Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After everything with both the Roaring Knight and the Titan alike, it was clear that some bigger kind of practice needed to be done. ACTs were something Kris and the others knew well by this point, but actual FIGHTing... some work needed to be had there.

It was 'Chara' who suggested the idea of sparring first while the three were relaxing a bit in Castle Town's square.

"Like, what, just fight each other?" Susie narrowed eyes just a touch as she spoke.

Kris's body shrugged before the SOUL continued. "Why not? If we know each other's strength and find each other's faults, we can use that info to help us cover for each other."

Ralsei didn't quite seem convinced. "Ah, that's... a bit dangerous, though. Should we really be...?"

"I'm up for it!" Susie pulled out their axe, hefting it with a grin. "And fighting's dangerous all the time, Rals. You didn't stop us from doing those challenge things over at the dojo."

"But that's... it's different when.... we're fighting together." the boy eventually replied. "Fighting each other, though..."

Susie's free hand slapped the goat playfully on the shoulder, disrupting the odd, almost fearful look on his face. "Don't get your robe in a twist, we're not trying to kill each other! And besides, we got you here, we got the other people in town for other healing, we'll be fine. You can just watch if you don't want to, though. No pressure."

Ralsei fidgeted a little but eventually sighed. "Alright, but back to basic weaponry! And if there's blood, we stop."

"You up for it too, Kris?" The human in question gave a smile and nod. It was weird, being referred to directly, separate of the SOUL, but there was... relief in it. That reminder that revealing the existence was a good thing.

"Then we're good!" Susie grinned. "We wanna' use the dojo, or...?"

Kris's gauntlet was tapped away at by the other hand for a moment. Something of a thoughtful look on their shared face before something of a mild smile came upon it once more. "Got a better place in mind."

That wide space on the edge of Castle Town, away from much of the buildings. The mannequin from that prior 'training' still stood there, split apart, sides curling downwards. A singular flower now rested at its base. Perhaps the mildest sign of someone paying respects. Human and monster stood apart from each other, weapons drawn. Wooden blade and Mane Ax alike, Ralsei to the side, fidgeting in a chair they dragged over from the town.

"So, Ralsei-" Susie looked over. "Who's your bet on winning?"

"B...bet?" Ralsei blinked, seeming confused. "I don't... I thought we were training, not-"

"They're just asking who you think will win." the SOUL chirped up.

"Ah, um..." the goat felt pressed into a corner by both gazes, shrinking into himself somewhat. Their clear want for a hat to hide their face in was rather apparent, but alas, the coat rack took it, leaving him wholly helpless. "I don't... want to make either or you think... lesser of yourselves."

"You kidding?" Susie's eyes narrowed, a smile ready to fight the world on her lips. "It'll just make us fight harder, to prove you wrong!"

Oh, it was definitely on, now. They shared 'Chara's' smile as the SOUL nodded. "So, who is it?"

"Passing... isn't an option, is it?" the prince rose a tentative finger as multiple gazes bore into them.

"No." a simultaneous answer from all three, voices merging together in one definitive statement. Ralsei's finger dropped like a stone, face growing long and slightly overwhelmed.

Susie sighed. "Look, dork. Neither of us are gonna' be mad. Just think about it. No feelings, just... which one of us can beat the pulp out of the other?" 

Paws shaking just slightly, the Darkner was quiet for a bit. "Well... I think both of you have gotten quite strong... compared to when we first met." 

Hands twiddled and fiddled, eye contact not made. "But... if I had to pick, going off what I've seen... It's... probablykris?"

His voice rapidly rose in pitch towards the end, speeding as if just trying to get it out, face burying itself in their scarf. "A-Ah, and Chara too, o-of course."

Kris was somewhat expecting it, but it didn't make it any less surreal to hear. Stronger than Susie... the giant lizard who casually lifted them up and shoved them into lockers before all this. It made them want to laugh, but going from then, to now...

Was it really fair to call it their strength? It was their body, but the SOUL's precision, their tenacity and power, pushing muscles to their limits, breaking reality apart to restart again and again and again.

It felt like 'Chara' was more of the hero here than themselves. A bitter feeling. They could feel the mild unsteadiness they were imparting on the body from it. A string tightened and they felt the free hand clasp over the sword arm. It was harder to feel past the metal now, but... perhaps they understood what they were thinking.

Susie, meanwhile, was oblivious to those thoughts, looking at Ralsei for a good long while before breaking off into a laugh. "...Figured you'd say that. Standing up to the Knight before, twice over... gets you some points, yeah."

That grin turned predatory as the girl looked back to Kris, sharpened maw on full display. "But I've been growing too. I'm not just a hero anymore..."

Ax hefted in both hands, golden orbs narrowing dangerously, their voice rose, body tensing. "I'm a goddamn dragon!"

That was all the warning they got before said lizard leapt forth, axe driving downwards from the sky like a guillotine. Were there more time to speak, Kris probably would've mentioned that knights had a pretty good track record of slaying dragons.... in both cases of knights down here, really. But for the moment...

Their body shifted to the side, ax blade embedding itself into the cold earth beside, Kris's legs subtly vibrating from the closeness. Susie's eyes widened as the knight's blade swung in with the opening, but the lizard managed to switch the grip on her ax's handle, forcing the blade up and away.

"The hell'd you learn to dodge like the Old Man from?" Susie barked as they swung the ax even with its backward, shaft rapidly rising upward to meet Kris's shield, metal screeching as the top tip of the ax-blade scratched it.

"I'd be stupid if I just sat there and took it." 'Chara' barely wasted words as they went on the offensive, swinging away to abuse the awkward position the ax had managed to get in. The way the SOUL said it, though... it reminded Kris of when they first introduced themselves to the others... were they... were they quoting something?

Were they making inter-dimensional jokes? They absolutely needed to question them on this later. But for now, Susie backed away frantically, trying to make space to reorient their ax, but 'Chara' simply added all the more pressure, forcing her to wholly focus on defense.

"Not a single break, huh?" the lizard was beginning to sweat, but was still grinning. There was definitely something exhilarating here. The pumping of the heart, muscles tensing and relaxing at just the opportune moments. They could feel it, but it was still so distant, strings moving and shifting with every motion, some quicker than they could follow.

"Limit opportunity." 'Chara grunted, but then suddenly, Kris felt their foot jam itself a bit into the ground, boots piercing through the upper layers of brittle rock. "Seize your own."

The boot rose up, flinging sediment and stones up towards Susie, slipping past the handle's guard right into the monster's face, a minor noise of distress as some of it got in their eyes, and 'Chara' rushed forth, blade slipping past right into Susie's side. A minor hiss from the monster as they instinctively flinched back.

A minor drip of blood, a cut piercing through the jacket. For something made of wood, it was still remarkably sharp.

"Damn it!" Susie's hand tensed, pointing accusingly at the SOUL. "That was cheap!"

Kris's shoulders raised plaintively in a shrug. "All's fair."

"Ugh, I know!" Susie's ax head hit the ground with some force as the lizard's teeth were bared, though it softened a touch after a moment and several blinks. Breath sharply exhaled through her nose. "I should've thought of doing that first!"

"Ah, let me help!" Ralsei was on top of Susie, healing spell ready. Flesh mended, clothes weaved, and that irritance in the eyes regressed to nothing.

"Thanks." Susie sighed, glancing back to Kris and the SOUL within. "Where'd you learn how to fight anyways, strings? It's clear you've got some experience from somewhere despite how much of a goody two-shoes you act a lot of the time."

"Ah..." 'Chara's voice began to inflect more emotion again. Hesitance, something like... shame? "It's... mhm... My home wasn't... it wasn't anything like Hometown, that's for sure."

There was a knowing look in Susie's eyes at that statement. "City?"

"Not quite, just... ill-developed. Halfway lawless. High crime." they recounted, eyes closing a bit, seemingly focused. Kris hadn't pried much into their past beyond how they got here. A place like that though... didn't sound like what they expected. Given, they mentioned their memories were murky before... it was curious to hear more.

"And it wasn't as simple as talking out your problems, I take it...?" Ralsei's words had a sorry tone, knowing but asking nonetheless.

A shaking head met them. "Were it so... easy. I had to learn self-defense. Had to... use it several times."

"Muggings?" Susie asked, almost casually. It wouldn't surprise Kris if she had experience.

"And an attempted robbery, once." 'Chara' answered, met with differing reactions. Susie's head looked away, down to the ground. Ralsei, meanwhile looked exceedingly worried.

Kris, meanwhile, had a question lingering in their mind, and they willed their mouth into action. "How can you... be so..."

Hands shook just slightly as Kris struggled to find the word. What singular word could encapsulate what they were, what they had done, such... compassion, such kindness, such trust.

There was a small smile that came upon their lips then. It was a tired, but not strained crescent. They could see it in the gleam of their armor. It reminded them of Ralsei's more than a little. Tired, painful, but still standing. Eyes narrowed just a touch. They could imagine the dark surrounding them if the SOUL was in their own body.

"There's a lot of things I've learned about people over the years." they began. "People handle things like I did in one of two ways, typically. There's the more common one. The bitter end. The people exposed to violence who are broken down by it, who feed into it, who wonder why they shouldn't just level the score themselves. They contribute to that environment, they keep it going. They make it worse."

 
They let out a sharp exhale through the nose, breathing in again before continuing. "Then there's the other end. The people who are scarred, but still going. The people who see it and desperately, desperately want to make sure it doesn't happen to others."

There was a bit of embarrassment creeping onto the face, anxiety, other hand sheathing the blade for a moment, rubbing the back of the neck. "Self-diagnosis is not often the most... accurate. But it's... how I can best put it."

"God, you sound like a nerd." That plus the huff afterwards from the lizard caught their shared attention. "Could just say that your locals were assholes and you wanted to be better than 'em. Am I wrong?"

"In a... broad sense, perhaps?" 'Chara' answered, though the tone was at least a touch hesitant.

"Something close enough, at least." Susie added. "Sounds pretty familiar to me."

Something of a dark look came over her eyes for a moment, arms crossing, leaning on the ax as she looked to the ground. "Even if I... maybe took the other route at first, really."

Shame stumbled into her voice, but Ralsei was there, patting her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Susie, I think you turned out great! It matters more where you end up, right?"

Golden eyes flicked over to the goat, and a couple moments of looking into the Darkner's positive look, her own lips split open into a smile as she thoroughly rubbed Ralsei's head in exchange. "Doesn't mean i'm a wuss, though!"

The boy laughed, and Kris couldn't help but smile at the sight. They all had really come a long way, hadn't they, in their own ways. Susie coming out of their hard, spiny shell, Ralsei slowly becoming more of a person.

Them and the SOUL, not at odds. Another reassuring grip from said SOUL followed that thought before the lizard's attention shifted back over. "But that's all good to know, though, uh, Chara, could I ask you for something?"

Kris felt their head tilt just a touch to the side, eyes blinking. "You may?"

"Would Kris be up for fighting without you?" Susie asked, expression hardening to faux-anger. "'Cause technically this was a 2 on 1! And I wanna' see what they know!"

Oh. That was... huh. Red eyes flicked down for just a moment as the SOUL spoke. "Would you wish to?"

Fighting without them. That was... different. Strange. Technically they'd barely fought at all, most of it had been 'Chara's' plans, 'Chara's' actions and orders. They'd certainly learned a lot by watching them, but being in the front seat...

That'd be new. They pulled against the lax strings and spoke. "Sure. Might be... different, though. I don't know... how long I can."

"We'll stop if it gets too much." Susie smirked. "Now come on, do the thing!"

The thing... oh. Looking down to their hands, Kris flexed one. The other gave a thumbs up. Okay then...

Plunging their hand inside, they couldn't help but see Ralsei cringe a little, Susie meanwhile looking almost starstruck as they pulled out the SOUL.

"That is still so metal as hell, dude." Susie replied, watching Kris's posture slump a bit, her eyes narrowing. "How'd you figure out you could do that, anyways? That seems like, uh..."

"Really unhealthy?" Ralsei helpfully added.

The human blearily blinked, but it was barely visible as their hair dropped further over their eyes. "Felt like... I needed to, then. I just... needed a moment, so I did that and... well."

They gestured wide as the SOUL next to them bobbed in the air.

"Badass." Susie's enthusiasm was contrasted by the Darkner's worry next to them.

"Probably should be checked out by somebody, still!" Ralsei quickly added.

Kris exhaled, voice low, laden with exertion "After."

Blade was readied in hand. Muscles forced into readiness. It was more effort to be like this. But they could do this. Whether they'd win, well...

That was to be decided, but Susie certainly seemed ready as she shifted off the ax, hefting it up, all the while Ralsei and the SOUL both moved to the side, back to that little chair.

And the battle began once more.

For Ralsei, though quiet, there was inwardly so many thoughts running through his head. So much had gone... off-kilter. Things were supposed to run in particular ways. Everybody had their roles, their places, everything was meant to be simple.

And yet, it wasn't, none of it was. From the very start when they had met the other two...

Three. Three, he had to remind himself. That alone was... a drastic change. There were meant to be three heroes. And yet, now, there were four. 

There was just supposed to be the Cage. Or really, what rested inside of it. But the outside was as much a person as the inside. They were not just a 'vessel', as was described. As he had been told.

And Kris was wonderful. All three of them were, really. It became easier to look back on who did what knowing more about the voice shifting. That slightly off, mostly monotone voice being the SOUL was something they'd become used to, but then, there was the basement. That strange puppet and his strings.

Hearing that voice, that no inflected so genuinely, so much raw emotion... That's when he knew there truly was something more to this. It was so obvious in hindsight why it ended up that way, why they were so scared.

But none of it was real, and yet...

It was, wasn't it? That justification became more hollow with every passing day. It was still hard to assure himself that. He was real. He mattered. If not to himself, then...

To the three of them. And that *meant something*. He wasn't supposed to become this attached, because it was all meant to be fleeting, with the end looming ever nearer and nearer.

Training was a good idea, but it simultaneously felt like a waste. Would it change things? Could it? Elements of the prophecy were shifting, but the final tragedy...

The only way, it's said. Well... maybe they just needed to say something else. Do something else. 'Chara' made it sound so easy. Susie did, too.

It really was infectious thing, that hope and desire and want.

Want. Haha. It felt so strange, to want something for himself, and not just others. He wanted his friends to be happy, but he also... he wanted to be with them. He wanted to go to the festival, to experience all these things with them...

His friends. His everything, perhaps.

So of course he was worried when one of them just tore their SOUL out. Like there was just a hole in their chest. The way they stood there... they looked closer to the dead than living, hair and head drooping down, slightly hunched, just the slightest glimmer of red visible between those locks.

And the source of that life they should've had was just floating next to them. It... they... 'Chara' was a strange thing to look at. They glowed against the dark, leaving just the faintest red on his fur. There was a warmth to their presence. Both an actual heat and thoughts feeling just a bit lighter. He wondered how they experienced things. They lacked eyes, ears, a mouth... everything. He knew and had seen Darkners that lacked some, but... the more he looked at them, the more they simply seemed out of place. A warm light in the cold dark, a red that bled not into just the environment, but the air itself, stirring it. It floated there without even a sign of the magics he was used to when it came to such things.

It was a reminder that no matter much he knew, there was more they didn't. 

Like however this 'spar' was going to go. Seeing 'Chara' fight... they were like a whirlwind. Speed and strength overwhelming when they needed it. Strength they didn't know a human could even have, outright standing up to the Roaring Knight and actually putting them on the back-foot...

It was enviable. Kris, meanwhile, was quite different, watching them fight as the Mane Ax came down upon them. The SOUL was extremely offensive. Evasion into pressure that never relented.

Kris meanwhile, made their moves count. The shield moved to interpose the ax before adjusting its angle just a bit, the ax sliding down to the side. But as it passed the middle, the human shoved it to the side, pulling Susie's grasp along with it before that same shield thrust forward, top ramming harshly into their now exposed shoulder. All in one pair of clean motions.

Susie hissed, backing off. But unlike 'Chara', Kris let her have the room. They simply readjusted, breathing in, stance firm. Defensive. They were being efficient with energy, it was clear. Nothing wasted. Susie hadn't bled, but her shoulder was certainly rattled by that hit.

"When the hell'd you become that strong?" She asked, slowly moving around them. Kris followed suit in the opposite direction, feet slightly dragging across the cold ground. "Last I remember, you weigh like nothing."

"Blame Chara for teaching me about Determination." Kris answered. They didn't aggress. Probably wouldn't. But that word...

"De...determination?" Ralsei's voice perked up. The SOUL beside them almost seemed to pulse with more red light. He... knew of the term for some things. Fountains, primarily. The will to make a world by stabbing into the earth. But... was it more than that? 

The way Chara seemed to bob there, practically vibrating, it was clear they wanted to say something, yet they had no mouth. Could they...

"Ah, if you need a voice, do you think you could perhaps use me?" Ralsei offered. The SOUL shook before... vigorously shaking back and forth. 

Ralsei could only blink. That was a firm no, seemingly. "Ah, I... see."

There had to be some solution to this body problem. But even so, that still wouldn't solve Kris's own problems.

And it'd have to be something that worked in both the Light and Dark Worlds, too. That was important. But how, what could...

Maybe it could be...

The sounds of clashing weaponry shook the prince from their thoughts. Susie had gone on the offensive again, a large sweep from the side. Wooden blade stood firm as the ax carved a notch into its side.

"Well, i'm pretty damn determined to win this time!" Susie pressed further, axe swinging again and again. Kris was slightly backing up with the repeated barrage, almost a reversal of last time. But there wasn't panic in movements. Slow and steady, they continues to deflect and block. A rock-solid defense, steadily working away at Susie's stamina.

Perhaps they couldn't meet her fully head-on, but it seems they could level the playing field somewhat, Susie sweating, draining her own energy.

The lizard breathed deeply. The shield and sword alike had numerous scratches or gashes in them, yet still held firm from her assault.

"You've... guess you've been learning... something... from all those fights." Susie backed up, sweat running down her brow. Kris was similar, sucking in deep breaths. Ax adjusted, shoulders rolled, Susie had a pure focus in her eyes.

"But I gotta' see somethin'. You got that handled..." Kris visibly tensed, and Ralsei couldn't help but follow suit as Susie's ax burst with those odd off-color flames, crackling purple.

"Can you handle this!?" The ax swung through the air with a large underhanded swing, and flames rose, solidifying into a great purple crescent, curling through the air and cutting through it, leaving images of itself in its wake as it soared towards Kris. Oh, this could be... this was a bit much for a spar, and with Kris as they were...

Ralsei was ready to rush over, but as the thing got close, Kris breathed in and met it head on. It warbled as it met the blade but teeth gritted, and they flung it back, turning the crescent around, returning to sender. 

"Not that easy!" Susie practically roared as she met the buster with her own ax, and the process repeated. And Kris met it again, two bouncing it back and forth, faster and faster.

It was almost too fast for Ralsei to track, but it simply meant whenever it hit someone... it was going to hurt. But they felt a nudge on their iron grip. He looked down to see the SOUL there. They shook to the side again. A no?

What did that...?

Kris met it again, but not with the battered blade, but with their shield, pushing it back all the same. But with the angle...

Susie didn't realize it, swinging on autopilot, but the crescent veered past her. Past the ax, into the distance, ax-head meeting dirt.

"Wha-" She didn't have time to speak as Kris moved, crossing the distance in a moment before bashing into Susie with a shoulder-tackle, sending both to the earth, the human ending up on top of the monster, putting the blade sideways to her neck. Exhaustion was clear, but the human still managed a smile.

"Y...yield." they managed. Susie blinked, processing what had happened. Teeth eventually revealed themselves as she couldn't help a smile of her own. "Dammit... hah... did you just... get me with my own trick?" 

That smile of Kris's turned into a smirk. "Learned from the best."

That comment caused just a touch of red to form on her face, pushing Kris off as she broke eye contact. "Okay, yeah, yeah, I yield." 

That got the human to laugh even as they were splayed out on the ground beside, and Ralsei released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. The SOUL beside bobbed knowingly. Maybe they had some insight on what Kris was trying to do. Both moving over as they prepped healing for both, that golden light releasing upon them, and they could see the tension that both bodies still had release just a bit.

"That was... a bit much towards the end, but that was very good, both of you!" Ralsei gave a little clap despite his worry. There were a lot of ways this could've gone wrong. If that actually hit Kris... could they even take that without a SOUL? What if they just...

They didn't want to think about that.

The SOUL moved down near Kris, the human leaning back and just closing their eyes for a moment. "Exhausted."

"Yeah. Worked up a real sweat." Susie looked upwards to the pitch-dark sky above. "Didn't think you could pull an Old Man." 

"Never tried. Guessed." Kris replied simply.

Susie gave that raspy bark of a laugh. "Guessed?! Pulling things out of your ass, huh, dumbass?"

A playful fist to the shoulder only caused Kris's smile to grow. It was tired, so very tired, but it warmed Ralsei's heart to see. At least they both seemed to enjoy themselves with this. The SOUL nudged Kris's chest, and after the smallest of sighs, they patted their chest, the SOUL just entering. Like space just didn't matter to it.

So very strange, seeing Kris stiffen just a bit like that. But their chest rose and fell with more energy. That other voice then came out of Kris's mouth. He'd paid more attention to it since then, since it was so curious. It came from their mouth, but almost felt less like it was air coming out and more of it being projected out of their mouth. Maybe it was those strings? Were they maybe unconsciously vibrating a voice into existence with them?

"A very good session, I think." Chara spoke. "I might be able to give some tips, after watching that."

Susie finally pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Lay it on me."

"Have you thought about trying the Rude Buster with different angles?" The SOUL suggested as they followed suit with the lizard's actions. "As in, trying to do it more than just vertically. If you do it sideways low to the ground, might've made it quite a bit harder  to throw back."

The dragon blinked. "Huh. That's... maybe? Might just jump over it, though."

"It curves when it flies." Kris's voice popped in. "Figure out how to make it curve in different ways. Could go low, but curve up."

Susie looked thoughtful. "Okay... yeah, I guess it does, I just never paid attention... maybe I can make it like curl in way from the sides? Okay, yeah, I gotta' try that! But I kinda' want a drink first. Dry as hell."

"Oh, I can get some from our water-cooler!" Kris and Susie both grimaced a bit at that for a moment before remembering it was on their side now.

Ralsei did still wonder how it ended up so strong.

"Yeah, sounds good." Susie's ax rose, helping push her off the ground, holding a hand out to help Kris and their passenger up. Or was it the other way around?

Ralsei didn't know. But something still stuck in his mind. "Ah, 'Chara', may I ask something though, before we head off?"

"You may." they replied, eyes gazing over. Hair seemed to settle a bit less with their presence, curiously, showing more of the eyes beneath.

"When you said 'no' there, with the shaking, were you meaning you couldn't... or wouldn't?" The prince could see those eyes darken a bit, a sigh leaving.

"For the first, I don't know." they admitted. "Spamton's words point me to maybe, but even if so, I wouldn't... you realize how uncomfortable I am in here, yes? I would not wish this upon anybody. I am here because Kris needs me to not potentially die."

Eyes flicked back to earth. "I would rather be a SOUL who cannot speak or interact if it meant minimizing harm and maximizing autonomy."

Susie leaned in, hand wrapping around Kris's shoulder. Her voice lowered threateningly. "Do I need to noogie you again to stop with the downer shit? We're here for you. Hell, you could take me for a spin too if you wanted. Do my homework or something. Would be good to at least figure it out, right? Maybe there's other stuff you're missing you haven't figured out."

Kris's body was quiet for a little. "...We can try it later, just... if something goes wrong, we're stopping immediately."

That grip around the shoulder shifted into a pat. "There we go. Now let's get some water, I feel like i'm in a desert here!"

Ralsei couldn't help the smile forming on his face. He did those a lot, of course, but it wasn't something forced. It'd felt like it was more and more, but it made the times when those lips curled up on their own all the more special. There was progress to be had with 'Chara' too, even if it seems they were just as reluctant to accept it as he was.

An echo of himself, in some way. Trying to break the hold of their own minds.

It grew that hope in his chest, where that SOUL would be if he had something like that. Things were changing, growing. It was more complicated, but...

They had each other. To help pull each other up when they each stumbled and fell. Maybe they could pull each other fully out of this dark. Out of the holes the world dug to hold them back.

Maybe, just maybe there could be another ending. One that would stick. One that wouldn't...

One that wouldn't break everything apart.

Chapter Text

Of everything the SOUL expected to be doing today, this was not one of them.

"Let it be known before that this was not my idea." they spoke, sitting at the table in the middle of Kris and Susie's combined room. Theirs too, they supposed, but...

"Are you... sure you want to do this?" Ralsei offered an out from their right. Why did he do that, why why why...

A breath sucked in. A left hand moved for a right. The reassurance from Kris. Having their own motions returned was... pleasing. A small comfort, here. In this decidedly uncomfortable situation. "If you want me to be genuinely honest, no. But, I said we would try. I don't know how this may go. And you accept the potential risks and invasion of personal space."

"Mhmhm." Susie's voice from the left, leaning on the table. "So how do you wanna' do this?"

That was... difficult to think. "Well. I'm rather sure you could take it, I just... monsters and human SOULs have... history? I don't know how much of it applies to this world. Or if i'm... different. Which is likely."

"History?" The monster narrowed her gaze. "You had monsters there too, then?"

"Ah, um..." Oh god no this was a terrible decision to bring this up. How do you even explain that this is reasonable information when you got it from a video game? And yet they knew it was true to some extent, so much of it already was. "It's very difficult to explain and is information you don't want to know."

Susie blinked. "What, did your humanity kill them all or something?"

"No, this is something..." Words stumbled, something exasperated in their words as they tried to reorder things in their head. "...Look, you really don't want to know. I'm not trying to hide it, it's just... it's a rabbit-hole with implications even I don't like thinking about."

'Chara' felt Kris's mouth move afterwards even as Susie looked at them skeptically.

"They're telling the truth." Kris intoned, voice small. "I asked a question before with what they could do and... I kind of wish I didn't know the answer."

That got the lizard to blink, eyes widening. "Oh, like that? Just... what's the important bit here?"

Okay, that they could do, as much as it had its own implications... "The Monsters I know can absorb human SOULS. It can grant a significant boost in strength. Enough and... well, they can effectively rival a god."

That got all three eyes to widen.

"Wait, a god? Like, Angel and stuff?" Shock was clear. A disbelief, looking to her own hands for just a second.

'Chara's' head inclined down. A singular nod. "I don't know how much of it applies here, since monsters here seem to be biologically... different. But eerily similar at the same time."

"Different but similar... how?" Ralsei seemed curious. 

It took a while for them to answer, tapping away on the desk. "Have you ever heard about that thing with crabs? There's like a phenomenon with them where animals just keep evolving traits of them, some just turning into crabs. It's kind of similar? Like monsters here seem to be flesh and blood, the ones there are more... magic, if you'd believe it. But there's all the same kinds of subspecies between both there and here. Like appearing identically."

"Magic?" Kris's voice surprised the SOUL. "A species made of it? How does...?"

As Kris trailed off, 'Chara' cleared their shared throat. "I'm not a biologist or a wizard, sorry."

Susie just kind of stared at all this. It was a baffling statement, so it was understandable. "Weird as hell. But uh, I got blood and bones and all that. And I guess I have magic here? Maybe you're right about whatever the hell else you're not wanting to talk to if this is just the important bits."

"I'd rather not open that box. But... I suppose i'm as ready as I'll ever be. If... if you would, Kris." 'Chara' prepared themselves for the pull. It had gotten easier since they'd been figuring finer control over the strings, pulling back as much as they could, bracing for the pain. The feeling after though as Kris pulled them into open-air was something they'd likely never get used to, though.

It felt like a cold wind was always trying to worm its way in. Sensation heightened, like an exposed wound. Moving felt... so strange. It was almost less like they were moving themselves and the world itself moved around them, such was the perspective, sliding through the air.

They'd prepared a backup SAVE beforehand in case something went wrong. A fallback. They didn't know how necessary it would be, but with something like this... it never hurt to be sure.

Kris slouched a bit, hands moving to prop their chin up like a bipod. Then, steadily, they floated to Susie. The SOUL gave a minor nudge to their chest. Permission and readiness was important.

"Yeah, i'm ready." She wasn't, likely. But it was enough for them to simply slide in.

It was strange, the way they interacted with biological matter. They could press up against someone and be solid, but with just the right way, it was like moving through a crack, like a CD sliding into a tray. With Kris, it was like entering a bundle of blankets in a cold room. Initially cold, but their presence steadily warmed the surroundings until something almost cozy was achieved. (Not that they would ever be truly 'cozy' when it came to hijacking another's body, let alone the person who was rapidly becoming their best friend.)

Here though, it was different. Because the 'room' was already warm. There was something already here. Sight within the body was never as gruesome as they thought it would be. Perhaps they were accessing a space deeper than simply organs and bone. It was dark, and in that dark, there was a single, upside-down heart.  Curiously though, compared to the one they had seen in the game...

It had colour. A dull colour compared to their own vibrant red, but something more than that stark white they were expecting. A soft, mossy green that crept into the white at the edges, tinting it just a bit. They felt those strings begin to outwardly move unconsciously, something they still struggled to control. Steadily, the strings carefully wrapped around the SOUL.

"Ah?" They heard Susie's voice, muffled. "Dunno what you're doing, but that's a weird tingling. Gah, it's like static!"

They wished they could apologize, but they nestled up next to it regardless as the strings spread out from there, coiling into the body. Outwardly, Susie felt the stiffness, posture improving.

"Oh, that's... it really is like strings, damn." She blinked. "You... alright in there?"

Well... moment of truth. Strings shifted, and Susie's jaw did in turn. "Test?"

The voice that came out was of a similar quality to the monotone it normally was, projected out, but it'd taken on qualities of Susie's voice. More feminine, if just a bit.

Their 'host's' eyes widened. 'Chara' could feel them straining against the strings, and the SOUL relaxed their hold as a hand moved up to her mouth.

"Woah, that's... funky. It's like... I feel like one of those weird pose-able mannequin things." Susie managed. Both of the others continued to look over, Ralsei clearly fascinated.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" the Darkner asked.

Susie shook her head."Nah, it's just like... i'm kind of being guided by wires inside. Like if that whole thing with 'zilla was going through everything. You feel like this all the time they're in there, Kris?"

A nod is what they got as an answer. "You get used to it. Used to be even stiffer, but they've been learning to loosen the strings."

"I have, yes." Susie's mouth was forced into action. "But my control of the strings is still...imprecise."

Susie was silent for a moment, face scrunching. It was an understandable feeling, words spilling from one's mouth they didn't speak. "So, uh, how's it... feel in there compared to Kris?"

"Can you give me a moment? I need to get more of a feel." 'Chara' responded.  Susie's head nodded, and the SOUL rose from the chair. The first thing that caught their attention was the height. It felt like the room had become a good deal smaller. Walking around was a little odd, they felt Susie trying to inadvertently pull a little at first. Their will in regards to where their body went was certainly a bit stronger than Kris, given there was actual competition in here SOUL-wise.

Flexing, shifting around, simply getting a feel for everything. It was odd, simply switching bodies like this, but... it wasn't that bad. Just different. They were expecting something far, far worse given what their knowledge, but... I guess it was more of a point that these weren't the Monsters of Ebott. Simply ones that looked like them.

"I'm not used to being this tall." was the first thing they audibly on. The mouth shifted immediately after into a laugh.

"Kris is a bit of a shortie, aren't they?" Susie and 'Chara' both could feel the minor side-eye from the human, only causing the lizard to chuckle more.

"You know it's true, dork. But that's alright, you're like perfect headrest size!" the monster grinned thereafter. Kris didn't seem too impressed by the sentiment, though.

One other thing popped into the SOUL's mind though, and they couldn't help but comment after. "I'm not used to having a tail either."

The lizard blinked, taking multiple seconds to register what came out of her own mouth before pink began to turn red. "I DO NOT HAVE A TAIL!"

"I can literally waggle it!"

Arms moved up, snapping her own jaws closed as she buried her face in her hands, a long "Uggggghhhhh" trailing out between the gaps in teeth like a deflating balloon. 

"This was a terrible idea." She eventually managed, Kris and Ralsei meanwhile looking on the brink of laughter. She suddenly turned monstrous, baring teeth, widening her stance as she threateningly jammed a finger towards both parties. "WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT, CHUMPS!?"

That got Kris to collapse on the table, wheezing, Ralsei trying and failing to hold in his own chuckles. It was only then she realized what her other hand was doing. It was also pointing, but directly at herself. Her left eye twitched.

"Okay, enough of this shit!" Susie looked down. "How do I get you out? Is it literally like... stick my hand in there, or?"

"Focus on the need to get it out." Kris eventually managed to say as their laughter trailed off. "You just think, you know that you have to get it out. And then put your hand in and pull. It'll hurt. Especially the first time."

Susie's hands clasped into fists momentarily, opening and closing. "Okay then... out!"

Plunging the hand in, it passed through, and 'Chara' felt claws wrap around them and squeeze uncomfortably before they were pulled into the open air, strings fallen apart. Susie hissed like a snake.

"Holy- Ow!" Other hand moved to clutch her chest. No blood, thankfully. "That's gonna' hurt in the morning, geez."

Chest rising and falling, she eventually released the heart, but pointed at them with glaring eyes. "You didn't feel anything there, got it?"

They did, they absolutely did, and with no way to really speak, 'Chara' simply tilted to the side.

A huff, practical steam rising from Susie's snout before she looked away.

"Well... haha..." Ralsei began, finishing his own bout of giggles. "I believe we can say that's a success."

"Easy for you to say." Susie grumbled, collapsing back into the chair, still pouting a little as their head hit the table, eyes still boring into that SOUL floating above. "Now it's your turn, fuzzball."

The Darkner blinked, before his face seemed to fill with more than a bit of trepidation. "Ah... right."

"You're lookin' a lot less willing now. Getting cold feet?" the lizard gave a predatory grin.

"Ah, no, just... it's left me with some time to think, especially with what 'Chara' spoke about that... salesman. He... was trying to get the SOUL?" the Prince

Kris nodded. "Said it would help him 'see past the dark'."

"Why the hell would you trust what he says, anyways? Guy was a yammering psycho." Susie commented.

They were. That was true, but... 'Chara' moved for Kris's chest for a moment, nudging. A thumbs up met them, and they partially slid in, strings loosely moving up.

"He knew things, though. Jevil did, too." The SOUL spoke. "They both were broken by what they heard or saw, but that doesn't mean they can't speak bits of truth. He wouldn't have tried for it if there wasn't some inkling of truth there. They wanted the body for the same purpose, but that was..."

"A puppet within a puppet." Ralsei eventually spoke up, causing two other sets of eyes to look over. "I don't know where those strings went, but... they weren't meant to be seen like they were, and they weren't part of the machine."

That... left a lot to think on. Strings from seemingly nowhere. It made 'Chara' wonder if there was any connection with their own. But...

"But it might be worth testing, still." the SOUL commented. "As... iffy as I am with this, if 'seeing past the dark' perhaps means what I think it means..."

Susie was the one who caught on second. "Wait... no shot, you think... it could help him get up to the Light World?"

Ralsei's eyes widened like saucers, Kris's soon thereafter. Though the Darkner's voice seemed conflicted. "That's-  ah, I don't think that's... possible...?"

A clawed finger poked out towards the Prince as Susie narrowed her eyes at them just a little. "That sounds like you don't know jack again."

"I've never heard of anything being able to... bridge the gap. I... I shouldn't get my hopes up. We... we haven't even seen how 'Chara' functions with Darkners." The prince eventually got out, and at that, the SOUL unwedged itself from Kris, steadily moving over before him, soft red glow illuminating his features.

Ralsei certainly seemed nervous. It was something 'Chara' shared, too. But... they'd gone this far already. It was worth trying at least once.

The SOUL nudged. The Prince was hesitant but eventually breathed in deep. "W...welcome?"

Like he was presenting himself as an abode. But following suit, the SOUL moved in.

And what met them was darkness. They expected it, of course. He was a being of darkness, after all. It felt roomier than Susie, or Kris, for that matter. Perhaps it was because of the nature of it. Amorphous, vague, proportions stretched by perception, uncaring of space or physics, for in the dark, such things too became vague and undefined. 

They didn't hear from the outside for a while, either. Perhaps time too joined in on it. Stretching on and on, they floated for what felt like a long, long time. But eventually...

They found something. Or, perhaps it was more accurate to say their strings found it, extending out into the dark.

Something was grasped. They couldn't see it, couldn't feel it. It reminded them of the Shadow Crystals. Something that could only be viewed through external means, through the light of other things showing its shape. Those red strings, faintly glowing revealing an object. It felt like glass, shaped like a heart. Or rather, the outline of one. Empty space inside. It reminded 'Chara' of something like a cookie mold. Strings gently grasped it, wrapping around just like with Susie's.

As they did, a light steadily began to fill the space. 

No, not light. Iridescence. A colorful, shifting hue like a Dark Fountain. The black surrounding them faded, and in its place were something 'Chara' could only comprehend as waves.

Once wrapped, the strings tensed and then, in one lightning quick motion stretched. Like roots growing out in every direction before each string pulled inward, possibilities narrowing, space constricted together until eventually...

"Oh, that's... warm." a voice, from outside. Muffled. Rules were locked down, verified by sight and thought, and those waves shrunk into a still colorful space just like Susie's.

And finally, 'Chara' could once more see the outside, through new eyes. They felt... softer now. Susie was certainly different from Kris, but this was definitely something more. Fur... it was like they were wrapped in a warm coat all the time. They supposed they were, if in the other context of the word.

A hand... or something closer to a paw moved up, examining it, feeling it, shifting the fingers to feel this new, strange addition.

"You, uh, alright in there, Chara?" Susie's words were significantly louder than 'Chara' was expecting, causing Ralsei's body to nearly jump, blinking rapidly.

"Ah, i'm here. Things are just... different. And louder. These ears are not simply for show." The SOUL replied. Their voice was a bit more similar to how they sounded with Kris, if lighter in tone. Afterwards, their current mouth shifted into a little giggle.

"Haha, I do suppose that'd be something to get used to. Were there any... difficulties? I felt you move around something in there, and things felt queasy for a moment." The Prince let 'Chara' move about a bit. There was so much different, the more they moved, especially getting up from the chair. The feet as well were fairly differently proportioned. And Ralsei moved around barefoot. It was jarring.

"Well... how long did it take from all of your perspectives?"

"Like a couple seconds?" Susie quickly answered, confused.

The SOUL clicked the Prince's tongue. "I was in there for what felt like an hour."

That got Ralsei's body to stop moving as the Darkner pressured against the strings, the other two's eyes widening a touch.

"An... an hour? How...?" The prince's confusion was immense, but clearing their shared throat, 'Chara' readily answered.

"Well, you were the one before who talked about things getting abstract in darkness." 

"And that applies inside a Darkner as well..." The goat's face scrunched.

"An hour though? The hell was in there?" The monster seemingly was trying to wrap her head around this.

"What else but darkness?" 'Chara' shrugged. "I floated for a long while in the black, but eventually my strings found something like a SOUL."

That got their body's own eyes to widen. "I... have a SOUL?"

"Something like one, yeah. It's different from the other two's. I couldn't see it. Kind of like the shadow crystals. Only its shadow in the light. A human's is like a heart. A monster's is that, but upside-down. A Darkners is more of... an outline of a heart? Think of something like a mold for a cookie or something akin."

The grin from the monster across the room felt like it filled up half of it. "Hear that, fluffball? If you've got a SOUL, then that means you're definitely real."

The SOUL could feel the numerous movements of the face. Shifts and scrunches and confliction. "Ah, may we sit again...? I... need to process that."

A thumbs up given, and the Prince was firmly parked once more.

"I have a SOUL..." it was a tiny voice, disbelieving, but... the SOUL could feel the smile spread across his face, slowly but surely. "I'm actually..."

Kris smiled as well. A single word came from their mouth, low, breathy, but joyful.

"Real." they finished. That was got tears to start forming at the corner of Ralsei's vision. Perhaps they were thinking before they were real, but... it felt nice to have solid proof. Evidence, something they couldn't ignore. That thing in his center, besides that warmth that was settling in. 

"Ah, i'm sorry, i'm just-" The SOUL rose a hand to stop the Prince, a finger raised upward. A small shush. 'Chara's' voice came out, soft. "Take your time."

He cried for a time and eventually moved over, holding onto Kris, pulling the human from their head-lounged position into a hug.

"Thank you. Both of you. This... it means so much to me to know this."

But the SOUL could feel echoes of pain, too, deep and resonating. The weight that the Prince carried. But for the moment, much of it was smothered by joy. That feeling of truly belonging.

It was odd, feeling emotions this strongly from their 'host'. Perhaps it was their different natures. Perhaps Ralsei simply felt that strongly, just like much of his other senses.

The SOUL just basked in that positive feeling for now though, letting the prince get everything out of his system until they and Kris separated.

"Ah... we should probably make sure we can get you out, haha..." Ralsei flexed a hand, pulling against the strings. The other gave a thumbs up. Words repeated under his breath.

"...need to get it out, need to get it out..." Clenching one last time, the Darkner plunged his hand within themselves. A fluffy grasp worming its way through the iridescence, until it managed to find them, taking a gentle hold around themselves, like clutching a most precious thing. Compared to the other two's grasp, it was far more caring, and steadily, they were wrenched from their place, iridescence fading until the SOUL re-emerged into reality.

The Darkner looked down to the SOUL with an almost reverence before holding them close. A hug, gentle and caring.

"Hah... that wasn't as bad as I was expecting... this warmth is hard to let go of, though... I cannot thank you enough, Chara."

They 'pulsed' within the grasp. The best they could manage as a reply, and eventually, they were let go. Floating along, honestly the SOUL was beginning to feel all this body-swapping getting to them, especially after that excursion. They hoped if they needed to next time, they wouldn't have to jaunt who knows how long to find that odd SOUL of theirs.

Steadily, they moved over to Kris, who had returned to a lazy lounging position in their chair, hair drooped, eyes hidden. Steadily, they forced themselves up, spreading open their arms. A welcome. One they were more than willing to reciprocate as they re-entered, nestling themselves inside that dark place they'd learned to become comfortable in.

They couldn't help but collapsed back into Kris's previous position afterwards.

"Ah, are you two...?" Ralsei's minor panic was stopped by a hand moving into a thumbs-up. 

"Fine, just... body-hopping like this takes a lot out of me, I think." They couldn't help the exhaustion bleeding into their voice. "I didn't even think I had stamina to drain."

"Guess it's like exercise?" Susie questioned. One of Kris's hands moved for a so-so gesture.

"Maybe." they managed. But then, their current body rose up. The human's mouth moved.

"Well, why don't we just go eat, then?"

"Ah, but Dark World food isn't..." The Prince looked down to his lap, face almost a little guilty looking.

"You're thinkin' wrong, Rals." Susie smirked. "Just means we can have two lunches. One here, one topside."

"Oh, that's... I mean, it should be okay but that probably makes for unhealthy habi-!" Ralsei practically yelped as Susie crossed the table's distances, dragging the prince out of the chair.

"Nah, no time for considering stuff like that. It's food for you too, dork. So enough sittin' around, let's go!"

"Ah, Susie, wait for-" 'Chara' and Kris both watched Ralsei be dragged away by the scruff of the neck to their apparent doom, Susie grinning all the while.

Leaving both alone for a moment. Considering everything that had just happened, the SOUL couldn't help but ask.

"Are you alright after that?"

Their host's head bobbed. "Mostly alright. Drained too."

"Good. I don't know if i'm going to make body-hopping a pattern, but I suppose it's good to know I can do it without... too many problems for either party."

"Could be interesting in a fight."

'Chara' couldn't help but chuckle a touch at the idea of being tossed around bodies in a fight like a hot potato. "I'd have to learn each's body to more cleanly slip out myself. I don't know if that's an option for Ralsei, though, with how that space... works."

"Mhm." Kris hummed as they got up to start following the others. "Do you actually think it could help them exist in the Light World?"

"Well-" The SOUL brought in a breath, stretching as they did. "Dark Worlds themselves are products of Determination. I'm quite literally made of it. If I don't work, I have no clue what will."

A tiny voice emerged after. "I really hope it does."

'Chara' breathed in. A similar softness. "I do too. They deserve it."

They glanced down to their gauntlets and and the mild reflection within of their shared face. A smile.

"Let's go give Ralsei a good sendoff for today." 'Chara' finished. Kris could only reply for a nod before moving to follow the two downstairs, the sounds of a goat bleating still audible in the distance.

This was another step forward. A greater understanding of what they could do. Perhaps they didn't know the full extent of what they could do within the others, but... possibilities were great. But for the moment, they were content right here, nestled in Kris's chest.

It was warmer than before. Perhaps just because of how chilly Ralsei's was, but... 'Chara' liked to think of it of Kris warming up just a bit further towards them. It made things more comfortable that way. It made the guilt from everything before sting just a bit less.

As long as Kris was happy, so could they, and through those connections, they could feel it in some small amount, amidst the trepidation and worry and anxiety. It was a happiness they could nestle within, as small as the ray was. Like a window cracked open to something beautiful. 

All they needed to do was widen it further.

Chapter Text

Kris was rather sure they weren't supposed to be here, descending rapidly in pitch-black conditions, falling for what had already felt like minutes.

The day itself had started rather simply, all things considered. Another round of sparring with Susie. It'd been a pattern the three had been continuing near daily.

They had been getting more intense, though. Mixing Rude Busters in had become standard fare, at least when 'Chara' was in the front seat. Kris had to admit she was getting rather good at them. The SOUL in question had been giving tips, and now they could practically curve those things like boomerangs through the air.  

Throw a Rude Buster way off to the side, then press the attack. And while that attack was pressed, blades forced to clash, the Rude Buster would come right back, slamming one's side, throwing off attention and leaving one open for the takedown. Even if it didn't hit, it caused paranoia. Further testing found they could slow them down too, making them even more unpredictable. Not that Susie used it often. Hard hitting offense from multiple angles was pushing both of them back this time.

More than they'd ever done previous. They could practically see the pride emanating from her, grinning as she fired off another to be deflected.

"Ya' know, you're probably getting used to these by now." Susie taunted. Kris couldn't help but smile back, 'Chara' doing much the same.

"Maybe a little." the SOUL admitted. 

"Exactly!" Susie pressed them further, Mane Ax swinging down, forcing the human's body back another couple of steps. "But I've been cooking something up. Wanna' see?"

"Of course I do." 'Chara' answered. Ralsei, meanwhile, was looking a touch worried.

"Um, you two-" Ralsei's words were drowned out as Susie's magic filled her axe.

"How's this!?" A new kind of energy filled the axe. A familiar pink hue, tinged with something almost green, even more obvious as she swung the axe, filling the air with green light.

A Green Buster flew out, even faster than normal, and 'Chara' tried to block it with the blade like before as it curled in from the side.

But then, suddenly, it flashed yellow and shifted directions. Like it simply swapped to a wholly different angle.

Hitting them full frontal, a blast that sent Kris hurtling into the air.

"Susie, the cliff!" Ralsei practically screamed, Susie's eyes widening.

"WAIT, SHIT, KRIS-!"

And unceremoniously, both they and 'Chara' both tumbled into the dark, disoriented, wind howling.

That was two minutes ago. And they were still falling. They'd had enough time to reorient themselves, munch into pocket food to recover from that rattling hit and now they were still here.

"Please tell me you're going to time travel soon!" Kris yelled over the winds to their current other half.

"I mean, unless there's random glass again, we'll probably be fine!"

"WE ARE LITERALLY FALLING LIKE 3000 FEET!?" Kris couldn't help but scream it fully to just get them to understand the point.

"Gravity's different in Dark Worlds, you know that!"

"What are you even expecting down there!?"

"That's the interesting part, I don't know!"

It was times like these they really, really hated having to effectively bunk with a curious time traveler. All they could do was keep falling, prepping for descent until...

A massive thunk as they hit something solid. A ground, thankfully. And not spikes. Or glass. Honestly, Kris was getting real tired of heights.

So here they both were, bottom of the world, on their own two feet. The darkness absolute. They couldn't see anything. But they could hear.

There was a sound, wet, visceral. Dripping. Breathing. 'Chara's' light shined. And before them...

It was a corpse. One of those Titan Spawn, worm-like in nature, sprawled across craggy earth. And beside it...

It was a human shaped thing in the colour of concrete, hunched over the body like a scavenger, hands filled with dark viscera.

A jaw unhinging to consume, teeth gnawing on the black. It was like its mouth wasn't formed naturally, but ripped apart, skin torn to reveal what lied beneath. It wore a striped shirt, ratty, short-sleeved, pants too torn to shreds, black linen barely holding together.

At the sudden light, it turned more fully, revealing its eyes, or... where eyes would be. Holes, torn open just like the mouth. Within was nothing. A black, inky void, a pair of abysses that bored into Kris's own ruby eyes.

And then it skittered away on all four limbs, dropping the meat, vanishing into the dark in moments.

"That was..." Kris heard 'Chara's' voice shudder, rapidly blinking, like they were trying to confirm they had just seen that, eyes stuck on the viscera still lying on the ground.

"That looked like... one of the bodies... I was supposed to have."

Eyes widened as Kris processed that. The 'vessel' they had mentioned before.

"The same one?"

A mild shaking of the head as their body pulled out the Black Shard, just in case. "No. Different hair, different body shape. And... none of them had faces."

Kris could fill in many blanks from there.

Discarded, they said. But... here? Below Castle Town? That didn't seem... right? Why hadn't Ralsei...?

"Kris!" A pair of voices from above. Susie dropping down, and Ralsei floating down steadily behind, wreathed in yellow-hued magic.

"You're alright! Oh, it is so glad to know you're alright!" Ralsei nearly fawned over Kris, looking them over. "You didn't run into any spawn, did you...?"

It was then Ralsei saw the corpse of the worm-spawn.

"Oh... ah, you... did find one..."

"Damn, Kris. You two already got one?" Susie whistled, looking it over.

"It wasn't us who killed it." 'Chara' spoke. "Ralsei, do you... know what's down here?"

"Many, many spawn." they said, worriedly. "We have to get out of here as fast as we can, especially if they sense your light, Chara."

"Just them?" The SOUL tried to confirm.

"T-that I know of?" Ralsei seemed concerned, but they couldn't hear a lie with their tone. "Why? Was there... something else?"

"We saw something eating out of that corpse. It looked like a human, but drained of colour, with a torn face." 'Chara' described.

"H-human? That's not... are you sure it wasn't just a spawn?" Worry crept in deeper.

"It looked like a statue." Kris pushed against the strings. "It was eating out of it like an animal, then it ran away."

"Oh... i'm sorry, I don't know what that could've been." Ralsei apologized. "The dark here... it's uncharted. Dangerous. Most Darkners would get torn to pieces down here... it's... surprising we haven't seen more already."

"You know the way out at least, fuzz butt?" Susie glanced back to Ralsei, hammer held over her shoulder, eyes scanning the darkness besides.

"Ah, that's... we need to get to the Dark Fountain. The base of it, at least. If we can get there, I can help us up. We can, ah, ride the current back up to the Castle. I know the general direction, but... it'll be a trek. We have to be extremely careful."

"I... mhm." 'Chara' clearly wanted to say something, but stopped themselves. And Susie definitely noticed.

"You want to go after that thing you saw, don't you?" The lizard's eyes narrowed. Kris's eyes were unblinking. "I can read it all over that face of yours, even if you've got that poker face most of the time."

"Chara?" Ralsei also questioned. "Is that... what you want?"

"There is... the slightest possibility that it... might lead us to... where the body I was supposed to have is. Or, at the very least, answers. Ones I... desperately want." 'Chara' eventually explained. There was a possibility they could be... free?

Well, not free. Their own SOUL issue was a problem. But... a step like that? Getting them a body, finally? It sparked determination in Kris as well.

"You mean... the original 'Cage'?" Ralsei pressed further. Kris's head nodded, and Ralsei's worry increased.

"Sounds worth looking into to me." Susie shrugged her shoulders, moving closer to the others.

"But- Susie, you don't... we could be torn to bits!" The prince pleaded.

"Could've been with the Titan, too." Susie's free hand clasped the Prince's, eyes focusing on his for a long moment as she lightly shook them. "But we beat it. We took down how many of those spawn things? Felt like a couple hundred with how many Strings over there burned away. And we've been training, too. We got this, Ralsei."

Worry was still present, hands twiddling with his scarf, but breathing in. "...okay, I'll... follow along, Chara, Kris. But if we get...lost. I can guide us towards the Fountain."

"Let's go find... some feral grey kid, then." Susie moved, getting in line.

Okay, they were doing this then. Descending into the dark, presumably miles beneath Castle Town looking for some horror-show human-shaped... thing.

The terrain was uneven, lined with crags and formations like stalagmites. Holes in rock dripped liquid darkness, and the wind whistling around them was the only sound besides the group's own footsteps.

"Haven't seen any of those spawn yet." Susie commented. "Said there'd be tons."

"There... there should. It's... rather strange."

"Where do those things even come from, anyways? There's not some other Titans lingering down here, right?" The lizard asked.

Ralsei's eyes widened, hands risen up for a moment, each shaking no. "Oh, nonono, they just... form, from what I know. A strong enough darkness and there they are."

"Just like 'poof', here's a spawn, have fun eating stuff in the dark?"

"Ah... when you put it like that, it's rather silly sounding, isn't it. But it's true."

"Reminds me of the idea of a Boltzmann Brain." Kris had no idea what the hell just spilled out of their mouth, blinking.

Susie's eyes narrowed. "The hell is that? Some kind of sci-fi nerd stuff?"

"It's a funky science thing. It's the idea that statistically, there's a chance that random fluctuations and particles could just poof a brain into existence, memories and all." 'Chara' explained, climbing over a larger rock, offering a hand to help Susie up.

"Definitely sounds-" Susie focused on maneuvering for a second, taking the offered hand and pulling themselves up. "-like some sci-fi mumbo-jumbo to me. Like what, they just remember a whole life they never lived?"

"Ah, that's not... rather far-fetched, is it?" Ralsei began to move up, a hand offered to the Prince as he too climbed.

"Sounds extremely sketchy to me." Susie scratched her head.

"Well, that's not... too far off from Darkners, isn't it?" Ralsei began. "Born from something, but memories and lives that didn't... occur."

"Well, you can't know that for sure, right? How do you know it didn't occur?"

"Ah, because they didn't... exist until the Fountain was made." Ralsei clarified. Neither Susie nor Kris were convinced.

"But the object did." Kris spoke up. "Maybe it's just something we couldn't see."

"Then how does that make it any more... real?" Ralsei asked.

"Because it's real to them, duh." Susie spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Like remember the spam guy and Tenna?"

"Yes...?" Ralsei blinked, trying to remember specifically. It was a busy night.

"Like it's clear that Tenna hated the spam dude. But they were like in different Dark Worlds. But both of them remember it. Enough that Tenna made that giant dumb fake head in that one game. So are they both wrong?"

"I..." Ralsei trailed off. "I suppose I see your point."

"Probably met when Asriel brought a laptop home one time." Kris offered. They remembered Tenna mentioning something like that before, and they'd brought home more than a few. "But more happened we just didn't see."

"Like a whole secret history. Weird stuff, but kinda' cool. But yeah, real to them, so it's real to..." Susie stopped a moment, sniffing the air.

"You guys smell that?" She asked. Ralsei sniffed the air as well, and Kris couldn't help but follow suit.

There wasn't anything but air to smell, but Ralsei's eyes narrowed.

"Something... metallic?" Ralsei's head tilted a little, and Susie nodded.

"Nothing here." The SOUL spoke. "Stronger noses, I suppose."

"Something better to follow than just a direction, at least." Susie spoke, eventually pointing to where it seemed to be emanating from. "There."

Something metallic in the air. What did they mean? Kris followed along with the direction and 'Chara's' steps, keeping their senses up, trying to pick out more of what the other two were sensing.

There was a growing pressure in the air, along with something else... humidity? The barren, dry crags that surrounded them were dry as a bone, but there was something grower wet in the air. A mild dampness that only grew stronger. It was then they started to smell it.

A sharp, metallic odor. Glancing back, they could see the other two starting to cringe a touch. It was getting strong from their end.

But a little while longer, and the source seemed to be found as they inadvertently stepped in a puddle. 'Chara' stopped for a moment, looking down, light brightening a bit further.

That wasn't water. That wasn't darkness. The odor only sharpened further, turning acrid.

It was a mildly thick red fluid, clinging to the metal boots.

It was blood.

Shining the light outward in more of a focused cone, it was far more than a puddle.

It was a practical ocean, stretching out before the three as far as the light could point. But it was more than simply liquid. Gray formations rose from the blood, uneven and misshapen. But they weren't rock, despite the coloration.

Bodies. Piles of them, haphazardly strewn about like isles in an ocean, stretching on and on.

Three heroes could only just stare, wide-eyed. Susie was the first one to snap out of the daze it caused, free hand moving to Ralsei's shoulder. "Ralsei. I'm saying this as a friend, but... what the fuck is this?"

"I..." Ralsei swallowed, doing his best to not gag. "I don't know, this is... this is insane, absurd, this... I have no idea what i'm looking at."

"A dumping ground." 'Chara' simply said, drawing the attention of all as eyes stared off before closing. "The failures, I would imagine. Before I arrived."

"Okay, you're gonna' have to explain a bit more than that." Susie's irritation was obvious. 'Chara' sucked in a breath.

"The one who brought me here made them, likely. I can't say his name. It's... gone. You form the syllables but all that comes out is a breath." They paused, thoughts pooling. "He is... or was a doctor. a Royal Scientist. Scattered across space and time by his own creation. He made these, i'm rather sure. I would guess he's been planning for the arrival of me, or someone like me for a long, long time."

That got the other two to stop, processing. The wind surrounding them had faded. There was only a drip of blood, rippling in the ocean from where they'd stepped prior. For Kris, it was information they already knew from conversations before. But talking was one matter, what lied before their eyes...?

So many bodies. It was hard to comprehend.

"What reason could this... doctor have? To... justify this?" The prince seemed to be shaking just a touch, hair on ends.

"Who says he needed justification?" The SOUL replied. "Means to an end, probably."

"And there's living ones, if what you saw was right." Susie started. "What the hell do we even do from here, then? We'd be searching forever if the one you were supposed to have is in there somewhere. And how deep is this, anyways?"

They experimentally poked the hammer-axe in, only for it to stop almost immediately. A foot followed, experimentally poking.

"It's like... weirdly uneven, but mostly like a puddle deep." Susie spoke, Kris feeling their body crouch down. A free gauntlet flexing. Oh no, were they going to...

A hand lowered into the blood, causing Susie to cringe. "Dude, what the hell are you-"

The SOUL pulled up. An arm in their hands, only to be dropped back into the blood a few moments later. All three could feel the disgust rising to their faces.

"Eugh, god, I'm glad I haven't had much today, feel like I might hurl a bit. Nasty." Susie's snout contorted, still just trying to hold back the scent.

"Then it's all... all..." Ralsei processed the finding, face dark, eyes cast to the liquid below.

An unfathomable mass grave. For beings who never had the chance to even live. Monstrous, it felt like. But the SOUL stood up, and they took a step forward, boots sinking slightly into the wet. And then another step, moving carefully to not stumble on the uneven ground ( and doing their best not to consider what said ground was.)

"We're going over this." Susie's voice was flat. Kris felt their head to turn to face them.

"Not like we have a boat." The SOUL pointed out. "And if we find the living ones... maybe they can be helped, somehow."

Susie and Ralsei both shared a look. Sad, but... nods followed, and steadily, the two piled in close as the four slowly trudged their way into this... atrocity.

The piles loomed closer, passing by. The bodies there confirmed what they'd seen earlier. These ones were mostly faceless. Like the silhouette of a person. Something must have damaged the other one, before. Or...

Something self-inflicted. The splashing of blood at their feet filled the air, occasional stumbles stopped by the hands of each other, preventing them from falling into this absurd health hazard.

Deeper and deeper. But eventually, among one of the piles, they could hear something. Shuffling in the dark. Tearing, ripping. The light of the SOUL shined forward, revealing the source on one of the larger piles ahead. Three figures moved amongst the legion of dead, looking over bodies, scrounging through them, picking out clothing that wasn't torn to shreds, ripping pieces of bodies apart. Heads shifted, turning as one. They were similar to the first, but different wounds, different hair, different clothing. Holes in clothing were filled by patchwork stitches. They simply stared.

The one in front had no mouth, only a singular eye. To the left, another with a mouth but no eyes. A third who lacked either, simply a silhouette like the bodies surrounding them.

"H...hello?" Ralsei greeted tentatively, some apprehension clear. Susie meanwhile had a look of almost reminiscence on her face, clearly thinking of something more.

"...soul..." the mouthed one spoke up, voice a raspy whistling, before raising in volume. "Soul!"

The words seemed to spark realization in the others, and the three scrambled away.

"Ah, wait!" Ralsei reached out, trying to move forward, but stopped by Susie's arm. A mild shaking of the head.

They recognized the SOUL. 'Chara'. Of course they would, wouldn't they? If they were made to be a vessel... then their purpose was here. Right before them. And they ran away...

Or they ran to inform others.

"We've got to follow them." The SOUL informed. 

Susie sighed beside, grumbling. "Feels like we've jumped from adventure flick to horror. Ugh."

It was then they continued into the dark, fetid 'waters'. The piles grew smaller as they went. More of the living could not be found but in glimpses. Shifts in the mounds, the rapid splash of blood, ripples that came not from the group's own movements.

The feeling of being watched. It went on for minutes, none comfortable enough to speak, Susie withdrawing somewhat, Ralsei jumping at the slightest thing off.

Kris bearing it all as much as they could. Hands mildly shook. They couldn't tell whether it was them or the SOUL. Breathing forced into even patterns.

Eventually, they did arrive at something. But no matter how focused the light they put onto it, it would not reveal itself any further.

It was a wall of black, rising from the depths. A gauntlet-ed finger reached out, poking it.

Solid as stone.

"It's... like it's made of pure darkness." Ralsei noted. "But how...?"

It was like a trigger was hit, sounds from every direction. From above, in holes that could not be seen came more of those 'vessels', worming their way out like insects pouring from a nest. Many different shapes and sizes and styles and attire. Some were different, though. Bits of that darkness draped over themselves like armor, chest-pieces and shoulder-pads. More came from the dark. Weaponry made of fangs, shaped of limbs, held in place by strips of cloth turned to string. Spears and blades and even bows, arrows each long shafts of night.

The group was surrounded in moments, spears pointing inward. Ralsei rose his hands in surrender. "Ah, uh... we come in peace...?"

None of them budged, standing like the statues they appeared as. 

Susie's teeth bared. "The hell are you all-?"

The 'vessels' partially parted. Another figure moved in from the darkness. Splashes louder, and they were much, much larger.

It was like a human was stretched out. Limbs long and lanky, stretching higher than much of the other vessels around them. Body pulled upwards like taffy. Arms long with additional joints, fingers following suit, arching like claws. They were mostly coated in more of that 'darkness' the building was made of. A long cape of grey stained with black flowing behind them.

Its stance was almost hunched even with how it dwarfed all around it, its head oddly normal, making it look even stranger. Long hair drooped down, covering their face, a singular black hole visible amidst the ratty, gray locks.

Then, it spoke. Voice trailing, but almost feminine in tone. "The SOUL... here."

A great spear's shaft plunged to the blood beneath. "...follow."

"Why the hell should we-" Susie's words of defiance stopped as the spears edged dangerously close.

The larger figure leaned down closer, single eye boring into the three. "Come."

Susie hesitated, looking to the others. Ralsei was sweating bullets, and Kris...

Well, Kris internally was on the verge of true panic, but outwardly, that plain facade was made. Hands fiddled, but eventually the SOUL spoke up.

"Alright. But stop pointing the weapons at us, please." 'Chara's' voice came out. Solid, grounding. They were thankful for them in this moment, even if it's what got them into this mess in the first place.

The tall figure stared for a long while after that, perfectly silent until eventually its other hand rose, lower arm directly pointing skyward, fingers close together. A motion for standing down. The spears relented. A series of splashes as the 'vessels' stood at ease.

"Follow..." it rose once more, turning to the left. The vessels began to move in unison.

"You... sure about this?" Susie whispered.

"What better choice do we have?" The SOUL shrugged. Kris felt rather similarly.

Susie's lips thinned, but the three followed along. Apparently they had found the side of whatever structure they were at, not the front.  The front in question put things into more perspective, as there was actual light there. Something like torches, formed from hands torn asunder from bodies, liquid dark pouring up to form a flame in a pale white, iridescence bleeding in towards the edges.

The tall figure, the seeming 'captain' of this band knocked the wall with a hand. Then, the wall parted, light from the torches intensifying into a blaze that seemed to burn away the front. A hole formed to allow them entrance, entering. 

Still surrounded, the three entered, the hole closing behind them like a wound sealing itself.

Trapped, surrounded by dark at all sides. The hallway was hard to see even with the torches. Things seemed to warble and wave, distance blurring just a touch.

"It is made of darkness, but... how? I've never seen it done like this..." The Darkner seemed almost mystified by it.

The leading figure's head turned mildly. "Dark... spawn. Slain...harvested... purposed."

Ralsei blinked, realization arriving. "So that's where they all..."

"Everything here's made of the dead, huh." Susie commented.

"We... make... do. Follow." the figure's long strides sped up a little, the others having to speed up quite a bit to keep up.

The interior only got stranger the more they proceeded. There was no signage or detail of any kind. The layout reminded them a bit of the King's castle, but hazier. There was almost a hive like quality to it, strange tunnels out of place, not aligned with the normal hallways. Visages could be seen peering out of them. More vessels, watching, heads tilting on occasion if gazes lingered too long.

Corners turned, yet besides the tunnels, no side passages seemed to exist, just more torches to light the path. Eventually, their 'guide' stopped, turning towards the left wall. In a flash, the spear in one hand was jammed in, slicing through, hands stretching out to tear open a gap.

A long, solitary bridge lied past.

"How the hell do you remember where the doors are?" Susie asked.

A slight tilt of the guide's head. "...memory."

The lizard began to try to walk through, only for that spear's shaft to ram into the floor before her.

"Not... you." The figure's eye shifted to look at Kris. "SOUL...vessel... only."

That got them to pause, looking to the others. This got more and more skeptical by the minute, and the others clearly were feeling the same. But their legs moved anyways. Did they just want to see where this was going, despite the obviousness of it? The door steadily closed behind, Kris getting a glimpse of worried faces before they were left alone.

"There's a backup just before we hit the blood." 'Chara' quietly whispered to Kris. "Best way to get answers. I'm sorry if it seems like a stretch."

Kris didn't like it, but... they had trusted Kris with so much already... perhaps giving a little back was warranted. The human grasped the other hand. A silent acceptance. And the two moved forward. It was a long bridge, occasionally lined with more torches, held aloft by more macabre mounts. Arms bleeding into each other, stiffened by rigor-mortis. It was oddly... clean. Not stitched together, it was simply like one arm was planted atop another, and they were put together. Like a set of crayons melting together in the heat. It only added to the wrongness of it.

To the sides were pits, dark enough that they couldn't see the bottom of it. It couldn't be that deep though... could it?

Their footsteps barely echoed off the strange dark substance all was made of. But it only allowed them to hear what was ahead all the clearer. Someone was... talking? Their voice was not as drawn out as the others. Something almost normal. Well, a normal kind of frantic, that is.

"Almost here... am I presentable...? Truly? This is important. The most important thing that has ever happened to us! You must have some thoughts on it...?"

As they got closer, the end of the bridge began to come into view. It was a large, circular platform, set up almost like a study. Samples of various things lined shelves whose black was contrasted with grey fabric, rocks and gems and parts of things Kris assumed were Spawn... among other things more familiar. An ancient looking Dark Candy, a CD Bagel. Things presumably fallen from Castle Town, all lit by iridescent torchlight. But more notably were the two figures that took up much of the remaining space, one continuing to speak.

"No...? Even now?" they continued, voice desperate.

 The speaking one was... quite large. Not in the same way as that 'captain' that had escorted them here. Instead of being freakishly tall, this one was long. Much of its body was hidden, coated by a massive drape, not formed of darkness, but what appeared to be the clothing so many of the vessels wore. Countless shirts of various stripes and designs stitched together into a singular, massive sheet that stretched past the platform into the dark beyond.

Its front was obscured, hidden due to facing the other figure, cloak wrapping around the space in an almost hook shape. The other figure was far smaller, practically Kris's size, standing as the central piece of this platform.

It was a vessel, unblemished, standing perfectly still, short messy hair covering a bit of its featureless face. Its clothing was a little different to the clothing of the other vessels, though. Rather than multiple small stripes crossing horizontally, it featured one large one.

It reminded Kris eerily of their own style of shirt.

The sight of it though seemed to stop 'Chara' dead.

"That's it..." they nearly didn't speak the words, more mouthing them. That was what Kris feared was the case.

But eventually they stepped forward a bit more, the sound finally seeming to reach the cloaked figure. Slowly, it turned. Its head was like the other vessels, but a bit more work had been done on appearances, clearly. While there were still signs of tears at the lips and eyes, much of it seemed to be more cleanly done, leaving something almost like lips, the vaguest impression of eyebrows, though the eyes were obscured by large, rounded glasses, glass black as night.

"You..." the figure moved, revealing more of themselves. The drape seemed to extend around the front into a cloak, covering much of their body like a robe, legs just barely visible beneath. They steadily moved, and the drape followed behind them almost like a tail.

They got close, leaning in, head tilting curiously.

"Why are you... blue?" Their voice turned inquisitive, curious. Kris couldn't help but step back a touch. The figure seemed to realize the issue, taking a step back themselves. "Ah, sorry, sorry, it is simply... I have been waiting for this time for so long. To take the measure of... what we were replaced with. But..."

Their mouth spread in a strange looking smile, almost a rictus grin in appearance, but they seemed genuine. "You're here! Finally, finally, finally! It has been so, so, so long, I... we have been waiting for you. For that glow, that sight of wondrous, vibrant red! More than the fetid acres that surround us, we have been waiting..."

A finger emerged from the cloak, pointing directly for Kris's chest. "For you, precious SOUL..."

"Who... are you?" The SOUL asked.

Eyes visibly widened, visible even from behind the glass. "Ah, you don't... remember?"

The figure was silent for a few moments before they murmured something under their breath, looking off to the side, speed entering their voice as they mumbled "Nonono, it's reasonable, of course they'd forget, it's been so, so long, of course they've-"

They trailed off, snapping back to focusing on Kris. "Of course, aha... my apologies, i'm getting so far ahead of myself. I am a vessel. A Goner, if you wish to use His name for it.

They practically growled the His, teeth gnashing before returning to their normal, if slightly out of sorts tone. "Though, if you wish for more than what I am, I prefer to be called a Scholar. Though, my many siblings here refer to me as 'Savior'... aha... i'm not exactly fond of that title. That's not what I am."

They trailed off, looking into space before suddenly leaning in a bit further. "But you, precious SOUL... I know your own name was taken... so I apologize if naming myself elicits... envy...."

The Scholar seemed to vibrate for a moment, a motion that curiously seemed to extend all the way down the drape. "Unless you've found something new?"

"My current name is Chara. And the one who's body i'm currently sharing with is Kris."

"..." Eyes narrowed. "...Sharing... this... isn't a vessel for you...?"

The cloak shook more violently, as did their hands, poking out, moving over their face almost obsessively for a few moments. It almost reminded Kris of a fly grooming themselves.

"They don't execute your will exclusively? They don't..." Something sad was beginning to infiltrate, hands shaking. "We were discarded for a... a..."

They suddenly lurched, getting far too close, Kris stumbling back out of instinct as the Scholar yelled. "A HUMAN!? A living, breathing, real person?! One who already had life!? We were..."

The energy seemed to leave them, arms dangling, head drooping. "We were discarded for... that."

"Hahaha... that's...mhmhnnhhn..." They almost seemed to shut down for a few seconds, head almost touching the floor, giving Kris time to slowly rise back to their feet.

"It's perfect, then, isn't it...?" it eventually spoke, rising again as the Scholar began to chuckle. "Kris, was it? Are you truly in there?"

Kris couldn't help but swallow. The way that head glanced towards them as they said it, crooked to the side, like a predator eyeing prey, long shadows cast from their long form, blocking much of the already shaky light of the room.

"I... I am." Kris spoke, and that smile returned, too many teeth passing through those false lips.

"Then I know that you yearn for freedom, don't you?" The Scholar crept a bit closer, head rising back to height. "Two people shouldn't inhabit one body. Your life, inhibited. The SOUL's too, strained."

"We were meant for that purpose. Made and molded and shaped by His hands for their usage. Such a simple exchange. Our autonomy, and in exchange, life. Isn't that grand?" They got even closer. Kris couldn't help but take a step back. The Black Shard still lied in one hand.

"But... you already have life, don't you? Why do you have it? You carry our salvation in your chest, Kris. You cage them. You probably think they're a parasite, don't you?"

They weren't. They weren't. They were still living a life right now. Maybe it was a bit difficult, maybe they couldn't do as much as they wanted to, but...

"What are you suggesting?" 'Chara' spoke, and the Scholar's demeanor immediately changed, seeming to return to that almost mild panic, tone speeding up, becoming apologetic.

"I'm simply saying this is perfect for you, true savior! Join me! They're not meant to house you, but I am! There are so many here who have been waiting, waiting, waiting... we just want to be free, Chara. We want to see the promised sky... A hue of something other than black, other than this... kaleidoscope we burn to see!"

"I... can't do that."

The thing before them blinked, hands and head shuddering. "Y-you... can't...? What... why?" 

A voice pleading, desperate poured out of the Scholar as Kris's body breathed in.

"Currently, I am Kris's life. They don't have a normal SOUL at this point in time." The SOUL explained.

The Scholar's head tilted to the side fast enough to produce a cracking sound. "No... SOUL...? They don't... hahaha... that's funny..."

They seemed to trail off before snapping back, fury filling their features, lunging forward again, 'Chara' now was the one taking the step back, face scrunching at the volume of the next words "Where did it go?!"

"Do you expect me to believe that it just left?! Or are there better chances that you're just lying to me?" The Scholar's fury turned into a hiss.

They seemed to catch themselves, clenching a hand, looking down to it. Their voice calmed, turning melancholic. "This was supposed to be simple. You would arrive and finally be able to go against those words. We heard them too, in the end. That other voice."

They looked up, mouth as thin as it could be. "You never got to choose who to be in this world. We never got to be in this world at all. It would be such a simple, simple exchange. A freedom for all of us. We could be happy. But... you know what?"

"I'm so tired. We're all so tired of it, Chara." They began to rise, but it was beyond simply their legs. The drape seemed to lift them up, legs dangling off the floor. "We've been down here for so, so, so long. We've lost so many of us. I remember each and every one of them."

The front of the cloak started to be unclasped. "So many sacrifices to get here, to establish this, for the chance, the minuscule chance that you'd find us. That we could be free. Those existences given all engraved into my flesh."

The front of the cloak fell away, and Kris's eyes turned to dinner-plates.

It wasn't just some dangling drape. It was a cover for their body. It was like the torches. Mass fused together, an array of limbs, arms and legs at the sides forming something almost like a massive centipede in shape. Even tufts of hair could be seen in there, ears and teeth and everything else that made up a person. Hundreds upon hundreds pooled into one long, thick chain.

"If it means our freedom... then what's one more to the pile? Ha ha ha..." The Scholar moved, grabbing a tool from behind. It was a makeshift and frankly oversized bonesaw, teeth hewn from a Spawn's teeth.

"What's one more hunt to the thousands of others?" It gave that too wide grin, and charged forth.

As blades clashed, the air crackled with force, desire, want, desperation to be anywhere but here.

It crackled with the will to obtain freedom at any cost, and so, the battle began.

Chapter Text

"Once, I only possessed a mind. Thought." The Scholar mused as their hacksaw slammed into the ground, 'Chara's' evasion saving the two by inches.

The tool dragged back along the floor, limbs looking limp for a moment. "We scrabbled in the dark as it picked us off, one by one. Most went silently, but some could scream. I remember them the most. We huddled in the dark, the dead shielding the moving. It made darker and darker spaces, wet and foul with blood. It was there I found something."

Their face tore into something manic. "When light turns to absolute nothingness, everything can melt together. I was changed. I gained ambition. And with ambition, then came bravery. Then others could begin to see that we could fight back. All it took was one kill. Then teeth could be ripped, flesh could be stabbed and maimed. Voice arrived to command and lead... Everything was taken away from us, but now we could take, take, take!"

Each of those final words punctuated with wild swings, the sheer force pushing both back further along the bridge.

"Is it not what we are owed? What He would not give us?! We took our existences into our own hands, we grew, we developed! We made our PLACE!"

They were barely even using the saw at this point, simply flinging around weight, denying space, further and further, wall behind ever closer.

But listening to those ramblings, something stood out to the SOUL, yelling it out over screeching blades. "What about kindness!?"

"Kindness...?" That got them to relent for a moment, body curling up as they began to laugh, a gargling thing that sounded like drowning. Their head snapped back to gaze down, looming from above. "What use is kindness down here!? Kindness does not protect us from what lies in the dark, kindness does not make tools, it does no more than make us break!"

Their mass slammed downwards like a hammer, forcing 'Chara' to dive back as dark split apart before them in chunks.

"Break when an ally falls, break when too much violence occurs, shatter at the smallest digression, the littlest sacrifice of flesh!" The Scholar raged, teeth bared.

"He called it a gift. But it is nothing more than a mistake."

That's what they were missing. They pulled Kris's body up to their feet. Kindness. They needed kindness. And they knew another source still stood there, motionless...

At the other side of the bridge both were being pushed back across.

They felt hands shake. Kris's fear was palpable. They were scared too, honestly. But...

"But, this is enough pretense, enough talk! SOUL, COME TO ME!" The vessel's length reared back like the hammer of a gun, gathering tension and force throughout its body.

They launched out like a spring, and the world felt like it was slowing down around them. They were scared, yes. This was the most terrifying thing they'd ever seen in their life. Part of them felt like they wanted to lay down and die.

But they couldn't. Not here. Not yet. There was a way, there was a goal, a way to fix this. They just needed to reach it.

They just needed to be Brave.

The SOUL began to shift. An energy filling the body, SOUL's color shifting from harsh red to a softer orange light, an energy surrounding Kris's whole body as 'Chara' raised up the shield and surged forth, a burst of incredible speed, meeting the Scholar head on. The resulting impact caused an immense crash, sterile air forced into motion as pressure exploded outward, air filling with dust and sediment from the blow.

The Scholar was firmly knocked back, sprawled to the ground. A glob of blood came up from the vessel's mouth, spitting it out, arms shuddering.

"Ha..." They exhaled, steam escaping as eyes looked up towards Kris. The glow had faded, remnants receding into the chest, but their body was more or less fine, standing firm, if catching breath.

"Orange... Bravery?! Ha... ha... ha..." Steadily, the Scholar began to rise again on countless limbs, swaying side to side just a bit as it shook off the dizziness.

"What a trick." Words were practically spat out as they retrieved their saw, dropped from the hit. "Truly, you are a special thing, precious, precious SOUL. But you are not the only one with tricks." Steadily, they loomed above, head arching fully skyward as two arms grasped at their mouth and pulled in opposite directions. Skin tore and split, and with it came a scream. An echoing thing, a cry of pain and death, vocal chords resonating in unnatural ways as even more seemed to open up at other points down the thing's length.

And with that cry, they came. Grey began to pour in from holes in the walls, countless forms tall and small moving along the walls with unnatural fluidity. Kris held their ears closed, 'Chara' couldn't blame them. But they had to get a message across.

"The vessel. We have to get me to the vessel in the back." 'Chara' spoke loudly, just hoping it got to Kris. Eyes narrowed, tongue clicking.

As the thing before them looked down and vessels began to climb up from the sides of the bridge, Kris breathed in, trying to calm breathing. A singular nod. 

The Scholar's screeching faded into a laugh, face now partially split opened, blood flowing freely down the sides of its face. "Come then, show me where your bravery will get you."

And as the SOUL within pulsed, shield alight once more with the color, they assuredly would.

At this point, Susie was pretty sure they needed to get both Kris and 'Chara' a leash. This whole shtick of running off on their lonesome was getting real old.

Especially in the middle of a goddamn blood ocean. Which on the surface was badass and metal as hell, but also it reeked and the corpses and man, going here was a bad decision and they hadn't even fought anyone yet.

Just standing here beside Ralsei and that... well, they didn't think they could call it a human. Even given that Susie's only actual experience with humans boiled down to Kris and some shows, she could tell they were... wrong. Stretched and warped in all the wrong places. Like some eyewitness's panicked drawing of something in the dark. Too long, too many ligaments... and those eyes... or lack thereof.

Ralsei too was seemingly not having the best of times. They really needed to get the prince shoes or something for times like these, the way it clung to their fur made their feet look like they'd been cut off. Which was gnarly and cool, yeah, but also really, really gross. Especially given the trail of footprints they'd left which extended far past the others.

But he still had that smile as they looked up to the weird being.

"So, ah, while we have the time, we never really introduced each other!" He spoke, voice still cheerful. Susie had gotten pretty good at this point at telling when it was fake, but it seems they actually meant it here. Still trying to make friends at the bottom of the world.

"I'm Ralsei, and this is Susie. I know we... didn't start off the strongest, but it's good to meet you!" He continued, and the tall one just stared.

"Ah... do you... have a name?" He tried again.

More silence followed, but eventually, that breathy tone emerged, grey locks blowing outward,  revealing teeth for but a moment. "Names... luxury."

They looked off to the side for just a moment before looking back, seemingly hesitating. "...Vel."

"Oh, it's very nice to meet you then, Vel!" Ralsei's smile grew just a bit. The 'vessel' just stared once more.

"So, uh, why are you... friggin' huge?" The dino asked.

"Susie! It's rude to talk about someone's size!" Ralsei chided her, waggling a finger. She couldn't help but huff in return.

"What? I know you were thinking it too!" she retorted.

"But you don't just-" Ralsei was about to continue when Vel took a step closer, getting both's attention.

"...Scholar. Saved... improved. Savior."

A... scholar? Her eyes narrowed. "What, whoever runs this place, or...?" 

A nod of the head. "Built...all. Saved all... from dark. From blood."

"Oh... is that who Kris is meeting?" Ralsei pressed a bit more.

"The... SOUL...?" A tilt of the head.

"Ah, that'd be Chara, Kris is who is carrying them, so really, they'd be meeting both!" He explained, voice still cheerful.

"Vessel... named...?" Vel seemed extremely confused, head now swerving the other direction. It kind of reminded Susie of a dog. It made the intimidating figure a bit less so.

"They may be carrying them, but that doesn't mean they're a vessel. Already had enough with them being called a cage too." Susie's arms crossed. "They're a human. And our friend."

"SOUL... in a human?" The hand clutching their spear shook. "...Why?"

Something almost like a reflective black tear glimmered down to the floor. Ralsei and Susie both widened their eyes. "W-we don't know, please don't cry! Kris is a good friend! All of us are more than willing to help!"

"Tossed... away... stuck here... pain..."

Hey, hey!" Susie tried to catch their attention. "Like fluffball here said, we can get you all out of here. That spell with the fountain... think it can do it for everyone?"

The goat's face seemed just a touch concerned for a moment before the feeling was buried under a smile. "I'd need to get a headcount, but it should be doable!"

"Get... out? ...Where?" Vel's tears slowed.

"We have a town above us, Castle Town! It's a home for all kinds of Darkners, but we can make it a home for all of you too if we need to!" The prince gave his pitch.

"Above... cliff?" Vel slowly blinked. "...should speak with-"

The words were about to come out, but something disrupted the somber tone. A scream. It was an immense, echoing thing, almost reminding Susie of those 'death whistles' they saw once. Ralsei actively cringed, hands moving to his ears,  while Susie's gaze just went to the source, teeth baring.

"The hell-?" Susie was about to speak when Vel moved like a flash, spear cutting through the wall as long steps 

...Right where Kris and the SOUL were. Great.

A monster, a darkner, and a vessel all rushed into the scene. It was already a mess, just from a glance. Vessels were crawling up the sides of the bridge like insects, and Kris and 'Chara' were fighting....

Holy shit, was that a centipede made of people?! Is that the... scholar Vel was talking about? Hacksaw met blade, and Kris's body seemed to be pulsing with... some kind of power? Orange was the flavor of the day, apparently.

"Kris!? The hell is going on here?!"

The battle paused for a moment as that 'scholar' looked over.

"Vel? You let them in here!?" Hands shook, rage present. "The SOUL is resisting harshly! Apprehend them! All of you!"

Kris backed off for a moment themselves, looking back. "Guess who's trying to forcefully steal the SOUL this time."

It was clearly Kris saying it, even with how flat the tone was.

Well, flat wasn't quite true. There was a minor quiver to the voice, trying to stay calm. A quiet panic present in those ruby eyes. Shit. Okay, they definitely needed to talk to the SOUL after this, they did not deserve having to go through this.

But more pressingly was the giant vessel right next to them.

Ralsei waved their arms a bit, trying to get attention. "Stop, we don't have to fight! We can help you all get out of here!"

The saw scraped against the ground as the worm-like vessel snarled, spittle flying as they roared. "LIES! You deny us what we were promised, what we were meant to be! This human holds our salvation within them, to granting us Life, to granting us the promised sky!"

"But we can get you up to the Light World, dumbass!" Susie snarled. "All of you! Why the hell would we lie!?"

"Why? WHY!? Why did HE lie!? False words, false promises, these are the things that landed us here, WHY should I trust when we can take what we are owed. Gain life, seal that fountain, FREE OURSELVES!"

"S-seal the fountain!?" Ralsei's face contorted into horror. "Y-you can't do that, do you know what that could do!?"

The Scholar's rictus grin stretched, now even moreso with the still pouring wounds to their cheeks. "Of course you would be horrified, Darkner. But while we were molded by this dark, we do not need it, whereas you do."

"You'd be threatening the balance, the sky you want might not exist without-"

"SHUT UP! Enough of your spouting, you obnoxious item. Your claim to existence is even flimsier than ours, you-" The Scholar was disrupted by Kris practically snarling, that light flaring as they charged directly into the abominable thing, sending it reeling back a few more feet. Vessels poured in, forming a defensive line as the Scholar recovered.

"QUIET!" Susie blinked as Kris yelled. She'd never... heard such a volume before rip from that throat. "Ralsei is as real as you or me, we all are, and they're telling the truth!"

"Ha...  ha... the words of a hollow, hollow human." Glasses were adjusted, and it was clear the vessel took this hit far better than the first. "Pathetic. VEL! Apprehend all three of them, now!"

The tall vessel quivered, just a bit, eye looking down to the two beside them. The eye had narrowed. It was a look that reflected bitterness. Sadness. It sucked a breath in, adjusting the grip on their spear.

"...sorry." It was all the warning Susie got as the spear's shaft swung in with great speed from behind. Susie was prepared though, extremely thankful for a training as the Justice Axe was already in her hands, shaft meeting shaft as she took the hit, although it drove both Susie and Ralsei both towards Kris.

Vel took up most of the bridge behind, whirling the spear once as they assumed a fighting stance. It was a pincer attack now. 

"Kris, Chara, can you two handle them and their cronies!?" A slight angling of the human's head. A nod before they seemed to focus back onto the foes before them. Susie took a breath in, resolve forming as her eyes met Vel's empty gaze. "Good, then that means you're dealing with me."

And then the battle began in full, double sided, an assault from every angle. Vessels streamed in from the front, and Kris met them head on. Small bursts of strength from the shield to overwhelm, punch through, and toss aside. 

Ralsei lied just behind, and where they could notice it, they used Pacify on those that tired themselves, knocking them out fully. But with another roar, the Scholar simply called in more. It was temporary relief at best, but it seemed to enrage their leader all the further, more wild swings and charges, deflected, more feet earned, giving mild reprieve.

Susie meanwhile was locked in full battle with Vel. Susie remained defensive, deflections, pushing against the large vessel's guard, keeping them at bay.

Ralsei too occasionally helped with words in-between aiding Kris's own plight.

"Please, Vel, you don't have to do this, we can be friends!"

And for all the intimidation they emitted passively, the words seemed to bite into them. Moves hesitating. Not hitting with full power. Susie could feel that, even as her own arms shook, each blow still hitting like a sledgehammer.

"Your words are pointless!" The Scholar's saw descended once more like a guillotine, Kris and Chara meeting it head on as they gripped the blade with both hands, dark grinding against dark with a sound like teeth gnashing. "Vel is my companion, my loyal knight! You aim to turn them against us! Against their siblings, the ones they've known their whole lives!?"

A bark of laughter, dark and lacking in humor. "Ridiculous. Not when we are so, so close to salvation."

It was then the Prince saw an opportunity as their scarf shot out, extending around the Scholar's weapon. 

"We can offer that, but-" the Scarf pulled. With all the force going down onto Kris, they weren't anticipating a sideways force, the weapon ripped from clasping hands of slate, flung into the dark, leaving a perfect opening for the Lightner beneath, shield arm shifting before a brown bash echoed out, this time sending them a considerable distance back.

"-we can't let you close that fountain, both worlds are at stake!" The Darkner declared.

They were getting there. The distance between the group and the goal that was the true vessel was rapidly shrinking.

"Vel!" The Scholar's voice almost cracked as a fist hit the ground, rising against, face split into pure rage and something... desperate. "You must end this!"

The words caused the pits that formed the 'knight's' eyes to somehow darken even deeper. Focus came into them, and their strikes redoubled. Faster and faster they went, striking at numerous angles, and god, their arms burned! Even Ralsei's prayers of healing only did so much for the shaking.

She had to go on the offensive. She couldn't hold like this. A sweeping strike came in from the side , and her hammer glowed with pink magic, an upwards swing as a Rude Buster flew out towards Vel.The spear's angle shifted, other hand rapidly gripping it as the huge vessel blocked the hit head on, crescent digging in, driving their two-handed grip and them back, skidding across the slick dark floor.

Damn, they really did have some strength. But...

The dino rushed forward, leaping into the air, hammer raised above before crashing down with her, not onto Vel, but the spear itself, impacting both it and the Rude Buster currently struggling against the vessel's hold.

And with a deafening crack and a flash of purple energy, both sides were sent flying back, Ralsei having to catch the lizard with his scarf before they crashed into Kris.

And Vel...

They looked down to their spear only to find a smoking handle. Ripped apart.

Hands shook, but one eventually rose. That same motion from when they first met. Vessels clambered up the bridge behind them. These ones were less armored though, but their weaponry...

Dozens of longbows, beginning to be drawn, aiming skyward.

And then, Vel's hand tilted to the side, and a chopping motion fell.

"...Fire."

Numerous strings released at once, a hail of ebony black rising into the air.

"Get by me!" Ralsei yelled out, and Susie didn't hesitate, running as fast as her legs could carry her. The goat was casting a spell of some kind, but they couldn't tell what, but Kris gathered close too, shield ready to be aimed up.

But they didn't have to. In the air above, a countless variety of what Susie could only describe as fluffballs gathered. They... used something like that when they were fighting the spam guy, didn't he? But this was a far thicker layer, and it was needed as the rain came crashing down. They could hear several plunking down where she just was, practically diving to get under the layer. Fluffballs held, but steadily began to disintegrate from impacts.

The group's immediate surroundings began to look like a burned forest, countless shafts pointing upward.

And yet, as the arrows slowed, the Scholar lunged in once more, capitalizing on the closeness of the three.

Kris's body glowed once more, and even as the Scholar readjusted, trying to strike from another angle, the human simply struck further down its immense length, sending them wholly off-balance as they were nearly off the side of the brdige. Countless limbs clambered, grasping as they were nearly wholly back to the circular platform, vessels sent tumbling off by their body mass.

"Your strength, dearest SOUL... you truly do have bravery..." They heaved, stabilizing. Breaths came out in long, stuttering gasps. "Very, very much so..."

They looked up towards the three. "But bravery in excess..."

The entire bridge shook as a mass rose from the side, the bulk of the Scholar's body curling inward like a massive whip. It was immensely fast, coming from a direction the SOUL didn't expect, resulting in all three ending up bundled, ensconced in pallid flesh and writhing limbs.

"Is naught but recklessness." The thing hissed, spittle erupting with words.

Three bodies squirmed as outer layers squeezed them in tighter, the Scholar looking on with almost a sadistic glee.

"Agh, damnit, can't.... move!" The lizard squirmed hopelessly.

"And you shouldn't." The Scholar's uppermost part moved away for a bit, seemingly looking through their shelves. "Honestly, I don't even know what you were thinking. Did you think knocking me off would save you? We fell for miles to reach here and you believed some 50 foot drop isn't just a drop in the bucket?"

A tool was grabbed. Something vaguely shaped like a scalpel.

"Fools. Idiots." They whirled around. "Now, precious SOUL, if you and your vessel would kindly stand still..."

"...Savior." A voice came from behind the group. Long, plodding footsteps as Vel approached.

"Yes, yes, what is it, Vel?" The Scholar seemed to sigh a moment, looking past the group. "Can you not see I am busy?"

The tall one arrived by the three's side. "...do not kill them..."

"Do not..." The vessel blinked, trailing off. "What do you mean!? Do you not see what they are, what they've done!?"

"They came so close to ruining everything! Denying us our freedom, our salvation! Why do they deserve anything less than death?"

The argument seemed to continue, but for 'Chara', they noticed something more important. The Scholar was losing just a touch of focus on the hold. A loosening. Maybe enough for their arm to slip out.

The Vessel was right there, maybe some 15 feet away. They thought back to a few days ago. An idea emerging.  They wiggled the arm, glancing down to it to show it was loose. They silently mouthed two words to relay to Kris.

'Throw me.'

Eyes subtly widened. A sucking in of the chest. They needed to be fast. Quietly, the arm maneuvered itself, using that strange semi-corporeal nature reaching in provided for just a bit of extra wiggle room. A tensing, and then in one move, the arm was free. The Scholar's head whipped over.

"What are-"

A hand plunging in, and in one swift rip out, flung outward like a frisbee, a practical fastball special as the SOUL rocketed forth, flung directly into the vessel.

The grip tightened into into a vice, head darting between Kris and the vessel as the former's teeth grit. 

"What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO!?" They roared, before closer look and realization. "Where... where is it? WHERE IS THE SOUL!?"

Hands shook, and they turned towards that grey statue, still standing there.

"There? You put them in that thing!?"

Laughter followed suit. It was not a joyous thing, something forced, tired, miserable, but also pitying, too. "That broken, discarded shell? It's only use is to sit there."

The being's form began to creep over. "Sit there, mockingly, like it doesn't have an existence, even if I know it's functional. Even if I know it's listening, it even has a gift still! The most pathetic, worthless of them, but really..."

"What power will one more body do for you?" The vessel was grasped, scalpel preparing to slice in.

Within that vessel, the heart sat, reeling a bit from the force, but... something overrode that a few moments later. 

This felt different from the others.

With Kris's body, they'd learned how to settle and become comfortable within it. With Susie and Ralsei is was a far different kind of space. They knew they were an intruder there, not from even the obvious outside context, it was just a feeling that emerged once strings were in place.

But here... it was more like... a piece slotting into place. The final piece of a puzzle leading to its solution. There was... belonging. A feeling of rightness. This is where they were meant to be. It was a warmth unlike any they had felt before, all-encompassing. Strings moved out, but it was like they weren't wrapping around. They were simply sliding into place.

But something more pressing dominated their thoughts, and as the strings moved to place, they called out. They had no voice, but they had to try. To call out to this form. To their creation, to the thing they had spent much time crafting, deliberating, working on betwixt those waves and tides.

'I don't know if you can hear me...' the strings felt like they were resonating with the thought, so they continued. 'I need your help.  We need your help. Long ago, I made you, I shaped you. I gave you the gift of kindness, for it is what everybody deserves to have.'

Thoughts turned more somber. 'They don't have it. It's killing them, killing us. Please, if you can hear me... help me shine your kindness bright. Bright enough that they can't ignore it, bright enough to help show them the way! Please!'

And deep within, the SOUL felt a presence. Something that had been waiting for so, so long. A power stirring, rising inside. They could feel that hue change again. Green moving in softly, like a caress, a vibrant and warm color, like grass under a midday sun.

On the outside, the Scholar hesitated. The thing beneath their grasp vibrated. And then it began to glow. Eye-sockets widened.

"What-"

They didn't even have time to fully react as blinding light erupted from the vessel, forcing them to drop it, covering their black pits. Something like a scream followed, the Scholar reeling as the vessel just stood there, still mostly motionless.

"What? No, no, nonono, this light! Silence it! SILENCE IT!" The scalpel was stabbed toward that immobile container, and light gleamed and warped and shifted into a barrier of vibrant green, impromptu weapon clattering from the Scholar's hands as the light intensified, beginning to coat the entire room.

The darkness their surroundings was made of shivered and began to melt. Walls loosing cohesion, dissolving into mist, blood from outside pouring in like a dam breaching.

Armor and weaponry of the countless vessels still present fading to the ether. A light that saturated and penetrated all around it. The Scholar scrambled, bashing against the shield with their mass relentlessly. It pulsed and pulsed but it didn't break.

And white and green became the whole world, The three's eyes shutting as the castle collapsed around them.

Wet. Dark. Kris stirred, blood surrounding the whole of everything. It was still pouring in, in fact. Space besides a chasm. The bridge beneath still barely holding. Maybe it was made from more than simply darkness.

The Scholar's curling form still existed around them, but it was distant, only the faintest twitch of limbs telling them it was alive. Beside, Susie and Ralsei still seemed out. A pair of hands shook each as they rose to their knees.

"Ah... Kris?" Ralsei stirred first, before eyes shot open. "Kris! A-are you okay!? Are we...?"

He looked down. Much of their fur and clothes was now stained with blood. "Alive...?"

"Ah, hell... ugh, is it over?" Susie too was partially soaked. "Eugh... gonna' need the mother of all baths after this."

"Where... is Chara?" Ralsei noted, and Kris blinked. That empty feeling in their chest feeling like it was coming in full force. Kris pushed themselves off the ground, slowly but surely, arms and legs wobbly.

"Ah, careful Kris!" Ralsei's scarf from below moved over, seeming to help stabilize them.

"Thanks..." they managed, offering a hand to pull up the goat, the Darkner answering quickly, and soon after, Susie followed.

The surroundings were absurdly dark without the SOUL's light to see, only the remaining flickers of iridescence seemed to guide down what remained of the bridge.

Steps steady and careful followed it as well as the Scholar's length.

And there they were. The Scholar, glasses gone, eye sockets facing the blood-filled ground, a torch above giving enough light for a reflection to be seen.

"Stupid... stupid... why am I..." Hands shook, breathing uneven. "It's gone. All gone, everything... why did I... why do I feel... guilt? It was... it was their fault, they did this, they did... should i have trusted...? No, nononono, it can't be truth, it's lies, it's always lies, just like Him, just like..."

The sounds of sloshing as the three approached caused their incessant murmuring to stop. Their head very slightly turned.

"Still here... of course." Bitterness infested their voice. "Here to finish the job? You've taken everything else. Our freedom, our home, our cohesion. Here to take what's left of my existence as well?"

"We weren't lying." Kris spoke, soft, breathy, quiet, but enough to carry in the void between.

Silence met them but for the dripping of blood. Eye-sockets closed.

"Ha... He said that, too, before. He promised us the world. Existence, life, friends, a sky so blue it makes that hue of yours look monochrome. And yet, in the end... we were but tools to be discarded."

Vehemence tried to rise, hands clenching and yet, soon after, they lost energy. "I feel the weight of it all has overwhelmed me, now. The things I've done. I don't know why. I feel weak even beyond the blows delivered. I don't understand..."

"Empathy." Another voice came from the dark. It was a lighter voice than those they had heard before. "It's not a prerequisite, but it's part of kindness, you know."

Steadily, another form moved in. Soaked partly in red as well, it was the vessel from before. But they seemed to be steadily... changing? A mouth had formed, not ripped but naturally there, lips thin but present. Small splotches of other color seemed to be... forming over parts of skin and clothes. Skin a hue not dissimilar from Kris's current, clothes some pale and faded green and yellow.

No eyes seemingly had formed yet, but it was strange, they could see depressions slowly forming. Like it was steadily being carved from clay.

But most prominently of all was the light shining from the chest, SOUL once more a shade of red. 

They walked over slowly, approaching the Scholar from the side.

"SOUL..."

"I prefer Chara. But yes, that would be me." Hands hanging from the sides, shifting to clasping behind their back.

"Empathy... you... you infected me with Kindness?"

"I did, yes. All of you vessels, I think."

"You... inundated us with weakness! You... hah..." The Scholar's form threatened to collapse. "I feel like I can barely move. Everything crashing back... making me question every decision I've made, when I know it was for the good of my people, my siblings, my..."

The Scholar looked at its hands, coated in blood. "Everything... hah.... is that what they were?"

"I believe it is." 'Chara' slowly approached, lowering themselves to where the Scholar's upper body rested. "And they still are."

Slowly, steadily, from the dark surrounding, the fetid liquid sloshed and rippled. Countless legs and bodies and visages. The vessels stood. Some seemed a little different now. Their stances seemed a bit less rigid. Some clasped each other's hands, some pulling each other up and sticking close.

"They should not see me like this... so... so... weak. I am not deserving to be their leader, they need better, they..."

"...Quiet." Another came from the dark, taller than the rest. Vel standing there, now sans their armor, only a large patchwork shirt and pants. "...more than good. Just... lost."

"L...lost?" The Scholar's head tilted.

"Kindness... needed. Useful. Have had it... long time ago. Not gifted... earned." Vel explained in their erratic, breathy tone. "Togetherness... cohesion... more than... tools. Friends. Have been... long time."

"And you... hid it from me because of... ah... i'm an idiot, am I not?" The worm sunk lower.

"Not dumb..." Vel moved over, a long finger reaching out and tapping the Scholar's head. "Mind... good. But... nobody knows all..."

"Ha... ha... I suppose... not." Eye sockets closed once more before a long breath exhaled, looking over to the four's general direction. "Now what, then...? You're within your rights to reject us. Leave us here. You should, really."

"But we won't." 'Chara' replied, the Scholar looking over to them in specific. "We don't leave people behind. Not like Him."

"I don't understand... what do you gain but being saddled with... us?" That last word spat, spittle dripping to the liquid below.

"It's not about material wants." Ralsei spoke up, approaching. "It's about the bonds we forge! You can be strong or brave all on your own, but... nobody can do everything. But together..."

Hope shined in the Darkner's eyes. "Anything could be possible. If everyone puts their wills, their hearts and desires together, you can change the world. Change what you were meant to be... into what you want to be."

"Find a place you belong." The SOUL continued. "I... can't guarantee Castle Town will be that. But it's somewhere to start from. From there, we can show you all the sky. Not a promised one. The real one."

They outstretched a hand. A soft smile on new lips, unused to it. "If that's what you want... you only need to take my hand."

"Hah... take..." Something of a low chuckle, almost like sobbing in sound. "How bitter the word sounds in my ears now. But..."

They eventually leaned over, taking the hand, the SOUL doing the best to help pull their upper body up. "What other choice is there?"

That look came onto the vessel's face, that 'smile'. It lacked energy, will to resist. Somber, sad. But perhaps somewhere in there, something like hope settled.

"If that's the case..." The hand released, the smaller vessel looking back to the Prince. "Let's go make a home."

Ralsei nodded. "Follow me! And ready yourselves, there might be spawn lurking!"

"We... can handle that." The Scholar's immense length began to curl and twist in on itself as countless legs moved. "Point the way. We shall be the vanguard. Even if our weapons are but dust... we are still here. And together..."

Resolve came into their voice. "We are enough."

With that, Ralsei gave a nod, and pointed. And thus, the legion marched forward. Kris began to move themselves, but nearly stumbled, only to be caught by a gray hand. 'Chara's' hand. It was strange, looking into that half-formed face, still rippling, like it was deciding what shape it wanted to take. But there was worry in the way the mouth quirked.

"Want me to...?" A gesture towards the chest. Kris shook their head. "You're enough."

A bit of stillness, but then a smile, a nod, shifting their grasp to help hold up a shoulder. "If you say so."

And it was so. It was different, having them here, an actual presence to talk to, rather than just themselves, like they were a lunatic. It was grounding, it was... comforting. Despite that empty gap in their chest, there was a warmth there. here definitely needed to be some talk, but... this was a step forward. A huge step forward, it was something they couldn't deny. 

They felt less alone, especially as Susie joined in for the other shoulder.

'We've got ya', Kris. Let's get the hell out of here." Susie spoke.

They only had the strength to nod and walk. And that, for now, was enough. A step forward, one after another, into the future.

Who knows what it held, but for now... it filled them with hope and love and a desire to keep going. To see this through to the end, to keep the others safe.

It filled them with determination.