Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Caleb’s POV

I sighed inwardly as Alphys rambled about the importance of Math in the future. Turning to the back row, none of them were giving any attention to the lesson, including Susie, who gave up completely on their grades and used the time to sleep instead.

Everything was fine right where it was in my opinion. Grades? Definitely not the best, but enough to keep out of the red flag zone. Having a phone and writing materials, they were more than sufficient to keep me company. I might not have had any close friends, but it was fine without them. After all, getting along decently with most of the other monsters is good enough. As for accomodation, there was an apartment sponsored by a certain police officer in the area, albeit not cozy as a house but still a roof over the head nonetheless. 

However, if there was one complaint that I would make about my current life, it would be the lack of events happening in school. Life was just so mundane… and I didn’t really care that much, but the entire day was predictable. The same shit happened Every. Single. Day. 

There was also nearly no change that occurred in Hometown. I had been through all the areas ever since my arrival here, so much that making it around blind was a simple feat. There wasn’t anyone who really moved in or out of the area aside from myself, and even that was a while ago, so there wasn’t really contact from outside the area. That’s also why the notebook in the apartment had been collecting dust, having nothing interesting to document at the moment.

Eventually, I drifted back to class, just as the lesson was about to end. Finally, thought to myself, eager to get out of the stuffy classroom. However, all of that got interrupted by Alphys. “B…before you leave, I have one… announcement to make.” There was a collective groan at the thoughts of having to stay a little more for whatever announcement there was gonna be. Usually, it was related to homework and quiz announcements, which left everyone numb at this point. However, what was heard was anything but predictable.

“Th..there will be… some humans j…joining us tomorrow as official s…tudents at o..our school. If I re…remember correctly, there are s..seven of them. There will be a school g…athering tomorrow morning, so report to the audi…torium. Well, that’s all class. Class dismissed” Shortly after, Alphys scurried out of the classroom, probably to go read her comics. 

This impromptu announcement left everyone abuzz. Most were very excited about seeing a human in person, even myself. I heard of them through stories in the library and knew some information about them - about SOULS as a whole, but seeing one, let alone seven, was but a pipe dream. Well, until now, that is.

Glancing around the classroom, where most of the chatter still had yet to die down yet. First, at the back of the classroom. I saw Jockington discussing with Catty about the humans and what to say to them. He seemed very invested in what happens next. Me too, Jockington. I thought silently. Susie remained indifferent to all the buzz, choosing a nap over thinking about any of this.

Next, towards the front of the classroom. First, Monster Kid and Snowy looked very excited, wondering how they would talk to these humans. I could pick up a “Howdy” from the conversation. Then, there was a certain blue-winged bird blabbering about how he would magnificently “introduce” himself to the humans tomorrow, alongside Noelle, who tried to listen along. Yet, the detail of her eyes flickering towards Susie once in a while failed to escape my eye. Someone really couldn’t hide their feelings ,  teasing her internally. Then, there was Temmie, who was just chilling in her seat, not really engaging with anyone. She seemed to be in her own world and I didn’t blame her.

Not having anyone to talk to, I swiftly gathered all my stuff and left the classroom, heading out of the school with a certain destination in mind.

***

Opening the door to Q.C’s Diner, I entered with my headphones over my neck and wallet in hand. Upon the ringing sound playing, QC, the owner of the diner noticed me, and gave a quick wave before returning to their tasks. Isn’t this diner never crowded? How is she so busy? Curiosity engulfed my mind trying to figure things out. Regardless, I quickly ordered a burger with a side drink before putting on headphones and turning on some music to listen to. I pondered over the announcement Alphys mentioned earlier. Humans, coming to Hometown of all places? On top of that, not just 1, but 7 humans . Why… Why would they bother to even step foot here? Nothing happens here! No matter how much I thought, there was nothing to connect any pieces together. A shout from QC to collect my food snapped me out of how deep my thoughts ran. Quickly disconnecting my headphones and rushing to the counter, clumsily taking out 7 light dollars from my wallet to pay for the meal, before hastily returning to my seat. Plugging in my headphones again, I delved into my thoughts even further while consuming the meal, and at some point making the decision to leave it for later and just focus on finishing up. I returned my tray with a wrapper and an empty drink can before leaving for my apartment. 

On the way back, the liveliness of these streets was prevalent. Turns out, the students weren’t the only ones excited for the humans’ arrival. No matter which corner I turned, there would be a bunch of adult monsters talking about the topic. It seemed the news of the humans really livened up the entire town and was the only thing the town seemed interested in right now.

Eventually making it to the police station, I poked my head into the area. Normally, Undyne would be inside the police station making reports on crime rates and details, but today she was nowhere to be seen. Probably doing her own stuff, I thought to myself. Beside the station lay a small apartment with stairs leading up to it. Slowly climbing up the stairs whilst taking out the keys for the apartment. Soon, the door clicked open and without hesitation, I rushed in and left all my stuff in one corner to rest for the night. The apartment wasn’t very spacious, but not exactly cramped up. There was a kitchen which was as good as new, contrasting the bedroom that looked like a warzone. I was grateful for Undyne sponsoring this apartment after…… never mind, some things are best not brought up. I took out the homework and spent roughly half an hour on it, at least trying to solve some of the dumb questions. 

Soon, the work became triggering to my weary mind, resulting in all of it being shoved into my backpack. Would things change after tomorrow? I lay on my bed wondering. Then, out of the corner of the eye, a notebook that had been collecting dust slipped into my thoughts. Normally, I would dismiss it as it would hardly be of any use. However, tonight was … different. I could smell that the days up ahead were gonna be unpredictable, or at least different from the mundane days. Perhaps, the time had came to use it. Getting up from your bed, I walked up to that shelf and quickly grabbed it from the dusty corner. Brushing the dust off the cover caused quite a bit of choking , but eventually it all settled down. I took out my trusty pen from my stationery case and started writing in it.

Entry #1

Hey. 1st time using this book. Well, it was a normal day till our cher announced that seven humans would be entering the school. This excitement isn’t limited to students, the entire TOWN is discussing this!

I will be writing down future events that happen in this book, and I feel that this book might fill up FAST. Anyways, I think it’s late now, so I should go to bed! Caleb, signing off.

I closed my now official diary for new events and quickly headed to where my school bag lay and placed it in. Afterwards, I laid on the bed for real and slowly drifted off to a peaceful sleep, hoping tomorrow would come fast.

Chapter Text

Caleb’s POV

The sound of my alarm blaring on the bedside jolted me awake. Normally, I could go for a snooze to catch on a little more sleep. From there, I would wake up quite late and would have to run with my not fully awakened self. Thankfully, not being a slowpoke as a scorpion, and with the school not too far from my apartment, I would make it on time.

However, things were different today. With the announcement from yesterday, for the first time, the excitement to go to school was there. I was very intrigued by the stories I read from the library and was looking forward to meeting these seven humans. I quickly closed the alarm with my pincers and got out of bed. Checking the time, 6:15, I was pleasantly surprised by how early I set my alarm to be. Despite there being more than one hour before reporting, I quickly grabbed my bag lying at the entrance from yesterday before leaving the apartment.

The first thing I saw after leaving was Undyne having a coffee break. Upon noticing my figure, she walked straight up in front of me.

“Hey, Punk! Going to school so early?” She taunted slightly.

“ No, I just got up early today. On top of that, I was thinking about…” , Quickly trailing off to my thoughts again.

“ THE SEVEN PUNKS!” Undyne cut in, roaring in sound. I would have appreciated it if she was a little quieter for the sake of both myself and the neighbourhood.

“NEWS OF THESE PEOPLE have Caused CHAOS YESTERDAY! And I put a STOP to all of it!!” She proclaimed somewhat smuggly. As the Chief of Police, Undyne took pride in her work, quite often flaunting to others, myself included.

“Well I gotta head off first. See you around, Undyne.” I excused myself and turned to leave.

“ SEE YA ROUND, PUNK!” Undyne casually destroyed my hearing before realising she should probably start her duties and set off.

That was certainly something , my thoughts wondered but I shrugged it off as normal. Undyne had always been that way, after all. I then headed to the store across the street from my apartment, looking to grab a quick bite.

***

The moment the automated doors opened, the cold air-con blasted over my body. I didn’t expect it to be freezing like this. Hometown was chilly but not cold like this, and I failed to see the necessity of air-cons - well, mostly because there wasn’t one in my apartment. Anyways, I barely came here because of the rush to be on time for school.

The voice of a lazy skeleton was heard from behind the counter. “Hey, kiddo. Wanna buy something?” That was unmistakably Sans, the one and only owner of this store.

“Shut up, Sans. I’m not a kiddo anymore.” I retorted back at Sans. He merely shrugs as if saying whatever and couldn’t care less. I was admittedly really annoyed by Sans but I didn’t outright hate him either.

After browsing across the shelves for something light to eat, a chocolate bar caught your eye, which I quickly grabbed off the shelf and headed to the counter. “1 Light Dollar” Sans calmly said with an over-relaxed attitude, his hand outstretched to take the money. I quickly handed over a single bill and left the store.

Outside the store, I wasted no time tearing open the wrapping to unveil the dark brown square of chocolate which looked really appetizing. Taking a bite, the chocolate instantly melted in my mouth. I proceeded to wolf down all of it until the realisation that it was all gone struck me. I silently noted about buying this chocolate in the future should there be time.

Eventually, the school made it into my sights. Checking the time, it was already 7:00 , leaving me surprised about how much time had passed since you left the apartment. As for the auditorium, it was on the second floor. Too lazy to use stairs,  I muttered as I headed to the elevator and jabbed the button. After a short while, the doors opened and I stepped in. They then closed and the elevator began its ascend. There were stairs, but I hardly used them as my classroom was always on the 1st floor. Technically, using the elevator was for the staff, but then it wasn’t really strictly enforced, and the number of times I ever went upstairs was little to none, so it should be fine. A brief silence was held during the elevator ride, only interrupted by the small ping signalling the arrival at 2F.

When I stepped out of the elevator, the traffic of eager monsters wanting to meet the humans was much more than expected. They must already be waiting inside , I assumed given that there had yet to be traces of them. Amongst the sea of students, I made out a few familiar faces like Berdly, Noelle, Susie, Snowy and Monster Kid, who were also curious about these humans. Despite rarely ever talking with them, for the sake of familiarity, I slowly made my way towards them. Then, after a little bit of waiting, everyone slowly started heading into the Auditorium. It was a miracle that I snagged a seat right beside my classmates before the masses settled down.

Maybe I should try to talk about all this with them, I decided to attempt to make small talk with that thought bubble. “Hey, Noelle.” You called out to her.

“Oh, hey, Caleb, excited about the humans too?” She greeted me back and asked, responding back with a “Heck yeah, I am!” . However, there was a certain bird that exceeded my levels of excitement about being able to show off his intellect with them. Unable to handle his yap well, I returned back to my thoughts until the reveal.

Eventually, the headmaster showed up to the stage, asking for everyone to be quiet. Unusually effective, you noted. Firstly, he talked about mostly administrative stuff which I’m pretty sure no one really paid attention to, except Berdly. What would they look like? How would their personality be like? How many will be in our class? These thoughts occupied me enough for him to  reach the main point of today’s hot topic: The humans.

“ Now, I know all of you have been waiting for this. Today, seven humans have joined us in our humble school. Now, without further ado, please welcome them with a big round of applause!”

At that moment, there was movement behind the curtain, and out emerged seven humans, all of different appearances. The hall erupted into a gigantic applause, reaching the peak of excitement that had built up since yesterday. 

Eventually, I managed to get a good look, and quietly observed all seven of them. Some were considered good-looking and others, notably only two of them, blended with the background, which was relatable. Most of the humans were just generally gazing over the sea of monsters, but one of them wasn’t. She was scanning the crowd looking for someone. Then, her gaze fell on my figure for more than a moment before it quickly turned. With the introductions about to start, I didn’t really think much about that.

The one first to introduce was the one that was gazing at me earlier. She had yellowish hair and a red ribbon tied to it. Quite a good fashion choice. I noted down. She had cyan eyes, wore a light blue jacket and had a simple white shirt with pink stripes on it. “Hello everyone, my name is Emily,  I’m 16 and like drawing.” The voice seemed to be more silent and quiet. Upon finishing, she gave a light smile, which sent the monsters into a frenzy, a decent number being charmed by her cute appearance.

Next, there was a boy who was at least a head taller than Emily. He looked pretty brazen, confident and cool. He wore an orange headband around his head, and chose to wear orange clothes and pants with a slightly darker shade. Glancing across the hall, I could visually see the heart eyes of some of the female monsters. Contrasting Emily earlier, this boy had a resounding voice. “Hi Guys! I’m Felix, 16, and crazy about SPORTS!” The smile he gave after was enough to cause a bunch of now fangirls of him to squeal like the world had collapsed. Just great, with sarcasm intended, knowing there was a new “clique” in the school. How was I going to handle all of this shit. Well, that’s for later I suppose.

The one after Felix seemed to be very graceful, having a very confident stance but not in the way Felix had. Instead, it was more calming, at least to me. Wearing a somewhat old ballerina costume with ballet shoes for whatever reason, she then glanced at everyone and introduced herself.  “Hello everyone, my name is Beatrice and I’m also 16, as with all the other humans. I’m a fan of ballet and spend most of my free time doing so. Nice to meet everyone too.” Her voice seemed to be right smack between Emily and was cool and crisp. I sensed she was a person with her own morals, and I’m looking forward to the “morals” she had in mind. 

Up next, there came a boy with a pair of thick glasses on him. He definitely seemed less confident than the previous two, and I could feel him shaking in his legs. He had a purple jacket, but I couldn’t tell much else at the moment. He scrambled to walk out and proceeded with his brief introduction, albeit in a very soft tone, seeming to be more timid than the others. “I’m Percy, Nice to meet you all. I enjoy studying and writing, that’s all.” Compared to the rest, he didn’t receive as much of a cheer. I supposed that was good for him. Well, I’m glad that someone else was also interested in writing too, but a certain bird two seats down was laughing like mad, likely because he felt they were both nerds and had lots in common.

Then, before even seeing the next human, there was an unexpected number of whistles and screams. No, they can’t be fangirls, Deducing as I noticed the sound was not high-pitched squealing but mainly from the male monsters. Before I could even see her, she began her introduction. “Hi, everyone. I’m Amber. I hope to get along with everyone here. I am also a fan of cooking and enjoy making food for others and myself!” I managed to hear a much more feminine voice than the other 2 females earlier. Finally,  catching a glimpse of her, I could understand the hype from earlier. To say she looked good was a severe understatement. She was stunning in appearance, having her hair tied up in a ponytail as well as wearing a cute apron. To top it off, the frying pan she held in her hand was while concerning, it felt in place with the rest of her.  This almost got my heart racing but I did control myself. 

Whilst trying to focus on the next human, I unexpectedly heard a gunshot across the Auditorium. For a second, worries surged that there was a terrorist, but the realisation of it being a fake shot hit me. Before I could think about it any further, there was more fangirl squealing. OH GOD, NOT AGAIN, I desperately wanted to scream in agony. Seriously, I’m gonna stay the heck away from them. Where the stage once was, left a wall of smoke, gradually moving away to reveal this human. He wore a cowboy hat, and had a BB gun in one pocket. Must have been what he used to shoot earlier. He also had that cowboy look, which probably just scored him a fanclub. Finally, he introduced himself to everyone. “Howdy everyone, I’m Benjamin and a certified glazer of the Wild West! I’m a huge fan of Western Stuff!” His voice was husky and deep, yet still had that childish tone in it. It didn’t take a genius to figure that Snowy was gonna be very excited with Benjamin. Well, having to deal with fanclubs seemed to be an impending nightmare for everyone else

Finally, it came to the last human. Well, he or she… well they silently walked out from the curtains to the centre stage while everyone stared at him. Their introduction was painfully short though. “Kris…” They said out before turning to leave. Well, that was certainly something, wasn’t it . The introductions were definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. The headmaster then came up one last time for his closing speech. “ Thanks to all of them for introducing themselves! They have been assigned randomly to different classes, so you will be able to talk with them. You can check their posting at the noticeboard later. I hope all of you will make them feel welcomed here. That’s all I have to say.” He then left everyone, signalling it was time to head back to class.

A lot of monsters were rushing to the noticeboard back downstairs, particularly the fangirls and those charmed by the human girls. I didn’t need to do that though. I merely took the elevator down and prepared for the loud talking going on downstairs. Eventually, when I arrived at the first floor, there was no need to approach the noticeboard to know the outcome. Based on what intel gathered after a measly 30 seconds, I knew that Emily and Amber were in the same class, and so was Felix and Benjamin, to which I could only sigh in dismay knowing what the fangirls would do. Then there was Beatrice who was alone in yet another class. Must be tough being the only human in one class. And then, there was Percy and Kris, which I heard that they were going into my class. I’m glad that some humans joined our class, now that I could observe them better.

Discreetly, I wanted to know how the class dynamics would change with these new additions. Eh, I’ll just let this play out.   For now, I headed back to the classroom, preparing for the complete change of dynamics.

*** To be continued ***

Chapter Text

I reached the classroom where there was still a lot of chatter going on, but definitely on a lesser scale than at the Auditorium. Percy and Kris, huh. These two had the most ambiguous introductions earlier, so I don’t really have much info about them, but I wanted to get to know them better.

Right at that moment, the classroom door opened, and Alphys entered, followed by Percy and Kris. ” So, um… Percy and Kris…, this is t..the class you guys will be in…. I’ll assign you…r seating for you. Kris, you will be in front of … … Su…Susie . As for Percy… How about beside Caleb? Yeah, that’ll w…work, please s…seat down and we can begin c…class.” Kris went to the back of the class and sat in the seat in front of Susie, who had fallen asleep before the lesson even began. Then, Percy took his seat near me, where he silently took out all his materials. Without further ado, the first class - Math  - began.

Not even five minutes into the lesson and there was already a shift in class dynamic. Obviously, no one was paying attention to the actual class and instead had their curiosity directed towards (mostly) Kris and Percy. While most of the class was silently observing the two of them, guess who was the only one directly yapping in front of them? Yup, it had to be that bird-brained Berdly, clearly trying to show off his nerdiness to them, not hesitating to bring up all the A+ test scores and honorary awards he had received from the school. I noticed that Percy was struggling to deal with the situation, supposedly overwhelmed by Berdly shoving all that down his throat. Would this guy ever stop? Clearly not, as he likely could continue till the world’s end.

I was getting really pissed at Berdly due to him not only annoying me but the rest of the class too. Eventually, I felt the urge to intervene in his talk. “Berdly, I think you should shut the hell up.” It came straight from my thoughts as well as the agreement of most of the class.

“Ah, Caleb. As you can see, I’m engaging in Intellectual conversation with this person. Clearly, a simpleton like you wouldn’t un-” Berdly immediately rattled, but I wasn’t fazed.

“Clearly, you’ve not only annoyed the class, you also made Percy feel uncomfortable. And it’s his FIRST DAY here. Cut him some slack would you.” I quickly shot back, leaving him speechless.

“Heh, I WILL be back.” Berdly fumed before turning back to pay attention to class. Well, I’m glad that settled for now. Wait, how is the human doing? That thought struck me and I turned towards Percy. “You doing ok?”  I gestured to Percy. He gestured back something incomprehensible, but I could roughly make it out to be “I’m better now, thanks!” Then, I tried to do the same with Kris, but unfortunately they seemed pretty unresponsive. They looked dull and dead on the inside and no matter how probed by others, wouldn’t say much. It was useless to try any further for now, so I decided to focus back on the current lesson for now, as did everyone else.

***

After a long wait while entertaining myself with pen twirling with my claws, Math had finally finished. I whipped out my timetable for a quick look at the schedule. PE, huh? Well that’s “certainly” gonna go well. My crappy memory has made school work hard enough, don’t even get started on running, especially long-distance ones. Short distance running was fine, but the longer ones would drain me and leave me almost dead spiritually for the next day or two. Well, better get going if I don’t want to be late. I was about to head out to change into my PE attire when I heard a small voice call out “Wait!” Turning around, I saw Percy getting up from his seat and looking at me, wanting to say something. “Um, thanks for earlier I suppose.” He thanked me for cutting Berdly off earlier.

“No problem, now let’s head to PE.”  Wait, did I just invite him to go with me? “I actually have to head to change first though.” I quickly added at the back.

“Wait… This is my 1st day here in this school, do you mind me tagging with you?” He earnestly asked me. Normally, I would shrug off any monsters who did that, but maybe because it was indeed his first time here, I couldn’t bring myself to say no.

“I guess you can tag along with me.” Offering him to come with me. Percy quickly made his way to my side and we headed to the toilet.

“So, how’s life in Hometown?” Percy asked me out of curiosity.

“Well, I suppose it’s fine. It’s a small place, and we all get used to it.” I responded back. It was boring before you guys came though, adding internally. “So, you’re Percy right?” He acknowledged with a nod. “How was life…… well, before coming here?” It had been a while since I came to Hometown, and wondered how the outside world was doing.

“ Hmmm, I think it was alright I guess. Oh, and by the way, I haven’t asked your name yet. What’s your name?” Percy responded. “ You can call me Caleb.” I introduced myself.  “Oh ok, Caleb, Nice to meet you!” He gave a small smile back as we arrived at the toilet to change.

After we changed into our PE shorts, we quickly headed to the field, but not before we exchanged a few more words. Percy asked about how knowledgeable I was, to which I joked that it was pretty much average.

“Anyways, how are the other humans like?” I asked one last question

“ Most of the outside ones—” He attempted to answer before I interrupted him. “No, I meant, these humans. The ones that came to our school.”

Percy seemed to be caught off guard for a moment before resuming “Oh, you’re referring to them. Hmmmm, I think they are mostly nice as well, but their personalities, in fact, all ours, are very contrasting to each other.” Well that was definitely interesting. I nodded my head to acknowledge before we actually entered the field.

***

Upon entering, I could immediately tell that we were having a joint class. Oh GREAT, just GREAT. How did I know? Well, seeing the mob of fangirls that seemed to be surrounding a part of the field, it was pretty obvious which class it was. After the mob easened a bit, I could see two handsome figures in the centre. I freaking knew it, I sighed in exasperation. Whispering to Percy, “ That’s Felix and um… what was it again… Oh yeah, Benjamin, right?”, to which he responded with a nod. “They were also [retty popular in our previous school.” Percy whispered back to me. I supposed fame always carried over if you had a good looking face. I really hoped this would die down eventually, otherwise it might snap a few veins…

Soon, a crisp sound of a whistle blowing was heard.  Everyone rushed to gather in front of the PE teachers who had decided for this joint class. My PE teacher was a relatively chill orange octopus-like monster, who usually wore sunglasses and a sweatshirt to class and didn’t really intervene that much as long as we were doing the tasks well.

On the other hand, the PE teacher of the other class seemed to be more… short-tempered. He was a bull head with a ring in his nose, and had a very loud shout reserved for whenever people were doing below his expectations. And it seemed like today would be no exception…

“ ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP YOU MONKEYS! TODAY WE WILL BE DOING…”

Please no running, no running, no running, no running , no running…

“LONG DISTANCE RUNNING!”

Fuck.

Well, I was screwed for this hour of the day. A groan was let out by some monsters, including myself. I couldn’t do an endurance run without panting or having a skill issue, leaving my PE teacher quite concerned with my fitness level. Glancing around, there was at least a third that was wallowing in despair just like me, and another third which were determined to be on par with the 2 humans (AKA the Human Simps) and another third just neutral. I then felt a nudge and found it was from Percy. “What are you waiting for, let’s go and do it!” He said it in a semi-enthusiastic tone. Finding myself reluctantly getting up and heading to the start point, I quickly vanished to the back of the hoard of monsters raring to go.

“Ok, listen up. The run’s gonna be about 3 rounds around the field. Oh, and you’ll be timed. Everyone ready?” I sure as hell wasn’t but not like I could voice out anyway. “Alright, ready… Get set… GO!” The floodgates immediately opened and everyone started running.

Damn it, 10 seconds in and I wanted to quit already. Already, there was no qualms distinguishing the fast from the average and from the slow. Obviously, Benjamin and Felix were both almost leading the two classes, not even looking the slightest bit exhausted. Not so far behind were either the actually good runners in the monsters like Susie or just the fangirls desperately trying to catch up with the two handsome humans. I could never understand why such things would happen, and I likely never would. Then, there were the average monsters who were just trying to do their best in this run. They weren’t too in front, but weren’t so behind either, leading to mostly average scores in these factors. Kris was sort of in this category, albeit the bottom half but was faring decently.

And then, there’s the slowpokes, a category which I fit in perfectly. If the line wasn’t obvious enough in the earlier two categories, it’s pretty much undeniable here. I was trying to fight for my sanity and survival and it was applicable to most people here. While Percy was slightly faster than me, he still fell into this category, much to my surprise. Oh well, doesn’t matter. At least that bird is behind me, I thought as I watch him have similar trouble. I might be slow, but I would never ever lose to him. Never. Ever.

All this running was pure physical pain. For every step I took, the pain multiplied by thousands. Every breath I took, felt like a gasp for relief. Just end this stupid run already, I prayed earnestly yet they seemed to have gone unnoticed as I had just finished lap 1. Meanwhile, Felix and Benjamin seemed to be having no trouble at all, with them eventually overtaking me halfway through my second lap. At least, most of the fangirls seemed to have slowed down. Then, Susie almost knocked me away, yelling “GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!” as she continued to overtake me. I desperately wanted to stop all this, but despite being bad at running, I wasn’t gonna leave it like this. Feeling the urge to finish my laps, there was a slight confidence boost in my legs. As I wrapped up lap 2, most of the fangirls were basically walking their final lap, seemingly exhausted from running frantically in the first lap. As a result, thanks to my consistency, I somehow managed to catch up to them and even pass them. At around the same time, Felix and Benjamin finished their 3 laps and were already resting in a corner.  Just… One… More … Lap, I panted like a dog and my legs were already jelly, but it would all be fine.

…

Turns out, it was not fine. Yes, I did finish my third lap, but that came at certain costs. Firstly, the moment the lap was finished, it resulted in an immediate collapse in my legs that refused to function any further. I barely managed to drag myself to the resting corner before laying on the ground to roast in the sun, my scorpion tail almost crushed by all my weight but I couldn’t care less.

At that moment, I heard a voice and saw a figure above me. “Caleb, how you doing?” It was Percy, who had concern on his face. “It’s fine, I’m used to all this…Urgh… It’s fine.” I dismissed it with a smile. After a brief moment of silence, he got up and told me that I probably should get up soon. Some struggle later, the coaches gathered everyone and had to reveal EVERYONE’S scores. Unfortunately, my timing was nothing short of below average, coming in at 13:35. I could hear some murmurs from the fangirls and whispers that  “He’s nowhere near Felix or Benjamin…” but ignored it regardless. Needless to say, these two got sub-10 timings and an opposite reaction triggered among the fangirls that I wished I could unhear. Kris got 11:15, Noelle not that far behind, Percy got 12:49 and Berdly - well at least I wasn’t dead last.

After the run, the two classes managed to convince the teachers to let us have free play - Well, this was an opportunity to do nothing so I was secretly grateful as I sat back at the rest corner and watched everyone else rush to play dodgeball. There weren’t any monsters in this rest corner, save Berdly. Other than the time Berdly tried to talk to me about Quantum Physics, which I just, or tried, to explain that I wasn’t in the mood for that. “Heh, You’re a simpleton, get it? Once a simpleton, always a simpleton!” Berdly retorted before sitting back down to rest. I proceeded to focus on the game. On the court, it seemed that Felix and Benjamin were on different sides, with Percy on Benjamin’s side and Susie being on Felix’s side. There wasn’t much that was visible over the flying balls, but it eventually came to a stand down between the two hot guys, with everyone else being eliminated. It was a tough showdown, with lots of balls being hurled around, but eventually someone had to cave in: Benjamin delivered the final blow to Felix, settling the match once and for all. Half the court was cheering, the other was in some kind of sadness and disappointment. More matches went by and eventually, the school bell rang, signalling everyone’s favourite period: Lunch.

Well, time to head to the cafeteria. I got up and headed back to the school campus. Despite not having done a lot, boy was I famished! When I got there after changing back to normal attire, there wasn’t much traffic yet, to which I breathed a sigh of relief but knew I had to get all my food. And Fast. Firstly, I quickly took a tray and stocked my bread and apple juice. Then, I grabbed a couple pieces of tiramisu, today’s dessert, and quickly got in the not so long line. After some more monsters came in, I saw Percy enter quickly with many giving him looks of curiosity but not really questioning him either. He glanced at me, took a tray and instantly joined me in the queue. “Hey, Caleb!” He greeted. “Hey. How was the game earlier? And how are there so many monsters not here yet?” I cooly asked back.

“Firstly, the dodgeball was actually cool and I had quite some fun! As for your second question, well… let’s just say most of the monsters are holding a Q&a session…” I was left dumbfounded. “ But how did you get past them? Aren’t you also a human too?” I might have phrased that wrongly, but out those words came anyway. Continuing regardless, Percy told me :  “Well, I’m not so visible to them, and so is Kris, hence only the other 5 are being question bombed.” Before being able to comprehend, there was suddenly a rumbling coming from the cafeteria door. “What’s… What’s that sound?” A sense of anxiety creeped up my chest as I turned to Percy for an explanation. “You’ll see…” He ominously said to me. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU’LL SEE…” The fear settled in as the rumbling was practically outside the door right now. I could hear a bunch of squealing and screams behind it, which only increased my fears even further.

“Motherfu-” Before I could even finish, the doors opened and the flood came in. I couldn’t recognise anyone in the big circle, as it was near impossible to see through the crowd. This quickly made me realise that my class probably had the most tame reactions in the entire school. This crowd better disperse fast, I hoped but it didn’t seem like it would be happening anytime soon.

As it reached my turn to collect my food, the big circle had split into two smaller ones: One surrounding Felix and Benjamin, which were mostly female monsters, and the other were around the human girls, where a mixture of both genders of monsters were around. The female monsters there just wanted to talk and hangout with the 3 of them, while the male monsters were just admiring their figures, especially Amber for whatever reason. Not that I knew anyway.

Soon, I got all my food and went to find a seat. I quickly settled for the table closest to the corner, not wanting to deal with anymore bullshit. Soon, Percy was done with his too and chose to seat with me of all places. “Huh, thought you’d want a seat closer to … well the other humans.” I half-jokingly asked him. “Nah, I prefer someone I’ve been more comfortable with.” He told me, which caught me off guard. Someone actually enjoyed being around me? Like hell that ever happened before. It was still a first though, but I managed to mutter out, “Thanks… I suppose…” He responded that he was glad to be around me like this.

We then continued to observe the mob of monsters, who were still tailing all the humans despite them trying to queue up for lunch. “Dang, that’s way too much for me to handle. I’m actually so grateful about not standing out to that extent.” He confided with me, which I wholeheartedly agreed with. For now, I just decided to continue eating my lunch, alongside Percy.

Quickly, we finished our food and proceeded to return our trays to the cafeteria staff. Meanwhile, the crowd had settled down but were still awfully close to the two tables the humans were at: One for the male humans and the other for the female humans. “Well, let’s get out of here.” I told Percy before heading to the door.

As I was walking past, I decided to glance one last time at the crowd. Yup, the exact same as earlier, just as I thought. But then, you noticed some differences… Specifically at the girls’ side. As most of the monsters were bombarding the humans girls with questions, the dancer, I think it was Beatrice, was responding pretty well to them, giving them the answers they wanted. Amber and Emily on the other hand were more awkward and were towards the backseat. Amber was desperately trying not to get any questions directed to her and looked anywhere else but the crowd. However, what I discovered next gave me quite a shock, even more than the crowd initially.

Emily was looking right towards me. I couldn’t even deny that she was looking at something behind me. No, it was directed towards me specifically. But why…, wondered through the mind, but the more important  question was how to respond back without being awkward as shit. I quickly made eye contact for a short moment, but before managing anything else, the atmosphere got way too stiff for my liking and I immediately turned out to leave,not bothering to check the reaction afterwards. I couldn’t show this awkwardness to Percy, who I was steadily getting closer to.

Once we were both out of the cafeteria, Percy immediately swooped in with a question “Yo, Caleb, earlier, did you…” Shit, did I already get discovered for earlier? I was sweating bullets, praying his question was anything but about that, cause there was nothing I could explain about earlier. “...... did you not like the food earlier?” You were frowning while eating after all.” Well, that was surprising to ask  but at least I could bury the earlier situation. “Oh, I guess I prefer other foods over this…” I quickly recovered and told him.

On our way back, I could hear some of the monsters whispering. “Oh my god, Felix and Benjamin are sooooo hot….. Sighhhhhhh…”  as well as “Have you seen the 3 girls? They’re damn pretty… Can I score a date with them?” I felt myself instinctively shake my head, but dismissed it quickly and arrived at the classroom. There, we saw Kris just taking a nap. To approach or not to approach? I questioned myself before settling for the latter. Shortly after, most of the class was back and the later half of the day began, with Alphys entering the room.

***

There wasn’t anything too exciting that happened in the next three hours. The first half, Geography was boring as hell. Whatever went into my ears went out immediately after that, resulting in me copying Susie: Taking a nap for that period. It wasn’t like I’m gonna use it next time anyway, I assured my own self. Then, there was chemistry, which was a little more interesting than earlier, at least I didn’t fall asleep - Susie still was though. While I still didn’t absorb much from the lesson, Berdly mistaking the wrong chemicals was damn hilarious, and was probably the only thing that stood out from this lesson. Eventually, the bell rang, and it was dismissal. 

 I was about to head back to my apartment when I was stopped by Percy. “Caleb, do you um, wanna go with me to the library later?” I paused for a moment before agreeing. Sure, why the hell not anyways. Not like that’s anything better to do. Tagging along with him, we left the school, but we could still see a crowd, which by now I figured what it was related to. It’s been one day already, how is it not calm yet? I could only question as the noise gradually softened.

To be continued……

Chapter Text

Very quickly we arrived at the library. I looked at the sign. “LIBRARBY” Jeez, when was the town council gonna fix this goddamn sign. It’s been there longer than I’ve ever been here! Well, whatever, we’re here let’s just head in.

The moment I pushed the door to the library, I felt the air con for the 2nd time of the day blow onto my body. Thought that it was manageable after the store, but the first exposure still hits hard. Then, when I stepped in with Percy, I immediately encountered Berdly, standing behind the counter. “Berdly, what are you doing here? Behind a counter instead of studying?” I couldn’t help but ask. Immediate regret came right after as Berdly started about his volunteer work. “Ah, Caleb. You see, I came here as an assistant for the librarian. It was when……”

“Spare me your life story, I’ll just head upstairs with Percy.” I quickly ignored him and quickly nudged Percy to follow me, leaving Berdly still talking about his story. We quickly passed by the computer lab that was currently in use, and took the stairs to the 2nd floor. Other than a blue and yellow striped bird that was engrossed reading a book in one corner, the area was mostly empty. Why does no one come here? It’s severely underrated. Oh well, more space for us I guess. I shrugged, not knowing much about what everyone else did after the school day, save a few.

Soon, we settled down in one of the tables towards the side of the 2nd floor. “Ok, why did you bring us here in the first place?” I asked Percy, who replied “Simple, where else to study and have fun?” I could feel myself clicking my tongue, knowing damn well I was gonna suck at it, but I could feel that Percy knew how I would react and reassured, “Hey, don’t worry! I’ll help you for topics you don’t know!” Well, it was nice for someone to reach out, but I’m probably gonna forget all this shit in like 5 seconds. Still, wanting to be respectful to Percy, I accepted his help for the classes and it began.

The first part was about math. He reinforced some concepts that were important and corrected most of my misconceptions within one hour. On top of that, he had also taught me how to handle some of the trickier question types, which surprisingly improved my skills a lot. “Never thought someone could help me reach this level…… Thanks, Percy.” I showed my gratitude towards him. Still, he merely replied, “No problem, but we’re just getting started.” Wait fudge - I’m not ready! I screamed internally. Well, shit, time for round two.

In the second round, he decided to bring up Chemistry, and sure as hell didn’t fail to surprise me. All the pieces I struggled to piece together in class all fell into the puzzle perfectly. It felt like a “Eureka!” moment as answering questions became much easier. And it was Percy who was saving my ass right now. How he was this smart was a legitimate question, which I decided to bring up. “Percy, I can’t help but wonder how much you’ve studied in the past. Must’ve been tough huh…”

“Well… I did enjoy studying a lot and I always aced my class until…… I prefer not to talk about it…” He slowly got softer and softer. I immediately flustered and quickly assured him, “It’s ok, you don’t need to bring it up until you’re comfortable.” Like I never did and never will……

We recovered before checking the time at the clock . 5:30. Time flies when having fun huh…… “I think I’ll have to head home for dinner.” Percy said, and while a little sad, I squeezed in one last question. “Where and how do you live?”

“Oh, other than Kris, we are split between 2 of the 3 houses in the northernmost part of town based on genders. To not invade privacy after all.” He explained to me that the human boys were going to have dinner soon and he should head back.

“Wait, can I get your phone number?” I asked him, expecting him to not do so. However, I was proven wrong when he wrote a string of numbers on a small piece of paper and gave it to me.  

  “You should message me later tonight! Oh wait, I should go…  Bye…… friend……” He gave a small smile before heading down the stairs. Friend?? My mind was racing thinking about what he had just said. Was he just the first…… friend I’ve made here? Thinking about it for a moment, I could feel a little smile on my face. Well, I supposed it would be really nice to have someone I could call a friend. It made me feel really warm in my gut as well as some form of happiness.

6:00 seems like a good time to leave for dinner…, so I decided to jack in some headphones to listen to some music. Might as well enjoy the air-con a bit more after getting used to it. At some point, I recognised a certain track in the song. Oh, hell yeah, I screamed inside my head, not outside for obvious reasons, and started jamming to the song. There were many kinds of songs I enjoyed, but this one certainly took the cake. The tech beats, intensity and overall mood of the song were absolutely perfect. Now showing much movement other than nodding the head a little on the outside, I was jamming like crazy in my heart, screaming like a deranged monster. 

As the song came to an end, I wasn’t just smiling internally. It was also showing on the outside my hyped emotions. Welp, onto the next so- Before being able to change the song, I felt a tap on my side. Great, how is it already so late? Turning around whilst slowly taking off my headphones, I asked “Well shit, is it that -” And then immediately shut up because who was there was completely unexpected. Instead of being Berdly or the librarian……

It was a human. Specifically, it was the girl who I made the most awkward eye contact ever in the cafeteria. She had her bag with her, implying she came directly from school. That… really brought up the incident, making myself feel a little embarrassed for meeting her of all people right now. Welp, guess I should try and greet her. “Um… Hey.” Fuck, that came out bad. I scolded myself for probably the worst first impression ever made in life. “You’re um…” What was her name again? I dug through my memories. Oh yeah, got it. “Emily, right?” I asked her politely.

“Yeah, nice to meet you…” She seemed to be extending her hand out before quickly retracting it, perhaps out of shyness. Weird, but whatever.

“Well, nice to meet you too!” I told her, and she somewhat perked up from it, with a small smile blossoming on her face. Great, now I can move onto other things. “So, Emily, I’ll ask you something first. Why did you come here in the first place? No one really comes here often, not even me.” I put on a calm facade in front of her, trying to probe an answer from her. Her face turned the slightest tinge of red as she attempted to look at anything but me.

“W…ell, well, well, well you see, I erm… wanted a break from the crowds. It’s tough dealing with them.” I could somewhat feel her pain despite having never been popular before. “And I don’t really, well, enjoy being that popular like Beatrice and Amber do.”

“... Go on…” I gently nudged her to continue on.

“That’s why I can’t help but be a little jealous of those that can blend in without much attention like Kris, Percy and…” Her smile let loose quite a bit as she fiddled with her fingers, “and you……”

Shit, that was surprising, I was left in a brief moment of shock, desperately trying to hide a small blush. Never expected someone who was popular wishing for a quieter life. I suppose there’s always a first for everything. “Uh, thanks?” WHY DID THAT COME OUT! The atmosphere immediately quietened, given only the two of us were there. The sense of awkwardness was building inside, and I had to do something, fast. “Well, moving on from that, what do you do in your free time?” Might’ve been a lame question, but it was better than sitting in silence.

“Oh! Um, I do like making artworks” She began, “do you want to see some?” I nodded my head out of curiosity and asked for her to show them. “By the way, you should probably take a seat. Standing can be quite painful, after all.” She seemed to fluster for a moment before taking a seat next to me, her bag on the floor. Opening her bag, the book she took out looked like what I just called my diary yesterday. It screamed cyan being her favourite colour with the entire cover that way. She then opened the book and gestured to me some of her drawings.

Damn, I gasped in awe inside. The multiple drawings along the pages of the book all looked stunning. There were lots of details in the drawing and I could infer a bunch of stuff from them alone. Firstly, a cat was drawn at the bottom of the page with all sorts of stripes and details and although there weren’t any colours, it was still colourful. Then, there were pictures of other humans that were portrayed as kind and helpful. All of the drawings were masterpieces, and when compared to whatever I drew in the past, it was comparing a god to a peasant. “Nice drawings, Emily. Definitely better than what I could anyway.” I gave a nice compliment to her work.

“Thanks…” A brighter tint of red was on her face now. “I could teach you sometime if you want…” Her cyan eyes gazed hopefully at me, seemingly expecting an answer. Well, shit, I can’t refuse, I thought to myself. How could I after all?

“Well… I don’t really have anything to do, so I don’t see why not.” I gave a small smile at that, which didn’t go unnoticed by Emily. She gave a gentle and relaxed smile, giving me a fluffy feeling and putting me at ease.

“That’s great! As for the timing, how about Saturday evening?” Emily chirped in, to which I agreed - After all, I didn’t have any errands on that day, or any day in fact. “Ok! Pinky promise?” She then extended out her light-coloured hand again, wanting me to extend back. Without hesitation, I used my claw - The equivalent of a hand - and shook it back. “I don’t have pinkies, but sure!” She quickly retracted her hand, attempting to hide her face. I didn't know why but it didn’t matter for now.

“Oh, look at the time I need to go eat dinner BYE!” She shoved her sketchbook in her bag before grabbing it and quickly leaving the library, leaving me in the silence. That was certainly something , I thought to myself, not even asking for my name. Like with Percy earlier, I felt a sense of warmth, but this one was different. How, I couldn’t really tell, but something was definitely different. Could it be… nah, it can’t, I brushed all of these off. Anyways, what time is it? I looked at the clock of the library. 6:00 . About time, eh. I gathered all my scattered stuff from earlier and headed down the library. At the entrance, I saw Berdly, who was about to close the library. Upon seeing me, he immediately remarked, “Oh, Caleb, what were you doing up there?” 

“Just some studying… what did YOU do?” I snidely question. He quickly turned away muttering,“It’s none of your business, simpleton. Anyways, get out of here, I’m gonna go study once I lock up this place.” , before swiftly kicking me out. Not like I planned otherwise anyway. I’ll just go to Q.C diner again today, I decided whilst turning down the familiar streets.

As I got closer, I could hear a lot of chatter from that diner. What the hell is going on in there? Eventually reaching the door of the diner, the chatter was at its max volume. I opened the door a tiny bit and peeped in the diner. Fuck, it’s so crowded. Every single table was taken by monsters. What the hell? I scanned the area to check for what could be causing this much crowd. After all, QC diner had never been one to be a crowded place. None of the humans are here… . Well, if that wasn’t the case what was. I decided to listen in on the conversations, hoping it would make some sense. Over the noisy chatter, I could sift out some of it.

“Anyone got Felix’s number? I really really really wanna talk to him…”

“Amber looks so damn hot…… Wanna go up to her in the morning?”

“Benjamin was so cool… Haaaa…”

“I really wonder who these humans will end up with though…”

“Hell, it might be me!”

“Emily and Beatrice still look cool, it would be nice to talk to them……”

“Wanna see my fana-”

ALRIGHT, THAT’S FUCKING ENOUGH, I quickly shut the door before recollecting myself outside. What… What the hell was that? These humans only just moved in and ALREADY there’s this shit going on. I could feel a sense of anger and disgust in my body. They didn’t deserve this, no matter how I viewed it, and yet… why? Why do this? Hell, I almost went back in and wanted to knock some sense into everyone. No, I shouldn’t do that, I sighed, as said plans would only pull me into even more trouble. Instead, I focused on calming myself down from that burning urge of murdering the diner. The emotions stabilized and now, it was time to think of what to eat for real.

Well. this diner’s out of my list, alright now what to get. I considered ICE-E for a moment, but then remembered that Pizzapants was constantly bragging about his online girlfriend. Granted, I was glad for him but he seriously disrupted my peace. Feeling he’d likely be talking about the same things again, I decided against it. Screw it, just go to the store,,  I dragged my legs on the sidewalk and headed to the store, having a craving for a certain item.

Entering the store and ignoring the goofy skeleton standing behind the counter, I quickly found where the chocolate bar was this morning. “How is it already out…” Staring at the empty shelf where it once was, I then desperately glanced around for something to eat. Then, a cup of instant noodles caught my eye. Well, let’s just go for that. Grabbing the cup and heading to the counter, Sans was staring from the counter for absolutely no reason. 

“that’ll be 2 light dollars.” He calmly informed me as he once again outstretched his arm. I shoved the money into his arm (Or skele-arm) and headed to one of the boiling counters. Setting my bag on the ground, I used my pincer to partially open the top of the cup. Inside, there lay the condiments of the noodles. I took a glance at the contents. Perfect. I tore them all open and poured them into the noodles. After disposing of the empty packets, I opened the tap of heated water and watched it flow into the cup, making a satisfying “SSSSSHHHH” sound. Once it was filled up, I whipped out my phone and set a timer for 3 minutes before closing the lid with the disposable chopsticks that came with the noodles. 3 minutes may have passed insanely fast in the library, but it felt like an eternity here. This better hurry up, My stomach growled as the smell of the condiments were emitting out.

Soon, the ring from my phone came and I quickly reopened the lid. With some stirring with the chopsticks, it smelled very nice and was ready to eat. I grabbed all my stuff, got out of the store and settled at a nearby table. The noodles were not too hard but not mushy either, the condiments had mixed in with the boiling water, forming a reddish colour of broth. Time to take a bite . Using the chopsticks, I twirled a bunch of noodles and took a bite. 

The noodles melted in my mouth instantly. Flavourful and spicy, but NOT too spicy, just nice , as I downed the bite and swallowed it. I wolfed down all the noodles - after all, it was quite addicting. In a short span of 5 minutes, the cup was emptied of noodles, only leaving a small amount of broth inside it. Welp, it was nice while it was there , I thought as I disposed of the cup and the chopsticks in the nearby bin. Time to head back, I guess. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I headed back to the familiar apartment.

***

The door slammed open and I entered the messy apartment. Clothes were strewn across the floor, there was a trash bag waiting to be taken out, and the bedroom… We don’t talk about that. I placed my bag in the same corner and took out my phone. 7:30 . How does eating cup noodles take so bloody long? Trying not to ponder on the past, I focused on the present. There was some spare time, trying to clean the living room wouldn’t hurt. Well, after showering of course, I grabbed some of the cleaner clothes from the more… well, hygienic places of the floor.

After a satisfying shower that got rid of most of the exhaustion accumulated throughout the day, I began the “clean-up”  plan. “Alright, first the disposables.” I grabbed all of what should not be in an apartment, including most of my room, or at least whatever I could see. Then, using the trash bags from earlier, I shoved all these in. They barely fit, and I could see the bag at its breaking point. Shit, I gotta be fast, I rushed out of the apartment after closing the door and headed to the garbage dumping area that thankfully wasn’t too far from here. After successfully dumping them (They broke the moment I placed them in), I headed back to the apartment and took a look at the mess. How am I gonna organise this shit… Well, let’s try by type and function. 

Gathering everything into their various purposes, starting with clothes, necessities and then wants, I eventually found myself with 3 piles of stuff, with the rest of the living room mostly clean. Next, the clothes went into one of the wardrobes, and the necessities were neatly placed in the unused area of my apartment. As for my “wants”, I placed them in a corner of my room - perhaps it would come of use sometime.

Whew, all done, I collapsed on the sofa as if I finished a marathon, now what’s the time again? I checked the clock on my phone. 9:00. No way it’s already that late, I ran to get a glance of the outside: Practically pitch black. Well, what next? Two things came to mind. I fished through my bag and found what I needed: My diary and a scrap of paper containing a string of numbers. Opening up the messenger app, I punched in these numbers, and a contact popped up on the screen. ~studyworm. Yup, definitely Percy. I quickly saved the contact and opened the text box but paused for a moment. What should I text him about? Homework? Others? Life? I settled for asking what the house was like, and living with Felix and Benjamin.

“Yo. Caleb here. What's the house like? ”

“Hey, Caleb! Well, it’s fine I guess, it looks decent but isn’t so spacious, so we make the best out of it.”

“Cool. How are Felix and Benjamin?”

“Oh, they do fine. We may have different personalities, but surprisingly get along well.”

“Great to hear. Anyways, see you in school tomorrow. Good night, Percy.”

“Night to you too.”

I headed to my room and set my phone aside on the cupboard top. Well, guess I should write in my diary . Taking the pen out of my diary, I started writing away.

Entry #2

Well, the 7 humans entered the school today. All had different traits and a very lasting impact on the school. Just as I thought. I actually befriended one of them! His name’s Percy, he’s kinda shy but fun to talk to! I also met Emily directly and well, it was kind of awkward, especially the cafeteria. We did promise to meet on Saturday evening though, can’t help but feel excited. Regardless, I look forward to them in the future, along with the rest of the humans. Hang-out earlier was also cool. Anyways, I better head to bed cause I feel the next week will be VERY eventful. Caleb, signing off!

I placed my pen back in the diary and headed to the bag for the final time to place it in case I forgot it tomorrow. Time to get some sleep, I turned on the fan and quickly lay in my bed, gradually entering the world of dreams……

To be continued……

Chapter Text

“Hello?”

“......”

“Anyone?”

“......”

“What’s…… going on?”

“Caleb.” Wait, that voice - No, it can’t be!

“Who …… who are you? And what are you doing here?”

“ Don’t hide it. You know us, don’t you”.   Don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it ”Leaving us all behind, for yourself… How pathetic you are…”   

“No… Stop this……” Something was cracking, and it wasn’t on the outside.

“Running was all you could do…… Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable”  There stood a figure, shaded yet instantly recognizable. 

“LET ME LIVE IN PEACE!” Can’t take …… this shit…… anymore, stop it……. Please……

“Oh, dear Caleb, you don’t need to. Face the consequences of your actions”.  A lot more figures appeared behind the already prominent figure.

“ Suffer with all of us…”You cowardly fool…  A chant from the background. It was here, it was there, it was everywhere. 

“Why…… WHY! I REFUSE TO ASSOCIATE WITH YOU GUYS!” 

“We’ve only begun to have fun, Caleb. So, please, indulge us for your life.”

“Indulge us…… Indulge us…….” 

“...... please……stop……”

“ There is nothing that will save you. A traitor like you should be BURNING IN HELL.”

“Burn in hell…. With all of us….”

Get me out. GET ME OUT OF THIS FUCKING DREAM. PLEASE. I have…… I need a way out……

I have to wake up from this hell.

Get up, Caleb. Get up. GET THE FUCK UP - 

I’m not getting up. WHY THE FUCK IS IT NOT HAPPENING. Shit, I need to get away. Away from these bastards. 

“You cannot run from us… Join us……”  They were catching up, and fast. Wake up, Caleb, god damn it.

A white light shone in the distance. “Please… get me out!” Collapsing on the ground, I reached out for the shining light……

***

“DAMN IT!” I shot up from the bed, cursing the stupid nightmare. Checking my claws and hair, I observed the sweat rolling down these parts, more so than any of the PE sessions ever. Just a nightmare, Caleb, just a nightmare. The tension of the room could be felt in my gut, despite being the only one in the room. I checked the bedside. Wet, must be from the sweat. I convinced myself. Then, I scrambled for my phone for the time. 3:11. Dead in the night. Fuck this nightmare man. I got up from my lying position and stared into the nothingness. Why is it back? I swore it was over! No point in sleeping anymore today. They might appear again. I stood up from the bed, and attempted navigating out of the room. Fuck, the one tiny wedge of the floor almost made me lose balance. My entire body felt weak and shrivelled, I struggled hard and barely made it to the bathroom. Shakily using my claw to open the lights, I clumsily got myself to the mirror, and took a look at myself.

Black hair was as messy as ever, eyes gleaming a shade of purple. I opened my mouth, revealing the spiky yellowish teeth that had broken down the noodles yesterday. Claws, while shaky and weak, still looked its usual red. Nice. I smiled for a brief moment before observing the other parts of the body. Glance passing through the black shirt and the torn jeans at the kneecaps, it came to a rest at my legs. They weren’t red like my claws, instead having a brownish shade similar to a twig. So was the knee and the lower body. 

Ok, I’m still myself. Attempting to calm myself down, I paced around the apartment and desperately tried to ignore the nightmare. Not only did that fail, I successfully obtained a headache. Well, isn’t that great. Should just go out at this point. I grabbed a random coat from the wardrobe and a torchlight as it was going to be dark and possibly chilly, put my sandals on and walked down the creaky stairs down the apartment. Every creak sent shivers down my spine, in fear of tripping down. 

Not gonna lie, it was pretty chilly in the dead of night. In fact, more than the library or the store. Good thing I brought the coat, I thought while wrapping it around me even tighter. Scanning my surroundings, Hometown was dead. Literally. There was no remote source of light, not even the lamps that were supposed to be functioning. There wasn’t any movement within sight, not even Undyne. Even she needed rest. No sounds, not even footsteps, the only exception being the accompaniment of crickets in the background. It could be passed as an abandoned town with no life in it, hell, the night animals were more active. But maybe, in this instance, dead silence was the best. 

Probably the first time I’ve ever stepped out at night. I remarked, guess there’s a first for everything. It was impossible to make out any structural buildings or the road in fact, but that probably didn’t matter as no one would be driving. Well, time to put the torchlight to good use. At first, the stubborn torchlight refused to work, but after a bit of shaking and well, hitting, it managed to shine, giving a faint glow in the dark. Better than nothing, I guess. Moving further into the dark, my courage test began.

Ok, where should I go for today’s “Exploration”? I pondered. The school was down south so I was pretty much familiar with all of it. I had also gone to some of the northern houses, but there were three that I didn’t go to…… Specifically the three houses the humans were living in. It’s decided then. I turned left on the first intersection and headed upwards.

That house is already familiar, no wait, I’m not there yet. Is there a road going even further up? Is it here? No, it isn’t. Wait, I found it! Time to go up! After some searching, I found the road and headed up it, while Hometown remained dead throughout.

A twig cracked in the silence of the night, causing me to flinch and look up. There they were. I had arrived at the houses of the humans. Well, probably should be careful as they would be sleeping like a sane person would. 

Ok, first house. I gradually moved my torch from the pavement upwards. The light caught a hint of red and revealed a car on the outside. Seems like it’s been used for quite a while already, not bad, I nodded, considering the rare instances cars were being driven in Hometown. Next, the house itself. I moved the light up slowly to the porch of the house. Simple white, not that complicated. It was hard to tell the colour of the house itself, but it seemed to be on the brighter side. This double story house looks really cozy…… For a second, I considered finding a house like this in the future but brushed it off as a pipe dream.

Not bad, now for the second house. Heading to the left side, there were obvious differences. Firstly, the house was clearly smaller, at least compared to the previous one. There also wasn’t a car, understandable. There wasn't any design on it, just some simple horizontal lines. Plain and simple, I thought, in fact even more than the first. Was Percy living in this house? Or was it the girls? Not enough information, need to check the last one. I turned from this simplistic house and walked towards the rightmost house, torchlight still operational.

The final one. I shone my torchlight onto the walls, finding something new about this from the other two. These designs were well… not so simple. A heart shape, some complicated pattern, not that I know, and…… is that a diamond? Golly, these are some creative designs. The house seemed to be pinkish, from what I could tell, more than enough information already on who lived in which house. Clearly, it seems that the girls were more on the artistic side.

Well, that was fun, but it’s time to head back. I left the slumbering houses and turned down the road, navigating my way back where I came from. Just as I was reaching my apartment, the glow of light vanished unexpectedly. Clicked the button. No response. Damn it, it’s dead. I cursed at the battery of this torch, mentally adding batteries to my shopping list.

Entering the apartment, I set the torch on the ledge and reached for my phone for the time. 4:00. How much more time would I need to kill? I desperately tried to come up with something. Drawing, I reached for my diary, despite having lines on it, it was better than nothing. Grabbing the pencil case from my bag, I took out a pencil and got to work.

What to draw? Animals? The scenery? No, that’s rather boring, but what else was there? Oh, right. Sketching the humans seems more interesting anyway. I jolted my brain for how they would look. Not that it’s supposed to be good. You know what, SCREW IT! I’ll WING IT! Lying on the ground, I started on the drawings. 

***

God damn, these drawings fucking suck. Staring at the two pages of drawings made me feel like a complete dumbass. All seven figures looked like stickmen, and were practically the same, in contrast to the vibrant personalities I knew. Looks pathetic compared to Emily’s drawings, I chuckled, admiration growing for her photo-like drawings. Have to ask her on Saturday for some tips.

What time was it again? I checked my phone yet again. 5:30. There should be some light at least. That was quite fast. Should probably head out already. I packed up all my stuff in the bag and slung it over my shoulder. When I was outside after locking the apartment, there was a truck in the distance. Not that I could tell anything from it, but it was there, leaving Hometown. What was that truck doing there? I went up to where the truck once was and found something interesting……

Is this a vending machine? I had some doubts but it sure as hell looked like one. The flashy screen was promoting various kinds of drinks like “Cone” and “8-Up”. Not that I’ve seen one before, but it’s best to give it a try. After all, it was just implemented here and I was most likely the first customer of this vending machine. Hmm, what should I get? All the drinks were not only visually appealing, they were all at the price of 1 light dollar each. Coffee’s looking good right now, glancing at the can of coffee at the top left corner. Soon, I inserted a light dollar in and pressed to dispense the can of coffee.

Jeez, it’s damn cold, I thought as I grabbed it from the dispenser. Didn’t matter though. I pried the can open with my claws, giving a satisfying sound. It seemed fine , time for the taste test. Holding it at my lips, I tilted the can to consume the drink. Not too strong but not too weak either. Overall, a really tasty drink especially for coffee. I quickly downed the can and threw it in a nearby bin. Still exhausted, but better than nothing. Guess I should head to school. 

I arrived at the school with my temporary energy boost. It’s already open? That’s early…… Not that I’ve seen it before. I headed into the near pitch black area which barely had any light. Ow, is this a locker? Where is everything? It felt like the entire layout had completely changed since yesterday. Ok, not here, where is my classroom. Crunch. Why is there a brunch on the ground? This is a door, finally I’ve arri - Nope, it was the nursery area. Screw this, I just want to head to the classroom, god damn it. Maybe it’s the other side? Alright, it should be this one, I could tell from its distinctive layout from other classrooms. After all, every room in the school was unique. There’s my seat, I placed my bag there, and sat on my seat. Great, now time to wait 2 hours for the lesson to start. Maybe, I should try and catch up on some rest. Placing my head on the table, I attempted to take a quick nap and covered my eyes.

***

“Caleb, time to wake up!” Huh? What’s going on? Who’s waking me up?

“You have to get up?” Why? I haven’t slept that long! Let me sleep a little longer.

“Please, get up now.” Alright, I guess. I opened my eyes and there Percy was, in front of my desk, showing some concern. “Caleb, you ok? You’ve been like this since we arrived?” He asked me. 

“Oh, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired… Wait, we? Who’s we?” I asked him back. 

“The humans! The six of us came to school together, and really, we were almost late!” Wait, what time is it? I glanced at the clock up on the wall. 7:25. How? Last I checked it was only 5:30! Taking a look around, the class was lively with most being here, with the exception of Kris and Susie. Wonder where they are now. Doesn’t matter that much though. At that moment, the door opened and Alphys came in.

“Good…Good morning class. Se… settle down and we… can begin class.” She stammered, but enough for everyone to return to their seats. Alright, another day of boring ass lessons. Well, that was what I expected. Instead, there was a twist no one expected, not even Berdly.

“There is a ……pair project this… week. The topic, it’s um, I’ll write it later. Please… find a pair for the project.” Immediately, everyone sprung into action. Most classmates found a pair in no time, and I made haste looking for mine too. Guess I should ask Percy, he’s the only one I somewhat know. 

“Percy? Wanna be partners?” I asked him, to which he quickly nodded. Really couldn’t give two shits about this project, but it was nice to find a partner, if it were the past I wouldn’t really be able to find one……

Right at that moment, the classroom door opened. There Kris was, slowly shuffling in as Alphys asked them to find a partner for the project. Something bit me hard though. Why were his movements so…… how to put it, mechanical ? They seemed to be shuffling like an automated robot does, it felt like they were a toy being controlled by its owner. Weird. A little concerning too. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t seem to find a partner as most monsters already formed their pairs. I watched as Kris walked up to Noelle and asked if they could form a trio. “Miss Alphys, umm, is it ok if we have a group of 3?” Before she could even hear the response, Berdly jumped in immediately. “Hey! What? No! I do NOT approve of this! ABORT!” When Alphys finally asked again, he interrupted her saying they did NOT need Kris anymore. Just as things could potentially escalate, the door opened with a loud “BANG” sound, gathering everyone’s attention. There stood Susie, hair covering her eyes.

“H…hi , Susie.” Alphys stuttered.

  “......Am I late?” Susie asked.

“Oh, n-no! You’re fine! W-we were just, uh… Ch-choosing partners for the next group project, and… um, Susie, you’re with Kris!” Alphys quickly grouped the two together.

“......great” She muttered, not moving from her position.

“... N-Now that everyone’s here, I’ll write the assignment.”

“...Uh… Has anyone seen the chalk? Y-You all know I can’t start class without some!” Great, just great. It was already the third time this kind of shit has happened. The next bit of the conversation was blurry until Noelle spoke up.

“Hey, there might be a box in the supply closet… Miss Alphys, why don’t Susie and I-” She suggested but before continuing with her plan, she got interrupted.

“G-Good idea, Noelle! Susie, s-since you came in last, Why don’t you go get it for me…?” 

“......Whatever.” Susie slammed the door with a resounding thud as she exited.

“And K…Kris, Can you go with her and make sure she… Um, actually gets it? And, um, stay out of trouble…?” Alphys asked Kris. Without waiting for a response, she continued. “Thanks, Kris! See you later!” leaving Kris to head outside. “...... Until then, y-you all can self study…” Well, the class’s lively again. No one’s actually going to study after all. Except Berdly, of course.

I turned to Percy and asked him: “So, what now?”  

“I…… don’t really know. Should probably go to the toilet first though.” He told me. Giving him a thumbs up, I watched him ask Alphys and head out of the door. Probably should sit around for now. Maybe my diary would help me. I whipped out my diary and my pencil case and started doodling……

***

Where the hell is Percy? Another two pages had been filled up in my diary, still shitty drawings but better than earlier. Had no one really noticed they had been gone for the longest time? Glancing around, it seemed to be that way. Concern washed over me, not just for Percy, but also Susie and Kris. Surely getting one box of chalk shouldn’t be that hard, right? I looked back at Alphys, who was looking at her computer screen. HOW DOES SHE NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ALL THIS? Well, if not even Alphys would take action, then I sure as hell would! Grabbing my pen and diary, I headed to Alphys’s desk.

“Miss, may I go to the toilet?”

“S-sure, Caleb. C-can you bring back Percy and the others too?” She asked, only glancing up from her desk for a brief moment, seeming engaged by whatever was on the computer. 

“I suppose.” That was my motive after all. 

“T-thanks, Caleb.” 

The classroom door closed behind me. Now that I was out, I could finally start my investigation. Firstly, I checked the toilet down the hallway. No Percy, but at least it didn’t smell like rotten socks. Odd. Maybe he’s upstairs? I climbed up the stairs and checked the corridor. No Percy, or any humans, or just movement. Could he be in the classroom? The possibility was slim, but enough to get me to sneak up to the doors. Based on what little space there was to peek in, class was going on as per normal. Wait a second, where were the humans? In the classroom were two empty seats, presumably the two humans of that class. Same with the second classroom. And third.

What was going on? This was clearly not a coincidence. I tried racking my brain on where they could be. Did they somehow sneak out of school? No, they wouldn’t do that, nothing much to do outside after all. But where else could they be? Why would they all be gone at the same damn time? Wait, how about Susie and Kris? They were sent to the supply closet to get chalk right? There’s a chance they might be there! Well, what am I waiting for? 

I rushed downstairs, trying to find the supply closet. Where was it again… Oh, there it is. The grey double doors stood out from the rest after all. Stepping in front of the closet, there was a sense of suspicion, yet confusion. Why am I even thinking about this? It’s not like they were stuck in the cupboard for so long…right? Taking a deep breath, I opened the double doors, only to be greeted by pitch darkness. What… is all this? What should I do? Maybe, they were somehow all in this cupboard. Chances are they weren’t, but what if it was true? Perhaps, checking wouldn’t hurt at all.

“In I go.” I muttered before stepping in the cupboard. It was more creepy inside than from the outside, jeez. Should’ve brought the torchlight after all. Then, I tried to call out to them. “Percy?” All there was was the echoes of my voice. “Emily? Kris? Susie? Anyone here?” I continue while walking down the cupboard. Called out a few more times…… but no one responded. 

Guess that was just too weird, after all. Time to leave this cupboard. I made my way back to the front of the cupboard and prepared to (perhaps) leave the school grounds unauthorized. At that moment, there was a loud thud coming from the front. Unfortunately, I discovered the source too late. “WHY ARE THE CUPBOARD DOORS SHUT!” I went up to it and tried to push it with all my might. The stubborn doors refused to move an inch. “Hello? Anyone outside? Help me!” I screamed as I pounded the doors…… but nobody came. 

It was at that moment, there came another sound from behind me. I froze solid in place. The ground of the cupboard was physically breaking apart, slowly disintegrating while getting closer to me. Desperately, I shoved the door, hoping to get out, but to no avail. “MOTHERFUUUUUU…” The floor beneath me finally gave in, causing me to fall into the bottomless pit. I could only pray that it wouldn’t be instant pain or death once I hit the bottom of this. 

(And so, a journey began……)

Chapter Text

“......”

“Urgh…… What……. Happened?” My entire body felt crumpled up and worse than a mountain climb. Come on, Caleb, get up. I tried to move my limbs but they weighed heavier than rocks. What was crushing my legs and claws so well? Being flat on the ground prevented me from identifying the object, on top of not being able to see as there was another object covering my eyes. Caleb, you need to get yourself together. I had to at least see what it was. Gradually, I was able to move my limbs and hauled myself into an upright position, and grabbed the thing on my head.

… A hat? I took the item from my head and got it to eye level. The hat looked similar to a beret. It had dark red as its primary colour and could cover my eyes if I wanted to. There wasn’t much design on it, but that didn’t matter. I placed it back on my head, covering my black hair and adjusting it. There, just nice. Now it was covering my eyes from the outside, yet didn’t obstruct my sight. I discovered that I also had a different skin colour from Hometown - similar to human skin but with shades of grey. Isn’t that just great? Now I look damn weird. Good thing the hat, my shoes and the jacket I wore covered most of that.

Next, what was on my back? I reached for the object at an angle so I could pick it up easily and get it off. It was surprisingly lightweight, and I checked what it was. Is this my pen? I glanced in shock, looking at the enlarged pen that was bulkier than a backpack. There were many designs on it, but it seemed rather messy, not being able to make out anything from it. Doesn’t matter though, more important things were at hand. I could see my diary beside me, having entered with me wherever I was. Briefly, I scanned the surroundings. No one. Only the grey stab I was on to comfort my arrival. 

Get up, Caleb, I encouraged myself, struggling to stand. Was I hurt? There wasn’t any physical pain anywhere in my body after all. Chalking that off to tired, I assured myself that it was just tiredness from the morning. Somehow, I managed to stand up, with the support of my pen. My body was sore at first, but soon returned to normal. Probably should explore the area a bit, because where the HELL am I? Seems like there’s only one direction though. No way back to school.

Heading along the gray slabs, there was nothing interesting ahead, only a slightly wider slab than earlier, still surrounded by the endless void. Wait a second… were those……footsteps? I saw a bunch of faint steps in the ground, proving me right. So they are here after all! I smiled briefly, knowing that they were here too. Just keep walking, and they’ll be within sight. 

The further I walked, the more I felt the path was endless. On top of that, everything looked very weird. What is that controller button type-thingie? Glancing at the stab further away, which swung very vibrantly, seemingly welcoming me to this world. And then, there was another. And another. And yet another. Just how many were there? I had already lost count of how many of these…things there were. 

At some point, there was some black liquid that was spilling from the slab. Not that I cared, but it wouldn’t be a good decision to come in contact with it. Amongst the black liquid, I could see a figure carved out on the slab. It seemed to be an eye of some sort. The hell is this? Regardless, it looked really weird and ominous. I needed to speed up, this is one shit load of a place.

Then, there came a dead end. There was no path onwards and the only slab that I could see was upwards. Obviously, there was no way I would be able to jump that high. Was this it? Did I have to retreat to the start point so early into my journey? Come on, Caleb, LOOK. I snapped and saw the slab that was below and next to my slab. It was a short fall, but it felt like jumping off a helicopter. At least there didn’t seem to be any physical injury. Onward then. 

I paused in my tracks. The road had split. There were two choices: To either turn left or go straight. Which path to go… I thought about it for a moment before deciding on the left one. If it was a dead end, I could always backtrack here anyways. 

… Great, it’s more of these things. I sighed, not giving them a glance. At that moment, I witnessed a bullet shoot in front of me, barely missing. My body let out a glow and a purple circle-like object appeared. Wow. Now they also want me dead. Quickly making my way through these well…things, I got out relatively unscathed.

Afterwards, I saw a sign on one of the slabs. Finally, something I could understand. I stood in front of it and read it out. “In this land, only eyes blinded by darkness can see the way… what’s this, a riddle?” There was a puzzle next to this, but it had already been solved by someone else. Well, all of them should’ve passed through here. At least I was on the right track, walking on the glass panels that bridged between the two slabs.

One gentle fall later, a few small piles of an unknown kind of substance that had been blown away were there. What are all these things? This place really took logic and threw it out of the window. Best to get to everyone, fast. I, still at a speedwalking pace, tried to get to the exit of wherever this was. Too much running would only deplete energy after all.

Yet another fall, I quickly slid down the gentle slope, scattering some of the dust on the ground. Jeez, I need to find a way out fast. Marching on, a very tall slab with another drawing of that weird eye caught my attention. Why is this particular one so tall? There wasn’t anything up there that was worth investigating, so I shrugged it off and continued. Not like it was possible to fly up there. 

Sigh… another boring corridor. How many were there going to be? My legs were also starting to give out - In fact, it was miraculous that I managed to get this far. Soon, I reached a dead end and there was truly nowhere to go. Crap, think, Caleb think, how would they have gone from here? Using my eyes to check, there was only one possible way they could have gone?

And that was down.

Don’t tell me they actually jumped down here. Are they fucking madmans? A fall this deep could be fatal and potentially…… I didn’t want to jump down but they had to be down here. They had to. “Ok, Caleb, here goes nothing!” Taking a deep breath, I stepped off the side and started sliding down the slab into the darkness. “How steep is this thing?” I complained, but at least the ride was much smoother than I thought. Then, the ground came into view. Wait, I was still falling at a rapid pace. I was going to collide with the ground- That was all I remembered before I was knocked out cold.

***

“Gosh…” It was like the initial fall into this world but much worse. My entire body was aching but unharmed. Sitting up, I tried to make sense of what had happened. I, Caleb, jumped down a cliff (Terrible decision) and somehow still wasn’t hurt. This is crazy… I could only imagine what could have happened otherwise. More importantly, where the fuck was this place? A bunch of torches shone a faint blue light in the corridor, seemingly trying to welcome guests. Getting up, I made my way across this corridor. 

When I reached the end of the corridor, I couldn’t help but gasp upon what I saw. It seemed to be a town of some sorts. There were many houses that all had the same dark colour of blue. It was seemingly…abandoned. I went up to one of the door and knocked loudly. “Anyone there?” I asked, but no one responded. I then called out for my schoolmates’ names. Still no response. Soon, I reached a castle that wasn’t relatively big. The front door seemed to be open with no one guarding it. Wait, what’s that? At the castle, there was some sort of geyser that was flowing and shooting through the sky. The more I looked around, the more questions I had. I should probably enter this castle. 

I stepped in through the gates, after which I was greeted by a courtyard. For a castle it was way too empty. This place was a ghost town at this point. The floor was made out of brick, but at the centre of this courtyard, there was a symbol. It had the shape of a crest, seemingly representing something important. I took a closer look out of curiosity. Within the crest, there were three triangles: Two pointing upwards and one the other way. Said two triangles were pointing towards some being with wings. On top of that, below the three triangles, there were six circles surrounding them, symbolizing an ally to these three. I should probably record this down. I took out my notebook and tried to find my pen before realising my pen was still bigger than me, and it was impossible to write. “If only this pen was smaller…”  I muttered. At that moment, my pen seemed to listen to my commands, and immediately shrank to a size that fit in my claw, leaving me stunned. “But… how?” What kind of sorcery was this? I had to find some answers to this, but I saved that for later and began to copy the symbol. It looked like a masterpiece compared to the rest of my drawings, but only because it wasn’t designed by me. Now that that was out of the way, I glanced at the closed doors that led further into the castle. Maybe, this was open too? I tried the door. It didn’t budge. Figures. 

This was all really weird. I still didn’t have any clue where the gang was. I’ve already searched this area but no signs of life? Where else have I not searched? Hold on a second…… The corridor didn’t end at the town… it extended further in! I enlarged my pen again (I looked better with the pen on my back, plus it didn’t compromise me in any way) and headed out of the courtyard.

I reached the entrance of the town and headed the other way from where I came from. There was a room there with another one of that same symbol. There was also a dummy there, for reasons I didn’t know yet. It had a green hat and wore some funny glasses. It had a green shirt around its body and wore a scarf across its neck. The dummy also seemed rather beaten up. Must’ve been used quite a bit…… wait, did they use them? Finally, I had found some kind of hint. It wasn’t the best, but this just confirmed that they were here. And if that wasn’t enough, there was a piece of torn paper on the ground beside the dummy. It must belong to Percy! They’ve gone this way, and if I followed them, I would eventually find them! I had a smile on my face, but at that moment, some voice appeared in my head.

Would you like to engage in training with me? 

Huh, what’s this? A voice in my head? It had to be the dummy. It was the only form of “life” I’d seen since entering. I knew I had to find my schoolmates, but curiosity got the better of me and I mentally entered yes. Before I knew what was going on, I was pulled to a position a fair distance away from the dummy. I quickly drew out my pen from my back. That’s my weapon? Kinda cool! Then, I saw an upside down dark purple heart with some green cracks in a box with a green outline.

That heart is your soul, the culmination of your being. It holds your will and compassion. If you hit anything, you will lose HP. so do avoid the enemy’s attack. 

Not a second later, some pellets were shot from the dummy. Luckily, the pattern was relatively straightforward, so I was able to steer myself to avoid them all. What’s HP? healthpoints? What’s this, a video game? Then, I saw something below: My name, with a healthbar: 130/130 , along with five different options at the bottom: Fight, Magic, Items, Spare and Defend. 

See these options? They are the actions you can do. You can only select one though, so pick in battle carefully. If your HP reaches 0, you will lose. Since this is training, we will try all of them. You can start from the left.

The first option was Fighting . Locking on that decision, I clicked on my pen which revealed the sharp end of my pen. Then, there was some circle on the dummy and a marker that was moving up and down. So I need to time my attack… Welp, that sucks. No big deal though. Carefully, I waited for the marker to centre on the dummy…… NOW! I jumped through the air and zeroed in on the dummy. It was a perfect hit, striking it dead centre. Ok, that was nice, what’s next……Magic? Now THAT’S cool!

This tab is a little hard to navigate. At times, you will need to perform certain actions to calm the enemy down, but you also have your own magic that you can perform, unique from any others. The dummy again…… but since it was the one guiding me, I listened to it and reached for the magic tab. There were many options there. 

      Long story (15% TP)

      Poisoning curse (30% TP)

      Umbrella of Pessimism (90% TP)

Why is a long story an option? I checked my so-called “TP” which was a bar at the side. Not enough for any other option. Guess this is my only option. Hesitantly, I selected that action and somehow pulled up an old story from memory and told it to the dummy. While it was satisfying, I quickly snapped out and returned to my normal stance. I supposed this would be able to pacify the enemies in real battles. Definitely not conventional though.

The next tab, ITEMS, was useless as I didn’t have any I could use. Though in the future, it would come in handy. Then, the SPARE tab to end the battle appeared, but I still had one more option to check. I used the Defend option, resulting in me shielding myself with my pen. 

With defending, you will take less damage that round, and you will be able to gather some TP, which stands for Tension Points. You can get tension points by being near enemy attacks. Well, that’s it for training, go ahead and spare me.

I checked my TP bar and saw it had increased by 16%. That’s a lot, perhaps defending could be really useful in the future. Well, no point in stalling any further. I reached for the Spare tab and exited the battle. The battle ended and I noticed that I had received 50 dark dollars. Must be this world’ currency, it must be important. I better take care of this. The first thing I saw after was a mysterious pamphlet on the floor. It was titled “The manual”, which contained most of what was covered earlier. I could forget all this in the future, so I decided to place it in my pocket. “Alright, now to find everyone else!” I walked past the dummy, thanking it silently one last time before heading out.

At this part, there was only one thing there: A door. It looked like a gate to heaven, with the symbol also on the door with some fancy exterior on the door frame. It was also the only plausible place that Percy and gang would have passed through. Well, this was it. Once I opened this door, a new adventure would begin and there would be no turning back. I deep breathed a few times, calming myself down. Caleb, you can do this! I stood right in front of the door. Then, with my claws, I gradually reached the door and pushed it.

…

The door didn’t budge. I used my entire body against the door, which unfortunately stood without the slightest movement. Crap, this door isn’t opening. I bashed against it with what strength I had. No use. Shit, does this mean they are trapped within this door? While there was the possibility of an exit in that area, I didn’t think that it would be the case. There wasn’t any hope of me opening the door. “Well this is just FUCKING great!” I cussed while slamming against the door. Will they be okay? They might get injured or at worst……killed. Maybe they would make it out alive. Maybe. There wasn’t much I could do then, so I headed back to the empty castle town.

Man, I was really sleepy. I could feel the drowsiness finally catch up, the coffee from the morning running out of effect. I reached the courtyard, but right at that moment, I could no longer feel my legs and collapsed on the hard floor. Using my last bit of strength, I hauled myself up against the wall and placed my pen on the ground beside me. I could feel my eyes shutting beneath the hat, and felt my consciousness fade away. 

How……How is Percy, Kris and the rest doing…? While there was nothing I could do in any way… Maybe, if I closed my eyes and imagined how they are doing, perhaps I would be able to find out what they were doing, at least how they got here up to this door. You know what, I think I’d learn the rest eventually, regardless of who and from what. My surroundings faded completely, only the darkness remained.

Chapter Text

What in the world was going on? 

Everything felt like a fever dream from the moment Percy stepped out of the classroom. Firstly, Susie was a few inches away from biting off Kris’s head whilst slamming them against the lockers. “Hey, what’s going on?” Percy tried to ask but instead got met with a death threat of losing my head. “Shouldn’t we be going to get chalk from the supply closet?” He remembered what Ms Alphys had told them to do. Reluctantly, Susie let her grip go on Kris and walked away with a “Whatever……Let’s go, freaks.”

Percy approached Kris and asked if he was alright, which they gave a simple nod despite whatever might’ve happened before Percy stepped out. They headed to the centre of the school, and somehow all the other humans were there too. “Wait, guys? Why are all of you here?” Percy asked the five other humans.

“Class is SOOOOOO boring. I’m PONNING it!” Felix declared loudly, clearly not caring about studies at all. “Sheesh, buddy, you’re gonna alert the teachers.” Benjamin stood by his side and tried to calm Felix down. “But yeah, same thing as him.” Percy didn’t understand why they hated studying so much, but he turned to the girls for an explanation.

“My teacher asked me to get some exercise books from the supply closet.” Beatrice calmly told him. Percy knew she was a very responsible person who always followed the rules, and it seemed this time was no different. Hell, Percy wouldn’t be surprised if she was elected as class monitor already. 

Then, Percy quickly spotted Amber. She gave him a lighthearted smile that caused his heart to skip a beat. “Hi, Percy! Emily and I were heading to the water cooler to cool down a bit, but seeing you……all here makes me more curious about this.” Percy was also excited to see her, had it not been for the situation he had come here for. Emily also nodded in affirmation. She took a look around the area calmly. “...Yeah, by the way where’s-?”

“HURRY UP, FREAKS! WHY ARE Y’ALL SO SLOW!” Susie screamed at that moment. She seemed to have gotten impatient from the little “reunion”. Percy quickly headed over to the corridor where Susie and Kris had both gone. Amber followed him down, along with Emily, Beatrice who had to go to the supply closet anyway, and lastly Felix and Benjamin, who just followed with nothing better to do.

The entire group approached the double doors of the supply closet. “Well, here’s the closet. Too bad……we were just starting to have fun.” Susie snickered for a moment. “Could you hurry up and take what you need? I also need to get back to class.” Beatrice cut in rather coldly. Susie sneered, and opened the closet doors. However, it wasn’t what a closet was supposed to look like. Instead, it was completely dark inside, seemingly calling out to them. “Hey, guys, is it me or…… Is it REALLY dark in there?” Susie asked everyone else, seemingly shrinking a little. “Well, only ONE way to find out!” Before anyone could do anything, Felix shoved everyone else aside and rushed into the darkness. “Buddy, wait up!” Benjamin followed suit and everyone else was left dumbfounded. “Well, the exercise books should be somewhere……inside this place.” She walked into the closet, maintaining her composure. Percy decided that he should probably head in to find the chalk too. “Well, I’m going to find the chalk for you two. See you, guys.” Percy walked into the darkness and spotted the first three up ahead. 

“W…wait up!” Right after Percy, Amber entered with Emily, the two holding onto each other for support. Lastly, Kris and Susie stepped in at the same time. Now everyone was in the supply closet. However much Percy searched, he just couldn’t find the chalk, even when Amber offered to help him. Strange, he couldn’t help but think as he watched even Beatrice struggle to find the exercise books. In fact, there wasn’t anything in the area, just pure darkness. “Where does this wall end……” Emily had gotten far into the closet but to no avail. “Maybe it doesn’t…” Susie claimed, “...Well, we’ve worked hard enough. If Alphys wants chalk so bad, she can get it herself. Let’s split.” Somehow, everyone agreed with her, even Felix, who wanted to explore but the closet seemed to never end, boring him, and Beatrice. Slowly, Percy and everyone else headed back towards the entrance, but then-

SLAM. The door shut tight and trapped everyone inside. “WHAT THE HELL!” Felix screamed, immediately heading to where the entrance was and banged on it furiously. Susie joined him and called out. “Hey, this isn’t funny! LET US OUT!” Just then, the floor beneath everyone started shaking. “What’s…going on?”  Percy asked desperately, yet no one had an answer. “Well, partner, it seems like…… WE ARE GOING TO FALL THROUGH!” Benjamin started panicking and when one person did, so did everyone else. Ultimately, the floor gave away, and everyone screamed as they plunged to their most likely doom, except Felix who was actually excited.

What had happened went by in a flash. Percy felt stuck on the ground the moment he landed, but was somehow unharmed. There was a weight on him, but when he checked, it was Amber who was on him, not any other object. He became so embarrassed and quickly got off the pile. He then noticed everyone but Susie was scattered around the same area, most landing in piles of cushioning items except well…Kris. Percy checked that everyone was unharmed after doing a quick head count, but everyone looked different. 

Kris had blue skin and some armour on them.

Felix had his rather spiky hair shown with a headband around it. He had gained a pair of boxing gloves on his hands. 

Benjamin, who was next to Felix, had a cowboy hat on him, symbolising the western style he admired so much. There was also a gun in one of his pockets and had some scarf to imitate sheriffs. 

Percy adjusted his glasses as he checked himself. He wore something striped which was plain compared to the other two boys. He had a small hand bag that had some supplies. He had his notebook, but that felt lame when looking at the gun and gloves.

For the girls though, their appearance had changed, but they were still stunning. Beatrice had a tutu that represented her hobbies, her hair neatly tied up into a bun. She also had ballet shoes, seemingly prepared for everything.

Emily still had her red ribbon on her head, but instead of yellow hair, it turned towards a pale blonde shade, though there wasn’t much difference. She had a paintbrush by her side and a white skirt. She wore a blackjacket with a light blue outline that had art supplies hidden within it.

When Percy turned to Amber, his face blushed instantly. She had an apron with a green heart on it and held onto a frying pan. Her appearance was also similar to that of a saint, with her brown hair tied up in ponytail style. 

There were some murmurs amongst everyone but eventually got to their senses. While Beatrice insisted everyone stick together as a group, brave Felix had already run far ahead of everyone else, and Kris went ahead of everyone else while they were still puzzled. “Well, we should probably catch up with them.” Emily piped up and everyone still there nodded and started walking. Other than their footsteps, the area was completely silent, which made Percy, who enjoyed silence to an extent, feel uncomfortable. Somewhere along the way, Kris had found a glowing item in a hole that they decided to keep in their pocket. It could come in useful later. 

Right at that moment, a bunch of weird structures started shooting at them. Their bodies immediately glowed and revealed a bright heart for each human. For Kris, it was bright red. Emily’s soul was cyan, Beatrice’s dark blue, Percy’s purple, Amber’s green and Benjamin’s yellow.

“Watch out for the bullets!” Beatrice warned everyone as she saw them arriving at a rapid pace. They managed to dodge most of the shots. Amber almost got hit by one but fortunately, she deflected it in time with her frying pan. Percy wanted to go up and ask her if she was okay, but was too shy to do so, plus he was focused on dodging bullets too. 

When Percy reached the end of that corridor, he saw Felix stuck staring at the wall. It seemed to be a puzzle of some sort, with a sign beside it. “In this land, only eyes blinded by darkness can see the way…” Percy muttered, looking back and forth between the drawings on the wall and the signpost. Then, something clicked.

“Man, this puzzle SUCKS! I should jump across this SMALL gap!” Felix was stumped by the puzzle, ignoring Percy who walked past him and flipped two of the three switches that revealed a pathway. “Wait, WHAT! But how…?” He looked like he had seen a ghost as everyone else made their way across the new platform. “Felix, get up, and let’s go!” Beatrice stood on the edge of the pathway and called out to him. He crossed the floating platform and once he got to the other side, he immediately ran ahead of everyone else. “Look, guys! It’s PERFECTLY fine-” He didn’t notice he had run out of room to run and fell off the cliff. Luckily, he was caught in a bunch of dust, so he was safe but wasn’t in a position to get out of the pile. It ended up with Benjamin freeing him from the pile of dust. He was laid on the ground rather embarrassingly, and told everyone they saw nothing. 

Later on, they found Susie hidden in one of the dust piles. “Hey! Back off! Come any closer and I’ll…” She threatened. Susie now had a brighter skin colour and donned a black vest with spike bracelets on her arms, with black and gold boots. When Susie saw it was just Kris and the humans, she calmed down. “Oh… It’s just you guys? Phew. Hey, don’t scare me like that, freaks! Unless you guys WANT to get clocked in the face, heh.”

“Maybe we ALL should get clocked in the face, pal. This new appearance is really stupid and I’ll take ANY chance this was a dream.” Benjamin retorted back. 

“HELL yeah, I mean, the gloves are sick but WHAT is this place!” Felix added on to the list of complaints.

“GUYS! Dream or not, we have to stick together to find the way out! And YOU THREE are certainly not helping at all!” Beatrice shushed the complainers. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…Let’s just go already.” Susie turned her back and headed down the corridor. Kris then went ahead, motioning everyone to follow them, like some kind of leader.

For a short moment, all the humans actually stayed behind Kris who was silently navigating the area. “God, nevermind. You walk TOO slow.” Susie left everyone else in the dust. Benjamin had to use his self control not to run ahead and to restrain Felix, who definitely wanted to run ahead.

“Um, guys…? There seems to be someone up there waving at us! We should wave back!” Amber pointed to the top of the cliff where a shaded spade figure was waving at them. Before anyone could respond, a bunch of spade bullets appeared and immediately aimed at the group.

“Oh, god…” Percy muttered, barely dodging one of the spades.

“R-Run, freaks!” Susie warned before running into the unknown. Everyone’s body shined again and revealed their souls, Felix’s revealing an orange soul. 

A rain of spades fell from the darkness above. There were no safe spots, the pattern completely random. Felix, Benjamin, Kris and Beatrice all dodged with relative ease, being more agile among the humans. Emily struggled a little more and lagged behind slightly, but thanks to her rather petite figure, she didn’t get hit. Percy and Amber were trailing at the back of the bunch, barely avoiding spades flying from left and right.

At that moment, Percy tripped over some pebbles and fell over completely. A spade flew directly at him as if sensing an opportunity. It’s gonna hit my soul! He tried to get up, but he wouldn’t get up in time to avoid… was he really going to get hit already?

Right when it was about to hit, Percy heard a clanging sound beside him. He turned and saw Amber, who deflected the bullet with her frying pan. “Percy, are you okay? Don’t get hurt like this!” She stretched out her hand, and Percy could feel himself visibly warming at his face. He grabbed her hand and the two continued dodging more bullets.

“D-Down here!” Percy saw a brief figure waving at them and Susie’s shouting before said figure jumped down the cliff. Is that even safe? Percy stared at the never ending slope down the cliff but took a deep breath and jumped down, with Amber following suit. 

As they were sliding down, more spade figures appeared from the left and right and aimed at them. This time, they were prepared and dodged with a much easier time. At that moment, Percy could see the bottom of the cliff, or rather, where they were all going to land. He braced himself. It wasn’t going to be a pretty landing.

***

To say the landing was rough was an understatement. Felix was buried under everyone, with Benjamin directly above him. Emily and Beatrice each collapsed at the side of the pile. Percy and Amber fell on all four of them, forming the hellhole of a pile. Kris and Susie, who were the first to fall, managed to get out of the way before the others did.

“Oh, y’all aren’t dead. Sweet. Got any idea where the heck we are? …Me neither.” Susie seemed to be unbothered by most of this, leaning against one of the walls.

“Bud, yer think we got any idea either?” Benjamin still had his western accent even after collapsing twice. 

Everyone was taking in the view of this town devoid of any life. The town looked sad, as if no one played with it. “Hm, nice town… maybe when we get back I can draw this out…” Emily held her paintbrush in hand while staring at the geyser in the castle. Just then, Kris went up to the castle gate. Then, they reached out to a white star and…

FILE SAVED

“Kris, what was that?” Percy inquired, but they dodged the question and got everyone to enter the castle with them. 

“You want your face bitten off…? Cause I sure as hell can make that happen.” Susie snarled, her eyes hidden by her hair. 

“Ha…I DARE you!” Felix taunted Susie, who was about to rip Felix inside out while he lifted his gloves to a fighting stance.

“G-guys, maybe we shouldn’t be fighting…?” Amber was playing peacemaker, trying to resolve this as non-violently as possible.

“Everyone! We need to stick together, so we should follow Kris in!” Beatrice appointed herself as the co-leader of the group with said leader already heading into the castle area.

“Oh, so you’re the one in charge now? That’s just great…” Susie mocked sarcastically.

“YEAH! Who said you were the leader?” Felix added on.

“Guys, maybe we should-” Percy tried to say, but was shut up by poison glares from the duo.

“Buds, let’s just go along for now…” Benjamin convinced Felix to come with him, and Susie, almost left behind by everyone else, reluctantly followed along.

***

The gang entered the castle gates, with Kris at the front. “This place looks run down…” Emily couldn’t help but add.

“More importantly, why the hell is there a castle in the supply closet?” Susie started.

Welcome, heroes…

“Who’s there?” Susie immediately raised her guard.

Do not be alarmed… I am not your enemy.

Please come forward, all of you…

They moved forward, and there stood a cloaked figure, his face hidden in darkness.

Welcome… I am the prince of this kingdom… The KINGDOM OF DARKNESS.

Kris, Susie, Emily, Felix, Beatrice, Percy, Amber, Benjamin…

There is a LEGEND in this land. A LEGEND that one day, eight HEROES OF LIGHT will arrive, And fulfill the ancient prophecy, foretold by time and space.

Please, heroes… Listen to my tale…

Kris gave a thumbs up amongst the murmurs of everyone else.

Very well then…

Once upon a time, a LEGEND was whispered among shadows.

It was a LEGEND of HOPE.

It was a LEGEND of DREAMS.

It was a LEGEND of LIGHT.

It was a LEGEND of DARK.

This is the legend of... DELTA RUNE.

For millennia, LIGHT and DARK have lived in balance, bringing peace to the world. But if this harmony were to shatter...

A terrible calamity would occur.

The sky will run black with terror, and the land will crack with fear. Then, her heart pounding...

The EARTH will draw her final breath.

Only then, shining with hope... three HEROES appear at WORLDS' edge.

A HUMAN, A MONSTER, and a DARKNER.

Only three of them together, with the power of their SOULs, can seal the fountains... and banish the ANGEL'S HEAVEN.

Only then will balance be restored, and the WORLD saved from destruction.

Today, the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS - the geyser that gives this land form - stands tall at the center of the kingdom.

But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon, with more to follow...

And with it, the balance of LIGHT and DARK begins to shift...

Everyone stared at the hooded figure which took a deep breath.

“Everyone…” The hooded figure whispered. “Thank you for listening to my long tale. I truly believe all of you are the HEROES of the LEGEND.”

“Hold up.” Percy asked, “Didn’t you say A HUMAN. Then why are all seven of us heroes?”

“Each fountain is created differently.” They explained.   "Thus, each one of you will have the power to seal a unique fountain. The same goes for you, Susie. You, a human, and a darkener from this WORLD will be able to seal one of the fountains! DELTA WARRIORS! Please, won't you accept your destiny... ?"

“Uhhh…” Susie turned away. “Nah.”

“W…what?” The figure stammered.

"Me?" Susie scoffed. "Some kind of hero or something...? You've got the wrong person.

There was a mixed response from everyone else. Kris was unresponsive like they had been. Beatrice looked at the ground for a moment. This was her chance to do something right. Being a hero, she admitted, was kind of cool. She would save the world and everyone would finally give her the recognition she deserved. Hell, even her parents might finally be proud of her.

Amber felt that all this was pretty cool, but Emily remained unsure of all this stuff. As much as it appealed to Percy, he was more focused on trying to find a way back home. Felix and Benjamin both were curious about this journey and decided to stick it out for now.

“But… without you, the world will be…” The figure pleaded.

"So what?" Susie interrupted. "If the world gets destroyed, it's none of my damn business. Might even be kind of fun, honestly."

“Is this all you think of?” Beatrice snapped. “How cruel are you?! We can’t leave this place to die!”

“Shut the fuck up.” Susie shouted. “In the end, it doesn’t matter. We were brought here against our will, why bother helping them?”

The argument between the two was heating up fast, and not even Amber could calm either side down.

“Hey, as much as I enjoyed the story…” Percy piped up. “I need to find a way back home ASAP, so um, I’m going to go off first. See you guys later.” All attention was on him as he turned his back and started leaving.

Susie huffed. “Nerd’s right. I’m getting out of here.”

“Susie, Percy … wait!” Cloak figure and Amber called out.

“HO HO HO!”

Suddenly, a strange, spade-like darkner on a motorbike came flying out of nowhere, slamming into the figure. It was launched away with a sudden explosion.

“Oh dear, are they okay…?” Amber sighed.

“The heroes are already running away,” said the darkner, “and they didn’t even know I was here. My dad’s gonna make me Son of the Month.”

“Who the hell are you?” Susie questioned.

“I’m…” He spun on his bike. “...The bad guy.”

“Wait a second… you were the one attacking us earlier!” Beatrice raised a finger against him.

The darkner showed a rude gesture. “That’s right! You CLOWNS want to seal our DARK FOUNTAIN, huh? And - still picturing you guys as CLOWNS - save the world from eternal darkness, huh?"

 “Yes!” Beatrice gasped.

“ Hell no.” Susie said.

"That's what I thought!!" the darkner taunted. "We both know you'll go EAST! It's your only way home! But I, Lancer, won't let you go there! And I've got a flawless two-step plan to ensure it. Step one, I thrash you. Step two: you lose !”

“Maybe… we can solve things more peacefully?” Amber tried to suggest, hoping that would convince him. A rude gesture directed at her gave the answer she needed.

Susie grinned, baring her teeth. “Actually, this kid’s plan sounds good.”

“R-Really?” Lancer asked.

“Yeah, actually,” Susie’s smile grew, “mind if we use it on you instead?”

“Oh dear…” Emily whispered.

“More trouble…” Percy sighed.

“Heck yeah, LET’S GO.” Felix enthusiastically said, forming a fighting stance.

Immediately, the seven souls flew out of their bodies, the same colour as from earlier’s spade attack. A red heart from Kris, cyan from Emily, orange from Felix and so on.

Susie didn’t have a heart, and asked about it. “Well, maybe because you don’t actually have one.” A cold-hearted response from Beatrice.

“You’re actually right.” Susie sneered. “That’s why… I’m gonna thrash this kid!”

“Wait, why are we all going up against a kid?” Amber questioned, but it didn’t matter as Lancer revved up his motorbike and swarmed towards all of them.

All of them managed to jump out of the way, except Amber. She held out her frying pan, and somehow managed to block off the attack. Kris readied their sword. Percy grabbed his notebook from nowhere.

Susie grinned, holding onto a large axe. “Don’t know how I got an axe, but like, that’s cool.” She wasted no time swinging the axe at Lancer, swinging him backwards.

“Fighting? Count me in!” Felix jumped in and punched the motorbike, sending Lancer crashing against the castle wall.

“Stop,” Beatrice shouted. “You two are making everything worse!”

They didn’t hear, of course, and prepared to strike again.

“Hey, Lancer watch out!” Amber tried to warn him. He spun on his motorbike once, but after flashing the rude gesture, it didn’t seem to have gotten through to him.

“So what are you guys doing after this?” Lancer asked.

“Going home.” Percy replied flatly.

Kris told Lancer they couldn't tell where his body started and his clothes ended, which flattered him for whatever reason.

This time, Lancer sent spades flying towards the group, which were easily dodged by everyone except Amber, who realised that her movement in battle was limited. Luckily, her pan absorbed most of the damage, only taking a tiny amount of HP. Kris noticed this and stood behind her, with the rest following, except Susie and Felix.

“Hohohoho!” Lancer chuckled. “I’m the bad guy!”

At that moment, Susie attempted to swing an axe on Lancer while Felix tried to get a punch in on him. Lancer spun his bike which caused her axe to hit Susie and vice-versa, causing both to take damage.

“Damn it.” Susie mumbled, not showing any weakness to the rest.

Another wave of spades later, he suddenly grew worried.

“Wait!” He gasped, “Wait a second! My bike’s running out of fuel!”

“Aw man, it was FUN!” Felix complained.

“You should be grateful the fight ended.” Beatrice glared at the fighter coldly for earlier before turning to Lancer.

“Do we have to be enemies?” Amber asked Lancer.

“Of course, short punk-a-roo!” Lancer chuckled. “You had the luck of the draw this time, but…… next time, the losers WILL BE YOU!! Hahahaha!” 

“GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHI-” Susie pounced on Lancer axe in hand, but Lancer quickly revved his bike and sped into the dust. “Bye, losers! I gotta get home before dinner!”

Beatrice immediately went up to Felix and Susie. She had never been in that much rage before and looked like strangling the two of them. “You two.” Her voice was filled with anger and her eyes demanded an answer. “What was all that for? You two made it worse!” 

“I was actually doing something! What the hell were you doing earlier?” Susie retorted, causing Beatrice to go silent. “Exactly.”

“I could’ve WON him if we didn’t collide.” Felix added the fuel to the fire.

“Buddy, you’re not helping at all.” Benjamin went up and told him silently. 

“Did YOU even help earlier?” Felix shot back.

“At least I wasn’t reckless fighting, pal.” Benjamin clicked his tongue, close to pulling out his gun.

The arguments only escalated further, growing louder every sentence. Amber would have tried to stop it, but her exhaustion from the battle forced her to rest. 

Percy was secretly relieved the battle was over, and hoped he didn’t have to face more battles in the future. We have to find a way out of this, he contemplated. Maybe if he explored further, he would be able to find his way out, but he was just too fearful to take the step.

Emily just sat at one of the corners, a little shaken but otherwise unharmed. She wanted to find anything, anything she could use as canvas, but there was nothing.

At that moment, the trio’s attention was caught by that hooded figure. “A…Are you all okay?” They tried to get others’ attention but to no avail. Luckily, Beatrice noticed them and screamed, “All of you, shut up!” 

Susie didn’t think she was capable of things like this, rather, she herself would be the one screaming. “Oh, so now you finally step up?” Susie sneered.

“More worth it than arguing with you.” Beatrice argued. 

“Um, allow me to introduce myself more clearly.” The hooded figure slowly took off his hood. “Hello, everyone. I’m Ralsei. It’s ever so wonderful to meet you!” Everyone finally got a good look at him. He had black fur and was some kind of goat. He wore glasses and a scarf around his neck. His clothes had a green heart on it, and had a hat of the same colour.

“Oh my god! He’s so cute!” Amber rushed up to Ralsei and gave him a tight hug. There was a faint blush on his face, which Percy pretended to not see. He shifted his focus towards what Lancer said earlier. East, huh.  

“I’m certain we’re going to become great friends, and…” Ralsei continued on but saw Percy turning to leave. “Percy, where are you going?” He asked with some doubt.

“Home, of course. I mean, it’s been fun here, but I really need to find a way back. I need to find Caleb and start on the project with him.” Percy shrugged and headed on.

“Nerd boy’s right. I’m leaving too.” Susie growled.

“Percy, wait!” Amber called out. She could feel her heart rate accelerate briefly before returning back to its rhythm.

“Susie, wait…!” Ralsei tried calling them but they had already gone out of view. Felix was tempted to follow them with his instinct for adventuring but was held back by Benjamin. 

“Hey, how come THEY get to go but I don’t?” He complained.

“Calm down, Felix. We need manpower through this world.” Benjamin told him.

“Great, now you just sound like that girl. Nagging and nagging like a broken record.” Felix sulked and slumped in a downwards position. He could hear Beatrice scowl from a distance, but it didn’t matter.

“Maybe we should go find them?” Emily voiced her thoughts, seconded by Amber who may or may not be worried about a certain someone. Meanwhile, Beatrice seemed to be a little stressed. Things hadn’t been going well. First, they fell into who knows where, and now two of them had gone off on their own.

“Beatrice, are you alright?” She looked up to see Ralsei extending his paw. 

“Are we really heroes…?” She asked him quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear.

“Of course, Beatrice.” Ralsei answered. “I believe you all are.”

“Then, where is the fountain?” She asked, taking his paw and getting up.

“It’s the way your friends went!” He exclaimed.

“Sweet.” Benjamin muttered, still holding onto Felix firmly.

Beatrice’s face went from worry to relief. A smile popped up and she knew, it was her chance . A chance to be seen as a hero, a chance to earn the likes of everyone, a chance to……

Everyone else stared weirdly at her as she continued her daydream. Ralsei gently nudged her out of it and told everyone to follow him. Kris went ahead first, followed by Beatrice, Felix and Benjamin and then Emily and Amber, who seemed to be discussing something.

They arrived and saw a training dummy, the exact replica of Ralsei.

“Is that… you?” Amber whispered.

Ralsei nodded. “Well, I may be a PRINCE, but I, um, currently don’t have any subjects. That’s why I made this dummy, and I’m really happy to meet you all.” He paused. “Since we’re here, would you like me to teach you all how to fight?” Everyone nodded eagerly, except Kris who did nothing. That was taken as a yes. 

“We’ll take turns for this training, pair up please.” Ralsei asked the rest. Then, Kris, Beatrice and Ralsei all entered combat like with Lancer.

"You see those hearts?" Ralsei explained. "Those are your SOULs. They're the culmination of your being. Within, they hold your WILL, your COMPASSION… and the fate of the WORLD."

“Each soul looks different…” Emily pointed out the obvious colour changes.

“Each human SOUL has a unique ability.” Ralsei continued. “Kris has a red soul, and they have the ability to ACT for themself and others, as well as a natural talent for being a leader.”

“Oh COME on!” Felix complained. “Why are they the one that leads? Why can’t I be one?” 

“Just think about what would happen if YOU were in charge!” Benjamin joked, receiving a look from Felix.

“...Anyway, as for everyone else, each human has a unique trait and ability related to the colour of their soul. For Beatrice, it is INTEGRITY and she has an ability called Gravity of Morales . Well, you'll need TP for that, though.” Ralsei explained. “You can get TP by DEFENDing, as well as grazing enemy’s attacks. Try not to get hit - If your HP reaches 0, you lose.” 

Kris instructed her to DEFEND as several white bullets appeared. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard and they managed to rack up some TP. Ralsei complimented them and suggested giving this ability a try. 

Beatrice unleashed the power of her Blue soul. In the next round, her soul gave out a few rounds of blue rings, which caused all the pellets to fall onto the ground. The others watched from the sidelines and gasped in awe. 

“WOAH! Can we all do that too?” Felix asked Ralsei in eagerness.

“Yes, you all have different abilities that can help each other!” Ralsei happily informed the group. “Kris, Beatrice, let’s try FIGHTing this time!”

Kris slashed their sword against the dummy, leaving a clear cut on it. Beatrice hesitated, seeing that she didn’t really have a weapon. Wait, I have my own weapon! She used her legs and smacked the dummy silly. Amber watched her fellow housemate perform stunts that she never thought would be possible for her, and couldn’t say a word when they finished.

After Kris and Beatrice finished, the others also took their turns in combat. They learned various skills that they could use as well.

Felix had this ability Charge on, which granted his orange soul to dash through bullets for a short distance and would increase his speed until he got hit in one turn.

Benjamin’s new ability was sharpshooter, where he could fire shots from his yellow soul to destroy obstacles. If he channeled well enough, he could fire a big shot that pierces through obstacles. It does cost a little more TP than a usual ability, but it was very effective.

Emily had the power Drawing board, where she would be able to make a drawing that could randomly provide a powerful effect for the team. However, she would be unable to move for one turn, making her vulnerable to attacks, needing to rely on others’ abilities to shield herself. If she were hit while in the midst of preparing, she would lose focus and fail to do so. 

Lastly, Amber could use her Shield of kindness. When she activates it, she shields all other teammates from any damage, but would increase the damage she takes. Given she has one of the least HP along with Ralsei and her soul moves slowly in battle, she has her frying pan that reduces damage and blocks off most shots, with a few exceptions. 

“Great work, everyone!” Ralsei said. He held out a thick manual. “I um, wrote a manual in case you all need refreshing.”

Kris wordlessly held onto the manual, looking at it for a brief moment before placing it in their ITEMs. Amber wondered what Percy was doing with Susie then. Beatrice had sensed that Susie wasn’t exactly… the best influence. She had to catch up before Percy was influenced by Susie. She was pretty sure it was bound to happen.

And so, the heroes (minus Percy and Susie) made their way to the golden door, which was left wide open.

"Oh my!" Ralsei gasped. "The Great Door is open… so that's how Lancer got through." He turned back to face the humans. "Um, guys, once we pass through this door... Our adventure will really begin. A journey foretold exactly by the prophecy…"

He turned to the six humans. “But… I believe YOUR choices are important, too. This world is full of all kinds of people. In the end, how we treat them makes all the difference. So let's try our best to get by without FIGHTing. If we can manage to do that... I believe this tale may have a happy ending. Otherwise, I fear that…"

He swallowed.

"...you may not... find the result favorable." He blushed, looking down. "... Oh, I'm sorry! Is that too much to ask?"

“Don’t worry, Ralsei, we’ll be as kind as we can to enemies!” Amber assured him.

“I WANT to fight them with all this!” Felix enthusiastically said.

“NO, Felix. We will not fight them to the best we can.” He got shut again by Beatrice.

Kris said nothing, but that was enough for Ralsei. “I knew you were all heroes the moment I saw you,” He declared. “Let’s try our best, alright?” 

Soon, the seven of them entered the door. Ralsei turned back for a brief moment, staring at the abandoned town for a moment, before locking the door, truly beginning the LEGEND……

Chapter Text

Back to Caleb’s POV

“Oh shit, how long’ve I been sleeping?” I slowly fluttered my eyes open. Suddenly, everything snapped back into place, bringing me away from dreamland. What was this place again?

Oh yeah, I now remembered. I fell in here trying to find everyone else, found some castle town with no life except a dummy that taught me how to battle, and collapsed in the courtyard out of exhaustion. Now that I thought about it, how does a DUMMY speak? There was no way I was still in Hometown. That, or I’ve gone clinically insane.

Wait… Shit. While I’ve been asleep, my schoolmates must’ve gone much further into the door earlier! The chance of me being able to find them was low, and I couldn’t even find my own way out of this world. What was I gonna do now? Suddenly, some spirit rose inside of me. If anything, I wasn’t going to rot here and await death. It can take me another time. I would dig up anything I could find and-

“You’re um, awake.” I turned to the source of the voice. It was similar to the dummy from earlier, but there were some differences. Instead of having black fur, his fur was white as snow, and he wasn’t wearing his green hat. Maybe the two were related in the way - I have to ask this person.

“Hey, whoever you are. What’s your name?” I asked as I was getting up from my resting position. This guy immediately came to help me up, holding my claws while I found my footing. 

“Oh, I’m Ralsei. It’s nice to meet you!” He introduced himself and I managed to take a closer look at him. Ralsei seemed to be some kind of goat, with a pair of glasses. He wore a scarf around him just like the dummy. This guy… Just what is he?

“You look awfully similar to that dummy earlier…” I commented, telling him his resemblance to that.

“Oh um, I made that because… I was alone for quite some time.” Ralsei paused. “...until the DELTAWARRIORS showed up.” Wait… My schoolmates! Does he know about them? Has he seen them? Where are they now? 

“Ralsei, have you seen my schoolmates by any chance?” I immediately brought that topic up. “There are eight of them…”

“I see, so you ARE talking about the DEALTAWARRIORS.” Ralsei looked at me. What do you mean they are warriors? Can Percy even wield a sword? An image of Percy trying to slash enemies popped into my mind. I stifled my laugh trying to think about it, given his athletic skills being on par with mine - Absolute shit.

“Can you…… explain further? I want to know.” I told Ralsei.

“How about you take a walk with me? I’ll um, try and explain what I can.” Ralsei motioned me to follow him. I got up, pen still at my back and headed out of the courtyard. “Very well, let me start with a story… No, THE story of DELTARUNE…”

One explanation of the LEGEND later…

“Let me get this straight… You believe my schoolmates are the HEROES destined to save the world?” I asked him. To me though, I found it quite absurd. From earlier, I saw this world as different as the one from Hometown. Considering how I was earlier, I could only imagine how they felt when they were being transported here, falling through the supply closet. That wasn’t something I would like to relieve ever. On top of that, Susie wasn’t known to have the best… attitude. Would she really be a hero?

“Well, yes, I do believe they are the heroes of the world!” Ralsei chirped happily. “I went on an adventure with them earlier, and they all managed to get to the fountain and seal it!” 

“Wait, how?  Does that mean they are no longer in this world?” I leaned forward. “Tell me everything that happened along the journey. Consider me interested.”

Ralsei sighed. “Very well, I shall tell you this chapter of the story. It started when……”

Ralsei’s POV

To say I was lonely was an understatement. I had been alone for as long as I can remember. When was the last time I’d seen anyone? It got so lonely that I built a dummy of myself on the side, and spending every day in my room writing my manual.

Who even was I? The only thing I remembered was that my purpose was to serve the lightners. For the longest time, it was just me and the castle town. It was quite isolating and I used the time to study lightners. They had various abilities depending on their soul colours for humans, and for the others, well, they were also powerful.

Everything changed when I found them.

I saw them enter the castle town from a distance. The moment I set my eyes on them, I knew they were the HEROES. Those destined to fulfill the prophecy. I put on my hat and cloak to prepare. When they entered the courtyard hesitantly, I welcomed them in and told them, or tried to, tell the LEGEND and my beliefs. 

Susie and Percy were both more… hesitant than the rest, but Beatrice seemed really willing to help me out. There was the spirit of a hero within her, a flame that stood stronger than the rest, and on par with Kris’s soul. 

At that moment, I felt the force of a motorbike ramp into me, knocking me far from the rest, unable to help them in the battle. I felt so bad… it was probably their first time in this world, and having to go unassisted in battle… what if something bad happened to them? I couldn’t help but worry as I got myself up to my feet. 

I approached them, but luckily, Lancer was gone, and they weren’t that hurt. I asked them if they were okay and re-introduced myself before taking off my cloak, showing them my black fur. I was hit again but this time it was a hug from Amber, the one with the frying pan. It was the first time anyone had shown affection for me… I could feel myself blushing a bit.

Unfortunately, Susie and Percy went ahead of us, causing a slight decrease in manpower. Luckily, the rest were all quick learners, and one lesson from me with the dummy was enough to teach them the basics. I saw that Felix was very brave and tended to rush into things headfirst. With Kris as the leader, though, it should all be fine…

When we got to the Golden Door, it was pushed wide open. So that was how Lancer got in, I had thought. I told them that they should try and play as pacifist as possible, so that more people would come to TOWN. After all, it would be nice if I had more… company. 

The moment we stepped in, we were greeted with purple grass and lots of fall trees. It instantly caught my attention - This seemed to be a field of hopes and dreams. Everyone else had some kind of reaction - Well except Kris, that is. They just stared at the trees. Felix looked at the field in awe, wanting to charge through it like a lion, with Benjamin at his side. Emily just admired the view in silence. Beatrice, taking the front, was the “appointed” leader alongside Kris, and she was observing the surroundings with caution. Amber was right behind me, complimenting the beautiful scenery.

“What a pretty place…” I could hear her mutter. She wasn’t wrong. 

There was a signpost a bit further in. “Enemies ahead! You’re gonna die! SIGNED, LANCER. I could hear Felix laughing. “Enemies? Now that’s fun!” Just then, we spotted a Rudinn up ahead. It immediately ran into us and started a battle. Kris, Beatrice and Felix, who were at the front, saw their souls fly into the same green box. The Rudinn threw some diamond bullets at the trio, which they easily dodged. 

Unfortunately, before they could pacify it, Felix whipped out his gloves and punched the Rudinn away, causing it to flee from the battle. They earned some dark dollars from the battle, which Kris kept. 

“Hey, what was that for?” Beatrice scolded.

“HEY, they were asking for a FIGHT!” Felix retorted back.

“Maybe…we shouldn’t fight like that… we’re a team, remember.” Amber got in the way and pleaded.

The two held their words back, but this seemed to be far from earlier. I turned to Kris and whispered. “We might need to WARN enemies about him, Kris.” Kris showed no acknowledgement, hopefully they did.

We proceeded to the other side of the area, where there was yet another signpost. If you’re reading this… I guess you’re dead.” SIGNED, LANCER. “Well, we aren’t.” Benjamin dryly commented.

“I really hope Percy and Susie are alright…” Amber muttered, a glint of worry showing on her face. I reached out to comfort her. “Don’t worry, Amber. I’m sure they’ll be fine!” It did seem to help her, so that was that. 

We then encountered Lancer, who was working on a signpost. Hey, don’t read this sign! It’s a work in progress! SIGNED, LANCER. “Ho ho ho… if it isn’t my favourite group of people! … Psyche! You guys aren’t even in my top five!!” 

I immediately confronted Lancer. “Lancer! Where’s Percy and Susie?” I could see everyone turning to him, looking for an answer. 

“You mean the purple girl and nerdy boy…? Ho ho ho…” Lancer chuckled, resulting in an anxious reaction from Amber and Emily (Well, more from Amber). “You fools! You’re too late to stop me…!” I had to probe him further. “What did you do?” 

“Hahaha… It was SO simple! They, mostly the purple girl, beat me up, so I ran away!” Everyone was left speechless by Lancer.

“Well, that’s a bit anti-climatic…” I told Lancer.

“HOW did you lose to Percy?” Felix teased, “His skills are weaker than… OW! That hurt!” He received a hit in the head from Beatrice. “Don’t down-talk Percy! He might be better than you think!” 

“I’m…I’m glad Percy’s alright…” Amber smiled a little brighter than earlier. At least everyone was in good spirits. During Lancer’s talk, Kris had snuck down and found two pieces of DARK CANDY that went straight into his inventory.

The group was about to head down before Lancer said, “Hey, if you head that way, my troops will thrash you.” I immediately questioned whether it was a threat. He claimed it was an invitation. 

“We better get going…” Benjamin lowered his hat and ushered all of us on.

Later on, we found two Rudinns thai time, who seemed to be aware of Felix and looked rather fearful. Luckily, Felix wasn’t in the battle this time, so Amber,  Benjamin and I, under Kris’s guidance, convinced the Rudinns to quit fighting, which somehow swayed them. We spared them without any violence and continued on. 

Emily spotted a yellow figure with a chef’s hat on it. She approached him, “Hey, um, what happened to you?” The darkner, almost about to break, sniffingly told her, “Mama Miba. I’m TOPCHEF! My latest cake worked me to exhaustion! So I took a little nap…  But, Mama miba! A scary noise woke me up! A beast was hunched on the table, eating the cake like an animal! Another one was just staring, but not helping! I spritzed them with water, and both of them ran off! But, my wonderful cake was …” He stared at the empty table for a moment.

“Aw, guys! That sounds like Percy and Susie!” I said, “We must be going the right way! Let’s try to keep them out of any more trouble!” 

“Taking the remaining bits of the cake? Sounds just like Percy…” Benjamin laughed. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Amber pouting a little bit. Maybe… I wondered but dismissed it as my own thoughts.

Soon, we encountered a group of Rudinns and Hathys. This time, more of us were pulled into battle, with Amber being the only one not involved, who sat at the sidelines for support this round. Kris, Felix and Beatrice fought the Rudinns, while Emily, Benjamin and I fought the Hathys. We managed to flatter all of them, and spared them with ease. Luckily, Kris and Beatrice warned the enemies of Felix’s attacks, and resolved it peacefully.

In the next area, there was a puzzle. “Oh god, Nope, not doing it.” Felix went to the side and waited for everyone else. “Felix, you can’t expect someone else to complete the puzzle for you…” I told him, but Emily placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine, we’ll finish it.”

The puzzle wasn’t challenging at all, and soon we were able to move on. It seemed that Percy and Susie did manage to get past here one way or the other. Kris seemed to walk up to something for a moment, but then quickly headed to the signpost. Behold, the Maze of Death! Prepare to get LOST, clowns! SIGNED, LANCER. “Some kind of maze this is.” Beatrice muttered. 

Then again, this maze didn’t seem that complicated either. Emily had found a white ribbon in a chest within the maze. “This looks really nice…” She put the ribbon on her head, perfectly matching the one on her already. “Oh?” Felix asked, “Trying to impress someone?” She glanced away from everyone else, trying not to show her blushing face. “...maybe” She whispered. 

After reading some of the signposts, we managed to find the way out of this “Maze of Death”, and found Lancer standing there. “Ho ho ho! Somehow, you survived the maze! But don’t count your blessings before they hatch…”  Lancer taunted. “Let’s see how you fare against THIS team!” The moment he finished, a swarm of Hathy’s blocked the way. Yup, bad team formation. I could feel myself instinctively shake my head. The Hathy’s attacks were only for support, and no one got damaged at all, not even Amber, who did tend to take damage in battles. “Hey, why aren’t you guys thrashed?! You’re totally outnumbered!” Lancer asked. 

“You made a team purely of SUPPORT ENEMIES.” I explained. “Their bullet patterns aren’t balanced at all. It’s like a dinner made out of three glasses of milk.” Lancer was left speechless, unable to counterargue anything. “Why don’t we talk about this AFTER the battle?” I told him, and he retreated to the back. With one good flatter of all the Hathys, we managed to spare all of them, earning more Dark Dollars. 

“Sweet! How much do I get?” Lancer went up to us and asked. “You… lost Lancer. You don’t get any.” He seemed disappointed by my words. “Oh… can I have some of yours.” 

“NO.” Felix shouted while Kris tucked all the money away, causing Lancer to flee, but not without a taunt. “Later, losers!” …Well he didn’t get far. 

“Lancer, I thought you were running away.” Beatrice asked him. “Yeah… I finished.” Lancer said, standing at one end of the field. “Let’s just go…” Benjamin told everyone.

Our group encountered yet another puzzle, but this time something else caught our attention. In front of a locked door, there were two people. One was bashing against the door, trying to force it open. The other was standing against the wall, not helping. We instantly knew who these two were.

“Open up, you stupid door.” Susie growled still on the door.

“This probably isn’t the way, you should try something else…” Percy told her while lifting his glasses.

“YOU tell me, nerd boy, got any ideas?” Susie retorted. “...Exactly.” Percy remained silent, not wanting to admit she was right: He didn’t have any clue at the moment, and the earlier puzzle… wasn’t solvable with only two people.

At that moment, the two of them noticed our presence. “Oh… hey guys.” Percy shrugged. “There you are!” Amber said. “...took you long enough.” She muttered. 

“Oh, great. It’s YOU GUYS.” Susie flat out grumbled, not welcoming our presence at all.

“Hey, what’s wrong with our presence?” Felix retorted. It seemed either side would explode any moment, so I decided to cut in.

“Susie, Percy, The door will open after we solve the puzzle over there!” I told them.

“Nice. Tell me when you guys finish it.” She clearly didn’t care about puzzles.

“Guys, let’s go and solve it I guess.” Beatrice motioned the humans to the puzzle there.

I turned back to Susie. “Susie, you need a human to seal the DARK FOUNTAIN… If you don’t accompany us, you won’t make it home!”

“... I already have nerd boy, so like hell I need you guys.” Susie pointed at Percy. “I’d prefer if you call me Percy.” He glared back. He turned to me for a moment, contemplating his options. “... I guess we’ll join you… for now.”

Susie walked up to me. “...Let’s just get this over with.” 

“Yahoo! Susie and Percy are back on the team! Cue the fanfare!” I cheered such that everyone else heard it.

*Susie and Percy joined the party!

“...”

“Really?” Percy facepalmed.

*Susie and Percy follow at a distance such that no one can tell they’re associated!

“Oh, you two are back.” Emily looked over for a moment, before turning back to the puzzle. 

Percy gave a silent wave before observing the puzzle. 

***

“Alright, it’s done.” Beatrice proudly announced as they heard the sound of a door opening.

“Way to go, Beatrice! I knew you could do it!” I applauded. Kris then got up and headed to the door, with everyone trailing behind him. 

At the door, Emily pointed out something at the door. It was a checker that you would see at a casino. Right then, I thought of an idea. Right then, Kris was the only one who could ACT, so why not teach the others? I whispered to Kris, “Oh, Kris! I just realised the others never learned how to ACT! Next battle, we should show them how to ACT! I think they might really enjoy that!” Kris didn’t say anything, but walked straight into the check and triggered the battle. This time, unlike only three being pulled in, ALL of us were involved in the battle.

*C. Round attacked violently!

“Everyone… I forgot one thing at the tutorial. All of you can also perform actions…Just not unique like Kris’s.” I told everyone. Kris ordered everyone to compliment the enemy.

“Hey, that’s not my thing!” Felix complained. 

“Can’t you just do it?” Beatrice asked.

“Can YOU do it?” Felix retorted. He rolled his eyes upon the lack of response. “Knew it.”

“Why the HELL would I do that?” Susie said. “IT attacked us. Let’s smash it before it moves.”

“It doesn’t seem dangerous though…” Amber pointed out at the innocent checker kicking its legs.

“She’s right Susie, if we act nice, we might win without hurting it!” I encouraged her to compliment C. Round.

“......okay, okay. Hey, little guy.” Susie said, “I really like the axe in your face.” She swung her axe smack onto C. Round, causing the little guy to flee.

“Nice one, man.” Felix chuckled.

Maybe I should talk to Susie and Felix after this…

After the battle, Percy spotted a sign that had appeared out of thin air. Heheheh! I sneaked by and made a sign! SIGNED, LANCER.

“How does he…” Beatrice wondered about Lancer.

“He’s small, after all.” Percy said.

When we passed through the door, I decided to talk to Felix, Percy and Susie. “Um, you guys, I supposed you missed what I said earlier…” I began, “As heroes, we have the power to make a peaceful future. So, from now on, let’s try to avoid FIGHTing, OK?”

“...As long as I can get back.” Percy muttered. Felix and Susie didn’t say anything, clearly contemplating.

“Um, what if you just took it easy on them…?” I suggested. “If you weaken my enemy, I can use my PACIFY spell which, can put exhausted people to sleep!”

“Yawn…yeah, you talking is already doing that.” Susie yawned.

“I AGREE!” Felix said.

“Well um, just think about it!” I turned to everyone else after that. “We might need to warn enemies about BOTH of them, guys…” Beatrice nodded while Kris showed no reaction.

***