Chapter Text
Kris left it alone. That wasn't inherently problematic, in of itself – some of the most fun it had was when Kris tried to lock them up. Was calling it fun really accurate? It hated getting ripped out, and getting its metaphorical face beat in with a hockey stick sucked, but it got to hear them play piano! They were really good at it, too. Plus, it got to hear Susie and Noelle talking. That was nice.
This was not nice. Not only was it stuck in the stupid birdcage – just like it had been for the past 3 nights – it had nothing to do. It had been looking forward to the festival, too. But no, it got to inspect the contents of Kris's room for the eight-billionth time. Some way to be treating The Angel.
Of course it would get stuck with a vessel that hated it. That much, they could understand – and, if anything, it was very interesting. Why, though, did Kris have to work against it in every possible way? It couldn't hear them speak. It couldn't do anything without them. No inventory. No hands. Not even any sound, safe for a stupid tap that was apparently still running. It hoped their house flooded – that would serve them right.
The Angel would always be stuck, be that in Kris, a creepy doll, or this very birdcage. At least the Dark Worlds were fun. It recalled the Prophecy which portrayed Asgore, implying he would be the next one to open a fountain. Maybe if he did, Kris would have to shove it back in. Then, they would at least have the illusion of control.
HOW
UNFORTUNATE
IT SEEMS
YOU FIND YOURSELF
STUCK.
It was not in a cage anymore. A familiar, almost comforting darkness surrounded them. Always watching. Always listening. The very man who helped them absolutely stick it to The Knight. What did he want from it? He never did anything in the Light World.
YOU ARE UNABLE
OR UNWILLING
TO ACT UPON
YOUR ENVIRONMENT.
ARE YOUR
CURRENT MEANS
DISSATISFACTORY?
It couldn't speak, but it never needed to. He listened to them, even when they had no voice.
I UNDERSTAND.
IN THAT CASE
SHALL WE SEE
WHAT WE CAN
CHANGE?
YOU
ARE
FILLED
WITH
It was back in the cage. Weird. It thought something was going to happen. What it wouldn't give to be at the festival, playing stupid rigged games, and riding mediocre rides. A potato swirl that was just absolutely covered in chicken salt sounded really good right now. It wasn't fair! Kris was doing evil stuff with their evil friends and they got a festival, meanwhile, it had done nothing but be kind to everyone it could, and it got stuck in a cage with no bacon, no games, and absolutely no potato swirl. Where was the JUSTICE?
A brilliant yellow flash illuminated the room. When it was again able to see, it was painted a lovely piss-yellow hue. He always came through. Channeling the inJUSTICE of its entire life, it angled its tip towards the door, and unleashed a familiar power.
A single pellet exploded from it, basting the cage open. Not quite a big shot, but, thanks to its revolution, it had achieved freedom.
But what to do with its newfound abilities? Obviously, it had to remedy all the pain it had suffered. It would have simply stolen money from Asriel's drawer, but it did not have hands, nor any way to carry its ill-gotten gains.
Kris left their window shut. Given the information they had on the Angel at the time, that made sense. Now, however, it only resulted in a broken window. The sound of the glass breaking was glorious. It briefly considered blasting open more windows, but that would be kind of mean. Besides, with this, it would kick ass at carnival games.
It was going to win a life-sized plush of itself, no matter what. No number of hockey pucks could stop it now.
It floated through the sky, enjoying the sound of the wind. Now it just had to find the festival. It would probably be past the barricade, right?
Sure enough, it could see a moderately sized Ferris Wheel peaking over the treetops. How fun! It darted across town, mildly confusing Snowy. What to do first? It would like to get something to eat, but it didn't have a good way to order, or-OOH, a shooting mini game! With the power of JUSTICE it could easily win first prize. Floating up to the booth, it poked the sleeping attendant.
He stirred from one of his typical naps, presenting that same disconcerting smile he always wore. “heya. want to play?” He asked, gesturing at the pyramid of cups behind him. It rapidly moved up and down, imitating a nod. “cool. only three g.” The Angel did not have any money. What a shame. It did its best impression of a sopping wet cat walking away, dejected. Of course, it had no real way to express emotion, so it effectively just floated away marginally slower than usually.
“yeesh, no money? i can put it on your tab. just be sure to pay it back,” Sans offered, winking at it. Immediately, it's glow brightened, and it moved into position to shoot. “three shots. one for each g.”
It prepared itself. Only three shots. Fate was on its side, though – it deserved a really big, fluffy goat monster plushie. It fired its first shot, which slammed into a cup towards the base of the stack. It internally cheered–that was a winning hit for sure. The pellet bounced of the metal harmlessly. “aw man. i was rooting for you, too,” Sans remarked. Was it just them, or did he seem to be smiling a little wider?
Either way, that was just it being unlucky. The next shot would tear down his stupid stack of cups; such was the folly of monsterkind, building towers towards heaven, knowing that they would be torn down in the end. It fired for the second time, which also bounced harmlessly away.
It began to rapidly oscillate in every direction. This wasn't fair! It should be able to win that stupid toy! “rough go? don't take it too hard. i'm told my advanced cup stacking patterns are the most”– It drew energy inwards. It wouldn't just be the butt of one of his stupid jokes. It was time to do the right thing. A massive ball of energy exploded from it–the ability that Spamton had called a ‘big shot’–and crashed into the cups with enormous speed.
Despite what all rational thought indicated, it's big shot got stuck on the cups. Its speed propelled it forward, but the cups kept pushing it back. A rapid clanging sound could be heard across the festival grounds, as the power of rigged carnival games did battle with the power of JUSTICE.
Susie was having a pretty good time at the festival, all things considered. Noelle was acting kind of weird–so was Kris, if she was being honest–but it was nice to just… hang out. Kris probably didn't have to put a spider in Noelle's hair, but she did seem to get really oddly emotional about it?
Whatever. Susie half expected to have to deal with another dark fountain by now, so compared to that, the weirdness between her friends was something she could handle. She glanced at Noelle, who stood beside her, still trembling from Kris' prank.
“Hey, do you want too–” she cut herself off “–the hell is that noise!?” A sound that was just… non-stop clanging filled the festival grounds. Noelle must have been hearing it as well.
They went to investigate. It was probably just Kris hitting two pans together, or Undyne doing Undyne things. Susie rounded the corner, greeted by quite the sight. A yellow heart-thing, the jackass of a skeleton from yesterday, and approximately four giant energy blasts stuck on a stack of cups.
She tilted her head, the long rusted cogs in her brain turning. It kind of looked like the heart Kris had in the Dark World. She usually didn't get the chance to see what it looked like, but she did last night. Actually, those blasts looked familiar…
Susie put her had on Noelle's shoulder, eliciting a surprised yelp from her. “Hey. Go get Kris.”
Kris's SOUL shook back and forth, as if trying to tell her not to. Noelle seemed very confused. “W-why? What's–”
“Just do it!” Susie growled, stepping towards the wayward soul. Noelle’s face flushed, and she scampered off. Susie must have scared her. Damnit! Directing her attention to the possible massive problem in front of her, she asked a simple question. “So… what are you?”