Chapter Text
Why are we still playing this damn game? What do they even want out of this?
Kris’ hands move without their input, fingers pressing the buttons and moving the little avatar on-screen. Their body wasn’t under full control at the moment, with barely any control being pressed at all. Their heart sped up slightly as they thought about the soul, conflicted.
If I didn’t need this damn thing… If… If this fucking parasite wasn’t the only thing standing between my family and oblivion…
The screen changed as The Avatar walked downwards, revealing the shelter from town. The Avatar began walking right for the door, and Kris tried to take control back.
Fuck, no! Not yet! If Carol finds out they know… Stop fucking fighting me damnit!
Right as the door opens, and The Avatar walks through, Kris finds their control severed. They look down at their hands, no longer touching the controller, and they flex their fingers. Looking up at the screen, they see not what the bunker actually holds, but instead just another dungeon in the game. Relief floods their system for a brief moment, before The Avatar moves again.
Wait…
Kris looks down at their hands, then over to the controller. They aren’t holding it. The buttons aren’t being pressed. They look back up at the screen with a dawning confusion and horror, as they watch the avatar walking around without their input. Their mind goes numb as they do nothing but observe. Their last few years of being possessed now put into perspective as they watch a version of themselves on a literal screen fighting something. The words pass through their mind without understanding, without even attempting to see the words as anything but a collection of letters.
Then The Avatar reaches for a box they cannot touch, turns to look Kris in the eyes, and goes to walk into the next room to the right. Except, instead of the screen changing, The Avatar literally walks out of the screen, as the entire room shifts perspective. No longer is the screen a pure vertical representation of pixels and noise, but instead a literal room in front of them. The Avatar walks down a path until they’re standing in front of Kris. Kris falls to the ground with obvious fear, and starts backing away.
“Oh, shit. This is a problem.”
The Avatar speaks with a voice never heard before. They turn around to face Kris, their body no longer made of pixels, but instead looking more like an animated toy doll. They look down and flex their own fingers, speaking softly.
“Please tell me you still have your soul.”
Kris reaches into their chest to find nothingness. Just an empty void and a cold feeling where the warmth of their soul used to sit. Their body moves sluggishly, with Kris barely remembering how to move at all, yet alone how to move at the speed their passenger used to command of their body. They look over at the Avatar, and they know no words are needed.
“Well fuck. I don’t suppose you know how to unfuck this, do you?”
Kris huffs with a soft smile, one born of the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. The amusement of the Avatar being able to speak, and apparently being a rather vulgar individual.
“Sorry.”
The Avatar looks up at Kris and laughs softly, shaking their head.
“Not your fault, kid. It’s mine. I’m so determined to prove this prophecy wrong that I didn’t stop to think about whether I could break something. How’re you feeling?”
Kris breathes roughly, staring at the Avatar, when they both freeze. They hear footsteps, and a door opening. When Susie steps into the room she looks around, examining the situation. Kris is on the floor looking terrified, and there’s a mini toy doll of Kris standing near her feet.
“What the hell is going on?”
Her voice is laced with frustration, confusion, her brow furrowed and expression tight. She looks over at Kris, speaking out again.
“Are you okay?”
Kris looks between her and The Avatar, before coughing and giving out a soft nervous laugh.
“I… I don’t know.”
Before Susie can respond, she hears a voice down beside her foot.
“They’re a little empty right now. We’re figuring it out.”
Hearing The Avatar speak draws a sudden and loud reaction from Susie, with her launching herself to the side away from The Avatar.
“What in the fuck is that?”
She looks between Kris and The Avatar with panic, and Kris can see her clenching her hand, getting ready to fight, so Kris stumbles to their feet and looks her in the eyes.
“Don’t hurt it! It’s me! Ish…”
The explanation doesn’t help much, though it does help her calm down slightly. Her expression goes from one of apprehension to one of concern.
“It’s… You?”
“For a given value of ‘self’, at least. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Susie, though I wish I could have been introduced under better circumstances. It’s perhaps easiest to just say that I’m part of them, and without this part inside them, they’re going to need some help.”
The Avatar looks down at their tiny hands, realising they only come up to Susie’s knee.
“And I for one, am probably a weak piece of trash in this body, so until we figure out what’s going on, suffice to say that Kris is at… Let’s call it half capacity.”
Kris stands up shakily, barely able to keep standing at all, and limps over towards Susie.
“I can’t tell you. I’m… I'm sorry. It’s complicated. But this shouldn’t be possible, and it’s a problem.”
Before either of them could continue, The Avatar calls out once more.
“Hey, sorry to interrupt, but Susie, I need you to go open that box over there. There’s a cloak looking thing in it. Wear it. Do not take it off under any circumstance. I broke a lot of shit to get that for you.”
Susie glared at The Avatar, before looking over at Kris, waiting for them to nod, before walking off to go open the box.
“Look, we need to figure this out fast. Are we telling them, or not? Because it looks like you’re going to be stuck carrying me until we figure this shit out.”
Kris looked at the Avatar, their breath rough but slowly stabilizing as they once again got used to their body.
“Guess we don’t really have a choice, do we?”
“What choice?”
Susie stepped back near the two blue individuals, now wearing a cloak around her shoulders, dark enough to absorb the light around her.
“Tell me.”
Kris looked panicked, and even The Avatar looked a little worried, but The Avatar took a deep breath, before shrugging.
“I’m an interdimensional entity that’s been possessing Kris’ soul for the last three days. Everything they’ve done recently is because I’ve made them do it, though I’ll confess I’ve not been happy with the fact that I had to. I was supposed to get my own vessel when coming here, but something threw me in Kris instead. I’m stuck in their soul, and since I’m now in this body…”
Susie looked more and more upset as the words came out, fists clenching and the skin around her knuckles turning white.
“Three days?”
Kris’ voice was soft, confused, concerned. When Susie and The Avatar looked over, they saw Kris shaking and staring at The Avatar.
“You’re telling me… You’ve only been here for three days?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’ve been possessed for three years.”
—
Ralsei was sitting on the couch in the green room, quietly enjoying the experience of actually playing something for himself. It was a simple game, just drive the car around the oval, and reach the finish line as quickly as possible. When he heard the door swing open, he turned and called out before even looking.
“Hey Susie! I’m starting to get the hang… of… What?”
Kris looked exhausted, and they were carrying a little doll version of themselves on their back. Susie looked both furious and concerned. Neither spoke.
“What happened?”
Kris looked aside, swallowing nervously. Susie turned to stare right at the doll. The doll on Kris’ back locked eyes with Ralsei, and spoke with a voice the prince had only heard in his dreams.
“I fucked up.”