Chapter Text
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There's not much that goes on in your life in the rather sleepy community of Hometown.
It's a small place - everyone knows each other one way or another. Throughout your entire life, you've grown up in this place.
Sure, you enjoyed the excitement of childhood; running around in the backyard, playing whatever game you and your friends could come up with at the time, begging your parents to buy you candy from the store, the simple life where things often went by in a blur through the enjoyment of it all.
Once you reached your teens, most of that was long gone. Now your main focus was just maintaining your average A- in Ms. Alphys' class while also surviving on your own due to your parents' absence. Just a week prior, they had informed you of a long work trip the two of them would be taking, leaving them absent for the next few coming weeks, essentially giving you complete independence for the next three weeks of your life.
You could handle yourself. It's not like you needed a car to get to-and-from around Hometown. Everything was basically walking distance, so long as you had the motivation to get up and wander about.
It was a simple cycle. Wake up, go to school, somehow get through the school day with Berdly's incessant nagging on your right (bless Noelle's heart for keeping you sane throughout the process), take care of yourself, occasionally treat yourself and Noelle to some QC's in the afternoons with the help of the hefty allowance your parents had left you, then usually hunker down for the night in your bedroom.
Speaking of Noelle, since the two of you were kids, you both were inseparable. You and Noelle got along and stuck to each-other like glue, the bond between you two far too strong to be easily split by simple circumstances. She was your closest childhood friend, and even as teenagers now, you kept close contact. It was fortunate enough that you were allowed to sit next to her in class - even if it came with the unfortunate con of sitting right next to Berdly as well. Not that you hated Berdly or anything, but his constant rambles about how great and superior his intellect was and his constant efforts to group himself, you, and Noelle in the "Top 3" was a little overbearing.
Noelle had a heart of gold and could never tell Berdly otherwise. You, on the other hand, really just tried to ignore him and not feed into his ever expanding ego.
Thoughts of Berdly aside, your mind immediately shifted its focus back into its nostalgic reminiscence.
Thinking about Noelle and your childhood, you thought back to the days of sitting inside the Holiday Manor as you and Noelle would talk for hours and hours - often times with Dess, Asriel and Kris, rambling on about anything. Kris constantly trying to prank Noelle and getting a scare out of her, leading to Dess having to scold Kris and chase them around to get them to apologize - while you and Asriel would witness the chaos of the older Holiday sibling trying to smack Kris with a wiffle bat until they apologized.
Or when the whole family got together, yours, Noelle's, Kris', to sit in the living room in the Dreemurr Residence, especially around the holiday season, enjoying hot chocolate and watching a bunch of movies on the huge CRT television they had.
It was not an uncommon occurrence that you'd imagine the nostalgic part of your childhood, almost yearning to experience it all again- especially now when everything had so gradually drifted apart over the years.
Dess had been gone for a while now. You remember how hard it was for Noelle, for everyone, when suddenly Dess just never came home one day. Though you were young, you weren't stupid, and though your parents tried to reassure you that she was just gone "temporarily", it wasn't hard for you to connect the dots.
Now, in the present day, you're just trying to move along like everyone else. Despite all hardships, you were fortunate enough that Noelle was still sticking by your side.
And that's exactly when your thoughts were cut short when you heard a familiar voice calling out your name. You blinked, turning your gaze over towards the left.
"There you are!" Noelle chirped, noticing that she'd gotten your attention. "You had me worried there for a moment. Spacing out before Ms. Alphys' lecture, fahaha!"
A sheepish chuckle escapes you as you rub the side of your head. "Right, sorry. I didn't mean to vanish on you. Just .. er - got lost in thought."
"I figured." Noelle sends a reassuring smile your way. "I just wanted to make sure you were still with us, since her lecture starts in just a few minutes."
Had you really spaced out for that long? You had arrived a little early to class, so with a quick glance around the room from over your shoulder, you noticed that most of the seats, once empty before when you'd first arrived for the day, had now been filled up with your fellow classmates.
"Good thing, too!" Your attention is immediately moved back to center, though this time, its angled slightly to the right as Berdly speaks to you. "Ms. Alphys has something big planned for today's lecture! It would be an absolute travesty for us if we didn't have your full and complete, undivided attention on today's assignment!"
You instinctively deadpan. "Is that so?"
"Of course!" The bluebird continues, oblivious to your dismay, as he holds up his pencil as though its some sort of mighty weapon of learning. "To stay ahead of the other simpletons among us, its important that the best three students always stay on-top of whatever is assigned to the class! It's the only way for us to continue holding the mantle of shining role-models for everyone else!"
You can hear Noelle let out a nervous, quiet chuckle at Berdly's typical antics.
"I'll put in everything I've got, Berdly." your voice is laced with sarcasm as you respond, to which falls upon deaf ears.
"Wonderful!"
"I'm.. sure we'll do our best!" Noelle chimed in, though quiet, compared to you and Berdly.
The conversation soon after dies down into mindless chatter amongst the three of you, along with the murmuring ambience of the other students behind you three.
It doesn't take much longer before your teacher, Ms. Alphys, cuts through the chatter.
"G-Good morning, everyone!" she calls out, catching everyone's attention. "I hope you all a-are doing well today."
She moves herself away from her computer monitor and over towards the left side of the classroom, towards the billboards of posted papers that usually listed today's events, the calendar, schedule, and whatnot.
"Today.. we're going to be doing something a little different!" She exclaims, which confirms Berdly's words from earlier. "After this past weeks lectures, we're.. going to be taking whats been learned and putting that.. i-into group projects!"
Ah. Group Projects.
You weren't against them, they were fine, and this wouldn't be the first time you'd done a group project in Ms. Alphys' class. Only issue is that it gives you the illusion of choosing who your partner is. The second she finished up her opening speech, you knew that Berdly was going to have himself, you, and Noelle into a group for the assignment.
Not like you were afraid of going against it, but you really couldn't leave Noelle by herself in a group project with Berdly. If she's gonna deal with Berdly's shenanigans, you're going to be there to tolerate it as well.
"I-I'll give you all about ten minutes to choose your partners for the group projects!" Ms. Alphys continues, and only after that do you witness Berdly raising his feather from the corner of your eye.
Alphys perks up. "Ah .. yes, Berdly?"
"Not to interrupt your opening lecture, Ms. Alphys, but I must ask a rather important question.." Berdly moves his feather back down as he is given permission to speak aloud. "Are we allowed to make groups of three for this project?"
Right on the nose.
"O-Oh? Yes! That.. that's fine!" Ms. Alphys confirms, and you can just feel Berdly's side glance towards you and Noelle without even needing to avert your gaze from your teacher.
With no other hands raised, Ms. Alphys continues; "I-If there are no more questions, please feel free to begin choosing your partners..!"
With that, the room once again falls into chatter, as each of your classmates begin choosing partners for the project.
Berdly turns to you and Noelle, and before he opens his beak, you speak for him.
"Yes, Berdly, we can be in a group of three."
"Perceptive as always!" Berdly grins. "Of course we'd understand each other without even needing to ask!"
"I'm sure we'll do a good job..!" Noelle beams, looking over towards you and Berdly. "Where should we discuss plans for our project?"
"We can always do the Library," you shrug. "It's got the computers 'n stuff. And books. Since we'll definitely need to research, we should probably work on our project there."
"I agree!" Berdly nods to your idea. "I have access to the computer lab whenever we might need it since I'm a volunteer assistant at the Library! It's a brilliant plan!"
"Then.. we'll do that!" Noelle smiled, and with that, the three of you were already set on plans for the project moving forward.
As difficult as it could be working with Berdly, you had to admit, the three of you did have a lot of experience in working together through past projects, making work efficient for the three of you. So long as you could tolerate his jabs, the project would be completed swiftly. No sweat.
As the ten minute timer rolls by in a flash, Alphys speaks up once more, and silence falls amongst the students.
"Alright..! So, does everyone have a.."
Her sentence is cut off when the door to the classroom suddenly pushes open. A familiar face walks through the door, swiftly closing it behind them.
Kris.
Right, they hadn't shown up to class yet - at least, until now. They had a small tendency to be very inconsistent with their arrivals to school, so their late appearance wasn't of much surprise to you or anyone else.
You find your gaze lingering on them, just like your other classmates.
"Oh.. K-Kris..! We thought you weren't coming today!" Ms. Alphys cuts through the short period of silence within the classroom, acknowledging Kris, before giving them a quick fill-in on what was previously discussed. "We're.. doing group projects this month.. uhm.. so.. just walk around and find a partner, okay?"
With that, everyone goes back to minding their own business. Your gaze lingers on Kris for just a moment longer, before you turn back to Noelle and Berdly once more, and the three of you continue speaking amongst yourselves, whilst Kris walks around the classroom, asking each student if they'd be open to being in a group with them.
Though you found yourself in conversation with the other two, your mind still quietly dwells on Kris in the background.
Your relationship with Kris was something you couldn't describe - not in simple terms, anyway. The two of you used to be close, just like how you and Noelle were, as you grew up with Kris the exact same way.
Being the only two humans in Hometown, you and Kris instinctively grew a much closer bond growing up, finding a sort of connection between one another that just couldn't be replicated with anyone else. You cherished those times - and it was one of the biggest reasons you constantly thought about your childhood.
As you grew up, and following Dess' disappearance, the two of you gradually drifted apart.
Kris stopped really .. showing up to anything. They were always a quiet kid, but they were still engaging, a huge prankster, and they were someone you genuinely cared for. After the event, all of that just silently slipped away from your life - and from Noelle's.
And with Asriel's departure to College, it only amplified ten-fold.
You cared for Kris deeply, and that care has never once wavered, but you couldn't deny that the closeness you once had with them was no longer apart of your life anymore. There was nothing you could really do about it, and you've grown to accept that. You've simply just kept moving on the best you could, with Noelle by your side.
As content as it could be.
Footsteps approach near your desk, and the conversation between you three is brought to a halt.
Looking to the left, you notice that Kris now stands in front of Noelle's desk. You and Berdly somewhat eavesdrop on the conversation between the two, where Noelle tries to offer Kris a pencil. However, it seems to shift as Kris asks a question, to which Noelle gives them a short nod before turning to Ms. Alphys.
"Miss Alphys!" Noelle calls out, catching the teacher's attention. "Umm, I know you said the project could have three people .. but .. uh, is it okay if we have a group of four?"
Oh.
She's inviting Kris into your group.
Your gaze moves towards your teacher.
Berdly leans forward in his desk, glancing between Ms. Alphys, you, Noelle, and Kris, in disbelief. "Hey! What?? No! I do NOT approve this! ABORT!!"
"What?" Noelle looks towards Berdly, confused. "B-but .. Kris doesn't have a .. "
"Noelle, what were you saying?" Ms. Alphys asks, unable to hear Noelle through Berdly's loud protests.
"She was just saying we're FINE being alone!" Berdly quickly cuts in.
"Actually, I think she was asking if we could do a group of four," you frown, chiming in for Noelle's sake.
"Y- Yeah, that's.. that's what I was going to say," Noelle whispers out, a bit embarrassed by the whole predicament.
Berdly is quick to refute. "NO!! I REJECT THIS NOTION!!"
Ms. Alphys turns to you. "Ah, well.. I don't know if-"
Her words are cut short when the classroom door slams open, and the entire classroom falls silent, looking over towards the newest arrival.
Susie's here.
You don't really like Susie.
Unlike the other late arrival, Susie is somewhat of a newer resident in Hometown. The second she showed up, however, she's done nothing but actively terrorize anyone in her presence. She's your textbook definition of a bully, and while you've never enjoyed seeing her since she's showed up, you've been wise to stay out of her way - and fortunately this has allowed you to be somewhat safe from her actions for the most part. As much as you'd love to help and actually do something, trying to pick a fight with someone like Susie is asking for a one-way ticket to the Hospital.
Not a battle you're winning.
With her appearance, you find yourself tensing up just by seeing her presence. Figures, considering it feels like the air of the classroom just became a hundred times colder the second she walked in.
Ms. Alphys' nervously greets her, "H..Hi, Susie.."
Susie takes a few steps into the room, not bothering to shut the door behind her.
".. am I late?"
"Ohh, n-no! You're fine!" Ms. Alphys reassures, though judging by the clock on the wall and how long class has been going on for, she is definitely, in fact, late for class. "W-we were just, uhh.."
Ms. Alphys shuffles for a moment, glancing around the room nervously.
"Ch-choosing partners for the next group project, and.. uhm.."
Her eyes land on Kris.
"..Umm.. Susie, you're with Kris!"
You felt that.
God bless Kris' soul. Please have mercy on them.
Hopefully Susie wouldn't be in too much of a wretched mood today and might keep Kris mostly in one piece.
Susie glances over towards Kris.
"..great."
The classroom soon falls into an uncomfortable period of silence for a moment.
Ms. Alphys' looks around the room nervously- where all the students, yourself included, just sort of stare back at her, equally as unsure of what to do in this situation. She takes a deep breath, gathering her composure, before announcing; "N-Now that everyone's here, I'll write the assignment!"
She walks over to the chalkboard to write down the assignment on the green board, the silence so loud in the room you could hear the rustle of her own clothing as she moved towards the board.
Susie still stood near the classroom door, unmoving - not having made an effort to actually go to her seat. Kris hadn't, either, instead standing still next to Noelle's desk on your left.
You felt pity for your teacher - Ms. Alphys was a bit of a nervous individual, (which was pretty telling, considering how much she fidgets and stutters even just speaking to Susie) and knowing the current predicament on a random Thursday morning of all things, this probably wasn't helping her in the slightest.
Still, class was class - and there was only so much time in the day to teach everyone. Show must go on.
However, Ms. Alphys pauses, looking down at the chalkboard for a moment, before turning her head back towards the class.
"Uhm .. h-has anyone seen the chalk? This is the third time it's gone missing, and.." Ms. Alphys lets out a nervous chuckle, small droplets of sweat barely noticeable on the side of her head. "Y-you all know I can't start class without some!"
Ms. Alphys' magically disappearing chalk was not an unusual occurrence. It's happened surprisingly frequently, and you almost think that someone in your class is pulling some elaborate prank on your teacher at this point. You might have to consider stopping by the store later this week just to buy a bunch of back-up chalk for your teacher so that way there's some kind of spare in case of another incident such as this one.
Nobody says a thing to your teacher's words. Everyone is still deathly silent - and it's almost unnerving. You're tempted to speak up, yet your mouth stays shut, just like the rest of your classmates.
"H-How about this .." Ms. Alphys speaks up once more, following the silence from her students. "If nobody speaks up.. e-everyone gets in trouble..!"
Once again, nobody responds. Her threat is pretty empty, considering Ms. Alphys is known for not really enacting any actual, serious punishment to anyone in her class.
At this point, your teacher looks defeated. "A..anyone..?? P..please?"
Noelle finally speaks up, saving your teacher from her predicament. "Hey, there might be a box in the supply closet.."
The deer smiles, "Ms. Alphys, why don't Susie and I..-"
"G-Good idea, Noelle!" Ms. Alphys cuts her off, a quick solution whipped up in her mind. "S-Susie, since you came in last.. why don't you go get it for me?"
Susie shuffled in her spot, giving Ms. Alphys hardly a glance, before giving a short, simple reply; "...whatever."
Susie then proceeded to walk back and out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her.
You wince. Great start to your morning.
Ms. Alphys turns over towards Kris, a nervous smile on her face. "And .. K..Kris, can you go with her and make sure she... um, actually gets it? And, um, stays out of trouble?"
Kris gives a nod towards your teacher.
"Thanks, Kris! See you later!" Ms. Alphys smiled, and thus, you watched as Kris made their way out of the classroom, following after Susie.
"That was.. certainly eventful," you finally find your words as you mutter aloud to yourself, now that the tense atmosphere of the classroom swiftly began to die down.
"How many pieces do you think Kris will end up in?" Berdly jabs towards you, adjusting his glasses.
Noelle lets out a nervous chuckle, "I- I'm sure Susie won't actually hurt them.."
"Optimistic as ever, aren't you?" Berdly huffs, his pride radiating off of him with each word. "If they're lucky, they'll only have one broken limb in need of repair!"
"Berdly does kind of have a point," you frown, glancing towards the classroom door. "I'm not sure how wise of an idea it is to leave Kris by themselves with Susie of all people."
You're not sure why you're this worried about Kris. You know that they're fully capable of taking care of themselves, yet part of you can't help but still be worried about leaving them by themselves with Susie, even for something as small and trivial as a trip to the school's supply closet.
Without even thinking, you suddenly raise your hand.
Ms. Alphys, who was currently shuffling through her papers to begin the lecture without chalk temporarily, looks up towards you. "Yes? I-Is there something you need?"
"Is it alright if I use the restroom?" you ask, an obvious excuse, as you didn't actually need to use the restroom whatsoever, but you weren't sure if your teacher would be so willing to let another student leave the classroom after the departure of two students moments before.
You had to go with the typical excuse to get out of class temporarily. Fortunately, Ms. Alphys gives you a nod of approval.
"Of course.. j-just don't take too long, so you don't miss the lecture!"
You give Ms. Alphys a joking salute. "You got it, teach."
Sitting up from your desk, you faintly catch Berdly and Noelle's gazes looking towards you on your way out.
"Try not to end up Susie's lunch for the day," Berdly whispered towards you.
"..See you later!" Noelle gives you a short wave.
You wave your goodbyes to Noelle (and a quick roll of the eyes at Berdly's comment) before exiting the classroom, shutting the door behind you.
When you enter the hallway, you take a look to your left - and just barely catch a glimpse of Kris heading down the main hallway.
You quickly walk down the left-side and come to a stop at the edge of the main hallway, looking up towards Kris and Susie, who were approaching the main supply closet.
Not entirely sure what to say you make your presence known, your mind blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.
"Don't suppose you both don't have room for one more, right?"
The two of them turn towards you, and though Kris remains practically unfazed by your appearance, you are quick to notice Susie's visible dismay and groan of annoyance.
"Great. Another one," Susie scoffs. "Why are you outta class? Did Alphys send you out here because one escort wasn't enough?"
"..No, I came out here of my own volition. I wasn't sent out here." you walk over towards the two. "I'm honestly a little surprised you two aren't already in the supply closet by now."
A sinister grin forms on Susie's face, "Not exactly my fault that someone can't walk without their mom holding their hand."
Kris makes no reaction to this comment.
"Sure. That's .. definitely it." you frown. "..Anyways, lets just get the chalk so we can all go back to class."
"Who exactly put you in charge?" Susie huffs, and though her bangs obscure her eyes, you can very much feel the glare sent your way. "Last I checked, you weren't sent on chalk retrieval."
"No, but it's not like I'm out here doing anything else," you refute, crossing your arms. "You'll live."
Despite the tension between you and Susie, the three of you manage to walk over towards the supply closet.
Susie takes the immediate initiative and steps forward, her shoulder harshly brushing against yours in the process and giving you a slight tumble in your step momentarily as she moves to the supply closet doors, grabbing onto the door knobs.
"Here's the closet," she lets out a chuckle underneath her breath. "Too bad.. we were just starting to have fun."
Fun. That's definitely a way of describing this.
You regain your balance and find yourself stepping backwards towards Kris, cursing underneath your breath towards Susie.
Susie makes no acknowledgement of it and swings open the closet doors-
- and then immediately takes a step back at what's beyond.
Sure, the lights weren't going to be on inside the closet, but even from where you stand, the darkness inside the closet is unnatural. You can't even see the slightest shadow or any trickle of light from the hallway ceiling lamps peering into the open doorway.
And as strange as it all was, with the doors now open, it almost felt like the darkness from the closet had slightly leaked into the hallway itself - sending a strange chill up your spine.
"What the hell?" you mutter, bewildered by what you're seeing.
Fortunately, you're not the only one who's clearly unnerved by the weird closet lighting.
The three of you step back from the closet.
Susie turns and looks over at you and Kris.
"Hey.. uh, is it just me, or.. is it really dark in there?"
"No.. I'm seeing it too." you reply, for once in agreement with her. "It's creepy."
"Pff, it's not that scary, you wimp," Susie scoffed, crossing her arms, immediately reeling back on her previous words, almost trying to one-up you and your admission of anxiety.
"I don't see you going in there." you glare.
"I don't see you going in there either???!" Susie refutes.
The two of you are on the verge of yet another argument with each other, had it not been for both of you noticing Kris step back from the closet once more. Though they remain mostly unbothered from a quick glance, you could easily take note of the way they shuffled backwards, keeping themselves close.
Susie throws her arms up at this, "Fine! If you two are going to be wimps about this, then I'll..!!"
She pauses, momentarily, glancing over towards the closet once more.
"..we'll... all go in at the same time..!!"
Excellent plan.
"Fine, but I better not see you or Kris try to ditch," you huff, as the three of you make your way into the darkness of the closet, with Susie taking a slight lead ahead of you and Kris, whereas you found yourself following a few steps behind her, with Kris walking alongside you.
The moment you've stepped foot inside, you just just barely hear the audible click of your own soles hitting the dark floor of the closet. Obscured entirely by shadows, it left you with a dreaded sense of unease that lingered in the pit of your stomach - not helped by the noticeable fact that the temperature inside seemed to drop down a few ticks in comparison to the lukewarm-average air of the school's hallways. The only semblance of light that any of you had was from the light peering in from the hallway behind you, which hardly made a difference, since the only things that seemed visible from your current point of view within the overwhelming darkness were a few scattered papers lying about on the floor.
Anything else inside had been almost entirely consumed by a deep, unwelcoming shadow that seemed to swallow you whole once you'd entered it's domain.
Susie walks the furthest inside, hands entering her pockets as she attempts to maintain a brave persona in front of you and Kris, though you frankly do not buy any of it. "See? Why are you both so scared? There's nothing in here but old papers."
"Don't act like you weren't freaked out either," you send a glare her way, quickly calling her out on her attempted bravado.
Susie's head sharply turns towards you as she snarls at your words. "Shut up and just help me find a lightswitch!"
Kris gives Susie a quick thumbs-up before following after her, venturing further into the closet.
"Yeah, yeah.." you roll your eyes, sticking closer to the entrance of the closet unlike your other two companions, rather than venturing further and instead opting to try and feel around for the walls, hoping to get a feel for where the switch might be.
It's odd, however. You.. almost can't even feel any walls. There's no way this closet is that big, so why can't you feel anything? Sure, it's not like you frequent visiting this part of the school, save for maybe once or twice when you needed to grab something for class, but in the past times you'd visit, you knew how small the closet was - no bigger than a small walk-in closet someone would have in their bedroom.
"You find anything yet?" Susie calls out to you, and you perk up.
"..No, I can't feel any switch.. or walls, for that matter," you reply.
"Can't feel any further in, either." Susie frowns. "It's also surprisingly big in here for just a supply closet.."
You turn your head towards Susie and Kris, and take quick notice of how far in distance they seem to be compared to where you stood near the entrance, which shouldn't be possible, because there's no way this closet is as big as a full on classroom. It's not like your school did any kind of renovation recently, and there definitely wasn't some kind of random expansion made to the closet for no reason whatsoever.
You almost want to think this is some kind of bizarre trick of the light, or, hell, someone pulling some stupid prank on the three of you, but even so, nothing about this makes any sense.
"This closet is definitely not that big," you glance towards the open doorway. "I think.. we should just go. This isn't getting anywhere."
"Yeah.. uh, I think this closet is.. uh, broken." Susie chuckles incredulously, as she and Kris walk back over towards you. "But we've worked hard enough. If Alphys wants chalk so bad, she can get it herself."
While normally you'd probably refute and insist on actually retrieving the chalk your teacher wanted, considering how long it had definitely been since you'd left class, taking just one look ahead and into the darkness beyond pooled dread within your heart. In this case scenario, you found yourself rather antsy to leave as soon as possible.
You could figure out what excuse to make up to Alphys as you were on your way back to class.
Susie moves past you and Kris, closer to the open doorway.
"Let's split."
You and Kris follow after her, and as the three of you reached only a few feet away from the open doorway, the doors to the supply closet suddenly slam shut in front of you.
You let out a noise of bewilderment. "Wh-"
The little light that any of you had, in a singular moment, had been snuffed out like candlelight. Now, there was nothing but darkness, and you could barely see just ahead to where Kris and Susie stood.
"Wh- What the?!" Susie yells, rushing towards the doors and slamming her fists against it. "Hey, this isn't funny! LET US OUT!"
Though you had many choice words you wished to spew in regards to whoever was pulling this sick joke upon you three, words could not escape you as the ground beneath you began to shake.
"..Guys?" you nervously speak up, "The floor is-"
Susie and Kris turn towards you, then soon take notice of the floor beginning to grow unstable.
Susie backs away from the door. "Why is-"
There's practically no time for any of you to react as the papers beneath you three suddenly began to fall into the darkness below, and though you, Kris and Susie desperately tried to move back and away from the falling ground, the three of you ultimately lost your footing as the floor beneath you caved out and faded into the darkness.
And as the darkness swallowed the rest of the supply closet, the three of you fell further into the abyss of the unknown.
So much for going back to class anytime soon.
You're not entirely sure when you come-to, but when you've become distinctly aware that you're back in the realm of consciousness, the first thing you can feel is the brush of cold, howling winds that breeze past you.
That, and the weird poking feeling you're sensing from your side. You grumble and shuffle in your spot on the bushy, cold ground beneath you, annoyed by whoever was nudging at you every few seconds.
"Go awayyy," you mumble, trying to shuffle yourself away. "Just gimmie.. like, five more minutes.."
That surprisingly does the trick, because the next thing you hear is the shuffling of .. bouncy? footsteps? walking away - and the distant sound of an engine, followed by someone speaking, their voice unintelligible as it quickly faded off into the distance.
..Wait, what?
The sounds and voices you'd heard just a moment ago suddenly throw you back into full gear as you properly regain your senses, and with that, your memory of what had happened previously in the supply closet hits you like a truck. Your body jolts up, and you immediately wince, regretting your decision of doing so as your head is soon hit with a short, brief spike of pain in response.
Rubbing the side of your head with a soft groan, your eyes blink a few times as your vision slowly focuses back into reality, your body and mind fully coming to process your now-awake state. Though your pain only distracts you for a moment, as you soon realize - you have no idea where you are.
Your eyes dart around your surroundings.
This is not your school, and this is definitely not the supply closet.
Nor does anything in the scenery around you resemble anywhere you've been to in Hometown.
The world is dark, overwhelmingly so, just like the supply closet, and you seem to have somehow found yourself in an area surrounded by pale, purpleish-blue cliffs with occasional clouds of puffy dust lying around, breezing through the howling winds.
How the hell did you get here? What is even going on??
You attempt to stand up, but quickly pause when you take notice of your appearance, which seems to have also gone through some kind of bizarre changes.
You look noticeably different, and the outfit you now wear is definitely not the outfit you were wearing when you had gone into school that day. It's definitely not school attire, or anything that's in your closet for that matter, and one of its most noticeable attributes you are quick to take note of is the belt around your waist that holds a quiver pouch on your hip - filled entirely with white and purple hued arrows.
"What the hell??" you murmur to yourself, your hand moving over towards one of the back-ends of an arrow inside the quiver. You cautiously, yet curiously grab it's handle, lifting it out - and the moment you do so, another arrow takes its place.
You let out a surprised yelp in response, the arrow in your hand tumbling out as you lose your grip in your state of surprise, and all you can do is watch as the glowing arrow falls to the cold ground beneath you, disappearing into a small array of star-shaped particles.
Okay, if you weren't convinced this was some kind of dream before, you were definitely more convinced now.
But even if that was the case, you were feeling things. You felt fully conscious, and could feel the world that was around you. Had this been a dream, even a lucid one at that, you shouldn't be able to actually feel or sense the things going on around you, right?
You slowly manage to stand up on your two feet as your thoughts scramble into desperately trying to find the most reasonable, rational answer to your current predicament.
Yet no matter how much you racked your brain for any conclusive, concrete answers to your current situation, you were left with nothing but cobwebs and tumbleweeds brushing past in the wind within your brain.
You're unable to come up with any answers that satisfy your raging curiosity, and so the next thing you do is look towards the path ahead.
As much as you'd love to desperately grasp at never-ending straws trying to solve your current dilemma, you were out of options. The only thing you can do now is simply move onwards and hope that something happens. Hopefully something that actually made what was going on make any kind of sense - because you're honestly a little concerned you might be losing your mind.
Getting chalk for your teacher cannot be this difficult.
You begin to walk along the path ahead, your eyes darting around at every corner. The cliffs that surrounded you seemed almost never-ending, with most having an occasional hole here and there that leaked some kind of black fluid. Frankly, you made sure to keep as much distance as you could from that, since god knows what's even in that.
You aren't entirely sure how long you've walked, occasionally passing by thick clouds of dust or strange spoon-shaped things that seemed to wobble and emit a soft sound when you passed by them, but your trek soon comes to a halt when you hear a familiar voice from just up ahead.
You're not sure what you're hearing, as you're much too far away to fully distinguish the voice's words, but despite the distance, you're still able to quickly take note of how familiar the voice sounds.
Wasting no time, you hasten your pace, the voice getting louder and closer with each step. Turning a corner, your eyes quickly land on two familiar figures just up ahead, surrounded by a small field of large dust clouds.
"Hey!" your voice calls out, echoing within the darkness that surrounded the area. Both figures ahead turn towards you, and as you step closer, you immediately confirm your suspicions on the identities of the two individuals; Kris and Susie.
"Damn, was wondering where you were." Susie calls out to you as you approach. "Was about to assume you died or something,"
"Ha-ha. Very funny." you huff as you come to a halt once you'd reached them.
You take a quick look-over at both of them - noticing that both Kris and Susie had also undergone some changes upon arriving in this place alongside you. Kris was noticeably blue and wore an outfit reminiscent of a knight's with a pink cape, gauntlets, and silver armor, while Susie now seemed a bit more magenta and wore a long black and purple vest with baggy pants, boots, and spiked-bracelets.
"I see you two also got weird outfit changes." you acknowledge, taking a mental note that this random strange place you three had ended up in decided to change up everyone's attire. You're.. not entirely sure how you feel about that.
"Eh, I look pretty badass. I'm not going to really complain about it." Susie grins, much more enthusiastic about it than you. "Anyways, now that we know you're not dead, we gotta find a way outta here."
There's a momentary pause as you and Susie glance around your current surroundings.
"..Yeah, uh, where even are we?" you raise a brow, glancing between Kris and Susie. "I don't exactly think we're even in our school anymore."
Susie scoffs, "It doesn't matter! You two got us into this mess, so you two can get us out!"
"How is this our fault??" you snapped, taking immediate offense to the blatant assumption. "You came into the closet with us. We didn't force you to go in there. Besides, how was anyone supposed to predict that going into the supply closet was going to end up in us landing in the middle of nowhere??"
Susie tenses up, taking a step towards you with a growl, "Watch it, pipsqueak. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were asking for me to rip your damn face off."
Before you could bite back and things escalated further, Kris stepped in-between you and Susie.
"Now's not the time," Kris mutters quietly, only just audible enough for you and Susie to hear - a rare moment of Kris speaking outside of simple gestures or movements.
Susie huffed, "Whatever. Let's just go."
With the dust settled, Kris takes the initiative and moves on ahead first, leaving you and Susie to follow behind them.
The intensity quickly dies down between you and Susie as you both manage to keep quiet and simply follow after Kris.
However, this hardly lasts, as after just a few moments of walking, Susie comes to a halt.
"Oh my god. Nevermind. You walk WAY too slow." Susie remarked, wasting no time to simply rush ahead past Kris and go at her own pace.
So much for following after Kris.
You walk up towards Kris with Susie no longer in front of you.
"..Uh, if it makes you feel any better, I don't mind the pace we're going at." you make an attempt at reassurance.
Kris shows no sign of offense towards Susie's words, but you can barely catch a glimpse of a small smile that graces their features for a moment from your words, before the two of you continue heading down the path after Susie.
You follow behind Kris and keep up with their pace, which has definitely quickened, and through the period of silence between the two of you, save for the clicking of footsteps that reverberated throughout the darkness, you felt somewhat at ease.
This.. was the closest you'd been with Kris for a long time.
And.. surprisingly enough, it just felt.. so natural? You were always so worried about when the day would come that you and Kris would finally speak to each other once more, at least more than just a simple few words or a brief acknowledgement. You always expected it to come at random- you were never going to be prepared, and yet..
..with your current situation alongside them, (and Susie), surprisingly enough, it's not even that crazy or abnormal. If anything, it's all flowed rather naturally - as if there'd never been a drift apart in your friendship with them in the first place.
You always felt bad for never approaching them yourself, and there'd been many days in the past where you swore that 'today's going to be the day!', and yet, you never worked up enough courage to come forward.
Even as you had walked up to them and Susie before entering the supply closet, a thousand voices screamed at you to just turn the other way, or to just go to the bathroom like you said you would, and to not get into their business.
Because if they hadn't spoken to you, why should you speak to them?
What if they simply.. didn't want to speak to you? Wouldn't it be wrong of you to intrude -
A hand presses on your shoulder, and you are snapped out of your thoughts within an instant, coming to a halt.
Kris looks towards you, and noticing they'd snapped you out of your thoughts, they gesture their head to the left.
Looking up, you notice Susie standing just up ahead, her head tilted upwards as she looks up towards a large pillar that loomed above.
Kris' hands fall back to their sides as they turn themselves to fully face Susie.
"Susie?" you call out, catching her attention.
Susie turns towards you and Kris. "Oh, there you two are."
She then briefly takes one more look up towards the top of the pillar, before turning back towards you and Kris.
"..There's someone up there waving at us," Susie gestures to the pillar, and your eyes move up to catch a glimpse of what she's talking about. "Any idea what they want..?"
As a matter of fact, there is someone standing up there. Their form is obscured by shadow, so you're unable to exactly pinpoint any specific details about who or what you're looking at.
However, there's hardly a moment to even consider calling out to the mysterious stranger, before you notice them raising their hand into the air, with three spades manifesting into thin air.
The figure shoots their hand down, and the three spades immediately launch towards you, Kris and Susie, and just barely do you all manage to move out of the way before the bullets could hit you.
"The hell?!" you yelp, immediately stepping away from the pillar.
"R-run!" Susie yells, immediately running off to the right, and you quickly follow after her, with Kris running along after you.
As you three run down the corridor, spades continue to rain down from above, forcing you to maneuver and go from left to right in order to avoid any incoming bullets being shot your way.
You don't want to know what happens if one of them hits you. The only assumption you can make is that making contact with any of the spades = a world of pain. Frankly, you'd rather not deal with that.
Susie skids to a halt at the edge of the path - turning to you and Kris.
"Down here!" she exclaims, before jumping down onto the ledge, and sliding down into the darkness below.
Though you were thoroughly against the idea of doing such a thing, there was nowhere else to run towards. You had to jump down.
You quickly jump down after Susie, sliding down along the ledge, where more spade bullets began to shoot from both sides. You held yourself close, pushing yourself down further and avoiding the incoming bullets to the best of your ability.
It only took a few moments, but you eventually managed to see the bottom. You carefully launched yourself up and off the ledge, barely managing to land properly onto the ground without tripping over yourself in the process.
You waste no time and head onwards, glancing momentarily behind you - making sure that Kris was still following after you, which fortunately seemed to be the case, as only a few moments after you'd run ahead, had they landed off the ledge themselves.
You walk up towards Susie, and only a moment later does Kris catch up with the two of you.
Catching your breath, you look towards Susie and Kris. "Is.. everyone okay?"
"I'm impressed," Susie chuckles, returning to her usual self the moment it seemed as though the three of you were out of harms way. "You two didn't die. Sweet."
You glare - and though you're tempted to speak up, you choose not to escalate once more with her.
"Anyways," Susie steps forward, placing her hands in her pockets. "You guys got any idea what the heck this place is?"
You glance ahead, taking a look around the scenery - which was noticeably different compared to the barren cliffs you were surrounded by moments prior. The most notable thing that catches your eye however, is the large castle that resides just ahead - with a large, flowing geyser that seems to rise up into the far off sky with not an ending in sight.
"..A castle?" you guess.
"Obviously," Susie sneered, as though you were some kind of idiot.
You scoff. "Whatever. There might be someone in there, considering it seems as though we aren't alone in wherever-this-place-is."
Kris nods, and begins to walk on ahead towards the castle, and without any rebuttals from you or Susie, you both follow after them.
Walking up towards the castle, the area around you that you pass is nothing but a barren town with not a singular resident in sight - which gives you the impression that this place might be abandoned.
How is this still the supply closet??
If you knew that your school's supply closet came with a side of portable other-worlds, you probably would've just stayed in class and went through Ms. Alphys' lecture.
There's no time to dwell on it, though, as the three of you arrive into the entrance of the castle, slowly heading up the steps, with no words shared amongst you three - and nothing but the sound of your own footsteps to accompany it. It's almost strangely intense, and you're half expecting someone to jump you like just before.
You really don't want anymore projectiles being thrown at you, thanks.
"So.. why the hell is there a castle in the supply closet?" Susie's question cuts through the silence as the three of you momentarily pause near the top of the steps.
"Err.. yeah, there was also all those cliffs 'n stuff," you chime in. "I.. don't even think where we are is even connected to our school anymore."
Susie turns her head to you, about to say something - but her words are unable to come out before a voice speaks out from beyond.
"Welcome, heroes..!"
What.
Susie quickly darts back over towards the path ahead. "Who's there?!"
You're about ready to start booking it down the stairs the second you start seeing something getting launched at you.
"Do not be alarmed.. I am not your enemy." the voice calls out. "Please come forward, you three.."
Though hesitant and cautious, especially considering the previous encounter, there's not exactly anything else to do but listen to whatever the mysterious voice was saying. Nevertheless, the three of you walk up the rest of the stairs and up towards the center of the room, where a cloaked figure stands at the opposite end, as if perfectly expecting your arrival.
"Welcome." The figure greets, shuffling within their cloak. "I am the Prince of this Kingdom.."
A.. prince??
"The Kingdom of Darkness," they continue, before speaking your name, " ...., Kris, Susie.. there is a LEGEND in this land."
You don't want to know how this person knows your name, let alone Kris and Susie's.
"A LEGEND that one day, three HEROES of LIGHT will arrive, and fulfill the ancient prophecy, foretold by time and space." they explain, taking a brief step forward. "Please, Heroes... listen to my tale.."
Kris gives the mysterious cloaked stranger a thumbs-up of approval, and thus giving the mysterious figure the floor to speak.
"Very well then.." the figure nods.
Once upon a time, a LEGEND was whispered among shadows.
It was a LEGEND of HOPE.
It was a LEGEND of DREAMS.
It was a LEGEND of LIGHT.
It was a LEGEND of DARK.
This is the legend of
DELTARUNE.
For millennia, LIGHT and DARK have lived in balance, bringing peace to the world.
But if this harmony were to shatter.. a terrible calamity would occur.
The sky will run black with terror, and the land will crack with fear.
Then, her heart pounding.. the EARTH will draw her final breath.
Only then, shining with hope..
Four HEROES appear at WORLDS' edge.
A HUMAN, A MONSTER, A FREE SPIRIT, And a PRINCE FROM THE DARK.
Only they can seal the fountains and banish the ANGEL'S HEAVEN.
Only then will balance be restored, and the WORLD saved from destruction.
Today, the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS - The geyser that gives this land form - stands tall at the center of the kingdom.
But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon...
And with it, the balance of LIGHT and DARK begins to shift..
Okay, definitely not what you were expecting, but sure.
"Thank you three... for listening to my long tale," the cloaked figure speaks up once more. "I deeply believe you three are the HEROES of the LEGEND. That despite whatever enemies you may face.. you three have the COURAGE to SAVE THE WORLD."
The cloaked figure takes another step forward.
"DELTA WARRIORS! Please, won't you accept your destiny..?"
Susie seems thoroughly unimpressed.
"..Uhh.. nah."
The cloaked figure noticeably deflates at this. "W.. what?"
"Me? Some kind of hero or something..?" Susie sounds clearly skeptical of the whole ordeal, eyeing the mysterious stranger with suspicion. "You've got the wrong person."
You can't help but somewhat agree with Susie's words. Prophecy? Delta Warriors? What is this - some kind of DND session? You're a damn high-school student, the last thing you need on your plate is to be some kind of savior of the universe or something. You've got a group project to study for.
"I don't personally know how to feel with a supposed 'destiny' being thrown upon me out of nowhere on a random Thursday morning," you chime in, taking a short step back from the cloaked stranger. "...not that I wanna ruin your dreams and deny what you're saying, but .. I kind of don't really think I'm cut out for this kind of thing."
The cloaked figure worriedly looks between you and Susie. "B-but.. without you two, the - the world will.."
"So what?" Susie shrugs, without a care in the world. "If the world gets destroyed.. it's none of my damn business. Might even be kind of fun, honestly."
"Well, I'd rather the world not be destroyed," you frown, against that idea in particular. "Since.. you know, I do like being alive."
Kris simply glances between you and Susie, keeping silent throughout the whole ordeal.
"Whatever." Susie turns towards you and Kris. "If you two wanna play pretend with this weirdo.. stick around."
She turns to leave the room, taking a step over towards the stairwell behind you three.
"I'M going to find a way out of here."
The cloaked figure takes a step forward. "Susie.. wait-!"
Before anyone can do anything, however, a sudden laughter rings throughout the area. Not even a second later, another unknown figure drives into the room from the side, knocking the cloaked figure out of the way and launching them to the other side of the room.
"Ho ho ho!" the small.. boy? Guy?? What?????? laughs, sitting up on their.. bike, which is clearly on fire, looking over towards the three of you menacingly. "The heroes are already running away.. and they didn't even know I was here."
They press on the little horn attached to their bike, letting out a squeak.
"My dad's gonna make me Son of the Month!" he cheers.
"What is even happening anymore??" you exclaimed - bewildered by the events of what was happening. Were you supposed to be afraid??
Susie's stance becomes defensive, "Who the hell are you?!"
The unknown individual seems rather overjoyed by this question, raising a hand up into the air. "I'm..!"
He does a quick spin on his bike.
"The bad guy."
What.
"You clowns want to seal our DARK FOUNTAIN, huh?!" he snickers, moving his hands back down onto the handles of his bike. "And - still picturing you guys as clowns, save the world from ETERNAL DARKNESS, huh?!"
Susie shrugs at this notion. "Eh."
"Don't try to deny it..!" the blue spade-kid laughs. "We both know you'll go East! It's your only way home!"
He revvs the.. engine on his bike, as though trying to appear more menacing.
"But, I, LANCER, won't let you go there!"
Okay - names. Figuring out names.. this .. guy is apparently named Lancer.
"..And I've got a flawless two step plan to ensure it." Lancer boasts. "Step one. I thrash you. Step two. You lose!"
"That's.. uh, a pretty simple plan," you comment, trying to sound nice enough. "Not.. so bad.."
"R-really?" Lancer looks towards you, asking as though he's never received a compliment in his life.
For someone who proclaims to be the 'bad guy', you surprisingly don't find yourself all too threatened by his presence.
"Yeah. Nice plan, kid." Susie steps up from next to you. "You wouldn't mind if we used it on you instead, right?"
Wait, what?
The moment she says that, Susie suddenly pulls out an axe out of nowhere, and at that same moment, Kris unsheathes a reddish-pink sword that manifests from nothing.
You almost think you've missed some kind of lesson or conversation, if not for the fact that at that same moment, a purplish-white bow adorned with feather patterns manifests in front of you, and you just barely grab it in time before it falls onto the ground.
..So that's what the arrows were for.
You're a goddamn archer.
You have mediocre aiming skills at best. You've never actually aimed and shot an arrow at someone before! If this magical place is going to force you to use some kind of weapon, couldn't they have given you some kind of melee weapon like the two standing next to you?!
"Wait - we're not actually going to fight this kid, right??" you stammer, glancing between Kris and Susie for reassurance.
"Quit being so slow," Susie deadpans, raising her axe. "He attacked us. Threatened us, even - we're just defending ourselves."
Kris, on the other hand, seems to strategize, raising a hand towards Lancer.
"Watch out for Susie's attacks," they mutter - sending a warning to Lancer.
"Ooh, thanks, blue person!" Lancer cheers, becoming much more perceptive to any attacks coming from Susie, much to her dismay - as she sends a glare towards Kris.
"Can I sit out for this??" you plead, really not wanting to engage in a fight.
Kris turns to you, a stupid, cheeky smile on their face as they shake their head - refusing to let you sit out of the fight.
"Damn you, Kris." you seethe.
Lancer revvs up his bike, and Kris quickly focuses back in on the battle, giving you a heads up to be on your guard.
You take their word for it, and prepare to defend yourself from any incoming attacks.
So much for getting that chalk. This is going to be a looooooong day..
💜