Chapter Text
The first thing Kris noticed when they woke up was that they couldn’t move their body.
As much as they pushed it mentally, it wouldn’t budge, leaving them stuck in a bed that started to be warmer than what the human could tolerate. They gave another fruitless shot before deciding to just go limp and let fate decide their destiny.
…that was a lie. They were just too stubborn to lay down and accept it. They tested their hand. Surprisingly, they could still control it. It felt stiff, robotic even, but it obeyed their will.
Which was already more than what they could say about the rest of their body. As if to protest, a pull foreign to Kris threw them to the ground.
The second thing Kris noticed when they woke up was that the plan had been set in motion.
The force inside their chest kept insisting. It pushed towards every single side it could find, urging Kris to get up. By the time they got off the floor, Kris had already found that their newly acquired soul could only steer them towards four defined directions. They huffed with amusement. The more disadvantages the soul found, the better for Kris.
Their shit-eating grin vanished as a wild pull almost threw them out of their window.
Great, they thought sarcastically. It found how to move diagonally.
Kris couldn’t even properly recover from the hit because the soul had already made them open their brother’s drawer. His old school cross uniform sat inside, neatly folded. Kris turned a blind eye to the love letters that weren’t quite hidden under it.
Plenty of thoughts came up at the sight of their brother’s tidy and, honestly, far more interesting side of the room as the soul kept exploring it. They quickly shut them out. They wouldn’t give the soul whatever information they were trying to get out of them.
After inspecting every detail there was to inspect, Kris’ body stopped by the red wagon in the corner of the room, where a rusty cage awaited. The cage. They stood in front of it for longer than needed.
Whether the soul liked it or not, Kris didn’t care. It was going to be its new home the moment the day was over either way.
They eventually made their way downstairs, but not before having done a thorough inspection of the whole hall. To anyone who wasn’t them, it would have seemed that it was the first time Kris stepped foot in the house they had been living in for the past almost-seventeen years. To them, that was technically the case.
Now, they stood in front of their toilet, flushing it over and over and over and over and—
A knock interrupted the endless cycle of water being lost to the stupidity of an otherworldly being. Their mother spoke from the other side of the door.
“Kris…? Is everything… alright in there?”
The soul didn’t even wait for Toriel to stop speaking before retaking its task.
What’s its problem?
If the soul was truly trying to mess around in the bathroom, or even piss off their mom, the least it could do was clog the toilet with a bath bomb.
…it had been years since the last time Kris had pulled that prank.
The knocks came back stronger this time. Kris swallowed. Their mom was angry.
“Kris WHAT are you doing? You did not put a bath bomb in the toilet again, did you?”
They wished that was the case.
“Kris, if anything bad happens, you are paying for the plumbing bill.”
Noted. Their body finally stepped away from the toilet and eventually made it outside and into the car. Their mother mumbled something about making it on time while turning on the engine. Kris leaned against the window and watched their small town through eyes that now belonged to someone else.
Kris’ eyes were heavy. They were tired. They had been tired for years already. Letting their eyes rest during the rather short trip from home to school wouldn’t fix that by any means, but they closed them nonetheless. Which they apparently still could do without having to be prompted.
And right there, with their eyes closed, Kris felt something lift inside them. As if when their grasp on reality slipped, so did the soul’s.
Kris put a hand on their chest. The soul. The very culmination of their being. They scoffed and opened their eyes again. It was a hassle at best.
“It is a beautiful day outside.” Toriel’s voice grabbed Kris’ attention, taking them out of their inner monologue. “Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…”
Their heart had started racing for literally no reason at all. Kris almost felt like it was going to leap out of their chest and they had no idea why. They frantically looked at their mom, who hadn’t noticed.
Okay what the fuck is wrong with it.
“On days like this, kids like you should be… well,” their mother giggled, “they should be at school!” She finished with a laugh as she pulled the car over by the entrance of said school. She also helped them out and carried them inside by the hand. Kris stared at the ground the whole time.
It was childish and embarrassing. A gesture that made some look at the human with pity and a certain other with contempt. But Kris didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop. Not when she would have one child less to call her own once the week was over. Kris barely reacted when their mother crouched to hug them.
I’m sorry.
One more week. And they’d no longer be burdened by the promise they made.
I’m sorry.
One more week and they’d—
Alphys, their class professor for lack of better options, stared at them from the other side of the chalkboard. Kris frowned. When had they gotten to class?
“Oh… K- Kris…!” The monster stumbled over her words. “We thought you weren’t coming today! We’re doing group projects this month… Uhh… so walk around and find a partner!”
They really should’ve stayed in bed that day. Despite that being their current, deepest desire, their body stepped towards Temmie’s desk.
Then Monster Teen’s.
Followed by Snowy’s.
Jockington’s.
And Catti’s.
Of course the soul would go and force them to talk to every single one of their classmates. One by one too, mind you. It even made them speak with Berdly.
“Now that I think about it…” the bird monster faked thinking for a second, lost in a stupid tirade about class seconds and firsts. Kris actually doubted there was a singular thought inside his birdbrain. “Your unique skillset might help a lot in this assignment!”
Berdly turned his face around in a perfect half circle. A literal 180 degree turn. Kris cringed at the sight. Stop stop stop stop stop stop st—
“Pfft, NOT!” The monster cackled boisterously. “I actually want to get an “A”!
Prick.
The soul finally decided to stop Kris’ torture and turn away from Berdly. To have them stare directly at Noelle Holiday. Which to Kris was a very different kind of torture. They could only fix their eyes on the ground as their hand reached to tap her shoulder.
Noelle turned to face them and her smile seemed to widen slightly. Probably a trick of the light. It ached anyways. “Hey, Kris! What’s up? Didja lose your pencil again?”
Noelle rummaged through her neatly arranged, Christmas themed pencil case and handed Kris a candy cane shaped one. Kris probably had five of those in their drawer. Getting those was almost a routine by now.
Kris shook their head and mumbled something.
“Huh?” Noelle slowly set her pencil down and looked away from them. “You want to be partners? Sorry but…”
“She’s already partnered with the smartest student in the whole class, Kris,” intervened Berdly, emphasising their name. He snickered, “Which is, of course, none other than me.”
“I… I mean,” Noelle said, “we could always…”
“If you can’t get anyone, maybe your mom will be your partner again!”
…
Are you fucking kidding me.
Silence just happened to conveniently fall over the class full of generally loud teenagers, specifically as Berdly said those words. All eyes fell on the human.
But nobody spoke up.
All of their classmates retook their individual activities and acted as if nothing had happened.
Noelle mumbled something under her breath. To them. “I… uhm, I could ask Alphys to make a group of three!” She offered, flashing Kris a reconciliatory smile.
Their voice preceded their thoughts and spoke up. “Yes. Ask.”
That wasn’t their voice.
It was robotic. Inhumane. Direct and strong. A far cry from Kris’s mumbly voice. They took a deep breath.
In reality, they should have seen it coming. The soul had already held on to complete —almost complete, they reminded themselves, curling their fist —control of their body, so why wouldn’t it do the same with their voice?
Noelle’s body stiffened. One of her ears twitched as she stared at them. “…Kris?”
“Ask,” the voice repeated.
Noelle stuttered for a moment before laughing awkwardly and nodding. “I’ll… I’ll do that.” Then she respectfully put her hand up. “Miss Alphys, is it okay if we have a group of—?”
Berdly started shaking his wings in front of his friend, effectively cutting her question short. He whispered-shouted, “Hey! I do not, I repeat, NOT approve of this! Abort the mission! Abort!”
Noelle looked at Berdly and then back at Kris. “B-but… I mean… Kris doesn’t have…”
Berdly scoffed. “And? It’s on them for being late.”
“I- I know, but…!”
This time Alphys interrupted her. “Huh? What were you saying, Noelle?”
“She was just saying that we’re fine,” insisted Berdly, waving his wings between teacher and student.
“Actually,” Noelle tried again, but her voice could barely be heard over Berdly’s cawing, “I was asking if…”
“Noelle, can you please speak up—?”
“SHE WAS SAYING—,” Berdly loudly interjected before Noelle could try again. He cleared his throat, “that Kris will pair up with Susie.”
“WHAT.” Noelle sat up in a rush, causing everyone to look at her. She slowly sat back down, her nose glowing red. “Sorry.”
Alphys was quick to agree. “Uh… great! That will do! I will now…” She turned around to face the chalkboard, “… explain the uh… where’s the chalk?”
No one answered their teacher’s question. She got visibly nervous.
“Oh no… I can’t start the class without it…” She looked around and a hint of resolve appeared in her eyes. “I-if no one speaks up, everyone gets detention!”
Her resolve left as fast as it had appeared when everyone kept silent. “Uhm, anyone…?”
Noelle raised her hand again. “There should be some in the supply closet. I could…”
“The closet! Yes uhhh…” Alphys’ eyes landed on the only human in the room. “Kris! Could you please go look for it for me…?”
Kris’ brow furrowed, but they diligently stepped out of the room without complaining, finding themselves alone in the hall. That wasn’t right. Kris managed to gather enough willpower to turn their head towards the classroom door. It had shut behind them.
Where in the world is Susie.
She was supposed to be there. She had to discover the dark worlds that exact day. A cold shiver ran across Kris’s back. They had to stall for time.
Luckily for them, the local school happened to be just as interesting to the soul as their house. It made them check every single locker, the water fountain, the posters on the corkboards. The most eye-catching one was the information for Sadie Hawkman’s dance.
…the thought of people screaming at each other while wearing giant hawk heads wasn’t exactly enticing.
Their feet eventually started heading towards the closet. Of course. There was so much you could do in such a small school. Kris mentally tried to pull their body back, to no avail.
An idea crossed their mind. They closed their eyes just like they had in the car and surely, their chest felt light again. Their feet stopped. Kris stopped.
Something pulled inside their chest, but it was weaker. Kris concentrated on keeping their eyes closed despite the nagging order to open them back up. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Finally, a voice reached for them.
“Kris?”
The voice was soft and concerned, a far cry to Susie’s ruder one. Kris froze. That voice belonged to someone they knew too well.
Noelle was the last monster they wanted to see at that moment.
The sound of her hooves against the cool tiles of the floor warned Kris that she was getting closer.
“Kris, is this some sort of prank?”
They stubbornly kept their eyes closed. Maybe if they ignored her for long enough, she’d give up on them. It had worked before.
Seconds passed without noise, followed by minutes, which hopefully meant that Noelle had given up on her attempt to reach for them. They pried one eye open and was met with Noelle’s gaze barely two feet away from them. They fell backwards.
“Fahaha, Kris?! I’m sorry!” Noelle crouched down and offered them a hand.
No, no chance. They weren’t doing that. They needed Noelle away from them at that exact moment. They tried to get up on their own, but their hand reached for Noelle’s against their will.
Right. Kris had momentarily forgotten about the demon possessing their body.
“Kris, you were taking so long that Ms. Alphys sent me to look for you,” Noelle explained as she helped them up.
Kris was quick to retract their hand and take a step away from her the moment the soul got distracted by her words. Her touch was too warm, her presence too familiar. They took another step for good measure. Noelle followed their example.
The awkward silence was broken by Noelle. “So, uhm, the chalk?”
The question sent them back to their original problem. They couldn’t let Noelle get one step closer to the supply closet.
Act dumb.
“…what’s chalk?”
NOT THAT DUMB.
Noelle stared at them, deciding whether that was a joke or if they actually meant it. She seemed to decide the former.
“Let’s go,” she laughed and started walking towards the supply closet.
Fuck.
They could only watch in horror as Noelle headed to the closet. To the Dark World.
As the girl’s hands reached for the doorknob, Kris managed enough strength to grab the back of her sweater.
“Kris?” Noelle’s voice was dear.
They couldn’t meet her eyes, scared of what they’d see in them. They didn’t dare. Kris let go of her.
“It’s nothing.”
Just a prank, the thought immediately crossed their mind.
The monster’s eyes lingered on them before focusing on the door again. She sighed and opened it.
Darkness immediately extended in front of them. It shifted inside, it seeped into reality. It drowned the light around them. The air turned dense around them.
A feeling of dread coursed through Kris’ veins.
Noelle stumbled backwards. “What in the…” Then she turned towards Kris. “The closet… it’s normally not this dark… is it?” Noelle carefully patted one of the inner walls of the room. “There should be a light switch here…”
Kris’ body stepped past Noelle and into the dark. The monster quickly followed, getting too close for comfort.
There was a trail of paper sheets extending in front of them, the only reassurance that they were still on solid ground. After half a minute of walking, it was clear the room had no end.
“Hey, Kris…?” Noelle’s voice called for them, softer than the voice she used in class. The voice she used on everyone else but them and her dad.
“Kris… I know this might not be the best moment but…”
Kris bit the insides of their mouth.
Noelle’s hooves drew closer. Kris shuddered. She was right behind them. A hand hovering over their shoulder. “Kris…? Is everything—?”
“There’s nothing here,” they mumbled, stopping Noelle before she could ask something stupid about their well-being.
“Huh? Nothing of what?”
“Chalk.”
“Ah.” Noelle scratched the back of her neck and laughed awkwardly. “Of course.”
Kris stepped around her and headed towards the door. They held their breath. They were almost out. They wouldn’t let Noelle get involved no more. They took a step out of the room.
Then Noelle screamed.
Kris spun on their heels and launched forward. The monster had fallen behind when they weren’t looking. She was now backing down in uneasy steps. The floor beneath the pair’s feet had started to crumble.
They had to get Noelle out of that closet at that exact moment. Kris had long accepted being condemned to their fate. They wouldn’t drag Noelle down with them.
Gathering all of their strength and willpower, Kris grabbed Noelle's hand and ran towards the door. Trying to reach the light that divided reality and fantasy.
Kris’ throat tightened. What would they even tell Noelle? Deep down, Kris already knew. They’d tell her it was a prank. That they were just messing around. Or that they simply wanted to get a reaction out of her. It didn’t matter at that moment.
The pair was almost at the exit. Just a few more steps. Each one of them hurt. Controlling their body despite the soul inside them hurt. The floor kept crumbling behind them. Kris reached forward.
The door slammed in their faces.
The human’s chest heaved as they placed their hands on the surface. “Shit…”
“W-what’s happening…?!” Noelle clutched their shoulders. “Kris?!”
Trembling, Kris’ head turned to meet Noelle’s eyes. Their red eyes an image of their guilt and desperation, the last emotion they’d show before the soul took back control.
“Kris…?”
The ground gave way beneath them.
The last thing Kris could think before they blacked out, was that Carol was going to kill them.