Chapter Text
A lot was going through the young reindeer's mind, as she sat twiddling her fingers in the back of Queen's car.
Despite not having a driver's license, Queen commanded Kris to drive the car with what was definitely an arcade joystick. When questioned, the robotic monarch merely answered, "Anyone Can Drive If They Have The Right Equipment". Noelle knew this was definitely against the rules, but then again…She wasn't sure how driving laws worked in this world. In fact, she wasn't sure how anything worked in this world. It was familiar and yet…so new at the same time. She peeked outside the car window, taking in as much of the city as she could despite her disguise limiting her vision.
Noelle saw the cars walking by on their blobby legs as Kris narrowly avoided them. She noticed how Kris managed to keep their composure throughout the entire trip, even with Queen constantly in their face, demanding them to "Get The Banana" and spouting other nonsense. Noelle always admired how cool and composed they were, even in this strange and new place. She wasn't sure how long she and Kris would be stuck in this car with Queen, but at least Kris's surprisingly smooth driving made the ride rather relaxing.
Perhaps she could get some shut-eye before—
"Oh My Circuits It's A Traffic Jam", Queen said as the car came to a screeching halt, quickly putting an end to Noelle's attempted nap as she leapt in her seat in surprise.
"A Dog Must Have Wandered In The Road Again", she heard Queen ponder out loud. Queen then turned her head towards the backseat to face the disguised Noelle, "Why Don't You Be A Dear And Press The Walk Button?"
"M-me?" Noelle shyly pointed a finger to herself.
"Of Course! You Can't Expect Kris Here To Stop Driving. It's Not Safe For Us. Most Importantly It's Not Safe For Me," Queen emphasized. Kris turned to face Noelle and, with a worried frown, whispered, "Sorry…I wish I can come with you…" Noelle quickly waved her hand to reassure them, "Don't worry about me, Kris! I'll be ok. All I'll need to do is go through…that really dark and scary alleyway…by myself…and just…press the walk button, right…?"
"Correct Now Hurry Along" Queen made a small gesture as if shooing a servant away.
Noelle complied and exited the car, carefully ducking to avoid hitting her antlers at the entrance, and closing the door with shaking hands. Although her vision was impaired by her crude disguise, she managed to see Kris mouth to her, "Good luck".
She then faced the alleyway and clenched her hands together. She shivered at the grim and foreboding sight ahead of her. The alleyway was completely covered in shadows, swallowing the city lights and whatever little bravery the reindeer had. However, with a deep breath, Noelle slowly made her way into the darkness.
As Noelle tread carefully into the alleyway, she took one last glance behind her. There was a very distinct line where the city lights and the darkness met, as if she had entered a gateway to hell. This certainly did not help with her anxiety, but she continued.
She felt herself bump into a wall, no thanks to her disguise. Frustrated, she quickly removed the cardboard box from her head, and held it in one arm. Although the area was still relatively dark, Noelle realized she would at least have an easier time navigating now that she took off her disguise. The first thing Noelle noticed upon entering the alleyway were two posters of Queen on the wall to her left side.
"Buy Queen Clean! The most popular cleaning flavors!"
Noelle made a face, perplexed at the indication of this advertisement for a cleaning product, and continued scoping her surroundings.
There was a large green dumpster, a few trash cans, and some litter scattered on the somewhat damp ground. From the looks of the area, it seemed to be fairly isolated from the rest of the city. It reminded her of the quiet alleyway near the apartment complexes back in Hometown. Home…
Noelle quickly shook her head, snapping herself out of memory lane. She needed to keep going. The sooner she pressed that walk button, the sooner she and her friends could go back home.
However, before she could finish her thought, the dumpster lid suddenly opened with a loud CLANG. Noelle yelped and fell backwards. "Ow…" she winced as she rubbed her backside. The young reindeer glanced up at the dumpster, trying to see what had flung open the lid with such tremendous force.
Was it a Maus? Was it something else? Kris mentioned some cat-like creatures called "Tasques". Was it one of them? However, her curiosity was soon replaced by terror upon seeing a humanoid figure slowly rising from the dumpster.
"That…is definitely not a Maus."
She was barely able to make out its features, save for its disturbingly wide grin and strange pair of multicolored glasses. One lens pink, and the other yellow.
The figure slowly turned its head to face her, and then opened its mouth.
"HEY EVERY ! IT'S ME!!!!" The shadowed figure announced.
"EV3RY BUDDY 'S FAVORITE [[Number 1 Rated Salesman1997]]--"
"AAAAGH!!!" Noelle interrupted the figure with a shriek and hid her face in her white sleeves. In a desperate attempt at self-defense, the frightened reindeer immediately formed an Ice Shock spell from her hands. She then launched the ice in the direction where she heard the figure speak.
"OW [#$@%]!!!!!"
She heard it let out a static-y cry, confirming that her spell had successfully hit its target, followed by several clangs, and finally a loud thud. Noelle lifted her sleeves to uncover her eyes, only to see a small man lying on the ground. She crept slowly and cautiously towards him, holding her hands together. Was this the same figure that rose from the dumpster? It must have been, judging from the icicles in his black hair and on his long pointed nose.
Noelle examined him a little more. He was…much smaller than she thought, barely any taller than some of the grade-schoolers that Ms. Toriel taught at School. She would have assumed he was just a child if not for his broader shoulders. His nose also resembled those of the salespeople she and Kris previously encountered. What were they again? The Addisons? Was he one of them?
She also noticed that his face and hands appeared to be made of some kind of hard material. Whether it was wood, plastic, or some other material, she couldn't tell. Crouching down to inspect his face closely, the reindeer saw that he had two lines, one on each end of his mouth, extending towards the bottom of his jaw…almost like a Christmas nutcracker of sorts.
" HEY !! WHAT THE [$@#%] WAS THAT FOR?!?!" Noelle jumped at his sudden awakening.
"HOW'S AN INNOCENT GUY LIKE ME SUPPOSED TO [Rip People Off], WHEN KIDS LIKE YOU ARE [Beating People Up]?!"
Noelle took notice of the way he spoke. It sounded like his speech was littered with glitches and advertisements. What in the world was he?
The small man fixed his glasses with a huff before slowly marching towards Noelle. With every step he took, she took a step backwards. Even though his face still had that disturbing grin, Noelle could easily tell that he was very, very angry at her.
Noelle put her hands up, hoping to calm him, "I'm sorry, sir!! I didn't mean to—"
However, the man ignored her words and continued, "[Spitting] IN THEIR EYES, THROWING SAND IN THEIR [Face]…"
"Wait! P-please!" She pleaded, desperately hoping to negotiate with him, but to no avail.
Despite Noelle being at least a foot taller than him, this "nutcracker" man had successfully managed to fully intimidate the young reindeer, causing tears to well up in her eyes. He lifted a finger towards her and then, as if sheer instinct took control of her body, Noelle swung her arms in front of her and screamed at the top of her lungs.
" STOP!!! "
The alleyway suddenly started fogging up as a magical cold mist started swirling around. The mist then circled around the man.
"...WHAT THE [F—"
Before he could finish, he was completely enveloped in the mist. Within a few seconds, he slumped onto the floor, having fallen into a deep slumber.
When the mist cleared, Noelle collapsed against the dumpster, breathing heavily and hot tears streaming from her closed eyes. First, she had to deal with being stranded in an entirely new world. Then, she had to learn how to Fight, or Act, or whatever the heck Kris was teaching her. Then, she had to go into this dark alleyway all by herself. Now, she had to fight against an angry "nutcracker" who looked all too eager to hurt her. This was all too much for the young reindeer. She wished Kris were here.
She wished her father were here.
She wished Dess were here.
But there was no one.
It was just her and this strange man, who she was unsure if he was really a nutcracker or not.
Dess might not be there, but Noelle could at least pretend that she was, just for a moment. What was it that Dess always told her when she was crying like this?
"Freaking out? Breathe it out."
Remembering Dess's words, she took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, repeating this several times until she finally felt her nerves settling. Noelle then dried her tears with her white sleeves, and crawled towards the now motionless nutcracker man. Curious if he was still asleep, she slightly nudged his shoulder.
"Mister…?" the reindeer asked.
…Nothing happened.
She tapped his nose.
…Nothing happened.
She gently shook his arm.
…Nothing happened.
She considered hitting or kicking him, but that's something that Kris would do, so she instead patted his face.
…Nothing happened. All she heard was his soft snoring.
Noelle pressed a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully, the spell would last long enough so she could make her escape and finally press that walk button. However, as she took a few steps, Noelle couldn't help but feel something nagging at her mind. She looked back at the nutcracker man, and felt a pang of guilt in her heart. He may have scared her, but she did pelt him with ice without even letting him finish his introduction. Not to mention that he landed pretty hard onto the ground afterwards. No wonder he was so upset. The kind-hearted Noelle wanted to make up to him somehow, but she realized there wasn't much that she could do with him asleep.
This man was living in a dumpster, wasn't he? If he was, then it must have been a long time since he had eaten a proper meal. She remembered how her father would sometimes treat Mr. Asgore to dinner, so perhaps she could do the same for him. Noelle reached her hand into her dress pocket to check its contents. A red and green Christmas ribbon, a neatly-folded receipt paper, and…$600 Dark Dollars. That should be enough for a small meal around here. However, she didn't know when or even if she could ever return to this alleyway.
What could she do?
Then an idea popped into her head.
Perhaps the most reckless idea since her arrival in this world.
I'll take him with me , she decided.
Noelle slowly and gently picked up the nutcracker man, and wrapped one of her arms around his torso. He was surprisingly very light…and soft. He reminded her of her stuffed toys in her bedroom. What she wouldn't give to be there right now. However, the reindeer knew she couldn't keep wishing to be at home, not when she had more important things to do. She used her free arm to search for her disguise. Luckily, it was right next to the dumpster, with no visible damage. Noelle put the disguise back on her head, and then made her way out of the alleyway with the small nutcracker in tow.
As she turned the corner, she almost flinched at the bright city lights ahead. After her eyes adjusted, she smiled knowing that standing right there was her goal: the traffic light. She excitedly ran towards the towering device, careful in not dropping the nutcracker man. Never had she been so relieved to see such a mundane object that was a part of her everyday life. She pressed the walk button with her free thumb, and the traffic almost immediately dispersed, allowing Queen's car to park at Noelle's location.
"Get In", Queen demanded, and Noelle happily opened the car door to the backseat. The first thing she saw was Kris in the driver's seat, gently smiling at her as if relieved at her safe return. Once inside the car, she set the sleeping nutcracker man onto the seat next to her, and buckled hers and his seat belts before Kris started driving.
She finally settled into her seat until…
"Dear What The Hell Is That" Queen suddenly asked Noelle, who flinched at her unexpected inquiry.
"Uh…um…it's a…"
Noelle stumbled upon her words, scrambling to figure out how to explain this "thing" she brought into Queen's car. She couldn't just tell Queen that he was some homeless nutcracker man that she found in the dumpster, lest she risk getting him or herself kicked out of the car. Noelle needed to come up with something quick.
"Th-this is Mr. Nutcracker! He's a toy that I just found and I…wanted to take him home with me?" Noelle lied. There was an uncomfortably long and awkward silence in the car. What was mere seconds felt like years to the reindeer as she tensed behind her cardboard disguise, until Queen finally broke the silence.
"Lmao Weird But Ok You Do You"
Noelle sighed and felt her body finally relax. She wasn't sure when the Sleep Mist will eventually wear off, but she hoped she would get the opportunity to explain the situation to Kris, and to properly apologize to the nutcracker man. She turned her gaze back to him…he looked so peaceful, in contrast to his boisterous attempt at introducing himself earlier.
She suddenly remembered the Christmas ribbon, and promptly removed it from her pocket.
"I'm sorry for everything, Mr. Nutcracker," the young reindeer whispered, "But I promise I'll make it up to you. Just sleep tight, ok?"
She tied the ribbon around his neck and made a little bowtie.
Hehe, cute. She mused to herself.