Chapter Text
Kris is... Not doing so hot. Susie was completely kicking their ass! Ever since she'd gotten the JusticeAxe she was near unstoppable. Each swing was like a tidal wave of force, pushing them into the ground with enough weight to crack it. Not to mention that Red was the one fighting, most of the time. Rusty.
The swing that came just now sent them careening to the side, barely catching themselves with the ropes around the arena. They were sprinting back towards Susie moments later. The pain was nothing compared to the ego that could be gained from winning.
"Kris. Let me out, please?"
They paid no heed to Red. This was their fight. They just needed a couple of redos, and they'd be on their merry wa-
"Really not in the mood to be rewinding. Let me out, Kris. You're gonna lose. You need me, Kris. Accept me. Let me lead. Please." Their tone was pleading, desperation mounting.
No, they aren't! They think they are doing quite well, actually! Their swings were getting closer to reaching her. Then came the leg sweep mid slash, sending them careening to the floor.
"You're going to lose, and you're going to whine about it, and I don't want to hear it. Let me out." The polite request fell away, replaced by a commanding cadence.
NO! Just let them fight! Another swing comes from above them, to which they roll and stand. It was closely followed by a Rude Buster. The knockback sent them to the edge of the ring, knocking the wind out of them. They stood, and were about to get back into their stance when
"A small misunderstanding, Partner. I didn't ask, that time. You are not the one in control, Cage." The last word was spat with venom.
The strings tightened. Their sword dissipated, returning to the aether. They swung their arm out to the side, and against their will,
PLUNGED
INTO
THEIR
CHEST.
Post Extraction clarity hit incredibly quickly. Wuh oh. Kris would be cross. ... Okay, but seriously. They didn't mean to say all that. Really, they didn't. Don't even know where half of it came from. Red just really didn't like seeing Kris get hurt. Even in sparring. A pain to their core that went beyond an HP loss. They were a bit rough with the exit, sure, and they'd apologize, but they just couldn't bear it.
It... Felt like letting a baby stick a fork into an outlet. Yeah, that was it. Kris was their charge. That was it. It was.
The Vessel formed, and it seemed to be stable. More so than usual. Their time in the dark world during meeting Ralsei had shown a similar effect on it. Might be a quality of the body? They looked down at themselves. Their armor was... Not armor at all. Just their sweater, but with the threads constantly shifting. Never settling on a pattern. They had some protection, at least, if their stats had anything to say about it. They did not, however, have a weapon.
They... Didn't exactly have anything in their pockets to mold into a weapon. They felt like there should be something in the front pocket, but nothing was contained within.
Kris had the courtesy to huck a weapon at Red from their downed position, upon seeing their failure to summon one. A shard made of sheer blackness that you see when you look down from the cliffs. The Black Shard. An odd item, usually shown as a dagger. Kris is proficient with it, and the others are unable to even equip it. A quirk of design, it seems.
However, if you have enough WILL... You can impose it on the blade, forcing it into the shape of the weapon that fits you the most. They flashed a smile at Kris before turning to their opponent of the day.
"Heya, Susie. I'll be stepping in for your buddy over there. Couldn't keep up with you anymore, could they? I'll see what I can do. But for now..."
The shard glimmered, going from a kitchen knife, extending into a sword, then fattening into a bat. They threw it up and down a couple times, catching it to test the weight. Susie and Kris' gaze sharpened. Even the way they held it was identical. Left handed, with the right clear.
Gah, a stupid train of thought. The Knight isn't Red. They were literally inside Kris when they fought. Susie wasn't so stupid that she wouldn't remember that.
Kris's face was unreadable.
"That'll do nicely! As I was saying. For now, you have me. It'll be fine, right? 'Violent Ax Susie' won't die from a couple hits?" A snicker from the other end of the arena. Red was screwing around. "No, certainly you're not that weak."
Susie's eyes steeled at the taunt. This was supposed to be a stompfest, not a tag battle. "You done stroking your ego, asshole? Come AT me!" With a roar, she began. A swing of the axe with enough strength to shatter part of the floor in a radius next to them. They managed a sidestep, but not by much. They were caught off guard. Rusty. They kicked back, creating distance. Susie rushed forwards to catch them, but they bounced off of the ropes into an X-Slash.
The twin cuts strained against her swing, struggling for dominance for just a moment. She was flung backwards a bit, but used the axe to catch the ground, slowing the velocity. She dashed again, axe already in a position to swing perfectly and! Where did they go. A slash from her right, blocked just in time. Rat... She swung her free fist and found purchase. They let out a strangled, breathless yelp, the punch hitting their throat. Outside of a dark world, it surely would have crushed their windpipe.
They couldn't breathe. Choking. Their mouth hurt. Their stomach hurt. Everything hurt. They couldn't breathe. What a comfortable be-
Taking advantage of their distracted state, Susie ran up. An underhand swing of her axe, starting a melee. They came to at the last second, managing a graze. The axe harmlessly scratched the sleeve of the sweater as they moved. The shard shortened rapidly, now closer to the knife. They went for a revenge, this time actually connecting. It left a shallow gash running from left hip to right shoulder, not knocking her back. The slash was traced by a line of red and black overlaid, which sizzled as it cauterized the wound.
She threw a punch in return, staggering Red with a gut check. She then slammed back of the axe directly into their side. They managed to orient themselves for a handspring and just barely stick the landing. She had long since gapclosed. They kicked her in the stomach, and it felt like picking a fight with a telephone pole. They jolted back, hopping a few times to check that it wasn't broken. What the hell was her defense stat?!
She swung horizontally again, like cutting down a tree. It left a clean line across their stomach, but it stitched back up shortly after, the dark aiding its ilk. They both had a defensive maneuver, then. She was too close for a sword swing, so they kept the knife. It hit her shoulder, hilting the shard in it, but she stayed standing. They hurriedly removed it, preparing for another swing, before she raised the axe.
An attack that felt like it was coming from every direction at once.
It was suffocating.
It would crush them if it landed, there was no avoiding it.
They tensed up like a deer caught in headlights.
The only outcome was death from an attack like this.
It felt like an embrace. An old friend. A spike through the chest.
... Only for the attack to never come. Susie was standing there with the most shit eating grin on her face. "You talk big for someone who falls for tricks they've already seen." The axe is still raised. She let it fall, the swing screaming like a guillotine. Bad decision to swing straight. Red flicked the knife to the side, extending it into a sword just in time. The flat of their blade redirected her weapon into the floor. With her axe stuck in the floor for a moment, they changed it again. The sword ballooned into a bat, still glimmering with the void contained inside. They twirl it and hit her straight in the gut with as much force as they could put into it.
Her spine should have nearly cracked clean in half with the weight, the bat slamming into her stomach with enough force behind it to send her flying across the room. She bounced off of the small bands outside of the arena, hitting the floor with a thud.
She stood seconds later, grumbling. Were they really so weak that Susie could just shrug that off?! Cheezus!
They were being affected by Noelle more than they thought, huh? Cheezus? Really? They had to hang with her less. Nah, no way. Dialect changes aside, their time with her was fun. She was... Cool. They didn't know how to put it into words. Might as well embrace it, huh?
Susie's internal monologue was significantly less pleasant. That was enough. That fucking HURT! Completely and utterly enraged at her inability to land a hit on the speedy sonovabitch while they got to dish out hits like THAT... Susie concentrated her rage into one point. Every grievance she's ever felt lit up her body like a firework.
Her SOUL shined with a self-made light.
Rude Breaker.
Red's eyes widened as the mass of energy approached. Seriously?! A Rude mastery tier-up mid battle is absurd! Was she the main character?! The prophecy wasn't just hyperbole, huh. Girl with hope crossed on her heart, white pen of hope, yadda yadda... Ugh. Maybe... Susie was able to swing at a rude buster with her axe to parry it... A bat would work better with projectiles, yeah? Even a tiered up version would get parried, right? Surely? A swing placed just right and...
"Mr. Boom, you old fart! Don't fail me now!"
The slash that she put everything into was so simply swatted back at her. A sword that could change forms? Being able to parry projectiles?? All while being that fast??? Dude, this was unfair! Were they the main character?! Gah, whatever, make sure it doesn't hit.
The pair played a twisted game of tennis with the projectile, knowing whoever got hit by it was going to be far more than out. If she just managed to hit them with it, the battle would be over. That's it! If she just put everything into this swing. She's just got to accelerate it enough to make them unable to bat it back. C'mon. Her SOUL, already shining, flashed just once before dimming back to its normal luster.
The swing blasts the projectile at them with enough force behind it to destroy a hole from here to the cliffs of castle town if it lands, let alone the arena.
Oh crap. That is... Not good is an understatement. What can you do, what can you... Come on.
You have to stop this attack.
Kris is behind you. If you mess it up like you always do, they die. You can't lose a si- a be- ... You can't lose them. You can't. You WON'T.
The concentration of a need to do something, to accomplish a goal you have. DETERMINATION.
The world around you dissipates as you close your eyes. A massive ball of energy is rushing towards you. It's just a ball. Just you and the ball. Only you and the ball. You just have to focus on the ball. Get a clean hit, knock it out of the park. You just have to persevere.
There was never a park. You didn't have a baseball field in the town, so you just played in a clearing. There was only a few of you, but you made it memorable. The rules were a suggestion. The teams were unbalanced. There were only a couple of you, after all. Nothing but a halfway game of baseball. It was such fun.
What? You didn't live near a clearing?
Oh.
You swing.
It's out of the park.
Red watched in awe as the massive hunk of energy soared off into the mock sky. Oh, was the roof gone? Hahaha! When did that happen? Earlier? Now? No time for celebration, as Susie had recovered while they were watching it fly off into the distance. Another raise of her axe, both hands as she cut vertical. Red barely had enough time to ready the sword form again, swinging up to catch it.
The clash between their weapons was heard around the entirety of castle town. The grinding of the axe, versus the insistent screeching of the Shard. The exertion caused both of them to groan, but neither stopped. Eventually they reached the breakpoint. Not of strength, but of equipment.
The shard's form broke under the stress, the projected darkness having already been damaged by the projectile. It reformed immediately after, but that moment of dissipation allowed Susie's axe to hit the ground with enough force to blast part of the dojo away. The shockwave snapped the bands around the arena, sending both parties flying. The swatchlings were going to have a hell of a time cleaning.
The walls crumbled slightly more as Susie extricated herself from them. Her base HP was higher than theirs by a decent chunk, but even she was worn out! What a fight! Red was... There was no movement from the other side. Why weren't they standing?
Susie dissipated the axe and sprinted over to them. Shit, did they get hurt, like, really bad? Her healing was getting pretty good, but Ralsei said that if someone was really hurt that she shouldn't heal them, just come get him and she didn't know what to do and what if they were like dead oh god what if she killed Red and what if her friends hated her for it and what if they couldn't seal a fountain and what if
*Cough, COUGH*
"Cheezus. Haven't been hit like that since..."
A█go█e D█ee█u█r... wi█l bec█m█ █ g█d.
"Susie, can I get some heals? I'm okay but uh... Not by much. The vessel takes healing magic way better than a regular human, no need to worry about Ralsei comin' here." She hurriedly began, mending the wounds that the darkness itself did not tend to.
Kris watched from the sides. A clash between titans. They don't want to admit that they probably couldn't have kept up. They checked their HP and realized that it was. ... Completely fine? Usually when Red got hurt, they did too. A bond between Cage and Caged. They'd have to test that. Was it a range thing? Were they just separating?
Separating.
Would Red still need them? Would they stick around if they didn't?
No way. Red was going to leave. They'd never stick around.
Kris shook their head. What the hell? Dumb, stupid thoughts. Non-applicable and completely pointless.
They weren't attached to a pawn.
The Prophecy said Red was going to disappear, regardless. And they were glad. No more parasite, no more backseater.
They were.
They were, because in their place, would be her. And everything would be right again. It had to be.
Because all of this had to be worth it. The universe couldn't just take, and take, and take, and...
Spamton G. Spamton, Cyber City's best Salesman. Now living in a Goddamn Garbage Can.
"Thanks, Susie! Haven't fought that hard since the Knight. That took forever- Oh, shit." A sharp turn towards Kris, worry in their eyes. "Yo, Partner! It's probably late, we should head back!!! Your mom'll kill you if you stay out past curfew! Come grab me, yeah?"
Kris could cross that bridge when it came. Not a moment sooner. For now, scolding Red for being a prick.
"I told you I could handle it! What the hell was that?! Creepy ass speech and all! At least warn me, asshole!" A pointed glare, one that could melt through stone with just the intensity. They had promised not to take control unless it was necessary. ... Wait, no, they said that fights were okay.
The other took it in stride, firing back a rebuttal. "Well EXCHEEEEESE me, princet! I saved you!! TWICE! Did you see that Breaker? She used a Breaker! She tiered-up her Rude Mastery mid fight! Your ass was grass if I didn't step in, and even if you take most of the damage, you getting hit still hurts me! Devil's in the details, if you didn't notice! I was allowed!"
Susie reveled in the praise. "Heh, that was nothin' specia-" Kris cut her off with a huff, turning away from Red. "I could have handled it." Red rolled their eyes. "Fine, be that way. You still gotta get home, Kris." They extended their arm, politely asking to be helped up. When no help came, they sighed, offering a compromise. "Howsabout this. I'll make you something sweet sometime soon, okay? Now help me up."
That got them a response. Kris grumbled about it, but still helped them up. They said their goodbyes before settling into their slot in Kris' chest.