Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Girl:

Susie stepped outside of Kris’s house, she felt… awkward. It was strange seeing Toriel act that way. She thought that she was a bit different from the other adults, the way Toriel acted brought back… memories. Ones she didn’t want to remember, but it’s not like she can blame Toriel.

“I’m not even her kid… Who am I to judge.” Susie backed away from the door and stared at the windows, the music was loud enough to hear from outside. Will Kris even be able to sleep?

She should at least drink when Kris doesn't have school the next day… And then she froze, Susie was totally standing in front of her friends house like a creep. The next moment she immediately stepped backwards and onto the sidewalk.

Suse walked down the sidewalk, deep in her own thoughts. The air felt cold. She remembered her time when walking with Kris even when it was dark out, the air wasn’t this cold, nor harsh. Susie shivered and tried to cover herself a bit more.

Walking down the street she looked at the houses, she felt… envious. She wanted what they had, a pretty house, a nice family, maybe even a pet. Why did she have to live alone in an apartment while others could live happily with their friends and family. Why did everyone assume she was a bad guy just because she looked scary?

It’s not her fault she doesn’t have enough money to get better clothes to look pretty for others. Susie was a good person… Even Kris could see that. Sure they had a few differences in the past… but even through all that… Kris still became her friend. She was… a good per-

HONK HONK

Susie immediately backed away from the road, falling behind and landing on her bum. She stood up and dusted herself off, she felt stupid for not paying attention to where she was going. And yet… she didn’t feel fear. Her heart beat didn’t even quicken. Was she that used to being in the face of death?

Susie looked forward and saw she was arriving at a crossroad. Going left would bring her to her apartment, but she didn’t want to go home. Why would she go back to her run down apartment where nothing happens. She at leasts… wants to take a quick stroll around town before she goes back. Susie continues down the street.

She was at another crossroad. The hospital and library were nearby, she knew Berdly was in the hospital because something happened. But… was it really that bad that he had to be hospitalized? Did something happen in the dark world that she didn’t see? She hoped not, the dark world was getting harder and harder to take less seriously. People actually got hurt.

Susie crossed the street and saw the church. Damn, it really does look creepy at night. She then looked forward, the clearing heading to the bunker ahead. Was it… okay for her to be here? Not in this place but here right now. Did she really deserve to be out walking free while Undyne is suffering god knows what torture in that bunker.

Would things be different if she was captured instead? Would others actually try to find her? Would the cops actually get involved and open that damn bunker to find her? But the thing she actually wants to know is… would someone even notice she was missing?

Of course Kris would, but would anyone she’s held a conversation with for more than a minute actually notice that she was gone? While in thought she was glancing at the treeline leading towards the bunker. But in the corner of her eye… for a moment… she saw SOMEONE watching her between the trees.

Susie obviously creeped out, backed away. (I should wait for Kris the next time I get here.) Immediately ignoring the feeling of being watched, she turned her back and walked back to the crossroad. She took a deep breath and moved forward. Once on the street where her apartment is she went right and was now in front of the apartment buildings.

Some of the lights on the higher floors were still on. Susie took a deep breath and stepped into the lobby. The lights were bright, too bright for her eyes at this hour. Susie looked around, the lobby looked the same as always. The lobby looked… functional, to say the least. As Susie walked by, the attendant didn’t even look up at her.

Susie entered the stairway, avoiding the gaze of the attendant. It was quiet, only the hum of the ventilation was in the background. Once Susie arrived at her floor she walked to her door, room 30, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a key.

She unlocked the door and walked in. Susie was greeted with silence, like always. She stepped towards the kitchen and grabbed herself a cup of water. She felt a bit parched after that walk. Susie stepped into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes, flopping face on her bed. The damn weather has been acting up and making her sweat. Susie sat up and took off her jacket, throwing it aside. She layed back down and looked up at the ceiling.

To be honest… Susie never minded how quiet Kris was. Maybe all humans were as quiet as Kris, she could imagine an army of silent Kris’s in her mind and giggled. But… They’ve been acting differently ever since they got separated in Queen's dark world, did something happen? Was it her fault? Maybe she should have let Kris make the choice. Susie shook her head and snapped out of it. (It was in the past, I’m sure nothing too bad happened while me and Ralsei were gone.)

But she also noticed Noelle was acting differently after the dark world. But she’s acting even weirder since we left her house. And when Noelle said she had something to talk to Kris privately… she looked normal, but when we were leaving… I got a glimpse of Noelle and she seemed… frozen. This situation made her stomach churn, she felt bad for suspecting that Kris was involved in how Noelle was acting but Kris at least had to say something to make her have that face.

Maybe it was all just some fucked up joke. But… that look in Noelles eyes, it’s not something you could just fake. The festival… she almost slipped her mind. Kris said they would go with Noelle, even though they sounded a bit confused when they said that. Kris obviously won’t mind if she goes with them, right? She might be interrupting something serious, it’s annoying to get in someone else's business.

And going with Ralsei is out of the option since he can’t come to the light world. Is there really anyone else that she knows who would come with her to the festival? Oh well. At least she's got her friends to join the festival with. Three is better than two she's heard from somewhere.

Kris is her friend. They won’t mind, they won’t mind. She’s not gonna be standing alone nor just staying home while the festival happens. She’ll go with Kris and Noelle to have fun together. (Kris, For some reason… I always get the feeling of being watched whenever I’m with you.) It’s a strange feeling, she knows no one else is close but always gets that feeling whenever she’s close with Kris. Nah, this was probably just her stressing out from the whole saving the world thing. Nothing to worry about, probably.

Susie turned her head and looked at her surroundings. Her room, was empty as fuck. Nothing compared to her room in the dark world. In a world that isn’t real she is everything she wants to be in the light world. What a joke. A cruel joke. An unfunny joke. All the friends she's made in the dark world are real, no matter what anyone says.

Susie sits up and slaps her cheeks attempting to snap out of it. “Damn, these thoughts are annoying. Stop thinking about stupid stuff, Susie!” Susie hoped that would stop these damn thoughts from appearing again, they came back. What about the prophecy?

That prophecy she saw back there In the church… could it really happen? No– That’s stupid, I would never let that happen, Kris would never let that happen. It doesn't matter if everything is set in stone. That prophecy will never happen. She’ll make sure of it.

Susie then flipped over onto her stomach. She wondered if she could talk to Kris about this. She’s sure they wouldn’t mind too much… Right? And then she let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, she felt herself drifting off to sleep. She has a cool dream.

The Cage:

Kris sits up from their bed, clutching at their chest, tightly. That dream… Kris looks directly at the corner of their room. The parasite was still in a cage, a cage they made it will never get out of. Kris weakly crawled out of bed and was a few feet away from the cage.

“Do you miss it…? Being in control?” Kris asked as they felt tears going down their cheeks. Looking back at their bed they saw that their phone was still there, Kris was reminded of the call. The same call that the parasite caused to happen. The same call that crushed any hope… of things returning back to normal.

“Come on… Do something, you sure did a lot of things back there while you were in control.” Kris felt their anger boiling over as they stepped closer to the cage, their feet dragging behind one another. Why… Why did it have to get her involved? Was the only reason it kept talking to Noelle so it could do this?

* Kris… Why do you speak towards me as if I did something wrong?

Kris was taken aback and faltered. Slightly backing away from the parasite. It could speak? Kris knew it could speak but only through a host… So how was it speaking…? Was it quiet on purpose while in Noelle’s house to not get caught? Why was it only speaking now? No— Now’s not the time… It knew what it did. Why was it talking as if it did nothing wrong?

* Kris… If you didn’t like what I was doing, then why didn’t you stop me? You’ve stopped before when I did something you didn’t like. So why not then?

They felt their anger build up, stopped? Stopped? They had to fight against an invisible urge and hurt themselves to temporarily stop it. And it thinks… That’s easy…? “Y-you know nothing… NOTHING. About the shit you’ve made me do…”

* Kris… If you wanted me to help others… You could have just said it. You keep acting as if this is my fault… My feelings keep getting hurt each time you try to hurt me.

ITS FEELINGS? Ohhhh yeah… Its feelings were much more important than everything else. It’s not like anyone got hurt while it was in control. Oh wait, someone–

* Why do you keep wanting to hurt me Kris? I am a victim here too… It’s not like I wanted to take over your body… Why do you keep hurting me like this? Was it anger…? Or was it because of that girl, Noell–

A sudden kick rattles the cage knocking the parasite off its balance and towards the bars. “Don’t say her name… Not after what you did to her. I won’t let you touch her, not after that.” As they were saying that they suddenly felt their knees give out and were now kneeling in front of the cage. They were weak, weak without it.

* You have blood on your hands too Kris. Even if she isn’t dead you still caused her great damage.

* She will never be able to look at you the same way, and neither will you be able to look at yourself in the same way.

Kris was about to speak up but was cut off.

* Someone who was so close to you now sees you as something more. Isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t you be grateful…? Or do you miss how things were before?

* Kris… you just have to tell me. You know I just want what’s best for you.

Kris’ face was a few inches away from the cage. The glow of the parasite radiating off their face as the only bright light source in the room. It looked so… warm. But, they knew with all that warmth it was a cold heart. Tears continued to fall, they hadn’t even realized they didn't stop crying.

“W-why… Why did you have to go after her? Why couldn’t you just stay within your little bubble and keep playing in the dark world. Why did you have to mess with my life? Was it necessary to involve her in this mess?” Kris banged their fist against the cage, the glow of the parasite faltering but regaining its radiance a second later.

* Kris… if you wanted to stop me so badly. Why didn’t you try harder? I’ve gotten quite annoyed at you stopping me but why didn’t you just stop me then?

* Why couldn’t you stop me? Perhaps you miss it. Being in control. But don’t worry Kris, I have taken the responsibility to take all your hardship away.

It was mocking them. It knew it was wrong. It knew what it did. It knows what it can do. They knew it secretly enjoyed it, every last second of it. It could ruin their life without even trying, and yet it toyed with them. Having to harm themselves to even gain a resemblance of control over their actions, it was tortuous.

* Why do you keep insisting on playing this game of cat and mouse? In the end, you know you will have to put me back in you. Because you need me.

Kris wasn’t even listening anymore. Maybe it was right? They’ve stopped it before, so why couldn’t they stop it then? They tried their best—No, their best wasn’t good enough. It was right, they were too weak to even fight back. With that in mind Kris rushed out of the room leaving it alone.

They looked down the hallway, the lights downstairs were off. Their little party had ended while they were asleep they’re guessing. It was dark, not that it affected them much anyways. Then Kris felt that feeling come back in their chest, immediately they rushed down the stairs and saw Toriel and Sans on the couch.

God. The look on their faces, it made them feel sick. Why were they so happy? Did she even notice they were gone? They were gone for hours past dark, and here she was partying with someone. Kris walked up to them, their sleeping undisturbed by the presence. They would have loved to strangle that sack of bones if it wasn't for Toriel.

Kris’ feelings about Toriel were… complex. It’s not like they could hate her all their life, they just… didn’t like what she did. That look on her face… They had never seen her that happy after the divorce. Kris knows that they should be happy for her, but they couldn’t no matter how much they forced themselves to.

Suddenly Kris felt a huge feeling of nausea coming from their stomach. Kris clutched at their stomach and mouth feeling they might throw up. Rushing towards the bathroom they kneeled before the toilet, they threw up. It burns… Kris clutched their throat, the burning sensation not going away the more they threw up into the toilet.

The taste in their mouth was bitter. Once the sensation stopped Kris weakly stood up and looked in the mirror. Wiping off a bit of the vomit and drooling away from their lips. Kris looked down at their hands, they were dirty. They needed to be cleaned. With that in mind Kris turned on the faucet and let the water run over their hands. The drool and bits of vomit were washed away. But it wasn’t clean enough.

Kris continued to wash their hands over a minute has past and they are still washing their hands. No matter what they did their hands never seemed to be clean. And then Kris looked towards their reflection, for a moment it felt like the world had froze and it was only them and their reflection left alone in the world.

And then a voice came from behind. A soothing voice, a voice just like hers. Kris could see a faint light blue glow coming from behind their back, the only source of light in the dark bathroom.

“Kris.” Called the disembodied voice from behind Kris.

Kris immediately turned around and saw nothing, only the dark bathroom. The light seemed to have disappeared and the voice had gone silent. Kris took a deep breath, they were going crazy weren’t they? Looking back at the mirror they saw Noelle, her hands were on their shoulders. Gripping onto them tightly as if they’ll disappear at any moment.

Noelle leaned close and began to whisper into Kris’ ear. It was so quiet they could not understand it. Her breath was cold, Kris felt chills down their spine as Noelle reached down towards Kris’ chest and began to caress it. Normally… they should feel warm, so why did the feeling of something being pulled out of them appear again…?

It’s the same feeling they get when they pull out of the parasite for a little freedom. But this feeling feels so forceful… And then from Noelle’s whispers they could understand her.

“Why did you do that, Kris?” Asked Noelle, her grip tightening on Kris’ shoulder and chest. Her tone was eerily calm yet cold, Kris felt a pang of guilt and regret in their chest. Looking to their side they saw only the exit to the bathroom, Noelle was never here in the first place. Why would she be? After all they’ve done, why would she come back for them?

Looking back at the mirror Noelle was still there, but this time she was looking directly towards Kris. Her eyes were blanked out, the same when she—No… It killed Berdly. Even if Berdly wasn’t dead, it still tried to kill him. Kris wanted to leave the bathroom, so why were they still there? Why were they only standing in front of a mirror like an idiot?

“Kris… You know you can tell me anything right…?” Noelle said in a worried tone that didn’t exactly feel genuine. “Is someone making you do this…? Is this why you’ve been acting strange recently?” Noelle slowly reached out towards the mirror, her light blue glow emanating off the outfit she had while she was in the dark world. Then her fingers gripped at the rim of the mirror, struggling to pull herself out of it.

She was closer to Kris now. Her hands rest on their cheeks as she caresses them gently as if with love. But… this wasn't real. Noelle would never do this, especially after what it did. No matter how much Kris wanted to look away, they couldn’t. They wanted to believe everything is going to be fine and that she’ll go back to normal.

“H…Have you found her yet…? Did you finally fulfill your promise…?” Noelle asked with hope in her tone, but Kris gave no answer. They couldn’t look her in the eye, even if she wasn’t real it was hard to even tell her the truth. She isn’t real anyway so why… Why is it so hard to tell her something the real Noelle will never hear anyway…

Noelle noticed Kris didn’t answer her question, she showed an understanding smile. Noelle leaned closer to Kris, their faces inches apart. Kris felt the coldness of her hands, breath, and even eyes… she was cold, oh so very cold. Her eyes never left theirs, and yet she still had those completely white eyes. Those eyes that reminded them of… them.

“Kris… you know you don’t have to do this alone, right?” Noelles hands left Kris’ cheeks and onto their chest, “I’m sure we’ll find her soon, they’ll understand what you’re doing.” The air was cold. And yet her hands felt a little warmer. That’s right, they’ll understand if they find out. Susie won’t mind, they’re sure of it…

And then Noelle clenched her fingers, tightly gripping onto Kris’ chest wrinkling the old sweater. The warmth of her fingers starting to disappear, replaced by the same cold as before. Noelle looks down at Kris’ chest, she was quiet for a moment then looked back up towards Kris. Her gaze was… different.

“Y-you… just need to give the… Soul.” Noelle’s nails began to dig at Kris’ chest, the cold of her fingers making the scratching feel numb. And yet Kris could feel it somehow. The desperation in her voice, the fear, the guilt. “I-it will all be over soon Kris. Y…you won’t have to listen to it anymore.”

Kris finally looked down, wait. Blood. Under their nails. Not Noelle’s hands. Their hands.. Blood was under Kris’ fingernails, their sweater was torn and they were digging into their chest. They didn’t dig too deep but blood was coming out of the wound. Kris slowly pulled away and looked down at their hands.

“Kris, give me the soul. Now.” This time Noelle’s tone had turned ice cold. “Sooner or later… you will end up hurting Susie the same way you did to me.” She then took a deep breath and smiled. She held up her hand showing off the thorn ring that was on her finger. “Kris… this is a wonderful gift you gave me.” She showed an expression of glee, but then a stoic expression appeared on her face, “That’s why it should only be mine.”

Seeing Kris was still silent after all her provocation she spoke once again. “You know… with how you’re acting, I think Susie was right.” Kris looked up confused, “Maybe Toriel will get sick of you. And with how tonight went…” Noelle’s grin stretched wide in an unnatural way as she had a wild look in her eyes, “I think she’ll finally realize how happy she is without you around to judge her.” She poked a finger at Kris’ chest, her nail attempting to dig into their flesh. “No wonder she doesn’t look you in the eye anymoreee.”

And then a knock came at the door. Noelle became silent as Kris turned their head towards the door.

“Hey uh… kid. You good in there?” A voice cut through Kris’ thoughts, and through her. It was Sans, “I saw that you were in the bathroom for quite a while… You uhh… constipated or something?” He tried to make a joke that didn’t land.

“Well… since I’m not getting a response and the noise has gone down, I’m guessing you’re fine.” His footsteps could be heard getting further away from the door, Kris could guess he went back to sleep near Toriel.

Kris stared at the bathroom door for a moment, their mind was blank. Then Kris turned their attention towards the mirror, nothing except their reflection was there. She was gone, but the wound was still there. Was everything she said true? Maybe she was right? Maybe… they should just disappear.

And then Kris felt the burning sensation of their wound, that snapped them out of it. (I should fix myself first), Kris thought. They wouldn't want to be caught by Toriel and worry her. Kris went and grabbed a stroll of toilet paper and wrapped the wound with it, Toriel would definitely notice if someone went through her stuff. Kris let out a sigh of relief as it wasn't too noticeable, the blooding getting sucked up by the toilet paper.

“I should change my sweater…” Kris weakly tugged at their sweater, the hole in its chest concerning. Going back upstairs they stepped into their bedroom, the parasite was quiet. Its glow dimmed, no longer bringing as much attention to itself. They changed their sweater and then laid back in bed, Kris felt tears going down their cheek as they began to drift off to sleep.

Kris hoped Noelle will forget everything that happened and that they could go back to being friends. They dread for what will happen tomorrow.

The Deer:

Noelle was running around in the snow, following !#$%. She was laughing, giggling as they threw snow at each other. !#$% always loved the snow wherever it came around, while Noelle was thinking that she suddenly got a face full of snow. !#$% as laughing as she continued to throw more snowballs at Noelle.

“^%$! *^&*(;@ #$ &%^;*%, $%&!@;##@! *&$#;(% (), #%@’! #^$* @*&();^% (*&%*;^&#*;! #%$@ &$);*^) @%^! #$@&!*; (*!” !#$% said while handing a snowball to Noelle. She was showing a smile as she threw another snowball towards Noelle.

“Hehe… Alright alright, !#$%! But don’t be mad at me when you get in trouble!.” Noelle giggled while laying down and starting to make snow angels. !#$% also flopped onto the snow and created snow angels beside Noelle. But in the distance coming from their house she heard mom calling for them to get back home.

“Eh… Already, but we just got out here… Hey, !#$%, did you hear mom call us?” Noelle looked back towards !#$% but saw that she was entering the forest, alone. Noelle felt herself panic, mom told them to never go into the forest alone in case they got lost. Even though Noelle was afraid she stood up and stepped into the forest as well.

Noelle turns around to see their house has disappeared when she stepped into the treeline. Noelle squinted her eyes and finally saw her house in the distance, but for some reason it was further than before. She lets out a sigh of relief and steps deeper into the forest.

Looking for !#$% she saw a structure in the middle of the snow. Noelle saw that !#$% was walking towards it and ran after her. But no matter how much she ran it seemed like she never got closer. She also seemed to have gotten taller the deeper she went into the forest. While running she saw that she was wearing a white robe, some parts fluffy to keep her safe from the cold.

The air felt cold, she was freezing even with her clothes. Looking forward she saw !#$% standing in front of the structure, a bu^k*r? Before she even knew it, Noelle was standing a few feet behind D#$$.

“D-D#$$, we have to go back home! Mom is probably worried about us! We can always say we lost track of time! Please don’t go into the bu^ker!” Noelle pleaded with D#$$ but to no avail. D#$$ stepped closer to the bunker and the doors opened.

“*&@’t @^rry about m# N0*lle. I’)) (#@! ch%^k (t ^&% f^r A $it! I’ll be b@&k !#f0re y(* k@#$ *t!” D#$$ said as she turned around to face Noelle. The falling snow cleared and Noelle saw her face. Noelle froze in place, her face. Dess’s face. It looked… Wrong, too wrong.

“D-Dess…? Why do you look like that…” Noelle said, attempting to back away, but it felt as if her feet were stuck to the ground. Her face… It wasn’t normal. Dess showed a smile, a gentle one. Yet she was rotting. Her skin sagged, gray and wet, teeth glinting through holes that shouldn’t exist. When she spoke, her voice whistled through gaps in her cheeks like wind through broken glass.

Dess turned around and went down the stairs, and suddenly she fell through the floor. As if sucked up by a pool of darkness. Noelle screamed and tried to reach out towards the bunker, but its doors closed in her face. Left alone in a forest, cold and freezing.

Noelle looked around to see only trees surrounding her. She was all alone, and she knew that. She looked up at the sky and it seemed to get darker the more she looked at it, and it was now night. The moon wasn’t even out, it was dark. She should have listened to mom and gone back home, Dess should have listened to mom and gone back home. She should have never let Dess check out the bunker, and now she’s gone.

IT’S ALL HER FAULT. SHE SHOULD HAVE TRIED HARDER.

Noelle felt the temperature drop even lower, she was shivering. The snow was up to her thighs, she couldn’t even move an inch. It was so dark she could barely even see a few feet in front of herself, and out of the corner of her eye she saw something move.

“H-hello…? Kris? Susie? Mom? I… Is anyone there…?” Noelle reached a hand out towards the place where she saw the figure, “M-Mom… I’m sorry I didn’t listen! I should have returned home the moment I heard your call! Please, help me!” Noelle begged, and begged. The next moment it became darker, she felt herself sinking into the black snow, screaming for anyone to help her.

She was under the black snow, it was suffocating. She sunk deeper the more she struggled, only her arm above the snow. Suddenly she felt a hand grip onto hers, immediately she tightened her grip holding on for dear life. She felt herself being pulled up, the suffocating feeling disappears the moment she was fully pulled up and onto a couch.

Wait, a couch? Noelle looked around the room she was in, it was her room. Noelle began to shake, why was she shaking? It wasn’t cold anymore. And then she looked down at her hand, the thorn ring was on her finger. Why was it there? Noelle finally looked up towards the person who pulled her up, it was Kris.

“K… Kris, hey… what are you doing in my room at this hour…?” Noelle asked while backing away from Kris, why was she backing away? Kris was her friend, they would never hurt her on purpose. And yet she held her hand close to her chest, holding her breath as if waiting for Kris to do something.

Kris remained silent. Right when Noelle was about to open her mouth again, Kris jumped at Noelle and covered her mouth. This felt familiar, far too familiar. It’s like this has happened before. Noelle heard a sort of thumping coming from Kris, looking down at their chest she froze once again. Their chest was pulsing, as if their heart was trying to escape from their ribcage.

Noelle finally gathered enough courage to escape and push Kris away. “K-Kris! I don’t know what you want! First you go into my room and cover my mouth and now you have a weird chest thing!” Noelle said while pushing Kris back even further.

“You’ve been acting so strange recently! I was genuinely worried about you! I know that we aren’t as close as we were before but… but please…” Noelle looked down at her hand, the thorn ring still on her finger. “Can you at least tell me everything between us was real? Even if we’re not as close… I don’t want to leave you alone in the dark.”

Kris remains silent. Noelle finally explodes, “S-SAY SOMETHING! I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU!” she pushed Kris off the couch and onto the floor. She felt tears trickling down her cheeks and she realized what she just did.

“K-Kris…? You okay? I-I’m sorry I got mad… It just felt like something came over me.” Noelle stared at Kris for a moment. She saw that they weren’t moving no matter how much she called out their name.

“K-Kris… Hey… c-come on, this isn’t funny. Stop laying there and get up…” Noelle hesitantly reached towards Kris, “Kris…? D-did I push you too hard…? This isn’t a prank is it? Because it’s not funny.” Right when Noelle was about to touch Kris they suddenly gripped onto her wrist. She let out a yelp in pain while Kris’s grip got tighter.

“Kris, Let me go! You’re hurting me!” Noelle said, trying to pull her hand away but Kris never let go. The next moment she is shoved to the floor by Kris, Noelle looks up at Kris. Their head… had a crack on it. Blood was running down Kris’s head and onto her chest.

Noelle saw that Kris’s other hand was at their chest. The thumping increased in speed the more closer Kris’s chest got to her. Looking back up at Kris she saw that their face had no expression, the way they moved was as if they were a puppet on a string being controlled by a beginner puppeteer. She wanted it to stop, why couldn’t she move?

Without warning Kris begins to scratch at their chest, Noelle notices that they were scratching so much their sweater was tearing. And then she heard flesh being torn. Kris’s nails were stained in blood as their nails kept peeling off skin second by second. Noelle could only stare in fear as more flesh fell off beginning to expose their ribcage.

The thumping grew louder, Noelle could start to see a faint red glow emanating from Kris’s ribcage. The more they dug into their flesh the more brighter the glow became. Noelle snapped out of it and tried to pull Kris’s hand away, but no matter how hard she pulled Kris’s hand never stopped. And then she saw it.

Behind Kris’s rib cage was a glowing heart. Its glow was warm and welcoming, it’s better than that suffocating feeling that was the black snow. As if in a trance Noelle let go of Kris’s arm and continued to gaze towards the heart. Her body was moving on its own, she was reaching towards the heart.

Kris’s rib cage made a noise, loud pops and cracks filled the room as Kris’s rib cage opened freeing the heart. The heart was inside a black and cold void inside Kris, but their glow was so warm. Noelle gently placed both hands under the soul and took it out of Kris. They slumped over to the side, but Noelle was too glued to the heart to notice.

Noelle stared at the heart in her hands, and smiled. It felt warm.

Chapter Text

Kris wakes up. They get off their bed and stare at a wall for a few seconds. They feel themselves walking towards the hallway and towards the mirror.

For a moment, your reflection doesn’t move when you do. Just watches. Then blinks.

They then went down the stairs, they looked towards their left and saw Toriel at the doorway she seemed to be leaving.

Looking at the dining table they noticed a small skeleton, Sans. He was here last night as well, he probably stayed overnight.

Sans was eating some pancakes with ketchup on the side. His plate seemed full, there was a second plate on the other side of the table, it was empty.

“Oh, Kris, I was about to head off to work early. I made some pancakes!” She said, pointing towards the kitchen area, and then noted about Sans, “You don’t mind sharing with Sans right? I left them on the counter, you can get as many as you want!”

With that, she walked out of the door and shut it behind her. Kris stepped towards the kitchen counter and saw that the plates that were supposed to have pancakes were empty. They turned around and stared at Sans. Sans plate was full of pancakes. He was mostly chugging down a ketchup bottle while slowly taking bites out of the pile of pancakes.

“I want pancakes.” Kris murmured towards Sans, his expression a slight hint of annoyance. Kris looks at the empty plate on the other side of the table, presumably theirs.

“Oh the pancakes? You wanted some? But don’t you see they’re on my plate, so that means that I’m going to eat them.” Sans chuckles to himself, he always gets a kick out of messing with Toriel’s kid.

“What were you doing with Toriel?” Kris questioned, they already knew they weren’t doing anything weird last night but it still questioned Sans.

“Eh? What were we doing last night? Did we keep you up with the noise? Sorry, I guess Toriel just loves big ‘bones’ if you know what I mean.” Sans pounded his chest, feeling the pancakes get stuck in his throat somehow. He then let out a laugh but was cut short by a knock on the door.

“T-Toriel? Are you home?” A voice familiar to Asgore was on the other side of the door, Kris stepped towards the door and opened it. The tall monster stepped into the home and noticed Sans at the dining table.

“Ehem… Kris… Can you tell me what he is doing here…?” Asgore crouched down and attempted to whisper but Sans let out a chuckle and pointed at Asgore with his bottle of ketchup.

“Whaaat? Can’t a guy be at his… girlfriends house? There isn’t an issue with that is there?” Sans said with that obvious teasing tone under his voice. Taking another drink out of the ketchup bottle wiping his mouth.

“...Where is Toriel?” Asgore pushed, he didn’t want to continue chatting up with this lazy sack of bones. He already felt himself being pushed to the edge and would have done something if Kris wasn’t here.

“Toriel? She went off to work early. Kinda weird you two didn’t bump into each other out there.” Sans then let out a chuckle and got off his seat. Not even ¼ of the pancakes were finished, but Sans did take his ketchup bottle. He continued to stare Asgore in the eyes with that smile of his as he went up the stairs and out of sight.

Asgore stared at Sans’s fleeting figure going up the stairs then snapped out of it. He looked back at Kris and gave an awkward smile, he didn’t want to worry Kris of his situation… even if it was hidden horribly.

“Say… Kris you don’t mind passing by my shop during the festival, do you? I’ll even put up a few decorations and have flowers prepared for you and whoever you come to my shop with! I have a surprise for you and only you, Kris! So please… Will you come to my shop?” Asgore questioned almost in a pleading tone for Kris to come to his shop during the festival. He hopes for Kris to at least come for the surprise.

“I’ll… I’ll be there by 7, I promise.” Kris felt themselves saying to Asgore, but had almost no resistance in his tone. And then felt themselves getting swept off the floor into a big hug by Asgore.

“Kris! I promise I’ll make it worth your time! Who are you coming to my shop with? I’ll try to make it special!” Asgore has a tone of excitement in his tone he really wanted to make this special for Kris. Then a thought crossed his mind and put Kris down, “Sorry, I keep forgetting that you don’t really like hugs.”

“Noelle.” Kris said in a strained tone. They felt themself shaking from the tension within.

“Oh you’re going with Noelle? Oh then I think I know what to prepare for her!” Asgore patted Kris’s back and started walking towards the front door, “Now don’t let me be the reason you’re gonna be late to school! Remember to come by my shop during the festival.” Asgore went out the door and shut it behind himself.

Kris walked towards the fridge and opened it, they got some old and cold pie. They sat at the table and ate it, and might get a stomach ache later!

Kris got up and stepped towards the entrance. They stepped out and onto the sidewalk. The air felt cold today. They began to walk to school, down the street they noticed a familiar figure, Susie. She seemed to notice them and was walking towards Kris.

“Hey Kris! Wanna walk to school together?” Susie paused for a moment then continued, “I’m gonna walk with you anyways.” She lets out a yawn, exposing her yellow tinted teeth. She looked to her side at Kris and smiled.

“Don’t worry man. I just can’t believe all of that happened yesterday. It was hard to sleep.” She then looked to the ground, I might bring down the mood if I ask now… Oh those are some nice yellow flowers. Kinda reminds me of Kris’s dad.

“Oh yeah doesn’t your dad own a shop or something? Is he doing anything special for the festival?” Susie asks while stopping in place, kneeling and touching the yellow flowers. She looks up at Kris and sees them nod in confirmation.

“Sick, you mind if I join you if you go to his shop for the festival?” Susie asks but then throws away the question, “Eh Imma just join you anyways. No harm in that right?” She smiles and gets up, they continue down the street and walk into their school.

Susie opens the door and lets Kris in. As they’re about to go to their seats, Alphys turns her head towards the two and calls them out.

“H-hey, Kris, Susie… Do you k-know how late you two are…? You better have an excuse for this tardiness…” Alphys stared at the two for a few seconds waiting for them to speak, and yet they didn’t speak up.

Susie was just waiting for Kris to say something so she can follow along with their story.

“Well… I’ll let it slide this time…” Alphys stared at the two for another few seconds. As the two are about to go to their seats Alphys speaks again, “Have you two seen Noelle on your way here…? She is usually the first to arrive.”

“Nah, we haven't seen her. She is probably sick or something, like really sick or she wouldn't have skipped school.” Susie shrugs as she says this while shaking her head. This was probably the most they have spoken to each other. Oddly enough, Kris tensed up when Noelle was mentioned.

“I-I guess you’re right… You two can get into your seats now.” Alphys swatted her hands signaling that she will continue to teach once they get into their seats. Kris and Susie sat into their seats immediately and Alphys continued to teach.

(Damn, what was I thinking last night? Kris and Noelle are probably just doing something on their own. I shouldn’t interfere, I might be seen as clingy if I do that…) Susie rested her snout on her desk. Her eyelids felt heavy and Alphys' voice was buzzing into the background. Maybe I should shut my eyes for a minute or two, no harm in that.

It went dark.

Susie slowly opened her eyes as she felt a nudge on her shoulder, looking to her side she saw that it was Kris who woke her up. She was still in the classroom. Did she fall asleep again, why is Kris the only one by her side? School is not supposed to end for another 2 hours. Might as well take this opportunity to ask…

"H... Hey Kris, I've been-" Before Susie could finish her question the classroom door opened, Alphys stood at the door frame, she appeared nervous as always.

“A-Ah… What are you two doing in here…? Classes have ended already…” Alphys stammered out, she wasn’t expecting anyone to still be in here, almost everyone is at the festival. It’s not like she can go with anyone… The person she was planning to ask is missing; that’s been stressing her out lately.

“Eh? There are still a few more hours of class left... I think." (Why am I even asking this? I don't even care about school.) Susie wondered but shook her head trying to free herself of the thought.

“D-didn’t you know…? Classes end early today because of the festival.” Alphys then pulled out a stack of papers and stared at the two, “Could the two of you leave the class now? I have some grading to do…” (Susie might make fun of me on how I grade the papers… somehow.) She then swatted her hand towards the two of the awkwardly and made them leave.

The two walk out of the classroom as awkward as two teens just kicked out of their classroom would be.

“So uh… Who are you going to the festival with again? Kinda… slipped my mind.” Susie looked to her side at Kris, they seemed tense at the question. But answered anyway.

“Noelle.” Noticeable resistance was in their voice, but strangely it felt like it wasn’t directed towards Noelle. Susie always wondered if all humans spoke like that or was Kris just messing with them.

“Huh… I guess we’ll see her there together then!” There was a silence in the air, Susie didn’t like that one bit. It would definitely bring down the mood if she asked her question now…

The school hallway was dark and empty, the only light shining in was from the festival lights outside. It was quiet, too quiet. Susie felt like she needed to say something to bring up the mood.

“Welp, let's get out of here Kris! I need to blow off some steam!” Susie showed a grin as she dragged Kris out into the streets. It was very bright, lots of the decorations looked beautiful. Susie could tell all the townspeople put a lot of effort into their own stands.

“Hey…” Susie walked up to one of the decorations, a glowing red heart, and showed it to Kris. “Doesn’t this look similar to your soul?” She grinned and held it up to her mouth, “Look look! I’m eating your souull!” She giggled as she put it back in its spot.

“Oh crap! Don’t you gotta meet up with Noelle soon? I didn’t make you late, did I?” Susie came to the realization that Kris was waiting for her to wake up back there. “C'mon let’s go find her! She did say where to meet up right?” Susie followed behind Kris as they went down the street

Kris and Susie continued down the street, playing a few games here and there. After a bit of walking they see a tree. Noelle was under that tree, she was wearing a white dress that almost reached the soles of her shoe. She seemed to glow with the light of the festival, her posture calm and composed, her face neutral… until she locked eyes with Kris.

“Kris, Susie, nice to see the both of you! Are you all prepared for the festival?” Noelle seemed… normal. As if nothing happened the previous day, maybe it’s for the best if she forgot. Once this is all over with, it would be good if she forgot.

"Hey Kris, Susie, look at how beautiful the decorations are!" Noelle said with excitement in her tone while pointing at the glowing lights and decor scattered around the town. She thought, While staring at the heart-shaped light glowing red. She didn't know why but it just seemed so familiar... And... Beautiful…

"Heh... I guess they are pretty cool. What do you think, Kris?" She looked at Kris who was behind her, staring at another glowing heart. "Kris! Hey Kris! HEY!" She tried to grab Kris's attention and finally did. "Ya think the lights are pretty?" She smiled at them, her sharp teeth showing while pointing at the lights.

"Yeah, they're pretty." Kris Responded, almost no emotion in their tone and yet... It seemed to have an effect on Noelle.

"H... Hey... I have to go to the bathroom real quick! Wait here! I'll be back soon!" Noelle quickly rushed into the women's restroom out of sight. Susie wonders if she had something bad to eat before they woke her up. Kris just stood there, and let themselves be dragged to a wall near the restrooms. Susie wondered if this was a good time to ask about why they were acting so weird these past few days.

"H-Hey Kris... I was just wondering.... Wait, I just realized it was a stupid question, don't mind me." (No... What if... They stop hanging out with me if I talk about it...) She wondered to herself, the thought of losing the friends she's made, made her afraid. She'll rather not lose the friends she sees as real. Maybe it's just nothing... Maybe something happened between them and don't wanna talk about it, yeah maybe that's it. It'll be weird to dig into their business.

A deer in headlights:

"Holy crap… It was real. It was all… real. Kris did all that… to… me." Noelle reached up to her face, she had a smile, an uncontrollable smile she couldn't get rid of. She looked down to her finger and at the thorn, it was still there along with her watch.

She flicked the thorn a bit and smiled, another crooked smile. She calmed herself and took a deep breath. Noelle will get stronger, for Kris. She stood up and opened the stall door.

The intertwined:

Susie wondered if it's normal to be in the restroom for over 10 minutes, "Hey Kris... Did Noelle eat anything bad before you guys woke me up?" She looked to her side where Kris was, pointing in the directions where the restrooms were. But only a few moments after she asked, Noelle walked out and came towards them. She seemed apologetic for making them wait for so long.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Noelle said, her voice clear and steady this time. "You must’ve been bored just standing around. Let’s fix that." She smiled, a confident, almost playful tilt to her lips, and gestured toward the rows of festival games. "Come on. I’ll show you the good ones."

They fell in behind her as she strode toward a booth.

"Oh, Noelle! Great to see you and you’re with friends! Want to give this game a shot? Usually three bucks, but since you’re the mayor’s daughter… let’s say two." The monster flashed a grin, holding up a ball.

"Two bucks? Easy," Susie said, slapping the money into his hand. As fast as she gave it, it was gone. She blinked. "…Did you just—"

"Hey, eyes on me." The worker had a cheeky grin, Susie grabbed the ball and lined up her throw.

“I’ll have my eyes on you alright!" The ball flew… and missed completely, smacking the worker instead. The worker yelped. A sign lit up: +10 POINTS!

Susie turned back with a smirk. "That counts!" She stomped away before anyone could argue.

"Susie, quite the unique one aren’t you?" Noelle tries to hide her giggle, but Susie hears it and gives her a light hearted glare, a blush on her face.

Kris, however, was staring at her. Unblinking.

Noelle turned towards Kris with her smile, "You want to play a game too Kris? Don’t worry, I got you covered!" Kris lead them towards a stand with a sign, Balloon darts, this was a game Kris played a lot back then.

"Thanks," Kris muttered, stepping to the next booth. Three darts, three balloons… all missed. Not even close. It’s like they didn’t even try.

“Man, Kris, I didn’t know your aim was… ASS!” Susie let out a laugh poking at Kris’s cheek.

“Eh. Don’t worry Kris! I can always show you how to do it properly.” Noelle slid another 3 dollars towards the worker with a cheeky grin on her face, she adjusted her posture and let out a deep breath.

With all three balloons popped, Noelle had a smile on her face as she collected the prize and handed it towards Kris, a medium sized flower plush with a face.

“Woah… Hey Noelle, can you win some games for me as well?” Susie was pointing at herself hoping she could get some free stuff out of Noelles kindness.

“Of course, Susie. I’m sure all these games are gonna be easy.” They followed behind Noelle as they began to try out every single game.

After all those games, photo booths, and chatting. They all made their way to the rides, the biggest one in the town was the ferris wheel. Noelle practically begged them to come with her to the ferris wheel. Once they arrived the ride operator said there was a limit of 2 people per cart.

“Crap… Seems like one of us is gonna have to like… Stay behind I guess.” Susie seemed disappointed she couldn’t ride with all three of them and scratched the back of her head, she let out a sigh and looked towards Kris. “Well man, you choose since… I’m uhhh… not good with choices.” She put a thumbs up towards Kris.

Right before Kris could make a choice, Noelle interrupted.

“I want to ride with Kris right now!” Noelle held Kris’s hand and tugged it towards her direction, “Don’t have such a confused look, Kris! I was wanting to talk with you in private anyways!” She attempted a whisper leaning towards Kris’s ears while giggling.

“Cool. Cool. I’ll uhhhh…” She kicks a small pebble while pointing to a convenient bench near the ferris wheel. “I’ll be over there once you guys get off.” Susie walked off as the two got on into their cart, slight jealousy and loneliness in her eyes.

Kris sat down and Noelle sat beside them. Her smile never left her face, “I never actually got on a ferris wheel after what happened last time we were in one together.” She leaned closer to Kris.

“I’ve been wanting to… talk about yesterday with you.” Noelle let out a sigh of relief, she was finally able to talk to Kris face to face. Kris tensed up, Noelle didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

Suddenly the air felt cold once again, the wind loud against their cart. The darkening sky seemed to even darker. Even Noelle seemed to change. She spoke in a weird way, not exactly monotone, but not expressive either.

“I finally realized… You were only trying to help me Kris.” She picked up Kris’s hand and put it in her own, “You wanted me to become stronger. I realized I was so weak, pitiful, and blind to the truth. But you opened my eyes Kris!” Her smile became wider, and more crazed.

“Thank you… Thank you Kris… I’ll… I’ll become stronger for you! I promise, from now on… I’ll do whatever you say, okay? I’ll listen to every command without question. Because… I know you only want what's best for me…” Noelle pulled Kris closer to herself.

“Do you mind if I say something else…?” Noelle didn’t know if she was rambling on and on. Was she annoying Kris? She would hate herself if she did. She needed… CONFIRMATION.

“Procceed.” Kris said.

Noelle froze for a moment, the word left a huge impact on her. And yet, she smiled.

“Of course…” She came closer to Kris, her smile now crooked.

“I remember when we first went on a ferris wheel together. Do you remember?” Kris nodded, Noelle let out a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness. It would be embarrassing if you didn’t remember… our first kiss.”

“Honestly… that kiss was nothing too special to me at first. I thought it was just one of your pranks, but now I realize… You…” But before Noelle could finish, she felt a hand over her mouth stopping her. This felt familiar for some reason.

She pulled off Kris’s hand and showed a soft smile, “Come on Kris… You don’t have to do this again… That kiss… it was my first one, ever. And before I wanted to save my second one for someone… special.” Noelle leaned closer to Kris, now Kris is backing into the wall, “But I realized… You’re the one who’s special to me…”

"Hehe… You always took things from me when we were kids. You even took my first kiss." She held Kris's hand up to her chest. "But sometimes… I get this urge to take things from you…" She held Kris's hand tighter to her chest, not wanting to let go of this warmth Kris is giving her.

"It's normal to feel this way right, Kris? Is it natural?" Her eyes glowed with a red tint. She showed a smile, her eyes slowly getting redder by the minute.

"So... Let me take something from you this time." She pulled Kris closer to herself, her eyes closed and lips puckered. She felt Kris shake, were they excited to see she finally accepted becoming stronger...?

And then, a push. Noelle was on the other side of the cart, why? Why? Why did Kris not accept her LOVE? Why were they shaking so much, scratching at their chest trying to dig something out? They’ll get hurt if they conture to scratch at their chest like that.

Noelle reached out a hand and grabbed Kris’s wrist, “Kris… Why are you doing that?” Her red tinted eyes are still in sight, “That hurts doesn’t it?” Noelle slowly crawls closer to Kris, putting another hand over Kris’s chest.

“Let me hel–” The cart doors opened and Noelle froze as a worker peeked in and stared at them for a moment.

“Hey! Read the sign!” He said while pointing to a small sign in the corner of the cart, ‘No romance allowed within the cart’ “You see that? So get out or get kicked out!” The two awkwardly stood up and walked out of the ride, at least Noelle seemed to come back to her senses.

“Kris… Thank you.” Noelle had a look of gratitude, she shouldn’t have one right now.

“Yo guys!” Susie ran towards them, “I need some help!” Susie was gesturing towards a small building.

“What do you need help with, Susie?” Noelle looked at Susie with a look of concern, did she get in trouble again?

“So uhhh… I might have signed all three of us to get an extra batch of fireworks. These guys started running low on them. We all just have to go to this one shed and get 'em.” She put on an awkward smile and a thumbs up

“Oh, well it shouldn’t be much of a problem. I think I saw a storage shed near the library.” Noelle said while pointing towards the street leading towards the library. She’ll rather finish this quite quickly so she can finally express her devotion towards Kris.

After a few minutes of walking they stumbled upon a shed that people said contained the fireworks and extra supplies, but Susie got a bad feeling about the shed. It's like her senses are telling her that she'll regret it if she opens the shed door.

"So this is where the extra fireworks are, it's... something alright." Susie looks at Kris for a moment and then smiles, "Five bucks you open the door." It's not like Susie is afraid or anything she's just... is feeling generous to give away money as such an easy task, yeah. That's it.

Kris without saying a word Kris walked towards the shed door and opened it. All they saw was darkness in the doorframe. Susie knew what this meant, but Noelle is here... Oh here's an idea.
"Hey Noelle... Uhhhh. You should go ahead, me and Kris can find the fireworks on our-" Susie is suddenly cut off by Noelle before she can even finish her excuse. Susie's kinda surprised.

"I know what this is. You don't need to try to make an excuse for me to leave." Noelle said while looking at Susie, her gaze was... different. Like something changed in her when she saw the dark fountain. "It looks familiar to the dark spot I fell in with Berdly. I know it wasn't a dream Susie, but thanks for trying to comfort me back then." She showed a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Susie turned to Kris, "Oohh so that’s what you two were talking about up there…" She paused for a moment, as if Kris was supposed to answer but before they could they were cut off by Susie. "Whatever... At least we don't have to keep it a secret from Noelle now!" She smiled while pointing to the dark fountain, "Come on! What are we waiting for? Let's all go together!"

After Susie said that she grabbed Noelle's and Kris's hand and jumped into the dark fountain.

Chapter Text

When she felt Susie’s hand grasp hers, she felt a warmth within her body, but the cold immediately overtook it as she could still feel Kris’s gaze on her. As she saw herself drawing nearer to the dark fountain, she remembered what had happened last time she was in the dark world. It was like a foggy memory, no wonder it felt like a dream. She would have continued to think it was a dream if Kris hadn’t given her the ring; she’s glad it’s real.

She can finally grow stronger, she won’t need to be so pitiful anymore, she won’t be weak any longer as long as she follows Kris’s voice. As they fell down into the dark world, she immediately felt the thorn expand and wrap itself around her finger. The thorn twisted, reshaping itself with the darkness, digging deep into her finger. She heard that love hurts a lot at first, but does it usually hurt this much?

The Thorn Between:

Noelle and Susie open their eyes to find themselves on a patch of flowers. In front of them is a festival decorated street, fireworks in the sky go off with bangs from afar. The decorations look really similar to the ones in the light word festival. The street in front of them has a lot of petals and confetti spread out on the ground. As they continue to walk deeper into the dark world, Susie notices that a lot of the games that were in the light world are also in the dark world.

“Heh… I guess we won’t lose the chance to go to the festival. This one is like an exact copy of it.” Susie pointed out while walking near one of the stalls. Susie picked up one of the balls and threw it at the objects set up, but she still missed. At least no one got hit in the face this time. Then she looked back at Noelle and smiled.

“Hey, Noelle, I noticed you didn’t get to try out the games. Wanna try it out in the dark world instead?” (She was only paying for Kris, I guess she forgot to have fun too.) Susie thought to herself before tossing another ball to Noelle. Noelle caught it with ease and looked at the ball in her hands for a moment, and then dropped it.

“No… We have an actual festival to get back to. It’ll be better to play while we’re safe… Kris and I encountered a lot of people who wanted to hurt us last time we were here.” Noelle insisted, as she said that she looked back to see Kris. And then she froze. Kris wasn’t with them. She took a moment to process this information before immediately rushing back to the small patch of flowers. Susie, noticing Noelle’s panic, followed behind immediately.

“Hey Noelle! What’s the matter?” Susie questions before noticing that Kris isn’t with them, her reaction is just mild concern. She knows that Kris can defend themselves, but she wonders if Noelle knows that. Susie questions why Noelle was panicking so much when she was acting so normal a few seconds ago.

“Where is Kris... Where is their voice...” Noelle murmured under her breath. How was she supposed to get stronger without Kris’s voice to guide her? No wait… She can’t always rely on Kris. She’ll never get stronger piggybacking off Kris’s abilities… She’ll become stronger on her own while Kris isn’t here, maybe they’ll be surprised at her progress?

“Noelle…? Are you good now? Listen, if you’re worried about Kris, they can defend themselves pretty well. Trust me, I know.” She attempted to comfort Noelle, putting a hand on her shoulder. Maybe nothing too bad happened between them if Noelle is this concerned about Kris.

“Come on, let’s go. If Kris is separated from us, they can’t be too far from us. We’ll find them, I know we can.” She began to walk side by side with Noelle down the street. The lights illuminate around them, making Noelle’s outfit slightly glow a light blue.

Before Susie could properly admire Noelle’s outfit, a darkner hops out of one of the stalls and lands in front of them. A battle starts. The darkner appears to have a red cup as their head, Susie grins and thinks this is an opportunity to show off her ACT skills in front of Noelle.

“Heh.. Look at this, Noelle.” She says while picking the ACT option, she looked to her side and saw Noelle beginning to prepare her magic, “Oh, You learned magic Noelle? Awesome.” And then, she felt a sudden chill in the air, the darkner had gone quiet. She looked back at the darkner and saw it was completely frozen, its body covered in blue ice.

Noelle calmly walked toward the frozen darkner and pressed her palm against it, causing it to tip over and shatter. There was no blood, only pieces of ice and bits of the darkener frozen solid. Susie was… stunned. She never thought about the fact they could die, she only used enough force that they were hurt, but killing them never crossed her mind. The fight ended before she could even ACT. Susie looked at Noelle with shock and with a slight fear, she wondered what Noelle was doing before they met up in the dark world?

Noelle continues to walk forward, but then pauses. She notices that Susie wasn’t following and turns her head back. She makes eye contact with Susie, and Susie looks away immediately. Out of fear perhaps? Maybe she wasn’t used to battles ending so quickly.

“N-Noelle… Why… Why did you kill that darkner…? You do know we can recruit them…. Right…?” Susie stammered out, she felt sick to her stomach. Why did Noelle do that? What happened during that time they were separated? How was she able to end the fight in just one attack? Was she always this strong?

“...I have to,” Noelle whispered, her eyes not meeting Susie’s. “I thought if I just kept going... Maybe I won’t be weak anymore.” She continued to walk. Susie had no choice but to follow her. Susie noticed a few darkners hesitating to jump out and attack, but in the end they did. And they all end up dying in the same way as the rest.

ICE SHOCK. Again. Again. The frozen bodies piled like a silent protest, shattered and unblinking. Susie was stunned. What did she even mean? Susie noticed Noelle was about to cast another ICE SHOCK towards another darkner. Impulsively Susie called out a warning to the darkner. ICE SHOCK missed.

“NOELLE STOP!” Susie shouted at Noelle, this was unexpected and caught Noelle off guard. Causing her to cancel her attack and stare at Susie. Her expression a mix of annoyance and confusion. Susie looked at Noelle in fear and dread, she had to stop this. Noelle must see how darkners can also be their allies.

“Noelle… Please… Listen to me. Stop using ICE SHOCK on the darkners and killing them… T… They can be our allies if we can convince them!” But before she could even say another sentence Noelle casted ICE SHOCK on the darkner. And now she was walking towards her, her gaze blank.

“Susie, if we spare them. How will we get stronger?” Noelle questioned while stepping closer to Susie. Susie was backing away in fear, she felt herself starting to shake. But then she took a deep breath and looked Noelle in the eyes.

“Noelle, c’mon that’s not how this works! You don’t have to- You’re not supposed to kill them. They’re not too different from us once you get to know them.” Susie attempts to convince Noelle but is immediately shut down. Noelle was just staring blankly at Susie.

“Susie, what will you do when you meet someone stronger? Someone who won’t pull their punches? Someone who won’t show the same mercy you are trying to show them?” Noelle stated, her tone flat. But then Noelle noticed Susie’s uncomfortable. She let out a heavy sigh and showed a gentle smile.

“Alright… I’ll try ACT. And… If I like it. I’ll stop using ICE SHOCK, I promise.” Noelle hesitantly patted Susie’s back. She didn’t mean to scare her… She just wanted to show Susie that getting stronger will make having allies pointless. But she might as well try ACT. Breaking a promise right after making it is… very bad.

Another darkner came out of one of the stalls and stood in front of them. They had a slightly nervous smile as they saw what happened to those before them, but they couldn't just let the lightners seal their fountain. They had a duty to protect what's giving them life. Susie showed a grin and pointed towards the darkner.

“Okay, Noelle let’s-” Susie stopped mid sentence. She saw Noelles hand raised, a glimmer of frost on her fingertips. She felt her heart stop as she looked back at the darkner. Frozen solid, didn’t even get the chance to attack… Noelle was gonna try ACT... She seemed willing to. So why did she change her mind?

Noelle looked at her hand in shock, she heard them. She heard it. They told her to use ICE SHOCK, and she did. But for a moment, even for a moment, it felt like she wasn't in control of herself. It felt as if her body moved on its own, casting ICE SHOCK and killing them. Noelle looked down at her hands, blood dripping from one of her fingers.

The blood, creating a small pool on the ground, she watched as it trickled down her finger and dropped onto the ground. She began to feel numb, but it’s not like this is a feeling she hasn’t experienced before. It’s so cold right now, she needs to find Kris to feel warmth. The thought of Kris makes her smile.

“Noelle…” Susie was stunned, she didn’t want to believe it was Noelle who did this, but it was happening right in front of her. All of them are dead. “Y… You said you’ll try to ACT...” Susie stammard, it was hard to even look her in the eyes. It’s like she’s a different person. She doesn’t know what happened to Noelle in the dark world while with Kirs, but she doesn’t like it one bit.

“Noelle, I don’t think I can follow you anymore… Not after what you just did. Please… don’t follow me.” With that, Susie hesitantly walked away from Noelle, she couldn’t stand to watch any more darkners die. But… hurting Noelle is something she can’t do.

“Susie…? Where are you going, Susie? You aren't leaving me, are you, Susie?” Noelle reached out a hand towards Susie. Why was she so scared to be alone? She was strong enough to defend herself. Come on, convince her to stay. Noelle, do something. Do anything, please Noelle.

Noelle felt frost forming at her fingertips, she was charging up ICE SHOCK. But then Noelle’s hand fell to the ground, Susie out of sight. Her magic powered down. The frozen darkners behind them, some had fallen over and shattered. Noelle regained her composure, she looked forward and proceeded. It went dark.

Mercy undone:

“Maybe you should think about Susie sometimes too, Kris…?” Ralsei suggested before noticing that Kris had their eyes open. “O-oh but that’s only a suggestion… You’re always free to think of whoever you want.” Ralsei put his hand on Kris’s shoulder showing a smile. Who was he to judge, when he wasn’t even real. All he had to do was keep smiling.

Ralsei looked around them as if waiting for someone to come, but no one did in the end. He let out a sign and smiled, “Come on, Kris… We can’t keep waiting forever. Noelle is probably up ahead?” Ralsei tugged at Kris's hand bringing them into one of the ferris wheel cars, near the top of the ferris wheel is a platform. That’s probably the way to the dark fountain, hopefully.

“Kris… I’ve been wondering…” Ralsei looked out the car window at the fireworks, each explosion illuminating his face, “Have you ever thought about how the darkners lived before lightners came…?” He then stares directly at Kris, he seems to want to say something but can't. He takes a deep breath and smiles.

“B-but I’m sure we’re all happy to be useful to the lighteners from the prophecy.” He said with a slight hiccup, “And I’m sure you love the dark world and all the darkners within… L-like Lancer!” He used Lancer as an example while moving his hands around while speaking. He tried to show a smile but it came out as crooked.

“...” Kris said nothing. No extra movement, not even a clear facial expression. They only stared blankly at Ralsei. Ralsei’s smile fell as he became increasingly uncomfortable with Kris's silence.

“Kris–” But before Ralsei could finish their question the ride came to a stop. The doors opened and Kris stood up and dragged Ralsei along. As they stepped outside the car the doors closed behind them, they could not turn back now. Ralsei pulled his hand away from Kris’s and stabbed back.

“O… Oh sorry Kris… It was just… Unexpected. I-I didn’t mean to pull away, I swear!” Ralsei was stammering over his words, he felt scared. Ralsei was hesitant to say something.

“Kris… I’ve been trying to understand,” Ralsei said, softer this time. “Why you won’t speak to me? Why you feel… distant.” He took Kris’s hand and put it on his own. He looked directly into Kris’s eyes and smiled, a soft gentle smile. And yet… even that felt forced.

“Do you… still believe in the prophecy…? Do you… still believe in what we’re doing…?” Ralsei looked down at the ground and let out a few sniffles and then he felt it. Kris’s hands moving, curling their fingers around his. Ralsei had a hopeful expression on his face but it immediately disappeared the moment he looked at Kris’s face.

All Kris had was a deadpan stare. But in their eyes it seemed like they wanted to resist something, and yet they lost and have to watch everything unfold. Kris felt themselves being forced to hold back tears they wanted to resist, but in the dark world the Souls control is more potent over their cage.

Raslei felt his hand being pulled, dragged into the next room.