The Royal Guard Headquarters at New Home was nothing amazing. The section of the royal castle where it was located was near the base, allowing there to be a small training ground, surrounded by a tall stone fence. Training dummies and targets attached to the stone fence were the most notable objects around. Everything looked beaten up, used. The fence itself wasn't damaged – magic bullets didn't cause physical damage unless it was a bullet of considerable strength – but the targets were scuffed and looked like they'd fall apart in any moment.
Syphus entered the training ground, carrying a spare training dummy and positioning it at the end of the courtyard, right aside the stone wall. He patted the cover of the dummy to clean it a little, making sure it wouldn't fall down. "Over here?"
"That's good!" 023 indicated, holding the axe over his shoulder. He was an avian monster, tall and lanky. From what Syphus remembered, the species that looked like him the most was the peregrine falcon, with pupils so dilated they resembled marbles. Royal Guard 023 raised his axe, indicating Syphus to step aside, and drew a large arch with it, from side to side of the courtyard. Orange bullets, shaped like feathers, formed on the sides, converging in a spiral around the dummy. All the feathers made contact with the dummy, rocking it from side to side, until the last ones propelled it into the air a bit, making it fall on its back. "That's how it's done!"
"Do you specialize in orange bullets?" Syphus asked, putting the dummy back on its base.
"That's right. My partner, 025, specializes in blue bullets. Together we're unstoppable!" with an almost theatrical flair, 023 slammed the axe into the ground of the courtyard, feathers emerging from the ground underneath the dummy and throwing it into the air with ease.
"025 is..."
"The one that's standing at the entrance, the short gal. You'll like her"
023 continued practicing, asking Syphus to position dummies in different formations, and always hitting them, no matter how he moved made the bullets move or where the dummies were standing. Syphus wasn't convinced he'd fare as well against a real human constantly moving around, though. He supposed 025 was supposed to cover those flaws with her blue bullets. After a while, 023 stopped, satisfied. "That's enough for today" 023 plopped the axe in Syphus' hands. It was a bit heavier than he had expected, but he managed not to fall to the floor with it "Do you have free time today?"
"I think I do" he said. The meeting with Undyne was scheduled to be during the night, surely he had some time to spare "Why?"
"Want to drink something? My pals and I like to reunite about now. Come on, join us"
That was how Syphus soon found himself with several other guards, sitting on the small cafeteria of the headquarters. It was just a long table and a counter with jars of powdered drinks and a tiny stove, there wasn't even a fridge. 023, 025 and 027 sat together, apparently 025 and 027 were twins. "So that's the guy who was hired to help around here..." 046 looked at him, inexpressive "Go make us something...please" he requested while 01 and 02 entered the cafeteria.
"Be polite, 046" 025 whispered.
"I said 'please', that's plenty polite"
"It's okay, I don't mind" Syphus said, getting behind the counter. It wasn't long before he had several cups of hot cocoa, passing them around for everyone to have. "I know this is not the best time for chocolate, but...I always find it comforting after a long day. Thought you'd like it"
025 smiled. "That's good" once she had her cup, enjoying the beverage, she sighed, putting her webbed hands on the table "So...you all have heard the rumors?"
"What rumors?"
"I heard a few monsters say there's a human roaming around in Hotland" 046 said "They say it's a child, wearing a striped sweater"
"And if there's a child around here, then they must be going to the castle. They'll want to see the king!" 023 said.
"Really? You, uh, you really think they'd go to the king's face and be all like, 'yo'?" 01 said.
"The Barrier is that way. Of course they would" 025 looked at her sister, who nodded.
"They'll try to kill Mr. Dreemurr...we have to stop them"
In that moment, Syphus timidly cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. I can't let them get in Frisk's way! "Are you sure they'd kill the king? What if they're harmless?"
"Harmless?" 027 seemed skeptical.
"Has anyone reported the human has attacked anybody?"
02 shook his head, his voice rumbling. "That doesn't matter"
"What? Why not?"
"Bro is right. Humans are scary powerful" 01 said, actually looking fearful "Not only their bodies are physical and can hurt us a lot, they, like, they also have powers"
"I hadn't heard that before...what kind of powers?" 046 inquired.
"Like...mind control powers. It's insane. They look at you, and they make you do stuff"
"That's nonsense!" Syphus hadn't noticed he had raised his voice until 023 told him to calm down a bit, so he took a sip and tried to compose himself "Humans can't do that. Why'd you think that?"
"The captain said it"
"I was there. Undyne did say that" 02 came in 01's defense.
"Oh. I must have forgotten about it" 027 mumbled. Syphus looked at them in disbelief, all the monsters present seemed to truly believe humans could control anyone's mind. Thanks a lot, Undyne, Frisk owes you one!
The mention of these supposed mind control powers made 025 stand up. "Wait!" The plant-like monster exclaimed "What if a human used mind control powers on the Queen and half of the Royal Guard?"
"You mean you think that's why the queen and so many of us don't want to kill humans for their SOULs?" 023 tried to get clarification.
"Exactly! It makes sense, right?"
"It does sound possible, bro" 01 told to 02, who nodded. You have to be kidding me! Syphus abstained from facepalming, and tried to get the rest of the guards to realize that wasn't possible. It didn't work.
"Undyne knows what she says. She has watched a lot of human history; she has told us that many times" 023 argued.
"Yeah! To know our enemy, you have to know their history. That's how we get the upper hand!" 046 added.
"Really now." Syphus mumbled to himself while the rest of the guards voiced their agreement with 046. Not knowing how to convince them Frisk wasn't as dangerous as they were making them sound, he instead drank the rest of his cocoa as if it was a shot of liquor.
It didn't take long for the guards to come up with a plan of action. 027 had wanted to confront the human child herself, but 025 reminded her she couldn't afford getting in trouble again by abandoning her actual duty. "If the captain finds out you went gallivanting around Hotland again you'll be kicked out of the Royal Guard" she said. Only 01 and 02 were able to make routes to look for the human.
"We'll tell you all if we find them, dudes" 01 promised, with 02 nodding behind him.
"Take their SOUL. We're counting on you two" 023 said, patting 02 on his back with enough strength to make the dragon hunch forward. One by one, the guards left, Syphus staying back.
Should he do something to help Frisk? After a moment of thinking he decided maybe it wouldn't be necessary. That child had encountered 01 and 02 in virtually all the timelines, and they were always successful. This didn't have to be different from that. He had seen how Frisk had survived against Undyne, and that was a far more difficult feat than fighting those two guards.
...but, just in case, he made a SAVE point.
-ooooo-
At times like these I wish I had fur!
Snowdin was as cold as usual. The contrast between Hotland's heat and the nice temperature of New Home, Snowdin was like a bucketful of ice water to the face. It didn't help that Syphus didn't have his jacket anymore, it having been ruined during the fight with Shadow Alphys. At least his real form wasn't really a cold-blooded snake, and for that he was immensely grateful.
When Syphus knocked on the skeleton brothers' house, he heard Papyrus' voice from inside. "A VISITOR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! SANS! SANS, ARE YOU NAPPING AGAIN? WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER GUEST!" the door opened with a surprising amount of finesse, not with a swift pull like Syphus had expected. Papyrus' bright expression welcomed him. "SYPHUS! WHAT A NICE SURPRISE!"
"Evening, Papyrus. Is Undyne here?"
"OF COURSE SHE IS! WE'RE HAVING A SLEEPOVER, JUST THAT INSTEAD OF LASTING ONE NIGHT, IT'S GOING TO LAST INDEFINITELY" Papyrus stepped aside so Syphus entered. Undyne was lying down on the couch, watching the TV, with bored expression. When she saw Syphus, she jumped from the couch, landing on her feet.
"You did come!"
"I'LL NOW LEAVE YOU TO BOND AND BE FRIENDS. DO YOUR BEST!" Papyrus encouraged before jumping from the ground floor to the second floor, entering his room and closing the door behind him. Undyne sighed and shook her head, grinning fondly.
"He didn't have to do that; this is nothing he doesn't know already" she said, looking through the window to make sure there were no monsters passing nearby. It was unlikely anyone outside would hear what she'd say, but there was no harm in making sure. "You said you don't want to kill humans. Are you sure about that?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Syphus said slowly, unsure where this was going.
"You know we can't leave unless we have seven human SOULs, right?"
Syphus swallowed, trying to hide how nervous he felt. "Of course I know that, everyone knows that"
Undyne put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell anyone what I'm going to say: I met a human" she looked at his expression. Knowing that, he tried to feign surprise without exaggerating "I didn't kill them. We're friends now. Heck, they're in Papyrus' room right now, sleeping! Can you believe that?"
"Them being in Papyrus' room?"
"Not that! The part about me being friends with a human!"
Judging he had pretended to be stupid for long enough, Syphus crossed his arms, making it look like he was mulling what Undyne had said. "How did a human survive at all? Everyone's hoping to get their SOUL, how did they survive?"
"I dunno, but that kid has a way to make themselves liked. No wonder no guard in Snowdin killed them!"
"I see" Syphus waited a moment "And what's wrong with that? You made a friend, there's nothing wrong with it"
"Nothing wrong? Are you serious?" Undyne started pacing around the living room, gesturing wildly with her arms "Look at me, I'm the captain of the Royal Guard! I'm the one who talks the most about getting the SOULs, because the king doesn't like to talk about that. Everyone's relying on the King and on me to get out of here!"
"That doesn't really mean anything—"
"It means a lot! Can't you feel it? I feel it every day, everyone's hopes that we're going to get out of this hole someday. Even if we don't have not even one single human SOUL after more than a century, everyone still believes it can happen! And they trust me to help them, that's what I live for!"
Syphus shivered a bit at the intensity of Undyne's tone. "And being friends with a human doesn't help achieve that"
"Exactly! Do you know what everyone would say if they knew the captain of the Royal Guard is protecting a human?"
"Everyone says the Queen is doing that. It'll be just a rumor if you make sure to be careful, don't worry too much"
Undyne let out a loud groan of frustration. "Are you stupid or are you just pretending to be?" Whooops. Looks like I fooled around too much. "Nobody has proof the Queen is protecting humans. That's why it's just a rumor. It'll be different with me, because I don't intend to hide it.
I'm going to tell everyone about the human"
Syphus' eyes widened, his reptilian pupils turning into pinpricks. "You can't do that!"
"I can't just lie to everyone. I'll announce I'm now friends with the human who fell down here, and that I'll do what I can to protect them!" Judging by her voice, there was nothing Syphus could say to convince her to not do it. Once Undyne made a decision, it was unlikely she'd change her mind. She stopped pacing around "And just like I won't lie to them, I won't lie to you: I'm worried about what they'll say.
I dunno what'll happen. I could lose everyone's trust, or the rest of the Royal Guard who's following Asgore's plan to be at war with humanity will disobey me and hunt Frisk. Anything could happen!
But even if I'm worried, I can't let that stop me. This is something I must do! For Frisk's sake!"
"N-Nice, I guess..." If Undyne wasn't going to stop, then maybe damage control was a good idea? And for that, he needed to know exactly what she was planning to do. "What do you have in mind?"
Undyne scowled. "I don't have a clue yet. I'll think of something. It'll be a big announcement; I'll have to do it properly, and for that, I'm going to need help"
I think I see where this is going. "And you're going to ask me for help?"
"Something like that. Alphys and you will help me. I still have to ask Alphys, but I know she'll accept. She and I will always help each other no matter what, I trust her fully. And you..." Undyne looked friendlier than she ever did "I dunno what's up with you, but I feel like I can trust you to help me. You may be a sneaky mystery in some ways, but when I talk to you I think you're honest about wanting to be friends with me.
And that's why I called you here, because I trust you to help me. What do you say?"
It's not like I could back off, not after you said that. Besides, it wasn't like Syphus didn't want to help Undyne, he was fine with it, so he nodded. "I will. You can count on me"
"Now that's the spirit!" Undyne laughed, giving Syphus a high five so strong his hand ached.
You feel your bond with Undyne has gotten a little stronger.
The Undyne Social Link has reached Rank 4!
Your power to create Personas of the Justice Arcana has grown!
Undyne sat on the couch. "This is what we're going to do: for now, I think I'll talk with Alphys. You're too new to be seen as someone who can help me with the announcement. Alphys is the Royal Scientist, even though she doesn't go out much her title's still there"
"So what will I do?"
"It depends on how my speech goes. Yeah, that's what I'll do, a speech, in front of everyone in the Royal Guard" Undyne grinned "I don't mean to boast much, but Alphys says I have a way with words. Oh, wait, I totally mean to boast, fufufu!"
Syphus managed to give a tense smile. Something about it all still bothered him. Was it that this would change the situation considerably? Things had already diverted from the usual events because of all the humans' survival, and he had no idea what the consequences of this all would be. The more preparations that could be done just in case things went pear-shaped, the better. "Okay, when will you give your speech?"
"In two days. Tomorrow I'll work on what I'll say, and in two days I'll say it, right there in front of everyone, at the headquarters. You'll be there too, right?"
"Of course I will!"
"I knew you'd say that. Keep working hard, I'll see you in two days!"
Despite the daunting action she was going to do in two days, she seemed to be trying her best to grin and pretend she wasn't worried. Her fortitude was inspiring, so much Syphus had no more option than admire her for it. It didn't make his unease go away, though.
-ooooo-
The next day, 027 served everyone some tea. Syphus, his hands still smelling like cleaning solution for the armors, grabbed his cup, listening to the conversation around him. "Have you seen captain Undyne today? She's acting strange" 023 said.
"Strange? What do you mean with 'strange'?" 027 asked, sitting down.
"She looks...like there's something bothering her"
046 rolled his eyes. "She burned her house down again, what else would be bothering her?"
"That's not it! It feels more like..." 023 tried to find the right words to describe his impression, but gave up after a moment "I dunno how to say it. It's a feeling, just that"
"You're imagining things" Syphus mumbled half-heartedly.
In that moment, 025 entered the cafeteria, apologizing for being late. "Guys! The captain says she has an announcement tomorrow!"
"...there you go, that must be what the captain's been thinking about" no sense to try to deny it, now that the cat was out of the bag. The guards leaned on the table, looking at 025 with expectation.
"What's it about?"
"Increased vacation time?"
"Of course not!"
046 smirked. "Come on, guys, there's only one thing it can be: it's about the human's SOUL. Captain Undyne must have taken that human's SOUL! We're one step closer to freedom!" 046's affirmation was quickly agreed upon; nobody could think of any other reason Undyne could have to make a big announcement. Syphus, not joining their excited voices, kept a neutral face. Everyone's going to be so disappointed tomorrow.
"See? I knew the captain would be able to do it. We need only six SOULs more!"
01 fidgeted a bit. "The human must have taken another route. 02 and I didn't see them at all" As if 01 needed support, 02 nodded.
027 beamed. "I'm sure the captain will explain it tomorrow. I can't wait! At what time will it be?"
"Tomorrow morning" her twin sister informed "And it'll be at the courtyard"
While the rest of the guards cheerfully discussed what the captain would say about the human SOUL she had captured, he stared at the depths of his cup of tea. There was a time and a location now. The more excited guesses he heard, the less he liked what Undyne planned to do. She's really putting herself at risk here.
"...meeting with the Royal Scientist before coming here" he heard 01 say. That snippet of information got him to raise his head.
"With Alphys?" Syphus inquired. Right, she had said she'd talk with Alphys...maybe something could be done, after all!
"That's her name? She, like, never leaves the laboratory"
"If the Royal Scientist can work with one human SOUL, we may not need the rest. Science can do a lot of crazy things; she'll be able to do something!" 046 nodded as if that was confirmed already. The more everyone talked, the more hopes they poured into Undyne's announcement. Cheers filled the tiny cafeteria. Later, when Syphus left the Royal Guard headquarters, he passed near other guards, all of them looking optimistic, hopeful. Everyone was expecting Undyne to reveal the first step towards their freedom had finally been taken, that freedom was not just a dream. That sooner or later the Barrier would be broken.
The situation was starting to get out of control.
-ooooo-
Alphys seemed to be aware of the consequences of what was going to happen the next day. When Syphus explained to her Undyne's announcement had the potential to cause quite a lot of indignation among the Royal Guard, and that he wasn't sure Undyne's announcement would be enough to keep Frisk protected, she nodded sadly, avoiding to look at him to the eyes. "I-I told her that, but...she still w-wants to do it. She thinks it's a matter of honor, because she changed her mind a-about taking their SOUL..."
"Doesn't she understand that's going to be dangerous?"
"She understands that, but s-she says she can convince everyone" Alphys smiled faintly "She's so confident and thinks s-she can't fail...I don't have the heart to tell her i-it's unlikely" the scientist sat heavily on her couch, sighing "I should tell her...but I know her. Even if I do, I think she'd do it anyway"
"But she trusts you a lot! Surely she'd listen to you!"
"She would" but for how long could Alphys stop her? Undyne could be rather stubborn, she knew that. Even if she didn't do this announcement the next day, someday she would. Undyne wasn't the kind of person that'd let herself be dissuaded if she felt she was doing the right thing – and trying to stop everyone from killing humans to take their SOULs was the right thing. Besides, it was too late to pretend nothing was happening. The entire Royal Guard knew Undyne wanted to say something big, even if she cancelled the announcement, everybody would try to find out what's going on. Sooner or later, Undyne would end telling the truth.
It was a lose-or-lose situation, no matter how Alphys saw it.
A bit at a loss, Syphus passed his hands through his hair, trying to think fast. "So all we can do is damage control. We're alone in this, Alphys. We can't ask Annie or Cohen to help us with that"
"What'll we do?"
"...I don't know. That's the problem, I really don't know what to do" he grabbed the firefly brooch, turning it around in his hands "I suppose an option is to wait and see what Undyne's going to say, or we could try to find out beforehand. Think she'd tell you what she'll say?"
But later once Undyne arrived and was coyly asked about her plans, there was no new information. Even though she got Undyne to talk to her about her announcement, she didn't tell much about it. "You'll see, it's going to be memorable!" she had boasted, sweating nervously. Even though she was enthusiastic, it was undeniable there was some nervousness hidden beneath her excitement.
"I'm not sure about this, Undyne" Syphus said, examining the armors with Alphys. Just as he hoped, Toriel knew what she was doing. The quality of the armor was outstanding.
"Don't be ungrateful, the Queen herself did that armor for you!"
"I didn't mean the armor; I mean what you're going to do tomorrow"
"I-I agree, Undyne, I-I'm not sure that's a good idea" Alphys supported.
"Again with that? This is the only chance I'll have. I'm the captain of the Royal Guard. There's something I can do to help Frisk, so I will. I can't just stand aside and let them be harmed!"
"You're right about that...that'd be good" Alphys glanced at Syphus, who nodded, his reptilian face showing an expression of resignation "But is this the only way?"
Undyne sighed, closing her eye. "I'm not sure, but...it's just a start. I'll see where things go from here. Trust me, Alphys, it'll be better to say the truth. Hiding it...it just isn't a good idea"
"...but lying could be a good idea s-sometimes..."
"I can't think of a reason to lie like that" she said in a tone that showed she had no intention to argue about that. She was right, and nothing Alphys or Syphus could say would convince her otherwise. While Alphys and Syphus looked at each other worriedly, Undyne perused Alphys' DVD collection, looking for something good. "Let's watch this one today!"
For the rest of the time they spent together, only Undyne could focus in the anime. They were too worried about the many ways Undyne's plans could go wrong, not even the familiar allure of anime could distract them. Soon Syphus excused himself, leaving the armor in Alphys' laboratory, abandoning Alphys to her own worries until Undyne left as well.
-ooooo-
The morning was unusually chilly, everyone in the Royal Guard noticed. 023 was glad he was inside his snug armor, he was sure if things got colder, he'd start seeing his own breath. Near him 046 shivered, wrapping his arms around his torso. "This feels like we're in the middle of Snowdin. How can the dogs deal with the cold?"
"They have fur"
"I know, sheeesh. I bet they wouldn't feel the difference between Snowdin and New Home today"
No guard from Snowdin or the Ruins was among those gathered at the Royal Guard headquarters, and only a few from those stationed in Waterfall were in attendance. Everybody had come to the same conclusion: Undyne intended to talk about having obtained a human SOUL. Those who didn't support taking human SOULs didn't come, the courtyard looked rather empty. There were only around a dozen people in attendance. 023 looked around, seeing most of the group of friends. 047 was near the door, watching over everybody just like his duty was. 01 and 02 had said they'd be late; they were patrolling around Hotland. "Where's Syphus?"
"Dunno. He said he didn't want to see Undyne right now. You think he didn't like the idea about taking human SOULs?"
"He did try to defend the human the other day"
046 sighs. "...don't tell anyone I said this, but...I'm not happy about doing it either. But it's something we need to do, otherwise we can't get out. And everybody's counting on us"
"Really?" 023 shrunk a bit into his armor. "When I hear my father talking about seeing the surface someday I feel I have to find a way to help him do it. I don't have anything against humans, it's just that this is the only way"
"Exactly. If there was some other way, the Royal Scientist would have found it already. We don't have any other option. And think about being outside! Think about the surface!"
023 cheered up a little. "Yeah! There's so much to do once we're out. We'll have the whole world to see"
"You think the sky's still blue?"
046 was about to answer to that when Alphys entered the courtyard, shivering a bit. Behind her, Undyne strolled, wearing her entire armor and walking with determination. When Alphys got in front of everyone, she tried to get their attention. That's Alphys?
Undyne stood in front of everyone, standing up straight. Nobody could see her expression due to the helmet. Alphys, looking around with nervousness, introduced her. "U-Um...here's U-U-Undyne...and she has something to a-announce..." Alphys was sweating heavily. As soon as she said that, she pretty much ran to the side of the courtyard, leaving Undyne free to say whatever she wanted. Undyne made her armor clank and shouted loudly.
"NGAAAAAAH! I'm Undyne! And I have an announcement to make!" her voice echoed a bit strangely inside her helmet.
"Here it comes...!" 046 murmured to 023 and leaned forward to listen better.
"For centuries we have been trapped underneath this mountain. It's been a nightmare for us monsters! And to break the Barrier, we'd have to gather seven human SOULs!" the murmurs among the guards gathered increased. Undyne knew how to rouse a crowd, 023 could feel excitement growing within him, even though he didn't really want to feel it. The surface was one step closer! "You all must have heard there was a human in the Underground. I confronted them! I went to Waterfall, told them the story of all people, and squared off in an EPIC battle with them! A rousing fight! We fought tooth and nail in the battlefield! My spears versus their determination!"
"And you won!" one of the guards yelled. Undyne raised her hand, silencing him.
"I fought them. And what happened was that...! Was...wh-what happened...was...th..." slowly, Undyne's voice started to interrupt, like something was choking her. The cheerful mood in the courtyard slowly morphed into one of unease, Undyne was now standing still, looking forward without saying a word.
And then she fell.
She simply leaned backwards, as if she was doing a trust exercise, and fell down to the floor with a loud clank. As soon as she touched the ground, Alphys hurried towards her, before anyone else even realized what was happening. "Captain?!" 046 shouted, getting to Alphys, who was lifting Undyne's head a bit. "What's wrong?"
"I-I think she fainted!" Alphys said, looking like she was about to cry.
023 got to them, kneeling besides Undyne's body. "We should take her helmet off, let her breathe!" he moved his hands towards the helmet but Alphys stopped him, speaking with urgency.
"No! W-Wait, we don't know what caused her to fall down like this. It could be—it could be something inside her helmet! It could spread and make us fall down too"
"I thought that only happened because of old age..."
Alphys shook her head. "I-I meant faint, y-you know, f-falling down as in falling down to the floor, o-okay? Now we need to take her to my laboratory—"
"We're taking her to the hospital" Royal Guard deputy 047 intervened, talking with authority. Something about his tone bothered 025, an instinctive desire to rebel against the temporal deputy who had gained such role just a couple days before.
"Who died and made you king, 047?"
"Undyne named me deputy temporally, remember? I'm in charge as long as she's like this and the monster I'm replacing isn't here" he said bluntly, then turned to Alphys "We're taking her to the hospital. No offense, doctor, but they'll know better than you what to do"
"Um...uh...o-okay...but don't touch the helmet, we n-need to be careful...just in case" Alphys stammered, stepping back. The guards who picked Undyne up obeyed, simply carrying Undyne out of the headquarters and towards the nearby hospital.
It didn't take long to have Undyne in a room up in the second floor of the almost vacant hospital. Once she was placed on the bed, still completely clad with the armor, most of the guards left, leaving 047, Alphys and 025 there. "O-Okay, everything's going to be okay...d-don't worry, Undyne..."
"Now that she's here we should remove the armor" 047 suggested, his voice actually sounded concerned. Even though he was the deputy, he wasn't completely comfortable with being in charge, and even less when the captain was right there, lying immobile on a bed.
Alphys was about to insist again they needed to be careful, but 025 did it before she could. "Let's leave it to the doctors"
"I know healing magic, I should give it a try" to demonstrate, he summoned a green spherical bullet, letting it levitate in the air before vanishing.
"You're not a professional, don't do that!" 025 realized she shouted that, and after looking at Undyne as if fearing she had woken her up, she added, soothing: "I know you care about her, but let's not do that"
047 sighed after a moment, embarrassed. There he had gone, telling Alphys Undyne would be taken to the hospital because she wasn't a medic, and here he was going to meddle despite not being one either. It was hypocritical and he knew it. "Fine. Darn it, I feel useless..." he muttered before stepping out. 025 and Alphys followed him to the hallway. "Okay, I'll go get the medic. What're you two going to do?"
"I-I'll wait here...I don't want to leave Undyne alone" Alphys said.
025 looked down the hallway. "I'll go back to HQ. Everybody must be so worried about the captain...at least they'll be glad to know she's in capable hands" Now that they agreed on what to do, 025 left the hospital, and 047 looked for the medic at the reception. Only the receptionist was there.
"You'll have to fill this form first, sir" the receptionist gave him a sympathetic look "I'm sorry, it's protocol"
"Fine. I know protocol, I live for it" And it mattered even more when the monster it was about was as important for monsterkind's hopes as Undyne was. Glad to be able to focus on something, he grabbed the form, trying not to leave clumps of clay on it from his fingers, and started filling it out.
He had only gotten hallway in when Alphys ran into the reception, wheezing and sweating heavily. When she opened her mouth it was clear that wasn't just because she wasn't used to running. "Undyne's gone!"
"What?!" 047 dropped the pen and immediately ran down the hall and up the stairs, followed by Alphys pleading him to stop. He bolted through the door of Undyne's room, finding an empty bed inside. A quick search revealed Undyne was nowhere in the room. Not under the bed, not in the cabinet, nowhere at all. Only her armor was there, neatly put on the bed. "What's going on here?!" he turned towards the entrance, where Alphys was leaning against the frame, trying to regain her breath "Alphys, what's the meaning of this?!"
"I-I-I don't know! I was there b-but Undyne n-never left the—I didn't step away; I swear I-I-I didn't!"
"Then where's she? She didn't jump down the window, that's for sure!" for a moment the two of them stared at each other, realizing that Undyne was more than capable of leaving the hospital through the window if she wanted. 047 opened the window wide open, looking outside.
025, 023, 027 and 046 were directly underneath the window, talking, looking worried. 027, having heard the sound of 047 opening the window, looked upwards. "What's up? How's the captain?"
"She's missing, that's how she is! Did any of you see her?"
"Missing? You lost the captain?!" 023 didn't just stand around. He immediately left the group to go into the hospital, while 047 asked again the other three if they had seen Undyne at any point.
"I-I stumbled upon the rest here when I was going to HQ, I didn't see Undyne" 025 looked at them pleadingly, as if begging for confirmation "Did any of you see her?"
"No!"
"We have been here for a while already; she can't have passed over here without us seeing her"
047 grabbed his head, groaning. The day was turning out to be a living nightmare in every sense of the word. It took him a moment to calm down enough to give instructions, until he stopped feeling like he wanted to scream. "Okay, listen to me: everything's going to be okay. We're all going to look for Undyne. She can't have gone too far, look for her here in New Home. Ask people around if they have seen Undyne" he pointed at 023 "Except you, you stay here. The rest of you, go!"
025, 027 and 046 saluted and went away to search through New Home and get other guards to do the same. 023, unsure why 047 made him stay, looked at him with unease. "What do you need me for?"
"Give me a moment" 047 turned to Alphys "Where'd Undyne go?"
"W-Where? Oh, um...it's—it's hard to say...her house doesn't e-exist anymore, so she can't go th-there..."
"Where's she staying?"
"At Snowdin, she has friends there...but that's too far away, even by boat"
047 had to admit Alphys was right about that, it was unlikely Undyne would try to go to the other side of Waterfall. "What about your laboratory? That's pretty close"
"M-M-M-My laboratory? Uh, but that's in Hotland, s-she doesn't l-like Hotland...and she knows I w-was here in New Home. She has no reason to go there"
Taking a decision, 047 took out his cellphone. "I'll get guards to search Hotland and the MTT Resort" he sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day, his faceless head vibrating "I can't believe we're doing this, searching for our captain like she was some sort of criminal!"
"It's what we need to do" 023 muttered, unsure what else he could say.
"Right. 023, talk with that River Person monster. Tell them to contact a guard if they see Undyne"
023 saluted and walked away to tell the River Person. Fifteen minutes passed, 047 stayed at the hospital, just in case. He had hoped somebody would find Undyne and bring her back, he really wanted to know why she'd get out of her room like that. What had happened at the headquarters? Had she merely fainted? If that was all that happened, why didn't she tell anyone she woke up?
And how had she gotten out of the room? Alphys was at the door and she said nobody had passed by. Four guards were outside the window, and they saw nobody either. The receptionist and himself were at the reception, and they hadn't seen Undyne at all. It was simply impossible Undyne could leave the hospital or even her room, how had that happened?
Alphys stayed nearby, examining her surroundings nervously and looking like she was about to throw up. When he asked her if she was sure Undyne hadn't left the room through the door, she jumped, startled, and nodded frantically. "I swear, s-she didn't, n-nobody even passed through th-the hallway..."
At some point, 047 had even grabbed Undyne's armor and examined the inside, looking for any dust. If Undyne had fallen down, then had she died? But no, the inside of the armor was spotless. "Thank goodness..." 047 said, putting the armor in a corner of the room. He wouldn't have known what to do without Undyne. Having to be in charge, since the deputy he was replacing was out in vacation...it was almost overwhelming. After composing himself to face Alphys again and fulfill his role as the temporal leader, 047 returned to the reception.
He had just sat down to try to talk to Alphys again when 023 burst into the hospital reception, alarmed. "Syphus found the captain!"
"Where's she?!" The name of the monster that found her was ignored. What mattered was that she was found.
"He got her into the laboratory. Ask him, he's right behind me" he turned around to let them ask Syphus directly, but he wasn't there. It took another minutes for Syphus to arrive, almost tripping over himself. His feathers were damp with sweat.
"I can't run that fast, 023!" he protested, but he had no more time for that, 047 confronted him.
"You! Where did you find the captain?"
"She was wandering in Hotland. I was coming here to the capital when I found her" he lowered his voice "Undyne looked disoriented. I had barely taken her to Alphys' lab when she fell down. She's unconscious right now. By the way, Alphys, you left the lab door unlocked"
"O-Oh. Right. I'll...m-make sure n-not do that again" Alphys said almost inaudibly.
047 would have frowned if he had the facial features for that. Something was...off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. "Take us there. I want to see her"
"Follow me" Syphus accepted. At least he didn't seem reluctant to lead them to Undyne, so 047 supposed he was overthinking it all. It could just be his opinion of Syphus coloring an already bad day. The group crossed New Home in silence, got into the elevator and descended into the MTT Resort. While they passed through the resort, 047 stopped to ask a few people one single question:
"Did you see captain Undyne pass around here?"
Nobody had seen her. Somehow, Undyne had gotten from the hospital in New Home to somewhere in Hotland, and didn't use the shortest route available. It was unusual, to say the least. 047 didn't understand, how was it possible Undyne had passed through almost half of the Underground without being seen by anyone. It just...
...it seemed impossible, yet he couldn't find any explanation. It simply had happened.
Just like Syphus had said, Undyne was in Alphys' laboratory, left on the couch in front of the big screen to watch anime. She looked peaceful...almost peaceful. Alphys was the first to hurry to Undyne, while 023, 047 and Syphus stayed in the entrance, unsure of what to say or do. While Alphys fretted over Undyne, trying to get her to wake up, and 023 and 047 discussed what to do, Syphus hid the expression of trepidation he had on his face.
I better get Annie and Cohen.
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SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 5
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 4
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 3
Jester - Alphonse - RANK 2