looked younger than his master was supposed to be. "Okay, fine. You understand this is going to be dangerous and that backing off later isn't an option, right?"
"I know. Look, Syphus, I made the decision hours ago. This is just a formality as far as I'm concerned" Something in his tone ticked Syphus off.
"I'm the one with the weird magical artifact that lets us explore SOULs" Syphus lowered his voice "Don't get cocky, old man"
"Oh, shut up" he ate a bit more of the steak in silence before sighing. Maybe both Syphus and him were letting their pride get to their heads, so he tried to take a more conciliatory tone "Look, I don't mean to muscle in. All I want is to help you two. I didn't see much of what happened, but I do know you two were in danger.
If there's something I can do, then I want to do it. Let me use this weird power to help you"
His voice sounded sincere, Syphus had no doubt Cohen meant it. Although Syphus still had some fears this may not go well, the endurance having a Persona granted during those expeditions meant Cohen wasn't going to be in that much physical danger. He simply had wanted Cohen to be completely sure about what he was getting into.
Besides, having someone else to lend a hand was a nice thought. He knew they needed more horsepower. Cohen's Persona was going to balance them, too. There simply was no conceivable reason to refuse! "Alright...what do you say, Annie?"
"I want Cohen to come with us" Ananas replied immediately.
"Then he will, I have no objections anymore. Welcome to the team, Cohen"
Cohen joined the team!
The Barrier Breakers Social Link has reached Rank 2!
Your power to create Personas of the Judgement Arcana has grown!
Cohen extended a hand to shake Syphus' claws, nodding. "Glad to be on the team. Do we have a name?"
"We're the Barrier Breakers!" Ananas said with pride. Cohen raised one eyebrow.
"Really now. Were you the one who invented the name, Syphus? It sounds like something you'd say"
"Of course not! That was all Annie!"
"Sure it was" Cohen took another bite of the large steak "Thanks for bringing me here, guys, this thing is great!"
"I'd be surprised if you can eat it all. I couldn't do it"
"Really? This tiny thing?" he scoffed at what was left of the steak - more than half "Watch this, I'm almost done!" As if his reputation was in danger now, Cohen wolfed down the rest of the steak with ease, much to Syphus' astonishment and Ananas' curiosity. He was finished in matter of minutes. Cohen pushed the empty plate forward, smirking "Piece of cake"
"You have to be kidding me..."
Burgerpants' reaction was rather similar to Syphus', although he immediately cleared his throat and put his customer service smile on again. "I'm sorry for my momentary outburst, sir. Congratulations on winning the contest"
"What—what contest?" Cohen hadn't seen that part of the sign.
"If you finished the steak you'd win prizes. If you sign here you will receive them in less than a week" Burgerpants passed a document to Cohen, who skimmed the contents
"Right...I don't really have any interest in the prizes, so...I'll just give to any random monster"
Burgerpants chuckled, hiding his trepidation with some effort. "I'm afraid that's not an option, sir. If you don't want the prizes, then you may forfeit them"
"Then that's what I'll do"
The worker held back a sigh. The moment of finally ending that contest had been so close! But nope, the old monster just had to reject the prizes. Managing not to show his growing frustration, Burgerpants simply gave back to Syphus the cost of the steak.
"This was a good day, I actually enjoyed myself" Cohen commented while they were exiting the burger joint "Thanks for everything, you two"
Ananas separated from them to approach the doors near the reception, opening them to see inside. "What's in here, Syphus?"
"I don't know, but you shouldn't get in there" Syphus looked at Cohen "Take Annie with you back to the village, I'll be there in a moment" Cohen nodded, gently pushing Ananas out of the MTT Resort, much to Ananas' disappointment. Once they were gone, Syphus looked around and dared to enter. "Nobody's going to object if I take a look around" he said to himself, blinking to get used to the dim illumination inside.
It was a restaurant; one he didn't know very well. He did know that simply walking in and ordering stuff wasn't going to work – nor he had intentions to waste money like that – but the atmosphere inside was nice and fresh, a much welcome relief from the heat of Hotland. Syphus looked around with curiosity, walking around the tables. There weren't many clients right now, besides one monster who was busy licking a ficus, for some reason. There was also Sans, who was sitting on the stage and watching him around. Having noticed Syphus had seen him, Sans greeted with a gesture of his head, his grin broadening a bit. Why's he here? Trying to ignore Sans and seeing a message board on one of the walls, Syphus approached to read the notices better.
While he read the postings, a couple monsters started talking nearby. Syphus looked for a moment at who it was, only seeing an avian monster with glasses. Syphus tried to ignore them, but it was hard to when they were talking right beside him.
"...in Snowdin?"
"Yes. I tried to convince him to come back. He doesn't want to listen to me. I'm a terrible fathah, ha ha ha..." the bird mumbled something Syphus couldn't distinguish.
"Poor kid, I feel bad for him"
"He was very close to the missus. I thought he'd want to spread her dust. But he refused. Too painful for him..."
Not wanting to hear anything else, Syphus walked away. Something about that snippet of conversation kept nagging at him, like he was forgetting something, something very important, but no matter how much he thought about it, he just couldn't remember or deduce what it was.
It felt like...something was missing from the Underground? But what was it? Why did it feel like it was something important?
Feeling uneasy, Syphus left the restaurant.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 4
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 2
Priestess - Alphys - RANK 4
Empress - Toriel - RANK 2
Emperor - Cohen - RANK 4
Hierophant - Ciruel - RANK 2
Lovers - ? - RANK 0
Chariot - Ananas - RANK 5
Justice - Undyne - RANK 3
Hermit - ? - RANK 0
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - ? - RANK 0
Hanged Man - ? - RANK 0
Death - Cornio - RANK 2
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 2
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 3
Judgment - Team - RANK 2
Aeon - Syphus - RANK 2
Jester - Alphonse - RANK 2