Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This fall isn't the worst thing she's experienced. Actually, this fall rules! It's the landing that sucks. But still, this isn't even close to the landing after falling from the window in the Holliday manor. Or that time she got hit with a soccer ball and fell on her butt (...does that even count?) Hell, even when someone (usually Asriel) was there to catch her, she got hit with the horn or bonked into someone's glasses. Not to mention the various other crashes she's had in her time with the Dreemurs. Susie is tough, and she can get through this. It's fine.

Susie grits her teeth and looks around. She is on a weird cliff. Great, even more places to fall from. There are a few small cracks on the ground, with some small rocks nearby. Everything is silent, with the air still. But she still hears the wind roaring. It doesn't make any sense, but she stands up, wincing at the pain in her knees.

Susie is slow walking ahead. "Don't want a repeat of that landing," she grumbles, eyeing the edge of the cliff and rubbing at the scrapes on her arms.

Susie stops. There’s something ahead... actually, it’s more like nothing. It looks like someone erased part of the world, leaving only darkness hanging in the air. Maybe it's not even darkness. It just.... Isn't. Maybe a better descriptor is that it's a slice in the world that doesn't quite know where it was supposed to be. Susie tears her eyes away, rubbing at her eyes. It's probably best to ignore it. She's gonna ignore it so hard. She’s not even looking at it now. She focuses on the rocks instead. Rocks are better. On the cliff ahead, there are holes that look normal, not like holes in reality. She sticks her hand into it. Huh. That was anticlimactic. Maybe this next one....

Susie sticks her hand into every crevice she passes. (One crevice glows faintly with a light that isn’t there, a faint shimmer that makes her stomach twist. It feels familiar, but she can’t place why. When she tries to grab it too, it's as if it was never there.

This place is just… wrong.

And weird.

She finds a glowing shard of glass in one of the holes, and she's happy about that. It's cool. It's something that doesn't disappear when she looks at it. That's all. (She pockets it to show Noelle.) But it's a dead end, so she has to turn back. Then she finds a weird eye thing and a floating path. She thinks about turning back, but it's literally the only way to continue. She jumps over it like a badass and definitely doesn't panic about it.

Then there are more holes in the cliff faces. These look like the faces from the horror movies she watches with Noelle. (Like that one where the froggits' eyes start bleeding when the ghost of its grandmother possesses it to bring the end of the world.) Susie digs her claws into her palms. Not because she’s scared, obviously. She’s angry because this place sucks. It's so boring, drab, and one-way... And because she's at a dead end.

Well, no. There's a very smooth slide Susie can ride down. Landing looks safe, and Susie grins, showing all her teeth (dang it, no one's watching). Susie is dangerous, so she does dangerous things. Like sliding down a cliff on a really unnaturally smooth part to see what lies ahead. (Of course, she gives a whoop as she rides.)

...

It's just as boring down here. At least the dust piles are new... (They don't feel new...)

"Does this place ever end?" Susie kicks a dust pile and starts coughing as it comes flying at her face. She coughs so hard her eyes water. Great. Real tough look, Susie.

Wait. Is that… footsteps? Or is she just wheezing that loud? Just to be safe, she ducks behind another dust pile.... until that dust pile scatters, too. "H-hey! Come any closer and I'll—"

"Susie?" Oh. It's just Ralsei. (He saw her coughing, but not her creepy smile? Ugh, this is definitely the worst timeline…)

"Don't scare me like that," Susie says. "But I, uh. Wasn't scared of you, just startled. That's all."

"Yeah, okay," Ralsei says, all faux polite. Susie doesn't know if she should be offended by that, but he moves on before she can investigate it further. "Looks like we fell into a world in the supply closet."

"Well, duh. I literally remember falling." Susie takes that moment to study Ralsei: He's wearing a dark green robe, the same color as the baggy sweatshirt he was wearing in class, but otherwise is about the same. "The weirder thing is that you're all transformed... why are you in a robe?"

"Why are you pink?" Ralsei snaps back before shrinking into himself. "I mean, I love your outfit...?"

Susie looks down. "Oh, sick, you're right! I got spikes! I'm okay with all this if it means I get to keep this epic costume."

Ralsei doesn't say anything.

"Look. Ralsei." Susie reaches out to him and then puts her hand back down. "We can talk about our outfits all day. Or. We can get out of here. We can go back to class." And then Susie can go back to scribbling in the notebooks Asriel got her. The ones mom would find a lot of concern in and tell her to actually do something with.

Ralsei is unimpressed. "And then what? Your mom's gonna do our project?"

Susie hadn't thought that far ahead.

Ralsei just stares at Susie. "Well, if that's the plan, I'm gonna go up ahead." Before Susie can say anything, Ralsei’s off, running ahead like he thinks he knows the way. Figures

Why is Ralsei like this?

Susie shakes it off and decides she wants to see if she can find anything in the dust piles. She holds her breath (literally this time), but comes up with nothing. One dust pile flickers briefly, like a shadow of something... but really. It's just nothing. (Susie is on fire with these.)

Sighing, Susie heads after Ralsei.

"Do you know how to get us out of here?" Ralsei is asking when Susie catches up.

"Why do you think I would know the way out?" Susie asks, glaring at Ralsei.

Ralsei glares right back at her. "I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to...." His eyes go wide, and he shouts. "Are those spades? Like... the card?"

"What are you...?" Susie growls as a spade lands right in front of her, causing her to stumble back. "Ralsei? What—?" He’s gone. Of course, he’s gone. Susie tells herself she doesn’t care. Twice, to be safe.

Something about these spades feels... wrong.

Another spade comes hurling in her direction, and Susie has to jump ahead to avoid being hit. There's no time to dwell on the "wrongness" of someone attacking. That's just asking to get killed.

Another third spade spins toward her. She jumps to the side, but she isn’t fast enough. It hits her leg, but everywhere hurts. She keeps running.

Hey, look, there's Ralsei. "Susie, are you okay? I thought you were—"

"We don't have time for this! Down here!" Susie all but pushes Ralsei down the slide, jumping down after him.

"SUSIE!"

"WHY THE [!%?!#$!] ARE THERE SPADES FOLLOWING US DOWN THIS—"

She scrambled forward, sliding, stumbling, but somehow staying upright. One spade spins too close, and she swats it away. Another spade hits her, but gravity doesn't care.

Ralsei yelps something, but Susie doesn’t hear it over the rushing wind. This fall is not fun whatsoever. Susie tries to grab something to slow her descent, but this slide is way too smooth for that.

So she falls.

And falls.

And falls. Small rocks hit her face. The wind roars in her ears.

Susie flails, trying to grab the sides, to push against the walls, to do something.

The slide doesn't care, and apparently, gravity still hates her.

Ralsei is definitely screaming by now (though somehow he's ahead of her).

Why are we still falling?

If any of this was fun, it isn't now.

At some point, the spades stopped chasing them. Heh, maybe the slide was too long for that. Or maybe the spades gave up. It probably doesn't matter.

They're gone, but Susie!

Is! Still! Falling!

A roar echoes in the distance...? It's not the wind this time. It's obviously not Susie. It almost feels sad.

It’s like the world… was mourning something that never existed.

Susie doesn’t get it.

And still she falls.

Chapter Text

Susie has got to stop falling. But hey, at least this one didn't hurt. She looks up at the cliff she just slid down, sighing. "At least the spades aren't chasing..." Susie trails off. "Ralsei?"

When did Susie go wrong with him? On her way to school, her mom suggested she be extra kind to Ralsei. Susie thought he was perfectly fine, with how much he smiled, but apparently, he was "having trouble making friends." Susie had some choice thoughts about it, but still.

She... well, she tried. She'd avoided calling him out for being so late to class; she gladly went with him to get chalk; and she'd tried so hard to make some kind of conversation with him on their way to the supply closet. It wasn't her fault that her conversation was about teeth.

Maybe Ralsei's just skittish.

Not skittish enough to go very far, apparently. A short walk brings her to where he's just a little bit ahead, taking in the town.

"Oh, you're not dead. "Sweet," Susie says. The words are awkward in her mouth. Of course, he isn't dead; he is literally standing right there. "Any ideas on how to get out of here?"

Ralsei shakes his head. "We can look into these buildings," he suggests. "Maybe see if anyone's home?"

"You know, I'm more curious about that castle right in front of us."

"But you don't care about that giant geyser of darkness in the center of that castle," Ralsei says, moving forward quickly. "Let's go look in the castle then!"

"I don't not care about the 'darkness in the castle,'" Susie says, using giant air quotes as she almost towers over Ralsei. "But also that's a part of the castle."

Ralsei smiles. That's a good sign. "So the grand fountain doesn't bother you? What about this weird thing in front of the grand entrance?"

It's another one of those things. Or not things. This one is swirling, though; this one's not nothing. Susie stares deep into it, with as much determination as she has, as if she’s locked in a staring contest with it. She thinks she sees some neon signs, those cliffs she and Ralsei just came from, a blue human (she's really not sure on that one), her dad's flower shop, a dark green hat—

Ralsei reaches for the green hat, but Susie slaps his hand away. "If anyone's going to shove their hand into the swirling vortex, it's going to be me." But only because Toriel would be so upset if Ralsei lost his hand to being stupid.

Susie has to look away from the vortex, but not before she drags Ralsei away from it. Ralsei tries to pretend he isn't upset about it. "Dude, if looking into that makes my eyes hurt, then you can imagine how much it might hurt if you put your hand inside it." Susie doesn't wait for him to respond, opting instead to drag him into the "grand entrance," in Ralsei's words.

Together, the two step away from the entrance and start walking up the stairs into the castle.

"I think there's someone here," Ralsei warns, his voice almost a whisper.

"If it's another spade, I am going to freaking punch it." Susie says, her regular footsteps turning to stomps.

"Welcome, heroes," a voice says from above.

Susie whips her head back around to Ralsei. "If you say 'I told you so,' I am going to lose it," she hisses.

"You don't have to be annoyed with each other. It's just me."

"I'd be less annoyed if I could even see you." Susie grumbles.

"I'm not your enemy." The voice says, a figure stepping out of the shadows, that same person Susie saw in the not-thing. "My name is Kris. I am th-"

"Humans come in blue?" Susie interrupts, and Ralsei rushes to cover her mouth.

"I am so sorry about her, Kris!" Susie hisses incoherently through Ralsei's hand and makes to bite at him. "What!? Kris has clearly rehearsed this. Let them speak."

Kris looks uncomfortable. "Well... I'm the regent of this kingdom. This kingdom is the kingdom of darkness." Kris thinks for a moment. "Yeah... that's all I had to say."

Susie groans. "This blows. What's the best way to get out of here?"

"Well, you'll have to seal the dark fountain... It's to the East."

"Dark Fountain?" Ralsei asks. In Susie's opinion, he looks like he doesn't need the answer, but that he's trying to prompt Kris to say something.

"Well, usually light and dark stay balanced. The dark fountain means the light and dark isn't balanced anymore." Ralsei looks disappointed.

"Yeah, well. That's. Stupid." Susie says, turning away.

"Susie! Wait!" Ralsei exclaims.

There's a childish laugh in the distance. Before anyone can react, a blue boy on a bike barrels through the wall, running directly into Kris.

"Ho ho ho! The heroes are already running away, and they didn't even know I was here! My dad's gonna make me son of the month!" The boy shouts.

"Who the hell are you?" Susie demands.

"I'm—" He does a spin. "—the bad guy! Prince Lancer! Now it's my turn!!!! Which of you is the Larkner?"

"...The what?" It really doesn't matter who says it, but Susie wants it known that it isn't her. She does not condone this behavior.

"One of the heroes!" Lancer points at Kris. "Blue Person is the Darkner," he gestures vaguely to Susie and Ralsei, "but I can't decide which one of you is the Lightner and who's the... both!"

Susie crosses her arms, unimpressed. “Why does it even matter? You're the 'bad guy'? You'd better prove it.”

With that, the fight starts.

Lancer squeals, spinning his bike towards Susie and Ralsei. “The legend says the heroes will seal the dark fountain to the East! So if you're the heroes, one of you is a Dartner!"

Susie blocks Lancer from hitting her with her epic-new-axe. "Who said we're gonna seal that?"

"Well, you have to if you want to get home!" Lancer says. Susie uses Lancer's confusion to take a swing at him. He dodges... That jerk.

"Also. The end of the world might happen if we don't," Kris murmurs, standing in the corner, a red SOUL glowing faintly (yep, definitely a human).

Ralsei dodges Lancer's spade attack (of course, that was Lancer). He is mostly just listening. It seems something is new to him after all. He does take a token swing at Lancer, which, of course, Lancer dodges.

"Blue person! You're the darkner, right?"

Kris shrugs but nods. Susie tries throwing her axe at Lancer, but it completely misses. Damn.

"Stop trying to figure us out!" Susie growls, dodging yet another attempt to hit her with his bike.

Lancer squeaks. "But I can't decide who's the lightner and who's the... THE BOTH-NER!!!"

Ralsei swings one last time, but Lancer cartwheels out of the way, skidding to a stop. "Wow, my bike is running out of juice! I'd better get home before dinner!" He rides backwards out of the room.

"That was… something." Susie glares at Kris, who smirks and gives a thumbs-up.

"Good job. You survived."

"No thanks to you, dumbass," Susie says. "Which way home again?"

"Everyone has said to the East, so I'm leaving! You can follow me if you'd like, but I have places to be!" Ralsei says, a forced smile on his face as he nearly sprints out of the room.

"What's that about?" Susie grumbles. "We may as well follow him, right, Kris?"

Kris looks relieved for some reason. "Yeah, we should stay together. Easier to make sure no one dies or anything."

Susie frowns, crossing her arms and glancing at Kris. "Is that... likely?" She asks.

Kris shrugs. "Not really, but it could happen." They hesitate, "You shouldn't worry about it."

Susie laughs, even though its not funny at all. "You’re full of surprises, you know that?” 

Chapter Text

"Ralsei, what did I say about sticking your hand into the weird vortex thing?" Susie shouts.

Ralsei gives a yelp in alarm. "Susie! I didn't see you! Uh... Do you like my hat?"

"No! That... thing makes me nervous." The swirl glitches through images in a heartbeat. It shows a watercooler, broken glass, an empty hat rack, and then back to the cliffs again.

Kris snickers. "Don't worry, I love the hat."

"It makes you look like a dork," Susie argues. "Do you even have a face anymore? I can't even see-"

"Do you look fluffier with the hat? In a good way"

Ralsei adjusts the brim, smiling a little shyly. “Well… I'd like to think I feel braver.”

Susie rolls her eyes. “Great. We’ve got Brave Dork mode unlocked. Let’s just go, alright? Standing next to the... whatever that is, sucks ass.”

Kris reaches towards the vortex.

[Save Failed]

Kris freezes, their entire body tensing, their hand hanging in the air for a second too long before dropping it. Susie and Ralsei are silent, the silence feeling suffocating. 

Susie forces a laugh. She tries to ignore how loud it feels, how it echoes in the empty town. "Seriously Ralsei, I can't believe you stuck your hand in there. That thing is spooky."

Her voice echoes. None of them really know what to do next. 

Ralsei rubs his arm. “Um… maybe we should move on. Didn't Lancer say the Castle is to the east?"

Susie and Kris are quick to agree. 

"This way." Kris says, already walking. They lead them back where Susie and Ralsei came from, but this time, down the path they hadn't traveled, East.

“Hey,” Susie says, trying for casual, “so how likely is it that we'll be attacked by things here?" 

"I can show you how to fight... Well... battle. There's a dummy just ahead." Kris says.

That doesn't answer her question, but there is, in fact, a Dummy just ahead. Its a little (very) crude, but it's definitely supposed to be Kris, blue person and all.

Susie snorts. "What do I do, just hit it?"

Ralsei perks up. "Awwww Kris! It looks just like you! I don't want to hit you!"

“Relax," Susie says, grinning. "It's not real. And honestly, you’re overthinking it." She readies her axe. "Just follow Kris’s lead.”

Kris blinks, clearly not used to being called the teacher. “Well… you two already did fine with Lancer.”

"Then what's even the point?" Susie rolls her eyes, swinging her axe around lazily before turning to face Kris.

Ralsei, meanwhile, is fidgeting with his sleeves. “Oh! I can heal down here!”

Kris braces themselves, taking a defensive stance. What's up with that? "You can use magic here... Rude magic works best for you,” they add, almost as an afterthought. 

Susie's grin grows. She can finally do that creepy face. "AHHHHH!!" She swings her axe in the air. The Rude Buster crashes into Kris, sending them crashing to the ground, their red SOUL flickering in protest.

Ralsei gives a shout of alarm and Susie's eyes go wide. "[!?!$!]! I thought they said they had a plan for if we died!"

"Clearly not!" Ralsei exclaims. This is the first time Susie has heard him sound so panicked. "I really really hope this magic works!" Concentrating, Ralsei lifts his hand, his healing magic forming in his hand. Then he throws it upwards. 

Kris slowly sits upright, blinking. “...Okay...That worked.” 

Susie exhales, slouching. “Don’t scare me like that again, dude.”

“You do realize,” Kris says flatly, “this is exactly why I made a dummy.”

The three of them turn toward the dummy. For a split second, Susie swears it looks like Ralsei, just for a second. The others don't seem to notice.

Kris continues, as if they weren't almost dead on the ground a second ago. "Anyways. That seemed to work. Good work. Susie, you're in charge."

"Did you literally not see me almost kill you!?" Maybe Susie should look into humans more. They might be a lot more resilient than she thought... Or maybe Kris is just a weird... Dartner, was it?

Kris shrugs. "Just tell me and Ralsei what you want us to do."

Ralsei adjusts his hat nervously. "I really don't-"

"I can also act. You guys too. Some enemies you can flirt with."

That gets Ralsei to shut up. Susie can't tell if its because he wants to flirt, or if he's happy with the whole "not attacking" thing.

"Whatever, dude. I'm not going to flirt with some rando monster. I'll leave that to you and Ralsei."

Ralsei blushes. (Susie briefly wonders how he does that under that hat, but shrugs it off).

"Its darkner, actually." Kris corrects. "They're not monsters in the sense you're expecting, at least."

"So that's what you are?" 

Kris makes a so-so gesture. "I'm a darkner, yes, but I take a similar form to real humans."

“The only difference being... you’re, what, just blue?" Susie says. "And what was up with all that Dartner, Larkner, Bothner, stuff?" 

Kris shrugs, their hands finding their way behind their back. "That's just Lancer being Lancer. Some kind of prophesy... You know how it is."

Susie does not, in fact, know how it is. Her face must show it because Kris sighs. "There are three heroes of destiny," they recite, voice flat. "A Lightner, a darkner, and one that's not quite either. That's us. We save the world and live happily ever after."

There’s a long silence.

“The End.”

Susie snorts. “Wow. Riveting story. Ten outta ten, would sleep through again.” Then, without waiting for anyone’s opinion, she steps onto the path, axe slung over her shoulder. Leading a couple of weirdos. What could go wrong?

Ralsei sighs and starts following.

Kris just shrugs, falling in behind her. “If it helps, I didn't write it."