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"Kris... Dark world.... No soul... Can't." Those words pierced through the static of the phone before the connection went cold. Of course , Kris thought with gritted teeth, Of course. They huffed and facepalmed into the kitchen counter. Of course this damned soul was necessary for the Knight's plan. Kris already knew that; They knew that long before they even got into this mess.
Kris still had a right to complain, did they not? When it happened, they had agreed in desperation to do whatever it took to bring her back. Though they were beginning to have some regrets. Regrets they felt guilty for having. This was not bearable at all — being a meat puppet for some eldritch being, a heart on a chain.
They wanted to rip its soul out of their chest and make it regret using them like this — damn the consequences.
But they made a promise, and a promise can't be broken.
Kris raked their fingers through their hair, tugging at handfuls. I shouldn't have to deal with this . They grimaced. Puppeteered by some demon. Their nails dug into their scalp. But I deserve it. They dug harder, hair strands breaking off. It's all my fault; What happened to De—
Plink!
Suddenly, Kris jumped up, quickly scanning the room. Their breath quickened until they finally saw it.
The damned soul.
Kris clenched their fists into tight, uncomfortable balls. The soul had found them — of course it had — and it was making nonsensical noises on the piano. Kris grabbed the empty bottle of chocolate syrup as their weapon. They were going to teach that thing a lesson. They stormed to the other side of the kitchen counter, eyes locked on their target.
Plink!
Plink, plink, plink!
Kris froze. They thought they heard something recognizable from the random keys that were being plunked. Surely not. Surely this otherworldly being wasn't actually playing a song on the piano. They shook it off and kept moving.
Plink! Plink! Plink!
Again, Kris froze, this time their face contorting into a mixture of awe and irritation. There was no denying it now. The soul was definitely playing...
...Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Kris scowled. It was crude — rudimentary, but identifiable. It was such a childish song for some demon to play that it made them pause in their attack. They slowly lowered their makeshift weapon. Had it not yet noticed their approach? It was still playing those not-so nonsensical notes on the instrument.
Kris wanted to move closer, however, their body didn't listen to them as their joints locked in place. They were unsure of why they hesitated. Were they worried about startling it, or were they worried it would possess them again? They did not know. Lifting one heavy leg, they took a step forward, an action that seemed to snap the soul out of its musical trance with a jolt, a sudden movement that startled Kris. It quickly dove inside the grand piano, an action that caused them to blink in confusion.
They considered it a foolish decision, backing itself into a corner like that. They approached the piano, and grabbed the lid with an uncharacteristically gentle hand, not wanting to damage something so precious to them. Looking down at the tiny soul that was cowering in the corner of the grand piano, for just a second, just a mere moment, they thought they could almost see something human in it. They shook their head, shaking the thoughts away, and promptly shut the lid, leaving the soul trapped inside the grand piano.
Kris walked over to the piano bench and slumped down onto it. The soul... it could play music. It knew songs that humans and monsters knew. Was it playing for me? They wondered, but winced at the self-centered thought. They racked their brain for answers about the soul's behavior just now, but couldn't find any that were satisfactory.
Slouching, they rubbed their forehead with their left hand. I can't believe that I'm seriously considering this. Kris's free hand subtly quivered as it hovered over the keys. But if it really was playing for me, then maybe... They bit their lip; Kris preferred to keep this part of themself private.
Softly, they lowered their hand, the cold ivory keys sending a shiver through their body. Their fingers pressed down on the keys so gently that no sound was audible. Their other hand left their forehead and placed itself about an octave away from the other.
A C major chord. Kris played it contemplatively. Then they placed their right thumb on the A below middle C, their left pinky doing the same an octave lower. Warmups — of course. Thanks to the soul, it had been a while since Kris had played. They needed to do some basic exercises to ease back into playing. With both hands, they played an A major scale — going up two octaves, but going back down three. After playing a few more scales, they raised their hands and stretched their fingers, before placing them back down again.
They breathed in. They breathed out.
Inside the grand piano, the walls and floor quaked as the soul was shaken by reverberations. A melody began to play, one recognizable to the soul. It was the theme it had heard around PLAYERtown. If the soul had a mouth, it would be wide open in shock. It hadn't realized that the music was diegetic to Kris's world. Not only that, it was surprised too that Kris was capable of playing it just from their memory.
Of course, a mistake here and there — A B-natural instead of a B-flat, a G-sharp rather than a F-sharp — but Kris's musical abilities were undeniable. The soul's form slouched, realizing just what it had taken away from this prodigy by being here. It wasn't that the soul didn't know how to play piano, but because of a top-down perspective and little control over Kris's fine motor abilities, it couldn't.
The sublime notes resonated throughout the Holiday house as Kris moved their hands gracefully along the keys. They shut their eyes, their body moving on its own, intuitively knowing what keys to play. Their head was empty as they soaked themself in the music. The grand piano produced a warm, dark sound — A sound that was comforting to Kris, a sound that would drown out their thoughts when they became too loud.
Then, the song was done. Their hands were still on top of those piano keys as all thoughts rushed back to their head.
Self-doubt. Embarrassment. Regret. Angel, why would I do that? They slammed their elbows onto the keys, sending a loud dissonant chord throughout the room as they buried their face in their hands.
Kris never really liked to play in front of people, so playing for this thing made them experience a flurry of emotions after the fact. They had shared such an intimate part of themself to something that was by all means invading any sense of privacy they had. For what reason? They felt a tinge of empathy for it? Seeing it stumble around on those keys in such a personifiable way? Clearly limited by its lack of fingers — A limitation that reminded them of the freedom they themself lacked? Kris let out a frustrated huff.
The piano bench made a terrible scraping sound against the ground as Kris pushed themself off it. They stormed over and flung the piano lid up. The soul laid peacefully idle, that was until it got startled when Kris plunged their hand inside the grand piano. But they hesitated before actually grabbing it. Kris grimaced and shook their head. They didn't understand all these complicated feelings about the soul stirring inside them. Discomfort, and a growing fondness — The blend unsettled Kris.
Though their face showed unease, they slowly and softly cupped the soul into tense hands and lifted it out of the piano. Their lips slightly trembled as, under their breath, some sort of an apology was mumbled — whether it was meant for the soul or the piano was a mystery.
Kris sat back down on the bench, soul still in their hands. They gazed down at it and exhaled. Their grip eased on the soul, which allowed it to move free. It took a moment for the soul to register that Kris had let go, but once it did, it slowly floated towards the piano keys. It began to tap on them again, trying, and failing miserably, to play a song.
Kris tried to cover a chuckle that escaped from their mouth as the soul fumbled awkwardly on the keys. The soul stopped its playing and looked at them deflated. A flicker of guilt flashed across Kris's face.
Looking down at the dispirited soul, a wave of empathy came over Kris. They understood what it was like. That wave of empathy led Kris to say something they weren’t too sure they actually wanted to say.
"You want to play too?" They winced and turned away. It was a question Kris already knew the answer to — Of course it did. They clenched their jaw, not understanding why some otherworldly being would want to play here at this moment. Surely it had all the power it needed to play whenever it liked?
Unless, of course, it specifically wanted to play now for some reason — That piqued their curiosity.
"Fine." They huffed. "I'll allow it for one song." The soul certainly couldn't play in its fingerless form, so even though they weren't exactly happy with it, Kris grabbed the soul and put it back in their body.
***
On the other side, in another world, the soul's true self took a USB cord and connected their keyboard and laptop together. They placed the laptop where sheet music would normally rest.
The player flicked some dust off the keys, and promptly placed their hands down onto the plastic keyboard. Then, they tensed up. It had been a while since they last played. Their nails scratched against the keys as they began to worry about embarrassing themself in front of Kris. They knew they were no maestro like Kris. They were technically capable of playing a few simple tunes, but their tempo would always change from one measure to another, with a few missing notes along the way.
They shivered those doubts away; Music wasn't about playing every note right, it was about the experience. Placing one hand in a chord position and the other in a position to play a few notes, they began to play a melody they wondered if Kris would recognize.
***
Kris's hands began to move on their own. Their chest tightened as their breathing became shallow and short. The soul never exerted this much control over their movements before. Kris squeezed their eyes shut and took a deep breath. It was going to be okay. They had allowed for this temporary precise control, but they had not expected what it would feel like. They shuddered. They desperately wanted to rip the soul out and take back their body as their own, but a strange curiosity kept them from doing that.
Kris opened their eyes and gazed down at their hands, which were still moving without any of their input. They smiled, wanting to laugh, but no sound escaped from their mouth. Their hands played an arpeggio in a way that was foreign to them. Kris had the more orthodox preference to hit the second note with their left ring finger, and the soul had a more amateurish preference for the left middle finger. Every time their middle finger was used in an arpeggio, their hand would tense up, as Kris's muscle memory expected it to be the other, only to be overridden by the soul's inputs. They let out a shaky breath, already feeling the soul's sloppy habits seeping into their body's memory.
They let out a nervous chuckle. I can't believe this . Entirely focused on the way their body moved in a way so foreign to them, their ears had not yet registered the music. They gently closed their eyes, trying to drift their focus away from their proprioception, and became aware of the music.
The music was nostalgic, something Kris could have sworn they had heard before, but they couldn't say where, or even when. An instinctive chill spread throughout their body. The melody felt dreamlike, but had a haunting aftertaste. Is this what music from another world sounds like? They shivered. It was... interesting, they had to admit, though the way they were experiencing it was not ideal.
Why did it even want to play for me? Kris wondered. Why this song? Music is a way people can communicate things that are difficult to put into words — Kris knew that very well — so what was the soul trying to say? That it liked piano too? That was likely part of it, but there was something deeper happening here, they believed.
Was it meant to be some sort of an apology? Like, "I play piano too, so I understand that it sucked you couldn't play." Their lips slightly quivered. That idea made them feel strange. Piano was something both of them understood, and while it felt nice that someone else could speak Kris's language, they didn't like what it suggested about the soul — that it was like them.
Kris let out a gasp as they were suddenly pulled out of their head — The soul used Kris's own arm to lightly slap them to awareness. They had become so lost in thought, they hadn't even realized the song was over.
Right. The song's over. Kris nervously thought. And it's in my body again. An uncomfortable laugh escaped them. They hadn't thought this far ahead. Letting the soul borrow their body to play a song was something that they had allowed on impulse. They hadn't thought about what came after. Shit .
The soul raised Kris's hand to their chest, a sudden move that caused their breath to quicken in apprehension. But the hand just remained there, doing nothing. They tilted their head in confusion. Suddenly, it clicked. It was giving... permission — Permission to remove it. Not that Kris needed its permission to have their own body, but still, the thought was oddly comforting.
Kris's breathing was shaky. Doing this so many times hadn't made it easier. They bit down on their lip, trying to stifle any yelps, as they tore the soul out of their body.
Red, pulsating in their hand, they could feel it squirm. It repeatedly tugged Kris's hand like it was trying to go somewhere, but they would continually jerk their hand back into a still position. Kris looked in the direction the soul was pulling their hand. ... The door? They raised an eyebrow in confusion. They looked back at the soul that was writhing in their hand and rolled their eyes. Again, they were considering something that they knew would likely be a mistake. But then again, they didn't exactly fully regret what they had allowed it to do so far.
They let out a dry chuckle. "Don't make me regret this," they mumbled under their breath as they unclenched their hand.
The soul stayed in place for a moment, seemingly shocked Kris had actually allowed it to roam free. Once the initial shock wore off, it began to make its way to the door, only to stop. Kris looked at it blankly. The soul hovered back over towards them and nudged against their arm.
"H-Hey!" Kris blurted out. They swatted haphazardly at the soul. "Stop that," they grumbled underneath their breath. The soul backed up some, a bit dejected. They squinted at the soul and said, "Are you wanting me to come with you or something?" It jumped up with an apparent glee, and moved up and down repeatedly, simulating a nod. Kris snorted. I suppose that's a yes .
The soul glided to the door, stopping occasionally in order to give Kris time to catch up. Kris made it to the door and reached for the handle, hesitating to open the door. What would happen when they opened it? Would the soul rush over to Susie and Noelle, revealing itself and by extension Kris's deepest secrets? Would it try to escape, leaving them without a way to save her ? Millions of thoughts ran through their head, but they clenched their jaw and tried to get the thoughts to go away. I... don't think it would do those things. They glanced at the soul, which hovered calmly beside them. Well, I hope so, at least. Sighing, with a heavy hand, they turned the knob.
The soul continued forward onto its path to somewhere, Kris following closely behind. They spotted Susie and Noelle on the couch, then turned their gaze back to the soul. It was moving in a general direction, but would often veer slightly off course in a zigzagging manner. Kris swallowed hard. That made them incredibly nervous. The soul zigzagged dangerously close to the girls, and Kris couldn't take it anymore.
They shot a death stare at the soul. "Don't." The soul froze, shuddering. Taking a moment to compose itself, it resumed its journey, making sure to hug the wall to keep as far away as it could from Susie and Noelle.
They followed behind the soul as it led them to the closet door, where they originally trapped the soul. It waited for Kris and tapped itself against the door. Right, it doesn't have any hands . They reached for the doorknob and opened the door.
Kris followed the soul inside and closed the door behind the two of them. The soul dove down into the gift box it had previously escaped from. It bounced, seemingly happily, inside the box. They gave a look of utter confusion. "I don't... understand...?" The soul briefly paused its bouncing and floated outside the box. It went over to one of the box's lids and circled around it.
"You.... you want to... go up?" Kris's face managed to look even more confused. Like a dog? They let out a baffled chuckle. "What the hell..." They muttered under their breath. In disbelief, they blinked rapidly. "Sure...?"
The soul dashed over back inside the box and waited expectantly for Kris to shut it inside. As Kris lifted up the box lid from the ground, they wondered if this was meant to be some sort of exercise in trust. Was the soul trying to show that it respected them? Well, it had gained a bit of Kris's trust today, not by much, but Kris felt like they understood the soul a little better. Holding the lid over the box, they took one last glance at the soul. "I'll..." They hesitated. "... see you later." They lowered the lid.
***
Kris found themself back in the kitchen. They closed the door behind them and slumped down against it. Their fingers ran through their hair as they gave a bittersweet smile. It seemed their joy of piano was shared. That was... nice, Kris supposed. Though a frown peeked through that smile as they thought about how it was one that had to be shared with the soul. It was no longer just themself and the music.
The soul would always be there.
Watching Kris.
Listening to Kris.
Being Kris.