Chapter Text
When Kris opened their eyes, they found themselves floating in a seemingly endless blue void. The surroundings had a wave-like pattern. It looked and felt as if they were underwater, though it was clear that they weren’t really underwater by the fact that they were able to breathe.
But that just begged the question… where the hell were they? Where was Susie? Noelle? R..
Ralsei… the Darkners… did they really all-
“WELCOME,
KRIS."
Before Kris could go into yet another guilt spiral, a massive, unfamiliar figure materialized in front of them. His body was made out of a goopy, ink-like substance. He had no legs, and two floating hands with holes in them. His pale face was distorted, with two large, cracked eyes and a sinister smile, all of which were pitch black.
“ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF.
MY NAME IS DR. W.D. GASTER.”
Every time he spoke, a different text-to-speech voice came out of his mouth.
“...what? what about my-"
"DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS.
YOU WILL REUNITE WITH...
MOST OF THEM SOON.
I MERELY WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOU."
Kris struggled to recollect their memories. They remember... the Roaring... the Titans... betraying the Knight... and... the Grand Fountain...
A bright light... as their SOUL glowed one last time...
Wait... their SOUL. Something was different about it.
Where were... they? The one who had been controlling their every move? Kris could tell they still had their SOUL by the fact they weren't rotting away, but it felt... less stuffed than usual. Like it was back to only having one person's essence; their own.
"i... what about the-"
"DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE ANGEL.
THEY ARE NOT LISTENING,
FOR THEIR ROLE IN THIS EXPERIMENT
HAS BEEN FULFILLED."
...Right. The Angel. That was what the entity was called. Wait...
"hold on, experiment? what the hell does that mean!? what is this, who are you!? where the hell am I!?"
"...IT IS TIME YOU LEARNED THE TRUTH.
LISTEN CLOSELY, AND REMAIN CALM,
FOR THERE IS NO EASY WAY TO EXPLAIN THIS."
A chill went down Kris' spine. Almost as if they could tell they were about to learn something they shouldn't.
"THESE 'DARK WORLDS' YOU HAVE GONE TO,
THE ADVENTURE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN ON,
EVERYTHING FROM START TO FINISH,
WAS ALL A PART OF MY EXPERIMENT."
...what?
How in the name of all that was good and holy was Kris supposed to process any of this?
"...what? Are you saying that-"
"THINK OF ME AS LIKE...
A 'DUNGEON MASTER' OF SORTS.
I LATCHED ONTO YOUR REALITY,
ARRANGED THE PIECES,
LAID OUT A NARRATIVE,
AND WATCHED IT ALL UNFOLD.
ALL TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN...
TO SEE WHAT THE ANGEL
WOULD DO WITH WHAT I GAVE THEM."
Pieces... narrative...
The shelter... the Knight... the loss of... everything...
These words reverberated throughout Kris' mind as their meaning gradually seeped in.
Everything... all of the heartbreak, the agony, the mind games... was it really all so some sick slimy freak and their otherworldly science partner could have a laugh?
No... they couldn't just accept this. No way in hell were they supposed to just take this lying down.
Without thinking, Kris pulled out their knife and pointed it directly at this "Gaster" person's non-existent neck. He did not react.
"WHY!? I NEVER ASKED TO BE PART OF YOUR STUPID GAME! I NEVER WANTED TO BE DRAGGED INTO ANY OF THIS, OR TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS... THIS PAIN... SO WHY!?"
Tears streamed down Kris' face as their arms began to waver, struggling to maintain their grip on the knife.
"...why..."
"...THAT IS WHY
I WANTED TO SPEAK WITH YOU.
...
TO APOLOGIZE."
...did they hear that right?
"you Just said you were the one behind everything, and now you want to APOLOGIZE!? AS IF YOU CAN APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO M-"
"THAT IS THE THING.
YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF IT."
Kris's arms slightly lowered at this statement.
"I HAD PREPARED A VESSEL
SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ANGEL.
BUT SOMETHING... OR SOMEONE...
HIJACKED THE PROCESS,
AND FORCED THE SOUL TO INHABIT YOU INSTEAD."
...Kris could imagine who this person was.
There was only one person in all of Hometown who was aware of what was really going on with them.
Perhaps... this "Gaster" was not the one sole mastermind after all. Perhaps Carol's plans truly were her own...
But it's not like that made Kris feel any better. All it meant was that were multiple forces independently manipulating them all at once.
It was too much to think about. They couldn't bear to think about the past anymore. If they did not force themself to try and think about the future right now...
then that knife was about to start pointing somewhere else.
"...so what now?"
"NOW, THE EXPERIMENT IS OVER.
AND THE ENDING I PREPARED WILL PLAY OUT."
...right. The tragedy. It was all coming back to them now.
The final moment of the story. The SOUL moved on its own, sealing the Grand Fountain. For it was the only way to undo the damage of the Roaring.
Susie screamed, cried and begged for it to stop... for someone, anyone to prevent what would ultimately result in the sealing of all Dark Fountains... and all Darkners with them.
Noelle tried her hardest to calm Susie down. Even though she was barely hanging in there herself, she simply couldn't bear to see the girl she loved so much cry out in pain.
And Ralsei... just stood there. He knew this would happen, he fought with all his might to prevent it, but once it became clear that his efforts were fruitless, he chose to merely accept his fate. Like he had planned to do from the beginning.
And Kris... Kris would-
"BUT..."
Aaaand there goes their train of thought.
"AS CONSOLATION
FOR THE EXPERIMENT GOING OFF-SCRIPT,
I HAVE DECIDED
TO GRANT YOU A GIFT."
...A gift? As if there was anything that could make up for what was about to happen. The hollow void that would be left in their and all of their friends' hearts.
"...what?"
"WHILE THE ENDING OF THIS STORY MAY BE SET IN STONE,
I WILL ALLOW
AN EXCEPTION.
A 'SILVER LINING', SO TO SPEAK.
ONE PERSON OF YOUR CHOICE
MAY LEAVE THE DARK
AND CALL THE LIGHT THEIR HOME.
"w-what do you-"
"BE IT LIGHTNER
OR DARKNER,
THEY WILL BECOME
A PART OF YOUR WORLD.
EITHER ONCE AGAIN,
OR FOR THE FIRST TIME.
CONSIDER IT
MY FAREWELL GIFT."
...Farewell gift? One person?
"Only one person? Surely you ca-"
"ONCE YOU HAVE MADE YOUR CHOICE,
ALL YOU MUST DO IS SPEAK IT,
AND IT WILL BECOME REALITY."
Before Kris could get any questions in, pupils suddenly formed in Gaster's eyes and his smile grew even wider.
"THANK YOU
FOR YOUR COOPERATION,
AND GOODBYE."
And just a split-second later, he faded away, leaving Kris all on their own with a choice to make.
A choice that initially seemed easy. Obviously they were gonna bring back December.
After all, her disappearance was their fault. If the two of them had simply not gone into that Dark World... if Kris had just trusted their better judgement and said no, Dess wouldn't have...
But wait... with what they now knew, what this man had just told them, was it really their-
No. They could not bring themself to blame anyone else. Nor could they fully trust this stranger's words, for they would have to accept that none of this mattered. That the pain and guilt that has festered in their heart for years was all for nothing.
Either way, they were granted a choice to make it all right. To undo the damage that was done.
All they had to do was say the magic words.
But before they could, another option flashed into their mind.
One of their dear pink-horned goat friend.
The one who had been with them for the entire journey. One who they were initially dismissive of, only to gradually form a deep bond with.
...who absently smiled in his final moments.
Were they really going to just let Ralsei fade away like that?
But... the promise...
Suddenly, Kris fell onto their knees. It was so hard to breathe that they might as well actually be underwater.
A cavalcade of words and images spiraled in Kris' brain, sending it into a frenzy.
Kris and Dess making songs together...
the ride in the Acid Tunnel of Love...
The four of them staring into the lake...
Ralsei asking for Kris and Susie to forget him...
The night at the shelter...
Ralsei forcing a smile after Susie saw the end of the prophecy...
It all was too much. It felt like at any moment Kris' entire being was going to burst. This shouldn't be hard, this shouldn't be hard.
They only knew Ralsei for a week. He shouldn't matter, he can't matter, not this much! This was the perfect opportunity to finally repent for their sins, and yet they hesitated.
The visions grew louder and louder, more and more discordant, until eventually... it stopped.
And all that was left was a single phrase... an almost confession of sorts...
My future is with you too.
And just like that, everything else just vanished. All of the regret and self-loathing that Kris was inevitably going to feel vanished in that brief moment as they prepared to make the biggest mistake of their entire life.
"...i choose... ralsei..."