Chapter Text
The sky is blue.
The sky shouldn't be blue. The last time that Noelle had seen it was blood red, dyed with her final sunset. Noelle was supposed to have left this world. Her dust disappearing into the lake. Leaving her at peace at long last.
Instead, the sky is blue. It's blue and filled with wispy clouds, miles and miles away. Slowly, her gaze travels around the small window of sky, following the trellises of golden flowers down to the ground where she lay. The ground is soft, softer than any grass she's ever lain on before, and entirely dry.
Like nothing had happened.
Still, this is not the lake. Nor any part of Hometown Noelle has ever seen. It's a small cave deep, deep beneath the earth. Noelle brings herself to sit up. Her mind is still swimming with confusion and questions, enough so that they drown themselves out into a quiet, numb hum.
A small noise to her side catches her attention, revealing Kris in a crumpled, similarly dry heap. They move again, sitting up as well. It takes Noelle a moment to realize what is different.
Kris looks normal.
The way they sit, the drape of their head, the slightly shaking breath, it's all Kris. Not whoever they had become recently. Noelle's heart sinks, disappointed. Then, in the next breath, she scolds herself. Kris gets their bearings, eyes darting all around the cavern, before landing on her.
"Ellie!" They cry out, pulling her into a desperate hug. They haven't called her that since Dess was still around. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." They pull away, just enough to look her in the eyes."It wasn't me, I swear I never-- I'd never-- I'm sorry." And then Kris begins to cry, burying their face in her shoulder.
Noelle has never seen Kris cry, not really. Not over anything more than a skinned knee. This isn't like that. These tears are deep and guttural. They bring forth her own tears. Tears Noelle thought she had run out of years ago. They sit together like that for a long time. Crying into each other over everything. Dess, Azzy, the years apart, the days together, Cyber City, the lake, all of it. It solves nothing, but is balm to her soul all the same.
"Give me your hand," Kris demands, digging into their pockets as they swallow their sorrow.
Noelle obeys more easily than ever before. All of her fight drained from her tears and the lake.
They pull out a kitchen knife and hold it to her fingers. It scares her. Then her own fear surprises her. Delicately, Kris leverages the knife underneath the Ring and begins to cut. Its vines are strong, but Kris is persistent. It snaps, they pull the thorns gently from her skin, and a weight is lifted. One she had nearly forgotten was there.
New tears spring to her eyes, even though Noelle can no longer verbalize why.
"Noelle," Kris says, softly now. "Noelle, I need you to listen to me. Please." She meets their eyes. "I never wanted this to happen. I'm sorry for so-- for so many things. I should have been there for you, and I should have protected you better. It's all my fault, blame me all you want, but don't every do that again. Don't ever let anyone push you to that again. I never wanted you to do something like... that. I promise. I promise." Their voice breaks. "So, so many people care about you, Noelle. The real you, beyond your grades and your image and-- and all of that bullshit."
And Noelle has fully lost it, she must have, because all Kris' speech brings to mind is the last time they brought Kris caroling. The shocked look on the Rabbit family's faces when Kirs opened their deceivingly sweet mouth to sing their own version of the carols. Singing nothing but swears. It's such a warm memory; it cuts through some of the numbness clinging to her soul.
"Thank you." She manages to say. It's the only thing that feels right to fill the waiting silence. If not for her, then for Kris.
It's the right choice, as Kris smiles through their still lingering tears. They seem to have calmed down. At least for now.
"Where do you think we are?" Noelle asks. The small cavern is dimly lit from above, but there seems to be a small exit a ways away.
"No idea." Kris stands and holds out a hand. "You want to come with?"
"Come with where?"
"Wherever the path leads." They shrug. "We're not going to stay stuck here forever. May as well bite the bullet." Concern crosses their face. "Can you stand? Are you hurt at all?"
"No, I think I'm alright." She grabs their hand, pulling herself up. "I suppose you're right."
Kris grabs her hand, like they used to as kids, and pulls her toward the unknown.
It opens up into another small cavern, lit by another hole far above. There aren't any flowers here, however.
Until one grows right in front of their eyes, opening up to a smiling face in its center.
"Howdy! I'm Flowey!" The flower cheers, before narrowing its eyes. "Hang on. Stop, stop. What is this? Who are you?" The questions are deadpan, and Flowey's face is wrought with irritation.
Kris is stopped, eyes narrowed, so Noelle supposes that this first encounter is up to her.
"Um, hello! My name is Noelle, and this is my friend Kris. We, um, we're not quite sure where we are. Could you--"
Flowey's easy smile returns. "Well, golly, you two must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! Guess little old me will have to do. Ready?" The flower doesn't wait. Noelle's vision flickers, and something tugs at her soul.
While nothing happens to her soul beyond that brief tug, Kris' has been summoned outside their body, glowing a soft blue. There is something different about her sight now. It's not monochrome, but certain colors have been muted. Kris' soul is the brightest thing in sight. Every hair stands on end.
"Interesting. I haven't seen a patience soul in a long time. You see that, kid? That's your soul, the very culmination of your being! Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."
"Just like the dark world," Kris mutters.
"What's LV?" Noelle asks. "Levels? Like in a game?"
Flowey laughs. "No, silly, it's LOVE! Down here, LOVE is shared through little white friendliness pellets." A dozen small, white pellets appear in front of the flower. "You need to move around and gather as many as you can, ready? Make sure they hit your soul!"
Kris side-steps every single pellet. "Don't treat me like an idiot. If you're going to battle me, just attack."
That throws Flowey completely out of his element. His smile morphs into a glare. "You think you're funny, huh?"
"So I've been told. Start talking, what is this place? A dark world? Something else?"
"'Dark world' has a nice ring to it. Not too much down here that's bright. Cut the crap and tell me what happened to the other kid."
"Aww, is the flower too afraid to say shit?" Kris coos before Noelle can butt in.
A harsh ring of pellets surrounds both Noelle and Kris. There isn't any way out.
"Whatever." Flowey grins. "I've already wasted enough time with this chatter. Best to take your soul before she shows up."
Then, again, before Noelle can say anything, a ball of flame appears next to the flower, forcing him to burrow back into the ground.
"What a terrible creature, torturing such poor, innocent youths." A familiar voice fills the cavern, the sheen of battle disappearing from Noelle's sight. Noelle nearly laughs at the thought. Kris? An innocent youth? Not a day in their life. There's always been some kind of prank or scheme brewing behind their shadowed eyes.
Out of the shadows steps Toriel, dressed in her choir robes. She dismisses the lingering flame with a wave of her hand.
She looks so familiar, so much like the kindly woman that Noelle has known all her life. Yet, it's because she's known Toriel all her life that she knows something about the monster in front of them is wrong. There is something stiff and regal in her posture, and she looks younger. Worst of all, she isn't wearing her glasses. This isn't their Toriel. Kris takes a hesitant step back. If Noelle noticed the difference, it's certain they did as well.
"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."
Still, the similarities are undeniable. Maybe they've landed in some kind of purgatory. Maybe this is all some ploy from the Angel, like in the old stories. This is all a parable about how suicide is wrong. (Noelle has heard them all, read them over and over religiously on her better days.) She'll wake up after Not-Toriel departs some sage wisdom that solves all her problems, then go on to be a preacher like Fr. Alvin. Or maybe this is some strange hallucination her brain is conjuring up with the rest of its oxygen.
"I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. And you." She looks to Noelle, just as she did when she was a young doe caught sneaking sweets. "I can't imagine how you snuck your way in here. That door is locked and for good reason."
"Sorry, ma'am." Noelle really should correct her, but she can't find the time to care just now. Moments ago she was committing suicide for Angels' sake. What's a little confusion?
"It is alright. What's done is done. At least tell me your name?"
"Noelle. This is Kris."
"It is wonderful to meet both of you. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." Not-Toriel walks back the way she came, and with no other choice, they follow.
The next room is well lit, though Noelle isn't sure how at first glance, and extremely purple. The walls, the floors, it's all purple. The only thing to break up the monochrome is the long vines crawling along the walls and a pile of bright red leaves. The pile sits right at the feet of twin staircases, leading up to another doorway. Toriel is already halfway up them. Kris begins to follow, but pauses in front of the leaves. They stare down at the pile before reaching out a hand and grasping at something. Then, they turn back to her.
"Noelle? Are you--"
"I'm fine." She cuts them off, speeding ahead.
The next room is purple as well, this time with a closed door and several odd tiles. The floor is patched in different colors as well, with a light path running through, as well as an odd stripe to the side.
"Welcome to your new home, Kris. Allow me to educate you on the operation of the Ruins. The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and door-keys. You must solve the puzzles to move from room to room."
"That sounds like a hassle," Kris says.
"It can be, however, when you live within the ruins, the puzzles and their solutions become routine." Toriel smiles. "Let me demonstrate." She walks on four of the six odd tiles, causing the door to open and her to proceed continue on.
This time, Kris grabs Noelle's hand before continuing on, jolting her back to reality, if only for a moment. Everything happening feels so far away, like she's more of an observer than an active participant. It's nice, almost, to sit back and glide along as Kris pulls her ahead. They walk through several hallways, Toriel pointing out the puzzles and demonstrating their solutions. Kris, at least, is paying attention, hopefully memorizing the answers for the both of them. Retaining any meaningful information feels impossible. Several pools of water line the rooms. Noelle isn't sure if they're supposed to scare or comfort her. They do neither. It's all just nothing.
They stop walking in front of an overstuffed dummy, misshapen and sitting atop a pole.
"As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation." God, this whole thing is absurd. Monsters attacking humans? Ruins? The Underground? Maybe she really did spend too much of her life playing video games. "However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time, and I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy."
Kris steps forward, still holding her hand. The dummy stares back with blank, black button eyes.
"So..." Kris flips their hair just enough, sliding on a sharp grin. "Come here often?"
The dummy continues to stare blankly. Obviously.
"That was wonderful! You are very good at this."
They continue on, going deeper and deeper into the Ruins. Noelle is barely present until her finger alights in pain.
"Sorry!" Kris whispers, nearly dropping her hand entirely. "I forgot about the..." The wounds on her finger. That they caused with that cursed ring, digging into her with dead eyes. The same ring they cut off in a second, looking not unlike a kicked puppy.
"It's alright." And it really is; she was more caught off guard than anything. The pain grounded her enough that it feels like these limbs may actually belong to her again. Almost.
Her vision flickers again with a tug to her soul, and a small monster hops into view. One of the Froggits. They sit in front of Kris, looking more curious than aggressive. Far from how that flower looked, at least.
"You, uh, come here often?" Kris is far less confident now, staring down at the monster. They never were the best conversationalist in practice.
Froggit smiles regardless, then scurries away the moment Toriel shoots them a nasty look.
Before them is a long path full entirely of spikes. Kris surges ahead regardless.
"Wait, Kris--" Toriel stops herself. The pair are already halfway across, weaving between the real spikes with practiced ease.
"Susie was really good at squeezing through the spikes," Kris says to her. "Besides, these puzzles are pretty similar to the dark worlds. You just need to follow the path it shows in the corridor before this."
"You were always good at puzzles." Noelle giggles slightly, not at Kris, but her own slowly devolving thoughts. If she were to throw herself onto the spikes, would they still hurt? More pain would suck, but it would prove more that she was still alive. If not, then well... what would be the real harm? Yet Kris is still holding onto her hand. She can't do that to them. Not on the off chance this is all real. Not since they've gone back to how they used to be.
Toriel catches up, leading them into the next room.
"You have done excellently thus far, my child. However... I have a difficult request to ask of you." She is so somber all of a sudden. Nothing like the smiling teacher Noelle is familiar with. "I would like you to walk to the end of the room alone. Forgive me for this," Toriel runs away, leaving the two alone.
"What is that about?" Kris wonders.
They press on, wandering down the long corridor.
The silence is suffocating.
Yet Noelle can't think of a way to fill it.
At the end of the room, Toriel emerges from behind the pillar and spouts off some nonsense about independence and business somewhere in the Ruins. Then, inexplicably, she hands Kris a cell phone and walks away.
A cell phone. In these dramatic, almost ancient ruins, somehow bright purple. Where monsters can shoot fireballs and live underground. A cell phone.
She breaks.
Tearing herself away from Kris' hand, she leans against the pillar nearby pillar. She's laughing, just like she did at the lake. Just like she did before she killed herself and ended up in some abomination of a purgatory RPG. Absolutely deranged without any care. She keeps laughing until her throat hurts and her knees are weak, falling into Kris' waiting arms as the last of her strength gives out.
"It's all so stupid." She whispers hoarsely. "I get dragged into some fever dream of ice, you stab my finger, you change, you finally give me the courage to change, and all I get is this? I can't even kill myself properly? I don't even get a chance to rest before getting thrown into this? I drown myself in a lake, and then I'm supposed to just, what, walk it off?"
There are no tears left to cry. Everything is simply exhausting. All Noelle wants is to sleep and never wake up, but she apparently can't even have that.
"You know, usually when people fail their attempts, they can go cry about it in bed. At least spend some time alone in the hospital. Not--" She gestures vaguely. "Wherever the hell we are now."
"It really sucks." Kris agrees.
"I should just throw myself into those pools of water. Or the spikes. Or both. There was water by the spikes, right? Maybe that'd get it done quick."
"You can't," Kris stresses. "You can't do that again. Please."
"Why not?"
"Because-- because--" They pause for a few moments. "Fuck, I don't know. You just can't. Because I care about you, and Susie cares about you. And so does Berdely, and your family, and mine, and Catti, and everyone in class. But you're not, like, supposed to stick around for other people. It's supposed to be for you. Not about what other people want." Kris pauses, then adds, "You still haven't beaten the newest Dragon Blazers game yet, right? The one you're playing with your dad?"
"No."
Kris shrugs. "That's as good a reason as any. I heard they're working on the fourth one too."
...
...
"I guess that is as good a reason as any."