Chapter 1: Entry One: OLD Draft
Summary:
This first chapter covers the end of Act One and the very start of Act Two, from Odile's perspective.
SPOILER WARNING: This contains references to Act Three, most particularly Odile's friend quest! If you haven't seen that, GO PLAY THE GAME. Matter of fact, DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU'VE WATCHED OR PLAYED THE ENTIRETY OF THIS MASTERPIECE. I'm not kidding. Why would you be here if you haven't seen the source material????Content Warnings for this chapter: None! At least, not any out of the ordinary for ISAT Act 1/2, besides some light memory loss confusion.
Without further adieu, I hope you enjoy reading, or at least find it neat. Oh, also, feel free to comment your thoughts when you're done! I love those!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS FIRST CHAPTER IS THE ORIGINAL FIRST CHAPTER POSTED IN FEBRUARY. THOSE WANTING THE NEW AND IMPROVED STUFF SHOULD START FROM CHAPTER 2 AND BEYOND SINCE CHAPTER 2 IS THE SAME AS CHAPTER 1 BUT BETTER WRITTEN.
Feel free to read this first chapter anyways. It's fun to see how an author improves! I just want to make sure people don't get confused.
It’s the final stretch of the journey. All that’s left is to get to the top and face the King, so we can finally end the curse.
The orbs worked like a charm and allowed us to unlock the grand door that blocked anyone from entering the House of Change.
To help calm Mirabelle’s nerves, you headed a rather exhausting tutorial to make sure everyone’s caught up to speed with the strategy and what to do in battle against the threats up ahead. Right after that, the team (or more accurately, Isabeau) runs into a locked door. You still can’t imagine how he didn’t see it coming.
Siffrin took the lead, as always with these locations, and immediately located the key, which was lying on the floor in the side room on the right. We could have just moved forward, but they took the time to bring us into the other room. It was a good thing he did, since it was filled with tonics, crafted water, and other supplies for Boniface to hold on to in the event anyone needs it later on.
Siffrin finally inserted the key and unlocked the door, but then they got distracted by… something. You aren’t quite sure, but they said something about a “light”, and it looked like they briefly reached out towards… well, there wasn’t anything you could see. He claimed he “received a good omen”, and as much as that doesn’t sound right it isn’t the time to pry. Besides, you rushed it along anyways, so no point in checking now.
Oh, Gems. You’re taking too much time with this. You don’t have that luxury right now.
<You quickly jot down a much more brief rendition of what you just went over in your own head in one of your notebooks.>
Where were you? Right. You’re in the so-called “Death Corridor”, as Mirabelle put it. She was quite anxious about it, given she startled everyone by bringing us to a (literal) screaming halt. Based on what she was saying, this room might be trapped. So, Siffrin is checking for traps, giving you this much-needed moment to yourself as everyone else sits out of the way. You make sure to note this down as well.
Not too long ago, or specifically at the second to last village the party stopped at before reaching Dormont, you figured if you aren’t going to find a familytale, maybe you should try and record the last stretch of the journey and make your own pseudo-familytale. You and the rest of the party – Siffrin, Mirabelle, Isabeau, and Boniface — aren’t exactly family , but you figure it might be close enough. You hadn’t been too serious about recording the journey even in the past few weeks, but with this being the final day you intend to at the very least get something down for such an important day. Besides — who knows if a historian one day might find a firsthand record of today very useful when putting this in the history books, if you manage to make it through and beat the King.
Okay, that’s more than enough for now. You’re getting too engrossed in your thoughts right now. This room is trapped. Siffrin’s done checking for traps anyways. You close your notebook.
“...So??? Are we safe? We’re not safe, are we, this is the Death Corridor… The older housemaidens kept saying people died there!!! So there must be a trap-- Something weight-sensitive, or something! Or, or!!! Maybe it’s time sensitive! If we spend too long here…!”
“There’s nothing weird in here.” Siffrin stated quite bluntly.
“But there must be!!!”
“Aw, Mira…” Isabeau starts.
“Belle, Belle, don’t worry about it. Frin isn’t good at many things, but they know stuff about traps.” Despite being a preteen, Boniface manages to be the most sensible out of everyone sometimes, even more than you.
“Right. If we can’t trust the one who’s supposed to lead us THIS early, this won’t bode well for later…” You add on.
“But, but–”
Siffrin speaks up again. “We’re not dead yet, are we?”
“Well, that’s true…”
Huh. He’s right. Nothing’s happened yet. “We HAVE been in this room for a while… and Siffrin has been walking everywhere, so if it was weight-sensitive, something would have killed him by now.”
“Exactly! It’s all fine!” Isabeau chimes in.
“Oh…” Mirabelle pauses. “...yeah! Yeah, okay! I’ll believe you! Sorry… for worrying… I’m a little on edge…”
“We’re good, Mira.” Siffrin reassures.
“See?” They go to stand in the middle of the hall. He sticks out his tongue, and with a smidge of playfulness in their voice, they say “Everything’s fine”.
You barely even have time to react or process anything. A boulder drops directly onto Siffrin. Somehow, SOMEHOW, some way… a boulder… decides to drop at that exact moment. What impeccable ti… ming…
You smell burnt sugar.
and you f e e l y o u r s e l f
f a
l
l
i
n
g
Loop 1
<Back to Square One.>
You’re standing idly in Dormont’s Shop, looking at what’s being offered and thinking of what supplies you need to get for tomorrow’s fight against the King. For some unknown reason, you stumble slightly. Your mind feels slightly foggy.
It feels like… It feels like you’ve forgotten something. Something important. Did you forget about something you need to get? Was there something else you needed to do? Is your old age already getting the best of you and your memory? Surely not. What could it be, then?
You open your notebook to double check the shopping list you made earlier after some consulting with Boniface and the others, but mostly Boniface since they’re going to be on snack duty tomorrow. They were adamant on making sure you get enough flour and other ingredients for their cooking.
Upon opening the notebook, it’s clear you haven’t forgotten anything on the shopping list. However, something’s off. Everything on the list is crossed out already, but you haven’t even purchased, let alone found most of the supplies on the list yet.
…Something’s weird.
Notes:
The first chapter is kept as the original version of the first chapter because apparently the work updated counter only updates if a chapter is added so I had to make the rewrite a separate chapter. If you read the original AND the rewrite, what did you think? was it any better???? did I make a good improvement?????? Let me know. I love feedback. It's great. Also wow I need to get the hang of this ao3 formatting thing.
Chapter 2: Entry One: First Draft
Summary:
bursts into the room heaving and covered in blood for literally no reason. HI GUYS I'M BACK WHAT DID I MISS I HOPE I'M NOT TOO LATE. what do you mean it's been nine months since the first update. Whoops! Sorry about that! Life happened.
This first chapter covers the end of Act One and the very start of Act Two, from Odile's perspective.
SPOILER WARNING: This contains references to Act Three, most particularly Odile's friend quest! If you haven't seen that, GO PLAY THE GAME. Matter of fact, DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU'VE WATCHED OR PLAYED THE ENTIRETY OF THIS MASTERPIECE. I'm not kidding. Why would you be here if you haven't seen the source material????Content Warnings for this chapter: None! At least, not any out of the ordinary for ISAT Act 1/2, besides some light memory loss confusion.
Notes:
Disclaimer: This is the first time I've ever tried my hand at fanfic or anything. HOWEVER I am still going to do my damn best to make a solid piece of fanfic because I'VE GOT A LOT OF IDEAS FOR THIS.
I have no clue if I'm going in the right direction for this because writing fanfiction is unfamiliar territory, but here I am anyways.
How far will I take this fic and idea? I have no idea. All I know is that regardless of how long my ADHD riddled brain goes inbetween writing chapters is that I'll constantly be thinking about this fic every day of my life until I finish it. This has been a constant since I originally posted the first chapter back in February. There has been basically not a single day I haven't reminded myself about continuing this fic. since FEBRUARY. I wish I was jokingANYWAYS you're probably asking "Jarp where have you crabbing been it's been like NINE MONTHS since the last update??? We thought you were dead or something?????"
well. the long and the short of it is that life hits you like a freight train. I wrote like 75% of the first chapter in a mixture of in a hour and a half class block and a bus ride home and finished the rest of it at home. It was a weird and stressful time back in February. NOT ANYMORE THOUGH!!! I'M GETTING MY SHIT TOGETHER!!!!! Also the ISAT hyperfixation is back in full swing and so is the motivation to write this bad boy. Hopefully it stays.
Basically, I've been around lurking this entire time. As some of you probably know. I am NOT dead and neither is this fic. My ass is just suffering from a chronic case of ADHD so... yknow.
ANYWAYS back to the point.
Why this lengthy update in the notes?
Why I'm glad you asked, that my friend is because I REWROTE THE ENTIRE FIRST CHAPTER TO MAKE IT FAR BETTER AND MORE UP TO PAR WITH MY WRITING SKILLS. feels good tbh.
GO READ IT A SECOND TIME IF YOU SAW THE ORIGINAL. and yes, I will keep up the original version, on a google doc linked in the ending notes.
thas it folks. I won't keep you any longer. it's reading time. besides the chapter summary.Without further adieu, I hope you enjoy reading, or at least find it neat. Oh, also, feel free to comment your thoughts when you're done! I love those!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
This is it. Tomorrow, once we enter the House, there is no going back. Once we step foot in Dormont’s House of Change, the only way out will be taking down the King, finally snuffing out the curse once and for all. In the grand scheme of things, though, the window to turn back had passed months ago, at least for me. There was no way I could stand by and let it be decided on its own. No matter what happens, it ends tomorrow. Could use the break.
Your eyes run back over the last entry you wrote in your notebook last night, in the clocktower. It was good to get that off your mind while you had the time. A clear mind will serve you well in the House.
The orbs you all collected over the months had worked like a charm on the House’s massive entrance gate. It unlocked, and allowed you all inside.
Upon running into the first of what likely will be many sadnesses you’ll encounter throughout the House, you initiated a not-so-brief “tutorial” (it was more of a review than anything) to calm Mirabelle’s nerves and make sure everyone was caught up to speed. While doing so, you had a light amount of fun putting Siffrin and then Isabeau on the spot with a pop quiz on craft types and resistances.
Right after that, the team (or more accurately, Isabeau) ran into a locked door. You still can’t imagine how he didn’t see it coming.
As always, Siffrin was leading the advance. On both sides of the door, there were hallways into other rooms. Siffrin took the one to the right of where we came in and immediately found the key. We would have just moved forward, but first he brought us to check the other room. It was a good thing he did, as it was filled with tonics, crafted water, and other supplies for Boniface to hold on to in the event anyone needs it later on.
With that detour over and done with, Siffrin had unlocked the locked door so we could continue onwards, only to get distracted by… something. You have no idea what it was that they saw, as you didn’t see anything new. They briefly mentioned something about a light, and reached out in front of him. He claimed to have “received a good omen”, after the fact, which left you equally confused. You rushed it along after that and continued through the door, as there was no point in dwelling on that weird moment. Part of you wishes you hadn’t, but there’s no use in trying now.
Oh gems, how long has your mind been wandering off on this recount of today’s events? You need to wrap up this thought. Time is not your friend in the House.
You can’t go for the comprehensive method of journaling, so for now a brief summary will have to do for now. Hopefully, you’ll be able to get back to this later on.
You jot down a quick paragraph in your notebook recounting your entry into the House.
Where were you? Right. You’re in the so-called “Death Corridor”, as Mirabelle put it. She was quite worried about it, given she startled everyone by bringing us to a (literal) screaming halt. Given how she’s the only one in the party who actually has experience with the House in any way, it only made sense to be extra safe and check for traps, especially if it helps calm Mirabelle’s nerves. You… worry about her sometimes. Being the Change God’s chosen is some seriously debilitating pressure to be put on someone. Defeating the King will give everyone some much-needed respite, but especially so for Mirabelle.
Anyways, Siffrin was off checking the room for traps, giving you some much-needed time to yourself to sit and write this all down.
Not too long ago, at one of the last towns you stayed in prior to reaching Dormont, you figured: if you aren’t going to find a familytale, you might as well make your own pseudo-familytale, and at the very least record this last stretch of the journey. You and the rest of the party–Siffrin, Mirabelle, Isabeau, and Boniface–aren’t quite family, but you figure whatever the five of you have going on is close enough to count for something.
Truth be told, You hadn’t been too serious about recording the journey even in the past few weeks, but with this being the quite possibly your last opportunity to do so, you intend to record as much as you can about your experience. Besides, you imagine a historian would find great value in a firsthand written record of the journey through the cold, stale corridors of this twisted palace, although that first requires you all to make it out of this final expedition alive.
…Okay, that’s more than enough for now. You sigh. You’ve gotten engrossed enough in your own thoughts for the time being. Time to get back on your guard. This room is supposedly trapped, after all. You close your notebook, and adjust your glasses.
As it turns out, you wrapped up just in time, because Siffrin finished checking for traps right around when you finished. Given the fact nothing has sprung out at him, or dropped down from the ceiling, it appears Siffrin hasn’t found anything to worry about.
Mirabelle takes a nervous step forward. “So??? Are we safe? We’re not safe, are we, this is the Death Corridor…”
“The older housemaidens kept saying people died there!!! So there must be a trap-- Something weight-sensitive, or something!” Mirabelle breathes out far too quickly. “Or, or!!! Maybe it’s time sensitive! If we spend too long here…!”
“There’s nothing weird in here.” Siffrin reassures.
“But there must be!!!” She insists.
“Aw, Mira…” Isabeau starts.
“Belle, Belle, don’t worry about it. Frin isn’t good at many things, but they know stuff about traps.” Despite being a preteen, at times Boniface somehow winds up being one of the most sensible people in the party, occasionally even more than you, although it comes with far less tact.
Looks like it’s your turn to speak up. “Right. If we can’t trust the one who’s supposed to lead us THIS early, this won’t bode well for later…” You can’t help but tag-team with Boniface to reassure Mirabelle.
“But, but–”
Siffrin speaks up again. “We’re not dead yet, are we?”
“Well, that’s true…”
Nothing’s happened yet, that’s for certain. “We HAVE been in this room for a while… and Siffrin has been walking everywhere, so if it was weight-sensitive, something would have killed him by now.”
“Exactly! It’s all fine!” Isabeau chimes in agreement.
“Oh…” Mirabelle pauses, and takes a breath. “...yeah! Yeah, okay! I’ll believe you! Sorry… for worrying… I’m a little on edge…” It’s quite understandable. We all are on edge, after all. Only difference is that you’ve got far more experience with that, so you’re better at holding it together most of the time.
“We’re good, Mira.” Siffrin says with a smile. They’re usually not one to speak often, but he definitely helps to ease the tension in the room.
You see Siffrin standing in the middle of the hallway.“See?” He sticks out his tongue, and with a hint of playfulness, they say “Everything’s fine”.
and then
with impeccably cruel timing
a boulder drops from above
and lands directly
on top of siffrin.
you barely get time to react to the gruesome death of part of your… family before your vision begins to cloud with static.
your sense of smell is overwhelmed by that of burnt sugar.
and moments later
you feel as if the ground has given way beneath your feet
and
f
a
l
l
Loop 1
<Memories may be forgotten, but the written word shall live on.>
You’re standing idle in Dormont’s shop, eying the shelves lined with various kinds of food. The light pours into the shop from a high window to your left, fortunately not directly into your eyes. You’re pondering what other supplies you need to get for tomorrow’s fight against the King. At least, you think that was what you were doing prior to stumbling and nearly falling backwards into the store shelves. Fortunately, you caught yourself quickly enough to avoid causing a complete mess in the shop. You… don’t have a clue as to what could have caused you to stumble backwards like that. Your mind feels slightly foggy.
You pick yourself up off the floor and brush off your pants. You quickly glance at the floor where you stood just before this embarrassing accident (which, fortunately, nobody is here to see). This doesn’t make ANY sense. The cobblestone floor of the shop is far too smooth for you to have tripped over something. So… what could have it been?
Well, it doesn’t really matter, you suppose.
There’s a more pressing thought at the moment to focus on. You have an oddly strong intuition that there’s something glaringly obvious missing in your memory, that you’ve forgotten something. Something that, obviously, at least to some part of your subconscious, was important.. Did you forget about something you needed to get? Did you forget about an errand you need to run? Was there something else you needed to do? Is your old age really getting the best of you and your memory? You’re not THAT old, so surely not. But, if not, then what gives? Why are you so certain that you’ve forgotten something?
It probably isn’t that complicated. So, you open your notebook and flip to the page where you kept today’s shopping list. You put together the list earlier that day after some consulting with the others, primarily Boniface as they’ve got the job of Snack Duty for the big day tomorrow. They were very adamant on making sure you would get enough flour and various other ingredients for their cooking plans.
Upon checking the list, it was clear you hadn’t forgotten anything you had to buy. However, while you weren’t expecting anything special when you flipped over to the list, immediately something struck you as odd as you went over the list of supplies to purchase.
Everything on the list was crossed out. Every single item.
You have no recollection of doing such a thing, and you have no idea why it would be crossed out, since you’ve not even finished buying everything, and you have yet to find several of the items on the list yet.
You’ve held onto the notebook this entire time, so there’s no way someone else could have crossed it out while you weren’t looking.
…Something’s weird, and not in the way you’re used to.
Notes:
There it is. I hope you guys enjoyed this remade version of the first chapter. This little project of mine is only seeing the beginning so far. I really hope to get into the second chapter soon enough but we'll see where the ADHD train takes me. I don't know how long it'll take, but know that I am more or less invested in seeing this through at least to a decent portion. Especially given I have some uh. Ideas. for where I can take this. Ideas I can play around with.
Don't be afraid to leave a comment or something. I genuinely don't know how well this stands up alongside the other stuff here so thoughts or feedback or anything is cool.Also wow I really need to learn how AO3 posts work and formatting and all of that. This was a bit confusing to post an update to.
If you read the original chapter 1 AND the rewrite, what did you think? was it any better???? did I make a good improvement??????
BEFORE YOU GO, I want to mention I'm workshopping a new title for this fic that's more thematic and easy to differentiate, because uh, as it turns out, "paper trail" is a fairly common name for a fic and already used as AU names and I do kinda want people searching for related stuff to not get shown deltarune content instead of ISAT. you know how it be. also if you have any ideas I am all ears for your ideas!
oh I also already have some ideas/plans/beginnings for the next chapter so hopefully it's not gonna take TOO long
Anyways, that's all she wrote for now. See you guys soon, I hope!
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Last Edited Tue 27 Feb 2024 01:54AM UTC
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