To find the one true path, one must seek guidance amidst uncertainty...
It took a while to be able to bring Ananas and Cohen to Alphys' laboratory. It would have been impossible if it wasn't for the armors Toriel had made for them. Thanks to them, the humans were able to pass through the many guards that were wandering around Alphys' laboratory. The disguises Ciruel had made for them weren't too bad, but neither Syphus nor Cohen thought it'd fool a Royal Guard for long. Once the two humans entered the laboratory, Alphys closed the door behind them while Syphus brought the weapons.
Undyne had been moved to the foldable bed in the second floor of the laboratory. When Ananas saw her, she froze, looking at her with aghast expression. "Undyne? She...she was attacked?"
"I almost can't believe this monster's now unconscious. Guess she wasn't that good" Cohen growled. Syphus tapped with his fist Cohen's back, and when the old man turned around, Syphus gestured at Alphys with his head. "Oh. Right...I'm sorry, doctor"
"I-It's okay..." Alphys said, not sounding happy at all. Once the team got all their weapons and made sure to be wearing their armors, she brought chairs for them. "So...what's the plan?"
"The usual: search for Undyne, defeat her Shadow, gather the materials..." Syphus gave the protective ring to Cohen "I don't see why this time it'll be different"
Ananas hooked a bauble to her hat to increase her strength. "Undyne is a monster. Does that mean her SOUL will be like Alphys' SOUL?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cohen asked.
"Monsters and human SOULs are similar, except for one thing. You'll see once we're there" Syphus sat and took out the brooch, hooking it to Undyne's clothes "Please don't let anyone come here, Alphys. We'll try to get done with this as soon as possible"
"G-Got it" Alphys said. Syphus made a SAVE point and after making sure Cohen and Ananas were touching him, he activated the brooch, entering Undyne's SOUL.
-ooooo-
"Is everyone prepared?"
While Cohen and Ananas woke up, Syphus prepared his Personas and analyzed the environment. The cold gray stone underneath them was a good hint of where they were right now, and if that wasn't enough, the large building nearby was another hint. Cohen slowly stood up, his bones creaking. "Okay, I think—I think I'm ready"
"Uh, I'm not ready! Where's my armor?" Ananas looked around as if she had dropped it somewhere. For some reason nobody had their armor on. It took a moment for them to realize that, despite the armor not being visible, they felt protected. Once all the preparations were finished, Cohen looked up at the castle.
"What's this place?"
"That's the royal castle at New Home"
"That's Undyne's most important place?"
Syphus looked around and pushed them urgently towards a corner, lowering his voice. "No, it must be the headquarters. Of course that'd be it, she's the captain of the Royal Guard! She must be somewhere in there!"
Cohen made Ananas step back onto the shade. He couldn't see anything outside, but he felt the presence of something nearby – or more accurately: many somethings. "So we're going to have to go around blindly in a place we don't know anything about"
"No, I have been here before. Follow me and you'll be okay" after gesturing Cohen and Ananas to be as silent as possible, they started going around the perimeter of the castle, eyeing the tall passageway that led directly into the castle. "If I remember right, that part there leads to the throne room, so the way to the Royal Guard headquarters should be...in that direction?" he pointed towards the base of the castle
"Are you sure?" Ananas asked, not liking the doubt in Syphus' voice.
"I'm not completely familiar yet with this area. It doesn't matter. What we need to find is how to find Undyne. She must be somewhere in there"
"Then let's go!" she tried to step out of the shade of the wall, but Cohen held her back. "What? Let's get going"
"Shut up and look up" Cohen hissed, making her stick to the wall again. Ananas, unsure what Cohen meant, obeyed and immediately recoiled, barely managing to hold back a gasp of fear.
There were Shadows flying around the headquarters and New Home, looking around like patrols. They were Angels, to be more precise. Despite the blindfolds over all the Angels' eyes, the team had no doubt those Shadows could see without any problems. It was unlikely the team could just run by and hope to not be seen. "Why are there so many angels?"
"...of course it'd be Angels. The most basic form of the Justice arcana...of course they had to be here" Syphus muttered to himself.
"There are too many! We can't fight all of them!"
"Let's get in before they see us" Cohen suggested. Thankfully, the ground wasn't nearly as occupied as the air, as long as the team kept a low profile they'd be able to go towards the entrance to the headquarters. The gates to that section of the castle were wide open, entering wouldn't be a problem – if it weren't for the fact they'd need to step away from the wall to get to the gates. If the Angels noticed them, it was likely all the Shadows in the vicinity would rain upon them with vengeance. "I dunno if I can run fast enough" Cohen said with worry.
"We're going to have to try. Are you two ready?"
"I can do it" Ananas informed, making sure her gun was secured to its holster. Trying to find the right moment to run, Syphus got to the edge of the shade of the wall, looking up at the Angels. None of them were looking down, but it was a space of around thirty meters to the gates. What were the odds they wouldn't be seen by any of those Shadows?
"On the count of three..." at the agreed signal, the team ran forward without looking up, but it was hard to ignore the thick drops of oil and slime that started raining in the area. As soon as the drops splashed onto the stone floor, they started writhing, trying to trap the team's feet. Cohen and Ananas passed by without much trouble, but Syphus made the mistake of doubting his moves, which ended in him stepping right into one of the ink puddles. A hand grabbed his ankle, making him fall to the floor. Syphus fell on his belly, barely managing to stop his fall with the hand that wasn't holding the halberd. "Help!"
"Get it done, Ajax!" he heard Cohen shout. The crackle of electricity filled the air, a bolt of lightning hit the puddle that had grabbed Syphus. The hand retracted, giving him just enough time to bolt forward beyond the rest of the puddles. Cohen's Persona vanished when Syphus reached him and Ananas "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah, just a bit shaken up—"
"Watch out!" Ananas raised her gun and shot, a warning shot for the Shadow that was slithering towards them. The Shadow yelped and backed off, reuniting with the rest. There still were dozens of Angels flying high in the air, but thankfully none of them started collapsing into ink. Those that already had melted started joining together, bubbling and started to pile up. "Run!"
"What's going on?" at least Cohen didn't stand around, he kept running while he asked that question. It was going to be his first fight against a Shadow, but even though he was raring to go, he didn't want to step on the leader's toes. The team crossed the gates and got onto the hall that led into the Royal Guard headquarters, but the Shadows didn't back off. Instead it finished taking its new shape, a form Syphus had grown to loathe. Not another one of those Knights!
The Champion Knight wasn't the exact same variety than the Intrepid Knight they had encountered in Cohen's SOUL, but it was not to be underestimated anyway. The Champion Knight raised its spear, charging at them. The floating horse would have run over Ananas if Cohen hadn't pulled her back, preparing himself for the fight. "What's the plan, Syphus?"
"Electricity, try that! Annie, get ready to hit hard!"
"Got it!" there wasn't time for long strategy talks. Cohen summoned his Persona and aimed for the top of the Shadow's head, impacting it with an electric spell, a loud metallic screech filling the air. The Knight didn't even have time to recover before Hippolyta's axe hit it right on its chest, forcing the Knight to hold onto the reins to not fall down.
"That's it, keep going!" Syphus stood near Ananas, intending to shield her if necessary. Her bullets impacted against the Knight's steed, actually managing to pierce its armor, forcing the Knight to back down more and more towards the wall "Corner it!" Not wanting to be pushed into a dead end, the Knight charged energy, its spear glowing with a menacing aura. With a roar of rage, it moved to a side, dodging Ananas' bullets and Ajax's sword, lunging straight towards Syphus. He barely had time to summon Ara Mitama and raise the halberd to defend himself before the spear reached the target, colliding against the red teardrop that was Syphus' current Persona.
It was as if he was hit with a particularly large pillow. One moment he was bracing himself for impact, the next moment a blunt hit launched him in the air until he crashed against a wall. The crash was much more painful than the attack. Syphus fell to the floor, but got to his feet as fast as possible, expecting the Knight to take advantage of the moment of weakness.
The Knight wasn't able to move. Cohen directed Ajax to slam the Knight's horse, a loud noise of metal against metal reverberating in the walls of the headquarters lobby. Cohen jumped onto the hindquarters of the horse armor, climbing and standing up, punching mercilessly the back of the Knight's head. To avoid shooting Cohen, Ananas changed her strategy and used fire spells, balls of fire scorching the Knight. It was groaning, not having any attacks to use without being even more vulnerable, until it slipped off its horse, slumping on the ground. "It's over!" Syphus ran, jumped in the air and thrusted the spear point of his halberd into the Knight's back. An audible crack, a burst of black smoke, and the entire Shadow dissolved, black and red particles dissipating in the air. Syphus let the halberd fall to the floor and stretched, feeling the pain in his back. "That one really hurt..."
"Are you okay?" Cohen asked, rubbing his knuckles.
"I'm fine. This kind of thing happens all the time"
Ananas, grinning from ear to ear, ran to them. "That was easy! We defeated one of those things, we have gotten stronger!"
"That one was a weaker variant, weaker than the one we fought in Cohen's SOUL" Syphus said, but when Ananas' grin disappeared, he hurried to add "But it's pretty good we managed to defeat it! That's a feat!"
"So now what? You know the inside of this place?" Cohen stared into where they'd be walking now. Beyond the lobby there was a twisting hallway, nothing like the short and straight one from reality.
"...um...a bit? I mean, I don't know where's every single room, but I should be able to guide you. The problem is to find Undyne"
"She could be in her office"
"That'd be on the top of the castle, right?" Ananas pointed upwards "That's where important people are, on the top part of buildings"
"No, her office isn't too far from the entrance, so she'd be..." Syphus started saying, but slowly his voice trailed off, he frowned "...or maybe that's wrong. She may not be in her office. It's weird Undyne's SOUL takes the form of the whole castle instead of just the headquarters"
"Why's that strange?"
"Your SOUL not only had the village, it also had a lot of Waterfall, and you were at Undyne's house. I had thought you'd be at the village, I ignored how your SOUL had created a large place. What if that's what's happening here? That Undyne isn't where she'd obviously be, but at a different place?"
Ananas made a face of confusion. "I don't get it"
"You wanted to face Undyne, so that's what your Shadow was. Undyne's house wasn't near the Hidden Village, so Waterfall was created. If that's what's happening here, then this whole castle is between where Undyne should be, and where she actually is"
Cohen made a grumble Syphus interpreted as a sign he understood. "Okay, then what's this place she's at? What's near here?"
"There's only one place I can think that's near the headquarters and you need to pass through the castle to get to" Syphus grabbed his halberd, making sure it was a sharp as ever "Get ready, you two:
We're going to the Barrier"
-ooooo-
"You said you could guide us there!"
"I thought I could!"
Syphus hadn't expected Undyne's SOUL to be so labyrinthine. Hallways that shouldn't have taken more than ten seconds to cross in the real Underground now were passageways that'd take several minutes to traverse. Staircases and tunnels littered the place. Right now the team had stumbled upon the sixth copy of the cafeteria – so far - facing several Reckless Okina they had accidentally caused to appear. The Shadows advanced, moving with the stone pillars they were settled onto. "I got this!" Ananas stood in front of Cohen and commanded her Persona to use fire on all the Shadows. The fire clung to the Okinas' clothing, but also made all of the enemies turn their attention towards her. One of the Okinas pointed at her with a pillar, mumbling something incomprehensible, a dark purple mist emanating from it. In a second Ananas' pupils reduced to pinpricks and she fell on her knees, looking at the Okinas with apprehension, completely defenseless.
"She's despairing!" Cohen shouted at Syphus.
There was no time to waste. Either they finished the fight immediately, or Ananas would die soon, even if nobody attacked her. In a desperate move, Syphus changed Personas. Since Undyne's SOUL was so full of angels, why not to counter with a stronger divine being? His bond with Undyne had given Principality a decent boost in power. Principality extended its wings, lifted its staff and made a large glyph appear on the floor, shining brightly. Please work, please, let this work...!
They got lucky. A large pillar of light emerged from the glyph, enveloping all the Okinas, they wailed loudly. Once the Shadows got destroyed, when the light vanished there was no trace of them left. Cohen hurried to where Ananas was kneeling down and staring into nothingness. "Annie? Annie, calm down" She didn't react at all.
"How's she?"
"She's not listening!"
Syphus looked away, having to see Ananas like that was really unsettling to him. Despair was no kidding matter. If not countered soon, she'd die soon. Syphus changed his Persona to the current designated healer and used the right magic, a bright green light enveloping Ananas. She gasped, taking in as much air as possible, looking very pale. "Are you okay now, Annie?"
"...I was hearing something...those Shadows were saying I was doomed..." she pulled her hat down her head as much as possible "I don't want to hear that ever again"
"You won't. Stay with us, we'll get going" Since it seemed Ananas would be okay, the team looked at both sides of the hallway, orientating themselves before restarting the search for the way towards the rest of the castle.
"If the next place we get into is a cafeteria again I'm going to punch a wall" Cohen grumbled.
"But we found coffee and other stuff, we need that for healing"
"Syphus has that covered already. We need to get out, not to start carrying a ton of cof—" There simply was no time to rest. Cohen didn't even finish his sentence before a noise like scrapping metal echoed deeper into the hallway. The team stopped, raising their weapons and expecting a threatening figure to appear "...what was that?"
"Can't be anything good" Syphus said. Going back the way they came from wasn't an option, it'd obviously not lead to the place they needed to go, and cornering themselves in one of the cafeterias and courtyards was a bad idea. The hallway, despite being narrow, at least gave them the option to run away if the fight went pear-shaped. From beyond the corner, the incoming Shadow appeared.
The Indignant Machine was clearly out of the team's league. A hasty analysis revealed it'd resist literally everything they could do. We're outmatched! But retiring without at least trying was something they didn't want to do, that'd mean getting further away from their objective.
Cohen and Syphus, being the strongest physically, dared to attack at close range, punching and trying to cleave the coating of the Machine with the halberd. Just like he had found out, they were doing almost no damage, not even making scratches on the metal coat. Meanwhile, Ananas was attacking with fire, aiming at the head, at the strange straw additions to the top of the mecha.
For a moment the Machine looked at them, evaluating how to hit them the hardest, and raised a fist, extending the fingers towards all of them, the fingertips glowing with a bright light. The attack was fulminating. The whole team felt like dozens of tiny fists pummeled their torsos and backs, beating them up and stopping them from moving, chance the Machine used to grab Cohen and Syphus and throw them towards Ananas.
"No!" Ananas couldn't move before Cohen crashed against her, making her fall to the floor. In a heap, none of them could move. The Machine advanced inexorably, rumbling and raising its arm, swinging it towards the group, trying to bludgeon them. Cohen, shouting with outrage, barely managed to stand up and catch the arm with his hands.
"Get out of here!" he yelled to the others.
"Of course not!" Syphus did crawl back, but before starting to run he grabbed the back of Cohen's shirt and pulled, getting him out from under the arm and letting it crack the stone of the floor.
"We're not going to fight?!" Ananas yelled during the retreat "We have to keep going! It's that way—"
The Indignant Machine pointed at them with its palms, a bright light shining in them, a crawling sensation was felt underneath the team's skins. Syphus recognized it, he had felt it with Shadow Cohen: the Machine had removed any resistances he had. In quick succession, it also made Ananas not resist fire and Cohen not resist electricity. You have to be kidding me! Panicked, Syphus changed Personas, hoping to get away from the Machine's neutralizing skills, but it was useless. No matter which one he chose, the Machine always managed to disable his resistances.
"We have to get away now!" Cohen urged while Syphus returned to Principality "Syphus, do something!"
"I-I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Syphus made the large angel appear behind him, extending his staff towards the Machine, hoping to shut it up so it wouldn't be able to do anything. For a moment a large X shone on its face, before the Machine slumped over, immobile. For a moment the team waited, ready to move at the first sign of movement, but after a minute they started to get antsy "...it can't be that easy...!"
"Did we win?" Ananas peeked from behind Cohen, eyeing the Machine warily. The old man, making his knuckles crack, waited for a few seconds, expecting the machine to make a move, but it still didn't move.
"...looks like we did. Let's take the chance and go past it"
It was the only chance they'd have. Cohen started leading the group to a side, trying to give the Machine wide berth, but when they got close the Machine started trembling. Fearing it was about stand up and start again its onslaught, Cohen made everyone back off, but it didn't attack. What happened was nothing any of them would have imagined.
Slowly, the Indignant Machine started folding into itself. Shadows were emotions given form, and since Personas were tamed Shadows, it wasn't impossible for a Shadow to form a primitive Persona in an environment like a monster SOUL. That was why, not having any option other than surrender, the Indignant Machine turned into the form it had before it started lashing out.
The enormous mecha folded into a Persona not much bigger than Syphus' head. A small feminine form, with thin delicate wings, and pale spiky hair. If Syphus hadn't known any better he'd have thought it had come straight out of one of Alphys' anime.
"...what...just happened?" High Pixie seemed disoriented, fluttering in the air. For a moment nobody in the team moved, trying to judge if this was a good development or not. Cohen pointed with his head, indicating Syphus to go ahead and talk.
"Keep aiming at her" Syphus whispered to Ananas and gave his halberd to Cohen, and approached High Pixie with empty hands. If he was attacked maybe he'd be able to summon his Persona before he was too hurt? "Uh...hello. We—We come with peaceful intentions"
"Peaceful intentions? This is weird...you're not Shadows, right?" High Pixie ignored Syphus and flew higher in the air to take a better look at the other two humans "You're...humans?"
"It's a long story. We're looking for Undyne"
"Undyne? Captain Undyne? What for?"
Captain Undyne? What's this pixie supposed to represent? The Angels weren't too hard to guess what they could be, but the High Pixie was likely to be something completely different. At least she seemed cooperative enough. "We need to find her, that's all. Where's she?"
"Can't you say pleeeeeease?"
"Where's she?" There's no time for pleasantries!
"Okay, okay, calm down" although High Pixie didn't sound particularly bothered, black sparks emanated from her back. Fearing he was pushing it too hard and maybe causing High Pixie to explode into the Indignant Machine again, Syphus cringed and apologized.
"We just want to talk with her, nothing more than that. Can you please help us?"
"I'll help you, okay, but we need help too. Everything's been rough lately, yes?" High Pixie spread her arms wide open "It's Captain Undyne's fault. She's at the Barrier. That's where she's been for a looooong time now. But there's a problem, a tiny problem here. You want to know?"
"Darn it, that thing's annoying..." Cohen mumbled to Ananas, who didn't reply.
"There's someone in her office, thrashing the whole place – and nobody can get it out. If you kick it out, then I'll open the way to the Barrier. Alright?"
Syphus return to Cohen and Ananas, unsure. "I don't know, I'm not sure about this. I'd rather to go straight to the Barrier"
"She said she'd open the way. We can't get there" Cohen pointed. Ananas, without stopping aiming at High Pixie, agreed with Cohen.
That was how the team soon was following High Pixie towards where Undyne's office was located. High Pixie's presence seemed to be enough to make other Shadows be calm enough to let them pass through without incident. Even though there were crowds of Angels and Archangels, they all left them alone, not even paying attention to them. The more the team advanced into the depths of the headquarters, the more ruinous it looked. An oppressive atmosphere filled the hallway, less and less Angels were encountered along the way.
High Pixie hovered over a large piece of debris on the floor, looking at the pitch black hole in the ceiling. "This place wasn't like this until that Shadow locked itself into Captain Undyne's office..."
"Really? How was this place before?" Ananas asked, lowering her guard for a moment. It didn't seem like High Pixie had any ill intentions anymore, after all. While High Pixie told Ananas about the bright place that used to be Undyne's SOUL, Syphus' mind wandered away. It was all kind of abstract, but if that place was formed by Undyne's SOUL... What kind of Shadow did Undyne's emotions create?
When the team and High Pixie approached further down the hallway, climbing over piles of rubble and trying to look far into the corridor, they started hearing what sounded like a very large creature rampaging not too far away. They could see a door, one Syphus recognized. "That's Undyne's office. Are you all ready?"
"Wait, is she coming with us?" Ananas glanced at High Pixie.
"No no no! I can't do it! You—you guys look strong enough. You go do it, I'll watch"
Cohen made sure the ring on his finger was well placed, and glared at the door as if his stare was going to make whatever was inside cower in fear. "We don't need her, so let's get this done already!"
"Okay. Get behind me" Syphus grabbed the doorknob "I'm going to open it when I count to three. When I do, barge in. Be ready to summon your Persona" he raised his free hand, showing three fingers. Slowly, he lowered one by one slowly until there were no fingers, and opened the door wide open.
The team barged in, hoping to catch by surprise whatever Shadow was inside. The office was in disarray, there was almost nothing intact. Undyne didn't keep the office immaculately organized, but her mess was comforting, personable. The office in her SOUL was chaotic, many objects were broken and strewn around. Piles of paper covered the stone floor, the shelf covered with gifts from the guards had been taken apart and everything on it had been smashed to pieces. And there it was, on the desk, ripping apart with its fangs a particularly thick ledger, the Shadow that had invaded the core of Undyne's SOUL – besides her Shadow Self.
Orthrus was a rather large beast. If it had been in the Underground, many would have thought it was one monster more, but there in Undyne's SOUL it was more akin to an invading presence. Large, imposing, with two heads and a big mane, the ochre canine bared the fangs of both heads at the team. "What be meaning of this?!" it growled.
"Get out!" Ananas demanded, raising her gun towards Orthrus.
"Me? Get out? No." and it continued ripping apart the binder.
Cohen, approached and, in a reckless move, pushed away the desk, making Orthrus stand up. "Who you think you are to tell me what to do?" it jumped down the desk, trying to pounce on Cohen, Cohen jumped bac, raising his fist. "Wait...me know what you are. You humans! You are what Captain Undyne needs!"
"Step back!" Syphus blocked the way to Cohen with his halberd, glaring at Orthrus. The beast paid no attention to him, focused only on Cohen and Ananas.
"Captain Undyne needs SOULs...for her...me rip SOULs out of you!"
There was no time to ponder what exactly Orthrus represented. From its back, a large crack formed, dividing Orthrus from its tail to the base of its neck. With a resounding crack, a burst of smoke emerged from its back, the halves of Orthrus falling apart and dissolving to form the Shadow it barely repressed inside its former shape. Th-That is...! Surprised, Syphus lowered his halberd involuntarily.
The Shadow was long, green, reptilian. A thick coat of white feathers covered the scales of its body, long claws on the tips of its fingers. It was undoubtedly some kind of reptile, vaguely resembling a snake, even though the feathers made it look much more harmless than it actually was, almost cuddly.
"Syphus...why does that look a bit like you when you have that brooch on?" Ananas whispered, trembling a bit. The Shadow had much many feathers compared to Syphus, but there was enough resemblance for her to say that. It even had the same dopey face.
"We'll talk later! Attack!" Syphus recovered and analyzed the opponent. The Shadow stood on its rear legs, barely managing to stand, and roared.
Zealous Lung
Specializes in ice and curses.
The Zealous Lung raised its claws to the air and roared again towards the roof, a purple circle forming underneath Cohen. He barely jumped out of the way before it shone, mist covering the spot he had been standing at. "If that attack hits you you'll be a goner!" Syphus shouted, having recognized the spell – Ouroboros had a similar one. Cohen didn't reply, he focused on getting Ajax to increase Ananas' defense.
She was going to take her role as main attacker, so she made sure to buff her strength and started shooting, the Lung falling off the desk both because of the bullets and because it was going to attack. Furious, it lunged at Ananas, Hippolyta blocking the attack with her axe and keeping the Shadow away. The Lung clawed at the axe, trying to climb over it, chance Cohen used to punch the Lung on its side, over and over.
The Lung, noting it'd be useless to attack physically, changed strategies, jumping back on the desk and coiling on itself, grumbling, the feathers fluffing up. Ice formed over everybody, covering almost their entire bodies, and exploded in a cloud of frost, moment the Lung used to strike. While they all recoiled from the Bufula spell, the Lung bolted forward and grabbed Syphus from his shirt, lifting him in the air and slamming him against the floor.
"That's enough!" Cohen's Persona struck the Lung with lightning. The Lung roared, made a feint to pursue Cohen but seemed to think it better, instead roaring at the ceiling again, a red light surrounding the Shadow. Syphus quickly analyzed it.
"Watch out! It's attacks will be stronger for a while!"
"Fire!" Ananas demanded, missing the attack and scorching the wall. The Lung grabbed the desk, raised it over its head and threw it at the team, Hippolyta having to slice it with its axe to avoid injuries.
It was going to take a while to beat the Lung unless stronger measures got taken. Taking a risk, Syphus chose Black Ooze as his Persona, a rather weak one that'd leave him defenseless. I just need a moment...! "Get ready, guys!"
"Just do it!" Cohen threw pieces of the desk at the Lung, trying to keep it busy. The Zealous Lung swatted the pieces of desk away, turning them into splinters in one hit. Ananas shot without aiming, missing every bullet, doing the same than Cohen.
I have to focus...! In front of Syphus a bunch of black slime appeared, rising like a nasty flan.
"We're not going to keep it back for much longer!"
"Rakunda!" Syphus commanded, reducing the Lung's defense "Go!" With a scream of rage, Cohen directed Ajax to slice at the Lung, Hippolyta launching the large shelf on the wall towards the Lung with her axe.
For a few seconds all the Lung could do was try to endure the onslaught. A shelf fell on it, with its arms it tried to parry Ajax's sword, cornered against the wall. Its loud roars turned into growls, feathers shed from its body, until Cohen judged they had hit enough. "Step back" Cohen said softly to Ananas, making her stop her assault. Without their Personas' continuous assault, the Lung held against the wall for a moment, sticking to it strangely, before falling to the floor. "Did we win?"
"It looks defeated" Ananas said. Syphus approached, poking the Lung with the bottom of his halberd. The Shadow twitched, getting on its feet, trembling.
"Get out of here" Syphus ordered, but the Zealous Lung didn't move. It stayed there, hunched over, glaring at the team, until it made a decision. With a last roar, it swiped its tail towards Syphus, knocking him off his feet, but it didn't attack him further. Instead, the moment Cohen and Ananas looked away, not having expected Syphus to fall to the floor, it leaped towards Cohen, jaws wide open.
Cohen's reflexes reacted immediately. In a second, he realized what was happening and delivered the final blow. Cohen crouched slightly, raised a fist, and punched right on the side of the Lung's head, stopping it in the air and making it fall. The moment it fell, the Lung started fading away, in seconds dissolving in wisps of smoke. The team stayed there, panting and resting after the fight. "...that Shadow...it must have been born from Undyne's drive to fulfill her duty"
"What do you mean?" Ananas asked.
"Shadows are pieces of the ego, they are born from emotions and thoughts. Some very strong feelings must have made such a strong Shadow appear" Most likely it was her drive to fulfill her duty, to hunt for humans.
But if that drive created the Zealous Lung they had just defeated...then what was Shadow Undyne worried about? He had thought that'd be what'd fuel the conflict in her heart, if it wasn't that, then what was it?
"Okay, now that we're done with that thing, there's a few things you need to answer, Syphus" Cohen leaned on the wall, crossing his arms "That Shadow looked a lot like that monster disguise you use. What's up with that?"
Right, I should have guessed they would notice. "I know"
"That one had a lot more feathers" Ananas vaguely said "So it's not the same Shadow you are...?"
"Wait, he's a Shadow?" Cohen looked at her with confusion "Someone's Shadow?"
"I...I'm not sure what I am. I mean, I'm a Shadow, but I don't think I'm anyone's Shadow" Better not to confuse them any further with the part about him being a piece. That surely made him a Shadow of his master, but he doubted he was Sisyphus' Shadow self.
"...I don't get it. If you're a Shadow why haven't you attacked us?"
"Don't ask me, I don't know"
Cohen stared at him for a long minute, evaluating how sincere Syphus was. Seemingly satisfied, he sighed. "I have known you for two weeks. That's not nearly enough to know a person"
"I-I'm not a bad guy, I swear!"
"Tell me, what's Alphys doing with that stuff you have gathered so far?"
"I told you, she's building something to break the Barrier"
"According to your instructions?"
Syphus thought for a moment. "No, not really. Alphys is the one who's building it, I don't know what she's doing"
That seemed to be the right answer, Cohen relaxed a bit. "Okay, alright, but you told her to do something with it. How did you know she had to make something in the first place?"
That was a question Syphus couldn't answer. He had told a lot of stuff to Cohen and Ananas, but he had never mentioned the Velvet Room or Igor to them. Those details were a bit more personal, given he was the only one who could enter the Velvet Room – as far as he knew – but saying nothing wouldn't make Cohen trust him. All he could say was... "I can't tell you"
"You can't or you don't want to?"
"I can't. I-I promised" he lied.
"Cohen? I think Syphus is good" Ananas said with way more trust than Syphus felt he deserved "He has helped me a lot! And he wants to help monsters. Good people do that, so he's a good person" You make it sound so simple, Annie.
"Annie, not everything is that simple" he got away from the wall "But we don't have any other option than to continue. Syphus, I'll trust you for now, but I want you to promise me your intentions are good"
"I promise, I promise!" It was a tad outrageous he had to do that. He just wanted to help monsterkind and the humans from the Hidden Village, he didn't deserve to be doubted like that! I understand why he'd suspect me, but it still sucks.
-ooooo-
High Pixie was rather elated to hear that Shadow was defeated. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now everything should return to normal. Someday it will. You'll see"
"We'll leave that up to you. Good luck!" Ananas said. Neither Cohen nor Syphus shared her good wishes, though.
"Now it's time for your part of the deal" Syphus said while Cohen got Ananas to prepare her gun, just in case. She complied, a bit bummed by having to aim at someone she just gave her best wishes to. High Pixie hovered higher, near the ceiling.
"You don't have to threaten me, I'll help you, I will! Just follow me, I'll take you to where Captain Undyne is" she flew down the dilapidated hallway. The team followed it until it stopped in front of a normal blank stone wall, nothing differentiating it from the rest of the hallway. High Pixie raised its hands, the wall glowing for a moment before vanishing. "There you go. You can't get lost from here on"
The passageway from there onwards was less gray than the rest of the headquarters, with large windows and imposing arches lining the hallway. The light from the windows was interrupted from time to time by Angels flying outside, still surrounding the castle. The dim lighting gave everything a more abandoned and ominous look than it actually was, Ananas seemed to be afraid of walking through the hallway. She got a bit closer to Syphus. "It's dark..."
"We'll be fine. Let's get going" Syphus thanked High Pixie and walked into the hallway, leading the way, just in case there were further dangers. His thoughts wandered to one conversation he had with Igor not long ago, though.
-ooooo-
Syphus stared at the angelic Persona he had just created with Alphonse. "Your bond with Undyne has given Principality a boost" Alphonse informed "Well done"
"Thanks! This'll be useful" the Persona vanished, immersing into Syphus' mind. There was something he wanted to ask, now that he was there. Syphus turned to Igor. "I'm sorry for asking, but you know what I am, right?"
Igor nodded. "Indeed I know...it's customary for us to be aware of such details of our guests"
"...am I a Shadow?"
For a moment Igor didn't reply. He didn't tend to intervene in his guests' journeys, even though he had a wealth of information. That was what near omniscience did, however, it was his and his master's belief that the guests needed to solve the problems of their journeys by themselves, without his aid. Was it right of him to answer?
"...yes. You are indeed a Shadow, a mere fragment from someone's ego"
"And that someone is my master, isn't he? The witch. Sisyphus"
"That's correct. You may not be his Shadow Self, but you...you were given part of that person's SOUL, part of the very core of his being. That should have given you access to his emotions, his memories, a form identical to the former state of his body...giving you an ego of your own, similar to his.
It could be said you're now his Shadow Self, even though you weren't originally"
That's all Syphus was, a fragment from his master's ego. The form the brooch allowed him to have in front of monsters was his previous form, recalled by the brooch's magic. "I see. Why does that brooch give me back my form, even if it's just an illusion?"
"I cannot say with certainty. However, I have theories about the workings of such curious object" he looked at the brooch pinned to Syphus' clothes "That brooch allows you and your teammates to traverse the SOULs of monsters and humans, and it's not supposed to have any other function. Have you ever wondered why, even though you activate the brooch while you're wearing it, the form everyone sees is an illusion that shows how you used to be?"
"I...you're right, that's odd"
"That may be because you don't have a complete SOUL to traverse. The piece of SOUL you have inside isn't enough to allow you access its depths. The brooch wasn't made to deal with a fragment of a SOUL inside an otherwise empty being such as you, but it tries to fulfill its function, and in the process...it shows an intangible image of your true form to the world"
Syphus's hands balled into fists. The thought he wasn't even his own person was distressing. He knew he was just a piece, but he had believed he could be something else. He tried hard to stay optimistic, though, giving a rather fake smile. "My master's friend truly thought of everything! How did she know the brooch would do that to me?"
"What makes you think you were supposed to wear that thing in the first place?" Alphonse intervened, making Igor and Syphus look at them.
"But it was given to me so I could disguise myself, I thought that was clear"
"No. That brooch is just so you can enter SOULs. You were never supposed to wear it" Alphonse's voice softened, their expression turned kinder "You're lucky nothing bad happened"
For a moment Syphus stared at Alphonse, surprised by the revelation, and then he hid his face with his hands. The brooch wasn't meant to be a disguise; it was just a tool for his task, yet he had been extremely lucky and obtained a disguise. It was the kind of coincidence that only happened in the most impossible of circumstances: one that only happened to a complete fool that'd be dead otherwise. "I-I see..."
"As your aid to fulfill your journey, allow me to say something" Igor said "It's true you're just a Shadow for the moment. However, you don't have to be a Shadow forever. You have the option to be more than that, to truly be your own person, different than your master, if you so desire"
"Really? Can a Shadow be a real person?"
"There are precedents. You wouldn't be the first Shadow who turns into more than that" he chuckled "I await to see what path you'll take...but please remember this: You may be your master's piece, but that doesn't mean you don't have autonomy. Take your own decisions, and carve your own path. The contract says it all:
I chooseth this fate of mine own free will"
ooooo-
"Snap out of it, Syphus!"
Cohen's voice made Syphus snap out of his thoughts. He blinked a few times, groggy. "Uh? W-What...?"
"There's the throne room"
He was right. They had just left behind a bright, golden hallway, and arrived to a large doorway that'd led to where Syphus remembered the throne room would be located. Would Asgore be inside? That was impossible, but there was always a chance a Shadow representing the king would be in there. "Annie, can you please lie down on the floor and look inside?"
"Got it!" Ananas threw herself to the floor and crawled until she was at the entrance, looking inside with attention. The throne room was dark, she had to stare for a moment to see into the darkness. A carpet of golden flowers covered the floor, the walls had vines on them, and two empty thrones were positioned in the center of the room. Even though Ananas couldn't see everything clearly thanks to the dim light outside, she couldn't see any Shadows nor 'Personas'. "Um, I think there are no outlaws in here"
"Outlaws? You mean Shadows?"
"Yes, that! It's empty"
Cohen was the next to enter, to verify what Ananas said. Once he made sure no foe was inside, he beckoned Syphus inside. "The Barrier is that way?" he pointed at the doorway at the back of the throne room. Syphus nodded, so the team slowly entered, keeping their weapons high and their ears sharpened. There was no sound at all other than their steps echoing, but the further they went, after passing through another purple arch, they saw something in the distance. Barrier, we meet again.
It was identical to what Syphus remembered seeing two weeks ago, a large iridescent film blocking the way out of the cavern. Beyond that, you could see part of the sky, but it was cloudy, without much light, something not fitting at all the image of freedom monsterkind wanted to reach. Something about that sky seemed a bit familiar to Syphus, but he chalked it up to a longing to see the sky again. How long ago had been the last time, after all?
In front of the Barrier there was a silhouette Syphus recognized. It was Undyne, wearing her armor and with her back turned towards them. She had her hand on the Barrier. When the team approached, she seemed to have noticed them, because she started talking. "...seven"
"...what?" Cohen murmured.
"Seven human souls...with the power of seven human souls, our king, king Asgore Dreemurr will become a god. With that power, our king can shatter the barrier. He'll take the surface back from humanity, and give them back the suffering and pain we have endured..." she punched the barrier with a lot of force "And now, we finally have the chance to achieve that goal. After centuries, humans fell into the Underground! We can take their souls and break the Barrier once and for all!" she turned around. Her eye looked normal.
Cohen, not intimidated at all, pointed at her. "We're not letting you take any human's SOUL!" The outburst was ignored, though. Undyne continued her monologue.
"But then I met that child. They were merciful, even though I tried to kill them! And then they had the gall to befriend me, and I...I accepted. We're going to be besties! Me, best friends with a human, even though not long before I tried to claim their soul! Now I'm in trouble because I don't know what to do. What's more important? The lives of a few humans or the lives of all monsterkind? I...
...I can't decide!"
"You can't...decide?" Ananas asked hesitantly. Was this good or bad?
"I don't want to harm that human, nor any other. Their lives, their hopes and dreams, they're as important as ours! But I also can't leave monsterkind trapped. What's the right choice? Because if I act now, looks like I'll be able to take the souls of four humans instead of just one" she raised her hands, pleading "So tell me what I must do. Just leave monsterkind to die trapped here?
What's the right choice?"
There wasn't really a right answer to that question. The most benign option was to let monsters take the human's souls once the humans died from natural causes at an advanced age, but would monsters last the decades that'd be needed for that to happen? What if they all despaired and succumbed, wiping monsterkind? The team stared at Undyne, unsure of what to say, but silence was the one thing she didn't want. The more time passed, the more enraged she looked, baring her teeth. "Well?! What do you all think?!"
"We, uh, we..." Ananas stammered.
"You see now?" Undyne raised her palm "There's no way anyone will give their souls for us to shatter the Barrier! We're all stuck in the same situation, no matter what we do, someone will suffer!"
What was more important? The lives of a few humans or the lives of hundreds, maybe a thousand monsters? Even more, one of the three humans Undyne was aware of now was someone she considered a friend. She couldn't just kill them and take their SOUL! And that was what troubled Undyne, having to choose between fulfilling her duty and work to save monsterkind, and spare her friend and any other human she encountered, even if their souls were the way to shatter the Barrier.
For a moment the team and Undyne stared at each other tensely, unsure what to say. Undyne turned back to the Barrier, punching it with strength, her armor clacking. Undyne sighed, hanging her head. "I just want to know what to do. I thought I could talk it with everyone, but I couldn't even leave Alphys' lab...I think I fainted. It's like everything's telling me not to try anything. And if I talk about this with Asgore, he's going to be disappointed. War is war! We can't afford to flake!"
The Barrier shimmered for a moment, rippling like water before tendrils emerged from where Undyne's gauntlet made contact with the Barrier, wrapping around her hand. She didn't seem to notice. "I just want to save monsterkind, but I can't just sacrifice someone to do that, right?!"
The tendrils snaked upwards in Undyne's arm. Recognizing what this could mean, Syphus tried to approach. "Undyne, step away from the Barrier!" she ignored him. He had advanced just a few feet when the tendrils started pulling Undyne into the Barrier. "Undyne!"
Cohen ran past Syphus, grabbing Undyne from the shoulders and trying to pull her away, but the tendrils from the Barrier swatted his hands away, sounding like whips. "Ah-!" he barely had time to gasp before more tendrils emerged, grabbing him from the wrists and throwing him down the slope. He was able to stop himself from rolling down. "What's going on?!"
"It's her Shadow! It's inside the Barrier!" Just like it in turn had been inside a SAVE point for Frisk and inside Undyne's house for Ananas, it seemed the form Undyne's Shadow had taken was the Barrier. As if it had heard what Syphus said, it turned Undyne around, lifting her in the air and moving her like a puppet. Her eye had changed, the yellow turning into black, the black yellow.
"...what I must do...is do my job...I'm the captain...shatter the Barrier no matter the cost...gather the human souls..."
Ananas tried to approach but Syphus and Cohen stopped her. "Let me go! We have to help her!" she pleaded.
"It's too late. She's been caught already" Syphus weighed the halberd in his hands without looking away from Undyne "We're going to have to fight"
"...I can't abandon monsterkind...for the sake of our future...I'll gather the souls...even if they belong to someone I know...that's what I must do no matter what!" Shadow Undyne shouted before being pulled through the Barrier, right behind the iridescent film. Her silhouette contorted, shaken like a ragdoll, until it stopped.
For a moment nothing happened, the silhouette of Undyne simply floated there, immobile. Only when the team started to approach to try to see what could be done to get Undyne out of there, Undyne started changing. Her silhouette started expanding, taking squarer shapes. She was transforming into an entirely different thing, much larger than anyone in the team. The new silhouette stopped after almost reaching the roof of the cavern, and started advancing forward. From the Barrier a steel foot appeared, black, square and shiny. It slammed against the rocky floor with a boom, leaving an imprint. Shadow Undyne stepped forward again, revealing itself, huge and imposing.
The two mechas the team had fought in SOULs before had been large, but Shadow Undyne dwarfed them all. Her interest in anime seemed to have influenced the form her Shadow had just taken. The mecha, black and blue and kind of resembling her with her full armor, had what seemed to be cannons inserted into its arms and hands. The right arm's cannon had lots of spears as if they were bullets, ready to attack. On her back there was a large contraption, like a lightning rod with a large green orb at the end, the contraption was so heavy the mecha was hunched over, looking like it was ready to pounce on the team.
"I HAVE NO NEED TO THINK ANYTHING. ALL I HAVE TO DO. IS COMPLETE MY DUTY. GATHER HUMAN SOULS. I WILL TAKE YOUR SOULS! FOR THE KING! FOR MONSTERS' FREEDOM!" it shouted, its voice distorted. Syphus analyzed the foe, just in case.
Shadow Undyne, Justice Arcana. No information available.
"We have no time to discuss this. Let's fight!" Cohen readied, summoning his Persona and immediately increased Ananas' defense. With Ajax and Hippolyta as close range fighters, Syphus focused on hitting from a distance, using Ara Mitama's magic to reduce Shadow Undyne's power. They needed all the advantages they needed, anything so their foe didn't defeat them immediately!
Shadow Undyne jumped in the air, crashing through the rock ceiling. For a moment everyone could only see dust, bits of rocks fell down, all they could do was cover their heads and hope no big piece of rock would fall on them. "Where is that thing?!" Ananas tried to look through the dust, but there was no trace of Shadow Undyne. No booming steps, no metallic sounds, it was as if it was gone.
The only warning they had was a wooshing sound coming from upwards. Feeling danger, Syphus jumped back, a volley of spears piercing the place where he had been just moments ago. That's dangerous! "Is everyone okay?" Syphus hoped he had been the only one attacked. The sound of rock being shattered by strong spears filled the room, getting further away from Syphus. Cohen screamed in pain. "Cohen!"
"I-I'm okay!" He didn't sound okay. Running to the wall of the cave, Syphus changed to a Persona that could heal and tried to look through the dust, it was settling down already. Cohen, seeing Syphus, turned to Ananas, who was nearby and crouching, and told her to run towards him. "Get going! I'll get that robot's attention!"
Thankfully, Ananas obeyed, pressing herself onto the wall when Shadow Undyne crashed onto the floor, tremors shaking the area, more rocks falling. "Fire!" Ananas attacked, a large ball of blaze hitting Shadow Ananas in the chest, making her step back. Hopeful, she fired another, but Shadow Ananas blocked it with a hand.
"I WON'T LET YOU" the center of the palm glowed for a moment before a beam of ice hit the wall to the side of Ananas, freezing the spot. Ananas summoned Hippolyta again, intending to block with fire, but before she could act a spear crossed the air, shattering the ice and releasing gusts of biting cold air, distracting Ananas for long enough to hit the Persona with another spear. Ananas recoiled, Hippolyta disappearing, the girl kneeled, trying to endure the pain from being attacked on her psyche "AN OPENING!" Shadow Undyne gleefully proclaimed.
In a moment, two balls of light appeared near Ananas, morphing into two arrows that tried to hit her. Ananas closed her eyes involuntarily, but the arrows never hit her. When she opened her eyes she found herself enveloped by a pair of large wings, and Syphus was to her side. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Ananas said, making her best defiant face "We need a plan!"
"I know; I'm trying to think!" Protecting himself and Ananas from Shadow Undyne's light attacks bought them some time, but they needed a way to turn the tables or they'd die. Outside, Cohen's Persona attacked with his sword, drawing large arches from a distance, blasts of force crossing the air, even though it wasn't being effective against Shadow Undyne.
"STOP THAT!" Shadow Undyne fired spears in Cohen's direction, he had to stop his attack to dodge. That moment of distraction was enough for the Shadow, suddenly rockets of flames fired from its feet, propelling Shadow Undyne towards Syphus' current Persona. Principality raised its staff, attempting to block Shadow Undyne. It barely worked. Shadow Undyne hit the staff with its fists, deterred just for a moment.
"Annie, heal Cohen with some of that hospital food! I'll hold Undyne here!"
Ananas reached Cohen and followed Syphus' instructions, something Cohen appreciated, but they still needed a good attack plan. Using their physical weapons against the Shadow wouldn't work at all, all they could do was rely on their Personas. Electricity and fire blasted Shadow Undyne over and over, and although they were doing damage, Shadow Undyne continued undeterred, pushing against Principality and getting Syphus and his Persona against the wall. The angel that was Principality tried to push back, but it wasn't strong enough, it slammed against the wall, vanishing. "No!" Syphus, aghast, tried to protect himself.
It didn't work. Shadow Undyne grabbed him, turned around and threw him against the Barrier as strongly as she could. It was like crashing against a flexible plastic sheet, he fell to the floor with a loud crack. He tried to breathe, a burning pain filling his chest. I think I broke something... He managed to stand up, holding his chest. "W-We're being outmatched..."
"Stand up! You can't give up!" Cohen shouted, summoning his Persona again to attack. Ajax's sword clashed against Shadow Undyne's arms, she raised them and blocked every single blow of the sword. Ajax tried over and over, jumping and getting to the other side of Shadow Undyne to try to find a weak point, but every single time the enemy managed to parry, the noise of steel against steel filling the room. There weren't even scratches on the mecha's paint.
"THIS WILL END NOW!" Shadow Undyne's cannon arm glowed, releasing a blast of ice to the air. Large crystals of ice formed underneath the team, trapping Ananas and Cohen in their place and shattering with a loud crack once they were completely covered. It was much stronger than the ice spells they had dealt with so far, Shadow Undyne was in an entirely different tier than the rest of Shadows they had fought. Syphus barely managed to dodge the ice spell, but the moment Cohen screamed in pain and fell to the floor, he rushed towards where he heard the scream from.
Cohen was lying on the ground, unconscious. "Cohen!" Revival bead, where are those?! Hoping Ananas would keep Shadow Undyne busy, Syphus woke him up, just when Shadow Undyne fired another ice spell at Ananas, knocking her out as well. Damn it, no! Ananas was on the other side, and now there was nobody to distract Shadow Undyne.
He never realized the danger until he was crossing the cavern towards Ananas' unconscious form, and by then, it was too late. Shadow Undyne noticed him, and leaned forward, the contraption on the back of the mecha starting to flare up. Green rays formed at the tip and spread through the cavern, hitting Syphus, making him freeze into his place. He tried to pull forward, trying to give even a single step, but his feet didn't budge. What's going on?! Why can't I move?! Shadow Undyne cackled triumphantly, moving her arm upwards, a Bufula spell hitting him, leaving him vulnerable, recoiling.
To him it was as if everything was moving in slow motion. Shadow Undyne raised the arm that held the spear cannon, aiming at him. Spears flew through the air, hitting him several times. For a moment he thought he was back at that moment several days ago, fighting Undyne at the Hidden Village. He didn't see the humongous mecha, he saw Undyne like normal, looking at him with fury and resignation. And just like that time, he was defeated. No sooner the last spear had passed through him Syphus gave up, falling to the floor, dissolving into wisps of smoke.
-ooooo-
It was nerve-wracking to wait for whatever Syphus and the rest of his team were doing. Alphys, too jittery to try to sit and do nothing while waiting, tried to work on personal projects, she tried to watch the feed from the cameras, she thought about contacting Asgore, but no matter what she tried to do, she kept going back to the bed where Undyne was resting, to the chairs Syphus and the rest were sitting on. "P-Please...Undyne, please be okay..." she whispered many times, hoping everyone would wake up soon.
The moment Syphus turned into smoke was the moment she knew something had gone very wrong. One moment he was sitting there, with his eyes closed, the next moment he turned into nothing. Astonished, she passed her claws over the spot Syphus had been at, there was nothing more than air. "W-What happened...?"
"...ah, sheesh! I feel so dizzy now..."
Alphys jumped in the air, not having expected to hear that voice. "Undyne!" she hurried to Undyne's side, helping her to stand up. Undyne blinked a few times, a bit disoriented, but grinned when she noticed it was Alphys helping here.
"I'm so glad you're here with me, Alphys" she said, Alphys blushing a bit at being appreciated. Undyne made sure she'd be able to stay on her feet without swaying, and surveyed her surroundings, the two humans, still unconscious. "Okay, we better move quick"
"M-Move? W-What do you mean?"
"We have to take their souls. Look, two humans right there"
"What?!" Alphys squealed in a rather high-pitched tone. What was that supposed to mean?! "Y-You don't mean that literally, r-right? You—you mean something else...right?"
Undyne grabbed Ananas from her vest, lifting her in the air until she was right in front of her face. She avoided looking at Alphys, a tad annoyed at her tone "Of course not. We need these souls for the Barrier. Everyone's relying on us, Alphys"
"Y-Y-You can't be serious...th-they did nothing wrong, you shouldn't-!"
"I know; I don't like it either! But it's what must be done" she put Ananas down more delicately, crouching to examine Cohen, and frowned "Ngh...no, these won't work"
"E-Eh?"
"These humans don't have souls. They're like empty husks. That means they're dead, I think. I'm not sure how human souls work; I could be wrong"
"Dead?!" Alphys almost tripped in her hurry to reach the humans, she put her fingers on their necks. She remembered having read somewhere you could feel a human's pulse there, but no matter where on their necks she touched, she felt nothing. Were they even breathing? "T-They're not breathing...Undyne, they're not breathing!"
"I'll talk to Asgore so he does whatever humans do with their dead people. It's the least they deserve" Undyne said, appropriately grim. Even though she didn't even know those humans at all – it was the first time she saw them – they deserved respect. There were other things to focus on, though, more important matters "Frisk must be somewhere in Hotland, that'd be one soul. I didn't know there were these many humans down here. There could be more somewhere" she said. Alphys turned her head around, horrified and pale "If these two managed to be in the Underground and didn't get noticed, that means more humans could have done the same, right? It's unlikely, but just in case—"
"W-What are you saying?!" Alphys stood up, her hands shaking "Undyne, they—they died! A-A-You—you don't even c-care? What's wrong with y-you?!"
"Alphys—"
"A-And you're even going to try take th-that child's soul? Th-They're your friend! Y-You're going to betray your f-friend!"
"I don't like it either, but it's must what we must do. Alphys, every monster in the Underground wants to be free. It's my duty to help them, to show them their hopes can be fulfilled! If I can do something, then I won't stand aside!" she lowered her voice "I can't do that alone. I need your help, Alphys...can you help me?"
Alphys didn't reply. She looked away, wanting to get Undyne to change her mind, but the words refused to come out. She was as determined as usual, ready to tackle any obstacle in her way, and that's what hurt the most: the feeling that no matter what she said, Undyne wouldn't change her mind.
Getting tense because of the silence, Undyne stood up straighter, steeling her resolve. "We'll continue talking later. I'll meet with the rest of the guards and organize a search. I'll call you later" she said, a bit hurt by the lack of positive response from Alphys. Without saying another word, Undyne turned around and left the laboratory, wondering where her armor was.
The more she got away from the laboratory, the more her thoughts strayed from the armor and went to her guilt. She didn't want to take any human's souls. It wasn't fair, the humans had done nothing wrong! Well, these humans, most likely. If any humans lived in the underground then they had stayed aside, without bothering anyone. Nobody had been hurt or attacked. Pretty much all the monster deaths during the last few decades had been natural, due to old age, no human had caused them. Those hypothetical humans were harmless! But that didn't matter, she couldn't have regrets. She had to be strong.
She entered New Home, avoiding everyone's eyes and telling herself over and over there was no other choice. It didn't make her feel better. 'You coward...' she thought to herself, wishing she could give herself a good slap for daring to think about betraying Frisk. The child had showed her a lot of kindness, they had cooked together, they had burned her house together! Even thinking about killing them was—"Get yourself together!" she said aloud, stomping into the Royal Guard headquarters. She had to keep going.
Once all souls were gathered and all monsters were released from the mountain, no more attacks on any humans would be needed. She'd convince Asgore not to declare war on the humans on the surface. The seven humans that'd have to be killed would be the only ones that'd suffer, but what was one supposed to do?
There was no other option. Getting the human souls was the only choice there was, for the sake of a good cause. For all monsterkind's hopes.
It was her duty and she couldn't turn her back to it.
-ooooo-
Time passed. Undyne turned sullen, her only motivation being her role as the captain of the Royal Guard. Her private life was in shambles. Alphys had cut off all contact with her, their friendship was completely destroyed in just one day. Even though Undyne tried to apologize, to explain her reasons, Alphys rejected them all, instead demanding to be left alone. She once even begged her to stop, to show mercy to the humans, but Undyne refused. That was the last Undyne ever heard of Alphys. When she tried to see her again, Alphys didn't even bother to answer the door.
The loss of Alphys' love and friendship didn't deter Undyne. She and the rest of the guards under her command kept searching until they found the Hidden Village. The attack was done not long afterwards, but by some turn of fate it seemed the humans in that village had been warned of Undyne's intentions, and had been in the process of preparing to run away.
Not everyone was able to escape. A couple humans were captured and their souls got taken, the rest got away, going towards Snowdin. The guards from Snowdin cooperated to save those humans, much to Undyne's frustration.
The situation in the Underground deteriorated further. Suddenly, the Queen cut all contact with the rest of the Underground. She closed the Ruins, destroying the entrance, and locked inside everyone who was in the Ruins in that moment. Asgore, distraught, tried to get in contact with Toriel, but it was impossible. With his wife away and completely shut from the rest of the kingdom, he got careless, unwittingly letting the tensions in the Underground flare further. Everybody knew the people of Snowdin had saved the humans. Distrust and desperation filled the Underground. Despite they having obtained a couple souls, the morale was worse than before.
Yet Undyne didn't care about the state of the Underground. She was too focused on her objective to notice.
GAME RESULT:
Celia: Alive. The Ruins will be her home for the rest of her life.
Cohen: Dead. His soul was destroyed.
Byssa: Dead. Her soul shall be sacrificed to open the Barrier someday.
Ciruel: Alive. The Ruins will be his home for the rest of his life.
Graham: Dead. His soul shall be sacrificed to open the Barrier someday.
Ananas: Dead. Her soul was destroyed.
Frisk: Alive. The Ruins will be their home for the rest of their life.
Syphus: Dead. A failure, nothing more.
Asgore – Alive, crumbling under the weight of his duties.
Toriel – Alive. Isolated in the ruins, the kingdom left aside.
Asriel – Dead. That never changed.
Chara – Dead. It's doubtful their spirit will ever find peace.
Sans – Alive. Doesn't want to do anything.
Papyrus – Alive. Visiting the ruins every day and hoping to hear from his human friend again.
Undyne – Alive. Increasingly isolated from her former friends.
Alphys – Alive, trying to understand how everything went wrong.
Mettaton – Alive and pursuing his dreams.
Burgerpants – Alive and without hopes for anything changing.
0% of the monsters in the Underground died. A kinder fate than most, but definitely not the one you want.
The winner is Cornio. The Barrier wasn't broken. The objective wasn't achieved.
-ooooo-
Sisyphus let his face fall into his hands, the glasses falling down from his face. Once again he had lost. He had been blindsided by Shadow Undyne. Cornio didn't look any happier either. "...um...sorry for that" he said, scratching the side of his face sheepishly. "We need to try again. Are you ready?"
"You don't even need to ask" Sisyphus mumbled while Lucia started rearranging the pieces back to the latest SAVE point.