Chapter Text
“Wuh-aaAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Kris, having already had experiences with this familiar long fall, knew how to land gracefully. They focused on the ground, expertly moving through the air and rolling to put force on the ground when they landed.
Noelle... was not experienced, nor informed. She could count the amount of times she's done this on a hand. Hell, she doesn't even know there WAS a way to land that isn't faceplanting into the cold red carpet below.
Mid-fall, their outfits changed. From an iconic yellow & green sweater with brown pants, to a knight's armor with removed parts for mobility. And checkered vest and a collared shirt beneath twisting it's shape into a robe of white when light cannot perceive it and only the mind can imagine.
The human rolled to slow their fall in the air, focusing on not breaking their legs. A loud thud indicating a successful attempt of not shattering their bones.
Noelle's landing, to say the least, wasn't as great, one could say she didn't even land at all, just crashed into the carpet.
Splat.
‘Don't remind me,’ she sighed. Miraculously, she didn't even get a single scratch or damage.
“How was the fall?” Kris didn't waste a second to tease and make fun of Noelle's poor touchdown. The doe in question's face emerged from the ground, contorting into a sarcastic smile. “Great, thanks for asking...”
Noelle patted her cloak to rid herself of any dirt or grime she gained on her very “graceful” descent. The smell of old books and furniture prominent in the dark place the dark world resided in.
“Kris? Is it just me or... does this place kind of feel scary?” They didn't reply to her question, instead opting to move forward. Bluish tinted light rays came from church stained glass windows in the distance? No, they were just hovering very closely to the path.
Noelle, realizing that her friend wasn't going to say anything, followed suit. The sound of hooves and metal plated shoes, or sabatons on hard stone.
“...You know the existence of dark worlds, but not how to even land?” They asked, curiously.
Walking through an area dimly lit, only aqua-coloured lanterns shined on the path. “No, I've only really gone to Queen's dark world... then that's it, I guess...”
Kris took a mental note of that information, something that explains this Noelle's past. She appeared out of nowhere, her existence threatens what plans they have, and is, for some reason, very cooperative.
This train of thought was interrupted when the two came across a piano, with torches somehow brighter than the lanterns beside.
A certain familiar purple coloured beast scratched her head while looking at the piano's keys.
“What the hell am I supposed to do?” She looked confused, and understandably so. Why was there a piano here? Some of thesr questions may never be answered... If Kris doesn't try to help.
For some reason, Noelle giggled. To an outsider's perspective, she was simply laughing at how silly Susie looked trying to understand how to proceed. But of course it was not as shallow as that.
Though, her lizard friend, hearing a sound nearby, quickly faced where it came from. Her eyes came across Kris, “Hey, dude! How do we solve-” Susie stopped talking mid-sentence, and noticed antlers behind the familiar, yet blue face.
=-=-=
My POV:
“Noelle!? Weren't you like, grounded??” The doe in question moved out of the cage's shadow, waving to Susie.
“Oh, uhm... I-uh, I snuck out!” She made up an excuse on the spot, worry present in both her voice and expression.
A bead of sweat ran down Noelle's face, but it was proven to be a worry in vain when her friend ate up the lie with no hesitation. “Damn, you've got guts!” The reindeer in the room laughed it off, “Faha! It was nothing!”
An awkward silence spread throughout the room.
Nudge Kris.
‘Why should I do that?’ Noelle tried to question the instruction, but failed. It seems like she will get answers only after she follows the command.
Just do it.
They looked like they were staring off at the distance, waiting for something to happen. Noelle poked them, but it looked like they didn't notice it or her touch was ignored.
“Kris?” She whispered, loud enough that they would hear, but Susie wouldn't.
The human remained still, unmoving, like a statue.
She nudged them again, harder, and more like a push than a simple prod. It was even noticeably visible from Susie's point of view.
Kris almost stumbled, tipping over and saving themselves from the floor's embrace with visible panic in their movements. They realized the situation and actually engaged in conversation with Susie.
“A... Piano..?” Susie nodded to Kris's question, slowly. Staring at the entire situation as if it was irregular.
Kris was getting used to getting controlled over the past few days, they waited for which option the Soul picked for them.
‘That's... actually kinda sad.’ Noelle pitied them internally.
=-=-=
Kris’s POV:
“Well, I found some glowing blue... things, that made arrows show up on top of the piano, dunno how to do this puzzle actually.”
“Huh? Let me try,” they said, walking to the piano, which for some reason didn't even have a stool. Kris eyes wandered off to the path, observing metal rods in the way to the next part of the route.
They unconsciously dusted off the piano, noticing the lack of some keys in the structure and took a breath before they tested the pitches of the very familiar but seemingly altered instrument.
plink!
...Why is there only 4 actual pitches? They questioned this modification, but maybe it was related to the arrows Susie sighted. Sighing, they asked the question.
“What were the arrows?”
“If I can remember correctly... Left, Down... uhh, left again.” The human followed, simply pressing the keys which they felt best suited the directions.
Susie continued, “Next set is uhh.... Down, left, then right.”
Sounds of a shimmer came from the passage. When Kris turned their head to look, the gate blocking them was somehow gone.
(...More dark world shenanigans, huh?) they thought, and in some way, they were absolutely correct.
“Nice! Alright then, Kris, lead the way!” Susie triumphantly said, her smile wider and brighter than the entire set of the piano keys.
A timid, yet noticeably more confident voice rose up to ask a question right before they moved forward. “Umm, can I be at the middle..? I'm not really that experienced in this entire... fantasy... thing.” Noelle suggested.
That decision was reasonable, understandable, but Kris was extremely suspicious.
(She said that like it wasn't her original idea, does that mean...)
Their eyes widened, but they hastily covered their face in shock.
(No, it couldn't be. That's impossible.)
Kris sneaked a glance at Noelle, who was talking to Susie, something about how this was just another dream of hers.
The doe, unblinded by such lies, her expression twisted, her eyes lacking emotion. Such contrast to her body language when talking to the lizard who coincidentally looked away.
It lasted for a second. That face, those eyes, those that stared through their Soul—or lack thereof in the circumstance.
(I can only hope whatever she is, isn't hostile. Or hope that she doesn't know about the plan-)
=-=-=
My POV:
‘Huh? I lost it.’ She silently thought.
Lost what?
‘I couldn't read their mind when they were talking about the plan or something.’
...You can also read-
“Hey! Noelle! What are you waiting for?” Those seven words broke her out of her imagination, her eyes darting to see that her friends are already on their way to the next room.
‘Room? Why... did I say room?’ She quickly followed, choosing to move the topic to discuss another time.
Her hooves on stone were the only sounds reaching her ears, the eerie silence through the entire atrium sent shivers down her spine. But now, she wasn't so spineless to simply shudder in fear.
She was stronger now.
“Guys... Guys, hey wait! Look!” Catching the attention of both the cage—devoid of any contents, and the girl that defied the prophecy.
The two both turned to where she was facing, only to find a glowing pillar of light in the distance. “Well, that was easy,” turning to Kris, “Heh, too bad, was looking forward to another adventure...” Susie scratched the back of her neck.
“Sorry, Noelle, this dream's gotta be cut short now.” She said, a solemn look in her eyes. “But it's probably for the best--”
A shriek piercing the otherwise calm atmosphere.
Terror filled her head, eyes seeing red. Panic was visible throughout the group, atleast, on Susie. The face on the lizard clearly displayed hurry, and even fear.
Kris’s face in this view is obscured, I cannot make out any expression.
She covered her ears in a desperate attempt to remove the deafening, earsplitting wail from her head.
Even if she covered her ears, she heard sound of cracking, thumping, and thrashing in contrast. Clacking reverberating in the expanse of her mind, filling every nook and crevice with a loud thud.
It was as if tinnitus roared inside her skull. The smell of air felt laced, like it had an edge of iron, overwhelming her sense of odor and aroma.
Then, it all-
-stopped.
“What the...” Susie said. It felt like a breath Noelle had been holding for hours has finally been released. A feeling of being pushed back no longer present. With no distractions, she immediately looked for the cause of the roar.
She eased her sight, narrowing her eyes.
In the distance, she saw...
The Roaring Knight.
A visor as dark as night, armor with effects of illusion, confusion, and nausea inducing influence. Noelle could feel something rise in her throat.
In the sight of this being, her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. Her fight or flight response activated—choosing to escape this formidable foe.
‘Fah... Hah... That's... reasonable.’ She thought, describing her instincts.
‘But... We're not exactly reasonable here, are we? I know for sure that I am definitely illogical...’ It was as if the Soul gave her the strength to stand, to not cower in the face of inevitability.
Then, a voice spoke out, “Y... You!” Susie yelled, fury present in her abrasive tone. Her hand pointing to the Knight in disdain and wrath.
A blade, one that seemed to be darker than dark itself, appeared. And just as easily as Susie stood up, she got sent back flying. Hitting the wall with such force that it would knock out anyone else.
“H-- SUSIE!” Noelle hollered, shaking in trepidation.
‘DAMN IT! That's not good, I'm damn sure she's the strongest one in the party, if Susie got taken down that easily... then I don't even think we can make this place out alive!’ Noelle muttered expletives under her breath.
Her tension was slightly eased when she heard her friend call out. “Damnit... D-don't worry about me! Just go! You two! This is our chance to get them! Go!!”
Left.
Her body moved on it's own, making a desperate leap to the other side of the path. Mouth left agape.
Forward, jump into Kris’s arms.
Noelle barely registered the commands, but the doe's biology reacted without the mind's permission.
Before she knew it, she was in her friend's arms, positioned and cradled like a princess. ‘Wuh-WHAAA??’
The stupidity of the situation almost distracted her from the looming blades. Kris’s body seemed to be just like her own—moving with instincts instead of their mind's judgement. Hold on, why was she focused on Kris--
A whish passed by, seemingly one of the swords passing by.
Noelle looked to see that they just narrowly avoided getting hit head on, yet more of them are coming, and the pace is only getting quicker.
‘Fuuu--’ The deer in the room thought, quickly erecting an ice wall—not to shield them but to stop an incoming blade from moving entirely by freezing its surroundings.
Yet that move proved to be useless since it acted like the ice wall didn't even exist, breaking the structure like it was as brittle as glass getting hit with a hammer full-force.
Three blades at once appeared on the side of the bridge they were on. Instinctually, Noelle hurried to dodge.
She formed a large and wide wall of frost, trying to stop the Roaring Knight from seeing their movements. But it proved to be in vain, as the swords mercilessly destroyed her entire structure.
Yet some of the distance was closed, and there was only one thing she could do that would help the position of the heroes.
“ICESHOCK!” She yelled out, a voice that pierced the Angel's heaven. Noelle directed the attack to the perpetrator of all this dangerous nonsense.
628 DMG!
The Knight's form flickered, reeling from the spell. Its nonexistent eyes moved to her one of her hands.
‘What the hell is it looking at?’ Her eyes shifted to the hand it seemed to be watching closely.
The Ring of Thorns.
Ah, It made a lot more sense now. Nevertheless, she needed to keep damaging the Knight before it could--
I can't move.
Back to reality, Noelle realized Kris’s body was still, unmoving and almost like it was frozen. She could feel them trembling, ‘Why though?’
Watch--
Then, Noelle felt an acute pain in her body. The two of them were pushed back, her form, a sword only grazing and chipping of one of her antlers caused such an extreme reaction.
--out.
The two of them were bombarded with blades, treating Noelle like a pin cushion. Her insides felt like they were being stabbed, she could feel internal bleeding.
Each and every contact with a projectile felt like she was being stabbed with a knife and twisted—only being pulled out when the damage was done.
Another shriek filled her head. Noelle saw red once more, but another sensation caught her mind.
She was falling.
They were falling.
Kris’s body whirled in the air, her mind raced back to earlier, when Kris made such controlled and precise movements to fall without injuring themselves. But this was different.
They looked like they were only being moved by the wind, their movements—regulated and directed, seemed like they didn't exist anymore.
Then her body moved, not with the mind's permission, and definitely not with instructions.
She wrapped her arms around them, her body unintentionally moving under.
Then she felt it.
Glass.
The two bodies crashed into the glowing wall of glass, Noelle taking the brunt of the hit. Shards lodged in the exposed parts of her dark world form. But fortunately, Kris only got minor cuts on their body, only scratches then and there.
The doe could feel her consciousness slipping away, slowly, surely, and inevitably.
The both of them hit the ground full force, the deer once again took the burden of impact on herself. Her ears ringed, yet faintly, just barely... she could hear a voice.
“H-HEY! RALSEI! HELP US! Noelle's really injured and-- RALSEI PLEASE!” Through half-lidded eyes, she watched as a figure, resembling Asriel yet with differences clear as day to differentiate the two.
‘H-huh... So that guy's named Ralsei... I'll- I'll keep that in mind...’ Noelle coughed up blood, spilling it on the ground below.
“O-Oh dear...” The doe pushed her body to atleast look at the prince with white fur's expression before she passed out.
Ralsei’s expression looked aghast, fearful, and shaken. It was almost as if... just as if...
“T-this... this was not supposed to happen...”
That was the last thing Noelle heard before the sweet embrace of the world of dreams took her somewhere else.