"'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'"
"What?"
"There was this human show...a few episodes fell into the Underground, and there was a character who said that. Do you think it's true?"
"Of course not!"
"Are you sure?"
"...why do you ask?"
"Lucia mentioned it a few times too. I thought I should ask for your opinion"
"I think-Uh, Master?"
"Allow me to impart my opinion: if the opinions of the many always were more important than those of the few, humanity would have perished long ago. It is all a matter of not letting yourself be swayed, and look into your own heart. Often the answer is closer than you think - within you and of those you have bonded with"
"..."
"..."
"...you're right...I think?"
There was something very unsettling about knowing you'd have to go meet someone or something that'd kill you again if you made a wrong move. How can Frisk endure this over and over? That kid is amazing! Syphus thought, passing through the throne room with Ananas and Cohen. His thoughts wandered, unsure of what he was doing.
One moment he died, the next moment he was in Alphys' laboratory and everyone was okay. Syphus blinked several times, a bit disoriented, and looked at his hands. He had returned to the latest SAVE point. "...well that sucks..." he tried to stay calm, freaking out wasn't going to help anyone. Dying wasn't something he wanted to experience again, that was for sure.
"Are you okay?" Cohen inquired, holding onto Syphus' arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got distracted" he lied, trying to remember everything he did during the fight, everything Shadow Undyne had done. There had to be some way to not make the same mistakes, but how? "Alphys, Undyne can turn someone's soul green, right? Is there any way to avoid that?"
"What does it mean to have a green soul?" Ananas asked, but nobody bothered to answer. Alphys adjusted her glasses, thinking.
"I don't think there's a w-way to stop it. Why do you ask?"
"It'd be a problem if any of us got affected by that, I think. If we can't move or run away, then we'd be defenseless" And Shadow Undyne didn't seem interested in the slightest to even the ground, judging by how it had killed him instead of giving him a means to block the attacks. They had to find a way by themselves.
"I-I suppose y-you're right, but...okay, maybe there is a way. I can't guarantee it'll work, but if you're interested..." Alphys said, hesitant. Once Syphus encouraged her to continue, she went towards her work table, taking a cellphone out of the drawer "I made this for, um, for reasons. It has many functions, like a keychain a-and an account for the Underground's so-social network, b-but, uh, nevermind all that. It also had something to turn a human—a human's soul yellow"
"What happens when your soul is yellow?" Ananas asked. This time Alphys looked at her with surprise.
"You don't know?" when Ananas shook her head, Alphys tried to think of an easy way to explain "That's strange, I thought you'd know since your soul, well...yellow s-souls can shoot something l-like...bullets? Like the bullets m-monster magic has? But these are very weak bullets, they can't do much"
"But if you turn your soul yellow then maybe you can override what Undyne does...I think it's worth a try" Syphus requested Alphys to lend them the cellphone. Once she explained how to activate that function, she gave the cellphone "I-I could make another two, but I'd need a day or so..."
"I doubt we can wait a whole day. Let's use that one for now" Cohen said, and he was right. It was too risky to let much time pass. Who knew what the rest of the Royal Guard would do if too much time passed. For now they were okay with leaving Undyne with Alphys, but if there were no results, then they'd come to return her to the hospital. Helping her while she was in a hospital room would be a big hassle, as it had been proven during their trek into Alphys' SOUL.
Since he didn't want to waste much time, Syphus led the group through the hallways, ignoring the many duplicated cafeterias and trying to find the place where he remembered High Pixie had opened the wall to give access to the rest of the castle. Without her protection – how were they going to find her again, in the first place? - going through the hallways of the headquarters was much more of a hassle, having to fight any Shadow that got in their way. By the time they reached the right spot, the three of them were already feeling tired, but had no way to rest.
"There better not be any big threats behind that wall" Cohen pleaded, trying to ignore the growing headache he was feeling.
"I don't think there is any. Annie, go ahead" Syphus touched a part of the wall to indicate her where to use Hippolyta to strike, and stepped aside. The girl took a deep breath, trying to gather her strength, and summoned her Persona. Hippolyta raised the axe, when Ananas extended her hand, Hippolyta charged forward, crossing the hallway and slamming the edge of the axe against the wall. For a moment nothing happened. Suddenly, a crack formed from the axe to the top of the wall, more cracks appeared around it. The noise of crumbling stone filled the area, dust flowed from the cracks to the floor, until the wall exploded outwards, into the castle hall.
"...you weren't kidding, there really was something behind that wall" Cohen said, somewhat surprised. He peeked through the hole, examining the new passageway "No enemies in sight. Let's go"
All that remained was going to see Undyne again, and see her Shadow go berserk and attack them. It didn't take long to reach her.
-ooooo-
Syphus pretended to analyze Shadow Undyne while it got out of the Barrier. "Listen here, this Shadow has ice attacks. Watch out, Cohen. Try to counter any attacks with fire, Annie"
"Got it!"
Just in case, Syphus prepared the cellphone in his hand. Knowing what Shadow Undyne could do gave him a bit of an advantage, he made sure to have a Persona that'd resist both her ice spells and her light spells. Ananas, having been cautioned about the ice spells, kept Hippolyta close to her to try to counter the ice, diminishing the damage done to her. Cohen was defenseless, though. All he could do was keep moving, trying to stay away from Shadow Undyne's spells.
"STOP THAT ALREADY!" Shadow Undyne raised both hands, frustrated she hadn't been able to land a single hit yet. The spear cannon and the hand for the spells glowed, striking the ceiling, rocks falling and trying to crush the team. Cohen's Persona traced a wide arch with its sword, the energy from the sword destroying most of the rocks.
"We still need a plan" he said, still calm.
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP!" Shadow Undyne dropped to the ground, aiming at Cohen with the contraption behind her back. The machine glowed green, Cohen's Persona disappeared when the wave hit it. The old man let out a yelp of surprise, falling to the floor and finding himself unable to move from the spot he was at. "GOTCHA!" the Shadow aimed its spears towards Cohen.
"No!" Ananas shouted, Hippolyta levitating in front of Cohen and unleashing a burst of fire towards the spears, deviating and making several disappear. A few hit Hippolyta, making Ananas recoil but she held on.
Syphus, seeing his chance, ran towards Cohen "Keep it up, Annie!" he yelled while he passed the cellphone to Cohen. Come on, this has to work! Please! Cohen received the cellphone and pressed the yellow button, a strange sensation filling him.
"This is so weird..." he said, trying to stand up, and slowly he moved a foot backwards, successfully moving "It works!"
"WHAT?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! YOU CAN'T FLEE!" the number of spears crossing the air intensified, she also pointed with the other palm at Ananas, a beam of ice crashing against the fire Hippolyta kept using. Ananas struggled to hold the constant fire, and before she was overwhelmed, Syphus stepped in, summoning a Persona. Wind surrounded Hippolyta and started pushing back, Syphus using his Persona Fortuna's wind spells to keep Ananas from getting injured any further.
Hoping they'd resist against Shadow Undyne for long enough to discuss the situation, Cohen approached them. "Is that what you were warning us about? The green soul thing?" Syphus nodded, trying to focus on fighting back.
"It's some power she has! I don't know if we can counter it further!"
"I saw something before I couldn't move" Cohen stepped aside, examining Shadow Undyne. Behind it he could barely see the contraption on its back "I think it's that thing on her back"
"Let's destroy it!" Ananas yelled, tense, still struggling to continue resisting.
"We should try that" Cohen determined. Syphus thought for a moment, staring straight at the attacks, and nodded again. He moved closer to Ananas and whispered instructions to her. They had only one chance. If they failed, Shadow Undyne would guard her back and make it much harder to hit that contraption.
Trying to make as little noise as possible, Ananas made Hippolyta disappear and moved aside. Without her help, Syphus was quickly overwhelmed, he barely was able to jump back before the spot he had been at was frozen. That was Cohen's cue, he jumped forward. "Blast it!" he shouted, Ajax swatted the air with the sword. It was no more than an empty threat, but Shadow Undyne reacted like they wanted it to. It launched itself forward, propellers in its feet activating, and tried to tackle Ajax, that Persona vanishing right before Shadow Undyne grappled it. Confused, Shadow Undyne hovered for a second.
"Now!"
A ball of fire hit the contraption, the metal sizzled. Shadow Undyne, having felt it, tried to turn around, but Cohen made his Persona grab one of Shadow Undyne's hands, while Syphus' Persona did the same to the other. The two Personas pulled her forward, catching the Shadow by surprise, giving Ananas the chance to strike over and over.
The hot metal sizzled and twisted, the noise of heated steel being ripped apart filled the room. The contraption started glowing red, just what Ananas had been waiting for. In a moment, Hippolyta swung the axe and cleaved right between Shadow Undyne's back and the contraption, and tried to separate them. "NO! STOP THAT!" Shadow Undyne, enraged, tried to move away, but the other Personas kept it in its place. Desperate to get itself free, it tried to blast Cohen away with ice spells, but his Persona held onto the Shadow's hand even though Shadow Undyne hit his weakness.
Soon, the contraption separated from Shadow Undyne's back and fell to the floor heavily, a strong 'thud' echoing in the cavern. Sparks flew from Shadow Undyne's back. "I did it!" Ananas celebrated, and dived into the darkest place she could find, hoping not to get the Shadow's attention on her. Shadow Undyne, having noticed what happened, roared with frustration, pulling her hands back so strongly the Personas couldn't stop her. Ajax and Fortuna were raised in the air and thrown in the air, getting Syphus and Cohen distracted enough to be taken out of commission. "Leave them alone!" Hippolyta cleaved right where the contraption used to be while Syphus helped Cohen.
Without a way to get the team to stand still, Shadow Undyne jumped upwards. Syphus' past experience with the first try they fought Shadow Undyne kept giving them the upper hand, avoiding the worst part of that, the team retreated until they were away from the falling rocks. The moment Shadow Undyne descended, all the Personas attacked with everything they had, pushing Shadow Undyne towards the Barrier. Cohen, seeing his chance, made Ajax move behind the Shadow and readied the sword. "I'm set!"
"Get ready, Annie!" Syphus said, Ananas increased her attack. Fortuna spun her wheel, a blast of wind crossed the room and pushed Shadow Undyne further back, at the same time Ajax hit the back of Shadow Undyne's legs, making her fall backwards. The Persona disappeared just in time before Hippolyta flew to Shadow Undyne, enveloping her axe with fire and hitting Shadow Undyne right on the LED screen it had on its chest, pushing her into the ground so hard there was an indent on the rocks. For a moment the team could only stare, unsure of if it was over. Shadow Undyne didn't move. After a minute, they sighed with relief.
"That wasn't so hard!" Ananas commented "I thought it'd be much harder than this"
"Trust me, it's better it wasn't difficult" Syphus said, approaching. If it really was over, then they had to get Undyne out of her Shadow. Syphus climbed on Shadow Undyne, warily walking towards the mecha. Above him, Hippolyta hovered, just in case the Shadow attacked again. Unsure of what to do, Syphus kneeled beside the cracked LED display and tried to peer inside. He could see something, the vague shape of someone inside. "Cohen, please get over here" he requested, tearing away some of the glass. Without hesitation, he reached into the empty space and found a hand. "She is here!"
"Got her" Cohen had already gotten there, getting both hands inside. Undyne still had her armor on. She was heavy, but between the two of them they managed to lift her out. Cohen got off the mecha and prepared to catch Undyne once Syphus pushed her off the surface of the machine.
"You better not drop her!" he warned before pushing Undyne off. Cohen buckled under her weight but he managed to keep her from crashing onto the ground, and dragged her away from her Shadow. He wasn't fond of Undyne, but he understood what it felt to be trapped by your Shadow, what it was to have your inner doubts to be exposed to other people. That was why he was as careful as possible, making sure to leave her on a flat surface.
"Is she okay?" Ananas asked, taking off her hat and holding it in front of her as sign of respect.
"I think she is. Don't worry" he lightly slapped Undyne's cheek "Wake up. Come on, wake up"
It took a moment for Undyne to open her eye. She groaned, sounding as annoyed as someone who had to wake up early in the morning, and stared at Cohen. "You!" she turned head to Ananas, who hid her face behind her hat "And you too! I wasn't seeing things, you're humans!"
"...surprise?" Ananas sounded like she wished to disappear behind her hat. Bemused, Undyne got up to her feet immediately, a spear materializing in her hands. She didn't aim it to anyone – was that a good sign? – but the spear made it clear to the she wasn't in a joking mood.
"What's going on here? What was that thing that looked like me?!"
"It's a long story, but we'll try to explain" Syphus said, approaching slowly and showing his hands. Before he could say anything, Undyne narrowed her eye, looking him up and down.
"That voice...and those clothes. No, that's impossible..." she made a dumbfounded face, the spear descending a bit "Syphus?"
He smiled apologetically "That'll be explained too. Look, you need to defeat that thing" he pointed with his thumb at the fallen mecha, the Shadow was already starting to twitch "That's a part of you, you have to face it!"
"Face my—that's part of me?" she looked at the rising mecha "Okay, that's kinda cool, but that's impossible. You're not making any sense, punk!"
"Just do it! Come on, Undyne, you have to do it!" Syphus pleaded, running to the back of the cavern. Shadow Undyne shambled forward slowly, head dropped and hands languidly raised. Several spears flew from the cannon and struck the ground aimlessly, it seemed to be in a daze.
"What the heck...?" Undyne whispered, astonished "There's no way that's part of me!"
As if that was what Shadow Undyne was waiting for, it started talking, advancing further towards Undyne. "I NEED TO DO IT...NO MATTER WHAT...I WILL KILL THE HUMANS..." Undyne froze, her pupil turning into a pinprick "I'LL DO...WHATEVER IT TAKES BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT...I NEED TO DO… FOR ASGORE…FOR EVERYONE" Undyne looked down.
"What the heck..."
"FRISK'S SOUL WILL BE THE FIRST..." that got Undyne to look up again "WITH THEIR SOUL, MONSTERKIND WILL TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS FREEDOM! I CAN'T THINK ABOUT HOW I FEEL...I MUST DO IT...EVEN IF I DON'T WANT..."
For a moment Undyne said nothing, listening to what her Shadow was droning. It took her so long Syphus started to fear she wasn't going to face her Shadow, but then she raised her head. "...no. I'm not betraying them"
"WHAT I WANT DOESN'T MATTER...WHAT MATTERS IS MY DUTY..."
"Shut up! I know, okay? I'm the captain, everyone's relying on me! But I'm not going to kill a friend! That's not how I am!" the spear in her hands shone brighter "You know nothing about me!"
"I CAN'T LEAVE MONSTERS TRAPPED...HUMANS MUST BE—"
"I told you to shut up!" Undyne threw the spear like a javelin. In one moment it was in her hands, the next moment it had passed through Shadow Undyne's body, piercing it. The moment the tip of the spear touched the Shadow, it went completely still, swaying in its place, silent. Undyne grabbed her head, taking deep breaths.
She wasn't alone. Those humans saw it all. She turned around, ashamed, and started shouting, trying to get rid of all the frustration she felt. "Fine! Yeah, I feel I need to do it! I almost killed a kid just because they were human and had a soul we needed, even when I knew they weren't dangerous! That's bad, I get it!"
"I can think of words other than 'bad'" Cohen said, undeterred. Undyne winced as if Cohen had just punched her in the gut, she knew very well 'bad' could be considered an understatement.
"I know! I told you I know it's wrong!" Undyne's shoulders dropped, she seemed defeated "It's just that I dunno what to do. I want to help monsters, and I don't want to hurt humans. The king's plan is important, and I want to help him, I want to see monsters be free. I dunno how to do that and not take an innocent human's soul, that's the problem!"
Syphus leaned on his halberd, careful not to touch the wide blade, and tried to think a good reply, a suggestion to soothe and guide Undyne, but he couldn't think of anything. It wasn't as simple as telling her to pick one, she couldn't just abandon monsterkind. The speech she was going to give to the Royal Guard would have been a risky solution, bit it could have backfired. What was he supposed to say?
"Join us. We're going to break the barrier!"
Ananas' candid and immediate response made everyone turn towards her. A bit nervous at having everyone's eyes on her, she continued "That's what we're gonna do. Join our team and you can help monsters and humans at the same time"
"Annie, I'm not sure it won't be so easy—"
"That's what you're trying to do? Fufufu...you think that's going to work?" Undyne laughed, but despite how derisive her words were, she was paying complete attention to Ananas.
"Yep. We'll break that barrier; we promise"
Undyne looked to the rest of the team, expecting them to confirm that. Still stunned by Ananas so boldly stating that, Syphus nodded. "Yeah, it'll work" he babbled.
"I know I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe it'd work" Cohen said.
Undyne cackled, shaking her head. "This is a really wishy-washy team. Is this girl the only person here who has guts to put enthusiasm into this if it seems impossible?" Somehow, Syphus had the feeling Undyne was dissing herself as well.
"Are you going to be our new partner?" Ananas asked. Even though her eyes showed doubt and fear towards Undyne, she felt like this was the only way Undyne could help everyone. She wouldn't have to abandon monsters or hurt humans!
Undyne's face turned serious, she put her hands on her hips. "Are you guys sure it'll work?"
Syphus looked away. "W-We don't know how long it'll take, but it's the way we found to break the Barrier. It has to work"
"I don't understand how it works, but it's better than doing nothing" Cohen corroborated.
Nobody said anything for a while. Shadow Undyne, unmoving, was behind Undyne, not even bothering to try to attack her. Undyne curled her hands into fists, staring at the floor, deep in thought. The team didn't dare to push her to help them, unsure if she'd lash out or decide to follow her Shadow's wishes despite everything she had just said.
"...I can't believe I got in this mess. So stupid, Undyne, so stupid..." her gauntlets screeched noisily because of how tightly she had clenched her hands "Count me in. What do I have to do?"
"YOU CAN'T—YOU CAN'T TURN YOUR BACK...TO MONSTERKIND—"
"I'm not! This'll help all monsters too!"
"THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT-!"
With a scream of rage, Undyne turned around and hurled another spear straight at Shadow Undyne's face "Shut up already!" she shouted right when the tip of the spear collided with the Shadow's face. The spear pierced through the steel, coming out from behind Shadow Undyne's head. "I had enough of you! I'm not going to listen to you!"
"Und—" Ananas tried to approach, but Syphus stopped her.
Undyne continued, not having noticed that. "I know how I feel. Fine, this ugly thing is part of how I have felt. But I'm not gonna let this drag me down anymore. There's going to be a way to save everyone. I will make sure it works!"
"So you're joining the team?" Cohen tried to confirm.
"Of course I will! I'll trust you three for now. Tell me what I need to do to help"
As if that was its cue, Shadow Undyne started glowing bright blue. The parts of the mecha shrunk and twisted, everyone was forced to cover their eyes while the Shadow changed. When they were finally able to look, it took all of them a moment to understand what they were seeing.
Syphus' first instinct was to think it was one of those dreaded Knight-type Shadows. The new Persona was riding a strange floating vehicle that looked like parts of Undyne's armor mashed together to form a mount. Undyne's helmet formed the head. Tough and firm hands grasped the reins, keeping the horse under control.
The main figure was a tough, formidable woman, clad in the same black steel than its mount. Its helmet seemed heavy, shining in the iridescent light of the cave entrance beyond the barrier, the Persona had blue scales just like the monster it represented. Deteriorated red wings peeked from its back. In its hand there was a long, shiny spear, of the color of ice, and in its other hand it held the reins, having the horse made of Undyne's Royal Guard armor be completely under its control.
Undyne has taken the decision to break her self-imposed chains and reach her true potential. The strength of her heart has bestowed her the Persona Geiravor
Geiravor disappeared, returning into Undyne. She pressed her fist onto her chest, unsure of what had just happened, but instinctively she felt like she had the answers. "My Persona...that's my power. I can help you three now"
"We have Undyne on our side! Nothing can stop us now!" Ananas claimed, almost unable to stay put because of how happy she felt.
"If her Persona is as strong as her Shadow, we just got a valuable teammate" Cohen stated, smiling. I sure hope so, we had to die to get her in our team.
Once Cohen took the remains of Shadow Undyne to add to the spear Alphys was working on, he approached the rest, Syphus had just showed Undyne the firefly brooch pinned to her. "...press that and we'll return home"
"It's that easy? Then let's get going!" Undyne said, extending her hand towards Ananas. Ananas hesitated for a moment and grabbed Undyne's hand, trying to squeeze it and show she had nothing to fear of Undyne. She wasn't very convincing. "Scared, squirt?"
"...a little" Ananas admitted, looking at the ground. Was she ashamed?
Something about that answer made Undyne soften. She smiled with something that seemed rather close to genuine warmth, and pushed Ananas' hat further onto the girl's head. "Don't be like that, it's okay to be scared sometimes. Just do what I do when I'm scared: shout!"
"Shout? But you shout all the time"
"That's not the point, I just like being loud. I'm telling you to shout as loud as you can, make it be as angry as you can! That always helps face your fears!"
Ananas looked up, skeptic, but after a moment she nodded. "I'll remember that"
"That's the spirit!" she grinned, but before they could press on the brooch, she whispered to Syphus "You still owe me a very good explanation!" she reminded him before slamming her gauntlet on the brooch, making everyone leave her SOUL.
-ooooo-
Alphys had a very hard time not staying to the side of where Undyne was unconscious. Having four unconscious forms in her laboratory was something she never wanted to repeat, she wanted nothing less than all of them waking up so everything would be okay. She forced herself to look away from her guests, working on the very first project she encountered nearby. She was ruining a figurine with paint, her claws trembling all over the place and covering the figurine with the wrong color in most places, trying very hard not to think about Undyne, or those two humans, or Syphus.
The scream coming from upstairs made her push the figurine's head off. She dropped the brush and the figurine, rushing upstairs as quick as possible. Undyne was on the foldable bed, screaming, terrified, looking around as if she expected a danger to jump at her. Alphys approached, raising her hands in what she hoped was a soothing gesture. "U-Undyne, it's okay. You're safe. It's me, Alphys"
"Alphys?" Undyne stopped panicking and focused on her.
"Yes. Don't worry. I'm here" she got closer, tip-toeing around the stirring forms of the team. Once she was close enough to Undyne, the captain of the Royal Guard lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Alphys and hugging her tightly, almost painfully. For a moment Alphys didn't reciprocate, caught by surprise.
"You have no idea what crazy stuff I just went through!" she said rather loudly, and added, quietly: "I'm glad to see you again"
Alphys wrapped her arms around Undyne. "S-Same..." she had no idea what to say. She wanted to say something that could comfort her, but the words simply didn't come out of her. She just didn't dare to say anything or do much other than gingerly pat Undyne's back.
A couple minutes later, the rest of the team stirred up, waking up. It was surprising to not be hearing any terrified screams, but it was a welcome change of pace. Syphus sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Is everyone okay?"
"How's Undyne?" Cohen didn't even bother to reply, he immediately tried to check on Undyne, looking over Alphys. The scientist let go of Undyne, who straightened up. For a moment Undyne's expression looked conflicted, then she grinned. That grin didn't look entirely earnest.
"So it's real, there are a couple humans other than Frisk! And also..." she turned her head to look at Syphus "And there's you, too. Explain, I'm waiting!"
"S-Should you ask this right now? It's—it's a long story—" Alphys tried to stall for time, but Undyne wasn't fooled. She immediately knew what that meant.
"You knew about them and about Syphus!"
"Uh...y-yes. I knew..." she admitted and hurried to add "They—they helped me too, just like they helped you"
Undyne nodded after a moment. "Got it. I'll..." she stood up a bit shakily, holding herself against the wall "I'll sit somewhere and then we'll all talk"
"No! Undyne, you should get yourself checked, just in case" Alphys hurried to hold her "W-We don't know if anything happened t-to you..."
"I don't like the idea of having to rest at the hospital" Undyne growled, but she nodded nonetheless. It seemed explaining to Undyne everything that was going on would have to wait. After a moment of planning, it was agreed Alphys would take Undyne to the hospital in New Home, and Syphus would escort Ananas and Cohen back to the village. Thankful they still had the armors for the humans, so he was able to take Cohen and Ananas through the crowds of monster worried for Undyne.
"I can't believe we have Undyne in our team! Nothing can stop us now!" Ananas celebrated, her voice reverberating inside her helmet.
"She's not in our team yet. First we should explain everything to her" Cohen reminded her, and turned to Syphus "We going to see her tomorrow?"
"I suppose so. I'll keep checking and bring you to her when it's the right time" Syphus said, a bit absent-minded. Unlike Alphys, Undyne had been much more determined to deal with the humans, even if it's end in their death. Had she changed her opinion enough to risk her life alongside a couple of them? Syphus considered it was likely she had, but he was nervous nonetheless.
He wanted to believe she'd truly be their friend.
-ooooo-
"I'm so glad the captain is okay" 025 said, pouring some sort of sludge into cups. 046 frowned when he received the so-called coffee, and pretended to drink from it.
"I still don't understand what happened to her" he said.
"I don't get it either. She looked fine, she just finished her speech and—bam!" 023 gestured with her hands, demonstrating how Undyne had fallen to the floor of the courtyard "I was so afraid she had fallen down!"
"That'd be a big tragedy but there's no way that'd happen. Captain Undyne is too strong to fall down" 027 said assertively.
"Then what happened to her yesterday?" Syphus wondered.
"I dunno! Maybe she got heatstroke. Hotland can be a nightmare to pass through"
02 sighed, content with the horrible coffee. "...what's important is that she's okay now"
"Bro is right. We should be, like, glad she's okay" 01 said pretty much immediately.
023, a tad uncomfortable with that topic, raised his voice over the rest. "Do you guys think a human had anything to do with that? With their crazy mental powers and stuff?
"That's impossible" 01 said.
"No way" 02 added.
Syphus didn't want everyone to start discussing the rumored powers humans had – seriously, Undyne, why did you have to say that to these guys? – so he said in what he hoped was a convincing tone: "It's impossible a human had anything to do with what happened to Undyne. They'd have to get into New Home, and there's no way a human sneaked into New Home or the headquarters. Someone would have seen them!"
"Yeah, Syphus is right. This isn't Snowdin or the Ruins, a human can't have entered without someone alerting us" 046 said.
"Tell me again, did you two see any human the other day?" 023 asked to their senior guards. 01 and 02 exchanged a look of fleeting panic and replied:
"Nope"
"We didn't"
046 sighed. "I guess we won't ever know why the captain fainted or whatever"...
...
...Alphonse listened to ASRIEL narrate. The guards not knowing what happened to Undyne was to be expected, but in a way it added to the confusion they already felt. It sounded like such an impossible story, that in middle of a courtyard at the Royal Guard headquarters Undyne could have been attacked. How was such thing possible?
Trying to understand better the seemingly impossible situation, Alphonse adjusted their cap, their eyes still closed. "I'm not sure I can solve this...so Undyne entered the courtyard, gave her speech, and was knocked out in front of everyone..."
"Exactly" This time ASRIEL looked much less conflicted than he had been ever before. Had he gotten used to setting up the situations? Could it be he had finally accepted the fact doing this stuff was a necessary evil?
It was a bit unsettling for Alphonse to think ASRIEL could be starting to get used to this. "Someone must have attacked Undyne"
"Nobody approached Undyne while she was in the courtyard. Only Alphys was near Undyne"
"If only Alphys was there then she would be..." Alphonse frowned "Alphys wouldn't do something to hurt Undyne. She can't be the attacker"
ASRIEL nodded, approving Alphonse's assessment of Alphys' character. "You're right. Alphys is not the attacker"
"She has to have seen something! She was so close, she knows what happened, right?"
"I...I don't think Alphys would hide something like that unless she has a good reason to do it"
Alphonse's eyes opened a bit, the golden irises being visible for a moment. "Wait, does that mean she knows something?"
"I didn't say that"
"You kind of did say that, you said—" Alphonse looked down at the surface of the table in front of him, focusing on the background music to focus better "I think I see what's going on: the person who talked in the courtyard wasn't Undyne. Everyone except Alphys thought that was Undyne, but it was an impostor! And Alphys noticed it and is pretending she doesn't know!"
For a moment ASRIEL said nothing, his long ears swaying while he tilted his head, thinking. He had to be careful to not give too many clues by accident. "Alphys would never be fooled by a fake Undyne"
"Really?"
"She never would be fooled" he repeated. There was no sense in arguing against that, if ASRIEL said it so categorically, then there was no room for discussion. Then how? Alphonse's theory was that the person who had appeared in front of everyone wasn't Undyne, but if Alphys wouldn't ever be fooled by an impostor, then that had to be impossible, right?
Alphonse took off their cap, messing with their hair. "I don't get it...and how did Undyne get away from the hospital?" It could be said there were two mysteries instead of one. How did Undyne get out of that hospital room without anyone seeing her? "Repeat this: Alphys never left her place near Undyne's door"
"Alphys never left that place and she'd have seen anyone passing by"
"The guards never left their spot under the window"
"They never left it"
"Someone must have walked away!"
ASRIEL traced with his claws the outline of the brooch Lucia had given him, wondering for a moment if the sensation of mild enjoyment he was starting to get from seeing Alphonse so puzzled was bad. He felt a gnawing sensation of guilt deep in his chest, but he wasn't sure if it was a sincere feeling, or if it was something else. He didn't reply, only when Alphonse tried to get his attention again he looked up. "Huh?"
"I was asking how Undyne left the hospital room"
"Oh. That. Uh, you'll see, it's complicated" he prepared to deliver the best moves he had. With them he was sure he'd stump Alphonse. "Undyne didn't leave through the door"
"So she left through the window?"
"Undyne didn't leave through the window"
Alphonse passed their hands over their face. "That doesn't make any sense, she must have gotten out of that room somehow" All ASRIEL did was look at them expectantly, as if waiting for a brilliant counter that'd make him surrender. But no, no matter how much Alphonse thought, they didn't get to any good theories "I give up"
"Again?"
"You make rather difficult puzzles"
"It's not like I do it on purpose, it just happens"
Alphonse grimaced. They didn't like this very much. "You're getting used to being a witch"
For a moment ASRIEL looked like he was afraid of asking, but he did it anyway: "Is that good or bad?"
"I don't know. You're the witch, not me"
ASRIEL thought for a moment, glancing at Igor. The master of the Velvet Room was minding his own business, respecting his assistant's time with ASRIEL. A bit more confident now that he confirmed Igor wasn't listening, he admitted: "No. I don't like this. I miss being a monster. I feel guilty all the time, I have done a lot of cruel stuff since Lucia turned me into a witch.
I shouldn't have accepted her offer"
"But you trust her, you think she's your friend"
"She is my friend! Lucia is my friend and I like her" It sounded like he wasn't going to change his mind about that. Resigned, Alphonse stood up from the couch and went to open the door of the Velvet Room, letting ASRIEL return to the manor. For a while they didn't say a word, they tried to read the compendium of Personas, but their thoughts kept going to Lucia. They were pretty sure she had some ulterior motive to get ASRIEL and Syphus into her games. Former guest of the Velvet Room or not, there was this constant feeling of deviousness and malice emanating from her, every time they saw her they felt like she was plotting some way to take advantage of them.
The fact she had lured Syphus and ASRIEL right when they were at their most vulnerable moments didn't help.
Feeling useless, Alphonse slammed shut the compendium.
-ooooo-
It was no surprise Undyne had so many visitors. Guard after guard entered her room, exchanging a few words with her, sometimes bringing a gift, and always making sure to tell her how glad they were she was okay. Undyne always received them with a large grin, almost always jumped off the hospital bed to boldly proclaim it'd take more than...whatever had happened...to defeat her, and sometimes ordered the visitor to stop worrying so much and continue working hard. Syphus watched from the hallway, waiting for a chance to enter with Cohen and Ananas. The humans were hiding in an empty room, waiting for him to tell them when it was okay to go out.
The chance presented itself once a small group of guards left. Syphus knocked on the door to the empty room and entered Undyne's room, closing the door behind them once Ananas and Cohen entered. "Should I block the door?"
"Don't be stupid. That'd alert anyone trying to get in here" Cohen said.
"Someone could enter and hear us talk"
Undyne rolled her eye and got off the bed. She didn't look weakened at all. "So what? Nobody will know what we're talking about. Come on, let's talk" She's right, I guess...
It was a relief Undyne listened to Syphus' tale without making any comment. Cohen and Ananas didn't contribute much, letting the more experienced team member tell everything. Undyne's expression wasn't encouraging, though. The more she listened, the deeper her scowl was. "...and that's pretty much it"
"Wait, let me see if I got this straight: you went to me, the captain of the Royal Guard, you knew I was going to try to take your soul if I found out you were a human, yet you actually tried to befriend me. Did I get that right?"
"...pretty much, yeah" Syphus had to summon every bit of willpower he had not to look away. Undyne grunted with annoyance, finally yielding.
"I'm not sure if you're very stupid or very brave...but fine. Any other secrets I should know?"
The team looked at each other. There indeed was something else they were hiding, but should they tell Undyne about the Hidden Village? Even though she had already decided not to harm humans to obtain their souls? Syphus was very reluctant to do it – it wasn't that he didn't trust Undyne, it was more like he really disliked the idea of Undyne being at the village again. The memories of she killing all the humans in the village in a past version of the timeline were still fresh in his mind.
Cohen had different plans, though. "There's a village of humans in Waterfall"
"Cohen! Should you really have said that?!" Syphus hissed, trying to not be heard by Undyne. Judging by the way she had looked at him with a vaguely hurtful expression, she had heard him.
"We're going to be working together. There's no reason to keep this a secret from her"
"And she can visit us!" Ananas said. Cohen nodded at her, although he corrected her:
"She'll be able to find us anytime. We'll need to make sure she can talk to us when she needs to"
"Syphus, you don't trust me?" Undyne asked, and answered her own question immediately "Fine, it's not like I gave you a reason to trust me after everything my Shadow said, but I'm not going to hurt anyone, I swear! It's going to be different now!"
"I know. I just..." Syphus rubbed his face tiredly "Nevermind. It's nothing" There was an awkward silence for a moment until Cohen, glaring at Syphus for a second, said:
"Since this guy here seems to be too distracted, I'll have to do it myself: welcome to the team" Cohen extended a hand, Undyne gripped it tightly. The two of them started tightening their grip, trying to best the other, both growling under the pressure of their hands. ...this wasn't the best start of her cooperation with us, but it's going to be okay, I guess. Syphus looked at Ananas. She was staring at Undyne, with less trepidation than before. There were some traces of fear in her, but she was trying to suppress those and accept Undyne. Yeah, it'll all be okay.
You feel even more hopeful for the success of the mission
The Barrier Breakers Social Link has reached Rank 3!
Your power to create Personas of the Judgement Arcana has grown!
It was a relief to see that everyone was getting along. It felt like Cohen and Ananas didn't trust Undyne yet, that they preferred her to keep her distance, but Cohen revealing the existence of the village revealed they were willing to try to trust her. Even if Syphus didn't like this, they were going to trust Undyne with the lives of all the other humans in the Underground. At least it was unlikely Undyne would betray their trust, one of her best traits was her loyalty.
That thought brought to mind how her Shadow had mentioned the possibility of betraying Frisk to take their soul. Maybe...that loyalty wasn't as unshakeable as he had just thought? Syphus tried to block such thoughts, upset with himself for doubting her like that. He had to fully trust Undyne. He had no time to think about that kind of stuff. "O-Okay, we should get going now. We'll visit you tomorrow"
Undyne made a face of slight disgust, prodding the side of the mattress with her foot. "I'm getting out of here tonight. Guess I'll see you at the headquarters, Syphus"
"Why don't you come with us to the Village tomorrow?" Ananas had asked that, holding her hat with humble expression. Undyne's eye widened, she froze "They'll like you, you're cool and strong and—I think they'll like you. Please? Do you want to visit us?"
"...this wasn't what I expected" Cohen admitted to Syphus. Undyne blinked, recovering from the surprise, and grinned widely.
"Of course, punk! I want to meet all those humans. If they're like you I'm sure we'll be friends in no time!"
Ananas flashed a shy smile before she hid behind her hat, putting her helmet on to disguise herself. Once Cohen, Ananas and Syphus left the room, Undyne laid down on the bed, content. There was something she could do. It sounded complicated, it was weird, and she'd be working with people she never imagined she'd be ever working with, but it was a plan and therefore it was worth a try.
For the first time in a while, she felt like breaking the Barrier was a more attainable goal than before.
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 3
Aeon - Syphus - RANK 3
Jester - Alphonse - RANK 2