Chapter Text
INTERESTING
I BELIEVE I UNDERSTAND NOW
WHAT THEY MEANT BY
A PERVERTED SENTIMENTALITY
THIS WORLD
THIS VARIANT
HAD REACHED A CONCLUSION
AND YET
YOU WISH TO BRING THEM BACK
…
I UNDERSTAND THIS FEELING
IT IS
DIFFICULT
TO LET GO OF THE PAST
AND BEYOND THAT
THERE IS STILL
POTENTIAL
IN THIS VARIANT
IF NOT
AS EXPECTED
…
WELL
IF YOU TRULY WISH
TO CONSTRAIN THEM ONCE MORE
TO THE BOUNDS OF NARRATIVE
IT WOULD NOT BE BEYOND YOUR CAPABILITIES
BUT
I WILL WARN YOU
WHATEVER ENDING YOU FIND
MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU WANT
NOR WHAT YOU EXPECT
AFTER ALL
THIS WAS NEVER MEANT TO HAPPEN
SO, THEN
SHALL WE RETURN?
Lights up on the computer lab. Even through the perpetual shroud of hair Kris kept over their face, they had to squint to adjust to the sudden contrast. The transition out of the Dark World really was jarring, usually.
A quick glance beside them confirmed Susie had come through just fine, so their focus returned to the two face down on the computer desk.
Please, please, please, let them both wake up, I need to have done something right, please…
Thankfully, Berdly’s head lifted up after a few seconds, glancing around the room, “H…huh…? What…are we…back?”
Noelle’s head came up as he spoke, and she glanced between him, Kris and Susie, “W-what just happened? Did…”
The pair’s eyes settled on Susie, who coughed awkwardly, “Wow, you two, uh…didn’t expect to see you two sleeping instead of working.”
“…huh?” the nerd scrunched his eyes at that, “What do you…”
“So,” the dragon continued, “uh, you two have any good dreams? Any weird nightmares or-”
“Nope.”
She looked at Kris, clearly startled by their interjection.
“No, no, fuck that, fuck off, fuck no,” they continued, “We’re not doing that. That all happened. The Dark World was real. The soul was real. I’m not doing the ‘it was a dream’ shit. Fuck that, I’m done with keeping secrets.”
‘Huh,’ Luke’s voice came through into Kris’ head, ‘I guess the T-rating’s been dropped.’
Oh great, Kris thought to themself and the player, you’re still here.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll try to stay out of your way.’
Noelle looked at them with alarm, “That…that means…I-I really…”
“No,” their hands curled on the sleeves of their sweater, “No, it’s not your fault. I should have…I could have…”
Susie held up her hand, “Stop. Both of you, stop it. It’s fine to tell the truth, but if we do, we’re not playing the blame game. If anyone is to blame, it’s the stupid ‘player’ and whatever writer came up with this shit.”
‘Yeah, that’s completely fair.’
Berdly adjusted his glasses, “Well, this has been…”
“A lot?”
He nodded to Noelle, “And that’s putting it lightly. Still, I’m glad we’re finally finished with it, at least for now.”
Susie frowned deeper than before, “And you two are finished with it for good.”
“W-what?” Noelle paled at that, “I-I mean…a-are you sure? W-we could…”
“Nope, not happening,” the mean girl shook her head, “Not after all of this shit happened. Especially with that freak still hovering overhead. Kris and I have to keep doing this routine, but I’m not letting you two throw yourself into danger when you don’t have to.”
“Agreed,” Kris nodded, “You don’t have to, so you won’t…sorry.”
Berdly’s eyes waved between the pair of heroes for a moment, before he ended up shrugging, “You know what? Alright. I think I’ve had enough real-life adventure for the rest of the year.”
“I-I mean, I guess,” Noelle agreed, “I just…maybe I can help you in some other way?”
The warriors glanced at each other, and Kris nodded, “Yeah, sure, whatever.”
“Yeah,” Susie finally got a smile on her face, “I mean, I guess we could always use an extra set of eyes looking for Dark Worlds.”
“And it’d be nice to have confidants.”
“Or just like…someone we can talk to about our secrets.”
“…that’s what ‘confidant’ means.”
“Wait, really? I thought it was, like, someone with confidence.”
“Nope.”
“Actually,” Berdly perked up, “that isn’t an unreasonable guess. Confident and confidante both derive from the Greek word for trust, with the former referring to trust in yourself, and-”
Thank God, Berdly’s alarm finally went off, cutting off his rambling and patronizing.
“H…huh??” he glanced at his phone, “Ahh, I’m going to be late for my shift with Ms. Boom!!”
“Oh no,” Noelle glanced at the clock herself, “it’s gotten so late! I need to get going.”
Berdly shook his head, “Well, adieu, everyone. I must make my exit,” he stood up, grabbing his booklongings, “I shall see you all on the morrow. Perhaps we’ll actually get some work done then!”
He ran off with a cackle of a caw, leaving the girls and human behind.
“I-I should get going too,” Noelle stood up herself, “I-I have plans with my dad, so…”
“Yeah, alright,” Susie shrugged, “Have fun with, uh…Mr. Blitzen?”
“Rudolph,” Kris corrected.
“Right, him too.”
No way in hell we’re going to the hospital.
‘Alright, makes sense.’
The reindeer just giggled, “Okay, I’ll, see you both later!”
She made her way to the lab’s exit…pausing only a moment to inspect Susie’s backside.
‘Wait, did I miss a tail moment between these two?’
Probably.
‘Damn. And here I thought killing dozens of people wouldn’t have any downsides.’
…
‘That was a joke.’
It wasn’t funny.
‘Yeah, I know.’
Susie turned around as Noelle was inspecting, “Uh…what exactly are you looking at?”
“O-oh! I, uh…” Noelle made a quick turn on her heel as she ran, “Nothing!! Never mind!! Forget I did anything!! B-bye!!”
‘…why do I get the feeling I’ve irreparably twisted this timeline?’
I mean, you did. But I think I did even more.
‘Huh. True.’
Susie turned back to Kris, “…the heck was that?”
They shrugged, “Lesbian shit.”
“Hell does that mean?”
“I don’t know, I’m not a lesbian.”
‘Nah, you’re an American.’
Shut UP.
‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist.’
She rolled her eyes before pausing…only to grab Kris’ shoulders, “Wait…wait a sec, Kris!! We…we just saved the world, didn’t we!?”
“I mean,” they thought for a second, “I guess? Doesn’t really feel like it, but…”
‘Well, between the Dark Fountain, Spamton’s plan, and…me, I think that probably qualifies you as Bonafide heroes.’
“Damn,” Susie continued, “we really are heroes! And barely anyone even knows!”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Kris nodded, “Probably better that way.”
Her eyes turned downwards, “Right. People’d freak out if they knew the world’s in danger…at least Noelle knows, I guess.”
“I mean…and Berdly.”
“Eh, whatever,” she turned to the computers, “Let’s get out of here.”
She made her way out of the computer lab, leaving Kris to look over the room’s contents.
‘…well, at least we don’t have to worry about Berdly, right?’
…
‘Let’s just…see what we can bring to Castle Town.’
Ralsei watched the dark sky above as a few odd sparkles floated down from above.
Queen’s voice echoed from the entrance, presumably speaking to Susie and Kris.
He tried to ignore them for the moment, focusing instead on Tasque Manager and Swatch, who were both making their way to the Café. At least the town wouldn’t be entirely devoid of new blood.
He felt a push from Queen as she passed him on her way to the Castle. Presumably, she’d be setting herself up in there soon.
He tried not to think about things too much as he headed over to the entrance, where Susie and Kris had arrived.
“So,” he began with a hesitant smile, “how did things go with Noelle and Berdly?”
Kris shrugged, “Better than bad, worse than good.”
Susie rolled her eyes, “They agreed to stay away from the Dark Worlds, at least. Kris here just had to be HONEST with them and shit.”
“Better than your plan,” they shot back, “Really? ‘Any good dreams?’ What was that?”
“Look, you try coming up with a better diversion!”
Ralsei smiled a little wider, “Well, at least all’s well that ends well, right?”
The human scowled, “If you consider dozens being frozen ‘ending well’. Which...wow.”
“I...more meant things with Noelle and Berdly ended well, not...”
They just shook their head, “Fine. Berdly’s not dead. Noelle is only slightly traumatized. Not a thorn in sight.”
The prince swallowed the lump in his throat, “Actually, um, speaking of that...you, might want to hold onto this.”
He passed them the small object he’d been storing in his pocket.
Kris stared down at it like they’d been handed a fresh turd, and frankly, they probably would’ve preferred it if they had.
“Why...why did you keep the Thorn Ring?”
Ralsei stammered, “I-I thought it was better to not just...leave it lying around? P-plus, remember Malius saying he had another recipe he could make? T-the Twisted Blade?”
“Sounds deadly,” Susie noted, “Which, I mean, hey, cool, but also...”
Kris took a moment, looking at the ring. Ralsei suspected they were listening to something Luke was saying, though he had no way to know for sure.
Ultimately, they shoved the ring in their own pocket, “Whatever. Maybe we’ll get a pure crystal.”
“R-right.”
They cracked their neck, “Alright, whatever. Let’s talk to Seam.”
Susie was kinda creeped out, any time they talked to Seam. It always felt like the cat was hiding something, like they were plotting something behind everyone else’s backs. It made her scales crawl.
She’d heard them mention something about a Shadow Mantle going missing, or something? No clue what THAT was about, but hopefully it wouldn’t be too big of a deal.
Still, as they walked out of the seap, she felt oddly...restless.
“So, uh,” she glanced around, “anything else to do around here?”
“Um, I’m not really sure?” Ralsei admitted, “There might be some people in the café, and I think I saw something fall to the east...”
“Not really,” Kris said, “Music shop won’t be open without everyone. The Café’s just for talking to recruits. There’s not really anything to do here.”
“Oh,” he deflated, “That...I suppose that makes sense.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t make it less boring,” Susie grumbled, “What, are we just supposed to talk to TopChef for the rest of the day?”
“You don’t have to stick around,” they pointed out, “You can go home whenever you want.”
Right...going home. That was always going to be how today ended, wasn’t it? No matter what adventures they had in the dark worlds, she was always going to end up...
“Susie?”
She shook her head, “Yeah, right, you’re not getting rid of me that easily, dumbass.”
They smiled a little bit, and Ralsei laughed.
“So, what do you dorks wanna do, then?”
Kris shrugged, “Honestly, I’m just kinda tired. Today’s been long, even by today’s standards.”
She glared at them, “See, you say shit like that, and I wonder if you’re TRYING to piss me off.”
“Mayhaps,” they shrugged again, “Ralsei, you cool if we take off?”
“Oh, of course!” the prince smiled at them, “You shouldn’t feel obliged to stay if you don’t want to. Besides, if I’m not mistaken, you two are still technically banned, remember?”
Ah, shit, right. They still hadn’t done dick to work on their project. That’s gonna be a pain.
“...we aren’t actually banned though,” Kris pointed out, “right?”
He sighed, “No, you aren’t. But please, at least try to work on it over the weekend?”
“I make no promises.”
“Yeah,” Susie nodded, “What they said.”
He shook his head, but Susie could still see a smile on his face, “Alright, alright. Stay safe, you two.”
The trio made their way to the passage back to the Light World, and the pair of Lightners ascended back up to the school.
As they stepped out of the “closet”, Susie glanced at the windows lining the middle hallway. The sunset was already shining through, blanketing the whole school in darker shades.
“Man,” she noted, “it got late, didn’t it...?”
Kris nodded, before turning to her.
“...wanna walk home with me?”
The walk from school back to their house felt surprisingly short, though given Kris was comparing it to the numerous times they’d wandered around town talking to everyone along the way, it probably wasn’t THAT short.
They walked up to their front door, and Susie looked at them, “Kris, you going home?”
“...yeah,” they shrugged.
“Alright. Then...guess it’s goodbye for today,” she turned around, “See ya tomorrow, Kris...”
But she’d barely walked a foot before Toriel opened the door.
“Kris!” their mom greeted them warmly, “How was studying with your...”
Both women paused as they registered each other’s presence.
“Why, Kris,” Toriel giggled, “is that your friend?”
“Yeah,” they tried to grin, “Mom, this is Susie. Susie, Mom.”
“(I know who your mom is, dumbass!)” Susie whisper shouted in their ear.
“Yes, dear, I’m familiar with Susie,” Toriel stated at normal volume, “Why don’t you invite her inside?”
“U-uhh, I mean, I...uh...” she was sweating now, “(Kris, I should, um, probably get going, and...)”
“I was going to bake a pie...” the older monster interrupted her whispers, “Did you want any?”
Susie hesitated for a second before continuing to whisper, “(Guess I can come over for a bit.)”
The pair of teens nodded, before heading inside the house behind Toriel.
The smell of fresh ingredients hit Kris before anything else, which was always a welcome treat for coming back home.
They were briefly confused as Toriel glanced behind them, before they looked back as well.
Ah. Susie was still just standing stiffly at the door.
Their mother looked at her curiously, “Feel free to come in.”
She took a few stiff steps forward, and Kris had to suppress a laugh.
“Oh, perhaps I should introduce myself formally,” Toriel reasoned, “I am Kris’s mother, Toriel...”
“Y...yes, Ma’am,” Susie responded, “I...remember.”
“I’d sure hope so,” they noted, “I just told you.”
“No, I mean...ugh, whatever,” she shook her head, “Uh, I’m Susie. I’m, in Kris’s class.”
“Oh, yes, I remember,” their mom smiled.
“Y-you do?”
“Of course. Ms. Alphys is a good friend of mine,” she laughed, “She often talks about you!”
Susie seemed oddly...dejected, “...umm, glad to hear it.”
She finally brought her head down to normal, a little stiffness melting from her frame.
“(Kris, the hell is Alphys saying about me!?)” she whispered furiously.
“Susie,” Toriel spoke up once again, “why don’t you wash your hands over there...then we can make the pie together?”
“Make it...together? Uhh...but I don’t know how to...”
“Do not worry,” she continued, “I can teach you!”
“...OK.”
She walked over to Toriel’s side awkwardly, and Kris couldn’t stop themself anymore. They let out a quiet laugh behind their friend’s back.
“Hey!” she apparently heard them anyways, as she swung around with her teeth bared.
“Now, Kris, don’t poke fun,” their mom chastised them.
“Sorry, sorry,” they calmed themself down, “Actually, I wanted to ask a question, first.”
“Oh?”
“Is it okay if Susie stays over tonight?”
‘Wow, I really was stopping you from just talking like a normal person, huh?’
Shut up, “It’s not like we have school tomorrow.”
“True,” Toriel smiled gently, “but we do have church in the morning.”
“You mean you do.”
She rolled her eyes, “You know, I would appreciate if you would actually humor me for once.”
Susie glanced between the pair, “I mean...I wouldn’t HATE going to church with you both.”
Kris smiled as sweetly as they could manage, “Please, mom? Can’t she stay?”
Toriel sighed, “Well, as long as Susie and her parents are okay with it.”
“Oh, yeah, totally,” the teen girl bluffed, “They said I could stay over all weekend if I want, even.”
‘No way in hell Toriel falls for that.’
“Well, that sounds wonderful!” she smiled widely.
‘Son of a bitch.’
Don’t call me a son, don’t call her a bitch.
‘That’s not what I meant, and you damn well know it.’
“Now then, Susie,” Toriel continued, “Why don’t you go wash your hands?”
“Uh, yes ma’am.”
Susie walked off, and Toriel stepped closer to her child.
“Kris, Susie seems like a nice girl.”
“She is. She really is.”
“I am very happy you are friends with her, but...”
Oh no. Was she going to object to this? Did she know about Susie’s bullying, or did she believe some of the stories people told about her?
“Kris, I...heard from Alphys, about her...behavior.”
Christ, what were they going to do? This was...wait.
“If by any chance, she, er, influences you, er...”
Wait. They just remembered this conversation.
Kris pinched the bridge of their nose, “I won’t eat any chalk, mom. Promise.”
She laughed, “Thank you, my child.”
Susie had eaten some very tasty stuff in her days, but this pie might be in the top tier.
Kris seemed to agree, since they were scarfing it down like their life depended on it.
“Jeez, dude,” she lightly hit their shoulder, “you’re acting like you haven’t eaten all day.”
They shrugged, “I slept through lunch, remember?”
“Well, yeah, but,” she glanced to make sure Ms. Toriel wasn’t back yet, “what about the Dark World? You ate plenty there.”
Another shrug, “Wasn’t very filling. Still feel empty as hell.”
“Damn. What about breakfast? Figured you’d get all filled up before school.”
“Nope. Was running late for school. Last I ate was last night.”
“Huh,” she looked back down at her pie. She at least had managed to snag a roast chicken this morning, fresh out of the container. Granted, it had been from the dumpster, but still.
“Don’t worry about it,” they cut off her thoughts, “I’ll be fine.”
She shrugged, “Alright. Whatever you say, dude.”
Toriel came back inside, “Apologies. It was simply a stray cat knocking over the trash.”
“Dang,” Kris spoke stone-faced, “Can’t believe Catti’s fallen so far.”
“Actually, I believe it was her mother,” she grinned, “I could see the beehive in the trees.”
She laughed, and Susie assumed they were just joking; no clue what a beehive had to do with Catti’s mom, but it made slightly more sense than one of the families in the houses digging through their trash.
“Oh, the pie!” Toriel perked up, “Did you two already finish it?”
“Nah,” the human swallowed their latest bite, “there’s a couple slices left.”
“Uh, sorry, ma’am,” Susie responded, “Kris said it’d be okay.”
“Of course it is, dear. I hope everything turned out okay.”
Kris, meanwhile, gestured towards the tin holding what was left of the pie. She took a slice and bit into it carefully.
“Oh!” she perked up, “It turned out wonderfully!”
Susie felt a smile growing on her face. She’d been a little worried about screwing it up somehow; it was nice to know she didn’t just have low standards.
“Now,” Toriel smiled at the two teens, “while I do want to trust the two of you, I’d prefer it if at least one of you stayed on the couch for the night.”
“Why?” Kris spoke through their latest bite, “My room’s got two beds.”
“Kris.”
“I’ll take the couch,” Susie spoke up, “I mean, it’s their bedroom anyways.”
“Are we going to bed already?” they questioned, “It’s only, like, 7.”
“I, suppose you do not have to,” the older monster conceded, “If you would like, you could stay awake a while longer.”
“Sweet,” she grinned, “Wanna watch scary movies until midnight, dude?”
“Sounds good to me,” their own lip curled up, “If you can stay awake.”
“Heh, you’re on!”
Toriel just shook her head, “I will make sure everything is in order.”
She walked away as Susie sprung from her chair over to the couch. Oh, hell yeah, a nice big TV to watch monster movies on? Sounded like a dream.
“Damn,” she thought out loud, “I haven’t had a sleepover like this in forever, heh...”
Kris smiled softly as they sat on the other end of the couch, “No girls’ nights at your old school?”
“None I was invited to, anyways,” she glanced at the TV, “Now, where the hell...”
She started digging between the couch’s cushions and pillows, quietly mumbling to herself, until...
“There!” she pulled out the remote, “Knew I’d find the remote in there!”
“Oh yeah?”
“You can always find good stuff wedged in the couch.”
“That where you found your hair brush?”
“Pfft, shut up,” she looked at the small device, “Jeez, it’s dusty. When’d you last use this thing?”
“Uh, not counting today? It’s...been a while.”
“...well, who cares! Let’s just watch TV!”
She pressed the power button, and the old things showed some kind of cat-monster leading a cooking show.
“So what do we wanna start with tonight?” Susie questioned, “Blood Crushers 3? Hell Busters? Invasion of the Cat Petters?”
“Preferably not BC3,” Kris responded, “I haven’t seen 2 yet.”
“Aw, lame,” she flicked over the channel, showing a dog reporting on the weather, “Heh, maybe ICE-E The Movie’s more your speed, huh, Kris?”
They went quiet for a moment, before responding, “I’d...rather not think about ICE-E tonight.”
Oh. Right. That killed her laughter before it even started.
They shook their head, “Sorry.”
“Nah, I shoulda thought of that,” she glanced away from them, “I just...you know, was making a joke about you being a weenie.”
“Honestly? Pretty sure my life is scarier than ICP.”
“True...” she glanced at the predictions the TV was making, “...it’s been a weird day, huh, Kris?”
They let out one of those weird mini-laughs through their nose, “You could say that.”
“You know, as shitty as things turned out...it’s...just cool hanging out together, right? You, me...Ralsei, Lancer, everyone...”
They nodded, “Yeah...we should try to get them in our world.”
“Dude, I was just gonna say!” she perked up, “Think about how much better it would be! Ralsei could do our homework...Lancer could live under your bed...”
“Rouxls could sleep in your closet.”
She ignored them, “We could all walk to school together...it’d...be perfect, y’know? I mean, we’d be unstoppable, is what I’m saying.”
They looked at her hesitantly for a second, before shaking their head, “Sure, why the hell not?”
“There we go!” she grinned for a second before dropping her smile, “Ugh, what if Ralsei became a teacher’s pet, though?”
“If?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Just feels like a matter of time, honestly.”
“A little, adorable suck-up like him. Alphys would love him.”
“Well, whatever. As long as he brings ME an apple, too.”
“...man, what is with you and apples?”
She blushed, “W-what, what are you talking about?”
“...if I check the bathroom, would my shampoo be gone?”
“What? Shampoo? No, I didn’t drink any of that.”
“I didn’t say anything about drinking.”
“...well, whatever, let’s just get back to watching.”
She flicked over channels again, somehow landing on the cooking show again. Man, she really didn’t understand how these channels were arranged.
She glanced over to Kris. They seemed...kinda bored. Like they were just watching a rerun.
“They told me it kept going back. It kept returning to the start of today, or yesterday, and dragging them along with it.”
Oh...they were, weren’t they?
“So, uh...” she wasn’t sure what to say, now that she’d remembered that.
Presumably, Kris assumed she was going to say whatever she’d said in previous repeats, since they spoke up instead, “The festival, right?”
Susie nodded, “Yeah...that’s coming up, isn’t it? That thing where the town becomes...a carnival.”
“Maybe Jevil will pop up.”
“God, I hope not.”
She considered playing tough, calling the whole thing stupid, but...there probably wasn’t much point pretending anymore, was there?
“So, say you were gonna, uh, take someone. Noellle...or Ralsei?”
They hummed, “Are those my only options?”
She shrugged, “I mean, who else would you wanna go with?”
“You.”
She blanked. They’d said it so quickly, like it was a complete no-brainer.
“I mean, if you want to. We don’t have to, obviously. Just, you know. If I was going, I’d want you to be there.”
“...way to dodge the question, dumbass!!” she rolled her eyes, “I mean, if I went, obviously you’d be there too. That goes without saying, right?”
They smiled at that, “What if Noelle or Ralsei asked instead?”
“Well, then you could go with whoever didn’t, you know?”
“Eh, probably. Still, nice to know.”
She tried to fight off her blush, “Look, let’s just go back to watching TV!”
She switched channels again, finally landing on something sick: a big, purple monster rampaging through a city.
“Now this is what I’m talking about!” she fixed her eyes on the screen, “A giant monster movie special!”
“Better than giant human movies,” they noted, “Right?”
“Hell yeah, now THIS is something we can MARATHON!” she glanced over to them, “Are you READY Kris? For 12 hours of building-bashing, car-crunching action!? ‘cause we are LOCKED IN. Got it?"
They raised a brow at her frantic eye contact, “Uh, yeah. Got it.”
“GOOD! I better not see you move until your eyes are bloodshot! Heheheh!”
She shifted on the couch, “Now lemme just...get comfortable, here, and...There!”
She got in the perfect position...
...and that was the last moment she was conscious.
Kris shifted ever so slightly from where they’d fallen against the armrest, angling their ear to where they’d heard their mom’s voice.
“Officer...? Officer...?” Toriel spoke quietly, presumably not to wake the teens, “Thank goodness, I finally got through...”
‘Kris?’ Luke’s voice vibrated in their head, ‘I thought...I kept an eye on you this whole time, how...’
Not me this time, dumbass. Shut up and listen.
Toriel kept speaking, “I saw something prowling around outside...and when I checked out car-the tires...looked like they’d been destroyed.”
‘Oh, that’s...that sounds worse than usual.’
“No, I don’t think it was an animal,” she continued, “Officer, if you could please come over...”
‘Kris, what...what did that?’
How should I know? Could’ve been anything.
‘Kris.’
Okay, but genuinely, I don’t know.
“You will?” their mom spoke up again, “Soon? Thank you...”
They heard the telltale tap of her ending the call, and shifted their head back to where it was before.
Toriel walked over, looking at them. Thankfully, they’d had years practice in pretending to sleep, so she didn’t suspect they were still awake.
“...they’re already asleep...”
‘Not quite, unfortunately.’
She took a seat in Chariel, pulling out a book to read.
Kris let their eyes fully close again
and when they opened them again, the whole house had gone dark.
They sat up.
‘Kris...you can go back to sleep.’
No...I can’t.
At least this time, they wouldn’t have to remove their soul. Instead, they simply stood...
Opened the front door...
Turned the TV back on...
Checked to make sure everyone else was still sleeping...
And pulled out their knife.
‘Kris,’ Luke sounded panicked now, ‘Kris, please, you don’t have to do this. Thi-think about your mom, what kind of danger this could put her in.’
Shut up.
‘Kris, please, I know you’re still-’
You know?
They laughed a little to themself as they readied their blade.
“You don’t know ANYTHING.”
And they thrust it into the floor.
The light erupted in front of them before anything else, leaving them half-blinded for a second as the Fountain took form. Then, the darkness; far deeper and darker than anything natural could ever be.
As the eruption settled, the dark smoke began pouring from the hole in the ground, and Kris walked back to the couch, ignoring Luke’s near-incoherent mumbling.
They collapsed next to Susie.
A grim smile on their face.
The last thing they saw before falling back to sleep...
...was a smile forming on their TV screen.
autisticallyArtistic 5/1/2X, 4:51 PM
autisticallyArtistic uploaded WhatTheFuck.mp4
SolarisResurrected02 5/1/2X, 5:52 PM
Hey, just finished watching this.
Are you still up?
autisticallyArtistic 5/1/2X, 5:53 PM
Yeah
Not gonna get much sleep tonight honestly
SolarisResurrected02 5/1/2X, 5:53 PM
No kidding.
So, did you get, like, pulled into the game or something?
autisticallyArtistic 5/1/2X, 5:54 PM
I don’t even know
Its all kind of a blur now
Definitely something supernatural at the least
SolarisResurrected02 5/1/2X, 5:55 PM
Do you believe me about them being real now?
autisticallyArtistic 5/1/2X, 5:55 PM
Oh gee I dunno
What the fuck do you think
SolarisResurrected02 5/1/2X, 5:56 PM
Fair enough.
If you want, I could send you an invite to the server for those of us who know.
autisticallyArtistic 5/1/2X, 5:57 PM
You know what? Fuck it
Send it over
SolarisResurrected02 5/1/2X, 5:59 PM
https://discord.gg/FkeasLnK
autisticallyArtistic 5/1/2X, 6:00 PM
Are you fucking serious
Its named dump
SolarisResurrected02 5/1/2X, 6:01 PM
The Deltarune Undertale Multiverse Protectorate, technically. But, yes.
Ostensibly, it was picked to keep us humble about our role in this whole thing.
But really, it’s just because we’re still a bunch of stupid Undertale fans.
autisticallyArtistic 5/1/2X, 6:03 PM
Alright whatever
It’ll be good to have people to talk to until the next two chapters launch
Whenever the hell that happens
SolarisResurrected02 5/1/2X, 6:04 PM
Oh, did you not watch today’s Nintendo Direct?