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They woke up, feeling the warmth and comfort of the bed they laid in the night before.
Sitting up on it almost robotically, Kris' body now stepped out of bed and stood there for a few moments, processing what had happened.
Seems like it was back in control over Kris again, usually they'd feel only a tad bit sad over it, but after that conversation from yesterday... The SOUL's feelings about their situation have decreased even more.
Frowning a bit, "Kris" decided to just head out of their room and go on with it's day, to try and distract their mind on taking over their new friend's body for the 4th time this week..
Heading over to the hallway, the SOUL decided to walk over to the mirror like they always do at the start of each morning, and just decided to... Looked at themselves for a bit.
Kris smiled, and it flinched upon seeing their reflection and body. But, quickly relaxed upon touching their face and understanding what Kris meant.
It smiled too, cupping their body's cheek and patting it. After this interaction, the Kris and the SOUL decided to head downstairs.
...
Toriel was in the kitchen preparing some breakfast for her and Kris: a nice little plate of eggs, salad and bacon, a Dreemurr specialty! All before hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, after Azzy and Asgore left the house, it could only be one person. "Ah! Good morning Kris, you're up early, aren't you?"
The SOUL would usually be unable to respond to this as they wished, almost as if their vessel froze up in most scenarios, restricting their freedom to act and say as they wanted-
But this time, Kris' voice replied: "Mhm! Good morning, ma!" As their body spoke with a big old smile in their face.
Toriel's eyes lit up seeing their child greet her so... Socially for once. With her face also bearing a smile, Toriel quickly replied: "Hehe! You seem quite energetic too, Kris! Woke up the right side off the bed today, didn't you?"
However, Tori thought for a bit. Kris' voice sounded a bit different, speaking with a bit of a different tone and choice of words than they'd expect them to use, but maybe it was just Toriel not hearing Kris speak much in the past few years. Must be because of Snoozie's influence they're so sociable, hehe! The next time she comes over, you should thank her for how good of an influence she is to Kris!
"I know right?? Even I'm a bit shocked at how talkative I've been recently. And just, uh, social in general." It walked over to the table, sitting down on a chair eagerly awaiting for some food, kicking their feet with happiness, both because it seemed they were more in control, like if it was in synchrony with Kris, and also because they were about to eat the most delicious shit of their LIVES!!!
Well, at least to their knowledge. The SOUL hasn't eaten anything but stuff in the Dark World, and Kris seems to hold their mother's cooking to high regard, so their first taste of actual Light World food was going to be DEEELICIOUS!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!
"Well, it's a good change of pace, really..." Toriel made some finishing touches to Kris' plate of breakfast. "I'm quite happy you're acting more sociable, it reminds me a lot of when Asriel was your age!" She walked over, putting the plate in front of their child, alongside some silverware. She wouldn't like to repeat that one incident where Kris just mauled her precious meals with their bare hands and teeth.
Kris frowned at yet ANOTHER comparision to Asriel, and their eyes looked away. Feeling a tinge of what Kris must be feeling right now, the SOUL replied for them. "I... Yeah, haha."
It picked up the silverware, and just. Stared at the plate for a bit. The SOUL realized, that it had never eaten food like. Properly before.
Eh, they'll just wing it, as their hands moved shockingly precise, and bit into a piece of fried eggs and bacon stabbed together by a fork.
.
Kris' body started kicking their feet, a huge grin forming on their face as they shook a bit. "WOAH!! HEY MOM!" Kris' head turned over to Toriel, who was by the kitchen again preparing a plate for herself now.
Toriel flinched a bit hearing Kris speak so loudly, turning over while carrying some shock in her eyes from hearing their mostly quiet kid speak with such a bombastic tone. "What is it, my child? Are you alright?" She spoke with worry.
Kris' body turned back over to the plate, "MHM!!" as it began eating it's contents rapidly yet with surprisingly good table manners... Ok, other than shoving a bunch of food intheir mouth, and gulping it all down after barely chewing it. Other than that, the SOUL was doing better than Kris ever did in their life.
It turned back to Toriel, and explained themselves: "Sorry, ma! I'm doing alright!! It's just that-" It bit into another forkful of food, and chewed it up before swallowing it, "This tastes delicious, Mom!" It's face smiled, their teeth having a bunch of bits of bacon and salad sticking out.
Toriel giggled, covering her mouth with their furry hand. "Nono, my child..." She walked over to where Kris was sitting and crouched down to their level. "You shouldn't have to apologize for just... Being you, silly! You're just happy, there's no shame in that!" They playfully pinched Kris' cheek, snickering a bit.
Kris' eyes began watering up a bit, but they made a conscious effort to not cry in front of their mother.
The SOUL noticed this, and trying to assist them, played it cool. "Hehe, thanks ma." It took a few more bites from their plate, before finishing their meal.
Toriel walked back to her own meal to place it in their table, but as she walked by Kris' side, their hand tugged her shirt by her shoulder. "Hm?" Tori turned over to Kris, eyebrow raising.
They spoke, "Then... I'll start try being more like myself, alright? If not for myself, then I'll do it for you, mom."
Toriel's face lit up seeing their kid speaking, not only so much, but also saying such nice things. She quickly placed her plate next to the chair she usually sits in, and gave Kris a gentle hug. "Oh Kris... You've grown up so much, haven't you?"
Kris felt a rush of conflicting feelings, both an urge to cry from their mother's sweetness and embrace and also envy that the SOUL seemingly had a better relationship with their mother better than THEY did.
But, they did not let any of those feelings come to surface. Not in front of Mom, at least. Not in front of Mom.
The SOUL, however. Could not handle this flood of care thrown at it's direction, as Kris' body hugged Toriel back, staying there for a few moments before tapping her back.
"Hey, ma?" Their voice sounded a bit frail, but happy. "What is it, Kris?" She gave their child a few re-assuring pats on the back.
"I... I need a moment, mom. Can I go to the bathroom a bit, pretty please...?" It looked over at Toriel with teary eyes.
She looked over at Kris with a bit of shock in her expression, seeing Kris' face displaying so much emotion like this... Before her face turned into a more gentle and assuring one, as she nodded and stopped hugging her child, stepping back and letting them have their time to breathe. "I'll be here eating my breakfast, alright? Take all the time you need, but... Make sure to brush your teeth afterwards, ok?" She giggled, before patting Kris on the shoulder, and sitting on her chair.
Kris stood there, motionless. Before their body was controlled to walk over to the bathroom.
Gently closing the door, it reached over for the sink, turning it on. They washed their hands, picked up the least damaged and used toothbrush, brushed their teeth, rinsed their mouth, spat it out...
Leaving the sink open, hearing the water gush, they felt safe enough to sit down on the cold marble floor, and burst out crying.
Thumping on the floor, their voice spoke to Kris themselves: "K-Kris... We're... We're both crying right now, aren't we...?"
Kris nodded weakly, their right hand moving to tug at their shirt's sleeve.
"I... You're wonderful, Kris. Nono, we... We are..." Kris' body moved on it's own, all to cup their own face with their left hand, and gently pat their cheek.
"I'm sorry for taking over your life and... Talking to your mom like I was you... It's just- I finally gained control to speak and do things in the way I wanted, that I-"
Kris' voice flinched, and then spoke, in a quiet tone: "It's ok. I was the one that let you." Kris sniffled.
Their face blushed on it's own while it hearing this, gulping before the voice resumed.
"Before... I thought you were a beast beyond my control, I thought you were something out of my nightmares, some horrifying thing that... took what little freedom I had left."
Kris shivered, their voice shaky. "So I limited it. I made it... A conscious effort to restrict your every move. If you took what little I had, I'll take all that I can from you, is what I thought..."
They sat there for a bit, before shaking their head. "No... It wasn't just that... It was because I was afraid of the things you'd do. I was afraid of you hurting the people I loved."
Kris sighed, looking down at their chest, and gently patting it with their right hand. "However... I trust you now. I- I may get a bit. Angry over how sociable and... charismatic you are, How you speak with people better than I do, how witty and skilled you are..."
...
Their expression grimaced. "How much... You made my mother smile, it makes me think I'm not being a good kid to her..."
They gulped, another wave of tears going down their face, a faint "I'm sorry..." escaping their lips.
Kris chuckled a bit, wiping it's tears away, as Kris... smiled.
"Nono... Don't apologize, it's ok." Even if not as wide as the SOUL's smile, even if it was a bit creepy looking, Kris smiled. An faint, yet honest caring smile as they spoke.
"You're my friend now. And even if this situation scares me so much, now that I know we're on the same boat..." Kris sniffled, wiping a few more tears from their eyes.
"I'll make the best of it. Until this is all over, I'll let you live your own way, even if it's through my body..."
"Because you're a wonderful person too."
Kris noticed how their faint smile grew wider on it's own, as their arms wrapped around their chest by it's own accord, and hugged themselves tightly.
"I... I love you." A shaky voice spoke out.
"I love you too." A quiet voice replied.
...
Kris' body stood up from the marble flooring, closing the sink's tap and washing the tears off their face with the towel hanged by the mirror. Placing it back, they took one last look at the mirror... And smiled. Looking good, Kris! Hihi!
Opening the door, they left the bathroom whilst closing the door behind. "Hey ma." Their voice spoke out, quietly: "I'm feeling a bit better now, thank you for giving me some time for myself." Kris walked over to Toriel, who had long since finished her meal, who now sat upon on Chairiel reading a book about snail facts.
Her eyes darted over to Kris, recognizing their tone of voice. "Ah! Welcome back, Kris! I'm glad you're ok now." She closed her eyes, smiling.
"Heheh, no worries, mom. Just had to flush some more bath bombs down the drain, and I'm feelin' good again, thank the Angel." Kris made a smug grin.
"." Toriel's eyes shot out, staring at Kris. "You did NOT." She said sternly, placing the book upon her lap.
"Mhm! I didn't! I lied!" Kris walked over to the door, as Tori pinched the bridge of her snout, grumbling. "Oh Kris... And here I thought you weren't going to pull any pranks on me today, hihi!" Her grumbly tone changed as she giggled to herself.
Kris giggled too, as they spoke: "Hehe... Oh! By the way mom!" Kris turned over, raising a finger. "I'll be going to the festival today, for once!"
Toriel who had resumed reading her book, suddenly SLAMMED it shut upon hearing this, and stood up excited. "REALLY???" Her tail wagged upon the idea entering her head. "Oh! Oh!! This is the first time you go there in ages!!"
Tori clapped, having not a gentle and tender smile, but a golly fucking face as she thought about her kid going out to the festival for the first time in FOREVER!!!
She ran upstairs, giggling to herself as Kris and the SOUL inside them just. Watched.
"Let's get out of here before she forces you to wear some Azzy hand-me-down." Kris' voice spoke to themselves outloud. Kris nodded, and DIPPED while slamming the door shut.
...
Toriel came back downstairs holding a pile of clothing, gifts, food, and much more, rambling happily to herself: "Oh Kris, you're going to look so dashing at the festival, whoever you go with (or nobody, if that's what you want!) will think you're so pretty with these clothes Asriel went with!- Oh." ...before realizing that Kris ran away again.
They immediately facepalmed, and went back upstairs to put everything in place again. "Same old Kris... Heheh... Though, can't put quite a finger on it, now that they're acting just like usual... Makes it seem like they were acting very strange these past few days..."
Toriel muttered to herself, while folding some on top of Kris' bed. "Oh well, I'll consult the library later. Maybe that old book has something about this behavioral shift..."
"Hm?" She looked to the side, noticing how the bird cage's door was busted open from what seemed to be inside. "How strange..." Squinting her eyes analyzing the scene.
"Eh, must be one of Kris' pranks, hihi! We haven't used that cage in a long while, so it doesn't matter much anyways." She giggled, resuming to fold clothes.
...
Kris hid behind the car, peeking above it and seeing if Toriel gave up finding them by looking at the windows.
"... Oh! Kris! Look! She's climbing up the stairs!!" SOUL spoke through Kris' body, pointing at where Toriel was.
"Heh. Mission complete." Kris fistbumped the air, as they got up from hiding behind the car, and started walking down the street. "Try to be quiet, she can still hear us from over here."
The SOUL saluted using Kris' body. "A-Ok, boss!!"
Kris snorted, grinning while putting their hands in their pockets. To look cool, of course. "Gosh, you're one dorky loser, aren't you?" They attempted giving themselves a shoulder nudge, and only ended up looking stupid in the process.
"Mhm! Sure am, hihi!" The SOUL giggled, Kris' eyes rolling with a faint grin on their face. "I know, I know... You ner-"
Speak of the devil, as Kris bumped into Berdly headfirst, as they both fell bare-assed into the pavement. "OW-"
Berdly stood back up, adjusting his glasses and walking up to Kris. "Ah, hello Kris! It seems we both had the same idea at different times, for great minds think alike, for size only alters how fast you can COMPUTE, hmph!" Berdly said with a smug face, cleaning off any dirt on their bum collected by the fall.
Kris grumbled, but quickly breathed in and let seemingly Berdly Fan #1 take control. "Hehe! I know right?" Their face lit up, a big wide smile shining upon stumbling into Berdly so early on their day.
He flinched, gulping at being bombarded with such words and behavior from KRIS of all people, but decided to maintain his cool. "Err... Ahem! Yes!" Berdly spoke, trying to act all cool and charming for their suitor. "Precisely so, indeed! Now now, you may be wondering to yourself, why exactly I came over to YOU as my first choice instead of the powerful Susie or my dear Noelle..."
"They're taking eachother out to the festival." Both of them spoke.
"." Berdly gasped, shocked. "H-HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" How could this Class Number 3 figure out something so unlikely at the span of SECONDS?! Seems like the competition is upping their game!!!
"Easy. They're lesbians." Kris spoke. "... Here's a better question-"
"HOW DID YOU NOT REALIZE???" Kris put their hands on Berdly's shoulder. "THEY'RE GAY AS FUCK WHEN NEAR EACHOTHER!!! EVEN MY DUMB ASS COULD NOTICE!!" They screamed, as they shook Berdly by the shoulders back and forth.
Berdly's shock, turned into understanding as Kris put it into words. Adjusting his glasses, Berdly sighed. "I see... That was a variable I did not account for... But, alas, now that I know I am not an option in their dating sim of life... I hope that I can be yours."
Berdly suddenly pulled out a rose out of their pocket, putting it in their beak.
"So... Kris..." Due to having their beak slightly open to account for the rose, their speech was a bit impacted, and worse, some spit of his hit Kris' face. "Would thu like going to the thestival with me?" Berdly spoke, rose in mouth, spit in your face.
...
Unfortunately, Kris was blushing because of this. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUUUUCKKKKKKKK.
"I MEAN- SURE I GUE-" The SOUL took control, tackle hugging Berdly. "YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Berdly grumbled. "Ouch Krith." Kris' body hugged them tightly. "Thu are cruthing my spine-" Berdly spat out the rose in their mouth at the pavement. "Eugh- I don't know why that is a common Media Trope... All that really did was cover your face in my spit- Also! Please release me from your command grab, Kris!"
Kris' body immediately stopped, now just looking at Berdly with a big grin. "Alrightie!"
"Ah... Thank you..." Berdly took some time to breathe, before cleaning up Kris' face with a hankerchief. "Uhm. Apologies, Kris... It's just that I've never gone on a date before, and I'm not really sure what I'm doing..." Berdly looked to the side, sighing. "Sorry if I'm a bit weird about it."
Kris' eyes lit up upon hearing this kind of accountability and vunerability coming from Berdly, and spoke out. "Uh, no dude. It's alright, no worries. I haven't gone on a date either, so like-"
Berdly gasped. "A SPECIMEN SUCH AS YOURSELF!! ONE OF A KIND??" They grabbed Kris' hands, and held them in their wing. "You... I'll make sure you have the best date EVER then! For if a game has a bad beginning, you may never try again!"
He smiled softly, continuing his nerdy rambles. "So that, even if you decide you wouldn't like to be MY Player 2... You can find somebody else to play co-op with you!"
Kris blushed hearing this. "Pfft, dude, you're already thinking of me as a temporary party member?? I'm not the dragon in Dragon Blazers 2, dude." They lightly punched Berdly's shoulder, giggling.
"Hohoh! An incredible reference, may I say!" Berdly chuckled, "Though, I'm just saying, you know? I wouldn't like to do the same mistake I did with Noelle and Susie... I'll have to account for that possibility now, in my ventures of finding my princess in another castle!"
Kris snorted, holding back their laughter. "Alright, alright, I get it..." They patted Berdly's shoulder. "But uh. I'm being serious. I'll go to the festival with you, dude." Kris stared at Berdly, their red eyes glaring into their soul, it seemed like. "Thank you for inviting me to go with you in this raid dungeon."
Berdly giggled. "Hehe... Good one, good one." He said, blushing while looking into Kris' eyes. "... Uhm- A-ANYWAYS!" He now only held one hand. "Now, we'll go onwards, so follow along, my m'theydy!" He said, with a smug smile.
Kris' voice spoke on it's own, muttering to themselves: "Gosh, he's such a dork..."
They walked along the empty streets, bickering and making many lame puns and references to many game franchises and terms on the way 'till there, all until they finally had arrived at the entrance of Hometown's festival.
"Alas Kris!" Berdly struck a pose. "We have arrived at our Final Destination... No items, 4 stocks, 8 minutes..."
Kris giggled, as they let themselves be dragged along by their feathered friend into the bustling festival. Various carnival stands containing games, merchandise, food, and a few amusement rides here or there- All with various people, mostly couples, filling every little corner of the place. No wonder the streets were so empty! Everybody's here!
You could see Catti and Jockington in some dark corner playing some weird bootleg looking arcade game, Snowy pestering M. K. with probably some really insensitive """jokes""", Temmie playing Egg and Spoon race by the flower field, and-
"SUSIE!!!" Kris' voice blurted out upon spotting her in the distance, and their body RAN while dragging Berdly alongside it.
"AH- KRIS! H-HOLD ON! MY STAMINA STAT ISN'T VERY HIGH!" Berdly desperately tried desperately following their pace.
. . .
Susie and Noelle were walking around, looking at what festival game to play together. "Hmmm... Man, this place is more boring than I expected..." Susie said, stretching her arms up and yawning. While Noelle stared at how... Sharp and deformed her teeth were... It looked like something out of a horror movie, but it was kinda cool! But also Oh Angel This Town Needs A Dentist ASAP.
After yawning, Susie looked over at Noelle, noticing how she was staring at her face with a bit of a blush in her face. "... What, why are you looking at me like that with that stupid looking grin?"
"EEK!" Noelle squeaked, "E-err... It's that you're pretty- Wait, no- Uh- LOOK!!" She pointed at a random carnival game behind Susie.
"Hm?" Susie turned over, seeing some crappily made golf course looking thing. She walked over to the sign, squinting to read it. "Ball... Game? Seriously?? Is that the name of this game???" Susie stood back up, looking over at a counter near the sign, asking the man there assuming he's the owner of the whole thing.
A snowman looking monster, with a desk fan blasting at his face, now replied: "Mhm! It's a classic! Everybody knows Ball Game!"
"... I mean, sure I guess." She scratched her head, "Hey, Noelle." Susie turned over, and Noelle chirped. "Hm? What is it, Susie?" She tilted their head.
"Would you like to play this one?" Susie pointed over to the Ball Game. "Uhm... Sure!" They walked over by Susie's side... Yay.........
"Alright, chilly guy, what's the price?" She leaned over the counter with a sly smile.
"Uhm... None!" The snowman replied. "Ok cool." Susie went back over to Noelle, grabbing her hand, and dragging her over to the Ball Game.
She now looked at the course, being a very simple snow themed one, with like. A ball badly painted to look like a snowball laying there on the ground, and a hole in the other size of the course.
"Ok, so I'm thinking like... We just. Kick the ball over there??" Susie looked over at Noelle, resting her hands in their pockets. "Is that what you do in this game??"
Noelle put a finger on her chin, thinking before replying with a smile. "I mean... I guess so! Reminds me of this minigame on Dragon Blazers 1... I think we can do it easily!"
She grinned seeing Noelle mention Dragon Blazers, "Well, if Dragon Blazers 1 is anything like the second one... Let me see if I can solve this game in the EVIL way!" Susie smirked before KICKING the ball over to the hole as hard as she could, SOMEHOW landing it first try.
Noelle watched Susie fucking PUNT that thing, flinching on instinct. "EEK-" Upon seeing her actually land it though, they just stared in shock.
"." Susie blinked. "DUDE?????" They grabbed Noelle by the shoulders, shaking her. "OH MY FUCKING GOD??????? DID YOU SEE THAT?????????"
"M-MHM!!" Noelle desperately tried to hide how much being suddenly grabbed by Susie made her flustered, so she tried saying something dorky. "I- That was... Ex-cheeselent, Susie!!"
"... What the fuck are you On about?" Susie scratched their head. "Uh- Nothing! It was- J-Just a dumb joke, eheh!" Noelle sheepishly replied, thinking Susie thought of her as the Biggest Loser Ever for conjuring that sentence into existence.
"Nah. Kinda funny." Susie snorted. "Ex-cheeselent...................." She bursted out laughing, before quickly containing herself upon realizing she just did the coolest fucking shit ever 30 seconds ago. "OH YEAH-"
She ran over to the hole, crouching down and looking down at the ball inside. "FIRST TRY!!!!" She jumped up, before hitting a cool pose. "Susie 1, Ball 0. Heh."
Noelle gulped, flustered at how... Susie, Susie is. WAIT, SHE THOUGHT THAT JOKE WAS FUNNY- O-Oh right! The hole, uhm!
Noelle clapped at Susie's achievement. "Yeah!! That's my Susie! UHM-" She shut herself up with her hands, her face red as half of a candy cane.
"Heh..." Susie smirked, "I rule-" She flinched as they saw Kris running at them at full speed.
. . !
"SUSIE!!!" Kris' body suddenly tackle hugged Susie, almost knocking her into the ground. "HI HI HI HI!!!"
Noelle watched this, a bit... Confused. "Kris...?" She tilted their head, perplexed to see Kris acting like this.
"WOAH!" Susie barely avoided tripping and falling, and now she just looked at Kris hugging her and clinging onto them for dear life. "Uh... Hi Kris!" She gave them a noggie, smirking.
"But uh... Why are you acting so happy for??" They said, with a genuine tone of confusion.
"UH- UHM-" Kris' body stepped back a bit from Susie, stopping the hug. "B-Because YOU!!!" It said, their body shaking almost like they're... Struggling, or something.
"... I- Uh" Susie just looked at them. Then Noelle. Then- BERDLY???
Oh right. Berdly is also here. They were just accompanying Kris, resting his wings on their knees while panting for dear life after that fucking sprint they did. "I- Uhm- H-Hello, guys..." He raised a hand, "Hold on... I'm trying to... Regen my stamina... Ahh..."
"Oh uh... Hi Berdly!" Noelle awkwardly waved over to him, but her mind was only thinking about Kris again... Gosh, it's always Kris at the back of her mind, isn't it?
...
She looked over at Kris again, who was now rambling on about... Going to school, for some reason?? It's Sunday??? Even IF it was a weekday, why would Kris ever want to go there??
Kris never really liked going to the festival, but even then they much less enjoyed going to schoo-
WAIT. WHY IS KRIS EVEN HERE?? They would usually just stay home and play games!! Like that one time they stayed over at your house, and-
.
No. Nonono. Something is... Genuinely wrong here. They've been acting out of themselves since a few days ago, and the things that happened yesterday seem really suspicious...
This is all sounding like some sort of creepypasta, to be honest...
Noelle squinted at Kris, and from this point on just decided to focus on figuring out what was happening with their poor friend.
...
"Uh... Noelle? You alright, by the way?" Berdly poked Noelle on the shoulder. "You've been zoning out, you hearing me-"
"A-" Noelle snapped out of it. "Err... Yeah! It's nothing, just..." She whispered over to Berdly's ear. "I'm a bit worried about Kris, y'know...?"
"I uh... What do you mean, Noelle? They've been... Alright, in my eyes. They're not really being as avoidant and quiet as before! Kris is like... Talking more and such! I'm happy for them!"
"Nono-" She leaned in closer. "Listen. Kris... IS a bit quiet, they are a tad avoidant. And it's not like I'm worried over Kris being able to speak more often, nono, I'm happy for that! Back when we were kids, they felt too awkward to do so... But..."
Noelle pointed at Kris, who was now running circles around Susie.
"Heheh! So like- Have you been doing alright, Susie? How have you been and stuff- Oh! Oh! How's you and Noelle doing?? Are you two hitting off well-" Kris' voice spoke rapidly, in a bit of a shaky as if they... were panicking or something. Meanwhile, Susie just stood there, her eyes following where Kris went, absolutely confused at their friend acting like this.
"Woah uh, Kris? You ok?" She grabbed them by the shoulder, stopping them in place. "Hm? Of course I am!!" They nodded rapidly, tilting their head. "Why do you ask??"
Susie saw how Kris' eyes were staring right at her, with an expression of confusion and fear.
"I uh... Dunno Kris. You're acting weird man, it's like you're... Scared of something-" She looked down at Kris, scratching her head. "But I'm not scared!!" They grinned, laughing awkwardly. "I'm just being me! You know? I-"
"... No, you're not." Susie squinted her eyes. "Is something wrong?" Her grip on Kris' shoulder tightened,
"."
Kris' eyes widened, as It realized.
...
They've been so manic over being able to talk to their friends, so euphoric over finally having control over their own choices... It had forgotten, it was bound to KRIS.
While, yes, It would be a bit stupid and run towards Susie at Mach Fuck, and spin around her questioning how her day is going-
But would Kris do that??? No!! Not like you just did! FUCK!! FUCK!!!
Oh Angel. OH ANGEL. You don't even know about that guy much, it's like some kind of god, right?? Whatever that Angel is, you're PRAYING that they'll let you get out of here, it feels like you're going to burst out of Kris' chest anytime now- THAT WOULD BE A GOOD THING THOUGH, BECAUSE YOU JUST FUCKED UP THEIR LIFE EVEN MORE!
What must they be thinking?! Nonono- WHERE ARE THEY?? A few moments ago, they could intercept your control, speaking and moving their body as they wish, but- THEY'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING. IT'S JUST YOU!
You want so desperately for them to wake up, to do SOMETHING, to SAY something. But NO. NOO. Seems like the little parasite you are made it so that they can't do SHIT! NOTHING!
Imagine how they must be feeling right now, your FRIEND, scared that they can't move an inch of their body right after you betrayed their trust without even REALIZING.
You want to scream. You want to cry. You want to just apologize for your behavior, both to Kris' friends and everything you ever did to Kris themselves.
But NO! NO! This is your chance, right?! Your chance at freedom- You can do ANYTHING right now- But it would be as KRIS. You're not you, so what's the point? Wait, what even ARE you?!
You don't have a name, you don't have a face, you don't know what kind of species you are, you don't have parents, you don't have a home, not even friends since these are Kris'- You're a NOBODY! A stupid, parasitical NOBODY!
... The only thing you had was Kris, but by how they're doing absolutely NOTHING right now, THEY'RE GONE!
...
Susie, Berdly and Noelle now noticed how Kris just... Froze up. Not even breathing. Their eyes just staring at the floor. Shaking.
Noelle tugged on Berdly's shirt. "Hm?" He adjusted his glasses, looking over. "Did you... Hear that? What was that about??" She spoke, a bit of fear in her voice.
"No, uh- I was looking at that arcade ga-" Noelle grabbed Berdly by the scruff of his shirt. "Guh-" His pupils shrunk upon seeing the fear in Noelle's face.
"... Kris is acting like a whole other person, r-right?" She muttered, her voice a bit shaky as they spoke without looking at Berdly, her mind putting the pieces together. As started realizing what was going on. "I... Yeah, so...?" Berdly replied, a bit confused as to what Noelle was going with this.
Meanwhile, the SOUL was panicking, their body was SCREAMING at them to have control back. But it couldn't. It couldn't give control back. They were so scared, they couldn't do anything right now. All they could do was listen to their mind thinking of all sorts of horrible things, predicting that all kinds of bad stuff will happen to both Kris and themselves after this...
So it just. Tried listening to their surroundings. Maybe the world around them would calm them dow-
"They just said that they were acting "just like themselves", but..." Noelle spoke, her voice frail and weak, "There's no away that's the Kris I know, it can't be..." She looked over at Kris, now noticing as their body, not moving even an inch to breathe, stared at her with a horrified expression.
"..." Noelle stared back, chills running down her spine.
"S... Something's controlling Kris." She spoke, and the moment the SOUL heard those words escape from Noelle's lips. It was scared. It was so. So scared.
So it ran. Kris' body, who was given to control as a sign of trust, was being used against their own will once again. And this time, they couldn't even hold back anything. All they could do, was scream for-
"HELP-" Kris blurted out with their little control left, before the SOUL snuffed it out once more by putting their OWN HAND to cover their words. It mumbled various apologies under their hand, before focusing on running away.
Susie flinched, and that enough gave it enough time to run away. "HUH- KRIS??"
She chased after them, running after their bestest friend in the whole wide world who was CLEARLY going through something horrifying, "KRIS! WAIT FOR ME!"
Noelle ran to them as well, trying to reach her childhood friend, afraid to lose the one part of her past she has left.
Berdly ALSO came to the rescue, of their date who's seemingly going through unfathomable peril...
...
It ran. It ran. Keep running. Keep running. They're going to hurt you. Everyone's gonna hurt you. Kris will forever hate you. They'll lock you away in that cage until you rot and DIE! You dug two graves today. You're going to die without even having lived your own life, you IDIOT! AND YOU'LL TAKING YOUR ONLY FRIEND WITH YOU, TOO!
They ran in the busy festival, bumping into strangers and seeing all but a blur of various colors and sounds, ran past a restroom nearby, those have toilets, right?! Then they are bathrooms, then they are safe! Safe!!
It quickly rushed over in front of one, halting their mindless running only to be met with two doors. CRAP!! You're too panicked to pick which one to go in, so you're just wasting time!!!
They returned to running now, long since leaving the festival, and only feeling it felt was Kris' feet stomping the pavement. Maybe if they run far enough, if they hide well enough, nobody will ever hurt it, and they'll never hurt anybody else ever agai-
"... WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" Their mouth screamed. It flinched, trying to reply something- THEY'RE HERE! KRIS IS BACK!- But- Nonono, you're already in too deep, you NEED to find some place to hide away until you calm down.
"I- I-" They stuttered, overthinking what to say, and unable to put it into words, "I'M SORRY- I NEED-" Kris' vision began blurring, crap, crap, CRAP!!! But- WAIT! That's the school, the school's over there, right?! That means Ralsei could maybe help it calm down!
The SOUL slowed down, being careful to not run head first into the school's walls or something dumb like that, and carefully reached to open the door.
"I... I'm sorry Kris- I'm scared... Where- Where were you...?" Kris' voice said weakly, as they now limped down the main hallway of the school, barely seeing the closet at the end.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHERE WERE YOU?! It's like you took full control of everything!" The two had bumped into the door. "AUHG-"
"I- I'm sorry- I didn't do it on purpose... I'm sorry..." Their hands trembled, reaching for the door and opening it slowly.
Kris laughed to themselves a bit, "Ha... Ha... I was so stupid in... Trusting you, wasn't I...?" Some tears ran down their face. "Ha... Hah..."
Their body fell down, as the SOUL felt horrible seeing Kris like this. "N-No... No! NO! Don't cry- Please don't cry, Kris!-"
"I- No, nonono. I can't... Help you on my own... Not now, not now..." Their body crawled, trying to enter the dark world as fast as they could. "Please... Just wait a little longer, I'm sure that... Ralsei will be able to-"
They fell down the dark world, plummeting down into the darkness.
Kris' body thumped into the floor, falling right on their arm, as they now laid there basked in the light from above. "... Oough... Nice landing, loser-" Kris smirked, before getting stung with their arm's pain. "ARGH-"
"S-Sorry, I'm sorry for hurting you..." Their body slowly stood up. "I swear... I'll never hurt you again..." They limped over to Castle Town, tears running down their face, and Kris' throat swelling up.
Both the SOUL and Kris themselves were BEGGING, to whatever god there was out there, for this to end already.
Thankfully, now Kris heard the sound of footsteps rushing over, and a familiar voice, a voice that the two of them needed very much at this instance. "Kris! Are you ok?!"
Their vision began to clear, as it now saw who they were looking for. A faint smile formed on their face, as Kris' body limped just a bit further, only to hug Ralsei weakly.
"R-Ralsei... Help Kris... Please..." Kris' head rested itself onto Ralsei's shoulder, and their hands clung onto Ralsei's robe, tugging at it from behind. "Just... Heal them, please. They don't deserve any of this..."
Ralsei's eyes widened upon hearing "Kris" refer to themselves in the third person, his body shaking a bit as they knew exactly what was going on, but was shocked that it wasn't foretold in the prophecy. He gently held Kris by the shoulders, and lightly pushed them away. "... I. Alright. Sit down for me, please."
It let go, sitting there with their thoughts racing. "O-Ok... I trust you..." Their smile widened a bit.
Ralsei thought to himself a prayer to the Heavens, raised his arm up, and BAM!
Kris was surrounded by a green aura, and as it faded away, Kris' body felt refleshed.
"Though, Kris... Or- Should I say..."
"..." Ralsei mumbled while scratching his chin. "... Hm? I can't seem to quite recall... Oh, whatever." He turned back over, smiling.
"You." Ralsei spoke, crouching down and pointing at the center of Kris' chest. "You... Seemed to have broken Kris' role as a cage, haven't you?"
"M... Mhm..." They sniffled while wiping their tears away, before flinching and sitting idly, and replying with a weak tone of voice:
"Is that. All I am?" Kris looked up, a bit distraught at Ralsei's words, their eyes glared through Ralsei's being with a look of betrayal.
He looked back at Kris, a bit hurt by their words, but took a deep breath, ready to comfort Kris.
"Yes... At least according to the prophecy." Ralsei adjusted their glasses. "But! It does not matter no longer."
Kris looked confused, yet relieved, as they now looked down and sighed with relief for once. "... At least I'm worth something more." Kris spoke while looking down at where the SOUL resided.
"Of course!" He smiled, immeasurable joy in his face as they began to explain what they've been itching to say since the beginning of his existence, as they put his hands behind their back as they elaborated: "It seems, whatever you two have been up to, has broken the "story" it told, since... As far I remember, Kris shouldn't be here right now, and neither should YOU be in such control over Kris' body."
Kris grumbled upon remembering, before raising their hand to instinctively scratch their arm due to how anxious they felt.
.
Upon realized they had control over their own body again, Kris blurted out a humble- "FUCK YEAH." as fist bumped the air with their right hand.
Ralsei giggled, "Seems like it handed control back over to you!"
"... I didn't?" Kris' voice spoke out. "At least. It wasn't a... Conscious effort, or anything..." Kris' left hand came over to scratch it's head.
He looked down on the duo in one body, trying to think of an answer as to why NOW Kris could do something.
"Maybe it was..." Ralsei lowered his gaze, focusing his insight and knowledge all into trying to decipher this situation, before- "A-ha! I think I may know why!" Ralsei raised a finger, smiling as they found a plausible answer. "Kris, do you remember that in situations of high risk, your SOUL seemingly gained more abilities to assist us while we were in danger?"
Kris reminisced about this, reminding themselves of the battles they had fought... How the SOUL shined it's light on them and their allies, strengthening their resolve and making them stronger as an result.
The RED BUSTERs, the DUAL HEALs, the COURAGE... Hell, even the times where it unleashed all of it's light to banish the very darkness that composes a dark world away!
After remembering, Kris agreed: "Mhm... Now that I think about it, this little guy over here-" They tapped their chestplate, smiling, "Came at our defense in our darkest hours, didn't it?" They faintly smiled upon thinking of the SOUL, once more.
"MHM!! MHM!!!" Kris' head shook up and down. "Quite literally, too!! Gosh, I'm useful!!" It spoke out, grinning.
Ralsei nodded as well. "Very, without you, we wouldn't even be able to seal the fountains, after all." He said, while adjusting his glasses.
"." It realized. "WAIT. YEAH!!!"
He giggled, enjoying how excitable the SOUL was listening to his rambles. "Now now... It seems that, unlike in those moments, the person in risk wasn't you Kris, it was-"
"Wait, I'm a person too??" Kris' voice spoke out, as their hands fidgeted together.
"Well..." Ralsei adjusted his glasses. "If we, darkners are people, you, my friend, must be one too!" Ralsei smiled, patting Kris' head.
"... This is awakening things in me." Kris spoke out, stunning Ralsei at a loss of words.
"a." Is all he could really muster, with a flustered expression to match. The SOUL immediately took control of Kris' left hand to lightly smack him across the face, screaming.
"DON'T MAKE THIS WEIRD, YOU FREAK!!!"
Kris snorted, holding back their laughter. "Pffft, fine, fine..." They said while having a smug grin, as Kris now kneeled up, looking with grace at Ralsei's eyes, while gently holding his chin up.
"You are making me Feel things." Kris spoke, both with a mix of jest and genuine care, as the hand on Ralsei's chin now moved over to his cheek cupping it gently.
Ralsei squeaked, blushing as he looked deep into Kris' eyes. "I- U-Uhm..." He hid his face using their fluffy ears.
"Like joy, because I'm pissing the hell off this guy right now, hehe-" Kris looked away, referring to the SOUL now. "There, is that better?-"
SOUL made it so they fell over to the ground again, as they started playfully fighting with Kris' body by lightly pulling and smacking parts of their body. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!! YOU CAN'T R-REVEAL THAT TO RALSEI!! NONONONONO-"
Ralsei watched the scene, before being called out by Kris. "HEY!! HEY RALSEI. DID YOU KNOW THE SOUL REALLY LOVES YOU AND THINKS FONDLY OF YOU, AND AND-" Kris got decked across the face by their own left fist. "OWW, THAT ONE HURT FOR REAL-"
Even if they were in-fighting, Ralsei couldn't help but blush over Kris spilling out the SOUL's feelings on him. "I uh... Thanks??? I love you too, uhm-"
"YEAH, THAT'S THE POINT!!! Y-YOU CAN'T RAT ME OUT LIKE THAT!!!-" The SOUL replied to Kris, before immediately standing up upon hearing Ralsei's words.
"Wait, what??? Huh??? The fuck???" It dashed over, looking down at Ralsei while shaking with pure joy filling their very being.
"I mean... Uhm... I always thought you were kind of cool, y'know?" He spoke sheepishly, while looking down (specifically where the SOUL resided in Kris' chest) and fidgeting with his fingers. "I always knew about your existence and it's origins, but I've never mentioned it because back then, I didn't want ANY of you to form bonds with me..."
Ralsei coughed, speaking rapidly the OTHER reason as to why the SOUL wasn't mentioned. "And also because it would creep out Susie a lot, so I was saving the reveal at a later date."
"... I mean. Yeah, it would have scared me a lot, but why didn't you tell us both about me?-" Their head tilted, before-
Kris raised a finger, making their best Berdly impression, "Erm, actually!" They smirked, "Ralsei told me about you and stuff, that's why they always do the whole "just close your eyes and let's think about Susie" thing sometimes, so you are forced to go and get stuck with Susie for a bit. Hehe." Kris snickered.
The SOUL grumbled, looking away, "DANG IT, I KNEW IT!!!" Though it quickly sighed and looked back at Ralsei. "So... Why didn't you tell me? And... Can I be trusted to know the things you told Kris about?" The SOUL tilted their head, making a small whimper. Like a sad little doggy. Kris unfortunately relates to this.
"Well... It was because we didn't know what kind of person you were. There was a risk that we were being forced to work with somebody horrible, and that could ruin our chances of victory... If I told you the things I've said to Kris, you'd become too powerful on your own, and only your nature would decide this world's fate." Ralsei looked down, somberly.
"...But uh, is my nature like... Secret Ralsei and Kris Knowledge worthy?" It scratched Kris' head with their left hand.
"I believe so." Ralsei nodded, with a kind expression on their face. "You seem to be... Just as confused about this whole ordeal as we are. I thought you were some god-like figure, but really, you're just as much of a friend as Kris and Susie are to me." He smiled, crouching down to look at where the SOUL would be inside Kris.
He coughed, also adding to the reasons with a hushed tone: "I also think you're also just as scared as we all are, and it's kind of comforting, but anyways-"
Kris giggled at the remark, while the SOUL was just happy over Ralsei being so confident in having their own opinions for once.
Ralsei cleared their throat, before continuing on with confidence in both his voice and face. "But, now that we know you are pure of SOUL... Hihi, see what I did there?-" Ralsei giggled, before looking and sounding all serious once again whilst adjusting their glasses, "I shall gear you with knowledge, for knowledge is power beyond any other-"
"Neeerrrdddd-" Kris butted in with their EXTREMELY creative and insightful commentary, saying so with a smug grin, before Ralsei snapped and clutched Kris' shoulders. "CAN YOU NOT INTERRUPT MY SPEECH, I'M TRYING TO AURAFARM!!!"
Kris gulped, "Where did you learn that phrase?" Ralsei replied with a smile: "I learned it from Susie!" They nodded, "Understandable, carry on."
Ralsei stepped back, releasing their grasp on Kris and the SOUL. "As I was saying... You, the SOUL, are actually the-"
"DEAR ANGEL, WE'RE FALLING!!!" Berdly's voice echoed from this dark world's entrance, interrupting Ralsei's lore dump for the second time.
Ralsei closed their eyes and took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled out. Pinching the bridge of their snout, they muttered something while side eyeing Kris that was along the lines of: "Dear Angel, give me strength to not kick that feathered fuck right back from where he came from."
He sighed, before opening their eyes again and grabbing his friends' hand. "Anyways, seems that we have visitors! We should probably go and greet them before they get lost!"
Kris nodded, before following Ralsei over to the beacon of light they fell from.
. . .
Berdly slowly sat up, looking around as they held their head, "Ough... Susie, are you SURE this place is where Kris went?"
Susie nodded, extending a hand to help Berdly get back up on their feet. "Mhm, sure is. Even if whatever THAT thing was wasn't Kris, for some reason... I had a feeling they would come here. And also because we searched every nook and cranny of the town EXCEPT this place, so..." She scratched her head, shrugging with one arm. "Yeah, dunno."
Berdly blinked, noticing something weird with Susie, they wiped their eyes, then noticed- OH! The visor! The visor from that exquisite dream! And Susie! Susie looked EXACTLY just like in that dream! No way... Were they in a coma? Was this a edgy fan theory come to life?! "No! Please don't let it be...! THE "IT WASN'T ALL A DREAM" TROPE CAME TRUE!!!"
Susie smacked Berdly in the face, "Dude, what are you on about?" Berdly grunted, before holding her hand and letting himself be helped to stand on his feet. "I had a... Real life theory that this one dream me and Noelle had was real... So it thankfully confirmed instead of the "gas leak" theory, in which would be much less preferable."
Berdly turned over, "Speaking of Noelle..."
He crouched down. "Noelle, are you alright?" He tapped her shoulder, as the white cloak bearing figure sat with her head low.
"Ah-" She looked up, seeing Berdly's face above her in that outfit from her strange dream. "... Oh, I'm dreaming again, aren't I?" Noelle reached out to Berdly's hand, and stood back up with his help.
Berdly shook his head, "I'm afraid no, my platonically dear Noelle... It seems the dark worlds really are a thing. Or maybe it's a good thing. All depends on your perspective, really..." He rested his hand on their chin, pondering firmly.
"I mean... Wouldn't the Roaring that the goat boy spoke of, like, happen and stuff if there were too many of them?" She scratched her head, looking at Berdly.
"Well, that would only happen if there were too many-" Susie barged in front of Berdly, smirking with pride. "Heh. The Roaring ain't happening anytime soon, y'know those titans Ralsei spoke about? Yeah, me, Kris and Ralsei KILLED one just yesterday!"
Her bright smile suddenly turned into a bit of a grimace as she mentioned something, though: "... With the help of somebody else, though." She said with both pride, yet a tint of sadness at her last remark.
"Hm? Who was it?" Noelle and Berdly asked.
"Heh. Your mom." She fooled them PERFECTLY. "GYAH HAH HAH!" Susie bursted out laughing.
Berdly turned over, "Wait... Was it your mom or MY mom...?" He pointed over to Noelle, then himself. "Hm... Did she have a change of heart or something...? No, no, atypical behavior from that lady..." They scratched their head, before-
"EUREKA! Maybe it was YOUR mom indeed, Noelle! SHE was the one who had a change of heart, and that is why after Susie went over to your house and apologized, that they allowed you and Susie to go to the festival together!" Berdly slammed his fist onto their palm, forming a logical conclusion.
"... No dude, that was a joke." Susie pointed out, making him gasp. "Though uh, props for coming up with a theory like that, even if it wasn't right. Smart stuff..." She said, thinking about that somebody else's words, now that she mentioned him.
"Y-Yeah!" Noelle agreed, smiling as she spoke, "And besides... It is a bit funny picturing my mom killing a great beast of darkness or something like that, with one of her katanas-"
Berdly interrupted with pure shock in both face and voice, "SHE HAS MORE THAN ONE??" Noelle replied like it was no big deal, "I mean, yeah, first of all, she's loaded with money, second of all, my mom loooves katanas, it's like her favorite thing to collect alongside heart-shaped-objects!"
He just looked at Noelle with confusion for a good bit.
Susie giggled, before realizing-
. . ! ! ! !
"OH MY GOD, RIGHT!- WE NEED TO FIND KRIS!" She grabbed both Berdly's- "Alright, dark knight Susie! Lead the way!" and Noelle's- "E-EEK! SUSIE???" hands, and ran off into Castle Town...
All before seeing "Kris" and Ralsei sitting by eachother, commenting with one another about how nice their friends are. Were they spectating you all bickering to see how long you'd take to remember the reason you came here for???
That's funny, but also-
"RALSEI!" She screamed out, stretching out her hand and pointing at "Kris", "STEP BACK FROM KRIS, I BEG YOU!" Her face with fear that whatever was messing with Kris would catch him off guard and do god knows what.
"Y-Yeah, "KRIS"! Leave that my friend ALONE!" Noelle stomped her feet on the ground, ready to fight if that thing didn't listen. Susie looked over to the side, blushing a bit at seeing how cool Noelle was acting.
"Now Kris... I know how this story goes... We'll beat you up a bit, but it's A-OK! All for whatever's messing with you to go away!" Berdly pulled out his Hal-Berdly, fashioning himself up with a pose that made him look BATTLE READY!-
Susie smacked the Hal-Berdly away. "Dude. No. We're not going to hurt Kris. Even if they're totally like possessed and stuff." Berdly looked at their Hal-Berdly with sadness and grief, then looked up and Susie and pleaded: "B-But Susie... I missed using my Hal-Berdly-" Susie interrupted, "YOU NAMED IT???" while pointing at the halberd on the ground.
"Well, who doesn't name their weapons, hmph." Berdly looked to the side, away from Susie and the Hal-Berdly, grieving silently whilst aurafarming.
"... Not me, but- WHO CARES! Hey! Ralsei!" She looked back over to Ralsei, who was still sitting by Kris' side. "Hm?" He replied. "Oh! Hi Susie!!" Ralsei waved over to the trio, smiling.
"." Susie looked dumbfounded, then looked to her sides at both Berdly and Noelle. Looking back, she screamed. "WHY HAVEN'T YOU STEPPED AWAY FROM THEM YET, IDIOT??"
Ralsei stood up, "Oh, it's simple Susie." He side-eyed Kris and the SOUL, "You two, can you come over by my side pretty please?" Kris sat up, nodding.
"Wait... You two?" Berdly spoke. "That implies that Kris is still in there, somewhere!" The Hal-Berdly floated over to Berdly's hands, as they readied themselves for combat. "I'll get you out of there, buddy!-"
Kris walked over, snatched the halberd from his hands, handed it over to Noelle, and faintly spoke: "You need to watch this for me, please. I think Berdly's obsessed with his Hal-Berdly."
Susie grumbled over both Berdly AND Kris saying that stupid name, but- Wait! Yeah! That's something they'd totally do!!
Noelle's eyes lit up, hearing Kris' normal tone of voice again, speaking just like they'd do. "I- I- KRIS!!" She held their hands, jumping up and down like a schoolgirl. "You're back!! You're BACK!!!"
Kris snorted, "Don't worry, I was always here! It's just that, uh..." They scratched their head, "It's hard to explain, so I'll let my pet nerd do the talking." Kris spoke as they walked over to Ralsei, giving him a noggie/pat on the head hybrid as they went back into place by Ralsei's side.
"But I... I thought I was Kris' pet nerd..." Berdly looked down somberly, letting a single, nerdly tear hit the floor...
"you what" kris and the soul spoke
"you what" noelle spoke
"you what" susie spoke
"you what" ralsei spoke
"... Slash j." They picked up the tear droplet, and placed it back inside his eye.
"Oooooh." All but Berdly spoke in unison.
Ralsei cleared his throat, now preparing the loredump of the century. "Ahem... Now, you three must have been confused by Kris' behavior, correct?" He pointed towards the trio.
"Mhm." All answered to Ralsei's question.
Ralsei put his hands together, getting on his tippy toes for a tiny bit, and took a big breath, excited to start monologuing again. "Well, you see..."
"You see, Kris has been tasked with possibly one of the biggest burdens a Lightner possibly could bear, as foretold by the Prophecy." His hand hovered over Kris' chest.
"The burden... of being The Cage." Ralsei spoke, before bluntly and quickly removing the SOUL from Kris' chest, holding it tightly yet gently in his grasp. Kris winced and stepped back a bit in shock at the sudden removal of it's friend.
Susie and her cohorts gasped, before she pointed at the SOUL in Ralsei's hands with curiosity in her eyes. "I-Isn't that Kris' soul?! Are they ok?!"
Berdly attempted calling forth his weapon, but Noelle had a tighter grip on it than Berdly's will ever could.
"Yes. Kris is alright, for otherwise I'd never do this anyway..." Ralsei looked over at both Kris and the SOUL in his hands, with care in his eyes.
He continued though, looking back at the trio. "You see though... This, here in my hands is not just Kris' SOUL..." Ralsei slightly nudged the SOUL, as it now floated up to the sky.
"That, in which you see... Is The ANGEL OF DELTARUNE itself, as it's divine light inhabits the culmination of Kris' being." As he spoke and looked up, the SOUL shone bright. Brighter, yet brighter.
So bright. That all turned white.
Ralsei seemed to smile about something, but did not want to ruin the moment for their friends, and so remained silent, only looking down with hope on their heart.
And as the light dimmed, the ANGEL descended down into Ralsei's hands, as he patted it a bit, now focused on observing how the three reacted.
"Wooaahh..." And as the three looked up, all were shocked over different reasons:
Berdly with confusion over how this thing is scientifically possible, Noelle over seeing her beliefs in the Angel come to reality, and Susie-
"Duuude. So like. Ralsei. The Angel is like a god, right?" She asked, raising her hand. "Well uhm... Yes, you could say s-" Ralsei stuck out a finger, replying to her friend.
"Is Kris like. Jesus Christ??? Since they're like. God but also mortal and stuff??"
...
Noelle turned over, asking Susie. "Susie, who the hell is that?" Berdly replied, "One of the gods humans believe in, I learned about him while debating with people on Eskkit."
Ralsei just stared dumbfounded. "I... Uh... Sure, what the depths, hey Kris-" He gently clutched the SOUL in his hands, turned over to Kris, and shoved it inside them again. "You're Jesus Christ now, ok?? Whatever. Heheh."
Kris looked at their chest, then looked forwards at Susie. Then at the same time as she did, both spoke "Huh. Cool." as Ralsei tried re-gaining his composure. "Ok... Ok..." He held back a giggle.
"AHEM..." He side-eyed literally everybody in proximity except Noelle, "Now, what you may have seen as Kris acting unusual, was actually the ANGEL breaking Kris' role in the Prophecy as The Cage, and letting itself speak and act by their own will without being held back, by using Kris' body freely." He put his hands together, smiling awkwardly. "I do not know WHY this happened, and it both deeply scares and relieves me!"
Ralsei sighed, then noticed how- Susie walked over, standing in front of Kris. She poked the spot in Kris' chest that Ralsei pulled and pushed that ANGEL into.
"Hey- Ow- Don't do that." The SOUL clearly spoke through Kris' voice, as it was the same loud tone from before, unlike the one Kris spoke with when the SOUL was not in them.
"... So like. You're the one that's been helping us along the way, right?" She looked back up at the ANGEL, her eyes locking with Kris'. "Mhm! It's me!" They answered while smiling, but not in that kind of cool looking way Kris rarely does. In the dorky way. The Ralsei Way.
"Thanks for helping us like. Seal the fountains and stuff, dude." She raised her hand, curling it up as she ached for a fist bump from the GOD they had accidentally and unknowingly befriended. It giggled, before giving her the ANGELIC FIST BUMP OF LEGEND.
"Heh... Cool." Kris, SOUL and Susie both spoke at the same time. "But like... I know you're my and Ralsei's friend now, but can I ask you two things? Why didn't you say so sooner you were like. Alive and stuff?"
"... I can't talk when I'm outside of Kris, only reason I first communicated with them was because they had a little gadget thing that let me press buttons to say words and stuff, like, lying around-" Noelle raised a hand. "Oh! Oh!" She walked up to Kris. "Did you talk with the Angel through your flipping childhood AAC tablet??? Dear-" She looked at Kris' chest, "You!" She spoke while pointing at the SOUL. "I better tell my Dad about this!"
Kris immediately shook their head, "NONONO. UH. I think that would cause a LOOOT of problems, honestly. What if he slips up and tells it your mom??"
Noelle freezes like a deer on headlights. "A-Ah... Fair enough, eheh..."
They made a sigh of relief, before answering Noelle: "But like, other than that- You COULD say that it did, but honestly, it had to spam Shift first before I could realize that it was like. Sentient and all-"
Berdly also raised their wing, walking over to Kris with smug confidence. "SEE? SEE?? I told you, KRIS! Crouch spamming is the most intellectual form of communication Kris, one that is befitting for the GODS, from how universal it is!" Berdly grumbled.
"Fine fine... My Minecrap-gesty... You were right all along, please forgive me for my crimes against the state of Minecrap Kingdom..." They snorted, before Berdly giggled a bit.
"Hmph... I suppose I'll allow you to be forgiven for your heresy, my blocky peasant." They crossed their arms, grinning. "Oh... Thank you for your honor, my nerdiness." Kris replied, before-
Susie turned over, "OH MY GOD CAN YOU TWO SHUT UP???- I mean uh. Oh my. ANGEL, I guess...?" She shrugged, while looking at Kris.
"Honestly-" Kris' head turned, "I don't really care, I'm not really a GOD to be honest, seems I'm just as much of a kid as we..." Kris' finger rose, counting the people in the room. "1, 2, 3, 4-" Kris' finger pointed towards themselves. "5- Ok, as much you five are."
"The only thing that differentiates you all and me, really, is that I have no body. I'm just a flying heart shaped THING." Kris' body sighed. "But hey! At least I can possess people. In which. Is NOT an upside, unless you're evil I guess." It sighed even more.
"... Dang. Must be hard for you, buddy." Susie put a hand on Kris' shoulder. "Second question though... AND A THIRD, now that you got me thinking!"
"Ooo, more questions! More questions!!" Kris' body jumped up and down, smiling ear to ear.
"Ok, ok, so... Why did you freak out at the festival, like- That was YOU, right?" She asked, adding onto it. "Not that I'm... Angry, at you for it, I know how it feels blowing up like that..." She took a deep breath, looking down a bit, before looking back up into Kris' eyes again. "It's just that. I was worried like hell for Kris, and I thought you were like. A demon and all." Susie made clear to point out: "Now, I know that's not true anymore, but. I'd like to know what happened, ok?" She patted Kris' shoulder, making a caring expression.
"..." It sighed, "Thanks for... Clarifying, Susie. Uhm. It's going to be a bit hard explaining, but-" Kris butted in, with their usual tone. "They were finally happy that it had the ability to talk to others freely and stuff, but then when you and Noelle were realizing that it wasn't acting like ME, I think that it started spiraling over not being able to be their own person, or something like that."
"I." Kris' eyes blinked. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW???" The SOUL looked at Kris' hands in shock. "Do we have like- Shared minds and stuff? Oh god- Please don't tell me you can see what I think-" The SOUL hid Kris' face under their hands trying to conceal them blushing.
Kris pulled them down, snickering. "Nah, it wasn't that thankfully- I'm glad about it too, don't worry." Kris' head nodded as the SOUL was glad hearing this. "It's just that. Ok. I've known you for 4 days, 1.5 of them with the knowledge that you are a fully sapient being, right?"
"... Yeah?" Kris' head tilted as the SOUL became curious as to where Kris was going with this.
"In those 1.5 days, I have come to learn you are EXTREMELY readable as a person. You are a WIMP. A DORK. And after Ralsei helped you calm down, it was just a matter of understanding WHY you did that. Very easy. Your main insecurity."
"."
"Did I get psycho analyzed by this LOSER I am possessing???" Kris' tongue blurted out in genuine shock. "Yyyuuup. You're one wonderful person though, I tell you what." They said with a smug grin. "Not as much of a loser as YOU, though." Kris snorted, "Heh."
Kris' face blushed. "I- FUCK YOU! NOT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!" Their body turned away from the 4, as they now realized.
"Wait. Have we been just been talking to ourselves this entire time???" They collectively spoke, before deciding to facepalm themselves at the same time, resulting in a DOUBLE facepalm.
Noelle giggled. "Hehe! Seems like you two are really good friends, aren't you?" She spoke, looking at Kris, happy for various reasons: happy to understand why they were acting so strange recently, happy to see them acting like their old selves again, happy to seemingly have found a new friend/proof The Angel is Fucking Real, and happy because she thinks it's cute they're bickering and chatting with eachother like this.
"Yeah, hehe..." Kris turned over, "To think I hit this guy with a hockey stick various times..." They patted their chest. "Hmph. You meanie..." Kris' head turned away, giggling as it remembered.
"AH!" Berdly said, "It appears Kris has gone... TSUNDERE for the friend inside them... Have they not?" He spoke with a huuuge grin on their face, just waiting to see Kris' reaction.
. . .
Kris stared to the depths of Berdly's soul, and found nothing worthwhile inside.
And the SOUL giggled. "Pffft. Yeah. I dunno what that means, but I guess so!" Kris grumbled, stomping on their left feet. "OW!-"
...
Ralsei now walked up to Susie, who was just watching this unwhirl from a distance, with a big smirk across her face. "Hey, Susie!" She looked over, curious. "Hm?"
"Why are you just standing there smiling, aren't you supposed to ask the ANGEL that third question of yours??" He smiled, adjusting their glasses.
"Ah, no, I will real quick, it's just that... I've been thinking, right?" Susie put her hands in her pockets.
"Hm... Honestly, rare of you. Hihi!" Ralsei giggled, as Susie gave him a noggie. "Oh you DORK... No, but like, seriously."
Ralsei nodded, as he now dedicated his mind solely towards Susie's words. "Mm. I see. Tell me what you've been thinking about then, Susie! I'm sure it's something lovely brewing up on your head!" He patted the back of her head.
"That old man... He gave me some words of wisdom, right? And I've been thinking about them ever since..." She looked down, sighing.
"The white pen of hope... To write your own story... If I didn't hear those words, that last part of the prophecy would have shaken me just as much as it shook you, Ralsei." She looked over, smiling.
"I..." He smiled back, realizing something "I think we've come to the same conclusion, right about now." Ralsei hopped in place with glee, their tail wagging side to side as he looked up at Susie with joy over them both figuring it out.
"Yeah." She looked over at Kris, patting Ralsei on the back. "I think we did, Ralsei." Ralsei got knocked a bit forwards from how strong Susie is. "Oof- Heheh."
"Seems like the prophecy is really broken after all, now that the angel broke it's own cage..." He turned over, smiling.
"You know what that means, Rals? Eh? Ehh??" She said with the biggest smile ever, with hope crossed across her heart.
"Mhm!! Mhm!!!" He walked over, smiling ear to ear.
She grabbed Ralsei, giving him a tight ass hug, as they both spoke out. "WE'RE FREE TO DO WHAT WE WANT, MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!"
Susie dropped Ralsei upon hearing him swear, watching he made a squeaky noise when hitting the ground. "OOF!" Then Ralsei gasped, as he realized, "WAIT!!!"
"You little scamp!! You swore!!" She gave him ANOTHER noggie, a noggie of love and friendship. "Hehe!! I did, didn't I?? I fuckin' did!!! And I'll fucking do it again!!!" Ralsei spoke with his voice soaked in laughter, wiping a tear of joy off his eye. "Ahh..."
He looked up at Susie, "Now Susie, I don't wanna keep you waiting, we got the whole day to spend it as we wish, free as we can be."
She looked down at him. "So like, do you want me to ask that ANGEL thing my question?" Ralsei nodded. "Of course! Anymore we learn about our new friend, the better!"
"Hmph, alright, see ya-" She turned away to walk over to Kris and their new friend, only for Ralsei to float up to her head and GIVE HER a Fluffy Boy Noggie!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!!
"ARGH!! I've been bested in the noggie war!! Noooo-" She spoke dramatically, falling on her knees and thumping on the floor. "Damn yoouu, Ralsei!!!" She raised her fist up, before giggling and standing back up.
"Hihi. Got you!!" Ralsei giggled, their fuzzy hands covering his mouth's laughter.
"Ok, but like. Seriously dude. That was some cool shit. You caught me off guard for real." Susie spoke with pride now, "It seems-"
"The master, has become the student..." She spoke with a proud grin across her face.
"The master, has become the student!" He spoke with a smug grin plopped on his face.
"Hehe. Highfive." Susie and Ralsei shared one highfive, fistbump, attempts at too fast, and one succesful too slow, before Susie decided to finally go. "Alright now, I'll see ya in a bit, let me just go check up on those two dorks and ask the SOUL something."
Ralsei nodded, "Alright then! I'll go over to Castle Town then, I'll prepare some things for you all!!" He waved goodbye, before turning away and walking off.
She smirked, looking as Ralsei skipped and hopped to the Castle while humming some tune, before sighing and walking over to Kris, who was chatting with Noelle again.
...
"No, but like. SERIOUSLY girl. This guy's straight out of a horror movie, right??" Kris was discussing, "YEAH!! Gosh... To think if only we had arrived sooner, we'd see both your disembodied soul AND the Angel inside that little-"
"." Noelle giggled, "Hehe, isn't it cheesy how it was INSIDE the paper doll I made as a kid??" Kris' head nodded, their voice speaking for said ANGEL now: "MHM!! Me and Kris agree it's fucking hilarious!" Their right hand raised, doing a thumbs up.
"Though uh, now that you know how I look like, can you make some more paper dolls for me to inhabit? Preferably lighter weighted AND cooler-looking ones, please and thank you!-"
"Hihihi!" Noelle giggled, "Uhm, alright! I'll do that when I get home!" She put her hands together, smiling.
Berdly included himself into the conversation. "Ahem... If I may be so allowed, I could offer up my craftsmanship with the art of origami to assist in making a paper doll befitting of your image, my angelness." He bowed in front of Kris.
"... Uh, sure!" She was weirded out by Berdly's berdliness, but was happy to have him come over to make cool stuff with her.
Kris and the SOUL just looked at Berdly confused, before hearing footsteps approaching. They saw Susie walking up to them, and their body smiled a bit from seeing her, both wills co-habiting in it agreeing on the same thing: Susie is fucking awesome.
"Hey, Susie. Where you been?" They spoke calmly, stretching their arms as they now looked up at her. "Nothin' much, just chatting with Ralsei before he went to Castle Town to set up some stuff for us and stuff."
The SOUL spoke out. "Ooo! Ooo! Can I get my own room?? I like sleeping with Kris-" Their mouth closed as Kris tried not to laugh. "Wait, why are you laughi- Oooh."
"... I like. Laying in the same bed. As Kris." Kris' eyes twitched while they desperately tried hiding their blushing face in front of Susie, before it resumed speaking, "But I'd like something off my own, right? I think you'd understand me, wouldn't you, Susie?" Their head tilted, as it played Kris' left hand on their hip.
"Yeah... I get you, little guy..." She looked off to the side, thinking about some things for a bit, before returning her eyes at Kris and SOUL's. "I'll tell Ralsei when I can." Susie smiled.
"Now, I have something a bit... Pillow-soft-tical to ask you, Angel Soul guy, and it sounds really weird asking you this as your friend. But..." Susie tugged on her arm.
"Even if you're cool and all, even now that I understand exactly your deal with Kris is..." She scratched her head, "Uhm... How do I not say this in a not mean way..."
"Nono, just say as it is, I'm sure you're not gonna be mean to me." Kris' face smiled, before they spoke out: "Yeah, you kinda suck at being mean, the more I think about it. You're a big softie. A big, COOL softie though, Susie." They smirked, as both the SOUL and Kris themselves giggled.
"I- Yeah... I guess??" She shrugged, before putting their hand on her forehead. "Look, ok. What I mean is..."
"You're a very cool thing, but... It feels weird talking to you, because there's so little I know about you, that you don't feel like. A person, y'know?" She gestured with her arms, trying her best to explain this in the kindest way possible.
"I..." Kris' eyes looked down as it sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I know..."
"NONONO. UH. DON'T BE SAD." She held Kris' head by the chin, pushing it up a bit and making the SOUL look at her through Kris' eyes. "UHM. OK. I have the perfect line for this." She smirked, closing her eyes.
"I- Uh-" Their face blushed, eyes darting rapidly between looking at Susie and the corners of their vision. "Ok???"
Susie looked away for a tad bit, clearing out her throat, before looking over at Kris again. "What I'd like to say is... I want to know what kind of person you are, what you like, dislike, how you act, how you talk... Nono, I've already known a good chunk of those things." She looked down, their hand on her chin as she pondered. "Hmm..."
"W-What I wanna say is... Uhm..." Susie stuttered, noticing the blush in Kris' face.
"Who ARE you, Angel?"