Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kris ambled down the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing as they went. They didn't sleep well last night. There was too much noise and Kris was filled to the brim with anxieties and worries. The soul had made them sleep for a couple hours, but as it always was when the soul made them sleep, it was restless sleep that only made them feel more exhausted when they woke up.

Upon reaching the bottom step, Kris heard a voice that made them look up. “Hey kiddo, did you sleep well?”

It was Sans. That stupid skeleton man was still here. Why? Did he spend the night? He was sitting at the table, right where Asgore used to sit, eating pancakes. That really pissed Kris off. How dare he sit where their father used to sit.

At that moment, Kris felt the soul deciding what to say to Sans.

● Where's mom?
❤️ Are you banging my mom?

No. No, why did it pick that choice? Kris groaned as they spoke aloud, “Are you banging my mom?”

“Uh.” Sans dropped his fork, it clattered on the plate loudly. He gulped, which is apparently something a skeleton can do, despite not having the anatomy for it. “That's one way to phrase it, but I'm dating your mom.”

Kris felt rage boiling up inside, and they were positive the soul was just as angry. At least they were on the same wavelength about this. Not that Kris could do anything about Sans dating their mom, but they had already decided they hated him with a burning passion.

“In any case, your mom went to the train station to pick up your brother from college. She made you some pancakes, they are in the fridge.” Sans picked his fork back up and continued eating.

Kris sighed and went to the fridge. They were hungry, they hardly ate yesterday at all. They hoped the soul would let them eat today. When they opened the refrigerator door, there were no pancakes in sight. There wasn't much at all inside, except the ketchup bottle that was there yesterday. Oh wait, there was something else? A yellow bottle? Mustard? No, it was ketchup that was in a yellow bottle for some reason.

Kris picked up the red ketchup bottle and glared at Sans, vaguely wondering if they could get away with murder. Surely no court would convict Kris, Sans was a dirty pancake thief! The soul seemed to have an idea though, so Kris let this play out.

Kris sat next to Sans, upcapping the bottle of ketchup. They looked him dead in the eyes as they lifted the bottle of ketchup to their mouth and started to gulp it down like a drink. It was a little gross to drink ketchup, but the expression of utter bafflement on Sans’ face made it feel worth it.

Kris placed the ketchup down on the table, spinning the bottle between their hands. It seemed the soul had something to say, so Kris let them go, “It's a beautiful day, isn't it Sans? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like this, monsters like you… should be-”

Kris was curious about what the soul was going to say, but their speech was interrupted by a loud banging on the front door, which made Kris jump in their seat. Before they could even think to answer the door, it opened up.

It was Asgore. He looked inside, calling out timidly, “Tori….”

Asgore froze on the spot when he saw Sans and Kris sitting at the kitchen table. “Uh, where's my wife?”

“Ex-wife.” Sans amended. “She stepped out to pick up your kid.”

“Right.” Asgore stepped into the house, a grim expression on his face. “Why are you hanging out with my child this morning?”

“Well I hung out with your ex-wife last night-” Sans was probably going to make another joke, but the look of utter rage on Asgore's face stopped him. “Actually I think I should be going! See you around pal!”

Sans made a tactical retreat to the bathroom. Kris sat awkwardly in their chair as Asgore took several very deep breaths, probably also contemplating if he could get away with murder. Eventually he calmed down enough to ask Kris, “Kris, is your mother dating that man?”

●Yes
● No
❤️ They kept me up all night, they were so loud.

No! Why would the soul pick that?! While technically true, that was going to upset Asgore even more! Still Kris had to say that very stupid sentence. “They kept me up all night, they were way too loud.”

Asgore trembled slightly, but he took another deep breath. “I'll talk to your mother. She… she should have more consideration for you. I'm sorry about all this, Kris, but don't worry. We'll all be a family again soon, I promise. You, uh, you still think of me as your father, right?”

●You'll always be my dad!
❤️We were never a family.

Not that! Kris tried to cover their mouth but the words came out anyway, “We were never a family.”

Asgore took a step back, his hand going to his chest. “Is… is that how you see it? I think, I uh, I think I need to go…”

Asgore turned quickly, rubbing at his eyes as he walked with haste out the front door. Kris slumped over onto the table, feeling like their heart was breaking into tiny pieces.

They had hurt their father so much. That's not what they wanted, they would never say that, even if a part of Kris felt like they never really were a Dreemurr. But this was the only family Kris had. Sure Asgore was a goof and he seemed completely unaware that his marriage was over and his ex-wife had moved on, but Kris did think of him as their father. They couldn't believe the soul would say something that horrible.

God, Kris couldn't take it anymore. They hated the stupid soul, it was ruining their life, they just wanted to stop being a puppet on a string. Kris looked up at the window with the morning light shining through. The trees beyond were damp with the rain that had long since stopped, but drips of water still clung to the leaves.

Kris was so tired. Beyond tired. This… this whole thing was getting to be too much. They struggled every day, forced to do the bidding of an unknowable being. A being that hardly cared for Kris at all, not even stopping to let them eat. Even now the ketchup they drank sat heavy in their empty stomach.

Couldn't this just end already?

They were so tired of being tired. Of being hungry. Of hurting their friends and family. Their father probably hated them after that line about them not being family. Berdly was still in the hospital, he hadn't woken up yet. Noelle… God, where to even start with Noelle. The soul was manipulating and hurting her the most. What havoc would the soul cause next? Who else would they hurt? Ralsei? Susie? The soul… wouldn't kill anyone, would they?

Kris was struck with a sudden intense fear. The soul honestly wouldn't actually kill anyone, would they? Sure, they put Berdly in the hospital, but the soul let Kris warm him up. The soul wouldn't be that cruel, right?

Oh no.

The soul had been trying to kill Berdly. The soul… the soul might try to kill again. And this time it might succeed. Kris wasn't sure they could stop it anymore. They were growing weaker while the soul was getting stronger and stronger.

Was that the soul's plan? To keep Kris from eating until they were so weak they couldn't stop it from doing whatever it wanted? How could Kris fight back against that? It was using their body.

Their body?

What if it didn't have a body anymore?

What if Kris took away the one thing the soul needed to survive? It was dependent on them just as they were on it. So if Kris’ body wasn't around the soul would have nothing to possess! It would die! Problem solved!

But Kris couldn't just rid themself of their own body. If they went too far away from the soul they collapsed. Last time they tried they ended up in the hospital. So it's not like they could skip town and leave the soul here. They would probably die before they got a few miles away.

They would die?

Kris’ eyes grew wide as they stared out the window, not really looking at anything. That's right. If they were dead the soul couldn't control them anymore. The soul couldn't hurt anyone else. Ever again. If Kris was dead.

But that would mean that Kris had to die.

The only thing they had left was this life. Were they really willing to give it up to stop the soul from hurting anyone else?

A flash came to their mind of the terrified look on Noelle's face as the soul forced the thorn ring on her finger.

How… how broken she looked after that…

A cold chill went down Kris’ spine, especially when they remembered how Noelle smiled at them after that and she said in a voice that was utterly wrong, “Thank you, Kris.”

Kris really didn't have a choice here. If Kris wanted to protect their friends, they had to do this. They placed their hand on their chest, pulling the soul out against its will. It struggled as it always did, but it couldn't possibly know what Kris had planned or it would definitely be struggling harder than this. Kris then got up, trying not to stumble as they shuffled back upstairs.

In their room, Kris threw the soul into the birdcage and closed the door. Okay. So Kris didn't exactly have a plan in mind, but they probably should wait until after the festival at least to… to kill themself. They wanted to see their friends again one last time. And Asriel too. They could think more about how exactly they would off themself later, but for now they should write a suicide note explaining why they had to die.

Kris pulled out a notebook and a pen and sat on their bed. The soul banging against the cage was a little distracting, but Kris tried to ignore it as they started writing. They were filled with rage at the soul for making them do this. And sorrow for their life coming to an end. They wrote endless apologies for all the soul's awful past actions. They tried to explain that they didn't want this, but it was the only way to stop anyone from getting hurt. They hoped that everyone could forgive them and live happily without them around.

Ha…

It hurt to write this note. Kris felt tears welling up in their eyes as they signed their name at the bottom. A few tears might've even fallen, smudging the ink. But it was done. It felt so… final now. The note was written and Kris was really going to do this. As awful as it was, this had to be the right choice.

It had to be.

For now, Kris folded up the note and put it in their pocket. They didn't want to leave it here just in case Asriel or Toriel found it before they went through with it. Besides, after the festival they could just go and do… whatever it is they decided to do to die and they'd already have the note with them. It would be fine. It would be fine…

Kris tried to ignore the tears that kept falling from their eyes, wiping their face with the sleeves of their shirt.

They took a deep breath and steadied themself as they put the soul back in their chest. Time for their final day of being alive. They hoped at the very least, they could have some fun at the festival.

Chapter Text

“Hey dork.” Susie was leaning against the side of Kris’ house, grinning as they stepped outside. “Took ya long enough.”

Kris looked up at her, a faint bit of sorrow crossing their face. They certainly weren't going to tell her they were late because they were writing a suicide note. An attempt at a shrug was made, but Kris ended up just slumping their shoulders instead.

This was going to be the last day they got to spend with Susie. The time they had been friends was so short, but Kris was grateful that it happened at all. They reached into their pocket, fingers running over the paper that contained their suicide note. This was for the best. Susie wouldn't be hurt by the soul. Kris would make sure of that.

“What's wrong dude?” Susie placed a hand on their shoulder. “You look like you want to cry?”

● please help me
❤️ I'm perfectly fine!

“I'm perfectly fine.” Kris looked away from Susie. They hated when the soul made them lie like that, although they didn't think they'd ever actually be able to ask for help, even if the soul had chosen that option. They were so far beyond help at this point. Death was the only option left for them.

“If you say it like that I'm not gonna believe you!” Susie took both her hands and ruffled Kris’ hair, making it stand up in all sorts of directions. “I bet the festival will cheer you up, let's get going, Noelle is waiting for us.”

Right. Noelle.

Kris was terrified to see Noelle again. They hadn't seen her since the thorn ring incident. How was Noelle going to react when she saw Kris again? Was she going to be scared of them? Kris didn't know if their heart could take that. Maybe it would be better if they just offed themself now, haha…

But the soul was already steering Kris forward, Susie following along. Kris tried not to think about anything too much as the soul walked around looking at everything as it always did. The soul seemed obsessed with checking things, even if they had looked at those same things just the day prior. Was the soul looking for something? It didn't really matter to Kris anymore, so they didn’t devote too much time thinking about it. After today none of this would matter in the slightest. Kris and the soul would be gone.

The soul guided them to the street the police station was on. The end of the street had been blocked all week but the blockade was taken down today so that everyone could access the area where the festival would be.

The festival was set up at the end of the street in a rather large field. It was incredibly lively. Everyone in town was there, minus a few of the more reclusive monsters. There were colorful booths of all sorts set up with games and food. The scent of delicious sugary sweets made Kris’ mouth water, although they probably wouldn't get to eat any. Further ahead there were a few rides set up, one of those big slides that kids loved, a bouncy house, a merry-go-round, and of course the infamous ferris wheel, standing taller than anything else like a silent titan.

And… there was her.

Noelle was standing near a tree decorated with festive lights, her mom right next to her. Noelle wasn't wearing her typical outfit, she was wearing a white dress that flowed out around her as she moved. A part of Kris thought she looked like an angel, as she bounced on her heels, her hands behind her back as she spoke animatedly with her mom.

Noelle waved excitedly when she spotted Kris and Susie. She turned and said something to Carol that Kris couldn't hear and then ran over towards them.

“Susie! Kris!” Noelle stood in front of them, grinning. She didn't seem traumatized by what happened? Did she think it was also a dream or something? Maybe that was for the best. After Kris was gone it could be like the whole incident never happened at all.

“Heya Noelle, it's good to see you.” Susie beamed back at her.

“It's good to see you too! Are you guys ready to have some fun? It's too bad that Berdly is still sick in the hospital and can't make it…” Noelle replied. She seemed more confident today. Usually she was tripping over her words when she spoke to Susie, but she seemed more comfortable around her today.

“I'm sure that nerd will be better in no time.” Susie scratched the back of her head. “Anywhere you want to go first?”

“Yeah! There's a shooting game over there and it has the cutest plushies as prizes. Can you help me win one, Susie?” Noelle asked, already walking in that direction. Susie walked next to her, chatting away.

Kris followed a few steps behind. It felt weird to follow anyone. Usually everyone followed them. But today Noelle was taking the lead. As much as Kris wanted to believe that Noelle was feeling more comfortable around Susie or something, they couldn't help but to fear that the thorn ring might be playing a part in this.

Maybe they just shouldn't think about that and instead focus on having fun. Any problems would vanish once Kris was gone, anyway.

At the stand for the shooting gallery, Susie took the fake gun and lined up a shot. She looked pretty cool, but, ah, she missed terribly at hitting the target.

“That was just practice! I'll get it next time!” Susie lined up another shot. And she missed again.

“Fa ha ha! It's okay Susie, you don't have to!” Noelle grinned at her.

“I'm not used to guns!” Susie held the gun like she typically held her axe and swung it several times. “If it was an axe I'd get it no problem!”

Noelle mumbled under her breath, “But you are used to axes…?”

“Anyway, I can do it!” Susie took aim one last time and finally hit the target. Barely.

The frog-like monster running the stand clapped their hands. “Good show! You can pick from one of these prizes!” They waved over towards the smaller keychains instead of the big plushies that were hanging against the back wall.

“Oh, but Noelle wanted the plush-”

“I'm okay with a keychain!” Noelle pointed towards a small keychain that depicted a small round frog decorated in Christmas lights. “This one is super cute. I think I like it better than the plushies!”

“If you say so.” Susie picked the keychain up and handed it over to Noelle. “There you go.”

Noelle took it, holding it in her hands like she had just been gifted the greatest treasure. She blushed a bit, “Thank you so much! I love it!”

Susie blushed too, looking away, “It was nothin’!”

For some reason, watching Susie and Noelle interact like this made Kris’ chest hurt. Painful… like something was tightly squeezing their heart.

They tried not to think about why that might be too much.

Kris followed them around as they all played various games at the festival. Noelle was really good at the fish scooping game, although she didn't actually want the fish. Susie tried the strength testing game and absolutely demolished it. Kris played a ring toss game, which won them a small bouncy ball. They tossed it against the ground and it ricocheted up so high Kris thought it might've gone into orbit.

After so much playing around, the three of them finally headed over to the food stands. Unfortunately for Kris the soul was not cooperating and did not order them any food, despite the rumbling in their stomach.

They all sat at a picnic bench and Noelle and Susie started to dig into their food. Susie had gotten a candy apple and some fries, which she was eating simultaneously. For some reason?? Noelle had gotten some funnel cake. It looked warm and it was coated in powdered sugar. Kris whined a bit, looking at the delicious food they couldn't have.

“Kris, why didn't you order anything?” Noelle asked them.

Kris so desperately wished they could've ordered food. Unfortunately they were at the mercy of the soul. They whimpered louder.

“Don't whine like a dog, silly.” Noelle pushed her plate towards Kris. “You can have a bite of mine.”

Kris ravenously took an extremely large bite. It was so delicious! That fried dough, the sweet sugar… ah, perfection in their mouth!

“Kris!” Noelle laughed, and it wasn't that fa ha ha laughter she usually did. This was more real. It felt just like how she used to laugh when they were kids. It felt… so warm. Kris wanted to make her laugh more just so they could hear it again.

Noelle shook her head, “I think that's more than a bite. And you got sugar all over your face. Let me help you.”

Noelle picked up a napkin and wiped off Kris’ face. They pouted as she rubbed at their skin. Maybe they were saving that sugar for later!

“You two sure are close.” Susie said, shoving more fries in her mouth, the apple already long gone.

“Are we?” Noelle crumbled up the napkin and put it down on the table. “We're just neighbors.”

Just neighbors, huh.

That awful strangling pain returned to Kris’ heart. They tried and failed to ignore it. Noelle didn't even think of Kris as a friend…

Don't think about it.

After they finished eating (Kris stole a few of Susie’s fries too) the group headed over towards the rides. They gathered in front of the ferris wheel, with Kris a few steps back. Noelle probably wanted to ride with Susie. Berdly wasn't even here and Kris didn't want to ride alone, that would simply be too embarrassing. They should just go and wait somewhere so those two could have a nice romantic ride together. Besides, their chest was aching again.

What they didn't expect was what happened next.

“Hey Kris,” Susie turned to face them. “Who do you want to ride with?”

What? They got to decide?

● Susie
● Noelle
● You two go together

“I want to ride with Kris!” Noelle interrupted before the soul even got to decide. That was so strange. Usually only Susie broke choices. But even more than that, why would Noelle want to ride with them?

“Don't look so confused!” Noelle laughed lightly. “I've really wanted to ride with you all day. So let's go together.”

Kris nodded slowly. This was… too weird. But they did want to ride with her, so they didn't protest.

“Cool, cool.” Susie kicked at a rock on the ground. “I'll just, uh, wait over there for you guys.” She pointed vaguely towards a bench.

“Alright, we'll see you when we're done.” Noelle waved at her as she moved to board the ferris wheel. Kris followed behind her, not sure at all how they should feel about this development.

Kris sat down and Noelle sat right next to them. She smiled at them, “You know, I've been wanting to talk to you all day, Kris.”

Kris tilted their head in question. What was this about?

“I wanted to talk about what happened yesterday.”

Kris felt like their heart had stopped in their chest. They had hoped that Noelle wouldn't bring this up, they hoped that she thought it was all a dream.

They hoped they could die without ever facing this.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted. It felt like everything had gone much darker, despite the daylight shining through the windows of the ferris wheel. The noise from the festival vanished, all Kris could hear was a chill wind. Noelle even looked different, speaking in a much more monotone voice, one that didn't entirely sound like it belonged to her.

“Thank you, Kris. I realize now that you were just trying to help me. You want me to become stronger, don't you? I'll do it. I'm going to become so much stronger, I promise you. From now on I'll do whatever you say, okay? I'll listen to your every command.”

Oh no.

This felt absolutely horrible. Did the ring brainwash Noelle? Was she… broken? Could Kris’ death even fix this? She was acting so normal before, why was she acting like this now? It was almost like… no, Kris didn't want to think that the soul might already be controlling her as well. There was no way. But the way she was speaking reminded Kris too much of the soul.

That awful creeping feeling started to strangle their heart again.

However, the soul seemed to have something to say.

● You can do what you want!
❤️ Good. Noelle will become stronger.

Kris felt the words burning their throat as they spoke, “Good. Noelle will become stronger.”

Noelle reached over and grabbed Kris’ hand. The thorn stuck in her finger pricked them, drawing a tiny drop of blood. “Yes. Anything you say, Kris. I'll do anything for you.”

This was so wrong. But… in some part of Kris’ heart… they felt…

That Noelle should belong to them.

MINE. NOELLE IS MINE.

it hurts…

Kris took a shaky breath. No. No, no, no. They weren't like the soul! They didn’t enjoy any of this! They wanted Noelle to be Noelle! She didn't belong to anyone!

“Kris, do you remember the last time we rode the ferris wheel together?”

❤️ I remember

“I remember.” Kris replied. Of course they remembered, but that was before the soul was here so they were clearly lying.

Noelle clasped Kris’ hand tighter. it hurts. “I'm glad you remember. My mom made us ride together, and I knew you'd probably try to prank me or something, but I really didn't expect what you did!”

Kris wished they could make Noelle stop talking. Every word sounded wrong. Outside the windows, the town below looked so small and distant. Inside this carriage, Noelle felt even further away, despite her tight and painful grip on their hand.

Noelle kept speaking, “That was my first kiss you know.”

That’s right. When they were kids and rode this ferris wheel together, Kris had leaned over and given Noelle an innocent kiss on the cheek. They couldn’t tell you why they had done it, but at the moment it had felt like the right thing to do.

Noelle glanced away from Kris, a blush forming on her face. What? She was blushing? But… But Kris thought that Noelle hated that kiss. And that she hated Kris too. But she was blushing at the memory of it?

In any other situation Kris would've been elated to learn that. However, in this moment, they only felt dread.

Noelle leaned in closer towards Kris. “If you want… we can-”

Before Noelle could finish whatever sentence she was attempting to say, Kris noticed something very strange. Noelle's eyes, which were usually black, seemed to have taken a reddish tint. Kris looked down for just a moment at their connected hands and saw something even more horrifying.

Something red was growing up Noelle's arm. It started where they were holding hands, where the thorn ring was stuck, and snaked up her arm in a way that looked like veins. No, perhaps a more apt comparison was…

Roots?

The fear that took over Kris was all consuming. They wretched their hand away from Noelle, a tiny scream escaping from their throat.

“Kris…?” Noelle looked very concerned, but her voice. It was her voice again. Kris nearly cried with relief to hear it, especially as the red roots disappeared from her arm.

But this was actually very bad, wasn't it?

Kris clutched a hand to their chest, their breaths coming out all ragged. What was that? Was that the soul? Was it… was it too late? Was it already… growing inside Noelle? Oh God, no, no, no…

“Kris?”

Kris needed to run away. They had to get as far away from Noelle as they could. They didn't know if their death would even save Noelle at this point, but they just couldn't do this anymore!

“KRIS!”

Kris flinched and looked up at Noelle. She looked very worried. Crap, Kris needed to say something and they damn well weren't going to let the soul talk and make things worse. In a rusty voice they mumbled, “I cut my finger.”

It hurt to speak without the soul's permission, but at least that was a plausible excuse for Kris’ behavior. Thankfully Noelle was acting more normal again, she didn't really seem to be aware of what had happened.

“Let me see?” Noelle asked. Kris held out their hand and Noelle gently inspected it. Each touch made Kris’ stomach feel very strange and… fluttery. “That looks pretty deep, how did you manage that?”

Kris shrugged.

“Well let's go to the first aid tent when we get off the ride.” Noelle let go of Kris’ hand. The sensation of her touch lingered, however.

Kris made a fist and brought their hand to their chest. The ache in their heart wasn't going away anymore. They were so very worried. They needed a few minutes to sit and think about what to do, but mostly they needed to get far away from Noelle.

The ride came to a stop and Kris got off, followed by Noelle. Kris looked around for Susie, and quickly spotted her. Mostly because she was running at full tilt towards Kris.

“GUYS!” Susie yelled, a tone of panic in her voice. “It's bad! Real bad!”

“What happened?” Noelle asked, standing close to Kris’ side.

“I saw Kris’ dad and that skeleton, Sans! They were having a huge argument about something, but then, uh, Mr Dreemurr pulled Sans away down the street. I get a bad feeling, Mr Dreemurr didn't look right.” Susie explained, frantically waving her arms up and down.

“He did what?” Noelle went pale.

● None of our business
❤️ Let's go after them

“Let's go after them,” Kris immediately said. This sounded really bad. Was Asgore upset that Sans was dating Toriel? He wouldn't do anything to Sans though, right? But… Kris couldn't chance it. They had to see what was going on.

Kris started running ahead, followed by Susie and Noelle. Up ahead, down the street, they could see their dad practically dragging Sans. Sans wasn't struggling, but he didn't look too happy about it either. They both ended up going into the flower shop.

Kris raced after them, reaching the shop in less than a minute after Asgore and Sans had entered. They quickly threw open the door, but they didn't see anyone. They walked inside, hearing voices coming from the basement.

Kris headed over to the top of the basement steps, Noelle and Susie only a few steps behind. They looked down the steep stairs and saw something that shocked them to their core. Asgore was standing in front of Sans, a knife in his hand pointed directly at the skeleton.

Chapter Text

Kris threw out their arms, looking towards their friends while shaking their head with dismay. They then pressed a finger to their lips to make sure Susie and Noelle both stayed quiet. They didn't want to startle their father and have someone get hurt as a result, the man was holding a knife, after all. Noelle looked rather panicked and Susie was gritting her teeth, but both nodded their heads and seemed to understand.

This was a very bad situation.

Kris looked back down the stairs. They couldn't see their father's face from here, Asgore was facing away from them and looking at Sans, as they both stood next to the conspiracy board Kris had seen in the basement the day before. Sans’ face looked rather tense, the light gone from his eyes as his grin appeared more like a grimace. Sans seemed to spot Kris and the others at the top of the stairs. His eyes lit back up as his brows rose, speaking to Asgore, “Hey, uh, buddy, this might not be the best time for this-”

“Silence.” Asgore's voice was sharp. “I need to do this now and I'm not letting you out of my sight.”

Sans’ eyes flickered up towards Kris and company again. “Yeah, but-”

“I said be quiet.” Asgore slammed his fist against his conspiracy board so hard that several papers came loose and fluttered to the ground. “This is all your fault, Sans.”

Sans shrugged very slightly and looked away from Kris. “Listen, I really don't know what you are talking about.”

“You don't know what I'm talking about?” Asgore slammed his fist against the conspiracy board again. Although Kris couldn't see exactly what was on it, there were several red strings on the board that all seemed to connect to a picture of Sans.

Asgore continued, “Ever since you came to town things have been going wrong. The church was vandalised. Equipment went missing from the library. The police officer Undyne went missing. A child named Berdly is in a coma and the hospital can't figure out what is wrong. All that happened after you appeared in town. Not only that, you are trying to take away my family. Even my own child doesn't see me as their father anymore. I know this is all your fault.”

Kris felt shame cross their heart. Those things were all their fault and Sans was getting blamed for it. They didn't like Sans, not even a little, but Kris knew what it was like to constantly be blamed for things they didn’t do. They had to deal with the stupid soul possessing them, after all.

Sans shook his head, “I really didn't do anything-”

“Yes you did.” Asgore turned his head slightly and for the first time since this morning, Kris saw his face. Asgore looked enraged, despite not yelling once. It reminded Kris very much of how he looked when he used to argue with Toriel. A sharp voice, a face twisted in anger, but never once raising his voice any louder. It was somehow more terrifying that way, at least for Kris.

Besides the anger, Kris also noticed that the fur under Asgore's eyes was dark, almost like he had been crying. Kris felt their heart sink, their father had probably been crying over them… Asgore most likely hated Kris by now…

“I know what you did, Sans. I saw it. I saw everything in the shadow crystal.” Asgore frowned, reaching into his pocket but not actually taking anything out.

The lights went out in Sans’ eyes as he took a stumbling step back. “The what now?”

Wait a second. When did Asgore get a shadow crystal? How did he get one? This was worse than Kris initially thought. And besides that, did Sans also know what a shadow crystal was? Sans hadn't said that in a questioning way, it was more like he knew exactly what a shadow crystal was and was surprised about it. Was Sans actually involved in this somehow?

Asgore ignored Sans, “This is the only way to bring back Dess and save my family. We are going to the dark world, Sans.”

“No!” Sans actually yelled, but it was too late. Asgore took the knife in his hand and struck the ground at his feet at full force. Darkness began to billow out from the ground below, sucking all the light from the room. Even if Kris had wanted to run, it was too late. They felt themself falling.

When Kris opened their eyes again, they were in the dark world. Except this dark world actually appeared to be rather bright.

Kris sat up slowly. The soul within them was still slumbering, and they wanted to take stock of the situation before it awoke.

Currently they were sitting on a white boardwalk that towered in the sky. Down below were fields of flowers, pink and yellow. The sky above was blue, dotted with white puffy clouds. But how could that be? Usually dark worlds were surrounded by darkness.

Actually, Kris noticed that under their hand, some of the white paint was flaking off. Under the white was an inky blackness that merely resembled the shape of a boardwalk. That darkness felt… too dark. Kris looked away from it, up to the sky again. Yeah, it was as they suspected, the sky was painted, it was merely a facade. Everything in this world was probably like that, something beautiful just barely covering the darkness within.

Kris looked around again, this time trying to spot their friends, their father, or Sans. They all must've fallen into the dark world too, but Kris couldn't see them anywhere. There were several different pathways that the boardwalk branched off into, everyone else must be on a different path, hopefully not too far away.

Off in the further distance Kris could see darkness pooling into the sky. That must be the dark fountain. It didn't appear to be too far, the boardwalk should lead them there fairly quickly. Kris wanted to seal that fountain and leave as fast as humanly possible. Being in here with Noelle would only spell disaster. The soul would definitely command Noelle to freeze the Darkners here and Kris couldn't deal with that again.

Speaking of the soul, it still hadn't woken up. Kris took to checking for their knife in their pocket. The knife never transformed when entering the dark world like the rest of Kris’ clothing and belongings did, for whatever reason. Maybe because it already was a weapon? But the pencil swords worked better anyway so they never used it.

The sharp blade seemed to taunt Kris as they ran a gloved finger across the sharp edge. Couldn't they use this to end themself right now? No, no, no. That's a bad idea. Only Kris could seal fountains and they couldn't leave everyone stuck in here. Besides, they were scared that the soul would find Noelle if they died. They couldn't risk it. But once they got out of here…

Kris reached in their pocket to touch their suicide note for reassurance. Soon this nightmare would be over. However, they couldn't find it? There wasn't any paper in their pocket at all. Oh no? Where did it go? Did it fall out of their pocket when they fell in here? They had to find it! If anyone saw it first… oh no Kris didn't want to even think about that.

Their shock over the missing suicide note seemed to have woken the soul. Kris quickly hid the knife away as the soul stood up. It looked around for a moment before pulling out Kris’ phone. Kris had been sure to delete everything on their phone, of course, but that didn't stop the soul from looking. It dialed a number, but all Kris could hear was weird static noises. They hated that sound, but it must mean something to the soul since they were always doing it. Once they were done listening, the soul looked around before picking a direction and starting to walk.

It didn't take long to find Noelle and Susie. They were off on a side path, Noelle had her face in her hands while Susie crouched next to her, a comforting hand on her shoulder. Why was Noelle upset? She didn't find Kris’ suicide note, right? There was no way. Kris was just being paranoid. Besides… if she did read it, Kris could play it off as a prank! The soul didn't know what the note said anyway so they would go along with it, right?

“Kris! There you are!” Susie waved at them.

Kris walked the rest of the way over and crouched next to Susie and Noelle. They managed to say something without the soul prompting them, although it felt like the words were gripping their throat, “Is Noelle okay?”

“I'm fine.” Noelle wiped her face on her sleeves. “I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get emotional. It's just that these flowers growing everywhere… the last time I saw my sister… she had a flower just like these…”

Wait a moment. Kris remembered that. They didn't know what those flowers were called, but they remembered that their father had some of those same flowers in his basement too. How strange.

Noelle took a deep breath and stood up, “I'm okay. I'm stronger now. We have work to do, don't we Kris?”

Kris didn't like the way she said that.

“You aren't freaked out by any of this?” Susie asked.

“It's okay.” Noelle smiled at her. It looked a bit off though. “I already figured out what happened before wasn't a dream.”

“Oh, is that what you and Kris were talking about yesterday? I was scared that-”

Susie didn't finish her sentence because a different voice interrupted her. A voice that sounded so familiar it sent chills down Kris’ spine. “There they are!”

Kris looked up with horror dawning on their face. That voice was their own voice. They scanned their surroundings, looking in the direction the voice had come from. Standing on the boardwalk a bit away from them was Asgore and a Darkner. Asgore looked larger than life, wearing a dark cape and a golden crown. The Darkner was clutching his leg, pointing in Kris’ direction. The Darkner… they looked like Kris, except they appeared to be made out of paper. Notebook paper, to be precise. They were mostly white with blue stripes crossing their body, a single red line down one of their sleeves. There seemed to be words printed on them in places, but the letters were smeared and unreadable. Only one word was visible, on the Darkner's leg was a signature that Kris would recognize anywhere. One that they had written earlier today, at the bottom of their suicide note.

Hahaha… it couldn't be, right? That… that couldn't be their suicide note turned into a Darkner. That couldn't be possible.

But the truth was looking angrily at Kris.

Oh Kris was beyond fucked.

“Dad, you have to kill them.” The Darkner said. It didn't exactly have a mouth, instead ink formed their mouth with each syllable they spoke, like a live animation. Kris took a step back, fear rising in their throat.

Oh crap their suicide note wanted them dead! But they couldn't die now! Not until the dark fountain was sealed!

“Are you certain, my child?” Asgore asked. He seemed much more regal, somehow, standing tall and holding a large trident in one hand.

“Yes. That's not Kris. That's a fake and they need to die before they hurt anyone else! Kill them! I HATE them, all they do is hurt everyone. I hate, I hate, I HATE!” The Darkner sneered at Kris.

“Woah!” Susie stood in front of Kris, her axe at the ready. “I don't know what that thing is, but this is the real Kris. I won't let you hurt them.”

Noelle stood next to Kris, putting her hand on their shoulder. She whispered quietly enough that only Kris could hear her, “Should I make it snow?”

❤️ Proceed

No! Absolutely not! Kris had to do something and very quickly. If Noelle meant what Kris feared she meant, she was intending on freezing their father, like she had done to Berdly. And the snowgrave spell was supposed to be fatal, Berdly got lucky, but this might actually kill Asgore. They couldn't let that happen. They couldn't speak that damned word!

Kris took out their knife and without putting much thought into it, just knowing they had to hurt themself enough to ensure they didn't speak, they slashed their own arm.

“Aaaaaaaah!!!” Kris screamed at the top of their lungs, blood dripping down their arm from where they cut. Susie turned to look at them as Kris fell to their knees, still clutching their bloody knife.

“Kris, what the hell…?” Susie dropped her axe and ran to Kris’ side.

“Look, that fake doesn't even want to live!” The Darkner yelled. “Dad, put it out of its misery.”

“Y-yes.” Asgore took a step forward while Susie swore under her breath, her hands on Kris’ arm as she tried to heal them. “That is not my child. That is just a fake that needs to be destroyed.”

Asgore readied his trident, aiming it directly for Kris. In their utter terror upon looking death in the eyes, Kris cried out, their voice cracking, “DAD, NO!”

Maybe it was that almost childish cry that made Asgore go off balance. He threw the trident, but it didn't hit Kris, it hit the ground just to their side, very close to where Susie was. Unfortunately, it still startled Kris enough to make them jump to the side. Much more unfortunately, the boardwalk's edge was there, and Kris lost their balance and went tumbling from the path and into the air.

Kris reached upwards as they fell, grasping for a hand to catch them before they went out of reach.

But no such help came. And before Kris could even scream in terror, they hit the ground below and everything went dark.

Chapter Text

“Hey Kris!” A voice, gruff and panicked, called out to Kris. “Wake up!”

Kris opened their eyes. Above them was Susie and Noelle, both staring down at Kris. It took Kris a moment to move more than that, they had forgotten what had happened before they apparently went unconscious. What had happened? Kris could smell a strong floral scent wafting through the air. Above them, Kris could see the gleaming white boardwalks, green vines growing up the supports. Didn't Kris fall from there?

That's right, they were attacked by their father and their own suicide note turned into a Darkner!

Kris sat up rather abruptly, nearly knocking their forehead directly into Susie's face, but she moved back in time. They frantically tried to stand, but their body hurt, their legs felt like jelly. But they had to go and find the suicide note Darkner before anyone found out what was going on. Kris couldn't let anyone find out their plans, they would try to stop them, but Kris had to die, there was no point in asking for help, this was the only option left to them-

“Woah.” Susie put a hand on Kris’ shoulder, stopping their clumsy flailing to get up. “Calm down Kris. Everything's okay. You're safe- er, as safe as you can be? I guess…”

Kris nodded, but they didn't feel safe at all. None of them were safe, at least not with the soul around. Especially not Noelle, who was currently looking down at the bed of golden flowers under Kris and not saying a single thing, like she was dissociating or something. Actually, these flowers were pretty soft and springy, did they break Kris’ fall? There were a lot of plants around here, overgrown to an almost absurd degree, and most of them were rather thorny. It was probably good Kris landed here rather than anywhere else.

“Anyway, your dad went off somewhere with that, uh, other Kris, so don't worry about that at all. But, um, Kris, do you know what's going on? Why was there another you? Do you know why your dad attacked you? He was acting so weird…”

● I don't know
❤️ …

Cool. So the soul decided not to say anything, which suited them just fine. Kris would rather not say anything anyway. They didn't know exactly what was going on with their father, so it wasn't like they could really answer Susie in the first place. He wasn't acting like himself, not really. Kris couldn't imagine Asgore attacking anyone… least of all one of his children.

He must really despise Kris, right? Or was it the shadow crystal? It seemed to drive the Darkners who looked through it crazy. So did it do that to their father too? But Kris had looked through the crystal without anything happening to them…? Maybe Asgore both hated Kris and the shadow crystal was influencing him???

It was too confusing, so Kris just looked down at the golden flowers they were sitting on. Now that they were closer, Kris could definitely see that these flowers were the same as the ones in their father's basement. The ones they could vaguely remember Dess having.

“Kris…” Susie said as Kris sat silently. “Has your dad ever hurt you before?”

● No
❤️ …

Asgore never hurt them before, at least not physically? The way that he and Toriel used to fight was burned into their memory, but Kris rather not think about that. They looked down at their arm instead, Susie had healed them, but there was a small scar there. Well a scar was a worthy trade-off for their father not getting frozen. Besides, they wouldn't be alive past today so who cares what happens to their body?

Susie's shoulders slumped at Kris’ complete lack of a response. “Kris, I want to help you, but I can't if you just stay silent. You gotta know something? Is your dad the knight? He knew how to create a dark fountain.”

● I don't know
❤️ …

Kris felt anxiety rising in their chest. What, was the soul trolling them now? Usually it always had something to say, so why was it being quiet now? If they didn't say anything then Susie would come to hate them and abandon them. Just like their dad hates them now…

Kris shook their head no, trying to at least convey a bit of information to Susie. Their father was definitely not the Roaring Knight.

“Yeah, the Knight didn't look like your dad at all.” Susie sighed again. “Alright, I know this all is probably really hard for you to talk about, especially after your dad attacked you, but can you at least tell me why you hurt yourself? This is the second time you've done something like that recently, you also bit your hand when we were talking about the piano yesterday. And there was that blood on your bedroom floor too. I just… I just want to help you, Kris, I won't judge you or anything. But I need to know what's going on.”

● Please help me…
❤️ I don't need your help, I have Noelle

What? Why that? Not that the other option was any better, but saying that would only upset Susie! They couldn’t even hurt themself as a way to stop themself from talking, because that would just make Susie worry more. As quietly as they could they mumbled, “I don't need your help, I have Noelle.”

“What?” Susie leaned away from Kris, hurt showing on her face. “I, uh, damn, okay…”

Great! Just great. Kris had hurt Susie now too! This is why they needed to be dead. As soon as possible. Where was their knife?

Susie stood up, straightening out her outfit. Her bangs covered her eyes and she was frowning as she said, “Listen, I don't know what your deal is, but I'm going to help you whether you like it or not. I just… I just think I need a little help with this. Damn, where's Ralsei? He's normally here by now. Kris, I'm going to go look for Ralsei, just stay here, I don't need your dad attacking you again. Noelle, look after Kris and make sure they don't do anything stupid.”

Noelle had been idly stroking the broad petals of one of the golden flowers, but she looked up in a slight daze when Susie said her name. “Yes, I'll look after them! I will do anything for Kris!”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks, and until you can tell me what's up, Kris,” Susie pulled Kris’ knife from her pocket. “I'm taking this.”

Oh. So that's where their knife went. They really didn’t like not having it, that knife felt like a safety net to them. Well, they'd get it back. It's not like they specifically needed it in the Dark World anyway. Besides, it might be for the best. If Kris had it right now they might be tempted to hurt themself again. Right now they needed to focus on either finding their suicide note Darkner or closing the fountain before anyone realized what was going on. Kris nodded at Susie, thankful that she didn't completely hate them yet.

“Alright. I'll be back. Don't go anywhere, you two.” Susie walked off, but she did take a look back after a few steps. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but she didn't breathe a word and walked away rather quickly after that.

“Well then.” Noelle stood up, dusting off her white dress. “We should go too. I need to get stronger. Do you think there are enemies nearby?”

Without thinking, Kris grabbed Noelle's hand to stop her from walking off and potentially killing anyone. Noelle looked down at Kris, her mouth open in surprise. Kris had to keep her here, at least until Susie and Ralsei came back. Figures that Susie was worried about Kris when Noelle was the one who wanted to wander off.

“Noelle. Can you tell me more about these flowers?” Kris asked, their throat hurt from forcing so many words out recently, but this was important. Besides, they were curious. So much of what happened when Dess disappeared had become murky in Kris’ memory. They could only recall Dess having one of these flowers before she vanished.

“The flowers?” Noelle looked down at the flowers, then she looked at Kris. “You don't remember what happened?”

● I remember
❤️ I don't remember

“I don't remember.” Kris replied.

“I mean, I don't remember much either, honestly.” Noelle sat back down next to Kris, but she kept on holding Kris’ hand. Kris didn't let go either. Her hand was warm, but the thorn ring was pricking their fingers. They still didn't let go. The pain was grounding.

Noelle looked at the flowers growing all around them, in wild patches, vines and greenery taking over everything in a tangled mess, leaving only a small pathway to walk on. She bit her lip before continuing to speak.

“One day, Dess came back home after school with a strange flower. She said it was a very special flower and it could even speak! I thought she was playing a funny prank like you always used to do, but she insisted it was real. She said it was a flower that only bloomed in the dark. She wanted to show us, so she took me, you, and Asriel out into the woods that night.”

Noelle paused, pressing her free hand to her forehead like she was in pain. “I can't remember what happened after that, but we never saw Dess again…”

Right. That was about what Kris could remember as well. They remembered going to therapy after that, trying to bring the memories to the surface, but the only thing they could recall was a certain shape. A line that blurred and reformed again and again. They had tried to draw it at one point, but the page ended up being completely black and their hands stained gray from the pencil lead.

Kris really didn't like to think about that anymore.

But sometimes it felt like that graphite was still staining their hands in some indelible way.

“Kris, did you know…” Noelle's voice was shaky, but she was more focused now than before. “I used to sneak out of the house at night? If mom knew she'd definitely kill me, but I just had to go look for those flowers again. I thought if I found them, I'd find Dess too. I never did, but here… those flowers are here. Is this where Dess was this whole time? In this Dark World?”

Kris didn't answer.

“Kris… this is all real, isn't it? I'm… I'm scared.” Noelle tightened her grip on Kris’ hand, pricking their hand upon the thorn ring. Kris tried to ignore the pain, at least Noelle was acting more normally now.

“I really did all those things, didn't I? I killed- I uh, I froze so many people. I nearly… I uh, I hurt Berdly. I even wanted to attack your father.” Noelle looked at Kris with desperation on her face. “What's wrong with me? Why am I acting like this? I don't feel like I'm in control of my own body anymore… and… I'm so… so scared…”

Noelle's sentence was broken by a loud sob. Kris squeezed her hand, hoping to offer her some comfort, but the thorn hurt their hand too much and even the warmth of her hand had faded into something unbearably cold.

“Kris, please…” Noelle looked towards them with teary eyes. “Please tell me what to do?”

❤️ Noelle will become stronger

“Noelle will become stronger.” Kris said, against their will.

“Right. I know.” Noelle wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I have to become stronger for you, Kris. I know that. I'm sorry I'm being such a crybaby recently. Nothing else matters except for me becoming stronger.”

This was bad. Kris couldn't stop the soul from manipulating Noelle. There was nothing they could do. Were they going to have to watch as their own body directed Noelle to commit terrible atrocities again?

Kris looked down for a moment, and something that they should've realized earlier came to light. Kris was holding Noelle's hand! And just like the last time, the red roots were growing up her arm, tangled like the vines growing up the nearby wooden supports. The roots had nearly reached Noelle's heart.

Her soul.

In a rush Kris let go of Noelle's hand and backed away, kicking their legs out as they scooted backwards.

“Kris?” Noelle looked utterly confused and maybe even a little hurt. “Why did you…?”

“Hurts.” Kris mumbled, holding out their hand. The same excuse as last time, but they couldn't think fast enough to come up with something better. They held out their hand to show Noelle where the thorn had cut into their finger.

“Again? How do you keep… hurting yourself…?” Noelle tilted her head like she was deep in thought. Was it that confusing? Didn't the ring hurt her as well? Or had even the pain turned into numb background noise?

“Do you want me to heal you?” Noelle asked, placing her hands on the ground as she leaned in closer to Kris.

Kris leaned away from her as they shook their head. They couldn't risk Noelle touching them again, not when it seemed like the soul was trying to grow into her. They had to keep that in mind for the future, absolutely no touching Noelle ever again.

“Whatever you say, Kris.” Noelle paused, her ears perking up. “Hey, do you hear that?”

Kris tried to listen, but they couldn't hear anything. They looked at Noelle with confusion.

“It's like… a song? Or bells tolling?” Noelle looked around, as if searching for the source of the noise.

Just as she was doing that, one of the golden flowers that was between Kris and Noelle popped up. The flower had a smiling face and eyes upon its white center. It looked from Noelle to Kris before it let out a cheerful, “Howdy!”

● A talking flower?!
❤️ Flowey!

Chapter Text

“Flowey?” Kris said, really not sure how the soul knew the name of this Darkner. The soul occasionally seemed to have more information about what was going on then Kris did, so they wouldn't be surprised if it did somehow know this flower.

“Huh?” The flower stared blankly back at Kris. “That's not-”

“Wait a second!” Noelle leaned in closer to the flower. “Do you know Dess? Is she here?”

“Dess?” The flower repeated back, clearly confused.

“Dess. December Holiday. She's my sister.” Noelle narrowed her eyes at the flower as she leaned in even closer. “She came here before. I know she did.”

The flower held up two leaves in the imitation of a shrug. “Sorry, don't know who you are talking about.”

“Oh.” Noelle settled back down, her shoulders slumped.

“Anyway, allow me to introduce myself!” The flower winked at them. “I'm Goldie! Goldie the Golden Flower! Normally I would teach you two how fighting works, but uh, it seems you both already are more than aware!”

So the flower's name wasn't even Flowey? Why had the soul said that?

Noelle still looked a little disappointed, but she nodded her head. At least she wasn't crying or shaking with fear anymore, that was a small relief. “Yuppers, Kris and I have been getting stronger.” Noelle pointed to Kris as she said their name. “I'm Noelle by the way.”

“Nice to meet you!” Goldie winked at her. “Miss Noelle, did you say you heard the bell tolling?”

“Yeah. It's really weird. Do you hear it too, Goldie?”

“I can't hear it from here, you got good hearing!” Goldie clapped his leaves together, his eyes growing larger in panic. “But this is bad! The bell ringing means that the ceremony is going to start soon!”

“The ceremony?” Noelle squinted her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“The King, the Flower King, said there was going to be a ceremony!” Goldie squeaked. “But we need the Princess for it. Maggie was supposed to play the part of the Princess but she's gone missing. I've been looking for her everywhere but I can't find a trace of her!”

“Oh no.” A frown crossed Noelle's face. “Do you want us to help you look?”

Kris nearly sighed out loud. They didn't want to do this side quest! They had to go find their suicide note Darkner! This really wasn't the time to go looking for lost Princesses!

“I don't think we have time for that!” Goldie shook his head. “Miss Noelle, do you think you can play the part of the Princess for our ceremony?”

“Me?” Noelle put her hand to her chest, her mouth agape, “I don't mind, but is that okay? I mean it's your ceremony thing, and I dunno if I am suited for that role and-”

“You're perfect!” Goldie folded his leaf in a way resembling a thumbs up. Noelle looked honestly flattered. “I was supposed to play the hero, but that might be a little weird now. Kris, can you play the part of the hero?”

● No
❤️ Yes

“Yes.” Kris confirmed. They didn't know what this ceremony was and this whole thing sounded way too suspicious, so they definitely weren't going to let Noelle do this alone, regardless of what the soul said. However, the soul agreeing to this just makes Kris even more suspicious. The soul only ever seemed to make the absolute worst choices for Kris.

At the very least Kris hoped this wouldn't take too long. The longer their suicide note wandered around the more likely that someone would figure out what was going on.

“Gee, thank you so much!” Goldie smiled brightly. “Our village is just down this pathway. I'll meet you two there! Don't dilly dally now!”

Goldie buried himself under the ground without waiting for any further response. Kris sighed under their breath. Any other time they would love to go on some fun and wacky adventure. That's part of the reason they were okay with opening a fountain in their own home. The other reason being that it was part of Carol's plan, of course. A plan Kris no longer wanted any involvement in. In any case, this was the worst time for an adventure, but they really didn't have a choice in the matter. The soul would do what it wanted.

“Alright then!” Noelle stood up, her white cloak swaying with her movements. “Let's get going. And let's look for any clues about where Dess might be while we are at it.”

Kris nodded as they got up themself. They already knew that Noelle wouldn't find any clues, but they couldn't exactly tell her that.

Kris expected the soul to start walking along the path, but instead it started to go through the inventory. This, along with battles, were things that Kris really couldn't interfere with, so they let the soul do its thing. The soul pulled out an accessory Kris had never seen before, something that appeared to be Christmas lights in green and red, with the lights being frog shaped. The description read, “These colorful lights attract enemies to you!”

That sounded… bad. Kris rather not battle anything, but of course the soul had other plans, didn't it? The soul offered the lights to Noelle. “Oh? For me? These are kinda cute, reminds me of the keychain Susie won for me.”

It probably was the keychain, in all honesty. Kris watched as Noelle wrapped the lights around her antlers, twirling back and forth as she declared, “I'm a Christmas tree, fahaha!”

Okay, well that was kinda cute. Kris felt a faint dusting of a blush cross their face. They hoped Noelle didn't notice and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled back at them, the lights blinking merrily from her antlers.

With that, the soul finally started to walk down the path. It was rather narrow, most of the ground was overgrown and filled with bushes, vines, and thorns. There were some yellow and pink flower fields surrounding the area, but even those looked overgrown, choked with flowers.

After a few minutes of walking, Kris spotted one of those glowing spots of light. The soul made a beeline for it, holding their hand above it. Kris felt the light's healing rays as the few wounds Susie hadn't healed vanished. The scar still remained on their arm though.

*The overgrown fields fill you with a distant longing

“What's that?” Noelle put a hand on Kris’ shoulder as she peered into the light.

What? Noelle could see the light? Kris assumed only they could see it. The fact that Noelle could see it now made Kris’ heart beat rapidly. That had to be a bad thing.

“Wait, did I even see anything?” Noelle pursed her lips. “Maybe it was my imagination?”

Kris shrugged. Maybe it was nothing? Dwelling on it wouldn't help anything, and besides, this whole nightmare would be over soon enough.

Hopefully.

After walking some more down the narrow path, a Darkner hopped into view. It had the appearance of a bunny, but instead of two long ears, it had two colorful petals. It was rather cute and it started to hop towards Noelle, its eyes sparkling with joy.

The battle started.

Kris felt their heart drop. Whatever was about to happen they were utterly helpless to stop it.

The Darkner's name was Flowbit. The soul didn't check the acts, instead guarding with both Kris and Noelle. Kris held up their shield as the Flowbit attacked, sending a barrage of white petals their way. The soul grazed the bullets easily, collecting a lot of TP.

The next turn, having collected enough TP, the soul commanded that Noelle freeze the enemy. Noelle didn't even hesitate. The small Flowbit let out a squeak of terror before it was frozen in place.

The battle was over just like that. Kris put away their sword, trying not to think about the horrible thing they had done. Noelle didn't remark on the battle either and the duo continued forward.

Another Darkner approached them, coming out of an overgrown rose bush. This enemy looked like a walking rose, with vine-like arms covered in thorns, while it wore a sundress and hat. Another battle started.

The Darkner was called Rosa. Kris couldn't do this anymore, they ignored what was happening, what their own body was doing as Noelle froze Rosa in place. They silently prayed that there wouldn't be too many more enemies between here and whatever village Goldie lived in, and retreated into their own mind to protect what was left of their sanity.

There were a few more battles, the enemies happily bouncing towards the colorful lights on Noelle's head. The battles all ended quickly, but that didn't stop the mounting guilt, even if Kris had completely checked out mentally for the battles.

This was all their fault. All these innocent Darkners were dying and it was all Kris’ fault. If only they had ended their life earlier… but no. They had to be selfish, they wanted to see their friends one last time. Now Kris had more deaths weighing heavily on their shoulders. Could their death even make up for this? They weren't sure, but it was all they could do to atone for their sins.

Kris wasn't paying attention, so they hardly noticed that they were nearly at the village. The village was rather simple. There were a few buildings that looked like homes. Each home had white lattice attached to it, vines and flowers growing up the sides. Further back there was a much bigger building, this one resembled a church.

Hmm, that was strange. Asgore made this Dark World, but Kris never thought of him as being that religious. He went to church when he was still married to Toriel, but after they divorced Asgore never went. But maybe he was a little religious if there was a church here?

The bell on the church clanged loudly. It sounded a bit too high-pitched. Kris didn't like it.

As they entered the village, Kris spotted Susie up ahead. They had wondered what was taking her so long. Ralsei wasn't there, but there were several Flowbits and Rosas surrounding her, chatting happily.

“Oh hey guys!” Susie waved at Kris and Noelle. “Sorry I didn't come back to get you, I couldn't find Ralsei and all these Darkners wouldn't let me leave, they keep rambling on about some kind of ceremony or something, I don't get it at all.”

Kris was just glad that Susie was safe, although they knew that she could protect herself. 

Noelle walked up to Susie, not showing any sign that she had just murdered a bunch of Darkners, wearing a big smile on her face. “Susie! Hi! A flower told us about the ceremony too, we came to help!”

The flower-like Darkners all perked up at the mention of the ceremony. Several started talking all at once, spouting things like, “It's finally happening!” “It's so beautiful!” and, “The King will be so happy.”

Right… was Asgore coming to this ceremony? Kris couldn't imagine that going well, especially if he still wanted Kris dead. At least Kris wouldn't have to go looking for their suicide note if they were still together, so that might be a blessing in disguise.

Goldie popped up right in front of Kris, startling them enough that they jumped backwards and knocked into Noelle. She steadied them with her hands as Goldie spoke, a little sarcastically. “Howdy! Sure took you two long enough to get here, we better hurry up and prepare!”

“Sorry.” Noelle gave a sheepish grin. “We were getting stronger-”

“Stronger?” Susie questioned under her breath, her brows creased in concern.

Noelle continued as if Susie hadn't said anything at all, “But we are here now! Can you tell us more about this ceremony?”

“Right!” Goldie swayed happily from side to side. “It's a wedding! You two are getting married!”

Chapter Text

“What?” Noelle yelped, bending down and grabbing Goldie by his stem. She shook him violently as she continued, “What? What? What? What?”

“Woah there little missy.” Goldie whipped out a vine and wrapped it around Noelle's wrist, making her let go. “Watch the petals.”

Kris frowned to themself as they watched this scene unfold. They didn't think Noelle would have such a violent reaction to marrying them. Not that they particularly wanted to marry her or anything either! That would be ridiculous...

Besides, making Noelle a widow sounded awful. They didn't want her to mourn them when they were gone. They didn't want anyone to be sad about their passing at all. They vaguely wondered if it might be better to keep letting the soul piss off all their friends. It might make dying easier in the end, if no one liked Kris anymore.

“No, she's right.” Susie crouched down in front of the flower. “We can't be getting married, we are still teens.”

“Who said anything about you getting married?” Goldie said, rather coldly.

“You know what I mean!” Susie threw her hands up. “It's, it's like illegal and junk!”

“It's not a real marriage, it's more like a performance.” Goldie elaborated, smoothing out some wrinkles in his petals with one of his long leaves. “Recently the Flower King has been lamenting about marriage and now that he's finally here with us in this world, we decided to perform a marriage for him. Maybe then he'll stop looking at pictures all night while crying! We just gotta hurry and do it before the dark fountain closes. Besides, it's all very symbolic and meaningful, I swear.”

Susie started, “Yeah, I really don't care about any of that crap-”

“Wait, Susie.” Noelle stood back up, looking a bit less distressed than before. “I'm okay with doing this, I mean what's the harm, really? I wasn't really upset, it just surprised me is all. The Flower King is Mr. Dreemurr, right? Maybe if he sees this pretend wedding he'll calm down and stop trying to kill Kris?”

“Yeah!” Goldie replied. “The Flower King has gone a bit mad lately. I'm sure this will help him!”

“I still don't like this.” Susie folded her arms against her chest.

“What are you, jealous?” Goldie laughed.

“Jealous of what?” Susie grumbled. “I don't care, whatever. Do your stupid ceremony. No scales off my back.”

“Alright, it's settled then!” Goldie puffed up with happiness. “Not that I needed your permission anyway! Alright, Cerri! C'mere!”

A different flower popped up next to Goldie, startling Kris. How many times was this going to happen? This flower was a light blue shade and had a more feminine voice, “I'm, like, totally here Golden Boy!”

“Don't call me that.” Goldie balked. “Anyway this is Cerri the cyan flower, she's here to help Noelle get ready for the wedding. I'll help Kris.”

“What should I do?” Susie asked, shoving her hands into her pockets, not really looking at Goldie directly.

“Eh?” Goldie looked towards the church. “Why don't you go wait in there? Your skeleton friend is already in there making himself at home.”

Sans was in there? That at least meant he was safe, that was good. Not that Kris had been that worried, they had almost forgotten Sans was here with everything else going on. Kris should talk to him when they had a chance. Sans seemed to know something and Kris was extremely curious about that. As far as they knew the only adult who knew about dark worlds was Carol and she didn't seem like one to share that information.

“Alright, Noelle-y, let's get you all dressed up and junk!” Cerri grabbed Noelle's hand with a vine and started to lead her into the church.

“We are going too.” Goldie grabbed Kris and led them away. Susie stood still, looking vaguely upset. Hmm. Did Susie like Noelle? Kris knew that Noelle liked Susie, it was more than obvious, but what was Susie's feelings? Or maybe she was thinking about the prophecy where it said, oh what was it? Love finds its way to the girl? Something like that? It seemed Susie was being left loveless in this scenario. Whatever, maybe Ralsei would know more about that prophecy, but he wasn't here.

Where the heck was he, anyway? It wasn't like Ralsei to not show up. Kris hoped that nothing had happened to him.

Goldie directed Kris into a side room inside the church. It appeared to be a dressing room of sorts. There was a table with a big mirror and the soul made a bee-line for it, sitting on the chair positioned in front of it.

Kris looked at themself in the mirror. They felt like they no longer recognized their reflection.

“So, Kris.” Goldie was still somehow in the ground despite the floor being made of wood. Kris decided not to think too deeply on it. “I wanted to talk to you, actually. I was watching your little escapades on the way here.”

Uh-oh. Goldie saw Kris murdering all those Darkners! This was bad! They desperately wished they could run away.

“Don't look so scared!” Goldie laughed. “I'm not mad or anything, actually, I kinda find this whole world to be boring. Everyone is always pretending to be happy and cheerful, but I know darkness is hiding just below the surface. And I think you and the deer girl are perfect to bring that darkness out. I actually got you something to help out with whatever plan you are cooking up.”

Goldie pulled out a vine from beneath the ground and upon that vine was a small ring. Kris took it, inspecting it closely. It appeared to be made out of vines, much like the ones Goldie had but less thick, with a tiny light blue flower growing from the top. The flower looked very delicate, like a snowflake, but it didn't break when Kris touched it. It was also freezing cold, despite being made of something that appeared to be living.

“What's this?” Kris asked quietly.

“That's the Frost Flower Ring. It will give you full TP at the start of every battle, that should make things go faster for you!” Goldie winked at Kris. “And it can be used along with that other ring I saw Noelle wearing. It should make the special effects of that ring work even faster!”

What did that mean? Kris felt like a huge lump was blocking their throat. The last thing they needed was for whatever was happening to Noelle to happen even faster.

“Make sure to put that on her finger during the ceremony.” Goldie rocked back and forth, giddy. “This is going to be so exciting, I can't wait! But in any case, Kris, what do you want to wear? I prepared both a suit and a dress for you.”

● Suit
❤️ Dress

“Dress.” Kris hardly registered the question, their mind was far too busy being worried about Noelle and everything else that was happening. If only they had just died earlier none of this would be happening!

Goldie brought over a white dress to Kris and laid it across their lap. “There you go! I'll let you get dressed, go ahead into the church when you're done to wait for Noelle. This is going to be so much fun!”

Goldie ducked underground, leaving Kris alone with the cursed ring and the dress. Kris thought about throwing the ring away, but much like the thorn ring, it didn't seem possible and the soul stashed it away into the inventory. It was out of their hands now.

Kris quickly took off their armor and wespons before they pulled the dress on over their head. The dress was sleeveless, but thankfully didn't show off too much of their chest. Kris rather not let anyone see the scar that was there, that's the whole reason they changed in the bathroom for gym class and refused to go swimming. They still felt far too exposed in this, they could see the scars on their arms that their bracers (or in the light world, their sweater) usually covered up. They didn't need their friends asking about those scars, it would be almost as bad as them finding out about their suicide note.

Oh wait, there was a pair of long white gloves sitting on the table. They slid them on their arms, the gloves reached up past their elbows. That was perfect and definitely felt much better. Alright, well Kris wasn't going to do anything with their hair and they weren't a big fan of make-up outside of black nail polish, so they were done getting dressed. Kris exited the small dressing room.

Next to the room they had been in, Kris could hear Noelle and Cerri talking. The soul walked over towards the door, but Kris refused to open it. What was the soul even trying to do here? It would be really rude to walk in there now, you aren't supposed to see the bride before the wedding or whatever! The soul gave up eventually and headed into the main sanctuary.

The inner sanctum of the church was decorated with delicate looking flowers, pink and gold, while the pews were a perfect shade of white. Some Darkners were sitting in the pews already. Susie was also here, sitting closer to the front, vaguely turning and waving at Kris as they entered. In the pew furthest to the back was Sans, sitting there without a care in the world. He looked exactly like he did in the light world, if the hue of his clothes changed it was so slight that Kris couldn't tell.

The soul immediately went to talk to Sans. “Oh, hey kiddo.” Sans never stopped smiling. “Dressed for success, huh?”

❤️ What do you know about Dark Worlds?
● Where's your brother?

“What do you know about Dark Worlds?” Kris asked for the soul. They were curious as well so they were glad the soul asked that right away.

“Oh, you think I know something?” Sans leaned back in his seat, looking away from Kris and towards the stained glass window, chuckling under his breath. “Well I probably don't know much more than you do. My old man was doing research on these Dark Worlds, but one day he just up and vanished. I tried everything I could to get him back, but nothing worked. I came to this town because I heard a girl who lived here disappeared under similar circumstances, so I thought I might find something out. Boy, was I right about that.”

What? Kris was honestly shocked that Sans gave up all that information so easily. He seemed to be the type to be cryptic, he hadn't ever really given Kris a straight answer about anything before.

“What's with that look? Ya think I'm pulling your leg or something? Maybe I am? I'll never tell. I will say that I definitely didn't do any of those things your dad accused me of, but you already knew that, didn't you?” Sans winked at Kris.

Honestly, Kris couldn't tell if Sans was lying or not. Sans probably knew way more than he was letting on, but he didn't want to let too much slip. Kris couldn't exactly blame him, they had their own piles of secrets.

● What do you know about Dark Worlds?
❤️ Where's your brother?

Oh, so this wasn't a one or the other dialogue choice. Great, because Kris was also curious about that. “Where's your brother?”

“Right, I did say you'd meet him today. Papyrus is probably at home.” Sans continued his infuriating grin.

Kris simply glared at him. That wasn't an answer.

“Geez, if looks could kill…” Sans let out a long breath. “Paps hasn't really been the same since our dad went missing, he hardly leaves the house anymore. He’s about your age, Kris. I was hoping you could talk to him. It'd be nice if he could start attending school again, I'm sure it would be easier if he had a friend. Maybe you can see him after we get out of this dark world? There is a way out, right? I'd hate for my brother to lose another family member.”

● There's a way out.
❤️ We are trapped forever!

“We are trapped forever!” Kris threw their hands up, speaking in the most sarcastic tone they could muster.

“Oh no. I'm so scared.” Sans said, without a speck of fear. “Well however it is we get out of here, you should probably hurry it up. Your dad seems to have lost it and I don't think being here is helping anything.”

Kris nodded. They would seal the fountain as fast as they could. Well, as fast as the soul would let them.

Speaking of their father, he wasn't here in the church. Wasn't this wedding for his sake? Asgore probably hated Kris too much to even show up, making this whole thing pointless.

Kris tried not to think about that too much.

Kris waved goodbye to Sans and the soul went to talk to some of the other Darkners in the church. There was a Rosa sitting with her face in her hands, while another Rosa comforted her. The one doing the comforting spoke to Kris, “Sorry, she's just a little upset! Her sister went to pick flowers for the ceremony and she never came back!”

Kris’ mind wandered to those Rosas that Noelle had frozen. A terrible lump formed in their throat and they were glad that the soul didn't decide to say anything, because they didn't think they could speak.

The soul finally headed over to Susie. Susie looked uncomfortable, her arms folded against her body tightly. She almost seemed relieved that Kris was here, despite that awful thing that Kris had said to her earlier.

“Hey, that dress doesn't look half bad on you. But has anyone ever told you that you're too damn skinny? You need to eat more.” Susie told Kris, letting her arms drop to the side.

Kris shrugged. Oh, how they desperately wished to eat more. At least in the Dark World their hunger was just distant background noise.

● I'm sorry for saying I don't need you.
● Are you upset that I'm fake marrying Noelle?
❤️ Where do you think Ralsei went?

Kris hoped that the soul would let them apologize, but no such luck. “Where do you think Ralsei went?”

“Man, I don't know. I actually went to see him last night.” Susie replied. That was a surprise to Kris, this was the first they heard about that. “Yeah, after I dropped you off at home I couldn't sleep, so I headed to Castle Town. I thought that maybe Ralsei might be a bit shaken up too. He really didn't seem well to me, he kept mumbling about how he had to keep smiling.”

That's right, after the fight with the titan, the soul told Ralsei to keep smiling despite him clearly being in pain. Did Ralsei hate Kris and that's why he wasn't showing up now? But Kris couldn't imagine Ralsei doing that, no matter how hurt he might be.

Susie folded her hands in her lap, looking downwards. “I just hope he's okay. I don't know if we can do this without him.”

What was going to happen to Ralsei when Kris was gone? They rather not think about that.

● I'm sorry for saying I don't need you.
❤ ️Are you upset that I'm fake marrying Noelle?
● Where do you think Ralsei went?

Oh! The soul was picking different dialogue options again. Great! That might mean they could apologize after all.

“Are you upset that I'm fake marrying Noelle?” Kris asked her.

“Upset?” Susie took in a sharp breath. “I don't know if that's the right word for it. More like… I'm worried. I'm very worried about you, that is. It's just… that other Kris… and the knife… something weird is going on.” Susie looked up at Kris through a part in her hair. “Kris, after this ceremony is over, I want to have a private conversation with you. It's really important but I think I need to gather all my thoughts first, okay?”

That was a little… scary but Kris nodded. Had Susie figured out something? That was a terrifying possibility.

Alright, so the soul was going to let Kris apologize now, right? Right?

Except there was a loud commotion from just outside the doors of the church. Kris could hear two people talking loudly enough to make everyone in the church go silent.

“I don't have time for this! I need to find Sans and I need to find evidence!” Oh, that voice was Asgore. Upon hearing it, Sans immediately started looking around for any routes to escape.

“We are holding this ceremony for you!” The other voice was definitely Goldie. “Just go in already! It won't take that long!”

“Fine! If it'll get you to leave me alone.” The doors opened, revealing Asgore, still in his regal attire.

Susie immediately stood up in front of Kris, brandishing her axe. Kris went to reach for their sword, but they realized they had left it in the changing room. Crap. Hopefully this wouldn't escalate into a fight.

Asgore quickly spotted Kris, gasping loudly as he did. “My… my child? Are you getting married?”

“That's what I've been trying to tell you!” Goldie popped up in front of Asgore. “The ceremony is a pretend wedding! Kris and Noelle are getting married. So are you gonna chill and let us do this for you or what?”

“I… I will agree to this.” Asgore took a deep breath. He seemed a bit more aware of himself now, although it was a little hard to tell. Noelle had been very confused when she first entered the Dark World too, but she had regained herself after some time, so maybe the same was true for their father as well?

At least the suicide note Darkner was nowhere in sight.

Susie lowered her axe, but kept a fierce look on her face, “Alright, but don't try to hurt Kris again or you won't like what happens.”

“I… I won't hurt anyone.” Asgore bit his lip. “Kris, let's talk more after this ceremony, alright?”

Oh great, more conversations Kris really didn't want to have! Before they could answer their dad though, Goldie announced loudly to the church at large, “Alright people, places please! Let's get this show on the road!”

Chapter Text

Kris stood up at the altar while Goldie got everyone ready for this ceremony. Kris watched him carefully, feeling anxiety rising in their chest. They were certain that Goldie had been lying about this ceremony, he said that this was their father's idea when they first met. However Asgore didn't seem aware of the ceremony at all and he was dragged here by Goldie. So was it a lie of malice or a lie of omission?

More to the point, was Goldie doing this because he had some kind of malicious plan, or was he doing this because it was something that Asgore really wanted? Asgore made this world, so this might be a secret desire of his? Was it because Asgore wanted to marry Toriel once more? Or perhaps he just wanted some semblance of family again? Kris had no idea and they didn't really feel like analyzing their father more than that, this whole thing was making them feel uncomfortable.

Asgore was sitting in the back row, but he wasn't looking at Kris, he kept looking down at the trident he threw at Kris earlier. It was hard to tell how invested he was in this whole thing. Susie was definitely keeping an eye on him though.

At the very least, Kris hoped that this pretend wedding wouldn't lead to bloodshed. And, if at all, they hoped they could protect Noelle from this Frost Flower Ring, because they didn't trust it in the slightest.

As Kris was pondering all this, a green looking creature sloshed up to Kris. He was wearing vestments of a pastor, but he had a very long neck and very big, watery eyes. Was this their father's watering can? Kris couldn't imagine what else he could be.

“I'm Wally. Wally the watering can!” He spoke as he stood up at the front of the church with Kris, confirming what Kris had already assumed. “I'm playing the part of pastor! That's the most important part, you know!”

Kris nodded slightly, it was an important role, they supposed. Can't have a wedding without a pastor.

“Alright.” Goldie popped up at the front of the church, right in front of Kris and Wally. He clapped his leaves together to get everyone’s attention. Once the congregation was paying attention, he spoke once again. “Today we are gathered here for this grand ceremony, all for our beloved King, but first, a small tale. Hit the lights, Verdy!”

Another flower popped up at the back of the church, this one was green. “I don't see how making it dark will improve this story, in fact I think-”

“I don't pay you to think, dim the lights you bird brain!” Goldie scowled at him.

“You don't pay me at all!” Verdy retorted back. “But I suppose I can do you this one small favor…” The flower whipped out a vine and dimmed the lights down.

“Anyway!” Goldie was all smiles again now that he got what he wanted. “So here begins our tale. Once upon a time, there was a terrible purple Dragon that laid waste to our fair country. The Dragon was so terrible, it even kidnapped the fair and lovely princess! So the Flower King sent a Hero on an epic quest to free the Princess from the clutches of the evil dragon.”

Wasn't this story awfully close to Dragon Blazers? Did Asgore even know about that game?

Wait, wasn't that game based on some version of the prophecy? Hmmm…

“The brave Hero killed the dragon and rescued the Princess! Seeing the Hero's bravery, the Princess fell in love with them and decided that they should marry. Today we celebrate this union by recreating that beautiful marriage! Alright, Rusty, start the music.”

A flower, reddish orange, popped up at the back of the church near the organ. This flower didn't say anything, they immediately started playing an almost somber sounding rendition of the Wedding March song.

Kris decided to avoid that flower at all costs. They didn't like it.

The lights came back on and the doors at the back of the church opened. There was a more yellow looking flower compared to Goldie. This one looked mildly annoyed as she went down the aisle, throwing petals to the ground from a small basket. She got about midway down before she turned to look at Goldie, “Do I really have to do this?”

“Sunny, I swear to God.” Goldie glared at her with the intensity of a roaring fire.

“Whatever.” Sunny quickly threw the rest of the petals on the ground and then she sprinted towards the front. “Okay, done.”

Goldie was grinding his non-existent teeth, but after a moment he just sighed loudly as he spoke under his breath, “It's fine, everything is fine. Time to walk the bride to be down the aisle!”

And that's when Kris finally saw Noelle.

She stood next to Goldie, taking one of his leaves like she was linking arms with him. But more than that, she was gorgeous. Noelle was wearing a sleeveless dress similar to the one that Kris was wearing, but this one had lace that mimicked a neckline and sleeves. That lace appeared like delicate snowflakes, with some gems shimmering upon it. The dress was long, reaching towards the ground. Noelle had her hair in a swept up bun, some curls framing her face, with a sheer white veil on top. It was so beautiful that Kris felt like their heart had stopped.

When Noelle noticed Kris, she gave them a smile that warmed them up.

That smile.

It felt like a long time since Kris saw Noelle smile like that.

Once, when they were just kids, Kris and Noelle had been out playing in the snow. They had been building a snowmonster together, and Kris had the funny idea of pranking Noelle by putting snow down the back of her shirt. When they did, Noelle hopped around, squealing as she tried to get it out. Once she shook the snow out of her clothes, she turned to smile at Kris, laughing in that silly way she did, not that fahaha nonsense she picked up later on. She scooped up a bunch of snow and dumped it on Kris’ head.

Usually Kris would dodge out of the way, but they were so enamored by how cute Noelle looked, they let it happen. They still remembered the feeling of cold snow on their head as Noelle grinned at them, “I finally got you back!”

“Great job Noelle!” Dess had been watching them, chatting with Asriel as they sat together on the porch, both a bit too old for such childish games. “I knew you had it in you!”

But then, in Kris’ memory, Dess’ face distorted, her smile vanishing, something black and inky leaking from her mouth as words oozed out, “Kris… what did you do… to me…”

Kris felt like their heart had stopped all over again. They looked down at their hands, their real hands, not in a memory, but all they could see was black coating their fingers. Black, black, dark, darker.

Yet darker.

Kris closed their eyes, taking in a few gulps of air. Now wasn't the time to have a panic attack. Everything was fine. This was fine.

When they opened their eyes again, their hands were white, unmarred by any darkness. It was… it was just their imagination.

They still could feel the stains, even if they couldn't see them.

Noelle made it down the aisle and stood in front of Kris, letting go of Goldie. Looking at her made Kris forget all those bad memories. Noelle was so lovely, it was hard to imagine that someone as beautiful as her would ever cast her gaze in the direction of someone like Kris. But this was just pretend so it was fine if, just for a moment, Kris believed they were someone worthy of love. Someone worthy of Noelle’s precious smile.

Wally spoke with a loud voice, addressing the entire church, “Friends, family, we are gathered here today to see the union between our brave Hero and beautiful Princess. I'm Wally by the way, I'm playing the part of the pastor! The most important role!” Wally sloshed as he laughed to himself.

“Please, stay on script!” Goldie said, his voice full of scorn as he stood a bit back from Noelle.

“Right, right.” Wally nodded and some water fell from his face. “Our brave Hero saved the Princess from the Evil Dragon, and soon they both found love in each other. We will celebrate that love with the eternal bond known as marriage. Now before we get to the vows, does anyone have any objections to this marriage?”

“I do.” The doors to the church burst open. At first Kris was certain this was some dramatic scene that Goldie had cooked up to give the ceremony more spice, but then they saw who exactly it was who had interrupted the wedding.

It was the suicide note Darkner. Kris felt like all the blood in their head had drained away and they were very dizzy. They really didn't need their own suicide note here right now! It was going to ruin everything! Susie looked on guard, putting her hand on her axe as she glared at the Kris doppelganger.

Goldie made a very loud and frustrated sound. “This isn't a part of the ceremony. Get out of here!”

“As the pastor,” Wally spoke, “It's my duty to hear this objection and decide if this wedding can still proceed.”

“You aren't a real pastor!” Goldie groaned.

“My child, please tell us why you object to this wedding?” Wally ignored Goldie's complaint.

“That thing,” The suicide note pointed at Kris, “Isn't the real Kris. It's just a fraud, parading about wearing Kris like a costume, hurting everyone it comes across! I don't know if it can even be considered human. All I know is that all it deserves is death.”

“Right.” Susie stood, her hand still at the ready on her axe. “Who the hell are you then?”

“I'm Risk.” The Darkner took a small bow.

“I didn't ask for your name.” Susie growled in the back of her throat. “I'm asking what you are in the real world and why you are so obsessed with seeing my friend dead.”

Risk laughed, although their face shifted to one that was nothing but spite. They brushed back the hair from their face, revealing a very red eye, “You want to know what I am? Well it shouldn't be a surprise, Kris wrote me with their own hands, I'm their-”

Nope.

Absolutely not.

Kris couldn't let Risk say what they were. If their friends… if their father… found out Kris wrote a suicide note they would definitely stop them from dying! Kris had to die, if they didn't everyone would be in much more danger. They just had to wait until they closed this dark fountain! Was Risk stupid? If they died now then everyone would be stuck in this Dark World!

Kris couldn't exactly communicate that though. Instead, they had to do the only thing they could do. They had to shut Risk up. They dashed down the aisle, tackling Risk to the ground before they could say another word.

Kris wrapped their hands around Risk's thin neck and pressed down as hard as they could. They had no weapons so this was all they could think of to get Risk to shut up and stop ruining everything.

Risk didn't just take the attack though. They leveraged a leg under Kris and pushed up on them with force, kicking Kris off them. Then they pounced on Kris as they tried to regain their balance, knocking them on their back. Risk punched them hard in the face. Kris felt blood gushing from their nose but they didn't stop, punching back, not even sure what they were hitting. They just wanted Risk to hurt, to die, to STOP.

“Woah there.” Somehow Sans appeared, out of thin air from Kris’ perspective, especially since they hadn't really seen him since Asgore entered the church. Sans grabbed Kris and pulled them away from Risk. Susie took the chance and grabbed Risk, pulling them up by the back of their sweater.

Risk stood there, partially held up by Susie, their shoulders heaving as dark ink leaked from the corner of their mouth. Kris wasn't really in any better shape, they could feel the blood on their face and the front of their wedding dress was stained by it.

Kris spoke, tasting blood on their lips, “Don't say anything else.”

“You think you can stop me? Don't you want this too?” Risk spat back.

“You'll…” Kris felt very dizzy now, but they had to say this. “You'll ruin everything. It… it won't go the way you are hoping if you keep speaking.”

“Ruin what, your…” Risk stopped short, looking down at the ground suddenly, a large scowl on their face as they refused to look at Kris. “Ugh, whatever.”

“Okay, kiddos, are you two done fighting?” Sans let go of Kris after Kris gave him a curt nod. Susie didn't let go of Risk though. “Alright, I don't know what's going on with you two, but I think having a civil conversation where we don't try to kill each other might be more productive.”

It was annoying that Sans of all people was playing mediator here. Besides, talking would only lead to a horrible outcome. There was nothing good that could come from this in the slightest.

“I have nothing to say to that thing.” Risk glared daggers at Kris. “I just want it dead.”

“I'm not letting you hurt my friend.” Susie shook Risk a bit.

Risk laughed like that was the funniest thing they ever heard. “I'm not the one who turned to violence. Let that sink in for a moment.”

“You started this by getting Mr Dreemurr to attack his own kid!” Susie sounded legitimately angry, in a way Kris had only heard a few times. “Tell me what you are and why you want to hurt Kris right now.”

“No.” Risk declined. “I simply want Kris dead. You should ask them if you are really curious about it, but I know they won't say anything. In any case, I already came up with a plan to ensure that Kris ends up dead, one way or another.”

“Huh? What did you do?” Susie snarled, showing her sharp teeth.

“I took hostages.” Risk grinned, turning slightly to face Susie. “I kidnapped Ralsei and that purple flower, Maggie. I'm keeping them in the big castle on the other side of this Dark World. I'll only let them go if Kris is dead.”

“WHAT.” Goldie seemed to grow much bigger as he got directly in Risk's face. “You did WHAT to my Maggie?”

“Geez she's safe, I'm not a monster like that thing parading around pretending to be Kris is.” Risk rolled their red eyes, pushing Goldie away with one hand. “So do you all get it? Kill Kris and bring their dead body to the castle. I don't care how it happens, just make it happen. I'll be waiting for you there. Now let me go Susie, before one of your precious friends gets hurt.” Risk pulled themself away from Susie, who seemed to be at an utter loss of words.

With that, Risk stormed out of the church, no one trying to stop them as they went.

Kris felt like they had swallowed something extremely sharp, their stomach twisting in agony. This was so much worse than they thought it could be and they were terrified.