Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"...We... aren't gonna let that happen... right?"

Susie spares one last glance towards the Dreemurr household. She doesn't know exactly what she's looking for, but whatever it is she doesn't find it. And of course the rain is picking up again, because why wouldn't it?

Gritting her teeth, she forces some movement into her legs and starts walking. To where, exactly, she isn't sure yet. She kind of just figured she would spend the night with Kris again, but after seeing Toriel and Sans... and the alcohol...

She shudders, whether from the thought or the rain she isn't sure. All she knows is that she doesn't want to be there right now.

She doesn't want to go home either, though. As tempting as it is to sleep in her own bed tonight, what's waiting for her back home? Tattered sheets, an empty fridge, dirty clothes that supposedly cover a floor, and of course him. No, she sees no reason to spend another night in that... that glorified prison cell.

Besides, how could she possibly sleep right now? After the prophecy? After what it said about Kris? Ralsei knows the entire prophecy, doesn't he? Did he know about this the whole time? Was all that hero talk just for show and he doesn't actually care about them at all? That can't be right. The three of them are a team! He didn't tell them about the prophecy because he didn't want to upset them, just like he said back in the Dark World. That's all.

...What kind of team keeps secrets from each other, though? It's like none of them are ever on the same page! And now their 'team' is doomed to failure by a prophecy that Ralsei seems to think can't be changed! How could she just accept that? Kris is like, her favorite person right now, she wouldn't-

["Everything that came out of their mouth sounded... odd. Like it was like on speaker or something."]

Sure, but that doesn't mean anything! That's how Kris has always been, right? They don't talk a lot and when they do it sounds kind of off, that's normal for them! Kris is weird! Noelle doesn't know what she's talking about.

...right?

[THE CAGE, WITH HUMAN SOUL AND PARTS]

But now that she's thinking about it... there's a lot she doesn't know about Kris, huh? They don't really talk about themself much, she didn't even realize they were non-binary until recently. She just kind of copied the way other people talked to them and hoped they were correct. And they've never really talked about their brother, or their hobbies, or their neighbors... it's not that weird that they haven't opened up to her, right? Some people are just like that. They aren't keeping things from her on purpose, they're just... cagey.

Ha. Maybe that's what the prophecy means.

But... Kris isn't just keeping secrets, they're-

["KRIS!!! N... NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!! ATTACK THEM!!!"]

She... doesn't want to think about this anymore.

The prophecy is stupid, anyway. If it just said Kris was going to die, that would be one thing. But it was very specific about the how, and the event it described is just... impossible. It's never going to happen! She wouldn't let it!

Ugh. The rain is seriously getting to her now. She's gonna freeze her ass off if she doesn't find somewhere to stay.

Ralsei. She should check on Ralsei. He was pretty upset after the whole Last Prophecy thing, and then she and Kris just kind of left. She's pretty sure Kris talked to them about it but dammit! If one of her friends is upset she wants to be there for them and stuff! Besides, it beats going home.

She realizes that she's already in front of the School, walking there on autopilot. That makes sense, going to Castle Town always cheers her up. Ralsei and Lancer are always there, there's always food... it feels safe. Kind of like Kris's- well. Maybe not that one  anymore. She hopes Kris isn't too upset that she just bailed like that, but she just... had to get out. They probably get it, right?

Though it would have been better if they came with her...

She makes her way through the School halls, shaking the rain water out of her mane as she goes. She shivers again, she's never been good at handling the cold, and rubs her arms over her scales to try to heat herself up a bit. Maybe she could ask Ralsei to get a fire going or something? That seems like the kind of thing he'd do for her. She stops in front of the supply closet.

Just looking at it is enough to put the smile back on her face. If somebody had told her a few weeks ago that she'd be best friends with the town freak and two princes that live in the school closet she would've laughed in their face. And then maybe smacked them. Her life has taken a pretty weird turn, but she wouldn't trade it for anything. It's perfect.

That's why she has to do this. She can't lose it.

She hops inside, the door slamming shut behind her. She plummets into the darkness for a few seconds and sticks the landing, taking a moment to examine herself. The fall shook off the remnants of the rain and Castle Town is nice and warm, she wonders if Ralsei keeps it cozy on purpose.

Looks like she won't be freezing to death, tonight. What a shame. Would've been kind of funny. The world ends because the great prophecy hero turned out to be a cold blooded nobody who couldn't handle the rain. Aren't dragons supposed to be warm? They like... breathe fire and shit.

Whatever. She came here to find Ralsei. 

She doesn't have to search for long before she spots him in the distance, currently engaged in small talk with some of the other darkners. It looks like he's caught between trying to get away and being too much of a wuss to use any force. Some things never change, huh? He's too damn nice.

She stomps over and slings an arm around his shoulders without warning, grinning into his ear.

"Sup, Dork."

He perks up immediately, turning to her and beaming. She feels her chest warm at the sight, at the idea that she could ever have this effect on somebody. The feeling doesn't last long, though, as she spots the blood still smudged into his cheek. Guess he didn't get around to washing it off, yet. That's probably why everybody's freaking out, now that she thinks about it.

"Susie! I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. Has it been that long already?"

She gives him a crooked smile and a very brief noogie, mostly just bopping him on the head, before letting go.

"Nope! Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd like... chill here instead." She proclaims, lying to the best of her ability. "Why are you still up?"

Wait, do darkners even need sleep...? She's not sure Ralsei actually owns a bed, his bedroom was like. Empty empty.

"O-oh! I was just... you know... thinking?"  Ralseis mouth twitches as he suppresses a frown. "But that's not important right now. Is Kris with you?"

"Uh. No. Kind of wish they were, but you know. Family stuff." She winces as she says it. Hey, stupid? Of course he wouldn't know! "You uh. Doing alright?"

"Um..." Ralsei kind of looks around, the crowd nearly forming a circle around them now. He sighs. "Maybe we should talk about this more privately, if that's okay with you."

Susie scratches the back of her head and puts on as big of a smile as she can manage. "Yeah, probably."

She growls at the crowd and just stomps forward, people moving out of her way so as to not get bulldozed. Ralsei follows her lead, trailing behind her as the two of them move to the castle.

-

The two of them end up in her own room, sitting on opposite ends of her bed. Ralsei wanted to set up a chair or something but she just kind of picked him up and set him down next to her, so he had no choice but to talk. Like any good friend would do if they were huge and their friends were idiots.

As Ralsei sits here and smiles at her though, all strained like, she can't help the frustration building up in her chest. Her efforts to get him to open up so far have completely failed and the conversation has gone nowhere because of it.

"You know you don't have to do that, right?"

Ralsei blinks at her. "Don't have to do... what?"

"Pretend that you're happy and stuff. You're allowed to be sad, dumbass. I thought we talked about that."

Ralsei's expression falls. It kind of hurts her to see him like this, but it's better than being stupid and pretending that everything's alright. That doesn't help anybody.

"Sorry, Susie. I guess I'm still getting used to this. To... to having friends. To feeling things." Ralsei takes his glasses off and cleans them with his robe. They're not really dirty, though, so maybe he just needs something to do with his hands. She gets that, she often finds herself wanting to squeeze something while she's talking. "I've spent so long accepting the role the prophecy gave me, understanding that it was my one and only purpose. Now that I have to play it... I just want to spend time with you instead. With Kris, too. I just... I want you to be happy."

Susie leans back, the bed creaking under her weight as she crosses her arms. "Yeah. Shit sucks sometimes. But that's why you've got us. You just want to make us happy, huh? Well too bad! We'll just have to make you happy, instead. And then we can all be happy together."

It's so obvious.

"But-"

She narrows her eyes and blows out a puff of smoke.

"You will be happy. Real happy. Not this fake bullshit. We're going to get through this, all of us, and we're going to keep having adventures together. As many as we want."

She punctuates this by placing a hand on his shoulder, giving him the most confident look she can manage. He stares at her hand for a few seconds before covering it with his own. He's super warm to the touch and she tries not to be jealous of his fur.

"After you... well, after the way we first met... I never would've thought you'd be the one reassuring me like this. You're... you're really nice, Susie. I'm so lucky to know you." He smiles at her, more genuine than before. "I really hope you're right. Being your friend has been the single best experience of my life. I don't want it to stop... I want to believe we can change things."

Susie grins back at him. "That's more like it. Now come on." She hops off the bed, Ralsei sliding off far more gently and following behind her as she paces around the room. "We're not just here to talk."

"We... we aren't?"

He watches, confused, as Susie rummages through all of the furniture in her room in search of... something.

"We're gonna need markers, string, those... those little spiky things you put in walls- ooh, do you have a cork board somewhere around here?" 

She throws stuff behind her as she talks, piling them up in the middle of her floor. She isn't sure exactly what this stuff even is, maybe Ralsei filled her drawers with stuff he thought she might like, but it isn't what she's looking for right now. She doesn't have time to care about the mess she's making, either. Not to imply she would under normal circumstances...

Ralsei does, though, and she can hear him running around behind her and gathering the stuff she throws aside. He pushes it all into one big pile. "I think I have one downstairs but... what do we need a cork board for, exactly?" He asks cautiously, afraid of the answer.

Susie stops digging through her dresser, there's nothing of value in here anyway, and turns to shoot him a toothy grin.

"You and me are going to figure this out. Right here, right now."

His eyes widen in alarm, and he drops the things he's currently carrying. It's mostly stuffed animals (which she totally doesn't care about, by the way. She doesn't sleep with plushies because she isn't 12).

"W-what? Like. Right now?"

She gives him a puzzled look. What's he going on about now?

"Well, yeah. Obviously. Why wait?"

He wrings his paws together, looking suddenly nervous about something.

"Well... wouldn't you rather sleep on it? It's been a pretty long night for both of us, we don't need to get started immediately do we?" He picks up one of the plushies and offers it to Susie. It's a little plush Kris, with a sword and everything. Adorable, but now is not the time. She still takes it, though, to set on her bed later. "Why don't you get some rest and I'll get the stuff ready for tomorrow? That way you can come back after the festival, and-"

What is he talking about? This is important! Way more important than some silly festival! (Don't think about it). She can't just 'sleep on it'. Kris is like... in serious danger. She frowns at him, standing her ground.

"Uh, no? Seriously dude, if you don't want to help that's fine but I'm going to do this, whether you want me to or not. I didn't come here to sleep." Ralsei doesn't look convinced. In fact, he looks worried. About what? Her? Is he doubting her? Does he think she wouldn't be able to do it without his help? She stomps the ground, towering over him a little. "I can do this, Ralsei."

Ralsei looks her in the eyes, meeting her head on without flinching. After a few seconds of eye contact, he sighs and lowers his head. He turns away.

"If you say so, Susie. Just... try not to overwork yourself. You're important too. Take breaks, don't stay up all night, and... I'll bake you a cake for later, alright?"

He slips out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. Despite his kind words, she feels anger bubbling up below the surface.

Great. So not even he believes in her now. Whatever. Whatever!

She doesn't need him! She can do it all on her own. She's just gotta... figure out what exactly the prophecy means in the first place. So she can find a way to make it not come true. And while she's at it, there are a few other mysteries to get to the bottom of, aren't there...?

She's going to figure this out and save her friends. No matter how long it takes.

-

She isn't sure exactly how long it's been, but she must've been down here for a while because she's exhausted. Ralsei keeps stopping by with tea and snacks, usually talking to her about this or that to keep her occupied. At first she was thankful for the distraction, this whole thing is really getting to her. She knows that she isn't the smartest monster around but thinking this much is hard. She isn't feeling like she's any closer to figuring things out yet, either, which is super frustrating.

But now that she's gotten into the groove a little more, she can't help but find his interruptions annoying. If he isn't going to help, why does he keep talking to her? Doesn't he know how important this is? She doesn't have time to talk about darkner politics or Castle Town gossip, she has a job to do! It's almost like he doesn't even care about Kris... no, that's not fair. She knows he doesn't mean it like that but it doesn't make it any less annoying. And he keeps bringing her food too, like she's just gonna stop and have dinner or something.

Ugh. Whatever. She is pretty hungry, but Dark World food never seems to help much with that anyway. It always pisses her off but it's not like she has food waiting at home either, so there's still no reason to leave. It's fine. She's fine.

Her room is kind of a mess now but it's okay. She has three boards set up: One on her bed, one on her dresser, and one attached to the fridge via magnet. They're all connected to each other by red strings with thumbtacks- that's what those things were called! Duh.

They're attached to each other by thumb tacks with red string, because that's what they always use in those detective movies (the ones that aren't black and white, anyway). They probably have a good reason for that.

The one on the bed is her Prophecy Board, with crude drawings of her friends next to written copies of all of the prophecy panels she could remember. Which didn't end up being a lot, but of the ones she did remember... two of them were particularly memorable.

Obviously she's got the Last Prophecy, the reason she's even doing this. The one that states she's going to... to Kris... which doesn't make any sense! But that's exactly why she has to figure this out! If Ralsei thinks it's something that might happen, even if the very idea of it makes Susie want to throw up, it must have some truth to it. And it doesn't technically say that Kris dies, it just... heavily implies it. So maybe there's something else here, but what? What other interpretation of this even is there? Maybe she should ask Ralsei, if she can get him to actually help her.

On the other hand...

[Love finds its way to the girl]

Yeah... when she first saw this one, she was pretty excited. It was honestly kind of embarrassing, but she couldn't help it. The idea of somebody liking her like that felt so farfetched. But then she thought back to the whole thing with Noelle in the Cyber World and started to see it as more of a possibility... and like, hell yeah! Noelle's super cool. And she's friends with Kris too which is a plus... or neighbors, actually. She isn't really sure what's up with those two but it's hard to get anything out of either of them.

But now? How could she possibly justify going through with it if it's just another step in this angel-forsaken prophecy? And what is she supposed to do now, just walk up to Noelle and pretend that she didn't ask her out? Because she totally did! It wasn't on purpose, but she did! And she was happy about it, dammit!

Why does everything have to be so complicated? She finally gets friends and now they're going to die. She finally gets a girlf- a date, and fate just has to rip that away from her too. And she can't even explain herself because they have to keep the Dark Worlds a secret. Is she really destined to lose everything all over again?

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she turns to the fridge board. This one's the Knight Board and just looking at it pisses her off. That damn Knight...

What kind of sick fuck plays with people's lives like that!? The Knight seems like... absurdly powerful. It could probably kill them all at any time, especially since it can just summon Titans like that? Maybe it can bring The Roaring at any time and it's just fucking with them! It's playing games with people's lives! Her friends lives!

It has to be somebody in Hometown, right? If it isn't, they'll never figure it out. It's somebody with access to the shelter codes. Somebody who's powerful enough to handle Undyne in the Light World after kidnapping her. She can't think of a single person off the top of her head that matches that description.

The Mayor? People talked about her like she's pretty scary, but how could she have beaten them to the Church? It doesn't make sense. She just seems like a normal bitch, not a supervillain bitch.

Kris's dad? But he seems like a huge softy. Plus that would mean he's willing to attack his own child like that, which she... hopes is a deal breaker. She doesn't actually know why Kris's parents got divorced but she hopes it isn't that.

Alphys? Father Alvin? That weird skeleton guy? She's drawn pictures of each and every possible suspect, listing out reasons why they could or could not be the Knight, but she's come up short on all of them. No explanation quite makes sense. Even if things did line up, she can't imagine any of these people wanting to end the world! That's like... where they live? It would just be stupid.

Ugh. Thinking about this is giving her a headache. What else has she got?

She turns to the last conspiracy board. This one... is possibly her least favorite and she kind of regrets making it. She's considered just smashing it and forgetting it ever existed.

It's her Kris Board. Detailing all of the weirdness she's picked up on over the last few days and comparing it to the Kris she knew before all of this dark world stuff. It wasn't like they knew each other very well, but she bullied them like. A lot. She should have some idea of what their 'normal' is, right?

The old Kris was quiet and snarky. They always had a way of messing with her, but didn't usually respond verbally to her taunts and attacks. One time, something she said seemed to really get to them for once. She isn't sure exactly what was said, something about their mom wanting them to disappear, she thinks? And then they just looked at her and...

She doesn't like to think about the implications of that. They probably just said that to get her to back off. They saw right through her and the whole thing was just a challenge, nothing more.

The current Kris is still a little shit, but they're different. More confident, more vocal. She kind of just thought that Kris was like that because they were friends now, but after the things Noelle mentioned at her house... she's starting to have her doubts. But maybe there's a perfectly good explanation there still. Like... maybe Kris is just trying something new? Now that they have a friend, they're coming out of their shell and trying to talk to people more? Besides, Noelle's just like. Their neighbor. She probably doesn't even know them that well, right? They never talk at School or anything like that.

She doesn't quite believe it herself, those two definitely have something going on, but it's not like she has an explanation for their weird behavior anyway. Best to just move on and focus on other things.

Like... the other weirdness she's noticed. The stuff that's starting to make her question things—question them—a little. The fact that, despite it being their job to find the code. And despite the code being located inside the guitar that they were holding. They somehow just... didn't look at it? Did they not notice the sticky note? Then why did they even have the guitar in the first place?

Or that after dodging all of its attacks and making their way to the Knight, during the last Dark World, Kris just stood there doing nothing instead of attacking. Which like... maybe they were scared or something? It doesn't have to mean anything. She was pretty scared when fighting the Knight too, but Kris was brave back then. Maybe it was different because they were alone this time? Or maybe they thought it was pointless to try, because the Knight kicked their asses so hard the first time?

And what about that weird red soul thing... she's noticed it doing a lot of stuff that she's pretty sure souls aren't supposed to do. Stuff like flying out of their chest and glowing bright enough to kill a Titan. Maybe it's just a human thing, Kris doesn't really seem to have magic or anything but maybe this is the human equivalent? Something about it rubs her the wrong way, though, and she can't quite put her finger on what. She asked them about it at the time but, in typical Kris fashion, she didn't get a response. She'll have to try again later.

This board has the single most frustrating set of questions and a complete lack of answers. It's driving her crazy. And now that she's written all of her thoughts down like this, she feels dirty for every thinking them. Come on... this is Kris she's talking about. Sure they're weird. And quiet. And maybe they've got their own things going on, things they won't talk to her about even though she's opened up to them so much, but they're still Kris! They're still her best friend. And nothing is going to change that.

She wants to kick this board. She wants to absolutely stomp it into tiny little pieces and shove it in the trash before anybody-

Her bedroom door swings open again, without warning this time. Oh come on! He knocked all the other times, did he just get sick of being polite?

She whips around and speed walks over to the door, stopping in front of the intruder and staring daggers at them. She's just about had it with all of these distractions, all she wants is some time to focus dammit! Why is he so persistent?

"For fuck's safe, I already told you! I'm- wait... Kris!?"

Only it isn't Ralsei standing in the doorway this time. And they do not look happy to see her.

Chapter Text

"Wow. Dude, you look like shit. What happened?"

On one hand, Susie's pretty sure she's being insensitive here. On the other hand, she's really curious. What the fuck happened to them?

Kris looks... bad. Really bad. They're wobbling a bit, like they can hardly stay upright, and their shirt is stained with something... blood? She sniffs the air and her nose scrunches up. Yeah, that's blood alright. Did they get in a fight or something?

Instead of answering, Kris walks forward and she instinctively steps out of the way. She watches their head swivel slowly, taking in her masterpiece. They pull a face at it for some reason, which is like totally rude. She worked really hard on this! She's not used to them looking visibly upset, usually they're stone faced. Actually, they looked pretty mad about something when they first showed up too but they didn't say anything at the time...

It isn't until their gaze locks onto her Kris Board that she realizes she may have fucked up here and her brain enters panic mode. She shoves past them, bumping their shoulder hard enough to make them stumble, and yanks the blanket off of her bed. She chucks it over the Kris Board, causing it to topple over with a loud 'thud'.

Kris stares at her, expression back to that blank look that frustrates her to no end. Was she too slow, did they get a good look at it? Well, it's not like they would have been able to read anything from so far away anyway. She really should've covered it before- shit, wait, the prophecy! They can't know about that either!

She instinctively grabs the nearest object and tosses it full force at the Prophecy Board, which just so happens to be her lamp. She winces at the sound of shattering glass (and accompanying cartoon explosion) as it collides with the board, knocking both of them over and covering her sheets in shards. Oops.

Kris is still just looking at her, not saying anything. She feels the need to fill the void. "What? It was a good throw!"

It was! It's not her fault the lamp was made of glass. They should make them out of like... metal. Or something. That way they don't break as easily.

"Anyway, the hell are you doing here? Got sick of the puns and booze?"

Still no response. Freaking typical. She always has to carry the conversation when Kris is around, which can really suck, but that's also one of their better traits if she's honest. They're a good listener.

"Yeah. Me too." She frowns. Well... she did want to apologize, didn't she? "Uh. Sorry about running off like that. I just... I... you know!"

Kris nods. She grins. She loves not having to explain herself.

"Yeah, I knew you'd get it. But uh... seriously. If I knew you were gonna ditch too I would've waited for you, dumbass. You should've said something!" She crosses her arms and looks down at them.

They open their mouth and she notices that it almost seems like they're having trouble keeping it that way. After a few seconds of silence, they close it without saying anything, and now they look frustrated all of a sudden? Kris walks away from her, making their way around the room. They stop in front of the blanket pile on the ground and for a moment she's worried they're gonna lift it up, but instead they just stare blankly at it for a few seconds and then move on. 

It feels weird to have somebody respect her privacy like that.

They do properly examine the one that she left uncovered, though, lifting up a hand and placing it on the board somewhere. She shuffles over to see what they're touching and snorts when she sees their accompanying expression.

"So I'm not an artist, big deal! Bet you can't do any better."

It's a crude drawing she made of the Roaring Knight, with a cartoon poop scribbled on top of their head and 'LOSER' written next to them in big letters, pointing at the image with an arrow. It was the only fun part of making the board, the rest of it was just kind of stressful.

"...Hey. You wouldn't happen to have any theories about this guy, would you?" In the absence of an answer, she continues. "Didn't think so. Damn. It really could be anybody, huh? Just what kind of person would do something like this...?"

She was a big jerk for a while there too, still kind of is, but she never wanted to actually hurt people! At least, not bad enough for it to matter. And even if she did, she still wouldn't have wanted to destroy the world! The idea that somebody would actually want that... like they're some kind of generic supervillain. It's dumb! This whole situation is dumb!

And why are they so damn strong!?

"You didn't answer me, earlier." She's getting too worked up again, she needs a distraction. She needs Kris. "The hell are you doing here?"

Kris spins around to face her and takes a few moments to respond. They look up at her and mouth a name.

"Ralsei."

She groans. Of course he'd send Kris after her.

"Let me guess, he sent you up here to talk some sense into me?" Kris doesn't answer again, but they don't need to. "Tell him I said to mind his own damn business. I don't need a babysitter."

"He's worried."

"I know that! I just don't get why he has to butt in all the time. I told him I had important things to do. I mean! This... this whole prophecy thing is-"

Her mouth hangs open, words failing her mid-sentence. Shit. Why did she say that? Kris shouldn't have to worry about the prophecy! That's why she's here, trying to fix it on her own. It would just stress them out, knowing that they were going to die- which they're not! God, stop thinking like that!

Oh, right. Kris is still waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"Ah, well. It's not that important, I guess."

Kris tilts their head at her, mouth opening to say something. They're going to want to get involved. Feeling the sudden urge to get them out of the room, she interrupts.

"W-"

"Hey! I like... have stuff to do, so I can't hang out for long. But we should go screw around in Castle Town, grab a bite to eat or something. Then you can come get me when it's time for the festival."

She doesn't really want to go, but if she doesn't Kris will probably think something's up. She doesn't want to worry them! Because there's nothing to be worried about. Ralsei's just being paranoid, she's fine.

...She'll probably have to think up some excuse to get out of the date, but how hard can that be? 

She places her hands on Kris's back and pushes them towards the door, shutting it behind them. Kris is giving her that weird look again, the same angry one they gave her when they first showed up, and it's starting to really annoy her. If they've got a problem they should just say something!

She expects them to start walking, leading the way like they normally do, but they're barely three steps in when they suddenly stop, right at the top of the stairs.

"What? Something on my face?"

"Festival."

"What about it?"

"Today."

She stares at them for a few moments, taking an embarrassingly long time to gather her thoughts. She thought a few hours had passed at most, there's no way she's been doing this all night.

"What? Like... it's happening right now? Shit, we better get going, Noelle's- oof!" She tries to run past them, but Kris blocks her path with an arm. Susie completely fails to react to it in time and barrels into it, knocking the breath out of her. "The hell was that for?"

"Over."

There's that look again... but they can't be serious, right? They're messing with her. It's the only logical explanation. Kris likes messing with people, this is just a prank to get back at her for running away earlier. Or... something like that, anyway. Her laughter echoes off the walls. It wasn't really that funny, but she does appreciate the attempt.

"Pffft. Whatever you say, dude. Quit wasting time, I'm starving."

She tries to move past, but they don't lower their arm and she doesn't exactly feel like tackling them. This is starting to get weird, usually they would've dropped it by now. Were they hoping for more of a reaction?

"Ha ha. You got me. Can we go now?"

"Not a joke."

"The hell do you mean 'not a joke'? Quit screwing around, I haven't been here that long."

It took a while to get the boards set up, sure, and she had a lot of ideas to work through... and Ralsei did keep distracting her... but there's no way she spent an entire day on this. It's just absurd.

"Have I?"

Kris nods at her. Shit.

"Oh." She looks away, face flushing with embarrassment. She's spent an entire day on this and hasn't figured a single thing out. Maybe Ralsei had a point. Thinking really isn't her strong suit...

"Sleep over?"

Their voice pulls her back out of her own head and she immediately tenses up. She knows Toriel isn't dangerous, or at the very least she wants to believe that from the bottom of her heart, but she can't stop her heart from racing. The idea of going back there after seeing her all shitfaced like that... it just feels unsafe. Like stepping onto a minefield. "I don't know if that's a good idea." 

She tries to keep up her poker face as Kris analyzes her for way too long. This is the kind of thing that always used to freak her out, back before they were friends. The way Kris just... watches. She always felt like they were seeing right through her, to her very core. Figuring out every little thing that makes her tick so they could use it against her later. They never did, obviously, but the silence made her thoughts too loud. And they always go back to the same place.

"There will be food."

Damn. They really know how to reel her in. She doesn't want to take the bait, but she's starving. Apparently she hasn't eaten in an entire day. In fact, it's been almost two now hasn't it?

"Ugh. Fine. If you insist."

That finally gets a smile out of them and Kris lowers their arm, finally continuing their way down the hallway. She's quick to join them, the two of them heading downstairs. They stop as soon as they enter the next room, though, spying Ralsei over by the castle's cauldron. He's stirring the pot with a comically large wooden spoon with one hand while flipping through pages of an unlabeled red book with his other. Several identical books are stacked in a neat pile on the floor next to him, over a dozen in total. He notices them and drops whatever he's doing, hurrying over to greet them with enthusiasm.

"Kris!" His expression brightens even further as he notices her. "Susie! It's good to see you out of your room, I was starting to get worried."

"I noticed." Susie rolls her eyes. He's only told her that like... 30 times now. "What are you making? Another cake?"

She feels herself salivating already. It's hard to stay mad when presented with the possibility of free cake. Ralsei is one hell of a chef. Baker. Whatever.

"Um, no. I was working on a... personal project, I suppose. It's nothing you have to worry about. Are you two heading back to the Light World?"

Alright, now she's really curious. But one thing at a time, he asked a question.

"Yeah. Kris had to beg me to stay the night." She leans over and cups a hand in front of her mouth, like she's whispering a secret. She doesn't lower her voice at all. "Between me and you, I'm just in it for the free food."

Ralsei giggles into his palm. "Aw. Another sleepover, huh? Sounds like a lot of fun."

She waves a hand dismissively. "Pff. It's like... whatever. Beats sleeping alone, I guess."

He heads back over to his cauldron, stirring once more. Something inside of it audibly pops and he frowns.

"Well, don't let me keep you. I've just got a few things I need to finish up here, then I'll probably take a break too. It's great to see you taking such an interest in research, Susie, but you have to be careful not to lose yourself in your studies." He looks down at the stack of books on the ground and sighs. "Believe me, I know all too well what that is like."

She crosses her arms and blows out a puff of smoke. "Yeah, well I would feel better if I actually solved anything. I feel like I accomplished nothing!"

Ralsei gives her a gentle look. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, Susie. These things take time. Maybe you should just relax for a bit and come back at it with a clear mind. I'll be happy to help once I'm more... available."

She leans over, peeking at the inside of the cauldron. This, predictably, does not help her figure out what he's making. It just looks like a big thing of bubbling soup. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

Ralsei stops stirring for just a second, caught off guard by the question, but he recovers fast. "Um. I'd rather not say."

"...Right."

She hears the front doors open and looks over to see Kris making their way out of the castle. It's a little abrupt, just walking off like this in the middle of a conversation, but Ralsei did seem pretty busy. She follows them to the door and, just before leaving, calls over her shoulder. "And uh. Thanks. For everything."

Ralsei smiles at her, turning just enough so that she knows he's acknowledging what she said. She pushes the door the rest of the way open and hurries to catch up with Kris. They haven't gone far because, of course, they're stopping to chat with every single darkner on the way out.

"Alright. Let's get the hell out of here."

-

True to their word, it looks like she missed the festival. The streets are still full of decorations but nothing is running and most of the lights are off. It's actually super late at night, too. This sucks. She's never been a huge fan of events like this, but to be fair that's also because she's never had people to go with. This one was going to be different. This whole prophecy thing couldn't have come at a worse time.

Kris wordlessly leads her through the town, but she doesn't much feel like walking in silence right now. Which means it's up to her to make conversation. Again.

"Hey. So. How was the festival?" Kris stops walking to face her. Her brain immediately fills in the blanks with what they might be trying to say. "What? I'm just curious. Did you and Noelle still hang out without me?"

"Something like that."

For some reason, they flinch at their own words.

"The hell kind of answer is that?"

Why are these two so damn weird about each other? Just say yes or no. It's not that hard.

Kris doesn't seem to have anything to say to that and just resumes walking. So, like always, she follows.

"Hey, any idea what Ralsei was doing back there? With the books and stuff? I didn't get a good look at them." Kris shakes their head, ever so slightly. "Damn. Knowing him, it's probably some nerd shit. Like uh... maybe they were cookbooks? He kept like... making me food? Even though I told him to leave me alone. It was annoying, but..."

She trails off. She still isn't sure how she feels about the whole situation, so putting it into words is kind of hard. Kris, thankfully, does not push it.

"Well. Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll tell us soon. It's probably just some dumb surprise, like when he made us our rooms... or when he set up that tea party. He's always doing stuff like that... hey, how about next time we head down there we cook him something? We can like... well, you know how to make pie right? Think that would work?"

Well, that would be more Kris doing something nice for him. Not both of them. But she can't think of a single thing she could do to help. She's not nice. Totally not her area of expertise.

As they approach Kris's house, though, she notices immediately that something is off. There's a goat standing by the door, a little shorter than Toriel and dressed in an open jacket and slacks. He's got bigger horns and has a bag slung around his shoulders, which he is currently digging through for something.

"Come on... did I seriously forget the keys...?"

She looks down at Kris to gauge their reaction and... they look... excited? And also nervous. But at the same time, there's something else in their expression that she can't quite place. This is obviously their brother, right? She wonders if there's a reason they haven't really talked about him.

After freezing like a deer in headlights, only moving on when Susie nudges their shoulder, Kris leads the two of them over to the house. They don't call out or anything, maybe they're trying to sneak up on him for some reason?

If that's the case, though, she ruins it when she steps on a stick. The sound startles Asriel out of his bag and he whips around, wide eyed and hand raised defensively. He looks like he's ready to chuck an invisible rock at them.

"Who's there!? Wait... Kris?" 

Kris stops a few feet away from him and just kind of stands there. Susie hangs back, not really wanting to ruin their moment. She kind of feels like she shouldn't be here for this, but it's too late for that.

Asriel speed walks over, arms outstretched as if going for a hug. Before making contact, though, he pauses in front of Kris and seems to wait for them to reciprocate. When they don't budge, he lowers his arms without hesitation and moves on as if the entire exchange never happened. She gets the feeling that Asgore could learn a lot from him.

"What are you doing out so late? You haven't been answer your phone, I thought you were asleep or something." Kris shifts ever so slightly to look at the door. Asriel straightens up, responding sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. Turns out I uh... totally left my keys back in my dorm room. I've been locked out here for like twenty minutes. Don't suppose you have a key?"

Kris seems to think this over before shaking their head. They mumble something to him that Susie is too far away to catch.

"That does sound like the kind of thing you would do, huh? Alright, if you're sure. Not like we can just stay out here all night." The two of them separate a bit and Kris looks like they're about to walk away when Asriel finally spots her. He tilts his head slightly and waves awkwardly. "Uh, hey? Can I help you?"

Kris turns back to face her. She takes that as her cue to introduce herself. "Oh, uh, nah. I'm just... here. Susie. Is my name, I mean."

Oh god she's fumbling this so bad, why are introductions so hard? It's like meeting Toriel all over again. Asriel just looks more confused, looking to Kris for support.

"She's with me."

Asriel seems genuinely surprised at this, but it culminates into an almost proud smile. "Oh, is she a friend? That's great! How about I introduce myself while you get us inside. Sound like a plan?"

He kind of bends down when talking to them, hands on his knees. Something about his posture rubs her the wrong way, like he's talking to a child, but Kris doesn't seem to mind it so it must be fine.

Kris nods at him and then disappears around the back of the house. What are they doing...?

She takes a few awkward steps over to Asriel, closing the distance so they don't have to shout over the yard. He's just kind of... watching her. She isn't really sure what she's supposed to do here, she was expecting him to say something already. Should she lead? "So like. You're Kris's brother, right?"

"Yep!" He pops the P. "Guess you've heard of me, huh? Does Kris really talk about me that much?"

"Uh... nah. Kris doesn't really talk about themself. Or anything, really."

He looks disappointed. "Yeah. I guess that's true. They've always been kind of quiet. If they don't want you to know something, there's no getting it out of them. Try not to let it get to you, that's just how they are."

"I know that." She's being short, but she really doesn't want to talk about this. Because it is getting to her actually and she's trying to think about literally anything else. 

Asriel, meanwhile, does not seem to be getting the hint at all. "Yeah, everything about them is kind of... understated. I mean, even their half of the room..." He trails off somewhat wistfully.

"Oh, yeah. I know. It's... bland."

He seems genuinely surprised at this. "Huh? You've seen it?"

"Well, yeah? Is that weird?"

"I just didn't realize you were that close... Kris hasn't talked about you before." Something seems to be bothering him all of a sudden. "What did you say your name was, again?" 

He's looking at her with borderline suspicion now. Did she say something wrong...? This feels like... kind of intense for a first meeting, right?

"It's... Susie. And yeah, we're pretty close I guess."

Asriel hums at her. "You guess?"

"Uh, yeah? I mean, we're like. Best friends. I think."

It seemed so obvious before, but now that she's being put on the spot the doubts are creeping back in. She's gotta be their best friend, right? They don't like... have other friends. Well, they have Ralsei too, but...

"Huh. That's weird. I wonder why I haven't heard of you..."

"Well, we've only known each other for a few days I guess. We've been kind of busy, you know?" She can't explain the Dark Worlds, so she's just hoping he doesn't ask for clarification. She'll just have to make up an excuse if he does.

"Only a few days?" She nods. "And you're best friends?" She... nods. "How exactly did you two meet?"

That... is a lot harder to explain. She can't just talk about the Dark Worlds, but if she skips them... what's left? 'I was their bully and now I'm their friend'? She can't possibly say that to him, can she? "It's kind of a long story..."

He narrows his eyes at her. "Yeah. I bet."

She really doesn't want to pick a fight with Kris's brother but he's making that pretty difficult. She tries to push through her frustration and respond normally, but luckily the front door swings open before she gets the chance to say anything. Kris is on the other side. Did they climb in through a window or something? Actually, yeah, that sounds like something they would do now that she's thinking about it.

Asriel turns to face them and Susie is immediately forgotten about. "Way to go, Kris! You're a lifesaver."

Kris does a little bow, playing up the theatrics to Asriel's growing amusement. They step aside, allowing him to enter.

Susie lurks in the distance, contemplating just... leaving. She gets the feeling that Asriel probably doesn't want her around, and Kris doesn't seem to have cleared this with him first. Kris seems to pick up on her hesitation, though, and gestures encouragingly towards the door. She sighs and steps forward, knowing she's gonna regret this later.

She hears Asriel's voice ring out from somewhere inside. "Kris, say goodbye to your friend for me okay? I'm going to head upstairs and unpack."

Standing in the doorway now, Asriel spots her and raises an eyebrow. He pauses at the bottom of the stairwell, foot still raised above the first step. Neither of them are really sure what to do or say until Kris speaks up.

"Staying the night."

"O-oh! I didn't realize you were... sorry, where are my manners? Come on in... Susie, I think it was? Make yourself at home." His voice is so polite and forced.

She knows he's trying to make her feel welcome but it's having the opposite effect. It's making her feel like an out of place house guest. She takes slow steps inside, dragging her feet. "Yeah. Thanks."

Asriel gestures vaguely in the direction of various parts of the house while he talks. "Bathroom's over there. Kris and I will be upstairs if you need us. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the fridge if you get hungry. Oh, and I'll set up the couch so you have somewhere to sleep... I'm sure there's a spare blanket around here somewhere."

There's actually a blanket neatly folded on the couch already and she's already been here several times, but this speech seems pretty rehearsed. She decides to just nod along and let it play out.

He turns to Kris, now, and gives them a weirdly serious look. "Hey, Kris? Why don't you... come help me unpack?" His eyes flick back to her for just a second. "I need to talk to you about something."

He's not even trying to be subtle now. She knows he's just going to talk about her, what's the point in pretending otherwise? Kris gives her a parting glance, looking almost guilty, before following Asriel's lead.

As he takes Kris upstairs, Susie takes the opportunity to head to the kitchen. She doesn't feel 'at home' here at all, she feels like an unwanted intruder! It's not fair. This was like... her place! Her home away from home! Why does it feel like that's being taken away from her too?

She opens the fridge. It's not that well stocked, but it's got so much more than the one at her house that she doesn't care. For now, she just grabs some leftover pie and slams the door shut. She doesn't even bother getting utensils, just chowing down on the spot. Angel, she was starving.

Why doesn't he like her? She's used to people not liking her, sure, but he doesn't even know her! It's not like he saw her and was all 'oh, it's the school bully!'. He didn't seem to have any idea who she was, so what's with the attitude? And why didn't Kris say anything about it?

As she goes to throw out the pie tin, her nostrils are filled with the overwhelming scent of alcohol and flowers radiating from the trash can. Ugh. There's that too. How could she forget?

She looks at the door, thinking about running off for the second time tonight. She really doesn't want to stay here. This place doesn't feel like home anymore. She doesn't feel welcome. She doesn't feel safe.

But she can't abandon Kris again, she felt bad enough doing that the other day already. She'll have to tough it out, at least for the night. She just needs to relax and not overthink things. Maybe Asriel is just wary of strangers or something and this will all just blow over.

She collapses onto the couch, quickly losing the battle to her exhaustion. She'll have to sort things out with Kris's brother tomorrow. And then also Kris, probably. She should apologize to Ralsei, too, she was kind of being a dick. Plus there's that whole thing with Noelle...

Tomorrow is gonna be one hell of a day, isn't it?

-

"Susie, dear. Are you not going to join us for breakfast?"

Susie freezes, seconds away from opening the door and making her escape. Caught in the act, she can do nothing but give Toriel a sheepish smile. "Uh... nah. I usually skip breakfast, actually. Figured I'd head to school early. If that's okay."

Toriel's frown is enough to tell her that it is not, in fact, okay. "Nonsense. You are far too young to be skipping meals. Please stay, I will get you a plate. And then I will drop the two of you off together."

"If you say so..." She releases the door knob and accepts her fate.

Toriel heads off into the kitchen. Susie is left to awkwardly shuffle over towards the dining table. Kris and Asriel are currently engaged in a very in depth discussion about some nerd show that Susie is confident Kris hasn't actually watched.

Well, Kris is mostly being talked at while they poke at their food, not actually eating any of it. They're not really contributing to the conversation. Asriel's ranting about how the new season is 'completely unrealistic' and totally mischaracterized one of the main villains for some cheap drama. The smile on Kris's face is enough to tell Susie that they are enjoying his company, though. 

It's nice to see Kris so content. She's glad they've got such a nice family. A flawed, broken family. But a nice one. She has some choice words for these two, they're far from perfect, but they both clearly care a lot about Kris. And that's...

["Ungrateful bitch! Do you have any idea how lucky you are!?"]

...She's just glad that they have that. That's all.

Toriel returns to the room, carrying a plate of... something. Those swirly breakfast rolls. She can't remember the name of them at the moment but they're amazing. She sets Susie's plate down on the far end of the table, taking the seat next to Kris.

Susie's smile drops when she realizes she's being sat next to Asriel instead of Kris, with the human being sandwiched between their family. Still, she takes her chair without complaint. She really doesn't want to make a scene over the seating arrangement, it would be selfish and rude. She just needs to be happy that they're happy.

Asriel barely acknowledges her presence, giving her only a passing glance, and goes right back to his conversation. "And then Darrel just... quits! Like, five seasons in and he just leaves the team! And the rest of the crew has to do the job without him, you can really feel his absence. And when they finally track him down and try to talk some sense into him, they get into this big fight and it only makes things worse!" He gestures enthusiastically while he talks, nearly spilling his glass of milk. "And then it just ends on another cliffhanger!"

Kris snickers a little at his antics but otherwise doesn't respond. They lock eyes with Susie and she is suddenly very conscious of the fact that she hasn't said anything since she sat down.

She loudly gulps down her mouthful of food to chime in. "Sounds pretty cool, I guess."

Asriel looks at her like he forgot she was there. "Yeah, it was." A pause. "What about you? Do you... have any shows you like?"

She doesn't feel like he actually cares, but... "Uh, nah. Not really. I like monster movies, I guess. Pretty much anything with blood and violence and stuff."

"That's cool, Kris is the same way. I was never really a big fan of gore myself, it always just made me like... eugh, you know?" He shivers at the mere thought. "It's not scary, it's just gross. I don't know how you stomach that stuff." He casts his eyes back to Kris, who sticks their tongue out at him.

Susie barks out a laugh. "What, can't handle a little blood?" Asriel blushes at that, which only makes her laugh harder.

They go back and forth a while longer, talking about whatever comes to mind. Movies, college, sports, you name it. Asriel's actually pretty funny now that he's mellowed out a bit, she's enjoying his company. He really does remind her of Ralsei, if he was a little older and somehow even more of a nerd. As they talk, Kris barely says anything, and soon Susie realizes neither does Toriel?

She's resting her head on her palm, picking at her half eaten food with a fork. Susie's eyes flick between Asriel and Toriel as a silent call for help. He follows her gaze, giving her a concerned look. "Mom? Is everything alright?"

She startles, straightening up and smiling. "Of course. I am just a little distracted at the moment, Asriel. It is nothing you need to worry about."

Asriel doesn't look like he believes her, but he drops it. The conversation kind of dies down, everybody struggling to get back into the rhythm, and for a moment it seems like they're going to finish the meal in silence. Kris excluded, of course, since they haven't touched their food and show no sign of changing that any time soon.

"Actually, I suppose now is as good a time as any. Kris, dear?" Toriel looks somewhat nervous, a guilty expression crossing her face. "I... wish to apologize for my behavior the other day. I was not in my right mind but that is no excuse for the way I treated you."

Kris barely reacts. Asriel's frown deepens. "Your behavior...? Did something happen?"

Toriel's head dips lower, looking ashamed. "After I ran into Mr. Sans, I got a little... carried away. And I suppose I had a little too much to drink."

Watching Kris shrink in on themself as Asriel's expression morphs into one of disappointment, Susie wonders if this is a conversation they've had before. Now this really feels like something she shouldn't be here for.

"Mom..."

She puts a hand up to stop him and he complies. "And it was not my intention to lock you out of the house like that, especially with the rain. I should have called to make sure you were home safe. I... I am sorry, Kris. I really am." She gets up and places a hand on their shoulder, Kris flinching from the contact. 

Despite Kris's growing discomfort, which neither of them seems to notice, Asriel stands up too and raises his voice, planting his hands on the table. "You know, they were locked out last night too."

Toriel removes her hand, defensively clutching it against her chest. "They... they were?" She looks down at Kris, almost pleading. "But I was certain that I left the door unlocked, I did not mean to..."

"Mom! You know how dangerous that is! You're lucky we were able to get inside, what if something had-" He finally seems to notice the state Kris is in, bashfully lowering himself back into his seat. "Uh. Never mind, sorry. You already apologized."

Kris relaxes a bit at that, as the awkward silence threatens to return. Just when it seems like the argument might be over, though...

"Hey, Mom? I do have one more question, actually."

She smiles at him nervously, no doubt anticipating another complaint. "What is it, dear?"

"Who's Mr. Sans?"

Susie startles as Kris suddenly slaps their hands down on the table, chair scraping against the floor as they jump to their feet. They look like they're gritting their teeth, hard, as their breathing picks up.

"Kris, is everything alright?" Toriel reaches out to them again, but they pull away.

"Bathroom."

It's barely audible, mumbled under their breath, and then they take off running. Toriel springs to her feet, moving like she's going to grab them, but she clearly thinks better of it and allows them to run off. They disappear into the bathroom, slamming the door with enough force to rattle the walls. Susie tries not to flinch at the sound.

Asriel is holding his head in his hands, in a way that emanates exhaustion rather than shock. Susie wonders if this too is not an uncommon occurrence with this family.

Toriel remains in her near-chase position for a few moments longer before clearing her throat. She turns back to the table. "I... think I am going to do the dishes now. Asriel, please check on them soon. And make sure they are ready for school." She gathers all of the plates, frowning at Kris's untouched food, and takes them to the sink. She takes a moment to deposit Kris's plate in the fridge before the sound of rushing water fills the home.

Asriel slowly lowers his arms until his eyes are once again visible. The suspicious look from last night is back, now accompanied by anger. She taps her fingers impatiently until he finally speaks up. "So... what's really going on between you two?"

"What?"

"Something's bothering them. Something they're hiding from me. They're acting weird, like the bad kind of weird. Even their voice sounds kind of off..."

"Really? Noelle said the same thing, but..." She had justified it at the time by saying that Noelle and Kris weren't that close, but if their brother is saying it too... "I don't know. I didn't even realize they were acting... different. Whatever that means."

He sighs. "Look, I'm going to be blunt here. Kris isn't exactly popular. We all know that. I'm sure Mom's gushing over them finally making another 'friend' but they are clearly not doing well. And I need to know if it's your fault." He shoots her a piercing glare.

There it is. She was expecting this all morning, just waiting for the moment where he starts spouting bullshit again. Where the hell is this coming from? She spits back, trying to keep her voice down so she isn't heard over the faucet. "I don't know what you're getting at but piss off. Kris and I are friends, okay? It's not my fault if they're sad." She hopes.

Asriel crosses his arms and leans back, condescendingly. "Right. You two are friends. Best friends, even." His tone is mocking and it makes her want to slap him.

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"Kris hasn't made a friend in years. They don't get along with anybody, they don't even try. You expect me to believe that changed overnight?"

She balls her fists up a little tighter, claws digging into her skin. "I guess it did."

"Excuse me if I find that a little hard to believe." Her jabs the table with a finger to emphasize his point. "And you still haven't told me how you two met."

Crap. She really lucked out last night, not having to come up with an explanation. Now she's right back in the deep end. She needs to think of something, quickly. "Uh. Well. Alphys sent us to go get chalk and we got like... trapped in the supply closet. And Kris was like... funny? And weirdly nice? I don't know, they were just... fun to be around. We just kind of starting hanging out after that, walking home together and stuff..." It's weird to think that if it weren't for all of this Dark World stuff, they probably wouldn't be friends at all, would they?

Asriel raises an eyebrow. "Just like that? You hung out once and they asked you to walk them home?"

Susie picks at her scales nervously. "Well, not really. I mean... Kris doesn't really talk much. They didn't say it, it just kind of seemed like they wanted me to."

"They didn't ask. You just assumed. And then you followed them home." He says it so matter-of-factly, as if he were there. This is really getting under her skin now.

"Okay, sure, whatever, but they didn't say no. And they like hanging out with me."

Asriel takes a long sip of his drink, finishing it off, before gently setting it down and giving her an almost bored look. "Has Kris ever actually called you their friend?"

She jumps to her feet, leaning over the table and baring her fangs in his face. Any concerns about being overheard have long since been forgotten as she snaps back. "Of fucking course they have! They... they..."

Wait... have they? Like. Obviously they're friends, but as far as she can remember Kris has never outright said it. But like she said earlier, they don't say a lot of things. For fuck's sake, they've saved each other's lives countless times at this point. They've been through hell and back together and they do everything together, in both worlds. So what if they've never said it!?

She would do anything for Kris and they'd do anything for her. Hell, in the very first Dark World they took a spade bullet for her! And they went to the diner together, and drank juice together, and skipped rocks together... they killed a damn titan together! If that doesn't make people friends, what does?

She's filled with sudden unimaginable fury, at the audacity of the accusation. She clenches her fists, scraping marks into the table with her claws, and is just about to let him have it... only to falter when she notices his expression.

He looks... scared, leaning back as if she's a wild animal that's about to pounce. Clearly, he was not expecting her to react this strongly, which only serves to piss her off more. But... 

Deep breaths... 

She doesn't have to prove herself to him. And she doesn't have to give him the satisfaction of watching her lose her cool. She's not going to hit him, she's better than that now. "I don't need to take this from you." She spits it out with venom, stomping her way over to the front door and flinging it open.

As she goes to leave, she locks eyes with Kris. She... didn't hear them exit the bathroom, too focused on the fight. How long were they standing there, listening in? How much of it did they overhear without saying anything?

Why didn't they correct him?

They look at her, hurt, silently begging her to stay. She shuts the door anyway and walks away.

...

It's cold outside.

Chapter Text

CRACK!

A loose stone explodes against the wall of some random dude's house. Susie doesn't know who lives there and she doesn't particularly care right now either. Ugh, she still feels like shit. Hitting things usually makes her feel better, it helps her blow off steam, but today it's barely made a dent in her mood.

Stupid Asriel, stupid prophecy, stupid feelings. Why does everything have to be so damn complicated now? Are all relationships this stupid or are her friends just extra difficult?

Ugh. And she's still hungry, too. One plate of food wasn't nearly enough, she could easily down like triple that. And that's not even accounting for all the meals she skipped yesterday. 

Kris never seems to eat properly either, she wonders if this is how they feel all the time too. Maybe that's something else they have in common, huh? 

...Kris.

She stops walking. She's not being fair to Kris, she can't be mad at them for any of this. It's not their fault their brother blew up on her for no reason. And it isn't that big of a deal that they didn't intervene, either. Family stuff is complicated, she knows that better than anybody. And Kris's family especially seems pretty damn touchy, maybe they just didn't want to rock the boat by picking a fight with him. It doesn't mean that anything he said was true.

Right?

She's not very experienced with this whole friendship thing. Kris probably isn't either, but they're definitely better than her. They might not tell her if she did something wrong, but they would definitely communicate it to her one way or another. Like...

Like last night. When they got mad at her for missing the festival. At least, she assumes that was what they were upset about anyway. And they wouldn't be upset with her for not showing up unless they liked her, so ha! There's her damn proof, asshole!

She wishes she had remembered to bring that up during the actual argument, but whatever. He probably would have just gotten on her case for that anyway. She knows that she was right, that's all that matters. Who cares what he thinks?

Stomping her way through Hometown, she does her best to ignore the looks she receives from the various townsfolk. Whether it's from second hand horror stories about the 'mean girl' or if it's just because she looks scary and out of place, getting uncomfortable or suspicious looks from people as she passes them by is an experience she is all too used to at this point. It's just the way things are, but all it does is make her treasure the select few who don't treat her like dirt even more. Today, though, it's getting to her. She's in a bad enough mood as is and the judgemental stares are not helping. She growls at anybody who stops to gawk until they run along, which is probably just making her reputation worse but whatever.

She looks down the road leading to the school and... she isn't sure what to do, actually. She's thinking about skipping tonight, not an uncommon occurrence for her when she's having a rough day, but something about it feels wrong this time around. She doesn't want to go to school. She doesn't want to talk to people, or even be around them at all. She just walks to sulk by the lake or something, screw around a bit on her own. Maybe go dumpster diving for candy bars and half empty bags of chips. She just... wants to be left alone.

But didn't she have somebody she had to talk to? Noelle's waiting for her, isn't she? They still need to talk about the festival, about... the date... the one she still hasn't come up with an excuse for bailing on.

She is so fucked. She's like... really bad at lying.

And while skipping school would give her more time to come up with a good lie, that would also mean she wouldn't get to talk to Ralsei today. And he definitely needs her support right now, so she's going to have to suck it up. Maybe she can just avoid Noelle until she's ready...? She's pretty shy and stuff, she might not say anything until Susie approaches her. And she'd feel bad for doing that to her, sure, but it would be better for both of them in the long run.

She kicks another rock and starts making her way down the road. This might be the earliest she's ever shown up for school... maybe she'll even get the chance to talk to Ralsei before class! He's smart, he'll know exactly what to do. Maybe the situation isn't as dire as she thought it was.

-

Susie has never regretted a decision so soon after making it. This must be some kind of new record for her.

"Ah, Susan, there you are!" Berdly greets her in the hallway before she gets the chance to stop by Castle Town, leaning against his open locker. Dammit, why is he talking to her? Why now? "I must say, I was not expecting to run into you so early. It's unusual for you to be here at such an hour. Were you, perhaps... looking for someone?"

He flutters his eyes at her and looks awfully smug about something. He's half right, she guesses, but something about the way he said that was weird. What's he getting at? "Not my name. And uh... maybe. What's it to you?"

"Just curious. Forgive my inquisitions, but I could not help but take an interest in you. I've been observing you from a distance for some time now, and you've proven to be quite the peculiar specimen lately." Is she being insulted? "Of course, when we first met I thought you were little more than a dimwitted slacker, but I see now just how wrong I was." Okay, she's definitely being insulted now. How the hell do Kris and Noelle put up with this guy?

"Get to the point." She responds gruffly, trying to move this along. She eyes the entrance to the supply closet in the distance, so close and yet so far...

"Ah, I suppose I was rambling there wasn't I? If you insist... allow me to drop the formalities." He looks ashamed, clearing his throat. "I... wanted to apologize."

Huh? "Huh?"

"I searched high and low for you last night, but luck did not shine upon me. I can only imagine how heartbroken you were, forced to spend the festival alone instead of claiming your rightful place by my side. I... have failed you." His head droops for a few seconds, taking a dramatic pause, before springing back up. "However! It is not game over for us yet! Not if I have anything to say about it!"

He swipes something from inside of his locker and presents it to her. It's... a bouquet of flowers, blue and purple. A light flush dusts his cheeks and she is stunned into silence. Why is he...?

"You. Me. ICE-E'S. After school. What do you say?" She can't see what expression he's making right now, her entire field of view is flowers, but she really doesn't like his tone.

"Dude..." She places a hand on top of the bouquet and slowly pushes it down until the two of them are making eye contact again. She gives him a genuinely baffled look. "What?"

"I... uh..." He tries to lift the flowers back up to hide his flustered expression, but she keeps them firmly rooted in place. "I was merely suggesting... after we failed to meet up the other day... perhaps you would like a do-over?"

"Seriously, what are you talking about? Why would we hang out?" Last she checked, he couldn't stand her.

He stammers a few syllables out, before loudly clearing his throat and straightening up. "Ah. I appear to have... miscalculated slightly. Perhaps it was too much, too soon. I understand this is all probably quite new to you..."

"What. Are. You. Talking. About?"

He waves a wing at her, dismissively, and looks off to the side. "No, no... I see now the error I have made, there is no need to feign ignorance any longer." He sighs. "I apologize for my... hasty advances. I will endeavor not to 'jump the gun' next time."

He shoves the flowers back into his locker and bows his head slightly at her. "If you will excuse me, then, I must be off to class. I am sure that my absence has Noelle worried sick, and I have kept her waiting for far too long already." He speeds past her, stopping right at the classroom door. He looks back over his shoulder. "Until we meet again, my diamond." He heads inside.

...

What?

What was any of that?

Whatever, she has more important things to worry about than whatever random crap Berdly was just blabbering about. She doesn't usually pay much attention to the crap he says and today will be no exception to that rule. She wanted to talk to Ralsei hours ago, she is not suffering through an entire school day first. She just hopes Berdly didn't waste too much of her-

BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!

-time. She groans at the deafening sound of the school bell, covering her face with her claws. She's going to kill Berdly later. He brought this upon himself.

She considers making a mad dash for Castle Town anyway, it's not as if she's obligated to go to class now. Especially since she did just consider skipping earlier. But before she can make the final decision, Alphys turns the corner and nearly barrels into her. 

"O-oh! Susie. I... eheh... didn't see you there." She looks around nervously, stammering over her words and unable to meet Susie's eyes. "That uh... that was the bell, Susie. It's time for class? D-don't worry, I won't penalize you for being a little late. Especially since... I'm also late..."

Okay, yeah, that settles it. She's definitely killing Berdly after this. 

-

She enters the classroom immediately after Alphys, though the teacher drags her to the side, before she even gets a chance to sit down, for a one on one chat. "It's um... good to see you 'on time', Susie." She's trying to sound encouraging, but it just feels backhanded.

"Uh huh." She really doesn't know how to talk to Alphys, so she usually doesn't bother. She moves to take her seat, but barely makes it a step before the teacher continues. "How's the p-project coming along?" 

Susie stops in her tracks, looking back at her. Alphys looks like she's seconds away from melting into a yellow puddle. "If you're having trouble, feel free to ask for help. Or... or I could even get you an extension. If you need it."

She's just... assuming they're struggling? Well. She and Kris haven't even started the project, sure, but it's not because it's hard. They've just been busy. They actually even tried studying with Noelle, but things kept getting in the way. It's insulting, even if she's technically right. "I'll think about it."

She continues her trek to the back of the class, slowing down as she passes by Noelle and Berdly. The two of them have smooshed their desks together, as have several other pairs of students now that she's looking for it. It seems the entire day is going to be dedicated to their group projects, if the writing on the black board is anything to go by. She steals a glance at the poster board these two have set up and... huh. That's not at all what she thought the assignment was about. Maybe she should ask Alphys for help.

Of course, that would imply she's going to actually do any of the work. Which she isn't.

Noelle is giving her a weird look. Not the usual flustered expression that Susie used to mistake for fear. Instead, she seems... conflicted. "Oh. Um. Hi, Susie." Her greeting lacks the usual enthusiasm and forwardness, too. 

Susie's heart still skips a beat, though, and she breaks out into a smile despite herself. Something about Noelle just does that to her, it made keeping up her bully persona an absolute nightmare. She didn't even begin to prepare herself for this conversation, but her mouth moves on its own before she can catch it. Maybe she can just improvise. "Noelle! Hey! I wanted to-"

[AND THEN. WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST FOR THE TALE. THE FINAL TRAGEDY UNVEILS.]

Her words get caught in her throat. She can't say what she wanted to say, not like this, not when she knows where it leads. She... she needs to put a stop to this. Before things get any worse.

Noelle is looking at her intently, patiently waiting for her to continue. Her expression sags a little more with each passing second, however. Under normal circumstances, she would do anything to preserve it, but...

It's not fair. Why isn't she allowed to have this, either?

"...never mind. Forget I said anything." She shoves her hands into her pockets and walks away as fast as possible, throwing herself into her desk. Noelle watches her go, a pained expression still plastered on her face.  It looks so foreign on her, she's used to Noelle being happy to see her. Beaming, blushing, laughing... it's rare to see her so distraught. Everything about this feels wrong, but what can she possibly do about it?

Even after she sits down, she catches Noelle stealing looks at her every few minutes. The two of them lock eyes several times, with Susie doing her best to break eye contact as quickly as possible whenever it's made. The smart thing to do would be to simply not look at Noelle, but she had always felt herself drawn to her even before the two of them became friends. She didn't realize what she was feeling for the longest time, but that didn't stop her from staring. Berdly's doing the same thing, but she couldn't care less about what he's thinking. 

Every second of eye contact makes the guilt worse and she isn't sure how long she can keep this up. Eventually, she decides that the easiest way to avoid Noelle is to pretend to be asleep. She lays her head down on her arms, resting her eyes. She'd love to actually catch up on sleep, too, but there's no way she's gonna manage that right now. Exhausted as she may be, her troubled mind has only gotten more active since last night.

At least nobody will bug her while she's 'sleeping'. She can pretend that she isn't royally screwing things up for a bit, at least until class is over.

Through the ceaseless chatter of her classmates, her ears pick up the distinct sound of the classroom door opening and curiosity gets the best of her. She adjusts her head just enough to peek through her bangs. She sees Alphys greeting Kris at the door, but... they look kind of miserable, giving Alphys only the bare minimum of acknowledgements. They push past her and approach... Noelle? Huh?

Noelle's smile returns as Kris passes by, giving them a friendly wave. She seems a little too happy to see them, there's a nervous giddiness in her expression that Susie wouldn't have expected from witnessing the two's previous interactions. There's a short delay, but Kris returns her smile and it's like a switch flips in both of them. They don't exchange a single word with one another, but the tension in Kris's shoulders almost completely vanishes in an instant and the nerves seem to melt off of Noelle's expression, leaving behind a content smile.

Kris flicks their vision over to Susie, their gaze not lingering on her for even a full second before returning back to Noelle. She seems to take this as a question and her smile twitches in response. She shakes her head at them, which Kris must have interpreted as the end of the conversation because they finally walk away and take their seat. Not before giving Susie one last look, an intense one that lasts far too long for comfort. She tries to stay still, commit to the act, but she gets the feeling they saw right through it.

Well, isn't that interesting? Something definitely happened between those two. She makes a mental note to bug Kris about it after class.

Speaking of, she lets a few more minutes pass before 'waking up'. She reaches over and taps Kris on the shoulder, grabbing their attention. Once she has it, she gestures vaguely at the other groups in the room and mouths the word 'project?' at them. They shake their head and she snickers, grinning back. Yeah, if they aren't gonna put in the effort, then neither is she. Maybe Alphys will give them a pass after they're done saving the world. 

Yeah. As if that would ever happen.

-

The downside to not doing any work is that class passes painfully slow. Since Alphys isn't teaching anything today, it's just a glorified free period where she and Kris were expected to work on their project. Which they didn't do. Instead, the two of them just sat in silence and occasionally passed notes back and forth. Though Kris's heart didn't seem to be in it, and to be honest neither was hers. She just needed a distraction.

Predictably, she failed to get a single wink of sleep. She's tired, hungry, and absolutely sick of the very existence of other people. At one point, she heard Monster Kid whisper her name and had to resist the urge to get up and strangle him. She's just that tightly wound right now. 

Lunch comparatively comes and goes way too fast, ending in the blink of an eye. She never has the money to get a school lunch and doesn't exactly have food to bring from home, either. She usually just waits out the lunch period out in the courtyard, gets some peace of mind. Sometimes if she gets extra hungry, she'll eat like... flowers and shit. Anything that looks like it won't kill her. Sometimes stuff that does, too, just for the hell of it.

Lately, though, she's been sharing with Kris. At least, when they actually remember to bring lunch. Today does not appear to be one of those days, so the two of them just kind of end up hovering around and talking about nothing. Kris is being somewhat unresponsive still. They don't usually talk, but they at least tend to give her some indication that they're listening to the things she's saying. Today, it feels like talking to a brick wall.

She figures they're probably shaken up from this morning, still. Yeah. She is too. That was a lot, for both of them.

At one point, she makes eye contact with Noelle across the cafeteria and she panics, dragging Kris out to her usual spot in the courtyard to 'get some fresh air'. They give her an unimpressed look that she pretends not to notice.

Eventually, the two of them are forced to return to the classroom. Even later, the class lets out for real. FINALLY. Freedom...

She waits for people to peel out and then shoots up from her desk, ready to grab Kris and get the hell out of dodge. "Kris, come on. Let's-"

She trails off. Noelle is standing in front of the door, a determined look in her eyes that immediately has Susie feeling on the back foot. Uh oh.

"Susie. We need to talk." There's still a slight stutter to her speech that tells Susie that she isn't nearly as confident as she looks, but she suspects that her own nerves far surpass Noelle's here.

"Uh. Sure! What... are we talking about?" She tries to keep her voice steady as she dances around the issue.

This only serves to annoy Noelle more, though, as she's forced to give an answer that they both already knew. "Uh... the festival? Obviously?" Susie considers making a break for it, but Noelle's arm shoots out to block the door more than she already is. At this point, the only way to get past her would be to literally shove her out of the way. "Don't even think about it! You owe me an explanation."

Okay. She's definitely panicking now. She was kind of banking on Noelle being too nervous to pull anything like this. At least, not so soon. When the hell did she get so assertive?

Susie takes a step back and her gaze darts around the room, looking for a possible escape route. The window? No, Alphys would have her expelled if she did that. As much as she despises this situation, throwing herself through a closed window is probably a step too far. Probably.

Her eyes eventually land on the only other person still in the room, Kris is just standing there and watching the two of them go back and forth. Her eyes light up at the potential easy out and she tries to flag them down for help, but Kris shakes their head at her and walks off towards the door. There's another brief nonverbal exchange between the them and Noelle. Noelle steps aside to let Kris by, resuming her defensive position only after they leave.

Did Kris seriously just leave her here? What the hell?

"Okay. Fine. Let's... talk. About the festival." She has to force each word out through sheer willpower. She'll just answer some questions, as vaguely as possible, until Noelle is satisfied and leaves her alone. It sucks, it's a terrible solution, but it's the best one she has for now. Maybe she can explain herself properly once all over this is over and Noelle might forgive her for what she's about to do...

Noelle relaxes once Susie agrees to talk, just a bit but it's noticeable. She's still standing in front of the door, but she's no longer guarding it with her life. "Thank you."

The following silence is deafening. It's quiet enough that Susie can hear her own heartbeat, which is beating far too rapidly. The slightly-too-loud ticking of the classroom's clock only serves to remind her of how much time is passing without her managing to get out a single sentence. She's trying, but she can't think of a single way to justify her actions to Noelle that wouldn't sound either completely insane or incredibly douchey. So instead, she settles on:

"I'm uh. Not really sure what to say, sorry."

Noelle's eye twitches. "You're not sure what to say." She repeats her words, almost completely monotone in her delivery, and looks at Susie like she just told her the sky was green.

"Uh. Yeah. I'm... I'm not." She scratches at the back of her neck with a claw.

Noelle throws her hands in the air, waving them around in frustration. "Where were you, Susie!? I waited for you for hours! And you never showed up! You just... ditched me!"

She winces. Hours. Noelle must've been like... super serious about this. Only a week ago, that thought would have made her day. Now? It's way more complicated. "Uh..."

She gestures wildly as she yells, the sudden increase in volume causing Susie to take an unconscious step backwards. "What, you couldn't have cancelled or something? If you didn't want to go on the date, you could have told me to my face. I'm not that fragile!" Her voice lowers, sounding more hurt than angry all of a sudden. Though the bitterness never leaves. "If you don't want to date me, I get it. You're... you're Susie. You're inspiring, and... and amazing in all of the ways I'm not. You're completely out of my league." She thinks that? Really? "And I'm just... me. Noelle. But that doesn't mean you get to just... just ghost me like this! At least give me a reason!"

But she can't! She grits her teeth and tries to keep her hands from shaking, with very limited success. She's not mad at Noelle, but she is pretty damn mad right now. She doesn't even know at what. "I... I didn't mean to. I just..."

"You just what?" She looks desperate now, begging Susie for a response. For anything. "Please just... talk to me! Give me something to work with! Was it my mom? Did she threaten you? Or... or did I do something wrong?"

"..." Susie clenches her fists harder and looks away.

Noelle waits for a response that they both know isn't coming. Almost a minute passes before Susie resumes eye contact and a pit opens up in her stomach. Noelle looks heartbroken. "I... I thought we were getting along. I thought you liked me. Was any of it real? Were we ever even friends...?" Her voice cracks. So does Susie's heart. She sounds so weak...

"I-"

Of course she likes her! Of course they're friends! She wants to tell Noelle all that and more. She wants to tell her that she's one of the most important people in her lives, despite only really getting to know her recently. She wants to tell her that sometimes, whether or not Noelle smiles at her can make or break Susie's entire day. She wants to tell her everything she said back on the Ferris wheel, plus everything she wanted to say but didn't have the courage to do so.

"Noelle..."

Screw it! It doesn't matter how dangerous things are, it doesn't matter how worried she is about the prophecy, Noelle's been kept in the dark for long enough. She's... she's gonna tell her everything. Right here, right now. She just has to...

["Then you and my dad will fight, and... and... You'll kill each other."]

["We can't do it all. So... if you ever feel like we're not enough... Just forget about us and make some real friends, okay?"]

[TO SAVE THE WORLDS, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY.]

"..."

She's... not a very good friend, is she? Was she seriously about to get Noelle involved? She's seen what the Dark Worlds do to people, how they hurt people. They seemed like such a good thing at first, a fun little adventure with her friends, but...

Her friends are all hurting. Bad. And she can't help any of them. She's completely useless, isn't she?

["If only I could dream like this every day..."]

[LOVE FINDS ITS WAY TO THE GIRL.]

She really can't do anything but hurt people, huh? Maybe her dad was right. That really is all she's good for.

Maybe it's a good thing she missed the date. Noelle... shouldn't get attached to somebody like her. She's just going to get more hurt in the end.

It's like she said before... she needs to stop this before it gets any worse.

"I'm sorry."

Hearing the finality in her tone, Noelle stumbles backwards under her back hits the door. "...that's it, huh? You won't tell me why?" Her voice is so close to breaking, she sounds like she's caught somewhere between disbelief and acceptance. "Okay. I understand." Her usual cheeriness comes back, dialed up to an eleven. It doesn't hide the fact that she's on the verge of tears.

"Bye, Susie. Say hi to Kris for me, okay?"

She watches Noelle leave without waiting for a response, listening to her hurried hoofsteps as she makes her way out of the school. Only once she's confident that Noelle is out of earshot does she allow herself to finally move, spinning around and sending her fist full force into the nearest desk—Temmie's. It collapses under the pressure. Destroying it doesn't make her feel any better, all it does is hurt. But maybe that's what she deserves after that.

Her fist throbs. Her breathing is ragged. Her footing is unstable. Before she knows it, her back hits what used to be the desk and she slides down to the ground, pulling her knees up to her forehead. She's not going to cry, though she really, really wants to.

That could not have gone worse. She seriously couldn't think of a single excuse? There's no way Noelle doesn't hate her after all of that. What is wrong with her!?

...

What's wrong with her is that she doesn't want to lie to Noelle. Making up some excuse felt wrong. She wants nothing more than to be able to open her heart up to her. To admit that yes, she does want to date her. To admit that she feels lucky to have even had Noelle in her life as a friend, and that the festival date was a dream come true.

And now she's ruined it all. Because she hurts people. Because she's the worst. Because the Angel itself has decided that she doesn't get to have nice things.

She doesn't know exactly how much time passes before the door opens again. She doesn't even bother to get up, hoping that whoever it is gets the hint and just leaves her alone.

"Are you okay?"

Oh.

She lifts her head to the sight of Kris standing above her, hand outstretched.

"...I don't know." She answers honestly, taking their hand and letting them help her to her feet. She sighs. "I think I really messed up, Kris..."

Kris looks at the classroom door for a few seconds before responding.

"Saw. Heard."

They turn back to her.

"Give her time."

"I don't know about that, dude." She sighs. Normally she'd appreciate the attempt to cheer her up, but it isn't helping right now. And frankly, she isn't sure she deserves it. "She's not just gonna forgive me for that. I... I really fucked up this time."

Kris places a hand on the door like they're about to leave, when they suddenly still. Their body trembles like it's taking effort to keep themself from moving. Like some... unseen force... is trying to... make them move...

She narrows her eyes at them. Sometimes, she swears, they remind her of...

["Puppets... strings... hands... What the hell does any of that mean?"]

["K...Kris? Are you OK? You're yelling..."]

["Everything that came out of their mouth sounded... odd. Like it was like on speaker or something."]

All of a sudden, her problems with Noelle seem so far away, as her brain helpfully reminds her of who exactly she's doing all of this for. She doesn't get the chance to dwell on it too long, though, before Kris finally speaks.

"Forgave me for worse. Will forgive you too."

And then they relax, going back to moving normally, and exit into the hallway. The hell does that mean? Is it something to do with why the two of them are suddenly so chummy? What could Kris have done that was possibly worse than this?

After a brief moment of inner turmoil, she manages to convince herself to follow. Kris is waiting for her, right outside the door.

She tries to smile at them, but she can't bring herself to fake it right now. She wants to believe them, she wants to imagine that she still has some kind of future with Noelle after all of this is said and done, but she can't. Noelle giving her a single chance was already a miracle and she blew it. Even if she manages to salvage this, it's never going to be the same.

"Let's... go say hi to Ralsei. I still need to talk to him."

Kris nods and leads the way. Susie casts one last, longing look towards the school's front doors before following. She wants nothing more than to sprint through those doors and catch up to Noelle, to apologize profusely and beg for forgiveness. But then she looks back to Kris. To her first real friend. To the person who saved her life, back when she was nothing more than a school bully. To the person who's made her feel more loved in a few days than she's felt her entire life.

To the person she's supposed to kill. Even though that's something she would never do. Even though the very idea of hurting them again, much less taking their life, disgusts her to her very core. She... she needs to figure this out. She can't let herself get distracted. Kris needs help and she's the only one who can provide it.

As much as she hates it, Noelle is going to have to wait a little longer.

Chapter Text

"-and it's not like I could just tell her the truth!" Susie gesticulates, throwing her arms around in every possible direction as she rants. At one point, she almost smacks Kris in the back of the head, but they effortlessly duck under the blow without even looking. She hasn't stopped talking about Noelle since they left the classroom, though to be fair she also hasn't stopped thinking about her either. 

She looked so upset, storming out like that... Noelle's probably off bawling her eyes out somewhere and there's nothing she can do about it. She cringes at the unpleasant image that thought puts in her head.

Kris has been leading the way through the school, making sure to take every single wrong turn and interact with every object they come across instead of going straight to Castle Town. On one hand, this is incredibly annoying and Susie would really like to see Ralsei as soon as possible. It feels like the angel itself is conspiring to make that as difficult as possible. She kind of wants to smack Kris for pulling this shit right now.

On the other hand, it's giving her more time to blow off steam. Which is a good thing, because she really needs to get her act together before she talks to Ralsei. She's not going to be able to help him like this. She needs to chill. 

"Ugh, I just... I wish we didn't have to lie to her!" Kris nods. "Like... if we could just bring her with us, wouldn't that be perfect? She could join the Fun Gang! But we can't! She's only been in the Dark World once and she managed to get kidnapped like... five times, she's not cut out for this." She kicks the nearest locker, hard enough to dent it, because this anger has to go somewhere! It's not like she can just blow up at Kris, for...

Hey! Wait a minute! Now that she's thinking about it, maybe she should blow up on Kris! This is kind of their fault.

"Why the hell'd you leave me with her, anyway? What... you couldn't have backed me up?" Kris responds with their usual blank stare, coming to a stop in front of the supply closet. They seem to be waiting for her to take the lead, but she gets the feeling that if she doesn't get her answers now they're gonna weasel their way out of yet another conversation. At least here there's nobody else to interrupt.

If that happens, she would probably die. She would explode on the spot and take the entire block with her. That's how mad she'd be.

"Like... you know we have to keep things on the down low. You should've said something! You know, get her off my back?"

Kris looks to the side, averting their already hidden gaze, and mumbles back.

"Seemed personal. Couldn't interrupt."

"No shit it was personal!" That's like, the problem. She really wishes it wasn't. "I'm just saying like... come on! If you were with me that conversation would have gone so much better. Talking is your job for a reason, you're the people person!"

Kris huffs at that. Or maybe it was a tiny laugh, it can be really hard to tell with them sometimes.

"Terrible with people."

Okay, now it's her turn to laugh. "You're kidding, right?" Kris is like... their team leader. Their tactician. They're the one that taught her to spare, to calm enemies down with words instead of fighting them. They make friends with everybody! Sure, they're a little quiet... and they're pretty shy. But she's still surprised when they shake their head, disagreeing with her. They're probably just being hard on themself. She responds with an eye roll. "Okay, sure, whatever, but you're better than me. I'm more about like... beating people up and shit. Which doesn't exactly help when we're dealing with, I don't know, Noelle?"

"Might actually help with her."

Their little smirk is enough to tell her that they're joking, but she's too heated to care right now. Her frustration boils over and she bares her teeth. "Like hell it would! I'd probably get fucking... arrested, or some crap. You know, since she's the mayor's daughter and all?" She squeezes her eyes closed, trying her hardest to remain calm. Unfortunately, her anger is mixing with panic and she's totally losing her cool now. "Oh, god, the mayor probably hates my guts even more now. Maybe I will get arrested for this. And it won't even be worth it, either, since I didn't even get to go on the-"

Her eyes go wide and she bites her tongue, filling her mouth with the taste of copper. She shouldn't even be thinking about the date, much less talking about it. Her little fairytale romance is in tatters and she feels like an idiot for thinking she could have it in the first place. At this point, she'd prefer if everybody just moved on and pretended that she never asked anybody out in the first place. She'd still like to be Noelle's friend if that's an option, though she has her doubts, and any lingering feelings would just make that worse. Actually, come to think of it, Kris probably doesn't know anything about this do they? If she doesn't bring up the date, they won't either, and she can just ignore it. Thank the Angel.

They're still waiting for her to finish her sentence, looking at her in mild concern, so she opts for a subject change. Or she tries to, anyway, but all she can think about is Noelle. About how upset Noelle was earlier and how that makes her feel like shit. Or how long Noelle was apparently waiting for her the day of the festival and how ditching the date is making her feel like shit. Or how about how needlessly kind Noelle was to give her a chance in the first place when she's obviously too good for Susie and Susie's a terrible person who didn't deserve any of the kindness she received and how ruining all of that just makes her feel like, you guessed it, shit. Or even how weird it is that Noelle and Kris...

Oh. Damn. She got so caught up in her own drama that she almost forgot to ask.

"Hey. What's the deal with you and Noelle, anyway?" Not that she necessarily expects an answer, but if she doesn't do this now she'll just forget about it again. And then probably go back to spiraling.

The concern in Kris's expression vanishes in an instant, replaced with a weirdly fearful look. That wasn't quite the reaction she was expecting, but it only serves to intrigue her further.

"Cuz, like... I didn't even realize you two knew each other? You never talked or anything, even when all three of us hung out. But earlier you two seemed... friendly?" She isn't sure if friendly is the right word, actually. The look Noelle gave them was... "Like, really freaking friendly? Which felt like it came out of nowhere, I guess. It was weird." She crosses her arms and stares down at them.

No response, again, but the tension from this morning returns as they ball up their fists. Their jaw is trembling slightly, just enough for her to pick up on.

"I mean... I don't know, maybe it's none of my business. I know she said you were just neighbors or whatever-" They flinch at that, a reaction that she files away to analyze later. "-but like, something about the way she said that rubbed me the wrong way? And then suddenly the two of you are having these weird ass psychic conversations and now I'm even more confused. Are you two secretly close and she just didn't want to tell me for some reason? Are you friends who just don't talk to each other in public? What's going on with you two?"

For a moment, it seems like Kris might actually say something back. The two of them stand in silence for a few moments, she doesn't rush them. She knows how weird Kris can be when it comes to talking so she remains as patient as she can, pausing for a little longer than she usually would after saying something. Right now it's kind of driving her crazy, but that's not really their fault...

This turns out to be a mistake, though, as Kris suddenly spins around and throws the closet doors open. Before she can react, they run inside and vanish into the darkness. Susie groans, resisting the urge to facepalm.

"Flaky little shit..." She leaps in after them, tucking her limbs in like she's going for a cannonball. She resolves to get answers out of them today, whether they like it or not. She is so unbelievably sick of them pulling this crap.

-

Susie lands roughly, collapsing face first onto the floor. Fortunately, falling into the Dark World never seems to hurt no matter how hard she hits the ground. She pulls herself to her feet, brushing off the dust, and runs to catch up to Kris before they get too far. She spies them in the distance, seconds away from reaching the towns gates, and latches onto their cape.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" She yanks them back before they can escape, earning her a few weird looks from various darkners that she pays little mind, flipping them off. She drags Kris back towards the Dark World's entrance, back to the pillar of light. It's the most secluded area she can think of, perfect for a conversation like this. 

Kris goes limp in her hand and doesn't bother struggling, just letting her pull them around. They're ridiculously light, which is a slightly concerning thought now that it's entered her mind. She doesn't have time to dwell on it, though, they've got bigger fish to fry. She turns the corner and releases them with a light shove, Kris catching themself on the wall and making no move to face her. They also don't run, though, which she considers a win. Susie positions herself between them and the entrance to the town, doing her best to copy the interrogation techniques Noelle used on her earlier. Obviously Kris could still just leave through the light if they really wanted to run away, but she's just gonna have to trust that they won't do that.

Kris finally turns to face her, looking generally disinterested.

"What?"

The hell do they mean what? "Come on, dude. I'm not that stupid. You and Noelle are acting weirder than usual. Something happened between you two, right?" She says it as definitively as she can, pointing an accusatory claw their way. "I just want to know what."

"Nothing happened."

"Bull." She spits it out, frustration seeping into her voice. How do they go from barely talking to reading each other's minds in one day? That's not nothing. "Why are you being so damn evasive? I get that you don't like talking about your feelings and shit, but come on! There's gotta be at least one thing you're willing to talk about. How about you just... tell me something about yourself. Anything."

There's their brother, their parents, their neighbor, their eating habits, that bloodstain in their room, their reaction to that weird ass puppet guy, plus whatever the hell they were doing in that S rank room just to name a few. There's always something going on with Kris and they never talk about it. And they're never going to if she doesn't force them. At first, she didn't mind it so bad, everybody has their secrets, but...

["They didn't ask. You just assumed."]

Dammit! This is really getting to her, now. She just wishes they'd give her anything. Even something small. Hell, she'd kill to learn their favorite color.

Kris lets out a noncommittal hum, avoiding eye contact. Are they being difficult on purpose now? She clears her throat and they seem to realize she isn't just going to drop this. She watches their gaze dart around the room, settling on the beam of light. Are they actually going to run? Again???

Acting on pure instinct, she grips their shoulders to keep them from escaping. "No! For fuck's sake, just talk to me. You don't need to talk about her if you don't want, but you've got to start telling me things. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know if we're even..." Well, okay, she can't ask that. Too emotionally vulnerable, try something else. "I mean, I don't know. Fuck, give me something to work with here."

["Please just... talk to me! Give me something to work with!"]

["I'm sorry."]

Her grip loosens. Is she... asking for too much, here? She's being kind of a hypocrite isn't she? That being said...

She really wants to hear them say it still. She really wants them to confirm that they're friends, but she can't even get the question out. 

What if the answer's no?

The very idea feels ridiculous, how would they not be friends at this point? But it would feel less stupid if Kris wasn't so clammed up. She's starting to feel like she barely knows them, and that's not how you're supposed to feel about your best friend, right? 

Kris is shaking now, but they don't pull away. If anything, they lean further into her touch. They mumble something, so quiet that she could not begin to make it out. 

"Kris...?"

They look up at her with a defeated expression. 

"Three."

She blinks at them. "Three... what?"

"Questions."

She takes a moment to process that. Relief floods her body. They're clearly uncomfortable, but if they're actually giving her this it's a huge opportunity. She can't waste this chance! Oh, but wait, she should probably... "Shit, really? Okay uhhh.... I can ask about anything, right? And you have to answer honestly? That's how this works?"

Kris grins. She senses that she made some kind of mistake. They hold up a hand with three fingers, then slowly lower one of them.

"Yeah. Two."

"Hey! No! That doesn't count!" She shakes them slightly, looking down at them with pleading eyes. She finds no mercy there, just Kris. They snicker at her disapproval and she groans, pulling her hands away and tucking them into her pockets. "Ugh, fine. Okay... questions, questions..."

She paces back and forth, deep in thought. She has a lot that she wants to ask about, and only two questions to do it with. So she has to be selective here. Like... whatever's going on with that weird soul thing. Or why they were acting weird around the Knight. Or why they didn't say anything when their brother was attacking her, those are all very good questions. But...

She looks back at them and frowns. They're giving her this, she doesn't want to exploit it to make them talk about super personal shit. If something's going on with Kris's soul and they're keeping it from her, it's probably something she shouldn't force them to talk about right? She wants them to come to her when they're ready, not because she forced a question out of them like this. She should ask something smaller, instead, and then maybe they'll get used to opening up to her? And then start doing it more on their own? That sounds like something that could work.

In that case... back to the subject at hand, actually. It kind of sucks, going right back to this after she finally stopped thinking about it, but... "Okay! So. You and Noelle. The festival. What happened?"

Apparently that was the wrong question to ask, though, because the color drains from Kris's face immediately.  They're definitely regretting this already, but why? "Because like... you said something about it earlier, but you didn't actually tell me what happened. Did you two-"

The unthinkable happens. Kris interrupts her this time.

"Date with Noelle."

They slap both of their hands over their mouth and suddenly look horrified. They curl in on themself a bit, eyes trained on the floor. They look like they're about to throw up.

Susie, meanwhile, feels her brain reset as she processes this information. It's like somebody set off a flashbang in front of her and she's waiting for her vision to return. Kris went on a date. With Noelle. That... that can't be right. Are they serious right now?

She thinks back to the two's interactions and... yeah, she can see it, actually. The way she was looking at them earlier... and the way she was talking about the whole Ferris wheel thing the other day... plus, she's pretty sure Noelle had a picture of Kris on her computer but she didn't think much of it at the time. Has this been a thing the entire time? Why would Noelle have agreed to the date with her, then?

["Fahaha, yeah, it was kind of just... You know. Forced."]

["Maybe it's more about, how the two people in the wheel, feel?"]

["Something like that."]

This... actually makes an alarming amount of sense. They were childhood friends, right? Kris must've liked her the whole time! No wonder they're so weird around her, they're probably scared of embarrassing themself in front of their crush. Or... or something like that. She feels her chest tighten... how is this fair? She can't date Noelle because of the prophecy but Kris can? And she just has to accept that and move on?

She... she can't be jealous about this, it's not like she actually had a chance in the first place. She doesn't know why Noelle was interested in her, she's like... smart, rich, cute... Susie's none of those things! And it's not like it's Kris's fault that they both like the same girl, she never even talked to them about her crush! Kris isn't doing this to hurt her.

But it does hurt. Angel, why did it have to be her? Kris couldn't have had a crush on somebody else? Like... like Ralsei? That would've been perfect. Or... Berdly? Okay, maybe not Berdly, but she really doesn't want to have to fight over Noelle. She can feel her heart pounding in her chest, her body involuntarily heating up. She has to resist the urge to snap at them... it's not their fault. It isn't! She tells herself that over and over, because she really needs to calm down before she takes things too far. She doesn't want to hurt her friendship with Kris over something this stupid, they're important to her! More important to her than a stupid-

Actually...

Isn't this a good thing?

Her rage simmers down, her heart settling, as a realization comes over her. She's still far from calm, but now that she thinks about it... doesn't this kind of solve all of her problems? Okay, maybe not all of them, but a lot of them.

Noelle won't be so heartbroken over her if she's dating Kris. And from the way she looked at them after one date, they probably had a damn good time together. Hell, maybe Noelle didn't actually like her that much anyway if she's already going out with somebody else one day later. Which stings, sure, but Kris deserves to be happy too! She's glad it was them, actually, and not some random other person.

And then if the two of them are together, maybe love won't find its way to the girl! Which would mean that the prophecy is wrong. And if it's wrong about her, maybe it can be wrong about Kris too! This... this is actually perfect! What the hell was she freaking out over? Losing a girlfriend is a small price to pay for saving her friends life.

Kris still looks like they're panicking, though, tucking their head to their chest and gripping violently at their hair. One of their hands moves to their chest, shaking violently the whole way, and they look like they're about to grab at it for some reason? Or maybe their throat? Whatever it is, she gets the feeling that she probably shouldn't let it happen.

She chokes down her jealous rage, like it was never there, and stomps over to them. Kris needs her.

She slaps them on the back and laughs. Kris flinches from the sudden contact. "Dude, you like Noelle!?" They look up at her, peeking through their bangs. They seem confused, like this wasn't the reaction they were expecting. "Why the hell didn't you say anything, lover boy!?" Shit, wait, that's- "Or, wait, I guess you'd be a lover... they? Ugh. You know what I mean."

Kris looks baffled, mouth hanging open. They don't seem to know how to respond at first, but at least they've stopped pulling at their hair. They look away again and she can feel their body tremble. They mumble over and over, still barely audible. Their voice breaks with every word.

"msory I'm sorry didn't mean to-"

"Dude, chill. What the hell are you apologizing for?" She finally pulls her hand away. "You should've told me you wanted to ask her out, I would've screwed off ages ago! I would've never invited her to the festival if I knew you wanted to take her." She grins at them, like a predator playing with its prey. They shrink away. Probably upset, definitely embarrassed. "And yet you still managed to get a date, huh? Bet you put those flirting skills to good use, didn't you?"

"Got in the way. Mmsry. Shldvebenyou."

"Pfft, what? You're kidding, right? Sounds like I was the one getting in your way." She smacks a hand against her forehead, throwing her head back as she laughs again. "Man! It's a good thing I ditched you guys, huh, gave you some alone time? You're welcome."

The more she talks about it, the less she has to pretend. This really is a good thing! Even if dating Noelle was still an option, if she knew Kris liked her she never would've gone for it. Plus, Noelle would've picked them anyway. They're so much better than her. They're nice, they're funny, they're smart, they're good at flirting, they're hotter than her... it isn't even a competition! She didn't stand a chance, it would've just made things awkward if she had tried.

Plus, she owes them, doesn't she? For fighting with their brother, for betraying them in the first Dark World, and especially for all the bullying... she never even apologized! Letting them have this is the least she can do after all of that.

Kris finally seems to recover from their bewilderment, taking a step closer to her. They give her an oddly sharp look, it almost looks like their eyes are glowing through their bangs, and her breath catches in her throat. This lets her actually see them for once, and she can't help but admire them. They look totally badass, why the hell do they keep them hidden? Their posture relaxes, everything about the way they're holding themself shifts ever so slightly, and their voice...

"Why are you doing this?"

It's like they're a completely different person all of a sudden. For the second time this conversation, she's so caught off guard that her brain feels like it stops working for a few seconds. What are they even asking...? "Doing... what?"

"You like her."

She can feel herself sweating. She tries her best not to crack under the sudden pressure, but that's easier said than done. "I like... who?" She tries to sound convincing. Kris narrows their eyes at her, catching her off guard with their intensity. Now they really feel like they're staring into her soul, do all humans have glowing eyes or...?

"Noelle. You like her."

"Whaaaaat? You think I like Noelle?" Her voice comes out as faux-confused as she can manage. It also cracks, which is super embarrassing. "Nope! She's all yours, dude. You don't have to worry about me."

Kris just seems angrier, now. They're actually showing their teeth, growling like a dog.

"Susie."

Susie puts her hands up in mock surrender, giving them a placating smile. "Seriously, Kris, you're good. I'm not trying to ask her out or anything." She really isn't, not anymore. It isn't even technically a lie. "I'm not interested, promise. Besides, I saw that look she gave you in the classroom. You've got her wrapped around your finger, nobody's taking that from you."

Kris looks away, bashfully averting their eyes. She snickers at them.

"Didn't mean anything. The date. Just friends..."

It sounds like they're trying to convince themself more than her, if the flush on their face is anything to go by. She relishes every second of it. Usually they're so calm and collected, especially when they're doing Dark World stuff. Watching them get this flustered is hilarious, it's almost cute how shy they really are deep down.

"That'd be a little more convincing if you could look me in the eyes while you say it." She teases, tone as light as she can manage. She's getting a little too much enjoyment out of watching them squirm. "I think it's sweet, personally. You took her on a daaaaate~"

To their credit, Kris actually does meet her eyes again. They stare daggers into her skull and she finds it hard to maintain eye contact.

"Your date first, asshole."

Haha, holy shit. Who is this and what did they do with Kris? They're actually biting back, and not the literal kind of biting that she might expect from them. They must really be embarrassed, maybe she should let them off the hook.

Wait... What did they just say?

Her eyes go wide as her brain replays their last sentence on loop. Shit, she didn't think they knew about that. Did Noelle tell them??? Of course Noelle told them, who is she kidding?

"Huh? No, it was just like... a friend thing. I mean, you were gonna be there too obviously, it wasn't a date date. It was just..." She trails off, not really sure how to finish that.

Kris is looking awfully smug all of a sudden, posing with a hand on their hip.

"Apologize. Ask her out again. Get it over with."

"I'm not going to ask out your girlfriend."

"Not my-"

"And besides! You heard what she said, didn't you? I really pissed her off earlier. Even if I did like her—which I don't—it would never work between us." Or at least, that's what she's telling herself. "So quit being difficult. She's obviously like... obsessed with you, dude."

Okay, she doesn't really have any evidence to back that up, she's barely even seen the two of them interact beyond that one conversation. She's mostly just saying that to shut them up. It's a gut feeling, and her gut is never wrong. 

"Why are you lying?"

"I'm not!" They're so damn persistent... "Like, damn, is it really that hard to believe that we're just friends?"

Kris gives her a blank stare.

"Yes."

"Well too bad! Because we are! I don't know what you think is going on between us, but you're wrong." She's actually getting mad now. Why are they pushing back on this so hard after stealing her date? It doesn't make any sense. "Besides, you're the one who went on a date with Noelle, not me! Obviously you like her! Don't push her towards me, you're always doing shit like this. Your feelings matter too, you can't just-"

"Not important."

"The hell do you mean not important?" They don't respond, she notices that their eyes are noticeably dimming now. She goes back to pacing, mostly out of frustration and a general need to move her body while she talks. It's hard to stay still when she gets this heated. "You're always doing this! You're always doing things to make other people happy, but you never let people help you! It's like you don't think you're worth-"

She turns back to them to make a point, only to realize they're nowhere to be found. She peeks around the corner, watching them practically sprint into town. They're out of sight within seconds, disappearing through the gates.

"God damn it!" She throws her fists in the air, shouting as loud as she can manage. "I still have one more question, asshole! We aren't done here!"

-

After taking a few minutes to enjoy the solitude and calm herself down, she finds herself wandering around town in search of... well, anybody really. Kris, Ralsei, or even- Lancer! She spots him over by the Top Bakery, where he's apparently set up some kind of stand with some of the addisons. He's selling different variants of the Lancer Cookie now, each concoction a crazier creation than the last. 

She buys like, two of everything. And then a few extra Lancer Mossies to share with Kris later. Maybe she can lure them in with food.

She may be here for Ralsei, technically, but she didn't really get a chance to check on Lancer the last time she stopped by. She's glad he's doing well, she hasn't really been making time for him lately. She apologized, but he didn't seem to mind. Apparently he's got 'dad duties' now, whatever that means.

After all is said and done, she's still got those boards to get back to... and she hasn't really had any ideas since last night. The world's just been throwing new problem after problem at her without giving her any time to dwell on the things she was already worried about. Maybe she just needs to come at it from a different angle? Plus, if this whole thing with Kris and Noelle works out she's already made a breakthrough! She can't wait to tell Ralsei about that, he's a big softy. He'll probably get a kick out of Kris's love life.

Failing to locate either of them, she comes to the conclusion that Kris and Ralsei are probably in the castle. Which is convenient, since she needs to head up there anyway. She doesn't find them on the first floor, though, and just as she's about to head upstairs... the pile of books that Ralsei was messing with earlier catches her eye.

She looks back and forth, as if Ralsei might be hiding somewhere nearby, waiting to jump out and catch her snooping. She really should respect his privacy, she'd hate if he just went through her stuff, but... curiosity gets the best of her, she wants to know what he's been up to. She tiptoes over to the cauldron and peers inside.

The liquid inside is a vibrant red, bright enough to hurt her eyes. Upon closer inspection, it's actually glowing. She doesn't think it was doing that before. She has to squint just to look at it. Just what kind of soup is this? Is it some kind of potion...?

Moving on to the next item of interest, she reaches down and plucks a random book from the pile. The entire thing collapses, which she feels a little bad about. Not enough to fix it, though. Ralsei shouldn't have piled stuff up if he didn't want her to kick it over. That's just common sense.

The book in question looks pretty old, it's covered in dust and stains. The cover is unlabeled and covered in small bumps, it feels like it's made of leather or something. It looks almost like a dictionary, it would be the right length for that too. If that's what he's been up to she's going to noogie the hell out of him later.

Normally, she'd avoid a book like this like her life depended on it. But not today! Today, she's on a mission. She flips open to a random page, then another, then another... there's a lot of words here, all of them seem to have been handwritten too. It honestly looks more like a journal that a proper book: The writing is tiny, uneven, and appears to be written in cursive. She's honestly having trouble reading it. Is this Ralsei's handwriting?

The book has some annotations made with a green marker, so she chooses to focus on those parts instead of reading the whole thing. She settles on a random paragraph and starts skimming through the highlighted bits, ignoring the rest of the page.

...persist after death, with enough determination...

......................................................................................

...needs a host. Without it, the soul will perish........ <-What qualifies as a host? More research required.

.........dangerous.........destroys the connection........

....save points...........using the shadow crystals....... <-Not technically required, but useful.

What... What is this? What's he writing about?

She flips through the pages, trying to make sense of it all. More cryptic highlights, more meaningless rants that she's obviously too dumb to understand... there's a few points where he's drawn diagrams. Mostly it's pictures of Kris and/or a heart. A heart that looks suspiciously like their soul.

Huh...

The hell is Ralsei doing? Is this related to the cauldron thing, somehow? It is the same color as their soul, she guesses, but something about this whole thing is shady as-

"Susie?"

She startles, slamming the book shut and hiding it behind her back. She whips around to face him. "Ralsei! How... How long have you been standing there?" He's stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking surprised to see her. 

He seems to be in a rush, though, and looks awfully nervous about something. His heavy breathing is audible from all the way over here, did he run down the stairs? "Susie! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with Kris! Why are you... um... what are you doing?" He tries to peer around her to get a look at what she's obviously hiding behind her back, but he seems to realize something and gasps. "Oh, wait, that's not important right now! We don't have time for this. Come on, we have to go."

He runs over to the front entrance, moving with haste. He doesn't even look back to make sure she's following. Susie takes the opportunity to pocket the book. She isn't fully sure why... she just feels like it might be important, somehow. She speeds over to Ralsei, trailing behind him as he rushes through town. Whatever's got him this worried can not be good. "Ralsei! Slow down! What's the rush?"

He leads her outside, pushing past darkners with an amount of force that she wouldn't have expected from him. He must be really freaking out. "Another dark fountain has opened up, on the east side of Hometown I believe... I don't know exactly where, though. Hurry up!!" Okay, yeah, he's definitely freaking out. He sounds nervous as hell as he leads her out of town.

"Wait! Ralsei! Kris is here too! I lost track of them, but we need to find them first-"

"There's no time! They'll have to catch up!" He stops by the edge of town, giving her a serious look. He fidgets with his scarf, nervously tugging at it while he talks. "Listen, Susie, I can't explain why but... I have a really bad feeling about this one. Something about the new fountain feels off. We don't have any time to waste, okay? I'll handle Kris."

Susie nods at him. "Okay, yeah. That... that sounds pretty bad, actually, coming from you." She heads towards the light, stopping to call back over her shoulder. "Hey, if you see Kris... can you check on them first? I know we're kind of in a rush but... we kind of had a bit of a fight, and they ran off, and..."

Ralsei smiles at her, still visibly nervous. "Of course. Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine. I'll talk to them and then we'll catch up with you in the Dark World, okay? We'll be there as soon as we can."

She returns his smile. "Okay. See you when I see you." She steps into the light, letting it carry her back to the Light World. Popping out of the supply closet, back into the school's hallway, she takes a moment to collect her thoughts. Because that whole thing was a lot... she needs to take stock of the situation.

So:

Kris is dating Noelle? Or... well, it doesn't sound like they're dating, but it sounds like they really should be. Which is a good thing! She's happy for them! She has to be! Because if Noelle dates Kris instead, that's a step towards proving that the prophecy can be changed. It's also good because she totally screwed things up with Noelle already and she probably hates her guts now, maybe the two of them getting together will help her move on and then they can be friends? She can only hope...

Speaking of Kris, though, she still has no idea what's up with them. Their voice earlier... that was weird. Is this what Asriel and Noelle were talking about? They kept saying Kris's voice sounded off, and that was so... distinct. She's been paying more attention to the way they talk since Noelle brought it up, and yeah... Maybe she has a point, that conversation was jarring and the sudden shift in their tone is freaking her out a little. Though she doesn't have a single clue what it could actually mean. Maybe that's what she'll use her other question for, since Kris ran away before she could ask it.

Ralsei is doing... something down there. Something he refuses to talk about. Something that has to do with Kris... or maybe their soul... the soul that she's been trying and failing to ask Kris about for over a day now. Maybe he knows what's up with it, but then why won't he tell her? Has he talked to Kris about it or are they being kept in the dark too? She'll have to bring it up later, maybe during the Dark World. Get everybody on the same page.

The Dark World. Because that's the priority right now, as much as she wants to continue her quest for answers. There's a new Dark World and it's... different, somehow? Ralsei said it felt off, and he seemed pretty damn scared of that fact. She doesn't like what that might imply, things have been hard enough already without the world throwing them yet another curve ball. Especially since another Dark World probably means another fight with the Roaring Knight.

And speaking of the Knight...

Her blood boils at the mere thought of that jerk. She's not going to let them win. She's not going to let them bring the roaring. And she sure as hell isn't going to let them hurt her friends. She's not sure how she's gonna stop them yet, the last few times didn't go so well, but she has to. Taking them out is like, priority number one.

As she makes her way out of the school, she's hit with a sudden chill that makes her scales ache. It's cold... Shielding her face with her sleeve, she starts making her way down the road with no specific destination in mind. She'll just have to look around for anything suspicious, maybe peek through some windows and check a few buildings. The sky is filled with dark clouds, swirling around one another and blotting out the sun. It's darker than it should be. The wind is picking up, throwing droplets of ice cold water in her face and making her shiver. Still, she continues onward, pushing ahead. She thinks of Kris, of Ralsei, of Noelle, of Lancer... they're all counting on her, whether they know it or not. She needs to be strong, for them.

Lightning cracks somewhere in the clouds above, lighting up the sky. She sighs.

Looks like a storm is coming.

Chapter Text

Tap tap tap...

A Lone Prince makes his way through the dark, footsteps echoing throughout the Cliffs. He moves swiftly as he scales the rocks, he knows time is of the essence.

Tap tap tap...

The Cliffs are almost entirely void of life. At least, of the kind of life that the Prince holds dear. One is never truly alone in the dark, and nowhere is that more apparent than through the cracks in the cliffside. He pays them little mind, moving with a purpose.

Tap tap tap...

It's almost funny. All of his life, the Prince had believed that his own life held little value. His one and only purpose was to assist the Legendary Heroes in their quest, for they were far more real than himself. He took solace in the idea, dreadful as it was, for his story was already written. There was some amount of comfort to be drawn from that certainty. 

Tap tap tap...

And yet... after meeting said heroes, he allowed himself to change. He allowed himself to feel, to grow, to love, and to be loved. He allowed himself to believe he was important, that his feelings mattered. He would come to understand that he was part of the group, not just an object to be used. And should he forget that, his friends would remind him. 

Time and time again, his friends would remind him that they were a team. Nobody gets left behind.

Tap tap tap...

And yet, he fears that caring may have only made things worse. He knew their fates before their faces. A Girl, turned murderer. With blood on her hands, she would face the End alone. A Cage, turned traitor, turned corpse. They would turn against them for a reason unknown and pay the ultimate price. And a Prince... a Lonely Little Prince. He would watch his team fall apart in real time, helpless to stop it. His most valued friendships would shatter in an instant, as if they were never there. And when the End arrives, he would be forgotten. It was inevitable.

He would regret growing close to them. He would regret allowing himself to feel.

Tap tap tap...

"Mr. Society?"

The Bishop freezes in place, still half hidden behind a large rock. The Prince is caught off guard, he was not expecting any of his Subjects to reside here, much less hide from him. It has been quite a while since he had seen the Bishop, but he had not given it much thought at the time. He is a very busy Prince, after all.

The Bishop dramatically sighs and speaks, voice high pitched and shaky. "Oh dear, not another one. I came up here to get away from society, if people start migrating here... I don't know what I would do."

The Prince can not help but feel sympathy for the pitiful Subject. He understands the sentiment all too well. He smiles at them. "You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Society. I'm actually here to retrieve my friend, if you could kindly point me their way."

The Bishop seems relieved, pointing into the distance. "There. They seemed to be in quite the tizzy. I did not ask them why they were up here, no sir. I just wish to be left alone."

The Prince looks that way. A windy path stands before him, stretching off endlessly into the distance. He sees no sign of his fellow Hero, they must have traveled pretty far in their quest for solitude. That, too, the Prince understands. While he would never wish to return to the way things were, his Kingdom is chaotic.

Sometimes he needs to be alone with his thoughts. Sometimes, he misses the silence.

Thanking the Bishop, he makes his way down the path. He hopes that one day the Bishop will return and give society one more chance, just as he has.

Tap tap tap...

The Prince has been too compliant. He has allowed things to progress without his intervention for far too long, watching his fellow Heroes—his friends—grow ever closer to meeting a terrible fate. He had accepted it as an inevitability and had made no effort to change course, dedicating himself further to his role. As long as he was not the one holding the blade, he could claim that it was not his fault. But inaction, too, is an action. He had a chance to change things once already and he failed.

Now? The Prince will not stand by any longer. He can only hope that he isn't too late to fix things. He will save his friends. No matter the cost.

"Kris! I was looking all over for you."

The Prince finds his friend before long, sitting on the edge of the path. Their feet dangle over the cliffside, swinging back and forth through the air. They hold something in their hands, something soft and red, but they stash it away before he gets a good look at it.

They startle, turning to face him. He waves politely, stopping a short distance away from them so as to not intrude. "May I sit?"

Truthfully, he is in a hurry, but he sees no reason to burden his friend with this information. Not until he has made sure that they are okay, as they would do for him. Their well being comes first. The friend watches him for a few moments before nodding, tapping the ground next to them. He smiles and takes a seat, dangling his legs next to their own and looking upon the valley.

The view is nice. Very relaxing. He can see why they come here to get away. It's dark, but not in a way that he finds unsettling. Instead, it's peaceful. There isn't much to see, sure, but somehow that makes the view better. Like staring into the night sky while it is void of stars.

"I heard you and Susie got into a fight. Is everything okay?" The Prince makes the first move, shattering the silence. When his friend nods, he turns to face them. "What did you two argue about?"

His friend shrinks in on themself, as if trying to disappear. They provide no answer. "Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want. It's no big deal." They offer him a grateful smile. "...she was worried about you, Kris."

He observes the way their fingers dig into their arms. The way their jaw clenches a little tighter. The way they stop swinging their legs. He can guess what's going through their mind.

"She cares about you a lot." They tense more. He gives them a reassuring smile. "You're worth it, Kris."

He waits for them to relax, his smile growing once they do. The two of them go back to sitting in silence, enjoying the moment. He hums a tune to himself one that he knows by heart. It's dramatic, and a little ominous, but he's always found it comforting. The legend was all he knew for so long, after all. How could it not be? 

The Prince considers it something of a personal victory when his friend joins in.

"Hey, Kris?" They give him a knowing look, recognizing his tone. "You're... wondering how Susie is doing, aren't you? After your fight?"

They nod.

"I'm sure she's fine, but... I can tell you're worried about her. How about... you close your eyes and try to picture what she's doing? Just for a little bit?"

His friend meets his eyes for a few seconds before closing their own. He's glad they complied, his whole plan would have fallen apart if this didn't work. He gives it a few seconds more, waiting for their confirmation.

"...sgone. Talk."

They give him a sideways look, the Prince almost flinching at the intensity of his friends gaze, but there is no real hostility in their expression. Still, this is going to be a heavy conversation. He isn't fully sure where to begin.

"Kris! It's been too long." The soul hasn't been cooperating recently, perhaps it has grown suspicious of his behavior. He didn't really get a chance to check in on them these past few Dark Worlds, so they haven't had a chance to talk. "I have something very important to discuss, but first... if you don't mind me asking..."

"How are you really feeling, Kris?"

-

"Dammit!" Susie slams a fist against the door to 'Sans. It's locked, what did she expect? "The hell am I supposed to do, check every building in town!?"

She shelters herself from the rain to the best of her abilities, using her jacket as a makeshift umbrella, but it's distracting. She's hungry, she's cold, she's angry, and she's sick and tired of being alone! If Kris was here they'd have no trouble finding the fountain! Or at the very least, they'd keep her entertained while they search. What she would give to have them by her side right now...

Focus! She needs to focus, this fountain isn't gonna find itself! There's still a few buildings to check, Ralsei said it was on the East side of town but she isn't exactly sure which side that is. She doesn't have a phone to check or nothing, so she's kind of shit out of luck there. Instead, she finds herself wandering around randomly and just kind of hoping she's checking the right areas.

As she's passing by the alleyway, the one with the infinite milk, she senses that something is off. She's not alone. Somebody is here, somewhere. She's being watched. But from where? She looks around, eyes peeled for potential threats, but she sees nothing. She hears nothing. Nobody but her would be out and about in this weather, she's freaking out over nothing. She isn't gonna get mugged.

Something rattles nearby and it almost makes her jump out of her skin. Thunder cracks in the sky and illuminates the street, casting shadows in her peripheral. She hears footsteps behind her-

["Where the hell do you think you're going?"]

"Don't fucking touch me!" She whips around, arms raised defensively in preparation for a hit that never comes. She slowly lowers her hands...

The street is empty. Nobody is there. She could have sworn... the presence, the footsteps... did any of that actually happen? Did she imagine the whole thing? She hasn't been eating or sleeping well, sure, but if she's started hallucinating... she doesn't know what she'd do. She slowly lowers her hands and tries to breath normally. It takes a few minutes, but she manages to get into a good rhythm and calm herself down. It was nothing. She just imagined it, that's all. She's safe. She's... safe.

She's not safe, not really. Not until the fountain is gone. Not until the prophecy is subverted. Not until the Roaring Knight is dead. She isn't safe until she can proudly proclaim that she saved all of her friends' lives, that she's a hero. Not the stupid ass-backwards 'hero' the prophecy wants her to be, but the type that actually protects the people that they care about. She isn't gonna let some glorified picture book dictate her fate.

She's going to kill the Knight, with her own two hands. She's going to save the day. She's going to... she's going to find this angel forsaken fountain! How is she still wandering around town? And where the hell is Kris!?

"Flower King."

Huh?

Was that... Kris's voice? She scans the streets for any sign of them, but they're nowhere to be seen. That was them, right? It sounded like they were right behind her, so why aren't they here? Are they hiding from her? No, that's dumb. Does she miss them that much that she's imagining their voice?

She grimaces as she ponders this possibility. If she's really not in her right mind, she might not be much help in the next Dark World, and that would totally suck. She like... can't leave Kris and Ralsei alone right now, they need her. Maybe her brain is just trying to help her out by telling her what she thinks Kris would say? Which, yeah, that sounds stupid as hell and makes her feel crazy, so it's probably not that, but she doesn't have any better ideas.

And... Flower King? Isn't that Asgore's shop? Why would she be thinking about that? She's never even been inside, never had much of a reason to grab flowers... or the money to spend, either, now that she's thinking about it. Maybe her brain is trying to tell her to check there for some reason? Which is totally stupid and random and she's not going to walk all the way over there just to check it out.

Is she really gonna walk all the way over there just to check it out? 

It's better than standing in the rain like a moron. Probably. Maybe. She may as well.

It's a short walk, all things considered, but the rain, cold, and wind makes it feel like it takes an eternity before the shop comes into view. She approaches the door, but something in the distance catches her eye before she can enter. Asgore's truck is gone. Is he out? That would be pretty lucky, if it turns out there is a dark fountain here he wouldn't get mixed up in it. So far they've lucked out when it comes to keeping other people from getting involved, it's a miracle that Toriel slept through TV World, but at the same time his absence almost feels almost too convenient. 

As she pushes the door open, though, it seems her intuition was off. He isn't lucky at all. The place looks like it's been ransacked... flowers, money, and soil is scattered all throughout the shop. Even the cash register is split open, though it doesn't look like the robber actually took any money. Which is weird as hell. Is that why the truck was missing? Did somebody steal it!?

"Shit! Hey! Anybody in here!?" She sprints through the store, not bothering to search for a light switch. She's got good enough night vision as is and Asgore could be in danger, every second counts. She takes a sharp turn around the corner and leaps up the stairs, throwing the bedroom door open. "Mr. Dreemurr! Are you- huh?"

There's no sign of Kris's dad. Or any burglars, for that matter. She's completely alone in here. Upstairs is... also ransacked, it looks even worse than the ground level of the store. Now that she's getting a good look at everything, though, it looks like whoever was here was searching for something specific. All of the furniture is overturned, all the drawers are opened, the 'bed' is flipped, the TV is smashed, and the fridge is unplugged and face down on the floor. 

Poor dude. Who the hell would do this to him? And why? 

She slowly makes her way through the room, careful to avoid stepping on any of the clutter as she weaves her way through the mess of scattered flowers and shattered glass. She doesn't have a clear destination in mind at first but it isn't long before something catches her eye.

In the center of the room sits an oddly shaped table (a counter, maybe?) with seven glass vials resting on top of it. A number of large, colorful flowers sit inside of these containers, six in total.

...Six?

She approaches the table and lifts up the remaining vial, as if the missing flower might be hiding underneath. Pretty weird choice for the center of the floral arrangement to just be empty, unless this is what was stolen...? But why would somebody go out of their way to steal a flower? Was there something special about it?

She sighs and plops the glass back down, making her way back out of the shop. This whole thing was a bust, she should know better than to listen to the voices in her head. It's good that she stopped by, though, she'll have to mention the robbery to Kris later so they can report it to the police. Or something like that, anyway. But wherever the fountain is, it isn't here.

The moment she steps foot outside she misses having a roof over her head. Squinting and shielding her eyes with her hand, she raises her head to the sky and... wow. Did the storm get worse? It's only been a few minutes, right? The way the clouds are swirling... it almost looks like they might be getting a tornado. That would be like... terrible fucking timing.

She's getting distracted again! Why is it so hard to focus tonight? She really needs to get a move on, there's still a few buildings left to check.

"Back door."

Her foot halts, mid-step, and she groans. There's that not-Kris voice again. Seriously, is she losing her mind? She barely even remembered that the back door existed, she doesn't have any reason to believe it's worth checking. Why would the Knight open a dark fountain specifically in the dude's basement? 

But... she is already here. It would be kind of stupid not to clear the place completely before moving on, she'd feel like an idiot if she skipped it right now and had to march her way back over here later. With that in mind, she makes her way to the side of the building and grips the doorknob.

With the barest application of force, without even turning the handle, the door creaks open and reveals a dimly lit basement. Huh. He must've left it unlocked. And cracked open.

The interior is covered in plants, even more than the rest of his shop. The whole basement is overgrown save for a small work station in the very back. The work station is dimly lit by a hanging lamp, the only source of light in the room at the moment, and hanging on the wall next to it is...

Oh, hey. She has one of those too. Three of them, in fact, though as far as conspiracy boards go... this one is much more elaborate. Hers feel kind of pathetic in comparison, both in size and in quality. She stares at it, trying to make sense of it all, but it's very detailed. There's gotta be dozens of newspaper clippings, photographs, and files on various Hometown residents stapled to this thing. Reading it all would take time she doesn't have, no matter how curious she is.

So instead she skims it, looking for any familiar faces among the chaos. And boy does she find them. Several of these photos are of a reindeer that is definitely Noelle's sister. She doesn't know much about her, she wasn't around for whatever the 'incident' was, but she's seen the way people react to the very mention of her name. Talking about her is taboo and that's all she knows. Actually, come to think of it, was that her room...? With the guitar? Shit, no wonder Carol was so mad about that. If that's true, she's probably the world's biggest douchebag.

Turning her attention back to the board, she finds what she's looking for pretty quickly. It seems like she went missing half a dozen years ago? And... something else happened, too? It isn't very clear on what exactly, she thinks that's probably what Asgore was trying to figure out, but whatever the case it almost looks like the incident was covered up for some reason. All of the articles referenced on the board are suspiciously vague.

Further down the list, following the red string of fate, her eyes widen as they land on pictures of the shelter. The one that the Knight is taking people to. The one that they're trying to access now. Has... has this been going on for longer than she thought? Was Noelle's sister the first victim of the Knight? Does Asgore know about it too??? What is she even supposed to do with that information?

Shit, and he has the code too! One of them, anyway. The moment she spots it, she snatches the sticky note off the board and shoves it in her pocket. Hell yeah, looks like coming here wasn't a total waste after all. Thank god for the mysterious voice in her head.

She's just about to turn and leave, ready to get back to her fountain search, when something else catches her eye. 

"That can't be right... Kris?"

She reaches out, slowly, and grabs another piece of paper. She pulls it off the board, holding it right up to her snout to get a closer look. This... this doesn't make any sense. It's a police file of some kind, containing several pictures of Kris from different angles. They almost look like a corpse in some of them. Their body is covered in various cuts and bruises, their clothes are bloodied and torn, and their eyes are glassy and unfocused. It makes her sick to her stomach just looking at them.

The text accompanying the photos isn't helping. 'Found outside of the shelter', 'Completely unresponsive', and 'In critical condition' in particular paint a pretty nasty picture of what happened to them.

So... something happened to Kris when they were a kid, something that almost killed them from the look of it. And Asgore seems to think it's connected to whatever happened to Dess. Which would be connected to the shelter. Which she knows is connected to the Knight...

She balls up the paper with little care, just wanting to get it out of her sight as fast as possible, and shoves it in her pocket along with the rest of the stuff she took. She feels around in her pocket to confirm that she still has the other items, which she does. Sticky note with the shelter code on it, check. Wad of paper that's probably the book she stole from Ralsei, check. And now a crumpled paper of Kris's medical records, check. One thing for each of them, how fitting.

She takes a few steps towards the door, coming to a stop in front of it. Stuck to the door with tape, visible only from inside the room, is a piece of paper with a hastily written note on it. It's addressed to Kris.

Kris, if you are reading this, there has been a change of plans.

I know that I have not been the most reliable father, nor have

I given you a reason to trust me, but I implore you to give me

one more chance to make things right.

I will be waiting for you in the cabin, east of the lake. I believe

you are familiar with the one. Please, come as soon as possible.

We do not have much time.

-Love, Dad.

Words fail her as she reads the note. Once, then twice, then thrice. She can't make sense of it. Make what right...? Why don't they have much time...? And why would Kris even come here tonight, did the two of them plan to meet up for some reason?

Her search for answers is only raising more questions, she feels like she has less of an understanding of what's going on than she did before she started trying. It's frustrating to no end, she clearly isn't cut out for investigative work and nobody else is willing to help her figure this out. Kris's secrets are starting to feel more foreboding with each passing hour.

She shoves the note into her pocket as well, adding it to the collection. She'll... she'll just have to confront them later, after this whole Dark World thing. She was already planning on continuing her interrogation, this is just more fuel on the fire. She's sure they'll have a good explanation for all of this...

In the meantime, she has a search to get back to. The clock is ticking.

-

Not even an hour later, she finds herself trudging through the woods around the perimeter of the lake. She hasn't been able to get this stupid note out of her head and, hey, she was running out of places to search anyway. Hometown doesn't have the best security, there were plenty of unlocked doors, but she really doesn't want to risk breaking and entering unless absolutely necessary so any locked buildings were completely inaccessible. She can't get arrested right now. She's real curious about this cabin, may as well kill two birds with one stone by checking it out sooner rather than later.

She feels immense pride at her little loophole. If Kris's dad is still there, she can question him about the note and finally get some answers. If he isn't, she can still search the place for information and maybe figure things out on her own. And if it happens to contain a dark fountain...?

It's a win/win/win! It helps that the path there is mostly forest, the weather conditions out here are slightly less miserable.

It takes her a while to find the location mentioned in the note, she isn't that familiar with Hometown yet and Kris never took her to this side of the lake. When she happens across a well used hiking trail she suspects she's finally on the right path. A few minutes following said trail and her suspicions are confirmed. At the end of the road lies a worn down wooden hut. It's on its last legs, it looks like if she blows too hard the whole thing would collapse. No sign of Asgore yet, nor does it have any windows for her to peek through to see if he's inside. Guess it's time to kick down the door.

Except she doesn't actually want to announce herself like that, so she opts for a stealthier approach. She pushes the door open, the loud creak doing little to mask her presence. Great. If she hasn't been spotted already, he definitely knows she's here now. Except-

Her eyes widen and she takes a step back to avoid being consumed by the radiant darkness leaking out of the cabin. She wasn't expecting to actually find a dark fountain here, that was just an excuse to justify snooping. Now that she's here staring down the truth she isn't sure what to make of it. Did Asgore open this for some reason or is he just incredibly unlucky?

If Asgore did open it, why? Was he trying to lure Kris in? Is he working with the Knight!? But why would he do that to his own kid? From what she saw at Noelle's house, it seemed like the two of them were on pretty good terms. It doesn't seem like the type of thing he'd do. And if he wasn't working against Kris, would that imply Kris was supposed to know about the fountain ahead of time? Was it meant to be in Flower King, is that what the 'change of plans' was? Is Kris... opening fountains? No, that's ridiculous.

Except now that she's thinking about it, maybe it isn't. How did the Knight open a fountain in Kris's house right under all of their noises like that, anyway? And there was that time Kris refused to attack the Knight, too, which was pretty suspicious. Hell, it was their knife that she used to open the fountain in the church... and she still doesn't know why they just carries it around. Too many things are adding up and she really doesn't like the conclusions she's coming too now. 

She has to trust Kris! If she can't trust Kris, she can't trust anybody! So what if Kris has been lying to her and keeping secrets? So what if their dad is opening fountains? And actually, so what if Kris is helping them do it!? Who cares! There could be a million reasons for that! She can't think of any right now, but she's sure there are. It doesn't mean they're working with the- ugh, she doesn't even want to think that. What is wrong with her?

She... just needs to get some answers, maybe she can explore the Dark World on her own before Kris catches up. Kris will have to come here and seal the fountain eventually, so she should be fine to wait for them inside. Even if they don't get the note telling them to show up, they'll figure it out. They've got a good brain on their head... or however the saying goes.

She'll look around a bit, see if she can find Asgore and confront him. She'll beat the truth out of him if she has to. And then once Kris shows up, she can ask them some things too. Without the beating this time, she's hurt them enough already. And finally, she'll be able to put this ridiculous theory to rest.

She steels her nerves, swallows the bile, and jumps inside. 

-

Laying face down in a pile of brown vines, Susie wonders if perhaps she made the wrong choice. Ow? That hurt. Why did that hurt? Falling into the Dark World never hurt before!

She groans, pushing herself to her feet. The vines snap from the tiniest application of pressure, crumbling to dust wherever she touches them. They emit a rotten smell that makes her nose scrunch up and she nearly gags. Examining her surroundings, she appears to be in some kind of dimly lit cave, despite the lack of a visible light source.

She tries to summon her axe and fails. Weird. That's never happened before. She tries it a few more times, flexing and unflexing her hand, to no avail. She feels panic setting in and pats herself down as she comes to an unsettling realization.

She isn't in her Dark World outfit. She's still wearing her normal clothes.

This is a Dark World, isn't it? She didn't just dream that whole thing? Ralsei did imply there was something different about this one, maybe this is what he meant? It's a Dark World but somehow... not? Yeah. Now that the thought has crossed her mind, he was right to be scared. This is pretty concerning, she really hopes she's wrong about this place. Will Ralsei even be able to meet her here?

Just to cover all of her bases, and because she's feeling a little exposed without her axe, she attempts to charge up a BETTER HEAL and is relieved to see it actually work. She launches it forward, further into the cave. As it connects with the far wall, it illuminates the room even more and reveals an opening that she could not see before. She catches the briefest glimpse of a green sweater disappearing around the corner and her body spikes with adrenaline. The hell?

"Kris!?" She sprints after them, rounding the corner to reveal a long, winding cave full of sparkly gemstones and stalac... stal... those droppy rock things. She can't remember what they're called right now and she doesn't care! "Kris! Hey! Where the hell are you going!?"

What is Kris doing here!? Did they beat her here somehow!? Did they already see the note!? And how are they so damn fast?

Seeing no sign of them in the immediate area she speeds through the tunnel, calling their name every few seconds in the hope that they'll stop running from her. Why aren't they responding? Why aren't they stopping? Why are they always lying to her!?

They're supposed to be her friend, aren't they!? So why does it feel like that idea's being challenged with every interaction the two of them have lately? Things just keep getting worse without getting better and she's scared. Time after time, they aren't there when she needs them, and it's really getting to her. Why does it feel like a betrayal? Why does she want to hurt them?

She takes an almost ninety degree turn, nearly tripping over her own feet at the sudden change in direction. It leads into an even bigger cave. The gemstones line the ceiling now, the cave shining brighter than any of the rooms prior. The walls are purple and reflective, as if they were lined with naturally formed mirrors. She sees herself reflected in all of them and she hates it.

She looks like a wild, untamed animal. She can see smoke pouring out of her nose and her teeth look unnaturally large and threatening. Her stance is aggressive, her clothes are even more torn than usual... she looks insane! No wonder everybody's scared of her. If this is what she looks like. If this is how she acts. She'd be scared of her too.

Her eyes lock onto her target's back, in the center of the room, and all of the self deprecating thoughts evaporate from her mind as she's reminded of whose fault this really is. She wouldn't be this mad if they weren't so frustrating.

"Dead end, Kris. Turn around." Her voice is low and menacing as she takes a step forward. "I said TURN AROUND."

They don't budge. She takes another step. "I know you can hear me, freak." Why is she doing this? Why is she acting like this? She takes another step. "I. Said. Turn. Around." She just wanted answers. She just wanted to talk. This isn't what she wanted.

She grabs their shoulder, her grip painfully tight. They tense up but still do not move. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." Why is she hurting them? 

Kris finally reacts, taking an unsteady step away from her. She's so startled by this that she puts up no resistance, letting them escape. Every movement they make is sudden and jerky, it looks less like they're walking and more like they're being dragged. All the fury in her body is replaced by dread as her brain registers how wrong it looks.

Their bones crack with each movement, their limbs jutting out at awkward angles. She knows humans pretty well, she's more familiar with them than she cares to admit, and she knows they aren't supposed to bend like that. Their head twists to the side. Then in the other direction. They twist around, finally facing her, and her heart stops.

They don't have a face. Where it should be, there is instead a black void. She stares into it, endlessly deep, as if she can't look away. She looks deeper and deeper into the nothingness until she spots something, buried deep inside. Something tiny... and red. A heart? Red cracks spread slowly out from the heart, like a tree spreading its roots, and she watches in real time as more and more of the void is overtaken by the cracks. Her blood turns to ice.

"You... you aren't Kris. What are you?" She really wishes she has her axe right now, making one last panicked attempt to summon it as she backs away from them. The figure takes a shaky step towards her, arm outstretched, and she raises her fists in self defense-

"Susie! There you are!" She hears a chipper voice behind her and immediately her body floods with relief. He could not have come at a better time. 

"Ralsei! Oh thank god, I need you to help me- huh?" She only took her eyes off it for a second, but that brief moment was enough for the Not-Kris to vanish. It's completely gone, as is the portion of the wall it was standing in front of. Instead, there's another path ahead... leading further into the cave. "What the hell? I swear, they were just here!"

Ralsei gives her an uncertain look. "Who was just here, Susie?"

"The... the thing! It looked like Kris, but it wasn't them. It was... I don't know, dude! It was freaking me out!" She shivers, she still has goosebumps. "How didn't you see it? It was, like, right here!" She gestures at the spot.

Ralsei has a contemplative look on his face as he steps forward, waving his arms around as if expecting it to be invisible. When his search comes up empty, he moves to examine the walls instead. He places a palm on one of the reflective surfaces and hums to himself. "You said it looked like Kris?"

"Uh... yeah. But it was all freaky and shit, like... it didn't have a face! And it wasn't moving right! I don't know dude, it's hard to describe."

Ralsei knocks on the wall a few times, putting his ear up to it as he does, before pulling his hand away. She takes note of her own reflection in the wall while she waits. Whatever was happening to her before seems to have stopped, she's back to normal. Ralsei turns back to her with an inquisitive look. "Did anything else happen while you were here? Anything odd?"

She thinks about her emotions, about the spike of anger and her failure to keep them in check. She thinks about the walls, reflecting an exaggerated, monstrous version of herself. She thinks about hurting Kris, about wanting to, about almost doing it. If that was the real Kris, would she have attacked them? "Uh. No. I mean... I guess it's pretty weird that I don't have my gear?" She tugs at her jacket, drawing his attention to it. "But other than that, no. Why?"

Ralsei gives her an almost pitiful look. It's only for a split second before he masks it behind a smile, but she noticed. "Oh, I just think I know what this is. And I... do not like it one bit." His expression drops again as he moves to deliver the bad news. "I believe this Dark World was created with a Black Shard."

She blinks. "Uh. Should I know what that is? Because I don't." It does sound kind of familiar, but she can't put her finger on why.

"It's... a little hard to explain." He wrings his paws together, a nervous tic that she's all too familiar with at this point. "I'm not sure exactly where they come from, but Black Shards are fragments of a substance that originates from within the Dark. It's pure Darkness, solidified into a tangible form that isn't reliant on any Light World equivalent. I have not experimented with it myself, having yet to actually get my hands on one, but if my research is correct a Black Shard is 'real' enough that it could be taken into the Light World without changing form. Any of the substance would be, I suppose, but only the Shards are really... accessible." 

She crosses her arms, closing her eyes to take in the information. She thinks it over for a few seconds. "So... you're saying that somebody took one of these shards into the Light World and used it to open the fountain? And that's why this one is... weird?"

He nods, solemnly. "I am afraid so. Usually when a dark fountain is created, it is done so with an object from the Light World. That creates your standard Dark World, the type that we've been adventuring through up until now. Those types of fountains are reflections of the Light World, taking form based on the objects in the 'real world' and turning the feelings associated with them into something more concrete. In theory, a powerful enough entity from within the Dark could open one from the inside, too. That would create... a different kind of Dark World, one that operates on different rules." He holds out his hands, palms facing the sky, and conjures tiny balls of fire in each of them. In one hand, he holds a bright white flame. In the other, he holds a shadowy black one instead. "But what would happen if something from the Dark was taken to the Light World and used to open a fountain there? If somebody tried to apply Dark World fountain logic to a fountain created in the Light?" He smashes his hands together, the two fireballs colliding and poofing out of existence.

"You would get this. Not quite a Dark World, not quite a Light World. It's a reflection, but of what?" He closes the distance between the two of them, lightly tugging at her sleeve. He then casts his gazes over the cave's surface with a haunted expression. "I'm... not sure we want to find out. If you really saw some sort of 'fake Kris', I don't like what that might imply about this fountain. We should find Mr. Dreemurr as fast as we can and get him out of here."

Seeing Ralsei in such a frightened state is enough for her to shake off her own lingering nerves. She's the strong one, she doesn't get to be scared. Not when there's people like him around, people that she needs to protect. She grins down at him, as confidently as possible. "Well, thanks for the history lesson nerd. But if you're right about all that we should probably get a move on."

He returns her smile with one that's far weaker. "R-right. I'm right behind you, Susie." True to his words, he practically glues himself to her back.

She takes a deep breath and starts walking, making her way through the opening-that-was-definitely-not-there-before and trying not to think about it too hard. Reflections, huh...?

Reflections of what, exactly? Of herself? Of Kris? Kris isn't even here, as far as she knows, so why would they be reflected? When she thinks about the events that occurred before Ralsei showed up... ugh. She feels sick, how could she just lose control like that? She's gotta get it together, she can't act like that around the real Kris. Not unless she wants them to go back to hating her.

She decides to distract herself with some small talk. "Hey, how'd you know that Asgore was here anyway? How do you even know who that is?"

Ralsei laughs nervously. "Um... well, the prophecy mentions him, Susie. The Flower King... trapped in asylum. I'm not certain as to the exact meaning yet, but I'm sure it's referring to him." His voice is unsteady, breaking at several points.

"Huh. Neat."

He avoided the first question, in a way that wasn't even subtle, but she chooses not to dwell on it. The two of them march onward, deeper into the cave.

-

"Not to jinx it, but isn't it weird that we haven't run into any enemies yet?" Not that she's itching to fight, given the lack of a weapon and the lack of a Kris, but she's starting to feel antsy traversing through the caves. There hasn't been a single noteworthy location since she left the mirror room, it all looks exactly the same, and they've yet to come across any darkners. She really hopes they aren't just walking in circles.

"It probably has something to do with this Dark World's unique properties... normally, darkners are created from objects in the Light World. Since the process was different, we might not run into any at all." He delivers it with cheer, but it worries her all the same.

"What, there just... isn't anybody here? Well, except for Asgore I guess. And us. But doesn't that mean nobody is gonna stop us from sealing the fountain? What's the point of opening it, then?" She comes to a sudden realization and facepalms. "Ugh, wait, the Knight's probably here aren't they? How the hell am I gonna beat them without a weapon?" She probably couldn't beat them with her axe, either, but if she thinks about that too hard she'll have a mental breakdown.

She stops walking and looks back to Ralsei, squinting her eyes and giving him a once over. He looks exactly the same as he normally does, scarf and all. "How come you get to keep all your stuff, anyway? It's not fair, all I've got is a stupid hairbrush."

Ralsei fidgets slightly. "Well, I'm a darkner, this is what my 'stuff' is always like. Normally when you enter a Dark World, your equipment is transformed through the power of the dark fountain. It's not like your items couldn't be transformed, it's more like the dark fountain you entered from just... didn't. Your axe is normally a hairbrush, so without something changing it? A hairbrush it will stay." He gives her an apologetic look, as if this was somehow his fault. "Sorry, Susie. I could give you a scarf if you want...? I've got a few spares, I bet they'd look great on you!"

She waves him off and resumes her march. "Nah, that's like... your thing. You're the scarf guy. Maybe I'll find a big rock I can beat them to death with." Wait, that's it! It's so obvious, how didn't she think of this before? "Hey, wait a minute! If I don't have any of my crap, I bet that means the Knight won't either! This is like... the perfect place to stage an ambush!"

Ralsei completely fails to hide his disagreement, which means she's probably wrong. His face is very expressive. "I uh... don't know if that's how it works. But it would be pretty convenient, wouldn't it?"

She's about to ask him what he means when she spies a figure in the distance, just barely visible at the end of a dimly lit tunnel, one that is once again covered in those rotting vines from earlier. They're big, fluffy, and appear to be wearing some sort of armored police uniform. They're holding something... a trident, maybe? Shit, that must be Asgore!

"Hey! Asgore! Over here!" He doesn't seem to notice her and keeps walking. She makes a split second decision, taking Ralsei by the hand and breaking into a sprint, dragging him along for the ride. "Hey! Come back, we're here to help!" She's inches away from grabbing him when several of the dormant vines suddenly shoot outwards, forming a blockade. Her hand grabs a fistful of vine instead, which crumbles to dust in her grip. More vines move to replace the ones she damaged, the barrier growing thicker by the second.

"Dammit!" She claws frantically at the barrier, making little progress. Each opening she creates is patched in the blink of an eye. Not that it would do her much good if it wasn't, since she can no longer hear his footsteps. He got away. "DAMMIT!"

She takes a step back, nearly bumping into Ralsei. He stumbles backwards, giving her space, and watches with concern. She reaches for her axe and groans in frustration, remembering its absence. She retrieves her hairbrush instead, raising it threateningly. "I am not losing to VINES. Get the hell out of my way!" She swings, the hairbrush glowing purple and emitting a RUDE BUSTER.

It explodes against the blockade, scattering enough vine dust to completely cloud her vision. She waves it out of her face, coughing and sputtering as she tries to shoo away the fog. It dissipates after a few seconds, revealing... an almost fully intact vine wall, repaired within seconds.

Failure! It's just failure after failure! She screams, hacking at the wall again and again, making no noticeable progress. Her joints ache from the amount of the force she's putting into the attack and she can hear Ralsei practically begging her to stop, but she has to do something. She's the strong one! This is literally her job! If she can't do this, what is she even bringing to the team?

She backs off, she clearly isn't accomplishing anything here, and finally takes a moment to catch her breath. This seems futile. This whole damn adventure does. How is she supposed to beat the Knight if she can't beat some rotting plants? How is she supposed to save her friends if she can't even get them to talk to her? How is she going to figure out this prophecy stuff when she's so unbelievably stupid? She can barely make it through school with passing grades, she's pretty sure the only reason they haven't expelled her yet is because half of the teachers are scared of her, she's never going to be able to puzzle out this conspiracy thing. She's not smart, she's not nice, she's not a good person, and she's definitely not a hero. Why did she let herself ever think otherwise? Because some stupid prophecy called her one? The same prophecy that she's trying to stop?

How could somebody like her ever make a difference?

She's snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden warmth against her back, Ralsei's arms wrapping around her body in a surprise hug. "Susie, it's okay. You did your best, there's no need to beat yourself up over it." His voice washes over her, doing everything that he can to soothe her worries. "We can find another way through, don't worry. We haven't failed yet."

She... feels like an idiot. What was she just freaking out over? Why did it happen again? These mood swings are gonna be the death of her. "You're... right, yeah. Sorry, I don't... know what came over me. I guess I overreacted a bit..." 

He lets go and smiles at her, the warmth in his expression melting her heart. "That's alright, Susie. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes when your brain gets stuck in a loop, it can be hard to break out of it on your own. In fact, I think this place might be doing that to you on purpose, somehow." He straightens up, radiating confidence. It's infectious. "But as long as I'm here, I'll do everything I can to snap you out of it. And you can do the same to me! So, if you feel bad again... you have to tell me, okay? You don't have to handle it on your own."

She feels a smile coming on despite herself, he always knows just what to say. She rolls her eyes at him, affectionately. "Alright, alright. But only if you do too!" She points a claw at him. "You don't get to hide your feelings, either."

He nods enthusiastically. "Of course! Now, let's see... I think we passed by a few tunnels earlier, we could head back and search those. Maybe we can find another way through."

He gestures vaguely down the hallway. She's about to agree and start heading back, but a thought creeps its way into her head. It's... kind of dumb. She hasn't given Dark World spells too much thought, but if she was able to use a rude buster earlier, maybe she can use something else too? And if she was able to learn how to heal, her magic isn't limited to the spells she knows, so what if she just... tries something new?

"Hold on. I just had like... a really sick idea." She holds a hand up to him and turns back, approaching the vines. She narrows her eyes at them. She was doing damage, wasn't she? They were just regenerating faster than she destroyed them. So... what if she destroyed them in a way that stopped that from happening?

She holds out her hand, flexing her claws, and raises it overhead. She doesn't really know why she isn't using her hairbrush here, it just kind of feels right and she's going with the flow. She pours magic into her hand, like she's charging up a rude buster, but she doesn't release it. Instead, she keeps it there and lets it bubble over, spilling out into her palm.

It kind of burns, sizzling and popping, and her hand flares up in pain. She winces at the sensation but powers through it, determined to give this her best shot. She can see Ralsei in the corner of her eye, tugging at his scarf and looking at her with big, worried eyes. She flashes him a cocky smile and keeps charging up, trying to keep her hand from shaking. It hurts, but at the same time something about it is so... invigorating. She feels unstoppable.

"We don't need to find another way through... we've got a door right HERE!" She swings, channeling the magic into her claws. Several streaks of acidic, purple energy accompany her slash as she rakes her claws through the barrier, shattering it in an instant and flooding the tunnel with dust. She lets her hand dangle, in no hurry to move it, and tries to ignore the lingering phantom pain. It doesn't look like the magic actually broke skin, but damn, that hurt like hell. She stares directly ahead, at the gap she tore in the vines, and waits for the fog to clear out.

A few seconds pass and she lets out a victory cry, slamming her foot into the ground hard enough to leave a crack. "Hell yeah! I did it! I actually did it!" The vines aren't repairing themselves, she can still see remnants of her attack eating away at the remains of the blockade. She runs over to where Ralsei is and grabs him by the shoulders, shaking him in excitement. "Ralsei! Did you see that!? I did it! On my first try!"

He laughs as she shakes him, making no effort to stop her. He places his hands over her own. "I saw! That was really smart, Susie! What was that spell? Did you come up with it just now?"

She lets go and throws her hands behind her head, trying to look as relaxed as possible. It's easier said than done, though, since her heart is still racing. "Sure did! It totally kicks ass, doesn't it? I'm gonna call it... Dragon Maw! Or, no, wait... maybe Dragon Strike? Venom Claw?" She puts a hand up to her chin as she gets lost in thought, she was hoping this would come naturally to her. "Rude Slash... Rude Claw... Dragon Slash? Ugh, wait, this is actually kind of hard... ooh! What do you think about EVISCERATE?" She stole that one from Dragon Blazers, but he doesn't need to know that. It's probably her favorite spell in the game, totally overpowered.

Ralsei giggles at her. "Seems pretty fitting to me. Definitely the kind of name you'd come up with." He walks past her, examining the carnage with wide sparkly eyes. He seems almost as excited about this as she is. "Wow, I can't believe you did this... I've never seen such concentrated destruction." He looks back at her in awe. "I'd be careful using that against any darkners, though, it could seriously hurt them. But it'll be great for destroying obstacles! Oh, and I bet you could use it against enemies with armor too!"

Enemies with armor... seriously hurt them... holy shit, she can't believe she just stumbled her way into this. "Oh my god! Ralsei. I have to eviscerate the Knight!" If anything can take them out, it's this. She's sure of it. Finally, they have a fighting chance.

Ralsei doesn't look nearly as excited about that part, but he doesn't protest. "If we must. I really don't want to hurt them, but we aren't going to be able to reason with them at this point. I can only hope it doesn't kill them, but if it comes down to that..." He trails off, his gaze locking onto something behind her. His smile nearly doubles in size. "Oh! Kris! I was wondering when you were going to catch up. You'll never guess what Susie just-" 

His brow furrows in confusion. "Sorry but... are you yellow? Why are you yellow?"

She turns around and... yeah. There they are, Light World outfit equipped and expression blank. Without their armor, they look... frail. And considering they don't have any magic to use, either, she's a little worried about them all things considered. Are they going to be safe?

She doesn't let it show on her face as she smirks at Ralsei. "That's what they normally look like, actually. Humans aren't blue. I don't know why they're like that in the Dark Worlds." She returns to Kris, glaring at them with poorly masked suspicion. She's not trying to be standoffish, but she's never been very good at hiding her emotions. "Not that I'm complaining, but... how'd you even know to come here?"

Kris shrugs. Her eye twitches. Is that really all the explanation she's getting? 

She looks to Ralsei, dumbfounded, but the floor must be especially interesting because his eyes are glued to it. She sighs. Once again, she's the only one being kept out of the loop. These two could not be more obvious if they tried.

"Whatever. I guess it doesn't matter. Can we just go?" Her voice is laced with something akin to anger. If Kris isn't going to talk to her, she doesn't have to talk to them either. Two can play at this game.

Kris nods and moves to lead the party out of the room, stopping only when Ralsei raises his voice. "WAIT!"

Kris gives him a disinterested look. Susie gives him a perplexed one that's quickly replaced with a toothy grin as she realizes what he's asking for. "Oh, duh. Almost forgot."

Everybody hops into position, doing a little spin and striking their respective poses. Badass. Really badass. It's almost enough to make her forget she's mad at both of them.

Without wasting a second longer, Kris exits the room. They don't say anything, they don't look back, and they don't even wait for the others to be ready. It stings a little, but it's understandable given the circumstances. They're probably just in a hurry. It is their dad in danger, after all. She'll help them save him first and save all the questioning for later.

She gives Ralsei a look and the two of them lock eyes. There's something in his expression... he knows more than he's letting on, again. It's not a huge surprise, that always seems to be the case with Ralsei, but she's confident that he knows something about Kris and that is pissing her off a little. She must've been looking at him pretty intensely because he shrinks under her gaze, pointing down the tunnel. "W-well, we'd better catch up before they get too far. Trust me, we don't want to get separated in here..." He scurries off after them.

Susie sighs, shoving her hands in her pockets. She recoils when her fist hits paper. Oh, yeah, she almost forgot about that... her little treasure trove of secrets, burning a hole in her pocket. The book, the photo, the code, and the note... it's all here. Plus, Kris still owes her that last question, don't they? She's got a lot of ground to cover today and not a lot of time to do it.

She moves to catch up with the others, trying to put it out of her mind for now and focus on the objective. "Hey! Wait for..."

She finds the rest of the group in a clearing, some kind of colorful garden in the middle of the cave system that looks completely out of place. It's brighter than the previous rooms and the plants here are all healthy and alive, the entire floor being covered in layers of pink and gold flowers. There are several buildings in the distance, each looking like an imitation of a building in Hometown. Flower King, Kris's house, Noelle's house, the Police Station, and the Shelter all catch her eye immediately. Each structure seems to warp the space around it, transforming what should be gemstones and rock into pockets of pavement, grass, or flowers. Looking at this kind of hurts her eyes, like she's staring into one of those little color tube things with all the funny shapes.

Kris has a hand outstretched, held defensively in front of Ralsei, and the two of them are face to face with the figure she saw earlier. They're both tensed up, as if expecting a battle. Comparatively, Asgore seems completely relaxed. In fact, he looks... oddly happy to see them, a big goofy smile plastered on his face. 

Now that she's getting a better look at his outfit, it really is a souped up police outfit. It has shoulder pads and metal plating, like a mix between the usual uniform and an oversized suit of armor. Attached to it is a long purple cloak with a clasp at the front, right at the center of which appears to be a large shard of black glass. Is that the Black Shard Ralsei was talking about...? It looks kind of like the thing she knocked off from the Knight's sword, but why would Asgore have one? And does this mean he actually made the fountain?

"...me?"

She slows to a stop, observing the group from a distance. Asgore gives Ralsei a polite smile, paying him little mind, and otherwise keeps his attention entirely on Kris.

"Kris! I see that you've received my note, and you have come as requested. It means a lot that you're willing to put your faith in me one last time, I understand this is... difficult, for you." Kris says nothing to that, shifting in place just enough to cast a look back towards Susie. Do they know she took the note, somehow? She tries to keep her expression neutral. "And you brought friends, too! Well, the more the merrier I suppose. If you trust them, so do I."

He gestures towards Flower King. "We have a lot to talk about, if you don't mind indulging me for a little while longer, and we should get inside. You and I both know it isn't safe out here."

Kris balls up their fists and nods. Asgore gives them a sympathetic look, patting them on the head like a dog.

"I would be honored if you three would join me for a cup of tea."

Chapter Text

Tea time with Kris's dad has been unbelievably awkward so far. Normally there is a lot that Susie is willing to put up with for free food, but like... she has Ralsei now. She already has a tea goat, one that comes without the stuffy atmosphere. The tea itself is alright. It's bright yellow and smells like flowers, not a kind she's ever had before. It also tastes like flowers. Specifically, it tastes like those weird little honey plants that everybody eats as kid. Not bad.

The issue is everything else.

The building they entered appeared to be a copy of Flower King on the outside. Immediately on entry, however, the interior seems to have shifted to a flower-filled version of Kris's home. It only took a few seconds for Asgore to retrieve the necessary items from the kitchen, sitting everybody down at the table without ceremony. Asgore takes a seat at the opposite end of the table from her, next to Kris. He hasn't said a word yet, gently blowing on his tea every few seconds and taking slow, careful sips. 

Kris's expression is unreadable next to him, their head tilted down to hide their face even more than usual. Their hands grip the tea cup with enough force that she's surprised they haven't shattered it yet. They haven't touched their tea yet, but she's come to expect that from them. They really just never eat, huh?

Ralsei, sat directly next to Susie, looks down at his tea with a frown almost immediately after taking a seat. He gently scoots it to the side, maintaining eye contact with Asgore the whole time. He clasps his hands together on the table. "Um... Mr. Dreemurr?"

Asgore sets his cup down as well and awkwardly smiles at Ralsei. "Please, there is no need for such formalities. A friend of Kris is a friend of mine. Call me Asgore." He blinks a few times, expression shifting imperceptibly. "I apologize, but... I just realized I did not catch your names."

Susie loudly slurps the rest of her drink, pushing it to the center of the table once emptied. It clinks against the teapot. "Susie."

Without looking, Ralsei paws his own untouched cup over to Susie's end of the table. She happily accepts the offering. "And I'm Ralsei! It's nice to meet you, Mr-" He looks embarrassed at his slip up. "I mean. Asgore."

Asgore laughs, hearty and loud. He sounds like a royal Santa Claus. "Likewise, Ralsei. I am glad to see Kris out with friends, even if the circumstances are a little... odd." He slaps a hand onto Kris's back, causing them to spill some of their tea. Susie can't tell if they didn't notice or didn't care, it's not like they were drinking it anyway. "I know they have something of a reputation, it's made making friends difficult for them. I'm happy to see that you two were able to see past it. The fact that you're here right now tells me that they think very highly of you." He declares with pride, much to Kris's embarrassment. They tilt their head down even further to hide their blush.

It's... really nice to hear that, actually. She lets out a sigh of relief and takes a generous sip of her newly gifted cup. It isn't much, but Kris wouldn't be so flustered right now if there wasn't some truth to it, right? "Ha, yeah. They're a little weirdo, but like... they're our little weirdo, you know?" Kris squirms a little in their chair and her grin widens. "Right, Ralsei?"

She turns to Ralsei, eager to get him in on the teasing. The smile is slowly wiped off her face as she takes in his expression. He's giving Asgore a weirdly serious look, one that's almost hostile. Did she miss something...?

"Um... Asgore? Didn't you have something that you wanted to discuss with us?" His eyes flick briefly to Kris, a flash of worry on his face. He takes a deep breath. "I... think we're ready to hear it now, if that's okay."

Asgore frowns at him. "Are you sure? There is no reason to rush, we are safe here." He slowly waves his arm around the room, taking in every inch of the house as he does. He looks almost awestruck, though there's something heavier hidden behind his eyes that she can't quite place. "Why don't you finish your tea first? We can talk business after."

Susie leans back, kicking off the table so that her chair lifts slightly off the ground. Something about this stinks. Ralsei is smart, much smarter than her, and if he's trying to rush things that means it's probably urgent. She got wrapped up in the tea party and forgot they were on a time limit.

In one quick movement she launches the rest of her drink into the air and catches it in her maw, downing it in one gulp. She slams the empty cup down onto the table, as dramatically as she can without breaking it. "There. I'm done. Let's talk."

Asgore seems surprised at her outburst, mouth hanging open for a few seconds. He looks down at his own cup and sighs, setting it neatly against the teapot. "Very well. I suppose all good things must come to an end eventually. I only wish we had more time." His voice lowers, mumbling under his breath. "There is never enough time."

He turns to Kris, a pained expression in his eyes. He waits until they're facing him to speak. "Kris. I feel it is only fair to warn you that this experience may be unpleasant. I have discovered a way to get us what we want without any unnecessary... sacrifices." His words hold a weight that she doesn't understand, the atmosphere growing more tense by the second. Judging by the way Kris stiffens, they know exactly what he's getting at. They take a few seconds to absorb his words before nodding in what seems to be understanding. Asgore smiles. He still looks sad. "I knew you would understand. No matter what happens tonight, I want you to know... I'm proud of you. I could not have asked for a better child."

Susie narrows her eyes at him. She doesn't trust this for a second. He's the one who asked invited them here, why's he being cagey about it now? "And what. Exactly. Are you planning on doing?"

Asgore looks at her like he forgot she was there. He tugs at his collar, stammering over his words. "Ah, well, you see... it's just... Kris and I-"

Kris cuts him off with a shake of their head. She watches as they raise a shaky hand into the air, lifting up their thumb. She and Asgore both hold their breath in anticipation.

...they shift it into a downward position. She feels a pit open in her stomach. Asgore gives them a sympathetic look and turns back to her. "Ah. I am afraid that is going to have to stay between us, Susie. You may accompany us until we reach the fountain if you wish, though Kris and I will require privacy for our... experiment. I hope you understand."

She can feel her eye twitching. More secrets? Are you serious??? She gestures at the two of them, hands shaking with rage and bewilderment. "Uh... no? No. I don't understand. Why would I understand?" 

"Su-" Ralsei starts to say something, placing a hand on her shoulder. She cuts him off so that he can't defuse the situation.

"You said you wanted to talk! You said 'the more the merrier'!" She throws her hands in the air as she puts on her best impersonation of him that she can manage. "Now it's suddenly some big secret that you can't let us in on?" She leans forward, getting as in his face as she can from across the table. "This whole thing is fishy as hell! You're the one who opened the fountain, right? How do you even know how to do that?" She narrows her eyes. "What do you know?"

Asgore pulls back a bit, raising his hands in surrender and giving her an uneasy smile. "Susie. I am afraid that it is not that simple. Please try to understand, I would love more than anything to tell you. But this information is sensitive, it's the kind of thing that ruins lives." He looks at Kris with concern. "Kris is here to assist me with an investigation-"

"You mean your conspiracy board? The one in your basement?" She cuts in, glaring daggers at him. She notes the way Kris twitches at this, taking it as confirmation that she's right. "That's why you opened a dark fountain?"

He blinks at her. "You... saw my board? You know about the case?" She isn't sure how to read his tone.

"Yeah, I saw your stupid board. You're... what, trying to find a missing person? Why would you need Kris for that!? How are they supposed to..." She trails off, her brain putting two and two together. The picture of Kris on the board, the state they were in after the 'incident', the reflections... she grimaces. She doesn't have all the pieces yet, but what she does have is unpleasant. 

Asgore seems oblivious to her hostility, smiling at her. "Yes, that is exactly what I am doing. The case went cold years ago, it's a big part of why I am no longer on the force, but I believe I have finally made a breakthrough. With Kris's cooperation, we should be able to solve it by tonight!" He furrows his brow at her, thoughtfully. "I'm sorry, but... how do you know about all of this? Did you break into my house?"

"You left the door unlocked." She plainly states. She sighs, it's beginning to look less like Asgore is working with the Knight and more like he's an idiot. Which is a good thing, all things considered, but that doesn't mean she needs to be happy about it. "That's not important right now. I don't know how you know about the Dark Worlds or what this breakthrough of yours is, but this is dangerous! We need to seal the fountain before it's too late, your little experiment or whatever is going to have to wait."

"Seal... the fountain?" Asgore stares at her, confounded. "But why would you..."

"I'm afraid Susie is right, Mr. Asgore." Ralsei puts on a smile that looks plastic. "I understand that you have... good intentions, but this is not the way to go about it. If the dark fountain were to remain open for too long or if our enemies were to seize it before we had a chance to seal it, it would put us all in great danger. It would be in our best interest to move swiftly and take care of the fountain before it gets any worse. Right, Kris?" He stares at them with an uncertain expression, worry strewn across his face.

Kris says nothing.

Asgore closes his eyes for a few seconds, taking a moment to compose himself. "I... understand." He stands up, fixing them with a serious look. It's the kind of look a police officer gives you when telling you not to dig through people's garbage. "If that is how you all really feel, I suppose there is not much I can do to change your minds. However, I do not plan to change my own any time soon either." His glare sharpens. "I am afraid that I can not have you sealing the fountain anytime soon. I am well aware of the associated dangers, but..." His gaze drifts to Kris. They look up at him, visibly uncomfortable. "Some things are worth the risk."

They shy away slightly.

"Kris. You know that what I am doing is for the best, right? For you and everybody else who may be... involved. Do not let their words sway you, we can not waste this opportunity." His voice softens. "You know what will happen if we do."

Kris says nothing.

Susie jumps to her feet, slamming her hands onto the table. Ralsei startles at the sound, getting up to join her as soon as he recovers. "The hell!? You're still trying to convince them to go along with your stupid plan? Kris is with us, dude. They aren't gonna listen to you. Tell him, Kris!" 

Kris says nothing. They're trembling now.

Ralsei fidgets with his scarf. "Um... I think maybe we should let Kris make their own choices? If we just keep yelling at them, or each other, we aren't going to make any actual progress? Kris, please think about it. I... I trust you to make the right decision." His tone would suggest otherwise. What is he thinking?

Kris opens their mouth.

"Go with-"

They cut themself off with a sudden, violent cough. They double over, shaking even harder. Ralsei looks at them with a mixture of concern and... fear? It's enough to put her on edge too. Asgore reaches for them, placing a 'comforting' hand on their back. This only serves to make the shaking worse.

Susie opens her mouth to ask them if they're okay, but the words get caught in her throat as her eyes meet their own, even through their bangs. They look so scared... and so sorry.

They fix their gaze back to the floor, speaking slowly. Their voice is weak and strained.

"Go with Dad."

"Kris..." She feels her heart sink. "But... the fountain..."

Asgore's expression contorts into a joyous smile. "Ha. You had me worried for a second there. Thank you for putting your faith in me, Kris. I promise I will not disappoint you." He looks back to the group, to Susie's appalled expression and Ralsei's resigned one. "As for the two of you, I am not going to force you to leave. I... doubt that I could if I tried, I can see how dedicated you are to your mission. That is commendable, but unfortunate." He offers them a nervous smile. "I don't suppose you would be willing to wait here, where it is safe, until we are finished?"

Ralsei replies, speaking as confidently as he can. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Dreemurr. I don't know exactly what your plan is, but we will accompany you until you need your privacy. If you don't mind." What is he talking about? Is he really just going to let Kris go through with this? Can't he see they're being pressured into it!?

Susie crosses her arms, blowing out a puff of smoke and glaring at Asgore in challenge. "Or we could just settle this here and now. We'll knock some sense into you and have the fountain sealed before dinner. How's that sound?"

Ralsei seems alarmed, tugging at her arm. "S-Susie!" He whisper-shouts. "We need to stay on his good side, don't-"

Susie yanks her arm away, jabbing a finger at Kris and Asgore. "No! He knows he's putting people in danger and he doesn't care! We're here to seal a fountain, not play detective! That's our job, remember?" That last bit is directed almost entirely at Kris. They look away, avoiding eye contact.

Asgore seems almost ashamed. He speaks slowly, deliberately enunciating his words and keeping his voice low. "I... see. I did not wish to do this, but I can not allow you to interfere. You two are welcome to stay for as long as you wish, but if you attempt to confront me..." He straightens up, taking on a more commanding tone. "You will not like what happens. I am sorry, but this is what needs to be done."

He raises his trident, slamming the blunt end into the ground. The room shakes violently, vines erupting from the flowers towards the center of the room. Ralsei is caught off guard from the sudden earthquake, losing his footing, but Susie manages to catch herself on the table.

"Don't you dare- Kris!" She lunges for them, vaulting over the table in an attempt to latch on, but the vines overtake the room faster than she can move. A blockade forms directly over the table, catching both of her hands by the wrist and firmly rooting her in place. She twists and tugs, but the vines hold tight. She's trapped. "Dammit! Kris, do something! Stop him!"

She hears two sets of footsteps moving towards the door. It creaks open. She pulls and pulls and pulls but the vines won't budge, she's completely stuck. She tries to channel magic into her hands but it's hard to focus. She can't make the right hand shape like this and, even if she could, it's not like she could move them to cast her spells in any meaningful way. "Kris you dumbass! Don't just leave!" She hears the door slam shut. "We're supposed to be a team!"

She looks back to Ralsei, hoping he might have some insight into what just happened, but he looks despondent. He's mumbling to himself, still on the ground from where he fell, with a hand pressed against his forehead. "They wouldn't do it here, would they? I thought... I thought they were going to... I thought we had more time!"

He tilts his head up to face her. He looks almost as scared as he did when she read the last prophecy. She can hear his breath picking up, approaching a full blown panic attack. "I... I don't know what to do! I'm not ready! They can't do it yet, it's... it's too early!

"Ralsei." She says it as calmly as she can manage, trying to appear composed. Truth be told, she's freaking out too, but panicking isn't going to help. If there's something serious going on, she has to know what he knows. "What are you talking about?"

Ralsei's breathing picks up even more as he begins to hyperventilate. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I should have said something but I thought we-they-I thought if we just-" He can't seem to get the words out.

"Ralsei!" 

He cups a hand over his mouth as she yells, eyes wide and unfocused. Slowly, he lowers the hand and takes deep, deliberate breaths. Once he has a more steady rhythm going, he speaks up. "I... I think Kris is making a big mistake. And... I believe the final end is approaching." He looks at her with tears in his eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry, I tried to stop it, but-"

[AND THEN. WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST FOR THE TALE. THE FINAL TRAGEDY UNVEILS.]

"You mean... the Roaring? The Last Prophecy? Now?"

[TO SAVE THE WORLDS, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY.]

Images flash through her mind. A shattered Deltarune. A crumbling world. Her friends, injured...

And Kris... raising a sword against her axe.

[THE WICKED CAGE THE GIRL MUST SLAY.]

The image of her best friend, cleaved by blade. By her blade. Their heart, ripped from their body. By her hand. Their blood on her hands. Their life in her hands. She can picture it now: Their screams, their pain, their blood, their blood, their-

Her vision blurs. Her heart pounds. She can't think straight. All she can see is their blood. Their body. Their corpse. 

They're not dead. She wouldn't hurt them, even if they attacked her. She's better than that now. It won't happen, it can't. She wouldn't let it.

So why is he so worried about it? What does he know?

"Hey." She can barely keep her voice steady. It's low and gravelly, threatening to break at any moment. She doesn't face Ralsei as she talks. "Why does the prophecy call Kris wicked? Why am I supposed to... slay them?"

"Susie..."

She slams her forehead against the vines, emitting a squelchy thud loud enough to shut Ralsei up. "No. No excuses. I know you know. Tell me."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Susie. I don't want to... make any assumptions. What if I'm wrong? What if telling you only makes things worse?" Ralsei weakly responds, sounding further away than ever before. "It could ruin everything."

"I don't care." She snarls. "I need to know. Now."

There's an uncomfortable pause as Ralsei weighs his options. She can hear him climb to his feet behind her. "The prophecy states... or, it seems to imply... that Kris is going to turn their back on us. I don't know how or why, but the murals-" He grits his teeth, taking a shaky breath. "The murals depict Kris, 'The Cage', as a neutral party. One that plays both sides. They assist the heroes on their quest, closing fountains and saving lives. We would not succeed without them."

He pauses.

"There are also depictions of them doing the exact opposite: Creating fountains, assisting our foes, and..." She can feel Ralsei's eyes boring into the back of her head as his voice takes on a grim tone. "...and facing off against the Girl. And losing."

Susie is left speechless as all of her worst fears are confirmed. It's all of the questions she avoided asking out of fear of being proven right being thrown right back in her face. Kris is working against them. They're going to fight. And Kris, her best friend, is going to die. But... something about this...

"That's why we are doomed to fail. That's why the prophecy requires them to d-die for us to succeed. Only the Cage... no, only the Cage's soul is capable of sealing the dark fountains. So with Kris turning against us, the only way to seal a dark fountain would be to..."

Something about this doesn't add up. Kris's behavior and their supposed role in the prophecy don't align. If Kris wanted them to fail, wouldn't they have just betrayed them from the very start? Or they could have just opposed them outright. She never would have made it through the Dark Worlds without their leadership. Would a backstabber really save the lives of those they're meant to betray?

"I'm really sorry, Susie." She doesn't need to look at him to know there are tears in his eyes, she can hear it in his voice. "I thought... if I just showed them that they were loved... if I told them that we cared about them, that their choices mattered, I thought things would be different. If they never turned against us, we would never have to-" His sentence ends in a sob. "But it wasn't enough."

She should feel betrayed right now, she should be miserable. This is, arguably, the worst thing that has ever happened to her. Her best friend has turned against her, dooming themself in the process and ensuring their death at her own hands. But she doesn't.

She breaths in... and out. In. And out. She's in control. Not some stupid prophecy.

"Hey. Ralsei." She calls out to him, voice unnaturally calm.

He perks up, sniffling and wiping away at his still flowing tears. "Y-Yes?"

She reels her head back, charging up her spell, and bites down on her tongue. She does the best to ignore the pain as the magic eats away at her skull. She lets out a deafening battle cry, EVISCERATING the wall with a full force headbutt. Stumbling through the decaying barrier, she catches herself on the table and rubs her head. She briefly scans the room for any sign of Kris or Asgore, but predictably they are nowhere to be seen. She straightens up, keeping her eyes trained on the door. On the objective. In a low, gruff voice she replies. "Nah."

Ralsei takes a few uncertain steps towards her, coming to a rest by her side. She can see him out of the corner of her eye, eyes poofy and expression grim. He's already given up. "Nah...?"

"Nah." She grins. "As in, I don't buy it." She plants a hand on the table, turning to face him properly. "Like I'm gonna believe some stupid prophecy over our own friend. This is Kris we're talking about! You really think they're some sort of secret twist villain? I've heard them howl like a dog! We had a sticker fight! They're harmless!" She snickers at her memories, she really has had a lot of good moments with Kris, hasn't she? She refuses to believe they were fake. "Come on dude, think. This betrayal is weak as hell. What could they possibly get out of betraying us here?"

Ralsei shifts uncomfortably, unconvinced. "I... I don't know. The prophecy doesn't say, but I've seen signs. I don't want to believe it myself, but I think at this point... we should accept that Kris has been working against us for quite some time. Possibly from the very beginning." He sighs deeply, head sagging even lower. "I want to believe that you're right, but look at where we are now. If we don't get the fountain sealed before the Knight arrives, it could bring the Roaring! So why are they working against us? Why aren't they helping us seal it?" He tugs at his ears. "I don't know!"

"Then why don't we ask them?" 

Ralsei's eyes widen. He slowly looks up at her. "Huh? Ask them...?"

She crosses her arms. Has he seriously not considered this? It's like... super obvious. "Even if you're right and Kris is some secret bad guy, we've already made friends with like... pretty much everybody else we've fought. What's one more?" Her grin sharpens. "I already planned on smacking some sense into their dad, we'll just have to do the same for them. We'll ask them why they're being stupid and beat them with words and feelings and shit until they're a good guy again."

"It's not just Asgore, Susie. If I'm correct, that means Kris is working with the-"

"Besides!" She cuts him off. She knows what he's going to say and it isn't even worth considering. Not even Kris is that dumb. "We don't even know what Asgore is doing yet. It could have absolutely nothing to do with the prophecy. Maybe Kris just wanted to help him out before we close the fountain? Just another reason to talk instead of fight, right?" 

Huh. Never thought she'd be the one saying stuff like that. She's really gone soft, hasn't she?

"Susie!" His eyes meet her own, shooting her an intense look. "I know what you're thinking and I'm glad you're being so optimistic, but if you're wrong? If it doesn't work out? It'll mean the end of everything. We can try to talk them down... no, we will try to talk them down, but if it comes down to it... you have to be willing to-"

"No." She crosses her arms, meeting Ralsei's glare with a look of unwavering confidence. She is not backing down on this one. "The prophecy says I'm the one who's gonna slay them. That means it's my call to make, and I'm telling you 'hell no'! We aren't laying a finger on Kris until we know for a fact that it's our only option, and even if we do I'm not going to kill them. That's final." The world would have to be like actively ending for her to ever consider it. And even then, she doubts she would be able to go through with it. 

The two remain in a deadlock for a period time, participating in an argument void of any words or actions. Just raw grit and determination, a conversation composed entirely of willpower.

Ralsei cracks first, breaking eye contact. "If that's what you think is best, Susie, I'll just have to trust your judgement. Not like I wanted to hurt them, anyway." He sighs, lips curling into something that's almost a smile. "What's the plan?"

Susie feels intense relief when he finally concedes, she was starting to lose faith in her ability to convince him. She's confident that this is the correct choice. Like she would turn her back on a friend so easily... 

Besides. Their dad was putting a lot of pressure on them. And if those newspaper clippings are to be believed, it seems as though he's confident that they're somehow connected to Noelle's missing sister. If that's the case, even if Kris is betraying them here, it kind of just sounds like they're just another victim. Another person to be saved.

And isn't that what heroes do? Save people? Maybe even from themselves?

"That's what I like to hear! Glad you finally came to your senses." She slings an arm over Ralsei's shoulder, walking him towards the door. "We've gotta get a move on, they've got a huge head start already. I don't really have a plan yet, but I'm working on it! Trust the process."

Ralsei gives her a look that implies that he doesn't trust the process. She ignores it.

The two of them make their way out of the Flower King, back into the great unknown.

-

"Dammit Ralsei, where the hell are we!?" Susie groans out a complaint as she leads the way through yet another tunnel. She and Ralsei have been wandering around this cave system for what feels like hours. It definitely hasn't actually been that long, but she is exhausted and absolutely sick of this. She turns the corner and groans at the sight of yet another unremarkable tunnel. This is getting ridiculous.

Ralsei trails behind her as she walks, nervously glancing around as if expecting an ambush. "Um... I'm not sure, Susie. If we find the fountain, Kris and Asgore should be nearby, but I'm not sure how to do that. It could be anywhere."

They had searched the other buildings near the 'Flower King', but they were all completely useless. Oddly, all of the interiors matched some warped version of Kris's home instead of whatever building they were meant to represent.

With no clear goal in mind, they chose a tunnel at random. Specifically, they chose one at the furthest possible end of the room from the wall they had entered from. It sounded like a pretty good idea at the time, but now she's starting to regret her choice.

"I am so unbelievably booooored. This Dark World sucks." She looks back at Ralsei, grin sharpening. "Got anything in your pockets?" At his confused look, she adds: "You know, like, to mess with? Because we're bored?" Sheesh. She never has to explain herself in front of Kris, they just go with the flow. She feels a little stupid having to spell it out for him.

Ralsei shakes his head slightly. "Nope. Sorry, Susie. I don't really... store things. If you want, we could just talk?"

"Aren't we doing that right now?" She replies in an almost monotone voice.

"Well, yes, but... we could come up with a plan? Didn't you say you were working on one?" She huffs, picking up the pace a little. He matches her stride without any effort. "You know, the plan to get Kris back on our side?"

"Yes. I know. And you're right, I did come up with an idea. The plan is simple. If it comes down to a fight, I just need to tire them out. Then you can cast pacify, right?" She looks back at him with a proud smirk. "Kris usually releases their soul-" She pauses briefly at the mention of the damn thing, mouth twitching. "-and then it floats into the fountain to seal it. So like... what if we just throw them into it? Wouldn't that work?"

Ralsei clasps his paws together. "I... don't actually know, but, um, I uh..." He stutters and stammers over his words, searching for the right way to say something.

She stops walking abruptly. "What? What is it?"

He lifts a hand up slightly, finger raised.  "The inside of the fountain is... dangerous, I'm not sure we should touch..." His eyes flick past her and light up in surprise. "Um. Susie?"

She follows his gaze, turning back to the tunnel with the intent to continue onward. She barely makes it a step before stopping in her tracks. "What the hell?"

The tunnel ahead is suddenly gone, tapering off into a room that was not there before she turned away. The new room looks completely out of place for their current location. Actually, it looks a lot like Castle Town. Specifically, like what Castle Town looked like before she and Kris livened it up.

She takes a few steps forward, inspecting the threshold. At the point where the cave turns to town, the loose rock and pavement mix together in odd patterns. Almost as if somebody stitched the two areas together. Trippy. Ralsei comes up alongside her, staring in awe.

"Woah... is this... this is my study! Look!" He gestures ahead, further into the room, and yeah. Now that she's looking at it, it looks like some kind of personal library. The room is lined with bookshelves and lit with wall-mounted lanterns. She spies a desk next to the only visible door in the room, one with an open book mounted on it. "Or at least a copy of it, I guess? A reflection of it?" He puts a hand up to his chin.

"Huh. Neat." She heads inside, Ralsei once again following behind her. The whole atmosphere is different here, less claustrophobic, and that's enough to put a smile on her face. "Hey, why didn't you show us this place when you gave the tour? I didn't even realize you had a study."

He laughs, embarrassment visible on his face. "Oh, I thought you might think I was 'uncool' if I showed you all of my books. I was trying really hard to impress you two back then." He blushes a little harder. "I guess that was pretty unnecessary, huh? I don't think it worked at all."

"Pfft. Nah, I get it. Kris and I aren't really the book types. I probably would've laughed in your face and called you a nerd." She pokes him in the forehead. "So like. HA! Neeeerd!"

He laughs a little harder. "Yeah. I guess I am, aren't I? It's not my fault, reading is fun! Learning new things is just... fun! I've read every book here, cover to cover, more times than I can count." His expression briefly falters, but returns full force as he beams at her. "I bet you'd enjoy it too, if you gave it a shot! It doesn't have to be educational, there's a lot to be gained from reading fiction too. I bet I could find one that you'd like."

For some reason, the Old Man comes to mind. "Yeah, actually. There was this one series I was thinking of checking out, do you have Lord of the-"

She startles herself out of her sentence at the sound of approaching footsteps. Ralsei, too, seems to pick up on this and the two turn towards the noise. Didn't Ralsei say there weren't darkners here? She leans down, lowering the volume of her voice to that of a still-too-loud whisper. "Shit! That must be them! Get ready."

Ralsei looks at her, confused, and whispers back. "But... why would they be here? I don't even know how we got here!"

The footsteps grow closer and a figure turns the corner, carrying a marker in one hand and humming a tune too himself. He walks right past them, as if they aren't even there, and takes a seat by the desk. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small crystal that's oddly hard for her to see despite the close proximity. Staring into it for a few seconds, he begins to write something in the open book.

The cloak. The hat. The fur, concealed by shadow. The figure looks just like Ralsei, back when he was still hiding his face. She looks down at the real Ralsei, a silent question in her gaze, but he doesn't seem to notice her. His eyes are fixed to the back of his own head.

He takes a few steps forward, clearing his throat. "Um... other me?" The not-Ralsei continues writing, showing no sign of having heard him. He raises his voice a little more. "Excuse me! I have a few questions, if you aren't too busy." Still no response. "Can you hear me? At all?" Still nothing.

He turns back to Susie, shaking his head. "I don't believe he's really here. Or, I guess, I don't believe we are really here." He gestures at the study. "This... is one of those reflections I was talking about. I believe it is depicting events that have already happened, things that are not tangible and can not be altered. Like... memories, I guess."

"Are you sure? Because like. I think I ran into one of these earlier, and it definitely wasn't a memory." She shudders at the thought of the Kris imposter, it felt like she was living in her own personal horror movie. 

Ralsei scratches at his cheek and hums to himself. "Strange. Maybe it had something to do with the crystals in the room? They made the memory more... 'real'? More physical?" He offers a theory. She shrugs, not really wanting to think about it any longer.

"Whatever." She approaches the desk, where the not-Ralsei is still writing... something. Peering over his shoulder, she gets a look at his work. He's writing the same line over and over, scratching it out and changing it ever so slightly every few seconds. It seems to be a greeting that he's practicing, very similar to the introduction he gave her and Kris when they first fell into the Dark World.

She snaps her fingers behind his head. No response. She tries to grab his shoulder and her hand goes right through. "Yeah, no, this is completely different. With the freaky Kris thing, I was actually able to touch it."

Ralsei frowns thoughtfully. "That's odd. But it might actually be a good sign. If we are experiencing different phenomenon, it could mean we're heading in the right direction. I suspect these reflections will only grow more frequent as we approach the fountain." He sounds nervous at the idea. She isn't too fond of it, either. There are a lot of things she'd rather not have to reexperience.

The not-Ralsei throws the marker down onto the desk in frustration, ripping a page out from the book and crumpling it up. "No, no, no! That will never work! Maybe I should just improvise...? Oh, but I'm not any good at that!"

Ralsei cringes at his doppelganger's behavior. "I am sorry in advance if any of the things you see here are... unpleasant." He looks at her. "I'm also sorry if I see anything that is meant to be private, I will try not to pry. I just want you to know that I won't judge you for anything I see or hear today. If anything is too personal, just ask and I'll close my eyes until it's over."

Susie pats him on the head in reassurance. That means more to her than she's able to express, but she downplays it regardless. "Eh, it'll be fine. Not like I have anything to hide."

He doesn't look convinced. "In that case, we should continue onward." He nods towards the door to the study. "The fountain can't be too far now. We should keep an eye out for any reflections that don't belong to us, maybe we can track them back to their source."

Leading him out of the room, she casts one last look back at the not-Ralsei. he's toiling away, growing more frustrated with each failed draft. He looks so lonely, sitting there on his own. She can't help but notice that he's hiding his face before ever meeting people to hide from. Even a reflection this simple feels invasive. What else are they going to find down this road?

She pushes the door open and steps outside...

...into a bustling, bright city that immediately floods her brain with equal parts nostalgia and dread. A unique combination of emotions that could only stem from a single source: Her childhood.

She shields her eyes from the sudden daylight, staring down the street at the city's one and only park. The park in question can hardly be called that, truthfully, but it's a source of nature in a place that is otherwise overrun with trash and infrastructure. It was her favorite place to relax after a long day at school, something that was almost a daily occurrence for her. The people here didn't particularly like her, but they were used to her presence and would typically leave her alone.

"Wow! Is this what the Light World looks like? It's so bright!" Ralsei rushes past her, twirling around and staring at each shiny new thing with wonder. "Is that the sun!? That's the sun, right?" She snickers to herself as he stares up at it, recoiling in pain and covering his eyes. "Ow! Too bright! Don't look at it!" She laughs harder.

He recovers after a few seconds, looking at her with a hurt expression. "Why did you let me do that?"

She grins at him. "Rookie mistake. Everybody's done it at least once. Figured I'd let you learn the hard way." She struts past him, pausing in front of a store. Specifically, a bakery that she used to frequent due to its convenient location. Her stomach rumbles at the smell. It's all exactly as she remembers...

She follows an invisible path on the sidewalk, letting her legs move on pure instinct. Years later, she still knows the exact route she would take and why. As far as her memory goes, 'today' wasn't anything special, but... "If this is all accurate, then shouldn't I be... ah. There I am." 

There she is. A noticeably younger Susie, back when she still put her hair up and showed off her tail. She's leaning against the small brick wall that surrounds the park, munching on a wrapped bun of some kind. 

"Awww... you were so small!" Ralsei coos. "I didn't know you used to style your hair, why don't you do that anymore?"

Her cheeks burn at his praise, hiding her face to the best of her ability. "Shuddup. My hair's fine."

"Of course it's fine, you look great! I was just thinking... you should try a ponytail!" At her hesitation, he continues. "I bet it would look cute!"

"Hell no." There's a beat of silence. "I mean. Maybe. If you helped me, I mean. But I'm only keeping it if it looks badass, I don't do 'cute'." He's looking way too happy at that. She immediately moves to change the subject, clapping her hands together. "Okay! We should go seal the dark fountain, right? Let's go... that way!" She points down a random road and starts walking.

Ralsei follows, giggling. "Of course."

The two make significant progress before he speaks up again.

"I um... can't help but notice that there are a lot of humans here."

She doesn't dignify that with a response.

-

The two of them have been making their way through memory after memory for a while now. She isn't quite sure how much progress is being made, or if they've eve been traveling in the same direction. It's really hard to tell. Every once in a while, they stumble upon another tunnel or two and get a brief respite from having to relieve all of these moments. They've even stumbled upon a handful of those purple mirror rooms, though they haven't bumped into any more freaky Kris clones. Or anything else too strange, for that matter. The worst they've seen is a pointed tail, disappearing around the corner. But when they reached the room, there was nothing there.

In an effort to keep themselves from getting lost, Ralsei suggested they leave some kind of marking in the rooms they pass through. She's been scratching crude drawing of Kris into the center of each new room. So far, they've yet to double back, so they must be making progress. Right?

The reflections themselves are mostly tolerable. A lot of the ones involving her were from her time in the city. Trying to play the piano, going to school, playing at the park... there were only a few where she felt the need to have Ralsei close his eyes. He's been pretty considerate so far, not prying when she's uncomfortable. He did compliment her piano skills, which felt a little insincere given that she doesn't actually know how to play. But it was still nice to hear.

Some of them were a little more recent. Ralsei got to witness her first ever interaction with Noelle. The diner with Toriel. A few bullying incidents... she sped through those ones as fast as possible, not wanting to relive a second of her old behavior. Why does Kris even put up with her after all of that? 

The moment she steps foot into this latest reflection she slaps a hand over Ralsei's eyes. It's a memory she's all too familiar with at this point. Her dad had come home absolutely shitfaced and the two of them had gotten into a pretty nasty argument over it.

They were practically run out of the big city a few years back due to a few... incidents, involving her and some bullies. He had lost his job in the process and had blamed her. Unable to adjust properly, he turned to alcohol. And when he got drunk, he got mean.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!"

A slap.

It wasn't anything big, really. She wasn't as small as she used to be, she could handle a hit or two... it hurt emotionally more than anything. To think that somebody she used to admire, used to love, would treat her like this? Because of a few drinks? Because Mom left him? Because... because of her.

It was always her fault, wasn't it? She shouldn't have tried to fix things alone. She should have just tolerated the bullying. She shouldn't have fought back. They were so much smaller than her, so much weaker. They could only mess with her because they had numbers, sure, but she didn't realize just how much of an advantage she had over them until it was too late. She didn't mean to hurt them that bad.

But she did. And now he's hurting too. It's her fault that he's like this, it's her fault that her family is broken, and it's her fault that they don't have enough money to feed themselves anymore. She deserves this. 

She'll deserve it the next time it happens too. And the time after that. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how much she wants to fight back, she knows that she can't. Because if she does-

"Susie?"

She's pulled out of her thoughts by Ralsei's voice, cutting through her flashback like a knife. She hates this part too, the pity she gets when people find out what he's really like. The questions, the concern, the care... she doesn't deserve it.

"..."

She slowly lowers her hand, allowing him to see. The not-Susie cowers by the door for a few seconds, a trembling hand over her bruised cheek. She shoots her dad a venomous glare and storms out, slamming the door behind her. 

"Do... do you want to talk about it?" He looks at her with so much pity, it's gross. She feels gross. She wants to be anywhere but here, why is looking at her like that?

"No." Her voice cracks. 

She leaves without another word, only sparing a parting glance for her 'father'. What a sad sack of shit. He really let himself go. If she ever fought back, she'd crush him easily. But she knows she can't do that. She could never let that happen, not again. She turns her back on him, ignoring the goosebumps she gets from letting him out of her sight.

"That's okay." Ralsei replies, softly. "Just know that I'm here if you need to talk. Okay?"

Ralsei follows alongside her, sneaking concerned looks at her every few seconds as they return to exploring the caves. She tries her best to calm down and stay on task. Eyes on the prize.

-

While her reflections are generally loud and bright, the memories featuring Ralsei are the exact opposite. She never really took in the scope of just how long he was left in solitude, wandering around his kingdom alone. He hums and sings to himself a lot. Most of the memories are just of him doing various chores or tasks: Cleaning, Writing, and Cooking to name a few. He never actually eats anything he makes either, just preparing things over and over and throwing them away in dissatisfaction.

He really has been waiting his entire life for them to arrive. To think he neglected himself for so long... it's saddening.

Among these reflections, the one they are currently watching sticks out to her for a few reasons. The first reason is that it's a far more recent memory, she can hear music coming from outside of the castle walls. The not-Ralsei in question is missing his hat, too. The second and more important reason is that she knows exactly what he's doing. She watches as he skims through an unmarked book with a sense of urgency, throwing things into the cauldron seemingly at random. This... is what he's been working on for the past few days. The 'soup' he's been preparing. She watches him dump it out and start over, clearly unhappy with the result.

Sensing the tension in the air, Ralsei speed walks over to the door and tries to urge her onward. "Susie, we should really get a move on. We must be close at this point, we shouldn't-" Only to stop talking abruptly when she grabs him by the scarf, tugging him back over to the cauldron.

Because as much as she wants to catch up with Kris, this is reminding her of another burning question that's been on her mind lately and she doesn't want to waste this opportunity.

She watches the not-Ralsei dump a vial of liquid into the pot, a cloud of smoke nearly catching him in the face when it bursts from the cauldron. The liquid in question appears to be completely clear, if it weren't for the situation at hand she might have mistaken it for water. He peers into the cauldron and frowns. She follows suit. This is definitely not the final product, the liquid inside is yellow, for some reason? Strange.

She looks back to Ralsei, the real one, and gestures at the pot. "Hey. What is this stuff?"

Ralsei looks away, nervously. "I'd love to tell you, Susie, but we really don't have time for this. I can explain everything later, I promise, but-"

She narrows her eyes at him and reaches into her pocket, pulling out the wad of paper. It looks like a few sheets of paper, crumpled up and stapled together. Unfolding it, several of Ralsei's notes are still visible, but they're far less legible. The handwriting is much worse than in the Dark World, it looks like it was written by a little kid. "I read your book. One of them, I mean."

Ralsei gulps, shrinking back as much as he can while still in her grip. He stares at the notes. She continues. "I know this has something to do with Kris. With their soul."

Ralsei's eyes widen. "Y-you went through my notes?" She nods. "Oh."

"What's wrong with their soul, Ralsei?" She re-crumples his notes. "What are you trying to do with it?"

She releases him, letting him take a few steps back and collect himself. He doesn't meet her eyes. "...Why do you think there's something wrong with it?"

She crosses her arms. "Dude, that thing is not normal. I've been thinking about this for a while, but... something about their soul isn't adding up. The way it acts, the way it flies out of their body and produces that light, the way it's the only thing that can seal the dark fountains?" She counts on her fingers as she lists off the oddities she's picked up on. "Something's wrong with it. With Kris. And I think you know what. That's why you've been doing all of this, right?" She tilts her head towards the cauldron. "You need to tell me what's going on. Because I know damn well that Kris never will. Please."

Ralsei opens his mouth. Then shuts it. He pauses to consider his options.

Looking back up at her, giving her a guilty look, he finally replies. "Okay, Susie. I'll... I'll explain. There is something 'wrong' with Kris's soul, yes. And it is what I am trying to fix. My efforts so far have been... less than successful." He glances at the cauldron. "There is no way to know for sure if it will work unless we test it. And we can't do that without using it on Kris. So I've been trying to... perfect it, first."

He sighs. "This.... the potion... it would take the unique properties of Kris's soul and allow them to be transferred to another individual at another time. It's kind of hard to explain without going into detail, but... if done properly, it should allow somebody else to take on the role of The Cage. And then, maybe, we could fulfill the prophecy without..." He trails off. "I haven't finished it yet. I need more time. That's why I'm so worried about Kris, my contingency plan isn't ready."

She blinks at him a few times, running his words through her head. Something about them is bugging her. "And... who would this 'somebody else' be?" She gets the feeling she already knows and it's making her mad just thinking about it.

Ralsei freezes and she knows he's been caught. "I... um..."

She grabs him by the shoulder, shaking him. "Dude. No. Hell no. How is that any better?"

This time, he breaks away from her and looks ashamed. "It... it was just an idea. I was hoping to come up with a better solution before using it. I've been looking into ways of creating an artificial vessel! It was just... as a last ditch effort, should we need it, I would be more than willing to-"

"No!" She stomps the floor, her emotions running wild. She couldn't name what she was feeling if she tried. "We are not going through all of this trouble to bail Kris out just to sacrifice you instead! Nobody is dying!"

"I-I'm just suggesting, it if comes down to it, I'd rather it be me than one of you-"

"Ralsei, no. Just. No." She clutches her scalp with one hand. "I... you're my friend. You're Kris's friend. Even if you tried this stupid plan, which you won't, we would try to stop you. It's just a bad idea all around."

Ralsei is staring at the floor now, not responding, and the anger is starting to fade. She feels kind of like she just yelled at a dog. "I mean." She scratches the back of her head while she tries to find the right words. "I... liked the vessel idea."

He looks up at her and she tries to smile. "I mean... don't get me wrong. The idea of using you as a vessel is like... really fucking stupid. But you said you were trying to create an artificial one? Is that something you could realistically do?"

He thinks this over for a moment. "I don't actually know. I hope so. It would need to be something with a wide range of motion, but if we were able to transfer the con- um... The properties of Kris's soul without actually removing the soul, maybe into something that resembles a human so it still fits the prophecy's description of The Cage?" He shrugs. "It would need a lot of work, but..."

"But it's doable." She finishes his sentence. "And we wouldn't have to hurt anybody."

He smiles, it doesn't reach his eyes. "That... is the idea, yes."

"Well, that's something at least. Better than any idea I had, anyway." She sighs. "Sorry for uh... snapping at you. I just thought..."

He shakes his head. "No, you were right. I wasn't thinking." His smile drops. "No, that's not true. I was. I knew you wouldn't like it, that's why I didn't tell either of you. I knew it was the wrong thing to do, I just... really wanted to help. And I couldn't think of anything better. I should be the one apologizing, not you."

She rolls her eyes. "It's fine. Just. Nobody left behind, okay?" She pushes open the castle doors, revealing yet another tunnel. "You guys aren't going anywhere."

Ralsei nods, affirmatively, and the two move on... or try to, anyway. She barely has a foot out the door when the world around them suddenly CRACKs, a shock wave resonating all throughout the reflection. Bits and pieces of the memory crumble, transforming back into rock for only a second before shifting into fragments of what appears to be a completely unrelated memory, stitched into this one.

It looks a lot like the field of buildings did earlier, she notices. A kaleidoscope—that's the word—of intertwined memories. She plants her feet into the ground harder to keep herself from losing her footing, grabbing Ralsei by the scarf so he doesn't go flying off either. The two are pelted by flying debris for a few seconds before the world seems to settle down around them. "The hell was that!?"

Ralsei brushes off his cloak. "I have no idea, but... I'm willing to bet it's related to Asgore's experiment. We should probably hurry."

"What makes you say that?" She doesn't really want to hear the answer, but she has to ask.

He points past her without a word and she turns to see what appears to be a gallery of reflected memories that she's willing to bet originate from Kris. The vast majority of them seem to be snippets of their childhood, containing parties, games, and various pranks. Asriel and Noelle are in a lot of these, with a significant portion of them featuring the Dreemurrs and Holidays in one big group. 

"Oh. Duh."

Ralsei perks up, a hopeful smile creeping onto his face. "Oh! I bet these will lead us right to Kris. Look!"

She stares ahead, squinting to get a good look at whatever he's seeing. In the distance, past the dozens of memories, she can just barely make it out. Another blockade of vines. Asgore's been here. He and Kris must be nearby.

"Finally! It's about time something actually goes our way." She holds a hand out towards Ralsei. "Grab on."

He takes her hand without hesitation, despite his confused expression. "Oh, sure! Why are we-aaaAAH!"

The moment his hand is in hers, she takes off sprinting down the road, doing her best to disregard Kris's memories as she goes. She can't fully block them out, but whatever is contained within the reflections... whatever Asgore is looking for? It's absolutely none of her business. She has questions for them, more than she can count on her hands, but she wants to get the answers from Kris. She wants them to want to tell her.

Still, it's hard to fully ignore them. Especially the more audible ones.

"Asriel, honey! Come downstairs, we have a surprise for you!"

Asriel comes running into the room, footsteps growing louder and louder. He takes the stairs two steps at a time, clearly in a rush to see his 'surprise'.

"I'm here, I'm here! What's the... surprise...?" He trails off in wonder as he takes in the surprise—not a what, but a who. The kid in question stares at him from a distance, no doubt more than a little rattled from the new environment. They're so tiny!

Asgore places a hand on their shoulder, causing them to startle. He pulls away, awkwardly. "Uh... this is your new sibling, Asriel! Say hi to Togore."

Toriel shakes her head at her husband in disapproval. "We are not naming them that, Asgore. Rudy said he was willing to help-"

She ignores it. 

"I'm not falling for that, Kris! Cut it out already!" Noelle whines in protest, crossing her arms and pouting at the pestering human. The two of them appear to have been watching a cartoon together, but Kris had other plans.

"mmmserious, Elly." Kris shoves a picture in her face, one of a poorly drawn cat with too many limbs and weirdly colored eyes. "sssanmes Friend. Adults said so. Totally real."

"I know you're lying!"

"Am not! Lives in the woods. Really nice to everybody." They stare off into the distance, thoughtfully. "Almost everybody."

"W-what do you mean?" She scoots a little closer.

"Doesn't matter." They shrug and put the drawing away, nonchalantly going back to watching TV.

"Kriiiis!" She squeals in frustration. "Tell me! Tell me tell me tell me!" She shakes them by the shoulder, much to their amusement.

Kris holds in a laugh, putting on a completely neutral expression before turning to face her. "Okay."

She stares at them in anticipation as the seconds tick by. "Well?" 

Their expression turns grim. "Didn't wanna scare you." They pull out the picture, pointing at its large teeth. "Really hates deer. Sifically deer girls. Eats em."

They let out an exaggerated gasp, looking at her with fearful eyes as if coming to a sudden realization. "Oh no! Youra girl now!"

She's trembling now, cowering away from them as if they were the monster in the picture. "T-that's not funny! You're just trying to scare me!"

Kris shakes their head. "Nuh-uh! Just worried." They fix her with an intense stare. "Avoid woods. It'll get you. Always watching."

"Deeeesssss!" The reindeer gets up from where she's sitting and runs out of the room. Kris's eyes widen as they stumble after her.

"Wait, Elly, don't get-"

She ignores it. Every single memory. They aren't for her.

"Kris."

Kris startles, nearly falling into the lake as they whip around and point their knife behind them. They relax immediately and lower their weapon when they see who it is.

"Carol."

"Stand up, Kris. I would like to have a word with you, if you aren't busy." She pointedly looks at the knife when she says that, giving them a knowing look. They instinctively stash it away in their pocket.

They get up, nodding at her to continue.

Carol analyzes them for a few moments, no doubt considering her words carefully. "Kris." She says their name so coldly that it's enough to make them shiver. "What happened... It was your fault."

They ball up their fists and say nothing.

"I'm not going to try to convince you. I can tell that you already agree."

They nod, so subtle that it's barely noticeable. She takes a few steps closer to them until they're nearly touching.

"Look at me, Kris." It takes a few seconds, but they tilt their head up to meet her gaze. Despite her words, there is no hatred in her eyes. "There is a way to redeem yourself. A way to fix things."

She finally cracks a smile, in response to their dumbfounded expression. "I can tell you don't believe me. That's not unexpected. But I swear to you, we have found a way. I believe you, Kris, are the key. We can't do it without you."

Finally, they speak. Their voice is barely audible. "...how?"

"I will explain everything in due time, Kris, but first..." She holds out a hand. "I'm going to need you to make me a promise."

They look at her outstretched hand, slowly lifting their own. "Promise?"

"You need to promise me that no matter what you have to do, no matter what you have to sacrifice, you will do exactly as I say without question. Once you agree to help me, there is no going back. I need to be absolutely certain that you will follow my commands. You need to be willing to put your life on the line for our mission to succeed. Do you understand?" 

They look at her like she's an oasis in the desert. They reply without hesitation. "I do."

She replies slowly. "Do you promise?"

They take her hand-

She ignores it she ignores it she ignores it-

"KRIS! DECEMBER! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, SAY SOMETHING!"

Undyne's voice booms throughout the clearing. Several other voices can be heard calling similar things in the distance, much farther away.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Rapidly approaching footsteps. Kris is scooped up in some kind of blanket, sheltering them from the snow. "Kid! What happened!?" She takes in their appearance with a gasp. "Shit, that looks bad. Hold on. I'll get you somewhere warm."

They can barely stay conscious, much less respond. They hear her speak into her radio.

"This is Officer Undyne! I've found the Dreemurr kid by the old blast shelter, they're in critical condition! I'm bringing them back now, send a team down here to search for the other one!"

She presses them tighter against her chest. "Hold on, Kid, this is gonna be a bumpy ride." And speeds off into the distance. They wince, reaching a weak arm towards the shelter as it disappears into the distance.

"...Dess..."

They can feel their eye lids closing, their body giving out on them.

"Kid! Try to stay awake! Focus on the sound of my voice!"

It's! None! Of! Her! Business!

She charges forward, dashing towards the wall of vines. It's significantly thicker than the previous barricades she's dealt with, but like hell is she letting something like this stop her here. She charges up an EVISCERATE with her free hand as she approaches, chopping through it without slowing down. Dust scatters everywhere, completely blinding her for several seconds.

As it begins to clear, she takes stock of her surroundings. She's in another one of those purple mirror caves, one that's littered with more of those pink and gold flowers. One of the golden flowers is unusually large, bigger than even Asgore himself. At the far end of the room is another tunnel, leading into an adjacent room. She can see the dark fountain pulsing within it.

Surrounding the room are several more memory fragments, all containing reflections of previous interactions between Kris and Noelle's sister: The two of them playing sports, Kris being bludgeoned with a bat, the two of them exploring the woods together, Dess bandaging their wounds... each memory disappears within seconds, fading away and being replaced with something else. As if somebody was waving them away. 

Asgore stands next to the large flower, in the center of the room. Kris kneels on the floor in front of him. Asgore's outfit has gone back to normal, the black shard having been removed from his uniform and plunged into Kris's chest.

Kris is doubled over in pain, panting harder with each new memory that gets extracted from their body. Their newly acquired chest wound is bleeding, not enough for their life to be in any immediate danger... but...

["Ungrateful bitch! Do you have any idea how lucky you are!?"]

["Don't you dare walk away from me!"]

It's enough to make her blood boil. She clenches her fists, claws digging into her palm.

Ralsei gasps behind her, loud enough to draw Asgore's attention. "Kris! What are you doing to them!?"

Asgore seems momentarily surprised to see the two of them, but his expression soon shifts to one of mild annoyance. He glares at them like they're intruding. "I see you've decided to follow me... this is your last chance to back away and let us work." He turns to face them properly, one hand still on the black shard in Kris's chest. "Please do not make me hurt you."

"He. Asked you. A question." Susie has to hold herself back from immediately pouncing on him. "What. The hell. Are you doing to them!?"

Asgore studies her for a few seconds before pulling the shard out of Kris. The moment it's removed from their body, Kris doubles over and collapses onto the floor in a coughing fit. The reflections around the room fade away, filling the room with silence.

"Nothing that they didn't agree to, Susie. Now. I will not ask again." He stabs the shard back into the hem of his uniform. Within seconds, his outfit shifts back into the armored variant he had worn earlier. He conjures a trident out of thin air, twirling it around and planting it firmly into the ground. "Leave."

She looks at him. Then at Kris. Kris has managed to pull themself off of the floor and the bleeding has stopped, but they're still clearly in pain. They look back at her. She can tell... they're scared. Horrified, even. 

She can't tell whose safety they're worried for. If it's her, themself, or Asgore... but whatever the case, like hell is she leaving them here with their psycho dad. 

"Ralsei." She gets into a battle stance, clutching her hair brush as if it were a dagger. "Let's kick his ass."

Ralsei seems to recover from his shocked silence, shaking his head violently and putting on a battle face of his own. She hasn't seen him this determined to fight somebody since the battle against the titan. "Y-Yeah! We don't want to hurt you, but we aren't going to stand by while you hurt our friend! You leave Kris alone!"

Asgore tilts his head down. "You two don't know what you're doing. This is what we want. This is what Kris wants." He twirls his trident around again, clasping it behind him. A wave of orange magic sprinkles down upon the flowers beneath his feet. The floor of the room shifts as several large roots suddenly break rock, expanding rapidly in seemingly random directions. The massive flower twists and shifts as it's lifted further into the air, revealing itself to be the source of the roots. 

Kris looks back and forth between the two groups with a panicked expression. They scuttle away from their dad, shakily pulling themself to their feet. They look to be at a complete loss, unsure of which side to take.

"Hey, dumbass!" Kris immediately swivels their head to face Susie as she shouts. "I'm not gonna pretend to know what's going on, but I'm not stupid. I can tell you don't want to do this, whatever 'this' is." Kris twitches slightly. She barrels on. "Look, I get it, you feel obligated to help him or whatever... I bet you feel responsible for what happened. But you don't have to torture yourself like this!"

"Have to... don't understand. If-"

"It's Dess, right? Noelle's sister?" She interrupts, jabbing a claw at Asgore and snarling. "It's not your job to fix this shit, Kris! Whatever happened... you were a kid! I saw it! Helping her was his job, him and the other cops! They were the ones who failed her, not you! So don't go killing yourself because you 'have to'. I won't let you!"

Despite seemingly being captivated by her speech, Kris still appears to be conflicted. They make no move to join either side, remaining neutral. That's fine, she wasn't really expecting them to help fight their dad anyway. As long as they stay safe... that's all she cares about.

She focuses her attention fully back onto Asgore. "Real shitty move, by the way. Putting all of that pressure on your kid... you even stabbed them!" She laughs without any humor. "People like you make me sick."

He looks upon the two heroes with no hate in his expression, only pity. "I am sorry that it has come to this." He glances over at Kris. "Out of respect for your friendship with my child, I will try to make this quick."

He raises his trident threateningly, charging forward. At the same time, the flower lifts itself higher into the air, emitting a screeching sound.

"Goodbye."