Day 48
Celia still wasn't available the next day.
"She's not feeling okay," Byssa admitted to Syphus that morning. Her usual rude attitude was gone, replaced by worry to the point she was willing to confide in Syphus. They were outside Celia's cabin, "Since yesterday she has said almost nothing. Just a lot of 'I'm sorry'"
"Maybe she just needs to rest for a while," Syphus said, hoping the old woman would get better soon. Nobody else had been affected so hard by the encounter with their Shadow. It was possible it was because Celia was feeling very guilty and depressed, especially now that people saw what her true emotions were. He really wanted to think it was that and not that they had done something wrong at some point. He was sure they did everything the same way they had the last five times, why would this one be any different?
Byssa gripped a cup of fresh water, the contents about to spill all over her. "Syphus, did she say anything yesterday?"
"Anything like what?"
"I dunno. Anything that could answer why she's like this"
She said a lot. How was he supposed to tell her everything Celia felt? There just wasn't a right way to do that. Still, Byssa was Celia's family. If there was anyone who deserved to know about it it was her. Syphus put a hand over the door, thinking. Would Celia be angry if he told Byssa? Even if it was for the better? "She said a few things"
"Like what?"
"It'll take a while to explain...can we go talk in private?"
Byssa frowned, not liking the sound of that, but her concern for Celia pushed her to accept go have a private talk with Syphus. After telling him to wait, she entered the cottage, leaving the door open. Syphus was able to hear what they talked. "I have some water and I'll leave it here, alright, grandma?"
Since when did Byssa start calling her grandma? Syphus didn't remember that happening before. There was no response.
"Do you need anything? Like something to eat, or..."
"I'm okay" Celia said "Thank you"
"...I love you, grandma. You know that, right?"
"I do. Thank you"
Celia sounded distracted, vacant. It made him feel sick to his stomach. "If you need anything call me. I'll come immediately" she said, exiting the cabin, and gave a meaningful look at Syphus. "It's like her mood plummeted down or something. I don't get it"
It wasn't that surprising given what happened. Syphus and Byssa went to the chamber with the rock plateau. Byssa climbed to the top, sitting in the center and inviting Syphus to be up there with her. Once both were comfortable, with the sunshine shining over their heads from small holes on the ceiling, Byssa broke the silence: "You have something to tell me, don't you?"
"I do. This won't be easy to say, but I think you should hear this"
Curating the information wasn't easy. Mentioning anything about Personas was absolutely forbidden, of course, but he also didn't want to give the impression Celia had been forced to say anything. He had to embellish the story by saying Celia had said she wanted to talk to him. The problem was that the more he talked, the more Byssa was frowning.
"Why didn't she say anything to me?" she wondered, hurt.
Syphus winced, uncomfortable. That was the question he feared she'd ask. "I can't say I know, but if I had to guess, it's because you and she are close. Maybe she didn't want to worry you"
Byssa inhaled and exhaled through her teeth, a hiss escaping from her mouth. "We're family but we're not that close. I'm in my forties and she's more than a hundred years old, there's an entire generational breach here"
"I thought you two were inseparable!"
"We're not. Sometimes I think she doesn't trust me. To be honest, I'm jealous of you"
Syphus raised his eyebrows, surprised. There was no reason to be jealous of him! "Why?"
"Look, you arrived here like a month ago and she's telling you all this stuff. I have been with her for like thirty years and she doesn't trust me. You managed to get her to open up to you even though you haven't known her for as long as the rest of us. I don't get it at all" I don't get it either. He couldn't complain, but it was baffling to him too. Byssa continued: "Can I ask you a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Can you help me find out why she doesn't trust me?"
There was no reason to refuse. Syphus promised he'd try to find out why, and once that topic was settled, they talked about the other person in the village who was injured in some manner: Graham. "I passed by his cottage to say hi. He looked like Toriel tied him to the bed to force him to rest"
Byssa chuckled. "That wouldn't be a bad idea. When we told him what happened to Celia, he tried to get out of the bed. It's been a nightmare to keep him lying there, but he'll be okay" she looked at the open tunnel not too far from them "I don't trust the bug who brought him. Someone should try to talk to her and assess if she's evil or not"
"Evil is kind of a strong word"
"A lot of monsters are after our souls. That's evil no matter how you look at it"
"You don't know if she wants a human soul. If she did, why didn't she take Graham's? She had him defenseless!"
"I dunno. Maybe she needed him in order to find the rest of us," Byssa said stubbornly.
It didn't seem like she'd change her mind, so Syphus refrained from discussing that. Besides, now that he had heard about Byssa and Graham, he had to go fulfill his plans for the day while he awaited for a chance to talk to Celia again.
He wanted to talk to a certain ghost monster.
-ooooo-
Day 49
When Syphus told Burgerpants to come with him once his shift was over, the overworked monster rolled his eyes. "How do you even have this much free time? You should get a job"
"I have one. I just have some advantages" it sure helped that Undyne was part of the team. She didn't understand very well how socializing with people helped his Personas get stronger, but she had accepted to give him some leeway to leave work earlier sometimes as long as he compensated later. Usually that meant delivering himself the materials to Toriel for new armor, but that was a price Syphus was willing to pay if it meant having some liberty to move freely when he needed it.
Burgerpants extinguished the cigarette he was smoking, unhappy. "I'm really jealous of you, man. Mettaton would never let me go before my turn is over"
"So, are you coming with me tonight?"
"No promises"
Even though Burgerpants refused to say yes, that night he waited outside the MTT Resort, willing to come along and even eager to see what was going to happen. He thought Syphus was annoying, but if he wanted to meet with him, then he wasn't going to deter him. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he appreciated that. Having someone to hang out with was nice.
He had to wait for the reptile for a while. When Syphus arrived, with a smile on his scaly face, Burgerpants saw he was carrying a rather old music player. Inside there was a CD. "Take this"
"What's this?"
"A music player. Turn it on, there's some good music in there"
"I'm not really into music" Burgerpants said but did it nonetheless. From the music player a haunting melody filled the cavern, sending shivers down Burgerpants' spine. It was a strange, catchy yet eerie tune that made any monster in the area feel like something had gripped their very souls. "...okay, I have so many questions and I'm not sure I want to find out"
"What? What's wrong?" Syphus was completely indifferent to the tune. It was as if he couldn't feel the eeriness of the tune.
"Did you make this?" Burgerpants turned the music player off, looking for the right words to describe it, and decided to settle onto simple and generic terms. "It's okay but I'm not sure it's my type of music"
"What if I told you I know the monster who made this music?"
Burgerpants shrugged. "Oh come on, bud. That's not that big of a deal"
Syphus nodded vigorously. "It is! He's just like you – he has a hobby, the difference is that he enjoys it and does something – unlike you, who refuses to be serious about acting"
"I'm not here for a lecture" he said sourly. The last part of what Syphus said was uncalled for, he didn't like that at all.
"It's not really meant to be a lecture. I was thinking you'd like to meet him"
Meeting random monsters he didn't know before? That didn't go well when Syphus took him to meet that Muffet spider. Since then Burgerpants was rather reluctant about following him to go meet other people – but would that be enough to deter Syphus? Would he insist, try to change his mind, and generally be a handful to deal with? While he was rather interested in befriending Burgerpants, it didn't mean he was going to overstep the boundaries.
Perhaps...agreeing to meet this monster would make it all end faster, but the moment he saw any spiderwebs he'd run away as fast as possible. No way he was going to get all tied up and with all his money stolen like last time.
Waterfall was a welcome change, compared to the heat of Hotland. Burgerpants sighed, content with the cooler temperature, and looked deep into the blue tunnels of Waterfall. "Has been ages since I walked in here"
"Too busy to go somewhere else other than the MTT resort?"
"More like I have nothing to do over here" sometimes it did frustrate him he had no social life, but no way he was going to admit it. That didn't mean he didn't notice where they were going to, though. Burgerpants realized Syphus was taking him to some sort of farm. He wasn't sure what kind of farm, but he knew it was there.
Seeing it was a snail farm was...he wasn't sure what the right word for it was. 'Underwhelming' may be the right word. Then again, he found a lot of things underwhelming nowadays. In front of the corral with the snails, there was a ghost, as tall as Syphus, who turned almost transparent when he saw Syphus.
"ooooh...you did come here...like you said you would"
"Of course I did. The friend I was talking about is here too!" Syphus said cheerfully, encouraging Burgerpants to approach. "Napstablook, this is...um...you may call him Burgerpants. Burgerpants, this is Napstablook"
All Burgerpants did was greet with a movement of his head. He really wasn't sure about any of this, and although Napstablook seemed to be getting somewhat more comfortable after the introduction, he still was rather shy, staring at the snails most of the time.
Talking about the music was especially useful to get the ghost to interact with them, judging by the small smile that appeared on his face once Syphus started talking. "He liked your music and would like to know how long you have been doing this" Syphus said "Right, Burgerpants?"
"Uh, yeah. Exactly, what he said" Where was Syphus going with this? Nothing to do but play along, he sure wasn't going to gratuitously hurt Napstablook's feelings. Napstablook's teary eyes focused on Burgerpants.
"You liked my music? Really...?"
"Yeah, it was..." Burgerpants wished he had a cigarette right now "...it kind of...made me feel...goosebumps" That sounded positive enough, right?
"Oh...thank you" Napstablook looked happy to hear that. Indeed, it was positive enough "What did you...like about it?"
Burgerpants really wished he had that cigarette. He considered getting Syphus into the conversation just to not have to talk, but Syphus showed no intention to get involved, he was watching them talk, with a smirk on his face. Stupid Syphus! "The rhythm?"
Napstablook seemed pleased by that response. It could be kind of hard to read the ghost's face, he always seemed to be in the verge of tears. "Thank you...I work a lot on music but I almost never show it to anyone. I'm glad you liked it..."
"You're good at it, I tell you" Syphus finally said "You should share your music with more people"
"I dunno...what will everyone say?"
"Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and do it, right, Burgerpants?"
Burgerpants's lineface showed how he felt about this whole thing. Syphus really wasn't good at being subtle. Why did that guy care so much? Was it really because they were friends? "Not really"
"What?"
"I mean...if you think you're not good at something then maybe you're not"
"...oh..."
It was a rather negative opinion, but that was what he thought. Syphus cleared his throat, trying to break the very uncomfortable silence that had just fallen over. "So, Napstablook, what do you want to do with your music? Any plans for the future?"
"I dunno..."
"Syphus, come on!" Burgerpants muttered, starting to get annoyed.
"I make music because I like it...that's all. Is that an okay answer...?"
The simplicity of that answer was nothing like what Burgerpants expected. He thought Syphus had searched everywhere for a monster that'd have big plans for the future, that planned to be the best in whatever hobby or talent they had, and use that as a way to encourage Burgerpants to be a famous actor. 'Aim for the future! You have to be the best entertainer ever, even better than Mettaton!' he had imagined Syphus would say to him. Someone who did things just for fun didn't fit with what he thought Syphus was doing. "What?"
"It's like...like I make music because I like to do it...I don't plan to do anything with it..."
"It's nice to have a hobby" Syphus said softly.
"You...you have something like that, guys?"
Syphus swung his legs, relaxing, letting one of the snails start climbing on him. "Lately I don't have much time for hobbies, but if I had to think of something I guess astronomy is something I like"
"Astronomy?" He didn't look much like the kind of monster that'd be into something they had never seen before in person.
"Yeah. Sitting outside with the night sky above you was kind of liberating, even during hard times" he looked up, at the few sparkling stones on the ceiling "Not that I have seen real stars" a sentiment pretty much all monsters in the Underground sympathized with. It was Burgerpants' turn, and walking away would made him look like quite the rude jackass, so he had to contribute:
"I kind of like acting"
"Oh...!" Napstablook floated towards him, curious "Do you...know Mettaton?"
It was a well-intentioned question, most likely intended to lead to a friendly conversation about Mettaton, but Burgerpants' face soured immediately. "What kind of question is that?!" he shouted, ticked off by the mere mention of his boss. Even his eyes were twitching! Napstablook turned transparent immediately. Syphus buried his face into his hands.
"Sometimes you're a mess, you know that?"
"Look who's talking!"
Thankfully, once any topic that could lead to talking about Burgerpants' budding acting career was left behind, Napstablook and Burgerpants seemed to get along pretty well! By the time a dozen snails were crawling on Syphus, he was starting to think he could consider this a triumphant moment of some sort, even if Burgerpants wasn't nearly as motivated as Syphus hoped he'd be.
"Guess this means you'll be coming back here in the future?"
"Yeah, I guess..." Burgerpants replied, relaxed. Even though he was lying down on the hard cold ground he was enjoying his time there. Not too far away Napstablook was doing the same, having invited Burgerpants and Syphus to partake in his family tradition. Syphus had lasted just a few minutes, too restless to lie down for long. By now it had been almost half an hour of feeling like trash.
"It was worth it to come here" Syphus said. Burgerpants had gotten a new friend, that had to count for something! Even though Burgerpants didn't want to admit it, in the end he nodded, surrendering to the sensation of peace invading him.
Burgerpants seems to have accepted your encouragement for once
The Fast Food Worker Social Link has reached Rank 4!
Your power to create Personas of the Magician Arcana has grown!
Grabbing every snail shell on him with two fingers, Syphus left all those snails on the ground, discretely trying to wipe the slime off his arms. "I have to leave now, but since you're having fun you should stay for a while longer! Is that okay?"
"I don't mind" there even was a relaxed smile on Burgerpants' face. Glad the visit was productive in some manner, Syphus stepped away from the corral, waving goodbye to Burgerpants and Napstablook, leaving them to continue lying on the ground and feeling like garbage. He didn't really understand how it helped, but if it helped them, then more power to them.
I'm just glad Burgerpants is relaxing. Poor guy, he really needs it.
-ooooo-
Alphonse left aside the Strength card, starting to get worried. It had been a while since ASRIEL had been here, and that was unusual. Usually ASRIEL came to the Velvet Room after a skirmish in his game, if only to give Alphonse a riddle and see them try to solve it. It was a frustrating time for Alphonse but they enjoyed it nonetheless, just because it was ASRIEL who presented the riddle to them. Spending time with a friend was what they liked, not the puzzle itself.
"Master, you know everything that's going on. Can you tell me if ASRIEL is okay?" Alphonse requested. It wasn't often a Velvet Room attendant asked Igor a favor, and it was rare for him to accept. It most likely was because the requests usually were unreasonable, such as turning the Velvet Room into a disco. Questions like this one should receive an answer, they hoped.
Igor turned his head towards the attendant. His almost permanent grin still made Alphonse uneasy. "Are you worried about him?"
"What if something happened to him?"
"You need not to worry. Our guest will not hurt anyone else. I believe he now understands the consequences of his actions" Igor said "Your friend will be okay"
"Then why hasn't he come yet?"
ASRIEL's timing was perfect, the door of the Velvet Room opened and the monster entered, apologizing over and over before plopping on the couch in front of Alphonse. "I'm sorry, I was busy!"
There was nothing to apologize for. Besides, there were other things to think about, such as the riddle ASRIEL gave him not long afterwards. On the table ASRIEL placed a few objects, forming a square he said represented a cottage – a perfect closed room. To represent the pieces in the area, cards from Alphonse's deck were used. Strength and Fool inside the square, Chariot, Sun and Judgment outside.
It was an exceedingly simple puzzle, simpler than all puzzles so far, and because it was simple, Alphonse thought there must be some kind of trick. They had to ask questions now.
"Syphus, Annie and MK didn't step away from Celia's cottage" ASRIEL said "Nobody entered the cottage while they were there. It's like a closed room"
"That's how all the puzzles so far are like" Alphonse pointed out. Almost all of the riddles involved the target falling down without anyone else being able to approach them, for one reason or another. Frisk in that isolated chamber in Waterfall, Ananas in the tunnels, Alphys in the elevator, Undyne vanishing from her hospital room, and now this. "Is Ciruel the guilty party here?"
"I refuse to answer" confirming or denying a person's guilty or innocent status would give away too much. ASRIEL wanted Alphonse to give an answer.
"Fine. Did Celia see the person who attacked her?" depending on the answer, that could narrow down the list of possibilities, or at least prove she hadn't done that to herself. ASRIEL considered no answering, but in the end he threw Alphonse a bone, for the sake of being fair.
"She did! Someone stood by her side, where she could see them, and made her fall down" ASRIEL placed a claw over the Fool card. Being the 0 card, it could represent anyone. It was a good card to use as the placeholder for the attacker.
So it wasn't a covert operation...that narrowed things a little. Not enough for them to say with certainty who did this to Celia, but enough to feel like they were actually getting somewhere. "It must have been someone she trusted..." Alphonse said. It was a rather straightforward puzzle, they could already see the solution, or so they hoped. "None of them moved from the front of her cottage?"
"All three stayed there until Graham was found. After that, nobody was in front of the cottage"
"Was she unconscious by then?"
"I refuse to answer"
A refusal...that was pretty much admitting that was an important point, wasn't it? Luckily for them, there were only two possibilities: either Celia was already unconscious when they went to help Graham, in which case one of the three who stayed in front of the cottage was responsible for her situation, or she still was awake and then someone took advantage of everybody's absence to sneak in. Even if someone she didn't know entered the cabin, who'd hear her, since everybody was away?
They knew which possibility they thought was more likely. Deciding to take a gamble, Alphonse said a name.
ASRIEL's reaction was surprisingly subdued. It undoubtedly was thanks to Lucia's training – no respectable witch would let their face show the right answer. Puzzles were supposed to be given through words, not through your facial expression. "Are you sure?"
"Not really..."
Even though they were hesitating, ASRIEL couldn't confirm nor deny their theory. He was stuck, with no rebuttal. He also didn't want to acknowledge defeat. As far as they all were concerned, this was a tie. Alphonse had managed to be a step ahead, for once.
Maybe it was too easy of a puzzle.
Now that the puzzle had been solved, Alphonse asked ASRIEL why he had taken so long to arrive. They had thought something had happened to him! "I was very worried, so much I thought I should get out of here and go look for you. I even thought he may have attacked you," they said. Although they still were very upset at Sisyphus' actions, his remark lacked the bite you'd think it'd have. When ASRIEL frowned, hurt, they retracted what they had just said. "I'm sorry...it's complicated"
ASRIEL felt bad Alphonse had worried so much for him. "It's alright...it took me a while because he was apologizing to me"
Alphonse, delighted, leaned forward, almost jumping off their seat. "You reconciled?"
"We did! I almost couldn't believe it, but...I kept trusting he'd do the right thing" ASRIEL smiled "I believed he would"
And then he started telling how it happened.
-ooooo-
Sisyphus was taking his sweet time to consider the current situations. It was unlikely someone would join the team anytime soon, so his current strategy was to strengthen the relationships he had so far in order to make his Personas stronger. Everything indicated someone would fall down in matter of days, if he wanted to make use of any new power by then he had to hurry.
Unfortunately, for the time being people like Celia were unavailable. His options were few, his time limited. Lucia's piece, that insect monster from the depths of the Underground, was hanging a bell onto the opening she had come from into the room with the rock plateau, extending a cord into the darkness. "What's that?"
"She's placing it in case anyone wants to talk to her" Lucia explained "I have a feeling it'll be useful someday"
"Wouldn't be easier to walk inside and reach wherever he lives?"
Cornio shook his head. "No! It's so dark in there you'd need very potent lights to see where you're going through. Not even the royal family knows how it's like in there!"
"It's that secluded?"
"It's a nice, dark world down there" Lucia said "More monsters than you think live there, with their own customs and traditions. It's almost like a completely different society than the rest of monsterkind" a serene smile crossed her face "There are parts that are like nothing in the Underground right now. Fields, forests, a few puzzles..."
"You seem to know a lot about that"
"I think she likes it" Cornio commented, erasing Lucia's smile with just a few words. Clearing her throat with discomfort, she stammered:
"I-It's just what I observed from what my piece knows. I needed to know about her life and how she was like, so I saw all that"
"I thought you'd choose a human" most witches had been human before turning into what they were now. You'd think they'd try to take pieces that'd be familiar to them, not unknown lifeforms such as monsters.
That line of thought must have been obvious, because Lucia informed:
"I picked her because she and I are similar. We're definitely not the same person, but we're similar enough. Also, she fits well with my motif, if you know what I mean"
"You haven't been subtle about it at all" Sisyphus deadpanned. From the other side of the table, Cornio chuckled, and Lucia groaned.
"Thanks a lot, guys, both of you are the worst. Anyway, worlds with intelligent life forms such as monsters are rare. Humans are everywhere, monsters aren't. Not only that, monsters are infinitely more interesting than humans anyway" she hovered a hand over the board, dreamy "Isn't it cool how societies that aren't human exist? And it's even better when they have some sort of relationship with humanity. Two different types of intelligent living beings, together in the same world! It's such a rare and beautiful situation! Even when they don't get along beings like monsters and humans coexisting are so interesting—"
"When's the last time you were so passionate about something?" in all the decades he had known here, Sisyphus didn't remember her being so enthusiastic about anything. The warmth, the sheer joy, the youthful interest, it all was so alien on her for a moment Sisyphus thought he was dreaming. Cornio didn't seem that surprised, although he was looking away, he didn't seem comfortable right now.
Noticing her enthusiasm had been noticed, Lucia once again tried to pretend she hadn't just been like that. "You're thinking too much! It just reminds me...of..." then she mumbled something so softly Sisyphus didn't understand. Cornio did, his eyes widening with surprise.
"Of what?" Sisyphus asked.
"It reminds me of where I came from" she clarified, primly crossing her hands over her lap "Pretty much all the worlds I have played with are similar. Humans and non-humans trying to live together in the same world...it always makes some interesting stories happen.
This one is not too shabby, if I may say that. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how it'll end, although I was planning to be just a spectator, not part of the play itself" Lucia laughed boisterously, noisily, like she was trying to distract them from how she felt. To Sisyphus it didn't go unnoticed how hollow her laughter actually was, how uncertainty seemed to grip her.
Only when she thought they weren't listening anymore she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else: "...I wonder what kind of ending this story will have...if it'll be the one you two want or the one I'm aiming for."
You heard some information you didn't know about Lucia
The Witch of Hope Social Link has reached Rank 4!
Your power to create Personas of the Star Arcana has grown!
Even though she wasn't prone to talking about herself or showing any vulnerabilities she may have, Lucia didn't seem too upset about having admitted that about her life. Maybe she trusted her guests more than she wanted to admit. "Golly, I had no idea..." Cornio said with pity, talking about how this world reminded her of where she originally was. That was enough to break Lucia's satisfaction, her gaze hardened.
"Don't pity me. Don't forget that every world I have meddled with is now gone. Destroyed, kaput, doesn't exist anymore," she raised her voice "The only reason why I'm comfortable with a world like yours is because I'm familiar with how it works. Nothing else!"
"...you know we're your friends? If you want to talk—" Sisyphus started, earning an exasperated look from her.
"I-I-I didn't ask for an offer of friendship. We're not even really friends, you're more like an apprentice"
"Apprentices can worry about their superiors too" she was trying hard to push them away, that he could see.
"Besides, shouldn't you get your problems in order before trying to help me with mine?" she said. In a way she was right. He should make amends and accept responsibility for his actions before helping others, especially since he was being stubborn and refused to officially apologize.
"That doesn't have anything to do with this!"
"You can't pretend you know what's best for the rest of us if you don't even know what to do about your own problems. Have you even apologized to Cornio?"
"N-No, it's okay...he doesn't have to" Cornio mumbled, and not in a convincing manner at all, so unconvincing Sisyphus would have preferred Cornio would tell to his face he was an unforgivable person and deserved to burn. It'd be less painful than seeing him try to brush it aside with such an accusatory tone.
Sisyphus knew very well he was a coward. His piece knew it too and disapproved wholeheartedly, yet none of them had tried to fix that. What was the point of acknowledging a flaw if you did nothing to solve it? While Syphus the piece had an excuse due to his master not letting him apologize, Sisyphus didn't. He simply was procrastinating, leaving it for later, trying to focus on the game. That was neglecting his relationship with Cornio, and clearly the more he let the problem go untouched, the worse everything would get.
No, this couldn't keep going like this.
It took him a while to decide the right words. He practiced in his mind over and over, imagining how Cornio would reply. No excuses would be valid, it had to be a real apology. "Cornio, I want to talk to you for a moment" he said once he felt ready. Cornio didn't seem particularly enthused about talking with Sisyphus, but followed him out of the room nonetheless, Lucia behind him until they all left the den.
Lucia stretched, her articulations popping. "I'm going to my room for a while. Tell me when you're ready to continue the game" It was her graceful way of leaving them alone and also giving the pieces enough time to do whatever they wanted with no restrictions. Sisyphus hurried towards the lobby.
"Let's talk outside"
"...I'm not sure about this" Cornio said.
"I just want to apologize" he blurted out. An apology wasn't what Cornio expected to hear, but he did follow Sisyphus, hopeful. Could it be for real?
The two of them walked to the bench, each of them sitting down on one end of the seat. For a moment they stared into the swirling purple clouds, waiting for something to break the uncomfortable silence. It was Sisyphus who did it.
"...as I said, I want to apologize. I did something horrible and I don't expect to be forgiven, but I..." the entire speech he had prepared vanished from his head. Maybe that was for the better, an apology prepared beforehand may ring fake. I just have to trust myself and do it. "I don't mean to make it sound like an excuse, but I did what I thought was best at the time"
"I don't get it" Cornio said.
Sisyphus leaned on the arm rest. "There's this monster in the Underground, Flowey. He's...unusual, let's say"
"Really?" there was a lot of tension in Cornio's voice.
"He could only exist through the experiment Alphys did. Usually she does this experiment by herself, but in this timeline she didn't, because all humans are currently alive. I'd rather not go into much detail about that" it'd make Alphys sound awful. Cornio wasn't fooled, though.
"She needed a human SOUL to extract Determination from, I know"
"You know?"
"Lucia told me the details" Cornio refused to look at him, always staring at the purple clouds. "Just some of them"
Sisyphus wasn't sure if Lucia would tell everything without distorting the information in any manner, so he explained to Cornio everything he could. About Alphys, about the experiment, about how a human soul was vital and necessary. Cornio listened carefully to every word, barely showing any reaction. Does he believe me or not? It did sound hard to believe, now that he was saying it all aloud.
When he finished the explanation about how the experiment worked, Cornio nodded slowly. "I understand...that you needed a human soul, I get it. That doesn't mean you had to kill one of your friends"
His first impulse was to want to say something like 'It's not like I wanted to!' but that'd only make things worse. Deep breaths, deep breaths... "I know that was unforgivable. I got myself be swayed by my emotions" That was a rather bland reply, but it was the truth. Right now he needed to not be emotional. The moment he started pleading and stopped behaving in a relatively reasonable manner, the apology would mean nothing.
Even though Sisyphus was calm and measured – he hoped – Cornio's face contorted in a gesture of pain and betrayal. "You shouldn't have! Flowey isn't worth it!"
"I'm not sure what Lucia told you about Flowey—"
"I know enough about Flowey to know he's not worth it! You shouldn't..." he trailed off. Sisyphus was sure he saw tears glistening on the corners of Cornio's eyes.
Sighing, Sisyphus nodded. "It's not really about Flowey. It'd take a while to explain, but let's say Flowey is holding a friend of mine" Cornio froze when he heard that. "I'm indebted to him"
"Indebted...?"
"It's a long story, but if I had to put it in a few words I'd say he saved me" Sisyphus said, a faint smile crossing his face. "His name was Asriel. He's the prince, you know? So of course he had never been over the surface. Turns out some things happened and he and I met.
Back then I had just started to live like I was in autopilot, living one day after another with no point. It was Asriel who got me out of that, all because I wanted to help him return home. Thanks to him and Frisk I started realizing I got back the will to not get stagnant anymore. It was they who saved me"
"But you're a witch now"
Sisyphus clicked his tongue, that was a bit of a touchy topic. "I died, thanks for reminding me. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate what they did for me" he leaned back on the bench "That's why I'm trying to help my friends, but above all them there's Asriel and Frisk"
"And if he didn't exist in this timeline..."
"Then Asriel would be the only person that wouldn't get to be in the best timeline we could make"
Cornio blinked. Was that Cornio being selfless? Could something born from selfish desires really be selfless? "You can't be there either"
"...I know. I don't really care" His piece would be the one who'd get to enjoy it, and while he wasn't exactly Sisyphus, he still held part of his soul. It was the same thing, as far as he was concerned.
Cornio stood up. "I didn't know you were willing to go to such lengths for Asriel"
"I didn't know either. Being here hasn't been a good influence on me" After decades of being with Lucia, it was easy to start seeing everyone in the world in a different light – and not in a positive manner.
"Do you think Asriel would have wanted that?"
There was no hesitation when Sisyphus answered. "No. I'm sure he'd disapprove, maybe he'd never talk to me again"
"Would that be worth it?" Cornio turned to face him "Just to do this for him?"
"...at this point I doubt it" The regret for taking Ciruel's life to ensure Asriel's existence wasworse with every passing day, especially because it didn't guarantee Asriel would exist. Right now it was Flowey. That was different.
It truly was a mistake to do such a thing, for many obvious reasons.
Sisyphus had been here to make amends, but he never imagined Cornio would envelope him in a hug with no warning at all. Caught off-guard, all Sisyphus could do was hold his hands in the air, flabbergasted and unsure what to even do other than plead: "Hey, Cornio, personal space-!" The complaint was forgotten, replaced by contemplation.
Unlike Sisyphus, Cornio - ASRIEL had done this by impulse, spurred by a sudden warm feeling that sprung from the depths of his soul. Although Sisyphus had done something horrible, he regretted it now and he could see it. The regret now was appreciated, and although he still didn't approve at all of everything that had happened so far, he did see Sisyphus was making a sincere effort to apologize. The desire to forgive him wasn't just because of the friendship his younger alternate self had with this guy. ASRIEL did want to reconcile.
"Sisyphus, you did something bad but it doesn't have to end here. It'll be okay, I know it will!"
"Are you trying to comfort me?" It was nice, but also unexpected.
"I guess I am. Let's leave this behind us and keep playing. We have to make this timeline reach the best ending we can get"
Needless to say, Sisyphus fully agreed.
Cornio has accepted your apology
You feel your relationship with Cornio is on the right track again.
The Unusual Witch Social Link of the Death Arcana has been repaired!
What Sisyphus did would be a weight he'd have to carry for the rest of his life, but at least it'd be easier now that Cornio had accepted the apology. Although there was some reticence, he was willing to continue playing.
That was all he could ask for.
Sisyphus opened the door to enter the house, stepping aside to let Cornio enter. When he was about to close the door behind him, Sisyphus hummed loudly, getting Cornio's attention. "Hey, I was wondering if...if you're hiding your ident—" hold on, that's a tad too direct.
Cornio seemed to get his guard up. "Yes?"
"Are you...? Sisyphus stopped, unsure if he should ask. "Are you familiar with the brooches Lucia makes...?" his hesitation was obvious, and Cornio wasn't rushing to answer either. It was like they were waiting for the other to make a decisive move, to ask the question or to answer it preemptively.
Sisyphus was the one who caved. A bit fearful of the answer he could get, he decided to backtrack: "No, nevermind. Let's just continue"
If Cornio didn't want to admit it yet, Sisyphus sure wasn't going to force the matter.
-ooooo-
He didn't know what his master was doing, but Syphus appreciated the reprieve. The moment the feeling of freedom invaded him he took a decision: he was going to take the first step to solve his problems, no matter what his master wanted. This was for the better, he was sure of it.
Hoping he'd get enough time, Syphus ran to Coruel's cottage, knocking on the door with urgency. The seconds felt like hours while Ciruel went to the door and opened it, spurred by what had sounded like an emergency. "What's happening?!"
"Nothing urgent is happening, I wanted to talk with you"
Ciruel put a hand on his chest, relieved, and adjusted his askew glasses. It seemed he had grabbed them in a hurry. "I thought we were under attack or something! What's wrong with you?!"
"Are you busy?" Great. I just arrived and I already made him upset.
"Not really," the scholar said, "If this can't wait until the morning I guess I can make some time for you," still annoyed, Ciruel opened the door further and stepped aside, letting Syphus enter. The piece sat onto the edge of the empty fire pit on the center of the cottage. He felt prepared to make amends somehow, so he started speaking without hesitation:
"Look, I think there's tension between us. I want to solve that somehow"
"...to be frank with you, I'm not sure why I'm angry with you," Ciruel admitted, "I just know when I see you I feel like you wronged me somehow"
"Was it anything I said?" it was rather disquieting Ciruel knew something was wrong. With some luck he didn't know many details.
"No. It feels more like you did something bad, I just can't remember what it is," Good, this should make things easier. It felt like cheating if Ciruel didn't know why exactly he was so angry with him, though. Ciruel added: "If you stop avoiding me we can start over. That okay with you?"
"Sure! I'm all for it!"
"Then it's a deal," Ciruel fiddled with his thick glasses, "Sorry if I'm not crying on your shoulder with forgiveness or something. I have never been an emotive person"
"No, it's okay! I'm glad we can be on civil terms again," Syphus smiled, glad things were going well. Ciruel patted him on the shoulder, leading him out of the cottage.
"If you ever need anything you can come to me. I'll lend an ear, although you shouldn't expect much from me. My day's pretty busy, what with Papyrus and everything"
"You better not say he's a hassle"
"If I considered him a hassle I wouldn't be taking the time to be with him, you daft idiot," he said, "He's the only friend I have down here, you know," with that comment, Ciruel slowly closed the door. Syphus waited for a moment in case something else would happen, but nothing did. Ciruel didn't open the door again.
The social link stayed broken.
Even though there had been a reconciliation and they were in okay terms, it seemed their relationship would forever lead nowhere. His actions towards Ciruel couldn't be solved with a mere apology, they likely wouldn't ever be fixed, not without both acknowledging what exactly happened. Even if Syphus told Ciruel everything that happened, he knew Ciruel wouldn't believe a single word about it. It'd be a useless endeavor to even try explaining to him how SAVE and LOAD worked, much less how he was killed and then revived when time was rewinded.
As much as he hated to admit it, things would never be the same between Ciruel and him. He had said he was okay with his presence, but the breach between them was insurmountable.
Sighing and still feeling pangs of regret over his actions, Syphus turned and left, intending to go to his own cottage to sleep. ...at this point I'm really not sure making Flowey exist was worth it. He hoped his master knew what he had been doing.
With some luck the consequences of creating Flowey wouldn't be too bad.
-ooooo-
"I found it!" Flowey had said to them not too long ago, "It's a village full of humans!"
It had taken Flowey a while to finally be able to follow Syphus into the Hidden Village. When the flower emerged on the boundaries of the village he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Not only that monster could transform into a human – he guessed that was what was going on? – he also had kept several other humans around! Or could they transform into monsters or something? He hadn't stayed around for long, knowing they'd see him if he was careless.
He made sure to gather as much information as possible before leaving, though. From beneath the ground he felt the layout of the surface, soon finding out there were seven people in total. If they were humans, then that'd be enough to shatter the Barrier. Varying ages, from kids to elders. The youngest human didn't have striped clothing, but he was sure she was a kid. A couple of the humans were injured, had something happened?
Chara had taken every bit of information with frustration, not at Flowey, but at the thought of there being so many humans in the Underground. After all this time, his anger at humanity hadn't diminished not even a little bit. Frisk was cooperating because Chara hadn't told them the entirety of their plans, so while Frisk dug around in the snow to get at the soil, they asked Frisk to make the question they had been mulling for a while: "Why did it take you so long to follow him?" The explanation as to how Syphus was vanishing in thin air in a specific part of Waterfall was interesting to Chara. Obviously, it was less likely it was because of Syphus, and more because of that part of Waterfall. If it had been something Syphus could do, then he'd have done it in other places too.
Flowey's next comment got their attention for a different reason: "His SOUL also looks strange...it's like a red human soul, but almost half of it is missing"
"Really?" Frisk sensed Chara wanted more details, while Frisk put the soil in a flowerpot they had managed to obtain.
"I thought he'd be like me because he didn't have a soul, but it's not like he's..." Empty. Syphus did have emotions, that much he could see.
"Give me a sec, I want to talk to him" Chara requested to Frisk and took control without waiting for permission. Ignoring Frisk's protests, Chara put the flowerpot aside "He's not human and he's not a monster. Weird, right?"
Flowey noticed the change in the human's demeanor. It was Chara know, he noticed. "Is that even possible?" That sounded kind of impossible, even to the flower with the essence of a monster.
"I dunno. You should befriend him and see if he tells you anything—"
"No"
Chara turned their head. Flowey's refusal was immediate and headstrong, and it went completely against the plan they had just started to think. "No?"
"I won't. I don't like him; I'm not going to be anywhere near him. He's the one who made me into...into this!" for an emotionless flower, he sure was showing a lot of dislike towards Syphus.
"You have to, it's necessary if we want to find out more..."
"We don't have to do anything with him. I can keep observing him and you'll...do whatever it is you want to do" to Flowey it was kind of weird how it was easier for him to plan ahead without any emotions twisting his thoughts. Even his refusal to interact with Syphus was because of a logical reason instead of emotional reasons, even if he had just said it was because 'he didn't like him'.
Chara was starting to get irritated by Flowey's uncooperativeness. "That's not going to be of much help, just do what I'm telling you to do!"
"I won't!" Flowey bristled, his face twisting. "I already said I won't! I'm not even that good of an actor!"
The part about not being a good actor caught Chara off-guard, so much they started laughing. Falling on the snow, Chara laughed, almost in disbelief about that. Flowey, not being a good actor? As if! They had to be good at deceiving, after everything he had done! But...that had been Flowey after who knew how many times in a repeating timeline. This was Flowey, recently created. He was much closer to Asriel than to the flower they knew. How could they have forgotten that simple fact?
Flowey's vines emerged from the snow, he nudged Chara a few times. "Chara? Chara, hey, stop laughing! Please?"
It was like the old times, Chara reacting to stuff in some manner and Asriel asking and wondering why they were like that. Good old times...
Chara managed to stand up, shaking the snow off their clothes. "I'm sorry, it's okay. You don't have to do that if you don't want to," they had to forgive him for that. Pressing on would only turn Flowey against them, they thought.
"...really?"
"When did you turn so assertive, Azzy?"
"...I don't know," he admitted, not sure if that was a good thing or not. Had he really changed? It hadn't been too long since their revival, just a few months from his perspective! He didn't think he had changed at all since then!
...maybe the lack of emotions affected him more than he thought it would. A very faint and cold sensation overcame him. Discomfort? Expectation? He wasn't sure, maybe it was just his imagination trying to make him feel something.
Wanting to leave that topic aside, Flowey directed his attention at the flowerpot, now full of soil. "What's that for?"
"This is for when we get out. You're coming with us!"
"But we can't get out. I can't cross the Barrier even while going underground, I tried"
Chara stood up, returning control to Frisk. They were both in support of bringing Flowey along, Frisk even was pleased Chara had proposed it. They weren't sure why Chara wanted to bring Flowey along, but they sure weren't going to object to that! "Don't worry, everything will be okay! I know someone's working to break the Barrier!"
Flowey wasn't going to complain about that, although he wasn't sure anyone would be capable of freeing monsterkind. Pretty unlikely, all things considered. "I understand Chara wanting to bring me along, but why you? I don't even know you"
"Because we're friends!" No other reason needed. Flowey didn't seem particularly flattered, but he nodded like he understood. Mumbling that he was going to go spend some time with Papyrus and Ciruel, Flowey disappeared under the soil, leaving Frisk siting on the snow.
Once they were alone, they finally could comment to Chara something they had been glad about. "For a moment I didn't think you wanted him with us"
"Why not? He's my brother, remember? I'm not going to leave him behind"
"It's just that...sometimes you're...not very nice to him," Frisk said carefully. That was a very big understatement and they all knew it. Chara scoffed and made no attempt to deny that, instead pressing on with what they wanted from Frisk:
"Listen, if Azzy doesn't want to do it then you should be the one to be that guy's friend. You're already his friend anyway, it should be easy for you to get him to say something"
"Why do you want that so much?" Frisk simply didn't understand why Chara was so focused on him.
"I'm just curious! Don't you want to know what's up with him?"
"...I guess I do?"
"Then it's decided!"
It was: although Chara requested that, Frisk wasn't really willing to play along. Something was odd about Chara's interest, and they weren't willing to do something they'd regret later. Frisk took the flowerpot into the skeleton brothers' house, leaving it on the table. Chara's relationship with Asriel was...strange. Frisk had no doubt Chara liked Asriel and truly wanted his help, and they even trusted Asriel to some extent.
On the other hand, Frisk remembered how Chara mercilessly tore Flowey apart in several timelines.
Although they genuinely liked Flowey, they sure weren't going to let that affection stand in the middle of their plans.
A red soul means determination. Chara's determination would go on, even at the cost of their friends' lives.
Frisk hoped nothing of the sort would happen ever again.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 7
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 4
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 - RANK 2
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 4
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 3
Judgment - Team - RANK 4
Aeon - Syphus - REVERSED
Jester - Alphonse - REVERSED