Chapter Text
There were many things Kris wished they could say, given their current situation. That they were sorry for their impending betrayal. That they were sorry for worrying Noelle. That they didn’t hate the SOUL controlling them, not really, but they sure wished it’d stop trying to find out more about their brother. That they really hoped Ralsei would realize, for a moment, that the prophecy was bullshit and had she considered Dark World Estrogen?
The matter Kris was currently heaving golden flower petals into their house’s trash can about (conveniently, it was already filled to the brim with them) was not one of those things.
It was late, and it was dark, and they were trying not to wake anyone so their plan wasn’t ruined, and fuck they looked at Susie as she snored again and another wave of petals rose in their throat. Kris wondered if they were out of the view of the SOUL, from here. They hoped so. It trying to run well-meaning-but-misguided interference was the last thing they needed right now.
They just needed
They just needed to--
They spit more petals into the trash can, working one final one off their teeth with a soft peh .
They just needed to concentrate their will into their blade, and…
Kris raised their knife, gleaming black, shining eyelike sparks into the night, and plunged it into their carpet. Plumes of blacker-than-black smoke raised in response, enveloping their living room. Their job was done for now. So they settled into the couch, plucked the SOUL from the couch cushions, and returned it to its resting place as they turned away from Susie.
They couldn’t risk looking at her now. Who knew what kind of Darkner those petals would make.
~~~
Kris Dreemurr maintained they weren’t so hopeless that they fell for Susie on their very first day in the Dark World. No, that was more like Noelle (as much as Susie slamming them against the lockers made Kris feel a little funny).
Kris fell for Susie their second day in the Dark World.
~~~
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
The sound of snapping wires, rusty wheels on rusty tracks, a phone ringing somewhere. Spamton begging, praying to the audience of the SOUL. If only they could tell him Heaven was watching. Trying to free him.
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
If only they could tell him they knew how this would end already. That some people weren’t meant to live without strings. Really, now. They’d both forfeited their rights to freedom a long time ago.
And yet here they were, tearing at their own heartstrings like idiots. Kris grimaced as they used their blade to snap the final wire.
Snap.
And watched Spamton fall slack.
Nobody spoke for a while, on the way back up. Which was fine with Kris. The less the SOUL forced them to say, the better.
What would they even say? Thanks for saving me, that was dumb of me haha, I got totally scammed? I’m sorry, I just saw myself in him? I just wanted the hope that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay? That I could face you all as myself one day? Stupid. That was all stupid. The SOUL was stupid for making them do it. Kris was stupid for hoping naïvely. And their friends were stupid for following them on a suicide mission.
The Shit Squad (Kris stifled a laugh every time they heard the name) was walking down a dark corridor, goosebumps still prickling Kris’s bared arms, when Susie stopped.
“Hey so… are we seriously… not gonna talk about any of that? That was god damn weird. Puppets… strings… hands… What the hell does any of that mean?”
Kris screwed their mouth shut. Even if they had wanted to speak, what would it have done? Knowing Susie, she’d either hate them for lying straight to her face (which they deserved) or immediately start working on ways to free them (which they didn’t). Either way, that would ruin the plans. And they’d promised. No matter what happened. No matter how much they’d come to like Susie.
Kris had fucked up their life—no, the lives of the entire Holiday and Dreemur families—years ago. What was one more betrayal against the chance to fix things?
As if in response to an unstated question, Susie’s hand found Kris’s shoulder. Without meaning to, they shuddered against her cool, scaly skin.
“Kris…” she whispered, “you’ve got goosebumps.”
“…You ok?”
They met Susie’s eyes, narrowed in concern, and quickly flicked their gaze back away. She was so observant, when she wanted to be. So considerate. So caring. They’d call it heartrending, if they didn’t rend their heart from their body regularly anyways.
“…Y… yes…”
As expected, all Kris could do was listen as their voice escaped their own mouth. What they had expected less was for their own emotion to be attached to it, tears pricking at their eyes.
“…If you say it all strained like that… I’m not gonna think you’re ok…”
She leaned down a little more, peering between Kris’s bangs to catch their expression. Gross. They had those bangs so they wouldn’t be perceived, thank you very much. They ducked their head more, and Susie backed off.
“Hey Ralsei, you think Kris is ok?”
“Hmm… well, they seem a bit shocked, but… Kris doesn’t want us to worry, so… let’s not push them for now…”
Ralsei smiled deferentially in Kris’s direction. He was sweet, but instead of reassuring, Kris had found it unsettling. How are you so nice? , they wanted to ask. Why aren’t you getting angry, shaking the bars of the prophetic cage you’re stuck in? Why are you looking at me so pleadingly instead, with a smile that says I’ll keep your secrets with lock and key as long as you let me have mine, please, please, please ? It’s not like it would save him.
Then again, it wasn’t like Kris had an option other than to nod along with a blank face either. To prove it, Ralsei trotted over, light on his paws, and leaned up toward Kris with a practiced, gentle smile.
“Kris, I’ll make some cake for you later, ok? I could even make it chocolate-flavored, butterscotch, cinnamon… whatever you want.”
Given the only meaningful food they’d had that day was an entire pie they’d scarfed down at 1AM, it wasn’t a surprise Kris’s stomach roared the way it did. But it was embarrassing, the way it made Susie chuckle in their direction.
“Well, their stomach’s rumbling, but the goosebumps aren’t gone.”
“Kris, if you’re cold, you can share my scarf…”
Sure, or they could not be attached at the hip to their brother’s lookalike for the rest of the Dark World.
“I’d rather take my chances at stealing Susie’s jacket,” they muttered under their breath. At least they were still allowed to make sarcastic little jabs, sometimes.
“Huh? Or, um, sure, Susie could…?”
Nevermind, they weren’t even allowed that without being overheard.
“What? No, hell if I’m giving you MY jacket! You make ME cold, I’m burning you knuckleheads for warmth.”
Susie said that, but from the look in her eye, Kris figured they could puppy-eye her out of it if they really tried. …Why were they even thinking that?
“Susie!!!” Ralsei yelled, incredulous.
“Too late, already imagining you guys as idiot-scented candles.”
Despite themselves, Kris couldn’t help but smile. Somehow, she always knew how to make them laugh. If only they’d met before everything with… everything. And then she met their eyes again, giving a big, toothy grin in response to Kris’s own smile. Like she was proud. Like she’d been aiming right at their own heart with that one.
Kris flushed, and by instinct, immediately turned to hide their face. Fuck. Over being called an idiot-scented candle . Noelle would never let them near the end of that one.
…Not that they really talked, these days.
“…Heh, that got Kris smiling. Let’s go.” Susie whisper-spoke to Ralsei.
As soon as Ralsei returned to his place in line, the SOUL began marching Kris onwards. That was fine. They needed time to think. Even if their chest still felt oddly tight.
Now then. For starters, they were doomed. Incredibly doomed. Aunt Carol—no, Mrs. Holiday would kill them. If Noelle didn’t first if she found out. …And none of them could find out. It wasn’t as if the SOUL had such an intimate reading on their feelings to lead Kris to tell anyone they had a huge crush on Susie. …Probably. Maybe they could threaten it just to be safe.
Their inner monologue paused for a battle. Three Swatchlings—two warm, one cold. Ralsei would defend while Susie Half-warmed the odd one out, and Kris followed with a Warm. At least the SOUL knew what it was doing. Now they just had to think of something warm. Something warm.
You talked about the warmth of a first love. Swatchling’s color turned a lot warmer…! It’s now yellow!
Shit. They had to stop saying the first thing that came to mind. Kris glanced toward Susie. While the SOUL was busy dodging bullets she… waggled her eyebrows, glancing between Kris and the Swatchlings!
“So. Muscles, huh?”
Involuntarily, Kris coughed at a tickle in their throat. That moved the SOUL over an inch, and…
“Ow!! Dumbass, watch where you’re dodging!!”
Next turn. Kris would defend (gratefully), Susie half-warmed once more, and Ralsei spared the first of three.
“Thank you, young masters. We feel truly coordinated.” One of the enemies bowed out, gracefully.
“K-kris? Are you still feeling out of it…? I can, um, give you a check-up later!!!”
Ralsei’s eyes pierced Kris with worry. That look again. The look of ‘something’s wrong but please don’t make me say it in front of Susie’ .
Or the SOUL. Which was fine by Kris. It didn’t need to know about whatever computer virus they’d somehow caught.
Final turn. Kris and Susie spared the remaining Swatchlings, while Ralsei defended. Another battle won. Susie threw her axe behind her, grabbed the Dark Dollars they’d won, and flipped through them with a grin before throwing them into the Money Hole. Which was a totally normal name for money storage.
“Dude, you’ve gotta stop flirting with every enemy we meet. …Or at least give the rest of us some lessons.”
Kris flushed, sputtered a small cough, and nodded, in that order.
“Sick. Let’s go.”
Sick… they probably were, weren’t they. Kris barely slept last night. Slept through all of class. It was fall. They were stressed. They’d pushed themselves, yesterday. It sucked this was happening this week, but they’d make it work.
Kris’s feelings didn’t really matter, anyway.
Luckily, wrangling the Mauswheel didn’t require Kris to bare any of their deepest feelings, and after summoning the Tasque Manager (they wondered, absentmindedly, what about the Knight had caused her to look like… that), they were already on their way to the third floor.
Around and around they spun in the teacups, the SOUL navigating them past obstacles expertly. …Kris wished they could tell their friends, for a brief moment, about the ten times they’d died to the teacups in the basement. But that was too morbid even for them. Instead, while the world spun around them, Kris let their eyes wander to Susie again, who was currently looking for any opportunity to eat the bullets whole. Earlier today the two of them (and Ralsei, who really wasn’t on their mind right now) had crammed into one of these same teacups just for balloons . Kris would probably spontaneously combust if that happened to them now. A real idiot-scented candle.
What had even changed…? It wasn’t Susie, or so they thought. She was the same wrecking ball of a monster that she had always been, and she showed no signs of stopping. Then again… two days ago, she was willing to bite their face off if it weren’t for Toriel. Now, Susie was treating Kris like she’d trust them with her life. Guarding the Dark World as their little secret. Showing off her incredible new healing powers with a smug grin on her face. No, Susie had changed. It was Kris who was still stuck in assuming that they were hated. That they forever would be.
They weren’t that wrong, though, were they? It was only a matter of time. Even if Susie liked them now. Even if, somehow, she liked them for who they were and not the words the SOUL spoke through their mouth. (It was always so much more charming than they had ever been. So perfect. So lovable. Everything Kris hadn’t been for years and years.) She’d hate them for tricking her. For pretending to be someone they weren’t, even if they didn’t have a choice. For not really being her friend. …And here they were, fantasizing about what it would be like to stick their entire head in her mouth. They really were unforgivable.
…And, they realized, drenched in mud. From a teacup ride…?
“This is never going to come out of my fur…” Ralsei mumbled from a neighboring teacup. Blinking in confusion.
Kris laughed softly. It was still only the second day. There was no reason to get down on themselves so early. They’d get over themselves. They’d find the resolve to do what needed to be done.
Right now, though, they executed a perfect spin-jump out of their teacup, flecking dirt off their metal armor. Enough wallowing in the mud. There was a Fountain to seal. And a Noelle to rescue.
“Kris, Susan… glad to see you arrive unwounded.”
And a Berdly. They could really do without the Berdly. At least, while they didn’t have the free will to kick his ass in Super Smashing Fighters or to blow up his house in Minecrap.
“Now, let us hasten! Through here is a secret passageway to the roof! There, we can enrescue-fy Lady Noelle.”
Luckily, Kris still had the power to roll their eyes with great sarcasm. …This unsurprisingly went ignored!
“Uhh, okay,” Susie grumbled, heading for the door.
“Let’s go, Kris.”
“Oh, Kris. Kris is…” Berdly was staring at them with that dumbass look again. Well, he could rest assured that Kris really, really didn’t feel like spending any more time with him.
“Kris! You and your lackey distract Queen! Let’s go, Susie! Just the two of us! Haha!”
“Fine, whatever!”
Susie followed Berdly into the secret passageway, which immediately clicked shut.
“Kris, do you think of me as your lackey…?” Ralsei asked, twiddling his thumbs behind his back.
…Only now did Kris realize that they had traded Berdly Alone Time for Ralsei Alone Time. Which was generally far more tolerable, except for the part where the SOUL decided it needed to hug a Fluffy Boy every five seconds.
“Of course not,” it said through them. Kris added a noncommittal shrug to properly underline how little they cared. If anyone cared what they thought.
“H-huh…? Y-you mean…” Ralsei trailed off, though Kris could swear they heard a faint continuation.
“(Y-you think of me as more than a lackey…?)”
The last thing Kris wanted to consider at the moment was whether they had recently become a mind-reader thanks to the SOUL. Instead, they reached out to the faint glimmer nearby, and…
Susie has gone into a book hole with Berdly. You are filled with the power of book holes.
No thanks. They could do without that power.
They’d just head to the right instead, straight towards the… giant… vat… of acid.
“A… a giant lake of acid?!”
“Oh You Mean The Free Pool” Asked Queen over a loudspeaker. Wow. Kris and their lackey really were doing a great job at distracting her.
“You Will Learn To Love It Like Family”
Somehow, the neon green acid reminded them of Mt. Ebott Dew. Berdly would have loved this room. Just him and Ralsei, being… bros? Or something? Maybe he could teach Ralsei about the many types of -deres in anime.
…Kris was instantly filled with the power of conceptual Anime Bro Ralsei, and lost 5 HP! (Not really.) Being here was fine after all.
Even if pulling that lever seemed to have summoned a suspiciously swan-shaped boat.
“I suppose… this… works. Haha.”
Nevermind, they wanted Susie back. Spacing out, they watched the acid lake and its tiny houses float by. All the lake needed was a tiny railway, like the one Noelle’s family used to put out at Christmas. Because every town defined by Christmas needed affordable public transit, which Kris would then hide at the top of the Christmas tree to make Dess climb up after them,
“Kris Get The Banana”
Oh hell yeah.
“Kr… Kris isn’t going to do what you say!”
Snagging a banana out of the air and peeling it, Kris raised an eyebrow at Ralsei. Thank you SOUL for at least having a sense of humor. Now they could be miserable and funny.
“Th-that’s okay Kris. It’s good for you.”
Tasted a bit floral, but what could they complain about? Queen didn’t know how a banana was supposed to taste. Even if the last one was fine.
~~~
“GOD”
“DAMMIT”
“Ah… that’s right, Rouxls isn’t compatible with this world, either.”
Rouxls Kaard was just as annoying as a statue, Kris decided. Stone was such a drab medium, and the choice to leave only the Duke of Puzzles’ head unfrozen… how unrefined, some might say. Real works of art were crafted from gold into a smart shape, featuring none other than—
They were really starting to go insane from how often the SOUL made them check things, Kris thought.
“It’s wonderful that Ralsei is Ralsei,” it had said through Kris a few minutes back. How wonderful, that it loved him, adored him, just for standing there smiling. For being so convenient. Then, was Kris convenient enough for it? Or did it hate them for wresting back control, the same way Susie would?
“Looks like the ride’s almost over, Kris…” Ralsei turned to Kris with a wistful look. Or was he relieved…?
Thank god.
“O-oh, There’s a camera! Should we, um… pose?!”
Do a rude gesture, commanded the SOUL.
Well, shit, Kris could do that just fine.
“K-Kris?!”
Snap.
“D… did it really take a photo of that?! Umm, l… let’s keep going!”
Seemed like it did. Susie would die laughing when she saw it, Kris thought.
And coughed. Damn, they’d thought they were over their cold for a moment.
“K… Kris? It’s just a little bit further for today, okay?” Ralsei smiled with far too much enthusiasm. It didn’t matter that much, anyways. Kris was fine.
“ART THOU JUST GOING TO LEAVETH ME HERE?! THOU AREN’T EVEN GOING TO SHOWETH ME THE PICTURE?”
Both of the Heroes kept their faces forward, united in at least this power: the power of Really Not Wanting To Deal With Rouxls Kaard.
“...That was a nice boat ride, wasn’t it, Kris?”
“...the hell’re you trying to convince…” Kris mumbled, under their breath.
The wind howled as they reached the roof of Queen’s castle, blowing Ralsei’s scarf wildly when he pressed ahead of Kris. Gracefully, he turned on the front of his pawpads, hands clasped behind his back.
“Kris…”
The Prince glanced to the side. Such a horrible liar, really.
“...Are you wondering how Susie is doing right now?”
Kris held their breath.
Please. Please. Please.
They felt as if their lungs were being squeezed, as if an answer desperately wanted to crawl its way up their throat before anyone else’s words could, as if their arms and legs were overgrown with ivy winding tighter and tighter.
“...wondering.”
It took everything in Kris’s power not to gasp for air with the relief that fills their body.
“Well then… why don’t we close our eyes…”
They tried to squeeze their eyes tightly, but found they couldn’t. Not until the SOUL says so.
“...And think about what she’s doing now?”
Finally, finally , they shut their eyes with all the force they could muster. Breathe in, breathe out, slowly, don’t catch on the tickle in your throat, wait, wait, wait a little longer…
~~~
“... … I… I think it should be gone, Kris.”
“…hhhhhhhh.”
Flop . Kris’s legs went slack as they slid to the floor. Felt cool. Felt nice.
“I… I know, it must be so difficult, Kris… But, um, at least we have this time…!”
Not that it was much. They couldn’t really relax, not knowing when the SOUL would come back from its trip. Gawking at their friend like they never could.
“…wish I could tell Susie.”
“I know, I… I really don’t like lying to her either, Kris. It’s just… too risky. And, well, maybe it’s selfish, but… I want to be Susie’s friend for as long as I can…!”
How Ralsei could say things like that, Kris didn’t know. She’d forgive him for his lies. He was just trying to protect her. Kris was…
The absence in their chest hurt. They coughed, again, weaker without the SOUL. Something stuck to their tongue.
“Oh, Kris… here, would you want me to give you that check-up now?”
Not really. But they were close to battling Queen, now. Kris couldn’t hold the team back.
“…mhm.”
Gently, Ralsei’s fluffy hand took Kris’s. He had bigger paw beans than Asriel, more like a stuffed toy than someone real. But he was warm, here, his chest rising and falling with slow, calm breaths. With a flourish of green sparkles, soothing warmth filled Kris’s body.
“Feel a little better?”
Silently, Kris nodded.
“Good! But, Kris, I can only heal injuries with that spell… so you might still have that cough.”
Kris frowned.
“I know, I know, I’m sorry!! I wish I could do more!!” Ralsei yelled out, surprisingly intense.
“I wish I could do… a lot more. This whole day, while I was with Susie, I… I had so much fun, but… I was scared while you and Noelle were alone with the SOUL. Like something terrible was going to go wrong, haha…”
The Prince held his hands out, shaking, before clenching them.
“But it didn’t! The SOUL’s been… really, really nice. So maybe things will be… all okay. Maybe the prophecy…”
Ralsei slunk down the wall next to Kris, staring out at the dazzling city before them.
“Haaa… it’s all beautiful when you stop to look for a while, isn’t it, Kris?”
Beautiful, sure, until you look in the trash. Find the parts of the city it would rather discard than help. That it would rather ignore for the dazzling lights.
“…Ralsei…”
“Y-yes, Kris?”
“…why d’ya do what it says?”
“T-the SOUL? Well, ah… Kris, you know when I said that your SOUL holds the fate of the world inside it? That… wasn’t an exaggeration. The power to seal the Fountains… the power to face our fate… that all rests inside it. And so, if the SOUL got bored, or sick of nobody doing what it wanted, or… or hated one of us so much it left…”
An anxious look crossed Ralsei’s face.
“Well, our world would be… covered in crushing darkness. So, I try to… keep it happy. To not upset it. If I’m just good enough, then…”
Kris pushed their bangs aside, red eyes meeting Ralsei’s pink ones.
“…y’should be you.”
“K-kris?!” The monster shrunk from Kris’s gaze, pink showing even through their fur.
“Think… the soul’d like you.”
“I think it’d really like you too, Kris! If, um, it wasn’t…”
Controlling them. Making them acceptable.
“…nah. ‘m not like you or Susie. ‘m not… a hero.”
Ralsei took a deep breath, before leaning in to peer at Kris’s eyes. To read them like a book. What could he see that they couldn’t? Or was he finally seeing them as they were?
“Kris… you’re doing what you think is right, aren’t you?”
They startled, their eyes widening. Were they? No, it was more like… what they had to. What they owed.
“…”
“Kris, I know… you’re doing what you are because you care. Because you want to help people. So… don’t say you’re not a hero, okay? I’m not mad. And I don’t think Susie would… if she knew, then…”
“Trust in her, okay, Kris? After all… isn’t she really wonderful?”
Ralsei’s smile was pained. Like he couldn’t believe in his own absolution yet, either.
In response, all Kris could do was cough, and cough, as a warm hand found their back, just below their plate armor.
“Sorry, Kris… here I go, saying all this weird stuff, again… this is probably why you don’t like me much, huh?”
“…”
They didn’t respond. What was there to say that wouldn’t sound insincere? Kris didn’t hate Ralsei, not really. He was sweet to everyone. But when everyone included the SOUL, they wished he’d be a little less helpful.
Ralsei stood, extending a hand to Kris as they got on their feet. It must be time, then.
“Kris… your cough, have you…”
“Geronimo!”
With that warning, Susie arrived on the scene with a splat. Looked painful… for Ralsei, anyhow.
Alongside Susie returned the SOUL, perfectly on time. As it always was. Kris’s limbs felt heavy as its control returned, begging them to surrender. Everything would be easier if they just let it do what it wanted. After a brief struggle–just so it knew they weren’t giving up yet –they relaxed into the backseat of their own body. They hoped they’d never get used to it.
“Heh, miss me?”
Kris did miss her, obviously. She was their official best friend as of one day ago (they refused to reflect on how sad it was to make a best friend in a single day), and their crush as of… today. …These Dark Worlds had to do something strange to time. Or feelings. Or maybe a little bit of both.
“Of course not!! ...Just kidding! I missed you! That was sarcasm!! ” Ralsei yelled, enthusiastic, from under Susie.
“Man, we gotta work on your delivery.”
Susie leaped off of Ralsei’s back, giving him a chance to get up as they both resumed their place in line. Like this was kindergarten and they were headed to the cafeteria.
“Anyway, let’s go!” Susie waved Kris on.
Everything was back to normal, it seemed. So all Kris had to do was proceed. And yet, even as the SOUL moved their body for them, flashes of what it had seen crossed the back of their mind.
Susie rescuing Noelle, like something out of a fairytale. The two of them riding a heart-shaped ferris wheel while they shared their dreams with each other. Susie’s tail wagging (a major development they needed to confirm for themselves). And finally, Susie insisting that their ferris wheel ride… didn’t have to be a dream.
…Plus Berdly.
The cold wind at the castle’s peak left them shivering, goosebumps reappearing right on cue. If only they could ask for a jacket. Even if they could, though… it felt unfair. They’d taken enough from Noelle already. Her pencils, her study guides, her friendship, her perfect family, her childhood, her happiness, her sister, her sister–
Kris wheezed. They couldn’t take her love interest, too. And besides, if it was really written in the prophecy, it didn’t matter how hard they tried. Their feelings didn’t matter in the face of fate.
Kris coughed, and coughed, and coughed into their palm, enough to finally make the SOUL stop in its tracks, for the script the change, for the world to deviate ever so slightly–
“Kris, it’s okay, Kris, take my hand, let me heal you–”
Another wave of warmth soothed their body enough for the coughing fit to stop. Kris gasped for air, panting a few times before releasing Ralsei’s hand.
In their other cupped hand were three sticky golden petals. Flower petals. Another stuck between their back teeth. They were tiny petals, curled into themselves delicately as if they were part of many. What the…?
Ralsei was staring at Kris, eyes wide with panic. When the two finally made eye contact, Ralsei swatted Kris’s hand to their side, before turning towards Susie with a smile.
“I-I think they’re okay now, Susie! They just–”
“Dude, no. I wanna hear it from Kris. They’ve been acting off since we left that weird basement.”
It took everything in Kris’s power to stifle a cough while Susie made eye contact with them, drawing closer, closer…
“Kris… can you fight Queen like this? I know we don’t have much of a choice, but… I dunno, dude. You look pretty bad. And now that I’ve got my super cool healing spell, I could totally solo Queen if I tried hard enough.”
Much as Susie looked unsure, Kris didn’t doubt it. She was strong in a real way. She’d proven that much over and over again. But even so… all they could do for her was fight. To protect her with their own self as a shield.
I can do it, I can do it, I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine , they repeated in their head, praying the SOUL received the message.
“‘ll be okay,” was the too-eager response from their mouth.
“...Okay. If you promise. I trust you, Kris. But if it’s too much… you can leave it to Ralsei and me, okay? We’re gonna kick this computer’s ass.”
In response, Kris managed a genuine smile.
~~~
The battle against Queen felt like a blur. Literally, given that Susie threw them against Berdly’s control wires until they snapped. Figuratively, given that being picked up by Susie time and time again was definitely worsening their current condition. Physically and emotionally. Almost as if they were connected! Ha! How dumb of a condition would that be to develop now!
…They’d think about it later. Right now, as the battle ended, Kris was rapidly coming to terms with the reality that they would very easily entrust Susie with their life.
Somewhere in the back of their mind, they had already known this. Kris’s life wasn’t that precious a commodity anyway. Their role required risking it regularly. More dangerous was the fact they’d probably die for Susie.
The Chaos King’s words from yesterday echoed in their head.
Lancer, my son.
Y… yes, father?
Do you remember what I told you?
D… don’t… get too attached?
You have failed .
Kris had failed spectacularly. But they had a few days. Surely things couldn’t get worse in that time.
Out of the corner of their eye, they watched Berdly dramatically reach for the sky.
“(Only a kiss from a beautiful gamer girl can save me now…)”
Kris coughed. Another petal. Susie shot them a look.
“Dude, come on, we can only have one person dying at a time here. Anyways, what the hell were you saying, Berdly…?”
No, it could definitely get worse, they decided.
~~~
The Thrash Machine was built on the spot, so Kris didn’t expect much. But it smelled like the stale air that squeaked out of a rubber duck. And the cockpit was very, very tiny.
Ralsei had holed himself in a corner to read the user’s manual, leaving Susie leaning her entire weight over Kris’s shoulders to ‘punch harder’ with the controls.
They coughed, careful to cover their mouth. Outside of the SOUL’s view, Kris could say plenty of things. What came out of their mouth was a faint protest, instead.
“…you’re gonna get sick.”
“Yeah, and??? Day off of school??? Sounds awesome.” Susie punched Kris on the shoulder. Which wasn’t helping. The machine veered ever so slightly to the left.
“…’ts Saturday tomorrow.”
“Psh, I can totally hold it in until Monday.”
“…uh-huh.” Kris gave her a skeptical look while their hands handled the fight controls on their own. Possession was occasionally convenient.
“Susie, Kris, you shouldn’t get sick just to skip school!!!! School’s important!!!!” Ralsei scolded, lifting his face from the manual.
“Urgh, fine, Dr. Toothpaste,” Susie groaned. “I guess if we got sick we couldn’t come visit you either…”
“Exactly!! And—oh, nice one Kris!”
Queen’s own fighting machine had gone up in smoke while the three talked. Outside, muffled, Kris could hear something about detachable hands. They braced themselves for the impact. It only felt a little bit like dying when Queen squeezed them and their allies tighter and tighter.
“Or… Should I, With The Last 1% Of My Battery, Crush Susie into… 8 Bits?”
Everyone in this world sure paid more attention to Susie than anyone else. Not that Kris didn’t understand.
“Leave… Leave Susie ALONE!! You think listening to YOU makes me happy?! No! I’ll never be happy! Not if I’m controlled by you! Why can’t you understand that?!”
Kris glanced Noelle’s way. She’d grown. Maybe one day, she’d even say that to her mom’s face. She deserved it. Noelle’d spent enough of her life being pushed and dragged around.
It was no wonder she liked Susie. She was the same as Kris. She admired her freedom.
And yet, so different. While she forged her own path forward, threatening to bring forth a new Fountain until Ralsei stopped her and Berdly (who’d reappeared somehow), warning them of the Roaring. More things they already knew.
“Oh Damn I Did Not Know That”
And that Queen didn’t? The hell was the Knight even telling her?
“CAN YOU LET GO OF US NOW?!”
“Oh Yeah”
Thank god for Susie. Kris felt something like a deflated balloon as Queen let them down.
“S… Susie!!” Noelle smiled wide as Susie approached, arms behind her head.
“Hey, you stood up to Queen. Not half bad.”
“R… really?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Cough.
Susie glanced at Kris with concern.
“…just, guess you gotta wake up soon, huh?”
If only this was all a dream.
“H-huh? Then… I just hope… I get to have more dreams like this.”
Susie considered her words carefully.
“… Hey, Noelle, when you wake up, um… Well, I just wanted to say… uhh…”
Queen leaped up from the side of the path, covering up more of Kris’s coughs. Being alone in a room with these two lesbians was probably going to kill them.
“Well Then I Suppose It Is Time For You All To Exit”
Exit. A break would be nice by now. They could just head home, maybe rest up before it was time to create the next Dark World…
“Alright! Time to do what we came here for…” Susie stretched, popping her shoulder. Noelle was staring. Kris was trying their best not to do the same.
“Hey, Noelle. …If you see the real Susie, just… Just know that maybe, she’s… Look, she doesn’t have a tail, OK?!”
It was wagging.
“Hahaha, okay! I got it!!”
“…It’s not a secret!!”
Susie turned back to Kris, huffing.
“ Let’s just go, Kris!!!”
And pushed them straight towards the Fountain. Saved them the effort of using their own legs for maybe the tenth time today.
And finally, it was just the two of them, like yesterday. The pulsating rainbow darkness of the fountain illuminated Susie’s features softly in green, blue, purple, red.
“Kris…”
They let themselves stare back, this time. It was a beautiful scene. She was beautiful.
“It looks like we’re here again, huh…”
They’d come here over and over, if they could.
“The Roaring Knight… Whatever they are, they’re making these fountains…”
Whatever they were. They were so much more than Kris could ever describe. Kris wondered if Susie would’ve liked her, if they ever met. They were so alike.
“But… is that really a bad thing…? Since they started showing up, everything’s gotten a lot more interesting, hasn’t it…?”
Kris never would’ve gotten close to Susie without this plan, would they…? But then they’d never have to hurt her, either. …It would all be worth it.
“…Well, we don’t have to think about that now… Kris, it’s your turn.”
It was as if their very SOUL was glowing. It resonated with the Fountain, stilling its rainbow light into pure darkness, and then…
A flash of light brought the darkness to a close, leaving nothing but the computer room.