Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Elmsdale was a quiet town, one of the few in its area. The quietest towns often hold the darkest secrets, but the town held few. There would be an occasional crime or disappearance, but that was commonplace for most small towns. Its history stretched back just over a hundred years when the town was built upon natural ground to provide for the poor. Over the course of its life, the town had its share of incidents, but it was mostly nothing to be ashamed of. The town was very much alive and filled with various sorts of inhabitants. Shy folks, outgoing folks, humans, monsters; the town had a good variety. This was not always the case, but time does strange things to not only humans. Not much was offered in terms of recreation in modern Elmsdale, aside from the town park and golf course, but it still managed to keep itself tightly knit. The townsfolk would be there for one another as needed and were most appreciative of that fact. 

Humans looked quite similar to one another, at least by comparison to monsters. Monsters took various forms, much like certain creatures found in the wild and in folklore. Despite their appearances, their walks and ways of life were not much different than that of humans. The two races would interact daily, work with one another, and enjoy the spoils of life without batting an eye. The town playground was often frequented by parents and children alike, as there was little else to do for those so young. While children in other parts of the world could sit inside all day with their electronic devices, Elmsdale was still a town of the past, keeping the old ways of life fresh. The evening sun would cast a vibrant light over the structures planted throughout the play area. Swings, slides, seesaws, jungle gyms, and a variety of other playground necessities stuck out from the wood chip covered ground. The chips often found themselves outside the wood lined exterior, in the shoes of children, and other times within the stomachs of those who knew no better. Benches were additionally planted around the playground perimeter. 

Parents sat along the benches as they watched their children play. Or at least they should have been watching them. Several would often find themselves too involved with a book or their phone to pay them any mind. In a sense, they kept their children stuck with their generation’s way of social interaction while they moved on themselves. However, this did not stop their kids from having fun. They chased one another across the grounds of the area, played tag, bounced up and down on the seesaws, and took up most of the play structures. Some had two arms, some had no arms, some had skin, and others had scales; these differences did not matter to them. As long as they were having fun, that was all that mattered. It was as generic a playground as could be. At least the slides were not too hot to slide down, as it was late fall, nearing winter. As such, most people’s clothing was fit for the time of year. 

As the children continued their activities, a father rested tensely on the bench. A human with brown hair, a red sweatshirt, and paint-stained jeans. He kept an eye on his own child, but his eyes were more drawn to the parents in the area. Specifically, the ones who were both present. An empty tear ripped itself from within his chest, for his other was no longer there. She would never have left him, but sometimes the choices made can be all or end all with life. Having to raise a child alone was hard enough, but it was far harder to explain to a child why she had no mother. He could not help but feel his eyes become a bit watery as the wound within his chest cut deeper and deeper. Wounds like that never truly heal, they simply scab. No matter how much one bandages them up, the most common of things can sometimes open them back up again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out a short, blue shape approaching him. 

“Excuse me,” a coarse voice spoke, “Is everything alright, sir?”

He breathed quickly and wiped his eyes on his sweatshirt. He did not like people seeing him in this state, but one cannot always control when or where they might feel upset. Grief takes people whenever it wants and holds nothing back. His hazel eyes peered over to get a better look of who had spoken to him. Standing at the end of the bench was a short blue monster with stubby horns, a large single eye, and no arms. The man had not interacted much with monsters throughout his life, but he held nothing against them. 

“Yeah,” he answered in a low voice. “I’m fine.” She looked oddly at him, sensing that he had not spoken the truth. 

“You don’t look fine,” she noted. “May I sit down?” The man nodded and moved so the monster could take a seat. She planted herself next to him with a plop that shook the bench slightly. “Sorry. They usually shake whenever I sit down.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the man assured, avoiding eye contact with the monster. 

“So, what is wrong?” The man sighed and tried to keep himself together. 

“There are some things in life that you can’t change, and that you can’t predict. Having to raise my child by myself wasn’t one I ever thought I’d have to do.”

“Angel’s Heaven! I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t know-”

“It’s not your fault. There’s nothing to be sorry for,” the man sighed. “That’s how life is. It leads you one way and then pulls you in another before you know it. It happens to the best of us.” The monster glanced down, thinking of what to say to pick things up. 

“It is true, but, hey. Sometimes the way it pulls you won’t be entirely bad. Anyway, which of these kids is yours?” 

“The one in the blue dress,” he answered, pointing across the playground. A child was sitting down, tossing wood chips around with a small, horse-like monster in a plaid shirt. 

“She looks like a darling,” the monster remarked. “That’s mine over there.” She pointed with her foot, seeing as how she had no arms. The man looked over to see a young monster who looked much like the one sitting next to him, only smaller, green and with a single arm and no horns. They appeared to be pushing another monster on the swing with their single arm. “A real troublemaker he is. Especially with that arm. He’s always joking around about how he was the only one in the family to be born with one.” She chuckled slightly. The man put on a fake smirk, as his mood was not lifted. 

“I’m sure he’s a fun kid,” he said out of obligation. 

“Yeah, he certainly is. How old is yours?”

“Just turned five last month.” 

“My kid’s six. Aged up back in June.” A sigh released itself from between her teeth. “Time flies, huh. I remember his first birthday.”

“Yeah,” the man answered, the hole within his chest widening, “It sure does.” 

“We were fortunate enough to get him accepted in the Angel’s congregation soon after he was born. It’s trouble getting him and his father to attend service at times though.” The monster peered over towards the man. “If it’s all right for me to ask, do you keep faith?” 

“Not really. I had my daughter baptized, but my practices have died down a lot over time. Plus, there are so many different religions anymore that I don’t know where to cast my faith. Some humans follow monster religion. Some monsters follow human religion. And all the textual interpretations keep changing. Don’t know what to make of it at this point.”

“Well, regardless of the religion, most of the important morals and teachings tend to overlap. Even if you don’t have one, I’m sure you know right from wrong.” The two sat in silence, their eyes moving back to the children at play. 

“At least our kids can interact with one another without any problems,” the man noted. 

“Yeah,” the monster replied, “This generation thankfully doesn’t have to deal with all that race crap.” She stared at the trees nearby. Their leaves were a beautiful fall orange and brown. They cast a great shadow that stretched across the grassy ground. Shadows brought with them a sense of beauty or unease to the children who gazed upon them, depending on the shape it took. A thought crossed the monster’s mind. “Did you see the news earlier today? All the stuff about that nearby town? What was it called again? Ohmtown?”

“Hometown,” the man answered. “And yeah, I heard about it.” There was something strange about that town. Something that neither of the two nor a lot of the others in Elmsdale could quite pinpoint. Something that just felt too ordinary. They seldom questioned it, as their town was much of the same. However, it was still a feeling which could not be shaken. Like a garden growing above a crypt. 

“Do you believe what they’re reporting?” she asked. “Or do you think it’s all made up?”

“That’s another thing that I don’t know what to make of. I mean, I have some trouble believing that twenty plus humans would spontaneously show up in the town and wreak havoc. That town hasn’t had humans in it for as long as I can remember. Not to mention dark spots popping up all over the place and changing the land. And now they’re saying that there’s something else they can’t even identify. Sounds made up for views to me.”

“But the police force in our town got called out over there. From what I heard, several of the other police forces from the nearby towns also got called out there.” 

“I heard about that too, but I still just find the whole situation hard to believe. Like, do you believe in darkness that manipulates matter? That’s something out of a kid’s story.” The monster rubbed one leg with the other. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she agreed. “It’s just… I can’t shake this weird feeling. I don’t know if it’s fear or something else. That town being right next to ours doesn’t help.”

“Unless I see it myself, I don’t think I can believe something like that,” the man affirmed.

“But if it is true, then… what the heck even is the world as we see it? This isn’t even going off all the rumors and conspiracies being thrown around.” The man chuckled at the thought. 

“What are they saying?”

“Well, it depends on who you ask. Bunch of both monster and human religions are preaching about how judgment day is upon us and how ‘we’ll all pay for our sins’ and that kind of thing. Others are saying that this is some kind of experiment by the government finally being uncovered to the world. Some claim that it’s because of something the older folks in the town did a long while back. I also heard someone saying that creatures from another world are coming over to ours for world domination.” The man shook his head. 

“I don’t know. Again, all this is a stretch and a half for me. Especially since they can’t get any footage or video evidence of it. They keep saying that their phones and cameras keep glitching out anytime they go near that place. That’s a sci-fi excuse for crying out loud.” The monster paused. 

“You’re right. I believe in miracles and the Angel’s teachings, but there’s nothing quite like this in anything I’ve come to know.” 

The two looked back out at their respective children playing. The orange beams of the sun slowly began to set. They set so slow that the bright orange sphere appeared stagnant. The shadows of the nearby trees reached further and further. The sound of yelling and laughter continued throughout the playground. Images of the man’s own childhood flashed before his eyes. They were quite different. Not necessarily bad, just different. At the same time, there was something that he knew he shared with his daughter. 

“It’s crazy how far imagination can go sometimes,” he remarked. “Kids have so much of it.”

“They do,” the monster responded. “You keep it as you grow up. Kids and adults just have different kinds.” 

“It feels like the older you get and more time that passes, the darker things get.” 

“The darker things are, the stronger the good in life feels. That’s something that you shouldn’t forget.” 

“I’ve never been good at taking advice from others.”

“It’s never too late to start.” The eyes of the man fell to his shoes. 

“Fair enough.” A slight breeze flowed through the nearby trees, shaking their vibrant leaves. Along with it came something strange. Other worldly-like. A shift in something. Maybe not within the air, but within something else. The change caused a nearly involuntary shudder from both the man and monster. They looked over behind them. “I’m not going crazy, am I?”

“No…” the monster replied. “You felt that too?”

“Yes… what the heck was that?” The man gripped his stained jeans. “Felt like I just left myself there for a second.” The two turned back towards the playground, a little shaken. 

“Probably nothing. Just… one of those things you can’t explain.” The two must have been the only ones to feel what they felt, as everyone continued their activities like normal. 

“Stop right there! The order of light demands it!” a small, rabbit-looking monster declared to their friends. They gestured to a small line made in the wood chips. A tiny flame monster and human child proceeded to step right over the line upon hearing the order. 

“You can’t stop our reign of darkness!” the human declared. “We’ll snuff out any bit of light you have!” A wrestling match of sorts broke out amongst the small group. The laughs which echoed from it indicated that it was just a fun kind of fight. A few more of the surrounding kids joined in. 

“Dragon pile!” another monster shouted. They were short with green scales covering their body and had two large eyes, a stubby tail and a tiny pair of wings. As the kids continued to roughhouse, the monster and human on the bench watched. The monster could not help but wince slightly at the sight, even though there were no signs of pain from any children. 

“Do you ever worry about your kid?” she asked before immediately shaking her head. “Wait, that was a stupid question. Of course, you do. I guess what I mean is… how much and how often do you?” 

“Every day,” the man answered without hesitation. “Every moment that she crosses my mind, I have worries. I can’t not have them after what happened to my wife.” The monster moved her eye to him. 

“Well, that means you care a lot about her. There’s nothing wrong with care.” 

“It makes you hurt when bad things happen to those you care about.”

“Life’s full of good and bad. Everything has some good and bad in it. It isn’t as simple as just being one or the other. The bad might overshadow the good at times, but it’s what we remember and focus on which matters. What keeps us going.” The man fell silent. The silence allowed for the monster’s hypocrisy to catch up with her. 

“I worry about my kid every day too. I hope he’ll be all right in school.” 

“He will,” the man assured with a smile. “After all, he’s got that arm. That’ll make writing a lot easier.” 

“Heh, you’re right on that one,” she agreed. As she watched on, she caught something out the corner of her eye. She looked over, startled. There was nothing there.

“What’s up?” 

“That looked like-” she started. “Never mind. Must have been something in my eye.” She closed her eye and rubbed it a bit with her feet before looking back towards the trees across the way. “You know, these trees have been here since I was a kid.”

“I wouldn’t know. Moved here from out of state a few months ago. It was either here or Rorkeson.”

“Rorkeson? That’s west of here, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah. West of Hometown too. Similar landscape and vibes to here, just not quite as ‘brought together.’ Not many monsters there either. Part of why we moved here was so that my girl could grow up with some more kids her age. That and affordability. Seems like we keep ending up in old fashioned places.”

“Towns like these don’t change much. Might as well be time capsules.” The monster’s eye moved down to the trees’ shadows. Her eye narrowed. “Wait. Were those shadows always that far? The sun hasn’t moved that much, has it?” The man looked over and saw that she was right. He blinked several times to be sure that what he was seeing was right. The shadows looked like they had doubled in length with little time passing. 

“No…” he quietly spoke, “I don’t think they were-” The man jolted upwards slightly as he saw something beneath one of the slides. It looked like a black blotch that had phased in and out of itself for about a second. The monster next to him looked over, startled. 

“What?” she asked. “What is it?”

“What the hell was that?” he blurted louder than he meant to. His tone and language caught the attention of several of the other nearby parents. 

“W-What did you see?” the monster next to him nervously asked. 

“There was like a black spot,” he pointed beneath the nearest slide. “Right there.” The monster looked but saw nothing. 

“I… don’t see what you’re talking about,” she responded. The man shifted slightly to keep his balance. Something was off. He felt as though something he could not see was spreading past him. Like his very being was being sifted over by something far greater. “Sir, please. Calm down. I’m sure that things are f-” She gave an abrupt yelp and fell backwards off the bench as another patch of blackness formed directly beneath it. “W-What in the world?” 

Before the man could respond, several more rapidly formed around the trees and various playground structures. The area went quiet as the children at play stopped in their tracks and watched on. Several parents stood up and stared at the strange sight before them. The darkened parts of the center jungle gym began to phase into scrubby brush and bushes. The shadow-enveloped swing sets formed into savanna-like trees with low hanging branches and small patches of dark water at their base. Seesaws morphed into what looked like ant hills of some sort while the slides took on the form of smooth, sloped rocks. The ground additionally turned from wood chips to coarse dirt and patches of tall grass. 

The man shouted to his daughter, signaling for her to come to him. She did not walk far before falling back with a brief shriek. Another burst of black static materialized and began altering the ground in front of her. The texture looked like static from television, only darker. However, the patch looked different from many of the others. There was something inside for just a moment. Something large. 

The man ran towards his daughter as did several other parents to their children. Others stayed back in fear, unable to bring themselves to move towards the growing shadows. The man grabbed his daughter’s arm and aimed for the parking lot. He needed to change course slightly as more and more black spots began forming all over the ground. A chorus of screaming, yelping, and crying echoed itself across the playground as many of the kids grew scared. The man and his daughter made it to the park entrance and stopped to catch their breath. Several other parents additionally neared the entrance while others made efforts to get to their children. 

“Pa, what is that?” the child asked. The man looked back towards the middle of the playground. The dark patches had nearly enclosed the entire playground. Most parents had retrieved their children, but a few remained scattered near the structures. The monster who had sat with the man attempted to get to her child. However, it was next to impossible to not step in the darkness by that point. 

“I-I don’t know,” the man answered. “Sweetie, we’re gonna go to the car, and we’re-” A loud clanking sound crashed to the center of the playground, ushering complete silence, and shaking the nearby ground. Even from as far away as they were, the man and his child jumped at the sound. As they looked over, they could not understand what they saw. It looked to them like a creature of some sort, but it was huge. Easily over ten feet in height with a metallic looking body that appeared to be spotted with bits of grainy rust. Everyone had frozen at the sight but started backing up once the creature started to move. Its movements were twitchy, and its face could not be seen. It was covered by a mess of what everyone assumed must have been some sort of long hair. The creature peered over at something to its left. Something near what was once the swing set. The small blue monster with a single eye and arm. 

The child was frozen in fear as he looked at the creature. Although he could not see its face directly, he had a melting feeling spread through his body. A feeling of prey. The creature reached a hand towards the monster. It had abnormally long and pointy fingers that twitched as though they were having uncontrollable spasms. The child’s flight responses kicked in as he ran across the darkness as fast as he could. Although he was quick, he was not quick enough. The hand roughly closed itself over top of him and began to raise the monster towards the creature’s face. The monster screamed as he looked on at the creature. 

“If there is a lord above, help us…” the man at the entrance muttered. His grip on his daughter’s arm tightened as the two fled to his car. A part of him wanted to help, but he imagined that he alone could do little against a creature like that and the safety of his child was his top priority. Most of the other parents and children had additionally started to flee the scene, several of which on the phone with local law enforcement. 

The begs and pleas of the caught child’s mother could be heard all the way from the parking lot. However, the creature did not appear to pay the mother any mind. It had certainly heard her, assuming it could hear. It simply did not process what she said. The creature’s mind appeared to be controlled by its instincts. The small, blue monster was brought closer to the face until a dilated pupil could be seen through the hair. The eye was brown, much like the rusty spots that covered the creature’s body. Its sight cut through the child more than a sharpened knife or sword ever could have. The monster stopped screaming and began whimpering as he shook in the creature’s grip. 

“Yonggsiesss,” the creature whispered in a high-pitched tone. A shaky smile could be made out forming across the creature’s face. With it came multiple rows of needle-like teeth that jutted out of the mouth at odd angles. The crying screams of the mother and child grew alongside the still spreading darkness and opening mouth of the creature. In witnessing what she had seen, the mother now knew the truth of what she had heard on the news.

Chapter Text

Nothing but a constant ticking could be heard within the room. It was consistent and continued every second. A lone clock sat on the wall in an otherwise blank room, moving its small hand ever so slowly towards six in the morning. The walls and door inside were all blank white in color except for a large rectangular window just next to the door. The room itself was additionally rectangular and offered little to see or do besides listen to the continuous ticking of the clock. A small table sat in the middle of the room with two chairs on opposing sides. The chairs were quite uncomfortable, but they were seemingly intended to be that way. When something is uncomfortable, it keeps the mind from wandering to irrelevant matters. Sitting on the chair furthest from the door was a monster. 

She had fur as white as the room she was sitting in and a tall height compared to most humans. She wore a purple robe, small spectacles on the front of her snout, and had no shoes. Two small horns stuck out from opposing sides atop her head along with a small tuft of extra fur between them. Her eyes stared motionlessly at the table as her breathing remained slow. The shallow look that seeped into her dry eyes expressed her state of heart and mind better than words possibly could have. The sounds of the clock’s ticks reached her ears but not her mind. Her hands rested on the table before her and were so motionless that they might as well have been dead. A new sound echoed through the small room as the door handle turned. 

A man entered the room. He had on a dark blue uniform with a yellow badge to the right of his chest. A small walkie talkie rested in his pocket along with a pack of cigarettes. He stood in the doorway with a handful of paperwork and stared at the monster sitting at the table. His face was dark and stern with a look that spoke the words “no bullshit” without him needing to say them. He continued standing there, waiting for an acknowledgement from the monster. There was none to be had. He slowly walked inside, allowing for the door to loudly close behind him. The sudden noise did not draw the monster’s attention either. The man gave an impatient sigh as he scratched his scruffy chin. 

“I don’t want to waste my time doing this, but I have to by obligation,” the officer spoke in a low voice. “Suspect first name: Toriel. Suspect last name: Dreemurr. Occupation: Teacher. Mother of two and ex-wife of a Mr. Asgore Dreemurr. Resided in Hometown for the majority of her life and is suspected of bein’ responsible for the unjust imprisonment of upwards of forty humans for more than sixty years. Upwards of ten of these humans perished while within said imprisonment but that number is a minimum. More are still bein’ counted. These include men, women, and children. Additionally, there are several other past goings on in the town of Hometown that the aforementioned monster is suspected of havin’ ties and associations with. Ms. Toriel Dreemurr, do you have any comments?” The monster closed her eyes, but the sound of the clock was still the only sound heard inside the room. 

“Didn’t think so,” the officer noted. He sat down on the chair across from the monster and plopped the paperwork down on the side of the table. He folded his hands on the tabletop and looked on at the sorrowful monster. “We have a very big problem here, Ms. Dreemurr.” The monster picked up her head and her eyes winced. 

“My name is Toriel,” she spoke. “Call me by that.” The officer stared for several seconds. 

“Fine, Ms. Toriel. Have you got anything to say? Anything at all ‘bout all the events from Hell that’ve been poppin’ up ‘round yer town?” The monster said nothing. The officer got to his feet and walked over to her sternly. “You hear that clock? ‘Tick-tick-tick.’ Sound familiar?” he asked. “Every time that clock ticks, another second goes by. Every second that goes by is another second of chaos for this world if you don’t tell us what the hell’s been goin’ on.” The monster continued to remain silent, inciting an impatient sigh from the officer. 

“How ‘bout this: I’mma list off all the known folks who’ve disappeared,” the officer asserted. “Maybe then you’ll feel more motivation to talk.” He pushed aside several stacks of paper on the table and grabbed a tan folder. He sifted through the pages until he found what he was looking for. “The known folks to be missin’ are as follows: a ghost by the name of Hapstablook, cousin of yer town’s officer Napstablook; a Mr. Rudolph Holiday along with his youngest child, Noelle Holiday; Two skeletal brothers, Sans and Papyrus; and numerous other reported but unconfirmed disappearances. Sound familiar? Hmm?” The monster felt a punch to the heart after hearing a few of the names. She opened her eyes and moved a hand to her head. 

“Rudy and Noelle are close friends of my family…” Toriel responded, the weight of her past falling harder upon her heart. “What has happened to them?” 

“Why don’t you tell me? Several of the humans who came out of the dark claimed that you were the last one they saw as they were closed in that rusty bunker in the south part of yer town. You and the rest of yer people.” The officer took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth, grabbing and flicking open a lighter at its end with his other hand. The monster knew not what to say other than what she honestly believed. 

“I… I already told the skeleton all that there is to say. We… we did what we needed to do,” she muttered. “Things were terrible back then… they were-” 

“‘What you needed to do?’” The officer repeated, taking a draw from his cigarette with an acidic grin. “‘What you needed to do?’ Do you have any idea what yer sayin’? Yer a teacher for crying out loud. You expect me to accept and believe an answer like that?” Toriel glared at the officer as he released a puff of smoke that disappeared slowly into the air. 

“You do not know what it was like. It was not just us. We were attacked just as much as we attacked them. It was not one incident. We simply put an end to it.” 

“Oh, you put an end to it, alright. An end that preemptively ended the lives of several likely innocent people. Yet, here’s the real injustice: much of yer people still made it out alive even when those who you wronged were given their own chance at revenge.” The monster felt her insides crumple like a piece of paper. “Speakin’ of which, yer ex-husband is lucky to still be alive. If the Elmsdale force didn’t get there when they did, those humans probably would’ve killed him. He’s been taken to one of the hospitals out of town.” Toriel remained silent with her hands to her head. She had baggage with her ex-husband, but not something to which she ever wished bad like what she had just heard upon him. The officer took the cigarette from his mouth and leaned across the table as the sound of ticking continued throughout the room. 

“I don’t want to be here doin’ this any more than you want to. I’m an officer, not an interrogator. But I got stuck with this cuz the whole rest of the department is already occupied with this mess. So, why don’t you make things easier for the both of us and just start talking, damn it.” As the scent of tobacco permeated through the air, the monster stared at the man before her but said nothing. “And this ain’t just ‘bout all the humans and darkness as of recent nor the riot from way back when. Yer town’s got a whole list of unchecked incidents. Arson of the West Laboratory, the C-section of Apricot Street, the Chomp of ‘97. Ring any bells?” Toriel turned her head and grimaced at what she had been reminded of. 

“Those events did happen, but they were out of our hands,” she replied, growing more fed up with the condescending rancidness spilling from the man’s mouth. 

“Then why don’t you tell me what happened here that was within yer hands cuz yer town’s got a real habit of coverin’ this stuff up.” The monster placed her hands on the table and stared into the officer’s eyes. The red flare of hers met the yellow glint of his. 

“I know of those incidents and saw the aftermath of a few but was not directly involved. I do not know anything about the darkness spreading through town either,” Toriel asserted. 

“You’re full of it. You knew what happened sixty-six years ago. The skeleton relayed us that info before he disappeared. You know more than you let on. Something ‘bout what the hell’s causin’ this. Or who’s really responsible if not yer people.” The monster closed her eyes, gliding through the events of her past. The officer leaned back in his chair and took another draw from his cigarette. “The chief in yer town claims she knew nothin’ ‘bout this. Same goes for the ghost officer you got. According to what the skeleton told us, you’re one of the oldest in the town. You’ve been around to see it all, so you know things that some of the others may no-” 

“I… I never knew his name,” Toriel interrupted, one thing standing out in her mind. 

“Who? Who you talkin’ ‘bout?”

“The scientist. The one who had the lab west of town.” 

“The skeleton said you mentioned something about a scientist. What does he have to do with all this?” 

“He… worsened things… made tensions worse. He sought a plan… a plan to rid the town of us.” The officer stared consciously towards the monster. “But… what made him so awful was not just his personality or actions, but his intelligence. Not just through engineering and science alone, but in his ability to anticipate what would happen. The only time he was wrong was the time that resulted in us putting him and the others away. If he is still alive, I do not think he will make another mistake like that again.” The officer listened in, perplexed. 

“So, let me get this straight,” the officer spoke sarcastically, placing his fingers together. “Single scientist wants to rid yer town of monsters, so you turn around and lock away him and all the humans? Maybe it’s just me, but that sounds like a slightly one-sided and overreactive response, don’t ya think?” 

“He would have done the same thing to us,” Toriel rebuked. “Why else would he have made a lock that no one could break? He and his people intended to lock us away in that bunker.” 

“Are you sure of that or is that just what you assumed?”

“Any one of us who was there and knew of it could have told you that. If we did not seal them away when we did, then…” 

“Then what?” the officer replied. 

“This all would be switched. We would have been locked away.” 

“Be that as it may, you still locked away over forty people which resulted in several of them dying. Some of them children, mind ya.” The monster’s jaw twitched after hearing the comment. 

“Do you or anyone who lies under this flag of catty justice have any amount of empathy for our side of the story?” Toriel resented. 

“Empathy?” the officer questioned, putting the end of his cigarette out on the table. “You’re a mother yourself. Think about those kids. Think about them! What was gonna happen to them? Do you really think your judgment was just? You might as well have damned them all to die!” 

“I know what we have done! I do not need to be reminded of it any more than what I had to experience in going through it!” the monster shouted. “I love my children more than anything else in this world. Do not lecture me on children! You are just like the skeleton in how you view us. I know more about raising a child than you will ever know!” The officer chuckled as he shook his head at what he had heard. 

“You’re not in yer little Hometown anymore, Ms. Dreemurr. Remember that. And I’ll speak to ya however the bloody hell I want. I don’t need to be schooled on the basics of how to raise and care for a kid to know that it’s in the wrong to lock away an entire people, leave them to rot, and then take away everything that they had.” The monster fell into bitter silence, allowing only the ticking of the clock to continue sounding off through the room. “And let me just remind you, we didn’t come after you. You came to us, and you don’t seem very remorseful to me. So, why’d you do it? I assume for yer kids?” The blaze within Toriel’s eyes ignited. 

“Any parent would have done what I did for the safety and wellbeing of their children.”

“Heh. ‘A mother’s love.’ I don’t doubt its drive and power, nor your honesty in sayin’ that. I just find it overly convenient that it doubles as an excuse for murder.” Toriel scowled at the comment. 

“You have no sense of love. Anyone can tell that from how you have treated me. I can only reiterate that what I and many of the others did was out of love and care for our children.” 

“Well, it’s a shame you feel that way then,” the officer let slip. 

“What?” Toriel’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Damn. I wasn’t really supposed to mention this to ya, but things are going to Hell anyway, so it probably doesn’t matter. I got word of this just before I came over here, so it ain’t filed with the others. Both yer kids have been missing for a few hours now.” 

“What?” Toriel shouted, standing up abruptly from her seat and knocking over the chair. She towered above the officer who remained in his seat, unphased by the monster. 

“It’s that darkness that’s been spreadin’ all ‘round. There’s already calls coming in from Elmsdale and it’ll probably spread to Rorkeson soon. Speed of the spread seems inconsistent in different areas, but it’ll keep going unless we find a way to contain it. It got to the safe house yer kids were sent to. When it was inspected, they were nowhere to be found.” 

“You are telling me that they are gone? After I told you all to keep them safe at all costs! I gave up everything I had to ensure that they would be safe! How could you let something like this happen?” Toriel bellowed. 

“How could you let happen to those humans in yer town what you did?” the officer countered. “What goes around comes around. As nasty a thing as it is to accept sometimes.” A low dinging sound echoed through the room as the gears inside the circle on the wall made the shorthand strike six. “We’d best hope that it’s just the darkness that got to ‘em. The humans came out of it, so yer kids might come back. As long as it’s not that other thing that we can’t figure out. No trace is left of anythin’ that comes in contact with it.” 

“You are horrible! No different than them all those years ago in how you treat our kind!” the monster scowled. 

“No more horrible than you were to those humans all those years ago,” the officer responded. “We don’t hold prejudice against monsters here. Never have since this force was established. I only give people what they deserve for what they do. That’s why I became a cop.” Before he could continue, his pager shook and sounded off on his belt. He glanced down and quickly got up from his seat. “Wait here,” he ordered. 

“‘Wait?’ You expect me to sit here and wait when my children are Angel knows where?” 

“If you know what’s good for ya, then yes,” he replied as he exited and closed the door. The door shut with a resounding thud followed by a clinking of keys on the door’s lock. The room then fell silent again, barring the constant ticking of the clock. Toriel stood in the room with an eye twitching and her insides boiling. The entire building could have caught fire from the anger emitting itself from the monster. She watched through the glass as the officer took out a walkie talkie. He passed by a hanging flag with red and white stripes along with many white stars imbued on a blue backdrop. Toriel could hear nothing of what was being said but could tell from the officer’s facial expression that it must not have been good. His face dropped and he became less tense for a moment before placing his walkie talkie back at his side and coming back to the door. He unlocked and opened it with haste. 

“They’re calling all officers on duty asap for an emergency,” he asserted. “You’re gonna stay in here until I or someone else gets back. We ain’t finished with you.” The monster moved swiftly to the door. 

“I will not stay here while my children could be in danger! I do not care what yo-” The door slammed shut and was once again locked. The officer rushed past the window and out of the monster’s sight. Less than a second of shock shot itself through the monster before she lashed out against the glass before her. “Angel curse you! Curse you and everyone like you! Condemn you all to the roaring fires!” the monster roared, pounding on the glass with all her strength. “My children need me! They could be… they need…” Toriel stood with her hands clenched and shaking against the glass. Her teeth gritted together roughly, and her throat suddenly became dry. Everything she had done was for the sake of her children, and it had all been in vain. She slowly fell to her knees in front of the wall. As she closed her eyes, a salty droplet slid down her downhearted cheek. She slowly placed together her shaking hands for a final prayer of hope, seeing no other options in store. 

“Angel above, I beg thee,” she pleaded. “No matter what happens, guide and ensure the safety of my children. Please. If I am to pay for what I have done in the past, then let my sins catch up with me. Just me. Do not let them catch Asriel or Kris. Please, Angel. I give you my life… hear my prayers.”

Chapter Text

The scent of crisp leaves nearing the end of their season entered the nostrils of a monster. As she moved swiftly across them, the glowing orange orb in the sky had fully descended, causing little light to shine below the canopy of leaves and branches. The ground beneath was made up of large patches of dirt and fallen leaves, though many seemed to have accumulated from years past, as the trees around the area still had much of their leaves. However, little could be seen of their vibrant patterns due to the ever hungering dark. The chirps of active crickets and occasional hooting of an owl additionally made their way to the monster passing through. 

She continued descending the thicket of dark trees with salty streams sliding quickly down her face. She peered back over her shoulder several times to see if she was being pursued, but there was nothing but darkness. That is, everyday darkness and the sounds of the creatures of the night. The monster stopped, leaned one arm against a tree, and placed the other on her knee. Her messy brown hair and purple scales were dampened with sweat from the run. Her claws scratched the rough tree bark slightly as she caught her breath, as every additional breath had begun to burn within her. She gritted her sharp teeth together and shook from a splash of simultaneous internal and external confliction. 

Just… go. The monster thought to herself. I’ve got to… I… did… did I do the right thing? She looked all around but saw nothing except the continuing collection of trees and shadows. What am I even doing…? Where am I going… I… Damn it. Come on, think straight. Figure out what the hell to do. She leaned against the tree with her entire body, still panting heavily and releasing visible breaths of air into the cool night. As her golden yellow eyes watched her breaths quickly fade, she did not realize that she had started to sit down. Her dark jacket caught itself on the jagged bark several times as her body slid down the rough surface. The underside of her torn jeans met the ground as her mind remained a directionless subway, scrambling and unscrambling its routes and times. As her mind continued racing, she felt a small growl wretch itself from within her stomach. 

God… still hungry… no… No! She asserted to herself, gripping her stomach. That’s not what’s important right now. I don’t have time to think about that. I need to think… what do I do… what… do we do… The two black slits for pupils in the monster’s eyes moved towards the cloudy night sky. The dark, blank sky contrasted the two yellow orbs that looked upon it. I… we need help. I need to get help. Someone… something… That must have been what she meant. This isn’t just between us anymore. The monster stood up and looked in the direction that she had come from. Guys… I’m not leaving you. Just… getting backup. Please… be okay. The monster turned the other way. Isn’t Rorkeson somewhere this way? It’s got to be west of here but… crap. Where is west? The monster stared all around herself again. Forget it. Just pick a direction and move. Don’t waste time. She took back off in the direction she was initially heading. 

Come on. I’m a lightner. I’m Susie. I’m… a good person. My friends said so. I did what I could. I just… couldn’t do much. There were too many humans, but… Kris… Noelle… and everyone else… Her head hung low but saw nothing but the dark silhouettes of a log and several fallen branches. She scratched behind her damp neck as she fetched from memory all that she had seen. What is going on… no, I… kind of know what this is, but… what caused all this? The monster’s thoughts paused. Just think back. Think back and retrace my steps. Maybe that’ll make things clearer. Susie looked ahead of herself but saw nothing but a continuing stretch of woods. An icy feeling of solitude began to slither around her. In the past, she would have taken comfort in that fact, but she was not who she used to be. She now had friends who cared about her, and she cared for them back. 

We left Castletown and parted ways for a bit, then I saw Noelle at school and went home afterwards… and then… everything went to Hell. Susie tried recounting the details. Something felt off. Like… beyond what I could see. When I looked outside, there was nothing at first, but then there were dark voids starting to grow around all over. That and static. I tried telling gran, but… she wouldn’t believe what I was telling her. Too stubborn to get up and see for her damn self too. After that, I just… left. Susie stopped walking for a moment, allowing the sounds of the woods to replace the sounds of crunching sticks and leaves. She… Agh, hope I didn’t just abandon her to… no… no. She… she’ll be all right. It was just darkness there. Darkness and openings. I saw it. Nothing there will hurt her. Okay, think… what happened next? Susie glanced up at the glowing white sphere rising ever so slowly across the sky. It cast an eerie white light that slightly illuminated the forest top but did little beneath its roof. 

I went to try to find Kris. They’re house was on the other street, down the road. As I was crossing the street, there were more dark openings appearing. A darkner with a bow tie and geeky glasses fell out of one. Poor sucker looked like he was having a fit on the ground or something. I couldn’t focus on him though. There was yelling… screaming. There were humans. A bunch of ‘em. And they were dragging Kris’s dad out of the flower shop. They were… ah, God. I don’t want to recall all that. Susie grimaced as she stepped on a large stick and broke it. The crack it released echoed a sound through the night much like one that she had heard earlier that day. They were… hurting him. Hurting him worse than I’ve ever seen someone… well, at least in this world, hurt another. I ran over to try to help, but… The monster’s mind darted to what she had previously read from the page of a diary, hidden away from the eyes of the world. Even after seeing the anger of the writing embodied as a physical being, it seemed rather minuscule by comparison to what she had now seen. 

I pulled one person off him… a man, I think. But then two of the others threw me back. Guy said he’d kill Kris’s dad himself if I tried anything else and that… he’d come for me next. Susie shuddered as a dull feeling crept its way through her chest. There was something about his face. His eyes. The hollow and endless stare they gave. There was something different about seeing someone with the intent of taking another’s life in this world compared to the dark world. Susie had protected herself and her friends from danger in the past, but that was different. That was a place of fantasy, dreams, and imagination, but this was all too real. The amount of anger and hate to fuel such lust for the pain of another made Susie sick to her stomach. 

I wasn’t gonna just sit there and do what the guy wanted. Not with what he was doing to Kris’s dad. I went back over and punched… huh, I don’t know if I’ve ever genuinely punched someone that hard. Susie flexed her fingers and could feel a bruise from her attacks still lingering on her knuckles. Probably knocked the guy out. I saw another human walk out of the flower shop with a glass pane. Guess they were gonna smash someone with it. Probably would’ve been me when I got grabbed and that one started coming over. The monster could still feel the adrenaline rush from what she recalled. But then that weird dude showed up. The ICE-E’s guy in the blocky blue costume who was in the hospital. Tch, don’t know what the hell was going through his mind but it’s a damn good thing he showed up when he did. He swept through those clowns that got me like it was nothing… wait… clowns… Lancer! Susie stopped for another moment, running through the possibilities of what could be happening to her friend. 

He… he’s fine. He’s tough. He’s not just a ruler. He’s a king. He’ll be alright. As she continued, she noticed the trees that surrounded her began getting less dense. Wait, didn’t that mascot guy start blabbing about warriors of darkness or something after clobbering those guys? Did he know about the dark world before all this? Ah, forget it. Think about that later. So, with him keeping those humans busy, I took the chance to run to Kris’s house. The car was there, so I knocked on the door as hard as I could. They didn’t answer though. Susie ducked under several low hanging branches before coming to a small slope. It led down to a curved road that had a few lights set up along its side. As she moved cautiously down, a dark blue bus followed the road towards the town with its front lights flickering slightly. Much like the movement of the bus, Susie’s train of thought continued. 

I kept knocking but… nothing. When I started seeing darkness and more voids showing up closer and closer, I smashed the side window and ran in. Heh. Susie chuckled slightly at the thought. Two pieces of other people’s property shattered less than a week apart. Anyway, they weren’t there. I looked everywhere. The blinds and window in the bathroom were open though. They must have bolted when they caught wind of what was happening. The ground beneath Susie changed from durable moist dirt to cold hard stone as she continued down the side of the winding road. In the distance, she could see the buildings of the next-door town. She watched as a few lights along the road flickered on and off. Should I have tried to catch up with them? Gah, don’t focus on that now. Think, what next…  

I went to Noelle’s house since she was right next door. She wasn’t home either. I know she went home though, so I knew she must have gone somewhere in a hurry once everything got screwed up. The hospital was where her dad was, so I thought she might have gone there to try to keep him safe. A cool breeze blew against Susie who clenched her dark blue jacket. As I hurried over, things went from bad to worse. More darkners showing up in a world they’d never seen. Townsfolk either freaking out or being attacked by humans. When I could see the hospital building, there was a group of humans already there… and they had Noelle and her dad. Susie recalled the last time she had seen her friend before this. Her guilt swept further over her as she remembered how Noelle had figured out the cause of Susie’s life-long suffering. Having gone her whole life without knowing she was carnivorous and seldom eating what she needed to, she had been plagued with malignant hunger and eating compulsions. 

Her dad looked like he was unconscious. There were two humans carrying him into one of the dark openings while two others shouted at one another. Two more began approaching the same void with Noelle in their hands, but she was conscious. I moved quickly to help, but… Noelle saw me coming and told me not to. She yelled out, telling me to run. Told me to get help. Susie stopped next to a metal light post that stuck out overhead and leaned a hand against it. I stopped, and… I watched them take her into the dark as she kept yelling the same thing at me again and again. Noelle’s smart, and… I didn’t want to let her down, so… I did. I ran. I headed west and just kept going. I had to have kept moving for a few hours. It’s night now, and… here I am. Susie faced the town before her with a conflicted look. She had done what her friend told her to, but she had run. She had left everyone in the town to fend for themselves with only the hope of getting help. Heh. ‘Getting help.’ Some freaking help I’ve been. A car alarm began going off in the town ahead, but the noise only vexed Susie’s building frustration at herself. Within only a few sounds of the alarm, she shouted out herself. 

“Aaaaaaagh! God damn it!” Susie roared, slashing her claws loudly down the nearby light post. A streak of sharp marks remained etched on the metal. I didn’t help anyone I saw. Not a single one! And when I tried to it wasn’t enough! Now I’m stuck telling myself that it was all okay because I’m heading out for vague help. ‘Get help.’ God, why didn’t I just do more there? I’m just a- Her outburst was cut short by an abrupt ensemble of panic and screams from the town before her. Susie broke into a run towards the town seeing as how she was now no more than a hundred yards away. As she got nearer, things became darker in more ways than one. Though it was night, the dark in the town was clearly not normal. 

Crap! Here too? I thought it would just stay in Hometown. Crap. This is bad. This is real bad. I thought I took the most direct way here? Damn, must not have if this place is getting screwed up already. What am I supposed to do now? Find another place that hasn’t gotten all clumped in darkness? As Susie entered the main streets, several people fled from a nearby building with its lights on. Several had their phones out either to call for help or record what they saw. However, the devices did not appear to function properly, being plagued by odd stutters, glitches, and static. Susie looked up to see the sign on the storefront which read in glowing red, green, and blue colors, “Arturo’s Articulate Treats.” Although she felt the suspense in the air as she neared the building, she could hear shouting accompanied by high pitched laughter. The sound of the laughter dissolved some of her suspense. Susie rushed in through the front door to see the shop owner running into the back of the store. 

“Gremlin! Gremlin!” he shouted with an accent unfamiliar to Susie. His voice could not be heard once he had slammed and locked the back door. As Susie looked towards the counter, she saw a mess of broken glass from the counter display. A clutter of multicolored treats, sweets, gummies, and other tooth-rotting consumables littered the colorful, tiled floor. Behind the counter, there was what Susie knew was a darkner hunched over with his face in the sweets. As Susie peered over, she could see a short, plump darkner devouring the candies before them. He had white arms, blue hands and feet, a dark body, and a face in the shape of a spade. As he looked up, the dark spade marking upon his face lit up as though it was facing a fireworks display. 

“Susie! What are you doing here?” the darkner asked, continuing to stuff his mouth with sweets. “Wait! Before you answer that, this little jack has to say: Light candy tastes better than a swamp of syrup and sprinkles!” Although her friend was enthusiastic, Susie had other things on her mind. 

“Lancer? What the hell are you doing here?” she asked. “What’s going on?” The spade poured a jar of jellybeans down the front of his face as he continued munching and talking in his high-pitched voice. 

“Beats me. All of us was up in Card Castle when all of a sudden, the world got wonkier than a clown on skates. Stuff started popping up here and there. At first, I thought it may have been my throne room holes finally earning their rights to miraculously teleport around. When I looked closer though, it wasn’t them at all. It was voids and openings that led here, there, and everywhere around your world. The others didn’t want me to come here, but you know. Sometimes a bad guy can’t help himself when he sees a room full of sweet and colorful tastiness.” Lancer was shocked to see that Susie appeared shaken by his statements. 

“You mean that there are voids popping up all over? This place isn’t where your world is compared to ours. Not even close to it. You’re saying any darkner can just go through one of those voids and end up somewhere where the darkness is spreading? Regardless of if it’s actually where the worlds line up?” Lancer smiled with several clumps of multicolored sweetness stuck to his teeth. 

“I know. Isn’t it delicious?” 

“No, Lancer. This isn’t good.” Susie facepalmed. “Our worlds are supposed to be separate. They aren’t supposed to connect like this. You ever wonder why we were never able to bring you all here before?” The spade boy stuck his tongue out and folded his arms. 

“Well, I guess I did wonder a little bit. But what’s so wrong with that? More time for us to be bad guy pals with each other!” Susie shook her head. 

“Lancer… as fun as that sounds we can’t do that right now. This is literally corrupting the worlds. Who knows what else might happen if this keeps up.” Lancer slouched in realization. 

“Oh… well, when you put it like that, maybe things aren’t quite so good.” The two sat there for several moments before Lancer stuffed a wad of cotton candy into the mouth on his stomach. 

“Look, when you were still in the dark world, did you see anything that looked off apart from the voids?” Susie asked. 

“Hmm, well, the sky got all puffy and I could see one of the other fountains in the distance through one of the back castle windows. It was like the longest rainbow swirl smoothie I’d ever seen. Lightning was clashing across the sky like it didn’t have its afternoon milk. And then there was two jets of light that went flying over west. Looked like they was colorful shooting stars or something. The colors reminded me of a few of the toothpaste boys.” Susie faced the floor, putting two and two together. 

“That must have been them. The other Ralseis. I can’t remember their names, but they must have teleported like they did before when they saw what was happening. Lancer, where did you see them go? And what happened to them?” 

“I don’t know. I was in the back of the castle on the fourth floor. It looked like they was heading somewhere over near Wintergreen Fresh’s castle. Before I could get a better look though, all these voids started popping up, including the one to tooth-disintegrating joy. I didn’t see what was happening on the other side of the castle before coming through here.” Susie took a step back. 

“Alright, well…” Susie glanced outside to see more havoc being incited by the spreading dark. “Doesn’t look like we’re going to get much help here if more chaos is just gonna keep spreading, and I don’t think we’ll be able to outspeed the spread. So… we’ve got to go back. There’s gotta be something happening in the dark world that’s causing this. We’ve got to get back there and figure out what the hell’s going on.” Susie looked all around at several of the voids that remained on the floor and walls. “Come on!” She grabbed Lancer by the back and pulled him away from the counter. 

“Can we come back here later?” Lancer asked, the mouth on his stomach licking its lips.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we can come back here later. We need to go now!” Susie quickly asserted. “Which one did you come from?” 

“Uh… let’s see… uh…” he faced the various voids with a look of uncertainty. 

“Come on, Lancer. We’ve got to hurry! Just pick one!” Susie shouted. 

“Uh… that one!” Lancer pointed towards the void next to the badly smashed-in countertop. 

“Good by me,” Susie decided. With one last look back at the growing catastrophe behind her, she entered through the void before her with her friend by her side. As the world before them began to lose its light, Susie could feel her clothes and appearance beginning to change. 

Kris, Noelle, Ralsei… she thought to herself. We’ll fix this. We’ll make this right.  

Chapter Text

Nothing but a constant tapping could be heard within the room. It was somewhat inconsistent, but it continued. A lone clock sat on the wall in an otherwise blank room, but it appeared to be broken. Both its hands were dead motionless as though they felt no compulsion or drive to move. The walls and door of the room bore a vacant white color, and next to the door rested a large rectangular window. The room had little to offer except for the continuous sounds of tapping which emanated from its center. A table sat there and with two seats resting across from one another at its sides. They were not designed for comfort, as they were intended to go along with the lack of enthusiasm of the room. Enthusiasm gives the mind creative ideas, but those kinds of thoughts were not what the room was for. Rather, it was more a place to recollect events of the past. A monster sat apathetically on the seat furthest from the door. 

Her fur was brown like the inside of a pine log, and she was taller than most humans. Her feet bore no shoes, seeing as how they were hooves that clacked against the cold floor. A tight, dark grey suit was snuggly worn over a white undershirt and a dress with a matching color of the top rested beneath. A pair of two-pronged antlers stuck out from the top of the neatly combed over garden of golden hair on the monster’s head. Two ears stuck out from the sides with a ring through the one on the right-hand side. Two eyes as gold as the hair on the monster’s head watched the door just beneath two hanging eyelids. The impatience staining the pupils within the golden circles was enough to tear the door open to ensure someone would show up. Her hands were additionally hooves but had three moveable, finger-like segments. One tapped repeatedly on the table, giving a loud knocking sound as a result of the hoof. The tapping stopped once the door at the end of the room began to open. 

A man wearing a dark suit and red tie with smooth, black pants took the empty seat. He placed down a folder filled to its brim along with a notepad. He began to sign and date the open page. His plain head and face did not show much emotion, though he did not seem emotionless. Two green dots faced the notepad through a pair of small glasses held up by the man’s short nose. His skin was rough around the hands but smooth otherwise with a tint just darker than the fur of the monster before him. Having many jobs throughout his life, he had worked hard to obtain the one he currently had. He stuck to his code of conduct well and moved at a swift pace compared to others like him. Despite this, he was not the first in the room to speak a word. His eyes darted up as an assertive voice called upon him. 

“Isn’t there a preliminary introduction you must read off?” the monster injected with a cold voice. The man stared for a few moments before placing down his pen and opening his folder. He took a packet of papers from the front and began reading the contents. 

“Suspect first name: Carol. Suspect last name: Holiday-” the man started. 

“Tch, ‘suspect…’” the monster muttered. The man raised his eyes from the papers and waited a moment. Hearing no other response, he continued. 

“Occupation: Mayor. Mother of two and wife of Mr. Rudolph Holiday. Resided in Hometown for most of her life and is a suspect under investigation for potential connections to the unjust imprisonment of upwards of forty humans for over sixty years. Ten of these humans, possibly more, perished inside said imprisonment. Men, women, and children are included in this total. The town of Hometown has additionally had several other incidents and events in its past that have been seemingly lost to time, or perhaps covered up. Mrs. Mayor Holiday, your time with the town, position, and associations with past humans here has warranted us to have a conversation.” The man paused, awaiting the monster before him to begin talking. However, the response he was given was not the kind he had hoped for. 

“Well, what are the first few questions I must answer?” she replied. 

“You seem quite familiar with the way we handle things here,” the man inquired. “Any particular reason?” 

“As Mayor, the political systems alongside the justice department and its procedures are just some of the things I have picked up on in my career.” 

“Alright, then. Let’s start from the beginning.” The man again opened his folder and began taking out various catalogs and documents. He took the backmost one and placed it before them. 

“Summer of 1956. The first noted case of tensions between the humans and monsters of Hometown comes from a firsthand account from one of the escaped humans. They claim a feud began regarding a property line between two residents, a human and monster. The exact property was not stated, although they mentioned it to have been west in town. Tensions worsened with time between the two until one made the decision to harass the other by means of a minor explosive set off outside their home. However, this did not just affect the one it was aimed towards. It seemed to spark a ripple effect throughout the town that ran through the family, then to friends, then to their families, and so on. Humans and monsters began to associate with one another less and less after this with the few interactions they did have growing slowly more aggressive. Mrs. Mayor Holiday, being the mayor of your town and logged as having been a resident during these times, can you confirm this account?” The monster folded her arms and looked onward. She had gained a knack for keeping a convincingly straight face while evading the truth, though she only did so as she felt was needed. 

“Going with the human’s account on it first. Figures. Though yes, as a general summary I can indeed confirm these incidents.” The man jotted something down on his notepad. 

“Is there anything you can add to this account regarding the startup of the conflicts?” 

“Nothing that wouldn’t just be more of what’s already known.” The man wrote another note. 

“Very well. The rest of the account and that of two others is hazy, some saying some stuff happened while others say otherwise. While I’d like to hear your side of this, that’ll likely take too long for this first meeting. For the time being, I’m going to go through a set of more specific events with you Mrs. Mayor.” 

“Has there been any word on my husband and daughters?” Carol interjected. The man looked at her disappointingly before taking off his glasses for a moment. While he easily picked up on her intention to evade answering his question, he understood the importance of her family and their safety. 

“I don’t have all the details, but your oldest daughter seems to be safe. Last I heard, she was being moved to a safer location from the Rorkeson station. I haven’t heard anything on your husband or youngest daughter though, ma’am.” Carol’s eyes darted to the room window. 

“And one can only imagine what might be happening to them, yet I’m to stay here and answer your questions,” she spoke in a low voice. The man could not tell if it was a sense of guilt, worry, disgust, or obligation in her face. Nevertheless, he continued. 

“We are doing everything we can to try to secure the safety of your family, Mrs. Mayor. You are already here too, so why don’t we stop avoiding questions and get to answering them.” Carol glared at him with her glowing yellow eyes. “The more information we know and the sooner that we get this over with, the faster that we’ll likely be able to help your family.” 

“‘Likely,’” Carol repeated. “One only ever uses that word when they’re not certain of something.” 

“You know as Mayor that there are many things we can never be certain of. Now, let’s go back to the events.” Carol’s yellow eyes again flared in his direction, but he placed his glasses back on and continued. “Let’s look at this one first. An event that was referred to as the ‘Maplewood Mauling.’ According to several of the humans that have come forward with information of your town’s past, they claim that in Fall of 1959, several monsters jumped a teenage human who was on their way back from school. They brought them deep into the southern woods of the town and beat them senseless. 

Fortunately, the victim was not killed and was found the following day after the event. Their body was beaten and bruised beyond recognition, and they also appeared to be wet. Seeing as how there was no rain on either day, this led humans to assume they were nearly drowned in addition to being mauled. The attackers were never identified, as the human suffered significant cognitive problems from head trauma afterwards. Additionally, every monster who was ever questioned regarding the event denied its occurrence altogether. With time, the case was forgotten about. All until now.” The man’s eyes moved from the papers to Carol. 

“And you want me to verify after all this time whether this really happened?” Carol responded nonchalantly, growing more impatient. 

“Yes, Mrs. Mayor. As far as we know, you were never specifically questioned regarding the event. And seeing as how you were in Hometown when it supposedly occurred, we would like to know if you happen to have any details regarding the event and possible perpetrators.”

“As much as I disapprove of such actions,” Carol spoke with the hypocrisy of her past hovering over her, “I do not have any details regarding this case. Nor do I recall it specifically occurring to begin with.” The man wrote Carol’s response down. 

“And you swear this under penalty of perjury?” 

“I do.”

“Right. Now, let’s go in order with the rest of these.” The man reopened his folder and  flipped to the back to follow the records from oldest to newest. He pulled forth another packet of documents. “The ‘C-section on Apricot Street.’” 

“I remember hearing of that back when word of it first circulated through the town in 1965,” Carol asserted. “However, I will testify that such an event never occurred. The unfortunate and untimely death of a pregnant human was intermixed with the tensions and hate between our kinds at the time. It was formulated in an effort to create further tensions between us.” The man looked at Carol for a moment before writing down her claim. Feeling that she had spoken all that she would on the matter, he continued to the next case. 

“The west laboratory arson. Or assumed to be arson. Nobody outside the town realized that the building had burned until a good time later. Suspected to have happened sometime around the following year, in 1966. Mrs. Mayor, do you have an account on this event?” Carol folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. 

“The building burned, yes,” she responded. “I was there after the act had already been done. It was, in fact, still burning when I saw it. I would presume it was an act of arson of some kind as well. Wasn’t the first building in the town that I’d watched burn though.” The man raised an eyebrow. 

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“One of the homes in town was burned to the ground prior to the lab being burned. This one we assumed was likely caused by humans.” 

“How long before that did this happen? And where?”

“It happened a few weeks prior to the laboratory burning down. The home was over a natural plot of land in the west part of town, not far from where the lab once was. The pizzeria was built next to its old plot years later. People now wouldn’t be able to tell that a home ever existed there though.” 

“Was anyone harmed in the event?” the man inquired. Carol paused before closing her eyes. 

“Yes,” she muttered. 

“Who?” the man asked. Carol paused again. 

“Shyra,” she spoke somberly. The man folded his hands. 

“I’m sorry,” he spoke. “Why wasn’t this ever reported?” 

“It was just another event lost to time in the town. With how things were at the time, it unfortunately wasn’t too unexpected that something like that may have happened. Shyra’s daughter still lives in the town. She’s a lot like her mother, though she’s had some vocal issues due to excessive singing.” The man looked on, waiting to see if there was any more that Carol would comment on. With enough time passed, he began writing down what he had heard. Carol sat silently, watching the window of the room as he wrote. When finished, he again looked up to her. 

“Let’s touch on one more case before moving on to some other things,” the man noted. He took out several more recent pages near the front of his folder. “While this doesn’t have much to do with the events we talked about before, we might as well go over it since it’s here. The ‘Chomp of ‘97.’” Carol raised an eyebrow at the man. 

“Really? We’re really going to go over that?” she retorted. 

“It’s been a topic of discussion in your town amongst youngsters ever since it supposedly happened.” Carol put a hand to her head and shook it. 

“And there’s a reason for it. That was nothing more than a silly rumor started by children which gained far more notoriety than it ever deserved to.” Carol again looked to the window only this time to see a rugged looking officer move quickly by. After he had gone out of sight, she heard the man before her begin talking again. 

“Now let’s get to everything that’s been happening as we speak,” the man asserted. “Do you have any idea what all this is?” Carol shook her head. 

“When I received reports from around town of objects going missing, electronics acting odd, and people thinking they’re being watched, I chalked it up to superstition and coincidence. I didn’t think it was anything remotely like what it has turned out to be. So, no, I don’t know anything about what all this madness has been.” The man closed his notepad after finishing his last note. 

“I am a firm believer that people are innocent until proven guilty,” the man spoke. “It is my hope that everything you’ve told me is true.” He stood up and gathered his folders and notepad together. “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Mayor.” Carol looked at him with a lack of enthusiasm.

“It’s an obligation as Mayor to spend your time answering questions of the past while the people of the present suffer away,” she responded. “I hope you were telling me the truth in that you are doing all that you can to locate my husband and daughter.” The man watched Carol for a moment before giving her a small nod. He walked to the door and opened it. 

“Someone else will be here soon to see you out for now,” the man said. With a last look of genuine concern back at Carol, the man exited the room and locked the door. Carol remained in her seat before placing together her hands and releasing a deep sigh. The words that she had spoken could never attest to the truths she knew even if she was the most honest woman on earth. 

Chapter Text

A cluster of rowdy chatter echoed through the stone chamber as conversation from a recent gathering continued. Various beings coming in several shapes and colors made their way through the entrance doors to a large castle resting upon a dark plot of land. Once all had entered inside, the front gate lowered with a loud clang as its rough metal bars clashed with the hard ground. The castle had a dark blue hue with several pointy towers sticking out from its top. Its front bore the emblem of a large spade accompanied by rectangular cards imbued with the symbols of the other suits at its sides. Towards the back end of the castle, a great flow of energy continuously rose into the sky. It was bright yet translucent with colors that seemed to vary at every other glance. At one instant, it would bear a pattern of intermixing red, blue, and green while at another it would hold purple, red, and yellow. Before one could process the new colors, the pattern would again change. The breeze flowing through the area had no effect on the power of the great fountain, as its beam and flow of energy remained unaffected by the force of the air. 

Within the narrow halls of the castle, its inhabitants headed upwards, climbing several floors until they reached the throne room. At the center of the room sat a large chair with its backside in the shape of a spade and two blunt horns protruding from the top. The rest of the room was littered with holes akin to those found on concrete roads and piles of unorganized treasures. The back walls held several dilapidated banners, all bearing the spade emblem upon their fronts. A short darkner plopped himself atop the throne in the center of the chamber as he waited for the others to finish piling in. He felt the soft fabric of the chair’s bottom as he took in how long it had been since he had last sat on the seat, even though it had only been about five days. When the plump boy picked his blue head up, he saw that mostly everyone had made it into the room. The marking on his face matched the back of the throne. 

“Alrighty,” Lancer spoke in a high-pitched voice. “Now that the party’s pancakes are all flipped, let’s get to what I wanted to go over with all you.” The murmuring and chatter in the room quieted down as everyone looked on at the reinstated prince. “Things got a little screwed up and topsy turvy with everyone getting moved to a new world, but things are now back to their normal levels of screwed up.” The prince’s people looked on, expecting more. He clapped his hands together conclusively. “And that’s all I wanted to say. Anyone got any questions?” Lancer was surprised to see several of his people raise their hands. 

“What do I look like, a corny teacher who’s gonna grade ya for respect?” he remarked in a snarky tone. “You don’t need to raise your hands with me. If you’ve got something that needs to be addressed, just say so. Whatever my dad didn’t do for you that needed to be done, I’ll see that it’s more well-done than a darkburger at a late-night barbeque.” The boy waited in silence for several moments before one of the people finally spoke up. 

“Sire, I understand that it’s important we are all back home, but what are your plans for the future?” a teal and white, pointy darkner spoke up. “For our future?” Lancer thought for a moment. 

“Well, I… was thinking that we’d just kind of… you know… hang around and have fun with the lightners? You know, like we used to?” A dark green darkner with a heart shaped face and several tentacles blew a sweet kiss towards the remark. However, several of the other darkners sought to continue with the conversation. 

“Well, I suppose that won’t be that bad. And I know that since our last King was dealt with, we’ve had more interactions with lightners. It’s just… things haven’t quite been that way in so long that it almost feels odd to live so… freely. Do you understand what I mean, sire?” The spade boy smiled. 

“Of course, I do, Rudinn. Freedom is sweeter than stump salsa sitting in the sun for three days. What’s so wrong with that?” The people before him looked at one another. 

“Freedom is good, yes, sire,” Rudinn replied. “However, we would still enjoy having duties to keep us occupied around the castle in the meantime.” Before Lancer could respond, a large, white darkner with five heads each with a long, thin neck interjected. 

“But what about the old king? What about him?” one head spoke. 

“Yeah! The king! We should keep him locked away for good!” the second asserted. 

“But that doesn’t sound very nice… is this what we will do?” the third pondered. 

“If we don’t, he could be trouble…” the fourth noted. 

“The prince should say. He is his son,” the last stated. 

“Well, he did threaten to drop me off the top of the castle, tried to cheat my friends to death in battle, and made you all live in fear under his rule, so…” Lancer responded. “Maybe I’ll find a place in my heart to ease his punishment. But until then, he’s staying in Dad Jail.” A red darkner much like the other one with a heart shaped head mumbled several noises towards the prince. Lancer eased a bit. 

“That’s fine, Head Hathy,” the boy answered. “You and the rest of the Hathys can tend to the beds, sheets, and throne room holes if that’s what you’d like.” The red darkner smiled and blushed slightly at the prince’s approval. Although he wanted to end things there, another request was thrown his way. 

“Sire, who shall clean up the leftovers from the feast we just had?” a red darkner with a diamond-like head asserted. 

“How about you round up the other Rudinns to take care of that?” the prince noted. The Rudinn Ranger bowed his head and went off to do as ordered. Lancer could feel more questions and requests building before him. Before anyone could continue, he concluded the meeting. 

“And everyone else can have the rest of the day off. We’ll figure out who will do what later. I’ll be up in my room for the evening.” Although several people went out of the room happy with the orders, a few looked on with looks of uncertainty. Lancer hopped off the chair and began heading towards the stairs to the floor below. As he neared them, he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder. 

“My lorde, are you’st sureth that endinge the meeting in thine way is best?” a tall darkner asked. Lancer looked up to see a purple darkner with white outlines for his clothes, hair, mouth, and eyes looking down at him. 

“Yeah, you know it, Lesser Dad!” Lancer responded. The boy continued down the stairs as the other darkner’s hand left his shoulder. 

“Buteth… sire,” the darkner spoke. “I am Rouxls Kaard. I am thoust Duke of Puzzles. Whateth shall I be now that puzzles for the lightethners are noust longer needede?” 

“Keep an eye on things for me, will ya?” Lancer called up. “You know how to coordinate things.” The darkner gasped before rushing down the stairs and walking beside his prince. 

“Sire… areth you appointinge me as your righteth hand man?” Although the one before him was excited by the proposal, Lancer sighed as he replied. 

“Yeah. In a way, I guess.” Rouxls’ face switched from eagerness to worry. 

“My lorde, is something botheringeth you?” he inquired. 

“Well, it’s great being king and all, but there’s a lot of stuff you’ve got to oversee. We did all right for those first couple days, but they were just days.” Lancer stopped walking. “My dad… he’s not the best person, but… he knows more about ruling than I do. I… I’m just not so sure about how I’ll handle some things in the long run.” Rouxls knelt next to him. 

“My lorde, you areth still but a boy, soeth you are a prince. Buteth with you in charge you are also a kinge,” Rouxls stated. “Howevereth you rule will be your waye of doing iteth. And, if I doeth say so myself, I do noteth believe you can ruleth much worse than your father. No offenseth.” 

“None taken,” Lancer exhaled. “I’ll be in my room for now, but do what I asked, will ya. Just keep an eye on things.” 

“I shall doeth my best!” Rouxls asserted. 

As the two neared the bottom of the stairs, Rouxls continued to one of the lower floors. Lancer walked across the dark floor to his room near the castle shop. Lancer paused for a moment, wondering why Rouxls had opened a store in the castle to start with. He figured it was just another one of his many quirks. As Lancer entered his room, he noticed in his peripheral vision the shape of a green figure with a pointy hat heading up to one of the top balconies of the castle. 

“Heh, maybe Wintergreen Fresh wants some alone time too,” he muttered to himself. As he entered his room, he was met with the familiar sight of all the room’s holes, his four paintings on the wall, his bed, his bike’s bed, and his MP3 player. He then wondered why he even wanted to go to his room. Did he just want to be alone? Was there something specific that he wanted to do in there? Did he just want to avoid the duties he now needed to serve? Surely not the latter of those three, Lancer thought to himself. In time, he did find a way to entertain himself. Drawing a crudely dumb picture of his father was funny, but it wasn’t enough for the boy. 

He pinned the drawing to the wall and began chewing up torn pieces of some loose paper. Rather than spit it back out, he instead swallowed it and grabbed a bendy straw from an old drink left in his room. He placed one in the mouth on his stomach and aimed the other end at the drawing. Several balls of damp, mushy paper shot themselves from the end of the straw and splattered against the drawing. A distinct splat sound could be heard as each one hit as Lancer repeatedly played a splat sound effect from his MP3 player. He cackled loudly to himself as the damp balls began sliding down the now violated drawing. After watching them eventually meet the floor, Lancer sat down beside his bike’s bed. 

Boy, we sure did a lot these past few days , he thought to himself. Traveled to five new worlds, met five new toothpaste boys, worked through some personal troubles, and got everyone back here safely. Heh, I wonder if we’ll ever see any of those fluffballs again. Before his train of thought could continue, he heard a loud crash of thunder sound off from outside the castle. He jumped slightly at the sound, seeing as how both he and his friends had been fried by thunder the last time he had encountered it. Now that he thought about it, that was the only time he had ever seen or heard thunder at Card Castle. Since when have we ever had thunder here? Or, weather besides the usual cloudy darkness? He listened on as he heard a few more clashes sound off. Eh, the weather can never make up its mind. Maybe now it’s formed a mind so that it can make up its mind. Lancer got up and looked at his bike which was still tucked away in bed. 

After the weather clears up, a ride across the Great Board would be sweet. He uncovered the bike and set it on its stand. After checking the fuel on the back booster, he began easing and greasing up the chains and pedals using a can of DarkD-40. He tossed the can back in one of the holes in the floor before pondering what else had to be checked. Minutes turned into a half an hour as he improved every aspect of the bike. The thunder outside continued sounding off, but the boy’s bike was too beautiful for him to think much of it. He took a step back to see his bike now shining with efficiency and a will to ride on. 

Maybe I could go for a little ride just through the halls here to see how much better she’ll run. As he began climbing on, he nearly fell off after seeing someone rush into his room. 

“Sire! Sire! Something is wrongeth!” Rouxls exclaimed in a panic. “Cometh, quickly!” With a remorseful look back at his bike, Lancer headed out of the room with Rouxls. The two rushed down the hallway of the floor and approached one of the back windows. “Looketh! Whateth is all thise?” 

The two could see several strikes of white lightning clashing across the dark sky. The sky itself seemed darker and cloudier than it normally did as well. The clouds themselves seemed to spiral with their center hovering above the castle to the west. Specifically, above the lone dark fountain which remained there. In the distance, there was also a bright line rising into the sky. If it were not for the wavy and constantly shifting colors of it, it would have been difficult to see. 

“S-Sire, whateth should we do?” Rouxls asked. Without answering, Lancer began to head to the balcony exit to get a better look. He felt a hand pull him backwards as his foot stepped outside. “Sire! No! You areth mine king but I must propose reason for noneth rash actions in a situation like thise! Keepeth your own safety in mindeth!” Although startled, Lancer nodded in acknowledgement as he watched on outside. It was nothing like he had ever seen. It seemed like something that he would hear from a bedtime story, only this one had no moral about why all lightners deserve to perish. He jumped as Rouxls yelped out loud and fell over beside him. 

“Lesser Dad, what is it?”

“Sire! Looketh!” Rouxls pointed towards the floor next to them. It looked to Lancer like a hole in the floor at first. 

“Oh boy!” Lancer exclaimed, hopping up and down. “My throne room holes have finally earned their abilities to spontaneously teleport around! I knew that they’d be able to do that one day!” Rouxls continued to look at the spot on the floor as though it were a death trap. 

“That is noteth a throne room hole, sire!” he affirmed. Lancer looked closer and saw that Rouxls was correct. It was not a throne room hole, but instead more like a void of some sort. The circumference became slightly blocky and pixelated at times as it revealed what looked like a different place entirely. Before Lancer could get a better look, several more began forming all over the floor of the room. Rouxls shrieked and backed against the stone wall as Lancer looked on curiously. Some of the voids were dark but others were bright. Bright like they had light from a world other than the one that Lancer had known all his life. As he glanced around, he could see in one of them what looked like some sort of area with bright green hills, a thin pole with a small, triangular red flag sticking out, and a tiny hole in the ground. In one of the darker voids, there appeared to be several run-down, floral-looking canopies accompanied by burning barrels and what looked like oil drums. 

Although he wanted to continue looking at the peculiar places, Lancer’s attention was drawn back to the balcony outside. A loud noise which sounded like a shooting star echoed across the sky as Rouxls and Lancer watched on. Far away from the castle, two jets of bright light from two different locations shot west towards the other nearby castle. One was cyan like a bird’s egg while the other was as blue as sapphires. While Rouxls did not know what to make of the event, something seemed familiar to Lancer about them. 

“Those colors… like spearmint and blueberry… was that-” he started. A loud ruckus erupted from downstairs, indicating that there was more trouble down there. “Come on,” Lancer signaled Rouxls. He rushed towards the stairs, jumping over the still gaping voids while Rouxls shakily clung to the walls and steadily neared the stairway. As the two hurried down and entered the chamber below, they saw that the rest of the castle darkners were now seeing the same things they were above. Several of them stood on the tables throughout the room as more and more openings began forming across the floors and wall. 

“Sire, what is all this?” a Rudinn called up to Lancer. Before a response crossed Lancer’s mind, everyone in the room was met with the sight of several unfamiliar faces. Out of one of the voids, several colorful darkners tumbled out onto the floor. After struggling off one another, they each stood up and gazed around. One was lime-green in color while the others were various tints of yellow. They each had blocky bodies with stubby arms and legs, a head that looked like a star, and a badge near their shoulder. The badge on the green darkner bore an ‘O’ on the front of a shooting star design while the others had various other letters on each of theirs. 

“Of all the places in every galaxy of this universe, this ain’t the place we were supposed to scout out!” the green darkner scowled. He clocked one of the smaller darkners over the head with his arm. 

“It ain’t my fault! The king loves giving directions, but he hasn’t a clue what he’s saying half the tim-” The green darkner smacked the darkner speaking over the head again, this time harder. 

“Do not insult your king! You are bound to serve him regardless of what right or wrong he may rule, just as I and all the rest of us are!” the green darkner shouted. The other star-like darkners looked around at all the confused faces staring at them. 

“Uh, boss… I think that we may have ended up in someone else’s land,” one spoke up. 

“All the lands of the dark are that of our king, for he is the star that guides the universe,” the green darkner asserted. He looked towards a group of Hathys and Rudinns nearby and cleared his throat. “Do not be alarmed. We are of the Celestials, and we have been tasked to-” Another void formed beneath the darkner as he spoke. “Gah!” The other star-like darkners followed the green one as he fell into the void. 

“Wait for us, sir!” one shouted. 

“Don’t leave us somewhere we don’t know!” shouted another. As soon as each of them had gone through the void, the remaining darkners stood in silence, wondering what they had just witnessed. Lancer began carefully making his way towards his people as more openings began forming in front of him as he tried to keep moving. 

“Sire! Do not endangere thouself like thise!” Rouxls asserted. He grabbed Lancer and headed back upstairs where there were less voids. As the two stood on the stairs Rouxls looked down to Lancer. “You are our king, sire. Whateth should we do?” 

“Um… we should, eh…” Lancer stumbled, for he had never needed to worry about the safety of so many people at one time. “Uh, go round up all the folks on the upper floors. Get them somewhere safe and secure.” 

“Understoodeth,” he responded. As he headed swiftly up the remaining stairs, he turned back to Lancer. “Sire, be carefule!” Lancer nodded as Rouxls hurried towards the upper floors of the castle. Lancer continued up and stopped at the floor above, waiting to ensure that anyone who wandered by would navigate the castle safely. As he stood at the ready, he noticed something just to his left. He turned his head to look over and saw another void which led to a bright area. However, this area was distinguished by the number of sweets that were lined up behind a transparent display. 

“Woah…” Lancer muttered, walking slowly towards the void. “Is… is that what light candy looks like?” 

“Sire, what are doing?” a voice called from behind him. Lancer pulled his gaze away to see a Rudinn Ranger standing before him. “You aren’t planning on going through one of those, are you?” Lancer turned back to the bright void of sweets beside him. 

“Well, you never know when you might get another chance to try light candy like this…” he answered. 

“But… sire?” the Rudinn spoke. “What about your own safety? What about your people? About us?” Lancer paused for a moment upon hearing this, as it was his duty as king to keep charge over his people. He then remembered that he had told Rouxls to keep an eye on things. 

“Lesser Dad will handle it while I’m gone,” he asserted. A high-pitched scream could be heard from the floor above followed by a brief gothic monologue about doomsday and damnation. “See? Sounds like he’s got it covered.” Lancer looked back towards the void. “Light candy, here a bad guy comes!” 

“Sire! Wait!” the Rudinn called out. Before he could stop him, Lancer jumped through the void and entered the other side. The Rudinn stood in shock for several moments before the sounds of more chaos erupted downstairs. He placed a hand to his head as he shook it and thought to himself. The king… his heart and intentions are true… but he must grow up if he is to rule as a proper king…  

Chapter Text

A long, drawn-out breath coursed slowly through the cold air of the vacant room. The blurred shape of a red dot slowly began formulating in the sight of the blue eyes now creeping open. Darkness encased most of the room aside from the red dot, though the still-half unconscious state of the monster did not help with his sight. He turned and watched two terminals become one as his eyes and mind continued to focus. He breathed lightly and could hear a consistent beeping around every second. As his thoughts collected themselves, he realized that he was laying down on some kind of soft mattress. He wondered if all that he recalled experiencing prior to waking up was a dream, but even through the heavily unlit atmosphere he could tell that the room was not that of the hospital which he had recently become familiar with. 

He slid down his arm to push himself upright, but a sharp pain ran through the top of his hand. His eyes darted to his hand and saw a thin metal point stuck through its top with a piece of medical tape covering it. A thin tube was attached to the end of the needle which was in turn connected to a hanging bag filled with some sort of medicinal liquid. In a startled jolt, the monster moved his arm upwards to grant a closer look at the strange liquid only to feel another pain closer to his shoulder. This, however, was more of a dull soreness, as though something was tightly gripping his muscles on the inside. As the feelings of aching soreness became thoroughly recognized in his arm, he could additionally feel the top left part of his head swell like it were badly bruised. 

“Angel above… what…” he stammered in a shaky voice. “What’s going on… Where… where am I…?” He gazed about the room but could only make out odd bits of machinery and other devices hidden under the cover of darkness. However, his eyes again became locked on himself. Not his body, but more so the peculiar look of his clothing. It was certainly not the hospital gown that he last remembered wearing. “What in the snowy hollies-”

He was shaken as he heard a high-pitched noise sound off from the other end of the room. Underneath the red light he had seen before, a rectangular door began to open. The rough metal scratched loudly at the hinges and allowed for the dim light of a lantern just outside it to creep in. It took the monster a moment to realize that the light was not resting idly on any structure. It was being held by something. Someone. The shadowy figure of a person beside the one with the light looked behind them as though to ensure that they were alone. Releasing a puff of visibly warm breath into the cool air, they entered the room with the silhouette of a sword in their grasp. The other with the lantern followed behind them with what looked like a rapier at their side. 

“Oh Kringles! Oh Kringles!” the monster spoke louder than he had meant to. The figure with the lantern turned a knob at its base and lit the flame further, brightening the room significantly. The monster now found himself locked in the gaze of the two humans before him. One had green eyes and long brown hair while the other had yellow eyes and short blond hair. Both had on similar looking suits of metal armor complete with boots, leggings, chest plates, vambraces, and shoulder plates. The human holding the lantern firmly shut and locked the door as the other approached the monster. “P-Please, I have a family,” the monster pleaded. “A wife and two daughters! If they lose me, then-”

“We aren’t here to hurt you,” the human with the sword drawn asserted in a quiet tone. After seeing that the other human had locked the door, the sword in his hands vanished in a flash of silver light and particles. “Just the opposite, actually.” The monster looked on in confusion. 

“Wh… what-” 

“Yeah, believe me,” the other spoke rashly. “If we wanted to, we already would’ve.” The first human walked over to the monster and knelt beside him, taking note of his state. The monster was covered in brown fur and had a long face with buck teeth, two antlers with three stubby prongs sticking out of the top of his head, and two soft ears at its sides. The hair on his head was black and stood up slightly in its front as if it had been coated in fine gel. Though the monster’s heart was still racing, it was becoming clear that the humans before him at the very least did not have the ill-intentions that he initially imagined they did. The one kneeling beside him had what one could only call a once desperate looking face now overcome with signs of hope. The monster was even more surprised when the human held his hand in front of him. 

“I’m sorry if we frightened you,” he said. “What is your name?” The monster stared at the human for several seconds before cautiously reaching his own hand out. The rough hooves on his hand clamped around the smooth, softer hand of the human as they slowly shook. 

“Rudolph…” he skeptically answered. “Or Rudy for short.” 

“Well, Rudy,” the human replied, getting to their feet. “You’re lucky that we found you when we did for more reasons than one.” 

“Yeah, you had a close shave out there with some of the ruffians of ours,” the other inserted. Her eyes moved to the bag of liquid attached by a tube to Rudy’s arm. “And even if it weren’t for that, you’d be in a world of trouble given a bit more time on your own.” Rudy looked at the two in confusion. It had been many years since he had seen any humans, and he suspected that if he ever saw any again that their greeting would be far less than kind. Having been involved in the many feuds and riots between humans and monsters in his town many years ago, he had hoped to never again encounter any like he had last seen. 

“I… I’m sorry, but… where am I?” the monster asked. The human beside him looked to the door. 

“Somewhere where the more vengeful of us won’t be able to hurt you,” he answered. The monster took a breath and inspected his clothing more thoroughly. With enough light shining from the nearby lantern, he could see that was wearing what looked to him like a cloak of some sort. It had a hood and ribbon on its front, but the outside seemed to be layered with pine needles. He lifted the bedsheet slightly and saw that his pants had additionally changed to baggy clothes that looked as though they were made of mismatched wrapping paper. 

“Uh… why are my clothes… different?” Rudy asked. The human beside the lantern approached from his other side. 

“A lot of things are different when you enter the dark,” she asserted. The monster’s heart sank. 

“The… ‘dark?’” he anxiously inquired. The woman before him nodded her head. “I’m… I’m not dead, am I?” 

“No,” the man spoke. “The world of darkness takes many forms. And with those forms, each of us also have changes that accompany us.” The monster looked at the man in disbelief. 

“What do you mean by ‘the world of darkness?’” The man turned to the woman, appearing a bit unsure of the answer himself. 

“That… is a difficult question to answer,” the woman stated. The man began pacing around the room. 

“Everything that you see is the embodiment of something from your world… from our world…” he explained. “This place… was only found when all else seemed lost. Our scientist found one entrance, but if you look hard enough, you can find others. It exists from dreams. Imagination. Many things not possible in our world become a reality here.” Rudy looked on, half confused and half not believing what he was being told. The pine needles on his cloak slouched along with his mood. 

“So… you’re telling me that this is some magical realm then?” The humans looked at one another. 

“I guess that’s one way of seeing it,” the woman responded. “Depends on what your definition of magic is though.” Rudy became startled and the pine needles on his cloak shot out as a loud pounding came from the door to the room. The man held out his hand. In a flash of light, his sword appeared in it. 

“Keep quiet,” he told Rudy. The woman beside him stood at the ready to defend him if needed. The man knocked back on the door and spoke in a loud voice. “Who is it?” 

“It’s ‘Little Zero’s’ sir, I have your pizza,” a voice on the other side sarcastically remarked. The man let out a sigh and his sword vanished. 

“Leave it on the doorstep and get the hell outta here,” he jokingly sparred as he began unlocking the door. It sounded to Rudy like the two were quoting something he was familiar with, but he could not pinpoint exactly what it was. As the door slowly creaked back open, a few more humans began entering the room. An additional voice could be heard now that the door was open. 

“What are you all doing? And what’d you do with my dad?” a soft voice called out. As the fourth and final human entered the room, she was guiding a smaller monster by the shoulders along with her. By both the voice and appearance of the monster, Rudy recognized her immediately. 

“Noelle!” he called out, pushing himself upright despite the pain in his arm. 

“Dad!” the girl shouted as she began moving towards her father. The human gripping her shoulders tugged her abruptly back. 

“I didn’t say you can go to him,” the woman holding her back asserted. 

“Let the girl go to her father,” the man who had opened the door ordered. 

“Doesn’t feel too good to be denied a basic right of interaction and life, does it?” the woman injected towards Noelle. The man looked at the woman with a disappointed face. 

“Remember what we all swore,” he reminded her. She looked at him before looking back at Noelle. The slight malice in her eyes faded as guilt slowly crept over them. She let go of the girl. 

“Sorry,” she apologized. “Just… bits of the past were getting to me again.” Noelle looked at her for a moment before turning to the man who had commanded her release. He gave Noelle a nod and looked toward her father. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. He too gripped his daughter with no intention of letting go. 

“Dad, I was so worried! I saw you get hit… and then those other humans grabbed you… and then everything else got all screwed up… and-” 

“It’s all right, it’s all right. I’m glad that you’re okay too,” he replied. 

“I know what this is! What this all is! Well, sort of. I’ve been to this world before. Well, not this specific area, but this world! With Kris. And Susie too. We’ve been to several of these. I don’t know if it’s something we did that caused this, but our worlds seem like they’re blending or something.” 

“What?” Rudy spoke. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why didn’t you tell me? Or your mother?” 

“Do you really think either one of you would have believed me if I’d told you that my friends and I went through a dark portal to another world?” After hearing his daughter put it like that, Rudy felt dumb for asking the question at all. However, that did not matter to him now. What mattered was that he knew his daughter was safe. As the two continued to hug, one of the humans that entered the room stared at Noelle. She had blond hair and light brown fur with a bright red nose. Her head had two stubby antlers sticking out its top just like her father’s and she had a similar pair of buck front teeth. Her outfit consisted of a soft white cloak that glittered like fresh snow with fur linings and a wide bottom brim. The hood connected to a small heart at the front of her chest which bore a bright golden color. 

“I saw you, I did,” the human noted. “You and the rest of your pals out in the Choral Woods.” Noelle turned and looked at the one who had spoken. It was another man with a stiff demeanor and tall stature. 

“That was you that I saw?” she asked. “It was dark, and you were far away, so I couldn’t make out any details… wasn’t sure if my eyes were seeing things correctly at all.” 

“Yeah, you saw right. It was the three of us here right now,” he added, gesturing to two of the humans next to him. “We didn’t want to attract any of the more aggressive people of our kind to you on accident, so we didn’t interact none.” 

“Speaking of interactions,” one of the others chimed in. “No one besides us has found that ghost, right?” 

“Nah, we have him hiding at one of the other safe houses.” 

“Ghost?” Noelle asked. 

“We found him a few days ago. Poor guy looked scared out of his mind when we found him. Though, he didn’t seem like he had any motivation to put up a fight if we had wanted to get violent. We moved him to a place where the others wouldn’t find him. Not that they likely could hurt him if they wanted to since he’s a ghost, but we wanted to be sure.” Noelle turned to her father. 

“Hapstablook’s cousin?” she asked. 

“Probably,” Rudy answered. “Heard from Carol a day or two ago that he’d gone missing. Good to know that he’s all right.” Rudy looked at the small group of humans in the room as unease crept over his body. 

“You all keep talking about other groups of you… humans. More… aggressive ones. What do you mean?” The man who first entered the room stepped forward. 

“Many of us sought revenge after being locked underground for so long, and they would not hesitate to exact it the moment that they got the chance,” he explained. Rudy’s ears drooped along with the pine needles on his cloak after recalling that he had helped to put many of the humans away underground. “But we few do not seek that. We believe that more violence will result in further problems. We strived for a promise of peace but were able to convince few of our people to support such a cause.” The man walked in front of Rudy. 

“You’re a boss monster. You were here when it happened. When… your people locked us away.” Rudy stared guiltily into the human’s eyes. The human moved his own eyes downward. “That was many years ago… things were different… and I presume that both you and we are different people than who we used to be.” He again paced around the room. “When we saw you get clocked in the head inside the hospital, we were the ones that pulled your attacker off you. And your daughter came shortly after to try to protect you herself. We brought you and her here to keep you safe from them.” The man stood at the end of the mattress Rudy laid upon. “We want peace. And we need your help to achieve that.” 

Rudy stared at the one before him, unsure of what to say. “If you, a boss monster. Someone who was there when it all happened. Someone who has a firsthand account of it. Someone who… was a part of it. If you show that we can move on from this, then I hope that the rest of your people can follow too, as well as the rest of ours.” The man looked on with anticipation at the monster before him but heard nothing in response. He backed up and placed a hand behind his head. “I know, I know. This… this is a lot all at once. And a lot has happened in the last day or so… but please. If we can do this, then life for both our races will be better.” Noelle watched her father’s still face and spoke up for him. 

“I think my dad might need a little time to take in everything,” she said. The man folded his hands in front of himself and looked downward. 

“Right, right. That is to be expected,” he replied. Several moments of silence passed for everyone in the room before Noelle looked at the medical bag connected to her father’s arm. 

“Um… why do you have my dad hooked up to an IV here?” she asked. One of the quiet humans stepped forward. 

“Well,” they started. “We’re not sure entirely how your father got it, but one of us suspected it as soon as they noted that he was hospitalized over something with common flu-like symptoms. When we tested for exposure, our test confirmed our suspicions” Both Rudy and his daughter listened in. 

“So, what was it?” Noelle asked. 

“That’s just it. We don’t have a technical name for it, but several of us humans became infected with it too shortly after the CORE was built.” 

“The ‘CORE?’” Rudy questioned. 

“It was an engine designed and constructed to produce industrial energy by a scientist among us. It was the only thing providing us with any source of power down there after enough time. But with that kind of power, industry, and energy comes radiation. Radiation that can have some… effects. Bad effects… for anyone exposed.” Noelle took a gulp down her throat. 

“What kind of effects?” she nervously asked. 

“Well, as I said before, it would start like a minor cold or flu that many of us would shake off like it was nothing. But for others, it would spiral out of control after a few days. It would compromise the immune system of most humans and boil them up from the inside. It would get worse and worse until the exposed person usually died.” Noelle’s heart sank. “I’m not sure how differently it may affect monsters but based on your dad’s symptoms I would say that it has similar effects.” Noelle looked at her father with a horrified expression. 

“Do you mean… that my dad… is he…” Noelle started. 

“No,” the human asserted. “That’s what the injection and IV we gave him is for. The same scientist that created the CORE came up with an antidote for those exposed. I don’t recall a case where anyone who was given the antidote ever died from it, so I’d wager it does the trick. The IV is just an added precaution.” The human looked uncomfortably at Rudy. “Sorry that we sort of just poked you with it without asking, but we figured that it would be worth the risk of any side effects if it meant saving your life.” Rudy stared just as uncomfortably back at the human. 

“Uh… thanks?” he spoke. 

“You’re welcome,” the woman beside him replied. “Now, will you help us to establish peace between our people?” Rudy looked at her oddly before the first human he saw came back before him. 

“I apologize for how pushy we may seem about this, but we must act quickly! The scientist who made our CORE opted to take a different route than us with what he desires to happen between our people.” 

“What do you mean?” Noelle inquired. The human flinched.

“We don’t know the exact details, as he would never disclose them to us. But he made something many years ago… a ‘creation’ of sorts. And he was able to send it here through one of the dark fountains throughout the lands. What he did tell us was that it could open the fountains and allow for light and dark to merge. He claimed that we too could escape from our underground prison if enough of them were opened.” The details of the human’s explanation connected like pieces of a puzzle to a piece of Noelle’s memory. A puzzle made up of the words spoken by her friend when they were lost in the dark. 

“Kris!” Noelle exclaimed. Rudy looked at her in confusion. 

“What?” he asked. 

“That’s Kris! It all lines up! Kris’s parents find them in the woods several years ago out of complete nowhere. Kris is the only one of us that can open the fountains. And they told us about how they weren’t sure if they were really them half the time! It’s them! This… this is all happening because of us…” 

“How?” Rudy asked. “What did you all do?”

“We went through several of the lands here and opened the fountains. Well, we had to in order to get back to our normal world. The light world. We did it to try to help out our friends here, but I think we ultimately just made several openings for light and dark to bleed into one another. This… we have to fix this! We can’t just sit around and wait for things to get worse! But… how… what do we do at this point?” Noelle thought to herself for several moments before turning to the group of humans. “Where is he? The scientist?” 

“What? What are you talking about? Why do you want to know that, sweetie?” Rudy asked. 

“If everything going on is because of that scientist’s plans, then he might be the only one who has any idea of how to undo all of this.” A stern face overtook Noelle. “Where is he?” The humans looked at one another but did not appear to have a direct answer. 

“We don’t know,” one replied. 

“The last I heard, I think he said that he was ready to ‘watch everything culminate at the final flow of darkness,’ or something like that,” another added. Upon hearing the final detail of the human’s statement, Noelle knew where to go. 

“Thank you!” she asserted as she made her way towards the door of the room. 

“Wait! Noelle!” her father called out. “Where are you going?” She did not slow down but turned her head to face her father. 

“I need to find him! I need to get him to tell me how to stop all this!” she proclaimed. “I promise, I’ll come back for you!” One of the humans near the door to the room stared at her as she forcefully pulled open the door. “I need to do this. For the fate of both worlds, light and dark! And for both our races!” The human watched for another moment before nodding their head. As Noelle exited the room, a long staff with a pair of silver bells appeared in her hand within a flash of yellow light. The end of the staff looked like that of a reindeer’s antlers. 

“Noelle!” Rudy called out for his daughter. But just as soon as he had reunited with her, she was gone.

Chapter Text

I… have to warn them… the darkner thought to himself. I have to warn Kris…

The Great Board stretched on for what felt like miles as the strikes of lightning and thunder echoed across the vast world. White streaks reflected across the red and black checkered board as the dark clouds above shifted about in agitated fashion. Every so often, the darkner saw openings form around various parts of the area. Entryways shrouded in pixelated shadow that led to the other world. The world of light. The darkner stopped and peered through one of them. On the other side, there appeared to be some kind of forest with a bright orange canopy, though it was hard to tell this due to the lack of sunlight currently in that world. The darkner pondered his next course of action for a moment before reaching his hand out towards the gaping void. In an instant, he pulled back his hand before it got within a few feet of the entryway. 

No… it’s too dangerous… I don’t know what someone like me going into the light world could do to the worlds… what it could do to me… The darkner gripped his pointy green hat as a gust of wind blew roughly past him. His pink scarf blew in the way of the wind, and he adjusted his glasses as he again looked ahead. The sounds from the sky above reminded him that he did not have time to waste. He moved his paw over the black heart on the front of his robes. Kris… please, be here. Be somewhere around here in the dark world… I know you can come here, but I can’t risk going into your world. With a final glance at the now slowly growing void, he progressed down the board. He scanned the surrounding area but saw nothing. No darkners or lightners as far as his eyes could see. 

The others should be able to keep a watch on that knight… that human , the darkner reassured himself. Eslira, Aelsir, Irales, Sareli, Lairse… just… keep him there like we agreed until I can find Kris. They cannot open that last fountain… The flat end of the Great Board grew nearer as the darkner proceeded at a steady pace. His prior statement brought forth several questions to his mind. But… seeing everything that has happened… is it already too late? Are we unable to stop this at this point? As his thoughts continued to spiral out of control, he lowered his head more and more. This… this is all my fault. If I hadn’t been so adamant about sealing the fountains, none of this would have happened. And we couldn’t even do that. We just ended up doing the opposite.  

After reaching the board’s end, his feet met with soft magenta grass. Continuing, he saw a purple door with bright flames flowing from its base on his left. If I can find Kris, we should still be able to use the door to travel between the areas quicker… but… who am I kidding… What are the chances of us crossing paths now? After all this chaos between our worlds? The darkner stopped again and held his paws in front of himself. They were white but appeared dark black due to the shadow and magical properties of his robes. I’m just… a part of him. A part of Asriel. That’s all I am… just… Ralsei. 

A crash of thunder sounded loudly above, but it was unable to break Ralsei’s focus. 

What that knight… that human said… about toys and objects being thrown out… destroyed… does that mean that we… that I’m… replaceable? As he stared at his paws, all he could think about was how his entire existence was tied to an object in the light world. What if there was just another object the same as his? If something happened to him, would that object not be exactly the same as him? No… no, I mean something to Kris. And to Susie. And Noelle too. Even if I am just a manifestation of some object, I still mean something to them. That knight did not lie, but I’m important to them. I’m not… replaceable. I’m… we’re… Ralsei felt his arguments falling as though a weight were attached to them. 

What if… what if he is right? What if they wouldn’t care if something did happen to me? Or to anyone here? If they can just throw our objects aside and replace them, would our fates really mean anything to them? Ralsei looked to the Scarlet Forest ahead and slowly moved forward. And that entity controlling Kris… if all this really is just a show… a game for them, and all this has already happened, then… does anything with us really matter anymore? The dark prince took off his hat and rubbed behind his head. 

Does it… does it really matter now if I try to do good? If the others try? If that knight tries to do bad? Does any of it matter at this point? More gateways between the worlds materialized as Ralsei advanced down the winding paths of the forest. Was… was I really good the whole time? Treating Kris and the others with kindness supported them, but it also led to Kris getting hurt. And hurting themselves… And that knight, the human. Is he really as bad as we see him? He wants revenge, but… he is helping his people escape when no one else would. Or no one else knew how. I just… don’t know… Ralsei looked all around but still saw no signs of anyone. 

“Kris!” Ralsei called out, but his call was muted by another loud crash of thunder. “Kris!” he called again. But there was no answer, and there remained no one in sight. He let out an anxious breath as he gripped the sleeves of his robes and pressed on further into the forest. The suit puzzles remained solved from Kris’s first visit to the dark world. Although, some were becoming enveloped by more openings connecting the two worlds. In a final call of desperation, Ralsei mustered in all the air he could before yelling as loudly into the dark as his body would allow.

“Kris!”

His single word faded just as quickly as it had been spoken. The lack of a response gave Ralsei a sinking feeling within his chest. Despite this, he needed to keep looking, so he began making his way through the maze of forest paths. The longer he went on, he could not help but think about his friend more and more. Even after all this time, he was unsure about some things that they said. Kris… when they sat on that chair in the cave, they said that their soul chose whether we all lived or died… but, what did they mean by that? Although Ralsei understood Kris’s struggles with control of themselves amongst other things, he did not quite understand what they meant by this. I understand that they led the group and made certain decisions for us, but is… is there something that they were keeping from me… from all of us this whole time? I… suppose that is only fair considering I did that to them. But still… were they implying that they… died?

Ralsei looked up and could see the blocky leaves of the forest swaying in the wind. I don’t know, but we need to fix this first. If they do tell me, then I guess I should tell them what I still haven’t. Well, more what I was going to eventually but forgot. Them and the other lightners. Ralsei considered the stormy sky. The darkness above reflected in his eyes as he recalled the lesser-known bits of his prophecy. All this seems like it could very well be the calamity, which means we have failed, but… at least there’s no… Roaring… Ralsei shuddered at the thought. 

But then again, maybe that isn’t what this is. So many aspects of the prophecy may be referring to other things entirely. And we didn’t have just one monster in our party like it said, we had two. And we never actually sealed any fountains, so maybe the prophecy would only be set in place once we did seal at least one? Maybe, but that’s probably just wishful thinking. Ralsei found the path repeating itself, so he changed his route and walked one of the others. I just… Please let everything be okay. 

Exiting the forest, Ralsei continued his search for Kris. However, he still saw nothing. He sighed as his mind cycled through many loose ends and uncertainties. He jumped slightly at the sound of another crash of thunder and was again reminded that time was of the essence. I need to stop thinking about all this. Whether the prophecy is true, whether what happens now matters, and whether what that knight said was true isn’t going to change my path. I need to find Kris and warn them about what might happen if they open that last fountain. 

With his goal firmly in mind, Ralsei picked up his pace and Card Castle soon came into view. The fountain at its top, as before, emanated a bright array of constantly changing colors endlessly into the sky above. He could make out several figures of varying shapes, sizes, and colors moving all around the front of the castle. Breaking into a run, he swiftly made his way to the castle, jumping over openings to the other world forming on the path. As he neared the front gates, he could now tell that the inhabitants of the castle were in a panic. 

“The King has left! King Lancer has left!” 

“Master Rouxls cannot guide a kingdom under conditions like this!”

“The castle is being consumed! Swallowed by gateways to another realm!”

“Mama Miba! Those voids ate up my pastries faster than the purple beast!”

“Bwhat Bis Bgoing Bon?”

“Huh-hah! Let’s make haste and get out of here!”

Ralsei looked all around, trying to decide on how to calm down everyone around him. Everywhere he looked, several darkners rushed past him, sounding verbal alarms. Even if the severity of the situation made the effort futile, he had to try. 

“E-Everyone, please! Just calm dow-” Ralsei was interrupted as a ponman bumped into him. “We can try to fix this if we jus-” A darkner that appeared much like a coat hanger ran into him, knocking him to the ground. Ralsei scrambled to his feet as he made efforts to not get hit again. “Oh, this is useless…” he muttered to himself. He looked all around for any sign of the one he initially sought, but still saw nothing but anxious darkners. 

“Kris! Kris! Are you here?” Ralsei called out. “Please! Answer me!” Ralsei’s calls were drowned out by the ongoing anxiety and hysteria of the darkners around him. He paused before shaking his head slightly as he came to accept reality. This was a foolish plan. Looking all through here for Kris. I just… couldn’t think of anything else to do. And I had to do something… What now? Ralsei looked back to the forest he had just come from. 

Tiptoeing his way out of the panicked crowd, he stopped as another void opened before him. In the blink of an eye, several skinny, polygonal darkners tumbled out to fall face-first on the ground. Ralsei grimaced, as the fall looked quite rough. As several picked up their heads, Ralsei was met with multiple faces of varying colors, each with a pointy nose. As each noticed Ralsei, wide grins crept across their faces. Before he could ask if they were all right, they shot up and rushed over to him, making him jump a bit. 

“Hi there!! Can I interest you in some cyber shoes!?” a cyan one exclaimed, reaching into their pocket and taking out a tiny shoe with a toothpick stuck through it. 

A pink one stepped forward, grabbing a tray from behind his back and thrusting it forward. “How about some flavored tea!? Get it now while it’s HOT HOT HOT!! You can even pick your OWN flavor!!” Indeed, the tray held several, multicolored cups of steaming tea. 

“Had enough of these advertisements!? I can block them out for you for the low, low price of $9.99!” The orange one took out a sticker sheet with several red stop sign stickers on it, each inscribed with “AB.” The others snapped around and stared at the orange one after hearing this. 

“So, intruding on the rest of our business dealings directly, eh!?” the pink one inquired. The orange darkner’s wide smile dropped slightly as they began to sweat. 

“What do you think you’re doing!? Trying to leave us out to dry like the little guy!?” The yellow one asserted. As Ralsei watched the small crowd before him bicker amongst themselves, a look back at the forest reminded him of his current task. He began a slow walk back to the Scarlet Forest as the salesmen noticed the crowd of darkners at the Card Castle. 

“Hot dog!! Forget about all this fighting, look at all these customers that I can sell clothes to!!” one of them stated. The others paused their infighting before scampering over to the still panicked crowd with their goods in-hand. On the other hand, Ralsei was already along the path back to the forest. As he headed down the path, he questioned his next course of action as well as that of everyone else he knew. 

I… I suppose we’ll have to keep trying to reason with that knight. Even if it is in vain, what other choice do we have? That man… I… I don’t think he can be reasoned with. At least not with any kind of reasoning that we can employ… What are we going to do? We don’t have time to try to press him until he lets up. And even if we did, he and his people were trapped for so long, his patience is likely far greater than any of ours… The pathway leading up to the forest was now covered far more by the pixelated entrances to the other world than when Ralsei had last come through. 

Even if that human does know how to fix all this… And even if he did tell us how to fix it… Is it already too late? Opening only six fountains caused all this. Who even knows what opening a seventh would do at this point. As Ralsei approached the forest entrance, he saw another purple door to his right. It had the same flames scorching from its bottom as the one he saw before. He reached out his hand and clamped it over the handle but did not immediately twist. He stood there with his eyes closed as his emotions began to catch up with him. Kris… wherever you are… please be all right…  

As soon as he began twisting the doorknob, the sound of shuffling grass and faint chatter met his ears. He turned left and opened his eyes. At the outer edge of the forest and amidst the mess of blocky trees, he could make out two shapes. One had light brown fur, blond hair, two antlers, and had on a white hooded cloak. The other had dark blue hair, cyan skin, a pink cape, and wore a partial set of armor. Ralsei leaned forward and squinted his eyes. 

“Kris…?” he whispered. “Kris!” Quickly bursting into a run, Ralsei rushed over to his friend. 

“So, that’s what your dad was sick wit-” Kris started before feeling a pair of fluffy arms thrown around them. They looked over to see a disheveled Ralsei hugging them tightly. 

“Thank goodness you’re all right!” he exclaimed in relief. “And thank goodness I found you when I did!” He let go of Kris and took a step back. “I’m sorry if I startled you. There’s just so much that happened… and I was so worried…” Before Kris or anyone else could say anything, he turned to Noelle. “And it’s great that you’re okay too, Noelle.” He walked over and gave her a hug too, as it was only fair. 

He then turned to the last person there, who he did not initially notice. Kris and Noelle looked at each other, unsure of what to expect from the interaction they knew was coming. Ralsei began to greet them automatically. “And it’s nice to see you too, Asri-” He came to a halt as who he was looking at began to sink in. The monster before him had a confused look stretched across his face, and things were only made more awkward when Ralsei realized he was staring at his very creator. 

Chapter Text

Although the burden of her quick decision was beginning to weigh her down, Noelle pressed on into the unknown. The dark hallways before her branched into several open chambers. Looking through each, several of them contained what looked to be research stations and large glass containers for things she could not even imagine. Some had metal cages inside with various fabrics draped over the top. Noelle hoped there was nothing inside them, as every little noise she heard made her heart race. Every creak and audible drop of unknown fluid spilling from abandoned tubes set her further on edge. The thought of returning to her father and the humans to escape the solitude crossed her mind, but the potential fate of the world pushed her forward. 

The more she searched, the more apparent it became that the exit must have been elsewhere. However, where was elsewhere in this facility? Noelle had reached what seemed to be a dead end. The room before her was grand with terminals, large glass containers along parts of its perimeter, and a dusty, cracked stone floor. She turned all around while standing at the center of the room, looking for any sort of exit or alternative path. There were none to be seen. She sighed, her breath shaky from her growing feelings of anxiety and isolation. 

Even if I find the exit to this place, how am I even going to get back to Castletown? Find a fountain and then go to the school in the light world? That’ll take way too long. Think. Oh, come on. Think!

She leaned on her staff, trying to open her mind to what other possibilities she had. Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she detected movement. She jumped, gripping her staff. Scanning the corner of the room revealed a blocky shadow, full of static and increasing in size. Noelle cautiously approached it. The opening appeared similar to what she had seen during her last few moments in the light world, and with the sight came that same sense of dread and fear of what lay on the other side. Looking within, it appeared to be a portal to another part of the dark world. She looked back the way she came, and a deep exhale escaped her as she gripped her staff tighter. 

These were opening and closing sporadically before, so I might not be able to come back… she exhaled and her eyes narrowed at the gaping void. I guess that’s a risk that needs to be taken. 

With her mind made up, Noelle closed her eyes and entered through the passage between worlds. When she next opened them, she squinted at how much brighter the area was by comparison. She looked up and saw what looked like a large glass dome stretching a long way over top of the area. The air was warm and humid with a scent of dirt and fresh soil. All around stretched a twisting collage of vines and brush. Although quite overgrown, Noelle could see what looked like the entrance to a cave or mine shaft a good distance from her. 

Well, not where I need to be, but at least it’s not as dank and creepy here.  

Making her way through the brush, Noelle spotted more movement. In the center of a small clearing, another pixelated opening was forming. Approaching it, Noelle could see on the other side what looked like strands of numbers. Zeros and ones in muted green and blue, cast upon a black backdrop. She looked all around, hoping to see if there were any others leading to places she was familiar with, but none were in sight. 

I guess this is the plan now.  

Proceeding inside, Noelle continued her search for Castletown, going in and out of any openings between the worlds that she could find. She found herself in the most peculiar of places. One looked like some kind of theater or skene, majestic in size and appearance though its audience seemed long gone. Another was a large open field with wind so harsh that Noelle was nearly swept off her feet. One had residents set atop a jagged island overlooking a dark ocean, who were most displeased by the chaos around them, voicing very loud cries from their round, baby-like bodies. With every passing moment that Noelle searched, she felt more and more helpless. Eventually, she stopped from exhaustion, panting as she knelt down under a canopy of blocky red trees. 

What am I doing…? I didn’t have a plan. All I had was an impulse to act. She looked towards the sky and saw the same darkness as usual, although clouded by what seemed to be a stirring storm. And now, I don’t have a clue where I am. 

She looked around and saw winding paths leading through the scarlet forest. Taking a deep breath, Noelle climbed back up and continued on. The forest had an almost sweet smell in its air, and it reminded Noelle of autumn. The ground was soft to the touch with a dark magenta color. A steady wind blew stubby leaves from the colorful trees. 

Even if I find Castletown, and I find that scientist, what if I can’t convince him to fix this? What if this really is the end of… I… oh, Angel…

Just before her, another opening began to form. Noelle was not phased by it by now. Her heart plunged deeper and deeper into a pit of despondence with every breath she took, and she knew this opening would not take her where she needed to go. Still, she had little choice. As she stepped forward to enter inside, two figures entered her peripheral vision, and she turned to look. She seized up momentarily, unable to believe who she saw before her. 

“K-Kris?” Noelle blinked her eyes several times to make sure what she saw was real. “Azzy?” Sure enough, it was. The unmistakable human and monster had likewise stopped dead in their tracks. 

“Noelle!” 

Letting her staff fall to the ground before disappearing on its own, Noelle rushed to her friends and threw her arms around Kris. 

“You’re okay… Thank goodness!” Noelle exclaimed. 

“Good to see you are too,” they responded. Noelle smiled weakly as she let go of Kris and turned her attention to the monster beside them. 

“And you too Azz-” Noelle’s eyes widened, as she had not seen Kris’s brother since they had gone off the college. She had also never before seen him within this world. His appearance was so similar to Ralsei and the two other dark princes Noelle had previously encountered that she nearly questioned if it was actually him and not another dark prince. 

His outfit was much like those of the dark princes, made from a soft fabric and wizard-like in appearance. His robes and pointy hat were vibrant red and he wore a glowing blue-green scarf that wrapped around his neck and the point of his hat. A black heart was stitched into the front of his robes near his center chest, notably of larger size than that of the other dark princes. The heart appeared to beat along the same rhythm as his actual heart. His face was fluffy and covered in white fur with a large tuft resting at his forehead. He wore curved, red glasses that matched the color of his eyes and had two white horns sticking out from the top of his head. His hat had narrow slots for his horns to slip through which also kept his hat on his head. 

“You… you are Azzy, right?” Noelle checked. 

“Uh, yes?” Asriel replied, looking a bit confused. “Why did you have to ask me that?”

“Oh, it’s… uh… nevermind.” Noelle asserted. 

“I thought his outfit would have changed more here too.” Kris added. 

“It’s uh… it’s good to see you again.” Noelle noted. “And it’s good that you’re safe!” 

“Yeah, well, can’t quite say the same for the rest of the folks still in Hometown. Complete chaos.”

“I’m assuming Kris already caught you up on this place? Fantastical world of imagination and such?”

“Yeah, after what we saw in Hometown and coming here, it didn’t take me long to believe everything they told me.”

“What happened to you?” Kris inquired towards Noelle. 

“Well, uh… long story short, some humans got my dad out of the hospital and knew what his illness was. They treated him and said it was caused by a large industrial engine that was built below our house.” 

Kris and Asriel gave a blank stare. 

“What.” 

“It was something the humans trapped beneath the town built. Well, the scientist built it. They used it for power down there.” 

The thought of who Noelle had just referred to stirred a sudden headache within Kris. They subtly moved a hand to their head but made an effort not to make a scene. 

“We need to find him, and fast. He might be the only one who knows how we can stop all this.” 

“All right, do you have any idea where we might be able to find him?” 

“I think one of the humans that my dad and I saw said that he would be waiting at the ‘final flow of darkness,’ so I’m assuming Castletown.” Noelle turned to Kris. “Kris, I remember Ralsei mentioning that as his home when we were last at Card Castle. Do you have any idea how we can get there?” 

“Who is Ralsei?” Asriel asked. 

Kris and Noelle fell silent for a moment and exchanged blank glances. 

“We’ll explain that later, but yes,” Kris nodded and pointed west. “There’s a door we can use as a shortcut that’ll get us there faster. It’s just before Card Castle.” 

“Wait, really?” Noelle questioned. “Just like that?”

“I guess we didn’t explain what else was in this first dark world to you, did we?”

“Forget about it, you can elaborate more on that later. Let’s go!” 

Kris led the way through the forest and the three made sure to avoid any further pixelated voids that continued popping up. As they made their way through the forest, Noelle kept her head low. While she was glad to have come across Kris and Asriel by extreme chance, the chances of them being able to actually fix everything still seemed quite minute. It did not take long for Asriel to take notice. 

“Noelle, are you all right?” 

“I guess as all right as ‘all right’ can be right now…” She gripped the sleeves of her robes. “I just can't shake this feeling… I’ve had it before, but not like this… a feeling that no matter what we do, something bad is going to happen… You know? One of those things where you can’t quite explain it, but you feel it in your heart.” 

Asriel stopped for a moment and signaled Kris to stop as well. They placed a paw on Noelle’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes. 

“I imagine that you’ve been through a lot, you and Kris. What with these magical worlds full of adventure and danger. So, it’s understandable that you’re feeling this way.”

“It’s not that. It’s just… everything has already fallen apart. If we are able to stop it, what will happen to both our worlds after they have already combined so much? Or if we can’t stop it, what will happen if it continues?” 

“Well, I’d say that it’s worth trying to stop it. After that, we’ll figure things out from there. If we can’t stop it, we don’t know what might happen.” 

“True enough, but the feeling just… lingers. Makes it hard to stay hopeful.”

“Well, then think back to when we all would go to church together. Think about the faith we have that the Angel will guide and protect us. That warm feeling you can’t quite describe that fills your heart and keeps you going. Even when things seem the most dark.”

“You and the others didn’t save me in that cave for no reason.” Kris added. “And you being successful in doing so must mean there’s something more for us to do in this world.”

“Exactly,” Asriel nodded despite not knowing exactly what Kris was referring to. “You and Dess always showed up. Even though I know your mother made sure you went, I could see in your eyes that you believed what we practiced. And that belief isn’t always easy to keep.”

Noelle smiled and moved her arms around Asriel in a hug. He was right. She could feel something in her heart. That inexpressible warmth had developed within. It lit a fire inside her and began melting away the icy shackles of helplessness. 

“Bad things do happen, and we can’t prevent them sometimes,” Asriel continued. “But at least if we try to prevent them, then even if they still happen, we can at least say we didn’t sit around and let them.” 

“Thank you,” Noelle spoke softly. “I… I needed that. And, I guess I should have given you a hug too after giving one to Kris, fahaha.” 

Asriel gave a small smirk before turning back around to Kris. They nodded and continued leading the way. 

“So, what was it that your dad was sick with?” Asriel asked. “I’m still not quite sure I caught that.”

“It’s caused by radiation exposure. Radiation from that CORE generator underground. It was built to provide a source of power for the humans trapped beneath the town. Apparently, the basement in our house was close enough for him to get exposed.”

“Not what I expected, but I guess that explains a few thing-” Kris started before feeling a pair of fluffy arms thrown around them. They did not belong to their brother.

“Thank goodness you’re all right! And thank goodness I found you when I did!” Ralsei let go of Kris and took a step back. “I’m sorry if I startled you. There’s just so much that happened… and I was so worried…” Ralsei turned to Noelle. “And it’s great that you’re okay too, Noelle.” He hugged her as well before turning to Asriel. 

“And it’s nice to see you too, Asri-” Ralsei stopped mid-sentence as the green of his eyes met the red of his counterpart’s. The two stared at each speechless, unsure of how to proceed. 

“Guess I should’ve explained this one when I went over the dark world,” Kris added. The situation before them filled them with something. Amusement? Awkwardness? The twisted, fluttery feeling they developed within their chest made it difficult to tell. 

Chapter Text

“Y-You… we… we look…” Asriel stammered. 

“Er… hmm… well, I… didn’t think that we would meet like this if we ever did…” Ralsei noted, sheepish. He gripped the sleeve of his robe, unsure of what to say. 

“Y-You’re… what… w-who are you?”

“I… well… I am Ralsei. And I’m a part of you, Asriel. Your kindness.” 

“You’re… my what?” Asriel questioned, taking a step back. “And how do you know my name?” 

“I’m not sure exactly what I am in your world, but whatever it specifically is, it embodies kindness, Asriel. The same kindness that resides in you as we speak. And I know you because I am a piece of you. A piece that you must have created.” 

Kris and Noelle gave one another an awkward look. 

“Should we get a move on, or…” Noelle whispered. 

“I think this is something that needs to happen first,” Kris interjected. Noelle sighed but gently nodded her head. 

“Embodies my… kindness…” Asriel wondered. “But… what… created? What is there that I could have… created…” Asriel’s eyes widened slightly. “The… the diary entries I wrote… The one I wrote before I left for college… kindness… that’s what you come from.” 

Ralsei self-consciously grabbed one arm with the other, as the conversation made him feel gradually more and more strange about his own existence. 

“But… does that mean there are more of you? More of… me?” Asriel asked. 

“Please, take a moment to take this in,” Ralsei encouraged, gesturing toward Asriel to sit down. The two rested beside each other as Asriel did his best to process who he was speaking with and what he had just heard. 

“Yes, there are more of us… of you. Six dark princes to be precise. Including you, there are seven of us.” 

Asriel continued struggling to keep his mind in one piece, but could not help but snort from a brief chuckle. 

“I never thought I could clone myself by writing pieces of a diary.” 

“You didn’t. And we aren’t clones of you, just pieces. The pieces that made up how you felt and what you were when you wrote them.” 

“Then… why isn’t there another? I wrote another entry and I had it with me when we came here. It was still in my pocket.” 

Ralsei placed a paw to his head. It did not make sense. By all accounts, there should have been another dark prince. Unless…

“Was it just on paper or something else?” Ralsei inquired. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Darkners and the dark world come from imagination. But from what I understand, they usually come from toys and games in your world.”

“But… that doesn’t-” the dots of thought within Asriel’s mind suddenly connected. He smirked. “The junior jumbles pages…” 

“I… don’t know what ‘junior jumble’ is, but I presume it is a game of some sort?” Ralsei asked. 

“It’s a word scramble puzzle. An anagram game. That’s what I wrote my other entries on.”

“That… would explain a few things about our names then.” 

“You said your name is ‘Ralsei,’ right? What are the names of the others?” 

“I do not know if my order is right, but I will do my best. There is Irales of the Whitestone Isles, the embodiment of your perseverance. Eslira of the Howling Desert, the pinnacle of the patience within you. Aelsir of the Rainbow Jungle, your bravest of brave feelings. Sareli of the Field of Wants and Needs, the integrity that you hold close to your heart. And Lairse of the Choral Woods, the bluntest form of justice inside you.” 

Asriel leaned back as all his thoughts collected themselves. 

“This is incredible.” He got to his feet and looked at Kris, confident at the idea of how many allies they now likely had. “We can do this, Kris. We can make this right.”

“Yeah,” Kris replied. “It’s just us now. We can.” 

Ralsei grew increasingly uneasy, as he had now been reminded of the nigh impossible problem they needed to solve. His expression dropped, as did the rest of his body. 

“What is it, Ralsei?” Kris asked. 

“It’s just… this is what he wants…” 

“Who?” Asriel investigated with an eyebrow raised. 

“The one in the white armor… the human with the scars near his eyes.” 

At the mention of the man’s description, Kris could not help themselves. They again began to shake uncontrollably and they grabbed their head. Static and a pounding headache enveloped their mind as an uncomfortable tingly feeling ran all throughout their body. Noelle took notice. 

“Kris? Are you al-” 

“The scientist…” Asriel stared towards the ground and seemed taken aback. 

“What? You know him?” Ralsei questioned. 

“No… it’s just a guess, but… mom only mentioned him once… when she told me about the town and the… riots… She said he could find a way to shatter reality and the world if he put his mind to it… a prodigy, but… terrible…”

“Who is he?” Ralsei continued. “What else has he done? Is there any way we can reason with him?”

“I… don’t know. I was only told that he made things… worse.” 

Everyone fell quiet for a moment. That was, until Ralsei broke the silence. 

“He wants you, Asriel.” 

“Me? Why me?” 

“He… he wants all of you… all of us… and Kris… to merge the worlds.”

“What!?” Kris blurted loudly, their head still pounding and spinning out of control from the thoughts of their past. 

“Kris, ever since you sealed that first fountain, you’ve been merging the worlds more and more. We’re only now starting to see the significant effects of it.” Ralsei explained. “I assumed that sealing the fountains would restore the balance between light and dark. I had no idea that your soul passing through them would cause this to happen!” 

“So you mean that everything we did had the exact opposite effect that it was supposed to!?” Kris shouted. 

“Please, calm down,” Noelle interjected. “This isn’t fixing the problem we now have-” 

“I will go to him,” Asriel asserted. 

Kris, Ralsei, and Noelle stared at him. 

“What? No! Did you not hear what I just said?” Ralsei reasoned. 

“What other choice do we have? If we don’t do anything, things will just keep getting worse and worse for everyone else. And the longer we wait here, the more people that have to suffer, and the more madness that will spread. I…I’ll have to try to reason with him. I have to. He planned all this out. He’s probably the only one who might know how we could stop it.”

Another moment of silence fell between them. Ralsei was conflicted, stuck at an endless crossroad within his mind. 

“Asriel… this… I…” Ralsei started but could not find the words. 

Although their mind was still spinning, Kris knew that when their brother set his mind to something that there was no telling him otherwise. Fighting through their repeating trauma, they supported their brother’s choice. 

“We won’t let you go alone,” Kris said. 

“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt… I don’t want you to get hurt, Kris. Or Ralsei, Noelle. Or anyone else for that matter.” 

Opening their eyes and still seeing faint images of static, Kris pushed themselves to meet their brother’s eyes. 

“If anything goes wrong, we’ll all be there for you. You were always there for me. Now let me be there for you.” 

Asriel felt every heartbeat as his heart grew warm from Kris’s support. He turned to Ralsei, who still seemed a bit reluctant. Although, it was clear that he approved of Kris’s care. 

“All right,” Asriel exhaled. “Just… let me handle things if anything goes wrong.” 

“We won’t let you down,” Kris said as they threw their arms around their brother in a tight hug. 

Asriel was a bit surprised by this at first, but hugged Kris back. As Ralsei watched, he saw not just the hug and love before him now, but the one that they had all shared during Kris’s darkest moment back in the depths of that hellish cave. 

“Let’s go,” Asriel stated. 

“Through thick and thin,” Noelle added. 

“Together,” Kris noted. 

“As a team,” Ralsei concluded. 

Navigating their way through the remaining parts of the Scarlet Forest, avoiding several more pixelated openings along the way, the three came upon the door they sought. It was red in color with a shadow which flickered like fire in a rainbow of colors. It glimmered and shined with each new movement. 

Making sure everyone was ready, Kris grabbed the knob and pulled open the door. It seemed as though the bright shadow cast before the frame retained itself momentarily before falling to black. Kris turned to face the others. 

“Remember, think intently about where we’re going out of the places where we’ve seen the doors, and the door will take us there. So, think about the Field. That will bring us closest to Castle Town.” 

“What does the field look like?” Noelle asked. “Azzy and I have never seen it.” 

“Think about long, open stretches of land with purple grass and winding paths,” Ralsei answered. “That should get us there.” 

Noelle and Asriel nodded as they approached the frame. As each of them passed through, they thought intensely about the location described to them. Everything went black, and eventually, each of them closed their eyes. When they opened them, they found themselves exactly where they had imagined they would be. A long field stretched before them with purple grass that blew gently in the wind. 

“Wow, that was… miraculous,” Noelle noted, looking back at the door frame. 

“Yeah, and pretty convenient,” Asriel added. “So, you know the way to Castle Town from here?” 

Kris and Ralsei nodded as they led the way west. As more time went on, the voids popping up around them got more frequent and intense. 

“We’d better hurry,” Kris whispered to Ralsei. “It seems like it’s getting worse.” 

“Agreed,” Ralsei responded. “My castle should be just up ahead. As long as the other dark princes are still there, that man should be too.” 

They soon came upon a great, large door with golden engravings and incredible height. The Delta Rune was marked upon the center, featuring an orb with two angelic wings at its sides and three triangles beneath it. 

“What is this?” Asriel pondered. 

“This is the Great Door,” Ralsei responded. “The door that separates my castle and kingdom from that of Card Castle.” 

The door remained open from their prior adventure, so the group passed through. Noelle and Asriel gawked at its scope and size. After entering inside, a fountain of spiraling darkness and wonder could be seen rising into the sky in the near distance. All around it were dark stone walls that bore a teal gleam. 

“There,” Ralsei pointed. “That’s where we’ll find him.” 

As they progressed toward the castle, Kris grew more and more uneasy. Despite their best efforts to drive the trauma of their past from their mind, it was far easier said than done. Any loose thoughts or association with the man in white armor stirred an earthquake within Kris’s mind. It was though every thought in their mind shattered like bits of broken glass and then scraped roughly through an unkept machine. It did not take long for the others to take notice. 

“Kris, if you can’t bring yourself to face him, we understand,” Noelle assured. 

“No,” Kris retorted. “I… I will stand with the rest of you. I will face… him.” 

The shared looks between Asriel, Noelle, and Ralsei gave Kris a sinking feeling in their chest, but none of them argued against their stance. If they desired to join them, they would. 

With each passing step, the grand fountain before them grew closer and closer. The vacant shops and stores that once gave Kris a sense of mystery and intrigue now left them with a sense of unsettlement. The thought of how these worlds of imagination could lead to so much chaos and destruction made certain things different than they once seemed. After some time, they came upon a long, descending staircase leading down towards the castle courtyard. As they entered, they saw several figures already there. Six dark princes, each with a different color, who bore a strong resemblance to Asriel, as well as Susie and Lancer who seemed to have already found their own ways there. 

“About time you guys showed up!” Susie barked. “We’ve been in a standoff here forever.” 

“That’s a nice ‘glad to know you’re okay,’” Asriel scoffed. 

Susie looked a bit taken back, as it had been a long time since she had seen Asriel. Admittedly, she also had not considered what he had brought up. 

“You must be ‘Very Cherry’ flavor,” Lancer noted, looking at the color of Asriel’s robes. “Now we’ve really completed the whole set.”

Asriel stared at the small, blue darkner, unsure of what to make of his comment. Following the flavorful remark, Asriel looked at each of the princes that stood tensely by him. One wore a cyan robe with short, stubby horns while the one beside him had one that was purple and had no horns at all. Another was yellow with a fierce demeanor and at his sides were a blue one who appeared anxious and an orange one that seemed more confident. Asriel recognized each of them as snapshots of himself at differing ages. 

“So, you’re the other parts of… me. The ones Ralsei told me abo-”

“Yes, yes, we can meet, greet, and tell each other our darkest secrets later,” Lairse interjected, waving his yellow cloaked paw in a hurrying motion. “We have a more pressing matter right now.”

“Y-Yeah, uh…” Eslira said, gripping his cyan robe nervously. “I don’t think you should have come here…” 

Everyone looked anxiously beyond the group of colorful princes, as a noise began to sound from the front of the castle. Asriel pushed forward to see a man standing before them all in white armor. He was old, and certainly near the end of his life. Yet, he still seemed quite energetic. He had on a pair of glasses and had two scars marked deeply across his face. One above his right eye and the other below his left eye. The eerie appearance of his scars and glasses matched perfectly with the descriptions of the ominous scientist that Asriel had previously heard of, and his ensuing behavior only added to the foreboding image built up in his mind. 

“Hahahahahahahaha. HaHaHaHaHaHa. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” he cackled aloud. “I knew you’d come… the pieces have all fallen into place.” 

Ralsei and Noelle pushed forward with Kris remaining a few steps behind. Their breathing was deep and movements shaky. 

“What do you think you’ve done?” Noelle pressed. “Do you have any idea how much danger and harm you’ve caused?” 

The man did not seem interested in Noelle's question. He looked almost above the group of lightners and darkners before him, but none of them could tell at what. He was staring at someone. 

“Was it curiosity? Or Selfishness? Or perhaps both being the reasons we are all here now?” 

They stared at him, unsure of what to make of his statement. He shook his head. 

“Doesn’t matter. All that matters is that things have continued,” he noted. “An ending was desired… a conclusion. But in actuality, it has been pushed further away.”

“What are you talking about!?” Ralsei shouted. “The whole world might end if this isn’t stopped! We don’t know what might result from the two worlds continuously merging like this! We could all die!” 

The man chuckled, seemingly finding the thought somewhat amusing. 

“This world has many things… intriguing things about it. There would not be life in my body without it. This world slows the crawl towards death. In a way, its fountains make up one fountain of youth.” 

Thunder clashed loudly across the sky as a bolt of lightning struck down upon the highest peak of Castletown, breaking off several large chunks of stone. Everyone flinched and several jumped back from the sight and sound. That is, everyone except for the man. 

“Then again, the idea of death does not frighten me much like it used to. After all, everything that I dedicated my life to will soon be realized.” 

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” Lairse shouted. He raised his paw and formed a ball of bright flame. He reared his arm back to throw it at the man, but Aelsir grabbed ahold of him and caused a misfire, sending the flame exploding against a nearby wall. 

“No!” he reasoned. “We promised that we’d keep him alive so that he could help stop this!” 

The man began laughing again. 

“As I have already said, my life ending prematurely means little to me now. My greatest endeavor will assuredly be realized one way or another. I simply wish to be able to witness it unfold before me.” 

“I get that you did this because of what the monsters did to you, but what about them?” Sareli reasoned, his blue robe blowing in the wind. “Didn’t you ever wonder if they felt guilty about what they did?” 

“The time for that has long passed,” the man responded. “For over sixty-six years, not one of their souls had the fortitude or conscience to save any of us. The monsters here will never take responsibility for their choices.” 

“You’re wrong,” Asriel asserted. “I will.” 

Even if it was for just a moment, the man seemed perplexed. Almost unsure what to make of what he had just heard.
“What we did to you wasn’t right. No matter if several of our people were killed, that didn’t make it right for us to do what we did. I… I’m sorry.” 

The man looked on at the fluffy monster momentarily before his face fell blank. 

“The ones responsible were far before your time.” 

“But I’m still a monster, and I didn’t do anything when I found the truth!” Asriel retorted. “That makes me just as responsible.” The man smiled and shook his head condescendingly. “Even if you don’t feel that I am, then why should my generation have to pay for the sins of the past?”

“You should have asked them why they didn’t feel the same way about our future generations,” the man responded. “They willingly locked away children, many of which died or watched their families die. If you ask me, this all feels like poetic justice.” 

Asriel was about to respond, but a pixelated gap formed beneath his left leg, causing him to partially fall through. Despite their aching head and spinning mind, Kris rushed forward and grabbed their brother as did Aelsir, pulling him back up. The man stared at Asriel for a few moments, almost as though he was analyzing him. 

“You’re a lightner, aren’t you?” he said aloud. Asriel looked over, brushing his leg off as the man continued. “Not quite what I anticipated, but no issue. You’ve done your job just the same.” 

“What are you talking about?” Susie shouted. “What job?”

“Weighing the possibilities… ranking the odds… the study of game theory is a truly powerful concept.” 

Susie rolled her eyes. 

“Great. Back to the cryptic tales and remarks, huh?” 

The man smirked and slightly lowered his head, almost giving an indirect nod. He then turned to Kris, as they were now standing before him after helping their brother a moment ago. As their eyes met, Kris’ vision became blurred and their body began to shake. They shut their eyes amidst the flaring and unrelenting memories that spiraled throughout their mind at the mere thought of the one standing before them, let alone the sight of him. The scars on his face. The cold expression. The pale skin. They all brought them back to their origin. 

“Under ordinary circumstances, I would have thanked you,” the man said. “But it’s not like you had any say in the matter. And you were ultimately just a means to this end.” 

Asriel clenched his teeth and stepped forward. 

“People make decisions every moment of every day, and every single one of those moments shapes the world,” he exclaimed. “You stripped Kris of theirs and thought that manipulating them would allow you to mold the world itself!” 

“The world and all its pieces make up something far grander than you’ll ever understand, boy.” 

“I don’t need to understand it. All I need to know is just how terrible our actions were to enrage you humans so much.” Asriel glared at the man and showed one of his fangs. “And to turn you into such a bitter old man.” The man’s right eye twitched as he looked upon the monster before him. Asriel turned to Kris, watching momentarily at their continued attempts to keep their mind in order. “I know you don’t see them as such, but Kris is so much greater a person… a sibling…than you’ll ever know.” 

“Your voice speaks honestly,” he responded. “However, that means you must not know the truth itself. What they really are.” 

“I don’t care what they really are!” Asriel shouted, his raised voice startling those behind him. “I know them for who they are, not what they are. They have friends, family, and feelings. That makes them more a person than the plain words of any definition you could describe!” 

The man smirked, as he found the retort rather amusing. 

“You truly love them… even though they are just a creation.”

“More than you could ever imagine.” 

The man shook his head. 

“To love or not to love, it does not matter. Not now. Not with the end so near.” He turned and faced the dark fountain rising endlessly into the sky before him. “Isn’t it incredible? One final path to be opened, and it will all be complete.”

“Kris’ll never open that fountain, dumbass!” Susie yelled. “After all this crap fell apart, what makes you think they’ll ever go through that fountain?” 

The man turned around and placed his hand together, calmly. A smile crept across his twisted face. 

“Because, my incessant monster, if they do not, then-”

He stopped. He stared to the west as a most strange sound began to echo across the walls of the castle. Everyone else also heard it, but did not know what to make of it. The man stood there, listening more intently as the sound grew steadily louder and louder. It was getting closer. 

“...curious…” he muttered. “How extremely curious…”

The lightners and darkners surrounding the man stared at him as the sounds continued. It sounded like some sort of creature crying out, but not one from this world. 

“An unlikely possibility… very unlikely…” the man continued. 

“What is it?” Kris blurted out through their troubled mind. “Just say it!” 

However, the man seemed completely ignorant to Kris and their statement. They continued staring into the distance as a shapeless, transparent entity steadily approached. 

“So, you really wouldn’t let yourself fade away…” the man placed his hands behind his back. “Too desperate to cling to what little existence you ever had…”

As the entity drew nearer, it became apparent that it was consuming everything in its path. Almost absorbing it and leaving no trace of anything behind.
“You know what this is?” Asriel demanded an answer. “And you were expecting it?”

“Unexpected…” the man conceded, “but not unanticipated.” 

Everyone besides the man grew more and more tense. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. 

“Unless you see something to its end, one can never be certain of its conclusion,” the man spoke calmly. 

“So you don’t even know what’s happening!?” Asriel shouted. 

“I know full well what is happening. I knew of its possibility, and it shall be accounted for with time. I just hoped that after being stuck beneath the Earth for sixty-six and a half years that I wouldn’t have to wait any longer to see things through… but no matter. It shouldn’t take long for things to…” he stared at Kris as they shivered at the obscurity of his proceeding statement, “work themselves out.”

Chapter Text

A strong breeze blew against the walls of the castle in a loud whistle. Thunder and lightning clashed in the sky as though locked in an epic duel. The inhabitants of the castle scrambled in every direction, all struck deep with panic from the potential catastrophe as various parts of the kingdom turned to gaping, pixelated portals. Rudinns and Hathys pushed against one another, some trying to hide while others sought to escape the castle. Within the swarm of frightened darkners stood one with white outlines and a dark blue body. 

“I sayeth,” Rouxls exclaimed, trying to keep what little composure he had. “Kinge Lancer has puteth me in charge! Please, try to calmeth thouselves!” 

The darkner’s efforts were wasted, as the mayhem both in and outside of the castle had gotten out of hand. He navigated through the dense crowd, anxiously attempting to find his way out. At the nearest balcony, he escaped from the horde and put his hand to his knees, panting. Picking up his head, he gazed past the strands of his own windswept hair down to the kingdom below. Several thin, rainbow streams ran into the sky like pillars in the far distance. All about the grounds, gaps and openings were forming, surrounded by small gray and black pixels. 

“Oh, pooreth me,” he lamented. “Finally madeth a kinge but with noest will to ruleth over thine kingdom.” 

“Cheer up, friend,” a low voice sounded from his left. Rouxls turned to see a darkner leaning against the balcony railing at the far left side. “It will all be over soon.” 

Seam, the shopkeeper from the field, stood by sipping a small cup of tea as they gazed upon the calamity before them. They appeared like an old stuffed cat with a button eye and several stitches and sewn bits of cloth all about their body. They raised their tail, their eye spinning in circles as they turned to face Rouxls. They were smiling. “In a way, is it not beautiful?”

“Beautiful? Whateth does thoust mean?” he questioned in a panicked voice. “Ourst world is spiralinge out of controleth!”  

“The world does go round and round,” Seam chuckled. “My old friend thought that the ways of the world were all about him. Perhaps he wasn’t wrong. The world revolves around us all, each in our own little games and perceptions of them.” Rouxls stared at them, unable to comprehend a word of what Seam had just said. The cat saw his perplexion, and opted to take things a step back. “My dearest Duke. You have come to see the consequences of the lightners’ actions for yourself. Have you not?”

“By worms on a raineth day. Please explaineth to me whateth the hell is happeninge?”

“Something beyond either of our control, my friend. All things must come to an end one way or another.” 

“You meanest to say that our worldeth is coming to an ende?” 

“In a manner of speaking,” Seam laughed. 

“We… we haveth to do somethinge. Anythinge! My lifeth cannot conclude itself today. I musteth lay in bed with a Queene at my side on the highest of points aboveth the worlde at least once!”

“Such plans. It is good of you to desire to make something of yourself. But… if all is to come to an end, and one so definite, is there a point to journey and all its joys at all?”

“Of course there is a pointeth!” Rouxls argued in a louder voice. “You must enjoyeth thou life while youst have it! How can you siteth here with warm drinkeths in hande watching the world burneth?” 

Seam paused for a moment. During the brief silence, lightning struck the castle courtyard below, the loud clash echoing through the area. Rouxls fell over, startled by the sudden sound, impact, and bright flash of light. As the light gleamed against Seam, their focus was unbroken. 

“After gazing upon the world through the looking glass, the world itself is the same. You simply view it all a different way,” they answered. “But at the same time, you come to see that the differences are not differences at all, nor are there any similarities among like things to compare. Everyone sees their own world their own way. Everything that exists and everything that does not. It all blends together until the writing and vision of the world is sewn.” 

Rouxls got to his feet and gave Seam a blank expression. 

“That… are you sureth there isn’t somethinge else in thoust tea?”

“You do not need to ask me such questions, puzzle master. I have seen and contemplated too much for a mere substance to provide me with any new sights.” 

“Then… howeth. Howeth can you force yourselfe to siteth here at a time like thise?” 

“You have the same problem my old friend had. Just in another way. You believe in a world that revolves around you. That it’s your world. That things must go a certain way. Well, my dearest duke, the world has plans of its own. We are just small pieces of it. We can try to shape it our way, but the course is already formed. There is no need to hold attachment to something that holds no attachment to you.”

“Then.. then we wille all perish… dieth!”

“Why do you fret over life and death? One day, all that we know and feel is bound to be gone. We are all fated to fade away after long times past and all ends are met. When the fabrics of our lives have been worn until they no longer have use. So, please. My company, do not let those feelings overtake you. The world has the ultimate say, but you still have yourself to keep you company.” 

Rouxls looked at Seam with his mouth half open. He wanted to say something but could not find any of the words. Another bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, this time against the side of the castle. Rouxls jumped and scampered back away from the strike while Seam remained in their place. 

“I haven’t the timest to converse further witheth the paragon of peculiar pronouncements!” He turned and headed back into the crowd within the castle. “Please don’t dieth out there!” 

Seam stood at the balcony and took one final sip of their tea before setting the cup down on the balcony railing. The wind blew it off almost immediately, but that was not their focus. They stood there, transfixed as the constant clashes of lightning cast a bright glow upon their unblinking button eye. The wind blew roughly against their fur and clothes as they leaned their head down and squinted the gaping hole that used to hold their other eye. 

Set always in this state of mind , they thought to themselves. And yet, the others never see things this way. A pity… Panicked yells and calls echoed throughout the courtyard below. Perhaps, in their own ways, they aren’t entirely wrong. Even if our existence has built up to nothing more than this final conclusion, and whatever we have or haven’t done would never have changed it, maybe there was something to be gained . 

They stood back up from the railing and made their way back within the castle. They took a turn down one of the few empty hallways. The dissonance both from within and outside the castle could be heard through the hall, albeit a bit muted. Thin beams lit up the hall through its narrow windows with every flash of lightning, illuminating Seam’s steps. In a way, they found it quite soothing. 

The lightners surely took something away from it all. I could see it in their eyes during that last feast. Although, does that something remain now? Will that something still remain when the narrative meets its true closure? For that matter, will any of this mean anything in enough time? They looked around at the structure around them and placed a paw on the wall. These stones. These symbols. These lands. When all in existence enters the world of nonexistence, what happens then? 

The depths of their knowledge plunged deep, and such levels of knowledge did not hold themselves easily within the mind of a mere darkner. They continued down the hall, their tail dragging against the cold stone floor as they went. Every sight they saw looked to them as nothing more than objects. Things formed together from smaller things just to be worn away at the end of time. 

The world of nonexistence. The final unknown. The very thing that everyone deep down knows of, but no one knows what to make of. The end of everything. They came to the end of the hall and entered the room at its end. Inside stood the remains of one of the kings’ rooms. The room remained unkempt from when the King of Spades had overthrown its resident. The bed was disheveled, curtains ripped, and the floor had many divots and slashes upon the stone. At the far end of the room, a shattered mirror remained upon its stand, large shards of glass littering the floor below it. 

Seam approached the mirror and picked up one of the pieces. They looked at their reflection through the glass fragment as a bright streak gleamed across it from the lightning outside. It was them. Stitched and sewn and made into what they were. They looked deeper into the reflection, gaze lingering in the socket of their missing eye. The darkness inside it carved a hollow chamber within their very being. It was as though they were searching for something, deep within the darkness. They eased back and sighed. 

A deepest sorrow that some would not even have the privilege to see their reflection. Those betwixt the real and unreal. They gazed back at the world beyond the window. Although it was nothing more than smooth stone and an opening, it reminded Seam of the bars of a cell. A cell that, regardless of what happened on the inside or outside, made them feel like a prisoner. One with no means of escape or say in the shaping of the world had they been on either side of the metal posts. Oh, how lucky Jevil is in many ways. A free spirit without the bindings of actuality. One without comprehension truly is in many ways one without sorrow. They looked again at the glass and each of its matching pieces. 

A piece of a much larger puzzle, though one without a solution . They peered again outside to see something new for a change. Something unexpected. Something without form. As Seam looked on, the walls of the castle soon became nothing more than vacant space. A small grin took shape upon their face. Though perhaps, now one with enough pieces to form a broader picture.  

The entity was one they could not quite see, yet they could sense it all the same. It piqued their curiosity. All in all, the cat was satisfied with their unusual end. If we do not pass into the world of nonexistence, then perhaps we shall all be bound to another place instead. The so-called Other World.

Chapter Text

The group of lightners and darkners stood tensely as though at-the-ready for battle. The wind howled at the castle walls as lightning flashed across the dark sky, so frequently that the land beneath was constantly lit up white. The addition of the loud cries of the nearby entity cast suspense and fear upon all the beings in the land as the nearby cliffs became nothing more than vacant space within its presence. The old human in white armor moved his hands from behind his back to his sides. In a flash of white light, a sword appeared in his right hand as his fingers balled into a fist in his other. 

“Now then,” he proclaimed. “Let us get a move on.” 

Kris, Susie, and Noelle summoned their respective weapons as Lancer and each of the dark princes readied a battle stance. Asriel turned to face each of them with his hands out. 

“Wait, no!” he shouted. “He’s the only one that knows how we can stop all this! If he dies, the solution dies with him!”

“A smart boy you are,” the man announced. “And yet, if we remain here we all shall perish. Though perhaps not in the way you think.” 

Everyone paused momentarily, unsure what to make of the last part of what he had said. Another roar of the nearby entity snapped them each back to their senses. 

“If he won’t talk answers now, maybe he will if we beat it out of him!” Susie barked. 

“Hehehe,” the man chuckled. “Monsters… the lot of you haven’t changed one bit. Always incapable of reading the room and seeing the more pressing matters.” 

“You’re one to talk, doughy man!” Lancer called out. “You’re outnumbered eleven-to-one!” 

The cliff at the western edge of Castletown gave a loud crack as it, just like everything before it, became nothing. Everyone turned to face the sound as the storm above tore on. One by one, the teal-gleaming stones of the stores and buildings of Castletown were reduced to nothing. No rubble, fragments of stone, or even dust particles were left behind. Nothing. 

“Not to be the voice of opposition, but this doesn’t look good!” Sareli yelped. 

“Oh, I knew something bad would come from this!” Eslira cried. 

As the courtyard walls atop the grand steps quickly became nothingness, what existed before them made them all stop. What looked like a formless silhouette made of dark void approached the courtyard. Their minds sensed something at the center of the dark space but could not piece together exactly what, and the longer they looked the less of it they could understand. All around it was nothingness. Empty space proceeding forth from an entity beyond physical comprehension. 

“What the #%@& is that?” Susie called out. 

“Now you see what has taken priority,” the human man noted. “And with that, we shall commence the next step.” 

The man gripped his blade with both hands as he seemed ready to fight. The other lightners and darkners were split on what to focus on: the man, or whatever it was that was now approaching them. In a swift action, the man turned and slashed open the front doors to the castle. He rushed inside as the others remained momentarily stunned. 

“He’s getting away!” Noelle called out. 

“After that sack of sauerkraut!” Lancer yelled. 

“And quickly too!” Asriel hurriedly spoke. “I don’t think we have much choice.” 

Rushing inside the castle, the door ahead of them which led to the main hallway remained open. They ran through, skirting around a magic cauldron in the entrance. Inside, a large hall  extended before them, with brilliant teal lighting from the rows of torches lining the walls. Numerous banners and tapestries bearing the emblem of the Delta Rune hung upon the walls and ceiling. At the far end of the room stood a door leading to an inner chamber. The door shut abruptly, echoing across the hall. 

“Quickly, Fun Gang and company!” Irales signaled. They moved briskly through the hall as the front of the castle and its foundation began to shake. As they neared the door, a white flash could be made out from the narrow cracks along the edge of the frame. Asriel grabbed the handle and opened the door to find the castle library on the other side. Though they’d normally be intrigued, everyone’s focus was at the center of the room. A door that resembled the one they had used before to hop between the lands. Unlike the door familiar to them, the color was all gone; drained to a gray monotone. 

“What is this?” Asriel questioned. “It looks different than the other one.” 

“I… don’t know,” Ralsei answered. “This wasn’t here befor-.”

“Now isn’t the time to discuss this,” Kris interjected. The stone floor shook beneath them as the walls of the hallway behind them began to give way. At the other end, the unknown figure approached. “We’d better go now.” 

With no time to lose, they grabbed the knob, threw open the door, and piled inside. Rather than solid ground, they found themselves falling from several feet in the air. They piled onto the hard ground, and the door closed on its own behind them. The frame was suspended in the air, connected to several nearby machines. White lights ran through several connectors leading to the door that pulsed brightly before going dark. As everyone climbed to their feet, they looked around. 

“That was too close,” Asriel noted. 

“Wait, look at our clothes,” Noelle added. “We must be back in the Light World.”

Kris, Susie, and Asriel each looked down and saw that Noelle was right. They were back in their regular attire. Fear flashed across Ralsei’s eyes and his breathing grew tense as he felt all around his robes and body. 

“If we haven’t imploded or disappeared already, then I don’t think we will,” Lairse reassured him. 

“I suppose you’re right,” Ralsei sighed. “I just wish we didn’t have to chance it like this. And I don’t think the same thing can be said about my kingdom, unfortunately.” 

“Where the hell are we?” Susie questioned. 

Inspecting the room, it appeared quite grimey and dim. Various machines and strange devices lay scattered across the room. The walls had an industrial look to them, reinforced by strong steel plates. Dankness hung over the room as each of them gazed about. 

“So, this is your world?” Ralsei asked.
“I guess it’s part of it somewhere,” Kris answered. “But I don’t think any of us have ever seen wherever this is.” 

A narrow door stood partially open at the far end of the room. Making their way over to it, Kris opened it and saw that it led to a similarly narrow hallway. Several identical doors lined the side where they stood. At the end of the hall stood another with a strange symbol on the front. It looked like a circle with three other circles each meeting at its center. Below the symbol read a message: “Warning. Biohazard.” As everyone else piled into the small hallway, Kris turned to face their brother. 

“Looks like there’s only one real way to go,” they said. 

“That… doesn’t look promising,” Asriel noted. 

“What’s a ‘biohazard?’” Susie asked. 

“Something with some kind of chemical or toxin that is harmful to us,” Noelle answered. “Just what we needed…”

“Well, we can’t stay here forever,” Irales pressed. “Let’s just get this over with.” 

Kris nodded as they approached the door. They gripped the stiff handle and turned it, having to pull back harder than they expected to open the door. Upon entering the room, each of them froze. They looked up in awe at the technological marvel that stood before them. A large machine with several wires, pipes, and cables at its top chugged steadily as it produced large sums of energy throughout the area. The center dome of the engine glowed an orange radiance that cast a copper tint against the lightners and darkners below. Four large dials rested at its base, and at the side stood a monitor and keyboard. The machine gave many clicking and chugging sounds with every passing second. 

“What is this?” Lancer inquired. 

“I guess it’s a generator of some kind,” Asriel replied. 

“For what?” Susie asked. 

“I guess for this entire facility, or whatever it is.” 

“I know what this is,” Noelle said, recollection flashing across her eyes. “This is the CORE engine.” 

“How do you know that?” Ralsei questioned. 

“The humans that helped my dad mentioned it. They said the scientist made this as an energy generator.” Noelle looked around the large room, taking in the scale and walls. “If I had to wager a guess, I think we’re in the bunker to the south of Hometown.” 

“The bunker?” Susie interjected. “You mean all this is underground?”

“It seems likely,” Asriel added. “So, this is where the humans were stuck all this time…”

Asriel fell silent as a feeling of guilt crept its way down his back, leaving an ice cold sensation. Looking around, he could only imagine what it must have been like to have been trapped in these rooms and halls for over sixty years. Kris put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed. Irales rolled his eyes, putting his lone hand on his hip. 

“Shouldn’t we be trying to find that human right about now?” Irales pushed. “We did almost just get purged from existence after all.” 

“Yeah, that’s the big thing right now,” Asriel buried his emotions and nodded. “Kris and I will search around this area. Everyone else, break off into small groups and search the rest of this place. He’s bound to be here somewhere.” 

Dispersing into groups of three aside from Kris and Asriel, the others headed into the adjacent rooms to continue their search. Asriel stood looking at the CORE, the sunset glow painting his white fur a reddish color. Kris looked around to make sure the others had dispersed before approaching their brother. 

“I know,” Kris comforted their brother. “I saw it in your eyes.”

“I just… still can’t believe they would do this. Mom… Dad… Carol… Rudy… It’s one thing to know the truth, but to be here, and to see where all those humans were forced to stay… It’s just… something else entirely.” The two sat in silence for a moment. “I guess we should probably get looki-”

Asriel stopped mid-sentence as the ground began to shake. He looked to Kris and then to the far wall. Despite the thick walls, a sound started becoming clear to them. The same roars and cries as before. The room then turned a bright red as several alarms on the surrounding walls began sounding off. A loud siren screeched from the CORE engine as an automated voice began playing a message. 

“WARNING! WARNING! ENERGY OVERLOAD DETECTED! TEMPERATURE OVERHEATING!” 

Asriel rushed over to the keyboard and monitor at the side of the engine. He stared, panicked at the mess of files and applications strewn across the monitor. 

“Kris, go!” he shouted. “Make sure the others stay back! I’m gonna try to stop this overload!” 

“What? No! I’m not leaving you!” Kris retorted. 

“I’ll be right behind you! Just get the others to a safe spot!”

“Do you have any idea how that’s built?”

“No… but I’m an engineer; I’ll figure something out. I have to!”

Asriel began opening various applications and executables, searching desperately for what controlled the engine’s cooling unit. He looked over his shoulder to see Kris still there.
“What are you waiting for? Get them out of here!”

“Asriel… You’re the best brother I could have had. I… I love you.”

“I love you too, Kris. But we won’t be loving each other in this world for much longer if we both don’t get moving!” 

Kris nodded and moved swiftly into the adjacent rooms. Searching quickly through each, they eventually found Lancer, Susie, and Noelle. 

“What is happening?” Noelle yelled in a voice as alarmed as the alarms still ringing. 

“The engine is getting overloaded,” Kris answered. “I think that thing from before is heading this way.”

“Shit! Where do we go?” Susie shouted. 

“And what are we doing about that CORE doohickey?” Lancer asked. 

“My brother’s trying to figure that out now,” Kris asserted. “We need to get as far away from that engine as possible.” 

“Look for one of those voids,” Noelle noted. “They’re still popping up all over the place. That will get us out of here!”

“All right, did you see any down this hall or in any of these rooms?” Kris asked. 

“Unfortunately, no,” Lancer answered. “I guess they didn’t get their spontaneity permits for this area.”

“All right, we’ll go down the hall the others checked and see if they found one.”

Kris headed back towards the engine room while the others followed closely behind. Once inside, the shaking was becoming more intense, especially noticeable on the engine as it rattled loudly. 

“Don’t stay there much longer!” Kris called out. “We don’t know how long that might hold!” 

“I think I might be onto something,” Asriel yelled back. “Just focus on getting the others!” 

Entering the other adjacent door, Kris and their friends wandered quickly through the narrow hallways until they nearly smacked right into all six of the dark princes. 

“W-What is the siren all about?” Eslira nervously asked the moment they came into view. 

“It’s the CORE, and we need to get as far away as possible!” Kris declared. “Did you see any openings to any dark worlds down here?”

“There were a few scattered throughout the last few rooms,” Aelsir announced. 

Seeing little time to waste, the group of fluffy boys led the others down the hall and into one of the far rooms. Lairse signaled each of them to quickly enter inside the nearest pixelated opening. Kris turned as several of the dark princes entered into the void. Their brother had not yet returned. They began heading back towards the hall as they felt a shaky paw land on their shoulder. They turned to see it was Ralsei. 

“Kris, come on!” he pleaded. 

“You go! I’ll be right behind you!” Kris ordered. 

Ralsei gave a look filled with anxiety before he turned and stepped into the nearest opening, followed closely by Susie, Noelle, and Lancer. Kris made their way swiftly back to the engine room. They saw their brother still typing away on the keyboard. Jets of steam were whistling from various parts of the engine and the shaking was now making it difficult to properly stand. Kris attempted a sprint towards their brother, but the shaking ground forced them to a walking pace. 

“Asriel, forget it!” they shouted. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Just one more second, Kris! Just one more sec-”

In a bright flash of red and orange light, Kris was knocked off their feet and crashed against the far wall. Several embers clung to Kris’s clothing as they lay on their side, momentarily unconscious. As their blurred vision slowly began to make out different shapes in their surrounding area, all Kris could hear was a loud, droning ring in both ears. Catching their breath, they tried to push themselves to their feet. They fell over immediately, body still shaking and attempting to adjust from the impact. As they got to their feet again, they saw that metal and debris were piled up against every wall, and the doors were blocked. 

Turning slowly to the center of the room, they saw the engine with a large, gaping hole in its front and shards of metal and glass accompanying it. It was on fire, inside the engine and escaping out of it, radiating heat to the surrounding area. Kris stepped forward slowly, not bothering to put out the embers still clinging to their shirt and pants. Only one thing was on their mind. 

“Asriel…” Kris whispered. There was no reply. 

“Asriel,” Kris spoke louder. Still no reply. 

“Asriel!” Kris shouted. But nobody came. 

Their lips quivered as a piece of paper slowly swished and floated down before them. The edges were charred but the writing on it was still legible. They fell to their knees and stared at the lone page. The handwriting was most familiar to them. 

“Dear Secret Diary, I didn’t think I was ever going to do one of these again. But I guess I’ve got one more secret I wanted to get down after all. I’ve been thinking a whole lot this semester, and I’ve learned a lot. Not just the school stuff, but… some more important things. While I’ve been keeping these thoughts secret, I guess… Really, Kris, these thoughts are for you.” 

Kris’s vision became blurry as tears began to form in their eyes. Several embers fell from their shirt onto the paper and began to slowly burn away the page. 

“I realize now that I can’t keep running away from this big █████ forever. It’s not fair to you. What happened… what ███████ the humans in the town, and to you… It may not have been my fault. █████████  my responsibility. ████████ run away anymore. I’m not █████████ for your sake. I’m going to take ████████ discovered something incredible. And I think I have a plan. It’ll be scary, but… we’ll be strong. We’ll ████████  we’ll do it together. Right, Kris?”

As the page was slowly burned to little more than small ashes on the ground, Kris could not bring themselves to act. They knelt where they previously were, shaking and staring at the remains of the note as two lines of tears slid down their cheeks. Shock had taken hold of their mind and heart, and they could not bear to face reality. They did not want to think. They did not want to feel. They did not want to know. They lowered their head as they gritted their teeth. 

The page. The last piece of their brother that they had left. Gone. With it had gone their hope. 

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… This… this is all my fault…” 

A loud cry echoed through the large chamber as the far wall began to give way, causing Kris to pick their head up. They instinctively crawled back only to find themselves falling. The dark squares at the edge of their vision gave them just enough time to recognize they had gone through one of the voids that had been popping up before. They landed on another cold, hard floor. From the look of their arms and nearby surroundings, they saw that they were back in the dark world and in a small, cluttered room. The void above them sat open for only a moment before closing just as quickly as it had opened. Kris pounded the ground with a fist and dug the fingers of their other hand through their mess of blue hair. 

“Asriel…” they hysterically choked, their brother’s name straining their grief. “I’m so sorry… If it wasn’t for me, none of this would have happened…”

“Unfortunately, that is true,” a voice called out from behind them. “Some things are our fault, even if we are not to be blamed.” 

Kris whipped around, tears still sliding down their face as the man in white armor came into view, standing with a piercing gaze. Next to him sat a box with three small notched holes in its side. Their eyes remained fixated on the box. The longer they looked upon it, the more that they could feel their past squeezing panic all throughout them. The cramped walls. The stinging feelings of experimentation all about their body. Even when they could not recall from memory the tests, their body remembered the feelings. And the star. That glowing white star that gave them hope but always spun just out of reach. 

Beside the container stood several shelves, bins, and tables with an array of human-like body parts. Arms, legs, torsos, heads with featureless faces. The sight made Kris feel sick to their stomach. They knew where they were. The box, the body parts, the man. It was the very place they were created. Their mind started to spin, head began to pound, and vision became clouded with static. However, their current emotions overwhelmed their trauma. 

“You… you…” Kris started. 

“A means to an end that went on to feel love and compassion. I must admit, in more ways than one, you became more than I expect-”

The man was cut short as Kris suddenly lunged and grabbed the man by his neck. 

“I’ll kill you!”

They threw him to the ground and got on top of him. Despite their compromised vision, they punched him in the face before summoning their sword and holding it up to his neck. 

“If it wasn’t for you, he’d still be alive! My brother would still be alive!” Kris screamed, as more tears slid down their face. 

“Ah, more excitable than I thought,” the man said, the site of the blow beginning to swell. “Creation, have you ever heard me say anything that was truly false?” 

The sword in their hand shook as Kris tried to tell themselves that the man was lying. Another roar abruptly echoed throughout the room, and Kris got off the man and looked all around. The man got slowly to his knees and feet, a bit dazed from the attack to his head. He looked at Kris, almost as though he was analyzing them. 

“This next game will be very, very interesting…” he muttered. 

“We already played the game. And we reached the end! At least as much as the end would allow!” Kris shouted back. 

“What are you talking about, creation?” the man formed a slight smile. “The game is only starting.”

Kris glared angrily through their warped vision as the man reached behind him and took out a strange looking device. It had a sharp point at its tip, a button at its side, and a triangular symbol on its front. Beneath the triangle read the word “Change.”

“The time has come…” the man started. “For another gift.”

“I won’t take it,” Kris barked, the blood within their body boiling like a volcano. “It’s my choice now!” 

“Even when it is your choice, you are still too predictable.” The man pointed to the sharp tip on the device. “Into the light that only you can see. And then press the button.” 

Kris gripped their sword as an agitated growl escaped their mouth. 

“A decision must be made.”

“Nothing… in this world… will make me do what you say.”

As they stood their ground, that floor once again began to shake, and the cries sounded once more. The man walked by Kris and placed the device in their hand as he approached the end of the room. They momentarily examined the strange tool before catching a white glimmer in their peripheral vision. Looking back up, they saw before them a glimmering white star floating beside the nearby box. No doubt the same that Kris recalled glimpsing many years ago, when they were trapped in that same box. It spun and rotated endlessly, giving off faint gleams of white starlight and the tiniest of fragments with each twirl. 

“It is not I or a player who will again make you a piece of a much greater game,” the man explained. “You will be the one to do it yourself.” Kris looked at the gleaming star and device before turning back to face the man. “I knew you would come. Just as I knew that they could not help themselves… They wanted to see more.” The walls shook uncontrollably. “The piece you were… the part that they controlled… it is still there.” 

“I am myself now!” Kris argued. “You can bury my choice, but you can’t take away who I am!”

“True. Quite true,” the man lamented. “However, the only way that we are all here is because someone wanted to see more. And you better than anyone what that means.” Kris’s heart sank. “They did not care if they needed to take back what they granted you.” 

Kris just stood there and looked down. They did not know where or how, but they knew. Someone was watching. Someone was watching all that had happened to them and their friends. They looked again at the device in their hands and back to the man. 

“And what if I don’t?” they shouted. “What if I don’t use it?” 

The wall at the far side of the room gave way and soon after became nothing as the distorted entity approached. The man stared at the dark silhouette at its center before turning to Kris. He smiled. 

“Then it ends here,” he answered. “It ends here… for all.” He raised both his arms up as the being drew near. 

“It’s all your choice.” 

The man allowed himself to be consumed by the entity. The growing mass of purging dark continued to grow as another unearthly cry emanated from the center of the mass. Kris stood motionless, but for their blue hair whipping around from the updraft whirling around the ominous being. The silhouette approached at a steady rate as Kris stared at the strange figure. As weird as it seemed, they felt like there was something familiar about it, but not something they could identify. Something deep down that they could feel. 

They turned to face the glowing light next to them. They watched it turn over and over, glimmering, as if the entire world around them had slowed. Its white light reflected in their glossy eyes and the tears streaming down their cold face.

Maybe it all should end here , they thought. 

There would be nothing left, but it would prevent anything else from happening. But their world… their family… their friends… their brother… Kris moved the device forward, unconsciously clenching it in their hand. 

Things will stop. This will all stop if things end here , they told themselves. Every trouble and conflict would cease to exist. Every negative emotion, terrible consequence, and unimaginable fate would become null. The one that caused this… who wanted to see more… they won’t get anything more if things end here… They will move on… and… Kris paused. So will we…

The metal floor beneath them began to split apart as the sharp end of the device entered into the endlessly spinning light. Kris felt their hands shake as their thumb hovered over the button on its top. They closed their eyes, the light so bright and the power it granted so strong that its image still shined within their mind. 

Mom… Dad… Asriel… Susie… Noelle… Lancer… Ralsei… Eslira… Aelsir… Irales… Sareli… Lairse… 

Kris knew their choice would decide their remaining fates and whatever came after an end like this. They and they alone would decide what became not just of them, but of everything. Their world. Their beings. The very essence of what made them who they are. It would always be their choice. The ultimate end all be all. 

They opened their eyes to witness their decision, their face devoid of expression. Every feeling they could feel had left them. They had lost everything. 

I’m sorry…

Chapter Text

Hometown was silent; without a monster in sight. Likewise, there were no signs of any entrances between the worlds of light and dark. Not a single void or pixelated opening. A gentle breeze stirred through the trees of the forest, which glowed bright orange in the light of the setting sun. A human walked through the trees; their head hung low and messy brown hair obstructing their eyes. The wind that made its way through the barrage of trees swept through their striped shirt. As they stepped past the outer tree line and entered the town, they looked around but saw nothing. Their head lowered further, their choices weighing on them. 

To their left, they saw the green of the Hometown church towering above them. The stained glass window above the front doors remained bright and distinct even with the sun set. The human looked upwards toward the glass, reminiscent of the memories they had of the place both in this world and another. With a final look around their surroundings as the last of the light faded, they pushed open the front doors and slowly entered inside. They made their way towards the sanctuary. 

Before them sat rows of pews stretching down both sides of the room. Lit candles were set into the tops of the pews, granting the room enough light to navigate. At the other end stood a great glass mural depicting an angelic symbol casting light upon a village in a grand valley. The symbol consisted of a large circle with a pair of feathered wings at its sides. Below the circle sat three triangles. The Delta Rune. 

The human’s gaze locked upon the mysterious symbol. The faith inside their heart became strained as they made their way down the center of the room towards it. As they stood before the scene, chock full of spiritual symbolism, their beliefs came into question. Had an Angel truly guided them? Had they been blessed to live a life of virtue? After all had come to an end, did the Angel’s kingdom arrive in all its divine glory?

They broke their gaze and faced the floor. All they could feel was regret, remorse, and sorrow so great that no Angel’s blessing would ever remedy it. They turned to the grand organ resting in the corner of the room, tilting their head. The church did not have an organ to their memory. However, what the church did or did not normally have mattered little to Kris in their current state. They slowly sat down on the seat in front of it. 

They covered their face with their hands, overcome with waves of anxiety. Each wave was an incomprehensible valley of sin, repentance, and misery. At least, in their own eyes. All they had lost. All that had happened. All that now seemed unclear… 

They picked their head up. Placing their fingers on the keys, they began to play a melody most familiar to them. A melody that came from within. The notes echoed throughout the room as they somberly continued. Drops of hot white wax slid ever slowly down the candles. A few of them flickered, and several near the center of the sanctuary blew slightly, as though something had just moved past them. 

Gazing at the organ but looking within themselves, Kris spoke the only words that came to them. 

“When the light is running low… And the shadows start to grow…” 

Their lips quivered. 

“And the places that you know, seem like fantasy…”

They gazed back at the mural and all it stood for. 

“There’s a light inside your soul. That’s still shining in the cold. With the truth; the promise in our hearts…” 

Tears slid down their face. 

“Don’t forget…” 

They closed their eyes. 

“I’m with you in the dark,” both they and another voice just behind them spoke. 

Kris gasped and whipped around to see- no one. In an instant, every candle in the sanctuary extinguished, leaving trails of smoke above the sticks. Kris’ heart beat faster and faster as a cool breeze swept about the room. Their eyes darted all about the room as it seemed to grow darker and darker. Before they could fully process it, it was already pitch black. They tried to stand up only to find themselves falling, into what seemed like an endless abyss. 

They closed their eyes as they tumbled, but it made little difference as everything had already gone dark. Just as abruptly as they had started falling, they landed. Flat on their back, they got a view of the sky above. Still dark. They pushed themselves up to find an all too familiar sight. It was not the dark world they had previously been to within the church. Rather, it was a chasm of cliffs, grey and dim and stretching on for a long way. The first place they ever saw in the dark world. 

They gazed over the cliff’s edge, and listened for anything. But there was nothing. Not a sound to be heard. Not even the wind which had been here last time. They looked all around but there was nothing to see. As they looked back to the cliffs, they walked so close to the edge that a small chunk of stone broke off and tumbled down below. They stared into the darkness, split between the motivation to step forward or pull back. 

The dark chasm below felt familiar to them. Empty, and with nothing left inside. It reminded them of the same chasm that now resided within their heart. It reminded them of every place in this magical world that was consumed to nothing. It reminded them of every friend they ever had who now had their fate decided against their will. It reminded them of all they had lost. It reminded them of their brother. 

Closing their eyes, they picked up their foot, about to take a step. Just then, a strange feeling came over them. Their heart jolted like it never had before, and a steady beat began. They opened their eyes and put their hands over their heart before looking back to the chasm below. Even with nothing left, they figured that this kind of thing was never easy. Taking one last instinctive look along the flat cliff beside them, they froze. They could make out a figure a ways away on the path of the ridge. It looked like a person. 

Kris took a step back from the edge and made their way down the path of the cliff. They kept their eyes locked on the figure, but it remained motionless. The closer they got, the more that their heart beat, unusually fast Once close enough, they noticed something most peculiar about the attire of the being. It was theirs. Right down to the pink cape and their armor. A feeling of uneasiness crept through Kris. They felt as though they had left their own body. 

After getting within ten feet of the being, Kris stopped. Their heart was pounding fast. Much faster than even a panic attack. They gripped the shirt beneath their chestplate and felt the beat. It was out of control. Keeping their gaze on the figure through it all, they were about to utter their first words to it. But as it slowly turned around, the words escaped them. They gasped quietly and took several slow steps back. It looked just like them, but had no face. 

Continuing backwards, the being began walking towards Kris. It felt as though with each step closer, Kris’ heart beat faster and faster. They gripped their chest as they turned and ran. Two small thuds echoed from behind them. As Kris turned back around, they saw that its arm braces had fallen off. Two deformed hands were revealed underneath, red and dripping with blood. 

It drew one hand to its face and began drawing slashes across the blank, cyan skin, blood left in the wake of where it touched. As soon as the first drop of crimson liquid touched its flesh, Kris felt a sharp pain across their own face. It felt as though a blade was slicing the same pattern across their own face. They felt across their face at the sites of the pain, only for it to feel more sharp and severe. Looking back at their hand, it too was now covered in blood. Their blood. The cuts were real. 

Kris screamed, in part from shock but also from pain, as each slash felt as though it cut down to bone. Their sight blurred scarlet from their own blood trickling and then gushing down their face. They fled, covering their face, but shortly tripped over their own panicked feet. Their heart beated faster and faster, and it could only mean that the being was getting closer. They wiped the blood from their eyes as best they could, but more continued to pour down. They forced them open through the stinging sensation. The being stood right before them, blurred. 

It leaned forward as if to gaze upon Kris’ face. As it drew closer, Kris began to hear something. Voices. Many voices. Perhaps hundreds of voices all calling out and screaming over each other. The sounds danced all about Kris’s mind as they clamped their hands over their ears and closed their eyes. They could still hear them. They fell to the ground and thrashed, trying to shake off the sounds and the pain, but it was unending. After realizing the futility, they removed their shaking hands from their ears and opened their eyes, the entity still there. The lines on its empty face began to glow a vibrant red. There were six, some overlapping others but with no pattern or cohesion. 

They closed their eyes again, but the burning image of the glowing lines shined through just as the glowing white star had previously. The image glowed so bright that it began engulfing everything. Kris could no longer feel the rest of their body. Just the sight of the lines within their mind. The pulsing red glow had now consumed everything. 

Kris sat upwards on the side of their bed, staring ahead with the bright glow of the image still imprinted on their mind. As it slowly faded from their subconscious and their sight returned to normal, the crimson red color of the image stuck within their pupils. The same red that had previously shone within them when they were being controlled. 

As they sat tensely on the bed, they could hear the sound of the front door opening downstairs. A voice called out. 

“Mom! Kris! I’m home!” 

Kris remained where they were, shaking as their eyes darted all around their room. What happened? What was all that? What did any of it mean?

Regardless, one thing was clear. So clear, the words could be seen across Kris’ bright red eyes.

Loaded Changed World