"What do you mean the queen is looking for them?"
Cohen had been the one to get Papyrus' call. The skeleton hadn't sure what to do. He had returned to the shed and found Ciruel still under the desk, and Flowey nowhere to be seen. Ciruel wasn't able to tell him where Flowey had gone, and there was no way for them to know. There was something else to worry about right now, though.
"SHE'S LOOKING FOR FRISK?"
"Wait, who is Frisk?"
It was the first time Ciruel had heard about the child. There was an eighth human in the Underground! And they had somehow gotten away without even meeting Toriel before. He had thought she would encounter any human that fell in the Underground, yet apparently there was someone who didn't! Papyrus didn't have any idea about Toriel's efforts to find any humans that could fall Underground before they left the Ruins, and therefore didn't realize the significance of this, but Ciruel knew. It made him think something:
There may be another way into the Underground other than the hole in the mountain they all had fallen through.
That was the only thing that made sense! How else would you get away from the Ruins without Toriel knowing? It was hard for him to believe she had missed them otherwise. If there was another way into the Underground...maybe that could be useful information!
The military guys camping on Mt. Ebott needed to hear about this.
Ciruel leaned on the desk, rubbing flakes of purple paint off his hands, exhaling clouds of visible breath onto the cold air. Byssa and Graham were the ones to always make contact, so if he found out anything, he had to tell them. The only way to find out from where this new child may have used to get into the Underground was to ask this Frisk kid. "Okay, do me a favor, please. Tell me everything you know about Frisk"
He did. Papyrus informed Ciruel everything he kne-w about Frisk, about how Sans also knew them, and about how pretty much everyone in Snowdin liked the child. Ciruel's expression went from attentive listening to shock to a quiet disapproval. That kid had managed to befriend everyone, yet he hadn't heard anything about them until now! This was big news, and the first time he hears it was a month after the child was seen for the first time in the town. What the heck?
No point in being upset, though. It wasn't like Papyrus could have known he'd be so interested in this. Besides, they had to focus on the current situation.
"We have to find them" Ciruel said.
"THEY'RE IN HOTLAND! I'M NOT SURE WE CAN GET TO HOTLAND BEFORE THE QUEEN DOES"
"You're right, I know you're right! I'm just saying we have to think of a way—"
"SANS! WE CAN ASK SANS! HE CAN GET THERE BEFORE US AND FIND HIM!"
It wasn't a bad idea! Sans already knew about Frisk, and Papyrus had once mentioned Sans had ways to move around in the blink of an eyesocket. The scholar wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but if he could do then that sure would be really useful right now! "You'll have to ask Sans. I don't want him to see me"
"I THINK HE ALREADY KNOWS WE'RE FRIENDS. HE MUST HAVE KNOWN FROM WHEN I SAID HOW MY FRIEND COUNT HAD GONE UP BY ONE"
Ciruel shook his head. "I can't take a risk like this. Look, you talk to Sans. Please don't say anything about me. I'm...no, we humans are counting on you"
The encouragement was welcome. Papyrus left the shed to find Sans and talk to him about Frisk, hoping his brother hadn't already left to do nothing in who knew what part of the Underground. A few minutes later, Papyrus returned to the shed, his face telling Ciruel all he needed to know. "He left already" Ciruel found out, sighing.
"I'M SORRY. I'LL GO SEARCH FRISK MYSELF!"
"...no, that may not be necessary. I wanted this to be the last resort, but it'll be quicker than you running through Waterfall to get to Hotland in a minute flat" he stopped for a second "...although you'd be perfectly capable of doing that, now that I think about it. Anyway, do you have your cellphone?"
-ooooo-
Cohen was the one to receive the call. He listened to Ciruel's request: "Please let Graham or Byssa go find a human kid in Hotland". The reply was immediate: a very clear and vehement rejection. No way he'd let someone leave the village and put themselves and the rest of the humans in danger, he said.
"Where are you, anyway? Did you sneak out?!" he had shouted. Ciruel hanged up immediately, feeling stupid for having asked Cohen. Cohen, on the other end of the line, immediately called Undyne.
Having the captain of the Royal Guard as a friend had a lot of advantages. Cohen couldn't leave the village, and as soon as he ended the call he went to make sure Annie nor anyone else left – if Toriel was looking for Frisk, then maybe other monsters would be looking for them too, helping her. They just couldn't afford letting any monster see humans other than Frisk. He'd have to hope Undyne would find them.
She didn't waste any time. Undyne gathered all the guards that were currently at the headquarters, donning her armor. "All of you know about the human living in Snowdin. I heard they're in Hotland right now. Find them and bring them to me!"
"Does that mean we won't, like, try to take their soul?" 01 asked. Undyne immediately nixed this suggestion.
"No, don't. Bring them to me. I know it's strange, but you gotta trust me, okay? Just trust me"
Authority trumped whatever personal feelings the guards had. If Undyne requested them to bring the child to her, then they had to. Undyne assigned all the guards a different part of Hotland to check, and commanded 01 and 02 to block the quickest path to the MTT resort and New Home. Once everyone was given a role and they left to fulfill the orders, Undyne approached Syphus, who was staying to a side of the courtyard, watching everything. Nobody paid attention to them – the captain was going to talk to the storage assistant, it was nothing unusual. "You heard all that?"
"The Queen's looking for Frisk"
"That's not good, is it?"
"...I'm not sure" Syphus crossed his arms. The scales around his eyes creased while he mulled this for a moment. "Frisk somehow got past Toriel without she meeting them. I doubt that was an accident, so they must have a reason to have done that"
"Then the Queen finding them can't be good!"
"Maybe. To know for sure we'll have to ask them directly, and for that—"
"For that we have to find them first" depending on what Frisk says, then they could decide what to do. Undyne got an idea: "I'll ask Alphys to find them with the cameras"
"Good idea. I'll get going" once he made sure she had the number of the cellphone he had been lent, Syphus left to start searching in Hotland.
-ooooo-
Sans wasn't sure what exactly Frisk was doing or why they hadn't gotten through Hotland after three weeks already, but now that Toriel knew about them, he knew there'd be an entire crowd of people looking for the human child. That was going to be a thorn on Frisk's side. Sans liked the kid despite the ever present feeling something was off about them, so he thought he should do them a favor and help them not get overwhelmed, just in case.
As soon as Toriel left, Sans opened the door of his house, stepped inside, closed the door, turned around, and found himself right behind the counter of his hot dog stand in Hotland. Right! This was a good place as any to start searching for them.
"if i were frisk where would i be going through?"
The quickest route to New Home wouldn't be an option. Surely there would be someone waiting there to make contact with Frisk, and Sans surely couldn't just stroll over there and take the kid away. Hoping he was right and Frisk wouldn't risk going through the MTT resort, he decided to wait by his hotdog stand. He calculated the child wouldn't have passed through that area yet. Getting comfy and closing his eye sockets, Sans relaxed.
-ooooo-
Just like Sans had deduced, Frisk avoided taking the quickest route to the MTT resort. Also just like Sans expected, they were close to passing by the hotdog stand. The child waited for the elevator door to open, but once they did and the heat of Hotland filled the elevator, they didn't come out. Instead they sat on the floor. "New record?"
"This should be enough for today"
"Really?" a bit of annoyance creeped into Frisk's voice. Once again, they had to stop for the day, and they still were so far away from the MTT resort it was like they hadn't progressed at all. That always was Chara's fault.
Chara wasn't willing to go into New Home. To stop Frisk from getting there, they had decided to convince them to stop in middle of Hotland, advancing just a little bit each time. Their excuse was that they needed time to prepare. That was a complete lie. Chara's real reason to avoid going into New Home to see Asgore was that they hadn't seen Flowey, and that Syphus guy's existence was something to be worried about.
They could feel something was very off, that there were reasons to be concerned something was very wrong about the world. They didn't want to continue since it could put everything they had worked for at risk. They had reached an agreement with Frisk, they had taken Frisk's soul and pretty much attached to them as a parasite, all to get out of the mountain once and for all when Frisk finally managed to get everyone out without rewinding everything back to the beginning. That was their condition in exchange for not destroying reality and everything in it.
And now something strange was going on, possibly ruining everything. They weren't willing to take any risks.
Frisk was running out of patience, thought. After a month progressing like ten meters each time, they still were pretty far away from New Home. It'd take them months to reach the castle, and they wanted to see Asgore as soon as possible. Chara had to think of a better excuse before Frisk decided to force them to continue onwards. They were still thinking what new excuse they could use when a familiar flower popped from the volcanic ground, shaking bits of rock off his petals.
"Flowey!" Frisk exclaimed, right when Chara noticed him. There he was! There was Flowey, finally a sign not everything was abnormal! Flowey turned around, and his eyes widened with recognition when he saw the child approaching him.
"Chara?"
The lack of recognition in his face and voice stopped Frisk on their tracks. "It's me, Frisk!"
Flowey chuckled, more in disbelief than anything else. "What are you talking about? You're..." his face fell. It couldn't be Chara...Chara was dead. He had seen it happen, he took their SOUL. It was impossible Chara could be here standing right in front of him, alive and kicking "I-I'm sorry, I think we haven't met before..." he lowered his voice, puzzled. "Golly, this isn't how I thought first contact would be like..."
"You don't remember? All the...the other times?" Frisk really didn't understand how this was possible. Once Flowey insisted he had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, they pressed their hands against their face, a chill running down their spine. Chara was eerily silent, too. Any relief they felt when they saw Flowey was gone.
This truly was an abnormal timeline, that was now confirmed.
"Aren't you going to explain whatever that was?" Flowey was just as confused as Frisk and Chara. Even though he knew this couldn't be Chara, they looked so familiar he just couldn't get it out of his mind. Before they could explain, they saw Sans not too far away, snoozing in his hot dog stand. Things could get dicey if Sans saw Flowey, unless the skeleton didn't remember who Flowey was, for some reason. At a loss for words, Frisk sought Chara's counsel.
"What are we supposed to do now?"
"We'll keep going, but first let me talk to him" for the first time since they had attached to Frisk, they received full control of their shared body. Flexing their fingers as if to confirm they really had control, they got closer to Flowey. "We can't talk here. See me in Snowdin"
"...why would I-?" he was starting to not want anything to do with the human child. It was bringing back memories he didn't want to think about.
"Best friends, Asriel. Did you forget about that?"
Hearing that didn't help him feel any better. Confused, kind of hurt, and on the verge of panic, Flowey sank into the ground. The way Frisk had said that was so familiar for a moment he felt like he had returned to the days he and Chara used to play around. Best friends, indeed.
Having guaranteed Flowey would meet him at Snowdin later, Chara returned control to Frisk, who said nothing about that. Chara clearly wanted to talk to Flowey, and they also wanted to see him again. Flowey was their friend, after all.
Even if for some reason he didn't remember them.
Saddened, they started walking. They had to return to Snowdin to talk to Flowey. Hoping for a quicker route than taking the elevator and going all the way back, they passed in front of Sans' stand. Right when they were in front of the skeleton, Sans opened his eyesockets, raising a hand in greeting.
"hey buddy. what's up? wanna buy a hot dog?"
-ooooo-
"053 says he saw them get on the elevator on the right side of Hotland. Are you nearby?"
"Yeah, I'm almost there!" Syphus said into the phone. Undyne had kept tabs on all the guards, all of them reporting to her if they checked a place and the human child wasn't there. Soon 053 caught a glimpse of the child, and immediately called Undyne. "Send my regards to him!"
"You know he won't like that" Guess 053 will always have a bone to pick with me. Once Undyne cut the call, Syphus entered the elevator, pressing the button to go all the way to the top. It didn't take him long to see Frisk in front of a sentry station with snow on the roof – Sans' hotdog stand, he noticed. Sans was right there. That's a problem. Or was it? Sans was someone they could trust, wasn't he? There should be no problem with talking to Frisk about where why they were avoiding Toriel.
It seemed the hotdog business was going somewhat slow, judging by how Sans was piling sausages on Frisk's head instead of keeping them to be sold later. Syphus had approached slowly, still thinking how this conversation would Frisk could go, when Frisk turned their head around, their face lighting up when they see Syphus. Sans' grin widened a bit.
"sup."
"Hi there, you two" Syphus said, relieved they both were friendly. The skeleton left the bin of water sausages aside and stepped away from the hot dog stand, sighing contently.
"welp, i'll get going now"
"Why, Sans?" Frisk asked.
"you know how it is, kiddo, three's a crowd" Sans waved lazily and walked away without a care in the world. It seemed he had sensed Syphus wanted to talk to Frisk and left to not get in the way. Grateful Sans was so considerate, Syphus approached Frisk, who was walking around with his arms extended to the sides, trying to balance the sausages on their head.
"Come over here" he beckoned Frisk, grabbed the bin of sausages and resumed what Sans had been doing, Frisk amusedly staying still so Syphus didn't have trouble piling more and more sausages. "I think Sans doesn't like you" Frisk commented.
"Why do you say that?"
"He left. When someone you don't like arrives, you leave to not be near them, right?"
Syphus wanted to think Sans had left for a different reason, but he couldn't say Sans and he were friends. It was more like he tolerated him. Syphus shrugged, slowly placing a water sausage on the growing pile. "Yeah, many people don't like me, but that's life. You shouldn't expect everyone to like you, because there'll always be someone who won't"
"I like you"
Syphus smiled "Thank you, Frisk" it was nice in a way to have someone saying that with such ease. When the sausages got as high as Syphus he got on the roof of the stand, grabbing onto the wood of the roof through the snow. The child was completely still, trying to keep all the sausages on their head for as long as possible
"Syphus, if there are no SOULs, does that mean it'll be impossible to break the Barrier?"
Syphus stopped for a moment, thinking his words carefully. "Not really. I'm looking into it, but I'm pretty sure there are other options"
"Can I help you? I know what you're doing, I want to help you"
"I'm really sorry but you can't" not without a Persona, and even if they did have one, Syphus doubted they would be able to do something like fighting. Not even their Shadow self had attacked them, it had just summoned lesser Shadows. Not that it mattered now. Frisk had missed their chance to get their Persona.
Frisk didn't know it was because of that. They frowned, disappointed. "Are you sure you can do that alone? I have been here many times; I could help you"
"It'll be okay, I'm not doing that by myself" Syphus said. That disappointed Frisk even more. There was no way they could help Syphus now, that was guaranteed. Trying to hide how disappointed they were, he said:
"It's just that I want to do something. I just want to break the Barrier, my friends and I need to be over the surface..." Frisk looked at the ground, almost making the sausages fall, and muttered the core of the concerns that had fueled their Shadow's creation:
"...it's not like I can do anything else down here. It's all I have been doing over and over, and if I do something different it'll be...it'll be bad"
Syphus dropped the sausage he had been about to place on top of the pile, that had been a tough question "Bad how?"
"Bad as in...as in monsters die"
Oh. Right...the times Frisk didn't save everyone things had gone less than favorably for monsterkind. To avoid that, they had to follow the same steps and actions. Frisk added: "Not knowing what's going on makes me nervous because I don't know how it'll end. You won't let anyone die, right?"
No way Syphus would say how things had gone after he had died twice before. "Of course not"
"You can SAVE. It's up to you"
Syphus placed another sausage. "Frisk, I don't know what to tell you. There's no way I'll let anyone die, I mean it, but..."
"I know sometimes things go wrong, I know that" Frisk said with vehemence "What's important is that you keep trying! You need to keep trying it over and over and never give up! That's what I want you to promise!
Please promise me you're never going to give up!"
There was only one good response for that. "Of course. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die"
That satisfied Frisk. They smiled, relieved. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm leaving this to you"
You made a promise with Frisk
The Human Child Social Link has reached Rank 6!
Your power to create Personas of the Fool Arcana has grown!
"What are you going to do now that I'm the one with this responsibility"
"I dunno..I want to see Dad...and I haven't seen Mom either..." Frisk mumbled.
That was a good way to segue into what he wanted to ask, but the mere fact Frisk had commented about seeing Toriel kind of indicated they hadn't intentionally avoided her. It felt to him like they meant they wanted to see her too. "You didn't see Toriel? I thought she was at the Ruins"
"When I passed through there I didn't see her, so I just passed through the door and got to the snowy forest"
...I can't believe this. All that worry and pursuing Frisk and it turned out they had just walked out of the Ruins because Toriel hadn't been there right at that moment! That was the simplest explanation, and plausible given how she was the queen and didn't stay in the Ruins 24/7 in this timeline.
He felt stupid for not having thought of this possibility before. Syphus got off the roof, his face with a carefully neutral expression, feathers flat against his head. "I see. Well that's fine, you keep going"
"Did I say something bad?" Frisk moved and the sausages fell off their head, they sounded very concerned.
"No, it's not that. I just have to go do something else"
Frisk seemed hurt he was trying to leave without nary an explanation. "Oh...okay...I'll see you later" Syphus turned around to apologize, but Frisk was already leaving. Not too far away, Sans was waiting. Had he been there all along? He had gone into the elevator – oh, right. He had his ways of moving around. The skeleton said a few words to Frisk before extending his hand. Frisk didn't hesitate to take it and stand up, both friends walked away, vanishing in a blink of an eye.
If Sans heard everything they had talked, then he also heard how rude Syphus had just been. This won't earn me any points with him, I guess.
-ooooo-
Frisk was content to stay in Sans' laboratory. The skeleton was treating them rather kindly, behaving as if it was no big deal at all. "stay all you need"
"I'm sorry, Sans"
"nah, it's no big deal. you have been around for like a month already, what's a few days more" Sans shrugged "just don't break anything. you know what they saw about bulls in china shops. or more like humans in secret laboratories"
They didn't know at all what he was talking about. It didn't really matter. What mattered was that Sans understood and wanted to help.
Frisk had said it was all a misunderstanding, that they hadn't been trying to avoid Toriel. In fact, they wanted to see her! It was just that right now they wanted some time to think. That was what Frisk wanted, because Chara insisted. Sans, on the other hand, was okay with that because he wanted to observe them for a while – just like he said: Frisk had been coming and going for like a month, and that was odd. Something was wrong, he just didn't know what it was.
Curiosity and some friendliness towards Frisk were his motivation.
Once he made sure he closed well the door to the laboratory so no snow would get in there, he moved to the living room couch, sinking into the bumpy cushions to relax for a while. He had barely gotten comfy when Papyrus burst out of his bedroom. "SAAAANS!"
"sup bro"
"DID YOU FIND THEM? ARE THEY OKAY?"
"sorry, paps, they got away. sneaky humans, all that. no wonder we haven't captured any"
Usually Papyrus would simply nod and agree, maybe groan and protest if he felt he was being teased. This time, though, he didn't move. He looked down, his gloved hands together into one tight ball. It was so unusual Sans immediately noticed his change in demeanor. "REALLY? YOU DIDN'T FIND THEM?"
"nope" he answered immediately. He didn't hesitate, he'd lie to Papyrus all that was necessary if it meant keeping him unaware of stuff that could lead Papyrus into trouble. It was ay he could do to protect his brother – in the end it didn't matter that much. He was still convinced that if anything bad happened, it'd be undone. Nothing mattered.
"OH. THAT'S...TOO BAD. THANKS FOR TRYING" in a hurry, Papyrus got back into his room, closing the door and leaning on it heavily. Now he was convinced Sans was hiding stuff from him. Ciruel had been the one to tell him it was likely he had been deceived by Sans before, when he said he was sure Sans already knew about Ciruel, and that he was pretending he didn't know.
And if he was pretending not to know about that, who knows what else he was pretending about?
-ooooo-
Day 45
It wasn't unusual for Undyne to gather all the guards in the courtyard of the headquarters and spend time with them. As she said many times to Syphus: a team has to work together and bond. For that purpose, she often helped them, taught them how to move, even said if they ever had a problem she'd want to hear about it anytime.
She had just finished today's session. 023 had asked her to help practice magic, so she arranged a few other guards to give him a few pointers. Syphus had to change the targets over and over, taking the singed ones to the storage, dragging new targets onto the wall. It was tiring work, having to go back and forth, not having enough time to bring extra targets to not have to go to the storage again.
"Aiming is a matter of practice!" Undyne said, throwing a spear and hitting the exact center of the target. "It's going to take a while, but soon you'll hit whatever you want with your magic. Just keep practicing!"
"Got it, captain. I will" 023 said, saluting. He was happy Undyne took the time to give him pointers. "I knew I could rely on you!"
Despite the effusive praise, Undyne was humble. She refused to take any credit, simply saying she was showing what 023 would be capable of someday. Once 023 left, Undyne leaned against the wall, right beside Syphus. "That was fun"
"You really do everything you can to train them" Syphus said.
"Of course I do. They're my guards, I'd do anything for them" she turned her head towards Syphus. "And for those who want to be guards and don't come to my house at midnight"
"That's a little too specific"
"That's because it actually happened! That's something Papyrus did long ago" she grinned, remembering that fondly "It was like midnight, and I was already sleeping when I hear someone knocking on the door. I didn't want to get up, I just kept trying to sleep. I opened the door and Papyrus was there, still with his fist raised to knock on the door once again!
Ah, true. Papyrus had done that. Syphus raised his eyebrows. "You told him to scram?"
"I didn't even bother doing that, I just closed the door! Bam, right in his face! It was midnight, who in their right mind goes bother someone at midnight? So I returned to bed. I think Papyrus took the hint, because he didn't knock again. When I woke up and left the house, he was sitting right there in the entrance, he didn't look tired at all despite being there the entire night.
I was impressed, gotta admit. That guy had spent the entire night waiting for me to wake up and talk to him, and the first thing he says is that he wants to be in the Royal Guard! I thought someone like him could be useful, so I accepted and said I'd train him"
"Papyrus doesn't seem like much of a fighter"
"You kidding? He's a great fighter. He has strength, he knows how to use it, and he has the restraint to not go overboard. He's also kind, ready to help anyone, and you'll hardly find anyone else more willing to stick by your side. He'd be the perfect guard! If he wasn't so...so..." Undyne grunted with annoyance. "So nice. He's too nice. In a real battle he'd be torn into little smiling shreds"
That wasn't really the impression Syphus had. In his opinion, Papyrus could pull his weight when it was warranted. He wouldn't like it, but he also wasn't going to let somebody get hurt if he could help it, even if it meant attacking someone. "Maybe he's more capable than you think"
"I'm not going to put him in danger" she said decisively "In a group, everyone has something they're good for. The problem is that what I think Papyrus is good for won't be of much help to us. He's more like support, I'd put my life in his hands anytime, I just don't think he's made for attacking head on.
Not that it matters. He doesn't want to be a guard anymore"
That was something Syphus definitely wanted to hear more about. "Why? Sounds to me like he tried everything he could to be a guard!"
"Exactly, that's why I didn't understand at first. Then I realized: he didn't know what we'd do to the humans we captured. I'm sure he didn't know that back then, and once he found out we'd take their souls he was so appalled he changed his mind"
That sounded plausible. Papyrus would never consent a human's soul being taken like that. "Did you try to explain it to him?"
"No, I know him, he'd never want to capture a human if that's what would happen to them. I was so frustrated back then, now I know it was for the better" she stared at her reflection on her helmet, examining every inch of Syphus' polishing work "What I don't know is how he found out. Sans wouldn't tell him; he must have heard that somewhere else"
Someone who could tell him... Ciruel. That was the most likely possibility. Everyone in the Hidden Village knew what would happen to them if they got captured by monsterkind, Ciruel included. He must have told him, trying to convince him not to pass him to the Royal Guard. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Maybe good.
That anecdote did speak well of Undyne, though. Her dedication to the guards, giving Papyrus a chance, respecting his wishes when he decided not to join, it all spoke of her perspective towards the Royal Guard, her moral principles, and especially about how much she valued her friends and would help them.
You feel you understand Undyne a little better
The Undyne Social Link has reached Rank 6!
Your power to create Personas of the Justice Arcana has grown!
Talking about all that brought up something Undyne had been thinking about. "You know; I think we're...not very good as a team"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" I think we're doing fantastic so far!
"We fight well, I know, but when we're not in one of those trips we're like strangers. We get along with each other, and a few of us are friends, but that's limited only to two people, sometimes three. Like me and Annie, we're friends but I can't say the same about Cohen"
Oh. She wasn't wrong. Their team dynamic was incredibly lacking. Although he thought they were all friends, he knew that they wouldn't be together if it wasn't because of the Personas and everything they entailed. Syphus stared at the tip of his claws, disappointed at having to confront such truth. "I'm not surprised. We're all so different it's almost a miracle we're together. An eight-year-old girl, an octogenarian, the monster captain of the Royal Guard, and then there's me" Some Shadow who's hiding a lot to everyone.
"When you put it like that it sounds like we're a bunch of nobodies trying to hang out with each other!" Undyne protested.
"It's true, though. You and I spend a large part of our days working here at New Home. Cohen has to take care of the village. Annie's pretty much the only one who can go around being social!" Syphus said "Cohen and Annie didn't even get along before this whole thing started. We're pretty lousy when it's about being friends"
Undyne got away from the wall, escorting Syphus out of the headquarters. "You know what we need? Someone who can help us get along better. A new team member"
"Someone charismatic who can make friends and would love to help us. Someone who wouldn't care about some of us being humans, and would give their best no matter what"
The best candidate they could think was pretty obvious: "Papyrus" they both said. Undyne really didn't like that thought.
"I don't think Papyrus should get involved in this! This is dangerous!"
Syphus grimaced. He agreed with Undyne, but he didn't want to underestimate Papyrus. Telling her to give him a chance wouldn't lead anywhere because there was no way Undyne would just let a friend be on the line of fire, so instead... "Okay, in the unlikely chance Papyrus gets a Persona, we'll try to keep him in some sort of support role"
"Support?" she looked a bit conflicted about that, but she had to admit that was better than him fighting against Shadows.
"Healing, keeping our defense up, debuffing the Shadows, watching out for any dangers we don't notice...all kinds of tasks he can do and would be a weight off our shoulders" he explained, not mentioning how that'd depend on Papyrus' theoretical Persona. The skills it'd have would change what Papyrus could do.
Undyne scowled before finally nodding. "Good enough"
"Besides, it's possible he won't even get the chance to obtain a Persona. From what I have noticed, everyone we have to rescue is undergoing some sort of emotional turmoil or doubts.
Seriously, what kind of turmoil can Papyrus suffer?"
-ooooo-
Talking with Flowey went without a hitch. Chara's request was simple: to follow Syphus around, and then inform Chara of what was going on with him. That was all the child wanted, they wanted to find out exactly what Syphus was hiding. Flowey was their ticket for that. He'd be able to follow Syphus around! And then depending on what Flowey saw and heard, Chara could decide what to do. As simple as that!
They had just finished their conversation with Flowey when Syphus and Undyne arrived to Snowdin. Chara peered from behind the shed, seeing them walk towards the skeletons' home. "There's your target. You'll follow the guy with the feathers and see what he's doing"
Flowey seemed glad to do what Chara asked. They were working together to do...something! He didn't like Chara refused to elaborate what they'd do once they knew what Syphus was planning, he trusted Chara enough to not question them.
Now that the arrangements were done, Flowey hid under the soil, ready to follow Syphus once he left Snowdin. The child ran to the door to Sans' laboratory, pretending they had just ascended from its depths, and hoping Papyrus was nowhere nearby. For some reason, Sans hadn't told Papyrus he had brought Frisk, and although they'd love to ruin Sans' day by tattling to the tall skeleton about his brother's deceit, that could cause more trouble than it'd be worth.
Better pull their punches for the time being.
Returning full control to Frisk – Frisk had respected their wish to let Chara have some privacy and had tried their best to not listen – they stood there at the door, with their hand on the doorknob. "Undyne and Syphus are here. I think you should go see them" Chara said.
"They're here to talk with me?"
"I think so. No point in avoiding them if they know you're here" they figured Syphus already knew, at least. Deciding to listen to Chara, Frisk moved to the side of the house. When they got there, they only found Undyne. Had Syphus gone into the house? Through the window, they saw Syphus going up the stairs, towards Papyrus' room. So that was why he had come to Snowdin...he wanted to talk to Papyrus.
"We finally meet again, pipsqueak!" Undyne affectionately picked up Frist from the sweater, immediately bringing them close to her and giving them a noogie. Laughing, Frisk begged her to stop, wheezing for air and kicking the air. The happiness in their voice was encouragement for Undyne, who continued.
The two kept horsing around for a long while. Throwing snow at each other, Frisk trying to push Undyne onto the snow and failing, running around trying to catch each other. It had been a while since Frisk had officially befriended Undyne, this was the first time they played around.
It was moments like these what Frisk cherished the most, what reminded them why they kept trying over and over to free monsterkind.
After a while, Syphus exited the house. He had talked to Papyrus, trying to ascertain how Papyrus' emotional state was like, and found an increasingly more disquieted Papyrus, who was trying his best to not show how bad he felt, how much he was starting to notice all Sans was hiding from him. With a bright grin, he kept carrying on like nothing was wrong. No matter what Papyrus felt, it was clear to him it wasn't bad enough to be considered a potential target for whoever was making monsters and humans fall down. Satisfied with his findings, Syphus stepped out of the house, finding Undyne and Frisk playing nearby.
There was something heartwarming in hearing them laugh. Undyne held Frisk high in the air, roaring and laughing loudly. Frisk squirmed, not even really trying to flee from her grasp. "I give up! You win, you win!" they howled, holding onto Undyne's hands.
"Of course I win!" Undyne shouted, running through the snow and aiming at a large snowbank. She wasn't even a foot away when she jumped upwards, gaining air, and threw Frisk towards the snowbank with a lot of strength. The child sank in the snow with a resounding *plaf*, disappearing from sight. "I'm gonna see Papyrus!" Undyne informed. Frisk barely had time to flash a thumbs-up from the depths of the snowbank before Undyne crossed the doorway.
Deciding this was a good time to approach, Syphus got to the snowbank and looked inside. "I hope you didn't tire out Undyne very much"
"Syphus!" Frisk got out of the snowbank with some trouble, gasping, and grabbed onto Syphus' pants, trying to gather their energies "I wanted to see you before I got going!"
"...you wanted to see me?" Why Syphus and not anyone else? Undyne was a much closer friend than Syphus was, he saw no reason why they'd want to see him instead of her if they needed something. Frisk didn't seem to care, though. They nodded vigorously, and left the skeletons' property without even bothering to say goodbye. Syphus, still a bit baffled, followed them, until they reached the main road and started walking in direction to Waterfall.
All monsters Frisk encountered during that walk greeted them cheerfully, not even caring there was a vulnerable human walking among them. Frisk returned their greetings with joy, much to Syphus' increasing relief. He did know Frisk was in friendly terms with more than half of monsterkind, but seeing it himself made him appreciate that more. "Looks like everyone is okay with having you around" Syphus commented, Frisk merely nodded "How did that happen?"
"...I don't know. It just happened. I think Undyne did something too"
He wasn't sure if Frisk was being humble or if they didn't realize their mercifulness giving monsters a reason to be friendly. They had to be aware of that after having done it so many times! "Good. So, why did you want to see me?"
Frisk kept walking, their expression turned serious. "I want to see Dad. I'm going to New Home"
"Really? Are you sure this is the best time for that?" It was true it seemed monsters were fine with Frisk, but the king was another person altogether! From Frisk taking so long to reach New Home Syphus had supposed something had stopped them, was whatever obstacle there was before gone now? "Why?"
"I have been thinking about my friends, and about...why I'm here for. I'm not only trying to break the Barrier; I also am here to help my friends. Dad...I'll help him"
"And what kind of help can you give? I don't mean to offend you, Frisk, but things are a bit more difficult for you nowadays" Syphus felt gross for being so blunt.
"If I'm the first human around since Chara died then Dad has no one else's SOULs, right?"
"Well, yeah, you're right..."
"I know Dad, he felt awful about killing the other children, but in this timeline he hasn't killed anyone yet. If I can talk with him maybe I can convince him to not to kill anyone, ever"
That made sense, but Syphus wasn't sure if Asgore would listen to Frisk. "It's risky. Are you sure you should try?"
"I must try. I refuse to give up"
"Determined to the end. I like that of you, but please, be careful"
Frisk nodded, and their voice acquired a more threatening edge "I wanted to tell you that so you don't try to stop me. I know Mr. Dad Guy, and I know what I'm doing. Don't get in my way" the odd tone was gone, their expression softened "Please trust me"
Syphus narrowed his eyes. That you, Chara? He suspected for a moment Chara had said something, but he couldn't just point that out It wouldn't end well. "...okay, Frisk, I won't. I'll let you do whatever you want. Just take your time, that's all I ask. Don't go there immediately"
The child was in silence for a moment before nodding. More delays? It was like everything was trying to stop them from reaching New Home. First Chara, now Syphus. Still...if he was asking this, then surely he had a good reason. "I'll go to the resort first. Is that okay?"
"That works. Thank you, Frisk"
Frisk has taken a decision and won't stop until they succeed.
You sense Frisk's unbridled determination
The Human Child Social Link has reached Rank 7!
Your power to create Personas of the Fool Arcana has grown!
Waterfall was as damp as always, Frisk stepped over the puddles, splashing, carefree. "Why don't you take off the monster suit? You'll be okay"
"...I'd rather not. You're a child, I'm an adult...I think a reason why monsters are okay with you is because you're a kid" Not that it made Frisk any less dangerous, Syphus knew that well.
"If I convince Dad to forget the war, will you stop pretending to be a monster?" Frisk tilted their head. Syphus involuntarily touched the firefly brooch, tracing its contours with a finger.
"...okay, I will. I promise" May as well say that, although he had no idea how Frisk or anyone could convince Asgore to call off the war. Only Asgore – or maybe Toriel too – would be able to change the situation. Frisk seemed satisfied, though, and started jogging.
"I'll be at the resort!" they shouted before vanishing out of view. Syphus was happy to see Frisk was feeling prepared for what was going to happen, but he wished the child would be careful. Asgore thought gathering the SOULs was for the better, and his own moral qualms could be left aside if pushed too much. Acquiring the first soul was very difficult, but if he did so, then there was a chance he wouldn't hold back when he encountered the other humans, even if he knew that was wrong.
I should get to the castle first and talk to Asgore.
-ooooo-
It had taken a while for Flowey to get used to his senses as a flower – well, he hadn't gotten used to them yet. His method of travel was always underground, his stem would have never been able to tear through the ground and soil, but when all of himself was underground, it was as if he could move anywhere. All he had to do was focus on where he wanted to pop up, and he did.
He could sense the weight of objects over the soil, meaning he wouldn't crash headfirst against anything immovable or too sturdy to be broken through. The vibrations of monsters' steps alerted him of where people were at. He even had an idea of where the flat surfaces were at so he could emerge there.
The problem was that he hadn't mastered yet a way to know who was over the surface. He emerged from time to time, making sure not to lose Syphus, going all the way to Waterfall. It was all going well until he couldn't feel the vibrations of steps anymore. Confused, Flowey emerged.
He was at a tunnel in Waterfall. He looked around, not seeing Syphus anywhere. That didn't make sense! The vibrations of Syphus' steps vanished, nobody else had come around here, it just didn't make sense he'd vanish in thin air! Flowey looked around, hoping to see any kind of hidden passageway or a path Syphus could have taken, but he saw nothing. No tunnel, no outcrop, no crevice, not even water he could have crossed! Syphus had just...vanished in the air!
Or at least that was the impression Flowey had. He was unable to see the large and shiny door to the Velvet Room. Syphus had entered the room, vanishing from Waterfall and unwittingly evading Flowey, all Flowey could do was leave and try to find Syphus somewhere else in Waterfall.
"I can't return to Chara without anything useful!" he was sure Chara would forgive him, but he wanted to be useful to Chara. He promised himself he'd return to Chara only once he got something useful to share.
Surely Chara would understand.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 7
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 3
Priestess - Alphys - RANK 7
Empress - Toriel - RANK 3
Emperor - Cohen - RANK 4
Hierophant - Ciruel - BROKEN
Lovers - ? - RANK 0
Chariot - Ananas - RANK 6
Justice - Undyne - RANK 6
Hermit - Gaster - RANK 1
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - Celia - RANK 2
Hanged Man - ? - RANK 0
Death - Cornio - REVERSED
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 3
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 3
Judgment - Team - RANK 4
Aeon - Syphus - REVERSED
Jester - Alphonse - REVERSED