Chapter Text
‘I am blaming YOU for all of this, and nobody can stop me.’
Oh, if only Kris could actually make their voice heard to IT. Or at the very least be included in whatever bizarre telepathic group chat the Soul seemed to maintain with every living being in a ten-mile radius except for its own host. The human would’ve had an absolute field day, describing in painstaking detail all the things they planned on doing to the tiny parasite occupying their chest. Starting with Basketball Championships…
Unfortunately, stewing in righteous indignation became significantly less satisfying when the intended recipient couldn't actually hear any of it.
And no, the mortified embarrassment radiating from somewhere inside their ribcage was not an adequate substitute, thank you very much. They had standards to maintain after all!
…Questionable ones, even dubious ones, but standards nonetheless!
Of course, it also became just a tad bit more difficult to maintain their anger when they were currently sitting in a pretty girl’s room. And more specifically, on said pretty girl’s bed.
Yes, as it turned out, Mew Mew was extremely enthusiastic about getting back to their date after this whole emotional reconciliation thing. After all, now that her romantic ambitions had been reignited with all the subtle restraint of a forest fire – and oh boy, Kris sure wondered who could’ve done that! – she wanted to start immediately.
But why her bedroom specifically, one could ask? Because Pink was still a little tiny bit angry with the rest of the heroes of the Prophecy, and she didn’t wish to see them ruining their date once more. So obviously, that meant that catgirl Darkner had to drag Kris and the Soul into her own domain, where no one would find them.
Or more accurately, Mew Mew and Maddie had decided that allowing Susie and Ralsei within a certain range of them was currently a threat of immediate explosions. And sure, the catgirl hadn't explicitly threatened violence.
But she didn't need to. The aura of barely restrained malice and murderous intent radiating off her in waves whenever the Fun Gang got mentioned was doing all the heavy lifting. She didn't want to hurt Kris’s companions the moment she spotted them.
Kris admittedly was thankful for the Darkner’s level-headed approach, because whilst they truly wanted to place their faith in their friends… well, the human was unfortunately burdened by this tragic condition called “not being delusional”.
…Seriously, the amount of times they all had to be rescued was quickly becoming ridiculous and embarrassing. Every Boss so far required increasingly absurd levels of tomfoolery to defeat, and that wasn't even counting the uncomfortable realisation that the Soul was the one doing all the heavy lifting for a significant part of their adventures.
A realisation which Kris would never admit out loud and would deny under an oath.
Though admittedly, all those suspiciously convenient miracles had to do with the Soul too in the long run, there wasn’t even a question about it in their mind. After all, considering all the “discussions” they had with the Knight about why they even need that thing or to know exactly how were these things even happening.
Though As much as Kris hated admitting it… It was also painfully obvious that their resident eldritch horror having an equivalent of a loaded dice on their shoulder wasn't the only reason why they had to host it.
…
…Right, they were getting sidetracked again, where had they been? Oh yes, being in a pretty girl's bedroom. Which in theory, it shouldn't even be an issue. After all, they’d spent half their childhood invading Noelle’s room uninvited… and the deer monster herself certainly qualified as pretty, objectively speaking. Heck, aunt Carol and uncle Rudy seemed to think the same considering how often they'd jokingly suggested marriage whenever the two of them hung out–
Wait, did they try setting them up that early?
…Putting that uncomfortable theory aside (making it future Kris’s issue, hah, what are loser they must be)…
…Well, Noelle was practically family, at one point even their best friend. Basically a sister in all but name (though clearly, the deer monster didn't think the same…), unlike her, Pink had also, somewhat importantly, kissed them. Probably the first one they’ve received in a very long while and whoops, and Kris had somehow managed to avoid thinking about for almost fifteen entire minutes and that they were thinking about it and whoops, there comes their own embarrassment and a blush–
“Hey, Blue Moron!”
Kris jumped hard enough to nearly leave the ground, as their snapped upright. Being caught daydreaming while sitting on a pretty girl's bed was already bad enough, but it occurring during a potential (if a very unorthodox, because their host was currently setting up a MewMewKissyCutie™ themed Monopoly she got from somewhere) date was just icing on the cake.
Kris looked up just in time to see Pink on the floor already having prepared everything. Though on closer look, and considering the nickname deployed, it appeared that Maddie was the one in control of the body at the moment.
Which, surprise surprise. Just because Mew Mew decided to swear a grand heartfelt oath of dedicating herself to wooing both of them, didn’t mean that the spirit sharing her body was about to suddenly forget and forgive them. Or even tolerate them.
As far as Kris could tell, Maddie had simply reached the conclusion that Mew Mew was far too kind for her own good, and therefore it had become her sacred duty to make absolutely certain that neither the human nor the eldritch lollipop residing inside said human's chest ever got the opportunity to break that kindness ever again.
Not that it wasn’t a completely fair stance to take, one which both the human and their chest invader agreed on. After all, if the roles were reversed, and someone toyed with their friends’ emotions, Kris would've been browsing gardening magazines for the sole purpose of figuring out which kind of endangered flowers were the best suited for hiding a body…
‘...Maybe I should start sleeping with one eye open.’
“What’s up, Pink?” Kris asked, and once again, the words came out rough enough to make them instinctively wince. Every syllable scraped against their throat like rusty sandpaper, making it painfully obvious just how little practice they'd had speaking lately. Somewhere along the line, they'd gotten a little too accustomed to letting it handle conversations whenever possible.
Which...
…Probably wasn't a healthy habit. They'd have to work on that.
Maddie narrowed her eyes, quickly studying human’s face for something, and apparently, whatever she had been looking for, she found it, because she finally answered.
“Hmph.” The catgirl folded her arms across her chest with theatrical finality. “I was just wondering what is up with you two–”
And wasn’t that just a little surreal. Somebody being aware of Kris AND the Soul… and actively talking about it, instead of treating it as an open secret of sorts and speaking in vague half-truths or carefully crafted implications. Actually acknowledging them and addressing them separately.
“–because from what Mew Mew's been telling me," Maddie continued, tilting her head, “you two kept talking over each other back there despite being roommates longer than my body and I have!” Noticing Kris just blinking at her, the spirit went on, “If I didn’t know any better, I'd swear it sounds as if you two were actively ignoring each other.”
“…Actually…” Kris scratched behind their back, and their other hand made a valiant attempt at a casual shrug. “It seems that the Soul can’t actually hear me.”
“…”
“…”
“WH-WHAT?!” Pink's entire body jolted with enough force that Kris would've sworn both occupants had shouted that in perfect synchronization. Now the catgirl was openly staring at the human, mouth slightly hanging open and in turn Kris sighed.
Well, there went any chances of sidestepping that conversation. Straight out of the window, defenestrated and all.
“Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous to say, but that's really how it works.” Kris said and without much ceremony, Kris let themself fall backward onto the mattress. The bed bounced gently beneath them…
It was kinda comfortable.
…Very comfortable...
…And now they were going to ignore the fact that it smelled super nice too (they absolutely did not want to entertain the possibility that Pink had somehow found time to perfume her bedsheets or that she somehow just smelled like that naturally, nope, nuh uh).
Another thought for future Kris to bother, sure would suck to be them.
“The Soul can hear anyone else just fine,” they continued, staring up at the ceiling. “Heck, they can pick up someone’s whispering from across the room. But then I am somehow within a blind… Or well… I guess a deaf spot is more accurate.”
“I mean,” They continued, looking toward roughly the place where they imagined the Soul’s point of view came from. “I'd honestly bet they didn't hear a single thing I just told you, but that’d be a sucker’s bet.”
“Wow…” Pink said, her expression softening almost instantly. “That genuinely kind of sucks, mew.”
The catgirl then sat down beside the bed, her ears lowering ever so slightly, as she rested a hand on her shoulder. “I guess that explains your lack of coordination… I honestly can’t even imagine how I would feel if I knew my body could talk, but couldn’t hear her...”
In response, Kris let out a long breath, somehow actually feeling bad for the uninvited guest in their body. And there goes their streak of ignoring the Soul’s perspective and dehumanising as much as they can.
“Honestly? Barely an hour ago I was very thankful for that little mental blockade…” Kris sighed, their expression flattening completely. “But now? I am realising just how obnoxious it’s going to be going forward.” Kris gestured vaguely ahead of them, before pressing a hand against their forehead. “After all, I doubt we will always find a stick and a convenient patch of dirt every time we need to talk.”
Pink just hummed quietly in response.
“But they did understand you eventually, right mew? After all, you two managed to reach an agreement in the end.” She asked, a note of curiosity and maybe concern in her voice.
There was another gentle tug from their chest, and Kris nodded, feeling a string in their throat start to tighten. Then quickly a small amused snort escaped them.
“Only in a roundabout way.” The Soul answered, slipping seamlessly into control while clasping Kris's hands on their chest. This time not attempting to sound like them, its own more feminine voice flowing out. “Most of everything I even learned about Kris was only through context clues. Their reaction to items, what others say about them, and most importantly, through listening to how others respond to Kris’s words.”
‘Huh, that’s interesting…’ Kris blinked behind their own eyes.
Admittedly, it made a disturbing amount of sense, and in hindsight… Five days is a not insignificant amount of time to spend with someone, no matter how much one had spent most of that time trying very hard to remain as unreadable as physically possible.
And with some elbow grease and guesswork… well, the Soul probably already had a whole personality profile prepared of them. And sure, Kris tried to be as secretive as possible, but sometimes their chest-invader also picked dialogue options so catastrophically unhinged or straight up wrong, that there simply was no way in heaven above and heck below to allow it to say them unobstructed.
Kris's train of thought, however, got promptly derailed as Pink slowly shook her head.
“I don't know who you two managed to upset, but that is just cruel at that point.” The catgirl continued, genuinely looking saddened, and her fingers tightening slightly against her chest. “To make both of you work together, while making any actual communication impossible…”
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
Perhaps because hearing someone else say it aloud made the situation sound infinitely more absurd than it ever had inside their own head. Or perhaps because, until now, they'd simply accepted it as another bizarre rule governing their increasingly bizarre life.
The Soul, meanwhile, seemed considerably less interested in dwelling on the tragedy of their circumstances, as Kris felt their shoulders merely shrug.
“Meh, I worked under worse circumstances.” It gave another shrug, somehow carrying an almost dismissive confidence. “And admittedly, I can get very investigative whenever information is in short supply.” The Soul answered cryptically, as if anyone would just ignore that worrying statement–
“What do you mean by their reactions?” Or they will apparently, as Pink asked, curiosity now plain on her face. Ok.
“Ah, I don’t…really see the world in the same way you or Kris would.” It continued, throwing in even more extremely concerning statements, even if Kris already knew that one. “The details are quite…downgraded, and at times the only thing that allows me to understand what I’m even looking at is through a narration. Most certainly Kris’s own.”
“And this narration is different from Kris’s thoughts?”
“Indeed, which is even more…” Soul waved their hand in a vague circle. “…Well, overly complicated for no reason but to be obtuse.”
“Hmm, did you two try a mirror perhaps, mew?” She asked with a tilted head, one finger tapping thoughtfully against her chin. “Just grab any handheld mirror, and see if your spirit can hear what you are saying upon inspecting it.”
‘No way it could be this easy, right?’ Kris thought to themself, trying to recall if they ever did anything that debunk this … and promptly realised that they weren’t ever interested in communicating to make it possible in the first place.
“And when someone inevitably questions why Kris all of the sudden worries about their vanity?” Soul asked with a tiny smirk on their face. At least its emotions didn’t suggest it was being patronising right now. “You can say many things about Kris, but vain is certainly not one of them.”
This time it was Pink’s turn to shrug (and oddly enough, the gesture didn’t look so weird, despite the frilly magical catgirl outfit).
“You can always tell them the mirror is magical, mew. Claim it gives you – and only you – advice and make it mysterious enough.” She waved one hand dismissively, and Kris could easily imagine her rolling her eyes, if she was a bit more callous. “It’s not like the Darkners are especially likely to question something like that…”
Tiny pause, and just for a split second, her face darkened, before she sighed sighing, looking tired. “…Or for that matter, that pink lizard friend of yours, mew.”
Ah, it was definitively Mew Mew talking right now.
‘Though she’s not exactly wrong…’ Kris thought to themself reluctantly.
Susie, for all her many, many admirable qualities, wasn't exactly what one would call… investigative, or particularly paranoid for that matter. Or just generally, inclined to question reality unless reality attempted to bite her first.
So a magical assistant mirror? It would barely register on twenty weirdest things she'd witnessed over the past few days. And Ralsei…
Well, Ralsei was another matter entirely. “Prince from the Dark” would almost certainly be confused beyond belief about why they had suddenly decided to cooperate with the Soul all of the sudden, especially after they’ve been resisting the idea with every ounce of stubbornness they possessed. He would also obviously worry … but ultimately he would most likely be quietly delighted.
After all, it would be breaking the Prophecy’s thread and all that.
…Frick, he most definitely realised that it hadn’t been Kris who’d cursed both him and Susie out back there, didn’t he?
“…Fair enough.” Soul popped Kris’s back as they spoke, earning a deeply satisfying series of pops echoing through the human’s back. “Gosh, Kris, you seriously need a better posture.“ It muttered slightly exasperated, under their breath.
Not taking the implied insult to their way of standing, no matter how objectively correct, and especially in front of someone else, Kris quickly wrangled the control over their voice back, before saying: ” Though please don’t kill Susie, I know she is a lot but we do rather need her.”
A small smug smile graced Pink’s face, as she levelled a dramatic eyebrow at the Lightner, before pretending to consider something.
“Fair, she is kinda the mascot for your team, and I do remember how important marketing is during my own adventures…” Pink responded, before shaking her head in a feigned disappointment. “Such a shame we won’t get to beat her up with hammers…”
“Sorry, Yellow stole that joke from you, we’re going to have to…” Soul continued, before putting up their hands in fax surrender at the look magical girl sent them. “Okay okay… Besides, I call dibs on carrying out any cartel execution involving lizardpeople.”
WAIT WHAT–!
Oh wait, false alarm. The tiny buzzer was currently wheezing itself silly inside their ribcage – or an equivalent of it. Crisis averted, apparently the Soul simply possessed an incredibly weird and worryingly violent sense of humour. And not long after that, its mirth was more obvious, as a giggle exploded from their throat…
…And there was absolutely no way that their throat was physically capable of producing laugh this refined, no matter voice training or not. It just sounded too elegant, too posh to come out from the Hometown’s local cryptid.
“I don’t recall there being any cartels operating in this particular Dark World though…” Pink observed, and despite her expression all means remaining serious, her eyes sparkled so brightly with laughter the act could be barely bought.
Though it did cause Kris to want to add two of their own cents to the discussion, beginning by a quick splitting their face. “And what else would you call that floral mafia running this place?”
“Obviously they ought to be categorised as Yakuza, duh.” This time Maddie abruptly resurfaced to join the comedy routine, her smile much meaner. “Have you seen how much influence they've got around here? They've got territory, hierarchy, and suspiciously well-organized flower-themed intimidation tactics.”
A snort escaped Kris before they had the chance to suppress it. Though Pink wasn't much better, managing to keep a straight face for perhaps half a second before a tiny giggle slipped free.
“See? I'm just calling things what they are.”
Another set off giggles followed, now a slightly louder.
"…Okay, that one was a little funny, mew." Most likely Mew Mew answered, but the harrumph that came next barely managed to cover up Maddie’s smile as she responded with an exaggerated nod. “Not to mention Flowery, he totally can move like a dragon! I mean, have you seen those dramatic entrances?”
And somehow that got instant reaction from their chest invader. As if a sleeper activation words were uttered, it turned towards Pink with a wide, transfixed gaze.
Though surprisingly, the catgirl missed that reaction, as she stared down at her hands, deep in thought.
“Maybe…” Pink started saying, quickly standing up and walking to her wardrobe, dramatically opening the doors with an ample amounts of bravado. Despite the inside being nothing but empty darkness stretching far deeper than any wardrobe had any right to. So of course, without even batting an eyes Pink leaned halfway inside anyway…
“Aha! Got you, mew!”
…And pulled out a tiny pink coloured pocket mirror. It even came with cat ears and handle shaped like a cat tail.
The moment Kris accepted it, the feeling of a string inside their throat finally let up fully, as the human slowly rubbed at their neck. Only once the phantom pain passed, did they dare to look into the reflection waiting inside and analyse it thoroughly…
…And huh. They never really had the pleasure of looking at their own Dark World form (or at least they can’t recall any propping up), and Kris had never realised just how weird they looked. Their crimson eyes immediately stood out against the sea of soft blues and pale pinks making up the Dark World appearance. Turning their head left and right, they searched for anything that was… obviously wrong. Some visible signs that would show it is suddenly them being back in control. Perhaps a convenient occultist tattoo or mark of the beast that indicated they entered into a contract with a horror from beyond…
…who apparently is a fan of joking about organised crime syndicates. Right.
The bottom line was, despite everything, it was still them.
Kris let out a slow breath. The tension in their shoulders eased ever so slightly. And so the Lightner looked straight into their own crimson eyes and prepared to say…
* You randomly tell your reflection every way you’re going to torture it.
* Number 1: donated to a kindergarten–
“WOAH WOAH WOAH, HEY, KRIS! CHILL!!”
Kris froze completely, their eyes widening in pure shock, as every coherent thought in their head was violently interrupted by a deafening, impossible crack echoing through their skull, like a pane of glass shattering.
Their reflection spoke to them. It raised its hands towards them in surrender. They hadn’t even twitched, but it moved anyway, to play along with that gag. Then the realisation hit them like a mountain of needles and bucket of ice.
It somehow fricking worked. This ridiculous, half-baked, completely improvised idea born from Pink’s idle thinking somehow managed to bulldoze straight through the mental blockade between them and the Soul. The solution still wasn’t by any way perfect than just always being able to hear each other’s thoughts or something but it was genuinely miles better than what they currently had–
Was it even the intended solution? Learning to accept before finally looking one another in the eye before any actual communication became possible? Or did the absolute buffoon responsible for implanting said block had assumed Kris would never willingly wish to work with the parasite occupying their chest? …Well, they would be correct, considering this entire situation is beyond unorthodox to begin with. Would it have worked in Light World too, or was Dark World weird magic also a key component for doing that? How did that even work–?
Oh, someone was hugging them right now.
Kris blinked, as reality slowly dragged them back from the… whatever that was. Pink had mistaken their complete system crash for something much more concerning…
…Though maybe she’d been correct to assume so? Even now, despite just going through whatever all of this was, the human could feel something slowly fleeing their mind, and just attempting to grasp it produced nothing except an unpleasant sensation of wires, something cold and vaguely wet…
…Nope, their brain declined to follow that thought any further, for their own good.
Pink was still holding them close, with one arm wrapped tightly around them while… her other one was touching their wrist? But judging by the distinctly practical way the hand was positioned, Kris could make an educated guess that it was controlled by Maddie, which was a nice gesture… but still didn’t lessen Kris’s confusion.
“Kris…?” Pink’s voice came out small, ears flattened against her head, every bit of playful confidence from only moments ago melting into genuine concern. “Are you alright, mew?”
…
Right, they did spend several… Seconds? Minutes? Just sitting there, completely motionless, while staring into absolutely nothing.
“…I…” They attempted to respond, but strangely their own voice sounds distant. Somewhat sluggishly, they brought a hand up to rub across their forehead before giving their head a firm shake. “…I think so.”
Though then Kris realised a quite the major issue. A huge one, they could even say. Pink, aka a very pretty and very strong girl that could fold Kris into the shape of a decorative pretzel if she ever felt particularly motivated–
Was currently holding them close against herself as though they'd suddenly regressed into a particularly fragile baby.
…
Absolutely not, to heck with that, frick that noise, they have some amount of dignity that needs saving.
And with that thought, Kris attempted to stand.
Keyword, attempted.
The moment the human shifted their weight onto their feet, they immediately discovered that their legs had apparently resigned from active service, by promptly starting to wobble like jelly, with both knees buckling. And had Pink not reacted with cat-like reflexes – catching them beneath the shoulders – they would've been eating dirt.
‘Well, there goes the remains of my dignity.’ Kris deadpanned, as their vision swam in their head, trying to regain focus. But soon after, a feeling, an explosion of mirth inside their ribcage. And they would be a bit ashamed to admit it, but the human truly did forget about their chest invader among all of that.
“Hey, blue moron!” Suddenly Maddie's face popped up in front of Kris mere inches from their own, once again almost causing them to fall over. Which, upon witnessing this reaction, she awkwardly scratched one cheek. “Sorry…”
Then she cleared her throat, shook her head sharply, and resumed looking like someone desperately trying to remember she was supposed to dislike the person standing in front of her, slowly wagging a finger in front of their face.
“As much as I absolutely despise you,” The spirit began reluctantly, “I'd really appreciate it if you didn't kick the bucket on us.” She titled her head thoughtfully, putting a hand against her chin. “I don’t imagine humans can transition into ghosts.” Once more she shook her head, before floating back into the body and promptly straightening them upright. “Besides, I am not sharing Mew Mew with two freeloading spirits. The future dates are going to be already awkward enough…”
“S…sweet…” Kris responded, a crooked smile on their face, as they felt their legs regain some motor function and stability.
“Hmph.” Maddie harrumphed, squinting her eyes. “So, did it actually work? Or did you give yourself brain damage just for fun?”
“…”
Kris couldn’t recall actually. Did it actually work? Slowly, they turned back toward the little pocket mirror lying where it'd been dropped during the excitement, and catching onto their train of thought, Pink quietly picked it up and handed it over.
The human saw… something in their reflection looking back. Instead of wearing the same Dark World clothes, it was completely monochrome (COPIES ARE MONOCHROME) and with no facial features.
Kris’s less calm part of mind could recall how sometimes others joked about their face was a completely blank canvas. But this was…
It wasn’t the only difference, as the thing inside the mirror wasn't mimicking them anymore. While the human was still being assisted by Pink, it stood comfortably on its own two feet, arms folded neatly across its chest, posture not giving anything. Once more, the only window into The Soul’s mind was though the feeling inside their chest, and if they focused, just a bit…
…It betrayed just how worried they were.
Though looking at it Kris felt something inside their head loosen, as if somebody was carefully unwinding old barbed wire they'd never realised had been wrapped around their thoughts.
“…Hey.”
The Soul spoke first, and Kris was slightly surprised to hear the word inside their head, instead of somehow coming out of the mirror… Though then again, the human was unsure about how that would work logically, as it was still inside their chest, and not physically in the mirror.
The voice itself was unmistakably feminine, and basically the same one as what comes out of their throat, if maybe a little bit fuzzy around the edges.
‘I would’ve expected something more…echo-y,’ Kris commented to themself, deciding to keep their soul guessing, ‘but on the other hand, it is nice to confirm that my head isn’t apparently empty as Berdly loves to claim.’
“…So do I want to know what happened back there…?” The Soul continued, its head turned to the side, as if staring at something outside of mirror’s view. “Please don’t tell me this somehow gave you a brain damage.”
“Why is everyone worried about brain damage?” Kris asked incredulous, only realising that they wasted their second words on that. Sighing deeply, the Lightner rubbed the bridge of their nose, fatigue slowly catching up to them. “I don’t know, I just… okay I don’t remember anything I just… felt something and then suddenly my mind gets scrambled.”
Another pause, before absent-mindedly tapping the side of their own head. “At least I hope it wasn’t literal and physical.”
Neither of them spoke after that. Frankly, Kris had expected excitement. Frick, with how interested it seemed to learn about them, the human expected an avalanche of questions being dropped on them right about now.
But instead, The Soul just kinda… stared back at them through the mirror, and there wasn’t anything more than a mild curiosity that they could feel from their chest, with a very weird note of something tainting it all. It felt somewhat familiar, but for the life of them, the Lightner couldn’t grasp what it reminded them of.
“…You okay?” Kris eventually asked, giving up for now on the previous train of thought.
“Hm?” The black and white copy tilted its head more upward, not really giving away now – a far cry to what Kris had to experience for the whole day up to this point.
“You've gone weirdly silent.”
The Soul immediately folded its arms a little tighter in response. “I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.”
“…Uh-huh.”
“I am displaying a perfectly normal amount of silence.”
“Right–“
“UGH!!” Suddenly their song and dance got interrupted by Maddie’s loud groan, as she dropped Kris back onto her and Mew Mew’s bed. “Stop already with that and kiss already or whatever!! I am not going to be tolerating any more awkward stuff here!”
Now there was an awkward silence between the two. Admittedly, Kris considered ignoring Maddie’s request and just pressing the issue further…
…But instead a huge yawn escaped them. The sort that started somewhere behind their ribs and felt more like their spirit trying to escape the confines of their body, while also being determined to consume their entire body on the way out.
“Oh!” Pink gasped softly, her ears perking up almost instantly. And without waiting for permission, she gently took hold of both of the human’s hands, and smiling… weirdly excitedly, announced: “Kris, I think it is time for you to go to sleep, mew.”
“What?!” That was not part of the plan for any dates, excuse them, what? “I don’t–”
“No arguments.”
And of course the little invader was laughing right now inside their chest. No matter if mirror or not it was going to make it known how much it enjoyed seeing them floundering.
“You’ve had…” the catgirl’s smile was impossibly gentle as she petted their head, to the Kris’s great mollification and Soul’s great enjoyment. “…Well, probably the most emotionally exhausting day I've ever witnessed.”
“So it is a nap break for you, mew.”
Before Kris could formulate another protest, Mew Mew had already helped them lie down beneath the blanket. The mattress was... dangerously comfortable, and it certainly did not help fight off the sudden drowsy spell. “So just close your eyes for a little while.”
Her voice had become barely louder than a whisper. Somewhere else, Maddie muttered something about “this is so unfair”…
…And the last thing Kris saw before sleep finally claimed them was Mew Mew leaning over them slightly, smiling down at them with all the warmth in the world.
Reluctantly the human had to agree with Maddie, because dear Angel, it was unfair how beautiful she looked.
‘I know you dislike them, but you have to admit, they are just so cute like that, mew!’ Mew Mew internally commented, staring at the sleeping figure in her bed – there was her future boyfriend in her bed!! – while cleaning up the MewMewPoly she had prepared earlier.
Admittedly it was a bit of a bummer that they didn’t actually get to play, all four of them, but it was a worthy sacrifice, considering the revelations and circumstances.
‘And you shouldn’t forget that they are a stinky heart breaker and a menace!’ Maddie replied heatedly, levitating the pieces back into the box. ‘And you allowed them to sleep in our bed!’
Right, she could see where the spirit could be coming from, but at the same time, Mew Mew didn’t mind. Why should she? Kris and the Soul (yes, it was unfair of her to be using that title but… well, she would start using their real name once the air of mystery and power dissolved completely) were able to speak finally! By all means, it was a major step in her own schemes, as it now freed up them both to influence one another.
‘Yeesh, could you stop with that calculating look?’ Maddie added with a faux shiver, before finally throwing the board game into a corner and covering it up with the bean bag chair, earning an appreciative sensation sent her way through their body. ‘Ugh, stop trying to disarm me like that, I still feel like it is just a waste of time.’
‘Ah, but the dearest spirit of mine!’ The catgirl’s body announced with her best old Victorian accent impression. ‘This is just elementary, mew!’
At the feeling of a raised eyebrow, Mew Mew quickly dropped it, sighing. ‘Basically, Soul is clearly much more receptive to setting up Kris with someone, ergo, me. Meanwhile Kris is going to be spiteful and drag Soul into it. The lack of communication was a potential wrench in the whole idea but now that we got past that, we are back onto schedule!’
‘Uhuh.’ Maddie replied, while taking off the heels off their body. ‘But you didn’t explain why you didn’t pull out the futon for them. I don’t imagine you are trying to…’ at this, the spirit blushed heavily, before coughing awkwardly. ‘A-at least I haven’t taken you for this type of girl, hopefully.’
A surprised laughter definitively did NOT escape Mew Mew, but it was a very near thing. ‘H-hey! You know that I’m not some easy girl!’ Here, Mew Mew grabbed the hem of her skirt and trying to take it off…before remembering that it was literally grafted to her. ‘Ah, right… Anyway, and Kris also knows that!’
Suddenly her face twisted into a visage of pure, sadistic enjoyment. ‘But their friends don’t know that.’
‘…I’m not sure I am following.’
‘Right, just take off some of Kris’s armour pieces, I will go grab some lipstick.’
“Okay...” Susie scratched the back of her neck, her tail swishing irritably behind her. “If I was one of these cartoon characters, where the hell would I drag Kris?”
“Erm...” Ralsei hesitated, carefully choosing his words. “Susie, I think maybe we should just—”
“Ralsei, dude, y’know I love you in a bro way.” She let out a long, frustrated sigh before dragging one hand down her muzzle. “But if you're about to say we should leave them alone and not apologise I will punt you.”
The words were delivered with enough exhausted sincerity that Ralsei actually blinked in surprise.
“…Fucking…” She kicked a loose pebble hard enough for it to disappear somewhere into the endless darkness of the local grass looking stuff. “…Sorry dude. I just feel like piece of crap.”
“…It’s okay Susie.” Ralsei replied after a while, a shy smile gracing their face. Though the uncertainty lingering behind it was impossible to miss. “I know you haven’t meant for any of this to happen.”
Susie silently nodded, shoving both hands into her pockets, her eyes for the first time in a long time covering her eyes.
“Besides…” Ralsei continued, looking down at the floor as they walked. “…I'm not sure whether apologising right now is actually the best idea.”
Susie snorted, looking back at the goat Darkner. “What, you think Kris is on another date or something?”
“N-No!” Ralsei answered perhaps a little too quickly, as unnoticeable bead of sweat quietly rolled down the side of his face. “Just… after what they said, do you think they would want to see us?”
Susie once more turned quiet. Almost long enough that Ralsei briefly worried whether he'd actually upset her. But thankfully, she shrugged, a weirdly grim determination visible in her new posture.
“I guess, dude, but I want to hear that from Kris’s mouth. If they decide to cuss us out again, I will take it.”
A humourless chuckle escaped her as she rubbed the back of her neck. “…Honestly? I kinda deserve it, but I'm not just gonna just leave ‘em alone because I feel guilty.”
Ralsei opened his mouth. Even he wasn’t sure what to say, but certainly anything was better than silence–
“…Huh?”
Suddenly both heroes of the Prophecy stopped dead in the tracks, staring in complete confusion. Because there was a door, standing quietly in the middle of their path. A door, which neither of them remembered seeing here before.
And it would’ve been impossible to miss it, considering how it blocked the entire path.
It vaguely reminded Susie of the other monochrome doors Kris shown to them back during the Cyber World, thought these ones, as opposed to the creep fest, looked almost playful. While most of its surface was the same soft black and white, there a dozen of tiny cat doodles decorated it in bright pink and shimmering gold paint.
Some wore little bows. Others held hearts. One appeared to be dramatically posing with what looked suspiciously like a magical girl wand.
“…We can agree that wasn't here before, right dude?”
“Most certainly, yes.” Ralsei looked equally confused. Then two quickly exchanged a glance. “Think Kris's in there?”
Susie gave a short laugh, hoping it managed to hide her own exasperation at the another potential puppet Darkner thingy event. If this turns out to be another giant teacup ride from hell…
“…There's only one way to find out.”
The dragoness reached for the handle and slowly pushed the door open. The hinges made no sound, as they never existed in the first place.
And they found nothing but darkness. A complete and utter darkness.
Right, Susie was aware that she was going to apologise to Kris, and try to discover why they were so angry all of the sudden, but it will have to come after she punched them until all the stupid left through their ass.
“…Ooookay…”
Susie cautiously stepped inside first, hoping that her sight will get used enough to the lack of light, but the room was impossible to make out beyond vague silhouettes. She then reached one hand out, dragging it carefully along the wall. “Ralsei, check if there’s some convenient light switch about, okay?”
“Sure, it's worth trying…” Ralsei answered a bit hesitantly, as he entered after her, his own hands feeling about, along the opposite wall. “Though I am a little worried we might accidentally interrupt, or worse wake up something–”
Click.
Ralsei never got the chance to finish as Susie's fingers suddenly brushed against something.
Light flooded the room all at once, and the darkness vanished almost instantly forcing both Heroes of Prophecy to instinctively shielded their eyes.
Blinking spots out of her vision, Susie took a quick assessing look around herself, before something caught her eyes. “…”
Ralsei's ears immediately stood straight up, as their mouth opened wide, as if it lost any connections.
Susie simply stared, he own maw agape. Because originally, she expected something… different. Maybe another puzzle. Or some sort of another basement and to see Kris about to get chewed up by a pack of feral shadow cats.
Instead they were in a bedroom. An aggressively pink bedroom. Soft pastel walls with golden star wallpaper patterns, white windows staring off into…space? There were shelves overflowing with books.
But it all paled in comparison to the mess. All over the floor were piece skirts and ribbons and those oversized cat bells, as well as few pieces of very familiar armour. And in the single person bed, covered in heart-shaped pillows?
There was Kris and Pink sleeping soundly under the covers, cuddling.
…
Susie and Ralsei barely looked at one another, a silent question of “Are you seeing this?” passed between them, they unintentionally confirmed that yes, they were seeing it… and then promptly the duo dashed out of the bedroom, running faster than as if Roaring Knight was chasing them.
And as soon as Susie slammed the doors on the way out (once again, no noise), she pressed herself against the nearest gate thingy, trying to fight off the blush that waged war on her face, threatening her with passing out.
Ralsei certainly wasn’t doing any better, considering how despite the hat still on their head, he was positively glowing like a reindeer’s nose.
“We are NOT talking about that.”
Ralsei only silently nodded, his eyeballs threatening to pop out from their sockets. Looking up, the goat Darkner realised that the mysterious door disappeared like a bad dream, and the prince took it as a sign to skedaddle from there, grabbing Susie with his scarf on the way.
…During their original escape, both of them missed how catgirl’s shoulder were shaking with the effort to keep herself from exploding into a loud laughter.