Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

At first, there was nothing. There was nothing but a dark inky blackness that stretched into infinity. Darkness that went on and on as far as the eye could see.

However, energy then suddenly sprung from the darkness. An energy that was bright and turbulent. A blazing fiery red that swirled and crashed into itself. It was without shape or form, but soon began to take shape.

Kris’ eyes then opened. They were surrounded by the energy. As if they were in the eye of a raging storm. They appeared to also be floating with their feet not touching any sort of ground. “What?” they asked themselves. “Where am I?”

They began to look around and observe their surroundings. They saw the scarlet energy around as they looked left to right. When they looked up and down, they saw the dark infinity.

However, from the darkness beneath them, something began to emerge from it. They stared down and tried to identify what it was. It appeared to be a hand that was reaching up through the darkness. The hand was odd for the fact that it was just as dark as the void that it was springing from.

“What’s that?” Kris asked themselves, confused.

Kris then began to hear something. It sounded like a muffled voice of sorts. They couldn’t discern any words it was saying, but they heard the tone of it. It was one of distress as if it was crying out for help. The muffled voice was coming from down beneath them. The same place where the hand was coming from. The voice seemed to belong to whatever was reaching out of the blackness.

Kris quickly reached their hand down to try to grab the hand. “Hang on, I’m going to help you out of there,” they told them.

They stretched their right arm out as far as they could. With one quick motion, Kris tightly grabbed the hand and pulled with all their might. They kept pulling and pulling, trying to set free whatever was under the blackness.

“Almost got it…” they said as their arm strained.

In the blink of an eye, Kris pulled whatever it was free, lurching backward from the recoil. However, as soon as they did, a bright golden light appeared in front of them. It burned away the darkness and red aura that once surrounded them. It got brighter and brighter with the light seemingly as bright as the sun.

The light shined so bright, it forced Kris to shut their eyes. They felt a warmth around them as they kept their eyes shut. It got warmer and warmer.

All of a sudden, everything stopped. The light disappeared as did the warmth. Kris’ weightlessness also ceased. They felt themselves begin to fall and fall until they opened their eyes.

Kris awakened with a start, sitting up in bed. At first, they didn't move, still in shock. All they did was quickly breathe in and out.

“What on earth was that?” they thought to themselves. “I’ve never had a dream like that.”

They then brought a hand to their forehead. “What did any of that even mean?” they wondered aloud. “Wait a minute...I don’t remember putting myself to bed last night-”

Without warning, Kris was hit with a barrage of memories. Memories of castles, magic, friendship with the bully of their school, a monster that barred resemblance to their brother, gaining and losing control, and seeing nothing but red. Everything hit them all at once.

Kris felt overwhelmed by all of this. They thought none of that could possibly be real. They must be part of some sort of dream. However, even with all of the grand fantasy adventures, they remembered not being in control of themselves at all. They remembered that they were like a puppet on a string being pulled by something beyond their understanding.

They stared down at themselves with fear. The fear of once again stepping out of bed and losing control of themselves. To have all of their decisions decided for them by some unknown force. To not have any control of their own body.

“Will it happen again?” they thought to themselves, terrified. “Will all my control be snapped away from me as soon as I leave this bed? Will I be nothing but a mindless doll to be controlled as whatever controlled me sees fit?”

Kris had never felt more fear in their entire life from the thought of simply getting out of bed. The fear of getting up and being trapped in the same waking nightmare as they were yesterday froze them. They sat there, staring down at the ground as if it was on fire.

“There’s only one way to really find out,” they said to themselves, filled with dread. Kris then slowly moved closer to the edge of the bed. They moved their legs down with them shaking from the fear. They placed their feet on the ground and stood themselves up.

As they stood there, they waited to see if they’d be taken control of. They stood by wondering how long it would take. How long until all of their actions become meaningless.

To their surprise, that moment seemingly didn’t come. Their body remained in their control. Kris looked down at themselves, astonished. “I’m still in control,” they said to themselves. “I am still me.”

A mountain of thoughts populated their mind as they wondered what this meant. They speculated on if they were back in control forever or if this was just a temporary moment of reprieve. They also wondered why that force had gone away in the first place. “Where could it be now that it’s not controlling me?” they wondered to themselves. “Why did they just leave? Did something stop them? Some other unknown power?”

More and more questions kept piling up. Before Kris could even conceive of any answers to them, they heard a knock at the bedroom door. They turned their head to see who it was. “Kris, are you awake?” they heard a comforting, older-sounding voice ask. Kris then watched as the door slowly opened. “I know it is a bit early, but I wonder if you’re awake so we could get an early start, unlike yesterday-”

The owner of the voice stopped when they saw Kris standing next to their bed. The owner, of course, being Toriel Dreemurr. “Oh my it looks like you are awake and even out of bed early for once,” she said, surprised.

“Oh, um... hi, Mom,” Kris awkwardly greeted their mother.

“Good morning Kris. So nice to see you up and about,” she replied warmly. “I hope you had a good rest last night considering how early it was.”

“I think I had an okay sleep,” they told her, trying not to think about their odd dream.

“Well, that’s good,” she said with a warm smile. “I’ll be heading downstairs now to make you some breakfast if that is alright with you.”

“Yeah, that sounds fine, Mom,” Kris agreed.

Toriel then nodded and headed out of the room.

Kris looked down at themselves again. They bunched their hands up into fists. They didn’t know what had happened to whatever had been controlling them, but they knew they couldn’t focus on that right now. They needed to get downstairs.

They walked to the door and were about to grab onto it, but before they did they turned around before they did. They looked back and saw the red wagon with the birdcage in it. Kris stared at it and for a second they felt a twinge of pain in their chest. As if their body was remembering something their mind didn’t.

Kris walked out of the room and into the hall. They walked past the bookshelf and cactus next to their bedroom. They thought about how nice it was that they could just walk down the hallway without being forced to check every single thing. Whatever had controlled them yesterday seemed to have a habitat of looking over every single object it could find. Even when they were supposed to be quickly heading out the door to school, they were still directed to check everything.

They walked down the steps and started to hear the sounds of Toriel cooking breakfast. They heard the sounds of eggs being fried and her mother humming a happy tune. Kris recognized it as one of her favorite hymns from church.

Kris reached the bottom of the stairs and sat at the table. They continued to watch as their mother continued to happily cook. They wondered how their mother could be so happy just by making breakfast for their child, but they soon understood.

Toriel was in such a good mood because making breakfast like this reminded her of when Asriel was still around. When he woke up bright and early and got Kris out of bed too. The two of them would then go downstairs and wait for their breakfast to be made.

Kris couldn’t help but also smile as they thought of that. Thinking about their brother always seemed to do that. However, that smile quickly faded as they looked over to where he would usually sit. The spot was empty. It reminded them once again of the fact they had been grappling with ever since he had left. Without Asriel, Kris felt like a nobody.

Suddenly a plate of scrambled eggs and buttered toast was put in front of them, along with a glass of orange juice and some silverware. “Eat them up quick Kris,” Toriel told them. “Even if you woke up early we still do not have much time until we have to leave.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll get to it,” they told her. Kris picked up the fork in front of them and began to eat from their plate. The eggs were delicious. No matter what life threw at them, Kris knew their mother was an amazing cook. They could make anything taste good besides maybe her snail pie, which in all of the years they had lived with the Dreemurrs they still hadn’t tried.

Toriel then sat down in one of the seats next to Kris. She had her own plate and started to eat off it. The two sat in relative silence with the sounds of them eating together being the only ones in the room.

“Kris?” Toriel then asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes, Mom?” Kris replied.

“It is just that there is something I want to ask you,” she explained. “It is about yesterday and how you said you were with a friend when I asked you why you had stayed at school late. Who are they?”

Kris stayed silent for a moment. They realized she was talking about Susie. The purple lizard monster that had been the school bully, who had threatened them just yesterday morning, who was also now one of their friends. A friend because of what they had gone through together.

At least that’s how everyone else saw it. Kris was just along for the ride when it came to becoming friends with her. Could they really be called friends? Most of what they had done yesterday that made them become closer was done by whoever was controlling Kris, not them.

Kris, however, didn’t really have time to think much about this. Their mother needed an answer. “It was Susie. They’re the one I was talking about,” they answered.

“Oh, Susie? I must say I was not expecting that considering your past interactions with her.” Toriel said, surprised. “Did you have a good time with her?”

“I mean, I guess. She’s honestly not that bad once you get to know her,” they explained.

“Is that so? How interesting,” she told them. “Well, in any case, I’m glad that you are making any friends. I hope you two have a positive effect on one another going forward.”

“I do too,” Kris agreed.

Toriel smiled and went back to eating her eggs.

Meanwhile, Kris sat there and began to think about how much had truly changed in just one day. Before yesterday, they were just bobbing around in the ocean of life, going from day to day with nothing really changing. However, yesterday had destroyed all of that. Their entire life had been turned upside down.

They had discovered the mystical Dark World in their school. It was a place that was filled with wonders that they couldn’t have dreamed up if they tried. It was where they had fought against foes that bent reality itself, it was where they had defeated an evil tyrant of a king, saw creatures in so many different shapes and sizes, and where they had made friends. Friends who stood with them even when everything seemed hopeless. Susie, Lancer, and Ralsei. All of them were now their friends.

Now that this had happened, their life was not even the closest bit boring. It was very odd for Kris. All of this had just been thrust upon them without their consent. In some regards, it even seemed unfair in a way. They never asked to be this hero, nor had they ever asked to be someone responsible to keep the balance between the Light and Dark worlds in check. It was all because of whatever had controlled them before.

There were now so many things that they now had to answer for and so many questions too. Why was a portal to the Dark World in their school? What even was the Dark World? And speaking of the Dark World, what about Ralsei? Why did he look so much like their brother? Where exactly did he come from?

Kris knew that the only answers to any of these questions were going to be in the Dark World. They would have to make their way back to it.

“Kris, it is time to get going,” Toriel told them.

They looked up and saw that she had the car keys in her hand. “Okay,” they replied.

Kris got up from their seat. They walked over to the sink and put their dishes away. They then ran upstairs quickly and put on their shoes which were next to their bed. Once they were on, they headed back downstairs and out the door.

Toriel had already gotten into the car while they were still upstairs.

Kris got in the front seat and put on their seat belt. It was nice to get into the car and not have to rush all the way there. “I really do need to keep a better sleep schedule.” they thought to themselves. “Pretty sure the Light and Dark World couldn’t survive a warrior of light that slept in late.”

The car then revved up and began to roll forward.

Kris watched as Toriel drove past the familiar landmarks of Hometown. It was a cool, crisp fall day with the morning sun shining brilliant yellow rays onto the town. Kris saw orange leaves that had fallen from the trees rustle as the car sped past.

The car soon drove up to the school. Kris and Toriel got out and began to walk toward the school.

Kris knew that it was time to face whatever had controlled them yesterday. It was not going to be easy. In fact, it was probably going to be very hard, but at the very least, whatever happened would be their decision. They were the one in control now.

Chapter Text

Kris headed to Alphys’ classroom. Unlike yesterday, they didn’t have to quickly run to their class because of how late they were. They could just casually walk up to the classroom like any other student.

They walked up to the classroom door and saw their classmates talking with one another. The class didn’t start for another ten minutes, so time was spent mingling with the other students. Kris never really partook in such activities. On the days they did come in this early, they would usually just sit at their desk and wait for class to start.

Unlike those days, Kris was looking for someone. The one person in class that shared in their journey to the Dark World. They scanned the room as they stood in the door’s frame.

“Where is she?” Kris quietly wondered to themselves.

“Good morning, Kris,” a voice from behind them suddenly greeted.

Kris turned around and saw that it was a deer monster in a green and red holiday sweater. An old friend of theirs. “Morning, Noelle,” they casually replied.

“How are you doing today?” she asked them.

“Alright, I guess,” they told her.

“That’s good,” she said with a warm smile. “But I couldn’t help but overhear that you were looking for someone?”

“Oh, well, I am looking for Susie. I need to talk to her about something,” they explained.

“You need to talk to Susie? Is it about something that happened yesterday?” Noelle asked.

“Yeah, kind of,” they answered.

“Well, I’m sure she’ll turn up. Maybe not on time, but she’ll be here. She always comes here no matter how much she says she doesn’t like school.” she explained.

“She always does that, doesn’t she?” Kris asked themselves. “I wonder why?”

“Who knows? But hey, Kris, about yesterday. I was wondering what you two were doing?” she asked them.

Kris didn’t know what to say. They obviously couldn’t tell her the truth. She wouldn’t believe them and would think they were crazy. However, they knew they had to say something. They then realized that sometimes the easiest explanation might be the right one.

“Not much; just hanging out. There’s not really much to say about it,” they told her.

“Oh, really?” she said, surprised. “I thought it must’ve been something important. It took up the whole day and caused both of you to miss all of class.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. We just talked about stuff and after a while, we connected. I guess,” they explained.

“Well, I suppose that’s alright. I just thought there would be more,” Noelle said with a sigh.

“Sorry, it’s just what happened,” Kris apologized.

“Yeah, honestly don’t know why I thought it would be anything else,” Noelle told them. “Anyway, let's just go inside. Like I said, Susie will get here...eventually.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” they said.

The two of them walked into class. Kris made their way to their desk in the back of the class. They could hear the multitude of conversations between their classmates going on around them. The one happening right next to them was between Jockington and MK. They seemed to be in an argument about something.

“I am telling you Superbman would beat Sun Wukong’s butt!” he exclaimed.

“Dude, you are totally wrong! Superbman would be nothing compared to Sun Wukong!” they countered.

Kris realized that this conversation wasn’t really worth listening to. It seemed to be an argument that was going nowhere anytime soon.

Kris’s focus shifted to the front of the room. They looked at the door and watched to see when Susie would come through it. They then looked up at the clock next to it. The same one that they had stared at many times before. Watching the seconds tick down until they were free.

“She’s only got a minute left until class starts,” they thought to themselves. “Susie, where are you?”

“So, you’re staring off into space already, huh?” a snide voice suddenly asked.

Kris turned their head back down and saw a bluebird monster with glasses. “Hey Berdly,” they greeted with a hint of contempt.

“Good Morning, Kris. Nice to see you here on time for once,” Berdly replied with a smug smile. “I’m honestly surprised. I didn’t think you had it in you given your track record. And especially after yesterday where you were late and then skipped out the rest of the day. It’s amazing really. I mean, I know you weren’t the best at paying attention in class but at least you were in class. But then you just went galavanting off with Susie of all people. What did you two even do all day?”

“I don’t have to tell you,” Kris answered shyly, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “It’s none of your business.”

“Come on. You don’t have to keep it a secret. I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” he said, pressing the issue. “Unless…?”

“Yo, Berdly. Kris clearly doesn’t want to talk about what happened yesterday with you,” MK interjected. “Leave them alone.”

“Oh, don’t lie, MK. You’re a little curious too, aren’t you?” he asked him. “Don’t you want to know what happened to those two yesterday? What caused them to spend the whole day away from class? It must’ve been something interesting.”

“I mean, I am curious but if Kris doesn’t want to talk about it then we shouldn’t annoy them,” MK answered.

“Yeah bro, it’s totally uncool,” Jockington said, adding himself in.

“You guys are such spoilsports,” Berdly told them with a huff. “I mean what could it be? Maybe Kris isn’t telling because they got closer to Susie than they want to admit. Maybe they got very close? As in close enough to swap spit with each other.”

Kris didn’t like what Berdly was implying. Susie and they had just spent one day together, yet here he was making up wild theories about what they did. Berdly really could be the worst sometimes.

Before Berdly could continue his heckling, a hand with purple scales suddenly slipped onto their shoulder. He instantly froze up as he felt the hand.

“Hey, Berdly,” a cold voice greeted.

He was scared to look up but he couldn’t help himself. He stared up and saw terrifyingly sharp teeth. Along with that, there was a look of pure terror upon Berdly as he saw the face of the owner of the teeth. The face was one with one singular yellow eye staring him down.

“You’re a ‘good' kid, right? Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to talk about someone who’s listening?” they asked.

“S-S-Susie… ” Berdly stammered out, scared beyond belief. “I didn’t know you were listening.”

“Oh? You should really look out more, Berdly,” Susie explained. “Because if you don’t…”

Susie moved her head closer to his ear. He could feel her breath against his skull.

“You could end up being a fried little chicken,” she whispered maliciously into his ear. “Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes,” he replied, shakily.

“Good,” she replied. Susie backed off away from Berdly. “Now get the hell back to your seat. I don’t want you messing with Kris or me, alright?”

“Of course!” he exclaimed. “I won’t be any trouble!”

Berdly scurried off to his desk as fast as he could.

Susie then looked at Kris and smiled. “Heh, never thought I’d stand up to Berdly to save someone else’s skin,” she said with a chuckle. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kris told them. “Thanks for the help, Susie.”

“It was nothing, Kris,” she said casually. “I mean that’s what friends do right? Get each other out of jams with jerks? Honestly, it’s a learning curve for me. Anyway, how have you been? Has everything been going alright with you since yesterday?”

“Sort of…” Kris answered, slightly evasive. “I’ve been doing fine.”

Susie shot Kris a judgmental look. “Alright then,” she told them. “But speaking of yesterday...”

Susie leaned in against Kris’ desk to get closer. “So, when are we going to ditch this place and head back to the Dark World?” she whispered.

Kris wasn’t sure what to say. They wanted to go back to the Dark World to see if they could get some answers as to what had happened to them. However, there was a part of Kris wondering if the Dark World had something to do with this. If going back would somehow trigger them to lose control again. Was it really worth risking it?

“I’m not sure we should go right away,” Kris quietly explained. “I mean, it would look bad if we ditched class twice in a row.”

“Oh, come on. You're concerned about that?” Susie asked them. “Alphys is so shy that I bet we won’t even get in trouble for it. Hell, we could probably skip class this whole week and we’d not get anything.”

“Look, Susie. I just...I don’t know. It feels wrong,” they replied.

“What’s gotten into you, Kris? You’re really going to pass up going to an awesome place like the Dark World just so you can hear Alphys talk about some math equation?” she asked them.

“I’m sorry, it’s just...I swear I’ll explain what’s going on with me and all that. Just give me some time, alright?” they explained.

Susie looked at them with a frustrated look, but it quickly softened. “Okay,” she said with a disappointed sigh. “But it better be a damn good explanation. I’m missing messing around with Lancer for this.”

“I promise, it’ll all make sense,” Kris reassured her.

“Yeah, whatever,” Susie said, sitting down at her desk.

The school bell then rang. Kris’ fellow students quickly got into their seats. Meanwhile, Alphys was standing up at the front of the room looking at all of her students with a nervous smile.

Kris looked forward and saw the upset look on Susie’s face. They let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, Susie, but I can never let them gain control again. I can’t risk it,” they thought to themselves. “I don’t want to be controlled by somebody else.”

The class proceeded as normal for the first half of the day. Alphys talked a bit more about the project that they were supposed to be working on. From what Kris could discern, it was supposed to be a project that involved doing a deep analysis of classic literature. They not only had to do a paper on it but also write about the author’s life story, the time period they were in, and its influence on their story. Finally, at the end of all that, they were supposed to do a presentation.

The books for selecting were such titles as “Ego and Bias,” “Great Anticipations,” “The Red Letter.” They were all stories that were considered the best of the best , but were dull to read through now.

Kris wasn’t sure what book they were going to pick. They didn’t really read much of that type of book. Susie also wasn’t sure. She seemed to have an even smaller idea of what to choose.

Out of the books that hadn’t yet been taken, Kris chose the book titled “Oliver Spiral.” It was about a young, poor orphan boy in the U.K. on his many adventures as he tries to find a good life for himself. The story followed him as he had to face the challenges of being poor in a society that looks down on them.

It seemed like a sort of enticing read. Kris felt like they could relate considering they were an orphan themselves. Even if they hadn’t grown up in a workhouse or joined a gang of pickpockets.

They asked Susie if she thought it was an okay book to pick. She replied with a noncommittal “Sure.”

As they began to work, Kris could see how some of the other groups were working on their projects. Noelle was quietly reading and writing down notes while Berdly was looking up an autobiography about their author. Monster Kid seemed to be writing down some notes with the pencil in his mouth on what materials they’d need. Meanwhile, his partner Snowy read the book while making the occasional ice or cold pun about what he was reading. Jockington was adamantly staring at his book as if he was so focused on keeping his eyes on his book he wasn’t bothering to actually read it. His partner Catti, meanwhile, was browsing social media on her phone. It seemed that looking up information on the book had redirected her to several fan accounts that posted unsightly works based on the original story. Finally, Kris saw Temmie taking notes while their EG read the book.

All in all, the classroom was certainly filled with at least a few interesting sights. Even when they were all just reading a bunch of old books.

Along with at least starting some work on the project, Kris began to gather their thoughts. They knew that what they were going to have to explain to Susie was going to be a lot to take in. However, they also remembered that yesterday they had dealt with many insane things from a checker piece that sprouted legs to a monster doing a bad Shakespearean impression as he taunted them with block puzzles. They realized that explaining what had happened to them the previous day wouldn’t be as difficult as they first thought. But it would still be hard.

How were they supposed to explain something that they didn’t have a full grasp on? And even with all of the odd events that had happened yesterday, would she believe them? Would she believe that the entire time they were together they were nothing but a puppet on a string?

Kris didn’t really know the answer but knew they would have to figure something out.

The rest of the morning went by pretty quickly. Kris had spent the time beginning to research the background of the book. Even if they were one of the chosen heroes of light, they still had to keep up on their studies. They were by no means the best student but Kris knew they needed to pass even if it meant just scraping by.

Lunchtime soon came around. The students put away a lot of their class materials and took out their lunches. The room soon became filled with a bunch of different smells and aromas from the various meals the class had brought.

Toriel had made Kris a sandwich with turkey, lettuce, tomato, with mustard on wheat bread. Along with that, she had packed them a bag of chips and a bottle of apple juice. All in all, it was a pretty standard lunch, but Kris wasn’t complaining. To them, if it worked, it worked.

Kris, however, had a more pressing matter than lunch. They realized that it was probably the best time as any to explain everything to Susie.

“Hey,” they said while tapping her on the shoulder.

“What?” she asked.

“I want us to talk about something private. Want to go into the hallway?” they asked.

“Sure, that works,” she replied.

The two of them got up from their desks and walked toward the door.

“W-Where are you t-two going?” Alphys asked.

“Just in the hallway. We’ll be back before lunch is done,” Kris explained.

“A-Alright, but be q-quick. L-Lunch doesn’t last forever, y-you know?” she told them.

“Yeah, we know,” Susie replied.

They both then headed into the hallway. The two of them walked past a set of lockers and the bulletin board.

Kris slowly made them come to a stop. “Alright, I think we’ll talk here,” they told her.

“I guess this is as good a place as any,” Susie replied. She then leaned herself against one of the beige-colored walls.

Kris stood silent for a moment. They weren’t sure how to really begin the conversation. They had been so focused on explaining to Susie the problems that they hadn’t bothered to focus on a good opening to the conversation.

“Well…?” Susie asked, confused. “We don’t have all day Kris.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Kris answered. “So, you’re probably wondering why I called you here and also why I made us wait to go back to the Dark World.”

“Well, yeah, Kris,” Susie told them. “You’ve made me wait through a half-day of boring-ass class. Look, Kris, I know we’re friends because of what happened yesterday. And I trust you, but what’s going on?”

“You know, it’s interesting that you bring that up. What happened yesterday is why I wanted to talk to you,” Kris explained. “You see, I...I don’t know how to phrase this...I wasn’t myself yesterday.”

Susie looked at them, perplexed. “What do you mean?”

“Well to put it one way I...I wasn’t myself yesterday because I wasn’t in control of myself. Something else, I don’t know what, was controlling me,” they told her.

Susie gave Kris a look that could only be described as a look someone gives when questioning another’s sanity. “Wait… what?” she asked them.

“Look, I don’t really understand it either, but yesterday while we were in the Dark World and outside of it, I was being controlled by some unseen force. Every action they took, every decision I made, every word I spoke… it was all someone else doing it. My entire body was being forced to do that unseen force’s bidding,” they answered.

“So, wait, you're trying to tell me that everything you did yesterday was someone else’s doing?” Susie asked them, confused.

“I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. I mean, considering what happened yesterday it’s not the biggest leap in logic but still,” Kris explained.

“Hang on, let me get this straight. If everything you did yesterday was because of someone else, does that mean all that becoming friends stuff was just someone else?” she said.

“I…” Kris said unsure of themselves.

“Ha…that actually makes sense,” Susie said with a laugh. “You aren’t my friend, you were just being forced to be it. You don’t really care about me do you?”

“Susie, that's not what I’m saying at all,” they refuted.

Susie however was not convinced. She came closer to Kris and looked down at them. She was rather imposing over them.

“Oh, come on. Kris, you don’t have to pretend anymore,” Susie said with bitterness in her voice. “I mean, you aren’t being controlled anymore. No one is forcing you to be nice to me. Just tell me how you really feel. It’s probably nothing I haven’t heard before. Freak? Prick? Bastard?”

Kris felt a chill run down their spine as she saw Susie expose her teeth to them. It reminded them of what happened yesterday before they headed into the Dark World. How she slammed them against the lockers and threatened them.

“Susie, please. Understand that even though I wasn’t me yesterday doesn’t mean we’re not friends,” they tried to explain. “There were moments where I was somehow able to act like myself and I still protected you.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked viciously.

“When the King attacked you, I ran toward you and defended you. That was all me. That wasn’t whatever was in control,” they answered. “Please, you have to believe me.”

Susie was silent for a moment. She then slowly backed off. She let out a big sigh. “I’m sorry, I just…” she began to tell them. “I’ve never really had any good friends before you. I was just kind of scared you were telling me that everything you did yesterday was a lie. Including becoming friends with me.”

“It’s complicated,” Kris said. “I think you are a good person, but those times you bullied and threatened me aren’t just going to go away. I want to be your friend Susie. I just need a bit more time to adjust to all of this.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. I was a real asshole,” Susie explained. “Maybe we both just need time to adjust?”

“I think so,” Kris answered.

“Well, whatever I did to you in the past, I’m sorry. I was a jerk who didn’t really understand how to connect with people,” She apologized.

“Thanks, I’m glad to hear that,” they said with a small smile.

“Alright, now that we got that all sorted out, what’s going on with you anyway?” she asked.

“As I said, I don’t really know,” Kris explained. “All I know is that I was under something’s control yesterday. They made me do practically everything I did.”

“Man, that’s weird. And that’s coming from me, a person who helped you battle against a king with a mouth in his stomach,” she told them. “Maybe Ralsei would know something about this? He does seem to know a lot about magic, and that’s the only thing I could think of that could cause something like this.”

“I guess so. Maybe it was some sort of spell or something?” Kris wondered. “I should probably ask him when we go to the Dark World next.”

“Why don’t we ask him right now?” Susie said with a grin.

“Really, now?” Kris asked, confused.

“Yeah, why not?” she answered. “Let’s just leave now and meet up with him.”

“Are you sure we should? I mean we are in the middle class,” Kris told her.

“Oh, come on, Kris. Your problem is more important than class,” Susie countered. “Besides, we’ve been keeping him, Lancer, and everyone else we know in the Dark World waiting for so long now.”

“I guess you’re right,” Kris said with a sigh.

“Hell yeah!” she exclaimed. “Let’s get going.”

Susie began to walk down the hall with Kris following close behind. They headed up to the pair of metal doors that led into the supply closet.

Susie got up to them and grabbed the handles. She swung the doors open.

Kris looked into the darkness in the door frame. They found it odd looking at it again. Yesterday they were scared to enter from how ominous it looked. There was still fear, but it was an entirely different type.

Yesterday they were scared because of what might have been inside it. Now they were scared of what they knew was inside it. In that darkness, they knew it contained their hopes as well as their fears. The hope of being a part of something greater, something that mattered. But the fear of being controlled and the demons they had to encounter.

“Ready?” Susie asked them.

“Yeah,” Kris replied.

The two then walked into the darkness, closing the doors behind them.

Chapter Text

Kris and Susie once again fell into the Dark World. Instead of being surprised by it Kris and Susie were expecting it. It was however still a bit startling to fall into pitch blackness.

The two of them felt the rush of air pass by them as they fell. They could feel the wind rushing through their hair. Both of them falling deeper and deeper down.

Finally, it all came to a sudden stop as they collided with the ground with a loud thud. Kris felt pain through their entire body as they lay on the ground. They had landed on their front and had felt a substantial amount of pain in their chest.

They looked over and saw Susie in a similar state. “We really need to work on our landings,” she grunted. She then stood up.

Kris saw that she was dressed in her outfit from before. They were dressed in a black jacket with a touch of purple on its lining. Along with that, they had a dark blue undershirt and magenta pants. She also had spiked cuffs and black boots.

Kris was also back in the set of clothes they were in yesterday. They had their shining metal armor and a blue and purple scarf. Along with that, they had the black tights underneath them.

Susie brushed herself off. She then looked down and saw Kris still on the ground. “Need some help?” she asked as she outstretched her hand.

“Sure,” Kris replied. They then grabbed onto her hand.

Susie pulled them up and they stood next to one another. “Well, we better get moving. It’s going to be a bit of a walk to Ralsei’s place from here,” she told them.

“Let’s get going then,” Kris said as they began to walk forward.

“Hey don’t go without me! You may have been in front all day yesterday but that doesn’t mean you can just walk ahead!” she exclaimed.

The two of them began to make their way through the mysterious barren wasteland. Everything was eerily silent and still here. The only things here were the odd jagged grey rock formations with holes that sometimes leaked a black liquid along with strange drawings of eyes, piles of what appeared to be dust, and the odd white stick and ball structures that occasionally shot out pellets that they had to dodge. All of this made for a boring if slightly unnerving walk.

Eventually, they came to the cliff where they had to slide down a great distance. Kris and Susie took a second to stare downward, seeing the long path they would have to slide down. Even though they had done it before it was still intimidating.

However, they soon overcame their fears and began to slide down the cliff at a steady pace. They kept sliding down and down until the path began to narrow. Their surroundings began to change as well. The grey ground began to shift to a more dark color that a blue hue to it. It shifted more and more until by the time they were almost down it had changed to the ground that resembled the familiar ground of Ralsei’s kingdom.

They then landed on the ground. This time their landing was much more competent. Instead of landing face-first, the two of them skidded down onto the ground feet first.

“Alright, Ralsei should be waiting for us just up ahead,” Susie told them. “Are you ready to see him?”

“I guess,” Kris answered.

“Man you are a lot less committed than you were yesterday. That force or whatever controlling you was a lot more sure of themselves than you are.” Susie said slightly annoyed.

Kris shrugged. “That's just kind of the person I am,” they said.

“I know but still it’s weird,” she explained. “Anyway let’s get going. That fluffy dork has been waiting long enough. Also apparently he’s going to have cake for us.”

“Yeah let’s go,” they told her.

The two of them then began the short trip toward Ralsei's castle. They soon came to the outskirts of his kingdom. They passed by the warped architecture of the buildings. All of them empty with no subjects for the prince of darkness.

Kris and Susie finally made it to the castle courtyard. There sitting in the center of it was a small boss monster dressed in green robes and a pink scarf. He was sitting there patiently reading an old book with worn pages from years of use.

His head perked up as soon as they saw them. "Kris! Susie!" they exclaimed.

"Sup Ralsei." Susie greeted.

"Hey," Kris added on.

"Oh my how wonderful it is to see you two again," he told them. "I must say I was quite worried when you two didn't show up when you did yesterday."

"Well, you can blame Kris for that. They had us stay up in the light world working on our classwork," she explained.

"Oh really? Well, I can sort of understand if it was for academic work. But still, it was awfully lonely waiting for you two. Hopefully, you'll find some balance between the two. Anyhow now that you here I have a promise I mean to keep."

"Are you talking about the cake?" she asked slightly excited.

"Yes. I'm glad you remembered Susie," he said with a smile.

"Of course I did. I'm not going to pass up a chance for some free food," she said with a smile matching his.

"Good, now please follow me," he told them.

"Okay," Kris said with a nod.

Susie and Kris then began to follow Ralsei. They came to the large wooden doors and Ralsei opened them. A cyan light then poured out from inside. “Come on in,” he said while gesturing to them to come in.

They then walked inside and saw the entryway of Ralsei’s castle. It was a grand hall with high ceilings, the walls made of black stone, a large staircase that lead to the second floor, many different furnishings from paintings to pink flowers on tables made from dark purple wood. The whole room was lit by a series of candle lights that burned a bright blue.

“Woah I knew Ralsei was a prince but this is freaking nuts,” Susie said in amazement.

“Royalty is known to be extravagant,” Kris said with a shrug.

The three of them then came to a room with a large dining room table. The table seemed to be made from the same wood as the smaller ones from the other room. It had a set of plates and silverware set up for them. Along with a set of wooden chairs.

However, all of them were nothing compared to the cake placed in the center of it all. The cake looked like the most scrumptious thing both Kris and Susie had ever seen. It was a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and bright red cherries. On top of the cake, there were words written in green frosting. It read “To my friends and honorable heroes of light.” Along with that right beneath it, there were some simple frost drawings of their faces. All of them looked very happy with one another.

“Please sit,” Ralsei said while pulling up a chair.

Kris and Susie both did as they were told. They sat down in their seats. Kris was in the middle of both Ralsei and Susie with her to their right and him to their left.

“Right now that you two are here let us begin,” Ralsei said with a smile.

Ralsei then began to dish up each of them. “Now I know you’ll probably want the bigger piece Susie but I must please take some level of restraint with this cake. Unlike the unfortunate incident with the top chef’s cake yesterday.” Ralsei told her as he offered up a large piece.

“Hey, I hadn’t eaten anything before then! Besides, that guy's cake was begging to be eaten!” she exclaimed. “Who leaves a big cake like that in the middle of the woods?”

“Probably someone who doesn’t want lizard monsters to eat their cake.” Kris deadpanned.

“Hey!” Susie shouted.

Ralsei let out a small chuckle. “Well, in any case, I hope you enjoy the cake I’ve made for you now,” he said happily. “I’ve never had anyone else try it but from what I’ve tasted it should be quite delicious.”

“We'll see fluffy boy,” Susie told him.

She then took a big fork full of cake. She bit down onto the bit of cake and she couldn’t even describe it. It was the most exquisite cake she had ever tasted. The rich chocolate flavor of the cake was completed impeccably by the vanilla frosting. The texture of the cake was nice and moist with it perfectly crumbling in her mouth as she chewed it.

“Ralsei this is freaking amazing!” she enthusiastically exclaimed.

“Oh thank you,” Ralsei said. “I’m glad you enjoy it.”

“Enjoy it? I love it! This is great! You are one hell of a cook.” she said, praising him.

“You’re far too kind Susie.” He said, trying to dissuade her. “What do you think Kris?”

“It’s really good Ralsei,” Kris answered. “It’s tasty and sweet just like a cake should be.”

“Thank you, Kris,” he told them. “Now then how are things going on in the Light World? I hope everything is going alright.”

Susie and Kris both looked at each other with them looking somewhat anxious. Kris could tell from the expression on Susie’s face she didn’t know what to say. What was worse was that they didn’t know what to say either.

“What is it? Is there something wrong?” he asked them.

The two of them were both silent for a moment. They knew one of them was going to have to speak but they both weren’t sure who would do it. All they could do was look at each other in awkward silence.

“Well, you see Ralsei… Something happened with Kris yesterday.” Susie finally spoke up.

“Really? What happened?” he questioned.

“Kris was well…” Susie began to say.

However, Kris stopped them. “Wait let me tell him,” they told her.

“Alright,” she replied.

“I’m so confused. What could’ve happened to you that causes you to be this secretive with me?” he asked.

“You see what happened was that yesterday I was taken control of by some unknown force. It made me move around and talk to people in ways I never would.” Kris explained. “They had absolute control over me while all I could do was watch.”

Ralsei's eyes were widened. “What…?” he said, shocked. “I have so many questions...”

“Trust me I did too when they told me,” Susie told him.

“When did this start…?” he asked.

“I had been under the force’s control since I stepped out of my bed first thing in the morning. Almost everything I did yesterday was influenced by it,” they answered.

“I’m trying to wrap my head around all of this,” he said as a hand was placed on his forehead. “So every single action you took yesterday was because of some force controlling you?”

“Yes,” Kris replied.

“Oh, my word. That’s quite strange.” Ralsei told them.

“I know it is,” they added on. “But Ralsei one of the reasons I am here is because I want to know if you’ve ever heard of anything like this. Anything you heard, with the magic you’ve studied?”

“I’m not sure...” he replied with him being contemplative. He then stood up. “I’ll have to check my study. Please follow me.”

Susie and Kris both stood up. The two of them then followed Ralsei out of the room. They walked right behind him as he led them across a hall. The group came to a set of white doors which Ralsei quickly opened. All three of them then headed inside.

The room inside was a sight to behold. Much like the grand hall at the entrance of the castle the room was grand in size. The walls that stretched up to a high ceiling were lined with books. Hundreds if not thousands of books were all shelved in this place. It was an unimaginable collection.

Kris thought to themselves that the books in this room probably contained more words than they would ever read. They had wondered to themselves how Ralsei kept himself preoccupied before their arrival with Susie. This seemed to be a rather good answer.

“If there’s anything on the force that had controlled you, it’s in here,” he told them.

“I think everything ever written could be in here Ralsei.” Susie rebutted.

“Oh, nonsense. This collection may be vast but it’s not everything.” Ralsei countered. “I mean I’ve read everything in here but there are still gaps in my knowledge. But that’s the fun of reading, isn’t it? There’s always more to read.”

“I thought the fun of reading came from when it was finished. So you could at least start writing the dumbass book report the teacher assigned you,” she explained.

“Hardly a way to see something as joyful as reading,” Ralsei said with a small huff. “But to each their own I suppose.”

Ralsei then pulled out a large book from one of the many shelves. He opened it up and quickly began to flip through it. “I believe there is something in here that could explain what is happening with you Kris,” he said looking up from the book. “I just got to find it.”

“Sounds good,” Kris said with a nod.

“Hope you find it quickly. The cake was great and all but I also want to see Lancer sometime today.” Susie told him.

“It should just take a moment. You are more than welcome to look through the library while I look,” he explained. “I’m sure there’s something you could entertain yourself with.”

“Fine but don’t take too long, alright?” she requested.

“I’ll try,” Ralsei answered.

Both Susie and Kris walked away from Ralsei so he could read in peace for a moment. They walked alongside each other. The two of them looked around the room still taking in the details of the place.

Kris looked up at the wall of books in front of them. All of them were bound in leather with the pages slightly golden from age. The books had appeared to be here for a very long time.

“So how long do you think Ralsei is going to be looking through that book of his?” Susie asked.

“I don’t know,” Kris answered.

“I hope not too long because these books aren’t going to keep us very busy,” she said while pointing to a shelf full of them.

“Let’s just hope he can find what he needs. I want this to work,” they explained.

“Can’t exactly blame you for that. I wouldn’t want anyone controlling me like whatever the hell did to you.” Susie told them.

“I’m not really sure what I’ll do if he can’t help me. I just don’t want to live in fear that I’ll be nothing but a puppet again.” Kris said with dread in their voice.

“Hey don’t worry. Ralsei will help you. That little fuzzball might not be the most reliable in a fight but he’ll come through when it comes to helping you.” she reassured them. “Besides if that thing regains control of you I’ll beat the hell out of it to free you!”

“Wouldn’t that mean you would have to hit me to do it though?” Kris asked.

“Oh damn right,” she said with her attitude deflated. “I’d still snap you out of it somehow.”

“I appreciate the gesture Susie. But I hope it doesn’t come to you beating me up to save me,” they replied with a slight amount of snark to their voice.

“Was that a joke?” she asked. “With how you talk it’s hard to tell with you.”

“It can be if you want,” Kris answered.

“Ugh again with this non-committed crap! If you say something as a joke just say it’s a joke!” she exclaimed. “You don’t have to just wait and see if it’s okay to call it a joke or not.”

“Fine it was a joke,” they admitted. “Happy?”

“I guess but you need to be more assertive. Especially if you’re going to be the leader while we're here,” she told them.

“I’ll try to be,” Kris said to her.

“Good,” she said. “Anyway guess we better find a place to sit down. We are going to be here a while.”

“Yeah,” he told her.

The two of them looked for a place to sit. They studied their surroundings until they found a table with a couple of chairs to sit at. They made their way over to them and sat down next to one another.

Susie and Kris sat there for a few minutes. They waited patiently for Ralsei. That’s all they really could do as he kept reading from the book he had chosen at one of the other tables.

As they waited Kris wondered about what Susie had told them. “She says I need to be more assertive but I’m not sure what that entirely means.” they thought to themselves. “I’ve never had to be that. I’ve just been coasting around until now. So can I really be this group leader? Can I really be a hero of light fighting against the dark?”

Kris sighed. None of these questions weren’t easy to answer. However, they also know that they didn’t really have a choice. People were relying on them and they needed them. They couldn’t turn away from them now even if they doubted they could lead them.

Kris then looked over at Ralsei and saw that he was still reading. They could see the reflection of the blue flames from the candle next to him in his eyes. He was staring intently at the page. He had a more serious face than he usually wore.

However, their patience waned. Kris stood up and began to walk over to Ralsei. They needed to see if he had made any progress.

Kris made their way over to him. They stood next to him waiting for him to notice them. However, it seemed that Ralsei was completely entranced by his book. It looked like Kris would have to speak up.

“Ralsei,” they said trying to get his attention.

The young prince then quickly looked up as if suddenly jolted out of a trance. He seemed to slightly jump out of his seat. His white fluff stood on end. “Oh, Kris!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Have you found anything in that book? About my condition?” they asked.

A frown appeared on Ralsei's face and he let out a sigh. “Sadly no. I’m reading up about all these different spells that manipulate or take control away from an opponent and I can’t seem to find anything,” he explained. “There are lots of spells that do one or two of things that happened to you but nothing like you described.”

“Well damn, that sucks,” they said, feeling a bit disheartened.

“Yes it is quite a dismal turn of events,” he said with a sigh.

“Are you sure there’s nothing in there?” they said looking down at the book.

“Sad to say I’m definitely sure,” he replied.

Kris stared down at the page Ralsei was currently flipped too. A name of a certain spell caught their eye. “What’s Heaven’s Light?” they asked.

“Oh, that spell is a very powerful mind manipulation one. It brings to light all the fears and insecurities of the being it’s cast onto,” he explained.

“Wow, that sounds terrifying,” Kris said unnerved.

“Yes, it does. Imagining all your worst fears in front of you all at once is frightening,” he told them. “It seems like a spell that was developed for some form of psychological torture.”

“I wonder why it’s called “Heaven’s Light”? That doesn’t seem like the name for magic that does that.” they wondered.

“I’m not sure. Maybe it could be a reference to heaven in some religions supposedly being able to see through a person’s memories to judge them.” Ralsei answered.

“Sounds kind of pretentious to me. Then again from little I know of magic users you don’t seem to be ones for subtlety.”

Ralsei let out an awkward laugh. “I guess you could say that Kris,” he said with a small smile.

“But, sadly, you couldn’t find a solution for me even with all of these books.” they sighed.

“I know it’s troubling.” the young prince told them with their smile replaced with a frown. “However I do think there is something I can do for you. To give you a little peace of mind.”

“What’s that?” Kris asked, intrigued.

“There’s this spell that I can use to look into your mind and see if there’s any external force trying to affect it. Basically, it allows me to see if anything is trying to manipulate you in any way. It can’t stop your mind from being tampered with but it can at least tell me if there’s anything you have to worry about right now.” Ralsei explained.

“Oh really? That sounds like it’d be good,” they said with their spirits lifted slightly. Kris knew this wouldn’t solve their problem but they felt like this would help them. At least a little bit.

“Alright if you’re good with it I guess we will proceed,” Ralsei told them. “Now please sit down next to me and we will begin.”

Kris pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ralsei. They turned and faced them. This was the first time they were so close without him having his hat on. It was so odd to see how similar they truly were to their brother. There were differences but as they looked at the white snow fur face they couldn’t help but feel a familiar warmth inside of them. If they just had their eyes go lazy for a second they could’ve sworn they were looking at their loving brother.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah. Do what you got to do,” they answered.

Ralsei nodded. He then lifted his arms up and put his hands right onto Kris’s ears. They felt the softness of their fur-covered hands against their skin. “Hold still and try not to think of anything too overpowering. It will make it harder for me to look into your mind,” he told them. “Just take a deep breath and close your eyes. Relax.”

“Okay,” Kris answered. They then took in a deep breath and tried to calm themselves.

Kris then suddenly felt an odd tingling sensation inside their head. They felt it start on the outreaches of their skull but then slowly began to drift further inside. They could also see a soft blue light emanating from the corner of each of their eyes. Kris understood this must’ve been the magic from Ralsei flowing into them.

“You’re doing good Kris,” Ralsei reassured them. “Just stay still for a little longer. I’m almost finished.”

“Okay,” Kris told him.

Kris felt as the magic continued to flow through them. It was an odd feeling. It was like Ralsei's very life force was flowing into them. The magic was more than just a power he used; it was an extension of himself. That same gentleness and warmth Ralsei had was extended into his magic currently running through their mind.

“Alright Kris I’m done.” he calmly explained. He then took his hands off of Kris’ ears and lowered his arms. A smile then appeared on his face. “I’m glad to say that I couldn’t find any evidence that you’re currently being influenced by someone. Every action you’ve taken at least today was based entirely on your actions.”

“So everything with me right now is okay?” they asked.

“Yes. I believe so.” he happily said. “I hope it puts you at least a little bit at ease.”

Kris didn’t know entirely why but hearing that made them better than they thought it would. They then did something they hadn’t done in a long time. They smiled. It was a small one and it lasted for only a second but they couldn’t help it. For once they felt some amount of levity. “It does Ralsei. It really does.”

Chapter Text

Ralsei, Kris, and Susie all walked out of the library into the castle. They walked into the hallway where they could see the blue torchlight illuminating the black stone walls.

“I’m glad you were able to find something to help you, Kris,” Susie told them.

“Yeah, I do too, Susie. It’s certainly one weight off my chest.”

“Now that that’s sorted out we can get to do the fun stuff!” She happily exclaimed. “We can finally go hang out with Lancer. I’m sure it’ll be fun to hang out with him when he’s not taking orders from their bastard of a dad.”

“Susie, that is quite harsh words you’re using,” Ralsei said, trying to dissuade her. “I do understand he was cruel to us and his subjects but still.”

“Nah that asshole deserves all the “harsh words” I could say about him.” she countered. “That asshole treated his son like crap and nearly got us killed.”

“I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “He did put us in considerable danger. But everything worked out. At least for us anyway.”

“I guess, the asshole of a king is locked away so that means we won’t have to deal with him for a long time.”

The three of them then kept on walking and soon they found themselves back in the castle courtyard from before. They walked across the dark-colored stone and made it to the gate. Soon they were outside the castle in the empty town.

Kris looked back at the fortress. They saw the fountain of dark energy rising behind it. It flowed up into the pitch-black sky. A day or so before Kris wouldn’t have believed that something like this was helping keep the world in balance. Yet here it was feeding darkness into the Light World to help maintain the equilibrium of the two worlds.

“The dark fountain is pretty for something that’s feeding darkness into the Light World,” they remarked. “If you had told me about something like this before we got here I thought it would be a lot scarier or something.”

“Yeah. Dark Fountain feeding darkness into a world of light sounds less like something good and more something like the good guys in a story would have to stop.” Susie replied.

“I could see why it could seem quite strange for those who don’t know the delicate balance that our two worlds maintain. However, for me, it seems as natural as the sun rising for you in the light world. Something I’ve only read in stories.”

“Wait Ralsei. You don’t know what the sun coming up is like?” Susie asked.

“Well, they don’t call this the Dark World for nothing. I’ve only had it described to me in some rather ancient texts. I’m sure it’s beautiful considering how marvelous the descriptions of it are.”

“Ralsei, it’s amazing!” Susie exclaimed. “Seriously it’s one of those things that can’t even be put into words. It’s crazy.”

“Huh, guess it will make for a delightful sight if I’m ever to accompany you to the Light World.”

“I don’t see why not. Especially since things have calmed the hell down around here ever since we stopped the royal asshole and restored balance by plugging up that fountain.”

“Y...yes. The fountain was certainly...dealt with…” the dark prince stuttered.

Susie and Kris stopped moving and looked back at Ralsei. They noticed that the prince had become much more visibly uncomfortable. His eyes were shifting back and forth along with sweat starting to drip down his face.

“Ralsei? Are you okay?” Kris asked.

“Fine Kris...absolutely fine.”

“Ralsei what the hell is going on?” Susie questioned with her suspicions being peaked.

“Nothing...everything is fine...no problems at all.”

“It’s okay Ralsei you can tell us,” Kris said, trying to calm them.

“Well...it’s just that,” he said while grabbing onto his hat and putting it up against his face. “The fountain at Card Castle isn’t exactly...closed.”

Kris and Susie both looked at him confused. “Wait what?” Susie asked. “How is it not closed? I mean there was all that like cool magic stuff with different lights and colors. I thought Kris’ soul did at least something to it.”

“Um...yes I know there was some amount of theatrics when you two entered the fountain. However, that does not mean you two sealed it.” Ralsei explained. “Merely you just found a way home because the actual way to seal a fountain is a lot more complicated…”

“What do you mean “more complicated”?” Susie asked him.

“Do you...remember the legend that I told the two of you yesterday? The one where I described to you the nature of the Dark World and how the three of us are the heroes to restore balance?”

“Yeah what about it?”

“The thing is I may have...alternated it a tiny bit…”

“Ralsei what are you saying?” Kris asked him.

“I gave you the abridged version of the story. The longer version explains things further. Such as the fact that instead of just a team of three of us there’s supposed to be a team of six.”

“Six?! You left out half of our team members! Why the hell did you do that?!”

“Susie please calm yourself. I know you’re angry and being honest for a good reason but please try to understand.” Ralsei pleaded. “I was all alone before you two came and I noticed how the King of Spades had started his tyrannical reign. I couldn’t just sit by and wait for all of the heroes of the legend to come together. I had to act because I knew if I waited any longer this world would become even more hostile for Lightners. So I thought that if the three of us worked together to convince or make the King drawback his forces. That way we would’ve made this place far safer for all of us. Luckily it seems to have worked out. We brought down the tyrant and made it so that Lightners can once again be safe in this part of the Dark World.”

The dark prince looked at the three of them with a worried look on his face. “I know you’re angry at me and let me just say “I deserve all of your fury.” I deserve all of it. I’m supposed to be your helpful guide but I deceived the two of you. I understand if this is something that will take time for you to forgive me.”

Kris looked at him. They saw that the prince appeared small and sad. They realized how much it must have pained him that the only friendships he had ever had were built on a lie. A lie that was necessary for the greater good of both themselves and the denizens of the Dark World. But it was still a lie.

The human however figured they were similar in that way. Both of them had been hiding secrets about themselves from the rest of the group. Although theirs was involuntary.

“Ralsei it’s fine,” they explained to him. “I know you lied to us but that’s not going to change how we’re going to think of you. You still did so much for us. You’re still our friend.”

Kris looked over to Susie to see if they agreed with what they said. Susie looked surprised for a moment but added to their reassurance. “Yeah, Ralsei it’s okay. Just don’t make it a habit lying to us, okay?”

The prince’s face lit up. “Oh...wow I didn’t think you’d forgive me just like that,” he said astonished. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I promise this won’t happen again!”

“Good to hear fluff boy,” Susie told him. “Now if you could help fulfill that promise I want to know about these other weirdos that we possibly have to hang out with.”

“Yes of course Susie.” he agreed. “As you are well aware I have told you most of the legend. However, what I left out were the descriptions of the other three heroes. As they are described in the story “They shall be joined by three others. A close but distant friend, a ruler unsure of their title, and a final piece of a pair that has long been separate.”

“So who are these guys? That part of the legend sounds vague as hell.” Susie asked.

“I’m not entirely sure. However, I do think that we luckily have met with at least one of them.” Ralsei explained. “The only ruler that we’ve got that has helped us is Lancer.”

“Lancer? But I thought they were totally cool being a prince. I thought his Dad was just a massive asshole.”

“Well, his title as prince maybe. But I believe now that he’s been lifted to the title of the king at such short notice he may have trouble.”

“I guess I can see that. Still, though we have two other “heroes” to find. And not to be mean to whatever ancient prophet made this but it’s not exactly going to be easy for us. It’s going to be like finding something edible at Ice-E's.”

“I’m not sure what you’re referencing but I can tell by your voice that you’re frustrated,” Ralsei said with a confused look on his face. “In any case, you are right that it won’t be easy but it will be the only way to restore balance to our worlds. I’m sure we’ll find some way to find them. We are known for doing things that most consider impossible.”

“You mean like putting a demented clown to sleep for a hundred years? Or throwing you at a giant checker piece to knock off its crown?” Susie questioned.

“Ha. Well, you could put it more...succinctly but yes.” the prince said with a nervous laugh. “However there is also something else I must tell you.”

“What is it?” Kris asked.

“Behind my castle and kingdom, there is a pathway to a ruined temple. A temple that I learned once stood tall as a symbol of unity between the light and dark world. I discovered that in the ruins of this place there was a wall covered in ancient writing. At first, I couldn’t understand what it meant but after scouring almost my entire collection of books I found one volume that contained a partial translation.”

“What did it say?” Susie asked.

“It said “Here lie the words to balance light and dark. To make it so that when the equilibrium of the worlds are threatened they can be set back in place. The heroes of the legend will know the words that are written here. They alone can understand them and bring order to chaos. United there is nothing they cannot do.” After that, the translation ended but oddly enough when I investigated the ruins further I came upon something I could read. All the other writing was written in languages I couldn’t understand but these words I could read. I’m not sure what the words meant but I theorize that it could be a part of the incantation. The words read “Mend the cracks caused by imbalance.”

“So we only know about one-sixth of the words we need. Oh boy, first we discover that we need more people now we have to learn ancient languages too!” Susie exclaimed in a sardonic tone. “Great the place that I used to escape from school is now basically handing me extra homework. Can’t this just be one of those stories where we just get lost and don’t get out of the fantasy world? Like those anime or that old book about those kids with a scared large cat?”

“Sadly no. Seems restoring equilibrium between two worlds is hard work.” Ralsei explained. “However I’m sure we can do it. Mainly because we have to or else the cost to both our worlds would be devastating.”

“Well, at least there’s a better reason to do this stuff. End of the world is a greater motivator than passing high school to end up at college or some crappy starting job.” Susie told him. “At least I know this actually makes a difference.”

“Yes saving our worlds while hard work is at least consequential.” Ralsei agreed. “Speaking of that subject there is one last thing about the ruins behind my castle I must explain.”

“What is it now? Do we have to climb to the top of the tallest mountain in the Dark World? Battle a dragon without using our hands? Find a ring that’s been lost for over three thousand years?”

“Susie let him talk,” Kris said.

“Fine. I’m just getting kind of sick of this info dump that seems to be specifically made to make our lives harder.”

“Thank you, Susie.” Ralsei thanked her. “Now then the final piece of information I have is that there is a grand door that stands there. It’s a door that from what I could translate from it says that only the six heroes of legend can open this door. It’s a door that apparently can help us on our journey. The ancient script written on it said that wherever an imbalance in the Dark World appears it will take us there.”

“So it’s like a teleportation door?” Susie asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “It will be quite useful to us. The Dark World is a vast place and it’s rather segmented. The Card Kingdom along with my domain is simply one part of it. The others are far from here through large swaths of nothing but Dark Deserts. This door will help us go to places that we are needed most. Such as places with Dark Fountains that the Knight may open.”

“Well glad we have some form of fast travel. Even if it’s pretty useless without the three other schmucks we got to find.”

“I guess we better start looking then,” Kris told them.

“That’s a good idea, Kris. We must make haste because who knows what will happen if we don’t start to close up the Dark Fountains soon?” Ralsei explained.

“Well guess we gotta get moving then. Let's head out!” Susie exclaimed. “To Card Castle and wherever the hell else!”

The three of them then started to walk their way out of Ralsei’s empty kingdom. They began to trek toward the dark purple Fields of Hope and Dreams. They soon made it through the large black and golden door with the winged symbol. Onward to the next part of their journey.

Chapter Text

Kris stepped out of the warp door with Ralsei and Susie following them. They were met with the vivid red color of the trees of the forest along with purplish-red grass. They had entered the “Thrashing Room” where Susie and Lancer had battled them and Ralsei.

The three of them were on the outskirts of the scarlet forest. Card Castle was only a short distance away. The castle that belonged to the king of spades and now was run by his son Lancer. The dark prince that Susie had befriended the day before.

They walked through the last section of the forest. Soon the trees and the grass fell away to nothing but a small blue pathway surrounded by pitch-black ground. The path leading to the mighty fortress that stood before them.

“Damn. Considering all the crazy stuff that happened yesterday we didn’t really get to look at how big this place actually is.” Susie said with her eyes gazing upon the tall imposing structure.

“It is a bit of a striking spectacle. Certainly more than my own castle anyway.” Ralsei added.

Kris meanwhile stood there in silence. They were in awe of what they saw. Looking upon this towering edifice it dawned on them where they were. They were in a place that was truly wondrous. A place that the day before yesterday seemed impossible. Let alone it lying within the halls of the school they had been in countless times.

It was different from before. Yesterday they were under someone else’s control. Their experiences were clouded by the fact that they had no control of themselves. But now being able to gaze upon the mystical aspects of this world, it was breathtaking.

They were in a place of fantasy that many would give anything to be there. Yet they were here just by chance. They were a hero that had literally fallen down into adventure.

“It’s amazing,” they said quietly under their breath.

“What was that Kris?” the kind gentle prince asked.

“Oh nothing,” they answered. “We should get moving.”

“Yes, we should. We shouldn’t keep Lancer waiting.”

“Yeah, that little gremlin has waited long enough!” Susie excitedly exclaimed.

Kris nodded and the three of them walked into the castle.

The walk through the castle was a rather short one. There were no guards to impede them. In fact, the entrance seemed to be devoid of life for the most part.

The three of them had express access to the top of the castle with the elevator.

Once they reached the top they heard a good amount of commotion. Different members of the castle staff seemed to be rushing around. They weren’t sure entirely what they were up to but they guessed it was renovations. A new king had just been installed and they were very different from the previous one. It would only seem rational for them to update the look of the castle. Especially considering how eccentric the new ruler was.

The group of them then headed up a set of stairs to the hall that led to the throne room. The same room where they had fought K. Round for the second time. They had beaten the animated checker’s piece by Susie using her strength to throw Ralsei straight toward the crown on their head.

Something that Ralsei still winced at slightly when thinking of the previous day. As a Darkner, he knew he had to assist the Lightners through their journey. He accepted that. However, even he was not favorable to the idea of him being thrown across a room.

The hall was as black and white as ever. Much like most of the castle, it had black floors, ceilings, and walls with the only distinction between them being the striking white outlines.

“Thous return heroick worms.” a familiar elegant voice greeted them.

“Greetings Rouxls,” Ralsei said as they walked up.

“Welcome worms. I see that thous have returned to our glorious castle.” the duke remarked. “I believe thous want an audience with thous friend and king?”

“Yeah! We want to see the little squirt!” Susie exclaimed.

“His majesty will surely be glad to see his “clown friends” as he graciously put it,” he explained. He then turned around and gestured to them to follow him. “Now then let's not keep the king waiting.”

“Yes, it would be quite rude. Let us go.” Ralsei agreed.

The group of them then walked up the steps.

They poured into the throne room. The room had gone over a little bit of a facelift. The piles of treasure were consolidated into one larger pile. The once ripped tapestries were sewn up. The rubble that was on the floor was swept away. Finally, the spade-shaped throne was repaired, the splintered wood together in one piece.

Sitting on the throne was the dark prince that they had been looking forward to seeing. He was wearing a white crown much like his father’s. He had the biggest smile on his face as the fun gang along with Rouxls Kaard.

“My lordship Lancer the “phun gang” has arrived-”

“CLOWNS!” Lancer then interrupted Rouxls Kaard’s formal introduction.

“Hey, Lancer!” Susie replied.

“What’s up, guys? I was beginning to worry that you all wouldn’t show up.”

“I apologize for our belated arrival. They were at my castle fulfilling a promise that I made to them.” Ralsei explained.

“Well, that clears that up. I understand you want to have Susie and Kris all to yourself, Kindboy. But I hope you won’t keep me waiting next time.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, Lancer.”

“Anyway, now that you guys are all here, what do you think of the new improved card castle?!” he asked. “Since I became king I wanted to spruce up the place. So far it’s only been boring stuff like cleaning up the place. But just you wait! This place is going to be way cooler like me!”

“Sounds awesome, Lancer,” Susie said with a smile.

“Yeah. I have to thank lesser dad for all of this. He’s been helping me do everything.” he told them. “In fact, he’s been given a new title. Instead of just “Duke of Puzzles,” he’s now “The Greatest High Duke of All Things King Lancer does.” WAY better in my opinion! Even though he insists on being called “High Duke of the King.” Which is lamer in every possible way.”

“My Lorde, I am fine with thouse title you have given me. I just think that it’s a tad long.”

“So? You need a long title to explain to everyone how cool you are.” he countered. “Like how my official title is “King Lancer: The King of Spades and Hero of Heroes of both the Light World and Dark World! Friend to all and mightiest of all lords!”

“Yes, my king but if I may speak freely: I personally believe that conciseness in one’s title can help us accomplish more.”

“I agree with the High Duke. Even though I am a prince and never commanded over anybody I think he’s right. It just seems more apt to have short names. I’ve read a lot of books where rulers who are more obsessed with titles than ruling are more inclined to be distracted from good governance.”

“Yeah, Fluffy Boy has a point. Your dad always did talk about how he was the “Bad Guy.” And I know jack shit about all of this king stuff but being the opposite of your dad seems like a good starting point.”

Lancer’s expression darkened. His smile quickly disappeared.

Susie looked at him shocked for a moment but realized what it was. “I am sorry Lancer. I didn’t mean to bring up your dad.” She apologized.

“No, it’s fine Susie. My dad wasn’t the greatest,” he told her. He then stared down at the floor for a moment looking pensive. “I still just have to get used to the fact that he was a...bad guy.”

A silence then came over the room. The type that only comes when people bring up taboo subjects.

“So uh...is there anything else you clowns want to talk about?” Lancer awkwardly asked.

“There is actually,” Ralsei told him. “It’s a matter that concerns you personally.”

“What would that be, Toothpaste Prince?”

“You see there is this legend about the lightners and darkners-” he began to explain.

“A LEGEND?!” Lancer shouted enthusiastically.

“Y-yes. I did not think you would be so passionate about this subject.”

“Are you kidding?! Legends are awesome! No scratch that they are the most awesome thing in the world!” he frantically explained. “The best stuff comes from legends! To the meanest bad guys to the most heroic heroes!”

“Oh well, I guess what I have to tell you next will intrigue you,” Ralsei answered. “This legend is partly about you.”

Lancer’s face lit up. “Are you saying...that I...might be...legendary!”

“To phrase it one way, yes.”

“That’s so cool! I can add legendary to my title!” he happily expressed. “Well if that’s okay anyway...I mean you all just told me I shouldn’t be too obsessed with titles.”

“It’s alright Lancer. I think most people would freak out if they were told there was a legend about them.” Susie assured him.

“You didn’t freak out when I told you you were a part of a legend.” Ralsei shyly commented.

“Well, that’s because I am not like most people. I think you would’ve gotten that by now.”

“That does make sense. I mean I’d hope most people wouldn’t start attacking everything once they got an ax.” Kris added.

“Hey, I was going through a lot yesterday! And in my defense, you’d totally start swinging around an ax if it looked like this!” Susie exclaimed, showing off her ax.

“To get back on the topic at hand,” Ralsei said, trying to redirect the conversation. “The legend explains how there is a group of Darkners and Lightners that will help restore the balance between the Light and Dark world. The equilibrium that was shifted when the knight opened the fountain. And it just so happens that you are one of the members of this group. Along with myself, Susie, and Kris.”

“Woah! I get to be part of a team of heroes! That’s so amazing!” the young king exclaimed. “I get to adventure around with my friends, go on epic quests, fight super evil bad guys, stay up way past my bedtime, and so much more!”

Lancer was practically beaming. It was the happiest any of them had ever seen.

“Uhe...I know my Lorde that you are quite euphoric at this news but I must remind yee of an important detail.” Rouxls said calmly to try to temper his expectations.

“What is it, High Duke?”

“I believe thoust forget that you are still the King of Spades. A king can’t go gallivanting off with a group of worms...I mean a group such as this. You have responsibilities.”

Lancer’s expression darkened. “Oh...right.”

“Hey!” Susie exclaimed.

Everyone in the room simultaneously turned their heads to her.

“I’m sure we can work something out. I mean we’re not going to be adventuring all of the time. We can just have someone be like a temporary leader while he’s gone.”

“That is absurd. Who would be qualified enough for such a position?” Rouxls asked.

“Oh come on! There’s got to be some pompous asshole that can be a temp!”

“He is a king! Not a common worker!”

Susie and Rouxls continued to argue.

Lancer contemplated as they continued. Who would be a good replacement king? The question puzzled him for a moment but it soon became clear.

“Lesser Dad! You can be king while I am gone,” he said while pointing toward him.

Rouxls looked shocked for a moment. He was caught off guard.

“Me…? My Lorde?”

“Yeah, you’re already the High Duke. So it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Rouxlss looked flustered. “I couldn’t possibly. Imagine it. Rouxls Kaard. A king even temporarily. It’s so preposterous…” Despite his words, it was clear that the duke was swooning over the idea. “Oh...god damn it. I’ll do it! Even though I won’t take any pride in it...what’s so ever.”

“Great!” Lancer exclaimed. “I get to still be king and adventure around! This will be so cool! When we actually go adventuring that is...Speaking of which, when are we going on an adventure?”

“We aren’t entirely sure,” Ralsei explained. “Right now our goal is to seal the fountain still open here. We need two more members that match the descriptions in the legend. Until then we can not proceed farther.”

“Well, who are the other clowns that’ll be joining us?”

“Yeah, that’s kind of the problem. We have no idea.” Susie replied. “We have about as much of a clue as a guy who was told “Here’s a lake. I’m sure there’s fish in it somewhere. Have fun catching one.”

“What Susie is trying to say is that we only have brief descriptions of who the last two members are,” Ralsei explained. “Beyond that, we don’t have much. I might possibly be able to gain more from further research but that will take time as well. And time is of the essence. We don’t know when the knight will open the next fountain.”

“Well, that sucks,” Lancer said a bit defeated. “But I know we will find them soon! I mean we already got four out of six! The rest can’t be that hard to find.”

“Well, we can only hope,” Susie told him.

“Yes, that’s all we can really do.” Ralsei agreed. “I’m sure we will find them. It is only a matter of time.”

“Speaking of time I’m pretty sure Kris and I have to get going,” Susie explained. “We don’t want people to start getting suspicious about where we are.”

“Aw. We didn’t get to do any of the items on my list of “Lancer’s fun times with clowns” list.”

“It’s okay Lancer, we'll both be back tomorrow. And who knows maybe one day you could come to visit us in the Light World.”

“Oh, that would be amazing! Getting to see where you guys come from! I’m sure it’s awesome!”

“Eh. It’s nothing special. This place is way cooler. Even though our world does have its upsides.” Susie explained. A smile then appeared on her face. “Also I’d love to see what type of things we could pull there. There’s plenty of...certain people that I would like us to mess with together.”

“Yeah! More mischief!” Lancer happily shouted.

“Well, we better get going,” Susie told them. “See ya later Lancer and Roxas Card?”

“Bye clowns!”

“It’s Rouxls Kaard you philistinee.”

“Goodbye, your Majesty,” Ralsei said while waving.

“Bye.” Kris simply replied.

Kris, Susie, and Ralsei then walked out of the throne room. Making it through the dark corridor that led out to the long navy blue bridge.

“So you’re going to see us off like yesterday Ralsei?” Susie asked.

“Yes. I think it’s only polite to do so.”

“Well, Fluff Ball I appreciate it.”

“Yeah me too.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

The three of them continued to cross the bridge.

As they walked Kris started to wonder about something that had been said in the conversation that they had just heard. They then looked over to Ralsei with a question on their mind.

“Oh, what is it, Kris?” the kind boy asked.

“Ralsei is it possible for Darkners to come to the Light World with us?”

“I...I believe so,” he said with a bit of worry in his voice.

“But?”

“Excuse me?”

“You were about to say “but” right? You seemed like you were about to.”

Ralsei awkwardly laughed. “Well looks like you caught me. The thing is I’m not sure. I mean there are stories of Lightners and Darkners crossing over between one another’s worlds. But that was centuries ago. I’m not sure what that would do to the whole balance between the Light World and the Dark World-”

Ralsei stopped when he saw the look Kris was giving him. It read as one of those “You’re making excuses” looks. Or at the very least a judgemental look.

The Dark Prince sighed. “Truthfully I’m...I’m kind of frightened. It’s ironic really. I’ve been training my whole life to adventure with you. But I’m scared stiff about seeing where you come from. I’m so used to this world and I’m just scared to leave it.”

“It’s okay Ralsei.” Kris comforted him. “As someone who’s gone through a lot these past few days. I can tell you it’s tough but you’ll get through it.”

He smiled at them. “Thanks, Kris. I hope I’ll be brave enough to go with you and Susie. But not today. I don’t think I’m ready just yet.”

“That’s fine. We can wait.”

“If you two dorks would finish your small talk we’re here.” Susie interrupted them.

Ralsei and Kris looked up and saw the towering beam of energy that was the fountain. The massive column was imposing on its own but it also had this presence to it. A type of feeling that flowed through each of them. It was the feeling that this was a doorway between two realities.

“Guess this is it,” Susie said. “See ya later Fluffyboy.”

“Goodbye Ralsei,” Kris added.

“Be seeing you.”

Kris and Susie then turned away from Ralsei and headed toward the fountain. Kris did as they had done. Their soul reached out and suddenly there was nothing but white.

Susie and Kris walked out of the school building. Like before they had been teleported to the empty classroom and it was after school. It wasn’t as late as yesterday however as they saw a few people leaving the building while they left.

“I hope tomorrow in the Dark World is a lot more fun than it was today,” Susie said as they stepped off the last step of the stairs. “I mean it was great to see Lancer and the cake was goddamn amazing but a lot of it was just talking. It’s not as bad as say: Almost dying several times yesterday but still.”

Kris frowned. “I’m sorry.”

Susie looked at them confused. “Sorry for what?”

“I feel like we didn’t do a whole bunch of the stuff you wanted to do in the Dark World because of me,” they explained. “I made us wait until lunch and a lot of the time we were there was helping me out with my problems.”

“Kris it’s fine. We’ll have plenty of time to do stuff I want later. You don’t have to put yourself down.”

“I guess so. Still feel kind of bad about it.”

“Well don’t. It’s not your fault that you were possessed yesterday. It’s...whatever the hell was inside you. A demon? A spirit? I don’t know.”

Kris’s expression brightened if only just a little. At least they had more than their family to care for them.

“Well, I’m going to head home. Bye Kris,” she said waving to them.

“Bye Susie.”

The purple lizard then walked away from them. Kris was left on the outskirts of the school grounds all alone. Only their thoughts kept them company.

“I wonder what was inside me?” they questioned themselves. “It was such an odd feeling. I was like a puppet on a string but also not. It’s almost like what was controlling me still had some good intentions. They could’ve caused me to be as destructive or as mean as I wanted. But they didn’t do that. Almost like they were also being watched-”

Kris then heard their phone start to ring. It snapped them out of the contemplative state they were in. They quickly took out their phone from their pocket and answered.

“Hello?” they asked.

“Oh, Kris. I’m glad I could get to you.” the familiar sound of their mother’s voice said through the speaker. “I’m guessing you spent time with Susie again today?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. I’m fine with you talking to her. I just wish you would call me beforehand.”

“I’ll remember next time. I promise.”

“Good. Now then are you walking home now or is there something else you have to do?”

“There is. I made a promise yesterday. It was to this skeleton guy in a hoodie. I believe his name was “Sans?” they said, struggling to remember the small detail from yesterday.

“Oh, the charming grocery store owner? That’s fine,” she answered. “What will you be doing with him?”

“Well it won’t be him, it's his younger brother. Apparently, he needs friends.”

“How nice! I’m so glad you’re being so much more open, Kris!” she exclaimed. “I mean like I said before it was fine with you being alone but I do much prefer this.”

“I know Mom.”

“Well if that’s all I’ll leave you here,” she told her happily. “I love you.”

“Love you too Mom.”

Kris then hung up the phone. They then took in a deep breath and started to walk towards the town.

Chapter Text

Kris stood on the footsteps of a house. The house was the residency of a peculiar skeleton that had recently opened up a store in town. However, there was another occupant of this house. The skeleton’s younger brother who Kris had agreed to spend some time with (even if it hadn’t entirely been their decision).

Although, out of a good majority of the decisions that had been made for them yesterday, this was the one they had the least trouble with. They wouldn’t have agreed to do it if they were in control. It wouldn’t have been out of malice or not caring for them; they knew personally the hardships of being alone in a town with no friends. It would be more because they would be too shy to do it; not sure what exactly they would be agreeing to.

“Doesn’t matter now. I promised to do this so I better do it,” they thought to themselves. They then raised their hand to the door and knocked.

“I’LL… I’LL BE THERE IN A SECOND…” A voice quietly said from the other side of the door.

Kris noticed how shy the voice was. It seemed that the person on the other side of the door was just as nervous as they were, if not more so.

They heard the sound of footsteps slowly approaching. They then listened to them stop right at the front door.

Kris stepped back expecting the door to open. However, it didn’t. Kris stood there confused. They wondered what the hold-up was.

Curiosity took over them and they pressed their ears to the door.

“IT’S OKAY, PAPYRUS. YOU CAN DO THIS. IT’LL JUST BE FOR A LITTLE WHILE. THEN YOU CAN BE BY YOURSELF AGAIN. EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE,” they heard the voice say to themselves.

Kris pulled their ears away from the door as they heard a hand grab the doorknob. The door then cautiously opened, revealing a tall skeleton in glasses that looked rather shy.

“HEL… HELLO. MY NAME IS… PAPYRUS,” he introduced himself. “I’M SORRY MY BROTHER PUT YOU UP TO THIS. HE’S ALWAYS TRYING TO MAKE ME SOCIALIZE MORE FOR SOME REASON… WHAT… WHAT IS YOUR NAME?”

“Oh, it’s Kris,” they replied rather bewildered. Kris was surprised by the social ineptitude of the monster that lay before them. Kris themselves was soft-spoken but he appeared to be on a whole other level.

“COME IN… I’LL… GET YOU SOMETHING TO DRINK… THAT’S WHAT GOOD HOSTS DO… RIGHT?” Papyrus asked, unsure of himself.

“Yeah… I guess so,” Kris told him.

Kris moved past the tall shy skeleton, stepping into the living room. It was a rather large room with a purple and green carpet, and it seemed to connect to every other room in the house. They could see the path upstairs to what was most likely the bedrooms. They could also see into the kitchen.

The living room itself had the usual suspects for this type of room. A large TV, a couch, a table to eat at with some chairs, and some end tables. All and all, it seemed like a perfectly average home.

“MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DRINK? WE GOT WATER, SOME SODA, APPLE AND ORANGE JUICE, MILK, AND OTHERS…” Papyrus offered.

“Apple juice is fine,” Kris answered.

“RIGHT. IT’LL BE THERE IN A MOMENT.”

Kris sat themselves down on the couch. They waited as Papyrus got them their drink.

“So far, things are a bit awkward, but they aren’t too bad,” They thought to themselves. “This guy seems to be really nervous. I guess they’ve probably never seen a human before, or at least never been alone with one. But then again, with how he’s acting I’d be surprised if he’s talked to any person one on one.”

“HERE YOU GO,” Papyrus said while placing a glass on the table next to Kris.

“Thanks.”

“YOU’RE… WELCOME.”

The tall skeleton then sat down on the other side of the couch.

Both Kris and he sat in awkward silence. Neither of them seemed willing to start a conversation.

“So, you’re… Sans’ brother. What’s that like?” Kris asked.

“UH… IT’S… INTERESTING. NOT EVERYONE CAN SAY THAT THEIR BROTHER RUNS A STORE…”

“Oh, that’s… cool. I have a brother too.”

“YOU DO?”

“He’s a good guy. He’s off at college right now, but he’s coming back in a few days.”

“THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT’LL BE… FUN. I’VE NEVER BEEN AWAY FROM MY BROTHER THAT LONG. HE’S ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR ME, EVER SINCE I WAS A SMALL SKELETON,” Papyrus explained.

“That’s… neat. It’s nice to have someone that sticks by you like that.”

“YES, IT IS…”

The two of them then returned to the silence that had come into the room before. Both of them looked away from each other. Kris took an extra-long sip of their drink to keep from speaking while Papyrus fixed his gaze on the corner of the wall.

Kris then took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Alright this is going nowhere fast,” they thought to themselves. “There’s got to be something to talk about. Maybe I can ask him what his hobbies are? Or about the weather? I don’t know. Talking has never been my strong suit and him being so quiet isn’t helping. All I need to do is say something, anything to move this along. That way we can both go back to not talking to anyone.”

“So, um… you look about my age, but I haven’t seen you at school. What’s that about?” Kris asked.

“I’VE BEEN HOMESCHOOLED ALL MY LIFE… MY BROTHER HAS TAUGHT ME WHEN HE CAN. HE’S A PRETTY GOOD TEACHER. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO MATH AND SCIENCE,” Papyrus awkwardly answered. “BUT NOW HE THINKS THAT I NEED TO AT LEAST GET SOME REGULAR SCHOOLING INTO ME BEFORE I HEAD OFF TO COLLEGE. IF THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO, ANYWAY. I’M… PRETTY SCARED TO GO… I’VE NEVER REALLY DONE ANYTHING LIKE IT. HOWEVER, THERE’S NO USE TRYING TO PUT IT OFF. MY BROTHER SAYS ‘I CAN HANDLE IT’ AND IF HE BELIEVES I CAN THEN I’M SURE I CAN. MY BROTHER ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT MY LIMITS ARE.”

“Huh, guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other then.”

“IT WOULD SEEM SO…MAYBE THAT’S WHY HE INVITED YOU HERE? HE WANTED ME TO KNOW AT LEAST SOMEONE BEFORE I WENT.”

“That makes sense.”

Kris understood why they were here now. They were like the free sample they handed out in grocery stores. A little taste of something to figure out if you’d be interested or not.

They figured that they were the perfect candidate for such a task. They were a human which would put him off, but they were quiet and nonthreatening enough to not scare him too bad. A way to make a friend with someone at the school, or at least familiarize themselves with someone.

“So…? Since we’re going to be hanging out more, I guess we should know at least a little more about each other.”

“I GUESS SO. BUT WHAT TO TALK ABOUT?”

“Our hobbies…?” Kris awkwardly suggested. “Like, what do you like to do in your spare time? Do you play some games?”

For the first time since Kris met them, the shy skeleton showed them something that Kris didn’t think was possible. There was a spark of genuine excitement and enthusiasm. It was fleeting, but there nonetheless.

“WELL, YOU SEE… I’M A HUGE FAN OF TABLETOP GAMES. I LOVE ‘TOWERS AND TITANS’ ESPECIALLY. IT’S ALSO KNOWN AS ‘T&T’ FOR SHORT. I’VE DONE SO MANY CAMPAIGNS AND CREATED SO MANY CHARACTERS. I PLAY WITH MY BROTHER AND SOME PEOPLE ONLINE. PARTICULARLY ON THIS ONE SITE CALLED ‘ROLEPLAYNATION.’ IT’S SIMPLY WONDERFUL HOW MANY POSSIBILITIES THERE ARE IN THE GAME WITH ITS RULESET. I SPENT HOURS CONSTRUCTING LOCATIONS IN MY MODULES. RIGHT NOW I’M DESIGNING A CAMPAIGN FOR MY WARLOCK CHARACTER THAT SPECIALIZES IN NECROMANCY. THE CHARACTER’S NAME IS IVOR AND HE’S BEEN ONE OF MY FAVORITES TO PLAY AS. HE ONCE BROUGHT A DRAGON BACK TO LIFE AND FLEW IT INTO THE VILLAINOUS FROST KING’S KEEP AND-”

Papyrus suddenly silenced himself once he saw Kris’ face. The look of utter bewilderment on the poor human’s face showed that the skeleton had gone too fast for them.

“OH, I’M SORRY…” he apologized in a tone that was much similar to his shy tone from before. “I GOT TOO EXCITED THERE… DIDN’T I?”

“Yeah…” they answered.

“OH GOD, I’M SORRY. IT’S JUST KIND OF MY FAVORITE THING AND, WELL, I LIKE TO TALK AT MY OWN SPEED. WHICH OFTEN IS TOO FAST FOR MOST PEOPLE…”

“It’s okay,” Kris assured them. “I honestly just wasn’t expecting that…”

Kris saw Papyrus retreat back into himself, his eyes turning away from them. For one moment Papyrus had opened up freely to them. But now he was back to being closed up.

“I’m sorry. All that stuff did sound really cool. I’m sure it’s really fun to play,” Kris told him. “Maybe we can play that game together sometime?”

Papyrus turned his head back toward them with a happy but still unsure expression. “REALLY? YOU’D DO THAT FOR ME?”

Kris nodded in reply.

“THANK YOU. I’VE NEVER HAD ANYONE IN PERSON OUTSIDE MY BROTHER SAY THEY’D PLAY WITH ME,” Papyrus said happily. “I PROMISE WHEN WE PLAY TOGETHER IT’LL BE AN AMAZING ADVENTURE YOU’LL NEVER FORGET.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Kris answered.

Suddenly the two of them heard the front door open. “heya, paps i’m back,” a familiar voice greeted.

Papyrus and Kris turned their heads to see a short skeleton in a blue hoodie and shorts at the door.

“HELLO, BROTHER.”

“nice to see you, bro,” Sans responded. The round skeleton then saw Kris sitting near him. “ah, so you decided to show up. thanks for doing that. i didn’t think you would.”

Kris looked at him confused. They weren’t sure whether or not to be offended by the fact he didn’t think they would show up.

“well, i'm here now so you’re relieved of duty. i can take it from here, pal.”

“BROTHER, CAN THEY STAY A LITTLE LONGER? I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TALKING ABOUT T&T WITH THEM.”

“huh, didn’t think you’d connect with them so quickly. it’s certainly humerus that a human would be the one to connect with my quiet little bro,” Sans said, slightly surprised. “sadly i think they should go. they probably have a ton of homework. a skele-ton.”

Kris was about to rebut him, but having given it some second thought they knew he was right. They did have a lot of work to do. Mainly due to the fact they'd missed school both that day and the day before.

This project they were working on wasn’t exactly an inconsequential grade either. It would be practically impossible to pass this semester if they didn’t do well on it.

Kris wasn’t the biggest lover of school but they knew the only thing worse than sitting through a class was sitting through the same class next year.

“Yeah, I should go,” they told the two of them.

Kris saw as Papyrus’ expression turned to a dour one.

“It’s okay, Papyrus. We can talk some other time,” They comforted him.

“OKAY…” the skeleton said with a sigh.

“don’t worry, paps. soon you’ll be at school with them. i’m sure you could enroll to have some time together.”

“BROTHER, THAT PUN WAS REACHING,” Papyrus said, slightly annoyed. “HOWEVER, I DO APPRECIATE THE SENTIMENT.”

“heh, thanks.”

“YOU’RE WELCOME.”

“anyway, i'll show this guy out. you can stay inside paps.”

“ALRIGHT. SEE YOU LATER, KRIS.”

“Bye.”

Sans then walked Kris to the door. They stepped outside and Kris felt the temperate air of early autumn on their skin. The sun had begun to set and had made the sky a glowing orange much like the trees that were dispersed all over the town.

Kris stepped off the wooden steps of the house and onto the concrete sidewalk.

“hey, kid,” Sans said to them.

Kris turned around and looked at the short, round skeleton.

“i just wanted to say ‘thanks’ again for coming over to see my bro. you can tell he doesn’t have that many friends, at least friends in real life. i’m not sure how many friends he has on the internet.”

Kris nodded. They then started to walk away thinking the conversation was over.

“before you go kid, i want to tell you something,” Sans told them, causing Kris to stop and turn back. “i just wanted to give you some advice.i know you're probably pretty annoyed with adults giving you advice... guess you could say it's more like a vice." Sans paused to let the joke sink in. "...but anyway, i just wanted to say…” that you're at that age where the world starts to open up a lot for you. so many wonderful and new possibilities open up to ya. it can seem overwhelming. take it from me from someone who’s been through a lot. it's fine to just sit back and take the easy option of having a quiet life. you don’t have to stick your nose into everything if you don’t want to. it’s better to sometimes live a simple life. you understand?”

“I guess,” Kris replied.

“good,” he said with a happy expression on his face. “now run along. go have fun being a teen. you only get to do it once.”

“Sure.”

Kris then walked away. Heading home after a long day.

Chapter Text

“Morning, Kris,” a soft voice greeted.

Kris turned around and saw Noelle behind them in the hall. “Hey.”

“Did you have a good sleep last night? You seem a bit out of it today compared to yesterday,” she asked.

“I slept… fine.”

In truth, Kris did sleep fine... When they got the chance to sleep anyway. They had underestimated the amount of work they hadn’t done because of their absences thanks to the Dark World. They stayed up into the early hours of the morning to try to catch up on at least some of the work they had missed.

“That’s good…” Noelle said to them awkwardly.

Kris noticed that Noelle seemed to be a bit on edge. There was clearly something on her mind.

“Noelle, are you alright?”

The deer monster's eyes widened. “Um… well…” they shakily uttered. “Can we speak somewhere a little more private?”

“Sure,” they answered.

The two of them then walked away from Alphys’ classroom. They made their way up the hall toward the abandoned classroom. They settled themselves down next to one of the windows.

“So, what is it?” Kris asked her.

“I… wanted to ask you something. It’s about what Berdly said the other day. I know I shouldn’t read too much into gossip but… Is there any sort of truth to what he said about you and Susie?”

“No,” Kris flatly answered.

“Oh, thank goodness. I mean, I didn’t think it was true, but I just wanted to check,” she said, relieved.

“Why are you so interested in Susie and me?”

Kris saw Noelle’s face turn a shade of red. “Oh, just… you know… making sure you’re doing alright. I’ve heard what Susie can be like. Also, the two of you disappearing from class both yesterday and the day before was concerning.”

“You don’t have to worry. Susie and I are just friends.”

“Glad to hear. But now that I mention it, I know you said you and Susie were ‘hanging out.’ I'm just wondering, where do you two go?”

Kris froze up for a second. They were unsure what to say. However, one look to their side made them realize the perfect lie.

“Oh, we’ve been there,” they said, pointing at the door.

“You spent all of your time there?” she asked.

“Yeah, there’s actually a good amount of stuff in there that kept us entertained,” they explained. “Cards, board games, and a couple of other things to help us pass the time.”

“Oh, I didn’t think all that stuff would still be in there,” she said, slightly surprised.

“Yeah, it’s weird.”

“Still kind of strange that the two of you could spend the whole day there. I think board games and stuff like that is fun, but I don’t know if I could spend a whole school day playing them-”

Suddenly they both heard the bell ring.

“Oh, geez. Looks like we’ve got to get to class,” Noelle said.

“Yeah,” Kris simply replied.

The two of them began to head back to class with one another.

The rest of the school day passed by without anything of note. Kris and Susie stayed in class and focused on working on their assignments. Kris worked harder than Susie, who spent a good amount of time wondering what to do in the Dark World once school was over.

There was of course the occasional distraction or two. For instance, most of the class stopped working when MK fell face-first onto the floor after he went to sharpen his pencil.

Hours passed by and the class ended late in the afternoon. The students got up and headed toward the door.

“Goodbye… everyone. See you t-tomorrow,” Alphys told all of Kris’ classmates as they left.

Kris and Susie walked out of class together. They were headed toward the Dark World. However, unlike the last two times, Kris had made sure to tell their mother before disappearing for hours with Susie.

The two of them then fell into the darkness as they had before. It had become somewhat routine at this point considering it was their third time.

Soon the two of them were back in the courtyard of Ralsei’s castle. The Darkner prince waited for them on the steps that led into his castle.

“Kris. Susie. So nice of you to come by,” Ralsei happily greeted.

“Hi, Ralsei,” Kris answered.

“Hey, fluffy boy. It’s good to see you too,” Susie replied. “Made any progress on that whole legend nonsense?”

“Well… no. I spent a good while trying to research something to help us... But it seems that my inquiries were for nothing.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“It does indeed. Let’s not lose our faith just yet though. It’s only been a day.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Susie said casually. “But changing things up a bit, I was thinking about doing something that will definitely be fun. I think you’d enjoy it after waiting for us for so long.”

“I would enjoy some sort of entertainment,” the prince agreed. “What do you have in mind?”

“I think we should take you and Lancer up to our world!” she exclaimed enthusiastically.

Ralsei looked at her, shocked. “Really…?”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’d be great. Kris and I have seen plenty of the Dark World, but you haven’t seen any of ours. I think it’d be fun to show you guys around.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I’m not so sure…”

“You’ll be fine, Ralsei. We’ll be there to guide you around and make sure you guys don’t do anything stupid.”

“I don’t…” Ralsei began to speak but grew silent. His eyes then met with Kris. “Kris, do you think this is a good idea?”

The human was caught slightly off guard. It did sound like a good idea to them. It would be fun to show them around Hometown... But some things made them unsure -- Ralsei’s hesitancy being one of them, and another being the resemblance they had toward their adoptive family, especially Asriel.

Kris had never seen any monsters that looked like the Dreemurrs. They seemed to be a rather rare type of monster.

However, the benefits did outweigh the downsides in their mind. As long as they were careful, they figured that they should be fine.

“I think it’ll be okay,” they told him.

“Well, if you two are sure… I’ll come.”

“Awesome!” Susie exclaimed. “Come on, let's head over to the castle and get Lancer!”

Susie went on ahead while Kris and Ralsei stayed behind.

“Do you think I’ll be alright? Up in the Light World?” he meekly asked them.

“You’ll be fine, Ralsei. I’m sure.”

“You’re right,” Ralsei said happily. The prince then began to walk out to Card Castle. “Time for me to face my fears.”

Kris and Ralsei met up with Susie and the three of them headed toward Card Castle. After a trip through the transportation door and a short walk through the forest, they arrived. They then rode the elevator up to the top floor. Soon they were in the throne room with the small King of Spades sitting in his throne, alongside his High Duke.

“Hey Clowns!” Lancer enthusiastically greeted them.

“Hi, Lancer. Sorry, we’re here late but we had stuff to deal with in our world. Along with picking up the fluffy boy.” Susie explained.

“Eh, that’s alright,” he said, understanding. “What I’m more interested in is what we’re going to do! Are we gonna go around pulling pranks? Or should I show off my amazing sound effects?!”

“Actually Lancer I have an idea that’s way more awesome than all of that. We’re going to show you the Light World!”

Lancer's face lit up with enthusiasm. “Visiting the Light World?! That sounds great! I can’t wait!”

The young king almost leaped out of his chair at that very moment. However, his High Duke restrained him.

“Hold it, your majesty,” Rouxls Kaard told him.

“Aw...come on Lesser Dad! I want to go!” he protested.

“I just want to make sure that you’ll be safe,” he explained. He then looked over at Ralsei, Susie, and Kris. “Are thoust three of you sure that you can protect his lordship in your world?”

“Don’t worry, Kaard. We won’t let him get into trouble.” Susie said to him. “Isn’t that right guys?”

“Yes, his majesty will be taken care of with us,” Ralsei added. “He’s not only the king but our friend. The three of us are willing to protect him from anything.”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine with us,” Kris assured Rouxls.

The duke let out a sigh. “I guess he can go. I’ll make sure to keep everything in order for his lordship while he’s gone.”

“Yes!” Lancer excitedly expressed. “Thank you so much, Lesser Dad!”

“I’m just doing my duties, my lord.”

Lancer stood up and ran toward Susie.

“Sweet. Now we can get going. To the Light World we go!” Susie exclaimed.

The four of them then walked out toward the fountain. They headed down the same path that they had before. Going through the dark passageway that led to the high bridge.

“This is so awesome! I finally get to see where you and that other clown came from!”

“It’ll be great to show you around. It’s nowhere near as cool as this place. But it does have its moments,” Susie explained to him.

“I bet there’ll be a lot more of those moments with us there!” Lancer said with a big smile.

“Hell yeah!”

The fun gang soon finished their journey. They all took a moment to stare up at the imposing pillar of light.

“Woah. I’ve never seen it this close before.”

“You haven’t, Lancer?” Susie asked.

“Nope. My dad kept me far away from this thing. Ever since this appeared he made sure no one got close to it.”

“Weird,” Susie answered.

“It does make a good amount of sense,” Ralsei interjected. “This is a tear in reality. It is understandable to think that it is dangerous. Who knows what can happen with this if someone tampered with it?”

“It’s certainly a scary thought,” Kris said.

Susie rolled her eyes. “Who cares? That’s for us to worry about later. Right now let’s focus on getting to the Light World.”

“I guess you are right…” Ralsei sighed.

“Yeah! Let’s get moving, clowns!”

The four of them then walked closer to the fountain. Susie and Lancer were up in front while Kris and Ralsei were in the back. All of them were a few paces away from it now. They could feel the energy of the obelisk. The power that connected two worlds to another.

“Here we are,” Susie told them. “Are we ready to go?”

“I’m ready!” Lancer answered.

“I am,” Kris added.

“If the rest of you are ready then...so am I,” Ralsei said nervously.

“Well come on then. Let’s move out!” Susie said, beckoning them forward.

They all walked forward to the portal. However, before they started to walk, Ralsei stalled for a moment. Kris walked over to him, seeing the hesitancy in his eyes.

“It’s okay,” Kris assured him. They then offered him their hand. “We’ll go together.”

Ralsei smiled at the gesture. “We’ll go together,” he said, taking Kris’ hand.

Through the softness of Ralsei's hand, Kris could feel his will from within. The will to face his fear...

Kris’ eyes slowly opened. As the blurriness in their vision faded, they saw the familiar sight of them wearing their yellow and green sweater -- along with the carpet that lay at their feet.

“We made it,” they heard a soft voice say, happily.

Kris looked to their side and saw Ralsei standing next to them.

The prince’s appearance had changed. He had changed out of his robes and large wizard hat for something that would appear more commonplace in the light world. His hat had transformed into a large sun hat, his robes into a green-colored shirt and blue jeans. They dressed as if they were anyone else. Not a magician from another plane of existence.

“Awesome!” Lancer shouted. “We’re finally here!”

Kris saw that Lancer too had gone into a bit of a makeover. He was now wearing a blue hoodie that covered the top half of his face as his Dark world outfit had. It had a big black spade symbol in the middle. He also had a pair of black pants covering his legs-- Something that his previous attire did not.

“Yeah, we did,” Susie said happily. “I can’t wait to show you and Ralsei around. What should we do first?”

“Whatever it is, we need to get out of here,” Kris told them.

“Oh. Right,” Susie replied. The purple lizard then walked to the door. “Come on guys. Let’s get moving.”

Susie then opened the door and walked out into the hall. Lancer, Kris, and Ralsei followed her.

The late-day sun was shining light into the hall. It highlighted the tile floor, making what was rather mundane during the daytime beautiful in the twilight.

“What is this place?” Ralsei asked as he looked down the hall.

“This is our school,” Susie answered. “It’s where we found the doorway to the Dark World. Also, it’s where Kris and I learn a bunch of stuff. At least, that’s what it’s supposed to be. We usually spend about twenty percent of the time actually learning and the rest of the time doing busy work.”

“Sounds weird,” Lancer commented. “Kind of sounds like the lessons Lesser Dad made me do. I had trouble paying attention to him most of the time. Except for when he talked about cool stuff like magic!”

“This place honestly sounds marvelous to me. Or at least the idea of it,” Ralsei explained. “A place to just spend hours learning.”

Susie let out some air from her mouth in a dismissive tone. “Of course you’d like it here. You seem like the type made to love school.”

“Guilty as charged, I suppose,” Ralsei said with an awkward laugh.

“Hey Clowns. What’s up with the light coming in from those windows?” Lancer asked.

“I believe that’s the Light World’s Sun,” Ralsei replied. “It’s something unique to the Light World. It’s a giant glowing ball of light where most of their light comes from. It is high in the sky. It rises in the east and sets in the west. It’s supposed to be spectacular.”

“Something can do all that? That sounds awesome!”

“Oh, it is,” Susie explained. “It is one of the few things that the Light World has over the Dark World.”

“Let’s go see it!” Lancer shouted excitedly.

“Alright, alright follow me,” Susie told them.

Susie led the fun gang toward the front of the school. After a few moments, they came to the doors. Susie then began to slowly open the door. She wanted to give at least some gravitas to the situation.

Light began to bleed in from the cracks in the semi-opened door. Rays of light shot toward them. It caused both Lancer and Ralsei to cover their eyes.

When the two of them looked up they saw the door was now fully opened.

“Welcome to the Light World,” Susie told the two of them.

Lancer walked toward the door and Ralsei followed him outside. Kris and Susie then headed out soon after them.

Kris and Susie saw the two of them standing out on the road. They could see that both Ralsei and Lancer were in awe of their surroundings. Every small little thing about this world fascinated them.

However, what stood out to them was the sunset. It was a wonderful combination of colors, from the reddish-orange of the clouds to the soft blue of the sky.

“It’s… I don’t even know what to say,” Lancer said.

“It’s more wondrous than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Kris watched them and smiled. They realized at this moment that even something as simple as a sunset could mean so much. All they needed was to look through a new pair of eyes. The eyes of those who had been in the dark.

Chapter Text

The fun gang walked around Hometown. Ralsei and Lancer marveled at practically everything they passed. Kris and Susie, meanwhile, made sure to keep an eye on them to make sure the two Darkners didn’t do something they weren’t supposed to.

“Man, everything about this place is amazing!” Lancer exclaimed. “I wish I had come to the Light World sooner!”

“Now you get how Kris and I felt when we were in the Dark World for the first time,” Susie told him. “It was so different from here or any other place we’ve ever been. Don’t you remember how amazing it was, Kris?”

Kris nodded. “It was amazing, but I also remember you freaking out and being shot at by both plants and Lancer,” they answered.

“Yeah. For how cool it is, the Dark World did not give us a warm welcome.”

“Luckily I supplied that for you,” Ralsei chimed in with a smile. “It must've been nice to see a happy face after what you had been through.”

“Yeah, it was nice to see something that didn’t shoot us on sight,” Susie said with a sarcastic chuckle.

“Well...I suppose that’s technically true,” Ralsei awkwardly replied.

“Hey clowns! Where are we going next?” Lancer asked. A large grumble from Lancer cut him off before he could say anything else.

“I think your stomach just answered your question for us,” Susie said to him. “We need to go to a place that can get us some food.”

“Oh boy! Light World food!” Lancer exclaimed. “I wonder what kind of amazing things you have? Light World candies, cakes, pies, all sorts of delicious stuff!”

“I wouldn’t mind something to eat. I am a bit peckish.” Ralsei told them. “What places do you recommend?”

“Well there’s Ice-e’s, but I am not sure anything out of that place is actually edible,” Susie explained.

“Yeah, that’s saying something coming from you,” Kris remarked.

“Shut up,” Susie said while looking annoyed at Kris. “Anyway, I think our best bet is the dinner we have here. The food there is pretty good. Also not expensive.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Ralsei said with a smile.

“Yeah let’s get going!” Lancer said happily.

“Alright, just walk up this way and we’ll get there,” Susie said, pointing up the road.

The four of them then walked up the path.

The diner soon came into view. It was an average-sized building with large windows and white paint on the bottom half. This was in contrast to the roof. It was red, along with the letters that were on top of it. The color stood out against the yellow orangish leaves that surrounded them. The letter’s reading out “QC’s DINER”.

The four of them started to walk toward the front door. However, before they got inside Susie came up to Kris. “Hey, Kris.”

“What?” they replied.

“Do you have any money? I don’t have any and will need at least a little bit of it to eat anything in there.” Susie explained.

“I have about two dollars on me,” they told her.

“Ugh. I guess we can get us all at least some drinks but that’s it,” she said, frustrated. “Damn, I was looking forward to eating some stuff.”

Kris shrugged. “Sorry.” They apologized.

“It’s...fine,” she said, disgruntled.

Kris wished that they had taken those five dollars from Asriel’s nightstand. It wouldn’t have helped much but it would’ve been something.

The four of them then headed inside.

The place was as Kris remembered it. A quiet small homey dinner that they had spent an extraordinary amount of time in. Whether it was with their family on Sunday mornings or having a quiet lunch with Asriel during summer vacation.

It was also packed with monsters. There was a small mouse monster with a ridiculously tall cowboy hat, a wolf in a t-shirt that was obviously two sizes too small, a family of dragons at one of the booths, two guys in armor on a romantic date, along with the typical staff of a lion waitress, the bunny shopkeeper, and Cattie.

“This place is so cool!” Lancer exclaimed.

“Dude...it’s a diner. You live in a literal castle.” Susie told him.

“Castles are cool but so is this place! They’re just...different types of cool,” Lancer rebutted.

“Well, I guess that’s true…” Susie replied awkwardly.

“Let’s go get a seat!” Lancer said, rushing off.

“Lancer!” Susie exclaimed.

The small round dark royal found his way into one of the red empty booths. He took a seat next to one of the large windows. Susie followed him along with Ralsei and Kris.

“Oh boy. I wonder what they have here?” Lancer said, grabbing a menu. He looked through the laminated paper. He marveled at the pictures of the items. “Ooo...what’s this ‘Hometown Special?’ It has so much yummy food.”

Susie looked at the menu and saw that it was well out of their price range. “Hey, Lancer?”

“What is it, Susie?” he asked.

“Uh...maybe hold back on…” she tried to explain.

Lancer kept looking at Susie with his big happy face while she was silent. “On…?”

“Hold back...on...not holding back! Come on Lancer! You’re a king, order like it!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah! We should get some sides! And dessert too!”

“That’s the spirit Lancer!” she shouted.

“Oh my. Looks like we’re going to be eating quite a bit,” Ralsei commented. “I hope I have enough room for all of it.”

“I guess that’s what happens when we get two of the most eager eaters to order for us,” Kris told him.

Kris sighed. It looked like Susie couldn’t say no to Lancer. Now they were going to have to find some way to pay for their food. They wondered if the staff would make them wash dishes as they did in a lot of tv shows.

Soon the four of them all ordered their food and drinks. Lancer and Susie ordered the more extravagant items. Sugary sodas, platters of fried food, and plenty of sides. It was as if they were ordering a whole buffet for themselves.

Ralsei and Kris were more modest. Ralsei ordered a cup of hot tea while Kris ordered some apple juice. They then both picked out two meals for one another.

“Man this is good,” Susie said in between scarfing down some french fries.

“This is food fit for a king!” Lancer happily exclaimed.

Ralsei sighed. “You two could show some better table manners, you know?”

“Oh come on Ralsei. Let us splurge a little bit. It’s a special occasion. Darkners in the Light World for the first time in...I dunno, a really long time.” Susie countered.

“I guess, but still…” the prince said, disgruntled.

“Look I understand being a prince and all you’re used to being sophisticated and crap but relax. You’re in our world now. Even if people do care about how we look, screw them. It’s not like I care about anyone’s opinion or anything,” She explained.

“S-Susie…?” a voice suddenly asked.

Susie then turned her head to see who had called her name. The voice belonged to a sweet reindeer girl in a green and red sweater.

“Uh...hi…Noelle,” she awkwardly replied. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh I was just going to get something to eat before I headed home,” she told her.

“Oh well, that’s cool-”

“Susie, who's this?” Lancer asked, interrupting her.

“Lancer I was in the middle of something,” she said annoyed through her gritted sharp teeth.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Noelle said. “I’m Noelle. Nice to meet you.”

“I am Lancer! Susie’s coolest of cool friend! I am also the mighty king of card castle!” He greeted her enthusiastically.

“Wait...king of what?” Noelle asked, confused.

“Well-” Lancer began to say but was quickly stopped.

Susie put one of her hands over his mouth. “Oh nothing y’know little kids and their imaginations,” she told her.

“R-Right…” Noelle muttered.

“Anyway, Kris is also here along with Ralsei,” Susie explained.

“Hello there.” The boss monster happily greeted her with a wave. “Noelle was it?”

The reindeer monster’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, you’re Ralsei?” Noelle asked.

“I am. Marvelous to meet you,” he told her.

“Wow. You look so much like Asriel,” she said, perplexed. Are you a cousin of his or something?”

“I am not sure what you’re talking about-”

“Yeah, he is.” Kris chimed in abruptly. “He’s my cousin...”

Kris and Noelle stared at each other silently for a moment. Kris was tense. They wondered with bated breath if their lie was good enough to stymie Noelle’s suspicion.

“Oh. That’s interesting…” she said awkwardly.

Kris breathed a sigh of relief. It looks like their deception had been believed.

“He’s from out of town. He’s come to visit here for the next few days.” Kris explained.

“Alright. Well, I hope you’re having a nice time here in Hometown Ralsei.” Noelle told him. “Even if it is small.”

“Thank you, Noelle. I have been enjoying my time here. Kris along with everyone else has been excellent tour guides.” he said with a smile. “You have a marvelous, charming town.”

“Well, I am glad that you like our town. I hope we can see each other again,” she replied.

“I hope we can see each other again soon as well.” Ralsei agreed. “You seem like a wonderful young lady.”

“Order number twenty-two!” the bunny monster behind the counter called out.

“Oh. That’s my order. I guess I should get going.” Noelle explained. “See you all later.”

“See ya later Noelle,” Susie said.

“Goodbye Susie’s friend!” Lancer exclaimed.

“Bye,” Kris told her.

“Good day Noelle,” Ralsei said with a wave.

The festive reindeer then walked away to the counter.

“I think we should get going also. My mom wants me back before dark.” Kris told everyone at the table.

“Yeah. I think I’ve had enough to eat.” Susie agreed.

“After eating a mountain of food like that with Lancer I’d be surprised if you weren’t.” Kris sarcastically remarked under their breath.

“What was that?!” Susie shouted.

“Nothing,” Kris answered.

“Well, whatever. There’s still the problem with paying for all of this,” Susie said with a sigh.

“What do you mean Susie?” Ralsei asked, concerned.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Lancer added on.

“Ugh. We kind of splurged a bit on you guys.” She admitted. “Kris and I don’t have the money to pay for all the food we ordered.”

“What?” Ralsei said, confused.

“It’s true,” Kris explained.

“Oh. That is quite a problem.” Ralsei realized. “Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner? Lancer and I would’ve understood.”

“I just...couldn’t say no alright,” Susie explained. “I just wanted to make sure we all had a nice time.”

“Susie. You and Kris didn’t have to do this,” Lancer told her.

“I know but...we can’t really change that now, can we?” Susie said, frustrated.

“I guess not.” The Darkner said, sadly.

Susie then looked at Kris. “Come on Kris. We got to go fess up,” she told them.

“Yep,” Kris said with a sigh.

Kris and Susie then got up from the table and headed over to the front counter. They stood up by the register.

“Hey. We’re here to pay for our food.” Susie explained.

The server from behind the counter looked toward them. “Oh, that won’t be necessary. Noelle just paid for the four of you,” she explained.

“What?” Susie asked, surprised.

“Yep. I think she overheard your money troubles and decided to pay for you,” she told them. “She’s such a kind girl.”

“Wow. I can’t believe Noelle did that for us.” Susie said, surprised. “Why would she do that…?”

There was a part of Kris that wanted to tell her that Noelle had a thing for her. But they figured now wasn’t the best time to reveal that. Kris just shrugged.

“I guess she’s nice like that,” they replied.

“Maybe?” Susie said, pondering the question to herself. She then shook her head. “Ah, whatever. We got free food out of this. What does it matter? Let’s just get going.”

Kris nodded. The two of them then headed back to the table to get Ralsei and Lancer.

“Well, today was certainly interesting,” Ralsei said as he walked down the school hall.

“I’ll say! We got to see so much cool stuff today. I can’t wait to explore more of the Light World.” Lancer happily said with a smile.

“Oh trust me there’s plenty more we’re going to show you guys,” Susie explained. “I can’t wait to do some really fun stuff with you. The pranks we’ll be able to pull together will be amazing.”

“Yes! No one will stand a chance against us. No one will go unhigh jinxed!” The small darkner said with a laugh.

“I honestly fear for the members of this town's safety,” Ralsei said, concerned.

The four of them then came to the door that led to the Dark World. The two grey metal doors had a sort of eeriness to them. An eeriness that only the four of them could understand. The doors that separated one realm from another.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Susie said to Ralsei and Lancer.

“Yes. Sad that we must part ways for now.” the goat prince said with a sigh.

“Don’t worry,we’ll be back tomorrow,” Kris reassured him.

“I know,” he said with a smile.

Ralsei and Lancer then walked up to the doors. Ralsei grabbed the handle and opened it.

“See you, clowns, later!” Lancer exclaimed, looking back at both Kris and Susie.

“Bye Lancer,” Susie said with a wave.

“Farewell Kris and Susie,” Ralsei told them.

“Bye,” Kris replied.

The two darkners then headed through the door and closed the doors behind them.

Susie and Kris stood there awkwardly for a moment. Staring at the doors.

“Guess we should get going,” Kris said.

“Yeah,” Susie told them.

The two of them started to walk back from where they came. They walked toward the front of the school but Susie stopped for a moment.

“What’s up?” Kris asked.

Susie looked around for a second. She stared down the adjacent halls. “Nothing,” she explained. “I just thought I heard something.”

They both then headed out of the school. Heading to each other’s homes for the evening.

A reindeer monster then walked out of one of the classrooms. She looked around to see if anyone else was still there.

“Looks like they are gone,” Noelle thought to herself. She then headed toward the pair of grey doors that Kris and Susie had just been at. “I knew something strange was going on.”

She went up to the doors to the supply closet and inspected them. “I wonder what these doors have to do with it. I mean, it’s weird. What could be in this supply closet of all things?” she wondered.

Suddenly both of the doors swung open, catching Noelle off balance. “Woah!” she shouted. She leaned forward and stared into a black abyss. “No. No. No. No!”

Noelle plunged into a whole new world.

Chapter Text

Kris stared out the classroom window at the rather bleak outdoors. It was a cold gray morning with the wind howling outside. What’s worse was that there was supposed to be rain later. It seemed that the weather had decided to wrap up all the worst aspects of autumn into one day.

It was the type of weather that made Kris wish that they could just stay inside and wrap themselves up under their bedsheets.

However, they knew they had it better than some. At least they didn’t have to walk to school on a day like this. Their mother’s van was at least somewhat of a shelter from the cold, even if the trip was so short that the heater inside the car didn’t have time to properly warm up.

Kris would take the short car ride over walking. They only had to brave the frigid wind & rain for only less than a minute, when they had to get out of the car to walk to the school’s front door.

“Why the hell does it have to get so cold?!” Susie exclaimed, rubbing her hands together trying to get warm. “And why did it have to be a school day?!”

Kris shrugged. “The world decided to be a jerk today.”

“Well someone needs to punch the world in the face,” she grumbled. “I’ll do it!”

“Going to be pretty hard considering you’re nowhere near big enough and the world doesn’t have a face,” they answered.

“It would also be highly illogical even if you could,” a dismissive voice chimed in.

Both Kris and Susie turned to see Berdly sitting at a desk in front of them.

“For starters even if the world did have a face that could be ‘punched’ it would most likely cause irreparable damage to the people living on it,” he explained. “Is that what you want? Millions of people hurt because you were angry about the temperature today?”

Susie huffed. “One, I didn’t ask you for your opinion, seed breath. Second, you don’t get to lecture me about temperature with all your stupid heat-storing feathers.”

“You’re just jealous. My feathers are not only aesthetically pleasing but also practical, unlike your scales,” he replied pompously.

“Hey, my scales are fine!” she asserted. “Unlike you, I don’t have to spend an hour each morning in the bathroom preparing for the day.”

“I’m amazed, Susie. I didn’t even know you knew about freshening yourself up in the morning. Considering the usual state you have when you end up here,” he argued.

“Listen here you ass-”

“Ex-Excuse me!” Alphys suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone in the classroom turned their gaze over to the awkward yellow lizard. “Um…” she said. “Let’s just start class, alright? No need to get heated first thing in the morning.”

Susie and Berdly scowled at each other and then turned away.

“Not even worth the effort,” Susie mumbled under her breath.

“Okay…” Alphys said with a relieved sigh. “Now then, before we start the lesson. Is everybody h-here?”

“Everybody seems to be here, Teach. Except for Noelle.” Jockington answered.

“R-Really…? Out of all of the people here, Noelle is missing?”

“Seems like it, Mrs. A,” MK added.

“Huh, how weird. Does a-anyone know why she might be out?” she asked the class.

The class replied in a confused manner, and no one was able to give a clear answer.

Alphys then looked at Berdly. “Berdly. You’re Noelle’s partner. Do you know anything about where she might be?”

“Sadly no, Mrs. Alphys. We worked on our project in the library and then she went home. She seemed perfectly fine. Nothing about her made me think that she wouldn’t be here today,” he explained.

The yellow lizard teacher grimaced and then shook her head. “Oh well, it’s not t-that big a deal. Even great students like her are going to miss a day or two,” she said. “Now then, let’s get started. Everyone open your books up to page 663.”

The class did as they were told.

Kris reached down to grab their book but was stopped by Susie getting their attention.

“You think anything weird is going on with Noelle?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“Could be,” Kris answered.

“You think it could have anything to do with our stuff?”

“I don’t think so,” Kris disputed.

“Alright. I got to remember just because we found a magical world full of weird stuff, it’s not going to affect everything,” Susie agreed.

“Yo. What are you guys talking about?” MK asked.

“Nothing,” Susie told him. “And why are you talking with us? Pay attention to the teacher.”

“Wait, isn't that what we should all be doing…?” MK said, confused.

“Ugh, whatever,” Susie grunted. “Kris we’ll talk later.”

Kris nodded and all three of them turned their heads to the front of the class.

Susie and Kris headed into the Dark World at the end of the school day. The two of them walked casually as they headed for Ralsei’s castle once again.

“Man, am I glad that we headed here and not outside. I’ll take this kind of creepy dark wasteland instead of walking in that cold as hell rain,” Susie told Kris.

“Glad to know the Dark World is more enticing than cold rain,” Kris remarked.

“Well, you should understand. I mean you’re like me. You don’t have any feathers or fur to keep you warm,” she explained. “Heh, it must’ve sucked being the only nonfluffy member of the family in your house.”

“I won’t lie. They always kept the temperature a bit too cold for me,” Kris said.

“See! I knew you would understand,” Susie said with a smile.

The two of them walked into Castle Town. The familiar colors of black and blue of both the ground and the buildings surrounded them. They soon made their way to the castle.

However, before entering they heard the sound of Ralsei speaking to someone. “I know you’re growing impatient, but I swear they’ll be here any moment.”

Susie and Kris looked at one another confused.

“You said that for the last hour, minty fresh!”

“It has only been ten minutes since you got here.”

They entered the castle gate and saw Ralsei along with Lancer. The spade prince lay on the ground staring at the sky, showing how bored he was.

“Kris! Susie!” Ralsei joyfully greeted them.

“Clowns!” Lancer added.

“Hey, guys,” Susie answered.

“Hi,” Kris told them.

Lancer quickly got up from the floor and rushed over to Susie. “Thank goodness you’re finally here!” he exclaimed relieved. “I had been waiting for so long for you.”

“Lancer, you have not been waiting that long,” the fellow Darkner ruler countered.

“Well I’m still glad they’re here,” he said with a smile.

“So, couldn’t wait in your castle for us, huh?” Susie asked him.

“Nope! I wanted to see you as soon as I could!” Lancer answered.

“Heh, glad you like us so much you could descend from your lofty castle and go to… another castle,” she said with a small laugh.

“Yeah. It was cool to hang out around here. Nice to get a better look of the place I busted into.”

“Along with it being the place you crashed right into me…” Ralsei quietly said under his breath.

“So what’s our plan for today?” Susie asked them. “Are we going to raise some hell in the Light World? Or just hang out here?”

“I want to raise hell!” Lancer exclaimed.

“Now, now. We must remember that we still have to find the other heroes from the legend,” Ralsei reminded them. “We can’t spend all of our time on frivolous activities.”

“We’ll be fine, Ralsei. We haven’t seen or heard anything suspicious at all in the last couple of days,” Susie rebuked.

“That may be true but we must prepare. We do not know when another fountain could open or…”

The prince from the dark grew quiet.

“Or…?” Susie asked, confused.

He didn’t answer. It was clear something was off. He looked around as if he were trying to spot something.

“Ralsei what’s going on?” Kris asked him.

“Something is wrong,” Ralsei answered.

The sound of a large number of footsteps was heard by the four of them. It came from outside the castle courtyard and got louder and louder.

Susie summoned her large ax to her hands, Kris doing the same with their sword and shield, along with Ralsei and Lancer preparing for what was coming.

The vibrations of the footsteps shook them. All of them stared intently at the gate as they waited.

Suddenly, they saw what looked to be dark humanoid figures come into view. They wore black glass-like armor that covered them from head to toe. They looked like infantrymen from a medieval company of soldiers.

All of them marched into the courtyard with them surrounding the Fun Gang on three sides with the entrance into the castle proper at their backs.

“Who are these guys?!” Susie asked.

“I don’t know,” Ralsei answered.

Kris looked from side to side. They saw that there were about twenty of the figures. All of them standing unnaturally still in front of them. Most of them had rounded helmets except for one that appeared to have a cylinder-shaped one, along with having more ornate patterns on their armor.

The group of soldiers then all drew their blades simultaneously.

“Looks like they aren’t here to talk,” Susie told them.

“It looks like we have no choice but to defend ourselves,” Ralsei added. “I guess what I said the other day is going to be put into practice.”

“We’ll be okay! We’re plenty strong!” Lancer enthusiastically exclaimed.

The cylinder soldier pointed his obsidian blade toward the four of them. The infantry then charged forward.

“Here they come!” Susie shouted.

The first frantic clash began the battle. The sound of swords swiping and the crash of metal against one another echoed along the stone walls.

Kris defended themselves with their shield and then countered with a slash from their sword. They constantly had to keep up with defense while retaliating with their own attacks. These opponents were skilled but they had faced plenty of fierce attacks before.

Susie fended off a group of them with large swings of her ax. She quickly had to go on the defensive, however. She dodged many attacks as the dark soldiers tried to box her in.

Ralsei used his magic to sturdy his scarf. This made it so that he could use it as an effective shield and weapon. He attacked the pitch-black figures with it acting as a sort of whip. The Darkner Prince quickly shifted from that to defending it. In a mere blink of an eye, he could guard and then strike with the pink cloth.

Lancer's style of fighting was to shoot his spade-shaped projectiles at them. Firing off volleys of them so he could drive them back. He attacked them from as many angles as possible from above their heads to at their feet.

The four of them fought off the soldiers well. However, the sheer number of their opponents made it an issue. Having to try and keep control of the battle with so many was difficult.

Susie slashed her ax right in the middle of one of the soldiers cutting them clean in half. However, instead of the gruesome display that she expected or a body dropping to the floor, the figure shattered into a million pieces. It broke apart into a fine shiny black powder. The glass they were made of turned back into the sand. Then the sand faded away.

After the first defeat, the Fun Gang started to strike down more of the dark soldiers. Kris stabbed them in the chest, Ralsei smashed his scarf against them, and Lancer shot them with enough of his attacks. All of them started to pick off a couple of them.

However, their sheer numbers made it so Kris and the others' gaining control of the fight was hard-fought. They couldn’t stop for one moment, they couldn’t falter.

“Do these guys ever stop?!” Susie shouted in frustration.

“Eventually, yes,” Ralsei replied.

“So does everything!” she answered back. “That’s not what I-”

“Susie!”

One of the dark soldiers knocked Susie off balance. It was their commander. The one with the cylinder helmet and sumptuous armor.

Susie quickly recovered. She muttered an obscenity under her breath.

The dark commander then swung his pitch-black blade at her.

The purple monster blocked the attack. She then went on the offensive. She slashed at the soldier but they simply dodged or blocked her attacks with ease.

The dark soldier suddenly pushed Susie to the ground.

“Susie!” Lancer shouted.

Kris glanced at Susie. They saw that she had fallen onto the hard stone ground.

They wanted to help her but the dark forces kept their pressure upon them.

Susie took a deep breath and tried to get back up. However, before she could, the commander stood over her. The blade of theirs was drawn.

Susie quickly grabbed her weapon.

The commander jutted his sword down toward her.

She caught the blade using the hilt of her ax. She pushed against his sword as hard as she could.

However, the sharp tip kept edging closer and closer to her abdomen. Nothing could stop it.

“Susie!” Kris cried.

Suddenly, before the sword could pierce her something quickly flew right into the commander’s back.

Susie saw that a cold blue arrow, made of ice, was lodged in the soldier’s chest.

The commander then shattered as his subordinates had before. Disintegrating into black sand but this time there was white snow mixed in.

As soon as they fell the remaining soldier faded away. Gone from everyone’s sight. Only the Fun Gang remained there alone in the empty courtyard.

“What happened?” Susie asked herself. She then turned her head up and saw standing a couple of feet away from her, a familiar reindeer in a white cloak. “Noelle?”

“Susie!” the reindeer monster exclaimed. She then ran over to Susie and looked down at her. “A-Are you alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” she told her.

“Oh thank goodness,” she said, relieved.

“I’m just wondering. What the heck are you doing here?” Susie asked.

“Well, I…” she shyly said.

“Noelle?” someone asked from behind her.

She looked up and saw Kris standing next to them. “Kris!” she exclaimed. “You’re here too?”

“Y-Yeah,” they answered.

“Um… If I may interrupt,” Ralsei requested.

“Oh, Ralsei. Nice to see you again,” Noelle told them.

“It’s nice to see you again too, Noelle,” Ralsei said with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you again, red-nosed clown,” Lancer interjected.

“Um… Thank you. Lancer, was it?” Noelle said, confused.

“Yep! Good to know you remember the best name there is!” he said happily.

“Yes, it is pleasant to see you. However, what are you doing here?” Ralsei asked.

“What are you doing here, Noelle?” Susie added on.

“Oh. Well… I just…” she said, stumbling over her words. “I sort of followed the four of you yesterday after you left the dinner.”

“Wait, what? Why?” Susie asked.

“I was just wondering what you were up to. Kris and you had been acting so weird the last couple of days. I felt like I had to find out what was going on,” she explained. “So I followed you back to the school to the supply closet. Then I looked inside and fell into this place.”

“Oh, so you entered the Dark World by accident?” Ralsei commented.

“That’s what this place is called?” Noelle said surprised.

“Yep,” Kris told her. “Which I mean fits considering how well… dark it is.”

“I guess so,” Noelle said. “Anyway, I woke up later in this dark place with beige stone. I had no idea where I was. There was nothing but blackness all around me except for the ground. I wandered around for a bit. It took me a while to find my way out of there. Also, not going to lie, I was scared to keep walking. The weird plants that shot at me didn’t help. I eventually slid down this big hill and made my way to the place outside the castle. I looked around to try and find someone but no one was around. I left the town after that thinking the castle was abandoned too. I then walked to this big door and headed to this field with red and purple trees. I spent some time around there where I luckily found some food in the trees. But while I was eating the candy I found I heard a bunch of loud footsteps. I hid and saw that it was a big group of knights heading to where I had been. I was curious to see where they were going and followed them. I saw that they marched into the castle and started to attack the place. I was scared and didn’t know what to do. But then I heard your voices and you can guess the rest from there.”

“Woah. That sounds like quite a day,” Ralsei told her. “I am glad you kept yourself safe.”

“But that doesn’t explain one thing,” Susie interjected. “Why did she try to save me? And how did she know that she could pull out a bow?”

“I just saw you on the ground and knew I had to do it. I couldn’t just do nothing. The bow just appeared in my hands. It was like it just appeared when I needed it,” she explained.

“Oh,” Susie said, enlightened. “Well… thanks for saving me.”

“You’re welcome,” Noelle said with a small smile. “But now that this is all over I’d like to go home.”

“After the day you describe I can totally understand why,” Ralsei told her. “We’d be happy to lead you home.”

“It’s the least we can do after all the weird stuff you’ve seen today,” Kris added.

“Yeah, definitely,” Susie said. “Let’s get you back to a place with some actual freaking color.”

“Fine with me,” Noelle told them.

The group of them then headed out to the eastern fountain.

Chapter Text

Kris and the rest of the fun gang walked through the dark world forest as they made their way to the warp door. The group of them were chatting along the way. Explaining their past adventures to Noelle.

“So, you guys took down an evil king?” Noelle asked.

“Yep,” Susie answered. “The jerk put up a good fight and even played dirty, but we got them. Then we installed this little ball of trouble on the throne.”

“That would be ‘Royal Little Ball of Trouble,’ thank you very much,” Lancer countered with his tongue sticking out.

“My apologies, your majesty,” she replied in a fictitious tone.

“It’s okay, you’re the coolest of Lancer’s friends, Susie,” he jokingly reassured.

Noelle let out a small giggle. “You two seem pretty close.”

“Heck yeah! Susie and I are a dynamic duo that all shall love but also fear!” Lancer exclaimed.

“Whatever you say, tiny king,” Susie said with a smile.

The group came to the red door with a technicolor aura seeping through the frame.

“What’s this?” the reindeer asked.

“This is a sort of ‘shortcut.’ Somewhere we need to go to return you home to the Light World,” Ralsei explained. “Think of it as a portal.”

“Oh wow! A real magic portal!” she exclaimed with stars in her eyes. “It’s just like the warp points in Last Tale three. I mean- Sorry, six.”

“It’s quite alright, Noelle,” Ralsei assured her.

“Okay. So, will this take us to the portal to get me back home?” Noelle asked.

“Not quite. We’re going to have to go through a bit of Lancer’s castle first,” Susie explained.

“You’ll get to see the breathtaking sight of my fortress! It’ll be great!” Lancer happily exclaimed.

Kris opened the door and walked through it with the rest of them following behind them. In an instant, they were in the shadow of the card castle.

“Woah… it’s like an actual castle. I never thought I’d see something like this,” Noelle said, amazed.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy isn’t it?” Kris told her.

“Eh. I’ve gotten used to it,” Susie said with a shrug.

The five of them continued walking to the castle. Noelle continued staring around at the mighty fortress as they approached.

As they entered Card Castle, Noelle was amazed by the monochrome aesthetic of the interior. They walked to the elevator located on the bottom floor and rode it up to the throne room.

“I didn’t expect a working elevator in a castle of all places,” Noelle said as they rose.

The elevator came to a stop as they reached the top floor. The Fun Gang stepped off the elevator.

“Ah! Thoust majesty has returned!” Rouxls Kaard eloquently exclaimed.

“Heya, High Duke!” Lancer replied. “Brought the clowns here again. And guess what, there's a new one!”

“Oh? Thou hast brought another harlequin miscreant to the castle…”

“Hello, I am Noelle, sir. I mean… duke? Or is it your grace?” Noelle wondered aloud.

“It is your grace,” Rouxls explained. “However I am verily glad that you even botherest.”

“Yeah, we usually just call him by his name,” Susie interjected. “Isn’t that right Roxul Card?”

“It is Rouxls Kaard, you worm!” he shouted, frustrated at her.

Kris saw Susie smile. They could tell that she knew what his name was. She just didn’t care.

“Um… well, you’re welcome, your grace.” Noelle awkwardly added. “I thought it would be nice to try and use the right language.”

“Thank you kindly, my dearest,” the duke told her. “I am glad that thou follows the rules betterer than thoust worms.”

“Okay…?” the festive deer replied.

“So? My mightestest of kings? Should I make arrangements for a royal playdate or are thoust worms just passing through?” the blue duke asked.

“Nah, apparently the clowns have been through enough today,” Lancer replied. “We should totally have an awesome playdate tomorrow though!”

“Playdate…?” Noelle wondered to themself.

“Well, that does sound quite nice. Lancer, I must remind you that we are still on a very important mission to find the last hero of legend,” Ralsei reminded him.

“Oh right…” Lancer said, defeated.

“Don’t worry Lancer!” Susie exclaimed. “Once we figure out this weird prophecy, we’ll have the most epic of hangouts! Or… playdates… I sometimes forget how old you are.”

“Yeah. I’ll start planning it right now!” Lancer said bursting with passion. He ran out of the throne room. “Hohoho! I can’t wait to start brainstorming in my journal!”

“Oh… well then,” Rouxls Kaard told them. “I guess I should follow his majesty. Thoust knows the way out.”

The high duke then left the room.

The four that remained in the chamber looked at one another, slightly bewildered at what had just happened.

“I guess we should get going, now,” Kris finally spoke.

“Yeah, we should,” Susie replied.

The four of them walked to the other end of the room and headed through the next to the bridge, leading to the dark fountain.

“Woah. It’s incredible…” Noelle said, amazed.

“It is a spectacle for sure,” Ralsei commented. “I just wish it wasn’t a sign of the balance of our worlds being less than harmonious.”

“We’ll have it sealed up in no time,” Susie reassured him.

“I hope so,” Ralsei told her.

The four of them moved toward the dark pillar of energy. The pulsating fountain imposed on all of them as it always did.

“This is it. Just have to step through the fountain and we’ll be home,” Susie explained.

The four of them headed toward the fountain; the tear in reality.

Kris reached out with their soul, and everything went white.

Kris blinked awake. Their head was fuzzy for a moment but a couple of deep breaths later, they regained their focus.

“Traveling to different worlds is always a pain,” Susie said as she stretched into a yawn.

“I know what you mean,” Noelle agreed. “I can’t feel the antlers on my head.”

The four of them stood up and looked at one another.

“I guess it’s time to head home,” Kris said.

“Yeah, after today I just want to go home and relax,” Noelle replied. “Have a nice evening of enjoying being back in the proper reality.”

“That does sound nice considering the kind of crap you went through today,” Susie told her.

“Not everyday you lodge an arrow into someone’s back,” Kris added.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Ralsei said.

“Yeah! Especially when they’re a weird black glass freak,” Susie replied with a toothy grin.

“Noelle. Would you like us to walk you home?” Ralsei asked. “Not to intrude or anything like that.”

“Oh, okay. It’ll be nice to walk home with some friends.” Noelle dissuaded with a smile.

“Well, let’s get going then,” Susie said while pointing forward to the door.

The four of them walked out of the room. They headed along the long hallway of the school to the large doors. They opened them to reveal a much fairer and brighter day than they had left the town.

Noelle’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at the sun that shined into her eyes. She took a moment to take in the beauty that surrounded her.

“What’s the hold-up?” Susie asked.

“Nothing,” Noelle answered, simply.

The group continued through the town, passing by the misspelled library. Turning right to head up the path toward the mayor’s house.

As soon as they came to the intersection with the diner and grocery store, they heard a small commotion down the street.

Kris turned to see a small group of people congregating around a small area.

“What the hell is going on over there?” Susie asked, also noticing.

“It sounds like quite a commotion,” Ralsei added.

“I think we should check it out,” Noelle told them.

The four then headed down the street. As they got closer they saw the group consisted of MK, Berdly, and Jockington.

“Oh, looks like we have even the riffraff to come and see this particular oddity,” A self-assured voice said.

“Ugh. This jerk,” Susie whispered her breath. “Hi, little fried chicken. I mean Berdly.”

Berdly looked at Susie with contempt. “Hello, Susan,” he greeted. He then redirected his gaze to the blonde reindeer girl. “Ah, Noelle. Nice to see you’re back on your feet. Even if you are not with the most… presentable company.”

“Heh, thanks for worrying about me,” Noelle replied. “What are you three doing around here?”

“I originally noticed this freaky grass and the other two showed up afterward,” the cool dude snake interjected.

“Yeah, something is really weird about this stuff,” MK added. “It’s purple!”

“What?” Ralsei said with alarm.

The boss monster gently pushed his way through the trio of monsters. He looked down at the ground as the fear in his eyes grew. He saw a small patch of violet grass in the middle of all the yellowish green. He took a single blade and brought it up close to his eyes, hoping it wasn’t true.

“Oh, no…”

“What’s wrong Ralsei?” Susie asked.

“This is bad. This is very bad,” Ralsei said to himself.

“What’s wrong?” Noelle said with concern.

Ralsei turned around and looked at them. “Our worlds-” he began to say but stopped. He saw the eyes of MK, Jockington, and Berdley on him. “Follow me. I will tell you when we are away from them.”

Kris saw the dark prince gesture his head toward Berdly and the others. “Alright,” Kris answered.

Ralsei headed away with Kris following them. Susie and Noelle soon joined them.

“What the heck was that about?” MK wondered as they wandered off.

Ralsei led them away to the diner. He then turned and looked at the three of them. He took a deep breath. “The balance between the Light and Dark world is troubled like I said before,” he explained. “Because of that, the barriers that separate our worlds are breaking down. So our worlds are starting to crossover with one another.”

“What does that mean?” Susie asked.

“It means that if we are not careful our worlds will fuse together,” he answered. “It will not be a harmonious fusion either. Our realities will crash into one another and cause untold levels of destruction.”

Kris looked at Ralsei bewildered.

“That’s horrible,” Noelle said astounded.

“Yeah, that’s… holy shit,” Susie told them.

Ralsei sensed that he had caused great distress among the group. “However, there is no need to worry. As long as we seal up the fountains, our worlds shall be alright,” he reassured them.

“I guess that’s true,” Kris said. “But we still don’t know who the last hero of light is.”

“Yeah. And what happens if another fountain opens before we find them? Susie added. “We’d be pretty screwed.”

“That… that is true,” Ralsei said with a sigh. “I hoped we would have more time before this occurred. I will look through my books and explore the ruins more. Try to find a solution. I’ll leave at once. We don’t have a moment to waste!”

“Ralsei, are you sure?” Noelle asked. “I am sure you can stay for at least a little longer.”

“No. I should go now,” Ralsei answered. “Goodbye, my friends.”

The boss monster left after giving the three of them a wave.

“I hope he’s going to be okay,” Kris said, concerned.

“He’ll be fine Kris. That little minty goat boy has always found a way to help us,” Susie told them.

“I guess…” They said, saddened.

“Let's just focus on getting Noelle home for now. Alright?” she said, trying to assure them.

“Yeah,” Kris simply replied.

The trio started to walk again, seeing the typical sights of Hometown as they did. Passing by Bratty and Catty’s houses and the road that led to Kris’ home. Finally, they came up to the large gates of Noelle’s home.

Noelle stared at the gates for a moment. She then turned to Kris and Susie. “Guess this is it,” she told them.

“Yep,” Kris answered.

“Guess we’ll see you later Noelle,” Susie said. She then turned to leave.

“Wait, Susie…” the reindeer stopped them.

“What’s up?” Susie asked her.

“I… I just want to say ‘thanks,’ Susie, for being okay,” Noelle shyly explained.

“Uh… alright,” Susie said, confused.

Noelle then suddenly wrapped their arms around Susie. The embrace only lasted for a moment.

“Okay, bye!” the reindeer exclaimed. She then quickly headed off past the gates leaving Susie and Kris perplexed.

Susie was silent for a moment. “Um… what the hell was that?” she wondered aloud.

“I believe it's what they call a hug,” Kris flatly said.

“I know that Kris!” Susie shouted back. “Just… why did she do that…?”

“I think it's because she likes you,” Kris answered.

“Wait what?!” she exclaimed, confused. “Why would she- I don’t-” she then shook her head. “Whatever! It doesn’t matter. I’m just going to go home.”

The purple monster walked away in a huff. Kris couldn’t help but slightly smile as she saw her walk away.

Kris soon began to walk home. They were about to start walking up the driveway until they were suddenly stopped by the sound of a voice.

“Hey,” the rough voice said.

Kris turned and saw a purple lizard monster much like Susie. They could see however they were older; around middle-aged. They were also a man by all appearances. He wore a flannel shirt with a black jacket.

“Are you that human that Susie has been hanging out with?” he asked.

Kris gave them a nod.

“If you see her again…” he began to say. He then pulled out a letter. “Give her this. Tell her it’s her family that wants to see her.”

Kris grabbed the letter. They saw Susie’s name written in cursive on the front of it.

“Okay,” Kris replied.

“Good. Get it to her as soon as you can,” the lizard monster told them. He then headed off.

Kris looked down at the letter, confused. Questions began to swirl around their head. The biggest one was. “What was Susie’s relationship with their family?”

Kris walked into class the next morning with a mix of feelings. On the one hand, they had found the next person who was part of the prophecy, on the other hand, they were quickly running out of time to find the final one.

The class day went by rather quickly. Susie and they had a decent time working on their project with few interruptions. There was a mild disturbance involving jockington losing his sunglasses. This apparently made him as blind as a bat as he bumped into things as he tried to find them.

They also overheard MK and Snow Drake talking about the oddities they saw yesterday.

“I found some weird grass and I swear that one guy said they found a bright red fruit thing on a tree nearby,” MK told him.

“Yeah. Yeah. Sure MK,” Snowdrake dismissed.

“I’m telling you it’s true!” MK exclaimed.

Both of them argued about the truth of MK’s claim for a while longer. Eventually, it ended up nowhere with them deciding the assignment was more important.

The hours passed by, lunch came and went, until finally the end of the school day. Kris and Susie made their way to the closet again. However, this time Noelle accompanied them.

“So, all we need to do is open up the closet and we’ll just fall into the Dark World?” Noelle asked as they stood in front of the doors.

“Yep. It’s that simple,” Susie answered.

“Huh. You’d think that traveling between worlds would be harder?” the reindeer wondered.

“Hey, I don’t make the rules for magic closets,” Susie said with a shrug.

After that, the three of them jumped into the Dark World. Once they landed in the barren landscape of the outskirts they walked to Ralsei’s castle.

The trio was surprised to see Ralsei wasn’t waiting for them like before.

“Where is that fuzzball?” Susie asked.

“Maybe he’s in his library?” Kris answered. “He did say he would do more research.”

They headed to Ralsei’s library. Finding him unconscious, laying face-first in a book.

“Um… Ralsei?” Noelle gently asked. She then put a hand on his shoulder.

The boss monster woke up with a start as soon as she did. His eyes were wide and his face wearing his surprise.

“Oh, uh hello,” he replied with a mixture of shock and tiredness.

“Ralsei, you’re not looking so good. Are you okay?” Susie asked.

“I think so,” Ralsei said, rubbing his eyes and face. He then yawned, showing off his sharp canines. “I think I just stayed up a bit too late. Studying these old texts.”

“Okay. Just wanted to make sure,” Susie said. “Did your late-night study session at least find out anything?”

“Uh… well, no,” he answered.

“Are you serious?!” Susie exclaimed. “You didn’t find anything?”

“Sadly, no,” Ralsei sighed. “Well, nothing… explicit in detail. However, there was one passage that may give us a hint. ‘The last hero of light will appear when a pair are reunited. The greater, reunited with the lesser.’”

“Well, that’s not much to go off of,” Noelle said, disheartened.

“I know,” Ralsei added. “But it is what we have.”

“Who could it be? I mean there’s like a billion ways people could be a pair of some kind,” Susie thought aloud. “I mean it could mean a couple like a pair of people in a relationship. Or it could mean friends. Or hell, even two random people meeting back up with each other. Ugh! This is so confusing!”

“It is a real quandary,” Ralsei said. He then took off his glasses and rubbed his head. “I cannot even think straight to help you with this.”

“Hey, I got an idea,” Susie told them. “If you need to wake up then you should come to us to the diner in the Light World. We can get some coffee for you.”

“Coffee…?” Ralsei asked. “What’s that?”

Susie grinned. “Oh, this is going to be great,” she said happily. “You’ll love this stuff.”

The conversation quickly ended after that with all four of them heading straight for the Light World. They passed through Lancer’s castle picking up the little scamp. They walked to the fountain and entered the alternate realm.

Before Kris knew it they were sitting at a booth in the diner with a prince who was much more talkative than before.

“You know it is quite remarkable what this simple beverage does to people,” the bookish boss monster quickly explained. “There are just so many remarkable aspects to the Light World. Then again that is not surprising considering that the last couple of days have been remarkable. Am I saying ‘remarkable’ too much? I do apologize, but that is the only word I can describe all of you as. It is remarkable that I am finally able to fulfill my duty and do it with such wonderful people that have become my friends. I did not have friends before, you know? I was so lonely. But now it is all good! It is so good! Just like this wonderful drink, do you not think so?”

Susie, Noelle, and Kris stared at Ralsei in bewilderment; surprised by what Ralsei had said and the rate he had said it.

“Hohoho!” Lancer laughed. “Toothpaste boy is speaking at a mile a minute.”

“Yeah. Yeah, he is,” Susie said, still in shock.

“He speaks faster than the miniature machine monster that used to be on TV,” Noelle added.

“It is crazy,” Kris told them.

Kris watched as Ralsei kept babbling about whatever came to his mind. Their mind began to wander as they looked at the boss monster. They thought of their family’s many trips to the diner and how their brother could go on and on for hours with the right topic and food inside him. However, the word “family” stuck in their mind more than the others. They wondered for a moment but then realized what they had promised.

“Hey, Susie?” they asked her.

“Yeah?” Susie replied.

“A monster gave this to me yesterday. And told me to give it to you,” they said while handing them the letter. “It’s addressed to you.”

“What? Who would give you-” she began to say but stopped. Susie's mood soured as she looked down at the handwriting on the envelope.

“Susie, are you alright?” Noelle asked, having noticed her change in attitude.

The purple lizard didn’t answer. Instead, she opened up the letter with her claws. She then read it with a dower look on her face. That look turned to rage as her eyes dotted down the text.

“Bastards!” Susie shouted. She then tore through the sheet of paper.

The restaurant went silent for a moment. Kris saw that all eyes were on her from the patrons of the restaurant.

“Susie… what was in that letter-” Kris shakily tried to ask.

“Don’t,” Susie told them. She then stood up from the table. “I need to clear my head.”

The purple lizard quickly left the restaurant.

“Susie, wait!” Noelle exclaimed.

“Susie!” Kris said, jumping to their feet. They walked out of the restaurant after her, cool air brushing against their face as the door closed behind them.

Kris walked a few paces and quickly looked from side to side. However, they realized that Susie was nowhere to be seen. “Where could they have gone?” Kris wondered in their head.

“Kris?” a voice suddenly asked.

Kris froze. They knew that voice.

They looked behind them. “Asriel?”