Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Kris"

"Kris"

"KRIS"

"Don't you [wanna] be a BIG shot like me? Be the [biggest], big shot ever seen in history? We can be the [biggest] of the biggest shots [together] and rule this world!."

Kris backed away slowly, fear etched on their face, and sweat rolling down it. They had several wounds all over their body, bleeding through their clothes and onto the cold, hard stoned floor. They were about to die, this is it, they were going to be killed by some creepy guy who's trapped in a bunch of green wires.

Spamton laughed, although it sounded glitched and broken. He edged closer to Kris, his face growing into an evil, terrifying grin and eyes burning with a fierce intensity for power.

"You can be [free] Kris. You can be in [control]. You can make your [own] choices. You can do what [you] want to do. All you have to do is [one] easy little thing."

Spamton drifted towards them, each limb on his body hanging loosely, as if he were some broken ragdoll. His eyes were flashing menacingly with what seemed to be determination. Despite his situation, Spamton was determined to kill Kris, and would stop at nothing to do so.

Spamton somehow cackled even louder than ever, his voice sounding like a broken tape record that had been stepped on several times. Kris tripped backwards and fell onto the floor, wincing in pain as they landed on one of their still-bleeding wounds.

"Just"

"Give"

"Me"

"Your"

"SOUL"

Kris shouted "NO!." This sudden reaction was followed by silence, one of those moments where all you could hear was your own heart beating. Kris froze, did they just shout? They, not the player, but THEY had just broke the control, Kris had done something for once that they did on their own will. Spamton just glided even closer to the human, his long flexible arms reaching out to them, desiring their soul that was floating in front of them and glowing brightly like a torch at night.

"Come on Kris, all [you] have to do is give [me] that [little red SOUL], and we can be [free] together, free from [possession] and pain, and into a new world of [freedom and power]. Isn't that what you want?."

Of course that's what they wanted, but that's not what their friends wanted nor was it the right thing to do. Kris, now trembling from head to toe, started hyperventilating from fear. They couldn't beat this guy alone, and now they were going to die alone.
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Susie groaned "They've been gone for nearly a half hour, Ralsei, I think we should look for them." The purple dragon looked a little impatient and clearly wanted to find Kris so they could leave.

The fluffy boy refuted "B-but Susie they said they wanted to go alone, shouldn't we trust them?." Ralsei's tone was soft and pleading, forcing Susie to agree with him.

Susie sighed and responded to him "Well, yeah, but we have to-"

The purple girl was briefly cut off by a loud scream from inside the Trash Zone, where Kris was. Ralsei gasped, saying that it was Kris's voice.

The two quickly ran through the Queen's mansion and in the room that Kris should be in. They started walking through the room that seemed to cast an eerie feeling to the two other members of the Fun Gang.

Susie shouted worriedly "Kris? Kris? Kris where the fuck are you?!?."

Ralsei didn't even scold her for swearing, because he was scared too.

And then they saw. Kris lying on the floor, with some creepy ass guy hovering over them. She threw her axe at the man and shouted "Get the FUCK away from Kris." And with that, Spamton was sent flying away, hopefully killed upon the way.

Ralsei and Susie ran over to them, crying in worry and shock. Ralsei was the first to ask "Kris, oh my god, are you alright?." Well no, did they look alright?. They were bleeding to death on the ground, with nothing but pain to feel. Kris was about to respond when a searing pain shot up through their body and sent them unconscious, the last thing they saw was the scared and shocked faces of their friends.
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The purple dragon yelled "Quick, we're getting out of here so we can heal Kris!." Ralsei nodded as they both carried the injured human out of the area, and into one of the mansions room's, which had a bed and a window.

They layed Kris down and Ralsei checked Kris's HP, which was a minimal 7 before casting a healing spell while Susie applied bandages to their injuries. Once they were done, they locked the door from the outside so no one could come in and Kris could rest in peace.

As soon as Susie fell asleep, Ralsei stared out the window and at the moon, emotions of sadness and regret pouring into his body. He whispered "I'm sorry I failed you Kris." The fluffy boy wiped away tears from his eyes.

"I should have been there for you"

Chapter Text

Kris woke up to nothing but darkness, then slowly as their eyes adjusted to the dull light, they made out a figure close to them... two figures, that seemed to be talking quietly. Kris groaned in pain as they sat up and finally realized they were sitting on a bed, in some dim-lit room with a window.

"Kris!" A voice suddenly cried, sounding worried yet happy. "I'm so glad your awake, are you feeling any better?." It was sweet Ralsei of course, always looking out for them. Although Kris wanted to respond with a firm 'no', the player's choice was a 'yes' leaving no choice but to say it.

Susie, the other figure near them, spoke in an uncertain voice "Are...are you sure Kris? You don't have to fake it you know, we'll be here until you feel up to leaving. So please, tell us the truth." Kris wanted to do nothing but scream and cry, but they weren't in control, so they just said "I'm feeling alot better. I'm fine." Those words didn't seem to persuade neither Susie or Ralsei but they dropped it there and silence once again evaded the room.

"So uh, you up to leaving yet Kris? I mean, it's pretty early but if your alright, we can start heading out back to the fountain since Noelle is probably waiting there alone." Kris nodded, grabbed their stuff and urged the other two to follow them out of the mansion.

AN HOUR LATER

With Kris leading, Susie behind and Ralsei at the back, the team of heroes traveled through many places in the Cyber World, even recruiting more friends on the way. Some time had passed when Susie asked "Um, Kris, not to be a bother but how long till we get to the fountain-."

Again, the dragon was cut off by a loud CRASH! and a few THUMPS!. A giant robot that looked like Queen appeared in front of them, and her head screen said : BATTLE MODE ACTIVATED. Ralsei quickly shouted "Wait! Q-queen stop! We're not fighting, we're just heading to the fountain!."

The robot paused for a moment before a puff of smoke appeared followed by a quieter, yet still loud THUD!. Queen had got out of her ship and was now standing in front of them, looking confused. "Your heading there? Oh! Oops, sorry, I'm to used to battling people that it's just a habit now." Her screen read : LOL XD. Susie face-palmed.

Ralsei smiled "Um, it's alright, if you could let us past?." The Queen nodded briskly and let the trio past and onto the pathway to the fountain. Just before they were out of her earshot, she yelled "Good Luck Lightners! And uh..Ralsay?." Ralsei giggled, shook his head softly and waved, following his friends.

Kris continued walking, his usual poker face present. Susie and Ralsei looked at each other with a 'do you really think they're alright?' expression. Kris sighed quietly as he noticed the fountain, back home where the kids in class don't really like him and back home where his mother would be a total pushover, but not in a bad way. And finally, back home where he didn't matter, nor have a purpose.

Ralsei broke the uncomfortable silence, asking "So what are you two going to do when you get home?." Susie shrugged mildly "Uh, I dunno to be honest, kinda forget we don't live here." She went silent for a second, before looking at Kris and adding "But me and Kris are probably going to hang out more y'know?." Ralsei grinned at his friend then looked straight at Kris "What about you Kris?."

The blue-skinned human also shrugged, but in a more depressing way without a trace of enthusiasm or excitement. Their face was a little sad, they obliviously didn't want to leave. Ralsei hugged Kris gently and soothed "Aww Kris. It's okay. You can come visit whenever you want, I'll even bake you a butterscotch pie, your favourite. I know- I know your upset Kris, but don't forget..."

"We're with you in the dark"

Kris smiled, though tears fell down his face and he sobbed into Ralsei's cloak, while Susie watched in awe. They broke apart, and together, resumed walking...

Just in front of the fountain, Kris, Susie and Ralsei stood, there hair/fur blowing in the gentle breeze. Kris and Susie looked at each other and held hands, not in a romantic way just a friendly way, and jumped into the fountain, missing Ralsei's cute little wave.

With that, the Lightners returned to their world. But something wasn't right. What could it be?

Chapter Text

They were back in the library. All four of them. The room seemed slightly brighter than earlier, but that's probably because they've been in the dark world for so long. The teenagers finally awoke, and took in their new surroundings.

"K-kris...S-SUSIE? What are you guys doing here?." Noelle's voice was filled with shock and worry. Susie glanced at Kris, who remained stoic as usual, then said "You invited us here to study, remember?.." Noelle gasped. She stammered "O-oh yeah! Sorry, S-susie. Wait, were we all just sleeping?."

The dragon nodded "Yeah, uh, we were tired and we must've fell asleep. I mean, it is kinda early, the sun's already up again." Noelle muttered "Oh, that's weird. I had this dream that we were in this dark world, and we met so many people and did so many things together." At the last part, she blushed slightly, but Susie don't notice.

Susie hummed. And then she spoke quietly "A dream huh? Well did it end well?." At this, Noelle froze and replied in a tiny voice "W-well not r-really. Everything was going well until Kris started acting...weird. They kept saying creepy stuff like 'proceed' and- well it doesn't matter, it was only a dream. Right Kris?."

The human didn't make a single sound, but nodded. Noelle sighed in relief. Then she looked at Berdly. He seemed to be asleep. She shook him gently "Berdly. Berdly? B-berdly why aren't you responding?." Susie frowned in confusion, a deep feeling of something bad crept into her mind, something wasn't right.

Why wasn't the bird waking up?. Noelle looked scared, Berdly was dead in her 'dream'. But if it was a dream, why wasn't he awake now?." Susie got up and yelled frantically "Noelle, we're taking him to the hospital now, we need to get him checked. C'mon Kris."

Susie, carrying Berdly, followed by Noelle and a silent Kris started walking towards the hospital. On the way, Noelle asked "Susie? In my dream...B-berdly was d-d-dead." Susie looked at her in horror. "W-what? How could- how is- Noelle, tell me what happened in your dream. I need to know."

The deer nodded and explained everything that had occured. Susie's face grew more and more terrified as she recounted what happened with Kris and Berdly. Once she had finished, Susie responded "Alright. Noelle, Berdly will be alright. Don't worry, he's strong and smart, he'll come back."

The purple dragon hugged the smaller deer and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Everything will be okay." Noelle felt tears roll down her tanned face, but didn't care, because she had Susie. They finally reached the hospital and Berdly was admitted immediately.

While he was getting checked on, the three waited outside, at a deserted park so they could talk. Once they were all seated, Susie spoke loudly "Alright now. Kris, what the actual FUCK is going on? You've been acting so strange all day, and now Noelle tells me you forced her to murder Berdly in her 'dream'. Weird shit had been happen Kris, and something tells me that your hiding something. Spit it out."

Kris glanced from Susie to Noelle and then shakily started talking, their voice sounded as if they were crying. "I'm so sorry Noelle, Susie, it's all my fault. It was never a dream, it all really happened. They- I- killed him. I did force Noelle to use a spell to murder him, but it wasn't really me. I don't know how to explain this but I'm being controlled by an entity who has possessed me for years. Sometimes I'm truly me, sometimes they take control and do...do horrible things. I'm so fucking sorry."

They finally broke down, sobbing and hyperventilating. Noelle gasped, Kris was never hurting her...it was never them in the first place. And all the times she wanted to kill them, and they did nothing in the first place. Susie was also surprised, not only did Kris speak alot more than usual, but what they had said to them was all true.

She felt so bad. All those times bullying them, hurting them. But..was it really ever them in the first place? The two girls got up from their seats and wrapped their arms around Kris's mid-section, giving them affection. Susie told Kris in a firm voice "It wasn't your fault Kris. Look, Berdly will pull through this, he's strong like I said before. I'm sorry I was so cruel to you Kris."

Noelle nodded and added "I am sorry for blaming you Kris, I - Susie's right, this isn't your fault. We'll get through this, as a team."

Kris smiled, the first one they had done in a while, a true smile. As a group, they all headed back to the hospital together, waiting for the news about Berdly. After waiting a few hours, a doctor with cat ears and a long, fluffy tail, wearing a blue coat over her dress, appeared in front of them.

She had a clipboard in her hand, and her face looked solemn. She greeted them. "Good afternoon kids, I assume your the friends of Berdly. Unfortunately, I have some bad news....."

Chapter Text

The cat lady, known as Doctor Elizabeth, spoke in a very serious, yet sympathetic voice. "I'm very sorry to announce the news of your friends passing. We checked and tested on him and the results proved that he is officially dead. I give you all, and your families my deepest condolences. You can-."

Before Doctor Elizabeth could finish, a sharp gasp and a loud sob was heard, and they saw Kris running out of the room, their fist clenched in a very scary manner. Noelle cried just before they vanished from sight. "Kris- wait KRIS!." Her voice rang through the entire hospital, and followed by a very concerned and scared Susie, the deer also fled the hospital, leaving the doctor in shock at what had just happened.

Outside, Kris felt their breathing increase rapidly and their heart was beating in their chest like a loud drum. What the fuck had they done? They really did kill Berdly! They may have not liked him, but they didn't want him to die. Kris heard the faint shouts of their name and footsteps growing slightly louder, but they didn't stop, they kept running and running, despite the pain they were in.

As Kris started to slow down, a sharp tree branch grazed the side of their cheek and started bleeding, but did that stop them? No! Nothing would, they were a killer, a liar, a- an evil criminal! And they thought that Spamton guy was bad, at least he didn't kill someone because he couldn't control himself. Kris panted heavily and leaned against the tree he had hurt himself on, and collapsed onto the wet grass.

They sobbed noisily against the silent night air, and didn't even hear the voices right next to them.

"Kris?"

"K-Kris please-"

"Kris!!!"

The human screamed back, unaware of how loud they were

"LEAVE ME ALONE! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! YOU DON'T WANNA GET KILLED AS WELL DO YOU?!?."

Noelle and Susie gasped in surprise, they certainly didn't expect that. Susie sat down next to them and placed a hand on their shaking shoulder, which they didn't like. "Get off me! GET OFF ME!."

"Dude, chill, KRIS CALM THE FUCKING HELL DOWN!!!."

The dragon pinned them against the tree and then brought them into a tight hug, that lasted for a few minutes. Kris stopped refusing after a while and accepted the hug, their body shivering and heaving as they did so. Kris choked out "I really killed him. I may as well kill myself, at least that would do everyone good."

Noelle covered her mouth with her hand and yelled "Kris! Don't ever say that again, we love you-."

"I'M A FUCKING MURDERER NOELLE! I JUST KILLED YOUR BEST FRIEND! I KILLED HIM, AND NOW HE'S GONE!"

"Kris, enough of this. I don't know much about you Kris but I DO know that you didn't kill him. I know you'd never do something like that Kris, it's not like you at all. You already told us that you are not always in control of your body, so stop blaming yourself."

Kris felt their throat tighten, as if telling them to not speak. But despite that, they managed to force out what had really occurred back in the battle. They told their friends what happened right from the start, from the moment their gang splitted to when they left the fountain and arrived back home. They explained how much he wanted to save Berdly, but during the time he wasn't in control so he was left to die.

Noelle felt tears sting her eyes "Oh Kris, I'm so sorry, I didn't know all that happened. Look, no matter what Kris, we will always be here for you. Stop feeling guilty already and let us comfort you for once."

Susie nodded. "Yeah dude, your always there for us and helping us, but you never let us return the favour."

Kris let a small smile upon their lips form, and despite all of the emotions crushing them, they wrapped their arms around Susie and Noelle and they all shared an heart-warming hug. A couple of minutes later, the three decided to return home, but not without a kiss from both of their friends.

Kris headed inside, and their mother approached them. She claimed she knew everything and didn't blame them at all. They also exchanged a brief hug and Kris finally noticed the pie on the counter, that's probably the only thing that made their heart swell in happiness all day.

"Mum, could I have some pie."

"Aww of course Kris, have as much as you like!."

Kris took a huge slice and ate it as they headed up to their room. They sat on their bed and finished their meal before throwing the plate in the bin, which was inside their room of course. They placed their phone on the bedside table and was about to fall asleep when their phone made a noise.

BEEP!

"Hmm? What was that?" Kris thought. They looked at their phone and noticed a message from Susie.

Susie : Dude, tomorrow, you are showing me some pranks. I need to see you in action, because I don't believe it still

Kris laughed dryly and texted back.

Kris : Of course, I've got plenty so don't fret. In fact probably over 20!

Susie : God man, stop making me excited! I want to see 'em all!!!

Kris : Your the one who started this, Susie. It was you who wanted to see this ;)

Susie : Geez, okay, I'll be patient, but if your not at the park by 9 tomorrow, I'll personally drag you from your bed to there, by your fucking arms

Kris chuckled, knowing Susie, she wasn't kidding around. They knew that by experience in that field.

Kris : Okay. Goodnight Susie

Susie : Goodnight dork

Kris turned off their phone and almost fell asleep instantly, but this time, without the nightmares...