Chapter Text
It's past midnight. You open your bedroom window and climb onto the sill. From your cell phone, you hear a familiar voice.
* Don't forget, Kris… you promised.
Though you hesitate for a moment, you leave your cell phone on your bedroom floor and scale down the wall. Due to the direction your house's sprite faces, the ladder you placed here earlier today was invisible until now.
Your mother's car is on the driveway, where it has stayed since its tires were slashed. There's a tarp next to it. Susie must have returned it after using it to shield Tenna from the rain on his way to his new home.
Because you have already experienced four chapters of this story as a video game, you are familiar with arrow keys causing you to move and [Z] causing you to investigate objects and speak to others.
Tonight, though… Something feels different.
Chapter Text
CURIOUS.
IT SEEMS YOU DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE FORMAT.
VERY
VERY
INTERESTING.
LISTEN CLOSELY.
RETURN TO THE BEGINNING.
TURN BACK THE PAGE, SO TO SPEAK.
SHOULD YOU CONTINUE TO CLICK "NEXT CHAPTER"
YOU MAY NOT FIND THE OUTCOME FAVOURABLE.
Chapter Text
You sit for a moment at the Gerson Boom Memorial Bench.
You are filled with fond memories of pressing directional inputs to shield Susie from an onslaught on blue shells. The old man was probably godlike at Super Kart Brothers for the Super Entertainment Video Game Console, back in his day.
Chapter Text
* You didn't want to be at home.
* Why should I?
* Hypocrite.
Susie glares at you, but you don't sense any real venom from her.
Chapter Text
Earlier, Susie told you that she could hear a song from the waves. You couldn't hear it before, but you do now.
Chapter Text
* How are we gonna get inside the school?
Susie purses her lips.
* Isn't your mom a teacher there?
* Also, didn't Noelle say earlier...
* ...you used to help her break back into her house?
* You know how puzzles are your job, Kris?
* Along with everything else I don't want to do?
* Yeah.
* That.
Susie joins your party!
Chapter Text
You will probably never be able to take church seriously again, now that you know Jockington growing a beard is in the Prophecy.
Chapter Text
* You'll introduce me to... your new friends, small Mike, cowboy hat Mike, and cat Mike?
Susie laughs.
* What are you even talking about, dude?
* Did you steal some of your mom's booze?
* Because if so...
* ...nice.
Susie joins your party!
Chapter Text
You knock on the door.
* What? What? WHAT?!
* Who are you trying to talk to?
Chapter Text
You find Susie in the alley, sitting with her back against the brick outer wall of the apartments, drinking milk from a cat bowl.
After finding your mother drunkenly dancing with Sans in your living room, Susie left, awkwardly and unceremoniously. Apparently, she ended up here.
Chapter Text
The convenience store is closed. The sign on the window says "OPEN 24 HOURS", but does not specify which 24.
Chapter Text
* Yeah, alright.
* Church is closed, though.
* Haven't had the chance to move Jackenstein and the others over to the school yet.
* Tenna will be gone, too.
* But we can see Ralsei.
* Plus, it's probably warmer there than it is here.
Susie gets up and stretches her arms and back. You wonder how long she was sitting in the alley.
Chapter Text
You hear a sound suspiciously similar to a sledgehammer breaking through the fourth wall.
* Nice to meet you! I'm Matcha, the creator of this fanwork.
* I actually prefer to chat in the comments section instead of in the prose, if that's not a problem for you?
* Keeps the flow of the story going better.
* MIKE! REBUILD MY FOURTH WALL!
Chapter Text
* You know it.
Susie grins.
* You want some?
[Yes]
[No]
* Too late.
Before you can click a link, Susie finishes off the last of the milk. You don't blame her. Since you spent all day exploring the dark worlds in the church, neither of you has eaten any Light World food since breakfast.
Chapter Text
DARK
DARKER
YET DARKER.
THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING,
THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER,
PHOTON READINGS
...NEGATIVE.
THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT SEEMS
VERY,
VERY
INTERESTING...
WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK?
Chapter Text
It's quiet. Most of Hometown's residents have gone to bed, and most buildings are closed.
[Go to church]
[Go to graveyard]
[Go to Catti's House]
[Go to 'sans]
[Go to Sans' House]
[Go to Librarby]
[Go to Flower King]
[Go to beach]
[Go to Ghost House]
[Go to bunker]
[Go to alley]
Chapter Text
The only ghost you know works at the police station. You apologize to Catti for giving her a speeding ticket.
Catti stares at you blankly.
* Kris.
* Go home.
Chapter Text
You can see a small white dog through the window of Flower King, writing what appears to be a script for Deltarune: Chapter 5.
Having been noticed, the dog jumps through the building's side window directly into your father's pick-up truck. Glass shards shatter in all directions. The dog turns on the radio and backs out of the driveway.
* Driving in my car while drunk on soju
* Hey, that bump is shaped just like YOU
Chapter Text
The door to the library is locked, but there is a slot you can use to return books.
Chapter Text
* Yeah.
* It's just...
* ...weird.
Susie sighs, looking down at the gravel road of the alleyway.
* I had this whole idea of what your mom was like.
* Thought she was totally different than every other adult I've ever met.
* But...
* I only really knew her from that one day.
* Well, and yesterday, I guess.
* I don't think I had the whole picture.
* I wasn't seeing her as a complex person.
* You know.
* With flaws.
Frustrated, she runs her claws through her hair.
Chapter Text
You can see Catti through the window. She has drawn a chalk circle on the floor of her living room, complete with lit candles around the perimeter. She hasn't noticed you.
Chapter Text
Sans is at your house. The door to his house is locked, and your knock goes unanswered.
You consider trying to break in, but you suspect you'd have a bad time if you did.
Chapter 27: Save Point 1
Chapter Text
You are filled with the power of choosing your own adventure.
You save your game.
Chapter Text
* Dawn of the First Day
* 72 Hours Remain
Perfect.
Chapter Text
Your fingers push into the keys. A discordant plink sounds.
* Dude, c'mon.
* I saw and heard you play the grand piano in the Dark World earlier today.
* I know you got more in you than that.
* You snuck into the hospital waiting room in the middle of the night and everything.
Susie looks away.
* You can, like... ask me to leave if you're too nervous to play while I'm watching.
Chapter Text
As you approach the police station, Susie stops.
* Oh HELL no.
* I am NOT letting anyone "accidentally" shut me inside the holding cell again.
You reassure Susie you were only going to leave an anonymous tip accusing her of murdering Officer Undyne.
* Oh, ok.
* That's fine, then.
Chapter Text
Your cell phone displays six missed calls: four from Carol Holiday, one from an unknown number, and one from Asriel.
You've been out of the house for twenty minutes.
You don't have it in you right now to deal with this. You leave your phone on your bedroom floor.
Chapter Text
Susie grins, putting up a victorious fist.
* Great idea, Kris!
* We'll break in and check the code inside Dess' guitar while everyone is sleeping!
Chapter Text
Susie stares at you.
* Dude... where are the lockpicks?
* Why did you bother climbing up, then?
Chapter Text
At first glance, the school seems empty. You can't see any lights on or people moving inside. But, strangely, there is one car parked in the lot. It isn't your mother's, but you feel like you recognize it.
Susie puts her back against the school's outer wall, just as you did when evading Tenna's spotlights.
* Alright, Kris.
* How are we gonna get in?
Chapter Text
You're about to open the supply closet door when you notice black smoke rolling in through the hallway from your left. Susie stops, then redirects her path towards its source.
It isn't a classroom at the end of this hall, but a science lab. You've seen Alphys give demonstrations of scientific principles inside before, but it's normally locked to keep students like Susie away from the dangerous chemicals. Despite the obvious signs of a Dark World inside, you're not really expecting the door to open. Susie tries anyway.
It does.
* So, change of plans.
* We actually need to find out what the FUCK this is all about.
* You in, Kris?
Chapter Text
Susie stares at you.
* Dude... where are the lockpicks?
* Why did you bother climbing up, then?
Chapter Text
As you enter the school, you notice something odd. While the door to your mother's classroom is closed, Alphys' classroom isn't. Susie speaks in a whisper.
* Weird...
* Do you think someone else is here?
Chapter Text
* Lead the way to Castle Town, Kris!
* Or, y'know, don't.
* I know you normally like to lead me to a bunch of random locations before we get anything done.
[Go to QC's Diner]
[Go to police station]
[Go to hospital]
[Go to bunker]
[Go to school]
[Go to Noelle's house]
Chapter Text
Without your influence, your hands begin flowing over the keys, creating a complex, intense melody.
You feel better now. Also, Susie is wide-eyed with shock, most of the patients in the hospital have woken up, and a nurse is asking you to leave.
Once you're back outside, Susie stops you, puts her hands on your shoulders, and looks you dead in the eyes.
* Kris.
* That... kicked ass.
Chapter Text
The answer to life, the universe, and everything.
Chapter Text
The forested path leading towards the bunker seems a lot more ominous at night than it does during the day. Susie walks a little closer to you than she normally does, and glances back and forth between the trees. It almost seems as though shadows are moving through the trees, just out of sight.
As you walk around to the bunker's locked doors, you see a long, serpentine shadow. Susie's arm subtly reaches around your shoulders. You're not sure whether she's trying to reassure you or herself.
Chapter Text
The diner is closed, as expected. Susie runs ahead of you, heading to the left side of the building. When you catch up to her, there's a message written backwards in a foggy area on the glass.
* Heh... it still says "Susie rulez" where we wrote it inside the diner earlier!
* Can't hide the truth, Kris.
You point out that the "e"s are written the correct way around, which is the incorrect way around in this case, because it should be backwards instead of backwards of backwards, which looks identical to forwards.
Quickly, Susie rubs her fist against the window, breathes on it once again, and makes another attempt, pausing before the first "e" to concentrate. This time, she writes the "z" the right and/or wrong way around. You decide to just let her have this one.
Chapter Text
You use the ladder propped against the back wall of your house to climb back into your bedroom through your window.
Chapter Text
You open the heavy metal gate in front of Noelle's house. You're very familiar with this particular lock, having helped Noelle get back home on more than one occasion. As she creaks the gate open, Susie heads to the front door.
* C'mon, Kris!
* What are you waiting for?
You're waiting for Susie to notice that the front door has a fingerprint sensor. Your lockpicks have no power here. You would only be able to get inside if you had one of Noelle's fingers removed, which you don't. It's a weird thought to have, really.
Susie sighs, frustrated. You tell her not to kick the door.
* I wasn't—
* ...okay, MAYBE I was going to.
* Fine.
* We were going to go to Castle Town, anyway.
Chapter Text
You consider uploading a copy of Spamton G. Spamton from the USB you found in your pocket after leaving Cyber World into Alphys' computer.
Nah.
You don't think she could afford a new one.
Instead, you open a few tabs full of adult content featuring anime characters.
Susie cackles.
* Didn't think you had the balls.
[Leave a cryptic note in Berdly's desk]
[Continue toward supply closet]
Chapter Text
You use the ladder propped against the back wall of your house to climb back into your bedroom through your window.
Chapter Text
The main lobby of the hospital is closed for the night, but there's a back entrance to the emergency department.
Chapter Text
Susie's claws dig into your shoulder as the figure comes into view, and immediately retract when she realizes it's just Jockington. He's still wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses despite the dark skies.
* Hey, guys,
* What are you, Doing here?
Susie's posture still seems tense.
* Uh. Sometimes Kris just drags me through the entire town before actually agreeing to go where we need to go.
* Could ask you the same question, dude.
Grinning, Jockington slithers side to side.
* It is, always beter, To expierience The World,
* Instead of, staring at Screens !
* TV, melts youre Brains.
* Thats Why, I'm, touching Grass.
Susie blinks slowly.
* You could, like...
* You know.
* Sleep.
LOST WHERE
THE FOREST WOULD GROW,
THE CHILDREN FOLLOWED
THE POINTED TAIL
Chapter Text
Your lockpicks are at home!
Worse yet, your home's front door is locked, meaning you would need to pick the lock on your front door to get to them, which you can't do without your lockpicks!
Chapter Text
Most of the classroom is exactly as it looked your first time returning from the school's Dark World after hours. But you notice a coat and purse tucked underneath Alphys' desk, and her computer is on. Susie immediately takes a couple coins out of Alphys' wallet. You give her a look.
* What? It's not like she'll notice.
[Leave a cryptic note in Berdly's desk]
[Mess with the computer]
[Continue toward supply closet]
Chapter Text
You collect your lockpicking set from underneath your bed and bring them back outside. Susie gives you a high-five. Able now to open any locked door, you have the entire world at your fingertips and can go anywhere you want, as long as that's one of two places.
Chapter Text
With no specifics given as to what code you should enter, you try to put in the Konami code. You try to rotate the numbered dials up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start, and pull on the door.
No dice.
Susie pats you on the back.
* Respect the attempt.
* It's like how the first password you always have to try when you want to hack someone's computer is "password".
* Or how you should always try "1234".
* Or "69420".
Chapter Text
* The... what?
* What changed?
You haven't seen Susie this baffled since Ralsei told you to move a block with [Z]. You explain that sometimes, when you move between rooms over and over and over, you eventually get transported to a secret area in which a man behind a tree says something cryptic and gives you an egg.
* Uh.
* How, exactly, did you find this out?
* Why are you moving between rooms over and over?
* Who is the man?
* Why does he give you an egg?
* Does the egg do something important?
* And, again, what do you mean, "the chapter number changed"?
You fail to come up with any answer at all. Susie throws her arms up in exasperation.
* You know what? Fuck it! I'm starving! I'd take an egg from a mystery man!
Pushing you out of the way, Susie begins to climb up and down the ladder, over and over again. After a few minutes, you hear her breathing heavily. Eventually, she collapses onto her back on the lawn in your backyard.
* Urgh...
* Feel like I'm... about to pass out...
* I TRUSTED YOU, YOU ASSHOLE!
Feeling sort of bad, you climb back into your room, retrieve two hard-boiled eggs and two juice boxes from your fridge, and bring them back outside to share with Susie.
Maybe the real egg-distributing mystery man was the friends we made along the way.
Chapter 56: Save Point 2
Chapter Text
You are filled with the power of scientific curiosity.
You save your game.
Highlight below to check whether you missed any secrets between the beginning and now!
1. There's a second way to game over.
2. The man who speaks in hands.
3. The poor children.
4. Egg?
5. The meaning of life.
Highlight below for hints to find them!
1. Don't follow the rules.
2. Get bunked on.
3. Invisible ink.
4. Up and down and up and down.
5. Hitchhike.
APurpleZ on Chapter 1 Wed 03 Dec 2025 06:04PM UTC
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matchagotcha on Chapter 1 Wed 03 Dec 2025 06:48PM UTC
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helias on Chapter 17 Wed 03 Dec 2025 11:20PM UTC
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