Chapter Text
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Castle Town never seemed to sleep, much like a few other cities the Angel had heard of in the Light World.
Darkners still bustled, still ran about and had fun and got up to various shenanigans. Several Pippins seemed to have started a gambling ring behind the café, though what exactly they were betting on was difficult to discern. A small group of Swatchlings were sweeping up shattered pottery near the edge of town with a very guilty-looking Shadowguy and car with legs. The café itself somehow seemed even more lively than during the day, as if some sort of party were taking place inside. A shame for whoever had to clean up after it. Probably poor Swatch. There was also a sizable crowd near Seam’s seap, though that seemed to be more of a gaggle of chattering friends and neighbors.
All in all, it was a difficult scene to sneak through as a very conspicuous floating red heart. That also glowed.
The Angel did its best to dip around corners and hide behind objects to hide from view, shoving itself into tiny spaces where it couldn’t be seen by passersby. It even had to blend in with the decorative hearts that now adorned the dojo’s neon sign. It had no idea how or when those had appeared, but it was glad that they had. The courtyard was mercifully empty, no longer being taken up by Shuttah doing a photoshoot of various other Darkners. Even more merciful was the fact that the door had been left open. Upon reaching the inside of the castle, the escaped SOUL allowed itself a moment of reprieve from the unexpected chaos. It breathed a metaphorical sigh and dimmed with relief, hovering lower to the stone floor. Finally, after a few moments of passing adrenaline (could it feel such a thing?) it looked around the entryway, which appeared to be empty aside from the bubbling cauldron in the center of the room. It never quite understood why the dark prince, who appeared to serve as a cleric-type for the party, owned a witch’s cauldron. Perhaps it was looking too deeply into it. The strange door beyond it, engraved with the Delta Rune, was still shut tight. The sound of thunderous snoring could be heard from the basement level, echoing up the stairs.
With a small shake to focus itself, the SOUL drifted up the staircase to the second level slowly, not wishing to be seen. It peered around the corner of the dim hallway and found it empty. Most of the castle denizens must have been asleep, unlike those in the town below. It floated along and stopped at the door to Kris’ room, then Susie’s, then even Lancer’s, but found them all to be quiet. Empty, it seemed. It would have to check upstairs and hope it did not get spotted by any late-night wanderers, or worse, the Lightners it was trying dearly to avoid. It wasn’t sure what would happen if it were to be caught.
It finally heard signs of life just outside of Ralsei’s green door, which was both fortunate and unfortunate. Judging by the several quiet voices within, it had located the Lightners and could now better avoid them, but it had also found Ralsei, who it still had so very many questions for. It wanted to know how to get its vessel back! It wanted to know if the prince could help it sever its tie with Kris and free the poor kid from its control. It didn’t want to be a parasite any longer than it had to be. It seemed that the Angel would merely have to wait…
… but it would not hurt to listen for an opportunity, right?
“Heh, well, guess we’ll just have to have a round to see who’s better.”
“Haha, Susie! We don’t even have a board.”
“Then we’ll make one! With - I dunno - paper and glue and stuff. Just no glitter. That shit gets everywhere. I once found glitter in my hair a whole year after we had to use it in school.”
The two laughed, though it was not joined by their third. Kris sat on the side with their eyes turned to the window with nothing beyond it, mind foggy and unresponsive. Their thumb picked at the black nail polish adorning their other fingers, absently allowing tiny chips of it to fall to the floor. The last day had been long, and they were exhausted, but they couldn’t go back home. Not right now. Not with… well. They just couldn’t.
Kris couldn’t help the way their mind drifted between various thoughts, all centered around the same thing: the SOUL. Of course they were thinking about it. How couldn’t they? They had been able to feel its righteous fury all throughout the day, first at those dark shadows in the Dark Sanctuary, then the Titan, then even their mom. They’d been terrified of what it might do if left unchecked, even if it had been kind so far. They were upset, too, but the sheer severity of the red heart’s rage had been enough to make their knees quake with fear. They’d never felt its emotions before.
At Noelle’s house, too, they’d been shaky. To say that they were uneasy upon finding that thing roaming the vents would be an understatement. They’d all but panicked when they’d noticed it watching from the vent in the kitchen as they played piano. How long had it been lingering there like a spectre? Had it heard their phone call with Carol? God, they hoped not. They took a tiny amount of comfort in the fact that they’d had the volume down low, so even if it had heard, it would’ve only been bits and pieces. The teen had been swift to knock it from the air and take it back to that present box again, putting a lid on it and fixing the vent cover just to be sure that it didn’t escape again. But it had, and that was somehow even more scary than the first time, as well as frustrating. It had somehow even found its way to the breaker and caused a power failure, and soon after, used the chance to try and get to Dess’ old guitar. Hitting it, finally showing it just how much they despised it and its nosey nature, had felt surprisingly good, even though it had ultimately ended up hurting them as well.
As if to add insult to injury there was all that prophecy talk in the Dark Sanctuary. Kris hadn’t even known about all that. Ralsei had been too afraid to share it, and so kept it a secret. The words from that one panel kept replaying in their head… The cage with human soul and parts … Just thinking about it caused a strange and uneasy feeling to build in their stomach, as if they might be sick.
“...ris…”
“Kris! You okay?”
Kris’ head shot up, blinking as though startled out of a dream. Both Susie and Ralsei were looking at them with obvious concern that made the teen lower their head to hide behind their hair. They didn’t want to tell their friends what was on their mind even if they could. They wouldn’t understand.
“... fine,” they murmured, clenching their hands into fists to stop the fidgeting. “J’st… long day.”
“I get that.” Susie threw her arms behind her head and leaned back against the ICE-E statue that they had kept for some unknowable reason. She flipped her bangs back and huffed a deep sigh, turning her eyes to the side for a moment. “Today was a lot. The old man, the prophecy, the Titan… think we’ll need therapy after all that?”
“I-if you do, I would gladly—” Ralsei started, but he was cut off by the purple monster.
“Nah, you like, also need therapy, dude. Can’t be our therapist if you got your own issues.”
“... I don’t think that’s how that works…” Kris muttered. Susie merely brushed it off with a wave of her hand.
“Okay, well, still!”
Just before Kris could manage a small laugh, they suddenly felt a distinctly recognizable pull from the direction of the door. Their head snapped to it, half-expecting to see a red glow hovering ominously. It wasn’t. But they could sense its familiar presence right on the other side of the green wood, hovering and pacing about. Their stomach dropped and their hands began to shake. Hadn’t they locked it up? It shouldn’t have been able to get out of that cage, let alone the house . Not unless… they’d forgotten to lock it. They’d forgotten to close the window on their way out. Of course . They’d been so focused on just going after Susie that it hadn’t even occurred to them. And now it was in the Dark World, having clearly followed them. Why? Why? Couldn’t it just leave them alone?
Ralsei must have noticed their abrupt shift in demeanor, the paling of their blue face. He leaned forward and placed a soft paw on their shoulder, feeling the way it trembled and shook. “Kris…? Did you hear someone outside?”
Kris stood up and made a beeline for the door without answering.
The Angel cursed its tendency to be nosey. It knew it should have simply left Kris to have a peaceful moment with their friends; they didn’t need it hovering over them more than it already did. It felt too overbearing from a foreign entity who possessed them like a ghost. As the green door before it suddenly wrenched open and a blue hand tried frantically to grab it, it darted back with a startled flash of light. It only had the briefest glimpse of Kris’ dark, panicked eyes before they lunged again, initiating a chase. It was vaguely aware of Susie and Ralsei’s voices calling down the hallway before it blurred around the corner and disappeared down the stairs with the blue human hot on its trail.
The Angel was, thankfully, faster than Kris this time. Perhaps it was their fear that slowed them - something the floating heart tried very hard not to think about too much - or perhaps it was its own desire to not be caught again, but it was quick enough to duck behind a pillar and hide as the teen rushed past with rapid footsteps. Susie’s heavy boots seemed to follow after them, as well as her voice.
“Kris! The hell? What happened?” The Angel heard her ask, panting from running so suddenly.
“Lost it… lost it…” Kris muttered to themself, searching the hallway frantically. Their breath was quick and shallow, audible even from the SOUL’s hiding place.
“Huh? You lost something? Uh… well, it sounds really important to you. Here, dude, lemme help. Let’s go check the courtyard.”
After a moment of considerable hesitation, the two Lightners’ footsteps soon faded around a corner. The Angel drooped with relief and slowly hovered out from behind its hiding spot, only to bump into something soft and green. It jolted back and looked up, only to be met with a very startled-looking dark prince, his eyes wide behind his glasses. His hands hung uselessly in the air as if he’d been about to catch whoever had run into him.
“... it’s you.”