Chapter Text
The cage, with human parts, tried to surface. Water began infiltrating its lungs, the desperate attempts to expel it only made it worse. Its arms with the familiar yellow complexion frantically swinging through the water, looking up through half-lidded eyes.
“Don't play dumb with me! I KNOW you can remember!”
A mouthful of water entered its lungs, the vessel choked and began to sluggishly rise to air. There was only three meters seperating them from the aboveground.
“Stop...”
Its ears began to ring, is this it? Has it finally succumbed to the cold lake's embrace? ‘I... Don't want to die... Not yet...’ Tears began to escape its eyes? It was indistinguishable from the endless expanse of the lake"s own tears.
Then suddenly, it stopped resisting. Its eyes slowly closed, seemingly to never open again. The rapid swinging toned down into a sway parallel to the movement of the body of water's waves.
“(SAY IT!!!!!!!!)”
A large splash rippled through the water, the human attempted to face the disturbance, yet it couldn't. Consciousness was slipping away from its grasp, little by little.
Something tugged at its leg, then its arm, until it was completely and tightly held by someone they couldn't even see. It couldn't even think straight at the moment, but when it reached air, it instinctively tried to throw up all the water that accumulated inside.
“Dude! What the FUCK happened!??”
It- no, THEY heard faintly through the ringing of their ears. A hard pat from the back helped them expel out more water from their lungs and mouth. Gasping for air, they panted and heaved, gagging and barfing up water, for it was the only thing that entered their body throughout the entire day.
Coughing in-between breaths, they choked on air, eventually passing out from both exhaustion and suffocation. “DON'T DIE ON ME, DUMBASS!” was the last thing they heard, they felt guilt creeping up on them when Susie's tears were visible. Silently, they even thought about apologizing, but darkness came before a single thought came out of their head.
=-=-=
Farther...
I've got to go...
Farther...
Noelle, her soul weeping red, sank deeper. ‘What... why... they let go.’ She continued, descending in a curled up position, eyes closed shut. The uncomfortable feeling of one of her hands being free.
The early plunge decelerated by the time she was a few tens of meters down. Now slowly drifting lower and lower, yet still in the direction of the other side.
‘West, North, East, South.’ These words repeated endlessly in her head. ‘...Why does it feel like it's only Left, Up, Right, Down now...? ’ Opening her mouth, to find that she didn't even have any air to create bubbles anymore.
She would cackle, chuckle, no, laugh manically if she had any air to do so with. ‘Is this what you felt all the time, Kris..?’ Her lips curling up into a genuine, yet twisted smile.
‘...That's so...
Pitiful.’
Her hooves felt dry, like she was never submerged at all. It felt... weird.
Then her legs followed. Noelle felt like she was cracking through an intangible glass.
Her torso felt dry, though the cold wasn't dispelled. One last time, she opened her eyes, seeing a bright, blue place where she was falling to.
Once her entire body was no longer felt the feeling of water, she looked forwards, to see hovering symbols? patterns? She has seen them before.
‘Apps... like on my computer...’ But, she was seeing them from the side.
Then, without a sound or warning, everything became black.
=-=-=
“Cold... It's so cold..” She placed her hands on her shoulders involuntarily, a simple reflex, but it didn't do anything. Her whispers were unheard, not even from her own ears were they intelligible.
The doe looked around the dim room, her minds focusing on trying to warm up the vessel.
Her gaze looked upon a blanket, and her body went to use it without needing her input. Noelle didn't resist, feeling like she would crumble if she tried to do it on her own.
Her body stepped in-between labored breaths. She looked around the room consciously on the way through half-lidded eyes.
“Wait... This... Is my... Room...?” Her whispers causes her to uncontrollably wheeze for air.
Shouldn't have done that.
What..? It's the voice. Why though? Wasn't it just a dream? The entire festival was a dream, the study session was a dream. Heck, the Thorn Ring-
-is on your hand. But you are partially correct. Kris isn't here, never was, this is the wrong world.
Noelle's eyes widened as she stared at the dried blood and the thorn on her ring finger. She still killed those “people,” and got stronger. But she can barely, just faintly hear people talking downstairs.
That's your voice, with Susie's. This is the wrong world, just as I said. And this, this is what would've happened if you didn't get stronger.
...What..? She doesn't understand what that means. The focus being the soft fabric now covering her cold fur and body.
You were in the lake, I was there, too.
Was the voice really there at the lake?
...Proceed.
She flinched, ever so slightly, yet visible. Her breathing quickened, along with her ever so fragile heart.
Stop.
‘...It wasn't Kris that said stop earlier, huh. That's why they didn't sound like when...’ The room felt colder, she held onto the blanket tighter, interrupting her thoughts.
Go to the kitchen.
Why was it telling her to leave her only source of heat? ‘I swear I'm gonna freeze to death if I leave without this blanket.’
I didn't say you couldn't bring it.
...To her dismay, the voice had a point. ‘Touche. ’ She clenched the make-shift mantle harder, as she wiggled off the mattress.
A cold wind passed, her legs shivering intensely. ‘Who in the CHEESE AND CRACKERS keeps turning the thermometer DOWN!?’
The voice stayed quiet, observing without a singular input. Noelle slowly but surely maneuvered to the door, the only source of light coming from the cracks unsealed on the sides of the doorway.
In the middle of reaching out to the doorknob, she re-thought her decisions. ‘Hey, what even happened? I was like, deep in the lake until there was light. But it was an air pocket without having something to cover it up!’
Don't ask me.
‘Wow, great input, voice in my head that I don't even know where it came from. Wow, an applause to you.’ Noelle finally opened the door, as quietly as possible to not alert anyone.
You're being very passive-aggressive, Noelle. But if you try to get rid of me, Kris won't live very long.
Noelle hesitated, before closing the door behind her. ‘Okay, I'll stop. Kris doesn't deserve that. Also can you help me become friends with them again? They kinda seem... lonely.’
...
‘Pretty pleasee?’
I think it's gonna be interesting. Sure, why not.
‘Thanks! Um, partner?’
Please NEVER call me that, I have PTSD.
Noelle stifled a laugh on her way down the stairs. The route she took was irregular, moving from her room and going to the other set of stairs closer to the front door. She clearly decided avoid confronting the original Susie and Noelle of this world.
A sound came from where she used to be. ‘Eek!’ Covering her mouth to avoid revealing herself, she looked at before searching where it came from.
Interesting.
‘Huh? What do you mean?’ Noelle kept watching.
“D... did you just hear that?? It sounded like a guitar...” One voice, soft, timid, not yet crazed nor a psychopath.
Noelle tried to hide her antlers, while still peeking out at the conversation. It wasn't as cold as it was earlier, unconsciously, she lessened her grip on the blanket.
“Huh? It was probably just Kris, like the other stuff...” A harsh, brave, yet kind voice reached her ears.
The two were standing behind Dess' room. ‘What happpened?’ Noelle thought as the two entered, the painted wooden door closing behind them.
Very interesting, usually this would play out when the electricity goes out. But since I, the Soul, is currently using you as a vessel, it may not have happened.
‘Okay, okay. Too much information, you're... Kris's soul, right? If I can understand correctly...’ Noelle continued down, her hooves touching the floor's brightly-coloured hardwood.
You are right.
Her hand rested on the wall near the kitchen. ‘So, if you weren't like, inside me right now, other things would happen, right?’
Her breath hitched as she almost knocked over a vase, barely saving herself the trouble of being revealed.
Yes, usually those two wouldn't even enter that room, it would need to be me and Kris fighting in there to make that sound. Maybe the world is trying to fix itself? Either way, you have an opening to go to the kitchen now.
Deep breaths, from almost knocking a vase over and the ton of information she just got that made ABSOLUTELY no sense.
...
The voice didn't reply. Noelle decided to open the kitchen on her own.
=-=-=
They were chugging down some chocolate milk to keep the sorrows away. Kris was very focused that even when someone entered the room, they just continued chugging.
“Kris.”
‘Must drink.’
“Kris.”
‘Must drink.’ They refilled the glass.
“Kris!”
They tried to look, but their hair covered their eyes so perfectly that they couldn't even see a part of who was calling them.
Gulping down the entire glass, they finally took an actual glance at the person who called their name.
Taking an involuntary breath before talking.
“Hello, Noelle.”
...
The conversation just stretched onto an endless silence. Kris had no time to do this, they just ripped out the soul and it won't take much time to show problems or sickness before they need to put the soul back again.
Not much time before Noelle thinks they have a problem with them, and that would make another problem. Kris can't let anyone know that they just ripped out their soul for no reason.
So, in the awkward conversation lacking words, they tried to shoo her away.
‘Why is she using a blanket like a robe? Why did she even bring that here?’
“Noelle, why do you have a blanket..?”
“Huh... Your voice... ” She mumbled, before changing the topic and actually answering their question. “Oh, this? I just felt cold, like, really cold.”
Suspicious, very suspicious to Kris's eyes. Was she hiding something? They walked up to her, moving way from the precious and arguably more important choco-milk.
“Hm? Do you need something?”
They reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder-
They felt warm, not just from their hand but their entire body. Warmth that they felt when putting their soul back into where it belonged.
‘The Soul...’ Their eyes darted to the opened door, and rushed out. Ignoring Noelle's confused look to find what happened to their soul.
They checked the gift boxes, the room was untouched, even the dust was still there. But the Soul was not, nowhere to be found.
Noelle behind them had the same look as before, now realizing because of some other factor that told her of why Kris ran off like that.
She raised her hands up, blanket falling to the ground. “Wait, I can explain!” A loud slam came from upstairs. And for whatever reason, Noelle panicked, ushering to the gift room.
Noelle closed and locked the door behind her, breathing heavily while leaning on it. Two voices could be heard talking from the other side but Kris couldn't make out what they were saying.
Then Kris remembered that something more important is going on, they took out their phone and dialed someone. Once that person picked up, they told them of the situation.
“Hello-” “Noelle absorbed the Soul.” Those four whispered words stretched a silence from the other line. “What do you mean Noelle absorbed the Soul.” a clear rhetorical question.
“I just said that I can explain, so shh... Those two might hear us.” She whispered, now beside Kris and talking both to them and the mysterious person behind the call.
“Okay, so, I didn't absorb your Soul. I'm not the same Noelle you know, that would be the one on the other side of that door.” Kris raised an eyebrow at her, but their eyes were covered.
“I come from... somewhere else, I can't understand it myself, but for some reason I came here. And the Soul latched on to me before I came here.” A knock on the door, Noelle flinched, and continued her story.
“It must've like, overwritten or removed your soul when I came here, I have no idea why.” She took a breath, and with the most stressed and annoyed voice she could muster while whispering, “Now theres just a voice in my head that made me kil- uhm, made me stronger and is also telling me to...”
She hesitated before saying it, “Telling me to kiss you on the lips! Anditsnotreallythatbadofanidea- Oh Angel! Please just ignore that!” Noelle covered her blushing face with her hands.
When Kris finally registered what she said, their face turned into a reddish hue, similar to Noelle's in that moment.
“...I fully support you two, but do you realize how many problems you just caused?.”
“Oh! And that original Noelle in your perspective entered Dess' room with Susie! I heard the sound of a guitar-”
“I'm coming immediately, Kris, distract them.”
The call ended.
The two of them sort of looked at each other before Kris left, Noelle choosing to stay behind in fear of getting caught.
=-=-=
Kris cannot enter the dark world in the church.
‘Huh? Why not?’ Noelle asked in her mind. She watched Susie enter the church first, Kris waiting outside.
Because they don't have a Soul, it is far too dangerous to enter a dark world without one.
“Interesting,” she muttered, Kris suddenly stared at her from behind the tree and bush. ‘Did I say that out loud!?’
Yes.
“I need you.”
“Wow, already flirt-”
“Not in that way, you know that.” They immediately interrupted her before he could finish her sentence.
The doe left the bushes, obliging to hat Kris was talking about and actually deciding to help them.
Noelle has joined the party!
“Uhm... Is it just me or do I hear fanfare?”Kris remained silent, grabbing her hand and jumping to the dark world without a single sound.
“KRIS! WARN ME WHEN YOU DO THAT NEXT TIME!”
The two fell into the dark.
The Empty Vessel, with a sword that shines justice.
And the Frozen Cloak, involuntary usurper of the Soul.