Day 50
Syphus held the bag of heavy rocks and metal, making sure it wouldn't fall overboard. Undyne had carried it with ease onto the boat, and then Syphus had volunteered to hold onto the bag so she could rest. The movement of the boat was smooth, calm. For once Undyne looked relaxed, sitting back and basking in the pleasantly temperate air above the river.
Most of the journey was in silence. Undyne had asked Syphus to come with her and help her with the task of taking materials to Toriel for more armors, and since he owed it to her for the many liberties he had given him at work, he had no objections. Besides, before they left the headquarters, Undyne had said to him, making sure to be discreet so the other guards nearby wouldn't hear: "I got a favor to ask you, but keep it a secret"
It must have been a pretty big thing if Undyne was actually bothering to be discreet. Syphus simply nodded, accompanying her out to the river.
Now that they were on their way, Syphus decided to ask her what she was talking about. Moving the sack of scrap aside – or more like pitifully dragging it, unable to lift the sack – Syphus leaned onto the edge of the boat, lazily letting the water pass through his fingers. "Sssssoooo...what was it you wanted to talk about?"
Having been reminded of that, Undyne stretched, ready to bring forth what she had in mind. "You better not have any plans for tonight"
"Are the cooking lessons going to start tonight? I should bring Papyrus; he'd love it"
"Yeah! Yeah, you should! But that's not what I'm talking about," Undyne said, "I'm gonna talk with Asgore tonight and I want you to be there"
Syphus took his hand out of the river, shaking the water off his fingers. "Wait what? You want me to be there while you talk to the king?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying you'll do! You got a problem with that?"
A few, he did, but nothing that was worth arguing about. His biggest concern was that Asgore could somehow figure out there were several humans in the Underground – if he didn't know already, that is. "Not really. I just don't get why you'd want me to be there. It's not like the king knows me or I have anything that'd sway him"
"I'm sure you have something. Look, I'd bring Frisk and you both, but I think...I think I should leave the kid behind. Just in case things get out of control," she admitted, "I wouldn't want to put them in any danger. You can defend yourself"
"Against Asgore"
"I'm going to be there too, remember? I'll stop anything funny, but it's just to be careful. I already am having enough placing kids in danger with Annie"
The thought of having to meet Asgore was a tad overbearing. He hadn't intended to see Asgore anytime soon, yet now he had no other option. If Undyne hadn't been there he wouldn't have dared to go, that was for sure. Syphus dried his hand against his clothing, resigned. "Alright, I'll go. I'm not sure what use my presence there will be, but I'll go"
His reticence must have been pretty obvious because she tried to calm him down. "You're worrying too much, I'm sure nothing will happen. Asgore is a big softie! You'll be fine"
Chances are she was right, but he felt nervous nonetheless. By the time they stood outside of the throne room, a few hours later, he had just managed to calm down enough to not want to run away to the deepest recesses of the Ruins. "I should have gotten some nice clothing or something" Syphus commented, self-conscious. Undyne, clad with her armor and looking rather imposing, waved a hand, carefree.
"Forget about that! Asgore doesn't care about that kinda thing, you'll be fine"
"Undyne, I'm meeting royalty"
"You met the queen already, the king's going to be easier than that" She wasn't wrong about that, Asgore was much more easygoing than Toriel. Still, noticing Syphus was nervous, he lowered her voice. "I know you're afraid he'll try to take all humans' souls, but he's not like that"
"He promised war with humanity, Undyne"
"That's not what I mean! Asgore is too soft for that. He's not going to do it unless he has no other option" Everybody in the Underground pushing for that would corner Asgore and force him to attack the Hidden Village. Right now, thanks to Frisk, that was somewhat unlikely...
...but they couldn't hope for the best case scenario. Unpredictable things could happen throughout the next seventy or so days.
The priority was to avoid giving Asgore reasons to believe attacking the humans and taking their souls was his only option.
"Besides, I was gonna be the one leading most of the war" Undyne added "I was gonna lead all of our warriors to kick humanity's asses, and you can be sure we'd have done it no matter what"
"...yeah, I find it hard to doubt that" Leaving aside monsterkind's disadvantages, Undyne was tenacious enough to achieve some grandiose feats.
"Hey, what's that face for? I'm on your side now. You have nothing to worry about"
The inside of the throne room was nothing new to Syphus. He had passed through it before, when he had gone to check the Barrier almost two months ago, and now he was taking a better look. Two thrones were on the center of the room, uncovered and pristine, but the floor around one of them had a lot more flowers than the other, looking messy and with weeds. Toriel's throne, most likely. It had been quite some time since she had sat there.
Asgore wasn't on his throne. Instead he was kneeling near the back of the room, facing them, huddled with his cape around him. With his claws he raked the soil around a group of flowers, pulling small weeds and ensuring their healthy growth. When Undyne and Syphus entered, he looked up, smiling kindly. "Howdy! You arrived quicker than I expected"
"Of course. Wouldn't want to leave you waiting" Undyne said casually, approaching and extending a hand to help him get up. Even though Asgore was much larger than her, she pulled him up with ease. "I brought the friend I was talking about. He's great, the armory at the headquarters is in order for the first time ever!"
That's because 023 lost something in there and I had to move the entire room's contents around, boss. Syphus rocked on his feet, hoping that, just like Toriel, Asgore wouldn't see through the illusion covering him.
Apparently it did fool him. Asgore approached him, irradiating a comforting tranquility, and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Asgore Dreemurr" I can't return the handshake... No way he'd put his disguise at risk. Asgore didn't know why Syphus refused to greet him, though. A bit hurt, he didn't falter, instead discretely wiping the pads of his fingers on the inside of his cape. "I understand...I should have washed my hands"
"Hey, Syphus! Have some courtesy, geez!" Undyne chided, earning an exasperated look from Syphus. She was kind of right, he should apologize. Feeling like he was on a precarious situation that could lead to this entire meeting falling apart before it even started, Syphus craned his head up, trying to look Asgore straight to the eyes – and failing due to the height difference. The most he could do was stare at his chin.
"I'm sorry, Asgore, it's not that I want to shake your hand, it's just...that..." he shifted awkwardly, trying to give the impression he was too shy to greet people in that manner. Thankfully, Asgore seemed to get the message Syphus intended, and backed off.
It had the secondary effect of making him try rather hard to please Syphus and keep him comfortable, to the point Undyne was baffled. Ten minutes after the introductions, they were all sitting to a table Asgore brought, with a piping hot teapot of golden flower tea. "Are you comfortable?" Asgore asked them both. Undyne, busy with her tea, nodded. Syphus, feeling at ease thanks to the friendly atmosphere the king was trying to create, cradled the teapcup in his hands.
Undyne was going to be the one to take the lead. Once she judged the time was right, she went straight to the point: "Asgore, we should forget that about the war"
The king put down the teapot on the table, like he was stalling for time to think of a response. "Why do you think that?"
"Because I don't want to fight humans! Why else would I think that?"
It didn't seem like Asgore was unpleased by that. Instead, he even seemed somewhat relieved. "I understand, I really do, but I can't"
"Why not?! You're the king, whatever you say will be done!"
"It's not as simple as—"
She didn't even wait for him to finish. "It's that simple! You can do it easily, you just have to stand out there and tell everybody we're not fighting anyone once we're out of here!
Asgore raised his voice just a smidgen, without losing his patience. "I could do that, true—"
"Do you want to kill humans once we're out of here?!"
"No, I don't want that" Asgore was used to conversations with Undyne going like this, he wasn't going to lose his cool at her constant interruptions. She was about to object again, and only was stopped because Syphus put a hand on her arm to stop her. Better let the big guy speak. "I wish there was another solution, but there isn't..."
"Are you sure about that?" Syphus inquired.
"The only way to break the Barrier is with seven human souls. Without them, we'll stay trapped here" he explained, as if that wasn't common knowledge in the Underground. It was remarkable how nonjudgmental Asgore was.
"That doesn't have to be the only way, your m—I mean, Asgore"
"Yeah! Alphys had an idea. She'll find a way; I can promise you that"
That seemed to brighten Asgore's day considerably. "That's great! Can I announce that to everyone in the Underground?" it was a way to not have to hurt humans. A way out, finally! Undyne hesitated, not really liking that thought.
"...no. You shouldn't" she said. Alphys wouldn't cope well with the pressure and she knew it. Everyone in the Underground placing their hopes on her would hurt her. That possibly way out was gone. Asgore made sure he wasn't showing his disappointment.
"That's unfortunate..."
"Trust her, it'll be okay, I promise"
"It'd be really great if you could at least tell everyone to not try to kill a human for their soul" Syphus said, taking a sip of the tea. "There's a child that shouldn't be getting attacked in Hotland"
"Yeah...wait, yeah! You should do that!"
That proposal didn't get as much joy as the thought of Alphys taking charge of the daunting task of breaking the Barrier did. Asgore looked down at his cup of tea. "I can't do that"
"Why not?! Asgore, this is easy!"
"It's complicated"
"Can you try to explain it? Even if we won't understand?"
It was worth a try. The king swirled the tea in the cup, silent for a minute. "I told everybody I'd get them out of the Underground. Everyone is relying on me, but so far we haven't progressed at all" he closed his eyes with shame – shame at having to do such thing as targeting humans for their souls. "Not a single soul..."
"I heard it has been like a hundred years since you declared war" Undyne remarked.
"She's right, there should be a change of direction. Clearly this about the war hasn't worked at all!"
"What's our alternative?" Asgore wondered, open to proposals.
"How about just announcing humans are alright and we should all get along? It's that simple"
It was never that simple and everyone in the throne room knew it. Syphus was trying to make it sound less difficult than it was, and it really wasn't working. He had thought maybe making it less of a daunting perspective would be of help, but it had the opposite effect. Asgore swallowed, serving himself more tea.
"...the world can't change that easily. I promised everyone I'd get them out of the Underground...and it indeed was a mistake to say I'd do it through such a despicable manner," the king said, "But I can't go back in my word. Not when everyone's trusting me to fulfill my promise"
"Asgore, this can't go on like this"
"I know it shouldn't" Shouldn't. As in he'd continue, even if it was tearing him apart. Asgore trapped himself into a hell of his own making, and for reasons Syphus and Undyne couldn't pinpoint yet could suspect he was unable to leave it.
The tea was finished without much talk. Although it was certainly delicious and everyone liked it, nobody was in mood to really comment or try to make conversation. Once everyone was done, Asgore and Undyne stood up. "You changed your mind yet about the war?"
"I'd like to say I did" clearly, nothing had changed in the last ten minutes. Undyne put her hands on her hips and leaned towards him, assertive.
"Asgore, you gotta be kidding. You don't have what's needed to lead a war. That's why I was gonna do that, because you don't have the guts to do it" That sure would be awkward in any other timeline. If Undyne had known in other timelines Asgore had taken six children's souls, she may have thought otherwise.
"A king needs to do what's best for his people. I can't let everyone languish underneath this mountain"
"Yeah? I missed the part about how a king must dirty himself with blood when he clearly doesn't want to," she said, although she didn't sound upset. More like she pitied him. "Fine, I get it. You won't change your mind anytime soon. But you know what I will do?"
Asgore looked up, with some pride for Undyne. "Tell me"
"I'll get in your way. If you try to kill any human, I'll get in your way and keep them safe, you hear me?"
"I wouldn't want it any other way" that was the next best hope he had, that others would stop him, even if it's by force. "Do you think you can do it?"
"You have known me since before I was able to knock you on your ass: I don't lie. If I say I can then I can!" she was exuding confidence, daring to even grin. If Frisk or any other human had entered the throne room in that moment, she'd have gotten herself between them and Asgore, with no hesitation at all. Elated, Asgore lunged and grabbed Undyne, enveloping her in a tight hug, much to her surprise. She didn't fight it, possibly because she was used to that already.
Saying farewell to Asgore went smoothly, Asgore even said he'd like to meet Syphus again someday, and Syphus replied he'd gladly come anytime Asgore wanted. Once Undyne and Syphus reached the golden hallway that'd lead to the outside of the castle, she suddenly made a move like she was going to punch one of the windows, stopping herself just an inch before contact. With a sigh, the captain slumped over, tired.
"That didn't go like I thought it would. I was sure we'd get him to stop!"
Syphus hadn't gotten his hopes high, so he was thinking of everything from a more objective point of view. May as well try to help Undyne adjust her own expectations, even if it was a bit late by now. "He's the king, we're not. We can't even begin to imagine how it's like to have the hopes of the entirety of monsterkind on your back"
"It's not like they're not all trusting me. I'm the captain of the Royal Guard!"
She had a point there, but Syphus wasn't deterred. "What I mean to say is that Asgore's situation can't be as simple as we think it is. We don't like what he's doing, but it also isn't our place to tell him what to do"
Undyne conked her head against the golden wall. "Not cheering me up, Syphus"
"I'm not trying to cheer you up," he said, "Asgore's the only one who can take the decision here. He already knows what he's doing is wrong, but there must be factors stopping him from doing the right thing"
"Factors?" Undyne looked up. "If we solved those then he'd have no excuse not to stop the war"
"Pretty much, yeah, but we don't know what they are and he's not telling us. He's on his own, I guess." He said "Let's try to give him our support anyway. These must be hard times for him. Getting all angry may make things worse"
Standing aside and doing nothing seemed to Undyne like she was giving her tacit approval. She felt she had to do something, be more insistent, stop him from waging war on humanity somehow! But Syphus was right...they couldn't just abandon Asgore even if they were trying to stop him.
They were his friends, after all.
"...well I'm not giving up now. I'm gonna think of something, and if I don't, then I'll get in his way like I said I will"
"I thought you'd say that" Syphus smiled "Come on, let's do it!"
"Yeah!" she clutched Syphus' shoulder, swaying him back and forth, thankful for the support. Even though Syphus hadn't been as encouraging to her as she thought he'd be, he had given her a viewpoint she hadn't considered, and during the tea party with Asgore he was a bit of a calming presence. Even if she had done most of the talking, just by being there she felt he had been of help.
You sense Undyne's unyielding trust
The Undyne Social Link has reached Rank 7!
Your power to create Personas of the Justice Arcana has grown!
They left together the castle, returning to the headquarters. Undyne escorted Syphus to the storage, intending to leave him to his usual tasks. Before she left she had a favor to request, though: "Syphus"
"Yes, boss?"
"If Asgore wants to talk to you then try to be his friend. I know he's trying to make war against humanity and all that, but he's a good guy, I promise"
"You want me to give him a chance"
"Yeah, exactly! Do it, okay?"
He was willing to do that. He knew Asgore wasn't an evil monster, even if the king's actions could lead to some to think that. If he could help lead him to a better situation than in all other timelines, then he had to at least try.
Asgore deserved that much at least.
-ooooo-
When Lucia returned to the parlor to check on her guests, she found them with the gameboard, talking cheerfully. It was like there had never been a rift between them, Cornio was even laughing. It was better than she expected, and even if she wasn't going to ever admit it, it made her feel nostalgic.
When was the last time she had shot the breeze like that with anyone?
Sisyphus scooted to the end of the couch, leaving enough space for Lucia to sit down. "Come here! You missed the pieces' meeting with Asgore"
"The king? Did they manage to do anything?"
"Nothing at all"
Cornio's cheerfulness faltered for a moment. "He didn't change your mind about his plans...but it's matter of time"
"What he said. It'll happen sooner or later, I'm sure of it"
Perhaps it was a bit of jealousy what led Lucia to react: with a serene demeanor that betrayed her growing inner turmoil, she put a hand on Sisyphus' shoulder. "Since you made amends with him, how about you and I have a little chat now?"
"...I thought everything was okay between us" Sisyphus got his guard up, not sure he liked the sound of that at all.
"We're fine, it's just a friendly chat"
Rejecting her would be rude, so Sisyphus decided to follow her. She didn't take him out of the manor like he expected, instead leading him upstairs, to a place Sisyphus didn't remember visiting ever before: her personal study. The large room had a stuffy and ethereal atmosphere, for a moment he felt like he had stumbled into a place he shouldn't be at. If it wasn't for Lucia walking around and inviting him inside, he'd have high-tailed away right away. "What are you waiting for? Come in!"
"Alright..." if she was willing to invite him to the one area he had been barred from since decades ago, then sure! He'd take it.
Lucia walked to the large bookshelf, browing the books to find what she was looking for. "You know, I like mythology. Tales and stories have something charming in them, don't you think?"
"I don't know much about myths"
"You should study them – most Personas have some sort of resemblance to mythical characters or to legends. It must be because of the collective unconscious shaping them—" Lucia turned around, having noticed Sisyphus wasn't by her side. Instead, he was on the other side of the room, examining the horned canine skeleton propped behind the pane of glass. Suddenly the lights turned off in that area, covering everything with darkness. "Hasn't anyone told you it's rude to prod around in someone's room without their permission?"
"Oh...sorry," Sisyphus apologized, hurrying to be with her. He was curious about her personal study, how not to be if he hadn't been here ever before? "What was that skeleton about?"
"None of your concern," she replied dryly.
Clearly that was a conversation she didn't want to have. Better change topics. "What's this bookshelf filled with?"
Lucia passed a hand over the backs of many books. "It's my favorite stuff. Books about mythology, records of games I played before, a few novels..." she took out a thick book. "I wouldn't mind lending you a few things, if you're interested. Pretty rude of me to have neglected you for all these years"
"No, I'm okay. I was too busy anyway"
"Here, look at this," she opened the book. It was a book about Greek myths. "Haven't you ever wondered where your name comes from? I gave it to you for a reason, you know. The legend of Sisyphus fits you to a T"
"Really? Let me see!" he had wondered that before, and now he'd find out the origin of his name! It turned out it wasn't the most flattering name he could have gotten, all things considered. A king punished with the task of rolling a huge boulder up a hill, and the boulder rolling down when he was almost done, forcing him to start over – an eternal punishment. "Oh"
"You don't seem very pleased" Lucia patted his shoulder in what he couldn't avoid interpreting as some sort of sarcastic sympathy.
"I don't like the implications of this"
"You have to admit it's fitting. There you were, trying to engineer the best timeline possible and always failing, having to start again. You had nothing else to do other than that. If it hadn't been for me, you likely would have continued on for aaaaall eternity, meaning the world you were trying to help would suffer too. What other name could I have given you, really?"
"Did you reach me so you could save me from that fate?"
"You know me, I'm not an altruistic person," she said. "It's not like the Persona you started with was too flattering either. Looks like even you like to insult yourself in roundabout manners" almost too cheerfully, she takes another thick book, opening it on the right page immediately. "Ouroboros is more like a symbol, a snake eating its own tail. Can you guess what it means?"
"Nothing I'll like, I bet"
"It represents eternal cycles. Something repeating over and over, with no end" Great. My own unconscious' telling me I'm stuck. He couldn't deny it. After a few decades of work with no progress, it was hard to think otherwise. Seeing Sisyphus' mood was plummeting down, Lucia brought something else to his attention. "But it's not all like that. Ouroboros is also considered the symbol of purification, eternity and the soul of the world. Do you consider yourself the soul of the world?"
"Hardly!"
"But you are doing some purification, if you think about what you're doing. It's a bit of a stretch, but you could say that, don't you think?"
As she said, it was a stretch, but he was willing to take it. Anything to not feel like he had been running headfirst into a dead-end for a very long while. "Thanks, I guess"
"Anyway, I brought you here to give you this" once another book is taken out. The title indicated it was an encyclopedia about mythological monsters. Lucia browses it idly, barely giving a glance to each page. "I thought you'd find it useful"
"To know the origin of some of the Personas?" that was his first thought. Lucia didn't answer, instead giving him the book delicately. Although it was a simple gift, he felt touched by the gesture nonetheless. "Thank you. I'll give it an in-depth read later"
"That's what I wanted to hear. Sisyphus, this book is very important to me. Please take care of it and promise it you'll give it a read"
"I promise"
"I'm just covering my bases here. I don't know if it'll ever be relevant to you, but at the rate things are going I think it will"
Sisyphus blinked. "Okay, something's going on. What's wrong?" he inquired, she didn't answer. The blindfold over her eyes made her able to keep her poker face easier than most people would. "Lucia, we're friends, aren't we?"
"We're not really—"
"Listen to me for a moment! Even if we're not friends, you're my mentor. As my mentor, I want to help you. Just tell me what's wrong. I know something's been gnawing at you for a while already"
Lucia glared at him so intensely he could feel it through her blindfold, but he didn't back down. He felt it was her trying to intimidate him into not talking to her about that anymore. After several seconds of glaring, she sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Look, I'll be honest with you for a moment. I know you can handle it, okay?"
"Tell me. I can handle it" how bad could it be?
"Both you and Cornio are being much friendlier towards me than I expected"
Sisyphus nodded, as if that wasn't anything to be surprised about. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I have warned you both several times already: I'm causing trouble for you two. To say the least, honestly. Neither of you should be nearly as okay with me as you are. I just...don't get why you're trying." She started walking towards the door of her study. "It's not that it's unwelcome. Far from it, I guess. I like it.
It's just that my life would be easier if you didn't"
"You mean...for whatever you're planning?"
"Exactly. Look, I don't have any intentions of stopping, but I sure would like to be able to go on without the guilt"
Sisyphus followed her out of the study. "What did you expect? I have been here for years and I don't know for how long you have known Cornio. Of course we'd try to be friends with you"
It was true, she should have known it. "...until this specific plan started I had never needed to interact with someone directly, face to face. It's easier to not feel anything when you're seeing things through a board, watching everything like it's a game" her hand brushed against the fabric over her eyes. "That's why I have this on, by the way. You can't get attached to something you can't see. That's what I thought"
"And it's not working?"
"It's not working"
"Then why did you even bother to host us here? If we're the first ones to even talk to you, why did you bother to welcome us here?"
She didn't answer.
What was he supposed to say to that? All he could do was silently stay by her side. That was enough for the time being, thankfully. Even though she didn't comment on it, and even though it meant he kept trying to establish a deeper bond with her, she appreciated it.
You feel you understand a little better the conflicting emotions Lucia feels.
The Witch of Hope Social Link has reached Rank 5!
Your power to create Personas of the Star Arcana has grown!
"It doesn't have to be like that, Lucia," he finally said.
"I know. Who knows...maybe it's better this way. We'll see." she pointed at the book Sisyphus had in his hands. "That's why I gave you that book.
If I ever decide to take you and Cornio's side, maybe that book will be useful"
This isn't really about sides, is it? In his opinion, Lucia wasn't their enemy. Although she had said over and over she was awful and that she was plotting against them, he had seen none of that. On the contrary, Lucia had been plenty helpful! Hard to think badly of her when everything she had done had been beneficial in some manner. Her warnings sounded rather hollow, without anything to back them up.
"Thank you, I'll take a good read later"
"Look for the page I earmarked"
"Got it"
Satisfied, Lucia left him. Sisyphus barely stepped away from the study when the curiosity overtook him. The page she earmarked? Indeed, just from a glance he could tell she had done that to one of the pages. Eager, Sisyphus opened the book about mythological monsters to that page, and quickly read the contents.
...huh. Okay then.
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