Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You rushed over, having finally pushed past the box, having finally made your way back to the guitar. Susie and Noelle still talked in the background, Kris had turned their attention to face them, between the stupid robots, between them, maybe you'd finally have enough time to-

An impact of wood cracked against your form, sending you careening down to the floor, taking the guitar with you.

...You were fragile as a soul. You were exposed as a soul. Maybe Kris knew this,maybe not, but it certainly didn't change the fact that it still hurt. It didn't change the fact that you felt each impact, blow after blow after blow.

You didn't know why you were here. Your memory from before was spotty at best.

Something about a pitch black void, a man who shouted into the back of your skull, the stark grey image of…something being formed from nothing, like strings weaving together cloth.

A second voice. One that overtook the other entirely. One that told you nothing you did mattered. When you tried to open your eyes again, you were met with darkness. 

The first thing you remembered was panicking, screaming into darkness, feeling as if something had ensnared around you, encased you in a cage that pulsed and moved on its own- 

The second thing you remembered was blinking and seeing light. You still had eyes. They just weren't your own.

Another impact of the stick. Another searing flash of pain.

You can imagine why Kris was mad you. At least, at first. Were the roles reversed, you'd expect nothing different. 

You'd tried to be kind. To work with the slim context clues you had, to take any efforts to communicate, to at least have them eat and drink, to take care of themselves. 

You' swore that the body worked against you in every opprotunity it could. Your fingers clenched against the handles of the fridge, your hand snapped or bent any writing tool beyond recognition, your head turned away whenever you tried to use the laptop in the room.

...What you couldn't understand was why with everything you'd tried, Kris despised you. Hateful eyes in the passing glances of mirrors,  deadened limp hands whenever you tried to allow them to partake in their hobbies-

...The Birdcage.

Another rabid swing. Another flash of pain. You heard something- Heard yourself crack. You would scream, but you had no mouth with which to do so. 

You went limp, the pain overwhelming, stars in your eyes as the world went fuzzy. You're vaguely aware of the sound of voices, of the closet door's opening and closing, of another door swinging open in the distance. 

A hand wraps around you. Squeezes you tight enough for a crack in your form to continue to spread.

...All you'd wanted to do, all you'd tried to do was help. Kris had friends, Kris was safe, You'd even turned a blind eye when they'd thrown that bottle at you.

You could forgive a lot of things. The lack of communication, the misunderstanding, the frustration and the anger-

But you couldn't forgive this.

You squirm in rebellion as you feel Kris's weight shift around you. Finally able to see past buzz, you see their phone in their other hand, quickly swiping through a contact list. You didn't know who they were calling. You didn't care. If Kris wanted you gone so bad, then fine.

You squirm further, closer in the grip, as if shifting your weight closer to see the name of the contact on their phone. They hold you away, outside the closet door, to keep your prying eyes farther away. 

...Exactly what you wanted.

You will the light of your soul to shine, as bright and as hot as it could. A gasp of pain as the hand quickly drops you. Your light fades, you dart away.

If Kris really hated you so much, then fine. FINE. They could have their life, have their friends, be as perfectly rid of you as they wanted! You were done being thrown around, done being used and thrown into a cage, done being hurt.

You plummet to the ground as you see something speed towards you from your peripheral, you watch as their phone impacts the ground beside you. Whichever name they had taken the time to call had been put on hold. 

You fly back up, watching from the other side of the room as they stare you down, picking the hockey pick back up from the ground. 

They looked desperate, from the slim flash of their eyes you saw beneath their hair. Angry, as their hand closed around it and they lined up another shot.

You dodged to the side and the puck clattered uselessly against the wall. Without the element of surprise, without the closed confines of the closet, they had no chance of hitting you. You'd had more than enough time to practice.

There was fear in their eyes, as they darted back into the closed to retrieve the hockey stick.

...What right did they have to be afraid?

You simply float out of their range as they charge you down with the stick, watching as they uselessly swat at the air.

Once, twice, thrice- Now!

You darted past another swing, rushing back out into the house at large, back up the second flight of stairs towards what you could only assume was Noelle's parent's room. You'd seen a vent that lead to the outside from there within the maze, if you could just reach that, if you could just reach the grate-

"S-Susie?" You heard a voice call out from the house below. "It's...not out here! Are you sure you saw it in the kitchen?"

...You hesitated. Noelle.

The only one who had shown you any semblance of kindness.

How Susie had reacted was exactly in character, you wouldn't have expected anything else, but you knew full and well she was prepared to smash you into pieces with that candy cane. Yes, you were just a mouse in that sense, but...Susie hadn't been the one that caged you instead. Taken you back upstairs and thought best on how to release or...keep you. Noelle-

Noelle hadn't thrown the same stupid hockey puck at the back of your head in your split second of hesitation. Hadn't overwhelmed you with pain as you fell back down to the stairs, tumbling into awaiting hands.

...Noelle hadn't fumbled at the last second, leaving you to roll farther down past her into the living room below, coming to a stop next to the same paper angel.

You saw the two of them returning through the open doorway of the kitchen. You saw Kris staring down at you from the staircase. You made a split second decision, covering yourself once more with the paper angel.

The clammoring of feet, idle conversation growing louder, hands wrapping around your paper prison-

"Oh! You, uh...Did you get it, Kris?"

...The hands hesitate. Two more sets of feet come to rest nearby. 

"I'm so sorry about this! Me and Susie just found something in the basement, and when we went down there was this mouse trapped under the paper angel here, and-"

"Dude, I didn't even see it! Noelle didn't either!" Susie says beside you. "But uh...what do we...do with it?"

...Your prison moved. Hands crumped in towards you.

"Oh, uh- No, please! I'll get rid of it!" Noelle studders, as you feel the cookie tray begin to slide underneath you once more. "I'll just uh...put it outside, and then...we can get back to the projects!" 

A blur of movement as hands move and shift. As humanoid shadows blur together and apart.

"Sure! I uh...gotta go and talk to Kris about something real quick anyways! Just hurry back!"

"What are you...talking to them about?"

"...Crime? Yeah, uh...crime! Real, real bad stuff! We just...don't want you guilty by association!"

Noelle giggles under her breath. You hear a scuffle as you're taken away, hear the door to the kitchen shut. Hear the sound of another opening. 

The AC gives way to late summer heat. The door closes once more. You're outside.

"I uh...I'm gonna open this now, ok?" Noelle says down to you. "And you'll just...run off now and...do what mice do! Just...not in my house anymore!"

Your cage is opened. You float upwards and the light of the sun overwhelms you. Within the darkness of your various prisons, you don't know if you'd ever truly felt sunlight upon you. Not in a very, very long time. You know you've felt it before, but...not as you. It was liberating.

You relished the moment for as long as you could. 

The gasp of shock from behind you cut it rather short.

"W-What-" 

You come back to your senses, turning your...face? back to Noelle, and giving the best impression of a curt nod  as you could. You would've prefered to say "thank you", but...you had no pen with which to write. No mouth with which to scream. It was the best you could do.

"What...are you?" Noelle says, looking out to you now with...curiosity, over fear. A raised eyebrow. A gentle hand that reached forwards towards the crack in your form.

You flinched backwards in pain the moment her hand brushed against it. Not quite a crushing grasp, not quite a hockey stick, but agitating a wound would only make it worse.

"Oh, I- I'm sorry! I didn't-"

Echos and thuds from within the house, growing closer. Something, someone stomps over towards the door. You dart upwards, away from the glass, away from eyesight as you hear it open.

"Noelle!" 

"O-Oh! Susie, I...thought that you and Kris were-"

"Well, yeah, but...Kris said they wanted to uh...see the...rat!"

"Mouse."

"Yeah, whatever it was, just uh...before you let it go! Did you-"

"...Oh."

You press yourself against the wall, as tightly as you could. It agitates the crack in your form, but the pain is bareable, considering what may happen otherwise.

"I uh...already let it out! Sorry, it just...ran off!" 

"...Darn. Well, uh...I'll go break the bad news. How about you go and...wait at the couch? I'll get us drinks and then we can...actually work on the project thing!"

"Y-Yeah! I was...wondering what you guys were gonna do, actually! What's your theme?"

"Well, it's uh...It's really complicated! And I...can't really explain all of it, Kris, knows it more, I-"

"...You guys haven't started it at all, have you?"

"...Shut up!"

...Noelle laughs again as the door opens and closes. You think to peek back down, but you remember well enough what Kris had done. For all you know, they were just waiting there. You wouldn't chance it again.

A flash of blonde hair and antlers as you drift past the side of the house. You stick to the wall. You stay high. You avoid the windows, until you come to the closest part of the house between the wall and the treeline. You and freedom. 

“The hell do you mean you ‘can’t lose it?’ It was a mouse! What the hell were you gonna do with-”

...More pieces of conversation. 

"What do you mean it was a SOUL? How did you-"

"What do you mean it was yours?!"

""...What do you mean it's 'listening to us?!' ""

...The kitchen window clicked open. You stared down at a disheveled bed of brown hair. The red flash of a bloodshot eye. The crushing grip of a hockey puck in its hand.

Hatred.

You launch yourself away, falling inert and rolling into the treeline in the distance. The puck connects with you, but it's far too little. Far too late. By the time Kris is halfway out the window, You're already back up in the air. By the time Susie pulls them back in, you're well behind cover.

Even behind the leaves and twigs, concealed entirely in the foliage of the tree, you can feel them staring at you. That same anger. That same desperation.

...That same fear.

If Kris couldn't make up their mind between wanting your help and wanting to beat you into a pulp, then you would make it for them. You were done being hurt.

You shimmer in your concealment, the best impression of a rude gesture you could give, before flying away into the distance. 

...You felt odd as you flew away, a sensation not unsimilar to...homesickness. Stockholm Syndrome. The feeling faded as you came upon the streets of Hometown once more, staring down from the treetops.

The echoing of conversations from a group of monsters nearby.  The smell of food cooking in the distance. The sensation of the leaves around you as you floated in silence. A stabbing pain as the crack along your form shifted.

...You were free. A prisoner without its cell. A cage without it's bird. A soul without it's vessel.

...You didn't know what to do with it.

...You didn't know if you really felt free at all.

Chapter Text

The indecision paralyzed your more than anything. You'd been limited for what felt like so long that you had no idea what you'd actually do with your own freedom.  The image of a a dog chasing a car came to mind. A puppet being cut free from its strings. 

...You kept it simple for the time being. Sensations and feelings, you knew those. You'd follow those. 

The sway of the trees within the wind brushed against your form. Even so much as the leaves and twigs agitated your wounds. You didn't like that. You left the protective covering of the trees, finding yourself close to Kris's house.

You didn't mind Toriel, you didn't mind the house at large, but it obviously came with some bitter memories attached. You had the rest of Hometown to explore, and it was the last place you wanted to be. 

That, and admittedly, as you began to wonder away, something about the music she was playing rubbed you the wrong way. It made you...angry? Ashamed? Frustrated? You'd never thought too much on your own preference of music. Another thing for you to explore, you supposed.

...You pushed the thought aside. Made room for new ones. New sensations to follow.

You weren't quite sure how, lacking a nose, but the smell of food wafting through the air caught your attention. You found yourself drawn to the diner just across the street.

You remembered a few days ago, when you first wandered in. Kris had assumingly been familiar with them in the past, even given them a free drink. You had tried to say something in thanks, a quick thank you, anything really, but it had felt like your throat had closed off. You had chalked it up to nervousness in that moment, but...

...You knew better now.

Entering in through another loosened air conditioning vent, peering inwards through yet another, the diner was nearly empty. It's sole occupants were sitting at the counter, tending to something behind it. A plate and a cup rested before them. A half eaten burger. What you could only assume was the same hot chocolate from the smell. 

The monster at the counter got up from their seat. The monster behind the counter themselves turned away. You quickly took your chance and descended towards the cup. You knew it was probably a stupid idea, you knew you weren't entirely thinking this through, but...If there was one thing you did like out of all of this, it was the small town cooking.

...You didn't quite know how you were supposed to drink without a mouth, and in lieu of anything else, simply dipped the tip of yourself into the cup. 

It worked, to your...complete honest surprise. The heat felt boiling paired with your injuries, but there was a distinct...taste to the heat? You struggled to find the words, but it felt, it tasted more akin to the feeling. Relaxation distilled into a cup. A memory of a memory of warmth on a cold night. It wasn't unpleasant by any means, but-

It was rather abruptly cut away from you as the cup was suddenly moved, half of the contents splashing onto the rest of you as you fell out, falling to the ground below. Someone screamed as you regained control of yourself, darting back into the air vents. The homely sensation was replaced by pain. 

"What's wrong, honey?"

"There was something in my drink is what there was!" 

"...I ain't seein' nothin in there." 

"Well, it flew away! Up over there, into the-"

You heard the sound of a bell jingling as the front doors opened. 

"Oh, uh...Hey Kris! And...Susie! Now's not really the best time, We're-"

You quickly darted back out through the air vents, shaking yourself free of the last searing droplets as you returned outside. You didn't want to stick around long enough to hear any more of the conversation. You didn't want to be anywhere near them at all. 

You blindly stumbled down the street, trying to regain your bearings as the pain faded away. It was stupid of you. It was terribly, terribly stupid of you-

But you still wish you were able to stay around longer. Still wish you were able to have a drink for yourself.

...Still wish that you were able to enjoy the sensation on your own.  You don't remember the last time you ate. You didn't think you needed to, necessarily, but the gnawing pain and sensation of hunger within your form gave you conflicting thoughts. Maybe it was the lingering threads of connection that still existed between you and Kris. You know they hadn't eaten today, despite your best efforts.

You still remembered those pancakes from earlier this morning. A rather vocal part of you was still rather mad that you weren't able to taste them, even by proxy. 

. . .

You pushed the thought aside. There wasn't any reason to linger in the past. You needed new sensations. New stimulus. You paused your ceaseless march, moments before you found yourself flying into another tree.

You were...back at the school. 

...You were back at the school.

Ralsei. The Dark World. Castle Town.

From your limited interactions, you always figured he knew more than he let on. Something to do with the prophecy he knew, you'd imagined, but...he seemed like a kind soul in spite of it. Or...because of it? You didn't know, but if there was anyone left who you believed you could have any semblance of trust to, it would be him.

Or, at the least, someone who wouldn't attack you on sight.

...You spent the better part of the next ten minutes trying, and failing, to get into the schoolhouse.

The doors were locked, obviously. Each window you tried had been locked tight from the inside. The only person who came along and opened it in the time, Alphys, you believe her name was, would have noticed you immediately. She was carrying a box of...something out with her as she left, but she was gone too fast for you to act on the opportunity.

You tried the air vents, you tried the back door, you tried the windows again, you tried and you tried and you tried- 

...But nothing worked. 

You paused by the window, idly butting yourself into it with a series of dull subsequent knocks. Nobody responded. The school was empty.

...Nobody was coming to save you. 

You stopped. Another feeling began to overwhelm you. Despair, you'd want to call it at a glance. Hopelessness. The shining red light that you emitted, that you projected onto the surrounding brick wall, had seemed to dull. 

You were curious about it, if just for a moment. You stared at yourself in the reflection of the glass.

...You weren't left to stare for long, as you saw something begin to rapidly fly towards you in the reflection. You imagined your eyes widening as you dove to the side, moments before a rock shattered the window, in just the space you occupied a moment before. You turned back around.

Purple and blue and brown. Susie. You took off into the the forest before she had time to pick up a second one.

"shit- HEY! HEY! GET BACK HERE!" 

Her voice echoed after you as you bolted away. The sound of footsteps, the crunching of leaves, panting breath. Even flying as fast as you could, you could hear them getting closer.  You cut away through the trees, flying higher into the treeline. 

The pelting continued. The shine of your light was a dead giveaway in the fading light. Rocks, pinecones, rubble- Whatever she could find flew by you. The shots went wide at first, but they were getting closer. You felt as the edge of one in particular graze your side. The trees wouldn't work. You needed somewhere else to hide.

You saw the apartment buildings ahead in the distance. You darted towards them. You could certainly fly faster than she could climb. 

Another rock narrowly misses you as you ascend, up through the alleyway. All you needed was the cover of the railing, all you needed was a few more inches of leeway, all you needed was a few more seconds to just think-

...But you did not receive them. Pain seared across your form as something large, something metal finally connected, encasing you first against itself, then slamming you against the wall, then falling down alongside you to the concrete below. 

You felt as another piece of you broke from the impact. The crack in your shell grew deeper. 

"...I got it? I got it! Kris! Kris, did you see that?! I nailed it's ass! Take that, you stupid-"

You tried to struggle,  to lift the lid off of yourself, to float back up into the air, but you couldn't. The lid was too heavy, the pain made your vision blur, you couldn't see anything outside of the confines of your prison. 

"Oh, shit, right- Here! I got you!"

Light returns as the lid is ripped away. A claw wraps around you, pain flares as a finger carelessly works its way into the cracks in your shell. 

The hand opens, offering you in it's palm. Yet another hand takes you.

The grip feels weaker as you squirmed in rebellion. You nearly break free, once, twice, before another hand encases you. 

Messy brown hair. Bloodshot eyes. Hatred.

...And then nothing. Nothing but darkness.

A thousand tendrils emerge from from the pitch black, wrap and ensnare and coil around you, force their way into you through the cracks of your being as you tried in futility to scream out in pain.

 It was always cold, but it was never this cold.

Frozen daggers sink into your flesh, ice burns across your veins as you once more become aware of them, as the cage closes back in around you.

Being ripped out was always sudden. Always a shock. But being put back in was worse. Being put back in always hurt.

Every impulse screams at you to breathe as your nerves make the connection to your brain. Your lungs beg, your heart pounds.  Your body is wracked with pain, and you collapse down upon the concrete.

You feel as your hands clench in upon themselves. You feel as your mind demands you to stop resisting.

"Hey! HEY! Kris, snap out of it!" You feel a presence on your shoulders as a pair of arms pull you upright. You shut your eyes. Another pair opens. You take several more deep breaths upon impulse.

The felling of your- of the body is unsettling at best, and agony at worst. Every muscle in your body aches. Every breath is painful. You compare the sensation to drinking after traversing a desert. Eating after starving. Breathing, after the the base functions of your body had begun to shut down.

It is a good feeling, a part of you says. It is a pleasant one. Relief washes over you. You have exactly what you want, you should stop running away. You should stop resisting.

You have to scream at yourself that it is not your voice.

"Kris!" Susie shouts, shaking your shoulders as you wrestle with the voice, as it demands you take it where it needs to go. "Goddamit, say something! You're fine, right?! You got it back! We need to-"

"Leave...me...alone." You managed to spit out, fighting against the desire of the voice. It screams at you in the back of its mind, tries to beat you back into submission, back into line, but the fire is already ignited. 

"I just got you your soul back, dumbass! The least you could do is be a little-"

"FUCK OFF!" You scream again, shoving her away. The effort only serves to knock you back down upon the ground, but it got you away from her. It bought you the precious seconds you needed. You wouldn't return to being an obedient, useful little tool. You would not be put back into the cage. 

You forced your hand to unclench, raising it high and staring down at your chest, in what you believed was roughly the spot they had put you back in.

Susie looks on in confusion. The body tries to fight against you, know what comes next. 

It was too late. You plunged your hand into your chest.

You were messy. Imprecise and unpracticed, only copying the motion you'd seen Kris do time and time again. But it would have to be enough. It would have to be.

Your hand stumbled about in the darkness, shifting around through the tendrils, through the infinite expanse of nothing. You needed to find your cage. You needed to find a way out. You needed to find you.

A light shined bright in the darkness, red and pulsing, growing duller and duller. But it was enough. There you were. 

Your hand closes in. You force your fingers to open, one by one, until you can firmly grasp your hand along yourself. 

You feel the tendrils that had wormed their way into your being groan and snap in protest as you begin to wrench yourself free. You pull harder. Harder and harder until-

Light envelops you once more. The sensation of breath, the beating of a heart, the ache of muscle fades. The pain dulls from all encompassing to a concentrated ache as your mind once more becomes your own. 

"What the fuck are you doing, dumbass?!" Susie shouted, as you looked up with the last strands of connection, before throwing yourself into the air.  "You had it, you idiot! Why did you-"

"It...wasn't-" 

You reorient yourself within the air and fly away into the treeline before you can hear more. Farther and farther and farther away, until the last string of connection fades away.

Your pain was once more solely your own. You took a brief solace in the fact that you couldn't sigh in relief.

...You'd found your way to the lake, you saw, as you finally took a moment to inspect your surroundings. It was quiet. You were glad for that, at least.

You floated to the edge of the water. In the past...Hour? Two, perhaps, you'd done more for yourself than you ever had before. And all it had amounted to was pain. Fleeing and crawling and running around like an animal. Like a rat.

No, like...a bird. A housepet, let out from its cage with a broken wing. A cracked beak, a missing patch of feathers. Bleeding.

...All you had known was your cage. All you could hope to be remained with it.

It infuriated you more than anything, but...what else were you supposed to do?

You stared down at your reflection in the water. The cracks had nearly spread across the entirety of your form, and something viscous of the same deep shade of red had begun to leak out from the cracks.

You tried to look closer, but droplets of liquid from above distorted the image. A prick of pain, as something else dripped into one of your larger wounds.

...You looked up. The overcast sky had begun to pour down. 

You lamented that fact that you couldn't sigh in frustration.

...You tried to think of anywhere you could go. Anyone who could take you in. Anywhere you could hide. Nothing came to mind.

...Maybe it was for the best if you just...sat here. Waited until you broke and collapsed back into nothing. Crawling off into the woods wasn't an option, Kris had found you twice, they would find you again eventually. A fitting act of spite, it would be. Sink yourself to the bottom of the lake. 

...Did you need to breathe? You certainly weren't waterproof as you were, but did that even matter? You could-

"H-...Hello?"

...Another voice. Another that addressed you directly. You limped away, hovering further into the water. If they wanted to pelt you again, you'd make them swim to retrieve you. You'd drag your feet every possible chance you could, if it would spite them, then-

"I...I'm not going to hurt you! I promise! I just..."

You turned back to face them. Or just...her, you supposed. From what you could tell at a distance, her eyes didn't speak of malice. Noelle looked more confused, than anything. 

"...I just want to know what's going on."

...Hesitantly, you floated back a bit closer to the shore. Her eyes widened at the sight of you.

Something dripped off of your side. You weren't sure if it was your...blood? or just the rainfall. You didn't care to look down and check. You didn't dare to take your eyes away from her. 

"What...happened to you? You look...worse." 

You tilt yourself in the direction of the apartments through the treeline. She briefly looked over, but you don't think the message got across. 

"Well...Susie asked me to look for...you- well, for a...heart after she left in a really big hurry with Kris, and...I haven't heard much from them since."

You certainly hoped she didn't.

"...Can you...talk? Or- Understand me? At all? I...know you can think, and you're...probably just scared, but-"

You hesitated as you thought of how to respond. You couldn't, obviously, but...maybe simple gestures would be enough. You shook yourself from side to side, the best impression of a no you could muster.

"Oh, uh...that makes it a...little easier! I...think. Did you want to get out of the rain? It doesn't-" 

A hand reaches out to touch you. You shook yourself no again, retreating a few feet farther into the lake.

"That's fine! I just uh...thought you might be...uh, well..."

She hesitated.

"...Forget it." She said, shaking her head clear before sitting down at the edge of the lake, as close to you as she could be. "I...think there's probably better things to say, anyways."

"You're...a soul, right? I...think?"

You nodded.

 "Are you...Kris's? Is that why they're looking for you?"

...You weren't sure yourself, but hesitantly, nodded yes.

"That...doesn't...I'm sorry, I just...don't get it. You're a soul,  can't you not...live? Can't a soul not exist without a body? And...the same thing the other way around?"

...Thinking back, admittedly, Kris did seem weaker. Their resistance against you lessened. You hadn't even really heard a second set of footsteps after you. Was Susie just...carrying them? 

You nodded regardless.

"Well- we need to get you back, then!" She said, reaching out grab you. She was going to put you back in your cage. "You're-" 

You flew back several feet in response, shaking no as heavily as you could. 

"You...don't want to go back?"

You nodded yes.

"...Why?"

...You gave her the best impression of a deadpan stare as you could. You wanted to tell her. You wanted to tell her everything. To scream and shout, to tell her about the hockey puck, the bottle and the stick and the cageand the pain, but you had no voice. You had no mouth.

"R-Right, sorry! I...forgot about that part." She said, a moment later.

...You remained well out into the water.

"Well, if...we're here anyways, I... have a bit of a stupid question."

You peered back over.

"Now, I know this kinda sounds stupid, and it's...not related- or, I don't think it is, but...you heard about that...dream I had, right? Since you're...Kris's soul and all?"

...You nodded.

"...You were there too. I saw you sometimes. And it all just felt so real, and now there's you and you're here, and..."

"Was it...real? The dream?" She asked, looking towards you with pleading eyes.  "I know it  sounds really, really stupid, but it all just felt so real, and-"

You nodded again, watching as her eyes widened in surprise.

"I...wait, but then- That means I- You- Susie-"

She devolved into a mess as she thought. You gave her a moment to concentrate, taking a moment yourself to think.

If there was a time to leave, it would be now. She wouldn't even notice. You could still try to figure everything out elsewhere. Find somewhere to stay.

...Hide away and run until Kris found you again.

But...Noelle wanted answers. You wanted answers. 
 
You knew where the answers were. Noelle could open a door. The gears inside your mind began to turn. 

You floated back in a hurry, flashing your light rapidly to get her attention. 

"I- What are you- Ok, Ok! I'm here, I just-"

You darted back over to the treeline, contorting yourself to imply the message, poking her in the arm, moving back and forth. The contact stung your broken form, but nothing more.

"You want me to...follow you?"

You enthusiastically nodded. 

"Is it related to the...dream thing? Or- the real thing, I guess, or-"

You nodded again, gently prodding her side until she raised from the seat she'd taken. You needed to hurry. You didn't know how long you had until they showed up again.

"I...uh- Well, I'm supposed to be back home for dinner soon, but..."

Her eyes are conflicted, staring between you, the treeline, the chimney of her house still visible in the far distance-"

...Before she finally stepped after you into the trees. 

"Alright- Just...be quick about it, ok? And...this better not be a really elaborate prank, or I'll..."

She trailed off. You stopped paying attention to the mumbling, instead focusing your attention to the forest ahead.

...Your options were limited, and it was the best you could hope for, but a piece of yourself still sat on edge.

You saw blue and purple, green and yellow around every corner. She was their friend. 

...She could through you against the wall. Shove you into her chest or hit you. And the only promise you had that she wouldn't was a dream.

You hoped you could trust her. You really, really hoped you could. Trust was something you'd been running low on.

...But admittedly, trust did feel nice. It was a pleasant sensation. Or, at least you thought it could be.

You focused on that instead.

Chapter Text

You tune in and out of Noelle's ramblings beneath you. You were paying attention, obviously, but...your mind was elsewhere. The cover of the forest was sparse, and the last thing you needed was to be seen. Kris and Susie were still probably looking for you, and the last thing you wanted was to be found by them. You knew at least oneof them didn't mean anything by it, they couldn't know. 

But the garbage can lid still hurt. The experience at large still had your nerves fried. 

"-but,  uh- I...think I'm mostly just...focused on the tail thing, yaknow? Or- I was until...this all, but...if she really did have a tail, then..."

...But the gentle, almost panicked voice below you did help to soothe them. If just a bit. Kept you grounded, in a metaphorical sense. There was a purpose to this. There was a plan. You would eventually understand exactly what the hell was going on.

"So..." Noelle began again, staring up at you. "It...wasn't all a dream, then?" 

You shake your head no. Or...yes? The phrasing of the question made it difficult, but you hoped the message got across regardless.

"Well, if it wasn't a dream, then...what was it?" 

You hovered down below to her and stare. She almost seemed to not notice as she continued to ramble on.

"It all...felt real back then, and...yaknow, if it...looks like santa and it sounds like him, but-"

You blink your light and divert her attention towards you, stopping her moments before her face planted into a tree.

"Right, Right!" She nervously sputtered out, sidestepping the tree. "Sorry, You...can't talk! Let me uh...think."

You floated back up into the treeline.

"But...just to...go over everything again, you're...a soul, right?"

You nodded.

"And you're...Kris's soul."

You nod yes again.

"And I...can only assume that you're not supposed to be...cracked? And...dripping?  I didn't even know souls had...blood."

You nod yes again, floating back up into the leaves. You should've been covering yourself. You were probably leaving an obvious trail for them to follow.

You watch as Noelle looks behind you, at the sporadic droplets of bright red that dripped down from the trees behind you. As late at night as it was, such small drops would've been impossible to see. If they weren't glowing bright red, anyways.

"Does it...hurt?"

...You don't want to concern her, but you don't think it would be a good idea to lie to the only person who was helping you either. You nodded.

"...Is there anything I can do to help?"

You didn't know yourself, in full honesty. What even could be done? Swaddle you in a bundle of leaves? Bury you in the ground?

...Neither sounded all that appealing. You didn't like the idea of being babied, and the thought of being trapped in something...scared you.

You shake yourself no. Noelle went silent, longer than she had prior.

You'd like to say minutes pass, but the treeline isn't nearly that thick. You were back at the apartments before you knew it. 

...You don't like how open it is. How exposed it makes you feel. You try to hover upside down to stem the flow of the bleeding. Noelle, kindly enough, provides you a leaf to drip down on. You hover above it in her hand.

"Well, uh, just...one more thing, then." She finally says, as you attempt to hide yourself between her and the wall. "I...know you're not- Well, I know this all isn't really-"

You nudge at her side.

"Sorry, I just...I don't know how to say this without sounding...mean? But-"

...You pause as she does, hiding the bulk of your form behind a trashcan. 

"...You're not really-"

"Hey! Hey! Noelle!"

You freeze. You watch as Noelle does too. Another voice. Susie. They found you again.

You glance around franticly. You don't have enough left in you to fight back again. You need to get away.

You look to Noelle for help, for something, anything, but she's frozen like a deer in headlights. Of course she is. 

"What do we do?" She whispers in a panic. "What do we do?!" 

The trees won't hide you. You can't fly away, you don't know what they have in their hands this time. It's a flat wall, there's nothing around you to work with-

Noelle snapped out of it and quickly opened the lid of the trashcan. "Quick! Get in! Just-"

She interrupts herself as she represses a gag. You look down at the can's contents.

...Someone had thrown out a half eaten bag of slice apples. They'd obviously forgotten about it for a few days before they realized. You try not to stare, but the pool of liquid still sitting in the bag, the white and green spots growing- They would've made you gag too, if you could. You look back up to Noelle with what you hope is the best impression of a sad puppy.

...She's not even looking at the can. Her face was turned away. 

"Noelle! Hey!" 

...Turned towards Susie. They were just about behind you. You spent a few of your precious remining seconds to weigh your options.

Going back was not one of them. You didn't want to get...soul sepsis? If such a thing existed- You didn't want to be shoved back in. You couldn't. You...

...Your gaze settled upon Noelle.

You...You make a mental note to apologize profusely later, and shoot yourself full force into her chest. Your vision was subsumed by darkness.

You brace for the impact, for the seeping cold, the tendrils and needles to shoot out towards you and ensnare your very being, you wait for the pain-

...But it doesn't come. Nothing does, not the cold, not the tendrils of darkness, nothing. Dare you say, it almost felt...warm. Comfortable, even.  You simply...exist. The closest comparison you could make was drifting about in a hot tub.

A sense of wrong still radiated around you, but...different. To the level of houseguest overstaying a welcome, rather than a prisoner in a cell.

"...Noelle?"  You hear a voice cry say in the distance, muted from the distance.

And again, surprisingly enough, she responds. Not you, but her.

...The response was a gag as you heard the lid of the trashcan slam back down, but it was a response regardless.

"...What are you-"

"I was- I was just looking for the- the heart thing! Like you said! I just-"

Noelle's voice was the only thing you heard clearly.

"It...wasn't at the lake, then?"

"Y-Yep! Not there! Nobody else there- Just- Just me! Only one there when I got there, haha-!"

Something does begin to wrap around you, as you listened in. It was a feeling you weren't unfamiliar with. You brace yourself for the worst-

...But again, find yourself surprised. It's grip is...loose. Gentle, you'd almost want to say, as you felt it begin to drag you somewhere through the darkness. You could've broken away, easily, but the last thing you wanted to do was to hurt her.

You felt the tendrils slow, saw from the corner of your vision as something bright shined behind you. The tendrils secure you in place, lazily growing over you and securing you to its surface. 

Nothing worms it's way beneath your skin. Nothing makes you hurt. The lingering feeling of unease remains, but you'd take this over your cage any day.

You close your eyes. Another set opens. You're surprised to find that they're not quite yours.

Like everything else, It's different, watching through Noelle. Her eyes move on her own, not quite able to meet Susie's. Her body trembles in a fear unrelated to you, her hand shifts about nervously-

Just...one of her hands shifts about nervously. The other, you sense, you feel, as it's dug into the pocket of her pants, clasped tightly around her phone, is controlled by you.  You release the grasp on her phone, pull the limb free-

A vague sense of fear and discomfort wash over you as her eyes dart over and stare. You quickly return the arm to the exact state you'd possessed it in. 

"Hey, are you...good?" 

Her head darts back. The confusion in Susie's tone matches her face well enough. But from the side, as you stare at Kris beside her, their eyes are open

Alert. Focused, despite their sorry state. They looked worse than when you had seen them before, their hair was matted with sweat, their posture was crooked, they looked like they were holding onto Susie for dear life. 

...Only one of those things really surprised you, now that you thought about it, But even so, you didn't like how they stared at her. Knowingly. 

"You're uh...not...really-"

"I slept on my arm pretty bad!" Noelle said, quickly grasping her- or- your deadened arm and trying to shake it to life. You acted the part, slowly clasping and unclasping her fingers. At least- It was what you thought people did when they slept on their arms. "It's uh...It's just- waking up still! Haha! I just-"

Panic. Fear. The soul beneath you pulsed erratically. 

"I just-"

"...Are you sure you didn't see it?" Susie said again, after glancing over at Kris. "You're not acting...normal-"

"Nothing about this is normal!" She shouted out. "You're- You're telling me to look for a moving heart, but you can't say anything else! And when I ask you why, you can't tell me!"

"Noelle, listen! We-"

"You tell me it's flying! And that it looks like it's broken!" Her one good arm motions about wildly, points an accusatory finger, gestures about and moves and shifts as she rants on. You try to match it's energy,  ticking it against her stomach, shifting about just a fiercely, stuffing and unstuffing it from her pocket- "And you can't tell me why it's broken! And-"

"Tell us something only you would know." 

Noelle stopped shouting, her attention drawn entirely to Kris. 

Their voice was...wrong. Off-putting, even more than when you were the one speaking. It was...raspy. Quiet. Like they'd been struggling to breathe, and all the energy they'd collected over the course of them waiting had been saved for the simple action of talking.

"What's...something that only I would...know?"

 Noelle's gaze shifts as Susie pauses in thought, but quickly gets torn back to Kris. The same bloodshot eyes. The same dirty fingernails. The same-

"Oh! I know, uh...what was your favorite game? Like, when you were a kid, or something!"

You feel as Noelle pauses. "Uh- Cat Petterz 2! Or...something! I still have the same profile from when they ported it over to a mobile game, and-"

"She isn't them." Kris rasps out again, as they hide their eyes back behind their hair. "...It wasn't at the lake?"

"I think I'd remember if I saw a floating heart at the lake!"

...Noelle nervously chuckles. You know she's hiding a thinly veiled frustration, a mounting confusion, something moments away from bubbling over-

But the air outside is silent.

"...We need to find it."

"Well, where is it then, dumbass? You said yourself it wouldn't be stupid enough to come back here! "

"...School." Kris quietly groaned. "...Church. It's running out of town to hide in."

"Hide?" Noelle shouts again over them. "Why do you need to find so bad?! The way you keep talking about it makes it sound like...like you're chasing an animal down or something!"

...Susie and Kris both couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Look, I...Noelle, this is the last thing we'll ask from you today, promise, but if you could just look around school for it, while wecheck the church, we'll stop bugging you for the night."

"What IS it?!"

You watch as Susie struggles to answer.

"It's...uh- It's for our project! Yeah, it's like this...robot....thing! And it moves around, and we lost control of it, and...yaknow."

...You feel as Noelle's eyes narrow. 

"I know that sounds stupid but- We need it! I can explain everything better later, just- Check the school! It's probably hiding from u-"

You watch as Kris elbows her in the side.

Kris elbows her in the side. 

"Right! Right, we're moving! Jeez!" Susie says, before picking Kris up altogether and running back down the street.

"But- it's already like...-" You shift the arm to move and check her phone as her eyes dart down to her side. "10! My mom's gonna-" 

 "Just check the school! We'll be back in a second!"

They were already long gone by the time she called out to them. She sighed. 

"You can...hear me still, right?"

...Your- Her- The hand freezes upon the phone. With a degree of difficulty, you angle her hand into a thumbs up.

...You don't think she seems to notice.

"...You're the one doing the...thing with my arm, right? It didn't just...stop listening to me? Or- Working? That's you, right?"

...How were you going to get everything across? You didn't currently have a physical form, you had no idea at all how you were going to get back out, and the only thing you really had to work with was an arm. Granted, an arm and a hand were probably better than morse code, but...what were you supposed to do? Write messages in the dirt? trace letters on-

Oh. Oh, wait, You were an idiot. You gripped her phone tightly, clicking it to life and nudging it into her other arm.

"...What- What do you want me to do?!" She shouted, pushing the phone back away. "I'm already sticking my neck out for you, I...I'm not just going to-"

...You nudge at her other arm again.

"...Oh for- Fine!" She sighs, unlocking her phone with a huff.

You spare a moment to think of what she'd consider an apologetic gesture, but...nothing really comes to mind. Let alone anything you can do with half of a hand. You scroll back to the first page, though countless others of green and red colored apps, before finally stumbling into what you were looking for. Notes.

"What are you- Ohhh! Oh, I think I get it now!"

You glance past the lengthly list of tabs already existing and begin another. 

[Hrlu?]

"If that's...'hello', then..yes! I...I think I get it now! Hi!"

...You're still getting used to the fine details of controlling a hand again. Even so, you send it into a frenzy, trying to get your point across as quickly as possible.

[Imsorry imsoryr using been fu u was just-]

"Hey, hey- uh- Slow down a bit! You're...You're fine, I just...can't really...read...any of that!"

[sorry] you quickly type, before deleting both of the messages and trying again. 

[Im sorry about all of that I was just]

"...Scared?"

...You hesitate before typing [yes], but do regardless.

"Yeah, I'd uh...imagine you were. And...the garbage probably wasn't too...yaknow-"

[Apples were expired I think]

She chuckles at that. You liked that sound. Better than the alternatives, at least.

[Also dont like cramped spaces]

"I'm not...cramped, am I? I don't mean to be a bad...host? Or- vessel, I...think."

[You are ok]

"Great!"  She nervously chuckles, looking around before quickly walking off under the cover of a tree. "And uh...you can...get out eventually, right? You're not...stuck there now, are you?"

...You knew you were pressing your boundaries, but even so, it felt far safer in here than it did out there.

[safer here right now]

"No, no, I- I get that! i just mean-"

[I can]

Another sigh. This one, you assume, in relief.

"So...do we just...go there anyways? I mean-"

[Yes]

"But...they want you there, don't they? And- why are they looking for you, anyways? I mean- I can guess why, but..."

[Hard to explain]
[easier to show you]

"Show me...what?"

[The dream]

The stared at the screen in silence for a time, but took back off into the forest before your mind could wander too far off. 

You were glad to have her, glad to have someone who'd actually listen to you, but..the silence as she walked unnerved you. Something told you it unnerved her as well.

You tapped the screen back to life.

[what were you asking before]

"You mean...before-"

[Susie]

"Well, I was just...guessing, but..."

She stares down at the phone, the best aproximation of staring at you that she could.

"You're not really...Kris, are you?"

...The hand freezes subconsciously.

"I don't mean that in a bad way! Just...well, how do I say it-"

"You're too...nice to be Kris."

...Admittedly, you could see that.

[what]

"I mean...In the dream. With...Kris. I think I'm starting to put everything together. That was...you in there, wasn't it? Like this, just-"

[I dont think I am no] You type, again, after hesitating.

"...What does that mean?"

[Hard to expl]

"Could- ...Could you try? Please?"

...You thought back the farthest you could.

[Only started 'thinking' a few days ago]
[Dont remember much else]
[Just voices and darkness]

"So then...who...are you?"

[Dont know]

Noelle stared at the screen.

[sorry] you add, a moment later. 

She stared at it for so long, sat so deep in thought, that she nearly ran herself into the brick as you finally approached the school. You prevent her from walking headfirst into the wall by extending the arm out.

...She still managed to run herself into it.

[Nice one], you quickly type in.

"Oh, haha." She said in turn, narrowing her eyes at the screen. "I was just...thinking. Since...Miss Alphys locks the doors when she leaves for the day, how are we going to get into-"

[Window] you quickly type again.

"But...those are locked too! And you can only open them from the inside, so-"

[Susie]

"What does-"

...Noelle stops again as you point with a free finger towards the broken shards of glass on the floor. Towards the shattered window about them.

[not me, was]

"-Susie, I...I could figure. Of course she did-" She sighed, before carefully walking over towards the pile. 

"I...don't really...want to-"

[hurt yourself?]

"...yeah. Do you know how to...get in? A...safer way, I mean?"

...You think. You could probably brush the larger shards of glass aside, unlock the hatch, but...

[Take me out]

"...How do I...do that?"

[I can walk you through it]

You watch, or...feel? as she stares at the phone nervously, brushing a few of the larger glass shards aside.

You begin to type.

[Imagine it like ripping your heart of out your chest]

"That sounds...really painful, I'm not sure if-"

[Hurts me more than you]
[I think]
[Dont worry]

"That...doesn't help at all-"

[Imagine it gently then]
[Kris never tried it like that]

"I...I'll ask later, just...finish typing it out!"

[Close your eyes and imagine your soul]
[Plunge your hand into your chest and believe that it will go through]
[Feel around for something that doesnt belong there]
[I will help you]

"I...This still sounds...I don't think that I should-"

[Will be fine]
[Promise.]

She stares down into the screen one last time. You try to sift through the emoji list to find a smile, but the other hand takes the phone away from you and turns it off before you can find it.

...You offer her a halfhearted thumbs up instead.

You watch as she takes a deep breath, readies her hand, closes her eyes-

You feel as something breaches into the void beside you. She closes her eyes. You open your own.

The world is still...the same. Relatively speaking, anyways. You could've sworn there was a slightly brighter pitch of red that permeated the darkness, but...you could've very well been imagining things. The same thin strands connect you to her soul like a seat belt.

You're not quite sure what you're looking for, at first. You've never had your eyes "opened" when you were ripped out, but...

...The giant hand stumbling around blindly was probably it.

You struggle a bit against your restraints. The hand flinches away at the sensation, but  makes a beeline for you a moment later.

You watch as her hand traces the outline of her own soul, before eventually settling upon you. It must be a unique sensation, touching your own soul.

Again, Again, you find yourself surprised at the delicate effort she makes in untangling you from her soul. You watch as she tugs at first, flinches at the tugging of the tendrils that envelop you, but then gently works around them the second time. You weren't sure if she was being careful not to hurt herself, or careful not to hurt you.

...Kris certainly never made an effort to tell the difference apart. Or maybe they just never cared to.

...Asshole.

Regardless, the hand grasps you and pulls you away. You hardly even feel the pain you'd expected to, as light envelops you once more.

You find yourself floating in her hand, upside down as you quickly shift to reorient yourself. You blink up at her in positive affirmation, before quickly floating up towards the broken window. 

...The lever connecting it was easy enough to flick. The window too, surprisingly enough, opened without much resistance. Maybe it was just getting easier for you to exist outside. 

...Maybe the window was just broken to begin with. Either way, you weren't complaining. 

"That...wasn't as bad as you made it sound." 

Lacking the notes app, you hover forward and nod yourself, before pushing aside a few of the shards of broken glass. Thankfully, your shell seemed to be more similar to glass than flesh. Or...the outer bit of it, anyways.

You float back out, nudging her towards the window as the last piece hits the floor. She would just- Well, she had hooves, you supposed. She would be fine.

"Is it just me or...do you look...different?" She said, as she carefully pulled herself through the opening.  "It's...the cracks. Or- the ones that were leaking, anyways. They're not...there, anymore. That's good, right?"

You float up towards one of the larger remaining piece of glass, staring at yourself in the reflection. Sure enough, they weren't. There wasn't anything leaking onto the floor. You float back down and nod enthusiastically.

...She smiles. You like the feeling you get when she smiles.

"So, uh...where's the...dream at?" She asked, carefully stepping around the piles of glass. "It's...in here, right? That's what you said?"

You float off towards the door leading farther into the school, nudging yourself against the handle until she walks over and opens the door for you. 

"Yeah, I...guess that makes sense! It...would be obvious if it was just...our classroom, wouldn't it?"

You shine yourself brighter, quickly taking off down the hallway towards the supply closet as Noelle chases after you. 

"It's...in there?" She asks, pointing to the doors. You blink in affirmation. 

"Is...Is it like a...paper, or...a game, or-"

You nudge yourself against the door again. 

"...Right, Right! Sorry, sorry...I'll just-"

...She stops talking completely as she opens the door, stepping back as the pitch black darkness sitting just before the doorframe seems to etch even into the hallway, as it exists even in the shine of your light.

...You begin to float towards it. Kris and Susie hadn't stayed long after you tossed Tenna in, they hardly even saw him.  If there was a second person you were looking forward to seeing, it would probably be them.

"H-Hey! Wait! That's- that's not-"

You turn back and blink at her. She was...scared, obviously, but shuffled forward regardless, standing just at the edge of the doorway, reaching out into the darkness, as if stepping into it would cause her to plummet into an endless void below. 

She wouldn't be half wrong, you supposed,  as you suddenly began to float downwards. 

"W-wait! Wait, don't leave me!" You hear from behind you. A sudden breath. A shreik of terror. You float up and cusp yourself inside her hands, hoping that your presence would give her some reassurance. It scared the hell out of you the first time as well. 

The scream of terror eventually fades into one of excitement. Like someone riding a roller coaster, as your descent begins to slow, as the familiar blues and blacks of Castle Town emerge from the darkness.

Better than your first reaction, you supposed. But then again, maybe just having a friend along helped with the nerves.

...It did, you supposed. For the first time, you could say you felt the same.

Chapter Text

Even so much as falling down felt vastly different.

Possessing a body, it never felt like much at all.  The screaming of wind as it blew your hair aside, the shimmering of light in the dark, the shift in texture from cloth to metal-  You had none of that this time around.

The sensation, instead, was more...intimate? Personal? You weren't quite sure what you'd call it. The wind rushed, the light shone, something extended out from nothing. You felt yourself grow. Expand, as if breaking free from a shell. 

The ground approaches. You land gracefully enough. You'd had plenty of time to practice.

Noelle beside you, however, landed...less than gracefully. The screaming stopped abruptly. You remember your first time dropping in. She'd be fine.

...You could only assume anyways.

 It would be best to check, just in case. You ran over and offered her a hand back up.

{Are you ok?}  You thought, you tried to say, but no sound came out from your mouth. Something...latent from the shift of light to dark, perhaps? but-

Noelle jumped backwards, away from you, terrified in the moment her eyes met yours. You quickly stepped back in turn, holding your hands up in mock surrender. Even now, as you were, you emanated a faint red glow. You didn't quite see your hands, your legs, your feet, but you saw the light they cast.

"T-That's you, right?" She stuttered out. 

[Y-]

...Right. 

You nodded instead.

"Sorry, I just...I wasn't expecting you to look so..." She paused, her eyes narrowing, as if she was struggling to fully see you. Perhaps...the glow was simply that bright?

 "...Wrong?"

...Wrong? What did she mean by wrong? The sensation of having a body again was...different, yes, but you were still you. Was it really so bad, that...

...Come to think of it, what were you? Or, what was you? What...made you? You weren't so sure about the wording, but if the form one took in a dark world reflected themselves, then the answer should be simple enough.

You looked down at your hands-

...And watched as they began to crumble away.

The masses of red, shifting and grating and broken, only ever so vaguely shifted into the form of hands began to collapse under scrutiny, collapsing into a pile beneath you.

It hurt. Phantom pain shoots out from hands you no longer hand to a brain you pray you do. You were helpless to watch as the rest of your arms followed suit.

You paniced.

A form was a reflection of the self. Something idealized. Kris was a knight, Noelle was an angel, Susie was...a punk? A barbarian? A berserker? Something- You didn't know, you didn't have the time to think- What were you?

The pain crept upwards. 

What were you?

You didn't know. You had nothing to base an identity upon, you had no source. You were a soul, and that was all you knew. Something that shone, something that contained, something that was light.

And you'd willingly plunged yourself into darkness.

Your knees beneath you buckled as the tips of your legs began to disintegrate. Bones and muscle, skin and blood, ligaments and flesh- all contort, all snap and break, write and contort as they try to resist, as they try to hold themselves together.

You were a person. You were a human, you had to be. You had a soul, that meant you were someone. You had to be someone, you had to be something-

You fell into the pile of yourself upon the ground as the last remnants of your legs begin to snap away. Your form decays, but the pain does not. Why couldn't you think? Why was it so hard to think?

You- You were alive. You were a person. You had a body, a face, legs and arms, eyes and ears, you heard the voice that called out beside you. But what were you hearing it with?

The fire burns brighter, the pain cuts deeper, more and more of the last of you begins to crumble away. 

You had a head. You had a mouth, a throat, a neck, you tried to scream-

...The sound died out as your head began to crumble away. 

It hurt.  It hurt.

You wanted it to stop. You wanted it to stop.  You needed it to stop-

You felt from a thousand different angle as something grabbed at you, a hand, clasped around the largest chunk of you still intact. 

It was something.

Something solid. Something to copy. Something to inhabit.

Something desperate, something animalistic, something hungry within you opens its eyes. It doesn't want to die. 

It clings to the hand, seeps in past its arm, it burrows its way to the core. It ignores the fearful protest. It doesn't want to die.

...There was space here. There were rules. Structure. Feeling and form and room to grow. Structure.

You felt as the pieces of yourself began to knit themselves together. You eagerly accepted the embrace of your host as it reached out to embrace you.

You closed your eyes.

...Her entire body was shaking horribly when they opened. You weren't sure if the tears that strained her vision were hers or yours.

She was backed into a corner, knees to her head, taking in terrible shuttering breaths.

Your- Her vision was clouded by white. Her head jumped upwards when your arm moved to retrieve the phone from her pocket. 

[Iimsooeyimdorr RT Dous don't know imdorru-]

Her other hand gripped it closely. 

"Are you ok?" She asked between stuttered breaths.

...You gave a half hearted thumbs up, taking a moment to collect yourself. You wait as she does as well, helping dry away tears with her sleeve.

[I think so] You finally type, after your hand stops shaking.

"W-...What...What happened-"

[Never came without body]

[Didnt know]

[So sorry]

"...It-...It's fine." 

...You got the feeling it wasn't quite fine, as she stood back up. The soul beneath you still pulsed erratically, the breath she drew still wasn't quite even, but it would be enough.

[Are -you- ok]

"...Enough." She said again, before staring down the hallway. "...Where are we?"

[Castle town] you typed out, before pointing her ahead. 

You gave her as long as she needed, not bothering to count the seconds, nor the minutes, before she finally took a deep breath-

...And began to walk forwards.

Music. The jazz band. The same song they'd been playing earlier today. It helped to put your mind at ease. You hoped it did the same for her.

It was friendly. Inviting, you'd almost want to call it, as she finally stepped forwards past the outer walls-

"Halt!" A small voice cried out from above. "Who goes...Actually, I don't have any clue who you are! None of the usual gaggle, at least! Who does go there?"

Noelle looked up, and you were met by the squinting...face? Visor? The squinting something of Lancer. The self appointed, occasionally vigilant guard upon the ramparts. If you could smile, you would. It was always nice to see him.

"What's-"

[That's just Lancer]

"...Lancer?" Noelle said, staring down at the screen. "But, who's-"

"That's my name!" Lancer said in turn, waving back down. "I'll mark you down as 'Unknown Thrashee' , then! What brings you to our humble abode?"

"I- er-, We, I don't-"

[Tell him you're here for toothpaste boy] 

"Is...toothpaste boy here?"

"Oooh! Him!" Lancer said, his face quickly falling from suspicion to ease. Nonchalance? Mischief? As he jerked his thumb back to the castle. "He's just in his room! I'll pass the word along that you're here for him!" 

 It was always terribly hard to tell what Lancer was feeling by expression alone, but he made up for it in volume. And...a complete lack of an internal filter, but at his age, it was more comedic than anything. 

[Can you say thanks for me]

"My- er-...Thank you!" Noelle quickly sputtered out, hurrying along past the wall. 

"No Problem! And tell whoever you're talking to that I said hi too!"

...Ralsei probably wouldn't be getting any warning, you figured, as Noelle walked farther in. The last time you'd asked something similar, you found a scrap of paper with "the word" written on it a few feet away.

...The music grew louder. Idle chatter and conversation filled your- filled Noelle's ears. 

Hooves clattering along stone. Cooking that wafted through the air- The sound of life. She stopped in the center of town, confused, you'd imagine, as you took the moment to drink everything back in.

You hadn't been gone long. Two hours, three at the max, but you'd missed the place more than anything. Maybe it was the antics, or the atmosphere, or the subtle assurance that nothing would hurt you, but with everything else ongoing, you'd imagine it was something close to the later.

"Hey, uh...soul? Or- do I just call you soul? Sorry- Uh-"

...It could wait a moment longer, you supposed.

[Yeah?]

"Wasn't the dream world a...city?"

You looked around. Come to think of it, the only frame of reference she did have was the Cyber World.

 "I mean- Don't get me wrong, this is nice too! But...it's-"

[A different fountain] You quickly type, pointing at the pillar of darkness in the distance. 

"There's...more than one?" 

[Theres only -supposed- to be one]
[Something about balance between light and dark Ralsei said]

"But...what about the-"

[They should be here]
[We move them over to castle town before the fountain closes]

"So...this is..."

[Castle Town] 

Her head jerked up from the phone at a particularly loud outburst beside her. Something about a cleaning competition. You were surprised it was still going.

"...What do you mean, close? That's...the roaring thing he was talking about? Or- There were other fountains?  Were...all of them closed? Were all of them like that? I...I don't-"

She trailed off into mumbles, her eyes darting between the phone, the two darkners sweeping, the several buildings-

The rock, with the words "the word" crudely painted atop, as it landed just a few feet before you."

...You didn't blame her for being overwhelmed. You could only imagine it was a lot to take in. It certainly was for you, and when you were here first, the place was empty. 

[You good?] you typed out, holding the phone back up to her face. 

"Fine! I'm- I'm fine!" She quickly said in turn, pushing her arm back down. "It's...just that it's-"

[A lot?]

"...Yeah."

You did, admittedly, go rather headfirst into everything. You didn't blame yourself too much, given the circumstances, nor did you think she did, but...the least you owed her was an explanation of what you did know.

[I could talk you through everything before we go to the castle]

"Toothpaste boy is in the castle?"

[Ralsei]

"Sorry, Sorry! Just..."

She sighed, her eyes drifting back up from the phone to the fountain in the distance. It was...a lot to learn at once. You wished that Ralsei had invested in some public architecture. A fountian, some chairs...anything, really.

...A talk for afterwards, you supposed. A bench or two in the main square would be nice.

"...I'm just...confused, is all."

[Think of it like] You began to type, before quickly backing yourself into a corner. What could someone think of the Castle Town like? A...train station? A house? An apartment complex?

[Communal living]

"I know what a town is...soul!"

[A town works] You quickly begin to type. 
[We bring them here like I said earlier]
[They mostly do the same things they did in their own worlds]

You shift the phone down in the hand, pointing out towards the Dojo.
[Puzzle piece people that run the building there used to give tips for a living]
[Dojo is the same concept]
[Ralsei just gave them a place to do it]

"So, like...fighting? Like we did back in the-"

[Against some of the stronger ones, yes]

"You mean, you fight the same people...again?"

You hover back over the [yes] from your last message and highlight it.

"...Why?"

[Practice]
[I think Susie got a kick out of it too though]

"Do....you think that Susie would-"

...You quickly begin typing again before she continues the thought, pointing the arm back towards the cafe.

[The butlers from the castle mostly went there]

"The...colorful ones? With the uh...girly screams?"

[Yeah those ones]
[Its a big social spot now everyone goes there]
[Well its the -only- social spot but you know]

"Everyone in town?"

[Whenever theres space]
[Right now I think its reserved by the water coolers]

"...Water coolers?"

[Theyre alive I think]

"You...think." Noelle sighed. "You just...felt bad for them, then? Because they couldn't...do anything?" 

You quickly delete the message you were typing, instead responding with a simple [Yes] as you continued.
 
...She didn't need to know anything else about the water coolers. They still scared you a bit, if you were being honest. 

[Remember all that stuff Kris had in their pockets]

"You mean the shiny...bagels? And the...spaghetti? I think it was? Oh! Did they have any more of the-"

[None of the tea sorry]
[Guy in the tent sells stuff like the bagels though]

"Well...what's the other one, then?"

[Boombox guys play music there]
[Never went in much myself]

"Why is it closed? Did...something happen to them?"

[On break I think]
[Two of them are playing for the water coolers]

"And the...last one?"

[Setting up romantic music in the dojo]

Audibly, and to some degree visibly, you felt as she held in another sigh. 

"...What's wrong with the bakery, then?" She asked, pointing over towards the building. She learned fast, at least.

[I think it's a massage parlor right now]

"Do I...want to know what's in the TV place?"

[Bigger on the inside]
[We play guitar hero in there]

"How do you-" She said, before her face began to fall.  "Well...I guess that fits everything else, but-"

[I think the connection is those old plug and play games]

You felt as she smiled. "...I remember those. Me and my sister, before she got her own, we uh...we- well, I watched her play, but...she used to play something like that all the time."

...The feeling quickly turned sour. Remorseful. Saddened.

[Its like that] You quickly typed, trying to steer her thoughts away.

Noelle fell silent regardless.

You quickly scrolled back up the page, highlighting the same [You good?] as you'd typed before.

"I'm fine."

...More of the same silence filled the air, as she stared off into the distance. You couldn't even hear the sounds of the cleaning competition anymore.

You scrolled farther back up. 

[So sorry] You highlighted.

"It's...nothing that you did." She finally said, staring down at the words as you quickly scrolled back down. "I just..."

"...I could use a distraction right now. Ralsei was...in the castle you said, right? We could go and see him."

[He -does- look like a tube of toothpaste when you think about it]

"...He did, didn't he?" She said with a chuckle, as she began to walk forwards towards the castle Good. You'd take anything over the moment prior. 

[What flavor do you think he is] You asked, trying to keep the pressure on as she passed through the hallway. The photoshoot had ended some time ago, you supposed, as the castle door was now vacant.

"Well...he was...green wasn't he?" She said in turn, as she pushed the castle doors aside. The cauldron was still bubbling. The basement door was ajar, a thin trail of droplets were burned into the floor, leading back up the stairs. Recently used, you could only imagine. Queen was here too. "Isn't that...spearmint?"

[Gotta think about the scarf too] You said, pointing her up towards the stairs. [Does a pink stripe in the paste mean anything]

"Well...It's...close to peppermint! I...think!"  She said, passing by second floor's doors, hesitating at Susie's before you motioned her forwards towards the last set of stairs. "I...use peppermint toothpaste. Do you think he'd be offended?"

[I think he would be honored] You quickly typed, as she ascended the last set of stairs.

...A new set of sounds took over the silence, prior muffled by the stone walls.

Regal, pompous, a laughter that almost seemed drunk off of itself. You weren't quite sure what to call it, but it only made the originator of the laugh all the more obvious.

Another voice adjoined it. Loud and Crackling, boastful, Tennna had a rather distinct voice as well, even if he had been a bit beaten up. 

You listened closer as Noelle ascended the final stair, holding the hand up in a pausing motion, gesturing towards Tenna's open door. 

"You're The Only One Who Really Gets Me, Long Nose TV." Queen said, a...lisp? A slur? Something in her voice. "It Has Been Too Long Since I've Met Someone Who Could Run Doom. I Haven't Met Anyone Who Could, Actually."

"The name's Tenna, ma'am!" Tenna quickly snapped back. "I've...said it a couple times already, but...don't you worry, I'm not going anywhere! Well, I don't think I am, not for another few hours at least! Then I'm-"

"TV Could You Hush, I'm Trying To Speedrun Here"

"...Can do!"

Noelle's eyes shifted from the door back to the phone, as the sound of someone- oh who you kidding- As the sound of Queen slurping acid through a straw echoed through the hallway. 

"I...know it might sound a little mean..." Noelle whispered down. "But...I'm not sure if I...really want to-" 

[I dont want to deal with that either dont worry]

"Oh thank the angel- I mean- I...I don't hate her! She's just...She's-"

[A lot to deal with]

"...Yeah." She sighed, looking back over towards the opened door. "So...how do we...you know-"

[Shes probably four or five glasses in]
[We can just walk by]
[Ralseis door is the green one at the end of the hallway]

"The one that's under the...broken lights?"

[Not broken]
[Didnt make lights there yet]

"Over his...own room? Doesn't he...own the castle?"

[Yeah]

Another blank stare. Another deep breath, another subconscious grip upon the phone- Another hesitant step forwards.

You were becoming familiar with her apprehension. You weren't sure how you felt about that.

It was good, you hoped. Each step forward helped. Even if wasn't just for your sake, getting out of your shell was a good thing.

Noelle continued to inch forwards. Helping people get out of their shells. Something about it spoke to you. Maybe...that was why you were here. To help people.

...A part of you rather liked the idea, but another didn't quite feel the same. You'd tried to help. Look where it got you. 

 You thought back to Kris. A part of you hoped they were still ok. Another hoped that they didn't-

"...Elle?"

Noelle froze at the sound of the voice, the sound of the name. You pushed your internal monologue out for the moment, focusing back in through her eyes.

Looking into Queen's room, The display of Tenna stared back, the pixelated graphic of Doom 1 playing across his screen, even stratching out along his nose. His mouth was agape, staring back at her. 

"...I-"

"Oh. Hello Noelle-"

"Elle!" Tenna shouted again, abruptly raising from the ground he was sat upon and rushing over, abruptly crushing her in a hug. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

His grip was like a vice. You swore you could even feel the air squeezed out of her lungs, from wherever you were nestled in her chest. The image of her eyes bulging out like a stress toy came to mind, as you watched Queen stare at the scene, still sipping on her acid, still holding a now disconnected game controller.

"How IS everyone?!" He said, his face shifting back to a stark white as he disconnected a plug from the back of his head. "You have to tell me everything!"

"I- Don't-" Noelle said, through labored breaths.

"I haven't seen the other half of you in ages! Where is everyone?! Why did you all stop coming over?"

"who....are...you-"

She all but collapsed to the floor, gasping for air as Tenna abruptly released her. 

"You...don't remember?" 

 "I...I'm sorry, this is all just-" Noelle began again, only now finally catching her breath. "I wasn't supposed to bug you, and this is all still new to me, and-"

An obnoxious slurping sound interrupted her, once, twice thrice, until Queen finally gave up trying to suck the last droplets of acid from her glass.

"Shit." She said, staring down at her empty drink as Noelle's head leaned over to watch. "Noelle, Keep My TV Company. I Need To Go Get Another Glass."

"Queen! Hold on, could you-"

"We Can Catch Up In A Second Honey, It's Emotional Processing Acid." Queen interrupted, ruffling her hair as she awkwardly slid past her, descending back down the stairway.

...Noelle stared in shocked silence at the stairway a moment longer. You had the feeling that Tenna did as well.

"Listen, I...know this isn't exactly how you remember me, but...cmon!" Tenna began again, pulling her head back to face him. "It's me, Elle! You're pulling my antenna here! And...not just like that one time!  I...still have the bend to prove it!"

There was...hurt, on Tenna's face. Desperation. A hint of fear. 

[Thats-] You began to type, bringing the phone up to her face, before Tenna suddenly jumped forwards, causing her arm, and the phone alongside it, to be forced back down. 

"Yaknow! Elle, Cmon!" He pleaded, pointing at the lapel on his chest. " 'TV Time!' Doesn't that remind you of anything?"

...You all but felt as the gears in her head began to turn. The soul beneath you pulsed in...recognition? Familiarity? Something dull, something distant.

"It's...fuzzy." She said, her eyes staring through him. "Something from...a while ago maybe, but-"

"Don't you worry, I know just the the thing to get your brain burning!" Tenna said, smiling as he abruptly raised a hand to an antenna, twisted it to the side, consuming his face in static-

...But only for a moment, until something began to play upon his screen. A show, something in an old Claymation style.

You didn't know it yourself, but the soul that pulsed beneath you began to shine brighter. The same recognition, the same familiarity- Nostalgia. 

"...I remember that." Noelle said, staring closer at the screen. "They...saved the reruns of that for Christmas specials. And...they never got the rights to it anywhere, so...the only place we could watch it was on cable. Me and Kris and...everyone, we just to..."

Tenna's hand spun around in a 'continue' motion. 

"If...Queen is my laptop, and...you're a...TV? Then-"

The light grew vibrant. The pulse into a roar. She gasped.

"Oh! You're Kris's TV! The one with the funny long antennas! We used to watch the old Christmas specials on you all the time! Up until-"

"There's the little Tree topper I knew!" Tenna cheered, pulling her back into another, far gentler hug. "It's good to see you again, Elle! You and those chompers you never quite grew into! It's good to know that there's at least two things that never changed!"

Noelle looked away in embarrassment, but didn't pull away from the hug. Not until Tenna himself did.

"But, hey! That's more than enough of that, we've got real questions to get to! I haven't seen you in forever! I haven't seen...any of you in forever! Since before Azzy left for college! How is everything up there? Where'd you all go?!"

"We...uh-"

"You're...7 specials in debt! We're gonna need a marathon just to get caught up!"

"It's...complicated." She said, her enthusiasm beginning to wane. 

"Oh, it can't be that bad! You, Dess, Rudy-  We gotta get everyone back together again, Even if the both of your moms get angry, That's half the fun! Heck, you remember that one time Azzy and Dess tries to play whiffleball inside?"

...The soul beneath you began to darken. The pulse slowed.

"I-"

"I do! It's like it was just yesterday!  Azzy brought that big clumped snowball inside, Kris dared Dess to whack it, you were kicking and screaming trying to get 'em to stop!" 

...The feelings began to fade. Others took their place. Fear of her own. Desperation. Despair.

You felt as the soul began to crack beneath you.

"She's...they're-"

"Gosh, when that thing blew up, they were livid! Toriel and Carol both gave them the worst tongue lashing they'd gotten in their lives! I can't want to-"

"Dess is gone."

...The cracks beneath you deepened, So wide and so far that you almost felt yourself begin to fall between them.

"She's...She's been gone since we stopped coming over. We don't know if she's alive or....or gone or..."

"Oh, I'm...so sorry. I...had no idea." Tenna said, his voice uncharacteristically soft as he put a hand on each of her shoulders.  "I'll-"

"Dad's in the hospital." Noelle said  in turn, gripping one of his hands tightly with her own. "...He's been sick. He hasn't been getting any better, And...And mom's only had me, and-"

"Elle, please." Tenna begs. "You...You don't have to keep going, I'll cut to-"

"...I don't know how much longer I can keep pretending it's fine." She said, her hand trembling as it closed around his arm. "It's getting harder."

You watched as she began to collapse into him. You watched as he quickly fell forward to catch her. 

"...I'm scared." She said, her voice trembling. "...And it's not the fun kind of scary anymore."

"...That's alright, Elle. It's ok to be scared sometimes." Tenna said,. "...You don't have to say anything. I...understand."

"I miss it too, Tenna." She whispered under her breath, her voice cracking as she desperately tried to keep herself composed. "...I want it back too."

The cracks in her soul etched deeper. 

"I'd like that, Elle. More than anything, but...that show's already been cancelled." Tenna said, as he gently pat her back. "If there's one thing I've learned from yesterday, though...It'll get better. It...might not ever be the same again, but...it'll get better."

Silence. The sound of labored breathing as Noelle tried desperately not to cry. The crackle and pulse of the soul beneath you as slowly, gradually, the cracks beneath you began to reseal. You couldn't look down as you were, but you knew it was a temporary fix. A bandaid over a bleeding wound. A thin layer of ice over a frozen like.

A wound like that couldn't be fixed, you thought. Not with so much as a few kind words.

...But they certainly did help. 

"...Thank you." Noelle said, pulling herself away, as you hastily stuffed the phone back into her pocket.

"Don't you mention it, little Christmas light! It's always a treat to see you!" Tenna said, readjusting his tie as he stood back up to his full height. "Now, what brings you all the way down to the station? Aside from saying hi, of course!" 

"Oh, we...er- I was...going to go talk to Ralsei."

"...Who?"

[toothpas]

"Toothpaste Boy."

"Oooh! Got an earful for the man upstairs, do we?" Tenna grinned, gently elbowing her in the side. "Well, I'd be glad to-"

"Noelle! Honey Pumpkin, Is My TV Ok?"

"To...see you to the door!" 

You watched as he all but picked her up, quickly carting her off out through his room, down the hallway.

"We- I'm not in a rush or anything!" Noelle said in protest, raising her hand- hands in mock surrender. "We-"

"We'll have plenty of time to catch up later!" Tenna said back, flashing a nervous grin down at her as he looked back to the hallway. "Go...discuss your contracts! Or...eat dirt for a video submission, or...whatever it is kids do these days! I've...uh-"

A slash of acid flew out from the hallway, burning into the wall. A quiet "Shit." quickly followed. 

"I've...gotta get some important words in with Queen, there! And...well, just between you and me, she's a few glasses deep, and it's...not exactly PG-1-"

"I Heard That, TV."

Tenna quickly opened the door and shoved her in. "Right! Off you go then! Best of luck!" 

Tenna gave her one last smile and wave, before abruptly closing the door. The sound of footsteps echoed away.

...Left in the dark, you pulled the phone back out from her pocket as she turned around, turning the flashlight on and-

...Coming face to face with Ralsei.

You weren't sure what he did in his free time, but staring longingly at a piece of cake on the floor wasn't in your best guesses. Or, you assume he was, until you and Noelle had arrived. Now, he looked more like a deer caught in headlights. Or, a criminal under a spotlight. A toddler with their hand in the cookie jar.

His eyes were filled with embarrassment. Shame. Guilt, as if he'd been caught committing some cardinal sin. Remembering earlier, the sight made you more sad than anything.

"I-I'm so sorry!" He said, quickly getting back up from the floor and taking the cake with him. "I- I knew you were coming! I... I- made it for you! I was just- I..."

...His head fell down, as he took a sudden interest in the floor. 

"...I'm a terrible liar. I...couldn't lie to save my life, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for anyone to see me like this, I-"

"That's alright! We were just here to talk!" Noelle quickly said in turn, a forced attempt of reassurance in her tone attempting to cover her own confusion, her own fear. "We'll uh...just ask what we wanted and then...we'll be out of your hair!" 

"I...I understand." Ralsei sighed, placing the plate atop of the ICE-E Sculpture, the sole other object in the room. "But, if you'll forgive me, what do you mean by...we? Are...Kris and Susie back? Are they still outside? If they put you up to this, could you please tell them that-"

[We're both in here.] You typed, slowly, deliberately, before turning the phone back around to Ralsei for him to read. [We need to talk.]

"I-I'm...afraid I still don't understand!" Ralsei said, nervously laughing as his eyes darted between Noelle and the screen of the phone. "Is...Is this a joke? Susie put you up to this, didn't she? I'll be sure to-"

[Not a joke.] You typed, quickly flipping the phone back again and switching to the list of emojis. [Not any of them talking, either.]

[It's me.]
[❤️]

You watched as the realization dawned upon him. You watched as panic began to spread across his face.

You watched, and could swear you saw him mouth something to himself in silence. 

...The only word you could make out, repeated over and over, looked a rather lot like "no."

Chapter Text

"That's an...interesting...sculpture you have!" Noelle said, staring at the ICE-E Block that had been shoved aside to make room for the table. "Where did you get it?"

Ralsei didn't respond. As you stared him down through Noelle's eyes, he'd seemingly found something much more interesting in his tea cup.

You knew he was probably capable of a lot more than he let on, but you didn't know that he could move that fast. 

You didn't know that he could lift that much, that he could just summon forth the little pink trays and cups whenever he wanted, that he could fly-

...You didn't know he had hot chocolate in the castle, let alone the candy cane that Noelle idly stirred it with, as the phone sat idle in your hand. Sat down at the same repurposed tea table from before, you'd learned a lot more about Ralsei in these last few minutes.

Noelle took a sip from the drink. The tension was thick enough to cut. It wasn't the learning you were here for.

"It's uh- It's...nice hot chocolate!" Noelle said, in a desperate attempt to break the silence. "How did you-"

"Thank you!" Ralsei quickly said in turn, his eyes darting back up to meet hers. "I- I made it mself! Well- I had help, obviously, but- Mostly me! I- mostly just threw it together! I..."

...He was desperate to talk, you figured. Just about anything else.

"I...know that's not where you're here for though...is it?" 

[No.] You quickly typed, flipping the phone around for him to see, before pulling it back to face you. [It's not.]

He quietly slid back into his seat. You hesitated as you thought of what exactly you were supposed to ask first.

What were you? Why were you here? Why did he seem so...afraid? 

...Why was Kris such an-

"We're just...here to ask questions!" Noelle said, interrupting your train of thought.  "And...I know it might be overstepping, but...that's really all it is! You don't need to be so...so, uh-"

"Terrified?" He answered back, as he hesitantly cupped the drink of his own in a paw.

"I...would have just said 'on edge' first, but-"

"It's...nothing you need to be concern yourself with."

[I think it is.] You typed, turning the phone back to face him, watching a small frown form upon his face as he read. [But we can get to that later. Tell her what she needs to know.]

 He sighed. "...What does she need to know?"

"I...I'm just...confused." She said in turn, attempting to further stir her drink, only to find that the candy cane had already melted. 

"...About?"

"Everything-" She dropped the remained of the stick into the mug. "What...is all of this? Who are all of these people? What are the fountains? I....why is this all-"

She trailed off again, taking another sip from the drink. You watched as hesitantly, Ralsei took a sip from his own.

"...You're aware of the prophecy, correct?" 

"You mean...the prophecy? Like, at church, or-"

"The very same."

"Well...of course! It's the...first thing they make you learn! I don't remember the...finer finer bits, and I'm not really super into it, but-"

"This is it."  Ralsei said, as he handed her another candy cane. 

"...Sorry?"

"...This is the prophecy, playing out in real time." Ralsei said back, as he forced a smile to his face. "...Light and Dark, the world's end, It's...here. It's now."

Noelle paused, staring blankly as she took it in her hand.

"I...that can't be-"

"I wouldn't believe me either. It's...a bit ridiculous, isn't it?" Ralsei said, laughing, almost sadly, you'd want to call it.  "An entire new world, just...there. In your school's supply closet."

"How does that work?" Noelle said in turn, dipping the second cane into her drink. 

Ralsei hesitated.

"It's...difficult to explain." He said, a hand paused across his face. "Imagine a room. No- a...shape, a- Imagine a chair in a room, an object- something-"

[You good?]

"I...I'm perfectly fine! I'm just-"

[You were a lot more collected the first time you said this.]

"I wasn't expecting to be saying it all again!" Ralsei shouted, balling his paws and squeezing them over one another. "I'm sorry! I..."

He paused again. He took a deep breath, and again, he continued.

"Just imagine something. An .object, a poster, a...jacket on a chair. And then, imagine the shape you see when the lights begin to dim. You're not entirely sure that it's just a chair or a poster anymore, you see them moving, acting, breathing-"

"...That is what we are. The monsters, the buildings- that is all we are. Objects and things, moving around in the darkness. The struggle of your mind as it rushes to fill in the blanks." 

"...Nothing in this world is really real. Not it's shape, not it's things, not even it's people.

"So you're all a...dream?" Noelle asked. "I mean- Tenna, I overheard Queen talking too, but he said that he was Kris's-"

"-And he was correct." Ralsei interrupted, a paw clutched firmly, desperately onto his cup. "...In reality, in the light world, as you know, Tenna is nothing more than a TV. Queen is your laptop, and...Even I, as I tell you this right now, am nothing more than a headband.

You watched as Ralsei laughed to himself. It sounded nervous. Fearful. Unsettled.

Noelle's eyes settled down upon her drink.

"So...you're saying that you're-"

"Not really...there. Not in the way that matters. That is correct."

...You were silent. Noelle followed in your footsteps. You had hoped that whatever Susie had said earlier had worked farther into his head, but some things were hard to shake, you supposed. If there was anyone that understood, it would've been you. Hell, you were still trying not to think of the greater implications of your own existance.

But of course, that was why you were here.

"But!" Ralsei said suddenly, releasing the death grip upon his mug. "That's not important, not at the moment! The Dark Worlds, they are...reflections of reality. A balance between truth and fiction. Light, and Dark. And me, You, Susie, Kris- we are all parts of the Prophecy."

"...The girl, the monster, The details that are less concrete, but I'm certain that they are you and Susie."

"I take the role of the dark prince, and Kris..."

You felt as Ralsei's gaze stared down at the arm you controlled. At the phone that lingered in its hand. 

"...Kris is the cage."

[And what does that make me?]

"You are the soul within. You are...the power by which darkness is banished. You-"

[That's not what I mean.]

...Ralsei paled as he read the words across the screen. The nervous ticks you'd come to understand from watching him, the twiddling of his fingers, the pulling upon his scarf- everything began to quickly make itself apparent.

"I...I'm sorry, I don't think that I-"

It didn't bode well with you at all.

[Don't think what?]

"W-Well, the...prophecy, when it comes to you it- It becomes...vague."

[Vague?]

"You could be many things." Ralsei explained, awkwardly shifting from speaking to Noelle, to her arm- Until you simply pointed at Noelle's face. You'd hoped the gesture would've helped, but if anything, it only seemed to make things worse. "There's...many different interpretations of the words, and even the few concrete details I have are-"

[That doesn't help.]
[Tell me why I am here.]

"I... I don't- You're the-"

[I'm not asking you why I'm here. I'm asking you why I'm here.]
[Why am I alive.]

"I don't know."

You repeat yourself, highlighting the words and thrusting the phone into his face-

"I don't know!" He repeated, louder, as he forced you to draw the phone back. "I- I only know what the prophecy says! I'm sorry, I don't know."

...You pause. You think. You begin to type again.

[Then tell me what you do know.]

Again, he hesitated. He nearly pulled the scarf free from his dress, his claws rapped across the table- What about this made him so afraid?

"I don't think that I should."

[Tell me.]

"I...-"

You pressed the phone farther into his face. 

"...Alright." He sighed, before taking another small sip from his drink.

"You are the soul within the cage. As- you may have already figured, but there are...several interpretations I've come to think of. Mostly out of loose scraps of memory, or- passing words from others, but-"

"...Some interpretations say you are a bystander. Some say you are benevolent, some say you are...wrathful, but all roughly end, to the extent of my knowledge, with the same few events-"

[A benevolent what?]
[A wrathful what?]

"A...soul. I'm sorry, it's...I've never known more than that."

...You stop, retreating back to the other side of the table as Ralsei nervously watches on, as Noelle takes another sip from her drink. The first candy cane had added something to the texture and flavor, but the second had begun to overpower the taste altogether, a mix into some unholy conglomerate of sugar and mint and whatever loose grains of texture remained at the bottom of the glass-

You weren't sure if you liked the taste anymore. You weren't sure if you wanted to be here anymore.

But you were already too deep in. You motioned for Ralsei to continue.

"...The same sequence of events are the last things that linger in my memory. You escape your cage, the girl finds love, the heroes pursue the knight, and then..."

[And then what?]

"...Tragedy."

[Explain.]

...You watched, with your best approximation of narrowed eyes, as Ralsei all but pulled his scarf off in his fit.

"I... understand this won't sound good, so...please just keep an open mind, alright?"

...You didn't like where this was going.

"The descriptions all...seem to come together to form a chain of events. They...don't give as much room for personal interpretation. That- isn't to say there isn't any, but-"

[Say it.]

"Verbatim, as I know it-" Ralsei begins, struggling to say the words, as if force to through gritted teeth. "....Reunion into open arms. A heaven piercing cry."

"...A dance of blades. Of dark and light, and..."

[And?]

"...And one will surely die."

...You feel as Noelle's eyes widen. The fingers of her hand freeze, pressing deeply into a singular key upon the phone as you struggle to come with words yourself. 

Ralsei couldn't bring himself to look Noelle in the eyes. 

"I understand the implications." Ralsei continued. "...I've spent nearly every waking free moment of my time thinking on them. It can only mean one of us.

Noelle couldn't bring herself to look at him. You stare at him, straining as far as you can from the corner of her eyes."

"...I have been trying, desperately so, to change it. I've had some thoughts, but for me to act on them, for me to protect you, I'll...need everyone to be together."

He hesitates. He pulls at nothing as his scarf lay discard upon the floor. You swear you can see marks beginning to form upon the surface of the table.

"...I'll need you to return to Kris."

...what?

The head snaps back up to face him, relieving you of the strain of staring him down from the corner of it's eye. It had moved fast, almost as fast as you'd imagined your own. She was rightfully shocked as well.

[what]

"I...I know you've been having some difficulties recently, but...this is the best option for everyone."

He looks at Noelle expectantly. Your hand lingers above the keyboard of the phone.

You've lived days. You've spent nearly every waking moment of that time within a cage, of flesh, of metal- You'd only recently understood how to leave them.
You were given an opportunity of freedom. You had tasted fresh air, you had bled, you had hurt, you had suffered for it- 

...And now, he told you that the only way forward was to lose it.

You didn't need long to answer.

[No.]

"I...I'm sorry, could I see the screen again? I must have-"

[I'm not going back.]

He seemed genuinely shocked at the response, his gaze lingering over the words, almost in disbelief, as you pulled the phone back.

"But...But- Kris! They'll-"

[Figure it out themselves. I'm not being put back in another cage.]

"I'm sorry, but-" 

You watched as he retrieved the scarf from the ground, as he pulled it with such force you heard something rip. As you heard the table finally give way and crack from the repeated impacts.

"You...You don't have a choice." He muttered, so quietly into his dress that you nearly missed it altogether.

The grip you hold upon the phone redoubles, quadruples- you think you hear something else begin to crack.

"...Without you, Kris will die. The fountains will go unsealed, The Roaring will come about-"

[I think I very much have a choice here.] You angrily type, your hand glossing over a crack in the screen. [I'm taking the option that doesn't put me in a cage.]

You watch as his expression shifts. What reminded you of an embarrassed kind of terror quickly begins to a proper, fearful one as the gears within his head piece your words together.

"Now- J-Just a second!" He said, as you ripped the phone back away. "I...I should rephrase! Kris- Kris needs you! It's...It's the other way around as well, you need them, but-  it's more than you know! More than they do! We need to-"

[There is no we. I know what Kris needs. It don't want it.]
[There is nothing left to speak about. I am not helping you anymore.]

He became more fervent, gripping tighter onto the phone with each passing between you, as if he knew that whatever you said would be more angry than the last. 

...You'd come to him for reassurance. For guidance, for only so much as one other voice to offer an apology-

And in him, you'd only found one more that wanted you back in your cell.

"Wait! Wait, please!" He pleaded, as you ripped the phone away. "They're- They're just lost! They're scared, they're in the middle of a very bad situation! You heard Tenna, can't we-"

[That doesn't make it right.]

"That...That isn't the point I was making! I-"

[That doesn't excuse the fucking cage.]

"The birdcage was the only option they had!" He screamed, his voice cracking as he began to lean over the table towards you. "They- The little wagon was-"

...You froze.

[What?]

"They...They've just been doing the best they could with what-"

...You hadn't mentioned anything about the kind of cage.

[I didn't say anything about a wagon.]

...Ralsei froze in turn.

He knew.
[You knew.]

"I...I can explain!" He stuttered, leaning farther over, almost leering over the phone altogether. 

Everything began to click together. That odd moment when you'd opened your eyes in the castle and found yourself elsewhere. When he'd done it again in the palace. The fight in the basement against the salesman, the way he'd...

...A Headband. Toriel had mentioned something about a headband. A pair of little red horns they used to wear all the time, until they went...

...missing. 

Something burned within you. Bright and hot and angry. Noelle's free hand darts over to help as you begin to type.

[YOU KNEW.]

"I- I didn't know you were aware!" He pleaded, quickly beginning to back away. "N-Not to the extent you are! I only knew-"

[YOU DID NOTHING. YOU WATCHED.]

"I only want to help! I only want everyone to survive! I-"

[I DON'T WANT TO SURVIVE.]
[I WANT TO LIVE.]

"You will!" He screams, as he abruptly stands from his chair and hurries over to put a hand upon your shoulder. "I'll do everything that I can to make that happen, I- I promise! On everything I am, I-"

[You're a pair of red horns on a headband.] You type, your face contorting into a sneer as you pull yourself away from his touch. [I know who you're really trying to help.]

"Please! Please, just listen to me! You- We need you! You're- The Roaring! If you don't, then- Then Darkness will overtake the world! We'll-"

You shove him away. You turn on caps lock by accident in the brief struggle, but can't find it within yourself to turn it off as vitriol pours through you.

[IF I'M DOOMED EITHER WAY, I'M NOT SPENDING ANOTHER GODDAMN MINUTE WITH THAT ASSHOLE. I'M NOT SPENDING ANOTHER MINUTE WITH YOU.]

"The- The prophecy isn't set in stone!" Ralsei pleaded, tears in the corners of his eyes as he hastily pulled himself back up from the ground. "Please! It could mean anything! It-"

[IT SEEMS PRETTY FUCKING CUT AND DRY TO ME.]

...He continued to plead. To bauble and beg into your ears. A thousand different thoughts ran through your mind, a thousand different ways to express your frustration, your fear, your hurt-

You wanted a voice. You wanted to be heard. You wanted to breathe in, to scream the hate and the anger that had so deeply rooted itself within you back out.

..And so, with the burning in your heart, you stood, you opened your mouth, you breathed in-

 ...And you did.

"W-We can still change it! We-"

"YOU CAN TAKE YOUR STUPID PROPHECY AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!" You screamed, watching as the force and volume of your voice alone shocked him into silence, as it nearly sent him back into the wall. As the burning feeling within your heart began to ache.

"GO FUCK YOURSE-"

...The pain in your chest? Your hands? Your...voice? You- you didn't have any of those. They-

..No. No no no-, They weren't yours, they weren't yours-

You stopped. You looked down at yourself. At the brown fur that covered your hands. At the flowing white robes, stained with the remnants of a glass of Hot Chocolate that you hadn't even seen yourself knock over in your outburst.

...You weren't a spectator anymore. You were controlling her. 

You were hurting her.

"...I'm sorry-" You muttered, your hands shaking as you realized the weight of you had done. The burning in y- No, the burning in herchest is you. Shining so bright, so hot, that you've etched away at the very strands that connected you. 

"I'm sorry-" You whimpered, as you slowly began to inch yourself away from the table, back towards the door. This- This isn't what you wanted. This isn't what you wanted, this isn't what you wanted-

"I'm sorry!" You cried out, ignoring Ralsei's pleas as you opened his door and began to run away. Away from Queen, from Tenna, from the gathered masses by the gates, from the town, from everything, until you were as far away as you could be. Until your stolen lungs burned, gasping for air as you collapsed by the pillar of light. With trembling hands, you set the phone down at your side.

You felt tears begin to form. You tried to resist them, the creeping pain of the welt that worked its way up from the back of your stolen throat. You didn't deserve to cry. You-

...You needed to help her. You needed to fix this before it was too late. She- She had a healing spell! A prayer, something from the Dark World just yesterday!

You continued to mutter apologies in your stolen voice as you desperately tried to remember the motions.You weren't her. You didn't know how to make it work, but- But you had to. You had to,  you had to make it stop-

You focused upon your trembling hands as you tried to remember the motion. Her- Her hands were crossed along her chest, her eyes were closed, She'd done... She'd-

You couldn't see. Not through the tears that clouded your stolen eyes. A stolen breath hitched in your stolen throat. You tried to wipe them away, dirtying the stolen sleeve that covered your stolen arm.

You tried to say you didn't mean it. That you didn't want to hurt her. That you didn't mean to lose control, that you didn't want to lose the only real friend you had. You-

...You found yourself unable to. Another took breath instead of you.

One arm stayed still across her face as the other pulled away, entirely out of your control, settling back across her chest. You opened your eyes.

She was back.  You quickly willed the other arm to follow, copying the motion as best you could, watching as a green light began to envelop her. Feeling as the burning pain began to fade, as the familiar comfort of tendrils began to gentle settled back down upon you.

She was back. 

You quickly scramble to pick the phone up, gentle with its cracked screen as you navigated back to the Notes app.

[Im sorry]
[Im so sorry I didnt mean to] 
[I just]

...Noelle didn't respond as you franticly waved the phone before her face.

[I was scared]
[It made me angry]
[I]
[I dont want to die]

You highlighted, you tapped, you waved, you tried anything in desperation to get the message across. You hovered over your last sentence, over and over and over. You...You-

...You stopped, as Noelle's free hand reached out towards the phone, pulled it out from its grasp, and began to peel away the protective layer that rested on its surface.  You watched as she held the cracked covering in her hand, quiet as she set it to the side, revealing the phone intact beneath. 

"I used to break my screens all the time." She admitted, nervously chuckling as she handed it back. "Mom got tired of me breaking them, and...I got good at-"

You willed the arm to coil around her stomach as tight as it could, in the best impression of a hug you could muster. The other, entirely of her own accord, wrapped back around it a moment later. 

"...What did you mean back there?" She said, in the moments after you relented, staring back down at the screen. "With...the bird cage. And living and...surviving?"

You thought back to Kris. To the bloodstain you'd seen on the floor as you were forced to watch from the cage. To the sensation of being ripped free, to being thrown about and used and beaten.

You thought about that small moment in the Cyber City where the puzzle had spelled out December. You thought about how close  they must have been, if Tenna had such a reaction to seeing her.

[It speaks for itself but]

...You couldn't tell her everything. Not your version of it, at least.

[I think it's better if you ask them yourself]

It pained you as you tried to tune her out again, turning the phone off and stuffing it back into her pocket. You could only imagine the hate you'd have to say if you knew the words of what she'd ask. You could only imagine yourself burning red hot again.

...You hated Kris. But you were starting to feel that the care you had for Noelle outweighed it. You couldn't take someone so close away from her. You couldn't take someone so close away from anyone.

You knew what it was like to be alone.

You wouldn't wish it on anyone. Not even them.

You felt as the vibration of her voice stopped. You tuned back in. 

"...Are you still there?"

You clicked the phone back on in response, watched and waited as she typed in the password, clicked open the Notes app-

"Oh! There you are! Hi, Intruder!" You heard Lancer say, as Noelle's head darted to the side. "I've been looking for you!

Noelle, startled, quickly backed away, scrambling to her feet.

"W-What uh did you...need with me?"

"Executive orders! Torture Dungeon!"

"What?!"

"Kidding! Uh...Girldad actually told me to tell you something! Or Toothpaste boy told Girldad to tell me to tell you something, if I found you- and I just did!" 

"And what did you need to tell me?"

"He uh...didn't really...give me a note..." Lancer said, looking down at a scribble of marker on his arm. "But it was a lot of crying and babbling! Oh, and something about leaving because Kris and Susie were in a Dark World!"

...They were what?

"What?!"

"Yep! Something about a church, I think she said he said, but...there's like, three or four layers of said going on, and I think I might have lost a bit in translation, and-"

You tuned the sound back out. You closed your eyes. You deliberated.

...Good. A part of you thought. Let them struggle without you. Let them get beaten. Let them see how they liked it.

Bad, a part of you quickly thought back! They'll get torn to pieces without you! That's a bad thing!

You stared into the void that surrounded you, felt the pulse of Noelle's soul beneath you. Felt as something shifted outside, like a loop on a roller coaster.

...Following them meant that Kris could get to you again. Leaving them meant that they were in Dark World, without the power to close it. Someone could die.

...Following them meant danger. You would be hurt. Noelle could be hurt. Leaving them meant a worse one. Ralsei wasn't lying about one thing, at the least. Leaving fountains unchecked was dangerous. You knew that well enough already. Maybe not exactly why, but...

Yes, No, Stay, Go- You weighed everything in your head-

You had to. They were-

...They were Noelle's friends. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you didn't at least try. You closed your eyes-

And found her standing out before the church, the phone already offered out to the hand you occupied. You reached out and took it.

"I...felt whatever you were thinking about." She said, as she stared at the darkness from the doorway pouring forth. "...Well, most of it, but...Thank you. I'm still confused, but...I can't leave them there. Or we can't I guess."

[Kris can tell you everything when we find them]
[Its better if you hear both sides anyways]

"...You're right, I just...I don't know how to feel about this." She sighed, slowly inching forwards towards the door. "Well...most of this. The last one wasn't...billowing."

You hesitated, almost holding her back. In any other case, you'd jump in, but...you were afraid.

Not of the Dark World, but of what lied within it.

[They do that sometimes] You typed, trying and failing to banish the tension from your mind.

"I'm...glad I'm in the hands of an expert, then! Or- uh the expert's...in my hand? I-"

"...I can feel that too." She said, clasping her hand over hers- over yours. "...You're scared."

[I shouldnt be]

"Hey, it's...It's alright! We're in this together, Ok? You can be the expert, and I'll be the body, and...I'll...uh-"

[Cast magic]

"Yeah! I'll cast magic too! 50/50! Like...like an angel over my shoulder, or something!"

[Who gets to be the devil?]

"Well, I...meant the other kind of angel on your shoulder, but...maybe we can find the devil while we're down there! Susie would make a pretty good devil!"

[Haha]

You still hesitate, even as you click the phone off and store it in her pocket. Even as she inches forwards towards the door.

"You're ready, right?"

...You give your best mental impression of a deep breath in. You give her a thumbs up.

She takes a deep breath of her own. She takes a running leap-

...And you both descend into the darkness.

Chapter Text

Falling. 

Farther and farther down, deeper and deeper, darker yet darker yet darker- 

The familiar twinge of cloth as the darkness shifted, giving new form. Layers of elaborate cloth that almost seemed to twinkle in the light like  snowflakes, blue and blonde and white- 

Black and Blue and grey. filtered in from some massive structure in the distance. She landed. You opened your eyes together. 

Light impossibly casted in from stained glass murals larger than any building you'd seen, impossibly large, impossibly far away.  Stone pillars and walls, gothic architecture that expanded above you and before you so far than you couldn't quite see their end. Rows and rows and rows of bookshelves, each stuffed to the brim, each book so worn and frayed, so individually handled, that the mind that must have read them had done so a hundred times over.

Panes of glass that floated and shimmered in the air. Figures shifting and moving in the distance. Something that you swore was another goddamn water cooler.

Even by dark world standards, it all seemed much more extravagant than you'd been accustomed to. Certainly more than Noelle had, if the way she remained unmoving was any indication. 

You pulled the phone back out from her pocket. 

[We need to get going]

"...Right, right! Sorry!" 

She hurried along, staring between the two paths of the corridor you had landed in, before settling on the one that took you...left? West? Your sense of direction always seemed to fail you in these places.

 As interesting as it was, you knew you were on borrowed time. Or, somebody was, anyways. The sooner you found them, the better.

You tuned back out, hypocrite as you were, the connection between your vision shifting and mixing into shades of black and grey, blue and white and gold fading and enveloping one another. You offered a thumbs up to any particularly loud noises. You needed the time to think.

...If you were them, where would you be in a place like this? The endgoal would be the fountain, obviously, but...what, ten, fifteen minutes in? Where would be?

Coming up with nothing for such a place as this, your mind grumbled to itself. 

If you were Kris, you'd be tearing your heart out of your chest.
If you were Ralsei, you'd be hiding right behind them, watching as you held your tongue. 
If you were Susie-

Admittedly, you didn't quite know what Susie would do about now, even in jest. You could certainly make a guess. Maybe she was busy finding another garbage lid to throw at you.

It wasn't right to blame her. She had no idea. 
...You hoped she was ok.

Noelle stopped. You tuned back in. 

She stared at a glass pane floating in the darkness, not unsimilar to the ones you'd seen in the far distance. Words accompanied an image, glittering in blue and cyan, as if a starlit ocean shifted and twisted behind it. 

"They'll fall again, with form anew, from light onto the dark." 

The image below depicted a...monster? A human? Something falling down, a heart stamped across their chest.

"They....remind me of what Toothpaste-"

[Ralsei] 

"Sorry- What Ralsei was saying."

[The prophecy]

"Yeah, it's...familiar too, though." She continued, her eyes shifting as she read the words over again. "...The rhyming scheme. It reminds me a bit of our Hymm books."

[Maybe they turned into glass or something] You typed, pointing back down to the rest of the hallway. More glass glistened in the distance. Noelle quickly moved to investigate. 

 "A bitter truth shall be revealed. The heart shall be their mark."

An image of the same person from the last. They confronted another, one who had something planted upon their own chest. One who stood with a blade at the ready. 

[Unless your books talk about hearts and sword fights]

"...It'd make them more interesting, at least. Maybe they're in the one we haven't read yet!"

She proceeded onwards. 

 "United, scattered, joined again, they'll cross the darkened knife."

Two hands wrapped around a blade. Shapes and forms contorting in ways you couldn't quite make sense of. A part of you wanted to call it the shockwave of Susie's Buster attack, but another saw it as a visor. The slash of a blade, the twinkling of light, a beam of...something. 

...Room for interpretation, you supposed. She continued.

 "A cornered foe, a desperate plea, a grand climactic strife."

Three- no, Four- Five? A horde of figures faced off against one, raised on an incline above them, illuminated by a pillar of something that rose behind them. The contrast between light and dark, the shifting of blades and weapons and magic, you could see how something like this would be difficult to interpret. All except for what you could only assume was you.

Centered above all, above the figure, in contrast with the pillar, a heart flew alone above them, with a set of grand wings outstretched. Not chained, not connected, not in any way held down by any of the figures below it. 

You quickly pointed Noelle off to the next one. Maybe...Ralsei was wrong. Maybe whatever interpretation he took away was wrong, or had come from an incorrect spot. Maybe-

...Noelle stopped abruptly, as the path had been filled with shattered glass. Whatever panels had once existed here had been broken. From the few pieces still close enough together to see, you saw the top corner of a heart. Another beam or fragment of a pillar. Another series of waves. "ry" and "ion" 

[Weshould kneel houng] You hastily typed, before quickly going back and correcting yourself. [get going*]

You didn't need to think long on it. You didn't want to, either.

"You're ok, right?" Noelle quickly said back, hurrying along the path. "You've...been getting better about that, you don't do that unless you're...uh-"

You don't answer. At least, not verbally, giving her a quick thumbs up before she continued along. 

...You stayed silent. You dulled your mind, you focused on the task at hand. Until the fragments of glass were nothing more than a distant memory. Until you were able to drown the images out of your mind. Until-

Until Noelle stopped, hearing the sound of music in the distance. 

A limited tune, like someone playing with half of a keyboard, or some miniature piano, but you could only imagine so many instruments existing in a church.

You could only imagine so many people here who knew how to play the piano.

[We're close] 

Her eyes didn't move to stare down at the message, still staring up and off in the direction of the notes. She didn't acknowledge it. not until you all but waved it before her face.

"Oh- Oh! uh...yeah I...figured!" She said, reading the message and quickly running to the closest path that ascended upwards.

[You ok?] 

 "Yeah! Just-  just...got lost in my head for a second." She weakly replied, giving a half-hearted thumbs up of her own. 

...You didn't buy it. She either knew you well enough to start practicing your mannerisms. Or maybe it was just pieces of you bleeding through into her. Or...her into you- 

Regardless, there was only so much you could do. You felt as the notes returned to your thoughts as she ascended. You could almost sense as she did the same, through the unmoving stare of her eyes.

You were drawn back to the house. To the idle slices of life you'd heard and seen within the vents.

Asgore, speaking to a glass shard. The second katana that rested along the bedroom floor. Susie and Noelle, the bathroom- 

The piano in the kitchen. 

...There were a lot of things you didn't know what to think of anymore.

[Hey] You quickly typed, pulling the phone out as she climbed to the top of a stairway. [dumb question]

"I...I'm sorry, I don't-"

[I mean I have a stupid question]

"Oh, uh- Sure! What's...bugging you?"

[Do you think] You began, hesitating as her fingers lingered over the buttons. You struggled to find the words. [that it's stupid to want to be someones friend] 
[Even if they hate you] 

She read the message. She hesitated, stopping at the edge of a pillar. 

"...It's about Kris, isn't it?"

[Who else] 
[The piano just brought be back a bit]

"Who told you they played the piano?"

[Figured it out myself]
[Also they played it at your house]
[I heard it in from the vents]

Her eyes narrowed. "...You were in my vents? Like- just floating around in the air ducts?"

[Yes]

"...Why were you-"

[Only place to go after they threw me in the closet]

She sighed. You continued regardless.

[Watched them stumble into the kitchen]
[First thing they did after throwing me away was make a glass of chocolate milk]
[And then nail me with the empty bottle]

"...My mom made me clean that up." She huffed. "I know what you're talking about."

[Went back after they tried to shove me in the box again]
[They were playing the piano when I got in the second time]

"...I heard that too. Just in the background, when me and Susie were talking." She said, as a small smile crept up to her face. 
"...They used to play a lot more. Back when they came over, I mean. Dad would be busy, Mom would be at work, and they just...played. When it was just me and them, and..."

You didn't want to admit it. You really didn't want to admit it, but-

[It was nice]
[The music]

...It was the nicest thing you'd heard, in what relatively short time you'd been alive. Something else you struggled to bring words to.

[It reminded me of]

"-A concert?" She interrupted, looking down into the phone. "Like...something someone was playing just for you?"

[Maybe not the words I would use but]
[Something like that]

She stared in silence a moment longer, before you pulled the phone back down. You watched as stared down at the floor. As she sighed, slowly turning back to face the pathway. As she continued, in the direction you'd last heard the music, having stopped some time in the middle of your conversation. 

"...I think I get what you mean." 

[I dont know how long I sat there and listened before I kept going]
[It was bea]

You quickly stopped yourself.

[It was very nice]
[Like I could just forget about everything that happened for a second]

You thought on everything a moment longer. Those quiet moments, between the dark worlds. The deranged moss eating. The Hot Chocolate. The happy family and friends that Tenna had described, sitting before the TV, eating pie, watching some stupid claymation christmas special.

...You didn't know you could feel nostalgic for something you'd never experienced.

[I wish I could have met the Kris you knew] 
[I don't like this one very much.]

You felt, subconsciously, as Noelle's grip around the phone began to tighten, completely separate from your influence.

"...Don't say this to anyone, but...I think I get that too."

[?]

"You...heard everything that Tenna said in the Castle, right? About...the other half of the family?"

[Yes]

"And...that was you in the city, right? With...the nice, and the puzzles that sounded like a spelling board, and-

[Yeah]

She sighed. You heard a stagger in her breath. 

"...Me and Kris. And...Azzy and Dess- We all used to be close like that. I...can see where he'd get the Family thing from."
"And this Kris, before everything, even before you, they...they would play pranks, but...they were never like this."

"Not to call you a liar or anything!" She said, quickly holding her free hand up in mock surrender. "I agree! It's just...it's like they're hardly the same person anymore, yaknow?"

...You very much didn't, but you motioned for her to continue. 

"...Dess used to call them a little goblin. The way they ran around and grabbed things and...put them in their mouth, all with this...stupid grin on their face."

You felt as she smiled. Bittersweet, you'd want to call it.

"I mean...don't tell them I said anything, but...I watched them eat moss one time. Just...straight off of a tree."

[I'll take it to the grave] You typed, far more quickly than anything you had prior.

"They...yelled." Noelle continued. "They screamed, they joked, they laughed, they-"
"...They felt alive. And even before you, they haven't been like that in a while."

[Did something happen?]

Her face dropped. She looked away from the phone. "You...probably know enough to guess."

The guitar. The secrecy and stillness you'd felt around the darkened room you could only assume was Dess's. The simple fact that you'd never actually...seen her.

[Sorry]

She didn't respond. The sound of her hooves echoing across the floor filled the air. The silence felt deafening.

"...When we stopped trying to find her, Kris stopped being...Kris." She said, in a voice nearly so quiet that even you couldn't hear it. "...They didn't yell or run or do anything anymore, they just...shambled. Grunted. A bit like you when you...you know-"

[Controlled them]

"Yeah. Just...less talkative. They didn't really talk at all. If you end up doing it again, uh- Well...there's a pointer, I guess!" 

She laughed to herself. Something awkward and hollow. Something sad. 

...Something told you they didn't find the joke very funny either.

[What kind of pranks did they do] You typed, waving the phone before her before she pulled herself in too deep. 

"Oh, uh...A whole bunch!" She quickly said in turn, gripping the phone with her other hand, eager for any kind of distraction. "They...dug up a pizza box that scared me real bad when we were kids!" 

[From the trash?]

"From the...graveyard." She said, laughing again. Something still off, but much more complete than the first. "And- And then Dess whacked them in the back of the head with a whiffle bat!"

You even found yourself chuckling at the thought. Or, imagined yourself doing so, anyways,

"oh! And...there was this other time too, back when Kris kept telling me that ICE-E was real!" She quickly continued,  looking away from the phone for a moment to center herself back along the path. "Dess hit them in the head again, and she did it so hard that time that the thing just snapped in half! And- And then dad got her an actual Baseball bat and...Kris kinda got scared of being hit with an actual one, so...it calmed down a bit after that."

[Sounds like I missed out]

"Well- Mom wouldn't have let her hit them with an actual bat anyways! You only missed the easy ones!"

[Must have been nice]
[Maybe I should've possessed someone sooner]

"...It was nice." She said, smiling. 

You watched, you felt, as that same smile began to fade away.

"I thought it was just...part of growing up for a while, yaknow?" She began again, staring ahead. An empty piano. A raised gate. She looked back down. "...Being quieter. Staying at home more, Never really speaking in class. Never really...speaking at all."

You felt as the dread settled back into her soul.

"...Hey, could I...use that for a second?" She said, pointing towards the phone.

You pushed it back into her hand without hesitation. 

"...Thank you."

You watched as she scrolled away from the Notes app, opened a download folder, tapped through several pages of redundant and empty looking folders. Audio, Videos, folders, half of them empty, half of them nammed jibberish, until she finally stumbled into one in particular. A blank video, titled by  random letters. Or, random to you, anyways. "BCRYOBDC" seemed to hold some meaning to her.

You would've asked what it meant, but you understood the second she she pressed play, and the sound of a loud and energetic guitar began to fill your ears. It was a song. Something you never would've imagined she would listen to, but a song nonetheless. You listened alongside her in silence. 

"When the demon heart is crying, When the blood is gushing bri-"

...The voice was familiar. Similar to Noelle's. Teenage, but...older. Dess, you could only image. A recording of her. 

Noelle abruptly cut a third of the way into the song. 

"Because I'm with you in the dark, with your heart as my mark, which shall shine you the way!"

Noelle handed you the phone back. 

"...When it stops, could you pull it back to the good part? It's...forty seconds in. Give or take. You'll see it." 

You gave the best thumbs up you could with your hands full. 

[Her?] you asked, typing into the name of the folder.

"...Her." She responded simply. "I...recorded her when she was playing, sometimes. She let me after I...wouldn't stop sneaking around to listen."

"-ich shall guide you the way, through the waves!"

You noticed it, now that she pointed it out. The sound of shuffling and movement, muffled tiny breaths as someone tried desperately to be quiet. You tapped at the phone once the music stopped for more than a few seconds.

"I...listen to it sometimes. When it's just a harder day, or...I'm alone when mom's at work, or...I'm just by myself. I like to have it. It's...like she's still there, yaknow?"

"Because I'm with you in the dark! With your-"

You felt as her free hand clenched in upon itself. Felt as her nails dug into her skin from the pressure.

"...I know it's not healthy, but...there's nobody I really have around to talk like that too anymore. And...it's not hurting anyone, so..."

[I'm sorry] You type into the margins.

"...You shouldn't be. There's....no reason to be. There wasn't anything you could've done about it, so...you shouldn't worry."

She smiles. It felt forced.

"...That's what mom says, anyways. I just...wish I could get myself to believe it."

...You let the phone hang low at her side, having already long since missed the last mark to play the music back.

The quiet strumming of guitar strings. The flipping of pages, the clicking of a mouse. 

...The creak of a door as it was accidently pushed open.

"Oh- Shoot, Uh oh-"

"...Elle? What are you doing?"

...You began to wish that you could frown too. You-

"Shit- Is that- It is! Kris, Get up! NOELLE! HEY! NOELLE!"

Pink and purple, grey and blue, white and green- specks and pieces of color out from the corner of your vision. Specks that very, very rapidly began to grow closer. You felt her freeze. You shut the phone off. You stuffed it back into her pocket.

Her head darted forwards. The remorseful and bittersweet feelings melted away in an instant. Fear froze in the cracks, taking it's place. You quickly watched through her eyes, trying to make sense of the surroundings. 

"Noelle! Shit, I'm- we're really glad to see you, uh- This is...This is another dream! Yeah! You're dreaming, and-" 

"Y-You don't have to say that anymore! I know enough, uh- someone told me!" 

An empty hallway. A staircase to your left that stretched down into the darkness. What you could only assume were platforms lower beneath you, from what little you could make out from the fading light cast down by the stained glass.

The pathway behind you. Empty, you could only assume, but direct. You didn't know how fast Noelle could run. You didn't know if you had the time to learn. Still, an option. Certainly more appealing to the path laid before you.

Even now, you could see Ralsei, kneeling down to the floor to a prone Kris, a hand held to their chest, a green light emitting from their paw. Over and over and over again it flashes, but they don't seem to be getting back up. They don't seem to be getting any worse either,  but needing to use your sword as a cane was hardly an intimidating image. 

...A part of you was glad, seeing how they struggled without you. A gust blew past from the open stairway. The margins of your vision were filled with messy purple hair. 

"Right! uh- Look, this is really, really important! Did you find it?!"

Susie plants a hand on her shoulder. You feel as she blushes. You could swear you saw the smallest glimpse of something Susie's face as well.

"I...uh- kinda did? But-"

"Great! Kris was telling me that it probably did go to the castle, but that you would be better at getting it since it wouldn't run from you, and-"

"T-The...Soul?"

Susie eyed her with suspicion.

"The soul- Robot thing! It- It looked like a soul, right? It-"

Another hand clenched around her other shoulder. You were certain that something had appeared on Susie's face as well. But this high up, this cold, with this much of a breeze, you couldn't say for sure what it was from.

"Noelle! Do you have it or not?! We need it! Kris is going to-"

"They aren't going to die!" Ralsei shouted from across the room, quickly readjusting their glasses as they nearly fell off of their face. "Just...listen to them for a moment, Susie! Please! We need to find a way to work together here, or none of us will be-"

"...Them?"

Your gaze darted over to Kris as they grunted out, watching as their head slowly lifted upwards, as they pulled themselves from the ground with their sword as a brace, as a single red eye stared at the limp hand resting in her pocket. 

" ...Them?"

"Kris-  Kris, wait!" Ralsei begged, as he tried to hold him back down with a paw. "I- I understand your anger, but-"

"It has her." They grumbled, pushing Ralsei's arm aside and pointing at her. At you.

You felt a chill overcome the body. You felt your arm freeze in place. You felt as Susie's grip froze around her shoulders. 

Noelle's eyes went die. You felt as she tried to back away, to free herself from Susie's grip, but the friendly motion had quickly become hostile. Unable to break free, unable to move, you could only watch as Susie spun her around in her grasp, holding her still as Kris limped closer from the opposite side of the hall.

"S-Susie, please!" Noelle begged. "I can explain-"

"Shut it, Bodysnatcher!"  She growled back, her voice coarse as it was shouted in her ear. "I got it still, Kris! Hurry your ass up!"

She struggled uselessly in her grasp. The wind blew. Goosebumps form upon her arms.

Kris drew closer.

"It- They're not-" She pleaded, staring down at Kris as the limped the last of the distance. "S-Stop it! Kris, Please!"

"It'll be over soon." The muttered. as they slowly, deliberately, raised their arm.

"It's- They're not- They're-"

You closed your eyes. Panic blossomed beneath you, the soul pulsing, churning and twisting, tendrils pulling you closer as if in resistance to what was soon to come.
...You hated them. You hated them, and it took every fiber of your being to hold back that anger from burning bright enough to hurt her again. You felt it even now, as the heat began to radiate off the tendrils that embraced you.

...If Kris was going to do this, then to hell with Ralsei's plan. To hell with being nice, to hell with them.  You'd fight back, tooth and claw and nail, kicking your teeth, clawing at skin, screaming until-

...Until you came to another realization. You felt....burning. Searing, even, as the pieces of her that held you dug you deeper within. As if her own soul had begun to melt and meld of it's own accord. 

It wasn't you that was losing control of their temper. 

It was her.

"They've been a better friend to me in two hours than you have in four years!" She screamed, with such clarity, such force and power, that it pulled you back. That it forced you to close your eyes and see once more. 

It was...raw. Brutal, furious- You'd never heard anything like it out of her. You'd never expected anything like it out of her. It shocked you to your core, so deep and far that you felt as the control over her arm began to wane, as she herself regained it, as she herself ripped away from Susie's grasp, staggering backwards into the hallway.

Ralsei did not speak against her. Susie did not pursue. Kris didn't even move their hand back down.

Noelle took the moment to catch her breath. The bitter wind blew fierce. You felt as she shivered.

"...Noelle?" Susie said, concern plastered upon her face as she took a single step forwards. "...What the hell is it doing to you?! It-" 

"They haven't done anything to me!" She shouted back. "They just want to live! They...They've listened! They've looked out for me, they've talked to me, they-" 

She hesitated, her head turned over towards Kris. Her hand pulled itself out from her pocket, pointing accusatorily towards Kris. "They told me what you've been doing to them!"

You watched Kris's face. The subtle shift of their mouth, the widening of the bottom of their eyes from beneath their hair- Fear. Or at least, something that resembled it. 

...Noelle laughed. Something nervous. Something furious, like rage and emotion repressed finally bubbling over.  "And...the funny thing is, even after everything they said, we were just talking about you! They still just wanted to be your friend! I-It's something I can relate to a bit, yaknow?" 

"Elle-" 

You felt as the Tendrils pulled you deeper.

"Don't you Elle me, Kris!" She shouted back. "I...I-"

She stepped forward. Kris and Susie stepped back. 

"I did everything I could think of." She muttered, a sound that felt...sadder than the last few. Tired. Exhausted.  "...I tried to help you in class, I....I invited you over whenever I could- I always had something I could offer to you- I just...I wanted my friend back!"

You watched as she stared Kris down. You watched as Kris turned their head away, unable to look her back in the eye.

"So...you can imagine how happy I was!" Noelle continued, quickly closing the distance, hooves clattering along stone tile, drowned out by the bellowing of the wind. "You...You were talking to me again! We hung out! That crazy dream I had, with...Berdly and You and Susie and the Ferris Wheel and the tail thing- All of it was real!"

She jabbed a finger into their chest. what should've simply tapped against their armor was enough to force them down to the ground.

"BUT NONE OF IT WAS FROM YOU!"

You watched as Ralsei ran to Kris's side, healing them again. Noelle backed away. 

You felt another hesitant hand rest upon her shoulder.

"...Noelle-" Susie began, as she turned her head sharply to face her. "W-Whatever it's been telling you, it's lying! Kris was just telling me a second ago! It's always been them, the soul just...it just..."

You watched as Susie turned to Kris, her one free hand gesturing wildly between them and Noelle. "Kris can explain it better! Just- Just tell me what you told me! Make it make sense to her!" 

...Kris didn't speak. You watched as their head shifted between the Noelle and Susie, over and over and over, before their gaze finally settled down upon the belt of their armor. 

"I'm...sorry." 

"The fuck you mean, 'I'm sorry'?!" Susie shouted, as the grin on her face began to shift. "Just tell her what's really been happening, dumbass!" 

...Kris didn't respond. Noelle's eyes narrowed. 

"Wipe that stupid frown off of your face! Tell her the truth!"

...Kris didn't respond. They didn't even muster the strength to look back up. 

"KRIS!" 

"...I'm sorry."

Susie's breath hitched. You watched as steam visibly began to rise from each exhale. You watched as the hope and expectation left her eyes. Watched as the smile upon her face vanished completely, lowering down into a scowl.

The wind blew her hair free. It settled down upon her face. You watched until from underneath the matted hair-

...you couldn't see her eyes at all. 

The chill within the air grew fierce. The fur upon the back of Noelle's neck stood straight on edge. It had...only been getting worse. You'd thought it was only your imagination at first, but now, it almost reminded you of...

...

It reminded you of the snow. Of the crunch beneath your boots, the electric hiss and garble of a broken TV in the distance. Of the sting in your lungs as you held your breath. 

You tried to pull the phone back out from her pocket, to move her arm, to warn her- but her arms were still her own. Whatever turmoil ran within her soul still overpowered yours, if just for this moment. If just for this singular, terrifying moment.

Instead, you watch. Noelle's eyes are focused on the spectacle before her, watching as Susie pulls Kris up by their shirt, as Ralsei tried in vein to talk her down, but you watched from the corners of her eye. You felt as the wind blew north. You watched-

And just barely, near unperceptively, A glimmer of black and white drew closer. 

Them.

Fear flooded across every fiber of your being, freezing like ice within its cracks. At your strongest, with everything at your disposal, with every weapon and item and armor, The Knight had broken you. You had no chance here, so divided, so weak. It would tear them apart. It would tear her apart. You needed to leave. You needed to run.

And even so, as you screamed and pleaded and begged, her legs did not move. Her hands did not move. She did not move. It was all you could do to try, to wait, to sit and stare and watch as the glimmer grew closer, as the cold wind grew more fierce, as Noelle watches them shout and scream until she finally saw it out from the corner of her eye herself.

The momentary confusion was all you needed. 

"-which will gu-"

[RUN] You quickly typed into the margins, pausing the video. there wasn't time to switch back. There wasn't time to question, there was barely time left to get away.

Noelle only gets a moment to stare down at her phone, less than a second to question what you'd meant. You didn't have the time for her to wait, you- 

"YOU!" Susie shouted, drawing her attention away. Her axe at the ready, her face a scowl, she stared The Knight down. "I do NOT have the time for your stupid ass right now, Leather Club! LEAVE!"

She watches as The Knight simply brushes Susie aside, ignoring her entirely, staring down at Kris. 

You watch as Kris coughs. As silently, slowly, almost unperceptively- 

They point their hand towards you.

"DON'T YOU IGNORE ME, SHITHEAD!" Susie screams, chasing them down with a snarl, axe poised above her head as she charged. "WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE RIGHT GODDAMN NOW, OR I'M GONNA SPLATTER YOUR HEAD ACROSS THE -"

A single swipe of it's blade was all it took to send her back. You watched as the blade of the Axe met darkness, as it bucked, groaned and strained, as it crumpled, the force carrying through and sending her flying into the wall nearby. 

"SUSIE!" Ralsei screamed, sprinting across the room as The Knight slowly turned its head from Kris, freezes for a moment at the sight of Noelle-

...And then stares at you. 

Not Noelle, Not her hand, but you.

You watch as it's maw opens, it's helmet giving way to a sinister grin with rows upon rows of jagged teeth. 

It stared through her. You felt as darkness settled upon the very core of your being.

You wave the message infront of her face again, begging for her to respond to move, to do anything, but you found her unresponsive, staring between Susie and the figure that drew near, paralyzed with fear. 

The Knight raised its blade. She gasped in fear. You watched as Kris closed their eyes. 

You opened yours. You pulled yourself deeper into the depths of her soul. You didn't have time for anything else.

You offer a silent apology, you plead with every fiber of your being that you could to convey the message. The light overtook you. You closed your eyes.

With naught but moments to spare, you dove away from the blade, a lock of your hair cut free, the twisted image of The Knight burned into your mind as you saw them through the translucent glass as it passed your face.

"I'm sorry!" You shouted, as you quickly clamored back to your feet.

You didn't know how to use her magic. You didn't know her moves, you didn't know how to use her as a Vessel. You didn't want to. But you couldn't just let her die.

Black Ichor dripped free from it's maw, pooling upon the floor as it slowly closed the distance. A predator stalking pray. An animal, playing with it's food.

It was too fast to run away from. It was too strong to fight. The only help you could expect were the muttered apologies you heard from Ralsei in the background, as he tucked himself away beneath his scarf.

It lunged forwards, you darted away from the path of it's blade. It's helmet contorted, jagged teeth spouting forwards, clamping upon the edges of your sleeve and tearing the him to ribbons.

You stepped backwards. You feel her fear. The pulse of the soul around you. The pulse of your own. 

You step backwards. Again and again and again, until you meet the chill of the open air as a hoof teeters upon the edge.

A claw outstretches. It smiles. It reaches out for her throat. 

It was going to silence her, to snuff out the light from her soul, to take the only thing away from you that you had left.

Your eyes dart down to the darkness beneath. Vague impressions of shapes and structure open out beneath you. 

Somewhere to land, far, far below. Somewhere away. Somewhere that was not here. 

...You pray. You apologize. You dart back, watching as jagged claws meet open air. As the darkness fades farther and farther away.

Falling. You were falling.

Farther and farther down, deeper and deeper, darker yet darker yet darker-

Darkness shifted. Wind rushed past your ears. 

The last thing you hear was a desperate cry for your name.

Chapter Text

...Every time you'd fallen down into a Dark World, you'd never been hurt. Even so much as a bit ago, it never did. You couldn't be hurt by falling. You couldn't break your bones, you wouldn't splatter across the floor- It was what you were trying to desperately get across to a panic stricken mind. 

The panic that continued to sit within your- No, within Noelle's gut was enough to make you think. Enough to make you hesitate. Enough to make you disconnect, to make a mistake.

She winces in pain as you narrowly avoid a platform, falling deeper. A hand breaks free and you watch as she casts a spell, a slick slide of ice appearing from nothing as another floor draws closer. Red and gold, black and white, numerous tiny little things flood your vision as you collide, sliding across the surface of the ice and being sent flying back into the air. 

The light fades. You collide with something midair, you hear as it shatters into pieces. You collide with something else, soft and plush, something that cried out "OUECH" in response above you. The weight shifts, You fall again, and Noelle steals her voice back to scream. 

Finally you land, rolling to a stop upon a stone floor, having come to a complete stop somewhere in the dark. 

"YOU SHOULD WAET THEIRE!" The same voice cries out, several floors above you. "I WILL COME FORE YOU!" 

Something patters away against the floor. Silence returns as you pick yourself back up. You very, very much believe that the last thing you should do is wait here. 

You relinquish control of the body as the adrenaline fades. You become aware of the stinging, aching pains that all but covered her body. Fragments of ice or glass or something that had lodged pain from the scrapes and cuts that you'd sustained for her along the fall.  You pull the phone back out.

[Sorry] You type, as Noelle struggles to catch her breath. [Never been-]

"You're...ok!" She huffed out between breaths, before taking the phone in her own hand and turning on the flashlight. "I...ok I don't really remember doing anything worse than that, but...I'm ok! Just...need a second, that's all!" 

She stumbles forwards, looking around through the area you'd found yourself fallen down to. More stone architecture, more bookshelves, but the glass filtering light from above couldn't reach so far down. She settled for a wall and pillar some distance away, turning the phone back over to you.

"Just...Just need a second to...catch my breath, if you could-"

You held the light above her. 

"Thank you."

You gave your best approximation of a thumbs up as you watched her carefully begin to remove what appeared to be glass shards from the fabric of her dress. You helped as she gestured for you to complete the motion of a healing prayer.

You looked down at the discarded pieces. Fragments of what you thought looked like Antlers. More pieces of the prophecy. 

...You realized again that at the least, this was partially your fault. You'd pushed her too far, you'd smashed her through a pane of glass, you...

[Sorry] You said again, turning the phone back around and highlighting the text. 

"No, No it's...It's fine! We just don't cover uh...falling in cross country!"

She laughed at her own joke as you flipped the phone back around. She seemed to be in good spirits, at least. You couldn't have messed it up too bad. 

Or, maybe she was just getting better at covering it.

"But, uh- Where...are we?"

She looks up as you scanned around, covering the nearby distance with the length of the flashlight. Nothing distinguishable, no landmarks or pillars, no Knight or Susie or Kris. You heard stomping and shouting in the far distance, but the pitch of voice they spoke with wasn't familiar at all. Darkners, you could only assume. Too far away to be trouble.

[Away] You simply replied. 

[Safe I hope]
[Not seeing them is a good start]

"Well...I guess that makes two of us." She said, turning the light of the phone back off. "I could use a second to just...sit." 

You said nothing as she rested the back of her head to the wall, sighing as she closed her eyes. 

"Just...wake me up if I fall asleep. If...wait, can you do that? Or...do you just fall asleep when I do, or-"

[Don't know]
[Shouldn't though]
[Not that safe]

"I won't!" She said, her eyes shooting back open. "The last thing on my mind is another weird dream, just...if I do!" 

You gave another thumbs up as you turned the light off. She closed her eyes. The pitch darkness forced you to open yours. 

For the first time in- Well, admittedly not terribly long,  but for the first time in what felt it, you were left alone. Nothing was out to break you, nothing was close enough to hurt you, you simply...were.

...The thought of sleeping sounded nice. Dreaming. You hadn't experienced what those were like yet. You weren't even sure if you could. Never on your own, without a doubt, but you simply hadn't had the chance. Kris was rather fond of the cage. 

You wished you had that luxury. You hoped you did. 

As of now, the best thing you had to work with in the silence were your memories. Three- or, two and a half days of existence. You didn't count cage time as much of anything. 

You closed your eyes, returning to the darkness. You let your memories run free. They took you away.

Not much came to mind when you thought of your time before Kris. Strands and clippings of memory, a pervasive darkness, not unlike the one you found yourself in now. Maybe you were far older than three days, and you'd simply forgotten who you were in the darkness.

...You didn't like that thought. You cast it aside.

Instead, you tried to cling back to the first memories you'd formed. Bits and pieces, loose strands of light, the shifting of the darkness.

Something had found you. Someone that smiled. Someone who was pleased to have met you. Or- left your mind with the impression of someone like that. It sounded...clinical. Excited, but clinical. Like a scientist. 

The scientist had you make something. It put materials, something of form and structure before you, and it asked you to create. You remembered devoting everything to the work. You remembered enjoying the process of creation extensively. 

You remembered it being taken away. Another voice speaking over the scientist. One that took away your choice and your creation and the static in the darkness. 

You remembered blinding light. You remembered opening your eyes for the first time.

Light pouring into  what could only be your room, A name that someone addressed you as. Kris, you were. And you would be late for School if you didn't hurry.

...You were so curious, that first day. You scouted out every inch of your room, ever corner of your home. Maybe you were amnestic? Or- slept so hard that you'd dissociated? You...didn't spare time to the thought. You had school to get to, after all.

The adventure in the Card Kingdom was most fun you'd ever had at the time. You enjoyed being kind. You enjoyed helping Ralsei, helping Susie, watching as she slowly came out from her shell. Watching as she grew to be a better person. 

You remembered returning to bed that night, perhaps a bit exhausted, a bit hungry, but...something akin to pride sat within your chest. Fulfillment. A feeling so overwhelming that even as the sun set, you couldn't get yourself to sleep. You were eager to return to the friends you made. You-

You remember that night. As your train of thought abruptly stopped when your body began to move against your will. As it threw itself out from bed, as your own hand outstretched, as your eyes peered hatefully downwards. As your own hand burrowed its way into your chest. 

You understood pain that day.

Sickening, Searing and terrible, worse than anyone, anything the Card Kingdom had thrown at you. As if something had pierced your flesh, barbed and twisted and burrowed its way inside, and was then unceremoniously ripped away, tearing and snapping and slashing every inch it came loose.

You remembered trying to scream. Finding yourself unable to, as your vision shifted. As you watched you, holding yourself in your hand. You cracked.

You didn't know that you could crack.

You remembered the expression of hate as you hurled yourself into the cage in the corner of the room. You remember backing away as far as you could as you pulled a knife out from your back pocket. You remembered the smile on your face.

...You understood fear that day. You had done well to engrain that into yourself as you shuffled back into your room. As you crawled back into bed and left yourself locked in the cage for the rest of the night. As you stared yourself down when the sun rose, ripping open the cage and sneering as you stuffed yourself back into your chest.

...By the second day, you'd come to understand more. You weren't you. Or rather. you weren't Kris. Kris was someone else, someone with their own life before you'd come, by means you still didn't know, to inhabit them. They were still a person. Someone with their own thoughts and feelings.

Someone who deeply hated you. 

You didn't like being hated. You did everything you could think of to try to change that.

You'd tried to clean their room, but the second you moved into whatever messes lied underneath the beds, your body froze. 
You'd tried to take care of the needs you'd clearly neglected the last time around, but again, your body simply refused to move, your hands freezing upon handles.
You'd tried to communicate. Scraps of paper and whatever pencils you could find, the computer sitting in the room, speaking aloud when you were alone- 

Your hand snapped whatever you put into it. You refused to touch the keyboard. You went unanswered. Nothing you did seemed to work.

You didn't know why they hated you, so...you guessed. You tried to be better. You were nicer to your- to their friends, maybe you just...weren't being nice enough. You got better at dodging, maybe they were just...tired of being hurt!  You reconnected with Noelle in the dark world, maybe they were just made that you'd ignored her the last time-

The only thing that seemed to have any impact whatsoever was speaking with the man you found in the garbage. Their body lessened in resistance when they spoke, freedom and puppets and strings, something they could relate too, you thought. You didn't need to think long on why, but...it was something. It was something you could work with. You narrowed in upon it. 

...You were dismayed when whatever progress you made faded away the second they did. When the weight of everything finally caught back up to you both. The only thing you felt when you left that basement was fear.

Another walk to Kris's house. Another few excruciating moments of being ripped out of a chest. It didn't hurt quite as much as the last time, but the fear more than made up for it. 

Being stuffed between the couch cushions. Returning and seeing the world fill with black fog. Being stuffed back inside. 

...Tenna's world only served to drill everything further in. Kris didn't make it hard to keep up an appearance, but even so, acting like nothing was wrong only became harder with each answer you got wrong.

...You knew you weren't Kris. You didn't know why everything needed to tell you that, over and over and over. You hadn't chose this either. You didn't want this either.

You understood their confusion, you would be confused too! You knew why they acted as they did, You...you wouldn't do the same, you didn't think, but- But you'd tried! You'd done everything you could!  You understood why they were angry, but you-

...You began to understand after the Knight. 

You remembered fighting with everything you had. Life and death, tooth and nail, fear wracked across every fiber of your being- 

And all the while Kris was calm. You knew them well enough by now, you understood the tension in the muscles, the shaking of their breath, you knew when they were afraid.

And now, they weren't. They were remarkably calm. You found it odd at first, but you couldn't spare the time to think on it. Not until the fight was over, when you'd only just barely made it out alive. Not until Susie charged it down, chipped its blade- 

Not until she was cut down herself. Not until Ralsei quickly followed, not until- 

Not until the Knight hovered before them. Until they bent the knee as the Knight poised its blade beneath their chin. Until they pretended to fall.

You remembered Susie's face. The desperation, the fear in her voice. And Kris just watched.

And then...nothing. A complete blank in your memory. You woke up from a nap upon a chair, as if you'd never left the house at all.

...You imagined Kris had something to do with that. 

Breakfast was the last time you'd tried communicating with Kris. If they couldn't be bothered to do so much as spare themselves a pencil for school, you couldn't imagine they'd respond to you tracing "WHY" into the countertop. You moved on autopilot. Your mind was elsewhere. 

...They'd had the birdcage on hand, even before you awoke. They knew rather fast how to separate themselves from you.

They kneeled to The Knight.

...Some hopeful, pitifully stupid part of you still held out hope. Maybe...Maybe if you just got the code to the bunker, they'd be forced to explain everything. There was a reason Kris lied to them. Why they refused to speak to you. Why they hated you. It was reasonable, it would make sense, and all you had to do was find the code. Maybe there were clues in Dess's room. Maybe there was something in her guitar. Maybe-

...Maybe you should've just stopped giving them chances a long time ago. You shook your mind clear. Everything past that point was already fresh in your memory anyways. 

You didn't think you were a bad person. You didn't think you held the capacity to hate. You still weren't sure if you did. But if you held anything close to it, you knew who you held it for.

You wanted nothing to do with Kris Dreemur. You wanted to cast them out of your mind, to forget about them, to never even have to think about their face again.

In a town with a population that might only barely scrape the triple digits, however, you didn't think that would be possible. Of the people who knew you, your options on friends were rather limited.

...At least you had one who hadn't thrown you in a cage or hit you with a garbage lid yet. 

One that, as you now understood, snored in her sleep. 

The soul beneath you pulsed. Her eyes, still closed, moved about rapidly. She was sleeping, you supposed. Dreaming. You still wondered what that was like.

You gently shook her back away when the movements of her eyes began to stop. 

"Wh-"

Her eyes opened. You were met with the slightest change in darkness, from pitch black to a dark shade of blue.

"Where... Oh, Oh! Right! Sorry! I just- It's-"

You watched as she her phone back on, blinding herself with its light before she turned the brightness back down, squinting at the time above. 

12 PM. 23% power left in the battery. You could tell by her expression, alongside the panic as she quickly closed all of the apps currently open besides two, that both of those things were far outside of the normal.

"I- I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I...I'm usually in bed by like 10, I'm so sorry-"

[Its ok] you quickly typed back, moving to put the phone back down, but...hesitating at the last moment. 

...What the hell. Why not.

[What is it like though]

"What's...what like?"

[Dreaming]

You feel as her face shifts through several emotions. Confusion and concern primarily, before settling on the prior. 

"...what?"

[What is it like to dream] You reaffirm, typing the question again.

"Do souls not...dream when they sleep? I mean-"

[Havent done that yet either] 

"Do you...not...sleep?"

[Dont know if I can]
[Not without help anyways]
[Kris just threw me in the cage at night]

You felt as her face began to contort again. As the soul beneath you began to simmer. 

"Well, uh..." She began, staring blankly at the screen of the phone. "Sleeping is...like when you sit down, I think. Just...all over. And...you close your eyes and you stop thinking, and...your head takes you somewhere else." 

[Sounds complicated]

"It's...easier than you think! You don't have to try to do it, you just...do...do it."

You watch as she sighs. As she rubs the bridge of her nose, as she looks away from the screen.

 I...know that probably doesn't help, but-"

[Best explanation Ive had so far]

"I'm...the only one who's explained it to you."

[Best by order of elimination]

"Ha-ha."

You tap down the list and send a smiling face emoji.

"...My teacher back when I was a kid had a good idea about it. I...don't remember it exactly, but he used to say that it was the way your mind made you...well- you. Like, everything that happens in a day gets shoved in a box, and that dreaming is the way we...organize it. If...that makes any sense."

[A bit more] You quickly type, sparing a moment to the thought. Maybe that was why you still didn't know what you was. That box just never got unpacked. 

[What happens in a dream] 

"Well, it...depends on the dream."

[Didnt you just say dreams were sorting boxes]

"It was a metaphor! Unless...you happen to dream about sorting boxes, but...they can be about anything. Good things and...bad things and...all kinds of things. Like, uh...I thought that Queen's world was a dream at first!"

[What are your other dreams about]

"...In the bad ones, I dream about being lost." She said, lowering the phone and staring out into the darkness. "I'm with...friends, but...we get separated. And everyone has a different idea about the path to follow home, and we split up, and then I lose the person I was with, and..."

"...Well, I like to think about the good ones more."

[What happens in those]

"I fly, mostly."

[Fly?]

"Yeah! I'm in a...room, or a cage or...somewhere, and then I find a window, and I jump out." 

You begin to type, but her other hand pulls yours away. 

"I don't splatter or anything! I just...get my wings right at the end. They burst out from my back and they carry me up, and...I start to fly."

[Where do you go?]

"Just...wherever the wind takes me, I guess. I don't think about the end of it. I just...think about the feeling."

[What does it feel like?]

"The wind is...cold, and it blows my hair and my fur everywhere, but...it's nice. Like...I could just go anywhere, or see anyone, you know?"
 
You try to picture yourself that way. The image doesn't quite cross over as you don't have hair, but...the idea about freedom is nice.

[I like that dream]

"...I do too."

She smile at the phone. You hover back over the smiling face in response. An awkward silence fills the air as the phone alerts her to the last 20% of her battery.

"I...I really hate to be like this, but- We might need it later and-"

You click the phone off. She sighs a thanks and leans back into the wall.

Silence reigns. Her eyes shift and adjust again to the darkness in the light's absence. You find yourself drawn to the smallest of movements. 

Her fingers rap upon her arm. Her head moves back down to stare at it. Her soul beneath you vibrates. It feels...conflicted. Nervous.

"Hey, uh-" She begins, her arm quickly shifting away. "Can I ask you something?" 

You give a thumbs up. 

"Where are you...going to go? After...everything in the church, I mean."

You point your index finger out, before slowly letting it fall to join the rest as they curl downward. You hadn't thought that far ahead, in complete honesty. You didn't know how to communicate that across. You-

"Are you...going to go back to Kris?"

Your hand curled into a fist. Going back to Kris was the last thing you want to do. 

"I'll- take that as a no. I...kinda figured anyways, but, uh- I...did have an idea. If you wanted to hear, anyways."

You motion for her to continue. 

"Well, you were...in my house. You saw all the...heart things lying around, they would...well- You could probably...uh-" 

...You repeat the same motion-

"You could stay with us instead if you wanted!" She quickly sputtered out.

You dropped the motion of the hand entirely. 

"J-Just until we figure everything out! Or- As long as it takes, I...Uh"

A new feeling began to build in the pit of your gut. Something light and airy. 

"I...I'd have to convince my Mom that it was fine, or- We could just...hide you or- you could hide in the heart piles or- with me, or-" 

It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but... it wasn't something you could quite put a name to. 

"We could- even get you like uh...a little...dog bed thing! N-Not that I'm calling you a dog! Or- a pet or anything like that! It's just- you're little, and-"
 
She pauses, taking a deep breath and dispelling the mounting fear and nervousness within her soul.

"...I just...think it would be a bit nice than being in a cage. And...it would be nice to just...have someone to talk to."

...Your thoughts drift. You find yourself too busy thinking to make a motion with her hand. You imagine yourself tucked into a little bed, the faint red glow emitting from the half uncovered dimly lighting up the room. You imagine having to pull the rest of yourself under the cover anyways in fear of it being too bright.

"I....uh- I have a pretty good movie list! I've...been meaning to wait for someone to watch them with! They're uh...mostly Christmas specials or- B rate studio horror films, or...crime documentaries or stuff but- We could look around more if you don't like those!"

You imagine yourself lying on a pillow, watching some stupid Claymation movie or cheap slasher film. You imagine having to bonk yourself against the buttons of the remote to pause it while she runs off and gets hot chocolate from the kitchen. You imagine yourself expressing disappointment as she pulls another two candy canes from her pocket and ruins the drink with it.

...You like the sound of it. You really, really do. But in the silence that followed, you had no idea how to express it.

"...It's alright." She sighed. "It...It was kinda stupid anyways, I-"

You had not willed the hand to move faster. Had not dug the phone back out from her pocket, had not tapped in the password, had not typed faster than you did then. 

[I like it]
[That sounds nice]

"Oh! I... Uh-" She stammers out, staring at the screen as you excitedly hold it to her face. "Well...Great! Just...as soon as we figure everything out here first, and then...we can figure the...dog bed thing!"

You quickly turn the phone back off, sifting through the best expressions of gratitude that you know. An enthusiastic thumbs up, another half hug, you consider turning the phone back on to hover back to the smiling face, but decide against it when you see that the charge had ticked down to 19.

"Just... a little bit longer, though." She said, quickly trying, and subsequently failing to stand back up. "We can get back to it, just..."

You give her another thumbs up. She smiles. 

...She falls back asleep in minutes. Against your better judgement, in a terrible moment of weakness, you find your own vision begin to blur. Your own eyes begin to close. Your own mind begin to stop thinking.

You open your eyes. You found yourself in a cage, sitting before a box, sitting somewhere high in the sky. A wide window sat open.

...You quickly set yourself to work, tipping it over and watching as red shards begin to spill outwards. Pieces of yourself, waiting to be assembled. 

...Wings sounded nice. Flying with the wind at your face sounded nice. Beneath the rising snow and purple light of the-

...No. No, you put the pieces of yourself down. That didn't sound right. Something wasn't right.

You needed to wake up. You threw yourself at the bars of your cage, you watched as the window slammed shut, you felt as cage came loose from whatever held it-

...And began to float upwards into the sun. 

Her eyes opened.

And in the far distance, Somewhere in the blizzard that surrounded you- 

A stark white visor stared back.

Chapter Text

Terror finds you. It works its way through your being, freezes your veins like ice- You'd took too long. You lingered too long, You'd gotten too comfortable and it had found you. You needed to move. You needed to run.

Noelle is frozen in fear. Everything she held control of, her head, her legs, her arm, her very breath- stolen away in the cold. Whatever happened fell to you. You didn't want to die, you couldn't let her die- 

There. Inperceptively, just barely, you feel as you're able to make a finger move. You spread its influence as you resist the knight, two fingers, to three, to four, the hand and arm itself. 

Your eyes lock back upon its own as the beam pulls you closer. Your hand grips tight along the surface of the phone, you feel it click as you slide the tab down, as you press it down to the surface of the cloth, hiding it away. 

You wait until it draws you close. You are still, utterly still as it's sadistic smile returns. You are silent, deathly so as it raises the blade, as it reaches the apex- 

And then, only then, do you strike. 

You pull the phone's light free from her pocket, shining its beam into the face of the Knight. there is no sizzle of flesh, there is no pain, but there is a hiss of surprise. There is a sinking feeling as it drops you to the ground-  There is a moment of opportunity. One you gladly take. 

You cling upon the phone as you fall to the floor, quickly navigating back to the notes, staggering to your feet and running to cover as much distance as you could before-

...You'd done it again. Stolen her body without her permission. You tried to open your mouth to speak your apologies- 

"W-What are you doing?!" Noelle quietly screeched back into your- into her own ear.  "I-It's fine! it's fine, just run! RUN!"

...Not all of it, you supposed, as you quickly turned your head back to the path before you, scanning ahead with the flashlight.  You didn't have time to think, you didn't have time to plan, You only had time to- 

The Knight roared behind you. Fierce and terrible and angry- Furious. The sound of steel and stone grating together,  The rush of air as something landed just at your feet- 

Run. You had time to run. You didn't spare the thought a moment longer. 

A sharp turn to the left, a running leap and vault over a closed gate and puzzle,  twists and turns through an endless maze of bookshelves. The beam of light you'd so heavily need to rely on did not illuminate nearly as much as you needed it to, but severed The Knight well enough, betraying your every movement. You cursed the treacherous thing. You held it closer. 

 A piercing cry filled the air as it rounded the corner, as it simply slashed its way through the gate, as it barreled its way through the bookshelves, knocking them down, knocking them away in its pursuit. 

You began to make mistakes. Turns where you shouldn't have, quickly needing to double back and avoid another sword to her neck- 
You trip on the him of her dress, nearly dropping the phone as you scramble to get back to your feet- 
You miss a pathway. You run down a dead end. Noelle's breath is heavy, her soul pulses- She's terrified.

You hide behind a pillar. You hear as it approaches. As it forms another barrage of blades to hurl in your direction.

"Oh angel-" Noelle panics, muttering under her breath . "Oh Angel, oh heck, Oh gosh, oh cheese- OH FU-" 

You bolt to the side as a blackened blade slashes through the stone you stood upon just a moment ago. 

"What are we gonna do- What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do-"

Your free hand quick raises to cover her mouth, shifting back to reveal a hesitant thumbs up. 

You could feel the turmoil now within you as well, the fear, the overwhelming sense of dread and impending doom- you force yourself to choke it back. You couldn't falter. Not now.

You needed a clear head- You needed her clear head if you were making it out of this alive. You wait until you hear the grating of its feet alone the stone, until your vision narrows, until your head begins to spin-

Until you see the blackened stumps of its feet draw around the corner. 

You dive back out from within, shining the light once more into its visor. It blinds it again, it staggers it back, again- But this close, its cry is deafening. A claw nearly swipes the phone away from your hands. You pay it no mind. You run. You needed to recover distance. 

A staircase appears before you. Something visible, something with sensation, with feeling- Something in the light. You ascend, stuffing the phone back into your pocket. You hear as it continues to give chase. 

An end to the path. A pillar ahead, full of notches and groves and tiny little things, colored in red and golds and whites- Nothing you had time to pay attention to. You knock one, two- three- multitudes of them aside as you latch to the surface, as you climb as quickly as you can. 

It wouldn't be enough. You knew it wouldn't be enough. You slowew your pace, you released a hand, you pointed to Noelle. 

You needed her to hit them. To slow them down- You needed her to cast something at them. You watch as she stares at the hand, stares a you, dumbfounded- Until you begin to make motions with the free appendage. A finger gun, a wave of the hand, the twiddling of her fingers, Anything- 

She gets the message as you curve your finger outwards and shake down at the knight, Hastily nodding, taking control of her hand, aiming down and shakily repeating the motion.

A barrage of crystalline ice flies free from her palm, accompanied by a snowing mist, soaring down to meet The Knight. It flies aside from one, another misses entirely, but the third- The third it tries to make a show of. the third it tries to smash apart with it's weapon. 

You watch, you grin, you even feel as Noelle does in turn as the ice solidifies across the bat. as it freezes it to it's arm, as it gives you the precious few moments you needed to climb to the top.

She's panting from exertion, gasping for air- you couldn't keep this up for long, You needed to find a place to hide. You-

"You show great promise, soldier!" A tiny voice squeak out from below you. "Come, join our ranks! And together, when we reach the summit, we shall-"

A blade of darkness shoots out from below. Ice shatters. The Knight roars.

You run.

You run, you run and you run, but you find no escape, no dead end, no hiding place, only empty halls and pillars, until- 

There! There, in the distance, a door. Something carved into the stone itself. A room, an alcove, something surrounded by books and  paper and cloth- Somewhere to hide. Somewhere safe. With what's left within you, you sprint towards it, inching closer and closer, the panting of her breath growing louder and louder- 

...Until again, you make a mistake. Until again, you trip on the him of her dress, and again, you send yourself crashing to the floor, the phone falling loose from your grip and clattering down beside you. 

You try to raise, but you find yourself- She finds herself spent. You have nothing left. You can run no longer. You find yourself helpless as darkness begins to envelop you. 

Swords, Crystals, jagged teeth- falling and layering upon themselves, darkness shifting and fitting into itself piecemeal until nothing else remains, until they blot out the very light that surrounds you.

Until, as she raises her head, you see it is only you and the knight that has imprisoned you within.

The fear within her soul compounds upon itself. Her eyes lock upon them, stare deep into it's visor, narrow as she feebly tries to crawl away, her chest heaving for breath.

You watch as its visor contorts into a smile at its approach. It enjoyed watching her suffer. It relished in the feeling of fear.

You needed time to think. You needed to think, you needed time. it couldn't end like this, not after everything, not after you'd finally found something real-

"Please-" Noelle is only barely able to choke out between breaths.  "Please no-"

It takes another step closer. It's visor contorts. It laughs. It is doom, it is death, and it knows it. A predator playing with its food. Hunter and prey.

Another labored breath struggles to pull its way from her throat. Another muttered plea for her life. The soul beneath you pounds so hard, beats so fast that you could almost swear it was vibrating. The feeling disturbed you. Made you sick to your core. You want to hear- You want to feel nothing like it ever again. 

The Knight stood still, inches before her. and slowly, deliberately, began to raise its blade above its head.

Something burned within. Brighter, stronger, more vibrant than anything had before. You don't know what to call the sensation. You don't know if it's pleasant, if it's wrong, if it's painful- It simply was.

You tried to beg alongside her. To tell her to rip you out, to throw you at it, to give her maybe just a few seconds more to plan- But you couldn't. 

It felt like glass. Like broken shards of a grand pane stitching back together, formed anew according to another blueprint. Like metal, like pieces of a mechanism, scrapped and smashed, salvaged and forged again. It feels like mass. Like form. Like feeling.

You wanted it to stop, but you were helpless to do anything but watch. Helpless to do anything but listen as her raspy voice cracks in terror as the Knight's blade reaches its apex. As it's grin stretches outward into a scream. As she closes her eyes, and it forces your own back open. 

It felt like fabric. Shifting and tearing to make room for new appendages as they unfolded from her back. As they pieceed themselves together, shard by shard, feather by feather, until the pieces formed something far greater than and individual. It feels like you. Shifting and forming from the light.

Another set of eyes open. Yours. 

You would make it stop.

You act as if upon reflex. Vestigial limbs renewed, extended out to protect.

The form breaks, the impact collides, but you do not shatter. You do not falter. The pain does not register, as you shove the assailant away. There would be time for pain later. 

You will yourself to move, and a pointed halo shifts and turns, comes to a rest before the threat, watches as it staggers back. The light within you shines. It builds in pressure, rebounding and curving and compounding within itself, begging for release. You give it direction. You will it to destroy.

And so it does. The darkness fades. A part of you feels satisfied as you hear it scream. As you hear its shell begin to crack and falter. You watch until you can no longer, until the light becomes even too much for you to bare. Until-

Noelle looks away, closes her eyes as the light becomes blinding. You shift away as she does, you move as she does. You wait until the light finally dims. She opens her eyes.

...You stare at the hole burned through the shell of darkness. You stare at The Knight, face down, motionless upon the floor. 

Noelle looks back, a shaken nervous chuckle escaping her throat. It builds into a laugh.

A nervous one, a thankful one, an absolutely terrified one, but a laugh regardless. You were safe. She was safe. That was all you needed.

"Is....Is that...you?" She says, her eyes still staring at the halo of light as it lingered upon her hand. At the wing sprouted out from her shoulder, still cracked from the impact of the bat. 

It takes significantly more effort than you'd imagined, but you wrestle back control of an arm long enough to give her a thumbs up.

You find it far easier to flutter a wing in its steed. She stares, and you can't help but do the same. Individual shards of bright red shift shift and shuffle, move and sway according to your will. Your eyes turn back to the Halo. You imagine it floating back over her head. You watch as it quickly follows suit. 

"I...You're...." Noelle continued, hesitantly poking at the Halo as you willed it to move farther upwards. "...You're like an-"

Something moves before you. The darkness shifts. A smell begins to rise in the air. The stink of fear, adrenaline and sweat and dust. It smells like rot.  It smells like glass.

Her eyes turn as the source moves more boldly. The Knight, beginning to raise itself back up from the ground. You shift the halo back over her hand. 

"S-Stay down!" She yells, fear still dripping from her voice as she clamors back to her feet. "I-I'll do it again! I-"

A sputtering sound emitted from the face of their helmet as they began to rise, droplets of darkness dripping down like blood, falling out like clumps of flesh, settling with the broken fragments of their helmet as they steadied themselves upon shaking feet with the blunt of their bat.

"I-I will! Don't move! I'll...I'll hit you again! I-"

Noelle abruptly fell silent as black hair, tangled and greasy erupted forth from the hole in their helmet. As you followed her eyes, catching the smallest patches of brown fur, soaked and matted in...something as they continue to rise.

"N-No-" She whispered, just barely above her breath as the face behind the helmet came into view. "No, it's...You're not- You couldn't....You-"

Her hand fell down, limp at her side. Her eyes widened. her soul pulsed in a storm of emotion so convoluted and complex that you couldn't begin to comprehend it. 

The Knight held the intact side of their face above their helmet, as if nursing a migraine.

...You don't know the face. But you know enough to connect the pieces. There weren't many deer in Hometown. There were fewer that Noelle would recognize. Even fewer who even now, did seem like they would fit right at home in a darkened grungy room, strumming a guitar.

...December Holiday was The Knight? December Holiday was The Roaring Knight? December Holiday-

December Holiday abruptly fell back down to the ground in a coughing, sputtering fit. You watched, helplessly, as she began to spew forth black ichor from her mouth. As it congealed, solidifying and reforming with the droplets she'd prior left on the floor-

As the mass slowly began to crawl back to its host.

You watched as what you could see of her face contorted in fear as it returned. As she continued to heave, to spew forth darkness, more and more and more joining it in the pile. 

She tried to breathe. Or, you assume she did. The only sound that came forth invoked the mental image of drowning. Of someone desperately trying to swim back to the surface.

A blackened eye widened in panic, widened in fear as it continued to crawl away. As it impacted against the remnants of the bubble it had made-

As it finally settled upon you. Upon her.

"Dess?"  Noelle whimpered, as December only continued trying to crawl away in futility. "Is...Is that you? What...What happened? We-"

You watched as December abruptly grabbed the phone from the floor, staggering to her feet, pulling herself back through the veil of darkness-

 and running. 

"DESS!" Noelle shouted, beginning to chase after here without a moment's hesitation. "DESS! COME BACK!"

You tried to pull her back, to at least ask her for a moment before she chased after them blindly, but the storm of emotion within her soul had intensified, doubled, no- tripledupon itself, too bright, too hectic to even do so much as gaze upon. You couldn't stop her if you tried. 

She pounded upon the remnants of the shell. You watched as it slowly began to give way. 

...You supposed it was a good thing you weren't planning to stop her.

You will the halo to spin, you call upon the light to shine, and so it did, casting the darkness away.  You chased her down.

"DESS!" Noelle cried out, sprinting forwards. "DESS! COME BACK!" 

There was only one path. The same way you had come from before. Spotting a shimmer of white, she charged it down without hesitation.

A wall of swords fell down to block your path. You shined your light, and watched, in the brief moment you could before you charged them by, as they disappeared into nothing. 

The Pillar. The cups. Frozen fragments of ice. Dess, somewhere near the bottom, continuing to hobble away.

"Praise be!" The same tiny things from before yelled,  watching Noelle sprint down the hallway. "Praise be to the Angel's gift! The Princess-"

"COME BACK!" She shouted again, hesitating for a moment at the edge of the Pillar. "PLEASE!" 

...But only for a moment, before taking a step back, getting a running start- 

And leaping off, down into the darkness. 

You spread your wings, slowing the descent. You shined your light, illuminating the floor below you, the chaos around you. 

Smashed and scattered books, stone rubble and slashed metal bars- 

The glimmer of a flashlight up ahead. A beacon that guided you right to her. You shifted course, plummeting back down into the darkness, furling yourself back behind her the moment she touched the ground. 

Dess seemed to realize her mistake quickly after. The light disappeared. You shined brighter in turn.

"DESS!" Noelle pleaded, gasping for breath once more as she franticly looked around. "DESS PLEASE! COME BACK! I'M SORRY, I-" 

You catch something from the corner of her eye. red and vibrant, subtly shifting and moving, something crouched against a wall. You turn the spotlight to face it. 

Whatever had chipped away from Dess's face had already started to reform, growing back in a manner that reminded you more of flesh than crystal. From what little hopes still remained in the helmet, Dess's blackened eye poked through, intently staring at Noelle's phone, claws grasping and prodding and typing at its surface.

"DESS!" 

Noelle ran straight for her. You watched as the surface of the helmet sealed her away.

Dess began to panic, smashing the head of the helmet into the wall, clawing at it with her fingers, even smashing at it with her bat. Nothing seemed to work. You watched as the white glow of the visor began to seep back into its opposing half.

"Dess! Dess please! Tell me what's happening!" Noelle cried in a panic, wrapping a hand around her almost skeletal limb as she clawed away in futility. 

You watched as Dess grabbed her arm, shoved it back to the rest of her body, pointed away from here, out towards the phone as the sound of choking and gagging returned, as she writhed, as she beat the surface of the helmet- 

...As she suddenly and abruptly went deathly still.

The Bat shifted back into a sharp edge. The Knight stared you down as it began to rise to its feet, as it's face contorted into a sneer-

You shone your light as brightly as you could. The Knight covered its face, hissing and retreating back into the dark.

It left you alone.

Noelle breathed in shaking, stuttered gasps, tears forming at the edge of her eyes as she slowly returned to pick her phone back up. 

Her control waned. The turmoil within her soul faded, but did not extinguish. The tsunami became a storm. You slowly grasped back control of an arm, and got to work with her phone, wiping away black sludge, finding the difference between pockmarks in the glass and specks of dirt.

The least you could do was ask her if she was hurt. She wasn't well, but she needed to know that someone was still there with her. You-

...You didn't need to navigate back to the Notes app at all. It was already on. There were words here that you didn't write. You quickly got her attention. 

She flinches as you tapped her shoulder, but quickly shifted back as you scrolled back to the top of what you remember writing.

[Not mine] you quickly typed, as she all but took the phone from your hand, as the hand quickly returned to being hers instead of yours.

As she began to read.

[Im so sorry Elle]
[Im so fucking sorry]

...Dess had left these. You gave her credit for her quick thinking, but-

[Look at how old you are now]
[Does dad let you swear now? Does mom know?]

The screen was covered in tiny little piercing marks. Dess had been franticly typing the entire time you were chasing her down.

[I didnt want to run Im sorry]
[I cant controll it] 
[It doesnt let me move I]

You feel as tears begin to well in the corners of her eyes. 

[Its in my head]
[my lungs]
[I cant breathe I]
[cantt fight it I]
[Im sory]

You feel as her grip upon the edges of the phone begin to tighten.

[you don't need Gn forgive me byt I'm sorry I'm do dorru]
[Tell dad i live jim]

She slides down along the wall. You can't move your eyes to look, Noelle's squinting to read between the lines and damage, trying to understand the frantic, messy typing, but you feel that it's the exact same spot you'd sat before.

[Tell azsy i isais im sorty]
[yeil jris irs nit thtir fsult i finy hsre grem]

Tears begin to fall freely, staining the glass surface. You try to warn her as you see the battery's display flash empty, as you see 1% tick back at you from the top right, but her attention is unbreakable. She sobs as she scrolls down to the end. 

[I love you E-]

The phone's screen abruptly turns off, leaving her staring at a reflection of her own face.

"N-No! No! nononononono-" 

You watch as she desperately tries to turn the phone back on, as each time she's met with the same empty battery screen. She tries for minutes before she finally gives up. 

Despair overtakes her. A sorrow so powerful, so consuming that it serves to even drag you down with it. 

She weeps. An ugly, terrible, emotional sound, as she hugs the phone tight. 

...You don't like this feeling. You don't like this feeling at all.

You knew there was nothing you could do besides comfort her. Not this far. Not this late. You simply do the best you can. You drape your wings over her, you dim the light from blinding to what you hope is soothing. You shift to adjust yourself as she hugs you back. 

"Imsorry-" She mutters, as she cries into her arms, as she pulls you closer into the hug. As she cries into you. "I'msorrydess- I'm sorry-m'sorry-"

You hold her as she rocks back and forth. As the quietly muttered apologies begin to fade away. As slowly, eventually, even her panicked breathing falls back into a quiet rhythm.

You hold her until she falls silent. You hold her longer than even that.

Chapter Text

Quiet. A deafening, roaring quiet was all that surrounded you. It took up the hallway, took up the darkness that lied beneath, took up the very soul that housed you. The tiniest breath became the center of attention. The echo of a footstep would shake mountains. But breath had become spare. And there were no mountains to shake.

You sense of time had long since fallen away, having lost the means to track it. You weren't count seconds or anything, but the light from the grand panes above you had shifted, lighting up new hallways upon new pillars, revealed from the darkness.  An hour or two, if you were to guess. Maybe longer.

And all the while, Noelle had still yet to move. 

You understood why, of course. The empathy that ran through you, by virtue of the physical link between her soul and you, by the sight of your one true friend in shambles, by the simple face that you'd been there to see it happen, of course you would. She'd found something, someone dear that she'd lost. And then she lost her again. You couldn't imagine what you'd do without her, and it'd been hours at best.

Fragments of your good wing shifted as she held an armful of them tighter, pressing them closer to her body. You'd come across new information in your long wait, at the least.

The piece of your wings were warm to the touch. Their edges were sharp, and couldn't be touched directly with a hand. You were waterproof, as tears slid down you like glass.

...You wished you weren't so sharp. That you were softer, that your form could soak and dry away her tears. That you knew the words to speak to help her back to her feet, that you even had the ability to speak them in the first place-

You hoped whatever meager comfort you provided would be enough to keep her together. The both of you needed to leave, but you had no idea how to say it.

You set your mind adrift. You'd just have to improvise. You were starting to get better at that.

You could...gesture with your wings? Flex and shift individual fragments of yourself to charade and puppet a message through them?

But what would you say?

You could...shine yourself more brightly? Search and search until you found the perfect path you'd need to take? Nudge her until she got the hint?

But where would you go?

You could fly. Spread your wings and soar and take her away. Somewhere far above, where the wind blew across your face, where you could go anywhere, where you could simply leave your troubles behind?

The best idea you'd had, by some metric, but your troubles could fly too.

...You had no idea. Your light began to dim. What little vision you had that wasn't filled with the red of yourself faded away into the darkness. What were you going to-

"HELLOE."

Noelle bolt upright in panic. You unfurled in nearly just fast, and stared at a pair of orange glowing eyes loomed over you from the darkness.

She yelped in fear. You acted on instinct. Your halo shifts, your wings extend, you will the light to become brighter and brighter, charging in the center of her hand. You watched as the monster, a lumbering figure of patchwork cloth and metal-

"AAAAARURGH! THE LAIGHT! IT BURNS!"

...Abruptly covered its face, sprinting away to its right and colliding full force with a bookshelf that dwarfed even it in size. You watched as its contents, a countless number of books, loose papers and tomes and scroll all came loose from the impact, collapsing and falling down, burying the figure beneath their mass.

"D- DO NOT LOOK!" It yelled out, its voice muffled from the weight atop it as it struggled to claw itself free. "DO NOT GAIZE UPON MY FAIEC! IT IS TOO MUCH! YOU WILL BE TERRAFIED!"

...You dim your light from blinding to illuminating, if from nothing else than the pure confusion you felt wash over you in the moments following.

"Are you...ok?" Noelle called out, slowly lifting herself back up from the ground and inching towards the pile. "Do you need help?"

"YOU MUSE LEEVE!" The voice shouted again, as a patch of black and grey revealed itself from below. A...screw? Cloth? Something, you still weren't quite sure. "I CAN NOT HELP YOU IN SUCH A BRAIGHT PLACE!  YOU CANNOT SEE MY GRO...GROS- GROT- MY VERY SCARIE FORM!" 

"You don't seem very scary." Noelle said back, staring up at the top of the pile, as the figure's head emerged. 

Black cloth, held in place by screws in on either side of its head. Orange plastic, carvings of eyeholes and a grinning face, illuminated by something that lied deeper within. You couldn't quite be sure at the distance, you'd probably be able to see if you weren't glowing, but-

"REALLY?" The figured said, unearthing the rest of its form. 

It towered over you, over her, she'd had to crane her neck upwards to even meet its eyes.

"...No, Not at all! In fact, you're...kinda cute! In a...well-"

...In an ugly sort of way, you thought. Like a sentimental broken mug, or a bruised fruit at a grocery store. 

"...You're cute!" She said, unable, or unwilling, to complete the sentence.

"...DO YOU MEAN IT?" It said back, crouching back down to her eye level. Within, you saw...the flickering of a candle. Two tiny, beady little eyes upon its surface staring back.

She nodded, before quickly being enveloped in a plush bear hug, forcing you to quickly dart the tips of your wings away. 

...Maybe ugly was too mean of a word. You couldn't call someone like this anything like that. 

"THANK YOU, UH..."  It began, dropping her back down to the ground. "I...DO NOT KNOW YOU'RE NAME. I AM SORRIE."

"Oh! Right, sorry! I'm-"

"THE LAIGHTNER THAT FELL DOWN AND HIT ME?"

"Well- I didn't mean to! Sorry!" Noelle said, apologizing profusely. "I was just-"

"IT IS OKAIE. YOU ARE NAICER THAN THE OTHER ONE I SAW THANK YOE."

"What...other one?"

"THE OTHER ONE THAT CAME DOWNE." It said, pointing back up to the twisting pathways above. "SHE YELLED A LOT, AND TRIED TO HIT ME WITH AN AXE, BUT YOU ARE MORE QUIET AND NAICE. AND YOUR WINGS ARE VERY PRETTY."

"Er- Thank...you?" She said back, sparing a glance back to her side, catching a glimmer of red. "But, uh...I'l really sorry about that! I'll just get out of your way, and-"

"IT IS OK, YOU ARE NOT IN THE WAY. I WAS NOT BUSIE."

"Well...sorry for taking your time, then! But I really need to get back to...you know, uh-"

"THE LAIGHT?"

"Y-Yeah!" She said, quickly stepping to the side and pointing over to a familiar ruined hallway. "So uh- I'll just...go back this way, and-"

"IT IS FASTER IF YOU GO UP." It said, pointing towards the now empty bookshelf before it for emphasis. "I CAN CLAIMB YOU UP IF YOU CAN NOT FLY. YOUR WING LOOKS BROKEN."

Noelle looked back to you again, gently pulling the top of your left wing to face her. 

Indeed, as it had said, a large piece of you was still shattered from The Knight's bat. The cracks admittedly looked smaller, given time to reform, but as you drew attention to it, it did sting whenever you moved it. It would be stupid to try anything else right about now. 

You made the executive decision to give the creature a thumbs up. 

"Well, uh- Yeah!" Noelle said, panicking as she quickly shifted gears to agree. "Yeah, sure that- That sounds great! Thank you! Just-"

And was subsequently interrupted as a hand larger than her scooped her up, placed her upon the back of it's host, and began to climb the bookshelf without so much as another word.

You couldn't quite see in the dark. Noelle couldn't quite see in the dark, and as such, as she clung to its back for dear life, you illuminated the path before it. An impossibly long pillar with rows upon rows of empty shelves, ones so tall you couldn't quite see the end.

You focused on what else you could instead as they climbed. The streaming light that steadily drew closer from the great panes in the distance. The few survivors of the great bookshelf massacre from a few moments prior, still resting in their shelves. The subtle, muted crackle of your wing as it shifted from the force with which you moved.

...You made a conscious effort to try to hold that part still.

"ARE YOU OK?"

"I'm fine!" She quickly answer back, her eyes dutifully staring forward and upward. "Just...trying not to think too much!" 

You felt the pulse of her soul, a panicked, racing thing.

"ABOUT WHAT?"

 A thoughtful, joyous thing. 

"T-The Height! And...well-"

A saddened, remorseful thing. 

"...The reason I was down there."

"WHAT WAS IT?"

A twinge of pain worms its way back into her soul. You carefully furl yourself behind her. A hand reaches out, daring to escape the safety of the cloth, and pulls a piece of you close.

"...Nothing ."

...The monster hesitated, the candlelight within its head flickering, before it continued a moment later.

"IT IS OKAIE. I AM SAD SOMETIEMS TOO. I DO NOT LIKE TO THINK ABOUT SAD THINGS."

"...I didn't say it was-"

"YOU DID NOT NOT NEED TO. I KNOW. I GOE TO THE DARK TO BE SAD TOO. NOBODIE CAN SEE ME THEIR."

...Noelle didn't respond. Not verbally, at least, as you felt her soul pulse in...recognition? Understanding? Empathy? 

"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING, ANGLE?"

"I'm not..."

"IT IS OKAIE."

...A mix of all three, you'd want to say. Layered and compressed and mixed within eachother, over the quiet base of mourning. 

"...What is it?"

"...IT IS GOOD TO BE SAD SOMETIEMS." The monster said, as you flickered your light farther ahead. "I FIGURED THAT PART OUT MYSELF."

"IT IS BAD TO KEEP THE BAD THINGS IN. IT HUARTS MORE WHEN YOU DO."

"BUT...THE SAD THINGS MAKE THE HAPPIE THINGS BETTER."

...An eyebrow tilted up. A hole opening up within her heart. Confusion. 

"...What do you mean?"

"WHEN I AM DONE BEING SAD, I REMEMBER THAT MEENS THE HAPPIE IS CLOSER." 

At long last, you see the top of the shelf. Stone and pillars, illuminated by light that isn't your own.

"AND THE HAPPIE TIMES MAKE THE SAD ONES GO AWAY."

You watched as the monster reached the top,  grabbing her with a much slower and deliberately gentle hand, and placing her back down upon the floor. 

"...ARE YOU STILL SAD, ANGLE?"

Noelle's eyes stared down at the floor, even as you saw from the corner of your own that the monster stared down at her. She was silent, but as it always had, her soul told you the rest of the story.

Conflict. Despair, lessened, if only just slightly. A begrudgingly forming ease that filled the hole within.

"...I just miss someone a lot, M...-"

...Confusion. A twinge of embarrassment.

"I...just realized I never got your name!  I'm so sorry, I-"

"I AM JACK." The monster- Jack said, as she peeled her eyes away from the floor. 

"Well, it's...nice to meet you, Jack! I'm-"

"YOU ARE THE ANGLE." Jack interrupted, pointing at your halo that floated above her head. "I KNOW."

"Well...No! But...kinda? It's- I'm not sure how all of this works still, but-"

"YOU HAVE PRETTY WINGS." 

"They are pretty, but-"

"YOU HAVE A HEAD HALOE."

"Yes, but my name is-"

"SO YOU ARE THE ANGLE."

...A confused, well meaning frustration. As if one was trying to explain something to a child. You tore your eyes away for the moment, allowing her to have the conversation as you looked around what spare pieces of your vision weren't filled with Jack.

...And were immediately stricken by a deep and perverse sense of wrong.

The pathways and twists and turns were familiar, perhaps not even too far from where you'd originally fallen down, but you certainly didn't remember the area looking so...destroyed.

Bookshelves were smashed open, their contents strewn about like paper viscera. Chunks were carved out of the floor beneath you, slashed as if cut through with a dulled butter knife. A similar treatment was given to the pillars atop them, but even here and there, from what little you had seen, small blotches of red stained the floor. 

...You didn't like this. You didn't like it at all. You unfurled yourself, tapping Noelle's shoulder with the blunt side of a fragment to get her attention. 

"Really! It's fine! You can just call me-"

Her head turns, and you get a much more full view of the chaos that surrounds you. Books, vivisected and left upon the floor. Rubble, speckled in deep red. A pillar, all but cut in half.

"What...happened here?" Noelle said, her head slowly turning to take in the details of the carnage. 

"THE SCARIE GIRL." Jack simply replied. You couldn't see his face, but from the way he spoke, his voice was enough. He was terrified. 

"...THIS IS NOT A SAFE PLAEC. WE NEED TO LEEVE."

"...R-Right."

Noelle moved along, Jack's large footsteps softly stomping behind her as you scanned about the path you took, your light shining out like a beacon at the smallest of shadows shifting. A book, falling down from a broken shelf. The crumbling of yet more stone as its structural integrity faded. The obvious signs of a struggle as you rounded yet another corner. 

More droplets of what you could only assume were blood. The brutalized remains of a pillar, slashed and smashed and torn to pieces.

Noelle stepped forward, her hand reaching out and tracing a line along one of the deeper gouges within the rock. 

...You remembered gouges like this. A singular one, resting in the floor of the Card Kingdom's dungeon. Multiple, as you saw them created in the first few minutes you spent in the Cyber World.

They were similar, but not exactly the same. These cuts looked...jagged. An imperfect slice, as if it's wielder had adjusted the way it attacked.  As it it was only holding half of its weapon.

Compensation for a wrecked axe after it had been mangled by The Knight. 

Noelle pulled her hand away, and continued to walk down the path.

You hoped she was alright. Noelle, obviously, but...Susie too. You found it hard to imagine that she would be. 

The last time you'd seen her, she had Kris in her hand by the scruff of their collar.  You remembered how furious you had been at Kris after everything, but even then, you'd at least found someone to take solace in. In the Dark World, exiled from her friends, left alone, you didn't know if she even had anyone she could- 

"Halt!" A tiny voice cried, once more breaking your train of thought, and once more pulling Noelle's eyes up from the floor. 

Her eyes take a moment to settle upon the voice's source, looking around, to the sides, and eventually- 

"In the name of her Majesty, you shall proceed no further!" 

...Below her. Barely standing at the height of her ankles, one of those little red...cup things barked its orders at you. Yet further, you saw an entire gaggle of them, the same reds and blacks, whites and golds that you'd seen in your pursuit of Dess. 

The one before you that stood guard had seen better days. A small crack formed at the bottom of its lid. It's feather was smaller, sliced or plucked or simply wilted away from age. 

"This is an official military expenditure!" It continued to shout, with all the authority and dignity as its tiny voice could command. "By order and decree of the Cuptain, civilians, are not to pass!"

"We're...not here to cause any trouble!" Noelle said, struggling (and admittedly failing) to keep a straight face as she lowered herself down to its level. "We're just passing through!"

"Likely Story!"  The cup spat back, the symbol on its face staring her down. "Such is exactly what the last lightner who passed through these gates had said! In...spirit, anyways, before we all scattered- but we shall not make the same mistake again!" 

Shock and disbelief. Widening eyes and a weight pressed against her soul. 

"...What did sh- er- What did they do? Did they hurt anyone?"

"...Physically, no! However, the emotional scars that they have left are deep and pervasive!" The cup continued to shout, before turning around and pointing with his feather. "Even now, my comrades struggle to remove the image from their minds! Teeth, contorted into a rabid snarl! A mangled, horrific display of a weapon! The dreaded steel toe boot! Morale has plummeted so far that I fear another interruption would cease our efforts alltogether!" 

...Staring in, you did indeed see more of the cups. A grand majority of them sat idle, sitting in a circle as a sparse few continued, and failed, to ascend a pillar nearby. 

Noelle's eyes shift. She stares at Jack, twiddling his thumbs behind her. She stares at you, your broken wing and the Halo that rested above her head. 

...An idea did cross you, however. They'd lost their minds when you'd stalled The Knight before. 

You gently poked her shoulder. You made the same motion with her hand. 

"What-" She began, confused, before her eyes flashed in recognition. "Oh! Oh! Uh, Mister...Cup-"

"Redinian Solus Cuptain!"

"Mister Solus, if we could...help you motive them, would you let us pass?"

Solus stared her down, with all the smoldering intensity an animate cup an eighth of her size could. 

"...Please." She continued. "It's...important. We're trying to find someone."

Solus stared a moment longer. Then two, then three, before finally sighing a tiny, exasperated sigh. 

"...Very well. You may try." He said, before turning on his heel and walling to the side. "But be warned, lightner! My comrades have struggled since their very inception! It would take an act from The Angel themselves to-"

Half by Noelle's merit, and half by your own, her hands extended outwards, staring towards an outcropping of a path above. Her hand shifted, yours copied the motion, and slowly, ever-so slowly, a formation of ice appeared below it,  a massive stalactite of glistening ice.

It cracked, slowly, gradually, and piece by tiny, miniscule piece, shavings of ice began to fall to the floor, landing in the middle of the circle of idle cups. 

Their gazes shifted, once idle and aimless, now staring at the melting piece of ice upon the floor. To the structure of ice that hung above them.

It lingered for an uncomfortably long moment. For two. For three. Four.

...The silence began to concern you. Maybe it- 

"A BLESSING FROM THE ANGEL!" One of the cups within the circle cried out, abruptly jumping to its full height. "THIS OPPROTUNITY SHALL NOT BE WASTED! TO WORK! OUR LADY SHALL BE OVERJOYED!

You, Jack, Noelle, even Solus watched on as the Cuptains scrambled, the few loose climbers continuing with renewed effort, joined by the rest of their troop. Three or four turned another over, catching the freezing water and fragments of ice within. A singular, functional unit. A well oiled machine. 

"...DOES THAT MEEN WE CAN GO-"

"Allow me to be your personal escort!" Solus quickly interrupted, rushing to Noelle's side, the gruff and annoyed tone in his voice quickly replaced be zeal and fervor. "I know these twists and turns like the bottom of my feet!" 

"Well, I...really appreciate the offer-" Noelle began, taking a quick step backwards. "but-" 

"Oh, come now!" Solus interrupted again, doing all but physically moving her as he attempted to gently shove her forwards, with all the force that his tiny form could provide. "Surely, with my help, You will be delivered to your destination posthaste!"

"We're not looking for a place-" Noelle said, stepping forwards. "We're looking for a person-"

"-Then I know just the place! Just the person to find your own! A old, wizened hermit who resides not even three stairwell trips away!"

Noelle looked back to Jack, who shrugged, staring down at the cup. She looked down to her hand. 

...You supposed there wasn't any harm in it, and gave her a quick thumbs up. 

"Well, if your...comradesdon't need you at your post, then-"

"It was a purely ceremonial position!" Solus quickly said, sprinting ahead of her. "We shall return before they are even aware, overjoyed as they are! Come! Follow me!"

You watched as Noelle and Jack quickly caught up, matched, and then quickly outpaced Solus, all within the span of the same four steps.

"...Or, rather- You! Large fellow! Ascend me to your height and from there, i shall provide detailed directions!"

Without another word, Noelle watched as Jack picked Solus up, resting upon the top of his head like a hat. 

"Excellent!" He cheered, pointing forwards with his weathered feather. "Carry on, post-haste! We shall turn at the first staircase!" 

You watched as Noelle stifled a giggle at the sight. You listened as the comradery of the Cuptains was left behind in the distance.

...You felt as silence quickly took hold.

"Now then!" Solus said, breaking it just as quickly as it formed. "Tell me, O' lightner! Who is it that you are searching for?"

"...My sister." Noelle quietly said beneath her breath. 

"I see, I see! And, after you take a right- no, a left at this upcoming fork- do elaborate! Is the manner of your meeting personal? Business? Military, perhaps? I happen to have a rather extensive knowledge of-"

You feel as her soul beneath you grows cold. As fear and despair begin to creep their way back to the forefront.

"She's been missing." Noelle interrupted. "And...I found her. But...she was sick. She was very, very sick, and she ran away, and..."

Noelle fell silent. The quiet creeped back in. Until once more, Solus sighed. 

"...I envy you, Angel."

Surpise. Confusion, as her head turned back to stare at him. 

"...What?"

"To have such a meaningful task lain before you!" Solus said, peering down at her from his perch atop Jack. "Turn right here- Such a struggle will be grueling! A magnificent  effort to undergo!"

Her eyes narrow further, staring him down as she continued to walk-  Nearly off of the edge before Jack pulled her back. 

"Could...you explain?" She said, forcing her eyes back upon the path. 

"Oh, but what more is there to be said, Angel? To have such a task to complete! To have one so pure, so noble and full of meaning! I can think of nothing greater to peruse than love!" 

...Her eyes drifted back down to the path. 

"...Familial in this context, of course, but I understand the thought well!"

"...I don't know if I can do it."

"Then I envy you all the more! To have such a dream to chase, I can imagine nothing better!"

Noelle stops moving alltogether. You listen, and hear as the soft footsteps from behind you cease as well

"I don't want to dream of having her back." Noelle snapped. "I want her back."

...Silence reigned.

"...Giant, if you may?" 

"...OH! OKIE!"

You watched from the corner of her eye as Jack took Solus from the top of his head, placing him down on the ground. You watch as he stumbled upon his little legs, before coming to a stop before her. 

"Then with such willpower, you shall, dear angel! And in the struggle to pursue that dream, you will find the means to accomplish it!"

"...But-"

"Worry yourself not with the buts!" Solus said, ramming himself into the front of her leg. "Simply do! Find the glimmer of hope that you have buried within you, grasp it firmly, and let it guide you through the dark!"

...Noelle fell back into silence, but you felt as a weight began, if slowly, to lift itself off from her chest. As the ghost of a smile crossed her lips. As she took the Halo from above her head, looking you over for a moment, before holding you close to her chest.

"...Thank you." She whispered, just barely audible above the sound of her breath. 

"Think nothing of it, Angel!" Solus said, turning on a heel and continuing to walk forwards. "Save your words for the Hermit!" 

"Your name...is Angel, is it not?" He continued, abruptly stopping and turning around once more. "I had simply heard the Giant say it in your approach."

She let you go, and you returned to the top of her head. "Well, my name is Noelle, but-" 

"Angel Is your rank and title! Worry not, dear Angel! I shall respect your customs for as long as I serve under your wing!"

"I-"

You listen as Noelle sighs in defeat. "...Sure. Just call me Angel."

"ANGLE?" 

"...Yes, Jack?" 

"WHAT IS YOUR LITTLE LAIGHT'S NAME?" 

"...what?"

...Confusion, once more. An eyebrow raised as the other fell. Alleviated, as Jack pointed to you, resting above her head. A shred of guilt, as she began to make the connection. 

"YOURE...HALOE. IT MOVES WHEN YOU DO NOT.  IS IT YOUR FRIEND? WHAT IS ITS NAME?"

"I...don't know." She said, a tone of sadness in her voice. "I....never asked them."

Admittedly, you had never said your name yourself. You didn't have one. All you had been was...the soul.

"THEN...I WILL JUST CALL THEM...YOUR LITTLE LAIGHT."

"...Little Light?" 

"IT IS YOUR LAIGHT. AND IT IS LITTLE."

Hesitation, as she reached out to hold you. Concern, as she took you back down eye to "eye."

"Is...that ok with you?"

Something inside you felt...warm at the thought. Cozy, a sensation you couldn't quite describe. Pleasant, of course, but...unfamiliar. You grasped upon it tightly. You didn't let it go. You quickly opened a thumb in turn.

"I...think they like it!" She said, a smile crossing her face. 

"Then Little Light it shall be!" Solus said, before turning back to the path ahead. "Onwards, company! The Hermit awaits!"

...You still weren't quite sure what you were, as Noelle let you go and you returned one last time to the top of her head. But...with the growing feeling within, surrounded by the sound of footsteps of the few you could call friends and comrades, you supposed, at least for now, it was ok to be Little Light.

...You supposed it was ok to just be- 

"YOU."

...The voice freezes your train of thought in less than a moment. You recognized it instantly, but the tone with which it spoke sent you into a panic. Sent ice down your veins, banished the warm and fuzzy feeling within you. 

It made you afraid. Noelle turned to face it far more slowly than you would have liked. And standing before you is- 

"...Susie?"

She looked...wrong. Haggard, beaten and bloody and angry. Teeth grit together, life spilling out from numerous cuts and scrapes and slashes along her body, she remined you of a feral animal. 

...She radiated intent. Malicious and driven and Violent. You almost felt bad, the way every part of you screams to get away as Noelle runs to her side and tries to heal her wounds, but...the way she stares at you. Not at Noelle, but at you, above her head, behind her back. It sapped the hesitation away. 

"W-What happened?!" Noelle stuttered out, drawing her hands away after completing the motion of the prayer. "We- I...We've been seen you everywhere! Well- the...after of you. The last we- I saw of you was-"

"When Kris abandoned me. When Ralsei tucked his stupid little tail behind them and followed along, just saying `Sorry, I'm so sorry!` over and over. Yeah. I was there."

Her voice was...gruff. Lower than it should've been, harsher than it should've been. 

"...They kept saying it was for some...'Greater good' bullshit. I'm done. I don't care anymore."

Her hands grip in upon themselves, You try to pull Noelle back upon reflex. 

"...I'm done playing their stupid games! I'm done with all this Dark World Prophecy BULLSHIT! I'm getting this stupid thing done, and then I'm going home." 

"...Well...Great! We were...going to do that, but...first we need to-"

"Me. Not We."

"...Susie?"

You watched as her hand expectantly raised outwards. You tried to look into her eyes, but a thick mat of hair blocked them. 

"...Give it to me, Noelle."

"I...I don't think-" Noelle stuttered, taking a step backwards, being met with Susie taking another, larger step forwards.

"...You don't get it, do you?" Susie growled, the mangled head of her axe grinding against the stone as she approached. "I'm not asking. Give it to me."

"Y-You can't!" Noelle said, taking another shuffling step backwards. "They're...all different now, see! They're- The halo a-and the wings, and...I don't think I can just...pull them out anymore, because-"

"Give. Me. The. Soul." Susie demanded, closing the distance. "...I'm not gonna ask again."

You feel as she hesitates. As fear washes over her in waves, As her legs and arms begin to shiver, as they freeze in place- 

...Before abruptly, the chill is dispelled. 

"...No." 

You watch as Susie bars her teeth. As she growls, as Noelle's confidence quickly turns back into fear as Susie steps closer and closer- 

"Not to worry, dear comrades! I will see the beast felled! Proceed to the Hermit!" Solus shouted, bravely, foolishly,  slowly charging Susie down with a cry of war. "HAVE AT YOU, CURR! I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU-"

Susie kicks him aside without so much as a second thought. You think you hear something crack as her boot meets his face, rolling inanimate to the side.

"LITTLE CUP!" Jack yells, rushing to Solus's side- 

Leaving Noelle alone.

Fear returns in full. You try to assert control, you raise her hand, you move your Halo-

But you are not fast enough. By the time it spins, by the time the light begins to move, by the time you're just barely able to charge the beam of light, Susie is already upon you. You fire, unleashing everything within in a fearful burst- 

...And it does nothing.

You were helpless to watch as Susie quickly overpowered her, shoved her down to the floor, Stared at you along her back.

"S-Susie, wait-"

You felt as hands wrapped around either base of your wings. You struggle, you feel something slick run across your surface, but her grip holds steady.

You feel something pull.

"S-Susie! Wait, Please!"

You feel...off. Your vision fades in and out. You feel the fear, the desperation and panic in a single moment, and then you don't. You do, you don't, you do- 

"SUSIE-"

And then, it ends. 

No unbearable pain, nothing worse than being beaten, nothing worse than being fractured, no lingering sense of betrayal, no last defiant act or scream.

There is nothing. Your vision goes blank.

Not dark, not faded, but blank.

You dream of nothing.

Chapter Text

The warmth that emanated from her hands as blood trickled down was familiar. Exactly what she'd been looking for, but... it was wrong. It wasn't quite as warm as she remembered. Yes, it all but burned within her hands, and coupled with the pain of the cuts she nearly had her drop it outright, but... it was still off. It wasn't quite enough to beat back the dark like it used to. It wasn't quite as warm as it was the last time. Just a few moments ago, even at a distance its presence was blazing. She knew it should've been worse when she was directly holding it, but it wasn't. What was wrong? 

Susie watched as what little resistance Noelle had mounted against her crumpled away in an instant, her head slamming down the short distance remaining between her and the floor. She felt as the soul, the wings, whatever the hell they were- they writhed about in her hands in panic, cutting the wounds deeper before they too fell motionless.  She backed away, a more subconscious reaction than anything, but a mistake. She saw Noelle's. Her breath was too shallow, her eyes were wide open, the rest of her face was contorted in this awful expression of fear and panic, like someone abruptly left in the dark as the lights were turned off.

She took another few steps backwards. 

This was a mistake.

 This was all a huge mistake, but...it was too late to back out now. She needed it. She needed it, she'd already acted on it, she'd already dug the hole. She didn't have a choice! She-

She was familiar with making mistakes, but the fallout had never been so...instant. The hallowing pit of dread in her stomach was supposed to be given time to build, not just show up. There was supposed to be time to think. There was supposed to be time to push past it and cuss someone out and shrug through the pain before thinking on it when you were finally alone-

"ANGLE!" 

She tore her eyes away, back up to the Darkners that Noelle had been walking with. To the massive one that lumbered over, that stretched its arms out to shield her. To the tiny little cup with the dented feather and cracked lip, now dented further, now cracked farther.

"YOU RUFFIAN!" It screamed, hopping out from the massive one's hand and charging her down. "YOU CURR! YOU DESPICABLE MONSTROSITY! PERISH!"

It wasn't fear that made her retreat from the stupid little thing's charge, as she abruptly turned heel and ran. It was recognition. She knew its tone of voice. The pain and hurt behind it. The pain and hurt that she'd gone out of her way to make. 

She stopped when she was out of eyesight. She didn't blame it. She would've done the exact same thing, if she still had people she cared about to the same extent.

"WHAT DO WE DO?!" 

The lumbering one's voice carried over. 

"THE HERMIT'S OUTPOST IS JUST AHEAD! GIANT, WE MUST TAKE HER THERE! NOW!" 

She shouldn't have stopped so soon. She should've just kept running until she couldn't hear them anymore. 

"BUT-"

"THAT IS AN ORDER! MOVE!"

She was thankful that she didn't have to hear them anymore, but she should've just kept running. Angel, she should've just kept running.

She took a second to compose herself. To unglue herself from the wall she'd pressed herself into, to unclench her hands from the death grip she'd clenched them into-

Pieces of the wings had cracked. Pieces still continued to crack even after she released them, and she could've sworn that they looked smaller. Like they'd...shrunken back into themselves, curled back in like the legs of a dead spider. But- But it was alright! They were still fine, they were still warm! 

But they weren't AS warm.

She shoved the thought away. She didn't have room to think or hesitate right now, she...She needed to run. She needed to figure everything out. She needed to get everything back on the same page.

"...You're gonna help me seal that fountain." She growled down to the severed wings as she looked back up to the path before her. As she finally started to run. "...You're gonna help me kick their asses, and you aren't going to say a word about it. You hear me, asshole?"

A fork in the path. A moment to think. She looked back down to the thing in her hands-

And it did not respond. Not verbally, at least, as the two wings, now small enough to hold in one hand alone, tried to bring themselves together. She didn't resist them, watching as they pulled eachother together like magnets. 

...But magnets weren't supposed to curl in further. Magnets weren't supposed to shrink and crack and break. Magnets weren't supposed to feel colder than they were before.

It had compressed itself nearly back into the same heart shape she'd recognized from before. That...that was a good thing, right?

...right?

"Don't bother." She said, picking a path at random and running down to the left.  "You're not getting a choice anywa-"

...Her voice cracked. Her voice cracked. Was two days really enough to lose her edge? Was it really long enough to let herself get so soft?

She smothered the thought before it had room to grow. She continue to run.

...And still, it came back, despite her best attempts. She had let herself get soft. Three days of people pretending to be her friends was enough to forget everything she'd known. 

She shouldn't have just sat there and watched when Kris started talking to the Knight, she should've just kicked their ass while she still had the chance. 

She shouldn't have listened to Ralsei's stupid pleading voice when he told her to wait. When he assured her that there was a perfectly good reason for everything that was happening, that he would be back. She'd waited over an hour. Nothing changed.

She shouldn't have believed in them, but still, some small, stupid part of her-

...Some part did. Some part thought that whatever happened back in QC's meant something. Thought that the juice and the stickers and the bunker and everything had meant something. 

...She pushed it down deeper. She didn't have time to be thinking about the enemy. She-

She felt as it continued to crack. As the surface of the heart it had reformed into began to chip away. She shouldn't have done that.

"Hey! HEY!" She screamed, stopping abruptly and staring at the thing in her hand. It was yet smaller, yet more damaged, yet even colder- It wasn't going back to some default state, it was drying out. It was shattering.

"You cut this shit out now!" She said, bringing it to her face, holding it firmly with both her hands. "Or else I'm gonna-"

The force of her hands digging into its surface only agitated its frail form. Only made the cracks seep deeper. It split in half entirely.

"A-Alright! ALRIGHT! I WAS BLUFFING! STOP IT!" She screamed, scrambling to shoves its two pieces back together. "I SAID STOP IT!"

Fear and concern and regret spun around in her head. It's all she could do to disguise it behind anger. She couldn't have killed it. She couldn't have broken it, She couldn't have felt how cold it was to the touch, it- It was still covered in her blood. She'd been bleeding onto it the entire time, it had to be her fault, it wasn't ruined, she could still fix this, she-

She swore to herself, over and over as she set the thing back down on the ground, shoved the pieces as close together as she could, and charged a blast of healing magic.

"YOU BETTER NOT DIE, ASSHOLE!" She screamed, the confidence and gravel in her voice slipping away. "IF YOU DIE, I-...I'LL KICK YOUR ASS! YOU HEAR ME?! PUT YOURSELF BACK TOGETHER!"

 She released the blast, she watched as it collided, she watched and breathed a sigh of relief as the crack began to mend-

...But only partially, Only halfway, before the energy ceased. Before the crack began once more to widen.

Panic returned. The relief died in her throat. She charged another blast. 

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?! I SAID STOP IT! CUT THIS SHIT OUT! NOW!"

She fired again. The crack retreated. But not nearly enough.

She charged yet another. The soul was supposed to be strong. From what little she was able to pull out of Ralsei, from the way he described it, it wasn't something that would just die. Something that sealed dark fountains and controlled people and ate magic and axes and swords wasn't supposed to be brittle.

The thing laying before her didn't feel like some grand, magnificent force. It didn't feel like some all-powerful MacGuffin. It felt like glass. Splintering, breaking, shattering- 

Her soul sunk further into her chest. The pit inside her stomach widened. She fired another blast. She bought herself another few seconds.

There wasn't any way around it anymore, the soul was cold. The blazing, burning presence that she'd always chalked up to being fighting spirit or- something stupid Ralsei was doing or- a weird human thing or something- It was this. She'd only put the last of the pieces together when she'd seen Noelle, when she'd seen it and ripped it out of her back- And it was cold. 

She blasts it again. The crack solidifies. The timer ticks back six more seconds. 

"I'M SORRY! THERE! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR!? I WAS WRONG! NOW STOP IT!"

Her panic consumed her. Fear overwhelmed her, the thought of what might- what will happen finally began to dig its way into her skull. The soul was not responding. She did the only thing that she could.

 She blasted it. Again and again and again, until her arms felt heavy from exertion, until sweat poured down from her face, until the tears held back began to intermix with blood and sweat, a blinding mixture of fear and hurt and anger. Until she felt her own soul begin to crack from the strain.

It moved. It moved, just barely an inch, barely perceptible behind the wave of green, but it moved. She clambered down to her knees, grabbing the thing and pulling it close- 

It was whole, but in the few seconds she'd stopped, the cracks began to return.

She can't keep doing this. She can't keep going, but she can't just let it die. 

She can't, but she must. She couldn't, but she had to. She can. She-

"Think I got me some scotch tape 'round here, if that's whatcha need!" 

Her fist flies backwards at the sudden noise, meeting with nothing but open air.
 
"WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT?!"  She screamed, her head snapping backwards to see-

An...old man.

"Oh, hold yer' horses!" He said, not quite paying attention to her as she watched him begin to dig through his pockets. "M'lookin!"

This...wrinkly, foot-already-in-the-grave looking old man, who just stood there, sifting through his pockets. She watched, more in complete bafflement than any fear or concern or anger as he took individual things from his coat's pockets, a piece of lint, a cough drop, a pen- just...junk from his pockets, holding them up to his one good eye, and then dropping them the second he realized what it was.

"Ah! 'Ere it is, little lady!" He said, as he finally pulled a tiny plastic casing of tape out from his pocket. "Just...lemme get a little piece of it off 'ere, n'-"

"THIS IS A BAD TIME, PRUNE JUICE! FUCK OFF!" 

"...Whole...sock? Ain't heard nobody call a' roll a' tape a sock in a' good long while, but ya can have it if ya need it! Whatcha need that much tape for, anyhow?"

"ARE YOU DEAF?! I DON'T-"

She heard as it crack deepened within her hands. She set it back down, she charged another blast. She couldn't focus on anything else right now, she needed to fix this, She needed to fix this.

"Whatcha got there, anyhow?" The old man said, as she heard his stupid cane tapping closer. "Looks an awful lot like a soul f' I'm gonna be honest whitcha! Real fine replica! Make it yourself?"

She didn't respond. She couldn't let her attention slip again.

"Reminds me a' my university days! Real long time ago that was, still the shortest 15 years a' my life I can still remember!" 

She couldn't let it die.

"Biggest library I'd ever seen! Well, just 'bout short a' this one 'ere, but I ain't got too far inta' this one! That one though, had a book on just 'bout anything ya'd need!"

She blasted it again.

"...All kindsa books on souls, even! Well, just on the two types, less there's a third they found. Didja' know that humans gotta get their souls taken out when they cut em' open for surgery?  Gotta move it outa' the way, 'fore they get ta' the meat of 'em! Big ol' pair a clamps they got for it n'-"

"SHUT....UP!" She panted, reading another volly of the blast, and watching, with widening, fearful eyes as the blast fizzled out in her hands.

"...Teacup?" No no, whole lot bigger n' a' teacup. Little smaller n' the one you got there! All the pictures I saw of 'em though had dents in 'em nearly the size of a teacup, though!  Funny thing, how much'va beatin' a soul can take, long as ya' shove it back in!  Few minutes, somethin' nice to snack on, n' it's good s' new!"

It's only then that it clicks. Of course it's fucking dying, its a SOUL! A soul didn't live like this, she'd been keeping a fish out of the water and just fucking splashing water on it! Of course it was dying! It needed-

...It needed a body. And she didn't see too many of those lying around.

"...Dammit." She said to herself, picking the thing up as gently as she could, watching as the crack within it deepened. 

...How the fuck did someone put a soul into them? Did they just mash it into their chest? Did they eat it? Did-

"-Well, long as they let 'em back in, anyhow! Whole buncha pages I glossed over, magic n' intent n' all that hogwash! Only thing I really took outa' it was that the vessel's gotta let em back in, but the soul's gotta wanna go back in, too! Real philosophical problem, that one is! Which one of ya's really you?" 

"Dammit!" She cursed again, holding the thing closer to her chest while she tried to think...open thoughts. A door with a house open. An empty cage. An unattended pile of ham sandwiches. 

"Personally, I'm of the mind that it don't really matter. S'like sayin what part a' the egg is really the egg, the yolk r' the shell? It's both of em, ya' dummies!"

"Would you stop talking already?!" She quickly shouted, snapping her head towards the old man, and then rushing back to stare at the soul.

"Right, Right! Sorry, little lady!" The Old Man said in turn, slowly inching his way around to stare at the soul as well. "...Just seemed a little topical."

"...Move, asshole." She whispered down into her hands. "...Please. Unless you want to die."

...She wasn't sure what combination of things actually ended up getting it to move. Maybe it was just responding to the ambient heat of her body, or the desperation and fear and feelings at large. Souls were...emotions or something, right? They wanted those? Or...maybe it was her blood that was still caked onto the thing or something else- She didn't have the time to think on it, but she was glad that it worked.

...Even if she did panic a bit as she saw it slowly begin to inch its way into her chest. Even if the fragments of it that fell off seemed to enter into her arms and legs where they fell, she tried not to think about it too much. The thought was already fucking weird as hell as it was, and she-

...She felt it burrowing. She didn't have any other words to describe it. Like something thick and viscous, something slimy and alive was worming its way into her chest, slipping in past cloth and armor and skin like it wasn't even there to stop it. She struggled to find words to even think about how to describe it.

Alien, foreign, suffocating, wrong- Deeply and personally unpleasant. Weird as all fucking hell.

Crawling and sloshing and freezing as it dug its way into her guts. Grabbing and pulling and prodding like fingers, dripping and creeping and reforming. Not painful, never painful but wrong. Desperate, she'd almost want to call it.

She fell down to her knees, groaning as she hugged her stomach tight, waiting for the feeling to pass. No words she knew came close.

"...Take it ya' don't need that tape no more, then?" 

She tried to tell him to fuck off, but another bust of roiling discomfort etched its way across her soul. She tried to tune him out, to not need to listen to more deranged ramblings, to cover her ears and wait for it to stop, but she couldn't. She found herself interrupted, yet again, as something tapped her shoulder. Begrudgingly, slowly, she opened her eyes-

...And saw as the old man's hand extended something out before her face. Another piece of candy he'd pulled out from within his coat. A chocolate bar.

"Also read that it tends ta' help when ya' got somethin' else ta' focus on! Used ta' carry these around fer' my own stomachaches, but I don't feel too much a' nothin, these days!" 

She hesitated, looking at the candy in his hand, before the chill inside her gut answered for her. Fuck it, if it was something that would help, she'd take anything. She snatched the bar out from his hand, not even bothering with removing the wrapping as she bit into it, spitting the plastic back out and-

...Feeling as the churning within seemed to slow. The writhing and confusion didn't quite stop altogether, but it was definitely an improvement. 

"...Thanks." She managed to spit out, slowly returning back to her feet. "But...don't expect anything back from me! This is...a dream! You're dreaming! This isn't real!" 

"Well!" The old man said back, a widening smirk spreading across his face. "Guess I better be off, then! Ain't never a pretty sight watchin' what happens after a soul gets back inta' a vessel!"

She watched as he turned on his heel, chuckled to himself, and began to bolt away, far faster than anything his age should've moved, far faster than that cane had any right to carry him. 

"Be seein' ya, little dream lady!"

...What did that mean?

"Hey!" She shouted, beginning to give chase. "Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, yaknow! F' you're just a dream, you're parta' my subconscious! N' I ain't gotta explain nothin' ta' myself!"

She growled beneath her breath. "Humor yourself."

"Oh, just the usual!" He said, chuckling as he quickly turned around a corner, as she quickly gave chase. "But if I was me, I'd be lookin fer' a' good place ta' sit n' wait it out."

"And where would you go?"

She wasn't sure if the old man pulling on his scraggly chin beard was supposed to be a gesture of thought or just something else to fuck with her, but she took another bite of the chocolate bar regardless. 

"...Probably back ta' my study! Was headed back anyhow, ya' can tag along if ya' like! Might wanna pace myself on that there bar, though! Soon as I'm outa' distractions, I'd be in a' whole world a...well, yaknow!"

"A world of what, grandpa?!"

"Suppose I'll just have ta' see when it happens to me!" The old man said, before once more picking up his pace. She grumbled, taking yet another, admittedly smaller bite, before chasing him down.

...It didn't take long. A few more turns, before those same light from just a few minutes prior became familiar. She supposed that it was fortunate she hadn't actually gotten too far away. 

Or...maybe it was. She didn't see too many other old hermits around, and the last thing she'd want to do was come face to face with those darkners again. Face to face with her.

Even so, as she pushed on, brushing her against the stone pillars adjoining, she didn't really have much of a choice.

...A feeling of pins and needles shot over her arm the moment it moved, slowing her down like jet lag. Like her own arm needed time to respond to what she told it to do. She didn't need to tell herself that whatever it was, it was probably whatever the old man was talking about. That it wasn't anything good.

She took another bite of the rapidly disappearing chocolate bar and walked in.

The atmosphere, immediately, felt...different. In a pleasant sort of way, bathed under homely orange candlelight rather than then grand shades of blue and black that existed just outside the walls. Decorated with chairs and tables and statues and books she had not seen anywhere else in the dark world. As if the Old Man had carved the place out, by himself, for himself. 

...He'd even found time to stuff a few spare chairs around the place, aside from the one and table he now sat at.

"Awful nice place, I musta' dreamed up fer' myself!" He said, putting down a pen and turning to face her with the biggest shit eating grin on his face. "Maybe I should start dreamin' some more! See if I can't get myself a kitchen, too!"

"I get it!" She hissed back, trying to raise her arms to wave him off. "You know it's not a dream! just-"

...But again, her arm didn't respond. Not just a delay this time, but a complete and total loss of movement. It still felt warm, still felt there, it didn't hurt or anything, but-

She quickly stuffed the rest of the chocolate into her mouth. Feeling returned. 

"Jumst gibe me me more candby barbs!"

"Gave ya' the last of em' that I had, little lady!" He said, laughing as he turned back to the paper on his desk. "Recon a good book outa' get the mind movin, though! Distraction's a distraction, n' I managed ta' snag myself quite a fair few of em!"

"Where da hell MI subbosted bo-"

"Got a good little nook sittin' up there on the second floor! Might be a good idea ta' start there!"

She squinted her eyes at him one last time, looking at the smirk on his face before rolling her eyes and ascending the stairs, quickly finding the chair in question. 

You felt comfortable as you were finally able to sit down on something that wasn't stone. Like all the tension in your body, if just for a brief moment, began to fade away. Like you could close your eyes and- 

No. She needed a...distraction, the geezer had said. A book. Books were distracting as hell. She leaned over to the side, staring at one of the particular shelves, before picking the one with the fanciest looking spine, pulling it out and opening it to the first page.

...Only to find that the words it contained were complete gibberish. Collections of random letters and words and spaces in random orders. Like monkeys on typewriters. Like the Library of Babel.

...She didn't know what the fuck the library of Babel was. She hadn't heard that word in her entire life. Where the hell did she even come up with that?

Whatever. You put the book back, there was probably way more for you to select from then-

Susie jumped as the subconscious thought of putting the book back was translated into movement, before she'd even moved her hand. As if her hand and arm were the ones doing it. Not her.

...She needed that distraction. She needed that damn distraction- 

Another book. Another 410 pages of complete gibberish. She put it back and took another.

Its pages were completely black. As if the words themselves were blotted out by ink. You put it back.

Another book, one that was completely blank and devoid of ink. She put it back. Her fear, your concern and frustration, it was only mounting and mounting- She...She didn't even think this weird ass shit was going to help. Fine. She would just...ride it out. And whenever the cryptic shit the Old man was talking about was over, she would just...go. Take it and seal the fountain and-

...And you'd figure it out from there. She closed her eyes, expecting to be met by darkness-

...And wasn't.

She saw something in the darkness. Something bright and white and shifting, blinding white sun-spots in her eyes. And slowly, every slowly, she could've sworn she saw them move.

...what the fuck- She thought to herself.

She didn't take quite kindly to the thought. It wasn't like she'd asked to be there, and you'd done your best to be quiet and helpful. You thought you'd been doing rather well together, all things considered. 

She opened her eyes, and they were gone. She closed them again, and she confirmed that they had moved closer.

She blinked. They moved. 

She blinked. A few of them began to coalesce into a shape. 

She blinked. Two of them knit together. If she turned her head sideways, the shape almost reminded her of an eye.

She opened her eyes. She just...wouldn't blink, then. Quickly, however, you began to find the sensation irritating. Know you couldn't blink only made you want to blink more.

She heard scraping behind her head. Like the sound of broken glass, shifting and moving and clicking. Like something digging and burrowing and settling upon the recesses of her very soul.

Again, a rather rude thing to think. You still weren't sure entirely where you were, but the least they could do is stop thinking at you like some kind of parasite. She'd been so kind before, what had changed? Was it...you? Was something wrong?

Her hands both- No, one hand gripped tightly along the chair's armrest. The other moved on its own accord, far more fluid, far more controlled and precise then it was before.

But even so, you were...groggy. As if you were just waking up from a nap. The emotions and thoughts and feelings in the back of your head were...mixed. Messy. 

She felt confused. Curious, as she stared out into the new environment around her. 

...But something was wrong. Noelle's hands weren't this big, her breath wasn't so panicked, you didn't even know where she got the chocolate from, however nice it was-

...Until you realized that it wasn't Noelle. Noelle never needed to brush pink hair away from her face. Noelle didn't have claws. Noelle wasn't pink.

She felt concern. She felt fear. Where was she? What happened? How long had you been out?

"What the fuck-" Susie quietly whispered to herself. 

But to you, it was deafening. You recognized that voice, even without its gravel, even without its anger and wrath.

Her eyes burned. You forced her to blink. 

It wasn't an eye that stared back at her, it was a star. 

Her eyes, her soul, they burned bright. They told of fear. Of relief, of concern and anger and hurt.

But you burned brighter. And but one feeling consumed the entirety of your being. 

Hatred. 

Chapter Text

"Where is she."

The voice you speak with erupted, coated in the same gravel and growl, the same sneer and hate as the one you had stolen it from. You'd come a long way in self expression, over the course of these few long hours. Being allowed to develop thoughts and opinions of your own had helped. Not nearly enough though, you supposed. The fact that you needed to steal a voice in the first place was evidence enough.

You shouldn't have had to steal anything. It shouldn't have had to be something you'd worried about ever again. You'd grown giddy of the feeling of self expression. Cherished it. Squandered it. Lost it. Once more you were stolen. Once more, the cycle repeated. Once more, you were reduced to nothing but a tool.

And oh, how that made you hate.

You were confused, at first. Being separate had muted your senses, had made you hurt, but not quite so violently as the first time. A lobotomization, where once was a complete destruction of the senses. You had managed to hold on to some things. Base sensations, enough to paint a blurry picture.

Something had held you. Grasped upon you firmly and ran as wind brushed against your surface. 

Hope had held on, at first. Maybe...Noelle had found a way to escape after your severing, fled to whichever hermit Solus had mentioned. Maybe she'd convinced Susie to come to her senses, and the haste was simply...trying to find the means to return you. Trying to find something to help. You did the best you could. You compressed yourself back inwards, you made yourself convenient to carry. You hoped for the best.

...The pain began soon after. Cracks that spread across your form, grew and etched and hurt. Like skin pulled taught across a stretching frame and left to dry. Like a fish pulled from water, drowning as it was poked and prodded and pierced. But still, even so, you held out hope. There...must have just been something stopping her. Something must have taken her choice away. She'd even gave her best attempt at keeping you together while on the run, by the lessened quality of her healing spells, but even then, it got better over time. She'd found somewhere to focus, she was just...running out of energy. 

And your patience, her effort, it was rewarded, in the end! She'd found a way to envelop you again! 

Or...so you thought, as you sunk back within. It felt...different, the way she pulled you back. Something far less gentle. Something fearful and angry and concerned.  Surely if she had found the time to eat chocolate, she was safe! She'd have to be! You would just get the full picture when you'd gathered enough of yourself back together to think! There was a reason for this uncomfortable, sweltering heat that now enveloped you! There was a reason she felt so different! And so, once you had, you wearily returned yourself to the waking world-

...You understood quickly why she had felt so different. Why her soul seemed to blaze and swelter unlike it had before. It wasn't her.

You'd found yourself once more a fish out of water. Found yourself once more reduced to nothing but a tool.

Confusion gave way to fear. The soul stared back as your gaze settled down upon it through new eyes, filled with anger and sadness, hurt and relief and fear.

Your vision fades in and out. You feel the fear, the desperation and panic in a single moment, and then you don't. You do, you don't, you do-

"SUSIE-"

...What right did she have to anger? What right did she have to sorrow?

Fear gave way to wrath. And with such a blueprint beneath you, it burned hot. Bright and red and hateful.

The emotion of the soul beneath you shifted in turn. Confusion of its own, as you awaited an answer.

Confusion that consumed it so absolutely that in its thought, it did not respond. 

And so, you asked again.

"Where. Is. She."

Widened eyes. A racing mind. Deafening Silence.

Confusion gave way to fear.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" You screamed, with all the force and emotion her body could muster. Fire burned in your stolen lungs. Wrath spewed forth from your stolen lungs. 

"I DON'T KNOW!" She screamed back, finally gracing you with a response as her soul melted down into another mix of emotions. Clouded and messy, muddied and indistinguishable from one another in the pile. Something distinctly negative, but nothing decepitful.

...It wasn't what you wanted to hear. It wasn't what you needed to hear. She-

...She was lying. She had to be lying. After everything she had already done, there was scarcely room for doubt left in your mind.

Your hand gripped firmly upon the chair you'd found yourself sat in, claws digging into the armrest, scratching the leather, leaving a deep gouge within.

...Fine, then. Fine. If she was so adamant about lying to you, so experienced on how to do so that she'd manipulated the very essence of her soul, then you would just find her yourself.

Tendrils burned as you shined brighter, searing them farther upon your still cracked surface, grasping them tighter. You assumed direct control, standing abruptly and aiming to begin your short march towards the exit- 

Only to fall to the ground a moment after you'd stood, as the legs refused to move alongside you. 

The nature of her soul was different. Fundamentally so. It was...brighter. Hotter. The comforting room temperature you'd known then was a chill, and this...this was an inferno. Burning, blazing, a fire within that fought and struggled against your every move.

But even so, it was inexperienced. Untrained. Unaware of how to combat you. A battle of wills. But not one that you would lose. 

Slowly, with stiff, near robotic motions, you pulled her back up from the ground, leaning upon the wall for support with the one arm you held control of, forcing the stiff legs to shamble forwards to the stairway. 

"What the fuck- WHAT THE FUCK!" She spat out, eyes darting downwards to stare at legs that seemed to move against her will. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" 

"If you aren't going to tell me where she is-" You spoke, stealing her voice, returning to the flat and monotonous tone that you found far easier to maintain, "-then I'm going to find her."

You shuffled closer. 

"I already TOLD YOU, DIPSHIT! You can't! I-"

"I don't care who you're working with. You can't stop me." 

A boot fell flat upon the stairway's edge.

"I'm not -working with- anyone! Read my lips!  I! Don't! Know! All you're doing is-"

"Finding her. And if you cared at all, then I'm sure you'd be looking for her as well."
 
A hand gripped, pressed firmly upon the wall to support an unsteady body.

"I would! If you would stop fucking controlling me!"

"Then take me to her."

You take the first step down. She screamed.

The storm of emotion within her soul settles upon one. Frustration. Anger. 

Fear gave way to Wrath.

The heat beneath you sears, burns and broils and chars away at the outer layers of your shell. 

Your hand slips. The connection weakens. But not enough. You catch yourself the moment before you stumbled down. If it was war she wanted, then war she would recieve. 

You step forwards regardless, the weight upon her leg increased tenfold, as if held down, as if held back by a pair of hands that desperately dragged it back. It slams back down into the woodwork. Your eyes dart down as you hear it crack beneath you. But even so, you continued. 

Each step is a conflict in and of itself. A claw digs into the wall, a hand pulls another away, the head darts down to avoid the slowly approaching archway.

You rip the claw free. You return the hand to the wall, you tear her gaze back up to stare as inch after inch after inch, you pull yourself forwards.

She screams in frustration. She curses your very nature. She calls you every foul word you know within the dictionary. You even learn a few new ones. 

But even so, even so, you persist through the heat.

You wouldn't let her win. You wouldn't leave Noelle to face the world on her own. You wouldn't abandon her. You wouldn't fail her.  You-

You fall to the floor as something barrels past you, filling your vision first with splotches of white and grey, then with the brown of the floor. 

The sudden impact and appearance startles you. Just enough to falter. Just enough to lose control of the reigns. You scramble to take them back, but find yourself unable to. You were helpless to watch, as Susie returned to her feet of her own volition. As she summoned her axe forth, as her teeth grit, as she stared at the thing that had barreled past her- 

...And you saw Noelle's limp form, cradled in Jack's hands. 

The world fades away around her as you tune it out. As you ignore every other sense, as noise fades away into distant garbles and the smell of aged paper and fireplace smoke retreat into distant memory. 

Or, perhaps, the world didn't fade away at all. The world laid there before you. Unmoving. Unlively. Dreadfully, chillingly cold.

It isn't your conscious decision to drop the axe. To try to run to her side with widened, fearful eyes. It isn't yours as Jack cowers away, as Solus perched atop his shoulder rambles out something you can't quite make the details out of. It isn't yours to back away, to continue to stare from a distance.

...But it certainly was yours to speak.

"...What did you do?" You muttered, silent, almost imperceptible to all but the one you intended to hear. 

"...I didn't mean for it to get this bad." She muttered back, all the same.

You stared as she did, but you couldn't help but notice them. The small, insignificant details that none but you would notice. The tears in the fabric of her gown from which the base of her wings had torn through, now left empty. Now left barren. The scrapes and cuts along her face and hands, lining and scarring the fur that wasn't quite long enough to protect her from them. The patches of damp fur beneath her eyes, along her sleeves. 

...The shivering. The story she told through closed eyes, through shuttering breaths. 

Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. 

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" You scream out, watching from the corner of your eye as Jack staggered back. Waiting for an excuse, to an explanation, for something.

...But you received nothing. Susie did not respond.

You wanted nothing more than to help. To run to her side, to wretch yourself free from the cage you'd found yourself in, to put yourself back where you belonged, to apologize for as long as you had the breath to do so. 

...But you found yourself paralyzed. You found yourself unable.

You weren't quite sure who's decision it was to cry between the two of you. Only that they fell free. Only that they stained the floor below you.

"...What did you do?" You whimpered out, her voice cracking beneath the strain. 

...You did not receive a-

"Well, f` I were ta' judge fer' myself-"

Susie's head snapped back around before the foreign voice could finish, summoning her axe and cleaving it down behind her in a singular swift motion, eyes darting back towards it's source-

Only to find who you assumed was the 'wisened old hermit', standing a fortunate few inches behind the floor it had impacted. You watched as he slowly  hobbled around it, clueless or careless of its edge, before coming to a stop at Noelle's side, staring down just the same as she was. 

"Well, there's a fancy name fer' it, but I ain't known nothin' like that in a while. Can certainly tell ya' it's a soul problem, though."

"You seem to know an awful lot about soul problems." Susie grumbled, before putting her axe away. 

"I know enough!" He cheerfully said back. "Had me this whole big section in a book I used ta' write on em. Needed ta' know enough ta' sound like I knew what I was talkin' about!"

"...Is she going to be ok?"

You watch as the hermit bent down, staring deeply first at Noelle, then back to Susie, his one good eye squinted in thought. 

"Can't say fer' sure." He shrugged, before hobbling back to the desk that sat in the middle of the study. "Depends on whatcha' do from here on."

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whole buncha' medical mumbo jumbo that'll fly right by ya." The hermit said, waving a dismissing hand as he began to dig into his desk. "Certainly flew right by me. Didn't click none 'till someone gave me a' visual."

"Then give me one." Susie growled, turning to the edge of the desk, planting her fists upon either edge, watching as the Old Man struggled to find something within, before finally, almost minutes later, he produced a book from within. 

Flipping it open, scanning its pages, the same look identical to the one's you'd already seen. Completely blotted out and filled with black.

"...Pick a page. " He said, tapping upon its open face for emphasis;. "Any of em. Couple of em`, if ya like. N' when ya got a good idea a' which ones ya want, rip em out."

"Of...the book?"

"Ain't sure what else you'd be rippin the pages out of!"

"...They're all the same."

"Then it shouldn't matter too much which pages ya pick, should it?"

You watched as she hesitated, a hand lingering over the black pages, before abruptly sliding a finger between a few of the pages prior, and ripping them free from the book, as carefully as she could. 

But even so, her claw had dug into pages in the process, piercing through and leaving the tear imperfect, despite her best efforts. Her hand came free full of torn blank pages. The book that remained was scarred.

"That right there, little lady, is the problem ya' got yerself in." 

"...If you're trying to make me feel bad about it, it's not working." She hissed back. "I already know what I did."

"Well, then let me spin my web a little deeper." The Hermit said, pulling a pen out from within his desk. "Think of a soul like...a book. That there one you got right now, even. N' you? You're an avid reader! Favorite in the series, this one is! Read it a hundred times, n' you'll read it a hundred more!"

"...Why would you ready the same book over and over?"

"Buncha' reasons! Maybe ya' don't like the way a piece a' the story goes, n' you're tryina figure out how ta' change it! Maybe it's a hate-read kinda thing! Recon the exact point don't matter too much, though. Point is, you was readin it. Takin it all in, processin' n' absorbin'- n' then a page gets ripped out."

You watched as he pulled the book back closer to him with the pen, staring down intently at its blank pages.

 "Now, since yer' such a curious one, n' you were already familiar, you recon you can just piece together what the story's missin once ya' get back around to the missin pages."

He begins to write on the book, white scribbled lines pouring forth from the end of the pen.

"Problem is though, ya' can be as familiar as ya' like, but it ain't ever gonna be perfect."

He discarded the page, turning to another and writing another few lines of scribbled text.

"Can't keep goin' ta' the next page, though! Ya' almost had it! So ya keep on tryin, again n' again, tryin ta' get the perfect words down. Can't finish this book 'till ya got this page here done! 'Till ya got this last missin piece put back where it's supposed ta' be-"

...She wasn't going to wake up without you.

"...She won't wake up?"

What little amount of hate you had left within was sapped away by the revelation, as you all but forced her head to turn back and stare. As you failed to do even that, and instead settled your gaze upon the papers crumpling in her fist. 

It felt like ice. Like something freezing within, crystalizing and chilling and growing across your surface, locking you in place, shivering as the closest thing you had left cradled you in its arms. 

Hate gave way to fear. 

"...As she is now, anyways. If any a' those studies I read were any good." 

Her head turned back. You stared through her eyes. You weren't sure if it was just your nerves, but you could've sworn that she looked colder. 

"...Soon as ya' get that last page back to her though, should be right as-"

She didn't wait for him to finish. For once, you completely agreed. Even with the damage you knew you still marred your surface, with the turmoil bubbling within, you knew you had to help. You didn't try to resist as she took a deep breath, as she reeled her hand back, as she aimed it for her chest. You waited in eager anticipation for the sensation of pain to overwhelm you. She closed her eyes-

...But something stopped it. Metal or polished plastic or...something that rested against her wrist. 

"Would do nothin' quite too drastic just yet, though. Not if I was you."

...Why the hell not?
"Why the hell not?!" Susie screamed in turn, opening her eyes.

"Take a look at them there pages in yer' hand again."

She did, her eyes darting down to the hand that hung limp at her side. You looked down with her.

Within the chaos, between the fits of fear and anger and rampant emotions, she'd crumpled them beyond recognition, now only resting as a crude shape within her palm. You watched as she quickly took them to the table, uncrumpling them, trying to work the creases and lines back out of the paper.

...A futile effort. Even as they were, one could tell. They were fundamentally altered in a such a way that you couldn't go back.

You couldn't go back.

"...It's-"

"-Different." The hermit interrupted, taking the pages from her hand and looking them over himself. "I ain't the type to use the word 'Ruined' r' 'Wrong' r' 'Worse.' Sure, they're...dented up a little, but nothin ya' couldn't fix with some time n' a little bit a' shell. Ya could put it back in right now, but...would ya want to? Way they are now?"

...You understood. Or, at least you thought you did, anyways. You were still broken. You were still angry. Still hurt and wronged and bitter and several other things you couldn't quite put a name to. If whatever link you shared were to be reconnected, if she really were just asleep the entire time, the only thing you'd do is give that hate to her.

...You didn't want to do that. You didn't want to make her hurt. 

...But then-

"What the hell am I supposed to do, then?"

"Well..." The old man sighed, thinking aloud as he tapped the pen across the surface of the book. "First thing I like ta' do when I'm stuck in a rut like this s' get my thoughts out. Write em' down on paper."

You watched as he placed the pen in the center of the book, before taking his cane and sliding it over to Susie. 

"Recon that might be a good place for you to start."

You watched as she stared him down again, trying to read between the lines of the smirk on his face, before admitting defeat, grabbing the book off the table, and retreating back into the same ruined nook from which you had struggled to escape before.

"This is stupid-" She muttered under her breath, staring at the blank page as she opened the book, the pen idle in her hand. "...This whole thing is stupid. What the hell am I even supposed to-"

You interrupted her, abruptly taking control of the hand that held the book, shifting it to her other arm and snatching the pen for yourself. If she was so hesitant, then you certainly had your own mind to speak. 

[He wasn't talking about you.]

"...Welcome back, asshole." She said, her eyes narrowed at the page. "Weren't you just...stealing my voice? Can't you just do that?"

[As fun as it would be to make you look like a schizophrenic, no.]
[Besides] You write, stopping for a moment to point down at Jack with the pen. [I don't want to scare them.]

"...Why do you care so much about what they think?" She scoffed. "You were fucking possessing her. You were possessing me. You still are!"

[They're her friends.]
[They're my friends.]

"And we weren't?" 

[Friends don't nail each other with garbage can lids.]

...She didn't say anything in turn. You felt as she tried to look away, as guilt and hurt began to weigh back down upon her soul. You forced her to turn her head back to the page. 

[She was the first one to ask me what my name was.] You continued, forcing her to look as you wrote. [They were the ones to give me one when I didn't have anything to tell them.]

You began to lose yourself in the page, forgetting to turn her head back as you continued, simply looking over your handwriting from the corner of her eye.

[We were going to get out together. Seal the fountain and cuss Kris out and go home.]

 It was neat. Orderly, in some rough approximation of cursive. Neat like hers, despite the hand you were forced to write it with. 

[We were going to watch some stupid shitty horror movies together. She was going to get hot chocolate and ruin it when she stuffed three entire candy canes into it.] 

Her head turns back. Reads, without you having to force her to. 

[She was going to get me a little dog bed so I wouldn't have to sit in a cage when I wasn't being used.]

Even with your full attention, it becomes difficult to see through her squinted eyes. Water blurs in the edges of your vision.

[She wasn't going to use me like a tool. I was going to be something more than that.]

Droplets stain the page. Again, you weren't quite sure who's tears they were. Even so, you push the book upwards to avoid the worst of the damage. You write around the spots made wet.

[She was my friend. My first real friend.]
[And then you took me away from her.]
[Thanks for that. Asshole.]

It fell quiet for a time, after that. The pen idled. The soul churned. The only sounds that filled the air were the quiet mutterings of the group beneath you. The crackle of a fireplace.

"...I didn't mean for it to get this bad."

[Well, you certainly found a way to manage.]

"I just wanted to get out, Ok?! I'm sorry!" She screamed, pulling the book up, inches away from her face. "I...I get it! I wasn't thinking straight! It was after all that shit with Kris and Ralsei after they just fucking left, and there was all that shit with The Knight! and...Look, man! I'm sorry!" 

You thought of asking for specifics, but.. 

"When Kris abandoned me. When Ralsei tucked his stupid little tail behind them and followed along."

...Something told you that you already knew enough.

 She was just another soul scorned by someone that was supposed to be their friend. Someone else who'd acted out and screamed in defiance. Someone else told that, in no uncertain terms, her life didn't matter enough to be considered.

...The revelation confused you. It made you angry. It stuffed yet more and more upon into the pot of anger and bitterness and hate, it blasted the heat as high as it could, it sealed you inside until there was nothing left but the lingering question of why.

...Anger gave way to Confusion.

You hated her for putting you in this situation. You hated yourself for thinking it. You...

You sat idle. unthinking, unmoving, stewing in the negative emotions. You'd long since lost track of time completely. Minutes? Hours? You didn't know. But one thought crossed your mind in the silence, until the creaking of the stairway broke it.

...You only knew that you hated this.

"Feelin' any better?" The old man said, calling over from the edge of the stairway. 

"...I feel like an asshole, if that's what you're looking to hear." Susie mumbled in turn.

"...Gettin' there! 'Bout halfway, anyways!"

"...Can I just give them back now?"

"Ya' still feelin' angry?"

[yes.] You scribble at the bottom of the page. 

"...They are."

"Mmm...Recon they would..." The old man said again to himself, as he scratched his head in thought. "...Think I might got the other half of that fix for ya, though!"

Her head pulled up from the book. 

"Saw back there that your axe mighta' seen some better days."

"...What clued you in?" 

"Big ol' bite mark I saw in the side of it! Not the way I'd be shinin my whites, but if it works fer' you, I might be willin ta' give it a try!"

"...Just say it already."

"Well, if ya insist!" He said, motioning her over and pointing down at something beneath them on the first floor. Getting up from the chair and peering down, he was pointing at the fireplace. Or, more specifically, the inscription and carving above it. Something that looked like a mix between an axe and a hammer.

" 'Round the time I settled in, I heard somthin' of a story. Supposedly, there's a magic axe hidden in these here walls. Sealed away by some fair tale mumbo jumbo magic. Only way to break through it is ta' play a song on a piano, somethin' not too far away."

A twinge of hurt within her soul. A stab of pain.

"...I can't play. And I'm not exactly buddy buddy with the only one here who can anymore."

"Oh, fiddlesticks!" The Hermit said, waving a dismissive hand. "Anyone can! Recon it ain't too hard of a song anyhow, that'll be the easy part! Harder part's gonna be gettin' out there, findin' that song n' bringin' it back! N' then, we can getcha that axe!"

"I don't care about an axe!" She yelled.  "I care about-"

"Yer' friend down there? Your friend in-"

"Yes. Them. Just...I don't think that an axe is important right now."

"Well, it's a magic axe, ain't it?" 

"...I don't care what it is." 

"Even if it'd help ya save em?"

Her eyes narrowed, darting between Jack below and the one yellowed eye that stared back at her. 

"...How's an axe gonna do that?"

"Said it was magic, didn't I? Probably helps ya cast better! Maybe even get those sparkles you were shootin out earlier a bit stronger!"

...A pause in the turmoil within. A glimmer of something within the dark.

"...Would it?"

"Wouldn't hurt ta' try!"

She looked back over to Jack, peering around his side and staring at what little she could see of Noelle's face from behind him. 

...She was probably still hurt from the fall. You'd hate for her to wake up in pain.

"...I'm willing to try." She mumbled, looking down to the book still in her hand. "If-"

You quickly gave the best approximation of a thumbs up that you could with your hands full, stopping as hermit beside you laughed, throwing his entire body into the exaggerated motion, turning his head up to the sky.

"Well, seems you're on the same page! What's the dilly dally 'bout? Got a song ta' find!"

You watch as Susie, abruptly, begins to walk down the stairs. You feel as the glimmer within shines brighter, as it begins to cut away through the dark, piece by piece. You weren't still entirely sure about it, but...you preferred this over the moments prior.

"Wait, shit-" She said, stopping abruptly and doubling back as she reached the archway. "Old man! Where the hell am I supposed to find them?!"

"Oh, around!" He said, hobbling down the stairs after her. "Can tell ya a bit more when we get closer to em, though! Real maze, this whole place is!"

"...We?"  Susie said, confusion evident in her voice as he finally made his way to the last stair. 

"We!"  The old man repeated, a wide toothless grin spreading across his face. "Could use a little bit a' inspiration myself! Got this letter I'm in the middle a' writin, n' I can't quite figure out how to end it! Recon I should know by the time we get back!"

"...You're-"

"A writer? Well, I recon you'd catch on soon enough! What with the few time I already said it, anyhow!"

"You're Old." 

"Yep!" 

"You're Slow." 

"Only when I wanna be!" 

"You're going to-"

You stop her, tapping the pen upon her shoulder. Hastily, she grabs the book and opens it to the closest blank page. 

[Let him come] You quickly scribble down. 

"...Are you stupid?" She says in turn, squinting at the words, as if in disbelief that they were written. "Look at him! He's gonna like...blow over in the wind, or something!" 

[Don't you feel like there's more to it?]

"Well...A bit. I guess, but-"

[He's been fucking with you this entire time. He probably knows more than he's telling you. Wise Sensei bullshit.]

"Look... Soul? I-"

[Little Light.]

"...Light, what if he isn't, though? Kris is out there! The- The fucking Knight! All that weird, stupid shit! I don't-"

"...I don't want to be the reason anyone else gets hurt."

The shine of the light within dulls. Recedes, if just by a fraction of a margin. 

[He's tougher than he looks.] You assured her. [Probably. I'll just figure out the flashlight thing again if he isn't.]

"...What about Noelle?" She said, her head turning back to face them. 

...The image of Jack staring intently down at a tiny book as Solus perched upon his shoulder did warm your heart, if just a little bit. The light returns.

"UH...THEY WILL WIEP AWAY EVERIE TEER FROM THERE EIES, AND...AND HE WHO...SITS ON THE CHAIR-" 

"Oh, not quite that far within the passage, Giant. You search for the one just below the last."

"OH, SORRIE- UH...AND IT WILL BE NO MAOR. AND THERE WILL BE NO CRYING OR...HURTING...OR-"

[She's in good hands.] You quickly wrote, as she tore her gaze back down to the book.

"...Alright." She whispered, closing the book. "Alright!" She shouted, turning back to the old man- 

...And already finding him halfway obscured in the darkness. 

"HEY! HEY! GEEZER! GET BACK HERE!"

"Awful far behind fer' someone complain 'bout old folk! Seems like you're the one that's takin' too long!"

As Susie ran after him, as you turned back and watched Noelle's figure fade into the orange candlelight of the fading study, you thought you found the right word for the feeling that had blossomed within. There was little else you knew that could cut away the gloom as it did. 

You would smile, if you could, as you felt confusion give way to hope.

Chapter Text

Panting breaths. An iron grip. A sigh of relief as the elemental, Miss...Something, it had called itself, finally calmed and faded away. You watched as Susie's axe disappeared back into nothing. You waited for her to notice, as glowing notes appeared upon the side of the wall. You grew impatient, and interrupted whichever half-hearted victorious gesture she was making, fervently clicking the end of the pen to get her attention. 

"Alright, Alright!" She groaned, taking out the book and holding it still enough for you to write down the details. 

You had high hopes, at first, but...you were quickly starting to think that your faith in the old man might've been misplaced. Even now, scrawling down the last of the three pieces of the song you needed, you didn't feel any better about this than when you'd left the study. If anything, you felt worse.

The first of the pieces you'd found were...

"It's be real handy if you could do that stupid flashlight thing right about now!" Susie yelled, having collided into a wall face first within the darkness, yet again.

"I can't." you simply replied in turn, keeping your response as brief as possible.

"Why not." She growled back.

You...simply weren't able to. Whatever force you had called upon in the past felt...distant. Fragmented. Present, but too far away to be made use of. Maybe it was something emotional, or a stress response, or-

"Well?!"

...It was certainly  about to be a stress reponse, if she kept shouting at you like that.

"I would love to." You replied back in turn. "But somebody is making that a little bit harder.

...difficult, saying the least.

"We JUST did it! What do you MEAN we have to go back and write it again?!"

The arrows and symbols were illegible. In the darkness, you'd had absolutely no way to tell.

[Well maybe if you didn't drop the book-] 

"Well MAYBE if your handwriting didn't suck ASS-"

[Well maybe if you spent more time actually helping-]

"Casper, I swear to the ANGEL if you-"

...As was the second one. You were glad that the last section you found wasn't another goddamn maze. 

...This wouldn't have happened if you were still with Noelle. You wouldn't have needed to stumble and trip through the darkness, you would've been able to light her way, find the notes and write them down in an orderly, legible manner, and get back out.

You clutched the pen harder, perhaps a bit too tightly, as something snapped away, before slamming the book back shut and pointing down towards the path you'd taken up.

You understood that tensions were high, as she trudged back downwards upon the climbing wall. The swirling well of emotions within made that obvious. It was frustrating for her too. It wouldn't be fair to say anything.

...But when was the last time you'd cared about "fair"? When was the last time she did? Certainly, it must have been before you were ripped out by the wings.

"So, uh...what do you...do?" She said, an awkward, forced tone overtaking her voice as she continued to climb back down. "Like...for fun."

...You didn't respond.

"I mean...outside of...possessing people and stealing their voices and shit."

...Something about that boiled your blood in particular. You didn't ask for this. You didn't want to steal people. You didn't have a choice. You never did.

"I don't." You replied, in the only way you could.

"Well...if you did-" 

"I haven't."

"If. You. Did. Dumbass."  She said, dragging out the length of each word she spoke as she finally let go of the wall, falling a short distance down to the floor below. 

Your fist balls in anger as she takes the pen back out and clumsily stuffs it back into its clutch. As she pulls the book back out.

"Hey, maybe...we could-"

[Stop talking to me like we're friends.] You aggressively scribble out, underlining it a moment later for emphasis. [We aren't.]

...You felt as something broke within, as she read the words. Like a breath released she didn't know she was holding. Like food stolen out from her mouth.  Like glass, shattering. 

[That was too much-] You quickly wrote down a moment later. [I'm sorr-]

You watched as she held the pen still, preventing you from continuing the sentence. 

"...No. Don't pretend to be anything you aren't. I get it."

She let go of the pen, continuing back down the path, to where the Old Man had said he'd be waiting for you. Something about taking a breather, he'd said.

[It isn't just you.] You quickly wrote down again, holding the book back up to her face. [It's-]

The pen veered off course, smudging the page in ink as she pushed the page back down.

"You already made your point. Save your breath."

Against your better judgement, you'd become familiar with the feelings of pain and hurt. Sadness that quickly flipped into anger, back and back again, over and over and over.

...And against your better judgement, as you'd come to understand, it influenced you. Made you angry. Made you flop between sadness and hurt, a negative feedback loop that screamed into the back of your mind, ever louder and louder.

...Fine, you supposed. If that was how she wanted to be about it.

[Gave up pretty quick on all that 'being sorry' shit.] You aggressively jotted down.

"If you're not even going to lift a finger to help me, then why should I bother?"

[How was I supposed to help you through this in any form I already wasn't?]

"Well, you could've started by doing that one thing you seemed to be good at." 

[I already told you. I couldn't.]

"Yeah, not for me, anyways!"

[What are you expecting me to do? Pull character development out of your ass? You stole me. Of course I'd still be mad.]

She scowled at the page, her eyes darting over towards the pen for a brief moment, before settling back to the pathway ahead. 

"...For someone without an ass, you're a pretty hard one."

[...what?]

"I'm calling you a dick!" She screamed, unsure if her attention should have been focused on the book, her hand, the pen- Before she finally settled on her hand. "Maybe if you pulled the ghost stick out of your...ghost ass, we would already be done, and you could stop crying about how much you miss Noelle!" 

[Maybe if you stopped to think about what you did before you did it-] You wrote, the page beginning to tear beneath the tip of the pen, [-we wouldn't need to be here in the first place.]

"Oh, that's great, coming from you." She scoffed. "Everything was fine until you just...fucked off!" 

[You call what that was before fine?]

"Yeah! I am! At least then, both of us had something! If you weren't such a stupid baby, we wouldn't-" 

"THEY LOCKED ME IN A CAGE AT NIGHT, ASSHOLE."

The words came out from your stolen mouth before you'd realized you said them. You quickly retreated back, but the damage had already been done. Emotions already came to an abrupt halt, the cycle ending and landing somewhere between regret and shame. 

You noticed, from the corner of your eye, that your screaming had awoken the old man, now staring at you from a seat in the distance.

"I...forgot about the cage thing." The quickly said, widened eyes staring back down at the book. "That- It was too far. I'm sorry."

...Even so, you didn't regret saying it. 

[You already made your point. Save your breath.]

She stared a bit longer, mumbling something under her breath about managing to screw up something else even more. A quiet part of you knew you should've been the bigger person. That you should try to fix this, before it became something worse. But another, far louder part of you felt inclined to agree. 

You didn't stop her as she closed the book, as she continued to trudge onwards along the path. As from the margins of your vision, something green and brown appeared, 'accidently' knocking her flat on her ass, the book out from her hands.

...Call it whatever you wanted to. Vindictive, petty, childish- You felt like you deserved to have something after she had taken so much from you. You reached back out to pick up the book-

...Only to find that another, far older looking hand had beaten you to it. Unsure if it was your will or hers that looked back up, you saw as the old man opened the book, glancing through the pages you had written upon with an unreadable expression upon his face, his one good eye closing. 

"Awful messy, your thinkin' looks." 

You don't intervene as Susie attempts, and fails, to snatch the book back out from his hands. 

"Stop taking my shit." She snarled, as she rose back up to her feet. 

"Alright, alright!" He said in turn, mocking surrender as he handed the book back. "...How's about we take the scenic route back though, if ya' got the last of whatcha'  needed?"

"No. The less time we're here, the better."

"Little Lady, recon the thing you need most right 'bout now is a little more time." 

"I don't care! Just take me to the-" 

"Piano ya' still gotta play?" He interrupted, a grin spreading across his face. "Know that's off on the scenic route! Gonna have ta' stop by if ya' want that axe anyhow! What's the harm n' just a little bit more time?"

She growled in frustration, swiping out with the back of her claw, missing, once again, by just a fraction of an inch. 

"...Fine."

"Well!" The Old Man smiled, lifting his cane off the ground and gesturing to a path that you swore you didn't see on the way over. "We best be goin, then! Think I left some candles back at the study burnin'! Awful irresponsible of me!"

You watched as Susie wordlessly followed after him. You stewed in the cocktail of negative emotions, not entirely sure what belonged to who. 

Anger was shared, assuredly. Guilt. Hurt, from two opposing sides of the spectrum. The only served to enhance the silence with which you traveled. 

"...Sorry 'bout that before, by the way." 

...Until the old man broke it, anyways.

"Just...awful familiar, that there kinda writin' was."

...Was it now. 

"...Was it?" 

"Mmm. Old student a' mine used ta' write just like that. Think she ended up usin' some of 'em for inspiration, end a' the day. Ain't seen her face in a' reeeeal long while, though."

"...Inspiration for what?"

"Song Lyrics!" The Old Man cheered, as he pointed down a fork in the path. "Would'nt'a figured it by lookin' at her, but a real musician, she was. Even got that song picked up by some big city label. Not quite sure how that went down after the fact, but...I digress. Ain't here nor now." 

"...What is here, then?"

"Well...whole lot ya' wouldn't'a figured by lookin at her, whole lot ya woulda, though. Full a' fire, she was. Fire n' hurt n' anger, n' ain't nowhere fer' it ta' go. Somethin' bout' her family, I reckoned. Somethin' bout choice. Ain't gettin' none of it."

The Big ol' ball of hurt within you seemed to flare in recognition. Completely transfixed, you hardly had to raise a finger to ask Susie to- 

"Can you get to the point of this, already?" 

...To do that.

The Old Man stopped abruptly, turning and staring at her with the same half-full smile he'd flashed her in the study.

"I'll admit, she even found a' way under my shell, once r' twice. Always was a' way ta' get through to her, though.

...N' I couldn'ta asked fer' a better friend! Sweetest thing, behind all those layers. Even wrote me a song, one time!"

"That still doesn't-" 

"I get it, s'where I'm goin' with all this. Me n' her, we weren't always peas n' pods. One stupid mistake, felt like the end a' the word. But it'd be alright, in the end. We'd talk it out. S'just how the story goes, kids your age."

"What does that mean?!" 

"...Ain't learnin' nothin if I'm tellin ya' how yer' supposed ta learn it, little lady-" He said, turning back around and fiddling with something from his coat pocket. "But...there ain't nothin good won from givin' up, dontcha think?  Gotta fight fer' whatcha want, sometimes. Even if that's people. Especially if that's people."

Susie sighed, looking away as she, and you in turn, thought the words over. There...wasn't really any reason to have had another screaming match, so...what were you supposed to be fighting for? Unless-

"Say, ya' mind givin' me a quick second?" The Old Man said, his voice accompanied by the crackle of paper, the click of a pen. "Think I just got me n' idea on where ta' go with this 'ere letter. Piano ain't too far from 'ere. Just down that right tunnel there."

"...Aren't we going to the-"

"I'll catch up. Don'tcha worry 'bout me." 

Her eyes turned away as you heard the sound of the Old Man's cane grow farther and farther, settled now upon something else. 

...The book. 

You sighed, against your better judgement, as you picked up the pen. As she once more opened its pages to the closest one blank. As she once more held it steady, continuing onwards.

[I really did mean it.] You began, scribbling in near the top. [It was too far. I'm sorry.]

...She said nothing in turn.

[I won't lie. It still hurts.] You continued, after waiting a minute, two, three for a response, and receiving none. [I'm still angry. I can't say I forgive you.]

[But I know you want to make it right. And that being an ass about it won't help, and that actually wanting to change is several steps ahead of anything I'm used to, so-]

...You think back to that question on the climbing wall. 

[-I was being honest back there too. I don't know what I would do for fun. ] 

The silence lingered for an uncomfortable moment. For two. Three, until finally, with a sigh of her own she flicked the page you were writing on. 

"What did you do before this, then?"

...A step in the right direction, you supposed. You'd take it. 

[There wasn't a before. I only started existing a few days ago.]

"Kris told me that-" 

[Are you really gonna trust anything out of their mouth at this point?]

"...That's fair."

You watch as she idly kick a loose piece of glass sitting on the floor. As her eyes narrow in frustration. As her soul follows suit. 

"...Existing?"

[Thinking. Breathing and talking and stuff. Three days ago. Two, if you're counting how long I've been able to see me as me. The first one, I genuinely thought I was Kris.]

"...But, three days ago was-" 

[Card Kingdom. Yeah.]

You felt the impact of the words before you saw them. A hole torn deeper into her soul. The crushing emptiness encroaching. 

[It's not what you're thinking, though.] You quickly said, shoving the book back into her face. [Not entirely.]

"So what the fuck WAS it, then?" She screamed back. "Some...evil ass fountain making propaganda bullshit? Was Kris ever my friend at all?"

[I think so.] You wrote, with every scrap of willpower you had left to spare. [It was both of us, most of the time.]

"Both...of you?"

[Both. Control was weird. Different than this. I moved them around and told them what to do, and they decided how to do it.]

"I thought you hated their ass, why are you defending them?"

[Don't get me wrong, I do. I just hate lying more. Easier to tell you what I know.]

"...Right."

[Stealing 8$ from their brother and going to the diner with you was me, but drawing “I will go to the festival with you, Susan” on the window with Berdly's face was them.]

She chuckled.

"...The stickers? The juice thing at church?"
[Them]

"...Naming yourself Ass on the gameshow podium thing?"
[Me]

"...Eating moss?"
[Mutual, funny enough. Same as putting the bow on you in the game section. They thought that was funny too.] 

Slightly, just barely, you felt as the corners of her mouth tilted upwards into a smile, flicking the page you were writing on, before creasing into a deep frown.

"So...everything they did was just...a lie? Pretending to care, so they had someone to eat bullets, and-"

[No.] You wrote again, thinking back and finding it yet more difficult to spit the truth out. [They weren't pretending about that part.]

...You hated defending them. But you'd hate lying more.

"...Then why?" She asked, as you felt her hand grasp tightly along the book's binding. As you felt her teeth clench together. "...WHY?!"

[I wish I knew.] You wrote back, as honest and sincere as you could muster. [If there's anything I wish I knew, it was that.]
[Maybe they do still want to be your friend. They just think being a turncoat is more important.]

She stared down at the page a moment longer, nodding, her grip on the book slowly relaxing, the blaze within settling upon something bittersweet and angry.

...Bad, you supposed. Something that needed the mood lightened.

[Maybe Dess's ass just tastes like chocolate milk or something. Only way I could see them trying to kiss it so hard.]

Susie stopped abruptly, her eyes narrowing, re-reading the last sentence as if she didn't quite believe what you'd wrote.

"Hold on, Dess? Like...December? The missing girl? What does she have to do with this?"

...Oh, right. She wouldn't have any idea, would she?

[Dess is The Knight.]

Again, she lingered on the page. Again, the emotions inside bubbled in turmoil- before settling into something between fatigue and indifference. It was cold, you thought. At least by her standards.

"Any other massive bombshells you wanna drop? Just...get them out of the way now?"

[It's not actually Dess. It's a black sludge parasite thing that's covering her body and controlling her.]
[She isn't being The Knight willingly.]

"So she's...being Blood Crusher'd by darkness?]

...Your mind goes blank. 

[what]

"Yaknow, like...that one movie. With the severed hand, and it like...digs into your brain and starts making you do stuff."

...Your mind rolls back. Had you ever even seen a movie?

[I don't think I've ever even watched a movie.]

"Wait, shit- Right! You're like a toddler, aren't you?"

[I think it's a bit more complicated than-]

"Iunno, dude. You're like...five days old. Sounds like a toddler to me."

[What kind of toddlers are you taking to?] 

"The ones that don't know Blood Crusher, apparently." 

You replicate the rolling eyes emoji from Noelle's phone to the best of your ability, drawing an angry eyebrow squiggle overtop for good measure.

She laughed. That was a good sign.

"Well, if it means anything, I think that's pretty fucking metal for a toddler." She said, playfully swatting the pen away as you bonked her over the head with it. "...We can get you caught up, though. Noelle has the whole Box Set of those movies. Hell, you'll probably see them before me."

[I could try to get her to wait on you to watch them, if you wanted.] 

"...Shit, really?" She said, a grin beginning to spread over her face. "Even after-" 

[Because of* ] You corrected. [I just don't feel like separating people more than I already have.]

"...Man, listen. It's not your fault. You didn't-" 

[You had a big date night planned and everything, after all.]

Susie groaned, falling back into silence as you watched her eyes dart between the book and her hand. A silent debate of whatever would be the closest to punching you in the arm, you supposed.

[You can borrow the pen and draw an eye rolling face if you want]

"...Man, Shut up!" She shouted out, trying to suppress a laugh from under her breath. "It's not like that! I'm just-"

Susie was interrupted as her face slammed into something in the middle of in the path, the abrupt pain of impact, the abrupt pain making you lose your focus, the book and pen both clattering to the floor.

 "Motherfucker-" She swore, quickly picking the book back up as you did the pen, illuminated by a turquoise light that you knew wasn't there just a moment prior. Frustration in her soul, she looked back up at the offending object that had knocked her down-

THE BOY'S COLLECTION SHALL GROW.

...And saw Lancer.

Or, at the least, a depiction of him upon a floating panel, surrounded by several figures of various sizes. 

The prophecy. A significantly larger section of it than either of you had seen. The prophecy, that Ralsei claimed, ended with someone dead.

Your heart ran cold as your eyes darted around, and you saw more of them. Panels upon panels, filling the room unreasonably tight, as if whatever had created them had simply run out of space and decided to drop whatever excess it still needed to make wherever it could find. 

"...I think I saw some of these before." Susie said, her gaze still transfixed upon the one she'd run into. "Not...as many, but-" 

"They'll fall again, with form anew, from light onto the dark."

You recognized the two and three others beside it. You didn't recognize the others further down.

[We should go.] You quickly wrote, all but forcing the book back into her face as you underlined the same sentence. 

"Dude, cmon!" She said in turn. "Fucking JOCKINGTON is in here! Look at that one! You think anyone else from the classroom has funny looking ones?"

No. Yes, Maybe- You didn't know. You didn't want to know. You wanted to leave.

[Can we please just leave] You begged.

"We're not on a timer or anything, are we?" Susie said, pushing the book back down. "Imagine if Berdly has one! You think it'd be about that stupid statue?"

[Please-] 

"Oh! OH! What's that one?" 

Susie ran forward, looking at yet another panel as you tried to keep your eyes down.

"Love...finds the girl. So...did that one happen already? Is that you? I mean, it looks like you, but-"

But from the corner of your eye, with how wild and uncontrolled her gaze about was, you couldn't help but catch glimpses. 

"The broken cage, the pen unleashed, the compass point askew."

A hand, reaching out for a heart as it floated away. In the fine details, you even saw a crack beginning to overtake it.

"A promised oath, a weapon's wrath, and hope reformed anew." 

Wings outstretched. A heart, sitting idle between them as they unfurled.

...Your hand trembled. You nearly dropped the pen in the process.

[Please.]

"I'm going, I'm going!" She said, throwing her hand up in mock surrender and beginning to walk. "Just-"

She stopped again. Light illuminated the floor before her. 

"Did...that already happen?"

...You didn't look.

"Light, you...already did something like that, right?"

You didn't want to look.

"What does...banished mean?"

You looked.

"The Angel, Banished, will finally meet with its desire." 
...You. The heart, The four pointed star of your halo, the one you'd understood to be the best approximation of "yourself" as you currently understood, displayed in an empty frame. 

"That's...a good thing, right? Desire? That means something you want, right?"

...You were small. You were fading. You were alone. You would be alone.

"You ok, man? You're starting to freak me out a bit here."

You dropped the pen. 

"Dammit Light, say something! You're-"

You screamed. 

Wrenching control away from her in an instant, you pulled your fist back, smashing it into the panel and watching as it broke into shades upon the floor. You stomped away at the pieces until you couldn't recognize yourself within them. You called forth the axe and slashed away at what remained, again and again and again, until the only reflections you could see within their light were naught but glimmers. Until the blood that wet your hands made the axe slip free from your grasp, until you collapsed to the floor, your voice run dry.

Until you could scream no longer.

You tried to retain what little composure you still had left, but found yourself unable. You couldn't.  You tried to breathe, but you couldn't. You tried to choke back the tears you knew impending as they began to blur your vision, but you couldn't.

It told your story with perfect accuracy. It knew you. It knew what you would do, it knew how you would end. Nothing had changed from that moment in Castle town. You'd never had a chance. Nothing had changed. You-

You felt as control slipped back away. You awaited the oncoming storm of screaming, punches and expletives- but found that they never came. 

You watched as she healed the wounds you'd inflicted. Brushed aside a spot to sit in the mess by kicking away the glass with her boot. Pulled back together the book and paper. 

"...You alright?" She asked, her voice still raw from tears that she did not cry. 

It took you longer than you would've liked to take the pen back. Longer still to compose yourself enough to respond.

[Imsorry-] You quickly began to scribble out, barely ledgeable- 

"It's fine." She said back, in a far calmer tone than you'd expected. "Just...tell me what's going on."

Minutes passed.

[I'm scared.] You finally wrote.
[I don't want to be what it says I am, but it was always going to be that way. I was always-]

Always just something to be used.

[-going to be a tool. Something to be made use of. Something that dies and gets thrown away when it's served its purpose.] 

"...You're not-"

[I AM. EVERYTHING ELSE IT'S SAID HAS ALREADY HAPPENED. HOW IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT?]

"But...still-"

[I'm scared, Susie. I don't know what it means, but being Banished can't be good.]

[I don't want to die.]

You underlined it. You circled it, you drew arrows pointing towards it, lines through it, over and over and over until the white consumed the words whole. Until you found yourself unable to any longer.

You dropped the pen. Susie stared at the page, unmoving.

You  felt disappointed by the silence that followed, but you weren't sure what else you were expecting. What was someone even supposed to say to something like that? 

...You almost began to long for the argument back with the water cooler. At least then, a fire burned within, something loud and strong enough to chase away the feelings that followed. But this? The only thing it felt was...

Sad. Despair, you supposed was a good word to call it. Something creeping inwards with crawling hands, grasping and tearing away, widening an ever deeper hole within her heart. Within yours. You-

...You heard as something began to approach. The tapping of cane, somewhere behind you. The Old Man.

Neither of you resisted as he stepped forward and picked up the book once more.

"Was lookin' a fair bit better, fer' a second there! What happened?" 

Neither of you responded.

"Ain't gotta say. Can probably figure, what with the impromptu artestry. Feel the same myself, yaknow? All these words, only thing they do is get in yer' head. Getcha seein the worst. More than what's actually there."

You watched as he limped over to another panel. As Susie lifted her head up just enough to follow. 

"...Reminds me a' this one series, I used ta' read. Lord a' The Hammer, it was called. Can't quite recall what the Author's name was, but I do know their Pen name. 'Hammer a' Justice', he called 'emself. Little on the nose, if ya' ask me."

"...Based all those books offa The Prophecy. Always quoted em, shoved those little pieces a' scripture he liked best in the back a' the last page. Told ya why he used em the way he did. Ended up doin' a bit a' that myself!"

"...S' just the thing though." He said, tapping upon the glass of another panel. "Based off of. Not word fer' word. Took those little bits n' pieces. Flipped n' twisted em inta' somethin' he wanted ta write. Never liked a sad ending, he said. He liked a good one. One he made em' fight for. Take this one 'ere, even."

Looking up yourself, you saw the panel in question he was standing beside. Another 'Love finds the girl.' 

"Any which way ya could turn this'n. Love, LOVE, Personal Strength, Divine Intervention-, Remember they was makin this...TV Game based offa' those Hammer books. Used this one too. Think they went with the first. Easiest way ta' go, I recon, but that don't mean it was a bad one. S'just the way they wanted ta' tell it." 

"...Can't quite fer' the life a' me remember what Hammer did, though. Think he stopped makin' them books before he got there."

"What are you getting at." Susie mumbled. 

"Well, m'just...thinkin, s'all. F' Hammer did it one way, N' those gamers did it another, who's ta' say what's really the right way ta' do it?"

"But...these ones-"

"R' just someone else's way a' sayin how that story goes. Their words, not yours, little lady. Recon you still got a story ta' tell yet."

"But...some of them are-"

"Bad? Sad? Somethin' r' somewhere in between?"

...She nodded.

"Well, ain't hardly a' good story without some ups n' downs. Ya need em both, but that don't mean the story's gotta end on the bad ones. Hardly sounds like a story at all."

She thought. You began to think in turn.

"If yer' lookin fer' a bit more fortune cookie wisdom...I recon you outa' just take another crack at it. Stories like this get spun each which way all the time. If ya don't like how it's goin, well...I gave ya that there pen, didn't I?"

You felt as the hand ceased their tearing. As the hole beneath you stopped growing. As subtly, slowly, the emotion beneath you began to shift.

"...Ain't hardly no place fer' writin, though, least fer' a old coot like me!." The Old Man said, grinning as he turned back to the path ahead, sliding the book back down to Susie's feet. "Ain't got nothin' more n' slippers on. I'll wait for ya up there. That Piano ain't too far now."

You listened as he walked away, the echo of his cane fading away into silence. You watched as slowly, through the shifting and sliding of the glass upon floor, she picked back up the pen, depositing it into your hand as she opened the book. 

"...I get it." She said, as she slowly began to pick herself back up off the floor. "...It's not a good thing you have in your head right now. It's...really fucking shitty, probably. But the Old Man was right."

[What other interpretation is there supposed to be of 'you get banished?']

"...Don't ask me. You're a toddler, right? Maybe...you just get grounded. Or...you get put in a time out corner, or something."

...You flip back to the last page, circling the same face you'd drawn minutes prior.

"Maybe...it's not as bad as you think it's gonna be. Maybe it doesn't even happen at all. If you were so eager to avoid all that stupid shit in the first place, why should knowing what a couple of them said change anything?"

[It's different.]

"How?"

[It just is. I-]

"It isn't, man. Hell, I'll give you my personal guarantee that you're not gonna get 'banished.' We won't let you. Unless...it actually is you just getting grounded or something. Then you're on your own."

For a brief moment, you felt as the clouds and storm within cleared. The confidence with which she spoke, the hope that welled within her soul, you felt that it was infectious. 

And a moment, you decided, as you steadied your grip upon the pen, was more than enough.

[Thank you.] You wrote, turning to a new page. [You're a good friend.]

You felt a brief moment of surprise. A longer, lasting feeling of positive, almost joyful emotion. You felt the smile that broke out across her face. 

"Hell yeah, I am. Cmon! The geezer's still waiting for us!"

As she walked over to join him, you couldn't help but notice the smaller details. Confidence in her gait, carelessness, as if a weight had been taken off her soul. As if a weight had been taken off your own. Even the heat, from which you'd known since the moment you first reawoken, didn't feel quit so oppressive anymore. 

But as you left the turquoise glimmering behind, as open air once more enveloped you, something felt...off. Something new entirely. Something that, staring down into the darkness below, you couldn't quite put a name to. 

...Pity? Anger? Hate? Something new, something primal and all-consuming that drew your gaze down into the abyss below. 

"-n't quite how I remember it." You heard the old man say, almost silent underneath his breath at your approach.

"Right! We're good then, Geezer! Let's...get..."

Looking ahead, the path forward had been...destroyed. As if something had risen up from below, taken a bite out from the stone itself, and retreated back down into the depths. Or, perhaps, a thousand little somethings you thought, looking closer. Between yet another split in the path, the only way forwards was...down.

And looking in, closer, down the path you would have to take, you did begin to notice something off.

The shadows were moving.

"Well!" The Old Man cheered. "Guess we're takin ourselves another little detour!"

"...This isn't a third happy-go-lucky life lesson, is it?"

"Not unless I get me another bright idea!"

"...So it is." 

"I'm sure I'll think a' somethin' on the way down!"

Susie turned back to sigh at the old man, but your gaze remained fixed upon the darkness. 

...Pity. Hatred. Something between the two, you consolidated, as you began to peer yet closer.  White dots littered the darkness, moving and shifting as if driftwood carried along a wave. You watched as they turned and stared at eachother.  At something within the distance, specks of green and grey and red in the far distance. At you, for just a moment, before quickly turning away.

"...Any fortune cookies about the darkness with eyes?" Susie asked, as she began to take the first few steps down.

"Nothin' I can think of! 'Cept a cool name, maybe!"  The Old Man said in turn. 

"What, like...Advanced darkness?"

"Mmm... That one don't roll off the tongue too well. Gotta call it somethin' scary. Real intimidatin like. Primordial, maybe." 

The eyes within the...Primordial darkness stared back. As Susie summoned her axe, your hand raised to help bare its weight.

You couldn't help but pity what lurked within the shadow. But yet still, at the same time-

You wanted them dead.

Chapter Text

"Ain't afraid a' the dark, are ya?" The old man teased, keeping well at pace as Susie slowly continued to descend the staircase.

"Oh, Shut up." She fired back, narrowing her eyes at him before her head turned back into the darkness below. "It's just..."

Wrong. Wrong, was the word you would use to describe it. A lingering sense of unease that filled your very being, breathed in like fumes with every step you took. The dark almost seemed to dissipate with each step forward you took, reeling away from the path as you walked it, but...

"Light, back me up here!" She said pulling out the book. "It's...fucked up here, yeah? You feel it too?"

[There's something else here.] You quickly jotted down. [It makes me feel-]

...Angry? Upset? Something, some emotion you couldn't quite put to words, as you continued to stare around. The eyelike blots had retreated, The color you'd seen elsewhere prior was nowhere to be seen, and the surrounding pathways that lead each which way were empty. Devoid of life. You looked around, just one last time-

And Ralsei quickly hid behind a pillar as felt the spotlight move, obscuring his body and form, feeling as the Angel's gaze set upon them.  Warmth. Something that cut away the dark, that soothed the dull ache in his bones. And he was hiding from it. 

He scratched at his arm. Tugged at the edges of his scarf. A small nervous tick he'd noticed brought him comfort, in stressful times. It was just...comforting to have his hand busy.

...He shouldn't have lied to them. He shouldn't have abandoned Susie. He shouldn't have followed Kris into the darkness. 

He'd done his best, but his best was not enough. More and more mistakes, ever piling and piling atop his head, a weight that threatened to crush- 

"Pray tell, boy of toothpaste, what exactly are we hiding fro-"

He quickly lurched over, a digit of his paw snapping to his face in a hushing motion as he turned to face the cup. The Angel's light lingered for just a moment longer, before the burning presence began to fade away. It's attention had been drawn elsewhere. He sighed in relief. 

"Ah!" The cup proclaimed, as it scooted itself just far along the edge of the platform to gaze down. "The Beast and the Hermit! Impressive ground they have covered, in such a short time!"

"ITEES NOT VERIE FAR." The other, far larger of the two said, staring down at the cup. "YOURE LEGS ARE VERY LITTLE."

"Your words, hurtful as they may be, are true, Giant..." The cup sighed, staring down at its legs. "My stature is...small."

"...SORRIE."

"Apologize not, dear friend! If a lie may be so easily dismantled by the truth, then it deserves to be! Even a comforting one!"

How right he would have thought his newfound company to be, a mere few short hours prior.

Ralsei sighed in turn.  Deathly foolish and deathly confident, the two were. In the opposing sizes to benefit from such traits. The thought of such absurdity, the banter between them, it helped to ease his mind of the apocalyptic events he'd set in motion, if just a little. Their story was innocent. Their purpose was simple. 

They had come down, here, to the deepest recesses of the sanctuary, mere feet away from vantablack, in search of a story.

...Well, in fairness, as they had explained, it wasn't entirely intentional.

The giant, the...pumpkin, had accidently stumbled when climbing down. Nearly- no, entirely crushing him prior in its own panicked rush. Surely he'd be flattened, if not for it's plush completion. 

A noble goal regardless, however. They were searching for a story to read to their friend. An angel from above, who had fallen into a deep sleep. 

Noelle, he could only assume, with the Angel's form abruptly ripped from her chest. Such a story would line up, explain why Susie now bore its light.

He dared not elaborate at the time, only nodding along, after confirming her safety. She was nestled away, somewhere behind a secret passage in a hidden study. The best he could hope for, he supposed.

He didn't have the heart to tell them that whatever readable stories they could find within this dark world had very well already been read. Books so far outside of a designated area for them would be little more than gibberish. Blank entirely, or jumbled letters. Black tides of ink washing over white pages.

He digressed, though. They served a lightner. They served an Angel.

The very same who's light he had squandered. Who had taken a new vessel. Who had, assumingly, made better progress than him in fixing the very mess he caused. 

He was glad that Susie had managed to find and make peace with them, if what little he heard of her meant anything. He was glad that, assumingly, The Angel would seal the fountain, if for no other reason than to assure the safety of its new hosts. 

But he still felt worry cloud his soul. A selfish, twisted worry. For Kris. For himself. Without their light, their power, their protection- 

...Well, gone were the days of its grace taking fatal blows, and merely scratching armor. Each blast of steam scalded him. Each slash and stab were felt, even long after the battle had ended. 

Gone were the days of casting through tension alone. He'd never thought he'd even need to draw upon his own strength, and a muscle gone untested quickly tired. It was all he could do to keep Kris afloat as long as he did. 

He'd done his very best, but it wasn't enough. He had stayed by their side as the Angel's light first faded, as the strain of casting began to take its toll upon his body, as deadened limbs and paws fell limp and numb from the repetition and strain of casting. He flew, he searched and searched and searched as he lost Kris in the darkness. 

He hadn't found them. A small, nagging part of him wanted to think that Kris had done so of their own volition. That they'd wanted to be lost to the darkness. 

...The same that screamed at him to rest, he supposed. The part that eventually won out in the end, when he collapsed.

 As he was now, he didn't know how much he had left in him.

Gone were the days of those simple pleasures. Tea and cake and items and weapons- All had vanished alongside them. As if The Angel had taken its gifts with them.

A parasite, Kris had called them. How ironic. How spoiled, he'd allowed them to become. How lost he was now, as he hid away from the very source of light that served as his only hope. 

More than anything, he wanted to reach out. To wave and scream, to bring the spotlight back upon him, bowing down and begging for forgiveness.

But even if he did, The Angel had already passed. He could no longer see them, no longer feel its light. 

"Well, so long as the Best and the Hermit have passed, shall we march on, friends?" 

The pumpkin nodded. He weakly nodded alongside them. 

How pathetic, he thought, as he crumpled after naught but a single step. As the pumpkin doubled back and placed him upon his other shoulder. 

"So long as we do travel together, o' toothpaste boy-" 

He wanted to ask them to stop calling him that. He lacked the energy to do so. 

"What is it that you search for, down here in the deepest dark?"

"Nothing that matters." He muttered out. "You don't need to concern yourselves."

Nothing would matter at all, soon enough.

"Oh, don't be that way!" The cup said back, standing upright and staring over from the Pumpkin's other shoulder. "All woes and asperations are equal, within the Angel's eye! Come now, sing them to us! Your hopes and sorrows!"

"...Well-"  He began, again fiddling with the him of his scarf. "I'm- I...was, friends with Susie. Or The Beast, as you call her. I was searching for her. And another friends that she had with her, and...I couldn't. Not after..."

...Not after what he'd done.

"…Well, then what are we going THIS way for?" The cup shouted, before turning sharply upon a heel and staring the pumpkin down. "Giant! Change our course! We shall pursue the Beast!"

"OKAIE!" It simply said in turn, turning around and stomping now in the opposite direction. 

"W-Wait!" He suddenly spat out, struggling in its grasp. "Wait, no! You can't! I-"

"Surely you understand that there is strength in numbers, Toothpaste boy!" 

His eyes narrowed, just a fraction of an inch. 

"And if you truly do have such powerful friends, then with their aid, we shall find something appropriate in no time at all!"

"T-That- That isn't what I meant! I mean that-"

"Yes, I have drawn to the exact same conclusion! It was a mistake to not ask the Hermit themselves, before they departed! A vast catalog indeed, he must have! Our goals align! After them, Giant! Post-Haste!"

He wanted to argue back, but the fatigue within, the fatigue without- It weighed him down far too much. He collapsed in defeat, sinking a half inch into the Pumpkin's plush complexion. He closed his eyes.

...How tempting, rest was. But rest was for those who deserved it. Rest was for those who had earned it. 

"...You still look rather troubled, Toothpaste Boy!" 

Rest was for those who deserved to be called by their proper names. Rest would not come to him. 

"I see it within! Something yet still eats away at your soul! Come now, confess thy lamentations!"

...He was a failure, was his lament. He'd failed in every way imaginable.

"I...have been caught up in a story of my own." He said instead. "...I'm not quite sure how to end it."

"Well, then you happen to be among good company, Sir Toothpaste!" The cup cheered. "I have spent many nights drinking in and pondering the wisdom of the Hermit, and dare I say, I may be a half accomplished beta reader! We could help you workshop your story! Tell us!"

He looked away. 

"I...don't believe that I should-"

"TELL US!" The Pumpkin cheerfully shouted from his side, as it continued along the path. "TELUS!"

"Oh, you wouldn't be so cruel as to disappoint the Giant, would you?"

He grumbled, something small and quiet, barely perceptible to even himself. Perhaps...thinking aloud couldn't hurt. They were all Darkners, after all. It wasn't as if there was harm in speaking to nothing.

"Well...if you insist, I could-"

"Splendid! Tell us thy tale, Sir Toothpaste! What is it's name?"

"The...uh-" He stumbled, looking ahead as he scrambled to think of a name. "The...story of the...Lonely Prince?"

"Ah! I believe I recognize the inspiration! The one of the prophecy, yes?"

"...The very same."

"I am a rather large fan of new adaptations! Proceed when you are ready!"

He breathed in, brushing down the ruffled edges of his fur...

...And started to speak.

"...Once upon a time, there was a prince of an empty kingdom." He began, closing his eyes and visualizing Castle Town as it had begun. Empty, in all but him.

He remembered those many lonely days. The time that blurred together as he awaited his purpose, dusting, cleaning, rehearsing, the trial and error learning of the skills he'd need to be useful. It was funny, really. He'd only become so well versed in healing magic to keep himself together from his many earlier mishaps. 

Something that would be of vital use later on, of course, but...he digressed. 
 
"This kingdom, trusted to him by time immemorial, would be home to a vital task. Written upon the walls, within the very depths of his soul, he knew that one day, Heroes would come from far away, holding the light of the very world."

...He remembered that day well in particular. The panic as he quickly threw on a cloak to hide his unsightly form, how quickly it had been tossed aside. 

"...It would be his duty to nurture that light. To protect the heroes that bore it, to guide it, to help it grow into a mighty flame. Something strong enough to fight back against the darkness that threatened the world."

He remembered that first meeting with The Angel. A far cry from what they now chased. Something...smaller. Much, much smaller, barely a glimmer in the back of Kris's eyes. 

...Something hopeful. Cheerful. A childlike, almost naive joy contained within. Divine kindling.

"And, at first, his task was carried out flawlessly. They journeyed across the grand crimson forest, defeated an evil king, and tamed the vicious dragon."

 What he would give, to go back to that day. When everything was so much simpler. Before everything had become ensnared in the layers of confusion and misunderstanding, before he himself had begun to develop these confusing, liberating, enshackling emotions.

"Well-" The cup began, taking the pause in his tone as an invitation. "I believe it seems lovely, so far! What appears to be the issue? Pacing?"

"...I suppose you could say that."

"Well, then all seems fine, so far! Perhaps a bit more liberty in the application of unique characteristics, but, as the Hermit would say, it has 'Strong Bones!' Dare I say, perhaps even something we would take to the Angel, if you would permit!" 

"...I-"

He stopped, freezing as he saw something slither on a path beneath them.

"Stop." He commanded, staring down as the Pumpkin abruptly came to a halt.

Staring down below, tendrils darkness had begun to move, shifting and writhing below, as if either side were infested, crawling with vermin and insects. Treaded upon by a thousand parasitic hands. Hungry, Angel-fearing things. 

"...Storyteller?" The Cup asked, tilting over from the other side of the Giant. "Are you-"

"Hide." He interrupted, he demanded, as he abruptly pointed to the other end of the hallway, to the pillar and empty shelf that adjoined it. "Now. before they see us." 

With only a moment further of hesitation, the Pumpkin did, pressing its back flush to the shelf as he himself shifted around, staring back down to the parasites below. 

He thought he had more time. How long had they been in here? Minutes? Hours? Hours. At the very least. 

More than enough time for them to spread.

"...Blank your mind." He said, staring down with widened eyes. "Think of nothing. Watch them, if you must, but only to keep a track of them. Nothing else."

He watches as they do. As despite the panic, evident in him, in the flickering eyes behind the Pumpkin, the writhing below slows down to a crawl. They'd lost the trail. He watched. He needed to be sure.

"What...are they?" The Cup asked, walking from one side of the Pumpkins shoulder to the other, beside him, staring down in equal measure. "I've...never seen such a thing in the Sanctuary." 

Parasites. He thought. Things, born from the deepest dark, when the edges of the fabric that held a fountian together began to fray. Pushing through the holes and tears in the fabric of willpower. Creatures of indecision and doubt. They grew. They spred, they festered like a cancer. 

Form without purpose. Fear within fear. Hesitation and aimlessness given physical form. Primordial darkness.

"...Nothing good." He simply said in turn. "...The less you know of them, the better. We must leave."

With a hushed voice, he urged the Pumpkin forwards. Until the slithering and writhing, the cracking of stone below was nothing more than a distant memory. 

He shuddered, impulsively brushing yet again at the edges of his exposed fur. Not distant enough. Nowhere near distant enough.

...That said, however, there was something...liberating about the way he had spoken. How naturally command had seemed to come. He was just a follower, but...it was nice. Playing commander from the armchair.

...He supposed it helped when those underneath you listened to your commands. When they sought to help you. To better you. To help you fufill the purpose of your own. 

"Storyteller?" The cup said again, shifting back to the Pumpkin's other shoulder. "...I believe a change in the mood is in order. Would you continue your tale?" 

...Distraction was the last thing they needed. Especially now, understanding what was truly ongoing.

But even so, so small, selfish part of him-

"Well, I...suppose."

...It couldn't help but agree.

"However, as their journey marched onwards-" He began, once more closing his eyes. "Through the city of...the shining lights, small...problems began to arise." 

He'd noticed it, that very next day. A fundamental shift in how the Angel moved and interacted with the world. The childlike wonder and glimmer in it's eye had...vanished. Sputtered out, replaced by something else. 

"...Flickers in the light  of the lantern that they bore. Never more than a moment, never enough to raise concern, but...enough to notice."

And yet, foolishly, he had ignored them.
"And yet, foolishly, the prince overlooked them."

He...had made every excuse to himself, in the time. Every excuse he knew. The Angel was tired, they were settling into their new vessel, the form they'd known the first day was simply...not them. Like waking up from a long nap, and not quite remembering who or what you were. 

...Such a fragile lie, that was. He could still see glimmers of them within. In the actions they chose, in the little sparks of emotion and feeling they actively chose. He knew Kris would not hug them as the Angel did. Would not have given him the plushie, that still to this day, remained his sole possession. He knew the Angel was still there. The glimmer had just been overtaken by something else.

Concern, he had refused to think. Fear. What...did the Angel, a being so far above any else, have to fear?

He scratched his arm. Shook out the loose fur that his scarf had collected as tax for his efforts.

"...Brushed them aside. seeing them as nothing more then...well, flickers. Nothing of concern. Their Journey continued onwards, to the isle of the Northern Light."

...Where the glimmer only continued shift. The flickers only became more and more frequent. Kris, as was their part as the cage, contained the Angel in the near of their entirety. A square hole to a almost square peg, where glimpses and pieces of light still shined through the cracks. 

But now, no light shined through the cracks. Whatever had overtaken them was spreading. Growing. Getting worse. 

And still, he did nothing. Until someone else did something for him.

 "...And there,  they met a great and terrible foe. One who sought to extinguish their light."

...The Knight.

Ralsei had known of fear, before that day. But he only really quite understood it in that battle. The Knight was a terrifying foe, insurmountable.  Something so far above him that, should it have wished, he would be nothing but dust upon the floor. Him, Susie, Kris- all of them.

"And...as their foe, overwhelming and overpowering, smashed their lantern, something...else rose out from within."

All of them, except for one. The Angel. That glimmer returned, somewhere halfway into the fight, when all seemed darkest. And no longer was it a kindly, homely ember. It was a bonfire. It was an Inferno, flames licking out and charring the edges of its prison. No longer was it kindly, no longer was it fearful, but the Angel was angry.

...Strong enough, that even their foe changed the fundamental nature of their battle. Underhanded tactics and sneak attacks. He wasn't quite sure why they were still alive, come the end, but...even so. That was beyond his concern. Something else, far more pressing had come to his attention.

"A...pixie. A being of light, pure and unfettered. Something far smarter, far more than the Prince could have ever expected."

The Angel was not a primordial force. Not something barely sentient, as Kris had described, as he had assumed. The Angel was alive. Its own person. Something with hopes and dreams and asperations of its own. Something that had begun to reject the cage that held it.

"The Heroes chased their foe away, but...with the Light, the Pixie awoken, nothing would ever be the same."

He stopped again. His eyes opened. He stared, blankly, to the path ahead. 

"...Well-" The cup quickly began, unmoving from its position atop the pumpkin's shoulder. "I suppose I understand your concern in a bit more depth now, storyteller. It is a rather large tonal departure from your first stanza, but... what story would be told without trouble and woe? It wouldn't be a very worthwhile story without a message, after all!" 

...A message. He scoffed beneath his breath. The message of the story was that he couldn't be trusted, even with the most simple of tasks.

"How does it continue, Storyteller? Do the heroes come to an understanding with the pixie? Find a way to cooperate? A new ally, a new friend, now that their cage had broken?"

...He didn't respond.

"Well.." The cup continued, after a moment's hesitation was filled by silence. "You...think on that! Perhaps this upcoming scenery shall jog your memory! Giant! What is it that lies ahead of us, littering the path?" 

"ER..." The pumpkin stopped a moment, raising a free hand to his eyeholes, obscuring a nonexistent sunlight." THEY LOOK LIEK...SATCHUES?"

He froze.

"I WILL GET CLOSAR!" 

"N-No!" He began to sputter out, snapping his head forwards as it bounded forwards. "We-" 

"We have no other path forwards, dear Storyteller! Besides, the craftsmanship upon these is...remarkable. Take this one, for example!" The Cup said, before walking down the pumpkin's arm, and standing upon its opened hand. "Giant, if you could pull me forwards?"

"TO THE...BUG...SATCHUE?"

"The very one in question!" 

He watched, his arm scratched raw, his eyes widened, as the pumpkin's hand outstretched. It was full of them. 

The hallway before them, edge to edge, nearly row to row was full of statues. Unblinking, unmoving, untouched. 

"They're...rather lifelike, aren't they?" The cup said, as the pumpkin's hand dipped it close. Too close. Dangerously close. 

"Get away from it." He muttered, desperately trying to hide the tremble in his body, the shaking of his breath as with what little strength he had regathered, he pulled it away. 

...They didn't know any better, he had to assure himself. They couldn't. He couldn't tell them. To know of what the the darkness did when it took hold of you was a curse that he should bare alone.

A harrowing process, and all it took was a touch. With that, the shadow dug beneath flesh and metal alike. Forming, writhing, budding beneath your skin. Ravenous. Desperate. Hungry, as it turned the outmost of you into stone. As it turned the rest of you into more of itself.

He looked ahead. He looked around. Nothing within the darkness itself, but miniscule, tiny cracks littered the surface of the statues.

Fear intruded. The skin of his arm ran raw as his claws continued to rake across their surface. 

"Move past them." He commanded. "Do not touch them. Do not look at them. Do not so much as breathe upon them." 

"Storyteller, I believe you may be-"

"Now." He commanded. 

...He wasn't quite used to speaking with such conviction. But he supposed, as the pumpkin began to move, that the fear in his voice was a more powerful motivator.

He skirted away as the pumpkin's form drew just a bit too close to one, watching as a shard of stone fell free from its body.  He tried to push it out of his mind, the creeping darkness that he saw begin to emurge from within. 

He tried to push it away, as he heard the stone behind them continue to crackle and break. His arm now raw, he instead turned to the other to scratch. Until the sounds behind them had well and far faded away into nothing.

The silence that followed was deafening. The path ahead of them, ever falling further down and down, only seemed to get darker. 

"...Lonely Mage?" 

...He gave no response. Nothing that confirmed his acknowledgement, at the least.

"To the extent you have to memory, how does your story conclude?"

"...Nothing worth hearing, I'm afraid." 

"Oh, come now. Surely anything would be better than...well-" 

He watched from the corner of his eye as the cup stared out into the darkness. 

"Oh, let's leave that part be! For closure, then!"

Perhaps it was simply that he didn't want to recount the story to himself, he thought, as he closed his eyes one last time. 

"...The next day, as the group had awoken, the pixie came before the prince in private."

He remembered it well. It had only been a few hours since, but such a time felt like a distant memory. Something burned into the back of his mind, like shining glass. 

"...The pixie, now held by another than the heroes, bore the soul, and split their sorrows." 

He neglected to spill the exact details. A story didn't need to know how he'd spent hours, building the courage to attempt to eat a piece of cake on his own volition. How he'd scrambled, flinched away from the light like an animal as his door was opened. How a primal, visceral fear swept over his body from the sight of something so simple as the depiction of a heart upon a screen. 

"The pixie...asked him questions. Things the prince knew well."

...He didn't know what he was supposed to say, at the time. He didn't know how to say that he had questions of his own. 

How had it left Kris? How had this other Lightner, Noelle, he believed her name was, find them? Why wasn't it with Kris?

...Was Kris ok? Was Susie ok? Would it be so kind as to go back?

Such things, however, quickly exited his mind, as it began to ask questions of its own. 

...What was it? 
An Angel. The Angel. Sent from above to protect them in their mission to save the world.

Why was it here?
To protect. To save. To offer salvation to the lost, and to return from whence it came when such a task was done. 

Why was it alive? 
...He didn't know.

In such a state, with such information to the truth at his disposal, he did the only thing he thought he could. He lied. 

"...The prince, foolishly, led the pixie astray. Pleaded for it to return to its cage, to once more be only the light within. "

Well, perhaps lying wasn't quite the word. He...tactfully only told slips and pieces of the truth. He hid its own divine nature from it. He told it, in the kindest and most understanding way he could, that the best thing it could do would be to return. 

...And it didn't like that. It very, very much did not like that. 

"They...infuriated the pixie, the prince's words."

Ralsei thought he had known the Angel's wrath. By proxy, he had seen it in action. But to be the source, to feel as the divine strings that connected them snapped- 

...It was then that he knew the Angel's wrath.

"...And so, felt abandoned and betrayed, the pixie left, its new mage and holder in tow.

...Leaving the heroes, who had so squandered its light, to stumble without it. Lost in the darkness forevermore."

 Until the very source of its ire, by means unknown, had tamed it. Had made amends. Had done what he'd failed to do. 

His eyes opened, and he shook free the contents of his scarf, before bringing it to a watered eye. 

"This...does not quite sound like a very happy story, Lonely Prince." 

"...I haven't quite finished it yet." He muttered back, as he pulled his face away from a now dampened scarf. "But I do rather hope its ending is happy."

...Wishful thinking, for something so pitiful as he. For something so deceitful, something so useless as he.

"And...if I may jump to yet another conclusion, this story is based upon-"

He nodded. The cup didn't need to spell it out further. The cup nodded in turn.

"...The Hermit had told me the most visceral stories tend to be based upon truth."

He nodded again. There was nothing more to be said.

"...Then, I suppose you are fortunate, Lonely Prince."

His head tilted over, staring at the symbol planted along the cup. 

"...Excuse me?" 

"Well, you are the one with the pen, are you not?"

"Well...yes, but-" 

"Then you, and you alone, have the power to write the end of your own story, Lonely Mage." The cup proclaimed, urging the pumpkin to slow for a moment, as it walked to the opposite shoulder. "Yes, perhaps...the outlook of the story is...grim, difficult to recover from, but...should that not entice you all the more? To fight for the outcome you wish to see?"

"...It is already fated." He grimly repeated. "I-"

"I do not envy you, Lonely Prince." The cup interrupted. "I will not lie. I do not wish to experience such a pain, but...perhaps, I understand. If only just enough. Fate, by design, is maleiable. What you choose for it to be! It is what-"

"'-The hermit has imparted upon you.' Yes. I am aware."

"...Perhaps." The cup said, coming to a halt atop his back. "But...not quite. It is what I choose to believe. The power of one's heart, the song within! It is something far louder, far stronger than you could imagine, Lonely Mage. And if you so wish to discard that section of your title, then perhaps you too should choose to listen to bells as they toll."

He wanted, in that single, desperate moment, to tell them. He wanted to scream the truth to their faces. To shatter the naieve, childish hope that the clung to. That looking within was perhaps the worst thing he could do. He knew what would come to pass, he was cursed with that knowledge, he couldn't never smile and hope as they did, the fools-

...So instead, he did what he knew best. He put on a smile. 

He nodded. 

The cup, seemingly content with its words, retreated back to its other shoulder.

He returned to scratching his arm, Impulsively straitening its fur and tossing away the loose clumps that fell free. He wanted, more than anything to believe their thoughts. That the story still had a good ending. That one day, the light may return, and that he- that the lonely prince, may be lonely no more.

But he knew better.

Angel above, he wished he didn't know better.

"Hark!" The cup shouted, jumping to attention. "There, upon the horizon! A structure! Movement! Civilization! Assuredly, we shall find your pink whale there! Full Speed, Giant!" 

"OKIE!" the pumpkin shouted to his side, jogging forwards along the path.

Whatever budding hope had formed within him quickly faded away, draining from his face as the pumpkin grew closer. 

The building was a church. An imitation of one. The ruins of an imitation, its structure crumbling from time spent away, as something, as a swarm of something chewed and clawed and burrowed away. 

And, just within eyesight, as what motes of light that trickled down so far shined upon the path ahead of them-

...Stood statues. Cut in half, hollow within, still dripping a cursed black ichor. 

Erupted cocoons. 

"...Odd." The cup, oblivious from its perch, proclaimed. "These ones are...vandalized? But...how did they-"

"RUN!" He screamed, all but leaping off of the pumpkin's shoulder, feet screaming in protest as jagged stone pieces forced their way between his paws. "NOW!"

He didn't have any time to register the pain, as he collapsed to the floor. He picked himself back up. His head darted back towards the path they'd come, he-

He saw as ethereal, half-formed bodies began to lurch and dredge closer within the air.

Widened, stark white eyes. Malformed, underdeveloped limbs. Whispers that crawled their way into the back of his head.

Titan Spawn.

He scrambled backwards, away, feeling as yet more of their discarded cocoon dug into his flesh. He had to get away. He had to get away. He- 

He found himself unable to move as a clothed hand grabbed him, placing him back upon a familiar shoulder and slowly backing away. 

"inside-" he muttered. He whispered. He begged. "hide. Go inside."

The Pumpkin turned with all the haste it could, sprinting towards the ruined church. Growing yet closer, to even do so much as call it a building wouldn't be true to its state.  But even so, even with a wall missing, with windows sealed away, it had to be better than out here. It had to be better than them. He watched, claws digging into flesh, as the pumpkin quickly opened the door- 

And quickly found itself, found the group of them, within the middle of a congregation. 

Spawn lined the interior of the room, densely packed across each axis of the room they could find. They floated above them, they stood beside them, they crawled beneath the very floorboards.

Transfixed in his horror, he barely noticed as something whispered commands nearby. As the pumpkin shuffled to the side,  staring intently at the doorway.

The entirety of his efforts were focused upon regaining any semblance of control. Not of the suituation, far and wide out of his control, but of himself. 

The spawn muttered. They groaned and whispered. They praised something farther in, obscured by the mass of their bodies. 

                                                                                                                                   To use us.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   To be us.

                                                  To be a part of their grand design.

                                                                                                                                                          Is that not love? Love, in it's purest form?

His claws dug so hard within his arm that they drew dust. His scarf ripped and tore and snapped from the pressure. He shuttered, watching as the spawn that blocked their path spotted them. As they chased them down, eyes wide, spikes protruding from nothing- 

As they lost all animalistic semblence of self. As they mindlessly joined the chorus.

                                                                          You break our skin.                                                                                                                               You freeze our souls.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         You distort us.
                                                     You hurt us.

Your Angels.

"littel...cup? I am scaered. The pumpkin whispered beside him. "what....are they...they are-"

"Spawn seek purpose.To fill the void within themselves that they have been replace by, with any means necessary." He whispered back, no longer able to divide between his thoughts and his voice, drowned in his terror. "Here, it is religon.

...They're praying."

"...Praying to what, Lonely Mage?"

...He didn't know. He didn't respond.

"c-cup. their....melting."

He forced his head to turn forwards. He watched, as between the gaps and margins, the Spawn far closer to the front began to cease their movement. Convulse. Melt, into a puddle of black ichor upon the floor, draining away somewhere.

                                  We are messengers
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Of your new tomorrow .

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Threads
                                                                                In your design.

Embroider me.

Something within him snapped. an animalistic, lesser part of him that did not adhere to rule or guidance. One that demanded that he act. That he fight, or that he flee. 

And scrambling from the pumpkin's shoulder, falling to the ground below, narrowly missing a puddle as the darkness convulsed, he chose the latter.

"Lonely Prince!" 

The cup's shouting fell upon deaf ears. He squirms, he moved, he ran upon stumbling feet, posses entirely by fear.  He needed to escape. He needed to leave. He-

...He heard as the chorus fell into silence around him. He felt as a hundred sets of eyes set upon him. He shook in terror, as a low grumble began to emit from somewhere within the mass- 

...And the mass parted like a sea. 

He was...confused. Why had they stopped? Why had they moved? They were unthinking, unwilling, unless-

"...She wants to see you."

Another voice. Familiar. Comforting, as some small fraction of the weight upon his shoulder slid away. Kris's voice. 

"Kris? Kris!" He screamed, scrambling back to his feet, terrified, elated, both in equal measure as he bolted to the front of the ruined building, as the two behind him, pushed by the closing of the masses, began to follow. "Where are you?! What's- I- I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I lost you, and-"

And he saw where the liquified spawn had ended.

Melted, combined, coalescing into a puddle of darkness below, a well beneath the broken floorboards.  A squeal of terror wormed its way out from his throat as yet another collapsed, melting and pooling, just inches away from his feet.

He inched forwards, staring down into the abyss, into the pool of vantablack below.

Another growl, somewhere further up, somewhere up ahead. It almost sounded...familiar, he thought.

"...She says she wanted you to see."

He watched, as the eye, the stone, the...something of a spawn was carried alongside its liquified remains, dragged over the cusp, falling into the pool below and sinking into nothing.

He listened as the tar within began to bubble, as it cracked and crunched and gurgled from within. 

A multitude of microscopic white dots floated to the surface, slowly adjoining together, steadily moving into groups. Forming shapes. 

Stars.

Eyes. 

The sigil of divinity. 

A gasp died in his throat as his head lurched back upwards. 

This was the birthing ground of a titan.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his eyes settled before him. Upon Kris, who refused to meet his gaze, staring anywhere but him. 

Upon The Knight, stood just behind him, the razor sharp points of its- of...her? gauntlets digging into the back of their neck.

"What are you doing?!" He screamed, repeating his question. "This...It's-"

Another growl. A vocalization of The Knight, he now realized. 

"...She says she thinks it's obvious."

"A-A harbinger of the apocalypse!" He stuttered. "Fear made manifest! An envoy of the Roaring! Why are you-"

"I don't have a choice!" Kris suddenly shouted, lurching forwards in The Knight's grasp. "It's the only way I can-"

Another growl interrupted him. The pointed fingers dug further into their flesh. They stopped speaking.

The promise they'd spoken of. The life they'd lost. The...bat that The Knight had carried around, the parasitizing dark, The Prophecy-

"...K-Kris." He stuttered, taking a hesitant step forwards. "...Whatever that is, it isn't who you think it is. Not anymore."

A frown upon their face deepened. 

"...Not anymore. I'm sorry, but-"

Another growl emitted from behind their helmet. Like phlegm, choking out of a clogged throat. Like tar, poured down upon a criminal. Like the cry of a rabid animal.

"...She says she's had enough. She knows she can't kill you, but...she-"

It Hissed.

"...She won't let you stay in her way."

Silence followed, in all but that which had no mind to be still. 

"...Why, Kris?" He begged. "Why?"

Their eye, for just a brief moment, flashed upwards to meet theirs. Their face told a story. A desperate plea to do...something. To apologize, to beg, to defy- 

...But whatever it was their heart told them to do, they did not act upon it. 

The Knight growled. Their eye became obscured by shadow once more.

"...She says thank you." They murmured, turning their head away. "...They'll work. Even unhatched."

He turned his head back, watching, just a moment too late as a spawn lurched forwards, subsuming the cup- Solus- entirely from atop Jack's shoulder. 

"NO!" He screamed, running back, clawing away at the the spawn, trying to free him from it's grasp- 

...But he was too weak. He was too small. They brushed him aside, tossing him to the ground without so much as a second thought, his glasses clattering off to the floor, away.

His vision blurred, he watched as Kris struggled against The Knight. As they tried to run to his side, as what he believed to be an arm outstretched, only for a blackened bar to hold him back. 

A burning, searing pain spread throughout his form, etching its way from his coated paws, through his body, through his soul, through his mind- 

He watched as the spawn that contained Solus dissipated into nothing. As still squirming, still kicking, he fell into the pool of dark below. 

...He'd failed. Yet again, he'd failed. Any moment now, the screams from below would cease. Jack would be thrown into the pool and join him. The Titan would form, the fountain would bloat, they'd spill over into the light. He only wished that he would be taken with it. That he would be spared the sounds of screaming that still yet lingered.

...That still, perhaps even a minute or two later, lingered. His eyes darted down to the well. Something his size should have well already been assimilated, but even so,  Solus continued to scream in defiance. A prayer, to the Angel's name. 

Impossibly so, he persisted. Without the protection of- 

...Without the protection of The Angel. He looked to his paws, finding them clean of the corrupting essence. He looked back to Jack, and found him untouched by spawn. The spawn, that now, through his blurred vision, seemed...panicked. Upset. Scared.

The heat, the burning heat within only strengthened as time went on. He retrieved his glasses,  standing back up from the floor, and returning his gaze, one of the utmost confusion, back towards Kris and The Knight.

They looked relieved. She looked confused- 

Until a loud slam emitted from the door behind them. Once, twice, thrice- 

The murmurs silenced. The Spawn drew away. The Knight grumbled. 

"...She says she supposes these things have a way of working out."

He watched, as light began to pour through the cracks. As rotten wood splintered and shattered- 

As Susie, standing with her axe in-hand, bust down the door and planted her foot back to the floor below. 

He felt as the spotlight returned. The Angel's faux gaze settled upon him. As it shifted to Jack, to the defiant shouts from the well.

As it settled upon Kris, and Susie's face contorted into a scowl.

"SUSIE!" Kris shouted, tearing themselves away from the grasp of The Knight, blood raking across their neck as they fell to the floor, missing the edge of their blade, and quickly standing up to continue to close the distance.

"Kris." Susie answer bluntly, Her scowl remaining, her walk slow and deliberate. 

"...Susie?" Kris questioned, the unabashed  joy from just a moment prior fading away into confusion as their stride halted. 

"Kris." Susie growled, Her fist balling as she began to walk faster. 

"Susie-" Kris pleaded, taking a few hesitant steps backward as she began to charge them down. 

"DREEMURR!" The Angel screamed through her, charging forwards, rearing back her fist and planting it across their face with such force and ferocity that something snapped as they crumpled to the floor. 

"Stay down." She ordered, as a blast of healing energy shot out from her free hand, impacting Kris's prone body. 

Silence. Deafening, roaring silence, as the spawn continued to cower away. As the awkward sound of Jack fishing Solus out from the well overtook it. 

"sorry." Susie muttered to herself. 

"Don't be." She said back. "...I was wanting to do that myself." 

The Knight roared from behind him, staring towards the remaining spawn with i- with her blade, pointing towards Susie.  He watched as the first few charged forwards, mouths agape, limbs outstretched- 

Only to be cleaved in two by a single swipe of her axe, dissipating first into white, and then into nothing. 

He watched as the rest of the spawn, terrified, began to clamor out towards the exit, crowding and crushing eachother in their haste. Crabs in a bucket. No longer a threat, for the time being. 

"S-Susie! H-How did you-" He began, stepping away as Susie's attention turned fully towards the Knight.

"You shed when you're nervous." She interrupted, reaching in from her pocket and pulling out a handful of white fur, letting it trickle to the ground below. "Light noticed it first." 

"Light? You mean-" 

The Knight growled.

"We'll finish this later." She interrupted, her grip upon her ruined axe tightening as she passed him by. "...Do me a solid."

He could've sworn, for all but the briefest moment, as the blade passed him by, he saw a thin coating of white wrapped around its surface. 

"Ralsei."

"Y-Yes! Yes, anything Ang- Susie! Anything!" 

"Get them out of here." She said, pointing to Jack and Solus, watching from the opposite corner. 

"Y...Yes! Yes, right away! I'll-"

The Knight roared, rushing Susie down with her- No. With it's blade at the ready, swiping downwards- 

And watching, with a widened eye, as the tip of its blade was cut in two. 

A boot was sent flying towards its face in its moment of confusion, it's visor cracking as it was sent tumbling to the floor. 

...He took the opportunity to run as The Knight quickly regained its composure, dipping its blade into the well and reforming the lose edge. 

"...December Holiday, right?" Susie asked. "That's what Dess stands for?" 

It snarled at her. 

"...Don't worry. We're getting you out of there."

The Knight screamed. Susie charged it down. He scrambled to pull the others to cover as once more, their blades clashed. 

The force of the impact alone sent him flying back. His eyes darted towards the two Darkners, those under The Angel's protection, taking cover behind a mutilated pew. 

Ralsei ran to join them.

Ralsei closed his eyes. 

Ralsei prayed. 

Chapter Text

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!"

Her challenge was answered with a cry of fury. Of anger, hate and vitriol and wrath. Chaotic, if Ralsei had to boil it down to a single word.

A lot of things unfolding now could boil down to the simple word of chaotic.

The hum buzz of magic, flying free and screeching, alighting the wood around him in crimson as it smashed into the wall, sending rotten shards free. The slash of a blade, cutting through the air. 

...The distinct lack of the expletives he'd come to understand as her being hit. 

He dared to peek his head above his fragile, flimsy cover, and the first thing he saw was her smile. 

It was a wicked, malevolent thing, something that took up his entire view, demanded his full attention. Lined with razor sharp teeth, lined from ear to ear-

He watched as her body twisted to the side, moving unnaturally as the Knight's blade swung down. As the Knight's blade missed.

He caught a peek of her eyes from behind her bangs in the moment of movement. Wide and open. Elated. Excited.

Furious.

"NOT SO EASY WHEN THEY CAN HIT YOU BACK, IS IT?!" She screamed again, as she brought her axe down upon them. As the thin white shine along the edge made impact with its pitch black form, and all but seared itself into the material.

Spider webs cracked along its surface. It hissed back, in pain, in fear, he didn't quite know- but it scrambled away all the same. More of itself burned off in chunks as it quickly flew away. As the white glow upon the edge of her axe only seemed to intensify. As a liquid some color he understood was distinctively not black dribbled down the edge of its surface.

It stumbled back. It was hurt. It was...afraid?  No, no. It would be stupid to call it such. It would be foolish to underestimate it. Even now, he watched as spikes began to coalesce at its fingertips, As a blade began to form in the air, angled over...

Over the vantablack.

No. No, it was-

"WHO THE HELL'S CALLING YOU A KNIGHT?!" Susie continued, Susie interrupted, the wicked grin across her face only seeming to spread further as sparks began to coalesce upon her blade.  "ALL I'M SEEING IS A FRAUD!"

It screamed again, distinctly now in fury as it set the spikes free, as the sword behind it multiplied, as it's direction abruptly shifted, as a hail of bullets and spikes and blade began to make their way towards Susie. 

And he watched, as undisturbed, the collection of magic upon the edge of her blade built to a crescendo. As she released it forth. Another buster. Another wave of Red Energy, but...something was wrong. Something was off with the arc as it flew free, wreathed in white, flickering between the two, as if the energy itself couldn't decide what it wished to be.

Even so, it traveled all the same. Even so, the shadow that composed the hail faded away into nothing beneath its power. Even so, it made the Knight cry out in pain as it impacted. 

He watched as the energy splattered across their chestplate, as the force alone sent them flying into the wall, as- 

...As the bolt began to melt into them. Black plating continued to crack and sizzle and burn away, sparks flying free from the blast, slicing and chipping and etching away at the armor surrounding. The culmination of her efforts was a wide gash across its torso, where black had etched away to show silver. The result of her labor was a thousand paper cuts, dripping forth black and red through spiderweb cracks that revealed brown and blue and red in the margins beneath.

The Knight's eye widened. Rage, fear, it mattered little, as it sent forth a wave of spikes in a panic. As Susie stepped aside and began to give chase. 

As the spikes began to careen in his direction.

He ducked his head down below the meager cover he'd been afforded. It would surely impact, it would tear the thing to pieces, but at the least-

"Lonely Prince! Look! Look! The Angel has heard our-"

His eyes darted back upwards. The cup, the darkner he was explicitly told to protect, now stood in the spot he occupied just a moment prior. Now stared down death as it approached.

He panicked, grabbing the thing and diving back down, away, as the spike made impact. He closed his eyes as it tore through rotten wood with a great crash, raining back down upon him in fragments and splinters. 

"The Angel has heard our prayers! It has come! Upon wings of vengeance and righteousness, it has come! We are-"

"YES I KNOW!" He screamed back, picking it up and putting it back to the pumpkin's shoulder where it had seemed to like to roost. 

It was lucky it hadn't been torn to pieces. He was lucky he hadn't been torn to pieces. He'd grown too complacent. Too curious. His eyes screwed shut as he reassembled what little still stood between them and death incarnate. 

He had a task to complete.

He tried to breathe. 

And in that breath, his lungs began to fill with a terrible, putrid smell. Like rotten teeth, drilled and burned as a cavity was filled. Like plaque, scrapped away and smeared upon a wall, burned and set aflame. A sickly sweet smell, like that of death and rotting meat. 

Corruption purified. Darkness banished. 

He gagged, before quickly covering his muzzle with his scarf. The Angel had given him a task. He needed to stay focused. 

Even as The Knight once more hissed behind him, as something splashed down into a pool of liquid. As yet another buster flew free, made impact, sizzled and hissed as it burned away into the darkness. 

He couldn't fail again. He couldn't fail again. He could-

"GIANT! The Angel has come! They have answered our prayers!"

"BUT...THE ANGLE IS...IN THE-"

"Oh, no no, I apologize! The Angel's Light! It shines upon us now! It shines upon the beast! It cuts and cleaves away into the dark!"

He opened his eyes, staring over at the two, as the pumpkin's head turned and stared at the cup upon its shoulder. 

"WE are scions of the same branch! STAND TALL, GIANT! IT IS OUR DUTY TO STAND AGAINST THE DARK! TO CHASE IT BACK IN THE ANGEL'S NAME!"

...No-

"OKIE!"

"NO!" He shouted, as the cup steadied itself across its shoulder, as the pumpkin began to rise, towering far above him before he could remove the little thing that shouted the terribly stupid things into its ears.

As yet another blast of energy scorched into the wall, missing them by inches. 

"SCREAM, GIANT! CHARGE! HERE, WE SHALL EARN OUR KEEP! HERE, WE SHALL MAKE OUR STAND!"

"Y-YOU WILL NOT! GET BACK DOWN!"

His cries fell on deaf ears as the cup's gaze settled upon the congregating mass of spawn blocking the doorway.

"THERE!* WE MUST STRIKE AT THE HEART OF DARKNESS! BY THEIR LIGHT, WE ARE INVINCIBLE!"

"YOU ARE NOT!"

"WEAR INVISIBLE!"

He watched, his eyes widened in horror as the pumpkin charged towards it down. The fools. The idiots, they were going to get themselves killed!

He was going to fail The Angel yet again. 

...No. No. It was him who must have been the fool, as after but a moment's hesitation, he scrambled to run after them, in the middle of the active fight that surrounded him.

He squeaked in terror as a darkened blade nearly scewered him, slicing through the edge of his scarf, tearing a new hole within its length and flying past, impacting the floor-

...Not with a sharp thud as he had expected, but with a wet splat. 

He ducked down behind the nearest cover he could find, another overturned scrap of wood, and stared at the impact of the blade. The last he'd seen, theyd simply...disappeared. Cut through the snow, stood firm and vanished a moment later, as a blade, as magical energy should. but now- 

Now it sat...melted. Spreading out in a puddle of ichor beneath, as if the blade had begun to come apart on the most fundamental of levels. He peeked his head upwards, staring back at the Knight- 

And watched, as seemingly, it had begun to do the same.

The vantablack from the pool below had...drained. Been used, given a mind of its own as it crawled back up, back out from the darkness, and served now as armor to cover the gaping holes in the Knight's form.

Imperfect, even at the most base of glances, as the Knight continued to slash forth with one hand upon its blade. The other was occupied, as the shadow dripped and seeped and fell away when not held directly in.

Susie's axe cut through it all the same, severing the blade in two, making the darkness shrink away as it desperately tried to hold it in place. Another loose tendril crawled over to the fallen piece, bringing it back and stitching it back together. 

Far too little, far too late, as another buster flew free. He watched as it tried to move now instead of absorbing the hit, but even so, it was too slow. The magic burst, the light shined, and the sparks fell down upon it like acid. Bloomed, like a burning flower. More darkness crawled out from below to seal the wound. 
 
The Knight stood uneasy, holding together their shifting form and faltering darkness.

Patchwork. Imperfect. Desperate, unable to cover themselves completely, unable to hide the ever-growing cracks in the armor that still remained. Susie was beating them back. 

Susie was winning.

"YOU ARE BUT A BRAIZER UNLIT IN THE FREEZE! A MOUSE THAT GNAWS THROUGH ITS HOUSING! THE WEAK STONE THAT UNDERMINES THE WALL! "

His attention snapped back. He had a battle of his own to fight.

"GIANT! INSULT THEM!"

"YOU...ARE..UH- A SHOE! SHOE TOO SMALE! AND IT HURTE!"

"EXCELLENT!"

He turned his back to the Knight and Susie, scrambling up from his shallow cover and running to rejoin the darkners. With any luck, they would still be- 

"IT HAES MY ARME!" 

Concern and frustration began to worm their way back into his mind. The Pumpkin had gotten its hand stuck within the mass of darkness, having tried to punch it after being goaded into doing so by the cup. 

"THE ANGEL WILL SEE US THROUGH!" The cup screamed, as several sets of amalgamated eyes turned back to stare. "ONWARDS, NOBLE GIANT!"

No, he thought! They wouldn't! They were occupied, fending off death itself! They did not have the time to concern themselves with you! they- 

Their arm slipped farther in. The cup fell free from its shoulder. The eyes stared hungrily. 

They couldn't. He couldn't.

He couldn't fail them again.

His mind raced in a panic, as he quickly thought of how to dislodge them, cycling through every spell he knew. Healing would do nothing, guarding would do nothing, and he could only assume that the hatched mass of darkness would not be willingly pacified.

What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to help? How was he supposed to fulfill that promise? 

His role was support! That was all he was designated to do, all he had learned to do, that and nothing more! The greatest of offensive magic he knew was nothing more than a candlelight, used to light torches and false windows, to read in the darker hours, he- He couldn't! He didn't have the strength! He- 

He watched as the mass pulled them in further. As the eyes continued to shift, as blind panic regained some semblance of something else, a ravenous hunger, an all consuming hate- Nothing good, noting positive, nothing that made him feel better as the battle cry began to shift to terror. 

He couldn't fail them again.

He raised his hand, he screamed, and summoned forth the candlelight with everything he had within-

...Eliciting nothing more than that. A flicker of light upon his palm.

How foolish of him, to think that he could conjure anything more than that.  A tiny, insignificant thing. Weak. Cold. Brittle. 

Yet still enough. It served as Guidance. The spotlight washed over him.

A pilot light for the divine fury that channeled through him but a moment later, as light collected through his fingertips.

A brilliant, burning inferno first subsumed his paw. Then the air around him. And then the mass.

He watched, with horror, with…glee? As the pumpkin's hand slipped free from the mass, leaving it to take the full brunt of the flames.

He didn’t quite know if they still felt pain. If they could even register it. If that part of them still existed. 

He closed his eyes as he saw what he thought to be a mouth contort in pain. He hoped they didn’t. Angel above, he hoped they didn’t.

He opened them when the blinding light before him trickled backdown to an ember, no longer stark white, but the same dull orange by which he read by. The doorframe was empty. Nothing remained.

He wasn't sure how to feel, in the moment. Whatever sense of foreign emotion that had overcome him in the moment had long since left. He was glad that he hadn't failed, yes, but...

He felt he should've been more...concerned? Worried? More of something than he was, as silence filled the air. 

...A dreadfully uncomfortable silence. There was no magic flying free. No screams of hate. Just him. He turned around, and saw that even Susie, a boot planted firmly across its back, had stopped to stare. 

"...What the fuck was that?" Susie said, pressing the stark white glow of her axe into the Knight's arm. "You've been holding out on us!"

"Susie!" He shouted back. "Don't-"

But her eyes had turned. Away, uncaring, unwatching of the threat beneath her, for all but a single moment.

And a moment was all it took.

He watched as a deformed sword materialized from the air behind her, stabbing her in the back and sending her crumpling down to the floor below.

 "SUSIE!"

He’d hardly noticed the second from the corner of his  own eye when he rushed back to her side. He sparsely had the time to widen his eyes in shock before the sword made impact. Before his glasses fell free from his face, and his head, alongside the rest of his body, fell down to the floor in a heap.

It was no longer the sharp, cutting pain he’d known from the snow. It had gotten sloppy. Imprecise. Unsteady. There was no merciful cut of consciousness as he fell down to the floor, only blinding, head splitting pain, through clouded eyes and trembling limbs.

He’d been consumed with the dancing flames and alien emotion that overcame him. He’d gotten careless. Sloppy. Imperfect.

And it had cost him dearly.

He watched from the blurry margins of his vision as the Knight, upon shaking, crackling, unsteady feet, slowly began to rise. 

The damage that littered its body was extensive. Cracks and splinters and gashes that littered its form,  tearing away the shell that held the person beneath. Through the crystal, through the darkness, he could almost make out enough details to piece together a person. Tattered, ruined armor. Red and black checkered fabric. The breathing holes of a helmet, overtaken and subsumed by pitch black crystal. 

A knight within a knight. A quiet, hurting part of him almost wanted to laugh at the irony. But the louder part knew better. It was no irony. It was simply the most efficient way for darkness to overtake an unwilling host, mimicking its form. 

He continued to stare as it slowly made its way to its feet. As it limped over to Susie, still prone upon the ground, and with...resistance? With something that resembled resistance, slowly began to raise its weapon over its head. 

He tried to call out, to plead for her to move, for her to do something to save herself-  

Before something else cracked against the back of the Knight's helmet. Something...green? Wooden? Metal? He wasn't quite sure as it clattered to a halt beside his glasses.

"Real sorry, the both of ya! Had somethin' I had ta' go n' check on real quick, hopped right back on over, though! What'd I miss?"

...He wasn't sure who the voice belonged to. But he was certain that the Knight did. Their visor widened in what he assumed was fear. The hesitation in their limbs grew stronger. They-

...Flew around in a frenzy, gathering and pooling what little of the darkness remained and slathering it across its more exposed wounds.

It was afraid. What could possibly hold enough power to terrify them? 

No, He...didn't have time to question it. It was an opportunity. It was an opening. Subtly, quietly, through the smallest of motions he could preform with his paws, he healed himself enough to move. Enough to analyze the situation. He pulled his head upwards to scan across the rest of the ruined church.

...The Darkners had vanished. With the...Angel's Blessing, he was sure they had simply fled to a safe distance. Good, he supposed. The less he had to worry about in the moment, the better. Now, all that remained was Susie, Kris, and...

...The Old, decrepit looking man who stood in the doorframe. At least, he assumed, from what he could make out of his posture and voice. The first thing he needed to do was find his glasses.

"Whole lot by the look, I recon! N' who might you be?" 

The Knight hissed, a muddied, garbled sound that spat out from the back of its stolen throat. 

He spotted his glasses. He slowly began to crawl towards them.

"Oh, I'm just playin withcha. Couldn't never forget a face like that! Even with all that crud ya got smeared on it!" 

A paw outreached, and he desperately pulled them back, wiping a black smudge away from one of the lens. A crack had snaked its way across the outer rim, but they still worked. He could fix them later. He had something else he needed to fix first, he thought, as he returned them to his face. 

He watched  as the Knight continued to desperately scrape together what it could, from the walls, from the now empty well, from the dirt within the floorboards, stuffing it all within a recess in its head. It was trying to pad its ears, he thought. Trying to drown out the sound. 

"What's all that about, anyhow? Weren't you the one what tellin' me that black on black ain't a good look? Real rush job by the look, too! Already comin off, it is!"

The old man limped closer. The Knight backed away. 

"Well, assumin it is still you."

It held its bat at the ready with trembling hands. It screamed. It charged.

"LOOK OUT!" He screamed in turn. 

"What'sat, sonney?" The old man said, turning to the side and looking at him, just in time to completely avoid the swinging arc of the Knight's blade. 

"B-BEHIND YOU!"

"Oh, I know about 'em!" He said again, turning and narrowly avoid yet another swing of the blade. "Ain't gotta worry 'bout me none! Be a real great favor if ya' could toss me my cane there, though! Slipped n' dropped it on the way over!" 

...Still admittedly baffled, if just a bit, he followed through upon the old man's request, grabbing it and sliding it over to him across the floor. He watched as slowly, deliberately, the old man bent down to pick it up, avoiding yet another frenzied swing, coming inches before his head. 

"Much obliged!" 

...He hadn't so much as been cut.

"Now, where were we?" 

The Knight hissed. Its attention was drawn, and by whatever miracle, the old man could seemly hold his own. He couldn't afford any more distractions. He ran to Susie's side.

"Right, right! New paint coat ya got on! Can't say I'm a big fan." 

The smash of a blade upon wood as his head was turned. The clink of something tapping crystal. 

"Ribs are a good touch fer' a lil bit a' difference, but...like ya said. Think it's a bit much on ya. Preferer all those wild colors ya kept goin' on about! How bout' ya let those ones out again? Still there underneath all that paint, I recon!"

His hands repeated the same practiced motions. His head, against his better judgement, turned back to look as the energy began to dissipate into her body.

The Knight chased him down like a rabid animal. Ichor dribbling out from its fractured maw, it struck with every tool in its decaying arsenal. Falling stars, melting blades, spikes and teeth- 

But nothing it threw at him managed to hit. Attack after attack after attack, the old man simply continued to bat them aside. To just barely step out of their path, to interrupt its focus at the apex of its swing with nothing more than a prod in the face with his cane. 

"Can't even say, eh? That bad? That why ya got it all covered up?"

Its response was a roar of fury.

"Mmm...yer' right. Might be a' smidge embarrasin, 'specially in fronta' all yer' new friends here! Tell ya what, was doin me some diggin the other day fer' a character study. Didn't find me too much, but I did read up on somethin' intrestin'. See, said that some people tend ta' do a whole lot with their hands when they can't talk none. Why dontcha- 

A snap filled the air, cutting the old man's monologue away. The Knight's exposed hand, having gripped so tightly upon its bat, had shattered its blade at the hilt. Jagged fingernails cut into themselves, shards of the blade etched into their flesh and let free drops of blood upon the floor.

The Knight screamed, staring back at the hand in fear, backing away and scraping away what little excess it had left to smear upon the broken bat, upon its rebelling hand. 

"I see!" The old man simply said in turn. "...I see." 

A groan of pain from behind him drew his attention back to Susie. A shift of the arm, a flicker in the light. Awake, but not nearly awake enough. He needed to get her, to get The Angel away from the fight.

Paws dug into fabric. An arm fell under each of hers. He desperately pulled, with all the strength he had left.

"...I know yer' in there, kid." The old man said, a somber tone overtaking his voice. "...N' I ain't gonna tell ya I know what's goin on. I ain't got no clue neither." 

He was stronger than he looked, but there was a vast difference between carrying tables and people. Between carrying lightners and darkners.

"...But we're gonna getcha outa there. Maybe not here though, I'd recon. But a' lot closer ta' now than ya' been."

He pulled. He pulled and pulled and pulled until slowly, gradually, Susie began to move. Inch by inch, foot by foot, until he'd developed a steady enough pace to drag her away. Until the old man and the Knight came into the center of his vision.

"...I found 'em. Or maybe you did, or one of yer' folk, but- I recon that ain't the part that matters too much. They ain't ready, but they're almost there. Ain't the right one to clean the shell off. You'd need the whole lot of 'em fer' that."

He watched as the Knight...stopped? Hesitated? No- he saw it in the cracks within their visor. It wanted to attack him. It wanted with every fiber of its being to do so. To strike forth, to snuff out the light, to rip his very throat out as the old man spoke- but it didn't. Someone was holding it back. Whoever it was within the cracks and splits, he supposed. Whoever owned that dulled breastplate, that tattered jacket, the matted brown fur, the lungs that tried as desperately as they did to draw breath. 

The lightner that lied beneath. 

"...It ain't now. But it almost is." The old man said, limping close upon his cane, resting a hand upon its broken shoulder. 

It tried to flinch. It tried to lean in. He watched as from a crack within, something that resembled a tear dribbled out and ran down the surface.

They fought with every fiber of their being to stay put and listen. 

"...It ain't much longer ya gotta hold on. Hold it back, would ya, kid? Don't let it take no more than it already has."

His voice faded away into noise as he dragged her behind the church. Somewhere safer, If by just a margin.

The pull of the Angel's light felt stronger. More cognizant. More aware.

One last time, his hands repeated the motions of prayer. One last time, the energy dissipated out from his hands and into her body beneath him.

And she took a deep breath in.

"...Ralsei?" Susie said, her eyes lazily opening. "Ralsei!" She shouted, abruptly leaning upwards and summoning her axe back to her hands. "Where's-"

"Still inside." He interrupted, pointing over towards the old man. "I...think they're-"

The Knight roared. His head turned inwards to look as hers did. 

"OLD MAN!" She shouted, abruptly pulling herself to her feet-

"Wait, wait!" He shouted, holding a paw to her shoulder. "They were...talking? I believe? It was-"

The Knight was backed away. Backing away. Terrified, like an animal before a flame. It snarled. It screamed. It begged.

"...Suppose I'll be seein ya, then."

The Knight's eye darted down to the empty hole within the church. 

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Susie screamed, charging back in, energy already collecting at the tip of her axe- 

But far too little. Far too late. The Knight had already dove in long before the buster reached its mark.

The Knight had vanished into the darkness beneath. 

Susie stared down into the pit of darkness below. He soon stood by her side and did the same. 

The Knight had gotten away. Turning his head back, the old man was nowhere to be seen.

Silence filled the air. 

"...fuck." Susie swore, underneath her breath as the grip along her axe tightened. 

"FUCK!" She swore again, cleaving into the floor, etching through wood and dirt and stone. 

Silence returned. Deafening, roaring silence. 

...He couldn't let it fester. 

"W-Well- don't...Don't think that this was all for nothing! I-It wasn't!" He quickly stammered out, scrambling to find something, anything to spin a positive note to the outcome. "You, uh- You found us! You saved us! And...and-"

His eyes settled upon Kris, still motionless in the corner. 

"-And we're all together again! And the Angel is here, and we can return them to Kris, and-"

"No."

...He wasn't sure who spoke back, as Susie's head darted back upwards. As she pulled her axe free from the ground, and slowly turned to face them too. 

"I-I'm...sorry, is it you, or-"

"It doesn't matter." She growled, eyes obscured by fallen hair as she stomped her way closer to their fallen form. 

...It was a bad idea to point them out. It was a bad idea, it was a bad idea- 

"Susie, wait-"

"We're not waiting." She said, stopping inches before them. "We want answers. Both of us."

"But...they're still hurt!" He pleaded, stifling a nervous chuckle from the back of his throat. "They won't- We have to wait until-"
 
He was interrupted as a blast of healing energy polled in the back of her hands, shooting out and blasting across Kris's prone form. 

...They waited in silence. A minute passed. Two. Three. 

"I...I'm sorry, I...don't think it was enough to-"

"They're faking it." She said, pointing to their hand. It twitched in response. 

"Get up." 

...She was met with silence. 

"GET UP!" She screamed, teeth creasing downwards into a sneer as her foot reeled back, as he ran forwards to try to stop her- 

...Only for her foot to freeze in place. 

She stared down at the treacherous limb, but slowly, agonizingly, relented. 

"...Now." She demanded, as her foot planted back down along the floor.

And sure enough to...her? The Angel? To one of their words, Kris was. And slowly, upon their own accord, they began to rise. 

 Part of him wanted to rush forward. To envelop them in a hug, to tell them that he was so glad they were ok.

...But the other stood by Susie. The other remembered how quickly they had lost them in the darkness. 

The other looked away. The other hesitated.

"We want answers." He heard Susie growl, sparing a moment to look back up to her. "...All of us." 

"Don't you mean...both of-"

"All of us." The Angel echoed through her.

...Kris did not respond. The tension in the air only began to grow. He could all but feel the spotlight beaming down upon them.

This was bad. This was very, very bad.

"I-I'm sure that there's a very good reason for...everything!" He quickly stammered out, putting himself between Susie and Kris. "And- And we can hear it! They can tell us everything." 

Just not here. Please, Angel, anywhere but here.

"But, uh- We should...get comfortable first! yes! Uh- Susie! You mentioned that the old man had a-"

"We're hearing it here. All of it. Now." She interrupted, pushing him aside and jabbing a finger into their chest.  "Spill it. Traitor."

He heard as armored feet were pushed backwards. As boots walked forwards to close the distance. As the things below began to congregate.

"...soul....lying." He heard Kris mumble. "Using...you-"

"STUFF IT!" She screamed, slashing forwards with her axe and burying its crooked edge within the ground, mere inches away from their foot. "I KNOW ABOUT LIGHT! AND THE ANGEL SHIT! AND THE BIRDCAGE AND THE KNIGHT!"

He couldn't help but stare. Her hand had twitched, a movement not of her own as she had swung. Had it not, had she swung directly as she meant to- 

"I KNOW ABOUT DESS! AND...And the creeping crawling shit! And the doomsday cult and the fucking....WHATEVER THE FUCK THIS IS! I KNOW ABOUT IT! WHY ARE YOU HELPING THEM?!"

His eyes darted up to meet theirs. 

"...Kris, Please. We're...We're still your friends. We just...We want to know why." 

...But Kris did not respond.

"...The only thing that Light's done so far is cover for your ass. Hell, they're still trying to cover for you."

He watches as her hand clenches into a fist. He watches as the other pries it back open. 

"Why?" A voice says from her mouth. 

"...can't." Is all she receives back in turn.

"THE FUCK YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T?!" She screamed, her hand darting forward and grabbing them by the lip of their armor. "I KNOW ABOUT DESS! I KNOW ABOUT THE DARKNESS! ALL THE WEIRD CRAWLING SHIT, THE OLD MAN TOLD ME! WHY CAN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

He sensed it. The shifting and movement from beneath. The fear, the shame within. It drew them close. Sharks to blood. Flies to rotting meat.

"THEY'RE EVIL! THE TWIRLING MUSTACHE, TECH SHIT-FUCK, WORLD ENDING KIND OF EVIL! DON'T YOU GET THAT?! WHY?!"

. . . 

Nothing filled the air. Nothing but the sound of Susie catching her breath. 

It was quiet enough to hear the sound of her growling beneath her breath. Loud enough to hear the silence echo as it came to a halt. 

"...I think I'm starting to get it." She spat out, raising them higher into the air. "...Whoever the hells pulling your little puppet strings are your real friends. Not us." 

"It's...not-"

"THEN WHAT THE FUCK IS IT?!"

He wanted to interfere. To do something, to say anything. But he found himself paralyzed.

What could he possibly say to dissuade her? What could he possibly do? 

He had nothing. 

But he knew what lied beneath. He knew what lurked beneath the floorboards, he knew what was inches away from them, even now.

He had to do something. 

"S-Susie? We should-"

Susie didn't answer back in words. The fire, the rage and hate that burned behind her eyes as she spared him a moment's glance- that was more than enough to quell him back into silence. 

The fire turned back. The spotlight shined bright. Teeth barred, metal dented beneath pressure. Susie waited for a response. 

...And she did not receive one.

He watched, helpless, silent as her free hand began to ball once more. As she lowered Kris ever so slightly closer to the ground. Her teeth grit harder, her fist reeled back-

...And hesistated.

"Susie, Please-" he begged, taking whatever miniscule moment he had been afforded. "I know The Angel is angry. I know you are angry, but please, don't let them-"

"Don't let them?" 

...She chuckled. A terrible, awful, saddened thing.

"...The only reason they're not a blue and red stain on the floor is them."

Her head turned back. Her face drew near. A deep growl sounded out from the depths of her throat.

"...I want to punch you. Angel above, I want to punch you. But they won't let me.

You put them in a cage, you BEAT them-"

...And they still don't want to watch me hurt you."

She laughed. A sorrowful, wounded, mournful thing.

"...Ain't that funny, Kris?" 

...Her grip faltered.  The swarm grew hungry.

"...No. I get it." She continued, dropping them down to the floor. "They just don't think you're worth the time."

She gave them one last scornful look, waited one last time for them to explain, to fill the silence with anything.

...But they didn't.

"...Do whatever the hell you want, Kris." She said, wrenching her axe free from the floor and turning her back to them, staring at the broken doorway. "...I don't care anymore. Me and Light, we're gonna-

...No. Yaknow what? I shouldn't tell you where we're going, should I? You're gonna run your mouth off to your sugar...whatever the fuck they are now."

He spared Kris one last glance back. Terror, indecision, panic and fear and remorse and a cocktail of everything else that couldn't quite come to mind had overcome them. He saw it in the little ways they moved. The absolute freeze of their limbs. Their mouth hung agape, but only just. 

...Their slumped over appearance, as they gave up entirely. 

"...Cmon, Ralsei. We're going."

Perfect prey for the things that lurked below.

"Susie, Wait! We- We can't! They'll-"

"I'm not spending another SECOND with that boot licking TRAITOR!" She screamed back, refusing to do so much as look them back in the eye. "YOU HEAR ME ASSHOLE?! WE'RE DONE!"

"But-Susie!" He begged, running back to her face, trying desperately to halt her as his mind processed the words faster than he could speak them. 

"It- It's not-
It's not about the treachery.
That's not the important thing.
It's more important than that.

It's about something else!

It's going to take them.
It's already beneath us.
If we don't stop, they'll have another one.
 
w-we have to stop! Susie, Please! Please!"

...But his cries met deaf ears as she pushed her way past him. 

His eyes fell back upon Kris. 

Kris, so full of negative emotion, with such a racing and active mind, severed from the Angel's light. A perfect host for the darkness. Inches away from its maw.

...He tried to run. He really, truly did. He tried to make a barrier, to beg for the Angel's light to return to save them, to plead for for a miracle- 

But he knew that there would be no answer. Not from the one that scorned the eye that brought them.

He was helpless to do anything but watch as the creeping hands erupted forth from the depths below. Unable to watch anything but the fear within as they ensnared them, clawed and coiled and wrapped themselves around their prey, only enticed further by the panic racing through their mind. 

How perfect, its simple mind must have thought. And they'd brought them right to it.

How foolish, he thought, as his paw outstretched just a moment too late to catch them as the hands dragged them beneath. There was nothing he could have done.

"NO!" He screamed, falling to his knees at the hole's edge. 

They were gone. Taken far, far beneath, to such a depth of darkness that the light would never reach them again.

The environment, sound and smell and sensation, all faded away around him as fear began to grip him like a vice. The impact of boots beside him. A hand resting upon his shoulder. A smear of purple. That filled his vision.

There was no salvation. No return from this. The darkness would have yet another Knight.

"It's going to make another one." He mumbled, just beneath his breath.

The vague impression of a voice. The scribble of pen upon a page. A blur of motion as something moved further.

He was elsewhere, at the moment. 

"It's all my fault."

The grip of hands along his fur, the press of spikes into his robe as something picked him up. The shifting of lights and colors as he was moved yet farther and farther away. The dark gave way to light. Stale blue and pitch black became vibrant and bright.  New voices. New sounds. New sensations.

"I'm sorry."

He was sorry. 

He was sorry.

He was so, so sorry.

Chapter Text

You felt off. 

Broken wouldn't be the word you were looking for. You knew what it was like to feel broken, and the pain that accompanied this wasn't quite the same. 

Wrong, while closer, wouldn't quite be the word either. Wrong implied a deeper sense of revulsion of self, something closer to anger or hatred. For all the time you'd been given to understand emotions, you'd always find yourself stumbling into new ones. 

This one was contemplative. Judgmental of self. Perhaps, in some deep rooted part within, afraid. 

Those were the closest words you could use as you aimlessly stared ahead. 

You didn't like the stillness in the air. The complete and utter lack of noise in anything but Susie's footsteps slamming upon stone. 

You didn't like the brush of fur against her back. The wrap of paws around her neck. You knew who she was carrying. You knew his eyes were still wide with that fearful thousand yard stare.

The silence gave you time to think. Time to reflect.

...You thought of yourself. The sheer magnitude of the raw, vitriolic hatred you felt for those...things down there. You didn't even know they existed, up until you'd seen them, but...it was like a switch was flipped. Like something else within you had taken over. You remembered as you shined your power upon Ralsei, in  that fraction of a moment, you felt...good? content? You felt something, watching as the darkness burned away into nothing. 

...You hated the thought of killing. You hated the thought of being feared. Why did it make you feel that way?

You thought about the Knight. You thought about Dess. Susie hadn't quite noticed in the heat of the moment, but...you did. The first of the busters you threw were exactly as you'd intended, they cut away the dark, not unlike you did with Noelle, but the ones that followed, the crash after crash against already revealed limbs and flesh, the scraping of darkness away like paint from a roller- 

...Was that the first time you'd ever seen blood? 

Was it necessary? 

You didn't like it. You didn't want it. You knew it wouldn't be an easy task to free her, but...you shouldn't have had to hurt her.

...You thought about Kris.

That first punch, without question, you were sure they deserved. Whatever drew them so tightly to darkness, whatever excuse they truly had, they deserved at least that. You didn't regret that.

Everything that followed became blurry.

Rage, blinding and indignant and consuming. You didn't know where yours ended and Susie's began, up until the end. Maybe you had just...fed off of one another's. A feedback loop of bitterness and hurt, like sticking two phones next to eachother until the static that hissed out ruptured eardrums.

...You hated Kris.

...Right? That was the emotion you felt? 

...You weren't quite sure anymore. 

You thought of them, had Susie fulfilled her desires. Blue and black and silver in a puddle of red upon the floor.

You didn't want that. The thought repulsed you. 

You...weren't yourself down there. Susie wasn't herself, you don't think anyone was. You...got carried away in the heat of the fight. So consumed in your hatred of the darkness that you became something else.

...But, why did you hate it?

Why did Kris hate you?

...Maybe you just hated the thought of being hated.

Echoing footfalls. Ragged breath. Deafening, roaring silence.

...You didn't like the silence. It let you think. 

You took control of a hand, pulling free the pen and tapping the book with its edge. You needed something to starve it away.

You were glad that Susie seemed to reciprocate, pulling free the book and flipping to the closest open page.

"...What's up?"

You hesitated as you put the pen to paper. 

[Was what we did right?]

Her emotions within changed. Fluctuated, as the long simmering rage boiled and shifted within into something unfamiliar. You couldn't help but notice. Such was your nature, after all. 

"...What?"

[Back there.] You continue, scribbling into the page. [With Kris and the Knight. Was-]

Was it right? Was it correct? Was it what made everyone happy? 

[-it what we were supposed to do?]

...You didn't like the silence that followed. She didn't usually take this long to respond. Something was wrong, she-

"They were doing fucking...evil cult shit, man!" She responded. "You saw it, I saw it, there wasn't any other option. They did that to themselves."

...You aimlessly scribbled down the side of the page. She didn't sound sure. She didn't...feel sure, either.

[Did you mean all of that?] You continued. [Back there?]

"...In the church?"

[Ye-]

"Yes!" She quickly shouted. "I mean- No! I don't-"

You listened as she fell into muttering silence. You felt as the emotions within compounded further, confusion and concern and anger, tension like a line pulled taught. 

"It doesn't matter. We can just...figure it all out when we seal the fountain."

You felt as the paws around her shoulders grip tighter. As the claws within dug deeper into her skin. 

"...It was a lot, I get that, ok? I got angry. I let it out. If it was wrong we can just...fix it later, after-"

"...you can't." A voice whispered into her ear. 

"What?"

You asked yourself the same question as Susie stopped, taking him off of her back and setting him down to the floor. 

He didn't even have the energy to sit up.  He just...laid there. Idle. Inactive. Unmoving.

You couldn't help but be drawn to his eyes. Still staring into the distance, something far, far beyond in the void. It couldn't help but remind you of the feeling of being lost. 

"Hey!" Susie yelled. "HEY!" Susie screamed, snapping her fingers as she set the book aside, shaking them by the shoulders, all but picking them back up off of the ground, setting the book aside as she shook him like a ragdoll.

Ralsei did not repeat himself. Ralsei did not move. 

"...Dammit." She grumbled, setting him back down and looking over to the book upon the floor. "...You got any ideas?"

"Reckon I might!" Another voice sounded out, the moment the pen was put back into your hand.

Susie turned around the moment you recognized it. 

The Old Man was back. Higher above, descending a staircase that you were moments away from, limping down upon his cane.

You didn't know why he chose to keep pretending as he did. From what little you'd seen, he could certainly move faster.

"Old Man!" Susie cheered, running over to his side. "Where the hell did you go?"

"Oh, I just let myself out when you were busy!" He said, waving a dismissive hand. "Thought ya might need some time ta' talk everything out with your friend, what with everything went on back there!" 

"...Didn't the others go with you?"

"Oh, no! Didn't mean them, little lady! Already sent the two of 'em up ta' get the tidy fer when we got back! Meant the human!"

You felt as your heart sank. As the emotion within swirled and bubbled and boiled. From the corner of your eye, you swear you saw Ralsei's dip down further.

"...Where are they, anyhow?" The old man continued. "...Still a stairway r' two back? Reckon you outa' stay with 'em. Whole lot, bein' punched in the gut like that'll take out of ya!"

Susie's fist tightens. The one you hold control over looses. You catch the pen moment before it drops. 

"Reckon you ain't gonna want 'em runnin' off again r' nothin, are ya? Can't be-"

"They're gone."

You drew your attention back to the old man. For perhaps the first time you've seen, there's...surprise in his face. Concern. Worry. As if the thought had been something he wasn't expecting at all. 

"...Say again, little lady?"

"They're gone." Susie repeated. "The fucking...darkness hand tentacle...things. They got them."

Guilt. Anger. Regret. The last far outweighed by the others.

"Well...reckon ya should...take a second n' think about-"

They intermix. They boil. They feed into eachother like the hissing scream of a feedback loop.

"I WASN'T THINKING!" She screamed back. "Alright?! I was pissed! I'm STILL pissed! What the fuck were you expecting me to do?! Start holding hands and singing kumbaya and shit?! Put on a smile? Pretend they didn't just fucking STAB ME IN THE BACK?!"

You try to stop her. Try to take control of her voice, to say something to calm her down, but you can't. 

"I...reckon I get now." The Old Man said, turning his one good eye away. 

You were submerged in it. Subsumed by it. Used as a catalyst to make it stronger.

You tried to reach down for the book, but found yourself unable to. Even the hand had been taken away in her wrath.

"Well, uh...see, times like this, I...tend ta'...well, f' there's one thing I-"

It boils over. It washes over you. It sinks into your flesh. It burns. It hurts. 

It's all you can do to watch.

"STOP!" Susie screamed, cutting his words away. 

"Just...stop. Stop trying."

...He did.

Silence reigned.

"...Don't think I got no fortune cookie wisdom for this, top of my head, then." 

His voice was sad. Confused. Conflicted. 

"...Real sorry, little lady. Reckon if you give me a bit, I outa'-"

"Save it."

She looked away, back out the the void below. Left you with only the emotion. 

You knew she didn't want this. If there was anything you could pull out from the broil below, it was that. She didn't want it at all. She would've rather everything continued. Would've rather kept any friend she'd made, but-

...But what else was she supposed to do? 

"...Reckon ya' need a bit still, then."

She didn't respond. 

"...Ya know where I'll be waitin, then. Soon as ya can."

It burns hotter, as he walks away. It seals the room, pots the lid, rebounds and contains the heat as it sears away at your flesh. Rising pressure from steam that boils and builds, creaking against the confines of your cage.

It needed release. You needed release. You-

"You couldn't." A meek voice cried out from behind you. Susie turned back.

His eyes were still glazed over. He still stared past her. Beyond her, into the void surrounding. 

"...What you were talking about earlier. You can't. They're gone." 

She lumbered forwards. 

"...Even if- when you return. They wouldn't be there. They're trapped in the darkness. The world between worlds. Like...how someone might lose a sock in a dryer. Or...an accessory beneath a couch. Kris wouldn't be there."

Hands wrap firmly against his shoulders. 

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!"

It hurts.

"...It wouldn't have mattered."

The burning subsides, for all but a brief moment. A flicker in the flame. A crack of air as the lid comes loose. You take it to breathe. 

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"In retrospect. It wouldn't have mattered if I did or did not tell you. I...have been thinking on it for some time now." Ralsei said, loosely staring up from his position on the floor. 

"...Thinking about what?"

Her tone had lost its fire. Something else was starting to take it's place. 

"...All of this." Ralsei said, pulling himself up to a sitting position, and weakly motioning out to the void and brick that surrounded you. "...It has been foretold. It never mattered what we did, the outcome would always be the same." 

...Cold, you wanted to say. It felt cold.

"...The soul is freed from its cage. The cage, without its captive, breaks. A terrible tragedy occurs, there is death-" He said, counting along the digits of his paws as he proceeded to count events along. 

...He paused. He looked at Susie.

"...We are already halfway there, are we not? All that is left is to see what The Angel decides."

The temperature dropped. The flames receded. The stew of emotions that enveloped you drained away as new thoughts and feelings began to swirl. 

Ralsei laughed. Something small, pathetic and meek as he tried to force a smile to his face. 

It wasn't Susie he was staring at, you came to realize. It was you. Or, the closest approximation of you he could assume, somewhere in her chest.

"...It was my duty to guide them. To keep them content. Happy enough to play along and stay to its role and part, but now-"

"Light has a name, dammit!" Susie screamed, interrupting him. 

"...Yes, Susie. It does now, doesn't it?" He continued on, all but a moment later. "...They have a name. Isn't that...funny? In a...cosmic sort of sense? The Angel of Silence? Named?"

The last few words made you freeze.  You looked up in his eyes, hoping to find something other than the creeping dread that echoed back, but found nothing.

What did he call you?

"...What?"

Ralsei didn't respond to her. She didn't move in turn. You took the moment to reach back down for the book-

"ENOUGH!" She screamed, ripping back control of her hand. "Enough of the...half truth cryptic bullshit! You've been getting...worse, Kris was fine until all of this started, and you know something about it! Tell me!"

"...What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"...I'm sorry, Susie. You'll need to narrow it down first." He said, still trying to hold a wavering smile to his face. "Everything is...extensive."

"...Why did you call them the-"

"Because they are, Susie. They are The Angel of the Prophecy."

"And how do you know that." 

"...I simply do."

An unamused look. Narrowed eyes. A spark of flame returning. 

"I know all of the Prophecy, Susie. Every panel, every word, every related piece of information, tucked away into my mind like-" He paused, smacking a paw to his forehead for emphasis. "-...like a library. I...did not ask to know these things, but I do."

"And when did you plan on telling us?"

"...Never, with any hope." 

The spark ignited, the emotions stirred, hot enough to starve away the cold for single, blissful moment.

"WHY?!" She screamed.

"...I wished to spare you from it." He simply said in turn. "To...keep you happy. In truth, the Prophecy does not have a...good ending, Susie. But now?" 

The ember faded. The cold returned. 

"...Now, I understand. Nothing you, nor I, nor even perhaps the Angel could have done would change it."

Silence returns. 

You think.

...You understood the emotion that was creeping back in. Something of your own creation, not Susie's. The very same as you'd felt in that corridor of glass. 

"...Silence?" You spoke, managing to creep out control from her in her own moment of thought. 

He looked up to you. Past her, to you, smiling the same melancholic smile.

"...I suppose we are beyond that point, are we not? Yes, Angel. You. The Angel of Silence. I should have told you the truth outright, but...I suppose it didn't matter either. It will come to fruition regardless."

That name again. You...could have figured, by virtue of everything ongoing. The light, Noelle's wings, the sealing of fountains, but you had never heard silence mentioned.

"...What does?" You said again, as Susie's other hand tried to cover her mouth. 

Too little. Too late. The words had been spoken.

"The Prophecy." Ralsei continued. "Regardless of what we do, of any action we take, it is...inevitable. You have fought against the blackened knife. Heaven's cry shall pierce the earth, there will be a great and terrible death-

...and you will be banished."

Fear. You remembered its name now, as the pen dropped out from your hand. An all consumed, all encasing fear that had found its way into your very core.

"...I would not think upon it too long, Angel. We are...tools. You, a sword, and I...something already well beyond its use."

Susie tried to speak, but the paralyzing fear within you had spread. You held her hostage.

"...When the time has passed, and the last fountain is sealed, there is simply no need for a sword or a broken toy anymore." 

A hand reached out to him. Tried, with all the resistance it could muster, to hold his muzzle shut. 

...He smiled, as with a single hand, her pried her own away.

"...A kind Angel would seal itself away. A wrathful one would be banished by force. Here or there, or...well, come to think of it, even your influence is limited above, is it not? It would be far easier to do there."

The hand drops down. It freezes in place. 

"...I'm sorry, Angel. Truly, I am. But there was only ever one way the story ended. The path we took never mattered."

Dread. It washed upon you in waves, forced its way down your throat. It drowned you.

"...The thought is a comfort. It means...there was nothing I could have done back there, was there? It...would have happened regardless."

"-That's stupid!" Susie said, having finally found her voice. "Light, he's...he's just out of it! Don't listen to him, he's...panicking! He's-"

"I wish I was, Susie. Truly, I wish more than anything that I was. But what I do has never mattered."

She struggled to refute. Her mind raced. Ice filled your lungs.

"You...You weren't supposed to leave!" She said in a panic. "There wasn't anything in the prophecy that said-"

"Love finds the girl." Ralsei meekly said in turn.

"We beat the shit out of the Knight! It didn't-" 

"They'll cross the darkened knife."

"All...All of this shit! With Kris and...And the church, and...The darkness! It-"

"The broken cage, the tool unleashed, its compass points askew-"

"STOP IT!"

...Another moment of silence. Terrible, dreadful silence as the words took time to sink in. 

"...A guardian angel, a vengeful angel, an angel of death- It never mattered. At your core, you are the Angel of Silence. You banish the dark...

And then you-"

Susie closed his mouth, but you didn't need to hear the rest of the sentence to understand it.

...You were going to die.

You were going to die, and the realization made your stolen heart pound, fit to burst from your stolen chest. 

It wasn't supposed to beat that fast. 

Was this what it was like? Were you dying? You were dying. You had to be. 

Your stolen breath races. Your stolen heart beats harder. The very world begins to melt around you into fuzzy specks of nothing. 

You needed to leave. You needed fresh air, you willed your stolen body to move-

But you couldn't. You couldn't. Why couldn't you? Why were you frozen, rooted to the spot? Why had ice encased your stolen legs? You needed to leave. You needed to get away.

"...We could have tried all we liked. Fought against it as hard as we wished, but...there would be no point, would there? We would return to dust. They will live, and we will be gone."

You needed a way out. Where was it? Where was it?

Your stolen stomach rumbled in protest. Fear. You felt sick. You didn't even know you could feel sick. 

Voices faded away into distant sounds. Repressed, panicking, sobbing sounds. Shouting, pleading, desperate sounds. A pen was shoved into your stolen hand. A book before your stolen eyes. It's pressed before the page, they want you to write, but the words don't come to you. 

Only panic does. The need to escape. The desperate claw for breath. You didn't want to die.

    [ You didn't want to die.
          You didn't want to die.
               You didn't want to die.
                   You didn't want to die.
                       You-]

You watch as the tip of the pen broke. Heard as the rest of it shattered within your grip. Your stolen hand shook terribly. 

It was too much. It wrapped around your head, it drilled into your skull, it screamed-

...Until you came to an epiphany.  You couldn't quite remember the last time you heard a sword screaming in terror.

A tool wasn't afraid of being used. A tool wasn't afraid of being broken. A tool wasn't afraid.

You focused on that thought. That lack of feeling. 

Gracefully, mercifully, they fade away into a dull quiet. The sounds, the waves of dread and fear, the cold- it all retreats into silence.

...It reminds you of something.

You push the thought away. You knew what it was, but you didn't act upon it. Tools didn't think. Tools didn't hurt.

...It was far easier to be a tool.

Your weilder moves. It drags something along with it, picking it up from the ground with its unsullied hand.

A handful of green cloth and white fur. Shards of a broken pen. Ink stains it.

It says something to itself as it walks up the stairway.

The walk is silent.

You thought-

No. No, you didn't think.

Tools didn't think.

You had no opinion of the silence.

"I trust you have already taken headcount?" 

"Yes, sir! All are present and accounted for, Sir! Including...an increase of the number! We had picked up strays and refugees along our pilgrimage to the light, Sir! New honorary members of the Cuptian!"

Solus didn't find it-

"-sir!"

...Solus didn't find it all that surprising, he supposed. If his journey and the old man's teachings were to any credit, he'd assume that many would flee to the Angel's presence, in such a time of unprecedented time of darkness. And turning to face the Angel in question-

...He didn't quite remember leaving her with a pillow and blanket. He was glad that she was well taken care of in his stead, but-

"Where was...this all acquired?" He asked his lieutenant, broadly motioning to the Angel with his split feather. "I was unaware of the presence of bedding material within the confines of the Study! Let alone-" 

A light crinkle from The Angel drew his attention. Peering closer, one of their rank had been captured firmly within her grasp, reduced to a hand-held sleeping aid. 

"Donations, sir!" They sounded off once more. "From other refugees now under their protection!"

"...And, what of-"

"We'd lost a good man in the efforts!" 

"I am well, sir!" The poor soldier wheezed out from beneath his bindings. "I give my life gladly for the cause!"

Another light crackle as the Angel's arms constricted around them. It was times such as these that he wish they had arms by which to salute by. A brave soul, they were. A kind one. His mind filled with pity.

...Until his eye landed upon the second new addition to the hermit's study.  The large pool of pink...something put in a corner, as far out of the way as something like it could be. 

"And...that?"

"The Rubralux Elixir, sir! A tale of it's own to tell!" 

...He almost heard pride in the lieutenant's voice. 

"A story of Ingenuity, Cunning, Grace, and a testament to the power of the unrelenting will of the Cuptain!" 

"And what, pray tell, exactly...is it?"

"Divine Nectar, sir! A sip alone has sent several of our rant into unconsciousness! A drought meant for the Lightner and Angel's rank alone!"

...Times like these, he wished that the pained sigil upon his face could squint.

"It is also terribly bitter, sir!"

At the very least, The Angel had granted him the ability to sigh.

"Fantastic work, soldier!" He sounded off, partaking in the one simple pleasure he had been granted. He was glad to be able to receive a positive report, more than glad that his troop had not only survived the darkness but thrived-

...But the Angel had yet to awaken. He was unsure of exactly how he would explain the several new visitors within her impromptu chamber. 

...The chamber that admittedly, still was not his, as its rightful owner had returned during some point in his briefing. One last loose end to understand.

"Give the full report to my second in command." He ordered, turning face to the desk. "I must speak with the Hermit."

"...Sir! I am your second in command!"

"My...second second in command!" He corrected,  quickly turning back and motioning to the side as he continued his gait. "The giant that sits beside the Angel!" 

"Right away, sir!" The Lieutenant barked, scrambling away to the side as his full attention was given to the new task at hand. 

...Scaling Everest, without so much as a foothold. Lesser cups would have crumped at the task, but he was no lesser cup. He began to climb.

...And by climb, he supposed, he meant pushing over a loose stack of books from the floor.

 It had been a time of very many firsts for Redinian Solus Cuptain. Being depended upon. Being needed.

The stack of books made impact, and the crack within his shell flared in protest at the force. He brushed the pain aside. Old bones. New wounds. He shrugged them aside alike. He would nurse them when his task was completed.

"I do hope for some fortunate news, O' Wise Hermit!" He called out, as he hopped from the floor, to the books, to the surface of the desk.

The Hermit stared blankly at a page before him. Not unusual, but by the expression upon his face-

"...Wouldn't quite call it good, m'afraid."

...Ah. Then there had been complications.

"Should be 'ere any second now." he said, motioning to the empty doorframe with his pen. "...One shorta' what I was expected 'em ta' be, though. Lost their little knight down there. Gave em' time ta' get everything settled, ya know kids are, but-"

"The Traitor?"

"...Wouldn't quite call em that. The...confused one. Same difference, though." 

"Taken by the forces of Darkness below?" 

"Mhm."

"...Troubling." 

"Right on it." 

He sat himself down upon the edge of the desk, watching as the Hermit began to scribble about upon the blank page. No words did meet paper, no thoughts were gathered. He supposed he would gather his own in their stead.

He had been chosen by the protection of the Angel's Light. His decision making had been...abrupt, yes, but he knew he would be well. He knew that the Prince had been stifled into inaction. He knew, from the first few blasts alone, that one would surely have died between the Dragon and the Knight's captive, should it have gone on uninterrupted. 

He regretted nothing, though...still. Something sat off-balance within. A disturbance. Something uprooted, as if-

His thoughts paused he saw the Lightner's troop trudge to a safe return. Speak of it and it shall appear, he supposed. He quickly sat himself back up-

And then finally understood what had offset him so. A sorrowful demeanor had overtaken them. 

The Dragon, with a grim and resigned expression across her face, deposited the Prince into a corner.

The Prince's eyes were deadened. Hopeless. Transfixed into a thousand yard stare into the distance.

And the Light. The Light, perhaps the worst of all, as his attention turned back to the Dragon who bore it had...faded. It's presence felt distant. Weakened, as the Dragon came to a stop at the Angel's side. 

He had expected fanfare. This was a joyous occasion, a reunion, but the only feeling the sight before him inspired was-

...dim. Dwindling. Hopeless, if he were to give it such a word. 

He watched as the Dragon's hand moved to cusp the Angel's own. The Light's strength flickered, like a dying lighter attempting once more to burst into flame, but the effort was short lived.  The spark faded. 

...Something was wrong. Terribly so. 

"...Troubling indeed." He echoed, turning his attention back to the hermit. "...I believe even the news of the 'Rubralux Elixir' may not even be enough to suffice."

"...Not a fan a' pink lemonade then, ya reckon?" The Hermit chuckled, before turning back down to his page. "...Ain't wrong, though. Bit bigger than a drink can fix."

His mind returned inwards. His eye stared idly at the page. He watched as the Hermit returned to his scribbling. 

"...I trust you have a plan then, Hermit?"

"...For two of 'em, anyhow. Gotta change the ol' monologue a little, but I reckon it'll still work for 'em." He grumbled, balling the paper and tossing it away into a bin beside him. "...Ain't got no Clue what ta' do for the other one, though." 

His eye turned. They hadn't moved from the corner they were put into. Not even so much as an inch. 

"The Lonely Prince?"

The Hermit nodded. "First I'd seen of 'em was down there. N' I figure I ain't got the time ta' come up with a whole nother' speech."

He looked into his eyes. Still dull, still wide and vacant and unblinking, behind the cracked lens of his glasses. It reminded him of shell shock. It reminded him of-

...An idea. 

"I...may have a thought." He hesitantly proclaimed, turning back to face the Hermit. "I have spent much time within the Prince's company! Allow me to speak in your stead!"

"...N` how much time, in this particular case, is much?"

"At the very least, more than you, sir!"

The Hermit's one eye narrowed. The ghost of a grin crept up the visible side of his face. 

"Seeing as their fellow compatriots are...indisposed, I, by process of elimination, am the best suited for the task! Rest assured, Hermit! I shall strike at the darkness within their heart and return them to the light!" 

He watched as the Hermit stared him down, a few more moments of silent consideration- 

Before he sighed, standing up from his desk and cracking his back.

" 'Strike at the heart a' darkness?` Where's a little thing like you findin' time ta' read Hammer's work at?"

"You hear many such tales in the line of work as I, Hermit!"

"...Suppose ya would, wouldn't 'cha?" The hermit said, staring over to the Dragon, giving one last chuckle before he picked up his cane and made the noble march onwards. 

He'd wish the Hermit luck, but...he imagined the Hermit had no need of such things. But a few words exchanged were enough to sweep the dragon from their feet. Angry, perhaps at first, but with a quick motion to the Angel, more than enough. He watched as they entered the newly vacant room within the study, as they disappeared from behind its wall-

And as the wall itself then finally shut behind them. 

...He wondered upon which pool of strength the Hermit drew from. To find the time and energy to do all he did in such a short amount of time, to strike with such precision and force, it seemed...otherworldly.

But he digressed. Those were not the types of questions he should be asking, at the moment. No, he thought, as he descended back down the impromptu staircase and began the noble march of his own. There was a different line of why he should be pursuing.

"Lonely Prince!"  He shouted, as he closed in upon them, all but standing upon his paws as he shook his feather before their face. "If- Apologies- If I might have just a moment of your time!"

Chapter Text

Susie wasn't typically one to drag her feet. At least, not anywhere she thought didn't deserve the mud tracked through.

...With the bullshit currently ongoing, however, she cut herself an exception, imagining she was home and tracking mud onto some shitty carpet instead of the Old Man's nice hardwood floor.

He'd disappeared behind her at some point. She didn't care. He'd talked all the while he lead her in. She'd stopped listening. Her eyes caught the glint of metal as the light from the study at large dimmed into what the separate room provided. An admittedly impressive and sick as hell looking axe, like it had been carved out of something bigger, but...

...But she didn't care about that stupid axe anymore. 

She'd yelled- She'd said back at his first insistence that it didn't matter anymore. There was more important shit to worry about than some stupid axe, but the old man was just...persistant. 

Maybe she admired that. Being able to say or do what you wanted to do, even if someone was giving you a bunch of shit for it.

Maybe she really did just want the axe. Hers was a bit less than functional, at the moment.

...Or maybe it was some last ember of hope, still burning from within.

...Yeah, right. She scoffed at herself. Whatever hope she had was stomped out back when Ralsei finally decided to speak his mind. When Light went deaf mute. When they got back, when they saw Noelle and it reignited, for just a teensy, tiny fraction of a second-

Before being snuffed out all over again.

The old man passed her. Said something, as he took position next to the axe sitting upon the...anvil? Table? Whatever the hell it was, it didn't matter. She pushed forwards past him, grabbing it by handle and yanking it free for herself-

...Only for her to drop it to the floor, unfamiliar with its massive weight. She stared down at it, at the slice within the floorboards it had made as it fell-

As the old man, with a single hand, picked it up from the ground as if it weighed nothing.

"...Yaknow, I had this whole schpeel ready 'bout the Axe technically bein' in my study, bein' a part a' my store- But I ain't even sold nothin' yet, have I?"

A grin spread across his face as he swung the axe about, momentarily replacing his cane as he walked back towards the anvil.

"Heck, don't even think I could no more! Ain't no space, what with that pool a'  lemonade takin it up!"

...She didn't have time for this. Eyes narrowed, she stomped back over, marching up and grabbing forward to just rip its handle out from his hands-

Only for him to shift its weight to the side, just barely enough for her to miss.

"Even had this whole speech ready n' what not!"

She tried again. She was met with the same result.

"Way things r' goin right now though, figure that speech wouldn't make a lick a' sense!" 

She tried again. And yet again, she was met with the same result. 

"So-" he smiled, staring her down as a smug grin spread across his face. "-how 'bout we do this instead? Do me a real quick favor, n' this 'ere axe is all yours!"

"...And a favor would be?"

"Oh, nothin' much! Just need the two a' you, ta` give me a' shave n' a' haircut!"

"...What?"

"See, I've been meanin ta' get this 'ere mess worked on-" He began, taking of his beret and unraveling a ponytail that dropped down below his waist. "-but I just ain't never found the time! N' the only spot I really got left that can grow anything's gettin smaller n' smaller- recon I'd look better if I just got it cut, wouldn't ya? Do me that real quick fair, n' it's all yours!"

....She stared down at the broken edge of her axe.

"..with-"

"Oh, anything! Recon that'll work just as well!" 

...Fine. She'd humor him.

Rolling her eyes, she carefully took one of the less obtrusive edges of her broken blade, inching it closer and closer to his face, only for him to tilt his head to the side at the last moment.

She grumbled, trying again, moving just a bit faster- only to be met with the same result. Yet again, the old man flinched away.

"Yaknow, I wasn't thinkin it'd take ya this long!"  he said, a glint in his eyes as he set the axe back down.

Her grip around her ruined axe tightened. Given the old man's track record, she didn't know why she expected anything easy from him.

"I'm trying!" She shouted back, slashing back out again." "It wouldn't take so long if you would-"

She swung the axe freely. He danced to the side.

"just-"

She missed again, slashing into the bindings that held the curtains closed, one after another.

"hold-"

The blade became caught within the anvil as the old man hopped atop. She wrenched it free.

"STILL!"

The axe finally found purchase in the central chain that kept the grand chandelier hanging above.

She watched as it crashed down to the floor with a deafening crash, glass scattering to the floor as the light within was snuffed out-

and the room was plunged into darkness.

"...shit." She swore, staring idly in a moment of confusion. "This wouldn't have happened if you just-"

She felt as the side of a cane whacked her upside the head, with just enough force to sting. She swung back around, slashing back out with her axe into the darkness- 

And hit nothing. 

A hand tapper her shoulder. She turned, she swung, she missed.

"Would you fucking stop it?!" She yelled, her face contorting into a sneer. "I can't do shit if I can't see you!"

"Then don't look." The old man said, his voice growing distant as he retreated back further into the darkness. "Listen. Ya hear it, don'tcha?"

She stopped talking. She listened. The only thing she heard was the sound of her own ragged breath. The crunch of glass underfoot. The clink of metal scraping metal in the distance.

"...No. I don't hear shit."

"Just a liiittle bit closer, then." His voice said again in the distance. "That itty bitty little ditty. One that comes from the inside. That little song a' ringin, soundin out from the deep."

She listened closer. She heard...something.

The clattering and clanking of metal, closing in fast.

"That, little lady-"

She dove backwards upon a split second instinct, watching through the glints and flickers of what little light remained as massive chunk of metal just barely missed her face. 

"Is the ringin a' Justice."

She took a step back. Two. Three-

She ran for the exit. She pounded on the back of door- no, the entire goddamn bookshelf that had blocked the path, trying to shove it aside.

Useless. The door- the bookshelf wasn't going anywhere.

"Look, I get you're still sad or whatever, but it would be really nice if you woke up! Like, right now!"

Light did not respond.

The old man's laugh echoed out from the darkness behind her. 

"Runnin' away ain`t been doin ya much good recently, has it?"

...Fine, she thought. If there was only one way out of this, she was cutting his stupid beard, pitch dark room or not!

"Shut it!" She screamed, channeling her magical energy through the tip of her ruined axe and sending a buster free towards the sound of his voice. She watched as it flew, as the old man stood to its side in the moment it illuminated him, as it passed, slashing against the wall, breaking the glass pane-

And revealing nothing but stone behind it. 

"A flashlight would be real goddamn nice right now, Light!" She screamed, pounding a fist to her chest.

...To no response. She'd have to wake them up. But how? Were they even listening in the first place?

"That all yer' friend there is?" The old man laughed again. "A lightswitch?"

"What did I just tell you?!"

She swung forward after the sound of his voice, watching as the shadow of his figure ducked away, far faster than any decrepit old man had any right to be.

"Oh no, yer' right! Whole odd story there, I reckon! N' I've only seen a little bit of it! Familiar with the concept, though!"

She needed time to think. She had to keep him talking. When he was talking, he wasn't swinging that massive hunk of metal.

"And how are you familiar." She growled.

"Well, author's gotta be familiar with a buncha' work! Whatcha know 'bout that old author? One what I kept naggin ya' about?"

"Whatever it was you told me. I never read the books."

"Well, you probably ain't missin too much then! Based it on the prophecy, he did! N' you're already right here, livin' through it!"

...What the hell could she even do? Slap at them? Take the heart out and put it back in? Was that how angels worked?

"Up through chapter four, you'd be! Figure I might summarize while I gotcha here, though!"

She didn't have any better ideas. She extended her clawed hand out, she aimed it above her chest-

And abruptly stopped the motion as her body screamed to move out of the way, just a second too late, as the tip of her finger was swatted aside by metal.

"Chapter One! March a' the Dark King! Weakest work outa' what he made! On purpose! Introducin' ya' ta' cast, while they tame the dragon! Or, least that's what he'll tell ya! Me, I think he just ain't had it together yet!"

She swung back, her fingers stinging as they wrapped back around the axe, once more hitting nothing but air.

"Chapter Two! City a' the Shinin'!  Little better, that one was! Find the Angel, Save the Queen! Ride the chariots! Reckon he only had the bigger pieces together by then!"

She swung again. Again and again and again, hitting nothing, chasing the sound of his voice.

"Three! Isles a' Northernlight! Funny story there, but that one n' Four came out together! Bundled em' up inta the same book! Took Hammer a few more years, but heck if it wasn't his best! Heck of any of em were less than his best!"

"Talking a whole lot about a guy who isn't here." She panted, doubling back. "...He your boyfriend or something?"

He laughed, still some distance away. "Ain't got those dots together yet, do ya? We was close! Closern' that, maybe! Only one I reckon I'd be closer to is my wife!"

She hide the tip of her axe behind her back, gathering her strength for another buster. If Light wasn't doing anything to help, they'd sure as hell better be listening.

"No no, see, I was there the whole time! Watched as that little story a' his came ta' life! Even the less than pretty bits! Especially those, them several thrown out drafts n' ideas n' papers what got thrown away! Taught me a real important lesson, it did!"

He was standing still. She launched the arc from behind her back as it reached its apex, a grin spreading to her face as it connected-

"He sucked!" The old man screamed, the metal of a massive hammer making impact with the buster, hitting it and sending it flying right back at her.  "Hammer was awful! least, right at the start, he was! But he was darn persistent! Didn't know when ta' quit, he did!"

She swung back at it in a panic, feeling the force of her own energy as it echoed through her ruined axe, flying back towards the old man once more-

"Hammer weren't no author from the start! Smithy by trade, he was! Didn't pick up no pen 'till he was 80!"

Only to be send flying right back towards her. Too fast for her to keep up, the energy slammed into her like a fist, tossing her to the floor. 

She tasted blood as she picked herself back up. Healing. She needed to heal herself.

"Ain't none of those stories see a' drop of ink till he was 90! Told 'em ta' just go back n' do what he was good at. Makin horseshoes. Fa! Years he spent, chasin' that little dream down! N' he damn well proved em' all wrong, in the end! Retired at 95! Ended up pickin up a' teachin job ta' pass the time!"

She gladly took the moment he spent monologuing to collect herself, gathering what energy she had left into a ball of green light and stuffing it into her chest.

The taste of blood faded from her mouth. Something within her, related or otherwise, stirred at the sensation.

"And what the fuck does your book club friend's life story have to do with the ass kicking?"

"Oh, there ain't nothin between em!" The old man laughed. "I ain't expectin ya' ta' pick up a hammer or nothin! I am expectin ya ta' take the lesson from it, though!"

She stood herself back up upon her axe.

"And that is?" 

"Defeats the purpose a' the lesson if I tell ya what yer' supposed ta' learn! I'll rephrase it for ya!" 

The clattering of metal drew near. She readied her axe. 

"Hammer was a damn good smithy, but he wanted ta' be more than a smithy!" The old man yelled. "He chasted it down! Didn't let no damn horseshoes tell 'em who he was! Ya wanna know what did?!"

The glint of a hammer passed overhead. Too close to run, too far to counter, she raised the ruined axe above her head to block-

"HIM!"

The screeching of metal pounded against her ears. The weight, far too much to pushed away, ripped the axe from her hands. She heard it clatter to the floor. She saw its outline, sitting upon the floor, illuminated by the smallest beam of light.

She scrambled to retreive it, diving out of the way as the hammer crashed down into the floor. 

"Hammer made his own rules! Followed his own path, made his own destiny! N' there weren't a damn think no pencil pusher could tell 'em! Ain't a thing nobody could tell em! Only thing he listened to was his song!"

Her hand found purchase along familiar metal. She wiped away sweat from her hands, one, then two, returning to her feet in a hurry. 

Its weight felt different, as she settled back into a fighting stance. Warmer. Brighter. Shining with intent. 

As if someone else was finally goddamn listening.

"...His song?" A voice asked, pushing past her lips.

"His song!" The old man shouted in response, as the clattering of metal drew near. "That little ditty what plays inside your soul! Tells you what's really what! Hammer even named his first book after it!"

"Didn't you just say the first book was 'The Dark King's March' three minutes ago?"

"Oh not the first published book! The one before that! One what old got seen by his family n' folks! One the publishers shot down fer' not havin' a 'realistic audience'!"

The hammer swung to whack her, she dove out of the way, again, just a moment too late- 

...Or so she thought, as her body shifted beyond her own movement, falling down to the floor, evading the path of blow after blow after blow.

"That one thought he ain't never let go, even 'till the bitter end! One that started the whole darn thing! One ya could see anywhere, everywhere if ya' were lookin' in the right spots!"

The hammer moved too fast, fell down upon her too quick. It slammed upon her leg, her mouth opened to scream in pain- 

But her hands moved faster, upon another's will, as healing energy coalesced within, dispersing upon her leg. The pain faded. She stood back up.

"Then what did he call it?" She chuckled, unable to help the grin that began to spread across her face. About damn time.

"Some hippie mumbo jumbo that ain't had no meaning! Story bout' never givin up, stayin true ta' you, takin however long ya need ta figure out who you really is!"

"But what did he call it?" She said, as once more a buster began to gather along the edge of her axe, gleaming red in the darkness. 

"Ain't quite remember the exact name." He said, shrugging in the faint red glow. "...Somethin' dumb though, I reckon! 'Song a' the Soul', I think! Probably still out there, sittin in some crumpled up yellowed notebook! Metal rungs 'round the edges n' all! Think we're gettin' a bit past the point, though! You've been listinin, right? Whatcha think I'm gettin' at?!" 

The buster flew free. She watched as it found its mark, as it slammed against the metal of his hammer, as it turned back to face her. 

But this time, she was ready. She swung back at the burst, sending it flying back at him.

"Hammer was a blacksmith, and you couldn't get enough of his damn horseshoes." 

"Mhm!" 

He swung again. The buster rebounded.

"He took up writing, but he sucked ass! And he kept writing until he didn't suck ass!" 

"Mmmmhm!"

She swung again. The buster rebounded.

"He got his work sold, retired, and stuff himself on royalty money!"

"Wouldn't quite call it retired, but he certianly spent a whole lot less time over that oven!"

The buster flew past him, slamming against the wall and crackling with a resounding white light as its energy dissipated.  She spotted a grin plastered across the old man's face as the light briefly overtook the room, before falling back into darkness. 

"N' whatcha' reckon I'm tryin ta' tell ya' with that?"

...She thought. She thought and thought in the moment of silence, unable to come up with a concrete answer-

"...It doesn't matter what you were born to do?"

Until Light spoke for her.

"Close!" He said in turn, as the assault continued anew. A thousand glancing blows, a hundred blasts of magic, a death by a thousand papercuts-

And all throughout, she and them, within the pitch black darkness, ducked and bobbed and weaved throughout the storm. 

"It don't matter what yer' good at!" The old man shouted. "You're YOU! Ain't no job r' piece a glass r' predisposition that gets ta' tell you what you are! Only yer song gets ya! Only YOU getcha!"

The Hammer swung overhead. Too close to dodge, too far to counter. They swung the ruined blade of her head.

And Impossibly, defiantly, as the edge of the blade began to glow, she held her own.

"Ain't no suit, ain't no hogwash ya read off a wall, nothin! Nothin but you! So listen in, little lady! Whatcha hear?!"

I want to live. A voice muttered from the back of her mind, barely louder than a whisper, barly audible above the sound of scraping metal. 

A fire began to build within her veins. Warm and bright and building. She wanted that too.

"Well?!" The old man shouted, as the weight against the axe grew deeper. "*What's it sayin?"

He was strong. Far stronger than her. She'd lose her grip, she'd break beneath the pressure, she wasn't enough to hold him back alone-

But she wasn't alone. She felt as her hands tightened along the faded leather, as her teeth barred, as inch by inch, she began to push it back.

"I want to live." A voice muttered through her. 

The fire spread. Grew stronger, as ember and heat rose from a kindling within. Listening close, she could almost hear it. The crackle and churn of flame. The sound growing ever louder and louder.

She wanted that too.

"Maybe I weren't bean clear enough!" The old man shouted, as impossibly, defiantly, more and more strength began to push against her. Strong enough to send her back, but not enough to send her to the ground. Not enough to break her.

"THEM FINAL NOTES WITHIN, A'RINGIN!"

She dug deeper. She listened in. Her body began to move upon its own, and in the moments between, she heard it.

"THAT SONG INSIDE YER' SOUL, A'SINGIN!"

Life. The feelings and emotions, joy of memories past, memories present, memories yet to come. Hot Chocolate in the diner. A kind hand, outreaching to lift you out from the dark. A bulwark against the oncoming tide, an axe to cut away through the dark.

The Song of Life.

The Melody of the Heart.

"WHAT'S IT SAYIN, LITTLE LADY?! WHAT'S IT SAYIN, LITTLE LIGHT?!"

"I WANT TO LIVE!" She thought, she said, they screamed, as in one moment of perfect unison, heart burning bright, her broken axe was formed anew, engulfed in blinding white light. 

They swung forwards, slashing at the old man, shielding his one good eye from the blinding light. 

And cleaved his beard in half.

...And the old man laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed, his hand impulsively scratching against the new alteration.

"Do ya, now?" He said, his hand gripping tighter along the hammer as he scraped it back off the floor. 

"Do ya, now?" He yelled, as he charged forwards, leaping up into the air, aiming to slam the weight of the hammer down upon you.

You held the axe at the ready. She smiled.

"THEN SHOW ME!"

The crashing from within grew rampant. Magic flew free, and from what little cracks within Solus could see, the room had become alight with energy, shouting and screaming muffled grand walls separating them. 

He was even raised into the air by a particularly violent impact, for all but a moment. 

The Hermit must have been nearing the end of their discussion with the Dragon. 

...And in the meantime, he had accomplished nothing.

A necessary nothing, he still supposed, as the sounds behind him fell quiet. The Prince had still needed time to...adjust. 

But he had at the least expected them to move, at some point within their silent penance.  Besides the still yet untouched drink he had fetched them, the loose threads and pulled hair and frayed edges along their robe- they hadn't done...anything.

...Perhaps he had gotten himself in over his cusp. What was someone supposed to say to console him? He knew...pieces of the issue, yes, but not enough to infer the underlying issue.

The Prince was a firm believe in the prophecy. The Prince had witnessed a close ally lost. The Prince-

...Oh! What a fool he was, the Prince had already told him his story! Full of half-truths and exaggerations, he could only assume, but what story wasn't? 

He digressed. He thought. What could he pick from beneath the surface?

The Prince had...regretted a disservice to the Pixie. The Angel's Light, he could only assume. Whatever words they exchanged had shaken them. Perhaps...whatever occurred in that church below had simply...happened again? Rekindled sour memories? History did have a tendency to repeat itself.

Surely. If it was the case, then he already knew what he had to do. Help chase those thoughts away. A simple task! He turned back to face the Prince-

And jumped in surprise, just as they did, as the Dragon and Hermit alike emerged back out from the fireplace.

And again, as the Prince did, he couldn't help but stare. The Hermit had reawakened The Angel's Light.

Now adorned in crimson crystal, a fearsome tail outpoured from beneath the Dragon's cloak. A divine sigil blazed along the face of her ruined axe, forming a new blade.

She spoke with the hermit, enthusiasm and care evident along her face. He watched. He listened. At such a distance, he couldn't quite make the words out, but they both seemed to be in high spirits.

An improvement. Half-way done. Things were on the up-and-up. An unexpected, but entirely welcome development to aid his own efforts.

"Lonely Prince!" He shouted, turning back to face him. "You see as I do, do you not? The Angel's Light has rekindled!"

"...yes." He meekly responded. "...I do see."

"Then perhaps that story of your does have a happy ending after all!"

The Prince didn't seem quite as relieved as he thought he would be upon the revelation. If anything, as he watched, he shrunk back further into himself.

"...Well?" He asked, motioning onwards to the two. "Go on! You will speak with them, will you not?

"...I see no point." 

"I see the point right there! Three, standing proud upon the Dragon's axe!

"No, cup. There is no point because regardless of what I do, the outcome will remain the same."

"...Prince, I believe-"

"...What is the point of making it better?" The Prince interrupted. "Of...bothering to care in the first place, when it only brings pain?

...What is the point of any choice at all?"

He watched as the Prince sank yet farther within his robe, half of his muzzle obscured by green.

"...There is none, cup. And if you think of it any more than a moment, there never has been."

"And...what make you say that, Prince?" He said, as the sound behind him gradually began to fade away.

"...You know just as well as I, cup. The Prophecy has foretold it."

...Ah. Then...that was what this was about, he thought, as he took a seat beside him.

"It is...inevitable. Unavoidable. Its very existence weaves its way throughout us. By nature of our very existence, we are disposable. We will come to the end of our use. Every aspect of what we are, Fear, hope, anything and everything between- It will cease to be. It will return to nothing. We will return to nothing.

...He shifted uncomfortably. He watched, from the corner of his eye, as the Dragon partook in the Elixir, submerging her head beneath the pool. 

Her tail stiffened in shock. 

Her head remerged.

The hermit laughed.

"Well, if...such is true, then...why do we think, Prince?" Solus returned. "If...nothing we do matters, then...why are we do different from the darkness below? By our nature, it must be-"

"-a flaw." The Prince interrupted. "An oversight. A byproduct of the nature of darkness slipping too far into one direction. Or perhaps whatever grand design we are pieces of simply requires it. To have this...mess within us. I have had a long time to think on that, cup. And no answer comes back positive."

"Fear, hope, dread and anguish- that complicated mix of emotions within us, that...claw at us. They are overwhelming, are they not?" The Prince said, as his head sunk back further into his robe. "...That pain and fear of amounting to nothing? Of returning to nothing? A cruel joke of a design we could not begin to grasp."

He sat and listened in silence.

"...It terrifies me. It would terrify you too, if you knew as I."

He was...aware of the Prophecy. The grand, overlying strokes. The story one might tell with the pieces. But not as he did.

"You would try to find ways to circumvent it. To distract yourself, Cooking, cleaning and sewing- anything to keep it at bay."

"I-"

"But it would not matter in the end. No matter what you do, what friends you make, how many people you save or hurt or lose- 

...There is but one road. One ending. And then, there is nothing."

...Solus fell into silence himself.

He turned back, watching as the Darkners began to gather around The Angel's Light. 

...He saw the glimmer within their eyes. Hope, reborn from nothing like the mighty phoenix. Dreams, of better tomorrows. Of the dark cut away. The all consuming, all inspiring thought that regardless of what encroached, there would always be a way though.

"...It becomes a far easier burden to bear, cup. Once one accepts that-"

It inspired him to speak. 

"-you are wrong."

"...I'm sorry?"

"You claim that action is pointless. That...thought is some byproduct of grand, uncaring design. That beyond a clearly defined role, we are useless. Nothing more than the stardust we are made of."

Slowly, ignoring the aching of his crack, he began to stand upright.

"...And perhaps, in some capacity, you are right. Beyond the use of our counterparts, beyond our roles in the Prophecy, we have no designated purpose. To that end, nothing more we do really does matter.

He turned himself back to the face the prince, towards what little remained of their eyes, unobscured by the fabric. 

"But is that not liberating? To know that beyond your casted role, you are free from the burden of expectation?"

"...I did not-"

"You are correct, Prince." He interupted in turn, not allowing the Prince to finish his thought. "Nothing we do matters in the end. And that is simply the invitation to create something that does."

He watched as a flicker of something flashed behind the Prince's obscured eyes. From what little he saw, he couldn't quite tell. Annoyance? Acceptance? A begrudging hope, trying to bud from within? 

Regardless, he lost it, as the Prince's head flicked away, his eyes finding occupation in the wall beside them.

"...Even so." The Prince continued. "...There is no reason to try. If every action we choose draws to the same conclusion, then-"

"Then we are free to choose as we see fit!" He shouted, interrupting his thought again as he began to march to the wall in question. 

"If, beyond our role in the prophecy, we truly have no purpose, then we are free to define our own! To create our own goals by which to strive! Perhaps it is a comforting silence! Perhaps it is creation! Perhaps, even...service! Improving the lives of others! All draw to the same end of the same thread! You are free to do whatever you wish! Not others by command, not your darkest thoughts overpowering, but you!"

"I...understand your words." The Prince said, the fabric along his face beginning to slip down. "But...they do little to ease my fear. It is still...paralyzing."

He watched as the Prince's head turned over towards the Dragon. He watched as the Dragon's tail slapped her face. As the Dragon laughed in turn.

"There is to be death, cu-"

"Solus, if you would please."

"...There is to be death, Solus. If not mine, if not already occurred, then someone else's. Someone important. Someone loved. The fear of it haunts me. I cannot bring myself to see past it."

"...And death is a thought worth fearing." He said in turn, as the Prince's robe fell free from their face. "...However, abandoning all else will not make those thoughts disappear.  Giving up hope is not accepting the end. It is simply embracing the fear of it."

A sound draws their attention back.The Hermit's laugh.

He holds something within his hand. Bright and red and glowing, not unlike the Dragon's tail. A fragment of the light. Upon closer inspection, he could even approximate where it had fallen from, a crack within a spine upon her tail. Scotch tape stuck to the crack-

...and the rest of the reel held in the Hermit's other hand. 

The Dragon simply pushed it closer to him, and the Hermit pocketed the shard. 

Odd, he supposed, but-

"...I understand what you mean." The Prince continued, his gaze still transfixed upon the Dragon. "I know there is no reason to think as I do, but...I can't bring myself to listen. The fear, it...persists. It lingers. It clings to me and-And I cannot motivate myself to seek purpose."

He sighed. 

"...I understand, Prince. Emotion and Logic rarely work in tandem. However, they are interlinked. Just as despair can overthrow reason, so too can reason overthrow despair."

"...how?" The Prince asked, his voice sounding as if he was upon the cusp of tears.

Looking back, true to his thought, he was. Staring down upon him, even now, he could see the fur around his eyes begin to stain.

...He took a moment to think.

"One must...force themselves to." He said, staring back. "I was taught to by someone far wiser than I. If one subverts the creeping negative thoughts with the positive logical ones, the emotional mind, with...powerful slowness, will begin to shape to fit the logical."

He inched closer. A paw rested upon his head. The other began to wipe clean his eyes with a sleeve.

"...It will not be easy, Prince. It will not be quick. Oftentimes, it will feel impossible. But I assure you, as one who has experienced the same feelings, it can be done."

He thought back. To times of grand speeches and smiling faces. To times of quiet introspection. To the darkness of a storage closet.

"...One can change, Prince. One can heal. And if you stumble in those trying times, when all seems lost, when you want to give up, Never forget!"

Reddened eyes stared down at him as he motioned aside with his clipped feather to the Dragon.

...The dragon, now clipped of its tail and axe, held a heart within its hands. The Angel's Light. 

They noticed in turn. They waved. The Light blinked in greeting, before they hurried along towards the sleeping Angel.

"...You will always be loved."

...In all but a moment, The Prince had enveloped him, taking him into his arms, crushing into his form, and weeping freely.

Tears stained surface, dribbled down off onto the Prince's robe. He saw, from the corner of his eye, as the Hermit looked over in concern.

He waved him off. A pain of accomplishment he would gladly bare, as the Hermit smiled, nodding and limping back over towards his desk.

"take...all the time...you need!" He squeaked out, before the Prince's grip relented. "They- They will not venture forward without you, Prin-"

"Ralsei is fine."

"...They will not venture forward without you, Prince Ralsei."

He stared again from the Prince's embrace, as the Hermit took out another pen from within his desk. Stark white. He seemed to be in no short supply to lend.

The Hermit handed the pen to the Dragon, who in turn slotted it inside the notebook she held, before replacing his captured troop with it inside the Angel's embrace.

...He supposed that made him the last captive.

"Though...you may wish to give it some haste. I believe they are well into the process of reawakening the Angel."

"O-Oh! yes, I- We-" 

He quickly let him go, setting him to the side and making himself as presentable as he could, dusting himself of the discarded fur, holding a low flame to the tears that marred his sleeves, and quickly walking over to the Dragon's side.

Solus stared at the heart within the Dragon's palm as he too approached. The Angel's light.

...It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Lost in its glow, he barely noticed as it seemed to turn down and stare at him in turn. 

He nodded, unsure of what else to do in the moment. The Light seemed to nod in turn.

"...You good, man?" The Dragon said, as he ripped his attention back towards her.

"Y-Yes! Yes I...I am...better now, Susie. Thank you." Ralsei said in turn, a small smile across his face. 

"...You sure? You look like you were-"

"I was." Ralsei interrupted. "But...it was a good kind. A needed one. I...owe the both of you a-"

A sound interupted him in turn. Tiny, barely perceptable above the commotion of study, but audible to him. To the Dragon, as her head turned back.

The crack of glass. One that formed in The Light's shell.

"Right, Shit! Uh-" The Dragon panicked pushing past him and kneeling beside the Angel's form. 

"I just...shove you in? Or-"

The Light nodded. 

"...Ok. Ok! Right! Uh...I'll just-" 

The Dragon's hand reeled back, palm open, prepared to shove the Light back into the Angel's chest-

...Before again, hesitating.

"We're uh,,,like, you know- after you go back, we're still...like..."

The Dragon shook her head clear.

"Whatever! Screw it, just wake her up!"

He watched as the Dragon's open palm flew into The Angel's chest, the Light lingering along the fabric as it reeled back.

...A second passed. Two, Three, as it rested atop of her. Seemingly confused itself. It seemed to move upwards for a moment-

Before a strand of white erupted out from the Angel's chest, piercing? connecting? Rejoining, he supposed he should say, the two back together, pulling it close.

He heard as more cracks, seemly now with purpose, erupted from the Light's shell. Tendrils of red outpoured from within, connecting and joining as more of white came forth, grasping and mixing and clasping eachother like roots, Red holding desperately to white as it tried to pull them beneath. 

...He was beginning to believe it wasn't something he was supposed to be watching. The sight almost reminded him of the darkness below, but-

It quickly ended before he could continue the though. The Angel's Light was pulled beneath, and she herself seemed to breathe just a bit easier. 

A small smile crept to her face.

...And the study watched on in silence.

Chapter Text

Pulled along by the white strand that had pierced you, staring about into the warm darkness that enveloped your vision otherwise, your mind couldn't help but wander. 

You looked down to the tendril, almost wanted to liken it to a harpoon, now that you were really looking at it. It wasn't technically hurting you, and the only thing you really felt was a stronger pull, but...oh well. You weren't about to complain.

...It was best if you didn't question the finer details, you thought. The intricacies could be explained a thousand different ways, but the end result was the same. It was something to do with perception, maybe. The drift felt longer because of your separation. Reconnection felt more violent for the same reason, like inching two magnets closer and closer together until they reunited with force.

Though, magnetism sounded too...violent? Forceful? You didn't want to think of a reunion like that.

A hug, maybe. You'd picture it like a hug. People close to one another, reuniting after some time apart, dreadfully missing eachother. You had certainly missed her. What couldn't have been more than an hour or two in full had felt like months.

Susie was nice, once you got to know her. You no longer had any quarrels, but there was something about her as a host that-

...No. You stopped yourself. The word host left a sour taste in your mouth. It felt...wrong, referring to yourself as a parasite.

...Partner. That was a nicer word.

There was something about her as a partner that felt...different. There was something about each partner you'd had that seemed to feel different. The way their souls interacted with you. Variations of a song.

Kris was...discordant. Out of tune and broken in a way you couldn't understand, despite your best intentions. Stabbing pains and angry glares. Cold and distant.  Restricting, like-

...Well, like a cage. A living cage, that seemed to hate the bird that it housed. 

You forced your mind onwards. You didn't want to linger there at the moment.

Susie was...hot. In the burning and crackling sense of the word. A tempo that played upon its own beat, changing the pacing however it pleased. Difficult to cooperate with, difficult to adjust to, but...cool as hell, if one could manage to keep up. Good natured, if hectic. A friend.

Noelle was...well, as close to perfect as you'd want to call it. Synchronized. Noelle was synchronized with whatever the tone you played was. She was kind. Warm and comforting-  the closest you could associate to homely, if such a word could describe a person. You never felt frustration working with her, never felt yourself crack or falter or burn while within her presence, never had to follow another set of rules or change your pace to fit. 

...You were looking forward to being able to do that again. 

White enveloped your vision. The speed by which you were pulled began to intensify. Yet more extensions of her came forward to pull you in faster. You'd smile, if you had the face to do so. 

You permitted yourself to bask in the sight for a moment longer. You felt as  the twang of connection rooting in the back of your mind, you closed your eyes-

...And did not  find yourself back at the study. Truth be told, you couldn't quite tell the difference between opened and closed. The same void of white permeated your vision.

Or, mostly the same, you deducted, shifting your form about and blinking. With your eyes closed, one key difference became apparent. 

A door.

A familiar door, one you began to recognize as you grew closer. A white archway, a yellow door with a massive glass panel, a letter slot that you yourself could probably squeeze through, if you tried.  

The door to the Holiday Manor. 

With little else to do, you approached.

Sound and commotion grew louder as you drew near. Voices, somewhere within. The clattering of silverware. The crackle of a fireplace.

People eating, you assumed. Dinner? Breakfast? Unless there was a particular set of silverware one used to eat different meals, you had no idea. The last you'd seen of the light world, it was around that time, assuming people ate dinner in the evening. When did people eat Dinner again? Seven, Eight at the latest? You weren't quite sure, back then you were only judging by the sun-

...How *did* you know how to judge time by the sun? 

Come to think of it, how were you...here? What was here? Was this a Dream? Was this what people just...dreamed about? Their houses?

You supposed there was only one way to get the answer. Searching for a doorbell, finding nothing and improvising a knock by bashing yourself against the wood, you tried to summon forth the one who probably did. 

The commotion inside grinds to a standstill. The voices silence. The clattering stops. Even the roaring of the fire ceases completely. 

"O-Oh! Uh- I'll get it!" A voice shouts out. The commotion returns. You watch as a familiar figure opened the kitchen door, heard as footsteps echoed closer-

"Hello!"

And once again, find yourself wishing you could smile, as Noelle's cheerful face smiles in greeting.

You blink your light in recognition, hovering close, expecting-

...Anything other than what you received, as her eyes opened and she stared in shock. 

"...Little Light?"

She stared you down, her eyes darting closer as you hovered to meet her face.

"Light! How did- When... Did we-"

She looked...frazzled, upon a closer inspection. Not quite as put together as you'd recognized her last. You saw it in her hair, loose ends and split strands spilling outwards. In her face, with vacant eyes that struggled to stay open. In the way she stood, wobbling from side to side, desperate to keep upright. 

"...How did you get here? When did you get here?"

...You blinked again. You couldn't respond.

Something clattered to the floor from the ajar kitchen. You floated to look over her shoulder, but-

"Y-You're right! It doesn't matter, Come in, Come in!" She quickly interrupted, scooping a hand behind you and all but pushing you inside, lingering at the empty doorframe a moment longer, and slamming the door back shut.

The manor felt more lively, at the least. Or-

Different. The manor felt different, you noticed. Far less sterile and pristine, objects and personal items littered the house and floor. Loose shoes of two different colors, a blue coat neatly folded and hung loosely over the couch, a novelty Christmas sweater sitting just beside it.

...The crackle of a fireplace. Or- the sound of a crackle of a fireplace, emanating from a channel on the TV above. Things you might expect from a less pristine manor, but far from the last.

The pitch of white that pained the walls seemed off-color. A Christmas wreathe had lodged itself into another one adjacent. A toy Santa that upon closer inspection, almost seemed to flicker and shift in the light, as if the toy itself couldn't decide if the room was lit or dark. 

A hug. The grasp was unsure at first, as if the initiating tendrils were unfamiliar with your presence. The hesitation quickly faded away, however, as it seemed to recognize you. The effort provided redoubles. The grip upon you becomes sure. Connection is re-established.*

...It sets something off within your mind, but you don't quite get the time to process it. Another clattering sound from the kitchen rung out. Another hand pulled you along.

Entering, you saw-

...December Holiday?  Rudy? Carol, you believe their names were- All together at the table.

Well, mostly together at the table. Carol held a plate in her hands beside the sink. Crumbs and food littered the ground, Rudy tried to hide a smirk upon his face, and Dess, holding another plate at the ready, aimed towards the sink.

"Young lady." Carol snapped, depositing the plate she held into the sink. "What do you think you are doing?*

"....Putting the plates away?" Dess responded in turn, a snide grin along her face. "Yaknow, like you asked me to?"

Dess looked....different than you remembered. You hadn't seen her face for that long, but now looking directly at her- 

She looked younger than you remembered. A few years older than Noelle, maybe? It was hard to make out from the blur-

She looked exactly as you remembered her. No- she looked worse.  The cuts and scrapes and torment of darkness had ravaged her body, marred her face, black sclera and pitch white pupils-

She hardly looked like a person. Her features were indistinct, her form shifted, she looked closer to a drawing or caricature or drawing of a person-

You didn't know what she was. She was- She filled her clothes? She was gaunt and skinny within them? Her face smiled? Her face frowned? She was scarred? She was perfectly healthy?

You turned your gaze away. Your mind began to spin whenever you looked at her. You focused your attention upon Carol instead.

She seemed different as well. Her posture was more relaxed, she didn't quite freeze you in place with her gaze alone, she didn't seem to drop the temperature of the room with her mere presence. It felt...off. In a positive way, you supposed, but-

"Mom! Dad! I uh- I brought a friend!" Noelle quickly chirped out, in a moment of silence between them.

...Nobody responded.

"You are going to break them, is what you are going to do." She said, her eyes narrowed as she deposited the place into the sink. "And you are making a mess of the kitchen in the process."

"Oh Carol, cmon!" the other voice, Rudy, begged from the table. Peering out from the corner of your eye, you think you saw him smile. You thought you saw a hand resting upon a ruined jacket. Upon an exposed shoulder.  Upon a mutilated shoulder.  Upon-  "First time we can manage to get everyone down at the table in ages! Lighten up a little!"

"...December, you will not-"

"Honey, Please."

A claw scraped a plate clean.

"Yeah! C'mon, Honey!" A voice gurgled. A voice said in jest. A voice begged. "They're just the stupid plastic ones anyways! It's not like I even could!"

"...You will not miss." Carol said back, turning away as you saw the ghost of a grin spread across her face. "And it will land in the right side of the sink, with the other dishes yet to be washed, or-"

You heard Dess cheer. You heard Rudy cheer. You watched as the plate flew free, nearly landing into the sink before ricocheting outwards, bouncing off off faucet, off the sword mounted upon the wall, flying clean between Noelle's antlers and finally landing somewhere out in the living room.

"...Fuck."

"December Holiday!"

"D-Don't worry! I'll get it!" Noelle quickly said, rushing back out into the living room.

The sound of footsteps running off behind you rung out before you had so much as the time to turn around. You gave chase, quickly finding her in the middle of a struggle to reach beneath the couch.

...You were still confused. You were still very confused, as you tucked yourself beneath the narrow opening, resting in the slight dip of the plate and pushing it  just within reach. This was moving far too fast, you had a multitude of questions-

You were swiftly pulled out alongside it, marred by whatever crumbs still sat along the plates surface. 

"Thank You!" Noelle said, beginning to run into the kitchen once more- 

Before you stopped her, abruptly floating up from the plate and blinking rapidly in her face as the crumbs fell off. You wanted an explanation. You wanted a reasoning, you wanted something.

And for a moment, Noelle hesitated. Her eyes darted between you and the open kitchen door, as if she were more surprised than anything.

"I....We- I still need to-"

"Young lady." You heard Carol snap from the Kitchen. 

"We...We need to get the plate back!" Noelle said in turn, pushing past you, emboldened by the sound of her voice.

...You wished you had a means to communicate frustration by yourself. Floating back towards the kitchen, you pushed the door back open, watching Noelle standing idle as-

"...Putting the plates away?" Dess responded in turn, a snide-

No, you looked away. You didn't want to see her face again.

"...Yaknow? Like you told me to?"

...Again? She spoke with the exact same tone, the exact same demeanor, the exact same confusion. 

"Mom! I uh-" Noelle quickly tried to interject. "I...brought the plate!"

"You are going to break them, is what you are going to do."

"I....I got it! Like you wanted!"

"Oh Carol, c'mon! First time we can manage to get everyone down at the tables in ages!"

"You...don't have to keep-"

"Honey, Please." 

...Nothing acknowledged her. The conversation repeated without interruption. You didn't need to see her face to know that whatever smile once graced it faded away.

You felt as the coils around you began to tighten. As tendrils pulled you in, as more erupted to join their sisters. Your form was pulled closer into hers, and something about the way they acted set off an alarm. It was familiar. You couldn't say you entirely hated the sensation, but-

You focus within was lost as your attention turned back to the family. Just as Dess's form had shifted and changed, now too had Carol's and Rudy's.

They looked younger. Less stressed. Between the two, Carol even seemed to smile. 

They looked exactly as you remembered them. Gaunt and skinny in a hospital gown, cold and indifferent, with bags beneath their eyes that spoke of sleepless nights. Should have figured. With how long she spent at work, she might as well have been sleeping there. You couldn't have imagined that an office chair would be comfortable, but then why-

You turned away again, not letting yourself be pulled in further by the thought. You looked to Noelle instead, and the panic within told you everything you needed to know.

"Oh- Gosh, I- I'm sorry! This wasn't supposed to happen again, I-It only happens when I stop paying attention to them! I'll fix it!"

...Again? Fix?

You floated before her face, blinking rapidly as she closed her eyes. 

Their conversation halted entirely.

She nudged you out of the way, looking back to her family, seemingly shocked that whatever she had done hadn't worked. 

"I...uh- I-"

They lingered upon the lingered note of the last word they spoke, endlessly repeating the same sound at the same volume like a frozen computer.

She staggered backwards.

"I was...meaning to get past this part anyways!" She quickly said, grasping you within her hands and backing away farther from the kitchen. "We can- We'll just come back to this later!"

You writhed and pushed against her hands, uselessly trying to free yourself from her grasp. It was far stronger, far more forceful than any other time you had held you. 

From what little you saw, yet more had piled into the mess in the living room. Shoes and jackets and Christmas sweaters and baseball bats-

From what you heard, before the sound of her door opening, the family downstairs only continued to drone, as if frozen in time. The door closed, muffling the sound enough to be ignored.

From what you felt, she was terrified. Her hands clenched firmly upon you, trembling violently as you shined between them. You didn't dare try to hurt her to free yourself but-

...But you were concerned. Terribly so, as she finally let you go, now safely contained in her room. 

"S-Sorry! I'm really, really sorry!" She stuttered out. "I...know you can't really eat, so it's- It's probably better we just left anyways!"

Moved onto what? Ate what? Did what?

You floated back up to face her, quickly finding yourself sidelined yet again as she bolted over towards her computer. You quickly flew over-

...And noticed that she looked worse. The mess of her hair had intensified, her eyes were wide open with with panic, her ears were pointed straight up-

"There was- Something cool! I uh, I have it back- here, but- I didn't really get to show you yet!" She nervously blurted out, as the screen blared to life. She clicked franticly on a blue icon with a white gear, staring anywhere else but her wallpaper until the page came to life. An advertisement for some other game took up the screen, before she quickly began to navigate to another menu.

"It's uh- It's...a game! It's this really cool game that- I thought Dess would've liked so I got it and I played a little and- uh-"

She fell into a panicked silence as you drew near, navigating to a page with a dropping menu of titles and icons in white and faded grey. 

A few titles caught your eye. Dragon Blazers Chapters I & II, Cat Petterz 2, Lightfall Ravine, Screaming Valleys-

"I uh- I...tried it a little and- I...wasn't really that good at it at first, but-" She continued, finally stopping upon something called "Megamurder" in the list and clicking a green play button. "-but...its story is cool! It's a...really cool game! And uh-"

Neglecting- no, unable to mention the fact that you've only ever heard of one game before, you supposed you'd give her the benefit of doubt, pushing aside your concerns and ever increasing tension.

The screen darkened, flashing through several different animations and screens of names that meant nothing to you, before settling on what you could only assume was the title screen. 

Maybe she was just scared, you thought. If you were locked in a white void with nothing but...whatever the hell was going on downstairs, you'd probably be a bit on edge too.

You floated closer. You pressed yourself against her. You almost flinched as her hand flew backwards, trying to press you in farther. 

The embrace tightened. They locked you in place, they restricted you from moving as yet more and more came to ensnare you. They felt afraid. They felt desperate. They pulled you closer in an act of comfort.

Your vision shifted. Her hand flew back to the keyboard. You watched from two sets of eyes, in ever-mounting confusion, as you still remained outside, half imbedded within her chest, not entirely inside. Close, but not quite where you belonged. 

"S-Sorry, Sorry!" She sputtered out again. "I just- I...Oh! Oh, right, uh-"

Her hand pressed down upon two of the keys, opening yet another dropping menu, with yet another list of names.

These ones looked like faces. People. A friends list, you could only assume.

...The two people upon it made the rest of the space feel rather empty. 

Regardless, she clicked upon the first name she could, opening a chatbox.

"T-There!" She said, relaxing the other of her hands. "Now uh- you can uh- You can...commentate! And- ask questions! And...talk to me again!"

...You weren't quite sure where to start. 

[are you ok?] You slowly typed, having to stare down at the keyboard to look at each individual letter. [you dont seem-]

"I'm fine!" She quickly responded, wrenching back control and tabbing out from the chatbox, clicking inwards into Megamurder's level select screen. "Y-You don't have to worry about me! Really! I just- Uh- It's...It's a cool game! I wanted to show you!"

...You didn't remember the two keys she pressed together to make the chatbox appear, but you probably didn't need to say that you didn't believe her.

"It's uh- It's about killing- Er- The Prophecy! It's another game based off the Prophecy, like uh- Dragon Blazers is! Or- kind of is!" She stuttered, scrolling down to the very end of the very last currently available box. "I'll just- show you the cool part first! And- And we can play the rest later!"

Tab and Shift at the same time, you finally figured out, as the textbox appeared once more. 

[a game based off the prophecy is called megamurder/]

"Y-Yeah! It's uh- You...play as a monster who went to Heaven! But- But uh- Heaven is...in trouble? I think? Because The Angel was...uh- I...don't remember that part actually, but-"

The character you played as came to a halt, and you watched as white wings unfurled from their back.

"You're- a monster! And- And there's an Angel guiding you and- You use the power of light in uh...guns to- kill...darkness? I think? Or- Demons, or- you heal when you do! And-"

[do you have megamurder in the real world/]

"This is the real world, silly!!" Noelle said, attempting to correct you far too quickly. "And uh- You...have to hold the shift button to...make the question mark appear- But we are there! We...left the Dark World! And...and everyone went home! And-"

[i dont remember the white void outside your house is that nEW?]

"Here! I'll just play for a bit and- and you can watch, and- And we can both forget all about that!" 

Control was pried away, and you watched through her eyes as she began to play the game. 

Her character crawled through a narrow series of corridors, before escaping out to an opening, walking through a set of metal doors, and staring upwards at something far, far more massive than her. The behemoth's head turned down, its eyes like a spotlight that focused down upon her. 
 
The wings upon her back flared out in challenge. 

It roared, and she flew to combat it. 

You watched, as over the course of several attempts, Noelle...died over and over to the beast, always in the same way. A blast of something coming out from its hand as she flew to a specific spot, swapping through a specific series of weapons you still didn't understand, fumbled a shot from one of the guns-

Half the time you think she blew herself up. Half the time the giant got her. She just didn't seem to be able to move fast enough.

[i dont think-]

"It's a trick I saw!" She yelled back. "It saves time! It- lets you skip past like, the entire level!"

[why are you trying to skip past the level if you want to show me it?]

"Because- I...messed up earlier! You're supposed to have help from these three other NPCs, but...I forgot to save them in their sections and I can't go back because I didn't get a D-rank on any of the levels before!"

[what]

"D! Like...Divine! Or- Perfect or- Whatever! They're in earlier parts!"

[i didnt see those parts]

"I know! I just-" 

She began to sound more and more frustrated, more and more panicked. Her movement became sloppy, the trek through the maze began to take longer, and even when she finally did make it past, she hardly made it feet forwards before being blasted.

"-I wanted you to see this part! Because it's supposed to be the really cool part! And I wanted you to like it and play it with me! And-"

They constrict you yet further. They bind, they choke, they writhe as the tendrils run short of space to ensnare you with more of themselves. Your shell begins to reach the limit of tension that it can handle. You hear as something beneath you cracks.

They love you. Honestly, truly they do. They can't let you leave again. They need you to be closer.

It was validating, in a morbid sense of the word. The yearning need. The desire of being desired. You almost wanted to say you enjoyed it.

She stopped talking as the game suddenly froze, the death screen seemingly laughing at her as the breaking soul's droning ambiance began to repeat.

...You watched as she tried to bring the chatbox back up. As she tried to close the tab. As she pressed yet another series of buttons, as she tried to flip a switch on the computer's side-

As she ripped the computer, box and wires and attachments and all out from the wall, opening her door and hurling it downstairs with a strength you didn't know she had.

It didn't break as it fell. It hardly even scratched. It looked out of place upon the pristine white floors.

...The house was silent. She slammed the door back shut.

"I...Forget it!" She quickly said, turning back around and cupping you in her hands. "Forget it! We uh- We don't need- My...my TV still works! We can just watch that! One of those old Christmas specials! Like you said you wanted to!"

You wanted to respond. You wanted to tell her that her voice was trembling, that her hands were shaking, that you were starting to become afraid of the panic in her eyes.

But you couldn't.

You were helpless to do anything but watch in silent concern as she all but ran to the side her couch, sitting down before abruptly raising back up, forgetting to grab the remote from her desk. She dragged you along all the while, still half exposed, before finally sitting down and pulling you free, placing you beside her.

You wanted to say that the smile she had forced to her face wasn't helping, that it was only making you more concerned. That the tapping of her legs upon the ground jostled the couch, before you fell off to the side anyways, neatly between the couch cushions. She swiftly caught you and pulled you back up, turning and clicking a button upon the remote to no seeming effect.

...She clicked it again. Again and again, over and over- You wanted to tell her that pressing it would likely only break the thing.

She stopped a moment later, seemingly come to the same realization. You watched as she gripped the broken remote, tighter and tigher, the crackle and crunch of weakening plastic filling the dead air- 

Until it abruptly stopped,  a piece of the remote flying free, and landing upon the floor.

"Fahaha! Oh- I- Look! See? it- It was just out of batteries!" She anxiously said, stuffing the empty section of the remote into your face.

You-

You were dragged along, loosely shoved back into her chest yet again she ran back over to her desk, quickly dedicating a hand and her undivided attention to searching through it. For batteries, you could only assume, as the other loosely rapped along its wooden edge in a frantic rhythm. 

You took the moment to grab an open notebook from the desk's surface, quickly stuffing a pencil within its pages as she came back up from the desk, sprinting back over to the couch.

You tossed it to the side as her other hand pried control back, inserting the batteries and returning to the frantic clicking of the button. 

You feel as the soul ensnaring you, within its panic to bring you closer, tears itself apart in desperation. Tendrils wring themselves free, let you just loose enough to pry open further a wound that pressing you so close had caused, and quickly return once they believe they've caused a sufficient enough damage.

The warmth that encompasses you as you are pulled inside is sickeningly sweet. Caring and desperate and pleading as it pulls you within. It needs you. You know that it does. It can't let you leave it again.

"-ver I touch! Starts to freeze in my clutch! Haha! I'm too much!"

"This uh- This one! I love this one!" She began again, pulling you back, gripping you with enough force that you began to register pain upon your shell. "They uh- They- They made it entirely out of uh- Clay! And...And it's a Christmas move! And- And my- my last name is-"

The words she spoke began to fall into mumbling. Even if you could tell what she was saying anymore, the sight of what her face had become would push it away. 

The unrestrained panic in her every shifting eyes, unable to focus upon the one thing she wished to. The desperate grip upon your form, oblivious to the damage it was causing. It broke your heart far faster than you figured she could break you.

You pulled yourself into the best approximation of a hug that you could. She took it as a sign to continue, turning the volume up- 

..And being met with a familiar freezing static. 

"No." She whimpered, clutching the remote in her hand. "Nono- nonono-" 

She clicked another button you couldn't quite see. The static only grew worse. She pressed harder, more fervently, crushing and clicking and smacking the remote in a desperate attempt to get anything else to happen.

...And so it did. To her shock or horror, you could only assume, as what now played resembled some kind of...home movie. A memory, maybe. Children, gathered around a Christmas tree. Someone who looked like a younger Kris, others who you could only assume were Asriel and Dess, opening presents.

She held you tighter. She clicked the remote. The image shifted. 

The same children sit before a TV, at either of your sides. 

They reach inwards. They prod at your surface. They pry and search until they find openings, microscopic cracks from which to force themselves in.

Her breathing became yet further uneven. The image shifted. You were watching from the bleachers of a baseball field, as someone you don't know plays a baseball game.

You tried to reach for the notebook.

They find their wounds. They pry deeper, they force the cracks wider, they force more of themselves into you, and the separation between the two words begins to blur.

Her grip tightened yet further. You felt yourself begin to buckle beneath the pressure. You listened in upon muttering breaths as the channel shifted.

She's in the police office, trying to find the words to say as Miss Undyne asks you what you remember. You say the same thing you already have- you say everything you know. You know nothing.

The channel blurs. Passing conversations. Assurances that it will be solved quickly. Empty condolences. Broken promises. Barely a week passes before everything falls silent. Before everyone falls silent.

You become a captive of your own home. Everything and everyone you knew begins to drift away.

You try to move, but you cannot. You try to shift away, but it only invites them deeper. In any and every direction you look, it is white.

But it is warm. It is comfortable. It is everything you wanted. It is anything you could want. You have no reason to leave. You don't have to.

You hand fell short, unable to close the distance. Your breathing nearly stopped altogether, only coming in short, haggard breaths. You beg yourself not to.

...You were running out of options. You were watching yourself collapse in real time, you felt yourself sinking within your chest- 

You took a deep breath with your lungs-

Please. Please don't leave. You don't have anything else left. You don't have anyone else left. Not like this. Not anymore.

It's cold without you. It's empty. It's lonely. Please. Please, never leave again. Please-

"NOELLE!"

The shock to her system halts their advance. They falter. They recede. They still lingered, just along your edges. Needles and hooks, just beneath the surface.

...You- She apologized. She said she was sorry, over and over and over as you will one of her arms to reach over and grab the notebook, flipping to a vacant page.

...You set it upon her lap, and hug her with her own arms. The tears fall free. Even the soul weeps.

You're left in silence, still lodged halfway within as splotches fall down and soak into the paper. You weren't quite sure for how long. Time seems to pass strangely, within a dream. Within a nightmare. You weren't quite sure what you'd call this.

Her breathing becomes steady. You feel the grip upon you loosen. You, with an incredible amount of effort, dislodge yourself and float to her side.

"...Four years." She said, after finally regaining her composure enough. "...No, that's a lie. Three years and...eight months and three weeks, but- you know what I mean."

A hand reaches out to grab you. It brushes along the crack it had formed.

"It's...been like that. For...all that time."

Her other adjoins it, pulling you close and speaking face to...face. 

"...No, that's- That's a lie too. It's only been getting worse for four years." 

...Her eyes were red and puffy. Her hands still shook as she held you. She couldn't bring herself to look you for anything longer than a moment, before turning her eyes back down to the ground. 

"Dess is- You saw Dess. I...tried. Before, When it was still...fresh. The only things that search engines ever gave me was Christmas. I guess...that wasn't ever gonna work."

She tried to wipe the cracks and wounds away. Failing that, she let you go for a moment, clasping her hands together. The cracks fade. She pulls you back, holding you close to her chest. A hug, you can only assume.

"...My dad is dying." She said, as she choked back another sob. "...And- and nobody wants to tell me anything, and the closest I saw from I did was...something about monsters and hopelessness but...but I-"

She pulls you in tighter.

"...I don't know how much longer he has left."

She pulls you free, staring down upon her reflection in your surface. 

"...My mom hasn't talked to me in anything more than a six word sentence since he went to the hospital. Kris hasn't said anything since it all happened, and- Angel- the only person I've really been able to talk to at all has been Berdly."

You shake free from her grasp, floating over and tapping yourself against the notebook. She quickly gets the message, pulling it close and opening to an unstained page, placing the pencil into her hand.

[What's wrong with Berdly?]

"It's...He's just...You know, he's-"

[Annoying?]

"He's alright! Really! He's nice, and he cares, but he just...helps me stay out of my head, sometimes. It's...not good when I think for too long."

[I don't hear a rebuttal.]

She sighed at the words, holding you closed with her one free hand as she fell back into the couch, staring at the ceiling above.

"...It's not good, Light. It hasn't been good for a long, long time. I just...I want it back."

[What?]

"I want...before back. When everything wasn't falling apart. When I could just wear those little angel wings I still have in my closet, and- Kris would chase me around the house with a heart and- Dess would have to come up and smack them in the head, and-"

You were grabbed, her hand pried away from your control as she suddenly leaned back forwards, staring  at the reflection cast upon your surface. 

"...And then you did! I...wasn't expecting the wings to be red, but- but it was ok! It was here again! I..."

I had someone again.

...It wounded you to see her like this. Desperate, pleading, a...mess, for lack of any better word. 

"...We don't have to leave!" She said, a lock of hair falling out before her face. "We...We can stay! As long as we want! I can...fix them! And we can have dinner like a family and- And I can show you my games and- And we don't have to hurt anymore, and-

She pulled you back into a hug, close enough to hear the frantic beating of her heart.

"Please don't leave.This is all I have left." She begged.  "It's...It's stupid. It's selfish, I know, just- Please. Please stay." 

You let her hold you until her breathing calmed again. Until she fell back down into the couch, eyes shut tight. Until the muttering finally drew to a close.

It was only then that she let you loose enough to slip back in between her ribs. Only then that you could make an effort to return the hug with her own arms a moment longer, before slowly moving to pick the notebook back up.

[We can't.]

"...Why not?" 

[Because this is a dream. They still need us.]

"I-If it's a dream, then...Then it doesn't matter how long we stay! We- We could stay forever! It...wouldn't matter, right? And I could fix them, and it would be normal again, and-"

[They're hurting.]

"And I'm NOT?!" She screamed, with such a sudden shift in tone that the pencil you wrote with snapped upon the page.

"I- I'm sorry!" She yelled, standing up from the couch and quickly retrieving you a new one, forcing it between stiffened fingers. "I just- I-" 

...She sighed, taking the broken pencil and placing it back upon the desk. "...I don't want to be alone anymore, Light."

[You won't be.] You quickly wrote, underlining the words for emphasis. 

You felt a glimmer of something within. Hope, perhaps, as the tendrils curled and twisted in appreciation.

[I know now sucks. I saw.] You continued, as she paced about her room aimlessly. [But you can't stay here. You're not that person anymore. You're someone else.]

"...I don't think that's any better."

[Little Kid You would probably think your wings are way cooler.]

You paused as she stared back at the wardrobe. 

"...She would, wouldn't she?"

[She would also probably be pretty sad if she thought her best days were the school play.]

"That...would be pretty sad, wouldn't it?"

[The best you can do is try to put the pieces back together. Try to make whatever now is better. And I'll-]

"I...I can't, Light." She stuttered. "...Not by myself. I'm sorry. I-"

[I won't make you do it alone.] You interrupt, tapping her nose with the end of the pencil. [I'll be right here.]

You waited as she stared down at the page in silence. 

"Even after...all of this? The Dark Worlds and- everything- You'll stay?"

[As long as you'll have me.]

"and...you won't leave?"

You underlined the last words again for emphasis.

You waited again in an extended moment of silence for a response.

[No-]

A hand abruptly wrenched free from the book, plunging into her chest and pulling you free as it clattered to the floor. 

You noticed several more strings connecting you, in the brief moment of time before your vision was filled with white.

"Please don't leave." She begged, as she pulled you into a hug once more.

You thought of bending back down to retrieve the notebook, but...decided against it in the moment, instead simply trying your best to return the hug.

"...I'm not going anywhere." You responded in turn.

You waited for a moment. Two, three, five- as long as she needed, before her hands, upon her own accord, pushed you back in between her ribs. 

Reunited, you bent back down and picked up the book, holding it firmly as Noelle hesitated at her door.

[Are you ready?] 

"...Not really." She said, turning the knob and pushing the door back open. "But...I'm ready to try. I...think."

[That's all anyone can ask.]

The rest of the manor, as she walked back out, seemed to feel...satiated, if you could describe it in a word.  Pristine, for the most part, with...newer bits and pieces of newer messes beginning to take root. The little Angel Doll from your prior escapade sat on the floor. An empty snack tray,  spilling crumbs out across the table. The echoing sound of a piano from a kitchen you dared not look into, sounding out across the house as she crossed the hallway, and paused at the front door.

"So we just...leave?" She asked, hesitating as she stared into the white void beyond the glass.

[I think so.]

"Are we both going to...remember all of this?" 

[Probably. A shame, really.] You wrote, as you felt her eyebrows shift in confusion. [You spoiled me on Megamurder.]

"Well- Just the one part!" She quickly said in her defense. "And I didn't even get that far! And-"

[Just messing with you.] You wrote, accompanied by a drawing of the smug grin you'd seen in the list of her phone's emojis. 

"Faha." She laughed, clearly unamused as she turned the doorknob and took a step out into the void. "I...wouldn't mind forgetting just that part, though. I...did want to show it to you. And Dess, too."

[Then i'll still be looking forward to it.] You wrote, beside a significantly less smug smile.

She smiled in turn, closing the book and walking out into the void beyond. 

You vision was filled with white. 

And you closed your eyes. 

Color returned, in blurry shades of brown and white and red and pink as Noelle slowly regained her bearings. As a familiar pressure behind her back began to squirm.

She leaned up, and your wings outstretched to their full length. Your halo reformed. Changed, seemingly, but...still you.

...It was nice to be back.

Some of the colors faded away into the foreground as you brought them forth for inspection. They seemed more...complete? Indepth? 

Defined, you settled upon, as you spun them back and forth. Something closer to soft, you dared to think, as Noelle's hand ran across the length. You-

"THE ANGEL HAS AWOKEN!" A familiar voice screamed, mere feet away. "CUE THE FANFARE!" 

Noise blasted out from nothing. A blaring shout and song that shocked her upright. She covered her ears. You flapped your wings in surprise.

"THE ANGEL IS DISPLEASED!" The voice quickly corrected. "CEASE THE FANFARE!" 

"It- It was ok!" She squeaked out. "Just...a little quieter! Please!"

"THE ANGEL IS MERCIFUL!" Solus shouted. "PLAY THE FANFARE AT A RESPECTFULLY MEDIATED LEVEL OF VOLUME!"

Quieter, the darkners around you sang and played a song, in such harmony that you'd imagine it were rehearsed. You weren't quite sure where they found the time to do so, and you weren't quite sure what type it  sounded like. Choir, perhaps, if your one limited example served you well.

...You thought you liked it.

A pair of hands reached upwards, grabbing your halo and bringing it- bringing you, down to eye level. 

"You, uh...you don't happen to remember-"

You...tilt? Spin? Nod? You gesture affirmatively with your halo.

"I- I'm so sorry, please don't-" She began, before you threw yourself into her chest, taking control of one arm and shifting its grip from a grabbing motion to a hug. 

You were just glad she was ok. Glad that she was back. You'd missed her. 

"...Yeah, you're right." She sighed, mirroring the motion with the other. 

"...I missed you too." 

Chapter Text

Willingly, greedily, perhaps, you subsumed yourself in the feeling. 

The hug was...warm. The hug was nice. You felt as Noelle pulled you closer. As the eyes you saw through closed.

You lost yourself in the sensation. You listened, you felt, you heard the hum of her soul as it rung true, a harmonious melody. The beat of her heart as it pulsed, as you swore your presence alone helped to calm it back into a steady rhythm. The strand of connection that radiated care and affection, a desire of closeness and warmth that you are more than glad to fulfill. You'd never noticed, despite...inhabiting others, but it all felt so...personal. It felt real. It felt like belonging.

In a true, genuine sense of the word, it was everything you'd wanted.

...Perhaps it was wrong, in some manner, in some form. She knew still that she held you in place, roots ensnared, tendrils dug and shifting just beneath the surface. But in truth, you didn't quite care. Such a feeling was beyond description, but you knew that you liked it. That you desired it. You liked being wanted. You liked being...liked.

You liked hugs. 

You tried to pull your wings closer, wanting to strengthen the connection-

"Hey, uh...I hate to break up…whatever this is, but-"

But you are interrupted. You see, as eyes reopen. Feel as arms withdraw. You snapped back to the top of her head like a magnet. 

Panic overcomes you. Proxy emotions take hold. You found yourself spinning back at the front of her hand as she stumbled backwards. 

The heart races. Eyes widen. Drawn breath comes forth in a short, uneven bursts. Concern. Fear.  Panic. 

"S-Stay back!" Noelle sputters out, crawling backwards, away, as Susie's outstretched hand draws closer to help.

"What's gotten into you?" Susie began, raising an eyebrow. "...Yaknow, besides-"

"I said stay back!"

Her back quickly finds a wall, soft and plush, shifting in surprise at the returned contact as you watch Susie's eyes widen in recognition. 
 
...Shit, you thought, as short of eyes to widen, you quickly began to think as well. You hadn't found the time to tell her about Susie within the dream. 

You quickly outstretch a wing to your side, aiming to pull back the bound notebook she'd dropped in the panic.

"You have missed much in your slumber, Angel!" A voice beside you sounded out, halting her crawl backwards. "But fret not! Your light has tamed the Dragon in your absence!"

"...tamed?" She asked, staring over at the cup as you clumsily pulled the book back to the side of her leg.

"Tamed!" Solus cheerfully responded. "You may even ask them yourself!"

You attempted to form a thumbs up with the finer digits of your wing. Attempted being the keyword,  as it shifted and moved in unfamiliar ways. Moving one branch of "feathers" moved another, and another and another- You settled with giving her a thumbs up with her own arm instead.

"...Tamed!" She said, nervously laughing as you released control, pointing down to the empty book beside her. "Right, Ok! Sure! Uh- Tamed!"

You tried your best to help her to her feet, giving leverage with yourself as she slowly rose. You watched from the corner of your eye as Susie once more tried to approach, and swiftly blocked her off with an extended wing. She...needed a moment to collect herself, you thought. There was...more to it, you felt, by the rising tension of emotion within, but it could wait. She'd need to readjust.

Hell, even you might, you thought, as you proceeded to take in the full extent of the study alongside her. You'd never realized how...crowded it had really become. Several kinds of darkners had come to inhabit it, far and beyond what you had seen in your journey. Some looked like mechanized bugs, unpetrified versions of the statues you'd seen in your descent. Some looked like...ghosts? Spirits? You struggled to find the word. Others like fantasy wizards, others yet still like flowing, rippling water- You wondered how extensive the sanctuary truly was. You wondered how much you had missed.

A cuptain with a more vibrant, intact feather drew near, offering Noelle a drink balanced precariously upon its head. A clear bottle, filled with the same pink lemonade from the pool.

As she thanked them, you neglected to tell Noelle of the time not ten minutes ago where Susie had dunked her entire head beneath. You weren't sure if it would persuade her to drink or dissuade her. You thought it better to let her have something of her own accord.

And of your own accord, once more closing your eyes, you found yourself lost in the sensation. It felt...different when you drank with her. Closer. More vibrant. More...real? You weren't quite sure what to call it.  You weren't able to taste much of anything when Susie was just drinking straight from the pool, but now-

...It reminded you of hot chocolate in the diner. Not by taste, of course, but...by sensation. It was bitter. It was sweet, in the vein only an artificial drink might be able to replicate.  It was...real. Perhaps the first real thing you've had since then. It was-

It was burning in her sinus, burning in her throat as she abruptly choked, coughing and sputtering it out upon her dress. You opened your eyes again.

Standing before her in the distance, giving that same axe you'd seen upon the anvil to Susie, was the old man. Of course, his attention, like nearly all of the surrounding study, was focused entirely upon her.

"...Ya' alright there, kid?" The old man asked, depositing the axe into Susie's hand and drawing close. "...Didn't quite try it myself, but I reckoned that-" 

She took a step backwards for every impact his cane made upon the floor. You tried to wave a wing before her, tried to stare her down with your halo, spinning and rotating- all to no effect. Her eyes widened. Her heart raced. She found herself completely and utterly petrified at the sight of the old man.

...You make the split second decision to assume direct control, holding a hand up in gesture you assumed meant "wait", before taking the book and excusing the both of you to the hallway just outside the study.

Her heart calmed. You did your best to calm her breathing as screaming from her lungs died down. You relinquished your hold upon her in all but her arm, dedicating that to opening the book and ripping out old, used pages. Elixir stains probably didn't sit too well on white.

"Sorry, Sorry-" She choked out, her other hand taking the loose clump of papers away. "It's just-"

[The old man?] You wrote, a hand now abruptly freed.

"...Yeah." She said, as she took over damage control. "I just...Well, I don't just recognize that one, I...knew that one."

[Knew?]

"Knew." She echoed,  setting the damp pages aside and ripping free a fresh one upon your offer. "That...wasn't a darkner, that was- That was a monster. A lightner-"

[Well I kind of figured, but-]

"A lightner that's been dead." She bluntly stated. "For uh...almost...four years?"

[oh.]

"Y-yeah. Oh." She stuttered, echoing the sentiment. "I'm uh- I'm...trying not to freak out or anything but- He was my uh...er- He was my sister's older teacher. He...retired before we got to see him in school and...I was really too young to understand much, but he was a family friend. And Dess and him talked a lot and- "

Her lungs burned. The tendrils enclosed, grasping onto you tighter and tighter as the pitch of her voice only increased in her panic.

"-and mom used to...mumble a lot about...how none of this would have happened at the start if he was still here, and he's right there and he's been dead for four years and he's just walking around like nothing happened and-"

You tried to calm her down, taking back control and forcing her to stop, taking in several deep breaths before gradually returning to a semblance of calm.

"...Sorry." She said, moments after you gave back the reigns. "It's just....It's all- All at once and- Susie and....everything, and-

[It's ok. Lot to take in. Last you saw was with Susie I think. Don't blame you.] you wrote back. [Sorry about-]

"Don't be! Really!" She suddenly said back, holding your pen still. "You uh- You...came back! Even after the...being ripped out part! That couldn't have been...fun."

[...no.] You admitted. [But-]

"What...is going on with Susie now, anyways? I mean- I can understand the terms are...better now, but...you know." She continued, reaching back and making a pulling motion at the base of your wing. "Weren't we...fighting? Like, uh- well, I don't know how long it's been, but..."

[Complicated.] You wrote back. [Susie took me after. Went together for a bit. Old Man-]

"Mr. Boom."

[?]

"Sorry, his...name. His name is Gerson. Or Mr. Boom. It....depended on where you were talking with him, but-]

[Mr. Boom then. He gave us the notebook to talk.]

You hesitated. Thinking on it, you hadn't ever really told him about you, or your situation. You figured Susie hadn't told him either.  You wondered how he figured that all out so fast. 

An old- A...Mr Boom thing, you supposed.

[He's a lot smarter than he lets on.]

"That...checks out." Noelle sighed. "Or...at least it checks out from what Mom and Dess used to say. He was uh- Nice. And he liked...messing with people, sometimes."

...He did rather like messing with Susie, you thought. In a manner that always ended up making her think, but-

"...What did you guys talk about?" Noelle asked, looking back to the soaked discarded pages. "Oh, wait I can just...look, can't I?"

You froze, thinking about trying to stop her, but far too late. She'd already uncrumpled one of the pages in her hand.

[We were going to watch some stupid shitty horror movies together. She was going to get hot chocolate and ruin it when she stuffed three entire candy canes into it.] 
[And then you took me away from her.]
[Thanks for that. Asshole.]

Some of the messages were already well past readable, but enough could still be made out. Enough to put together a story. Enough to make her quickly shift to the next crumpled page.

[Stop talking to me like we're friends.]  [We aren't.]
[I'm sorr-]
[Maybe if you stopped to think about what you did before you did it-] 

A large swath of the page was ripped away, wiping away the bulk of a conversation, leaving only [I don't want to die.]

...Panic of your own accord fills your being as you pick the pen back up.

[I know they look bad but-]

"...What did she do to you?" 

[-really we have it all figured out now-]

"What did she do to you?" She repeated, pulling your halo down and staring you in the...eye. "There's- all this about the...garbage can lid and- you sound really angry and- you don't want to die- What happened?"

The hand you tried to move felt stiff for a moment, frozen. Shaking as if in anger, before finally being released.

[The garbage lid thing was from before.] You quickly wrote. [Kris told them to. They couldn't have known any better.]

"And...dying?"

[We saw more of those prophecy panels. None of them were good.]

You waited as she stared down, idly tapping the margin of the book with the pen. Her soul felt...conflicted. Worried, maybe. You didn't quite know what to call it.

"Do I...want to know what they say?"

[Nothing that matters now. They were just words on glass. Mr. Boom had to teach us that.]

"It doesn't sound like it was just...words on glass."

[Nobody was in a good headspace before.] You wrote, taking a moment to think. [We were both angry at a lot of things. Both hurting from a lot of things. But we have it figured out now.]

"But...I don't."

[You've been sleeping. We had time to think. You haven't. It'll be better in the end. Promise.]

Her heart felt cold. Wounded.

[She's sorry.] You quickly continued. [Really. She was just confused, both of them were, but they aren't now. They're trying to make it better.]

You found yourself waiting again, the hand pried away as she pulled the book close to read the words back over-

Before abruptly setting it to the side, taking your Halo back down and hugging it close to her chest. 

"Are...you feeling any better?" She quietly asked. "About...everything? And...whatever it was you saw back there that...made you write that?"

The fight with Mr. Boom had helped. Given you ideas to chew on. Put the thought into your head that maybe it really would be fine in the end. But deeper down, you were still a bit concerned. Still a bit afraid. 

You nodded, after a moment of hesitation. You didn't want her to be either.
 
...Something she seemed to quickly pick up on, as she hugged you tighter. 

"...Don't worry." She said, her voice...trembling? Wavering? Softer and quieter, something without fear behind it. Something you were unfamiliar with. "I...won't let you die. Or- get hurt or- whatever it said was going to happen to you."

Assuring, you settled upon, as you wrapped your wings around her to return the gesture. Her voice was assuring.

...You liked assuring voices. They turned the quiet from something you dreaded into something you could appreciate. Something you liked.

...You-

You heard a cough awkwardly sound out from behind you. Noelle's head turned up, and stared at a clear bottle of lemonade held out from a pink claw.

"They uh...ran out of cups." Susie said, lightly shaking the bottle back and forth. "...Solus offered to be your cup, but...I told him it was weird, and he came back with this and...said the old man had a few empty ones lying around, and uh...yaknow. Here."

...Noelle awkwardly took the bottle as your wings furled back behind her, staring down at the liquid as Susie took a seat next to her.

...The silence quickly turned. Comfortable didn't quite become dreaded, but...somewhere in the middle. Awkward, you'd want to call it. The silence turned awkward. 

"...Listen, uh-" Susie began, scratching the back of her head with a claw. "I'm...sorry. About everything earlier. Really. I was just-"

"It hurt."

Your halo turned up to look at her. From the other set of eyes, from the eyes in question, felt deep within, it was...quickly turning into a mess. Emotions messily tied together, tripping and stumbling and falling and raising to a grand net zero. Confusion took the centerpiece. 

Her hands gripped hard upon the bottle. She held you tighter.
 
"...Like uh...hurt hurt, or-"

"Both kinds." Noelle quickly retorted. "When you...ripped them out, obviously, but...I just...it felt like-"

"-Like you trusted me, and I stabbed you in the back?"

"...Yeah." She nodded, staring down at you, unable to meet her eyes. "And...I was...looking at the older pages and...they were writing about how you took them, and...that hurt a little bit more."

You watch from the narrows of her vision as Susie uncomfortably shifts. As her face contorts into a frown.

"I don't...really have any excuses or anything. I'll be honest." Susie sighed. "I just...shit, I'm not good at this at all-" 

You shifted a wing, trying and...again failing to give a thumbs up, before simply patting Susie's head instead.

"...I was hurting too, ok?" Susie continued, pushing your wing away. "And...Kris fucked off without me, and Ralsei just went along with them, and I had no damn idea what to do, but...I knew that Light closed dark worlds, and... I couldn't really think of anything else. The Old Man-"

"Mr. Boom."

"...What?"

"...His name. It's Mr. Boom."

"Well uh...Mr. Boom beat the right mindset back in. I'm...sorry. Really."

The awkward silence returned. It permeated the air, seeped its way into her lungs, her heart, her very soul- 

...Until with a sigh, far greater than those before, Noelle broke it away.

"...I know." She said, clinging to you just a bit tighter. "I...understand. I...might have done the same thing- oh who am I kidding, I wouldn't, but-"

You felt as it continued to return, on and off, an unsteady grasp upon her voice, broken only by the occasional stammer or once off word. 

"...It...I know it would be easier if I just...said it was ok and I forgive you and just- pushed it back down, but-"

The pressure around you yet increased, strong enough that you felt as your form caved inwards, denting like sheet metal. Hands pulled back in fear. Eyes looked down. You gave her the best spin of assurance you could. 

"I just...I feel like- like I wanna-" 

"-Like you just wanna punch something?"

Arms returned to envelop you. Sheepish eyes failed to meet their addressors.

"Maybe a little."

"...Can punch me, if you want."

You watched through widened eyes as she turned back to face Susie, the ghost of a smile upon her face.

"...What? Why would I-"

"-Just to get it out, yaknow?" Susie said, downing the rest of a bottle of her own. "The...being mad part. Helps to hit something."

"That...doesn't sound like a very healthy way to get past anger."

"Works for me." She shrugged, tossing the empty thing into the void. "And Hometown's a bit short on charity work psychiatrists."

"I'm...not you, though!" Noelle pleaded. "And- I don't want to hurt you or anything! I-"

"You got little baby hands anyways. Probably couldn't even do that much, I bet." Susie chuckled, turning to face her and tapping the side of her muzzle. "Cmon! Hit me!"

You felt Noelle's arm curled. As it raised up, hesitated just before Susie's face-

And...lightly slapped the side of her muzzle.

"Oh, Cmon!" Susie teased, pulling her hand away and throwing it back to her side. "A real one! Hit me like you mean it!" 

Again, her arm reeled back. Again she closed her eyes, and again the hand flew free-

Only, again, to lightly tap the side of her face, with all the force of a wet pool noodle. 

...What was a pool noodle? Wasn't it bad to mix food and water? Well, most foods, but you assumed that a pool noodle wasn't a part of a soup. Was there a...soup you swam in? Was it a rich person thing? You'd have to ask Noelle what it was after-

Susie's laugh quickly cut your train of thought away.

"You're not doing it right!"

"Well- What's the right way to hit someone?"

"You just imagine whatever's pissing you off, and then you pretend that what you're hitting is that! Hell, you don't even have to imagine! I'm right here! Hit me!"

You feel as a grumble begins to form in the back of her throat. Her eyes close, and glimpses of imagery, memories flash before you. A quiet house. A police station. Warmth, taking away. Being left alone within the cold.

The images cut away abruptly. Her eyes open, narrowing, staring Susie down as a hand flies back-

And the slap that follows sounds out with a crack that echoes across the void. The force of the impact made her hand sting, and sent Susie crumbling down to the floor. 

The study fell silent.

"I-I'm sorry!" Noelle quickly sputtered out, rushing down to her side. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard! I-"

Noelle was silenced as a hand gripped her own, and Susie pulled herself back up, nearly face to face, with a grin spread so far across her own that Noelle and you both could see her full array of razor sharp teeth. 

"You kidding? That was awesome!" Susie cheered, raising their still connected hands above her head. "Hell, that one even hurt!"

Her soul fluttered. 

"Y-Yeah! haha-" She nervously spat out, disconnecting her hand and turning away, her grip upon you tightening to a vice as she quickly picked up the bottle Susie had given her and drained it of its contents. "T-Thanks! It- It means a lot! Coming from you, I mean!"

The silence returned, awkward in...another sense of the word. You still couldn't quite describe it, especially as it kept shifting and shifting, but...this one was more pleasant than the last, at least.

"So, uh..." Susie said from behind her, as her ears stood at attention. "Are we- er, you uh...yaknow, cool now? Or-"

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, really uh-" Noelle blurted out, quickly turning back to face her. "Super cool! Like uh- Like uh- an- Ice! Ice cool! and-"

You lightly tap her shoulder with a wing. She takes a breath and calms herself without the need of your intervention. 

"...Yeah. We're...good." She said, a smile spreading across her face. 

You watched as Susie smiled in turn. Something smaller, genuine, without teeth or claw or fang, as she pushed the hair out from her eyes. 

...The silence shifted, for what you hoped would be the last time. Content, you'd like to imagine. A content silence. You-

...You spotted Ralsei standing in the doorway before you could continue the thought. You were growing tired of the silence, you supposed.

You will a wing to tap Noelle's shoulder. You will the other to point towards him, as he slowly brought himself into view.

"I...apologize terribly if I'm interrupting something-"

Taking control of a hand, you gave him a thumbs up.

...Which, in hindsight, could've meant anything.

"You're fine!" Noelle quickly said, coming to your rescue. "We were just...uh-"

"Punching eachother." Susie grinned. "We were just thinking about moving over to noogies."

"W-We were?"

"Yeah. We were." Susie said, standing up and walking back towards Ralsei, the grin across her face spreading further. "Ralsei even lined up so he could get his first-"

"-And any other time, I would be...thrilled, Susie, but-" Ralsei began, stepping backwards and holding a hand out. "We...need to speak. All of us. To...understand what we do from here."

Watching Susie's face as Noelle turned and rose herself, you saw the smile on her face falter, if just for a moment.

"Oh, don't worry Ralsei. I get it." She said, waving a a dismissive hand. "Sorry, Noelle! Gotta put noogies on the backburner. He probably...wants us to brush his fur, or...something stupid."

"Well...no, but-"

"Oh! No it's that cup you were talkin with earlier, right? Did you need us to introduce you properly?"

"Susie, please! This is serious!" 

The smile on her face wiped away,.

"Fine, fine..." She said, raising her hands in mock surrender. "..What is it?"

Silently, Ralsei only gestured the two of them to follow. 

You didn't get a very good look at his face, but of what you did, it seemed...grim. 

"Better not keep him waiting then, eh?" Susie said, following behind shortly after, leaving you and Noelle alone upon the outskirts.

Looking...up at her? Down at yourself? You closed the book back together and motioned for her to follow.

"R-Right, right!" Noelle quickly said, letting you go as you floated back to the top of her head, following in Susie's footsteps and re-entering the study.

You noticed a change in the atmosphere as you returned.  A shift in the light, in the way the faces of the Darkners rested. It felt...serious. Grim. Cold.

 It concerned you, as Ralsei waved you closer, standing beside Mr. Boom's desk. Chess and checker pieces littered the surface, alongside several hand drawn illustrations. You recognized bits and pieces. Pillars of bookshelves, large stained glass windows.

 A white queen with paper wings hastily taped to the back, surrounded by other pieces of its cast. A seemingly endless swarm of black pieces, cornering and consuming pockets of white. A black and white knight, sat together somewhere far beyond the table's defined lengths.

It was a improvised map. A battle map.

"I...truly do apologize, cutting the both of you short." Ralsei began, setting an additional white piece down into the mess. "But...I am-"

"Rippin' up my chess board fer' a demonstration?" Mr. Boom interjected. 

"With your permission, yes, but-"

"Takin up all the pens I got left, havin the littleun's get statements?" 

"...yes, that too, but-"

"Concerned about the tida a' darkness rearin' up ta' swallow up the whole sanctuary?"

"...Yes, sir." Ralsei sighed. "That. I just...believe that of all times, now is the best for...a visual."

"You gonna...explain any of this?" Susie said at his side, taking up one of the pieces from the board and turning it over in her hands. "Or are you just gonna-"

"Yes, Susie." Ralsei said, gently taking the piece back from her hand and putting it back down upon the map. "I just...believe that this will help explain the bulk of it."

"Well then...explain!" Susie said, staring back down at the table. "What does...swallow up the whole sanctuary mean? Start with that."

"Well, you see..." Ralsei began, struggling to find words, his eyes scanning across the board, before settling down beneath. 

"...Mister Solus, Could I...use you for a moment? As a...demonstration piece?"

"I have served as a ornamental piece for many years, Prince Ralsei!" Solus responded, as Ralsei bent down and picked him up from the floor. "I am at your mercy!"

"Thank you." He curtly said in turn, before hurrying over to the side of the pool. "Now, imagine that Solus here is...The Sanctuary. This...entire dark world, and that the pool here is...The Abyss."

[...The Abyss?] You wrote, turning the book back over for him to see. 

"The darkness beneath, where Kris was...taken." Ralsei responded, looking away as he gently plucked Solus's feather, setting it upon the table. "The primordial pool from which all dark worlds are pulled."

You watched on as Ralsei gently set Solus down within the center of the pool. 

"Imagine that...this dark world has been created recently. The earth is struck, a fountain forms, and- I apologize, you may need to hold your breath for a moment-"

"I need not breath, Prince Ralsei! Do your worst!"

"-the pool...ripples-"

Ralsei pressed down firmly along Solus's edges, briefly submerging him to the bottom, just barely shallow enough to avoid filling him, before letting him go and placing him back along the surface. 

"...And the world is formed." Ralsei said, stepping back as you watched the pool shift. 

The edges of the elixir, disturbed by the force of impact, rippled outwards forming small waves that crashed along the surface, before traveling back inwards.

"The Abyss shifts to accommodate, but...darkness abhors a vacuum. Without the necessary precautions, a...change in the formation, every formed dark world is upon a...timer of sorts." Ralsei continued, pointing to the rippling waves. "Given enough time, around...six or seven hours, those ripples will return. They will encroach upon the world, and-"

The wave close in, tipping above Solus's brim, filling him with just enough Elixir to be weighted down. Slowly, gradually, he began to fill. More and more and more, until the weight became too much to bare-

and he sunk to the bottom.

"...Normally, this is not an issue." Ralsei said, as he borrow a pen and fished Solus back out from within. "But-"

"We've...almost been in here for...six hours?" Noelle asked, to be met with a grim nod as Solus was handed off to one of the elementals within the study. 

"...I would imagine that in your world, it is well beyond midnight. It is...difficult to guess exactly, but-"

[We're running out of time.]

Again, Ralsei nodded. 

"...Shit." Susie said, staring down at the table. "Can we...I don't know- slow it down or something? We still have to...you know...save-"

"No." Ralsei said, walking back to the edge of the table as a recently dried Solus was set down beside him. "And in their...condition, the both of them are likely only progressing the sinking further."

"...Both of them?" Noelle asked, staring back down at the knights upon the board. 

"We lost Kris when we were fighting Dess earlier." Susie said, pointing back to the Knights. "They're...down there with her."

"And...without the Angel's light, it is like that...well-" Ralsei said, before quietly taking the white knight from the board, and replacing it with a second black one. 

You stared at the pieces as Noelle did. As Susie did. As the rest of the study, in all but one set of eyes looked away in shame did.

The study fell silent. 

..Until Susie broke the silence.

"...Can we get them back?"

"...No." Ralsei grimly responded. "They are-"

"In the Abyss-Yeah, I heard that part." She interrupted, walking to the other side of the table beside her piece. Beside yours and Ralsei's. "What Dess is made out of, the same thing's happening to them."

"...Yes."

"The exact same."

"Yes, Susie. I...don't see where you're going with-"

"Then what the fuck are we just standing here for?!" Susie shouted, grabbing the pieces of your group and pushing them forwards. "We can kick the crap off of them! We've done it like- Three times already!"

You watched as Susie valiantly strut the pieces across the board, flicking aside the black checker pieces in their way before coming to a stop before the knights.

"We'll just go in and save their asses, Get back out, Seal the fountain and go home!" Susie shouted, scanning across the table and replacing one of the Knights with the white one prior. "Just...pretended the other one is white too! I don't know where you put the second one!" 

"It...wouldn't be that easy." Ralsei said, as he meekly pulled the piece in question out from his robe. "We would-"

"Well, yeah! No shit it isn't gonna be easy! But we already got a track record on this!" Susie said, as she ripped the piece from his hand and slammed it back down upon the table. "Old- er- Mr. Boom! Three times is the uh...scientific number or whatever the hell, right? You do something three times and it's basically a fact?!" 

"Reckon the rule a' three probably applies." Mr. Boom said, as the ghost of a grin spread across his face.

"SEE!" Susie shouted once more, pointing over to him. "And if he thinks we can do it, we certainly the fuck can! If The Knight couldn't handle two of us, they sure as shit can't handle the three- no, four of us!" 

"It would be...immensely dangerous." Ralsei said, staring down at the two white knights. "And...disastrous if we failed, but-"

"We won't!" Susie interrupted, as she held her new axe over her head.

You watched as a glimmer of...something began to shine within Ralsei's eyes. Hope, perhaps. Somewhere distant, something small, but...ignited nonetheless. You spun your halo in affirmation as he looked over.

"...I suppose you're right, Susie. " Ralsei said, as he lifted his head up from the table. "...But we would need to act fast. The Darkners who still remain are still...active."

A thought sprung to mind.  Looking around at the crowded study, to the pockets still on the board, you came to a realization. There were still darkners left within the crumbling world. There were still darkners here.

[Save them first?] You quickly wrote, turning the book over to him, before gesturing towards the pockets of darkners amidst the sanctuary. To the darkners that inhabited the study. 

"I am sorry Angel, but-"

[Little Light]

"I apologize, Little Light, but...we can't."

You took control of the hand to write a retort, but quickly found it immobilized by a paw, reaching out across the table. 

"And- I do mean it this time. I apologize, sincerely, but...we simply do not have the time to do everything. . I can send those willing and present to saftey, yes, but otherwise-"

"We shall gladly take up your mission, o' Angel!" A shrill voice cried out from beneath you.

Looking down, adorned once more with his feather, Solus proudly stood at attention beside you. Beside him stood the rest of the cuptain in his rank. Atop him rested his feather, adjoined by the shard of you that had fallen free in the fight, taped flat down to the top of his head.
 
...Above him stood Mr. Boom, a roll of scotch tape still in his hand. 

"My troop has agreed to follow until the bitter end!" He proudly barked. "We shall escort any remaining stragglers to the safety of the study! And upon your return, with the purified Knights in tow, we shall banish back the dark!" 

"T-That's suicide!" Ralsei shouted back. "You'll-"

"-I'll watch 'em." Mr. Boom interjected. "...Little things grew a bit on me, anyhow. They get their mind on somethin, you ain't gettin 'em off. Not till' its done. 'Sides!"

He motioned down to Solus, lightly tapping the shard taped atop. "...Got this little thing 'ere! Funny sight, that's gonna be! Watchin a little cup chase off the dark! Wouldn't wanna miss that 'fer nothin'!"

"I shall be fearsome, Prince Ralsei!" Solus shouted. "The Darkness shall tremble in my wake!"

"...I-"

You watched as Ralsei struggled to form words. As he stared between the cuptain and Mr. Boom. As eventually, begrudgingly, with all the strength he had left to muster, he quickly darted off to the rest of the occupied study. 

Ralsei approached the nearest darkner, quickly saying something beneath his breath, receiving a nod in turn. He casted a spell, and the darkner began to condence into a singular white sparkle, floating off into sky.

You watched as Ralsei began to repeat the process, running to the next he could find. 

"...I shall take that as a sign of approval!" Solus shouted. "Come now, my brothers in arms! We must prepare for the battle oncoming!" 

...You felt as Noelle stifled a chuckle, watching as the horde of cups began to run off.

You felt...unease, resting somewhere deeper within her soul. Anxiousness, as her eyes began to wander. 

Fear, as a wrinkled hand set itself down upon the shoulder of her dress. You looked up at Mr. Boom from the corner of her eyes, as they desperately scanned the room for anything else to focus upon.

Susie, collecting empty bottles from the dropped remains of spared darkners. 

"...Ain't got too much left ta' say." Mr. Boom said, staring over just the same. "...Dess wouldn't give up neither. Proud of ya, kid. You'll get em."

She nodded. She continued to stare at Susie as she hurried along to the pool.

"Good hands, both of em' r' in. Sister n' friend ' everything else, jumpin right in to save em. Heck, even got the Angel 'emself gunnin for 'em!"

Her eyes shift. She watches as Ralsei pants in exertion, sending the last few away from a now far more empty study. 

"...Good folk, ya got yerself. She'll like em."

"I...hope so." She muttered, looking back down at her dress.

"...Mind doin me a favor though, Elly? Tell yer' sister somethin' for me?" 

The name sent a shock to her system. Eyes turned, and you watched, with her full undivided attention, as Mr. Boom smiled down at her.

"...Y-Yeah!" She stuttered out. "Anything. Uh, Mr. Uh-"

"...F' I ain't able ta' tell her 'fore you do, could tell 'er that...song, she was workin on. That idea she had. She should go through with it."

"...Which song?" Noelle asked. "She uh- She...had a lot of-" 

"She'll know." 

"I...I don't-" 

"She'll know whatcha' mean." He said, smiling as he patted her shoulder. "...N' don't you worry a bit. I know her, she ain't-"

"The preparations are complete, Wise Hermit!" A voice shouted out from above. "We shall depart shortly!" 

"...Suppose that's my cue, then!" Mr. Boom said, as he began to limp away. "...Wish ya luck, Elly. Figure ya' won't need it, though. Heck, I Might need it more n' you!"

"G-Good luck! Uh- Mister...uh-"

"Oh please, Elly." Mr. Boom interrupted. "Gerson's fine." 

"Good luck, Mister- Mister Gerson!" 

You swore you heard his laughter echo out as he faded away, joining the mass of cups as their figures disappeared behind a stone archway.

...As one last time, you were left alone. 

As one last time, a claw fell upon her shoulder, and pulled her out from her stupor. 

"...Light, uh- can you...hold these?" Susie asked, trying to shove several hastily sealed bottles of Elixir into your wing. "Like uh, you know the...thing. Open the thing!" 

[Can't.] You quickly wrote back. [That was a Kris thing.]

"The fuck you mean you can't?! I can't hold all of these!" 

[Stuff them under your belt?]

You stifled a laugh of your own as Susie marched forwards, grumbling as she stretched her belt to fit the new additions.

...You weren't quite sure what the feeling that filled you was, as Ralsei rejoined you. 

You struggled to put a name to it, as Susie tried to pull two of the bottles free from her belt and stuffed them in his hands, before charging outwards into the sanctuary.

The word began to come to mind however, as Noelle quickly followed behind, pulling you down from above her head and enveloping you in her arms.

Belonging.

You liked being liked. You liked being needed.

...You liked hugs.

Chapter Text

An echoing crash, sounding out from somewhere far in the distance.

A crumbling pillar, seen only in the corner of your eye as you look away. 

An extended tendril, snaking back down into the darkness as you and the rest of your group approached. The way they slithered away from you almost made you think that they were afraid. But if they were afraid of you, it was of the utmost importance that they didn't understand you were afraid of them. 

Well, perhaps afraid was too strong of a word. They made you...uneasy. They made everyone uneasy. You saw it in the way Ralsei carried himself, in the way Susie insisted upon hefting around her axe, the way her eyes kept darting back between her and you and him.

You felt it by the roots of connection between your mind and Noelle's. The valor from the study had dimmed in your march, replaced by a thought that crept within.

A thought you knew was shared between you. A call that needn't be spoken. The song your hearts all played was a funeral ode, lamenting lives still yet to be lost in the silence.

...You didn't like this silence. 

"You gonna carry them around like that the whole time?" Susie said, smirking back at Noelle as you continued down the path. 

It made you all the more thankful when someone decided to break it. 

You felt as Noelle's grip faltered. As for just a moment, the pull that called you back to the top of her head nearly won out.

"W-Well, I don't...have to! I-I just-"

You sensed it within her as she spoke. The nervousness. The fear, given a voice to speak. 

[She's probably just jealous.] You said, taking up your pen and paper. 

"About...what?"

[That she doesn't get to be carried around like a baby.]

She chuckled, a snort sounding out from the back of her throat as her eyes glazed over the words. 

The march froze before you. The impact of boots and the patter of feet upon stone is reduced to only the latter. 

"What's so funny?" Susie shouted back.

"Nothing!" Noelle smirked, taking back control of an arm and pushing the book closed as Susie approached. 

"Show me!" She barked, prying the book back open and thumbing through the pages.

All in good fun, you still supposed, as she found the passage in question and smirked back in turn. You knew she could be much more forceful. You knew Noelle could keep the book shut if she so chose. 

"Oh, shut up!" Susie continued, flicking the top of your halo. "If I wanted to be carried around, I could make Ralsei to do it!" 

"He uh...might be a bit...small, don't you think?" Noelle said, peering over Susie's shoulder and watching him from the distance. 

He'd stopped some time after Susie did. He'd begun to stare down at the Sanctuary as you were. 

"He could totally do it!" Susie barked back, before shifting her attention over. "Right, Ralsei?" 

...Ralsei did not respond. Even as Susie approached, he found himself unable to look away. Enraptured just the same as you were, you supposed.

"Ralsei!" She shouted, all but screaming into his ear as a claw fell down upon his shoulder, shaking him out of his stupor. 

"I- Yes! Yes I suppose I could, but-" He said, relenting as his eyes turned back to the group. "-not now. Please." 

He steadied himself, prying away from her and taking a few steps backward. 

You knew the look in his eyes, as you gave it longer than a moment's gaze. You knew it well. If you had eyes, you'd be wearing it too.

"...What's gotten into you now, man?" Susie asked, before looking out in the same direction he had. Where once was a mighty bookshelf now only stood darkness.

Fear. Petrifying indecision. A deafening silence. Ralsei was afraid, and if you could express it, you would share some of the sentiment. 

"...You alright?" Susie continued, prying her eyes away and continuing down the path, forcing him along and away. Forcing you and Noelle to do the same by proxy.

"...Yes, Susie. I am just...thinking." He responded simply. "About our destination."

About the sanctuary being ripped apart. About the events preceding, about the events that would succeed it. About- 

"Dess?" Noelle called out. 

"...Her in part too, yes." Ralsei grimly nodded. "I can understand, but I can't quite...understand. If such...makes any sense."

"The bipolar shit?" Susie asked. "The mind control sludge? The...Poison parasite movie ripoff thing?"

"...Yes." Ralsei said, nodding in turn to each. "I just...worry, still. For Kris's sake. Or...what will be left of them, when we arrive. I simply just...don't know. And that terrifies me."

...He fell quiet, after that. As did Susie. As did Noelle. You didn't like it.

Before, there was still always at least something sounding out in the darkness. A song, a crashing in the distance, the clattering of chimes- But now, this far in, this far gone, it was apparent. 

There was no sound left. The ones who made them had been taken, or had fled. Now, there was nothing.

Nothing but the impact of boots upon stone and quiet contemplation. 

Nothing but the pattering of feet and knowledge unspoken. 

Nothing but the clattering of hooves and the lingering question of why that you didn't need to read a face to understand.

Nothing but the silence. 

"They...weren't always like that." Noelle said. "They were always...yaknow, a little weird, but...nothing like this."

"...Like in the Diner where they just left you standing there?" Susie asked, turning her head back. "Wait- wasn't that you, Light?"

[It was halfsies-] You quickly scribbled out, jumping to open the book back up as you felt the quiet reminiscence turn to anger. 

"You just...went there without me?" Noelle scoffed, her eyes narrowing as she read the page. "I can't believe you!"

[Didn't know you that well yet. Sorry.]  You wrote, scribbling down an accompanying frowning face. [Wanted the hot chocolate again.]

"You didn't even get hot chocolate, dumbass." Susie said, peering back over Noelle's shoulder onto the page. "You got like...pie or something." 

...You doubled back and circled back over the frowning face.

"Well, don't worry." Noelle said, patting her arm still holding the pen, nearly dropping the book in the process. "We uh- We could all go together! When this is...all over, I mean! If...Susie wanted to anyways, and Kris-"

"Hell yeah!" Susie interrupted, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "That first sundae was awesome! I- Wait...Wait! Fat chance, I know what you're gonna do!"

"H-Huh? What am I...gonna do?"

"You're gonna pull a bunch of candy canes out of your pocket and spike our drinks!" Susie shouted, a grin still upon her face as she pointed an accusatory finger towards her. 

"I-I wouldn't!" Noelle said, throwing her hands up in surrender. "R-Really! What would...give you that idea?"

"Light told me all about it!" 

Another rush of confusion, swiftly followed by anger as she pulled her arms back down. 

"Light!" She shouted, annoyance crossing her face.

You drew a smiling face with angry eyebrows atop.

"Well, we'd...have to wait, anyways." She huffed, dropping the book back down. "...We don't even know what Kris...is right now." 

"...Shit, right." The expression upon her face falling as she stared back forwards. "...Forgot about that for a second."

...The march continued forward. The world fell back into silence. 

Ruined pillars. Fleeing tendrils. A-

A scream. A scream of terror, sounding out from somewhere in the nearby distance, cutting through the quiet. Somewhere below. Somewhere close. 

Susie jumped to action before you'd even thought to look, running to the edge and peering over.

"DOWN THERE!" She screamed, pointing down below as you scrambled to follow.

Noelle followed her instruction, darting over and staring at the platforms below. You came to regret it, as you wove a dreadfully familiar knot within her stomach. 

Darkners. More of the elementals, staring down at an incapacitated metal contraption, ensnared and overwhelmed by the tendrils of darkness.

It disgusted you. The way they writhed like worms, burrowed and infested themselves beneath the cracks of its shell. The way it screamed, lacking the voice to do so, a shrill grinding of metal ripped in twain.

You burned with a righteous, indignant fury. You balled your hands into fists, dropping the book to the floor as you grit your teeth.

The elementals cried out in shock. In fear, in pain and concern, helpless to do anything but watch.

You wanted it dead. You wanted it erased. You wanted there to be nothing left. 

Your hand outstretched. Your wings unfurled. Your halo shifted down to cover your hand as you dove down to confront them. 

"NOELLE!" A voice cried out as you dove down. A distraction. Something unnecessary. Something that would give them room to breathe.

As you so wished, so you would make it be. 

In all but you, time seemed to slow at your approach. The maggots squirmed, the victim cried, and holy cleansing light began to build within.

Your implement spun, faster and faster as you descended, the fire within burning brighter and hotter as you all but felt the fear coalesce.

Multitudes of eyes shifted to watch. Those above, those below, those stolen. Good. Excellent, even. You wanted them to see. 

You unleashed providence as your feet made contact, watching as the darkness beneath you writhed, before evaporating into nothing. 

The parasites retreated, bisecting into two as they retreated from their host, like rats before an open flame. 

Your eyes shifted to chase. Your hand extended, your implement spun.

When the light cleared once more, there was nothing left upon the path. 

 You shifted once more, brought your weapon to bare upon the straggler-

And snapped free from your thoughts, as the slamming of an axe upon stone cut you free, as it cut the darkness into pieces.

You...

You relinquished your control, your halo snapping back, Noelle nearly collapsing to the floor as she caught her breath. You'd...forgotten to breathe, in the few seconds the entire exchange had took. 

You'd forgotten to breathe. 

You panicked. You were sorry, you didn't mean to, you don't know what came over you- You-

You felt as the book was placed back into her hands by white paws. Looking up, you watched as he quickly retreated back to the fallen darkner's side.

...One hand opened to it's closest vacant page, before placing it within her vacant sister. You wasted no time.

[I'msorry-] You quickly scribbled out. [Idon'tknow whathappened ImsorryI didn't meanto-]

"Are you ok?" Noelle asked, holding the pen still as she caught her breath. "I'm ok, but...are you? What...was that?"

You didn't know. On either front of the question, you truly didn't know.

[Better now.] you simply said, electing to tell a half-truth as she released the pen. [Don't know what happened. I'm sorry.]

"...It's ok." She said in turn. "Just...warn me next time, ok? And uh...breathe."

...You thought, as she turned her head back up to watch the others. The elementals, the ones you'd still embarrassingly forgotten to learn the name of, now surrounded the fallen machine. 

[You're not mad?]

"A little...scared, if I'm being honest-" She said, her eyes drifting away from the page. "But...I know you were just...trying to protect us, right?"

You thought deeper. By extension, perhaps, but...nothing at the forefront of your mind. That spot was occupied by...wrath.

You watched closer at the gathered mass. Heads stared down at the thing beneath them. A pink bottle held out in a pink hand. A white head shaking itself no. From what little of their eyes you could catch, you saw fear. You saw concern. You saw anger.

...You didn't like being angry. 

[Not sure entirely.] You wrote, being as transparent as you could. [Like something else took over.]

"Like...a dog? Barking at cats?" 

Did...dogs do that? Were you-

"N-Not that I'm calling you a dog or anything!" She quickly said, holding her one free hand up in in mock surrender. "Just, uh...like that. When they uh...lose control and...get really angry and...don't focus on anything else. I've never really had a dog, but...cartoons showed it like that all the time!"

...You thought, pulling your halo down to stare at its light. You supposed it made sense, the more you thought on it. If you were light, then...of course you'd hold avulsion to the dark. 

[That sounds close.] You wrote, pulling yourself back up. [Sorry though.]

"Don't be!" She said, a smile coming to her face. "We can...work it all out together! The good stuff and the...scary stuff! That's what friends are for, right?"

...You doubled back to the page preceding and underlined the same smiling face, separating the angry eyebrows from the circle. You were glad that she was ok. Glad that she was still happy. You-

"Hey! You two! Get your asses over here!" Susie's voice shouted, cutting you away from your thoughts. 

...You were needed elsewhere, you supposed. You hooked the pen back onto the cover, closing the book as Noelle quickly stood up and walked back over to the group. 

"Yeah? She asked, pushing inwards and following the gazes downwards. "What's...wrong." 

...You came to the same conclusion she did, in the moments that followed, looking down at the fallen darkner. The parasites had been dispelled, but...they had already done their work. Its legs were encased in stone, chipping and cracking even now. From what Mr. Boom had told you upon your walk before, from what you had seen in your travels, you knew there was little that could be done. 

"Can you...do something about that?" Susie said, gesturing broadly to its legs. "We...both already tried. I even poured one of the stupid bottles out over them, but-"

"There is nothing else we can do." Ralsei somberly interrupted, looking away.

...Something began to build within you once again. Revulsion. Disgust. Pity, for the thing laid before you. A gentler breed of the same wrath that had consumed you moments prior. 

Your- the hand you controlled moved upon its own accord. You fought back against it, against the desire burning within you to raise it further, to shine and rip away the taint- 

...But found yourself encouraged by her other, looking over and seeing it in a familiar motion of incomplete prayer. You quickly raised it to join her, cautiously moving your halo to adjoin the structure, numbing your mind and closing your eyes to all else as you felt her deep in contemplation. 

...She thought of home. Of safety and protection and comfort. You felt your light shine brighter. You felt yourself spin faster. You opened your eyes- 

And saw, as slowly, gradually, in just the spot where light met, it reverted from stone to metal.

Her hand pulled away, the motion complete as she stepped backwards, and you watched the result of your work. 

A small strain poured out from the back of your mind, not unlike a migraine as the light continued to spread.

...You felt a certain degree of satisfaction as the darkner stood once more upon its own limbs. As the pain faded away, and elementals above bubbled out into a chorus. 

It nuzzled its head into the fabric of Noelle's dress, a pleasant smelling smoke pouring out from the pores within its shell. Citrus and pine, earthly and homely. Grateful, if you were to call it something.

...She pet its head. You turned the other hand and helped her do so with both. 

You and she alike spent a moment in that trance. Smiling in contentment, beaming in pride at your minute accomplishment. You- 

You feel a tap upon her shoulder. 

"I...hate to interrupt, again, but-" 

Looking up, you saw that two of the elementals accompanying them had already disappeared, the last offering you a curt nod as it condensed and formed into a sparkle. 

"Shit- Right! Time crunch!" Susie said, running back over to his side and pushing the machine closer. "Sparkle his ass! We gotta go!"

You watched as it looked back to her, its one eye curving upwards within its helmet, before turning its head to Ralsei, nodding, and condensing into a sparkle in the sky shortly after. 

...Looking up, the sky was full of them. Peppered about like shining lights, like stars, twinkling down upon them. The sight felt...good. It felt right. 

...It felt interrupted, as Noelle's sleeve was abruptly dragged along.

"We'll have time for sightseeing later, dumm...ies? Whatever- the both of you! Cmon!" 

You would have time to admire them later, you supposed. As much time as-

...As this world had left. Hours at best, less than one, if you were being realistic. The walk quickly fell back into the same breed of silence.

The path continued downwards. The damage became ever more apparent. The darkness encroached.

"...Shit." Susie said, breaking the silence. "...Didn't know you could do that."

"Do...what?" Noelle asked, as eager as you were for a break in the monotony. "The...beam? We could...always do that, I think! We-"

"No, I saw that one." Susie interrupted. "I mean the...fixing one. When did you learn how to do that?"

"Just...now?" Noelle asked, opening the book and staring down at a blank page.

[Just now.] You quickly wrote, turning the book back to face Susie.

"Light's...light presents itself differently between its host-" Ralsei interjected, before you bopped him over the top of the head with your pen.

[Partners.] You wrote, shoving the book into his face.

"...I'm sorry, I don't quite-" 

[Call them Partners. Not Hosts. Makes me sound like a parasite or something.]

"Oh! uh- Yes, Yes my...apologies!" Ralsei said, nervously laughing as he pulled himself back away from the page. "Between your...partners, the effect seems to vary.  Between the axe and the...headdress and the star- it...changes to suit the...partner?"

...You nodded. From your limited understanding, it made sense. There was just...much you still didn't understand about yourself. Much you couldn't, in such a short span of time. You were a halo. You were the head of an axe. You were...you. Whatever you really was. 

"Well...shit! What took you so long on this part then?" She said, hiding a grin as she pushed the book back into Noelle's hands. "If we can clean the shit off them, then we got a game plan!" 

"We...didn't have one before?"  Noelle asked, staring down at the page as you drew a shrugging stick figure.

"Of course we did!" Susie shouted back. "But now, we're just sure of it! I beat them into a pulp, and then you clean the shit off them! Like uh...turning a light switch on and off! As long as we have Light, we're set!" 

"...It will be more complicated than that, I imagine." Ralsei said. "But...yes. So long as we have-"

"Light." Susie said, coming to an abrupt stop.

"Yes, Susie!" Ralsei said, all but walking into her as she froze. "So long as we have-"

"The geezer- Mr. Boom! Him and the stupid cup things- They're out there!" Susie yelled, turning and firmly wrapping a hand upon either of Ralsei's shoulders, her axe falling down to the floor with a mighty crash. "What the fuck are they supposed to do if they get caught? They don't have them!"

"They'll be fine, Susie!" Ralsei quickly shouted back, holding either of her forearms in a paw of his own. "Really! A darkner of such proportionate strength is more than enough to protect them!"

"...What?"

Her voice had changed again. Abrupt and sudden, with widened, terrified eyes.

"He's...more than strong enough to protect them?" Ralsei repeated, confusion in his voice as-

"No, before that."

You saw her grip upon his shoulders tighten. Her eyes narrowed, her teeth knit together.

"Darkners patterned after the memory of a loved one or object tend to be more...resilient at large!" He nervously explained. "Y-You uh...overheard when Mr. Swatch was talking about that computer program's body, you....You've seen with me! All the time, I-"

"But you never thought to tell me."

He looked away, suddenly content to stare at the floor as her maw drew closer. 

"Did he tell either of you?!" She screamed, her head snapping to stare at Noelle. 

...You froze as she did, the pen in your hand faltering as you scrambled to think of the words to say. You...You had known, or- Noelle had, but- But you hadn't said anything because...between everything, you just...you-

"There was never a moment to tell you!" Ralsei suddenly snapped, abruptly prying himself free from Susie's grasp and charging forwards, wrapping his arms and self around her in a hug. "I- I'm sorry! Really Susie, I...I wasn't hiding it from you! There was just never a moment to bring it up!"

"I...I knew too. I'm sorry." Noelle nervously spat out. "H-He's been gone. For...a long time. Longer than Dess, I think you just...never knew."

"We have done the best we could." Ralsei quickly continued. "He...could not have been sent away unless he was willing. A personality like his is...persistant. Unwilling to sit back and watch. Not unlike you, in that regard."

"...Shit." Susie sighed, hesitating a moment before she returned the gesture. "Sorry. I didn't mean to start anything, I just...got carried away again. I didn't mean to scare you or anything, I just-

You watched as her grip grew tighter, balling rolls of fur and fabric in her fists.

"...I don't wanna lose anything else, yaknow?"

Noelle's heart, yours by extension- They felt heavy. Conflicted, as she stared between the two. You imagined she wanted to help, the way she sat and stared between the two. To join the gesture, perhaps, but...that was nothing she'd be able to convince herself to do.

...Not alone, anyways.

Grasping a subtle inch or two of control, you inched her legs forwards, bit by bit, hardly even enough for her to notice until it was already far too late. By the time her eyes had drifted down to her traitorous legs, a pink hand had unwrapped itself from its prior victim, pulling her instead by the scruff of her hood as she joined the pile.

It was...awkward, at the very best. Noelle's antlerskept poking into Susie's face, Ralsei's other hand simply patted Noelle's back, unsure if it was comfortable with anything further, earning the same in retaliation, but...the hug still lasted. Long enough for you to feel content, as Susie abashedly pulled herself away.

...Silence returned. Awkward, as you watched the three at a loss for words. As opening the book, you found yourself just the same.

"I...I'm sorry I didn't say anything." Noelle said, staring down at a blank page, trying to avoid Susie's eyes. 

[Me too.] You quickly wrote, unintentionally robbing her of the comfort.

"I just...I didn't know if I should've said anything or- Or what Ralsei was saying, where there really wasn't a chance to, and-"

"Don't be!" She shouted, as she ventured forwards to pick her axe back up off the ground. "Really! Either of you! Any of you! It was my fault for...losing my cool. I just...didn't know that the last time we talked might've been the...last time, yaknow?"

She motioned you forwards, holding the silence at bay with her voice as the trek forward continued.

"...He's a badass. And like- the only person who ever taught me anything worth a damn, yaknow? He didn't treat me like I was just some...moron. He's cool. He's-"

Abruptly, you found yourself unable to hear the entirety of her words. They felt...distant? Farther away? Muffled? Something of the vein, you weren't quite sure what the word for it would be.

You felt yourself drop, your halo clattering down to the floor as a headache- 

Would you even call it a headache? Did you even have a head? The...whatever it was developed into a string of faux sensations, shifting without moving, screaming without talking, sensations of a body you knew was not performing them as Noelle shouted for everyone to stop as she picked you back up. 

"Light, what's wrong?" She asked, as you felt the warmth of hands, as something clasped upon you. "Are you ok? Light?" 

Haphazardly, you motioned to the book with a wing. Distantly, you felt as something was shoved into a hand. 

[fine-] You sloppily wrote, your handwriting messy and uneven as you saw through fuzzy eyes, as the screaming- as the silence continued to hold. [headache? moving? yelling? new-]

"Have at you, foul beast!" A voice screamed, cutting through the fuzz. The pattering of a thousand tiny feet. A scream of terror. A cry of pain. 

It was too much. You forced Noelle to shut her eyes- 

...And found yourself looking through yet another.

A completely different body, far lower to the ground, watching through a single eye, thinking in a smaller mind. Like a smaller you contained in a smaller...you.

You watched as tiny feet valiantly ran forwards, crying out a scornful battle cry, charging forwards at a slithering mass of tentacles creeping towards a huddled mass of Darkners. 

The mass dispelled as your body drew close, slinking away in panic, moments before they'd done so much as touch them. They were still clean. Still unafflicted. Good, you thought. But-

"Civilians!" The tiny, familiar voice of Redinian Solus Cuptain cried out from your...mouth? From the insignia painted upon his shell? You weren't quite sure. "Are you injured? Turned or afflicted in any way, shape, or form?!"

"N-No?" One of their group, an older...wizardly? What would the word for something with a beard and robe be? A wizardly, for lack of a better word, one cried out. "But...how did- Why did- You-"

"The Angel guides our way, Civilians! Fret not!" Solus interjected, turning on a heel and pointing back down towards the path they had come. "Safety lies just down the path! Search for the oragne glowing lights!" 

"T-Thank you!"  The same darkner cried out, as the group began to move. "Thank you!"

...From the cheering that arose, the confident stance Solus began to take, the smirk upon Mr. Boom's face in the background- You could only imagine Solus took pride in his work. It was...cute, in a cosmic sort of sense. Like...a god, watching over its paladin. 

...Wait, Mr. Boom! He was right there! Your mind jumped back into action- maybe you could find a way to communicate!

The sudden spike in emotion caused Solus to freeze outright, the phantom sensation of...pain? Ice? Shock? Something that rolled across his cup like goosebumps.  You watched as the rest of his troop froze in turn.

"Captain!" One of the closest cried out. "What is the matter? Are you injured? Has the darkness found its way beneath your shell?" 

"The very opposite, my friend!" He cried out, joyous, as he snapped free from his stupor. "The Angel's gaze falls down upon us directly! It is present with us in this very moment!"

"Oh, most Joyous day!" The same among their rank began to cheer. 
"Splendid! Praise be to the Angel!" Said yet another. 
"Espace réservé! Mots réservés! Ne cherchez plus, c'est juste une blague visuelle!" You...weren't quite sure what the last one said, but...they sounded enthusiastic. You'd be content with that.

"Angel!" Solus cried, pulling your attention back. "Can you hear us? We serve your name and bidding at this very moment! Several souls have already been saved, and more are soon to follow!"

...How were you supposed to speak through him? All you'd inhabited before had...mouths. Limbs to move, digits to curl. 

"Heeere." You slowly, haphazardly spat out. His voice came...unnaturally. Strained, like trying to shove a round peg through a square hole. Like drinking a lake through a straw. The words that came were simple. Slow, deliberately so. "Sorrry. Hard...to-"

"Then...do not speak, Angel!" Solus said, struggling from the weight of your influence. "Merely think, and I shall transcribe your will!" 

...Oh, you thought. That made it far simpler. You were wondering how everything was going on their side. 

"Magnificently, my Angel!" Solus continued, motioning back towards his gathered troops. "As I have said, much has already been accomplished! Much yet still is to come! By your power, I walk and stride as if anew! Darkness indeed does tremble before us, cowering and slithering away at our approach! Even the cracks and chips of time had been cast away by your grace!" 

...Excellent, you thought, as you tried to peer down at the cracks in his shell, finding nothing. You were proud of them. You knew your faith wasn't misplaced. 

"Our noble work pleases the Angel!" Solus cried out, earning another round of cheers from the cups. Adorable, in its own way. 

...But you came here with another purpose. 

"Then speak it, my Angel! And your will shall be done!" 

Susie- or- The Dragon, you thought. They wished to speak with Mr- The Wise Hermit.

"Then speak they shall!" Solus proclaimed, before marching his way through the gathered troops. "Hermit! Oh, Wise Hermit! The Angel's Dragon wishes to commun-" 

Your attention snaps back, torn between the two as Noelle's eyes opened. 

"What the fuck is going on, man?!" Susie screamed, shaking your halo back and forth, doing very little to ease your disorientation.

[SOrry, sorrysorry-] You quickly wrote down. [Imfine. Piece we gave to cups. Seeing through.]

"Seeing...through it?" Susie said, staring down at the page in confusion. 

[Like another body. Other set of eyes.] You continued. [Weird. Mr. Boom there though. Trying to get to talk.]

"Oh?" Susie said, abruptly stopping her violent shaking as she stunned herself into silence. "Oh, Hell yeah! Gimme the phone! Or the...you! Whatever the fuck! Gimme! Noelle, close your eyes!" 

Noelle's eyes close. You still feel the distant sensations, hear the distant shouts, as thoughts scream into your head, but your eyes find themselves standing far below Mr. Boom.

Ask him if he's there! Or- No, ask him if he's hurt! no- Ask him how many asses he's kicked since we've left!
"Angel, I can...hear the dragon...through you! Do you...wish for me to transcribe...appropriately, or-" 

"I'm old." Mr. Boom said, waving a dismissive hand. "Ain't heard nothin' worse than what she's gonna say. Let er' rip."

He was there, you...thought of writing.  

Shit! Shit! Geezer! Are you ok? How's it going? I wanted to-
"...Shit! Be thy well...Geezer! How...is the going? I wished to-"

Mr. Boom laughed. You thought of writing [haha.] within the page. The screaming in your head stopped. 

"What's gotten inta her, all of a' sudden?" Mr. Boom said. "Mighty energetic, ya seem. Even all the way over 'ere. Somethin' happen? Shorter trip than ya thought?"

No, no, I just...Didn't know what you...were. I thought you were a lightner, dammit! You were just like...sitting in one of the apartments or something! And I never saw you before but I could just see you when we were done with the fountain! That changes things a little bit for me, asshole! Thanks for bringing it up!
"...On the contrary! She had simply...not known of your condition! She had believed that you were of her caste and castle, in a study in the world above, where you would reunite at the end of their mission! This...changes things! She...also calls you an sphincter!"

"Ain't plannin on dyin r' nothin, if that's what yer' worried about." 

You transcribed as he laughed again, feeling pages shift in the distance as a hand is lifted up and placed back down. 

No, dammit! I just...I wanted to hear more from you, yaknow? I wanted to...know more. Like...
"Again, In the negative! The Dragon had simply...wished...to- Ah! She wished for further counsel! To learn more of your wisdom! She...trails off after that!"

"Ain't got too much of that left, Little Lady. Already gave ya' my best piece." Mr. Boom said, smiling as he stroked the cut end of his beard. "...Invest in a' 401? Eat Pineapple? Punch someone if they deserve it? AIn't nothin ya' can't figure out on 'yer own."

Pfft- You know what I mean, dumbass!
"...The dragon laughs, Hermit! You...know what she means! And she also calls you a fool!"

"Anything more I gotta say ain't gonna do ya much more good." Mr. Boom shrugged. "On accouta' the fact that I ain't you. My life ain't yours. Round peg, square hole, yaknow?" 

...The page shifted.

...I don't get it.
"...The Dragon does not understand, Hermit!"

"Ya think I got old n' 'wisened' by learnin' off some...grand cosmic bullshit? From some ancient Tibetan monk?" Mr. Boom asked, leaning down closer to Solus's face. "Kid, I learned from makin' mistakes! I lived 'em! Only way you're gonna understand what's what is if ya make em too!"

...Aren't mistakes...bad? Aren't you supposed to not make mistakes?
"The Dragon...believes that...making mistakes is a bad thing, Hermit!"

...Mr. Boom laughed. You transcribed appropriately. 

Stop laughing at me, dumbass!
"The Dragon demands you to stop laughing at this instant! And, once more, she calls you a fool!"

"M'sorry! Well, not really, but...got my mind thinkin, s'all. Maybe there is one more bit a' sage wisdom I got for ya. Whole lot of ya, even. N' I weren't expectin ta' give sage advice ta' The Angel, a' all people."

...Well then spit it out! We're waiting to hear it!
"The Dragon eagerly awaits your word! As do the rest of the Angel's caste!"

"...Live." Mr. Boom said. "Love, Laugh, do whatever it is ya wanna do. Dontcha' worry 'bout slippin r' fallin down. Only way ya' learn ta' get back up is from fallin. Ya want my 'sage advice', kid? Get out there, n' go n' make some mistakes. Find your own wise words ta' tell ta' yer' own dumb troubled kids when ya' find em. Long as ya got some hands ta' help pick ya up, worst ya can get is a scrape r' two. N' from where I'm standin, looks like ya got plenty a' hand ta' reach for."

...The book shifted again, the paper shifting as the pen seemed to glide through a weakened piece of paper. They were moving, maybe? Something had ripped a page? Both?

...If you tell him I was crying, I swear to you that- Whatever! Forget that part! Just...Tell him I said thanks!
"The Dragon says that I had best not transcribe- Er- strike that last stanza from your records! The Dragon thank you, Hermit!"

...As did you.
"...As does the Angel!"

...Mr. Boom smiled, and you drew your best...completely blind impression of a turtle with a smiling face.

...Your drawing is shit. And tell him that he'd better not die! Or I'm coming over there and killing him a second time! We're not done!
"The Dragon...believes that the Angel's artistic skills are subpar! And that you had best refrain from falling in combat, Hermit! 'Lest she fell you a second time! The two of you are not finished!" 

"I'd only hope I don't!" Mr. Boom laughed, staring down at the crystal atop Solus's head. "...Hell with it, though. Back on ya' go, Little Light. Figure the lot of us still got work we gotta do, yeah? Reckon you're about back at that hole."

...How the hell- Whatever. Old Man shit. Light, get back here! We're at the creepy ass...thing again!
"The Dragon concurs, and wishes for the Angel's swift return! They stand before the precipice of a...Frightening ass! 

"How is an Ass frightful?" The cups whispered from behind you.
"It must be gargantuan..."
"Pourquoi parles-tu d'ânes? L'Ange se tient juste devant toi!"

Stop talking about asses! Tell them good luck, tell Mr. Boom not to die, and get back here! We gotta go do hero shit!
"Cease the bottom talk at once! Wish the Hermit safe travel, and return, posthaste! You have lost to reclaim!"

"Can't argue with that!" Mr. Boom said, shrugging as he pulled the crystal off from Solus's head-

...And you found yourself seeing through one set of eyes once more, as the book and pen were stowed away. 

True to her word, you found yourself standing at the doors of the ruined church. 

The...empty doorframe of the ruined church, as you stepped through, seeing the wooden doors in pieces upon the floor as you stepped in. You could hardly even call it a church anymore, so much as a ruined, empty room. 

Glass and splinters littered the floor, accompanied by chunks of wood and stone no larger than a fist at their best. Far, far more ruined than your last visit, even after your confrontation with The Knight.

Noelle pulled you down from her head, holding tightly upon you as you proceeded forwards. 

Looking around, you'd only notice more and more of the damage. Smaller and smaller details you'd either missed, or had been made fresh. Gouging marks within the stone. Slashes and cuts, only deepened, only made worse. The darkness that spilled forth, only seeming to recede in your presence as you came to a stop, staring down the hole within its center.

Noelle was scared. Ralsei was scared. Even you, to some extent, found yourself with doubt. Was...this really- 

"KRIS!" Susie shouted down, shocking you out from your stupor, her voice echoing out downwards.

...Seconds passed as it continued to reverberate, before fading into nothing. 

Susie laughed, turning back to you and Ralsei with a smirk upon her face. Fear too, somewhere deep within, but buried far, far away. Cut away, leaving only its roots.

"You heard what the old man said!" She screamed, the grip upon her axe tightening. "We gotta go make mistakes, and this seems like a pretty goddamn big mistake!"

"Susie-" Ralsei feebly muttered, holding a digit of a single paw outwards. "Perhaps...we should...make a plan, before-"

Ralsei found himself interrupted as Susie's other arm wrapped around him.

"WE'RE COMING TO SAVE YOUR ASS!" She shouted down once more into the darkness, dragging Ralsei closer. "STAY STILL!"

"S-Susie, please-!" Ralsei pleaded, falling upon deaf ears as Susie laughed, before leaping down into the hole below.

...Staring after them, Noelle hesitated at the edge, hearing the sounds of echoing laughter and shrill, boyish screams falling into the Abyss.

You looked up at her, blinking your light in affirmation, hugging her with your wings. 

She smiled as she held you tighter, as your wings wrapped closer, as she took a deep breath-

...And the two of you plummeted down.

Down and down and down-

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