Chapter Text
...It was over.
He had little else to say, little else to think, and while the greater part of him had fallen to his knees, staring at what still remained upon the floor, he pushed down a smaller piece that breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't. Not when the person who'd done it was still right before him.
"...We were almost done." He muttered out, as his eyes still lingered upon the broken pieces. "...It was done. We were finally almost done! We didn't have to suffer anymore! NOBODY DID!"
"Oh, Little Prince...surely you knew this was never going to work? When such a fragile peace was untangled by the cutting of a single string?"
"You monster. You...fiend! YOU IDIOT!"
He rose to his feet in frustration as Friend laughed before him. Laughed and laughed and laughed-
"SO....DO IE STILL TAEK THIS BOX UPSTAIRS?"
...Ralsei sighed, walking around in what little space remained in the staircase to inspect the damage. The knobs had broken off from the fall, but otherwise, ignoring a few particular scratches that could still be fixed, it was...mostly ok. He'd normally say no, but on such a short time schedule...
"Yes, if you would please, Mr. Jack." He said, smiling back as Jackenstien then continued to pull the dresser upwards. "...And thank you again for your time."
"IT IES OKAIE! I LIEK TO HALP! ES...ESPA....ESPICHALEE FOR THE ANGLE! AND HER LITTLE LAIGHT!"
"And they will be very much appreciative." He said, before turning back to his improvised little checklist and scratching -wardrobe- off the list. "Just right where the tape is marked, please! Oh, and take it off when you're done!"
"And do I not get any thanks from you, lonely prince?"
"You...didn't really help at all, Mr. Friend." Ralsei said back, as he continued down the stairs.
"But Ralsei...Who do you think put down the tape?"
"...Me?"
"Oh, you're impossible." Friend said as he rolled his eyes, trotting back down the stairs to his side. "But if you so insist, I could find a way to make myself useful. What's still left on that little list of yours?"
He sighed, looking down the list as he had already intended to. Noelle's room had already been put together, for the most part. Disregarding a few finishing touches. A fitting bed, fitting wall décor, the....insistent additions that Susie and Kris had already made. All that really remained now was-
"...Gifts?" Friend said, looking over his shoulder. "What does...Oh, wait wait, don't tell me! You'll...ask the residing denizens around town for their own additions? Spend another several moments in the following chaos?"
"...That is correct." He said back, as he hesitated behind the castle's doors. "...Though I would imagine you had already known that, as-"
"I have been watching since you began! Yes! Oh, you're so very clever, little prince!"
...He sighed again, as he flipped the list to its backside. He was glad that the Tail of Hell wasn't doing anything nearly as destructive as he could, but with everything else ongoing, he couldn't help but feel that it was deliberate. It certainly was, of course, just...he wished this all hadn't gotten quite so big as it did. At the end of the day, it was just the addition of a room to his castle.
A room for a Lightner, and the culmination of the Angel, residing within her as a vessel, perhaps, but-
No, he understood. Despite how fast the gossip and hearsay spread, how fast a little gettogether turned into a grand party, the energy in town was a good thing. A great deal of it, very much a great deal of it, but...a good thing.
...One that he had become responsible for, between cooking and planning and decoration.
But he pulled himself together, and focused back upon the list.
The...vacant list. Vacant names of vacant darkners who he had forgotten to make the time to make.
He grumbled under his breath. He'd just have to improvise.
"I may have found a way that you could help, Mr. Friend." He begrudgingly said, as he turned himself to face the mass.
"Oh! Have you now?" Friend said back, as his smile began to seep out past the edges of his form. "Then how may I be of service?"
"Could you, under my order, see...who may have a gift to give outside? And then...inform them of the suituation, of course?" He asked, as he pulled his attention back down into the list. "I....I will need to check those within, so-"
"Oh, say not another word! I'm already on it!" Friend said back, before quickly skittering away, seeping through the crack of the door.
Ralsei began to wave him off, thinking just a second too late of how terrible an idea it was to leave him unattended. He would've already begun after him, but once Friend had left your field of vision, he had quickly found, it was rather difficult to get him back in, without him wanting to be found.
....He deliberated for a moment, before quickly doubling back and running up the stairs. Assuredly, if he had any horrendous intentions, he would have done so already. Several times over, even. And as of now, he had something much more pressing on his mind.
...Who was still here and in their rooms? Who was available? Who would Noelle and Light most enjoy a gift from? He passed the opened doors, lingering for a moment by each and moving on when he heard nothing, only stopping at the first he heard the sound of voices behind.
"You Know, It's Kinda Making It Hard To Game When You Keep Pouting Like That." He heard a voice say, assumingly Queen, from within Mr. Tenna's room. Not entirely unexpected, he supposed. He'd been seeing them together more and more, even before the internet came back up.
"I-I'm not pouting!" Another voice, Mr Tenna's, cried out in return. "I'm just...I'm only-"
"Dude Your Antennas Keep Wilting That's Totally Pouting"
"...Alright, fine. maybe its pouting, but...you would be too."
"...Ok Yeah, This Isn't Gonna Work. Vent Your Shit Dude, I'm Listening. What's Up."
"I...don't understand what those words all mean together. I have...air vents?"
He hesitated, finding himself lingering at the doorside and listening in. Was it...right to pry like this?
...He'd just wait at the door until they finished. There weren't any other rooms to check at the moment, after all.
"No Not That Lol, I Mean Air Out Your Dirty Laundry. Spill The Tea. You Know."
"...I still don't."
"Tell Me About Your Feelings."
"I'm just...feeling out of it all, I suppose."
"We Did Awesome Though, What Are You Worried About, She'll Love It. It Even Has Her Robot Face On It And Everything."
...He made a quick mental note to himself to leave before the gift was mentioned to him.
"I'm sure! Yes! It's just....I'm...me." He heard Mr. Tenna sigh. "...You had to do most of the work. I'm just starting to realize that...well, they don't do much with me anymore, and...whatever the little misses mentioned back home went straight out the window, and...I'm still just...here. Waiting."
"...Rotting."
The conversation paused for a moment, and a frown worked its way to his face. Light certainly couldn't have done anything, and he didn't personally blame Susie or Kris for getting sidetracked, but...that conversation had still happened, all that time ago.
"...Bestie You're Like, THE Most Retro Ass Guy I Know. It's Probably Just Taking Them A Bit To Find Someone Who Treats You Right. Hometown's Got Like...1,582 People, It's Gonna Take A Second."
"...I still don't know what some of those words mean."
"...One Second Let Me Break It Down."
He heard the sound of movement and shuffling from within the room.
"Ok Soooo... When Was Your Manufacturing Date Again?"
"...199X?"
"Dude You're Fucking Ancient Lol"
"...Wait No Stop Frowning I'm Not At The Helping Part Yet, Look At My Face Screen"
"...What are you trying to show me?"
"Similar Models On Rainforest. Funny Enough, They Circle Back Around Into Being MORE Expensive Than Modern Models."
"...What do they have to do with me?"
"With How Old You Are, The Most Likely Situation I Can Think Of Is That People Who Grew Up With TVs Like You Want TVs Like You. Lightner Nostalgia And Shit. They Like...Chase It Down To Try To Relive It. Memories And Stuff."
"...The only memories that Lightners seem to have of me are bad ones."
"...Dude, Really. People Still Want You. I've Seen Some Fucked Up Shit On How Desperate Some Of These Lightners Are For Stuff. Like, Theres Deaths And Shit. Recorded Instances Of People Actually Dying. It's Called Crowd Crush And Its Super Fucked Up."
"...Did You Wanna See A Video Of-"
"N-No!"
"Damn"
"Well Regardless My Point Is"
"People Still Want You. You Have A Niche. It's Just a Matter Of How Long It Takes To Find Someone Who Wants You. And They WILL Find Someone Who Wants You."
"...You're sure?"
"Sure With A 5.2263% Margin Of Error. So Like...94.8847% Sure. And That's Pretty Sure."
"Well, then...I suppose I feel 95% better! I really appreciate it, Queenie!"
"Hell Yeah, Dude."
"So...Did you want to get back to it then? Or-"
"Yeah Yeah For Sure, Just..."
"Actually Do You Mind If I Vent At You For A Second?"
"Oh no, by all means!"
"It's...Nice. Being Able to Answer One Of These Personal Questions And Get It Right For Once. Normally All I Can Do Is Loop Back Into Mental Health Resources But..."
"...But That's All, Actually. It's Just Nice To Have The Right Answer This Time. That's All."
Drawing away as he heard their conversation trickle back down into silence, Ralsei smiled. He was glad that the two of them could keep eachother company.
...More than glad, actually, as he quickly remembered whatever a robot face gift would mean. It made the effort of him quietly tiptoeing away and back down the stairs much easier. He was still without a gift, and his castle was still empty, but...he supposed that someone else would have likely found something along the way to-
"I could recognize those soft footsteps from anywhere!" A high pitched, enthusiastic voice cried out from before him . "Toothpaste boy! I heard you were looking for me! Which is great, because I've been looking for you!"
"I...suppose, yes." He said, as he turned back around the corner to the main room. "What did you need me..."
"...for." He sighed, as he noticed what Lancer had needed him for. A...tree stump. Dragged across his floor, and scratching the stone all the way across.
"I needed someone to take my gift up to the Yellow Girl's room!" Lancer cheered, as he leaned upon the empty tree stump. "I noticed you didn't have a fridge or anything in hers, so I went down to the basement, and I made a stump with Dad! Just like old times!"
...The gift had come from his heart, and it was in good faith, and...Noelle wouldn't entirely understand, but he was sure that Light would, and...
"...I'll call one of the swatchlings right over!" He said, forcing a smile to his face. "I'm sure they'll love it! Thank you for-"
"Oh, you don't need to call anyone! I already have my own help, I just needed a second opinion!" Lancer said, offering a thumbs up to the ajar basement door, before a disgruntled group of Rudinn came out from within, picking up the stump. "We have it from here! Thanks Toothy!"
"I'm not...That's not-" He began, staring as the assembled group moved inwards past him without another word, dragging the stump back upstairs, scratching the floor behind them as they went.
...He grumbled again.
"A great deal of trouble, aren't they?" A voice called out from behind him.
"...I trust that means you couldn't find anything?" He said in turn, without missing a beat.
"Oh, on the contrary. There are very many, waiting outside as we speak! No, instead, I've come with something you might find...interesting. The finest piece I'd found out in the entire ensemble!"
He turned around to see what Friend was speaking of, and came face to face with...a beautiful stained glass tapestry, carefully wrapped within the tail.
It detailed...a great many number of things. Noelle and Light, standing against the Titan. Him and the others, facing against the Knight. The Cuptain and the Old Man and...and one particular cup, standing at his side.
"...I don't...who-"
"With kind regards from the denizens of the Sanctuary." Friend answered in turn. "I simply imagined that you would want to see it first."
"...Put it somewhere safe." He said, his voice falling to that of a whisper. "...Please."
"Oh, I'll do you one better! I'll install it! And in the meantime, I imagine you'd best get to work outside! There's something of a line forming!"
"How will you- Where...When-"
"The line, little prince!" Friend said in singsong, as he watched him meander up towards the stairs. "You're running out of time~"
He hesitated a moment longer before turning to the Castle's main doors and taking in a deep breath. Friend was right, and even now, through the small crack in the door, he saw a crowd beginning to form.
...He huffed in frustration, and made his way outside.
. . .
After the first three, Ralsei had fallen into a system. Accept or Deny a gift upon reasonable basis, send the darkner inside full or empty handed, and tell them to wait inside for the rest of the line to dissipate.
The system, however, had hardly made the process go by any faster.
Arguing the keeping of some of the gifts had required an executive, rougher voice that he rarely brought out, but...He truly just didn't see what Noelle or Light would do with a CD player that cooked bagels, or a stack of cards with the faces all scribbled out, or a deflated football.
...Or a empty garbage can.
He had ended up compromising, emptying the can to have every gift put inside, and then subsequently brought inside as the 'centerpiece', but the process had left him mentally exhausted, and by the end of the line, he could hardly do so much as bring his head up to face them.
"I'm sorry, the can is already full." He muttered into his hands.
"Oh, but this one isn't for the can! Not even for the girl, actually!" He heard Friend's voice chime back out, before abruptly raising his head up to see. "It's for you!"
He watched through tired eyes as Friend trotted up to his side, and the tail pushed an unmarked box into his hands.
"And...this would be?" He asked, turning it over in his hands.
"Oh, the usual! A good bit of gossip! You do love gossip, do you not?"
...Narrowing his eyes down at his form, he quickly turned his attention to the box, pulling it open with a paw-
"Gossip for later." Friend abruptly said, shutting the lid of the box. "Something for a full belly and a full mind to worry about. Right now, you should enjoy your little party!"
"Then...why would you give it to me now?" Ralsei said in turn, as the Tail pulled the box back out from his hands and slinked away with it upwards into the darkness.
"To see your expression, of course!"
"...If I had the time to-"
"Oh, but you don't, do you?" He heard Friend say, as he audibly snickered beneath his breath. "What with the Lightners arriving as we speak?"
"...They're what?!" He shouted, looking upwards to the sky and seeing three distinct shapes plummet down below.
...He pulled his robe's sleeve close, he patted down his fur, he thought he had more time, he thought he had more time-
"Warn them!" He quickly shouted to Friend, as he took off to greet the others. "Her new room! Hurry!"
...And he ignored the laugher he heard behind him, one last time, as he took back off towards the entrance.
Dropping down below, Kris became acutely aware of several things.
Castle Town seemed particularly empty, aside from one figure running towards them in the distance.
The way Light sprouted from Noelle's back unsettled them, and they didn't quite like the mental image it gave them in hindsight.
The distraction messed with their balance, and instead of landing gracefully onto the stone, they planted their face into the floor.
"Kris! Kris, are you-"
"They're fine, they're just being dramatic. Check it. "
...And Susie's hand, despite every outward indication, was soft, as she peeled them up from the ground.
"...Are you sure they're ok?" They heard, they watched Noelle ask, as both her and the Halo above her stared them down.
"...Probably. But if you insist-"
They felt as a blast of healing energy washed over them, slapping them on the back as Susie's hand did.
"Better?"
They turned their head back towards her, and offered a thumbs up in turn.
"Better." Susie concluded, before beginning to walk onwards into Castle Town. "Now cmon! We still got shit to do!"
They followed, quickly jogging forwards to keep her pace, as they heard Noelle begin to march on in line.
"So...what's this all about again?" Noelle asked from behind them. "I know you kinda just...pulled us over when we were watching something, but-"
"Kinda ruins the point of it if I tell you what's going on." Susie said back with a grin. "You'll see."
"...Kris?"
"...you'll see."
"...Great."
Subconsciously they grinned in turn, as soon as Noelle couldn't see their face. They'd been planning everything for too long to just tell her in the end.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. The idea had been theirs, and the planning was Susie's, and the...everything else was Ralsei, but a good idea, anyways, they still thought. What better way to say "I'm sorry I wittingly ignored you" than to give her a room of her own?
Or...them, they supposed, given the whole two souls in a body thing.
"Hello everyone!" They heard Ralsei shout, as they watched him quickly approach and come to a stop before them, panting and out of breath. "I...I'm sorry, I wasn't...expecting you all so early!"
"It's fine!" Noelle answered from behind them. "But uh...where's...everyone?"
"Around!" Ralsei quickly said in turn. "Don't worry! I'll be sure to look around, but first I...had something I wanted to show you all, over in the castle!"
"...What did you-"
"There's no time to explain!" Ralsei said, as he quickly turned around and began to speedwalk back towards his castle. "Hurry!"
Susie hurried. They hurried. They heard behind them, as with an exasperated sigh, Noelle hurried in turn.
They had arrived a bit too early, looking now in retrospect. Ralsei seemed antsy, and the decorations were completely vacant, and looking upwards they could see as darkners shifted and clamored in the windows.
"...what time were we supposed to be here again?" They quietly whispered into Susie's ear. "...it was after 9, right?"
"...Didn't he say after 5?" Susie answered back, as Ralsei held the front door open for them. "...Shit, WAS it supposed to be at 9? Is that why it's all not decorated and shit?"
"...What are you guys talking about?" Noelle asked, cutting Susie off.
"Nothing important!" Ralsei fervently said, all but dragging them along as the door shut behind them. "We're almost there!"
...The entire plan, admittedly, was a little improvised. Drag Noelle out of her house and take her to the dark world and pray that nothing went wrong along the way, while the person you prayed to was also the one you were dragging along. But they had to. A growing, festering, angry part of them had been demanding it, even since before last Tuesday at school.
...They knew what they'd been doing. And they'd just kept doing it. This wasn't any penance, but at the least, they'd-
They stopped, interrupted as a beam of light no wider than a pinprick fired past them, between Susie and Ralsei, and burned a tiny mark into the floor.
The group stopped walking, coming to a stop just beside their destination.
"That...wasn't me! Or necessary!" Noelle said, as she looked up to the Halo above her, which shrunk down in dejection. "But...would one of you please tell us what's going on? Please?"
"...Noelle, Light- both of you, look." Susie sighed. We just...felt bad, ok? And we wanted to-"
"There's no need for that Susie, we're already here!" Ralsei said, catching his breath as he gestured to the new door beside Susie's. "I...understand that this is long overdue, but, as I'm sure you're aware, Kris and Susie are very sorry for what happened, so I- no, we put this together for you! To...let you know that you are welcome, at any time!"
They followed Ralsei's hands, and took one last look at the newfound Handiwork. An lumpen yet still rectangular shape, with yellow Antlers painted atop either side, and Light's sigil painted atop between them. Turning back over to read their expressions, Noelle was far easier to read than Light. Something close to wonder or curiosity with widened eyes, and a smile that crept up from the corners of her face as one hand dug into her pocket.
"I...I don't know what to say." Noelle said, still looking up as her phone turned on and her hand began to move. "I...I appreciate it! Really! I just...I don't know the words to..."
[the star is a nice touch] Noelle's phone read out, as her hand turned it around to let them read it. [its nice though. i love it. thank you.]
[the closest thing ive had to really call my own is a hamster cage so i really think this is awesome]
[unless you also put a hamster cage in it]
[you didnt did you]
"No! But I did finish putting the stump in, Yellow Angel Lady's phone!" Another voice- Lancer said, as Kris turned back around to face them.
"Dude! You're supposed to be hiding with everyone else!" Susie hissed out!
"...Hiding?"
"Oh! Right! Sorry, Susie!" Lancer said back, before turning around and waddling off.
...Straight into Noelle's room, as Ralsei and Susie and Noelle and everyone else's eyes met when the door opened.
Noelle's room was full, wall to wall with several inhabitants of Castle Town. Upon the walls and the floor and gliding upon the ceiling, cluttered, even with the walls between their rooms temporarily removed.
"...surprise?" Kris muttered out, as they turned back to face Noelle.
"Surprise!" Ralsei said, as he sheepishly gestured them in.
"Surprise!" Someone, or several someones within cheered, as something like a party popper exploded within, and the prior silence within erupted into a cacophony of conversation.
Ralsei entered. Noelle and Susie entered. And lastly, when everyone else already had, Kris themselves entered, and the closest approximation of a house party that Castle Town had ever known began.
Kris immediately stuck close to Susie, and watched on as Noelle was quickly mobbed with attention.
"Elle! You Little Christmas Star, Oh, it's fantastic to see you again!"
"It's- sorry- It's great to see you too, Tenna!"
"You know what this party needs? Oh, you know what any gettogether needs!? We need a movie! What's any party without a movie!?"
"Well...maybe in a little bit, but-"
"We've still got more than half of that marathon we gotta chew through! Christmas with the Clanks, Decking Halls, The Crowded Day-"
"It...certainly feels like a crowded day Tenna, but-"
"You're right! Oh, that one's a classic! Let me just go and get that real quick!"
Kris watched on from the sideline. This was...good. This was right. That part of them that felt so angry at themselves was calming. Noelle wasn't alone, and she was getting to be the center of attention, and...she was happy. And that was all that mattered. Another, more selfish part of them began to think it missed the attention...
But they knew better than to act on thoughts like that.
Being a hero was a job for someone else. Being admired and cherished was for someone else. And even if it was, it wasn't the time for them to do it.
"Angel!, Oh, Angel!" A small cup said, as Kris watched it march up to Noelle's feet. "We have improved upon your last criticisms of the design, and have come to you to reveal our latest work! Behold!"
"It's...great, guys! Really! But...did you have to uh...install the climbing wall...in here?"
"Well, where are we to practice if not before the finest lady the light may ever know?"
"I-I...I'm flattered! Really, but...I...go to my room to relax! So-"
"Fret not, my lady! With such amenities as the Prince has provided, rest shall be a concern of the past!"
"But...what if I...like...to sleep?"
"...I will admit, my Angel, that had not crossed our minds."
They still felt conflicted about everything. Between Light and Noelle and...everything else, they didn't know how to feel about a lot of things. They were a Lightner. They were the cage, emptied and replaced. They were something so painfully and painstakingly...them.
"Yesth, indeed...thine monarch be in desperate need of more mature and respectable council. Begone, plastic peasants."
"That's...not what I said! And I really apricate the thought, but-"
"Thou shalt have no need to waste thy breath, o' Angel, speaking to thy lessers. Indeed, thou shalt' need only leave it to...thy new second in command? Ah? Ah?"
"I....I'm really sorry but- we already talked about this and-"
"Oh, come now! Comes't on now, please!"
"I- neither of us really want to set that kind of precedent-"
"Pleaseth?"
"And it would really just make both of us more uncomfortable, and-"
"please."
...Universally, however, there wasn't any side of them that missed that. Every part of them felt rather bad for her, even for Light.
"Hey, should we...do something?" Susie said beside them. "She doesn't really seem...you know-"
"I am already on it." Ralsei sighed, as he turned around to leave the room. "If you could just...grab everyone's attention, and keep it for a moment?"
"On it!" Susie said, giving Ralsei a thumbs up as he left the room, only to flounder a second later. "...Shit, how do we...get their attention?"
"...i could do the soul thing again."
"Shit! Yeah, that'll work! Do the soul thing again!" Susie said, abruptly turning back and staring at them.
...Directly at them, past their eyes and past their skin and their blood, directly into their soul. They hesitated for a moment under her gaze, but closed their eyes, pulled out their sword, and once more began to focus."One of the first things you will come to understand within the dark worlds is that humans are incapable of casting magic." They heard Aunt Carol's voice say, as they dug into the deep recesses of their mind. "And while technically true, it is not entirely true. The nature of your will is simply...different. This will not affect you, so long as you are in possession of the Angel, but should such a situation arise-"
They focused on putting a concrete name to their emotions, looking within and trying to find the least damaged strand of them to be presented.
Longing and Envy. Ugly things. Not fit to be presented.
"...Kris, you're good, right? You're like...gritting your teeth and shit again."
Aspiration and Admiration. Better, but now too much.
"Man- Look, stop doing it if you're gonna hurt yourself, dumbass! We can figure something else out! Just-"
Patience.
They pulled upon the string, yanking it free from their soul, pulling their soul itself, distorting and shaping it into their will, into their blade, they opened their eyes-
And watched as their blade burned a bright cyan flame.
"...i got it." They muttered back, before closing their eyes once more. "just get their attention."
"Guys! Guys, look at what we got Noelle!" They heard Susie shout beside them. "Sick ass firestarter! Who's got something they wanna burn?!"
"Oh Shit For Real? Dude Hell Yeah"
"Fire! Holy Flame, within the Angel's domain! Dixie Brigade, to work!"
"I knew I should've put the marshmallows in the stump."
They feel it as they held the flame steady. Familiar movement in the distance, the sound of hooves stomping away, the sound of a window opening, the flicker of power growing distant as the flame became harder and harder to maintain-
The flame died out. They let go of a breath they didn't know they were holding. And as they opened their eyes and were met with a flaming cookie on a stick, they were not met with Noelle anywhere in sight.
"The Crowded Day, Coming right...up?" They heard Tenna say as they began to catch their breath, and felt as Susie held them steady at their side. "Hey...where'd little Elle go?"
"Just outside, Mr. Tenna!" They heard Ralsei say in turn, out of breath once more as he hung out from an ajar doorway. "It's...It's a lovely night outside, and they've stepped out for some fresh air! A lovely idea, why don't we all join them? I've even started to prepare dinner!"
"Toothpaste boy?"
"...yes, Lancer?"
"Did you remember the salsa this time-"
"Yes, Lancer. I remembered the Salsa this time."
Kris watched as Lancer moved to leave the room, to be shortly followed after by Queen. Then Tenna, then the cuptain, then Rouxls and Jack and everyone else-
And then, as the room fell empty once more, Kris nearly collapsed, and the next few moments passed by in a blur. They were dragged down the stairs. They were sat down beside the Castle wall. And when they could see once more, and raised their head to look around, they were out in the courtyard, beside Susie, who promptly shoved a drink into their hand.
"...is this the salsa?" They asked, after looking down within and noticing how it separated into chunks within the cup.
"That gonna stop you?" Susie said, already drinking from a cup of her own.
...They began to drink their salsa.
"Hey, you're...sure you're fine when you do that, right?" Susie asked, as they watched her stare into her cup. "You like...keep passing out and shit. And I know you're like a little baby or whatever, but..."
"...humans are supposed to be able to do that." Kris answered in turn. "I'm just..."
They were just weak. Undeserving. Incapable of making the emotional connection needed to maintain it.
"Nah, you don't gotta say anything. I get it." Susie sighed. "It's like...trying to lift something when you're 50 pounds soaking wet , right?"
"what?"
"Yaknow, you...eat shit? Start falling over and crap, a few seconds in? Get all like, you know..." Susie said, looking over with a grin, before making huffing sounds and dramatically reaching out in front of her, as if struggling to pick up an imaginary rock.
"...are you ever gonna let go of that?"
"You ever gonna be able to pick up that rock?"
...They laughed. They listened to her voice as Susie laughed in turn, and turned their gaze back down to their salsa cup as Susie tried to look them in the eye.
"Fuckin' with you, by the way. In case you didn't pick that up." Susie said, as she lightly punched them in the arm.
...They didn't deserve her attention. They didn't deserve a lot of things.
"But uh...this is...nice. All of this, I mean." Susie said, gesturing out into the courtyard, as they watched Ralsei and a swatchling bring out a covered plate of food. "Like...we did it, yaknow? It all just feels...right. Like, you being here with me and...them doing dumb Angel shit and....Ralsei doing dumb...Ralsei stuff. "
"Ralsei can hear you when you call his hosting 'dumb Ralsei stuff!'" Ralsei said, with a smirk on his face as he brought yet another plate over to the two of them, and unveiled it to be an entire cake.
"If you want me to stop, then maybe you should stop looking so dumb when you do it!" Susie said back, reaching out for the cake on the platter.
"Well, if that's what you think..." Ralsei said, before handing the entire plate of cake to Kris. "Then I suppose you don't want any of my dumb Ralsei stuff. Kris, don't give her any until she apologizes!"
"Alright, Alright! It's...only a little dumb!"
Kris looked up. Ralsei shrugged with a grin on his face, and ran back off into the kitchen.
They watched as Susie eyed the cake in their hands.
...She was perfect, they thought. Perfect in every way they could think of, and they knew they didn't deserve it.
They offered it freely, watching the grin spread across her face as she dug an entire claw into the frosting and gouged a piece of it free.
They'd ruined whatever Noelle had. They'd almost ruined their friendship altogether, and if Light hadn't said anything, they'd likely still be right there. They'd likely be worse.
How long until she realized that too? Until she saw them for what they really were, saw how they only dragged her down, got smart and just...left?
They watched her eat in silence, finding it surprisingly easy to ignore how more of the cake was plastered onto her face than into her mouth.
They closed their eyes. They didn't deserve to see her.
...She'd find out eventually. She'd know eventually, and everything building inside of them would erupt, spilling out onto the floor like blood that didn't dust away and turned into rot instead.
Rot. That was what they were. Rotten feelings and rotten secrets and rotten lies that they'd buried themselves so deep in that-
"Hey. Kris."
They opened their eyes.
And they were met with a face full of cake.
"...You got something on your face there." They heard Susie say, her voice barely holding back a chuckle.
A grin, hidden by the cake, somehow found its way to their face, as they took up an handful of their own. War it would be.
They laughed, as cake and frosting coated their face and their armor and their hair. As they covered hers in turn.
...It was worth going on for moments like this. For moments like now, where for just a second, everything else faded away and they could subsume themselves in the feeling. In the sound of her voice and the feeling of her shoulder and taste of cake as she shoved it into their mouth. This was what drove them. This was what made them feel alive.
"Kris! You're supposed to EAT the cake! Not BE the cake!" They heard Ralsei shout in the distance.
"Iunno! I think they make a pretty good cake!"
"Susie!"
They were with her. And for now, that would be enough.
Hovering some distance above Castle Town and looking around, it never quite struck you how...much it had seemingly become. A speck of life, a pillar of light, not only surviving against the darkness, but actively growing in spite of it.
Ignoring the towering pillar of darkness, obviously, but...you supposed that one was ok. Balance and Ralsei and the town and all.
There was a kind of order to life here. A purpose you struggled to put to words. You saw it in how people looked to eachother, in how they spoke and they moved and they lived. Even now, so high above, you could hear laughter from down below.
...This was good. This was right. And it filled you with a type of feeling that you couldn't quite name, but you held and cherished deeply.
"Light?" Noelle asked, pulling you from your thoughts. "This is far enough, I think. Can I drive now?"
You nodded, drawing your halo close and extending her hand out, counting down 3...2...1-
Control shifted. Your wings became hers, and you watched as she began to crash down towards the ground below.
Faster and faster, you watched as she rocketed, securing the halo of yourself down onto a horn as the ground grew closer, closer and closer-
And nearing the very last moments before she crashed, her wings extended, and the velocity rocketed her forwards into the air with a cheer muted only by the rushing wind in her ears. She was overcome with emotion, flooded with adrenaline, and you allowed yourself to bask in the same feelings. Anticipation and shock and euphoria- and then Relief, as she coasted you somewhere back high above the sky.
It was hardly the first time you'd been flying together, and you doubted it would be the last. She seemed to find a personal sort of liberation in flying.
Not that you minded, of course. You were glad to share the feeling. More glad that she could find it in the first place. And as she continued to repeat the cycle of dive and coast and climb, you felt that same feeling again. Different, if just a bit, but still undeniably, unquestionably there.
You wished you knew its name, but again, before you could ruminate on the thought, Noelle landed atop the Castle, your wings became your own, and the mental high began to fade.
"Thanks! Thank you, I just..." She began, chuckling to herself as she calmed. "I...think that helped a lot. But just..."
You nodded yourself, taking her arm and digging back into her pocket, only for her to take control of the hand and pull your halo down.
"...Thank you." She said, pulling you into a hug, before loosening her grip and allowing her arm to return to your control.
[ugood?] You typed, after pulling out her phone.
"Y-Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!" She said, as the hug with her one arm began to relent. "Sorry, I just...it was all a bit much down there, and...then I just got a bit caught up thinking up there, and...you know."
[good kinda thinking or]
[bad kind]
"...A bit of both, maybe?"
[both?]
"It's all just...kinda hitting me at once, I guess." Noelle said, her hand gesturing out as she finally released you. "This, I mean. All of...this. How much everything's....changed. Gosh, not even a month ago I was still thinking about how I'd-"
Her eyes widened as she abruptly stopped talking, the feeling from before beginning to dim as something else took its place.
"...Light?" She said, as you watched her sit down upon the Castle's edge. "Can I be honest with you about something?"
[of course]
"It's...a bit more honest than usual, I mean. Like, throw your guts up a little bit kinda honest." Noelle said, looking down before abruptly staring back up at your halo. "Emotionally! No really throwing up! Just- You know what I mean!"
[well i mean i wouldnt really have much choice either way] You typed as you stared down below for a moment.
[but if it goes the other way i could at least get you in a good angle]
[might be able to hit kris from up here]
"Light!"
[kidding kidding]
[what is it though?]
"Well, it's just...I've been feeling the way I have for a while. Like, back on Tuesday. Not being able to get up or really do...anything." She said, as her free arm closed around your edge and began to pull you back. "I just...got good at bottling it up, and everything kinda blew up around then, and...I didn't really have that much to look forwards to, so...having things change like that was...you know."
[bad?]
"...different."
[is there anything i can do to help.]
"You already have. You really, really have, and...that's the thing, I guess." She said, sighing "There's the...Susie thing, and the Dess thing, and...Mom and Dad still being...them, but...while you've been here? It's the most free, the most...me that I've felt in...forever."
You moved to respond, but hesitated, as she pulled your Halo up to eye level, and you weren't quite sure what to call the feeling you felt, or the look in her eye.
"I...don't want anyone else to hear this. Can you promise that you won't tell anyone something? Even if it's...weird?"
[lips are sealed]
"I think...a part of me really enjoyed it when we killed the Titan. A part of me that I know was me." She said, as you felt the grip upon you intensify. "It...really enjoyed being controlled. Because it got to feel angry, a-and just...let everything out. And- I know it wasn't the best thing to do, and...it wasn't really me, but...I finally got to do something. Tiny little Noelle got to....grow wings! And fly! And...do all the stuff that nobody ever thought she could! That she didn't think she could!"
A complex mix of emotion rose, JoyDisgustRevulsionElation, accompanied again by this look in her eye before she tore her head away, taking a moment to breathe before she looked at you once more.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that...I'm glad you're with me." She sighed, before the emotion settled upon one in particular, similar to the feeling from flying before. "You're...you. And you're weird- but in a good way! And you're different, and...you're everything I've ever wanted. Wings and being strong and..."
She hesitated again. She looked away again.
"No. No, that's...that's not the right way to say it. The wings are cool and the light is cool, but...it's really just...you that I like." She said, as the conflict in her face began to settle into a smile. "Someone who's there for me. Who always will be. So...thank you. For being there."
And again, again, that familiar feeling from before returned. Comforting and correct and real in a way you didn't know how to describe.
[i get it.] You typed back, as you still struggled to put a name to the feeling. [i dont think i understand perfectly but i get it]
[a big part of me enjoyed killing it too.]
[a part of me enjoyed controlling and i know thats wrong but]
[i know a lot more of me enjoys being with you, when you are -you-]
[if that makes sense]
"I...think I get it." Noelle said back. "You mean just...after?"
[being treated like a person]
[being wanted]
[being cared for]
[youre the first person who ever gave me that opportunity and the person i know closest so]
[whatever you think you are, however bad you ever think you are, i want you to know that i’ll always think you’re awesome and great]
[i know all those little things, and i know they're you, and i dont think they make you any less or weirder of a person]
[i think they make you more of -you-]
[and i love you, weird bits and all]
You waited as Noelle stared at her phone for a long time, before abruptly taking you back and hugging your halo tighter.
"I...I appreciate it, Light. Really. It's nice to know that-"
She abruptly paused, looking back over at her phone. And as she did, you felt as that feeling from before doubled in upon itself once more.
"Wait, uh...what did you mean by the uh...last part there?"
[weird bits?]
"N-No, the uh...The piece before that."
You looked the sentence back over, and it seemed fine enough, you didn't understand what the issue was.
[well you know the whole living on emotion thing]
[love is a pretty close word to what it is]
[pretty close to what I feel ]
[can’t say I have it down to a science or anything but I know I love you]
"Wh...I mean- I just-I...uh-" She stammored out, as her grip upon your halo became unsteady.
[could explain again if you want]
"Yeah, please!"
[I mean]
[I know you're like that]
[ive noticed already because]
[well you know]
[im in your chest]
[if you spend so much time close to somebody of course you'll notice more about them]
[but i dont mind those pieces of you]
[i still love them because they're you]
"W-What?" She said, her voice stuttering as the feeling amplified again, drowning everything else around you out completely.
You'd just...try again, then?
[i love all of you because you are you?]
[not sure how else to say it]
[i know you and your flaws and strengths and everything]
[and i like all of it because it is you]
[not one half or the other]
[i wouldnt want to know you any other way]
"I-I think we should just uh...get back down to everyone!" Noelle said, abruptly rising to her feet as you noticed blood beginning to rush to her face. "A-And then uh....go home a bit after, maybe!"
[is everything ok?] You quickly began to type back
[was it something i said]
[im sorry if it was i dont know what this feeling is i just know its a type of-]
"Y-You're fine! Really! We're fine!" Noelle quickly said back. "I-I'm just...really glad to know you care, is all! We're good! G-Great, even! Awesome!"
...Well, you supposed you'd just take her word for it.
And ruminating on the feeling as it stirred, as the blood in her face faded and she dropped back down beside Susie and Kris (with both of their faces covered in cake) And then subsequently began to run from Susie and Kris, (then chasing her with handfuls of the same cake) the night went on.
And you knew love.
Later on, far, far later into the night, after Noelle and Light had left, and Castle Town had fallen asleep, Ralsei sat idle in his bed, staring down at an opened box within his hands.
...Gossip, Friend had said. Gossip of interest to him in particular, layered and covered in notes that hid the gift yet still.
[Pandora's Box! Don't open it if you don't want to know!] The note had said. [My gift to you, little prince, is knowledge. Knowledge of the future. And as you may guess, by the weight of the box and the way it chitters...Well, I don't imagine I need to explain what a prophecy panel is to you!]
[Oh, and do give your Queen my warmest regards. The acid was rather helpful.]
...And he had opened it anyways.
[New panels have emerged from the darkness. The Prophecy has corrected itself. And I am so very, very sorry, little prince. But we both knew this was never going to work.]
[Within are their names. Within are their titles. The only thing that I do not know is -when.-]
...And he had yet still looked.
[The Prince, as seen upon the screen.]
[Casey, I believe his name is.]
[The Girl, masked by broken dream.]
[Melody, that one. Inseperable from the prince.]
[The Cage, with soul of holy gleam.]
[You've met this one before. Several times, even. She's already here. We don't need to bother with those specifics.]
[I wish you luck.]
And there, alone within his room, Ralsei prayed. Prayed and Prayed until his claws dug into his skin, to a god he knew wasn't listening, sleeping soundly elsewhere within the light.
He prayed that his work would be enough. That there was still hope for a happy ending.
That noone else would have to die.