Day 55
For some reason, Syphus woke up feeling pretty rested despite having slept only three hours. Maybe it was the decision to confront his master and put an end to the internal conflict he had. Sisyphus may be his master, but they were both the same person. Thou art I, I art thou. They shared halves of the same SOUL, maybe his master was already aware of his feelings and thoughts. It sure would make it easier. Still, the thought of confronting Sisyphus was strangely invigorating. It was a plan! A rather warm feeling of satisfaction spread through him.
That aside, they had gathered many pieces for the Barrier-shattering weapon. Seven pieces out of twelve! Yet they still had only four team members. Something was wrong, he could notice that much. Shouldn't they have at least one team member more by now? -The only possibility he could think right now was that Ciruel could have been one, but due to Syphus' actions that was not possible anymore. If that was the case, then he could only blame himself for the current state of the team.
Even though he knew it was rather fitting his detestable actions would continue having serious repercussions, it frustrated him anyway.
Cohen was at his usual spot, sitting inside the sentry station. He looked up but didn't comment about last night's conversation, brushing it away as if it hadn't been big deal. Syphus preferred that – he felt a tad self-conscious about his vulnerabilities. Still, even though he wasn't touching the topic, Cohen seemed to feel Syphus needed a distraction, because he told him Ananas was just outside the village, hanging out with Monster Kid.
They were a little more than just 'outside the village'. When Syphus got to where Monster Kid was standing behind a rock, he immediately felt the intense, heavy atmosphere of dread and fear. Monster Kid immediately whispered him to stay silent, and pretty much pushed him behind the rock. Syphus fell to the floor, rubbing the sore spots on his back where he had landed. "Ouch, what are you—"
"She's in danger!" he urgently told him. Syphus' blood ran cold. Ananas, in danger? He immediately demanded an explanation. What happened, why was she in danger? "We were playing and then she heard someone approaching. We were going to hide but they were too fast for us!"
"Who?"
"Royal Guards!"
That was not a good sign. Hopefully they were guards he knew, maybe he'd be able to convince them to go away. "How are they like? Tell me everything you know"
"Yo, one was...one had all these feathers, and the other was so short..." he described vaguely. Those descriptions could fit several guards Syphus had seen before. He'd have to go take a look himself. Demanding to be told where Ananas was, Monster Kid peered over the rock in direction of Waterfall's caverns. That wasn't too far away, but it was too far from the village! Had she been pursued? Having instructed Monster Kid to be careful, Syphus left the rock, venturing in the depths of Waterfall.
It wasn't long before he heard voices, all of them rather familiar. The guards really were people he knew! And indeed, after making sure his disguise was ready, he finally saw who they were. 025 and 027 had cornered Ananas against the wall. The girl had her gun out, but she wasn't aiming at anyone. Instead she was trying to keep a brave face, but Syphus had spent so long with Ananas he was able to see one thing very well:
Ananas was terrified.
The girl was even shorter than 027, she had to look up at their helmeted faces. Her face was flushed, her lower lip was trembling, but she refused to run away. Syphus approached from behind the guards, already prepared to intervene, when she looked straight at him with pleading eyes. Her thoughts were clear: 'Don't intervene'.
027 waved her sword, flecks of magic bullets spraying Ananas. "I'm getting tired of talking"
"Yeah" 025 agreed. "There's no reason to listen to you. Shall we end it now?"
"No, not yet!" Ananas' hands clutched her gun tightly. "I-I'm serious, we don't have to do this. I mean no harm, seriously!"
"You were harassing that kid!"
"And I told you I wasn't. We're friends, we were just playing around!" she raised her voice. "We can talk about this, just...let's just sit down and talk"
025's hatchet appearing in his hands interrupted her. He drawled, resigned. "I believe there's no point. 027, you will have the first attack, won't you?"
"As usual"
Things had taken a turn for the worst case scenario. Even if Ananas didn't want him to intervene, he wasn't going to stand aside while she was attacked! "Stop!" he yelled, running towards them and wishing he had his halberd, if only to make a stronger statement. Syphus skidded in front of Ananas, she gasped and stayed close to the wall. Syphus made sure to stay in front of her just in case the two guards tried anything cute. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"
"Syphus? Why are you protecting this human?" 027 inquired, confused. At least she lowered her sword.
"Because she's my friend, that's why"
025 also lowered his hatchet. "Really? Is there anyone in the Underground who isn't befriending our enemies?"
"...I know they're not bad, but this is for the better" 027 said.
"She's not bad? She was harassing a kid. If we hadn't arrived, maybe he'd have died. That human is a threat"
"If she was more like the other child who is wandering around the Underground..."
How was he supposed to reply to that?! Syphus, a bit at a loss of how to deal with this, kept going nonetheless. "You're thinking about killing her"
025 sighed, forced to acknowledge what they were doing, grabbed his head in shame. "I don't like this any more than you do, but we have to take her SOUL"
"For Asgore" 027 added.
"Not just for Asgore, for everyone in the Underground"
"We the Royal Guard have to do what's best for our people!"
Ananas understood, she really did, but she wasn't willing to let them do what was best for monsterkind if it meant she was going to die. She was already working towards helping them! She didn't have to give them her SOUL! "I don't want to—" she started saying she didn't want to die, but 027 latched onto that to argue:
"See? She doesn't care about us! I bet if she could she would try to kill us!"
"No, that's not what I was—"
"Step aside and let us do it, Syphus. We won't ask again" 025 threatened. Syphus was sure he wasn't going to hurt him, but he didn't doubt the two guards would bodily haul him away if he kept resisting. No way he was going to give them leeway to harm his friend, though. Instead he stepped closer, making very clear he wasn't going to step aside. 027 stepped forward, intending to move Syphus aside, but she was hesitating – doing this to someone she knew was unpleasant, to say the least!
Before 025 could do it himself, Monster Kid ran into the cavern, tripping and falling to the ground right beside Syphus. Without any effort or even acknowledging what happened, Monster Kid faced the guards, standing on the tip of his toes like he was trying to make himself look taller than he actually was. "If...if you try to hurt my friends I'll...I'll..." he didn't even know what he'd do. Shout and hope somebody came by?
"What do you think you're doing, child?" 027 scolded him. "Get away from the human!"
"Y-Y-You're being bullies! She's done nothing wrong, so...s-so I won't let you hurt her!"
So now both their assistant and a kid were trying to protect the human – human who still had a gun and looked like she was willing to use it to defend herself if necessary. This was going nowhere fast, and at this rate someone would end injured. Someone other than the human could get hurt. Although 025 was secretly glad they had a reason to back off, even if it was for a while, he waved his hatchet threateningly at them. "That human better watch her back. Next time we see her we will take her SOUL"
"It's nothing personal, if that makes you feel better. We just need your SOUL to shatter the Barrier" 027 added, having the decency to sound mildly upset about it. It didn't make Ananas feel better at all, her face just tensed, like she was holding back what she really thought about those half-baked apologies. With a wave, both guards left, going in direction of Hotland.
For a minute they stood around, waiting to see if they were going to return, but they didn't. Still, standing around and waiting for any longer risked other monsters coming along, so for now the priority was to get Ananas out of sight. There was no way 025 and 027 wouldn't tell the others there was another human child in the Underground. The secret was going to come out sooner or later, anyway. Syphus just hoped the fallout wouldn't be too bad.
"...come on. Let's go back to the village" he suggested gently. The children just nodded, silent and disheartened by what had happened. The three walked in silence until they got to the crevice that led to the tunnel to the village. The children slid first, then Syphus followed them. In the span of the few seconds it took him to get there Ananas sat on the floor, face hidden behind her knees. "Annie?"
"...I don't wanna" she murmured against her knees. Her refusal went almost unheard, so soft Syphus for a moment wasn't sure if he had even heard correctly.
"What?"
"I don't want to go to the village!" she looked up from her knees. Her face was pink and her eyes and nose were watery. She had tried so hard to keep herself together, but being close to the village had forced her to acknowledge the growing sorrow she was starting to feel. "Why did you get your nose into this?"
"Annie, you were in danger, so..."
"I wasn't in danger! I was talking to them like—like the guardian I am, like the ambassador I also am. That was what I was supposed to do!" she stood up, indignant and throwing her hat to the floor. "I could do this, I could...do this...by myself..." slowly, she looked down, hiccupping. Monster Kid looked very uncomfortable, not even sure what to say to Ananas while she was on the verge of crying openly. He just stood to a side, his tail curled around his feet.
Syphus sat on the tilted wall of the crevice, looking at Ananas with attention, until he spread his arms to the sides, in a wordless offer for a hug. Ananas didn't hesitate much. She just glanced at him before running and tackling him with force, burying her face on Syphus' shoulder. It was like a dam broke. Her body heaved while she cried, she wailed in a manner Syphus hadn't ever heard before. He held her, careful to give her enough movement for whenever she wanted to stop the hug.
It didn't seem like she had any intentions to let go, though. Even after she stopped crying, she stayed there, clutching onto Syphus like he was a lifesaver in a stormy sea. Now that she had cried her eyes out, she was able to talk, even if it wasn't really calmly. "...do you think I'm stupid?"
"Why'd I think that?"
"I screwed up. I was playing with Monster Kid and those two found me. I thought...I thought I'd be able to talk to them"
Syphus frowned. "What did they say?"
"They didn't even listen to me" Ananas let go, just enough to sit beside Syphus on the slope. "I don't even remember why..."
Monster Kid stopped looking like he wanted the earth to swallow him, this was something he could answer so may as well do it! "They thought she had hurt me!" And their anger at seeing someone attacking a monster child would have been more than enough reason to distrust Ananas. The girl nodded, having remembered that.
"They took out their weapons, so I got my gun ready...I tried to against convince them to leave me alone, but the tall one threw a magic bullet at me" she sniffed. "I tried to say I was ready to fight, but they didn't care. I think that's what they were hoping to hear"
That did seem to fit what Syphus thought. They did seem to want an excuse to either do nothing, or to take her SOUL. Still, that must have been when Syphus arrived. If he had arrived just a minute later he'd have found them in the middle of a fight. Such a close call...
Ananas picked up her hat from the floor. "I was so scared...I really thought I would die. But what I was most afraid of is what would happen to everyone else. Because maybe they'd find you too later..."
Syphus bit the tip of his tongue, feeling bad for her. Even when her life was going to be in danger, her thoughts went for the safety of everyone else in the village. She was worried about everyone else over her own safety! She truly had the heart of a good guardian, but right now she sure didn't feel like one. Ananas turned the hat in her hands, as if she was hesitating to even put it on. "I was so scared..."
"Yo, I didn't know you were afraid! You looked so brave when you were facing them!" Monster Kid tried to compliment, and although it didn't make Ananas feel entirely better, she had a faint smile on her face.
"Thanks, I guess...but this makes me a failure of a guardian, right?"
"What do you mean?" Syphus asked.
"I couldn't talk to them, and I'm not sure I could have fought them very well if I had to. What kinda guardian is so useless they can't even fight those who try to harm them..."
So this had been like a wake-up call for her. She may have taken for granted she'd be able to do this, and now that she had come to face a situation that could happen in the future again she had to come to terms with the fact maybe she wasn't as prepared as she could be. Syphus removed his disguise, playing with the brooch between his fingers.
"Annie, you're trying to go too fast" he said. Ananas stopped flipping her hat around, listening. "I dunno how Cohen was like when he started with this, but I doubt he was ready to face any monster. It must have taken him a long time to be ready for that"
"Really?" she sounded like she had never thought of that before. To her, Cohen had always been that strong, ready-to-fight old man, she had hardly known him any other way.
"Of course! And you're just like him on that regard" Syphus said, soothing. "I know you, I have seen you in action. You're capable of some really brave stuff, and you have your heart in the right place.
I'm sure you will be a great guardian, but you're being too hard on yourself. Give yourself time to grow"
"Yeah! You'll be so cool someday, I just know it" that sounded a lot more earnest than most of what Monster Kid had said so far, and Ananas noticed it. She hid her face behind her hat, bashful, and talked into the hat, like she was embarrassed of what she was saying.
"I don't want to wait; I want to be the guardian now"
"Then at least don't be so hard on yourself. You think you can do that?"
"...I dunno. I really dunno," but she was willing to try, anyway.
You feel you supported Ananas in her moment of doubt
The Ananas Social Link has reached Rank 8!
Your power to create Personas of the Chariot Arcana has grown!
Still, this incident had given her a lot to think about. Fighting monsters wasn't the same than fighting Shadows. Shadows were just fragments of the ego, mindless things that were trying to kill them. Monsters, on the other hand, were people. She couldn't just attack them without feeling guilty over it. When it was the moment of truth, could she really defend her village and everyone from a monster attack?
Right now she wasn't sure.
"...MK, can we play later?" she asked, putting on the hat. "I don't feel like playing right now," she said right before running towards the village, leaving Monster Kid and Syphus behind. A mere playdate had turned into a disaster, and it wasn't really anyone's fault. Syphus got off the slope.
"Just give her some time alone. She'll be back on her feet in no time"
"I know she will. She can do it, because she's like Undyne," he said, he really believed that. "They're both so cool! Someday Annie has to realize that, right?"
"She will." And if she didn't, then they sure would remind her.
That was what friends did, after all.
You feel you're giving your teammates the support they need
The Last Timeline Social Link has reached Rank 4!
Your power to create Personas of the Aeon Arcana has grown!
-ooooo-
He was getting worried about Ananas, he had to admit. The way she had run...although he had managed to give some support, it still had hit her pretty hard. Not very surprising, her 'failure' had hit her dreams and goals. Intending to find her, he had gone into the village again.
The girl had shut herself in her cottage and, according to Cohen, she had even locked the door. May as well leave her alone, then. Checking on her later would be okay, but he had to admit he still felt uneasy. Not wanting to overwhelm Ananas, he stepped away from her cottage, finding himself in front of Celia's cabin.
Softly, Syphus knocked on the door, hearing the usual 'come in' from inside. Opening the door revealed Celia on her wheelchair, receiving him with a smile. "I was hoping to see you today, Syphus. Have you come to talk with this old woman?"
"I sure did. You're not busy, are you?"
"Absolutely not. Come here, I'm starting to shrivel form boredom in here"
In no time the both of them were sitting in front of each other, prepared for their conversation. Celia interlocked her fingers, resting her chin on them. "You being here...does that mean you're ready to listen to me?" He hadn't forgotten his promise, so he nodded. "I see. Shall we start from the top, then?"
"Depends. What's 'the top', exactly?"
"The days after I first fell in the Underground. I remember them as if they had been just last week...can you believe it? For me to remember such events with such clarity even though they were almost one century ago?"
-ooooo-
She may have been just nine years old but she knew very well it was a miracle she hadn't broken anything in the fall. Those golden flowers were far comfier than you'd expect. Still dusting off pollen and seeds from her dress, she hid behind a wall while a couple frog monsters hopped not too far away. She really didn't want to let herself be seen, not when she was underneath the legendary Mt. Ebott, home of those strange legends her mother had told her about. It seemed there had been some truth in those legends, after all!
She had to admit those same legends were the reason why she had come to Mt. Ebott, though. Curiosity was a powerful incentive, she just wanted to take a look at the monsters. Her fun little trip had ended when the hole she was peeking from crumbled under her weight, sending her into the Underground.
It was all more...stable than she thought it'd be. Purple walls and floor, covered with vines, and a lot of monsters with their everyday lives. Not that she was in mood of playing around. She wanted to get out as soon as possible! Running down the halls of the Ruins, Celia soon reached a shriveled tree, with red leaves. Not too far from there a house could be seen, its door open and inviting.
Sneaking into someone's house just didn't seem like the way out. Celia had been about to leave the area when she heard someone's steps approaching – from the opposite direction. Not wanting to enter the house, and not wanting to be seen, she hid behind the tree, trembling and scared for her life. What'd a monster do if they saw her...?
The steps were muffled, like whoever was approaching had soft, fuzzy feet. The only reason she could hear anything was if she focused a lot, which only added to her terror. Whimpering with fear and wishing she had stayed home, Celia slowly sunk to the floor, her back against the tree all the time. She closed her eyes, like not seeing anything would make the monster vanish, but no, it kept approaching, until the steps stopped right beside her. "Help...please, someone help..." she whispered.
"Fear not, my child. I won't harm you"
That voice sounded nothing like she expected a monster to sound like. It was...gentle. Soothing, like if she stayed with that monster nothing bad would happen. Celia opened one eye, peering at the form right to her side. White fur, a long purple robe...that was a goat, now that she took a better look.
Goats were nice, this reminded her of home.
"You must be so scared, but don't worry. You'll be safe as long as you're with me" Later she would find out this monster's name was Toriel. Toriel smiled calmly. "It's rather fortunate you have reached my home in the Ruins. Would you like to rest? I imagine your trek here must have been rather difficult for you"
Some rest would be nice, but Celia refused the invitation. You can't just go into a stranger's home! "If you want to talk then let's do that here" she said with as much conviction as she could muster. Toriel was patient, though. She nodded and sat nearby.
While they talked and made introductions, only a couple monsters passed by, and a word from Toriel was enough to earn their silence about the human in the Underground. None of them even tried to argue, they just nodded and left. Celia was amazed! "I thought I'd be doomed!"
Toriel chuckled. "Ah, I believe they listen because I'm the queen"
"Really? You're a queen?" Celia's eyes widened. Amazing! So this is what royalty was like!
"Indeed. Who would listen to a silly old woman otherwise?" she didn't sound like she meant that at all. Celia was rather sure even if she wasn't the queen, many monsters and humans would listen to her. She just had an imposing aura. Her smile dimmed. "But you're correct. You're in danger, my child"
"R-Really? The monsters, are they going to eat me?"
"Goodness, no!" Toriel paused, like she was considering what to say next. Once she spoke, it was clear why: delivering the news must have been difficult. "They would take your SOUL. Needless to say, that would be quite harmful to you. You must not let yourself be seen by monsters"
"I don't want them to take my soul!" Celia scooted away from the tree, like she expected a monster to ambush her immediately.
The queen offered a hand. All Celia did was stare at her white fur of her fingers, as well as the claws at the end of each one. "Leaving the Underground is extremely difficult, so instead I'd like to offer you a stay as comfortable as it can be.
Don't worry, my child. I shall protect you against the entire Underground if I have to"
-ooooo-
Syphus watched Celia look away, contemplative. She looked so nostalgic he didn't want to interrupt her while she reminisced. "I lived in the Ruins for a year or so. I cannot say I was happy, but I indeed was safe. However, I couldn't stay in the Ruins for the rest of my life. Staying confined to one house...that's no fate suitable for anyone. I would be little more than a prisoner"
"Couldn't Toriel let you wander around in the Ruins?"
"We tried, once. It didn't go very well. I don't want to remember how much trouble I caused Toriel back then" no need to press if she didn't want to talk about it. "Toriel decided I'd need more space than just a house. One day, when we were dining, she told me she had found a place where I could live in. I was happy because I thought things would get better. " she sighed. "I loved Toriel...but I hated my life. So little freedom.
At least I grew to sympathize with monsterkind's plight. Being trapped under a mountain with nowhere to go must be so restricting, but I didn't feel bad enough to offer them my SOUL. I didn't want to die"
"So Toriel brought you here to Waterfall?"
"She did. This cottage was built with her own two hands. I was happy I'd have room to move and play, and there would be no monsters who could hurt me. But my joy would be short-lived"
-ooooo-
"What do you mean you won't live here?" Celia asked, sitting on the edge of her new bed. The cottage was pristine, and the space out there was large and very blue, unlike the purple environment of the Ruins. Toriel also had made a small building, with a long table for food and anything else Celia wanted. She also had shown Celia a river and a few other chambers. This area of Waterfall was pretty much unknown for all monsters, Toriel had said, so now it was all Celia's.
But what was the point of having more space if Toriel wouldn't live with her?
Toriel looked truly saddened to deliver the news. "I'm sorry, my child. I have to stay in the Ruins to lead the community. But don't fret. I shall visit you every day, and I will make sure you lack nothing. Is there anything else you'd like me to bring?"
"Yeah. A cottage for you" Celia insisted. Toriel shook her head.
"I'm very sorry, that's not possible. Please, try to understand"
"You're just leaving me here, aren't you?!"
The accusation made Toriel wince. That wasn't her intention at all! "No, of course not! Please trust me, Celia. This is the only way there is for you to live safely"
In the end, nothing Celia said or did was enough to convince Toriel to live with her. After Toriel left, Celia walked around in the place. Without Toriel, her newfound space, her little country, was...ominous. Everything was so silent, so vast. The house in the Ruins was much smaller, but Toriel was there. She could her the noise of Toriel in her everyday life, the voices of monsters outside of the house.
Now she had none of that. Only one single human child, stuck in the depths of the Underground. She was safe, but if this was what being safe was like, then she didn't want to be safe anymore.
Celia walked around, with no company other than her own thoughts.
-ooooo-
"...Toriel fulfilled her promise. She visited me every day. I was so happy when we spent time together, but that was only for an hour or two. The rest of the time I was by myself..." with care, she took Syphus' hand, clutching it between hers. "Syphus, let me tell you something: we humans aren't made for being alone. I doubt there's human in the world who could stand being truly alone, like I was for so long"
Those words told Syphus everything about how much she suffered. Fearing her answer, he almost couldn't bring herself to ask: "When did Cohen arrive?"
"Nine years after I fell into the Underground"
So that was eight years if living by herself in the depths of Waterfall, with only an hour or so everyday interacting with someone. It was surprising she hadn't gone insane in the meantime. The thought a girl had to grow in such a situation... "I'm really sorry to hear that, Celia. I can't imagine how painful that must have been"
"It was painful, true. I don't like to admit it, but during those times I had some rather dark thoughts about Toriel and about myself..."
"What did you do?"
Celia shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about it today. I need some time to think...to prepare myself. Those were some rather hard times" she closed her eyes. "And they haven't ended yet"
You feel Celia is trying to open her heart to you
The Old Woman Social Link has reached Rank 5!
Your power to create Personas of the Strength Arcana has grown!
It wasn't even noon yet and Syphus had already listened to two friends unload some rather heavy thoughts on him. He didn't mind, but he couldn't avoid wondering if that was a sign of things to come. He stood up. "Does that mean you don't want to continue talking today?"
"I'd rather not. This old body gets tired easily, I think a nap will do me some good" she indicated the door. "Syphus, thank you so much for listening. I hadn't told any of this to anyone, it feels like I'm taking a weight off my chest. Thank you so much"
Syphus smiled. "Anytime". That was what he wanted to do from now on: give his friends the best support he could give no matter what.
-ooooo-
The problem with being unconscious while they try to rescue their targets was that it left them vulnerable and unaware of what happened in the meantime. Nobody ever found out Flowey had surfaced inside Burgerpants' hospital room while they were unconscious. The flower wasn't very sure what to think about everyone being fainted – he immediately understood something was afoot.
"Syphus?" he waved a vine in front of Syphus' face, getting no reaction. He tentatively gave Syphus a few pats on the scaly face, and receiving no reaction, delivered a smack that made Syphus' head turn. Still nothing. It was rather likely everyone else would be the same. "What did you do now?" he had no doubt whatever happened here was Syphus' fault.
Wanting an explanation, Flowey waited around to see what would happen. People don't fall unconscious for no reason! Around twenty minutes after his arrival, the team started to wake up. Flowey stayed underneath the floor, for the most part, emerging to take furtive peeks from time to time. It was a lot of useful information at once. So whatever Syphus' doing was related to that brooch...interesting.
Chara also considered this important information and praised Flowey for getting such an important hint of what was going on. Chara's praise made something resembling elation bloom inside Flowey, somehow. Maybe his emotions weren't totally gone, he thought.
The burst of joy vanished in matter of seconds. Nevermind. If they weren't gone, then they were severely stunted. That was bad enough.
"What should we do about this...?" Chara wondered aloud. Flowey and them were meeting near Snowdin, as usual nowadays. In Chara's head, Frisk voiced their objection:
"Do you really have to do anything? We should trust Syphus and let him—"
"I'm not trusting him at all. You trust too easily"
"You have seen how he's trying to help me!"
"It's just his way of getting some advantage from you. Have you forgotten what he did to you, Frisk?"
"He didn't do anything"
"He did. You just didn't notice, but I did. He's dangerous and you shouldn't talk to him again". Chara would never admit part of the reason why they were dissuading Frisk from meeting their friend was because they wanted Frisk to interact with as few people as possible. Some would call it jealousy; they would simply say they were preventing Frisk from getting taken advantage of.
They'd never admit it was out of jealousy.
Still, it was time for instructions. It seemed that brooch was the key to whatever Syphus was doing. Chara didn't really understand what was going on with that, but it had to be important in some way, so they gave some concrete instructions to Flowey.
-ooooo-
As much as Syphus wanted to help his friends, the day so far had a lot more emotional support than he expected. Some levity would be nice, so he decided to visit the one guy he thought would be able to cheer him up: Papyrus.
It seemed he wasn't the only one who had the idea to visit Papyrus. When Syphus arrived to Snowdin, he found Ciruel and Papyrus in the shed. They were rather enthusiastic, talking to each other with hushed voices – and therefore even though Syphus stood outside, he could hear every word Papyrus was saying.
"SANS WILL BE VERY SURPRISED BY THIS!"
"..."
"OF COURSE! NOW I UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING YOU WERE SAYING. AND AFTER I TELL SANS, HE WILL—"
"..."
"MINE WAS A FANTASTIC IDEA! I BELIEVE SANS WILL TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HIM ONCE WE TALK. HE MAY BE LAZY BUT HE HAS A LOT OF SMARTS"
"..."
So it seemed Papyrus was planning to talk to Sans about something. This seemed like a good entrance point, so he removed the illusion, rapped his knuckles against the wall of the shed and waited for Papyrus to peek his head out of the shed. Papyrus was already so excited with whatever he had been planning, when he saw Syphus he pretty much grabbed him and dragged him into the shed before Syphus could realize what was going on. His feet had even lifted from the floor! Papyrus could be seriously strong sometimes.
Dazed from the sudden transportation, Syphus stumbled forward, bracing against the desk. "What was that?!"
"You have to forgive him, he's really excited" Ciruel said.
"I kinda noticed when he brought me in here like that. What's going on?"
"CIRUEL EXPLAINED TO ME WHY SANS IS KEEPING ALL THESE SECRETS! SO I WANTED TO KNOW THOSE SECRETS MYSELF, TO HELP SANS WITH ANYTHING HE WANTS" Papyrus pounded his chest with one fist. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HIGHLY CAPABLE AND VERY CLEVER. BETWEEN ME AND SANS THERE'S NOTHING WE CANNOT DO"
"The problem is that Sans doesn't know when to stop holding secrets" Ciruel said, and he was right. For one reason or another, Sans just refused to talk with anyone about what he knew. Whether that was good or not remained to be seen.
"It's worth a try. What's the plan, Papyrus?"
Papyrus beckoned Syphus, as if what he was going to saw now was the utmost secret. "FIRST, I WILL GO INTO A PLACE NO SANE PERSON SHOULD HAVE TO VISIT"
"You should stop calling it that" Ciruel said.
"THAT'S HOW SANS' ROOM IS! ANYWAY, I WILL TELL SANS I WANT TO TALK, AND THEN I WILL TELL HIM EVERYTHING I KNOW. HE'LL BE SO MOVED BY MY MOVING DISPLAY OF SINCERITY HE WILL FEEL OBLIGATED TO TELL ME WHAT'S GNAWING AT HIM"
It was a straightforward plan, Syphus was willing to concede that much. Still, it relied too much on Sans talking – not that Syphus would dissuade Papyrus from trying. It'd do them both some good if they did talk to each other, as unlikely as that was going to be. Syphus expressed his approval, much to Ciruel's surprise.
"I KNEW IT! LET'S GET STARTED NOW!" without further ado, Papyrus hurried to the house, leaving Ciruel and Syphus behind.
The former scholar's expression turned sour once Papyrus was gone, he gave Syphus a glance of disapproval. "Really?"
"Really what?"
"You didn't have not even an objection? I don't know how much you know these skeletons, but Sans isn't really someone you can talk with"
Syphus crossed his arms. Even though he had made amends with Ciruel, right now he was feeling rather annoyed at him. "How would you know? You'd have to talk to him to know"
"...I talked to him. Or more like he found me," he made sure he was out of sight from anyone outside the shed before continuing. "The first thing I tried to do was say an excuse, and you know what he said?
Nothing. He just shrugged"
"Is that really so bad? A monster didn't care you were human, that's not bad"
The corners of Ciruel's mouth turned downwards in displeasure. "It's more than that! He was utterly indifferent. I didn't see not even a spark of interest or curiosity. Look, if you were living in your home and suddenly there was a monster in front of you, you wouldn't shrug it off as if it was nothing!"
Syphus would, for the most part. He couldn't deny he'd feel curiosity, but...Ciruel was right about Sans. At least it seemed Ciruel had been giving this some thought for a while. "Ah...so what do you think is happening with Sans?"
"I think he's alienating others on purpose. I don't know why, but it felt like he was in his own little world away from everyone else. It made me worry for Papyrus because I really don't think Papyrus has any idea how to deal with this" Ciruel said. That was true, Papyrus wouldn't know what to do – in an effective manner, at least. Syphus hesitated only for a second before exiting the shed, going towards the skeletons' house. "Wait, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to check on Papyrus" he said, pushing the front door open. It wasn't unlocked, so entering the house was rather easy. Where was Sans' room? On the second floor, no? Syphus ascended the stairs carefully, trying to go as stealthily as possible, until he got to the threshold of Sans' bedroom.
That was close enough to listen what they were talking. Apparently, during the time Ciruel and Syphus talked, Papyrus finished whatever he was telling Sans, and was not awaiting his response. When the shorter skeleton finally said something, it couldn't really be what Papyrus expected:
"okay bro"
"OKAY BRO? THAT'S ALL?
"yup. we got done in record time"
As if that was a good thing! Papyrus stomped indignantly. "SANS! DID YOU LISTEN TO ANYTHING I SAID?!"
"i sure did. i'm flattered but I can deal with this myself. don't worry, okay?"
"I'LL WORRY ALL I NEED. SANS, YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN TAKING YOUR NAPS"
"i sleep plenty. during job time, but it's sleep"
"YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE LABORATORY DOWNSTAIRS ALMOST ALL DAY. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE, SANS?"
"making hot dogs. gotta keep up the supply and the demand, you know" Sans said. He wasn't even making jokes, and although it seemed to Syphus he was trying to be humorous, everything sounded like it was falling flat.
Syphus wasn't the only one getting very worried, though. After a rather short pause, Papyrus pleaded: "SANS, BROTHER, PLEASE TALK TO ME. I CAN HELP, JUST TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON AND I WILL HELP IN ANY WAY I CAN"
"thanks, that's a relief. but no"
Not even an excuse. Papyrus was just crashing over and over against Sans' walls, and Sans was making no attempt to even give Papyrus some peace of mind. Not even Papyrus could ignore he was getting nowhere. Sans, most likely having known Syphus had been there for a little while, said: "besides we got guests, right outside my room"
As expected, Papyrus got out of the room before Syphus could even move. Papyrus didn't seem upset at all to find Syphus eavesdropping in his conversation, he was going to tell Sans it was just Syphus, but that wasn't going to happen. Sans was just gone. "I HATE WHEN HE DOES THAT!"
"What happened?"
"SANS IS GONE AGAIN! WHEN SOMETHING GETS HARD, HE JUST VANISHES IN THE AIR LIKE HE DID JUST NOW" he didn't even have the will to be very outraged. "WHY ISN'T HE TELLING ME ANYTHING? I DON'T GET IT"
How to explain Sans really preferred to keep his problems and everything he knew private? It was better that way, in Syphus' opinion – the least other people knew about how the timelines were like and what horrors happened in other timelines the better – but it was starting to strain the relationship between Sans and Papyrus, because it was starting to have noticeable effects on Sans. He was still sociable and ready to lend a hand whenever he felt like it, but in general?
Sans didn't care about anything.
Syphus doubted he'd care if Papyrus was hurt by the secrecy. He'd feel bad about it, but would convince himself it didn't matter.
"I dunno" Syphus said with sympathy. "Your brother is weird, Paps. That's all"
"I DON'T THINK YOU GET IT"
"What?"
Papyrus gripped the railing of the second floor and looked down, like he expected Sans to be on the couch lounging around. "SANS WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THAT. SOMETHING HAPPENED AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, HE DOESN'T WANT TO TELL ME. SYPHUS, I'M WORRIED ABOUT THIS. I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED"
"I guess he'll tell you when he's ready," that had to be the vaguest answer Syphus could give. Papyrus had the patience of a saint not to demand Syphus to stop being vague and be more supportive, but he accepted that non-answer. With obvious turmoil, but he accepted it.
You share Papyrus' worry for Sans.
The Papyrus Social Link has reached Rank 5!
Your power to create Personas of the Sun Arcana has grown!
It was just like Papyrus for his biggest problem in his life was about someone else. The guy was just too transparent and excited to overcome anything that got in his way his current big problem was something he couldn't overcome: Sans' problems.
"It'll be okay, Papyrus" Syphus said, at a loss of what to say.
"...IF SANS FELL DOWN LIKE IT HAPPENED TO FRISK DO YOU THINK HE'LL GET BETTER?"
"Eh?!" That was the last thing he expected from Papyrus. The tall skeleton grabbed him by the shoulders, even though it wasn't his intention he forced Syphus to look right to his face.
"FRISK FACED HIS SHADOW AND FOUND OUT SOMETHING IMPORTANT ABOUT THEMSELVES. IF SANS DID THAT TOO, HE'D GET BETTER, RIGHT?"
"I...guess? But it's not good. Papyrus, we almost died trying to reach Frisk. If the same thing happened to Sans, we may all be screwed," what bothered Syphus the most was that Papyrus was suggesting this to him. A chill ran down his spine. He really doubted Papyrus understood the implications and life-and-death risks of diving in the SOULs and fighting the Shadows and that was why he was hoping for that, but...
...it still disturbed him anyway.
At least Papyrus understood. He let go of Syphus. An awkward silence descended, there was nothing either of them could do to help Sans.
Suddenly, Papyrus fell. Syphus managed to catch him, surprising a bunch of bones and paper-mache could be so heavy, to the point where Syphus almost crumbled to the floor. "Hey, Papyrus? Papyrus, you okay?" There was no answer. Syphus tried to prop Papyrus against the wall, confused. "Papyrus, what's going on?!"
Still no reply. Papyrus seemed to be unconscious. Feeling like all the cold from Snowdin had suddenly gotten inside the house, Syphus managed to drag Papyrus towards his bedroom, pushing the door open with his back and clumsily lying Papyrus on the car bed. For a moment Syphus doubled beside the bed, hands on his knees, panting and wondering what happened. This reminded him too much of everyone else they had to rescue. It couldn't be this was happening again, right? It was so soon!
The light of the bedroom reflected on something pinned to the back of Papyrus' costume. Intrigued by the blue glint, Syphus carefully turned Papyrus on his side and examined what the object there was. "What...?" he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
It was a firefly brooch. Syphus' hand went to his chest, to grip his own. His fingers only found the fabric of his coat. "N-No...!" the brooch wasn't there! That could only mean the brooch currently attached to Papyrus was Syphus' brooch. How did he get the brooch attached to himself? Syphus himself certainly didn't do it!
Regardless, the result was obvious: Papyrus had fallen down. The team had a job to do.
Syphus ran out of the house, having taken his brooch off Papyrus but too upset to think straight and activate his disguise again, Syphus hurried to the back of the house, to the door to the basement. He really hoped Sans was in his laboratory. "Sans, Sans, you have to open up!" he shouted, pounding the door with both fists. "It's Papyrus! Something happened!"
"something happened to my bro?"
Syphus' heart jumped to his throat. Sans hadn't opened the door, instead it had come from behind Syphus. Not having expected that, he bolted forward, hitting the door with his face. No time to worry about possibly breaking his nose, though! "S-Sans, Papyrus has fallen down"
"...like it has happened to everyone else so far?"
"Yeah, exactly like that!"
Sans closed his eyesockets. For a moment he looked rather tired, but that moment of vulnerability lasted just a second. He kept his hands in his pockets, behaving nonchalantly as if Syphus had simply told him he had found the kitchen sink was clogged with something. "not good at all. you had nothing to do with that, i suppose"
"Of course not! If this was my fault I sure wouldn't be saying this to you!" Syphus looked away. "I'm pretty sure lying to you is pretty much impossible. You're too perceptive"
"bah, you give me too much credit" he shrugged. "what do you need me to do?"
"I want you to go keep an eye on your brother. Something's going wrong and I want you to keep him safe. Is that okay?"
"bud, you don't even have to ask if it's okay. you can count on me," he meant it. It was the least he could do for Papyrus, anyway. Not bothering to talk any longer, Sans left to enter to the house. As soon as he was out of Syphus' sight the skeleton found himself walking a tad faster.
He felt a nagging feeling of unease he hadn't felt in quite some time, like he actually feared this. He was fully aware in many other timelines Papyrus had died, but this was new. New and unfamiliar. The thought of not knowing at all what could happen did make him antsy. Just like Syphus had said, Papyrus had fallen down like it had happened to Frisk and many others so far. For a moment Sans' hand extended towards Papyrus, but he let it down after a moment.
"...we have gotten into a mess, eh, bro?"
-ooooo-
Now that someone was watching over Papyrus, he had to get Ciruel to a safe place. Syphus entered the shed, starting Ciruel, who had been working on a draft for a new puzzle. "Hm? You look startled. Did Sans take it badly?"
"Forget about that, Papyrus is hurt," maybe putting it like that wasn't the best idea, but it was a way of explaining it. Ciruel dropped the pencil he was using.
"What? Let me see—"
"No, no time for that! You have to return to the village!"
"But what about Papyrus? I can't just leave him there like that"
"Look, in a while there will be many monsters going into that house. You can't let yourself be seen, so get going!"
"My disguise is going to be of help"
"This is not the time for risks!" Syphus shouted. "Get going already! I promise Papyrus will be okay, let's just leave this to them"
That wasn't really a convincing argument, but it wasn't like Ciruel had any better ideas. He didn't know what he could do to help Papyrus. Begrudgingly, the scholar let himself be guided out of the shed and towards Waterfall, hurrying so they could reach the village before being seen by anyone. In all that time, all Syphus could think was on how someone had apparently taken his brooch and used it to attack Papyrus. Why Papyrus? And why now? It just didn't make sense!
Oh well. First things first: helping Papyrus was the priority. With Sans watching over the skeleton' prone form, nothing else would happen to Papyrus. Still startled by what had happened, Syphus' hand clutched the firefly brooch, wondering over and over how it had gone missing from his chest and how it had appeared on the back of Papyrus' costume.
He couldn't avoid feeling he was falling into a trap, but it wasn't like they had any other option but fall into it – not when the alternative was to leave Papyrus to the mercy of his Shadow.
Feeling the urgency of the situation, he sped up, taking out his cellphone to call Undyne.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 7
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 6
Priestess - Alphys - RANK 7
Empress - Toriel - RANK 3
Emperor - Cohen - RANK 4
Hierophant - Ciruel - BROKEN
Lovers - ? - RANK 0
Chariot - Ananas - RANK 8
Justice - Undyne - RANK 6
Hermit - Gaster - RANK 1
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - Celia - RANK 5
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 5
Judgment - Team - RANK 4
Aeon - Syphus - RANK 4
Jester - Alphonse - REVERSED