Chapter Text
The pot began to simmer as Dess grabbed the wooden spoon to stir the chilli. Its bubbling being the only thing that resounded over the crackling of the fireplace in the other room, and the howling of the blizzard battering the house from outside.
Dess had made this recipe dozens of times before, its burning levels of spiciness a consequence of her little sister’s love for spicy food, and the biting cold that so often visited them in the Snowdin valley. She’d gotten really good at making it, ever since she’d taken over this responsibility, and enjoyed the peace and quiet it filled her with.
“December!!” As if on queue, a shout from a raspy voice upstairs broke said peace.
“Yes mooooom?” Dess rolled her eyes.
What could she possibly want now?
“Can you make sure the fire stays hot? Tonight’s blizzard is a big one.”
Dess sighed. “On it mom.” She gave the chilli one last firm stir before putting the lid on and heading to the living room.
Noelle was laid across the coach, playing with the little “games console” she’d managed to snag while on a trip to Waterfall. From what few chances Dess had to play it herself, she’d found the appeal but lamented that the limited amount of batteries that washed in made using it a luxury. She preferred to let her little sister use it, seeing her happiness was more important.
Noelle turned up when she entered. “Dess! I just beat that boss I was stuck on!”
“Really? That’s good to hear, Elly. You sounded pretty frustrated the other day.” Dess grabbed a log from beside the fireplace and threw it in.
“Yeah… turns out you needed a special item that blocks its element. Gosh, I had to do a loooong sidequest to get it.” Noelle sat up as she put the console down. “Um… Dess?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you um… do the thing?” Noelle’s eyes widened as she stared at Dess.
Dess raised an eyebrow. “...The thing?”
“You know… the cool thing you can do with your magic! Mom’s upstairs… she won’t see, promise!” Noelle shot a glance towards the stairs before turning back to Dess with her fist pumped in front of her, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“Alright, alright. Secret from Mom though, yeah?” Dess breathed deeply, before lifting her pointer finger up, manifesting a small trickle of ice from it. She furrowed her brow as this part always strained her, before beginning to draw a circle in front of her towards the fireplace. With a sharp exhale, the magic at her fingertips flashed like a bright star, blinding the room for just a moment, before a large pure white flame took its place at her fingertip. With a swift motion, she shot it into the fire, making it roar with many colours before eventually settling back to its warm orange glow.
Noelle clapped ecstatically. “That's so cool, oh my gosh! I… I wish I could do that…”
“Don’t give me that Elly. You’re scarily good at ice magic which… is what mom prefers anyway.”
Noelle shook her head sharply. “I don’t care about that I-”
Knock knock knock
Dess turned to the noise. “Someone at the front door? At this hour?” She shook her head. “Elly you mind taking care of the chilli? I’ll go answer whatever this is.”
“Sure thing sis!” Noelle leapt up from the coach and dashed into the kitchen with an odd amount of enthusiasm. Dess thought about the difference in response to when she and her mom asked Noelle to do things as she approached the front door.
Bracing for the blast of cold air, she cracked the door open slightly with care. “Can I help you?”
Just a few feet from the door was a large goat-like monster, who was wearing something you’d only really see in Hotland. His already shaken expression turned wide eyed and pale when he saw the face peeking through the door, as if he had seen a ghost.
“I… you… it can’t…” His voice was shaking violently. Dess quickly noticed that despite wearing nothing but a t-shirt and shorts the person outside wasn’t shivering at all.
Hypothermia.
“What are you doing out there like that?!” Dess quickly swung open the door and grabbed him by the hand to pull him inside, practically shoving him in front of the fireplace. “Elly!”
Noelle ran into the room and gasped. “W-what?! Who is that-?”
“Grab a towel and hot water from the other room, he was out in the blizzard!”
“O-okay!” Noelle quickly dashed back into the kitchen, as Dess turned back to the man who was staring at them teary eyed.
“Can you talk? Did you need anything else sir?” Dess looked intently as the man seemed to watch Noelle leave the room.
“It… It really is you…” A tear ran down the man’s face.
“You… Do you know me?” Dess shook her head in confusion.
“I’ve got it!” Noelle ran into the room, placing the bowl of warm water near the fire as she dipped the towel in before placing it on the man’s forehead. “Does that feel better?”
His demeanor relaxed slightly, pressing his head into the warm blanket. “Th… thank you… I-”
“What is happening down there?!” Shouting came from the other room as Dess heard the all too familiar stomping of hooves coming from the stairs.
Shit, how am I gonna explain this? Dess turned to Noelle. “Elly take care of him, I’ll talk with Mom.”
“A-alright.” Noelle dipped the towel back into the bowl before placing it on the man’s arm.
The stranger reached out slightly as Dess stood up. “Dess wait I-”
My name? I didn’t…
“Who. Is. That.” Dess’ mother was at the mouth of the room, her usually completely stern demeanour broken by the foreign presence sitting on the coach.
“He… He was out in the blizzard and I just-”
“You just let a stranger into the house?!” Carol pointed accusingly at Dess. ”Tell him to leave. He is NOT welcome here.”
Dess could hardly believe her ears. “What, and make him walk all the way to Snowdin in that storm?! That’s borderline murder!”
“What was he doing out there in the first place?!” Carol scoffed as she glanced at the man. “Maybe he deserves it wearing something like that around here.”
“Mom!!” Dess couldn’t help but shout, catching a glimpse of Noelle clamming up silently.
“Don’t raise your voice with me young lady! That man could-”
“Stop!” Dess whipped around to see the stranger had stood up, waving his hand towards them. “Stop… I… I didn’t mean to intrude, I just… I just don’t know what’s going on and…” His eyes began leaking tears as Noelle stood up behind him and motioned him to sit back down, which he did as he fell into a quiet sob.
“Mom please, he’s clearly not doing very well.” Dess turned back to Carol, doing her best to keep her anger in check. “I’ll keep an eye on him, promise.”
Carol looked back at Dess, giving out a dramatic sigh. “ Fine. But he’s sleeping in the basement.”
“Thank you mom, I’m sure-”
“Locked. And he leaves first thing tomorrow morning.” Carol turned back to the stairs. “Understood?”
Dess straightened her back. “...Yes mom.”
“Good.” Carol started making her way back upstairs, the room going quiet aside from the crackling fire. Dess made her way back to the couch, kneeling next to Noelle.
“How is he?” Dess locked eyes with the man who was looking at the two with a scared look.
“He’s okay… just… a bit in shock I think.” Noelle stood up and started slowly walking to the kitchen. “He said he wanted to talk to you so I’ll finish the chili.”
“You sure? I…” Dess couldn’t help but think of the last time Noelle had cooked.
“I can handle it!” Noelle dashed into the kitchen, leaving Dess alone with the man who was still awkwardly staring at her.
“So.” Dess shifted awkwardly. “What’s your name? Talking is gonna be a pain in the ass if I don’t know it.”
The man’s face betrayed a hint of confusion. “You… don’t recognise me? It’s me, Azzy.”
“No, in fact… how did you know my… nickname?”
“I…” The man grabbed his head with his hands. “You really don’t remember?!”
“Remember what?” Dess was growing frustrated. “You’re not making any sense, man.”
“Where… where are we?” Azzy straightened out, seeming to now be determined to gather info.
“We’re in Snowdin Valley… are you lost? Where are you from?”
“I was… driving back to Hometown when…” Azzy brought up a hand in thought.
Driving? There’s no working cars down here.
“Like… New Home? You’re a bit bloody off track if that’s where you were heading.” Dess was starting to get suspicious of his story.
“No… that’s not right I… I remember it getting really dark as I was getting close to home and-”
“Look. You’re clearly not in a sound state of mind, dude.” Dess stood up, motioning to the basement door. “Do you want me to show you where you’re sleeping?”
“I…” Azzy thought for a moment. “Maybe that’s for the best. Carol can be really scary when things don’t go her way.”
There it is again… why is he talking like he knows my mom??
“Look just… follow me.” She made her way to the door and grabbed the keyring hanging next to it, sorting out the right key and unlocking it as Azzy walked slowly over to her.
“Um… Hey Noelle! It… um… smells nice!” Azzy motioned to the kitchen with a small wave. Dess looked over to see Noelle awkwardly wave back with a smile.
“Okay, hold up.” Dess turned around after opening the door. “Now I’m kinda with my mom on this one. Carol I kinda get, but how do you know my sister’s name? Who are you exactly?”
“I-I told you, it’s me Azzy! We… we grew up together, I-”
“So you’re not gonna give me an honest answer.”
“Dess, I’m serious! Do you really not remember?!” Azzy started to get a panicked tone in his voice, causing Noelle to look over in worry.
Dess glared at him. “Basement. We’ll talk there.” She moved to the side and pointed into the darkness for him to go first.
With a pained expression, Azzy started making his way down the stairs. Dess was stopped from closing the door by Noelle calling from the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, Dess! I’ll bring down a bowl for you both, okay?”
Dess breathed deeply. “That would be wonderful, thank you Elly.” With that, she closed the basement door behind her and made her way down to where Azzy was standing at the foot of the stairs.
The basement was fairly spacious, with a single small light suspended in the middle of the ceiling. It flickered slightly with particularly strong gusts of wind outside, giving the cramped space an uneasy feeling.
“There.” Dess pointed to a dusty coach in the corner of the room. “That’s where you’ll be sleeping.”
“Thank you… Dess.” Azzy made his way over, sitting down on the coach tenderly as he looked up at Dess, who followed suit and sat down on the other end.
“Tell me your story then. All of it.” Dess crossed her arms. “I’ll decide if I’m gonna help you or not.”
Azzy rubbed his arm. “Well, I was heading into Hometown when suddenly the world around me got really dark. My car stalled, and no matter what I did it wouldn’t budge. So I stepped out to check it, when…” Azzy shook his head. “Suddenly, some… thing came out of the shadows. I tried to run but it threw some kind of blue dust at me which made me pass out.” Azzy shook his head. “Next thing I knew I woke up in that blizzard, with only the distant smoke from your chimney in sight.”
Dess scoffed. “And that’s how you ended up at the front door?”
“Y-yes.” Even Azzy seemed to catch on that what he said was pretty unbelievable.
“Alright then, a few things.” Dess leaned forwards slightly, bringing up her fingers to count. “First, There’s nowhere called Hometown around here. The closest I can recall is New Home, which is a long way from here. Second, there’s not a single working car down here, as far as I’m aware. Third…” Dess leaned back into the coach.
This will be a good test.
“What’s my Dad’s name?”
“H-huh? Rudy?” Azzy scratched his head. “Rudolph is his full name. Why?”
“How’s he doing right now?”
“Um… Last I heard he was in the hospital for some kind of illness but… why what happened?” Azzy gave Dess a concerned look.
“Well, my dad’s been dead for years.” Dess stood up and crossed her arms, glaring at him. “So I don’t get what goddamn game you’re playing but-”
“I’m telling the truth! Your dad was fine when I left for college a year ago!” Azzy also stood up, raising his voice and pointing at Dess. “ You’re the one that… that…” His eyes once again glazed with tears.
“Um… is now a bad time?” Noelle’s voice came from behind Dess, causing her to turn around to see her carrying two bowls of hot chili.
“No. In fact.” Dess shot Azzy a look. “I was just leaving.”
His face immediately softened, retracting his hand in shame. “Dess wait I-”
“Elly, leave the bowls on the stairs, I’ll give it to him. We can talk about that game you were playing.” Dess turned away from Azzy.
“O-Okay Dess! See you in a minute!” Noelle placed the two bowls on one of the steps and sprinted back up the stairs. Dess started to follow, picking up her own bowl and stepping over the other as she started making her way up the steps.
“Dess, please, I don’t… know what to do.” She turned to see Azzy at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes wide with fear.
This guy is hopeless. What is his deal?
She sighed. “Tomorrow. Elly and I are heading into town for the festival. We can find someplace for you to go there. Okay?”
“Th-thank you, Dess, and… I’m sorry. I really am…” Azzy started to cry again, which made Dess turn around. “I… I missed you.”
“Whatever.” She started making her way up the stairs. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Azzy didn’t respond as Dess closed the basement door behind her, which she locked behind her with a sigh.
“You okay, Dess?” Noelle paused the game she was playing. “That Azzy guy seemed to be winding you up.”
“It’s fine Elly, he was just… blabbering about shit that didn’t make sense.”
Noelle put a hand over her mouth. “D-Dess! Language!”
“Mom’s asleep, you’re old enough to swear dumbass.” Dess sat down next to her, eating a few bites of the chili as she did. “So, what’s been happening in your game then?”
“Oh you’re gonna love this!” Noelle unpaused the game in excitement. “I just got to a new chapter, and one of the characters has gotten trapped in a parallel dimension, and now the heroes have to go save them!” Noelle began playing the game intensely as battle music started playing from the cheap speakers. “It’s really cool, the new gameplay style is awesome!”
Dess took another serving of the chili. “Heh, a parallel dimension? Sounds stupid.”