"The Strength arcana is...what was it, master? Courage? Courage when...
...
...I see. Courage in the face of adversity. Of course. I'll have to remember him for when ASRIEL arrives. It's weird, why isn't he here yet?
...
I hope he's feeling okay."
It was too much at once. Between Graham's broken leg and Celia falling down, chaos reigned in the village. When Ananas returned to alert Syphus about what happened he didn't waste any time in getting Undyne to follow him, the two rushing to Celia's cottage, leaving Monster Kid, Byssa and Ciruel with Graham. Even though the old man wasn't happy about leaving the injured Graham with the person he suspected had done this to Celia, it wasn't like there was any other option – they couldn't leave behind any of their teammates, not when it could be the difference between life and death. They all had to go rescue Celia from her own Shadow.
Once everyone entered into the cottage, Syphus put on the door the thick wooden log that worked as the deadbolt, while Cohen and Undyne dealt with the window. They didn't know how much time they'd have to help Celia, but it'd be inconvenient if someone entered and found them all unconscious. It was already pretty bad they had left the others to wait for Toriel to arrive, it was going to be even worse if they got worried over all of them as well. Toriel would start wondering what was going on! "I'm done over here"
"This should stop them unless they break the window. We can only hope they won't" Cohen said, piling a few objects on the windowsill to try to block the sight. He didn't like any of this more than Syphus did, but it wasn't like they could take Graham and the others in here and tell them not to worry while everybody else fainted.
Ananas was to Celia's side, putting on her armor over her robe. "I'm ready!"
"Then let's get going! What are we waiting for?!" Undyne pressured, already itching to get started with the mission.
Everybody gathered beside Celia lying on her bed. The old woman looked peaceful, almost like her current state was something she wished for all along. The team made sure to be touching each other's armor when Syphus took out the firefly brooch, carefully attaching it to Celia's robe. Swallowing nervously, he raised his voice. "It's set. Is everyone ready?"
"I'm ready"
"Whenever you want"
"Stop asking and just do it!"
"Okay, here we go" Syphus put his hand against the brooch. Right when he pressed it, several things happened at once. During the brief seconds it took for them to pass out, he heard the sound of someone insistently knocking on the door, and Ananas saying 'Huh...? W-Wait!'.
And then it all turned black.
Waking up again didn't stop being an unpleasant experience. The air felt heavy, almost stale, while Syphus leaned against a wall and stood up, trying to keep his legs from trembling. Snapping out of it as quickly as possible to deal with the situation, he examined the surroundings.
It was a rather narrow corridor. The floor was made of wooden planks, the walls were covered with white paint that was peeling in some places, and there was a sensation of loneliness permeating the area. Everything was dark, he could barely see a few feet in front of him. We're going to need a light. "Is everyone okay?"
"I'm okay" Cohen said, adjusting the gloves on his hands.
"Ready to go!" Undyne gripped her spear.
"Syphus, we got a problem!" Ananas yelled. Turning around showed what exactly was the problem Ananas was talking about.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!" Monster Kid tried to appease her. He had hidden against the wall, crouching with his tail around him like that was going to hide him from Ananas' accusatory stare. Undyne grabbed the child from the shirt, holding him in the air in front of her. She had her teeth bared, Syphus hadn't seen her so furious ever before.
"What were you thinking?! Why are you even here?!"
"Yo, I got locked into the cottage and I saw you all were getting ready for...you know...this" Monster Kid made puppy eyes, Undyne stared at him for a moment before leaving him standing on the floor again.
"You could have spoken up, kid. We'd have let you leave the cottage" Cohen said.
"I know! But I didn't want to get in the way, so I..." So instead you got in here with us. Great. Syphus wanted to say, but he making Monster Kid feel bad wasn't going to be of any help. Even though he didn't like Monster Kid was here, there wasn't really anything he could do about it unless he turned back the clock until the very start of the day. Was it worth it?
...if anything happened to Monster Kid it certainly would be. Not wanting to have to relive the entire day unnecessarily, he decided to simply make sure Monster Kid would be safe – as safe as he could be in a Shadow-infested soul.
"I tried to stop when I noticed he had bopped me on the back of the neck with his head, but I didn't shout in time" Ananas admitted, rubbing the nape of her neck. Monster Kid laughed nervously.
"I didn't hit you hard, right?"
"Not really..."
"I guess I was also wanted to see a place like this one again, after the first time"
"Wait what? You got a Persona?!" Undyne shouted so loudly Syphus was sure he heard something skittering down the narrow hallway. Either he smoothed things over, or their discussion would attract all the Shadows in the area. Explaining he had once accidentally taken Monster Kid with him to rescue Ananas was hard to admit, mostly because everyone except the children were looking at Syphus disapprovingly for getting someone – a child - without a Persona in danger. The disapproval was well-deserved, he had to admit.
"Can't we send him out now?" Cohen asked, although he already had a feeling he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted.
"Of course not. We'd need to have to reach Celia, and we'd all leave together. He's stuck in here until we all get out"
"Oh come on!" Undyne didn't like that at all, but they couldn't do anything about it. Syphus got to the front of everyone to organize them.
"Listen, everyone, this is what we'll do. Undyne, you go first. You're the strongest one here, you can hit hard even without your Persona. Agreed?"
"You got it!"
Syphus pointed at Cohen. "He and I will flank Monster Kid. I have versatility and he has strength. Anything Undyne doesn't pulverize will have to go through us"
"Sounds like a plan" the old man approved. Syphus put a hand on Ananas' hat.
"And you have speed and are quick on your feet. Make sure nothing approaches behind us, and if something does, tell us and then smash it" he said. Ananas got her gun up, nodding. Syphus lightly pushed Monster Kid towards Cohen. "And you will stay in the center. No running around, we're escorting you. By now you should know you're in very real danger, so try not to make it worse. Got it?"
"I-I know, yo..." he murmured. Syphus sighed.
"We're trying to protect you. On the bright side, there are four people with you instead of just me"
He was right about that, Monster Kid thought. It should be kind of fun to see Undyne and Ananas in action! And from so up close, too. See them beating up the bad guys...or...the bad Shadows, he guessed. Having that on his side, he couldn't reject this arrangement!
Everyone got into a good pace pretty much immediately. Undyne ran several feet ahead of everyone, her Persona Geiravor in front of her, galloping and running over all the Shadows it encountered. The few that resisted Geiravor's immense strength got attacked immediately by Undyne herself. Geiravor pushed a Selfish Basalt away, rolling the big chunk of stone and arms away, while Undyne leaped in the air and slammed spears into the cracks of the rock amalgamation. As if that wasn't enough, Undyne dived, piercing the basalt with the spear Alphys made for her, kicking it in further by landing on it, the basalt fading in a burst of darkness.
"Another one!" Ananas shouted from behind, aiming at the bats carrying eyeballs before the Shadow had a chance to appear. "It's like a swarm over here!"
"Hang in there!" Syphus encouraged, his Persona waving its many arms in Ananas' direction, increasing her power. To the other side of the room, Cohen kept an eye on Monster Kid, who was staring at the very deformed Persona Syphus was using.
"This is a really long hallway!" Undyne called from the front "Any ideas where we are?"
"I think it's her house..." Syphus said, unsure "A very old house. She mentioned it to me before, this is where she used to live long ago" he lied, although he did think the part of this being her former house was accurate.
Cohen looked up. "Does that mean she misses her childhood home?"
"I guess so. She is—hey!" his Persona, Hecatoncheir, slapped away a cluster of bats that got past Ananas "She hates being in the Underground! That must be why everything is so dark in here"
"And old. Everything's creaking"
"Creaking?
He was right. With every step they took, the floorboards creaked like they were alive. Syphus stepped forward, testing the wooden planks with his weight. A long squeal echoed in the hallway, the floor made so much noise Syphus was amazed it wasn't falling apart right under their feet—
"Careful over here!" Undyne shouted from ahead. In front of her, there was an area with brittle-looking floorboards. She had stepped on them, walking slowly. While Ananas kept keeping all the Shadows at bay, one by one everybody started walking over the fragile boards, with a hand against the wall as if that was going to save them if the floor fell apart, always looking down to see the first sign of danger underneath them.
It was a long, stressful time. Portions of the floor were almost rotten, pieces falling down, revealing a deep and impenetrable darkness underneath the corridor. There were a few sections that were sturdier, resisting their weight with ease. Every time they reached one of them, they stayed still, evaluating the presence of Shadows nearby. It was like every time they reached safety a new wave of Shadows would arrive – how were they supposed to continue on through this fragile area if they were supposed to fight every two minutes?!
"I got this!" Undyne yelled, a flurry of spears piercing through a Shadow before they could even see what it was. One of the spears flew astray, hitting one of the dim lights decorating the walls, shattering it and sending sparks flying everywhere. Some of the sparks landed on the sawdust-covered floor. At first there was no smoke, just a very small portion of smoldering wood, but nobody noticed. Almost everyone was busy trying to keep the Shadows away. Only Monster Kid, being able to look around without having to focus on something else, saw the scorched area expand very slowly, glowing a threatening orange color.
"Yo, guys? Guys!"
Cohen turned his head around, noticing what Monster Kid was alarmed about. "Everyone run!"
As if the fire had been waiting for them to notice it, flames erupted onto the floorboards. It was like a fountain of fire opened. Red and orange fire filled the place, spreading through the dead wood of the floorboards and onto the plaster, covering the walls. The team ran, confident the fire behind them would keep any Shadows away. Beneath them there was a scrapping noise, like something was being dragged on wood. Perhaps attracted by the fire?
The scrapping noise turned into a blast ahead of them. A large branch, with many red leaves, pierced through the floor, slamming onto the roof. Undyne, having been ahead of everyone, crashed against the branch, the wood resisting the blow as if it was made of steel. Cursing and swearing loudly, Undyne punched the branch. In response, another branch emerged, some distance away forward. "Move to the right!" she told everyone.
"I got this!" Syphus led the charge, just in case. "I'm holding this back!" trying to run as fast as possible to gain some distance, Syphus tried to materialize Hecatoncheir near the branch even if it was far, and grappled it with its many arms. The branch twisted, trying to get out of its grasp, but Syphus' Persona held it tight. "Come on, get moving!" he yelled at everyone.
The team ran as fast as they could. Undyne broke the branch with her Persona, freezing it and then shattering it with a spear, and pretty much flew over the floor, reaching Syphus' side before everyone else. Cohen wasn't too far away; he ran quite fast for an old man. Ananas and Monster Kid were about to reach them when a third branch sprouted, shattering the floorboards and embedding itself right into the ceiling. This can't be good! Red leaves flew through the gaps in the floorboards, the floor started falling apart, starting from the part the branch had broken through. Ananas had barely gotten to the rest's side when they all heard the sound of Monster Kid falling onto the floor. He gave a muffled cry, trying to get up immediately.
"MK!" Ananas cried, running back towards him before Cohen could restrain her so she wouldn't put herself in danger. Syphus tried to go behind them, but his foot smashed through the floor, getting him stuck. No!
Luckily, Undyne didn't panic. She didn't hesitate, she dashed and reached Monster Kid and Ananas before the monster even got up to his knees and, seeing she wouldn't be able to turn around and run back in time, she jumped the widening gap, landing on the other side of the crumbling hallway.
Once the floorboards stopped collapsing, everyone dared to approach the edges of the chasm that had formed in the hallway. Syphus crouched and carefully tested the stability of the floorboards. It seemed it wouldn't all fall apart as long as no more branches broke through the floor. "What was all that, anyway? It was like a tree was attacking us" Cohen wondered, watching Undyne pace from side to side of the hallway while the kids waited for her verdict.
"It was a Shadow, most likely. Either many of them, or a very big one"
"We should get moving before it comes back"
Unsure if they should yell at Undyne or not, Syphus decided to leave aside that basic precaution for communication's sake. It was unlikely they'd be able to talk to her unless they shouted. "Undyne! How's it looking over there?"
"We're safe! But there's no way to get over there by walking"
"Our Personas can float" Cohen reminded Syphus, who shouted that immediately. Maybe there wasn't a problem! Undyne summoned Geiravor and carefully got on the horse armor, finding out it indeed was solid. Touching the Persona was a weird experience, it felt like something was making direct contact with her very SOUL.
"This feels strange but it'll work!" Undyne said. Monster Kid said something to her Syphus couldn't hear, but he did see her grin vanished, replaced by a contemplative expression. She looked between Ananas and Monster Kid and yelled back "Syphus, bring a Persona over here"
"I, uh, okay!" it was convenient Personas could levitate. Even the rather misshapen mess that was Hecatoncheir could. He had been about to move Hecatoncheir to the other side of the chasm when Cohen stopped him.
"Don't you have a Persona that isn't so...I dunno...horrifying?"
"Does the appearance even matter?" true, Hecatoncheir had several heads fused together, so many arms he couldn't count them, and in Syphus' opinion it seemed to be in eternal pain, but right now that wasn't important. "What matters is that they can bring one of them" he was pretty sure that was what Undyne was asking him for a Persona.
Cohen grimaced. "I wouldn't want that thing putting its hands on me"
"Fine" a bit frustrated but also conceding Cohen had a point about how horrible his Persona was, Syphus browsed the few Personas he had brought. Lately Personas were...not very pleasant to the eye. He went for the one he considered resembled a monster the most. In front of Syphus a tall leopard replaced Hecatoncheir and glided towards the other group.
Undyne settled everything. She decided she'd ride on her Persona, with Ananas hanging onto her, while Syphus' Persona would carry Monster Kid. Monster Kid let himself be carried without moving, looking down at the chasm below, undoubtedly imagining how it'd be like to fall in there. Only when he was placed safely back with the rest, he blinked, his legs trembling.
"Yo...that was scary..."
"Is everyone okay?" Syphus asked. It seemed everybody was unhurt, just shaken by what had happened. Everyone knew it was possible the tree would strike at them again, and there was nothing they could do to stop that from happening if it did.
The trek through the rest of the hallway took a while, they continued with the same strategy they had before. Even though they fought noisily, even though all of their attacks caused havoc in the hallway, there were no branches or leaves getting in the way anymore. Had that been a one-time thing? Syphus cleaved a Writhing Tiara with his halberd, making sure Monster Kid was behind him. "See any other Shadows, guys?"
"None" Cohen confirmed.
"Everything's okay!" since a while ago Monster Kid was helping examine everything and stay alert for any Shadows or changes to their surroundings. He had been the first one to notice the fire, after all.
"We have been in this hall forever!" Ananas complained, cleaning the metal of the gun with her sleeve. "Where even are we?!"
Syphus still was sure this was her former home, just that it was contorted and warped into the abnormally long hallway they were in now. If it wasn't for Cohen breaking lights along the way to make sure they really were advancing, they'd think they were all walking in the same section of hallway. "At least it's not so dark now" Cohen said "It's gotten better lately"
"It won't be dark for long, I see a light ahead" Undyne said, and indeed, at the end of the narrow hallway, there was a light, like a doorway. Undyne stopped, Geiravor almost touching the light. "There's no other way than through here"
"If there's something waiting for us on the other side, whoever goes first's going to get attacked" Cohen mused, breaking formation to approach Undyne. "We need-"
She didn't even wait for him to finish what he was saying. Slowly, her Persona exited the corridor, going outside. For a moment her Persona stayed there while Undyne waited to see if anything happened. Although she expected it, when the Selfish Basalt fell on Geiravor she still stumbled back, in pain. "It's more of those!"
"We have been tearing through them like they're wet paper. They'll be no problem" Cohen said dismissively. Assured there's nothing too threatening out there, the team left the corridor, arriving to a much more open area.
Any doubts anyone could have about Celia's soul were gone once they were outside. It undoubtedly was a city. Gray, faded, looking like it was going to vanish the moment they looked away, the city was much more depressing than they all thought it'd be. Despite missing the place so much, even though she was bitter about being in the Underground and wanted to return up to the surface, it didn't look desirable at all. The sky was an intense purple color, with clouds swirling around.
It didn't help there were so many clumps of rocks – Selfish Basalts. "Why are there so many of those? Is this meant to say something about her personality?" Syphus wondered, keeping his eyes on the basalts while they approached.
"I really hope not" Cohen admitted, uneasy at the amount of Shadows around them. "We're only using the attacks that hit as many as possible, right?"
"That's right"
"Keep Monster Kid safe!" Undyne requested, her Persona hovering over her. The Shadows kept approaching, murmuring menacingly, until around the team there was a circle of clumps of rock, their hands extending towards them, the masks on the Shadows having the same depressing blue face. "What's their weak point?"
"Any kind of magic! Go!" Syphus yelled, immediately starting to attack. Quickly, he changed Personas to the only one that had elemental magic to hurt more than one target at once. "Kushinada, we're gonna freeze them!"
Pandemonium followed. Everyone was using their Personas to use as many magic attacks as they could. Kushinada raised her arms, a gust of ice enveloping several basalts at once. Ananas' crackling fire burst from inside the basalts, chunks of rocks flying and vanishing into clouds of particles. Cohen's thunder ripped through the sky, a row of them crashing onto the basalts. Undyne was the only one not fighting them, instead guarding Monster Kid and keeping at bay any basalts that approach, batting them away with her spears. The child was made a ball on the floor, looking up and trying to stay as close as possible to Undyne's protection, wanting to be as safe as possible. It was like all the Shadows were trying to target him.
"There are too many!" Ananas yelled, starting to an intense headache from exertion.
"Syphus, I don't think we'll last much longer" Cohen agreed, resisting better but already showing signs of fatigue. Syphus himself was beginning to have a headache, the stress of having to focus with his Persona and deciding how to attack was getting to him. Looking around with worry, he took a decision:
"We have to keep walking!"
"To where?" Cohen staggered back, Ajax blocking a blow that'd have hit him directly.
"Wherever we can!" all he knew for sure is that staying for too long would expose them further to the endless onslaught, and tire them out after a while. Syphus looked around, trying to gauge any possible escape routes. Beyond the basalts there was an expanse of concrete surrounded by a chain-link fence, and beyond that, gray buildings, lots of them, as far as the eye could see. The fence followed the perimeter of the place they were at, only being interrupted by a strange, disquieting mass of rock in the middle of the concrete. It was as if there was a piece of mountain there – and knowing where they were at, chances were it was a piece of Mt. Ebott.
It was a better option than getting crushed by the basalts. "Over there!" Syphus pointed in the right direction and, without waiting for his teammates to give any indication they heard, he waved a hand, Kushinada healed everybody in preparation for the run. Syphus ran, swinging the halberd with difficulty, hearing behind him how everybody else was running not too far behind. Judging by the sounds of Shadows fading away, a couple team members were blasting them away, clearing the path. He hoped Monster Kid was safe, protected by the team.
Just like he thought: it was like a piece of Mt. Ebott was stuck in middle of the city. There were bits of mountain vegetation in the rocks, what seemed to be a tree, dry and brittle, and among the rocks there was a cave. They had two options: either they climbed the mountain, got to the top and descended to the other side, or they went into the cave. Both possibilities had a lot of disadvantages, there was no good choice. Which one would carry the least trouble, then?
"We should climb!" Undyne proposed, noticing why Syphus was hesitating. Ananas whimpered.
"I don't think I can! I'm really tired!"
"Annie's right. We should go into the cave – it'll be less exhausting" Syphus said, his Persona freezing another Selfish Basalt that tried to approach. Monster Kid nodded in agreement. Cohen shone the plates on the knuckles of his gloves, disappointed.
"It doesn't matter what I say, so let's get in there already" three votes supported going into the cave, after all. Not even bothering to assemble the formation they had been using until now, Cohen went in first, punches in the air as if he was ready to knock out anything that got in the way. The rest followed him, panting.
Luckily, the basalts didn't follow them in. They were alone, only with each other and their Personas filling the place. Despite being a cave, they could all see rather well. The more they went into the cave, the air turned stale, the atmosphere cooled down. From somewhere it seemed water was dripping. "Yo, this is creepy..." Monster Kid commented to Ananas, who was jumpy and inhaled sharply when Monster Kid said that.
"He's right. I don't think Celia's okay" Cohen said.
"I know. Maybe seeing her Shadow is for the best" it was pretty clear Celia's psyche was tormented, maybe unstable, colored by her bitterness and the constant anger and depression she felt. Everything since they arrived into the soul indicated that. "Once we get out of here I want to keep talking to her"
"That'd do her some good" Cohen agreed, solemn. "She and I weren't really close. I arrived when she was already grown up, and back then I remember she was..." he said something so softly Syphus didn't hear it.
"I didn't catch that one. She was what?"
"...bitter" Oh. So even back then she was... Now that he thought about it, it did fit Syphus' own memories of Celia. The Celia he had known had been a child living in a dilapidated house for a while already, accompanied by another child. Even back then she had been cheerful, friendly... until she felt desperation. In her desperation, she had attacked Asriel back then, trying to get him to give her all his gold. Later, after Asriel got her to snap out of it, she was very remorseful, but the fact was that she had attacked him.
A bad feeling wormed into Syphus. No, she wouldn't have done that in this world too, right? Not to Asriel, because that was impossible, but...
What exactly were the circumstances behind her paralyzing injury?
"Then she got injured. I didn't see her for a while" Cohen continued "Toriel took care of her all that time, and then when she rolled on that wheelchair outside I went to greet her" the old man stopped, his voice taking a bit of a monotone quality "She was friendly, but I felt a bit creeped out. Felt to me she was putting on a mask, you know what I mean? Like she wanted to hide how she really felt"
"That's rough..." maybe even now she was hiding her feelings.
Cohen looked around. "And now we're deep in her soul and we see what's inside. There are so many Shadows. You know their names?" Along the way they had fought many Shadows, and now that he thought about it...each one of them had adjectives that hinted very well her emotional state. Desirous. Crying. Writhing. Liberating. Eternal. Arcane. Selfish. Even a couple that were rather alarming: 'Death Seeker' 'Execution Sword'.
If that was the kind of Shadows that inhabited her SOUL then she was in urgent need of help.
"Yo, take a look at this!" in front of them, Monster Kid had advanced ahead of them, trying to not get in the way of Cohen and Syphus' conversation. The young monster had reached Undyne, and together they were picking up papers from the floor. The floor of the cavern was covered with them, leaving almost no space untouched. "What do you think these are?" he wondered, sweeping them around with his tail.
"I dunno, but they look old" Undyne said, frowning and reading some of what was on it "It's nothing. A bunch of scribbles and doodling"
"Is there something over there?" Ananas pointed at the depths of the cavern. They had almost reached the end, there seemed to be a large round space at the end. The floor was entirely covered with more papers and red dried leaves. Having noticed the place they had arrived at, Cohen got to the center of the room and looked around.
"Looks like we got to a dead end"
"That's it? We got all the way here just to get to a dead end?!" Undyne shouted, running forward and delivering a superb dropkick onto the back wall. The entire room shook, the red leaves and papers flew in the air because of the impact, but nothing happened. "You gotta be kidding!"
"No sign of Celia's Shadow, too. I admit I'm clueless about where she could be" Syphus said. Clearly they weren't in that dead end. He had turned around to leave when a wind picked up in the room. The ground beneath them shook, behind them they felt a presence start to emanate. Turning around, halberd ready to attack, Syphus saw how the papers whirled in the air. The papers formed a sphere, large and strange. "Get ready, everyone!"
"Is that Celia's Shadow?" Ananas aimed at the sphere. Some of the papers parted, revealing something inside, in the core of the sphere: a small, almost toy-like figure, with a staff.
"I don't think it's Celia or her Shadow, but I don't think we have a choice here. Either we fight or we die"
"Then let's get this done!" Undyne shouted, pushing Monster Kid towards the tunnel so he'd be a little safer, and faced the entity attacking them. Syphus, getting his Persona ready, tried to analyze the Shadow, see what they were dealing with.
Green Sigil
Avoid using electricity. Don't expect to be able to defend yourself against it
Green? Given how this was inside a soul, could it be...he didn't finish his analysis before the Sigil waved its staff, gluing everyone on the spot they were at. Cohen struggled, pulling from his legs. "I can't move!"
"It turned our SOULs green!" Undyne informed them, her spear in front of her. Unlike how she used to do it, the Sigil gave them no means of defense. Having immobilized them, the Sigil raised its arms, from them several orbs of purple plasma emerged, passing through the shell of paper and crashed into the team. The contact of that energy against them felt bizarre. It was like they were enveloped by warmth and extreme cold at once. He recognized it almost immediately: the same kind of advanced attack the Shadows in the depths of the Ruins had tried to use against him. If the analysis was correct, then they could do nothing to defend themselves against that.
The only option they had was to defeat it before it whittled down their life away.
"Undyne, what can we do?" Syphus asked, hoping she'd be able to help them. With a grunt, she focused on him, trying to turn Syphus' SOUL back to normal. It felt like something inside his chest shook. Feeling something had changed, Syphus jumped forward, diving underneath the paper shell and stabbing with the spike on the end of the halberd. The spike passed through the paper, reaching the Sigil, the small figure grabbing the halberd and pulling from it. "Turn the rest back to normal!" Syphus shouted at Undyne while he struggled to get the Shadow to let go of the halberd.
The captain of the Royal Guard tried to get Ananas free. The girl stumbled forward, falling to the floor, but she summoned Hippolyta anyway, getting her to smack the sphere of paper with her giant axe, crashing the Shadow against the wall. Rocks fell from the ceiling, the Sigil recovered and aimed at Syphus again. "What's the plan?!" Ananas asked, Hippolyta intercepting the Sigil's action and turning the girl's SOUL green again.
"I'm thinking!" Syphus shouted, looking around frantically. There has to be a way to—"
"We got this!" While Ananas froze in her place, her Persona vanishing, Undyne managed to set herself free, immediately making a few spears that could be of use, surrounding the Green Sigil. A ball of energy descended onto Undyne. The captain raised her hand, her Persona Geiravor lunging upwards and blocking the attack with itself, attempting to bat the ball away and failing. The energy enveloped Geiravor's lance, Undyne seizing and withstanding the blow admirably. Some of the spears surrounding the Sigil vanished, the rest were propelled into the Shadow immediately.
None of them reached the core of the Shadow, all of them hit some of the paper sheets, the paper falling to the floor. Some of the few that had been shed before levitated and returned to the sphere, covering some of the holes the spears had done on the shell. The papers Ananas were standing on shuddered, the corners bending upwards, but ultimately didn't fly back to the Shadow.
All that happened in the space of around ten seconds, but to Syphus it felt like much more. He saw it all develop and bring forth inspiration. "Cohen!"
"Yeah?" he was still in the same place than before, held down by his now-green SOUL, his Persona above Monster Kid to protect him against any attacks from the Sigil.
"Always be ready to strike at the Shadow inside the ball. Undyne, Annie! You have to attack the shell as much as you can!" his plan was simple enough, it all relied on he choosing the right teammates for each part. Ananas and Undyne, being the ones with some form of long-range attack that didn't rely on their Personas, were in charge of weakening the paper sphere. Syphus and Cohen then would hit the Shadow itself with everything they had, Cohen hitting physically and Syphus providing magic and healing Cohen whenever necessary. And then... I hate to ask this from him, but we're going to need as much help as possible here.
"MK, you...hold as much of that paper down to the floor!"
"Are you crazy?!" Undyne chided him, not approving getting Monster Kid involved.
"You two also help him with that if you have the time!" he didn't like the idea of getting Monster Kid into the fight in any manner, but they needed to keep that shell away from forming again. Between the three of them they should be able to stay active despite the Shadow's attempts to keep them immobile. Syphus promised himself he'd keep Monster Kid safe even while this happened. "All of you use as little magic as possible! Limit yourself to your weapons or to physical attacks! Now go!"
Keeping Monster Kid defended was easier than expected. Even with their SOULs held down by the Green Sigil's magic, he was able to keep Kushinada as the healer and use her to keep the one monster in the group who was defenseless protected from any stray attacks. Cohen kept everyone's defense up while Undyne and Ananas struck the paper sphere as much as possible. Bullets and spears kept crossing the air, hitting paper over and over, sheets fluttering in the air in a constant deluge. It was difficult to see through it, most of the time they relied on their memory of where the Shadow was.
"I'm free!" Cohen said while Undyne, Syphus and Monster Kid were immobilized. With a huff, Cohen ran, smashing his fists against the paper shell over and over, battering it as fast as he could. Most of it was already gone, lying on the floor underneath dozens of spears and Monster Kid lying on a few of them. Taking advantage of the chance, Ananas aimed, a few bullets passing through the sheets and hitting the Green Sigil. The Sigil recoiled, floating towards the wall, cornered for Syphus' current Persona to swoop in and smack the Sigil with an open palm, retreating immediately.
Turning red, the Sigil raised its staff, the paper shell opening enough for it to fly and try to hit Ananas with its staff. It looked largely ineffective, and when Hippolyta was placed in the way to protect its user, it didn't seem like much damage was done. "It's our chance!" Syphus said, taking Monster Kid from the floor and going towards the cavern tunnel "Attack all you can!"
"Ngaaaah! Die already!" Undyne's Persona lunged forward lance-first, burying it into the Sigil. The Shadow barely had time to recover when a large ball of fire impacted on it, the heat setting fire to the paper. Overwhelmed by the constant attacking, the Shadow fell to the floor, the pyre of paper falling on it, consuming it until a burst of fog emerged from the hill. "It's gone!"
"Yo, we won?" Monster Kid tried to look from behind Syphus. He nodded.
"We won. Finally"
"That was the old human's shadow?"
"I don't think so. She's nowhere to be seen" Cohen said, dusting off his gloves. "Now what, Syphus?"
"I'm not sure. I hope this wasn't for nothing or—" what he was saying was interrupted by everything being shaken by an earth tremor. Running, everyone hurried to the tunnel, running until the rumbling stopped. "Is everyone okay?"
"Everything fine!" Ananas said. The others echoed her, relieved nobody was hurt "What was that?"
"Whatever it was has to be important somehow. Undyne, you and I will go check. The rest should stay with Monster Kid" The tremor had changed the room they had just been in.
To Syphus it was like seeing something familiar. Just like he remembered from in the version of Mt. Ebott Frisk's SOUL had, there was a large, round hole now in the far end of the chamber. With Undyne holding him from a hand, Syphus peered into the chasm, trying to see the bottom. All he could see was the inky, deep blackness inside the hole. Was it a path to follow, or would it lead to their doom?
"See anything, punk?" Undyne asked, pulling him back with ease. Syphus shook his head.
"Nothing. I can't tell if we should get down there or not"
"It's not like we have any other option! We gotta get in there and see where it takes us" Getting down the hole wouldn't be too difficult. Their Personas would carry them down – Cohen's was the only one that maybe would be unable to, but that could be easily tested in a moment. Taking Monster Kid with them wouldn't be too difficult, thanks to his size and being so light. Overall descending into the depths of the earth wasn't going to be a problem.
The problem was knowing if that was the right move or not.
"You don't know it we should dive in there"
"I'm trying to think. We're in Celia's SOUL, therefore everything in it is related to her and her feelings somehow. The Shadows, the environment, the atmosphere, everything is connected in some way" Syphus sat against the wall. Everybody else was waiting some distance away while Undyne and Syphus talked, but it wasn't like there was any hurry right now. Everyone needed to take a break, anyway "If this hole appeared then there must be a reason"
"Isn't it just because we shook things around a lot when we beat up the wizard Shadow thing?"
It could be, he had to admit, but... "Maybe not. There could be another reason. What if there was a psychological reason for it?"
"That's nothing I'd know. You eggheads know more than me about that" Undyne shrugged, unsure where this was going.
"I'm not an egghead! Look, I'm pretty sure this is Mt. Ebott...in middle of the city, for reasons I'm not sure about" Chalking it up to Celia's psyche making things like this. There was no point in trying to give it more of an explanation than that. "That means beneath us there should be the Underground. I don't know what part it'll be, but it's down there"
A human who fell into the Underground almost a century ago and never had the chance to return to the surface. Maybe they were looking in the wrong place for her Shadow. The deepest recesses of her soul wouldn't be the city she was born at and lived at for just a few years, the town and surface she wanted to return to. Maybe the very core of her soul was the prison that had been holding her for so long.
"We should try to get to the human village in Waterfall"
"You think she's in there?"
"I think there's a chance she is. We should go take a look, and since here we have a way to get into the Underground..." it was a plan to follow for the time being. Better that than going around aimlessly in Celia's soul, at least. Undyne didn't seem very sure about this, but Syphus was more experienced than her about diving into souls. She was willing to listen to him.
-ooooo-
"Their weakness is ice! Undyne, we're leaving this up to you!" her magic wasn't very strong, but if it dazed the Eternal Eagles swooping up from the depths of the hole then it was good enough. "Quick!" he pleaded, trying to shake off the eagle that had latched onto his arm, its talons burying into his armor. The block of ice freezing the eagle stopped the attack, giving him enough time to hold onto his Persona.
The descent had been going well. Cohen's Persona had Monster Kid in its large hands, carrying the child in one hand while the other kept the eagles at bay with its sword. The old man was holding onto Ajax's visor, standing on a shoulder. The others were precariously carried by their own Personas, not in the most comfortable positions but it was better than falling down the hole with no parachute at all.
Turned out the hole was very deep. It took several minutes of uninterrupted descent at good speed to see a change in their surroundings. Branches and red leaves were visible on the cliffs around them, snaking and forming a rather ominous wall. After how those branches had broken the hallway before, Syphus really hoped none of those would try to make the rock walls collapse on them.
It most likely wasn't a coincidence that, the denser and thicker the branches turned, the more Eagles there were. Just what was the source of the branches?
"How much deeper is this hole?!" Ananas shouted, holding onto Hippolyta with fear. The thought of falling was paralyzing for her. Syphus looked down, trying to see deeper into the darkness.
"I don't know"
"It can't be too deep; the Underground isn't that far beneath the mountain" Cohen said "We have been going down for a while" in the real world Cohen would be right. In the world of Celia's soul that wasn't a certainty.
Keeping the Shadows away was difficult, given they had to stay focused on clinging to their Personas and not fall, but in general they weren't doing too badly. The only real problem happened once they got to the bottom of the hole, and that was because they had found their objective: Celia herself.
The floor at the bottom of the hole was completely covered with roots. Knotty, gnarly roots went in and out of the earth, like it was trying to grasp the planet itself, and in the center of it all, sitting on her wheelchair, was Celia, seemingly unconscious. "She's here!" Syphus jumped off his Persona, letting it fade while he hurried to grab the old woman's head, trying to look at her face. "Celia, are you okay? We're here!"
"How's she looking?" Cohen was right behind him, looking at Celia with apprehension.
"She doesn't seem to be hurt, but she's not waking up. Maybe her Shadow caught her"
"Like with Undyne?"
"Kind of. I'm not sure—"
"Yo, look at the wheels!" Monster Kid's voice got their attention. Having a bad feeling about this, Syphus looked at the wheels, immediately seeing what had gotten his attention.
It was like her wheelchair had fused with a tree stump. The wheels divided into roots, the spokes showing a transition between metal and wood. Trying to move the chair got no results, it was the same as if trying to move an oak with your bare hands. "She's not moving!" Syphus cried, trying to pry some of the roots off the wheels. Undyne strolled forward, grabbing the handles of the wheelchair and pulling, grunting and turning pale from the effort.
"Ngaaah! She's stuck!"
"We may have to cut the wheels, see if we can get the rest of the chair off..."
Cohen grabbed Celia by the shoulders, slowly making her lean forward. "Or we could carry her. Come on, let's get out of here. Got the brooch?"
"I have it, yeah..." Cohen and Syphus tried to get the crone off the chair. They managed to pull her off a few inches before they hit a snag. "Something's wrong"
Ananas approached, getting her hands into the chair. "There are vines tying her to the chair!"
"I could aim a spear in there and tear that apart" Undyne said, a spear materializing in her hand. Cohen glared at her.
"Are you crazy?! We need something smaller than a spear!"
"None of us have a knife. Our weapons are much larger than a spear too..." Syphus left her sitting again on the wheelchair like they found her. Having a bad feeling about this, he held her head until Celia's eyes fluttered open, she was slowly waking up.
Her stare was vacant, the color of her eyes was golden instead of the deep shade of green they usually were. No! "Her Shadow caught up to her!"
"Are you sure?"
"Her eyes don't lie!" like them realizing her Shadow had taken possession of her body was what she had been waiting for, Celia opened her eyes entirely. Syphus stepped back, scared, holding her hands up.
"...finally...you came to kill me?"
"No! We're here to rescue her"
"Rescue" Celia sneered for a moment before dropping her head, like she didn't have the strength to keep her head up "I lost hope a long time ago, child. I'm never getting rescued. I'm rotting down here..."
"Child? Seriously?"
"It feels like I have lived for a thousand years. I don't want any of that anymore. I just want to die" she looked up, her eyes clouded with tears "Please...kill me"
If her Shadow was begging for death, then that meant Celia herself wanted death. Syphus really hoped the Shadow was exaggerating that desire. "We're not gonna do that!" Cohen said, raising his fists. "Leave my friend alone and we'll get out of here immediately"
"You...Cohen, of course it's you" like it was the first time she noticed someone else was around, Celia looked at everyone with extreme coldness. "Cohen and Annie...what I wouldn't do to make you have a taste of the despair I have suffered for a hundred years" the humans didn't know what to say to that. The vitriol in her voice was obvious. Celia turned her attention at the monsters, her lips a thin line. "Monsters...can you take my soul already?"
"No!" Undyne shouted, that was exactly what Celia didn't want to hear. The old woman scowled, her face contorting in a nasty manner.
"Monsters are cowards. They have an easy target and they do nothing. You should be ashamed of yourselves"
Slowly, the roots started moving up the wheelchair, enveloping it further. The vines and leaves that surrounded Celia enveloped her slowly, propping her up unnaturally, like a stiff mannequin. "All I want is to rest. Is that so much to ask for? If you're not going to give it to me, then I will force your hand!"
"It's happening!" Syphus warned, brandishing his halberd. It was only matter of time before Celia's Shadow would attack them, and by the looks of this, it was going to happen now. He was rather nervous he'd be forced to attack someone as fragile and old as Celia, but there was no other option. They had done this before several times, they just had to be careful!
The wood and leaves enveloped Celia like a cocoon, wheelchair included. With a rumble, the ball of wood levitated off the ground, rising a few meters above the floor, wind swirling around it, the branches extending to the walls and every rocky surface in the depths of earth. Oh my god... The outer layer of the cocoon grew at an alarming rate, reaching the floor and affixing itself to the ground, connecting to the branches and roots everywhere in Celia's soul, shaking the entire cavern.
"What's the plan?" Ananas asked Syphus, eyes on the cocoon. Syphus glanced at Monster Kid, his mind working as fast as it could.
"Protect him at all costs! The rest of us will fight Celia. Let's be on the defensive until we know what she can do"
"Whatever you say!" Cohen approved, ready to summon Ajax and fight.
The outer layers of the wooden cocoon flaked off, revealing what was underneath. Bone, hair, fabric, it was like a dead woman was being born from a tree. From within, the Shadow broke the cocoon, rising up, half of its body having turned into the tree that clung to everything on the cavern. The rest of Celia was a skeleton, long, wavy hair clinging to her skull, a scowl being the only expression it had, her hands crossed over the tattered robe covering her.
"I'm going to make you give me the eternal rest I want!" Shadow Celia shouted, her voice screechy, the red leaves around her flying in the air and smacking the team right ahead. It was like a burst of fire, the leaves ignited, a wave of fire enveloping everybody. Heat seared the ground, scorch marks appeared on the dirt, only the Personas protecting them saved them from painful injuries. Syphus covered his face with his arms, peeking through them once the fire was gone, Celia's shadow inside the tree was swaying back and forth.
"By now I know it's useless to ask, but you have nothing useful to tell about her, right?" Cohen asked, already enhancing everyone's defense. Just in case, Syphus requested an analysis of their opponent.
Shadow Celia, Strength Arcana
"Nothing!" if the Shadow used fire often, then Ananas was the only one who had some resistance to her. Maybe I should have kept her in the team! "Cohen, you attack as much as you can. Undyne and I are backing you up"
It was worth a try, in his opinion. Cohen was strong enough to endure whatever the Shadow could do. Nodding and accepting his role, Cohen summoned his Persona, raising the sword and striking the Shadow right between the branches. Shadow Celia made no effort to block it. Two branches fell, sliced through cleanly, and with a shudder they got roots into the ground. The branches grew, turning into whip-like appendages. "What's that?!"
"I got it!" Undyne leaped forward, grabbing the branch whip and trying to tear it off the ground. With a victorious grunt, she pulled, the whip lashing and writhing, trying to break off her grasp, before it coiled around her torso and lifted her up the ground. "It's strong!" she noted right before it threw her to the other side of the room. With a crash, Undyne was embedded into the rock wall, but she didn't mind it. "We're fighting something good here!"
"We're not here to have fun, we're here to defeat it!" Syphus said, swinging the halberd to chop down the other whip, all he got for that was a smack right on the face, throwing him to the floor. Yelling, Cohen punched the bark of the Shadow, the tall skeleton staring down at him with contempt.
"It's useless..." it moaned, leaves falling off its branches and floating up the sky, where they light up brightly, raining all over them with a glittery powder. What's this?! The glitter fluttered down to the ground, the moment it touched the dirt, wide columns of bright light emerged, forcing him to move.
"Keep going!" he shouted at Cohen, running from the columns sprouting where he was, unable to see anything but light. Every time he blinked he could see many colors, dazzled by the beacons. "I can't see anything!"
"I'm okay!" Undyne said, her Persona Geiravor using an ice spell against the Shadow. Behind her, the branch she had been fighting with was withering away, defeated. Ice crystals covered other branches, they fell to the ground and sprouted roots like those from before, the trunk was surrounded by several whips, a wall that was difficult to overcome. "This is never gonna end!"
"Then stop making branches fall—" his order was interrupted when light erupted beneath him. It was like he had been doused with warm water, but it made him feel exhausted. Was it sapping his strength? He felt like lying down and doing nothing, like he had been liberated from any responsibility.
Only when the pillar of light vanished he felt the shock to his system. Syphus shakily stepped back, trying to put some distance between himself and the Shadow so he wouldn't be targeted by such attack again. He barely felt when someone pulled from his sleeve, driving him away. He was dazzled, he kept seeing colorful spots. Blinking rapidly, he soon found himself on the back of the chamber, in a relatively safe spot. "Are you okay?" a small hand appeared in front of him, waving.
"...huh?" disoriented, he looked aside. Ananas fanned him with her hat.
"That looked like it hurt"
"Yo! It was like a light burst out of the ground!" Monster Kid said "It was kind of scary!"
Syphus pressed a hand against his forehead. He could hear Undyne and Cohen fighting the best they could, he heard Cohen shouting to try to get the branches' attention. "We aren't getting anywhere with this"
"I want to join" Ananas said, spinning the barrel of the bizarre gun Alphys gave her. Syphus frowned underneath his hand. That'd leave Monster Kid unprotected! Then again... If we three die, then MK and Annie are getting killed anyway. It was more of a matter of leaving Monster Kid unprotected right now or keeping him safe for the time being but risking everyone's demise.
"Join us" Syphus requested "We can't do this without you" he pointed at Monster Kid, hoping the child would understand the gravity of the situation "Stay here. Try to stay out of sight"
"I'll be quiet" he promised. That was all Syphus needed to hear. Having gotten that, he tried to ignore his aching eyes and gripped his halberd tighter.
"Annie, keep the leaves away from us. Try to get rid of them in the air!"
"I got fire!" Ananas agreed with the plan. Even if fire didn't get rid of the leaves, at least it should blast them away from the team!
They didn't have to wait long for her to help them. Cohen managed to strike the trunk of the Shadow, his fist connecting against the wood with an audible crack. Bark splintered away, the skeleton towering above him doubled over, the eyesockets shining ominously. "That's not enough!" she shrieked, the entirety of the tree shaking, releasing a torrent of red dried leaves. Cohen's Persona curled over him, the plates on its back forming a dome above Cohen's head.
Leaves fluttered down, already shining with a white light, when a burst of fire crossed the chamber. Hippolyta kept waving the axe, streams of flames burning up the leaves, Ananas underneath it waving her arms at the same time. "Keep hitting!" Nodding, Cohen punched again. Unable to move and do nothing but writhe, Shadow Celia's bones rattled, she screamed like she was being torn apart. Even though she had been goading them all she could, she also tried to resist the attacks once they connected with her.
"Over there!" the whips on the ground snaked towards Cohen before being pinned on the ground by Undyne's spears. "You're not gonna get to him again!" she shouted at the Shadow and resumed her attacks on the whips, pouncing upon one and clinging to it with all her weight. Uninterrupted, Cohen kept striking the tree.
It was unexpectedly effective. Free to hit the Shadow over and over, with Ananas protecting everyone from the leaves and Undyne fighting the whips, Cohen and Syphus hit and slashed the tree trunk as much as they could. From time to time a transparent barrier shone, bouncing their attack back to them, but they kept jumping back to their feet, resuming their beating immediately. That's it, this is how we win! Everyone was doing their part, the Shadow was too busy to even try to think of attacking Monster Kid, and Monster Kid was hiding as far away as possible from the Shadow. It was a good plan!
If they had been left alone, they'd have finished the Shadow not too long afterwards, but the entire chamber shook, the branches and roots inside the walls and floor contracting. Cracks, fissures, pieces of rock rained down, forcing them to stop. "What's going on?!" Ananas asked, getting closer to Syphus. He put his arms over her head, protecting her.
"We're almost done! I think..." it did seem like that. The team stepped back while the tree retracted its roots and branches, everything curling behind the trunk. It was as if the rigidness of the tree had turned into spaghetti, only the skeleton of the Shadow remained standing, still imprisoned by the trunk. "It's got its guard down; this is our chance!"
"Your chance..." Shadow Celia laughed, her laugh being like stone scrapping against each other. "Yes it is" raising her head, the Shadow screeched at the ceiling, forcing everyone to cover their ears. Syphus's fingers curled around his ears, thankfully not getting any ill effects from the screech.
Cohen and Ananas weren't as lucky, though. "Syphus!"
"We'll keep going—hey, what are you doing?!" Syphus hadn't even finished his sentence when Ananas and Cohen ran forward, eyes ablaze with fury. Ananas stopped near the trunk, aiming and shooting at the cranium and, when her gun ran out of ammunition, she didn't even stop to charge it back, instead she threw it at the head of the Shadow. The bullets and the gun hit the bone, Shadow Celia's head crunching underneath them, much to her apparently glee.
"I'm going to tear this thing down!" Cohen yelled, punching the trunk without any consideration for his own fists. The leather of his gloves were shredded because of the constant attacks on the bark, skin made contact with the wood, bruising his knuckles without him noticing. He kept punching, until a loud thud interrupted the stream of punches he was giving.
Cohen fell, unconscious. The barrier that protected Shadow Celia from physical attacks sometimes had activated and, in his current state, all the force of his attack had gotten redirected to him. He was immediately knocked out – or worse "Undyne, revive him!" She ran to Cohen's prone form, lifting him with ease and taking out of her armor a revival bead. While she took care of that, Syphus focused on Shadow Celia. We can't risk she doing that again. The only option was to hit her with the strongest attack he could make with magic and hope for the best.
"Hell Biker!" Syphus yelled, the strongest magic Persona he had materializing in front of him. Just like Celia, it was a skeleton. Clad in biker's clothing, riding a motorcycle with its wheels on fire, the Persona revved the motorcycle, glaring at the Shadow. I hope this will be enough! "Go!"
Like fireworks exploded between the ribs of the Shadow, a large ball of fire exploded outwards, covering the entirety of the visible skeleton. The hair fanned, the leaves and wood charred and crumbled away and, amidst all that, the trunk started to unravel. Underneath it there was no bones or wood, instead it was an empty space where Celia laid, curled up on a ball. Keeping his eyes on the Shadow crumbling apart, Syphus got into the empty space, grabbed Celia and, while surprised she was so light to carry, he took her out, to where Cohen was starting to recover. "Undyne, get Annie!"
Ananas still was trying to attack the Shadow, scrambling around for her gun so she could throw it again, only when Undyne lifted her she stopped, letting herself be carried away towards the rest. Shadow Celia made no attempt to stop them, instead slumping over once Celia had been taken away from her. The skeleton leaned dangerously close to the edge of the trunk, her hair covering her face and the robe willowing around her in a rather ominous manner. Syphus breathed heavily, tired, and went towards the rest, holding Celia like she was made of very fragile glass. "Is everyone okay?"
"Everybody's on their feet" Cohen said, looking away. Being knocked out right at the end was something he was rather embarrassed about "I'll bring MK" he said, walking away and calling for the child.
"How's she?" Undyne asked. Syphus sat down, propping Celia so she was sitting, and lightly patted her cheek, trying to wake her up.
"Celia, come on, wake up...it's us. You're safe"
"Is she hurt?" Ananas asked, worried.
"I don't think she is. She must be exhausted" it was hard to say with certainty since he didn't experience this himself. He had gotten lucky he was given his Persona directly instead of having to go through the entire ordeal, all things considered. "Let's give her some time to rest"
"She's not going to join us, right?"
"She's in no condition to join us—" Syphus shut up when Celia started opening her eyes. She moaned softly, moving her torso to take a better look at the person holding her.
"...Syphus?"
"Be quiet. We have to leave" he advised. Celia nodded meekly and turned her head around, seeing her Shadow.
"My god..."
"Any thoughts?" For a moment he considered putting the brooch on her so they could leave immediately before she could think much about her Shadow, but refrained from doing that. Maybe it was for the better for her to realize what was nesting in the depths of her heart, what her thoughts and feelings had created. Monster Kid and Cohen returned, Cohen keeping Monster Kid aside to not overwhelm Celia with too many people at once.
Although she was prompted to say something, Celia stayed silent, staring at the Shadow. Not even when it rose up, extending a skeletal hand towards them, she made any comment, she simply shrunk and feebly tried to get away. She's rejecting her Shadow. Celia wasn't going to get a Persona, that was for sure.
Startled at the Shadow trying to reach them, Ananas raised her gun and shot. That was all that was needed, the Shadow burst into a cloud of black smoke, leaving behind pieces of wood Undyne picked up. An oppressive silence filled the room. How were they supposed to talk about any of Celia's problems?
All they could do was leave.
Celia let him pin the brooch on her robe, she didn't even say anything when everyone gathered around her to ensure nobody was going to be left behind. Monster Kid tried to make conversation with her, just to know if she was okay, yet she ignored him, seemingly too shellshocked to talk.
-ooooo-
Returning to the real world didn't make her much better. Unlike those who had gained their Personas, those who rejected them didn't scream when they returned to the real world – but in Syphus' opinion it'd have been better for her to scream. Better that than looking like she had gone catatonic. Her expression of remorse and her refusal to look at them were the only indications she was relatively okay.
Not that they had long to think much about that. Upon their return, the first thing they heard was the sound of someone banging on the door insistently. Syphus yelped and ran to the door, taking off the thick piece of wood blocking it and letting whoever was outside open it fully.
"What's going on here?" said a voice that, although sounded gentle, clearly showed discontent and a demand for explanations. ...this may not go well. Toriel stepped inside, followed by Byssa, who immediately hurried to Celia's side.
"We were taking care of her" Syphus said. Byssa sneered at them.
"With the door locked? You know that's very suspicious!"
Cohen leaned against the wall, trying to look more casual than he felt. "As you can see, she's okay now. That's what matters, no?"
"No, that's not what matters right now! I want to know why you were all locked in here—"
"Byssa, that's enough" Toriel said firmly. "Her wellbeing is far more important"
Byssa held Celia's hand, feeling it cold and feeble. "She doesn't look okay"
"She needs rest. You do not need to worry; I will take care of her"
"Uuuum...MK, your parents must be so worried about you! You should leave!" Ananas said, pretty much pulling from Monster Kid to drag him out of the cottage, he barely managing to keep the pace.
"Wait, you're not gonna tell my parents about this, are you...?"
"Children, wait—" Toriel tried to stop them, but they were gone. Staying with Celia was more important right now, she couldn't go pursue them to ask what was going on. Besides, she had several other people here to ask about that. "Captain Undyne, it's surprising to see you here"
Undyne wasn't intimidated by Toriel's cordial yet somehow scornful greeting. Instead she grinned widely, stood as tall as she was, and talked back. "I was visiting my friends, your Majesty"
That was the right response. Even though Toriel didn't change her attitude towards Undyne, she did seem to feel at ease now. "I wasn't aware you had befriended them! Allow me to compliment you for your change of heart, captain Undyne"
Undyne's expression hardened somewhat. "Of course! Now if you excuse me, your Majesty, I have patrols to arrange" and without waiting for Toriel's reply, Undyne stepped out of the cabin. Syphus didn't hesitate to follow her, although before leaving he sneaked a glance at Toriel. The queen looked contemplative, but there also was a profound relief, relief she concealed when she noticed Syphus was looking at her. It wasn't proper to display her thoughts that much to them, in her opinion.
"Wait!" Syphus shouted at Undyne when they were going up the wooden stairs towards the rest of Waterfall "Undyne, what was that?"
The captain sighed, shaking her head. "I don't like the queen, that's all. Asgore is great, but the queen is..." she made a face like she had tasted something bitter "I don't see her often"
"Really? I thought..."
"You thought I'd see her all the time because I'm the captain of the Royal Guard?" Undyne laughed somewhat bitterly "No way. Before all this she and I didn't think the same way. She wanted to protect you humans, I wanted your souls. It was all for the sake of monsters! That's why I kept telling her she couldn't be protecting you all!"
It was times like these that Syphus was glad Undyne's opinion had changed. "You're not the type to stay silent about what you think"
"Of course I'm not!" she boasted "I always told her what I thought was right! And she always kept acting all high-and-mighty!"
"She's the queen"
"You know what I mean!" Undyne kicked a rock down the cliff with all her strength, and stomped into the tunnel towards Waterfall. "She thinks she knows everything!" for someone as proud and headstrong as Undyne, someone acting condescending towards her must have been rather annoying. Syphus was glad Toriel hadn't been like that to him – although he did agree completely Toriel had the bad habit of believing her opinion was the one everyone should follow. She had the best intentions, but her way of pushing her point of view over everyone else's was not right. "And you know what makes me angry the most? Do you?!"
"No, I don't"
"What kind of queen leaves behind her people?" Undyne's fins flared to the sides of her head, just thinking about Toriel's behavior made her rather angry "That's what I don't get, what's wrong with her?!"
Syphus bit the inside of his cheek. He couldn't blame Undyne for thinking that. "Yeah, you're right"
"I know, right? The big guy is a bit too soft, but at least he's with us. The queen isn't. She doesn't get to look down at us who are trying to help monsters get out of here when all she does is sit in the Ruins and do nothing" her gauntlets screeched when she curled her fists "She makes me really angry, Syphus, I don't wanna anything to do with her" without further comment, Undyne entered Waterfall, leaving Syphus behind.
You feel you understand Undyne a bit more.
The Justice Social Link still isn't ready to rank up
The relationships between the most notable monsters in the Underground was strained. Asgore and Toriel's marriage was on the brink of disaster, Toriel and Undyne were in rather bad terms, Alphys lied to everyone to get her current job, Papyrus had changed his dream of being a member of the Royal Guard, and Sans and Toriel didn't seem to even know each other.
Although there were a few positive relationships left, it was worrying there was so much trouble between the monsters. Was there really a way to fix any of that? He doubted it. Syphus was meant to be only a guide, he wasn't going to solve anyone's problems. If they didn't have the drive to solve their relationships, then there was nothing to be done.
Speaking of Toriel, she was likely to spend a lot of time in Celia's cottage, making sure she'd be okay. It'd be a while before he'd be able to talk to Celia and try to find out more about her feelings and problems.
For the time being he had to continue his life like usual – and also give Alphys the newest part for the Barrier-shattering weapon, and see what Sans, Toriel and Alphys could make with the materials gathered.
Now that there were people again falling down and needing rescue, he had to ensure they'd be on top shape at all times.