Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For as long as they've lived, Kris Dreemur has been a puppet on a string.

It starts small. Funny, almost—their mother being overprotective, friends dragging them along places; not their fault Kris was always the sort to go with the flow. So long as they had a chance to scare Noelle, they were happy enough.

But then the incident happened. And ever since, Kris really has been nothing more than a vessel, no will or thoughts of their own to actualize, only the intentions of others, right down to the soul buried on their chest.

There is a prophecy. One that Carol and Dess both want them to see to its end. That one day, Kris and Noelle will go into a supply closet together to get chalk for Miss Alphys. They will then stumble into a dark world, where they learn about their roles as heroes. Kris will nod along and play pretend, as if they aren't intimately familiar with all that is being taught, and then they will commence in picturesque combat. Kris as the stoic knight and tactician, winning fights with their quick mind and skillful commands, Noelle as a fair maiden and mage, with powerful magic spells, the brawn behind the brains. And the prince shall be their healer.

They will defeat the king, and then, in a show of how much they've all grown, stop 'the dragon'—a tall, athletic, broad-built girl with teeth like knives and wild purple hair. Her name is Susie. It's honestly kind of funny what a cute name that is. Not that the girl herself isn't good-looking, it's just… 'cute' isn't really the word to describe it. She's the sort of good-looking that makes you unsure if the quickening of your heartbeat is attraction or fear.

Kris does not want to 'take her down a peg'. She seems miserable enough as it is. No one likes her save Noelle, and even then, Noelle hasn't actually had a proper conversation with her yet. Her clothes are torn, eyes sullen, and though they respect her willingness to eat supposedly inedible foods and honestly agreed with her when she said that the roses were actually pretty damn tasty they're pretty sure part of the reason she's so willing to eat them is that she doesn't get food at home.

She makes fun of them. A lot. Picks on them to no end. But that's far from the worst thing in their life when Dess and Carol are things they have to deal with. Kris loves them both, really, they do, and Noelle too, but…

When they look at the Holidays now, all they can feel is a deep-seated sort of tiredness. They want nothing more than for this prophecy to be over with.

Carol makes them take a foreign soul, something powerful and all too capable of controlling them. No one can choose who they are in this world. If they could, they'd choose to be something without strings.

So it's only fair that this stupid, otherworldly heart can't choose their perfect little vessel. And when the scientist stares at them, slight annoyance present as he signs out a terse "THIS WAS MINE TO RUN," they pay him no heed.

And so the day arrives. They walk into class, doing a group project—yes, a group project with partners in pairs. There's nine students in the class. Nine is divisible by three and not two, and Miss Alphys needs to retake third grade math.

Luckily, Temmie is partnered with her egg, so Susie can be their partner instead.

Unluckily, they already know what's going to happen, fate sealed the moment they see her eating the chalk.

Susie pins them against the wall, and it's all they can do not to sigh.

"Quiet people piss me off," she says. That's alright. Being quiet pisses Kris off sometimes too. Alas, not everyone has the freedom to say things like that out loud.

"I know exactly what you're thinking," she says. So she knows about the prophecy that she's just accidentally committed herself to? "Susie's eating all the chalk! This was her last chance, now she's gonna get expelled!"

Okay, they knew she'd be off base, but not- not that off base! This is like saying the answer to two-plus-two is yellow!

"But since I know you'll pull the trigger," she says. "Why don't I get expelled for some real carnage?"

And then, just as foretold, she leans in close to their face, sharp teeth glistening with saliva, breath blown hot on their cheeks.

"Kris," she says. "How do you feel… about losing your face?"

This is when she leans in, and just as she's about to do it, Noelle shows up. Disillusioned at last, she'll meekly try to stand up for herself against the great dragon, finding herself struggling against Susie's intimidating gaze. And then- and then-

And then Susie does something that catches them completely and utterly off-guard.

She lets go.

"It'd be a shame for your mother to have to bury her child," she explains, and Kris doesn't even bother questioning how Susie knows Toriel well enough to respect her like that, too busy reeling from surprise.

This wasn't in the script. This was- this was-

"I'm telling you what's going to happen," she continues, like all is normal. "We're going to get the chalk from the closet, and then you're going to do our group project. How's that sound?"

Kris can hear the way the soul flips between the choices, hears how the option is ripped away, and Susie grins, sharp and menacing, canines on display.

"Don't bother answering," she says. She just took away the soul's say in the matter. "In case you haven't noticed yet, your choices don't matter."

And then she motions for them to go to the supply closet, completely unaware of what she's just done. What she's just changed. The strings she's snapped, the ones she's rearranged. Everything, this plan, placed into motion by the most influential family in this place, by the Roaring Knight and the mayor of town, has been completely flipped on its head.

All because Susie feels bad for Kris's mom.

Kris wants to laugh. Yes, yes, Susie's right! Their choices don't matter! They never have!

But hers do.

Kris wonders if she's lucky or just very stubborn as they continue onwards, strung forth by their soul, a nosy thing that periodically makes them interact with every item and place in sight, towards the closet. She's narrowly avoided becoming fodder for what was supposed to be a showcase of Noelle's increased strength, humiliated and the class laughingstock, not to mention what happens afterwards—

"You gonna go in or what?" Susie demands, trembling slightly with fear. Kris would tease her, but they're reliant on their soul to speak, and plus, they're sure they're on the brink of losing her nerve, and they don't want to risk losing the first chance they've gotten in years to overthrow the script, to make something better from the sacrificial, fantastical mess they've been handed.

Sucking in a breath, pushing down the jitters of excitement and anxiety alike—this is unfamiliar territory, not how it's supposed to be, and oh, Carol's going to be so mad when she finds out about this but Kris doesn't care—Kris steps into the closet.

And so they fall.

Kris does not see Susie around them, unsurprisingly. She must've ditched them because they were taking too long.

They walk through the dark world, yes, "walk"—their soul, on top of everything else, has not yet realized they are capable of running. Their soul does, at least, recognize the bright SAVE point.

By second nature, they reach out and…

[File Saved.]

Great. They're insured against death. Now, it's time to find Susie and figure out how exactly they're supposed to forge their own path now that the script they were supposed to follow is useless.

They're not good at forging their own path, they've determined. Too used to going along with others.

They wonder what they'll do for college. No Dess, no Carol, no mom, nothing but them and their own choices. Maybe it'll be nice to have some agency for once.

But they have to get through this week first.

For now, while they ponder, the soul is marching them forward. They don't realize the soul took a detour until they find a glowshard in their hand.

Huh. Maybe the soul isn't as naive about this world as they thought.

They go back, stop at something very dark and difficult to see because the soul's attention has been drawn, and- Wait. That's Pizzapants' face.

Why? Why don't they have a camera so they can immortalize this artwork?

Well, even if they did have one, it would be too dark for a picture.

The soul stills as the little projectiles attack them, promptly moving past before any can hit. There is a save point in the next room.

[File Saved.]

Next to it is a puzzle—a fairly basic one, though the soul doesn't seem to agree, instead just randomly fiddling around until the puzzle is solved by happenstance.

It is painful to watch.

Still, it does work, and Kris is able to move onwards. Two saves, one puzzle, and still no sight of Susie.

The next room has dust piles. Large enough to fit a person inside, they note.

And interestingly, every time they move ahead, they see something shadowy, running away, from the corner of their eye.

Could it be…?

Last dust pile. Nowhere to run now.

And inside is Susie, the eye not covered by her bangs as wide as a saucer plate and very much unintimidating. She is most certainly not scaring off any potential challengers with that face.

"H-Hey! B-Back off!" This is both funny and sad. What happened to ripping people's faces off? "Come any closer and I'll—!"

She realizes who she is speaking to and visibly deflates, looking away sheepishly.

"Kris?! P-Phew," she says. "H-Hey, don't scare me like that, dumbass!"

Realizing how uncool she sounds right now, she pats at her face, trying to roll her bangs back over her other eye.

"Unless you want to get clocked in the face, heh."

Sometimes, freedom is represented by a bird. Sometimes, it is represented by wings in general, the unlocking of a cage.

To Kris, freedom is a teenage girl who thinks that her one-liners are far scarier and cooler than they actually are.

She mutters something about 'getting on with it' when she realizes that she just sounded even lamer, beckoning Kris onwards. She is distinctly behind them.

"You got us into this mess, you get us out," she explains. So they walk onward. Yes, "walk", again, because the soul still doesn't know how to run. The soul will never figure out how to run and Kris is going to strangle it for this imposed dawdling no matter how much it damages them.

Susie also gets sick of the walking, but unlike them, she has the capacity to express her frustration. That's becoming a recurring theme, they note.

"You walk way too slow," she complains, leaving them in the dust. Kris want to fall down and cling to her knee like a prisoner about to be sent to death if she doesn't let them come with, pleading "Take me with you, please." They can't take anymore of this ridiculously slow-paced walking.

But alas, this world is not kind enough to grant them that opportunity.

And so they slowly, like a damn snail, continue, marching on at the mercy of their soul, who is apparently an old man, until they finally, finally, catch up with Susie.

She points out someone on top of the pillar, watching the both of them. Pointing that out is apparently not a good idea, because the darkner on the pillar starts attacking. And like a seasoned fighter, the soul manages to dodge each and every single projectile. Good enough to know how to dodge, but not good enough to run like any normal person. Huh.

At last, they arrive in castletown. Just like they were supposed to. Except, instead of with their childhood best friend clinging to their arm, romance in the air, or whatever it was Carol wanted, there's Susie.

"W-We finally made it, huh?" Noelle says, looking down forlornly. Guilt swirls in her eyes, the memory of her failure to save Kris and stand up to the violet tormentor haunting her. "I… I know I haven't…"

Kris flashes her a surprisingly tender smile, reassuring, silently declaring their forgiveness, and she relaxes.

"In a weird way, I'm happy we got this chance to just… hang out. Fahaha!"

"Oh, you're not dead. Sweet."

Kris wonders why that was even a consideration. That was lightwork, not even a battle. But then they remember that Susie is new to all this business, probably doesn't even realize just how well she'll be able to use that axe.

"You know what this place is?" Castletown. "Me neither. Wonder if there's anyone in that building up there…?" The prince from the dark.

Kris's knowledge is not the soul's, however, a fact for which they are most certainly thankful. The soul is curious, following Susie, stopping to save briefly, until they encounter a familiar hooded figure.

There he is.

The prince from the dark. A healer, with little about the legend that he does not know and little outside it that he does. His life's purpose is to guide the heroes on their journey, and just like Kris, he is a puppet on a string.

He speaks, and Kris feels shock take hold of their body.

He sounds just like Asriel.

"Please, heroes… listen to my tale…" beckons the prince, and Kris wants to scoff in his face, refuse to listen to the damned legend binding them one more time than they have to.

But their soul will not allow it.

They nod, against themselves.

"Very well," Ralsei says, before delivering a paraphrased version of the legend.

Kris knows what really matters. The important details were all far more effectively conveyed in Dess's version.

The cage, the girl, and the dark prince meet in the dark world. They must defeat the king and thwart the dragon.

The dragon-thwarting part will clearly have to be put on hold. Maybe they can thwart something else for now.

Like, ah, that darkner from earlier. Kris never did get a good look at that thing's face.

"Me? Some kind of hero?" Susie replied, barking out an incredulous laugh. "I'm out, Kris, if you wanna play pretend with this weirdo, go ahead."

She just inserted herself into the prophecy, and then proceeded to shun it. Kris doesn't know whether to admire her temerity or bitterly rue the fact that they could never have it.

They do know, however, that they want to follow her out. Dess isn't watching them right now, thank the stars for that, so maybe they could get away with a little bit of fun, too.

They try to move and immediately fail. Right. The soul is controlling them, everything they do. Heart on a chain. That is what they are and all they will ever be.

The prince startles, before immediately being pushed aside by-

Some boy. Wearing a spade suit and riding a motorcycle.

"I'm the bad guy," he introduces himself, and Kris thinks he and Susie will get along very well. They could make some edgy one-liners together, and who knows—maybe some of them might just be good enough to scare a toddler!

"You clowns want to seal our dark fountain, huh?" Yes. "And—still picturing you guys as clowns—" Lancer has a point; Kris might just be the biggest clown there ever was. "—save the world from eternal darkness, huh?" Kris wishes that was it. "Don't try to deny it. You'll go east—your only way home!" Kris knew that before, but Susie didn't, and he's just given her some very valuable information. "But I've got a two step plan to stop you: Step one, I thrash you. Step two: you lose!"

And then, Susie bursts out laughing.

"That's a nice plan," she says, and the look of unadulterated surprise on the kid's face at being praised is almost enough to make Kris feel bad for what they know is going to happen next.

"Really?" he asks. "Y-You think so?"

"Yeah," she says. "Mind if we use it on you instead?"

And so she swings her axe at last. Their first battle, and it's against an attention-starved kid in a jumpsuit. Great.

The soul commands them to compliment Lancer.

What exactly is Kris supposed to compliment here?

"Your clothes are indistinguishable from your face," they say. Lancer seems flattered.

The soul is never given the option to command Susie, though, and she just strikes, slow and hard, with her axe. Though they feel sympathy for Lancer's pain, there is a satisfaction in watching Susie circumvent the soul's power through her own agency.

Lancer's attack is easily dodged.

The soul tells them to compliment Lancer. This time, though, Lancer sees it as insincere. Sad stuff.

Susie, meanwhile, axes him again. Surprisingly, Lancer doesn't seem too bothered.

The next few turns, the soul switches to warning Lancer about Susie's attack. They apparently do not know that that is what you're supposed to do in a fight.

Apparently, Lancer didn't, either, because it is only upon being warned that he realizes he can dodge.

Finally, Lancer's bike runs out of fuel. He sighs.

"You clowns got lucky," he murmurs, leaving anticlimatically. What a fight. Truly, a cinematic masterpiece. The first battle of the wondrous heroes, to be celebrated for ages to come.

—You won! Got 0 XP and 35 D$.

The dark prince returns, raring to introduce himself. But Susie just arches a brow impatiently.

"Can you take off your hood?" It is technically phrased as a question, but it's more of a demand. "Can't hear you."

And shyly, the prince obliges.

Kris's heartbeast quickens.

That face…

They can only catch a glimpse of it through the hood, but it really does resemble Asriel. And-

"M-My name is Ralsei!" The prince says.

Ralsei? Ralsei?

A-S-R-I-E-L.

R-A-L-S-E-I.

Anagrams of one other. This can't just be a coincidence, damnit— Why does the dark prince bear all these similarities to their brother?

"Best way to leave is east, right?" Susie says, cutting off Ralsei's introductory speech. He nods.

"Yes, that's where we'll-"

"Sweet. Thanks." She marches off, defiance in her every step. Kris once again wants to cling to her knee. Take me with you, Susie, so I too can experience the freedom of hitting random items with my weapon and making one-liners.

But they cannot. Instead, Ralsei speaks.

"I hope we can be good friends, Kris!" he says, clapping his hands together excitedly. Kris does not. This prince looks like Asriel, and the way he speaks is too subservient, too coy. This can't be it. Something has to be wrong.

"Fahaha, give him a chance, Kris!" Noelle says. "He… seems like he's trying real hard to make everyone happy, y'know. It's probably hard, isn't it? Having to put other people before yourself like that?"

Noelle goes quiet for a while.

"Kris?"

A nod of acknowledgement.

"You think—" she looks away. "Ralsei would be happier if he just did whatever he wanted?"

Ralsei follows their imposed walking quietly, before stopping, looking at- rather, through them.

"Um, you can press [X] to run, Kris," he says. Before Kris can finish really and truly processing the implications of that statement, they're running. It's apparent what Ralsei just did.

He just spoke to the soul.

How in the—?

How did he know? What could have possibly given it away? Kris doesn't know what's going on with him, but they immediately want no part in it.

They move back to Castle Town, save, and go east. A dummy.

Ralsei perks up.

"The training dummy I made!" he says. "Do you want a tutorial?"

And again, he isn't speaking to them. In turn, Kris too does not speak to him, the soul nodding in their stead.

A battle with the dummy commences. Their first fight in this darkworld was against a kid in a jumpsuit, and their second is against a dummy. Great.

On the bright side, they'll be able to gauge exactly what sort of character this soul is. They've seen bits and pieces—dodging, the absolute inability to run up until two seconds ago, the refusal to skip over any of Ralsei's spiels in spite of the fact that Kris knows that's something they have the ability to do—but Kris has a feeling this might just be a chance for more proper demonstration.

As the battle, if one could really call it that, commences, Ralsei points to the soul as it flies into the bullet box.

"See that heart? That's your soul," he says. "It contains your will—" No, it doesn't. "Your compassion—" No, it doesn't. "—And the fate of the world."

…Okay, actually, that one's probably true. Their soul is very, very, important—they wouldn't have forced that damn thing into their body otherwise.

Ralsei continues explaining, still pointedly looking at the heart. Kris wants to throw their hands up in the air and leave—say "Well, if it's the floating heart you want to talk to, have your way!"

Unfortunately, that very floating heart is what gets to determine if they leave. And the floating heart seems to refuse.

The enemy attack is choreographed—meant to be easily dodged. Ralsei still sings hollow praise when they take no damage, and towards whom or what it's directed, they don't even know.

"Anyhoo, after the enemy attacks, it's your turn, Kris!" he continues, cheery as ever. He then proceeds to run them through the commands, fighting, acting, defending, and whatnot.

Kris wonders if there's anything that could make that perfect little tutorial fairy facade of his break.

It's not intentional, at least, not malicious, but Ralsei has been putting on an act this entire time. Authenticity is nowhere to be found in the gaps. Kris doesn't know what else they expected from the guy who 'just so happened' to have a convenient anagram of their brother's name, and an eerily similar voice.

But Kris has always been a fan of messing around. So when Ralsei mentions hugging…

[ACT]:

—Check

—Hug

—Hug Ralsei

Please let the soul do this, it would be so funny, oh, pleasepleaseplease-

For the first time in a very, very long time, fate seems to smile down upon them. The soul picks the third act.

Kris puts their all into that hug, wrapping their arms around him like he's their best friend in the whole wide world. Which, considering their current status as a quiet freak, and the, ah, complications to their relationship with Noelle… might just be accurate.

Welp. They can always try to win Susie over, that'll probably work well enough. Underneath that tough exterior, there is a sort of desperation to her, after all, starvation for more than just food.

But like a porcupine, the defense mechanisms they'd need to bypass to actually see that soft interior hurt like hell.

"K-Kris?" Ralsei says, startling like, with no offense to the Holiday family, a doe. "Um, I don't think, u-um, that's… what you should be doing."

That is quite possibly the only candid, unchoreographed thing he's said since the start of this "tutorial". Kris wants more, the traces of authenticity drawing them in like a moth to a flame.

"But…" Ralsei says, a luminescent flush appearing on his cheeks, visible even through the obscuration of his cloak.

They return to position. And the next turn, like clockwork—

Kris hugs Ralsei again.

"Kris?" Ralsei says, cheeks aflame again. "Are you trying to, um, ask me to give you a tutorial on hugging?"

Of course that was his immediate conclusion. It's really kind of sad, the way he immediately assumes any act of affection is out of a need for guidance rather than a simple desire to show him affection.

If Kris was a better person, they would seek to unpack his belief that he is subservient, to strip down his lies until only Ralsei, real and true, remains, reassure him that he is worthy as he is, and embrace him until he fully embraces them back.

But they are not a better person, they are one with a heap of their own problems they must first handle, and everything down to what they do in battle is at the mercy of the bright red heart embedded inside their chest.

The third hug, Ralsei laughs sheepishly.

"I've, um, never hugged anyone before," he confesses. Finally, finally, he is talking to them. "Except for the dummy, to, um, test it out…"

Hastily, he clears his throat.

"But, um, I suppose you'll be the one teaching me, Kris! Hahah…" he looks aside bashfully, fiddling with his cloak.

The next time they hug him, he is silent. That's their sign to wrap up the battle and get this tutorial over with.

The soul doesn't seem interested in messing with Ralsei further, though, refusing to deliberately fumble any of the inanely straightforward commands like Kris would have.

"That was… fun," Ralsei says vaguely, a flush on his cheeks. "It was nice teaching you, Kris! And—"

He pulls something out from his back, so shyly Kris thinks for a second it's going to be flowers.

"A manual," he says. "In case you needed a refresher."

The sentiment is nice enough, even if they're never going to use it.

"Press [C] to open your menu and use it in your items."

And he's stopped talking to them again.

They walk onwards. The silence ensuing is neither tense nor comfortable—there's nothing unsaid left to say, but not enough familiarity for either of them to truly relax. Or, maybe Ralsei's movements are just too scripted for comfort.

Dess must've already opened the great door for them, they discussed this yesterday. Yep. It's unlocked, hanging wide open so that anyone who wants to can go through. Really, it's a miracle that the kid from earlier—Lancer…?—Was the only one to come through. It's also a miracle Ralsei didn't notice. He seems like the diligent sort.

"The dark prince. There is little he does not know about the prophecy and little he does know outside it." Okay, they're starting to see what Carol meant now.

"Once we step out this door… our adventure will really begin," they would laugh at that if they weren't already well aware it's not them he's speaking to. "I believe your choices matter too, Kris."

It's annoying. Ordinarily, or at least, ordinarily in these past few minutes of their acquaintanceship, there has been a clear divide between when he is talking to them and when he is speaking to something else entirely.

But now? Kris can't tell.

They scrutinize him as he continues, because there must be something—a twitch, a flick of the eyes—some sort of tell that will give him away.

It is not fruitful in the slightest.

Ralsei finishes his speech, hands clasped together elegantly, setting foot behind them. Kris raises a brow, silently attempting to ask "Don't you want to be in front?"

After all, he is the most familiar with this Dark World. He ought to be the one leading them around, right?

But Ralsei just shakes his head with a smile.

"I'm sorry!" he says. "Is that too much to ask?"

And again, they cannot tell who he is talking to. A continuation of his previous monologue, insistence that "We should try to get through without fighting," and a response to Kris's silent inquiry.

"I can handle it," the soul makes them say. They express their displeasure with Ralsei's little trick by saying the phrase with as much monotony and blatant disinterest as possible.

Ralsei notices it, of course he does, perceptive as he is, but he ignores it, clapping his hands contentedly.

"I always knew you were a hero, Kris!" They're definitely not a hero.

Ralsei knew what the soul thought he was referring to when he pulled that stunt, didn't he? Actually, they ought to get Dess to make sure whoever she gave the Shadow Crystal targets Ralsei, just for that.

But is there even a guarantee the darkner with the shadow crystal is the darkner they'll have to get through to seal the fountain? They'll have to fight the king, but Dess mentioned some eccentric little jester when they asked her about the crystal.

Damnit. Well, maybe if the soul is curious enough…

"Let's try our best, alright?" he says.

They walk out the door.

[File Saved.]

Now, they are finally able to run. A gift for which, despite their current reservations, they are boundlessly thankful to Ralsei for providing.

There is a sign.

'Enemies ahead! Get ready for boundless thrashing!' — Lancer

Alright, finally, they get to actually fight something competent! They remember training with Dess, well, more like being made to train, they would never willingly go through those absolute thrashings, the feeling of their back slammed against the ground, bat at their neck, slamming their back so hard it would be sore for days—oh, the lies they had to make up to get Mom off their back for that—and they don't miss it. Really, they don't. But in comparison to what they've been ruthlessly trained for, this…

Well, it's admittedly anticlimactic. They were expecting brutality. Cutthroat fights of the highest order of difficulty, not sitting back and watching the soul do all the work as they merely carried out basic acts.

Maybe that'll change soon, they think, seeing the Rudinn up ahead.

The battle starts. The soul has them convince, and Ralsei spare. This setup actually works, and the fight ends before the enemy can even start attacking.

…Nevermind, then.

Lancer has more signs. Namely, two more. Kris reads them intently when the soul allows, largely because reading signs is the only engaging activity they can think of.

"If you're reading this, I guess you're dead."

"Hey, don't read this sign! It's a work in progress!"

Sorry, Kris thinks. Lancer notices them, perking up.

"If it isn't my two favorite people! Psyche! You guys aren't even in my top five!" He really would get along with Susie.

Speaking of…

"Where's Susie?" Ralsei asks. Lancer laughs.

"You mean the purple girl? Oh ho ho." He's been practicing that 'evil laugh', hasn't he? It doesn't sound very evil. It sounds more like Santa Claus, and not even the evil version that hunts naughty children Kris made up to torment Noelle with. "You're too late!"

In spite of the fact that the odds of Lancer actually being able to harm Susie in any meaningful capacity are lower than that of Kris gaining real freedom, Ralsei frowns worriedly.

"What did you do to her?" He asks, pursing his lips.

"Hahaha, it was so simple!" Lancer says, before looking away sheepishly. "She beat me up, so I ran away!"

Yeah, that's about what they thought would happen.

"That's a bit anti-climactic…" This whole place has been one anti-climactic show after another, Ralsei. Get used to it.

They next move down, getting some dark candies— strange, the soul didn't even stop to try and read the sign first. And what with the way they immediately knew the quickest way to spare Rudinn…

Right. The save files. This can't be their first time here, can it? There's a burning, simmering rage at Kris's helplessness in this situation, the fact that the soul could have done any number of things—killed them, killed the darkners, hurt them, hurt everyone—and they wouldn't even know.

They elect to bury it.

The soul moves them back towards the intended path. Lancer turns to them.

"By the way, if you head that way, my troops will thrash you," he says. Kris decides to not even try to get their hopes up this time for a more difficult battle.

Lo and behold, the fearsome troops in question are… two Rudinns.

The battle begins. Convince and spare. One Rudinn down. The Rudinn's turn—at least they actually managed to get to that point this time.

…Not that it matters, of course, because not a single one of the attacks actually hits. The remaining Rudinn is convinced and spared.

Their next foe- no, that's just the chef that Dess managed to convince the proper phrase was "mama miba." For all their misgivings about Dess's plans, Kris's only annoyance regarding this one is that they weren't given the chance to trick him themselves. It would've been funny.

"Mamma Miba!" says the chef, and Kris fights the urge to laugh. "I'm Topchef! My latest cake worked me to exhaustion, so I took a nap, but… a scary noise woke me up! A beast was hunched on the table, eating the cake like an animal!" Now that's no way to speak about Susie, is it? "I spritzed it with water, and it ran off!"

So Susie is weak to spray bottles, like some sort of- stray cat. Actually, she acts like a stray cat in a lot of ways. Being hostile towards anyone who approaches her, for one. And there's the sharp teeth and claws, the tendency to eat random foods—okay, Kris doesn't have much room to talk on that, but hey, they never said it was a bad thing. If anything, it's nice to have someone else not strung along by the societal norms of 'edible food'.

Maybe she'll enjoy eating moss, too.

The chef said something else too, probably—they didn't hear, too busy with their highly important train of thought.

Or maybe it was Ralsei speaking? Oh well.

They continue onwards, though not before stopping at the cake—or rather, the smoldering remains of it, really, they can only admire how Susie's freedom extends to violating the laws of common sense and managing to set a cake aflame while eating it—and taking a slice of it and putting it inside their pockets. It's admittedly surprising—the soul, from what they've seen of it, seems like a bit of a goody two-shoes, annoyingly so.

Their next battle is against Rudinn and Hathy. The Rudinn is convinced and spared during the first turn. The Hathy's attack is easily dodged. Then the Hathy is flattered and spared. Kris is about to fall asleep.

"What an intense battle!" Ralsei says amicably as they receive their reward money. Kris stares at him deadpan, hoping desperately that they can convey just how wrong that sentiment is nonverbally.

The soul continues, stopping to take more dark candies, solving the subsequent puzzle without a problem. Alright. Definitely not their first time here.

…So why did they resort to brute forcing the very first puzzle? Is that seriously just how they've committed to doing it every time?

If Kris could, they'd laugh at it for that.

Next, there is a maze.

"The maze of death," says Lancer's sign. "Prepare to get lost, clowns!"

The soul makes them get a White Ribbon, though not before treating them to some more of Lancer's handmade signs, containing useful descriptions such as "Feeling lost yet?" and "Wait, I'm lost! Where am I?"

Ralsei perks up upon noticing, launching into yet another explanation.

"That ribbon is armor, Kris! It increases defense." Yes Ralsei, that was obvious. "Why don't you try wearing it in your equipment?"

Spitefully, Kris wants to throw away the ribbon, or at the very least leave it unused. Unfortunately, their soul has other ideas.

They find themselves putting on the ribbon.

…

It looks pretty on them, actually. Peak performance right there.

Even if there's absolutely no way they'll need the extra defense.

Lancer is up ahead, presence charitably marked by a sign saying "Oh, it's just this way."

He does his practiced evil laugh as they draw near, making a little pose.

"Ho ho ho! Somehow, you survived the maze!" he starts. "But don't count your blessings before they hatch… let's see how you fare against this team!" It's going to be Rudinns and Hathies again, isn't it?

Even worse. Three Hathies.

The soul flatters them all. The Hathies' turn. Their attack… isn't even an attack. The dummy had a more threatening attack pattern than this.

The soul just takes this as a chance to graze for TP. What Kris would have done. Respectable.

It turns out this attack, this absolutely abysmal attack, is the final straw for even Lancer, who stares at them aghast.

"Why- Why aren't you guys thrashed? You're totally outnumbered!" he asks. This is a two-versus-three matchup.

The inquiry, despite not being from one of the heroes he lives to serve, kicks Ralsei into, as Kris will now call it, "tutorial mode".

"You made a team purely out of support enemies," he explains. "Their bullet patterns aren't balanced at all." When Lancer seems confused, he elaborates. "It's like a dinner made of three glasses of milk."

…Is there something wrong with that?

Lancer echoes their sentiment.

"Is that, um, unusual somehow?" No it isn't, Lancer, Kris would say if they could speak. Don't let these harsh societal standards box you in.

For a second, Ralsei looks to Kris pleadingly for support. He finds none.

And then, he sighs, like there is a weariness deep within his very soul.

"Why don't we talk about this after the battle?" he says.

The enemies are spared promptly, the soul taking the chance to graze for TP even more.

"Sweet! How much do I get?" Lancer asks, seeing their winnings. Ralsei stares incredulously.

"You… lost, Lancer," he says, like a parent talking to their kindergarten-aged child. "You don't get any."

"Can I have some of yours?"

"No!"

If Kris were in control, they would have. Lancer just seems sad, and something about the way he acts in spite of being the opposition flares up a primally protective instinct inside their brain.

They move past him, though, because Kris is unfortunately not in control. The soul skips straight past the puzzle and goes to—

Susie. Banging against the door frustratedly, yet with a determination that convinces evenKris that, if she just keeps banging with more force, the door will come down eventually.

That's her, alright.

She momentarily stops her crusade against the door to look at them both with annoyance.

"This door sucks."

"Don't worry, Susie," Ralsei says. "It'll come down once we solve the puzzle!"

"Cool. Tell me when you solve it." And with that, Susie goes right back to punching the door. Ralsei smirks briefly, before regaining his composure, batting his eyelashes with all the innocence of an angel. Kris is almost inclined to believe it—but they know how duplicitous Ralsei can be.

"All three of us are needed to solve it," he says. The look of horror and disgust on Susie's face at the thought of having to be associated with them is priceless.

"So you're saying I have to stick with you guys."

"Yep!" Ralsei said, a hint of smugness creeping into his tone. It's the most freely given honesty he's shown since they've met, and Susie didn't even have to try to draw it out. It's another reminder of the sheer innate qualities she possesses as a person—her very existence tears the strings binding everything together where Kris has to try until they're sore from exertion just to tug.

Susie reluctantly walks behind them, marching like a prisoner about to be sent off to death. Ralsei claps his hands.

"Yahoo! Susie's back on the team!" He cheers, doing a goofy little trumpet sound. "Susie joins the party!"

Susie just stares, face puckered up with disgust,

Then, she storms off to the room with the puzzle.

"...Susie follows at a distance such that no one can tell she's associated!" Ralsei jokes. That gets a chuckle out of them.

They solve the puzzle, their victory marked by the sound of the door opening. A cold feeling of dread trickles down Kris's spine, the hairs on their neck standing on edge.

They are being watched.

'Conveniently', a C. Round appears in the next room. Right after Susie re-joined them. Ralsei perks up.

"I just realized Susie missed the tutorial!" he says. "Now might be a chance to show her how to act!"

Battle initiates.

The soul makes Susie compliment, and Ralsei spares. This isn't how it's supposed to go, Kris thinks, her free spirit so quickly chipped away to fit the mold of a party member.

Then again, considering who's, ah, 'supervising' them, it might just be for the better,

And then she scoffs.

"Compliment?" she says, amused, as if the very prospect of being sweet to the enemy is absolutely absurd. Which it is. "'Kay, here's one—'

Her weapon swings into the ground, slamming the C. Round with a burst of energy. Kris is filled with a burst of spiteful glee at the sight of the soul being so brazenly defied, followed by a shot of fear. She defied the soul's orders fight in front of-

"I like the axe in your face," she jokes. "Where'd you get it?"

And then she cackles, unaware of what she's just done.

Ralsei notices their distress, but he is entirely unaware of the source, instead murmuring a sort and intended to be reassuring "I should talk to her…"

Up ahead is Seam's. The soul decides to go in, and Kris can feel the brief shift in the fabric of the darkworld in its accommodation of the soul. A peculiar phenomenon, that Kris still does not know the cause of.

It's also all she needs.

Everything happens in an instant—The soul is ripped out, the world swirls around them, and they fall back. A weapon pins them in place, no guard or blade—A wiffle bat. The body appears before them, black and jagged in its edges.

"Dess?" they mutter, the sound of their own, natural voice catching them off guard.

The helmet comes off. Her face, unnatural and contorted from the years spent in the other realm, stares down at them coldly.

"Noelle isn't here," she says. Kris nods.

"Susie pushed things off course," they say neutrally.

Evidently, that's not what she wants to hear.

"You couldn't have stopped her?" They don't have the patience for this.

"Maybe I could have," they say. "But I wasn't exactly in control of my own body at the time. Wonder whose idea led to that."

They're playing with fire and they know it. Dess is strong—very strong—and could absolutely have their death arranged so that it is gruesome and painful. But she won't, they know she won't, for the same reason a broke college student would never deliberately break their old computer no matter how much it glitches and hangs. Usefulness. Maybe a twisted sort of attachment.

And predictably, Dess looks away.

"You know I didn't want to do things like that," she murmurs, voice too soft for her current station. Kris isn't a fool—they'll take advantage of her sympathy while they have it.

"I can still make it work," they offer. "The next dark world… make it in the library. She studies there."

The knowledge about Noelle softens Dess even further. They're almost in the clear now. But not quite. They just- need to-

"She does?" Dess asks. "Mom never told me."

"Because Noelle never told her," Kris explains. "She uses the library computer to make searches she doesn't want to make at home."

Noelle is the sweetest, most caring girl they've ever met. She'd never hurt anyone without ample cause or duress, always trying to make everyone and anyone happy, even at her own expense.

And here they are, selling out her secrets to try and get themselves out of trouble with her sister.

Hah. They are a terrible person.

"Oh…" Dess says, quiet and forlorn. She doesn't like Carol, even if she loves her, Kris can tell. There's a very big difference between the two, and neither is a necessity for the other. Carol returns the sentiment.

She stiffens herself, remembering what she was here for, but the damage has already been done. The ice has been melted, and it won't come back any time soon.

"I'll make sure of it," she says. "I know it wasn't your fault. It was that dragon girl's." Kris tries not to look too pleased at the reminder of just how capable Susie is of messing with fate. "Be sure to keep her in check, alright?"

Kris nods.

"I will."

"Good," she sighs with relief. "You know I don't mean to be harsh, Kris, it's just-"

"I completely understand," they say. It's not really a lie. They just happened to neglect to mention the fact that they resent her for it anyways. "This is how it has to be."

She nods, relieved.

On second thought, maybe they would have preferred her harsh side. It's easier to hate her then, when she's beating them ruthlessly under the guise of training, hammering in with every word that they are her subservient, whether they want to be or not.

"You haven't been eating properly, have you, Kris?" she asks offhandedly.

"Soul usually doesn't let me," Kris explains. The soul seems to think food is just a healing source rather than, well, an essential of living. She sighs.

"That won't do at all," she says, the exposed bones of her face contorting awkwardly as she attempts to use magic to force her expression into something comforting.

She gives them something black and inky.

"Food," she explains. "My roomie gave me."

Her fellow resident in the outer dimension. Kris knows that he is apparently a sweetheart of a man, even if he "looks goopy", according to Dess's words. A parent, who loves raving about his two children to Dess.

He also keeps babbling about his experiments. A very peculiar picture of a person.

"Like some kinda human," Dess had snorted once, before realizing who she was talking to. Kris didn't really mind. It was alright obvious enough everyone thought they were a freak.

They stare at it disgusted for a few seconds, barely able to register the motions that ensue.

Suddenly, the black substance is gone from sight, and they feel an intrusion in their mouth.

"...!"

Dess is making them eat it.

"Stop fighting," she tries to soothe. "It'll be good for you in the long run."

They go limp, not due to her words, no—it's just futile to fight against her when she wants something. They know this by now.

The food is finally swallowed, her grip on them loosening enough to let them breathe, neck still sore. They gasp, coughing and panting furiously.

"Don't be a baby," she says, twirling her wiffleball bat. "It was just some good!"

"Not-" they cough. "Not everyone lives in the fucking shadow realm."

"Hey," she says, and panic shoots up their spine instinctively even though she's joking. "I take offense to that. It's not really a shadow realm, y'know? More like… a part of our world that's off-limits. Like the Backrooms or something."

It's like they're talking to a friend, chatting casually about both of their lives and joking around, and for a second, they relax.

Big mistake.

Because of course, it's the moment they get comfortable that she decides to dispense with the softness, the pleasantry.

"Don't mess up like this again," she says, gripping their wrist tightly. "Keep that girl under control."

They're not sure what they're afraid of most right now—maybe the consequences of what will happen if they do, or the idea that she might just grow even more violent, or even the idea that her grip might bruise.

"Got it?" Rapidly, they nod. She releases them, expression still hard. "Good."

They miscalculated. The ice returned far quicker than they thought. They relaxed too early, they can't let that happen again- won't let that happen again-

And just as quickly as it all disappeared, everything swirls around, and the world around them is suddenly all back again, heart back inside their chest. No one knows what happened just now. Not even the soul.

They look around for Dess, but she is nowhere to be seen.

"Hee hee… welcome, travellers."

Right. Seam's shop.

"What do you like to buy?" he asks, offering them a chance to browse around. Susie stands off to a corner, trying to look cool but staring at the food items longingly when she thinks no one is looking. Keyword is 'thinks', because after Dess's instructions, Kris's eyes are perpetually on her.

"Are you alright?" Ralsei asks, cheery as ever. They stay silent for a second before realizing the soul is not being prompted to respond in their stead. So they nod.

"Good," he says, following them as they browse. They can feel the pit inside their chest.

They can only hope they don't mess this up.

Chapter Text

Seam is peculiar—staring at them the entire time, but never with intent. Their button eye lays limp, while their other eye is barely open. When they stare at Kris, it's not really staring—in fact, it's not even really looking.

And yet it's like they've managed to read Kris inside and out.

Kris can see it. The entire process. The little realizations, marked by little silent 'ooh's and 'ah's. The process by which they put the pieces together is slow and gradual, like solving a jigsaw puzzle, but the soul's current occupation gives them ample time to figure everything out.

After they're finished trying to psychoanalyze Kris for whatever godforsaken reason, they turn their eyes to Ralsei—well, if the button counts as an eye, Kris actually isn't sure if it does—trying to break down every little bit of him, see what makes him tick. Good luck, Kris wants to say. You'll find nothing of use.

Except… it works, seemingly. Seam goes through the same process they did with Kris, only even faster, nodding with satisfaction as if getting a read on someone so crafty, so deceptive.

They look back at Kris and appear to hold in a laugh. Haha. Hahahahahahaha. Kris's suffering is just hilarious, isn't it?

But then they look at Susie, in the corner, still eyeing the food, and they don't even try to analyze. Probably because there's not much to uncover in the first place. Susie, for all the ways she has completely upended Kris's world today, is a relatively straightforward person. Her behavior is simple—act threatening when she is hurt or afraid. She is not stupid, rather, she simply has nothing to hide, no inside information or conspiracies lurking within. Her goals are clear—get home, and axe anything that tries to hurt her in the process—she does not make any attempt to obscure them in the first place.

Seam stares, and smiles. It is fond, invariably so.

"You interested in buyin'?" they ask. She startles as being addressed, staring at Kris and Ralsei for a second. Kris whistles innocuously, making themselves look enamored with staring at the brick wall. Ralsei follows suit, and they both commence pretending that they are not just eavesdropping.

"...Tch," she says, handing over an exorbitant sum of money likely accumulated from her violent ways that makes Kris seriously contemplate the virtue of axing everything in sight. Maybe they should get an axe. It would be cool. "If I have to."

She bought thirteen darkburgers. Thirteen. Darkburgers. And too many dark candies to count. The only reason she even stopped was running out of space. It's so absurd that she's trying to pretend she's just buying out of obligation that it loops back around to being funny.

But as a puppet, certified heart on a chain, Kris is deeply offended by her appropriation of their kind. She could never be a puppet. They're going to get her back for that.

"Well, thanks for that," Seam says, non-button eye crinkling with amusement. She scoffs in response.

"What kinda freak're you, anyways?" To any ordinary person, this would seem like a condemnation. But Kris, who is well-versed in translating Susie's language and deserves a Master's in the field for all the research they have done, knows that this is actually extremely reverent by her standards, a highly polite request for introduction and show of respect.

"Name's Seam, pronounced 'Shawm'—" Kris knows their name is spelled Seam, but that was spoken. Both iterations of their name were pronounced the same way.

They notice Seam's eyes looking at their soul, and of course. Of course, it wasn't enough for Ralsei to talk to the damned perpetually walking puzzle-fumbling nuisance— now the shopkeeper needs to start giving it attention as well.

It is interesting information they've acquired, though—the soul cannot hear anything. All information is somehow presented to them in transcript form. It's not something Kris can quite wrap their head around the mechanics of just yet, but it's something worth keeping in mind for future use.

"This is my 'Seap', ha ha ha," he continues. "Over the years, I've collected odds and ends. 'Course, I've got not attachment to it, just a hobby of mine. Around here, you find ways to pass the time… or you go mad like everyone else."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Susie asks. "Chaos King," responds Seam simply, despite likely being aware she has no clue what they mean. "Look at the old man. Only king still here. Him and his strange son're s'pposed to be in power, but… he spends his days spewin' all sorts of vitriol about lightners and… not doin' much ruling."

She prods again.

"Only king still here?" Dess locked up all the others. Kris remembers because they'd insisted there had to be another way, tried to physically block her from entering the school closet like that would make any difference. In response? She'd struck their knees with her bat, knocking them aside, only to gently cradle their face with her ink-ridden hands.

"I don't want to do this," she'd said. "But this is how it has to be."

And to this day, Kris still doesn't know whether to take her at her word. Dess is the puppeteer, the one behind it all. But she is also a puppet, strung along by Carol.

Once, when they were younger, Kris had considered the nature of being a puppet. Naive as they were, they saw it in black and white. The puppets, the puppeteers, and the audience.

But it is different now. Everyone has strings—ones binding them, and ones to control. It's simply a matter of how much each set is used. Some are controlled more often, while others more often control. A sliding scale.

A manager at a corporation strings along employees, taking advantage of corruption to abuse and take false credit, but is bound still, abused in turn, by their supervisor. A farmhand is in control of the animals within their farm, often subjecting them to all sorts of cruel treatments, called barbaric by the horrified audience, but is only doing so due to force from their superiors, the agribusinesses.

Maybe Dess is like the farmhand. Maybe she really doesn't want to do it either—and though she has the physical power to control anyone, she lacks the leverage.

Or maybe she's just like a corporate figurehead. Who knows?

"A strange knight appeared out of nowhere and locked three of 'em up," Seam explains, seemingly casual in delivery, but the way they stare at Kris to check for a reaction doesn't go unnoticed. Luckily, Kris has never been particularly expressive, and the presence of the soul stifles their emotion even more.

Ralsei stares at Kris too. Suspicious. Very suspicious. He's probably plotting and scheming something in that deceptively fluffy little head of his. Maybe that's why he wears a hood—to hide his massive, wrinkled brain. It's probably so big it shows through the fur, huh? Damned schemer.

"Your little fangs are very cute, Kris!" he says, clearly trying to come up with an excuse for his blatant schemes. Kris makes a show of blushing in response. It is not genuine, they are not flustered, because the compliment isn't genuine, and also their canines are not cute, they are intimidating and cool.

The lady doth protest a perfectly normal amount.

Susie saves them, oh, what a bringer of freedom she is, brushing herself off and motioning for her to follow.

"Let's go," she says. Ralsei looks at her, giddiness breaking.

"Um," Ralsei starts. "Kris is the leader. They decide when we leave."

He says, pointing at the soul. Very subtle.

"Says who?"

"I do," Ralsei responds firmly. So he can be candid with Susie.

"Seems to me like you're the leader, then," she says, getting in his space. Kris considers giving her a thumbs up as a way of showing their support, but that would most likely be read as mockery.

"I'm not-"

"And every leader—" Oh, she's going for it again. Those sharp yellow teeth are dangerously close to his face, huh? "—Takes the fall for their team. So if a big bad dragon shows up and wants to tear off someone's face…"

She stares at Ralsei. Ralsei stares back. She continues staring. Ralsei continues staring back because he is a liar who is not nearly as shy as he acts and also probably kicks puppies in his spare time.

And then the soul decides it's time for them to leave.

"Well," Ralsei says, watching as Kris is dragged along. "It's time for us to go!"

Susie scowls.

"I'm not leaving just because Kris says so."

"Didn't you want to leave before?"

Susie considers this for a second, before sighing.

"Fine," she says. "But only because I wanna leave too. Got it?"

Never doubted it, Kris thinks as they leave the store. There is another save point. In order to harness their will power, they think about how they have the power of mean girls on their side now.

[File Saved.]

And then, the soul drags them over to-

Jigsaw Joe? Why? Of all the people to talk to, why him? He is such a nerd.

"Hey kid," he starts with the unwanted familiarity of a relative you've never met before at a gathering, or Tenna when he dredges up yet another childhood memory in an attempt to "avoid being glooby with the kids", and they're prepared for a rant about proper puzzle solving etiquette or whatever when he blindsides them. "Want a tutorial? Only fifty Dark $."

Kris want to laugh in his face for soliciting them for cash after all these years. Unfortunately, their soul has other ideas, taking pity on the man.

They hand him the fifty. Joe stares wide-eyed like a hungry dog fed for the first time, disbelieving yet hopeful.

What happened to the damn nerd?

They raise an eyebrow expectantly, hoping he'll explain what exactly made him turn from the act of snobbish, high-class academic to begging for spare change.

He does not elaborate. In fact, he doesn't even appear to have noticed Kris's quizzical expression, too busy staring at the cash like he's never had money before.

Instead, he ushers them towards the tutorial area.

"Right this way, gentleners," he says. Susie looks away.

And then the soul just- doesn't go? It can't do that, Kris thinks. It can't! It made them give up money to the damned jigsaw, and now that they're curious it deprives them of the chance to learn more?

What sort of psychological torture is this?! Kris is going to rip that thing apart bit by bit, so help them-

They move to the tutorial room. Nevermind. Kris will still do the dismembering thing… but they'll be more hesitant about it. And also wait until their bond with the soul is severed first.

The first thing the soul does is make Kris throw money into the hole. They have clearly been enraptured by Joe's plight, overwhelmed with sympathy. If only they could have a similar reaction to Kris's situation.

They then read the donation stretch goal sign—stretch goals that will never be me, because even setting aside the quality of the service, the hole is already full.

Yep. These were once the crowning puzzle designers of Card Castle.

Finally, the soul goes to talk to Joe.

"We used to be puzzle guys, but the king fired us all," he explains. "Replaced us with a blue guy."

…Rouxls? Why would he be a puzzle designer? It's common knowledge that man is good for nothing but his looks. Intelligence and tact were the trade-offs for his impeccable eyelashes and long silky hair that would make a fashion model cry.

They speak to the TP master. The TP master says TP stands for toilet paper. Unironically.

Okay, it's starting to make sense now. Rouxls at least has the whole 'Rules Card' power going for him. He knows basic combat mechanics—aware of the system's rules enough to circumvent and exploit them.

That's it for the compliments they can give Rouxls Kaard.

The soul moves them back out, forcing them to save, because apparently giving money to Jigsaw Joe was a very important thing that they need to make sure doesn't get erased.

Lancer is in the next room.

"Ho ho ho!" he says. Kris needs this kid to find some sort of mentor figure who can tell him what a stupid evil laugh that is. Please. They wouldn't be insulting it if it was his natural laughter, but it's obviously played up, and it doesn't even sound good. Or evil. It's just sad. "The clowns are back in town!" His mentor should also tell him rhymes have the exact opposite effect of what he thinks they do. "I've prepared a team of enemies to totally thrash you, so get ready—"

"Stop," says Susie, sounding absolutely aghast. "Just- stop."

She sighs like a tired single parent, like Mom when they eat all the pie, Carol whenever Noelle or Dess has an opinion, Dad when he gets rejected again, as if years of weariness and disappointment have all led up to this moment. She towers over Lancer, a hand over her hip.

"'Ho ho ho'?" she questions. "What is that? Why are you saying that?"

And Lancer, oh, sweet kid, but oh so oblivious, just smiles.

"It's my evil laugh! Scary, right?" He is literally falling prey to the trope of bullying a dragon. Oh, god. Kris has grown fond of this kid, and they definitely don't want to see him get hurt, but it's been established they aren't a good enough person to step in, and they don't have the capacity to do so. Ralsei seems content to just do whatever Kris is doing, ever the follower.

In short, the kid's on his own.

"You sound like baby Santa Claus." Yes! She gets it! Susie really is their dream come true, if at least for the reason that she always seems to find a way to say the things they're thinking out loud.

But then they see the crushed look on Lancer's face, and goddamnit maybe some things should be inside thoughts-

"You mean… in, like, a badass way, right?" He says. Unfortunately, that would be the biggest lie ever, so they know Susie's not going to say it.

"Shut up," she says. Lancer staggers back, but she doesn't stop. Next thing they know, she's grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"Man, wannabe tough guys like you really piss me off," if they weren't currently internally freaking out over Lancer's well being, they would dissect the implications of that statement and all the things it implies about her psyche. Another time.

Lancer, she's bluffing! She's not gonna do it! Lancer, don't be scared! Lancer!

"I- well-"

"I bet you wouldn't know scary if it grabbed you by the neck and bit your face off," she continues. "In fact, I can prove it. Starting with the part… where you lose your face! Ahahahahahahaha!"

Okay, Susie's face admittedly does a lot of the heavy-lifting when it comes to her intimidation factor. Because imagining those lines coming from Noelle's face just makes them snort. Honestly, Susie really shouldn't act so high and mighty about this sort of thing. Lancer would be scary too if he had those sick chompers.

But then again… she doesn't want to be scary, does she? More like- she makes the best with what she has. Perceived as a fearsome creature whether she wanted it or not—so she decided to lean into it. Wear her curse like a badge of honor. Pretend that she wants this no matter how obvious anything more than a cursory glance makes it that she doesn't.

Maybe that's why they find themselves drawn to her. A misfit just like them, and yet, she is everything they will want and have ever wanted. Freedom.

But Lancer laughs.

"I get it," he says. "Thank you, purple girl!"

Susie stops.

"...What?"

"Thanks! It was kind of you!" he says, elaborating when she stares, completely and utterly flabbergasted, assuming he just wasn't being clear enough. "To teach me how to be scary! With an evil laugh!"

Susie is on the backfoot now, sweating. It's almost comical how flustered she looks while holding him up like that.

"H-Hey, I wasn't-"

"And now…" he pauses for dramatic effect just like Susie did, jumping out of her hold. "You're all going to be thrashed!" What the fuck is that a Jigsawry who in their right mind thought a Jigsawry would make for a competent threat oh wait it's Lancer of course he did. "Ahahahahahahaha!"

Okay, that was actually some nice progress! Maybe Kris wasn't giving Susie enough credit earlier—her lines are scarier than Lancer's, as low of a bar as that is!

And then, he ruins it all.

"Merry Christmas!"

What. What the fuck.

You had a good thing going there, Lancer! This was fun! Kris was almost forgetting that they're being controlled by a stupid, nosy, can't-figure-out-how-to-run heart inside their chest! They were even about to forget about how much they hate their life!

The battle starts. The real enemy is not the Jigsawrys, but rather, how much Kris's psyche has broken along the way.

First, they all have to warn the Jigsawrys about Susie, because the soul is apparently just really concerned about the enemy's well-being. The enemy who, as a reminder, initiated the battle.

"Wee-Woo, Wee-Woo, Wee-Woo." Kris very skillfully manages to imitate a siren with a complete lack of enthusiasm. The Jigsawrys stare in confusion.

"Please watch out for Susie's axe!" Ralsei explains. Susie shoots them both a glare.

"What're you two doing?"

What they are doing is wasting a turn.

Not that it matters, because their attack may as just well be an excuse for the soul to graze for TP. Kris stares into their eyes, taking in their confused little murmurs of "Why's the heart gettin' so close to the attacks?" "Are they just awful at dodgin'?" Yep. None of these people know what Tension Points are.

The next turn, Kris befriends a Jigsawry and Ralsei spares it.

"We're friends now," they say, beautifully and with heart. This works. The Jigsawry beams.

"Of course I'll be your friend!" it replies. Ralsei smiles at the interaction, before clearing his throat and carrying out the spare command.

"Umm, well," he starts. "Since you're our friend now… we don't need to fight, correct?"

Jigsawry nods.

"That's true, huh?" It says, before running away from the battlefield. What a fulfilling interaction.

"Why are you playing nice with the enemy?" Susie asks incredulously, striking with her axe. The Jigsawrys dodge with all the grace of newborn ducks.

The remaining two's attack is somehow even more pathetic. Kris decides they will cite this as one of the contributors to the continued degradation of their psyche.

And then, finally, the remaining two are spared. Battle over, they win some money, spectacular.

After that anticlimactically easy battle lies an anticlimactically easy puzzle. Peas in a pod.

"Oh, look, a puzzle!" Ralsei says. "Let's read the instructions!" We don't need to. "Let's see… huh? They've been vandalized!" Doesn't matter. "It says 'Thoust fools, thou will never figure it out now!'" Rouxls Kaard and the Jigsawrys appear to be having an arms race to rock bottom when it comes to puzzle design. "He can't do that!" He can. Power of the Rules Card, Ralsei, keep up. "It says 'PS—I make my own rules, RK'."

Wait a minute. No speech quirk, initials instead of the full name—doesn't that bastard have a huge ego? He'd never let himself slip like that. Unless…

Kris discreetly takes a look at the handwriting of the postscript. Indeed, it's just what they thought. It's a decent enough imitation of Rouxls' writing, but that's Dess.

"Well, that explains that," Susie says. "Why don't we just climb over this spiked fence?"

That's probably not a good idea. But, eh, never say never! And if climbing over sharp objects is the meaning of freedom, then sure, Kris can do that! Besides, this is the dark world—even if they wanted to, they couldn't die!

They try to move and immediately fail without the soul's agreement. Damnit.

"Umm, because then we'd get impaled and die…?" Ralsei says. It's framed as a reasonable statement, common sense, sure, but—this is the dark world. Spikes physically cannot cause instant death. At worst, they would take minor damage similar to what one of Lancer's pellets might have dealt had they actually hit, nothing they couldn't heal with a quick heal prayer, or even just sustain until the next Save Point. After all, injuries in the Dark world couldn't even actually slow them down.

So why would that be his reasoning? A blatant lie? Unless Ralsei was unaware of the inner workings of the Dark World—a notion repeatedly and blatantly disproving.

"Cool, I'm gonna work on that," Susie says in rebellion. Kris isn't certain whether she's come to the same conclusion as them, or if she's just being tongue-in-cheek regardless, but it's funny nonetheless. "You do the puzzle."

"Try your best, Kris!" Ralsei says. Distinctly sounding like a tutorial character from a fantasy story, Kris notices. He often sounds like that. Cheery, blank, with the same intonation one would don when talking to a child.

There was some sort of ploy here. To make a neat little narrative, the sort Kris sees in the games they play. The heroes, solving puzzles, growing smarter and stronger at the same time. The tactician, the hero, is in charge, working through the incredibly difficult puzzle with sharp wit. The party's tank stands off unwilling, harrumphing about brute force solutions to the puzzle. And the tutorial character just offers moral support.

Unfortunately for Ralsei, this is a ridiculously easy puzzle, and Kris isn't actually the one solving it.

One box is pushed onto its switch. Ralsei cheers like a mother witnessing her beloved child do something completely and utterly commonplace.

"You're onto something, Kris!" He says. Susie, meanwhile, snorts.

"Feel free to give up whenever you feel like it," she says. She hasn't even looked at the puzzle, has she? She must have immediately assumed she'd be incapable of solving it—a learned helplessness instilled by the role of a foolish brute forced upon her.

Kris doesn't want to linger on that thought, so it's a welcome distraction when the soul moves them onto the remaining switch. Ralsei stares incredulously, taking a deep breath and counting to ten at a volume he must be under the impression no one can hear. Susie's snort is a solid indicator that his assumption is incorrect.

"You can't solve that puzzle by stepping on the switch, Kris," Ralsei says like he is talking to a very dumb child. It's funny, considering he's the one who can't realize when he's being messed with. "...You're not a box, haha." That last laugh sounds like he'd be crying if he wasn't laughing.

Why aren't they a box, hmm? Who says they can't be a box? Society? Tch, Figures. Ralsei is a prince, so of course he has restrictive societal norms like that in place.

In a show of rebellion, Kris shifts their arms to mimic the shape of a box.

"Don't listen to him," Susie says. "You can be a box." See, this is what they want to hear. Acceptance. Support. Encouragement of their dreams. "I was a box for halloween once."

"Um, just a box?" Ralsei asks incredulously.

Because she couldn't afford a costume, most likely. That was a shame. She seemed like someone who would enjoy getting to pick out her own, scary outfit—maybe some sort of, like they'd overheard her muttering about before, 'Suziezilla', or something covered in fake blood and guts, if only because it would look cool.

…Just maybe, if they both managed to get through this week alive, they could- do something cool for halloween. Together. Even if they weren't technically friends just yet. Kris would find a way.

"Well, it's not like I can dress up as a goddamned monster."

Strange. Wasn't the running joke 'dressing up like a human'? Susie must have grown in a majority-human environment for at least some significant period of time, then. Now that was something.

It would explain her grudge against them in particular, too. Envy, some sort of misplaced resentment.

The soul finishes the puzzle—unfortunately, not by helping them fulfill their dreams of becoming a box, success marked by the sound of the gate opening.

"Wa-ho, Kris, you did it!" Ralsei says. He's probably exaggerating for the sake of seeming supportive, but considering Kris's stint as a box, it's entirely possible he truly doubted they could do it, and his enthusiasm is a genuine and pleasant surprise from being proven wrong. 

"Aw man," Susie says. "Didn't get to impale myself."

She never even tried to. She was just acting blaśe to try and cover her own insecurity. Kris does not address that fact, though, as they cannot.

The soul drags them onwards.

In the next room, instead of going the traditional route, they go upwards, towards a puzzle. What was that puzzle for again…? Right, a fragment of the key for that jester's cell. Dess talked about the jester quite a bit—thought he was the funniest thing ever. Oh, him and the e-mail guy—she loved talking about him and the e-mail guy.

The solution is the order of the suits in the card castle, bottom to top. You need to have gone to Card Castle to know it. The soul makes them read the sign emphasizing this.

And then, for whatever reason, the soul just enters the code. Diamond, heart, club, spade. Not a moment of hesitation.

This definitely isn't their first time.

Ralsei raises a brow in their direction, but stays quiet, letting the soul lead them all back to the main route without issue.

They encounter two Rudinns and a Hathy.

Round one—warn them all, seriously, why is the soul so dedicated to making sure the enemies don't get hurt?

"She's going to kick your asses," Kris says. Ralsei pouts at them.

"Don't say it like it's a good thing!" He sighs. They aren't doing anything of the sort. Kris is being very objective and factual in their delivery. "But anyways, please watch out for Susie's axe. I know it's inconvenient, really, I'm so sorry—" Why is he apologizing to them for Susie's attack? They are literally the instigators of this fight. "But I'm afraid you'll have to dodge."

Round two—Convince and spare the first Rudinn.

Round three—Convince and spare the second Rudinn.

Round four—Flatter and spare the Hathy.

Battle over. As much TP as possible accumulated. Not even a single hit landed. Everything about the encounter was perfect.

Too perfect. Seriously, it's not the soul's first time and all, duh, but what sort of training regimen does this thing even have?

No, no. This has to just be extremely elementary. Kris must just be giving too much credence to these enemies. That must be it. After all, would it be surprising to see a Mathematician effortlessly and perfectly solve kindergarten-level equations?

They take a breath as the player strings them along. Next step: The great board.

…

"This place is huge, huh?" Noelle says. "And quiet. I can hear everything…"

Ralsei giggles.

"It really is. I admit, I haven't gone here before, so, ah, this is all a little surprising for me," he says. "The Great Board is one of the king's most prized landscapes. What do you both think of it?"

"It's kinda scary," Noelle admits. "But in a good way, y'know? Like- horror movies!"

Ralsei tilts his head quizzically.

"Horror movies, hmm?" he asks, fiddling with his cloak. "What are they like?"

Noelle gasps like he just asked what color the sky was, or what Christmas cookies tasted like.

"You've never seen…?" she starts. Ralsei shakes his head.

"I'm afraid I haven't gotten the chance to do much of that sort," he says. Noelle seems completely and utterly flabbergasted.

"That's it! The moment we get the chance, we're doing a horror movie marathon!"

Ralsei looks off forlornly for a second, but before he can respond, Noelle promptly quiets herself.

"Fahah, sorry," she says with a self-deprecating laugh. "I, um, just get, a bit-"

"You don't have to apologize, Noelle!" Ralsei says. "I understand. It's normal to be excited about your interests!"

"Pfft, thanks," Noelle says. "I- hey! Kris!"

She startles as Kris pulls her to the side, just barely dodging one of the traps in the checkerboard. Upon noticing, she flushes, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Oh! Um, thanks, Kris!"

In response, they can only sigh fondly.

The board is, like everything else they have encountered so far, nothing like what it was supposed to be. It is… really anti-climactic. Unbelievably anti-climactic. Dodging the traps is easy, it would have been even without the soul's- skillset.

One room later, they encounter Lancer, who is carrying a bucket with him for whatever reason.

"Ah ha ha…" Still using Susie's laugh? It is nice to see a permanent improvement in his intimidation skills. "So the heroes have begun to cross the Great Board, huh? The halfway point to our castle." They're already halfway there? "So, it's a shame…" He trails off before making his point, another trait of Susie's. He's taken after her surprisingly well.

"'Cause my guys are about to smash you into blood!" Okay, not the most threatening way to word it, 'smash you into pieces' would have been more effective. "Lots of blood! Splooshing blood! Very gross and bad!" Now he's ruined it. Kris can't be too harsh on him, though, that was an impressive improvement considering the short time span.

He then pulls out the bucket, bringing it into everyone's view, before pausing his laughter to look at Susie expectantly.

"Hey, purple girl, was that scarier?" He asks. Susie looks away, turning her head to the side. It's honestly kind of funny how uncomfortable she is at the completely innocuous question.

"Why are you asking me?" she says. "Because you're really cool at being terrifying!" Replies Lancer innocently. "I wanna be as scary as you!"

For just a brief second, Susie lets one of her eyes show, and Kris can see it widened in shock, a slight flush on her cheeks.

"You- want to be like me?" She says.

"Yup!"

She short circuits for a moment, before hastily hiding her eyes beneath her bangs. Kris understands the urge—it's why they opt to just never show their eyes in the first place. After all, eyes are the window to the soul, and for someone with as many lies to maintain as Kris, making them visible would just be a liability.

Visible eyes might suit Susie better, though. She seems like the sort to value honesty. But she is deceitful in her own way, even if she's not quite as good at it…

"That's stupid," she says, though it lacks the usual bite her insults have. "But, umm, the new laugh isn't completely awful, I guess. And saying you'd turn us into blood is, um, cool." Of course she thought that was cool, they think fondly. She'd probably like the Blood Gusher movies if she hasn't seen them already. Maybe they could— "...What the hell is up with the bucket, though?"

That significantly reduced the effectiveness of his threat.

"It's to put the blood in," Lancer explains. Surprisingly, instead of making fun of him for considering the logistics of a phrase that should have been an obvious bluff, Susie nods, like she's genuinely considering the idea.

"Oh."

"Yeah, uh, I'm not allowed to make a mess," Lancer says sadly, before perking up. "Anyways, thanks for your feedback! I'm really feeling scary!"

"Umm, no problem, I guess," Susie says. They stand there in silence for a few seconds. "So, are your guys gonna thrash us, or…"

"Oh! Yeah!" Lancer says, before promptly deflating like a burst balloon. "I was so excited I forgot to bring any guys."

Kris was actually looking forward to seeing his new and improved team, and now it turns out there is none. They've committed to never getting their hopes up about anything ever again. Susie will leave the party after their next battle, which will be against one of the C. Rounds, and also they can't fight it because it drinks- milk. Yeah. Milk is powerful, right? Maybe if Kris had drunk more they'd be taller.

"But next time, it'll be the end for-" Lancer pauses. "Hey, I've just been calling you guys clowns… Does your team have an official name or something?"

They're technically the heroes of the prophecy. Ugh, Kris thinks, what a boring name. Makes them sound like they're in some sort of blatant cash-grab fantasy novel.

Ralsei is about to respond with the name in question, Kris can tell, but then he glances at them and pauses.

"Let's make an official team name, Kris!" He suggests. Why did he suddenly decide to make a new one? Why did he conceal their pre-existing name?

Yet another suspicious tidbit about him, Kris thinks.

"No, we shouldn't," Susie says. "It's settled, then! Everyone puts a name into this bucket!" Lancer says. Eh, this name won't last either way. A week at most.

Without warning, the world fades to black. Could it be…? In front of all these people, she—

But Dess never shows up. Instead, the world fades back in.

They fall back.

"Kris, are you alright?" Ralsei says. The soul is not given a prompt. The soul- Actually, where is the soul?

"Don't touch me," they snap, their words entirely their own, standing up shakily. Susie laughs at the remark. Ralsei, too, smiles almost imperceptibly, but they have a feeling his reasoning is different from Susie's.

"Please," he insists. "Allow me to assist you, Kris!"

He wraps an arm around their back, helping them up. Susie snorts.

"You didn't have to do that," she says. Ralsei tilts his head in confusion, like a doe. These damned doe-like habits keep bringing their thoughts back to the Holiday family, ugh, damn Ralsei's innocent veneer—it has to be a veneer, because there's no way that's his true personality.

"Help Kris up? Of course I would," he says. "I care for their well-being. Unlike you."

They- really expected him to leave that part unsaid. Wow. Susie has really brought out Ralsei's honesty. But even with her, he was never quite this bold. What changed?

…

Of course. Of all the people to realize they were currently soulless, it had to be him, didn't it? How did he even figure it out so quickly? How does he know the mechanics of having a foreign soul intimately enough to immediately recognize their sudden fall as a sign of its exit?

But he really does sound offended. Maybe he is being genuine in part? No, that can't be right. Ralsei is a prince of deception. He could never truly care about them.

"Not talking about that," she responds simply. "The whole 'hand on their back' thing. Coulda just grabbed their arm to help 'em up."

Ralsei flushes, releasing his hands from Kris like they're burning hot.

"Oh!" he says, a heavy flush on his face visible even through his hat. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to- ah- I'm not quite used to- e-er-"

He takes a deep breath, keeping his face turned away from Kris.

"Er, does anyone, um, have a pen and paper?" he asks, flustered. Flustered. Apologetic. Like the touch was genuinely unintentional. But that can't be.

Then again, he did seem genuine in his reaction to being hugged, but still-

"I've got a sheet!" Lancer says. "Take pieces. And a pen."

"O-Okay!" Ralsei says, carefully measuring out and tearing a strip from the pristine sheet. The end result looks like it's been cut by scissors. Yet another reason Kris doesn't trust Ralsei. Who cuts like that?

A small, traitorous part of them insists they are being too suspicious, too distrustful. That deception is the default, and it cannot be begrudged. They ignore it.

Susie tears a strip off, pausing, then tearing another one, more carefully this time. She hands the second sheet to Kris.

"Take it, freak," she says. "This is one of those 'team-building' exercises or whatever, right? Wouldn't be fair if you got to skip out."

"Team building?" Lancer says, immediately ripping off a sheet of paper and writing something on it. For the first time in days, remaining silent is Kris's choice. They don't have any justification for it, but it would be funny, and the look on Ralsei's face if Lancer's slip actually got picked would be priceless."

"It's not really team-building," Kris says, before a sudden revelation comes to their mind. "If you want to suggest a name, don't use me as a way of pretending you're being forced."

It's harder to hide their smile now that they've gotten used to the soul's forced stoicism, but like with that one sudden difficulty spike in Dragon Blazers 3, they push through regardless.

"Tch," she says, scrawling something out on her sheet. "Sassy little freak."

She sounds more defensive than they would have liked, and not in a flustered way. Did that come out wrong?

"Don't listen to her, Kris!" Ralsei says. "I'm certain you're a perfectly normal individual!"

"You got a name yet, toothpaste boy?" Lancer asks. Pfft, 'toothpaste boy'. They're definitely stealing that for future use.

"I'm stealing that," Susie echoes their sentiment. They're honestly not quite sure whether or not to be surprised by the amount of times she's said something they were thinking. Ralsei sighs.

"Yes, yes," he says, writing something down. It takes him very, very long. They were eyeing him the entire time—and he didn't stop to think once. It was all just… writing. A lot of writing.

Kris startles as the world fades into black once more, and when it all returns to their vision, the soul is back inside as well. That should be… good. They need the soul for their plans, after all.

But it was nice having a vague illusion of freedom while it lasted.

"Alright," Lancer says. "Put the names into the bucket!"

Ralsei and Susie both put theirs in. Amusingly, neither of them appear to have noticed Lancer's slip, also in the bucket. Once the names are in, Lancer thinks for a second, before pointing to Kris.

"Blue person, you can choose. You look like you don't care."

Kris resents that accusation. It's not even completely true. They want Lancer to get picked because it would be funny.

Unfortunately, who gets picked isn't actually in their hands, is it? It's up to the soul.

While their hand is in the bucket, they can feel the soul being given the option: Crumpled paper, neatly folded paper, or paper labelled with Lancer's name.

And because their soul is awful and has no sense of humor, it makes them pick the neatly folded paper. Ralsei's.

Why the only one they didn't want?!

Kris unfolds it and hands it to Lancer immediately. What is that ridiculously long name?

"The Legendary Heroes: The Herald of Fun and Friendship," Lancer reads. Ralsei perks up.

"Oh, oh!" he says. "That's mine!" Whose else's would it be? Susie's? "See, I think it's the perfect name because we're all friends that like to have a lot of fun!" No they're not—they're acquaintances with Ralsei at best, and Susie clearly dislikes them both.

Susie's expression contorts like she's about to axe him in the face, going through various stages of incredulity before she finally calms down.

"Okay, first," she starts. "...Jeez, that's a mouthful, dude." That's actually a surprisingly nice way of putting it considering this is Susie they're talking about. "Second, what're our enemies gonna think?" Again, a surprisingly reasonable and calmly worded point. There's got to be some sort of catch here—she's going to say something bloodthirsty soon. "That we're gonna be buddies with 'em?" …Actually, that wasn't even bloodthirsty, Kris would agree if it weren't for their soul—apparently, the stupid little floating heart is allergic to the mere concept of fighting.

"Let's change it to something short! Intimidating! Something punchy! Something bad-ass!" she finishes.

"Like what?" asks Ralsei. Susie visibly shrinks back at that, as if she hadn't actually expected to be questioned further.

"Well, uhhh, y'know, for starters…" She trails off in thought. "How about, just, uhh…"

Ralsei tries not to laugh. Kris would say the same thing for themselves, but they're actually successful at it, unlike him.

Finally, Susie finds something to say, looking as mortified as Kris feels when mom hugs them in front of everyone in class.

"The Fun Gang."

Somehow, just when they're absolutely sure they've got a read on her, she catches them off-guard.

'The Fun Gang'? What sort of name is that? Definitely not something they'd expect Susie to make—It contains no insults, no expletives… doesn't even make any allusions to violence!

"Y'know, just, uh, concentrating on the 'fun' part." It's better than Ralsei's name by far, they'll give her that.

Lancer nods fervently.

"It's perfect!" he says. "Well, see you, Fun Gang! I've got to osmose my afternoon milk!"

With that, Lancer is off. A save point appears for Kris. The soul, of course, moves towards it. Now, what to think of to harness their will, hm…

The power of the Fun Gang. That has to count for something.

[File Saved.]

Now then, the Great Board.

The traps are a bit harder to dodge this time. Of course, the soul isn't affected in the slightest, traipsing through without issue.

And then three Ponmen attack.

Round one: Lullaby. The Ponmen grow tired from Ralsei's singing and- Wow. Ralsei is incredibly good at lullabies. Everything seems to melt away from sight and mind. Not in the way it did when Dess approached or their soul left. More… like they can just forget. Forget about their strings, forget about… everything. There is no Dess, no Carol, no soul, and no prophecy.

Maybe, they can just—close their eyes, and drift off...

The soul shifts inside their chest, shocking them awake like they've just been microdosed with caffeine. Right. They need to stay awake. This week is critical—they can endure it all for a little while longer. Shaking their head rapidly, they force themselves awake, the soul making sure they don't start falling asleep again.

Unlike them, Susie does not have an otherworldly red heart in her chest forcing her awake. She yawns loudly, before going silent. The sound of soft snoring indicates she has fallen asleep.

…Ralsei did that on purpose, didn't he?

Kris squints at him suspiciously. He notices and waves, smiling. Smiling, damn him. That little smile is full of lies and secrets.

The Ponmens' attack is effectively a Tension-Point farm. Because of course, the soul is just— built different.

Round Two: Kris spares one Ponman, and Ralsei uses the Tension Points accumulated from grazing to Pacify another.

Round Three: Kris defends, Ralsei pacifies. The battle ends. Susie wakes up, pretending she was awake the entire time.

"Great battle," she says awkwardly, muttering to herself, "Wait, no, they probably spared the enemies like a bunch of wimps…" before amending, "Awful battle. Terrible. You make me want to gouge my eyes out."

Kris stifles a snicker as they continue down the board. They encounter a save point. What is there to harness their willpower with? Mr. Elegance and Mr. Society, the two nearby darkners who are absolutely useless? The board itself?

The power of, uh, really wanting to save. Yeah. The power of wanting to save shines within them.

[File Saved.]

Wow. That actually worked.

In the next room, they encounter Lancer. He turns around, hand on his hip.

"Ho ho ho," Back to the old ways? "Well, if it isn't the friendly Fun Gang I see." Susie deflates at the reminder of the team name she chose. "You boys or girls—" Even Lancer forgot about them. Then again, what did they expect? He calls them 'blue person'. "—Had better turn back when you can."

Ralsei snaps.

"Lancer! What is it this time?" He asks. If Lancer notices his irritation, he pays no mind to it.

"Hohoho," he says. Again with the Santa Claus laughter? Didn't Susie teach him how to laugh? He was doing so well! "I'm simply warning you… something extremely dangerous is lying ahead!"

He continues.

"Hohoho!" Why is he doing that? "It's actually really inconvenient! Ha! I can't go home at all because I'm so scared!" Oh. That's… not good.

Susie trembles ever so slightly, grip tightening around her axe.

"W-What is it?"

Lancer does not reply. The move forward. Lo and behold, it's a C. Round.

Approaching the last rank.

Damnit.

Kris and Ralsei both trade glances. For once, Kris can't even be bothered with suspicions. A K. Round is a very irritating enemy to fight—because though its attack patterns are easy enough, it can't be hurt, its natural self-healing properties negating all but the most inane levels of damage. The only way to defeat it is to get close enough to get its crown off, which is often a task both incredibly tedious and prone to causing injury.

But Susie does not realize that. Susie just laughs.

"That's what you were afraid of?" She says. Lancer does not realize her obliviousness, and instead claps with awe.

"W-Wow, Purple Girl! You aren't scared?" he asks. Susie raises an eyebrow.

"Heh, why would I be? What's it gonna do?"

Lancer ponders.

"Hmm, well, normally…"

The C. Round reaches the last rank, sealing their fate of wasting at least half an hour on this stupid battle.

It rapidly expands, growing new limbs and its torso alike as a crown forms on its head. Its form looks comical, but that doesn't matter. Attacking it only makes it stronger, it can't be reasoned with, can't be put to sleep- What are they going to do?

And then there's Susie. Susie, who is the spanner in the works that will certainly bring this whole puppet show down. Susie, who they have nothing but respect for. Susie… who is definitely going to attack that thing no matter what they tell her.

She is trembling, now gripping her axe like it'll slip from her hands any moment now, and they just know that if she reacted badly to them catching her eating chalk, her reaction to something that actually has the desire and capacity to harm her will be far, far worse.

The K. Round attacks, and it's only then that Kris notices something.

Its crown is loose. Unusually loose. In fact, it's so close that Kris could probably end the fight in five or six turns by just further loosening the crown until it falls off.

The difficulty level of this fight has just plummeted. After all, the main thing that makes a K. Round so difficult to fight is the lack of real win conditions. The attacks themselves aren't that bad.

Ralsei notices as well.

"If we bow," he says. "We can loosen its crown!"

Round One. Kris and Ralsei both bow. K. Round bows back, its crown loosening. Around… one-fifth of the way off. Yeah.

"That's it, Kris!" Ralsei cheers. "If we get its crown off, we can turn it back into a little guy! Susie! Help us bow!"

"Nah," Susie says. "It's crown'll come off…"

She trails off for impact. It's a surprisingly common tic of hers, Kris has noticed.

"When I smash this guy to the ground!" And with that declaration, she slams her axe to the ground, emanating a pure burst of magical energy that deals over a hundred hit points worth of damage.

Ralsei just stares.

The K. Round's attacks seem easy to dodge—even without whatever training regiment the soul is on. The second round is exactly the same.

The third round is the same, until K. Round decides that Susie's little axe slams are apparently very threatening, and decides to practice self-care.

By… drinking almond milk.

Okay, Kris thought the loose crown was a fluke, or possibly even Dess testing them again, but clearly this K. Round is just incredibly weird.

It takes the entire, ludicrously large carton of milk, and just—absorbs it, casing and all, healing itself back to maximum and increasing its attack. Not that the second part will actually matter, of course, since Kris just knows the soul isn't going to get hit.

"Susie!" Ralsei snaps. "Stop attacking it! You're making it stronger!"

Susie growls.

"Pssht," she says. "And let it think I'm afraid? No way!"

It's interesting, Kris thinks, just how wrong that statement is. Violence is almost always an extension of fear, a pre-emptive strike, to hurt something before it can hurt you. To react with violence is to bare one's fear to the world.

So it really is telling how Susie insists on striking everything she sees in the dark world. Admittedly, Kris can't blame her fully—they'd reacted the same way the first time, and even to someone as acclimated to dark worlds as them, Ralsei's entire being is unsettling.

Honestly, the only reason they haven't attacked some of these darkners is the soul. A warning strike never truly hurt anyone in the Dark World. Unless it's whatever it is that Dess does.

But right now, hitting is just stupid, and Kris really has to wonder why Susie is even doing it when it is so clearly a bad decision. It's not helping, in fact, it's actively hurting her, and it's clearly shown to be futile.

And yet, she continues on. How stubborn.

The next round is the same. The K. Round keeps using its large and unnervingly buff and humanoid legs to attack. They're very majestic. Like a bodybuilder's.

Admittedly, Kris hasn't actually ever seen a human bodybuilder before, but they have looked up pictures before—a sudden need to learn more about the culture of their actual species blooming within them once it was apparent why everyone seemed to think of them as so 'different'. And while their laptop was on results of images of barely-clothed, extremely athletic humans… Mom walked in. That had been a fun conversation.

The next time they bow, the K. Round's crown finally slips off. It shrinks back to a regular C. Round, legs shrinking and then retracting as it rolls off.

Susie stares in disbelief.

"We… We did it?!" She says. Kris only hopes their deadpan stare can convey just how blatantly wrong that statement is. We, as she used it, would insinuate that she also contributed. That is not the case, and could not be farther from being the case.

Ralsei looks like he is about to have a conniption.

"Wow, you clowns really are heroes!" Lancer says. "You just saved the next twenty minutes of my life!" More like fifteen, actually. Lancer is underrating himself. Maybe an indication of low self-esteem? Maybe he's just not good with time calculations? Either way, Kris files the information away for later speculation.

"Yeah," Susie says. "I really am pretty great, aren't I…?"

She did absolutely nothing of value. She was a hindrance to this fight.

Is this what freedom is? Being so oblivious that she doesn't even realize how useless she's being? Maybe if Kris starts ruining all of Dess and Carol's plans and then acting like they were the group's biggest asset, they could be free too…

Or maybe the causal relationship is actually the reverse: Maybe it's because she she is so free from the puppeteers of this world that she never had to learn of their existence.

Or maybe Susie's comical obliviousness is just completely separate from the freedom she possesses, and Kris is just reading too much into things. More likely than anything, she's a lost girl whose found the first sign that there's a place where she belongs, and now she's torn between baseless fear and baseless hope.

Maybe she's the only normal one here. After all, people are supposed to panic in unfamiliar situations—especially the massive smack in the face that is the revelation of dark worlds.

Ralsei does not approach her unfounded gloating with such calmness, gripping the threads of his scarf with a fervor that makes Kris think he's going to tear them apart.

He sucks in a breath.

"Um, Susie?" he starts, voice trembling with the exertion of trying to hide his rage. "Not, to, umm, downplay your contributions, but…"

Ralsei tries to smile, bless his heart, he really does, but he's failing at it miserably, giving a shaky little thing at first that quickly falls flat.

"You… didn't actually help at all." Ralsei says. "You only made everything worse by attacking it. If you had just acted nice to it in the first place… We could have avoided that entire battle."

Now that's blatantly incorrect. Of course, she was being unhelpful, harmful, even, but why would he claim her attack led to the battle? She didn't even strike until it had already begun!

Why is he lying? What's the benefit?

"Huh? You for real?" Susie says. Maybe she also noticed that inaccuracy of his? Then again, considering all the lies and omissions of his she's glossed over before, that's probably not the case. "That thing was bloodthirsty!" Exact opposite. K. Rounds focus primarily on defense. They're quite silly little creatures, and their fights are tedious rather than fearsome. "The only thing keeping it at bay was my axe!" Again, that's just incorrect.

Ralsei pauses for a second as he turns back to Susie, trying to come up with some sort of logical retort, before realizing nothing will get through to her and deciding to just shift the topic.

"And earlier," he continues. "You terrorized those troops…"

"Those things were enemies!" Susie says. "They're for clobbering!"

"Yeah! She's right!" Lancer says.

Ralsei looks to Kris for support and finds none. That seems to do him in.

"And before that," he says, voice now clipped. "You ate an innocent person's cake."

"Cakes are… also my enemy," Susie justifies weakly. Ralsei just sighs.

"Susie," he says. "Whether you like it or not, you're a hero. One with the power to being peace. Could you please—" his voice cracks a little. "Start acting like one?"

Susie looks off at that. Kris wonders just how much weakness would show within her eyes if she didn't keep them covered by her bangs—then again, they're hardly one to talk.

"Yeah," she says. "When you put it like that, I've… been a pretty lousy hero, haven't I?"

She definitely does partially intend to condescend, but Kris knows a freudian slip when she sees one. If they had to make an educated guess, they'd say she's internally beating herself up right now.

Meanwhile, Ralsei looks at her with hope, but Kris just knows from the contempt in her voice that this isn't going to go the way he wants it to. She is the sort to lash out easily.

"Alright," she says. "You got me. From now on, I won't be such an awful hero anymore."

Ralsei readies himself, preparing another speech.

And then, she laughs.

"I'll just be one of the bad guys instead!"

Ralsei deflates at that. Yep. That's what they thought. Really, of course the stupid off-handed joke from earlier they made to themselves would turn out to be right. They can't even have sarcasm in this cruel world.

Susie is not nearly as bad of a person as she thinks she is. They would even dare say she is a better person than they are. She hits darkners with her axe, never hard enough to kill or even permanently maim. They have actively aided and abetted in their brutal subjugation,

They still wonder if they'd just tried harder, tried to stop her from going into the closet that day, been just a little stronger-

Oh, look. Lancer is squealing like a kid on Christmas. At least someone is happy in this situation.

"You're-" he starts. "You're joining my team?"

Susie nods.

"Sounds way easier."

She's leaving the group? But that leaves an open slot to fill! All that has to happen is Noelle walking into the closet, and the prophecy will be bound to get back on track. Then again, why are they surprised at that outcome? Susie was bound to grow tired of this arrangement eventually! She'll probably end up coming back to them soon, too, but…

Ralsei sighs.

"Susie- you can't just-"

"Quiet, Toothpaste Boy! Susie is my comrade now!"

Susie snickers.

"Yeah, Toothpaste Boy!" It really is a funny nickname. Kris should call him that sometime.

Too bad the soul won't let them, though. It seems to like the fluffy prince.

"We're going to have monogrammed track jackets!" Weren't they talking about being evil?

"Yeah!"

"And sleepovers where we tell each other secrets!" Alright, it's quite apparent that neither Susie nor Lancer—particularly Lancer—have the capacity to be truly evil, but shouldn't they at least pretend?

"Uh, Yeah?" Kris wants to have a sleepover with a friend. Minus the 'telling people secrets' part. But it would be nice to have a sleepover with someone again. The last time was with Noelle, before… the incident.

Maybe Susie would be interested in coming over some time. Once she gets over her current stint—she won't last long on the side of evil, especially with someone as ultimately sweet as Lancer as her partner.

"Anyways," she continues. "See you guys never." Did she just forget the part where she needs them to seal the dark fountain? Seems like it.

"Haha! If you can even last that long!" Lancer adds.

And with that, they run off. Great.

"Kris," Ralsei says reluctantly. "Perhaps… I shouldn't have been so harsh on her?"

He trails off.

"But- I just worry that- well- if Susie is too eager to fight- then-" Then what? Seriously, then what? Dess never said anything about pacifism! But her knowledge of the prophecy is… limited. Especially compared to Ralsei's. "Let's just be kind to her, okay? I'm sure Susie'll come around soon!"

Of course she will. But now that she isn't here…

Who's to say Dess won't realize the exact same thing Kris did—taking this as a chance to get the prophecy back on track? She might just steal something else crucial for class herself, so that Alphys might tell Noelle to fetch the other stolen supplies and check on them while she's at it, and then she'll show up, and everything will be on script again.

Damnit.

And then, there's Ralsei. Ralsei, who's been slowly but surely cracking since Susie joined the party. Ralsei, who acts like he knows information they clearly do not.

He is currently wearing an expression that suggests that there is a bomb strapped to his leg, one that will go off if they don't find Susie within five minutes—like that of someone almost certain their demise is inevitable, but trying to prevent it anyways.

For just a second, as they move rooms, the soul spaces out. Ralsei sighs.

"Kris?" he says.

"What is it now?"

"K. Rounds only fight when they feel threatened. If Susie hadn't attacked all those enemies earlier, they wouldn't have sensed her as a threat, and wouldn't have struck in the first place," he says. "I wasn't lying."

How did he—? "I can see the doubt written over your face," he snaps. "And I would appreciate it if you could stop questioning everything I say. I need you to cooperate here."

…

Before Kris can respond, the soul's influence regains its strength, quieting them as it moves them to the save point.

They harness their willpower and—

[File Saved.]