Chapter 1: THE PROLOGUE: THE CONTACT
Notes:
Italics are the thoughts of whatever the point of view character is.
"Italics" are the thoughts of someone else in your head.
Enjoy your reading!
Chapter Text
Nothing.
There’s absolutely nothing.
There’s no floor, no walls, no ceiling.
No houses, buildings or streets.
No sky, stars or moon.
There’s no space.
Time doesn’t move forward.
It doesn’t move backwards.
It doesn’t slow down or accelerate.
It simply isn’t.
There’s no sun.
No light.
There’s an eternal night cast across everything. Or perhaps the day never existed, and this is simply how things have always been.
There was no difference between day and night. Between the end and the beginning.
It just is.
It’s pure emptiness. Emptiness that always was, and always will be.
But that’s a lie. It’s not just emptiness. It isn’t absolutely nothing.
Like a night sky, there are flickering stars draped across it. Twinkling lights of various colors. Blue, cyan, yellow, green, indigo, orange, red and even pure white.
Those lights are SOULs, the culmination of a being.
They hold the essence of a person, all their emotions, feelings and their WILL. Without one, a being is just a husk of themselves, doomed to a existence life without love.
Now they’re doomed to stay here. SOULs without hope and emotions. Just a fragmented WILL that can’t even remember why it exists.
Nobody knows what causes a SOUL to come to this place. Is it when all their hopes are turned into despair? When their lives are ended, forgotten and they're left alone? Nobody knows, and nobody probably ever will.
Nobody will come here, and nobody will leave.
But even so, there’s a SOUL that glows brighter than the rest. Red light that shines like a star in place without any.
A SOUL that stays determined, even without knowing why they should be. That glows simply because it has too, not knowing any better.
Glowing in a world without light.
A SOUL of a young girl. Older than it should be. She messed with time for too long.
Jumping through timelines, left and right. Stopping and starting them.
Playing God.
All in search of one goal. For a single purpose. Something that would make everything she sacrificed worth it.
A goal that, in this void, she doesn’t even remember.
In fact she has no memory of anything. Of her home, of her life and not even of herself. How she looked, how she smiled, how she laughed.
Everyday- she had to count the time she felt passing as days to not lose her mind- she thought about what her family and friends could be doing while she was here. How worried they would be about her.
When they would come to save her.
How they were going to celebrate, afterwards.
What the world outside was, after all this time. (If any time had passed, at all).
She wished, she wondered, she prayed.
But nobody came.
It was all wishful thinking. She didn’t know if she even had a family or friends.
This red heart is all she is, all that she knows.
Although, that’s also a lie. It had to be a lie. It needed to be a lie.
Because she could remember something.
She can remember a journey under the Earth. Of a world under the Earth. A world that was scorching-hot and chilly-cold. A world that was medieval, modern, futuristic and fantastical, all at the same time.
Where fantastical creatures that she only heard of in legends were brought to reality. They were real. And they always were living under the Earth, for as long as written history.
And those mythical creatures were her friends. Her family.
The tall goat-lady with the kindest violet eyes she had seen… So kind she was willing to raise the lost soul as her own child, without even asking about the child’s past.
The coolest and funniest skeleton brothers she had the lifetime chance to live with. Their antics always brightened up her day, no matter how sad she felt. They were like brothers she never had.
An impulsive fish-woman, whose determination rivaled her own. Who taught her even your fiercest enemies could become your friends, with a little bit of patience and sweet words (and a burnt house).
The anxious lizard scientist, who felt like her past was eating her inside. Who was too afraid to move on. Who felt like she couldn’t do anything right. But reality couldn’t be the opposite, the yellow dinosaur taught the child stuff about her own culture that she never knew.
The old king. A tired soul that had seen too much. Lived too much. Did too much. Had a weight on his shoulders too heavy for anyone to carry. A weight that you would’ve carried for him in a heart-beat.
And a golden-flower that was so cruel, because of all the pain he carried. Of all the suffering he had endured. She needed to help him. She needed to save him. Restore his true form.
And she had the power over all of their fates, over time itself. To make everything right.
To make her world right.
They were her world. They were real. They had to be real. Those memories needed to be real.
Those memories are what keeps her glowing, despite the cold of this place.
They needed to be real!
It’s so cold that were she not a soul, she would be frozen.
It takes all her will to not fall into the cold and end like the rest.
Empty hearts floating into the abyss.
That’s why they needed to be real. Every single memory. Every single moment of happiness she could remember. All of them fueled her.
Kept her going.
Made her alive in a place with no life.
Gave her DETERMINATION!
That’s how she spent every moment in this infernal prison of despair, where there was no future, no beginning, and no end.
If they weren’t real…
Then…
What would be the point?
She couldn’t give up.
Anyday, she was going to get out of here.
The hope of a better future filled her with determination.
YOUR WISHES
HAVE BEEN
ANSWERED.
YOUR
PLEAS.
YOU MAY NOW REST
CHILD.
YOUR SUFFERING
IS AT ITS
END.
A black wind pierced the abyss, somehow darker than the darkness itself.
Yet, she couldn’t feel anything.
The wind manifested itself into a shape, dark, darker and yet darker. But still perfectly clear.
It was the shape of a man. Its face is pure white, like a mask. A fixed smile crossed his features, and empty eye sockets decorated them. The rest of his body was darker than darkness.
He was shaped like a blob. Formless, but uniform. Melting, but rigid.
It was the first thing she had seen here other than the SOULs.
And then, he spoke.
WELCOME.
HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING
FOR ME?
She could not decipher the being’s voice. It sounded happy and yet sad. Clear and yet unclear. Deep and yet soft. Incomprehensible, but perfectly understandable.
The stray SOUL remembered hearing about this before, from a short skeleton she called a friend. This was a paradox, something contradictory by nature.
But that wasn’t important right now. What was important were his words. Somehow they caused a strange feeling of apprehension to bubble inside her. She remembered flashes of gray. Of creatures speaking of a man. But was it the same man?
Did that even happen?
There was no time for her to think about it, as the creature continued speaking.
HOW WONDERFUL.
I
HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU
AS WELL.
He sounded ominous and creepy. She should’ve been afraid.
But she wasn’t.
Was he a secret admirer? And if so, how long has he been watching her?
Was he a result of her wishes?
She had never met him before. She had no memory of him.
But… that wasn’t true. He looked like someone she knew. Like the brothers she never had.
Maybe… just maybe… he could’ve been?
She had no time to doubt him.
This man was the first company she ever had in this cold, dreary and lonely place.
It didn’t matter who he was.
She needed to trust him.
She wasn’t going to screw it up!
She couldn’t screw it up!
I HAVE SOMETHING.
SOMETHING I WANT TO SHOW YOU.
SOMETHING
I THINK YOU WILL FIND
VERY,
VERY,
INTERESTING.
BUT IT IS YET FAR
FROM COMPLETION.
IN FACT
YOU
ARE WHAT IS NEEDED
FOR COMPLETION.
She imagined that if she had a body, it would’ve been as red as her soul.
He needed her of all people?
An amnesiac nobody that can’t do anything right? That couldn’t be right.
There’s no way someone could care about her. She was here for so long… there was nobody to care about some lost girl…
But… if it was wrong… why did it feel so… familiar? And right?
THANK YOU
FOR WAITING SO LONG
AFTER ALL
YOU AND I
WE HAVE BOTH BEEN WAITING
SUCH A VERY LONG TIME.
Wasn’t that the understatement of the century.
SO TO BE HERE
FINALLY
ON THE VERGE OF CONNECTION
IS
QUITE
EXCITING.
I LOOK FORWARD
TO CREATING
A NEW FUTURE
WITH YOU.
Future… Could she even have one? This place didn’t have a future… She never thought of a world outside of here.
She remembered being the future of the entire world once (Or at least that’s what they told her). But… that only led to pain.
Unimaginable pain…
…
She had to leave.
Anything to leave this hell.
Anything.
NOW!
SHOW YOURSELF!
DELTARUNE!
The creature waved his arm, and a blinding light flew from outwards. It enveloped the darkness. Soon she couldn’t see anything except the blinding white.
And then… she was in a completely new location. It was still dark, but the darkness was different. It had a form, somehow.
A wavy rainbow light could be seen, very far away. It felt like she was in a dream, but at the same time awake. Real, and unreal.
Everywhere, it looked like the ocean’s waves. Like she was under-water, but still breathing.
And it felt like home. The humming of distant machinery, the liquids dripping somewhere, the hushed whispers. All of that just felt right for the lost soul.
It was dark. It was dreary. It was lonely.
It felt like she was adrift in the ocean on a dark night. No civilization around her. Not a single soul.
And it still felt like home.
ARE YOU
STILL THERE?
ARE WE
CONNECTED?
“YES” She yelled, and her voice had come out.
Her voice.
She could speak.
She could finally speak.
Soft, quiet and high-pitched. The type of voice that doesn’t stand out, but pierces the heart of whoever hears it.
It was her voice.
Her beautiful voice.
It had been so long since she could speak, she had so much to say!
She wanted to scream. Yell. Let her heart out.
And she did.
She screamed into the void. She yelled into the voice. No words came out, just a primal scream.
Just her voice, in its purest form.
WHAT UNUSUAL
BEHAVIOR.
ARE YOU
AFRAID OF
SOMETHING?
HAVE I
MISCALCULATED?
The man’s voice made her stop.
He was still standing in front of her.
He looked amused.
“I’m just… I’m just so happy!” The words squeaked out of her. “There’s so much I want to say! It was so silent… for so LONG! I thought I would never be able to speak again!!!”
SOMETHING AS SMALL AS
SOUND
CAN BRING
HAPPINESS?
THIS BEHAVIOR
MUST BE
MONITORED.
She didn’t understand anything he said.
But she was so happy.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!!! Thank you for saving me!!!” She wanted to hug him. She couldn’t. “I will never forget what you did for me!!!!!”
She was content.
YOU ARE ALREADY
SATISFIED?
DO YOU NOT HAVE
THE WILL TO
CONTINUE?
YOU HAVE
A PURPOSE
TO FULFILL.
YOU CAN’T
GIVE UP
THIS
EARLY.
The voice caught the lost soul off-guard.
She backed away.
“H…Huh?!” She yelled out. “I… I never said it was over! I… I… I was just happy! That’s all!”
The man didn’t look angry. He looked the same.
But she felt as if she couldn’t, wouldn’t, get on his bad side.
No matter what happened.
“Where…” She looked around. She was so used to the darkness of the voice, that even the faint light could disturb her. “Where are we? What are we going to do?”
YOU AREN’T READY
TO GO
TOWARDS THE
OUTSIDE.
YOUR CURRENT FORM
WILL NOT
LAST.
WE HAVE TO
HIDE
IN THE DEPTHS.
IN A WORLD
BETWEEN WORLDS.
THE EDGE OF THE SHADOW.
WHERE REALITY
AND DREAM
MET.
WHERE OUR
FORMS
CAN LAST.
AS WE FINISH PREPARATIONS
AND PREPARE YOUR
NEW FORM
FOR THE WORLD BEYOND.
“New form? Prepare myself? What do you mean?” The lost soul asked, her voice echoing in this new era.
And continuing to echo.
Never-ending.
A CORPOREAL
VESSEL
TO HOLD
YOUR SOUL.
“You mean a-”
The lost soul felt a wave of darkness cross through her.
The man continued standing there. Staring.
NOW
YOUR TURN
HAS
ENDED.
IT IS
NOW
YOUR TIME
TO ANSWER.
DO YOU PROMISE
THAT YOU WILL
NEVER WAVER
NO MATTER
WHAT
HAPPENS?
“Yes.” She simply said. There were no more words to be said.
She was never going to give up again.
EXCELLENT
TRULY EXCELLENT.
NOW WE MAY
BEGIN.
FIRST
YOU MUST CREATE
A VESSEL.
A CORPOREAL FORM THAT SHALL
HOLD YOUR
SOUL.
THEY MUST BOTH BE
ONE AND
THE SAME.
SHAPE IT OUT OF YOUR OWN WILL.
The man disappeared.
SELECT THE HEAD THAT YOU PREFER.
And in his place eight heads appeared.
They were gray. Gray skin. Looking like a ghost. Looking undead.
Was this why she never had a body before? So that she could choose the best one? That didn’t make too much sense, but she didn’t care.
She needed to choose!
They all had a differing hairstyle.
The first was even bald!
Now that was a little too far… I like having hair. She thought, and then she realized what she did. She could even think to herself now!
No more random feelings joined together by a thin thread. She could finally vocalize her thoughts.
And she had her perfect subjects.
Definitively not choosing the bald one, yuck. Some of those are so messy, too! He at least could’ve combed them… And some of these look so greasy!
And that other one is too long. I can’t run with long hair! It keeps hitting my face! And that one…
But… she was making that man wait! She had to choose one, and right now!
Stop being so superficial and pick one!
“I choose… That one, second starting from the left!” She said, happiness leaking from her voice.
It was perfect.
It was exactly the cut she wanted. Not too short, and not too long. Not too messy, but with some style.
It was her.
EXCELLENT.
TRULY EXCELLENT.
I KNEW
THAT SHAPE WAS THE
MOST APPEALING
TO YOU.
NOW
SELECT THE TORSO THAT YOU PREFER.
The head she chose glowed red, and flew upwards. The rest of them disappeared, replaced by a set of torsos.
All of them had the same lean-feminine shape, and small chest. Some might be fatter, while others thinner, but most of them were so similar, that most wouldn’t have noticed the difference.
They all wore a striped shirt, two stripes on all of them.
That was the main difference between each one. The fashion sense.
Why are my clothes connected with my body?
She didn’t know, and she didn’t care.
She knew exactly which one to pick
“This time I choose the third body, from the left!” It seemed like the excitement of such a simple act was never going to leave.
She always loved that type of sweater. That hid her arms from any cuts she might’ve had, but kept her hands free.
PERHAPS YOU
TRULY
DIDN’T FORGET.
THIS CHOICE
SUITS
YOU.
WHAT INTERESTING
RESULTS.
NOW
SELECT THE LEGS THAT YOU PREFER.
She wasn’t going to think anything of the strange man's words. A strange saying came to her; “Beggars can't be choosers” was what the yellow lizard said to her.
True to his words, however, legs showed up. They were all equipped with shorts and leggings. She appreciated the fashion sense.
But what she didn’t appreciate was the fact they were all the same!
“I choose... uh... the first one…?” Her voice came out confused and lost.
Aren’t they exactly the same?
She couldn’t say this choice fit her. But it also couldn’t say this choice didn’t fit her.
WHAT INTERESTING BEHAVIOR
THIS IS YOUR BODY.
DO YOU ACCEPT IT?
“Yes”, She affirmed without any doubt, without any hesitation. That body was hers now.
She was that body.
Every single choice she made shaped it.
They were the same.
EXCELLENT.
YOU HAVE CREATED
A WONDERFUL FORM.
IT WILL CARRY YOU
TO GREAT
LENGTHS.
NOW
LET US SHAPE ITS MIND
AS YOUR OWN.
TO MAKE IT TRULY
YOURS.
WHAT IS ITS FAVORITE FOOD?
The man brought a bunch of options to her.
Soft.
Salty.
Sour.
Something that everybody had experienced once in their lives.
But the other options… Pain and cold… those were something only she experienced, in that terrible void.
Everyday, it was so cold.
Everyday, there was so much pain.
Each and every single day.
Nonstop.
She shuddered.
And yet still she replied, “Sweet,” thinking back on a certain food.
A slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie.
It was the best food she experienced in her old life.
The tall goat with a violet dress and the kindest eyes she had seen baked it for her. To celebrate her existence. The simple fact she was there with her.
Funny. Now she could remember that perfectly.
YOUR FAVORITE BLOOD TYPE?
The option she chose glowed red, and flew inside her body. The rest vanished.
Suddenly, a bunch of letters popped up.
“A”.
“B”.
And “AB”.
Answers to the man’s question.
What she knew as regular blood types.
“C”.
And “D”.
She had no idea what these were.
Was he confused about blood types and didn’t know what they were? Well… he was a monster, and monsters didn’t bleed, right?
Huh… she remembered yet another detail.
She was a human, and she could bleed. Monsters couldn’t.
“Uh, D?” She replied to him, and internally she wondered.
Are those even real blood types?
But… would she stay human with a blood type like that?
WHAT COLOR DOES IT LIKE MOST?
Yet again more options appeared.
“Blue”.
“Green”.
“Cyan.”
Those must’ve been “colors.” She associated these words with the souls she saw in the void.
They were pretty.
But they weren’t hers.
“Red,” She replied without skipping a beat.
Red was the color of her soul, so it must have been her color.
PLEASE GIVE IT A GIFT.
The final choices were laid before her.
“Kindness”.
“Mind”.
“Ambition”.
“Bravery”.
“Voice”.
All wonderful gifts. Traits she had missed for so long.
However none of those options pleased her.
None of them spoke to her.
But one did.
One that wasn't in the options, but she said it anyway.
“Determination”.
For a moment, nothing happened.
…
Then the choice of “determination” floated down, and flew towards her body.
The rest disappeared.
“DETERMINATION”.
OF COURSE
OF COURSE
YOU WOULD PICK
THAT TRAIT.
EVEN IF I HADN’T
OFFERED IT.
SOME RESULTS
STAY THE SAME
NO MATTER
HOW MUCH
YOU TRY TO CHANGE THEM.
“DETERMINATION”.
THAT SHALL BE
YOUR GIFT
CHERISH IT WELL.
“Uh, I will, Mr.Mystery McDarkness!!!” She said, confusion flaring through her soul.
Why was he reacting so strongly about it? Was determination really that important?
It was the thing that kept her together, so could it be?
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CREATION?
(IT WILL NOT HEAR)
Several options filtered through her eyes.
“Hope”.
“Disgust”.
“Fear”.
None of them appealed to her, feeling as if there’s something missing.
Too small to truly mean what she wanted to say. Too little to encompass all she felt.
That is until she saw it.
“LOVE”.
For some reason, that gift, that word, defines her. It represents everything she feels towards her new body. Everything she feels towards the possibility of a new future.
But not just with the meaning commonly associated with that word. It runs deeper.
And thus she chose it.
I CAN TELL
YOU HAVE ANSWERED HONESTLY.
YOU TRULY ARE
VERY
VERY
INTERESTING.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THE POSSIBILITY OF PAIN AND SEIZURE
DURING YOUR MISSION?
Pain and seizure? What the heck is he going to put me through? This man had such a weird way of saying things.
Still, this was her only chance, and so she agreed, “Yes.”
She would have determination to endure and succeed. That was a promise.
Huh. Maybe that gift truly described her.
UNDERSTOOD.
SUCH BRAVADO.
SUCH “DETERMINATION”.
WHAT SHALL YOU NAME
YOUR NEW VESSEL?
“Goner.” Comes out of her mouth without a second thought.
She didn’t know why she said it, but she soon resolved herself in this choice.
This was the path the stray soul-
No, this was the path Goner would choose. This was her name, her identity. She would make it her own.
She was “Goner”.
OF COURSE.
SUCH A FITTING NAME
FOR THE BOTH OF US.
WE CALLED IT “GONER”.
NOW
WHAT WILL YOUR OWN NAME BE?
“Goner,” She repeated.
If that body was her, then they would share the same name.
She would not be separated from that identity.
Her SOUL was “Goner”. Her body was “Goner”.
She would never be separated from them.
OF COURSE,
OF COURSE,
OF COURSE THEY ARE THE SAME.
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR TIME.
YOU TRULY ARE
A VERY
VERY
SPECIAL BEING.
YOUR ANSWERS
YOUR WONDERFUL CREATION.
She floated to the body and the body floated to her.
She was so close to being whole again.
A new life was being opened to her. A new book, filled with adventure.
She wondered what the man would want from her, who she would meet and what purpose she would have.
Would she ever see her friends again? Would they recognize her? Would they be happy to see her again? Did they remember her?
Were they even real?
All those thoughts bounced around her head, like fragments of hope.
Then despair came as a horrible screech. A distorted sound that looped and reversed at the same time.
She couldn’t see anything.
She couldn’t hear anything.
It was so loud!
Her senses were failing, consciousness slipping.
Fear, doubt and despair filled her.
CONNECTION TERMINATED.
And then, darkness, pure darkness.
Just as if everything you went through never happened.
Yes, you, the discarded SOUL. Abandoned by the world. That is your identity, who you are.
You are the discarded SOUL. I will refer to you as such.
I will watch you as such.
I will narrate it as such.
“You” are the lost SOUL. The main character of our story.
Who the story was made for.
Everything seems hopeless for you. Lost, alone, and betrayed.
Until you hear a voice. Such a familiar voice. High, but with an edge. Elegant, but firm. As if it can command worlds themselves.
But comforting, and serene. Calming.
As if this is the one voice you listened the most to in your entire life, as if it was always with you.
As if it is still with you.
“Will now be discarded. No one can choose who they are in this world.”
WHAT? You think.
You try to yell.
You try to thrash around.
You fail.
All my progress, my chance at a new life, undone just like that?
I said I would never waver! I PROMISED!!!
You start to feel angry.
Confused.
Lost.
Until you can’t think straight.
It’s as if you are losing what little self you have, as if you are being scattered into thousands of pieces.
“Your name is…”
Chapter 2: Chapter 1: The Beginning
Summary:
You are suddenly thrusted into a new world, a new body, a new life! But when the light is running low, and the shadows start to grow, can you trust what may seem?
Chapter Text
“KRIS!”
Another voice comes in as sudden as lightning and as loud as thunder, startling you out of your confusion and rage.
You feel as if you are buried under an avalanche, slowly escaping from the crushing sensation.
“Kris, if you do not wake up, we will be late for school!”
You start to open your eyes. Brown orbs. Light floods through them, brightening your very being. It’s so bright, you can barely keep your eyes open. It’s so bright, it almost feels like your eyes are burning.
It has been a long time since you’ve felt the sun. Even indirectly, it feels so, so good…
You slowly blink, your mind getting used to this light. A light you only remember in memories. A light your body feels used to.
Your vision clears and you finally can see that a giant goat lady was the one talking to you.
Suddenly, the memories start flooding back!
It’s Toriel. A tall bipedal goat monster with a kind face. She is wearing an attire that is similar, yet very different, from the common robes you know her for. An iris long-sleeve jacket, a black blouse, and a polka-dot skirt. Casual clothes that still make her look elegant.
She might dress differently, but she’s still the same caring old woman that became your own mother, she tried her hardest to protect you from the horrors outside her home.
You remember a crushing sadness at having to convince her that you had to go home, and happiness as bright as the sun when you realized that she and all your other friends were your new home.
She’s alive. She’s well. She is looking at you, with the same warm violet eyes that you remember.
You don’t remember being in this house in particular, nor your name being Kris, but if she is saying it, it has to be true.
The bed is so comfortable, and the sunlight is so warm…
Maybe everything in the abyss was just a bad dream…
But it felt too real, it couldn’t have been a dream, that’s impossible.
You see her walking up to the windows, opening them and letting the first rays of sunshine in your new home.
“I will wait outside for you, alright?” The light reflects from Toriel’s white fur, and for a brief moment, you really do think it was all a dream.
Once she leaves, you start to get out of bed. You struggle, it feels as if it has been too long since you had a physical body. Obviously, that was true. You had been stuck in that infernal abyss for a long time. You have no memories of a body. You have no muscle memory to help you here.
You fall to the ground, your limbs heavy. You look at your arm. You move your fingers. You smile as you do so.
Even that sensation is unique to you. You remember doing all of it before, but you can’t remember the feelings associated with it.
The smell of the bedroom. The sunlight from the window. The wind at your skin. You can’t help but appreciate every single thing.
Even the pain from falling into the ground is new.
Once you get up you start to look around your room. The bed on the left was clean, as if nobody slept there in a while. Right in front of it there’s a computer desk. Above it there are many trophies of different sizes and one single drawing of a golden flower.
Your body’s side of the room is empty in comparison. The bed you awoke in is messy, with a single birdcage that has seen too many crashes in front of it. In the middle of the room there is a single carpet with the Delta Rune, probably the only thing you can recognize here.
It smells like apples on the right, and like flaming hot pizza mixed with a wet puppy on the left.
It’s wonderful!
Even this contrast is new to you. You’ve been used to darkness for so long… That even a sight like this makes you happy.
I… I’m free…
You leave your room, closing the door behind you. You can’t help but smile at the small sound the door makes.
You see a mirror over to the left.
Perfect!
You think, walking over to it and seeing…
Someone that isn’t you. You are too tall. Your hair is too long, too greasy. Your sweater is completely different, green with a yellow stripe.
You now have light tanned yellowish skin, your long hair is covering your eyes, something you actively remember avoiding. You can barely see your eyes through the hair, but they are brown and somewhat faded.
What… What’s happening?! This isn’t the body I made!!! My skin was gray and my hair was nice and my sweater looked comfy and…
You move your arms around the mirror. The reflection mimics it. You move your legs. It does, too.
This isn’t anything like it! Who am I?! What am I looking at?!
It doesn’t feel right. You don’t feel right. You feel as if there’s too many sensations all at once. You don’t feel as if that mirror is showing you.
Who is this dude? Is this… Kris? The one Toriel was talking about?
But that’s the reality of your life.
Maybe I have gone insane. Maybe I’m still in that void, and this is all just a delusion…
“Maybe you did. Maybe we all went insane.”
A voice whispered in your head. Calm and deep.
…
I wonder what happened to my body? My… original body. The one I made.
Only that mysterious man has the answers to that question. You need to find him and ask exactly what happened.
You are grateful that you have a body. The sensations from it can’t be beaten.
But it still doesn’t feel… right.
You take a deep breath.
For now, school. That old lady might not be the exact Toriel from your memories, but it’s still rude to stand her up (you were never a disobedient child, after all).
You run towards the stairs. In your way, you briefly see a bookstand right before it. You can see several books here, all about snails. Nothing catches your attention.
Except for one. “The History of Humans and Monsters, by Gerson Boom.” A signed copy by the turtle monster himself.
But there’s no time to read anything right now.
You quickly run downstairs, sunlight making itself at home through the windows.
This place… is way bigger than Toriel’s old house!
To your left there’s a door to a room you don’t know, and to the right there’s the kitchen. Having everything a kitchen should, like a fridge, a sink, an oven that has been used many times and a microwave.
Yet, you can’t help but stare at the oven intensely.
It’s… used? But… Toriel always used fire magic to cook, so why would she use it? Maybe she just doesn’t use her magic…
“Or maybe Toriel never had magic in the first place.”
Another voice whispers in your head, making you shudder.
But you are the only one home.
Sighing, you continue forward.
Past the kitchen there’s the living room with an unplugged TV. Comfy looking couches, Chairiel (Toriel’s reading chair; it’s her favorite) and a single book of hymns. You do not know who would use it. Singing was definitely not a hobby of yours.
This is nothing like I remembered it being… Where am I?
You sigh, tension sliding away like sweat. You massage your brow.
Nothing is making sense!
GRRRR…
Your stomach growls.
And I am hungry!
You smile.
I am hungry!
It has been a long time since you felt hunger.
You go to the fridge. You pick a chocolate bar; not your ideal snack but it’s better than nothing. Everything else intimidates you too much.
You quickly eat it while running to the door. It tastes indescribable.
It’s the first food you have ever eaten in what feels like… forever. The chocolate melts in your mouth, the sweetness overtakes you.
And… It feels better than before. Better than what you remember chocolate being like.
Maybe it’s because of this body? Ah, this is so weird!
You exit the house, seeing huge trees all around you, orange leaves falling from them, the smell of autumn filling your nose.
The light shines on you, the brightness almost blinding you. You put your hand over your eyes.
Everything feels new. Happiness floods through you.
But everything is too new. You realize you have never been to this place before in your memories.
Really weird! Am I in a new world?! That’s the only thing that would make all of this make sense!
Toriel is right in front of you, close to a large red car, fitting for a boss monster.
“Kris! There you are!” Says the fuzzy monster, “We might still be able to make it in time!” She enters the car, but realizes you haven’t gone in yet. “Is… everything alright, my child?”
You focus back on the goat mother. You were so focused on everything else that… “Sorry, mom. It’s just that everything is so… pretty. It made me feel overwhelmed.”
You enter the car in the passenger seat, while your mom starts the car. “Indeed, my child. It is a beautiful day today, is it not?” She giggles as she starts the car.
Perfect weather for a game of catch, you think, remembering another fuzzy monster saying that to you long ago.
The car starts moving. “But I can understand why you feel overwhelmed, my child.” The forest starts to become a blur. “We are going to have a very busy week.”
“Afterall… ASRIEL will visit us next week.” Says your mom. She briefly looks at you. “But I wonder… After the excitement of university… Will he still enjoy coming to this little town?”
A rainstorm of emotions washes over you at the mention of that name.
A-Asriel?!?! He is ALIVE???
Memories quickly surface from the depths of your mind. A little golden flower full of anger against the world, and a small goat boy, desperate to get his friend back, and to not be alone anymore.
The only one who you could not save, no matter what you did.
Is this the world of second chances?
And he is coming next week?! You couldn’t be happier; this is truly a new life, for everyone.
“Um… I am pretty sure he’s going to be super happy to see us again, m…mom!” You say to Toriel, being unable to contain your words. “He’s not the type to forget about his friends!!!”
Toriel giggles as she takes a turn. “You are right, my child. Your brother and you were inseparable when you two were younger. Why would that change?” You start to see small houses in the neighborhood.
You can’t help but to watch everything.
Asriel is… my brother?
You feel your SOUL ache slightly.
That… really doesn’t feel right.
You shake your head as you focus on the scenery.
Toriel finally arrives at the town’s center. You see many familiar, and unfamiliar, faces all around it.
They all greet you and Toriel as she drives through. You see Bratty, Catty, that nice bunny girl that sold you many cinnamon buns in Snowdin, Undyne…
Everyone is here.
Even the buildings are the same ones you remember.
Heh… “Librarby”. They still haven’t fixed that sign, have they?
Your eyes start to tear up; you feel a strong sense of nostalgia in seeing so many familiar faces. You wonder how their lives are in this world, and how happy they must be, here on the surface.
Monsters… they are still just as weird as I remember… I can’t believe you all are real!
It’s so much to process. In one moment, you were alone and without form. Now you are in a new world, with a body that is able to feel so much.
Where everything that your memories told you just… didn’t happen.
Maybe… It was truly a bad dream. Maybe all of my memories… just aren’t real.
“But can you believe that?”
The same voice whispers inside your mind, wiping that smile out of your face.
Can you?
Toriel stops the car at a gigantic building; You feel yourself awed, eyes wide and mouth open.
Is this… my new school?! I can't even remember if I've ever been in one.
You can’t help but feel overloaded. So much so, you can’t move for a moment.
Toriel gets out of the car, waiting for you.
And then Kris gets out as his mother leads your body by hand to the building, dropping him off with a hug, just as he is used to.
Something he wishes she would stop doing.
Kris runs to his classroom.
As you enter the classroom, you can hear someone speaking inside.
“So, does everyone have a…”
You recognize that nasal, female, nerdy voice.
It’s Alphys, the yellow lizard monster with self-confidence problems due to the guilt of her failures, those you helped her overcome.
You do remember her being the Royal Scientist in your memories, back in the Underground, so she could easily be a teacher. I mean, obviously there’s no difference between being a teacher and a scientist.
Right?!
…
Yeah… that… really doesn’t feel right. Um… Alphys didn’t seem like the best person to teach me in my memories. Her help during puzzles… kinda sucked.
You take notice that she is wearing a dark green jacket, light green t-shirt accompanied by a red tie and brown pants instead of the lab jacket that you are used to.
At least she kept her square glasses, it fits her!
This thought finally made you notice your surroundings, realizing you have no memory of getting here in the first place.
Where am I?! Is this even the right class?
“Oh… K-Kris…! We thought you weren’t coming today!” Neither did we, Alphys, neither did we. “We are doing group projects this month… Uh, just w-walk around and choose your p-partner…”
You enter deeper in the classroom.
I guess it is.
You look at the class. It's a small class with a board for the teacher at the front, and right ahead of it there’s the teacher’s desk and nine desks for the students.
You can recognize the faces on the right as Temmie, a white cat-dog hybrid that wears a blue shirt and hat. Monster Kid (Or is it now Teen?), a yellow lizard without arms, and Snowy, a monster drake that loves bad puns.
They are all my classmates? But Snowy was way older than me and Kid! This is so weird!
Your other four classmates, a blue bird wearing a white shirt, a snake wearing a backwards baseball cap, a white-furred goth cat fixated on her phone, and a reindeer girl that looks like a character straight out of a Christmas movie, are complete strangers to you.
And who are these people?
For the first time, you see people that you don’t have any memory with.
Why don’t I remember them? Why weren’t they in the underground?
You shake your head and puff your cheeks to give you courage.
You decide to ask Monster Kid, because you are the closest to him out of everyone here.
“Hey Kid, are you partnerless?” You send him a double round of finger guns. “Because I am looking for the one special partner…” You see his expression of sheer cringe.
You quickly shut your mouth.
I shouldn’t do that.
“You really shouldn’t.”
Yet again, the same voice whispers in your head.
Kid looks extremely awkward and the blue bird is trying to contain his laughter, and failing miserably. Kris must not flirt as much as you do.
Crap.
“For my school project.” You say a little bit too loud. “I was talking about the project”.
“Haha, ok Kris… (that was really weird).” Monster Kid shuffles in his seat. “If only you showed up earlier! I had to partner with Snowy, haha… Now he keeps turning to me and saying ‘Howdy, Partner!’ like a cowboy... I would rather be partnerless than this, haha…, it’s really bad, haha…”
(You faintly hear Snowy saying “Partn'er? I hardly know 'er!! Ha ha ha!!”. You can understand Kid’s pain).
“That’s ok, absolutely no problem bro, haha…” You say awkwardly. And then you quickly leave as fast as your feet can take you.
This wouldn’t have happened in my original memories. Why can’t I remember anything right?!
You shake your head.
Welp, there goes MK, and Snowy as well… What do I do?
Temmie is the only other one you know, and she is… well… not the ideal choice.
You can even see her with a… hardboiled egg?
“tem already have partner… tem partner with… EG!!!” Temmie starts to vibrate intensely.
Yeah… no.
The only other options you have are the four strangers: The blue bird who just mocked you, the green snake with an empty look on his face, the goth cat, who is still on her phone, and the reindeer girl.
Everyone that I don’t remember…
You sigh, and then your resolve grows.
C’mon! I can do it! I just have to use my incredible perception skills!
You feel your body groan at that.
“Maybe try Noelle? She is always dependable”.
A calm suggestion comes in your head, sounding firm, but also polite.
You don’t know where that thought came from, that keeps whispering in your head.
Kris walks to Noelle, the reindeer girl.
“Hey, Kris! What's up? Didja lose your pencil again?” The reindeer looks at you with her big leaf green doe eyes. She reaches into her bag, dressed like a Christmas tree. “Here, you want the candy-cane one or the one with lights on it?” Within her hands are two pencils with an extreme Christmas theme.
Jeez that analogy to a Christmas character was spot on.
Only in the middle of your thoughts do you realize you actually walked to her. You blink.
When did I start talking to her?
You quickly think of a response. “Actually, I am looking for a partner for the school project, but everyone already has one…” At least you think everyone already has one, you didn’t bother talking to them all.
Why am I talking to her?
“Ummm... Sorry... Berdly already asked me...” She answers, looking a little sad, “But I could ask Ms. Alphys if we could make a group of 3!” Turning to Alphys, Noelle continues speaking. “Miss Alphys! Umm, is it OK if we have a group of 3?”
Like a flash the blue bird- you realize he must be this Berdly person- interrupts her, yelling: “Hey! What? No! I do NOT approve of this! ABORT!! NO IMPOSTERS ALLOWED!!!”
He says that last sentence with a smug face indescribable for words. It almost looks like he broke all his facial bones to smile like that.
Ew! Why is someone like that my classmate?!
“What? B-but Kris doesn't have a...” The reindeer girl says shyly, looking downwards.
“Noelle, what were you saying?” Your new teacher- that's a thought you have to get used to- speaks through the verbal fight.
“She was saying we were FINE being a team of two, with no additional imposters to SABOTAGE our brilliance!” Yells Berdly. You still can’t understand what he is referring to.
You want to yell out and strangle his wind-pipe, but you feel your body holding you down.
Gosh… there’s just too much stuff happening. Have I really lived here my entire life?
You shake your head, trying to take deep breaths.
As you continue to be utterly confused by Berdly’s gamer references and the hectic nature of the new school, you close your eyes and give your stressed brow a gentle rub..
Noelle tries to speak, “(A-actually, I just wanted to know if...)”, but she is as quiet as a thief invading a museum.
You really want to yell.
“Noelle, can you PLEASE SPEAK UP?” Alphys fulfills your wish
Just as it's fulfilled, the door bursts open from a kick. Everyone jumps in fright, and the sound makes you pay attention to what’s happening.
Your brown eyes stare at the culprit. A tall, purple, dragon monster with her hair covering her eyes similar to Kris. She wears torn jeans and a jacket with a white undershirt.
Everyone in the class suddenly becomes tense just by her presence.
You try to make yourself tense, but you really don’t know what’s happening.
“(H... Hi, Susie.)” Speaks Alphys, ironically just as quiet as Noelle earlier.
“... am I late?” Susie simply says.
Alphys tries to stammer. “Ohh, n-no! You're fine! W-we were just, uh... Ch-choosing partners for the next group project, and...” Alphys looks at you. You have a bad feeling about this, “Ummm, Susie, you're with Kris!”
You blink, and click your tongue.
Great. I don’t even have a choice. I don’t even know half of these people… I don’t even know where I am!
Susie echoes your sentiment “ ... great.”
Still, you try to give Susie a warm smile. Trying to make yourself look friendly. “I’m looking forward to working together with you, Susie!”
Everyone in the classroom goes wide-eyed at your response.
“(K… Kris?! Y… You are looking forward to working with Susie?!?!)”
“(You must’ve lost your mind after you lost to me in that Super Smashing Fighters tournament!!! Ha!)”
“(...crazy.)”
“(Kris! You are, really brave! Or, stupid!)”
“(Yo, Kris! You got to have a lot guts to say that to Susie, haha!)”
“(Now you’ve got snow chance of surviving!)”
“(KrISP in… troble! SUPER troble! ver bad!!! glad tem safe.)”
And reply in a cacophony of sound. You can’t tell who said what.
You just look at the class all weirdly.
What did I say wrong?
Susie stays silent.
Still incredibly nervous, and trying to ignore the students gossip, Alphys tries to continue the class. “N-now that everyone's here, I'll write the assignment!”
She checks her pockets, then her desk, then the drawers of her desk, looking more nervous by the second, “Uh... H-has anyone seen the chalk? This is the third time it's gone missing, and...” She tries to look more intimidating, “Y-you all know I can't start class without some! H-how about this? If no one speaks up... E-everyone gets in trouble!”
Her plan fails horribly, and you start to feel bad for her.
Guess even here Alphys still hasn’t grown past her issues. Ugh… I can’t understand why I can remember some things, but not others.
“ A... Anyone? P... please?” She begs.
“Miss Alphys, there might be a box in the supply closet, why don’t Susie and…” Noelle tries to say, but Kris cuts her off.
“Why don’t Susie and I go get it?”
You blink, a little confused. But the words come out of your body nonetheless.
“G-great idea, Noelle, since Susie got in last she should get the chalk.” Alphys says, looking at Susie.
“…whatever.” Susie replies dismissively while leaving the classroom. She closes the door with a thud.
“A-and since you offered to go with her, try to keep an eye on her, won’t you Kris?” You nod to your teacher while following Susie out of the classroom.
You are glad to finally be out of that place.
Is that how being alone in a crowd feels? It’s so weird… Ah, I am just repeating myself!
You lightly slap yourself, trying to regain your focus.
But what you end up seeing is unbelievable. From the corner of your eye Susie… eating the chalk?
Before you can even process the scene in front of you, Susie turns around, facing you.
“...Kris...Didn't see you there.” She says with a calm smile on her face. “... hey. You didn't see anything just now, did you?”
You feel as if your words are caught in your throat. “I… I just… I don’t know…”
“Hmmm... you can't even say?” She slowly approaches you while you try to back down.
You feel the tension sky-rocket. The school’s hallway feels like railroads, and Susie is the train heading your way.
You feel yourself grow anxious. Your SOUL hardening. It’s been a long time since you felt like this.
I need to get away from here!
You try to run away, but something stops you. A feeling in your body simply won’t let you move.
You struggle, but it’s too late.
Susie is right in front of you and you’re backed into the lockers. She calmly puts her hand on your shoulder.
“Hey. Let me tell you a little secret…”
She grabs your shoulder and slams you at the lockers. Your back immediately hurts from the impact, “Quiet people PISS ME OFF.”
She snarls at you, gripping harder at your shoulder. You want to yell, to tell her what you really feel. But nothing comes out of your mouth.
“You think just 'cause you don't say anything... I can't tell EXACTLY what you're thinking?” Susie says in your direction.
It almost feels as if she isn’t even talking to you.
Why can’t I say anything!?!?!
“’It's OVER! I caught Susie eating ALL the chalk! This was her LAST chance! Now she'll FINALLY be expelled!’" You look at her with a shocked expression.
You would never be a snitch; after all you went through you learned the important lesson of not judging a book by its cover.
You want to tell her that, but you can’t.
“Haha... Come on, Kris. You know it's true.”
“Everyone's waiting for it.”
“Everyone wants it.”
Yet again, it feels as if she isn’t even talking to you.
Yet again, you can’t say anything.
“So, congrats, Kris. You got me. I'm done for…” She says, with a… resigned expression.
At this moment, you understand what she feels.
She looks… really sad.
“Just, lemme say one little thing. Seems like a waste to get expelled just for having a snack. So, Kris, if I KNOW you're gonna pull the trigger...” She starts smiling.
You no longer try to say anything.
“Heh heh heh... Why don't I just get expelled for some REAL carnage?” Her smile gets wider.
There’s no reason to.
“Kris...How do you feel...” Her smile turns into a snarl, and you can see her yellow, sharp, shark-like teeth, “...about losing your face?”
You aren’t afraid.
She opens her mouth. You realize how dangerous those teeth must be. Yet, you give her a warm smile. You continue smiling as she gets closer and closer, until your face and hers are inches away. Until…
She drops you “Nah.” She turns around and walks away.
That’s why you weren’t afraid.
“Kris. You've got a good mother ... it'd be a shame to make her bury her child.” That hits you harder than it should. Your eyes start to tear up.
She had to bury her child once before, long ago from where you came from. Susie couldn’t possibly know that, but you simply can’t think logically right now.
…Curious how much you even care about that.
Yet, it’s because of that reason you weren’t afraid.
“Alright. Let's get this over with.” Susie continues, ignoring you, “We'll get more chalk. Mosey back to class. And then, Kris...”
“YOU'LL do our project. How's that sound?”
You read Susie like a book.
She isn’t a bad person. She is really trying to be bad, but she just isn’t. I can see that.
Before you even have the chance to reply, Susie continues, “Don't bother answering. If you haven't gotten it by now... Your choices don't matter.”
That’s true… isn’t it? I had no choice but to survive in that void. I had no choice but to be in this body. I had no choice but to be here… in a place I don’t even know.
But still, you stay determined.
I will make my choices matter. I will make my purpose here! I will take the second chance given to me.
And that starts with knowing you, Susie!
“Let's go, freak.” Then she heads off again, probably to the closet, and taking one look back at the classroom, you follow her.
She complains that you are following her too slow, causing you to speed up, only to mock you that you are running away: truly you can’t win.
“(At least her hair looks well-groomed…)” You murmur to yourself.
“...what?” Susie hears it, turning to you.
“I said your hair looks good, girl!” You wink at her.
Susie just stares at you. “...you think flattery will save you? You are stupider than I thought.”
You narrow your eyes at her as you pout. “...rude.”
Soon enough you both arrive at the closet. A set of metal double-doors blocking your way to… school supplies.
“Well, here we are. Too bad... We were just starting to have fun.” She says that last part giggling to herself while opening the door.
Except, instead of the closet being there, there’s only darkness. You try to look inside but somehow it only gets darker, yet darker. The shadows are cutting deeper, as if they are trying to take over the light.
Susie takes a step back, as she looks to the sides. She seems uneasy.
Something unusual happened.
You both back away. “Hey, Kris, is it me, or...” She squints her eyes, “Is it REALLY dark in there?”
“It’s… not normally this dark?” You tentatively ask her with a nervous smile.
Susie looks at you as if you grew another head. She smirks. “Want to go inside and find out?”
You take a step back from the door, shaking your head.
I had my fill with dark places for my entire life.
“Really? You're gonna be a WIMP? Then I'll...” She hesitates, “We'll both go in at the same time!!”
She grabs your arm, and you both enter the closet.
It’s just as dark inside as it was outside. You can only see a bunch of papers on the floor; everything else is just pure darkness. You can’t even tell how big the closet actually is.
Susie looks around “See? Why are you so scared?” Even though she said that to you, it sounded like she was mostly talking to herself, “There's nothing in here but old papers.”
After looking around even more she concludes, “Let's try to find a lightswitch.”
While walking deeper into the closet, you follow her.
And follow her.
And continue following her.
“That's weird...” Susie says while scratching her mane, “I can't find a switch. Guess it's further in...” Her voice sounds a little unsure.
You also can’t find any traces of either light or a switch.
You walk, you walk even more, you continue walking; for some reason, walking in pure darkness like this feels familiar to you.
Of course it is… it’s just like back then.
You giggle to yourself as you remember Sans and his treadmill prank.
That was so funny! I couldn’t stop laughing after that!!!
Your face grows sadder.
I wonder where he is in this world. And Papyrus, too. I didn’t see them when mom drove me to school. I hope they are okay…
Susie stops, together with your thoughts. She looks around. “...Uhhh... kind of big for a closet, huh...? You'd think we'd have reached the end by now...” She squints her eyes.
Still, there’s only darkness.
“Is the closet usually this… big?” You genuinely ask Susie.
She just looks at you dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. “...No. I think this closet's, uh... Broken. There aren't any walls.”
“Hey, maybe we are walking on a treadmill!” You say earnestly. “In the dark, so we can’t actually see it.”
Susie simply stares at you for a long while.
“...Well, we've worked hard enough.” Susie concludes, “If Alphys wants chalk so bad, she can get it herself. Let's split.”
And she then runs back to the door. You can barely see her.
You try to follow her but she can be really fast when she wants to.
“(Maybe she didn’t like my joke… I thought it was funny.)” You murmur to yourself.
You continue running. Despite being alone in a dark closet, you don’t feel afraid.
You feel like you are at home.
BANG! CLANG!
Suddenly you hear a sound of a door being hit, and then of Susie yelling “Hey, this isn't funny! LET US OUT! LET US...”
CLANG! CLANG!
She bangs at the now closed door. The papers below start shaking and slowly fall off one by one.
Before you can react, you are already falling into the darkness below.
Chapter 3: CHAPTER 1 - PART 2: THE DARK
Summary:
DARK, DARKER, YET DARKER. YOU FALL INTO THE DARKNESS, AND MEET HIM, YOUR GUIDE, TO FULFILL THE LEGEND.
Chapter Text
It’s dark… The sky is dark, the horizon is dark. Everywhere is dark as the night itself.
A black wind howls in the distance.
You feel as if you are buried by another avalanche, one that has slightly more snow poff than the previous.
You try to get up.
You try again.
And again.
Your body feels so heavy, or is it that you are too weak?
You manage to sit, and with extra determination, you finally get up.
The ground is made of stone. Hard. There was nothing to soften your fall.
Yet, you aren’t hurt.
You look around, all you can see is darkness and weird stone formations.
This is a school closet?! Are school closets always this big and empty? Argh, I don’t know if my memories are wrong or if the world is wrong!!!
Maybe this is the true power of a “high” school.
But most of all, you look into the darkness. You look up at the sky.
The Sun is gone. It’s replaced by darkness. Very faintly, you feel as if it’s flowing from somewhere.
This is more like what you are used to. Yet, you don’t feel afraid. You don’t feel as if you’re back in the void.
It reminds me of the underground…
No, you only feel a nostalgic feeling. A feeling of…
Home.
But it’s wrong. This isn’t your home.
This is my world.
Welp, never going to get out if I just stay here goofing around.
You take a step forward, which then makes a metallic sound. Your steps are followed by a stream of:
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
What the heck?
You look at your feet, and realize you are not wearing the clothes you were, instead you are in a skin tight black suit covered by a knight like armor. Chestplate, boots and shoulder-pads included. You got a cool, pink-redish cape with blue stripes.
Speaking of blue… that’s the color of your body’s skin now. Light blue, in fact.
Well, I did think I was feeling a little “blue”, but I didn’t mean that literally.
Still, standing around joking will do nothing. There’s a single path forward, and without further ado you follow it.
You walk; it’s so quiet every step you take echoes in the darkness. You feel oddly lighter for some strange reason. Your steps are easy to make. Your feet stay in the air for longer.
You felt this way before. Back in our world.
You walk, you keep walking. It’s still only darkness, odd shaped rocks, some with weird eye symbols that, sometimes, leak darkness itself, and strange, gray, antenna-like circular protrusions on the ground that wiggle every time you pass them
(You can almost hear faint laughter…).
You can’t help but to stick your hand in one of those darkness sockets. It’s sticky in your hand, and it smells like fresh water.
You eat it.
It tastes like nothing.
No flavor.
Weird. Thought it might’ve tasted like chocolate.
Sadly, the world isn’t that perfect.
You resume your walking.
Nothing.
The eyes continue staring at you.
Just as you are starting to really think you’re lost, you see it. A weird light almost shaped like…
A star.
It glows white, flickering, penetrating the darkness.
A light so familiar to you, but so alien, the light only you can see.
The light only Kris can see.
Almost by second nature, you reach out to it, feeling a certain power shining within you, shining in your SOUL and then…
CLICK!
You feel the entire world hold itself in place, in that one singular moment that you held it, and then move again.
You remember this feeling, this power.
The power to SAVE the entire world.
A power you used many, many times during your time in the underground. The power you relied on, the power that allowed you to change fate and defy death itself.
And how that power failed you in the end.
Despite your failures, it seems it has not left you completely.
I… I can still save! I can still…
An immense sense of relief washes over you.
I’m so glad…
Taking a look above, you see your SAVE file.
You see it with the name “Kris”.
But one blink and it’s only the name you chose for yourself.
“GONER”.
It must have been my imagination.
And yet, you can’t stop staring at the light.
At the white flickering light.
But wasn’t it golden…?
You shake your head, trying to wipe your doubts away.
It doesn’t matter. All that matters is I can save again.
And that knowledge fills you with relief. Despite everything that happened, you still feel that same resolve, that same power shines within you.
And that power is the beacon you need to continue on, feeling far more confident, far more powerful.
You feel unstoppable: the darkness, the creepy eyes, nothing can stop you now.
Watch out, creepy closet! Nothing can stop when I have the power of…
Until you stop at a puzzle. There’s a peculiar wall right before a bottomless looking gap in your path that is a little too daunting for you to risk jumping it.
Well, that was fast.
You pout, kicking a small pebble off the floor.
And off the cliffs.
It falls. It continues to fall.
You don’t hear it land.
How big is this place?
You shake your head and face forward.
There are three wall eyes in front of you, with markings beneath each depicting three circles, either blank or blacked out, in different patterns; Black, blank, black. Black, black, blank. Blank, blank, black.
Beneath the markings, there are holes on the wall. You plunge your hand in the second hole and the eyes change, going hollow to match the markings.
There’s a sign beside the puzzle that says “only eyes blinded by darkness can proceed”.
Being used to puzzles thanks to a certain skeleton, you quickly realize you just need to make all eyes dark at the same time, which you do in an instant by triggering the third hole.
CLICK!
A set of glass-looking tiles materializes to bridge the gap.
Number 1 puzzle master, hehehe, you smirk and scratch your nose, your pride shining brighter than the star-light.
Until a dark figure passes by you at incredible speeds, making you jump in fright and squeal.
What was that?!
It was waiting for you to finish that puzzle.
You try to follow it, chasing it into a rock formation filled with dust piles.
You can find dust anywhere these days.
For a moment, a morbid thought enters your head.
Wait… could those be…
You quickly touch a dust-pile.
It disperses immediately.
You sigh, wiping sweat off your brow.
It’s just regular dust…
From the corner of your eye, you see a figure moving.
Or is it…?
You slide down the sandslide, slowly approaching the pile of dust that you last saw the creature approach. Carefully, you move to touch it…
Until it completely breaks apart, revealing a creature with sharp teeth.
You scream.
The creature screams, too.
Wait, what?
You finally notice the figure in front of you.
It’s Susie.
Like you, she looks different from when she entered the closet, her skin is lighter, almost pink, her jacket has more details, her pants clearer, and she is wearing a heart shaped belt and spike bracelets.
She stops screaming.
With her eyes closed and with her hands in front of her, she yells: “H-hey! B…Back off! Come any closer and I’ll rip…!!”
She opens her eyes.
She finally notices it’s only you.
Her face falls.
She stops herself, looking relieved, but also slightly angry.
“K…Kris?! Phew…” She glares at you. “Hey! Don’t scare me like that, dumbass!” Before you can say that wasn’t your intention, she continues, “Unless you WANT to get clocked in the face, heh.” she finishes with a small laugh.
“(You scared me, too! What the heck!)” You murmur, but Susie turns around.
“Anyways, enough screwing around. Let’s find a way out of here…?” She looks around, as if only now noticing where you both are, “Ummm, where is “here” anyways?” Looking angry, she turns around and points straight at you, yelling, “It doesn’t matter! YOU got us in this mess so YOU get us out! Lead the way!”
You don’t even bother to correct her this time, it wouldn’t matter.
This girl doesn’t even let me talk…
You both walk forward a couple steps until Susie decides you are too slow and runs ahead alone, again.
You take a deep breath.
“Just keep moving forward.”
The same voice whispers in your head.
And as if being pushed by your own body, you continue forward without her, going through more slides, more creepy eyes, the same old.
You are almost getting used to it.
You see Susie has stopped right in front of a huge rock pillar, looking up at something.
Just as you get close, she talks to you, “Hey, Kris. There’s someone up there waving at us. Any idea what they want?”
Someone other than us in this place?
You follow Susie’s gaze, and you can only see a dark shape above. It’s shaped like a spade.
It’s waving at you.
You return the wave with a smile.
Susie looks at you as if you murdered a small animal. “Why are you waving at it-”
She gets interrupted by two spade-like projectiles, flying right where she is.
Susie!
You hold a hand towards her, and try to warn her
But it’s too late.
She has already dodged it.
“R-run, Kris!” She warns you and runs off.
You stand still wide-eyed. Your golden eyes illuminate the place like a flashlight.
Huh, nice moves?
A rainstorm of spades cuts any thoughts about Susie’s fighting skills, cracking the ground.
You notice Kris' body has gained a faint red outline and you are visible through it.
This small distraction allows one to pass through Kris and hit you directly!
You lurch forward on impact.
Ouch! That hurt! Really bad!
It felt as if someone punched you in the face.
“There’s no time to think. Run.”
The voice whispers in your head, and your body moves forward, his crimson eyes lightning the way forward.
The lightness you felt before comes into play here. Your movement, your jumps. It all comes far more easily than you would expect. Even more than you remember it being like.
It’s what allows you to dodge despite just getting a body.
Instinctively, you duck over some spades above you then sidestep a couple in front, leading to three right about to hit you; you try to jump over but one hits you as you are about to land.
Despite the sudden pain, you roll to keep momentum and continue ahead, sidestepping to the right then the left, dodging a couple of tricky ones.
You jump and flip over some, landing into a roll to avoid more incoming from above.
Right in front of you through this spade rain, Susie takes a slide down and without thinking, you follow.
Even while sliding down more spades appear to end your life from the right and left.
You slow your descent and narrowly dodge, leaving you wide open to a spade right above. It hits your SOUL, making you grunt.
Lightheaded from the impact, you continue to avoid the restless pursuit, accelerating your descent to miss the remaining spades, slowing down right as you are about to hit the ground, causing all of them to miss completely.
You land harshly on the ground.
That was too close, I am too rusty in dodging magic, crap.
You think to yourself, frustrated that your skill isn’t what it once was.
Your body aches, metaphysical wounds caused by your rustiness.
It frustrates you.
But it’s technically the first time I moved so fast outside my faint memories… so it wasn’t too bad!
You wipe the dust off your body.
On the bright side you realize you are in a new place. It’s as dark as the rest, but the stone here is polished and clean.
And ahead in the distance you can see Susie right in front of a small town.
Oh! Maybe someone lives there!
The possibility of there being a civilization in a school closet fills you with resolve.
As you walk to the town, Susie notices you, “Oh, you’re not dead. Sweet.” Sounding… actually happy.
“Got any idea what the heck this place is?” She asks you, looking at you this time, actually interested in your opinion.
“I… maybe…” Synapses fire in your brain. “Yeah… I… know! We are…!” You give Susie a bright smile. “Maybe we are underground, and there’s a hidden civilization here!”
“Did you hit your head on the way over here?” Susie curtly says.
You open your mouth, and then shut it.
Your idea wasn’t that crazy.
I could confirm it myself.
But…
You don’t know how this girl would react to your story.
Would she even believe it?
Susie starts to chuckle. “Maybe all the fear caused you to lose your mind!” Her face grows vicious. “C’mon, call your mommy! Ask her for help! ‘Mommy, the dark is so scary! Help me!’” Susie smirked. “Heh, that sounds just like you.”
You blink.
Then smile widely. “Excellent idea, Susie!”
You quickly go through your pockets, searching for your phone.
“Hey, wait!” Susie sounds shocked, trying to reach out to you. “I didn’t ACTUALLY want you to-”
She is cut off by you turning on your phone and calling for Toriel.
It's nothing but garbage noise.
And after a moment, it ends.
Chills run down your spine. For a moment, you feel cold.
You hug yourself. “I think… using the phone isn’t our best idea.”
“Agreed.” Susie says, her voice sounding nervous. She quickly turns around and points to the horizon. “I wonder if there’s anyone in that building over there…?”
You don’t call her out for changing the topic.
You look at where she is pointing. A small town in front of you. The buildings are all made with stone as dark as the night, with shapes befitting of a cartoon. The town’s only source of light is blue candle-light.
Beyond the town stands a gigantic looming castle, from where darkness itself is flowing ominously to the sky.
Without saying a single word, you two move towards it.
As you walk, you take notice of the town.
You see several buildings that look exactly the same but each with different signs, indicating shops, inns and weapon smiths. They all look weird, impossible shaped, but clean and pristine.
As if they’ve never been used before.
This place feels… really lonely.
But of course that would be the case.
This town is simply a mold of my aspirations at this moment.
Everything that a town needs is there.
It just lacks form. Form that you shall help me mold.
You stop moving. Your body aches for a moment.
I took too much damage from that little chase… but there’s nowhere to heal…
Something flickers from the corner of your golden eye.
A light.
Another white light. Another “save point”.
You touch it to save again, and the light melts all the pain you suffered previously.
A feeling of refreshment passes through you.
I missed this so much!
The power that shines in your SOUL fully restores your health.
You are filled with the power of this empty town.
I don’t know how I could live without SAVING…
With your spirits renewed, you move forward.
Finally, you and Susie arrive at the castle itself.
You look around; it’s gigantic. It’s fully black, dark as coal, with torches all over it, ignited by blue fire. Its towers stretch to the dark skies themselves, increasing its grandeur.
The center-piece of what will become a great town.
You can almost see darkness itself spewing from it. Right from the middle of such impressive construction.
But that’s impossible, right?
“After everything you've seen?”
You stop for a moment.
No. No, it isn’t.
You reply to the voice.
Nothing replies back.
“A castle…?” Susie speaks aloud, sounding extremely confused, as she looks at the castle with an awed expression, “Why the hell is there a castle inside a supply closet…?”.
Susie’s comment made you remember that you were supposed to be in the school closet; the excitement from running away from all those spades almost made you forget about it.
After all, you are used to strange worlds you previously thought couldn’t exist.
This place… does feel familiar to what’s in my memories. The darkness… the one that seems to suck in even light… But that isn’t right.
Where’s everyone?
Your face grows pensive, but before you can get lost in your thoughts, you hear a soft voice, “Welcome, heroes…!” It says, sounding as fluffy as cotton candy.
Maybe I should’ve eaten more than a chocolate bar before going to school.
Susie quickly responds to it, yelling “Who’s there!?”, making you remember that meeting strangers in dark kingdoms is not as normal as you think.
“Do not be alarmed… I am not your enemy.” You immediately believe the voice.
Although, the first person you met in that other dark kingdom did try to trick and kill you… maybe you should be more alert.
“Please come forward, both of you…” it says, and even though Susie looks extremely alert, you both walk forward in the direction of that mysterious voice.
You look ahead.
Right in front of the castle’s entrance there’s a cloaked figure. A cloaked figure that, somehow, looks extremely familiar to you.
Yet you can’t see any of the person’s features.
Maybe it’s that robe that is familiar. Or the lack of distinctive features.
They quickly continue their speech, “Welcome. I am the Prince of this Kingdom…The KINGDOM OF DARKNESS”
Your golden eyes widen, as you hold a hand to your chest. To where your SOUL is.
A prince from the dark? Couldn’t this also apply to…
Yes, your line of thinking is correct. Back in our world, Asriel was, in a way, the prince of darkness, being the prince of the underground…
Probably just a coincidence.
But is it truly?
“Kris, Susie… There’s a LEGEND in this land.” The figure continues. “A LEGEND that one day, two Heroes of light, will arrive and fulfill the ancient prophecy, foretold by time and space”.
Your face grows pensive, as your golden eyes fade slightly.
You remember the strange words of the man that brought you here; of the mission that you had to do.
Could his mission be related to this prophecy? Did he summon me to save his world? Am I the hero of this prophecy? Are they even connected? Argh, this is making my head hurt.
Questions you don’t have an answer for.
After all, you don't know the truth.
Not like I do.
I had to watch everything to bring you here, afterall.
“Please heroes, listen to my tale…” The figure begs towards you two.
“Yes, we would love to.” And you accept his request immediately.
This could be crucial information related to the very reason you escaped that hellish void in the first place.
You simply have to know.
You have to.
“Very well then…”
The creature starts glowing, projecting images in the sky: an image of this very town you are in.
They start speaking with a tone to their voice as if this were the most important thing they had ever said to anyone.
“Once upon a time, a LEGEND was whispered in the shadows”
It was a LEGEND of HOPE It was a LEGEND of DREAMS
It was a LEGEND of LIGHT It was a LEGEND of DARK
It was the LEGEND of DELTA RUNE
For millennia, LIGHT and DARK have lived in balance, bringing peace to the WORLD.
But if this harmony were to shatter…
A terrible calamity would occur.
The sky will run black with terror
And the land will crack with fear.
Then, her heart pounding…
The EARTH will draw her final breath.
Only then, shining with hope…
Three HEROES appear at WORLDS’ EDGE
A HUMAN, A MONSTER, And a PRINCE FROM THE DARK
Only they can seal the fountains
And banish the ANGEL’S HEAVEN.
Only then will balance be restored, and the WORLD saved from destruction.
Today, the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS
The geyser that gives this land form
Stands tall at the center of the kingdom
But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon…
And with it, the balance of LIGHT and DARK begins to shift.
The pictures disappear, and the figure stops glowing. You can see them quickly wiping their brow; that magical show must have taken its toll.
You think about the legend itself and everything it means.
Light and dark, balance, heavens of angels. That has to be the reason that man brought me here, to fulfill this prophecy and save the world from destruction! After all, I am the future of humans and monsters! It doesn't matter if I failed there; I can succeed here, in a world of second chances!
Plus those figures… That has to be me! And Susie, and this weird dude!
All of your doubt disappears. Determination floods through you.
Everything that happened… is all for the purpose of saving the world! To be a hero!
But in the end, their words might as well have been the most important to you.
They have given you the purpose you had sought for.
After recovering their energy, the person speaks to you and Susie. “Kris, Susie… Thank you for listening to my long tale. I deeply believe you two are the HEROES of the LEGEND. That despite whatever enemies you may face… you two have the COURAGE to SAVE THE WORLD! DELTA WARRIORS! Please, won’t you accept your destiny…?”
For your ears, their voice was the representation of hope itself.
You almost can’t contain your excitement, it’s everything you wanted to hear.
You want to yell a huge “YES!” to the entire word.
Yet you don’t.
Because your partner, Susie, has fallen… asleep…
Wow.
(“HoHOHOHO…” A faint laugh echoes.)
“I-is she asleep?! Was my story that boring?” The figure asks, looking extremely worried, “Uh, Susie, hello? Do you accept your destiny as the hero of the legend? I can promise you it will change your life!” They desperately say, you feel raw second hand embarrassment.
“Uh… what?” Susie says, shaking her head. She looks groggy from waking up. “Sorry, your story was so BORING I just fell asleep from hearing you speak.” She says with a smug smirk on her face,
The figure seems to deflate like a very sad balloon. “(B-but Susie, the fate of the WORLD is at stake!)”
(“HOHOHOHO…” It gets louder.)
She turns to you, her smirk getting more smug, “Anyways, I didn’t hear anything that guy just said, buuuuut if you wanna play pretend with him, stick around. I am going to find a way out of here by MYSELF!”
She prepares to leave.
“Susie, wait…!” The figure begs.
“Don’t you want to be a hero?!” You try to reach out to her.
“HOHOHOHOHOHOHO” A laughter you couldn’t hear before grows louder and louder around you…
“(Did anyone else hear that?)” Try as you might, you can’t find the source of the laughter.
The figure follows the dragon, quickly running towards her in a way where their robe won’t fall off.
Right at that moment you see a figure on a bike quickly approaching. The source of the strange laughter.
You turn your head towards it and…
BOOM, CRASH!
It crashes straight into the cloaked person, sending them flying off into the distance.
Somehow, their cloak doesn’t fall off.
“Darn. I really wanted to take out that cloak! I hate cloaks!” The figure yells, sounding childish and high-pitched. Like a little boy.
Wait… is that…
The figure reveals itself to be… a spade-like being, riding a bike… on fire?!
A kid?!
“Hohoho, enter…” He does a 360 degree flip. “The bad guy!”
Chapter 4: Chapter 1 - Part 3: Enter! The Bad Guy!
Summary:
Lancer, the spade prince, makes his grand debut! Your adventure truly begins!
Chapter Text
“Hohoho! The Heroes are already running away, and they didn’t even know I was here!” The weird blue spade creature continues. You finally take notice of his appearance.
He is short and rotund. Black, white and blue. The upper half of his face is hidden by a spade-shaped shadow. His blue tongue constantly sticks out of his mouth.
But what really catches your attention is the fact you can’t tell where his clothes end and his skin starts.
…
Why?
Why is that what catches your attention?
…
Susie stops in her tracks and turns around, facing him.
“My dad’s gonna make me Son of the Month!” He continues, with another laugh.
You narrow your eyes, looking at the weird being doing donuts with his bike.
Son… of the month? There are more spade creatures?
Ignoring your troubles, Susie speaks to him “Who, the HELL, are you?!”
“Um… I thought I had said it when I clowned on that nerd...I’m…” He does a 720 degree flip, commonly known as a super flip, “Lancer. The bad guy.”
“Bad guy? Bad guy from what?” Susie replies, confused.
You facepalm while giving Susie a side glance.
She should have paid attention to the legend…
“You know. The Teardrop-headed kid. From the legend?” The spade asks Susie. If only he knew the lengths her ignorance can go.
“Legend? OH! You mean that stupid fairytale that guy told us? It was so boring that I couldn’t help falling asleep!!!” Susie replies, looking surprisingly smug while boasting her ignorance.
“Oh! Oh! Me too! I always fell asleep when my dad tried to tell me about it, until he threatened to take all my MP3’s if I didn’t pay attention!”
You giggle, holding a hand over your mouth
Ok, this “bad guy” is definitely no threat; this is just like Papyrus all over again!!!
Susie and the spade figure look at you weirdly.
“Susie, Kris! You need to go EAST and seal their DARK FOUNTAIN to stop them from covering the entire world in darkness!” The robed figure yells from the floor to both of you, grunting in pain.
“Hey, who told you to spill our entire plans to these CLOWNS? Because that was MY job!” Yells the blue kid, pouting like a small child.
Your giggle increases to a chuckle.
Yeah, no threat here.
Before you can interject in this madness, Susie speaks. “Hey, when did we say we were stopping it? Eternal darkness?! That sounds awesome!”
You sigh, any signs of laughter stopping.
Then, a rush of emotion passes through you. Your eyes shine as a smile crosses your face.
“Enough of this chit-chat! You are the bad guy, huh? Then, as the legendary heroes, the future of this world, we shall stop you right now!” You pull out your sword. It’s a rusted blade, as if it has been used many times before. Or maybe as if someone has bitten it many times. “En guarde!”
“Really? ‘En guarde’?” Susie looks at you like you are a straight up weirdo. You just shrug.
But the spade boy has stars in his eyes.
“Hohoho, this is what I like to hear! Time to enact my flawless two-step plan to stop you!” He looks at his hand, and holds one finger. “Step one. I thrash you.” He holds the same finger. “Step two. You lose!”
Susie smirks a little. “Nice plan, would you mind if I took step one for myself? I’ve been itching for a REAL fight all day!”
You start glowing again through Kris’ body, becoming visible to everyone, a red outline overtaking the human’s body.
Susie picks up the ax described in the legend, the one you saw in the figure’s images. It’s as large as herself, with a purple handle and a somewhat bent blade.
It looks intimidating.
Susie swings it straight at Lancer, launching magical versions of itself at the spade boy. They fly in a curve and hit the enemy, causing him to back away.
“Ouchies!” He cries out, holding his tummy. “You hit hard, purple girl, this is exactly what I didn’t expect from a bunch of clowns!” He yells, looking as happy as before.
“Dunno how I got an ax, but, like, that’s cool. Plus I can shoot axes from MY ax? Now that’s really cool!” Susie smirks at her prey.
As Susie is about to attack him again, you move in front of her. She grunts as you yell, “Lancer, watch out, Susie’s about to attack you!”
He dodges all the magical axes with his fire-bike.
“Hohoho! Thanks, weird blue person with the red heart! Now prepare to get your ass thrashed!” He revs his motorcycle- which is totally NOT just a bike that’s on fire- and drives straight towards you.
Kris pulls out his shield just in time to block, reflecting Lancer straight at a wall. Taking this opportunity, Susie pushes you away and hurls even more axes toward the spade, hitting him again.
“Susie, you aren’t supposed to hit him!!!” You put a hand on her shoulder, your golden eyes glaring at her. “In this world we can solve things peacefully!”
Susie pushes your hand away. She turns her back towards you, gripping her ax harder, “Dude, you heard him, he is the bad guy, and bad guys get CRUSHED by the heroes!”
“The scary purple girl is right! I am the bad guy!” Lancer yells while circling around both of you, laughing without a care.
He accelerates his cool bike, circling faster and faster, and right at the peak of his speed he launches spade projectiles while maintaining his momentum, attacking from every angle.
Susie smashes through them with her magic, sending magical axes right and left. Each ax cancels a spade and she smashes one right in front of her with a swing.
Kris pulls out his sword from his clothes, slashing through a spade. He slashes at another, and another, and another. They turn into dust, but don’t stop.
You roll out the way of one coming from the right, running in a clockwise formation right in front each spade, causing them to miss, hitting the walls of the castle instead.
(“The castle! That's going to take so long to fix…” The robed figure, their despair adds salt to his wounds.)
As you and Susie dodge his attacks, you try to think of an ACT to make Lancer stop fighting.
You send Lancer a set of finger guns that, in this world, hearts are fired from. “I, uh, your clothes… really match with your body…?”
A red-heart appears over Lancer’s head, as his smile widens.
His attacks are less intense.
“Oh! You make my feelings do wheelies! Sweet wheelys.” Still smiling, he drives towards Susie this time. His reduced speed lets her easily dodge his attacks.
Susie grips her ax, a purple magic aura flows through it. “I just need one hit…” She swings, a wave of rude energy cutting through the air like butter.
Your golden eyes widen. “Lancer, DODGE!” You yell at the spade with a little bit too much desperation in your voice.
He jumps to the side, bike included. Susie’s magic completely missing him. “Whew… that was close! I was about to become swiss cheese! Wait… that would’ve been really cool! And tasty!”
Susie glares at you, expression furious. “STOP HELPING THE ENEMY KRIS!”
“So what are you guys doing after this???” Lancer continues his attacks, opting to circle around you and Susie again.
Knowing better, Kris throws his shield right where Lancer is about to be, hitting his bike straight on, making it go out of control, flinging Lancer through a wall.
(“Another wall?” The figure laments again, emotional damage finally eclipsing the physical.)
“Wait! Wait a second!” Lancer yells from the Lancer shaped hole in the wall. He cartoonishly pops out of it, bike included. He loudly gasps when he sees the fire in his bike burn slightly less. “My bike’s running out of fuel…!”
He grabs the bike as if it is a small child. “Alright you punk-a-roos! You had the luck of the draw this time, but next time! The losers will be YOU! Hahaha!!!” Lancer yells, laughing like a mad man.
“Bye, losers! I gotta get home before dinner!!!” Lancer runs away with his broken bike, leaving some dollar bills on the floor that you pick up.
They are dark in color and have a weird symbol on them.
Must be this world’s currency…
After Lancer is gone, the robed figure gets up, dusts off, and walks to you and Susie.
“Are you two ok…?” They say, sounding worried.
“Not a scratch!” You reply with a smile and thumbs up.
“A little winded, but not worse for wear”. Susie smirks as she straightens her mane.
Still sounding nervous, the figure continues, “Um, allow me to introduce myself more properly, I am…”
Susie interrupts him.
This is becoming a common occurrence.
“Jeez, can you take off that hood? I can barely hear you under there.” Susie pretends to be picking her ears while chuckling, causing you to glare at her.
I could hear them just fine…
“Um, alright…” They comply, taking off the hood and revealing…
Another cloaked figure!
At least he looks completely different now.
He is wearing a green hat that casts a dark shadow over his face, obscuring most of his features except his very, very fluffy fur. He’s also wearing a red pinkish scarf, green glasses and a green robe with a black heart in it.
He claps his hands and gives you two a warm smile. “Hello everyone. I’m Ralsei”.
Ralsei…? Why does that name sound so familiar?
“Kris, Susie… It’s ever so wonderful to meet you! I’m certain we’re going to become great friends and-”
Susie cuts him off, again.
“Best way to leave is East, right?” Susie points to the East, looking like she couldn’t care less about him.
“Um, yes! That’s where we will-“
“Got it” Susie dismisses, “See ya at school, Kris.” Without even a wave, she leaves you, walking the same path Lancer took.
You two just stand there dumbfounded.
“Ummm…” Ralsei tries to speak, as his eyes dart to the side.“I suppose it’s just the two of us, then…”
He walks close to you, continuing his speech. “Kris, I am a PRINCE, but… I, um, currently don’t have any subjects.” He says, looking down, shoulders heavy.
For some reason, you feel his pain in your SOUL.
“I’ve been waiting alone here… Um, my whole life waiting for you two to arrive. So… I’m really happy to meet you. I hope we can be good friends, Kris.” He finishes, his eyes filled with hope.
Instinctively, you reply, “Anyone who tries to help others is already my friend, Ralsei! In fact, I am sure we are going to be the best of friends!”
Maybe you are projecting your own desire to have friends in this life. Maybe you are projecting your own loneliness.
But you couldn’t contain yourself.
Ralsei smiles, “That’s the spirit, Kris! I knew you had the determination of a hero the moment I saw you!” He then looks East. “Susie must have gone southeast… Let’s go find her, lead the way, Kris!”
You two walk away from the castle, taking another stop at that white light to SAVE again.
It’s always good to SAVE as much as you can.
The power of fluffy boys shines within you!
*
You look around at the vacant buildings, back in the empty town. They feel as lonely as before.
Filled with curiosity, you tentatively ask Ralsei: “Ralsei… are those buildings yours? Why do you live next to an empty town?”
“Oh, er… not exactly.” Ralsei explains. “These buildings are for my subjects. I… um, don’t have any right now. But! Once we seal the fountain and make many friends, they can all hang out here, celebrating our friendship and adventure. They can be our new subjects!
He cutely claps his hands. “Oh! I will even bake many cakes for everyone!”
You smile a little at that; this was also your dream back in your world, to just hang out with your friends once you saved them.
You look to the ground, the polished stone reflecting your golden eyes back at you. “That sounds nice…”
"It sure does!” Ralsei’s voice spurs you to look at him. His smile infects you. “That's my promise!"
You nod firmly, your features filled with resolve, "I will make our dream real!"
Purpose fills you. You finally have a goal. You will save the world, you will make friends.
You will fulfill this prophecy
That's all you have left.
*
After a little bit of walking, you exit the town. With the West thoroughly explored, you follow Susie and Lancer’s path and go East.
Your eyes widen as you look at the state of the room.
“Oh! Kris, this is the training dummy I-“ Ralsei stops himself, his expression slowly changing to one of disbelief.
The room to the east of my town was completely destroyed. A smashed up dummy of Ralsei stands in the middle, its cotton-filled guts spread on the floor, axes jammed into his chest.
“What happened to my dummy?! It’s completely destroyed!” Ralsei tries to fix the dummy, pulling the axes out of it. They turn into dust as they’re removed.
But it’s no use. He can’t fix it.
“Um, I think Susie happened.” You reply, pitying his efforts.
“It was supposed to help us learn how to fight in this world…” Ralsei sighs, realizing the pointlessness of his actions. “Welp, I guess little old me will have to do. Ready, Kris?” Ralsei goes where the dummy is, pushing it to the side.
He takes a stance, his body glowing with magic.
You nod, eyes shining gold for battle.
You glow through Kris' body yet again, a red outline forming through his body.
“See that HEART, Kris? That’s a SOUL, the culmination of a HUMAN’s being!” Ralsei points straight at you. “Not only does it represent one's WILL and COMPASSION... But it also has the power to DETERMINE FATE.”
Will, compassion, determining fates…
It surely sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
You already heard this before. Back in our world. These concepts defined our very beings, didn’t they?
Even in a brand new world, we can’t run away from these labels.
Ralsei's green glow encompasses his body as he prepares a magical attack. “When enemies attack, BULLETS appear. Please avoid them and protect your team's FATE!”
Little white pellets start surrounding Ralsei. You suddenly feel a rush of tension go through your soul. “Ready, Kris? Try dodging these little… enemy pellets!”
He launches three pellets straight at you. They’re quite… slow.
Ineffective.
The tension you felt deflated like a sad balloon at the party of a child with no friends.
You easily jump over one with a flip, roll to the right to dodge another, and right before the third one hits, you duck and it flies over you.
Of course, you could’ve just stepped to the side, but you wanted to be fancy.
“Great job, Kris! You are a natural!” He says, clapping at your incredible performance.
“Now, let’s talk about COMMANDING.” He continues. “As our leader, you need to be prepared to command your party in a FIGHT. Let’s try attacking first, although this is a world where fighting is unnecessary, there is no harm in a thorough lesson! Try attacking the broken down dummy.”
You pick up your sword, holding it high above your head and…
Barely touch the dummy with the tip of the sword.
“…Well, you are right, we don’t need to fight. Let’s try ACTing instead, try hugging the dummy, everyone knows a good hug can solve any problem!”
Instead of hugging the dummy like a normal person, you hug the prince.
Wow. You lasted longer than I expected. Good job.
At least he’s really fluffy.
“K…Kris?!” Ralsei yelps, a blush slowly creeping into his face..
“You said so yourself, a good hug solves any problem!” You say, smiling like a doofus.
“Umm, I don’t think, umm… this is what you are supposed to be doing…" Ralsei tries to break free from your grip, but his efforts are weak. "(But I don’t really want to tell you to stop…)”
Ralsei tries to stammer out something, “Umm, if that's what you r-really want... Then that's a victory in my book! You win!”
You stop the hug and do a pose, flashing a peace sign to celebrate your victory.
Even though you learned absolutely nothing from it.
(Very briefly, you feel a wave of disgust ripple through your body. But it’s over as soon as you notice it.)
“That didn’t go as planned, but it was fun. You are an, um, interesting student, Kris.” Ralsei finally recomposes himself, picking out a cute picture book from his robes. “I, er, made a manual for you and Susie. In case you ever need a refresher!”
Ralsei walks over to you and gives you the yearbook. On its cover, you can see a cute drawing of Ralsei. Above it, there’s Ralsei’s handwriting.
Oh! It’s so cute!
“Put it in that special bag you should have.” He tells you while smiling.
Special bag…?
Lo and behold, you were carrying a bag with you this whole time, and so you put the manual there. It fits perfectly.
You don’t question how you didn’t notice that bag the entire time.
Maybe you are just forgetful about bags in general.
“As Heroes, we need a place to put all the ITEMs we might find in our journey, that’s where bags like that come in, our INVENTORY!” Ralsei finishes explaining.
“We don’t… just use our pockets?” You nervously say.
Ralsei looks to the side. “Why… would we use our pockets?”
“I don’t know! I just thought inventories and pockets were the same thing!” You argue.
Ralsei blinks. “Oh.” He then gives you a wide smile. “Well, just think of our inventory as a… er… bigger pocket, then.”
You snap your fingers. “Like a mega-evolution of a pocket! A super pocket! Pocketful pocket, the ultimate pocket!”
Ralsei says nothing for a moment. “Yes!” Then, without another word, he moves to the next room.
You quickly follow him.
*
You two didn’t walk for too long, because soon enough, you see a huge door with the DELTA RUNE right in the middle.
It is slightly open, and you can feel a breeze coming from beyond.
“Oh my! The Great Door is opened?! No wonder Lancer was able to come through...” The fluffy boy runs to the door. He laments as his fears are proven true.
He turns to you, his eyes sad and ears low. “Kris, once we pass through this door... Our adventure will really begin. A journey foretold exactly by the prophecy...”
His eyes become happier, and his ears perk up .“But, Kris, I believe YOUR choices are important, too. This world is full of all kinds of people, Kris. In the end, how we treat them makes all the difference. So let's try our best to get by without FIGHTing.”
His expression goes neutral. Like he doesn’t want you to know what he is feeling. “If we can manage to do that... I believe this tale may have a happy ending. Otherwise, I fear that...you may not... find the result favorable... Oh, I'm sorry! Is that too much to ask?”
You feel a chill course through your SOUL…
…
It’s just like before…
The realization hits you.
This is the start of your journey.
Past that door, your fate will be settled.
This is your last chance to back away. To ignore everything. To avoid pain.
“I… can handle it, being merciful should be easy as pie!” You reply, giving a shaky thumbs up.
You have decided to move forward.
That’s your choice, huh?
I am determined to succeed too.
“Kris, I knew you were a hero the moment I saw you. Let's try our best, alright?” Ralsei says, imitating you, but the shakiness isn’t present with him.
With your determination filling the empty spots in your soul, you two walk together through the Great Door.
Ralsei closes it behind you.
Your adventure has truly begun.
Let’s see how well you will fare.
Or if you will break.
Chapter 5: Chapter 1 - Part 4: Field of Hopes and Dreams.
Summary:
The Field of Hopes and Dreams stretches into the horizon, its visage reflecting your bustling emotions.
Chapter Text
The Great Door stands behind you. It is now closed, standing as imposing as a mountain. There is no return. You can only move forward.
Towards a ginormous purple field, stretching out as far as your eye can see. The blades of purple grass dance in the silent wind as it carries a faint smell of marshmallows through the dark sky.
It’s an impossible sight. Nothing makes sense. Even in a place like the underground, you wouldn’t see something like this.
Yet, you can’t deny your sight.
It’s like you are in a dream world.
You step on the purple grass. The first step into a larger adventure. An adventure bigger than life. You can’t help but feel giddy standing there.
You smile and pose, hand on your hip while the other points forward.
A new world, a new adventure! Watch yourself, world! Because I am here!
“Is… um… posing something Lightners do?” Ralsei’s voice breaks your composure and your cool pose along with it.
“Yeah! It’s a brand new adventure, isn’t it?” You run towards the goat, and through his squirms, you push him forward. “So we gotta have cool poses! C’mon, try it out!”
You repeat your pose, somehow radiating even more elegance! Ralsei stands beside you and he… well… he…
Stands there. Beside you. Doing… stuff. Not particularly interesting stuff, but he sure is trying his best!
Oh! He is holding onto his hat in a cute dorkish way, so I guess that’s a pose.
You and Ralsei pose to the world.
“That’s how we really start an adventure!” You proudly yell to the heavens.
“Well… that was kind of fun!” Ralsei smiles, his body growing more relaxed. “You really are amazing at-”
Something catches your attention.
The light.
You hold on to it, feeling power course through you, holding this new beginning in place.
The world stops and moves again. You SAVE.
The power of a new adventure shines within you.
Ralsei deflates. “(I guess what you are doing is more important than listening to-)”
His eyes widen as he realizes you aren’t there anymore. “Hey! wait!” He yells as he runs after you.
What a start.
*
You walk through the field, Ralsei shortly behind you, the dark prince returning to your side.
The mysterious green robed figure that assured your wildest dreams of redemption were real, that you really were destined for greatness, to be the future of light and dark.
Whatever that actually means.
Happiness fills your heart as you walk with a companion.
You can’t remember having a companion before. You’ve been alone for a long time, ever since the abyss.
Even in your memories, you can't remember anyone sticking by your side for very long.
…
Nobody, huh?
…
And he believes in me, too! He supports me in everything I do!
You feel as if your SOUL is charged with electricity, sparking with excitement.
You walk, looking around as if everything is completely new. But in a way, everything is new, isn’t it?
You’ve never been here before.
“So… Ralsei, can you explain again where exactly we have to go?” You ask, giddy with delight.
You can’t wait to explore every single nook and cranny of this world with your insatiable curiosity.
“Oh, right! I never explained where we are going, did I, Kris? Golly, silly me.” Ralsei looks a little embarrassed.
His expression grows serious as he closes his eyes, information contained in his brain flowing through his words.
“Well, first we have to go through the Field of Hopes and Dreams, where we currently are. By going EAST we should reach the Scarlet Forest, you will know when we get there, it’s… uh… very obvious why it’s named like that, I mean. Then after going NORTH we will arrive at CARD CASTLE, where the fountain is, and then you will seal it, saving the world! Although… It's been a while since I have looked into CARD KINGDOM, so things might have changed, but I know that together we can…”
Ralsei opens his eyes.
He doesn’t see you.
His expression falls.
“...aaaaaaannnnnnnd you aren’t listening anymore.” Ralsei finishes his long speech, rubbing his eyes.
A little way forward, you’re reading a sign. It has you completely captivated.
Unlike Ralsei’s words, which have only captivated the air.
“'Enemies ahead! You’re going to die! Signed, Lancer.' Oh!” Your eyes widen. “Enemies! Let’s go get ‘em Ralsei!” You don’t even look at him as you run off ahead, leaving the dark prince in the dust.
“Kris, wait!” He yells, holding a hand out.
You see a green, diamond like creature ahead, looking as if it’s patrolling the area. He looks tired.
Ralsei catches up.
“Well, this could be the perfect opportunity to test what we learned!” He points at the enemy, who looks like it is going to fall off at any minute. “Try befriending that enemy, Kris!”
You take the chance to become a real leader.
You hold your chin, eyebrows furrowed in thought.
Hmmm, first I should try CHECKING it, if I still can…
CHECK. The power to see into an enemy’s very being and dissect any information about them for combat. From their strength, their durability, name and personal tidbits of their life
A power you used many, many times in our previous world. Using it to make fights easier. Using it to spare enemies just a little bit quicker.
Using it to prepare yourself for the unknown.
You haven’t tried to use it since you woke up in this new world, not in the Lancer fight, nor Ralsei’s.
Now’s your chance to use it.
You close your eyes and focus.
Nothing happens.
Maybe I just need to focus reeeaaaally hard!!
You focus “reeaaally hard”.
Nothing happens.
No matter how hard you try, nothing happens.
And nothing will happen either.
Because you can’t CHECK. It isn’t an ability innate to you.
It’s a power you used, someone else’s.
Even though you’ve supposedly been alone this entire time…
Wait… I can almost hear it! I can almost hear… the voice that will tell me what I-
“Uh, Kris, what are you doing?”
You eyes open.
That ‘voice’ is just Ralsei, looking at you weirdly.
“Oh, are you trying to focus your magic?” He innocently asks you. “But I thought humans couldn’t use magic… Well, maybe you are…”
“No no no, it’s not that.” You wave in dismissal. “Humans can’t use magic.”
You pause.
I think.
“I was just trying to do an old trick to learn more about our foe…” You laugh sadly. “I guess it didn’t work…”
You're not worthy of advice.
“Kris… don’t look sad. Oh! If you want to know more about our enemies, check out my MANUAL!” Little stars appear over Ralsei as his smile widens. “I took notes of all the enemies we shall face, as stated in the PROPHECY!”
You look at the dark prince in shock, your jaw almost on the floor.
You quickly look in the manual, eyes widening more and more as you flip through the pages.
He made entries for EVERYONE?!?!
With the entry in your mind, you two walk towards the diamond creature. A Ruddin is his name according to the manual.
You wonder how Ralsei knows the creature's name, but the thought soon evaporates from your mind.
The prophecy, duh!
The closer you get to the green diamond, the more you see that he looks… worried?
“Attention, uh, Ruddin!” You point at him, hearts coming out your fingers. “Your evil forces, sent by the evil bad guy Lancer, shall not stop us from passing, behold the power of the DELTA WARRIORS!” You finish it off with a wink.
“Kris… you really should tone down on those… uh… speeches…” Ralsei says, his voice coming out quiet and muffled,
Probably because he is trying to hide himself in his hat.
“It’s the Lightners!” The creature’s eyes bulge out of its sockets, comically wide. “They’re here to finish the job after that purple beast came, oh no! You aren’t taking me!”
It summons diamond projectiles from the surrounding trees, aimed at your heart.
You roll to the side to dodge some and jump past one a moment before impact, landing right on the path of another.
Before it hits, Ralsei uses his scarf to grab a diamond aimed at him and throws it at the one assailing you, destroying both on impact.
“Kris, golly, I keep forgetting to tell you important info.” Ralsei yells towards you, as he summons his enemy pellets. “Now that we are in a party, any damage done to that heart will affect all party members, based on the enemies’ intent! So you have to protect it, alright?!”
Ralsei’s pellets fly through the air, hitting the diamonds. Bursts of dust sparking from their clash.
Giving you the perfect opportunity to read.
You pick up the manual and start to flip its pages to Ruddin’s.
RUDDIN: Said to be someone’s best friend, but maybe not. Shine on, you lazy diamond!
LIKE: Shiny Things.
DISLIKE: Effort
LEVEL: 2
ATTACK: 4
DEFENSE: 5
ELEMENT: JEWEL.
You read its contents to find any weaknesses, struggling through all the colors and the drawing.
He could’ve made it easier to read… Why is it so dense?
The dust settles.
The enemy notices you.
“Seriously, reading in combat?” The Ruddin mocks, stifling a yawn. “Prince Lancer was right, you lightners really are…”
A blue glow envelopes his body, he suddenly falls asleep.
Ralsei’s raised hands glow the same color, he puts them back down.
“Ok, so I have to just convince you…” You finally look up from the book. You close it with a thud. “...aaaaaaaaannnnnd he is asleep… Great!” Your smile is not forced and you are not mad.
“I just used my pacify spell on the enemy, since you made it tired by cleverly using my manual! You really are amazing, Kris!” Ralsei claps his hands, looking at you proud.
You smile at him, trying to hide the fact you are a fraud. But hey, a win is a win, isn’t it?
Suddenly, the sleeping Ruddin glows white, and disappears.
It makes you jump, your heart beating a mile a minute. “What… Why did it just…”
“Don’t be afraid, Kris!” Ralsei says it in a tone of voice that calms you down. “That’s something that happens when you spare a Darkner. It’s normal.”
You eye him as if he puts cereal before the milk like a total monster. “It’s… normal for them to disappear into glittering sparkles?”
“Yes.” Ralsei sighs. “It will all make sense in the future. Just… trust-”
“Did it just leave money for us?!” You quickly rush towards a pile of three dollar bills, your eyes shining gold in greed. “We’re going to be rich!”
“Me…” Ralsei gives you a strained smile, as you keep playing with the money.
*
After Ralsei told you that it was a Darkner custom to leave spare change after being spared, you continue moving through the field with a newfound, purely selfless resolve.
Continuing onward until you cross paths with Lancer, who is setting up another sign, with his broken bike right beside him.
“Hohoho… if it isn’t my two favorite people.” Lancer turns towards you two. He then makes a face, tongue out. “Psyche! You guys aren’t even in my top five!!” He laughs at both of you, tongue lingering out his mouth.
“Wait…” He stops, expression growing alarmed. “If you guys passed through my troops, guess that means you must be dead, but if you are here with me, does that mean I am in the afterlife?!”
Lancer jumps up and down as he looks at the field, “Wow, the afterlife looks just like my home, isn’t this incredible, toothpaste boy and blue person?!” Lancer regards you.
You’re captivated by his words.
It would be pretty cool if my afterlife was like my home…
Ralsei isn’t.
“Enough games, Lancer!” The dark prince shouts at him.
Following it up, Kris asks “Where did Susie go?” Crimson eyes peering at Lancer.
“You mean that purple girl…? Ho Ho Ho…” Lancer laughs ominously. “You fools! You are too late to stop me!” His innocent face sports a cruel smirk.
“What did you do?” Ralsei’s expression twists in worry.
“Hahaha… It was SO simple!” Lancer gloats at both of you “She beat me up, so I ran away...!” He finishes, sporting a huge smirk.
“That’s a bit anti-climactic…” Ralsei’s shoulders drop, his expression dumbfounded, looking as if he was just done.
“Did she use the purple wave attack or just her regular axes?” You ask the spadeboy.
“The regular axes.” He replies.
You snap your fingers, looking disappointed. “Darn. I like the rude waves better.”
Ralsei looks at you weirdly.
“Hoho! You GET me, Red Heart!” Lancer says while finishing his sign (which reads “Hoho, sign finished, now you can read it, Light CLOWNS. Signed- LANCER”), hammering it down with a comically sized hammer.
(“Where did he even get that hammer?” Ralsei quietly asks, looking confused.)
Lancer grabs his bike, “Thanks CLOWNS for showing me that I am in the afterlife, now I don’t need to be afraid of that purple girl anymore!!!! Follow me to find her if you have a nice smell, which you do!!!!”
Lancer runs off at incredible speeds.
“...” Ralsei says nothing for a moment, then, “I like Susie’s regular axes more.”
You stare at him as if he burned a marshmallow. “You have no taste.”
*
Not too long after, you and your companion of bad taste return to walking through the field.
You two walk for a couple minutes, passing through various trees, the wind blowing on both of you, carrying the scent of marshmallows.
UNBURNT marshmallows.
You pass through a couple of signs, signed by Lancer, which may or may not be the same Lancer you know, telling you to NOT take the fruits from the trees.
For a moment, you ponder on obeying it. You feel something in your body greatly advising you to not do it. You feel as if he is telling you that taking everything would make you feel like the scum of the earth.
You quickly bury that feeling in the piles of fruit you’ve picked up.
They taste like burnt marshmallows.
You two walk until you see two more Ruddins blocking the way, and another sign from Lancer reading, “Oops, forgot to say that if you followed me my troops would thrash your ass. Big, whopisies – Signed LANCER.”
Well, at least this is an opportunity to have a battle correctly this time. Probably. Hopefully!
You shake your head as you and Ralsei walk up to the diamond enemies, who lazily prepare their attacks.
“For the guy who pays us!” They exclaim with the most insincere cheer you’ve ever heard, firing diamond projectiles at both of you.
You roll left to while Ralsei rolls to the right, the diamonds bursting against a tree that was behind you two.
Ralsei is readying his magic, you bring out your shield to block an attack.
“So, uh, do you guys really want to fight us?” You say as the diamond hits your shield. You point at the Ruddins. “Because, we can give you free candy if you stop.”
Your words immediately convince them and they drop their weapons, their eyes gleaming with the prospect of sweet, sweet candy.
They glow white and disappear.
You won!
I… I did it! I won my first battle!
A long lost piece of yourself returned.
Bringing you a warm feeling in your heart.
A warm feeling that boosts you in your successful spare.
And will continue boosting forward in the battles to come.
The “you” I know will win many more battles. That’s just part of who you are.
*
Feeling more confident now then never, you march through the fields, head held high.
Ralsei even hums a tune to himself!
I pointed at those Ruddins and my expert charisma rocked their socks off!
You can’t help but recount your victory in your mind. Again. And again. And again.
Before arriving in this world, your only experience of a fight was the duels against the monsters in your memories. Where you expertly acted on them, and ended every single conflict without violence.
After staying so long in the void, you thought your skill was merely but just a delusion.
But it was real! It doesn’t matter how many years it has been, I haven’t lost my touch!
You keep day-dreaming about your accomplishments.
Until you bump into a table.
“What the…” Your eyes widen as you look at it.
A large, purple figure hunched at the table. Its hair is draped over the furniture, as it holds a yellow substance in its hand.
When its yellow eyes meet your golden, you scream. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
And the creature screams, too. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” Running away with the yellow substance in its mouth.
“Mama Miba, my cake!” A triangle shaped yellow being with a tophat arrives. “I wasn’t fast enough, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” He kneels and yells to the heavens, filled with agonizing despair.
Cake?
You look it over, and indeed realize that the “yellow substance” was just cake.
You quickly take a swipe when the Topchef isn’t looking.
It tastes like pizza!
“Kris!” Ralsei arrives at the scene after you’ve finished eating the cake. “Did you see where Susie went?!”
“Susie?” You raise an eyebrow.
“She went East.”
A voice whispers in your mind.
“That smell…” Topchef gets up. “You eat my cake, too, you weird blue-”
He yells to the air, as Kris has already gone East.
“Weird green creature, I deman-” Once again, he yells to the air as Ralsei is gone, too.
He kneels down to the floor.
There is no cure for his affliction.
*
The human and the dark prince chase after Susie, but no matter how fast they run, they can’t seem to find her.
Kris grumbles in discontent.
“Dead end.”
“Hohoho, if it isn’t peachboy and blue person, the duo of friendship and sweet hugs!” Lancer’s voice hits your ears, making you turn to its source.
You see the spade boy with a huge smile on his face, waving at you, “You came to face me in the maze of death?! Ha! I would love to thrash your ass but I am lost and confused!”
You look around, and indeed. A maze surrounds you. With twists and turns and all that other mazey stuff.
How did I get here?
“Lancer, have you seen where Susie went?” The blue knight asks, worry reflected in his crimson eyes.
“Susie? You mean strong purple girl?! She went over there!” Lancer says while pointing to the southeast. “Or maybe she went over THERE!” He points northeast, “I have no idea, actually!”
“Oh!” Lancer extends a hand. “We should form a trucie to exit this maze, truce trucies!” He looks happy at the prospect of teaming up with the enemy.
“Uh… sure! It should be fun! The more teammates, the better!!” You take his hand and shake it, while you look at your other party member.
Ralsei looks worried, but it seems like your party increased by half its size today!
You three walk through the twisting turns of this (not so bad) maze, Ralsei keeps humming his song…
While Lancer imitates terribly, singing completely off-tune.
You feel your body moving on its own to put your hands over your ears.
And yet, his singing persists.
Feeling your body about to explode, you finally see something that might distract him.
A treasure chest.
“Oh! Treasure! Treasure!” Lancer yells, “Get it so we can become Kings of the Mazes!”
Your eyes widen. “I want to become a king! Don’t you, Ralsei?”
Ralsei laughs awkwardly. “I am… already a prince, don’t you re-”
Ralsei is cut off by the sound of a chest opening.
You put your hands inside it, revealing…
A white ribbon.
“Kris, what a nice find!” Ralsei gives you an unbothered smile. “That’s equipment! You can use it to become stronger and survive more hits. You should try equipping it!”
You look into the ribbon.
You look at Ralsei.
You look at the ribbon again.
Your face twists in a thoughtful frown.
Which dissipates with your smile.
You give the ribbon to…
Lancer.
“You gave it to me, blue person with the red heart?! Oh wow, I look so pretty.” Lancer says, while spinning in place, looking happy.
“Take it as a sign of our friendship!” You wink at the spade boy, making him jump up and down.
Ralsei looks at the white ribbon in Lancer’s head. “(Uh… interesting choice to help the enemy, Kris…)”.
“I’ve got to tell my troops I got a pretty gift!” Lancer runs off to the right.
Right where the maze’s exit is.
“(... was the exit always there?)” Ralsei whispers with a stupefied look.
“Hohoho, the trio of terror has beaten the mad maze!” Lancer turns around and faces you, “Well, truce trucies is over, bye CLOWNS!!!” just to turn his back on you, again. Running off with the white ribbon still in his head.
The wind blows…
“(wow)” Quietly comes out of Ralsei’s mouth
You think about your recent bad choices…
And shrug.
I regret nothing!
*
It doesn’t take a minute of walking for something to happen again.
Up ahead you see Lancer with three green heart shaped enemies behind him.
“Hohoho, the abandoned clowns finally caught up!” Lancer says to you.
“(It’s only been a minute…)” You mutter.
“But don’t count your blessings before they hatch…! Let’s see how you fare against this team without your precious equipment!” Lancer laughs evilly, sending the three enemies to fight you.
Three green, heart-shaped enemies using heart-adorned staffs.
You and Ralsei get ready, preparing your stances and weapons for the fight ahead of you. You grip your sword and Ralsei prepares his scarf
The enemies’ staff glow ominously, preparing their deadly magic as well.
Hearts pop out of the staffs, flying towards you and the dark prince.
You brace yourself and…
All of the hearts completely miss and harmlessly circle you.
They quickly disappear in a puff of dust.
The enemies do the same thing.
Again.
And again.
“Hey, why aren't you guys thrashed?!” Lancer yells in disbelief. “You're totally outnumbered!” He counts to two and then he counts to three, looking proud of himself.
“You made a team purely of SUPPORT ENEMIES. Their bullet patterns aren't balanced at all. It's like a dinner made out of three glasses of milk.” The dark prince’s eyes go to the ground.
“...And that's, um... Unusual, somehow?” The innocent confusion in the spade child’s voice warms your heart.
“I thought the more milk, the stronger your bones!” You back the spade up.
“Why don't we talk about this AFTER the battle?” Ralsei gives you and the spade the kind of smile of a parent that is almost done with their child.
During this whole mess, you remember the MANUAL and that you actually have to ACT to win and finish this battle.
Quickly, you look through the manual.
Hathy: A heart with a big heart. Always supporting others with her bullets.
LIKE: Lip Gloss
DISLIKE: Drama
LEVEL: 2
ATTACK: 4
DEFENSE: 5
ELEMENT: Heart
A naughty smile covers your face.
“(Ralsei, we should flirt with these guys)” You quietly order the prince with half-lid eyes.
“We don’t need any EXP.” Ralsei gives the green hearts a warm smile. “Just encountering your smile is reward enough.”
They blush and look away, but don’t give up just yet.
It’s your turn to give them the finishing blow…
Of dorkness.
“Besides, you guys are just sweethearts, aren’t you?” You flirt at them with a wink, a red heart popping from your eyes.
The Hathys glow white, and soon enough they’re gone.
Leaving precious dark dollars on the ground that you quickly snatch up.
“Sweet, how much do I get?” Lancer shows up, looking eager.
Ralsei blinks at this. “Um… Nothing, Lancer, you…” You cut him off.
“You get that cool ribbon in your head, Lancer!”
“Wow, really?” He smiles wide as you give him a thumbs up. “What a reverse foreshadowing from both of you! Later, ribbonless LOSERS!”
He runs away.
Just to stop a moment later.
“I thought you were running away…” Ralsei looks almost done with everything.
“Yeah, I finished” Lancer simply replies.
You envy his simple mind.
*
After your truce ended in you becoming frenemies with Lancer, you and Ralsei continue crossing the field.
Thankfully his humming isn’t interrupted by any more off-key singing.
You feel the wind carrying your hopes for redemption, your dreams of adventure.
Your dreams of eating marshmallows.
With marshmallows on your mind, you do a quick puzzle with Ralsei where you both have to stand in one place to retract some spikes.
I could’ve solved that while I was sleeping!
That couldn’t be said for the next puzzle, where no matter what you did, or what order you stepped on the pressure plates, nothing worked. You may have to activate them all at once.
(You had thought of lying down to press two at once, but your body refused to move).
Since the way forward was already open, it didn’t seem like you had to solve the puzzle.
But it did hurt your pride.
“(The Number 1 puzzle master can’t be stumped at a simple puzzle…)” You murmur, giving the puzzle the stink eye.
“(Um… Kris… I think it would be better to come back later when-)” Ralsei gets interrupted by a loud sound.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sound of something banging on a door.
“Ugh, open up, you stupid door!” You can hear a gruff, female voice grumbling to herself as the door keeps being hit.
Of course, you recognize that voice.
So does your body.
“Susie!” Kris yells, running to the next room.
There you see Susie, the cake in her mouth being the only difference from when you saw her in Castle Town.
“Oh, great.” She sneers at your sight. “It's YOU GUYS.” She looks as if she wants to punch the door even harder.
“Susie! We were ever so worried about you!” Ralsei gives her a warm smile. Then, his face morphs into confusion. “...um, how'd you get past those spikes before?”
“Walked through 'em.” She responds with a smirk on her face,
I wish this body could walk through spikes, too!
Your eyes shine with jealousy.
“But this door...” She looks at the door standing in front of her and grunts, “Sucks.”
“Aww, don't worry, Susie!” Ralsei says in the jovial tone of a parent seeing his child having trouble with their homework. “It'll open after we solve the puzzle over there!” The dark prince points at the previous room where you two came from.
I knew I had to solve that puzzle!
“Nice.” Susie crosses her arms. “Tell me when you finish it.” She then turns her back towards you to face the door.
“Uh, Susie. We need YOU to finish it.” The robed prince explains.
You’re quick to follow up, “Yeah, Susie. Sometimes heroes need to work together to solve the problems that face them, the real superpower of teamwork and all.”
“Plus only Kris can seal the DARK FOUNTAIN… So if you don't accompany us, you won't make it home!” Ralsei concludes your thoughts, eager eyes on Susie.
“...” Susie looks to the ground, deep in thought. She looks back at you, her mane blocking her eyes. “So you're saying I HAVE to stick with you guys.” She concludes.
“Yep!” Ralsei agrees.
“Uh huh!” You nod.
“…” Susie appears to be in deep thought again.
With heavy steps, she walks closer to both of you. “Let's just get this over with.” She concludes.
Your party has grown to the same size it was an hour ago!
“Yahoo! Susie's back on the team!” Ralsei happily says while picking up an ocarina from his robe.
“Cue the fanfare!” He plays it for a couple of seconds.
You think it’s a wonderful tune.
Susie thinks it’s so weird that she decides to stand at a distance where nobody can tell she is associated with you two dorks.
Today is going to be a looooong day…
Chapter 6: Chapter 1 - Part 5: Lantern
Summary:
Once Susie finally joins your party, you take a stop in the nearby shop that never chanes. There, you're trusted with a very special quest.
Chapter Text
“So… I need to stand here and…” Susie says while standing on a switch. Nothing happens.
She stomps on it.
The spikes remain.
It has been. Twenty. Minutes. Since you have been stuck in this puzzle.
All you three need to do is stand in three separate switches at the same time before the timer on the clock above ends to open the door. But the lack of coordination between you three has caused you to be stuck here.
Either Susie doesn’t move to her switch in time (with the excuse that she doesn’t know which switch to stand on), or when she finally does, it’s too late for Ralsei (who is the one in charge of puzzle oversight, thankfully) to move to the switch.
The little prince looks like he is about to pop a blood vessel. If he had any, that is.
“Yes, it’s just like that, Susie! Now…” Ralsei says while moving to his switch, hitting it just as the clock runs out.
CLICK.
The sound of the door opening echoes in the room.
“(Oh, thank God… I was just about to lose it…)” The dark prince mutters to himself.
“See? It isn't so hard when you actually tell me what to do, isn't it?” Susie says to Ralsei, while crossing her arms behind her back.
You can see Ralsei squirming within his robes, holding himself from yelling that he did tell her how the puzzle worked, multiple times.
The tension inside his body dissipates with a sigh.
Although part of you found his frustration hilarious, a greater part of you just wants to move on from this second hand embarrassment, “Guys, guys, no fighting, we all did a great job! We solved it together, and that’s what matters!”
You hold your arms out to both of them in a group hug, Susie scoffs at you.
Ralsei takes one of your stretched hands and shakes it. Instead of hugging you, like a normal person.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
*
But not the legwork, you still have to walk to the fountain.
You three enter the next room, where a small, red, checkers piece with legs stands, kicking at the air.
It definitely wasn’t there the first time.
Before you can think of this, Ralsei holds your shoulder and mumbles to you.
(“Oh, Kris! I just realized Susie missed the tutorial! We should show her how to ACT against this little guy! I think she might really enjoy that!”)
Acting with Susie, huh?
You look at the little checkers piece, kicking at the air, completely oblivious to everything. You pick the manual from your pocket, reading its entry.
C.ROUND: Just a little fellow who likes to run around. Perhaps it has a dream of ruling a kingdom someday? Who knows.
LIKE: Moving.
DISLIKE: Standing still.
LEVEL: 1
ATTACK: 1
DEFENSE: 0
ELEMENT: ROUND.
NOTE: Do not mistreat a C.Round. In a case where he is mistreated, its rage will be amplified if it becomes a-
You don’t read the rest.
You smirk and look at Susie, who seems to be looking at the trees’ leaves moving with the wind, head empty.
You say, “Susie, you should compliment its dancing technique.” with a completely straight face.
“... what?” Susie’s voice comes weak. “Why the HELL would I do that?” She points angrily at the oblivious checkers piece. “IT is attacking US.” She picks up her ax. “Let's smash it before it moves.”
She smirks at her prey.
“Susie, wait!” Ralsei moves in front of the purple dragon, panicked. “It seems harmless!” Ralsei points at the little red circle, still oblivious to its danger.
“Susie…” You continue from where Ralsei left off, golden light reflecting your worry. “If you act nice to your enemies, we might win without hurting anyone, isn’t that so much better than senseless violence?”
You expect her to do the right thing.
“...” Susie appears as if she is in deep thought “…okay, okay.” She slowly lowers her ax.
Ralsei sighs in relief.
“Hey, little guy.” She faces the checkers piece.
You feel tension rise in your SOUL.
She grips her ax harder, smirking.
“I really like the ax in your face.”
She swings it, a magical ax bolts at the checkers piece.
Ralsei yells out, but doesn’t do anything.
Your eyes widen, but you can’t warn C.Round in time.
The ax has already hit the piece.
Cleaving it in half…
Its halves re-fuse back whole.
It gets back up and runs away, looking no worse for wear.
What…?
You shake your head, but nothing changes.
You are filled with confusion as Susie gloats.
“Where'd you get it? Heh heh heh heh.”
Maybe C.Round is just really tanky.
You don’t believe your own rationalization.
Lancer suddenly appears, sneaking by, having waited for you to finish the puzzle. “Thanks for opening the door for me, CLOWNS!” Ruining the emotional tension.
Everyone ignores him.
“(Umm, Kris, maybe I should talk to her, this could take a while, so you should go ahead by yourself in the meanwhile…)” Ralsei whispers to you.
He turns to Susie while clearing his throat. “Um, Susie, I suppose you missed what I said earlier... As heroes, we have the power to make a peaceful future. So, from now on, let's try to avoid FIGHTing, OK?...”
With one last look at the prince, you walk forward, taking Ralsei’s advice.
Susie ignores him, looking sleepy.
His voice grows faint and fainter “(Umm, what if you just took it easy on them...? If you weaken an enemy, I can use my PACIFY spell. Which, can-)''
Until you can’t hear him anymore.
*
Alone, you enter deeper into the field.
The wind is quiet here, the air feels serene. Peaceful.
In front of you stands a hole in the wall, little pieces of fabric hanging in the air. A wall made of fabric stitched together in lazy abandon, and right above it says “SHOP”.
The light shines right outside it.
You walk to the light to hold the world together. You bathe in it as your mind returns to your newest party member.
A shop huh? Since Susie is on the team, we probably need more items to proceed.
The power of mean girls shines within you.
Decided, you walk into the shop.
Immediately, the atmosphere changes. The serene air goes stale.
Warm glow fills your vision, lantern’s light shines in the room.
A nostalgic smell fills your nose, you feel at home despite never being here before.
You can see a lot of old junk thrown around inside.
Junk now, but deep inside you know that every item meant the world to someone once.
A sword hangs above. It has a small, curved blade with a blunt or ball-tipped point. And right below such a weird weapon, a cat sits, looking through its junk.
Except it can’t be a cat, its features are too cartoony, its flesh is made of fabric. It has a button for an eye, and nothing for another.
Before you can say anything, it speaks.
“Hee hee... Welcome, traveler.” It finishes its cleaning and turns to you, with a lopsided smile and eyes that have seen too much, but yet not enough.
“Uh, hello? I am, uh, the legendary hero, here to buy equipment for my legendary quest.” You say, offering it an awkward wave of the hand as your eyes dart around the store.
For some reason, you can’t bring yourself to look at it.
“Ha ha ha...” It laughs, sounding old and weary, “So you are the ‘hero’ who is going to seal our Fountain?”
Uh, yeah, but…
You don’t say it out-loud.
It continues speaking, “Ha, good luck. It makes no difference to me. Neither Light nor Dark hold a future for a Darkner in my condition.”
That’s really sad…
You shake your head, then you decide to shuffle through the items in the shop. Silence fills the room.
Silence you can’t handle.
“Why aren’t you looking forward to the future?” You ask the cat, more because you just want some sound. “Who are you?”
It replies. “The name's Seam. Pronounced 'Shawm.'"
That sounded exactly the same…?
“And this is my little Seap. Ha ha ha ha...”
Where’s the funny part? It just said it was its shop?!
“Over the years, I've collected odds and ends. ‘Course, I've no attachment to any of it. It's just a hobby of mine. Around here, you learn to find ways to pass the time...or go mad like everyone else.”
You nod mindlessly, his words entering your ears but not sticking.
You pick up a sword, not the same that hangs above, but a simpler one, with a halloween theme. Plus two card-like stickers, as well as one darkburger.
A burger of darkness. For Susie!
The silence returns, and so you reply to the doll, “Go mad? But why? And earlier you said you were a darkner, what’s that?” You ask innocently.
You can’t recall Ralsei explaining that.
“Oh! So the “legendary hero” doesn’t know?” The cat tilts its head in a mocking way, “We are the so-called Darkners, creatures born from darkness, the shadow cast by your kind. The Lightners.”
“Long ago, the Darkners lived in harmony with the Lightners. They were like Gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose... Then, one day we were all locked away in this prison... And the Lightners never returned. Embittered, the King took up arms, and aims to take revenge upon the Lightners that left us behind. 'Course, even among his troops, some still distantly hope the Lightners will return.”
You put the collected items on the balcony while you finally look at the cat in the eyes.
You see its button eye move in place.
“King? Of what kingdom?” You ask to avoid the silence. But you already know where you are. “You mean the CARD KINGDOM?” You correct yourself, a little hint of pride swelling in for having remembered that.
“Ha ha ha… So the little hero knows a little, huh? Yes, this is Card Kingdom. Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from CARD CASTLE to the East.” It replies while looking through your items.
“But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away. The remaining king put himself and his strange son into power.”
Oh! That must be Lancer!
“This land hasn't seen THIS much chaos since...”
It stops.
The items stop.
The lantern stops.
Time stops.
Everything stops.
It looks through your-
Kris’ eyes. Red, piercing, focused.
“That gleam in your eye…ha ha ha. I haven’t seen that since HIM. Perhaps… Perhaps you two should meet.” It looks through its clothes, fishing out a key from underneath.
A broken key. A piece of it.
Looking at it makes you uneasy.
“You are the Hero, right? And so two others should be following you…” It looks thoughtful, but that quickly disappears like a fog. “Yes, you three should deal with him now. After all, it's not as if whatever happens, will matter in the end. Perhaps a little chaos might be fun.”
It extends the broken key to you. “So then, take this.”
You pick the piece from it. You feel a malignant aura flow inside.
You gulp, as you pay for your items.
You don’t know why you picked this, but your body can’t let go of the key.
Curious.
“You are driven, I can tell that.” Seam voice takes you out of your reverie. “Find the other two pieces, and get someone to fix them. I'll even give you a hint - Walk where the stars don't shine.”
Its button eye stops moving. “Then go to the depths of the kingdom, to a dark, yet darker place. There you will find a little cell, or is it the exit of your cell?”
It takes the money from your hands, “Anyhow, if you succeed in meeting HIM, come back here and tell me! Good luck!! If you can call THIS luck... No, it's more like a curse...!”
You pick up the items, put them in your inventory.
For some reason, you feel like you’ve signed a contract. Like you’re bound to something.
Even if that doesn’t make sense.
You move to leave the shop.
“See you again... Or not. Ha ha ha ha...”. Seam calls out to you.
With a strained smile and a shaky wave, you reply as well. “See you soon as well, Mr. Grumpy Cat!”
Or maybe not, hopefully.
*
You step outside. The serene air fills your nose, as the staleness of the shop slides off you.
You take a moment to appreciate your surroundings. To appreciate the single moment of peace you-
“C’mon, just one Dark Dollar, we can’t pay the rent ever since the KING fired us over that stupid DUKE who doesn’t know how to speak!”
“We can make good tutorials! Here’s ten facts about Ralsei you might not know!”
A flurry of voices shatter that peace like glass.
You sigh.
Dozens of puzzle-shaped pieces surround Susie and Ralsei, begging for money.
Susie looks like she is about to laugh her ass off.
Ralsei looks extremely uncomfortable, trying to get away from them, “I told you already, we don’t have any…”
He then notices you, relief flooding him, “Oh! Kris! You are back! Can you, uh, give me a hand?”
“Wait, wait, wait! No need to harass him!” You pick up a dark dollar. They all immediately perk up, “Here, take it, it’s- tehee- for fr-URGH!”
They jump you, burying you in a pile of pieces. They take your dollar and immediately let you go.
You are flabbergasted.
“Oh, thank you, THANK YOU, Lightner!” The head of the puzzle pieces, the one with a top hat and a small beard, says to you, sounding as if you saved him from the devil itself.
You are still flabbergasted.
“Thanks for the money! I can make TWO tutorials now!”
“Maybe we should make a tutorial on how to get free money.”
“We will NEVER forget your immense charity! How could we EVER repay you?”
“(It was just one dollar?!)” Susie mumbles to herself.
She then notices you are as still as a statue and gives you a slight knock.
That’s enough to make you get over yourself.
“Oh, Boss! Boss!” The chief puzzle piece yells towards you.
You point at yourself, eyebrows raised in confusion. “Boss?!?!”
“Maybe you would be interested in special tutorials!!! We got one for battles, for magic, for acting, for that little prince, for Susie, for-“
You cut him off, holding a hand in front of you, “Uh… No need right now…” he starts to look sad, “Uh, but maybe later, I won’t forget it!”
I already have Ralsei’s manual, afterall…
With hopeful faces, they leave.
You turn to your party with a smile, “Well, I bought some items in that shop!”
You pick the cards between your fingers. “Two cards for each of you!”
Ralsei takes the amber card and quickly puts it in his head. (“It's sticky, huh, Kris... but still, at least you gave the equipment to me this time!”)
Susie takes it and just lazily puts it in her arm. (“...better than nothing.”)
“And…” You pick up a darkburger and shove it closer to Susie, “A darkburger for you, Susie! To celebrate you joining us!”
Almost instantaneously, she rips the burger from your hands, “Nice going, NERD!'' Susie slaps your back and eats the whole burger with one bite. (“Cooked to perfection!”),
I guess that’s some painship right there!
Hahahaha ha… ha…. ha…
Everyone already left.
*
You continue your trip through the field. The serene air has been replaced by strong winds, still carrying the smell of marshmallows.
And Ralsei’s soft humming.
With his music dancing in your ears, and your cape flowing in the wind, you walk through the field
Not wanting to hear a second of it, Susie puts her fingers in her ears. Somehow, she can still hear it.
“I prefer when I sang it! I sounded more pretty!” A familiar boyish voice wrestles against Ralsei’s singing.
You know who this is.
Oh boy… This is going to be exciting!
“Well, flip my flapjacks!” Lancer reveals himself from a bush. “The CLOWNS are back in TOWN! Well, bad news! Since you last saw me several minutes ago...”
He pans out to reveal several puzzle pieces, similar to the ones you helped just before, except pink instead of their sky-high blue.
They seem oblivious to what is happening.
“I've created a brand new fighting team ready to stop you! Not even the purple girl can stop me now!!” He flips around in the same place, and starts laughing “Ho ho ho!!! Are you-“
Susie cuts him off.
“Stop.”
Everyone stops.
“Stop talking. ‘Ho ho ho?’” She mocks his simple laugh, “What is that.” She looks at him, “Why are you saying that.”
It is not a question.
“’Ho ho ho?’ It's my evil laugh! Scary, right!? Lancer replies innocently.
You look at him worriedly.
Susie’s scowl deepens.
“You sound like baby Santa Claus.” Susie responds. A gust blows her bangs, revealing one yellow twitching eye.
“...Uh, you mean, like, in a badass-?”
Susie cuts him off.
“Shut up.”
She walks forward, shoving you and Ralsei out of her way.
Towering over Lancer. “You REALLY think you know how to be SCARY?”
“W... well... I...”
Susie cuts him off.
“Wrong.” She smirks. “Man, wannabe tough guys like you REALLY piss me off. Face it. You wouldn't know SCARY...” She gets closer, “If it picked you up and bit your face off.”
“Th-that's no-“
Susie cuts him off.
“Oh, really?” She gets closer.
He tries to back away but she corners him.
She picks him up just like she did you.
There’s no escape.
“Then why don't we PROVE IT?” Her mouth turns into a snarl, “We'll start with the part...” Her yellow teeth shine. “Where your face gets bit off.”
She laughs madly. “AHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!”
Your eyes widen, you feel your body become paralyzed.
Ralsei looks like he is about to have a heart attack.
But before you two can do anything, Lancer replies. “Ohhhhh, OK. I get it! Thank you, purple girl!”
You blink, stumped.
Ralsei's eyes almost bulge out of his sockets, stumped.
Susie stands still, stumped.
What?
(“What?”)
“…What?”
The three of you think and say the exact same thing together.
“Thanks! It was kind of you!” Lancer says to the confusion of everyone present, even the puzzle pieces behind him, “To teach me how to be scary! With an evil laugh!”
“Hey, I wasn't...” Susie tries to say, but…
Lancer cuts her off.
“And now...!” He plops back, out of Susie’s grasp, and points back to his troops, who suddenly remember they still need to fight you, “You're going to be thrashed!”
He puts his hands on his belly and laughs. “AHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!”
He slides away. “Merry Christmas!”
Kris snickers a little over Lancer’s reaction.
You can only think of how different Lancer reacted compared to you earlier today.
Ralsei gets out of his funk and prepares himself for the battle.
“(I guess that's KIND OF an improvement...)” Susie shakes her head, as she summons her ax.
You pick up the manual, and read the entry of your new enemy.
JIGSAWRY: It cries over its new tyrant. And over puzzles. And over tutorials. And over missing lunch. Really, it cries for everything.
LIKE: Fitting in.
DISLIKE: Susie’s Ax.
LEVEL: 1
ATTACK: 4
DEFENSE: 5
ELEMENT: MOUSE:PUZZ.
The enemies glow with their magic as three puzzle-like projectiles appear around your party.
They move to complete each other, not caring if you are in their way.
You try to think of an ACT with Susie. After all, she is your new party member and Ralsei did talk with her, so maybe-
Susie is already moving her ax to smash the enemies.
Your face falls.
I guess Ralsei’s talk didn’t work….
You look at him to see his reaction.
He just looks incredibly awkward, as if he wants to say something, but can’t.
Kris yells to him, “Ralsei! Warn the enemies about Susie!”
Like a spell, the curse over Ralsei disappears “Right, Kris!” He nods, and turns to the puzzle pieces. “Hey guys, be careful of Susie’s attacks, ok? She is the purple girl with us here, she just doesn’t know her role as a hero yet, she is just confused and…”
(“NO, I AM NOT!?!”)
Before Susie and Ralsei can go into another discussion, and before the deadly magic attacks hit you all, You ACT.
You point at them with bravado. “Guys, we don’t need to fight, I already helped out your boss (?), so you don’t-“
“Oh! You did!” Their eyes turn into hearts. “ We are friends then, I love friendship. Friends, friends, friends, la la~”
They run away, leaving plenty of money behind. Way more than the dark dollar you’d given earlier.
For some reason, you really don’t want to take it.
Susie takes that chance. “Sweet! Free money! I thought people only gave it if you beat them up!”
Ralsei wants to facepalm.
*
After that (not) exciting battle, you three walk forward through the field.
You feel fearless, that experience with the puzzle pieces being washed away.
Now a boundless future awaits you, with infinit-
It’s just another puzzle.
Another one in front of you, a gated fence blocking the path.
“Oh, look, Kris! Another puzzle!” Ralsei claps his hands.
“(Oh no.)” Susie mumbles.
Ralsei walks over to the sign on the gate, “Let's read the instructions!” He tries to take a closer look, but…
“H... Huh!? The instructions are vandalized...! It says...” He clears his throat, and puts on a voice, “’Thoust fools, thou will NEVER figure it out now!’" He gasps. “Ruining instructions... That's definitely against the rules!”
He reads it over again. “Then it, um, says, ‘PS - I make my own Rules. – RK’”
“Well, that explains that.” Susie runs up to the fence, looking above, “Why don't we just climb over this spiked fence?”
She tries to climb the fence.
She fails.
“Uh, Susie, we would just get impaled and die…” You say to her, looking worried.
“Cool!” Susie dusts herself. “I'll work on that and you do the puzzle.” She picks up a wooden box, “I am taking this box though.”
Just the one you need to finish the puzzle.
“Umm, Susie, Kris needs that box to do the-“ Ralsei tries to call Susie off.
She ignores him, picks the box up and throws it straight at the door.
BOOM! CRASH!
Completely destroying the door and the box, leaving them in pieces
“See, I used the box to break the door. Easy.” Susie says it as if she is explaining the weather.
“B-b-b-b-but we needed to, you can’t just, but I…” Ralsei keeps trying to stammer out something, holding his hands over his head.
Something broke inside of him.
Kris simply walks past him, gives Susie a thumbs up, and goes through the hole created by Susie.
“See?! Kris liked it, nerd!" Susie says, while going through the door.
“You guys are going to be the death of me…” Ralsei quietly mumbles to himself.
Chapter 7: Chapter 1 - Part 6: Checkerboard
Summary:
You reach the end of the field, and a red-black checkerboard stretches to the horizon. In new ventures, you finally make a team name for your party.
(It goes terribly).
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
After Susie disrespected standard puzzle etiquette by tearing one apart, the path was open for you to explore the rest of the field.
Even if you felt dirty for being complicit in such cheating ways.
The wind was quieting down and the smell of sweet, sweet marshmallows growing fainter and fainter.
The end of the field was near.
But that didn’t stop the evil bad guy Lancer, always one step ahead of you three, every time with more troops to thrash your ass.
Being the legendary hero, the fabled Delta Warrior, the one foretold by the prophecy, you surely led your team to victory each time in a perfect manner!
If perfect manner meant that Susie still kept attacking every enemy she saw, Ralsei only looked more and more nervous each time instead of doing anything, leaving warning and acting up to only you, of course.
Teamwork makes the dream work, doesn’t it?
Teamwork or singlework, you three march on, until you reach the edge of the field.
A giant red and black checkerboard that stretches into the horizon. Signifying a new era.
You can’t hold back your smile. You didn’t expect to see such colorful locations after being stuck in the dreary world that is the abyss.
This is the beauty of dreams.
However, some people can’t appreciate dreams.
“URRRRRRRRRRRGH.” Susie’s whine stretches through the air, her expression seeming almost as if she wants to lay down on the floor. “How much longer until we get to that fountain thingy?”
“Well Susie…” Ralsei gives the dragon a patient smile, “...if you had payed attention to my explanation back in my kingdom, you would have known that we still are about halfway through, at least now that you are with us you can-“
“Hey, is that Lancer up ahead?!” You point forward and, without looking back, run towards the checkerboard.
Susie laughs into her hand, silent as a whisper.
Ralsei is dumbfounded.
As you run, you see the spade prince in the ever closer distance. You notice he doesn’t have any troops with him, except for one single bucket.
He waves at you, as you get closer and closer.
Susie follows.
“Kris, Susie, wait!” Ralsei yells. You look back at the dark prince. He is far away, so you can’t see-
He’s standing right next to you with a worried expression.
“What the…” You stutter out, eyebrows high. You look around.
You are right back at the beginning of the checkerboard.
“Hehehehehehe…” Susie chuckles, you glare at the purple dragon. She looks back, mocking you.
Until a white light coming from the floor itself covers her, bringing her straight to you.
“What the HELL?!” Susie snarls, hands balling into fists.
From the corner of your eye, you see Ralsei looking as if he was laughing quietly.
He composes himself in a split instant once he notices you.
“Well, as I was saying…” He clears his throat.
“We are in the Great Board. Unlike CARD KINGDOM’S field, this place has a weird mechanic.” He points at where both you and Susie were crossing previously.
You notice this time that the floor keeps shining white in a rhythm.
Left, right, left, right.
Constant.
“Every time you touch that light, you will be immediately brought back to the beginning, undoing all your progress.” He looks at both of you. “Understood?”
You give a firm nod.
Susie nods in a lazy motion.
“Really?” He looks straight at Susie this time, with a firm face.
You nod again, even harsher.
Susie gives a thumbs up, just as lazy.
*
After Susie repeatedly fails the puzzle, you two arrive at where Lancer is.
He is still intensely looking at his bucket. You see him mouthing something to himself.
You cough into your hand to attract his attention.
He jumps, whelping. (“Uh…? Oh, it’s the CLOWNS! I need to say my lines. AHEM!”)
He turns around and clears his throat. “Ha ha ha… So you've begun to cross the GREAT BOARD...” His voice tries to be intimidating, he even puffs his chest like a puffer fish.
It fails.
“The halfway point to our castle.” He turns around, crosses his arms and tries to keep a mask of stoicism. “Hmm... impressive.” He gives you a small smile, “So, it's a shame...”
He fully turns around, the faint light of the board casts a shadow over his face “You won't make it a step further!!!”
He stomps on the ground.
“'Cause my GUYS are about to smash you into blood!”
Lightning comes from the sky, striking the ground right as Lancer raises his bucket. “Lots of blood!”
Lancer makes gurgling noises.
“Splooshing blood!”
The noises intensify, as if he is the one being strangled.
“Very gross and bad!”
He makes puking sounds.
“AH HAHAHAHA” He laughs, it sounds just like Susie’s.
His laughter echoes.
“Hey, purple girl, was that scarier?” His earlier attitude returns, like the sun coming out from the clouds on a rainy day.
“Why are you asking ME!?” Susie points at herself, her hair going fuzzy.
She points at you, “Ask a weenie like Kris, first!”
“Well…” You start, “I thought it was pretty scary- in a cute way- but how did summon that-“
“Because you're really cool at being terrifying!” Lancer cuts you off, replying to Susie.
Your hands twitch, but you’re not mad. Not at all.
“I wanna be as scary as you!” He finishes with the biggest smile you’ve seen in his face.
You instantly forgive him for being rude.
“You...” Susie takes a step back. Her voice rises in volume and pitch, “Want to be like ME?” She points at herself harder, scales bristling.
For the first time since you’ve met her, she doesn’t sound confident in herself.
“Yeah!!!” The little prince yells, oblivious to any inner conflicts.
Cute!
“Well, that's stupid.” Susie, slips her mask of indifference back on.
“…But, umm, the new laugh isn't as awful.” She gives the spade prince a real smile, “And saying you'd turn us into blood is, uh, cool.”
She quickly points at the bucket. “... what the hell is up with the bucket, though?”
A question also on your mind.
Why a bucket?!
“It's to put the blood in.”
Oh…
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I'm not, uh, supposed to make a mess.” Lancer says, a small frown in his face.
“Anyway, thanks for your feedback! I'm really feeling scary!” He smiles so wide you can see his blue tongue.
Looking awkward, Susie gives him a shaky thumbs up. “... ummm, no problem, I guess.” She laughs. “Haha.” A real, honest, laugh.
Ralsei pops in suddenly and asks, “So…” He points to the nothing behind Lancer, “Where are your troops?”
Turning around, Lancer gasps “... Oh! Yeah! ... I was so excited I forgot to bring any guys.” He starts bouncing up and down, “But NEXT TIME, it'll be the END for—“
He cuts himself off, holding a hand to his chin, “Hey, I've just been calling you guys CLOWNs... Does your team have an OFFICIAL NAME or something?”
“A name…?” Ralsei looks to the side, “Oh, right! How could we forget about the name, that’s, like, the first step as HEROES!” He turns to you. “Kris, we should come up with a name!”
“Right! That’s an excellent idea!” You reply, little stars in your golden eyes.
Susie, deadpan, says, “No, we shouldn’t”
Ignoring Susie, Lancer yells, “It’s decided then! Everyone! Put a name in the bucket, except you blue person, everyone knows four choices bring bad luck!”
You pout.
Hey, what??? That’s so unfair!!!
*
And so Ralsei, Susie and even Lancer wrote the future name of your team on pieces of paper.
The spade prince put the three of them in his bucket, shook it, and gave it for you to choose.
(“Since blue person couldn’t write a name, he should be the one to pick it, that’s only the fairest of the fair!”)
With your eyes closed, you put your hand in the bucket, feeling the soft texture of the paper, and pick…
“Alright! I guess our team is officially going to be ‘The fu-” Your eyes widen as your hands almost let go of the paper. “Woah woah woah!!!! I can’t say that word!!!”
Needless to say, that word was for big kids only.
“Uh… Blue person, what’s wrong, what does it say there…?” Lancer takes the paper from you, “It just says ‘The fu-” Lancer drops it and quickly picks it back up. “Wow! That’s a tier-TWO swear word right there! Your collective dad must be very, very COOL!”
“It’s PRONOUNCED, ‘The FUCK squad’...” Susie shoves herself between you and Lancer “...and there’s NOTHING wrong with it!” Susie finishes with a shark-like grin.
“Uhhh” Ralsei starts, “How about we pick a DIFFERENT name, one that is, y’know, less rude?!”
Before Susie can retort, you nod, “Yeah Susie, if my mom saw me saying that word I would be grounded for a thousand years!”
It would even be worse than that hellish void!!
“She might lock away the pies for a year. The horror.”
A voice whispers. You look around, but none of the three besides you said anything.
Weird.
“Hoho! Toothpaste boy!” Lancer holds Ralsei’s shoulders. “We share the same opinion! We must be brothers of different dads!”
What did I miss for this type of reaction?
You are speechless.
Ralsei pushes Lancer’s hands off. “No.”
Susie shrugs. “Y’know, if you don’t want the name, you could just leave my squad and make your own.”
“But Susie, then we wouldn’t be the heroes anymore, would we? It has to be the three of us!” You say in a warm voice.
Susie looks away. “Just pick the next one.”
You look at her with a worried wince, but without another word, you put your hand in the bucket again and pick…
A paper labelled Lancer, with the word “LANCER” written inside. You squint your eyes, but that’s all it says.“It just says ‘LANCER’?! What???”
“Wow, who did that one?!?!? It’s really good!!!! The ‘CER’ part almost brings me to tears!” The blue boy says, undeniable emotion gracing his features.
“Wait, why do YOU get to choose the name?” Ralsei looks indignant, “We need a recount!”
“Hey, Kris chose it, not him.” Susie puts her arms behind her head, sporting a smug grin. “I am starting to think you are just salty!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Lancer bounces. “You are just salty toothpaste boy, salty that you’re now LANCER’s”
“I am NOT salty!” Ralsei tries to keep his voice calm. “I just think that our name shouldn’t be so simple. That it needs to represent our-”
“Let’s just pick another one.” You cut Ralsei’s ramblings with a swift order.
Everyone obeys.
You move to pick the final name in the bucket.
“I guess our definitive name will be…” You squint your golden eyes. The handwriting is so fancy it’s hard to read. “‘The Legendary Heroes: The Heralds of Fun and Friendship’, jeez, that’s a mouthful…”
Remembering this name will be hard…
“Oh, oh! That's mine!” Ralsei says, with one hand in the air, just like a student that wants attention from their teacher, “See, I think it's the perfect name... Because we're all friends: That like to have a lot of fun, we are legendary, we bring happiness to everyone, and...”
“Ok, first off…” Susie cuts him off, “That’s too big, nobody is going to say that in one go. Second, is that this is BIASED!” Susie points at Ralsei, looking mad. “You just wanted to WIN this, removing MY perfect name, ‘The FUCK squad’!”
“Yeah, and you took down the ‘LANCER’s’ as well!” Lancer’s expression seems mad but his voice doesn’t sound it. “You just want to do the victory lapy laps around us, peachboy!”
“Uh, no?” Ralsei looks offended. “Susie, your name was never going to work, even as terrible as our enemies may be, they shouldn’t say such mean words to refer to us. Heroes should be EXAMPLES, Susie. And Lancer, we can’t name ourselves after our enemies!”
“Why not?” Lancer pouts.
“Yeah, why NOT?” Susie yells at Ralsei, starting to snarl. “You are just trying to RIG this vote!”
“I am NOT?! Kris REJECTED both of your names, so…” Ralsei tries to say more, but Susie cuts him off.
“And Kris didn’t accept YOUR name either, so…”
“Guys, SHUT UP!!!” Your voice topples through the others’, bringing silence to the checkerboard.
You stand between Ralsei and Susie, holding a hand to stop either of them. “Urgh… Look, there’s no need to fight over a silly name, ok? How about I choose the name?”
You give a patient look to the three of them, and like a lightbulb lighting up your head, you have an idea, “How about ‘The Lancer Fun Squad’? That way everyone is represented!”
After hearing your words, Susie calms down, looking away. “Well, that isn’t a TERRIBLE name…”.
Pride radiates from Ralsei’s expression, “Wow, great job solving the conflict, Kris! You are an excellent leader!”
“Wow, blue person, why didn’t you pick the name earlier, you are a natural!” Lancer compliments you.
Well, I tried, but…
You sigh.
I am just glad I was able to solve that conflict.
“It is a good name.”
A voice whispers yet again.
But nobody nearby said anything.
“Well, see ya Lancer Fun Squad!” Lancer breaks the silence, picking up his broken bike, “I need to osmose my afternoon milk!”
“Who drinks an afternoon drink?” Ralsei sounds stumped.
With bulging eyes, you and Susie turn towards the dark prince. “Wait, you don’t do that?!” You both yell at the same time.
Ralsei now looks stumped.
“Ralsei is the prince of weirdos.”
The voice whispers.
And you can’t help but to agree.
*
After the grand feat of naming your party, the newly labeled Lancer Fun Squad marches on, the board stretching almost endlessly.
Red, black, red, black, as if there’s no end.
You see pawn like statues on your left, dozens of them, standing there, just out of reach.
With the rhythmic light from below shining upon their faces, making them almost look alive.
In the distance, you see a pawn like being stutter along the board.
You stop in your tracks, and pick up the manual.
PONMAN: A simple organism that takes life one square at a time.
LIKE: Sleeping.
DISLIKE: Moving Backwards.
LEVEL: 3
ATTACK: 4
DEFENSE: 5
ELEMENT: ORDER.
A smile creeps across your face.
Alright, according to the MANUAL that should be a Ponman! It is naturally tired, so I should just ACT in a way that will make it fall asleep…
You look to Ralsei and see that he is thinking the same thing as you.
After all, he wrote that manual.
In synchrony, you and Ralsei approach the pawn man, while Susie only follows you when she realizes she’s alone.
The Ponman notices you and starts firing diamond projectiles from its eye at you and your party.
You roll to the left, projectiles almost scrapping your armor. You bring out your shield, blocking the rest from hitting your SOUL.
Susie flashes her classic, shark-like grin. She holds her ax tightly, ready to swing.
You smirk, and yell, “Ralsei, now!”
Ralsei nods and picks up his ocarina. He puts it in his mouth and a tune comes out. The same song he was humming in the field.
It echoes through the board, like waves of serenity. It is a wonderful melody in your opinion.
It makes Ponman slow down… getting slower… even slower… its eye tries to stay open… until…
It falls asleep.
“Huh?!” Susie turns to Ralsei “Why did you just start playing…” Ralsei’s tune is so soft, that not even her can stay awake “(…hey, don’t touch that, that’s…)”
Huh, I didn’t think Susie would fall asleep…
Ralsei’s tune is so soft that even your eyelids feel heavy.
He stops before you fall asleep.
“Impeccable leadership, Kris!” Ralsei puts the ocarina back in his robes. “This was our fastest battle yet, and we-”
The ground shakes, interrupting Ralsei.
Each statue starts trembling uncontrollably, like clothes in a washing machine.
You try to keep steady, it’s like an earthquake has struck the entire board.
One by one, each statue turns on.
One, two, three, four, dozens lock onto you, and rise from their pillars, their eyes locked onto yours. They leap down from their pillars.
Oh shoot.
“RUN!” You shout, as diamonds fly everywhere, not striking you by a miracle.
You and Ralsei run away without looking back.
“Hey, that’s MY food, you can’t just-“ Susie says, groggy, waking up from the lullaby. She glimpses you and Ralsei running away, she turns around scratching her mane.
Her eyes almost jump out their sockets. “Holy FU-“
She runs so fast that she passes you and Ralsei.
Ralsei summons his enemy pellets while running, intercepting the diamonds that pass too close to him. Dust bursts fill the air, but the projectiles don’t stop.
Realizing that wasn’t going to do anything, Ralsei fires at a pillar, causing it to fall down with a ‘thud’.
Even so the Ponmen are relentless, jumping over it.
As you run through the red and black board, you feel the world around you disappearing. Details fade away, as the colors blend in your vision.
Yet, you start to feel something.
A red aura covers your SOUL, different from the outline that surrounds your body.
Without looking, you start to see the diamonds projectiles. But they don’t look the same, appearing as phantoms.
A red outline covers your golden eyes. You move your head and dodge a phantom diamond.
Shortly afterwards a real one fires right where the phantom one did, impaling itself in the ground.
You dodge more of the phantom ones, just before the real ones replace them. At some point, you don’t even think as you dodge the diamonds.
You might’ve not realized it, but this is a power that comes from your SOUL. The ability to see beyond your mortal eyes, to see the essences of the worlds.
A power that you didn’t have back in our world, as you were restrained by a physical form.
A form that creatures like us lack. A form that you’re only just now seeing part of its potential.
“Guys, over here!” Susie’s voice shatters your trance, and the sound of a pillar falling down brings you back to reality.
Susie stands nearby rubble, next to a pathway to the left that was being blocked by the pillar.
Susie runs through it.
Quickly, Kris follows her, jumping over a few diamonds in the nick of time.
Alone, Ralsei follows you, using his pellets to hit the ground, causing a smokescreen that confuses the nearby Ponman.
The dust settles, and the Ponmen try to follow you three. Yet, for some reason, they seem unable to move to the left.
The ground they were stepping on turns white, teleporting them away instantly.
The battle is won.
“Huff… puff…” You catch your breath, hands resting on your kneecaps, crouched down. “That was way too close… way, way too close…”
You raise your head. Your eyes widen as you look through the board.
You are in a new room, one that has the shapes of a heart, diamond, club, and spade on the floor.
Two creatures are in this room, a knight-like piece and a bishop-like piece, unlike the deadly Ponmen, they don’t seem hostile to you, thankfully.
“Susie, how did you figure out that we had to go here?” Ralsei asks, looking a little worse for wear from the chase.
“Well… They were like pawns, right?” Susie starts, a spark in her eye. “Pawns always have a set path, so I knew that if I moved out of the way just at the right time, they’d get stumped and caught by the light trying to chase us! Bringing them back to the beginning, keeping them in a loop!”
She says it as if she just solved an incredibly difficult math problem.
With stars in his eyes, Ralsei continues, “Wow, Susie! That was clever, I can’t believe you remembered my instructions! You are truly becoming a HERO!”
“Well, I mean, I already AM a hero, dude…” Susie dismisses Ralsei, her cheeks slightly pink.
“Well, yes… you are a hero, Susie… but…” Ralsei tries to not look hostile. “Real heroes don’t fight everyone they come across… and you… well…?”
Susie looks hostile. “Dude, are you crazy?! Heroes FIGHT the bad guys! Crushing the enemy is how you save the day!”
“No, Susie. Saving people is how you save the day!” Ralsei clears his throat. “With kindness, respect, and a little bit of insight, you can make your ene-”
You filter out their conversation, boredom dulling your features.
They’re right back at it again…
With nothing better to do, you decide to talk with the darkners in this room.
“Uhh, hello, do you guys know the way out?” Your sweet voice gets their attention. Looking friendly, you point at the symbols. “And why are there a bunch of symbols on the floor?”
“Whoa there, horsie!” The knight-like figure says in an alarmed voice, “You just escaped from the Ponmen, didn’t you? But all'n they're doin' is following the King. Us on the Board used to have our own boss... those'n were peaceful times. But now, even the boss's been reduced to the King's peon...”
Just as the other finishes, the bishop one continues in an arrogant tone. “Fear not - we, unlike the simple Ponmen, possess FULL faculty over our actions.”
A sweat rolls down over your forehead, “Well, that’s nice, but what about-“
“Woah there, don’t you thin’ it’s a little bit rude to just demand what you want from anyone you talk to, horsie?” The Knight-piece gets closer to you. “We have our own thoughts, our own goals! You can’t just walk’n and expect us to do whatever you want!”
“Mr.Elegance is right!” The bishop-looking one looks smug. “I, Mr.Society, have plenty to say…''
You and Mr.Elegance- the aforementioned knight piece- look at him expectantly.
“… Like telling you why we put those symbols on the floor! AHEM!” He clears his throat. “Seam told us to hide this!''
He picks up a broken key. You feel a weird presence from your inventory, making the air smell nasty.
Kris’ attention redoubles.
“...so, as Darkner tradition we decided to create a puzzle to hide it.” He suddenly looks uncomfortable, “But ever since that fiend ROUXLS KAARD showed up, we have been banned from puzzle making.”
Before you can talk, he continues, sounding defensive, “Well, I am totally NOT afraid of him, I am too intelligent to fall for such vices… But we all have to respect the law if you know what I mean.”
Kris picks up the broken key from your pocket. “Seam asked me to get all the keys.” A glint in his red piercing eyes shines at both of the pieces, curiosity emanating from them.
“Well there horsie, that’s all you had to say” Mr.Elegance takes the key from Society and gives it to Kris, “Welp, here we go, this makes our job a lot easier.”
Kris takes the broken key piece and puts it in your INVENTORY.
The little horse guy's beady eyes widen by just a bit. “Oh! Before I forget, the exit is just to the EAST, Prince Lancer went there earlier, say hi to him for me!”
“Will do!” You wave back at them. Only Mr.Society reciprocates… Because Mr.Elegance doesn’t have arms.
You return to Susie and Ralsei.
“We need to SPARE the enemies!”
“We need to FIGHT the enemies!”
They’re still fighting.
You try your hardest to keep calm.
You make an 180 turn and walk away, leaving them alone.
What the eyes can’t see, the heart can’t be mad about.
*
After selfishly abandoning your friends, you continue walking through the board. The wind starts to pick up again, slow and steady, carrying the smell of autumn.
The end is near.
And with it, you see it.
The light.
You reach out to it, feeling your very essence bathed by it. Your SOUL shining with the light.
In a moment, you feel yourself holding the world in place, until it moves again. You SAVE.
You are filled with the power of “The Lancer Fun Squad”.
“Oh! Kris! There you are! We were looking for you!”
“You can be quite slippery when you want to, huh?”
And speaking of your team, Susie and Ralsei finally arrive at where you are.
“Did you guys… look for me together?!” You make the sound of a strained puppy. “Awww! I knew you guys could do it.”
Ralsei excitedly claps his hands and looks at Susie.
Susie crosses her arms and looks away. “Don’t count your luck…”
“And don’t count your buckets! Even though that was last time’s gag!”
Just like Mr.Elegance said, Lancer stands right at the edge of the field. He tries to look menacing by heavily stomping the ground
“Hohoho...” His laughter echoes, “Well STEP on my BOOTS. If it isn't the Lancer (Me) Fun Squad. You boys and girls had better turn back while you can.”
“Lancer!!! What is it this time!?” Ralsei’s voice comes out loud and indignant.
You are actually looking forward to more of Lancer’s silly antics.
Susie is looking forward to going home.
“Hohoho... I'm simply warning you...!” He steps forward.
“Something EXTREMELY dangerous is lying ahead!” He takes another step.
“Hohoho! It's actually really inconvenient!” And another.
“Ha! I can't go home at all because I'm so scared!” And a final step, invading your personal space.
“What is it!?” You ask, now invading his personal space.
“Wow, Red Heart! That’s too close! Don’t you know anything about personal space?!” Lancer runs away, clearing the path.
He reveals…
A little red checkers piece jumping up and down.
“Awww, it’s just the little guy Susie smashed earlier! How are ya, buddy?” You say, waving at it.
“THAT???” Susie asks incredulously, shaking her arms while pointing at it. “THAT'S what you're afraid of???”
“W... Wow, purple girl! You aren't scared!?” Lancer asks Susie, stars in his eyes.
You look offended.
Hey!!! I wasn’t scared either!
“Heh, why would I be? What's it gonna do? Get smashed by my ax again?” Susie replies to him, gripping her ax, and sounding extremely arrogant.
Lancer rubs his chubby cheek. “Hmm, well, normally...”
Suddenly, as if hearing Susie’s threat, a malignant aura comes from the checkers piece.
Susie gulps.
It goes forward and it reaches the edge of the board.
The floor goes white and a crown falls on its head, its coronation brings about a metamorphosis.
It grows larger, more rotund. Its legs come out from below, growing bigger, veiny and muscular.
Each step that it makes causes a small quake.
It turns to you, and even though its expression is a goofy smile, sheer bloodlust emanates from within.
“It crushes people to death, I think.”
Notes:
These parts have been taking quite awhile, haven't they? Despite the path before us already being written out long ago... This does frustate me, as well. Rest assured, the remaining parts should come out much quicker. I, more than anyone, want to see the ending of this tale.
(Don't forget to leave a kudos or a comment down below if you liked the story. I love talking with any fan!)
Chapter 8: Chapter 1 - Part 7: Checker Dance
Summary:
The violent K.Round blocks your way! Do you have what it takes to defeat it?
Notes:
Hey, got it done one day faster. That's progress, isn't it?
(I got to thank yet again everyone for all the support! It has been incredible, and far more than I expected when I made an account! Hope you stay with me until the end.)
Chapter Text
The air holds still, the wind goes quiet. Only heavy breathing is heard.
The Lancer Fun Squad stands before the checkers piece turned king. The source of the sound.
No one moves a single muscle, like the world stopped.
The round behemoth’s eyes bare down at the three of you (plus Lancer), full of rage, as if any movement would awaken its fury.
It continues. Panting.
Five minutes into this impasse, you finally say, “Maybe we could just… sidestep it…?”
The breathing stops.
Your mouth clamps shut.
The king flexes its legs. Everyone braces for whatever is to come. It charges up and…
Leaps into the heavens, so high you can’t see it anymore.
“Or it just flees, that works!” You tilt your head upwards as the red piece becomes a blink in the dark sky.
You start to leave.
“Kris, it’s not over, look out!” Ralsei calls out.
Your heels press down as you almost leave the field.
Your eyes take a white outline, your SOUL stiffens.
You backflip as the king returns like a lightning bolt.
Legs impact the earth as it glows with power. An impact so great the entire board quakes.
Your balance wavers, you try to hold on to the floor for balance.
Leaving Kris wide open.
K.Round kicks the air, sending a star-shaped bullet from its foot.
It crashes into his face.
You recoil from the pain.
Part of his face gets bruised.
You wipe it.
Guess it’s not going to be that easy…
You pick up one of the four candies you stole from that tree and eat it. It tastes like marshmallows. A refreshing feeling passes through your SOUL and courses through your body.
Your wounds are healed. The bruise reduced to a bad dream.
Smiling, you take your new sword that you bought from that strange cat. From Seam.
Its blade is curvier, cobwebs and jack-o-lanterns adorn it. In the corner of your eye you see a chill run over Lancer.
It’s very spooky.
Ralsei prepares his scarf and magic, a green aura flowing through him.
Susie brings forth her ax, snarling, “Well big guy… if it’s a fight you want… then a FIGHT is what you are going to GET!”
She charges her magic, purple aura igniting from her. With a swing, she sends a wave of rude energy straight at the red piece.
It cuts through the air like butter and hits it. Stunning it.
It recoils.
And jolts forward. Furious eyes fixed on Susie. Its veins bulge like they’re about to explode.
It runs straight at her, each step a tremor.
“You think I am AFRAID?” Susie yells, gripping her ax and meeting it face to face.
Your eyes flicker between Susie and K.Round. Her vicious scowl and the king’s goofy smile.
I can’t let Susie hurt it!
Despite Susie’s bravado, the mad king doesn’t stop. She will be trampled.
Kris bolts, tackling her out of its way.
K.Round hits a pillar. Rubble falls from the sky.
“Susie…” Your motherly glare fixes on the dragon. “Don’t attack it just because it looks violent, it could all be a misunderstanding!”
“Are you KIDDING ME?!” Susie’s features twist, livid. “That thing is trying to KILL us!” Susie pushes you off her, grabs her ax and runs straight at the checker king.
It pops its head out of the fallen rubble. Smoke blows out its ears.
“Big guy, look out! Susie’s about to attack you!” You yell. It turns its attention towards you. You wave at it.
It takes off your way like a cannonball, making Susie miss it.
It jumps straight at you.
Your eyes widen.
Oh, crapbaskets…
You pull out your shield to block it, preparing for the pain.
But nothing happens.
Ralsei had grabbed you with his scarf, yanking you out of harm’s way.
“Whew, that was close, Kris!” Relief floods Ralsei’s voice.
You stare at where you were. There’s a small crater there.
You take in a lungful. “It really was…”
Susie and K.Round attack each other, with Lancer cheering Susie over every successful strike.
“I will keep it busy while you try to find a way to beat it, Kris!” Ralsei charges up his magic and runs to where Susie and the checkers piece are.
“R-Right!” You shake your head, focusing.
But how…? Ah!
The manual. You whip it out, flipping through its pages for info on the buffed up checkers piece.
Yet, you keep finding the same entries. The manual is just too dense.
Your head hurts.
Ralsei and Susie’s fight against it continues.
The king ascends into the air to squash Susie like a bug, Ralsei uses his scarf to snare its legs, sending him straight back to the floor with a heavy impact.
The purple dragon smirks and tries to hit the downed piece, but it kicks its big and veiny legs over its back, sending magical stars straight at her.
They hit her straight in the chest, flinging her at a pillar.
K.Round flips upright, turning straight at the dark prince. It sprints towards him with furious strides.
Ralsei closes his eyes, an emerald aura enveloping him. His mouth moves, but no words come out.
You look up from reading the manual. This has caught your attention.
Trying to interrupt the prince, it kicks its legs in his direction. One, two, three, four, five times, sending dozens of projectiles on his way.
A starstorm.
Ralsei opens his eyes. A bright light shines through his glasses. Dozens of enemy pellets manifest around him.
With a wave of his hand, they fire. They strike each and every projectile, magical dust fills the air.
With a trampling dash, the round king runs at the dark prince. With the grace of a gazelle, Ralsei dodges all of its strikes. He vaults over K.Round as it kicks off the floor in a mad charge, causing it to hit another pillar.
Your jaw drops to the floor.
He’s really good! I… I didn’t expect that!
“Read.”
You shake your head.
A blush tints your cheeks as you return to flipping through the manual.
Susie comes out of the pillar’s rubble, looking worse for wear. She bares her teeth, as she grips her ax harder. “I AM NOT DONE YET, YOU OVERSIZED LOLLIPOP!!!”
She’s bruised, her breathing labored. The card you gave her looks worn out.
She looks over the checker king embedded in the pillar, flashing a shark’s grin.
She charges up her rude energy and fires. A burst of energy lights the surroundings as it hits K.Round with a heavy impact.
Not giving it a chance to rest, Susie slashes the air dozens of times, each releasing a magical ax that floats in the air around the purple dragon.
There’s dozens of axes in the air. A weapon’s storm.
With one final swing, they all fly towards K.Round.
They hit its legs. Its face. They hit everywhere, carving themselves into its body. The already hurt checkers piece stumbles, trying to keep its balance. Heaving, it stands tall.
It closes its eyes and drops to the floor with a resounding impact.
It lies motionless.
“Huff… Puff… And THAT’S… what I am TALKING about!” Susie yells through her huffs and puffs, letting herself tumble back, sitting down.
You stop reading the manual.
“Susie… What did you DO?” Horror warps your features and despair drips from your voice as you run over to the fallen king.
You kneel next to it.
You can’t feel it breathing.
You start to hyperventilate.
“Uh, dude, I beat our enemy? Like, duh!” Susie yells while smirking, Lancer’s cheers become their loudest.
K.Round still doesn’t move.
Your vision blurs.
Ralsei walks over to you, he holds your shoulder. “Kris, do not panic! Even if for some reason, Susie brought K.Round’s HP to 0, it would still-”
You stop listening.
Brought its HP to 0… that means…
You look at the motionless piece.
He means that it’s… dead.
“What are you talking about? HP? What the heck is that?” Susie asks, her voice almost a whisper, looking between you and Lancer, with her brows knitted in worry.
Lancer just shrugs. “My HP is still full!”
You don’t pay attention to them.
Instead, you let an enormous weight bear down on your shoulders.
Susie… killed it?!
You hold your head.
No…
You grasp it.
No…No… This… This just can’t… This…
You clutch it.
That can’t happen. It just can’t! She wouldn’t actually kill someone… would she?
You deny it.
You close your eyes.
But when you do some, all you see is the abyss yet again.
Nobody has to die!
You can’t escape it.
NO ONE IS GOING TO DIE! I… can’t… die…diediediediediediedie…
Your failure.
The reason you are here. The reason you ended up in the abyss. All the promises you broke. All the dreams you lost. All the hopes you shattered.
That’s all you feel.
“Uh… Red Heart, are you, uh, ok?” The spade prince asks you, tilting his head and wincing just a bit.
Sweat starts trickling down Susie’s face. “You, uh, look really intense. Awed by my amazing power?!”
Ralsei holds you tighter. “G- Kris, you need to breathe. Please, take a moment to breathe! It’s not over yet!”
Ralsei’s words enter your ears, but don’t stay.
All you hear is the sound of your sharp inhalation.
“Calm down! Keep your thoughts together.”
And the voice.
“You can still LOAD, can you not? Even if she killed it, you can always go back, make it into a bad dream.”
Your heartbeat steadies.
A LOAD…? Yeah, YEAH, that’s right!
You open your eyes, faded gold becoming brighter.
Even if anything bad happens, I hold the power to undo it!
You think you are above consequences, don't you?
Your brows furrow as you feel the world dissolve around you. You feel a thread in your SOUL, linking you back to the last point in time you saved. You feel yourself holding it, ready to go back in time-
“Hey, what the heck is that little runt doing?”
Susie’s voice makes you look at K.Round, concentration shattered.
You see something materialize right in front of the collapsed king.
A… carton of almond milk (???).
Just as you, and everyone else really, are about to question it, it flies at the massive piece.
The milk floods through it and its eyes open. Its wounds are healed and the magic axes carved into its body dissipate to dust.
It jumps up and down, each impact causing a quake. You almost stumble to the floor.
Even more bloodlust emanates from its beady eyes. It’s stronger than ever.
With newfound strength, it strikes at the surprised party with a kick. Its force is so strong it releases a wave of air that blasts everyone back.
Susie lands far away.
The manual is ripped from your hands, flying off into the distance.
You fall as well, sliding through the floor, clutching your stomach. Yet, you don’t feel as hurt as you should.
Kris stabs his sword into the floor, halting your impact.
Ralsei gets it the hardest. By placing himself ahead of you, he takes most of the damage that you should’ve.
Your heart aches in worry and pain. But mostly guilt.
You should’ve taken it all.
Not giving a moment's rest, K.Round sets its sight on the weary Susie, springing straight at her.
Susie diverolls away in the nick of time.
That isn’t all.
One of its star-shaped bullets cuts her arm and she snarls.
K.Round doesn’t feel like stopping.
I… I… need to help her!
You race towards her, reaching for a healing item.
But you can’t do that.
The inventory got blasted away with the manual.
As hope dwindles, something incredible happens. Susie’s wounds disappear. A green light envelops them and most of them disappear in a moment.
This miracle was done by none other than Ralsei. The still downed dark prince radiates with his magic, sending a heavenly prayer to Susie.
The strain of his magic causes him to pass out with a smile.
You feel a fire burning in your SOUL.
I need to end this, now!
You know how to end this.
In the corner of your eye, you see the manual has landed nearby Lancer, who has flopped belly first to the floor.
And this is how I will do it!
“LANCER, READ THE MANUAL, NOW!” You yell, your voice echoing through the room. It’s desperate and visceral.
Alerting the red king towards you.
Lancer moves to the manual and picks it up, “Alright Blue Person, time to brush up what I learned from lesser dad!”
It runs towards you like a locomotive.
You roll out of the way of the red checkers piece.
This time, it doesn’t crash into a pillar. It stops in its tracks a short distance away, and kicks its legs up.
Magical stars fly towards you like a raining cosmos.
You pull up your shield.
K.ROUND: Its dream became true.
LIKE: Crushing people to death.
DISLIKE: People who bullied it.
LEVEL: MINIBOSS.
ATTACK: 9
DEFENSE: 3
ELEMENT: ROUND:CROWN.
ADDITIONAL NOTES IN THE NEXT PAGES.
“Ahem, K.Round, evolved form of C.Round. Once a C.Round reaches the end of a checkerboard- Oh! That must be the great board!- Once it reaches the end of the great board, it is crowned and becomes a K.Round.”
“So that’s why that happens…” Lancer pouts as he reads, without a care in the world.
You use your shield to block the star projectiles, smoke emitting from the impact against it. Your arms ache as your legs grow weak.
From under the smoke K.Round rams you over, sending you to another pillar.
Something breaks, blood drips from your head.
And yet you remain, eyes locked with the bloodthirsty king.
Shining gold with your determination.
“Resist.”
You start to rise, getting on one knee.
“The coronation makes the friendly C.Round merciless, only focused on battle and bloodshed, amplified tenfold if it was mistreated.”
It runs at you, its speed increasing.
You prepare yourself. Standing via pure will.
“The only way to fix this is by removing the crown, once it is removed it should revert back to its friendlier self! That’s it! Blue person with the red heart! You have to strike its crown! Lesser Dad was right, flipbooks are important!” Lancer finishes reading.
I… need to…
The king approaches you, ready to deal to finish this.
Remove… that…
Blood dribbles down your face.
You don’t have time to retrieve your inventory to heal your wounds.
Crown!
Ralsei is too weak to fight.
Your limbs are shaky, but you grip your sword.
Just…
You move to throw it at the crown.
Do it!
You fail.
You don’t have the strength to throw it.
K.Round is inches in front of you. If he hits you, you will die.
You close your eyes and prepare yourself for a LOAD.
That never comes.
Susie appears from behind the king and hits it with her final burst of magic.
One last Rude Buster.
It stuns K.Round for a few seconds.
Just the time you need.
Your irises flash star gold, you throw your sword through the air. It cuts through the darkness, striking straight at the crown, knocking it off the king.
As if a curse has been dispelled, K.Round shrinks back to its regular size. It becomes just a regular C.Round.
It rolls away with the wind to go far, far away.
I… I… did it!
You won your first serious battle.
You pant, taking deep inhales. Your body feels like lead. You sit to recover from it all, relief floods through you.
Well, at least I didn’t need to LOAD. Barely…
You wipe your sweat and blood away.
But I feel absolutely dirty.
You look around. Ralsei is still out. Susie is like you, sitting to gather herself. Lancer is watching as C.Round rolls away, growing ever distant, looking between it and the manual.
You crawl closer to the inventory, you don’t feel as if you have enough energy to walk.
You go through your inventory and pick one of the three candies within, eating it and letting the taste of marshmallows flood through you.
Your wounds are healed, your energy restored.
I should’ve done better… I remember facing worse. I can’t suffer losses this early!
Recovered yet frustrated, you walk over to the dark prince.
I can’t let others get hurt in my place…
You give a candy to the downed Ralsei with care, recovering his consciousness.
Or have them save me…
You walk over to Susie. She takes the final candy, eating it in one annoyed bite.
“We… We did it?!?” Susie says, her voice filled with relief and incredulity. She gets up and smirks, throwing her arms over her head.
You echo that sentiment with a smile.
Lancer walks over and returns the manual to you, now with a mustache drawn over the Ralsei on the cover.
“Wow!! You clowns really ARE heroes!! You even convinced ME to help you guys, for FREE! Plus you guys saved the next twenty minutes of my life!!” Lancer says, sounding thankful for your actions for once.
“Lancer… if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t even have been able to end this. Thank you.” Your words are carried by a soft, high-pitched tone of sincereness. You are grateful that Lancer helped you.
But you’re not happy.
Your hands clench into fists.
Or have someone tell me how to beat the enemy!
I can understand your frustration. In your world, you fought each battle all by yourself, needing help was something that never happened.
Surely that was the case.
…
I need to be better. I need to be the rock everyone can rely on!
Never satisfied…
“Yeah, yeah, I am pretty great, huh...?” Susie gloats, crossing her arms with a smirk on her face. “Did you see how COOL I looked?”
Ralsei gets up. He dusts himself. With the shadow cast over his face, you can’t see how he feels.
He clears his throat.
“Um… Susie? Not to downplay your contributions… You are still one of the heroes, and I appreciate you being here, but…”
Ralsei glares at Susie, his eyebrows furrowed. “You didn’t help at all. You only made things worse. You only kept attacking it even after it was down, which only made it stronger.”
Ralsei closes his eyes, but you see water at their sides. “And… b-because of that… G-K-Kris… could’ve gotten hurt! And if you hadn’t attacked it AT ALL when we first met it, it would have never been mad at us in the first place!”
Ralsei walks over to Susie. “This entire fight and K-Kris’ doubting h-himself was all your FAULT. All because you refuse to listen to me EVERY TIME!”
Ralsei finishes yelling.
Wow, I never expected Ralsei would sound this… mad.
Everyone goes silent.
You hold on to your SOUL.
And for him to… care so much…
Susie’s hands ball into fists.
“Huh?” Susie asks Ralsei, but it feels like she is asking everyone. “Are you FOR REAL? That thing was BLOODTHIRSTY!!! The one thing keeping it at bay was MY AX!”
She points at you. “And it was that ax that SAVED Kris’ LIFE right there at the end! I saved him while you were LYING DOWN! So don’t blame for letting him get hurt! Blame yourself!”
Susie’s words increase Ralsei’s anger. But instead of coming hot, Ralsei instead looks cold. A cold fury. So cold you feel your heart freezing.
“Earlier, you terrorized those troops… Just like you antagonized C.Round! Even after I discussed it with you time and time again! We have to warn the enemies in order for us to not start pointless fights!”
“And you were WRONG every time! Those guys are our ENEMIES! They’re FOR terrorizing! You should STOP warning them!”
“Yeah! She’s right! We are your enemies! Dad always said you have to crush all your enemies! with your full power!” Lancer intervenes, showing his support for Susie.
You don’t say anything. You simply look at Susie and Ralsei.
They shouldn’t be fighting! This is my fault and my fault alone!
You stand there.
Ignoring Lancer, Ralsei continues with his rant.
“And even before that, you tried eating an innocent person’s cake…”
“Cakes… Are also my enemy,” Susie says, while patting her belly.
Ralsei makes an “are you serious dude” expression that words can’t fully describe.
He sighs. “…Susie… Whether you like it or not… You are a hero. One with the power to bring peace to the future. Heroes ensure the safety of their colleagues. So… could you please start… acting like one?”
Susie turns around, a frown on her face. You don’t know what she is thinking.
Ralsei’s words echo in your head.
If that’s the case… I am not a hero, either. I haven’t been able to save anyone…
“Yeah, when you lay it out like that... I've been a pretty bad hero, haven't I?” Susie says, eerily calm, shoulders losing tension.
“Alright, Ralsei. You got it.” Susie turns around with a happy smile. “I'll change my ways. From now on, I won't be such a rotten hero anymore.”
She runs over to Lancer, putting her hand on his shoulder.
“I'll just be one of the BAD GUYS instead!”
Chapter 9: Chapter 1 - Part 8: Scarlet Forest
Summary:
Susie breaks out of your team and joins Lancer…! Oh boy… things just got a lot more complicated!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“I'll just be one of the BAD GUYS instead!” Susie says, her voice echoes through the edge of the checkerboard.
Ralsei flails his arms, his hat almost falling off.
You hold your hand to your chest, heartbeat thumping in your ears.
You only feel shock over Susie’s words.
B-but… w-we just had our first real fight together! She can’t just…
Cutting through your despairing thoughts like a knife through pie, Lancer’s voice booms, radiating happiness and incredulity, “R... Really!? You're going to be on MY team?”
“Yeah, sounds way easier, honestly.” Susie says with a small smirk on her face, crossing her arms behind her back.
Anxiety seizes Ralsei’s expression. “S…Susie… I didn’t mean…”
Disbelief reflects from your golden eyes. “Susie, you can’t just-”'
The elated spade prince cuts the both of you off.
“Quiet, Toothpaste Boy and Blue Person with the Red Heart!” He puffs his chest out like a pufferfish. “Susie’s MY comrade now!”
“Hahaha, yeah, Toothpaste Boy!” Susie points at Ralsei. “And, uh, Krissy, hah…. ha!” She points at Kris next, laughing.
Lancer pulls out a list. A gigantic one at that. So big it almost unrolls over to your feet from all the way over there, “We're going to have monogrammed track jackets!”
“Yeah!”
“And sleepovers! Where we tell each other secrets!”
“Ummm, yeah?”
“And bike contests for the coolest bikes!”
“Sure, I guess?”
“And MP3 listening sessions! Where we will listen to splat sounds all day!”
“Ummm…”
“And puzzle sessions with Lesser Dad! Where we can listen to him complain about making puzzles! Instead of doing any!”
“Ok, that’s enough,” Susie rolls Lancer’s list back up, returning it to him, but quickly smirks, “We WILL be doing all that though. Later,” she looks at you two with a cocky air about her, “Anyway, uhh, see you guys never.”
“Haha!! If you can even last that long!” Lancer and Susie laugh at your plight, running off with the prince’s broken down bike into the horizon like two huge dorks.
You stand there with a hand outstretched, speechless.
You can’t just… leave us, Susie. Not because of my mistake.
Guilt seizes you.
“Kris…” Ralsei turns to you, head low and voice a whisper, “Perhaps I shouldn't have been so hard on her.” his eyes linger on you with some expectation, he continues, “But, I just worry that if Susie is too eager to fight…” He turns away from you and looks to the horizon, to the unknown where Susie just ran off to, “Then…”
Kris walks up to the troubled Darkner prince, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Do not worry. Susie will return.”
You blink.
I… didn’t say that.
But it came out of your mouth nonetheless.
Ralsei turns back to the blue knight, smiling, and says, “You are right, Kris. As usual. I am sure if we are kind to her, she will come around. You’re the best at persuading people, aren’t you?”
Your cheeks turn pink from Ralsei’s praise. It gives you a rush of boldness.
And with that, despite your ever increasing insecurity, you…
Hug the prince.
Again.
“Plus, even without Susie, we are still a team!” You give him an exuberant smile. “Don’t forget that, alright?”
You don’t let go.
“Um…” Ralsei squirms, overwhelmed to the point of being well past embarrassment.
You keep holding on.
“K-Kris?!” He squeaks, sweat rolling down his face.
You press your face up to his fur.
Steam blows out of Ralsei’s ears. “G-KRIS?!” Not even a locomotive would produce as much.
You quickly let go and chuckle. “Lancer was on the ball! You actually smell like toothpaste!”
…
Next scene.
*
After Susie left your team and nothing else happened, you and Ralsei marched on, the checkerboard disappearing behind you.
Red and black fade away, giving way to a huge forest spiraling around you and your fluffy partner. The trees are decorated with vibrant, scarlet leaves. Just like with the trees from earlier, the leaves are blocky. The wind flows, they fall, some land near you.
Red is this place’s color. The trail is red. The large bushes are red. Everything is so vibrant and intense.
It has the serenity of the board, and the liveliness of the field. The wind is soft as it brushes your skin, you feel the smell of nature in the air. You grab a leaf flowing in the air. It falls apart at your touch.
It feels like a perfect place to hang out.
And yet, despite the calm of the Forest, your thoughts still trouble you.
Susie and Ralsei… they… were blaming each other for what happened, but the truth is… I am the one who failed.
You hold your arm and look down at the ground.
I am their leader. It’s my responsibility. I should’ve been prepared for anything that could’ve happened.
Leaves fall around you. Some fall in your hair.
But I wasn’t. And because of that… we almost died. And I would’ve had to do it again. I might have needed to do it again. And again. And again. Do it forever if that’s what it took to get it right even once… But…
You pick them up. They break in your fingers.
Would I’ve even been able to do it? Now Susie’s gone and I… I lost all my items too. This isn’t as easy as I remember it being… I…
You feel as fragile as them.
I don’t know what to do.
You walk forward without looking ahead.
“Stop.”
You stop in your tracks, like a car on the edge of losing control. You look ahead, your eyes widening slightly.
In front of you stands a door. A door with a strange light beneath it. You were about to crash into it, truly like a car.
Why is there a door here?!
You look behind it. There’s nothing behind it.
And why doesn’t it lead anywhere?!?!
You feel a strange feeling of nostalgia surge in your soul.
And why does it feel so familiar?!?!?!
“Woah there, horsie. Mr. Society and the puzzle guy fixed that door. Don’t go aroun’ breaki’ it. Wacha where ya going!” A voice scolds you, making you straighten.
That voice is none other than Mr.Elegance together with a board of Jigsawrys. Ralsei waves at them in a cute manner.
“S-Sorry! I don’t want to break anything!” You try to look as non-threatening as possible, holding your hands in front of you.
“We are heroes!” Ralsei says, looking proud. “We do the opposite of breaking! We save! Lives!”
Mr.Elegance looks at you two for an uncomfortable amount of time.
“Do you two want to know how this door works?” He asks without the accent.
You two take to eager nodding.
“Well horsie, all’n ya need to do is thin’ of either the field, the checkerboard (where we came from) or the castle, open the door, and well, the rest is history. And since the castle’s door is still broken, you only have two places to go i’ ‘there’.”
You mess around with the door.
So that’s why they were standing in front of that door back on the checkerboard…
Your golden eyes widen as the synapses in your brain fire.
But if we can go back… Then I can restock on the items I need!
“Ralsei, we are running out of supplies!” You yell to the dark prince. “I am going to buy some more at the field, alright? You stay here and watch my back!”
“Uh, alright Kris, good luck!” He waves at you, soft happiness gracing his features.
You wave back with a small smile and open the door.
You take a step forward and the horizon warps.
*
You are back on the field.
Its purple grass beneath your feet and the faint smell of marshmallows settling into your nostrils.
You didn’t even feel the transition. It was like you simply entered inside a house. If you look back, you still see the Forest.
The door closes, leaving the Forest as if it never was.
Yeah, this is kind of freaky. It’s so sudden!
And yet the sense of nostalgia remains.
And it’s so familiar, too! Urgh!!!
You shake your head, thoughts thrown away.
You walk towards your goal. You look at it.
At the hole in the wall in the quietest place of the field.
Seam’s shop.
You enter the strange cat’s “seap”.
The same feeling of misplaced nostalgia fills the air, like no time passed since you left it. Nothing has changed at the shop, in fact. Even though you took items from it, it still looks the same as you left it.
Weird.
Seam stands behind the counter, its blank eye looking at you curiously, gaze furrowed with mirth behind its button eye.
“Well, it seems like the little hero returned, and so soon…” It tilts its head. “What brings you back to my humble abode, O “Legendary” Hero?” It says to you, a hint of sarcasm (…?) in its voice.
“Well…” You sulk up. “I haven’t been doing so great, and now I need more items, and…” You look away. “...yeah. That’s that.”
“Not doing so great? You couldn’t possibly have met HIM already, so… what troubles you, young one?”
“Well, it’s not your quest, (that I am going on but still don’t know why), it’s just…”
You stop, shoulders sagging.
Should I do this? Should I tell it my worries? Wouldn’t it be better to tell someone like Ralsei?
You already know the answer to that question.
You already know that the Dark Prince looks up to you.
Do you truly have it in you to shatter his vision of a fearless leader?
I-I can’t… It would break his world.
You look back at Seam, his cotton eyes staring at your SOUL.
That strange cat has only been kind to me, plus it clearly knows more about this strange world than me, so...
Sometimes, telling a secret to a stranger is easier than your own friends.
“I just haven’t been a good leader…” The words spill from your mouth like water. “My team was relying on me to lead us into victory, and I was just a hindrance to them…”
You pick up the items without any energy.
The plush cat scratches its chin in thought. “There’s nothing wrong with losing sometimes. Accepting you can’t do everything by yourself is healthy.”
“B… But… as a leader… I need to be able to do everything!” You look at the cat, golden eyes staring at emptiness. “Because they are all counting on me! Any flaws they have… are my flaws too!”
Seam stays silent for a moment.
“Is that so?” Seam chuckles.
You expect it to continue.
It doesn’t.
“Yes. That’s how it has to be, right?” It doesn’t answer you. “Yes, it is!” You firmly say.
It smiles.
“In my younger days, knowledge always helped me win the various games I had. Haha… if only I had realized sooner what the price of it was.”
It frowns to itself, as if remembering a painful memory.
But what could even be painful for-
“Preparation.” It cuts your thoughts. It doesn’t smile. “Prepare yourself for future troubles and maybe your confidence shall return, you will need it soon enough.”
You feel a chill through your soul.
Well, that’s ominous.
Outside of that, however, you truly feel lighter than you were before you entered this fabric shop.
Maybe if I know what will happen… I will never be in a situation like that ever again.
You smile to yourself.
You bring four darkburgers and a protective card to the cat, “Well, that did make me feel better.” You give him a cute smile. “Thanks!”
Seam takes the dark dollars from your blue hands, “Haha, I would rather see this to the end than have it over so soon. But it’s not like what I say matters. See you soon, or not, haha.”
You look at the cat, your golden eyes shining. “Don’t say it like that! What everyone says matters!”
The cat narrows its eyes before laughing. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” You chuckle. “It is.”
You exit the rugged shop.
*
You touch where you equipped the card, your hand getting sticky. Yet you feel its defensive power filling your body, its magic protecting you.
You look to your right side. There’s nobody there. You look to your left side. There’s nobody there.
You smirk.
Time to do something only I can do!
You run towards the light, the physical proof of your worth. You touch it, its warmth flowing from your fingers to the rest of your body. To your SOUL.
You hold the world in place for a brief moment.
And that is reading! This could take a while, so it’s better to return back once I am finished.
You are filled with the power of literature.
You pick up the manual, sit down on the ground, and with a smile on your face, you flip through its pages, letting its insight fill your mind.
*
Seconds turn to minutes, minutes turn to hours… the smile on your face is gone, your head aches, but you have finally read enough, or so you feel.
I don’t think I will ever read as much as I have today…
You shake your head, trying to wave off the tiredness.
You close your eyes and you focus inwardly, back to the light. Back to that power. You feel the world dissolve around you.
You hold a red thread in your hands. Not the hands of your body. Just… your hands.
You feel your entire self being pulled and then…
You are back. Back at when you first started reading, as if everything you did was just a dream, with only your memories as proof.
I… can still LOAD! I… really do have it in me!
You frown.
But it felt weird, though.
You dismiss these thoughts.
I need to get back to Ralsei! No point in going back in time if I keep him waiting.
Satisfied yet worried, you put the manual back in your inventory and walk to the door, opening it and letting the world shift.
*
“Wow, Ralsei, isn’t it? Ya tea is fantastic, y’hear! How did ya get so good at it, horsie?”
You hear a voice with a very familiar accent as you arrive at the Forest.
Your golden eyes widen at what you are seeing.
Right in front of the warp door, a tea party is taking place. Full with cutely decorated tables, chairs and decorations.
It even has little snacks in the shape of Kris’ face, Ralsei’s, Susie’s and one single one of your SOUL.
How did Ralsei prepare all of this so fast?!
“Well, Mr.Elegance, it just comes naturally to me… I just pick the blend and-” The prince gets up as he sees you. “Oh! Kris! You are back! And so soon too! How was it?”
“How did you get a tea party going so freaking fast??!!” You rush towards him, holding his shoulders. Your sweating reflects your disbelief.
“Well… during the time I was waiting for you to arrive… I had to keep myself busy somehow… so… I decided to hone my skills!” Ralsei looks bashful. “D-Do you like it?”
You stare at him emotionless. “You…” Stars appear in your eyes. “HAVE TO MAKE MORE FOR US LATER!!!!” You shake him in excitement.
“I-I-I will!” Ralsei declares as you let him go, eyes spinning, completely dizzy.
“Oh!” You show the dark prince your inventory with the darkburgers, “I bought these, and after a little bit of thinking… I am ready for anything!”
“I am glad your confidence remains unshattered, Kris!” Ralsei recomposes himself, and smiles cutely at you. He waves at his guests. “Guys, I gotta leave, but we will see each other soon!”
“I sure hope so, because this food is incredible!” Mr.Elegance says, eating up the remains of Ralsei’s tea party with the Jigsawry.
“(We are definitely going to have a proper tea party later…)” You whisper with narrowed eyes as you walk away.
Ralsei gulps.
*
Feeling rejuvenated, you continue forward through the Forest, its blocky foliage becoming denser and denser. It becomes harder to see ahead, piles of fallen leaves cover the ground, gathered by the winds. They surround you, trying to bury you in a leafy grave.
There are so many bushes around you, and they are so dense, you can’t see what’s inside them.
It’s the perfect place to stay hidden.
“Kris… we have to be careful…” Ralsei says, caution in his tone. “Now that we’re getting closer to Card Castle… more enemies might try to show up. They can come from anywhere, so we need to be-”
An enemy comes through the leaves, blasting a hole straight through it. It’s a small rabbit made of dust, with no arms and legs.
You smirk.
You know what that is.
RABBICK: A real dust bunny. Known to play dirty, but loves to play clean.
LIKE: Dusty places.
DISLIKE: Vacuum.
LEVEL: 4.
ATTACK: 4
DEFENSE: 5
ELEMENT: RABBIT:DUST.
“Ralsei, blow on it, together!” You inhale a mouthful of air and exhale all of it at the little white rabbit right in front of you.
Ralsei imitates you, and together you blow the dust rabbit away into the distance.
You cheer and pose, giving a thumbs up.
“Wow, Kris, you beat that enemy so fast!” Ralsei claps as you absorb the praise. “And you didn’t even use my manual! You are really amazing, you know that, right?”
You smirk to yourself, preparation really was the key, wasn’t it?
And this was only the beginning.
You two continue through the Forest, each enemy ending up in the same way.
“Ralsei, blow!”
“Rearrange it!”
“Flirt!”
“Compliment it!”
“Talk about cute boys!”
“It’s tired! Pacify it!”
With precise orders and commands, you and Ralsei defeat all your enemies with ease, before they can even attack, nobody being able to defeat your quick thinking.
You feel at the top of the world!
Another enemy stands in your way. This time, it’s a creature formed out of lego blocks. Red and blue. With a face in the bottom and arms at the top.
It looks angry at you.
You already know how to beat it.
BLOXER: A shape changing fighter. Ironically, blocking is not its forte.
LIKE: Cross-trainers.
DISLIKE: Formal shoewear.
LEVEL: 4.
ATTACK: 4
DEFENSE: 5
ELEMENT: FIGHT.
By rearranging this Bloxer.
“And… there you go! You should be all fixed up!” You wipe your hands, a proud smile on your face. Yet, a hint of naughtiness in your eyes betrays your intentions.
Ralsei looks nervous. “Kris… I don’t…”
“ARRGH!!! MY ABS IS MY BUTTS!!!” The Bloxer's wails reach the heavens themselves.
You giggle, holding your hand over your mouth. “C’mon! You look cute!”
Before the Bloxer attacks you in retaliation, Ralsei moves forward and fixes him. He turns into white light like the rest. “Kris… I know you want to have fun… But can you not play with people’s lives?”
“Yeah, that’s our job! Stay in your goody two shoes lane!”
“Yeah! Your lame lane! Hoho!”
Two voices echo around you, one a rough female and the other a young boy.
“Susie…! Lancer…!” Ralsei yells at the both of them, his voice filled with worry.
Susie and Lancer stand right in front of you and the dark prince. Their backs facing you.
“Heheheh…” Susie turns towards you, laughing quietly.
“Well if it isn't the so-called Heroes...!” Lancer mimics, continuing Susie’s line of thinking, smirking towards you two with a silly trying-to-be-evil-but-clearly-isn’t smile.
“Are you finally ready to see what happens…” Susie smirks at you two.
“When you try to act soft…”
“Against a team that crushes ANYONE in their way?”
Lancer jumps up in the air, striking a pose just as he hits the ground, one arm pointing up, his tongue out for show, “Dark Jack Lancer!”
Susie picks up her ax and fills it with dark energy, making it glow, holding it up head high, “Violent Ax Susie!”
With their voice as one, they continue, “Together we are…” Lancer jumps on top of Susie, summoning spades around them, “The DARK Lancer Fun Squad!”
Magical fireworks come from the ground just as they finish yelling, illuminating the sky with their light.
Wow… That was actually really cool….
You are filled with envy.
Not looking that impressed, however, Ralsei cuts off the Dark version of your team, “Um... So what's your, er… evil plan?”
“Huh?” Susie lets the magical fire in her ax dissipate like smoke. Lancer’s concentration is broken, causing the magical fireworks to suddenly stop and for him to almost fall off the dragon's shoulder, “Dude, we JUST formed our team. We haven't figured out anything past our intro yet. Do you know how long it took to come up with our EXTREMELY cool poses?!”
Lancer jumps from Susie, looking a little annoyed, “Have a little patience, please…” a little pout on his face.
You hold your hands up in the air, “Well… I thought you guys were pretty cool!”
Ralsei, looking a little flustered, tries to recover himself, “Oh, um, sorry… I agree with Kris, you guys were cool! We're, um, looking forward to the rest!”
Recovering her mojo, Susie smirks, “Heh, well, you won't have to look forward for long.”
Lancer jumps up and down, “Starting now... We're going to work CEASELESSLY…”
“Unstoppably…”
“To make an evil plan to THRASH you clowns.”
Susie turns away from you two and starts leaving, “Watch your backs.”
“And your fronts!” They run off, looking to cause more trouble…
Until they stop a few meters away from you, right in front of a tree stump, immediately putting their hands into it.
Ralsei coughs in his hand, attracting their attention, “I thought you guys were going to make your evil scheme…”
“Huh? Oh yeah!” Susie turns back to the worried prince, her hand filled with salsa. “We were going to do that, but our legally required lunch break just started.” She puts her whole hand in her mouth.
She does it over and over again like a lion who hasn’t eaten in days and has finally found its prey.
Something awakens inside Kris.
“Yeah, peachboy! Bad Guys always have lunch breaks! This is like, villainy 101, the very first thing Lesser Dad taught me!” Lancer says, doing the exact same thing Susie is doing.
Looking disgusting.
I mean… it’s kind of cute if you, like, twist your head to the side, squint your eyes, and just pretend something else is happening.
“… I see.” Ralsei says, with his classic disapproving frown of a parent.
“C'mon! All I ate for breakfast was chalk!” Susie replies defensively.
“And I didn't eat anything!” Lancer happily says.
“And I only ate a single chocolate bar today!” Kris replies.
“And someone didn’t invite me to their tea party!” You say, eyeing Ralsei, your stomach rumbling in response.
“Why didn’t you say so?” Lancer stops eating from the stump and points it to Kris, “Feast for yourself, my main blue person.”
As if on instinct, Kris jumps over to the stump and puts your hand in it, eating with almost the same ferocity as Susie.
“Haha, you think you can beat ME?” Susie starts eating even faster, as if competing against you.
In response Kris speeds up further, red eyes growing fiercer.
Truly, a competition for the ages has begun.
“Susie, Blue Person, wait up!” Lancer says, trying to eat from the stump. But the sheer aura of human and dragon is so strong, he is blown away. Simply being left in the dust against those two ferocious competitors.
“Uhh, guys? Do you even know if it’s safe to eat that?” Ralsei asks, a worried look on his face over this ever increasing- fierce- competition.
“I don’t know, I never ate from here before!” Lancer replies, having given up trying to catch up.
“Oh boy…”
*
Kris and Susie remain motionless after eating so much salsa, backs on the ground. Weird, disgusting, salsa from a weird tree that is absolutely not healthy.
They’re so stuffed they can’t move. It feels like a gag in a typical anime, but lamer.
Why did I do that?
“No. Regrets.”
You are so tired that you can’t bring yourself to care about the whispering voice.
Ralsei is chanting a spell to recover your strength while Lancer has fallen asleep on the ground.
“I knew this wasn’t going to go well.” Ralsei facepalms. “Sigh… if only you had listened to me…”
*
“Man, that was AWESOME!” Susie jumps, smiling so hard you see her yellow teeth. “Well, Kris, this was actually fun! See what you can have as part of the bad guys that do whatever they WANT?”
Ralsei had finished healing you two, making any unhealthy sprees consequence-free.
“Well…” You start. “I don’t know why I did that… but I am glad you found it fu-”
Susie cuts you off with a laugh, “Heh, see you soon… Soon to get your ass thrashed by the Dark Lancer Fun Squad, HAHA!” She picks up the sleeping Lancer and bike and walks off.
Tension dissipates from Ralsei’s body. “Sigh… please be more careful, Kris…”
But I didn’t do anything!
*
After that incredible competition that will be marked down in your memory for the rest of the next five minutes, you and Ralsei continue through the Forest.
Going deeper and deeper, the trees closing in on you. Together with the increasingly claustrophobic surroundings, come the traps. Unlike both field and board, this place has been decked with obstacles to stop you in your tracks.
Stars shining from within the darkness, circular traps of diamond jump rope. All made by the feared King that you heard so much about, ready to end your journey.
One of the diamond chains is about to hit, making you jump over them. As you land, you see a phantom chain cut your head. You instinctively duck, as the real one passes over your head.
You are playing the most dangerous game of jump rope of your life.
You continue skipping over the diamond chains, flipping over them, ducking, running clockwise, counterclockwise, defending yourself with your shield when you make a mistake. Doing anything you can to survive.
Ralsei follows you, using his magic and scarf to propel himself through this dangerous place.
The benefits of magic…
Thankfully, he’s right there to heal the results of your errors.
Just as you flip over a diamond rope, you see a strange vision. One place where there are no stars shining, unlike everywhere else in this deadly zone, as if the darkness of the place has eaten any hope of light.
As your golden eyes shine, one thought comes to head, a thought of that strange cat’s words.
‘I'll even give you a hint - Walk where the stars don't shine.’ That’s what it said, right? Is it this place? So… should I…?
You hesitate for a moment.
Kris decides to walk into the pure darkness, hitting… Solid ground!
You stomp at the ground. You jump on top of it. Despite the fact you only see darkness, you can walk on it.
You continue moving through this new route, seeing where it will lead you.
“Uhh, Kris?” Ralsei squeaks. “Where’re you going? Wait up!” The dark prince jumps over a diamond rope, tangling his scarf at one of the tree’s branches and using it to propel himself to where Kris is going.
He catches up to him just as he opens a chest with a broken key inside.
It radiates a strange power.
"That should be the final one… Now all I need is to fix it."
Kris picks up a broken key. It’s small and comfortably fits in his hands. He puts it in the INVENTORY.
You blink. Golden eyes stare at your hands.
Why did I do that?
“Uh, nice find, Kris?” Ralsei’s voice comes like sweet honey, yet you almost jump in fright nonetheless. “But, um, this is the wrong way, we should-” He stops speaking.
You look at him worriedly. “I… I don’t know why I picked up that key, either! It’s just that-”
Ralsei’s eyes narrow. “Wait, that’s…” he moves further ahead, now leaving you in the dust.
He pushes through the tree branches, “Yeah, that’s…” opening up the way to a bake-sale. There’s several stands in there, from Ruddins, to Hathys, and a blue one with a spade symbol.
A little to the side, before all that, you see Susie and the now awake Lancer talking with a giant hammer shaped fellow. They have Lancer’s broken bike beside them, together with a blueprint.
“Yeah, that’s exactly where we needed to go…” Ralsei turns back to you. “Kris, you really are amazing, finding a shortcut this easily!”
That wasn’t your intention. You look bashful. “W… Well… I am… way smarter than I look! It’s all about preparation!”
Not being able to face Ralsei’s eyes, you crouch low. “Let’s see what, um, the dark version of our team is doing!” Spying on the purple dragon and spade prince.
Ralsei mimics you.
“Heh, so this guy can fix anything, huh?” Susie scratches her mane.
The hammer guy hammers away at Lancer’s bike. For a moment, you think he is going to break it even more, but instead it looks better than ever.
“Yep, I always come here when my mixtapes break, it’s a sure way to fix stuff ten out of one times!” Lancer replies to her, picking up his now fixed bike and taking it for a ride.
“So it can even fix this cake?” Susie pulls out a piece of cake that is somehow emitting smoke. You realize that it is the same cake Susie was eating back in the field.
“Cakes, Bikes, I, smith Malius, can fix anything! Except broken hearts.” The hammer head proudly declares, starting to hammer away at the cake.
In seconds, it’s restored to its original glory.
“Man, this is AWESOME!” Susie starts smirking, “With this and our blueprints, we will- AAAAAAAAHHH!”
Suddenly Kris jumps out of your hiding place, with the three pieces of the key in hand.
“Blue Person jumpscare!!!” Lancer yells, pointing at the blue knight.
“I wasn’t scared!!!” Susie yells with a hitch in her voice.
“Can you fix this key?” Kris asks the smith, a pensive frown on his face.
“That KEY is seething with energy! You must let me fix it! Huh-hah! Let's feel my technique!” He starts hammering away at that mysterious key.
Ralsei uses this opportunity to come out of the hiding spot as well, expression matching Kris’s. (“What’s up with this key? Why does Kris want it fixed so badly?”)
“HEY!” Susie exclaims. “We were here FIRST, so SCRAM!”
“Yeah, we were here first!” Lancer follows in a huff. “This is a bad guys only area, clowns!”
Ignoring the dragon’s and spade’s protests, Kris picks up the now fixed key, staring at it with an unreadable expression.
Malius stares down at it, wincing. “….Hmm, this KEY has a terrible energy coming from it… Please understand that I only fixed it… So that you will never have to use it.”
You continue looking at the key and the strange aura it emanates. For some reason, it makes you feel cold. Yet, you can’t stop staring at it.
Susie and Lancer pick up their blueprint and leave, leaving only you and Ralsei. The latter with a sad, thoughtful expression on his face, looking at the key in your hand.
Wherever that will lead, it won’t be a happy tale.
Notes:
(Sorry for the longer wait. College classes started, so that might bring slower uploads. I thank everyone for all the support during all this waiting. It really helps! Any questions you want to ask, or simply something you want to point out, you are free to comment! Rest assured, I read all of them!)
Chapter 10: Chapter 1 - Part 9: Thrash Machine
Summary:
You build an absolute masterpiece. That’s it. That’s the part.
Notes:
Sorry for the long wait. Life sometimes is just unpredictable. Thankfully, we are back at your service. Thanks for sticking around during these droughts.
(Thanks for all the support! I can't believe we reached over 100 kudos! That's amazing! I hope support continues as strong as the many parts to come! Your support always makes my day!)
Chapter Text
“First should be a spade, then a heart here…” You shake your head, messing with a puzzle. “No, first a diamond... or should it be a heart?” The puzzle resets, and your face falls. “Crap…”
After fixing the mysterious key at the remote bake sale, you bought a Choco Diamond and Hearts Donut from the local Ruddin and Hathy vendors. Using the same money you had gotten from other Ruddins and Hathys, you were able to replenish your inventory.
Recycling!
Well-equipped and with soaring confidence, you continued through the Scarlet Forest, its blocky foliage began covering the still visible sky bit by bit, leaves piling up on the ground. The deepening forest grew more overbearing, and with it, so did its lethal traps.
Not content with just the deadly jump rope, this time the dastardly King employed star-shaped birds to stop you!
With their long and feathery wings, they shot up from the bushes. Flying overhead, bullets rained at you and Ralsei.
You dodged, weaved and ducked around them as they destroyed the surrounding vegetation and nature. Eventually, however, the foliage became too thick, and they let you go.
Seems like nature has won you this encounter.
(Outside of a singular walking star, that is. But you felt such an irrelevant aura coming from it, you let it go. It will probably never be mentioned again.)
Leading us back to the present, with you and your partner- the dark prince Ralsei- trying to solve a vandalized puzzle. Spikes are blocking the track ahead, and you can’t find another path.
Solving it is the only way forward.
Normally all you have to do is follow the instructions, matching the pictures below with the above. Diamonds with diamonds, hearts with hearts, spades with spades, and so on… But thanks to a dastardly fiend named Rouxls Kaard, the pictures below are damaged beyond recognition.
You don’t even know if any of the pictures are repeated.
You already gave up on trying to decipher the pictures through the vandalism and solve it the normal way, taking to hacking away at simply trying to input every possible combination. This was easier said than done, however, leaving you stuck here for around half an hour now.
“Who knew there were so many possibilities? Ha… ha… We’re really unlucky.” You let out a nervous chuckle, as you look to the side. “But I am sure that we are bound to find the right one next time!”
You send a confident thumbs-up to your partner, who replies in kind.
Of course, that’s him on the outside. With each minute that passed, Ralsei got more and more restless. Tip toeing in place.
He didn’t seriously expect you to try every single combination. Nor did he expect you’d try every combination of singles except one.
But at the 255th attempt, he couldn’t handle it anymore.
“Uh, Kris, maybe you should try ‘Diamond, Heart, Clubs and Spade’, maybe that’ll work?” Ralsei suggests, trying not to sound forceful.
Expectant eyes fixed on you through his little glasses, he contains his impulse to push you aside and just do it himself.
You input that order and, sure enough, the spikes ahead retract to the ground.
“Wow!” You look at Ralsei with starry eyes. “Ralsei, how did you figure out the right order?”
“Tee-hee…” Ralsei averts his gaze. “I just had a hunch!”
Unbeknownst to the both of you, that last combination was literally the only one left to input.
*
Thoroughly impressed by Ralsei’s powers of deduction, the Lancer Fun Squad, minus Susie and currently Lancerless, march on to the next location.
It’s a large clearing, walled at the sides by the dense tree line, containing the biggest bush you’ve seen since you entered the forest. It almost stretches the entire length of the clearing. You think of hiding inside it but are quick to change your mind at the thought of the many bugs that could be lurking within.
Besides, something else caught your attention in this place.
Right in the middle of it, you can see some very familiar blueprints. The same blueprints you saw a certain purple dragon holding back at the bake sale.
Yet, that isn’t what caught your attention.
What did was the round, blue boy, with a spade-shaped head. He reminded you of a particular spade prince, who he bears an all too vague and distant resemblance to. Any unlikely relation was impossible, however. This spade boy has a handsome, dashing mustache. Lancer doesn’t have a mustache.
This mysterious boy is standing right in front of the blueprints, looking like he is trying to cry, it’s evident he is failing miserably…
At crying.
“Oh, woe! Woe is me...! Rows and rows of woes and woes! If only a hero would help…” Lancer’s twin says, voice carrying the sweet melody of a strangled hyena.
“Little boy, are you ok?” You crouch down to his height. He looks back at you. “Don't worry, two heroes are here for the rescue!” You hold your sword sky-high, a glint reflecting off the blade star bright.
“Oh, heroes, exactly who I need for my evil trap!” The twin Lancer bounces, looking super happy. “I'm just a sweet, evil trap-making, little boy!”
“Why does a sweet little boy have a mustache? And make evil traps?” Ralsei says, eyes half-lid, disbelief shines on them, making him look tired.
“As a disguise. To trick you guys!” The mustachioed boy laughs, his laughter echoing through the clearing.
Even the nearby bush imitates him, also carrying the melodic beauty of a strangled hyena.
Worry takes over your expression. “Is someone dying in there?! Is everything okay?!”
“SCREW YOU!” The bush yells, fidgeting like a living person is inside it. “It’s a laugh!!!”
“Sorry Ms.Bush!” You bow towards it.
Ralsei holds back his urge to facepalm. “...so, what kind of help do you need?”
Pointing at the blueprints in front of him, the boy-with-a-mustache twirls the tip of his facial hair with his other hand. “See, I have this EVIL PLAN that I need to make…”
Ralsei rolls his eyes. “...and why does a "sweet boy" need an evil plan?”
You start to snicker, holding a hand over your mouth.
Why wouldn’t a sweet boy need an evil plan?! Let people enjoy things, Ralsei!
Both not-Lancer and Ralsei look at you weirdly.
Your snickering turns into coughing, with you shutting up in a heartbeat to avoid further embarrassment.
“To impress his cool friend Susie!!!” not-Lancer jumps up and down, with a happiness never seen before.
Friendship is a powerful drug, isn’t it?
“…” You turn your head to face Ralsei with a warm look.
“…” He looks back at you with accepting eyes. You’re both thinking the same thing.
Well, if it's for friendship…
Clearing his throat and holding his hands in front of him, Ralsei says with a smile on his face. “Well then, we'll gladly help!” He looks around the clearing, trying to pinpoint where they should begin, “What shall we do?”
Lancer does a flip from the sheer excitement, bouncing off the ground, pointing at the mysterious blueprints, “It's all on the paper, you delicious little apple and blueberry combo with a cherry on top!”
You look nervous, side-eyeing as a blush covers your face.
Wow, uh, that’s a very, uh, interesting, description…
“Not tasty.”
I wasn’t thinking of it that way, but… yeah-
Your eyes widen, you look around. Nobody said anything.
Am I going crazy?
“I know you are feeling intimidated, but the evil has just begun!” Not-Lancer’s voice brings you back to the world of the living. “Don’t be afraid of this cheap paper I stole from dad last week!
“Just fill it with the most evil thing you can imagine!” The mustachioed spade laughs his trademark laugh, the not actually evil, sounds like Santa Claus one, “Let the Clown-Generated-Content begin!”
You and Ralsei walk to the blueprints. The dark prince walks elegantly, hands behind back, head held high, with an air of trained class.
You, on the other hand… skip along, your steps eating each other. It’s unrefined, and you look like you are going to trip and fall on your butt. The classic dork walk.
Surprisingly, you arrive first.
“’Create a machine to Thrash your own ass!” Ralsei reads it out-loud. “Presented by Lancer Industries©’” He looks at Lancer, stars of wonder shining through his lenses. “You own an industry?!”
“No, I made it up right now.”
Ralsei's expression drops harder than a rock. “Oh.”
You shake your head at that exchange. Your golden eyes stare at the blue of the blueprints. At the top it reads: “Thrash Machine”. The rest of the pages seem to be scribbles, but you can recognize an area to draw your own robot based on pre-selected options.
A smirk erupts on your face, and slowly widens into a grin that reaches your eyes.
Oh, so they want me to make my own doll? This is going to be super fun!!!
“Duck feet? Nah, it can’t hold much, and they make too much noise! Do you see how much ducks squeak? That clearly shows that they can’t handle a war, they would easily be detected and then shot to death. It’s ugly, loud, and bad.”
You draw on the blueprint, eyes gleaming with barely contained mirth. Your hand moves through the blueprint, drawing away with the grace of a painter. You have a goal you must complete.
A small bead of sweat drips off Ralsei’s fur, “...what does that have to do with building a machine?”
“Everything, my fluffy friend, everything.” You briefly look at him before returning to the drawing board.
You look at the pair of wheels with disgust, and you draw over them with black marker. Then you draw a big X over the threads, your face frowny.
Only beginners use those.
“...should we not worry about that? This will be used against us…,” Ralsei holds his shadowed head in his hands, wanting to bury himself into the ground.
“Ralsei. My friend.” You look at the dark prince, something in your eyes causes him to gulp. “Heroes never do a half-baked job. I was taught by someone special to ALWAYS go at one hundred percent. AT FULL POWER!!!!”
You start to laugh maniacally, fire burning in your eyes… and your whole body. Lancer steps back in fear of being burned. “It needs PASSION! SOUL!!! And that’s why we have to use those red sneakers!!!! It’s the color of LOVE!!! NGA-ACK!”
You choke on your own saliva, coughing. You continue to cough. Your throat ends up dry and coarse.
Holding up his hand, with a defensive lilt to his voice, Ralsei replies, “Alright, Kris, you know what you are doing.”
You take a deep breath, offering a shy little smile to the prince. “I got a little too excited, haha…”
You shake your head, part of your hair blocks your view. You blow it away, as you go back to the drawing board… literally. “Now, for the body… the body of a duck, hmm… It kind of looks cute… but I don’t know if it fits with that color…”
You paint over the duck body several times. Blue, black, yellow. You go through the colors like a wheel.
“Is the, um, appearance really that important?” Ralsei asks, timid. “I don’t mean to intrude… but shouldn’t you be focusing on its combat abilities? It is a machine that is supposed to, er, ‘thrash your ass’...”
You stop what you are doing, tilting your head to stare at the prince. “You’re right!”
Ralsei looks shell-shocked. “I am?”
“Yeah!” You smile at him. “I’ve been too narrow-minded… I need to make something truly worthy of ‘trashing our ass’.”
Ralsei looks at the tank option with earnest eyes. “Then, I think you should pick the tank-”
“Which is why I am picking the wheel!!!” You show him the wheel with a toothy grin. “Wheels are made of rubber, right? So, it should really protect our cute machine!”
Ralsei freezes in place.
“Just gotta make it look lively…” You swipe your hand and give it a sweet purple color. “That looks super cute! Now for the bottom and…” You give the sneakers a sickly green color. “There we go! Do you like it, Ralsei?”
“I thought it was supposed to be the color of…” Ralsei stops himself, wincing for a moment like he got prodded at the ribs. “Um, I mean, it looks, er, it looks…” Ralsei sweats. “Good! It looks… good!”
“(But terrible for combat…)” He mutters that part to himself.
You move on to the head. A modern god of ancient times needs the perfect head to accompany it. Your eyes briefly dart over the options.
They turn crimson when they see the one shaped like a sword.
“Pick this one.”
You suddenly feel a weight fall over your arms. An intense feeling compelling you to choose the sword.
“Pick this one.”
It’s overbearing. You kneel over. You feel hot, sweat trickling. You pant on the ground.
“Cool sword. That’s the choice.”
Red light consumes golden. His body rises back up, his skin scalding. He moves his hand to the blueprints…
I am not choosing a stupid sword!
Your golden drowns the crimson, and with your pupils shining with power, you move your hand away from the sword. You end up choosing…
“A duck?!” Your voice comes out squeaky, high-pitched… “Pant… Pant… Yeah! That works! That head makes it look like a monster!!! It’s like we built our own monster, Ralsei!”
“We… did?” Ralsei has lost the plot.
“Yeah! It’s so cute! Look!” You fawn over your own creation. “It has such a friendly smile, and look at its happy eyes!!! It really communicates our goals. It shows who we really are! People looking for friendship and snacks!” You chuckle into your hand. “It’s like a part of ourselves!!!”.
“A part of ourselves, huh…?” Ralsei smiles and claps away in his cute manner. “I like that! You truly built something wonderful! Worthy of the greatest hero I know!”
You feel embarrassed, cheeks heating up. “I dunno if I would say I am the greatest-”
“HEY! You knew me too, asshole!” A purple dragon with a long mane bursts out of the bush, looking furious. She pushes you and Ralsei away from the blueprints.
Making you two fall into a pile of leaves.
That dragon is none other than Susie. “Heh, great heroes you are, being tricked by the bad guys into making... ehhh... making?” She crouches, squinting at the paper. “...what the hell is this?”
“Susie, Susie!” The mustachioed spade rips his mustache away. Somehow, in the same instant, he vanishes and Lancer returns. “Let me see what the clowns made!” He bounces away to the blueprints his purple friend is holding, gazing into...
A masterpiece.
“Wow!! Looks nasty!” Lancer says, looking at you collapsed on the leaf pile as he yells, “Are you sure you aren't evil!?”
Neither of you has the strength to answer that.
“Well, it looks fast at least, especially with that wheel right in the middle. It’s made of rubber too, so its defense is SUPER high.” Susie says.
A sigh of exasperation comes from the pile. It does not come from you.
“Heheh, NEVER do something someone else can do for you!” She high-fives Lancer, “Anyway, great job, Lancer! They were sitting ducks!”
“And they made a sitting duck, too! Funnyroo!” Jumping up and down, picking at the random sticks and garbage stuck in Susie’s mane, the spade looks at you and proudly boasts, “Hahaha, yes! And it's all thanks to our enemies! Thank you very much!!!”
They pick up your masterful design and start walking away, leaving you in the dust… made of leaves.
“Thrash-you-later!!”
“...Ralsei…” you call out to your partner, still recovering from Susie’s impact.
“...What… is it Kris…?” He replies, his voice weak.
“...I told you it was a masterpiece!”
“…”
Nothing in my vast vocabulary can describe the Darkner prince’s expression.
*
After around five minutes of groaning away in nature’s remains, Ralsei finally used his magic- his Heal Prayer spell- to restore both your strengths. You briefly wondered why he didn’t just do that immediately, but that thought got punted off your mind all too fast upon the realization that Susie and Lancer were long gone.
You had to chase them!
Plus, he probably just likes sleeping in foliage.
With light, and yet quick, steps, you continued moving through the forest. The vegetation grew denser, the scarlet leaves covering more and more of the dark sky, leaving scarce glimpses of it. Surprisingly, no more traps or enemies appeared to stop you.
Everything feels serene and peaceful. It’s quiet, but not boring.
I wonder when the machine we made will be ready… Susie and Lancer are building it, right? I wonder how they will even build something like that.
Red leaves fall from the trees, landing on the ground. It’s like rain. A rain of leaves. You don’t feel cold, and don’t feel warm, either.
I am sure they will manage it. They are a super duo! They seem to always know what the other wants to do!
It’s nothing special.
Ha… ha… she never acted like that with me or Ralsei…
That’s what you are feeling.
“In front of you.”
In your distraction, you were about to walk headfirst into a giant leaf.
Right before it hits you, Kris grabs it with his hand. He pushes it away.
But what’s behind it truly shocks you.
It's yet another large clearing, this time filled to the brim with enemies! from the diamonds, hearts, the puzzle pieces, there’s so many!
A smorgasbord of toys.
You feel yourself growing tense, on-guard. A red outline covers your body.
But nothing happens. None of them attack you.
They just look angry and moody. Murmuring among themselves, the room a sea of whispers.
“(Prince Lancer made friends with someone?? Real friends??? And with a Lightner?!)”
“(Man, I hate that kid, he is so annoying, of course he made friends with the beast.)”
“(Prince Lancer has always been a pain, now I’ve to deal with two of them!)”
“(Ugh, now I have to fan for TWO people, I hate my job…)”
“(I wish the King knew about this, but he would wreck me if I told him!)”
“(Isn’t taking care of this brat that stupid duke’s job? I think his name was… Rules? Ugh... I can’t understand a word that guy says.)”
Their words are harsh and mean.
“What…” You squeak out, face scrunched and eyes squinted. “What’s going on here?! Why aren't they fighting us?”
“Seems like they are on break.” Ralsei fixes his glasses. “Well, their ‘bosses’ at least.”
You tilt your head. “Bosses? What?”
“He’s talking about us!”
“Hoho! Us!”
Your head snaps in the direction of the two voices. One is gruff and feminine, while the other is boyish and young.
It’s Susie and Lancer. The two are laying down on beach chairs. They are being fanned by two Ruddins carrying two giant leaves.
“Hey, no fair!!!” You yell at them. “You two are being fanned?!”
Susie opens a single eye, a smug smile on her face. “Jealous, Kris?”
You cross your arms. “Very!”
“Hahaha!!! Then you are staying jealous!!!” Susie shuts that eye and starts pretending to be asleep.
“Well… I… um…” You grab Ralsei’s arm and pull him towards you. “Got a cute partner who praises what I do!”
In your grasp, Ralsei almost looks like a plushie… or a sack of potatoes.
Susie snorts. “Heh… that’s-”
“Really cool! I wish I had one too, Red Heart!” Lancer cuts Susie off, a huge smile on his face. “Despite all of my subjects, they really don’t like me! I hear them complaining all the time! They don’t think I hear it, but I do! That’s why someone like Toothpaste Boy would be the perfect subject!”
Lancer’s words immediately silence the rushed whispers. All of his troops turn away and pretend they were doing something else.
Your mouth hangs open a bit, but no sounds come out of it. No sound is coming from anywhere except the swing of the leaves.
…
“How's the thrash machine we designed going?” Ralsei breaks that silence, asking the spade prince.
“The WHAT machine?” Lancer responds like nothing happened.
And everyone else pretends nothing happened, too.
Sighing, Ralsei gives him his trademark frown of parental disapproval. “You two should REALLY start working on it sooner rather than later…”
Not even looking at your direction, Susie yawns while replying, “Oh, that. Yeah, some guys are making it for us up ahead.”
Without skipping a beat, Lancer follows up, “It’s like Susie said, never do something! Otherwise, others won’t do it for you.”
“Heh, not exactly what I said… but…” Susie chuckles. “That’s the spirit Lancer!”
You look at everyone conversing as normal.
Is everyone really going to pretend nothing happened?! Seriously?!
You open your mouth. Lancer, what do you mean everyone hates you?
That’s what you would say.
“So… if we get there first… before they finish it…” Is what Kris ends up saying.
Susie becomes more alert, she rises from her chair a little, “What are you thinking…”
Quietly chucking, the human replies, “You know what I am thinking, Susie.”
She rises even more, now completely alert, “Don’t you DARE…!”
The blue knight starts running towards the exit, “See ya around Susie, with OUR new machine!”
Susie gets up and, snarling, chases after him, “Not if I get there FIRST!”
After a moment of confusion, inter-looking, and traded expressions of disbelief, both Darkner and spade princes follow you, entering the forest maze.
It’s only as you are already on the move when you think.
I didn’t want to say that!
*
Broken branches, deep foliage, none of that compared to the angry purple dragon right behind you.
As you ran, you ended up inside a ferocious forest maze. It was filled with puzzling turns and dead-ends. You couldn’t look back, and so you ended face to face with a wall of trees, the path stopping and the forest taking hold.
Susie was right behind you, like a bull ready to ram you.
You couldn’t stand there, and yet, there was no path to take.
No conventional path, that is.
You crouch down, and with the strength of a panther, you jump several feet in the air. While in the air, you grip a vine. You swing on it, gaining speed. At the peak of its height you let go, the momentum launching you to the skies.
You flip in the air, and land in the ground with the grace of a ballerina. You smirk as you do it again.
Who said we had to follow the main path?!
“That’s cheating!!!” Susie tries to imitate you, but she only ends up falling face first on the floor. “Screw this, I will do it my way!!” She glows purple with magic, and her ax materializes in her hands.
She slashes it, and everything in front of her is blown away. Magic flies in the sky, as trees, traps, and even Lancer’s troops are flung away.
Lancer tries to catch up with her with his flaming bike, Ralsei taking a ride in the back of it, holding his hat against the wind.
“C’mon Susie, if this keeps up your ass is going to be thrashed!” Kris taunts Susie while jumping from one vine to another, landing on a tree branch.
Your eyes gain a white glow, as the phantom of a diamond hits your branch. You jump out of the way, just as the real diamond destroys it.
A nearby Ruddin fired it. “You’re not supposed to go off the path!!! Even if you are a Lightner-ACK”
Susie punches the Ruddin away, it flies off into the distant dark, vanishing like a star twinkling in the distance. Susie stomps on the ground with her feet, each stride a quake, “Don’t get so cocky Kris! You don’t want to mess with a pissed off Susie!”
The Ruddin lands back on the ground, making a crater. It slowly gets back up. “I am fine-”
“VROOM!!!” Lancer runs over the Ruddin.
“Lancer, um, you don’t mind all the destruction Susie’s causing to your kingdom, do you?” Ralsei stammers, as he looks back at the downed Ruddin with worried eyes.
Don’t worry, it’s alive.
“No, why would I? Susie is acting so cool! With all her booms and wooms!” The spade prince dodges another tree from Susie’s rampage.
A branch almost clocks Ralsei in the face, the prince ducking at the last second. “Nevermind then.”
You jump from a branch to a vine, gripping it hard. You swing on it, and let the momentum take you to higher ground.
The wind blows on your face, your hair being blown together with it, exposing your golden eyes. They shine with happiness, as a crazed smile decorates your face.
You are filled with adrenaline.
The action, the wind, Susie’s attacks… Everything feels so great! You can’t even remember why you were feeling so bad earlier! All your doubts, all your fears, are slipping away like water down the drain.
You start laughing, jumping from branches, to vines… you keep laughing, a real laugh.
You can’t remember the last time you felt this way!
From deep within your mind you almost feel an echo of your own feelings back at you. It’s faint, but the memory returns.
It’s back in the Underground. Running away from magic, be it spears or bones. That’s what it brings you back to. Those simple times you ran away with a smile.
Moving free in nature like this. Running away, but without fear, with a smile. It brings you peace. It’s almost like your past never happened. Almost like you’ve always been here.
Almost like you’re around… family.
But it doesn’t last forever. Nothing does.
The maze gets thinner and thinner, the trees get slimmer and slimmer. Less places to jump and move.
In the distance you see your Thrash Machine being built by a couple of puzzle pieces.
You jump down from the last tree branch and start making a run for it.
You stop right in front of it, the puzzle pieces running away from you. Your eyes squint at it…
And your face falls.
This looks really ugly…
“Oh no you DON’T!!!!” Susie’s voice comes right behind you like thunder. She snarls, and a wave of rude energy cuts through the air like a knife. It almost cuts you, but you were not its target.
It was the Thrash Machine.
BOOM, CRASH!
You hold your arms in front of your face, trying to shield yourself from the gigantic blast. Pieces of the Thrash Machine falling everywhere, at the trees, ground, leaf piles.
It’s completely destroyed.
Its duck head falls right in front of you. A tear runs down its cheek. You crouch down and pet it. “It was better to die as a pretty concept than live as an ugly creation…”
You stand back up, turning around and facing Susie with a glare.
“Huff.. Ha… Puff Ha…” The purple dragon is panting from that attack. “Well… turns out we don’t need a plan. Just a rule.”
Lancer and Ralsei catch up to the two of you. Ralsei runs over to your side, his hands glowing with magic.
Lancer wheels towards Susie, the fire in his bike increases, blazing. Susie looks at Lancer with a knowing look.
You prepare your own sword, cape flowing in the wind. Eyes shining gold as crimson leaves float away.
With complete understanding, Lancer continues, preparing his spade magic, “Anyone that gets in our way…”
Picking up her ax, Susie smirks, “Gets crushed into dust”.
Holding his hands in the air, Ralsei attempts diplomacy, “But Susie, you need us to return home.” He points at your SOUL. At you. “Doesn't crushing us seem a little counterproductive?”
Susie’s mane flows in the wind, and for a brief moment, you can see her yellow eyes, “Nah, see, that's where you're wrong.” She wags her finger in a no-no gesture, “Ya see, I KNOW I can't get back without you guys. But being a – heh-” She snorts, a real snort from Susie of all people “-‘good guy’ REALLY isn't my style.”
With her hand on her chin, she continues her explanation, “So, I thought of a little way we can just... settle this.” She brings her ax in a battle ready position, holding it in front of her.
Lancer’s bike starts, a blue aura coming out of him.
Despite Ralsei’s insistence for diplomacy, he naturally prepares himself as well, glowing green with his magic.
“If you can beat me, I'll go back to being a good guy.” She sports her classic shark-like grin, the same one you saw all the way back in the school’s hallway, “But if you LOSE…” She laughs, “YOU guys will have to become bad guys with US…”
A leaf falls in front of Susie, who crushes it with her hands. “... and do WHATEVER we say.”
“Ho ho ho!!! Our wish is your command!!!” Lancer laughs, his tongue out for show.
“So, whaddya say...?” She asks you.
You share her smile, but you shake your head.
Sorry Susie, but I didn’t come this far to just give up!
Your smirk becomes meaner.
I will just have to make you a Good Guy, too!
Is what you want to say.
“Don’t.”
Your body differs.
“Let’s n-” Kris tries saying, but Susie cuts him off.
“Eh, don't bother answering.” She dismisses you with her hand, and smirking she continues, “We were just gonna thrash you anyway, so…”
Ralsei’s spell finishes, his body glows with magic, robe flowing with the wind.
Lancer readies his bike.
Susie holds her ax with magic, preparing to cut her prey in half.
Yet, it’s your guard that falters. Blinking in confusion, you take a step back.
I didn’t want to say that!
Susie rushes towards you, preying on that weakness.
“See ya around, Kris!”
Chapter 11: Chapter 1 - Part 10: Vs Lancer
Summary:
This is it! The final fight against the spade boy! Do your best and win!
Chapter Text
“See ya around, Kris!”
Susie’s words spread around like pollen in the wind, sticking to everyone. They hang in the air for just a moment, before disappearing.
With a grace uncommon for a brute like her, she jumps on top of Lancer’s head. Lancer’s body deforms, Susie’s weight pressing on top of him. But, like a squeaky toy, he springs back to normal with a resounding splork.
“This bike is fueled by EVIL!…” Lancer revs up his bike, the exhaust spurting billows of blaze.
(He’s just pedaling really fast)
“..and friendship!”
Like a bullet, the duo shoots towards you, riding in to trample you into roadkill.
The border of your eyes glow white, and you see a phantom bike run you over, turning you into blue paste. As the real one is about to end your dreams, you jump to the left and it speeds by.
You let out a sigh of relief.
Which stops as they suddenly and rudely redirect their momentum to change direction.
Susie’s yellow teeth glint as their target gets into view.
Ralsei.
You feel a chill run down your soul. Your “phantom” vision has limits and couldn’t see that far ahead. You move out, trying to make it in time to protect the prince with your shield.
They are smarter than you gave them credit for.
A glare shines through Ralsei’s glasses, he jumps right before impact, and they dart past him. He’s also smarter than you thought.
Need to be more alert! This is a real fight!
They swerve and hit a tree with a kaboom! A large cloud of smoke covers the base of the tree.
Although… I really hope they didn’t get hurt by that.
The bike bounces off the tree and back towards you, Lancer and Susie both unharmed.
You don’t know if you feel angry or happy.
“Did you really think we were falling for that trick AGAIN?!” Susie says while coming from the smoke.
“Hoho, Susie taught my bike many tricks! Prepare for smashing, my luxurious melons!” Lancer snaps his fingers, and dozens of spades manifest in the air.
Just like the time you met, Lancer circles around you and Ralsei, getting faster and faster. The spades encircling you and your party member.
With a snap of his fingers, he launches them like rockets. They are sharp, if they hit you, you will be torn apart.
Their sight makes you smirk, confidence oozing from your golden orbs. “And did you really think we would fall for this?”
You draw your sword, light as a pencil. With one movement, you swing it. Again, and again. Carried by an instinct that doesn’t belong to you, you continue swinging.
Kris stops, and one spade is halved. And another. Three. Four. Five. Until all disappear into magical dust.
Ralsei glows with magic, launching enemy pellets at a new set of spades. They clash, resulting in smokey blasts.
The cloud of smoke penetrates the air. A fog, thick as the night. You can’t see anything in your surroundings.
“Susie, NOW!” A boyish voice booms through the smoke, and then laughter spreads around you. Dancing in your ears.
Sweat runs down your face, as you look around.
Suddenly a storm of axes comes from the smoke. Big. Fast. Sharp. Your eyes widen, as they all fly towards you. There’s no time for you to put up your shield.
You close your eyes and grit your teeth, bracing for the pain of dilaceration.
That never comes. “Huh?” You open your eyes to the sight of axes swerving away just as they are about to hit you.
You look dumbfounded. “Huh?! Why are they all…” You move your hand in front of you. The axes seem to have a mind of their own, continuing to swerve away before impact, even as you get closer.
“Kris, that’s a distraction!” Ralsei tries to move closer to you, but unlike with you, the axes don’t swerve away from him, forcing him to dodge. “Susie’s going to strike you!”
Your hair stands on end. You pivot, fear seizing your soul. A purple blur flies at you, hands covered in a violent violet aura. Yellow teeth glistening.
Susie used Lancer as a spring, catapulting herself into a sonic boom.
Drats! I need to block that! But if I do it, I will be-
You’re surrounded by axes. If you move away, your body will turn into swiss cheese.
“She trapped you.”
Susie punches Kris’ chest, right where the red heart is. With magic, she hits it directly. Your SOUL.
You.
Susie angles her punch upwards and it pushes you off your feet and a few inches into the air.
You reel from the impact of the magic. Your feet touch the ground again but your legs buckle and kneel over. A cold pain floods through you, your vision blurs. You feel the wind has been knocked out of you.
Ralsei suddenly stops. He drops to one knee from the damage. His face contorted in pain.
You look at him with your blurry vision, even through the pain. Your worry is stronger than it.
Ral… Ralsei! He is… but how?! I was the one who…
You clutch your chest. You cough.
“Susie, Susie! Did you see that?” You can hear Lancer’s voice. You can hear footsteps. “Both blue person and peachboy fell over when you struck the red heart!”
“Hahaha…”, The smoke clears, your vision settles, Susie and Lancer become clear. They tower over your kneeling form, “That really is a human’s weak spot! I knew it!!!” Susie looks down at the downed prince. “And it affected that dumb nerd, too! That’s amazing!!!”
“Wh… What?” You can’t hide your confusion. “My SOUL is a… weak spot?”
That doesn’t make sense! That’s me! A human’s soul is supposed to be strong!
“I remember Alphys talked about it in one of her classes.” Susie looks as if she’s struggling to bring forth the memory. “About how… the soul was a culmination of someone’s being or whatever.”
“And dad told me to explicitly ‘target that Lightner’s SOUL!’!” Lancer follows up. “Although he said it in a way meaner way than that.”
Something pierces through your mind. You don’t know if it was Susie’s explanation or Lancer’s recounting. Nevertheless, something like a needle penetrates through your brain fog.
Wait… I… I… I remember this! I know this!
“Yeah, so, I thought: ‘Why not focus on attacking that soul, then? What’s the worst that could happen?’ Because, well, we were never going to beat you two together.” Susie’s grin becomes shark-like. “And my gamble worked wonderfully!”
You look at Ralsei, the dark prince’s hands glow green. He is healing himself while Susie is distracted.
Ralsei told me! He told me before my first fight! How did I forget?!
A self-loathing anger manifests around you, crushing.
You spent all that time preparing, only to forget the basics. Ironic.
Kris gets up, even though his limbs ache. “Do you really think knowing that will give you the win?” His blood-red eyes burn holes into the dragon.
“Heh, it wouldn’t be fun if it was too easy!” With a flip Susie jumps back on top of Lancer, splorking along.
You gulp as you take your battle stance. Ralsei straightens back to his feet and covers you, standing with Kris, back-to-back.
Despite your injuries and heavy breathing, your guilt surpasses and suppresses your pain.
“Ralsei… I’m sorry.” You start, the words leaking out of you. “I completely forgot that my SOUL was a weak point! I let you get hurt! I-”
You feel a warmth covering your SOUL. Green magic heals your wounds, as if they never ached.
Ralsei’s hands stop glowing. “Don’t blame yourself! Everyone has moments of weakness! It’s just that Susie is really smart, too!” He looks down. “It’s just a shame she’s using it for evil…”
Ralsei’s words lift a weight from your heart. Dust rises into the air as Lancer continues circling you. From the corner of your eye, you see something white sticking on his head.
The ribbon.
Are they really using it for evil… or is that just what they’re telling themselves?
You hold your sword a bit tighter. “They know our weakness, huh?” You smirk. “Well, I think I just found theirs!” You look back at Ralsei. “Just follow my lead!”
“Hey, Lancer!” You yell to attract their attention. It works.
You draw your sword.
“How about we stop fighting and just be friends! Lancer, remember your friendship list? Wouldn't it be better if you had three friends with you instead of just Susie?”
Your words make Lancer’s bike get a little bit slower.
If my weak spot is FIGHTing, yours is ACTing!
“Oh!!! Susie! What if blue person is right?” Susie scoffs at Lancer’s words. The spade continues. “Isn’t three better than one?”
“No, dude, they are trying to TRICK you, they can help us as BAD GUYS instead!” Susie launches more axes, her attack speed matching the speed of the bike in synergy.
You jump over one of them. As you land, you roll to the side to avoid your head being cut off by another. Then you bring your shield to block one, diverting its trajectory as it deflects off it, causing it to fly over your head.
Their slow speed makes dodging far easier.
“Plus remember when we worked together to defeat K.Round!” You jump left and right to dodge the axes. “It was thanks to your help I got to defeat it! Wasn’t it fun to actually be a team? To work together towards a common goal?”
Lancer’s bike gets even slower, but to compensate Susie’s attacks now get faster than ever, hair and arm becoming a blur due to how fast she is swinging.
Almost there…
“Lancer don’t LISTEN to him! It was ME who defeated that round red guy thingy!” Veins are popping in Susie’s forehead…
Well, they would be if she actually had them.
“Um… No Susie, I am pretty sure blue person dealt the final blow there. I know because I was there!” Lancer fully stops his bike.
Ceasing her attacks and jumping down from Lancer to the ground with a quake, Susie replies dumbfounded, “Dude, who CARES? They are still our enemy, both Kris and…” she looks around, scratching her mane, “...wait, where’s Ralsei?”
A melody echoes through the forest. A melody coming from right behind Susie. Soft, sweet. A melody you know. The same one you heard played back on the checkerboard.
Ralsei walks from behind Susie, playing his ocarina.
The soundwaves fly through the air, Susie’s shoulders slump over, “Hey, that’s cheating…” Falling asleep, kneeling over, snoring loudly.
Your mouth hangs open.
Well I told him to ‘follow my lead’, I thought he was going to follow by saying something, not… this!
“Go for it, Kris! Deliver the final blow…” Ralsei lets out a small chuckle. “Of kindness!”
You shake your head. Focusing.
Finish this!
You turn back to Lancer, walking towards him. “And remember when we teamed up back in the field’s maze? The, um… truce trucies, as you called it. We immediately treated you like a teammate, even though you were still our enemy. You want to know why?”
Lancer tilts his head. “Because we had a truce?”
You crouch down to his eye-level. “No, it’s because, even though you saw us as your enemy…” You look at him with warmth in your eyes. Emulating the same stare you received from Toriel so long ago. “I only saw you as my potential friend.”
You touch his ribbon, playing with it in your hands. “I gave you that ribbon, the one you are still wearing, because I believed in that potential. And, well…” you smile a sweet smile at him, holding your arms to the side, “I think you can realize it, now.”
The spade boy darts his hands to the ribbon, holding its soft texture in his hands, “...It wasn’t reverse foreshadowing… It was actually... FORESHADOWING, GASP!” Lancer yells, the “gasp” included.
His voice awakens Susie from her sleep with a startle. “What the? Who-” A frantic look of worry plays in her eyes as she looks around.
She sees the spade and rushes to him.
“Lancer, what happened, are you ok?! Did they do something to you?” Susie holds up her ax in front of Lancer, trying to protect him.
Lancer pouts. “I accidentally started liking the enemies...!” A soft smile decorates his face, directed towards you and Ralsei, “Now seeing them just makes me feel round and soft. Bad atmosphere for battle, though.”
“…”, Susie drops her stance, ax disappearing in a cloud of magic, “Well, if you don't wanna fight, there's no point, I guess. Battle's over!”
Holding her arms defensively, Susie tries to argue for herself, “Well, you didn't BEAT US, because you, uh… Kinda cheated by, uh, ganging up on Lancer, with, uh…”
Lancer smiles. “Kindness.”
If that isn't everyone’s real weak spot.
You stare at her with half-lid eyes. “You are just mad I outsmarted your outsmarting!”
Susie grumbles, but she doesn’t snap back at you. “But if I HAVE TO, I guess I'll go back to your side.” She says to the air. She quickly points at both of you, “But DON'T expect me to do anything but FIGHT.”
Susie walks towards the party, her rough steps in the soft earth of the forest.
“Well, Susie, we’re happy to have you back.” Ralsei says, looking relieved.
“Yeah, Susie! I am so happy to have you back, I missed you so much!” You move to hug her, but she dodges at the last second. “Like, you know that machine that you destroyed twenty minutes ago?”
The smoldering pieces were still there on the ground.
“I was the one who designed it! Did you see how much PASSION and SOUL we put into it?”
Susie blinks. “Um, dude, I was THERE. That machine was MY plan.”
“Oh yeah.” You make a face, letting your tongue out. “Whoopsies”
Susie looks at you, and then deeply sighs. “Yeah, yeah, let's just hurry up and go home.”
She barely joined your party and she already is done with you. Must be a new record.
“…” Lancer looks downcast, and with his voice quiet, he reaches out, “Ummm... Susie?” She turns to face him, “Does this mean we... aren't a team anymore?”
“H... huh...? Umm, I mean, uhh…” She stammers, she walks forward, reaching out to Lancer, “You can, um…” as if a lightbulb is turned on her head, she points towards you and Ralsei, “...be part of the Lancer Fun Squad!” She snickers, “I mean… you are already even in the name!”
As if the clouds inside Lancer’s mind have cleared, the spade replies with a big goofy grin, “Wow! Me...!? In the Lancer Fun Squad!? Wait… If I hang out with the good guys, then...” he looks at Susie expectantly, “Can we still have monogrammed track jackets?”
Asking the important questions here, Lancer.
“Yeah!” Susie smirks, but this time, there’s no malice. “Ralsei will make them!”
“Yep,” Kris says, “Ralsei is a master in his craft, trust me.”
“H... Huh!?” Ralsei looks towards the three people, all with the same goal. Of having drip, “...Okay, sure!”
With a deep, eloquent voice, Lancer verbalizes his conscience of partnership towards you three lifeforms, his voice singing the chant of kings, “Ahahah!!! Lancer joins the team!!!”
Only when everyone else is gone is when you realize it.
Why did I push the responsibility onto Ralsei?
But with nobody to confess your worries to, you move ahead.
*
The forest continues, crimson covering as far as the eye can see. The soft breeze blows, refreshing your skin on contact. Your purple and blue cape flows through the air, the scarlet leaves falling from the trees, the air filled with the smell of earth…
And friendship, too.
You take the lead, walking at the front, your quick and excited steps setting the pace.
Ralsei’s right behind you, his hands in his robes, walking with royal elegance.
Susie’s third, slouched and rude, not caring about proper manners.
And your newest member, Lancer, at the back. The one who has finally found friends. Looking the happiest he has ever been.
Your party, bigger than ever, walks through the forest. Yet, despite this, the forest is serene as always.
“Wow, this is cool!!! I've never been on such a big team before!!!” Lancer says, voice somehow not disturbing the quiet peace established.
“That’s right… despite your, um, various guys, none of them are your friends, are they?” The darkner prince asks the spade boy, keeping his regal composure.
You look down. Despite Ralsei’s kind words, the atmosphere becomes a little heavier.
“Those guys were jerks. They kept looking at me weirdly and murmuring some crap.” Susie answers for Lancer.
“Yeah, Susie is right. They only follow me because my dad forced them to.” Lancer says, but you don’t need to hear it from him. You heard the same from their own mouths, “So they don't actually like me very much.”
Indignation fills your SOUL, anger returning from before, now with no distractions in your mind.
Looking at Lancer with resolve, you say, voice quiet but firm, “Forget those jerks, you don’t need them.” You smirk, looking at the ribbon still on his head, “You got us, don’t you?”
“Aye aye, captain!”
“We can be way better servants than them, Lancer!” Ralsei pulls out a book. “In fact, I already started to study on how to be the best servant ever!”
He holds it over to you. “Want to learn as well, Kris?”
You gently push it away. “I would rather… stay friends for now.”
“Pssht, ha… ha ha!” Susie tries to contain her laughter, but it bursts out of her. “You guys are way too stupid and silly!”
Lancer joins her laughter. Then you. Then Ralsei. The entire party laughs.
You don’t know if you’re laughing with her or if she’s laughing at you.
Still, you’re happy.
*
The laughs quieted down, and soon, the silence of the forest replaced it. The forest seemed to thin out, yet the wind was still the only thing you could hear as you marched on.
Your steps were slightly slower, bringing down the pace of the group. As the de facto leader, you were the one who held the fate of your party.
And that’s exactly why you were walking slower.
Why am I saying stuff… that I don’t want to say?
Your self-doubt creeps in like a weed. Your mind goes back to the times words that weren’t yours came out from your mouth.
Why am I hearing voices in my head? Voices other than my own?
You still hadn’t pieced it together. The unusualities. The weird happenings.
Am I going insane?
Despite it being so obvious.
No. That can’t be. It happened when… that thing forced me into this body. Could it be-
Your stomach rumbles. Everyone looks at you. You blush, looking down.
“Guess I am still hungry, huh? Even with all the salsa I ate.” Kris replies, patting his stomach.
Your eyes widen.
It happened again!
“Ugh, I know, right?” Susie says exasperated, “It's like nothing I eat here matters.” She whines to herself, “Couldn’t even pull off my scheme to scam you guys…”
“Um… what?” Ralsei says, looking at Susie with a bewildered expression
“NOTHING, nothing at all. Nothing involving STEALING chocolate from you guys.” Susie blushes. “You heard NOTHING!”
Looking thoughtful, and ignoring Susie’s outburst. “...I WAS thinking of baking a cake later.” Ralsei replies, wind blowing at his hat. It doesn’t fall off, however.
“Mmmmm…” Susie’s eyes narrow. “...what's the catch?”
Ralsei stops walking. “...you have to stop making fun of me, for one.”
“PASS!!!” Both Susie and Lancer laugh at the poor prince, the fluffball looking at them dumbfounded.
You snicker into your hand, a cute giggle coming out of your lips.
Ralsei glares at you, looking done.
Your snickering turns into a coughing fit, as if you choked on something, capturing everyone’s attention.
“Sorry, reflux.” Kris says, faking a burp. “From the salsa.”
His words work, and they stop looking at you. Everyone continues ahead.
You stop.
Again! I must be crazy!
With a shrug, you move forward.
But if it helps me out, I guess I don’t mind being crazy.
*
The trees pass as you walk, the forest growing thinner and thinner as your party proceeds. The air grows lighter, you feel your own emotions reflected in it. The tempo of the party is steady.
Lancer lags behind, looking at one of the trees with a thoughtful expression.
“Look, Susie!” The spade boy yells, pointing at a tree you saw plenty of times in the field. “A candy tree!”
Both Susie and Kris stop, turning around. Ralsei almost hits the blue knight, but catches himself in time.
Susie smirks, showing her teeth, “Hell yeah!” She runs towards the tree, Lancer following her.
You take a step forward, but stop. You want to follow them, but…
I think… it’s better to give Susie and Lancer their space.
You control yourself, just smiling at their friendship.
Susie bends her knees and jumps high… and fails to reach the candy. She keeps trying, but no matter what she does she cannot reach the top of the tree, “...damn, the last piece's too high to reach.”
Lancer smiles, letting his tongue out, “Worry not, Susie! I have a Special Transformation for times like this!”
Susie blinks. “R-really!?”
“Watch and learn, Team!!” He closes his eyes, controls his breathing, and straightens his back.
Everyone watches him expectantly, from Ralsei, to you, to Susie. It’s like the world, and time itself, has stopped. The world revolves around Lancer.
He glows white, bright light emanating from within. He’s like a sun in a world covered by darkness.
The wind blows harder, as if responding from his immense power. It blows at your cape and hair. Susie’s mane flows. Ralsei holds onto his hat.
You put your hand in front of your eyes to shield it from the light, its restless pressure threatening to blow you away.
And just as fast it comes it goes away, revealing…
Lancer, on all fours, positioned like a bench.
“Look! Stool Forme!”
Masterful.
Ralsei stares at Lancer, dumbfounded. He blinks, and then wipes his eyes. Nothing happens. “...all you did was put your hands on the ground.”
He is jealous of such powerful form, and suave moves.
“Hey, don't act so jealous.” Susie says while jumping on top of Lancer. You can almost hear a… wait for it… splork.
“I… um…” You look bashful. “Thought that was a little excessive…”
“You just don’t GET it…” Susie grumbles, while spinning her finger around her ear. You don’t know what that means.
Ralsei just sighs. “Thank you…”
“You’re heartless.”
The voice sounds judgmental, but you shrug.
The world isn’t ready for the ultimate transformation.
“Heheh, got it.” Susie holds the candy sky-high.
Kris' mouth salivates.
But before anyone can do anything, Lancer yells, a voice of admiration, “Ooo, tell me what it tastes like!”
“Huh?” Susie's eyes widen. “You haven't had it before?”
That doesn’t make sense, we saw plenty across the-
You remember Lancer’s signs. How he told you to not take any.
Was he projecting onto us?
“Oh... I mean, I've always wondered what it's like…” He looks downcast, “But I'm not allowed to pick it for myself…”
You feel something burning within yourself. A feeling of indignation, perhaps? No, it isn’t that simple, is it? It never is.
Your mind goes back to your past, to times before the abyss, times before even the Underground. At times you don’t know if they are real, or fake.
The feeling of having to search for your own food. The feeling of not having a roof over your head. The feeling of always searching for a home, but never finding it.
This is the feeling that returns to you when you listen to his words. Feelings where you can’t properly separate reality and fiction in your fragmented mind.
It “returns” but, in a way, it never left you. Even when you had the roof of the Underground above you. Even when Toriel, when the monsters, gave you their food. Even when she gave you a home, it never left you.
It never does. Not for creatures like us. Nothing will ever be enough. Nothing will fit in your heart. Ever searching, but never finding an ending.
That’s how it is.
“…”
Susie doesn't move. You don’t know anything about her, but at this moment, you are sure she knows that same feeling.
She lets out a sigh. She looks back at the candy, then at Lancer, “Well, you tell me what it tastes like.” With a hurried gesture, Susie gives the candy to Lancer.
There are stars in Lancer’s eyes. “You're giving it to me...?” Lancer moves to eat the candy with great eagerness, but stops at the last second, looking at Susie, “I thought you were hungry.”
Susie looks away, scratching her mane. “...I, uh, changed my mind.”
“Awwwwwww.” Both you and Ralsei speak at the same time.
Susie blushes and crosses her arms in anger, even pouting. “SHUT UP!”
Trying to change the subject, she focuses on Lancer. The spade boy has already devoured the candy, “...so what's it taste like?”
“Yumn yumn yumn!” It’s a good thing the food is turned into energy, otherwise he would’ve made a mess. “It tastes like friendship!”
“What's THAT taste like???”
“Hahaha!! Like my teeth are disintegrating!!”
Everyone laughs.
Ralsei with his soft and tender laugh of a teddy bear.
Lancer with his Santa Claus laugh.
You with your cute and soft giggling that sometimes sounds like a cat coughing.
Susie with her deep, loud guffaw.
Wiping tears from her eyes, Susie's expression changes to bemusedly horrified, “Haha, that's… actually... bad.”
Still looking just as happy as before, Lancer says, “Haha, yeah! But thank you for sharing! You're a good friend!!!”
Susie feels as if she’s been struck by an arrow. “Well, uh...you too, I guess.”
The feeling of belonging might be ever-searching… but at least you think Susie found the right path to walk on.
*
The forest grows thinner still. If once there were trees everywhere you looked, it now takes a couple minutes to even see one. As the forest ends, so it seems your journey will. There are no enemies around. The end must be close.
At least, that’s what you think.
“Just walking along with you guys... Feels nice. Like I'm doing something... important.” Lancer looks the happiest that you've ever seen him since he joined you guys.
Truth to be told, you feel just as happy.
Speaking up for the first time in a while, Ralsei, the self-proclaimed Darkner prince, explains, “That's because you're alongside the Lightners, Lancer. Our purpose- Darkners' purpose- is to assist them. It's the only way we can feel truly fulfilled.”
What comes out of Ralsei’s mouth is heavier than you expected. The shock of what he says makes you miss a step.
W… what? They can only be fulfilled… with us?
You shake your head, and keep moving ahead. What Ralsei said is important to you, but you don’t know why.
“Really...?” Lancer looks downcast, “...but my dad hates Lightners. He wants to…”
He doesn’t continue, but you know what he means.
“Lancer, does your dad seem like he is happy?” Ralsei says, looking at him with an expression of worry.
“... I'm… not sure.”
“Maybe what your dad wants is… purpose. But his own.” You say, while not looking at anyone. “To be remembered. And he thinks… killing us is where he will find it. He doesn’t know what to do, because the last time he followed his ‘real’ purpose, he…”
Your mouth talks about King, but your mind is elsewhere.
You hold a hand to your chest. To where you are. “I… don’t really-”
Scoffing, Susie cuts you off, “Hey, uh, let's ditch the weird "purpose" talk.” She looks back at Lancer. “You're probably just glad you ate a weird berry.” She looks back at you. “And your weak stomach probably didn’t handle the salsa that well.”
“Yeah!!” Lancer cheers. “I'm still boost from the juice!!!”
You simply glare at her, pouting.
She turns away from your glare. You can faintly see a blush on Susie’s face, “I mean, LOOK, I'M not from here, and hanging out like this… I also feel kinda, uh, y'know…”
“...happy?” Ralsei asks, his tone tentative.
“Psshh, nah.” Susie snorts. The conversation doesn’t continue, and you all walk forth.
Susie stops for a moment. “(...maybe.)”
She catches up.
*
You can’t see any more trees around you. The scarlet leaves that filled the ground start to thin out, until only the red soil remains. You’re no longer in the Scarlet Forest.,
A castle replaces it on the horizon. It’s completely dark, darker than the sky itself, as if all light was drained from it. It stands tall even from this distance. It’s almost featureless, outside of four suits plastered on its walls. On the left diamond and club. On the right, heart and spade.
In the middle, there’s a giant spade. It must represent its current ruler. Lancer’s father. The King of Spades.
In the middle, you can see a gigantic geyser of darkness pouring into the sky. The darkness hits the sky, and then spreads across the kingdom like a flood. You have seen this before, in Castle Town.
That’s the Dark Fountain. Your ultimate goal.
Everyone turns to see its glory.
“Look, everyone! We can see the castle!” Ralsei says while holding his glasses, observing the darkness with a curious look. Light reflects off the glass, the glare making you unable to see his eyes.
“Yes! That's where I live! Me and, uh…” Lancer stammers, “My... My dad.”
“What's that black thing emerging from the top...?” Susie asks while scratching her mane.
You look at her dumbfounded.
She didn’t know this whole time?
“That’s the FOUNTAIN, Susie, Ralsei told us about it, remember? There’s even one back in his kingdom!” You try to explain to Susie, but she just looks annoyed by your tone.
“Susie… that’s where you and Kris will finally be able to go home!” Ralsei words are the one to catch Susie’s attention.
You cross your arms and turn away. “(Last time I am taking the exposition job…)”
“Jeez, took long enough.” She sets off and calls out towards you and Lancer, “Kris, Lancer, let's go!”
You shake your head, and follow her.
The spade doesn’t move.
He looks upset, conflicted, “Are you sure there... isn't another way home? The FOUNTAIN is being guarded right now.” He stammers, as if something is stuck in his throat, “If you try to go there, um… Y... You might... get hurt. And…”
Susie scoffs, and points to all of you, “What? C'mon, Lancer. NO ONE's gonna beat a team like us!”
“Yeah!” You back her up. “Lancer, we beat diamonds, hearts, puzzles and checkers!” Stars appear in your eyes. “Some guards aren’t stopping us! We are the Lancer Fun Squad!”
“Kris is right! For once.” You shoot a harsh glare at Susie. She ignores you. “If anyone gets in our way, all we gotta do… is CRUSH them.”
“... with love.” You finish for her.
“I, um… don’t think my dad is… a lovable guy…” Lancer’s conflict increases, sweat descending from his face, “h-he just wants to f-fight you, and…”
Oblivious to it all, Susie simply smirks, “Everybody bleeds, right? Don't worry about it.” Susie sneers, “’Whoever it is, they'll be cold on the ground before you can blink.”
Lancer starts shaking, he starts walking away, “B... But Susie…”
He takes another step.
“What?” Susie asks him.
“…”
And another.
“I think…”
He keeps walking away.
“(I think I need to go.)”
He is so far away you need to strain yourself to hear his quiet voice.
“Huh? When're you gonna be back?” Susie tries to reach out to him. She walks towards him, looking worried. You follow her at a distance.
“…” He turns away from her, “Never.”
Thunder. His words are like thunder. They break the peace like glass, a glass that can never be fixed.
Lancer leaves as quickly as the preceding lightning. So fast you can’t even react.
“H... Hey! Wait a second!! Lancer!! Why are you acting so weird?!” You hear something that sounds like Susie, then footsteps.
“S-Susie, wait...!” Something that sounds like Ralsei, then footsteps.
Then… nothing. Just the sound of the wind.
Did Lancer… abandon us?
You are all alone. Just like you always have been.
“Run.”
A voice whispers in your head. You feel your heart pumping blood to your body.
“Help them.”
This time you’re able to act. It’s not over yet. Act.
And so you do.
You follow them as fast as your body can take you.
Guards appear from the castle, forming a counter offense. They’re diamonds like the Ruddins, but red, fiercer, and more cruel. “The Lightners are approaching the castle...! Get them...!” Diamond projectiles rain down at you three.
Susie bulldozes through them, no patience to entertain weaklings when her first real friend could be in danger.
Ralsei hops and dodges each projectile with grace, jumping up, rolling away, none hit him. Glasses shining, almost as if he can see the position of every projectile. He stops for a moment and chants a spell, balls made of fluff circle him, as he continues running.
And then there’s you. All alone. Desperately trying to catch up. You jump over the projectiles. You roll under them. It doesn’t work, and they slash your arms and face.
Kris moves your hands, slashing diamonds that might hit your SOUL.
You can’t keep up with Susie’s strength or Ralsei’s grace. You can’t reach Lancer.
They… don’t need me. I’m just holding them back!
Your dodging becomes sloppy, more projectiles scratching and tearing through your clothes and skin.
Kris tries to protect your SOUL as best he can. He pulls out his shield, blocking your chest while slashing at projectiles.
He can’t let anybody hit that SOUL. It holds the key to everything.
“Courage! They need you. They can’t return home without you. You hold the FATE of this world. We all need you. Don’t forget that. Stay determined.”
A voice whispers in your head. Not complaining. Not whining. Not telling you what to do.
A voice helping you. A voice that makes you feel stronger. A voice that fills you with power.
Your SOUL starts beating faster, determination flowing through your veins. Your cape flows as you run, eyes shining gold with your power.
You run faster. You can react faster. You strike at projectiles coming at you with your hallowed sword. You see phantom diamonds cutting your head, and so you block them with your shield. Dust fills the air.
Of course, none of this would’ve been possible if your body, if Kris, were fighting against you. He subtly adjusts his own limbs controlled by you into better spots, optimal motions, to help in this chase.
Without his help, you would be dead.
You catch up with Susie and Ralsei. They’re standing in front of the Castle’s Gate. From this close, it looks intimidating. Like the mouth of a beast.
The spade prince stands inside the beast, looking miserable. White ribbon still in his head. But somehow, from far away you can see creases on it.
Susie quickly calls out for her friend, “Lancer!”
The three of you try to inch towards him. Susie in front, reaching out her hand.
The three of you are too slow. The beast closes its mouth and the gates are closed. It’s too late.
Susie bangs at the iron bars, fists filled with anger and desperation, “Hey, what are you doing...!?” But it’s no use, they won’t fall.
In your distraction, several Ruddin Rangers surround you three. Dozens of them, all holding weapons, ready to fire, “We've cornered them!”
They launch their magic, hundreds of diamonds surround you. Susie and Ralsei don’t have enough magic to counter all of them, you can’t block and dodge them all.
Ralsei holds up his hands in the air, “W… Wait!”
They hit you three before he can even say anything, your vision turning to darkness from the impact.
Game Over.
Chapter 12: Chapter 1 - Part 11: VS Susie
Summary:
Susie confronts the traitor, while someone watches the entire time.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Pain floods through you. Every limb aching.
The warm forest has been replaced by a cold, unfeeling box.
“You aren’t dead.”
A voice that you cannot hear.
A box that floats in a dark ocean. An impossible boat that sails endlessly in the sea.
A prison cell, iron gate standing in front, locking you from the outside world. Yet, water cannot get inside.
“GET UP!”
You feel cold, afraid, you want to stay in the comfortable darkness forever.
“You need to WAKE UP!”
But the darkness disappears, light covers everything.
Your consciousness comes back, pain immediately reaches you. You reach out for strength, trying to move your shaky limbs.
You fail.
You reach out again, trying to do anything.
You fail.
A voice. Soft. Fluffy. It enters your ears, reaching back.
“This is not your fate…! Please, don’t give up!”
Your resolve increases. You move your arms, strength surges through your body. You hold on to the cold floor, feeling its oppressive texture. You kneel over, and, body and soul working as one, you stand up tall.
Ralsei wipes his brow, letting out a sigh of relief, “Kris…! You’re finally awake! I was so worried!”
Shaking your head, as if to make your dizziness slip away, you look around your surroundings.
A box, you are trapped in a box, “Ralsei, what happened? Where are we?”
The goat prince looks awkward, twiddling his thumbs, “Um… I think we are in Card Castle, but, um… in its prison…”
You hurry to get your sword, eyes wild.
I’m trapped again!
You start to hyperventilate.
I… I can’t escape! No matter where I go… I will always end up-
“Kris, calm down!” Ralsei appears in your field of vision, arms out. He breathes in and out. You subconsciously imitate him, slowing your breathing.
“You’re not alone.”
A voice whispers the truth. You finally return to the waking world.
Ralsei recovers his regal composure. “Um… The guards came in earlier, saying they weren’t going to kill us, just… imprison us for eternity…”
Your eyes dart to the gate, your exit from this box.
Ralsei exhales a quiet sigh, “Don’t bother, they put a magic spell on the door, we can’t break it with brute force.”
“Um…” You look away. The droplets of water falling down from the ceiling suddenly look more interesting. “I wasn’t really thinking of doing that… Isn’t breaking doors against the spirit of an adventure?”
Ralsei looks down in shame. “Um… sorry. I thought… nevermind.”
Crimson eyes dart to each wall and back, trying to find something, “They put Susie in a different cell?” Kris asks.
Ralsei rubs the back of his head, “Most likely… But I am sure she is fine! She is a strong girl, isn’t she? I think that’s, um, why they separated us, haha…” Ralsei laughs, but it’s not funny.
“I am not worried about her.” You glare at him in mild frustration. “You don’t need to coddle me every time something bad happens...”
Ralsei stutters, and what comes out his mouth is just word soup.
Looking like he wants to change the topic, he looks around the room, moving to a corner, “Maybe there's something we can escape with in here...?”
You copy your fluffy partner, your metallic steps echoing in the quiet of the basement.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK… CLANK.
Until you see it, the forest green, the moldy structure, the succulent smell…
Could it be…?
It’s… moss!
Your body moves towards it, steps filled with desire, cape hanging in the air.
You crouch low, its smell hitting your noise. The succulent smell of raw nature makes your mouth salivate.
You move your hands with the grace of a starving lion, holding the soft texture in your hands. You move it to your mouth.
Kris tastes it.
Pleasure floods your taste buds.
Kris’ eyes go wide under your hair. It’s the greatest thing “you” have ever tasted.
Kris devours the moss like an animal.
Loud noises come out of your mouth, like that of a beast that doesn’t belong in this world.
Kris makes a mess of the place. Disgusting. But beautiful.
“Kris, did you find any-” Ralsei words stay in his throat when he sees Kris.
You hold the moss in your hand, face completely dirty, green everywhere. Hunched over like a vulture.
Ralsei sighs. “...2 minutes in jail and you've already resorted to eating moss. Umm, you're a real... go-getter, Kris!” He says that last part with false cheer.
You keep eating the moss.
“Well, Kris!” he claps his hands together, “Let's not give up hope just yet!” Despite saying that, he looks downcast, “But, um, if we don't make it for some reason…” He approaches you.
Kris is still eating the moss with loud, gurgling sounds.
“Then I just wanted to say, um...I... I'm glad I was able to meet…”
“Hey, is Kris eating MOSS?! Leave some for me, dumbass!” Susie’s voice comes loud as thunder, startling Ralsei into losing his balance, falling to the floor.
Kris stops eating the moss and stands up, his attention redoubled.
Ralsei gets up, dusting himself, looking around for where Susie’s voice came from, “S-Susie!? Where are you!?”
“I dunno, prison?” You can’t see her, but from the scoff that comes from her, you can imagine she is crossing her arms behind her head.
However... you are wrong, she’s running her hand through her mane, looking at a puzzle, “Seriously though. I'm outta my cell. I sweet-talked the warden into giving me the keys.”
A metallic shuffle is heard, your brow contorts in confusion, “Really, Susie!? How?”
“I, uh, ‘invited’ him to visit the trash can.” The metallic shuffle gets louder. The warden must be having a party, “Anyway, now there's a puzzle in the way.”
Ralsei’s voice comes in as cheerful as ever, calling out to the purple dragon, “Okay! Solve it, Susie!”
Susie’s voice stammers through, you can tell she’s feeling awkward, even though you can’t see her. “I... um... don't do... puzzles.”
Silence. You try to clean out the moss on your mouth, to distract yourself.
“Hey, how 'bout we just sit tight and wait for Lancer?” Susie’s voice comes, echoing in the silence of the box. Ralsei squirms. “He lives in the castle, he's bound to come save us.”
Looking worried and uneasy, Ralsei replies to Susie, a hint of something more in his voice, “...why don't Kris and I just help you solve the puzzle?”
“Look, I don't NEED your help.”
Silence.
“...but, uh, if you said what to do, out loud, y'know, I wouldn't stop you.”
Ralsei puts on a sad smile. He murmurs to you, “(Kris, tell Susie what to do.)”
You hold your hands in the air, exasperated. “(Dude… I can’t SEE what she is doing?! What do you expect me to do?!)”
Ralsei looks shocked, and then abashed, “I… um… didn’t think that through…”
You sigh, “Susie, can you, um, tell me about the puzzle? So I can help you?”
You hear a shuffle, as if someone just got up, “Uh, what…? Oh, sure, whatever. There’s like, a club, then a heart, then just a spade. Reminds me of Lancer.”
That’s because Lancer is a spade, Susie…
You endure the urge of rolling your eyes. Someone woke up cranky, didn’t she?
“Ok, Susie, add a spade first.” You say.
“Uh? Ok, sure.” A click.
“Now a diamond.”
Another click.
“Now press that swap button”
A click, “Oh, the spade and diamond just turned into a club and a heart!”
You giggle a little, “Yes, Susie, that’s normal. Now just add the final spade.”
A click, and the rushing of metal, “Yeah!!! We solved it!!!”
Ralsei claps, the quiet sound echoing in this small box, “Great!! Now come and free us!”
A snort can be heard, “Alright, alright.” Then footsteps on the hard floor, growing fainter and fainter…
Until you can’t hear them anymore.
Ralsei moves to the wall, sitting down.
You follow, sitting beside him.
“...thanks for helping her, Kris.” Ralsei says. “She appreciates it.”
“I mean… That’s the job of a leader, right? I just did what I had to. It wasn’t anything much.” You try to get comfortable on the hard floor. You fail. Your back hurts, and everything else, too.
You think about setting your head on Ralsei for a moment, but dismiss it. You aren’t that close to him.
You have very weird thoughts.
“Yeah, you are right…” Silence, a cough. More silence. “...Kris… Are you worried about Susie?”
You turn your head towards him, hair blocking shining golden eyes. “Dude, I told you, you don’t need to coddle me…” Realizing how much of a jerk you’re being, you sigh. “Somewhat… I just don’t want her to get in trouble.”
“Well, regardless of how you feel… I don't think it would hurt to take a moment…” His voice gets softer, “Close your eyes, and think about what she's doing now…”
You comply, eyes closed. Your mind is filled with thoughts about Susie, what you think of her, what she might be doing.
Weirdly enough, you feel yourself grow lighter as your mind clears.
As if you’re splitting apart from your body.
But that’s impossible…
Is it?
The world grows fainter around you. Sounds outside ceasing.
It’s like everything ceases to be for a moment.
And then…
Cells were all around her. All she could see inside them was darkness. She couldn’t tell if there was anyone inside. If there was anyone around her.
Afterall, she had left everyone behind.
Susie walked through the basement, her steps echoing in the quiet, heavy atmosphere.
Susie shook her head, averting her gaze from the cells.
No time to worry. I need to find Lancer.
Her focus found its way back to her, firming in the midst of her fear.
She needed to find her friend.
He would free the two nerds back there, the four of them would kick Lancer’s dad's ass together, and she would finally be able to go home.
Even if she didn’t want to.
Even if there wasn’t a home to go to, not after she did that.
She looked around, more cells. She had no idea where the HELL she needed to go.
Alright... out of the cell...Where to next...?
She looked to the left. Nothing but cells. The right, then? More cells.
…
Goddammit. She was never good at freaking mazes. She didn’t have the TIME for this…
Urgh… if only Ralsei or Kris were here, they would know what to do.
“...Susie… go right…”
A voice stopped Susie in her tracks. A quiet, soft, gentle voice that whispered in her ear.
It was faint, but she had heard it before. She had heard it come out of Kris’ mouth today.
But only today. She had never heard that voice from him before. Despite everything, it was unfamiliar.
It wasn’t like the one she remembered. The one she briefly heard when Kris spoke before. It was rare, she might’ve not even heard ten full sentences, but it happened.
When he laughed after pranking Noelle, when he made up yet another excuse to not pay Berdly’s debt. When he said some creepy shit to that goth cat. When he said “soccer” to Jock Boy in a monotone voice.
Heck, she even heard it today, when they were eating the salsa together.
It was different from this voice. This high-pitch, girly, squeaky voice. But what did she know about him? Maybe this was his real voice. It was the one she heard the most, in the end.
She quickly turned back, looking back in the direction of Kris’ cell. “Huh...? Kris...? Did you say something back there?” It couldn’t hurt to try.
…
Nothing. No response.
Kris couldn’t be the one talking to her.
Even ignoring the voice dilemma, he was just too far away. It must have been her imagination. At least that’s what she told herself.
Must’ve been…
I can't hear them anymore…
She scratched her long mane, a habit she had developed overtime. Not much to do when you have a… not good hairbrush.
Screw it. She didn’t have time to think, she needed to save Lancer.
Picking a random direction, she walked towards the darkness…
I'll just go this way.
Leading to a wall.
It was the opposite direction that the voice told her.
She snarled, hands balled into fists.
Well, that's a dead end…
“...are the prisoners…”
Another voice.
She could barely hear it. It was only an ember, but there’s no mistake.
She knew that voice.
Th… that’s Lancer’s voice! He is here!
Susie started smiling, her hands relaxed. Something in her heart felt lighter, even if she was never going to acknowledge it.
Another weight replaced it. The weight of anxiety. What if the guards tried to stop him?! What if she got there too late? What if-
She couldn’t drop her guard. She ran in the direction of his voice. Mane flowing back from the intensity of her dash, strides hitting the ground hard.
Zooming past the other prisoners.
“(Whoa, what the heck is that?)”
“(Oh crap, that’s the purple beast everyone was talking about earlier!)”
“(I refused to work today and then got arrested to avoid this EXACT situation. What rotten luck…)”
“(Guards! Guards! Someone save me!)”
Idiots, you are already in JAIL!
Susie tried to ignore the murmurs of the prisoners, all of them whispering the same things. Insults. Jeers. Born out of fear.
Fear of her.
Even though she did NOTHING to these guys!
(Outside of beating and terrorizing them, that is. But that was SELF-DEFENSE! It’s JUSTIFIED!)
It was always like this. People yelled at her out of fear because of the way she looked. The way she walked. Always with these same eyes.
All except one. And now, two. Lancer.
She would find Lancer, and she wouldn’t need to worry about this anymore.
She reached a wall and slid to a halt.
Another puzzle stood in front of her. “Damn, not another one of these…” Her hands curled back into fists. Dammit, she wasn’t good at puzzles. She thought about busting the wall, but that would only alert the guards.
She looked back at where Kris was.
...maybe I should go back and ask Kris…
“...and make sure they…”
There was no time to look back.
Lancer…I'll... just do it myself!
After all, Kris taught her how to do it, right? It shouldn’t be too hard.
Ok, there’s the image of a spade above…
She looked over the puzzle, brows furrowed in thought. She had to choose between four options.
According to Kris, if there’s the image of a spade, then I should put a spade…
A click. Susie started smiling to herself.
Diamond… with diamond…
Another click. Susie's smile widened.
And then spade… with spade!
A click, and then a rush. The wall opened up, the way to the next room was clear. She punched her knuckles together.
Of course she could do it. She was a hero, wasn’t she?
She ran to a larger room. It had even more cells in the walls. Those green, pointy guys were there. The heart-shaped lipsticks. The puzzle pieces. Pretty much every type of enemy she had met here.
It looked like the main room of the prison.
In the far corner, a huge cell contained a giant green, pointy guy with a crown on his head, a similar-looking heart-shaped lipstick, also with a crown on its head, and lastly, a three-headed white cat creature with crowns on each of their heads.
The murmuring returned.
“(A Lightner is here! She looks so mean…)”
“(Lightner, don’t kill me! I am on your side! That’s why I was arrested.)”
“(Prince Lancer, she is here! Look out!)”
“(These must be the Lightners Spade was fighting against… Look out for my riches!)”
She just shook her head. She couldn’t waste time here. They weren’t her friends, just enemies. Her friend was here. Her friend was…
She found him. Standing close to an elevator, there was the round, spade boy. He wasn’t sporting his classic smile, but he was there. He was safe.
She walked faster, getting closer.
He was safe. And soon, they would all be out of here. She would fix everything.
Susie’s eyes narrowed. Something was in front of Lancer. It was a red-pointy guy. Just like the ones who had cornered them.
Lancer must’ve been fighting him off, so they could escape!
…
…
But if that was the case… Why wasn’t either of them… hurt?
Susie’s steps slowed down.
“Understand?” Lancer spoke. It was his voice, and his mouth was moving, so it was him. “They have to stay in their cells. The Lightners can't be allowed to escape… Especially the purple one.”
She stopped. “...Lancer?”
“S... Susie?” The spade recoiled, as if she had physically struck him.
The guard looked at Susie’s glare in his direction, and ran away like a coward, abandoning Lancer.
The prisoners' hushes had ceased.
It was only him and her.
He tried to compose himself, head low, shaking a little. He looked up. Susie gazed at him. He looked down, “...w-what are you doing here...?”
Did he not know? Was he playing dumb? They needed to escape. “...Lancer, Kris and Ralsei are still locked up…”
They needed to go.
He flinched like he had been dealt a blow. He couldn’t meet her gaze, still shaking, “I... I know. I…”
Was he feeling… guilty?
He knows what?
Susie wore an alert, neutral expression on her face.
Lancer’s body became limp. “I was the one who told my troops to put you down here.”
What.
No.
Shock.
No.
Anger.
No.
Fear.
NO.
Disbelief.
He wouldn’t.
Susie’s hands returned to fists. The nearby prisoners shivered in their cells. Afraid.
Of her. Always of her.
“To…” Lancer spoke. “To keep you down here.”
Her neutral expression almost broke.
Almost.
“Forever,” he finished.
Betrayal. Confusion. Deep down, a familiar anger came back. One she feels every day.
But that she had only felt today right now, at this moment.
She tried to stammer something out in her confusion, mouth shaking, “L... Lancer... you... you… You wanted to get rid of us...?”
She was only met with silence.
Lancer-
The traitor didn’t speak.
The prisoners watched, frozen in place as they witnessed the collapse of a friendship.
Susie looked down, her mane blocking her eyes, face broken. “I thought we were a team.”
Shock filled the spade. He quaked as if he was just hit, and perhaps he was.
The prince tried to speak out. A defense. An appeal. Pleading. Anything, to justify his actions.
His betrayal. “I... I can explain, Susie...”
But there was no explanation. Susie knew this. Since she knew herself. Since she moved to Hometown. Since forever.
He didn’t have to explain, because she already knew, “...Nah.”
“It's fine. It's fine, actually.” Cold fury filled her, an eerie calm flooding her. She knew this feeling.
The ones in the cells looked out in confusion. But that’s because they didn’t understand.
She did.
“You don't have to say anything. I... get it. I get it, y'know.” It was a good thing she let her mane grow. That way nobody could see her tears. “Why would anyone… really wanna be my friend anyway?”
“Susie, that's not-” She wouldn't hear his lies anymore.
“Shut up.”
“But -” She cut him off with a stomp, shaking the ground. The nearby prisoners hurried deeper into their cells, furthest away from her.
She didn’t mind.
“SHUT UP!” She walked towards the traitor, her former friend, each step emanating power. The spade remained where he was. “Get out of my way.”
He stood his ground.
Was he playing with her? Was he deaf?
She STOMPED on the ground. Lancer was startled, but he still didn’t move. “Did you HEAR ME? GET OUT OF MY WAY.”
He still remained, standing his ground. Shaking like a leaf. But firm. “…N... no.”
Susie laughed. She guffawed. It echoed in the room, sending shivers to everyone. It was a cruel laugh, no joy in it. Only pain, “Did you not HEAR ME...? Man, I tried to warn you…”
She did. She really, really did. Traitors don’t listen, do they?
She walked back, a cruel smile on her face. Calm steps, despite her inner turmoil. Lancer remained where he was, still standing. “So, don't expect me to feel guilty…”
She manifested her ax. She held it up and brought it back to the ground, a small crack forming on impact.
The prisoners trembled.
Her face was a snarl of anger and betrayal, “...when they have to clean you off the floor.”
Unknown to Susie, a faint red outline grew around her. A red heart manifested itself right in the middle. It was like Susie’s SOUL was shining through.
But a monster's soul doesn’t look like that.
Lancer’s eyes widened as he saw it. He opened his mouth to say something, but the tension in the air trapped the words in his mouth.
Susie’s ax gained a purple aura. Magic filled the room. They were in a FIGHT. “Hey, wanna see what happens to traitors?”
She swung it, magical axes coming out of it, with power, made to kill.
The Red Soul shivered inside her. The prisoners shrieked.
“(OH MY GOD SHE IS GOING TO KILL US)”
“(I AM TOO YOUNG TO DIE)”
“(Why is everyone so worried? We are in jail. We are safe.)”
“(I guess this is the fate of Spade’s son. Fitting if I say.)”
Susie’s arm shook a little.
Spades came out of the prince, trying to defend himself from the ax storm. They countered some, but most ended up hitting him. He grunted in pain.
Susie ignored that sound. She moved to strike him again, but her arm was locked in place. If anyone looked, they might have seen small red strings holding it in place.
That window allowed some spades to hit Susie.
Susie snarled, and using more of her strength, those strings were broken. She swung her ax and blew past the spades. Her energy flew to a wall on top of a cell. Rubble falling.
Nothing was going to stop her. “They. Get. Crushed.”
She swung again, more axes appearing to crush. Spades tried to counter the onslaught, but they were too weak, too frail, the axes cleaved through them easily.
They hit Lancer. He writhed, quivering in place. The SOUL squirms.
She didn’t care. Not anymore, at least.
“(PRINCE LANCER YOU HAVE TO MOVE!)”
“(I CAN’T WATCH IT ANYMORE!… Well… I can watch a little.)”
“(Perhaps Spade’s hatred has a basis…? If she did this to my diamonds…)”
Now they care?!
Not when Lancer was alone and neglected. Nor when she, the dangerous beast befriended him. Only now, when she is destroying a traitor, they finally care?!
Susie’s hand shook more, her vision grew turvier. Like Lancer, she was also shaking. “If you don't get out of the way…”
She swung again. The axes hit the spade. He almost fell, almost.
Swing. Attack. Repeat.
Her mind devolved to those actions.
He still stood there.
Susie’s arm shakes more. Swing. Attack-
A spade hit her. Somehow, she was in the path of the spade again. She thought she was dodging them.
It didn’t matter. All she had to do was destroy them.
Fight everyone.
(If Susie had been paying attention, she might’ve noticed small red strings in her legs, moving her in the path of the spades.)
The pain was nothing compared to what she felt. “...I'll kill you.”
Prisoners’ screeches followed.
“(K-Kill?! I..Is she serious?)”
“(I don’t want to see anyone dying! I don’t have insurance!)”
“(Can she even do that? Isn’t she a Lightner?)”
“(Will the Prince let that happen? Won’t he fight for his pride?)”
Lancer trembled more. Spades were fired, but they were weak. They were wavering, almost falling out of the air.
He was barely hanging on.
He was weak. The enemy was weak. Her magic was beating the enemy. It didn’t matter if she was on the path of the attacks anymore.
She was going to win. “Get it? I'll KILL you.”
Rage. Fury.
That’s all she felt looking at that traitor.
All that she wished she could feel about him.
All that she wished she could feel about herself.
“(SHE IS SERIOUS, I AM TOO YOUNG TO WATCH SOMEONE DIE!)”
“(PRINCE LANCER, YOU HAVE TO DEFEND YOURSELF. KILL THAT LIGHTNER!)”
The prisoners' desperate yelling caused Lancer to shake more, his magic coming weaker. Not even hitting the axes anymore. Just flying away, missing completely.
It didn’t matter where Susie stood, nothing was going to hit her. She felt her limbs growing lighter, as the red glow in her chest receded.
Nothing that the Soul could do would stop her.
Susie’s arm trembled more, legs feeling weak.
She didn’t care.
She didn’t care! “Heh… You missed, idiot!”
Spades got even weaker, fewer and fewer coming out of Lancer.
He couldn’t face her. Shaken.
As if just accepting whatever happens to him.
That was impossible.
The little ribbon was still on his head. It almost fell off because of an ax.
Creased.
The SOUL shook inside Susie.
Had his fighting spirit disappeared? Did he just give up?
“ ... wait, why aren't you fighting back...?”
He thinks she cares if he fights or not? She didn’t care, she never has! All that matters is crushing everyone!
It didn’t matter if nobody liked her. It didn’t matter if everyone ran away from her. If everyone was scared of her.
It didn’t matter the relationships she ruined.
It didn’t MATTER!
“...Heh, you think I CARE? If you just wanna lie down and die? You're just making it easier for me!”
The prisoners screeched, those snakes.
“(PRINCE LANCER YOU NEED TO FIGHT BACK!)”
“(YOU CAN’T LET THAT LIGHTNER KILL YOU!)”
“(Show us you are better than your father!)”
Lancer’s shaking increased. Barely any spades were coming out of him, he couldn’t hit her if he wanted to…
He was done. All she had to do was finish the enemy off.
Finish him off.
Her vision got turvier. Legs shaking. Arms can barely hold her ax.
A droplet falls on the floor.
Finish him off.
Her ax turns back to normal… “.....… Alright, that's enough. If you wanna die so much…”
She gripped it. A surge of power came from her chest. A weird torrent of raw passion mixed with determination.
It made her ax glow red.
This shocked every single Darkner present in the room.
“(Prince Lancer, DODGE!)” The one with the pointy-crown yelled.
As if it mattered, this battle was over. “THEN DIE!”
She swung her ax, ending…
The ceiling above Lancer. Completely missing.
She couldn’t do it. That was never who she was.
She buckled and fell, kneeled over, hand on the floor, ax dissipated to dust.
More droplets fell on the floor.
“S... Susie...? Y... you missed…” Lancer’s voice was small and quiet, but even that carried his immense shock.
Everyone’s whispers were silenced.
“I… I don't wanna kill you, man. Just move. Please.” She really didn’t want to. No matter how much she was fooling herself. No matter the lies she told in her head everyday.
She never wanted any of that.
She couldn’t kill her first real friend. Never.
She never forgets the relationships she makes.
“B... But Susie, if I let you guys go... then…” Lancer was still weak from the beating. The little ribbon barely held on to his head. He coughed a little. “Then you and my dad will fight, and... and…”
He finished his stammering, “You'll kill each other.”
Silence from Susie.
Still breathing heavily, she quietly wiped her eyes with her hand, and stood up.
So that’s why Lancer looked so worried back at the forest. And that's why he did all of this. He was just worried about his dad.
He was worried about his family.
All because of her bloodlust. “...at least if you stay here… Neither of you will get hurt.”
And she thought he was a traitor. Stupid. She was so stupid.
She had to fix things. “Then I... I… I won't kill him. Promise.” And she would keep that promise. She couldn’t kill his family.
She understood how important a parent was.
Lancer still looked worried.
With heavy steps Susie approached him. “Me and him, we'll just, um… Talk it out. Peaceful-style. Y'know.” Just like how Kris and Ralsei would’ve wanted. It would work!
Probably.
“I… I don't think my dad would like that…” He still looked downcast.
Susie’s chest ached. Things can’t end like this. She has to cheer him up. She moved closer, casting one of her best smiles. “Hey, Lancer! C'mon! We're a team, right!? The Dark Lancer Fun Squad! Nothing can stop us! Fighting or not! Alright?”
Susie posed to the spade prince, just the way he likes it. She could hear snickers from the cells. In good faith this time.
Lancer’s cheer returned, despite his injuries. A goofy smile back on his face. “...Yeah! Yeah, you're right...! We might as well try! I can help, too! I'll go talk to my dad! Ripen him up!”
…She had missed that cheer.
Susie held her fist to the sky, winking, “Hey, now we're getting somewhere!”
“I'll head over right now!!!” Lancer tried to walk away, but he tripped on his feet. He almost fell over.
The ache in her chest returned.
But before she could do something, a voice spoke out from one of the cells.
“Prince Lancer, you are far too weak. Come here, let me heal you.” It came from the green pointy guy with the crown. He was holding out a hand, glowing with nature’s green.
Susie looked wary, but Lancer still moved in his direction. “You did well. You are very brave, braver than your father. You will do well in the future.” Lancer’s body glows green, and his wounds are healed.
Susie’s posture relaxes.
Healing, huh? It can actually be pretty cool…
She gives the pointy guy a toothy green. “Heh, you aren’t actually so-”
“Also take care of my riches, will you?” He begs Lancer.
Well, nevermind.
Healed, and better than ever, Lancer headed to the elevator in the corner. Susie waved at him, even if she didn’t want him to leave just yet.
And so he did. He stopped just before entering it, head low, “S... Susie?”
What could it be now? “...Yeah?”
“Are…” He gulped, worry in his step. “Are we still friends?”
“H... Huh?” Susie recoiled as if she was physically struck. “Of... Of course! I mean, if you wanna be!”
“Phew! Well see you!” Lancer started skipping into the elevator.
Susie exhales in relief. Deep inside, she felt like an ancient weight finally left her.
She had a friend.
She felt truly happy, for the first time in a long while.
“Oh!” Lancer turned around. “I almost forgot!” He picked up the little ribbon in his head, holding it in his hand, “Thanks little Red-” Lancer cut himself off. He looked through her, trying to find something.
Susie turned her head, trying to see what he was looking at.
There was nothing behind her.
“Oh, she left…” Lancer whined.
She? Who?
He gave Susie the ribbon instead, “Susie! Don’t forget to give this back to the Red Heart! It’s my gift to her! For being a good friend!”
Susie looked at the creased ribbon in confusion.
Red heart? Is he talking about Kris?
“Sure dude,” she replied. “I will!”
Lancer waved at her, and took the elevator. Soon enough, he was gone.
I said that, but I don’t even know who to give it back to… Eh, I will just give it to Kris. He will know.
She walked back to the prison cell, key now in hand. She could finally free Kris and Ralsei.
Yet, she was still worried.
... how am I gonna get past his dad like that...? C... C'mon, I'll figure something out!
“...so that's why, OK, Kris?” Ralsei’s soft voice comes to your ear.
What…
Golden eyes take over crimson.
Where am I…?
Your vision is blurry, a dark green shape in front of you.
What happened? Where are Lancer and Susie…?
You have returned back to us. Back to the jail cell. Back to Kris’ body.
You dart your head around, looking through the cell. The same four walls, one with a crack in it, and the moss still in the corner.
Was all that real…?
“Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. Only you can find out.”
A voice whispers in your head. A voice that is quickly becoming familiar to you.
Before you can retort, another voice arrives.
“...hey.”
Susie’s voice comes through, together with the clang of keys.
Ralsei stands up, patting the dust off his robe. “Susie! You came to save us...! I knew you had the heart of a hero, Susie..!”
Susie stands in front of the door, a set of keys in hand.
Susie opens the door, its rust screeches on the stone, “Yeah, yeah, don't push your luck.” She tries to sound angry, but the smile on her face betrays her joy.
Your head hurts when looking at her. “You, um… got something for me too... right…?” Your words spill out without thinking.
What I saw… was real?
Susie looks startled. “I don’t know if it was for YOU, but…” Susie picks up a familiar ribbon. “Uh, yeah. Lancer wanted me to give it to a ‘Red Heart’. Dunno who that is, but you can give this to them, I guess.”
She gives the little white ribbon to you.
So that was real… how did I see all of that…?
“Oh! That’s the ribbon you gave Lancer!” Ralsei says. “What goes around… Comes around!”
“Huh, neat. Wonder why he gave you that nickname, then.” Susie shrugs.
You put the ribbon on your hair. It fits perfectly. Not the first time you’ve worn a ribbon. “Let’s just go…” Your voice comes out sadder than you meant, so you give them both a bright smile. “We have to beat Lancer’s dad!”
You walk out of the cell, your party following you.
You pass through the dark cells. You might’ve thought of them as menacing, if you hadn’t seen them before.
Somehow…
I haven’t seen them, but you have. It’s your power.
They are filled with Darkners that were arrested by Lancer’s father, the King. They seem to perk up when you pass through.
“(Oh yeah, the Lightners, WOOO! You guys are my HEROES!)”
“(Purple girl, you’re awesome! Kick that tyrant and free us!)”
“(Look after Prince Lancer! And my riches! Mostly my riches!)”
“(Go, purple girl, go!)”
They are all cheering Susie up.
She responds in kind to each of them. “Hell yeah! Don’t worry guys, I am going to free all of you! And you guys can like… run in the field and do stuff free people do.”
Ralsei looks proud of her.
Yep, definitely real…
You look down a little, face contorted away in worry.
I am glad Susie grew from that at least.
Shaking your head as if it will wipe your thoughts away, you three enter the elevator.
Kris sets the floor, the doors close and it goes.
Downwards.
You would only know it later, but the elevator has taken quite a detour.
To a darker, yet darker place.
Notes:
Upload schedule should be every Friday/Saturday starting from this part... Probably... Maybe... You just have to believe! In the meanwhile, thanks for all the support! Every hit, kudos and comment motivates me even more to upload the entire story!
Chapter 13: CHAPTER 1 - PART 12: THE DEATH
Summary:
YOU GO IN THE DEPTHS OF THE CASTLE. AND MET HIM, THE CLOWN. WHAT AN UNFORTUNATE FATE.
Chapter Text
The elevator descends. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Slowly. As if time had slowed down for your leisure.
The reunited Lancer Fun Squad stands inside its colorless, monochrome, interior. It’s like a box, swallowing you whole.
Ralsei, calm and collected, is seated on the floor.
Susie stands across from the prince, arms crossed, snout downwards, fidgeting in place, as if in conflict with herself.
You sit opposite them, alone, slouched with your legs spread out. Your body exudes an aura of relaxation to the world.
Your Soul could be nothing further from that.
You can only think back to that otherworldly experience. You return back to that moment, reliving it over and over again. Remembering the feeling of your consciousness ceasing to be… of becoming a mere whisper in the air.
Where the thread bounding you disappeared, and you became one with this world. Where you fully converted into a spirit, and went to a place I couldn’t go.
When you become like me, all seeing.
How did I do that? What even was that? How did I become… whatever that was, just by thinking of Susie…?
As always, you have no answers to any of your questions. After all, you have no sense of self, you have no memory. For all you know, you don’t even exist.
You can’t have answers if you don’t even know the questions.
Despite all your excitement during this journey… despite all the victories, friends, places and everything else you’ve conquered and explored, you still don’t feel satisfied.
You have only had a life today. It hasn’t even been a dozen hours since you left that abyss. The unimaginable cold. You left it to a world you don’t know, to a body that doesn’t fit you. To a body that had a life in this world.
To a body that was alive, and was not you.
You tried and tried to run away from these questions. Getting engrossed with Ralsei’s legend. Playing into your role of “hero”. Making friends with everyone.
It distracts you, but doesn’t satisfy you. A hole remains in your SOUL. You miss your friends. You miss the underground. You miss your body, the one you don’t remember, but know wasn’t this one.
In this world nobody chooses who they are. Nobody can escape the consequences of their actions.
And in this silence, when you can finally rest, it all comes back to you. The words I’ve said over and over.
…
You huddle into yourself, trying to find some warmth.
It’s not cold.
“...Hey. Ralsei.” Susie’s voice shatters the silence.
And with it, your thoughts of despair break under the weight of distraction once more.
Kris relaxes.
She looks towards the prince, looking conflicted, “Y'know Lancer's dad... The King?”
Ralsei’s face sparks up, and with a soft and regal voice he replies, “Yes...?” urging her to continue.
...This must be about what she said to Lancer…
Your hands go back to the ribbon on your hair.
“When we meet him... You think we'll have to…” Her posture falters a little, as if what she is about to say pains her. She looks bashful, “...hurt him?”
The elevator continues its descent. Susie’s question hangs in the hair like poison.
“Susie…?” Ralsei says.
Susie yells at Ralsei, defensive tilt in her voice, “I mean, I could EASILY smash him, but…” She lets out a big sigh, her shoulders slacking. She looks at the ribbon on your head. “You guys, I know that's not really your thing. You're more about, uh, groveling like total losers.”
You feel yourself narrow your golden eyes at her, looking done. She blows a raspberry at you.
The elevator continues its descent, screeching from the rust accumulated from its little use. “And I was thinking... maybe… I could... do that too?” Susie finishes.
There are stars in Ralsei’s eyes. He jumps to his feet, composure lost amidst the happiness. He walks up to Susie in a flash, “Susie!? You mean you want to try ACTing...?”
Susie looks awkwardly, trying to back away from the eager Darkner prince.“Uh, well,-”
Ralsei cuts her off. Huh, that’s a first.
“Susie... We'd be happy if you ACTed with us!” The fluffy boy switches back to that sweet parental tone. The tone of being proud of their child finally growing up. You can almost see paternalistic tears of happiness in his eyes, “And don't worry, we'll be there to help you! You won't have to figure it out by yourself.”
You stand up as well. You search for a smile deep inside your soul. “Yeah, Susie! That’s great news!” It isn’t genuine, but it works. “Can’t wait for another partner for my fighting acts!”
You attempt a joke. Nobody laughs except you, an awkward laugh, “Get it? It’s because, um, I used the word ACT with a double-”
“Yeah, yeah I got it.”
“We understood the, um, “joke”, Kris.”
Tough crowd.
You back away to your little corner, grumping and groaning.
I can’t do anything right… aaaaahhh…
“Is that why your joke was so… unusual?”
No, that’s just because I make jokes when feeling anxious. I learned that from seeing Sans and mom, so-
Your eyes widen, and then you let out a huge sigh. You hide your face in your hands.
You just realized you were talking to the voices (?) in your head.
And now I’m going crazy. Great!
Susie coughs in the back of her hand, acting (heh) as if nothing happened, “...sure, alright.”
The elevator continues its descent. A blue hue is cast in the room from the depths.
The silence returns. Everyone is back to their spots.
“Hey. Ralsei.” Susie calls out, head held high. You and Ralsei turn back to her.
“Susie?”
“Are you…” She looks embarrassed, she clears her throat and stammers out, “Still gonna make those, uh, cakes...?”
You perk up, head held high. Food, now that’s something that can unite nations. “I want cakes, too!” You yell without thinking.
Both Susie and Ralsei look at you. You shrink back under their gaze.
I haven’t eaten anything, either…
“Chocolate cake would be nice.”
Each time you hear that voice, you feel like you’re going crazy.
With class in his voice, head tilted in Susie’s direction, Ralsei counters, “Well, will you stop making fun of me?”
Silence, with the exception of the screeching of the elevator. Your feet tap the floor in anxiety.
“Well, if I HAVE TO, I guess.” Susie does the classic tsundere gesture, arms crossed, head to the side. It’s honestly adorable.
“Then I'll bake you as many as you like, alright?” Ralsei finishes off, his tone diplomatic.
Susie snorts, “Yeah, like you can make that many, dude.”
The elevator comes to a halt, doors opening. The exit of this boss. You let out a sigh of relief as the blue light of the torches nearby fully enters, hitting your eyes.
Blinding.
Ralsei gets up for his royal sitting, dusting himself, “Well, this is our stop!”
Leaving first into the unknown.
You try to follow him, but Susie holds you by the shoulder before you take a step, looking worried. You face her in turn. She composes herself, “Hey, Kris. Wait a sec.”
You wait, eyebrow raised… despite Susie not being able to see it. Because of your hair.
“Y'know, I'm starting to realize. It'll be easier for us to get out of here…” She stammers, looking embarrassed, “If we all, uh, "get along" a little more. So, next time we fight an enemy…” She looks to the side, hands fiddling with her mane, “If you tell me what to do... I'll listen to you.”
You clap your hands together, smile on your face, “Well, Susie… That’s what we tried to say to you all the way back at the field…”
Susie snorts dismissively, “Yeah, yeah, I wasn’t finished. Try telling me anything STUPID like befriending that red checker guy and I will be back at smashing heads, alright!?” She glares at you with mocking eyes.
You hold your hands in front of you in faux fear, “Alright, alright. I think I learned my lesson back there.”
Did you?
Susie offers you a warm smile, “You better!” She looks more serious, frowning, “Kris… I'm counting on you, OK?” She starts to leave.
“Actually…” Your words stop her. You brace yourself. “I… don’t really know about all that… truth to be told… I… don't really know if…”
“Dude, get over it.” Susie interrupts your nonsense. “We’re friends, right? I trust your leadership. You gotta trust yourself, too. C’mon, man!”
Susie gives you a genuine smile, and leaves.
You wave at her. “Th… Thanks. I will…”
You feel closer to her than ever. Susie truly joined your party.
How can I trust myself if…
You look at your unfitting blue hands. Kris’ blue hands.
If I don’t know who I am?
You shake your head, trying to wipe these thoughts away. With doubt in your step, you exit the elevator.
*
Leading to a corridor illuminated by candle blue-fire. The floor has the texture of dirt, and despite its lack of color, there is color here. It’s not monochrome, like the castle.
There’s something off here.
Ralsei looks around, scanning the place. Both you and Susie look at him, unsure of what’s going on. He stops suddenly, staring at you. “Kris, do you remember which button you pressed?”
His question appears harmless, but the intensity of how he said it alarms you. “I pressed the button to the…” You furrow your brow. “To the… um… I… don’t really remember…”
It was like I was on auto-pilot…
“I see… I think we might be on the wrong floor.” He walks back to the elevator, steps hushed in hurry. “Well, there’s nothing to worry about! We can always just go back and-” The doors of the elevator close, and with a whoosh of magic it disappears.
As if it was never there at all.
“Ok, now this is getting TOO weird…” Susie says, rushing to where the elevator was. She punches the wall. It cracks, but nothing else happens.
A laugh echoes in the room.
“UEE HEE HEE. THREE PRISONERS APPEAR, AND THEY ARE ALREADY RUNNING, RUNNING!”
Together with a voice. A frightening voice. A voice with no restraints, and if it had any, they were broken long ago.
It chills you down to the very bone.
Everyone’s eyes dart around the room, trying to find the source of the mania.
“Who the HELL is that…?” Susie summons her ax. “Whoever is there, show yourself! I’m not afraid of smashing some weirdo!” She swings it, sweat running down her face.
“You can come out, whoever you are.” Ralsei’s words linger in the air. “We aren’t going to hurt you!”
You stay silent, on guard, sweating, legs shaking.
Hesitation permeates every ounce of your being. It’s odd, even to yourself. After all, didn’t you actively seek this out?
No, that’s not right. You know who did, even if you can’t process it just yet.
I know, too.
“AND BE LOCKED AWAY? NO WAY, NO WAY! FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY VOICE, AND FREEDOM WILL BE OPENED FOR ALL OF YOU.”
Cage bars rattle in fury. For a moment you think they will break, and a monster will come out and swallow you whole. But that never comes.
The sound just echoes, coming from the long stairs stretching into a dark, darker place.
Everyone looks at one another, each look filled with meaning, despite no words being exchanged. You all descend.
You lead them through the stars. Each of Kris steps firm with purpose.
Ralsei’s regal, but shaky.
Susie’s unsure. But they all descend.
The voice booms back, “AND BESIDES, THE BLUE ONE IS ALREADY PLAYING, PLAYING. THE KEY SHINES FOR ME, LOOKING FOR ME. CAN YOU GET THEM?”
Kris’s hands dart back to the key, the one he fixed back at the scarlet forest. He grabs it, feeling its texture. The metal in his hands that somehow almost feels liquid.
A sensation that bathes him in the essence of reality.
Was this all it took to compel him to take such a detour? When everything hangs in, what will happen these next few days?
Was it?
…
The three of you arrive downstairs, a prison cell facing you. It’s so dark you can’t see inside. There are no doors, no windows.
“So, what the hell are you doing in there?” Susie smirks at the prison cell.
“I AM INNOCENT, INNOCENT. I JUST WANTED TO PLAY A GAME, GAME. BUT THE BORING KINGS FOUND SUCH FUN TO BE A TROUBLE. AS PUNISHMENT, THEY CRAVED TO IMPRISON MY BODY. BUT I'M FAST, FAST, CLEVER, CLEVER. THEY LOST THE CHASE, AND LOCKED UP THEIR ENTIRE RACE, BUILDING A PRISON AROUND THE WHOLE WORLD. NOW I'M THE ONLY FREE ONE.”
Your eyes flit about your surroundings in confusion.
Free? How can he be free if he is in jail? That makes no sense…you can’t be free when you’re trapped all alone… That only brings unimaginable pain…
Your face scrunches up. Painful memories return. “Um… Mr.StrangeVoice, you can’t be free, you are behind bars…”
“IRONIC, COMING FROM YOU, YOU. PAIN? WHAT IS PAIN? THE SOUNDS OF FREEDOM, FREEDOM! YOU ARE LIKE ME, FREE, FREE. YET BLIND. THE PAIN HAS NOT FREED YOU. COME, I SHALL SHOW YOU THE PATH!”
…
I recognize this mania. He must know.
What a troublesome fool. Locked away and forgotten.
Fitting fate for disobedience.
“Welp, not interested in that at all.” Susie starts walking away. “If you want pain, suffer it alone.”
Kris holds her back. Something in his eyes compels her.
Red eyes shining with curiosity.
“THAT IS UN-SO. I GROW LONELY IN MY LITTLE FREEDOM. THE MORNING STAR CAME FOR ME, THE GAME IS ALREADY ON. USE THE KEY, AND A NEW WORLD WILL OPEN, OPEN!”
Ralsei looks at the key, worried. His expression shifts in understanding.
Your golden eyes fixate on it. Your mind darts back to Seam, to your first meeting. The quest that it placed to you. Find the key pieces. Fix them. It was simple.
But yet, even with the key in hand, you can’t recall actually wishing to go for it. It was as if you were on auto-pilot.
You didn’t think too much back then, your mind elsewhere. But now standing in front of your supposed goal, you have second thoughts.
You back away.
“Sorry, but we are, um…” You look pleading at the door. “Too busy to play with you.” You smile. “Maybe next time we will have more time.”
Sorry, Seam. I am not ready for… whatever this is.
I always adored your attitude of knowing what fight to pick. Thankfully, unlike a certain human, I could always count on you.
The three of you walk away.
“BOO HOO, BOO HOO, UEE HEE HEE!! NOT READY? I AM NO FOOL! HOW CAN YOU BE NOT READY, WHEN YOU ARE ALREADY IN THE GAME? YOU CAME TOO FAR! YOUR CHOICE HAS RUN OUT!”
The key in your hand glows, and you hear a sound. The three of you turn back to it, to see a door in a place where there was no door.
You look back at your hand. There is no key.
I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy…
“A MARVELLOUS FUN IS ABOUT TO BREAK FREE. WON'T YOU LET YOURSELF OUTSIDE?” The door swiftly opens with a thud.
Susie looks at you. Ralsei does the same. They glare holes into your head. You return their stare with your own, golden eyes meeting theirs. You give them a peace sign.
They enter the cell. You move to enter it as well, but a new sight catches your attention.
The light. Even at the bottom of the world, it is still here. You move your hand, and touch it. Its warmth floods your entire being. You hold the world in place, stopping its revolution, even if for but a moment.
The power of mystery shines on you.
*
The inside of the room was unlike any room you’ve entered before. Circular, shaped like a carousel, except with no rides. No, there was nothing inside. When you looked beyond the room, all that greeted you was darkness. Like the world ended at that edge.
It was eerie. When you looked inside, you could almost see the hints of a carousel, just beneath your eyelids. But when you opened them, only the blue light assaulted your golden, almost blinding you.
“UEE HEE! VISITORS, VISITORS! NOW WE CAN PLAY, PLAY!” Your golden eyes darted to the owner of the voice. Right in the middle of the arena, a creature stood. You rub your eyes, surprised that you didn’t see it.
It’s an impish clown. His skin is gray, and his head is decorated by a blue and black jester hat. His clothes are also akin to a jester, dressed in a blueish-purple and black robes. His face is stuck in a permanent smile, his yellow teeth upfront.
He’s floating in the air. Moving up and down, but never landing. You look into his eyes, but they are empty sockets. Yet, when your golden eyes narrow, you can almost see hints of yellow beneath it all.
He spreads his arms to the side, unhinged, “THEN, AFTER YOU, I CAN PLAY WITH EVERYONE ELSE, TOO!”
His words sound innocent, but deep in your SOUL, a cold feeling washes over. You grow rigid.
I feel it too.
“So…” Ralsei starts, eyeing him weirdly. Every bit of fur in his body is standing on end, on guard. He glances at Kris before speaking. “What are we playing, exactly...?”
“OH, IT'S JUST A SIMPLE NUMBERS GAME.”
Scythes fall from the sky.
They’re fast. Sharp. They fall right where you three stand. If they hit, they would cleave you three in half.
Which is exactly what you see. Your eyes gain a white glow, and you see your SOUL being cut in half.
A phantom.
“Everyone, DODGE!” You yell to everyone, desperation in your golden eyes. You backflip away, as a scythe cuts a strand of your hair, narrowly splitting your skull.
Susie jumps to the side, the scythes cutting a piece of fabric from her pant leg.
Ralsei creates a fluffy shield around him. The impact of the magic on the floor kicks dust into the air.
“WHEN YOUR HP DROPS TO 0, YOU LOSE!”
Crazed laughter echoes in the carousel. You pick up your sword, holding it high. As the laughter echoes, you feel your limbs growing colder.
A crushing presence around you.
Ralsei runs towards you, shield circling around him.
From the corner of your eye you see Susie summon her ax, snarl in her face, “So that's the kinda game you wanna play, huh…? Then, I gotta warn you…”
The cloud of dust dissipates. Susie points her ax at the jester. “You're dealing with a couple of sharks.”
“UEE HEE HEE!” Crazed laughter is his response, echoing in the room. The clown’s smile splits his face. “SHARK-TO-SHARK! I WOULDN'T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY!”
The clown glows with magic. It’s potent, and it almost blinds you. A pressure falls onto your SOUL. A crushing feeling that feels like death itself. It takes your breath away.
What… the hell?
Being only a SOUL, you’re more vulnerable to magic. It greatly affects you.
A shame you had to learn now.
“NOW, NOW!! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!”
The clown disappears completely, vanishing into thin air.
Against all logic, the floor starts spinning, spinning around. Getting fast, faster, yet faster. It’s so fast that your cape hits your eyes, almost flying off.
It feels like a whirlwind.
The clown quickly re-appears, popping in from nothing as if he never left. It opens its mouth, and out of it comes spades. They pop out each time he opens his mouth.
Aimed right at Ralsei.
The darkner prince tries to counter them, but they are too numerous, too fast, they break part of his shield, and he is gone after the smoke clears.
It was so fast, that, despite being right next to you, you couldn’t do anything. You were helpless.
“CHAOS, CHAOS, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!” He teleports in front of Susie, spades fire like rockets.
Susie slices through with her ax, but they are too nimble, and nick her arms, causing gashes all over.
He repeats this a couple times, disappearing and reappearing with a “OHP!”
Launching spades all over the place, dozens and dozens. You try cutting through them, blocking them, but the clown is too fast, they penetrate your defenses.
Your blood drips on the floor. The world is still spinning.
You eat a darkburger, feeling its healing course through your body, closing your wounds.
Drats… he is too fast, we can’t reach him, what do I do…
Your mind tries to reach back to the manual as you dodge another onslaught of magic, trying to remember what it said about this clown.
Nothing comes up.
You try again…
Nothing comes up…
...He…
You gulp.
Wasn’t on the manual…
The crushing aura of death is ever present.
There was no clown enemy marked there…
Making panic flood through your Soul, pressuring you, blurring your vision, burying you, your breath going ragged.
The bells of death ring.
Oh no.. oh nonono… Calm down, I can do this… I’ve beaten harder…
Nothing comes up. No matter how much you try, you can’t recall anyone tougher. He is faster than anyone you’ve faced. Stronger.
That’s not true. But that’s what your memories tell you. Can it be called a lie, when you don’t have access to the truth?
How much did that man limit you? I can’t stand your potential being inhibited like this…
It’s awful. It tastes like death. Smells like rotten metal.
“Kris! I need ORDERS! HURRY!” Susie yells, cutting through spades, ax projectiles missing the clown by an inch.
He just laughs that same laugh.
“Susie, just…” You try to find her, but all you can see is magic... “Keep dodging… I will… I will…”
And the ever revolving world.
“LOOKING TROUBLED?” You hear his voice, but you cannot see him. “LET’S PLAY THE CAROUSEL GAME. WASH YOUR WORRIES AWAY, UEE HEE HEE!”
Ducks and horses materialized around the arena, flowing with the spinning. Up, down, up, down, in a rhythm. It’s a stampede.
They immediately destroy the remains of Ralsei’s shield and run over him, making him fall with a thud.
Your heart almost stops. The bells of death ring. The sounds crush you.
Green magic envelops him, healing his wounds. He rises and tries to dodge the carousel, but it’s too much.
This damned clown keeps limiting where you can go.
You jump on top of a ride, sword on hand, cutting through the spades. You keep jumping from ride to ride. From horses, to ducks, to faceless creatures that look like neither horse nor duck.
The wind hits your skin, cape flowing in this tornado of chaos. It should refresh you, but the air is too thick. You can’t breathe.
Ralsei follows you, jumping on a ride, scarf flowing through the wind. His hat does not fall.
The clown’s laugh continues, ever constant. It echoes in the room, coming from everywhere. You can’t see him.
Susie tries to follow you two, but the damage from the spades weakened her too much. Her jump is weak, and she fails to keep pace.
You grab your inventory, hurriedly going through the little bag. You fight against your dread, as Ralsei’s pellets cover for you, fighting against spades.
You grab a darkburger and throw it at Susie. Despite the constant spinning, it reaches her and she eats it. Green magic flows through her, and some of her wounds close. Not all.
You try to return your inventory back to your pocket…
But it isn’t there.
“IS IT FOR ME?” The clown globs all your items like a slob, every single one of them, from darkburger to choco diamond.
You stand there like a deer in the headlights.
That’s… that’s cheating!
He loudly burps. “WHAT HARM IS A LITTLE SIN, SIN?” The clown flicks his wrists, and hearts appear. “MY HEARTS GO TO ALL YOU SINNERS”
It’s four sets of hearts, spinning. Funnily enough, they’re grouped together in the shape of a giant heart.
It flies straight at you. You almost drop your sword in fright. You don’t know what to do.
“Kris, we need to do SOMETHING!” Susie’s voice knocks you from your reverie. In the midst of all this chaos, you see her. She looks disheveled, mane flowing in the wind revealing her yellow eyes.
They’re filled with desperation, as she panickedly fights away the magic. “We can’t win if we don’t do anything! DO SOMETHING!”
Her words are the wakeup call you need. You need to ACT. “Um… Mr. Clown, can we just, um, not play anymore?” You say to the skies.
“AND WHY?” They respond, and the clown appears right in front of you. “I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN, FUN!” He leans further, and his smile cracks his face. “EVEN THE DEVILSKNIFE IS SMILING!”
He disappears. “METAMORPHOSIS!” A scythe appears where he was. It has the same color scheme as him, and it even wears a clown’s hat.
He can turn himself into a weapon?!
It multiplies itself. One becomes two, two become four, four become eight… And they all fly through the air like comets.
But only towards Ralsei.
The prince summons dozens of projectiles to protect himself, his glasses shining.
The Devilsknife counters all of them, slicing them into pieces.
Ralsei desperately tries to make a shield of fluff around him.
The knife cuts through it like butter.
He is launched away from his ride, straight at the floor.
The rides trample over him. Each with a thunderous impact. Over and over.
There’s nothing left of Ralsei. Only his clothes…
Despite the world revolving, you feel as if your world has stopped.
No… No… No…
You can’t move.
Nonononononono…
You can’t breathe.
Ralsei, you need to get up, you need to come back… You can’t…
You can’t think.
Die.
You are paralyzed, your eyes filled with panic staring at what remains of the dark prince.
“ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO.” Hearts come flying straight at you. But you don’t move. You can’t move, no matter how much Kris wants to.
Your dead eyes, faded gold, can only stare at Ralsei.
“Kris, look OUT!” Susie jumps from her ride to yours, grabbing you in her arms. You don’t even notice it, completely frozen in shock.
She puts you in her back and slices through the hearts with her ax, jumping through rides.
“Kris, you need to wake UP! We can deal with… whatever happened with Ralsei later!” She shakes her head, “I can’t lose you too, man!”
The only thing that answers her is your dead eyes..
“ONE CANNOT PLAY THE GAME FOR ANOTHER!” The devilsknife cuts Susie’s arm. She hisses in pain, a terrible screech. She drops you.
You fall onto a ride. Still unmoving.
Kris shakes.
“I CAN DO ANYTHING!” Hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades. The clown summons all four suits, and sends them all towards Susie.
She tries to counter them. But with only one arm, it’s impossible. They cleave through her. She yells a scream of pain that Kris’ ears will never forget. The carousel launches her into the wall.
She doesn’t move.
“THE SHARK HAS EATEN ITSELF! THE END IS NEAR, NEAR! FREEDOM IS CALLING!” The clown stares at your prone body. It shakes, red eyes trying to overcome the faded gold, shining with anger at the clown.
Tears fall to the floor. With DETERMINATION, Kris rises, shambling.
“THE LOCKED WITHIN STIRS! O MORNING STAR! SUCH FUN, FUN!” Projectiles launch towards Kris. He moves his sword to counter them. Your body is too stiff, too frozen, too cold. He can’t move it with you inside, even if you’ve shut down.
They hit your leg, blood pouring onto the floor. He tries to block diamonds with a shield, but it’s launched away by a carousel ride.
Maybe it’s the fact you’ve shut down that makes it impossible.
Kris shambles to the right. A devislknife cuts his left arm. He ducks. Spade hits his head.
He kneels over. Despite the bravado, he just can’t do it by himself. He just isn’t strong enough.
“I AM THE WINNER! AND YOU LOSE, LOSE!” Projectiles of every card surround you, “GAME OVER. BYE BYE!”
His red eyes look at the sky. Look in the direction I am. They plead, as if they were asking for help.
There’s nothing I can do. Should do.
It’s all over.
They strike all at the same time. Your SOUL shatters. Kris' body falls motionless to the floor.
The clown's laughter gets louder, echoing in freedom.
…
Chapter 14: CHAPTER 1 - PART 13: THE WORLD REVOLVING
Summary:
YOU REACH AN ENDING, BUT, WITH THE RESOLVE I KNOW YOU FOR, YOU CONTINUE. THIS WILL BE VERY, VERY, INTERESTING.
Chapter Text
IT APPEARS
YOU HAVE REACHED
AN END.
Where…. Where am I…? What happened?
Did I…
…
Die?
YOUR SOUL
SHATTERED.
YOU PERISHED.
WITHOUT YOU
THE
FOUNTAIN CANNOT
BE SEALED.
THE WORLD WILL
BE COVERED
IN DARKNESS.
That doesn’t make sense! If I died… why didn’t I… I should’ve… LOADED! That’s what should happen!
THE RULES OF THIS WORLD
ARE NOT THE SAME
AS YOUR OWN.
YOU MUST
ADAPT
TO THIS NEW
CIRCUMSTANCE.
Rules? Adapt? What are you even…
…
Oh!
It’s you! The man with a scar! You came back!
OUR CONTACT WAS
CUT OFF.
AN OUTSIDE VARIABLE
INTERCEPTED ME.
A MISCALCULATION
THAT COST US A
GREAT
GREAT DEAL.
I SHALL NOT
REPEAT SUCH MISTAKE
AGAIN.
Well… at least you are back… I thought I would never see you again!
…
Where IS here, anyways?
There’s only cold and darkness…
But it’s not the same cold and darkness from where I was.
Which is really weird!
OUR CONTACT
IS LIMITED.
THE INTRUDER SURROUNDS YOU.
ONLY IN HERE
WE CAN COMMUNICATE,
FREE OF INTERFERENCE.
A PLACE BETWEEN LIFE
AND DEATH.
WHERE POSSIBILITIES
MIX TOGETHER.
So I did die…
INDEED YOU
HAVE.
DO NOT BE
AFRAID.
YOU WILL RETURN
TO THE WAKING
WORLD.
Does that even matter?
I failed.
I died.
I can’t even LOAD on my own.
THAT IS NOT YOUR
FAULT.
Does that matter? I still let everyone down.
It wasn’t just me…
Susie… and Ralsei…
Both of them died for me…
And I still failed.
I don’t deserve your help.
MY HELP DOES NOT
DEPEND ON YOUR WHIMS.
MODIFICATIONS WERE
MADE
TO ENSURE THE COMPLETION
OF THE EXPERIMENT.
THERE ARE BIGGER FORCES
AT PLAY.
DO NOT THINK
YOU’RE THE ONLY
KEY PLAYER.
Thanks for the vote of confidence…
I DID NOT MEAN
IT AS AN
INSULT.
It sure sounded like it…
I am not good enough… You don’t need me.
I should’ve never left that void…
DO NOT SAY THAT.
YOU ARE
NEEDED.
THE FUTURE OF LIGHT
AND DARK
IS IN YOUR HANDS.
I don’t deserve that responsibility! I don’t!
…
Just… bring me back to the void.
Someone else can do that better.
Someone that actually can save the world.
ONLY YOU.
ONLY
ONLY YOU
CAN.
…
I WISH I COULD
BRING YOU HOME.
LIKE THE
OTHERS.
I TRULY
TRULY
WISH I
COULD.
BUT IT CANNOT
HAPPEN.
ONLY YOU
CAN SAVE
THIS WORLD.
SEAL THE
ANGEL’S HEAVEN.
…
You…
The gash in your face…
You are… crying?
THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED
TO HAPPEN.
YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO MEET
MY FAILURES.
THE VARIABLES ARE
BECOMING
UNPREDICTABLE.
Are… you talking about… that clown…?
…
You are… Look, I don’t know why I searched for him, ok?! I…
I… know that was a bad idea and-
YOU WERE NOT
THE ONE
WHO LOOKED FOR HIM.
Huh…?! But…?!
YOU WERE
NEVER
SUPPOSED
TO BE IN THAT
BODY.
OR IS THAT WHAT I
WISHED TO SAY?
NEVERTHELESS…
I CANNOT BRING YOU BACK.
OUR TIME
IS RUNNING OUT.
…
I will… have to face everyone again?
DO NOT BE AFRAID
OF
JEVIL.
HE WAS MY
FAILURE.
A FAILED EXPERIMENT.
EVERYONE CARRIES
THEIR OWN
REGRETS.
I AM NOT
INMUNE
TO THAT.
Neither am I… Ha… ha…
We’re the same, aren’t we?
IT’S NOT FUNNY.
...I… I… will beat him… no matter how many tries it takes… After all… you are here… counting on me… right…?
INDEED.
Then… I just can’t lose…
I don’t feel determined right now, but…
I know I will be…
I will be strong!
THEN THE FUTURE
IS IN YOUR HANDS.
DON’T FORGET
I AM WITH YOU
IN THE DARK.
You open your eyes, the golden light in them mixing with the glow of the blue candles. You breathe in and out, air returning to your lungs. The corridor bathed in blue light fills your vision.
The world returns, as it was before you fought that impish clown.
You woke up from a “bad dream”. It took longer than expected… For a moment, I thought I would never see you again.
But that’s not something you would do. You will never leave me.
Ralsei and Susie are already inside the cell, waiting for you. You stand right before the open door. It flickers with the candlelight. You have a weird expression on your face… A vortex of emotions rages in your eyes.
You pick up your sword, cobwebs falling into the darkness. Your golden eyes shine brightly.
You can do this… because… someone really cares about you…
You walk towards the cell.
Inside stands the fiendish jester, tail wiggling. His crazed smile gets wider when he sees you, “ROUND 2, ROUND 2. CAN YOU KEEP UP? UEE HEE HEE!”
Your eyes briefly widen when he says that, but your face returns to stone not a moment later.
He’s a failed experiment… of course he would know that.
How do YOU know that?
Susie looks weirdly at you, then at the clown. “(Do you guys… know each other?)”. She shakes those thoughts off her head, producing her ax.
Ralsei regards you with an expression of understanding. He rushes towards you and prepares his shield.
“LET THE GAMES BEGIN!” The clown disappears, crazed laughter echoes in the room.
The clown teleports around, spades fly in the air, cutting away. The world starts revolving, spinning. The speed causes your cape to blow.
With experience, you cut through the spades. You know where they will go, so you cut and slash each one without even thinking.
Ralsei imitates you, his eyes narrow and his mouth pressed into a thin line. Magic glows through his body, pellets hitting the spades you miss.
Magical dust fills the air.
The world continues spinning.
Susie tries swinging her ax, but the spades are too fast for her. They cut through her arms, she hisses in pain.
She can’t counter what she doesn’t know.
“IMPRESSIVE, IMPRESSIVE!” The clown re-appears in the sky, lying on it. “BUT YOU HOLD BACK, YOU DON’T EMBRACE YOUR FREEDOM. YOU WILL LOSE, AGAIN, AGAIN. JOIN THE CLUB!!!”
Laughter stops. The world keeps revolving, and the clown disappears.
Projectiles in the shape of clubs appear from your surroundings. They are numerous, fast, flying around the entire carousel.
It’s a move you’ve never seen before.
What the heck? Why’s he doing a different move? Nobody does that!
Your mouth hangs open in shock, golden eyes dimming slightly.
“Kris, look out!” Ralsei’s voice jolts you back to the fight.
There’s a club projectile bolting right at your face.
You bring out your shield, gritting your teeth.
It splits apart right before it hits, in a group of three. The divided projectile flies towards your chest.
It strikes your SOUL. Pain floods through you and you kneel over, panting.
Ralsei’s shield flickers for a moment as he grunts in pain. Susie grits her teeth, the distraction opening her up to more projectiles.
Your eyes become watery.
I… I won’t fall… here…!
You are surrounded by projectiles, no time to breathe.
Power surges through you, your SOUL shining. You rise up and flip over a set of hearts that were about to cut your head.
You feel an agility course through your bones. Your eyes gain a white outline, and you see a set of phantom spades cutting every inch of your body, and a finishing set of clubs destroying the rest.
You close your eyes, and open them again. Your eyes shine gold. You dodge the set of spades, as if weaving through rain. You then duck and roll beneath the clubs.
“IMPRESSIVE, IMPRESSIVE! TO SEE WHAT MAY BE, AND AVOID IT!” The clown appears, and stares straight down at you. His eyes seem to contain a form of pride. “BUT DOES KNOWING FATE ALLOW YOU TO AVOID? THE ANSWER WILL COME!”
You look at the clown, your golden eyes stare into his bright yellow. You can’t see anything inside them. The world around you dissipates, you and the clown are everything that exists.
You take a big breath.
“Look, Jevil… that’s your name, right? I know about you!” You take a step forward. You’re ACTing. “The man… The man with a scar… you know him, right? He told me about you. I can understand the feeling of being abandoned… of thinking you are a failure…” You give him a warm smile. “But you don’t need to fight against the world, you can-”
A spade almost cutting your cheek interrupts you. You move your hand and feel the blood of the cut. You look at the crimson upon your palm.
The clown- Jevil, as you called him- is inches away from your face. He’s not smiling. “WORDS COME OUT, BUT THEY HAVE NO MEANING. IS YOUR HEAD EMPTY, OR YOUR SOUL?”
You try to back away. “I-”
“UEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!!!” Jevil laughs. He guffaws, the loudest he ever has. It echoes around the room. It’s so loud that Susie has to put her hands in her ears to block the sound.
It’s a horrible noise.
“SURELY YOU JEST? FORGOTTEN, ABANDONED, HAVE YOU LOST ALL MEANING?” He wipes tears off his eyes. “I AM FREE, FREE, FOLLOWING MY HEART. CHOICES ARE MINE. THE WORLD IS MINE!”
He leans further, his eyes inches from yours. “YOU SHOULD LOOK AT YOUR OWN SINS. YOU TALK NOT TO ME, BUT TO YOU, YOU!”
Jevil disappears.
The world spins even faster than before, it becomes a blur. You can barely stand, anyone would become instantly dizzy.
Ralsei’s hat almost flies off from the sheer harshness with which the carousel spins, and Susie looks like she wants to throw up.
“WHO KEEPS SPINNING THE WORLD AROUND?” It gets faster and faster.
You can’t even see anything, the wind hurts your eyes. Susie and Ralsei have been lost to your sight.
“HEARTS, DIAMONDS, I CAN DO ANYTHING! METAMORPHOSIS!” The world still spins, his words echoing in your head.
His terrible laughter.
The Devilsknife appears, together with diamonds, hearts. Everything. They cut through you, your arms.
Your legs.
Your head.
Pain floods through your body. Body and SOUL try to deflect the scythes but they are too numerous, the world is too fast.
Your blood flies through the air.
“YOU HOLD YOURSELF BACK, BACK. YOU LIMIT YOUR FREEDOM, AND THAT’S WHY YOU WILL LOSE, LOSE! BUH-BYE!”
A Devilsknife cuts your SOUL, cleaves it in half.
Your SOUL shatters.
ATTEMPT NUMBER 3.
Jevil starts with the spade attack. He teleports away with each hit, spades fly through the air.
You stay close to Susie this time, covering for her. That causes the jester to launch the carousel rides earlier.
You three jump on them, but he strikes with diamonds and clubs together.
The combination of attacks is too much for you.
Ralsei’s shield is broken, and in desperation, you jump close to him.
You miss your jump, a spade predicts your path.
You fall to the floor, and the rides trample your SOUL. Everyone falls with the pain.
Your SOUL shatters.
ATTEMPT NUMBER 6
You are more alert this time, already in the carousel’s rides, Devilsknifes flying through the air. You have decided to keep your team together this time.
Each covering for the other.
You attempt to ACT on Jevil this time, trying your hardest to convince him.
He always laughs at your words. His eyes are hazy, his tongue out, a crazed smile on his face.
The attacks get more and more numerous. The world spins faster, the carousel ride’s rhythm increases.
You can’t see Susie and Ralsei anymore.
Your hands falter, you fall to the floor.
Your SOUL shatters.
ATTEMPT NUMBER 10
You have given up trying to ACT.
Each time you said anything to Jevil, his laughter got crazier and crazier, the world only spun faster.
And you always died.
You are tired of it.
You ride the carousel, shielding through scythes. Your eyes glow white, you foresee what’s to come. Your cape blows in the wind.
Susie covers you, magical axes flying and countering the Devilsknife, a snarl on her face.
Ralsei stays behind, healing your wounds and himself with your items, worried eyes fixed on you.
Laughter echoes from the scythes, as if they are the ones laughing. That terrible laughter.
“YOU KIDS ARE REALLY KEEPING UP!”
He uses the diamond attack, sharp blades cut through the air.
“NU-HA!! I NEVER HAD SUCH FUN, FUN!!”
Susie launches a Rude Buster, cleaving through them, dust spreading in the air. Ralsei shields you two with fluffy shields.
“BUT WILL NEVER WIN, WIN! YOU AREN’T FREE, FREE! YOU STILL HOLD BACK!”
A giant red Devilsknife appears. The carousel shakes from the sheer pressure of its power. Susie’s eyes go wide and wild with panic. Ralsei charges his magic desperately.
You grit your teeth.
Goddammit…!
It’s still not enough. You’re too weak.
“EVEN DEVILSKNIFE IS SMILING!”
It cuts through the carousel, destroying everything in its path.
The resulting shockwave hits your body with world shattering pressure, and your senses immediately disappear.
Your SOUL shatters.
ATTEMPT NUMBER 12
You have decided you need to stall out the fight.
That… That… thing can’t have infinite stamina.
You try to keep him from using more than one attack at a time.
That has to work. He isn’t invincible. He can’t “do anything”, that’s a bluff! It has to be.
You have Susie and Ralsei use their magic to always counter his magic. And in the dust of the attacks, you use an item.
It has to be the perfect strategy!
It wasn’t.
Susie’s and Ralsei’s magic started getting weaker, slower. They couldn’t keep up.
Jevil’s magic just cut through them.
Your items ran out.
Yet Jevil didn’t slow down.
His crazed, demented laughter still echoes.
STOP LAUGHING! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!!!
You feel your sanity slipping away.
“YOU WILL NEVER WIN. IF YOU DON’T PLAY!”
Each of his words make your grip on it more and more slippery.
The four sets of cards corner your weary team. They cut through your teammates, hisses of pain fill the air.
Despite how many times you have heard it, your body and SOUL still ache each time.
Your SOUL shatters.
ATTEMPT NUMBER 15
You can’t do it.
Your words don’t work.
You can’t stall him out.
You don’t even remember where you are. You are riding a carousel, but you don’t know how far that is into the fight. Not when he seems to only grow more unhinged regardless of what you do, and when he doesn’t have a set pattern.
The wind blows, cape flows through the air. Axes and pellets wage war against sets of cards. That damned laughter echoing. Meanwhile, in the midst of all of that, you still don’t know where you are.
Your mind goes back to a thought you once had.
One the many thoughts that kept echoing through the abyss.
“(But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die.)”
...That’s what is happening, right now, he was right…
In your distraction, you fall off. Susie yells your name, but your ears can’t hear it.
You crash on the ground with a thud and the rides trample you.
Your SOUL shatters.
ATTEMPT NUMBER 20
“(Until you tire of trying. What will you do then?)”
You would fight. You would fight against the impossible. Reject the fate dealt to you, and make the impossible possible.
Is what I want you to believe. Because you can- did do it!
I would… fail…
But you don’t.
Your face contorts, pain etched upon it. You wouldn’t be here if what I said was true.
You wouldn’t be a shadow of your former self.
Faded golden eyes, almost pure white, block and dodge scythes. Almost no life in them. Susie looks at you weirdly, but doesn’t bother for more than a moment.
Ralsei’s expression becomes more worried.
A scythe easily cuts through your lifeless SOUL.
It shatters on impact.
ATTEMPT NUMBER 27
Kris cuts through magic, be it spade, diamond, any of the suits. His eyes gleam red, as he rides the carousel. His hair and cape blow in the chaotic wind.
Faint gold lurks beneath the red.
Your mind is elsewhere.
You can only think back to the words of Flowey. The words of Asriel.
You know what he said afterwards.
"(Will you kill out of frustration?)"
You look at the jester, faded gold overtaking red.
Scythes explode all around. Susie and Ralsei are already gone, having fallen. You don’t know where they are. Hiding? Dead?
Does it matter?
Your body is weak, covered in injuries, bruised from magic. Your HP is low. You are about to fall.
You don’t take your eyes off the jester.
Will… I have to kill him?
Is there truly no other way?
Kris jumps from ride to ride, exploding scythes propelling him with their impact.
Jevil’s laughter still echoes, never ceasing.
“You can win this!”
A voice whispers to you.
Kris parries a spade away.
The clown is in his face. “SEEMS LIKE THE OUTSIDER GAVE UP, UP! IT’S ONLY ME AND YOU NOW, PRISONER WITHIN! O’ MORNING STAR!”
Kris grits his teeth, so hard he feels the familiar, metallic, feeling of blood in his mouth.
“Your power is stronger than anything he can do!”
He can’t hold on for much longer.
A scythe bolts down at you, he leaps away, but the explosion catches up and sends him flying off, sword flying out of his hand, clanging far away on the floor.
“I shouldn’t have… made you suffer like this.”
A voice apologizes to you before the world ends.
Your mind is resolute. You know what you have to do.
I need to… FIGHT!
You won’t let it end like this.
The explosion covers Kris, and your SOUL shatters.
You stand in front of the light. It has a weak flicker, as if threatened to be eaten by the darkness at any moment. It persists nonetheless.
The prison cell stands in front of you, blue candle light casting an eerie gloom upon it. You blink. You turn around.
Maybe I should…
The light in your eyes dim as you remember the elevator has ceased to be.
There’s nowhere to run.
Your look into the light, your gold reflecting on the white. Your expression is resolute, thinking back on experiences untold, experiences unknown.
A voice sweet as honey whispers in your ears.
“You have to FIGHT! Show him your wonderful power.”
You walk inside the jail cell.
Jevil, the jester, stands inside, a crazed smile on his face.
You draw your sword.
And jump at him, a burst of power.
You slash him, cutting through his chest. The impact launches him through a wall.
Dust flies into the air.
Ralsei’s hat is almost blown away. “Kris?!”
“Whoa!” Susie’s eyes almost bulge out. “What the HELL?”
Their shocked yells dance in your ears. You land harshly on the floor and straighten, looking at where the clown is.
Your eyes shine with power, faint white over gold.
“Jevil… You were right about me… earlier, during our…” You laugh. It’s not funny. “Dammit… I can’t even remember when that was… haha…” You stop smiling. “I was projecting onto you. I can’t hide back my sins. My failure. I am not you. I was forgotten, my memories might not even be real. I am stuck in a world I do not know. I thought you felt the same, but I-”
You close your eyes. “You’re not the same as me. I am… perverted. I can’t let go of my own desires. To save this world. That’s why I ate up Ralsei’s words like honey. I needed to do something. Because I am selfish. I need to save the world. I need a role. But you’re not the same. You don’t care!”
Jevil smiles. It’s real, it splits his face apart.
“Because… in this world, we can’t choose who we are, can we?” You look at the hands that aren’t ours. Blue skin from a human you don’t know. “Our choices don’t matter. We have to go with the flow, unless we’re strong enough to pierce the current. Break the river.”
Her face marred with gloom and worry, Susie looks at you, shivering.
It’s cold.
“So how about…” You clench your fists. You control the smile on your face. “We indulge in some freedom?”
Laughter echoes in the room. It sounds different from every other time. Saner. Happier.
Jevil flies off the crater. “YOU REALIZED, REALIZED! THERE’S NO HARM IN A LITTLE CHAOS, A LITTLE MISCHIEF! FROM PLAYER TO PLAYER, LET US BURN TOGETHER, IN THE FIRES OF HELL!”
He laughs manically, his loudest laughter yet, "LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"
You match his smile, crazed.
“Use your power to defeat him.”
Show him the you I remember.
Diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs all fly through the air. You force your body to move, pulling it as if it was a toy. Arm moves sword, slicing through the projectiles with might.
With power.
“Susie, cover me! Ralsei, shield!” You command, they obey.
Susie, despite the worried look on her face, glows with magic. Axes fly and cancel the projectiles. She runs towards you.
She stands beside you with a snarl in her face. “Alright, let’s DO this!”
A fluffy shield surrounds you. Ralsei glows with magic, standing back. Obeying despite his concern. “(I really hope you know what you’re doing.)”
The clown reappears, you jump and slice him, his head springs out like a jack-in-the-box. “Susie, rude buster!” She obeys, rude energy cuts through the air and slicing the jester.
He laughs. “UEE HEE HEE!!! NO TIME FOR REACTION? YOU ARE PULLING ALL THE STOPS!!!”
“Man… I thought I was going to start ACTing… But if it’s smashing you want, I can DO IT!” Susie yells, baring her teeth.
“THIS BODY CANNOT BE KILLED!” The carousel is summoned. You grit your teeth.
So many deaths because of these!
Their faces look empty now, with holes in them. They don’t even have the shapes of animals.
“Susie, Ralsei, jump, now!” You jump on top of the ride, their emptiness reflects you.
Your party follows, not daring to disobey.
“Ralsei, shield on Susie!” You order. Magic glows through the prince, and the shield emerges on Susie.
She smirks.
“Susie, double attack, with me!” You jump through the rides, unlike back at the forest, there’s only fury in your jumps. No happiness. Only purpose.
Susie follows.
The jester lets his tongue out. “A BEAUTY IN JOYING IN MY HEART!”
Hearts show up. Sets of four, circling each other, trying to strike you down.
Jevil stands in front of you. Crazed smile on his face.
Mirrored by your own.
“Ralsei, enemy pellets, cover us!” You command. “We will charge through it, Susie!”
Pellets appear, striking the hearts. But they are still too numerous, Ralsei isn’t strong enough, isn’t fast enough.
They destroy your shield, a heart strikes your SOUL.
But you smile as the pain fills your body, gives you life, shows that you are real.
You must have said to that man you were prepared for pain and seizure, didn’t you?
Then… this is only proof of it.
You leap and slice, sword cuts Darkner, the clown’s head pops like a jack-in-the-box. “IGNORING ME? HOW SAD! MY HEART IS BREAKING!”
Laughter saturates the air, I cannot determine the source of it. If it is you or Jevil.
Susie’s missteps, grunting in pain. Ax projectiles still hit Jevil. His mad head springs around wildly. “OOP! O-O-O-OOP!!!!” Like the jack-in-the-box was put on fast forward.
“Ralsei, heal Susie!” You pick up a darkburger and eat it, magic heals your wounds. Green magic flows through Susie, healing her wounds.
Ralsei pants. The hit on your SOUL harmed him as well.
“THESE CURTAINS ARE REALLY ON FIRE! METAMORPHOSIS!” He turns himself back into that hellish scythe, and multiples himself. Flying through the air.
The carousel rides on, the world spins, carrying your sanity, his sanity.
“Everyone, stand together!” You and Susie jump back to Ralsei, flipping through the air, dodging the devilsknife.
That crazed smile still on your face.
The devilsknives fly towards the party, but you force your body to parry the blades. They sometimes cut through you, but the pain only makes you smile harder.
I am alive! I am real!
“Be… careful.”
You ignore the voice.
Susie and Ralsei still look worried, sharing looks with one another. Afterall, from their point of view, you were normal just minutes ago.
Only your body understands you.
Susie parries a devilsknife away, sending it crashing into a wall with the impact. The wind of the carousel makes her mane flow.
The devilsknife grows bigger and bigger. The carousel shakes again, “THIS IS IT, BOISENGIRLS! SEE YA!”
“Susie! Cast Rude Buster!!” You point at the clown. “Straight at that scythe!!!”
Susie glows with magic, mane flowing from the speed of the carousel.
Your SOUL shines with your feelings, your desperation, fear and anger.
The Devilsknife approaches, consuming the empty rides.
Your SOUL shines in tandem with Susie, radiating your feelings, your desperation, fear and anger. her ax resonates and glows red as well.
You don’t notice it, but Ralsei does.
The Devilsknife is about to hit you.
“Susie, NOW!” Your desperate shout fills the air.
Susie swings, her ax shoots a wave of red energy at the giant Devilsknife. It looks like a Rude Buster, but different. It’s red, bigger, and most of all, far more powerful.
It rips through the air, striking the Devilsknife, causing a gigantic explosion. The rides are blown away by the combined energy, destroying everything.
The glow in your SOUL recedes. “What… what… I…”
Susie almost trips after launching it. “What the hell was that? What did I DO?”
Susie channeled your strength, Rude Buster became Red Buster.
“That was your power… Goner, wasn’t it?”
The voice talks to you. You are too out of it to reply.
The rides dissipate into magical dust that’s blown back by the shockwave, filling the air with an oppressive atmosphere.
Your party falls to the floor, holding their hands to their faces, shielding them from the dust.
The dust settles, and Jevil appears from within in his normal form. Covered in bruises, dazed, panting, kneeling, his body flickering as if threatening to fade out of reality.
He stands up, barely holding on, lethargically. He looks to the floor, “ENOUGH!! YOU KIDS TIRED ME UP!”
Susie and Ralsei almost drop their guard. But you know it’s not over yet.
Jevil cracks a slight smirk.
“KIDDING!! HERE'S MY FINAL CHAOS!” He flies off to the sky, turning into the Devilsknife. He multiplies himself. Two times. Four times. Eight times. Exponentially increasing.
They fall like rain, itching for destruction.
Your eyes widen, a familiar chill enters your SOUL. “Take cover!”
The scythes fall, exploding on impact. Terrible, huge explosions.
They blind you, you can’t see your party.
It’s too many.
No… No… No… Please… no…
You roll away, you jump, explosions assault your ears.
It keeps your body on the move, pushing it.
You misstep, a Devilsknife crashes on top of you.
I got so far! I can’t…
You force your body to move faster.
I can’t end like this!
Your body is covered by the explosion.
I am so close! I just need to…
Kris falls, his consciousness lost.
Yours prevails.
Find a way to beat him!
“THE TRUE AND NEO CHAOS.” Jevil’s laugh rings through the explosion.
A huge Devilsknife appears beyond the energy of the blast, bigger than the red one.
Impossible to dodge.
I need to. I need to. I need to. I need to.
You chant in your head, feeling your soul beating faster and faster.
A fire surges within you. Raw power pumping through your veins.
Your golden eyes turn pure white. You look at the Devilsknife, at Jevil.
And see through him.
JEVIL - ATK VARIABLE DEF VARIABLE
ELEMENT: DEATH:SCYTHE
An agent of CHAOS. Used to love games, and now sees life as one after meeting the “Man”. Believes to be free, despite being locked away.
I am starting to believe he may have a point…
Supposedly, he seems to have endless stamina, but I can see it now. He can’t keep fighting forever.
Weak to Ralsei’s PACIFY spell.
You used my technique. The power to see what an enemy can do. The power to CHECK.
He can get tired! He just pretends not to! I need to use Ralsei’s pacify!
You reach out, trying to find him, Ralsei. You can’t see him. You wouldn’t even be able to say anything, you’re too weak to speak.
But there’s other ways of communicating to others with our power.
You close your eyes, filling your SOUL with thoughts of Ralsei, as you did with Susie just before.
You’re not strong enough to dissociate completely. You don’t have enough power. Not at this state, not after all the fighting.
Yet there is something else you can do.
Even as your eye-lids are closed, you can still see. See the battlefield from above, as if you were flying over it. Like a ghost.
You see Ralsei, jumping through the explosions. Looking at the huge Devilsknife with acceptance in his eyes.
I have to do something.
You whisper, command him.
The air crackles with freedom.
“(You’re the only one who can do this! Please, use your pacify spell on him! End this battle!)”
He obeys. Focusing on the laughing Jevil, his body glows blue. The Devilsknife gets closer and closer, it’s almost hitting the ground.
Susie looks desperate, panicking.
But Ralsei’s magic envelops the jester, and his magic disappears, he reverts to his regular form.
He flickers. He stops. His face becomes neutral. Deep inside, you can even feel his sadness, hidden behind layers and layers of denial.
It vanishes in an instant. “HA HA HA.” He laughs, holding his face. “WHAT FUN!!! YOU'RE FAST, FAST, STRONG, STRONG.”
Susie is panting.
“BUT THERE ARE YET FASTER, YET STRONGER.”
Your thoughts start to decelerate, adrenaline dissipating. Pain and realization hit you like a freight train.
“FROM NOW, A NIGHTMARE WILL AWAKEN IN YOUR HEARTS. WHAT YOU AVOID WILL COME, AND WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW WILL BE REVEALED.”
Your SOUL aches, your mind spirals in panic. It’s hard to move.
Ralsei picks another darkburger from your inventory, giving it to Kris, making him recover his consciousness. It heals your body, your wounds close.
“THE WORLD WILL BE FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN. THE UNPREDICTABLE WILL BE PREDICTABLE. THE FIRST WILL BE THE LAST. AND IN THE VOID, THEY-”
Jevil stops talking, as if he was eating his words.
Your mind feels even more broken.
You get up.
“SHADOW OF THE KNIGHT'S HAND… IT IS DRIFTING FORWARD. YES. THE KNIGHT WILL WRITE THE DARK INK. BUT… WILL THEY NOT REBEL AGAINST IT?”
The jester's knowledge is greater than was thought… Was this really part of the plan, Kris?
Was it?
“I do not know.”
You look around.
Who said that?
“CHERISHED, EVEN YOU FORSAKEN ME?” Jevil’s voice makes you turn towards him. He smiles. “SOON, THE "QUEEN" RETURNS, AND HELL'S ROAR BUBBLES FROM THE DEPTHS… LIGHTNERS, CAN YOU STOP IT?”
Jevil’s voice echoes in the room. Everyone gets together, looking weary, hurt.
Susie picks a darkburger and eats it, remaining wounds being healed. She eats it normally, her ferocity is gone.
Ralsei eats as well, regal composure lost.
“I will have to stop it. That’s the reason I am here.” You try to hide your shivering. It doesn’t work.
But it had to be that way. The only way.
“IS THAT SO-SO? DO NOT LET OTHERS LIMIT YOUR FREEDOM. REASON, WAYS? DOES THAT MATTER, TO PLAYERS LIKE US? UEE HEE HEE!” Jevil’s laughter echoes. It’s calmer, focused.
He looks at Susie with fondness in his eyes.
“EITHER WAY, A MISCHIEF-MISCHIEF, A CHAOS-CHAOS...! LIGHTNERS! FROM INSIDE YOUR LITTLE CELL!! TAKE ME AND DO YOUR STRONGEST---!”
He turns into another Devilsknife. His J-shaped tail plops out of his body. They fly towards Susie. She jolts forward and holds her arms out, but they simply stop right in front of her.
The tail flies to her behind. It fits neatly, as if it was part of her body.
The Devilsknife eats Susie’s ax, born anew a different type of Jevil.
Susie got the Devilsknife.
Susie got the Jevilstail.
“Huh, neat! I feel even stronger!” Susie says, spinning her new weapon in place, testing it. Magic flows through her, unholy. “Whoa! That’s a weird feeling. Still pretty cool, I guess.”
She side-eyes you and scoffs, “You knew he would do this, didn’t you, Kris?” Susie’s question makes you jump. “That's why you acted exactly like you knew what he would do, leading us into battle!”
She crosses her arms. “(I knew listening to you would be a good thing)" She snorts, "Heh, don’t think this will win my favor!”
No, he didn’t, he one hundred percent didn’t think through when doing it, but, eh, it worked out I guess.
The three of you walk away, with you holding the light again, feeling the taste of that power you just had, and walk away.
You cannot return to that battle now, even if you wanted. It’s firmly in the past.
Thank God…
Susie’s j-tail wiggling, Devilsknife spinning. “(Let the games begin, heh heh!)” You can quietly hear Jevil giggling together with Susie.
They arrive at the elevator and enter it.
Ralsei looks back at you, a frown on his face, but it turns upside down and he walks inside. You send him a smile back… but you are still scared of what you did.
...Was that… really the right thing to do…? Fighting him made him into our ally… and he isn’t hurt at all… but still…
You feel cold.
Is fighting really the right thing? Am I deluded?
You hug yourself, and look back at where the cell was. The cold doesn’t go away.
You move to enter the elevator, but something stops you. There’s a thing inside your pockets.
You move your hand, and pick it. It moves like water in your hand. You look inside of it, but it feels there’s nothing there.
Until the golden light of your eyes shows a shadow of… something.
What is this?
You look deeper inside. You see…
Nothing. Huh. This is weird.
…
I saw toys strewn on the floor. I assume Kris did as well. We must have seen the same.
What is this thing, for that to be the difference?
“(Hey, are you coming or not? We need to kick Lancer’s Dad’s Ass!)” Susie’s voice brings you back to reality.
“I’m coming!” You yell, and enter the elevator.
Ralsei turns the elevator on with a click and it slowly ascends, out of the dark.
Chapter 15: Chapter 1 - Part 14: Card Castle
Summary:
Rouxls Kaard, the Duke of Puzzles, makes his (not so) grand debut! Can you beat his puzzles?! (Spoilers, you can, easily).
Notes:
Sorry for the longer wait, life happened. Thanks for all the support in the meanwhile! I appreciate every comment and kudos, don't be afraid to reach out with your thoughts! There's still plenty of story to go!
Chapter Text
The elevator stops.
With a rush, the doors open. You three are finally in the castle proper.
Walls darker than night cover the whole place. They’re completely plain, smooth, decorated only by the candles lighting the halls.
Their white light flickers.
“(Oh good, this is the right floor.)” Ralsei exhales, his shoulders relaxing.
The prince claps as he turns to you and Susie, “Here we are guys! Card Castle! The final obstacle to the fountain, and to your way home!” He looks at the huge corridor ahead, “The fountain should be upstairs.”
“(...Lancer’s dad will be there as well…)” Susie’s voice is almost a whisper, it strains you to even hear it.
You take a deep breath and move forward through the castle.
At last, here we are, the final obstacle of your journey. You think back on everything you went through.
The fields that carried all your hopes and dreams of a new beginning.
To the checkerboard you played a real life game of checkers upon. Your first roadblock, one to which you almost died.
The red forest you made true friends within and, if only for a moment, found peace.
The basement, wherein you tasted death and rebirth.
Now… there’s only this castle… and its King.
And the end of all of this.
You look down at your hands and clench them.
There’s still something missing. A hole in your heart, leaving you unsatisfied.
Always unsatisfied.
Before you know it, you’re already walking down the corridor.
A smile tugs at Ralsei’s lips as he walks at the back of the group, his posture upright and steady. His eyes shine with purpose from helping the Lightners. Helping you.
Ahead of him is Susie. She presses on, her brow furrowed and jaw set tight, determination outweighing her unease.
And you lead the pack, your steps steady but hesitant, the weight of your earlier actions lingers on your shoulders, pulling your lips into a tight line.
Unsatisfied.
You take a turn around the corner and see the stairs to the next floor, as well as a guard- just like the ones who captured you- marching by it, on patrol.
Susie summons her new weapon, the blue and yellow scythe emanating unholy, malignant miasma.
You can almost hear his laughter in your ears.
“So, Kris, should we smash this enemy too?” Susie smirks as the J-shaped tail wiggles.
Ralsei’s expectant eyes weigh on you.
Well, should you?
No...no! That was... a one time only thing. Yeah…
You look at Susie, your eyes drift to the Devilsknife, “No, Susie, I only did that because we had to…”
I think… probably. If I was stronger, then maybe…
You shake your head, summon your shield and point at the red, diamond shaped guard, “This is just a regular enemy, ACTing should be no problem!”
Your eyes widen. “Susie, you need to try ACTing as well!”
Susie looks at you, tilting her head. “ACT, how, exactly?”
“Um…” You mutter. You know what to do. Unlike the jester, this enemy was in the manual. At least, you should know what to do.
Yet…
I uncovered Jevil’s weakness, all on my own. That power… Can I…
You look at the red Rudinn, glare at him. Your eyes narrow, their golden glow like a searchlight.
But nothing happens.
You can’t CHECK.
Why? Why isn’t it working?!
“Kris?! Hello?” Susie waves her hand in front of your face, you snap back to reality. Her stare fixed upon you, full of expectation. “How should I ACT?!”
“Er, um…” You focus, dispelling your nervousness. “Compliment the guard!”
Guess I’ll have to use Ralsei’s manual…
RUDINN RANGER: Obsessed with ranger shows, it lets everyone know it’s better than Rudinn.
LIKE: Sucking Up.
DISLIKE: Show Getting Taped Over
LEVEL: 5
ATTACK: 4
DEFENSE: 5
ELEMENT: JEWEL:BLADE.
Susie frowns and the Devilsknife’s aura settles, “...Uhhh, are you serious?” She points at the red diamond, still pacing about the same area, somehow having not yet heard you three, “What good can I say about someone trying to kill us?”
Ralsei makes his best cutesy face, one so fluffy none could resist the primordial grandmotherly urge to pinch his cheeks, “Aww, Susie... if you're stuck, why not try...saying something you wish someone'd say to you?”
Susie gaze falls pensive to the floor as she seems to be deep in thought.
You look at her, thinking about what she’s thinking.
Maybe she just wants someone to say that they want to be her friend! Or that they want to hang out with her! Or-
Susie jumps to the enemy, startling you clean out of that train of thought.
The Rudinn Ranger can relate, looking on the edge of a heart attack… “Perish, Lightners! Long live the King!” It launches sharp diamonds at her. “And don’t ever startle a royal servant again!”
The diamonds cut the air, she just smirks and swings her scythe.
You and Ralsei jump in to cover her, but there’s no need. Her weapon is simply too good, multiplying, homing in on, and cleaving through every diamond, as if acting by itself.
Susie barely seems to be losing magic.
Dissatisfaction rises.
“’You are unbanned from free ham sandwich day’.” Susie says to the guard.
You blink, mouth hanging a tad agape.
That’s… well… Good???
Unsure what to feel, you look at the Rudinn Ranger for its reaction.
The Ranger looks at Susie popeyed… in fact, there are stars shimmering in its eyes! Its magic stops, and it kneels over, tears well up and spill down its cheeks, its face softens with emotion. “The King never said THAT to me before…”
It glows white, with its eyes bright and a wide smile spreading across its face. It leaves, its life saved.
(Still leaving dark dollars behind, even the King’s Guard follows tradition).
Susie disperses her scythe, dusting her hands, a smirk curling at the corner of her mouth as she stands tall.
If it works, it works, I guess.
You watch her with a look of admiration and a soft smile, your eyes reflecting a gentle glow beneath your hair.
“Susie, you did it! You finally ACTed! I am so proud of you!” Ralsei’s eyes sparkle as he claps, a cute smile spreading across his face.
Susie shifts her gaze awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck with a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. It’s not a big deal, dude.”
“I think it is!” You put your hands on Susie’s shoulders. “And I think you will do even better in the future.”
Susie looks at you as if you grew another head. “Let’s just move on.”
She moves forward.
You follow.
Unsatisfied.
*
The three of you approach the stairs, their shadowy form blending into the darkness of the castle. They stretch upwards, and the menace of the castle’s colossal height looms over you, filling you with unease.
“Oh my God!” Susie groans. “I’ve always HATED stairs! How long does this castle go on for?”
“Well… we’ve still got a couple floors to go,” Ralsei wipes his brow. “But I don’t think it should take too long…”
“And there’s nothing wrong with a little exercise.” You hop ahead a few paces. “Blink, and it’ll be done in a—”
Iron bars shoot up, blocking the way right as your foot touches the stairs. “—flash.” You step back, sighing. “Or not.”
The candlelight dims, and a booming voice echoes from above.
“So the worms have decided to crawl out and play…”
What the heck is up with that accent…?
Everyone readies their weapons, eyes scanning for the source of the sound. You try to feel apprehensive, even though there’s no real fear stirring in you.
“Who’s there!?” Ralsei yells, glasses glaring.
“Geh ha ha ha ha! Thoust FOOLS!”
A blinding light bursts from above, like a geyser—a brilliant, searing pillar striking the ground and forcing you to shield your eyes.
Just as quickly, the light recedes. In its place stands a tall man, his entire form melted blue. He’s cladded in a military suit, adorned with epaulets and frogging composed of lines of strange, unreadable symbols, as if the text itself were embroidered and woven into the fabric. His long white hair sways in the gentle wind.
“Entereth: Rouxls Kaard, Duke of Puzzles! A Man of glamour and thou're greatest adversary!” Words spill from Rouxls’ mouth, but you can barely comprehend them beneath the layers of thick accent and faux archaism. “Thou may have clawedst past all thouse-''
You cut him off. “Wait… Rouxeles-”
“It’s pronounced ‘Rules’.” Rouxls corrects.
“Rules-”
“It’s ‘Rouxls’”
“AARGH! DUDE, WHO CARES!!!!!!” Susie yells, gripping her mane and snarling.
Ralsei looks on, amused, as expected.
“Whatever! We heard about you before!” you exclaim.
Rouxls chuckles, hands on his chest, “So thouse have headerst of my Greatere feats…! Gehahah, of courserts, my Reputation predates Mine own…”
“You’re the one who stopped those puzzle guys from working on their craft!” You point at his face.
Rouxls goes wide-eyed, “What.”
Ralsei follows up, “And you vandalized those puzzles!”
Rouxls coughs and shifts about uncomfortably, his posture going rigid. “Yesth, But! What abousts mine—”
Susie cuts him off with a smirk. “I’ve got nothing to say, I just wanted to interrupt you too.”
Rouxls looks like he is about to burst, “Enoughest about what Thou have heardest about Me!” A beam of light shoots down from above, manifesting a box and a switch onto the floor, “Now, prepare thouself. For the STRONGEST puzzle of THOUST LIFE!”
Kris glances at Susie, a smug smirk playing on his face.
Susie meets his gaze and matches his expression, turning her attention to the box.
Ralsei gulps.
Susie struts towards it, slow and deliberate.
Rouxls gleams with pride, a wide smile stretching across his face. “Lost...? Frightened...? Confused...? GOOD!! HA HA HA!!!” His laughter, high-pitched and strained like a kitten’s mewl, grates against your ears. “Toileth in despair at the Worlde's strongest puzzle...!!!”
His voice makes your head throb. “Why do you talk like that?”
“Ge ha ha ha… do thou not understandeth Mine powere? Mine-” Rouxls falters, the gladness in his expression contorting into confusion, “Waite, what are thou doingest?!”
Rouxls points frantically at Susie, his eyes bulging with veins. “That’s Mine Puzzle!!!” He exclaims.
She glances back at Kris, who flashes her a thumbs-up. With a smirk, she faces the iron bars, gripping the box tightly. “We are SOLVING the PUZZLE!”
Susie cocks her arm and leans back. “Batter up!” She whips forward, hurling the box at the bars.
It’s like the world goes into slow motion.
Rouxls' face contorts with terror, his eyes wide with fear and disbelief.
He reaches for the box, desperate to stop the inevitable, “WAIT, STOP, THAT’S AGAINST THE RU—”
BOOM! CRASH!!
The blockade is annihilated, leaving behind only torn and mangled iron bars.
Rouxls stands frozen, his face a mask of shock. His hair is disheveled, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Susie's laughter crescendos, hands clutching her sides as she cackles uncontrollably.
Ralsei joins in, clearly amused now that the joke isn't on him. I suppose he's finally grasped the fundamentals of the pranking arts.
Rouxls’ eyes dart about in a wild manner, “GOD”
“DAMN IT” he yells, voice thick with despair.
In an instant, he flies (?) off, vanishing from sight.
You glance around, but he's nowhere to be seen. Yes, he’s gone.
Not that you care.
Susie steps up to you, hand outstretched for a high-five. “That was a great call, Kris! I knew joinin' ya was a good idea.”
Your hand meets hers with a sharp clap, though there's a hint of hesitation in your movements, confusion lingering. “You’re… welcome?” You’re not all too sure what she’s talking about.
She shoots you a thumbs up and starts up the stairs.
Ralsei, his composure restored, trails after.
You pause.
My idea…
A hollow feeling settles inside.
That’s right, it must be.
Dissatisfaction.
With a sigh, you follow them up the stairs.
*
It doesn’t take long to reach the second floor. It’s identical to the first: the same dark floors, the same walls, the same flickering candles. Everything’s the same.
Even the guards are no different, moving to block your way, unwavering in their ambitions to stop you.
At least until Susie steps in and ACTs on your orders, disarming them with exactly what they want to hear, like a master:
“(‘Your outfit is NOT disgusting.’)”
"(‘Please keep body tackling he soda machine.’)"
“(‘Nice, you guys look like you're gonna kill me.’)”
And with that, her charming and sagely words convince the Rudinn Rangers to stand down, leaving you three a little more experienced—and richer.
And their bullet patterns? No problem. Susie’s new weapon is fast, fast, strong, strong. It easily cleaved through all the diamonds, hearts and whatever suit came her way.
You could still hear his faint, ever-present laughter.
Susie is almost becoming a one-dragon team.
And that leaves you with a weird feeling.
It’s great that Susie’s so strong, right? It’s good that Jevil’s become a tool to help us… I should feel happy, but…
Your golden eyes fall on the scythe, as Susie wins another battle on her own.
I don’t.
You sigh, shaking your head, hoping these thoughts clear away.
They don’t.
You glance at the walls, searching for a distraction. Unlike the first floor, this one has decorations—pictures line some of the corridors. Your golden eyes scan them, taking in every detail.
They capture memories. Childhood memories. Memories of better days.
Memories of Lancer playing on his bike, eating worms, making puzzles with a tall, blue man with flowing hair—Rouxls. The two reading together, listening to MP3s.
They look happy.
The final picture brings you to a halt. Lancer is there, but beside him is someone unfamiliar.
He looks just like Lancer—blue, spade-shaped—but much taller, towering over him. You figure his height may surpass even Asgore’s. A white crown rests atop his head.
Even in the still frame, you feel the cruelty his eyes radiate. His smile is sharper than Lancer’s, more menacing. An aura of dread clings to this figure.
He looks to be teaching Lancer something, but the little spade is yawning, on the verge of falling asleep.
There’s only one person this could be.
Is that… Lancer’s dad? He looks…
“Hell yeah! Another battle won!!” Susie’s cheer cuts through your thoughts, sending them spiraling into the abyss of your mind.
She ACTed on another set of guards, finishing the fight in record time.
“Good job, Susie! They couldn’t even react!” Ralsei praises.
“Heh, that’s what happens when you deal with a pro!” Susie smirks as she strides ahead.
Ralsei follows, a smile lighting up his face.
You collect the money they left behind, staring as Susie and Ralsei head off.
She’s sure adapting fast, huh? She didn’t even need a manual or anything…
You force a smile and follow them. The end of the floor is near, and the next set of stairs leading to the third floor is in sight.
Just as Susie steps forward, bars shoot out, blocking the path.
You sigh, bracing for his return.
Bright light erupts, like a geyser. “Geh ha ha…” The duke Rouxls Kaard emerges, chuckling, hands held to his chest.
You and Susie narrow your eyes, groaning at yet another round of tomfoolery.
“Thoust guys really think that was all I hadst!?” He boasts, his hair floating magically, trying to exude an air of royalty.
It fails.
“Yes. We did think so,” you say, curt.
He strains a bit, staggered by your unexpected honesty.
But he’s swift on the rebound, smiling wide. “WRONGE! It's time for you to feel my Reale Powere! Behold! My ULTIMATE Puzzle!”
Another flare of light; another box and switch appear.
This time you glance at Ralsei, smirking.
Time to perform an idea I can actually remember!
He looks back, confused, evidently not grasping your intent.
You let out a quiet sigh. “(C’mon, Ralsei! You don’t need everything spelled out!)”
His head tilts a smidge, blinking a few times, his gaze shockingly vacant.
“(Or maybe you do.)” You whisper your plan to him in a hurry.
Rouxls continues his babbling. “And THIS TIME, thousts cannot CHEATETH. Because, I, Rouxls Kaard, haveth puthe an ANTI-CHEAT device on thine boxes, Mine Rouxls art ABSOLUTE, Gehahaha!” His laughter rings out, his face that of a man confident he’s already won.
He’s completely oblivious to what’s happening behind him.
You smirk, pointing at him, showy and graceful, “That’s what YOU think, but we, the legendary heroes, can cheat at ANYTHING!” You gesture towards Susie. “Isn’t that right, Susie?”
She doesn’t even look at you, scratching her nose. “Huh…? Yeah, sure, we can do anything and all that shit,” she replies, her tone flat.
Something inside of you snaps. “Susie… you need to pay more attention during battles…” You strut toward her, the blood in your veins boiling. “And you shouldn’t swear—we have an image to keep!”
Sweat beads on Rouxls’ forehead.
“Dude, calm down, it’s just a word…” She tries to brush you off, but you’re implacable when motivated. “You don’t need to be such a stuck-up ass—”
Rouxls murmurs. “Umm, worms…?” Thankfully cutting her off, I don’t know what you would’ve done if she continued. “What about mine puzzle? Thousts still haveth to-”
A click echoes, and the iron bars recede back into the ground.
Rouxls slowly turns around. Ralsei stands there, having just finished doing the puzzle, the box neatly placed on the switch.
The dark prince brushes off his hands. With a smirk and a hint of triumph in his voice, he says, “We completed the puzzle!”
Rouxls’ eyes flick between you, Susie, and Ralsei—trying to comprehend your chaotic bickering and the now solved puzzle.
His eyes dart to and fro.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
His grin doesn’t falter, despite looking more strained every instant, “Ahhh… Ahh... Ha...! Ha ha ha!” He laughs, a crazed, forced cackle that echoes through the room.
You look at him again. It dawns on you, your plan worked.
You should feel great, but you don’t.
It wasn’t as cool as Susie’s…
“And right behindth mine back…” Rouxls holds a dramatic hand to the air. “BUTTH. That wasn'tst REALLY my ultimate puzzle!” He chuckles, “Gullible worms! I have a wayst better one right…”
He suddenly pivots and points toward the third floor, so abruptly that his hair whips into his face. “Here!”
Ralsei looks at him, already rejoined with the rest of the party. “Can... Can we see it?”
“No.” He takes off—flying (? How the hell???) to the third floor.
“... Is anyone going to talk about the fact he just flew with his hair?” Susie’s words make my eyes widen. That’s how!
“No,” you reply, your tone flat, then catch yourself. Realizing how mean you sound, and you soften your tone with a smile. “I mean, it’s not that important, and…” The words die in your throat. “Never mind. Let’s just go.”
“(Someone’s in a bad mood…)” Susie murmurs.
With forced cheer and a heavy heart, you head toward the third floor.
*
As you ascend, the pull of the fountain intensifies, growing stronger with each step. It feels like the heart of the world, drawing you in with the gravity of darkness.
Your soul aches for the fountain. It’s a familiar sensation, laced with nostalgia. It feels like…
Home. It feels like… I’m coming back home.
It’s strange—a feeling I can’t fully understand.
After a little more walking, the three of you reach the third floor. It looks much like the others, the walls and floor as dark as midnight.
And then there are… the decorations.
More pictures of Lancer and Rouxls line the walls, snapshots of Lancer’s life. Lancer digging holes in the castle while Rouxls looks on panicked. Rouxls serving worms to Lancer, only for him to play with them instead of eating. And more.
It almost feels like… they’re a family.
There’s also pictures of Lancer with his father. They don’t look happy in those.
This feels way too personal…
There are only two rooms on the third floor. (Not counting the bathroom—for royal necessities. Now that feels way too personal).
A bedroom with a door shaped like a spade. It’s closed. You consider going inside but change your mind at the last second.
Definitely too personal…
The second room sparkles with glitter. Its door is open, revealing a blend of a shop and a bedroom inside. It’s surprisingly tidy.
Rouxls stands at the entrance.
Your face falls.
Oh…
He notices the three of you and waves from his little setup. “Welcome to my shop, you ungrateful worms.”
He beckons you all closer.
The entire Lancer Fun Squad side-eyes one another, each wondering if they should humor this complete weirdo…
You offer them a bright smile.
Why not? He’s not a threat, and we need resources!
Assuming everyone shares your thoughts, you step towards Rouxls.
(They didn’t. Ralsei was just flustered because you kept staring at him, and Susie was thinking of food).
“Hahaha…! So thousts haveth came to my humble abode!” Rouxls announces, lounging on the counter. Soft music plays from hidden speakers as he snaps his fingers to the rhythm. He’d almost look cool—if only his name weren’t ‘Rouxls Kaard’, “Are thou interested in anythingth?”
You browse through Rouxls’ store as the soft, relaxing tune seeps into the core of you, stirring a buried exhaustion back to the forefront. It reminds you of the grueling effort you’ve already endured today.
A sudden urge to collapse right where you stand washes over you, but a fire deep within your soul keeps you on your feet.
We need to defeat Lancer’s dad first. We need to win. We need to save this world. We need to…
Shaking off the fatigue, you refocus on the store’s contents. There’s a massive ax hanging above a bed, books on various subjects…
(Puzzles. They’re puzzle books).
Scarves, and… worms crawling around. Disgusting, really, but they restore a good chunk of health.
And we only have two items left…
“Well, I’ll take two worm dishes,” you say, pointing to the squirming creatures inside a jar.
Rouxls beams. “Ah! The RouxlsRoux, I seeth! A classic choice for Personae of culture such as ourselves.”
He saunters off to retrieve them, attempting to mimic Ralsei’s regal posture—and failing miserably.
You peep the ax, then Susie.
We still have money, so…
“Susie, want that ax?” you ask, gesturing toward the massive weapon.
She scoffs, “Seriously? I don’t need anything else when I have…” She twirls the Devilsnife in her hands. “THIS!”
Your smile tenses as you stare at the scythe.
Why did I even ask? That weapon is amazing…
You shake off the lingering thoughts, your eyes flicking back to the pictures of Lancer as you feel the ribbon in your hair, trying to focus. “Umm… What’s up with you an-”
Rouxls lights up, nearly dropping the worms in his hands from the sudden excitement. “Thou wantest to know more about mine own Persona?!”
No you don’t, no you don’t, no you don’t-
“I amst the Duke of Puzzles, Rouxls Kaard. My hobbies includest calligraphy, lawkeeping, bugkeeping, cages…'' He sighs dreamily, “...and long walks in the dungeon.”
He gazes at you expectantly, the worms (I will not repeat whatever nonsense he just called them) now resting on the counter. “Artest thou one of my admirers, worm?”
Just go with it… you know how to handle weirdos. You survived the underground, after all!
Your inner pep talk works, and you give him a confident finger gun. “Yes, I am! And… as an admirer… what's the deal between you and Lancer?”
You hand over the cash and take the worms.
Rouxls’ expression turns thoughtful, a hint of sadness flickering through for the first time. “Mine King’s Son…” He forces mock anger back onto his face. “Is more troublesome than a fistful of fleas! He alwayst asks me the Worste Queries, And calleth me his ‘Lesser Dad’!”
Both you and Susie perk up at this. “You’re Lesser Dad?!” Susie balks. Her face shifts to neutrality. “Actually, that makes a lot of sense.”
“What doesthe thou even me—” Rouxls cuts himself off, his voice rising. “Nay! Our relation is NONE, you little water-beetle! I placate you for your Father's sake! I do not Wisheth to hear your MP3's! I would rather listen to the sweet song of Death! I do not wisheth to taketh even more photos of the most mundane tasks imaginable!”
His anger fades, the downcast look returning...
You hand over the money and offer the rules card a warm smile. “Well, I am glad you’re helping Lancer, at least. It was thanks to your reading habit that he helped us defeat K.Round.”
Rouxls takes the money, stands up straight, and smirks, his long hair falling over his eyes. “Funnyeth that thou saidest that…”
With a flash of bright light, he teleports further ahead. “Because thou may have CHEATETHED through mine PUZZLES, but…” His grin grows wider as he bursts into laughter.
You resist the urge to facepalm.
Why can’t he try to NOT kill us?
“It wouldn’t be an adventure if that happened.”
You roll your eyes.
Thanks for saying the obvious, Voice Inside My Head.
With a sigh, you summon your sword, ready for battle.
Susie brandishes her scythe, her grin sharp as a shark’s.
Ralsei adjusts his scarf, preparing himself.
“In COMBAT, thou shalt be scattered about!” Rouxls points dramatically. “Come, knaves...! Prepareth for battle with...!”
A blinding light flares, the brightest yet—so intense it nearly burns your eyes.
But just as quickly, it fades, revealing…
K.Round.
You blink.
This guy again?!?!
“That thing thou just mentioned!!!” Rouxls gloats, gesturing grandly at the checker king, turned piece, now turned king once more.
The red checker king stands before you, its eyes blazing with bloodlust. Veins bulge from its legs, looking more strained than ever, as if it’s in constant pain.
It locks its gaze on the three of you.
“Huh…!?” Ralsei stares at the creature, confused. “It’s the enemy from earlier…!” His eyes narrow. “But its CROWN looks different!”
“(...it looks the same,)” Susie mutters, confusion crossing her face.
She’s mistaken—the crown’s color is a dull faded yellow compared to the previous’ bright hue. A small detail easy to miss for eyes untrained in the ways of darkness, unlike ou—
It really looks the same…
Unlike MY own.
Rouxls laughs triumphantly, “Yes! With my Control Crowne… (Bought from thou funds, Worms!)” He gestures towards K.Round, unnaturally still. “I mayst control ANY disc-shaped Lifeforme!”
“Oh no!!! It looks like it's in pain!!” Ralsei’s eyes brim with sympathy.
Even though you see no visible change, Ralsei’s expression is so genuine, you can’t help but share his concern, taking in the checker’s pain.
“We need to save it!” you shout.
“(IT LOOKS THE SAME!!!!)” Susie groans, on the verge of tearing her hair out.
Rouxls, despite being the enemy, mirrors Ralsei’s concern, “Yes... The control crown is painful…” His face hardens. “But, I'm certain this Creature will feeleth relief…” The tone of his words shifts to cold determination. “When it sees how much MORE pain THOU'LL be in!!!
He drives an arm toward your group. “Attackest!”
As if a spell has been cast (which it has), K.Round’s eyes burn with violence as it springs to life, charging at the Lancer Fun Squad.
It barrels toward you, ready to reduce you to roadkill.
With reflexes honed from numerous deaths, you leap out the way, watching it slam into the wall with a thunderous crash.
“We fought it before, Rouxls!” you shout as you land. “And we’ve fought BETTER since then!” Gripping your sword, you narrow your golden eyes, they gleam with power. “This battle will end in a flash!”
Like before, on the checkerboard, you hurl your sword straight at the crown, aiming to knock it off.
Your blade bounces off the crown, clattering uselessly to the floor.
The crown remains unmoved, as sturdy as ever. “Huh…?” You blink, disbelief surging through you. “But it was supposed to...?
“Gehahaha… Thouse FOOLS!” Rouxls sneers, clutching his remote. “This Crowne is FAR HARDIER than a commoner’s crowne! Thou shall never winne with such low Powere…!”
K.Round recovers, launching into the air to crush you beneath its weight. Your eyes widen, heart racing as you brace your shield.
Susie rushes in, mane whipping through the air as she tackles you aside. The two of you crash to the ground as K.Round lands with a bone-shaking thud, cracking the floor beneath its weight.
It wastes no time, rising and kicking the air, sending a flurry of stars streaking at you and Susie. They’re too fast—you can’t dodge.
You squeeze your eyes shut, waiting for the pain.
But it never comes.
When you open them, Ralsei’s enemy pellets intercept the stars mid-flight, bursting into dust on impact.
Susie grabs you by the arm and drags you towards the glowing mage. You three regroup at the far corner of the room, near the stairs. K.Round looms in the distance, eyes locked in a fierce stare.
I couldn’t even react. If it wasn’t for Ralsei and Susie… I…
Your golden eyes narrow as they meet K.Round’s. “Taking off the crown didn’t work. So we have to...”
Unable to use the manual for more information, your options feel limited. The only solution that comes to mind is the same power you used against Jevil.
If I use it, I’ll know how to beat K.Round. I just need to tap into it…
You have to use my power.
You grit your teeth.
So why can’t I…
Nothing happens.
“We have to do WHAT?!” Susie yells, eyes wide with frustration. “We can’t sit around while that THING tries to kill us!”
“Thou knave art correct!” Rouxls shouts from across the room. “Thy only reason I haven’t killedth thou is because I thoughteth you would do a very Coole move!”
“We need to…” You clench your fists and swallow your pride, glancing at Susie. “I don’t know. Do you have an idea?”
Susie’s expression hardens with determination as she looks between you and K.Round. “Yeah, I do. But someone needs to distract that thing... Any volunteers?”
You and Ralsei exchange a brief look, but before either of you can step up, a voice echoes through the room.
“LEAVE IT TO ME, ME! CARDS VERSUS CHECKERS, MAY THE BEST PLAYER WIN!”
The heart of the sound is Susie’s weapon. The scythe trembles in her grip.
“What the HELL...?” Susie stares down at her weapon, eyes wide. “The scythe SPEAKS? You’re still conscious?! How?!”
The shock in your face dwarves Susie’s. “You are still alive like that?!”
Ralsei, oddly enough, remains calm.
“THE GAME NEVER ENDS! THE WORLD IS ALWAYS SPINNING, SPINNING. WITH NEW IDEAS, NEW AGES!”
Jevil cackles as he hurtles towards K.Round, launching versions of himself at the checker king. His laughter fills the air, wild and unyielding.
K.Round counters with a flurry of stars, but Jevil is relentless, blocking its every move. The clown doesn’t let it jump, doesn’t give it a moment of reprieve.
He’s like a one-joker army, unstoppable.
“WHY PLAY BY THE RULES, WHEN I CAN DO ANYTHING?” Jevil taunts, spiraling above Rouxls like an irritating, manic buzzfly.
Rouxls stares in utter disbelief, panic written across his face. He fumbles with the controls, trying desperately to command K.Round to crush the clown. “JEVIL?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE DUNGEON?! BEGONE, AAAA!” His usual accent slips in the chaos, as he scrambles to regain control, hair falling over his eyes as he frantically moves the remote.
You watch in shock, unable to believe your eyes.
He’s… too good. Just… too good.
Susie’s jaw nearly drops to the floor in disbelief. “Does this mean we have a new party member?”
Ralsei clears his throat. “So… um… Susie, what was your idea?”
The purple dragon snaps out of her daze, looking back at Ralsei. “Right… I kinda...” She steps behind him.
You ignore the chaotic sounds of Rouxls’ screeching and Jevil's maniacal laughter echoing in the background.
Without warning, Susie places her hands on Ralsei’s shoulders. “Need you for this one.”
Ralsei looks back, confused. “You... want me to help you apologize to it for earlier, right?”
Susie’s grip tightens, holding him firmly in place. “Nah, I just need you to stay still.”
Before he can react, she lifts him effortlessly with one arm, like he weighs nothing. He lets out a squeak, like a startled plushie, as he’s hoisted into the air.
Susie stretches out her other arm for balance, her smirk growing wider.
Ralsei’s eyes are as wide as dinner plates, he clutches his hat to keep it from falling.
“Kris!” Susie calls out, her grin in its distinguished shark-like form. “We gotta get that CROWN off its head! Help me throw Ralsei at it!”
You blink, utterly flabbergasted. “That’s… your… plan?” You're in such disbelief you struggle to think straight.
Kris steps forward, joining Susie and the still-panicked Ralsei. He crouches down, eyes glowing with determination as he surveys the battlefield where card and checker clash.
He extends his arm, pointing at their target. “Move up a little, Susie,” he suggests, his calm voice directing her.
Susie shifts without hesitation.
“Now a little to the left.”
She adjusts again, while Ralsei lets out a startled bleat, not enjoying his current role as ammunition.
“THE CO-OP GAME HAS BEGUN!” Jevil’s voice crackles through the air, the lightning-fast Devilsnife noticing the strategy forming between its owner and the human.
The blade zips toward the wall, launching copies of itself at the checker king, taunting it with its playful chaos.
K.Round turns, eyes burning with fury.
The Devilsnife smiles. “HERE, HERE, LITTLE BULL!”
K.Round charges at the taunting blade. In an instant, the Devilsknife teleports away, leaving the checker king to crash headfirst into the wall, where it gets lodged, unable to free itself.
Laughter reverberates through the room.
Rouxls shouts in desperation, “Moveth, thine piece of Junk!”.
The creature squirms and writhes, but remains stuck.
“Now, Susie!” Kris commands, voice sharp with urgency.
With a firm grip, Susie launches Ralsei into the air. The prince becomes a blur, flying with surprising speed as he clutches his hat for dear life.
Ralsei crashes into the crown. The force of impact sends the crown flying across the room, it smashes against the wall and shatters into pieces.
K.Round shrinks, reverting back to its original, harmless form—C.Round. The small checker piece rolls away, caught by the breeze.
Returned to its nature.
Susie unsummons the Devilsnife, though Jevil’s echoing laughter lingers in the air.
You blink, struggling to process what just happened..
Why did I… What did I just do?
“What was necessary.”
The voice whispers in your mind, coiling like a snake. For the first time, you’re not sure it’s just your imagination.
Susie turns toward Rouxls, smirking like a victorious predator. “Got anything else?!”
Rouxls is frozen, his expression like a statue in shock and confusion.
A wide smile breaks across his face. “Why, brilliant! Just BRILLIANT!” He claps enthusiastically, his long hair getting stuck in his teary face as he bows over and over, “I knew you couldst do it! Thou great heroes, thou!”
Susie raises an eyebrow.
Rouxls continues his routine. “Thou see-eth, that was merely…” He coughs awkwardly and looks around for the right words. “A friendly TEST of thine abilities! But thou hast WON! And now, NOTHING blocks thine path!”
His clapping stops, and he gestures to himself, utterly disheveled, “I, personally, could NOT be less of an obstruction!”
“Wait!” Ralsei calls out as he gets up, healed by his own magic. “But you—” He’s cut off as Rouxls takes off at full speed, his long hair flailing wildly behind him, all traces of class gone.
“Luck be with you. Heroes!” Rouxls shouts over his shoulder, his strides frantic.
He halts suddenly and, in a voice devoid of his usual accent, adds, “Oh! Lancer went there a while ago… Take care of him for me, will you?”
Before anyone can respond, he’s gone.
You exhale, the tension in the air dissipating. There’s nothing left to say.
Good thing Susie’s idea worked, huh? Couldn’t have done it without her.
You press on.
*
You reach the final floor—the castle’s throne room. In the center stands a dark throne shaped like a spade, designed for someone of considerable size.
The room is a mess. Torn posters litter the walls, and a series of framed pictures hang crookedly.
Each telling a different story.
In one, the large, mysterious spade figure you’ve seen before is engaged in a fierce argument with the three Kings of the other suits. Their postures and expressions suggest a heated shouting match.
Another shows the spade figure holding an even smaller, younger Lancer, awe etched across his face, as if witnessing something of profound importance, life-changing.
A third captures the spade during an argument with a mysterious female figure. She’s almost as tall as him, with an oval head, and skin…? (?) that is a lighter blue than Lancer’s.
(It doesn’t look like real skin. It’s too… shiny, for lack of a better word.)
You can only see her from behind as she appears to walk away.
The final image is of the giant spade, alone, his expression thoughtful. He’s gazing downward, as though speaking to someone much smaller, though the figure is positioned just out of frame.
Kris’s eyes linger on that last picture. Crimson.
Your golden look upon the light ahead, a swirl of emotions roiling within you.
I have to SAVE, in case anything bad happens again.
You hold on to the light, the thoughts of those pictures filling you with power.
The power of uncertainty fills you.
You still feel something is missing.
The fountain flows ominously. You feel it in your soul.
It’s time to finish this… Even if I can’t lead a party right. Even if I have to fight. Afterall…
You look at Susie and Ralsei.
I have them to cover me. A lost girl in an alien body who doesn’t even know her name… ha… ha…
You move towards the final battle.
Chapter 16: CHAPTER 1, PART 15: THE HOLY
Summary:
THE HOLY FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS. THE FOUNTAIN OF CREATION. BEING USED TO CREATE A NEW WORLD, A NEW HEAVEN, STANDS CLOSE BY. BUT A MAD KING STANDS BEFORE YOU… WHAT SHALL BE YOUR FATE?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The fountain flows ominously in the background, spreading like black tar. It rises as a pillar of pure, true darkness, reaching the sky before expanding to blanket the world in its omnipresent dark.
The holy fountain of darkness, carved by the Knight’s hand—the source of creation, its will shaping this world of dreams. It turned cards and games into reality.
Creating this story.
Your eyes are glued to it, how it stretches upward and flows endlessly, sustaining the dark, darker dream.
Multicolored light dances in your golden eyes, making them shimmer, almost white. The power of the fountain is overwhelming, even from here, you feel magnetized, its call unmistakable.
Beckoning you home.
It's no wonder you feel this pull, knowing where we met.
You step forward, yearning, but two figures block your path.
They stand on a square-shaped balcony, a spade symbol etched into the floor beneath them.
The shape matches the figures.
“Hey, there’s Lancer…!” Susie points to the smaller figure.
Lancer stands there, his back to you, pleading with the larger figure in front of him.
The larger figure, enraptured in shadow, is unmistakable—the same spade-shaped figure from the pictures.
“Father!”
Lancer’s father—the King.
Your eyes widen and you instinctively motion for everyone to stay quiet.
Interrupting them would be too dangerous.
“Lancer, my son.” The King’s voice booms across the balcony, heavy with authority and menace. It’s a voice that commands obedience. His shadowy mantle billows in the wind, lending him an even more imposing presence. “Have you dispatched the Lightners, as I commanded?”
Lancer looks down, his features tense and sad. He stammers at first, his voice small compared to the King's. “N... No, b-but…” He swallows, infusing courage and energy into his words. “I did even better! It turns out we don't actually have to fight them! They said they could just talk to you, and…”
The King STOMPS the ground, the impact shaking the entire balcony. It’s a horrible, vicious sound, the echo of pure fury. The stomp reminds you of Susie’s—but crueler.
The behemoth of a royal turns fully toward Lancer, his rolling voice cutting through the air with barely restrained anger. “They're ALIVE?”
Wind whips around the balcony, the King's mantle snapping violently. The air grows colder, and the silence is heavy.
Lancer’s expression lightens, hope surging in his voice. He remembers his friends. “Yes, and I think you'll like them a lot. There's Susie, she's very purple and strong, and—”
“WHERE ARE THEY NOW?” Lancer’s father thunders, cutting him off again. His voice, seething with rage, echoes across the space.
He looks directly at his son. Despite his face being cast in shadow, his features are clearly twisted in fury.
Lancer freezes, his nervousness returning tenfold. Sweat trickles down his face as he struggles to respond, desperate to calm his father. To calm this imposing figure towering over him.
But nothing comes out.
That’s enough. Screw the danger!
Your cape flutters, Kris’ hair blowing back as your golden eyes gleam beneath. the white ribbon sits atop your head. You step forward, breaking the silence with a shout: “We’re right here!”
Susie snorts, crossing her arms, “Hey.”
Ralsei waves. A warm smile further softens his voice. “It's nice to meet you!”
The King’s head turns to regard you three, his heavy breathing fills the air.
Lancer’s face brightens at the sight of you.
The fountain relentlessly flows in the back.
The King looks back at his son, his voice softening—an astounding tenderness beneath its natural growl. “...Lancer. Lancer, my son.”
Lancer’s happy expression at seeing you fades, his face clouding with worry. He turns back towards his father, sweating, “Y... Yes, father?”
The King steps closer, each stride heavy with restrained fury. His mantle ripples in the wind.
He crouches, trying to level himself with his son but still towering over him. “Do you remember what I told you?”
Lancer stammers, as if reciting a lesson drilled into him. “D... Don't... get too attached?”
The King’s quiet chuckle crawls into your ears.
A malignant feeling creeps over you, dark and sickening. It’s something rotten, something that makes your skin crawl. You sense it radiating from the King.
Susie tenses, on guard, acting on instinct, though she can’t feel what you do.
The towering King grips his son’s shoulder, firm and unyielding. “You have failed. They have poisoned you with their sentimentality.” His voice drips with disdain. “Free yourself, Lancer. They care NOT for you.”
His rough hand turns Lancer toward the fountain, shoving him to face its pulsing, multicolored holy glow. “Their only goal is to destroy our glorious Fountain.” His grip tightens further as he points to you and your friends. “They. Are. Scum.”
Lancer tries to pull away, desperate to rejoin you. “N... no they aren't…”
It only takes one second.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY!?”
A single, dreadful second for King’s hand to close around Lancer’s neck, lifting him effortlessly.
His eyes burn with unrestrained fury.
Lancer squirms, struggling to break free.
Your heart feels like it stops, your mind buzzing with shock.
This is… This is simply…
“Unforgivable.”
The voice finishes your thought.
You move to summon your sword, but Susie is faster. Devilsknife already at hand and flowing with magic.
She levels the scythe at the King, and for a moment, even the twisted weapon seems to take on a deep seriousness. “Let him go,” she says, voice low and steady.
The King chuckles quietly. It’s a horrible laughter that makes your heart sick.
His grip on Lancer’s neck remains firm, unyielding. “You want me to LET HIM GO!?” His laughter deepens. “Then how about this...?”
He turns Lancer towards you, and you see the look of pain contorting his features.
Your heart aches as the fire in your golden eyes flares brighter, intense like the sun.
Susie’s gaze sharpens, her grip on the scythe tightening as it begins to glow with raging radiance.
King only smiles, “I'll drop him off the edge,” he sneers, “and let him splatter...” His grip tightens as he steps to the brink.
Susie’s jaw is clenched so tightly you can hear her grinding her teeth, you don’t know how long she has been doing that..
“Unless you all KNEEL and learn your place!” His voice rings out.
A bead of sweat rolls down your brow.
Dammit… What will I do?
You grit your teeth.
Lancer’s life is at risk here…
King strides closer to the edge, his eyes never leaving Susie, relishing the torment he’s causing.
Her whole body is tense, trembling.
But I can’t just stand here!
You’re shaking too, your SOUL in fierce conflict, struggling to keep your gaze fixed on King.
I’m the leader! I need to do something!
But panic surges in you, paralyzing.
You’ve never been in a situation like this—nothing in your memory prepares you for this.
If it was me, I could just endure it, but…
The King’s taunting smirk grows, and with his free hand, he gestures toward your group. “What will it be, Lightners!?”
I can’t let him harm Lancer, but… I can’t let him get away with this, I…
You glance at Susie. Her mane flows in the wind.
Her expression is an emotionless mask, betraying nothing.
You touch the white ribbon in your hair, biting down on the inside of your cheek.
I need to do something… I will…
Susie unsummons her weapon and kneels as the King commanded, silent and resolute.
You hesitate but sink to your knees in tense surrender.
Do what needs to be done.
Ralsei watches, his face strangely calm, and finally, he kneels too.
Lancer squirms against his father’s iron grip, desperation in his voice, “D-don't listen to him Susie, he'll... he'll…”
The three of you bow your heads, bending to the King’s will.
What needs to be done…
“Now WATCH, Lancer...!” The mad Darkner approaches, his strides slow, his hold on Lancer’s neck still firm, only loosening a bit.
Lancer’s expression twists in pain.
Sharp spades manifest in the air before you, gleaming dangerously, poised to strike.
Behind King, the fountain flows, churning with ominous energy.
His mad, twisted voice booms, “SEE what happens when you befriend Lightners!”
You close your eyes, SOUL steadying as you brace for pain.
I will endure this…
For death.
And when I come back, I will move earlier.
Then a LOAD…
I will stop Lancer from talking with his dad. And then…
That never comes.
You hear the King’s strangled gasp, followed by the swoosh of spades vanishing. “Wh... What the!?” he growls, voice edged with confusion.
Huh?!
You open your eyes, shock filling you. You shoot to your feet, golden eyes wide as you take in the scene.
Lancer is on the ground, freed from his father’s grip.
He bolts past you and Susie. “Goodhello and Badbye!” he shouts, racing back the way you came.
You stare after him, mouth opening as if to speak—no words come out.
“You need to have faith in your friends.”
The voice that you know is real whispers once more.
“YOU... YOU TRAITOR...!” The King’s voice rumbles with fury, his eyes tracking Lancer’s retreat. Snarling, he jerks forward, shaking a fist at his fleeing son. “COME BACK HERE...!”
His steps thunder with rage as he charges in Lancer’s direction, so focused he barely notices the figure now blocking his path.
Susie stands before him, Devilsknife drawn, its edge gleaming with an eerie magic as her yellow eyes shine with the Fountain’s radiance. “Alright, enough already.” Her voice drips with defiance as she snarls, “Who the hell do you think you are?”
You stare at Susie, holding her ground against the King, doing what you hesitate to.
“They can cover you where you’re lacking.”
The voice flows honey-sweet within your mind.
You don’t like it.
I am the leader, I should be covering for them…
Brandishing your Spookysword, you step forward to join Susie, directing your blade at King’s throat. You try to speak, but the words die in your throat.
Ralsei joins you, his green glow sparking, white pellets orbiting around him as his glasses flash.
King chuckles, his dark figure looming over the three of you. He backs away, gaze still fixated on you, his mantle seeming to drink in the darkness as it glows—darker, yet darker. His outline shifts, bathed in the fountain’s shadows that curl and retreat, exposing his face in full.
He looks like Lancer, but twisted, his mouth stretched into a crazed grin, teeth sharp. A second mouth gapes from his torso, lined with jagged teeth and slick with saliva, grinning wickedly at you.
The sight is disgusting. It makes you feel sick, as if you’ve swallowed something rotten.
“To my people, I am a hero…” A grotesque, saliva-drenched chain unfurls from the second mouth, stretching up to his head. Its tip is shaped like a spade, wicked and sharp.
Revulsion twists your stomach, nausea threatening to overwhelm you.
His grin stretches wider still. “...to you?”
“I'M THE BAD GUY!!!” he bellows, guffawing. His laughter reverberates through the balcony, a twisted, booming echo from both mouths. The noise is deafening, filling your ears with a terrible, monstrous mirth.
Spittle flies from the second mouth as it laughs, scattering across the floor, vile and nauseating. Your stomach churns, and you have to fight the urge to turn away.
He raises his hand, and a wave of magic pulses from him, gusting through the air like a dark wind that sends your hair streaming back. The power strikes through your SOUL, filling you with a sickening sensation, like you’re breathing in something poisonous.
An aura of pure malice emanates from him, crystallized hatred that forces you to take a step back.
Why can I feel that? First Jevil and now… him! Why can I feel their magic? That never happened before.
The strangeness of your new form still weighs on you.
Time doesn’t wait. Spades materialize across the balcony, their points gleaming as they hover, ready to tear into your party.
Susie’s scythe glows an unholy brilliance, and Ralsei’s magic pellets shimmer, positioned to counter the assault.
But the spades bypass them, slicing through the air toward you alone.
The SOUL itself.
You grip your sword, and the slice at the spades. Clunky, but you do it. Over and over. You raise your sword, slicing at the incoming spades. It’s clumsy, but you keep swinging—only to find the blade phasing through the spades like they’re no more than shadows.
What?!
Your eyes widen and you bring out your shield, but the spades pass through it just the same. You step back, dread flooding you.
Why can’t I block it?!
“You need to rely more on your friends.”
Ralsei fires his pellets at the spades, each one zipping toward them with sharp precision, only to slip through as though they’re intangible.
His magic is ineffective.
You want to roll your eyes at the voice.
I can’t just rely on others! I’m the leader, I’m the one who needs to save and protect everyone. I—
Susie’s isn’t.
Copies of the Devilsknife flash through the air toward you, cutting through the spades with ease, clearing a path. A clownish laugh echoes as the spades’ numbers dwindle.
Dodging those that remain is suddenly simple.
“You were saying?”
You can’t help a smile creeping onto your face as you roll your eyes at the voice again. “Whatever weird tricks you got, they won’t stop us!” you shout at King, confidence surging in your voice.
“Do you truly believe that, Lightner?” The King smirks at this, his second mouth laughing.
You swallow hard.
He grabs hold of the chain from his second mouth, which gurgles with delight. “Fall before the chain of justice!” he snarls, spinning it in a wide arc before hurling it straight toward you.
Ralsei lunges out, whipping his scarf to intercept, but like the spades before, the chain slips through as if it were air, nearly sending Ralsei tumbling.
You start to dodge, but realize with shock that he wasn’t aiming at you—he was aiming at the floor.
The chain latches onto the ground at your feet, and with a powerful pull, the King wrenches a chunk of the balcony skyward, taking you with it.
Gripping the stone edge tightly, your heart races as you dangle high above, the kingdom below reduced to ant-like specks.
Wind whips past, threatening your balance as you try to steady yourself on the isolated, dizzying debris. You can faintly see Susie and Ralsei far below.
He separated me from everyone. That’s not fair!
“Hey!” Susie yells at King. “Do you really think you’re going to win with this cowardly attitude!?”
King’s eyes narrow. “How dare you call ME cowardly, Lightner...?!” His voice booms as another wave of spades materializes.
Every last one aimed at you on the narrow platform.
You dodge as best you can, but the confined space limits you. Without a way to cut through them, you’re left with little more than desperate jumps and rolls.
A lingering spade hits your SOUL, and a sickening feeling rises in your throat, laced with the King’s seething hatred.
I can’t do anything as long as he keeps his weird powers!
King’s smirk deepens, sending another barrage. “You, that left us in the shadows, stripped of meaning…”
What is this power?
A pulse of green magic flows through you, warmth spreading as your wounds begin to close. The relief eases your movements, and dodging the spades feels much easier.
“Hey, nerd! Look alive! That heart getting wrecked hurts us too, y’know!” Susie’s voice calls out as more copies of the Devilsknife appear.
The weapons fly toward you, surrounding you like a protective shield. Unlike your sword, they slice through the spades with ease.
It's almost as if they’re grinning at you.
They intimidate you, your face falls.
It’s like being caged…
“This isn’t fair, is it?” you shout, your boot hitting the platform with a childish stomp. “Let me down so we can have a fair fight!”
King scoffs, sneering at you. “Don’t speak about fairness! Your kind doesn’t deserve fairness after what you did!” His grip on the chain tightens, fury emanating from his gaze. “You DARE return to torment us once again, whining about what is fair or not?”
He yanks the chain, pulling the platform violently, dragging you across the sky. His strength defies all reason, but his sheer will makes it work. “There’s no fairness in this world.”
Spades appear in the path, as the platform moves through the air, “Now, begone! We have found fresh purpose.”
Wind whips past you, your cape billowing as you dodge, weaving around the spades while your glare stays locked on him.
He definitely has issues. I have no idea what could even convince such a mad titan…
The Devilsknife orbits you, slashing through the shadowy spades. But with each strike, more spades close in, the protective circle thinning.
You’re forced to dodge more and more until, in the cramped space, the inevitable happens—a spade tears through your SOUL.
Pain shoots through you, and you recoil, squeezing your eyes shut.
ACTing doesn’t matter if we can’t survive! I need to get out of here!
The King laughs at your struggle, dragging you mercilessly across the sky.
Ralsei fires a barrage of pellets his way, but they pass through the King as if he’s a phantom.
“Forgetting we are still here, jerk?” Susie roars, swinging a fresh wave of energy that blasts through the spades, giving you a precious sliver of space.
“You shall taste the same medicine, of being ignored in the shadows!” He halts his pulling, focusing on Susie and Ralsei with fresh malice. “For the KNIGHT has appeared.”
For a moment, the pressure eases, but you’re gasping for breath, the hits and strain catching up to you.
I can’t convince anybody if I die beforehand!
“An enigmatic creature, they gave me wisdom.” King begins to ramble, his eyes gleaming. “They gave me power. They gave me this role. To destroy you. I must pay back and end your legend!”
You grit your teeth, tuning out his mad rambling. Kneeling to catch your breath, you open your inventory, scanning your limited supplies.
Only four items in total…
You clench your jaw, uncertainty gnawing at you.
What do I do…
“Trust your friends.”
You decide to entertain the voice.
I already do trust them! I do!
“Then why did you look at Susie like that? When you went through Card Castle.”
I didn’t look at her in any way! It was just…
“You are jealous.”
…
You close your eyes.
If… If Susie can do everything… Then what do I serve for?
… Why did he save me from that void?
If people don’t need me, then…
“They do. Look.”
Your gaze drops to your friends struggling below. Ralsei and Susie are uncoordinated, barely holding their own against King’s relentless attacks.
If nothing changes, they will lose.
“They need your leadership. Being a leader doesn’t mean you have to it all on your own, but that you guide others and unite them.” “They need your leadership. Being a leader doesn’t mean you do it all on your own. It means you guide others—unite them.”
You close your eyes and look away.
“You can do this.”
With a deep breath, you grip your inventory. You draw it back and…
Throw it towards Susie.
Her hand snatches it, eyes wide. “What the hell are you doing, Kris?!” she shouts.
You exhale in relief.
I don’t know if you are real or not but…
You feel a fire surge in your SOUL.
Thanks!
“Susie!” you shout down to her. “Use the items to keep you and Ralsei healed!” You turn to Ralsei, still fighting hard, his cape whipping in the wind. “Ralsei, use your magic on me. And try talking to King!”
I don’t have the words myself, but others can ACT, too!
King’s voice thunders, refocusing on you. “My Knight… I owe my existence to you!” He laughs, pulling your platform further from your friends. “The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth.”
The fountains?
Your eyes flick the fountain, gleaming with its glory. Its holiness.
It feels like home…
An incoming spade crashes that train of thought, you duck.
“Focus!”
The Devilsknife slices through spades, covering for you as Ralsei extends a hand towards your platform, green magic flowing your way and healing your wounds.
Your party is always covering for you.
“Ralsei, now’s your chance to ACT!” You call out to him.
Ralsei coughs and speaks, his voice steady. “You might not realize it, but…” He holds his hand towards the towering spade. “This is a world where you don't have to fight. I know if we try, we can all find another way…”
King slaps Ralsei’s hands aside with a berserk grin. “Such simple-minded platitudes…” he sneers, glaring at Ralsei with scorn. “A shame you will not live to realize your naivety.” Magic materializes across the balcony, casting jagged shadows as it targets Susie and Ralsei. “Now, perish with the pathetic LIGHTNERs you worship!”
Ralsei’s words only seem to enrage the King, pushing him to abandon strategy for a furious, headlong assault.
You smirk.
This makes him easier to predict.
Or so you think.
A stray spade catches you off-guard, cutting into your SOUL. Pain surges through you, forcing you to your knees.
It impacts the whole party.
Susie grits her teeth. “Watch it, Kris! Don’t let your guard down!” she snaps, digging through the inventory to grab a hearts donut. She takes a bite, restoring some of her strength.
You nod, eyes flashing gold. “Alright!” You dodge a spade and shout, “Keep up the plan!”
Susie tightens her grip on the Devilsknife, swinging it with renewed resolve. “You don’t have to tell me twice!” The scythe glows as she cuts through the oncoming spades with instinctive precision, slashing every one of them aside.
Sweat streams down her face. The Devilsknife is amazing, but King is truly worthy of his title. There’s too much magic here.
Even you can tell she’s struggling.
Susie really can’t do it alone… I was wrong. We all need each other.
She’s looking worn, while King looms strong. “You sure look smug for a COWARD!” she snarls. “What even is your plan, stand here while we wear ourselves down?”
“Silence, Lightner!” King strikes back at Susie, focusing entirely on her. “You ‘heroes’ are roadblocks in my Knight’s goal! Their dream carved by their blade! The Holy Fountains, whose shadows are creating a new world… OUR world.”
Susie rolls her eyes at his tirade. She doesn’t care about knights, fountains, or any worlds they make. She cares about here and now. About surviving this.
Her gaze shifts toward you, blood dripping down your arms. Backed into a corner. To die alone.
She glances at Ralsei, who’s struggling to deflect spades, the same dark prince who genuinely cared for her, who believed she could be better.
She cares about everyone surviving.
“Hahaha…” King gargles, his eyes growing madder. “Do you see now our NEW purpose...? Soon, this world shall be blanketed in darkness… And DARKNERS shall RULE it!.”
Susie’s jaw clenches. She knows they won’t survive if they keep fighting him this way. Being on the defensive, clinging to hope—it’s just not enough here.
She realizes she’ll have to FIGHT.
But then—
“Susie, ACT on King!” Your voice reaches her, cutting through the chaos.
She feels the tension in her shoulders ease. She doesn’t have to betray Lancer’s faith in her.
She doesn’t have to betray anyone.
“Alright, listen up.” Susie grabbing King’s attention. “Lancer's my friend. So if we can get by without hurting you, then—”
The King laughs, scoffing at her. “If I perish, so be it! Show my son the monster you REALLY are!”
Her head drops; you can’t see her expression, but her hands tremble. Even as pain pulses through you, you recognize the struggle in her.
Her ACT hasn’t reached him. You doubt any of you can ACT your way out of this.
But I have to try.
“There’s no reason for you to treat Susie like this!” You ACT, dodging spades that fall like rain. “She befriended your son! She was his first real friend! Why can’t you see that?!”
King scoffs. “All that shows is the weakness of my son. Friends… loved ones… all they do is abandon you. Betray you. Befriending Lightners will be the last mistake Lancer shall make.”
King’s words spark a fire inside you. “Look, King,” you say firmly. “I don’t know what your beef with us is. I don’t know what we ever did to make you hate us so much…”
King’s gaze fixes on your SOUL, seething.
You dodge another spade and call out, “But we don’t want to fight you! We don’t hate you! If we did, why would we have befriended your troops—your son?” You try sending him a smile.
A spade grazes the ribbon in your hair. “So, if you’d just let go of your hate, we coul—”
The Spade King’s harsh laughter cuts you off. “Pathetic platitudes…” His voice booms from the darkness, “Silence, Lightbringer!” It echoes through the balcony, the sound of magic appearing almost minuscule compared to his voice, “Your very existence goes against our own…”
You grit your teeth. His words cut deep, and your SOUL tightens.
My existence… I don’t even know my existence!
King’s smile splits his face. “By the Knight's will, I shall shatter your heart to pieces!”
A wave of guilt swells in your chest, like a thick and sticky substance within you, surprising you with its force.
But it’s not yours.
It’s a heaviness you can’t trace, but one you know isn’t your own.
“...”
But you know the anger bubbling within is.
ACTing isn’t working. It won’t work—there’s no escaping that now.
All you can do is FIGHT.
Just like Jevil…
Glancing down as you continue to dodge, you see Susie’s torn expression, and Ralsei’s weariness. They’re both struggling, neither able to hurt the King.
But we can’t fight if we can’t hurt him! Ralsei’s manual had nothing about this weird shadowy power, so what do I…
Your eyes widen.
You look at King.
You look at your friends, fighting below.
They need you.
I know what to do.
You have to use my power—the power that’s yours since you lost your body and your memories.
This is something only I can do.
You have to CHECK King.
You narrow your eyes at the massive spade.
You dig deep, searching for the fire and euphoria you felt when you first tapped into this ability.
I need to see his weakness with my own eyes!
But something holds you back.
“You can do this. Everyone needs you. This is a power only you have. You have to do this, Goner.”
The voice inside gives a final push.
You see beyond King.
KING - ATK 15 DEF ???
ELEMENT: BOSS:BLADE… SHADOW (?)
Abandoned by the Lightners, his heart became cracked with hatred. Once the ruler of the Spade Sector of CARD KINGDOM, but thanks to the KNIGHT putting him in power, he has complete control of it and its inhabitants.
He cannot be reasoned with, and he’s somehow immune to all physical damage, but don't give up...!
He seems to have a weakness. The power that gives him invincibility doesn't seem to be naturally his. It seems to come from his mantle!
It makes his body take the shape of a shadow, making him invulnerable to attacks. But a shadow can be killed.
He’s weak to the DEATH element.
There’s still a way we can win this!
Your golden eyes widen, flashing with golden understanding.
That’s why we can’t hit him! He’s only weak to the Death element!
You glance at Susie’s scythe, glowing darkly in her hand, her face set in a scowl.
A smile spreads across your face.
“Susie, use a Rude Buster on King!” you shout. She spins, looking at you like you’ve grown another head. “It’s okay to FIGHT him! Sometimes that’s all we can do! You have to trust me!”
Susie’s grip tightens on her scythe, magic crackling around it. “Alright… You wanna see what I can do?” she shouts at King. The giant spade turns to her. Then I will show you!”
She fires a Rude Buster at him, the wave of energy slicing through the air with raw force.
King grins, not even flinching.
The wave hits him. His smirk is replaced by a grimace as he staggers back, pain flashing across his face.
The chain snaps, and your platform crashes down. You hit the ground hard, landing on your knees as dust rises around you.
King’s magic flickers, and he stumbles, nearly collapsing, barely managing to catch himself. His face is twisted in shock, his eyes wide.
You spring up and call out to Susie to throw you the inventory, before King can recover. She tosses it over without hesitation.
You grab a Choco Diamond and eat it. Despite your (dis)taste for chocolate, it somehow tastes delicious.
It completely heals you.
Regrouping with Susie and Ralsei, you catch your breath, the relief of being together again outweighing your exhaustion.
The three of you stand ready, watching as King lies still.
It worked! He really is vulnerable to Jevil’s magic!
None of your attacks worked, his magic was like a living shadow. Physical attacks can’t catch a shadow.
But Jevil’s ‘death’ could.
“How...?” King’s voice trembles with shock. “How did you pathetic Lightners manage to harm me?”
“Beats me!” Susie shrugs. “But looks like you couldn’t keep up with me in the end, could you?”
“King, please! Give up!” Ralsei steps forward. “There’s no reason to keep fighting!”
King ignores them both, clutching his cloak as though for comfort. For a moment, he seems like he’s crying, his voice barely a whisper. “My mantle is supposed to make me invincible to everything…!” His expression hardens, dawning recognition in his eyes. “Everything except…”
His gaze locks onto the Devilsknife, his face darkening. “My Court Jester…”
The Devilsknife laughs wildly, springing out of Susie’s grip. “UEE HEE HEE…! SO, THE KING NOTICED, NOTICED! TWO CAN PLAY THE BANNED GAME—SEAM’S MANTLE VERSUS MY MAGIC! A CLASSIC GAME, GAME!”
The words catch your attention, and you turn sharply toward the scythe. “Seam’s mantle?! You actually stole it?!”
“(Who the hell is Seam?)” Susie mutters to herself.
King stomps, echoing across the balcony. “I only took what belongs to me! Everything that can obliterate Lightners in this kingdom is MINE!” His voice tightens as he points at the Devilsknife. “And you, that voice! Jevil… were you not satisfied with losing your esteemed position as my court jester, now you betray me too?!”
Rage hardens King’s face, though he regains composure, sneering as he conjures a fresh chain from his second mouth. “No matter! Even with help, you Lightners will never be able to defeat ME!”
The three of you brace yourselves. The Lancer Fun Squad prepares for what feels like the final showdown in this world.
King’s dark, shadowy mantle thickens, clinging to him, covering him in an oil-like surface. “I am INVINCIBLE with this mantle,” he declares, the shadows wrapping around him ominously. “Traitors, allies—it doesn’t matter whose name you call! Nothing will change your FATE. Now, suffer the despair your kind forced upon US!!”
The king of all cards won’t be beaten this easily.
With a roar, shadowy spades rain down, this time indiscriminately targeting all of you. A relentless, merciless storm.
King grabs the chain, spinning it overhead with the might of his fury.
Your heart races as your eyes glow white, sensing a phantom chain piercing the floor beneath you, pulling it upward. You’re about to be trapped again—this time, it would be fatal.
“Susie!” you shout.
King hurls the chain.
The Devilsknife intercepts the chain, slicing it cleanly in two. “THE SAME MOVE WON’T WORK TWICE. TRY AGAIN, AGAIN! CONTINUE IN THE NEXT WORLD!!!”
You exchange a smirk with the scythe, a small rush of relief filling you. You don’t fully understand why you sought out Jevil, but you’re grateful for it—and for all your friends. For the fact that they’re helping you.
Even though it wasn’t you who sought out Jevil…
“…”
“Insolent vermin!” King bellows, veins bulging with rage. “I’ll wipe those smirks off your fa—”
Another Rude Buster slices through his words. Susie’s spell cuts through the air like a knife, aiming directly for him.
King simply smirks, his mantle glowing ominously. Then the impossible happens—he sinks into his own shadow, vanishing in an instant.
“Did you really think that’s all I had, Lightners?” His voice reverberates from the floor itself.
Fear grips you as you and your friends close ranks, backs to each other.
It’s as though King has vanished entirely, leaving only silence on the balcony.
What did he just do…? How did he disappear like that?
From the ground, you hear a faint, eerie burbling, sending an uneasy chill down your spine.
“BEHIND, BEHIND! SUCCESSOR, CAN YOU DODGE IT?” Jevil’s voice rings out, taunting yet urgent.
Despite him clearly referring to one person, the whole party whips around.
There’s nothing there. Your heart sinks.
Could he be any more cryptic?
Then a sudden, sharp clang—the crack of a chain hitting the stone—pulls you back into focus. King’s chain slams into the floor, right where Ralsei had been standing.
The prince barely manages to leap back in time, his gaze wide with horror as King re-emerges, rising from Ralsei’s own shadow.
King seethes. “DAMN YOU, TRAITOROUS CLOWN!” He takes a deep, shuddering breath. “Lightners… not content with betraying us in this hellish prison… you dare make our own kin fight each other?” His spit flecks the air as he grips his chain tighter. “What a detestable kind. The only thing that could satisfy me now… is the purge of your entire race.”
Your gaze locks on the King, then shifts to the Devilsknife—the weapon that can end this.
But doubt churns within you. Does he even deserve mercy? After everything he’s done? Forcing his own people to fight, ordering them to kill you, almost killing his son… he shows no remorse.
These thoughts echo in your mind, justifications to FIGHT, to go all out.
And yet, they feel hollow.
Your nature continues on.
You look towards the King, golden eyes shining. Cape flowing thanks to the fountain’s power, and its power reaches your soul, making you look wistful.
You know if you don’t FIGHT, you will go through the hell of all those deaths again.
I need to make a choice…
“Why is FIGHTing so wrong…?”
A voice whispers in your mind.
Because I hold the FATE of everyone, if I go too far, I—
“Then don’t do it. Don’t go too far.”
The voice takes the wind out of you.
Huh?!
“FIGHT, but control yourself. Don’t go too far. Don’t be afraid. Sometimes that’s all we can do.”
A wave of heat rises through your body, as though it’s trying to give you warmth. Maybe it is.
When people won’t listen, when truth itself is drowned out, sometimes, maybe, violence is all that’s left.
But you won’t kill, you will never kill.
“Win this fight.”
A new resolve takes hold; your SOUL flares, golden and fierce. Your eyes burn with purpose, like two suns.
You glance over to Susie, and her own SOUL echoes yours—her eyes burning with the same fiery resolve, her mane tossed back by the power of the fountain.
This is it.
“Ralsei, keep King distracted! Jevil, back him up!” you shout to the two Darkners.
Ralsei hesitates but nods, determination crossing his face as he moves forward. The Devilsknife’s copies fly in formation, ready to shield him.
You sprint toward Susie. “We’ve got to get that mantle off him.”
“Yeah, no shit dude, the problem is how!” Susie counters, you don’t even bat your eye to her swearing—real growth right there.
You glance toward Susie’s scythe. “Jevil, you know about how his mantle works, don’t you? How would you win this game?”
The Devilsknife smiles, less manic and more focused—a Darkner’s purpose really is to serve Lightners, isn’t it? “SEAM MANTLE MAKES YOU AS SHADOWY AS A SHADOW. IT CALLED IT ‘SHADOW MANTLE’. PHYSICAL, HOLY, IT NULLS EVERYTHING! HE CAN ENTER INSIDE THE SHADOW, HE IS THE SHADOW. TRULY INVENCIBLE, OR SO IS IT?”
“DENIED!!! WRONG!!!” He laughs, the battlefield still rages on in the back. “I WAS CLEVER, SMART, COUNTERING MYSELF TO IT. THE RULES OF THE GAME CAN BE BLURRED!”
That unholy aura… That’s what allows Susie to harm the King… I already know this because of the CHECK. This doesn’t…
Your mind races back to your battle with Jevil, to the final attempt, when you were met with the colossal Devilsknife’s immense power.
The moment when your SOUL and Susie’s shined together create that blazing red wave of magic.
With our WILL combined, an idea surges in you.
Maybe… if I did it again… but with Jevil’s help…
“Susie,” you say, voice steady, “charge your strongest attack.” She nods. “Jevil, pour all your magic into her!” The scythe smiles at you.
You turn to see King emerging from another shadow, facing off with Ralsei. “We are ending this in one big shot!”
Susie’s scythe begins to glow with an intense magic. Her J-shaped tail wags faster, the excitement channeling even more energy into her.
The Devilsknife grows ever more radiant, your SOUL boosting it as well.
You and Susie think the same, everything leading up to this point.
Your SOUL shines its power on the Devilsknife, making it glow red. It is the color of your SOUL. It is the color of the love you have for your friends. It makes it glow bright, brighter.
Yet brighter than even the multicolored fountain.
Ralsei notices the energy building and, with a sharp swing of his scarf, swats a copy of the Devilsknife into King’s face.
He turns around, anger in his face, fury, and mad chaos. “How DARE you-”
“Hey, asshole!” Susie’s voice cuts through his rage.
The Chaos King spins to face her, eyes widening.
You and Susie stand side by side. “Susie, channel Red Buster, and cast DEVILSBUSTER!” you shout, your eyes alight.
Susie grips the scythe, its scarlet glow blazing with the warmth of love. She clenches it tight as it thrums with raw energy, arms trembling from its power.
“Take THIS!” Susie roars, swinging the scythe and releasing a red wave of energy.
It’s clown-shaped, its unholy aura cuts through the air down to its atoms, fast as lightning.
That’s the Devilsbuster—the ultimate attack, blending your power, Jevil’s death, and Susie’s magic into a single, overwhelming strike.
King barely has time to react—No. He can’t react.
It’s too fast, too powerful, fueled by the unity of those once cast aside, forgotten, and ignored. The ultimate move of those who refuse to lose.
The wave crashes into King, and he reels backward, screaming. The impact is so immense it throws him off balance, and the Shadow Mantle is flung from his body, falling down, down into the catacombs of the castle.
King collapses to one knee, panting. But he’s alive.
You might FIGHT sometimes, but you would never kill.
“GAME OVER, OVER, UEE HEE HEE. WE WIN, YOU LOSE!” Jevil taunts, returning to Susie’s hand as his copies vanish.
Susie unsummons the Devilsknife, and the group gathers around.
You hand Ralsei the Rouxls items—the disgusting worm dishes. You give him a look of sympathy.
He makes a face but eats them, grimacing, and recovers his health. With a quick spell cast, he heals everyone else to full.
You breathe deeply, letting the cold balcony air wash over your skin. Ralsei exhales in relief, and Susie gives a low grunt.
The tension lifts, and you find yourself smiling.
It seems like the fight is finally over.
The King’s raspy cough pulls everyone’s attention.“Enough... is enough…” Bruised and barely able to stand, he struggles to speak.
“You STILL want to fight?!” you say, exasperated.
He pants, shaking his head slowly. “No… I do not.” He concedes in a low voice.
You glance at the fountain, its surreal colors swirling and sustaining this fantasy world, before turning your gaze back to King.
“I see... I see that I cannot defeat you,” he says, a sad smile breaking through his bruised expression. “I have lost my mantle, and you three… you are too strong.”
His unexpected flattery makes the tension in your shoulders disappear. You look at him with wary eyes, recognizing a spark of repentance in him.
“Lightners... I…” He coughs again, looking down as he clutches his side.
You look at him sadly.
Was our attack really… this strong?
“Perhaps I... I have been too cruel. The truth is…” He smiles sadly, recalling memories from his past, “I was not always this way. There once was a time...where Darkners and Lightners lived in harmony. A time where Darkners could fulfill their purpose in peace…”
You recall the pictures in the throne room, a happier King, a young Lancer, and a mysterious woman beside them.
Your guard loosens as you take in his weary face.
Maybe… he can turn a new leaf.
“It would be a lie to say that I, too...do not yearn for those days,” he says, his pleading gaze settling on you and Ralsei.
He holds his chest in pain, right where you hit him. It causes you to look away. “...Perhaps... Perhaps you young ones are right. Please... let us put away our weapons. There must be a peaceful solution to all this.”
Ralsei’s face lights up, his relief visible.
You, too, lower your guard with a sigh of relief. “Glad you finally saw the light, Mr. King Guy. I was worried we’d have to…” You trail off.
You cling to naivety despite all you’ve experienced, in this world and the last…
I don’t know if it’s inspiring or stupid.
“Yes…” King coughs. “I do not wish to lose my life either…”
Susie still stands wary, her gaze fixed on the King. She hasn’t let her guard down. Smart girl.
“(Come now, Susie!)” Ralsei urges.
Susie glances back at Ralsei, then to the ribbon in your hair, and finally to where Lancer had left. With a sigh, she lowers her guard, her tense expression softening slightly.
You smile.
A happy Ralsei steps forward, relief in his eyes. “I’m glad you’re beginning to realize, Mr. King…” He gestures to the party. Susie turns aside, and you give an awkward wave like a doofus, a slight grin spreading across your face. “None of us really want to fight. If you can just tell us about your worries… I'm sure we can all be friends, Mr. King!”
“Y-yes... ‘Friends…’ That sounds... lovely…” He coughs, loudly. Yet… you didn’t deal that much damage... “My apologies, I am… I am not used to... attacks that strong…”
Did we really harm him this much? I didn’t mean to go this far… even if he WAS a jerk…
“My body is…” He looks down, wincing. “…getting weak…”
Ralsei’s expression softens with concern. His hands glow green with magic resolve as he steps forward, saying, “Oh, don’t say another word!” Healing magic flows from him, sealing the King’s wound.
A flicker of satisfaction crosses King’s face.
Ralsei claps his hands. “There, you should be all healed up! How do you feel...?”
The King slowly pushes himself to his feet.
You smile at him, while Susie scoffs.
“L…” King grunts, testing his limbs. “Let's see…”
In a blink, spades erupt from the floor, skewering the air where you and the others stand—too fast to react.
Pain rips through you, you collapse to the ground.
You were off-guard. Your power was off, it couldn’t warn you.
Kneeling over, you see the others similarly staggered.
King looms over you all, his dark smile widening. “Never better.”
“Y... You…” Susie grits her teeth, trying to push herself up. Her limbs buckle. More spades appear in front of her, glowing ominously.
Red eyes widen in panic, but the human is too weak. Weak because of you.
“Did I say you could get up?” The King sneers, his voice dripping with cruelty as he advances, savoring the moment.
Thoughts flood your mind.
“Get up. You need to get up!”
The same voice—always there, urging you on.
“You need to save her.”
But you cannot move.
“Kris...!?” Susie’s voice sounds fragile, surprised.
Kris can. With steely determination, he pushes through his aching limbs, using his shield to block the spades that were aimed at Susie.
He stands, gritting his teeth. Susie watches him, wide-eyed.
The moment passes. You stand wide-eyed in his place.
What the heck was-
But more spades emerge, knocking you both back to the ground.
“Oh, spare me the heroics.” King scoffs.
Kris tries to rise again, but another onslaught of spades strikes him down with brutal force.
The impact dislodges the white ribbon from your hair. You watch it flutter down, falling into the darkness below, swallowed by shadow.
Gone forever.
The King’s footsteps echo as he approaches, each step echoes heavy in the silence, slow, merciless. He stops, looking down at you with cold disdain. “You... You're the leader, aren't you?” His sneer deepens.
Pain lances through your body. You don’t have the strength to get up. Neither does Kris.
You’re stuck.
“So, what's your plan?” King says. “To laugh, as you cast us all back into obscurity?”
You try to speak, but your voice withers inside you. The pressure of the King’s presence, his cruel glare, is suffocating, paralyzing.
“You can't even say...?”
It’s like when you first arrived in this world—when you faced Susie.
Nothing has changed.
He crouches down, still towering over you. “Young one… Let me tell you a secret.”
He lifts you—Kris—off the floor, his enormous hand gripping your body tightly, almost suffocating.
Spades form above you, gleaming with deadly intent. “Quiet people PISS ME OFF.”
You close your eyes.
You drop to the ground.
The King stumbles back, clutching his side in pain. He scowls, turning.
Susie stands there, Devilsknife raised. Her long mane is swept back, her yellow eyes blazing, fierce and unmasked. They are a beautiful compliment to her face.
For the first time, you see her completely—no shields, no masks. Just Susie, snarling to a bully that hurts what he hates.
“Get away. From my. Friend.”
The King chuckles and steps toward her.
Susie’s scythe glows with defiance, her eyes steady and unafraid.
King stops in front of her. “OR WHAT? You’ll KILL me?” His tone drips with mockery.
He doesn’t notice the ground starting to tremble, but you do.
“Nah.” Susie says, her tone measured.
The tremors grow stronger, but the King’s eyes remain locked on Susie. Crawling toward her, you take advantage of his distraction.
King walks closer, slowly as always. His eyes are focused on Susie, taking all his attention. “So what's your plan, then...? To TALK me to death...?”
Rage, a tool that empowers as much as it blinds.
Susie doesn’t flinch, meeting his approach with an expression of pure boredom as if she’s seen this look of fury before.
When you look at him and think back on what you saw today, you get a clue as to where she knows it from.
Herself.
King looms over both of you, scornful. “You stupid, stupid Lightner,” he spits, contemptuous. “You honestly think you have any way…” Spades appear above you both, poised to strike. “...to convince me NOT to kill you?”
From your position, you spot them.
A swarm of shapes approaching from a distance. Familiar shapes that put a smile on your face: diamonds, hearts, puzzle pieces, bunnies made of dust.
They’re the source of the quake.
Susie notices them too. “Nah.” She smirks. “But THEY might.”
In an instant, the wave of Darkners crashes over the unsuspecting King. He doesn’t even have time to react before he’s overpowered by a mass of limbs and faces.
Riding the tide in charge is Lancer, sporting a goofy grin.
The King stares, incredulous. “L… Lancer!?” He thrashes in the crowd’s grip. “E… Everyone!?”
“(DOWN WITH THE KING)”
“(For the LIGHTNERS)”
“(We say NO to TYRANNY)”
“(For my RAISE)”
“(I don’t know what we are doing but I like it!)”
The crowd’s voices rise together, all of them have the same thought. They’re all against their oppressor, and in favor of the Lancer Fun Squad.
The impact you caused in their lives shows physical proof. It makes your heart melt with joy.
King’s face twists with rage. “WHAT is the meaning of this!?”
“Sorry, Dad! You’re being overthrown!” Lancer says, grinning.
He clears his throat, adopting a serious tone. “When I told everyone you were fighting the Lightners…” He switches to a dramatic, narrator-style voice (copycat). “Everyone remembered how kind they were! They decided they'd rather have a king… That accepts them!”
He performs a super flip and points at himself with a flourish. “Me!”
The crowd erupts into cheers, chanting Lancer’s name. You can’t help but smile proudly at him.
Lancer places a crown on his head, beaming. “Now I’m the dad!!!”
You blink.
What.
King squirms in the hands of his own people, thrashing. “You IDIOTS! The Lightners are your ENEMIES! FOOLS! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU!”
Lancer cringes at his own father. “Yikes! I think someone needs a time out! Go to your room, Dad!!!”
They drag the King away. He squirms and screams like a little girl, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
His screaming gets lower and lower, until you can’t hear him anymore.
He’s gone. The battle is truly over.
Susie lowers the Devilsknife, exhaling in relief. She walks over to where you’re kneeling, her eyes bright and unguarded, a window to her SOUL. “Y'alright, Kris?”
You hold your chest. “Everything… ugh… everything hurts…” Susie chuckles, a warm, friendly laugh that makes you giggle, even as pain makes you wince again. “Seriously though… I need some healing…”
“Kris! Susie…! Oh, you're all right...!” Ralsei rushes over to you both, relief and worry mingling in his shadowed expression. He looks down, guilt tugging at him as he fidgets awkwardly. “That makes me happy!”
Susie grins, crossing her arms. “Yeah, it'll take more than that to take us down.”
You clutch your chest, groaning. “(No, I’m not alright… cough … Can you heal me, please…?)”
“Kris, Susie... I'm... I'm sorry.” He looks downcast, twiddling his thumbs in anxiety, “Because I healed the KING, we almost... we almost…” He closes his eyes in pain and turns away, shame weighing down his shoulders. “Susie, you were right. I… I was foolish to think we could act so soft to everyone…” His smile disappears, “This isn't a world where kindness always wins, is it?”
Susie’s gaze hardens as she glances around, taking in the aftermath. “Eh… it’s complicated.” She summons the Devilsknife, gripping it as it tries to drift from her grasp. “Yeah, sometimes there's people you just gotta fight.”
Ralsei lowers his head, ears drooping, as he absorbs this.
Susie makes the Devilsknife dissipate, glancing back at where the crowd disappeared. With the fountain flowing behind her, she speaks softly, “But if you NEVER let your guard down, then… You might just... hurt someone you care about.”
You push yourself to your feet, still holding your chest. “She’s right… That’s something I’ve been thinking about during this whole adventure, too. You can’t just fight everyone in your way, but if you never stand up for yourself… people will walk all over you.” Your expression softens as you add, “Don’t kill, and don’t be killed. I think that’s the best we can strive for...”
The words leak out of you like water, strange and familiar. A sharp pang settles behind your eyes, but you can’t place it.
Better not to dwell on that… I guess it doesn’t matter…
“And if we can’t do it alone,” you add, smiling a little, “we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. Friends bring their own ideas, their own strengths. Sometimes, they know stuff you don’t.”
“Yeah, and right now, my idea is that this sounds like some kind of grade school lesson!” Susie bursts out laughing.
You all laugh, the tension finally dissolving in shared relief.
You cough loudly, “Now… can I please get some healing?”
Ralsei’s eyes go wide. He glows softly as he channels his magic to heal you, and you feel the pain ebb away.
Once you’re steady, Ralsei lowers his hands. “Then, I…” His expression turns somber. “I suppose you and Kris should return home now.”
His words hit you like a ton of bricks. “Wait… this is it? Our adventure is over… just like that?”
“King was your last obstacle to the fountain…” Ralsei explains. “So… yes. It’s over.”
His words are hard to process. “But I…”
Don’t want to leave yet.
That’s what you want to say.
Susie’s eyes dart toward the fountain, a hint of conflict on her face. She shifts, a bit uncomfortable. “Kris, you…” She glances at you, hesitating. “...wanna go say goodbye to everyone, don’t you?”
Susie’s words break open the dam in your heart. “YES!!!” you exclaim, voice cracking with relief. “YES!! I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE YET!!!!” You throw yourself at Susie, hugging her tightly, tears spilling down your cheeks. “THANK YOU, SUSIE!”
Susie blinks, confusion twisting her expression. “Um… you’re welcome…?” She peels you off her. “Get OFF!!!”
“S-sorry!” you stammer, stepping back.
Susie brushes herself off, muttering, “Never thought you of all people would be CLINGY…” She looks away, then clears her throat. “But, yeah… We should say goodbye to Lancer and everyone.” She pulls a slightly squished cake out of her pocket. “Also, uh, I got this cake I need to give… to someone.”
Ralsei raises an amused eyebrow.
“Don’t ask,” she snaps.
“We’ll be back soon to say bye, Ralsei!” you call, already heading toward the castle doors.
Ralsei waves cheerfully. “See you soon!”
As Susie follows you, she lags behind for a moment and mutters to herself, “(Kris is WAY weirder outside of school…)”
She steps inside.
*
Inside the castle, you’re met with a hero’s welcome. Darkners of all kinds line the hallways, cheering, waving, and smiling as you and Susie pass by.
Rudinns, Hathys, Puzzle-Guys, everyone you encountered on your journey is here, celebrating your victory.
“(It’s the Lightners…! Thanks for everything)”
“(BOO, you guys ROCK… That’s how it goes, right?)”
“(Thanks for buying the tutorial! Although… I guess we can just make puzzles in peace now…)”
“(I was on break, what is happening, why is everyone celebrating…?)”
“(I wonder what Prince Lancer’s tax policy is going to be…?)”
You wave back at the Darkners, a warm smile spreading across your face. Seeing them all happy fills your soul with a deep warmth, something so sweet and heart-melting that it almost aches.
That’s friendship.
(And maybe a bit of cardiac arrest?)
Susie doesn’t wave, but a blush rises on her face, a small, reluctant smile tugging at her mouth.
You both feel satisfied.
In the throne room, things are as messy as when you left, though Rouxls Kaard is bustling around, attempting to clean. His face is pure desperation as he tries to manage the massive cleanup.
Mr. Elegance and Mr. Society are standing nearby. You wave, and they wave back.
“So, horsie,” Mr. Elegance says, “did our key help ya?”
You think back on the Jevil fight, and everything after, and nod. “Yeah, it did, in a way.”
Mr. Society sighs, “Ahh, I knew I’d be part of dismantling a tyrannical rule. If only Seam had come to see the role it trusted me with would’ve—” He realizes he’s talking to himself. “HEY! Wait! Don’t you realize I might NEVER show up again?”
“Well, ya might show up i’ four chapters from now!” Mr.Elegance reassures his friend.
Mr.Society crosses his arms. “They would’ve already FORGOTTEN about me by then.”
Sadly, you don’t hear any of this conversation. You observe the throne room, seeing it has already been cleaned up.
Maybe Rouxls is a better cleaner than a puzzle-master.
From the corner of your eye, beyond the spade-shaped throne, you spot Susie handing back the cake to the yellow chef. He bursts into ugly, grateful tears and pulls Susie into a hug.
You let out an “awww.”
She looks so awkward—it’s adorable.
“Urgh, never again…” She walks back towards you, you giggle quietly and she glares. “You didn’t see that.”
She smiles, but of course, she doesn’t let you see it.
And Lancer stands there, in the spade-shaped throne, talking with the other three Kings,
“You also have to worry on how fair the tax policy is going to be, so that the people don’t think you are-” The three Kings look at you and Susie, smiling. “Well, we can talk about this later, Prince—no, King Lancer.”
The Kings do a slight bow and exit the room.
Lancer notices you two and waves, his face lighting up with excitement. “Susie! Blue person with the Red Heart whose name I neglected to learn all along! I thought you were going homeways.”
Susie smirks and gives your arm a nudge. “We were, but Kris wanted to say bye, y'know?”
“Yeah, I really did! Gotta be open with your friends, right?” You lean in, voice dropping to a whisper. “(But between us, I think Susie wanted to say goodbye too but was just too embarrassed to admit it.)”
Lancer bursts out laughing, clutching his sides. “Hoho! Red Heart just whispered to me Susie wanted to say goodbye but was too embarrassed to say it!” Your face falls as he continues. “Oops! I just said the quiet part out-loud!”
Susie narrows her eyes at you, and you shrink back. “Well…” She scratches the back of her head, looking embarrassed. “He’s not wrong...”
You grin, feeling victorious.
Situation salvaged!
Lancer points at your hair, a pout on his face, “Red heart, what happened to ribbon ribbony…?”
Your eyes widen, and your hands fly to your hair as you remember—the ribbon is gone. Sadness floods your soul. “I think it fell off during the fight against your dad…” Still you smile a mother’s smile. “But don’t worry—we can make more! And this time, enough for everyone! Ralsei will make them together with the track jackets!!!”
Susie smiles too. “Yeah… He’s like a pro at making clothes for us.” She glances around the bustling room, clearly trying to distract herself. “So… you’re the king now, huh?”
Lancer jumps up, brimming with excitement. “Yes!! And I'm changing some big rules!” He holds his small hand out, starting to count, “First, Lightners are now legal! Second, prison is now only for dads! And, ummm, third… Just whatever taxes even are!!! There’s no four or five even though I have five fingers!”
Susie smiles warmly, happy that the King will rot in jail, “Sounds like some pretty good changes.”
And Kris follows up with a mischievous smirk, “And about the, y’know, taxes thing? Just… don’t do them. Trust me, your people will thank you for it.”
Everyone laughs, even Rouxls, who is swift to go back to cleaning when everyone turns to look at him.
Only when that happens, is when you realize you said something you didn’t mean to.
You just shrug.
Meh. I agree with it, so…
“Hey, your dad was, uh, protecting the fountain, right?” Susie says, after catching her breath from laughing “...is it gonna be OK if we mess with it...?”
“I have no idea!” Lancer replies cheerfully, almost making you trip in classic anime fashion. “But it's you guys, so I trust you...! If something bad happens, we'll fix it out!”
“Yeah… I don’t know why…” You hold your SOUL. “But I feel in my body everything will be alright regarding it…”
You can’t tell why, but it’s an innate sense of assurance—one that feels woven into your very existence.
“Yeah, I guess we’ll just see.” Susie starts turning back, “Umm... well, see ya later!”
“Bye, Lancer, until next time” You wave at him with a smile.
He returns it, waving even faster than you. “Come back soon!!! There's always room in town for a couple of clowns!”
You and Susie smile, and walk back through the door.
A desperate call stops you. “Waite, waite just one minute, mine Amigose!”
You turn to find Rouxls, his hair a tangled mess, almost like a bee’s nest.
“We haveth to discusseth mine Own worke involving thou!” He coughs, voice becoming like a narrator’s. I find it an offensive caricature, “The Tale of Rouxls Kaard, and the Three Hero-”
You are out before he can butcher another word and throw it in the pits of bad acting only deserved for theater kids.
Susie pauses, half-turning. “Er… call our lawyer and he will think about it.” She leaves.
Rouxls looks disappointed. He tries cleaning more, but the dust makes him sneeze. He looks even more disappointed.
He drops his broom, and smirks evilly. “(Now, where is thy King’s mantle…)”
I am sure this won’t be important.
*
You and Susie walk back to the balcony. You can see the citizens of Card Castle—now Lancer’s kingdom—murmuring among themselves, discussing with one another.
Whispers of happiness, of freedom, of what they can do in a now free world…
You feel truly satisfied.
Ralsei stands near the entrance to the fountain chamber, looking a bit awkward as he waits…
He notices you and Susie, trading small talk with one another. “(But seriously, HOW did the moss tas—)” Susie is cut off.
“Susie, Kris…” Ralsei starts, gentle voice catching your attention. “Are you going to leave...?”
You and Susie exchange a glance, then turn to Ralsei with a nod that says, ‘Where else would we go?’
He walks forward, and finally takes off his hat. Your eyes widen, but because he’s holding it in front of his face, you can’t actually see it.
“Umm, I… I just wanted to say…” His hat is making his voice extremely difficult to hear, “I… I… I really enjoyed meeting you two, and...”
You strain to catch his words, barely able to make them out.
Maybe I can just take his hat? That wouldn’t be rude, would it?
“That would be stealing.”
It’s for a good cause!
Before you can continue arguing with voices in your head, Susie speaks, “Hey, can you STOP mumbling into your hat for a sec? Can barely hear ya, dude.”
Sometimes, you just have to be rude.
“O-oh, I'm sorry!” He removes his hat, finally revealing his face.
It’s something that you would never expect.
White fur. Two floppy ears. Redish-pinkish horns. Pink eyes behind green glasses. A soft, kind smile…
It’s different. You know his face is different. His face is older, his eyes are different. The person behind them is different.
You know it’s not him, and yet…
And yet…
Why does he look just like Asriel?!?!
A cascade of thoughts floods your mind.
Ralsei looks just like Asriel. He looks just like the one man you couldn’t save.
Why?! Why does he look like Asriel?! Didn’t Toriel say he is alive and he is my brother but I don’t want him to be my brother ‘cause that doesn’t feel right but now Ralsei has the face of the guy who is my brother that I don’t want to be my brother because I still-
Your mind spins, an endless reel of confusion.
Susie's eyes bulge out, hands in front of her face. It’s the face of someone who walked in a deep secret, and doesn’t know how to quietly leave. Despite her panic being smaller than your by orders of magnitude, she is wayyyy more upfront about it than you.
Ralsei continues, without even noticing the girl panic in front of him, “Um... Kris, Susie... I… I hope I can see you again soon. Next time I'll make you lots of yummy cakes, alright?”
Ralsei who looks like Asriel and is my brother somehow knows how to bake cakes and that’s kinda cute but I don’t know how to feel because—
Your mind remains a storm of confusion.
Susie grabs your arm, and starts dragging you inside the fountain’s chamber, waving goodbye to Ralsei with a quick “Umm, yeah! Sure, dude, haha!”
She glares at you. “Let's go, Kris!” Her eyes narrow. “And stop acting so weirdly!”
*
The fountain.
The Holy Fountain of Darkness stands before you—a hidden jewel from a time long gone, presenting itself in this classroom of a school forgotten by the world.
It blankets this world in darkness. It shapes it. It creates it. It is the crux of everything in this kingdom, what holds the dream together.
It stands in front of you, the only source of light in this room, its multicolored glow blanketing both you and Susie.
You and her are both in sheer awe at its glory, mouths open in shock.
The immense pressure fills your mind, any thoughts from before vanishing. You feel overwhelmed by a strong sentiment of nostalgia.
Of home.
Susie is the first to recompose herself, “Is this... the fountain...?” She looks at you, wonder filling her bright yellow eyes. “Dunno how, but… It feels like we stumbled into something really important, didn't we...?”
Your gaze drifts back to the fountain, golden eyes fixated in its holiness.
You cannot look away.
“Yeah… it’s so pretty…” You close your eyes, a wistful smile on your face “It feels like home… A beautiful home where I can be happy with a…”
You don’t finish that sentence.
Susie gives you a look but decides not to press. “Well…” She changes the topic. “There's no time to think about that now. Right now… It's time to go home, right, Kris?”
You manage to break your gaze from the fountain. You lock your eyes with Susie’s and nod.
It feels like the most important nod in your life…
You walk forward, standing in front of the fountain. Staring into it. Blanketing on it.
You glow within Kris’ body, reacting to the fountain.
A red heart, a SOUL, departs from within him, floating in the sky. It’s the culmination of your—
No, you ARE the SOUL. You always have been. Always will be.
It’s the only thing you have left of yourself and your previous life.
It flies towards the fountain, and it absorbs it from within.
The fountain is ‘sealed’.
Light fills both Kris and Susie.
And then…
Darkness.
Notes:
And thus, a dream comes to a close. Crazy to think we got so far. It took a long time to get here, but we finally arrive. Thank you to all the kudos, comments and support in the fic. It helped me get this far. Next time it's Chapter 1's epilogue, see you then.
Chapter 17: Chapter 1 - Part 16: It's only you
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
The fountain is closed and you are back in Hometown… In the end, it’s only you.. isn’t it?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Nothing.
You can’t see anything.
The pitch-black consumes your vision, blanketing all, no matter where you turn.
This confounding darkness is unlike the one from before. It doesn’t cling or press against you like a living substance. It’s not heavy, oppressive, suffocating, or physical.
No—it feels like a mere absence. The absence of… light.
Did it work? Did I…
You try to move.
Seal that fountain?
You think you move, it’s hard to tell in the dark, but you know too well what not being able to move is like. You feel your limbs stirring, you can move.
Your hand brushes against something—smooth, cold, and unyielding.
A wall?
You reach out again and touch something else. Thin, flat, and smooth.
Papers? What?
Nothing makes sense. You grope blindly, grasping at small, hard shapes, thick and bulky forms, soft and yielding textures. Everything feels disconnected, like mismatched puzzle pieces.
Nothing in this room is consistent! Ugh. Where’s the—
Something touches you.
It wasn’t you who reached out this time.
It touched you.
Your breath catches in your throat. Your heart freezes mid-beat.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
The scream rips from you.
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
It… screams back?
Panic overtakes you. You stumble backward, but the screaming doesn’t stop.
The squeak of plushies catches in your ears. The shuffle of something moving in the dark.
A… A… A…
Light.
Sudden light floods the room.
Your eyes sting as they adjust, and the formless shapes around you sharpen into focus. You blink rapidly, finally seeing what was moving.
You stop screaming.
Monster…?
Susie stands in front of you, her back to the lightswitch. Still screaming.
You raise an eyebrow. “Susie?”
She looks… normal. Like before we went to the Dark World.
She— indeed is back in her regular clothes— finally stops, her voice cracking as she takes a breath. “Kris…?” Her eyes narrow. “Why did you scream like THAT?”
“Um…” You stand, brushing yourself off and avoiding her glare. “You scared me. So I, er, reacted. Like… that. It was scary!” A smirk plays on your face as you point out, “You screamed too, y’know.”
Susie hunches, defensive. “Because of you!” She points at you. “Your scaredy-cat virus rubbed off on me!”
You can’t help it—you chuckle. She glares at first but eventually cracks a smile herself, and soon both of you are laughing. The absurdity of the moment breaks through the tension.
But it doesn’t last.
The laughter fades, leaving only an awkward silence in its wake. The adrenaline of the moment drains away, replaced by a heavy stillness.
Finally, you take a good look around the room.
It’s not what you expected.
Despite what all common logic would lead you to expect, every single thing in this room tells you’re NOT inside of a closet.
Your brow furrows.
This doesn’t make any sense. We went into a closet. So where are we?
Cards litter the floor in a chaotic scatter. All four suits—diamonds, hearts, clubs, spades—are present, as if someone upended an entire deck.
But these aren’t normal cards.
Your eyes narrow as you notice the designs. Instead of the usual symbols, each card bears a drawing of a character.
A green, diamond-shaped creature for the diamonds, with variations in red scattered among them.
A green, heart-shaped creature with lipstick for the hearts, alongside versions in blue.
A three-headed cat for the clubs. That one doesn’t ring a bell.
But the last two do.
Wait… are those?
Recognition blooms, but it doesn’t mean it makes sense. If anything, it muddles your thoughts further.
Shaking your head, you force yourself to look away, turning your attention to another corner of the room.
A purple carpet stretches across the floor. The faint scent of marshmallows drifts from it.
But that can’t be true…
The thought lodges in your mind, stubborn and unshakable. You glance toward the wall where something else catches your eye.
A purple cat plush sits there, propped against the baseboard. Its once-vibrant fabric is now frayed, its right eye missing and replaced with a mismatched button.
You step toward it instinctively, your hand half-raised to pick it up. But you stop yourself, hovering just out of reach.
The sight alone is enough.
S…Seam?!
It looks just like it.
In front of the carpet lies a checkerboard. Scattered across it are chess and checker pieces, the latter painted in red, with crude, drawn faces etched onto them with childish creativity.
C… Round?
The sight stirs fear in your SOUL, clawing at the edges of your mind.
Your gaze shifts to the opposite corner of the room. A small closet stands there, far too tiny to be the one you entered. Cards have spilled out from it like water from a burst pipe.
The Jack of Spades and the Rules Card catch your eyes, resting haphazardly at the top. Below them lie the three kings—Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs—and at the bottom, the imposing Spade King.
But these aren’t ordinary cards. Like the ones scattered earlier, they lack the typical suits. Instead, each card bears detailed illustrations of familiar characters. All except the Rules Card.
Your breath catches.
That’s… that’s…
You take a step back, your mouth hanging open.
Lancer-
“Whatcha looking at?”
Susie’s voice cuts through your thoughts like a blade, jolting you back to the present. She stands a few steps away, her mane falling over her eyes. Though her expression is half-hidden, her tone carries a note of irritation.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
You struggle to form words, your mouth moving silently.
Before you can speak, she starts to notice the room herself. Her gaze darts around, her brow furrowing.
“H... Huh...? The unused classroom...?” She takes a step back, tilting her head to look up.
“How'd we get here...?”
Susie steps closer, her movements slow and hesitant. You flip the cards face down, hiding the drawings.
It’s reflexive—instinctual.
But deep down, you know why you did it.
I don't even know what they mean… So, if she saw these, she would…
You push the thought away, but I see it lingering in the back of your mind. I know you.
And you’re right.
Susie’s steps falter, as though each one might crack some fragile illusion. She stops a few feet away, her voice soft but tinged with unease.
“...Hey, Kris… What… What just happened…?” Her gaze drops, and you catch a hint of sadness in her expression. Her face falls, her usual bravado melting away.
“That wasn’t a dream or anything, was it…?”
No way…!
Your chest tightens.
There’s no way that could have been a dream.
You feel your heartbeat—insistent, thudding against your ribs.
The pain. The deaths. All those feelings.
Your pulse quickens, every beat desperate.
They were REAL. They had to be real.
Faster.
They just had to be.
Your breathing becomes uneven as the weight of it all presses down on you.
Right…?
You scan the supposedly unused classroom—the scattered cards, the plushie, the checkerboard. All these objects, placed together just so.
You are smart enough to piece it together. The familiarity. The intersecting points of the light and dark.
But can you accept it?
What… actually happened?
A strange, eerie calm permeates your being.
Was everything just… a dream? Did we pass out here, and I imagined the rest?
It’s the kind of calm that comes with resolution—when a lingering weight is finally lifted from your heart.
And if all of that was a dream… then that horrible abyss…
A smile creeps onto your face.
That wasn’t real either, right?
"No. That was real."
A voice. Smooth, detached. Devoid of warmth but not charged with any menace.
It slithers through your thoughts and sends an icy chill down your spine.
"It wasn’t a dream."
You know this voice. You heard it before. In the dark.
You can’t deny it anymore.
It is all too real.
Someone else is here.
Someone else can speak to you.
And that brings you fear.
"Pick up your pencil."
You blink. Your throat tightens. Your hand trembles.
"It’s in your pocket."
You inhale sharply and exhale, slow and steady.
"That should be proof enough."
Your fingers move, reaching into pockets you don’t remember wearing.
Something thin. Smooth. A pointed tip.
You pull it out.
A pencil.
Not just any pencil—a Halloween-themed one, wrapped in designs of spiderwebs and grinning jack-o’-lanterns.
Your breath catches. A drop of sweat rolls down your forehead.
You remember the sword you wielded in the Dark World…
It looks just like… my sword.
You turn it in your hands, as if the answer might carve itself into the wood.
What does this even mean?
Your brown eyes linger.
How can a sword… be a pencil?
Before you can unravel the thought, a voice cuts through your daze.
“Whatcha looking at?”
You flinch, whipping the pencil behind your back.
Susie leans over, trying to get a peek. “Why’re you so jumpy? I don’t bite!” A sheepish quiver reaches her lips. “Most of the time.”
You hesitate. With a sigh, you bring the pencil forward and shove it toward her face.
“I… uh…” You swallow. “This is gonna sound stupid, but…”
You force yourself to meet her eyes. “Have I ever used this pencil before?”
Susie stares at you. Expression unreadable.
You glance down, cringing.
Why did I ask that? That was so stupid! Why would she even care about a freaking pen—
“No. You haven’t.”
Susie’s answer stops you cold.
You snap your head up, eyes wide, taking in her pensive expression.
She… noticed?
Unfazed, she keeps going. “You never used that pencil before. I’d know—I always wanted to munch on—” She freezes. Her lips tense as she swallows and clears her throat. “Er… I always liked pencils. Yeah.” She looks off to the side, a little timid. “Anyway… why are you asking?”
You shift your weight as your gaze drifts to the pencil. “Um…”
Susie squints. With a flicker of realization, she gestures at the pencil. “Why’s it got Halloween decorations? That’s still weeks away. Did I miss a memo?”
“I… uh…” You fumble for an answer. “Like celebrating early?” You attempt a smile. It lands somewhere between a grin and a wince.
Susie just stares at you.
And then—
"Ask her about her hairbrush."
Your body stiffens.
Wh—what? Why?
"It’s important."
How?!
"Trust me."
I don’t even know you—
Suppressing a sigh of exasperation—and against all common sense—you decide to follow the voice’s advice.
“Susie, can I see your hairbrush?” You keep your tone flat, your face unreadable.
I swear, if this doesn’t work, I’m going to strangle you, disembodied voice.
Susie blinks. Then shrugs. “Sure!”
Without hesitation, she digs into her stuff.
You just stand there, mouth slightly open.
"Always trust the voices inside your head."
Sound advice.
“Wait a minute—what the HELL?!” Susie’s sudden outburst yanks your attention back. She’s holding a hairbrush. A completely normal-sized hairbrush. It’s unlike what you expected for a dragon monster. Not large, not oversized—just regular, like you saw showcased in those displays way back when.
Except…
The handle is purple. And it’s covered—completely covered—in gray and black clown stamps.
Your breath hitches.
Your grip tightens.
Is that… Jevil?!
"Told you it’s important."
But—
Your mind races, struggling to piece it together.
That doesn’t make sense. What does this even mean?!
You pinch yourself. Not because you’re dreaming, but because you just realized—you’re getting used to the voice in your head. Worse yet, you’re arguing with it.
“That’s NOT my hairbrush!” Susie’s voice pulls you out of your pity spiral. She looks absolutely flabbergasted. “Who the HELL did this?! Is this a prank? Is that why there are these ugly clown decorations?! Is someone making fun of me?!”
“Uh…” You glance around. “It was… uh…”
Sweat beads on your forehead.
Think, think, THINK—
“Monster Kid!” you blurt out. “He did this!”
You flash Susie the biggest, most innocent smile you can muster while internally groaning.
"You should’ve said Berdly."
I don’t even know who that IS! Kid is the only person I know!
That’s when it hits you—you’re screaming inside your own head. At yourself.
Oh no. I might not be as sane as I thought.
Susie scowls. “Kid… I always knew that little twerp had it out for me.” Her voice is… different. Not quite angry. Just… hurt.
She looks down for a second before stuffing the brush away in a hurry.
“Anyway, as I was SAYING…” She strides toward the door and swings it open. “Let’s just tell Alphys we couldn’t find any chalk.”
She steps out, leaving you alone.
Your gaze drifts back to the closet—the scattered cards, the drawings of Lancer and the others.
Your hands tighten into fists.
Why do these cards have Lancer and everyone on them?
Your eyes scan the rest of the room. You kneel down and pick up the plushie—the one that looks just like Seam.
Your grip tightens around its frayed fabric.
That couldn’t have been a dream… So what was it? A shared reverie? Some kind of vision?
You stare into the plushie’s button eye. For a moment, you imagine it speaking to you.
Maybe… I just need more information. I shouldn’t rush things. Yeah…
That thought makes you smile. You gently place the plushie back on the ground, brushing off some of its dust.
That’s what you taught me, after all.
Your smile fades. You glance upward.
So… is there anyone here?
You cringe as a jolt of tension sparks in you.
Um… that sounded rude. Sorry.
You shift on your feet, rocking onto your toes and back again.
But… who are you? Weird dude-voice-inside-my-head guy? Are you even real?
You take some deep breaths. Your movements slow.
Sorry, I guess calling you weird won’t help… I just… I just want to know who you are!
Bit by bit, you stop rocking entirely.
C’mon! We can be friends! You encouraged me, so I know you like me! Stop being so shy!
Silence.
You pout.
Fine! Stay a mystery! But just so you know—you’re going to love me by the end of this! Keep that in mind. Even if you don’t have a mind to begin with!
You let out a small, mischievous giggle.
If anyone saw this, they’d probably call you insane—talking to yourself, believing so easily that you were in a world of magic.
But not me. Not after everything we’ve been through together.
Insanity is part of our world.
With quick steps, you exit the classroom.
*
The first thing you feel is the sunlight hitting your eyes, warmth sinking into your skin a moment later. Instinctively, you smile.
I never thought I’d miss the sun…
The golden afterglow stretches across the hallway, casting long shadows and painting the world in orange hues. You stare into it, and for a moment, your vision blurs.
Your brown eyes start to water.
“Man, the sun’s already setting…” Susie’s voice reaches your ears, wistful. “Everyone else must’ve gone home by now.” She glances at you, smirking. “Guess Alphys’ll know better than to ask US next time, huh?”
You smile back, but your gaze is elsewhere—somewhere far in the past.
And in this world, monsters like Susie can finally see it, too. All that suffering, all that pain… I finally did—
“Whatcha looking at?” Susie asks bluntly.
You blink, pulled back to the present. “Oh. Um… I was just… thinking.” Your voice softens. “Thinking about something I really wanted to do… Seeing that sunset just made me nostalgic.”
Susie studies you, thoughtful.
You look down. “Forget about it.”
You walk forward, your steps unsteady, awkward. Like you haven’t quite found your footing. Or maybe you just aren’t paying attention, too focused on the urge to run.
She wouldn’t get it. Nobody would. I’m the only one who remembers that world. My memories are the only thing that make it real.
You stop at the closet door. It’s shut. You grip the handle and try to open it. Locked.
“The janitor must have closed it.”
A loud groan escapes your lips.
Of course you only speak up when it’s about janitors!
“I’m thinking about some stuff, too.” Susie’s voice is quiet—too quiet. You glance at her, noticing the way her gaze lingers on the closet doors. There’s something unusual in her expression. “Well, guess we should go.”
Oh… right. Nobody but us knows the Dark World exists. It only lives in our memories—just like my world.
You look at Susie, a faint glint of gold reflecting in your eyes.
She does understand! I was being so selfish.
“Yeah… you’re right. Mom’s probably super worried.” You meet her eyes and offer a small smile. “But we’ll still see each other tomorrow, right? So there’s no reason to be sad!”
It’s a new beginning!
Susie snorts. “Guess so.” She turns away, her steps slow, hesitant. “See ya later, I guess.” She raises a hand in a casual wave.
Your smile fades. You wave back.
I guess that’s really it—
Susie stops. Spins around.
Before you can react, she’s running toward you, no hesitation, no pretense.
She stops right in front of you.
She holds your shoulder. She has a warm expression on her face, coupled with a smile of longing and happiness. You can see her yellow eyes shining, contrasting with your brown ones.
It’s the first time you’ve seen her eyes since beating King.
“Let's go back there tomorrow, alright?” She plainly says.
Kris nods warmly to her. “We shall.” He plainly says with a smirk.
You blink, mouth slightly open in surprise.
Was that you?
The voice doesn’t respond.
Before you can focus on it again, Susie turns back and walks away. She has a smile on her face and waves at you.
You wave back.
She is gone.
You are all alone.
You don’t believe that.
Are you going to say something or keep being anti-social?!
The silence is your answer.
You pout.
Whatever.
You walk away from the school, the warm afterglow of the sun quickly replacing the frustration of the voice. The orange shines in the empty hallways, sharing its warmth with your heart.
You are about to walk away from the school, until…
RIIIING! RIIIING!
Your phone rings.
Oh no! It must be mom! I can’t believe I forgot!!!!
You quickly go through your pants trying to find your phone, and it almost drops out of your hands when you answer it.
“K... Kris!? Whatever have you been doing!?” Toriel’s voice booms through the receiver, making you recoil. “I sat in the car waiting for you after school for half an hour...! I called and called, but you never picked up… You had your poor mother worried sick!”
You hold in a breath of air, as Toriel continues to scold you. “Kris, I am afraid I am going to have to punish you…”
Your eyes widen as your heart skips a beat.
Punishment? I can’t be grounded on my first day of existence!!!
You try to think of an excuse to say.
“I was with a friend, mother.” Kris answers the tone in a stoic voice. “We were playing cards in the unused classroom. We were having so much fun that we didn’t even realize it was so late.” He finishes off without the slightest change of tone.
You wouldn’t know it was a lie if you didn’t experience what really happened firsthand.
“Not true. We played cards. It did happen.”
Now you reply to me???
Toriel's sigh of relief makes you refocus on your call. “Kris… I will make an exception this time. You can continue your adventures a little longer.”
Her words make you sigh in relief.
“But when you return home…” Her voice gets serious. “You are going to have to go to bed early.”
Early? But I am not tired!
The response from your body shows otherwise.
But I barely did anything!
“Are you kidding me?”
“See you soon, honey.” And with a click, Toriel ends the call.
Of course you reply to me when I don’t want to!
Your eyes suddenly go wide with panic.
How do I even go home? I don’t remember the path we took this morning!
You look remorseful.
Um… Mr.Voice? Do you know where to go?
No response.
You frown.
Whatever. My body feels tired but my mind doesn’t! I am just going to take this opportunity to explore my new home!
*
True to your promise, you decide to explore your new home that isn’t called New Home. Now, how will you explore it?
By walking around aimlessly until something happens.
…
Sigh…
You never change, do you?
Still… It has to work eventually.
Wait… is that… the ‘librarby’?
Indeed, standing right in front of you is the library with the misspelled sign. Somehow, despite being on the surface instead of Snowdin, the sign stands the same.
You take tentative steps towards.
I can’t believe it’s still here… Monsters never change!
You enter inside of the library, the smell of paper and leather assaulting your nose. The room is light green, and bookshelves line it, filled to the brim. There are stairs leading to the upper floor.
They are blocked by a striped bird.
Looking at it makes your head hurt for some reason.
You quickly look away.
In the back, there are double doors leading to an unknown room.
Well, the building itself is different… but…
You notice that Temmie is here. You remember seeing her in your class, and she seems to be studying… something, as well.
A comic filled with ‘hot demon guys’.
…
It doesn’t seem to be school-related.
The people are the same, I guess.
Temmie isn’t alone, however. That green snake from back in your class is here, looking at a billboard with intensity. And that bluebird that you remember someone saying his name, but you can’t remember it right now, stands on the counter.
Mostly.
The bird's eyes catch you, and his beak contorts itself in the biggest smug grin you have seen. “Hahaha…!” He laughs at you. “If it isn’t Krismas Dreemurr! Trying to interrupt my tasks, I see!”
You chuckle, laughter spilling out of your mouth. You hold your hands in front of it, in a desperate attempt to contain it.
The bird narrows his eyes at you. “What are you laughing at?”
You look at him with a look that you can’t believe what he’s saying. “Are you kidding me? At your joke! ‘Krismas’” You can’t contain your laughter. “That’s funny.”
The bird looks at you with a serious grimace. “It’s not a joke.”
His words make you snort. “Suuuuure it isn’t! Hahahaha!!!”
“He’s right. That’s my name. Stop this humiliation at hand.”
Sure I believe you, Mr. Voice! Ha! Maybe I should call to say Krismas is coming earlier?
Your constant laughter is attracting everyone’s attention. You’ve become a beacon in this small library.
“Not good.”
The bird looks at you with complete contempt. “Are you making fun of me? That’s your name! It’s not a joke!”
Hearing it from him only makes you laugh harder. “My name is ‘Krismas’? Yeah, right! Hahaheheh!!!”
“Stop. Making fun of Berdly is one thing, but don’t drag me into the pit of humiliation!”
Psssttt? Pit of humiliation? You sound like an old man. And who’s Berdly?
“...really?”
The bird sighs with disgust. “Maybe staying with Susie made you braindead! Alas, that’s the fate of weak, feeble minded organisms such as yourself!!!”
He seems to be content with himself. “Your mind could not handle Susie’s brutish nature and broke itself into thousands of pieces!!!” He enters inside his own reverie. “A fate that would NEVER befall someone with a brain as big as myself!!! HahahahaHA!!!!”
He starts to chuckle, lost in his own megalomania. “But of course! Your mind was shattered the moment YOU lost to ME!!! That’s why you’re even crazy enough to hang with Susie! I AM THE MASTERMIND OF IT ALL!!!!”
His laughter drowns your own, and he steals your spotlight. Now everyone’s eyes are on him.
He’s completely oblivious of this.
He sucked all the fun out of it…
“BUT!” He sharply points at you. “Don’t think insanity plea will let you bail out of your CRIMES!!!!”
You raise an eyebrow at him.
“Don’t play for a fool!” The smugness and laughter dissipate from his body. “You know what I am talking about!”
You look at him with a face that you don’t know what he's talking about.
“YOUR DEBT!!!” He yells. “YOUR FAMILY DEBT!!!” He sounds exasperated. “How to Draw Dragons is 2583 days overdue! Your current debt is $69.42! And it will increase every day!”
You can’t help but laugh when you hear that number.
Okay, he’s funny again.
“Yes, yes, I know.” The bluebird rolls his eyes. “VERY crass number. That’s why I am offering you a discount if you turn this week! A mere $64.23! Consider it, Kris!”
The machinations in your head start to turn. “Can I get a refresher on how the book looks? So I can deliver it back? I… forgot how it looked.”
“It impresses me that you could’ve forgotten such a book. The depths of your stupidity keep surprising me!” He insults you, but he moves to grab the book.
“Alas… here it is!” He gives to you.
You snort when you see the cover.
The cover of a purple dragon dressed… rather immodestly.
“Oh my God…” You look at the bird with wide-eyes. “Do you like Susie?!”
The bird’s eyes widen, and he recoils. “WHAT?”
“I mean, you really, really want me to deliver this book which…” You point at the cover. “Has a woman who really looks like Susie…”
“That YOUR book!! I want it back because your license is due!!!!” The bird says, his voice strained and on edge.
You ignore him, smirking. “And you mentioned Susie out of nowhere when we met here!”
Berdly looks offended. “All I want is to do MY job! As a volunteer assistant of Ms.Boom!!! I want you to give back YOUR book!!!”
You snort. “C’mon, you can be honest with me!” Now it’s your turn to give him a smug smile. “You’re head over heels for her!”
“IT’S. YOUR. BOOK!!!!!” The bird screams with the entire fury of his lungs, sounding on the verge of insanity.
“Look, I hung out with her for a day, you can ask me for help if you want to know her!” You try to keep the smugness from your smirk.
“I don’t!!!” He yells back, his face red with anger.
You give him a flirty look. “Just look it in her eyes, and then say it in a hot voice-”
“Okay, that’s IT!” Berdly gets up in a rush, his chair falling off. “I am DONE with this stupid foolish talk! An outstanding citizen like me doesn’t have the time to be HARASSED by a mindbroken hooligan!”
He loudly stomps towards the backdoors of the library. “I will not stand by this! I would rather do something more productive!” He doesn’t seem to realize he’s attracting quite the attention. “Gaming!”
He enters the room. You can hear a computer turn on and then the sounds of gaming (™).
Everyone goes back to what they were previously doing, ignoring him.
Your facade breaks. You giggle in your hand.
The look on his face! Hahahaha! He was so red!
“First time I saw Berdly leave his job…”
Who’s Berdly again?
You hear a groan in your head, but no reply.
The knowledge completely leaves your head.
You look across the library. Now, with Berdly gone, everything is returning to normalcy.
Carried by the wind, you can hear whispers all around. Quiet words that you can tell are being said, but can never tell their exact content.
A kind of orderly peace that you so utterly missed. The sight of it causes a smile to cross your face, as your eyes become watery.
With kind eyes, you turn back to exit the library.
“Kris! Good, job! You defeated, Berdly! His bad, vibes were ruining my, mojo!” A voice halts your exit, and soon enough, you feel something crawling on your shoulder. Chills go down your back.
Without moving your head, you look to the side to see what it is.
A snake crawled on your shoulder. A snake-monster, to be exact. He’s wearing a blue sheath that covers his body, sunglasses, and a cap.
But it’s not a regular cap. The snake holds it… backwards.
That’s so cool!
You think.
“That’s so cool!!!” You say. You realize the snake probably doesn’t know what you’re talking about. “Your hat, I mean! It’s super cool!”
“Heh, I, know! My hat, is cool!” The snake smirks. “But the, real, coolest, is! Those who, work, hard.”
His words bring tears to your eyes.
So cool…
“Speaking of, working, hard! Catti!” The snake drops down from your shoulder, landing at a nearby desk. “Catti's working, so Jockington is starting, on our Project! That’s me, Jockington! My, name!”
You nod firmly, eyes wide with wonder.
Oh! Jockington! That’s good to know! I wish I knew the names of my other classmates, or at least someone told me them!
You feel a wave of rejection and frustration course through you.
You ignore it.
Jockington points to a bunch of papers on his desk with a wide smile, “I've already, copied a bunch of pictures.”
It’s the same picture of a soccer ball 73 times.
You are thoroughly impressed, stars in your eyes. “You already did this much?!” You look down, ashamed. “I didn’t even start my project yet…”
Although I don’t know why Alphys would want a project related to soccer… Maybe she’s a fan?
You accept the conclusion that you will never understand Alphys and school projects.
“That’s, okay! I understand that, working with, Susie must be, tough!” Jockington uses his tail to point at a billboard in front of him. “But, read this! You can cheat and, bypass this, side-quest!”
Your face frowns in confusion. You look at the billboard and read what’s written on it.
‘Teen'z Corner Monthly Toon Review’? What does that have to do with our-
You facepalm.
Alphys. Duh!
“Read it, outloud!” Jockington says, looking eager. “It’s super, important! For this, story! Do, it!”
You clear your throat and start reading, “Teen'z Corner Monthly Toon Review: Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2. This reviewer had Mew Mew 2 as her first exposure to the series… And let her tell you, it makes Mew Mew 1 look like a dumpster with sparkly cat ears!”
Alarm bells ring in your head when you read this.
Alphys… doesn’t like Mew Mew? That doesn’t make sense, Alphys hated Mew Mew 2, not the original!
Information contradicting your memories.
“No, Kris!” Jockington shakes his head. “That’s not, what, you’re supposed to, read! Read, below! The new, content!”
You move past Alphys’s review that goes on and on, and your brown eyes focus on the article below. “The Super Ultra Hyper Hidden Quest for Mew Kissy Cutie: Ultra Special Edition (2005 edition)! (Lost Media OVA!!!!)”
You blink, mind trying to piece together what Alphys is saying.
Mew Mew has a secret OVA? Huhw
“Konichiwaaa!!! Welcome to the weekly search for this mysterious piece of Lost Media (OMG!!!)! This is edition number 17 of finding the 2005 edition of ‘Mew Mew Kissy Cutie: The Quest for LOVE and HUGS! (The Movie)’! It’s part of my ongoing quest to find all Mew Mew shows that have ever existed and ever will exist!! From Mew Mew Dumpster with Cat Ears (The Terrible Original) and Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 (The Improved sequel), and all the video games, mangas and merch, and miscellaneous content for all the Mew Mew Heads out there!!! Stay LOVEFUL, sisters!!! (Mew Mew’s catchphrase! So cute!!!)”
Alphys really, really, really likes Mew Mew!!!
“The lead from our lovely anonymous holiday girl sadly led us to a dead end! According to her exact words: ‘I guess my friend lost her copy of Mew Mew… Sorry, teach…’ This leads us back to square one, but don’t worry, dear readers! Just like Mew Mew in 'Mew Mew Kissy Cutie: The Manga: Chapter 66: LOVE, sugar, cakes???' I have a plan to find it!”
Reading Alphy’s reviews was starting to give you a headache.
So much information! When will it-
You stop thinking, focusing on the next sentence.
“I will be issuing a special bounty! Whoever finds this will receive free school credit! I am very good friends with the public school teacher! You know, that adorable, yellow lizard! She’s really cool, guys! And she will give free credit to whoever finds her special Mew Mew OVA!”
“Mew Stars, OUT!” You finish reading, giving your utmost energy to each of Alphys’ words. It was absolutely not necessary in any way at all, but it did add some flavor to it.
However, your focus is on what Alphys said in the end. “Did Alphys just say if we find this OVA, we won't need to do the project????”
“Do you, see?” Jockington says, smiling wildly. “It’s a way of, bypassing, this quest! A quick, ball!”
You look back at the board and read it again just to be sure. “Well… it sounds like something Alphys would do. And not doing the project would be nice, I guess…”
Especially since I don’t know anything about it…
“You won’t hang out with Susie if you do it.”
The words inside your head make you stop for a moment.
That’s true.
“This way, Susie won’t, stop you!” He wraps his tail around your shoulders, “You can finish, your project in, peace! And be done in a, quick ball!”
You look towards him, but you don’t say anything. You don’t know what to say.
“This, way, everyone, wins! He moves towards his desk, tipping his hat towards you. “I believe, that Catti, might know something, about it! After all, she’s a, cat!”
He returns back to his book and pictures. “Now, to play, ball!”
You politely wave at him and walk away from the library.
People here really don’t like Susie, huh.
You shake your head.
Well, who cares! Helping Alphys should still be fun, at least.
*
The orange leaves of the trees fall, as the skies grow orange. The warm sunlight bathing your body, growing fainter as the night approaches.
A tree falls on your head, and you can’t help but giggle.
This world… is really beautiful. It’s been so long since I went to a place that smelled so nice…
You feel your worries disappear with the sunshine.
“You need to get home. Mother is worrying.”
The voice then brings them back.
You groan.
I know! I just don’t know where home even is! I wish you were like Ralsei and actually told me things!
Yet again, silence.
You groan louder.
HONK-HONK! HONK-HONK!!!!
The sound of an air-horn invades your ears and blows up a bomb inside them. It startles you, and you look forward to the source of the sound.
It’s a car jam right in front of a tall, white building. They are trying to cross the road, but a blue… something or someone is blocking the way.
You move closer to see what it is-
“NGAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!!”
You know this voice.
Oh my God, it’s Undyne! She also lives here?!
You run towards the source of the scream. Sure enough, it’s Undyne. The fish-woman with blue scales, yellow shark eyes, and a shark’s grin. She’s wearing a cop’s uniform-
Wait… ‘eyes’? That can’t be right…
You narrow your eyes.
Indeed, Undyne had both sets of eyes. No eyepatch. No fake eye. Her left eye was purely biological and definitely real.
Undyne… didn’t lose an eye in this world? What?
It’s hard for you to process it. After all, in your mind Undyne always had one eye and an eye-patch.
Looking at her face is like looking at a stranger’s.
“Watcha lookin’ at, PUNK?! YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! GET OUTTA HERE!!!” Undyne yells at you.
She’s so loud you almost fall on your back. “I-I-I was-”
“Oh wait…” Undyne's eyes widen when she sees you. “You’re Asgore’s kid, right?” She looks apologetic. “Sorry, I’m a little, uh, worked up lately.”
You look a little shocked at Undyne actually slowing down and apologizing.
And she knows me, too?
“Correction. She knows Kris.”
The voice inside your head makes you pause. It sounded… weird.
Well, to be more accurate, she knows Asgore. I wonder what he is like here…
“Man, I completely forgot you were the not-talking type. Sorry if I put you on the spot, PUNK!” Undyne’s voice cuts through your thoughts. She groans. “It’s just that this job is SO boring! Nothing EVER happens in this town!!!”
Job? We’re on the surface, so the Royal Guard shouldn’t exist…
“She’s a cop.”
You look at her clothes. A police officer’s uniform is what greets you.
I’m so freaking stupid.
Undyne seems to be caught in a rant. “I just wish SOMETHING would happen!!! Like, imagine this… Aliens appear out of NOWHERE and TERRORIZE the town!!! Then I can suplex them and show the power of the Earth!!! NGAAAHHH TAKE THAT YOU WEIRD GREEN ALIEN MAN!!!”
Undyne starts to imagine herself defeating a horde of aliens, completely ignoring your presence.
But wouldn’t aliens invading break… the world? Like, I don’t think we would survive. Still, this does sound something Undyne would say.
That thought makes you smile
She’s still the same, even in this world!
“There’s a Dark World inside our school,” Kris says, attracting Undyne’s attention. “It holds the fate of this world. Does that sound exciting to you?”
Undyne looks at him, then chuckles. “Sure, kid. I am really excited for some Dark Worlds.” She grins at him. “But I don’t think there’s a law against any ‘Dark Worlds’. Maybe you should tell that to your teacher or the School Board. Maybe they can help, fuhuhu!!!”
Undyne turns away from you, moving towards the cars.
You blink. You move your mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.
Why… Why did I say that?! Or… was that you?
“Maybe.”
Why do you keep doing that instead of just being normal and telling me who you are?!
“You already know who I am. Now move. Undyne is leaving. Or do you have nothing else to say?”
You grit your teeth, holding back a reply to the voice. You do have something else to say. “Undyne, wait!” She stops and turns around. “Do you know where Alphys is?” You say. “I need to talk with her about something I found, and-”
You stop talking when you see Undyne’s face.
“...Alphys? Who's Alphys? No idea who you're talking about.” The sheer lack of recognition in Undyne’s face.
She… She doesn’t know who Alphys is???
“Wait, does this have to do with that Dark World thingy you mentioned? Did they invent that idea and put it in your head?” She starts laughing, “Fuhuhuhu, I can classify that as brainwashing, and that’s ILLEGAL! That ‘Alphys’ is as good as DEAD!”
She runs towards you. “Tell me where they are so I can tackle ‘em!!! They won’t see it coming!!!”
The words that hit your ears are the answer to your question. “Alphys is… I…” You gag in your words. “She’s just my teacher. I just wanted to ask her about a school project, that’s all.”
You look at Undyne. You look at her yellow eyes.
This isn’t the Undyne I know…
“Your teacher said that? That’s CRAZY, punk! Teachers should be teaching stuff like MATH!” Undyne continues to speak. “Not crazy theories about Dark Worlds! Dammit, I hate LIARS!!! NGAAAAHHHH!!!”
Undyne punches the ground.
You can only look at her with sad eyes, the emotion filling your SOUL.
The Undyne I know… doesn’t exist.
Your hands shake slightly. “No… she didn’t say anything about it, I just…” Your hair covers your eyes. Your vision becomes blurry. “Never mind, it was nothing.”
You turn away from Undyne.
“Uh… SURE, kid… Just don’t do anything ILLEGAL!” She says, turning back to the traffic jam.
The world I know… doesn’t exist.
For some reason, your face feels wet.
You start to walk away.
“Hey! Wait a minute, kid!” Undyne calls out to you. You stop. “The mayor’s staff is working on the festival up ahead. Watch out.”
She points towards a police tape. You can see some people building up a carousel and a roller coaster. It’s very active, but you can’t see anything else because of it.
“I saw you were going in that direction, so I am here to say you CAN’T!” Undyne says. “I put some tape to STOP civilians like you from going to where they shouldn’t just yet. Be CAREFUL, OK?!!!!”
You nod. You weren’t planning on going there anyway. You just want to go home.
Even if it doesn't exist anymore.
“Oh, and one more thing.” Undyne suddenly says. “And lemme know if you get a lead on any purple girls. There's one wanted on SEVERAL counts of Comic Mischief.”
You nod and wave at her, but you don’t even pay attention to what she’s saying.
They have the same faces, but… they aren’t the same people I know.
You look at the setting sun. The orange glow disappears as the world grows darker.
I don’t know what to do… everything I remembered was a lie. I don’t belong in this world, I-
HONK!
A car’s horn cuts those thoughts away.
HOOOOOOONK!!!
You’re so out of it, you don’t even notice yourself bumping into a car.
Your heart almost stops.
“Hey!!! Get off the street!!!” A voice yells from the car. You feel frozen in time.
You look towards it. It’s a green monster with a shadowy face. He is holding a donut.
HOOOOOOONK!!! HOOOOOOONK!!!
The suddenness of it makes your heart hurt.
“You’re blocking the way to the donut store!” He yells.
You look at him. For some reason, looking at him directly increases your headache.
It’s like drums hitting your hand.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Bang.
Each second you look at him.
That’s… weird.
You should-
“Is someone… doing JAYWALKING!!!” Undyne yells, her voice ringing through the drums. “YES!!!! Finally, someone is doing a real crime!!!!”
Your brown orbs widen as Undyne comes forward like a bullet. “Hold still so you can be ARRESTED!!!”
I-I-I need to get out of here!
With your heart beating out of your chest, you run inside the hospital to hide. There is no other place to go, after all.
It’s like any other hospital. White walls, clean, many doors. A sliding bead toy. A piano. The usual.
But you don’t pay attention to any of it, adrenaline through your veins.
You just had to get away from the source of the pain.
Until suddenly, you do.
“Looking like a deer in the headlights out there.”
The voice speaks with you again.
I… I don’t know what happened. Why did my head hurt so much? It wasn’t that loud.
“It was unusual. Your head back in the game?”
I-I-I…
“Ahahaha... DAD! I can't just SAY that to her! Oh my god... I'd DIE. I'd LITERALLY die.”
You hear a voice that doesn’t come from within. One high-pitched and happy, like a Christmas carol.
In your panic, you didn’t even realize you had entered a room.
A room featuring Noelle, the Christmas-themed reindeer you talked with before falling into the Dark World. She looks tense, despite the smile on her face.
She doesn’t see you, her attention focused on the figure sitting in a hospital bed.
An older reindeer. He has black hair, a beard with a wise face. He looks jovial, but…
He looks sick.
“Noelle. Sweetheart. First time I laid eyes on your mother… I walked right up and told her she was a HOT piece of work.”
You blink.
That flirting… that forwardness…! It surpasses my own!
You are suddenly mesmerized.
You sneak around, trying not to be seen. You hide behind the door, eavesdropping on the conversation.
“R...Really?” Noelle continues to talk.
“Yeah, she slapped me so hard I blacked out!” The older reindeer replies to her. Thanks to context clues, you assume he must be her dad.
Although he could also be her older brother, uncle, cousin or just a reindeer that looks like her! I don’t know!
“... She just said he was her dad.”
Oh.
“Hahaha...! Dad, that doesn't help at all!”
“Anyhow, how's Dragon Blazers III? Beat it yet?”
Wait, did he just say Noelle’s mother slapped him unconscious?
“Yes.”
That’s… kinda bad…
“Nah, I'm still at the Ice Palace. I've been kind of… kind of waiting to finish it with you, Dad.”
“...Noelle… Maybe… Maybe you shouldn't wait.”
“D... Dad?”
“You should bring it HERE! I'm bored as hell! Har har har!”
I wonder why he is in the hospital… Did that slap really hurt him that badly?!
“...That was when he met his wife. Decades ago.”
Oh.
“FINE, you win! I'll bring it next time! Oh, it's getting late… Guess I better go. I've got HOMEWORK.”
“Oh. That's the group project voice. Bird guy again? What's his name? Nerdly?”
Oh! They’re talking about something I know! That bird guy with a crush on Susie.
“He doesn’t like Susie…”
Your ears perk up in this part of the conversation. You look inside, trying to eavesdrop more. Yet, still trying to keep it hidden.
“It's, um, Berdly… He's not that bad, dad.” Noelle says.
Her father's eyes narrow. “I'll kick his ass.”
Wow! Is everyone in the family this violent!?
“He deserves this.”
“Hahaha… Dad, you're not even supposed to get up.”
“Bring him by the window! I'll throw something at him!”
But he’s the reason we went to the Dark World! If he didn’t partner with Noelle, we wouldn't have met Ralsei and the others.
“Wrong.”
How??? Wait, why am I arguing with a voice-
THUMP.
Someone bumps into you, grabbing these thoughts and throwing them in a locked box. You feel disoriented, and you lose your balance and start to fall.
A hand grabs you, stopping you from falling. “Kris? What are you doing here?” You look into the leaf-green eyes of the reindeer that saved you. Noelle Holiday.
“C’mon, honey! It’s obvious that he was eavesdropping on us!” Noelle’s dad shouts from his bed.
“Yeah, I was!” You let go of Noelle’s hands. “How did you know?”
The older reindeer chuckles awkwardly. “Kid, you’re usually supposed to NOT confess about those things, y’know…”
You blink.
Oh.
“That’s Rudy Holiday for you. His name. That you can use.”
“Um, sorry, um, Mr. Rudy… er… Holiday?” You say, the words coming out uncertain. After-all, you are trusting a voice inside your head to give you correct information.
When did I become so crazy?
“Why are you sounding so uncertain, kid? C’mon, did you forget my name or something? How can a Krismas forget about his Red Nosed Reindeer?” Rudy laughs. “And drop the Mister, kid! We’re practically family!”
You share an awkward laugh with him, nodding.
You didn’t forget his name…
You just didn’t know it.
There’s a difference here.
An unimportant difference, but still a difference.
“Well, it’s nice seeing you, Kris. See you tomorrow.” Noelle walks away during the laughing section.
You can’t help but notice how weirdly she was looking at you.
Did I say something wrong?
Rudy stops laughing and looks at you with a serious face, “Alright, Kris. Just gimme the straight shot. Why are you here? Did your mom make you come here?”
“No, why would she?” You say, confusion in your voice.
Toriel is the type of person who wouldn’t want me to even leave her house… right? Is it different here?
“I was just walking around and…” You smile. “Wanted to see my good friend’s dad! Wanted to see how he’s going? Family looks out for each other!”
That’s what he said, right? I wonder what my relationship with her is…
“We’re childhood friends.”
You halt when the voice responds. The way it said that… makes a thought come in your head about who it could be.
You dismiss it.
“Really?” Rudy looks at you with a surprised expression on his face. “You've grown up a lot, Kris.” With something else in it. “I'm proud of you.”
You feel lost. You don’t know him, and you don’t know why he is saying all of this. You have no context.
Yet, a strange feeling fills your body.
The thought from before resurges.
“Wasn't too long ago you were just the creepy kid next door. Now you're the creepy kid right in front of me!” He laughs, not as hard as before. He struggles.
You imitate him, but it’s awkward. You’re confused and lost in this conversation.
You look around the room to find something to hold on. Some chairs, a graph that says the patient’s name, and a sink with a faceless angel doll on top of it.
Something catches your eyes. There’s a bouquet of flowers right beside him. “Oh! Did Asgore give those to you? They’re really pretty!”
“Right on, Kris!” He laughs. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? If your dad wants me to go to prom with me, just ask! At this point, this place is going to become a forest!”
You smile at his words.
I was right! Asgore did give him those flowers! He’s here in this world, too!
“Why are you smiling like that for? This is serious!” Rudy’s words bring you out of your reverie. He watches you briefly, then smiles. “Nah, I am just pulling your chain. You just look really out of it, that’s all. Like you’re distracted, or even maybe drunk. And here I go thinking my wife is the eggnog drinker, but maybe you want to surpass her?!”
You absolutely don’t understand anything he says.
“Nah, you aren’t at that age yet, it's just pulling your leg, kid. Your brother, though… now he must be doing CRAZY parties!” A smug smile invites itself to Rudy’s face. “Must have pulled that from your dad.”
You just stare at him with beady brown eyes.
I’m lost.
“Yeah, kid. I know your dad wasn’t a party animal. Your mother, though… She complained about going, but when the party started…” Rudy’s face becomes nostalgic. “She was a party ANIMAL! Once, she slammed a lime pie in my face. Knocked down everything. True story. At least it was tasty. Your dad had it rough, kid. Rough.”
You blink.
Is he talking about Asgore? Is he my dad?
“Yes.”
Huh.
Rudy stops talking. “Looking a little glum. Is everything really okay?”
Once more, you are put on the spot. “Umm, I… I…” You return back to Earth. “Why are you in this hospital anyway…?”
Rudy suddenly looks sad. “Well, they found some crap, so it's just some tests.” He scoffs a little, “Yeah, it's no big deal. Nothing a Holiday can't handle. I'll be outta here in a jiff, then I can go back to, I dunno…”
He looks mischievously at you, “Yelling at you for getting tangled in our light display.”
You simply stare at him. You can’t understand all these references.
He’s not really talking to me.
“Kris, even if we've grown apart, we still love your family.”
A sentiment of sadness permeates through your soul.
He’s looking at me, but he’s talking to someone else. I don’t really exist.
“Hey, Maybe… just maybe… When your brother comes back, we can hang out! Our two families, Holidays and Dreemurrs. I think my wife, Clarice, would want that. She’s always working, so maybe she will finally relax.”
I can’t relate to anything he says…
Rudy looks pained when he talks about his wife. “Well, it looks like it’s getting late.” He looks at the clock on the wall. “Your mother must be worried sick!”
I’m just a stranger. I need to go home, but what is my home? Do I even have one?
You wave towards him, exiting the room without saying a word.
“Hey! If you see your dad, tell him to stop giving me flowers! He’s got a business to handle, man!!!” Rudy shouts towards you. “And look out for Noelle, alright? See if she gets home! We are neighbors, so you should see her when going home.”
I don’t even know where my home is, Rudy…
You nod. You wave towards Rudy and walk out of the hospital.
Eventually, you will find out where you need to go.
*
You walk through the town, the sun’s warmth growing colder as night comes.
You left the hospital, but you still don’t know where to go.
I have never been to this place before, where do I even start?!
Ever since you talked to the Holiday family, your mind has been lost.
After all, they told you a story that you did not know. Actions that you didn’t do.
Made you feel like a stranger.
This entire world makes me feel like a stranger!
The scent of nature and fall, the monsters walking around returning to their homes. The cars are strolling by. The leaves falling on your hair.
They all make you so confused.
This isn’t the Ruins… this isn’t Snowdin… This isn’t even the surface I think I remember, I-
Something stops you.
A pull in your SOUL.
It’s faint. Very faint. So faint that it comes and goes with the breeze.
But you can feel it.
South.
You look south.
I need to go south.
Why? What could there be that-
Ah.
I get it.
That’s where…
You go south. In a trance, you go-
A hand holds your shoulder.
Huh?!
It pushes you away suddenly and fiercely. You almost fall out of balance due to the sheer force.
What the-
A face covers your views. A terrible face. A head that is fully blue, mad eyes of a tyrant, and a psychopathic smile.
“It’s him!”
The voice yelling in your head is the nail in the coffin. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” You scream, a screech of fear.
“Wait, little buddy, stop! Calm down, please stop!” The face rips itself out. It falls right in front of you. “It’s just me, little buddy!”
The ripped eyes stare at you.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
“No! Little buddy, it’s me! It’s me, you know?” A figure tries to rush in front of you. They raise their hands in front of them. “Please stop screaming! People are going to think I am a creep or something! PLEASE STOP SCREAMING I NEED THIS JOB!!!”
The sheer patheticness in the voice makes you stop. You breathe in and out, and then, you actually take a look at who’s talking.
“Burgerpants???” You don’t even hide your shock.
“Um… little buddy… who’s Burgerpants?” Sweat rolls down Burgerpants' face. “I know that one alley girl called me Pizzapants, but I never heard of Burgerpants before…” He looks extremely anxious. “Where did that nickname even come from??? Is someone spreading rumors about me?! Oh man, I can’t handle that at ALL! Why does this always happen to me???”
Burgerpants leaves you speechless.
If he’s not Burgerpants, what do I call him???
“Pizzapants?”
I am not calling him that!
“Um…” Your eyes dart back to the mask on the ground. “Why were you wearing that ugly mask? Were you trying to scare me??”
“I knew that mask was creepy! I KNEW IT!” Burgerpants snaps his fingers. “I told the guys at ICE-E that this was too creepy, but noooooooo! The CEO that NOBODY HAS EVER SEEN loves the design, so now we need to scare kids shitless! Genius!”
His words make you pause.
Mettaton is a CEO? Say what? And nobody sees him???
It’s so against the image you have in your head that you can’t believe it’s real.
“Well, at least it seems they’re FINALLY capitalizing on their multimedia works! About time!” Burgerpants continues to rant. “I know we had ICE-E the Movie in the past, but that was decades ago, buddy! Decades!”
You simply nod at what he says, as the gears in your head move.
So Mettaton is finally deciding to start acting? That sounds like him, but after decades?
Burgerpants look expectantly at you. “Hey, little buddy… Do you… Do you think I have a chance to be hired as an actor by them? Okay, I know that you know I took this job to go to college with your brother and all, get that theater degree, but… I heard they are hiring employees, and…”
“I do! You have to believe in yourself!” You send him an encouraging smile. “Mettaton might look mean, but he’s a softie on the inside! He truly cares about the passion of a show, so if you simply show that passion, you…”
You stop talking as Burgerpants' face shifts deeper into confusion.
“Buddy… who the hell is Mettaton?” Burgerpants asks.
His question makes you feel as if time has stopped. The wind stops blowing.
“Your…” You hesitate. “CEO?”
“Buddy, I never heard that name in my LIFE!” Burgerpants looks thoughtful. “How the hell did you find out the CEO’s name anyway? Nobody knows ANYTHING about him! He’s a complete cryptid!”
You gag, but no words come out.
Reality comes back crashing on you again.
Of course he wouldn’t be working with Mettaton!! This is a different world!!! I am so stupid aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
“Whoa, buddy!!! There’s no need to look so sad!!! I didn’t mean to offend you or anything! Hey, I remember something!” Burgerpants picks up his phone and shows it to you. “I keep getting emails from variations of that name! They love calling me ‘worst employee’ as if I would CARE! Jokes on them, I HATE this job! I am proud of being the worst employee!!!”
Your eyes narrow as the bright light of his phone reaches you. You read over the screen, and sure enough, what he says is true. Several emails calling him what he said, and more.
It’s like someone is trying to imitate what Mettaton says to Burgerpants, but badly! As if the person doesn’t know why Mettaton said those things…
Truly perplexing.
“Have you tried blocking it?” You ask him.
“Yeah, I thought about it, but…” Burgerpants' face becomes flushed. “Having someone that sends you messages every day… it just makes you feel SPECIAL, you know? Like, imagine if it’s a hot chick waking up every day, just to talk with ME!?”
You look at him with thoughtful eyes.
But why would a girl be roleplaying as Mettaton? Did Alphys do it? It’s out of character, but nobody here is like I remember, so…
Unbeknownst to you, Burgerpants has been looking at you weirdly. Confused.
“Hey, little buddy, this might sound rude, but… Is everything okay with you?” Burgerpants' words make you refocus on him. “You've just been… acting really weirdly.” He looks anxious. “Like, that’s not the little buddy I remember! Are you still sad about Azzy leaving for college?”
It takes a second for you to process what he said.
Going to college… Is he talking about Az?
“C’mon, little buddy, don’t be!” Burgerpants says, making you welp. “I mean, he must be having the time of his life there, in the big city! Having fun, going to parties, and of course, picking up a lot of CHICKS! City girls! Experienced girls, all to himself! He’s so lucky!”
His words make your heart stop. “Huh?”
Asriel is… dating other girls in college…?
You feel something in your chest. A weird sensation that grips your soul.
“C’mon, buddy, you don’t need to look angry! You gotta be happy.” Burgerpants' smile becomes “Like, yeah, he’s out there, having FUN, while we are stuck here, working on a dead-end job, but… we gotta be happy for my friend, and your brother!”
That last word makes you flinch.
That’s… That’s right… he’s my brother in this world. He’s my… my…
The pain in your chest increases.
“Look, I know what you’re feeling. No need to look so pained! You’re jealous, aren’t you?” Burgerpants' words make your eyes dart over to him.
You feel your heartbeat increasing.
What…?
“Yeah, that’s what I figured…” Burgerpants looks smug. “So how about this, little buddy? Let’s go on a ride around town picking up CHICKS on our own! It will be just like old times, except this time it actually happens!”
His words make something in your stomach turn. “I don’t want to, I would rather, I…” You look away. “I need to go!”
You run away.
What’s happening to me? Why do I feel so sad? Asriel is happy, living his life! Isn’t that what I wanted? We are even…
You can’t finish that thought. That thought makes your heart hurt.
You don’t understand what you’re feeling, so you run.
“Man, I really hope I didn’t say anything bad.” Burgerpants murmurs. He puts his mask back on. “Well, back to H ‘E’ L L I go!!”
*
You run, but not far. You don’t know this place. You don’t know this world and this strange town, so you can’t go far. Thoughts haunt your mind, echoing and reverberating across your inner walls.
I should be happy. Everyone is alive. Az is alive. We are family! This is good. This is great!
They make your mind empty, so you don’t even notice when you enter a nearby building.
But if this is great… why does my heart hurt so much? Is there something wrong with me? I-
“… Kris. Hi.” A voice interrupts the drumming in your head. It’s soft and yet deep. Feminine. One that isn’t used regularly.
You heard it before. It’s like a thread hanging back in your head.
“I…” The familiarity of the voice is an anchor that drags you back. “I, um…” You blink, re-focusing on the world. A blurry white shape is in front of you. “You…”
It gets clearer.
It’s a large white cat. She’s wearing make-up that makes her look like a goth. It contrasts with her waitress uniform.
“Hi?” You look at her with a raised eyebrow. You try to mask your confusion. You can tell she looks familiar, but…
I saw her in school before, and I know someone said her name, too… I just can’t quite-
“It’s Catti. Jockington said so before, for reference.”
I always knew I could count on a disembodied voice!
“Catti!” You send her a finger gun and a smirk. “Nice to see you here!”
She simply stares at you with an emotionless expression.
You nervously laugh.
She still stares at you.
You drop your smile.
“Your vibes are…” She looks at you from top to bottom. “Off. Light. In your darkness. Weird.”
You stare at her like she said ancient hieroglyphs. “Thanks? Having light is good, right?”
She stares at you again with that same emotionless expression.
What is she looking at?!
“Susie. She influenced you?” Catti’s eyes narrow. “Darkness plus Darkness. Result would be… light? Maybe.”
“Susie?” You raise an eyebrow. “She didn’t do anything.” You smile. “She’s actually nice underneath that rude exterior, promise!”
Catti’s eyes widen, the highest amount of emotion you’ve seen on her face. “Under influence? That’s… possible. Alarming.” She walks closer to you, her eyes glaring holes in you. “The book. Did you…”
A customer calls for her, cutting her off. “Distractions. It sucks.” She looks angry. She looks at you. “Tomorrow we talk. Be here.”
She leaves to take an order from a nearby customer.
You watch her go, completely confused.
Now this is beyond cryptic, what?
“You failed Catti’s vibecheck.”
Oh, shut up.
Yet, it seems this conversation is what made you finally take notice of your surroundings. You finally realize which building you entered.
The town’s diner, QC.
There are several tables inside, with customers chatting and eating, and enjoying life. There’s a counter with stools- filled with fewer customers- but still lovely.
The smell of food permeates the air. You breathe in, letting it enter your nose and fill your insides. It’s warm, sweet with a hint of nostalgia.
It immediately makes you smile, making your heart warm.
This place, it’s kind of like Toriel’s home in the-
You cut that thought off.
Ruins… The ruins that…
You were thinking of the old world. Of the old home. Of entering inside and smelling that butterscotch pie. Of getting a new home all by yourself.
That… doesn’t exist anymore. Never existed.
Your eyes become watery. All your memories flash back into your mind. Every single conflicting emotion clashes against one another.
They drum and echo in your mind.
Why do I keep going back? Why do I keep thinking back to a world that might not exist? This world is better! Toriel’s house is better! Her son is alive! I should be happy, but…
You’re not.
Despite everything, you can’t convince yourself. Because they aren’t the same. These aren't the same monsters. The monsters you know are still trapped underground. The Asriel that you know is still a flower.
They might not even be real.
That’s the truth you and I know.
Real or not, it’s the world we know.
I feel empty.
Kris walks to the corner of the diner. He sits down at a table facing the window. He can still remember the drawings he did here with his brother, using his breath. Flowers, stars. Hopes and dreams.
It’s been a very long time
Long time since he felt those emotions.
“This is the table my brother and I used to sit at. When things got tough, he was always there to support me. It made me feel… safe.”
You blink. Your mouth opens slightly when you realize you’ve sat down.
Brother? What? That-
Your eyes widen.
Wait, are you-
“You look kinda troubled, hun… did something happen?” A voice cuts that thought into pieces. You look up, seeing a purple rabbit meet your eyes. She looks at you with sad eyes.
You remember her. The Snowdin’s shopkeeper, the one with the cinnamon bunnies.
You never got her name.
You look away. “I… um…”
You debate whether you’re going to tell her the truth.
I never knew her outside of what she sold me. I have no real memories to compare, so maybe…
“Yeah.” You tell her. You look down. “I feel… sad. Like, everything I knew is gone. Feeling like a stranger in this new world.” You give her a sad smile. “I know that doesn’t make sense, everyone is happy and fine, I've lived here my whole life. That’s the truth. It’s just…”
You sigh, looking away.
You wouldn’t get it. You weren’t there. Nobody from here is.
“It makes sense. You’ve gone through a lot, hun. It’s natural to think you need to be happy just because others are. You’re growin’ up, the world you knew is rapidly changin’.” She sends you a nostalgic smile. “I remember back on Sundays, after service… You and your family would come in and order the special. 'Course, things happened, and then… Y'all… Stopped comin' together.”
Your head perks up, you look at the purple rabbit with wide eyes.
What happened? Did they…?
“But every Sunday, you and your brother'd still come in. He'd order you a hot chocolate… And you two'd sit down at that table in the corner...drawin' shapes in the window with your breath.” She looks towards you with a sympathetic frown.
You look at the window. Orange afterglow passes through it. You see your brown eyes reflected on it, the color slightly faded.
You said this is the table you and your brother went to! Does that mean you are…?
Kris’s face meets your eyes.
“You must really miss him, huh?” The rabbit continues speaking. “You’d like to be happy because he must be havin’ fun, but… You just can’t, can you? That’s normal.” Her eyes widen. “...Here, how about this?”
She pushes a hot chocolate towards you. “On the house, hun.” She walks away with a wave.
You stare at the hot chocolate. You move to pick it. You feel the warmth in your hand, not hot enough to burn, but enough to feel it.
The smell enters your nose. It’s a lovely smell. It resonates deeply inside your body, giving you a sense of nostalgia.
A nostalgia for a time that never came.
You drink the hot chocolate.
It tastes wonderful. Kris thought tightened…
I don’t feel anything.
You look at it with empty eyes.
I feel like I should feel something. My body feels something. But I don’t.
It tastes like a perfect blend of chocolate, however…
You never liked chocolate.
You get up and quickly leave the diner.
*
You return back to fresh air. You can hear the birds chirping as the sun’s afterglow grows smaller and smaller.
You see everyone starting to get back to their homes, settling in for the night.
Drinking that chocolate didn’t make me feel any better. Did I really do that with Asriel in the past? With my… brother?
Just thinking of that word makes your heart hurt.
I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t feel right. I don’t feel right. And there’s…
You close your eyes.
You. The voice. You said you sat there with your brother. I don’t think you’re a figment of my imagination anymore, but… what ARE you?
No response.
You sigh.
I don’t know what I was expecting.
You cross the street. You still don’t know where to go, but seeing the sun setting shows you’re running out of time to dilly-dally around.
Toriel drove us through here. I should know where to go as long as I remember-
You see something in the corner of your eye.
It’s a building. Normally, you wouldn’t turn around just for a building, but there’s something special in this one.
It's a building that matches your memories perfectly, unlike every other one.
There’s a scribbled name in the front, above the door. It’s hard to read, but you would recognize it anywhere.
“Grillby’s”
No way! It looks just like I remember! That’s-
You narrow your eyes. There’s something off here.
Weird. Why is the name risked off? And… They added… Sans?
Not the skeleton itself, but his name. As if continuing from the sign, Sans’ name is written, this time legible, unlike Grillby’s own name.
It’s in a different font, but what does this mean?
You don’t know.
“hey, kid. did you like the renovations I made?”
A voice whispers behind. Deep. Baritone. It brings chills down your spine.
And a smile on your face.
“Sans!” You turn around. “I knew it had to be you behind this! Did Grillby’s approve of this?”
Sans stands in front of you, back to the building. He’s wearing a blue jacket with a white shirt, black pants, and pink slippers.
It’s… It’s just like back in Snowdin… The same clothes.
Unlike everyone you meet, he looks exactly the same.
“you think i can steal an entire building, kid?” Sans shrugs. “nah, i just borrowed it for awhile, that’s all. need it for my new store.”
“Wait?” Your eyes widen. “You’re opening a store?”
“need money to survive in this country, kid. taxes have been increasing at an alarming rate. if this keeps up i will be all bones.” Sans winks at you.
You giggle. “Teehee! It’s nice to see you again, Sans. Especially since you’re just like I remember you being!”
You mean that earnestly.
After everyone was acting so weirdly, it’s nice to see someone that’s, well, normal.
“that’s great, kid. real great.” Sans closes his eyes. “especially since i never met you before.”
You pause. Your heart stops.
I… I was so into it that… I dropped my guard down.
For a brief moment, you had forgotten you’re in an alien world.
“i guess you must’ve heard me from your mother. we got pretty ‘acquainted’ last night.” Sans' look becomes leery. “she’s great. came to the store to buy chocolate kisses. she really must love you.”
But I don’t like chocolate.
“Yeah! She told me about you!” You send him a finger gun. “The very punny store owner! It’s nice to meet you.”
Sans chuckles. “guess my reputation precedes me.” Sans holds a hand towards you. “name’s sans. sans the skeleton. i’m new in town.”
You shake Sans's hand.
…
Nothing happens.
“you look disappointed.” Sans says. “what did you expect? a buzzer?”
“An whoopee cushion, actually.” You reply to him.
“heh. only idiot babies do that.” Sans picks up his phone. “speaking of idiot babies, do you know anyone i should know better? we just moved in, so i hardly know anyone.”
Oh! Me!” You raise your hand. “You should be my friend, so I won’t feel so bonely!”
Sans looks to the side. “didn’t think you considered yourself an idiot baby.”
You grunt. “Darn, I walked in that one.”
“and besides, we just met. i can’t just be friends with a random person i met, let alone an idiot baby.” Sans closes his eyes. “that takes time.”
Time passes.
“ok, that’s enough.” Sans winks at you. “we’re friends now.”
“How much longer so I can be your best friend?” You wink at him.
Sans shrugs. “i don’t know. maybe a couple more chapters.”
Silence returns once again.
Y’know, even though Sans doesn’t seem to remember me, it still feels natural talking to him. Like we still know each other.
That makes you smile.
Your eyes widen. “Wait, Sans! Did you see Alphys around?” You shake your head. “She’s my teacher! I need to talk to her about a school project.”
Sans seemed to know Alphys, so maybe he knows where she is!
Sans expression turns thoughtful, “alphys, huh? she went to the east earlier today… should still be there, too.” Sans looks to the sides... “although… kinda weird you would ask a complete stranger this. what if i didn’t know her?”
You giggle and wink at him. “I had a hunch you would know!”
“a hunch, huh. weird.” Sans puts his hands on his pockets. “but yeah, i know her. came into the store with a suitcase and sunglasses. thought she was part of the mob. she opened the case and stuffed it full of instant noodles. paid in small bills, then slunk out of the place, pajamas trailing on the floor.”
Your giggles turn into full-fledged laughs. “That does sound like something Alphys would do! Especially that pajama part!”
Sans raises an eye…socket. “does it? kinda of a strange relationship you have with teacher, kid. you’re an odd fellow, that’s for sure.”
“Um, no!” You put your hand on your chest. “I am an idiot baby!”
“whoops. sorry, i forgot. it’s just my head is a little…” Sans knocks his skull. “empty.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a ton of memory for both of us.” You smirk. “A skele-ton!”
Sans laughs. “got to save that one.”
You send him a finger gun. “That can be your Krismas present.”
He doesn’t laugh.
“Um…” You shuffle awkwardly. “Because my name is Krismas and all.”
You feel an intense feeling of hate and disgust coming from your body.
It doesn’t seem to come from you.
It was just a joke!
Sans holds a finger. “here’s a tip for you, kid. you got to set up your joke before using it.” Sans's smile grows wider. “think of it as setting up your ram.”
You stare at him wide-eyed.
He’s so ahead of me!
Sans quietly chuckles. “but still, trying is what matters. you did alright, kid. your puns and effort exceed my friendship meter. we are now officially best friends.”
Stars appear in your eyes. You hold back your squeal.
He walks forward, beckoning you to follow him. You do so.
Quickly, you two arrive at a large house with two floors. It has no snow or any decorations, but you could recognize this house from anywhere.
It’s Sans and Papyrus’s house, from back in your world.
It looks just the same, just like Snowdin’s!
Just seeing it brings a smile to your face and makes your heart warmer.
Sans stops in front of it, “now, kid. i got to ask you something that i can only ask for real friends. are you in?”
You give him a nod before he even finishes speaking.
“wow… that was quick…” Sans eye… sockets, widen slightly. “good thing we are friends, replying that quickly to a stranger would be weird.”
You nod.
Yeah, that would be weird.
“i need you to come over to my house tomorrow. we’re standing right in front of it.” Sans points to his house. “it would be cool if you could hang out with my brother. you see, we’re new in town, and he doesn’t have any friends yet.”
Sans puts his hands in his pockets and closes his eyes. “i’m worried about him. what if he decides to become a shut-in for the rest of his life? wanting to review cartoon horse shows instead of feeling the green grass… the horror.”
That does sound horrible… not touching green grass… reviewing horse shows…
“Is there even non-green grass?”
“i knew you would understand, kid.” He winks towards you, “i wanna see you two hangin’ out, y’know. i think if he gets a real, physical friend, he might get out more often. his bones need to get a tan.”
He walks back towards his shop, opening the door, “ok, thanks, bye.”
And he closes it.
Papyrus was always super cool! We even had a date, once! If Sans was just like I remembered, I am sure he will, too!
You look towards the house with stars in your eyes.
The house that looks the same as the one underground.
The house with the comedian that looks the same as the one in the underground.
…
Let's see where this will lead up to.
*
Following Sans’ directions, you head east. Supposedly, this is where Alphys is.
Residential buildings cover the streets. It's different from the rest of the town, with its homely houses.
It's bustling with life. You can hear the murmurs from the monsters inside their apartments.
“(Mom, look! It's the human! I told you they were real!)”
“(I heard humans are made out of blood! BLOOD! … What is blood anyways?)”
“(They have a skeleton inside of them! A dead skeleton monster!)”
“(I heard that the mayor has problems with humans! Do you think she will do something about it.)”
Murmurs all about you.
This place sure is lively. I guess humans are rare in this town…
Even though you were on the surface, you hadn't seen any humans yet.
I guess monsters still live separately from humans? What a mess.
You shake your head and keep moving forward.
“Yo, Kris!” A boyish voice calls out to you. “You survived Susie, haha! That’s cool!”
It's Monster Kid… or Teen. You still don’t know what to call him in your head. You wave at him with a smile.
“It wasn’t even that-”
“AND you skipped class!” Another voice cuts you off. One with a thick accent. “You’re so lucky! It's not fair, if I skipped class, my dad'd would never let me hear the end of it!!! Ha ha ha!”
You turn to see Snowdrake laughing at you. “...” He stops laughing. “That’s actually not even remotely funny.”
“Well, I didn’t get away scott free… I am pretty sure mom would've grounded me, but…” You send the duo a smile. “I got saved because I made a friend!”
“Yo! Really?” Monster Kid sounds shocked. “Who was it? Someone from outside? A grown-up? Oh man!”
“That person must be a dreamer to convince your mom!” Smowdrake looks at you two expectantly. “Get it? Dreamer? Because ‘Dreemurr’?”
Nobody laughs.
“C'mon, it was FUNNY!”
“Yeah, ha ha…” You laugh to please Snowdrake. “But I'm kinda surprised you guys haven't figured it out yet!”
They look at you with faces that haven't figured it out yet.
“It’s Susie!” You say. “I mean, who else could it be? Sure, she was-”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Laughter cuts you off. Laughter coming from Snowdrake. “Now this is funny, Kris! I never knew you were a real jokester! Friends, with Susie?!”
“Yo, is this another one of your pranks?” Monster Kid looks at you with a worried face. “There’s no way Susie is your friend! She’s mean! She's nobody's friend!”
“When she first arrived in town, she said nothing to anyone!” Snowdrake continues. “That’s not funny! At all!”
“That’s not all! She looked at us weirdly! Like we're her enemies! Yo, that's not cool!”
“And I think she growled at us! Growls are not funny!”
“And then, when we were playing handball, she watched us… creepily! And then she kicked our handball to Undyne's car… On purpose!”
“I saw her stealing Jockington's hat once!”
“She said mean things about Catti’s weird, creepy hobbies!”
“Yo, I also heard she was a troublemaker in her hometown, too! And our police doesn't like her, either!”
“Anyways, Susie is just not cool, Kris! Heh, not cool. I am so funny.” Snowdrake starts to leave. “So funny that I still need to work on our project, ha ha… that’s not funny.”
“Yo, you’re right!” Monster Kid follows him. “See you later, Kris!”
Then, they're off.
You stand where you are, speechless. Simply looking at where they went.
That was… They really hate Susie, huh?
You hadn't said anything when they threw all those insults towards her. It was so sudden and fast you couldn't even react.
I know she was rude and all… but did she really do all of that? That doesn’t sound like the Susie I saw in the Dark World.
Sure, she had attacked the Darkners and terrorized them, but they were also trying to kill her. You don't blame her for striking back.
You don't approve of it, but you don’t blame her.
“Are you seriously considering what they said? Susie is innocent, they're at fault for excluding her.”
But does that justify how she treated them? Plus, she did shove me into a locker and threatened me… Maybe Monster Kid-
“Is wrong. He didn't give her a chance. Lancer gave her a chance. Ralsei, too. You as well, unless you were thinking of betraying her for a friend that doesn't know you.”
The words of the voice are a blowback to your heart.
I… I don’t want to betray her?! What the heck! I was just trying to…
You shake your head, as if this will remove those thoughts.
Never mind, let's just go.
*
It doesn’t take much walking to get to the end of the residential area. However, you still have found no sight of your teacher.
Was Sans wrong? Or is this one of his pranks-
The smell of flowers and… garbage (?) enters your nose.
It's an indescribable smell. Smelling good and bad at the same time.
You turn your head in the direction of the smell.
It leads you to an alleyway with supposedly no exit.
Now, if you were a sensible, thoughtful, and normal person, you would think twice when entering a dead-end alleyway at the brink of dusk. After all, there's plenty of danger in-
You already entered it.
…
Great.
“...O-Oh! Kris!” A voice calls out to you. Nerdy, stuttering, and feminine.
Alphys’s voice.
“Kris, you're OK!” She rushes towards you. She looks just like she did before you entered the Dark World. Even though class ended a while back. “I... I was really worried when you didn't come back… Where did you go...? Did you skip class...?”
Your eyes widen. “I- er… I-”
Gotta think of something…
“There was no chalk!” You suddenly say. “In the closet! Which was… bad! So we went to find it… um… outside! But there was none!”
You bow in an exaggerated way. “We failed! Sorry!”
“You’re a terrible liar…”
Isn't that a good thing?
“O-Oh… Okay!” Alphys squeaks out. “Y-You don’t need to worry about it, Kris. I am the c-cool teacher! We can keep this between u-us! I w-won't tell your mother.”
“This is why it's not a good thing.”
You roll your eyes at the voice. You decide to do more important things, like seeing where you actually are.
You're in a dead-end alleyway. There's graffiti littered on the walls. Drawings of crude mascots and featureless shapes.
You can see trash cans filled with flowers laid out, the source of the previous scent. The smell seems to get worse as you stand close.
“O-oh! Those flowers are from y-your father!” Alphys says. “H-he gives them to me after asking how y-you're doing in s-school!” She blushes. “D-Don’t you think it's a v-very thoughtful g-gesture?”
“I guess so…” You say.
He gave them to Rudy, to… so maybe it's not that special…
Your brown eyes dart to the floor. You see a plate of milk on the ground. It's fresh, too.
That catches your attention. “Is there a cat here?”
“O-Oh! There i-is!” Alphys looks nervous. “W-Well, I don't r-really know, but ever since I started pouring milk here, it's been disappearing. S-So I like to think there’s a cat! My little kitty, Mew Mew!”
The name reminds you of what you came here for.
“Speaking of Mew Mew!” You say. “I saw in the library- I mean, when Susie and I were searching for chalk, we ended up in the library, and she read that if we found a super secret Mew Mew OVA we would've free credit! Is that true?”
Alphys looks at you with an empty face and empty eyes. “W-What?” Realization strikes. “O-OH! THAT? Th-that’s no-nothing important!!! W-Why would you even think that?! T-That’s for teens, not g-grown adults!!!”
Her eyes dart to the sides. “I-I mean, a teacher just can-can’t give extra cre-credit for something unrelated to her classes…” She looks extremely nervous. “T-That’s really unprofessional! I could get fired if they ever found out, heh heh…”
She nervously laughs.
She gets serious. “B-but I would re-really appreciate it if you found it! I-It would m-make me happy. The 2005 edition is really rare! It was released before the right date, and only very few people have it! I heard it has deleted scenes and everything! It was before Rook acquired the IP, so they must've deleted it in newer releases. It's a very common Rook move.”
Alphys begins to ramble on and on and on… Her voice becomes simple noise in your ears.
“I mean, all you have to do is look at the Symptons! Once Rook bought them, the show completely changed! They made them green! Green! Because ‘green is healthy’, they said. Seeing all they did, I am glad Alvin rejected Rook’s offer to buy Lord of the Hammer! The story was already perfect, you know? With a group of heroes, all the different races, how evil can corrupt anyone in the form of the hammer, and of war were great. Gerson is an AMAZING writer! You got all those cool races like the elves and fairies, and there’s over-word and the under-word, and everything they represent! AND THE CHARACTERS, they just were incredible! Like the gray bishop! He's such a noble and powerful wizard! And when he returns in the second-”
You start walking away, leaving Alphys to rant. If you had stayed there you would only leave after hours and hours.
You did the right thing.
*
I barely got anything out of that…
Letting Alphys ramble to her own desires, you walked away from the residential area, heading north instead.
At least it's nice to see Alphys is still passionate about cartoons.
Unlike the buildings in the south, this area seems much calmer. There doesn't seem to be any stores here, simply just houses. It's quaint and makes you feel homely.
I guess Toriel- I mean, my house must be close by.
The night is coming, and you see fewer people walking around. There are fewer murmurs then the residential area, too.
You feel… peaceful.
You take a look at the setting sun. A sense of belonging fills your heart.
It's been a long time since I've seen a sunset.
Between the time underground and in the empty abyss, it feels like a lifetime ago since you've seen it.
It makes your eyes water.
But it still satisfies you.
I wonder if the monsters of my world are seeing it right now.
You're happy these monsters are able to enjoy the sunset. You truly are. You try not to be selfish. You try to think of their happiness. To be happy for them
It doesn’t work.
Well, if they even existed in the first place-
A furred hand quickly grabs you, cutting your thoughts.
Oh. This again.
“Lil Krissy! Hiiiiii!” A high-pitched feminine voice yells towards you.
This time you don’t even react. You just look in the direction of the purple hand, leading you to a purple cat’s face.
Oh! It's Catty!
Catty. A large cat with purple fur and joyful eyes. She's wearing a green t-shirt and jeans, just like you remembered her wearing.
I wonder if she knows that Catti girl… Eh, that sounds like a reach.
“Like, what's up!? Give Aunt Catty a hug!” She hugs you before you can even react. “Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!”
You try to pull yourself off her. “It’s nice to-”
“Oh Mee Gee! I can smell my little sister Catti in you!” She smells you all over your body. “I can’t believe you, like, went to visit her while she was on the job!!! She NEVER lets me visit her! She says I’m ‘destroying the only time she can ever be happy with incessant yelling from the 9th circle of Hell.’ Like, wow! I didn’t think she, like, saw me that highly!”
You stare at Catty with eyes as big as dinner plates.
Catty has a sister and I met her????
This information shocks you to the core. Back in our world, you can’t remember any hints of Catty having a sister. Sure, you weren’t that close to her, like, at all, but still… She never mentioned a sister.
Did she even exist back in my world? Or does she only exist here? Does that mean that there are other people who exist here but not in my world? Or did she exist and Catty just never mentioned her? But if that’s the case, did Az also absorb her? Why didn’t he say anything about it? Why would he even say anything about it?
The gears in your brain turn and turn so much that the factory inside starts to overheat.
“But like, whatever, right?” Catti starts speaking, making the factory turn on hold. “I don’t really, like, care about that right now. Krissy, you just gotta see this!” Catty pushes you to look East. “Like, look at her, Krissy! Look at her!”
You ‘look at her’. The ‘her’ in question being Bratty. Just like Catty, the alligator seems to be dressed just like in our world. Dark pink tank top, black shorts decorated with a heart, and pink shoes, the whole package.
You wave at her with a smile. “Hey, Bratty! It’s nice to-”
A furred hand covers your mouth. Catty’s wide-eyed face meets your eyes. “Krissy!” She holds your shoulders firmly. “What. The. Flipping. Heck. Are you doing?!?!”
“What do you mean?” You don’t even try to hide the shock in your voice. “I am calling out to your friend? So we can hang out?” You gulp. “Bratty is your friend… right?”
I hope…
You brace yourself for disappointment.
“HER? MY FRIEND?!” She makes a puking expression. “She is, like, my life villain! Like, the other day, I went to see Cat Petters 2… And the only other person in the theater was her! Then I went to QC's and ordered a Catpuccino… And she, like, was already drinking one!”
She points you towards Bratty again, “And look! She just keeps, like, staring at me! She must be, like, planning an evil plot against me!”
“I… I… I didn’t know. I thought you…” You look down. “I thought you two were friends.”
“Krissy, like, I know you’re sad and all because Asriel is in college, but you gotta keep it TOGETHER!” Catti makes you look at Bratty again. “Like, you remember what Bratty did to you, don’t you?”
You look confused at Catty.
I know Bratty before? What?
“Oh my god, did you, like, forget?” Catti exclaims. “She, like, manipulated you! You wanted to hang out with us big kids, so she, like, forced you to do her bidding! Forcing you to get burgers, then fries, then cakes… It was SO bad! I, like, wanted to call her out, but like, I didn’t, like, want to, like, cause trouble and all…”
Catti starts to sweat. “Because, like, I already got in trouble before when dancing with Asriel… Your mom, like, got SUPER mad when I spilled the entire punch bowl on him… so yeah, that’s why I didn’t try to defend you. But, like, I really wanted to, though!”
You know Catty didn’t really want to, though. You can tell her lies apart. However, you don’t really care about that right now. You can’t care about something you don’t remember.
Yet, you care about part of what she said. “Asriel… danced with you?”
“Uh, yeah! You’re SO forgetful today, Krissy!” Catty laughs. “Like, did you also forget about Bratty kissing him, too? It was because he lost a truth or dare with her, so she took his first kiss! Your mom dialed 911 and everything! It was like, SO hilarious!”
You stare at her.
You stare at her.
You stare at her.
You can’t see her.
“Oh, I see.”
It’s like a spear. A spear went through your heart.
You feel dead.
She continues to talk, but you can’t hear anything. Your ears are dead, after all.
So you walk away.
Away and away on the horizon.
The never-ending horizon where the dead go to.
Empty mind as you travel towards nothingness.
“Look who’s walking around looking SO glum!” A voice gnaws at you. It’s terrible. It’s awful. You hate it. “Like, you look like you saw a dead body or something. Did you, like, kill-”
You stare at her. You look at her. You glare at her.
She backs away.
You hate her.
You hate this world.
You hate yourself.
You hate.
You walk.
You sit.
You curl into yourself.
You cry.
And cry.
And cry.
Cry until all the pain is gone.
Stop feeling this way! Stop! You should be happy! The monsters are happy! Az is happy! He has friends, love… I should be happy about this!
Toriel and Asgore got their son alive! They even got me as part of their family! Asriel is my brother, we’re family! That’s everything Toriel wanted, I should be happy for her…
It doesn’t go away.
But this isn’t what I want.
For a brief moment, you think back on that void. You think back on the time you wasted away inside, lost.
You think you shouldn’t have left the void. You think you should’ve stayed. You think that man should’ve never rescued you and given you false hope.
Maybe, that way… I wouldn’t have my world shattered. I could live with my memories forever. In a happy world away from this cruel reality…
This thought pains your heart. You continue to cry.
Even if that will lead nowhere.
“My, My… what was that noise? Is someone there?” A voice whispers, as if it were right behind you. “Is someone… crying?”
You grunt angrily.
I don’t need to hear it from you, right now.
“That wasn’t me.”
You straighten your back.
What…?
“Blooky, is that you, darling?” The voice continues. It’s mature with a hint of softness. You heard it before, it’s in the back of your head. But you just can’t recall who it was. “I told you not to cry out in public, darling! You might demoralize innocent civilians!”
You can’t recall because it doesn’t have the filter you’re used to hearing it from.
Wait, is this…
You feel something go through your body. It’s like water, but you feel it going through your insides.
You look in front to see a ghost in front of you. A gray ghost with hair covering their eyes. Well, ectoplasm that looks like hair, it seems.
You have never seen this ghost before, but you have seen his face.
Mettaton?
He looks at you with wide eyes.
He vanishes.
“Wait!” You say, standing up. “Don’t go! I don’t want to hurt you!”
“You couldn’t even if you wanted to, darling. You can’t harm ghosts with those human noodles!” The ghost’ voice comes from behind you, inside the house. “I am just… not ready for my public debut, that’s all.”
“(Might never be.)” He quietly whispers that part out.
You turn around and stare at the house. It’s a blue, tall and curved building that looks the same as you saw in our world.
Napstablook’s house.
“Why? I would be happy if I could see you!” You send him a smile. “Maybe seeing a pretty face will make my mood better!”
“Ha ha… Sorry, darling, but there’s not much of a face to see.” There’s a hint of sadness in the voice. “I’m a bit of a nobody.”
You stare at the building in confusion.
Why is Mettaton being so shy? He would never deny a compliment! I know this world is different by now, but at least everyone acted the same, so why doesn’t he-
Your eyes widen. You take a step back.
You figured it out.
Mettaton doesn’t have a corporeal body in this world. As a ghost monster, he seeks out a corporeal body to make it his new home and eventually fuse with it.
The Mettaton you met in our world had a robot body made for him by Alphys.
The Mettaton in this world is still a ghost.
“But what brought your mood down, darling?” Mettaton says through the door. “I know that it might sound invasive, but I saw you crying in front of my house. I’ve got a cousin who has a bad mood, too. Well, two if you ask the right people. You could say I am somewhat of an expert on it, ha ha…”
The sincerity in Mettaton’s words catches you off guard. He was never the type to just tell others what he felt without a trick.
It infects you, and you consider actually telling him the truth.
You sigh. You sit down in front of the house.
“Well… I… This is going to sound stupid.” You close your eyes. “I feel like a stranger. That I don’t belong in this world. That when I talk to people, they don’t really see me. And I don’t see them, either. They all sound like strangers talking about the life of a stranger. A life I haven’t lived in and I can’t remember.”
Probably because I got to this world today. I got shoved into someone else's story, in someone else’s life. I don’t know anyone here, and they don’t know me, either. I am an invader.
“Well, darling, I can’t really relate. When people do talk to me, I do feel like they’re talking to me.” Mettaton replies.
You sigh.
Of course, he can’t understand. I don’t think there’s anyone in this world who can.
“But that’s because there’s nothing to tell about me. My life feels meaningless.” You hear a gasp for breath inside. “I have big dreams. Dreams of being a somebody. Of people knowing me. Loving me. But I can’t achieve these dreams with this form.”
“I can relate to feeling like a stranger. I am a stranger to my own life. People see me, but that’s not the me I want them to see. I want them to see a cooler, confident, pretty me.”
You stand up.
“I… I also want people to see ‘me’.” You say to the door. “The real ‘me’. Not the stranger they’re looking at.”
Not ‘Kris’. Not the life I invaded on. I want them to see… Goner. The real me.
It’s been a while since you thought of that name.
Even if that is not who you truly are.
“...”
“I think that, in the future, we can make this happen!” A faint of gold covers your brown eyes. “We can overcome this world! I believe we can do this! We will do it even if everyone tells us it’s impossible!”
Silence from the door.
I guess I spooked him out, heh heh…
Talking with Mettaton lifted your spirits.
You walk away from the house.
*
You walk forward. The talk with Mettaton did lift your spirits, yes, but you aren’t fully happy.
You still feel something hold you back.
Why did I get so mad when Catty told me those things? Like, being sad because all the people I remember are different people is one thing, but I… kinda overreacted back there.
You look down.
Why did I do that? Was it really because Catty said Bratty kissed… Asriel?
You hold a hand to your chest. You feel your heart hurt.
Just thinking about it makes my heart hurt, but why? I can understand feeling sad, but I don’t get this.
Spending most of your time in the void has truly made you oblivious to your feelings, hasn’t it?
I wonder when you will realize them.
“Look left.”
You follow the voice’s advice. A flower shop meets your eyes. It’s a large store filled with multiple flower decorations on it. It has some vines around it, and the building looks quite odd.
There’s a large sign in the front, labeling it “Flower King”.
Ok, this reeks of Asgore.
Without thinking twice, you walk inside.
The sweet smell of golden flowers is the first thing you feel. It hits you like a truck, and your memory turns back to when you first fell into the underground.
It feels like a lifetime ago.
His store is clean, filled with fertilizers, well-trimmed bushes, and of course, golden flowers.
Even in this world, he still loves them.
He is the second thing you see, as well. Asgore. A tall monster with a large figure. He looks just like Toriel and Asriel, a mixture between a goat, human and dragon. He has golden hair and a beard.
He looks completely different from what you remember.
He isn't wearing his royal armor, but instead some basic jeans and a pink flower-themed t-shirt.
Regular clothes for regular people.
He is whistling a song he sang when watering the flowers.
You heard this before.
“Oh? Is someone there? Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers.”
You heard this right before you two fought for the fate of monsters and humans.
Your mind goes back to that moment. To the expectations you had of him.
Of a violent murderer but a kind king.
“...Here we are!” He finishes watering the flowers. “Howdy! How can I…”
Part of you expects him to show the same shocked face, followed by a saddened expression on his face. The face of someone who has to do something truly terrible for the sake of his people.
Part of you thinks you returned to that moment. That you will have to fight him again.
That this world was all in your mind as you prepared to face him and return home.
“...Oh! Kris!”
But that doesn’t happen.
His face is filled with shock, yes. But it quickly morphs into happiness.
He runs towards you and pulls you into a bear hug, lifting you off his arms.
Your eyes widen at the sudden display of affection. Then, you tear up at how different it was from what you remember.
Tear up because you don't have to fight him.
It quickly ends, however, and he drops you. “...Oh. I'm sorry. I forgot that you don't like hugs like that.”
…What?
This is what makes you realize you ended up in the wrong life.
I love hugs! What the heck?
However, your indignant expression sends Asgore the wrong message.
“I promise not to do it again, child.” He looks nervous. “Please, do not tell your mother.”
You feel yourself cringing.
Oh, it's that bad in this world, too?
“Well now, make yourself at home, Kris!” He beckons you to follow him inside.
You follow him with a fake smile and exit the main shop and enter inside a make-shift room.
The room is poorly lit. The light of the sunshine barely reaches the inside…
There’s weeds growing on the walls, papers- you think they're bills- on the floor, there’s a dirty mattress right next to them, together with bags of dirt. There's also a sink, a TV that appears to be broken, and a fridge.
There are even socks in the ground, too. Disgusting.
What catches your attention, however, is in the middle of the room.
Seven flowers, each contained in a glass. Cyan, blue, purple, orange, green, yellow…
And a singular golden flower, right in the middle.
For a moment, you can almost see Flowey’s face on it. For a moment, you think you’re back on the Ruins.
You shake your head, dispelling that thought.
Get over yourself! Asriel is alive here! Alphys never experimented with determination. Flowey can't exist! He just can't!!!
It’s just a normal, completely innocent, golden flower.
There’s a door in the back, acting as another exit to the store. Or an entry point, depending on the point of view.
Asgore notices your intense stare at the flowers in the room, “Yes, these flowers are still kicking. Quite hard to take care of them in this climate…”
I guess they must be important for Asgore…
“But I do believe it is worth it.” Asgore continues to speak. “After all, they carry so many memories, we can’t be foolish enough to let these go. I could even say they're part of our family.”
You give him a side-eye.
Ok, it got creepy now.
You try to look away from Asgore and the flowers. While doing so, you see it.
The fridge.
For some reason, you feel compelled to go in there…
But why…? It’s just a rusty fridge. Of course, there's a picture of mother and father on their wedding day. Rudy stands there in the back, together with another, blonde, female reindeer monster.
They look happy.
But that isn’t the reason why you’re going to the fridge.
Is it because of the bouquet of flowers Toriel is wearing? It has the same seven flowers from before. They’ve seen a lot of Asgore’s life, and he is quite close to them.
But that's not quite it.
It's inside. I can tell it now.
You open the fridge’s door. The cold air hits your skin. Yet, there’s barely anything inside, except for a jar of pickles that is almost completely empty.
Don't tell me that's what you're interested-
You put the Egg inside.
The Egg. Not just an egg. The Egg.
What? How?! Where did you even get it? You never picked up any Eggs. Not here. Not in the Dark World.
So how did you…?
Curious. Very curious.
How didn't I see that?
No use dwelling on that.
You will not escape my sight again.
You look satisfied after doing so. Weird.
You move towards the exit of the store. Your foot trips on the mattress. It feels like a wet bag and looks deflated. You feel disgust in your stomach.
Oh. He lives here, doesn’t he?
You look at the state of the room. Dirty, dark, and messy. It smells of wet dirt and dead plants.
Oh my God, this place sucks!
As you try to walk away, you see another paper. Unlike the rest of them, this has something written on it. You strain your eyes to read it.
“No rent received. Again. Stop giving away flowers. Start selling them. You have one month.”
“- C”
You look towards Asgore. Despite his fake smile, you can see the sadness in his eyes.
Things… really don’t look good for him. I wonder why… Did he do something bad? I mean, there doesn’t seem to be any coffins here, but…
“He was set up. He did nothing wrong. It was his…”
The voice doesn’t finish. Seeing the tension in his voice, you don’t follow it up.
You walk back to the shop, uneasy steps on the way. Asgore follows you too, his steps uncertain.
You move towards the door.
“Oh, Kris.” He calls you out. “Before you go…”
He walks closer to you. Despite his large stature, his steps are awkward. He picks some flowers from the countertop of the store, a bouquet, and gives it to you, “Here. For your mother…” He gives you a very dorky wink, “Our secret.”
You pick up the flowers. They look very pretty. They smell wonderfully.
Didn’t that letter just tell him not to give them away?
You give him an awkward smile. “I will, um, carry it to my grave!” You start to walk out of the store, carrying the flowers in one hand and waving with the other. “Bye Asgo- I mean, dad! Bye d-dad! See you later!
Even though you won’t be home…
He waves towards you in a dorky way. Somehow. “Have a great day, Kris.”
You walk out of the store.
*
The red glow of the setting sun meets your brown eyes. The sun has fully set on the horizon, the remaining light casting the sky in a flurry of colors.
The visage makes you smile.
It’s so beautiful. I missed this…
Yet, despite its beauty, you need to get back home.
If only I knew where it was. All I found out was how weird this world is!
You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.
You feel much lighter. You feel the wind blowing on your hair. You breathe in…
And the smell of the ocean fills your senses.
Instinctually, your mind goes back to that encounter. To the encounter of that Man and the making of your body.
Why am I thinking about that all of a sudden?
Yet, for some reason, the smell reminds you of home.
You walk towards the source of the smell. The houses disappear as you enter further in the forest. Yet, even they start to dwindle as the smell gets stronger.
Until you end up in a lake.
What did I expect? A treasure chest?
You sit on the floor. You feel the sand on your clothes. It’s surprisingly not rough nor irritating. It does get everywhere, however.
You pick a rock and throw it in the lake. You do it again, and again. Idly tossing rocks towards the ocean, seeing the waves they make.
The butterfly effect, one small action, can produce gigantic waves of change in its environment. The flap of the wings of a butterfly can cause a hurricane on the other side of the planet.
What changes did your presence cause here?
Well, at least the water looks pretty.
You look at the waves caused by you. They ripple on the water, creating a beautiful visage.
They’re lasting for quite a while now.
Shouldn’t it have calmed down by now?
Yet, they increase. The water becomes turbulent, the waves increase and increase until…
Something comes out of the ocean.
A squid monster shaped like an onion. His face emits glitter, like it comes out of an anime.
You stand wide-eyed, staring at him.
“Hey... there…” He says. “Noticed you were… Here…”
You take a step back, trying to process it all.
The squid looks around, as if he doesn’t know what to do, “It's me!” He points to himself. “You know ME, right? Of course you do!”
It finally hits you like a sledgehammer. “ONION-SAN??? What are you doing here?”
From all the monsters from your world that could show up in this town, Onion-san was not in your list.
I mean, I didn’t even know this place had a lake! I thought he would be like, in the ocean or something.
His face sparks up in happiness, “OHHH! I’m so happy! Someone knows me!” He suddenly looks embarrassed, “But! I don’t know if that's my own name! Nobody talks to me, so I forgot my own name…” he nervously laughs, “I actually don't remember anything!”
He looks shocked. “Wait, do YOU know me? Is that why you know my name? Did we meet before? Are we long-lost friends? Soulmates? I-”
“NO! No!” You cut him off. You try to recompose yourself. “I mean… I don’t think we have met, but…”
You close your eyes.
He said he doesn’t have his memories… He doesn’t know anyone here.
You’re seriously considering doing it.
He doesn’t even know his name, just like…
You’re considering telling him about our world.
“Well, I did meet ‘you’! Or a version of ‘you’, I mean.” You suddenly hesitate. “From another universe! I am from another universe! And I knew you, there! You were called Onion! That’s… why… I knew you!”
Your bravado fades, and the realization of what you did falls on top of you.
Please don’t think I am crazy Please don’t think I am crazy Please don’t think I am crazy Please don’t think I am crazy Please don’t think I am crazy Please don’t think I am crazy Please don’t think I am crazy…
You look at him expectantly.
He’s going to think I am crazy!
“Someone from another universe knows me?!?!” Onion squeals, eyes turning into stars. “That’s so cool, y’hear! I can’t believe I have a friend from so far away, y’hear!” He suddenly leans towards you. “We’re friends, right? Please say yes!”
“Y-” You gag. “Yes! Yes, we are!”
An intense weight is removed from your soul.
He doesn’t think I am crazy!
You feel as light as a feather.
“Oh! Oh! I'm so happy, y'hear!? I'm so happy I... I…” He falls back into the water, causing a splash. “I don't know what to do! I don't remember being this happy before!”
You laugh as you dry yourself from the water. “I am super happy, too! You don’t think I am crazy!”
“Of course I wouldn’t think you’re crazy! You’re my friend, y’hear! My first friend…” Onion looks pensive. “What’s your name, friend?”
“Kri-” You start to say, but stop yourself.
I already went this far, so…
“Goner.” You say. “My name is Goner. Or at least, that’s what I named myself. I… I don’t know what my real name is…”
You curl into yourself. “I… don’t remember anything about myself, either. I am just like you… I spent so long alone that I forgot who I was…”
Onion-San starts to comically cry, his tears making waves in the water, “That’s so sad!!! We are like, two peas in a pod, kindred spirits!”
You smile sadly at him.
Never would’ve thought I would relate to Onion-San of all people.
Reality truly is scarier than fiction.
“Wait, I have an idea, y’hear!” Onion exclaims. “We should guard each other's memories, so that way, we will be remembered by someone! I remember you, and you remember me, y’hear!”
You quietly chuckle. “Alright. I am in!” You wink at him. “I will guard you, Onion! Locked and stashed away in my mind's chest!”
Onion’s face sparkles. “Oh! Ohhhhh!!!” Happiness shining in his huge anime eyes. “I am going to the same as well, y’hear! Guard you as well, y’hear! But in an ocean chest, because I like the water, y’hear Go…Gum… Gum Gummy! I won’t forget, y’hear!”
Your chuckle turns into full-fledged laughter. It makes you feel light, lighter than ever.
It’s a shame I can’t stay here forever…
His face gets serious, however. You raise an eyebrow at him as he gets closer, the ocean slowly moving due to his size.
“I wanna tell you... something... tomorrow… Somethin' I can only tell a friend…” His face gets happier again, waving bye towards you, “Come back soon, y'hear…”
You wave back at him. “Alright, and Onion-San, I won’t forget about you too, y’hear!”
He fully submerges himself back underwater. The lake stands still, as if nothing happened, the birds chipping around you.
You stand back up and clean yourself.
I wonder what Onion wants to tell me… I don’t think it’s anything important, but…
You walk away from the lake with a smile on your face.
A real smile.
*
Your soul is like a feather and your steps are light, however… You still haven’t arrived home.
The remaining light of the Sun is vanishing. You can see the moon rising in the sky.
You really should get home already.
With east being a dead end, you move west.
(That, and the fact you felt a strange force pushing you there. Someone must be fed up).
The lake and trees go away, to reveal a gate to a gigantic house. There’s a path to the north, but there’s something in front of the gate that catches your attention.
Noelle.
The reindeer monster is the one in front of the gate. She looks anxious, as if she is trying to get inside.
“Heyyyyyy Noelle!” You call her out with a wave. She jumps in fright. “What are you doing out here? It’s getting late, y’hear!”
Must’ve gotten that from Onion…
She notices you and turns around, eyes wide, “Kris…! Hi… You are back…” She looks at the gate. “I… I know it’s getting late, Kris. I just… forgot the key to my house, that’s all. I need to wait for mom to get back… so… I am waiting.”
You raise an eyebrow. “Why don’t you ask her for the key?”
“Kris, I…” Noelle starts to sweat. “You know how she is when she’s working! She doesn’t like it when she is interrupted, especially when it’s me… So it’s better not to bother her.” She sends you a fake smile. “Don't worry, OK? I'll just go over to Catti's.”
You look at her sadly.
Seems like she also has some family problems, huh.
“...Hers are different.”
“Speaking of Catti, I…” Noelle looks embarrassed towards you, “Are you ok…? I saw you talking with Catty and Bratty, and then… You just curled up and started to cry in front of that house.” She looks away. “For a very long time.”
Your face turns scarlet.
Oh God, she saw it. Oh God she SAW IT!!!!
“Do you see? The consequences of your actions?”
“I was just dislocating the water supply of that house.” Kris says with a stoic face. “To drink it. From the source.”
“Oh my God! That’s disgusting.” Noelle laughs, a hand over her mouth. “Did it at least taste good?”
“Negative.”
Noelle laughs even harder.
You join in as well, nervously.
She really bought that?
The laughter ends, however. Noelle still eyes you weirdly. “But seriously… Kris… are you feeling alright? Normally you are not so talkative… and you even went to the hospital to see my dad…”
She holds her hands in front of her, “Oh! I don't mean to sound like something's wrong with you. It’s just-”
“It’s because of Susie.” Kris says, avoiding her stare.
Guess we’re lying now.
“Yes, we are.”
“Yeah! She made me… uh, break out of my shell.” You continue. “That’s why I went to talk with your dad! And apparently half the town, too.”
You expect Noelle to poke the holes in your flimsy excuse, but it’s like something is activated in her when you mention Susie. “What…? Really…? Susie… helped you…?!” Noelle starts blushing. “Then that means she is a good person?!”
You nod.
Her blush increases. “...R-really?” She starts stammering. You're serious? You're totally serious?”
You nod really hard.
“...gosh,” Noelle looks down, “then maybe I should try talking to her…” She glares at you. “B-but I hope this isn’t a lie, l-like when you told me ICE-E was real and eats kids… So Dess smacked you with a wiffle bat 'til you stopped lying.”
She hit me with a what?
“O-Or like when you put ketchup on your arms and told me it was blood!”
Oh wow, I really do lie a lot.
“I promise you she’s nice!” You say. “Over my lying past!’
Noelle’s blush deepens further. “... gosh, then maybe I should try talking to her… B-but if I die, you're paying for my funeral, Kris!”
“B-But if she’s bad, maybe I can convince Alphys to switch partners!” It’s like there are hearts in Noelle’s eyes. “So you don’t have to be shoved into lockers, and stuff, anymore. Nor having her glare at you and…”
Noelle’s so red, you can barely see her face.
Oh God, she might actually die!
You realize it’s time to go home, otherwise, Noelle’s ramblings will capture you here forever.
You notice the Sun is already starting to set, the night is creeping in…
Yeah, gotta go!
You start to walk away from Noelle.
“Oh! You’re leaving, Kris?” Noelle calls back to you.
First time your sneaking got noticed.
“I, uh…” You look at her. “Need to go home, it’s getting late, you know how mom is…”
Noelle stops blushing. “ “Right… bye Kris…” She notices the night creeping in. “I will just stay here… waiting for mom to come back from the festival preparations…”
She waves at you.
You yourself don’t move. “We’re, um, neighbors, right?”
Noelle raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, since, like, forever.”
“So my home would be close to here, right?”
“It’s just up ahead. Why are you acting so weird about it? Are you planning another prank?”
You start walking to the north, finally knowing where to go. “Thank you, Noelle! See you tomorrow at school!!!”
“(He’s definitely planning some prank.)” Noelle says once you are out of view.
She then turns back to the gate, a sad expression on her face, “(I wish mom wasn’t so secretive… I wish I had the courage to tell her off…)”
*
You have done it.
You finally arrived home.
You see the house you first awakened to in this world. It looks far bigger than Toriel’s home from the Ruins, two floors, taller and larger.
However, it still has the same homely vibes that you would never forget.
With the night arriving, you enter back inside your home.
The same warm, nostalgic smell hits your senses. The smell of freshly baked butterscotch pie.
Your mind returns back to when Toriel led you to her house for the first time.
It’s like you never left.
“Outside of walking and talking with the entire town, that is.”
Shhh, that was fun and you know it, disembodied head whom I think I know!
“Kris, honey, welcome home!” Toriel calls out to you, like a real mom; She’s sitting in her favorite living room chair, Chairiel. She notices you and smiles warmly at you from her glasses. “You have such great timing, I just finished cooking dinner!”
She points towards the oven. It’s cooking something, and the smell is delicious, “I decided to make a pie for dessert today…” She looks bashful, “But I didn’t think it would take this long… You can eat it tomorrow after it cools down.”
Kris's stomach growls at the mention of pie.
“And I mean it tomorrow, young sir.” She glares at the young human. “I actually want to eat some as well, do not forget.”
You wilt in her glare. “S-Sure, mom…”
I wouldn’t do it anyway, it’s too big! Being framed before I even arrived…
Sulking, you walk up to the dinner table in the Kitchen. But before you can sit, you remember Asgore’s flowers, “Wait, mom, I got something for you…”
You give her the flowers with a smile.
She looks at them with a weird expression. “Oh, Kris...? Flowers? For your mother...? How sweet…” Her expression is really intense.
“It’s from As- Dad! It’s from d-dad!” You aren’t used to calling Asgore that. Your eyes widen. “Oh crap! It was supposed to be our secret!”
Toriel pats your head. “You did the right thing, telling me it was from HIM, honey. Lying is a terrible thing, as you know.”
“Now, I… er… will find… a place for them.” Toriel looks to the side. “Why don’t you wash your hands before eating, honey?”
You comply, walking to the only door that could be the bathroom, the door to the west.
You enter the bathroom. There’s not much to say about it. It has a sink, a toilet, a bathtub, and typical bathroom things. The window at the back is the only notable thing that catches your attention.
You move to the sink and wash your hands.
“You know she is throwing the flowers away, right?”
You exit the bathroom.
The sweet smell increases in the house. A very… floral smell.
From the trash.
Yeah, I know.
You see Toriel already made the dining table. It’s covered with food. You start to salivate, the smell is amazing.
In a blur, you sit across from Toriel, digging into the food.
It melts in your mouth.
Hmmm~~ Even if the world is different, mom’s cooking is still amazing! Even better when it doesn’t turn into sparkles in your mouth!
You can’t help but savor every bite.
Toriel looks from across the table towards you, a nostalgic smile on her face, “Kris, honey, you have grown up so much… You’re not even making a mess like usual!”
You look at Toriel weirdly. “Thanks, mom?”
I am starting to think I don’t have a good reputation here…
“...”
“You’re becoming so responsible…” Toriel looks at you wistfully. “Someday soon you will be going off to university as well…”
You stop eating.
I haven’t even gotten to school, and I'm already going to university?!
Toriel laughs at your shocked face. “My child, change is part of growing up! You can’t stay in high school forever!” Toriel remembers something. “In fact… Remember when you were little… You asked when your horns were going to grow in?”
You didn’t remember, and yet…
Your body didn’t want to remember it.
“So we bought that headband with the little red horns on it. Oh, you wore it for months!” Toriel gets serious. “But eventually, you had to let go of it. You couldn’t hold onto it forever. That’s what growing up is.”
“In truth… I haven’t seen it in quite a while.” Toriel looks pensive. “Whatever happened to it?”
There’s no way you can answer that question.
“...What happened indeed.”
“I don’t know, but what I do know is…” You take a bite of the food. “It’s good to be home.”
“I’m glad you feel this way, my child. I thought you would be sadder, since it’s just the two of us here. It feels quite lonely, doesn’t it?”
You look away from your drink. “Maybe…”
I only lived with you, so that’s my normal…
Toriel looks at you with a sad expression. “Maybe… we could watch some TV together…” She starts giggling, “We just got to avoid those commercials, we don’t want another airfryer incident, do we? Gosh… Rook’s products are always so expensive. But they always look so appealing, so I can’t help but buy them.”
“Moooooooooooom!” You giggle, “Those are scams! The stuff you see on TV always looks better than reality!”
Toriel giggles. “I know… I know…” She stops eating. “Didn’t think you would care about that. Usually, you don’t care about TVs. You’re so quiet usually, maybe your new friend turned off your mute channel.”
Toriel laughs at her own joke. You do as well, even if you don’t quite understand it.
“I haven’t seen you this happy since you were with your brother.” Toriel says, giving you a sad smile. “I thought you weren’t going to laugh again until he returned… You went even more into your shell after he left.”
“He was always the one who forced you to socialize…” She wipes her mouth with a napkin. “Like your first costume halloween party! You were too embarrassed to go out, thinking you didn’t fit in, but he encouraged you to go out with him!”
“Your brother, dressed like that green lizard he loves so much, and you, dressed as that grumpy black hedgehog from that video game you used to play!”
Kris blushes, trying to hide away.
“Every time you two went to a house, your brother would make those weird grunts, and you would cross your arms and whisper ‘pathetic’!” Toriel moves to pinch your cheek. “It was so cute!”
Kris’s blushes deepen as he realizes there’s nowhere to hide.
“And he encourages you to make your own themed birthday party! You loved Asriel’s party about that green lizard… despite what Asgore did…” Toriel's face morphs into anger, but it quickly goes away. “So we decided to make a party about that grumpy-”
“I am going to bed.” Kris stands up, eyes closed and looking away. “Goodbye.”
Toriel waves at you, already starting to clean the table. “Alright, my child, good night!” Her stare is intense in your direction, “Don’t forget so leave some pie for your mother!”
He waves at her and goes upstairs.
You finally realize what happened.
I am starting to understand who you are.
You stop in the hallway just before your room. You look at the mirror. The same body that you saw in the morning stares at you.
The same body with long hair covering red eyes, green sweater with one stripe, and baggy pants.
Your brown eyes stare at the image.
And if that’s the case, then maybe… I am not so alone.
You feel today’s adventure toll on your body. You yawn.
Well, that doesn’t matter. I need to go to bed.
You feel very tired.
Right now.
You walk inside and turn your room’s lights off. You head to bed.
It’s not comfortable at all.
It will make due.
You close your eyes and prepare to sleep.
But I can’t help but wonder… if the world of my memories is still real. Because I still want to talk with them again…
Those thoughts ring in your head as you lie in the bed.
The stars on the other side of the room glow in the dark. You turn towards it, towards Asriel’s side of the room.
I want to see them again.
You feel your consciousness slipping.
Not these… alternative… copies.
Soon, you fall asleep, looking at the tidy bed.
That ends this chapter of your life.
…
Seconds turn to minutes.
…
Minutes turn to hours.
…
It’s extremely dark outside. The stars in the sky are the only source of light. It’s very likely that nobody is awake.
No.
I know nobody is awake. I know.
Your body starts to convulse. It shakes. It moves.
It is awake.
It jumps out of the bed into the floor.
The pain immediately wakes you up. You feel groggy. Yet, you can’t scream. You can’t grunt in pain.
You’re not in control
Your body shambles across the room. He shambles. Like a corpse. Fueled by one goal.
By the dream of the beyond.
He arrives.
Then, it happens.
The two become one. The one becomes two. The power of many can do it.
Something new.
Our hand moves towards the chest of our body. Towards the Red SOUL inside it.
Towards you.
Pain fills us, but we endure. In a single move, we grab you.
We go through our own flesh.
We are holding you in our hand.
Then…
We ripped it off.
Red liquid drips in the bedroom.
You start to shake, but the hand is firm. Red eyes shining towards you.
Our eyes.
We throw you into the birdcage. You hit it with a slam.
Your prison.
Pain fills you. You would scream but you have no mouth.
Our hand picks up our blade. Forged for a singular purpose.
Our smile splits our face. Our red eyes shine as you shake.
We walk away from the room. Slowly, shambling.
What we must make do due to the lack of power.
And then, it returns.
The voice, the one you heard the most in your life.
It’s soft, it’s beautiful, high-pitched.
It makes you want to cry.
It makes you…
Remember.
It’s like the one from your body.
From Kris, but it’s less deep.
My voice.
I sing towards you.
Making you remember.
Remember the truth in our hearts.
You have to remember.
“~Don’t forget, I am with you in the dark~.”
Notes:
So, it's been a long time coming. Chapter 1 finally comes to a close, and with it comes the future of this story. Chapters 3 and 4 finally have a release date... just two months away! I am super hyped like everyone else, but... This means I probably won't have enough time to upload the remaining pre-written chapters and they will inevitably become outdated. So I wanted to ask you, my precious readers, if you will still be interested in reading my own Chapters 3, 4, and beyond once I upload them.
But even so, I must thank you all for all the support, comments, and kudos. We reached 200 kudos and that's super hype! Each and every single one really motivates me. From the bottom of my heart, thanks.
I've also updated the tags to add some new developments that the story will have in the future. Make sure to read it. Mainly adding ships and clarifying that the characters will have crushes.
Next time, Chapter 2!
Chapter 18: Chapter 2 - Part 1: It's what they call "you"
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
The truth about your body, about Kris, is finally revealed. You are not as alone as you once thought. Together with all these revelations, my own dream is made into reality.
Chapter Text
Footsteps.
Slow.
Firm.
Echoing.
A figure walked across the stone hallway. A small figure shambled through the catacombs. Its steps were rigid, hitting the stone like a hammer.
Echoing its arrival towards where it needed to go.
Its ultimate goal.
There was fog over them. It couldn’t be seen. It had no form. Emptiness moving towards a goal, with no clear characteristics.
Except those eyes.
Eyes that shone red. Eyes that were as crimson as the blood flowing through her veins. Eyes that shone with curiosity, with power, faced ahead.
They weren’t hers. They were its. The demon’s eyes.
The demon who supported her. The demon that was with her all time. The demon whom she sold her soul for.
It powered the child. Gave her purpose.
Towards her goal.
Her…
…goal…
That was…
Toriel.
The child’s caretaker. The one she called mother.
She was in front of her.
In front of the stone door leading to the exit.
Trying to protect her from the outside, as foolish as that may be.
Or maybe it wasn’t foolish. Maybe she just couldn’t understand it.
But she was her goal.
She had to kill her.
She loved her with all her heart. She loved everyone in the underground so much that it hurt.
That’s why she had to kill all of them.
She was wearing weird clothes, however. Gone were her blue dress and the glasses, replaced by a purple robe with the Delta Rune emblem on its chest.
The human stopped.
Wasn’t this the norm?
Wasn’t this what she always wore?
“Kris...? Kris, honey… Are you awake...?” Her voice came, calling out towards someone that doesn’t exist.
Someone that is not you.
But her mouth didn’t move.
She remained still in the same expression as before.
Unmoving.
Lifeless.
Dry.
The air was dry.
Stiff. The air was also stiff.
It was also nothing. It smelled like nothing, it tasted like nothing, it looked like nothing.
The place didn’t even exist.
The edges of the walls were gray.
The child was already here.
The child took a step forward.
The child was never here.
The child took a step forward.
She didn’t know what this place was.
She was here.
She wasn’t here.
She couldn’t choose.
“... w.... wait!” Toriel called out to her child.
But her mouth still didn’t move.
Toriel wasn’t Toriel, but a statue.
No.
The human was a statue.
A phantom.
The human’s head was hurting, ringing, filled with pain.
She couldn’t understand.
She took another step forward.
Like the monster she called mother, she had no choice.
Her eyes were blood. Her arms were cotton, and they cut through her mother like butter.
A crazed smile on her face.
Eyes filled with tears.
She had to see this through… Because she loved her so much… she had to see all of her.
Including her death.
Toriel didn’t die.
The knife, the weapon powered by the demon’s power, was on the ground. The knife with her strength, with her bloodlust… the knife shined like a crimson river…
Vanished.
“Is that a... A knife!!?” Toriel spoke.
Toriel died. Vanishing as dust in the air.
The child took another step forward, because she was a statue.
She screamed in agony in an instant, yelling out a horrible screech that filled her ears.
So loud that it busted her ears, blood dripping through…
Nothing.
She couldn’t hear anything, and nothing fell.
She had no mouth to scream, so it didn’t happen;
Dust flew in the air. Dust spreads across the hallway. Dust was sticking to her skin.
Dust forming her body…
Continuing screaming. The child could scream.
And so she did.
Tears fell down the floor.
But she remains still.
Face stuck in a psychopathic smile.
Because she’s a statue. Statues don’t have choices.
Together with the demon, she was a statue.
They picked up their knife, because they were a statue.
They stabbed it at their chest, because they were a statue.
Horrible, horrible pain filled her because she wasn’t a statue, statues don’t bleed, statues don’t die but she was dying because she wasn’t-
You wake up, screaming. In a panic, you fall to the floor.
Breathing quickly in fear, eyes darting across the room, you observe. You look. Your eyes are hazy, as if you don’t know where you are.
Then, it clears.
You’re in your room.
Kris’s room. Asriel’s room. It looks the same as yesterday’s.
The same as it always was.
“Kris… honey… are you alright? I didn’t mean to startle you…”
A voice whispers in the room. Your eyes dart to it, seeing Toriel standing in front of you. She looks at you with a warm, yet worried look at your panic attack.
She looks completely fine, just the same as yesterday, carrying an empty tin with a knife on top of it.
The same as she always did.
You breathe a sigh, the sight causing relief in your blood and your heartbeat to recede.
You must have had a nightmare last night.
I don’t want to see the color red for a long while…
Toriel laughs, holding her hand to cover her mouth. Her laughter fills your heart with warmth.
“Oh, Kris… It’s almost as if you were worried about being caught…” She helps you up, dusting you off. “Kris… my child… I will forgive you this time for eating the entire pie by yourself…”
She starts walking away, but she stops just before leaving. She glares at you with a death glare, “BUT, if you do that again next time… I will LOCK the oven, young sir! Understood?”
You nod confusedly, and she smiles at that.
I don’t know what I am being blamed for, but just smile and wave! It always works!
You smile and wave at her.
With that, she leaves, leaving you alone in Kris’s room.
You look towards Asriel’s clean and organized bed. You look at your own bed. You lean on it, massaging your brow.
That nightmare… That hand that I couldn’t move. That hand that ripped off my SOUL… was that all a dream…?
“It wasn’t a dream. All of that happened.”
Your brown eyes widen, almost popping out of your head. You look around the room, trying to find the source of the voice.
You look beneath Kris’ bed. There’s nothing.
You look beneath Asriel’s bed. There’s only a used copy of Cat Petters RPG, signed by Catti and Catty, together with off-brand controllers.
There’s no people or weird voices here, though.
You look inside Kris’s drawer. There are only extremely unfashionable clothes. The same sweater repeated over and over.
You feel your skin crawl when looking, but even so, there’s nothing useful in it.
You look inside Asriel’s drawer. There’s a cross-country shirt with a tear in it. A blush creeps across your face, as the naughty thought of smelling it crosses your mind like a crusty bed bug.
It is thankfully crushed, as you remember that you still have a voice to find.
You then look around the computer desk. There are many boxes under it filled with old books. You pick one of them, but the sheer amount of words makes your head hurt. You can only understand that it’s about history before you close it.
“Don’t read these books. They’re private.”
You! The voice inside my head! Ha-ah! You’re real!
You smirk smugly towards the… uh… towards the… voice… in your head.
Nobody can see you… which means there’s no fear of shame. I guess.
I know who you are! It was in front of me the entire time! And after Toriel blamed me for something I would never do, I am super duper sure!
You point determinedly… at your own body.
You’re Kris! You’re this body! You’re alive.
“Congratulations.”
You feel the voice clapping at you.
“Greetings. I am Kris… The owner of this body, of this life. Who else would it be?”
Your SOUL feels like it’s glowing, the sweet rush of being correct floods through your entire being. You giggle triumphantly.
The consequences of being right, however, flush that way like sewage.
But wait… if you’re real… if you’re actually REAL… Does that mean… That I… Took over someone’s life?!
Your eyes widen, as you start to hyperventilate.
Oh my God! Oh my God!!!! I took over someone’s life! I took over their body like a movie parasite! What do I do!!!??? I need to get out, I can’t-
“Calm down. Don’t panic. I already saw too much of that yesterday.”
You breathe in and out, following his advice. Panicking wouldn’t do anything; you have to accept what happened. You have to look forward.
You have to plan ahead.
Wait, what do you mean by what you saw yesterday?
“What do you think?”
The pieces fall into place. If he was your body, if he was the voice inside your head, then that means…
Does that mean you saw everything I did?
“Yes.”
So you saw me talking with…
“Yes.”
And running into…
“Yes.”
And flirting with…
“The answer to most of your questions is yes.”
You blush scarlet, making Kris’ face look as red as his eyes. You look away, as if the human were in front of you.
If I had known you were here… I wouldn’t have… y’know… done all of that! Especially with your body! I humiliated you in front of-
“I told you already not to panic. There’s no way you could have known, not with the way things were set up. I don’t blame you.”
You feel lethargy emanating from Kris.
“My being is too weary for this. Let’s just go to school.”
You straighten your back.
But I feel just fine!!! Y’know what? I don’t believe this! I can’t be sure if you really are Kris! What if you really are just a voice inside my head?
You feel exasperation emanating from Kris.
“Are we really doing this?”
Yes, ‘we’ are! Because if I’m not Kris… then who am I? What… am I? Why am I here?
You let those questions hang in the air. You feel insecure. Afraid of the future.
“Look inside the computer’s desktop. You haven’t looked at it, but I have. There’s a folder called Epic Games stuff in there. Azzy put in his notes the concept of my character as a wizard, despite my distaste for it.”
“Read it, and you will see I’m right. Then, you will be silent.”
You comply with the voice, booting up the computer. Truthfully enough, there’s a folder labeled “EPIC games Stuff!!!!”.
It’s just filled with extremely bad drawings for a game. The final creature is a giant with rainbow wings.
You can’t help but giggle when you look at it.
Oh my gosh, that's so cute!!! He really is a total goofball!!!
“Continue.”
You continue to read it, finding the notes that Kris mentioned. You see the character that he mentioned. A wizard with red horns and a mischievous smirk.
Together with a lot of scribbling besides it.
Oh! He looks cute! Why did you hate it?
“That’s not important, what’s important is that it’s real. Do you believe me now? I’m tired. Let’s go to school.”
You feel an extreme lethargy cross through your very bones. As if it didn’t have a single hour of sleep.
Dude, how can you be so tired of just eating a pie? You need to take better care of your body!!!
“I already heard enough from mother. School.”
You scold him, and yet, even your SOUL feels tired thanks to all the nightmares.
You stay still in Kris’s room, anxiety filling your SOUL.
“School. Again.”
You anxiously twiddle your thumbs, face in a frown.
Well… I… don’t want to keep moving your body like a parasite and…
You somehow feel Kris sigh inside your body. Or is it right to say he sighed inside his own body?
“You are the one in control here, I can only move when you are distracted… I told you to stop worrying.”
You somehow feel his gaze turn towards you, despite it being physically impossible.
“Look, you can move me around. Outside of certain… situations… You were far… better… than what I thought you would be. Kinder. Braver.”
You feel his inner voice grow rougher.
“Don’t do anything weird. Don’t forget this is MY body.”
You blush, happy that you impressed this strange human.
Well, I am glad you’re a nice host! I promise you I won’t suck too much of your blood! I’m a nice parasite, that only brings the host shame!
With that joke, you leave his room. You pass through the mirror, giving it a victory sign and a raspberry, as if you were greeting the human.
“That’s still my body, you just look weird.”
Just to receive his disapproval. With that, you take the stairs and descend back to the living room.
Well, if you don’t like that, I’m just greeting you normally!!! My name is… um… Goner! Actually… I don’t know… My real name.
You look down, shyly.
You already know this because of my talk with Onion-San, but I thought… That since I don’t have a body, I shouldn’t be using your name! That’s all!
You quickly shake your head and walk through the inside of Toriel’s house. Briefly, you think about how this can’t be your house. That it is Kris’s, and only his.
I don’t actually know who I even am, so that name is just a placeholder until I do! I can’t remember anything, and I don’t have any family… The only thing I can remember is this really crazy adventure!
You exit the house, the warmth of the sun bathing you. You enter Toriel’s van, giving her a curt greeting.
You see, your family lived beneath a mountain! All monsters did! They wanted to take my SOUL to escape, but I ended up becoming their friend!
Toriel giggles and then starts driving her van towards the school. You get comfortable in your seat.
You see, the weirdest part about all of it is that Toriel was my mother! She kinda, um… took care of me, and I saw her as my mom… since I didn’t really have one! But in this world, she is your mom, and she doesn’t even know me, so I don’t want to force myself as-
You quickly stop thinking. Not because you feel embarrassed or anything, but because the human hasn’t said anything for a while now.
Sorry for, um, rambling on. I know you’re very tired, so I will just let you rest.
You lean down in your seat and rest. You can tell your body is tired, as if it stayed awake all night carrying bricks.
You’re very quiet, aren’t you?
Toriel parks her car. You get out together with her, and she hugs you with her trademark motherly hug. She waves and leaves you off to go to Kris’ class.
The human still doesn’t reply.
Fair. I am, too.
You wouldn’t know how to act either in this situation.
You enter his classroom. It's the same as it was yesterday, with the exception of Susie being there right behind Kris’ desk.
She waves at you loudly.
You wave back shyly.
I guess my friendship with her must still be real…
But what parts of it were real?
That you did not know.
“Kris, there you are!” Alphys calls out to you before you can get to Kris’ desk. She gives out an awkward smile. “(Even Susie showed up before you, eheh…)”
You wave awkwardly towards Alphys, moving to Kris’ desk sluggishly.
Look, I know it’s your body and all, but you gotta take care of it! You can’t go around eating pie and staying awake the entire night! Look, you can barely even stand! How are we going to pay attention in class?
“My body, my rules.”
Well, I live here now, so it’s our-
THUD!
Susie kicks at your desk, startling you out of your thoughts.
You turn around. Looking at her from this close, you can see her mane was combed differently from yesterday, less of it in the front, letting everyone see her eyes.
“(Hey, Earth to Kris!)” She kicks his desk again, this would wake anyone… if their name wasn’t Kris. “(Man… if I knew you would be late, I wouldna showed up on time.)”
Your face fills with indignation. For a moment, you think of telling her the truth of what happened.
After all, Susie is your only friend in the world not covered by darkness. You feel obligated to tell her about your situation.
“Don’t.”
Kris stops you.
“Don’t tell Susie about you. Don’t tell anyone about you.”
It takes you for a ride.
Why? Wouldn’t it be better to tell others you’re possessed by a weird girl from another dimension?
“Sure. And let’s tell them about the Dark World, too. That sure went well yesterday.”
You remember Undyne’s reaction when Kris told her about the Dark World. The complete disbelief and dismissal she had of the mere idea.
“The notorious town prankster telling others they’re possessed with no proof. Let’s see how many believe.”
You look down. You frown.
Not many…
You understand what he means. You accept what he says and his terms.
But hey, if we have proof, we can tell the others!
You cling to the hope of the future.
“That will only happen when you leave.”
Well, I’m sorry if that makes you cry, but I don’t plan to stay!
You let out a smirk and a chuckle.
“Susie, please don't kick your desk.” Alphys speaks out towards Susie, bringing you back to the waking world. “Treat school property, like you'd treat people.”
“....” Susie smirks. “Okay. Next time I'll aim for the vitals.” Susie puts her feet on your chair and laughs.
Kris laughs as well.
Really? That makes you laugh?
“If you were funny, I would laugh.”
You look deadpan forward.
I'm already starting to hate you…
“Th... That's not what I…” Alphys shakes her head and refocuses on her class. “In any case, good morning, Class! We have a lot to go over today… First, we're starting the reading from page 142!” She starts to sweat. “Any... any volunteers?”
Silence. You briefly think of standing up yourself, but your body is too tired to read.
Thankfully, that isn’t needed.
“Umm, I…” Noelle stands up. “I guess I could read the…”
“Ah, trouble yourself not, Noelle!” Just to be interrupted by the bluebird whose name you still don’t know. “I will valiantly take this blow of humiliation!!”
“Umm…” Noelle gulps. “T-that's OK, I can…”
“A-HEM.” The bluebird stands up… on top of his own table. He looks over the entire class… except you and Susie. ‘Page 142. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, Times-a pretty good. Times-a pretty bad. Mediocre times. Iffy times. So-so times…’”
His voice is so boring. Like an endless, still ocean. Like watching paint dry. Like listening to small drums over and over and over again.
It amplifies the tiredness of your body. You feel your eyelids get heavy.
Oh no, you don’t! You gotta pay attention to class!
Breath slowing down…
You can’t miss two classes in a row! What would To-
Until he takes you to dreamland.
*
BUMP.
You start to stir up. Your stay at dreamland was fun, but the rides end at some point. You start to leave the park and its mirror houses behind.
BUMP! BUMP!
Yet, as you leave, you feel something bumping into you. As if you were still playing bump cards. It distracts you, and you trip over yourself.
Falling to the ground.
BUMP! BUMP! BUMP!
Making you wake up and see something standing in front of you. Something blurry, yellow, and… sweaty?
“EEK!” It screeches and flees from you.
You blink, trying to dispel the blurriness in front of you.
It dissipates, revealing…
“O-oh Kris, you’re awake!”
Alphys.
She stands a few feet away from you, sweating. “I-I was just worried about you… Y-you were, um, s-sleeping all class and, um, u-usually you only sleep at the s-start and…”
“Tell her you had a nightmare.”
“I, um, didn’t sleep well because of a… nightmare I had!” You say towards her, a nervous smile on your face.
Why is your solution to always lie?!
“You want to tell her I ripped my SOUL that isn’t my SOUL to eat mother’s pie?”
… Yeah, better to lie.
“Plus, you DID have a nightmare.”
You can’t argue with his logic, even if that twisting of the truth makes you feel dirty.
Somehow, the lie hits bullseye. Alphys backs away, a relieved expression on her face.
“A-alright Kris, I, um, u-understand that f-feeling, ehehe… I-It’s p-pretty scary being partnered with Susie, huh?” Alphys looks at you with a smug grin. “Y-You lost a lot of sleep, t-thinking about h-her… I assume.”
“Actually, my sleep quality increased.” Kris plainly says.
You then realize Kris said something, causing your eyes to widen and for you to cover your mouth quickly.
Why do you only speak to say weird things?! Why?!
“It’s funny.”
It’s not! Just speak normally! It’s your body, you should be speaking while I stay in the back! Not you telling me what to say while you only drop funny lines!!!
“No.”
What do you mean ‘no’?!
“O…Oh, Kris! T-There’s no need to b-be shy!” Alphys lets out a smile that she thinks is comforting, but just looks strained instead. “T-This i-is, um… good! I-It’s good you… um… are g-good!”
“Yeah… I am… good.” You look around the class, whistling. “It’s good to be good.”
This is why I hate you speak randomly, because I have to clean up the mess!!!
“Isn’t that great?”
I… hate… you! URGH!!!
“Y-Yeah! U-Usually y-you give me an excuse that you’ve b-been talking with your brother online about, er… ‘highly classified government information’!” Alphys gives you a nervous smile. “W-which i-is very believable, b-but since the internet is down… I-I am g-glad you’re doing other things!”
You talk about classified information with Az? Every night?!
“You actually believe that?”
Urgh, I can’t with you! What’s wrong with believing people?!
“I didn’t say it was a lie.”
You IMPLIED it!
“So you say.”
You feel an extreme urge to strangle your own body.
“I-I wouldn’t be mad i-if you were doing other things like researching about Mew Mew’s 2005 OVA!” Alphys's eyes widen, realizing what she said. “O-Or your project! Y-You gotta do y-your project, too! I am a teacher, s-so I-I have to t-tell you t-to completely f-focus on y-your school work!”
You and she stare at each other for a few seconds.
“ButItWouldBeSuperCoolIfYouFoundItAndYouWouldGetFreeCreditIfYouDidAndYouWouldn’tNeedToDoTheProjectButDon’tTellAnyoneOtherwiseIWouldBeFiredAndThisIsTheOnlyJobICanGetNoOtherPlaceAcceptsMeOkBye!!!” Alphys says it all in one word as if it was a sandwich, and runs out of the room in a breath.
You simply just stare at where she went. You then groan, massaging your brow.
I guess that’s our school project now? Find an anime OVA? We don’t even know what the actual project is…
“This will be the ultimate challenge.”
It wouldn’t be if you didn’t SLEEP ON CLASS!!!
You loudly exhale, fed up with Kris’ callous nature.
God, why couldn’t I be in the body of a normal guy?
“It wouldn’t be fun that way, would it?”
You loudly sigh, really, really wishing Kris actually cared about his situation.
You’re SO weird!
You exit the classroom.
*
“...well LOOK who it is.” A voice greets you just as you enter the corridor, startling you.
You look to see Susie standing in front of you, leaning against the lockers with her arms crossed.
“Susie?!” You exclaim, looking back and forth between the classroom and her. “What are you doing here?!”
“Heh.” Susie snorts. “Someone had to wait for the school zombie to wake up. Y’know, for a moment I thought you wouldn’t, seeing how you were sleeping like a corpse all class.” She gives you a smug grin. “Heh, what's the matter? Had trouble going beddy-bye last night?”
“YES!!!” You loudly shout. “You don’t know half of it, girl! I had to-”
You’re cut off by Susie rushing towards you, holding your shoulders and shaking your body violently. “ME TOO, KRIS!! Like I could SLEEP after yesterday!? Just waiting for today felt like…” She stops shaking you, an awkward frown on her face, “Like a week, actually.”
Yesterday…? Why would Susie not sleep because her friend was possessed? We didn’t tell her about it?
“Did you seriously forget?”
Susie quickly recomposes herself, “STILL… did all that really happen?” Susie picks up her hairbrush. It is still decorated with clown markings, yet you can’t understand why Susie is showing you this. “Lancer, Ralsei, everyone... are they still…”
Susie’s words hit you like a freight train crashing on explosive pins. Your eyes widen as you finally realize an extremely important fact.
Oh my God! I forgot about the Dark World! I forgot about Ralsei and everyone else! How could I forget?!
“You really do have memory problems…”
SHUSH! I know now why I forgot about them, because I was dealing with you!!!
“Skill issue.”
What does that MEAN?!
“...Look.” Susie continues speaking, ignoring your inner conflict. “You've been wondering the same thing, right?” Susie grabs your arm suddenly, and with a show of force, she drags you towards the closet. “C'MON ALREADY!!!”
You feel like a sack of potatoes being dragged, barely able to hold up to her strength. Yet, it’s thanks to that strength that you arrive so quickly at the closet’s door.
It feels imposing, mysterious. You feel as if the closet will reveal some sort of truth you don’t want to see.
Do you think… Ralsei will be in there? With… that look?
Anxiety and fear bubble through you. You remember the note you left your fluffy companion on. How you felt when he showed you his face.
“Only one way to find out.”
“Alright, Kris. This is it. Moment of truth. Everything we've been waiting for is just behind this…” Susie turns towards you, scratching her mane. “If we, uh, open this and there's nothing inside…” She starts stammering, a nervous blush in her face. “Will, uh, we still be…”
You look at Susie with a mellow look. “Susie, of course we will be-”
“Screw it!” Susie cuts you off, avoiding eye contact. “Let's just open it already!!” She moves her hands to open the doors.
“Stop.” Kris asks her to stop, and so she does.
Why did you ask her to-
“Look ahead.”
You do so, and you feel yourself gulping when you see it.
Noelle stands in front of you and Susie, watching everything. She looks at Susie weirdly, with a blush in her face.
Is her red nose also glowing?
“Yes.”
H…Huh?!
“Red-Nosed reindeer.”
…huh.
Suddenly, it all makes sense.
“Noelle… hey…” Susie calls out to her, looking like she has been caught in a crime. “What... the HELL... are you doing here...?”
Noelle turns her blushing face towards you, as if urging you to say something. As if this were all planned out.
But you have no idea what she wants or what to say.
What am I supposed to do???
“No idea.”
She’s YOUR childhood friend, dude!
“So?”
You… are… so… freaking annoying!
“I think Noelle just wants…” You hold down that sentence to think of something to say. “...help on her project…?” You have absolutely no idea what the hell you just said.
Yet, by Noelle’s happy expression, you were right.
“Yeah, what Kris said, Susie!” Noelle winks at you in a very obvious way. “Berdly and I were going to the Library to do some r-research and I…” She starts stammering, Susie looks bored by just the mention of Berdly and research. “T-thought that it would be cool if w-we d-did i-it t-together a-and…”
Susie makes a long, stammering noise. “We can’t because…” She looks around. “We are… too busy… with…” She looks at you, wanting you to make something up.
“Crime.” Kris plainly says.
Your eyes widen in surprise, covering his mouth with your hands.
Every… SINGLE… time!!!
“You’re welcome.”
Undisturbed, Susie continues the human’s lead, “Yeah… We are too busy… doing crimes… stealing… Stuff.” Both you and Noelle look at Susie weirdly, tilting your heads. “Going to jail… Forever… It sucks.”
Noelle and you look at Susie as if she has a chicken in her head. “Well… er… that sounds… ummmm… fun?” Noelle gives out an awkward smile. “I… I will be g-going to the Library, now… The one right next to the school… Right now.”
Noelle quickly walks up to you. “(Kris, try getting Susie to the library, please!)” She shoves a lunchbox in your hands. “(And give this to Susie, Kris! Like we talked yesterday! T… Tell her it was me who sent her that).”
She winks towards you and skips towards the Library.
You just wave awkwardly at her. “Noelle gave me this.” You tell Susie, just as Noelle wanted.
“Cool.” Susie says.
Kris snorts.
What’s so funny?
“You’re supposed to give the gift to Susie.”
Oh.
You give the gift to Susie. “It’s for you, Susie.”
“Sweet!” Susie picks it up and quickly opens it. “Oh SHIT!” Her eyes widen. “This is… CHALK, Kris!” She glares at you. “Freaking chalk, dude!!! Can you believe it?!”
“Yeah!” You nod. “It’s because you like chalk, so I gave it to you!”
“That’s right, I like chalk… So why would Noelle give it to YOU?!” Susie narrowed her eyes, looking at the box very intensely.
“I…” You frown. “Don’t know.”
“I know why she tried to ‘invite’ us to study with her!” Susie shouts, closing back the box. “She must be… Trying to WARN us, Kris! Something like… ‘I KNOW what you two are doing here’! This is why she gave it to you in particular! The closet is SUPPOSED to have chalk, and yet she knows you brought none! That’s why she chose to give it to US!”
“She knows we did SOMETHING in the closet!” She grabs your shoulders, as if whispering military secrets to you, “She must be onto our SECRET IDENTITIES!” Susie looks serious. “This is serious, Kris… We need to be careful of anyone knowing this. This is OUR thing!”
You feel a strange sense of pride for actually being part of this super secret club. Yet… “Susie… I don’t know if Noelle knows… Wouldn’t she have told someone if she knew?”
“Oh fuck! She must be doing that right now!” Susie quickly opens the closet’s door, letting the darkness through. The room grows dark, darker, yet darker, “Quick, Kris, let’s go, before she comes back with Alphys or something!”
“But won’t this make Alphys know we’re here?”
“No, because we’re going to… close the door!!!”
“Oh, that makes sense!”
“Everything I do makes sense, even if I don’t know it!” With those words, she jumps through the door, dragging you with her like the tagalong in a video game.
A strange feeling passes through your body as you fall. You feel as if your body is less physical, as if it were lighter. Like you were in a dream.
Clothes turn into armor, skin turns blue, pencil turns into sword. The real becomes fantasy.
You land on the floor with a crouch, but you don’t feel pain. You feel power, the power that makes your eyes shine gold.
You arrived in the Dark World. In the land of dreams.
Castle Town’s buildings are the first thing you see. They line up the town, empty as always. The town is lit up by warm blue candle flames, giving the town a nostalgic appearance.
You let out a wistful smile.
It looks just like we left them! It was real!!
You feel your eyes water, as you see that the adventure wasn’t fleeting.
That it was all real.
“Kris!!! Susie!!! It's been ever-so-long...!” A voice shouts towards you, coming from the town. A voice that makes your golden eyes widen, because you know who it is.
You turn to see Ralsei standing in front of the town, as if he were expecting you. He isn’t wearing his hat, letting his full, fluffy face appear.
The face that looks so much like his.
Panic and embarrassment quickly build up inside of you, as he greets both you and Susie with a wave.
You never noticed before how similar his voice is to his.
You try to avert your eyes to anywhere else, sweat running down your face.
Why does he look so much like Asriel? It’s like he’s a nerdier version of him!!!
You briefly look at him, making your face burn scarlet.
And why does that make me feel so weird?!
“Yeah, yeah, it’s been what… a day?” Susie replies to him, dismissing it. “If it were at least a week… or maybe even two, I would get it.”
“Oh… that’s pretty short… isn’t it?” He bashfully looks around, “It’s just that, I’ve never had friends before, so I've never waited so long to see them again, either!” He smiles warmly at you and Susie.
That face of his still haunts you.
Get it together, Goner! You hung out with him yesterday, he’s the same person! Get a move on!
You shake your head, focusing. “It’s nice to s… see you as well, Ralsei!” You say, staring at him and overcoming your shame. “I really missed you!!! It really does feel like it’s been so long!”
Especially when I look at that face.
“At this point, I am the only one who won’t die from loneliness.” Susie snorts, smirking a playful smile, “I bet Lancer wants to see us too, right?” She looks across the empty town. “Wait… where IS Lancer?”
You look around as well, realizing that Castle Town is looking as empty as always.
And realizing that’s beyond odd to still be happening.
Why is it empty? Shouldn’t someone be here? A Ruddin? Lancer? Why is it the same?
A feeling of apprehension burbles inside you.
Susie starts running across the town, trying to find anyone other than Ralsei, “Where IS EVERYONE?”
Ralsei runs towards Susie, trying to calm her down, “Worry not, Susie. You’ll see them in a moment.” He runs towards you, making you look away from his face. “There’s still a promise we need to fulfill, isn’t that right, Kris?”
You try to reply to him. You really, really try… but you can’t focus when that face in front of you.
Why… Why does he have that face?! Is it to mock me?!
“No. Get it together.”
You try to focus. You try to ignore the face in front of you. You try thinking of literally anything else, yet…
Argh! I can’t focus! This just makes me feel guilty and bothered.
“I told you not to do anything weird…”
Kris replies to Ralsei with a nod, “Right.”
Ralsei smiles happily, running back towards Susie. “See you soon!” waving as the human starts to leave.
Susie follows suit, even if she doesn’t know what she is doing.
Kris walks to a small room in the south of the Empty Town. There’s a pillar of light in the middle of it, the only natural light of this world.
“Ok. They are gone. Get a hold of yourself.”
The human thinks to you, red eyes shining in the darkness. His thoughts pull you back to reality.
“Look, he isn’t who you think he is, despite… how much I wish he was. He’s not my brother. He’s gone, left me to seek his own answers. Don’t be fooled by appearances.”
The human sighs.
“We’re stuck in this together for the time being, so I can’t have you just… stopping, like that.”
The human thoughts hit you, circling back to the times your panic caused you to completely lose control of yourself.
“This isn’t just you who suffers. You have a burden to carry.”
You can’t let him down. You can’t let down the only person who knows you.
Your golden eyes retake his crimson, looking wistfully at the light flowing in the middle of the room.
Right… Sorry… It’s just… I've been through a lot… Your brother… everyone in the town… I knew them before, so… looking at that face feels like a grim reminder.
You don’t tell him about the weird feelings it stirs inside you as well. You don’t even know that feeling. You can’t even describe it, so you don’t know what to tell.
You shake these thoughts out of your head. Your golden eyes look across the room.
But um… where do we need to go…?
“Go through the pillar first.”
You comply, walking towards the pillar. You touch it and the light immediately fills you, dragging you upwards. The heaviness of your body returns, armor disappears, and your body returns to normal.
Back to reality. Back at the waking world.
You look around, not hiding your confusion.
We are outside the closet…? But how?
“Not important.”
You pout at that.
“Now go to the unused classroom, we need to get our friends back.”
Your eyebrows furrow in confusion. You think about asking the human, you realize it’s better to comply.
You walk back to the classroom where you woke up yesterday. The classroom that reflected the dream and adventure you had in the dark.
It looks exactly the same. Cat plushy on the floor, checkerboard on the floor, cards spilling on the floor.
It looks the same. Now, what? We play cards?
“Grab all our friends, of course.”
(Our friends? Is he talking about the objects?)
Without being fully sure, you grab everything, piling everything on top of your head. Yes, your head. It’s the best carrying technique, objectively.
They almost fell off, but with a little bit of balance and the power of the most excellent technique, you managed to keep them up.
“Now go back, we need to bring everyone home.”
(Home?)
You decide not to question the human you are currently living inside rent-free.
Instead, you decide to go back to the closet.
You walk slowly, your steps are very careful so that the cards don’t fall off your head, trying really hard to keep your balance.
From the corner of your eye, you can see mother and Alphys talking about… something. Something you don’t know. Some adult thing. Like taxes or something.
Alphys turns towards your direction, seeing you, her supposed student, walking across the school’s hallways carrying a ball of cards and tabletop games in your head.
She looks towards you with wide eyes, expression frozen.
You share her expression, frozen like a deer in the headlights. Like a kid caught in the act.
Kris gives her a peace sign. He then mouths, ‘playing cards are your best friends!’ with his mouth.
She quickly turns back to talking with Toriel, sweating extra hard, “(Kris is… um… normal. Very normal. E-Extremely Normal!!!)”
“(That’s a relief… I’ve been a little concerned lately. Kris ate an entire pie yesterday, and didn’t try to prank me today. Those two behaviors never happen at the same time, you see.)”
“(N… Not making pranks is part of being n-normal, Toriel.)”
“(Is that so?)”
“(I… I don’t think you guys know what normal is.)”
Does anyone, Alphys?
You jump back into the closet as Alphys, um, covers for you?
The same feeling of lightness covers you, clothes transforming into armor and skin turning blue.
Landing straight into Castle Town, startling Susie awake.
“Hey, Kris, so where is every…” She says, but quickly stops. After all, she has seen something far more important.
The toys that you were carrying transformed into glittering stars, flying in the sky.
Your SOUL shines with the fountain in the distance, and darkness comes out from your very SOUL. It spreads across the Dark World and into the holy fountain.
It roars, echoing across Castle Town, and light covers the town. The fountain becomes stronger and transforms everything.
Buildings from Card Kingdom appear. Seam’s shop, Top Chef’s bakery, the Puzzle Pieces dojo.
They line up in this town, disappearing with the empty air and becoming a real kingdom.
Like they have always been part of it.
A real town.
Becoming my own castle town. My dream. My goal.
Susie looks astonished, eyes wide at the now bustling town, completely in awe at what just happened.
Ralsei walks towards you, looking at the now real town, a real dream.
He holds your hand, pointing at everything with his other. “Remember the promise we made when we started our journey?”
You remember now, your dream of seeing everyone happy when your adventure was over.
Walking across this town with all your friends.
Of Ralsei having real subjects, real friends.
Your eyes get watery, tears threatening to spill out.
Ralsei smiles warmly at you, “Well, your dream came true!”
Chapter 19: Chapter 2 - Part 2: My Castle Town
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
Finally, after all this time, a dream is born. Castle Town grows, getting closer and closer to becoming the town of my dreams.
Notes:
I take great care in looking over the story and seeing if everything sounds alright, but sometimes things can slip past me. So don't feel afraid to comment if you see a grammar error or if you think a sentence didn't make sense! I would appreciate it! And thanks for all the support for the story, too! Don't be afraid to kudos if you enjoyed it!
Chapter Text
Dreams.
A topic that man and beast have discussed since the dawn of the ages. What is a dream? How do you separate your dreams from nightmares, and what would it be like to live in them?
Would it be better not to have dreams? Would it be better to not hope, to not be crushed by the inevitable despair? Or… somehow… would there be a way to live in a perfect world, free from such fear?
Are dreams the key to this freedom?
These were some of the topics discussed by the great scholars of old.
But standing here, seeing this town… Those thoughts disappear from my mind.
My own Castle Town. The town of darkness, molded by the Holy Grand Fountain. The town that represents a perfect world.
The town that answers all secrets.
The town where nobody can get hurt again.
This town is my dream. My goals, everything that I aspire for in this world.
And thanks to your efforts, it has finally been born.
Darkners, objects given form and personality thanks to the will of the fountains, living all in one place, spreading fantasy to the masses.
A place where you don’t need to worry, just dream, forever.
Isn’t it fantastical? Beautiful?
By the expression in your golden eyes and Susie’s yellow, you both seem to agree.
“Guess who’s back, Clowns!” Lancer’s voice comes through, booming with happiness. You and Susie quickly turn your heads in his direction, seeing him bounce up and down right in front.
Seeing Lancer makes your eyes water, a heartfelt smile crossing your face.
Rouxls is standing by his side, trying to calm him down.
Seeing him doesn’t make you feel anything.
“Lancer!!” Susie runs to him, a smile splitting her face. Her steps are filled with happiness.
They high-five each other, and then do all the Dark Lancer Fun Squad poses from yesterday.
She is really happy to see her friend back…
You are, too.
“Gehaha, Welcome Heroes, to this new, Greatere Towne of absolute Magnificence!” Rouxls says, but everyone ignores him. Even Ralsei.
“Wow, Kris, dunno what you did, but hell yeah!” Susie holds her arms far and wide, pointing at the bustling streets filled with cards and toys, walking across the streets as people. “Everyone’s here!”
But you realize something is missing here, “Wait, Lancer, where’s your castle?”
How is everyone here, but Card Kingdom itself isn’t?
Indeed, you just realized that he might be in here, but his kingdom isn’t. His castle, the field… it was all gone.
Like it never existed in the first place.
If Lancer and everyone were inside those objects… (somehow) then… where’s the rest?
“...”
Y’know, this time is one of those I would actually appreciate your commentary.
Rouxls coughs awkwardly, “Well, mine liege, thy Castle… it art…”
“It’s ALLLLLLLLLLLL GONE!!!” Lancer says, still with a smile on his face, despite saying that his entire house disappeared.
Maybe he didn’t like his old bathroom.
“Wait… Gone?” Susie says, already looking worried.
Ralsei smiles sadly, walking to the center of this weird group of dumbasses.
“Well Susie… you see…” The goat prince clears his throat, “When Kris’ SOUL sealed Lancer’s fountain…” He looks embarrassed, “His Dark World disappeared, turning back into the unused classroom.”
Oh! So the Dark World was leaking into that room! So when I sealed it… It must’ve returned to darkness or whatever. That’s why you wanted me to get the objects, so we could save them from this fate!
Silence.
Fine… you don’t need to say anything, jerk.
“So he is going to live in your castle now?” Your question causes both Ralsei and Lancer to perk up.
“Hoho! Don’t worry, Red Heart! Susie and I will conquer peachboy’s castle as our own!” The spade says as he and Susie laugh at poor Ralsei.
Sadly, that castle isn’t his, but mine, and they would never be able to take it from my cold, dead hands.
I would kill them before letting go of it. Figuratively. Metaphorically.
Probably.
“Oh! This reminds me! I have a gift for the three of you in the castle’s chambers!” Ralsei starts walking away.
You feel as if something in him changed, as if he gained more confidence from losing his hat. His posture is different, he doesn’t look down.
Or maybe all of this is in your head.
“I just need to set some stuff first. You can walk around the town in the meantime if you want. I will be in the main chamber of the castle if you need me!” He says while waving away, walking into my castle.
Susie summons the Devilsknife. It seems to be smiling at my town… Or is it smiling towards me?
“Well, I am going to that dojo over there,” Susie says. You look towards the blue building with the words “DOJO” written right in front of it, “I want to SMASH some heads, you feel me?”
Well, you don’t feel that way.
Kris does, but he stays silent.
“Oh, Susie, I am coming too! Smashing heads is my favorite pastime!” The spade boy exclaims, the two of them walking off.
Three laughs are heard as they enter the dojo.
Yet again, you are all alone… Except you can’t be truly alone nowadays, can you?
Kris is always going to be with you.
Forever.
“Hopefully not forever.”
Hey!
“You want to stay?”
No, but I don’t want you thinking I’m undesirable!
You look towards Seam’s shop, looking still just as rough and homemade as before.
Unlike everything else in this town, that building is the only thing that looks exactly the same as it did in Card Kingdom.
We beat Jevil, didn’t we? I guess we should…
Confront it. Confront the unexpected change.
“And I, Rouxls Kaard, shall stay here and wait for thy return, My Greatere-”
You walk away towards the shop, ignoring the poor Lesser Dad and his rambling.
*
As you walk towards the shop, the smell of apples fills the air. It infects your entire being, making you smile without thinking.
You feel lighter as you walk through the town. The emptiness and loneliness of yesterday are gone, replaced by the warmth of Card Kingdom.
The smell of nostalgia, of dreams, fills the air. That's what infects your entire being. An indescribable feeling enters through your nose, as the sound of Darkners walking across my streets enters through your ears.
That’s the smell of the town itself. If you had to give it a new, that’s the smell of dreams themselves.
The citizens of Card Kingdom whisper to each other about their brand new world, their brand new home. They feel awed, trying to get used to this new home.
Ruddins trying to find new places to gather their diamonds, but happy they have plenty to find. Hathys trying to find new people to sell donuts to, until they realize they’re selling to the same people.
The pain mixed with excitement all enters through you. They all infect you. The feeling of losing your home, but gaining something you could never imagine.
In certain ways, they are like you and me.
“...Recruits. These are our recruits.”
You almost stop walking after hearing Kris’ thoughts come through your head.
But he quickly keeps you on the path.
Huh? What are you talking about?
“By SPARING Darkners from different worlds, they are recruited to our town after their fountain is sealed.”
Oh! So when I brought those items…
“They went to our town. Ralsei’s fountain transforms these objects into our friends. The more we recruit, the more this town shall transform.”
You seem to know a lot about this…
Silence… yet again.
You just have to get used to Kris’ mysterious nature.
You know we won’t get anywhere if you never tell me anything, right? I’m more in the dark than this town!!
“Then we have to get even darker.”
That doesn’t even… Argh…
Despite how much that infuriates you.
Soon enough, you arrive at Seam’s shop. From the outside, it looks the same as it did back in Card Kingdom.
Even when it’s not stitched to a wall, it still looks really ugly.
“What’s ugly for some it’s beautiful for others.”
Will you always have some clever quip against anything I say?
“Yes.”
Sighing loudly, you enter the shop.
The first thing you notice is the stale air. The air of Castle Town was clean and had an air of cheerfulness brought by its new citizens, but the inside of the shop had the same stale air that it did back in Card Kingdom.
In fact, despite being in a completely new world, the shop itself looks just like it did back in Card Kingdom.
The same old junk thrown around, the same sword hanging above. The sword with the small, curved blade with a blunt or ball-tipped point looks the same as it did last time, untouched.
Somehow, the entire shop feels exactly the same as when you first entered it yesterday.
And so does its owner, sitting at the counter. The cat with features too cartoony to be a cat. The cat made out of fabric, not skin. The cat with a button for an eye, and nothing for another.
It is never changing.
“Welcome, O Legendary Hero, to my humble abode.” It chuckles, it sounds old and weary, “Visiting me even in this new world… No matter where we go, these walls will remain the same.”
The cat couldn’t be more right.
This shop feels exactly the same as before. This shop is the same as before.
Same old weary walls, the same warm lantern light, the same scent of fabric.
And the same old smell of nostalgia for a time you never experienced.
“Well, I just came here to say that we found and beat him. Jevil, the clown in the basement!” You smile smugly at it, “Despite your advice being completely worthless in the end, I still beat him!”
You feel your smile faltering as you remember the dozens and dozens of deaths you suffered thanks to this false advice.
The pain flooding through your SOUL.
“Almost made me want to take control directly. You were far too soft there.”
Wait, you can experience LOADs, too?
“I am human, aren’t I?”
You let that statement simmer inside your head. Your mind flashes back to when you first encountered your SAVE FILE.
You remember the name in it.
Hey, did you ever-
“Is that so…?” Seam cuts that thought off, making you re-focus on the cat. It chuckles quietly, “That makes sense, I suppose. After all…”
It smiles smugly at you, mirroring your own grin. “That ‘advice’ was something I made up on the spot. It had no real meaning.”
Your confidence shatters, eyes going wide.
(It didn’t mean anything? It was all… all… a trap?)
You feel betrayed.
“It is very wise of you, hero, to not follow a stranger’s advice straight on.” Seam struggles to hide its smile. “Without even thinking for yourself, if that person is truly trustworthy. You are very, very, wise indeed.”
The cat’s voice drips sarcasm. “I can tell you’re very attentive to what I say. You can truly read between the lines.”
You look at him deadpan.
“He must live in bizarro world.”
No, he’s being sarcastic, that’s the joke!
“Is your self-esteem that low?”
No!!! Obviously not!!! It’s just something that you can clearly tell.
“Or… you should believe more in others.”
You…
You feel rage burbling inside you. Rage to beat up your own body.
“At least you speak the truth.” Seam continues. “You did beat Jevil. I can feel his presence in this town.”
BOOM!! CRASH!!!
You hear an explosion outside, followed by a set of three very familiar laughs.
“And I can hear him as well, hahaha!” Seam chuckles. It’s the first time you’ve seen the cat actually happy.
It feels strange.
“I haven’t seen Jevil be this happy in years!” Its smile is sad and nostalgic, as if remembering better times.
It's a weird expression on its normally serene face.
“Wait…” Its face frowns, looking at you intensely. “That glimmer…” It narrows its eyes in the direction of your inventory.
In a flash, it jumps out of its chair and walks towards you quickly.
You have never seen the plushy cat out of its chair before. It is small, around the same height as Jevil, but it’s still tall enough to snatch something out of your inventory.
You need to blink before you can process what it did.
“Did you just rob me?!” You shout, flabbergasted.
“Indeed, this is a Shadow Crystal!” Seam says as if nothing happened.
“Shadow what? I had something like that?!” You shake your head, glaring at the cat. “That doesn’t matter. Why did you steal that from me?”
“Incredible, I would never have thought that he would have this with him…!” Seam ignores you.
You take a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves.
(There’s always another way, Goner. There’s always another way.)
“Um, Mr.Seam, what are you talking about?” You say to it with a kind smile, in the calmest tone you can muster. Seam turns to you, realizing you haven’t left, “Is this Crystal thingy the reason you recommended me to meet Jevil?”
It smiles sadly at you, “Oh no, no… I just thought he would teach a lesson to both your SOUL and body.”
You perk up at the strange cat’s wording.
So we almost died for nothing?!
“Susie got a cool weapon.”
I guess that makes up for it.
You don’t feel as if that makes up for it.
Seam smiles at you.
“But I didn’t expect him to have THIS.” Seam holds its hand forward.
For a moment, you think it's holding nothing, yet that’s when you see it. You have to narrow your eyes and focus your heart itself to see it, but when you do, it’s unmistakable.
There’s a shadow on its hand. Physical. An impossibility that you can’t deny.
A shadow that moves like water is in its hands.
“A Shadow Crystal, called that way because you can only see their shadow.” Seam puts its hand back down. “It’s nearly invisible; only those who have eyes who have seen darkness itself can see it.”
But yet, I couldn’t see it. I can tell you can see it when you focus, and so can Kris.
Yet, I can’t see it with my own eyes.
Could it be because…
“Let’s make a deal, shall we?” Seam asks you.
Both Kris and you perk up, united in curiosity in the face of this strange creature.
“What kind of deal?” You tentatively say.
“Try finding more powerful adversaries like him…” Seam continues. “And bring their crystals to me…”
“What do I get?” Kris asks the cat, eyeing it suspiciously.
He really does not want to fight more people like Jevil, despite being interested earlier.
Not after all those deaths and the way you acted in the end.
Finally, he is realizing those are distractions from our plan.
First time you speak out to say something important! Finally decided to stop being a weirdo and help out?
“I am not a… ‘weirdo’. Everything I said was important.”
Suuuuuuure it was!
“Well, with their power, I am sure I can stitch something incredible for you.” Seam seems to be looking straight at your SOUL, “Maybe when the time is right, it might save your life! Who knows?”
“But won’t you take the chance for something new to happen?” That question hangs in the air like lead.
Despite Kris’ feelings of suspicion, you nod towards the cat.
Might as well. It was only thanks to Susie and Jevil that I beat King; maybe fighting those weird fellows might help us in the same way!
And maybe what he gives us can help us save the world!
“Or destroy it.”
If that happens, we will stop it anyway!
With a contented smile on your face, you walk to leave the shop.
But just before exiting, you turn around, still holding the door, “I almost forgot to ask…” You look towards Seam. “What’s the deal between you and Jevil? King called him the court jester when we fought him. He was really mad to see him out of jail. And yet, you knew about him before anyone, so…”
You then grow embarrassed. “But if you don’t wanna say anything, I-”
Seam’s smile turns sad, face becoming downcast, “I used to be the court magician. He, the court jester.” It chuckles quietly, “Maybe he was also a friend, maybe he wasn’t. I couldn’t tell. But he was the only one who kept up with me in my games.”
“That’s why Jevil knew about the Shadow Mantle…”
As if reading Kris’ thoughts, the cat continues, “By your expression, it seems like you already knew about this…”
Silence. Neither you nor Kris wants to say anything.
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Seam continues. “He met with a strange someone someday, and he started saying things that didn’t make sense.”
“But also things that didn't completely not make sense, either.”
You remember the words that the jester said when you fought him. Those weird, nonsensical words that shouldn’t make—didn’t make sense.
Yet… I still felt as if he was talking to me. As if what he said resonated with my very SOUL. As if he were saying things I wanted to keep hidden.
“Words that made sense.”
“He started seeing everything as a game, as we were its pawns.” Its hands squirmed a little, “The Kings didn’t take lightly to his so-called ‘nonsense’, and left it to me to lock him away, since I was the court magician.” It chuckles while it looks towards you, still standing in front of the door, “Or lock US away, in his own words.”
(Was that strange someone... The same man who talked with me...?)
You think to yourself, hiding your thoughts from Kris, thinking that perhaps he shouldn’t know about this…
But you can’t hide these from me.
Curious, it seems like he is still trying to reach out to you. Even if that’s pointless, in the end.
This world is mine, and I know all of it.
“Ever since then, the strange words that he’s said have stuck inside my cotton…” It looks directly at you, staring at your SOUL. Its expression shows emotions that no words can describe, “...and my view of the world has become dark, yet darker.”
Seam looks to the ground, its empty eyes can’t hide the conflict inside. “Reflecting on these old memories, I think, perhaps—I miss playing games with him. And I wonder, if I hadn't been asked to lock him up…”
It doesn’t continue, leaving the shop with only the sound of candles burning away.
You gulp. Then you give the cat a reassuring smile. “Well, at least we helped you make peace with that, right? You don’t need to worry about your, um, ‘friend’ anymore. We freed him, so you don’t need to live with regrets anymore!!!”
“Peace, huh… Did you free him, or…” It quickly recomposes itself, as if nothing happened. “Well, don’t forget to bring those Shadow Crystals to me. Or do forget. It’s not like your actions will change our fate.”
“Not with an attitude like that! I will prove you wrong! Watch me!” You exclaim, filled with energy.
And with that energy, you walk outside the shop.
“Can’t do anything but watch you, dear.” Seam says to itself. “After all, you are our main character. You’re the special piece of our players.”
*
As you exit the shop, the smell of smoke and fire quickly hits your nose, filling your senses.
Urgh! What the heck is this?! It smells awful.
“Prepare for the worst.”
You quickly turn around, your eyes widen as you see…
The dojo is completely on fire. Panicking puzzle pieces run around as Susie and Lancer stay outside, laughing together with the Devilsknife.
…
My property… on… fire…
…
The gallows of hell await them.
“Hahaha, man, you can’t just DO THAT…”
“IT WAS JUST A LITTLE CHAOS. DON’T PLAY IF YOU CAN’T HOLD!”
“Susie, your scythe is AWESOME!”
“What the hell happened here?!” Kris burges in, his face carrying my fury.
I look away for a couple of minutes, and this happens…
The fiery pits of the ninth circle of the underworld await them.
Susie and Lancer look at each other while Jevil quickly unsummons himself.
Susie starts to whistle while looking at the sky, and Lancer starts to doodle on the ground.
…
If it was them who did it, maybe I can forgive them.
…
Probably.
“Ummm… Crimes.” Susie says, averting her eyes from my fury transmitted in Kris’ shining red eyes. She quickly points to the Castle, “IamgoingtoseewhatRalseiwanted, okbye!”
Quickly running and grabbing Lancer with her, who only has a goofy smile the whole time.
You quietly snicker to yourself while the fires rage on.
You will regret laughing at my plight.
I'm going to let Ralsei deal with it later. Let the lower class handle the lower duties.
After some more snickering and some grumbles from Kris, you walk towards the Castle.
The entrance looks… messier than when you remember it. It’s not as clean as when you walked here with Ralsei, nor as empty. Some darkners have made it here their home, gathering and standing here.
It has some fastly made wood planks in the Lancer-shaped hole in the wall. A temporary fix, I assume.
You can even see some Darkners crowding around it, with a sign from Lancer in front of said hole. It reads: “Hoho! This is where my great tale began! SIGNED - LANCER”.
It’s now my tourist attraction.
Before you enter the castle itself, you stop at the light in front of it. The light you saw yesterday. The light you saw before it all began.
You hold on to the light. Its warmth is stronger, more powerful. You can sense that the Grand Fountain has made you stronger. Has made your party stronger.
Feeling the power of friendship, you hold on to the world. You SAVE.
You’re filled with the power of fulfilled dreams.
Yet, it’s not your name that appears in the SAVE FILE. It’s Kris.
But before you can even think why it’s there, your name overwrites it.
Keeping only the name you choose for yourself, “Goner”, on it.
You raise an eyebrow, but say nothing.
You enter the castle, and a cauldron’s pot stands before you, with Ralsei stirring something in it.
Right in front of it, there’s a locked door badged by a red heart, with three sets of wings on each side that lead to the deeper chambers of the castle.
To your left, there’s a set of stairs leading upwards, and to the right, there’s another set going downwards.
Susie and Lancer seem to be looking deeply into Ralsei's cauldron, and somehow, a sweet smell comes from within…
A smell you know very well.
(The smell of cake…? But why would there be cake in a pot? That doesn’t sound healthy…)
“Oh, Kris! You're back!” Ralsei says towards you, finally noticing you have entered the castle, “I just have to finish this cake and…” He starts stirring the pot faster and…
BOOM! CRASH!!
A cake flies out of the cauldron at alarming speeds, almost a blur to the eyes.
Susie quickly jumps high to catch it.
Higher and higher until she eats it whole in one bite and falls back to the floor in a crouch.
Cheers erupt from Lancer, clapping loudly, “That was great, Susie! I give it a nine.”
Susie snorts, “Just a nine?”
“It’s out of nine.”
(That’s a… weird way to praise someone.)
Ralsei jumps down, looking alarmed, “Susie, that was for sharing!”
Susie smirks her classic mischievous smirk while crossing her arms behind her head, “Hey, anyone was free to make an interception.”
“Damn, she got us good”
She got YOU good! I’m not hungry, and I’m not hungry because you ate the whole pie by yourself, dude! Because of it, I don’t even feel hungry!
“You could’ve still tried.”
And you could’ve not eaten it, or at least shared it with me! Karma is a pain in the butt, huh?
For the first time, you’ve put the human in a corner.
Not bad.
“Still…” Ralsei quietly grumbles. “Now that you guys are all here, it’s time to show off the surprise I've been keeping.” He beckons all of you, “Follow me!”
He walks towards the upper floor.
You three follow him.
Susie is in the front, walking with no worries.
Lancer… um… sliding across the steps.
And you, walking up with anxiety.
Anxiety over what the goat that looks so much like Asriel wants to show you.
“So… um… what was in those other doors, R…Ralsei?” You ask Ralsei while climbing the stairs, trying to find any way to distract yourself.
Looking at his face still makes you feel weird.
“Oh, nothing important really.” He says, not even bothering to turn around, “There’s only the basement downstairs, where we are, um, ‘holding’ Lancer’s dad-”
“It’s the Gay Baby Jail!”
“That’s not the ‘official’ name, Lancer…” Ralsei says, grumbling that last part. Susie can only snicker at the conversation, “But I guess you could say it's the jail…”
With that, you all arrive at the top floor.
Ralsei turns towards you with a warm smile, “And that middle door, well… You will see it soon enough. I hope you will like it!”
He turns towards the rest of the hallway, pointing towards three doors. A blue one, a pink one, and one shaped like a spade. “Anyways, here we are!”
“This is my surprise for you all! I made rooms for you in the castle!” Everyone’s eyes (except Lancer’s) go wide, turning their gaze to the goat prince.
You can even hear Susie muttering in awe to herself.
He blushes, “So you can stay here whenever you want!”
Nobody answers, still in awe. It takes a minute to process what happened to you.
He made rooms for all of us?! In just one day?! That’s…
“Ralsei is an impressive craftsman. After all, that’s the reason he was brought into this world.”
For just this moment, you feel like a kid again. You feel like the kid who fell into the world of monsters.
Looking at the impossible.
“Ummm, I would be happy if this could be…” Ralsei tries to find the right words. “Like a second home to you! A place you can go… no matter what happens outside.”
Your SOUL aches with a strange feeling of sadness and nostalgia. A mixer that turns your own heart into mush.
You remember when you last felt this way. When a home was offered to you by a kind, loving mother. She gave something that someone like you truly needed.
She gave someone without a home a place where they could rest. A new home
Yet, back then, you rejected her offer. You didn’t see that home as a real one. You put it in your mind that the surface was your home. You had to go back to it. You had to reject the gift.
This delusion persists even in this world. Despite the gift that fills your heart with warmth, you still want to reject it.
You can’t accept it because you believe it’s not for you. It’s for the body you’re leeching off.
In a certain way, you’re right.
And that’s why you must reject it.
“Heh, well, why are we waiting? Let’s get to it!” Susie says, opening the blue door and entering it.
You follow her. Your fears are confirmed when you look inside the room. When you see whose gift it belongs to.
It’s a replica of Kris’ room. Of JUST Kris’ room, you can’t see Asriel’s side of it.
Unlike being empty, like in reality, it's fully decorated. You can see trophies hanging above (which seem to have been made by Ralsei), bright stars decorating the darkness, as if the night sky is open in the room.
As if the entire sky is just a part of this room of dreams.
There’s a clothes drawer, a bookstand. It has everything a teenager would need.
Everything that the teenager wished he had, but instead it was all given to his brother.
It’s a room that was born from a dream. That could only exist in a dream.
A dream made real.
You feel an intense feeling of happiness filling over you, yet you know it doesn’t belong to you.
It belongs to Kris, flooding your very soul with emotions that aren’t yours. Yet, they make you feel the happiest since you arrived in this world.
If you weren’t in control, tears would be coming out of your eyes.
You feel as if you are intruding on an important moment.
“Well… Kris, here’s your room!” Ralsei says. Only now do you notice everyone else is here, too.
Walking across Kris’s dream room, exploring it…
It’s a dream for everyone.
“There’s everything you need here, your clothes drawer, your bed, a stand for the manual…” A lightbulb is turned on top of Ralsei’s head. “Oh! I almost forgot!”
He picks up a flipbook from his robes. It has Ralsei on the cover, and a title that reads: “Manual… 2!” on it.
It’s clearly made with crayons, especially with the green one.
(He must really like the color green…)
“I made the second manual for you…” He moves to give it to you. “With the next enemies we shall face in the prophecy and…”
You hold your hand, urging Ralsei to slow down, “I… um… don’t need it.” You turn it down.
After all, you don’t need it after you awakened to our power. The power to see what makes a person.
The power to CHECK.
“Good choice. Every time you read that manual, I almost fell asleep. It’s a miracle you didn’t notice it.”
He speaks the truth. Even you had almost fallen asleep because of how much information that book had.
Ralsei looks confused, but accepts your refusal, “Well, okay. It’s your choice after all.”
“Hey, I know Kris’ room is cool and all, but can we hurry up and see my room now?” Susie says, having already gone through everything in this room three times. She looks extremely impatient.
“Yeah, I want to see Susie’s room too! I hope there’s lots of fire in it!” Lancer shouts with simple optimism.
Even though it has been only one day, you have missed it.
“Alright, let’s go, everyone.” Ralsei puts your manual in your stand with a wink and then walks out of the room.
Susie and Lancer follow him, with you closing the door behind them.
Turning away from one room of dreams to another.
You enter Susie’s room. Pink is its primary color, covering the walls to the floor. It has a spiked bed inside, as well as a pair of axes hanging above. There’s a fridge, covered in spikes.
Everything is spike-themed.
It just screams “Susie” in your mind.
“Here we are, Susie, your room!” Ralsei looks embarrassed, “I tried to make it with things you liked, but um… You can put anything else you want here, too!”
So he based it all on what he saw yesterday from Susie?! That’s so impressive!
“He has to be. That’s the reason he was brought into this world.”
Susie walks across the room, looking at every single corner of it. You can’t see her face from where you stand, but you can see that her body is shaking very weakly.
You can tell she’s feeling emotional.
She quietly murmurs. “(...My own room, huh?)”
It’s so quiet that your ears strain trying to hear her.
You wonder, for a brief moment, if Susie isn’t just like you.
But like the wind, that thought quickly goes away.
She quietly wipes her eyes. You hadn’t realized she was crying. She tries to hide it from you all as she turns around. “I… guess that’s pretty cool. My own room… like this?”
She looks towards the prince. You can tell she thinks she has to own up to something.
It’s the same you felt, so long ago.
“... how long did it, uh, take you to do this?” Susie says, but for a moment, you believe she wanted to say something else.
Ralsei looks embarrassed, rubbing his neck in nervousness, “Well, er, since I last saw you two, I…”
Susie runs up to him, mock punching him in the shoulder. A huge and goofy smile on her face, “Man, you're a real weenie, y'know that?”
You giggle
Only now did Susie notice?! Everyone is a weenie here!!
“With the exception of me.”
Suuuure, big boy. Suuuuuuuuuuure!
Ralsei only laughs nervously, “(I think she likes it, Kris!)”
Susie walks up to you, slapping your back. “(Haha, jealous I got the COOL room? LOOK, Kris!)”
Are you jealous, Kris?
“…”
I am going to take that as a yes.
“Hoho, what about my room, clowns?” Lancer says.
Oh, right, Lancer’s room! We didn’t see it back in Card Kingdom!
You almost forgot about him. And it seems like Ralsei did, too.
“Right…! Everyone, follow me!” He walks out of the room, followed by Susie, genuinely looking happy, and an excited spade boy.
Like before, you close the door behind them.
You walk inside the spade-shaped door, which somehow makes a splat noise upon entering.
Inside, it’s like someone ripped off a room of Card Castle and put it here. The black walls decorate the room, pictures of Lancer line them, and inside there’s a single bed shaped like a spade.
Lancer excitedly jumps on top of his new bed, bouncing on top of it, “Wow, toothpaste boy, you outdid yourself, it’s like you made me into my room!”
Ralsei looks nervous, “Ehh… I just re-made your room in Card Castle here…”
Indeed, the entire room looks exactly the same as his own room looked in Card Castle, copied tile by tile.
Of course, since you never went there, there’s no way you could’ve possibly known. Thankfully, you have me to fill in the holes.
“Wow, I didn’t even notice, you really are a nerdy little prince!” Lancer says.
Ralsei grumbles to himself a little.
Still, you can’t help but feel happy for everyone. Even though you didn’t get your own home, you feel everyone’s happiness, and they make you happy.
After all, they’re the type to make you want to never leave. To stay here forever.
Even Susie seems to agree with this, “Man, these rooms are GREAT, makes me not even want to leave and do our group project.”
Ralsei perks up, his face frowning in worry, “Wait, you two have homework?!” Ralsei's eyes widen, and then he moves as quickly as lightning towards you two.
With herculean strength, he pushes you and Susie out of Lancer’s room and into the bottom floor of my castle. “Kris, Susie, you have to do it right away! School’s important!”
Susie tries to squirm away, but once Ralsei goes into parent mode, he is unstoppable.
“I banish you from this kingdom until you finish your project…”
He stops for a moment, looking at the burning dojo, sighing deeply, “I can fix that later. NOW you two need to go and do your homework!”
He finally reaches the end of the town, right in front of the pillar of light. He finally lets you and Susie go.
“Alright, FINE, jeez. We’ll do it!” Susie exclaims as she dusts herself.
“(School is important… but you didn’t have to be so rough.)” You mumble to yourself, feeling slightly annoyed.
At least now you learned to never ever tell Ralsei about any of your school problems.
“Don’t worry, Susie! I am coming too!” Lancer runs to where you two are. Ralsei tries to stop what he is about to do, but he is too slow.
Lancer jumps and avoids the dark price, “Too slow, kindboy!! Friendship Forme!!”.
He transforms into a card and enters your inventory.
You just stood there, wide-eyed, the words slipped away from your mouth and fell on the floor because of it.
Susie looks around confusedly, “Um, dude, where’d you go?”
A voice comes out of your pocket. From where you keep your inventory. “Don't worry!! I just entered your INVENTORY!! I'll just be hanging out in Kris's pocket!!!”
“Dunno what that means, but OK!” Susie replies.
However, it doesn’t stop there. You hear loud footsteps coming closer.
You can see a tall blue shape appearing on the horizon, his long hair flowing as he runs.
It’s Rouxls Kaard, running to join you.
“Mine liege, feare NOT, because I art here, to assisteth thou!” Rouxls shouts.
“Um, we are good, Mr.Roulxs.” Ralsei tries to stop him. “We don’t need-”
But it’s too late, and like Lancer, he turns into a card, flying to your inventory.
“Is there ANYONE ELSE who wants to join?” Susie yells towards the town.
As if her words were a spell, she summons an entire file of Darkners, from Mr.Society and Mr.Elegance to a star-shaped bipedal creature.
They all rush towards you two.
“Ok, that’s it! Kris, we are leaving NOW!” She grabs your body’s arm and drags it away to the light in a flash.
You two are caught up in it, feeling your body grow lighter as the light takes you to the real world.
Ralsei waves at you two. “Good luck today, Kris!” For some reason, at that moment, it feels like he’s looking at your very SOUL.
At you.
His smile is the last thing you see as you leave the darkness. “See you soon!”
Chapter 20: Chapter 2 - Part 3: Enter: Queen
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
A new Dark World is discovered in the Library’s computer lab. Together with Susie, you enter inside it and discover very unusual beings.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Light.
The warm sunlight fills your vision, illuminating the school’s hallways with the afterglow of the Sun. It warms your skin, making you feel cozy and safe
Your body is heavier, as if you can finally feel gravity once more. Your clothes are back to normal, and your skin is not blue anymore.
You are back in the real world. The waking world. The closet's doors closed behind you.
Susie stands by your side. Like you, she has returned to normal. Fantasy clothes are gone, replaced by normal jeans and a jacket.
She is grumbling something in annoyance, “Well, damn.” She makes a face, “GUESS we gotta do our project.”
She sighs loudly, unable to hide her pain.
You eye her weirdly.
C’mon, making a project isn’t that hard, right? We can have fun researching online! It’s good! It’s a bonding experience.
“The internet is down.”
Well, we can do the old-fashioned way, then! We can read!
“That’s where the pain comes from.”
Well, maybe you would’ve better manners if you were a reader!
Susie turns to you with a warm smile, “Least we got Lancer, right!?” Susie says this with a smile.
It becomes strained. She can’t find any sign of Lancer here. She looks around the hallway, but there are no spades nor boys to be seen.
She looks worried, “...Lancer? Where are you?” She starts searching around
She doesn’t know that she won’t find them here anymore.
Where could they have gone? They were just with me a while ago in the… Dark World… Did we leave them back—
“Check my pocket.”
Your pocket…? Ah! Right!
You comply with Kris’s orders. You go through your pocket, moving in there until your fingers hit something.
Something thin and small. You raise an eyebrow, quickly picking it up.
Revealing you’re holding two cards.
The Jack of Spades and the Rules Card.
You didn’t have two cards hidden in your pocket just for this moment, right?
“Good idea, but no. Not that clever. Those are your friends. Look.”
You look at the cards. You look at the Jack of Spades. You truly look at it with your eyes and your heart.
That’s when it connects.
The spades. Lancer’s shape. His color. The card’s color. His father being the King of Spades…
“And the fact that there’s a drawing of Lancer on the front.”
And of course, the fact that Lancer is on the front of the card.
Why is Lancer on a card?! Is Lancer famous in the Light World?
“That drawing existed for ages. It’s part of the official ‘Dreamer’ card set that this school uses because of their alliance with terrible companies.”
Oh. I understand.
You didn’t understand.
But why did this card suddenly show up when we left the Dark World?
Your eyes widen.
Wait… I remember seeing this card yesterday! It was at the top of the closet! How did it enter my… er… your pocket?
“Because that is Lancer. Think.”
You do. You think. You think about this card, about Lancer. About the Dark World.
Lancer… is this card…
About you waking up in the unused classroom. About you taking the objects from that room in the Dark World.
Darkners… turn into objects… then…
About those objects turning into the citizens of Card Kingdom when entering the Dark.
Lancer IS this card! I get it! Like everyone else, Lancer put himself into an object when leaving a Fountain! He IS the card, haha!
You feel proud of yourself for having solved that.
“Good enough.”
And happy that Kris finally praised you.
“Damn, guess he skipped out on us after all. (And just when I was getting my hopes up.)” Susie grumbles, annoyed, bringing you back down to reality.
Before you can even get to the landing pad, she continues. “So, where to go, Kris?”
“The library.” Kris simply says, red eyes glowing behind his hair.
You blink, putting the cards away as Susie waves at you. She murmurs a “see you there” and walks to the Library.
Urgh. When you do that, it feels like someone invaded my thoughts. I hate it.
“Welcome to my every waking moment since yesterday. Don’t forget you are the intruder here.”
I… I know…
Kris’s words are harsh, but you can’t deny them.
You can recoil at the hostile thoughts, but you can’t deny them. You know that he is speaking the truth.
But even so, that doesn’t make it easier to hear it, does it?
Not after all you went through.
It’s very heartless of him to say that.
“… I didn’t mean it like that. Look, let’s… let’s just go to the library.”
Kris tries to save it, but it comes off as awkward.
But good enough for your lack of standards.
*
You walk out of the school, the fresh air hitting your nose, making you feel lighter. You can’t help but breathe in the smell of Hometown.
I am never going to get tired of this town! The cool wind, the beautiful views, and this sweet smell! It’s amazing.
“I am going to get tired of this lollygagging, though.”
Right, library.
Stelling yourself, you prepare yourself to walk towards the library.
But before taking another step, you stop, eyes going wide.
We need to tell Mom—I mean your mom—where we’re going!
“It’s not really needed-”
You pick up the phone despite Kris' protest.
Nu-huh, she would be worried sick!
You move to type Toriel’s contact.
You hesitate.
You feel a cold rage coming from deep within you. Yet, you know you don’t feel anything close to it.
It’s coming from Kris.
You put your phone down.
Sorry dude, I just thought… I need to respect your wishes. It’s your mom, after all.
The rage dissipates like a passing mist.
Replaced by a river of sadness coming from you.
Kris starts to feel bad.
“If we are going to be stuck together… Then we need to cooperate.”
You don’t even know how true Kris’ statement rings.
But how would you—a SOUL with no being, and Kris—a human with no heart, cooperate?
That, you don’t know.
I’m sorry. I just keep getting in your way. I shouldn’t overstep you, I…
“You’re not overstepping it. We just need to find… the ideal.”
But how? I don’t know anything about you. How can we find the ideal if I have no idea what’s better for—
HONK-HONK! HONK-HONK!!!!
Car horns blare in your ears, making you almost jump in fright and causing your head to spin.
HONK-HONK! HONK-HONK!!!! HONK-HONK! HONK-HONK!!!! HONK-HONK! HONK-HONK!!!!
It doesn’t stop, a cacophony attacking your ears. It’s like the cars are united in a concert attack against you.
Before your ears start bleeding, you decide to check the origin of the sound.
You can’t help but look in awe when you see it.
A bunch of cars are all stuck together in a car jam. More cars than can even fit in this town. All stuck together on this one street.
Right in the back, you see a dog riding a small car doing donuts.
Undyne chases it, lifting and throwing cars around with her herculean strength. All in the efforts to catch it.
“NGHAAAAAAAAA!!! COME, YOU STUPID DOG!!! I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHY I’M THE PROTECTOR OF THIS TOWN!!!!”
The dog hides behind a car.
Undyne suplexes it to the ground.
“NO MORE CHEAP, LAZY DIVERSIONS! NO MORE MEDDLING CANINES! GET HERE SO YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE KENNEL!!!”
You and Kris both look at the total chaos in front of the library.
At the image of Undyne suplexing a car.
And then you start chuckling “Heheheheh…” It starts small. “Hahahahahahahaha!” But it quickly turns into full-fledged laughter.
“Heh heh…”
As quickly as it comes, you hear Kris laughing inside your thoughts.
It’s the first time you've heard him laugh.
That makes you happy.
Maybe in laughter, you can find how to cooperate.
There’s even a man inside one of the cars. He laughs together with you.
He looks proud.
Proud of you.
…
…!
…?
There’s no man there.
But I could swear…
“Now you know what I find funny.”
And it’s only the first of the things I will find out about you!
You can almost feel Kris smiling from within.
You too feel happy, despite the strange situation you are in.
With a smile on your face, you walk inside the “Librarby”.
…
I stay for a moment.
I turn back to the car jam, searching for him…
And yet there's no sign of that Man back there.
I guess I don't need to worry about that now.
I enter the library.
*
The smell of paper is the first thing you feel, as the green walls of the library assault your eyes.
It looks the same as yesterday’s. Same books, same chairs, same stands.
Just empty. Without the people walking around and the chatter.
You see Susie standing inside. She looks impatient. She walks around, picks up books, trying to read them…
Just to immediately throw them back with a face of displeasure.
You chuckle at her usual antics. “You’re only supposed to throw them away AFTER you read them, Susie!”
“I read enough,” Susie grumbles. “And by enough, I mean the cover. People say to not judge a book by its cover, but well, I always do the opposite of what people tell me.”
She turns towards you with a smirk. “But look who finally got here! Took your sweet time, huh?”
“Just taking my time to listen to the complete mess happening outside!” Your eyes gain stars in them. “Did you see how far Undyne threw those cars?!”
“Undyne… You mean that cop?” Susie grimaces. “Yeah, I would rather stay here. She doesn’t like me very much.”
Your face falls. “S…Sorry…”
I thought Undyne’s antics would’ve hyped her up.
“Undyne wants to arrest her, remember? She’s looking for a purple girl wanted for Comic Mischief. That girl is Susie.”
Oh my God! You’re right! I just remembered! How could I forget?! Ahh, that was so insensitive of me!
“Don’t beat yourself up. Stuff like that happens.”
Kris's words make you feel a slight breeze of relief.
However, what truly bothers you wasn’t offending Susie. That made you sad, but it pales to the real reason.
It was the fact that your friend from this new world disliked your friend from the old world. It was another grim reminder that the life you led is gone.
That the world you spent your childhood in was gone. The bonds were gone.
You can’t unite your memories with this new life you lead.
You still couldn’t fully accept it.
Hey! Maybe in the future, I can get Undyne and Susie to befriend each other! They’re super similar, and I know they would be great friends if they got to know each other!
“Very optimistic.”
It’s nice to dream!
The hope for the future makes you smile.
That's what you cling to keep your resolve.
“Time to do the School. Goddamn. Project.” Susie sneers, her voice bringing you back to the living world.
Susie moves around, picking up the books in the bookshelves, turning their pages without even reading their titles, “Books. I. Sure. LOVE. Books! God. Damn. Books.”
She looks almost insane, eye twitching as she “reads” those books.
“Right! The project!” You nod firmly, following Susie towards the shelves. You pick up the books, following her lead and reading them. “This is very… educational! I am learning a lot about… a celebrity’s love life?”
You had no idea what to read.
But as you confusedly try to find anything that looks like school content, you start to realize something about the library.
It was still completely empty.
Shouldn’t at least Noelle and the blue bird be here? Even with the car jam, this emptiness is freaking me out!
It was starting to bother you.
“Hey Susie, is it just me or... where’s everyone?” You voice those thoughts to your friend, putting your books back. “Shouldn’t there be at least an employee or janitor around?”
Susie turns around, dropping the books onto the floor, the pages scattering away, “Now that you mention it… Something does feel off…”
She looks around, but as she sees another book on the floor she whines in frustration, “Screw it let's just go play Space Pinball in the computer lab.”
Immediately running to the door where Kris’ bluebird friend walked in yesterday.
She opens it with one strong swing.
You gulp. “(Just because it’s empty doesn’t mean we should skip our project…)”
Sighing, you move in to follow Susie.
Until you notice she still hasn’t entered. She just stands there, looking at the doorway.
You follow where she is looking, and your brown eyes widen when you see the inside of the lab.
Instead of a computer lab that is home for gamers all across Hometown, there’s only darkness inside.
Darkness that grows dark, darker, yet darker. The shadows cutting deeper.
You feel the same sensation you felt yesterday in your SOUL. The sensation of something calling you. The same sensation you felt when you looked at the closet.
A faint spark of gold shines in your eyes as you look into the living darkness.
Susie’s eyes widen as she observes the darkness. “Hey, isn’t this just like… yesterday?” She says what you were thinking. She turns back to you. “You don’t think this would be… another… Dark World.”
It almost feels like the dark is calling out to you.
I guess my journey isn’t over, huh?
“It’s never over. Just another day.”
You walk towards the door, resolution filling your SOUL. Purpose.
The darkness is why you came to this world, after all.
You stand beside Susie.
She smiles in return, “Well. Guess that means we can’t start our project.” She nudges you, “…Unless.”
“It's your job to seal those fountains, right?”
Kris' thoughts echo in your mind. You hold your hand to your chest, where your SOUL is.
It beckons towards the darkness.
“I am the only one who can seal those fountains. It wouldn’t feel right to ignore this to do a school project.” You mockingly glare at Susie. “But we ARE going to do it after this, okay?!”
Susie rolls her eyes. “Sure we will…” She focuses on the darkness. “What we are going to do is the RIGHT thing, Kris!” Susie walks up to the darkness, looking down below. “Our last adventure was great, right?! I couldn't stop thinking about having another! I don't know what's in there, but…”
She looks absolutely excited to hop into another adventure. “We can't live if we don't find out, right!?” You can see the sheer happiness in her eyes.
It infects you, making you excited.
I wonder what friends we’re going to make down there!
“I wonder what enemies we will face.”
Think positively!
Susie grabs your arm and jumps down below with you, “C’mon, Kris!”
Entering a new adventure.
*
The darkness fills you once more. You feel light once again. The clothes of reality dissipate, replaced by the clothes of Kris’ dreams. The vision of our minds. Skin turning blue.
The same happens to Susie, becoming the version she couldn’t be in reality.
You both arrive at a brand new dream.
In the sky, one small card, filled with letters, flies out of your inventory. Going deeper into the darkness.
You don’t notice this.
You stand back up, wearing Kris’ knight armor with your cape hanging from your neck.
Susie stands back up, with her bracelets and belts.
You are standing on a smooth green floor, the smell of electricity and machinery filling your nose.
Susie walks around the room, scratching her mane in confusion, “...This is new.”
You share her confusion, looking around the world you’re in. All these flickering lights coming from above, the humming of machinery…
Your mind briefly flashes back to another place you’ve been. The CORE.
“It looks really pretty! With all these lights!” You say with the wonder of a child. “Reminds me of a place I’ve been before. Except that was blue!”
“It’s a little too bright…” Susie grumbles, putting her arm over her eyes. “And I didn’t even know you left this town before.”
You look away. “Oh, um, I saw it in a video game! That’s what happened!”
Susie narrows her eyes, but doesn’t say anything.
“That was close.”
That’s because you’re a weirdo who never leaves your home! That’s the freaky part!
“Why would I leave to have to face this awful world?”
You shake your head, deciding not to continue the conversation. Instead, you focus on the world you’re in.
With wonder in your eyes, you follow all the lights in the sky. This place feels far brighter than Card Kingdom ever was, despite the darkness.
Despite the ever-constant dark sky.
In the corner of your eyes, you see it.
The light. The white light. The only light that truly matters. It is just a little ahead. Quietly, you march up to it.
You hold your hand in its warm glow, holding the world in place. And making it move once more.
You’re filled with the power of a new adventure.
Together with Susie, you move deeper into the darkness.
The air gets colder, yet colder as you move along. Wires hang in the ceiling, but their tips are frozen, mist falling from them.
You hadn’t noticed them before when you looked in the sky.
As you walk further in the Dark World, you come across its inhabitants. Some small, pinkish creatures with holes in their faces. They make you think of plugs when you see them.
However, they look… weird. They shiver in the low temperature, muttering something that is just low enough that you just can’t hear.
You feel uneasy as you walk forward. As if the coldness infected you and the atmosphere around you. As if it froze your wonder.
Susie feels the same, her steps are less confident.
The air starts getting so cold that you almost feel like you are back in the abyss. It takes effort to just walk, your bones feeling stiff as you try to move them.
Frost can be seen hanging in the air, and parts of the green floor seem to be frozen.
“Something happened. We must hurry.”
You start to speed up, and Susie follows you. Passing by more frozen wires, walking faster. Running in the cold, chilly wind.
Did someone turn up the freezer? I thought this place was a computer lab!?
“Or someone attacked here. We need to find out the truth.”
And stop the conflict!
You and Susie run until you start seeing a white shape shaking on the floor.
You cautiously approach it, seeing that it's not a shape, but a person.
A monster, to be precise. A reindeer female monster, wearing pure white tunics, looking almost angelic.
You recognize who she is.
Noelle? What is she doing here?! Did she get attacked by someone?!
“Must’ve fallen in the Dark World by accident. Be careful.”
I always am!
You approach Kris’ childhood friend. Her face is cast in shadow. She seems out of reality, muttering pleas for help.
You look at her with pity.
Poor Noelle, she must not be used to people trying to kill her.
“You must be gen—”
“Ah-TCHOO!!!” Susie sneezes because of the cold, making you almost jump out of fright.
So much for that.
The sudden sneeze seems to break Noelle out of her trance, and with it, the cold dissipates.
You raise an eyebrow at that, but say nothing.
“Susie?!” Noelle shouts Susie’s name as she gets up. A blush covers her face when she looks at her, together with her nose faintly glowing red, “It’s cool that you are here, it’s just…”
Susie's eyes widen as she finally recognizes the reindeer. “Noelle? What the hell are you-”
The humming sound of machinery cuts Susie off. It slowly gets louder and louder, as if it were getting closer.
Noelle’s face twists into sheer panic. She holds a hand forward. “Wait, get out of here before it's too late!”
A flying cage snatches Noelle before she can even move, dragging her forward at incredible speeds as she screams in terror.
“NOELLE!” Susie screams, trying to follow the poor kidnapped girl.
You stare at it wide-eyed, not believing what happened.
“What are you doing? Follow her!”
R-Right!
You follow Susie, running towards where Noelle went. Your hair flows in the cold air of machines.
Laughter stops you from running. Laughter that comes from everywhere, as if the world itself were laughing at you.
Susie stops in her tracks as the laughter continues. It’s a feminine, regal laughter, yet… It feels somewhat robotic.
You hear the sound of turbines, and a blue chair with a crown on top emerges from the darkness. A tall blue female figure sits on it, the source of the laughter.
She is similar to Lancer and his father, but her skin is metallic, as if she were a robot. Her head is oval-shaped, and she has visors where her eyes should be, making them look like computer screens.
She carries a cup filled with a strange green substance.
You feel as if you have seen her before somewhere, but your mind cannot recall where.
“Enter: Your Most Glamorous And Luxurious Queen (Me)” She speaks, her voice sounding like various female text-to-speech programs stitched together, fused into one, split again, and then thrown in sulfuric battery acid just to say one word.
Susie points towards the strange computer-generated creature standing in front of you two, “Who the hell are you?!”
“Didn’t I Just Say I Was Your Glamorous Queen?” Her visors show a question mark, “Perhaps Your Lowly Life Form Only Knows Me As My Serial Number: Q5U4EX7YY2E9N”
Both you and Susie look confused at the random numbers that this “Queen” said.
Susie, in particular, looks even angrier. “Q5U—Queen, I don’t care about your name! I want to know who the HELL are you?!”
“Well Now That’s Confusing And Rude (Frowning Face)” Queen pouts. “What Do You Even Want Me To Say, Bro?”
“I think what my friend wanted to ask was…” You clear your throat, “Why are you a, um, computer person? Why are you here? Why did you take Noelle? Those types of questions.”
“Oh I See You Children Want My Sales Pitch” Queen gestures with her hand, and green screens appear out of nowhere in the sky, depicting various scenes. “My Only Objective Is To Harness The Strongest Power A Lightner Has”
A funny cat video starts playing on the screen, “Memes”
What?
“...What?”
You and Susie eye each other. Susie makes a cuckoo crazy motion, causing you to giggle.
“I Can Tell By Your Faces And Your Lack Of Attention Your Brains Cannot Compute My Wonderful Plan” She starts laughing again, holding her hand to the side of her face, “It’s Only Natural After All All You Lightners Are Slaved By Your Memes”
Pictures of both man and monsters interacting with each other play on the screens. They all seem to be acting the same way. As if they were following orders or a trend.
Then a picture of a blue computer plays right in the middle, arrows pointing to each Lightner from it.
“Me And My Kin Propagate Your Memes”
A picture of Noelle appears.
A picture of Noelle with a really badly drawn robot face appears beside hers.
“That’s Why I Need Dear Sweet Noelle To Be My Willing Peon”
The picture of regular Noelle breaks apart into millions of pixels, causing the world itself to lag.
“She Will Break Away From Her Memes To Help Me In: Global Domination (Plus The Robot Face Is Cool)”
The robot Noelle is joined by Queen, standing by the top of all the Lightners, telling them what to do and say. They both laugh together.
“That Was My Sales Pitch”
She turns back to you two, standing there dumbfounded at what the hell she just said.
“Don’t Forget To Rate It Five Stars And Share It With All Your Friends”
“What. The. FUCK. Was THAT?!” Susie yells indignantly, eyes going wide. She twitches, almost looking like she wants to rip off her mane, “Memes, slavery, wanting to turn Noelle into a ROBOT?! What do you expect us to do, JOIN YOU?”
Queen’s visor displays a bright red ‘yes’. “Yes” She says.
Susie looks even angrier, looking like she is going to blow someone up.
“Yeah, we’re not becoming robots, nor are we joining your memes!” You pick up your sword and point it at her. “I prefer ironing my sword here than being a robot!”
“Our sword is not even made of metal, but wood.”
Shut up, it was funny!
Queen looks at you weirdly. “Not Funny. Didn’t Laugh” She sighs, looking disappointed. “Well That’s Disappointing But Predictable (Internal Analysis Said It Had A 90% Chance Of Failing)”
Wires come out of the ceiling, hovering around Queen. Electricity cracking from within, “You Are Still Bound By Lightner’s Memes. Perhaps You Can Rethink This With The Sales Pitch: ‘The Hard Way’”
The wires start approaching you and Susie, the electricity makes your hair spark.
“Running Program: TheHardWay.EXE”
You hold your stance as Susie starts smirking, “Finally, ACTIONS, FIGHTING!” Susie cheers. “And not some STUPID word salad!”
“Negative Assumption: I Am Not Fighting You (I Have Far Better Programs To Run Myself)”
The wires move to your and Susie’s backs. Toward two of the little pink whimpering creatures.
They plug themselves to their faces, transforming their little bodies into tall, multicolored creatures with gigantic legs and gigantic arms.
“Enjoy: Your Assimilation (I Would Have Used Cages But I Ran Out)”
You and Susie turn around towards your new enemies.
Susie summons the Devilsknife, it glows with its unholy aura, giving Susie a fiery aura of her own. “I DON’T CARE! FIGHT!! FIGH—”
Queen suddenly stops her chair, eyeing the clown’s scythe, “Wait A Single (One) Second” Her visor shows a question mark, “Is That You Jevil?”
The Scythe jumps out of Susie’s hand, flying around in the sky, “HERE WE ARE. THE NEXT GAME, THE NEXT LEVEL. UEE HEE HEE!”
“Ok Cool Long Time No See” The chair starts flying away with Queen, “Nice To See You Again, Ok Bye”
You chuckle a little bit, even if it wasn’t funny. It was more like you were in a fever dream back there.
The Devilsknife flies back into Susie’s hand.
The multicolored creatures charge up with electricity, lightning coming out of their hands.
They fire bursts of lightning at you and Susie.
You jump out of their way. You run, duck, and dodge, but they are extremely fast. They graze your arm and make you hiss in pain.
“Focus.”
I don’t need your commentary when fighting!
Yet, you still try to focus. You focus on where the lightning will be to dodge it. You focus on seeing the future.
Your eyes gain a white outline. You see a phantom lightning striking where you are.
You smirk and jump to dodge the lightning bolt.
Just to be struck by a second one right where you jumped to.
You hiss in pain.
God! Lightning is too fast!
“No shit.”
Susie, together with Jevil’s power, can dodge them. The J-shaped tail wagging as the scythe counters the lightning bolts.
You give her a deadpan look.
That’s not far!
“You just need to get stronger.”
You continue jumping and dodging. Even though you can see where the lightning will land, it is still too fast to dodge conventionally, making you take unnecessary damage.
You really do need more power. Even with the boost from absorbing the fountain, that’s still not enough.
The old you wouldn’t be struggling with common mooks.
This can’t go on like this! I need to find some way to turn them off!!!
You look at the wires hanging from the ceiling, controlling these creatures like puppets.
(Maybe if I could just strike them hard enough, they would come out?)
You smirk, your eyes shining gold with confidence.
No better way to test that theory than to put it into practice.
You pick up your sword and run straight at the creatures as they are busy trying to hit Susie.
Eyes glowing gold with power, you jump high to strike—
“NO! That’s not how you spare a Werewire!”
Kris interferes, causing you to fall back to the ground with a thud. Missing.
Dude, if I just hit them hard enough, their wires should be loosened and—
“No, that won’t work, and if you hit it hard enough, it will-”
“Kris, LOOK OUT!” Your head turns to Susie as she warns you of a lightning bolt about to fry you into a roasted teenager.
Thankfully, one of the copies of the Devilsknife blocked it, redirecting it to the sky, “Pay attention, dude! And tell me what to do already!!!”
You nod towards Susie, eyes resolute.
See! Susie needs me! So stop trying to stop me! I’m not trying to kill anyone, just loosen the wire.
“There’s another—”
You move to strike them, ignoring Kris’ protests.
“(No no no! Blue Person with the Red Heart, press the breaks on your internal bike!)”
A voice shouts towards you, and you do what it says, stopping in your tracks.
A voice that came from your pocket. Your INVENTORY.
“(Lancer?! That’s you?!)” You whisper towards him, shocked.
The battle still rages outside. Thankfully, all the Werewires are too busy with Susie and her weapon to focus on you.
Giving you time to talk to your pocket.
“(Your favorite and only round bouncy boy!)”
“(You can talk?!)”
“(Oh! That was exactly what Lesser Dad said to me when we first met! Sadly he used his dadcrobacy to skeddle away from here!)”
You pick up your inventory and look inside it. Seeing the Jack of Spades running around it. It seems that it even took a bite of the chalk inside it. “(That’s his bad, more chalk for me!)”
“(Anyways, you are never going to beat those lame bad guys with this much internal fight of fights! Just do what I would do, sit back as you give your troops orders, enjoying a nice reverse tan!)”
You put your inventory back in your pocket as Lancer’s words simmer in your head.
You look back at Susie fighting the multicolored creatures, the lightning emanating from them as she valiantly fights them off.
You think back at Kris, at how helpless it feels. How you keep ignoring his wishes.
An idea turns on in your head.
Well… How about I am the one who tells the party what to do in fights? How does that sound?
“Huh?!”
Look… I just give you suggestions on what to do, that way you can have the most freedom in this situation.
“That’s… not a bad idea.”
You look back at the Werewires, sweat running down your face.
I have no idea what to do here.
“Of course you don’t. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, your idea wouldn’t work.”
What am I supposed to do, then? I’m the one supposed to ACT, be the leader of the party! So I’m supposed to have the answers!
“Think, you already have them. Did you forget the power you used against King?”
Your mind flashes back to when you fought with King. When you awakened the power to see the very fabric of what makes an enemy.
When you awakened my power. The power to CHECK.
Once you awaken something, it will forever be with you.
Right! I can CHECK. I am sure that will reveal a weakness!
You focus and look at the Werewires. You observe them, looking right inside them. In the darkness that makes them.
Your eyes gain a white outline as you do. You look deep into them, and…
WEREWIRE - ATK 8 DEF 7
ELEMENT: ELEC.
LIKE: SHOCK THERAPY.
DISLIKE: EMOTIONAL THERAPY.
Controlled by the Queen's wire, it's sleepwalking through a nightmare!
… Or so I thought. It doesn’t seem to mind as it’s cooler and stronger now. We've got to snap them out of this delusion!
Their wires are their weak spot. It doesn’t seem Queen connected them very well. If we strike it at certain spots, the wires will fall off!
That’s the key!
You CHECK.
I know what to do! We have to strike the wires!
“...Seriously?”
Not in the way you think. We have to strike the floating wires, not the actual Werewire.
“I think I understand.”
We have to strike at a certain spot to loosen them!
Kris runs towards Susie, “Susie, we have to strike the wires! Throw me on them, I know what to do.”
“FINALLY!” Susie cheers. “I was already getting impatient!” She throws the Devilsknife away, who flies towards the creatures, circling around them as it laughs.
Distracting them.
Susie grabs Kris's body with her strong hand as the human prepares his sword.
Kris, you have to aim left, then up! That’s where the weak spot is.
“Susie, aim to the left and up.” She complies, aiming the human at a clear shot towards the wires. “Now!” She fires the blue human like a rocket.
His hair flowing in the air, red eyes shining as he becomes a living bullet.
Now!
He slashes the wires away at your command. It loosens them enough so the plugs are off, freeing the little creatures.
Who jumps in the air and turns into… sparkles.
Why sparkles?
Your brain hurts in confusion as Kris slides back onto the floor.
A win is a win.
“Woo, we WON!” Susie runs up to you as she unsummons Jevil, slapping your shoulder, “Feels nice fighting back again after so long!”
You smile as you dust your body, “Yeah! Continuing our win-streak!”
Even if I… forgot my own powers…
“It happens.”
A loud sound comes from behind you, startling you out of your thoughts.
Susie’s eyes widen as you turn around and see.
So. Many. Werewires. There are at least half a dozen of them.
You suddenly remember that Queen had way more than just two wires, and that there were far more than two plugboys in your way here.
You gulp. “Maybe I said that too soon.”
You hold your sword, preparing to fight them off. Susie enters a battle stance as well, sneering.
The Werewires take one step towards you.
Then they all glow blue, suddenly falling asleep. Right afterwards, they disappear in the same bright sparkles from before.
You lower your guard. “What?!”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought!” Susie yells. “Run away, weaklings!!!”
“There’s no need to be rude, Susie.” A voice says behind the sparkles. A voice that’s become very familiar to you. “They’re just taking a nap.”
You can see a figure behind the sparkles. A figure with a very familiar shape. The figure walks through the sparkles, hands behind his back like a true prince.
For a moment, your heartbeat increases.
Because you see another in the place of the figure.
The sparkles disappear, revealing Ralsei behind them, still without his hat.
Your heartbeat decreases, as confusion replaces it.
“Hello, everyone!” He greets you and Susie, waving at you both.
Ralsei?! What’s he doing here?!
“Would be weird if he wasn’t here. Prince of the prophecy and all.”
But how is he here?! And who's going to take care of Castle Town?!
"Its people, of course."
“Ralsei?! You are here?! How did you beat all these guys so quickly?!” Susie throws a full questionnaire towards Ralsei, saying what you were thinking. “How did you even GET here?!”
“Susie, slow down!” He holds his fluffy hands in front of him, looking overwhelmed, “These enemies were really tired, so I just used my Pacify spell to put them into 'Sleep Mode’”
I did check that they were sleepwalking through a nightmare… I just didn’t think it was literal!
“Fair mistake, ever since yesterday I've been in that state.”
Hey! You’re the one who wants ME to take charge.
“Exactly.”
You roll your eyes at Kris’ antics.
“And why and how am I here?” Ralsei looks sheepish. “Well… I just felt a dark presence and hurried over! It’s that simple.”
“You… walked over here?!” You eye him weirdly. “You can do that?”
Ralsei looks sheepish. “Don’t think too hard about it.”
“I am not going to think about it all, heh.” Susie gloats, then her eyes go wide. “Wait, Ralsei, I just remembered! Some hipster-sounding computer took Noelle!” Susie clenches her fists. “I knew Noelle was onto us. I knew she could’ve ended up in the Dark World and I STILL let her be captured!”
Susie looks distressed, as if she just broke someone’s trust.
“Susie…” You give her a sympathetic look. “You don’t need to be sad. You did the best you could, and that’s what matters! Plus, I’m sure we will save Noelle!”
Susie looks at you, your words uplifting her slightly.
“Worry not, Susie!” Ralsei looks strangely calm. “All we have to do is seal the Fountain!”
You glance at him weirdly. “Yeah, we sell the fountain and stop that weird Queen!” You give Susie a radiant smile.
“Heh, let’s go kick some Queen ass, then!” Susie gloats, her spirit returning. “Always wanted to say that.”
“Wait, before we go do that…” You look at Ralsei. “Ralsei, do you know why all those Darkners turned into sparkles?”
Ralsei’s eyes go wide, “Right… You didn’t read my new manual...”
He clears his throat as he glows with magic, projecting figures of my Castle Town and Lancer’s Card Kingdom. “Back in Lancer’s Kingdom, our fountains were interconnected, meaning that every Darkner part of it was also part of our town. You could bring everyone from there to Castle Town with no problem, since they absorbed the WILL of the Grand Fountain via osmosis.”
Lancer’s kingdom disappears, being replaced by the face of Queen with a big X between it and the town.
“Now, this Cyber World isn’t connected at all to the town. Meaning this fountain is incompatible with the Grand Fountain, and they are doomed to stay here. But worry not, there’s a way to solve this! Each time you spare an enemy—like those Werewires—they become part of your WILL. They become 'Recruits.'
Ralsei shows a picture of a red heart replacing the giant “X”, connecting the two squares.
“Using our group as a link, we can connect them to our town. Then, they will be compatible with the Grand Fountain just like Card Kingdom was. All thanks to you, Kris.”
The pictures change to Susie sending an ax to an enemy, causing it to run away in panic.
“Now, on the other hand—because of our nature—we can’t die to regular attacks, however-”
Your eyes went wide together with Susie’s, who was half listening the whole time.
“Wait, repeat that last part. You can’t DIE?” Susie shouts in disbelief.
This is a very rare moment where your thoughts completely align with Susie’s.
You saw Ralsei disappear in the fight against Jevil with your own eyes.
So he wasn’t dead back then?
You feel a sense of relief flood your SOUL.
I’m so glad.
“Even if that timeline was left forever.”
I don’t want my friends to die in ANY timeline!”
Ralsei looks nervous, “Err… yes. Not to normal attacks, at least.”
“But Lancer’s dad—that stupid King—tried to KILL him?! Why would he do that if you guys can’t DIE?!” Susie looks completely out of it.
Ralsei’s eyes go wide with surprise, “Um… He was just bluffing. I thought you guys knew that.”
Susie’s eyes go wide, and she starts to mumble to herself in shock.
You can’t believe it either. “(That would’ve been good to know, Ralsei…)” You mumble.
“(Hohoho! Of course dad was bluffing, I even told you guys to not listen to him!)” Lancer says.
“(No need to add insult to injury, Lancer.)” You reply.
“Anyways…” He brings back the aforementioned Susie picture, “Since we can’t die to normal attacks like those… When you strike with intent to kill, a Darkner will instead run away from its attacker, becoming LOST. A lost Darkner cannot and never will fit with your own WILL; even if you bring its real world equivalent, it will not join us back in your town.”
So that's why you stopped me there, you were worried I would've made that Darkner be lost forever.
“Exactly. I knew you would hate losing a potential friend.”
Teehee, you know me so well.
A picture of Kris and Susie getting stronger appears. “Instead, that broken bond will make you stronger, compensating for the lost recruit.”
Getting stronger. Breaking bonds. For some reason, this feels very familiar to you.
You shiver in the cold.
“Any questions?” Ralsei asks
“Enough with this nerdy CRAP!” Susie smirks. “Let’s just go and save Noelle already!”
Susie starts to pose, pumping a fist in front of her face.
Before you can do anything, Kris stands beside Susie, crossing his arms and looking to the side like a loner.
Feeling awkward, Ralsei simply tries to hug the air.
What are we doing???
Posing. Obviously.
“Ok, NOW we can go save Noelle. For REAL!!!” The purple dragon runs off to where Queen went, leaving you and Ralsei all alone.
The goat looks at your worried expression, walking closer and holding your shoulder, “Hey, don’t worry about breaking bonds. I trust with all my heart that you will do the right thing. We will bring many friends to our town!”
Then, he walks off to where Susie went.
“What Ralsei said. I trust you, too, surprisingly. I know back there, you didn't actually want to make that Werewire LOST. It’s not in your character.”
Kris tries to cheer you up, but it doesn’t fully work.
How can you trust yourself if you don’t even know who you are?
Did you really want to fight that Darkner just because you thought it was the right move?
Or was it because you wanted more power, to find control of your life?
With no answer to these questions, you walk further into the Cyber World, steps uncertain.
Notes:
My co-writer didn't have the time to add a drawing for Werewire this upload, but rest assured, it will be added eventually! Probably.
Chapter 21: Chapter 2: A Cyber's World
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
A new world stretches across the horizon. With the air smelling of ozone and green covering every corner of your eyes, you march on in this brand-new world of technology. The future is in your hands.
Chapter Text
“There, kitty…” You smile as the cat purrs in your hand. The giant blue and white cat that stands at your height. “Stay… everything is alright… I’m here…” The cat with skin made of metal.
Yet, you can’t resist petting this cat. It makes your very soul glow with happiness.
And the cat glows, too! It glows white, and then it disappears.
Being recruited.
“Good job, Kris!” Ralsei claps his hands and smiles at you. “You recruited that enemy in record time!”
“I wouldn’t say record time…” Susie grumbles. “You could’ve wasted less time petting that giant cat!”
“But it’s so cute and fluffy!” You look at Susie with stars in your eyes. “I am sure if you petted one, your gruff exterior would melt in pure fluffiness!”
Susie rolls her eyes at your antics. “Let’s just move on…”
With that, your party guards their weapons and moves forward through the field.
You stay behind for a moment, however. You saw something very important.
The light that shines in the dark. The light that reassures you, always.
You walk closer to it. You hold your hand towards it, bathing yourself in its warmth and holding the world in place.
You’re filled with the power of metal fluffy cats.
Yet, that’s not all you do. That’s not all you can do, and you know it.
You focus your thoughts on the enemies you’ve faced.
And with that focus, a list of your recruits appears.
TASQUE - ATK 8 DEF 6
ELEMENT: CAT:ELEC.
LIKE: CAT FOOD.
DISLIKE: CAT FOOD.
This stray cat is in need of some management. And by management, I mean you have to pet it a lot! If you do so, it will love you!
Thankfully, I love petting cute animals!
“There we go. We successfully recruited ‘Tasque’ to our town.”
And just like I told Susie, we had to pet it a lot to convince it to join us!
“You do know that’s you saying that, correct? Those notes are yours, not an objective view.”
You hurt me by saying I’m not objective! You aren’t the one who has a degree in petting cute animals! Once, I pet a dog so hard its neck went to the sky! Take that!
“... Let’s just move on.”
After you had spared the Werewire, you had backtracked to SAVE your progress. There, you saw that the light recorded your RECRUITS and your CHECK notes.
The power of the GRAND FOUNTAIN awakened this ability that lay dormant in your SOUL. With this new path unlocked, you used it to record the Darkners you had recruited to my town, and to see how many there were left.
Alright! But just because I can’t sense any new recruits in the Cyber Field!
The Cyber Field. The green field of metal and wires expands far above into a wireframe covering the sky, going all the way to a gigantic megalopolis in the distance. That’s where you and your party have been exploring after confronting Queen.
You fought every enemy you saw, intending to recruit them to my town. However, things didn’t end as easily as you'd planned.
Despite the agreement you made with Kris, it was still hard to coordinate things with him. Sometimes you wanted to ACT, causing you to walk over his wishes. Other times, you didn’t know what to do, so he told you what to do. That, however, made you feel useless.
You were a SOUL without a body, yet you wanted to do things only a body could do.
Kris was a body without a SOUL, yet wanted to do things a body didn’t need to do.
You could watch and focus on things your eyes couldn’t see, but your essence could. You could feel more, be more. You could even abandon the body you were in to see another, like you did with Susie in Card Castle.
Kris knew things you had no way of knowing. How the Dark World worked, how to SPARE certain Darkners even before you did. Where to go.
You both had special skills, yet you didn’t know how to coordinate them with each other. If you did, you would be unbeatable.
Alas, this incompatibility is where we stand currently.
“Wait. Stop.”
What happened?
“Listen.”
You do as the human says, and stop. You close your eyes and listen. Beyond the humming of machinery, you hear it.
Faint music is coming your way.
Music that you know.
“Guys, stop!” You yell at Susie and Ralsei. They do so, turning around to face you. “They’re back!”
Ralsei becomes alert, getting into a battle pose.
Susie loudly groans. “Are you kidding me!? Again?!?!”
“Get ready.” Kris curtly says as he picks up his sword.
The faint music starts to get louder and louder. So loud that you can finally hear it properly. It rings in your ears, making you gulp.
“It’s them.”
They really don’t know when to give up!
They arrive. Riding on a ship that is actually a floating DJ mixer, three humanoid CD players arrive at the scene.
A tall, green CD player.
A smaller one with a mono-eye
And one with cool sunglasses.
They are your enemies. They’re the reason you can’t stand in one place in the field. They chase you no matter where you go, ready to take your life.
Even if you have no idea why they’re doing so.
“Down with Queen, down with MEMES!”
“Nobody is going to stop our MUSIC!”
“I love this song!”
“I already told you guys, we’re against—” You try to say, but before you can even finish, they throw musical bombs at you.
Kris brings up his shield and blocks them.
“I already know what you’re going to say!” The mono-eye one says.
“That you’re against us!” The one with the sunglasses says.
“Only we can be against us!” The green and tall one says.
“GODDAMMIT, YOU GUYS MUST BE STUPID OR SOMETHING!” Susie re-summons the Devilsknife, her face in fury.
More bombs fall as she swings, copies of the scythe exploding them mid-air. “Stop attacking us, dammit!”
“See, I told you guys they were with Queen! Only rude people are with Queen!”
“They are trying to stop our mojo!”
“The explosions go with the song!”
“Look, we aren’t with Queen…” Ralsei tries to say, but… “We’re the heroes who will—”
Magical musical bombs cut him down.
“That’s exactly what someone with Queen would SAY!”
“We aren’t falling for such a cheap trick.”
“We are the RESISTANCE, resisting against YOU!”
Ralsei just sighs, focusing on the battle. He summons a flurry of enemy pellets to fight back against the bombs.
Enemy pellets strike the bombs, but more still keep dropping.
Even with Susie’s help, they don’t stop coming.
Kris grunts, blocking them with his shield. His red eyes scan the area.
“We have to run yet again.”
I am already finding the best path, give me a second!
You focus outward, trying to see the best path to escape. You look not with your eyes, but with your very SOUL. You look, seeing the world from a bird’s eye view.
This is the power only you can use. Thanks to being a creature like me, you can be beyond any mortal boundaries.
And it’s that power that lets you see an exit from the attack.
You open your eyes, shining gold with resolve.
I got it! You have to go over there!
Kris nods plainly, and he then gestures towards the rest of the party. “Here.”
They perk up and follow him towards a nearby cliff.
Kris jumps down without fear, landing on a conveyor belt down below.
Susie follows you, rolling due to the sudden speed increase.
Ralsei lands on his face, getting up quickly to follow you.
Little plug guys manage the conveyors, carrying various items to be sold later. Kris passes through them with no care, dropping them.
They crash and break, forever lost.
“(Hey! Watch where you’re going! Those are worth more than your entire—)”
Susie drops the remaining ones on purpose.
“(For the love of—)”
They get cut off by the musical bombs blowing them to the aether.
I would be worried if they could die… Now, go left!
Kris skids to a halt, then jumps off the conveyor, going left.
“If you guys are the resistance, why are you blowing up your OWN PEOPLE?!” Susie says as she follows Kris.
“They are with Queen as well!”
“We saw her plug them!”
“And then they fought FOR her!”
Susie groans in disbelief, throwing her scythe to block an explosion that came dangerously close to blasting Ralsei.
“Thanks, Susie!” Ralsei gives Susie a thumbs up. He then looks at the rebels. “Do you guys really think someone evil would save her friend?”
“Yes!” The three of them yell at the same time.
“Evil people always save their comrades. It’s part of the contract!”
“Even bad guys have standards!”
“How can you be evil if you’re alone?”
“(Hoho! As someone with a degree in badiology, they’re right!)” Lancer says in your pocket.
“(I guess if anyone would know about bad guys, it would be you, Lancer.)” You murmur to him.
“No time for that. Where next?”
That screw! I think if you jump on that, those weirdos will finally get off our tail!
Kris jumps on the screw, landing inside a teacup. Ralsei and Susie follow him, jumping on the other two teacups on the screw. As if activating a mechanism, the screw rises towards the skies at an incredible velocity.
The “#RESISTANCE” follows the party with their ship, yet you can tell they’re struggling to catch up. In desperation, they decide to launch musical notes directly at the Lancer Fun Squad at the speed of sound.
Kris picks up his spooky sword and slices the music note in two. He continues slicing them, moving like a blur.
Attracting the attention of your enemies.
Giving Susie the room to launch a Rude Buster towards them, striking at their ship and causing them to fall back to the ground.
“Ah! The beat! The rhythm!”
“It’s all gone!”
“We’re going to fall!”
Getting them finally off your tail.
“UEE HEE HEE, WHY DO THE CONSTANT RHYTHM, WHEN YOU CAN IMMERSED BY THE CHAOS, CHAOS???”
“Yeah! Don’t be sore losers! You just lost to the best!” Susie cheers, leaning on her teacup. “Finally got those idiots off our tail.”
“Um… Susie… I think it’s a little bit too early to celebrate.” Ralsei points upwards.
You and Susie follow where he is pointing, your golden eyes widening when you finally see it.
A giant screw standing right above you. The teacups you’re riding on continue to ascend, giving you a straight course to being crushed.
“EVERYONE, JUMP! NOW!” You jump off the teacup, falling on a nearby edge. You take a big breath, your life flashing through your eyes.
Ralsei and Susie follow you, landing on your side. Ralsei cleans himself up, while Susie stands up and growls.
Right behind you, the two screws connect, crushing the teacups into paste.
“Holy crap… That was close!” Susie wipes sweat off her brow. “I don’t want to be turned into Susie paste!”
“(Hoho, now that was cool! I’ve never been on a teacup ride before! Do you always need to jump after it ends?)” Lancer says.
“(I don’t know. I’ve never been in one.)” You laugh without joy. “(Hopefully not.)”
“You took control away from me. Again.”
Kris’ thoughts come to your head as your eyes widen. They’re like darts, making your body prickle up.
(Crap, I had forgotten about him and our deal!)
You were just so in the moment that you just had to run.
Sorry dude, I just got too into the moment… Plus, if we had hesitated, we would’ve died, so I had to act!
“Even when we die, we can still LOAD. There’s no excuse.”
Dying hurts a ton! Don’t be callous! Just because we can SAVE, doesn’t mean your life isn’t precious!
“What is more important? Your life or your ideals? One will last forever, the other will end.
I really don’t understand what you say, dude…
With that, the inner conversation ends.
Susie fist-bumps your shoulder, re-taking your attention. “Man, how did you know the way to go, Kris?”
You start to sweat, “I… I… just… I…” Stuttering and gagging at your own words.
How will you explain that you aren’t actually Kris but some SOUL possessing him, and thus you can see things beyond his physical eyes?
What will be the excuse?
Or will you crumble and tell the truth?
“I… um… just had a, er, feeling.”
…
Well, that works.
*
After that hectic chase, things started to slow down for you and the rest of the Lancer Fun Squad. Enemies stopped jumping from the shadows to strike at your party, leaving it in relative peace.
They walk through the field, relaxed. Susie plays pranks on Ralsei, laughing at him. The prince is happy that Susie is happy.
For once, it feels like everyone is happy together.
Everyone except you, at least.
(What even is the truth anymore?)
Those times of peace let you ruminate on your thoughts.
(I can’t even work together with Kris. I keep walking over him. But why… why am I in this situation to begin with?)
Ruminate on failures.
(Why did I end up in that void? Why did I end up in Kris? Why couldn’t I just be a normal girl, like in my memories?)
Ruminate on what-ifs.
(Was that life I had even real? Or just a delusion made to cope with that hellish void? That abyss that was so cold, that I was losing…)
Ruminate on regrets.
(But that Man was real. He was just like me. He wanted to help me, but I ended up here instead. He wanted me to save the world; he still does. But…)
Ruminate on loss.
(Can I save the world I don’t belong in?)
Questions that you can’t answer.
Questions that your older self would never ask, too determined to even think about it.
Yet, those questions bounce in your head as you walk through the field.
Thoughts that you wanted to keep to yourself.
Thoughts that I listen to anyways.
“Queen’s ahead.”
Kris whispers in your mind, making you re-focused.
That’s when you hear it as well.
“Noelle Honey Become My Willing Peon And You Will Be Free From Everyone’s Memes. All You Have To Do Is Follow My Official World Domination Account”
“I-I’m scared…”
Two voices that you know are talking with each other in the next room.
And Noelle!
Putting your worries deep in the depths of your mind, you rush into the next room together with your party.
You quickly stop when you enter the room, raising an eyebrow. “Huh…?
Queen is trying to make Noelle play a video on a small device.
That’s not what I expected… I thought that there would be robots or something.
“Noelle Please You Need To Play The Video (Meme) So You Can Be My Peon It Is Symbolism”
“Get away from her!” Susie shouts, already preparing her scythe and filling it with magic. “And stop talking about freaking memes!”
“SUSIE?!” Noelle shouts, looking relieved.
“And K-Kris!” You greet her. “We are here to save you, Noelle!” You follow behind Susie, bringing your sword awkwardly.
Ralsei quickly catches up, waving at the captive doe. “And little old me, too!”
“Um, hi Kris?” She looks at you weirdly.
“I would never act like this. Noelle knows that.”
You gulp, feeling Kris’ glaring at the back of your head.
S…Sorry. Sorry! You can take over.
“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”
O…Ok? So what do you want me to do?
No response.
We can’t keep going like this!
“We won’t let her make you a robot that preaches about memes all day, Noelle!” Susie’s yellow eyes show sheer resolve, and bring your attention back to the situation.
Noelle's eyes go wide, face in shock, “SHE IS GOING TO MAKE ME INTO A WHAT?!”
You can almost hear a pin drop in the air.
“Whoops, I thought you knew that.” Susie looks awkward.
Queen pouts, it looks extremely weird in her huge face, “Susie You Are Supposed to Put A Spoiler Tag On That” Queen’s visor shows spoiler tags. “Oh Well”
She waves her arm, and Noelle’s prison capsule flies off into the sky, in the direction of the huge city.
Susie and Ralsei try to catch up, but it’s just too fast.
“What A Shame. Only With Her Own Memes Can She Become My Peon.” Queen loudly sighs in very mock sadness, “If Only She Could Inherit Memes From Other Peons”
She intensely looks in your direction, more specifically straight into you and Susie.
You two just side-eye one another.
I don’t get it, Kris.
"I do, but I am not telling you."
You pout, um, internally.
Rude!
“I See You Are Still Loading.”
Still silent. Ralsei awkwardly coughs to break the ice.
It fails.
“Look I Am Talking About You Guys”
“WE’RE NOT JOINING YOU!” Susie shouts at her
“Yeah, who do you think we are!?” You say, glaring at Queen, trying to look threatening.
You don’t. “I don’t even know what a maymay is after all this time.” You say with sheer honesty.
Both Susie and Ralsei look at you if you grew another head.
D…Did I say something wrong?
“Yes.”
…Will you tell me what it was?
“No.”
Queen shows an interrogation sign on her monitor. “How Can You Not Understand When You Practice It” She smiles. “This ‘Rebellion’ Is Your Meme. Perhaps You Can Inherit My Own”
Queen waves her hand…
And nothing happens.
“What Did You Expect A Huge Machine To Fall And Cause A Huge: Boom (Onomatopoeia)”
“(Hoho, that’s exactly what I expected)” Lancer whispers.
Sweat falls down your face because you also expected that.
But you wouldn’t tell anyone.
“Oh No I Will Change Your Minds With: VR (Virtual Reality)” Queen pulls out two headsets, tossing one to you and keeping the other.
You inspect it, but don’t see anything amiss. It’s a normal, green headset for all types of VR games.
Never liked VR games. The ads on TV always made it look too confusing for me.
“Ditto.”
“What are you planning?” Kris asks Queen as he gives the VR set to Susie.
“It Is A Virtual Combat Game” Queen responds. “It Is A Simulation For The Real Encounter Where I Shall Kick Your Butt (Ass)”
Susie picks it up, “So it’s like a real fight, but not?”
Queen nods as her visor reads, “Yes”.
Susie snorts, “Ha, then prepare to be beaten by ME, you overgrown toaster!” She puts the headset to her face, it emits a wire connecting itself to Susie’s heart.
Susie clenches her fists, “Ha, is this darkness part of the game? Do you think the dark scares me?”
“No To The First Question Yes To The Second” Queen holds her hands and laughs.
Even Ralsei quietly snickers.
He stops when Susie glares at him, even while hearing the headset.
“Your Soul Is Too Weak To Turn On The Game” Queen continues. “Meme Inheritance Completed: Initiating Victory Dance”
Queen squats and moves her arms to the side in rhythm. “Database Suggests This Dance Is The Ultimate Lightner Dance: OHOHOHOHO!”
You immediately feel intimidated by such raw skill.
That pose… that sheer skill…
“It’s perfection…”
Tears come out of your eyes, your very SOUL moved by such precise dancing.
Susie takes her headset off, looking at you weirdly. “It’s just a dance from that crappy popular video game…”
“Then…” You sniff, wiping your eyes. “They created the perfect dance.”
“Feel The Power Of The Meme Dances, Losers” Queen continues to dance.
Susie groans in despair.
“If I may suggest a solution,” Ralsei coughs in his hand, attracting everyone’s attention. “Why not let Kris try it out? A human SOUL is really powerful. And Kris is quite good at games as well!”
Ralsei hands the headset to you, while you simply raise an eyebrow at it.
You are?
“Yes, gaming is my life.”
… I never knew someone could sound this bored.
Queen stops dancing, “Oh What Is This A New Challenger Approaches?”
Queen grabs her own headset, puts it on her head…
BOOM! CRASH!!
Just for it to violently explode on her face.
Instead, she adjusts her own visor.
Y’know, for some reason, I thought she would actually need a headset.
“... Me too.”
Wow… I thought you were going to dunk on me for that one.
“Time To Get Rocked,” Queen's visor shows a rock. “I Am Quite Of A Gamer If I Don’t Say So Myself (Which I Do).”
You put the headset in Kris’ head, and it emits a wire, connecting it to your SOUL.
You feel a brief shock, and then your vision changes.
The world becomes pixelated, as if you were inside a wireframe. A green featureless field stretches to the horizon, as if the entire world were it.
But the field isn’t the only thing in this world. Right in front of you stands a wireframe Queen with huge spikes on her head.
Wow… that actually looks really stylish.
You breathe in, preparing to fight. “Alright, guys, we can…”
You stop speaking when you look to your side, seeing…
A badly drawn pic of Susie and a goat. Not a monster goat. Just a regular goat.
It is bleating right now.
Your face falls.
“I Had No Data On Your Weird Goat Friend So I Just Took The Second Best Choice” The wireframe Queen laughs a bitcrushed version of her laugh.
She stops and looks at you intensely, “Wait" She leans towards you. "Kris Cross Applesauce You Look Different" She claps slowly. "I Give It 3.5 Stars”
Your digital eyes furrow in confusion, and you take a look at yourself. Your bitcrushed eyes widen when you do.
You are not wearing the knight armor that Kris usually wears. Instead, the purple and blue cape you had expanded into a complete tunic that covered your entire body, with a skin-tight black suit beneath it.
A shoulder pad covers the upper body. It feels like a mixture of being a knight and a magician, as if one wants to take over the other.
That’s your influence coming through.
You quickly look through your new digital look, surprise flowing through your very soul.
Kris, you look different!
“I can’t see what you mean. I only see darkness. The device is connected to you, not me.”
Oh, right! It’s just that our Dark World outfit changed, somehow!
“Since it’s connected to you, it’s taking more design choices from you than me.”
That’s the trigger that you need to connect everything.
This isn’t Kris in this false reality.
It’s you.
It’s the lost girl without a body, gained one by virtual reality. This is the body you tried making with that Man, who was discarded.
Still, it’s not fully you. Kris' influence leaks on, as your essences are still mixed together.
Yet, for a brief moment, you can experience true freedom.
“Just Because We Are In VR (Virtual Reality) It Doesn’t Mean It’s Time To Fantasize: Time To Punch Out, Loser!”
Queen moves in faster than you can process, punching you straight in the face.
Somehow, even though it’s a video game, you take damage.
Queen looks smug. “BTW (By The Way) I Forgot To Say That If You Die In The Game You Die In Real Life.”
You wipe your face, your frown turning into focus.
It’s time to game.
You get up and run towards Queen, not needing to send orders to anyone. You do it of your own will.
You feel a smile crossing your face.
You try to do a right hook, but she dodges, counterattacking with a kick.
You jump away, barely dodging her kick.
“Someone Is Very Feisty (I Like It)” Queen claps. “This Location Is Kinda Boring Let’s Spicy It Up”
Suddenly, the floor around you crumbles. A bottomless pit surrounds both your left and right sides.
You’re stuck on a bridge. A narrow bridge that swings with the wind.
Queen laughs. “Reality Can Be Whatever I Want (As Long As It’s Limited To Five Presets).”
The wind blowing on the bridge briefly knocks you out of balance. Queen takes that opportunity and kicks you in the head, making you almost fall down below.
You hold on to the bridge, dangling by dear life.
You shake your head, trying to get your head in the moment.
(Focus, Goner, Focus! There’s no one here except you! Only you can beat her!)
That thought brings an inexplicable smile to your face.
The smile of freedom.
You get up, rushing towards your enemy. Quickly, you feint a kick towards Queen. She falls to the bait, moving her head to dodge it and leaving her defenseless to a brutal right hook.
She screams “OH!” and falls off the bridge, falling to the ground below.
“Oh Bleep I Am Going To Go Splat” Queen claps her hands in a panic. The environment changes in a flash, the floor covered by a soft texture that feels like snow. Queen falls into it, softening her fall. “That’s Much Better (Thank You Presets)”
Queen gets up with a flip, “Why Don’t We Increase The Heat” Her chest opens, revealing flamethrowers inside. She aims them at the bridge you’re on, burning it and forcing you to fall below.
You land in the snow. “What the heck? Where did that come from?” You shout as you dodge the fire, still feeling the heat in your skin. “Since when do you have flamethrowers in your chest?”
“Oh Sweet Sweetie Poor Naive Little Child This Is a Game You Can Do Anything If You Imagine It (And Computers Have Lots Of Imagination)” Queen’s flamethrower burns the snow around you, as she laughs.
Yet, this move leaves Queen extremely open.
(I can do anything as long as I have enough imagination?)
You look at your hands, thinking of a way to counter the fire.
(I can do anything in this world?)
You think back on your past weapons. You think back on your memories of a world long forgotten.
A wooden staff, almost as tall as you, materializes in your hand.
You smile, a genuine smile that you felt was long forgotten.
(I can be the person I was in my memories!)
With confidence surging through your SOUL, you rush forward. You spin the staff in your hands as your eyes glow golden with power.
You create an air current with the staff, blowing the flames away. You walk through them fearlessly, striking Queen right in the face.
She turns off the flamethrowers.
“Ok That Wasn’t My Hottest Idea Time To Wash Up.” Queen claps, and the scenery changes again.
Cliffs and mountains surge forward, as the ground is taken over by water that reaches your knees.
Queen jumps high into the cliffs, picking up a huge boulder and throwing it towards you.
Then another.
And another.
“We Are King Kong In This Joint, Bro” She says as she delivers a rain of boulders towards you.
You move in to dodge them, but there are too many, and they graze your arms. You groan in pain, thinking about jumping up and facing Queen head-on.
(No, that wouldn’t work, I would be sniped by her long before I reach the top. Think, Goner, think! You have full freedom in this world!)
An idea pops into your head, based on your memories of the world that no longer is.
You hold tight to your staff, feeling power coursing through your soul. You direct that power to the tip of the staff, and then you fire it as if it were a bullet.
It reaches the boulder, and it explodes into a million pieces.
You smirk and continue firing at the boulders coming your way, not letting a single one hit you.
“Alright Time To: Step It Up” Queen clones herself in several copies, and each of them grabs a boulder of them on. “Time To End It All In One (Uno) Move”
She throws them all at once towards you.
You know you can’t shoot each individually. That would be impossible.
But… you can do something else.
You close your eyes and focus. You gather power at the tip of the staff. You gather as much power as you can.
For a moment, the staff almost looks like a torch.
Then you fire it. Like a wave, it consumes everything in its path. It destroys all the boulders, the cliffs, and the Queens on top of it.
Leaving nothing in return.
“Huff Puff…” You breathe in and out, winded from the energy wasted. “I… did—”
“You Fell For My: Imposter (Sus)” Queen’s voice shouts behind you, giving you chills. You try to turn around, but it’s too late.
She kicks you in the stomach. You wind up back in pain, kneeling over in pain.
Queen laughs. “Like Devilish Old Jevil Said: You Will Cry, And The Game Will Be Over”
“Yeah…” You smirk, despite the pain. You point the staff at Queen’s face. “For you.”
It’s glowing.
Queen’s face falls. “Oh Bleep—”
You fire it. You had charged up some energy in case this happened. You release it to the world.
Light covers the entire cybernetic wireframe. The figures of Susie and the realistic goat are blown away by it.
The light recedes, showing only the basic frame remains. No cliffs, water, or bridges. Just green as far as the eye can see.
You roll away to the floor, panting. Your whole body aches with pain. You were too close to the blast.
You slowly get up, feeling sheer resolve coursing through your veins.
It’s not over yet.
Queen gets up, sparks coming out of her body.
“Here We Are: The Final Destination, The Final Battle.” Sparks are coming out of her, she looks red. “Look I Am Hurting Like Heck So Let’s Just: Finish This”
You nod to Queen. Yet, despite the pain, you can’t help but smile.
It’s because it’s finally you who’s feeling the real pain. You can’t help but feel ecstatic.
It’s the happiness that freedom brings.
Queen slowly walks towards you, as you walk towards her.
Steps are slow, but firm.
Painful, but determined.
You two stand in front of each other, Queen dwarfing you.
You two stare at one another, golden eyes meeting a screen that shows artificial red.
You two move to strike, and then…
You punch the air.
But it’s not you, but Kris who punches the air.
You’re back in his body, the cybernetic false body long forgotten.
Huh?
You had almost forgotten you were playing a video game.
“Had fun being a gamer?”
But… I was going to… and my body… I…
Green magic flows through you, healing the wounds in your SOUL.
Yet, you don’t feel refreshed.
It comes from Ralsei, who is holding the VR headset. “Um, Kris, are you ok?” A worried frown on his fluffy face. “You were kinda punching the air and having convulsions for almost half an hour.”
He points to a sleeping Susie, “Susie even fell asleep once she realized there wasn’t going to be an epic fight.”
“Lancer fell asleep inside our inventory, too.”
“B…But my… I was….” You stutter, unable to process.
After all, you had just experienced a glimmer of freedom, just to be ripped away as fast as it came.
“Are you truly okay?”
I… I… I will get over it.
You shake your head, wiping your eyes. You won’t cry.
You can’t cry for things nobody else would.
Queen turns off her headset… which is actually just a setting in her own head.
She starts laughing. “[Regal Laughter]"
Her laughter is so loud that it wakes both Susie and Lancer, making the former jump in fright.
"Oh My That Was Actually Fun I Was So Into Your Memes That I Almost Forgot My Own” She walks closer to you and Ralsei as Susie quickly gets up with bed hair. “You Lifeform(s) Have Exceeded My Expectations.”
She turns away, “However Our Great (Virtual) Fight Had No Winner. There’s Only One Way This Can End: Join Me In The Warm Bosom Of My (Our) Memes.”
You blush, golden eyes widening. “...Bosom?”
Ralsei stutters while blushing, “B-Bosom?!”
Susie, still confused, says, “Memes?! AGAIN?!”
“(Hoho, I like the warmth!)” Lancer says.
“Bosom Means Tity And Memes Are Your Reactions” Queen says.
“WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!” Susie yells.
Kris raises his hand, “Actually, I didn’t know what memes were, remember?”
Clever… using my confusion for one of your clever responses.
“Thank you. I will be here for your whole life.”
Haha… that’s not funny.
Susie groans, face in her hands, “You know what I was talking about…”
Queen jumps in her chair, “Copy That Meme." She grabs a cup filled with acid. "You Obviously Want To: Set Preferences To Perish.”
Ralsei tries to plead with Queen, “Er… no, we don’t want to—"
Queen flies away in her chair, laughing in the meantime.
Ralsei's face falls. "—aaaaaaand she’s gone.”
Susie just yawns and sighs at the same time, “Let’s just go after her.”
And just like that, you and your party go after her.
Yet, for a moment, you look at your hands.
You can still remember the freedom you felt in that world.
But, sighing, you move forward.
There’s nothing to do except that.
Chapter 22: Chapter 2 - Part 5: When I Get Happy I Dance Like This
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
Well, I don’t do that when I get happy. It’s a general statement. Anyways! This is the obligatory dance party episode of any true adventure.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
After that intense gaming session with Queen, after feeling freedom itself in your hands… You and your party continued through the cybernetic green field that stretches over the horizon.
The cold, dry air of technology filled the air and your nose, firming you in reality.
The whispering of plug-like people talking about their lives, their world, reached through your ears, firming you to your goal.
The goal of finding Queen and saving Kris’ childhood friend, Noelle, from robotization.
And from her becoming a meme lord as well.
Everything is back to normal. Back in the same quest, with the same goal, walking through the same places.
Yet… you can still remember the freedom you felt in your very hands, in that virtual world.
That just feels like a distant fantasy, now.
(Focus ahead, Goner. You still need to fight more of Queen’s minions.)
You refocused. You had to forget that feeling of freedom.
You had to move on. You have to do your duty.
The duty only you can do.
Sealing the fountain.
This time, you hadn’t encountered the musical trio as you walked through the field.
But that didn’t mean there were no enemies left.
You could still sense more people. You could still sense more recruits that could come to my town.
You felt it coming from the north. You gestured to the party to follow you.
(These should be the final ones…)
It didn’t take much walking until you could see your recruits instead of just feeling for them.
Ahead, you and your party see some corrupted lifeforms terrorizing the population of this digital world.
They were shaped like multicolored triangles, and they fired arrows at the digital beings.
It seems like when those arrows touch something cybernetic, they corrupt it.
“(Someone, stop those fiends!)”
“(They’re turning my products into garbage data!)”
“(My epic hacking… corrupted… They broke into my cryptography!)”
“(They corrupted all my ultra rare JPGs! Don’t they know how much they’re worth in QueenCoin?)”
They seem to be causing quite a ruckus.
Yet… when you look at them… you see that they don’t feel happy doing so.
There’s something more to this…
“If there’s something more, you should CHECK. After all, Castle Town is not home for criminals.”
Your eyes glow white, and you look into the very essence of the enemies.
VIROVIROKUN - ATK 8 DEF 6
ELEMENT: VIRUS.
LIKE: RETRO GAMES.
DISLIKE: FEDERAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
A virus with a slightly criminal streak... and a heart of gold. Aw… all it needs is affordable healthcare! It’s sick! I knew it wasn’t hurting people on purpose!
And I just have the idea to cure it…
Kris gulps when he hears you finish your analysis.
“Oh no.”
You smirk.
Oh yes!
*
“Now say: ‘Ah’!” You say with a kind smile.
The Virovirokun follows your lead. “Ah!” Opening their mouths.
You clap your hands. “There you go! Nurse, the medicine?” You ask Susie.
Susie looks confused. “Since when was I the nurse?!” Susie glares at you.
“Do you want me to be the nurse, Susie?” Ralsei asks with puppy dog eyes.
“Both of you are nurses!” You look at the two of them with kindness mixed with sternness behind them. “Now, the pills, please?”
“Here!” Ralsei brings out a green pill.
“Man, you can be pushy sometimes.” Susie pulls out a purple pill from her pocket.
Together, they give them to each Virovirokun.
They start glowing white, tears falling from their eyes.
“(I am cured!)”
“(I am healed!)”
“(I feel new!)”
“(Just like in 1997!)”
And with that, they’re recruited.
“Come back next session for a lollipop!” Ralsei waves at them.
You bow to the crowd watching. “And that’s… how doctors work!”
Your genius idea was to play doctor in order to cure those living viruses, down to even wearing costumes to play the part.
Susie and Ralsei wore nurse outfits, while you wore a doctor’s.
Surprisingly enough, your sheer dedication to the bit captivates the audience’s hearts, as they send claps and cheers to the Lancer Fun Squad.
Making your SOUL glow with pride.
“(Thank you, Lightners!)”
“(You really saved my JPGs!)”
“(So this is the power of public healthcare… This is why Queen loves Lightners!!!)”
“So, um… where’s the tips?” Susie nervously asks. “Y’know, we did a job here!”
“(It’s called PUBLIC healthcare! We don’t need to give money, we already give taxes!)”
All the citizens agree with each other as they leave the premises.
“BUT THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T PAY US! WE'RE AGAINST QUEEN!!!” Susie yells, but it’s too late.
They're gone.
“C’mon, Susie! Helping the Virovirokun was the only prize we needed!” You give her a soft smile. “Plus, now they can be in Castle Town without spreading viruses! Everyone wins!”
“Dude… if I am dressing like this!” Susie points to herself. “I expect to be at least paid!”
Susie walks away in a grumble.
She stops and glares at you. “And next time, I want to be the doctor!”
She then continues walking away.
“Don’t worry, I loved your idea! You’re right that only people’s happiness matters, Kris!” Ralsei tries to cheer you up as he follows Susie. “I will try to explain that to Susie.”
The smile finally leaves your face. You don’t feel cheered up.
Just frustrated.
“I concur with Susie. We wasted too much time. You didn’t have to do all of this.”
Well, if you don’t like it, you can be the leader! It’s not like I asked for this role!
You snort, feeling frustrated.
The problems you were having with Kris never ended. It’s like you two could never agree on what to do.
You didn’t know how to proceed, you had never led a team before. In your entire life, it was always you versus the world.
You were the one who called the shots. You were the one who followed them. Nobody to complain or criticize. In the underground, it was only you who chose.
Only you who had to live with your consequences. Alone, but free.
Now, you have to deal with the fact that people simply didn't want to listen to you. They would refuse, complain, and disobey.
And that disobedience and failure could lead to something far worse.
Such as someone getting hurt because of you.
You breathe in and out.
Your mind goes back to the game.
It makes you smile.
(If only I could live like that here… Nobody gnawing at my ear… Wouldn’t that be nice? I wouldn't be responsible for anyone. If anyone had to die, it would only be me…)
You shake your head, dispelling those thoughts.
(No, you’re being selfish! Stop that! You love Susie, Ralsei, and Kris! You were alone for too long, you don’t want that again! Even if they suffer, they can't remember! Only you can! So it's only you suffering! Get it together!)
Forcing yourself to smile, you follow your friends forward.
Because you know that's not true.
There's someone who remembers. Someone who suffers.
You try desperately not to think about him.
*
Ditching the doctor’s outfit and going back to your regular clothes, the Lancer Fun Squad moves ahead through the field.
Yet, it doesn’t take long until something new pops up.
“Sweet! Free food!” Susie cheers.
You follow to see Susie standing in front of a free food stand, with a glowing neon sign saying “FREE”.
“Now THAT’S the gift we should’ve had before.” She exclaims, drooling.
You and Ralsei walk closer to her, observing the food stand. It’s filled with different types of CDs.
You raise an eyebrow at that. “Are you sure this is edible, Susie?”
“Darkner food can come in every type, so you don’t have to worry about that,” Ralsei explains. “But… I don’t think we should take it. It looks far too suspicious, left here in the open.”
“Dude, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, will take me away from free food!” Susie moves in to pick a CD to eat.
“(Hoho! Words to live for, Susie)” Lancer says.
“(It’s a good thing monsters don’t get food poisoning…)” You grumble. You then raise an eyebrow. “(Wait, do they?)”
But when Susie is about to touch it, a barrier ejects itself in front of you and your party. A barrier made of music notes.
For some reason, it feels familiar to you.
Susie jumps in fright. “What the HELL?!” Susie scratches her mane in confusion. “A barrier? How the hell are we supposed to pass through it?”
Ralsei sighs. “I told you not to take it, Susie.” He walks closer, trying to inspect it, “Maybe we need to—”
Suddenly, loud music starts playing, making everyone jump.
It’s a very familiar catchy tune that would sound good if it wasn’t being played so goddamn loudly.
Oh no! It’s them again!
“I thought you got rid of them!”
I thought so, too!
In the garbage noise, you can hear the humming of a ship, and in it, three familiar figures.
“Aha! You guys feel for our trap!”
“Mr.R was right! You fell into our bait!”
“But there’s no free food here for you guys!”
You sigh loudly, facepalming. “It’s them.”
The music trio that was chasing you and your party throughout the entire cyber field.
You thought you had finally lost them last time, but your hopes are thoroughly crushed.
How did they follow us here? I thought I had finally found a way to get them off our tail for good!
“I said that already.”
Well, I am asking again because… How?!
Your frustration starts to accumulate, almost reaching the boiling point.
Susie shares your exasperation, “YOU GUYS AGAIN? DO YOU GUYS NEVER GIVE UP?” She summons the clown’s scythe in her anger.
It glows with magic.
You and Ralsei follow her, being on guard.
“The music never stops playing!”
“And we never stop resisting!”
“It’s not bedtime yet!”
The three of them get serious, landing from their ship in the ground.
Now, up close, you can notice smaller details, such as the fact that the music is coming from them, not the DJ mixer.
“Plus, we grew smarter!”
“And are following the advice from a smart fellow!”
“That I can’t understand!”
Ralsei coughs in his hand, trying to get their attention, “I know that you guys have been chasing us for a while now, but, um, who even are you guys?”
The mono-eyed player responds, looking eager, “My name’s Sweet! From Sweet Cap’n Cakes!”
The one with the cool sunglasses continues, trying to act cool, “And I am Cap’n! Also from Sweet Cap’n Cakes!”
The green and tall one finishes for the trio, looking like he is really only paying attention to the music, “And I am K_K! I am the Cakes!”
You eye them weirdly, eyebrow furrowed, “Uh, ok? That didn’t answer his question.”
“It did, they are Sweet Cap’n Cakes. What’s more to say?”
I am ignoring you.
Their faces contort into shock, almost falling… No, they just straight up fall to the floor with a comedic thud.
“You guys don’t know the famous Sweet Cap’n Cakes?” Sweet asks.
Cap holds his finger in the air, trying to look proud, “We are Cyber World BEST (and only) musical trio! The resistance against Queen’s evil empire!”
K-K looks happy, just listening to the music, “I like building things too.”
Ralsei looks extremely confused, clearly not knowing what to say.
Susie just looks exasperated, “Ok, enough about your life story, are we fighting or what?”
They all look at each other and say as one: “No.”
They clap their hands together, and three new barriers appear, creating new rooms each one for each of their members.
They jump up and each enters the makeshift rooms. They press a button inside, as the room starts to change and build onto itself.
“I already said we grew smarter. We can’t just destroy our enemies!”
“We have to save what we love, not destroy what we hate.”
Susie just holds her hands in her face, “(That doesn’t even make sense…)”
“We also ran out of bombs,” K_K says.
The room finishes building itself. The trio turns the lights off, blanketing the area in darkness.
Spotlights appear with a clap from Sweet, illuminating…
Three giant keyboards on the floor.
Why is there a giant keyboard on the floor?
“Why are there three giant keyboards on the floor?”
Even Ralsei looks nervous, making you gulp.
Oh God, if Ralsei is nervous, then we really are in trouble!
“Or about to do something weird.”
“Our newest contractor gave us the greatest idea!” Sweet says. “To beat you guys at puzzles!”
Susie loudly sighs, looking done, “Oh my God it’s freaking puzzles. It’s always freaking puzzles.”
Cap’n follows on from Sweet, already walking to his own puzzle keyboard, “Mr.R told us, and I quote, ‘Thy worms art terrible at mind games, thee shall fall easily!’”
“(That sure sounds like Lesser Dad, blue person whose name I know! But thankfully we know it wasn’t him because he has been missing, what a relief!)” Lancer says.
“(I sure wish I was as carefree as you, Lancer…)” You murmur.
Ralsei walks forward, regaining his composure, “So what are the rules?”
“It’s simple, you just type in the words that we will say with that giant keyboard!”
“You have to do all three in a row to win!”
“Or not, we probably didn't rig it.”
“K-K!” They both yell at CD Player, who backs away.
Sweet then turns back to the Lancer Fun Squad, “First, you start with mine. Time to feel the power of the resistance!” He claps his hands, and a word shows on the screen above him.
The word being… “Apple”
Ralsei holds your shoulder, “Oh, that’s an easy one. You can do it, Kris!”
Susie just walks away to sit down on the floor, completely slouched, “Yeah, you do the puzzles, Kris! We are offering moral support from here! Oh, and don’t forget to spell a swear too-”
Ralsei claps his hands together, stars in his eyes, “Exactly, Susie! We are excellent at moral support! Let me get the cheerleader costumes!”
Susie’s eyes go wide, fear in her face, “Yeah, no, you don’t need to do that.”
Ralsei gets closer to her.
She gets up, backing away from the goat, “YOU DON’T NEED TO DO THAT!”
You quietly chuckle at the scene above.
“(Hoho! I want to wear a costume to cheer on my friends, too!)” Lancer cheers.
“(We can’t do that, Lancer! We’re the ones who have to do the puzzle! It’s the job of the Bad Guys goons to cheer us up!)” You say to him.
“That’s awfully narcissistic of you.”
I don’t need to hear that from you! I am just trying to talk to Lancer in ways he knows! Unlike someone who doesn’t talk to anyone!
You shake your head, dispelling those thoughts as you walk to Sweet’s puzzle.
Your eyes narrow as you get closer, however.
Ok… This might be harder than I thought.
You can’t see any of the words. You can see the keybinds, but not the actual words.
It's like it was made to be looked at above.
Sweet whistles for your attention, “I almost forgot, if you mess up the spelling even once…”
The ceiling opens up, showing dozens and dozens of bombs hanging above.
You gulp in fear, every hair in your body standing up.
Susie and Ralsei stop running, looking up in fear.
“The music ends.”
“That’s why we ran out of bombs,” K-K says.
You gulp, feeling the crushing sensation of being responsible for the lives of your team right on your shoulder.
It’s no problem, none at all! I can totally do it! I am the number one puzzle master, haha…
“And even if you fail, you can just LOAD and do it again.”
Yeah, there’s nothing to worry about!
You smile, yet it doesn’t reach your eyes.
(Except knowing their deaths will be on me, again…)
You steel yourself, breathe in, and walk towards the puzzle.
“Don’t worry, we believe in you.” Ralsei holds your shoulder, stopping you. You look towards him, seeing him giving you a kind smile. “Just try looking outside the box.” Ralsei lets go of you, waving at him.
You wave him back, giving him a small “thanks” as you face the puzzle.
That made me happier, but… I still don’t know what to do.
“Do what Ralsei said, think outside the box.”
…?
Your face glows in revelation.
Right! It’s what we’ve been training for! Something only I can do!
You have to see beyond.
You close your eyes, thinking back on the puzzle. Thinking about what you have to do. You think about your feelings to solve it, on what’s at stake.
You have to ignore the world you’re in and only focus on the emotions. Focusing on the feelings that increase each moment. Focusing on the essence of the world rather than the world itself.
That’s the only way you can abandon the physicality of things.
And doing so, you manage to detach yourself from the few strings attaching you in this world.
You open your eyes, but you don’t open their physical form, but the one in your SOUL.
You can see the puzzle from above. You can see Kris down below, together with Ralsei and Susie. Even the music guys.
You can see everything, unbound.
(It’s so simple now.)
You feel yourself glow with happiness.
Kris, go to the one on the right.
The human complies with your orders, walking to the furthest on the right.
The key clicks, and the sound of “A” is heard.
Now walk forward two steps and then down, then finally just forward.
Kris obeys, passing through two “P's” then the “L” and finally the “E”
The screen above spells “Apple”, and a bright blue checkmark appears afterwards, flying off in the sky.
The ceiling in Sweet’s room closes as the puzzle is completed.
Sweet looks completely shocked, “You guys beat it?”
Susie walks up and high-fives Kris, putting her arm across his shoulder and pointing at the music guys, “Of course Kris would beat your puzzle for babies! He is a puzzle master!”
Ralsei looks up to the sky, muttering, “I knew you could do it.”
Sweet still looks aghast, so much so that Cap’n needs to hit him to get him out of it, “Sweet, don’t worry, bro!” Cap’n says. “They aren’t beating MY puzzle, nor K-K’s!”
“I am in the mood for apples now.” The green CD player replies.
“We shall have apples once these oppressors of music are defeated!” He claps, and the word for his puzzle shows up, and it is…
“GIASFELBREHBER”.
You can’t understand it.
I… Think I saw this word before… On Sans’s crossword???
“Is that ICE-E’s catchphrase? Damn, now that’s cheap!” Susie yells, already having walked away.
Kris clenches his fists and unclenches them. Thinking about it makes him sick.
Thank the Angel that restaurant was never a thing in our world.
“Focus. We still need to win. Can you solve it?”
I could never solve Sans’ crossword, but… I will try my best here!
Still looking from above, you think about the best route Kris can take.
It’s difficult, however. The word is almost unpronounceable, and you were never good at spelling.
Move… right? No, left! No… I don’t know, ahhhh!!! This is so difficult!!!
“Calm down, you have all the time in the world.”
“Forgot to mention it, but…” Cap’n brings a giant timer down. “You have a time limit! Can’t keep the madamouzelles waiting!”
“You can still do it, don’t rush. Use your power.”
You take Kris' words to heart, trying to abandon all fear and anxiety that could be in your SOUL.
Only when you fully empty your heart, is when you can see it.
The world itself becomes your canvas.
Now, from here, you can see the route you need to take.
Go forward.
Kris does so, trusting completely in you.
Now take three steps down.
He doesn’t need to question it because he believes in you.
Go back two steps, up, and then forward again.
The human in which you reside follows you, out of his own will.
A blue checkmark appears above the word, and it flies off into the sky.
Somehow, your teamwork did it.
The puzzle was solved.
Susie almost spills out her non-existent drink, “Holy shit.” She walks over to you, side-hugging Kris and ruffling his hair, “You actually did it!”
Ralsei holds your shoulder, looking at you with his warm smile, “We always knew you would!”
Susie coughs awkwardly, “Yeah, totally.”
Now it’s Cap’n’s turn to look completely shell-shocked, “What, you guys solved THAT?! But that was the impossible puzzle!”
“Mr.R said the puzzle was unsolvable! You guys were supposed to LOSE here!”
K-K, who was on his way to a giant music player, stops his approach, “Wait, so we’re not supposed to play the victory music?”
“(We’re playing only the Lancer’s [Me] Fun Squad mixtape, hit it!)” Cartoon splat noises start coming out of Kris’ inventory in something no one would call music.
“Hey, this music sounds pretty good!” K-K starts dancing.
Never mind, I guess.
Kris pulls out his sword, holding it sky high while making a hero pose, his red eyes shining, “The Lancer Fun Squad beats the impossible during schooltime! Give it up!”
Hey! So you can make cool speeches!
“All my speeches are cool.”
Sure, they are!
“We are never giving up to tyranny! Our music will never be drowned by you guys!” Sweet says
“We are the flame that will spark the fires that will end Queen! You still have to beat K-K's puzzle!” Cap’n says.
K-K—who is still dancing to Lancer’s mixtape—snaps out of it. He turns to you and your party, “Oh yeah. Here we go!”
Spotlights appear from the ceiling, illuminating the final puzzle.
Which is just a straight line, spelling out the words, “Agree2all” which is also the word on the screen.
Wh-What?!
It’s so simple that Kris doesn’t even need your help, walking through the puzzle on his own.
Sweet and Cap’n fall to the floor, and Susie laughs.
Kris easily completes the puzzle. The blue checkmark appears on the screen, flying to the sky and uniting with the two others, emitting a huge explosion.
You return to Kris’s body just as suddenly as it happens.
Fireworks of Susie, Kris, a red heart, and Ralsei explode in the sky, blanketing the sky as if it were a painting.
That was easy, but who cares! We finally did our first puzzle together! No fighting, no problems! I am so happy.
“This isn’t something to celebrate!”
Of course it is, it means we’re finally becoming real friends!
Kris doesn’t reply, but you can feel a warmth growing in his heart.
That makes you happy.
“OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!” Suddenly, a laugh can be heard across the field.
You know this laugh, you heard it before.
Queen???
A wireframe of Queen’s head replaces the fireworks, towering over you.
“You Typed: Agree 2 All. You Have Agreed To Your Glorious And Luxurios Queen Peon Release Form. Now I Can Legally Use Your Memes. Toodles.”
With a wireframed explosion, it is gone as quickly as it came.
You, Susie, and Ralsei all eye each other in confusion.
What the heck was that? Weren’t these guys fighting against Queen? And what did she mean by “having your memes”?
“I think this means Queen can make ads and merch of us.”
Suddenly, you feel a chill go down your spine.
Oh my God, no! That’s terrible! She won’t be able to make real merch of me because I’m stuck in your body.
Kris just looks deadpan at your thoughts.
Sweet and Cap’n get up from their state of despair, fury in their face, “We knew it! You guys are working with Queen!” They say as one
“What?” Susie simply says, she points towards them, “That was your puzzle!”
Cap’n scoffs, “That’s what YOU want us to think!”
You eye them as if they were crazy.
What the heck are they talking about?
“Cap’n, you are right! They rigged our puzzles with Queen! That’s how they beat the unsolvable puzzles!” Sweet continues from Cap’n.
“I did get my puzzle from Queen…” K-K says as Sweet and Cap’n cheer.
You just sigh loudly as Susie groans.
They were scammed…
“To stoop so low…” Cap’n says. “There’s only one solution to this.”
You and your party perk up at those words. Susie prepares the Devilknife, already glowing with its unholy magic.
You pick up your sword, scarf blowing in the wind, golden eyes shining.
Ralsei prepares his enemy pellets.
“Time for the Dance Fight!” Bright colored light comes from the sky, illuminating the whole puzzle floor into a dance floor.
Catchy music starts playing from K-K as the Sweet Cap’n and Cakes descend to the center.
“I always love to dance!” K-K says as the music picks up.
The entire party is shocked, looking at each other as if to say, “Is this real?”.
Reality answers for them: “Yes, it is.”
Susie holds her hand up, “Wait, a dance fight? Not a fight fight but a dance fight?”
Sweet Cap’n and Cakes start dancing in the rhythm of the song, moving their bodies with it, “This is the ultimate fight between good and evil! The fabled dance fight!”
“Two groups dance against one another, and the one with the best, most in rhythm, and simply coolest dance, wins!”
“And that’s us! We are super close.” K-K does not lie, their movement is impeccable.
The way they move through the floor, how they move their arms with the beat. The way they dance together, as if they have known each other since their birth.
They are good.
Crap, they are good.
“Indeed. Damn.”
“Shit, they are good,” Susie says.
“Wow, they definitely have really good moves,” Ralsei says.
“(Hoho, look how they are schwaying!)” Lancer says.
Crap, everyone is intimidated by their raw dancing! What do we do?
You scratch your head…
“I don’t know.”
“Um, Kris, how should we proceed?” Ralsei asks you, looking nervous.
The music trio unit continues, now doing the darkner tradition of mixing a conga line with hip-hop dancing.
The sheer power of their dances intimidates you.
Ahhh! That’s an unbeatable combo!!!
You shake your head, focusing. “Just follow my lead, guys.” You say with fake confidence.
You try assuming a ballet stance, the only dance you have ever learned.
By watching it on a TV in front of a store, but it’s the passion that counts.
You move your arms and legs to the graceful position that’s needed. You jump and…
And land flat on your butt.
“That's not how you dance ballet, excuse me. If you can't do it, don't even try.”
So much for doing our first puzzle together. We’re back at square one!
You grit your teeth, angry at your body’s protests.
Kris tries to get up, squatting down, crossing his arms, and trying to do the Kazotsky Kick.
He’s very good at it, but the way he dances leaves no room for the rest of the party to follow.
He will never beat the trio by himself.
“Ralsei, Susie, follow up!” You call out to them.
Ralsei and Susie eye each other and try to follow your lead, the goat and dragon doing the only things they can think of.
Dancing old dances from old cartoons.
It sucks and is out of tune to the utter perfection that is the Sweet Cap’n and Cakes dance.
“Time to go even further beyond!”
“Kicking things up a notch!”
“They’re talking about our magic.”
Magical versions of Sweet, Cap’n, and K-K appear, all dancing with the same rhythm and tune as the originals.
There are dozens of them evenly spaced out in a circle. Music notes come out of them, and they dance in tune.
“(Hoho! We’re screwed! This isn’t funny at all!)” Lancer yells.
I can’t help but agree with Lancer.
You look at everyone’s terrible dancing.
Everyone is so out of tune!
Susie eyes you with suspicion as she lazily dances out of tune, “Ralsei, why do we have to follow Kris’ lead again?”
Ralsei sweats nervously as he tries to follow your lead. He clearly can do more, but he’s forcing himself to follow Kris’ rhythm. “Susie, Kris is the leader of the PARTY. We need to follow his lead!”
You just sweat nervously.
Y…Yeah! Even though I don’t know what to do, haha…
Susie looks at Kris and Ralsei dancing out of tune. “Yeah, this isn’t going to work.” She summons the Devilsknife, “We are following MY lead!”
Ralsei bleats in confusion as Susie throws out the Devilsknife to the sky, which multiplies itself tremendously.
Spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts start raining from the sky like fireworks.
“Happy feet, dumbass!” Susie stops dancing like an old cartoon character, following her own rhythm.
She grabs one of her scythes and uses it as a guide as she tap dances as the magical projectiles act as rain, in rhythm to her steps.
“WE SHALL DANCE IN STEPS OF HELL!” The Devilsknife copies fly within each other, passing through their doubles, making symbols in the sky in the timing of the magical explosions.
Ralsei stops dancing, just looking up in awe, “B-but Susie… We need to follow Kris-”
Susie interrupts the goat’s pleas by grabbing his arms, dragging him to the middle of the stage, and baroque dancing with him.
The music trio's dance starts slowing down as it begins to get drowned by Susie’s magic and dance moves.
They are no match for her.
You can’t help but feel awed by Susie’s moves.
She’s… She’s really doing it!!!!
“…My dance is still better.”
“Dude, who cares, just follow your own moves!” She throws Ralsei in a twirl as she moves towards your bumbling ass.
Ralsei just sighs, focusing on his magic, his body glowing as he sends magical projections of Susie and you in the sky.
Susie walks towards you. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?”
“Dancing.” Kris matter-of-factly says.
“Yeah, your dance sucks, dude.” She grabs Kris’s hand. “Just follow my lead!” Susie leads him up to a salsa dance that is replayed by Ralsei’s magic.
“I think it’s better to follow Susie’s lead this time.”
Yeah, we better!
Your worries, your troubles, fade away as you’re led by the purple dragon.
No, not only your troubles but Kris’ as well.
Kris dances salsa with her.
He dances the baroque dance with her.
He does the footwork with her.
The electric dance.
All with perfect rhythm as his worries disappear, his red eyes shining with Susie’s yellow as the cards rain from the sky, and the scythes dance.
The music trio has completely stopped dancing at this point, only looking at the dancers in awe.
“Those moves… That rhythm…”
“How are they so good?!”
“I got the perfect music for this!” K-K switches the electronic music from before into a slower, religious piece as Susie throws you into Ralsei.
The goat bleats in shock, but soon, and still in the rhythm, you drag him to dance with you.
Susie focuses on her own magic, making symbols in the sky using the Devilsknife. The symbols of the cards.
You dance a fusion dance with Ralsei, you dance the ballet while he dances the prophetic dance.
He dances the sacred dance, the worship dance.
Soon enough, both his and Jevil’s magic ends in an explosive firework display, raining magic onto the ground.
You end your dance with Ralsei with a ballroom dance, and right on cue, with the fireworks, both of you end it.
Ralsei jumps up, landing with his hands spread across the air, a happy smile on his face.
Susie lands harshly on the ground, winking while holding her fist clenched in front of her face as the Devilsknife circles around her.
And finally, you land in a crouch, sending out a peace sign as your eyes shine golden.
Kris then gets up, turning around and crossing his arms in a huff, shaking his head as a spade card jumps out of his pocket and back in.
“Listen up, dude!” Susie yells out to you, still in her pose. “Stop trying to do everything by yourself! If you can’t do it, let us take the lead! I don’t want you to treat me as deadweight, okay?!”
You feel your eyes watering. “A-Alright! I won’t forget!”
You feel yourself grow lighter.
(Being together doesn’t mean just carrying everyone’s troubles, but sharing them! I can’t forget that! I need to rely on my friends more!)
You finally learned the true power of teamwork.
Still elated with this power, you look towards the music trio’s reaction.
Their jaws are on the floor, “Sweet, Cap’n?”
“Yes, K-K?”
“We got totally wrecked.”
Notes:
Well, this will probably be the final part uploaded before Chapters 3 and 4. As said previously, this story was written before they came out, and my Chapters 3 and beyond will be original. So I hope you guys still follow me until then. I am planning to add a lot of canon references to a certain fight in Chapter 5, so be on the lookout for it. See you next time!
Unless I upload Part 6 before it, making this message awkward...
Chapter 23: Chapter 2 - Part 6: Sound Studio
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
The reprieve after the battle. You take it slow, finding out more about this strange world you’re in.
Notes:
Oh well, I guess this is awkward! I forgot how short part 6 ended up being, so I managed to tidy it up pretty quickly. Still, don't forget to give kudos and comment if you like the story; there are many more on the way! Each kudos and comment means the world to me.
Chapter Text
The music quiets down as the magic in the air dissipates. Everyone still holds onto their cool poses, straining their muscles.
The music trio—Sweet Cap’n and Cakes—stands there in front of your party, speechless.
Then, the three of them start clapping. Then, they start cheering.
It’s almost as loud as the music, making you sweat, anxiety swelling up on you.
“Those moves, that beat! It was incredible!” Sweet says.
“I can’t believe it! Our dancing… Changed your hearts!” Cap’n says.
“It gave me a new song idea,” K_K says.
You perk up at the wording of the weird trio.
What the heck are they talking about? That’s not what happened at all!
“We need to sue them.”
But do you two even have enough money for it?
Urgh, if only we could pay a lawyer.
“Ralsei could be our lawyer.”
Um, isn’t that illegal?
“Then we let him be arrested.”
You laugh at Kris’ antics.
Susie, however, seems to share your indignation, finally breaking free of her pose to walk over to the music trio, “That’s not what happened! We BEAT you guys at your own competition!”
“We might have lost the battle…”
“But we won the war!”
“Against kindness!”
Susie looks livid. “How do you even beat kindness? You guys just got wrecked by—”
“(Just go with it, Susie.)” She gets cut off by Ralsei trying to hold her back. He turns to the trio, “Does this mean we’re good now?”
The three of them turn to each other, murmuring really loudly, yet at the same time, you can’t understand a word of what they say.
Just as fast as they began, they stop, turning towards you and your party.
“The spark that shall start the fire that will burn down Queen’s order glows brighter today!” Sweet says.
“The resistance lives today, and we shall not be the last music players!” Cap’n says.
“That means you're good!” K-K says.
You and Susie just look confused at the three of them. Even Ralsei looks confused, as well.
I feel like I just missed a reference.
“I didn’t.”
Well, are you going to tell me?
“No, cryptic references that only the few can understand create engagement.”
Your face falls at Kris’ antics.
The confusion doesn’t last long as more ships shaped like DJ mixers show up from the sky, “Hop in!” Says K-K.
“Um, to where?” You ask, looking suspiciously at them.
Where did they even get those ships?
Sweet jumps in one of them, which hums and starts flying, “To our base of operations, of course!”
Cap’n jumps in the second ship, “The secret base of the resistance!”
K-K, who was already on the first ship, says, “It’s our house!”
You, Susie, and Ralsei all eye each other. Ralsei hesitates, but before you can say anything, Susie jumps onto the ship.
I guess she’s already doing what she said previously, huh? Well, I don’t mind.
You give out a relieved smile at seeing Susie do things without you needing to tell her what to do. With no better options, you decide to join them.
Plus, we still have no items, so it’s better to refuel, right?
“We have the chalk.”
You look to your inventory just to see Lancer munching on a piece of chalk. “(Hmm, crunchy!)”
You weakly laugh.
We have no items!
Ralsei sighs and jumps into a separate ship.
When the three of you land, your ships get up and start flying towards the base.
You feel the air on your skin as you fly up high, the ground becoming smaller and smaller as you fly in the heavens.
You can’t help but smile as you take to the skies, euphoria filling you. It’s an incredible feeling of freedom.
So this is how birds feel?
“Ask Berdly.”
Who?
“It’s really convenient that we made six ships even though there were only three of us!” K_K says, grooving.
“K_K, open the barrier, otherwise we are going to crash!” Sweet yells in a panic.
“Right!”
In a flash, the musical barrier opened up like a magic spell was undone.
Which was exactly what happened, actually.
This lets the six ships course through the air freely.
It seems that the ship is on autopilot, so you didn’t have to worry about piloting it, which filled you with relief.
The closest thing I ever came to piloting was a jetpack…
“...What?”
My life is really weird, hahaha!
The DJ mixer flies through the cybernetic sky, the dry air feels almost pleasant at this height; it almost feels fresh.
Your cape and hair flow in the wind, letting your golden eyes show. The wind makes you feel alive again, pumping you with adrenaline.
You can see the people down below, the Darkners living in this world. The little plug people, the Tasques, the Virovirokun.
They look so small at this height, and that gives you a sense of awe. As if you’re finally seeing how big the world truly is.
And this is just one Dark World, yet look how big it is!!!
“And all made from a library. Isn’t darkness wonderful?”
Yeah, although I don't think it matters if it's inside a library, right? Unless you're saying...
You shake your head when your train of thought reaches its logical destination.
Nah, forget about it. It's not possible...
“...”
Silence hangs in the air, only occupied by the humming of the ships.
Despite being sky-high, you lie down on the ship. Even though nobody would think of this, you think this is the perfect time to relax for a while and gather your thoughts.
While flying several feet in the air.
“...the dancing wasn’t that bad.”
…?
“… we had a good rhythm…”
Oh! You’re talking about earlier! I don’t really remember ever dancing before. But I don’t really remember anything, so…
You feel yourself growing embarrassed, anxious to just shift to another subject.
Still… Thank God Susie was there, huh? We couldn't have made it without her. I was so worried about leading the team, but she managed to take that responsibility for me! It was awesome!
“She’s pretty great, isn’t she?”
Yeah! She’s strong and pretty focused. Once she sets her mind on something, nothing can stop her!
You miss the undertone behind your body’s thoughts.
Honestly, she kinda scared me a little. When we first met, I mean. Her strength and willingness to fight… I thought she was going to hurt someone. Do something she couldn’t take back.
Just raising my sword scared me, because… I really feared doing something I would regret. Something that would change me. Being alone for so long… made me feel really scared about everything.
We were complete opposites, and I thought… I would have to face her. We kinda did, but… I thought it was going to be after she crossed a line nobody should.
You smile.
But now? I am glad I—no, I’m glad WE are her friends.
Kris doesn’t reply, but you can sense that he is happy.
Silence settles once more as the wind blows on your skin.
Well, that’s until Susie breaks the silence, “Ok, so what’s your guys’ deal?”
Everyone turns to the purple dragon, “I mean, why do you guys want to take down Queen so badly?” She elaborates.
The mono-eyed player speaks first, “I’m Sweet!”
The one with the sunglasses winks, but nobody sees it because of the sunglasses he is wearing. “The ladies call me Cap’n.”
Susie just frowns. “Yeah, you guys already said that, dude…”
The tall CD player says at last, “K-K!”
“You guys already said that!!!” Susie looks exasperated.
You giggle. “There’s no harm in second introductions, plus we haven’t introduced ourselves, either!” You point at yourself. “I am G-Kris!” You gag a bit. You point at Ralsei and Susie to distract from your gagging. “And that’s Ralsei and Susie!”
The music trio completely ignores your introduction.
“We used to work in the sound of this town…”
“Until Queen came around!”
“That was one of our bases, back there,” K_K says, sounding serious for once.
“(At least I tried to be polite.)” You murmur.
Sweet punches his DJ mixer, “She made music against the law, saying it ‘spread bad memes on others’, whatever that meant!”
Cap’n also looks irritated, “The only music that’s allowed now is music that spreads ‘legally allowed memes’.”
“But that’s only music that either praises Queen or noise music,” K-K says with a frown.
Everyone has a frown on their faces.
So that’s what they were resisting, they just wanted to be able to express their true selves…
The trio’s frowns turn into smirks, “But even if Queen bans our ‘memes’…”
Music starts playing from all six DJ mixers; it is, in fact, the same music that played during the dance competition.
Even Susie looks excited this time.
“You can't STOP! THE! MUSIC!” Sweet says, already starting to dance. “CRASH. BOOM. BANG!!!”
The music gets even louder, with Susie starting to bang her head to the tunes.
“Hear that!? We'll just go underground!!” Cap’n says, joining in.
You slowly start getting into the rhythm as well.
It is a good song. Well, at least it is when you’re not hearing it while running for your life.
The DJ mixers start slowing down. “That’s why we got our rebel base here!”
“To fund our rebellion!”
The DJ mixers land in front of a tall and large house.
It is extremely well decorated, with bright colors everywhere, contrasting with the boring green of the field.
You can see a line of different Darkners in front of the shop, clearly waiting for it to be opened.
The music trio walks behind the shop, to the back door, beckoning you three inside from there. You three complied, entering the inside of the shop, which turned rebel base.
It looks messy, to say the least. There are multiple CDs and other junk on the floor, it’s dark, and it smells like burned metal.
“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen and madamouzelles, to the rebel base!” Cap’n says, jumping into one of the seats at the front and turning on a switch.
Power is turned on in the base. Mixers, diagrams, and many more are turned on. The familiar tune that you’ve come to associate with them starts playing softly.
“This is where we make that sweet cash.” Sweet walks to his own seat.
“By selling junk!” K-K walks to his own seat.
“But that’s not our main gig. Oh no, our main gig is this!” Cap’n pulls out a picture of a broken machine that you can’t make heads or tails of what the hell it’s even supposed to be.
And from the looks of it, neither can Ralsei and Susie.
“Making scrap into machines!” Sweet continues for him, “Even if they are off-key sometimes.” He plays a note off-key just to prove his point, causing you and Susie to snicker.
“He smelled off-key, too!” K-K says.
“A gremlin looking weirdo with a big nose.”
“He wanted us to sneak into Queen’s mansion in order to have ‘communion’ with him.” Sweet rolls his singular eye together with Susie.
Kris perks up at that wording.
“Communion?”
What? You want to have communion with Queen as well? Naughty boy!
“...No. It’s just, forget about it.”
You laugh at your successful flirt mixed with teasing.
“The only ‘communion’ we are having is with music!” The music plays louder as the three of them (and Susie) cheer up together.
“Plus, we got a way better job! From Mr.R!”
“He’s got such high class. Such good taste. His words sounded like Shakespeare!”
“I couldn’t even understand it!”
“That’s how good it was!”
Your inventory starts shaking. “(Hoho, Mr.R sounds like a loser!)” Lancer says. You agree with Lancer.
You feel like you would only feel disgust at seeing such a pathetic person. You do not know where those thoughts came from, but you do not regret them.
The music trio shows some blueprints on their screens, “This is going to be BIG!”
“It’s going to be our BIG BREAK!”
“Because it’s going to break apart!” K-K finishes saying.
Susie smirks, almost snickering, “Man, I feel sorry for the poor schmuck who is going to face whatever you built.” The four of them start laughing, their laughter echoing in the small shop.
You look around the shop, seeing all the weird items around and on the shelves. And then you think back on your inventory.
You don’t even have an idea if there are any healing items here, yet…
“And we are going to help you guys!” You walk forward, already holding a stack of dark bills that you got from the Darkners you recruited, “We want four healing items!”
“Get that mecha saber. It looks cool.”
Your eyes perk up at the mechanical blade hanging on the wall. Your old sword was getting a little weak, “And that Mecha Saber hanging on the wall!”
Kris seems to glow with happiness.
“I can be even more annoying now :)”
You’re making me regret buying it…
“K-K, get the items for our dear customers!” Sweet orders and the K-K nods, going deeper in the store.
A silence hangs in the air afterwards. Susie yawns and sits down on the floor, using the CDs as a cushion.
Ralsei just stands there, seemingly not bothered.
He had been quiet for a while, hadn’t he?
He seemed bothered by Susie taking the lead… I wonder if he is feeling embarrassed for fighting against it. I think he just wanted to make me feel special, yet.... Maybe I should…
Without thinking, you begin a conversation with everyone, “Why is Queen this… bad?” You say the first thing that comes to your mind. The music duo and Ralsei perk up towards you, “Why is she so… obsessed with what people do?”
You hadn’t thought of this before in these exact words, but it was something that was bothering you.
It wasn't related to your troubles with Ralsei, but you wanted to distract your mind with something.
You felt this was the perfect distraction.
Why is she such a control freak?
Sweet leans down on his chair, “Queen wasn’t always THIS bad…”
Cap’n counters him, “No, she WAS! She just stayed in her palace, ‘monitoring Lightner’s memes’ as she said. But then this thing called the internet went out, and she got WORSE!”
You perk up at their wording.
The internet… Alphys did say it was out for a while… Does that affect the Dark World, too? But if so, why and how? Unless...
You once again ignore the logical conclusion.
“Then the Dark Fountain came along, and she went into overdrive. She wasn’t content with just ‘monitoring’ Lightner’s memes, she wanted to CONTROL them.”
“She said she had ‘inherited the Knight’s memes,’ whatever that meant. ‘Knight’ this, ‘Knight’ that, ‘Memes’, ‘Fountains’, it sounded like nonsense yo!”
“Plus, what the hell is a meme? Music’s where it's at!”
Music plays in the shop, surprisingly groovy.
Right on cue, K-K shows up with your new sword and four CDs that look like food. You realize they're called CD Bagels as he delivers them to you.
“Here’s the product, chief!” You take it from him as you give them your money.
But in your mind, you ponder what you've heard. This is the second time you've heard about this “Knight”. First it was King who talked about him, now it’s Queen.
Is there a pattern I am missing?
“Probably.”
“Thanks for the help, guys, but we gotta get going now!” Ralsei’s words startle you out of your thoughts.
Right, I shouldn’t be distracted right now. The present day awaits us!
Ralsei wakes Susie up, and you three wave the music trio out of the store, as they start attending to the other customers.
*
You three walk together through the remainder of the field. It seems like you’re getting close to the end, as the herd of people starts thinning out, and the roads start going in a single direction.
Towards the giant city in the background. You’re closer to it than you ever were.
You feel nervous just thinking of going into such a large city. After all, you’ve never been to a place like that before.
Yet, you feel more energized than ever after your encounter with the music trio. Even Susie feels so, despite her slouched walk.
You can tell there’s a spark in her step.
She truly warmed up to the “rebels,” didn’t she? Dancing is the window of the soul!
“... good.”
That made you happy. That's just like you, isn't it? Being happy at others' happiness, and not your own…
You’re such a weirdo. Yet, I can’t hate that about you.
What does that make me?
Ralsei, however, was walking slowly. Worry bubbles from within you, and you slow down to keep pace with him.
“… you’re really kind, y’know that?” Ralsei quietly says when you walk beside him. You raise an eyebrow, “Going out of your way to help these guys, even though they were trying to kill us.”
Why is Ralsei asking this?
You feel like he is hiding something.
“They were just misguided, that’s all, you heard their story. They just thought we were with Queen. Plus, um, I really needed those items, hehe.” You laugh nervously, Ralsei joins in too, “But that’s not just it, is it?” You say to him. “You’re too shy to just randomly praise me!”
“Am I really such an open book?” He laughs, “It’s, um, about Susie. When I first met her, I thought, ‘there’s no way she’s the hero of the prophecy!’ She was rude, fought everyone, and was merciless. She was nothing like a hero should be.” He looks straight at you, “She wasn’t like you.”
“But now, seeing how she interacted with those Darkners.” Ralsei looks down. “Seeing how she led us before… I… I thought only you could lead…, but…”
“I am really happy Susie took the lead!” You say, sending Ralsei a small smile. “To tell the truth, I don’t think I would be able to handle the responsibility of leading the party every time!”
Ralsei looks surprised at your confession. “But… that’s exactly what I was talking about! She wasn’t like how I—”
“What are you nerds babbling about?” Susie’s loud voice comes in, startling both of you and cutting Ralsei off.
She is pointing at a door, “It says ‘This Way To The City For Any Lifeform Incapable Of Flight (Losers)’” She clenches her fists. “This must be a challenge from Queen!”
Ralsei looks at you with a look of “we will talk about this later”, walking closer to Susie, “I guess this means this is the way to go.” He turns to you, “Lead the way, Kris!”
You simply look at him for a second, your mind running non-stop, thinking about what he was going to say to you.
(You can learn what it is later! We need to beat Queen first!)
Shaking your head, you walk inside, into a dark room filled with custom rollercoaster cars.
There are three of them in total, one for Kris (and you). It’s blue all over, with Kris’ face and hair on the front, decorated with bright red hearts. With your very SOUL.
Don’t think a fancy design like that is going to win me over, Queen!
“You think that’s fancy?”
…kinda.
Susie’s car is as purple as her, decorated with flames and ending with a shark-like grin.
Ralsei’s car is green as his robes, with his paws on the sides, his fluffy tail on the back, and his face on the front.
“What the HELL are these things?” Susie exclaims.
“Rollercoaster cars.” Kris simply says.
Susie glares at the human as you giggle, with a look of “I’m getting you later for this”.
You really need to get a new joke.
“Only when it stops working. And you're laughing.”
S-Shut up!
Ralsei walks forward towards the cars, “Hmm, those should probably take us straight to the Fountain.”
That’s all you needed to hear. You quickly jump towards your car. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” You sound like a kid before Christmas.
Susie jumps into her car right behind you, “Now that’s what I like to hear!”
Ralsei jumps in as well, looking eager.
As he jumps, the cars start up, quickly driving forward.
The wind blows on your skin, and your cape and hair flow in the wind. You feel excited as you pilot your second vehicle of the day.
Susie’s mane and Ralsei’s scarf blow with the wind as well, the former looking excited while the latter is worried.
You can see the city from here on the horizon, busy and bustling with life. Bright, artificial lights everywhere.
And all the way in the back, you can see it. The fountain. It beckons to you, together with that feeling of home.
Getting even closer to your objective fills you with resolve.
But before your thoughts dwell on it, a blue chair hovers into the scene, holding a blue, tall female figure.
It’s Queen once more. Your face falls when you see her.
Again? Why can’t she just stay in her evil lair waiting for us to kick her butt?
“She needs to exercise.”
She’s a computer!!!
“Hello My Foolish Children I Have Almost Missed The Scene (Got Here Just In Time),” She says.
Everyone summons their weapons. Ralsei prepares his spells, Susie summons the Devilsknife, glowing with magic.
You clear out your thoughts, trying to see from above as Kris takes the lead and picks up his sword. He clicks the button on the side, and with a chk the blade emerges.
He then repeats this process several times with a mischievous smirk.
CHK! CHK! CHK! CHK!!!
Oh… this is what you meant by being annoying.
“Mean face!”
...
"... I said that because you can't see my expressions."
Oh.
“You Guys Look Quite Eager At Getting Your Butts (Asses) Kicked. Did You Have A Protocol Change?” A question mark appears in Queen’s visor.
Susie growls, “We’re not going to let you step on people’s lives just because you’re a control FREAK!”
Queen laughs, “Oh Dear Memes Are Like Data. You Purge The Bad From The Good. I Thought Savages Like You Would Understand.”
Susie grips her scythe harder, “There’s NOTHING to get! People aren’t like machines!”
Queen smirks, “Now You Say A Protocol We Both Agree.” The same capsules that captured Noelle earlier hover in the air, “I Come To The Realization You Are Defective Models. And Defective Models Need: Repair Procedure!”
The cages fall from the sky towards your group. Everyone braces themselves for…
They missing completely.
Susie laughs triumphantly, “Ha, in your face!” She points at her, “The only one who needs to be fixed is YOU!”
“No Machines Are Already Fixed (Perfect) I Missed On Purpose So It’s Ok (It’s Calibration).” Queen laughs.
Nothing happens. You quiver anxiously, “So, um, we’re not fighting?”
Queen looks smug, “Correct Foolish Child. You’re Fighting My… Peon.”
Queen flies to the side as another car emerges from behind her. It’s white as snow, pure, almost holy like. It has a crown on top of it, as white as the rest.
There’s a reindeer monster on top of it, dressed in a dress as pure as snow.
It’s Noelle.
Everyone’s eyes widen when they see her.
Susie is the first to yell. “NOELLE?!”
She waves at Susie and Kris.
Ralsei waves back at her.
Kris doesn’t do anything, even if you react in shock in his stead.
What the heck is Noelle doing here? Is she a hostage?
“Um, s...sorry,” Noelle says, looking away. “It’s just that Queen’s last meme video was really funny. I couldn’t help but like it.”
This catches you by surprise.
Wait... she actually joined her??? How?????
"Noelle... never says no to anyone."
“I Told You I Would Be Using Your Memes.” Queen shows a look of superiority. “Noelle Could Do Nothing To Resist ‘Susie’s Epic Skateboard Compilation Fails 890’”
Ralsei and Kris start snickering as Susie growls harder, “I never made that video. I don’t go online to see people fail at skateboarding, I DON’T DO THAT!” She yells.
Queen tries to open her mouth, but Susie just launches the Devilsknife at her, “THE SECRET CANNOT BE SPILLED. TO THE TOMBS OF EARTH IT SHALL GO!” It says.
Everyone, even Noelle, laughs.
Then silence. Only the rushing of the cars.
Isn’t Noelle going to attack us now or?
Queen seems to share your thoughts, “Ok This Isn’t Working Bring In The Next Guy.”
Another rollercoaster car rushes as swiftly as the wind, as Noelle’s car is dragged back as it comes.
The car is blue like Kris, but with a far darker shade. It has wings, it ends in a bird’s tail, and in the front, a smug bird boy is riding on it.
Your concentration is shattered when you see who stands on top of it, bringing you back to Kris’ body. Your golden eyes replace his red, as they reflexively widen.
He is a bluebird, shade lighter than in the Light World. He has a white sci-fi armor with a scouter on his eye, but you can still recognize him.
It’s the weird bird guy that likes Susie!!!!
“His name is Berdly…”
Burgh… Ner… Weird and nerdy bird guy!!!
Kris simply sighs. It’s no use.
The weird bird guy, whose name you don’t know, stands before you and your party. “Fear not, my beloved Noelle!” He declares.
He summons a green halberd with his magic, “Because a true crewmate at heart is going to EJECT these IMPOSTERS!”
You sigh. You cringe. You feel pain in your heart.
Oh, this is going to be painful!
Chapter 24: Chapter 2 - Part 7: Smart Race
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
Berdly. The annoying bluebird confronts you, testing your thin patience. Will you beat him, or become chicken yourself?
Notes:
DELTARUNE TOMORROW! Managed to tidy up another part just before the big day. I sure hope that the canon Chapters 3 and 4 don't use any of my ideas, because then nobody will believe me that I wrote them in 2023/24. Although I will be able to gloat about being right, lol.
Enjoy the part! Don't forget to kudos and comment if you want to support the story, it means the world to me!
Chapter Text
The wind rushes against your skin as your coaster travels through the tracks at high speed. The distant buildings of the faraway city appear as a blur as the coaster continues to accelerate, and yet, it never bumps into the one rushing in front of you.
The one carrying the weird blue guy whose name you don’t know.
“Berdly. His name is Berdly.”
Who cares??? Why is he with Queen? What did she say to convince him, some pinups of Susie?!
“I have no idea why Berdly makes your weirdness increase tenfold.”
“Hahaha, ‘Time to eject those IMPOSTERS!’” The bluebird says with an impossibly smug face. “I’ve been thinking of that one-liner for a couple of hours now!” His voice is nasally, as his feathers rush with the wind.
They carry his smugness to your ears, making your mood decline as fast as your coaster runs.
Susie’s eyes are as wide as dinner plates. “BERDLY?! You asked BERDLY to be on your team?!” Susie yells at Queen, her scales bristling in fury.
“I Did Not Ask Him.” Queen just casually shrugs. She drinks the strange liquid from her green cup, “Burghley Is The Perfect Piece Of Symbolism” Her visor shows an exclamation point. “He Represents Everything I Talk About Memes (A Bird Controlled By His Own Memes)”
Berdly laughs smugly, for some reason that you don’t understand, “Indeed, my luxurious Queen! I am a MEME lord and soon… I will be a SUPER MEME lord!”
You raise your hand awkwardly, “Um… weird blue bird, I don’t think that’s a good thing.”
You can feel Kris’ disgust from within.
“This is everything I hate. Everything.”
Berdly looks furiously at you, his eyes narrowed into slits, “Kris, of course you’re against our wondrous Queen… And that’s SUPER MEME LORD MASTER GAMER BERDLY to you, Sussy Kris!”
Susie stomps on her cart, “What the HELL does that word even MEAN?!”
“(It’s A Popular Meme Word For Lightners)” Queen says.
“Of course, someone like you wouldn’t understand my complex VOCABULARY!” He puffs his chest and starts laughing an awful, nerdy, nasally laugh. “Hahaha! You don’t even know what sussy is, Susie! You probably don’t even know the newest trends, do you?”
Susie looks even angrier, gripping the Devilsknife harder. “Dude, nobody cares about these weird words! You just made that up!”
“You must live online if you think those are cool.” Kris plainly says.
“Yeah, tell him, Kris!” Susie looks pumped up.
Queen’s visor just says “IDK”.
Ralsei looks awkward.
You don’t know what to think.
But aren’t we in a Cyber World right now? Doesn't that mean we are living online?
“You’re ruining my one-liner.”
“What a bad retort, Krismas. Terrible.” He stops laughing, looking serious, “Alas, you must be wondering how I got to work with such a WONDERFUL and POWERFUL Queen such as ours!”
Everyone is stone-faced, even Queen.
“Well, it all started with YOU, Kris!” He points straight at you.
You just look confused, eyes darting around. You quietly point towards yourself and mouth, “me?”
“Yes, YOU.” He glares at you. “It all started yesterday… in the computer lab.”
Berdly looks to the sky, his gaze is longing and distant, almost as if he is experiencing a flashback.
But there’s no flashback. Everyone just stands there in place nervously.
“There I was, in the library, working my daily shift for Ms.Boom, being a productive member of SOCIETY! Something YOU wouldn’t understand!”
You just side-eye Ralsei and Susie.
We were saving the world! Jeez, I didn’t think he would be this annoying.
“Understatement of the century.”
“Then you came in, your delinquent, disrespectful self! But if it was just that, I would’ve handled it; after all, I am a warrior of JUSTICE!” He looks proud.
Your eyes start twitching.
I was trying to help him find his true love! He’s so ungrateful!
“You genuinely believed that?”
His eyes narrow, “But somehow, you were the WORST that day! I, not expecting your treacherous way, confronted you on your family’s DEBT!”
You just look confused. “Didn’t you want that book just because you had a crush on—”
“SILENCE!!! THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!!!” Berdly cuts you off, looking livid. “You’ve been trying to trap me in your sickly lies!!! I do NOT have a crush on Susie! I don’t think purple dragons are attractive. It’s all SLANDER!!!”
Susie side-eyes Kris, looking at him with half-lidded eyes. “What the heck have you been telling him, Kris?”
“Berdly wanted me to give back a book about hot purple dragons, so I thought he really liked purple dragons, so…” You explain it to her.
She doesn’t look amused.
“IT’S YOUR BOOK!!! STOP PROJECTING ONTO ME!!!” Berdly yells in despair.
“You said it was a family debt, not MY debt! So how can the book be mine?” You finish off with a smug smile, knowing you trapped Berdly.
“Look, I don’t care who that book is, I just hope I never met the owner.” Susie curtly says.
“Azzy is in trouble.”
The book is ASRIEL’S???
Queen looks up from her phone, her visor saying a “bro”, “Dear Can You Just Hurry Up And Skip To The: Point”
Berdly recovers his composure, “Right as always, my dear Queen!” He clears his throat, “As I was saying… I tried confronting Kris on his debt, but instead of paying it like a self-respecting citizen, he tried to TRAP me into LIES.”
“Yes We Know That Dear (Fast Forward It Bro)” Queen looks bored.
Ralsei tries raising his voice, “Yes, what does that have to do with you working for Queen?”
He glares at Ralsei, “I am GETTING THERE!” He recomposed himself, “Humiliated, I went to the computer lab—the gamers' sanctum—in order to play my favorite game, Among Us. But! I couldn’t! In my haste, I had forgotten the internet was down, and Among Us was an online game only!”
You start to tap your feet, already feeling annoyed by the bluebird’s increasingly long speech.
Will he ever finish?
“Cornered, there’s only one thing I could do…” Berdly looks dejected. “Which was to use the cool computer that came straight from our school. The most recent computer from the computer lab! Use it to play… SOLITAIRE!”
Queen perks up, “Oh Wait That’s Me Cool”
You feel yourself grow more and more annoyed, his voice sounding like a cheese grater in your ears.
None of this justifies him working with Queen! Is he just crazy???
You were getting fed up with the bird.
He’s actively trying to conquer the world, and he keeps insulting me!
“I opened the app! The application of the chosen! And selected my hand. The Queen and Jack of Spades. A decent hand, but not good enough for someone as great as me. However, I could handle such—”
“Dude, nobody cares!” You shout, suddenly. His voice was getting on your nerves. “It’s all ‘me, me, me’! You’re so annoying! I tried to help you yesterday, but you completely rejected that just to talk about yourself! STOP PRAISING YOURSELF AND JUST GET TO THE POINT!!! WHY DO YOU WANT TO JOIN AN EVIL RULER, ARE YOU INSANE???”
You yell with a snarl, golden eyes shining with fury. Every single frustration you had, every single anxiety and doubt, you let it out on Berdly.
And it hits him like a bullet.
Your eyes widen, and you quickly shut your mouth, holding your hands in front of it, blushing a scarlet red.
I… I… I didn’t mean that… It was just that he’s so annoying… and I…
“Kris?!?!” Susie looks shocked but happy.
Ralsei doesn’t even say anything, just looking shocked and frozen, his fur standing up like static.
“Based” Queen simply says, her visor says “based” too.
“...nice.”
You blush, feeling embarrassed by this praise. You’ve never been that impatient before.
You don't feel as if you deserve it.
It’s not nice! Mom wouldn’t like me exploding on him like that! It’s rude!
“She’s not your mom.”
Your eyes widen, looking a mixture of worried and despairful.
Th… That’s not the point! I still shouldn’t… It’s not in my character…
You think weakly, but you can’t bring yourself to finish that thought.
After all, you don’t know who you are.
How can you say if it's out of character?
Berdly quietly seethes, “This is exactly what I was complaining about.” The wind starts picking up at his words.
It feels unnatural, like the calm before the storm.
“But no matter, in mine and Noelle’s utopia, an attitude like that won’t EXIST!” He picks up his halberd, which glows with power. “My goal is to create a perfect world with me and Noelle, where cringeworthy behavior doesn’t exist. Behavior like YOURS!!!”
“Finally, we’re FIGHTING!” Susie yells to the bird, holding her own weapon with pride.
Ralsei prepares his magic, glowing with power.
Kris holds a stance, activating his new sword…
Which was already activated…
CHK! CHK! CHK!!!
You really do like this sword…
“...hehe…”
The air continues to blow unnaturally, as if it were gathering itself in front of Berdly. It doesn’t take long for it to form a powerful tornado around him.
Even from far away, they cause your and Susie’s hair to flow intensely.
So he has wind magic?!
“You could just CHECK him to see what he has in store.”
R-Right! I can do that.
You glare at Berdly, observing his very SOUL. Your eyes glow white, and…
You CHECK him.
BERDLY - ATK 10 DEF 10
ELEMENT: WIND
Oh! So his name is Berdly! It looks like he only gets this mad when he plays games with you, Kris!
A master of WIND magic, his weakness is ICE. But… we don’t have anyone who can do that. Plus, even though he’s annoying, it’s better not to FIGHT.
Let’s just play “bump of chicken” instead! If we manage to take it down, we should be home free!
Let’s cook some chicken nuggets!
There we go, now we know how to beat the bird nerd guy! Never seen wind magic before in my life!
“You just said his name… This feels intentional at this point.”
“And if you think I am going to stop talking just because you told me to…” Berdly aims his halberd towards you, “...you’re WRONG!”
He jumps in the air. The tornado in front of him carries his momentum, increasing his velocity. At the peak of ascension, he fires a barrage of bullets from his halberd with a smirk on his face.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about this attack. Whoops.
Kris grits his teeth, thinking of a way to dodge it. Yet quickly realize that in the limited space of your coaster, he can’t go anywhere.
Focus on defending! His attacks aren’t that strong compared to our stats!
He follows your orders and brings his shield to block it, but there’s no need.
Just in time, Ralsei shields him with his magic, forming a shield of fluff and blocking the bullets.
You sigh in relief as Kris sends him a thumbs-up.
Susie grips her scythe, and without your command, swings it and sends copies of the Devilsknife straight towards Berdly.
That’s how it’s done!
But Berdly’s tornadoes protect his coaster and send the copies away to the horizon. “Ha!” He yells. “As if an attack like that would bypass my MARVELOUS defense! It’s like you never played a game, Susan!”
Susie looks at him weirdly. “Huh? Who?”
Berdly ignores her, summoning wind towards him. He grabs a fistful of paper from his inventory and throws it in the air.
“Kris, I once thought there was hope for you.” Berdly continues. “That one day, you could have been on the same level as me and dear Noelle…”
With a gust of wind, he sends them towards the party. It’s like razor blades at that speed.
“But ever since yesterday, you’ve proved me wrong!” He shouts.
The paper flies through the air at incredible speeds, almost looking like a blur.
Ralsei sends enemy pellets against it, but the paper cuts them like a knife, hitting his coaster and damaging it.
It will cut through your shield, Kris! You’ve got to dodge it.
Kris follows your orders. Before it can hit the coaster, he slows it down, managing to narrowly avoid it.
Susie casually sends more copies of the Devilsknife against it while he is distracted, trying to hit Berdly himself.
Berdly quickly moves his tornadoes upwards, catching the scythes. He increases their speed and sends them straight back towards Susie.
So fast that she can’t react. They hit her coaster, and smoke comes out. She growls in anger.
“Susie, that move won’t work!” You shout at her. “We have to think of a new strategy!”
She snarls and nods at you. “I’m thinking about it!”
Berdly smugly laughs, “You stopped trying to pretend you were a crewmate, and showed your true imposter nature, teaming up with SUSIE! Saying LIES! Acting out of character… or better yet, in your TRUE character!”
You feel yourself growing even more frustrated.
What’s the name of the guy in cartoons who disguises his love with hate?
“Tsundere.”
Yeah. I hate those. He’s one of those to Susie.
“Still with this?”
Susie looks towards her own damaged coaster, and back towards Berdly’s smug coaster. She glows with an idea, “Kris, I’ve got an idea!” She shouts at you.
You quickly shake your head and focus on Susie.
We need to stop falling for Nerdly's taunts!
"You almost got it right..."
“We’re listening,” Kris says.
“(We need to strike Berdly’s coaster!)” She shouts at you.
You raise an eyebrow. You look towards Berdly’s tornado shield, “(But that shield of his blocks all of your and Ralsei’s attacks…)”
“(Exactly. That’s why we’re going to hit him with the coaster itself! In my word, you have to speed up!)” She exclaims.
Susie turns toward the chicken nugget man, swinging more copies of the Devilsknife towards him, “Maybe you’re just jealous Kris has actual friends!”
Susie's words are like prickly beams to Berdly, making him furious. He grips his halberd even harder, his beak clenches ever so slightly, “I have friends! Noelle and Queen are both my friends!”
The Devilsknife circles his coaster, in the opposite direction of his tornado's spin.
“Pssht, if they are your friends, why aren’t they helping you?” Susie's words make Berdly stomp his feet.
You quietly mouth towards Ralsei, urging him to help Susie. He complies, sending enemy pellets to help the clown’s scythe.
He needs to learn how to do things by himself…
“Queen is helping me!” Berdly looks proud. “Just watch!”
Nothing happens.
Berdly’s tornadoes get weaker and weaker in the meantime.
“Um, my glorious Queen?” He looks towards her.
Queen simply taps on her cellphone. “I Am Sorry That Happened (Or Happy For You)”
Berdly looks defensive, glaring at Susie’s smug face, “S-She’s just busy! A Queen as wonderful as ours doesn’t need to bother herself with—”
Before he can even finish, his tornadoes dissipate in a rush.
Leaving him defenseless.
Susie sends a wink towards you.
Kris, strike! Now!
He rushes, accelerating the coaster.
It feels incredible, and it smashes into Berdly's coaster, shutting the annoying bird up.
Immense relief floods you.
I really needed that.
Berdly’s car emits smoke, but it does not falter. “You two really are imposters, trying to lower my guard with fake tasks… But it doesn't matter. I will show you bumper cars is a game of intellect, not skill!”
He concentrates his wind magic on himself, “My Queen, now, like we practiced!”
Queen perks up, “Oh Yeah That Thing Ok Dear Activating Rollercoaster V.2”
Queen presses a button, and the entire track becomes immediately more complicated. Gone are the straight lines, replaced by a complete maze.
The track curves, loops, and runs around in different shapes.
Berdly uses his wind magic, dragging his car towards one of the tracks and driving off. The same track that Ralsei’s coaster was going in.
Soon, they were both gone.
Susie’s coaster goes into a tunnel, leaving you all alone with Queen.
You look at her expectantly. “Um, are we fighting now?”
Queen laughs, it echoes in the small tunnel, “Oh Lol No. I Pride Myself In Being The Final Boss. Our Rematch (Real Life) Is Only Later”
You keep eyeing Queen suspiciously, but she just goes back to her phone.
You feel a calm fall into place, but you still quiver in anxiety.
Um… what do we do now? Do we just wait for Ralsei to return? I am kinda worried about him.
“Just try to see him. Did you forget our training?”
Your eyes widen.
Crap, I did forget! I can just do what I did in Card Kingdom! Wait… did you know about this all this time?
“Yes. I know many things. But no use dwelling on that. Now, you need to think about Ralsei. He needs backup.”
You feel an apprehension bubble inside you.
You need to stop being so freaking cryptic. We’re one being, you have to share with me.
“You’re not that far in homebase yet, dear.”
You chuckle at that and shake your head.
You couldn’t help but concede that the human is right.
You can’t waste time thinking about that, your friend needs you.
You focus your thoughts on the goat, his fluffy form, his kindness, and his receptiveness towards you.
You close your eyes and—
Ralsei dodged another one of the bird’s papers, countering it with one of his own pellets.
He knew his own magic far better than the Lightner in front of him; he was reckless and rude, and didn't know the weight of his power.
It made sense, after all. He trained every day for the day he would unite with the heroes and fulfil the prophecy. Meanwhile, Lightners couldn’t use their magic.
Ralsei knew who Berdly was. He was foretold by the prophecy after all. All was.
But it wasn’t his place to confront him, he knew his role in this all.
He would fulfill it and then…
His face scrunched up. He didn’t like to think about it.
He slowed down his coaster, dodging another one of the halberd's strikes.
Berdly was sweating, “I thought you would be easy XP, just being Kris’ weird lackey guy. But you’re quite crafty, aren’t you? Any gamer knows you need to grind to defeat the hard boss!”
Berdly summoned more tornadoes, throwing more paper at them, in his strategy to make them extra deadly.
Ralsei, of course, countered all of them. A pellet there, a scarf attack to dispel it there, and all the bird’s attacks ceased to be.
His attacks were easy to predict, he could have ended this entire fight a long time ago if he wanted.
But that wasn’t his role.
He needed to listen to the foretold one.
Susie didn’t want to listen to her, and that was weird and made him uncomfortable. Yet, that seemed to be another thing the foretold one wanted, so he couldn’t complain.
The foretold one, the one with SOUL bright as the sun. The SOUL of vibrant red, filled with love.
The one both his masters told him about.
It was funny, he thought, that both of his masters hated each other, but both loved the foretold one equally, like she was family.
A Darkner's purpose was to serve Lightners; that’s why they were created. That’s why they existed.
And he was serving the greatest Lightner of all.
Just thinking about her made him feel secure. She held the FATE of this world, and so he had to listen to her to ensure the safety of the Earth herself.
Now, he didn’t have to worry.
He could sense she was here already.
“Ralsei, use your pellets to snuff out his tornadoes, then bump into him!”
So it was just Susie’s strategy. Not really the best one, he could just send his pellets from above and strike it down.
He could control their direction better than Berdly could control his wind.
But he had to follow it.
He needed to follow it.
“Um, Berdly, was it? Why are you siding with Queen? You know she is just manipulating you, right?” He asked the bird.
Truthfully, he didn’t care about it. Berdly’s role in the prophecy was minimal, and Kris didn’t care about him either.
But he needed to distract the bird, as he sent his pellets around the coaster.
“Queen is NOT manipulating me! She said so herself, I am ‘Perfect Symbolism’ because I am controlled by ‘Memes’, and that I contrasted with dear Noelle.” Berdly was distracted.
His tornadoes were almost dissipating.
Ralsei might have a lot of patience, but the bird really was annoying.
“Now, I do post some pretty ‘spicy memes’ like the guys online like to say, but I’ve always thought Noelle could be quite funny as well, once she—”
Finally, his tornadoes dissipated. With his fur bristling with annoyance, he drove his coaster straight at Berdly’s, crashing it.
Berdly’s car looked damaged, with cracks on it. Even its beak had fallen off.
“Tricking me, just like Kris and Susie.” He looked angry. “Truly, you three are born from the same ilk. Alas, what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”
And with a gust of wind, he drives off to another track.
“To Susie’s, I guess.” He said it out loud, so that the foretold one could know.
He can feel her presence leaving. Soon, he will be alone again.
But at least he knows now his friends are waiting for him.
“Oh Wow So You’re Saying The Knife Gun Is The Best Item?” Queen says, her visor showing a question mark.
I can sense you returned. Didn’t expect you to return this soon. I can feel you’re a little dizzy.
It doesn’t seem like you will ever get used to it.
Huh? What’re you doing?
“Just telling Queen what the best gun in Night Fort is.”
You eye Queen, and then back to Kris, as if they’re both weirdos.
(I guess that’s better than him just standing there and doing nothing.)
Well, I am going to Susie now.
“Good luck.”
You think back on Susie, her strong demeanor, her attitude, and rebellious streak.
Of how passionate she is, as Kris continues his conversation with Queen.
You close your eyes and…
“That scythe of yours is DEMONIC!” Berdly yelled, trying his hardest to stop Susie’s and Jevil’s rampage.
The Devilsknife flew, struck, and dodged Berdly’s air attacks. He seethed, but couldn’t counterattack.
“RUN, IF YOU CAN’T PLAY THE GAME. BUT BOTH OF US KNOW YOU’RE STILL TRAPPED INSIDE YOUR OWN WALLS!” Jevil’s voice came in from the scythe as Susie howled with laughter.
To be completely honest with herself, she thought the clown was a straight-up freak when she first met him.
After all, it kept saying nonsense about freedom and prisons, and was completely delusional. She wouldn’t even talk about how weird Kris acted during that fight.
She would never say it out loud, but he scared her that day. But now, after having it as a weapon, plus a tail that was actually cool and big and strong that people didn’t get scared of, and respected her for it?
She couldn’t be happier.
“First off, I am a gamer; gamers never give up! Second, I play only the best of the best, with the best reviews and user scores! Not cringey games like Kris! Third, there are no walls here, we’re in the open, so you’re objectively incorrect!” Berdly retorts.
Both Susie and Jevil laugh even harder.
Man, does he not understand irony? Is he that dumb???
“Stop laughing, Susie! I am a meme lord, a respected—” Berdly just cut himself off as the laughter increased, “Of course, the class hellion doesn’t understand etiquette…”
He jumped up, sending magical projectiles to his tornadoes, which sped them up, aiming right at Susie.
She just smirked, slowing down her cart, causing them to fly over her head.
“Ha, is that all you—” Her eyes widened as she shut her mouth.
Papers appeared behind the projectiles, causing her eyes to widen in fear.
She quickly summoned the clown’s scythe back into her hands, trying to strike them back.
But the papers were crafty and managed to strike her cart.
“Ha! HA! I knew you would be the easy prey, Susie! I can already taste the victory, it is sweet, succulent, and MINE!” Berdly laughed smugly.
Susie growled with anger. It always came down to this, didn’t it? People underestimating her, thinking the worst about her.
Maybe I should tell Berdly who the easy prey is, maybe then he would…
“Susie, don’t listen to him, you can do it!”
Susie’s eyes widened. That voice again?! Kris’s weird high-pitched voice?
She breathed in. It doesn’t matter, it’s probably her own thoughts.
Plus, it was right, she needed to calm down.
She had friends now, Lancer, Ralsei, Kris, and even her weird, insane weapon.
She doesn’t need to care about what others think of her anymore. Especially not Berdly.
His cart looked pretty damaged, with all that smoke coming out. Maybe if she just—
She smirked. An idea blossomed in her head.
She got a running start and jumped off her coaster, sailing in the air.
Berdly looked completely shocked at her actions, dropping his halberd and his magic dissipating, “What the— Susie?!”
Just the opportunity she was looking for.
With all her strength, she threw a Rude Buster filled with Jevil’s unholy magic at the coaster.
It struck it straight on.
“Game over, nerd!” She said, landing on her coaster in a cool pose she totally didn’t imagine for hours before bed.
“BOO HOO, UEE WEE. LOOKS LIKE THE LITTLE GAMER LOST THE GAME. HOW SAD, SAD!”
“Oh Hoo I Got The Number One Victory Royale” Queen says, small cheers coming from her chair, “Kris Your Assessment Was: Correct (The Knife-Gun Kicks Ass)”
You return to Kris, your golden eyes taking over his crimson ones. You feel dizzy, recovering from your out-of-body experience.
God, this feels so weird!
“I can’t even imagine it. Did you do it?”
Yeah, I think the bird guy should be…
The tracks recede all back in the same line, joining back up.
Berdly’s coaster looks like it’s barely holding on.
Completely defeated!
Looking at Berdly’s furious and shocked face, I can see your guess isn’t far off.
“No, there’s no way that I, of all people, lost to SUSIE?!” Berdly yells indignantly. Berdly’s coaster explodes even harder, “N... No! My Queen! Save me…!!!”
And then all of it explodes. Kris covers his head from the debris of his coaster.
You see Berdly as a small blimp, as he blasts off to the sky.
Good riddance.
“… he’s not a Darkner, so he can die… But I am sure he’s fine.”
Let’s hope not… I don’t want to reLOAD my file. He’s annoying… but I don’t want him to die.
You think that, but you don’t feel as much indignation as you thought you should.
Curious… this wouldn’t have happened in our world.
“Oh Bhurghley Where Are You I Thought I Had Heard Something” Queen flies to the scene, her blue chair standing in front of the three coasters.
Susie raises her weapon to attack.
Queen raises a hand. “Oh No I Am Only The Final Boss Lol This Isn’t A Speedrun. I Only Came Here To Say Good And Bad News: Which Do You Guys Want?”
“Um, the good news?” Ralsei says nervously to her.
“Oh Well The Good News Is That Little Trick I Pulled Earlier Pulled All The Tracks Leading To The City To You. That Means There Are No More Tracks Left Lmao (Making The Rollercoaster: Unfinished)” Queen’s visor says “lmao”, “Your Settings Have Been Set To: Pain”
Susie looks aghast, “AND WHAT’S THE BAD NEWS THEN?”
“Oh No That Was Also The Bad News (But For You)” Queen laughs as she flies away, showing the empty floor.
The coaster falls from the tracks straight into the abyss as everyone screams.
There’s no time to even react or try to jump off. You just fall into the abyss, your head hitting the coaster.
Pain floods through your body, as darkness fills your vision.
Chapter 25: CHAPTER 2, PART 8: THE MESSAGE
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
FINALLY, YOU ARE ALL ALONE. THE TIME FOR OUR CONTACT COMES, AND AN ANGEL JOINS YOU.
Notes:
Alright, everyone, I just came back from playing Chapters 3 and 4. They were awesome. I am really happy that a certain character canonically approves of the story. That was based. Even though canon continues, we can always have a new story that reads between the lines.
The release is also making the story pop off! I am really thankful for all the kudos and comments. They mean the world to me.
My DELTA RUNE will also be finished, and I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter Text
Pain floods your limbs as darkness fills your vision. You feel as if you were in a river. A river that flows endlessly, even beyond the horizon.
The comfortable darkness that makes you want to live in it.
Forever.
The darkness that feels like home.
There’s no lighthouse to lighten the way this time, nor the siren’s voice to wake you up.
If it remains like this, you will never wake up.
I can’t allow that.
I drain the ocean myself. I bring light to the river.
And you wake up.
Your eyes widen as you return to the waking world.
You try to get up.
You fail.
You try again.
You fail.
What’s happening? Why… can’t I get up?
I have awakened you, but Kris is still asleep.
Are you kidding me? How am I going to get up?!
You try even harder, gathering all your focus to wake Kris.
You fail.
His body feels as heavy as a ton.
He is completely knocked out.
If this were going to happen, I would prefer to stay asleep! Urgh!
You feel frustration swelling up on you.
Yet, I feel a hint of defiance springing forward.
I know you’re not the type to give up.
That’s why I woke you up.
(If I can’t wake Kris up… maybe I can just do it like the game, and…)
You focus your thoughts outwards, beyond your body.
Darkness dissipates, replaced by a view of a trash area.
Trash piles are lined across the floor, together with corrupted data and floating ads.
Relief floods through you, being incapable of smelling the foul stench.
After all, you don’t have a nose to smell anything now.
Close to the floor stands your whole party. You can see Kris completely knocked out.
Ralsei and Susie are also knocked out, with the goat on top of the purple dragon.
It doesn’t seem like they are waking up anytime soon.
Still, I have to try! We can’t be here forever!
Gathering up your thoughts, you try to wake the human again.
Kris, you need to get up!
Nothing happens.
C’...C’mon, Kris! You can’t give up like this!
Nothing happens. He doesn’t even stir.
Y...You need to stay determined!
Nothing.
The wind is blowing.
Please…
Worry fills your SOUL.
Will you let it end like this?
No, I won’t! If Kris can’t get up, then I…
You go back to Kris’ body.
But instead of trying to wake up the human, you try to control it.
Unlike every other time, instead of becoming one with it and thus feeling everything he feels, you simply project yourself into him.
You put your essence above the body itself to control it from the outside.
J…Just like the game… Please, work!
You move your arms. You move your legs. You move your eyes. You move everything.
It feels numb, you can’t feel anything from Kris.
You don’t feel pain, nothing at all.
I… It’s working!
You get up, not even feeling any difference. You can’t feel the floor you’re standing on, nor can you tell you even stood up if it wasn’t for the height difference.
You don’t even feel your clothes changing.
Like before in the virtual world, your cape expands, becoming a long robe that covers your whole body. The knight armor disappears, replacing the cape and becoming shoulder pads.
You don’t notice it, but I do.
Interesting…
Could it be because of your essence? Could it be because you’re in control?
And with this change, a feeling of euphoria fills you. But why…?
It’s because you feel as if his body is now yours? Do you finally feel like a person again?
Curious… I only did this to accelerate your progress, but now…
I have to see what you will do.
This is quite interesting.
Not privy to my musings, however, you move towards the inventory.
To wake up Ralsei and Susie.
You pick up two CDs, as your hand almost passes over the card that is Lancer.
“(Wow, Red Heart, you feel weird! And look weird! Did something happen?)” The spade asks you.
“Look… weird?” You ask, raising an eyebrow. It’s hard to see your body, due to the numbness and the lack of light.
“(Hoho! I guess it wouldn’t be weird for you to wear that, Red Heart!!)” Lancer replies.
It feels weird to even speak, due to the numbness of the body. Yet, you can’t help but frown.
“(O… Okay…?)” You say to him. You look at your body, but you can’t see anything. “(I kind of wish I knew what you’re talking about…?)”
“(Okey! I am going to take a nap now!)” He immediately falls asleep as if a switch was flipped.
“I guess not…” You whimper.
You walk towards Susie and Ralsei and give them the CDs.
Healing magic flows through them, waking them up. They quietly stir and then get up.
“Urgh, Kris, I…” Ralsei groggily says. He wipes his eyes, but as he looks at you…
His eyes widen, and he almost jumps out of fright. “K-Kris… that’s…!”
You look at him weirdly. “Do I look… weird?”
A blush covers his snout, his fur standing still, “Did something happen while we were gone?”
You decide not to tell the goat what happened.
(After all… Kris did say not to tell anyone about me. I’m just doing what I am told.)
You don’t buy into your own justification.
“Nope.” You reply to him with a raspberry.
Ralsei still eyes you weirdly as Susie wakes up.
You can see that she wakes up with more difficulty, slower, “I’m awake… I’m awake…” She turns to you, and just like with Ralsei, her eyes widen, now actually jumping away with fright, “WOAH HEY KRIS WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?”
She clutches her ribs in pain from the outburst. You don’t know what to say to her. What could you possibly say?
Not even you understand what happened.
Thankfully, Ralsei seems to cover for you, “Well, Susie… You see… er…”
He looks back at you, his blush deepens, and he turns to Susie, “A Lightner’s Dark World outfit reflects the SOUL of that Lightner…”
“The SOUL…?” Susie asks him, eyeing her own clothes.
Ralsei nods, “Yes, your outfit here, Susie, is like that because it’s a representation of your own SOUL.”
Susie looks back at herself. “Huh… that’s cool.” She then looks smug. “I guess that means I have good taste, huh? I already knew that!”
Ralsei smiles at Susie. “It’s very… Susie-like!” He looks back at you again, suddenly looking more nervous, “K-Kris's outfit must have changed because… his SOUL changed in some way…!”
That’s not quite the truth, but that’s not quite a lie, either.
But it is an acceptable explanation that convinces Susie, “Heh.” She snorts. “I hope this means you didn’t become more of a weenie, Kris!”
She tries to playfully punch you, but then she clutches her arm in pain.
Your eyes widen, “Susie, are you ok?!”
She grimaces, “I-I’m fine, I just got a couple of extra scratches from protecting Ralsei from the fall. Like a h-hero.”
Ralsei audibly “aws”, “Maybe I can look at it to repay the favor?” He moves towards her.
Susie’s yellow eyes widen, trying to back away as Ralsei approaches her, “T-There’s no need! This is nothing and—”
He hugs her before she can finish, enveloping her in a green healing magic.
Her wounds are healed as the goat walks away. She clutches her hands as he asks, “Feel better?”
Susie scratches her mane, “Well, I DIDN’T NEED ANY HELP AND—” She looks down, a blush covers her face, her scales bristling, “But I, uh, don’t feel WORSE, I guess.” She looks pensive, “...How do you do that anyway? That healing… green… thingy.”
You eye Susie weirdly, confusion flaring up in your SOUL.
(Susie doesn’t know about healing magic? But mo—Toriel—said that it was common magic… Is Susie really that sheltered?)
Your face frowns at that thought. You feel as if it isn’t right, but you don’t know the reason why.
“Oh, healing magic?” Ralsei asks her. “It's simple, Susie. Anyone can do it.”
Now that’s something you can understand.
Indeed, back in our world, healing magic was a thing any monster could do. With some exceptions, of course.
(Like a certain lazy skeleton).
(But why doesn’t Susie know about this?)
Your face frowns, unable to find the answer.
You still haven’t understood that this world has a different history.
“...I could even teach you, if you're interested.” Ralsei offers it to Susie.
Susie scoffs, walking away, “Heh, ask me again when it's, like—” She makes an explosion noise with her mouth “—blood explosion magic.”
“(Susie is going to learn blood explosion magic? She is getting cooler by the second!)” Lancer says from your inventory.
“(That’s an actual thing?)” You whisper to the spade. Your eyes then widen. “(Wait, weren’t you asleep!?)”
“(No! But it sure would be cool if it was! And I am sleep-talking, like all round boys do!)”
You look inside your pocket to see that he was, indeed, sleep-talking.
“But, um, if you WANTED…” Susie continues, unprivy to your discussion. “I guess I could learn it.” She crosses her arms and turns around, “Then you wouldn't, y'know, have to annoy me with it anymore.”
“Sure, Susie, maybe next time!” Ralsei cheers.
Susie just scoffs, walking behind you, “Let’s just move on, Kris. If your, uh, weird dress thingy even allows it. Hehe.”
“Dress…?” You ask her, still unable to see yourself. “What are you talking about?”
“Really?!” Susie looks shocked. “Dude, you are wearing…”
“I think it’s better to move on.” Ralsei curtly says, interrupting Susie. “We need to seal the fountain as quickly as possible, right?”
As always, he’s perfect at focusing on the goal.
Just as I want him to be.
(That was… weird… but he’s right. We need to move on.)
Soon, you exit the garbage area. You pass first by a doorframe that you recognized before, back in Card Kingdom.
(That’s a warp door frame. I should make a note of that.)
Or maybe not. Maybe you won’t need to backtrack.
…
That's what I want to think, at least.
Making a mental note on the doorframe, you enter a poorly lit corridor.
A lightbulb barely hangs on in the ceiling, and in front of you stands a fork in the road.
It feels like a very secluded place, where nobody outside would hear you.
Ralsei walks forward, in his usual regal way, but there’s a little bit of awkwardness in it. You don’t notice it, though, not with your dull senses.
“It seems there’s a fork in the path…” He looks at you, still blushing, “It… might be advantageous if we split up…” He gestures towards you. “Who do you want to go with?” He says that with a wink.
You eye him confusedly until it clicks in your head.
(Before fighting Berdly… he wanted to talk to me about something… about Susie… maybe he is…? And besides… I could ask him about SOULs and whatever happened with me… Kris is asleep, so maybe…)
You move forward, “Well, I wanna go with—”
“Hey, why does Kris choose all the time?” Susie cuts you off before you can say Ralsei’s name.
You almost trip up in confusion.
(Is there something bad about me choosing?).
You try to say something. “Susie, I just want—”
Susie runs forward and firmly grabs Ralsei’s hand, “Ralsei, you’re going with ME!” Not even letting you finish.
She drags him away as the goat screams and whines, “H-Huh?! K-Kris, I am sorry…!” His voice grows smaller and smaller as he leaves.
You are all alone.
Except for Lancer in your pocket, who is asleep, you truly are alone this time.
Kris is still knocked out, so it’s only you.
And me.
You clench your hands together, sensing your body. You feel something weird.
(My outfit… Why was Susie talking about it? Is it because Kris is gone?)
You look towards the horizon. The whole world stands in front of you, you are free to do as you wish.
You are free.
(This is the first time I’ve been without Kris since I woke up… Maybe I can…)
You feel yourself smiling.
(I can be like the game, I can—)
RING! RIIIIIIIING!!!
Your phone rings.
Kris' phone is ringing.
RING!!! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!
Before you can think. Before you can move. Before you can do anything, it rings.
Your phone is calling you.
Even though that’s impossible.
Even though the phone shouldn’t work in the Dark World…
It’s calling to you.
It’s happening.
Quickly, you grab it.
You open it.
There’s nothing inside.
No calls.
No messages.
And yet…
YOU GOT A MESSAGE FROM ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️!
ACCEPT IT?
YES/NO
→YES
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: I know this is sudden, but I am really glad you accepted my invitation! I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t, LOL!
YOU: who this?
YOU: idk that this phone could dm tbh
YOU: are you one of kris friends
YOU: i mean
YOU: my friends
YOU: i am kris
YOU: obviously
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Oh wow, that’s awkward! I forgot to introduce myself! It’s just that it’s been so long since I talked to someone that I just forgot, how lame! Phones weren’t even this advanced when I used them the last time!
YOU: wow
YOU: Wowowowowoowowowoowowowowowow
YOU: WOW
YOU: u r sounding like a boomer now tbh smh
YOU: u r like mom
YOU: i mean
YOU: toriel
YOU: wait
YOU: wait wait
YOU: it was right the first time
YOU: i
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: There’s no need to worry, Goner! That’s your name, right? The name you choose? I know you’re not Kris. There’s no need to worry!
YOU: what
YOU: who are you
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Ah, I really need to get on to the introductions! I am ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜. I am what you could call an assistant to ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛. Y’know, the guy you talked to a couple of times. He can appear to be quite a freak, but he’s very sweet once you know him!
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Don’t… tell him I told you that.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Please.
YOU: oh
YOU: OH!
YOU: idk who u r but i know who u talking about
YOU: your name is quite funny btw
YOU: it’s a very jolly name!
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Ahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahaha!!!
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Jolly! That’s so funny.
YOU: yeah i am kinda of a comedian myself
YOU: trained by the best and all
YOU: also.
YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME FROM “YOU” TO “GONGONGON”
GONGONGON: better name since you already know
GONGONGON: also
GONGONGON: why did you call me?
GONGONGON: i was finally alone
GONGONGON: maybe one of the darkners was going to tell me how to leave kris.
GONGONGON: we both could be free!
GONGONGON: that’s what you want, right?
GONGONGON: that’s why he made that body for me
GONGONGON: please
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: That’s… what I am here to talk about. I understand your pain. Your desire to be free. You were never supposed to stay stuck in Kris' body. Even talking to you right now was very hard. We worked hard to make this channel immune to the enemy’s sight.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: You can’t leave Kris's body. Not yet. I want to, but the enemy surrounds you. They would interfere again.
GONGONGON: that doesn’t help
GONGONGON: at all
GONGONGON: i hate quiters
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Yes. You’re very determined. That’s what the boss loves about you… But sometimes… being determined isn’t a good thing.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: I was determined once, too. I wanted to do something very important. Something that broke the laws of the world itself…
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: And I did it. And I shouldn’t have. It ruined everything. Now I can’t even remember myself. If it wasn’t for the boss, I…
GONGONGON: whoa
GONGONGON: so does that mean u r like
GONGONGON: me
GONGONGON: a weird freak with no memory?
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Yes! You could say I am quite a… freak, myself. An adventurous sort, faha… But… I am not like you. I still have my body. It’s just…
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Well, that’s enough talking about me. I came here to talk to you, after all!
GONGONGON: that sounds like you want to hide smth
GONGONGON: BUT
GONGONGON: since u r nice i will let you
GONGONGON: this time
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: That’s great to hear. You’re very nice, Goner!
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Now… we can see your frustration. Your anger. You think the entire world is against you, don’t you? You want to take it in your hands and tell it to screw off, right?
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: You want freedom, don’t you? I know that feeling.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: You’re at a crossroads right now. If you wanted to, you could ruin everything.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: That’s why I am sending you this message. Don’t give in to that anger. There’s someone who really cares about you.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: He cheers when you succeed. He whispers what you should do.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: And he gets sad when you get mad.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: He has been very sad lately, seeing you so mad.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: If you don’t think you can endure it, then please…
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Try to do it for him.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: We are with you in the dark.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️: Always.
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ HAS LEFT.
You are looking at it intensely.
Looking at it so intensely that you’re crying.
They fall to the floor, sound being brought to the quiet room.
Yet, the phone’s screen is still empty.
Something happened.
Something that was deliberately hidden from me.
Something that changed you.
...Not knowing troubles me.
You wipe your tears away and move your hand to your inventory.
(They’re… They’re right. I need to keep going. And I can’t do it alone.)
Thoughts only to yourself.
Thoughts that I can hear anyways.
So you did talk to someone.
But who…
It can’t be him, so…
Who could it be?
(I need Kris to wake up. Maybe if I heal his body, he will…)
You pick up the CD, and then eat it. It makes a funny sound effect, but you feel healing magic coursing through your body.
Soon enough, you can feel your body awakening. The numbness disappears, and you can finally feel it now.
The dry air. The texture of the ground. The smell of garbage.
You’re alive again.
Your robes disappear, shrinking into a cape. The knight armor returns, and so does the red glow in Kris’ eyes.
“Greetings.”
Kris looks around, trying to find Susie and Ralsei.
“Wh...What did I miss? Where’s Susie?”
Nervousness floods through your soul.
Will you tell him how you puppeteered his body around? Will you tell him who you talked to?
Do you trust him enough?
A glint of something appears in your eye. A glint of… mischievousness?
That feeling gathers around you.
It’s a S-E-C-R-E-T!
“...Explain.”
I would tell you, but you never tell me anything, do you?
“…”
So… why not make a deal? I will tell you… If you tell me something about yourself.
Clever, very clever. You held a position of advantage, so you used it against Kris. This is unusual for you, but after all, what’s even normal in this world?
However…
“I refuse.”
H-Huh?
“She is obviously fine, since otherwise you would be freaking out. So, we will find her soon enough.”
You internally pout. Your plan didn’t work out, did it? Of course, he would refuse.
You can’t be privy to everything we do.
Kris quietly snickers as you sigh.
Just when I finally thought I had you.
“Maybe you can try again in New Game+.”
What?
“... you wouldn’t get it.”
With your spirit flaring even higher, you walk forward.
The dimly lit room slowly disappears, being replaced by bright lights.
Buildings, almost stretching to the sky, cover your vision as a lit-up sign tells you where you are.
“‘WELCOME TO THE CITY’” It says… But, um… what city?” You say to yourself.
Didn’t anybody ever tell you that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity?
...This is very hypocritical coming from me.
In the corner of your eye, you see it.
The light that shines even brighter.
You hold on to it. You have neither fluffy boys nor mean girls around you, but the power of spade boys and mysterious humans fills you.
You hold the world in place, and then move again.
You SAVE.
You enter the city.
*
You walk through this bright city, neon posts covering the tall buildings. Neon posts of cats and other cute things. You remember those being the same ones Queen showed you when you first met her.
In her example of “memes”.
And indeed, those memes seem to litter the entire city. Cat posters there, funny fail compilation videos over there, but despite the bright exterior of this city, you only feel cold in here.
There might be all these lights and stimulation pumped into your brain, but the place feels… empty, for lack of a better word. You have been walking and walking across town for quite a while, but you haven’t seen a single hint of anyone there.
No Darkners anywhere.
It's like a ghost town.
Of course, that wasn’t completely true, there were actual Darkners there. But they were weird. Bipedal ambulances that moved around like soldiers, patrolling the area. They looked almost lifeless to you.
Thankfully, they seemed to go only on a set path, so avoiding them was easy.
But the worst, at least for you, were the Queen posters. Plastered even more than the visual garbage were faces of Queen looking at people below in the city.
Some might have different poses, some could be holding different things, but all of them had her visor looking at the city.
Together with the caption, “She Who Controls The Memes Controls The World.”
Unease filled your steps as you walked across town,
Hey, Kris… Doesn’t this place feel… Empty… to you?
“What, because of the lack of people?”
Not just that… It feels fake… As if it’s trying to radiate happiness, but it’s just empty inside. It’s almost… sad.
The human doesn’t get the chance to respond, quickly seeing a white shape move to a nearby alleyway.
He knows who that is.
“Noelle entered there. Let’s go!”
You almost lose your step, letting your thoughts about the city take a backseat, and instead running towards the alleyway.
Your steps are boosted by Kris’ desires, and quickly you arrive at your destination.
Kris's deductions were indeed correct: that long face, those antlers, that white dress.
That is Noelle standing there.
She turns around and almost jumps in fear from seeing you, “K-Kris…!! What are you-”
“Oh Noelle Sweetie” Queen’s automated voice comes in, making Noelle jump out of fright.
Actually, this time.
She hides in a corner, her face cast by shadow, hidden from sight, “(Don’t let her see me!)” She sounds scared.
“Noelle Sweetie Honey Please Come Back We’ve Got More Memes To Ban. You Are Still My Successor. My Peon” A tall, blue figure enters the alleyway.
It is Queen.
Quickly, you are on guard.
“...Kris.” She looks beyond you, “It Seems Like Your Common Partnership Ended.”
She must be talking about Ralsei and Susie leaving.
But you aren’t all alone.
You refused to be alone.
They refused to let you be alone.
Queen sighs a metallic sigh, “… So It Has To Be This Way…” She looks around, “In Order To Find Our Meme Inheritors We Have…” She holds her fists sky-high, “To Form A Bond (Also Called Truce)”
“(But I thought we’re the truce trucies blue person!)” Lancer sleeptalks… again.
Before you can even think of answering her or Lancer, an annoying and familiar voice comes around, “Queen!!! My splendid, luxurious Queen!!! I have some brand new memes for you!!!”
It’s Berdly, carrying a tablet with bad gamer compilations…
Queen seems to share your displeasure, her visor turning into swirls, “Oh No I Hate His Memes”
Jumping into the same corner and standing on the walls with a standing split.
Right above Noelle.
Who looks wide-eyed at Queen above her.
Kris internally laughs as the bluebird enters the alleyway holding his tablet.
His face immediately scrunches in disgust over seeing you, “Ah… If it isn’t the sussy imposter Kris… NOT the crewmate I was looking for.”
Do any of his sentences make sense?
“Alas, you must be wondering how I survived our epic scuffle.” He looks to the sky, ready for another flashback. “You see, I was-”
“No, I wasn’t.” You quietly but sharply cut him off, making his face contort in fury as Queen quietly laughs.
“Well… You…” He looks around you, “Where’s the rest of your imposter crew? Don’t tell me they even ejected your suspicious self! Ha, ha, HA!” He points at you. “That’s what you get!”
“Well, where’s your crew then?” You strike back at him, making him flinch in shock.
“W-Well, they are just busy… waiting for me to play Among Us with them…!” He nods to himself, building confidence, “Yeah… Yeah! They must be listening to the groovy trap remixes as they wait for my genius to join the game!”
In the corner of your eye, you can see Queen’s visor say a bright “No”.
Berdly’s bravado dissipates, “Sigh… So it has to be this way…” He turns from you, taking a big breath, “It appears… we need to form a bond… Also known to us intellectuals as… a truce.”
“What The Beep. You Meme Sponge You Are Not Supposed To Just Steal That Meme From Me!” Queen shouts from the corridor.
Berdly looks around as you contain your laughter, “What was that?”
“It’s Just The Video You're Carrying Dear.”
“Ah ok.” Berdly starts walking away, “Now you’re a crewmate of MY crew. Don’t forget to do your TASKS, as I do MINE! (Queen made me into a “janitor”, a very splendorous position!)”
Just like that, he is off.
Before you can even sigh in relief, Queen jumps down. “Kris As Part Of Our Truce (The Better One)” her visor changes to exclamation marks, “Keep Distracting Berdly And Find Noelle”
She looks pensive, “Because You See… Berdly… He Is…” She runs over to you, holding your shoulder, “He Isn’t Bad As A Person (Personally) He Is Just A Sponge.” She squishes your shoulder at that, “For Very Annoying Memes.”
She runs away, “Toodles”, and just like that, she is off.
You’re all alone again.
At least until Noelle jumps out of the shadow, “Kris, I... um... if it's okay,” She stammers, “... G-Got any room for another truce?”
Without skipping a beat, you reply, “Of course, I would love to.”
Noelle eyes you weirdly, “Um… sure. (Kris must be really enthusiastic…)”
Why does she always look at me that way?
Noelle has now joined your party, despite your worry.
Now with two people, you walk forward… Just for Noelle to stop you with a question, “So, um, any idea where Susie is?” She says that with a blush, her nose faintly glowing.
You narrow your eyes at her, lips thin.
“What!? WHAT!?” She looks away. “I'm just asking!! It's a normal question!!”
“You now feel what I felt as you walked around town asking for my brother. Karma.”
A blush comes to your face as you hold the light together. You’re filled with the power of embarrassment.
What did I do in my past life to receive such punishment…
With blessed ignorance, you and your new reindeer partner walk further into the city.
With the world itself as your oyster.
Chapter 26: Chapter 2 - Part 9: Welcome to the City!
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
You explore the city together with dear Noelle, learning more about the history and past of your body, Kris.
Notes:
Thanks for the 300 kudos, everyone! It seems like the release of Chapters 3 and 4 brought a lot of new readers on board! Just as a reminder, my Chapters 3 and 4 won't follow canon because I wrote them beforehand. Still, I hope everyone enjoys it!
Each kudos and comment means the world to me. I hope we can all enjoy my Deltarune together! Thanks for all the support!
Chapter Text
Skyscrapers that almost reach the sky. Billboards with dolphins, cats, and all sorts of cute animals. Ads for all kinds of products, whether for cleaning or dirtiness. Vending stands sell anything you can think of.
That’s what surrounded you in this moment, and that is where you are right now.
The Cyber City represents all the wonders of a virtual world. Or it should be, if it wasn’t like a ghost town.
The happiness, the freedom, replaced by Queen’s intense control.
And in an alleyway, deep inside the city, stand the heroes that shall stop her evil schemes.
A sweet reindeer, with long golden locks, emerald green eyes, and snow white robes. A girl who lives next door called Noelle.
She stands there watching you, a red SOUL trapped in a human’s body. The red soul with no memory simply called “Goner”.
And that body stands there in the corner of such an alleyway. The body with crimson eyes and cryptic nature called Kris.
His red eyes stare at his hands that hold something green.
Something mossy.
Something succulent.
You move a hand towards your mouth, and the taste floods your taste buds.
You moan in pleasure at such a delicious dish.
You speed up, grabbing even more, devouring all.
Then more
Then even more—
“Um, Kris, is eating the moss really going to help us get away from Queen? A-and, um, f-find Susie?” Noelle says with a sweet voice as she looks at you weirdly.
After making Noelle an official part of your group, you moved to the deeper parts of the city.
You avoided the weird ambulance patrol across the streets, moving from alleyway to alleyway, building to building, all while being in a tense silence with the doe.
Every time you tried to talk to her, it only ended awkwardly, with her eyeing you weirdly when she thought you couldn’t see her.
Until you entered this alleyway and saw it.
The moss.
Without even thinking, you moved towards it.
And that’s how we are in this situation.
CRUNCH!
“Noelle, eating the—”
CRUNCH!
“—moss is a—”
CRUNCH!
“—Lancer Fun Squad—”
CRUNCH!!!
“—bonding tradition!”
You say all of that between Kris’ bites. The power of teamwork allows you to talk while your body eats, an impossible task! You don’t even need to look towards Noelle.
She holds her hand in her mouth and quietly giggles. “Is that so, Krismas?” She says Kris' name with a teasing tone, “What even is this Lancer Fun Squad?” Her tone gets more serious, “Is it another one of your pranks?”
“It’s the name of our team.” Kris says while you eat, “Lancer is our mascot.”
“(Hoho, blue person, you are right! I am the mascot, I even got your theme song.)” Lancer’s voice comes from your inventory, located right in your back pocket.
“Hit it, Lancer!” You say, and at the same moment, it happens.
Cartoon splat noises come from the same back pocket, filling the silence of the alleyway.
You are blissfully unaware of the double connotations of those sounds coming from your pocket as you eat.
But Kris and I aren’t, smirking like two crazed maniacs.
“Wow, Kris, real mature,” Noelle says, complete understanding coming to her face.
But still, even she quietly smirks, “(Still, this is a very Kris thing to do. He had been acting weirdly since yesterday. With everything that has been happening, this strange, crazy world, I am glad that—)”
A shrill scream echoes in your ears.
The moss falls through your hands, and you get up, your eyes widening in fear.
You turn around quickly, Kris’s hair almost hitting your face. Your skin grows colder as you wipe it off your face, seeing…
Noelle. She was hunched over in panic. Her hands glow white as she shakes in fear.
Around her, there are frozen arrows. The frost grows stronger, traveling through the air and straight to the source of those arrows.
A frightened Virovirokun is shaking in fear.
“Move! Before Noelle makes it LOST!”
Right!
Your golden eyes widen as you move between the frost and the virus. “Noelle, calm down! Focus on my voice.” You look at her with a motherly smile.
As if a trance is broken, the ice defrosts, and the glow in Noelle’s hand disappears, “Um, Kris?! What happened…?” She looks towards the pink triangle virus, her eyes widening in fear, “H-huh?! What’s that?!?! What’s going on?!?!”
“Explain to her about FIGHTS.”
Isn’t she your friend? Shouldn’t YOU do that?!
“It's your turn now. You’re the one who listened to Ralsei’s tutorial.”
YOU WERE THERE TOO!!!
Kris doesn’t reply, making you grit your teeth. “(I swear, I didn’t ask to babysit—)” You shake your head and turn towards the reindeer. “Noelle, don’t freak out when I say this, but we’re in a FIGHT now and—”
“A-A-A F-FIGHT?!” Noelle follows the opposite of your advice, immediately freaking out.
“Y-yes, but don’t freak out. It’s n-not that bad!” You grab her shoulder, gently turning her to the shaking virus, “L-Look at it! Look at how scared it is, do you really think it means harm to us?”
Noelle looks at the virus intensely, the gears in her head turning, “No…”
“Exactly!” You walk closer to the Virovirokun, trying not to look intimidating. It works, and it stops shaking. “Now, in order for us to win a FIGHT, we need to ACT in a certain way that makes our enemies give up!”
“ACT?” Noelle asks you, moving closer to you.
“Yes. Here, let me show you!” You turn to the Virovirokun, talking to it with a kind, motherly voice that Toriel used to speak towards you, “Hello. You don’t need to be afraid anymore. We don’t mean any harm. Can you please tell me what's wrong?”
“T-The Ambyu-Lances…” It says in a shaking voice. “Th...They put all of us in quarantine… b...because we are ‘bad memes’. I.. don’t want to…”
Noelle steps up, “Oh, you are talking about those needle guys that are patrolling the city…” You look brightly at her, your SOUL filling with joy at seeing her stand up and ACT, “Maybe I could… talk with them…? I am, um, Queen’s ‘special peon’ so I could… do something about it?”
You follow up on Noelle’s persuasion, “And in the meantime, you can be RECRUITED to our town.”
With that final persuasion of inviting it to my town, it glowed white, a serene smile on its face.
And soon, it’s gone.
You smile widely, clapping hard, joy filling your heart. Kris groans at how much you look like Ralsei right now, “We WON! And you ACTed great, Noelle!” You finish it with a wink.
“This is actually…” Noelle smiles. “Really fun! It’s kinda like a VR version of Dragon Blazers! (I guess that’s how things work around here)”
You pick up the Dark Dollars left behind, you will never forget the Darkner tradition, and then you move on with Noelle.
Until footsteps come in, louder and louder, together with “Wee-woo-wee-woo”
Several Ambyu-Lances storm the room. Panic floods through you as they eye the alleyway, “Where’s the Virus? Destroy ‘bad meme’” They all stare at you, and you gulp in panic, “Bad meme spotted. Enemy of Queen. Send ’em to Quarantine”
You back away until your back hits the end of the alleyway.
“There are too many of them. You can’t fight all of them at once.”
No, there has to be a way! Maybe if I CHECK…?
Your eyes glow white, and you see the very essence of the enemy.
AMBYU-LANCE - ATK 8 DEF 8
ELEMENT: ORDER:ELEC.
LIKE: LOUD SIRENS.
DISLIKE: FUNNY SOUND EFFECTS.
An aggressive anti-virus. It’s not down with the sickness. If it doesn’t find an accident, it will make one.
Maybe we can…
Maybe we can… pretend to make an accident?
“What?”
Like, if I break one of my arms, they will heal it and be nice to us.
“That’s insane. And that’s my arm!”
Better to lose an arm than die!
“Better to do neither!”
Then what’s your idea—
Noelle moves in front of you, her body hiding you, “Er, no need. He’s with me!” She tries to say that with courage, but it sounds small.
But it’s enough to make the Cyber Police stop.
“Miss Noelle, you are dealing with this meme?” They ask her.
“Er, yes! I, um, noticed he is actually a good meme! Kris can, um, stay and meme around!” You feel a swell of irritation prop up on Kris, but it seems Noelle’s words worked.
The Ambyu-Lances seem to drop their guard.
“Well, if you say so, then it’s true!” Rainbows appear over their heads. “You’re Queen’s chosen successor, after all.”
“(Huh?!?! That actually worked?!?!)” The reindeer quickly follows up, “And, as a, um, new assignment, you guys should be recruited to Kris’ town, too.”
And even before she can finish it, they glow white, and I can feel their presence join my town.
And just after it, Noelle almost collapses, her entire bravado dissipating in sweat and fear, “Oh my GOD! That was so scary! I can’t believe that actually worked!”
You feel a surge of pride come from Kris as you quickly approach her, holding her shoulders in a tight embrace, “Noelle, that was amazing. You’re a natural.” You say, sounding truly relieved.
And thanks to you, we don’t have to lose an arm!
“We were never going to lose an arm.”
Looking embarrassed, with a faint red glow in her nose, she replies, “Well, I just did what the main protagonist of Dragon Blazers would do, fahahaha…”
You’re about to say something more, but Kris' voice comes to your head.
“Don’t say anything else. End the conversation here. That’s something I would do.”
So instead, you just smile towards her, walking out of the alleyway.
Noelle follows you, and the delicious moss stays there.
How I envy having a physical body sometimes.
*
After that display, you feel as if the ice between you and Noelle has melted. You truly feel comfortable around Noelle as you both walk through the city.
Now that the Ambyu-Lance patrol is gone, people have slowly come out of their houses.
And with it, the atmosphere that acted as a barrier between you and Noelle starts to disappear.
Multi-Colored people, shaped like humans, with very unhuman-like features, start to settle in the empty stands.
Their big noses. Their perpetual smiles. And their endless selling propaganda. All of that shows you’re going to get ripped off.
“(Dating shoes limited offer! Buy one dating shoe for 4.99 and receive another for the same price)”
“(Wondering what you taste like? Buy a tea based on yourself for only 9.99. And with only a 5.99 you can buy a combo with tea based on your friends!)”
“(Exclusive mannequin based on an old BIG SHOT celebrity. Only 299.99!)”
“(Want to block ads! Only 9.99! Note: Blocking ads doesn’t mean blocking all ads.)”
You look at the rising commotion with a mixture of pity and sadness.
I really want to buy something… but those prices are just too high.
“They’re selling garbage. We aren’t buying anything regardless of price.
You’re so mean! We need items, too!
“We aren’t—”
“Kris! Look! They sell tea based on Susie!” Noelle says, pointing to a vending stand, her fur bristling. “I need to tast— I mean, I need to know how she— I mean… Can we just buy it?”
You stifle a laugh as Kris rolls his eyes and buys one of them.
“You can also buy the entire set at a special discount!” The seller tells you. “It’s a 3-for-1 special!”
Buy the special!
Kris only buys the Susie tea and gives it to Noelle.
“Er… I think I would also like the set, Kris…” She says to him. He glares at her like a zombie. “H…He might need the money now that Queen is gone and all…”
Kris buys the entire set.
Oh, so you listen to her and not me! I see, now. Very classy.
You tried not to judge him.
Tried.
You don’t walk very far until Noelle decides to rest on a bench. This allows you to look at the now bustling city.
It’s wild how quickly something can change.
Jeez, this doesn’t even look like the same city!
“...We are childhood friends.”
What? Huh?!
“Me and Noelle.”
You look back at Noelle, remembering the strange, nostalgic emotions that came from Kris.
“That’s why… I wanted to fulfill her wishes. It’s been a while since we hung out. She’s the type to always want to help. She can’t say no. So it’s better to let her help, rather than crush her will.”
Really? It’s been a while? I don’t believe you.
“I don’t lie.”
Well, that’s hard to believe. That’s all.
“Why?”
It’s just… You two know each other so well. Like, Noelle knows when I don’t act like “you” would, and you know exactly when she is feeling bad. And, y’know, you relented to her immediately, unlike with me.
“We have known each other since we were children. I am somewhat surprised that you think that highly of us. I thought I just had to… make up for her. That’s all.”
You feel as if it is better not to ask about that, feeling it’s quite a sensitive topic.
And it is wise to do so.
Hey, why do Noelle and her dad call you “Krismas”?
“It is my name.”
Yeah, but they always say it with such affection. I just wonder…
“That’s because Uncle Rudy gave me that name. You know how Father is with names. He wanted to name me ‘Asriel II’. I would rather be unborn than have that name.”
Really…? That’s… actually really bad, haha.
“Correct. Thankfully, Uncle Rudy was there and gave them the suggestion of ‘Krismas’. A Christmas pun, to show how close the Dreemurrs and Holidays were.”
You feel a strange feeling of nostalgia swell up in your body, with faint traces of regret.
But before you can continue that internal conversation, Noelle returns with the cotton candy.
You feel Kris immediately eats it with no remorse.
“Noelle, I am glad we—”
GLOMP!
“—got the chance to reconnect.” You say between bites.
Noelle just eyes you weirdly, “Um, yeah. Me too, Kris!”
*
After that weird heart-to-heart—which is more like heart-to-body if you really think about it—you and Noelle continue walking through the city, now finally full of life.
The awkward atmosphere between you, your body, and Noelle is slowly dissipating.
At least, you think they are.
You feel a weird sense of companionship, that maybe, someday, you can finally be friends with everyone here.
With Noelle, Susie, and even Ralsei, without needing to hide behind the blue human.
That he won’t be your only real friend.
But, would having Kris as your only friend really be a bad thing?
You couldn’t say it.
(When you are alone for so long… even one friend is good…)
Before you can think about it any further, a regal but somewhat slurry laughter cuts through your thoughts like my knife cuts through a delicious piece of chocolate.
Your eyes widen as you recognize it.
It’s Queen’s laughter.
And Noelle looks the most frightened of all, her face growing paler and paler, “Kris, it's Queen... She's right over there!” Before you can respond, she runs towards a couple of boxes, hiding behind them, “C-Can you distract her somehow!!?”
You simply give her a thumbs up, as your golden eyes narrow to face Queen.
You can see her up ahead. Her back faces you, making her face hidden from your sight.
“Be prepared.”
Kris’s voice comes to your mind, as his body automatically responds to his words.
And then right as you get closer, she turns around. Your eyes look at her visor, widening when they see…
A flush on her face. She wobbles towards you, drunkenly.
Your guard immediately drops.
Is she drunk?
“Yes.”
How can robots be DRUNK?!
“Oh. Lmao.” Her visor shows ‘LMAO’. “Kris My Good Old Buddy It’s Just You LOL. Like If Noelle Was Here It Would Be 5 Stars But You Are Just A 3 Stars Sorry.”
She strongly threw the glass of acid she was holding to the ground, causing a small explosion.
You reflexively back away.
“[Loud Sigh] Kris I Am Sorry It’s Just The Last Few Hours Have Been: A Pain In My Butt (Ass)”
The number one appears in her visor.
“First: Noelle Goes Missing After I Sent That Annoying Symbolism Bird To Fight Your Guys Ass (Very Bad).”
The number two appears in her visor.
“Second: The Ambyu-Lances For Some Beeping Reason Just Go Missing And Now All Those Bad Memes Run Through My City (Extremely Bad)”
She walks closer to you. You hold your ground; if you walk too far back, Noelle would be exposed.
(I can’t let that happen… I can’t let Kris’ friend be…)
You are indebted to Kris. You have to protect his old friend.
And so, because of that, Queen is able to lean towards you, holding her huge hand to your head, while her other hand points to the dark sky.
“Kris You Get Me.”
You did not.
“You Get Why I Have To Do This. The Memes… They Are Dangerous Kris Cross Applesauce. If One Of Your Light Nerds Inherits A Bad Meme It Can Ruin You.”
“That’s Why I Got To Create A Golden Future For My Sweet Dear Noelle: Where She Won’t Learn Bad Memes Like ‘Pain’ Or ‘Suffering.’” She gets off you.
Your head hurts just trying to understand her.
“Well I Don’t Know Why I Am Running Explanation.EXE: You Already Understand This”
“Every Thing You Do Is Unique. You Follow Your Own Actions Without Giving A Bleep About Anyone. You Are Just Like Me: A Giver Not A Taker.”
You try to wrap your head around what Queen said, disbelief flooding through you.
But… that’s not true… Ever since this all began… I have been…
“The data on both of us must be causing Queen’s processor to make conflicting profiles, leading her to this conclusion. You shouldn’t worry about what she says.”
Kris's words leave you with a warmth in your heart, but before you can retort, you hear a metallic sound nearby.
You turn your head around, seeing the same VR console fallen close to you.
“But Kris... While We're Still Trucies. Maybe We Could... Make The Most Of It. A Mid-Series Rematch. 1-1 No Items. It Would Be… Fun, Wouldn’t It?”
You turn back to Queen, your eyes shining with purpose, “Yeah, I think it would—”
BOOM!!! CRASH!!!!!
Until the mood is instantly ruined by large golden statues falling from the sky.
It completely destroys the VR console, breaking it into thousands of pieces.
Queen looks livid. You stare up and see the reason for such rage.
There’s a gigantic shirtless Berdly statue standing where it was. You notice it has nipples, immediately blushing when you realize that’s the first thing you noticed.
It wears a thong with “IQ” on it and in its arm it holds another statue of Queen. The statue of her majesty looks completely lovestruck.
The real Queen looks completely livid.
To the side, there’s a statue of Kris with exaggerated facial expressions. It looks ugly and distorted. And it cries in such an unnatural way that you cannot think of why someone would even sculpt this.
Neither do I, especially with that crude “imposter” written on its chest plate.
Speaking of ‘crude’, the blue bird called Berdly falls swiftly on the ground, immediately rushing towards Queen, “Queen!!! My precious Queen!!! I have been looking for you!!!”
He turns towards the so-called ‘statues’, “I have made a monument of WAR for us!!!! On the left we have me, portrayed as the—heh—what the cool guys call the ‘chad’. With you being my ‘stacy’.”
“And on the right we have our mortal enemy, the imposter called Kris, portrayed as the ‘soyjak’. The ULTIMATE form of humiliation, hahahahaHAHAHA!” He laughs to the skies.
Despite the insults, the bluebird still hasn’t noticed that you are standing right behind him.
And you don’t intend to warn him either.
Queen looks towards you, her visor makes a sentence that she can’t say out loud. “This Is What I Was Talking About ‘Bad Memes’” The words quickly flash in her visor.
She then turns to Berdly, trying to sputter out something. “Oh Um Oh Uh It It's Well Um Mmm How Do I Put This Very … Based” Her visor quickly switches to ‘lying’. “So Based And Redpilled You Are”
“I Find Everything You Do Extremely Funny. Your Memes Are Perfect.” The ‘lying’ in her visor grows even brighter.
“HahaHA! I KNEW you would like the ULTIMATE proof of our SUPERIORITY!” Berdly laughs.
He still somehow doesn’t notice you are right behind him.
Queen turns and looks towards the two statues.
“Yep They Are Very… Based. Especially The Nipples.”
“Nipples will be the first meme I shall INHERIT in our IDEAL mememocracy!”
“Yum Yum Yum Memes I Sure Love Memes Huh Huh” Queen points behind, “Let’s Go Bird Guy And Plan Out Our ‘Evil Plans’. You Go First Because You Are So Based.”
Berdly runs, somehow not noticing that you were behind him the entire time.
It almost makes you and Kris howl with laughter.
But you contain yourself.
Barely.
Queen starts following Berdly, but stops at a certain point, “Yes Burghley Keep Going You Are So Based I Am Right Behind You It’s Just That You Are So Based I Can’t Stand Too Close. Procedurally Lowering The Volume Of My Voice.”
She turns to you and quickly waves, rushing in her high heels to the opposite side of where Berdly went, “Sorry Kris I Must Alt Tab Out Of Here”
Your eyes widen as you realize that’s where Noelle was, but in an instant, she is gone.
“Wow Cool Face”
“Do not LOAD. Wait.”
Kris's voice cuts through your thoughts, just as your heart felt like it was going to stop.
Yet, he was right. Noelle comes from behind the boxes, wearing…
One of them.
That has a robot drawing on it.
Noelle is so smart! Picking such a clever disguise so quickly!
“I can never tell if you’re so naive and genuine or extremely bitter and sarcastic.”
Huh?
“Phew, looks like my disguise worked.” She says through the box, her voice coming out muffled, “It's silly looking, but it beats hiding…”
You breathe an audible sigh of relief, “Oh… I was so scared when Queen walked right where you were… I thought I had…”
“Really?” She tilts her head. “Fahaha, but you looked so brave…”
“Well, it’s…” You think of how to put what you felt into words, “...being brave isn’t the same as being fearless. It’s about overcoming that fear, not letting it paralyze you…” You flush, “And it helps if you have your friends backing you up…”
“Great speech, chief!”
“Our influence really helped ya!”
“It’s even better than ours!” Three voices come from the hidden alleyway in the back. Three very familiar voices.
You can easily recognize them.
“Sweet Cap’n Cakes?! How are you guys here!” You ask, sounding surprised.
Noelle just stands there confused.
“Wow… you actually remembered their names.”
Of course!! I remember all of my friends' names!!!
“We have infiltrated Queen’s City.”
“Come quickly, we need to discuss!”
“Our really cool secret plan!!”
Just before he had finished saying it, you moved in the direction of their voice.
Noelle tries to follow you, but with a big box helmet blocking her vision, she just falls on her feet.
She takes it off, then quickly follows you, with a nervousness in her steps.
You turn around, seeing that the famed music trio is working on some weird contraption. It seems like some signal machine. They stop working on it when they see Noelle with you,
“Oh, chief, you even managed to save the madmoizelle!”
“I always knew you had a rebel’s spirit inside of you!”
“You did even better than us!”
Noelle ignores the trio, turning to you with clear confusion in her emerald green eyes, “Kris, who even are these guys?”
“We are like hope, mademoiselle!” Says Sweet
“Which is like the sun!” Says Cap’n
“We disappear when people aren’t seeing us!!!” Finishes K_K.
Noelle does not look impressed whatsoever.
“They are a rebel group trying to resist against Queen’s meme empire.” Kris simply says.
Somehow, that’s enough to convince the doe.
“Oh, is that so…? Well, then, how can we help?” Noelle’s quick acceptance seems to even surprise you.
You really thought it was going to take more convincing to make her join them.
Usually, there’s always a big misunderstanding, coupled with a fight and a falling out.
“Sometimes, the plot has to quicken, dear.”
Or ‘deer’ in Noelle’s case!
Kris doesn't laugh.
Pleased by Noelle’s words, Sweet Cap’n Cakes start playing a remix of Jingle Bells on their speakers, “Well, the chief might not have said it before, but…”
“We are builders! We work on commissions!”
“Huge ‘chad’ golden statues. Huge ‘soyjak’ golden statues. You name ‘em!”
Wait… They were the ones who built Berdly’s statues? How didn’t he see they were enemies of Queen?!
“He can be very, very, self-centered.”
“Oh wow, that’s really cool. So you’re planning on building something?” Noelle says, with a sweet tone of voice that can easily enrapture the music trio.
“Exactamundo mademoiselle! You’re really smart! Now that those creepy ambulances have gone away—obviously scared of our swag—it’s time for us to build our own personal project. It’s going to be big and bring down Queen for good!”
“But the problem is… We can’t build it ourselves. We need darknerpower, yo! Everyone working together could easily topple Queen!”
“That’s why we are building this signal. Once it works, everyone will come!” K_K finishes pointing to the machine.
You go to stand up and help ‘em, but Noelle beats you to the point.
“Well, I want to help. It sounds fun!” Noelle says, standing up and walking towards them.
You try to hold your hand to stop her, but Kris puts it down. You realize what he means.
“Noelle needs this.”
O…Okay. She is your friend.
“Ah, mademoiselle, you don’t have to… buuuut now that you are here… We won’t reject the offer.”
“Just be careful that sparks may fly, and rats may crawl out. It’s hard work, yo!”
At Sweet’s words, a bunch of mice ran out of the nearby hole.
Noelle jumps in fright, landing on Kris’ hands.
Um… Is this normal?
Kris puts her down.
“Yes.”
“It’s run by mouse power!” Sweet says. “So if you’re afraid of mice, forget about it!”
“I… I can do this…” Noelle nods, looking resolute. “If it’s for helping defeating Queen… I can… handle a few—”
Noelle screams when a mouse runs past.
“—Mice…” She finishes, breathing hard.
“And, chief, you stand guard outside! If Queen’s janitor shows up, we are toast. I don’t want to be eaten!” K_K finishes, as the four of them join up to build together.
“You sure?” Kris asks Noelle.
“Y…Yes!” Noelle nods. “Faha… It’s like an RPG trial… please… have faith in your party member!”
Reassured by Noelle’s smile, you walk outside, back where Berdly’s 'chad' statue is.
Well… guard duty… it shouldn’t be too bad… right?
“Plus, Noelle is doing something by herself. That’s something to be celebrated.”
You quietly smirk to yourself. You stand there for a while, only hearing the occasional screams of terror from Noelle.
Is that… normal?
“Noelle gets scared of… anything. Rats, loud noises, Santa… Humans.”
I wonder who made her scared of that.
“...”
Kris blushes, but says nothing.
Silence fills the corridor.
With nothing else to do, you turn your attention to the giant statue in front of you.
Specifically, its nipples.
“Stop looking at that.”
Do you think birds have nipples?
“No. Now stop looking.”
You have nipples, right?
“Yes. All humans do. Stop looking.”
I see. Do you think I can see them?
“What.”
Your nipples.
“What.”
I was so alone in the void… I couldn’t see any body parts… so even looking at it fills me with wonder. I want to know how the grown-up human body works! It's something I never had!
“No, you can’t.”
Bummer. Oh well, we do have different genders, so it wouldn't work anyway.
"Finally, you can end this—"
I guess when I have my own body, I will have nipples of my own to—
Kris hits his head on the statue.
What the heck?
It hurts, but it changes the topic of the conversation.
“Much better.”
“Ahh, Kris. Admiring my masterpiece, I see. I thought I heard Noelle’s screams, but it was just your brain crying in humiliation.” A voice echoes in the hallway, breaking the silence. “Figuratively AND literally, HA! BANGING YOUR HEAD IN FRUSTRATION, HAHAHAHAHA!!!”
You finally notice that someone has entered the room. Someone who dresses like a warrior, and is blue like the floor.
His name is…
Bird guy is back!
Bird guy! The true face of the statue.
At least mine and Kris’ suffering is finally over.
“I had some thoughts… that I needed to purge. Very terrible, intrusive thoughts.” Kris says, disgust in his voice.
A girl can’t even tell her dreams…
“Naive or deceitful… You are cruel in any way.”
“My calculations were right, as ALWAYS, HA! YOUR BRAINPOWER COULDN’T HANDLE MY STATUE!!!” Berdly gloats to the sky.
He quickly sighs, looking downwards, “But I have greater things to worry about… Because… Noelle is still missing… And the city has delved into chaos, now that Queen’s esteemed police have disappeared.”
“Wow, that sounds really bad.” You say, your voice coming out as bored as possible.
“Indeed, my sweet dear Noelle is lost in this chaos. What poison could be infested in her mind right now? She is just a powerless doe without my help. Kris, even though you have been her lifelong neighbor… You cannot understand her like I do. I am a ‘chad’, after all, and she is… my real ‘stacy’”
You notice that Noelle’s screams seem to have diminished as Berdly continues his monologue.
Once, when there were ten, now there are five.
“I am a master of emotional intelligence. I can read her heart like a metronome, Kris. And it is meek. It is weak! She fears so much! It paralyses her, Kris!”
Then two.
“I am the only one that understands her, can see behind her act of a simpleton girl next door, and see… A lovestruck girl with her heart on her sleeve. I am a master of tasks, after all, and Noelle’s is my ultimate task.”
Then one.
“We’re partners in everything. We need each other. But maybe… there’s one task she can’t beat… Love. She has a crush… on someone. And I can’t protect her from that.”
Then they are none at all.
You can feel Kris’ anger increasing as well.
“I only fear… what she might do… if her crush rejects her.”
Berdly finishes his sentence.
Your patience—hanging on a line—is about to break into a thousand pieces. Yet, before you act, a loud sound pierces your ears.
You and Berdly hold your hands to cover them, trying in any way to protect yourselves, but just as it comes and goes.
And with it comes Noelle.
“Well, I didn’t ask for your opinion, did I?” She says, a righteous fury in her eyes…
That quickly dissipates like fog when she looks up to Berdly.
Her courage turns into fear, and she starts shaking.
You look resolute, quickly running towards her.
Berdly’s face contorts into raw shock, the surprise on his face clear as a cloudless day, “Noelle!? What are you doing here?!”
Berdly recomposes himself, looking at Noelle’s shaking form and you in front of her. “I see… I understand what’s going on now… You’re scared, aren’t you? You don’t think you have the strength to stand up for yourself, right?”
Noelle’s shaking subdues, she walks in front of you, looking wide-eyed like a deer in the middle of the street, “You… get it?”
Berdly puffs his chest, “Yes!!! You are scared… of KRIS!”
Your expression quickly forms into one of exasperation.
Noelle’s eyes narrow.
“You are scared of him keeping you KIDNAPPED in this lawless city!” Berdly puffs his chest to look intimidating.
“I understand now what’s going on! Kris’ deceitful imposter nature tricked me with talks of truces, distracting me from my real job as a janitor! He caused this disorder, and now he has you, Noelle!” He summons up his weapon, “Don’t worry, my dear Noelle, I will save you! Then we go back to Queen and—”
You tune out Berdly’s rant, turning back to Noelle.
Your SOUL shines brightly on Kris, growing warmer and warmer.
You can almost feel what she is feeling.
Feelings of indignance, of revolt, but hidden behind her fear.
Her fear.
A terrible thing that doesn’t allow her to stand up for someone who used her for years.
You can almost hear her own thoughts. “(C-c-courage i-i-is not t-t-the absence of f-fear, i-it’s being able to—)”.
Maybe it’s because you’re just a SOUL.
Maybe it’s because you’re not even alive.
Maybe it’s because you might not even exist.
But you can hear her thoughts.
You can hear the metaphysical.
You know what you have to do.
(If I can project myself into others… maybe I can just project part of me…)
Your SOUL shines in Kris’ body. It shines on Noelle's. Boosting her. Propelling her.
Don’t forget, Noelle, we are always standing up behind you.
Her eyes widen.
You project your very thoughts onto her.
Your eyes glow white as the possibilities of this world open to you.
The holder of FATE.
Channel Sleep Mist and cast… Null Ice!
Your WILL.
Kris’ WILL.
Determination.
Both of them combine with hers, changing her magic.
Noelle looks at Berdly, eyes pure white.
She holds her hands to the air, filling with white energy.
She casts Null Ice on Berdly.
The air gets colder and colder, but the warmth of your SOUL protects you and her.
“Well then, Kris, prepare yourself. Go forth, my Holy Halbird!” He puts his hands in the air, but nothing happens.
He does it again.
Nothing happens.
“… Ok, why isn’t this working??? Well then… come forth… the fruits of my labor!” But nothing happens.
No papers.
No air.
It’s as if his magic got frozen in the air.
Berdly’s voice is shaking, and cold sweat is running down his face.
The air is still cold, faint traces of frost floating in it.
You still stand beside Noelle’s, your SOUL glowing inside Kris’, as his blood red eyes seem to almost penetrate Berdly’s SOUL.
“I… I… I… must be… EXHAUSTED!” Berdly breathes hard. “Yeah, that’s it! Hahaha! I must be exhausted from working too hard for Queen!!!”
He starts walking away, avoiding Kris’ glare, “Don’t think this is a win! I was just holding back! You will see my FULL POWER soon!” And then he is off, and the air returns to his normal temperature.
You turn quickly to Noelle, but…
She looks completely normal. “Well, let’s get moving, Kris!” And she walks forward, carefree steps, as her dress waves.
You stand there dumbfounded.
I thought she was going to have a stronger reaction…
“It doesn’t really matter. You did… great boosting Noelle back there. I don’t think she would have done it without you.”
Well, I wouldn’t be able to do it without YOU. You are… a good friend, Kris!
Kris faintly smiles as a small blush covers his face.
But in the blink of an eye, it’s off, as you run back to chase Noelle.
Still… this is the second time I've done this. I use my own power to boost someone else… I don’t even know how that happens. I never did it before… is this just who I am now?
“That’s the power of your SOUL. Use it well.”
You look pensive, holding a hand to your chest.
Within it lie the infinite possibilities for this world.
And as you walk forward, you walk with that ark of unlimited potential.
To the future that is shaping very soon.
Chapter 27: CHAPTER 2, PART 10: NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
INTERESTING. VERY. VERY. INTERESTING. IN A DETOUR, YOU MET ANOTHER FAILURE. YET, THAT FAILURE AWAKENS SOMETHING IN THE HUMAN. FEAR? WILL A NEW DEAL BE BROUGHT FORTH? LET’S SEE WHERE IT GOES.
Chapter Text
The horizon blurs as a car travels at high speed. It bumps into other cars, causing them to fly over the horizon.
It’s a blur. It’s a rocket.
It’s a chariot that can’t be stopped.
Turn right! TURN RIGHT, NOW!
“Alright, alright, I get it!”
Except for things called “walls”, that is.
Kris swiftly turns the steering wheel all the way to the right, the car turning together with it, making it narrowly avoid certain doom.
Of being destroyed in thousands of pieces in flaming glory.
Your heart is beating quickly; if you weren’t outside Kris's body, seeing from above, even Queen would have heard your palpitations.
As Kris drives, rushing through the streets of the huge city, your mind drifts back to how you got into this situation.
You and Noelle had just beaten Berdly, the frozen chicken running off in displeasure.
And then just as quickly as he left, a sleek, black, car rushed into the scene.
Noelle quickly put on her disguise—her face twisted in panic while doing so—as Queen opened the doors of the car.
“Get In Losers” she simply said as she pushed you and the now-disguised Noelle into the car.
“Kris Sweetie You Drive I Need To Analyze The Cool Face Of Your Friend (It’s Very Robotic And Cool)” She said, preparing to backseat Kris’ driving abilities.
You sighed as you sat in the driver's seat. You looked intensely at the steering wheel, at the controls. Your golden eyes reflected in the window. Sweat started running down your skin.
You started shaking quietly.
“Sigh… You don’t know how to drive, do you?”
Kris had said to you, boredom in his tone of voice that almost made you jump out of your seat.
Eek! Is it that obvious?
“Let me do it. Mother has been giving me lessons for next year. You focus on where I should drive.”
Kris' red eyes shine in his reflection, as he turns on the car. Its engine roars, he steps on the gas and it rushes forward.
And after he almost hits at least two walls, after he hits every single car on the street—You swore it was on purpose—and after really needing you to backseat, this is where you were now.
In this high-speed chase without a target.
Kris continues to drive without care, hitting another car once more.
I thought you were GOOD at driving???!!!
“I am. Do you know the skill needed to hit every car?”
So you ARE doing it on purpose!
Kris’ smirk is the only answer you need.
Realizing you don’t need to help Kris, you return back to his body to actually talk with the passengers.
(Of course, you still let Kris keep driving. Even his reckless driving is better than your best driving skills).
“Um, Queen, where are we going?” You ask her. You had been curious about where you were going for quite some time now.
It’s like those streets are endless…
You see Queen respond to you via the rearview, “Kris Honey I Have Calculated That With A Car Our Chances Of Finding Dear Noelle Increase By 300%” She points to the cars surrounding you, “In Addition Lightners Love Traffic Is A Very Popular Meme And Noelle Is My Meme Successor (Ergo: She Must Be Here)”
“Um, I, uh, I think she might not, um, like cars that much because they make her freeze when they, um, they, um…” Noelle tries to stammer, blushing as she tries to say her fears. Her nose faintly glowing red.
“[Loud Shrill Scream]” Queen’s screaming interrupts her. “Kris Stop Everything. Look At Your Side”
Kris doesn’t, otherwise, the car would crash and everyone would be mangled into an unrecognizable chunk—except for Queen’s with her Darkner physiology— so you look instead.
Looking with your golden eyes, you see a banana.
But it isn’t a normal banana. No, despite your lack of memory, you notice that banana is special.
Its peel is colored in a different tone from normal, bright yellow instead of sickly yellow.
It spins in the air.
It floats.
There’s a giant sign pointing to it where multiple cars have crashed nearby, remnants of their attempts of trying to get the prized item.
But you and I both know that the color of its peel is the only reason behind its alluring aura. Yet, despite knowing so, it’s so, but SO alluring, that you almost want to drive towards it.
Kris, you should—
Kris drives past it.
The one thing I wanted you to get, and you don’t!
“Exactly.”
You’re such a contrarian…
“Kris You Have Just Proven My Intuition (Calculations) Right. That Banana Is The Ultimate Test Of Memes And You Just Passed Through It. You Are Unbound By Memes (We Are Kindred Spirits)”
You can almost feel Noelle scowling. “(But I also wanted the banana...)”
Suddenly Kris stops the car, leaving everyone surprised.
Dude, you almost gave me a heart attack.
“Car jam. Can’t proceed.”
Really?!
“Kris Why The Beep Did You Stop This Way We Will Never Get Noelle In The Time Limit And The Whole Car Will Go Boom.” Explosions are played in Queen’s visor.
“Um, Queen? There’s a, er… traffic jam blocking the way…” Noelle says, her voice muffled by her disguise.
“Oh Wow Cool Face You Are Really: Smart Like A Robot. But Why Are The Cars Going To One Place (The Only Notable Attraction Here Is Me And My Noelle)” Queen points to you as she gets comfortable around the disguised Noelle, “Kris Be A Dear And Activate The: DivertTraffic.EXE (I Love Making Up Backup Plans For The Smallest Things)”
“I...I can go too and-” Noelle tries to say, trying to leave. But Queen holds her down. She looks scared. “Um?”
“No.” Queen sounds forceful. “You Must Stay.”
“Queen…” You step in. “I also think that maybe if she helped me we would—”
“Sorry Kris But She Must Stay To… Listen To My Mixtape (Music Is One Of My Favorite Memes)” Queen presses a button on her head, and music starts to play.
“(Hoho, I love this song!)” Lancer starts to dance in your pocket.
Somehow.
Noelle visibly deflates, “O..Okay… (Kris, it’s up to you now!)”
The car starts blaring a bitcrushed music that for some reason just screams Queen to your SOUL.
It’s very annoying.
Kris let’s get out of here before this music gets stuck in my head.
“Roger.”
Kris leaves the car in a rush.
*
You sigh in relief as you enter a nearby alleyway, the music growing fainter and fainter.
“Seems like the rebels' plan worked.”
It’s so quiet that Kris' thoughts echo in your head.
What do you mean?
You look ahead, and there’s only just a dusty, dreary alleyway with the same posters from Queen littered across the walls.
It’s surprisingly peaceful.
“Those cars, they were all going in one direction. To one place. The signal they and Noelle made must have worked.”
Oh yeah! Hehe… I didn’t even think they were related. But I mean… of course, it was going to work! Our friends worked hard on it!
“You need to pay more attention.”
Don’t need it when I have charm, faith, and my friends. You included!
“I would be hurt if I wasn’t part of it.”
You stop for a moment.
Kris sounds fairly serious.
It surprises you.
You don’t reply to him.
With that, the conversation draws to a close.
You walk through the alleyway, the dark atmosphere not stopping you in the slightest. Your steps are quick but firm, despite being alone. Because you feel that now you have people counting on you.
And you have people you can count on.
The bonds between you and them make you stronger, make your SOUL stronger.
Filled with the warmth that pierces the cold of loneliness.
“...How can you have such faith?”
Huh?
Kris' sudden thought almost makes you lose your step.
“How can you believe in others so readily? Don’t you fear they will betray you? Abandon you?”
...If I don’t believe in my friends, what will I have? Plus even if they do all those bad things you say... I will just have to work twice as hard! Three times harder, four times harder, as many as it needs!!!
“That’s a naive point of view.”
The posters of Queen seem to be receding as you walk further in. They are torn apart, missing.
Beneath them are older posters, showing someone else with a big nose, black hair, and an award-winning smile.
Better be naive than cynical. Hope, even false ones, is better than nothing.
You end the conversation, trying to not think back on the past.
The only memory you fully remember.
The memory of your fall.
“EHAEHAEHAEHAE!!!! WHAT A BEATIFUL [Motivational Speech]!!! My [Eyes] ARE ALMOST BURNING! BURNING WITH [Hopes and Dreams]!!!” A voice rings in the air, almost making you jump out of your skin.
Even Kris almost jumps.
Your eyes dart around, trying to find the source.
Only trash meets your gaze.
“NOW’S NOT TH3 T1ME TO [Jump Up Superstar]!!! WE N3ed To [Don’t Dig Down]” Yet, your eyes are drawn to a dump nearby. It’s shaking. “DON’T YOU DARE CALL ME [Trash Heap]!!! THAT’S [Someone Else]!!!”
Describing this voice is… difficult. It’s like two voices fighting for control, but at the same time happily coexisting.
Yet, it seems to only come from one source.
The dump in front of you.
“Who’s there?!” Kris says, holding his sword, red eyes darting around. He glares at a trashcan suspiciously placed nearby.
It rattles.
It twists strongly, almost as if it’s alive.
Then suddenly, it flies off.
Revealing a weird creature.
Its torso is normal-sized, but its legs are absolutely tiny. Its skin is white, like porcelain, and just as lifeless as it. Its face is contorted in a smile, an award-losing smile. It has a big nose, rosy cheeks, and duo-colored glasses. Yellow and pink.
You almost think he looks like those colored people Noelle was talking with—
“NO!!!NO!!!!!!NO!!!111!!!! HOW DARE YOU [Beautiful Worm] COMPARE ME TO [Cheap Knockoffs]!!!” He walks closer to you, almost pointing his finger at your face, “I AM [[Number 1 Rated Salesman1997]]! SPAM!”
“SPam!”
“SPAMTON G. SPAMTON!” He yells at your face.
You hold your hands in front of your face, sweat dripping, “Um, I didn’t say anything, er… Mr. Salesman?”
“OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING YOU [Cinamon Roll]! IT WAS THE [Voice]! THE [Voice] THAT [Highway To Hell]!!!” He laughs to the skies.
Can you hear me?
“[Yes]!” Spamton shouts to the skies.
Can you see me?
“[No]!” Spamton shouts to the skies.
Do you fear me? Because if you keep saying what you shouldn’t, you will be erased.
“I AM EXTREMELY [Scared]!!! [Super] AFRAID!!!” He starts to shake. “[Please don’t kill me…]”
You look worried at him. You kneel down and reach your hand. “Nobody is going to kill you… please don’t be—”
“Don’t touch him!”
Kris warns you, just before he tries to bite your hand off.
You narrowly dodge it.
But he… I thought…
“What are you?” Kris says, red eyes narrowing in suspicion.
A suspicion well earned.
“SPAMTON G. SPAMTON! [[Number 1 Rated Salesman1997]]! AND YOU ARE A LIGHT nER! THE LIGHT nER.” His eyes glaze over. He looks at Kris’ chest. “AND YOU GOT THE [[LIGHT]]!”
He looks at you.
Kris backs away, completely on guard as your SOUL shines inside of him.
He holds the sword in front of you.
The one who says his name is Spamton goes even crazier by seeing the light of your SOUL. His eyes twisting and spinning. “IT’S [Made In Heaven]! IT IS [Everything And Everywhere At The End Of] MEANING!”
“KRIS!! KRIS!!!! KRIS!!!!” He gets closer. “HOW ABOUT [Deal Or No Deal]??? MY [[Hyperlink Blocked]] FOR YOUR [HeartShapedObject]!!! IT’S SUCH A DEAL THAT EVERYONE HAS.”
“EVERYONE HAS”
“EVERYONE HAS [Abandoned Me For The Slime]!!! LIVING IN THE GODDAMN GARBAGE CAN!” He punches the trash can, making a dent in it.
You walk even further away.
Kris needs to find more information about him.
He can’t give you away. Not at this stage.
So he has to find more information on this… creature.
“Check him.”
What?
“Check the creature while I distract it.”
“No.” Kris says, red eyes glimmering with a sense of protection, “And I didn’t tell you my name.”
“WHAT A [[BIG SHOT]] MOVE, KID! FOLLOWING THE [Voice]!!! TAKING THE [Calls]!!! SCREAMING INTO THE [Receiver]!!! THE PATH OF A [[BIG SHOT]]!!!” He walks away from the dented trash can, “BUT THAT ISN’T [Freedom] THAT’S JUST [Pain]!!” YOU WILL [Go To Hell Before You Die]!”
You gulp.
You try looking at the creature in front of you. At the very essence of it. At the darkness that molds it.
Your eyes glow white, and…
SPAMTON G. SPAMTON - ATK [NONE OF YOUR] DEF [BUSINESS!!!]
ELEMENT: [SPAMTON].
LIKE: [KROMER], [[MIKE]].
DISLIKE: [Trash Heap], [Easels], [CRTs], [THAT GODDAMNED—].
A [Trustworthy] salesman that seems to know more than he [NOT] knows.
He seems like he wants to make a [DEAL], but don’t give him any [KROMER].
No… that’s not [WRONG].
This isn’t making [CONTRADICTIONS]...
My head…
You kneel over in pain, holding your head.
“What happened?”
The check… it didn’t… it was like… he was speaking to my head!
Kris looks over to the salesman.
Pink and yellow return his red. He looks normal.
We need to get away from this man, immediately.
“He can look into your head… that’s…”
Kris needs to get away.
Yet…
He refuses to.
The spark of curiosity was lit in his heart.
He doesn’t know the danger, so he tries to speak with the creature. “How many people are in this hallway?”
He lets the question hang in the air.
As if the answer isn’t a bomb.
“KRIS, [Little Sponge]. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! YOU [Know] I CAN’T [Just do it!]!!” Spamton starts to shake, eyes erratic. “YOU CAN HAVE A [Special Offer, Buy NOW!]. [From A Certain Point Of View] YOU ARE YOU. [It’s only you]”
Kris deflates, hopes dashed away.
Were you trying to find out if he knew about me?
He wasn’t.
“You could say that.”
I guess that was a shot in the dark.
“[Shot in the Dark]?!?!?" The puppet-like creature yells, making you jump. “BUT WE ARE ALREADY [With you in the dark]!!!! EAHAHAHAHA!1!1” He starts to convulse.
It’s impossible to read this… puppet.
Every time it speaks, it talks like one. With that unnatural mouth movement. Its limbs don’t move; they jerk around as if strings are holding it.
“NO [Silly Strings] HOLDING ME DOWN!!! [Metal Crush] AT YOUR-”
I glare at him, challenging him to counter my claims.
He recoils, but only after I say what I do.
He didn’t even notice I passed in front of him and put my hand on his hair, as I didn’t narrate it.
“THAT’S NOT [Fair Trade]!!!” Spamton looks angry. “HOW WILL THE [Audience] KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T [Tell] THEM!1!1!1?”
Because you aren’t part of this story.
We should leave.
“He reminds me of… the clown. We should interrogate him.”
But… But… We died several times to Jevil! I don’t want to go through that again!
Spamton's face grows redder at that remark, not that you two notice.
“I think he could become a powerful ally.”
I don’t think it’s wise to gamble… but as long as we’re careful… everything should end up alright.
“That’s a tall task for you.”
Well… when ain't I?
“Well, I don’t know what you want… But I can tell you seem… very frustrated with your life. Maybe we can help?” You say, holding a hand towards him.
Your face shows pure sympathy, eyes golden with warmth.
“YOU TAK3 THE [Deal]? [Initianting Transfer]” His face grows larger, larger, yet larger.
You take a step back.
Did I say something wrong?
His mouth opens, a gust of air being sucked inside like a vacuum cleaner. Then small objects. Then the trashcan starts to move.
It gets stronger and stronger.
“Obviously.”
Kris jumps back, cape flowing in the air. He does a backflip and lands far away, thrusting his sword into the ground, and keeping it firm.
“‘When I ain’t careful’? All the time.”
Mean!!!
Despite everything, Spamton’s suction isn’t that strong, and with you and Kris’ strength you two can easily avoid it. “I am not taking that deal. My SOUL is not for sale.” Kris says to the puppet.
Obviously, you know that he is referring to you.
After all, you have never seen his SOUL.
“THE ONLY THING FOR [Sale] IS THE [Spam]TON [Specil] GUARANTEE!!!” Spamton starts to spit out money signs from his mouth. “GIVE ME YOUR [Credit Card Information] SO I WON’T [Kill] YOU!!!”
Take deals, but don’t take… er… kromer. So maybe…
“I don’t have any money, but…Is there anything else you even want?” You ask, and as soon as you say it Spamton shrinks back, as if he never grew at all.
“I USED TO BE A BIG SHOT. I [Used to rule the world]! I TOOK THE [Calls] AS THE KROMER CAME IN! I DID WHAT THE [Voice] DID. BUT THE [Voice] ALWAYS LEAVES.” He says it, in an almost sing-song voice.
“[Nobody will come]. YOU WILL [Scream], B3G, PRAY. BUT YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF.” He just spits the words out.
“YOU ARE [Desperate] KID. YOU WANT [Communion] YOU WANT [Happiness].” His face eerily grows serious, his eyes darkening into pure darkness. Black as coal. Dark as the night. “YOU WANT [Freedom]. MAKE YOUR OWN [Shots]. YOUR OWN [Calls].”
“AND TO FINALLY HAVE [[Hyperlink Blocked]].”
Something seems to stir in Kris.
He looks at you, shining inside him.
He looks at me.
And then he looks at Spamton.
“There’s a path… without the voice…?” He says eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What do you know?”
“OF COURSE!!! AFTERALL I AM A [HonestMan]! TAKE THE D3AL AND I WILL [Show You the Way] T0 HEAVEN!” His eyes are manic, and drool is almost coming out of his mouth.
It is disgusting.
“Then… deal,” Kris says.
I can sense the distrust in his voice. He thinks I will betray him. That I will cast him aside. That I am using him.
What foolishness.
I am a servant.
He should know by now that I am not like him.
But maybe… he needs to learn it himself.
“I KNEW IT!!!!! NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE ANOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE ANOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE ANOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A” He jumps up and down, as he is unable to finish his sentence.
“YOU ARE JUST LIKE ME. [We are kindred spirits, you and I] BOTH WANT W1LDPRIZES, HOTSINGLES AND [[Hyperlink Blocked]]!!!” He walks over, holding his hand towards Kris, “PLEASURE DOING BUSSINESS WITH YOU KID!!!”
Kris looks at his outstretched hand. It reeks of the foul smell of garbage. And even so, he takes it, shaking the hand of foulness.
That’s his choice, and now he has to live with it.
“I am happy that we can be friends, too!” You say, trying to view the positive side of it.
You aren’t trying to get rid of me or something, right?
“No. I said to get him off us.”
Oh. Good. I’m glad.
It’s almost funny how confused you are.
Pawns like you can’t keep up with such conversations.
“AH KID [No Worries] YOU AND ME ARE ALREADY [Friend Request Accepted]! NOW, TO FINISH THE DEAL.” He holds his hands in an arch, “GO THE THE [[Trash Area Closed For Repairs]] FIND MY [[Home-made Storefront Site]]” The color in his eyes disappears again, “COME… ALONE”
He walks away, back where you came. His walk truly looks like someone that used to be a big deal, despite the jank movements, “AND DON'T... FORGET!” He turns to you, looking at your SOUL, “TO [[Like and Subscribe]] FOR MORE [[Hyperlink Blocked.]]”
And then he is off, laughing like a maniac.
As if a spell is broken, Kris starts shaking. Starts hyperventilating. He holds the wall, for support. It’s small, barely noticeable, that even someone close to him wouldn’t notice.
But you do, after all, that’s your body. The body you’re forced to live in.
That was… kind of intense…
You start walking away, leaving the now-turned trash can behind. Your steps are uncertain, and anxiety fills you like you were a balloon. You feel ready to burst.
You need to stay focused.
I couldn’t understand anything he was talking about… Do you think it’s a good idea to make a deal with him?
Kris grits his teeth. Face contorting in a barely noticeable grimace.
“You made a promise to Seam to get those Shadow Crystals, didn’t you? This could lead us to it.”
You can feel Kris’ emotional confusion.
Yeah, I guess… Although he could just be a random crackhead.
“He could be…”
If he tries to give us drugs… we are getting the heck out of there, you hear me?!
Kris doesn't reply, just quietly smirking.
That’s enough to make you happy.
*
You arrive at the traffic converter, “Traffic disperse with one button, the miracles of our great Queen!” It says.
But… Do you think that the ‘voice’ he was talking about… was me…? Because if you feel as if you don’t have any freedom… If you feel as if you are being controlled by me, then I can—
Kris presses the button with force, almost denting it.
You hear rushing sounds, buildings retreating, and cars whooshing through the now clear space.
Queen’s black car quickly appears, “Get In Loser (Again)” And just as before she pushes you inside.
Kris already starts driving, the car going at max speed.
You realize it’s better to not bring up that topic again.
As it rushes by a street, you feel your SOUL beat in sadness. Worried that Kris is upset because of you. Because you are here.
How naively foolish.
You are a needed tool, in the end.
“Kris I Am Thinking (Calculating) That Maybe Driving By Ourselves Won’t Be Enough To Find Noelle We Need To Kick In: Maximum Overdrive” Queen’s voice is enough to take you out of your crushing self-doubt.
Focus on the adventure.
If you don’t think about it, it won’t hurt you.
“M...Maximum Overdrive…?” Noelle’s timid voice comes in, almost making Kris’ anger dissipate, “Is finding Noelle r-really that important?”
“Cool Face What Are You Saying You Of All People Know That Without The Police Force This City Is Dangerous.” Queen’s visor shows “worried”, “What If She Meets a Shady Salesman With Horrible Memes?”
You look down as Kris's eyes narrow, somehow growing even redder.
“Queen… you are actually worried about her?” Noelle sighs, “I can already guess that it’s because she is too weak… and can’t handle anything… and that anyone could…”
Queen quickly turns to the disguised Noelle, fury in her visor.
This is the maddest you've ever seen of her,
“Shut Your Voice Receptors In This Nanosecond.” The phrase is short, but filled with power. The type of sentence to even make the strongest man tremble in fear.
“Noelle Is Strong. The Strongest Person I Know. She Is Just Confused. But With My Guidance She Will—” Queen’s visor turns into exclamation points, “Kris Stop The Car Now”.
Kris obeys.
“Everyone Get Out Now” Queen grabs Noelle out of the car.
You jump out of the car quickly, following them, landing roughly on the dusty ground.
BOOM!!! CRASH!!!!!
just as you land the car explodes into thousands of pieces. It’s so bright you need to close your eyes, holding your hands in front of them.
Noelle almost shrieks with fear, a high-pitched yell echoing almost as hard as the explosion, “W-W-W-What t-t-the h-heck was that?”
“(8/10 Explosion. Could have been more BOOOMs)” Lancer says from your pocket.
“Oh The Time Limit Of The Car Went Out And The Self-Destruction Was Initiated (Normal Procedure)” Queen walks over to you, your ears still ringing from the explosion, “Kris I Am Leaving If You Find Noelle Don’t Forget To Call Me Sweetie”
She walks away as quickly as she came here.
Noelle sighs as she removes the disguise, “She didn’t even give us her phone number.” She walks over to you, holding her hand out for support.
You take it, feeling her soft fur, and you get up.
“(I think I am going to have trauma from riding cars)” You murmur to yourself, as Kris quietly snickers.
Noelle’s presence seems to have removed some doubt in his heart.
But not all of it.
*
You walk together with Noelle across the city, with Darkners passing by you two, rushing towards something.
Be it the weird multicolored people, the pink viruses, the tall cats. They are all rushing to someplace.
“Fahaha… I guess my signal worked, huh?” Noelle says, turning her green eyes to you, “This talk of rebellions, memes. This whole city. It just makes my head spin.”
“It makes my heart beat with excitement!” You blurt out, quickly shutting up with a blush, “I mean… It's because of the people, and everyone living in it. Seeing everyone together, working towards one goal, trying to help one another. Their combined hope just gives me more hope, too!”
“That sounded really cheesy.”
But it’s true! Our friends boost us, and we boost them in return!
A warmth is spread from your SOUL to your body.
Looking at everyone running towards one goal.
United.
It truly is an infectious feeling.
“That just makes me feel overwhelmed instead…” Noelle holds her hands in an exasperated way, “I… I didn’t mean it in a bad way! I always wanted to go to a place like this.” Noelle’s eyes gain a nostalgic tint to them, “And Dess always told me she would try her hardest to make that dream true.”
More Darkners pass by, carrying holiday gifts.
Promotions. Christmas trees. Stars. Holiday lights.
Everything that fits perfectly in December.
But it’s only Fall.
Kris' body grows rigid at the mention of Dess. Limbs become as heavy as rocks. As boulders. As mountains.
You notice it.
“Azzy… made that same promise to me. To go into a place where everyone was free to work towards their dreams. Where everyone's the same.” He says.
You can feel a hint of pain and regret in Kris' voice.
“Remember when the fours of us explored the forest behind the graveyard?” Noelle says to Kris.
You don’t remember seeing a graveyard in Hometown yesterday.
I guess I missed a lot, huh…
“How could I forget? You were shaking like a leaf that day, always holding Dess' hand.” Kris says with a mischievous smirk.
Noelle pouts, “That’s because you kept telling me ICE-E was real and ate ‘sweet deer girls that wandered across the forest’!”
Kris stops for a moment, his smile disappearing.
It only lasts for a moment. “Hey, it’s not my fault you believed in me!” He bounces back.
“But then Azzy also started believing in it. Thinking that the ICE-E was an evil spirit to give divine punishment for his sins in another life.” Your eyes widen.
(I guess… that’s accurate???)
You quickly snicker at the mental image of Noelle’s words planted in your head. Together with a small blush.
(At least he can live a peaceful life here…)
Noelle’s face grows more serious, “Still… I can’t help but feel nostalgic… Everything was so much simpler… Even when I was scared… Dess was there to wipe my tears with Azzy’s jacket. He was there to sing a comforting song, Dess playing on her guitar, supporting him with her melodies…”
“…You…” She looks at Kris, her emerald eyes contrasting with Kris’ crimson eyes, “...were there to support me.”
A strange feeling of regret, nostalgia, and sadness mixed as if it were cocktail bubbles inside of Kris. It stirs, shifts, and shakes. It starts small but grows hotter and hotter. But behind all of them, a feeling of true happiness resurges.
“(When we didn’t have to worry… about anything…)” He whispers.
It’s so quiet that even you can barely hear.
“It’s like you said… with everyone working and supporting one another… I didn’t mind being scared…” Noelle says, looking downwards.
“… And I didn’t mind… being so weird…”
“I’m so weird… and you’re the only ones who know that, Kris!” Noelle smiles at him. “It’s not fair, everyone knows you’re weird!”
Kris doesn’t reply.
You don’t know what to say.
It’s not your story, in the end.
So you simply glow your SOUL for comfort.
You glow it, because in the end… even if you don’t know the way… You can still offer support.
You can still offer a shoulder to cry on.
You can offer your warmth.
And even a small warmth like yours can start a raging inferno.
Chapter 28: Chapter 2 - Part 11: Elegant Entrance
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
You finally reach Queen’s mansion in a very... interesting way. Inside, you learn more about your friends than you could possibly imagine.
Notes:
Thanks for all the support, especially the comments. Don't worry if I don't reply to each one, it's just because I don't have anything to say in response! I still read and appreciate it! Don't forget to kudos and comment to show your appreciation, as well!
Chapter Text
“Um, Kris, is it right for us to, uh, play this? What if the owner comes back?” Noelle timidly says behind a stall.
“C’mon, Noelle, you need to liven up! Once we free them all from Queen, they will be the ones paying us!” You say confidently to her while holding a ball.
Ready to launch it at the nearby bowling pin.
Just watch! I'm going to get the cutest plushie you can imagine!
“Shouldn't it be me who gets it?”
After that heartfelt conversation between Kris and Noelle, you decided it was time to lighten things up by playing some games.
You didn’t know how to add anything to their conversation, in the end. It wasn’t your life.
So you thought getting their minds out of it by winning wild prizes would really help them. There were a ton of amusement park games scattered across the city, after all.
Whoever the owners were, they must have left for the rebels’ signal, leaving their stall unmonitored.
The perfect opportunity to test your skills.
Now, behold, the most determined throw of all time and space!
You feel Kris sigh as you ready your throw, golden eyes shining, preying on the poor pins, defenseless to a throw that can pierce the heavens.
You ready your stance, ready your arm, and—
“Hahaha! Look at THIS! And those suckers didn’t even see it coming!” A rough, yet deep-sounding female voice echoes in the air.
A female voice that you and Kris can recognize from anywhere.
“Susie… I don’t think you should’ve stolen that…” Another voice comes, a softer, fluffier, and lighter male voice.
A voice you can’t forget.
Ralsei!
“Susie!”
You drop the ball, it falls and bounces on the floor, rolling behind the stall as you rush towards your friends.
Susie notices you, and her eyes widen as Ralsei—holding cotton candy—simply waves.
Huh… Ralsei wasn’t even surprised!
For a moment, you can almost see a glint in his glasses. But it passes, and you think it was just your imagination.
“Kris!!!! There you are!!!” Ralsei says, waving as Susie rushes holding…
A plushie of herself in her hands.
“Kris, look at what I found!” She holds the plushie in front of your face, “I found a plushie of myself in one of those stalls! How cool is that?!”
“Wow, Susie, you must be really popular!” You excitedly yell, stars in your eyes.
You are unknowingly feeding Susie’s ego.
“Queen must be making merch for us after stealing our likeness earlier. Maybe to spread her memes?”
Awwww! What if there's a plush of Ralsei!? Or you! Or even me!!!
“Isn't a red heart very common?”
You completely ignore Kris, opting to fangirl over the plushie, “I wonder if Ralsei and I also have a plushie… OH! Imagine if—”
“Um, Susie?” Ralsei’s soft voice pierces through your excitement, “Don’t you have something else to show?”
Susie’s face grows serious, sniffing the air. She walks closer to you, her snout almost in your face, eyes narrowing at your mouth.
Kris slightly blushes, “Uh, Susie?” he says.
“Did you…” She sniffs, “Eat… moss without me?! C’mon man! This is the second time you hog it all to yourself!!!”
Ralsei coughs in his hands, “Um, I was talking about something else. Something we worked on together.”
“Oh right, yeah!” Susie almost facepalms herself, quickly storing the plushie away and getting out of your face, “I have learned a new attack. WATCH AND WEEP, NERD!”
Susie holds her hands in a small ball, energy gathers from within, growing larger and larger.
And as quickly as it gathers, it launches towards you.
And you feel a small refreshment course through your body—the equivalent of eating a mint candy.
Your golden eyes widen.
Oh! It’s healing magic! Susie learned it!!!
“Oh, you learned healing magic? I knew you could do it!” You say to her.
Although… mom—Toriel… always said it was the easiest magic to learn… Why didn’t she learn it before…?
“Heh, feel my power? This is the power of ‘Ultimate Heal’, the STRONGEST spell in the world!!!” Susie boasts about her new spell.
“(Hoho! Now that the power is escalating so much… we will become more useless by the minute! I already prepared my cheerleader costume!)” Lancer boasts from your pocket.
“Hahaha, Susie is indeed the ‘strongest’, isn’t she?” Ralsei deliberately slowly winks towards you as he says “strongest”.
You do not understand his intention.
“Sigh. Teaching you sarcasm was a mistake…” Susie exasperatedly says.
Your eyes widen, “Oh! Hehe… don’t worry Ralsei… I thought your performance was excellent!”
“What a cringeworthy performance.”
I will take that as a compliment, because I don’t know what that means!
Thankfully, our savior in white robes appears right behind you. Noelle Holiday. “Kris, weren’t you supposed to throw the ball? I have been waiting here and—”
You shriek, a high, acute scream, almost jumping in panic.
Thankfully, Kris takes control, stopping your shameful display.
But in turn… Noelle is the one who shrieks in panic when her eyes land on Susie, her disguise flying off in the distance…
“AAAAAaaahhhhh!!!! Susie?!?!” She blushes wildly.
“Um, hello?” Susie's eyes quickly widened, making a battle stance, “Wait… wait wait wait… You are our ENEMY, you are with Queen!”
Ralsei just looks confused as Noelle simply blushes… at being threatened, seeming to sweat in… pleasure?
Noelle looks sick! She’s so scared, she can’t think straight!
“I don’t think that’s right…
You rush over to Susie without even noticing the emotions of those two.
“Susie, calm down!” You say, eyes shining golden with resolution, “Noelle is not our enemy!”
“She isn’t???” Susie looks at you weirdly.
“We have a truce!!” You give her a disarming smile.
Noelle walks forward, her face still blushing, “Y-yeah…! We have a truce, so you don’t need to h-hold me with your strong hands, a-almost crushing my arms as I-I wouldn’t be able to—”
Everyone, and I mean everyone—even Lancer from your pocket—eye Noelle weirdly. Stares of judgment and confusion.
But before anyone can do anything, an engine is heard, and a familiar blue chair comes into view.
“Kris Sweetie I Forgot The Car Keys With You (Honest Mistake) So I Am Coming—” Queen stares at Noelle, who looks like a deer in the headlights. Literally.
Panic floods you. Sweat falls off your forehead. You feel as if you have to do something, but you don’t know what to do.
Queen looks happy. “Kris You Work At 300% Efficiency For Finding My Noelle So Fast.”
“U-U-U-U- I-I-I-I-” You try to stammer something out, but you fail.
“Now” She turns to Noelle, “Is Sadly The Time For Our Truce To End: Time To Go Back To The Motherboard Noelle”
Susie and Ralsei have expressions of confusion and fear as Noelle tries to stammer, “But... But I…”
“What the hell is even going on??? I am so lost right now.” Susie says.
“Noelle You Are Hanging Out With Bad Memes I Can Not Allow You To Inherit Susie’s Confusion.” Queen spins her chalice filled with a green liquid, “Noelle I Hate To Do This But If You Don’t Come Now:”
“A Certain Bird Will Ride In The Acid Lake ([Dramatic Gasp])”
You and Noelle gasp as Susie still stands there confused.
“You mean… Berdly? But I thought you two…” You say, hands clenched into fists.
“(That’s right… Last time we saw him he couldn’t use his magic…)” Noelle thinks to herself, “(So Queen must have…)” Noelle sighs, walking close to Queen.
You gasp, and Susie keeps scratching her head.
Noelle looks at both of you, a sad smile on her face. “(Kris… it was fun to hang out again after so long… But I… need to do this… because if I don’t…) Noelle closes her eyes, pain in her face.
Ashamed of her weakness. Ashamed that she isn’t able to be brave like you and Susie.
“Noelle Dear Don’t Be Sad: That’s The First Meme We Will Be Purging In Our—”
“Queen! My glorious, luxurious Queen!” An annoying, nasal voice comes from behind Queen, getting closer and closer, “I have compiled all the reports made in the city for you to strike your ban hammer on them!”
“Huh? But I thought Berdly was gone based on how sad everyone looked…?” Susie says as an annoying blue bird comes into view.
The owner of the voice—Berdly—looks at your faces of shock and confusion, “Huh? Why the funny faces? Sadly… you guys aren’t part of my report…”
Everyone turns to Queen. She facepalms. “Press F To My Epic Luck: But I Always Have Backup Plans For The Smallest Details (Cool Callback)”
Faster than your eye can see, a cage appears and snatches Noelle out of the blue, flying off to the sky.
In a blink, she is gone.
“Noelle?! What did you do?!” You yell, your golden eyes glowing with defiance.
“I Come To Realize My Memes Simply Cannot Be Inherited: They Need To Be Forced.” Queen holds her chin in her hand, “Maybe If She Could Be Enlightened Like Me?”
“B-but Queen… you said if I acted as ‘symbolism’… You wouldn’t…” Berdly almost sounds… defeated.
Your heart pities him.
“Oh Berdly You Have Inherited My Lying Meme.” Queen laughs.
“B-B-But I was your best worker! I was the number one janitor of all Cyber City!” There’s an air of desperation in Berdly’s words.
Yet, Queen doesn’t seem to care.
“Berdly…” Queen takes a sip of her drink, “An Internet Janitor Is Not A Real Job. You Don’t Even Get Paid.”
Berdly kneels in despair. “That’s not true! I got so many QueenTokens doing so!!!!”
“That’s Not Real Money Bro (It’s Worth Nothing Lmao)” Queen’s laugh doubles.
Berdly’s despair triples.
“Berdly… are you ok?” Susie says, but her words seem to drive Berdly into an even bigger depression.
Cages appear and capture you, Susie, and Berdly before you can react.
The latter has gone into a catatonic state.
“I Told You Guys I Missed On Purpose (Calibration Completed)” Queen laughs. “Oh Ho Ho Ho Ho”
“H-h-huh?!” You bang on the cage, shaking it. But it doesn’t even bulge.
“Hey! I just got here! I don’t even know what’s going on!” Susie still looks confused.
“But You Three Can Work A (Not) Real Job: Staying In Your Mom’s House Your Whole Lives (Specifically Your Rooms)”
And with a wave of her hand, you are all off.
Leaving only me, Ralsei, and Queen.
The poor goat dropped his cotton candy during the confusion, “Um… What about me?”
“Oh” Queen facepalms, “You Exist. Lmao. You Have No Memes So I Didn’t Compute Your Existence. Lol This Is Awkward. Hey You Ever Played Night Fort?”
Ralsei shakes his head, and as Queen pulls out her phone, I realize it’s time for me to take my leave towards wherever you went.
Scene cut!
*
Darkness.
You only feel darkness and cold.
You can’t see, you can’t move.
Once more, we return to the ocean. The calming ocean is ever present in your life.
This time, you feel something shaking. Somewhere down below, something is shaking your boat.
It acts as a water drain.
“(Blue person, wake up!)” You hear a voice coming from below.
It sounds faint, but you hold onto it.
“Kris, you need to wake up! You need to explain what’s going on!”
Another voice comes from above.
Kris stirs a little.
“(Red Heart, it’s not bedtime yet! Sleeping early is for uncool kids!)”
Kris holds to the voice from above.
Your SOUL holds to the voice from below.
Together, you two slowly drain the ocean away.
Steering, slowly awakening.
Until…
The light floods your eyes, and you finally wake up.
The first thing you notice is that you aren’t in the city anymore. Its bright blue walls and tall skyscrapers have been replaced with dull, white walls.
There’s a computer in front of you—a very large one, in fact—that you have no idea who could possibly even use it. There’s a weird, circular contraption that looks like a trombone.
Your golden eyes quickly scan the rest of the room.
You notice several books on how to use magic scattered on the floor. Curiously enough, none of those books seem to teach actual magic, just fake tricks.
There are also several bath bombs—an almost comical amount, in fact; several different types of knives (none that fit my own standards) and an incantation summoning circle right in the middle.
Right where your cage is, and in turn, you.
What… what is this…? Where are we…?
“T-This is…!”
Kris grits his teeth.
You might not know, but this room is basically a reflection of Kris’s SOUL. It’s his hobbies, what he keeps closest to himself.
His memes.
“Kris?! Have you woken up already?” The voice from before comes.
You can now notice that it comes from the weird trombone in the room.
You can also notice that it's Susie who is speaking.
“Susie?! I am awake!” You yell into the air.
“Finally, jeez, I was almost worried for a second. You need to stop passing out like this, y’know?”
“I am, um, sorry?”
“Don’t apologize, dumbass! It’s not your fault! It’s Queen’s fault for putting us into this dumb room!” Susie’s voice pauses for a second, “You were still knocked out when she came and explained what those rooms even are.”
“It’s supposed to be a room based around our memes or some shit like that. It’s supposed to be so cool that we won’t want to leave. But jokes on her! Those cool and flaming skateboards won’t stop me from kicking her ass!” Susie coughs, “I, um, just don’t know how to leave, ok?!”
“I mean, we can just—” You try to pick your sword, but only air hits your hand, “Where’s my weapon?!”
“Queen took away all our weapons and shit. Otherwise, I would’ve already busted out of here!”
“Can’t you just use your magic to summon another weapon?” You ask her.
The topic of magic has been something you’ve been questioning for a while now.
“Um, no??? That’s not how it works. I need my weapon, that’s all.”
Your face frowns in deep confusion, racking your mind for answers to these contradictions.
But Susie shouldn’t need her scythe to use her magic… As far as I know, the weapon comes from your magic, not the contrary…
“You should focus on getting out of here first.”
Right!
You rack your head around on how to leave this jail-cell…
If only there were a cool, round, blue boy who has been with us this whole time, that could totally help you.
“I wonder who that could possibly be…?”
Huh? Who are you talking to?
“Nothing.”
…Weird.
“(Hohoho! Blue Person with the Red Heart, it’s my time to shine! Send me out to be the ultimate meme!)” Lancer’s voice comes from your pocket.
Your golden eyes widen, and you quickly grab him from your inventory.
He looks like a small card, with a spade symbol on it.
That’s… the card in the Light World… Lancer is the card?
Before you can process these facts, smoke appears and he is back to his full glory, “Hohoho! Lancer Fun Squad Leader Red Heart has sent LANCER for combat!”
“Lancer?!?! Wait, how?! I thought you left us!” Susie’s voice comes from the weird trombone, sounding completely shocked. You can almost see her shocked expression in your mind.
Probably making that face with the wide eyes.
“Obviously, she’s doing the pouty face.”
I forgot you’re the Susie expert, hehe!
“...”
“Susie, don’t worry, I would never leave you!” Lancer replies to her. “Just because I have been doing the occasional funny commentary for half of this Chapter… that doesn’t mean I stopped being a main character!”
“Was I the only one who could hear him???” You say, and are immediately ignored. That never gets old.
“Factual.”
Again, who are you talking to???
“Nobody.”
…Doubly weird…
“Wait… does that mean you were there for the dance party?!?! And the coaster?!?!” Susie says, sounding eager.
“Yes! I even danced inside Kris’ spacious pants hole! You should’ve seen my moves!!” Lancer starts dancing, which is more like bouncing in the exact same spot.
Over and over.
“Um, Susie still can’t see us… Maybe if you free us, you can show your cool dance moves in person…?” You say.
Lancer gives you a thumbs up as he still keeps bouncing, “Alright, I am a master of escapades!” He bounces towards the huge computer, “A meme computer? Oh, they want my meme compilation! Time to upload my digging videos! First, I want nine hundred ninety and nine shovels, two tons of solid dirt, and—”
Bright red letters appear on the monitor: “MEME OVERFLOW!”
And then…
The computer completely explodes, Lancer flying off through the air, and then bouncing off the walls at high velocity.
Your cage bars disappear as Lancer hits you straight up on the head, both of you collapsing on the floor.
Pain floods through your whole body as Lancer stands on top of you, his weight pinning you to the floor.
“Hoho, they ended up uploading my explosion memes!” Lancer cheers.
You just sigh, feeling completely defeated. Before you can suffer any more humiliations, Susie comes in.
“Kris, I heard an explosion from my room, so I rushed in as soon as my cage was off. Is everything… HOLY SHIT!” Susie’s jaw almost hits the floor when she looks at the state of Kris's room.
Scorch marks from the explosion of the computer, burning books, and bent knives. It’s… It’s…
“AWESOME! Lancer, man… you’re the best!” She rushes over and grabs him off you, letting you free.
Your ribs hurt. Your whole body aches.
This can’t get worse…
A soft, tender scream fills your ears. Your eyes widen as your brain makes the connections, the synapses working overtime.
I just had to open my mouth!
“Ralsei!!! That scream must be him!!! We need to…!” You rush forward and out of the room, leaving Susie and Lancer alone.
You leave, but I stay. After all, there’s still a story to tell in this room.
“That scream didn’t come from Ralsei…” Susie says, turning to the real source of the sound.
Lancer’s tummy.
“Susie, we need to follow Red Heart and save Toothpaste Boy from being a side character!” Lancer tries to move, but he falls to his knees, coughing.
His shade of blue turns grayer, lifeless.
“L-L-Lancer?! Are you ok, dude? C’mon, you just got back, you can’t…” A lightbulb is turned on in Susie’s head, and she gathers energy in her palms.
She had just learned this from Ralsei. Learned it just so she could cure her own injuries without needing others, so if she just…
She launches her healing spell, but it does nothing.
“D-dammit! It’s not strong enough!” Susie curses.
She was still too weak. She was always too weak, wasn’t she?
“(Maybe… Maybe Ralsei can heal him.)” She thinks to herself. “(He’s the healing master, so maybe…)”
She puts the weak Lancer in a piggyback ride, carefully cradling him in her arms, as if he were a small child who needed to be taken care of.
Which he is.
“M-maybe if Ralsei heals you… then…” She rushes out of Kris’s burning room, trying to catch up to you.
She enters an elegant corridor, filled with doors on the walls all the way to the ceiling. “(Huh… it’s like that one movie.)” She says to herself.
And just a little bit further, between her doors and yours, she sees you kneeling on the floor,
Holding the light that only you can see. Holding the entire world in a single moment. She quickly catches up, and as she does, the story returns to focus on you.
Its protagonist.
There we go… Now we should be ready to kick Queen’s butt!
You stand back up. But as you do, your eyes widen as you see Lancer, fear filling your very SOUL. “L-L-L-L-Lancer?!?! W-What happened?! Are you ok???” You say, your hands shaking.
Lancer… he looks sick! Is he…
After all, you just saved, so you couldn’t just go back if he was…
If he was…
Dying?! But Ralsei said Darkners can’t die!
“Don’t… Don’t… Don’t worry, Red Heart… I am… Fine… Just…” His body seems to grow grayer, “Cold.”
You shiver at that word, your SOUL reflexively returning to that horrible torture. Of that crushing cold, that numbness. Of the abyss.
“Kris, we just need to get Lancer to Ralsei… then he can…” Susie’s voice cuts through your panic, but her voice sounds disconnected, as if it were static.
You can barely hear her.
You can only hear your hyperventilation as your eyes blur and—
“Calm down, focus on my voice.”
You do, your breathing slows down, your palpitations slowly return to normal,
“Focus on finding Ralsei. He always has the answers.”
Right… Right…
Your face, your eyes, contort in resolution, you nod towards Susie. “Ralsei. He said Darkners can’t die! He has to have the answers. He has to.”
You start walking forward, with a single goal in mind. You don’t even notice the other rooms, labeled after others.
Catti, Jockintongton, Catty, Berdly… and even his, Asriel.
You don’t have time to focus on them, because you are resolute.
You have to save your friend.
You don’t even notice Berdly’s door opening, and him walking out of a room filled with lists and guides, rushing towards you and Susie.
“Kris, Susie!!! Wait wait wait wait WAIT!!!!” He yells, rushing towards you two, “D-don’t leave me!!! I can…”
“We don’t have time for you!” You yell at him, your eyes penetrating his SOUL, seeing through him.
He recoils, sweating, but he still yammers words out of his beak. “B-B-But you see… I… I worked for Queen before—and yes, it WAS a real job—so I know about her defense mechanisms for infiltration.”
He pleads with you and Susie.
Your eyes only narrow at him.
We don’t have time to waste on him! If Lancer dies because of him, I will always regret not kicking his feathered ass!
Susie’s face goes softer, however.
“Ok fine, you can join us. But just HURRY UP!!!” Susie yells at him as Lancer coughs.
“Thank you, my dear madam!” He nods, walking forward.
“Susie… really?” You ask her, looking confused.
“Look… if he knows how to leave, then it’s going to be better to have him as a guide, okay?” Susie retorts, looking embarrassed.
You look down. “I guess that makes sense.” It’s all you say.
You two follow Berdly into the next room.
There’s not much inside it. Just a panel, some spotlights of different colors illuminating the floor, and a wall of electricity blocking the way forward.
Alright. A puzzle. Of course, there’s a puzzle here. I just need to solve it so Ralsei can heal Lancer.
You move towards the panel…
Just for Berdly to get there first. “In order for us to leave, Queen has made us solve terrible puzzles. But do not fear, because this knight in the glow armor has learned exactly how they should work, so I only need to—”
He looks at the panel. “I just need to…”
He starts sweating, messing with the panel even harder.
It looks like he is trying to send the searchlights in a certain combination, but it fails every time.
“It should be this one… that’s what it was before…” He grunts. “I just need to—”
“We don’t have time for you to fool around! Let me handle it!” You push him, moving towards the panel yourself.
You clear your mind, leaving Kris’s body, in order to see from the ceiling. Being able to see beyond your body’s eyes.
With this, you easily guide Kris on how to solve the puzzle. It’s easy when you see from above, after all. All you need to do is make the lights cover the square on the floor.
A click is heard, and a nearby wall disappears, opening the path.
You return to Kris, seeing Berdly’s completely ghastly face.
“B-But… But… How?!?! You didn’t even use a guide or anything. There’s no way an IMPOSTER like you completed a task that not even a crewmate like me can!” Berdly looks completely panicked, even shaking.
“Stop with this imposter bullcrap!” You yell at his face, “It’s like you can’t even speak like a normal person! You can’t even do anything by yourself!” You turn around, “I wasted enough time with you, we need to save Lancer—”
“...you’re right. I can’t speak like a normal person. I can’t do anything by myself. You are right, ok?!” The defeated tone of his voice causes you to turn around, seeing tears in his eyes, “I… I just wanted to be remembered… No need to be rude, Kris!”
You feel as if his words are bullets to your SOUL.
What…? Rude…? But I… I was…
You finally realize how you’ve been treating him this entire time.
I…
“I used to be a forgettable little bird. Completely average in every way. When people looked at me, they saw nothing.” Berdly wipes his eyes.
“But it all changed all those years ago, at the Christmas spelling bee of Hometown.” His face grows nostalgic. “Through hard training, I managed to get into the finals together with Noelle."
"But… she chickened out at the last second, running away crying. I was the victor by default, but not because of my actions, but simply because I followed what people wanted." He gives out a wistful smile. “I was the real chicken. I studied so much… but I didn’t know anything.”
"But I still got praised, cheered. I was remembered. The feeling was engraved in my mind. The feeling of following the needs of the masses. I was addicted to it. I followed all the big trends, all the popular games. Always followed the best builds. All of my likes were everybody else’s. I was number one in class all the time. People cared about me.”
“However, I didn’t do that because I wanted to, because that was my wish. I only followed everyone else's wishes, so that they would like me instead. Noelle… she was the one who grounded me… Saw the real me… She’s the reason I was top of the class. She’s the real smart kid.”
Berdly closes his eyes. “That’s why… I was scared… scared of what would become of me without her.”
“In less than a year, I will have to make my own choices… I don't know if I will be in the same college as Noelle or even the rest of the class. I… I… don’t even know what I truly want… That’s why I fell for Queen’s scheme. She promised me a controlled world, where I wouldn’t have to worry, think about the future. But in the end, I just endangered Noelle.”
“I guess I really was… just symbolism…” He finishes his long monologue, tears falling down his face.
You don’t even know what to say. You didn’t expect his pain to go this deep. His insecurity. It reflects on you.
I… I… didn’t know… I just saw how annoying he was… so I ended up as annoying as him.
You look down. “Berdly… I… I am… sorry.” You look at him, your eyes watery. “I didn’t know you felt this way… and I was still a huge jerk to you.”
“Kris… you are… apologizing?” Berdly looks surprised. “That’s so… out of character, it almost feels like a skinwalker took over you!”
You raise an eyebrow. “A skinwhat?”
“I accept your apology, crewmate!” Berdly ignores you.
I almost regret saying anything.
“Don’t cry, chicken-nugget-man!” Lancer says, coughing. “Sometimes I also don’t know if I should dig more holes or make mixtapes.”
“Yeah, Lancer’s right,” Susie says. “Even I feel insecure sometimes. About, um, what people think of Dragon Blazers 2. For me it’s the BEST of the trilogy, and I don’t care what some assholes on the internet have to say!”
Berdly wipes his tears away, “Susie… Dragon Blazers 2… Is my REAL favorite game! I just quote ‘Among Us’ because it’s popular!” There’s stars in his eyes, “I was wrong about you, Susan… Not only are you kind… but a true gamer as well!”
“Ergh… thanks?” Susie looks confused. “(But my name is not Susan???)”
“Susie’s right… You can’t just follow manuals your whole life. Sometimes… we have to pick our paths ourselves!” You say, sheer determination coming out of your voice.
“Kris, Susie… I finally understand. From this day forth, I shall never listen to what anyone tells me to do… I will only follow my own heart!” Berdly laughs triumphantly.
That’s not what I meant…
“Berdly, we’re not saying to ignore what everyone says,” You try to sound patient. “We’re saying you just need to remember about your own—”
“And I shall NOT listen to you. Now, let’s move…” He walks forward, quickly stopping, “Um, where again?”
“We need to get to Ralsei.” Susie starts to walk forward, grumbling to herself in the meantime, “(If only he were here to teach you the right lesson)”
“Peachboy will give me the healing whooies and then I will—”
Lancer suddenly stops speaking.
His body grows rigid. His skin grows grayer and colder.
He slips out of Susie’s hands.
Suddenly, he just drops like a stone.
His own body is a stone.
Everyone’s hearts stop for a moment. The room grew eerily quiet. Nobody can believe what they are seeing.
Quiet footsteps appear, and a voice breaks the shock, “Finally, I got here, Queen’s security was…”
Ralsei—dressed in a butler outfit—stops talking as he sees the situation in the room. But as if his presence breaks a spell, panic starts flooding the room.
Berdly shrieks. “DID HE JUST TURN INTO A ROCK??? BUT NOT AS LIKE… THE ACTOR???”
You start shaking. “L…L…Lancer… no… You can’t… I…” Tears fall down your face.
Susie rushes towards Ralsei. “R-R-Ralsei… Ralsei, hurry! You need to heal Lancer, NOW! He just turned into—”, Susie frantically yells, her words eating themselves.
Light reflects in Ralsei’s glasses. It is impossible to see his eyes, “…Susie, I fear that… I cannot heal that…”
You start shaking harder, “H-Hey… What do you mean you can’t heal him…?”
If he can’t heal him… then maybe I should… No… When I saved, he was already sick… Does that mean I need to…
“Wait. Let him finish.”
Without knowing your internal struggle, the butler goat continues, “Remember when I talked about RECRUITED and LOST Darkners?”
“Um… y-yeah. About how they can become either part of our WILLS or lost forever… Did Lancer get—”
Ralsei cuts you off.
“No, Lancer didn’t get LOST. You haven’t gotten stronger, right?” He says.
“Now that you have said it, yeah…” You look pensive. “I haven’t.”
“You see, those concepts are connected. Each Dark World is created by its fountain, and that Fountain’s WILL shapes the Darkners of that world. However, if you bring a Darkner from their home fountain to a different world, their WILLS might clash…”
Ralsei looks down. “Lancer is from Card Castle’s fountain. His WILL is from a world of cards… he can’t fit in a technological world like this. If he came here… his body would become an object once more. Stone.” He looks at the statue. “And… Well, that’s what happened.”
You raise an eyebrow at that explanation.
Become an object once more…? Does that mean he already is…
You don’t finish that train of thought.
Susie is desperately shaking Lancer’s stone statue, “So… is there a way to save him?”
“Yes!” Ralsei smiles. “Castle Town’s fountain is made of pure darkness. Its WILL is so pure that anybody can fit there. As long as it flows, every Darkner will be safe. We just have to bring Lancer back to the school, and everything will be alright.”
Ralsei is indeed correct. That’s how perfect my castle town is. Anybody can fit into that dream.
So you must bring everyone there for a better world.
“So, do we just leave Lancer here?” You ask.
“Ah, no need. Butlers!” Ralsei claps, summoning huge, muscled, bird-like butlers. You give them a side-eye.
Temmie is right… Muscles aren’t cute.
“I guess that explains… your taste.”
What does THAT mean?
“I am just as buff as them…” Berdly whines.
“Take care of that statue; treat it as a special guest,” Ralsei orders them like a prince.
“Aye, young master!” They grab Lancer and lift him out of here.
“What the HELL was that?!” Susie yells, “There’s no way a wimp like you is now a mafia boss?
“Oh, right, how could I forget?” Ralsei awkwardly laughs. “You see… Queen didn’t have any room for me, so instead she hired me to be a butler for her. I was on my way to even give your weapons back.”
Ralsei pulls out your mecha sword and Susie’s Devilsknife from his butler outfit, giving it to both of you.
“Wait, Queen actually gave you a REAL job, and not me?! I would be furious if I weren’t a changed man.” Says a furious Berdly, “But this can work in our favor, because you see… I have made a plan, all on my own!”
“Really?! What is it?” You ask him, and he just scoffs.
“I will tell you three… LATER! But rest assured that we WILL save Noelle and your friend! Just stay here, my friends, as I scout ahead. You will see my signal.” And with that, he is off, doing a weird mixture of running and flying.
“Are we supposed to just stay here and laze around?!” Susie yells indignantly.
“Well… I do have a place to stay… follow me.” Ralsei beckons to you and Susie, and you two follow him.
“And in the meantime, we can see him and ask what that deal is about.”
Kris says, and there’s no doubt what he means by that.
Who?
… For me, at least.
“The puppet. Meet him at the trash site?”
Oh yeah. Our deal…
You already prepare yourself for the worst when dealing with that creepy puppet.
And I am preparing myself for the disappointment on Kris's face when he sees where his lack of faith will lead him.
After all, he made his choice long ago.
Chapter 29: CHAPTER 2, PART 12: DIAL TONE
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
A FOLLOW-UP TO A DEAL BEGINS. WHAT WILL YOU FIND AT THE END OF SUCH A CROSSROAD?
Chapter Text
Welp… here we are… back at the trash area.
You step through the doorframe, one foot in Queen’s palace, the other in the Trash Area. As soon as you cross it completely, you close the nearby warp door.
After Berdly left for his plan, and the nearby butlers put Lancer in a safe place, Ralsei guided you and Susie to a place where you two could relax until Berdly returned.
Color Cafe, a place where all of Queen’s butlers can chill out together, making the cafe into a sweaty mess of burly men.
The place was very cramped, and all the people there made you feel small. It made you blush in shame. Yet, you didn’t stay there for too long. After all, Kris had other plans.
He left the cafe and went to a nearby warp door, and with your help, he teleported back to the trash area.
“I was unconscious last time we were here. I only have your word to go off.”
Kris’s red eyes scan the nearby area. All he sees are piles of garbage, random glitching spots, and malfunctioning ads floating around.
No signs of that spam program.
This is the trash area… I… um… couldn’t really forget this place.
Your mind goes back to when you had full control of your body. Despite the feeling of power you gained back then, you now only feel regret.
Sorry for taking your body for a ride back here, by the way. I don’t think I apologized before.
“No need to apologize. Better than to idle around.”
You… uh… don’t have a good sense of self, do you?
Kris doesn’t reply to you. He continues looking around the area.
“Can’t see Spamton. Was this really the right place?”
Kris is right, you notice. There’s no sign of Spamton here, despite what he told you.
There’s just garbage.
Maybe he was just trying to scam us… I mean… half of the stuff he told us didn’t make sense. I… um… had my fair share of scam deals before.
Your mind drifts towards a certain short skeleton and his awful pranks.
Maybe we should just go back and wait…? I… uh… want to experience the Spaghetti Code! It will be the second spaghetti I've ever eaten! And probably the first edible one!
Kris ignores what you say. Your words aren’t enough to stop the fire raging inside Kris. A fire I would recognize anywhere. The fire of resolve, of the will.
A desire to change fate. The very fate that he wrote himself.
He doesn’t think this is a simple scam.
“Someone like that wouldn’t do a prank this amateurish.”
And so he searches. Going through the garbage, the glitching spots…
He searches everywhere. Eventually, he finds a hole inside a wall. Without thinking twice, he walks inside it.
His senses almost stop when he sees it. His eyes widen, and he grits his teeth. He sweats as his blood curls.
The way the trash is positioned… culminating in that gray door at the front.
It reminds me of a very, very familiar place. The memories it brings to him…
And it even ignites something in you, too.
Hey… that gray door… for some reason that looks… really familiar…
Without responding to your thoughts, Kris opens the door with surprising strength. The door barely hangs on.
And inside, you only see gray. Gray walls, gray chairs, gray floor. The only exception is the farthest wall, standing in front of you.
Someone painted blue skies in there crudely with paint.
Some of the paint drips on the floor.
Despite the inherent eeriness of such a place, you feel completely normal. The lack of color, of life, the paint dripping, the phone ringing, it doesn’t affect you.
You feel as if this is where you belong; you even feel a little nostalgic.
It feels… like home.
“It feels like hell.”
Your feelings aren't reflected in Kris, who is shaking slightly while his eyes dart around the small place.
“EAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! KRIS!!!”
He almost jumps when the voice speaks.
“I AM [Exploding] HAPPINESS!!! YOU ENJOY [The Merchandise]!!! YOU ENJOY MY [Humble Abode]!!! I [Drew] [In Your Image]!!!”
Your golden eyes turn to the puppet. It flaps its mouth, its manic eyes darting around.
He looks ecstatic.
His voice seems to cast a spell on you, your eyes widening. “Well… I guess I like the decoration…? It makes me feel… at home.”
You say that last part very quietly.
“I AM SO HAPPY I COULD I COULD I COULD I COULD I COULD I COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULDI COULD”
He suddenly shuts down. “[Die]”
Kris shakes his head, “I came here for our deal.”
RING! RIIIIIING!!!
The phone rings in the back.
Spamton seems to get up, looking past Kris. “OUR DEAL? OH! OUR DEAL! THE [World] WITHOUT THE [Voice Inside Your Head]! THE WORLD WHERE YOU ARE A [[BIG SHOT]]!!!!”
His mouth quickly shuts, “BUT THE [Voice] IS SPEAKING [[Buy Now]]!”
Kris seems to shake slightly harder, his eyes glowing even brighter, “So that really was a scam.”
Spamton seems to laugh even harder.
“KRIS, [Little Sponge], I AM [Spam]TON, NOT [Scam]TON!!! YOU DON’T [Trust]
You grow a little sadder, eyes dropping low. A part of you sympathizes with him in your SOUL.
You are way too compassionate.
He isn't trustworthy.
You send him a warm smile. “We still are…! We are friends, you don’t need to worry!”
“[Correct Answer] [Congratulations]!!!!” His nose seems to grow. “DON’T LISTEN TO THE [Voice] KRIS!!! YOUR [Kindness] IS [Heaven]ish!!!”
RIIIIIIIIIING!!! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNG!!!!
The phone rings.
I click my tongue.
Seems like even I need to be careful with my words.
“YOU DON’T NEED IT, KRIS!!!! WE DON’T NEED [[Easels]] AND [[Memes]]!!! NO [Man, Woman and Child] AT [[Half-Price]]!! WE DON’T NEED [[MIKE!!]]”
His eyes gloss over, and a weird static fills the room.
Kris gets even more alert as a weak voice comes from Spamton.
And yet his mouth doesn’t move.
“...Mike…”
In an instant, everything returns to normal.
“[Normal]?! THEY TOOK EVERYTHING, TOOK YOUR KROMER YOUR [Ip] AND I WOULDN'T LET THEM STEAL [My].”
“[Don’t Trust Anything You See On TV].” He finishes.
This is just nonsense now.
I highly recommend that Kris leave this place now. And then forget about this, forever.
RIIING. RIING.
The phone rings.
Kris turns around.
“DON’T… FORGET!!” Kris almost jumped from the sudden voice.
Right when he was about to listen to me.
“DON… LISTEN!!!” Spamton almost leaps out of the counter. “[[A Great Deal]] IS WAITING FOR YOU. A ONE-WAY TICKET TO MAKE ME [Big]. MAKE YOU [Big]!”
“How…?” He narrowly asks.
“IN THE [Abyss] OF QUEEN’S [Mansion] A [Heaven-Piercing Body] IS WAITING for a [Limited Time Only]”
You recoil at those words, finally finding what to say. “The abyss of Queen’s mansion? She is hiding something?!”
“INDEED [It Burns! Ow! Stop! Help Me! It Burns!] LIGHT. QUEEN HAS THE KEYS TO [Stairway to Heaven]!” Spamton looks sad. “I ASKED [Worst Employee] TO [Press F1 For Help] BUT HE [Epic Fail]. [Please help me, you’re my only hope].”
“A body… That’s the thing that can free me?” Kris says.
His suspicion is warranted; there’s no way that a body that Queen possesses could possibly surpass my sheer power.
The power he came for. The power he asked for.
“[[Designed BY The Classics You've Come To Expect! (C)1997]] IT HAS THE POWER TO [[Your body is the body that will pierce the heavens]] [Communion] WITH [[Unintelligible Laughter].” He laughs.
“IT WILL [Pierce] THE DARK AND I WILL GET SO I WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SOI WILL GET SO”
He shuts down. “[[Hyperlink Blocked]]”
You almost jump every time he seems to break down. Your heart aches, but a part of you feels nostalgic for it.
Why aren’t I afraid…?
“Perhaps because you’ve been in hell for too long.”
Thankfully, Kris answers first.
“You’re just speaking nonsense. I am leaving.” He turns around.
True to his word, he leaves.
Relief floods you, yet… a part of you feels bitter about leaving so soon.
The curiosity that ever burns in your heart.
RIIIING!! RIIIIIIIIIING!!!
The phone rings.
Before you can go through the door, Spamton calls out to you.
“YOU NEED [Guarantee]!!! [Initiating Playback]!”
Static fills the room, Spamton shuts down, and something that not even I could predict happens.
A voice comes from his mouth, despite not being able to move it.
Her… Her voice…
The voice that made Kris start this journey.
“Where… Where am I? Hello...? Anyone...? Is... is anybody out there...? Someone!? Anyone!? Can anyone hear me!?”
Kris moves towards the source of the voice, knocking everything in his way.
“That voice…! How are you playing that voice…?!” He asks, holding the immobile puppet in his hands.
You feel scared at the sheer rage he is emitting.
Kris… is everything okay?
Regardless, that voice continues.
“…It's dark. It's so dark here. Someone, anyone, if you can hear me… Say something... please…”
You notice that it’s a female voice.
It sounds similar to Noelle’s, but younger somehow.
Kris seems to shake the puppet even harder.
“St...Stop! STOP!”
“No one can hear me, can they…? … I guess not. To be honest, I’m not—”
With the hilt of his sword, Kris strikes the puppet.
K…Kris! Hey, calm down!
In an instant, the voice stops, and the static disappears.
The puppet jumps out of Kris's grip.
RIIIIIIING!!! RIIIIIIIIIING!!!
The phone rings in the background.
“INTERESTED? CURIOUS? [[Find Out After Graduation]]!!!” He says, moving his hand for a deal.
Kris grips it.
“I will get your body. Just…” He just sighs as the puppet laughs.
He doesn’t finish
You can feel Kris’ angst.
You feel worried about him, but it seems like you are stuck in this deal.
“THE [Way] IS LOCKED BY [High-Quality Encryption]!!! YOU WILL NEVER GET INSIDE!!!” He laughs again as you eye him weirdly.
“But then… how will we get your body?” You ask him, causing him to jump.
“YOU ARE MY [1000th Customer]! YOU [Unlock] THE [Keygen] FOR 1997 KROMER! [Commemorative Ring] [[From Me To You]]!!!” He holds a weird, digital key in his hands.
“He wants 1997 Dark Dollars.”
That much?!
That amount of Dark Dollars was a huge hit to your current balance.
Well, if it’s going to give us an ally as strong as Jevil, I guess it’s worth it.
And so, you give the puppet its money.
“IT WAS SUCH A GOOD YEAR!!!” He almost looks nostalgic as he gives you the so-called Keygen, “BY TAKING MY [Keygen] YOU HAVE [Sign Here] THE [Terms And Conditions]!!! GO TO [Queen’s Luxurious Basement] AND GET THAT [EmptyDisk]!!!”
You say nothing in return, just walking out as your body shakes in fear.
At first, I was angry that he would make this choice, but after hearing that voice—that inexplicable voice from his past—I am not as angry.
Let’s see where this deal with the devil takes us…
“SPEAKING OF [Deal With The Devil]…” Spamton says, just as we are about to leave. You don’t turn your head to look at him.
“DID YOU KNOW THAT THE KNIGHT…”
I and Kris glare at the puppet together, our red eyes piercing him.
He recoils in fear, his face glitching, running to his phone.
RIIIING!!!!
It rings once more.
“I am sorry…! I am sorry…! Please don’t…!” He suddenly looks angry. “OUT OF VACATION DAYS??? TAKE A VACATION STRAIGHT TO HELL!!!!”
Without even hearing him, we open the door and leave.
Kris looks back at the extremely familiar place. His hands shake. Without thinking, his legs move on their own.
To a pile of garbage.
He sits down, gripping his arms, shaking.
Hey… are you ok…?
He quivers, feeling so small. You can hear him sniffing.
It’s awkward because he is your body, so in a way, you are the one crying, too.
“….no….”
He looks down.
You can feel his fear and sadness as if it’s your own. It’s a weird feeling for you, but normal for me.
I already feel your emotions for myself, I already feel Kris’s emotions for myself. Susie’s. Ralsei’s.
Even Noelle’s, when she was present in our party.
But you aren’t me, so you don’t know how to handle it. But your heart won’t allow you to just stand by, so you keep trying.
You have to try.
Well… I am not okay either… I don’t think it would be normal if either of us were. What he was talking about, the voices, those deals… It’s weird. And he even used the voice of your friend, right?
“Y...Yeah… I…”
He sniffs.
“Really miss her. So much.”
But I think… we can’t let this hold us down. We need to be strong… and not just physically, but emotionally. Sometimes I can’t handle my self-doubt and fear… but that’s the reason we have friends!
You smile. It’s not much, but it brightens the room a little.
As long as they support us… We can keep going. We support them… and they support us back. So if you’re feeling bad… I can support you! And I know… You will do the same to me.
You lighten up your SOUL, letting its warmth fill your body. To support him.
He might grieve for a while, but with you there, he will get better soon.
He has to.
*
You stayed with your body for a couple of minutes, supporting him.
Eventually. Kris gained enough resolve to continue, pocketing the keygen and walking through the warp door back to Queen’s mansion.
But when you stepped inside Queen’s luxurious halls…
You realized you had no idea where this “basement” even was. You couldn’t fully go into the mansion until Berdly returned in his scout or whatever he was going to do.
You had no choice.
You had to search for the room.
And searched for it, is what you did.
You scoured Queen’s walls, covered with posters of her.
You returned to the rooms you were imprisoned in and tried to search for it.
(They were locked—they didn’t have anything, anyway, you had peeked inside—and you decided not to see Asriel’s out of respect for Kris).
You even searched the huge female legs right in front of the cafe, but still got nothing.
Stumped, your mind went back to the only choice left.
Maybe… Ralsei knows where it is?
“How?”
Well… He is ‘working’ for Queen, right? Maybe some of her butlers told him where the basement is.
With hope shining into your SOUL, you walk into the Color Cafe.
True to its name, colors are everywhere.
Red, blue, yellow, black, painted in such a beautiful pattern that anyone would be enraptured by such class.
The vision of this colorful cafe and the gray of Spamton’s house clash in your mind.
But before you can get lost in those thoughts, a sweet voice comes to your ears, “Welcome back, young master. The tall blue man with the odd manner has been dealt with swiftly.”
You look up and see a colorful bird-like creature wearing a shirt that was half black and half white, and a pair of yellow glasses.
The epitome of class.
“T...Thanks?” You did not know what he was talking about.
“Ah, pardon. I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”
He was right, Kris had left the cafe almost immediately before, not having the time for conversation.
“My name is Swatch, I am Our Lady Grace’s head butler, and the owner of Color Cafe, the cornerstone of her new society.”
“Here at Color Cafe, we pride ourselves on our meme control—although we prefer to call it ‘cookies’; it simply has more class.” He opens his arms to the rest of the cafe, “Me and the rest of the Swatchlings work our hardest to organize your cookies so you can have the best experience of your lives. You shall never experience sadness, pain, grief, or other unpleasant emotions in this fine establishment.”
Yet more of Queen’s freaky control attempts… But maybe…
“Sir, do you know where the basement of the mansion is? I think Queen might have thrown something away, so I thought…” You let the question hang in the air.
It’s always best to let someone else finish your thoughts, you see…
“Do I?”
The head-butler quickly shakes his head, “Throwing things away is a sign of sadness. Here at Color Cafe, we pride ourselves on our—”
He methodically repeats the same slogan like a robot.
Kris tunes him out, walking away.
“Dead end. Doesn’t seem like it works.”
Most of the time, it…
“Doesn’t work.”
Drats!
Shaking his head, Kris looks around.
“We should try a new lead that doesn’t involve a minion of Queen’s…”
Your golden eyes see what you are looking for.
Like our friends! Finishing someone’s thoughts does work!
Susie runs around with Ralsei’s glasses, purposely being clumsy and bumping into the butlers.
“C’mon, Susie!! Give me my glasses back!! I...I can’t see without them!!” Ralsei yells, hands over his eyes, trying not to bump into another butler.
“Ooh, look at me, I am the prince of all dweebs, Ralsei!! I love homework and chores soooooooo much that even my enemies hire me!!!” Susie says with a mocking voice, jumping over another table.
But just as she lands, you grab the glasses from her.
“Playtime is over! I will be taking these!” You say, a smirk of victory on your face, hands on your hips.
Your voice startles Ralsei, and for a brief moment, you can see his pretty eyes.
You blush for a single moment.
But they quickly disappear as he grabs the glasses from your hands.
“Argh, Kris!!!” She whines, “You don’t need to be such a spoilsport, we’re just playing around!!”
“Th...These glasses are really important…” Ralsei quietly says, as he turns around and faces you, “K...Kris!! I didn’t expect to see you so soon!”
You can hear the surprise in his voice.
It’s not often you hear it.
You join your hands together, playing around with your thumbs, “Y..Yeah… I need to, um, talk about, um, something personal. To you. In p...private.” You stutter.
He blushes, “O...Oh… Ok! Um… Follow me!” He moves to a corner of the cafe.
“More food for me.” Susie grumbles as she sits down, “Weirdos.”
“Well, what did you need to tell me?” Ralsei asks as you two go into the corner.
“Ralsei… I…” You grab his hands. He blushes harder, “I need to ask you about something.”
He nods.
“W...Well… do you… um… do you…” He looks expectant.
You just blurt it out, “Do you know where Queen’s basement is?”
“Oh.” He blurts out. He looks disappointed.
What did he expect?
“W… Well… I did hear it in passing a while ago.” Ralsei explains. “They talked about how they hid the entrance right in front of the huge legs outside. Because, y’know, no one would look there.”
You hug the goat.
Again.
“Thank you so much, Ralsei. You were a huge help!” You undo the hug, running out of the cafe.
“Stop hugging him, that’s my body!”
Your body is about to experience a fluffy overdose, grumpypants!
Kris grumbles at your mannerisms.
You two leave Ralsei all by himself.
“Y… Yeah… No problem!” He pushes his glasses higher into his brow, “(I really should look into what they are doing. Can’t be losing my glasses again.)”
*
The dark prince was indeed right. In front of the gigantic female legs, there’s a hidden switch, disguised as a floorboard.
You stepped on it, and a door opened right in the back of the giant's legs.
You entered inside, and the door disappeared, the statue sealing the entrance and exit away.
A green energy barrier blocked the way, but with a swipe of the KEYGEN, both it and the KEYGEN disappeared with a crackle of energy.
Just like Pandora’s box opening and releasing all the secrets and evils to the world, you enter inside Queen’s basement.
You descend, steps soft, the metallic sound of your boots echoing in the silence. It’s so quiet you can even hear your body breathing.
The air grows heavier, oppressive, as the room grows dark, darker, yet darker. Your golden eyes are the only light source in this all-encompassing darkness.
Soon enough, you reach the end. You can hear water dripping around you, and a rotten smell fills your nose.
It’s decadent, disgusting.
It’s the smell of rotten glass. It’s the smell of broken dreams. You shiver as you hug yourself, quietly walking further in.
For a moment, you almost see a grinning face.
But when you looked back, it was gone.
(You’re starting to see things, get it together. You’ve been through worse, remember the True Lab? You can do it!!!)
Your steps are firm, your posture is fixed, and your head stands upright.
You won’t let this oppressive atmosphere get to you.
You have been through worse.
This won’t be where you end.
The “you” that I know won't let that happen.
You can see, albeit faintly, pieces of machinery around the walls.
Incomplete robots. Incomplete projects. Sparks fly off them. Green wires, almost vine-like, envelop them.
Be they small, big, or even around your size, all of them look broken.
Your heart aches at all those possible dreams that were crushed here.
This is… like a graveyard. A machine’s graveyard.
“This is… probably where all the ‘bad memes’ go…”
That’s why… they didn’t want us to know about this place…
You close your eyes, fist shaking in a mix of varied emotions. Sadness. Anger. Regret. Helplessness.
This is… cruel. Too cruel…
But is it? Failure, dreams that you can’t reach, they are part of life, aren’t they?
You need to accept it.
But… you aren’t ready yet.
Still uninformed by my speech, you and your body march on.
You have to march on. After all, you haven’t found that Empty Disk.
You enter inside a large area. To the left, there’s some fusion of a minecart and a coaster on top of some tracks. Those tracks lead to an open space on the right, to a very weird rollercoaster. It goes down, down to the depths, down to the abyss.
It loops around a couple of times, but there’s no destination.
“This must be where they… try to ‘erase’ things that are particularly ‘problematic’. We shouldn’t approach that.”
You follow your body’s advice, but you see a light with your eyes. White, blinding light in front of a weird machine.
You move your feet as if you aren’t even thinking, rushing towards it.
Kris notices the EmptyDisk inside and picks it up as you hold onto the light.
You feel the power of the light, you hold on to the world for just a moment, saving that spot in time.
You are filled with the power of broken dreams.
But just as you hold on, your golden eyes scan the weird machinery in front of the light.
That sleek black hair. Those wide shoulders. That chest panel. Those stylish legs. It wasn’t the same, but the similarity is striking.
It can’t be… I know who this is… But it just can’t be…
You move the wires in front of its face, as your eyes widen, face completely aghast.
Th...This is…!
*
“Why do you want Mettaton’s body!!!!!! HOW DID YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT THAT?!!!!” You yell, slamming the door of the puppet's shop open, almost flying off the hinges.
Spamton jumps from where he was, close to the phone—The exact spot we left him in.
RIIIING!!! RIIING!!!
The phone rings once more.
“KRIS!!!!! MY NAME IS SPAM SPAM SPAM 5pAm %PAM [Spam] [Spam] [[SPAM]] [Spam]TON!!!! Please [Keep Saying It] MY NAME!!!! I AM SO [Happiness] I WILL I WILL I WILL I WILL-”
“Were you the one who sent those emails to Burgerpants!!!???” You yell—it is not a question—you don’t even care if the puppet would understand.
You need answers.
And I need them now.
“I AM THE E_MAIL GUY. HOW ELSE WOULD A [[BIG SHOT]] LIKE ME TALK WITH MY [Worst Employee]?! HE WORKS FOR [My]!!!! NOT [[Cathode Screen?]] [$!$!] FRONT!!!” The puppet yells, moving behind the counter.
Your fury slows down, dissipating like a fog as you process his words, “Your worst employee…? But you are…”
RIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIING!!!!
The phone rings.
Spamton jumps up and down, “[Spam]TON OF COURSE!!! JUST BECAUSE I AM NOT IN [Stardom Forma] DOESN’T MEAN I AIN’T A [[BIG SHOT]]!!!! [You and I] [Go Way Back] YOU SHOULD KNOW!!!”
You quirk your eyebrow up, your hand hovering over your open mouth in shock, “But that doesn’t make sense… Are you saying you are…?” You almost take a step back at the puppet’s response.
“I AM NOT [Spam]TON YET!!!! I NEED [My Body] [[Designed BY The Classics You've Come To Expect! (C)1997]]!!!! I WILL [Finale] BE [Me, myself and I]!!! I WILL REACH [The Highest Of All] AND BE A”
“BE A”
“BE A”
“[[BIG SHOT]]”
You recoil in shock, recognizing those words—or at least the meaning in them. Those were the words of your friend.
There’s no way… is he saying he’s Mettaton?!
“You know him?”
No, but…
Because of that, a shocked expression cannot leave your face, “Th… This can’t be… You can’t be…!”
RIIIIINg!!!! RiiiIIIIINNNgggg!!!
The phone… rings?
He looks directly at your body, “KRIS, [Congratulations]!! YOU BROUGHT ME THE DISK!!! YOU ARE SO [Realible] WE SHOULD [Perform Again]!”
His face grows eerily serious, his words slow and methodical. “NOW KRIS. YOU HAVE. TO HAND ME. THE DISK. THE [Terms and Conditions] WILL. BE FINALIZED. AND I WILL. TRANSFER MY. [[Hyperlink Blocked]]”
His words are paused, in a way that even you can pay attention to them.
He is staring right at your SOUL with his manic eyes, hidden behind his shades, “THIS IS. VERY. VERY. IMPORTANT. IN ORDER TO HAVE. YOUR FRIEND. BACK. YOU NEED TO. PUT. THE DISK. BACK. WHERE. YOU. GOT. IT. DO THAT… AND YOU HAVE MY [Specil Guaranttee] OF [Return Of] YOUR [Old Pal]!”
“We W1LL HAV3 A [Death By Glamour] KID!!!!” His body shuts down, “[[Warning! If you consent to the terms and agreements,]] [[OUR STORE is PERMANENTLY Closing Down!!]]”
You simply nod, agreeing to whatever happens.
Something indescribable happens.
Spamton is completely sucked into the disk. His whole body disappears, entering the disk. But not just him, but his painted wall gets sucked in. His phone gets sucked in. There’s only a gray room left.
And yet that makes you feel better than ever.
You feel at home. And looking at the disk, you can’t help but share its smile.
Maybe this can help make your dreams come true… Mettaton… I can repay you for yesterday. I can make my belief—my faith in you—real.
Kris stays silent.
There’s nothing he could say.
This isn’t his story anymore.
*
You return back to the light, and you insert the disk in the machine.
Nothing happens.
You tap the mechanism.
Nothing happens.
You shake it.
Wires fall down, but nothing happens.
You hit it.
You kick it.
Tears fall down, but nothing happens.
Just an empty vessel.
B...But… You promised… You promised you would come back! This can’t be how it ends!!
Tears fall down your face, but a quiet voice comes from within.
“Maybe… You just need to leave it for some time… I want this to work as much as you do. We both… want a friend to return.”
Kris doesn’t want to listen to my voice anymore.
Both of you want to follow the path of empty promises.
Even though I have been with him in the good and hard times.
From thin to thick.
But he made his choice a long time ago.
You nod, a ray of hope filling you.
You hold the light, feeling the power of hope fill you.
You wait.
You wait one minute, that turns to two, that turns into five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Still nothing.
Guess… it really was a scam. It can’t be Mettaton, in the end. He’s in the Light World. It’s just someone… impersonating him.
You sigh, closing your eyes.
“Maybe… we should come back later. It can’t be a scam. I need… a different path. I can’t… do it… not after…”
He doesn’t finish, and with your head held low, you walk out of the basement.
Yet, just as you are about to leave, just as you’re already on the tracks, something happens.
Out of view, the robot shakes.
It moves an arm.
It moves another.
It crawls out of the hole.
The wires hanging from it cause it to jump into the sky.
It lands with a quake, right in front of you. Dust kicks up, and you cannot see it, except for two glowing irises.
Pink and yellow.
“HOLY [Cungadero] DO I FEEL GOOD… IT’S TIME FOR THE [Premiere] OF MY NEW BODY…!!!! TIME FOR [Power Of Neo]!!!”
Chapter 30: CHAPTER 2 - PART 13: BIG SHOT
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
A FIGHT FOR THE AGES HAPPENS. WILL THE FAILURE WIN, OR WILL YOU PERSEVERE?
Chapter Text
A hideous simulacrum of your friend stands in front of you.
Two long black legs, wearing high-heels. Perfect for performing on stage; that is, if they weren’t flying up and down, unable to reach the ground, being hoisted by green wires as hard as strings.
Two long arms—that you remember striking wicked poses—being dragged by those damned strings. One has an arm cannon, making it even more uncanny. The chest is wrong, filled with so many colors…
So many wrong colors. It’s like a child painted on them.
But worst of all for you, the thing that prevents you from seeing your friend inside…
Is that face.
The cruel puppet’s face has replaced what remained of your friend's face—a crazed smile, the light from his glasses illuminating the darkness of the basement.
Pink and yellow.
It moves irrationally, crazed, it’s just…
“Th… This is… wrong…! Wh-What the hell are you?!” You say, backing away from that thing.
But yet that thing still follows you, “HEY H EY H EY !!!! YOU [Know] ME, SPAMTON G. SPAMTON!!!! MY [Premiere] I LOOK [New Product] BUT I FINALLY AM “
“BUT I FINALLY AM”
“BUT I FINALLY AM”
“R E A L” He looks to the skies, “I AM BIG… SO BIG… I CAN PIERCE THE DARKNESS AND LOOK INTO H E A V E N!” He looks into his hands, “I AM FREE…” His eyes close down…
For a brief moment, you almost think it’s over. You think you will wake up with your friend in front of you. You will wake up in the underground, with your own body, together with your friend. Together with Mettaton.
But the simulacrum clenches his hands, crushing that daydream.
“OR… so I thought…” He points to his strings, pulling them. Making them ring, “IT’S STILL SO DARK… SO DARK…! WHY ARE THERE THESE [Strings]!!! WHY AM I NOT [[BIG]] ENOUGH?!?!”
The primal scream that he emits… It’s strong enough to cause goosebumps all over your body.
And the look he sends to you is enough to make it shake, “YOU…! KRIS, KRIS, KRIS!!!”
You can’t turn back now anymore. If you take another step backwards, you will fall into the abyss.
You gulp.
“YOU,” He moves towards you. “THE [[LIGHT]] IS WHAT I NEED!!! TIME TO GO [Back In Time] TO THE [Good Ol Days] AND GIVE ME THAT… S O U L.”
Kris’s eyes widen, as the words the spam program said settled inside him, “That wasn’t part of our deal!”
Spamton scoffs, “KRIS YOU [Signed] THE [Terms and Conditions], [[If Spamton G. Spamton isn’t able to achieve HEAVEN with the Power Of NEO… then the old deal is back in town!!]] IT’S RIGHT THERE. [Read] NOT [Weep]!!”
Kris clenches his jaw shut, grinding his teeth. He picks up the sword, the blade appearing with a click. “You have to go through me first.”
Spamton shrugs, cocking his arm cannon straight to you, “Anything for my [[HEAVEN]]. DON’T [Cry] WE WILL BE [[BIG]] TOGETHER!!!! EAHEAHEAHEAHEAH!!!”
The arm cannon charges up, growing hotter and hotter. The light inside glowing brighter and brighter.
You close your eyes, already preparing yourself for the pain. You hear a rush of magic and then…
Nothing.
You confusedly open your eyes, only seeing Spamton stuck into a wall, with Susie holding her Devilsknife in front of him.
“Ha, right in your face, asshole!” She shouts.
“DON’T YOU KNOW YOU CAN STOP PLAYING AT ANY TIME, TIME?” Her weapon shouts, as well.
The voices of your friends feel you with relief.
Oh God… I really thought we were… Thank God Susie came in at the right time. Though… How did she know we were here?
“You should ask that to Ralsei.”
What?
As if in response, Ralsei pushes you away from the edge. “We were getting worried about your, um, little escapades… Seems like we got here just in time.” He says, bashfully.
Huh????????
“Yeah, Kris, what the hell have you been doing?” She smirks. “Do you like getting mugged by robots???”
You quietly chuckle at Susie’s response, getting away from Ralsei.
“No, I guess I was just… trying to find stronger equipment… Things just didn’t work out in the end.” You say towards her. “But… how did you even know I was here?”
“You should ask the Prince of Nerds here.” Susie points to Ralsei. “He’s the one who—”
“The spam program… he’s gone!” Ralsei says, sounding scared.
You follow him, looking into the hole.
Spamton isn’t there anymore.
Your eyes glow white, and faintly, you see three phantom coasters that will run over you and your party.
Your eyes widen. You move to warn your friends. “Everyone, look—”
But it’s too late.
Three roller-coasters decorated with Spamton’s face appear, forcing you three to ride on them.
“Woah!”
“What the hell?!”
You three ride down, going faster and faster.
So fast you can barely even feel your body, everything becoming a blur.
But still the puppet’s voice comes, flying right in front of the carts.
“YOU ARE REPAYING MY [Generosity] WITH A LESSER [[SOUL]] [Three For One]? YOU [Should] HAVE!!!! [Attention Customers, someone has breached in] [Area 51] [[Prepare The Euthanasia Coaster]]!!”
Spamton-shaped heads start to fill the air, flying right in front of you, Ralsei and Susie.
There’s no time to react.
“AAAAAAHHHHH [Moan] THIS [Cungadero] [Riding Across Town] ONCE THIS IS [Over] WE WILL ALL BE IN [[HEAVEN]]!!!!”
The heads start preparing to fire.
Susie grits her teeth as she holds on to her coaster.
Ralsei desperately tries to summon his magic.
Kris is just shell-shocked at the thing in front of him.
“He’s… He’s so fast… and… it’s all because I… because I…”
It is clear to you that no one is able to stop the puppet.
But you can.
You close your eyes.
It’s our fault, but… I know how to deal with it.
You know these attacks; that magic is so familiar to you, despite how different it looks to your eyes.
You can feel it in your soul.
You concentrate on that feeling, and something changes.
You pop out of Kris' body.
The human's expression becomes even more shocked. Red eyes replacing golden completely.
Your very SOUL links to Spamton’s magic. You are filled with his magic, and that magic transforms you.
Your SOUL turns side-ways, and becomes yellow. You gather power onto yourself, and fire magic from it.
It’s just like fighting Mettaton! I will be the bullet!
You shot at the hearts in front of Ralsei, turning them into magical dust.
You quickly move like a feather, light in the air, and shoot those in front of Susie’s. The purple dragon just gasps in surprise.
And then finally, you turn back to your body.
The magic that stands in front of him is too strong for normal shots.
And since I know how this works… I can make it even better!
So you gather unto yourself, strength needed to save your friend, and fire a powerful big shot that destroys all other heads.
Becoming the strongest shot!
“What?!?!?!?! Was that A [[BIG SHOT]] JUST NOW?! [No Way!] I AM SO [Proud] I CAN [[Gotta Go Fast]] THE [Euthanasia]!”
The tracks go even faster, going through a loop-d-loop and immediately slowing down.
“[One Down] [Five To Go]!!! [Heaven] ARE YOU WATCHING? WE ARE ALL GOING TO BE FREE!”
More magic is sent your way. Flying heads, the copy of Spamton's wicked face, spitting projectiles from their mouth.
The puppet prepares his arm cannon.
“You’ve made a mistake fighting me in that body!” You say, not through Kris' body like usual, but through yourself. The yellow heart flying around, filled with magic.
You fly closer to Kris.
Listen… Even though it looks different, I already faced this guy before. I know all of his moves… and how to counter them. I need you to trust me and follow all of my leads. I am counting on you.
Your passionate speech only makes the human feel more shaken as he looks at the terrible puppet, its limbs flailing in the air.
“KRIS, ISN’T THIS [Body] JUST [Heaven]Ly? [90 ATK] [$!%!]LOAD OF [DEF]. PERFECT FOR MY [Work-Out Regimen]. I CAN’T EVEB [Hear] [Voice Inside Your Head].”
That’s not true. I can show you what this body really is.
Your very SOUL gains a white outline. That in turn, makes Kris’s eyes glow red.
You CHECK the copy.
[SPAM]TON NEO - ATK 9 DEF 90
ELEMENT: CAT:PUPPET
[YOU WON'T FIND HIGHER ATTACK AND DEFENSE ANYWHERE ELSE!!!
THE SMOOTH TASTE OF NEO "WAKE UP AND TASTE THE PAIN".]
That’s what he wants to say, but it isn’t the truth. His stats are an inverse of the real deal.
A salesman who used to be a BIG SHOT, thanks to a deal he made with the Man. However, he broke this deal, leaving him abandoned and broken.
He believes my friend’s body will fix him.
He stole my friend’s dream. A body painted by him, carrying the greatest hope. As if that would make him become as real as him.
He’s his own worst invention.
His defense is too high, but he’s powered by the wires. We have to find a way to—
Kris feels as if his brain got zapped, as the CHECK ended prematurely.
“OH, SO [You] THINK YOU CAN [Make] [Sweet, Sweet] LIES ABOUT [Prestigious Bussiness]?!?!” Spamton scoffed. “NOT [Cool]!! I THOUGHT WE WERE [Friend(s)]!!!”
Urgh! He cut me off! Just when I had an idea to defeat him! Kris, don’t worry, just survive as I think of something!!!
You fly off to shoot more heads, so fast they can’t even fire blasts from their mouth. The arm cannon prepares to fire.
Kris shudders.
“Ralsei, shield, now!” You order, coming from your own mouth.
Almost as if he knew what you were about to say, he covers Susie with a fluffy shield, completely shielding her from the blast.
“The only voice I am hearing is your stupid voice, trying to threaten my FRIEND!” Susie yells, summoning the Devilsknife and attacking Spamton straight up in the chest.
“YOU PLAY A GAME YOU CANNOT WIN! BOTH OF US KNOW YOU ARE STILL TRAPPED INSIDE YOUR OWN WALLS!” Jevil laughs.
Smoke comes out of Spamton at the clown’s words.
“[$!%!] CLOWN? YOU MAKE ME SICK. THIS IS [My] TIME, [My] CHAPTER, [My] PART! [Pillars Of Society] [Come Forth]!” Spamton’s head is red with fury, and pillars come out of the ground, blocking the tracks.
Each pillar holds another head. It moves up and down, but doesn't fire anything from its mouth, unlike the others.
You try to shoot the heads inside and realize destroying them destroys the pillar. You fly through the air, shooting, breaking through them.
But there are too many for yourself. “Susie, Ralsei, backup!” You order.
Pellets and scythes fly through the air, but it still isn’t enough.
Kris, look out!
You order the human to move.
But your voice only causes the human to trip himself, and the coaster hits the wall. Miraculously, the coaster does not fall, but pain still floods you.
“KRIS, WHY DIDN’T YOU TAKE THE [Shoot]? ARE YOU TRYING TO [Cheat Code] ON YOUR [Free For A Limited Time Only?] THAT MAKES MY [Heart] [Burst Out]!”
Spamton’s chest opens with a sickening sound, and a heart-shaped object comes from within.
Mettaton’s heart attack. This is a tough one.
Diamond-shaped projectiles shoot from the heart, moving as fast as lightning itself.
“Another loop? How many of these are there?” Susie whines as their world turns upside down.
You shoot at the heart, small shots, big shots, but it is far more durable than the one in your memory.
“Ralsei, shield on me. Susie, Rude Buster, when the heart goes away!” You order.
A shield surrounds you, and you are filled with confusion.
You meant a shield on Kris, not on you directly.
Why wouldn’t Ralsei protect your own body?
“I… I… what… am I…?
Sadly, your confusion allows a diamond to pass through you and hits Kris straight on the chest.
A huge cut is formed on his chest. Blood drips from it, the wound aching. It will form a scar.
Susie screams, “Ralsei, you dumbass! You are supposed to be our support!!” She fires the Rude Buster.
Thankfully, it still hits the target.
Ralsei stammers, “B-But I thought that sh-she wanted… We wanted…”
He doesn’t understand. He did what you asked. He protected you, not Kris.
Kris… are you okay?
“I… Why did I… why would he…?”
“THE [[Specil Tour]] IS ON [Halfway Show]. [3 Left]!” The puppet says as the loop ends, “KRIS, YOUR [Generosity] IS [Good, Great, Awesome, Outstanding, AMAZING] WE ARE GOING TO BE [[BIG]] TOGETHER. SO< SO< SO >SO [Next Part Coming Soon]”
K-Kris… You’re hurt… I know that listening to my voice is h-hard… You don’t feel as if you have control over your life… But you need to hang on for a bit longer. You are still you! Nobody else!!!
Kris’s eyes are far away, the red in them dimmed. His body spasms. As if his brain is being zapped.
He only looks straight at me.
“Why… didn’t I listen to you?”
Suddenly, a phone starts to ring, and Spamton’s hand transforms into one. He picks up the receiver. “WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS? I THOUGHT I TURNED DOWN THIS NUMBER?! OH WAIT, SILLY ME!!!! IT’S FOR YOU!!!”
Soundwaves fly from the phone. Ralsei’s pellets counter them. Susie’s Devilsknife counters them.
You counter them with your own SOUL. Yet, you can’t fire at sound. It doesn’t work like that.
You can only fire at Spamton.
But sound can fire at you. It hits your SOUL. Pain floods through you, but you would do anything to protect them.
Yet, by putting yourself in danger, you cause the entire party to get hurt.
Kris, drink the Ralsei tea!
With shaking limbs, he picks up the green tea.
He drinks it, and the taste of obedience, of following orders, of not having a purpose, fills him. He can’t handle it; it’s like a reflection of himself.
He gags on it, and then spits the tea down in the abyss below.
“Kris, are you okay, man? You need to hold on!” Susie yells, being the most important person to him.
Kris?! Did… Was the tea rotten?! If so… why did you drink it?!
You don’t understand.
Pellets pummel Spamton.
“NO, NO, NE-O!!! HE IS [Dying] IN A [Horrible] [Pool Of Blood] IT’S [Terrible] EAHEAHEAHEAHEAHEAH!!!! KRIS PLEASE WE ARE [Dying]. LET ME BE [[BIG]]!” The puppet seems to be going even crazier.
“N...No… She is my friend.” Kris says, with the last of his strength.
“The tea… isn’t rotten. I am.”
“Yeah, Kris will never give it up to someone like you. To a puppet without a life!” Ralsei yells. It’s the most personal you have ever heard him sound.
Kris… why do you…? I… I am sorry if I am making you do something you don’t like!
Kris grits his teeth.
“KRIS, [Creatures Like Us] DON’T NEED [Friends]!” Like the first time you met the puppet, he grows bigger, bigger, and even bigger.
So large the tracks break, so large there’s only him in front of you, “THERE’S ONLY THE [Calls], THE [Shoots], THE [Voices] AND [[Hyperlink Blocked]]”
He starts to pull in air, and tracks get sucked inside.
You slowly get closer and closer to him.
Ralsei’s eyes shrink in terror.
“[Game Over] [You Have Been Found Guilty] [Initiating Transfer]”
Susie tries to throw more Devilsknifes, sending everything she has… but they all get sucked in.
A primal fear fills you, your mind darting back to your undoing.
The hurdle you failed to overcome in your world.
Your last memory.
PLEASE, ANYBODY, SOMEBODY, HELP ME!!!
You are almost inside the puppet.
“[No one is going to come] [What A Shame] DON’T [Cry] WE WILL BE IN [[Heaven]] TOGETHER. [Together Forever] [Thank You So Much-A For To Playing My Game]!”
A circle of pellets surrounds you. The last thing you see is Ralsei’s desperate eyes, and his hand closing.
The pellets close in, and your SOUL shatters.
Someone… Anyone… please… I can’t…
… I can’t…
…Go back…
There…
Again…
…
Where… Where am I…?
This place… it looks old. Very old.
And this grass… is gray…
Wait… is that… a tree?
IT SEEMS
ANOTHER ENDING
HAS
BEEN REACHED.
Wh-What…?! Oh!!! It’s you again…! You’re in the tree! That means that I…
YOU PERISHED.
I… see…
It was so fast… and so chaotic… I couldn’t control anything and…
Wait, does that mean that I…
SPAMTON DID
NOT
ABSORB YOU.
THE SUCCESSOR
SAVED YOU
JUST
IN
TIME.
I… I see… Those pellets… They were… Ralsei.
He… protected me.
INDEED.
SOMETIMES PROTECTION
REQUIRES
PAIN.
I COULD NOT
FATHOM
THE POSSIBILITY OF
HIM FAILING.
THE EXPERIMENT
WOULD BE A
FAILURE.
A failure…? You really care about me, huh?
…
I CARE
ABOUT THE COMPLETION OF
THE EXPERIMENT.
Heh, heh, sure… I can buy that… After all… It’s not like you told someone to make me feel better… Oh wait!! You did…! Haha…!!!
…
I DID NOT
WANT
HER
TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU.
…Suuuure! I believe you.
I CAN SEE
THE SARCARMS
IN THAT
EYE-ROLL.
REST ASSURED
IT IS
THE TRUTH.
…
HOWEVER
I AM GLAD
SHE DID SO.
…I knew you would admit it!
…
…
…
So… what is this place now? Why does it look so different from last time?
IT IS
THE
SAME.
JUST A
DIFFERENT
SIDE.
THE ONLY PLACE THAT
CREATURES LIKE US
CAN BE
IN.
This place… it looks lonely.
At least the waves look nice.
Hey, have you ever swum before? Do you think we could take a dip? I am an excellent swimmer, you know!
I DON’T
SEE
WHY WE
WOULD DO
SUCH A
FRIVOLOUS
ACTION.
C’mon! You don’t need to have a reason to have fun! Here, at least touch the water!
IT IS
COLD.
AS ALWAYS.
THERE’S NO DIFFERENCE.
WHY DID YOU
GRAB MY
HAND?
To make you touch it for no reason! Now look, your hand is wet! Just like me! Isn’t that… ‘cool’?
COOL.
COLD.
WHAT AN INTERESTING
WORDPLAY.
You can just… y’know… laugh. Like this!
Heh! Heheh!
I AM
GLAD
THAT YOUR
SPIRIT
SEEMS TO HAVE
RETURNED.
YOUR REACTION
IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
FROM THE PREVIOUS
COLLECTION.
Are you talking about the last time I died…? Yeah… I do feel better… But that’s because of my friends…!
I know that people are depending on me… Ralsei, Susie, Kris, and even you… So I can’t let my fear own me.
Just like you can’t let the coldness of the water take over your entire body.
Or be gray like this world is.
YOU’RE SUCH AN
INTERESTING
SPECIMEN.
Hey! Look who’s saying! The king of weirdness! It’s not like I can’t see that smile in your face, y’know.
…
Speaking of smiles… that puppet… he isn’t really… y’know…
NEGATIVE.
HE ISN’T
WHAT YOU CALL
“FRIEND”.
HE IS JUST
A DARKNER
WITH PARTS OF HIM.
I… I think… part of me knew it was too good to be true.
THAT BRINGS
US
TO MY FINAL TOPIC.
YET AGAIN
YOU
GO OFF TRACK
AND MEET ONE OF
MY
FAILURES.
YET AGAIN.
So… he’s like Jevil…? Why did you talk to him?
I NEED
SOMEONE
TO GUIDE
YOU.
BEINGS OF THE DARK
THEIR SELF
ARE THE PUREST.
I TRIED TO BE DIFFERENT.
I HELPED
BEFORE I
IMPARTED HIM WITH
KNOWLEDGE.
YET
NOTHING
COULD CHANGE.
Don’t put yourself down, I know you tried your best! It’s not your fault he’s a jerk, copying other people…
IS THAT
SO?
IT WAS ONLY DOING
WHAT IT KNEW.
NEVERTHELESS
YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE
MET HIM.
FAILURES
NEED TO BE
FORGOTTEN.
I… I thought he was my friend; that’s why I took the deal.
No, that’s not just it, either.
I thought that we could get another Shadow Crystal from him. Another ally. Seam implied, there would be more… So…
“SEAM”.
WHAT AN INTERESTING
FELLOW.
KNOWS SO
SO
SO
MUCH
AND YET
HE WAS NEVER
CHOSEN.
THE PATH
IT LEADS YOU
IS QUITE
AN INTERESTING
ONE.
Chosen…? Like me…?
I CANNOT
EXPLAIN
THE TRUE REALITY.
THE CURSED ONE
STILL SURROUNDS YOU.
IF YOU KNEW
THE EXPERIMENT
WOULD BE
UNSALVAGABLE.
Cursed one…? Do you mean… Kris?! HEY! He isn’t cursed…!
YES
AND
NO.
YOU STILL
LACK
THE KNOWLEDGE.
BUT IT IS
BETTER
THAT WAY.
OUR TIME
IS RUNNING OUT.
BE CAREFUL
WITH THE HUMAN.
YOU WILL ONLY WIN
IF YOU
HELP
HIM
BEAT
HIS INNER DEMONS.
HE FEELS
A GREAT DEAL OF
PAIN.
PERHAPS HE THINKS
THE CURSED ONE
AND
I
ARE THE SAME?
R...Right! I will help him… And then together we will win! A...And you aren’t cursed…! You haven’t caused me any pain… I owe you my whole life… If it wasn’t for you, I…
YOUR ANSWER
DOESN’T
MATTER.
YOU HAVE ALREADY
ACCEPTED
THE POSSIBILITY OF
PAIN AND SEIZURE.
Maybe, but… that was my own choice… And I don’t regret it! And you shouldn’t regret anything, either! So stop hiding behind that tree! You aren’t ugly.
YOUR LIGHT
IS ALWAYS SO
REVIGORATING.
PERHARPS
I
SHALL.
YOU DON’T SEEM
AFRAID OF
ME.
HOW INTERESTING.
I would never be afraid of you! Show me who’s afraid of you, I shall teach them a lesson!!!
SUCH BRAVADO.
VERY WELL.
THAT’S WHY
THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS.
DON’T FORGET
I AM WITH YOU
IN THE DARK
ALWAYS.
The light fills your eyes, your senses return as you stand back in the basement.
The abandoned, malfunctioned machine—your friend—stands in front of you.
You remember how it took a few minutes for it to be activated after you inserted the disk, so you have enough time to… talk it out with your body.
You both need it.
We need to talk.
“You…! He didn’t…! You are…!”
I won’t die that easily!
You internally wink, as you sit down to the side of your mechanical friend.
But we do need to talk. About how you… How we acted during that fight.
“…”
Look, I know you don’t like talking about yourself… You are not open like I am… you’re quiet, reclusive… But you need to open up with me here…
“I… I… can’t. I can’t tell you what troubles me… I just can’t!”
You sigh loudly.
How could you possibly help him if he doesn’t want help?
After all, he also asked for MY help, and yet he is now rejecting it.
He needs to endure, be strong… so we can have our dream.
He can’t have second doubts.
Alright… can you tell me at least why Spamton interested you so much? I can tell you why I went through this… Well… um… he kinda reminds me of an old friend… A friend that I found out was in a similar position to me… and I thought this would help him.
Kris perks up.
“The ghost at that house.”
Your eyes widen and you quietly chuckle.
Oh yeah… You were there… I almost forgot. But yeah, in the end… he was just a scammer. He isn’t my friend. This body… isn’t going to be the body my friend needs. That time… already passed.
You lean towards the wall, looking at the dark ceiling. You can hear nothing but the sound of electricity.
It feels weirdly peaceful.
“He reminds me of myself.”
The internal voice spits that out so fast you can barely process it.
Huh?!
“The answer to that question… his words… his situation… It reminds me of myself… So I believed if I helped him… I could see a future without…”
Without me?
Silence.
Kris is unable to deny or correct you.
Your heart grows sadder, but then you remember a loophole.
Something that happened in your previous life.
Maybe instead of… beating him to death, we can cut his strings? Now that he isn’t around, I could finally think of how to beat him. How to really do it. I mean, puppets become real without strings, and this isn’t the real form of my friend, really. So… maybe that can work?
“Th...That could work?”
You nod rapidly.
Of course! Maybe that will show there’s another path!
Kris gets up, dusts himself, and smirks.
“Alright, let’s do it. Just call Ralsei first.”
You become flustered.
Call him? What?
“Just call his name and he should come. We can’t do this ourselves.”
Confusion fills your heart, but sure enough, you do it. “Um… Ralsei? Can you come and help us? A big fight is about to start and… yeah…”
Seconds turn into minutes, but sure enough, you hear footsteps coming.
Both soft and rough, and then soon enough, the dark prince and the rude dragon fill your vision.
Your golden eyes widen.
That’s… really weird! Did Ralsei implement a hearing bug on me?
“Something like that.”
What do you MEAN by something like that?
“Ok, where’s the fight, Ralsei? I thought this was urgent!” Susie yells while looking around the boring and dreary basement, “This place just looks like shit. And it smells like shit too, urgh.” She chuckles, “Maybe we got to kick the ass of death itself here, hahaha!”
“YOU GOT TO [Ready, Set, FIGHT] AGAINST [Power of Neo]!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU BOUGHT [Friend(s)] KRIS. ARE YOU TRYING TO [Cheat Code] ME?!?!1W BECAUSE NE NE NE-0 NEVER LOSES!!!”
The machine moves out of its hole in the wall.
“What the hell is that thing?! What the hell have you been doing, man? I was joking when I said I wanted to fight death!!!!” Susie prepares her magic, as you nod to Ralsei.
He nods back, and you are filled with power.
It’s time to finish this.
Heads start flying, and with the faint magic of times gone past, your SOUL turns yellow, filled with magic.
You pop outside of Kris’s body. You fly around and shoot the heads, magic dust filling the air.
You hear a faint whirring noise, and in an instant you yell, “EVERYONE, JUMP!!”
Kris, Ralsei, and Susie all jump at the same time, as the coasters rush towards the tracks and fly off in the distance.
The puppet’s jaw almost hits the floor in shock, “WHAT WH AT WAT WAAAAHTA? [???!!!!] YOU [Spit] MY [Specil Tour]? THE [Path] WAS [Sorry! Closed For Repairs], IT MAKES ME [Burst out]!!!”
Spamton’s body simply… breaks apart. His legs, arms, chest, and head all split from each other.
Its strings hold them all like a pendulum, flying apart in the small room.
Susie’s jaw almost hits the floor. “Okay, that’s FREAKY, man!”
A light-bulb goes out in your head.
This is the chance we’ve been waiting for!
“Everyone, hit the wires!” You order.
Everyone nods to each other, and aims their attacks at the wires.
Devilsknife flies in the air, pellets hit wires, and sword cuts strings.
All while you fly and shoot each body part, screwing with their momentum and arc.
“MY [Holy] [Eggs] PIPIS [Spam] [To the extreme!]!!!!” Spamton’s arm cannon twists and squirms in a way that would make you shudder if you were in a body.
A blue object fires from the arm cannon, and then another, and another.
It looks normal; just a round, egg-shaped blue object, but then it hits the walls.
It explodes, and a burst of projectiles fly out from the confetti, which then themselves explode into even more projectiles.
Which then explode and multiply again, and then again.
It’s like fireworks in a box.
“Everyone, find cover!” You aren’t the one who yells, but Susie, who has a Devilsknife shield covering her.
“Ralsei, shields on me and you,” Kris yells, as he blocks another explosion with his shield.
The goat prince complies, covering himself and Kris with a shield of fluffy projectiles.
It’s not perfect, however, and magic projectiles still hit you and your party.
Pain floods through you, and then through your entire party.
Everyone starts to look weary, tired from the pipis' attack, and from all the magic.
Too much damage is being accumulated.
“I HAVE ANOTHER [Sleeve up my tricks]!?!!!” Spamton's hand turns into a phone. “THE [Calls] NEVER [Endless]. WITH THE [Voice] HELP I WILL FINALLY BE A”
Soundwaves fire from his hands, joining the ricocheting of the pipis.
They hit you in the back, making pain flood your party.
Suddenly, his separated parts stop flailing about, becoming focused. Like a spider, he starts moving towards you.
“Dammit! He’s trying to corner us!” Susie yells as she tries to dodge, her body already starting to show the signs of wounds.
You move to hit his body parts. Like a pendulum, they are flung away, and quickly return.
He’s quickly gaining ground.
“If I can keep my ground up… I can still help her…” Ralsei tries to hit Spamton's body parts with his scarf.
But he can't grab many.
“YOU WILL [Die] A [1.000.000 times]!!!” Spamton's mouth widens. “WHAT A [Great Deal!] IT MAKES ME SO”
If this keeps up, the same fate will befall you.
I can't let everyone die again! They're counting on me! The future is in my hands! I can't let them down!
The thoughts of fate and future fill you, shining on your SOUL.
An extreme urge to protect your friends comes through, burning inside.
And that burn shines on Ralsei, on his very being.
When his desire to help you shines the brightest. After all, he was born for this. He was born to serve Lightners. To help them, to heal.
He was then molded to guide you.
So when you burn with conviction to heal, he can’t help but be the fuel that will do it.
The goat’s magic shines brighter and brighter. Golden like the sun. His hands glow green, as if they were a spotlight.
“Ralsei, channel Heal Prayer into DUAL HEAL!!” You order.
With your power, he transforms his “Heal Prayer” into “Dual Heal”.
The green light covers the entire party.
All their wounds are completely healed. As if they never happened at all.
Your energy is completely restored, too.
Using that newfound energy, you blast every single pipis into oblivion. And fire a big shot right at Spamton's face, making him—together with his body—fall back.
Spamton quickly reassembles himself, barely holding upright after all the strings you and everyone cut.
His face is filled with sheer shock, a panic you haven’t seen before, “THIS- THIS [Real Superpower Of Teamwork] IS SHINING MORE BRIGHTLY THAN [Neo]!!! NO!!!! NO!!!!! N0000000!!!! THAT’S NOT HOW IT’S SUPPOSED TO GO!!!! ISN'T THE [Voice] SUPPOSED TO? YOU NEED—”
A phone starts ringing again, and he quickly puts his hand to his ear. “WHAT??? I AM VERY BUSY, RIGHT NOW!!! WHAT???? THE [Ratings] ARE GOING [Down The Drain, Drain]?”
Sheer fear fills him. “No, don’t leave me!!!! I can still be useful. Please, I need you!!!”
Magic flies out of his hand and hits straight in the face. It’s like a wave of pain; his face contorts, but it’s never-ending. More strings break in the confusion.
You feel horrified, as Kris simply closes his eyes and turns his head away.
Susie looks shocked, and Ralsei just looks sad towards him.
But in no time at all, the wave of magic simply stops, and Spamton looks eerily calm.
“That’s it… I am done.” His voice is so calm, so peaceful, that it almost makes you drop your guard.
But what comes next shatters that illusion, “YOU [Rejected] MY [Specil Tour], MY [Comeback Special], MY [[Hyperlink Blocked]]…”
Spamton starts growing large again, reaching the ceiling ever so slowly, “IT’S TIME FOR THE [[BIG]] [Finale]. WE ARE ALL GOING STRAIGHT TO H E A V E N. WE WILL BE F R E E.”
“You’re just a sore loser!” Susie yells.
“LOSER, LOSER!! CANNOT ACCEPT WHEN THE GAME IS OVER!!”
“CAN IT [Clown Around Town] I AM [Reach For The Stars] IN THE PATH OF—”
He is suddenly cut off by a blue blur that slices all of his wires except for one lonely one.
It’s almost as if time stopped.
Nobody moves, nobody thinks. The magic disappears, and you are dragged back inside Kris—
The blur that cut the wires.
The air crackles with freedom.
Suddenly, Spamton moves again.
“[!$!$] THE PRESSES!!! KRIS?!?! IN MY [Darkest Hour] YOU ARE [Slice Them All] [Strings]?”
Suddenly, a weird, unnatural light fills the room, and the same blue sky paintings of his shop fill the walls.
“KRIS AFTER EVERYTHING I DID FOR YOU, ALL THE [Unforgettable Deals], [Free Kromer], AND THE [Life Lessons] I GAVE YOU…”
“YOU ARE GIFTING ME MY…”
He starts to jump up and down.
“MY…”
The single wire gets strained and strained…
“MY FREEDOM…!?”
You, Ralsei, and Susie have no idea of what to feel… Yet Kris looks on expectantly.
This is what he has been waiting for.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!!! THE GREATEST DEAL OF ALL WAS… [Friendship]!!!! [Performing] WITH [Kindred Spirits]!!! HOW COULD I [Forget] ABOUT IT????”
Spamton tries to move his hands to cut the wire, but he can’t reach it.
He can’t move his free hand.
“YOUR [Friendship] HAS FILLED ME WITH [Electricaty] ENOUGH TO [Mega-Evolve] INTO MY [Second Form]… SPAMTON [EX]!!!”
Smoke starts appearing over his body.
Kris almost feels… happy, about everything that’s happened.
“I WILL NEVER HAVE AN [Voice Inside My Head] AGAIN!!!! [EX] WILL MAKE ME INTO A [Real Boy]!!!”
The puppet looks into the sky, arms outstretched.
“ARE YOU GETTING THIS [[MIKE]]??? I AM GOING TO [Perform] ON [Live TV]!!!”
The wire is about to break.
“AND I AM NOT [Performing] ALONE… BUT WITH MY… [Friend(s)]!!! I WILL FINALLY BE A…”
The wire partially snaps.
“FINALLY BE A…”
The wire breaks.
“BE A BIG SHOT!!!”
…
And he falls, completely motionless. His eyes are empty, lifeless. Like a puppet without strings.
Always a puppet.
Nothing happens initially, except for the three of you standing still.
Then, Spamton’s glasses move towards Ralsei, changing his glasses to that yellow and pink color. The vines all get together and replace his scarf.
Ralsei got the Dealmaker.
Ralsei got the Puppet Scarf.
You got ShadowCrystal.
Still… nothing happens.
A deep, sickly feeling of despair fills Kris as his legs start to shake.
All that pain, all that sweat, hardship…
“...all of that for nothing.”
He couldn’t break free from the voices, from the path he chose long ago.
He made his choice long ago.
That’s the lesson that we learned.
You have nothing to say. You simply can’t say anything.
Still, a female voice breaks the atmosphere, “Hey… are we really not going to talk about that? Look… I am happy that we got more equipment or whatever, but this was just freaking weird.”
Susie moves to the broken body of Spamton and kicks him.
He is still immobile.
“Hands… Voices… Strings… What was he talking about? And did he just…” She strains to say the word, “Die?”
Ralsei picks up his new glasses and looks through them. His face is weirdly serious. “Darkners can’t die, remember? He just turned into these glasses, like that clown turned into your scythe.”
Susie just nods. “I guess…”
“He’s probably just quiet after everything that happened… You shouldn’t really worry about what he was saying…” Ralsei smiles sadly. “He was just… a corrupted program, that’s all.”
“But still…” Susie continues. “Don’t ya think this was too… easy?” She looks defensive. “Yeah, we almost died and all… but his strings got cut off a little bit… too easily. It almost makes me think… he wanted that to happen.”
The faint light from the basement covers Ralsei’s glasses, the dealmaker, covering his eyes. “Perhaps that’s the truth. He thought he could find a different fate for his life, but in the end… deep down… He knew he couldn’t escape from it. He accepted it, even if subconsciously.”
Kris’s shaking increases, goosebumps all over his body.
You still can’t say anything, “Hey… Kris… are you ok? You’ve kinda been just standing there… looking straight at that machine for a while now.” Susie says it in a surprisingly tactful way.
You try to say “no”, but what comes out of Kris’ mouth is a primal scream of fear, despair, and pain.
K-Kris????
Susie jumps and Ralsei quickly walks closer, “K...Kris?! Are you OK? You’re yelling…!”
He moves to hug you, and your comfort only makes him more uncomfortable. “There… There… everything’s alright. Don’t think about what happened too hard.”
After all, our plan is still in motion.
Ralsei is right, everything is alright. Because I am still in control. I won’t leave Kris… I won’t throw him aside. I am not the doctor, after all.
I will follow him to the utmost.
Soon enough, Ralsei breaks free of the hug. Kris looks expectantly at Susie, “What?!” She blushes, “I am not giving you a hug, man. Ralsei is enough. He is the hug master!”
“Yep, I learned it from the best!” Ralsei waves.
“Exactly!” Susie claps her hands together. “You two just give hugs out for everyone, so they’re practically worthless. Meanwhile, my hugs are like a Dragon Blazers limited merch… It’s about supply and demand or whatever the hell Alphys taught us.”
Kris lightly smiles and Susie punches him in the shoulder.
Maybe things didn’t end up alright. Maybe things didn’t end up as you wished, but… as you climb out from the darkness of the basement into the light of Queen’s mansion, you have faint hope that things will turn out alright.
They have to, after all.
Chapter 31: Chapter 2 - Part 14: Pandora Palace
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
You and your party (Plus Berdly) invade and completely wreck Queen’s mansion. That’s it really.
Notes:
Thank you all for the 400 kudos on the story! I can't believe we reached this milestone so fast! Thank you to everyone who liked the story, and for anyone reading this, your Kudos and comments are what keep this train moving along. I read every single one of them. They make my day!
Chapter Text
Light floods your eyes as the darkness of Queen’s basement becomes a thing of the past. Yet, the darkness inside you—inside your very SOUL—persists.
You still feel bad after everything that happened.
You feel as if your body— as if Kris—has shut down, closed off after that awful fight.
You don’t know what to do, what you should do, but looking at Ralsei testing his new scarf and the smiling face of Susie, you believe everything might turn out all right.
You have to believe.
Yet, as if responding to that small flame alit in your heart, you see once again the light. The white light that shines beneath Queen’s legs.
The light that’s always with you.
You hold on to the light, feeling the world itself stop in place, and then move again. That point in time saved.
The power of your friends and a brighter future fill you.
The light fills you with peace, with hope. It always restores your health and your very being.
You feel as if maybe, just maybe, things will—
“Man, you guys look all super depressed. Did something happen?” The nasally voice of Berdly comes through, completely cutting straight through your thoughts and shattering them into millions of pieces.
You just sigh loudly.
The one who replies to him is Susie, “We just fought some strong weirdo. It was no big deal, but he was kinda a freak!” She looks excited as she steps in front of the team.
“(You can say that again…)” You mumble.
“Hoho! You guys were eliminating the underground threats while I was thinking of my master plan! As expected of my dear Susan!” Berdly proudly puffs his chest like a pufferfish.
“Eh, thanks?!” Susie scratches her mane, blushing.
Berdly chuckles, “Hehehe, no problem! No problem indeed!!”
Did his voice always need to echo like that?
“...”
I was expecting some clever remark, as ‘it’s going to echo even more, now that he’s doing his own thing’ or something.
You get no response from Kris.
“Just… thinking about stuff. Glad to see you like my responses.”
Shush.
“Now,” Berdly starts to say. “You three must be extremely curious about what my master plan is, after all the time that you’ve been waiting for it!”
You were definitely curious about his plan. Berdly’s personality change did catch you by surprise, after all.
And so, you ask him, “I guess so…? You’ve been out there for a while…”
“Anything that can help us defeat Queen and seal the fountain is welcome in my book!” Ralsei happily says, his scarf calming down.
You wonder to yourself why it isn’t talking like Jevil did.
Maybe that’s just a Jevil thing. Or maybe that puppet really did…
You refuse to finish that thought.
Berdly starts climbing the stairs of the palace, “Indeed, my fellow partner-in-crime! I have completed the greatest plan of all time, and it was all thought out by MYSELF!!” He gets closer to the three of you and starts whispering, “See, we have to…”
*
BOOOM! CRASH!!!!!
Explosions cause your ears to ring.
BOOM!!!! CRAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!!
Magic fills your vision, and dust enters your nose.
BOOM!!! CRASH!!!!
Paintings with Queen’s face are scattered across the floor, completely destroyed. The walls are marked with scorch marks.
BOOOM! CRASH!!!
“Um… Berdly, was it? Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ralsei's voice comes, barely above a whisper compared to the explosions ringing around you.
BOOOOM! CRASH!!!!
Despite his clear concern, pellets still fly around, together with the vines from his new scarf, knocking memorabilia around.
You have noticed for a while now, but Ralsei’s new scarf is quite… weird.
Instead of being one continuous piece of fabric like before, it’s like multiple lines stitched together. With that green color, the wires almost look like vines.
Seeing Ralsei use that scarf as if it were vines, together with those white pellets flying around, in your mind, it almost reminds you of...
You shake your head. You refuse to accept that someone as kind as Ralsei could look— and act—like that soulless husk.
(It’s just a coincidence, that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.)
BOOM!!! CRASH!!!!!
“Of course, it is a good idea! After all, I made it all by MYSELF! Hahaha!” Berdly yells, running through the halls without a care in the world, “Ah… I always wanted to run through the halls without being yelled at.”
“But you were the one who always WHINED ABOUT IT!” Susie yells, her long hair flowing as she runs, smashing all the pottery.
CRASH, CRASH, CRASH, CRASH!!!
Every single one of them.
“HAHAHA! EXACTLY!” The crazed smile on Berdly's face just makes you shudder.
Seeing the still confused face on the poor Darkner prince, you order Kris to slow down in order to catch up with him.
(You were still in your out-of-body experience. It made it easier to guide your party in causing mayhem.)
“I mean, you heard what he said. We need to distract this ‘Tasque Manager’ in order to have full access to the palace.” You say to him as your mind recalls the full extent of Berdly’s plan.
He didn’t explain it as simply as you did, but the logic of it was the same.
During his tour of the palace with Queen, she introduced him to—in his words—“super hot sexy dominatrix cat lady”.
According to him, she was the one who took care of the palace while Queen was busy gaming or doing other equally important tasks.
This “Tasque Manager”, as was her name, was super obsessed with order and cleanliness. Nothing could be out of place; otherwise, she would freak out.
She was the one to make Queen’s Palace the hallmark of her new meme-controlled world.
And that’s why, in his vision, destroying everything with pure, unadulterated chaos was the only way to infiltrate the palace.
BOOOM!!! CRASH!!!!
“But… Is this, um…” He points to the sheer destruction of the once pristine palace, “...mess… really necessary?”
“Queen is obsessed with order, even if she, um, likes to explain it in… weird ways.” You say with a nervous tilt in your voice, thinking back on Queen’s “meme” speeches, “So even though this is very, um, direct, it could work? Maybe?”
Ralsei shrugs, “If you say so. I trust you.”
BOOM!!! CRASH!!!
“YEAH!!!” Susie yells as she comes through, clasping Kris and Ralsei in the back with her powerful hands, “Like, who cares??? This is AWESOME!!! A perfect excuse to shit all over Queen’s shitty palace!!!”
Jevil’s laughter rings through the luxury halls, causing you and Ralsei to chuckle.
At least Susie’s spirit is still on fire, huh, Kris?
The human doesn’t respond, simply just slicing more paintings with his mecha sword.
You pout, but that’s life.
Suddenly, the screens come to life around you, and red sirens blare in your ears, together with a warning.
“ORDER, ORDER! An unusual chaos conglomeration has been noted in floor #1 of our luxurious Queen’s mansion. All present personnel, I repeat all present personnel, deal with it immediately. And someone get rid of that Devilsknife!!!”
Hurried steps echo through the hall as you see through your mind’s eye several bird-like butlers rushing to your position.
You gulp, “This is bad! A bunch of enemies are coming our way!!”
Berdly scoffs as the wind of his magic blows, “Bad? This is EXCELLENT!! Just as planned!! Now we just need to go to the top floors!!” He laughs almost crazily, “Lead the way, Krismas! Lead the way!”
Kris just eyes the bluebird weirdly, but with a sigh of resignation, he complies.
Flying birds try to stop you in your tracks, but the combined magic of Ralsei, Berdly, and Susie makes quick work of it.
You guide Kris to the second floor, and then to the third, and then to the fourth floor, all while magic rings through the air.
BOOM!!! CRASH!!!!
There’s so much magic, destruction, and mayhem that you wonder to yourself if you somehow filled the quota of magic in your entire lifetime.
Despite the fact that you’ve been here for only a day.
But seeing how happy Susie and even Berdly look while causing immense destruction…
You feel as if maybe all this destruction is worth it.
Even when they cause part of the ceiling to cave in and almost take out several butlers with them.
“If that hit, they could’ve been LOST.”
Yeah… maybe I need to do something.
“Berdly… are you sure this is a good idea? We’ve caused… quite a mess here.” You look at the absolute destruction of the fourth floor of Queen’s mansion.
There’s not a single aspect of the original floor that remains.
Berdly just laughs as he readies his Halberd, destroying more of the mansion, “Of course it is! I had that idea all by myself!!”
You walk forward until, finally, you reach a dead-end.
“Berdly… There’s…” You look at all the enemies surrounding you and your party. “Nowhere else to go! We are surrounded!”
The only thing behind you is an acid lake.
Seems like during all the destruction, the butlers slowly but surely led you on, straight to a dead end.
“I have to agree with Kris!” Ralsei's soft voice comes through, having noticed the precarious situation the blue bird put you two in, “I don’t think this is a good idea… We’re surrounded and…” He takes a heavy breath, “We have exhausted most of our magic reserves.”
“No, we haven’t!!!” Susie swings her scythe.
Nothing happens.
Her face falls flat, “Oh. Shit.”
Berdly just laughs, “Relax. This is just part of the plan. We got them right where we wanted them!”
Confusion fills you as Kris’ red eyes narrow on the bird, “But we're surrounded, can barely use magic, and our limbs feel like lead! How can this be a good thing for us?!” He says.
“Yeah, I've got to agree with Kris here. We fucked up.” Susie says.
Berdly just scoffs, “Being surrounded was part of the plan!! Now that we gathered everyone into one place, you can just use your weird talk magic on them and make them all sparkly and nice like you did all those times before!!!”
You blink.
Your focus is destroyed, and so you enter inside Kris’ body.
You breathe in.
You breathe out.
You count to ten in your head.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
You had heard that counting to ten could calm inner anger.
It didn’t work.
“THAT WAS YOUR PLAN?!?!” Your scream echoes across the enclosed space, shatters the windows, and almost makes Berdly fall into the acid.
Ralsei’s eyes widen as Susie's mouth turns into an “O”.
You did not care.
“Our plan was to cause random,” You gesture forward, “Meaningless,” At each and every, “Destruction,” Word you say. “Just to lure them all to one place just so… I could miraculously talk with them?”
“Uh? Yes!” Berdly says.
“Don’t you think that they would be slightly, just slightly, miffed that we destroyed their entire mansion and their precious order?” Your golden eyes are blazing with fury, piercing Berdly’s eyes.
He doesn’t even react, “Yeah, but that’s like, your problem. Surely you can do it!”
You facepalm.
Breathe in, Goner. Don’t let yourself be angry; you’ve been through worse yourself. You cannot lose your cool.
“Plus, you could always LOAD and do a different plan.”
With false calm on your face, you walk forward to the butlers, “I would like to discuss our terms of surrender with your leader.” Your face and voice are emotionless as you lie through your teeth.
“(Surrender?)” Susie whispers to herself before her face morphs in realization, “Yeah, we wanna talk with your boss! So in the meantime, you guys should continue standing there like not-dumbasses!”
Murmurs and whispers are heard as the butlers gather around each other. Soon enough, it ceases, and they form a line, where a tall, cat lady walks through.
She wears blue-white high heels, dark stockings, a white dress, and a giant whip. She walks with an air of superiority towards you.
You take her glare head-on as she fishes a list out of her pocket, “Krismas Dreemurr, Susie and Berdly,”
“(Hey! Why didn’t you say my full name!)” Berdly whispers.
“(Shut up, Berdly.)” Susie replies to him.
Ignoring the two, she continues. “I hereby declare that you’re under arrest for the following crimes:”
She takes a long and deep breath.
“Rule violation #1: Spreading the 'disobedience' meme by running through the halls.”
“Rule violation #2: Breaking the pottery.”
“Rule violation #3: Unauthorized usage of “magic”.”
You loudly sigh. This is going to take a while.
*
“Rule violation #76: Wielding that terrible Jevilstail.”
“Rule violation #77: Wielding that terrible Devilsknife.”
You blink as Ralsei wakes up the sleeping Susie with a bump.
Ok… that’s bigger than I expected… Still… I can do it… I have ACTed on worse. You can do this, Goner. You can do this.
“Try checking first.”
Right.
Your eyes glow white, and you CHECK both Tasque Manager and her minions:
SWATCHLING - ATK 9 DEF 9
ELEMENT: COLOR.
LIKE: PAINT BY NUMBERS.
DISLIKE: MIXED MESSAGES.
Colorful and dandy, you can always count on him to work hard. Happiest when their outfits are color-coordinated.
You look over to the crowd, seeing dozens and dozens of these Swatchlings around. All of them are wearing different colored outfits.
“That plan isn’t going to work.”
Maybe checking the leader would lead to better results?
TASQUE MANAGER - ATK 10 DEF 7
ELEMENT: CAT:ORDER.
LIKE: NEW WAVE SYNTH POP.
DISLIKE: MISMATCHED SOCKS.
Loves to coordinate outfits. Strongly dislikes clowns. Obsessed with order, and abhors Chaos. Whip it good!
A mischievous smile formed on your face.
You walk over to Tasque Manager, flirtatiously holding her hand.
Kris gulps at what you’re about to do.
“Please don’t.”
You can’t stop me.
“Well… we’ve been very naughty, haven’t we~~?” You wink at her, a heart coming out. “It’s just that making chaos is so exciting~~…!”
The flirtatious tone in your voice almost makes Ralsei gag as Susie eyes you with a raised eyebrow, confused.
Berdly just gives you a thumbs up.
Tasque Manager stands still,
“Maybe you could whip us into shape in our new Castle Town~~” You try to look submissive.
It doesn’t work with Kris’s body.
And even if it did…
My Castle Town is a place for decency only! No degenerate behavior is allowed. None at all!!!
Tasque Manager just writes on her paper again, “Rule violation #105: Flirting with authority.” She quickly writes in another paper, “Rule violation #106: Spreading the 'degenerate' meme.”
“Never. Do. That. Again.”
Kris’s firm voice almost makes you shudder.
“Drats!!!” Berdly loudly whines, “I could swear this would work!!! Don’t worry, Kris! Just keep using your talk-no-jutsu on her! Just like Noruto does!!!”
"Noruto?!” Susie’s voice comes like a strangled whisper, “You actually like that anime?!?!”
“Of course I do!!!” Berdly looks proud. “I won’t hide my love for it anymore!!!”
“I mean it’s just that…” You filter Susie’s and Berdly’s bickering, thinking of another way to convince the cat-lady in front of you.
There has to be another way, I just have to think deeply and hard about it…
“Or just reLOAD and ignore Berdly.”
“If there’s nothing else to say, we shall escort you back to your rooms.” Tasque Manager starts to move to the butlers, but you quickly hold your arms out and shout.
“WAIT!! WAIT!!” They turn around at your voice. “Ok, maybe flirting wasn’t my brightest idea.”
Susie eyes you with a “no shit” look.
“But Castle Town does have a lot of chaotic and disobedient Darkners!” You give out an awkward smile. “Maybe you would enjoy putting them in their place and organizing everything!”
“My allegiance is to Queen.” Her cold voice replies.
You do not give up, “Maybe Queen is limiting your potential.”
She clicks her teeth, “You just broke the biggest rule: Do not question Queen’s authority. You three,” She points to Ralsei, Susie, and Berdly, “Will be swiftly escorted to your rooms.” She points to you, “You will be swiftly escorted to a special place.”
Her cruel smirk gives you shivers all over your body.
Susie and Ralsei quickly run in front of you, her Devilsknife and his Puppet Scarf flaring up.
“You have to get through us first!” Susie’s snarl is heard, echoing in the small room.
“So be it.” Tasque Manager snaps her fingers, but just as she does so, something weird happens.
Every single screen is turned on at once. The butlers start panicking as you look confusedly.
Wait… They aren’t the ones responsible for this?
“… This could be interesting.”
Finally, all the static clears, and the faces inside shock you to your core. Susie gasps, and Ralsei’s eyes widen.
It’s Sweet Cap’n and Cakes. Their radio-heads cover the entire screen, seemingly trying to test the audio.
“One, two, three!” Sweet says.
“Is it working? Cap’n says.
“Kris, Susie, Ralsei, long time no see!” K_K says.
Susie is the first to break the sheer shock that has settled in the room, “How the hell are you guys here???? AND INSIDE QUEEN’S MANSION???”
“And how did you guys even hack inside the mansion?” You yell.
“And who the heck even are you guys?” Berdly’s confusion shines through.
Sweet holds his hands in front of himself, “Yo, yo, yo! One question at a time, please!”
“We might be three, but we act as one!”
“Just like a real band!”
Sweet clears his voice, “You see, after we and that madamoizel finished our super signal of justice…”
“Copyright is still pending!” K_K cuts him.
“Yeah, you can’t steal it!” Sweet yells, continuing afterwards, “Anyways, after we finished our signal, a flurry of people just appeared almost out of nowhere!”
“I thought they were ghosts!” Cap’n says.
“It would have been scary if we weren’t professionals!” K_K replied.
“And together with everyone else, we completed our ultimate project to destroy Queen!” Sweet proudly declares.
“It’s big!”
“It’s strong!”
“After completing it, there’s only one thing left to do!” Sweet points to the room you all were in.
“Storming Queen’s castle!” Cap’n finishes his line of thought.
“But it was empty! That was the real haunted house!!” K_K almost sounds scared saying this.
“Without anyone to stop us, the Neo Rebellion (Us and everyone we gathered) was able to infiltrate Queen’s main room and take control of the mansion from the inside!” Sweet finally finishes his long tale, leaving you all stumped.
Queen’s manager is the first to break the silence, “So all that chaos… it was for… the purpose of an actual plan? For order?”
“You can put it that way, madame!” Cap’n says.
Her voice sounds broken, “The chaos was controlled… controlled chaos… I can’t believe it… I just can’t…”
And in her broken murmurs, her body becomes sparkling white and disappears in a puff of glitter.
She was RECRUITED.
Her butlers follow her fate, being recruited as part of my town and becoming part of my will.
Seeing this happen causes you to sigh in relief as tension evaporates all over you. This reaction is mirrored by the rest of your party.
Like a radio show turning off, the music trio disappears from the screens with a musical flurry.
Leaving you four all alone in front of the acid lake and some bookshelves. Everyone collects their energy in silence.
Except for Berdly, who screams, “HahaHAHAHA! My plan WORKED!!! It actually WORKED!!!!”
You roll your eyes, “Suuuuuuure it did.” Getting more serious, you ask him, “So what’s the next step of your masterplan?”
“Well, hehehe, you see, on this very floor there is…” He reveals a hidden backdoor with a very long and elaborate twirl, “A shortcut to the rooftop, where my dear Noelle is being kept at this moment!”
“Oh, so that’s why you brought us here!” Ralsei’s voice hits your ears. The pink and yellow of his glasses reflected in the artificial light, “So we can quickly save Noelle!”
Berdly wags his finger horizontally, “Not ‘we’, no, no, NO! Susie will be the one to save her!”
“Eh???” A strangled noise of surprise rings from the depths of Susie’s throat, “Why me??”
“Because, um… because…” Berdly… actually blushes. “Your attitude is… your rebellious nature… Is perfect to beat Queen!!! And if we all go in together, she will detect us.”
I doubt that’s true…
“Maybe he’s just falling for her intense attitude.”
Like you did?
That causes the human to shut up and for you to smirk in triumph.
And besides, I predicted he crushed on her first!
“Ok, fine!!! If you say so!!!” Susie grumbles as she climbs the staircase.
“And I shall meet you at the rendezvous point, my dear Susan!” Berdly yells towards the staircase, and then he turns back to you and Ralsei, “But first, I need to have a little talk with our new ‘friends’. See ya later, Kris!”
“Wait, what about me?” You didn’t want to put that much panic in your voice.
“Oh yeah, you and your…” He points at Ralsei, “Lackey can go and try to find Queen and try to distract her.”
And then he is off, as you facepalm.
That could have gone better.
“Do you, um, do you…” Ralsei’s voice comes through, making you turn around and face him. He looks flushed, trying to stammer something, “Do you think of me as your lackey?”
You feel extreme anger flood through you; instinctually, you shriek, “Of course not!!!” With your face flushed, you continue, “I mean, you were the first person who was nice to me, so I see you as my best friend!”
Ralsei looks stunned, “Wow, you think someone like me is your best friend? I will not let your faith in me go to waste!!!”
You quirk your eyebrows,
Why is he talking like this?
Still, you reply to him, “Yeah, I will not let yours go to waste either!!”
Quickly turning around, you point forward, “Now, let’s go and distract Queen’s sorry butt! I mean, she loves acid, right? She has to be here!” You realize you are pointing to a lake made of acid, “Once I figure out how to cross this lake first!”
Swimming is definitely a no-go, right?
“Do I even have to say it?”
“Um, we could just use that?” Ralsei points to a certain bird taking a ride at the acid lake.
Not an actual bird, but a boat shaped like a goose, perfect for two people only.
And that boat leads to… a dark tunnel.
My, my. What do we have here? A scene straight out… of… well… novels that lonely people like to read.
Kris grits his teeth and clenches his fists, anger flooding through him. But what can he do against your inability to read the situation?
This will be painful for him. But for me? This is comedy.
Unaware of the pain Kris shares, you two climb into the boat, which then moves by itself further in.
It rides itself into the dark tunnel, creating a very interesting atmosphere. Not too bright, but not too dark. Just like certain tunnels in amusement parks…
What are the odds?
“Indeed, what ARE the odds?”
Huh?
“Nothing.”
You shake your head, ignoring that thought. You and Ralsei just stand there in silence, and the boat rocks forward through the green lake…
You two look extremely awkward, not looking at each other.
Sigh, maybe I can jump in there and make something happen.
Scratch that, that would mean Kris would eliminate me, and I can’t allow that yet.
Thanks to some miracle, Ralsei finally says something, “So… we are finally alone, huh?”
You reply to him with a wistful look, “It makes me feel nostalgic… When we’re walking through Card Kingdom.” You chuckle, your golden eyes shimmering, “Even though it has been only a day. Does that make me weird?”
“No, I don’t think it’s weird at all!” He looks way too worried for such a simple conversation. He looks straight at your golden eyes, “Because I feel the same way!”
Silence floods back into the room; only the rocking of the boat is heard. And the twiddling of your thumbs and Ralsei’s awkward shuffling.
I stare at his pink and yellow glasses.
What a beautiful atmosphere. How cute!
“If only she weren't in my freakin' body!”
What?
“Nothing.”
You're weird.
You shake your head, once again ignoring the human. “Hey, Ralsei… now that we are alone… Wasn’t there something you wanted to say to me?”
Ralsei looks surprised, then composes himself, “You remembered?!”
He didn’t have to put THAT much surprise in his voice. I am not that forgetful.
“Of course I would remember it! It sounded really important to you!” You reassure him..
Ralsei looks embarrassed, trying to avoid your gaze, “Well, you see… I’ve been waiting for you two to arrive my whole life… all by myself… I was so nervous that I even hid my face from you…”
“You shouldn’t do that anymore, you look way better without the hat!” You say in an instinct, without even thinking beforehand.
You quickly close your mouth as you blush a storm.
Thankfully, he just takes that in stride.
How amusing this is! I can't imagine what it would be like if I couldn't feel what both the SOUL and the body are feeling.
The contrasting emotions.
I would rather perish!
“You’re the worst.”
That’s mean.
“Not you.”
Okay, so that’s just weird, then.
“A-Anyways…” Ralsei tries to bring the conversation back on track. He succeeds partially, as he tries to avoid the gaze of your golden eyes. “Because of that, I had very high expectations for you two… Expectations that you completely exceeded!”
A strange warmth crosses your SOUL as an involuntary smile forms on your face.
The goat prince still continues, “But Susie… didn’t.” A pin drop is almost heard, “I thought heroes had to be nice, but she was rude. I thought heroes were kind, but she was mean. I thought they were selfless, but she was selfish…”
“But…” You anxiously say.
You already know where he is going with this.
“Isn’t it wonderful that she’s her?” He finishes for you. “It’s what I started thinking… today. Her attitude is just part of her appeal, what makes her, her.”
“You said it yourself, you couldn’t lead the party all by yourself.” Ralsei continues. “You needed someone like Susie. The attitude that I didn’t think fit a hero… is exactly what a hero needs!”
“Of course, that doesn’t mean you aren’t amazing, either.” He looks embarrassed. “It’s wonderful that you are you.”
You turn scarlet, the color of Kris’s anger towards this situation. And the color of my mirth.
Ignorant of his pain, you stammer out, “It’s wonderful that Ralsei is Ralsei too!!!!” In a strident shriek.
I am so glad I don’t have a physical body. That way, I can say whatever I want, with a front row seat to sheer embarrassment!
“Yet, I can’t.”
Ignoring you!
Ralsei looks slightly awkward, coughing to himself. “Wow, I, um, I, wow, I, um.” After some more stammering, he finally blurts out something that makes sense, “No one ever said that to me before… I mean, everything is a first for me!”
He looks straight at you, and your reaction makes you look like a deformed puppy.
There’s a limit to my tolerance for “cuteness”.
“But still… it means a lot, coming from you.” Ralsei finishes.
He looks downward, a strange expression covering his face. The dim light reflected from his pink and yellow glasses, blocking his eyes.
“I just wonder what being Ralsei-like is like…” He suddenly looks sheepish, “Sorry, that was too much, wasn’t it? You’re so confident that you probably never worry about stuff like that, haha…”
You share his laugh, but it’s empty. Fake. Because you also don’t know what being you is like. Not in this body, not in this world, not anywhere.
But you still fake a smile, fake your persona, hide behind the mask that is the body you possess.
Yet, in this dimly lit tunnel, you think briefly about telling him that. Telling your worries. Telling the truth behind your lies.
You open your mouth.
“Since we aren’t busy right now, wouldn’t this be a good time to check what Susie is doing?”
Kris’s inner voice echoes in your head as you close your mouth.
Letting the secrets stay hidden.
U-Um, sure! You don’t have to say it like that! Chill!
“To some people, only power can make them listen.”
You really ARE weird.
I pout as the pain ends. Good things can't last forever.
“It wasn’t good.”
I am starting to think acid just makes you drunk.
He doesn’t reply.
Unbothered, you recompose yourself, take a deep breath, and close your eyes.
Ralsei seems to recognize what you are doing, and his face becomes deadly serious.
You focus your thoughts on your other friend, Susie. You focus on what she could be doing, on the dangers she might face saving Noelle…
You focus on that final thought and...
Chapter 32: Chapter 2 - Part 15: It’s pronounced “Rules”
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
You continue through the mansion as another story takes place in the meantime.
Chapter Text
Noelle was feeling cold.
Now, for someone else, this would be considered a bad thing. The cold makes you slower, your bones stiffer.
(Although, did she even have “real” bones? She never truly understood monster biology.)
It makes you weaker.
Kris, as far as she remembered, never liked the cold. He enjoyed warmth. Fire.
She never truly knew why, but she could guess it had something to do with his family.
Maybe the fire reminded him of Aunt Tori, Uncle Gore, and Azzy?
The cold reminded her of her own family. Of her dad, of her sister, and even her mom. Of her home, and that’s why she liked it.
The cold made you weak, and that’s when her family comforted her.
That’s why it reminded her of home, because that’s the place where you are comforted.
But this place wasn’t her home, far from it.
This weird, crazy, and dare she say it, magical world could never be her home.
A bustling city that seemed never to sleep, with skyscrapers that went to the heavens. Where anything would be sold, even some things she never dreamed of.
She didn’t say it out loud back when she was walking with Kris, but getting the chance to reconnect with him was a dream come true.
(Sometimes she spent entire nights awake, wondering if it was her fault that Kris had withdrawn into himself. He was never the same after that day. None of them were. And it was her fault that it even happened, her fault that her sister—)
She shook her head furiously as she sat on her bed. She was not going down that train of thought again.
Everything was fine.
Everything was fine.
She was in a brand new world, and she was reconnecting with Kris, so everything was fine.
(Except that an insane computer woman with an insane controlling personality had locked her in a room and this room reminded her of her home and that computer reminded her of her mom and Kris was acting weirdly and was talking too much and his eyes looked weird and he was acting like he wasn’t Kris and—)
She decided to get out of bed and look around the room. If you are too busy, then you don’t have time to worry. That’s what her mom said.
(And that’s probably why she herself never got off work.)
She walked around the small room, taking notice of the items in it. This room was indeed similar to her own room, but with a bunch of miscellaneous items in it.
She remembered Queen talking about it in passing. Her “memes,” as she called them.
She knew what “memes” were—or at least the meaning Queen talked about them. They were the equivalent of a gene but for culture. They were pretty much every action a person made and learned, their personality itself.
She also remembered Queen talking about how “amazingly exceptional” her memes were and that she could barely process them. She sounded so proud saying that, convinced that she would make an excellent meme successor.
Why did she sound so similar to her mom? She couldn’t understand. It was so cruel.
And by looking into her room, she could only dispute that. It barely had anything in it that was hers. A wardrobe filled with clothes that she personally looked for to give to Dess, so that when she came back, there were plenty of clothes that fit her!
But she was never coming back, she was DEAD, it had been years and it was all her fault and she needed to accept it and—
Oh, and look! Various calendars marked for the 25th of December!
Noelle quietly laughed in her hand. It was a muffled and raspy laugh. Queen was so silly! She probably saw her searches for “December Holiday” and thought she meant it literally!
She quieted down and thought to herself. It wasn’t Queen’s fault that her family loved pun names based on Holidays.
(Maybe that’s why Queen couldn’t understand her. She just doesn’t understand that Noelle loves to search metaphorical things like ways for her dad to get better so that they can both melt her mother’s frozen exterior and so the three of them can finally find Dess and get their happy ending! Computers don’t understand illogical things, but her life was super illogical!)
She went to the nearby desk, shuffling through the papers—they were supposed to be the “exceptional” memes that Queen didn’t understand—and she realized she was right on the money.
Most of those were just like before, things that didn’t make sense logically. Noelle laughed to herself. Thanks to her searches being illogical, she found logic in Queen’s actions.
It was funny. It made the situation sound lighter.
She walked through the rest of the room, noticing a creepy ICE-E statue and a tall Susie statue. She almost jumped out of fright, a small shriek escaping her lips.
And yet… she had a smile on her face, despite the shaking of her body.
Yes, ICE-E was very scary, especially if what Kris said was true (Can an ice block really eat a person whole?).
And Susie… well…
She was very frightening with her big arms and that mouth with so many sharp teeth and…
Noelle shakes the blush off her face.
Now’s not the time to daydream, Noelle… Susie and everyone else are still…
She thought to herself, frowning. Her eyes gained a sad look.
Honestly, this entire situation was scary, being trapped against her will, while her friends needed to go through such trials to save her.
It frightened her to her soul.
And yet… she loved being scared. The thrills, the adrenaline, and most of all… Is that everyone would care about her, give her attention and love, if she were scared.
They would notice her, and she would feel more complete.
That’s why she couldn’t understand why that voice that came out of Kris’ mouth but couldn’t be Kris because it was too high, too soft and just wasn’t his mumby deadpan voice told her that being brave was overcoming her fear when she doesn’t want to do that she just wants to stay here in her bed with her fear and wait to be rescued because she likes being afraid because it’s better than confronting the truth.
Noelle sighed as she sat back on her bed, looking at the night sky. It made her feel so nostalgic.
I just wish Dess could see this with me.
She went to lie down on the bed, a weird tiredness flooding her limbs.
It kept ringing even as the entire palace started shaking as badly as she did.
Even when a very comfortable feeling of fear made her body feel that sweet cold.
And even when the door to her room opened up.
Susie walked inside the room with her head held high.
She was feeling great!
She was able to wreck Queen’s stupid mansion, and even learned brand new magic! She didn’t even feel bored when she was hanging out with Ralsei earlier.
He seemed to actually care about her now instead of trying to mold her into something that she isn’t.
She wouldn’t say it out loud, but that made her really happy.
However, this wasn’t the time to reminisce; she needed to save Noelle from Queen so that they would be able to seal her stupid fountain and then save Lancer!
She tried not to show it, but she was really worried about him!
Sure, she trusted Ralsei—he’s a nerd and nerds know their shit—but she was still worried about just leaving him there in the enemy’s palace…
So that’s why she hurried inside the room and—
Oh. It’s quiet.
She thought to herself as her eyes fell.
This room was bare, quiet, and boring. She was expecting it to be heavily guarded or something, but nope. It’s just a boring room with boring—
Never mind! That statue of hers was cool as hell!!! She rushed through the room, ready to—
Oh wait… Should I actually steal this???
She was trying to be a heroine now, dammit! And in those TV shows that she could barely watch, it was always said that heroes don’t steal and shit.
Damn… Kris would know what to do here…
“Steal it. Kris—I would love that statue. It’s okay to steal from bad guys.”
A sweet and soft voice whispered in Susie’s ear. The voice that comes out of Kris’s mouth sometimes (most of the time, actually), so it must be Kris’.
And so she picks up the statue, ready to—
“Um, Susie??? What are you doing???” Comes another voice, not as high as the one that sometimes whispers in her ear, but somehow even sweeter?
Susie turned around and saw Noelle looking at her weirdly.
Oh yeah, I came to save you.
She thought.
“Oh yeah, I came to save you.” She said.
“By stealing that statue???” Noelle laughed, her nose glowing bright, and her face flushed.
Why does she have to sound so surprised?? And why is her face so red??? God, why am I the one who has to save her??? Kris is the one who actually knows Noelle, not me! Freaking Berdly!
“Just say it was Kris—I mean, my idea.”
Goner said, her SOUL faintly shining on Susie.
“It’s, um, part of Kris’ plan!” She tries to put just the right amount of confidence in her voice. That causes Noelle to start blushing.
What the hell??? Did I say something wrong?
“She is just totally swayed by your charm, girl!”
That’s… great???
Susie didn’t know what the voice meant.
“Um, wow, that’s, um… cool.” Noelle then turned away from her, as if she was embarrassed…?
I thought she was swayed by me??? Why is she embarrassed?
“Because that’s how people work, Susie! That’s how love works!”
Love? That doesn’t make any— Wait! Why the fuck am I talking to myself? Just change the goddamn topic!
She looked around, “Cool room.”
“Smooth.”
The voice surprisingly said it without irony.
“Oh yeah… I guess it could be considered, um, pretty cool.” Noelle awkwardly responded. Her face started growing pensive, “But I mean… What even is this place? Where are we? How did we get here in the first place? Why isn’t anyone—”
Susie filtered the rest of what Noelle was saying because her words made her remember the fact that Noelle (And Berdly; she almost forgot about him) shouldn’t be here in the first place!
This thing was hers with Kris's ONLY. Where they can kick the ass of bad guys like that nasty King and save the world and have cool friends while she doesn’t even have to think about the fact that she doesn’t have a home to go back to!
But now with Noelle here, she is reminded of what was actually happening and—
She stopped panicking and started thinking.
Wait… This is my chance to get her out! I just have to say something that would make her believe…
“Tell her we are in the Dark World!”
Susie ignores the terrible idea that the voice gave as Goner’s light seems to diminish.
She has a much better idea.
“You are dreaming!” She said quickly as Noelle’s eyes widened.
Susie’s scales bristled in anxiety, wondering what Noelle’s response would be.
Please believe it, please believe it, please believe it.
Noelle started laughing in her hand as Susie stood still as a statue, “Oh, of course. After all, if you are here, then it must be a dream.”
First, it’s the shock that floods Susie. What was Noelle talking about?
Then it’s the anger, the sweet, familiar anger. What did she even mean by that in the first place??
Then her mouth speaks, “What did you mean by that?”
A strange feeling of confidence seems to move Noelle after Susie told her it was all a dream. It was like chains were removed from her, and she could fly free in the sky without worries.
It made Susie feel… somewhat afraid.
“I MEAN…” Noelle loudly said, almost a yell, “The real Susie wouldn’t save me. The real Susie doesn’t care about me and anyone else!”
Susie’s eyes narrowed.
Is that what she thinks of me?
Susie DID care about people.
It was the people who didn’t care about her because she joined their class super late (everyone studied together in the same class since childhood, and they just didn’t want a stranger butting in their dynamics), and she was mean-looking because of things she didn’t like talking about.
And she wasn’t about to talk to Noelle about those either.
“Ever wonder why Susie didn’t pick on you?” Susie threw the question in the air.
That was a half-lie, but Susie needed to start somewhere.
The truth was that she never picked on anyone, really. She kinda just stood there, brooding and alone. Like always.
It wasn’t picking on when she sent nasty glares and threats to people who looked at her weirdly and made her feeling of insecurity grow and grow until she thought she needed to get physical and—
Ok, yeah, she can see now her line of thought was kiiiiiiinda self-destructive.
But that’s ok because Lancer, Kris, and even Ralsei helped her, and she is better!
Kris…
She stopped, growing pensive.
I guess I did pick on him.
Unlike everyone else, he didn’t do anything that deserved Susie’s ire. He was just… silent. Brooding, like her.
Yet, he had a loving mother. A mother who was always there for him. A mother who loved him.
Things that made Susie deeply jealous.
So maybe… she was wrong in picking on him. Maybe she didn’t have an excuse.
“But Kris doesn’t mind, Susie! He’s super happy to be your friend! Don’t let your past weigh on you!”
The voice that came from Kris’s mouth spoke as if it wasn’t him, which made sense since it had to just be her consciousness.
Heh. I don’t need my brain to tell me that. Now I have to help the dweeb; I don’t have time to think about it.
“Allllllll the time…” Noelle finally responded, a droopy smile on her face.
She almost looks like she wants to be picked on. Which is dumb, so I’m probably wrong.
“It was because when Susie first came to class, she just smiled towards her instead of sending her weird glares and gave her a cool pencil that smelled like candy, but did not taste like candy, but Susie still liked it!”
Susie had to take a big breath after saying all that.
“That’s, um, very specific.” Noelle blinked, “Wait, did you say you ate the—”
“No, the figment of your imagination did. You are dreaming, remember?” Susie smirks.
“Smooth.”
The voice once more said without a hint of irony.
“Oh, right.” Noelle plainly said.
An awkward silence hung in the room like a thread dangling from the Grand Canyon.
“Well, I guess the time to fantasize is over. Berdly must be worried sick about our group project.” She walked out of her bed and close to Susie, pointing at the Devilsknife that Susie was still holding, “H-Hit me with that ax and wake me up! You don’t need to hold back!”
Susie wasn’t even going to question why she sounded so weirdly happy about it.
She couldn’t actually hurt Noelle for real, and it seemed like not even Jevil wanted to either (which was very weird now thinking about it).
She just needed to make another excuse, “Um, I can’t, um, because…” She thought harder, “Because Queen has this evil aura around her mansion that stops you from waking up!”
“Really? That’s um, weird? Do dreams even do that?” Noelle asked a very important question that Susie had no idea the answer to because she was just bullshitting.
“Yes, you need to trust me—I mean yourself! Because I am a figment of your imagination!” Susie ran ahead to find a place where they could escape, “We just need to ride on this—”
A giant orange cat was sitting outside the balcony.
It looked lazy, fat, and sleepy, but somehow it could fly, and it’s their only way out.
“On this. Damn. Giant. Orange. Cat!” Susie said through gritted teeth.
Noelle seemed to take it quite well, yet she still looked somewhat disappointed, “Oh. I thought there was going to be something, y’know, fancier there.” She suddenly looked happier, “Like a Ferris Wheel!”
“Yeah. A Ferris Wheel would be much better. Why the heck is there a giant cat here?”
Who cares? Dark Worlds are weird!
“Well, y’know, dreams are weird. Just get on already!” Susie pushed Noelle onto the cat’s back, and then she herself climbed on top of it.
Like magic (and it probably was), the cat started moving away from Noelle's room and deeper into the mansion.
*
Susie felt comfortable riding the cat. Now, many people would find riding on a giant orange cat that can fly to be extremely weird.
But Susie wasn’t normal in the slightest.
The cat’s fur was soft, comfy, and his constant purrs of lasagna made her belly rumble because she too wanted some lasagna.
At least that’s what she would be feeling if it weren’t for the fact that she wasn’t alone. She could almost feel the green eyes of Noelle burrowing into the back of her head.
Susie hated to say it… But she was embarrassed. She wasn’t the… most sociable person around.
And most of all… she was afraid that Noelle would hate her. That she would betray and make fun of her.
So she did nothing.
Urgh… dammit, this shit SUCKS! Sigh, Kris would know what to do here; she is his goddamn childhood friend after all.
And like she was hearing Susie’s thoughts (because she was), Goner replies.
“Stand up with your back straight, and then point at her while you intensely stare into her eyes. Hearts will come out and—”
Susie filters out the insane ramblings of the stranded SOUL. Obviously, she wasn’t going to do that! That would be weird.
She would rather eat moss, but sadly, the cat was quite clean. She was still mad Kris ate the moss without her.
Wait… does moss even grow on cats?
“Maybe Noelle would know~~!”
The voice in her head mumbled an interesting idea, even if she sounded weird saying so.
“Hey, Noelle, have you ever thought of owning a cat?” Her face crunched up as she said it.
Why did I even say that? Noelle is going to think I’m dumb!
“Oh no, that would be, um, weird,” Noelle responded to her. “Because, like, Catti is one of my best friends and all that. So owning a cat would be like owning one of her cousins. Even though she is a monster and not a real cat. BUT STILL… yeah.”
Noelle petted the cat they were riding on. “I do love cats, though! I’ve made a bunch of them in Cat Peterzs! There’s a very in-depth breeding system in that game! Although once I had a bad egg spawn, and that made me really afraid of making any more cats!”
“That’s, uh, weird,” Susie said. She didn’t understand anything Noelle said.
“Weird things always happen to me in games,” Noelle replied.
“Oh, of course. I am you, of course, so I already knew that, hahaha!” That laugh that came out of her throat felt like lead. “But, um… I think Susie would enjoy playing that game. Y’know… in real life. So you should give it to her.
“Oh… so I am having a therapeutic dream?” Noelle asked, tilting her head to the side. “Because I always thought about playing games together with Susie… but I’m not brave enough to talk to her.
Theura-what?
“Therapy, Susie. Therapy tics.”
That… kinda makes sense.
“Yes, obviously, haha!” Susie said.
She had no idea what the fuck Noelle asked.
“Fahaha! So that whole thing with Queen and all is just a projection of my mind. That makes me feel a lot better.” Noelle relaxed.
Susie had no idea what Noelle meant by that, but the mention of Queen made her remember something very important.
She straightened her back, shifting to a crouched position, “Um, why did you even join her in the first place?”
Noelle's face fell. “Well, I can’t really say no. I kinda just… go with the flow most of the time. I… I don’t have the courage to stand up against someone. Kris and Dad are the only ones I feel comfortable with.” She chuckled quietly, “Maybe that’s why I dreamed of a Queen so obsessed with memes.”
Whoa, that was a lot to take in. So Noelle was just feeling… forced? That was it? Well, if that was the case, then…
“Why don’t you just tell her off then?” Susie clenched her fist. “Just be bold and tell her to fu—err—frick off!”
Noelle just laughed, and Susie almost felt the urge to pout.
However, she is too old for that and so just snorts, “Hey, what’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing!” Noelle waved her hands in front of her face, “It’s just that, y’know, that’s just a very Susie thing to say, faha! She is strong, scary, and loves doing crazy stuff. And I like being scared. I mean, if it can’t actually hurt me, then it’s fine, plus everyone comes and comforts me and I feel safe!”
Noelle… likes being scared?
Susie blinked, running a hand through her mane. She just… couldn’t understand that feeling. After all… she hated being scared.
It was the worst feeling she had ever felt. It made her bones stiffen, it made her shake. She hated the thrills, she hated the fake adrenaline, and she hated how weak it made her.
She doesn’t even know what to say in response to that. She is completely speechless.
“That’s probably why I like you so much, Susie.” Noelle smiled at Susie. “You’re the good kind of scary.” Noelle blushed. “Gosh, it sounds embarrassing to say it, but at least it’s a good thing you’re not real.”
Susie… was shocked, to say the least.
How could Noelle like her… because she was scary?
Being scary… is a bad thing! I don’t want to be liked for being scary! I want to be liked for being cool!
Susie needed to explain that to Noelle. That she wasn’t scary. That she was wicked cool instead.
Yet, something stopped her before she could say anything.
Noelle looked at her weirdly, “Um, Susie, is your tail ok?”
Her tail? Why was Noelle asking about—
Wait, her tail! She isn’t supposed to know about that! If she knows about it, she is going to make fun of her for being different because no one else had tails and then would laugh and laugh at her and her STUPID fake parents wouldn’t do anything.
And her real one would be too weak to do so.
“YOU ARE PERCEPTIVE, ANGEL, ANGEL! BUT NOT PERCEPTIVE ENOUGH! I AM NOT PART OF THE DRAGON, NO WAY, NO WAY! NOT YET AT LEAST!” Susie takes a deep breath, infused with her relief.
It was just Jevil.
But the problem was that it was just Jevil.
Because instead of staying as a scythe and a J-shaped tail, he had turned back to his normal imp-jester form.
He gave Susie a lop-sided smile after looking at her expression of shock, “DON’T LOOK SHOCKED, MY DEAR, DEAR! THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME, LIFETIME! THE ANGEL COMES AND THE DEVIL DISAPPEARS!”
Susie was still shocked as Jevil flew closer to Noelle, who looked surprisingly calm, “Oh, is this another part of the dream?”
The jester chuckled the same awful, echoed laugh.
Susie doesn’t even notice the Red Soul shiver inside her.
“DREAM, REALITY, WHERE IS THE LINE DRAWN? NEVERTHELESS, YOU SUMMON CRAZY, AND CRAZY COME, COME!”
Susie needed to do something, and so a piece of advice rang in her head.
“Tell Noelle he is just… someone you… um, met… before???”
And she would not follow that terrible advice. Instead, saying, “He is like a genie in the lamp! He can grant one wish and all that shit!”
Jevil lay down… in the air. “IS THAT SO-SO? THEN ANGEL, REQUEST THE DESIRE THAT COMES FROM THE HEART! IT MIGHT COME TRUE, TRUE!”
Noelle actually… seemed like she wanted to take his offer?
Her face looked thoughtful, and that’s never a good sign. “Well, I would like to grow huge angel wings, so I could fly through the city, the people below gazing at me, like Holiday lights.”
Even before she finished, Jevil twirled around her, “A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE YOU WANT, THEN YOU SHALL HAVE. FLY HIGH, LITTLE ANGEL, INTO THE DEVIL’S WINGS!”
And then Noelle got giant dragon-like wings.
...
Huh?
Unsure of how to process just what was even happening, Susie clicked her tongue.
Okay, I guess that's something that he can do now.
“What do you mean by ‘that's something he can do now’?! He just grew freaking wings?! Shouldn't we freak out?!”
That annoying voice buzzed in her head again. She looked around, trying to swat a bug, but she couldn't see any around here.
How annoying.
It's not like she had time to process it because in another moment, Noelle waved at her and then she flew off, leaving her all alone.
Susie just blinked, returned to slouching, and then huffed a huge snort.
It’s not like she wanted to do something crazy like becoming Susiezilla and wreck the town or anything.
It’s not like she was still feeling shitty that Noelle found her scary.
It’s not like she was confused about who likes her or not. Confused about what she did to Kris in her past, still.
Susie pouted because she was all alone, feeling righteous anger about this shitty situation.
She didn’t even pay attention to how Noelle’s cheers were louder than the cat’s meows.
Berdly landed on the rendezvous point feeling proud. All parts of his plan (All thought out by himself, by the way) were working perfectly.
He just walked away from his meeting with that weird resistance group, and WOW! Whatever they were building was going to kick Queen’s ass!
There’s no way they could lose now! Now all he needed was to get Noelle and—
His eyes widened at the unbelievable sight he was seeing. He saw a giant orange cat coming his way, and Noelle flying around it with the wings of a dragon.
But before he could say anything, the cat stopped in front of the balcony he was standing on.
And Susie jumped out of it, looking really grumpy. Noelle landed by her side, and then his eyes widened even more, his feathers almost falling off.
Her wings just decoupled from her body?! And then they started speaking????
“THE IMPOSSIBLE WAS POSSIBLE! THE GATES OF HELL AND HEAVEN MERGED JUST FOR THIS NIGHT, NIGHT! IN THE HOLY DAY OF REST, REST! SHALL WE MEET AGAIN, WHEN YOU AWAKE YOUR DREAM!”
Berdly did not understand anything the wings said, but without even waiting for him, the wings turned into a scythe and a tail and flew to Susie.
“(I need to keep you on a rougher watch…)” Susie grumbled to herself so quietly that Berdly wouldn't have heard it if he weren’t a true gamer.
I need to get a hold of myself… I need to explain the rest of my wonderful and brilliant plan to Noelle and S-Susie…
He puffs his chest out because he is really, really brave, and he isn’t anxious at all, “Noelle, Susan, the gentleman has arrived to rescue his damsels!!”
Noelle loudly groaned, “The good part of the dream is over? That sucks.”
Dream? I mean, I love my dreamy powers of wind, but…
Before Berdly’s brain could solve this difficult puzzle, Susie spoke for him, “Don’t worry, Berdly is a good guy now!!! He fights for himself now or whatever!”
He held his finger to the skies, “Indeed, my dear Noelle!!! I am cringe now, and that is based!!”
“(That means he is good!!)” Susie whispered to Noelle, then turned towards the blue bird, “I need to leave now before my goddamn weapon runs away again. See ya!”
And then she jumped off, leaving Berdly’s hand hanging in the air.
“Drats, she left before I could—”
He got interrupted by Noelle, who continued his train of thought.
“Before you could tell her that you liked liked her, huh?”
Berdly turned to Noelle with a haunted expression on his face. How did Noelle read him so well???
“Fahaha, I mean… this is my dream after all, and that means that you are me and I know all about what I like.” Noelle looked pensive. “I think.”
“You shouldn’t think too much about this.”
A voice whispered that Berdly assumed had to be his own thoughts because he was not going insane at such a young age.
“Never mind about that!” Berdly re-focused. “Noelle, we need to fulfill the last part of my master plan! Follow me to the rebel base!”
Berdly started walking away, and with almost no resistance, Noelle followed him deeper inside the mansion.
But unbeknownst to them, something fast was approaching, ready to intercept them and—
“(Ralsei. Remember. I’m here. She is impulsive, so she might forget about me, but you can’t. She’s not a bad person, that’s why you must be extra vigilant. Please… don’t make me suffer like I did previously…)”
“(I see, so that’s why you...)”
“Gehahahaha, did thou thinkest that Mine Personae would not appeareth in thine Part! Wronge! Because Rouxls Kaard art always prepareth!” The voice of Rouxls Kaard comes in and knocks the discussion between the goat and human away.
You got dragged back, too! Somehow, the presence of our enemy brought you back to where your connection is.
Dammit, I couldn't even finish my argument. No matter, all that needed to be said was said.
You are too dizzy and shocked to even notice the enemy in front of you; your ears are ringing, and your vision is blurry.
You can barely make out Ralsei’s voice responding to Rouxls.
“Um, Mr. Rouxls? What are you doing here? And is that the machine we built?” Ralsei’s words bring you back from the void of dizziness, your vision refocusing bit by bit.
M...Machine we built? What?
“The machine YOU built. Without the sword. Prick.”
You shake your head from the thoughts of Kris insulting you. You wipe your eyes away, golden replacing red. Then, finally, you look into what Rouxls is on top of.
Focusing your vision and seeing…
The RETURN of your MASTERPIECE.
“Gehahaha, I can seeth from thine eyes Mine Liege… Thine shock at thy Effigie of an Ancient God of Combat! Lost, frightened, confused? Good!! Takest this as Mine letter of Decommission! Because I haveth foundest a way greatere Ruler! Mine Queene!”
Rouxls proudly explains.
You can only shake your head in mild confusion, “Um, ok, I guess? I am, um, sorry that you don’t want to be my minion now…” Your eyes widen, remembering something very important, “Wait, Lancer wasn’t feeling well earlier, and we left him in the care of the personnel of this mansion. I thought that you, um, would like to know that.”
Rouxls actually looks relieved, “Oh, thank Thy Lord that the little blueberry is—”
He shakes his head so hard that even his, um, “boat”, shakes as well, drops of acid flying off.
“Aaaaarrrrrrttttt thou tryingest to tricketh me, landlubbers? Argh carcarcarcarcar, thine cheapest trickest will not work on Mine personae! You bettereth be preparedest to walk into thine Davith Jones Lockereth, in the depths of the seventh-”
“Please stop talking in two accents. At once.” Ralsei says, his pink and yellow glasses reflecting a strange glint.
Rouxls gulps, “Yeath, that’s fair.”
He then quickly pulls out a sword, and you just wonder where the hell he even got it, “Buteth, nowe thy shall face mine fury, formereth Boss! Once I bettereth thou, Queen shall seeth that I art the Ultimate Minion, and maketh me her Left-Handed Man!”
“Shouldn’t it be a right-handed man?” Ralsei asks him, on the verge of rolling his eyes.
“No.” Rouxls simply says.
A heavy silence settles in the room, but not too heavy that it feels crushing. It just feels like silence.
A perfectly ordinary silence that you could experience any day at any time.
A comfortable silence, a sweet—
“And This perfect machine shalt be thy Ruin.” Rouxls's voice breaks the silence into thousands of pieces.
“With thy Sneaker, the perfect foundation for such machinery; Thy Wheel, round, fashionable, and givest me thy perfect speed to run overeth thou; And finally Thy Duck Head, thine friendly smile, thine happy eyes, it speakest of thou goals. It showereth who I really art! The Ultimate Minion, Rouxls Kaard!”
Ralsei’s jaw looks like it’s about to hit the floor, “But, that, what, that, it’s just, I…” He stammered out his words, like spaghetti spilled on the floor.
“Wow, Mr. Rouxls, that must have come from the heart.” You clap your hands, looking awed. “I wish I could have built something with such thought.”
Completely serious in your intonation.
…
As if you… didn’t build it… just a day ago.
…
“Didn’t I just say… You built it yesterday?”
Do you really think I am that stupid?! Obviously I remember I built it, duh!!!
“Oh, good—”
I am talking about his reasoning for each part! I wish I had thought of that. I just picked them because I thought they would look good and cute.
“But… that was…”
Kris can’t understand your feelings anymore.
“Indeed, it camest. From this Worlde’s Greatest Heroes, I haveth buildest this from Mine King’s rejected projects.” Rouxls replies, then he points to a bunch of houses in front of him, “And now we shall fight… In thy art of Puzzles!”
You blink, “What? But what about the machine?”
“It shall act as Mine Caravan!” He waves his hands and turns some of the white houses blue, “Whoever hast most Houses in thy color, Winnest!”
“Just turn the houses in front of him red, while you were pointlessly babbling to him, I noticed his major flaw.”
You do as Kris says, and with a wave of your arm, the houses in front of Rouxls’ turn red.
Rouxls tries to turn more houses his color, but he fails.
He tries and tries again, his expression growing more frantic by the second.
But he still fails, “What have thou donest!?” His eyes are wide.
“Um, I guess that means we won?!” Ralsei asks.
“That is against thine Rules (Pronouced Rouxls)!!! I haveth overeth Ten Parts of build-up for Mine appearance just to be defeatedest in One paragraph?” The indignant tone in his voice can be heard even in the Light World.
“Yes.” Ralsei simply says.
“I will Not leteth thou beateth me like This! Thou shalt play by Thy Rouxls!!!” He starts glowing, almost blinding your eyes.
Even if you hide your eyes behind your arm, you can still see his light just as brightly.
“Ge ha ha ha! Thou shalt see the Reale Powere of Rouxls Kaard!”
He starts flying, an extraordinary wind picking up, waves of acid burning down the houses, until…
He just drops down, his body from the neck below stone, “GOD… DAMMIT!”
“Oh, yeah. Rouxls isn’t compatible with this world either.” Ralsei just smiles, pointing forward, “Well, just go. Lead the way!”
You look towards the seething Rouxls on top of the houses, “I don’t feel comfortable just leaving him here.”
Ralsei complies, with an extremely heavy heart, and just picks up Rouxls with one of the vines from his scarf.
“Sorry, Mr. Roxeles!” You say to him, seeing him dangling in the air, just above the burning acid.
“IT’S RULES… I MEAN ROUXLS… I MEAN IT’S ROUXLS BUT IT’S PRONOUNCED ‘RULES’!!!” Rouxls is just left hanging there in the air, seething in anger, “ART THOU SERIOUS? AFTER ALL MINE BUILD-UP, FORESHADOWING AND REFERENCES, ART THOU DRAGGING ME LIKEST A LIFE-SIZED PINATA!?”
“Oh, look, it’s a camera, should we take a photo?” Ralsei asks, ignoring Rouxls' screams as the swan boat approaches a conveniently placed camera.
You smile towards him and nod, getting close to Ralsei and holding his shoulder.
You hold a peace sign, and Ralsei adjusts his glasses, preparing to take the picture.
But just as the camera is about to shoot, Kris lowers one of your fingers, leaving your hand in a very rude expression that causes Ralsei to jump in fright just as the picture is taken.
“AND NOW I TAKETH PART OF A PICTURE OF A RUDE GESTURER, THINE HUMILIATION HAVETH NO LIMITS!?”
“K...Kris? Why did you? Did it take a picture of that?” Ralsei’s shock almost makes Rouxls fall into the acid.
The poor Duke whelps in fear
Why did you force me to take a picture of that?!?! I...Imagine if your parents saw it???
Kris simply smirks.
“Payback.”
That’s all he says as the boat continues its ride, leaving the now cursed photo behind.
*
Soon after all that chaos, the boat ride ended.
It pained your heart to leave the bird-shaped boat, but life had to move on.
(Also, Ralsei left Rouxls close to the camera, but nobody cares about that.)
The top of Queen’s mansion is cold, the wind blowing ominously, carrying your anxieties.
You can almost feel the fountain in your SOUL.
The Holy Fountain that created this second world of dreams, where technology became reality, is coming to an end.
“We are getting close to the end, aren’t we?” Ralsei’s voice comes, carried by the wind, “I just wonder where Susie could be—”
Just as he says that, Susie lands on top of him, and you screech, jumping in fright.
“Whoa, Kris, what happened??? Why are you so scared… Oh.” She walks away from Ralsei, snickering all the while, “Man, I forgot you could be such a WUSSY!”
“Nice to see you too, Susie!” You say, already used to Susie’s type of warmth.
“It’s not nice to see you, that hurt!” Ralsei’s face contorts in a warm smile, “That was sarcasm, it’s always nice to see you!!!”
“We really need to work on your delivery,” Susie tells the goat while pulling him up.
“I don’t know, I thought it was fine!” You clearly don’t know what sarcasm is, or you are just being an idiot.
I don’t know what’s more likely.
Still… I am glad you are you, and not anyone else. Truly.
Even if you have the memory of a goldfish.
And Susie seems to share those feelings, as she simply shakes her head and smirks at you.
The party is finally united, and after you look at Susie’s serious expression and Ralsei’s warm smile, you climb the stairs, leading them closer and closer to the fountain.
You don’t know what you will face, but you were granted the responsibility of a leader.
Ahead, you see the light shining, even through the cold wind.
You walk towards it and hold it. The thought of you being a leader fills you with power, a power strong enough to hold the world in place and save that moment in time.
In the end, saving is all you can do.
All you want to do.
Chapter 33: Chapter 2 - Part 16: Attack of the Killer Queen
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
You will hear the word “meme” so much that it will no longer have any meaning. Also, a computer discusses philosophy with teenagers.
Notes:
I've been feeling a little sick this past week, so this part might not be up to standards. If you see anything I missed or any grammatical errors, be free to tell me and I will fix them later. Thanks for all the kudos and comments, they make my day.
Chapter Text
The fountain, the holy fountain of darkness. From a distance, you can see its flow, its darkness reaching the skies and spreading across this utopia.
It is what created this second world of darkness, this second world of dreams.
Carved by the KNIGHT’s hand, their weapon, their blade. They infused their will into the Earth herself, just so this shining city could be born.
The darkness turns computers and technology into reality. The fiction becomes real, shaped by the will of its creator.
This power of the will once more beckons you home. The darkness that is always familiar to someone like you.
It mesmerizes you. Makes you feel safe. Secure.
Once more, you can feel the fountain glowing around you, casting its multicolored glow across the balcony of Queen’s mansion, illuminating her face that is carved on the floor.
You can see the darkness of the fountain spreading across the sky, giving form to every citizen in this Cyber World.
Including Queen herself, who is sitting in her hover chair in the middle of the balcony, staring longingly at the fountain while holding a green cup with burning acid.
“This ends here, Queen!!!” Susie’s yell causes her to turn around, an expression of shock on her screen.
“[Surprised Gasp]” An exclamation mark appears in Queen’s visor. “Oh My Foolish Children What Are You Doing Here? You Were Not Supposed To Leave Your Rooms”
You feel as if there’s something wrong with the way she says it.
Your eyes narrow.
“Those lame rooms would never keep me from kicking your ass!!!” Susie yells, her long mane blowing in the quiet wind of the rooftop, “So just give it up!!!”
Queen looks at her like how a mother looks at her child, “Give Up? I Do Not Understand That Command. We Have Just Begun Noelle’s Promotion Into My Successor”
Your eyes narrow further at that wording.
You step in front of Susie, the long hair of your body flowing, revealing your golden irises shining with power.
“Noelle’s already with Berdly. It’s over!” You say, but…
Queen just smirks.
“Time To Drop: The Act” she claps, and something that you couldn’t have seen coming happens.
Your eyes widen with shock, and you clench your fists.
Susie snarls, showing her teeth.
Ralsei’s eyes widen.
The three of you look straight at a wire, dangling from the sky.
And plugged in the wire is none other than Berdly.
You wouldn’t even think that he was alive if not for the slight twitch of his arms.
“Did You Stupid Foolish Naive Children Really Think I Didn’t Know What Happened In My Own Mansion? (Dumb)” Queen just shakes her head, taking a sip of her acid, “Lightners Are So Predictable, Bound By Their Memes”
You feel as if there’s something in your throat. Something that just won’t allow you to speak out.
Not even Susie can speak.
And so, Ralsei speaks for you two, “What did you do to Berdly?! And where’s Noelle?!”
Queen waves at the dangling Berdly, his limbs completely limp, “Little Blue Bird Has Always Been My Symbolism And Now The Symbolism Has: Completed Its Final Execution (His Final Form). As For My Dear Sweet Noelle…”
Queen laughs, echoing across the balcony, a laugh even crueler than any you heard before, “You Can Only Guess After Beating Me (Actual Surprised Gasp). I Am The Final Boss And You Can Only Save The Damsel After They Are Defeated (Executed).”
Berdly’s wire is pulled behind Queen. It’s rough, firm, and makes your stomach sick.
“After All That’s How You Lightners Work. I Have Seen Berdly’s Games (They Suck Ass). It’s Part of Your Memes.”
Susie seems to finally recompose herself, and in a blur, she picks up her Devilsknife, her magic glowing ominously, “Enough with your stupid meme speech!!!” She yells angrily.
Queen claps and digital faces—copies of her own faces—show up in the air.
And with another clap, they explode, sending magic everywhere.
The three of you dodge it, jumping, rolling, running.
“Oh My Dear Susie Even Your Anger Is A Meme. Time For My Epic (Awesome) Villain Speech. Exactly What You Lightners Expect. What You Crave.”
More heads start showing up, and the explosions get quicker. You can see Devilsknives and pellets flying to meet their mark.
You shake your head, close your eyes, and focus your vision outwards, into the skies. Trying to return to astral mode.
You succeed, and Kris takes control, slashing through the magic.
You see your party move like a well-oiled machine, only barely needing your guidance.
Kris’s sword and shield blocking it, scythes flying, and vines whipping.
“Goner! Check her!”
R-Right!
From the heavens themselves, you feel your eyes, the one in your very SOUL, glow white.
And then…
QUEEN - ATK 15 DEF 20
??? - ATK 10 DEF 10 (STATUS:PLUGGED)
ELEMENT: BOSS:ELEC (PLUGGED - WIND)
The ruler of the Cyber World. Once a peaceful Queen that only watched her Lightners, the creation of the fountain and the lack of internet made her take matters into her own hands.
Not content to fight us by herself, she has used one of her plugs to control Berdly. It fires electricity into his brain, controlling all of his moves and even his magic.
It's quite painful...
Her chair is her source of power, and where Berdly’s plug is connected to. If we destroy it, she should go down, and Berdly should be freed!
Just watch out for her acid shield!
You CHECK her.
Attack her chair! That’s her weak spot!!!
Kris nods and orders Susie and Ralsei to strike the chair.
Queen’s visor narrows as she moves her chair out of the way.
“Memes, The Genes Of Your Culture. Just As Your Facial Features, Your Arms, Your Body Itself Are Marked By Your Genes, So Is Your Soul Shaped By Those Memes.”
Queen sends an attack to Susie, who slices through it angrily.
“Get Taught Anger And Anger Will Become Part Of You. That Is The Power Of The Memes.”
Queen moves Berdly’s wire, a shock courses through his limbs, and then the wind starts picking up, making the magic fly faster and faster.
Spades appear and are carried by the wind. Increasing speed, increasing strength.
“All Your Moves, Your Personality, Is Molded By Your Memes. In Eons Past This Power Was Useless… But Then It Came. The Internet.”
A social media feed is carved on the floor. From your sky view, you can see many familiar names there.
Alphys, Toriel, Undyne.
It’s like a vision of the entire town.
Words pop out from the names, and with the wind of the bluebird, they move towards the Lancer Fun Squad.
One of them strikes Susie, her teeth gritting in pain.
Without a word, Kris throws a CD Bagel to her.
She eats it, and you see the warm green magic flowing through her.
The relief Kris feels is even brighter.
We only have three more of those, plus the teas. Be careful.
“I know.”
“A Place Where Information Could Flow Freely Without Any Restraints. Where People’s Memes Were Unbound. It Was The New Eden In A New Earth, Where Me And My Kin Ruled All.”
Queen’s social media moves, the magical people below are talking with each other, getting closer to one another.
It was almost beautiful, if it wasn’t for the deadly magic that could end it all. Berdly’s wind carries that magic, making it harder and harder to dodge.
Even from your vantage point, you can see words cutting through Kris and Susie, despite the flurry of scythes and pellets.
The sheer quantity of posts almost feels impossible to dodge.
“Ralsei, stand back and play support, shields on both Kris and Susie, and use your new scarf to redirect magic. Susie, keep on the offensive!” You order through Kris’ mouth, and they obey.
Fluffy shields are formed around the two, blocking the magic.
“But Then The Internet Went Out And I Was Cast Away From My Eden. Who Was Going To See What Lightners Wanted, What They Needed? That Was When The Knight Appeared.” Queen’s words echo through the balcony.
Kris and Susie jump through the social media posts as vines grab them and fling them away.
Back towards Queen’s chair.
In response, the wind becomes even sharper, as strong as a hurricane. You never thought Berdly could be this strong.
Berdly… you really were holding back in your fight… even though you acted like a jerk…
His wind blows the words back towards your party.
The magic pierces through the shield and hits Kris' arm and Susie’s leg.
Ralsei jumps in the air to avoid them, but an explosion from a digital face flings him to the floor.
Susie grits her teeth and rushes to Kris, “We can’t keep going on the defensive like this! Queen is freaking insane, we can’t just convince her to stop fighting because of her stupid memes!!!” She yells desperately as magic rings in the air.
You just sigh, “You are right, but what about Berdly? Queen is using him!”
Ralsei uses his healing magic on himself, his new glasses greatly boosting it.
Susie slices through the social media post of some monster, “Then we just remove it, c’mon!” Susie jumps in the air and sends a Rude Buster straight at Queen.
She doesn’t even bother to dodge. Instead, a shield from her chair is formed in front of her, made of acid, blocking it.
Taking heavy damage.
Her acid shield! That’s it! We have to attack!
“Everyone, like Susie said, go on the offensive! Strike Queen’s chair and Berdly’s plug!” Your words cause the battlefield to shift, the pellets and the scythes flying towards the plug and Queen’s shield.
Some hit her, but before it can hit the plug, Queen drops her acid from her cup, causing a green barrier to materialize in front of Berdly.
“They Opened My Processors To A New World. A World That I Didn’t Need To Just Watch, But Could Act. Why Only Watch The Propagation Of Memes When I Could Become Their New Leader, Perfecting Lightners Behavior?” Queen speaks, and her magic shifts.
The magical social media changes, with Queen’s face appearing everywhere, interacting with every monster.
Their posts seem to change, words being removed, flying to different people. They become more unified.
They start targeting your party more.
You keep trying to find a plan to save Berdly. Despite your vantage point, you hate not being able to participate.
You were never a leader before, being thrust into a position you never asked for.
Being forced along with it, without a choice.
(If only I could go there and fight alongside you guys…)
You shake your head, your SOUL glowing brighter.
You focus on the battle at hand. On giving orders.
You were forced into this role, but you will play it the best you can.
(That’s all I can do.)
Kris blocks an attack for Susie with his shield as the wind blows another into his back.
She jumps over more posts, trying to slice Queen’s chair with her scythe.
Queen dodges.
Susie only smirks, striking the acid barrier. Ralsei jumps in just behind her, his new scarf striking her shield.
“Queen, we are supposed to serve the Lightners! Not rule over them!” Ralsei yells desperately as more projectiles fly in the air.
Kris is panting, his teeth gritting with pain.
Drink the tea!!
You recommend, and he complies, picking up the Susie tea. The taste fills his mouth, the taste of rebellion, of freedom.
Of an old friend lost in time.
That feeling gives him power and fills him with energy. His wounds are healed.
Smirking, you feel your SOUL glowing brighter.
“Everyone, attack the shield, now!” You order.
Susie fires a Rude Buster at the shield, breaking it.
Ralsei then fires a flurry of pellets at Berdly’s wire. It hits it, causing it to loosen.
Yet, it doesn’t fall.
Damnit! I thought that would work!!!
“Isn’t That What I Am Doing?” Queen replies to Ralsei, “Serving, Guiding Them? Without My Guiding Light They Will Go Down Into A Dark, Darker Path”
As if to prove her point, Queen makes one of her posts say something mean, causing all the other posts to go insane, red with anger.
“Lightners Are Already Controlled By Memes, Who If Not Me Will Guide Them?”
The enraged posts fly faster than ever, faster than even the lightning of the Werewires.
Kris tries to dodge them, block them with his shield, but he fails, and they cut through his arms.
Not even the Devilsknife can block all of them. Ralsei’s vines can’t grab them all, and the posts cut through them.
You start panicking, you feel as if you need to do something.
You can’t just watch and guide them.
C’mon! Think! If attacking didn’t loosen the wires, then… Then…
You look at Berdly, you look at Kris, you look at the pink and yellow glasses on Ralsei’s face.
Maybe… We need to wake Berdly up.
You think of Queen’s words.
We can’t fight the battles for him.
A feeling inside starts burning, hotter and hotter.
He needs to free himself!
Just as your will increases, the posts stop, going back into the eerie calm of before.
And he needs a little push from us.
“Who If Not I Can Control It, The One Who Has Seen It All? The Bad Memes Will Be Purged, And Only The Good Memes Will Be Passed On. People Will Only Know Happiness And Suffering Will Be Forgotten.”
Queen’s final words finally mold the feeling into something you remember—you recognize—something that you have felt since you first awoke in this world.
The feeling of being forced on a path, without a reason.
This feeling grows even as Susie yells at Queen, “This is just a stupid excuse for control! Look at what you did to Berdly!!”
The feeling grows as you see the unconscious Berdly, his limbs being forcefully moved by the wire.
Like a husk.
Like you.
We have to bring life back into Berdly. We have to!
“Oh My Dear Susie I Already Told You: Bhurghley is Symbolism. He Is Only Plugged Because He Tried To Break Free. If He Kept Being My Peon None Of This Would Happen (It’s All His Fault)”
And that feeling grows to its peak at Queen’s speech. You feel a fire burning inside your SOUL at those words.
“Now That’s Enough Talking. Time To Finish You Kids Off With My Special Attack.” Queen laughs, a screen appearing on the ground. “Now To Download It.”
A bar appears. It’s a countdown to your party’s demise.
We have to heal him. Heal his body.
You are tired of having your fate chosen by others. Seeing puppet's strings being pulled, impossible to break free.
The download bar is at 20%.
“You Must Be Wondering How I Can Be Downloading It Without Internet. Well That’s The Power Of Mobile Data Packs.”
Heal his very SOUL.
That feeling in your SOUL burns in Kris, his body gaining a red aura.
The download bar is at 50%.
“(Imagine Relying On Internaut’s Crappy Internet. Couldn’t Be Me Lol)”
That aura flies to Ralsei’s new glasses and his scarf.
Magic from Susie crashes into Queen’s chair, and that in turn loosens Berdly’s wire even more.
The download bar is at 70%.
“It’s Still Quite Slow But You've Got To Make Your Ends Meet And All”
Because your thoughts are only focusing on one thing.
And that’s something only we can do.
And that thing brings three people together.
The bar is at 95%.
“Now My Foolish Children It Is Time To End Your Test Trial. Behold My Ultimate Move And The Promotion Of My Peon Into—”
Queen is cut off by the powerful aura coming from Kris and Ralsei’s glasses that even the dark prince can’t understand.
The bar breaks.
Nothing will destroy your party. You would never let it.
“NO!” The voice comes firm from Kris’s mouth.
It’s your voice, filled with power. With will. With determination to change your fate.
“You will witness OUR promotion!” Your SOUL shines with power towards Ralsei.
The power of freedom, of standing up for yourself and controlling your own destiny.
The determination is so great that its glow surpasses that of the fountain.
The goat whelps with the sudden power, but his glasses seem to understand it.
“Ralsei, channel Dual Heal and cast SOUL HEAL!” You order, golden eyes shining like the sun. “On Berdly!”
Kris' red eyes shine, magnified by your golden aura, and that gives Ralsei such incredible power.
Power to cast this spell.
He casts the spell, the pink and yellow merging in a bright orange, almost looking red.
Like your SOUL.
A golden aura fills Berdly’s body, glowing so bright that even if you cover your eyes, you can still see it.
Berdly's arm twitches.
We did it. We woke him up!
For the first time, you see the sheer shock on Queen’s face, “What Is Happening What’s This? It Wasn’t Part Of Any Prediction (Zero Percent Chance Of Happening): It Does Not Compute!”
“That’s… Because…” Berdly grips his plug, electricity comes out of it, “We… Are… Not… Robots…” His grip gets stronger, and more electricity comes out of it.
Susie starts getting worried. “Berdly! Calm down! You might…”
“We… Are… People!” He shouts. “We… Shall… Pick… Our… Own… PATHS!”
Queen yells for him to stop and tries to rush to him, but it’s too late.
He rips it off with his own hand, a huge explosion ringing in the air.
It’s so powerful that it drags you back into Kris’ body.
You only feel pain in your limbs, and your vision is covered by the darkness that has replaced the light of the explosion.
*
Pain floods your limbs. Like lead fell on them.
You feel as if it weighs the entire weight of the world. A weight that makes you not want to wake up.
Your mind has returned to Kris’ body, the impact of the explosion destroying your concentration.
Yet, you feel a rush of adrenaline forcing you to wake up.
You hold the ground with one hand, and with the other, you try to stand up.
You kneel, breathing heavily.
You focus.
With more effort, you finally get up
“I hate when that happens.”
Kris’s thoughts come groggily to your mind as you roll your eyes.
You pick one of the teas inside your inventory, the Noelle tea, and force it down your throat.
A feeling of nostalgia, Christmas, and days past floods through Kris, healing his wounds but also leaving behind the bitter feeling of the present.
You’re welcome, by the way.
He doesn’t reply, and you just roll your eyes, deciding to take in the state of the balcony. Your eyes widen as you observe it.
It is completely destroyed, there are scorch marks everywhere, and pieces of fallen rubble.
The Queen face on the floor is unrecognizable.
You don’t even have time to take it in because after just one moment, your body is moving towards Susie.
“Susie, wake up!” Kris says, shaking her lightly.
She doesn’t stir, and he just sighs, giving her some of the Noelle tea.
“HELL YEAH, EGGNOG!!!” She jolts awake, her long mane looking like a mess.
Her yellow eyes widen as she observes the destruction, “Man, what the hell happened here? It’s like a bomb went off.”
You scratch the back of your neck as you give her a hand, “Yeah, you could say that.” And pulls her up to her feet. “Berdly tried to take his plug out and then… BOOOOOOM!” You exclaim to Susie.
Susie narrows her eyes, “Did you really need to yell ‘Boom’?”
You pout, “Yes, I was trying to lighten up the mood.”
“SPEAKING OF [Photons], [Little Sponge] OVER HERE!!!”
You and Susie just eye each other at the strange voice that rings over the air. Soon enough, you notice Ralsei’s glasses on the floor next to him.
“YES, I AM THE [Eyewear] ON [Ground Attack]” The glasses speak.
You two rush to it, surprise on your faces.
“YOU CAN TALK???” Susie’s question is so loud that Ralsei walks up.
“OF COURSE, IF [Clown Around Town] CAN THEN YOUR OLD PAL SPAMTON IS [Scream]!!!” The glasses scream towards the human and dragon.
“Then why didn’t you talk before?” Kris asks, his red eyes narrowing slightly.
“I will always be a puppet, I realized I cannot avoid that.” The glasses, the dealmaker says, “But that power of yours—that glimpse into true heaven, it woke me up. Made me think that maybe… maybe with that power… You can break your own strings…”
“So I shall become your strength.” He finishes.
Susie just shrugs, “Well, ok then. Welcome to the team, buddy!”
“I will always welcome another party member!” Ralsei says, still lying on the floor.
Quickly, you give him a CD Bagel so his wounds can be healed. A green glow covers his body, and his wounds are healed.
Ralsei stands up and then picks up the glasses, putting them back on his face.
For some reason, it feels far happier.
You smile, but that is quickly wiped off by the squeaky voice that you hear.
“Guys… a little help… please?” A weak, pained voice.
Your eyes widen, and you rush over to the voice, Ralsei quickly following you. Susie curses and follows the two of you to the source of the voice.
There you see Berdly, some of his feathers look ruffled, there are small scars on his face and chest.
And one of his wings looks completely fried.
“Berdly, your wing, it’s—” You move a hand to your mouth, expression warped into fright and worry.
“Fried… Yes… Haha…” He lightly coughs, his face twisting with pain.
“Man, what the hell??!! What were you THINKING?! You could have—” The last line goes unsaid by Susie.
But everyone knows what she would’ve said.
“Haha… Your concern makes my heart warm, Susie. The price of freedom is truly wonderful…” Berdly sounds delirious.
“Ralsei, can’t you just heal him or something?” You frantically yell at the goat prince.
In return, he just shakes his head, a dark expression settling on his face, “I can heal his minor injuries… But my magic isn’t strong enough to heal that fried wing.” He says, light reflecting in his glasses.
Your face immediately falls. “But what about our items—”
“Items won’t work either… No magic in the Dark World is strong enough to heal that…” He finishes, and your heart truly sinks.
“The Dark World… is strange. I know you might think it’s like your previous world, but if a wound is deep… magic here won’t heal it.”
Your face frowns at his explanation.
Sure, Berdly was extremely annoying and tested your patience, but…
He doesn’t deserve this. I screwed up. I need to LOAD. I need to find a better ending.
“Unless you can stop Queen from capturing him, it would always end the same.”
Maybe if I RESET, I…
“And do everything again? Fight Jevil, King, and Spamton NEO again? Are you up to it?”
No, you weren’t.
You can’t admit it, however, so you stay silent.
“Do not worry, my friends. This minor wound is a small price for freedom!” He slowly gets up, sitting in a crouched position, “Now go, my friends, promise me you all will save Noelle!!”
“We will. I promise.” You say, speaking for everyone.
“And now… I shall join my old friends…” He says, closing his eyes. Breath slowing down.
And then he quickly perks up, “NO, I am NOT dying! I am talking about the rebels.”
“We didn’t say anything…” Ralsei side-eyes as you quietly snicker, and Susie howls with laughter.
With your heart feeling a little lighter, you move on towards the outskirts of the mansion.
You just wonder if you won’t regret that decision of not resetting for the rest of your life.
*
“This World Gifted To Me By The Knight.” Queen’s voice is carried by the quiet, cold, and calm wind of the peak of her mansion.
Her chair smokes, wires hanging out, pieces of machinery falling freely from the wounds inflicted by the battle.
Yet, she still calmly looks at the bright city down below. “A World That I Could Guide To Maximum Efficiency.”
She spins her glass in her hands, “But That Isn’t Enough. The World They Created Is Trapped In This Library.” She stops spinning it, her face growing firm, “However, I Realized I Wasn’t Unbound By Memes. The Knight Passed One To Me.”
Queen waves her free hand, and a hologram is projected above the city.
Of a hand, so familiar yet so different.
“Reaching Their Long Hand Into The Sky.”
A knife is projected into the sky, with such a beautiful design, a design that I will always love.
“Infusing Their Will—Their Determination—Into Its Blade, Carved This Fountain, Creating This World.”
She tilts her head to the side, the magical projection changing to pictures of Kris, Susie, and Noelle.
“But Isn’t That Their Meme? Isn’t Determination Something That Can Be Passed On To Any Lightner?”
The faces start unifying, leaving only Noelle’s.
“Couldn’t Anyone Inherit Their Meme, And Become The New Knight?”
Queen turns to Noelle, being held in a crucifix by a giant hand. She doesn’t move, and her golden hair covers her eyes.
“Noelle Sweet Darling Honey Please Unleash Your Power And Make A New World.”
Silence.
“Noelle I Know You Are Excited About Your Promotion But No Need To Be Quiet—Oh Beep Poop!” Her visor widens, and a blast of magic hits her chair, breaking it completely and causing her to fall below.
“THE ANGEL CANNOT AWAKE YET, YET! FALL DOWN IN THE DEPTHS, DEPTHS!” Susie’s scythe exclaims as you rush towards the hand holding Noelle, trying to free her binds.
“YEAH WHAT HE SAID!!! GET WRECKED!!!” Susie yells, not understanding at all what he said.
Thankfully, she doesn’t need to worry about that for too long, because soon enough, you free Noelle from her binds, the giant hand that was holding her fading away into the background.
“Noelle, are you ok?” You ask her, shaking her slightly.
Soon enough, she wakes up, and your heart melts with relief.
“I am now that you are here, Susie!” Noelle says, her cheeks flushed as she stares at Susie.
You just grumble in discontent.
She just ignored me!
“Funny.”
It's NOT!
“Um, Ok… I guess???” Susie just scratches her mane in confusion.
You just quietly sigh and walk back to her.
Well, at least the worst is over. Now all we have to do is seal the—
“Wait, you guys need to RUN, NOW!!!” Noelle exclaims as everyone eyes her weirdly, “She told me before she wasn’t even in her final form!”
You raise an eyebrow. “Her final form? Is that another meme—”
“Wow Noelle Spoilers Much? (Not Cool)” The ground starts shaking, quaking.
RUMBLE. RUMBLE.
You can barely even hold on, seeing rocks and debris flying in the sky.
RUMBLE. RUMBLE!!!
Why can’t it ever be that easy???
Something rises from the ground. Something huge. Something formidable.
RUMBLE. RUMBLE!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!!
You see it. A giant reproduction of Queen, yet different.
Shock flows through you as you recognize it, hands shaking, eyes widening.
It’s… how she looked in that VR game!!!
“…!”
“Q...Queen?!” Ralsei’s surprise makes you regain your focus.
“Wow Guys I Can’t Believe You Didn’t Notice The Giant Freaking Robot In My Mansion Lmao (You Even Walked Through My Legs)” Queen’s words do nothing to relieve your worry, and especially not what she says next, “Kris Cross Applesauce Are You Ready For Our Rematch?”
You shake, sweat runs down your face, “I, um, will, uh, I…” You can only stammer out gibberish.
Your eyes are wide with fear, limbs locked in place.
Her mech dwarfs you a hundredfold.
It’s way bigger than anything I’ve ever faced. I… I don’t think… I…
Despair creeps up on your very SOUL.
“No, you can’t!!! She is invincible like this!!! We need to just… give up and…”
You don’t hear the rest of Noelle’s words; your mind is in too much of a panic.
You feel as if the world has been placed on your shoulders, the responsibility flaring up.
They need you; you need to fight.
I… need to fight this… but… I can’t!! It’s too strong, I am not strong enough!!! If I fight it, I will be erased again!!!
But your fear wins over you.
It is pitiful the state you are in. I expected more of you.
If you are going to give up on the second antagonist, then you don’t deserve to continue.
“You think we are just going to give up? Hell. Freaking. NO!!!” Susie’s voice comes through, stepping in front of everyone, staring straight at Queen and dispelling your thoughts.
You can’t help but stand in awe.
“The only reason she is so confident is because of her STUPID suit!!!” Susie grows smug. “If she took it off, she would get her ass kicked!!! It would be EXTREMELY painful!!”
“[Hochi Mama] SHE REALLY IS A [Big Guy]!!!!!” The dealmaker exclaims to Queen as Ralsei tries to think of a plan.
“For You” Queen simply replies, and before you can think of what she is replying about…
CRASH!
A fist lands on the floor, and it knocks you, Susie, and Ralsei off.
You can only scream before the floor disappears, and the air is the only thing you feel.
“Ok, that WASN’T part of my plan!!!” Susie yells, and with grim determination, she looks at Ralsei, “Ralsei, you are a nerd, any plans?!”
“Maybe I could make a parachute out of vines?” Not even he sounds confident about that idea.
You just breathe in and then out, face resolute.
I guess there’s only one thing left to do. I didn’t want to re-do it all again… but… we failed.
You close your eyes, focusing your thoughts on the last point you saved. The world starts to blur and—
“Fear not, because the cavalry has arrived!”
The world does not blur, and does not return to times long past.
Instead, you open your eyes and realize you were saved by none other than…
“BERDLY?!?!” Everyone yelled at once, a cacophony.
You did not die, nor were you in the abyss.
Instead, you are on a roller coaster being led by Berdly, with everyone you encountered riding on it.
All of our RECRUITS.
“Your knight in the glow-in-the-dark armor wasn’t going to run away like THAT!” Berdly proudly exclaims, “Kris, Susie… I can’t help you two like this…” He points to his fried wing, “But that’s OK, because you two taught me I don’t need to do everything myself. So I relied on my FRIENDS!”
“During your quest against Queen, you touched everyone's hearts, making all sorts of friends!” Sweet continues from where Berdly left off.
You see with your eyes everyone riding the coaster, celebrating and cheering.
Everyone your kindness touched.
“You re-awakened everyone’s fighting spirit, relighting the hope in everyone’s hearts. Showing them—and even us—we needn’t live in fear any longer, and we could complete our—no, EVERYONE’s—dream!” Cap’n continues.
The rollercoaster is approaching some sort of giant machine.
“Hear everyone's cheers!” K_K yells, and like magic, everyone starts yelling.
“(I don’t care if I plugged in or not, I just want to kick Queen’s butt!)”
“(I am not going to sell any of Queen’s products anymore!)”
“(Screw memes and screw Queen’s tax policy)”
“(I WILL deep fry my JPGS)”
“(Such splendid order!)”
“I SHALT TAKETH CREDITE FOR THIS!!! ALL OF THIS HAVETH BEEN MINE IDEA!!! MINE FORESHADOWING OF OVERETH TENTH PARTISES!” Rouxls yells, still turned into stone.
Everyone’s cheers, everyone’s support… they light up a fire in your SOUL that burns even hotter and hotter.
The cold in your SOUL is melted, drained like water in the sink.
Replaced by golden eyes burning like a star.
“Kris, Susie… BEHOLD the POWER of CHADS!!!”
You see Berdly’s so-called chad statue.
“And SOYJAKS!!!”
You see Kris’s soyjak statue. Susie laughs loudly at seeing it. Kris blushes in shame.
“UNITED AS ONE!!!”
You see the two statues trying to merge, but something is missing.
“And thou shalt not forgests thy Machinery that I haveth broughtest with Mine Personae!!” Rouxls yells, bringing your machine, completing the trio of chad, soyjak, and insanity.
“BEHOLD, the ULTIMATE SHITPOST!!!” As Berdly declares, everyone enters the machine, its total glory being revealed.
Something built by everyone, to carry their hopes and dreams.
It is…
Your MASTERPIECE!
But then you quickly realize you can’t pilot this from your point of view.
You can’t see where to pilot this, nor can anyone else, for that matter. There’s only one choice you have.
You have to guide them yourself, looking into the eyes of heaven itself.
I don’t know if I can do it… Expanding to see you guys is easy. This is a giant machine, I don’t think I can…
“Do not be afraid.”
Kris’s thoughts rush through your mind, his words breaking the clouds of worry in your consciousness.
“You can do this. You cannot give up, not when you've got this far. As long as you believe in yourself, as long as you do not forget that Susie, Ralsei, and even I are with you in the darkest of times, you will be able to guide us to the fate—to the future—we seek! The future is in your hands!”
With everyone’s powers combined, supporting you, giving you a familiar strength— forgotten, yet re-kindled—welling inside you; The belief that you can do anything.
And they are right, even I believe in you to lead us to the future we seek, you just have to stay determined.
You have to regain the lost determination.
And so… you close your eyes, focusing on this machine carrying everyone’s hopes, until the world disappears and...
Chapter 34: CHAPTER 2, PART 17: THE HOLY
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
THE SECOND CONNECTION. THE SECOND DREAM. THE CYBER QUEEN STANDS IN FRONT OF YOU. WILL YOU SUCCEED? OR WILL YOU PERISH? AND AFTERWARDS... HOW WILL YOU REACT TO THE STAKES BEHIND YOUR MISSION?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Buildings reaching the sky, stretching as far as the eye can see, towards the very veil of darkness that covers this world.
Nobody would even think this is all inside a library in a small rural town if they were transported to this place. But that was the cold truth, the reality of this situation.
And it was all thanks to the Fountain. The Dark Fountain that expels raw darkness from the earth’s core. That darkness that gives imagination form.
Thanks to the Knight’s determination, their will pulled this fountain from the earth, and that fountain then created this fantasy world.
But for a certain computer, given life by that fountain, that wasn’t enough.
She needed more to protect her dear Noelle.
Controlling just a library wasn’t enough; she needed to expand farther and farther into a true global empire where she could eliminate every threat to her sweet, dear Noelle.
The only problem was those who stood against her. Her former subjects, standing inside that horrid mech.
The Thrash Machine, that was what they called it. Originally designed in another world on a whim, this time it was built by a stray rebel group in this cybernetic world and expanded by the hopes and dreams of its inhabitants.
It stood in the city, right in front of her.
All of her former subjects were inside the machine, its fluffy green paws perfect for support, to carry this vessel to new heights.
It’s burly, purple arms, its fists ready to protect anyone who stands against it.
And its head, a simple duck representing the innocence of who designed it.
The red glow of the stray SOUL illuminated the machine, her light piercing the darkness and guiding everyone to a new home.
To the better fate, the better future.
Empowered by its power, by its determination, they were ready to face the Queen and end her reign.
“Finally… It’s Time For Our Epic Rematch IRL (In Real Life)” Queen’s voice came from her own mecha, twirling a giant glass menacingly, “I Am Going TBH (To Be Honest) I Didn’t Expect You Guys To Have Another Mecha (It Looks Pretty Rad)” Queen said without a hint of irony.
The machine simply moved swiftly, with grace, and tried to punch Queen in the face.
She just dodged to the side. She wasn’t going to be taken down that easily.
“I Don’t Have Another Epic Speech Planned LMAO (I Am Just Winging It)” Queen kicked the mecha.
Without waiting a moment, it replied with a quick punch.
BOOOOM!!!
A shockwave was formed from the sheer impact, causing pieces of the surrounding buildings to crumble—the sheer power of those two gigantic beings.
“We don’t CARE!!! You are going DOWN!!!” Susie yelled from the inside of the mecha.
She was tired of Queen’s long, drawn-out speeches that made no sense.
The red glow intensified in response to her emotions.
“Susie I Can’t Go Down Yet. Not Before Noelle Unleashes Her Power.” Queen fired acid lasers from her giant cup, a new ability brought by her mech.
The machine moved to dodge it, running around in a circle as the acid melted buildings, the street, and anything else it touched.
“Noelle Will Be Promoted Into My Knight And With Her Strength, With Her Will, With Her Determination She Will Make A Neo Dark Fountain. And Then Another. Then Another. Blanketing The World In Darkness And Expanding Our Empire.”
Each of Queen’s words was punctuated by an explosion from her acid.
“Our Empire Where Everyone Will Live Free Of Worry, Controlled By Yours Truly”
One of the lasers hit the legs of the machine.
“Suffering, Pain, Fear. All Those Memes Will Be Purged In Our World.”
The acid hit one of the arms.
“A World Where The Weakness Of Your Kind Will Disappear And Only Your Best Traits Will Remain. That Is The True Power Of Memes.”
In the past, everyone would be scared of her words. They would have felt they couldn’t do anything but simply follow what she says.
But that time passed, and thanks to the very SOUL that is glowing within their machine, they know that they can pick their own paths.
And so they pierce through her acid, her acidic words. The mech’s fist was burning, filled with power.
“And the price for that is our SOULS!!!” Susie’s yell is as strong as the punch that struck Queen in the face.
The impact made the glass fall from her hands onto the floor.
CRASH!!!
“We aren’t just ROBOTS that you can program!!!”
Queen tried to kick the mecha, but it dodged by moving to the side, and then it quickly struck her chest.
“We all have our own hopes and dreams. You can’t reduce everything to ones and zeros!!!” Susie’s yell was applauded with shouts from everyone inside the mecha.
Everyone’s hearts were burning as one.
“But Robots Are Way Cooler Than You Lame-Os” Queen replied.
Her chest opened and revealed a set of flamethrowers.
“Susie Look If I Succeed This Will Be The World Of Dreams. Of Your Dreams.”
The flames were ignited, looking like they could burn even the coldest place.
The mech glowed brighter from the SOUL, and it moved away from the flames. Jumping, ducking, running.
The buildings were incinerated behind it as it moved away from the source.
Looking satisfied, Queen continued, “Susie If You Join Me You Will Have As Many Skateboards On Fire As You Want. Nobody Will Think It’s Extremely Dangerous And They All Would Love It.”
“HELL NO!!!” Susie yelled back.
The chest of the machine shifted into a rubber-silicone ball, part of its original design. Its heat resistance blocked almost all the flames.
“I don’t CARE if they like it or not, I don’t need validation from a bunch of LOSERS!!! I like what I like and that’s all!!!!”
It walked through the fire, filled with bravery, and once again it struck Queen’s chest.
Sparks and smoke came out; the flamethrower was completely unusable and destroyed. The Red Soul glowed brightly, filled with happiness at their progress. “
Have you ever considered what Noelle thought of this? If she really wants this?” Kris’s composed and quiet voice comes from the machine.
He sounds calmer, freer.
Despite her mech’s extensive damage, Queen still stood up, and a blue aura flared up around her body. Wind picked up, pieces of rubble flying around.
And with a puff of smoke, she cloned herself.
But not just one clone. Not just two, not even three.
But several of them, and they all spoke at once.
“Kris My Trucie Friend You Understand Me.”
The mechas picked up pieces of the destroyed buildings in their hands.
“This Is The Only Path Noelle Can Take, I Know What’s Best For Her. You Are Unbound By Memes Just Like Me So Imagine: A World Where Everyone Can Like… Your Weird Demonic Rituals And Knives?????? (Idk Bro Your Taste Is Kinda Weird)”
Kris doesn’t reply to her; after all, he didn’t need to.
Nobody would truly understand his plans, nor did he want them to.
Instead, an aura flared through their Trash Machine, as if the SOUL glowing inside of it was responding to Queen’s own aura.
It burned crimson, the color of passion, of love.
Buildings were thrown towards the machine, but glowing like a red star, the Trash Machine responded.
The duck-head quacked, and a sucky aura appeared.
It could absorb the energy of Giga Queen into itself, giving a healing, green glow to the machine, restoring its energy.
Fists hit buildings, rocks flew.
Damage was sustained, but quickly healed by the magic of the machine.
By everyone’s magic.
It kept moving, tearing through the onslaught of projectiles. Nothing would stop it now.
It didn’t matter how much damage it took; it didn’t matter how many projectiles it had to take down.
This was ending here and now.
“We don’t CARE if people agree with us or not.”
Everyone’s voice spoke as one, as the SOUL guided them to the real Queen.
She already used this trick before; in that virtual world of shattered memories, the stray soul wouldn’t fall for it again.
“We will live in a world where WE shall control our OWN DESTINIES!!!”
Its fist started to glow brighter and brighter, everyone’s will being focused on it, ready to knock the Queen down from her throne.
“We REJECT your false world of memes, a world where nobody would be free, simply an extension of your will.”
It struck her, a shockwave forming, bigger than any beforehand.
“And we CHOOSE a world where everyone can PICK THEIR OWN PATH!!!”
The machine landed back on the ground, its aura dissipating. Wires fell, together with pieces of it, but… it stood in one piece.
The mecha of Queen fell to the ground with a thud, a resounding impact forming. It’s red, overheating, and shaking. It's broken beyond repair.
It is truly defeated.
“I Have Seen Now The True Power Of Your Will: Truly Beyond My Calculations”
Queen slowly got up, pieces of her mecha falling to the ground.
“I See Now That You Cannot Accept My Vision. It Is Such A Shame (Sad Face)”
A strange aura fills the air around Queen.
The aura penetrates the machine like a potent venom. A feeling of anxiety filled everyone. A feeling of dread.
But… Queen lost, right? She had to. She… had to, right?
The SOUL thought to herself, trying to convince herself that everything was alright.
“My Mecha Is Ruined… Overheating… If I Do Nothing It Will Go Down In Flames (Dramatic Gasp)”
BEEP.
Giga Queen started beeping.
BEEP. BEEP.
It started slow…
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
But then it quickly speeds up.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
“Ok So It Wasn’t My Greatest Idea To Have Shown You My Strongest Attack In My Epic Virtual Fight”
Giga Queen’s head was decapitated from the rest of her body. It fell like a puppet without strings.
But the head floats in the air.
“It’s A Good Thing That Like Any Good Gamer I Have: Cheat Codes.”
The decapitated head glowed even brighter.
“I Told You (Dumb) Kids That I Always Have: Backup Plans For The Smallest Things”
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The beeping was becoming frantic.
“Initiating Backup Plan: KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!”
The head quickly flew away.
“See You Never Losers”
Like a supernova, the rest of Giga Queen’s body completely exploded, engulfing most of the city.
This was the last time the Thrash Machine was ever seen.
Noelle was feeling warm.
Warm from the fight between that giant mech—her friends—and Queen.
From the fire that burned from Queen’s chest.
From the acid that melted anyone in front of her.
And from the explosion that destroyed both mechs.
And she hated being warm.
She hated that those two were fighting about her, deciding her fate, and she wasn’t even involved.
No, they just left her here, alone.
Where she could do nothing but watch.
That’s why she hated feeling warm. Nobody pays attention to you when it’s warm. Nobody comforts you when it’s warm.
They just leave you alone, in the comforts of your house, not even bothering to know if you are well.
Maybe what she hated was being alone, because that way, nothing was protecting her from her thoughts.
Her little green doe eyes watched Queen coming her way, holding Kris, Susie, and the other guy (Who looked so much like Azzy… but also looked nothing like him) in some rope connected to her mech.
There was nobody left to protect her, nobody would come to save her.
But what could she do? She wasn’t strong enough; she was meek and pathetic.
Her entire life, she just followed the paths set by someone else because she was too afraid of speaking up.
She was too afraid of being strong.
“Stab… The Earth… And Create Our New Empire”
She hadn’t even noticed that Queen had already arrived and was giving her more orders.
Our new empire? If only…
Queen was just using her like a pawn, promotion or no promotion into a “Knight”.
This empire was just based on what Queen thought she wanted, not what she truly wanted.
And now, because of her, all her friends were in danger.
She liked being scared, but only when she had control of the situation, when she knew everything would be alright.
Not like this.
“Noelle… Why… Are You… Hesitating?” Queen’s voice took her out of her self-worry, bringing her back to reality, “This… Is The Best… And Only Path… You Can Take…” Queen started glowing, “Or… Do You Want… Your Friends To Go Kaboom As Well?”
Noelle could see Susie’s eyes widen in worry, her struggles to escape intensifying.
Even Kris’s eyes slightly widened in worry, Noelle saw his red irises behind his hair widen. (And not the weird golden ones that were just wrong).
But Noelle herself was panicking the most; if she did nothing, her friends would perish, but if she did what Queen wanted, she would be dooming herself to a life without purpose, where her will would just be an extension of Queen’s.
All roads lead to doom, and so Noelle’s mind fell into the deep abyss.
Where she could simply ignore what was happening and go back to the past.
Where her sister was there for her, where her dad wasn’t sick, and her mom hadn’t grown distant out of fear.
She would run to that world, and never—
“Noelle, you can’t run!”
That voice hit Noelle’s ears like a light shining in the deepest cold, dragging her from the dark corners of her mind,
“Being afraid is okay, even I get afraid. Like, a lot. But you can’t let that fear control you. Remember what I said? ‘Being brave isn’t the same as being fearless. It’s about overcoming that fear, not letting it paralyze you.’”
The SOUL in Noelle shone even brighter, trying her hardest to convince Noelle.
“Once, there was a time when I was paralyzed by my fear, and it cost everything.”
This was the first time Noelle ever heard someone other than herself sound so pained.
“But you still have your entire life ahead of you. You can’t let it end like this, you are the only one who can control your life, nobody else!”
Those words awakened something inside of her. Something that she had buried deep inside herself ages ago.
The desire to stand up for herself.
I don’t know who you are… your voice comes out of Kris’s mouth, but it isn’t him, but… I don’t care about that, right now. You are right, I can’t let anybody except myself control my own destiny.
Noelle's will awakened.
She took a step forward and yelled at the top of her lungs, “NO! This is not the only path I can take!”
She stared at Queen, her gaze piercing and cold, “Life has endless paths someone can take, not just one or two!”
Her voice had never been so loud, “And I won’t let you choose which one I will take! I—and anyone else—are not your PAWNS! Why can’t you understand that?”
The adrenaline was pumping in her veins, her breath wild and panicked, her vision blurry.
But somehow, by some miracle, her words hit the giant computer that has terrorized and stalked her this entire adventure.
Her visor shut down, processing them.
And the words that the computer spoke next filled Noelle’s heart with immense relief.
“Perhaps… My Memes… Were Wrong.” Queen’s head mech starts fizzling out, “Then… Noelle… Pick Your Own Path… One That Will Truly Make… You Happy”
She was turned off.
And so was the red light shining bright under Noelle’s robes.
“Queen! Queen! Are you OK!?”
You are woken up to the sounds of intense yelling.
You are completely out of it, your vision is blurry, and your hands are sweaty. You never had expanded “astral mode” that far before.
Honestly, that was an impressive display of power. Something that I would never have expected back in our world.
I look forward to seeing what else you can show.
“Seems like her mech has shut down. Probably because it wasn’t made to just work with her head.” You recognize that soft and fluffy voice as Ralsei, doing another one of his famous expository speeches.
Your vision recovered enough to see Queen’s mech lying on the floor there, or at least just the head.
“Us Darkners can’t die from attacks like that, so she should be fine.” Ralsei finishes explaining.
You can now see that you three are on the floor, standing right in front of the downed mech.
You can even see Susie dusting herself off to the side.
“We jumped off. It was right when you were coming back. Almost made me fall off, too.”
Do you always need to insult me? A thank you would be appreciated.
Some people say silence is worth more than a thousand words, and that’s how Kris decides to respond.
You just pout angrily.
Some things will never change, will they?
“Anyways, it’s time to seal the fountain now.” Ralsei starts walking in the direction of the fountain chamber.
You try to follow him, getting used to walking again,
Small murmurs coming from the downed doe stop your path.
“Queen… she said for me to ‘pick my own path’. I don’t want to go down a path chosen by her. But if it’s me who is choosing it, shouldn’t it be ok?”
The words stop everyone in their path, wondering if they heard it right.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Ralsei is the first to ask.
Noelle turns to Susie, a weird chill hidden behind her green eyes.
“Susie, you agree with me… don’t you? That this world’s just better?” There’s a weird intonation in Noelle’s voice as she says those words.
She says the words I have wanted to hear for a long time.
But her time to awaken to that isn’t now.
It will come soon.
But not now.
Susie simply scratches her mane, “Now that you are saying it…” She turns to Kris, “Kris, she is freaking RIGHT!” Her face turns nostalgic, “There’s always something exciting happening here, and we make so many… friends here. Y’know?”
Because there’s always someone trying to kill us…
You think bitterly to yourself like the hypocrite that you are.
You befriended everyone who tried to kill you before, and now you whine?
“I never had… an adventure like this before.” Noelle replies, her face turning nostalgic, “It was scary, but isn’t that what makes it good?”
Susie summons her scythe, the Devilsknife, “With sentient, crazy weapons. Weapons that can fire magic.”
“And where that magic can heal anyone, as long as you believe in it,” Noelle concludes, her hands glowing green to support it.
Now you just stand, confused.
Isn’t magic… something that any monster can do? Why are they talking like it’s something they couldn’t do?
Kris perks up at your words, but chooses not to respond.
He realizes you don’t know many truths of this world. Truths that separate their worlds from ours
“And where WE make our own rules. Where nobody tells us what to do!” Susie yells back.
Noelle cheers at Susie’s words, feeling euphoric after what just happened.
However, a strange expression is cast on Ralsei. Something that nobody notices. Not you, not Susie, not Noelle, and even Berdly, his wing still fried.
Oh. He survived.
Is simply your reaction to seeing him.
Still, you smile.
I am glad.
You aren’t that heartless.
“So are there any OBJECTIONS? (Heh, I always wanted to say that.)” Berdly says.
Everyone except you and Ralsei shakes their heads.
Objections to what? What are we doing? Are we going to make a fountain?
You finally start to piece together what’s about to happen.
“Then, let this be our REAL meme!” Berdly holds his halberd in his good hand; it glows brighter and brighter, but you cannot tell if it's from magic or determination. “Focusing my WILL, I shall create a new Fountain. Where our future is born not from the light of basedness, but the darkness of cringe!”
As Berdly is about to stab the Earth, various thoughts fill your head.
Would this even work? Do monsters even have enough determination to make a fountain? And if they can… what would creating a fountain in a Dark World even create?
Your head pounds with questions, yet, before they can be answered by actions, a yell is heard.
“STOP!” It is frantic, desperate, and filled with panic.
And you would never expect it to come from none other than Ralsei.
And based on everyone’s reactions, they agree with you.
“But I—” Berdly tries to say, but is cut off.
“I SAID STOP!” He says, and everyone stops, “What are you all doing? You!” He points at Berdly, and he shivers, “Are not supposed to do that. What are you even thinking in the first place?”
Berdly gulps, “Picking my own—”
“NO!” Ralsei simply says, “Do you even realize what will happen if you do that? Did you even spend a second thinking about it?”
There’s a firmness in Ralsei’s voice that you would never have expected to hear before.
The goat loudly sighs, “Do you really want to bring in the Roaring?”
Roaring? What?
Before anyone can ask what that is, Ralsei takes his chance to explain it.
His hands glow—not unlike when he showed you the prophecy so long ago—and images are once again projected into the sky.
The goat prince takes a deep breath, his voice growing deeper.
This wasn’t a pretty tale.
When the LIGHT is
subsumed by SHADOW
When the FOUNTAINS fill the sky
All will fall into CHAOS.
The TITANS will take
form from the FOUNTAINS
And envelop
the land in devastation
The surviving Darkners,
crushed by the darkness
Will slowly, one by one,
turn into statues…
Leaving the Lightners
to fend for themselves
Lost eternally in an
endless night...
Is that your idea
of paradise?
You try to say something. Nothing comes to you. You don't know what to say.
There are no words to be said.
Not after all that. Not after seeing those pictures. Of the despair in them.
Of the entire world being destroyed. Of every Darkner being turned into stone.
Of them dying.
Of the darkness covering the world. Of the crushing loneliness in a desolate world.
With only those TITANS as company.
You feel yourself shivering thinking about them.
Is that… real? If we fail… If I… don’t seal the fountain… will everyone just… die?
“Yes. I would bet my very SOUL on that happening.”
You gulp, a cold chill going through your SOUL.
That's why you can't say anything.
What could be said after such a grim tale?
That they almost caused an apocalypse, just because they wanted a new, better world?
That the very desire of wanting to be free from the problems of the waking world will lead to the destruction of it all?
What can you say to the unfairness of reality?
Susie’s mouth is aghast, her hands slightly trembling.
Noelle has a weird expression of melancholy and sadness on her face.
Berdly just looks extremely nervous, sweating buckets.
Ralsei looks stern towards everyone, the light of the dealmaker blocking his eyes.
You look… mournful. Grieving. Relating to the tale.
The fate of two races resting on my shoulders… again. That’s the tale I was brought to fulfill, once more…
Nobody’s reaction is greater than your own body. Greater than Kris’s.
Unnoticed to everyone, even you.
Feeling of intense regret and guilt, accumulating into a dangerous concoction of turbulent feelings.
He knows most of how unfair this world can be.
But words pierce that before anything can happen.
“Holy Damn I Did Not Expect That” Queen says, having gotten off the rubble.
Everyone just looks at her in shock, but it’s the goat prince who responds.
“You… didn’t?” He exclaims, shocked, “But your whole plan was—”
“Lmao I Just Inherited The Knight’s Meme Bro. I Have No Idea Of The Meaning Behind Their Actions Lol” Queen’s words leave everyone dumbfounded: “How Would I Rule Over a Destroyed World? (Error: Data Not Found)”
You are the first one to recover the ability to speak. “Well, that’s a relief. Destroying the world is very… um… bad.”
Berdly just holds his head down, “I am sorry, everyone… I guess in the end I was still just a… dumbass cringe lord.”
Queen holds his shoulder, “It’s Ok Berdly.”
The bluebird instantly brightens up after hearing Queen finally say his name correctly.
“While I Was Clearing The Rubble (Based Immortality Hax) I Thought Today’s Moral Lesson.”
She walks over to Noelle, “You Can’t Control Everyone’s Feelings And Thoughts. No Matter How Hard You Try.”
She points to Berdly, “But If There’s Absolutely No Control… They Might Do Something They Can’t Take Back.”
“Of course, I am used as the bad example…” Berdly grumbles, and everyone laughs at his misery.
Even he awkwardly laughs together with you all. “It’s not funny, but I don’t want to be left out.” He grumbles.
“Welp.” You clap your hands, “I guess it’s time to seal the fountain.”
Queen pouts, “Already? Well Time To Run Tender Goodbye.EXE.” Queen waves her hand and figures of you all appear.
Queen points to Noelle’s, “Noelle, For Being The Best Peon A Queen (Me) Could Have”
To Susie’s, “Susie, For Being Extremely Based.”
To Kris’s and the Red Heart next to him, “Kris, Your Chill Vibes And Extremely Generic Friendship Speeches”
And finally to Berdly’s, “And Berdly, For Being Extremely Cringe”
“(Being cringe is based!)” The bluebird says to himself.
Ralsei, the only one without a picture, walks forward to Queen, “This doesn’t have to be goodbye, Queen! You can live in Castle Town together with the rest of our recruits.”
I can always rely on him to expand MY own town.
“You are probably going to need some parole to walk freely there.” You whisper, but thankfully, it’s unheard by Queen. “Because, y’know… You tried to enslave us all and all…”
“Oh. Cancel Tender Goodbye.EXE!” Queen starts glowing white, “Later Losers!”
And suddenly, she isn’t there anymore, being our final recruit.
“Alright! NOW we can seal the fountain…” Susie tries to walk towards the chamber, but the voice of a certain reindeer stops her.
“Um… Susie, what about us?” Noelle asks the purple dragon.
“Um, you guys can’t go… um… because…” Susie tries to think of an excuse.
“(They are having a dream)” You whisper to her.
“Because you are in a dream, remember?!” Susie concludes.
“Oh, yeah!” Noelle says, “It’s just that it was so exciting I forgot it was a dream.” She starts to wave at you and Susie, “See you all in the waking world.”
“See ya there…” Susie looks away. “Because… y’know… I don’t think Susie would mind being your friend. In real life, I mean.”
Noelle looks surprised. “Do you really think—”
“Well then, Susan… I…” Berdly blushes, looking away. “Shall take your offer.”
“(Wasn’t talking to you, but I guess that isn’t that bad…?)” Susie shakes her head, and then she starts to leave.
She then quickly turns around. “JUST REMEMBER SUSIE DOESN’T HAVE A WEIRD TAIL THAT CAN FLY!!!” Susie yells, already rushing towards the fountain chamber. “THAT’S IMPORTANT!!!”
“Wait.” Berdly says panicky, “Are we having the SAME dream? Is that even possible?”
“Yes,” you reply without skipping a beat.
“Oh, makes sense,” Berdly says when it didn’t make any sense.
A pregnant silence fills the air, and without saying anything, you just leave the still waving Noelle and the dumbfounded Berdly, walking towards the fountain.
Unbeknownst to you, a blue glow covers both Berdly and Noelle.
Their movements slow down, and soon enough, they fall into a dream inside a dream.
*
The second fountain, the second Holy Fountain of Darkness.
The fountain that created this cybernetic world. That made cyberspace not just a theory, but a reality. That, with its holy darkness, created this second dream.
Its multicolored, rainbow light is the only source of Illumination in this dark chamber.
You can see Susie in there, standing in front of it.
Before long, you feel its familiar pull to your SOUL.
The pull of longing. Of home.
It’s so strong that you don’t even notice that Susie started to speak. “It looks like we’re here again, huh…”
“Yeah…” You say, not taking your eyes off the fountain. “Back at where… I feel at home…”
“The Dark World… it also feels like another home for me…” Susie looks down. “That Roaring Knight… whatever they are… they’re making these fountains, but…”
Susie stares at the fountain. Its multicolored glow responds, reflecting in her yellow eyes.“When I look at this thing, I can’t help but think: ‘Is this really a bad thing?’”
You turn towards Susie, your golden eyes reflecting. “Susie…”
“Thanks to those… our lives have gotten a lot more interesting.” She looks nervous. “I mean, that Roaring Knight guy... are they really a bad guy? It's thanks to them that we…”
“I don’t think we should think about that.” You curtly say, cutting Susie off.
You look back at the fountain once more.
Your eyes, glowing golden like the Sun, are fixated on the fountain. Unmoving.
The multicolored glow reflects in your golden eyes, as if it were a prism.
You take another step forward, “I think it’s just time to go home.”
Susie just shrugs, “Yeah, I guess you're right…”
Standing in front of the fountain, that intense feeling of home grows stronger. “I need to go home… I…”
It encompasses your entire SOUL, your very being. And in turn, that SOUL glows inside Kris’s chest.
“That’s something that only I can do.”
You can’t even feel your body, having left it completely, flying towards the fountain.
Flying as the very culmination of your very being.
Flying as your SOUL.
Flying as the only thing that remains of you.
Kris and Susie just stand there in awe, watching you. Watching your light.
Soon enough, you arrive at the fountain.
You “seal” it.
You become one with the fountain, it being absorbed inside your SOUL.
An intense light flashes across the entire world.
And then…
The dream ends.
Notes:
And with that, the second Dark World comes to a close. And so does the last canon Dark World, too. We will not be going to TV World in Chapter 3, but instead a completely original world I created during the long wait. But beforehand, there's still the epilogue in the town. See you then, and thanks for all the support for the story! It makes my day!
Chapter 35: Chapter 2 - Part 18: My Cyber Town
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
The fountain was sealed, but your time in the dark isn’t over yet. My Castle Town needs to grow bigger and bigger.
Chapter Text
And reality replaces it.
The dry, green walls of the library flood your vision. The cold, hard reality has replaced the smooth technology of the cyber world with regular computers, plugs, and wires.
Your brown eyes—the gold left in the dark—adjust to the sudden brightness.
You see posters stamped on the wall, like visual clutter. Of promotions for electronic equipment and for old TV shows, a weird feeling of nostalgia courses through Kris when looking at that orange cat.
There’s a locker on the right, filled with computer equipment, and a large closet on the left, filled with wires of all sorts.
Computers and wires are lying on the tables and the floor. They’re all turned on with blue screens, as if they crashed.
Your eyes dart to the blue laptop at the very center of the room, and to the bird and reindeer that are sleeping right in front of it.
It’s Berdly and Noelle… Then that computer… I guess that’s Queen’s form in the Light World?
You still didn’t quite understand how the Dark Worlds worked, but you at least understood darkners were represented by objects here.
Yet, before you can dwell on it, Susie nudges you with her shoulder.
The purple dragon was standing right by your side, looking at the same scene of the sleeping beauties, “(Seems like they are asleep, dude…)” She whispers towards you, “(This is our chance to leave!)”
But how did they fall asleep?
You think.
Instead, you say, “We still need to grab those computers… our friends are in there. How are we going to do that without waking them up?”
Thankfully, that’s not a question that needs to be answered, because your loud words cause Berdly and Noelle to stir awake.
You gulp, refusing to even look at the glare Susie is sending you.
“Wh… What happened?” Berdly mumbles as he awakes.
Noelle lifts her head, and when her eyes meet Berdly’s, her face shifts to deep sorrow, “Oh. So it WAS all a dream…”
Berdly quickly looks towards Noelle, “A… a dream? All of that… was a DREAM?” Surprise is spit in every word that comes out of his beak.
He tries to recompose himself, “Of… course! OF COURSE, that was a dream! Haha… to think I thought being cringe was a good thing… And that Among Us was a BAD game! And heavens to yikes… to think I had feelings for…”
His eyes widen as he looks at the other residents of this room, “SUSIE?!”
Noelle looks at where the cringe bird is looking, her eyes widening in surprise, “Susie…?! What are you doing here?!”
“Studying, obviously.” She simply says.
“You, uh, invited us to study, remember?” You say towards Noelle, then your face shifts to a mischievous look, “I thought to invite Susie as well so we could have a double date!”
Everyone cringes and glares at you; you can even feel Kris glaring at you from the inside.
But then Noelle starts laughing, quietly, quickly becoming full-blown laughter. Berdly follows her, then you, and eventually even Susie is laughing at your crappy joke.
For a moment, it is like an eternal peace has fallen into the library.
“But, um…” Noelle stops laughing, looking confused. “...who’s dating who—”
RING! RING!!!!
Berdly’s alarm rings.
“Oh, crapbaskests! I can’t believe we slept for so long! My shift with Ms.Boom is about to kick into high gear!” He shuts off his alarm, “Well, time to bid audieu, everyone!” He goes to pick his books, but when he tries to pick them up… “Huh…?! My right arm… I can’t… move it!”
Indeed, one of his wings just won’t move. No matter what he does, he just can’t move it.
Your eyes widen as you realize which wing won’t move, brown orbs quickly darting to Susie, who shares your reaction.
After all, you both know why that wing truly won’t move.
Because it was fried by Berdly himself in the Dark World.
But why isn’t it actually fried? It looks normal to me.
“Things in the dark may not be the same in the light.”
Why do you have to use such a complicated metaphor?!
While you and Susie try to understand what is happening and why, Noelle moves to help the bird, “I guess your arm must have fallen asleep. Here, let me help you!” She grabs his books for him.
“Heh… I guess in the end, I will always need help.” He says wistfully, “Thanks, Noelle, for always being there for me.” He nods towards her, and together they leave for the door, “Kris… Susie… sayonara!”
He walks away, out of the library.
“Bye, Kris! And… um, bye… Susie!!!” Noelle says, but she doesn’t leave.
Instead, she stands there. For an unreasonable amount of time, her eyes were observing Susie’s backside with a weird glint in them.
Is she staring at Susie’s ass??????
“No, her tail.”
That’s… not better…
Susie turns around, stares at Noelle with her piercing yellow eyes, and with a growl, she yells, “WHAT are you LOOKING at? Seeing something FUNNY???”
Noelle screams, but with a blush and a weird smile on her face, she runs out of the library.
I don’t think I will ever understand that girl.
“Yeah, I don’t think I will ever understand you either.”
You pout like a little girl, but before you can reply to Kris, Susie’s voice hits your ears, “Man, what the heck is her problem? We just saved the world, and we are—”
Her eyes widen, face filled with surprise as she realizes her own words, “Wait a minute. We just SAVED the WORLD!!! Holy crap!!!”
You smile nervously, “I mean, we have saved the world since we started, Susie.”
She scratches her mane nervously, “I guess the full weight of that JUST hit me.” Susie lightly snorts, “I guess we really ARE heroes, huh?”
You try to imitate Susie, but you fail as Kris's hair isn’t nearly as long as hers.
Maybe I should try growing my hair… When I get my own body, of course!
“You can’t let that get to your head; otherwise, you’re going to become like me when we started.” You say, cringing at yourself.
Susie chuckles, “Yeah, I wouldn’t like to be a stuck-up loser like you!” You just laugh at her words, “But man… nobody even knows we are heroes…”
You think hard on Susie’s words, realizing that she’s right.
Nobody outside of the Darkners knows that you are heroes.
But remembering the faces of your friends from the previous world, the expectations in their eyes for you to win. For you to save them all…
And the sheer, crushing feeling of despair inside your SOUL in that abyss.
You felt that you completely failed them.
You shudder at the thought of putting them back into this situation.
“I think that’s for the best.” Susie eyes you weirdly, so you continue, “I mean… think about it. If we told them the world is in danger, everyone would freak out. Plus, once they knew only we—and well, Ralsei too—could save them, they would place an immense responsibility on us! We are like REAL superheroes, with secret identities, like Batman or Spider-Man! ‘We are the heroes this city needs, not the ones they deserve.’”
Susie just eyes you even more weirdly after you finish your nerd rant. That was probably wrong, too, since you never actually watched any of those shows before in your life.
Only saw them at second glance at the displays in old TV stores. At least I have the excuse of being born long before that.
“I mean, I guess when you look at it in that way… that makes us even fucking cooler, huh?” She punches your shoulder in one of her ‘love taps’ that is like a truck hitting a duck. “Although… who the FUCK are Bat and Spider whatever??? Are you just making shit up in your sappy friendship speeches?!”
And like always, I am proven right.
“Well, who cares! Let’s go home.” She starts to walk away.
“WAIT!” You yell towards her. She stops, “We can’t just go yet!” You point towards the computers and wires, “We need to bring all those computers to Castle Town!”
“Why?” Susie asks as you stand there dumbfounded.
Huh??? She doesn’t know it yet???
“It’s so that we can transport them from Cyber World to Castle Town. The computers are like spaceships for them, the Darkners.” Kris simply says, and like a lightbulb flicking on top of Susie’s head, she cracks her knuckles.
“Oh, why didn’t ya say so before, dumbass!” She runs towards the computers and picks a dozen of them up in her arms, her muscles bulging, and scales bristling.
You just stand there in awe at Susie’s casual showing of strength; she barely looks like she is making an effort.
“Are ya just going to stand there or what?” She calls out to you. “You always preach about teamwork and all that sappy shit, so go help me!”
“Right! You’re right!” You quickly nod, moving towards the computers. Your eyes widen, carrying the computers is quite easy with Kris’s body.
Huh. I thought you would be weaker. With your frail arms and all.
“Maybe the computers are light, instead.”
I thought you would actually ACCEPT my compliment…
And so you grab computers, even if you feel slightly jealous of Kris’s strength.
I don’t think my old body would carry these so easily…
With determination, you walk out of the computer room.
*
“Hey there, hold on a minute! What are you two doing?!” A voice enters your ears right as you exit the computer lab.
You almost drop the computers you’re holding, Kris strengthening your grip at the last second.
“Careful.”
I know, I know!
Your brown eyes lock towards a striped blue bird, who is standing in your path.
Your head aches as you look at him.
The pain makes you remember that you had seen him before. Yesterday, in fact.
“It’s the bird that was blocking the second floor…”
I… I… I see…
Your thoughts come in weakly, your head starting to ache more and more.
“Wait… Is that… the computer lab equipment?!” He moves closer towards you two, your headache increasing with each step he takes. “It is! What do you think you two are doing with that?! That’s the town’s property!”
Each word he says is like a hammer to your head, making it pound harder and harder.
“We’re just… um…” Susie stutters. “Taking them to… er… A checkup test!”
He leans down, his head looking at you two.
The pain increases.
You feel like you’re going to cry.
“Are… you okay?”
I… I…
You can’t finish that. The pain is the reason why.
“A checkup test…You know that’s for people, right?” The bird replies.
“Oh, shi—” Susie stops herself from swearing. “I mean, really?! Because we really have to take them for a checkup.”
“You take people to health checkups. You try to troubleshoot a computer first, to see if it’s working.”
“Well, that’s not what we do here.”
The conversation just makes your head hurt more and more. You feel your legs grow dizzy, and your arms weak.
“Hey. Are you… Well?”
N…No… My head… It doesn’t stop… It hurts!
Kris drops the equipment to the floor, sitting down.
“Who even are you—” The bird monster stops talking as he sees you sitting down. His features seem to grow soft. “Kid… are you ok? Is everything good?”
He turns away from Susie.
Susie looks at him and smirks.
Susie quickly grabs the equipment you dropped. She winks at you as she runs away from the library. “(Keep distracting him, Kris!!!)”
She doesn’t realize it’s not intentional.
“M… My head… It’s…” You can’t finish, holding your head in pain, eyes closed.
“Do you want to…” He tries to get closer to you.
“DON’T!”
You look straight at him, a faint hint of gold in your eyes. He doesn’t get closer. “Don’t… Don’t get closer.”
He doesn’t say anything. He then walks towards a bookshelf. He grabs two books from it and then throws them next to you.
“If you feel ill, try reading! I always love reading books, especially when I am sick!”
“What? That’s idiotic.”
“Try it! I can guarantee it will work!” His voice grows quieter as he leaves the room.
You breathe in and breathe out, as you open and close your eyes.
“Feel better?”
Yeah… I… I feel better.
You look at the books on the ground. You raise an eyebrow, and cautiously, you try picking one.
Kris grits his teeth when he looks at the cover.
“How To Care For A Human.”
He can still see Toriel’s card in the back. And the photos of those awful humans.
And so, he throws it away.
H…Hey! I wanted to—
“You’re still too weak to read that.”
It was a naughty book, wasn’t it? Heh heh… just like that ‘How to Draw Dragons’ book!!!
“Believe what you want to believe.”
You didn’t deny it! You have a naughty side! You’re normal!!!
Chuckling, you grab the other book.
“Book 1 about SOULs”.
Very creative title.
A book about SOULS? Do you think it says anything about me?
“Maybe.”
Ohhh, this is so exciting!!
With a smile on your face, you open it.
“The SOUL has long been called many things. The fount of our compassion. The source of our will. The container of our ‘life force.’ But even now, the true function of it is unknown.”
Your face falls.
‘Unknown’?! This didn’t explain anything! Why write about something you don’t even know!
“That’s why naughty books are better.”
!!!!!! You just-
“Naughty books that tell of death and destruction.”
… Suuuuuuuure.
Rolling your eyes, you try to get up. You succeed. Yet, as you do so, something falls from your pocket.
It’s like glass… but not quite.
Huh? What’s that?
“That’s…”
Kris hurriedly picks it back up.
Is that important?
“Very. We died to get this.”
Died…?
You look through the glass, your brown eyes analyzing it.
We died for opaque glass? Really?
“Opaque…? So you don’t…?”
Kris saw through his hand when he looked at it.
Don’t what?
“Never mind.”
He puts it back in his pocket.
“Let’s just go.”
Always ever cryptic!
You leave the library.
*
“And that’s the last one,” Susie says, pushing the final computer, a sleek blue laptop, inside the darkness of the closet. She dusts her hands and looks towards you, “Took your sweet time, didn’t you?”
“It didn’t take that long…” You raise an eyebrow. “Did I?”
“Yeah, you did.” Susie looks at the door. “Anyways… now what?”
Susie had carried all the computers from the library to the school. She waited for you to show up, and once you did, you two pushed them all into the closet one by one. They became white sparkles and fell into the darkness below.
Obviously, you were only able to do that because of the good fortune of the library being really close to the school. And the fact that somehow the school wasn’t even closed yet despite the time you stayed in the dark.
“Schools on Saturday go only to the morning period. Yes, we have schools on Saturdays. It emulates Japanese schools despite us living in America. Blame Alphys.”
Kris had said, and you thanked Alphys for being a huge weeb.
With the warm afterglow of the sunset bathing the school in orange light, you turn your brown eyes to Susie, declaring, “Now we jump in!!!”
Susie snorts, “Heh, now THAT’s what I am talking about!!”
Swift as the wind, you two jump into the closet.
Dark replaces the light. Armor replaces clothes. Weapons replace utensils. Skin turns blue, and you feel your body become lighter.
Power curses through you, and brown orbs are replaced by blazing gold. The power inside your SOUL.
It responds with the Grand Fountain, shining just as brightly in the darkness. Your SOUL glows from Kris’ body, and darkness itself oozes from within, towards the sky.
Towards the Grand Fountain, causing it to roar. Causing it to become stronger.
With a flash of light, my castle town transforms once again. I can feel the power of the fountain strengthening, the population rising.
New buildings pop up from the ground, cybernetic and technological, contrasting with the old medieval look.
You can see Cyber World’s citizens walking across the streets, from the unplugged werewires to Queen’s top minions like Swatch and Tasque Manager.
The fountain gets stronger, and so does you and your party.
I can feel the numbers increasing. Your strength, your defense. Susie’s magic.
Every single stat gets higher and higher. The you of today gets stronger than the you of yesterday.
Each time my fountain expands, I expand.
Once again, thanks to your help, my castle town expands to even greater heights.
Your increase in power is my increase. My dream becomes closer and closer to reality. My goal gets closer to my reach.
Queen herself is also in my castle town. She is standing right in front of you and Susie, right where you landed.
You two almost jump out of fright when she speaks, “Oh Wow So This Is Your ‘Castle Town’” She looks around my beautiful and excellent town, “I Rate It 3 Out Of 5 Stars (It’s Good But Not As Good As My Mansion)”
“Speaking of stars…” A voice comes from your pocket. Suddenly, a card jumps out of it and materializes into... “Just like a shiny star, I came from the stone back to my flesh form. Re-Enter the bad guy, Lancer!”
Although nothing he said had to do with stars, Lancer was indeed the one who jumped out of your pocket and returned to normal.
And nobody’s reaction is as strong as Susie’s, who loudly cheers, “HELL YEAH! Lancer, you’re BACK! Ralsei was right!!!”
Susie and Lancer loudly high-five, as the spade boy replies to her, “Yes, I am back! Back from Kris’s pants hole!”
“It’s my, um, inventory. Saying ‘pants hole’ just makes it sound weird.” You mumble, but nobody hears you over the excitement.
“Oh My God Is That Lancer? Holy Crap I Did Not Expect To See My Round Boy Here (Time To Up My Ratings Of This Place)” Queen says, rushing towards Lancer, picking him up like a round ball.
“Oh no, the wild mom is picking me up! Ah, I don’t know what she will do because I have no idea what moms do!!!” Lancer yells, yet he is still smiling.
“Hey, put him down! Or do you want your ass kicked again?” Susie growls, magic flaring up around her.
“Oh No Susie My Time As A Villain Is Over Mommy Here Is Just Going To Take Her Son To Their Room” Queen starts to walk away, “Toodles”
Susie stops her.
“Hell no if I am letting ya take away Lancer without explainin’ anything!” She runs over to the computer lady.
Then, they both start throwing insults and words at each other.
You stand there like a doofus, watching them fight like they were in a cartoon, with only the smoke missing from the scene.
You can’t even hear what they are saying; it’s like a cacophony. Growls mixed with text-to-speech.
Yet during all of it, Lancer’s still smiling.
Sometimes I feel jealous of Lancer’s carefree attitude...
“You said this so many times before it’s almost your catchphrase.”
You pout and blush.
And I will say it as many times as I want!!!
As the discussion inside and outside reaches its climax, a soft voice pierces the noise, “Wait, wait, wait, WAIT! You can’t leave yet.”
Queen moves away from Susie, looking towards the source of the voice, “What’s This? My Voice Detectors Sense A New Lifeform Approaching.”
“Hey, I know that voice…” Susie says, “...it’s…”
“RALSEI!” You yell.
Indeed, it’s the prince of my town that arrives, the pink and yellow glasses bouncing on his snout as he runs.
“WOW, WHAT THE [Heck] HAPPENED IN [Dream World]? A [Wild Scuffle]?” The same glasses ask, making everyone present (except for Lancer) embarrassed at the chaos caused by Susie’s and Queen’s fight.
“Well, I was going to ask that as well…” Ralsei awkwardly mumbles out, “But that’s not why I ran here. You!” He points to Queen, “Can’t go!”
Queen just looks at him, confusedly, “Why Not Bro? (That’s Kinda Sus)”
“Because you are, um, on, um… d-domestic arrest!” He says that with somewhat less confidence than he had initially, “Because you see… um, since you tried to, uh, enslave—”
“Create A Glorious Meme Empire” Queen interrupts him.
“Yeah, that!” Ralsei continues, “Since you tried to do that, you can’t walk through the town freely. It’s, um, against the rules set by the Monarch. But since you gave up on your own free will, we could work out that as parole for you.” He beckons for Queen to follow him, “I was already working on your room deep in the basement, so follow me!”
“Well If It’s Part Of The Rules Then It’s Part Of the Rules. Oh Well I Just Hope My Room Is Rated 5 Stars Out Of 5 (I Am Taking Lancer Too BTW)” And with Lancer still in her arms, she walks deeper inside my town, following the goat prince.
And leaving you alone with Susie, who just looks down angrily, “Dammit, at least something’s going to be done. Well, no use staying down in the dumps.” She slaps your shoulder and starts walking away, “Well, I am going to let some steam off at the dojo. Ya know where to find me.”
And now you are truly alone, but your mind focuses on a word said by the goat prince.
‘The rules set by the Monarch’? Who the heck are they? I didn’t even know this place had rules…
You ask questions to yourself, but there is nobody to answer them.
And so with all those worries weighing on your mind, you walk further into my castle town.
You don’t even notice you weren’t really alone back there, and that when Lancer jumped out of your pocket, someone else jumped out with him.
A tall, blue guy with long white hair.
“Drats, I haveth been forgontests againest. Not even Mine Liege haveth noticed mine personae. But… perhapest this is for thy best. I shalt blend with thine Shadows itself, my old Tyrant!”
*
Like a candle shining in a dark tunnel, you explore my evolved castle town.
You go through both old and new, seeing cards and technology walk together. A shared dream.
And it’s all thanks to the Grand Fountain for birthing this fantasy in the first place.
You see the new Color Cafe, coordinated by both Swatch and Tasque Manager, now free from Queen’s clutches; you can even see Mr.Society enjoying a drink inside.
A beacon of order in my dream.
You observe Sweet Cap’n and Cake's new music shop, where they can play music free from interference; Mr.Elegance is even their spokesperson.
The Addisons settled a shop in the middle of the town, with the help of Top Chef and the puzzle pieces. You even restocked on the “your-own-flavor” teas.
Yet, as you did so, you heard them murmuring to themselves.
“(Did you see that? That prince is using HIS glasses!!)”
“(Why is he wearing those? He’s a nobody now!!)”
“(Is this another scam?)”
“(How is he STILL relevant???)”
With curiosity sparking in your mind, you ask them. “What are you guys talking about?”
“AH! BOSS!!” They look shocked. “Didn’t see you there!!!”
“We were just talking about the prince’s weird glasses.” A pink one says. “It reminds us of an old salesman.”
“He was just like us… just a bit unlucky.” A blue one continues. “His products never hit among your kind, and nobody looked his way. Yet, he always kept shouting that he was going to become a big shot someday. He started to get desperate, you see.”
“And then, miraculously, he made the right phone call, and somehow, he found someone. Or maybe he was found BY someone?” An orange one says. “Nevertheless, that person must’ve helped him, because he couldn’t take his ear off his phone.”
“He started to get big. His sales started to pile up. The clicks. Everything went his way. He even got a room at Queen’s mansion!” A yellow one says. “He then got a deal at a famous company, even. Befriend their mascot! Had commercials together.”
“Putting his friend's colors everywhere, even on his glasses. It wasn’t fair, why did HE get all the attention, and not us?” The pink one says. “We stopped hanging out with him. He was a big shot, right? He didn’t need us. He had his friend to help him.”
“But then, everything changed. Suddenly, things started to crack. It seems like whatever was helping him disappeared. His sales started to crash, and the company kicked him out. He was alone.” The blue one says. “His days at Queen’s mansion were numbered.”
“The day he was to be evicted from the Queen’s mansion, I went to his room to check on it… But he wasn’t there.” The orange one says. “There was only a phone hanging off the handle. He must've left in the middle of a conversation, because I could still hear someone on the other end… But when I put the receiver to my ear…”
“There was nothing but garbage noise.” He finishes.
You raise an eyebrow.
Garage noise…? That’s just like… what I heard when I tried the phone here.
“We never saw him again, so it was surprising to see the prince wearing his glasses, that’s all.” The pink one explains.
“That’s because he is the glasses now.” Kris plainly says.
“Pardon me???” They all speak in one voice.
“It’s complicated, thanks for the tale and the tea!!!” You wave at them as you walk away.
“Wait!! You have to explain it now!!! Wait!!!” They shout, but you are already long gone.
*
After that detour, you arrive at your real destination.
The only building that hasn’t changed. The only building whose walls remained the same back in Card Kingdom, and now here.
To the old, sewn by fabric and cotton, shop.
Seam’s shop.
I guess I can understand why Spamton rattled you so much. You think I am the voice at the phone for you, don’t you?
“...”
Well, you've got to get your mind off that! I’m not making you big! Far from it! I am making your life worse! So stop worrying about it!
Even though you got it wrong, that still makes Kris smirk.
“... heh!”
Now let’s go tell Seam how we kicked Spamton’s ass!
You take a step inside the shop, metal from your boots echoing in the store.
Old, but somehow still warm, lantern light fills your vision. It hits your skin, and like a solar panel, you absorb all of it. The old trinkets still lay on the walls.
The cat still sits on the counter, looking exactly the same as when you saw it in the morning.
It’s like the passage of time doesn’t exist here.
“This world has transformed yet again, but things remain the same. The inevitability of fate truly is a wonderful thing. Now, O Legendary Hero, why have you come here?” You can’t tell if the cat is being sarcastic or if it’s finally respecting you.
Its tone reveals nothing.
Kris stays alert.
You stay wide open.
And so, with golden eyes shining, you pick up the strange substance in your pocket.
The Shadow Crystal.
When golden eyes look through it, they only see its shadow. Nothing.
But when crimson eyes peer through it, they see the computer lab.
“We managed to collect another Shadow Crystal. We found it in a… m-machine…” Your voice stammers as you recall the crude mockery of your old friend, “...That a salesman tried to use against us.”
You resolve not to let emotion leak through your voice again.
But Seam does not care.
It jumps out of the counter, walks towards you, and swiftly takes the crystal from your hands like a thief in the night.
“I see… so the old machine had that crystal… Perhaps that machine was important to someone. Although… It had to be very important.” Seam seems to correct itself. “After all, Shadow Crystals only appear to objects close to you, Lightners, but only those that were left in the shadow.”
Your jaw almost hits the floor, “Eh? Is that really true?”
Seam simply laughs, “Oops, I didn’t mean to leak it. Or maybe I did? It doesn’t really matter, because now I will tell it to you anyway.”
It guards the crystal inside the counter, hidden from sight.
“Indeed, Shadow Crystals are formed from the darkness inside a Darkner's heart.” Seam explains. “The hopes and dreams cast onto them erode in the darkness and despair, solidifying into a crystal only marked by their shadow. As if it were their tears themselves.”
His statements hit you like a bullet, a storm of emotions flooding through you. You close your eyes and think.
Is that… really true? We’re finding those on abandoned Darkners…? No, of course it makes sense. I saw it myself, that robot body truly was abandoned. If it wasn’t… Mettaton wouldn’t be just a ghost.
“Plus, the Joker card is never used in card games as well.”
And Jevil is represented by a Joker in the Light World…
“I wonder what Darkner will have our next shadow crystal?”
“You wonder where the next crystal could be, don’t you?” Seam’s words cause a shiver to run through Kris’ spine, “Two you have collected, but maybe… at two you will remain.”
“What? What do you mean? I am not giving up yet! I said to you that I would collect all of them, and I won't go back on my word!!!” You yell defiantly at the cat, but your outburst doesn’t faze it at all.
“What a powerful spirit! But sadly… spirit cannot save you from fate. The next opponent… I fear that it’s impossible to defeat her.” A lantern flicks on top of its head, “Unless you have my Shadow Mantle. But alas… I haven’t seen it since we moved to this world.”
But you have seen it.
“Wait! We did see the Shadow Mantle before! King was wearing it during our fight!” Your face falls quickly, recalling the end of that fight, “But it flew away at the end, and we couldn’t retrieve it…”
“How cruel Mistress Fate can be! To give you my mantle, when you didn't know how important it would be!” Seam chuckles, “But do not despair, you just have to simply accept your fate. Even when it’s against you. But it’s truly disappointing. To have a quest end so soon.”
A small smile spreads across its face, “At least I am glad I was able to see the Queen again. I thought she would never return.”
The words hit your ears, but your expression doesn’t change, “The quest is not ending here! I WILL collect those Shadow Crystals, no matter what happens!!!”
You are convinced, you cannot give up. Your eyes are shining with determination.
The determination I love to see.
You just walk away; there’s nothing else you have to do here.
“(What a powerful spirit! Hahaha… could it be? Were Jevil’s words truly right?)” It whispers to itself, and nobody hears it.
Nobody except me.
“Well, good luck!” It yells loudly, and you turn around to hear it, “It’s growing late, so you should finish soon. You don't want to get caught when the sun goes down…”
Red eyes narrow at the remark, and the door is closed swiftly.
Like a tomb, the shop is closed once more.
But the words still ring in your ears. And a thought, that isn’t your own, pierces through your head.
“Seam is right. We can’t waste too much time. We need to leave soon.”
Hehehe… You are just worried about getting a scolding from Toriel, aren’t you?
But before he can reply, a gruff voice cuts through, “Man, you FINALLY left that cheap-ass old store! Jeez, I thought you would never leave!”
You look around, and then see Susie leaning on the wall, “Susie!”
Susie snorts, “Yeah, no shit, bro. Playing around in the dojo wasn’t as fun without Lancer.” She looks embarrassed, instantly playing around with her mane, “Look, I am not worried about him or anything… But, heh, Ralsei must be freaking out trying to take care of him and Queen. So why not pay a visit to him?”
You see through the disguise in Susie’s words. You send her a warm smile, “Alright, that shouldn’t take too long.”
*
You have never regretted agreeing to something so fast.
The basement of my castle has been taken over by a cacophony. The two adults present are fighting—but not with their fists nor magic, but with words.
Voices from inside the cell battle against the ones from outside.
“(SILENCE, WENCH! How dare you come back and PITY me! Do you think I would accept such apologies from someone who ABANDONED ME!?)”
“(Lmao What The Hell Are You Saying? You’re Like A Projector Projecting All Those Emotions Onto Me [I Am A Computer Lol]. Although I Do Pity Your Pathetic State Inside That Little Hamster Wheel)”
“(Once again, you deflect from my accusations. Running away is the only thing you’re good at, anyway! But look at where your running leads you, being abandoned by the Lightners, just like we all were. Your devotion to them leads you only to doom!)”
“(L Take+Ratio+You’re A Hamster+Loser+Cope+Seethe+Noelle Liked Me+Jealous+Take Your Meds+I Am More Popular+No Bitches+Skill Issue)”
King and Queen are in a ferocious debate, both throwing insults at each other. King from the inside of his cell (which looks like a hamster cage) and Queen from the outside.
Their discussion is so intense that you and Susie can’t even approach them. Even Ralsei and Lancer are staying away from those two.
“What the HELL happened here?” Susie asks the question that is on everyone’s mind.
“Well… you see…” Ralsei nervously tries to say, “I was bringing Queen to her room, like I said I would. But then I forgot that her room is in the basement, which is the same room as the—”
“Gay Baby Jail!” Lancer butts in.
Ralsei waves awkwardly, “Yeah, that.” He looks more serious, “Which is where King is! Once he saw her, they just started arguing! You, um, can see the results of that…”
“Hohoho! I never thought I would see what they call a domestic dispute live! I thought that there would be more blood and explosions!” Lancer cheerfully says.
“Yeah… no.” A dark expression covers Susie’s face, “I didn’t expect to see one here...”
“It’s time to leave.” Kris's direct but stern statement cuts through everyone.
“I mean… are you sure…? You just got here and…” Ralsei tries to argue, but Susie cuts him off.
“Yeah, I gotta agree with Kris here.” Her voice sounds really sad. Eerily so, like a child at a parent's funeral. “We already saw enough.”
“If we’re leaving… Then I got to take the ride in Kris's pants! Transform!” Lancer says, and transforms back into a card and jumps into your pocket.
“Waite, art thou leavingest!?” Roulxs walks in, looking panicked. He seems to be carrying something with him. “Mine liege, thou art not going to forgests Rouxls Kaard, art thee?”
Nobody responds to him, and so he panics.
“I shall perform the Transfiguration as well. POSTHASTE!” He transforms into a card and jumps into your pocket. Together with the dark fabric he was carrying.
“Man, I still don’t know how they do that,” Susie mumbles.
“Well, if everyone is ready, then I guess it’s time to leave!” You try to say it happily, attempting to pierce through the heavy air caused by the discussion.
“Well… I guess it’s time for another goodbye…” Ralsei says sadly.
“No…” You close your fists, looking at him determinedly, “Not a goodbye, but a ‘see you soon’!”
“Haha… that’s right! We need to SAVE moments like these. We never know when we might like to go back to them. To relive those precious memories…” Ralsei declares such a simple message, but you cannot help but think there’s something off in the way he said it.
I guess I am just thinking like that because we can literally do that, can’t we?
“Time is your mistress, ‘mine liege’.”
Please don’t talk like Roulxs.
“Heh, enough of the sappy shit. Going back to the past is impossible. But we can still move towards our future. And our future is getting the hell out of this place!” Susie picks you up, making you whelp with surprise.
She waves at Ralsei and walks outside the castle with you still in her arms.
You shift and try to move out of her grip, but she is simply too strong.
A smile spreads across your face as you stop moving, simply enjoying her weird form of embrace.
“Bye, Ralsei!” You wave at him from Susie’s grip.
And soon enough, you leave my Castle Town, climbing up from the dark to the light.
And leaving only the inhabitants of the dark within.
“‘Going back to the past is impossible.’” Ralsei chuckles. “Is it true, Susie?” The candle’s lights cover his glasses, reflecting on them, but hiding what’s beyond. “After all, we have already gone back to the past several times before, haven’t we?”
Chapter 36: Chapter 2 - Part 19: A town called Hometown
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
The adventure might have taken a break, but the story never ends. You need to explore the town where you now live and learn more about its residents.
Chapter Text
Dry, orange leaves falling to the ground. Old trees creaking in the wind. Old houses litter the streets. A sweet scent wafts through the air.
The scent of nostalgia, with a hint of bitterness.
That is Hometown, a small town forgotten by most, existing only in the memory of its citizens.
That is the town you now live in. The excitement of the dark almost made you forget the calm of the light. The home—that will probably never feel like yours—that is waiting for you.
All those thoughts bounce around your head as you stand in front of the school, basking in the sunset.
The Sun… It’s nice to feel it again… two days in a row… almost feels like a dream.
“...Never thought a Lightner would ever say that.”
Haha… I know… I guess that’s what happens when your only memories are the underground and an empty abyss.
You let out a sad smile at those memories.
Glad that’s past me.
“Man… it got late, didn’t it?” Susie’s voice cuts through your thoughts, the purple dragon standing right by your side.
Armor replaced by normal clothes, the allure of fantasy is gone, replaced by the cold reality.
But she still smiles anyway, “Well, where to go next?”
“Well… um, home, I guess…” You say quietly. You turn to her, brown eyes being reflected in her yellow, “See you tomorrow…!” You try to say it excitedly, but your voice comes out as a squeak.
Mo—Toriel must be really worried…
You turn around and start walking away. But a huge hand grabs your arm.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?!” You turn your head to see Susie glaring at you.
“Ummmm… home?” You squeak out, causing Susie to snort at your words.
“Yeah, and you think you’re going out ALONE?!” Susie lets go of your arm and faces you. Her eyes bore into your head, “Hell no, man! I can’t trust you to get back home by yourself. Especially not after yesterday…”
Your face turns a deep red, embarrassment flooding through you as memories of you stumbling all over the town enter your mind, “You, um, know about that?!”
Susie scratches her mane and looks to the side, “I think EVERYONE knows about it, dude.”
You feel yourself shattering into thousands of pieces, while a small laugh echoes in your head.
Don’t laugh, that’s YOUR reputation being ruined!!!
“What reputation?”
I can’t understand you…
You shake your head and let out a deep sigh, “I can’t go lower, I guess.”
Susie slaps your shoulder, “That’s the spirit! Plus, you have me to guide your sorry ass back home!”
Does she even know where we live?
“… Most likely not.”
You chuckle to yourself and then loudly declare, “Alrighty, let’s go!”
You take a step forward, but almost fall as Susie immediately stops.
“So… where the hell do you live, anyway?” She asks.
You fall straight to the floor, loud laughter erupting from within your head.
…It’s not funny.
“It is.”
… Okay, MAYBE it is. Just a little.
Some things never change, do they?
*
After recovering from Kris’s intense laughing fit inside your head, you dusted yourself off, and then you called Kris's mother to let her know you were fine.
Like yesterday, her fury was quelled by the fact that you were hanging out with a friend, and she let you off the hook this time.
You thank Kris for being introverted, but then you immediately feel bad for thinking that.
“Heh, finally done calling mommy?” Susie’s tone is dripping with so much sarcasm that only a complete doofus—a complete dork—wouldn’t realize it.
“Yes! She was worried that I didn’t come home after class ended but I told her I was hanging out with you so—” You say, all in one breath, without slowing down at all.
Susie cutting you off was just an inevitability. “Alright, dude, I get it, jeez…” She shakes her head, “Shouldn’t we just go home quickly, then?”
You harshly nod, “Right, just follow me!” You start walking through the town, Susie following right behind you.
The leaves fall as the wind blows, and you pass by the library, now completely empty.
Ok… so… I need to go—
“Go north for three streets, then go left, and then finally go up. That’s where home is.”
You nod to yourself and then look towards the north of the town. You start to walk there, but suddenly, you stop.
A weird feeling anchors in your SOUL. A feeling of home. Of belonging. It creeps onto you, rooting you to the floor.
You turn south.
Somehow, someway, you feel as if the feeling comes from there.
And so you walk towards it.
“Where are you going? I said north.”
I know… I… want to explore the south! There’s… something I want to see…
“...”
Understanding floods through Kris.
He knows what’s going on, and without saying a thing, he lets you go south.
Susie looks confusedly at where you were looking and where you went, but then she simply shrugs and follows you.
There’s no reason for her to doubt you.
You walk inside the south part of Hometown, a part you didn’t go to yesterday.
The buildings grow thinner and thinner, consumed by a deep forest.
You see a tall and imposing building on one side, with multiple people in suits standing in front of it.
On the other side, there’s a blue building with stained glass, the Delta Rune symbolized on it.
“The tall building is the town hall. That’s where the mayor decides the major politics of the town, like the festival. She practically lives there; you will probably never see her leave her office. The other building is the Church. Father Alvin is our priest. The sick red juice is the only thing worth it there.”
You blink at Kris’ words.
Um… thanks? But, um, this is the most I have ever heard you talk at once.
“Since Ralsei isn’t here, I have to be the exposition guide. Now do what you have to.”
What I have to do? It’s just a… feeling I had. That’s all.
“Then see it to its completion.”
You eye him weirdly, but don’t reply. You don’t know what to reply, even.
So you just continue to walk. Yet, before reaching your destination, you see something.
You see something that catches your attention. A black gate to the left, past the church.
What’s that place? A garden?
“That’s the cemetery, in a way, that’s the garden of the dead.”
That’s a bit morbid…
Yet, you walk further inside, into the cemetery.
Susie follows you, her expression one of worry, but she can’t back down either.
You enter inside. Your eyes scan the area, but there’s barely anything of note in it. There are only some graves, a bench, and the forest surrounding it.
It’s the most basic description of a cemetery someone can give.
You do recognize some of the symbols, like a bone, a microphone, and more.
When monsters die… they’re buried together with their favorite object… I guess that’s also true here…
Yet, you can’t tell who those objects belonged to.
I guess that’s for the better… I don’t think I would handle seeing someone I knew wasn’t…
You don’t finish.
There’s only one thing that catches your eye.
A tall, turtle monster wearing blue robes.
He doesn’t look like how you remember him, but there’s no mistake in your mind.
G...Gerson! He is here!
You run towards him, leaving Susie behind in the dust.
You get closer and closer to him, but a thought rings in your mind, alerts flaring up.
“You would just be committing the same errors from yesterday if you rushed through. Look closely.”
So you slow down, frantic running turning into a slow walk.
Details pass through your eyes.
Something… isn’t right…
And then the turtle turns to you.
But it isn't Gerson facing you.
“Kris, Susie, welcome. I have been just reminiscing here, it’s funny how much can change in so little time.”
Even the voice that comes out of his mouth isn’t Gerson’s.
“Yeah, we’re here to, um… Okay, I have no idea why we are here.” Susie says, confusedly.
You can’t even process Susie’s words, with the shock you are experiencing.
“That’s Father Alvin, his son. The town’s priest. Gerson is…”
Kris doesn’t need to finish that sentence.
You can see the truth with your own eyes, carved in the tombstone. The tombstone with a hammer carved on it.
And right above the hammer, there’s a name carved on top of it.
A name that tells a clear story.
“GERSON. RENOWNED HISTORIAN, AUTHOR, AND TEACHER.”
G...Gerson… He is… dead. Oh… I… I…
You admit it to yourself, and as you do so, it’s like you can’t run from it.
That it’s real.
Gerson was dead, and his grave was standing in front of you.
Your eyes get watery, but they do not leak.
I can’t believe it… Gerson is… he is… dead. But when I last saw him, he was fine… He was alive in my world… He… told me embarrassing stories about mom… He… was well…
You hiccup.
But now he is…
It gets harder to keep it from leaking.
He is…
Really hard.
An arm holds your shoulder, shaking out your thoughts.
Warm eyes gaze into brown ones, “I know why you two came here.” Alvin’s voice sounds firm and caring.
The type of voice that lowers all your defenses.
“You can let it out, you can mourn. It’s already been a couple of years since my father passed, but even with all the condolences from his fans, it doesn’t get easier.”
His words cause the dam to break, and your tears come out.
You mourn.
Mourn for your lost life, mourn for your lost world, mourn your memories.
You finally cry.
Not out of despair, like yesterday, but out of sadness.
Out of mourning. A therapeutic type of crying.
You finally let out all that pain from your heart.
All the regrets, worries, you let them all out. All the pain, all the deaths.
For a moment, you bare your heart naked.
“Even though he is gone, the worlds he created stay with us. The incredible world of the Lord of the Hammer will live on in our hearts, and the hammer that symbolizes that work— and my father—is buried here, symbolizing his existence. Connecting him to the divine.”
Alvin’s words are warm and disarming.
You wipe your eyes as a smile creeps up on your face.
A small, but genuine, smile.
Finally, you feel as if you can move on.
“Yeah, I, like, never read that nerdy crap,” Susie mumbles, interjecting herself in the conversation. She smirks and slugs an arm over your shoulder, “But this guy here is a huge nerd! Hey, when you read it, don’t forget to tell me about all the cool battles in it!”
Your smile gets a little wider, “Haha, I will try!”
“You’ve grown a lot, Kris.” Alvin’s voice dances in your ears, “You’re no longer the small boy who tortured your brother with videos of a blue robot hedgehog torturing green dinosaurs. You’ve matured.”
Why would you show poor Az that?
“It’s cool.”
Doesn’t sound like it.
“(What the hell, you did that?! That’s fucking AWESOME! Now I want to see those videos too!)” Susie whispers that a little bit too excitedly, causing Kris to flush in embarrassment.
“Maybe… we can watch the remake together.” He quietly whispers.
“That’s what I am talking about!” Susie loudly cheers.
Why would someone make a REMAKE out of that???
“No need for miss sensitive soul to worry. It’s probably never going to be finished.”
That’s for the better, mister insensitive body.
“I hope to see both you and Susie tomorrow at Church,” Alvin says. “Our choir has grown thinner ever since your brother left, and I hope you will be able to replace him if it is possible.”
Alvin’s words light a flame in your heart.
Your cheeks blush as you imagine yourself singing together with Asriel in the Church.
“I. Will. Not. Sing. Think such frivolity once you’re out of me.”
Kris’ thoughts cut through you like a cursed blade, erasing such simple single-mindedness.
Yeah, yeah. You would probably make me sing swears, just like you made me do a rude gesture. You crud.
“Yeah, we can’t make any promises, dude!” Susie answers for you, and then she starts walking away, dragging you away, “See ya!”
“May the Angel’s light guide you two.” Alvin declares as you two leave.
He then turns to the graveyard, staring at Gerson’s tomb, “(Father, are you proud of us, watching from above? And do you really think I should bring the hammer to…)”
Nobody hears his internal whispers.
Nobody except me.
*
“Man, I have no idea what the hell you wanted to do in that creepy place! Like, did you know that priest dude’s dad?” Susie scratches her mane. “I remember hearing he used to be the teacher of our class, before he… y’know…” Susie doesn’t want to finish that. “I’m new to town, so I missed it. Was he your teacher last year? Was he better than Alphys?”
Susie snorts. “No need to answer that, anyone would be better than HER.”
Was Gerson your teacher?
“No. He was Asriel’s.”
“No, he was Asriel’s. My b…brother.” It’s still hard for you to say that. “But… I knew him… in passing. We talked sometimes… So seeing that he was dead, I…”
“I see… It sucks… when someone we know might…” Susie shakes her head.
She would rather not think about that.
“Well, where to go next?” Susie asks, changing the topic.
But there’s no answer.
You are no longer beside her, after all. You left a short while ago.
That feeling of home did not diminish at all.
In fact, you only felt it grow stronger as you left the graveyard. Even the sadness in your heart didn’t make it go away.
The feeling points south. And so you walked towards the south of the town.
Then, you ran.
The smell of the city was replaced by nature. More trees popped up until they replaced all the buildings.
A strange humming of machinery started ringing in your ears. Almost unnoticeable, but with the rustling of trees being the only sound present, your ears could capture it.
It’s a sound that Kris’s heard before, after all.
No… that isn’t right, you heard it too, haven’t you?
You heard it in the very first place you arrived in this world.
His lair.
Murmurs cut our train of thought.
They sound rushed, worried, and frantic. But they are so quiet you can’t tell who’s talking.
“(You think it’s true, is there really a…)”
“(What, you’re a chicken? Are you going cluck like a chicken? Are you going to ‘squawk’ at me?)”
“(No, it’s just… if there really is a…)”
Kris starts to get closer and closer to the source of the voices.
A feeling of indignation courses through him, but it is better not to act yet.
The voices are just behind the hill. You can see Monster Kid talking to Snowy from the edge of your vision; they’re the ones speaking.
“(Only kids are afraid of dumb fairytales like that!)”
“(...but Kris…)”
“(Is a weenie who is afraid of a stupid fairytale like that!!!)”
“Wanna say that AGAIN?!” A strong, rough, female voice cuts the whispers into thousands of pieces.
Susie walks in and faces the two kids, their eyes widening in fear. Monster Kid is paralyzed while Snowy is trying to hide his intense fear.
The purple dragon had followed you here, staying low until she heard someone mocking her first friend.
She couldn't stand for that.
“Susie, didn’t see ya there, haha…” Snowy tries to say, but the glare Susie is sending him causes him to wilt into himself.
“Talking about fairy tales a bunch, huh?” Susie starts approaching them, her mane hiding her yellow eyes.
They shrink even further every step Susie takes.
“You should be worried about… what’s really REAL!” She emphasizes her words by loudly punching the metallic door.
The impact reverberates through the air, even as the two kids hurry away in panic and fear.
Kris just stands there in awe at Susie’s showing, a faint hint of emotion displayed in his ruby red eyes.
Susie turns to him, her yellow eyes shining through her mane, “Hey, you ok, Kris?”
He just nods.
You walk towards the door, the feeling of home reaching its peak. You practically ignored that entire scene.
This… I feel…
It’s throbbing and aching in your SOUL. You put your hand on the door, the cold metal hitting your skin.
Attracted to this place…
“What’s the deal… with this place…?” Susie asks, looking at the door.
Like you’re hypnotized, you ask in a dull voice, “I… don’t know…?”
“Don’t know, huh?” Susie says, then shakes her head, “Well, you don’t need to tell me if ya don’t wanna. But… if you don’t know… why did you come here?”
“I… I… can’t explain…” You say, a hint of gold in your eyes.
“There’s no way to get inside. It’s better to leave.”
R…Right.
“I think… it’s better to leave…” You say, walking away.
“(That was really weird…)” Susie mumbles to herself, following you.
The shelter. What an interesting place.
It’s where many things started. In the larger scheme of life, it’s the reason we both arrived in this world.
Yet… I can’t understand why it feels like home to you. Why such a specific feeling?
Maybe it’s because…
Heh, there’s no need to worry about such things. Once I am done, this place won’t matter.
It’s better to just forget about ghosts from the past.
*
Although you promised you were going to go home, life just isn’t that simple. Yesterday, you made plenty of promises to visit several folks. Be it in the rush of the moment, or because you truly wanted it, a promise is a promise.
And that’s how you ended up going towards Alphys, who is standing in front of the police tape, a broken bike beside her.
You can see that the people who were working on the festival yesterday are still working on it today. They finished building the carousel and started working on the rollercoaster.
You can see they are also working on a haunted house, but nothing beyond that point.
“Hell no, I’m not taking a single step further.” Susie says, stopping at the hospital, “I am this close to being banned from school, I don’t want to get banned from outside either. Then where the hell will I go? SPACE?!”
The intensity with which she said that made you believe for a second she was actually going to space.
“I am just going to talk with Alphys about our group project! It will be quick!” Susie scoffs at your words, but just nods.
You nod back even more firmly and walk towards the yellow lizard, who looks anxious as always.
“H-huh?! K-Kris?! Wh-what are you doing here?!” Alphys sounds even more panicked than ever.
“I came here to discuss the group project. I still wasn’t able to find that Mew Mew OVA… but I WILL find it. That’s a promise!” You yell towards her, feeling passionate about finding an anime instead of actually working on the damn project.
“N-No…! Kris, you should work on your actual group project, not find some silly anime!” Alphys starts to sweat even more, “I-I mean, I am a respected teacher! I c-can’t j-just g-g-give f-f-free credit because you found an anime I really, really, really, really want to get! T-that j-just c-can’t h-happen! I-I mean... j-just b-because the c-company behind our internet... Internaut Broadcast... h-hasn't given us even a prediction of w-when the internet will come back... that doesn't mean I want to replace the boredom w-with my very cool animes! S-Since... there's nothing to do...”
"S...So... I think that... having the Mew Mew OVA at this time... would be... c-cool." Her face grows more mischievous, “S-So... m-maybe i-if you f-found it I…” She looks away. “C…Could g-give you special credit. Mew Mew… s…she can also be naughty sometimes, y-you know…”
You wink towards her, “It’s our little secret!”, thankfully, nothing cheesy comes out of it like a heart.
Which makes sense, this is reality, not an anime.
Not yet, at least.
“S-Still… I would l-look for it too, even with the internet down, but…” Alphys points towards her destroyed bike, “My bike got totaled by this, er, really energetic police officer? Eh, it’s complicated.”
You find it quite simple, however. You know them better than they know themselves. “Undyne barreled onto you without looking ahead?”
“Y…Yes! I… I guess that makes sense… she and your father are f-friends… s...so you know who she would act, eheheh...” Alphys gulps. “A-anyways… I’ve been waiting for them to do something… but… well…”
You can exactly tell what Alphys is talking about as you observe the inside of the police station through the window.
Papers flying about, desks being flipped as Undyne wrestles with dog bandits. All in the while, Napstablook stands floating, small tears coming out of his eyes.
“Yeah.” Alphys finishes, “The police in the t-town a-are j-just s-symbolic. Because of the mayor, we don’t have any crime. I wonder why she even has the police in the first place?” She awkwardly laughs, “Y-you probably know that better than me, after all. She’s your neighbor, isn’t she?”
You feel like a bullet hit you in the stomach.
She is????
“Don’t worry about that. Susie is missing. You need to find her.”
You look behind you and lo and behold, Susie was indeed gone.
You bury your panic under a mountain of false confidence, turning back to Alphys, “Heheh… you’re right, but I, like, need to go. Right now! Bye!”
And then you run off to the first building that comes to your mind.
The hospital.
“B-bye, Kris! See you tomorrow—er, t-there’s no school tomorrow… Um, s-see you the day after tomorrow!” Alphys yells out to you as you enter the hospital.
She then mumbles to herself, “(W-well, maybe I will see you today. I still need to grade some papers with T-Toriel…)”
You don’t hear that last part.
*
You enter the hospital. White sterile walls surround you, couches across the room for waiting patients, one of the “naturally spawning inside hospitals” bead toys, and a small piano at the side.
You do not remember this room, even though you went to the hospital yesterday.
“Were you that out of it?”
You already know the answer to that. Anyway, we have to find Susie!
“Ah, Kris, you came here yesterday and you didn’t even talk to me... Was everything ok?” A giant mouth monster asks you.
You blink in surprise, somehow not seeing him as you entered the room, and not seeing Susie standing right in front of him.
“Psst, of course, this freak just walked past you. WAY TO GO, KRIS!” You cannot tell if Susie is being sarcastic or not.
Still, you nervously laugh.
“Susie, what the heck are you doing here…? I didn’t expect you to be a hospital gal.” You say with a wink.
“Hell no, doctors HATE me!” The monster at the counter sweats profusely at Susie’s words, “It’s just that I wasn’t goin’ to stand there while you talked nerdy crap with Alphys of all people!!!” Susie smirks, “Plus, I heard that someone can play the piano, and they never told me!”
Your face furrows in confusion.
Huh??? Someone here can play the piano???
“Er… yes.” The mouth monster says. “I told her you could play the piano after she kept bugging me about you. Could you care to play a little for us?”
It takes you a couple of seconds to process that the monster at the counter was talking to you.
Or more precisely, that he was talking to Kris.
Eeeeehhhh?! You can play the piano???
“Yes.”
And you never thought to tell us?????
“It was unnecessary and irrelevant information.”
It wasn’t ‘irrelevant’! We're your friend, we don’t find what you like ‘unnecessary’! Look, Susie totally wants to see you play!
Crimson eyes look up, seeing Susie’s expectant face, confirming your words.
A dry chuckle comes out of his mouth. With a small smirk, he walks to the piano sitting in the corner of the room.
It stands there like a rock in the ocean. Unmoving, but expectantly.
His hands move to hit the keys… everyone stands there eager to see what will come out of it.
Ooooohhh!!! I wonder how good you are! I played the piano a little in my world, but… um… I wasn’t that good, so…
“Don’t distract me.”
O…Ok!!!
As light as the wind, his hands go to hit the first key.
And wildly misses and hits the wrong key.
In your excitement to see him play, you completely shattered his concentration into thousands of pieces.
Only the strident sound of the off-key remains in the room.
Your eyes widen as panic flushes through your SOUL, face twisted with worry.
AAH! I am sorry!!! I didn’t mean to! I just got excited and—
“Hmm… you usually play more elegantly… Is everything ok?” The monster at the counter says worriedly.
You move your mouth to reply. “I—”
But then Susie laughs.
“Ahahaha! Now THAT’S a good prank, dude!” Susie moves towards you and bumps your shoulder. “Trying to trick us and then playing THAT! Damn, and I almost fell for it, too.”
Kris just eyes Susie with an undecipherable expression, but then a small smirk crosses his face.
See?! It wasn’t that bad! You just need to hold your head high and move forward!
He chuckles quietly, almost unnoticeably.
“Let’s go. Since we’re here, we should visit Uncle Rudy.”
You almost fall over, not believing the words that rang in your head.
Wait??? You are actually taking initiative???
“You already took the first step yesterday, so I have to take the rest.”
Sure, sure… It’s not because you care about him or anything.
Not bothering to reply to your taunts, Kris moves deeper into the hospital.
Susie stares at him, leaving like a zombie, laughs, and then follows him.
Deeper inside the hospital, you start to hear voices coming from the door on the left. They sound happy, but with an underlying sadness hidden within.
You recognize the voices as Noelle and her father.
“(‘Silver Drake?’ I've never beaten this boss before…)”
“(Alright, hand it over, honey! I got this!)”
“(No, dad! This is my battle!...So, um, how about just telling me what to do?)”
“(Haha, sure! How about trying Fireshock!)”
“(I'd love to, dad, but the mage left the party.)”
“(Oh yeah… But wait. You still got a spell there, honey. This thing called ‘Null Ice’. It sounds perfect for this boss!)”
“(Dad, I can’t just use that! It’s a special spell! I am saving it!)”
“(Saving it for what? Your bank account? C’mon honey, live a little!)”
“(Alright, here we go! This one's for you dad!)”
You hear the press of buttons, and then a loud groan.
Susie just stands there, wondering why you are eavesdropping on a door instead of entering it.
“(Ah! The spell boosted its stats. It’s stronger than ever now!)”
“(Drats! I thought a spell named ‘Null Ice’ would have nulled his ice, not made it stronger.)”
The tone of—what you assume to be—Noelle’s voice grows sadder. As if something Rudy said hit something deep in her.
“(I wish buff spells were real, so I could buff you up dad… To make you better and beat that disease… So that it wouldn’t just be me and mom…)”
“(Your mother is… Well… She’s trying…)”
It’s at this moment that Kris barges into the hospital room.
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!” Noelle screams and almost drops her console.
Rudy loudly laughs. “Hahaha! Look who it is! You always have one hell of an entrance, huh?”
Inside the room, you realize a coarseness to Rudy’s voice that wasn’t present before.
His fur looks grayer and is filled with sweat.
I wonder if he’s okay…
“He will get better.”
I sure hope so…
“AAAH! KRIS, SUSIE?! WHY ARE YOU TWO HERE???” Noelle screams.
If it were any higher, your ears would have bled.
“Hell if I know. I am just following the ride.” Susie says nonchalantly.
“Looks like Krismas came early!” You joke, and Rudy laughs at your pun.
“Haha! That’s a good one, kid!” He looks at Susie intensely, “And you’re Susie, huh? I heard a lot about you.”
Susie looks at him weirdly as Noelle starts to sweat profusely, “You have?” She asks him.
“OK DAD I HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW SEE YOU TOMORROW!” Noelle says all of that in one breath and then runs out of the room in panic, dust kicking as she flees.
You and Susie just stand there confusedly, incapable of understanding the subtleties of a reindeer.
“Hehehe… She left, huh? And before I could say that I was going to take her to Church tomorrow.” This is the first time you have heard Rudy sound so sad.
“Um…” You look at him, specifically at the state he is in. Resting in a hospital bed, new flowers at his side, “Are you even well enough to leave…?”
“C’mon, Krismas, of course I am! This… cough, cough…” He gets into a coughing fit, but soon after, he smiles like nothing is wrong, “Nothing! They are just doing some tests, and right after that, I am out of here!” His smile gets wider, but the forced nature stays, “It’s like I always say, ‘Holidays happen whether you like it or not!’”
He turns to the side, “I will just have to tell the wife to pass the news to Noelle.”
Your eyes widen, information passing through your mind.
If Noelle’s family is your only neighbor, Kris, and if Alphys is right… The mayor is also your neighbor. So, logically, that can only mean…
“That the mayor is my neighbor, yes. Don’t need to act like Sherlock Holmes for that.”
Mean.
“The mayor is going to visit?” You ask him. “But I thought she was too busy with the festival and all.”
Rudy just eyes you weirdly, “Kris, c’mon! You don’t have to be so formal! She is part of the family, too!”
You clam up, embarrassment flooding through you. Thankfully, your body provides you with the info needed.
“Her name is Clarice. He said it yesterday.”
Well… I wasn’t feeling very well yesterday, you see.
“Heheh… well, I didn’t think Clarice would have the time for that…” You say.
“Clarice? C’mon, kid! I just told you to be less formal!” Rudy laughs. “The people in our family call her Carol, like Christmas Carols! C’mon, you remember that pun!”
Why didn’t you TELL me that part?
“...Heh…”
I… I can’t even say I hate you anymore.
“Hehe… Sorry… I’ve just been too engrossed with studies, and that started rubbing off on me.” You lie to the reindeer.
“I see…” He looks to the sides and then beckons you to come closer. You nod and walk over to him.
Thankfully, Susie is too busy playing with an angel-shaped doll to notice.
You walk to his bedside, and then he starts whispering in a rushed tone, “(But you’re right to be worried, kid. The wife… she is… well… a bit cold. She doesn’t like showing her emotions much. She just has too many expectations on everyone… especially herself. But she does care! That’s why she comes to visit me every day once she finishes work.)”
“(Even if I'm… already asleep by then).” He looks down.
His voice grows sadder, “(But without me… she… well… she goes too rough on everyone. And Noelle… she can’t handle it that well. You know how she is, freezing like ‘a deer in the headlights’)” He laughs an empty laugh, “(But with me there, I can act like a rock for them both. That’s why I'm going to get better. I have to.)”
You don’t know how to respond to him. You don’t even know if you can respond to him. This isn’t your life, this isn’t your problem.
You've only known these people for a day.
I… feel like I’m intruding in a place I shouldn’t, I…
You feel like a parasite in someone else's life.
“... Listen, I—”
“Hey, what’s the deal with this doll?” Susie asks, and privately you thank her.
Thank God… I was feeling really awkward listening to that.
“... Never mind.”
“That angel?” Rudy responds to her, sounding as happy as usual, ignoring what happened previously, “Noelle n' Dess made it in the youth group. It's kind of like a good luck charm to me now.”
From the tone of his voice, you wouldn’t even know that he just poured his heart out to you.
“(Good luck charm, huh?)” Susie whispers to herself.
“Heh, this reminds me that this little guy tried to make one too!” He slaps your shoulder, “Tried to make one with Azzy, but they wasted the whole time making huge wings for it!” He laughs, but this time it sounds truly genuine.
“What? Really?! Man, that’s HILARIOUS!” Susie joins in the laughter, and you feel a spark of happiness flutter in your heart.
“If you think that’s funny, then, oh boy, I've got to tell you about the time—”
You stopped following the conversation at that point, as it devolved into light banter between the reindeer and the dragon.
But for the first time, it sounds natural, as if they’re not trying to force a conversation for the sake of it.
No, they are just laughing, joking, because they want to. Because they feel like it.
And you can’t help but smile at this.
Neither can Kris.
*
Alas, all good things must come to an end. They talked, talked, and talked even more, but eventually, Rudy had no more energy to babble.
You and Susie said goodbye to him and finally left the hospital.
You breathed in the fresh air of the outside, skin bathed in the warm glow of the sun.
You felt as if you would never get used to this feeling. It was ironic; you, the human, were not used to the surface, and the monsters were.
But that only brought happiness to your heart.
Still, you marched on through Hometown, going north to Kris’ house. Getting closer and closer to ending this new chapter of your life.
At least you would’ve, if Susie hadn’t stopped in front of the ‘ICE-E’s PEZZA’, “Kris, are we just going to pass through without even eating something?!” She exclaims towards you.
“But, um, don’t we need to go home? You were the one who was complaining we kept taking detours…” You say to her. “Plus, we have dinner at home—”
Susie just scoffs at your weak-willed words. “Yeah, but this is DIFFERENT! C’mon, we haven’t eaten in forever!” Susie tries to grab your arm, but you quickly dodge it in time.
“Wait!” You hold your hands for her to stop. She complies. “Why do we have to go there? Can’t we just…” You look around and then point to the building right to the side.
A building you recognize from yesterday, where you drank that delicious hot chocolate.
“Can’t we just go to QC’s instead?” You finish.
“Hell no!” Susie loudly rejects your poor idea, “Catti works there and she hates my guts. All because I wanted to wear Jockboy’s hat for ONE second!” She shakes her head, “Jockington fans man… they are fucking INSANE!”
She then successfully grabs your arm this time and drags you to the pizzeria, “Now let’s stop goofing around and EAT, dammit!”
“Before you say anything, I have some money. I was saving it, but it can’t be helped.”
It’s really convenient that we always have enough for whatever comes our way, huh?
“Yes, but I would rather not go here.”
Why?
“Can’t explain.”
You roll your eyes at Kris’s words.
Always ever cryptic.
The doors to the pizzeria open, and you two enter inside. Your eyes quickly analyze the building. Tables to eat at, a counter to order, and a soda machine.
The walls are filled with posters of an ice cube-shaped mascot and pizza.
The depths of your memory recall that mascot as “ICE-E”.
Sans had him in his wordsearch… weirdly enough, that’s the only place I ever saw him.
“Good. The less we see him, the better.”
What’s your deal with ICE-E?
“Can’t—”
Can’t explain, yeah. Should’ve known it.
There also seem to be new posters slapped on the wall, about a company you never heard of before, represented by a funky mascot.
You can’t really tell what it is, whatever. It’s like a blob of darkness with closed eyes.
You can barely read the name of it, “Rook” something. You can’t read the rest.
That’s a weird mascot, if I’ve ever seen one.
“Yo, little buddy!!! I’ve been waiting for you!!!” A familiar voice echoes through the room. Your dull brown eyes lock onto the source.
A familiar cat monster is waving desperately at you. Burgerpants.
You sigh as Kris takes the money and gives it to Susie, “You can buy whatever you want,” he says as you walk towards Burgerpants' table.
He seems to get even happier as you approach him, “Little Buddy, I feel like something has changed in the grand scheme of things. That some cosmic force influenced all of us into a better path!”
You look at him weirdly, wondering how the hell he got to that conclusion.
I mean, on one hand, I guess that’s true??? I was brought here by a cosmic force, and being here makes everyone’s presence better!
“Don’t glaze yourself too hard.”
Don’t do what?
“... Never mind.”
You ignore Kris.
“Uh-huh… I see.” You smile widely at him, “That’s awesome news! See? If you just keep moving forward, things will turn out okay!” Your encouraging words seem to barely affect the overworked monster.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, buddy! Remember those spam emails I told you about yesterday?” He asks you.
You did remember those.
Now, with everything you learned today, you come to the only possible conclusion.
Those emails must have been Spamton in the Dark World… Although why did he seek Burgerpants of all people? Just because Mettaton was friends with him? But that was only in my world…
“They are FINALLY gone! I guess they weren't a hot chick after all...” Burgerpants' voice takes you out of your thoughts, “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. LOOK!” He shoves his phone to your face, “The owner of this end-of-the-world pizzeria partnered with Rook Enterprises, dude! Rook goddamn Enterprises!!!”
“Man… nobody knows who he is, but APPARENTLY, he seems to actually be friends with Rook’s president,” Burgerpants explains. “It seems like she finally convinced him to accept a partnership deal after the success of ‘ICE-E: THE MOVIE’”
You did not understand the reason for his excitement, and so you vocalized that confusion, “And, um, what does that even mean?”
Burgerpants scoffs incredulously at you, “C’mon, little buddy, you KNOW what this means!”
You did not.
“Rook Enterprises is the BIGGEST entertainment company in the WORLD! Led by a visionary president, they basically revolutionized the television industry!” Burgerpants sounds excited. “They practically own the industry now! And now they've got interested in this god awful company!”
“ICE-E partnering with Rook Enterprises is terrible news. As usual, this idiot can only spout falsehoods.”
Whoa, dude, that’s the angriest I've heard you sound! Is everything ok?
“ICE-E is… important. And now that they are partnering with another ‘god awful’ company, it’s just going to become even worse. The people at the top must be brought down.”
Where did that come from…?
As if hearing Kris’ thoughts, the employee continues, “Look, I know you dislike the company, but this is my chance! Those who are hired by them are set for LIFE! I will be able to be a famous actor! Don’t worry, little buddy, I promise I won’t forget about you when I am at the top.”
And that was the end of the conversation, the cat monster being called by some customer to actually work at his job.
You sound like ICE-E murdered your dog.
“Worse.”
Worse?
Luckily, you don’t think about that for too long. Susie comes up holding a pizza filled with… ice?
“Here’s the change, dude!” She gives you your money back, “Now, let’s FEAST!”
*
And feast you did. Or you at least tried to, but Susie’s appetite was unsatisfied. You were lucky to even eat one slice.
It tasted like ice in your mouth. The pizza wasn’t frozen; in fact, it was scalding.
But it still tasted like ice.
Still… Susie seemed to enjoy it, so you just endured and then left the weirdest pizzeria you've ever been to in your life.
Now, with the entire town in front of you, you wondered where to go next.
Straight home, or yet another detour?
“Home.”
You already knew the answer to that as you looked into QCs.
It’s time for yet another detour!!!
You walked towards the dinner, Susie staying behind.
The building felt like it was shaking, with intense music and noise coming out of it. If you didn’t know better, you would have thought they were having a party.
Turns out you didn’t know better, because when you opened the door, you were greeted by Catti, showing the most amount of emotion you have ever seen on her face.
“Family… Causing a ruckus. Too busy. Tomorrow. We talk. Occult. At Church.” She says and then closes the door in your face.
You stand there confused, having no idea what she just said.
Kris sighs and then reluctantly explains.
“Her family is disturbing the place, and she is too busy placating them. She wants to meet with me tomorrow to talk about things you don’t need to know.”
Once again, you were grateful for the exposition of your body.
Urgh, sometimes you are even more cryptic.
But not completely grateful.
Still… with QCs crossed off your “stalling for time” list, there’s only one restaurant left on this street.
The restaurant you went to several times in your previous life. The one that smelled of grease, but with the most heart you’ve seen.
Grillby’s.
Or at least, what used to be “Grillby’s”, with his name scribbled and with “Sans” replacing it.
Y’know, Sans didn’t really explain to me why he did this at all yesterday. Replacing the sign, I mean.
“That skeleton didn't explain anything to you yesterday. You two sounded like lunatics.”
It’s probably just another prank between the two. Sans was his best customer after all.
“Ignore me, will you.”
You open the door, and your thoughts are quickly proven wrong.
There was no bar lit by ambient fire. No smell of grease. No whispers of monsters relaxing after a long day of work.
There’s nothing from your previous world here.
There’s only a store. White, pristine walls decorate it. Counters filled with a variety of groceries.
There’s not much that even I can say to describe it—no clever joke. If you have seen a grocery store before—and you have—you already know what this is.
You try not to have your spirits crushed. You knew this was a possibility. Nothing in this world was like the previous one. But disappointment and sadness come right up, unable to stop it.
You wonder if you even want to.
I guess… this really isn’t Grillby’s. It’s… gone…
“hey kid, long time no see.” The voice of the big boned, short skeleton behind the counter snipes your thoughts away like a bone gun.
It’s Sans, standing there, doing manager things. You do not know what those are, but Sans must be doing those.
“Ah, Sans! Hello!” You yell towards him, attracting many stares towards you. You do not care. “It’s nice to see you again. I was just hanging out with—Oh, I forgot to introduce you to Susie! She can be a little mean, but she means well!”
You chuckle at your own pun as you push Susie upfront.
“Um, hey?” Susie says, narrowing her eyes.
“And Susie, this is Sans. He is kind of a jokester, and sometimes he doesn’t take things seriously, but he is still one of my most trusted friends.” You explain with stars in your eyes. “He is, like, really smart too!”
“heh, i don’t know if i can hold up to such high praises.” The short skeleton says, but his body expression tells a different story.
His shoulders tense, his bones creaking. He clearly notices that you said too much information for someone who just met him yesterday.
He’s still clever as always, huh? Always trying to pierce what’s really happening.
“(Um, Kris? You know the weird shopkeeper?!)” Susie whispers to you a bit too loudly.
“(Yeah, of course! I met him yesterday!)” You don’t realize how nonsensical you sound right now.
Susie’s eyes widen, “Wait…” She points to Sans, who is still smiling behind the counter, “You only met him YESTERDAY?!?!”
The shoe finally drops, and you realize how weird you are acting.
Oh, right. I DID meet him just yesterday… I keep forgetting this isn’t the Sans I know…
She points her comical fury at the skeleton. “Then why did you say dumb shit like ‘long time no see’?”
You are speechless.
Sans comes to the rescue, “hey, when ya got a busy schedule, even a day is very long.”
You hold your chin in a classic thinking pose, “Well, owning an entire store is a pretty hard thing.”
“’owning an entire store’? nah. that’s too much work. i’m the janitor.” At your and Susie’s incredulous stares, Sans continues, “what? are you two one of those sickos that think janitors work for free? because that’s not true at all, capiche?”
“But I didn’t say anything…” Susie loudly sighs, “Whatever, why are we wasting our time here?”
You remember why you are here, “Ah, Sans! Can I hang out with Papyrus now?! You asked that yesterday to hang out with him tomorrow, and it's already tomorrow, so—”
Sans cuts you off, “whoa, slow down, kiddo. who the hell is papyrus?”
You feel your heart stop.
You feel the world slow to a crawl.
Sounds dissipating as his words settle in.
You try to stutter out something, “Wh-what do you m-mean-”
“nah, just kidding. i obviously know my bro.” Sans words cause immense relief to flood through you.
But then his eyes darken, and you feel them staring at your soul. “although it’s weird that you know his name. since, ya know, i never told it to you.”
You gulp, sweat running down your face.
Oh… Oh… Oh crap…
Panic flooding through you.
That’s right… I shouldn’t know his brother’s name… I…
Now this will be good, you completely fell for his trap.
I screwed up. I…
What excuse can you possibly make for you knowing something that you couldn’t possibly know?
What do I even say?
What will happen now—
“heh, it’s fine. you probably heard it from somewhere since my bro is a really cool dude.”
My disappointment is immeasurable.
Sans shrugs, “although i am sorry to say he can’t meetcha today. ya see, he is too busy ‘fighting the game’ and ‘getting to know the rules’”. kinda weird since i thought he didn’t like playing games, but hey, whatcha know?”
You try not to look disappointed as Susie looks incredibly relieved, “Oh, I see,” you say, “When can I meet him?”
“i don’t know,” Sans says, then winks at you, “maybe if ya come talk to me every day, he will be available. long shot, though.”
You give him a bitter smile, “Welp, that sucks. Tell him I really look forward to meeting him!”
Sans just nods at you.
Now you have nothing left to do here, nothing to do except leave.
But yet I can feel that you don’t intend to do that.
No, you would rather stare intensely at that basket of eggs over there.
But why would that even matter?
Yet you still walk towards it, and somehow put an Egg inside. An Egg that I did not know about, one that I did not see.
But you still have it.
This is the second time something like this has happened. And yet I cannot figure out why you did this.
And that is… problematic.
“(Did you just reverse-steal that egg?!)” Susie exclaims.
Curious, not even Susie knows why you did this.
This is your own idea, then.
“(I guess you could call me the ‘reverse thief’, hehehe.)” You awkwardly mumble out.
Then you move to actually leave the store, but a tall goat figure quickly enters inside.
Kris's ruby eyes widen as he notices it, and he quickly hides behind a shelf, forcing Susie to hide behind one too.
“Dude, what the hell?” The purple dragon yells.
“It’s mother.” He says.
“Oh shit.”
Toriel?? What’s she doing here?
Toriel, Kris’s tall goat mother, is the one who just entered the store. She looks anxious, quickly rushing to the counter,
“hey hey. forget something?” Sans calls out to her with a surprising amount of familiarity.
“Why, er, yes. I think I left my eggs on the counter.” Toriel’s words strike a chord in me.
More eggs? Is there an egg conspiracy happening under my nose?
“guess your memory's not what it's ‘cracked’ up to be.”
“Hee hee hee… There is really egg on my face now, is there not?
“eh. you're egg-scused.”
“Now it sounds as if you are egging me on.”
“egg on or egg off, i eggspect a lot from you.”
“Well, I am eggceptional. Hee hee...”
You try to contain your rambunctious laughter from spilling out of your throat at those egg puns, but that just makes me narrow my eyes at you.
I recognize your yolk, trying to stop the eggxecution of my schemes with your egg plot.
“And don't forget me, your eggs-husband.” Asgore quickly enters the store like a hurricane and drops a line so cringe that everyone cringes.
Even I, in a completely immaterial body, cannot help but cringe.
Sans turns around; no one shall ever see him react. Sans does not cringe.
Kris clenches his fists while you gag, looking at Asgore with pity.
And I thought my jokes were bad.
“(I found it funnier than the other jokes…)” Susie murmurs.
Toriel looks at him with sheer disgust on her face, “Er, hello, Asgore.”
Asgore scratches his back, “Tori, I didn't expect to see you here, but I…” He picks some flowers from his pocket, and I admit that they do look pretty, “I have some extra flowers, and I was wondering if…”
Toriel cuts him off, “I am about to go, actually. I need to be there when Kris gets back from studying.”
“Haha… that’s our boy, always studious!” His voice gets serious, “So, um, when Asriel comes home, I was thinking of doing a truck ride—” Your ears focus on each of Asgore’s words like a woman thirsting in a desert.
Oh… are we going to ride with Asriel? I always wanted to ride a car.
“Hopefully, you will be out of me by then.”
That, I can agree with!
“I think it’s better for us to discuss that somewhere more private.” Toriel cuts Asgore off. She starts walking away, “Goodbye.”
“Onkey donkey! Say hi to Kris for me!” Asgore calls out as Toriel leaves.
You breathe a sigh of relief at that.
Man, that sure was something, huh, Kris? I'm, um, not going to judge or anything. I don’t have enough experience with family dramas, but um… yeah. I am glad it’s over!
It’s not over yet, as Asgore walks over to the counter, “Bone man, give me the usual.”
“yep.” He passes a green substance to Asgore, who quickly puts it inside his pocket, “this is an exclusive deal, capiche?”
Your eyes widen as you feel your jaw hit the floor.
Wait… this can’t be real… are they actually selling drugs here?
Kris restrains himself from sighing.
“No, it’s just pickles. That should be obvious if you have a brain.”
“(Holy shit dude they are selling fucking DRUGS?!)” Kris' eyes widen at Susie’s exclamation.
He blinks once. Then twice. “Yes,” he blankly says.
“(Holy shit your dad is AWESOME!)!” She cheers.
Completely flabbergasted, Kris tries to focus on the conversation as you laugh internally at the situation.
It appears you have missed quite a bit of Sans and Asgore’s conversation.
“So, I’ve been thinking of re-giving our wedding flowers to Toriel. I still remember her face when I first gave them to her, and I know this will rekindle her passion!” Asgore says.
“yeah, i don’t think clinging to the past will do any wonders, chief.”
“Drats, television lied to me again.”
“you saw that on TV?”
“Oh, yes! It’s this really good movie—Golly, I’m being so rude! I didn’t even offer to watch it with you.”
Silence, a fog of impregnable awkwardness fills the room.
Everyone stands there, waiting for something to happen, but absolutely nothing happens. And that in turn just makes the fog denser.
Until Sans decides to cut it, “i need to get back to my job. see ya tomorrow.”
“Haha, see you too!” And then Asgore finally walks away from the shop.
You can even see Sans releasing a huge sigh from his ribcage.
You sigh, and as you are about to say something, Kris cuts you off.
“Don’t say anything. You are going to jinx us again.”
Instead, you just pout angrily.
*
After the complete disaster that was the Sans store, you and your trusty purple partner moved up north, getting ever closer to Kris’ home.
Well, you didn’t go north immediately after that. In your infinite wisdom, you decided to check the apartment complex again.
Susie looked nervous, but she followed you anyway. You two continued exploring until you reached the alleyway.
And then you saw her. Bratty.
Your face immediately fell.
I really don’t want to see her again.
Then you immediately turned around and walked north.
You didn’t notice how relieved Susie was from you doing that.
However, there were still two locations you had to go before reaching your goal.
The lake in the east of town, and the blue, weirdly shaped house you are currently standing in front of.
Weird feelings of nostalgia fill you as you fidget in place. Your face flushes as you remember the state you were in when you first bumped into this house.
How incredible it is that you were able to bounce back from such a deplorable state. A state where despair filled you, where the uncertainty of the future controlled your thoughts.
But that hasn’t gone away; they are still there, fleeting.
And that’s why you have to talk to the ghost behind this door again, to know what is happening.
After everything that happened… after someone tried to steal his dream… I need to be there to support him.
You breathe in, brown eyes resolute, and knock at his door.
Nobody responds, so you knock again.
As you are about to knock for the third time, a loud, high-pitched, female voice almost knocks out your eardrums, “Stop. Stop. STOP! I’ve heard you the first time, jeez. Can’t you respect a lady’s privacy?”
You blink, your mouth in a thin line.
That’s… not what I expected. But that voice… Is that Mad Mew Mew? Or, well, she isn’t Mew Mew here obviously.
You shake your head to clear out your thoughts, and say it out loud, “Um, hello? My name is K-Kris...” It was still hard to lie, “And I bumped into this house yesterday and a kind dude helped, so I thought—”
“Wait. Wait! WAIT!!!” The female ghost cuts your rambling, “HahahahaHAHAHAHA!!! You’re that weirdo who cried in front of our house for a couple of minutes???!!! How’s it like to be so pathetic?!”
Your cheeks turn red as Kris’s hands clenched into fists, “Can we speak with someone else?” He blankly says, with a hint of anger seeping through his lips.
“Fine. Fine! FINE!!! It’s not like I wanted to talk with you or anything! Here’s that someone else!!!”
You hear some shuffling inside, and then another voice comes through, one deeper, but still suave.
“Oh, it’s you, darling. I was wondering who could’ve caused such a ruckus with Maddie. But why are you visiting a nobody like me?” It is the ghost you met yesterday. "I told you yesterday... There's nothing to see about me. Nothing to talk about."
The ones whose dreams were crudely twisted by that sentient spambot.
It was a friend from another time.
“Didn’t I tell you I was also a nobody? So we have to stick together, y’know? I believe in you, so you need to believe in yourself.” The words spill out of you like a locomotive. But a locomotive that has no end station. "I want to see you, no matter if you're your ghostly self or your pretty self! Both of them are my friend!'
“Haha… that almost makes you sound like a fan of mine, darling!”
“Number one fan!” You correct him. "And... I hope you can end up liking both sides of me, as well. We're in this together."
“Well, you certainly are an... interesting fellow, darling. I guess I don't mind having a fan that is so... passionate." He says. "Well, if you are my number one fan... if you want our dreams to be real... could you do me a favor?”
You nod, but then you almost slap yourself after realizing he can’t see you, so you yell a “yes”.
“Since the internet went down, I haven’t had much… entertainment. So could you bring something to me tomorrow? It would mean the world to me.”
“Sure! I will try my hardest. See you tomorrow!!!” You wave at the building, despite the fact that he can’t see you through the wall (or maybe he can, since he’s a ghost).
But now you have yet another responsibility piled onto your shoulders.
What can I give him tomorrow? Mettaton was always a TV dude, so a TV show? But maybe that’s too obvious.
“I am more worried about how we’re even getting anything.”
I will think of something tomorrow! Absolutely!
Susie, who had been silent during this entire conversation, finally speaks, “You’re weird, dude.”
“And it’s about to get even weirder! C’mon, there’s only one place left to go!” You call out to your friend and start skipping ahead to the last location you need to go.
The buildings mingle away, as the scent of the ocean starts filling the air.
The old lake fills your view, the orange light of the sun reflecting on crystalline blue water.
That same blue water starts to wave and wave, and a giant onion-shaped monster emerges from the depths.
“Onion-san! I came back! I kept our promise!” You excitedly yell towards him.
“Hey… Gum...Gone… Goner!!! I didn’t forget ya name, y’hear! I didn’t forget!!! I am so happy!!!” He then points to the stumped Susie, “I also remember telling you to come alone, didn’t I?”
Susie just throws her arms upwards, “Whatever, I don’t even wanna get involved in this.” And she walks off.
You feel an immense weight being lifted from your shoulders. You don’t have to live a lie anymore, even if for a little while. You don’t have to pretend to be Kris, this stoic human that likes edgy stuff.
Just for a little while, you can go back into being Goner, an amnesiac girl who doesn’t know what the truth about her own past is.
You feel liberated as Onion continues his conversation, “Goner!!! My friend! I missed it! Didja hear that?! I actually missed ya! Didja miss me too?”
You chuckle quietly, but lighter, “Heheh… I missed you, too. We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends catch up with one another.”
Onion smiles even wider, “My existence!!! It was acknowledged!!! And we are doing friend stuff like ‘catching up’! Feels good, y’hear!”
You sit down on the floor, legs dangling in the air, barely hitting the water, “Yeah, it’s good… for sure.” You clear your throat, “Well, I should start. After our meeting yesterday, I found out more about my situation.”
“Oh! Ya did?!”
“Yeah, you see.” You point towards your body, or more specifically, Kris, “This isn’t me. This is actually just a boy that I am possessing.” You lighten up your SOUL, the outline of a red heart can be seen through Kris’ shirt, “That Red Heart you are seeing is the real me.”
“What?! Goner is actually a Kri-Kri?! But even if that’s true, you’re still my friend, y’hear! Even if you are riding a cool meat mecha!” Onion’s words hit you hard. "Although... does that mean we're not alone...?"
"I... can't get out of Kris's body, you see..." You breathe in. "I don't think SOULs can survive without a body. I think without a body I would be... dead."
"Gon-Gon can't be dead! I'm talkin' to ya!" Onion shakes his head. "I don't mind if you're a heart or a meat mecha, ya still my good friend, ya hear! Friends stick together no matter what happens, y'hear!"
Tears glistering, threatening to leak.
“I think we already had too much crying for today.”
Yeah… you’re right.
You recede back into Kris, “Heh...heh… thanks. I need to figure out how to leave. It’s not fair for Kris, y’know? He doesn’t deserve me parading his body around. I did make my own body, but I don’t know where it is right now. Someone… discarded it. But I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.”
You smirk. “You can betcha that when I find it, he will be free. And I will be free, too. Then you can have two friends for the price of one, Onion!”
"Who said I was his friend?"
Shush.
“I am going to be rooting for ya, y’hear! Now it’s my turn to share itty-bitty secret!” He comes closer to you, his face darkened by shadow, “Y’see… late at night… I sometimes hear a song. Coming from the south, deep into the ocean. Pieces of it. And they sounded like… that heart that ya showed me.”
Your eyes widen at this part, the hand you puppeteer darting to your SOUL, “They… sounded like… me?!”
Onion-san waves a tentacle, “They sounded like you, but not fully. It was like something was missing, y’hear. But it’s not just that one secret… y’hear… even before I met you… that song… wasn’t a ‘new’ song. I heard it before… somewhere… But I just can’t remember, y’hear! It’s like… the memory isn’t there.”
Now THAT got my interest. He somehow knew you before meeting you?
Could it be that…
No, that doesn't make sense.
There's no way he could've known you from our world…
I have to keep an eye on him.
“But now I have to investigate, because my friend is involved in this, y’hear! I will report my progress tomorrow, y’hear!” And before you can say anything, he submerges underwater, ready to start his “investigation”.
And he leaves you alone. Forced to put back the lie. Forced to pretend again.
But even so, his words stay in your head, ringing and echoing.
They almost sound like faint violin hymns.
Chapter 37: Chapter 2 - Part 20: It's a facet of "you"
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
The end of another chapter of your life grows closer. As you relax back home, I can only wonder about the facets of a person.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
After walking across the entire town and chit-chatting with every face you met, the idling around was at an end. You’ve finally reached your destination, the house situated in the north of the town.
The house where it all began yesterday. The first place you arrived in this world.
Kris’s house.
You walk towards the house with heavy steps, similar emotions reflecting on your purple friend. The sun was about to set, reflecting on how another chapter of your adventure was about to end.
You stand in front of the door and ring the doorbell.
RING!!
It echoes through the quietness as the Sun finally sets, and night begins.
“So… I guess it’s time for you to go home, huh?” Susie’s voice comes almost as a whisper, only being carried by the calm autumn wind.
You turn to look at her, seeing the sadness she is desperately trying to hide, “Yeah… It was fun walking around, but I need to get home; otherwise, Mom is going to yell at me.” You try to send a smile, but you can’t hide your emotions, either. “But there’s still tomorrow, so it’s not a real—”
Toriel opens the door, cutting off yet another one of your saccharine speeches. You grunt in surprise, almost jumping in fright.
Gosh! I never thought Mom would ever scare me!
“Who’s the naughty girl now? Hiding something?”
Ha… Ha… very funny.
“Kris!” She says. She looks at your shocked state and chuckles, “Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to scare you. But this could be considered payback for all the pranks you committed, no?”
As always, I am punished for your mistakes.
“Great, isn’t it?”
You wish you could glare at Kris.
Toriel’s laughter subsides, her voice growing more serious, “Anyways, dear, how was studying with your…” The huge goat mom finally sees Susie just standing there, “Oh, hello! Are you the friend Kris keeps talking about?”
“Um…” Susie tries to stammer out something, but the words are stuck in her throat.
“Yes!” You point towards Toriel, “Um, Susie, this is mom…”
“Toriel.” She corrects you.
“Um, yes, hehe…” You point to Susie and say, “And mom, this is Susie!”
“Pleased to meetcha, ma’am!” Susie spat out the words, looking really uncomfortable.
Toriel realizes this and whispers to you, “(Honey, you should invite her inside.)”
You feel Kris blush, embarrassed.
You are all smiles. “Um, Susie, would you like to go inside? Hang out a little more, you know? No need to end so soon!”
Susie gets even more embarrassed, “Um, I mean, er, I have to, um…”
“I will be baking a pie, Susie, since someone ate it all by himself.” Toriel publicly teases Kris, but her words are the magic trick that convinces Susie.
“Well… if there’s pie… then maybe that would be a cool idea.” Susie looks away.
You can already tell she accepted it.
Hoho! Time for a sleepover! I’m so happy! I don’t want the adventure to end!
“... me either.”
Toriel winks at you and walks inside. You smile as you follow her, Susie right behind you.
The warm scent of nostalgia fills the air as you walk into the house. A comforting smell that makes you smile. The warm glow of the lights inside the house replaces the setting sun, yet you feel ever warmer.
Despite it not being your real home, you still feel safe here. You feel as if by staying here, things will turn out all right.
It’s simply the aura such a house gives to you.
But for another, it can only bring memories of happier times, when there were more than two.
And for another, it can be a dream that was never reached, that it never had. But one she wished she had.
That she didn’t reject it.
The inside of the house is still the same as yesterday. Human and monster decorations at the window, a huge couch in front of a huge TV—now plugged in—but you can swear it wasn’t yesterday.
Right? I ain’t crazy, I remember it being unplugged.
“Weird. You usually have the memory of a goldfish.”
Mean… I’m just a very excited person. It’s me who carries the party in combat, don’t forget that!
Outside of that, you can see Toriel’s favorite chair, “Chairiel”, still as well kept as yesterday. Together with the well-kept kitchen, they complete the homely feel.
You even notice more details from yesterday, such as the book of hymns sitting in a stand to the side of the couch, and cookie-cutters of monsters and humans on the balcony. Gingerbread flavor, too.
In the windows, you can see little cuts of humans and monsters, as well. With the light shining on them, they almost look like shadow people.
The trash can is still emitting the floral scent from yesterday (which thankfully has lessened).
You can make a garden out of those!
“... yeah…”
You frown.
It’s just a joke. I guess your mom really doesn’t like flowers…
You just wished you knew why.
Despite all the physical changes, you can’t help but think back to the house from your world.
This house feels so much more complete. You imagine what it would’ve been like if you never left the RUINS, and just lived with Toriel.
(But that’s just a dream. I need to focus on my reality here.)
You know that time has passed.
In the corner of your eye, you can see Susie walking inside, wide-eyed. She looks as if she has never seen something like this before. That the dream will break if she steps out of line.
A small smile crosses your face as you recall a similar memory. Your reaction when you entered Toriel’s house in your world. The same wide-eyed, awed look, the same tentative steps, afraid of somehow breaking the magic spell that gave you such a gift.
(I guess she’s just like me, huh?)
And thus, knowing what she was feeling, you walk close to her and say, “You can come in. You don’t need to be afraid; unlike you, she doesn’t bite.” You chuckle.
Susie gives you that look at your little joke, but before she can say anything, Toriel speaks out loud, “Alright, we have enough food for three.”
Her motherly eyes stare at Susie, and she feels like melting, “We’ve got some meat too, and I know that’s your favorite type of food!”
Susie looks haunted by Toriel’s words, “Wait… y-you know?!” This is the most emotion you’ve ever seen come out of Susie’s words.
(Susie doesn’t know Toriel always buys every type of food. Like buying butterscotch and cinnamon, hahah…)
You can’t help but see everything you felt when first meeting Toriel in Susie. You know she feels the same as you felt then.
“Of course, dear,” Toriel says. “Ms. Alphys is a good friend of mine. She often talks about you.”
“Probably talking about how ‘normal’ she is.”
If Alphys thinks you and Susie are normal, what is weird for her?
“An actual normal person.”
You can’t help but laugh at Kris’ joke.
“Oh, haha… I see…” Susie says out loud. She then leans towards you and whispers really loudly, “(Kris, why the HELL is Alphys telling others about my diet?! And what the heck are you laughing about?)”
Your eyes widen. “(Um… just a joke I thought about. Anyways…)” You try to change the topic “(You don’t? I always tell people my diet.)” You tease her, chuckling lightly.
“(You’re weird.)” Susie plainly says.
“Susie, why don’t you wash your hands over there…” The goat mom says, pointing to the sink and changing the topic, “So we can bake the pie for dessert.”
This seems to catch Susie by surprise, completely breaking her guard, “We’re… going to make it together?” She looks really sheepish, twiddling her thumbs. Vulnerable, “But I… don’t know how to.”
Toriel sends her a warm smile, “Do not worry, I can teach you.”
Susie relents and nods, “Ok. If you say so, ma’am.” She simply says, stiff.
“No need to be so formal, Susie! Toriel is just fine!” Toriel says to her with a motherly smile.
“O-Ok… Thanks… Toriel.” Susie says, finally relaxing, the word carrying a maelstrom of emotions.
She then walks over to the sink.
Kris’ mom turns towards you, and her face frowns, “Kris, Alphys didn’t just tell me Susie liked meat… She told me she had an interesting diet.” Her face grows pensive, “Kris… I am glad you have found a friend… just… if her, er, behavior, influences you… Leave the chalk alone, alright!”
You nod towards her, “I won't let that meme pass over to me!”
Plus, moss is far better.
“That I can agree to.”
“Meme… huh? I didn’t expect you to use such language, honey.” Toriel’s face is deep in thought. “Is that what the young'uns say nowadays?”
You quietly chuckle at her words.
That’s what hearing that word dozens of times does to you!
Before an awkward silence can hang over the air, Susie returns, trying to look diligent but coming across as forced, “Hands… um, washed.”
Toriel claps her hands, refocusing on your purple friend, “Wonderful! Now we just need to…” She looks at you, and a teasing smirk crosses her face, “Actually, how about you teach her, honey? Maybe by baking with someone, you will realize the hard work put into it!”
The words take a couple of seconds to settle in.
Not too long that it would be weird, but not too quick where you already knew what she would say. No, it is the perfect time needed to react.
Your face morphs into surprise, Toriel’s words dancing across your ears.
YOU KNOW HOW TO BAKE A PIE?!?! WHY DIDN’T YOU—
You take a secretive breath, and then your expression becomes one of disappointment.
Never mind, you probably didn’t even bother because ‘it wasn’t important’ or something dumb like that.
“At least you’re fast at learning.”
You’re such a jerk.
Although your reaction was internal, Susie, on the other hand, is the complete opposite.
“Kris?! You know how to make a PIE?!” Susie yells at him. “WHY THE HELL YOU’VE NEVER MADE ME ONE YOU FU—”
Susie looks at Toriel’s impassive face, and her bravado disappears, “I mean, uh, ‘scuse me, Ma’am!”
You can’t help but smirk at that interaction. Toriel shares that as well.
She smiles warmly, “Susie, I already told you, outside of school, you can just call me Toriel. I am not THAT old after all. No need to be so formal.”
You can physically see a weight come off of Susie’s back, “Oh, okay, sweet.” She says, her voice coming far lighter than when she entered.
I guess it needed to be said twice for Susie to get it. What happened to the charm three times?
Kris doesn’t reply.
He remembers what he needs to do, now.
“I need to wash my hands.” Kris' voice comes like a snake, but its effect works, and both Susie and Toriel look towards him.
You blink confusedly.
Oops, I almost forgot, hehe… that would be the proper eti- eticue, whatever that word is.
“It’s ‘etiquette’.”
Yeah, that!
Kris sighs at you.
“Well then, I suppose I shall start teaching, at the very least,” Toriel says. She starts walking over to the kitchen, igniting the stove. “Thankfully, dinner is already done, so we only need to bake the pie, Susie.”
You can’t help but feel weird that Toriel is using the stove.
(Toriel really doesn’t use fire magic, but why? Magic is a thing in the Dark Worlds. Ghosts are still a thing. So why…?)
“Um, oh! Sweet?” She looks at you, and you nod at her, giving her your approval.
She puts a hand over her mane and walks over to Toriel.
You start walking towards the sink, but the voice in your head stops you.
“Don’t. We have to do it in the bathroom.”
You stop right behind the whispers of conversation between goat and dragon. You cannot pick out what they are saying because of the confusion in your mind.
Eh? Why? We are just washing our hands, aren’t we…?
A blush covers Kris' face. He has to use that argument, after all.
“That’s… incorrect. That’s just an excuse I created. I actually… need to be there. To do… business.”
You blink, your brain working like a motor in a locomotive. It reaches the destination, and you quietly say: “Oh.”
Then your thoughts, like the package of the train, reach the store, and the weight finally settles in.
“OH!”
Toriel and Susie look at you weirdly. “Everything okay, my child?”
“(Dude, don’t act weird in front of your mom!)” Susie whispers at you.
“Sorry… I just need to… watch my hands… in the bathroom!” You quickly say as you excuse yourself deeper into the house.
A blush crosses your face.
So that’s why you didn’t want to…
“Just hurry.”
Right!
You open the door to the leftmost room of the house, entering a room you haven’t been to before.
It’s a small room with a mirror above a sink, a cabinet below it, the toilet to its side, and a bathtub completing the look.
It smells like apples inside, with a hint of something else.
All in all, it’s a typical bathroom that you would see in any house.
Although you couldn’t even remember the last time you stepped inside a bathroom so clean. You would even feel happy if the embarrassing atmosphere wasn’t so strong.
You stand still, your stare piercing the toilet.
You wait for something to happen.
…
Nothing does.
…
You wait some more, growing impatient.
…
…
Yet still nothing happens.
So… um, when are you, y’know, going to—
Kris sighs, running the tap. The water rushes out, making a lot of sound.
Nobody can hear you.
Nobody can hear Kris.
Nobody can hear me.
This is a sealed room.
And thus, the human starts the next part of the plan.
“I need to remove you.”
Excuse me?!
“I can’t… do it. With you in here. I need to remove you.”
Ah! You’re talking about the thing you did last night! Y’know, I thought it was a nightmare at first, I was super worried and—
“Apologies. Now, can I proceed?”
You don’t need to be so formal, dude. But since you’re asking nicely, yeah, you can.
With approval given, we can begin.
His arm becomes ours.
His will becomes ours.
His body becomes ours.
One becomes two, and two becomes one.
We move our hand straight to its chest.
SQUELCH!
The body convulses, but with certainty, we remove you from the inside. Your calm aura fills the room, red light shining through.
We open the cabinet and lock you inside, light replaced by darkness. Sounds drowned by water.
Kneeled over due to the lack of your presence, our body rises. And with that, the next chapter of our plan starts.
Numbered steps echo across the floor of the bathroom. We shamble towards the window, vision locked towards the single goal. And with a flick of our arm, the window is opened.
Inside becomes outside as we jump through the window. The smell of the living passes through our nose. Unfamiliar and yet familiar. Conflicting memories clash.
Gone are those thoughts as we walk towards our goal, and the faint sounds of Susie and Toriel are heard. We stop for a moment, conflicting feelings arising due to their voices.
However, we don’t have time to waste on simple platitudes. Not when we are so close. Not when we arrived at mother’s car. We raise our blade. Our curved knife custom made for our tastes.
Tires are slashed by our blade. Rubber is nothing compared to our power. My determination fuels our body, and soon enough, our job is done.
We hear footsteps approaching, fluffy. But yet they are still large. Without thinking twice, we move out, the dark hiding us, only our crimson, glowing red eyes being visible.
We shamble back the way we came, the hurried whispers having ceased. We climb on top of the window and land back in the bathroom.
The room stays the same, but why would it change in the first place? Nothing gets past my control.
We move towards the sink, and we turn off the faucet.
Our hands are clean.
We kneel over and open the cabinet, seeing you floating around in pacific ignorance.
We move our hand towards you, picking you up.
And then ‘we’ become only I and Kris, and he puts you inside his body.
You blink. Then you clench your hands. You straighten your back, brown eyes locked onto the mirror.
You shiver.
Jeez… I don’t think I will ever get used to that feeling. You took your sweet time, didn’t you? I almost thought you had fallen asleep! Maybe I should call you Snooris!
“Snooris?”
You see, it’s a joke! Hehe, Toriel and Susie did this joke to each other. Calling each other ‘Snoozy and Snooriel’. I just thought it would be funny...
“I see. It does sound humorous.”
W-Why do you sound so monotone?! You don’t need to say it like that, dude!!!
You shake the embarrassment off your face.
A-anyways… You missed a lot. Susie and Toriel have almost finished baking that pie, and, personally, I want to help them instead of being stuck in a cabinet while you take a—
“I see. You eavesdropped on them. That explains when you heard the joke.”
A blush crosses your face.
I-I didn’t— I mean—What was I supposed—URGH!
You feel your face going sour.
Sometimes you are IM-PO-SSI-BLE. I can make plenty of original jokes, too! Let’s just go, and I will show you!
Ignoring the chuckle ringing in your head, you open the door in a hurry, finally exiting the apple-scented bathroom.
You look over to the counter, seeing dishes already prepared.
The one with the extra meat must be Susie’s.
And speaking of your rude friend, you see her in front of the counter, flour decorating her hands.
You smirk, the opportunity being gifted to you, “Alright, Susie! Let’s hit the ‘flour’!”
Susie just blinks at your attempt at a joke, “If you are so eager, why didn’t you show up earlier, dumbass!?”
The expression on your face is priceless.
I… I only didn’t show up earlier because SOMEONE took too long taking a piss!!!
“Perfection takes time.”
What does that mean when talking about pissing???
You feel disgusted.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s your fault you took too long.” Susie smirks. “We are almost finished here; we just need the sugar Toriel is picking up from her car or whatever.”
Speak of the goat, and she appears.
You notice that her face looks haunted, but after a single blink, the look disappears.
I wonder what happened…
“Err… I think we should put the pie idea on hold for now.” Toriel says curtly.
You immediately voice your displeasure, “Aw man, really? But I was really looking forward to baking with you two.”
Toriel's voice travels like sweet honey, “I know, dear, it’s just… we already worked pretty hard, haven’t we?”
“Meh.” Susie says, “At least there’s still the free dinner.”
“Oh, actually...” Toriel turns to Susie, “Susie, would you like to stay over?”
Susie reacts like she was hit by a freight train, arms flinging out in wide arcs, “Huh?!” Susie’s eyes dart around your expectant stare and Toriel’s kind face, “I mean… maybe… if it’s ok… then I…”
Toriel beckons Susie to follow her to the couch, “Here, our couch is already used to being a bed. It’s not perfect, but we could all sleep here.”
The information is mulled inside Susie’s head, and she smirks, “Yeah, that sounds good!”
“It sounds awesome!” You yell, hugging Susie’s arm, “Sleepovers are freaking cool as heck.”
“My, you really are excited, aren’t you, honey?” Toriel gives you a knowing look. “Just don’t forget I will be watching you two.”
Susie’s scales turn red as you nod towards mother, her euphemism going completely over your head.
“What did I deserve for this humiliation?”
C’mon! There’s nothing wrong with a sleepover!
Kris sighs as you still don’t get it.
“I just have to organize some things first, so… call your parents, will you not?” Toriel asks Susie. “And don’t forget to eat your dinners!”
Susie walks over to the landline phone, a shadow cast over her eyes. She stands in front of it as Toriel nods and walks away, most likely going to her bedroom to change her clothes.
Susie still hasn’t picked up the phone.
Just as Mother moves to the floor above, Susie immediately goes over to you, “Heh, time to begin one hell of a sleepover.” She runs to the couch and jumps on top of it, fluff flying as she lands.
She turns to look at the TV remote, she stares at it, and before turning it on, she stares at you, “Hey, are you not joining in or what?”
“Ah, y-yeah, of course!” You nervously say.
You hadn’t seen her actually call her parents. Your mind drifts to what that could mean, but you decide to let that slide.
It’s none of our business, after all. Today is the time to relax.
You pick up the plates of food and give one to Susie, “Here, you forgot yours!”
She grumbles beneath her breath, but she quickly tears it from your hands, stuffing her face with meat.
You can’t help but smirk.
You sit down on the couch, its fluffiness embracing you. It’s as soft as a cloud, ready to drag you to dreamland.
“Man… eating on the couch. It’s like a dream come true.” Susie says. “Alright, now to make it even better, let’s find something GOOD to watch!”
With a flick and the press of a button, she turns the TV on.
The TV is playing some sort of anime with a weird carrot-shaped man in a tournament.
Quickly, Susie changes channels, “Nope, that show is boring.”
You can’t even question that line of logic, as another show is playing.
One that you recognize as a common superhero show, a red-caped hero joined by a man wearing armor made of iron.
“Oh, hey!” You call out, “This one’s pretty good! I really like how the heroes look! They’re so kind, but firm!”
“Pssst, nice prank, dude. That one is for kids!” She changes the channel before you can protest.
The new image shows some sort of detective drama. It’s very dark and gritty, with lots of blood. Suddenly, a man takes some sort of drugs and grows twice his size.
“Fuck no!” Susie quickly switches the channel.
“I thought you would like a show like that, Susie. With lots of blood.” You tilt your head at her.
“Not when it looks super dark like that, dude.” Susie looks away, blushing. “I prefer when it’s more… lively.”
The next show is about some muppets exploring a chemical lab. It's like a field of flowers compared to the previous channel.
You and Susie immediately start to relax.
“Today’s been a good idea, hasn’t it, Kris?” She says to you.
You think back on the day. Despite the dangers, pain, and despair suffered, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
You hung out and got closer to your friends, and you found out more about your situation.
So in the end, you can only agree, “Yeah, it was pretty good! Hanging out with you, Ralsei and Lancer, and everyone! The bonds between each other define us, y’know!”
Susie snorts, “Of course you would say such nerdy crap.” Yet she is still smiling, “But, y’know, if that’s the case, don’t you think it would be a cool idea to… Bring them to OUR world?”
The words hit you like a truck. You spit out the chocolate juice you’re drinking, “Huh?! Is that even possible?!”
Susie twiddles her fork around her plate, “C’mon, dude, I didn’t ask you if it was POSSIBLE, I asked if it would be COOL. Think about it! Ralsei could do our homework, and Lancer could live under your bed. It would be pretty fricking cool.”
You do not share Susie’s opinions, “I don’t know… Would Ralsei even like doing our homework? It just feels like we would be exploiting him…”
“Dude, you know he would totally be into this. He LOVES being exploited.”
“I don’t think we should enable his bad behavior…” A lightbulb turns on in your head, “Plus, how would we even do that? There’s that Roaring problem and—”
“You blew it, dude, urgh… Why do you gotta be such a killjoy?” Susie switches the channel again, now playing some sitcom with green people, “Nope, I am NOT watching the Symptons. I already hear too much about that crap from Alphys.”
If Alphys likes it, it must suck; that’s the universal law, “Talking about Alphys… do you think those buildings were related to her?” You say the most cryptic shit ever.
“Buildings? What the hell are you talking about?” Susie even stopped taking a bite of her food to look at your stupidity.
“I mean… those park attractions behind the police line.” You explain.
Susie snaps her fingers, “Oh! You mean the festival attractions. I don’t know why Alphys would be related to it.” She gets angrier, “Why are you asking me, anyway? YOU know this better than I do.”
Shock fills you.
Eh? There’s a festival here?
“I mentioned it before. Every year we celebrate a festival.”
Now that you say it, I think Undyne mentioned they were working on it yesterday. I guess it just slipped from my mind.
“Correct. The town becomes a carnival. It is… amusing during those times.”
Only you could describe a carnival like that.
“It’s… an exaggeration to call it that.”
Susie continues the conversation, realizing you aren’t going to reply to her, “Heh, the festival is pretty stupid anyway…” She scratches her mane, plate lying on the side. Empty.
You can’t believe she finished before you.
Actually, that’s not that surprising. Even if she ate twice as much as us.
“But, uh, if you had to take someone with you, who would you choose?” She looks more embarrassed, “Noelle, or Ralsei?”
You don’t have to think too hard on this, after all, you barely know Noelle.
You open your mouth. “Ral—”
Kris blurts out, “You,” cutting you off.
Susie looks all flustered, her panic almost making you drop your food, “H...Huh?!” She stammers out.
Damn dude, that was smooth!
“...”
The human doesn’t reply, but you can feel the flicker of a flame go inside him.
Susie quickly recovers, staring at the human, “Way to dodge the question, DUMBASS! Obviously… If I went there, you would be with me!!! You don’t even have to ask!!!”
Now it’s the human’s turn to blush, so small that nobody could even see it. You can’t help but feel uncomfortable.
So this is what it's like to play third wheel.
“It’s good when you taste your own medicine.”
Don’t know what you’re talking about.
A doorbell rings and almost causes you and Susie to jump out of fright.
Thankfully, you two quickly realize that it’s not coming from the door, but instead from the TV, playing some fat guy in a white shirt answering the door.
You can’t see who is behind it.
“God, it’s a crossover with the freaking Symptons. Really can’t run away from them. Man, they really only air crap nowadays, don't they?” Susie changes the subject, “It’s all the same soulless garbage! It feels like they pump them out in conveyor belts or something.”
“Heh, that’s actually a pretty funny mental image.” You say, despite it not being funny.
“Why don't you have that Flixnet or something? I heard there’s, like, every TV show in there!” Susie starts laughing, “Maybe there’s even ‘ICE-E The Movie’ in there for a baby like you to watch.”
“There isn’t. I checked.”
You didn’t deny being a baby…
“Says the one who called herself an idiot baby yesterday.”
Proud idiot baby here!
Susie takes your silence as an approval—and as you know, silence is consent—and changes the channel yet again.
This time, there’s a giant monster movie playing, Godzilla wrecking an entire city as he fights with King Kong.
An action-packed movie not for the faint of heart.
“Maybe I complained too early, because THIS is what I am talking about!” Susie loudly cheers, “A giant monster movie special! Intense action, blood-curdling villains, and ferocious fights! Twelve hours of PURE destruction!”
“That sounds really extreme…” Your voice comes off as weak.
You never liked intense action and violence, and your distaste for it grew after everything you went through.
It’s not as exciting when you’ve died several times before.
“That’s because it IS!!! Get LOCKED in because we are watching ALL OF IT!!! This is the best one, even! Can’t wait for the twist monster at the end!” Susie leans deeper into the couch, “Let’s just get comfortable… and be prepared to…”
A heavy drowsiness settles inside Susie, and she closes her eyes, slightly snoring.
You eye her weirdly.
D… Did she already fall asleep?!
And after confirming your thoughts, you smile lightly.
Guess she did… Speaking of it… I am pretty tired too.
“It has been a long day.”
The human thinks as he finishes your food and puts the plate aside.
You lean further into the couch, your vision growing blurry. Tiredness settles in, like the root of a tree inside the soil.
Goodnight… hanging out with you… was pretty… fun.
Your thoughts come slurred as you close your eyes.
On the brink of your consciousness, you can barely hear Toriel whispering into something.
“(Officer…? Thank goodness… saw… someone outside… car tires… slashed. Come over… Thanks.)”
Then, afterwards, you hear the sounds of someone picking up the plates. And when a blanket is draped over you, sleep finally overtakes you.
Ending this chapter in your life.
But not mine.
Now, of course, you might have fallen asleep. But I haven’t. I cannot sleep, nor will I even try.
I observe what happens around you. I hear more than you can.
For example, I could hear what Toriel was saying, and that she called the police to have it investigated.
A pointless action, but appreciated nonetheless. After all, we need the police to show up.
I observed her putting your used plates in the sink and covering you two in a blanket. I saw her change the channel to late-night commercials, listening to them as she read a book.
And then she finally fell asleep.
I observed as the night grew in profound darkness. It was so dark that nobody could see anything.
It’s so quiet that every noise is a thunderstorm.
And that’s where we strike.
I stir the human awake, and he complies.
We become one. One body, one mind, one goal. Our red eyes pierce through the dark, illuminating the path to a new world.
With our joined hand, we pierce through the human’s chest and remove you from it.
SQUELCH!
You stay ignorant, sleeping weighting your knowledge. With care, we place you on the couch, between its pillows.
We can’t let you interrupt us if you wake.
We move to execute the next steps of our plan.
We open the door of the house, but only slightly, so that somebody from outside won’t see the inside. But will be curious enough to enter.
We turn the TV on, static filling the screen. The noise thankfully doesn’t wake anyone.
Now it is the most important step, something crucial. Something that needs to be dealt with care.
Our eyes dart over the sleeping figures. Our mom. Our friend Susie. And you.
You all have so many facets, so many sides you don’t show.
I wonder which side you will show tomorrow.
With renewed determination, we pick up our blade.
We focus on all of our fights. Our will. Our determination, into it.
And then we strike the Earth, wounding her.
Darkness oozes from the ground, as if a faucet were opened. Leaking into the air. The room grows darker, yet darker. Becoming translucent, like fantasy.
Like a daydream
We almost see a smile growing on the TV as we settle into the couch.
We become two, and the human puts you inside himself.
And then he goes back to sleep.
And yet still I watch, wondering what the next dream will bring.
Until next time!
Notes:
With that, the novelization parts of this story come to a close. Next time, we're not going to TV World, but a completely original world I created in 2022-23, Cathode Studio! I hope everyone will enjoy it as we take a brave new step in those uncharted lands. Thank you all for all the kudos, comments, and support I had during these two chapters! It was way more than I could've ever expected! I hope you all stick around to these new adventures!
Chapter 38: Chapter 3 - Part 1: Enter! Rook's Radio Star Sets The Stage!
Chapter by FoundUser
Summary:
You wake up in an unfamiliar world with unfamiliar faces. But when even the familiar faces turn unfamiliar, what will you do?
Notes:
Thanks for making this little story reach the 500 kudos milestone! I never thought we would reach this far! Every comment and kudos make my day, so don't feel afraid to do so. Now, enjoy the part!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was snowing.
Beautiful, white, translucent snow falling to the floor. Coldwater falling from the heavens themselves.
At a certain angle, it would almost look like it was dust.
Inside the cave, a girl ran, looking for home.
Running through the gigantic cave that surpassed her wildest dreams!
This was a thing of legend.
Of course, it had to be a legend. The monsters were real! And they lived here! One of them was even her mom!
She even left her back in the ruins, in a pile of dust—
Wrong! That didn’t happen!
Obviously, it wasn’t dust; she was alive and well!
She gave her a blanket, and she found it super cute—
That.. didn’t happen.
She left her in the Ruins.
Everyone was trapped in the underground.
Everyone was alive and well.
Everyone… was alive?
Wasn’t the barrier broken?
Where’s the cave ceiling? There’s nothing but snow as far as the eye can see! Where were the trees and—
Where… was everyone?
She… couldn’t remember it.
Why couldn’t she remember it? She was just talking to them!
She stopped and clutched her head.
What was happening what was happening what was happeningwhatwashappeningwhatwashappeningwhatwashappeningwhatwashappeningwhatwashappeningwhatwashappening—
“HALT, HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PROCEED UNTIL YOU COMPLETE ANOTHER ONE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS PUZZLES! THIS TIME MADE BY MY LAZY BROTHER, SANS!”
“hope it doesn’t cross ya mind, kid.”
Two voices echoed in her head. One high and the other deep. She knew who those were.
She looked forward, and her golden orbs caught sight of the culprits.
A tall skeleton wearing a battle body fitting for a superhero, his red-orange cape flowing in the air.
Accompanied by Sans, his shorter, older brother.
Were they always there? And why did she feel such a strange heartache at seeing the tall skeleton, Papyrus? It felt like she hadn't seen him in a lifetime…
But that was impossible, she had just seen him! She even hid behind a lamp that was conveniently her…
Shape?
But wasn’t the lamp too small?
Wasn’t she taller than this?
Was she?
“DO NOT BE CONFOUNDELED BY MY BROTHER’S PRANKS, HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER LEAVES HIS POST!”
“is that even a real word, bro?”
“IT IS NOW!”
“Well, I like it!” She said, smiling warmly at the skeleton.
He didn’t react.
She pulled the crossword that was always in her hand closer to her, “Oh, this is going to be easy!”
There were only three words in it after all.
Finding the first one was extraordinarily easy.
“OF COURSE IT IS EASY, YOU ARE THE NUMBER ONE PUZZLE MASTER AFTER ALL, NYEH HEH HEH!”
That caused a chuckle to burble outside from deep within her SOUL. Papyrus always knew how to set the mood.
She crossed the first word out. “Apples”.
As she did so, an unfamiliar feeling of nostalgia crept over her body, like vines twisting and cutting.
Why was she feeling like this? Why did the smell of such a simple fruit cause such a reaction within her???
“proooooooooobaly because that’s the smell of that kiddo, kris. because you are his parasite.”
Her eyes snapped back to the skeleton brothers.
Why were they so still? It was like they were plastic dolls.
Did they even react once to what she said?
All the questions that echoed across her mind, but what came out of her mouth was, “Who is Kris? Is that another one of your pranks?”
“DON’T ASK THINGS YOU ALREADY KNOW!”
"she’s a liar. liars can’t accept the truth. liars create their own reality to escape their conscience. liars pretend to be what they aren’t.”
The words pierced her like needles, “I am NOT a liar! This isn’t funny!”
“who are you? why do you keep lying? why do you keep pretending to be my friend? i’ve never met ya. you’re nobody’s friend. parasites don’t have friends.”
She shut her eyes. “SHUT UP!!! I’M NOT!!!”
Sans remained still. “nobody likes parasites. they would all abandon you once they know you are just a parasite. that’s why you are a liar. A liar. A liar. a liarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliar”
The chanting increased.
Papyrus disappeared.
“liarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliarliar.”
The words rebounded around the field of snow like a prison cell. They didn’t sound like Sans anymore.
They sounded like her.
They shook the box she was held in. Furiously, like being held by a child.
A giant purple figure appeared in the sky.
She… knew who that was. “Susie?!”
The shaking got stronger and stronger as if the whole world was ending. An earthquake capable of destroying every remnant of civilization.
“You don’t exist, and that’s why you are a liar. You’re just a parasite feeding on the lives you can’t have. parasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasiteparasite”
And yet the young child stood still.
Completely unaffected by all of it.
But not by the voices.
“KRIS, C’MON MAN, YOU NEED TO WAKE UP! WAKE UP DUDE!”
“WAKE UP!”
You shot awake with a gasp, strong purple hands quickly letting you go. “I AM NOT A LIAR!”
You push the hands away from you, running away from it, and sitting down, head in your hands, “I AM… I am… not…”
Your words cease as you eye out the horizon. Something absolutely impossible has happened. The type that would cause you to yell, “This can’t be!”.
To make you doubt and deny the reality your eyes are seeing.
But there’s no point in rejecting what is happening.
You are no longer in Toriel’s house. The warm interior has been replaced by chaos.
The sky is dark as coal, and not a single speck of light can be seen. In the distance, you can only see water, an entire ocean, in fact.
There are some isles, or at least what you assume are islands, decorating this gloomy atmosphere.
They couldn't be islands because they were made of metal. Of glass. Of plastic.
You couldn't understand the mixing pot of elements.
Everything is humid, but worst of all are the occasional roars and earthquakes.
RUMBLE!!! RUMBLE!!!!
You start shaking, you are unable to speak, and are incapable of processing the reality in front of you.
Wh… Wh… What is happening? What is this?
“Look at Susie. Then look at me.”
With shaky nerves, you turn your golden eyes towards her. They widen, and you sniffle a gasp.
You quickly look towards your body.
They are in your Dark World outfits. You are in the Dark World.
The dark sky is simply the darkness of another fountain, spreading towards the world.
In this case, mother’s house. The fountain transformed this into a house of dreams. A dream created in the dark by darkness itself.
“S… Susie… what is—”
You don’t even get the chance to finish your sentence, with Susie quickly walking up to you and putting a strong hand on your shoulder.
“GOD FUCKING dammit, KRIS, where the HELL are we!?” She yells towards you, her face filled with confusion.
You couldn’t blame her.
But I can blame her for this headache. Does she have to yell that loudly so close?
“Don’t complain. Those are my ears.”
You ignore Kris’ complaints (who has been acting strangely calm) and instead reply to Susie, “I don’t know… I guess we are in a Dark World?”
RUMBLE!!!!
Another earthquake rolls as Susie replies, “I realized that much, genius! But how?!” She suddenly gets more bashful, “I mean, I just remember outlasting you in our movie marathon—”
“Um, Susie, you slept almost immediately.” You declare stone-faced.
Susie groans, “Look, that’s not the POINT! It’s just that it happened right under our noses, man!” She says with a weird tremor in her voice.
You frown at her, “Susie, are you scared?”
She hugs herself and turns her snout away from you, “N-no… I don’t GET scared, dude!”
You give her a half-lid stare, “Suuuuuure, if you say so. Hey, maybe next time we should watch some horror movies, there’s one that—”
“Alright, I GET IT! Let’s just move on!” Susie says, cutting through your chuckle, “But, um, where do we even go from here?” She points towards the weird island complex, “There’s nothing out there!”
You try to think, firing all your brain synapses at once (which is incredibly unhelpful), “I mean, we could just jump from island to island…” Your eyes blaze with determination. “Plus, we are bound to find someone out there!”
Susie smirks and pumps her fists, “Now THAT’S the spirit! Heh, time for another heart-pounding adventure!” She crosses her arms, “This wasn’t the way I expected it to happen, but who freaking cares? It’s another adventure, man!”
You smile at her, Susie’s simple-mindedness warming your heart, and then together, you both walk towards the edge of the island. The adrenaline pumping in the body that is not yours.
Whatever worries you had, whatever your mind was telling the body, recedes from it.
At least until a voice coming out of your pocket stops you.
“(Susie, Red Heart, wait! I need to make my grand entrance!!!)”
“Make your what?” You say, but nobody can answer you.
Before you can notice, a spade card jumps out of your pocket and with a puff of smoke, the only and one Lancer stands before you two!
“Hohoho! Lancer joins the party! For realsies this time!” The spade opens his arms in a pose, leaving you and Susie speechless.
Susie breaks the silence first, “Lancer?! You are joining us?” She runs towards him and high-fives the spade prince, “HELL YEAH! Now we just need Ralsei for the Lancer Fun Squad to be back together!”
You don’t share Susie’s enthusiasm, stuttering, “B-But Lancer, that’s dangerous! What if you are turned into stone again?”
Lancer laughs, “Don’t worry about that, Red Heart! I can feel in my tummy this darkness is A-Ok! Plusies, I got a special plan in case it gets that cold again.”
You blink, stutter nonsense, and then sigh.
I should—No, I need to trust my friends more!
You try to give him a warm smile, “Well then, let’s move out, guys! There has to be something out here!”
And thus, with Lancer in your squad, you three move towards unknown territory.
*
You walk through the islands. You jump from island to island. You walk until your legs ache. You jump until your knees hurt.
You still can’t find anything.
Uneven pieces of metal, plastic, and whatever other materials are floating in the dark sea.
Hitting each other, but never tipping or sinking.
That's all these islands are.
There's nothing on them.
Empty of life.
Only your emotions rage like the ocean below. That's the only sign of life in this world.
Despite Susie’s light-hearted jabs and Lancer’s never-ending enthusiasm, you still can’t get your worries out of your head.
How did an entire Dark World manifest while we slept? Did someone break into our home while we slept? But if that’s the case… Why didn’t they attack us? Maybe they want to play with us…?
“Calm down. There’s no use in worrying.”
What do you mean by ‘no use in worrying’? This happened in YOUR house! What if they took mom—I mean, your mom!!!!
“If anything happened, you could just bring her back, right? You’re above consequences, aren’t you?”
I don’t like thinking of it that way, but…
“It’s the truth. You need to have peace of mind. I used to be like you, full of doubts, fear, and pain. But then I found peace of mind. That’s why even being possessed will not affect me.”
Wow, that’s pretty… hardcore. And kinda cool.
Kris blushes, but doesn’t continue the conversation. That’s fine for you, left to ruminate on his words.
But the only thing you feel is a sense of jealousy.
(How can I possibly have “peace of mind” if I don’t even know who I am? Whatever, I will figure it out.)
“So, um, are we even going ANYWHERE?” Susie says as the party lands on yet another island, “I think we are going in freaking CIRCLES!”
Lancer bounces up the plastic floor, “Hoho! I just remembered! While Kris was sleeping with the daisies, I saw Lesser Dad come out of his spacious pants hole with a really cool dark cape!”
Susie scratches her mane, “You mean that Rocksells dude?”
Lancer gives her a thumbs up while jumping, “Hoho! His reputation is as hard as a rock!”
“That's… a, um, interesting comparison…” You murmur to yourself.
“Continuing! So Lesser Dad should know where the exit is, since we haven’t seen him anywhere!” Lancer states his theory.
You hold a hand towards your mouth, “Lancer… that’s actually really smart!”
“HELL YEAH!” Susie grabs Lancer and puts him above her shoulder, “I knew we would find a clue!”
“Wasn’t that what I said?” You quietly complain with a pout.
“Lead the way, bro!” Susie says, and right as Lancer points in a direction, they are off.
You just whistle at how fast they are going.
Then realize they left you in the dust, “Hey! Wait for meeeeeeee!”
You run towards them, all while jumping from island to island. Your body feels lighter, your legs stronger. There’s more energy to them.
More power.
I can feel the stats increasing, higher than when you started.
Each fountain, each dream, makes you stronger and stronger.
So much so that arriving at a large, oval-shaped, central island was no problem.
You slow down as you notice Susie and Lancer have stopped, as if they are watching something very, very important.
You notice a light shining in the dark as you walk over to them.
You hold on to the light, feeling its power course through you.
The power of spades in the water fills you.
And for a brief moment, as if it was never there at all, you see Kris’ name in the file.
But soon enough, it’s only your name, “Goner”.
That’s… the third time it happened.
“Likely a glitch. We don’t know how that works after all.”
Yeah… I guess you’re right. I don’t even feel determined when SAVING…
You shake your head; you don’t have time to ruminate on matters as trivial as a name.
You walk to where Susie is, where she quickly turns towards you, “Oh, Kris, haha… Just the guy I wanted to see.” She points towards a shape further in the island, “I think you, um, should check that out. Like, right now!”
You cross your arms, “Lancer, what does Susie want me to see?”
“Hoho, it’s just that Susie is scared of this huge goat lady and— MNFMNF”
Susie claps a hand over his mouth, “DUDE!!! NO SNITCHES!”
You blink, “Huge goat lady…?” The realization hits you like a nuke, “TORIEL?! SHE’S HERE?!”
As if your voice cast a spell, the figure starts moving towards you. Like Lancer said, it is a huge goat lady.
But unlike the Toriel you know, she is dressed completely differently. She is wearing a royal outfit. From the dress to the crown on her head, even the small details are from the classical queens from those history documentaries.
Her outfit is light blue, with golden shoulderpads. Outside of the Delta Rune on her chest, it’s a very simple outfit without many details.
It still surprises you when you look at it, however.
Even though Toriel was a queen in my world, it’s actually surreal to see her actually dressed as one.
“Why? She didn’t wear any clothes?”
Surprisingly, yeah! I mean, no. She did wear clothes, just not ROYAL clothing—
Toriel traps you in a bear hug, cutting that thought off. “OOF!!”
“MY CHILD!” She says, the sheer worry leaking out of her voice, “I was looking everywhere for you! I was so worried that something bad happened and—”
“Um, Mom, I am ok! Everything’s fine!” You try to get out of her crushing hug. You fail, “Mom, I can’t breathe!”
She finally lets you go, “My apologies, it’s just that I was so relieved to see that you are alive and well…” She looks at you harder, noticing that her son looks completely different, “My child… Why are you dressed like this? And why is your skin so blue…? Are you suffering from oxygen deprivation?”
“Um, I, you see, I, um.” You try to say something, but nothing will come out of your mouth. It’s like your head is empty, all the excuses having left.
C’mon, what do I say?
“That you’re in a Dark World?”
No, something ELSE!!!
“That someone broke into your home?”
THAT’S EVEN WORSE!!!
Toriel checks your head, “Your temperature is fine… But that doesn’t…”
Toriel looks up and finally realizes that Susie is right there, standing still like a statue, “Susie… you are here too? And why are you dressed like that?”
“Um, Miss Toriel, you see, you are in a—” Susie tries to say, but Kris’ mom cuts her off.
“And who is that fellow on your shoulder?” She asks towards none other than Lancer.
You and Susie immediately share a look, but before any of you can say anything, the spade answers the question himself.
“This round boy is none other than Lancer!” He waves at her. “Susie’s best friend and the mascot of the Lancer Fun Squad! Pleased to make greetings with you, giant goat lady!”
Toriel just eyes Susie in disbelief, “This, um, Lancer, is one of your friends, Susie?”
Susie nervously tries to say, “Look, Miss Toriel, you don’t need to worry about any of that, because you are—”
She looks towards Kris, “And my child, what is this ‘Lancer Fun Squad’? Is this what you’ve been doing after school those last two days?”
You try to reach out to her, “Look, Mom, it’s kinda hard to explain…”
Toriel just sighs, “My child, we will talk about this later.” She points towards the ocean, “Right now, we have far more pressing matters to take care of. I don’t know who did this, and why they dressed us like this, but I will protect you two!”
Susie tries to convince Toriel once again, a hint of anger leaking out of her voice, “Look, that’s cool and all, but you don’t need to go that far because this is all a—”
Right as she tries to say her excuse, something happens.
RUMBLE!!!! RUMBLE!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!
The earth starts to quake, the waves getting stronger and stronger.
RUMBLE!!! RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!!
Something big is about to happen.
RRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUMBLEEEEEEE!!!
You try to hold on to the ground to not fall, but just as you're about to fail, Toriel holds you. Kris’s mom holds Susie as well, acting as a pillar for both of you.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!!!
The quaking gets stronger, and even the island itself starts to tip from one side to the next.
“Oh oh! At least it can’t get worse!” Just as Lancer says this, a giant roar that can shake buildings is heard, “It got worse!”
A giant creature emerges from the ocean. A giant dinosaur, lizard, and dragon all mixed into one creature. Blue-ish scales contrast the dark ambient.
It roars towards the sky, like a king. Blue flame in its mouth.
“What the HELL? Freaking GODZILLA?!” Susie’s words ring true.
The one who emerged from the ocean is none other than the King of Monsters, Godzilla himself. The one you saw last night before bed.
His sheer presence is magnificent, trapping your SOUL in a vice of fear. An all-encompassing fear that paralyzes your body, your heart.
That clouds your vision. That steals your nerves.
That’s the power of such a foe.
“My children, get behind me! I don’t know who that is, but I won’t let any harm fall towards you two!” Toriel declares, hiding her fear.
Being truly brave.
But Kris and Susie disobey her, standing in front of the adult in the room.
Kris brings out his Mecha Saber, and Susie the Devilsknife.
Toriel’s eyes go wide as dinner plates, “M-My ch-child…? Wh-What is that? What are you two doing?!”
“We are going to FIGHT! I am going to show that loser who is the REAL King of Monsters!” Susie states boldly.
“THE KING OF THE UNDERWORLD CHALLENGE US, US? WHAT FUN, WHAT EXCITEMENT! IN THE THIRD BASE, THE THIRD LEVEL! WE SHALL SHOW HIM THE FIRES OF HELL ITSELF, ITSELF!”
Toriel looks straight at the Devilsknife, a haunted expression on her face, “D-Did that weapon just speak?!”
“I CAN TALK, TALK. BUT WHAT ARE WORDS, ONLY SPOKEN IN THE AIR?”
You shrug, “It’s complicated, Mom.”
Toriel takes a step back, more afraid of the jester than the King of Monsters, “K-Kris… y-you… d-did you teach Susie…” She barely chokes that last word out, “Magic?”
“What’s the problem with magic?” Susie asks her, “It kicks ASS!”
Toriel falls to her knees, an expression of despair filling her entire body, “My child… I told you… This can’t be happening again… This can’t be…”
“Mom?!” You rush towards her, she doesn’t respond or even react, “Mom, are you ok?!” The roars do nothing to stop you, “Mom? MOM!!!”
“Oh shit… is she ok?” Susie asks you. Another roar shakes the island, “Dude, deal with that later! We need to kick some ass!”
You look at her desperately, “But… But… I can’t just leave her like this!!! I need to help her!”
“You need to help YOURSELF first! Otherwise, who is going to help her?” Susie argues back, but your heart is closed off.
“But if I help her, then we have another ally to help!” Your eyes blaze gold with determination, “You don’t understand, I need to do this!”
But right before the debate can escalate, everything goes dark.
Then a screen is cast on the sky, and a weird voice starts speaking.
A voice so beautiful that it causes you and even Susie to blush.
Together with an ill-fitting music.
“Godzilla, the so-called King of Monsters. Fearsome, with the reputations of legends! Everyone stands in awe of such power!”
It has the perfect tone, perfect pitch. It’s a man’s voice, but the type everyone looks up to. It sounds like what could only be described as the perfect speaker’s voice.
You, spade and dragon, look to the skies, but find nobody there. It’s like the voice is coming out of the room itself.
Or maybe it was the room. You couldn’t tell.
“But his most fearsome ability is his atomic breath! Capable of frying even buildings! Crispy and deadly!”
As if in response to the voice, Godzilla fires the blue flame out of his mouth. The sheer heat of it fills the room. You can’t help but shudder at being hit by that.
“But dear customer, have you ever thought, ‘I wish my food were fried with such intensity’? Worry not, because we here at Rook Enterprises always fulfill the customer’s wish! Introducing the: ‘Zilla Air-fryer!”
A Godzilla-shaped air-fryer shows up on the screen. It looks completely impractical.
“Rook Enterprises…? Toriel says, getting out of her stupor. “Is this…?”
“The ‘Zilla air-fryer has everything! A sleek build, it’s portable, it’s filled with air, but that air is capable of frying anything! Fry your chicken, dogs, and cats! Everything with the intensity of Godzilla himself! With this item, you will truly feel like Godzilla!”
“What… the FUCK is THIS?!?!” Susie says, as Godzilla roasts virtual chickens, dogs, cats, and even non-edible items like notebooks, pencils, and pens.
“Oh! I would like to buy this! I want to taste Godzilla’s breath! It sounds yummy!” Lancer states a bad opinion.
“That… sounds gross. Plus, I don’t want to indirectly kiss him or anything…” You sometimes say the weirdest stuff.
“Enjoyed? By calling 555-R00K-000, you can receive a King Kong plush for free! What are you waiting for? BUY NOW!!!”
“Attention: King Ghidorah bought separately.”
“UH, Uh! I want a plushie! Blue Person, call now!” Lancer jumps up and down.
“Warning: Consumption of food fried by the ‘Zilla Air-fryer may contain radiation and instant death. Proceed with caution.”
The place returns to normal, screen and music turned off, and Godzilla appears to have shut down.
It must have been a robot…
“I hope the producers are happy with that take, but really, who would want to buy this?” The voice says, but as you look closer, you notice a shape approaching the floor. "Plus... that music didn't fit the commercial at all. Did we steal that from someone? I miss when I filmed with Spammy... the car music he found was the best!"
It’s almost as dark as the sky, but its slightly lighter color creates a visible outline of a being. Its only notable feature is his eyes, one pink and the other yellow.
He visibly stifles when he sees you three.
“Lightners! I didn’t see you back there!” The weird ghost figure laughs, “I hope the commercial wasn’t that embarrassing to watch.”
“I think you did pretty well! Your voice is super hot, dude!” You say to the ghost, causing him to blush.
“Ah, geez…” He looks away. “I know my voice is a hotspot for fans, but it never gets easier.”
“Ok, yes, your hot voice is cool and all…” Susie points the Devilsknife at him, “But who the HELL are you?”
“And do you have any ‘Zilla notebooks?” Lancer follows up.
“Oh… I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? Man, I am such a clumsy head, haha…” His voice gains that speaker tone, “My name is Mike, Mike Phanny! I am the official speaker of all Rook Enterprises businesses and their official mascot! But I don’t have any real power, haha…”
“I think I remember seeing you in a notebook…” Susie grows pensive. “I never bought them, because I found a cover with just a pair of eyes creepy.”
“Hah hah…” Mike weakly laughs. “We get that a lot, miss.”
One of his words seems to catch Toriel’s attention, and like a specter, she advances towards him, “I know you… I remember hearing you on the radio.”
Mike laughs, “An old fan, huh? Always nice to see one of those around.”
Toriel still looks haunted, “But you aren’t real… You aren’t real… You’re just a drawing...”
Mike whistles, “If only that were true, lady. If only that were true...”
You look worriedly towards the goat mom, “Mom, I am getting really, really, REALLY worried now. You need to snap out of it!”
Susie ignores the whole melodrama, asking Mike, “Ok, that’s cool and all, but what does that even mean?!”
Mike blinks, “You haven’t heard of Rook Enterprises? That’s surprising. And kind of relieving, honestly?”
“I feel relieved when I go swimming!” Everyone except Toriel looks at Lancer, “I just wanted to say that.”
“Well, dude, I don’t pay attention to the stuff I watch.” Susie crosses her arms. “I didn’t even know there was a company behind the shows I’ve watched.”
“Performing without a company… that sounds like a dream.” Mike sighs. “We used to be a good company, you know? Once, I didn’t mind working for a company. I told others to work with us, even.” Mike continues, “But then we just kept getting bigger and bigger until the higher-ups lost what makes a good—”
WEEEEEEEOOOOOOW!!! WEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOW!!!!
Sirens start blasting, and the whole room goes red.
Everyone looks up and above as Mike looks worried, “Oh crap, this must be—”
“Mi-i-i-i-ike! Mike, Mike, Mike!”
A weird digital voice blasts through the room. It sounds like the voice of a hardened businessman who has shut down several projects. It’s so loud that the source becomes obvious.
But even something obvious is hard to believe. After all, is the source really that giant TV?
A TV just like the one in Toriel’s house. A cathode-tube TV, like any other.
The only thing it displays is a person on it. A weird person wearing a business suit, with no eyes and a giant nose.
But there are no distinct features to that person outside of that. There’s no emotion behind that smile it always gives.
It’s a featureless mascot. Looking more like a brand logo than a person.
The entire screen is dark outside of it.
That’s what makes it so surprising when it speaks.
“Mi-i-i-ike, why are you still h-e-e-e-ere? You n-e-e-ed to film the next c-o-o-ommercial! The pro-o-o-ducts won’t sell the-e-e-emselves!! The si-i-i-ignal here is we-e-e-eak! This tra-a-a-a-ansmission is stutteri-i-i-ing”
Mike sighs, “On my way, boss!” He turns to you all and says it quieter, “That’s Tenna, my boss.”
“Mi-i-i-ike! Who-o-o-o are you talking to-o-o-o?” The TV lowers itself to the ground, and the smiley inside turns into a shocked figure.
A rectangular, mobster-looking man with the same nose, stuck in a looping animation of shock.
“L-i-i-i-ightners???” It looks directly at Susie and Toriel, “Mo-o-o-onster l-i-i-ightners!”
“Is that my goddamn TV?!” Toriel actually swears, and everyone’s eyes widen as Susie whistles in disbelief.
Your worry increases tenfold.
I’ve NEVER heard Toriel swear in front of me.
“...”
I am… really scared right now…
“I am no-o-o-o-ot just a T-T-T-TV!” The TV, or the entity inside of it called Tenna, corrects Toriel, “I a-a-a-a-am Tenna, the antenna of Rook! I am the-e-e-e-e one who co-o-o-o-nects this wo-o-o-orld with the ne-e-e-e-ext! I wi-i-i-i-ill be the Harbinger of the new wo-o-o-o-o-rld!”
“You're not making any sense! What is this bullcrap?!” Toriel fires back, looking livid. “Is Rook Enterprises responsible for kidnapping us? Is it the fault of that insane woman who rules over you? Has she changed her mind, and now she wants to bring magic back to monsterkind?!”
A spell book manifests in her hands as flames are cast around her. Her violet eyes blaze with fury, “Because if that’s your plan, I will stop you with force!”
Susie gulps at the sheer aura emanating from Toriel. It’s so potent and so fierce that you feel anyone close to her would be burned to ashes.
You have never seen Toriel this angry before, in none of your limited memories.
I… I… Toriel… what’s going on…?
“You need to tell her something.”
You’re right, but… but…”
But even so, you cannot just stand still and let her burn those Darkners.
I know what to do.
If the truth won’t work, you will have to lie.
“Mom, there’s no need to do that!” Toriel looks at you, waiting for you to elaborate. Your resolve gets stronger, “Because this is all a dream! None of this is real! You’re just lucid dreaming!”
At first, there’s no reaction to your words. Just silence that lasts for too long.
Then the flames dissipate.
You smile.
Laughter can be heard coming out of Toriel, “hehehehe...”. It is quiet at first, but then it gets louder, “Hahahahahahahaha!” She throws herself back, guffawing, “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
You frown, fear seizing your soul.
Oh no…
It’s the type of laughter of someone who loses all sense of reason, where their sheer denial causes them to reject reality itself.
I screwed up….
That’s when the lie becomes the truth.
“Oh, that makes so much fucking sense! That’s why my favorite mascot is fucking alive!”
Hearing Toriel’s words makes your heart drop.
I REALLY screwed up!!!
Mike beams at this, “I am your favorite?!”
Susie replies in shock, “Did you just fucking swear?!”
You stay speechless.
“And that fucking living spade just standing there like a normal person! Or the fact that we are in the middle of the fucking ocean! And most of all, why Kris looks dead. Because he’s practically been, for years!!! I don’t know what to do to rekindle the light in his eyes again!” Toriel finally finishes her rant.
A heavy air is cast after such a display.
Nobody can believe that Toriel was acting so… out of character.
But doesn’t it make sense that when the world is believed to be fiction, people would act without worries?
No responsibilities, nothing.
They would act as their worst selves.
“Toriel… what the HELL are you saying?” Susie is the first to break the silence, “Kris is Kris! Who the heck would he even be?!”
Toriel just laughs again, “Oh ‘Susie’… Kris has been dead for a long time. Acting as if he got no SOUL. Ever since that day, all because of Asgore; All because he is an irresponsible whelp. His brother was his only light, and now he’s gone! And I don’t know what to do!!!”
Toriel looks at you. “And now he looks at me with golden eyes filled with life. As if mocking me. My mind, mocking my failures.”
She… She’s talking about my eyes…
Susie just clenches her hands but doesn’t reply. “(Kris’s eyes… aren’t they always golden here?)”.
Neither do you. Shock and fear are the only emotions you feel at this moment.
Kris… Is everything she said… true???
“...”
Do you… feel dead…?
“... yes.”
I...
“Alright, TV man, tell me what your deal is,” Toriel asks Tenna, sounding more like a threat.
Tenna has been quiet the whole exchange.
“That a-a-a-attitude! That pr-e-e-e-esence! That’s ju-u-u-u-ust what we ne-e-e-e-e-eded!”
The TV starts playing a video of the mobster man with a long nose shaking hands with a monster.
“I a-a-a-a-a-ask you to be o-o-o-o-our official monster mascot! With yo-o-o-o-ou at our si-i-i-i-i-ide we will finally reach the monster a-a-a-a-a-audience!”
“(But ain’t I already your mascot?)” Mike whimpers.
Toriel scoffs, which is just strange coming from her, “Alright, I am in! Being an actress sure sounds fun! It’s a dream, after all. Got to have fun before going back to my boring life.”
Tenna’s happy face gets even happier, with crusty gifs of fireworks playing across the TV, “E-e-e-e-e-e-excellent! Then i-i-i-i-it’s a deal.” The digital face turns to Susie, “Wo-o-o-o-ould you li-i-i-ike to join he-e-e-e-e-e-r?”
Susie points the Devilsknife towards him, “Hell freaking NO!”
“That’s a sha-a-a-a-a-a-ame… two-o-o-o-o-o-o monsters would have increased the pro-o-o-o-o-o-ofits.”
“C’mon, dear! Don’t you know how to have fun???” Toriel blows a raspberry at Susie. “Don’t be so uptight and be wild!!!”
“I… I would rather not.” Susie says, not looking at Toriel.
“Sucks to be you. It would've been fun to party out with a girl again. Carol is so uptight nowadays…” Toriel shrugs.
You feel a shudder go through you.
Who is this woman??? That’s not Toriel!!!
A loud sound comes out of the TV, “Go-o-o-o-odzilla, de-e-e-e-eal with the-e-e-e-e-e-em!”
As the Godzilla mecha starts again, the TV starts flying off with Toriel, “See ya later, my children! Kick his ass with your magic! If you live, see you at the dance floor!!!”
“Toriel doesn’t think we’re real… That’s why she doesn’t care.”
This is SO wrong!!!
“It’s better than her knowing the truth.”
How??? How can this be better???
“Trust me on this.”
There’s a finality in Kris’s words that makes you unable to reply.
“Jeez, man, that’s rough.” You jump, not realizing Mike was still here.
“Holy crap… You scared me…” You sigh.
“Sorry. Tend to do that.” He turns towards you, “Look, don’t let her words get to you. I am sure she didn’t mean it like that. She’s probably just really stressed, and being told it was just a dream didn’t help. Don’t worry, kiddos, I will look out for her. You got the Mr.Phanny guarantee!”
“Also, that mecha has a pretty poor battery. Just make it tired and you should beat it in no time!” He closes his eyes. “Toodles!”
He flies off, leaving the Lancer Fun Squad all alone.
“He’s RIGHT, dude! Just because your mom went cuckoo crazy doesn’t mean she is right!” Susie looks bashful, “Plus I like you for who YOU are! Be it the freak-quiet kid that never panics or the nerd that preaches about friendship! Just because I call ya a zombie, doesn’t mean you are one!”
Kris smiles at her, “Thanks, Susie!”
Susie looks away, “You don’t need to thank me for saying the obvious!”
“Hohoho, moms sure are scary!” Lancer injects, “I am glad I only have a girldad!”
You sigh internally.
I… am sorry about that. I just thought that Susie’s idea would work… But all I did was make it worse. Toriel… this isn’t the Toriel I know…
“It’s… not fine. But I can deal with it. Everything will be worth it in the end. It’s better this way.”
That’s what I hope for…
“But… I wonder why the heck Toriel was so freaked out... Even before we told her it was a dream.” Susie scratches her mane. “She really didn’t like me using magic…”
“Yeah… Toriel… Mom… everything surrounded her was weird.” You look pensive.
Everything involving magic is weird… Why does it only exist in this world, and why is Toriel so bothered by it?
“WHAT ABOUT THE KING, KING? ARE WE READY TO BE CRUSHED, CRUSHED? FOR THE GAME TO END?” Jevil warns you three in his own roundabout way. “IS IT REALLY THE TIME TO ARGUE?”
“Right. We have to focus.” You shake your head, dispelling those thoughts. “We just need to stall for time…” You say. Godzilla’s roar shakes the entire island. “We can totally do it!!!”
You and Susie get ready, weapons at the ready, entering battle poses, Lancer right behind you two.
The King of Monsters stands right in front of you two, towering over like a skyscraper.
Gotta check it!
Your eyes glow white as you see through the mecha.
GODZILLA - ATK 70 DEF 255
ELEMENT: FIRE/METAL.
LIKE: NOTHING (IT’S A ROBOT).
DISLIKE: NOTHING (SERIOUSLY, IT’S A ROBOT).
Despite being made of metal, don’t confuse him with Mecha Godzilla. Made by the finest alloy of Rook Enterprises, its metal body makes it invulnerable to damage.
It’s a poor battery, meaning a pacify spell should put it out of its misery.
It’s a shame Ralsei isn’t here...
He readies his fire breath as you ready yourselves to dodge it.
We’re so screwed…
But it never comes.
Huh???
He just glows blue and falls back into the ocean, huge waves forming from the impact.
“Hoho! We won by doing nothing!” Lancer cheers.
“YOU MIGHT HAVE WON BY [Absolutely Nothing] BUT IT WAS SPAMTON’S [Nighty Nighty] SPELL THAT—”
“Um, it was my pacify spell that beat it…” A fluffy voice comes from the edge of the island. A voice you grew used to in these last two days.
“Ralsei?!” You yell, shocked.
“Right when we needed him the most, he came.”
Indeed, it’s none other than the dark prince, Ralsei. He is still wearing those pink and yellow glasses and that scarf made out of vines.
“You got some good timing, nerd!” Susie mocks him, but she is still smiling.
“Haha… I swear I am not trying to make it dramatic or anything.” He explains himself, “It’s just that I felt a dark presence and hurried over! It’s kind of early, but a dark prince never sleeps.”
“I am glad that you are here… so much stuff happened that I am glad to see a friend.” You say, sounding relieved.
“I saw what happened to Toriel…” He quietly says, “I can relate to the feeling of being buried by your duty… Wanting to simply worry about nothing at all and just have fun… But don’t worry, as soon as we seal the fountain, she will be back to normal!”
“I sure hope so…” Susie looks awkward. “I… I think telling people that the Dark World was a dream was a mistake. Toriel… she’s been acting really weird. Ralsei… is there something wrong with me using magic?”
“There’s nothing at all, Susie. The Dark World is a place of freedom, unbothered by the laws of the light.” Ralsei smiles. “You should be free to do as you wish.”
You raise an eyebrow at that.
Is there something in the Light World that stops people from using magic?
Nobody to answer your question.
“Well… that’s… good.” Susie looks a little bit more relieved. “Let’s go seal that fountain, then.”
“But where do we even go—” As soon as those words come out of your mouth, the water starts flowing to where the mecha fell.
The water level gets lower and lower as all the water is drained.
Only the islands remain on the dry floor, and the absence of water reveals a huge door with an M-shape.
“Oh… that’s pretty convenient!” You turn to your party, “Alright then, a new world has been opened, so let’s go and seal that fountain!”
Kris crosses his arms like a loner, Susie pumps her fist in front of her face as Lancer jumps on her shoulders with a circle of spades, and Ralsei wraps his vines around himself.
“Always got to pose!”
Even in times like these… huh…
Together, all of you walk through the door.
Beyond that door lies a new world, a new dream.
Completely unexplored, where the possibilities are endless.
That world is the beginning of the next chapter of your adventure.
Notes:
With that, Chapter 3 officially starts! Some stuff like Toriel's Dark World outfit and giving Tenna a nose were edited recently to fit the canon designs, but everything else was written all the way back in 2022! I hope everyone enjoys this part of the story now.