Chapter Text
With a thud, the washcloth hits the underside of the counter. It needed to be wiped down after a very... Messy visit. Having to maim an Angel was never pretty, after all!
Thank the stars that the bar lacked carpeted flooring. Getting the blood out of it would be quite the shitshow, given the lack of cleaning supplies. Sure, they could always go and get more, but... Agh, nevermind. They'd get it today. Maybe they could even do it themselves?
Time to check!
Tap, tap, tap, tap. Klingelingeling~
The whistling of the Void is all that greets them when the door opens.
A bar located entirely within the spaces between.
Exactly what they asked for, when all was said and done. Their Desire. If they were to be banished to the Void, to never return, they wanted to be gifted a place to stay for all eternity.
One in the Void is only an odd choice, until you think about it a bit harder.
Alternate universes collide only in a place so distant. It seems backwards, to have that be true, but there is only one connecting thread between every reality. And it is that there is darkness in every corner. Places where light does not reach. Infinitesimally small gaps between every atom and molecule. The space between two people. The gap between with and without. The Void lives inside each and every one of these. So, all places have connections to it.
This place's unique status as 'The only object within the void' gives it strange properties. Namely, it sometimes supersedes the end locations of shortcuts and other methods of travel in the Void. For instance, if one were to be walking into a so called 'Egg Room,' then... In a chance so low it approached zero, they could end up here. There are other methods, of course. Sometimes, you may simply fall through your reality by hitting an edge just wrong. More common than one may think.
Those that wander in can be freed by simply exiting the door. But the main inhabitant is never so lucky. It's always that same blackness.
A resigned sigh. "Not today either then, huh?"
Taking a step outside, they do not fall. The Void works off of intent. The entire thing and everything contained inside, other than the people. If you believe a floor is there, it simply is. It took quite a few falls to the reset boundary for them to grasp that, however.
A black brick building, with windows spread across it. Looking out into the void for too long can cause one to go mad, but it's better than not seeing anything but brick for centuries, so the windows are here to stay. A sign hangs above the door, painted in red and gold.
"Angel Shot. Ha, I still love the name. Good choice, past me! Fist bump!" A fist was raised, but never connected with another. They giggled before finishing their inspecting.
The Titanspawn haven't invaded the place in a year or so, but it's always good routine to check the integrity of the building. With a heel turn, they return to their spot behind the bar. Well, without access to the outside world, they have to do as always. They shape one hand into a funnel, and call out into the open air. "VESS!"
A clattering from upstairs as a sharply dressed figure nearly tumbles down them. It salutes them, and then stands at attention. Gray skin and an average body. It's not too hard to pass as a regular human, so it's very useful for expeditions outside. Especially given its ability to open the door to just about anywhere.
"Sorry, it's not that urgent. Just didn't know you were listening." The hand drops, but its reverent stance does not. A servant to the end, even when there was no grand purpose to fulfill. "Could you go get some cleaning supplies? I just remembered we need them."
With a nod, the Vessel receives a wallet, and steps towards the door. Light streams through as the outside world is able to be seen. And then,
Klingelingeling~
The door is closed. The light recedes, and the overhead lights flicker for just a moment. Their way out is gone, not that they could have taken it.
It's fine. This was their desire.
They had to be banished for the others to be safe.
This was their desire. They wanted to be somewhere out of reach.
The fun gang finding them would be catastrophic. It could throw their universe into jeopardy by nature of bending the prophecy's rules.
They had to stay out of reach. They had to stay here, and they didn't want to come back. They didn't.
This was their desire. It was.
it was
Another day in this place. Well, they should probably get to work then. "You never know when you're going to get visitors in a place like this. Not exactly the easiest thing to predict, right?" They chuckled loudly to nobody.
It was getting bad again. Too long without a visitor leaves them talking to themselves. The violent visitor didn't exactly have a way with words.
Reaching down under the counter, they found the nametag they were looking for. 'Chestnut.' They affixed it cleanly to their dress shirt.
Chestnut's dress shirt! The one thing they requested for clothing was copies of Kris' waiter outfit from the TV dark world.
they didn't want to forget
With a snap, the jukebox turned on.
♪ Castle Funk ♪
They still had to set up seating. With a little bit of concentration, their SOUL turns dark blue. They simply wave their hands like a conductor as the chairs fall into place. Yes, it was cheating! Who was going to stop them? Nobody could stop them, if they were honest.
Hehee, plus there was no Toriel to scold them, right?
...
Each chair took its place on the hardwood floor, with the tables following shortly after.
It wasn't like there was going to be many visitors, but some of the people that ended up here didn't want to sit at the bar. Sometimes they wanted to sit down and eat like a regular person, for once. It was kind of saddening how many Angels came in here completely broken in spirits and minds, thinking themselves to be nothing but tools. Not deserving of basic things like chairs, food, or drinks. These Angels were given at least some confidence before leaving, even if they wouldn't remember the exact moment they gained that spark.
The odd Post-Snowgrave Noelle that somehow managed to find an egg room on her own was similar to them. A hollow shell that only responded to the sound of the radio static that came with their voice. Their arrivals were more frequent than one might expect. Maybe it was an extension of her ability to navigate into the secret room in dragon blazers almost by instinct?
Hot chocolate was well within their ability to make, despite this place being a bar. Ha, a bar. They weren't even 21. But again, who was going to stop them? Certainly not the law. Not here. Nothing was here.
Nothing was here.
nothing was here
Hot chocolate, some cleaning of the wound caused by the thorn, and a bit of sleep in a guest room usually got a decent bit of the bad stuff out of a Noelle. Dealing with the trauma that was otherwise there was for the licensed therapists. Chestnut was just here to talk and help people take a load off. Nothing special.
Klingelingeling~
The Vessel returns, triumphantly holding up a bag with all of the necessary supplies for cleaning. They gave it mind, right? That sounded right. How else would it have done all of this? Though now, they may have preferred voice.
As it handed them the bag, they noticed a single solitary item contained in it that they had not asked for.
Holy crap, was it Christmas in that universe?! There was eggnog in the bag! The jukebox changed again with their mood, swapping to something more festive. They instantly tackled the gray human, pulling it into a hug so tight that they swore they heard its back pop.
They eventually pulled back, and it just bowed before making its way back upstairs.
Eeee! What luck! The Vessel wandered into a universe where it's near Christmas!! It coincided with their calendar, for once! Okay, leaving the eggnog in the open would spoil it, they had to refrigerate it. Coordinates marked aaand... It was gone, placed inside of the fridge in the kitchen.
Alright, back to the endless boredom of waiti-
Klingelingeling~
"AAAAHH!!!!!"
Holy shit.
A guest. Two in one day. Please not another violent one...
They were staring down
...
December Holiday?
A real one. Not the Knight. What kind of reality exists where she's mostly fine? Sure, there were infinite alternate universes, but she was suffering in a good 90% of them.
Her eyes are red. Not her traditional aquamarine.
No, the SOUL might have changed them. That's a possibility.
A Krisappearance Universe, perhaps. They've never seen a Possessed December. It's always Asriel or Noelle, in those verses. Perhaps Asriel handled it better than Noelle did? Is it an amicable relationship, or is it SOUL dominant? Is there even a SOUL? Ugh. Too many possibilities. Just go with the flow. It's not like they'll lose against an Angel in their domain anyways.
"WHERE IN THE HELL AM I???"
That doesn't seem like a SOUL dialogue. Not even one especially linked with the host produces such a line, unless given completely free will. Most hosts can't (and won't) allow that. So that's a real December Holiday, in the flesh! Their first one! Keep it cool.
Ahem! "Welcome to the Angel Shot. Have a seat anywhere you like, Miss December."
"WHERE. AM I????" A knife leaves her pocket, pointed at them. They grasp onto the SAVE they made this morning, but do not yet tug. She doesn't have the radio static, they notice. Not possessed? Maybe just currently without the SOUL for whatever reason?
They try their best not to panic, trying again to get her to listen. "The Angel Shot, Miss. Don't stare out our windows too long, or you might see something looking back." Their delivery gave her pause. Something looking back? Pshaw. She almost lunges at them, before she hears a scratching at the window.
With wide, unblinking eyes, she turns her head to the right. Chestnut can *hear* the stone moving sound of her slow turn. Like from the memes Kris had shown them, in the downtime. Hehee... Those were always funny. Kris had the best humor.
And with a long, long gaze out of the window, her breathing steadies. Her blinks become a bit slower, and tension seeps from her shoulders. Finally, she turns back to the bar and takes a seat on a bench, knife returning to her pocket.
"You can call me Dess," she says plainly.
"Dess... Alright, can do. As I was saying. The Angel Shot. A bar at the end of the world. The door has a habit of pulling those who need it most here, so it's a nice name, yeah?"
The girl snickered at them. Sure, the name made sense, but given the fact she housed the Angel, it felt ironic that this was the place she ended up in. "A bar. Well, what are you doing then? Give me a drink, Bartender."
Easy enough! Alright... What drink, though?
December did not have the best relationship with the Holidays. While that might be untrue in an alternate universe, it's a fine guess. So that rules out the Eggnog they'd just received. Kris likes chocolate milk. December was always with Kris. Let's see, let's see...
With a smile, they move the coordinates of the milk, dropping it into their hands. Picking a glass from under the counter, they combine chocolate syrup and milk in one of the shakers.
It slides across the long counter, ending up directly in front of her. "On the house."
Her hands begin to shake at the sight of it. Wrong choice? Did they misjudge her tastes?
They almost reach for it, resigning to their failure, but Dess pulls it back from their hand almost angrily. "N-NO!" She yells, before shrinking in on herself quite a bit. More timid than they expected? Some other factor? Not quite like the Dess they'd heard about. "Sorry. Just... I'll drink. No need to take it."
"Alright, if you're sure," they say with a small frown. "If you want to talk about what's got you down, do. I sure as shit can't tell anyone." They gesture lightly to the pitch blackness outside before turning back to her.
Instead, she simply grips the glass a little tighter.
"They're gone," she chokes out after a few seconds of silence. "They're gone, and it's my fault. I was stupid, and I wanted to take them to see the bunker, and..." She stifles a sob before taking a deep drink of the glass. It only makes the dam break, remembering them. Their favorite drinks. Their pranks. Their everything. "My fault. All my fault."
Righty-o. Krisappearance confirmed, by the sound of it. Explains the timidness. The jukebox halts. Not the time.
Krismas Dreemurr. The only other outcast in the city. The wild child. Despite being brought up in a dignified family like the Dreemurrs, they were never one for social events that included playing dress-up in front of high society members. Instead, they'd rather play with her. Get into stuff. Prank Noelle.
But when all was said and done, they had one singular request of her.
For her to give them chocolate milk. A regular drink. It can be made with any variety of chocolate syrup, combined with milk. Kris would always insist that the Holidays stock Himhey's brand only, solely for their enjoyment. Their house always had lower quality syrup, so they drank it over at hers. Little bugger would drink them out of house and home if given the chance.
Eventually, she tried some, at their insistence.
She hated it. With everything she was, she hated it. Goosebumps at the thought of trying it again, even.
But she drank it anyways. Because this kid next to her had wide, sparkling eyes, asking her if she wanted some or not. And how could she tell them that it sucked?
She couldn't! No way! Trying that would be like kicking puppies! Kris' eyes were just too wide, and too wet. There was no chance for her to recover before she had the entire thing down her throat.
The bartender, who she'd never caught the name of- Oh, Chestnut. On the nametag.
Chestnut had their eyes, in that moment. Handing her a drink with the biggest smile on their face, as if they'd figured out a cosmic mystery and were eager to share. The perfect drink for a person in need.
Them reaching out to take it from her was like them admitting defeat. It felt like she had just kicked this puppy.
And now, having it here, it was the most delicious thing in the world. She would drink it forever, if given the chance. If it meant Kris would be there, chugging alongside her.
She would get them back.
Mayor Toriel had a plan.
The Squire could be fixed.
There was no need to cry anymore. Save the tears for a reunion.
She put on her best smile after downing the rest, and looked up at them. "Thank you for the drink. How do I leave?"
Chestnut simply points at the grayed out door near the front, big grin on their face. They got the drink right! Hurray! "Right over there."
She wiped her tears, stood, and clicked open the door. From behind her, the excited voice of the bartender rang out one last time.
"I hope you have a good day, despite it all! You deserve to be happy, Dess."
She shuddered, freezing for just a moment, before stepping out of the door.
Huh? Woah. Deja Vu, all of a sudden.
Why was she at the Holiday house? Didn't she leave?
Maybe she didn't. Might have just slipped her mind.
Blech. An aftertaste of chocolate in her mouth?? The only kind she'd entertain was Snickers. Where'd this come from?
Tasted like that syrup. Eeyuck!
Regardless, she probably had to get going. The Squire was going to be opening the dark world in the Librarby today. Had to be ready.