The pieces on the board were surrounding a few of Sisyphus' pieces. Staring at the board as if he was going to burn a hole through it just with his eyes, Sisyphus thought of different options. Once again, for the umpteenth time, Cornio had cornered him. Giving up at trying to get out of the problem by himself, he asked: "What do you think, Lucia?"
There was no reply from the witch beside him. Finally looking up from the board, Sisyphus lightly nudged her. "Ah...hm? Sorry, what?" she sounded distracted.
"What should I do now? I can't continue any further without some heavy losses" he said. At the other side of the board, Cornio pretended not to listen. It wouldn't be fair to overhear what Sisyphus was saying, even if he wasn't making any effort to stay silent.
Lucia rubbed one of her earrings, making a noncommittal noise. "...I dunno..."
"This would be a good time for you to get involved. Your piece is already on the board, we could—"
"Not yet" she said very clearly "I don't want to yet" something about her tone made very clear there was no room for negotiation. If she didn't want her piece to get too involved, then it wouldn't.
Unfortunately for her, Sisyphus was rather stubborn. He saw no other option than trying to convince Lucia to help him, otherwise Cornio would have too much advantage over him. "Come on! Look at this, I'm going to lose – again!"
"...I could hold back if you need me to" Cornio said quietly, earning a glare from Lucia "I was just saying"
"Sisyphus, is there really no other option? I told you I'm not ready to join the team yet" it was more like she didn't want to get involved at all, but Cornio had dragged her into the match. Why hadn't she just said no?
The only response Sisyphus gave her was a deadpan look and a gesture at the board. Take a look and tell me if there's any other option, he thought. Lucia analyzed the layout and agreed that yes, it was up to her to provide some cover while he led everything to another direction. Syphus seemed to know what he was doing, but Cornio had advanced too quickly for him to do his moves.
"Fine. Do what I'll say and my piece will cover you. Let's set the ground for this first, okay?"
-ooooo-
The Hidden Village was in disarray when Syphus arrived. Undyne wasn't too far behind, following with some hesitation. True, Ananas had revealed the location of the village to her, and she had hanged out in the vicinity, but she had never gone into the village ever before. Syphus had said that with his support, they would accept her – with distrust at first, but that was unavoidable, in his opinion.
He didn't expect to find Cohen, Ananas, Ciruel and Monster Kid standing near Cohen's sentry station. Cohen was pointing at different directions, yelling at the three people in front of him. All of them seemed contrite, as if they had done something wrong. The guardian was about to keep ranting and yelling when Monster Kid noticed Syphus and Undyne. The young monster yelped and hid behind Ananas, avoiding Undyne's watchful eye. "Ah! Good timing! We're in sore need of a helping hand over here" Cohen said, crossing his arms "No offense, MK"
"It's okay" he said, looking like he was strongly considering trying to burrow into the ground to escape Undyne. Something's wrong.
"Is everything okay?" Syphus asked, starting to get worried. It had been a while since the old man was shouting at Ananas like this, for him to return to his old bad habits something must have happened. Cohen crossed his arms, biting back the immediate 'of course not!' reply, instead trying to stay calm to not have to explain this more than once.
"Byssa and Graham are missing"
"Sorry, what?" Syphus sure hoped he had heard wrong! Those two weren't the type to flee from the village to walk around the Underground, if they really were missing then it was likely something bad had happened to them.
Cohen's fingers curled around his arms, he was making a herculean effort not to start shouting at Syphus as well. "They're missing! Gone! They're not here in the village anymore!"
"I heard that part, I'm just wondering how it happened!"
"It sure wasn't by walking through the entrance over there, that I can tell you!" it was likely he was correct. Cohen wouldn't have let them escape – even though Ciruel and Ananas sneak out of the village all the time, they had a lot of practice. It'd presumably be the first time Byssa and Graham left the village. How could a pair of beginners get through Cohen's vigilance?
Undyne wasn't going to stand around and let this nonsense continue. It was pretty clear the humans and Monster Kid were at a loss of what to do, and Syphus sure seemed to be taking his sweet time coming to terms with what had happened. She asserted herself immediately – stepping right to Cohen's side. Ciruel was the only one who seemed unsure about this, and Monster Kid was still hiding behind Ananas, so Syphus told Ciruel the captain of the Royal Guard was a friend and they could trust her. Ciruel didn't seem particularly eager to take that for granted.
"I can't believe you managed to lose two entire humans! Like not even a pint-sized human like Annie!" Undyne chided. Cohen looked down, as if that had been his fault. He didn't even have a reply to that. Not happy with his lack of response, she sought answers from someone else. "You! Annie! What's going on?"
Ananas put a comforting hand on Monster Kid's head, whispering something to him before swallowing and saying, her voice shaking: "Ciruel called Cohen and said something about another human kid somewhere, and...um..." she pulled her cowboy hat over her eyes "...what happened w-was..."
"Yeah? What happened, squirt? Come on, tell me!" Undyne gave Monster Kid a stare full of authority and expectations about being told the truth, making him whine softly.
"Yo, she's scary when she gets mad..."
"You're protecting him" Undyne said, Ananas immediately stammered an apology. Indeed, she had been covering up for Monster Kid, maybe she even thought about taking the blame, but she didn't have the time to do that before Undyne outright said what they were doing. Having gotten that much out of Ananas, Undyne softened just a bit, trying to be more approachable. "And? What are you hiding?"
"...I just wanted to tell her!" Monster Kid blurted out. Ananas pulled Monster Kid a bit closer, as if she was trying to take the flak for what happened.
"They must have heard him when he told me about Frisk" she said. Syphus frowned. "If they heard him—"
"They must have gone search Frisk?" Syphus wasn't very sure they had gone to do such thing, but it was a possibility. Please tell me that isn't so. If they went to search them, then they could be in danger. Before he could ascend the stairs back, Cohen grabbed him from the arm, pulling him to the sentry station.
"Hold on, bucko!" Cohen shouted "I told you they can't have gotten out this way!"
Ciruel idly peeled off some purple paint from his hands, talking with feigned disinterest. "They may have gone to that place we go to"
"What? What place?" Syphus inquired. Ciruel languidly glanced at him.
"The chamber over there. Follow me"
Apparently Ciruel thought that they should all already know about where Graham and Byssa sometimes go to, because he led them with a rather blasé attitude. On the back of the cavern that held the entire village, there was a crack on the wall, leading towards a rather short passageway ending in a river. The shores were covered with Echo Flowers, and a waterfall filled the river constantly. During the few weeks he had lived there, Syphus had taken baths in that river. He had been told that was the place where the residents of the village bathed, so of course once they got there, all Syphus could think was 'really? They're here?' It made no sense Graham and Byssa were missing if they were in that room.
"Yo, I didn't know this place existed!" Monster Kid said to Ananas, excitedly running around and reaching the shore "Waterfall is a really big place"
Undyne immediately saw something, most likely because she was used to the water in this part of the Underground. She pointed at the cascade that fed the river. "Syphus, look. There's more behind the waterfall"
"There is?" All this time Syphus hadn't realized there was more in the room than just the river, and judging by Cohen and Ananas' expressions, they hadn't known either. For some reason Monster Kid wasn't that surprised – because he hadn't known about this room in the first place, Syphus thought.
Ciruel explained, stating matter-of-factly: "There's a field over there, almost as big as the cavern with the cottages. We tend to spend some time over there, just hanging out and talking"
"That's all you do there?" Cohen asked with suspicion. It was kind of far away and hidden just to be a place to hang out.
"It's not like there's anything in the field" Ciruel said, defensive. "It's just to talk, honest"
"Whatever! We're not going to keep standing here!" Undyne didn't wait for any permission, she jumped into the waterfall, crossing it and falling into a natural rocky arch that led into a chamber. Just like Ciruel had said, it was of considerable size. Grass covered the ground, there was a big rocky formation on the center, like a plateau. It was so tall they'd have to climb it to get to the top. Around the room a few more Echo Flowers were spread around, and a cardboard box was left to a side. When Syphus looked inside, he found many sheets of paper with writing on them, forming a neat pile. "Found something"
"Please leave that alone" Ciruel requested, walking to the box and closing it. ...fine. He'd have to remember to check that when Ciruel wasn't around.
"Anyway, they're not here"
The former scholar grimaced. "...I really thought they'd be here. It was the only possibility that made sense"
"But this is a place they come to often, that's what you said" Undyne remembered "Then someone should stay here in case they do return"
Cohen tried to adjust his gloves, murmuring: "For that they'd have to pass through the rest of the village"
"That doesn't matter! Someone should stay here"
"In that case I will" Ciruel looked at Syphus with a distrustful look "I think someone's grubby hands are itching to sneak a peek into stuff that doesn't concern him" ...well he's not wrong...
"I'll go outside" Cohen said" Syphus approached him, not liking the old man was taking that particular responsibility. After all, he didn't have the means to disguise himself, did he?
"Undyne and I should be the ones to go outside, you can't afford to be seen—"
"I'll wear my armor!" Cohen interrupted "It will cover all of me, if I wear it no monster will know it's me!"
Undyne messed with Cohen's hair, forcing him to hunch over. "I'll go with him. That good?" Syphus had to admit that was a good idea. If Undyne went with Cohen armored, she could make sure nobody would find out he's human. It was much better than Cohen going by himself, yeah.
"What are we going to do?" Monster Kid asked. Syphus sighed, seeing what was the only option left for him. It bothered him because he wanted to take a more active role – searching would keep his mind busy and he wouldn't be consumed with worry about what may have happened to those two.
"We're going to stay in the village. We can't leave Celia by herself" It's already bad enough she's alone right now. Syphus walked to the waterfall that hid this chamber. "Come on, let's get going!"
"Wait for me!"
Luckily for them, Celia hadn't noticed they all had left her alone in her cottage. She tried to get off the bed when Syphus, Ananas and Monster Kid entered, and was informed of the current situation. She immediately requested to be taken out of her cabin to wait for the missing humans, request that was denied. "What if you get lost too?" Monster Kid said. Celia didn't take offense at them, instead smiling appreciatively at the monster.
"Nice of you to worry about an old human like me...but I assure you there's no reason for concern. I'm way too old to matter anymore, trust me"
"That's not right. Look, we'll take care of you and make sure nothing happens to you" Ananas said, trying to help Celia lie on the bed again. The old woman didn't resist, seeing how intent they all were in keeping her in her cottage.
"Okay, I'll stay. Just keep me updated all you can" she clutched the ribbon hanging limply from her long hair "I hope they're okay...oh, Byssa..."
"...you two are rather close, aren't you?"
"We're family, and she came to Mt. Ebott to look for me. She takes care of me everyday, I...I can't imagine my life without her"
Having to give her bad news would be heartbreaking. Syphus hoped it wouldn't come to that – he intended to LOAD if it turned out something had happened to Byssa or Graham, but the thought of Celia receiving bad news, even if it was undone...he knew he wouldn't dare to witness such thing.
Ananas put on her best confident voice, as well as its most convoluted and thick voice: ''m sure she's okay. Ya'll see, she's going to walk into this saloon..." she trailed off, unsure how to continue. It wasn't even making sense.
The effort to calm her down brightened Celia's day a lot, she laughed and said they could leave her, that she'd be okay. Although Monster Kid expressed he didn't want to leave her alone, she insisted, that she'd be okay. The three left Celia's cottage, standing outside, unsure what to do.
"...do you think they'll find them quickly?" Ananas asked, for the first time showing her doubts. She looked down at the ground, suddenly very interested in the tip of her boots.
"They'll be okay, yo! Don't worry, they will...they will be okay" Monster Kid said, even if he didn't sound that sure "I dunno them well, but they wouldn't get caught, right?"
"Right. They won't"
"Yeah..." Syphus said, not hiding he wasn't convinced. He didn't say it aloud because he didn't want to make the kids panic, but he feared something could have happened to them. He hoped to be wrong, to be afraid without justification, but...
...but what else could he think?
-ooooo-
One hour after Cohen and Undyne left, Syphus realized letting that happen may have been bad for his heart.
At this point he was more certain that was paranoia instead of any justifiable fear, but the more time passed, the more thoughts about Cohen getting caught kept bothering him. It could be someone in the Royal Guard caught them, without Undyne finding out. It could be Asgore himself somehow stumbled upon them. Heck, maybe Flowey had gone insane and had taken their SOULs. There were so many scenarios passing through his mind, one more unrealistic than others.
"I can't take this anymore" he said, standing up. Near him Ananas and Monster Kid were playing, she had given him her hat and teaching him her false accent. When Syphus said that, Ananas turned her head around, about to stand up.
"What're you doing?"
"I'm going to talk to Celia, that's all" he said. He couldn't just leave the children nor Celia alone, after all. No matter how nervous he felt, how much he wanted to leave the village and go search for Byssa and Graham, he had to stay near the children.
The three entered Celia's cottage again. The old woman was staring at a photo, a very old yellowy photo that looked like it was going to crumble into dust at any moment. She didn't look up when they entered, but she seemed aware of their presence, she sat up very rigidly when they crossed the doorway.
"Celia?" Ananas tentatively tried to get her attention further, getting closer "What's that?"
The old woman turned her head around. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes showed such a deep sadness Syphus for a moment felt a knot in his throat. That was an old woman who was carrying a big weight on her shoulders, someone who was very tired and considered herself worthless. Celia extended a hand, passing the photo to Ananas. "Want to take a look?"
"Yeah" Ananas received the photo.
"Handle it with care, please. It's all I have left"
Ananas made sure to not press on it too much with her fingers, and observed it, turning it to the side so Monster Kid could look as well. "Yo, this is very old"
"May I?" Syphus requested, receiving the photo after a moment. It felt fragile, like a dried leaf. When he focused on it, he saw a photo of a family. Two adults and a girl of around six years old – a girl he recognized. She looked exactly like the Celia he once knew, in the original timeline. Oh man... he felt really bad for her.
"That's me and my parents. Mom, Dad...that's the only photo I have of them"
"How were they like?"
Celia looked like she was punched in the face. She pulled from the cover of her bed, pulling it up to her chin. "...I can't remember. Last time I saw them was so long ago and I was just a child. I can't even remember their names. I can't even remember what it was like to be with them..." she murmured. Syphus gave her photo back, she took it carefully and put it on her bedside table. For a moment all they could do was pity her, wish she had more about her family than just an old photo.
"How old are you?" Monster Kid wasn't so shy he wouldn't ask such a direct question. He understood Celia wasn't feeling very cheerful, and wanted to know more. He wanted to know better these humans her friend lived with – especially because they left him stick around to play with Ananas whenever he wanted. It was the least he could do.
The question made Celia smile with nostalgia. "One hundred and seven years old"
Monster Kid wasn't sure if that was a lot for a human. Ananas was hiding her face behind her hat, so he couldn't really ask her. Syphus' cringing was hard to interpret, too. "When did you fall down here?"
"Almost a hundred years ago. In two months it'll be exactly one hundred years"
One hundred years trapped in that tiny part of a cavern system underneath a mountain...that sounded like torture. If monsters were having a hard time living in a comparatively much larger space, he could only imagine how badly she was taking being in that tiny village, with not even the option of getting out.
Celia curled a bit. "A hundred years is a long time for a human. So much usually happens...but I can't remember anything. Do you know why...Syphus?"
Syphus didn't expect a direct question. "No, not really"
"I don't remember where these hundred years have gone to because almost nothing changes here" she said, looking towards the open door. "It's the same place...the same people, living monotone lives. The days something unusual happened were very rare, but...I'll cherish those days, if only because those days were different.
It's like I'm in a timeloop. I hate this...and I hate I can do nothing about it"
How were they supposed to deal with this? Monster Kid was sympathetic but didn't know where to even start, Ananas was staring at her with confusion, and all Syphus did was sigh, passing a hand through his hair.
Noticing she had brought the mood down, Celia laughed, sounding anything but cheerful. "Don't pay attention to what I say. I have so much free time to think I make up a lot of stupid stuff"
Nobody was convinced at all. Feeling things were getting too heavy, Syphus pushed Ananas and Monster Kid towards the doorway, turning his head at Celia before leaving. "Celia, this can't continue like this. I can't say I understand how you feel, but...if there's anything I can do to help..."
She paused, and nodded slowly. "I wish there was" she admitted.
You witnessed the weight Celia feels upon her soul
The Old Woman Social Link has reached Rank 3!
Your power to create Personas of the Strength Arcana has grown!
Looking down at the ground, deep in thought, Syphus pushed the children out of the cottage. Lowering his voice, he leaned towards them: "Give me a moment" he requested before closing the door, and approaching Celia back. With trembling fingers, he touched the ribbon on Celia's hair, adjusting it so it was straight. What could he say to make the woman feel better?
"You don't have to try to console me, Syphus. You being here is enough for me to know I can count on you" she said, patting his hand and removing it from her hair.
"...I know" he mumbled and stepped back. With grim expression, Syphus patted Celia's bony shoulder, at a loss for words, and got to the door. When he opened it, he thought of something to say, he raised his voice so Celia would be able to hear him: "Things are going to get better, Celia. You just have to believe"
She didn't reply. Shaking his head, he closed the door.
-ooooo-
Half an hour later, Undyne and Cohen still hadn't gotten back yet. The children distracted themselves by Ananas talking to Monster Kid about how to handle her gun responsibly, and although they attempted to get Syphus involved in their conversations, the adult was getting increasingly worried. The three were still in front of Celia's door, sitting against it and glancing every so often at the plateau with the passageway to the rest of Waterfall. Although Syphus kept trying to think about anything else, he was too worried about them. Thoughts of Cohen being captured kept surfacing, while Undyne watched helplessly. He knew it was unrealistic – Undyne, helpless? No way – but he kept returning to it, over and over.
"Syphus, did you hear me?"
"Huh?" Syphus snapped out of his grim thoughts.
"I asked if you're okay"
For a moment Syphus considered not saying anything, not wanting to burden Ananas with his worries, but something about how earnest she looked about being worried made him change his mind. She wanted to help him, who was he to deny her the chance? "It's taking them so long"
"Undyne? Yo! Don't worry, they're okay!" Monster Kid said with conviction "Undyne's very tough!"
"And Cohen isn't the kind of guy who'd give up. They'll be okay" Ananas added. Syphus' doubts must have been rather noticeable, because Ananas stood up, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away once she asked Monster Kid to stay in case Undyne returned. The two stopped by the communal building, Ananas flicking the brim of her hat upwards, with her best confident expression. "Have you no faith in them?"
Syphus frowned. "That's not it, I just—"
"If it helps then let me tell you something: I think I see why Undyne did that thing with the rope last time. I think she wanted to teach me to not only rely on others, but also trust they could do their part without my help. I kept telling you and MK how to walk and stuff, and that's why we couldn't do well"
"...that so?" quite the interpretation, in his opinion. It seemed kind of a roundabout way to teach that, but Undyne was the captain of the royal guard, not him. Surely she knew what she was doing.
"Yeah! Can you believe it? Undyne's teaching me stuff!" she was beaming with pride "And you know what else? You know? I...I'm thinking about what I want to be. Maybe I'm not...maybe I shouldn't be the guardian anymore"
"What?!" That he definitely didn't expect. Syphus shouted, alarmed. Ananas losing her dream was a reason to think something was very wrong!
Not seeing how alarmed Syphus was, Ananas continued. "I want to be...um..." she scratched her head "What do you call that person who represents a country while being in another?"
"Ambassador?"
"Yes! I want to be an ambassador. That'll be better than being the guardian"
Syphus wasn't really sure why she had such a sudden change of career, so he decided he had to ask: "Why? I thought you were determined to replace Cohen"
"I know, but..." she looked in direction of where Monster Kid was still waiting. "I don't want to fight monsters anymore. If they come I want to talk to them and maybe convince them not to take our souls?"
Oh. Ananas continued, smiling sadly. "I hadn't realized before monsters could be so...so nice. I knew MK, but I thought he was nice because he was a kid too, and Mom...she's nice too, but I don't see her often. I didn't know other monsters until you arrived, with all this stuff about Personas. Now I know Undyne and Alphys and...I think I'll meet other monsters later" she clicked and unclicked the safety of her gun with her thumb, staring at it contemplatively. "I don't want to fight monsters anymore..."
"Undyne said something like that too once. She doesn't want to take our souls"
Ananas laughed. "Really? You know, I can't imagine how it'd be like to not have Undyne as a friend. I can't believe I was terrified of her, but now she's my friend! She's the best!"
"So that's why you don't want to be the guardian anymore..."
"Yeah..." she looked up. "Is that bad? I did so much to get to be the guardian, and now I don't want it"
"Listen, you're looking at this the wrong way. Think of it like this: why can't you do both?"
"Both?"
"Defend us, but also be our ambassador. I don't see why both have to be different jobs" he said "You have the right attitude, you want to help, and you actually know monsters who can help you. You have everything a guardian needs"
"Really?" her eyes were starting to shine, hopeful "You think so?"
"I do. Being a guardian isn't about fighting monsters with ill intentions, it's about taking care of us and making sure we'll be okay, even if we're stuck in this tiny place underneath a mountain. I don't see why you can't be as friend towards monsters as you want to be"
Ananas blinked, thinking about what he had said. She really hadn't considered it that way, but now that Syphus pointed it out, it made some sense. She didn't have to be exactly like Cohen. She could do it her own way. "That's what I'll do! You'll see, I'll be the best guardian you have ever seen!"
You felt you could guide Ananas in a moment of doubt
The Ananas Social Link has reached Rank 7!
Your power to create Personas of the Chariot Arcana has grown!
The girl opened the compartment for bullets, prodding with a fingertip the odd things Alphys had installed inside. These guns were always so strange, yet safe for her to use. "What else does an ambassador do?"
"Uh...they...they also speak with other representatives and find out what their communities need" Syphus said, not knowing at all what an ambassador was supposed to do.
"So if I wanted to be a guarbassador..." Syphus snorted when he heard her newly-minted title "...I'd have to go out and talk to monsters so I can help them?"
"It's not really helping them. Ambassadors don't really do everything by themselves. They have an entire staff who arrange stuff and do the grunt work" Note to myself: find out how an ambassador works.
Ananas closed the bullets compartment. "You're going to be part of my staff, right?"
"Me?"
"Of course! You and Cohen are my staff. So I talk to monsters, and you guys help them. Being a guarbassador is easier than I thought!"
She said it with such certainty Syphus didn't have the heart to say no. If she wanted to form bridges between the humans and monsters then he sure wasn't going to stop her. He trusted her common sense, she wouldn't jump in front of a monster to tell them she was here to help.
"But I can't do much until monsters stop wanting our souls" she mused, having noticed that flaw in her plans.
Syphus pointed towards Monster Kid, who was dutifully waiting at Celia's cottage, sitting against the wall. "You have him, and you have Alphys and Undyne"
"Ooh, that's true. I'll start with them and build my friendly empire" she frowned "Like that kid you were supposed to find. Did you find them? They're safe?"
"Frisk's okay. They'll be okay"
"Good, because I want to meet them someday and ask him all about the monsters they know. They'll be my partner" having cemented her plans on how the ambassador part of her job would be like, Ananas holstered her gun and returned to Celia's cottage.
She knows what she's doing. And although she had her doubts, she didn't need that much nudging to stop paying attention to them and continue on. Ananas had control of her life and knew what she wanted, and for that Syphus admired her. That she also trusted him enough to confide and then ask for his help also warmed his heart. It was moments like these what showed fighting hard to find the best timeline possible for them was worth it.
-ooooo-
It took another half an hour for Cohen and Undyne to return. The old man descended the stairs, his armor clanking, he slouching over. Did it tire him to walk with it through the real Waterfall? "They're nowhere! We found so many monsters and nobody had seen anything!"
"Hey, punk, do you think they're stealthy or something?" Undyne asked Syphus, taking off her helm. While Cohen tried to calm down Monster Kid and Ananas, she was trying to act like usual, her brash confidence was toned down, hinting how concerned she was.
"I doubt it. They never showed interest in getting out of the village before. If they left—"
"They're back!"
That had been Ciruel's voice. The scholar came out running from the adjacent cave, still dripping water from passing through the waterfall. "We have to call Toriel!"
"It's that bad?" Cohen asked, the kids' eyes wide open with worry.
"Graham has a broken leg. That aside they're okay"
Syphus took out Cohen's cellphone, ready to dial, when he realized who had been the one to find them. "Wait a second, you were at that dead end! How could they have gotten over there without passing in front of us?" Ciruel cleaned one of the lenses of his glasses with the sleeve of his robe, trying to stall a bit.
"They were...I'm not sure what happened. I heard voices from the room with the river, and when I got there the three of them were wadding through the river"
"Three?"
"Byssa, Graham and the monster who found them"
The moment he said 'monster', almost everyone ran towards the river area, Undyne on the lead, a spear in her hand. Only Ciruel and him were left behind. Before he went to follow them, Syphus tried to give Ciruel the sternest glare he could make, and asked: "Is there anything you're hiding?"
"I don't think you have any authority to ask me if I'm hiding anything, pal" he said plainly "I dunno what it is. I keep looking at you, and I keep feeling there's something you're not saying. What is it?"
There was no way Syphus would admit his sins. Only a few hours later he realized Ciruel maybe was referencing everything related to the Personas, but for now, he thought Ciruel was hinting about how he had been murdered. "I-I have no idea—"
Ciruel clicked his tongue. "I knew you'd play dumb" with a look of disdain, he turned around. Even though the cause of the schism in their relationship had been undone, the scholar could see Syphus felt guilty and tried to avoid him, he had noticed the way he avoided being in his presence for long, and although at first he had been confused, soon he started feeling offended and rancorous. If there was a problem, then Syphus should tell him already! "Look, if I did anything that offended you just tell me what it is, because as far as I know I haven't done anything!"
"It's not that, it's..." At a loss and knowing he as just letting the bad blood continue, Syphus ran to follow the others. He had no idea how to even begin to mend his relationship with Ciruel, because he felt he'd have to explain why he was avoiding him, but that was something he didn't think would work at all. For now, running away was his instinct.
...now that he thought about it, that was all he did when he encountered the consequences of his actions: run away. Take responsibility for his actions – that was Igor's contract, and he wasn't doing it. There was this with Ciruel, there was Gaster awaiting him in the Velvet Room, too. He could also sense he had offended someone else, too – he didn't know who, but he felt this constant feeling of guilt he knew belonged to the witch giving him directions.
We're cowards. That's what we are.
Nothing would improve unless he faced his cowardice. The problem was that, although he did want to and was ready to do it, the person in charge was pushing down his determination and affecting him with his fear. The most cowardly parts of himself were literally stopping him from doing anything.
Jogging to try to catch up to everyone, Syphus entered the chamber with the river. Just like they had said, Graham had a broken leg. The bone hadn't pierced the skin, but it looked like a bad fracture anyway. Syphus gave Cohen his cellphone back, he immediately dialed for Toriel and moved aside so he could explain the situation to her.
"We shouldn't move him further. Getting him all the way here was pretty bad already" Byssa was saying when Syphus approached. It was obvious, Graham's eyes were full of tears, and he was grimacing. It was a marvel he wasn't screaming his head off in pain.
Syphus crouched beside him. For a moment he considered asking Graham, but seeing he was in so much pain, he decided to direct his questions to the one other person who could say something about what happened. "Did you two get kidnapped or something?"
"What?!" she shook her head, and looked at a particularly dark corner of the chamber. "No! There was a slight earthquake a few hours ago and part of that wall over there fell apart. There was a tunnel behind" it was too dark for anyone to see the tunnel, of course they had missed it.
"You went in there?! That's not safe in an earthquake!" Ananas chided.
"Even I know that's not a good idea, yo" Monster Kid added. Byssa groaned in disbelief she was getting lectured by two kids.
"I know, but we had to take a look where it led to. A monster could sneak through there and find our village, we had to make sure that wasn't possible" I guess that's a good enough reason? "It was pretty dark in there. There were a few of those glowing mushrooms, but those just are mushrooms, not torches"
"Did you trip and fall?" Syphus asked.
"Pretty much. The worst part was that I had no idea how to come back here, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to reach Graham again. He'd have been doomed if she hadn't found us"
"...she?"
Only then Syphus noticed there was someone else with them. She had been standing to a side, silent, until Syphus laid her eyes on her. It was a monster, seemingly an insect of some sort. She had long antennae, bright and keratinous bulbs on the tip of the antennae, and her wings wrapped around her like a cloak. She reminded Syphus of animals especially made to survive in places with little light. "Does she live down there?"
"That's where she stumbled upon us. She said there's a tiny town deep within the darker corridors of Waterfall, we fell rather close to them"
"...my name is...Scylla" she said. Her voice was low, like a whisper, with the same hesitation of someone who didn't speak often to people. So that's her piece. I see. It was a bit worrying her piece had access to the village, but it wasn't like they could do anything. Lucia would ensure her piece would be able to do whatever she wanted. "Let me help you carry him"
"No, it's fine" Cohen said, having finished his call. "Toriel is on her way. She'll be here in a moment"
"Are you sure you don't...want me help?"
"No, thank you" he insisted, making sure the 'no' was crystal clear. He didn't trust Scylla at all, and that was not surprising – he had no reason to believe she was as benevolent as her actions may have hinted. It was better to keep her away. "You may leave now"
"...fine" she sounded rather offended. She came here, carrying an injured human, and she was being treated like some sort of vermin! With a buzz of discontent, she hobbled to the crack on the wall she had come through and went inside.
Undyne had refrained from intervening because she was busy tending to Graham, only when Scylla left she stepped in. "That was uncalled for!"
"I don't trust her at all"
"She brought him all the way here. I get you don't trust a monster you just met, but that doesn't mean you can treat her like she's being a problem!"
"I don't think she was bad..." Monster Kid gave his opinion too. Seeing how he was outnumbered, Cohen just left, going back to the village. Now that Graham was out of danger, they needed to make him as comfortable as possible. Byssa kneeled beside him, holding his head on top of her knees.
"Bring him some water!" she requested. Ananas had been about to dip into the river, but she was stopped. "Not from there! From the village. We have a few bottles"
The girl had barely gotten into the village, running to get a bottle of water from the communal building, when she saw Cohen and Ciruel arguing in front of Celia's cottage. Ciruel was against the wall, raising his hands and trying to keep Cohen away, while the old man yelled, holding Ciruel from the robe and almost lifting him off the floor. Alarmed, Ananas ran to them. "Stop! What are you doing?!"
"He attacked Celia!" Cohen replied, Ciruel shaking his head immediately.
"I didn't do it, I swear! When I entered she already was unconscious!"
"Unconscious...?" Ananas felt a chill down her spine. Given what had been happening during the last month and half, that was a word she was starting to associate with the need to rescue someone. Ignoring the adults, she peeked into Celia's cottage.
Indeed, Celia was lying on her bed, immobile. From what Ananas could see, she was still breathing, she just was very still – just like everyone who had fallen down and had to be rescued. Holding back a shriek of horror, Ananas turned around, stumbling on her boots, and hurried to return to the river.
Syphus had to hear about this.
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 7
Justice - Undyne - RANK 6
Hermit - Gaster - RANK 1
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - Celia - RANK 3
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