REBOOT (You've wandered out of bounds!)

by HollowedVoid

Summary:

Reboot of my original fic I made back in 2019!

After going into the woods to do their assignment, Kris, Susie, and Noelle find themselves falling into the underground. Kris, with the newfound autonomy that comes when the thing usually controlling you is busy with some kid and their ghost friend, needs to navigate how the trio is going to get back home, and how they can free themself from the clutches of the man that speaks in hands. Ghosts walk the underground, and a time looping 11 year old needs to have the "you can't keep killing and resetting everything, even if you can undo it again, stop listening to the voice in your head" talk.

Chapter 1: Off-Map

Summary:

After running into Noelle's mom at the festival, and with a weighing cloud of doom over their heads from the prophecy, Kris and Susie decided they won't play the game for a bit, and instead of going to the festival or the flower shop or the dark world, decide that they're gonna do their homework.
Noelle is happy to help.

Notes:

Image links have been fixed

Kris would have to admit things haven’t been going according to plan.

They mull this over as they take stiff step after stiff step through the crowded forest floor by their house, the leaves have begun to fall, but their bright colors of red and yellow have turned muddy and muted from last night's rain. 

The titan, the knight, the prophecy.

Susie.

Maybe they were being a bit too broody about it all, it’s easy to start a long internal monologue in your head when you aren’t the one driving your body. Unfortunately, the Soul can’t drive very well in the first place, as a particularly wet spot of mud has Kris suddenly thrust back into the forefront, arms spinning out in vain to keep their balance as they slide a few feet down the hill, only to start tipping backwards right at the bottom. 

“Watch out dumbass!” 

Speaking of the Devil Kris thinks, and they are saved from a muddy death by Susie appearing behind them.

She’s supporting them from behind, a toothy grin gracing her features that tell Kris that she’s debating dropping them. “Figured you’d had enough of falling this week.” Her low growl is enough of a hint, and Kris is able to get back on their feet before the Soul lets them both get drenched. 

“Thanks.” The word makes their voice crack, and the sound feels a bit like gravel, but Susie doesn’t seem to register that, as she’s already turning back up the hill.

“Is everything ok?” Noelle’s voice gets closer as she calls out behind them, and a moment later is skidding to a stop at the top of the slope. Her ears twitch backwards in surprise when she see them both, like she always does. 

“Ha, yeah Kris just decided to try, uh mud skiing or something?” Susie yelled back to her, glancing back to Kris, who would be punching her if they could, but instead the soul stared impassively into the middle distance. Their nails dug into their palm at the wave of embarrassment, could this thing not even ACT like a person sometimes?

“O-oh!” it takes a moment but Noelle lets out a laugh, the mud tracks in the hill tell most of the story anyway. The deer girl surveyed the way down for a moment, and Kris could see the frustration as her eyes tracked from the muddy slope, back to her outfit.

The white of her skirts already have some mud on them, Kris thought, it’s not like they were gonna stay clean wandering around the woods anyway.  

Noelle had worn a slightly nicer outfit compared to her normal wardrobe, “Something nice for the festival” she had said, but everyone in a mile radius could tell she was looking at Susie when she said it. Though the scene became a bit more comical when Susie showed up in her normal outfit.

“You can tell your mom it was my fault!” Susie called up to her as Noelle started to pick her way towards them, the light fabric of her skirts bunched in her hands. Once at the bottom, Noelle let out a humorless huff of a laugh.

“Thanks, but I think she’d mind less if I said you weren’t around.” Noelle sighed, looking back up to Susie apologetically, and Kris stabs down the shock of cold guilt that freezes their system. Still Kris can see the tenseness that briefly settles on Susie, before it’s gone again and covered by a snarky grin.

“She doesn’t want us to go to the festival together!” Susie exclaimed, starting back through the woods again, and Kris felt as the Soul took up their strings again, following after her. 

“Does this look like the festival?” Noelle snorts.
“I think I can still hear the festival, though.” She does a little trot to keep pace with the two of them. Susie shrugs easily.

“Just means we gotta go further.”

“We’ve already been gone for a while!” Kris heard Noelle protest, while they thought about how far they’d actually come, they haven’t come out here since they were young, and especially after…

“Kris! You’re gonna be left behind!”

No they didn’t, they just muttered “sorry” under their breath, Susie and Noelle shouldn’t even be able to hear them-

“You say that but you’re still goin’ slow! What about all the racing we did in the dark- uh hm-” Kris caught up to Susie and Noelle right before she fumbled with the whole “Keep the dark world a secret” plan.

“Uh I mean, after school the other day!” She finishes stiffly as Noelle gives her a strange look.

Kris isn’t quite sure why Susie’s so insistent to keep the dark worlds a secret in the first place, while yes, Berdly was certainly his own brand of annoying, Noelle was nice to have through the busy cyber city streets, and Kris certainly wouldn’t mind her coming with them again.

“Whatever! Let’s just go!”

And they do, picking through the woods, and only a few minutes later in a clearing in the trees, Noelle calls out.

“Susie, what did you say we were looking for again?” Good question.

“Oh right.” And when Kris sees her again, she’s appearing from behind a large rock with leaves in her mouth. Kris nods sagely at her with a mouth full of moss.

“Susie! If you wanted a snack we could’ve just gone to the store!” Noelle exclaims, and Kris was suddenly being haunted by skeleton demons and unsavory thoughts of homicide to hear as Susie spits out her leaves to talk about some urban legend.
“-So the rock is being haunted by the girl from the farm.” Hell yeah.

“And the rock has a face on it?” Noelle said incredulously, though the smile on her face betrays how into the story she is. Susie nods enthusiastically, leaning against her boulder with her arms crossed, an absolute authority to her that makes Kris want to believe her, even though there’s no way anyone got sucked into a rock in hometown.

Kris’s feet began to move on their own once more, trailing around clearing as the two kept talking.

“How are you supposed to use the rock for your project if you’ll just get sucked into it if you touch it?” Kris hears Noelle ask, and knocks over a tower of stones someone made (probably Snowy). 

“Well, we gotta test it somehow- for the project! You heard Alphys…” Susie muttered out the teacher’s name like a curse, and Kris can hear Noelle sigh sympathetically. Further following the edge of the clearing, stopping again in front of a tree.

The woods basically rotted anyway , Kris thought.

“I’m sorry about that.” Noelle is saying, “- I didn’t think she’d actually get Alphys involved!” She said miserably. Kris was led around the clearing again, not leaving the light of the midday sun to venture further into the forest. This kind of thing has happened before, the Soul seemed to have limits on occasion, some kind of map that prevents them from wandering too far away at times. Why exactly, Kris doesn’t know, maybe part of it is still being controlled by Kris’s will, though they doubt it. 

“Ah, it’s whatever, you know-” When Kris rejoins the two, Susie had clamored onto her boulder, and Noelle was next to her, leaning against it. “I, uh, I’m more pissed your mom thinks she can control you like that.” It’s moments like this Kris is ok with being an emotionless puppet, they don’t have to hide a wince. Noelle doesn’t respond to that, lip pursed and her face scrunched in thought, Kris wished they could reach out to bop her bright red nose.

Susie glanced up as they approached, and she bared her sharp teeth in a grin. 

“Kris! Did you find the face rock?”

“Ugh, lame!” Susie jumped down from the boulder, sinking a bit into the mud with her landing. “Whatever, must be further in.” She said with a shrug. As Kris stiffly followed after her, Noelle cleared her throat.

“Uh, Susie?” And when Kris looked back, Noelle was still in the clearing, hesitating before the shadow of the trees, and Susie grunted in confusion. 

“Maybe we should head back?” Noelle suggested, she glanced down at the silver watch on her wrist, “It’s almost 5, and it’s gonna take an hour just to walk back…” She trails off, but Kris knows exactly where this is going and can’t help but want to be buried right in the ground where they stood. Behind them, they’re incredibly aware of the sound of Susie’s shoes shuffling in the dead leaves. 

“Oh, uh-” Susie hesitated, then took a breath.

“Right- uh! I know it’s just a little further in!” Kris is surprised at her sudden energy, and enthusiasm? And Noelle is much the same, blinking in surprise. 

“R-really? But, if we don’t head back now we’ll miss the car- uh!” the deer coughed, “-the rides! We’ll miss the rides!” She squeaked.

The Soul burst in out of nowhere, and Kris bit their lips after the robotic words escaped, Susie just smirked at the two of them.

“Nah, you guys are just way too slow!” Then she was right in their personal space, being picked up and thrown over her shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

How familiar .

“Susie! I’m on the track team!” Came Noelle’s useless plea, and she, too, joined Kris as Susie’s victims.

“And you weigh as much as a couple grapes!” And Kris has to hold on to the back of her cardigan as Susie takes off in a run. Next to them, Noelle can’t help but laugh as Susie started humming the Sonic theme song. Honestly Kris would probably be having the time of their life if not for the rapid heartbeat .

They’re surprised Susie hasn’t noticed the way it felt like each beat rattled their skeleton, the Soul seemed to vibrate harder with each stride, and Kris forced a shaky hand to try and tap on her back.

But she doesn’t, step after step, it’s becoming unbearable. 

“S-Susie? Kris doesn’t look too good, can you slow down?” Angel that she is, Noelle stepped in, yelling a bit, like Susie couldn’t hear them.

“Just a little further I pro-”

Chapter 2: The Ruins (part 1)

Summary:

Down the rabbit hole

Falling is familiar to Kris at this point.

They were weightless, only telling which way was down by the wind pressing back against them, their hair drawing slashes across their face, a freefall, and from where they don’t have a clue.

One moment Kris was being run through the woods over Susie’s shoulder, the next the world was dark, and at the moment they aren’t sure if it’s because their eyes are squeezed shut, or because there’s nothing to see at all. They’re reminded again of the last dark world, the Church was filled with falling, and this was reminiscent of the first fall, the painful impact as they hit the glass as full force, and spun wildly. For a moment then, Kris wondered if there’d be anything left for Susie to revive when they hit the bottom, and they wondered again now.

Susie, Noelle-

Are they falling too?

The thought made Kris force their eyes open against the wind, where they now see the first burst of color. Something yellow, something getting bigger and closer to them.

A choked scream bursts through their lungs, and they flail before they can remember to brace for impact. 

They land, hands first, and are greeted with the soft texture of flower petals.

It still hurts, don’t get them wrong, but the impossible cushen beneath them softened the impact to a startling degree, less like they were about to be flat as a pancake, and more like when they would land wrong taking their “shortcut” from their room. 

Stunned on the dirt, Kris blinked their eyes open, a slight groan escaping as they put weight on an arm that did not appreciate the gesture. Sore and confused, Kris couldn’t help but gawk a little as they took in their surroundings, eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light that came down from above. Kris followed the tall stone walls further and further up with their eyes, until they were looking straight up at the light source, and realized they were at the bottom of a very, very, deep hole.

They struggled to their feet, they don’t remember falling into a hole, or really, Susie dropping them in one, and they’ve certainly never heard of some kind of tunnel system like this under Hometown. Maybe some kind of sinkhole?

No, this wasn’t a normal fall .

Kris thought to themself, they knew they were falling far longer than what they should’ve survived, but how? Was this a dark world?

The rouge flower petals that cling to their non-darkworld pants disagree, but it wouldn’t be the first time their regular clothes had reappeared on them in one, the first time ( was it the first time? ) they spoke with the man behind the tree, it was much the same, but there was no tree here, and certainly no man, even if they couldn’t tell you what he looked like. 

“Kris!” Loud and booming, Kris’s head snaps over to where Susie’s voice echoed down a dark hallway they hadn’t noticed, and moments later, Susie herself appeared through the entrance.

Susie didn’t look as much worse for wear, though she seemed just as frazzled.

“Kris? You ok man? Damn, that was weird-” She shook her head, like she was still trying to make sense of what happened to both of them, “-at first I thought it was a Dark World but we’re still in our clothes, and Noelle doesn’t know what happened either.” Susie finished, and as she spoke her head leaned back to see the entrance to the cave, high above them.

“...Too bad we don’t still have Jack’s claws huh?” Susie snorted, glancing back down at Kris.

Kris waited for the Soul to respond.

Nothing.

“You ok man? Didn’t hit your head on the way down right?” Susie asked, and her purple face filled Kris’s vision as the monster suddenly became far closer, and Kris had to take a sudden step back as cold shock sank into their bones.

“Mh, n-nothing.” They let out, and they felt their throat creak a bit around the words. Glancing back down so Susie couldn’t see their face, so they could take a moment without looking in her eyes. 

Where is it???

“Susie!” Noelle’s voice bounced down the cold rock walls, and Susie’s attention was blessedly directed away from Kris’s distress.

“Found ‘em!” Susie shouted back, and Kris took the moment she’s looking away from them to school their expression into stoicness once more. Susie didn’t know about the Soul, she couldn’t know about it. “Come on Kris, me and Noelle- we’ll, to be honest I don’t really know what happened-” in a blink they’re walking down the dark hall, the flowers fade to dirt, and then to stone under their feet. “-Just that one minute we’re going for a new speed record through the woods and the next I’m in this dark-ass room?” As they trailed behind her, Kris realized that it’s never been like this, that it’s only ever been her behind them.

Their chest felt cold.

It’s through a delicately carved door frame they pass through next, it’s so dark inside, they can’t see the edges of the room, but they can see Noelle in the center of it, illuminated by another crack in the ceiling high above them, only allowing for a patch of grass to grow beneath her. 

“Oh thank goodness-” Kris heard Noelle breath out a sigh of relief, she hugged her blouse close to her chest, eyes trailing across the darkness of the room like she was expecting something to jump out at her, “-There’s another room up ahead- but, gosh, Kris do you have any idea where we are? We must have fallen down, some kind of sinkhole? I guess?” 

Why are you asking me? I don’t know anymore than you? Kris thought, shaking their head as their Soul once again offered no answer. 

“Whatda find up ahead?” Susie asked, probably because Kris was being a tad useless.

“Just another room, but it’s at least got some light, I think we might just have to see how far these tunnels go.” Noelle’s hoof tapped anxiously in the grass, “There’s stairs and a sign on the wall, like some kind of ruin.” Now Noelle was guiding them through the dark, another intricate doorway passed, and Kris tried to pull on the strings of their heart, something they learned would bring it to the forefront of their being, it was enough to let them pull it clean out of their chest, but this time it didn’t seem to do anything, the cold in their chest didn’t hurt like when they’d pull out the Soul, it just felt like cold air had filled the space where it used to be.

“I didn’t Hometown was old enough to have a ruin-” Susie had said, and when they crossed the threshold to the next room, they were both startled as light flooded in, iron sconces on the rock walls bursting to life with flame. 

At the same time Kris sucked in a breath of a surprise, Susie let out a “Whoa”. Noelle let out a light laugh at their expense.

“Yeah, it got me too, someone’s keeping this place going with magic, it’s incredible.” Susie on the other hand approached the large, leafless, tree in the center of the room, its leaves littering the ground around it like they had all fallen off at once. “And it’s not-” Noelle continued the original question, “-Or at least, not one that anyone knows of.” Noelle finished, up the stairs, she stared down a sign above the next door.

“I don’t know this writing either, it’s so old I can’t even read it.” 

“Heh, hell, if Alphys wants a project I think finding this easily counts as an A+” Susie scoffed, shouldering past where Kris was frozen at the foot of the stairs.

Was that…? It was gone in a blink, that light that only they can see, like it was never even there.

“Kris?” It turned out Susie hadn’t pushed past them like they had assumed, and when Kris snapped out of their stupor it was to both Susie and Noelle staring at them like they’d sprouted a second head.
“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head on the way down? You’re acting all spacey.” Susie told them, and Kris frowned.

I’m not acting any kind of way, Kris thought.

You just don’t really know me like you think you do . 

But that’s not an answer, at least not one they wanted to explain, but the absence of the Soul was throwing them, and they felt like they might not be hiding it that well.

“I think… Yeah, maybe a little.” Might as well use the excuse, but they almost immediately went to backtrack when the trace of amusement on Susie’s face crumpled into concern.

“Shit, sorry, we probably shouldn’t be screwing around down here too long.” And Kris couldn’t look at her without more guilt gripping them by the throat, swapping one lie for another they shrugged. 

“...S’fine.” And they pushed ahead, leading the way for some kind of normalcy as they took the lead, further pretending not to notice the way Noelle’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

The other room has buttons on the floor and another sign on the wall, which Noelle swiftly approached. 

“‘Only the fearless may proceed, brave ones, foolish ones, both not walk the middle road’, gosh what in the world is all this?” Susie wandered over to the big floor panels, setting one booted foot onto and pressing down. The mechanism made a heavy chunk sound and suddenly the door slid open with the loud rumble of stone against stone, this all sent Noelle stumbling back in surprise.

“Susie!” She complained, and Kris let out a snort of amusement as Susie laughed.

“What? I see a big button on the floor and I’m not supposed to press it?” 

“It-It could’ve been dangerous! Like, some kind of boobytrap!” Noelle objected, and Kris bit their lip as their face betrayed them, and at their side, Susie’s maw split into a toothy grin.

“Snk-” Kris reached up a hand to cover their mouth, god this was stupid, what were they, 12? But Susie was being way too encouraging with how she was watching them, she knew as well as they did, one single shared thought. The deer girl groaned, she knows what is coming and can do nothing to stop it.

“Oh come on-”

“Pf- Booby-” 

“Shut up!!”

“Fuck yeah Kris!!” While Noelle pulled on her ears in embarrassment, Kris was being thrown under Susie’s arm in a nuggie. 

“I swear you two can be just as bad as Snowy and MK! It’s just a word!”

“A Booby word?” 

“A boobytrap you might say?” 

“Agh!” And Noelle pointedly turns away from the other two, Kris still being dragged under Susie’s massive arm to the next room, and hopeful exit, muffled laughter breathing life into their lungs in a way they’ve definitely missed for a long time now. And for a moment, they realized that this was the first time the three of them have gotten to actually hang out, just as themselves, without It.

They made a promise they made a promise they made a promise-

The three teenagers gawked a bit as they made it through the next couple rooms, still the same stone walls, some switches on the walls, the first two very labeled, and Kris ignored how it reminded them of how their mother would teach them when they were younger, clear instructions, maybe a bit too clear. Susie scared Noelle again when she flipped one of the switches and spikes on the other end of the room shot up from the floor. Another laugh at poor Noelle’s expense, who proclaimed she was going ahead this time to make sure there weren’t any jumpscares in the next room. Kris was about to be right behind her anyway when Susie’s hand landed on their shoulder, she leaned in right next to their ear with a lowered voice.

“This is a lot like the Dark World, Kris, puzzles, locked doors, spikes? Could we be in one, just… Without the cool gear? For some reason?” Kris had been trying not to think about that, and they glanced over to Susie with a frown.

“...No Ralsie.” They muttered back, any other time in the Dark Worlds, the prince would be by their side almost immediately after they entered, even in the church, Kris suspected he had been in the dark world almost at the same time as them, just looking up ahead for the prophecy when they ran into the Knight again. Susie hummed in acknowledgement, her clawed fingers tapping an almost anxious rhythm. 

“Yeah, I was thinking that too, but where else could we be?” Kris didn’t have an answer for her, shaking their head, they followed Noelle. They ignored how they didn’t hear Susie’s footsteps for a few moments later.

Noelle wasn’t in the next room, but Kris could see a corridor through the doorway, and a training dummy idly sat next to the path. They elected to ignore it, but Susie threw a punch as they passed, its metal frame wobbling against the rock floor.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t understand… I know but where exactly?... But how- ” When Kris and Susie rounded the corner, Noelle’s voice echoing down the hall, she was talking to someone?

“Noelle?” Susie called, and she jogged to catch up, and now Kris could see she was talking to… Froggit?

The short monster’s face was hard to read, but it always was, glancing between the deer girl and the purple monster now racing up to it.

“Ribbit… It’s dangerous to be down here by yourselves… Ribbit…” it croaked, leveling Susie with a look that might be taken as scolding.

“We figured, we just want to know how to get back, where even are we?” 

“That’s just the thing Susie, it keeps sayin-” Kris was trying to catch up on the conversation, but once they stepped forward, the Froggit noticed them, surprisingly making its little frog legs bunch up and shoot forward, right for Kris. 

Kris stumbled back in surprise as they were met with a full-body headbutt, the air being driven out of their lungs and the world going a bit dark around the edges.

The Froggit had dragged them into a fight.

“Hey!” Susie objected, and Kris could tell she hadn’t been dragged in like the Dark World, it was just them vs the Froggit, and they were now being the target of bullets, no Soul to protect them, and no teammates to defend.

There was a cool blue light at their chest, and Kris looked down in shock.

What was going on?

They were certainly in a fight for their life.

Chapter 3: The Ruins (part 2)

Summary:

Many questions, mostly left unanswered, but at least they can start figuring out how to play the game.

In the Dark World, the rhythm of a battle is familiar.

The Soul is brought to the forefront, their body becoming a stringed puppet to its will, and it uses that will to dive, duck, and roll away from harm, its strength connected to the party, its power fueling their magic.

This is nothing like that.

Kris had to stumble away from the fly shaped bullet, one its wings nicked their calf and sent a white-hot pain briefly through their nervous system. They could take hits like this without blinking in the Dark World, but now, without that… Thing that gives them that power, they’re on their own, and Kris didn’t think they’d be able to stomach the same kind of bone-shaking magic that they could before, not to mention the practical lack of armor. 

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

“Stop it!” From the sidelines, Noelle and Susie were taken just as off-guard as they were, not just from the shock of the attack, but from the sudden burst of magic that Froggit apparently had been hiding from the entire town. The yells provided a much-needed distraction at least, the Froggit’s barrage of bullets dissipating as its attention swung back around in time to see Susie charging directly at it with a menacing fist raised.

The Froggit hopped narrowly out of the way of Susie’s swing, and Kris realized it was because she seemed to be aiming to get in between them and the Froggit. She raised her fists defensively at it, ready to put up a fight, and Kris was doubly surprised at Noelle’s arm coming across their chest, another layer of protection even as the fearful look wouldn’t leave her face. 

“You want trouble punk?!” Susie growled out, but the warning seemed to be unneeded, as the moment the Froggit had the opening, it took off, fast as its frog legs could carry it, down a drop-shoot Kris didn’t even notice. Susie, indigate as ever at the punch-and-run, took after it, feet skidding on the old stone floor as she threw herself at the hole in the ground. 

“You damn coward! What the hell was that about you asshole! Come back here to finish the stupid fight you started!” Susie couldn’t fit in the shoot by a long shot, her shoulders pressing at the opening as she yelled a handful more curses that just served to echo like a bird stuck in a chimney.

“Kris are you ok? That- that was insane!” At their side, Noelle pressed a hand against their back, and Kris realized they were still struggling to regain the air that was knocked out of them in the first place by the direct headbutt to the stomach. Kris pressed their eyes shut tight for a moment while they nodded, taking a steadying breath, and wincing when they tried to stand up straight, bitterly reminded of the burning hit they took from one of the magic flies. Noelle, ever perspective, swung her arm around them to keep Kris on their feet, who also hoped she wasn’t quite perspective enough to notice the burning heat that spread across their face at the action.

“Ng- ‘m fine.” They grunt out, it really felt more like an oven burn than something that would keep them off their feet in the dark world, hell, the blue fire from the Guei hurt way more than this, even if the Soul could easily keep them from toppling from it. Noelle let out a sound of protest when they pushed off her, taking another step and biting the inside of their cheek to keep in a wince. They’d be able to walk, it wouldn’t be pleasant, but they’ve put up with worse.

At their side, Noelle’s face was drawn tight in a frown, fists balled in frustration, but Kris was saved from further argument by Susie coming back, shaking her head in defeat.

“I don’t get it! What the hell was that about?” Susie growled out the words, “Noelle, did it say anything before we got here? It just went nuts on Kris, throwing magic around like it was nothing!” Noelle shook her head, transferring her balled up fists to her skirts, anxiously gripping and letting go of the fabric, over and over.

“I-I mean, I just asked it where we were, and the Froggit just said the Ruins, then when I asked how to get out it tried to tell me we needed to go deeper? And when I said I didn’t understand it started talking about how it was dangerous to be here by myself, and that it should take me to Toriel? That’s when you guys showed up and,- Well you know.” Noelle finished, throwing down the fabric in her hands for emphasis. 

“Mom?” Kris’s surprise had them mumbling out. Their mother had never mentioned an underground ruin like this, or at all, why would Froggit think they needed to talk to her about it? They were sure they hadn’t committed any sin against the Froggit family recently, at least not in the last three years or so. Noelle picked up their confusion and shook her head sadly, she had no more answers than they did. 

“Ugh!” Susie groaned, clawed hands reaching up to pull at her hair in frustration. “This is so damn weird! Kris couldn’t agree more, a hand reached up to grip tightly at the loose threads of their sweater. 

“Maybe it would be best that we just keep going?” Noelle suggested, she tilted her head to the other side of the hallway, and Kris balked at the path covered in spikes. These obstacles were becoming more excessive as they went on.

“Ugh, that’s a lot of levers to track down…” Susie groaned, and Kris shook their head. 

“I didn’t even see any other levers, or buttons- woah!” Susie matched their shock with an aborted yell of alarm when Noelle decided to just take her chances against the massive spikes . But both of the other teenagers almost immediately realized the overstatement of their reactions when the deer-girl’s hoof landed on smooth metal, the spikes shooting down into the ground before she could even make contact with them.

“Huh.” Susie and Kris were right behind her only a few steps, and while Noelle studied the ground intently, Susie snickered while the spikes went in and out of the floor every time she raised her own foot above them.

“Dang nice spotting the fake-out Noelle!” The purple monster bared her sharp teeth in a grin, “It’ll take a bit more than some fake danger and easy puzzles to slow us- woah!” With every show of bravado, Susie took another step forward, each time the spikes dropping with heavy shink , shink, shink, and Kris wasn’t sure who she was even trying to impress here, but Noelle suddenly shot her arm out, lunging forward before Susie could take one more step, and Kris realized with a lurch in their chest that the spikes had not dropped when her shadow floated over her next step like the other ones.With an eerily familiar motion, Noelle had grabbed Susie by her cardigan, pulling her back from the impact.

Susie stumbled forward, chest-to-chest with Noelle, and a bit more pale in the face when her eyes shot behind her, and then becoming much, much less pale in her purple scales when she realized just how close Noelle was. Susie immediately stood up straight, giving Noelle her space back and looking away nervously.

“Sorry, uh, didn’t mean to be weird.” 

That’s not what I meant! Kris’s chest hurt again. It took a swing at you I couldn’t let it-

“The west room is the east r-room’s p-path.” Noelle burst out, looking anywhere but Susie, stiff as a board she started speed walking through the spikes, not even checking that she was going the right way. Susie let out a huff at her retreating back, shoulders dropping like lead balloons. Kris couldn’t get themself to look back to Susie while they followed Noelle’s path, belatedly noticing that it must have been the same as the weird uneven brick path that they didn’t even really think about in the other side of the room. 

The silence is a tad awkward, the three of them stewing in the same uneasy thoughts and confusion, through the next few rooms, they still don’t see any other monsters. There’s a long hallway that Susie challenged both Noelle and Kris to a race down, which ended, predictably, with Noelle immediately winning by a long shot, and Kris panting against a pillar at the end of the hall when they caught up to the two monsters.

“I’m in the track team Susie!”

“Oh yeah, well that just means you had an advantage! If I knew we were gonna be serious about it I could kick your ass!” Both Noelle and Kris had to laugh at that, but their leg was throbbing a bit around the hit from earlier, which was decidedly not great, but the last thing they needed was to be slowed down right now. Usually, the soul could mend any wound at a SAVE point, or Ralsie or Susie would have their healing magics, hell, even the Dark world food would make gashes stitch themselves together, even unbreaking broken bones, but since that first glimmer of light, Kris hadn’t seen any SAVE points, and Susie or Noelle wouldn’t have magic if they were still in the light world. 

“Fuck yeah! Kris some dumbass left all this candy unattended!” Another room, the first one with a proper split in the path, and Kris and Noelle were crouched over another shoot-drop, this one big enough for them all to use, and Susie called out from the side room. The memory of Susie, Ralsie, and Kris eating candy off the floor in the sanctuary had Kris barely biting back a smile, and Noelle giggled at their side. They scoffed a bit, getting back on their feet, and turned to go grab some before it was too late, but suddenly there was a hand on their shoulder.

“Um, Kris?” And when the human turned, Noelle’s expression had turned, well they weren’t sure, a little sad maybe? A sad smile that made their SOUL itch, and their heart started to race. They hummed as a response, not sure what to say, what Noelle would say.

“It- Well, it’s just-” Kris was released from her hold, but the deer just moved to hold their hand again, like when they were kids, scaredy-cat Noelle. “I know we haven’t really, um, hung out much recently, and for a while, I guess I felt like-” She broke off shaking her head, Kris couldn’t tear their eyes away from their intertwined hands, the fur on her palms was warm.

“I guess, I just wanted to say, it makes me really happy to hear your voice again.” She let them go and Kris missed it, missed her all over again like everything was fresh, like a scab undone, but they couldn’t waver in front of her, they didn’t deserve the compassion she would give. Noelle was always the smartest person Kris knew, she could always see straight through them. 

“You guys are gonna miss out on this haul, what are you two weirdos whispering about back here?” Saved by the Susie, turned to see that the purple dragon girl was right behind them, a large bowl clutched to her chest, it was so wide she almost couldn’t fit her arms all the way around. Inside the bowl was some kind of candy wrapped in foil, though Kris wasn’t sure what they were exactly.

“Oh- uh! Nothing really, um, Susie are you allowed to take all of that?” Noelle asked, glancing into the bowl with a frown. “And are we sure we should even be eating them? Who knows how long they’ve been down here.” Even while she was talking, Kris reached in to grab one and inspect it. They unwrapped the foil to reveal a dark blue, taffy-like, roll, and Susie reached her head forward to take another out of the bowl with her teeth, ignoring Noelle’s noise of protest when she ate the thing whole, wrapper and all.

“Nah, I’ve had worse, tastes mostly like sugar anyway,” she commented around a mouthful, and Kris popped their candy too, also ignoring Noelle’s groan of disappointment.

While Susie was telling Noelle you know you want oneee. 

The candy dissolved almost immediately, a bit like cotton candy, and let out a noise of surprise when they felt the familiar rush of magic snake through them, much like in the dark world, and the dull ache in their leg immediately faded.

“Susie was shoving one of the candy’s at Noelle when Kris started thwap- ing her arm once they realized.

“It healed my leg.” Kris muttered out, mouth still slightly occupied with whipping the remaining sugar from their teeth, and Susie blinked in surprise. 

“Woah, what?” And Kris was already lifting their pant leg, where they could see a burn that was already starting to fade back to its normal flesh color. Noelle gasped, her eyebrows shot right up her forehead.

“This-this is just like in my dream the other night…” She barely whispered it, and sent a glance over to Susie, who seemed preoccupied with trying to send her thoughts directly into Kris’s skull. They could wager what she was thinking though, and Kris could only shake their head, they still had no clue, magic and healing items only existed in the Dark World, but nothing else was pointing to that being the case. 

“Fuckin’, weird.” Susie said at last, though now glancing back at the candy with a resigned sorrow, “Guess that means we have to hoard the rest of this.” 

“That’s probably the safer option, at least until we can find some way to get back home.” Noelle nodded, immediately turning indignant when Kris nabbed one more and downed it.

“Kris!”

“We’ve still got like five more.” Came Kris’s muffled reply

“Four” 

“Susie!”

 

The rest of the ruins is still sparse when it comes to population, though the next monster they run into after going up and down a couple more drop shoots isn’t one they’ve met before, it’s wispy form and sorrowful expression making it look more like a ghost than an insect that the antenna would suggest. This time, Noelle and Susie go up ahead of Kris, but it didn’t even seem that necessary when only a few words were passed between the three and the wispy monster burst into tears and ran off. 

“I just asked if it knew the area…” Noelle was saying forlornly when Kris caught up.

“What a wimp, still, weird that there’s monsters down here at all, and-” Susie gestured back to the room they just came from, three rocks slid over three heavy buttons on the ground, assumingly dropping down the spiked bridge over one of the small course of rushing water, “Has anyone else picked up that we’ve been following someone else’s steps?” Susie finished, and Noelle was already nodding before she even finished.

“Yeah, all these puzzles are already finished, no one’s reset them since the last person came through, but I don’t know if that means we’re right behind them or if it just means no one’s tending to them anymore?” Noelle was thoughtful as she spoke, and Kris wandered over to a table with a piece of cheese on it. They frowned when they realized it was stuck to the table.

“Gosh, I can’t help but wondering if this is all a dream again,” Noelle continued softly, a small smile gracing her, and Susie had to lean in a bit more to hear her, “Magic, healing candy, a mysterious ruin, it’s like a game again, ya’know?” Kris could hear Susie huff a bit, they weren’t sure how long Susie intended to keep Noelle in the dark, and it all seemed a bit pointless by now, especially if this was a weird Dark World, they wouldn’t be able to keep that from her forever.

“Yeah…” Susie’s voice came out quiet, “I dunno, maybe this is all a dream.”

 

Susie turned back around pretty quickly after that, citing that just because they were lost and the rules of the world seemed to be a bit turned upside down, didn’t mean they had to be miserable about it. She also made a point to spend almost 5 minutes chiseling away at the cheese stuck to the table.

“The day I abandon good table cheese is the day I die- agk-” Kris was helping by keeping the table anchored to the floor while Susie pulled with her teeth, Noelle looked on with a mixture of horror and amusement, biting down on her fist while her shoulders shook with barely contained laughter.

The three were forced to flee when while Noelle was shocked by a mouse, peeking its head out of a hole in the stone wall to see what the commotion was about, and while she didn’t run away from the thing, she was backing further and further away, Susie and Kris joining her when a loud crunch freed the chunk of cheese from the table, well, roughly half of it.

Another few rooms traversed, still mostly empty, still passing solved puzzles. One room was even filled with spider webs, but upon further inspection, seemed to be home to some kind of shop the way a poster was positioned between two massive ones, advertising a Spider Bake Sale.

“By spiders, for spiders… Of spiders? Blah.” Noelle grimaced, and Kris couldn’t actually see any spiders in here, or bake sales, until Susie reached out to prod at one of the webs, sending it shaking with the impact.

A moment later, a spider came crawling out of a crack in the wall, scurrying down the web, Kris could see it has a little piece of paper held in two of it eight legs, and to her credit, Susie didn’t cringe when it approached her and handed her the paper, simply taking it with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

“‘Thank you for supporting Spider Bake Sale, Spider Bake Sale has reached its relocation goal, we hope to see you again soon.’” Susie had to squint to read the small writing, and flipped it around, much like a business card. “‘If you have further inquiries for your adventures or business opportunities, please contact Ms Muffet in Hotland’ Hotland?” Susie muttered the name, and Noelle held out her hand to look as well, Kris taking the opportunity to look over her shoulder at the official-looking card.

“How many monsters live down here?” Noelle muttered, passing the card back to the spider, who waited patiently on the web, the deer gingerly dropped it into its little arms, her hand darting back to her side immediately, “Where even is here? I just- wish someone could give us a straight answer!” 

“ Um. ”

Immediately, all three teenagers spun around, each one knew that voice, at least a little. And Kris definitely knew how the temperature seemed to drop, just a couple degrees colder.

There, in the doorway was a familiar shape, slightly translucent and floating just above the ground, was Napstablook.

Notes:

I've basically got the whole outline down, something, i will be real, i have never done before