Chapter Text
Berdly groaned, looking around his surroundings. Where was he…? He was laying on some kind of stone, though the area was an odd, slightly purple tone. How did he get here..?
Where was he before this? Rubbing his feathered head, Berdly hazily remembered being in class, Ms. Alphys not having any chalk as usual. She had asked everyone where it was, (everyone already knew Susie ate it), and had eventually sent Berdly to the supply closet to go get it.
Oh right, Berdly thought. The closet.
He sighed, recalling what had happened. As soon as he had entered the closet, he fell into who-knows-where and apparently passed out for a bit.
I wonder how much of class I missed, he thought dryly, then stopped. Wait.. that's right! I'm supposed to be in class right now!
Panicked, Berdly looked around. There was no way he was going to do something as outrageous as skip school. He had to get back immediately! But.. how was he supposed to get back to school from here?! He didn't even know where was here! Groaning, Berdly got up. He went to dust off his clothing, then stopped. The fabric felt a little.. different. He glanced down, checking what he was wearing, then nearly jumped out of shock.
By the Angel..! I'm in my Cyber World outfit!
He looked down again, inspecting his clothing. He was wearing the same silver armor, with a tangerine neckline and a lime fauld. His smart scouter was over his left eye, and his feathers had even changed to a lighter shade of blue. It was exactly the same as his Cyber World outfit, no doubt. But why…? And, more importantly, how? The Cyber World had been a dream, albeit a very strange and vivid one. Surely this couldn't be a dream as well? And yet..
His thoughts were interrupted however, as he was crushed under the weight of.. something. Berdly let out a weak groan, trying to pick himself off the floor. The weight on top of him was far too heavy, though, and his efforts were in vain. Dimly, he realized the weight was talking, and tried to listen through the ringing of his ears.
"So yeah, that's why we have to-" the weight paused. "Uh, what are you pointing at, Kris?"
Susan?! Berdly thought, in disbelief.
Berdly struggled again, trying to get the lizard off his back, but once again failed. He tried to tell her to get off, but it came out as something like "ghfft fff". Fortunately for him, the noise still caught Susie's attention, as he felt her get up after a few seconds. He coughed and sputtered, breathing hard.
"Berdly!" Susie yelled.
Berdly groaned, rubbing his pounding head, and slowly stood back up.
"What.. what are you doing here, Susan?" he said, dazed. "Though, I guess it's no surprise a protozoan like you would be in a place like this," he smirked. Berdly paused, looking around. "Where is HERE, anyway?"
Susie grimaced.
"You're in.. uh.." She looked around, checking for other options, then began to smirk. "Fuck it, why do I have to explain shit to Berdly? Hey Kris, why don't you do it?"
Berdly looked around and saw.. Kris.
They're here too???
Kris glared at Susie, then began to readjust their hair. Upon noticing, Berdly realized they were shifting their dark blue bangs to cover even more of their face than usual.
Quite impressive, their bangs already cover half of it.
Kris turned to look at him, and spoke.
"Do you remember the Cyber World?" Berdly nodded. "Well, that wasn't a dream-"
"Not a dream?!" Berdly shouted. "As if! You'd have to be quite the fool to think that a world like that is real!" He shook his head. Wait, how do they know about the Cyber World anyway?
Kris gritted their teeth. "It was real, and it was something called a Dark World. It's sorta like a world created when a Dark Fountain is made somewhere. This place is another Dark World," Kris muttered.
Berdly scoffed. "Kris, if you'll recall, none of that was real. If you're expecting me to believe this, you're going to need some proof."
Kris gave him a deadpan look, or at least what he thought that look was. It was hard to tell when only their mouth was visible.
"Isn't the fact that I know about the Cyber World at all proof? As far as I know, dream sharing isn't a thing." They pointed at Berdly. "Also, look at our outfits. We're literally wearing the exact same things as in your 'dream'."
"Ah! W-well, er, I mean!" Berdly stuttered. "B-but, the Cyber World can't be real! After all there's- there's magic-"
Kris sighed. "'Shoulda let Ralsei do the explaining," they muttered.
As if on cue, a white-furred darkner walked in at just that moment.
"Hi," they said cheerily. "I'm Ralsei!"
Berdly blinked, stunned. This was the same darkner that had followed Kris around everywhere in his dream! How could they be here?! Unless..
No, Berdly thought, shaking the thought away. There is absolutely no way the Cyber World is real! This must be another dream! Yes, all of this is just a dream!
Berdly cleared his throat. "Well, this has been an interesting dream, but I'm afraid I have to wake up! After all, I still have to get that chalk for Ms. Alphys! Goodbye, ignorant individuals!"
Ralsei blinked. "Uh.. Berdly.. you're not dreaming."
"Of course I am dreaming," Berdly huffed. "There is no possible way this is real."
Ralsei glanced at Kris and Susie. "Why don't you two find something to do while I explain to Berdly? It seems like it'll take a while.."
"Yeah sure, anything to get away from that birdbrain!" Susie grabbed Kris by the shoulder. "C'mon Kris, let's go!" she said, dragging them away from the area.
{__________}
"Finally.." Susie huffed. "I could NOT stand a second longer near Berdly! Though.." She ran a claw through her magenta hair, thinking. "It's a good thing we found him though, right Kris? Otherwise he might have BORED everyone to death!"
She began laughing and wheezing, her hair falling in front of her eyes as she roared. Kris let out a small chuckle, but couldn't help but think they wouldn't mind Berdly that much. It'd be pretty nice, actually… They thought, remembering all the times they played Super Smashing Fighters with him. They soon got lost, thinking about his gorgeous powder blue feathers, how excited he got when he won against them, the way he would adjust his glasses when he was about to start infodumping. The way he would boast and brag about his gamer abilities, how cute he looked when he fell asleep in the middle of late-night gaming.
Kris blushed, remembering when Berdly first declared their "rivalry", how ecstatic they were because it was an excuse to see the bluebird even more often. They smirked, remembering how shocked Berdly had been after they interrupted him blathering about their family debt at the library with a blown kiss. The time when-
"Uh, Kris?"
Realizing Susie was talking, Kris quickly snapped themself out of their thoughts and tried to pay attention to her.
"...as I was saying, what was Alphys thinking?! Sending him to the closet, to fall into OUR Castle Town?!?" Susie shook her head, crossing her arms. "What are we gonna do about him anyway?"
Kris shrugged. "He'll probably just go back to school once Ralsei's finished explaining, remember? He's not the kind to skip."
"Fuck, you're right." Susie grinned. "Then that means, once he's gone, we can skip and do whatever the hell we want here!!"
Kris gave her a small smile. "Let's go see if Ralsei's done," they said, pushing away the thought that hoped Berdly didn't leave.
{__________}
As it turned out, they got their wish, because Berdly was still there. It seemed like Ralsei had just finished explaining, and Berdly had been about to go back until Susie and Kris arrived. Berdly glanced back from where he was, and smirked as he noticed the two.
"Ah, looks like No. 3 and Participation Award are back!"
Kris could feel the SOUL judging them with every word out of Berdly's beak.
"Well, if you came to see me you're out of luck, as I am leaving!" Berdly gave a superior look to Susie. "Unlike Susan here, I actually value education and will not be caught skipping!"
"Don't care," Susie remarked, blowing a hair out of her face.
Berdly ignored her and faced Kris. "Though.. Kris, I was thinking.. perhaps you'd like to get an A for once and.. work on the project with me and Noelle?" He shuffled his feet, a nervous look creeping on his face. "N-not for any reason, of course! I'm just, ah, taking pity on you and the D- you'd certainly get without my help!" he stammered, putting a smirk back on.
"Tch, as if Kris would go with you when they've got better things to do here!" Susie blurted, laughing. "Right, Kris?"
Kris paused, the SOUL making a decision.
Angel, say yes...
"Sure, let's do the project, but for now, why don't we hang out in Castle Town?" it said, speaking through them. "You haven't seen it yet."
Kris shrugged. They would have just accepted Berdly's offer, but the SOUL's decision wasn't too horrible this time. They could deal with it.
Looking back, they noticed Susie staring at them with a dumbfounded expression, and Berdly looking quite indecisive. The latter hesitantly opened his beak, but was cut off by a protesting bleating.
"Wait! Now wait just a second!" Ralsei protested. "School is very important, you should all go back immediately! You can come back and show Berdly later."
"But-" Kris started.
"No buts! I banish you all from Castle Town until school is over!" Ralsei insisted. He turned around, his pink scarf blowing with the sudden movement. "And that goes for you too, Susie!"
Susie groaned and started walking back to the exit. "Fine, I guess we'll go back with birdboy. C'mon, Kris."