The walk back to the hospital was steeped in silence.
As the familiar structure came into view at the end of the street, they saw the exterior lights had been activated. The building almost seemed to glow, a product of persistent maintenance and a spotless exterior. From a distance, it looked warm, inviting even.
The three dreaded their return.
"We still need to tell them, you know."
Susie broke the ice. Ralsei could only make himself nod, and behind his scarf, his voice emerged muffled: "I know... I was hoping we'd have Kris' SOUL with us by now. But I guess we can't put it off anymore."
A small frown rippled across Susie's lips. From the corner of her eye, she stole a glance at Lancer, and he returned the gesture in kind; she could sense a nearly identical dispirit to her own, but she did her best not to make it too obvious. He wasn't as skilled at hiding his feelings.
"What are we even gonna do now?" Lancer said. "Where should we look next?"
"Right now, I'm not sure. But I think I know how to find out."
Ralsei's answer earned a raised eyebrow from Susie. "How?" she asked.
"We'll just have to retrace some steps, find out all the places Kris likes to go. They probably lost it somewhere familiar to them, maybe Asriel can help us."
"Yeah... yeah, maybe." It wasn't a flawless plan, but Susie recognized it was better than nothing. With a bit of a rejuvenation in her steps, she led the way to the hospital door and opened for the others. When Ralsei and Lancer had filed through, she joined them in the lobby.
What she saw next caused her to stop dead in her tracks.
Asriel and Ms. Toriel had disappeared. Occupying their former place on the couch was another goat monster, but one they had yet to meet: he wore a pink floral shirt and purple sweatpants. A tuft of golden hair ran a ring from the sides his face to his scalp, and the horns were impossible to miss.
The pieces immediately came together. This was Kris' father, whom Asriel had mentioned earlier. She still didn't know his name.
He had been sitting quietly, hands folded in his lap and eyes planted to the ground, when they walked in. But sensing the group's lingering presence, he looked up and smiled. Susie could tell he had great difficulty in doing so.
"Howdy."
His voice came as a mumble, hardly above a whisper. Susie coughed.
"Uh... hi."
Asgore's gaze returned to its former position. Susie exchanged a glance with Ralsei, and he carried a perplexed countenance. He learned closer to her, giving him the chance to lower his voice. "Um, Susie, who's this?"
"I think it's-"
Before she could finish, the doors at the opposite end of the lobby opened. The one in question came to his feet.
Asriel and Ms. Toriel emerged from the open doorframe. In the latter's case, her posture showed a fair amount of slouching, the tired eyes of earlier just as present as ever: a seemingly permanent frown remained embedded as her expression. She gently wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Asriel fared little better.
With a candid step forward, Asriel approached the couch. With no words said, his father opened his arms, and he stepped into his embrace. He tightly clutched the fabric of his shirt.
"Dad..."
"It'll be alright, Asriel. I promise."
Susie quietly watched the scene before her. With each breath they took, every pat of the back, every shiver Asriel couldn't contain, she felt a needle pierce her heart. As hard as this was for she and her friends, she couldn't imagine how Kris' family felt.
The lobby remained under a spell of silence for just a few moments longer. But then, with a clearing of her throat, Ms. Toriel spoke in a monotone voice:
"Asgore."
Susie made a mental note. So that's his name...
At last, Asriel shifted away from the hug. He made a step to the side, and then he caught sight of the group of three. He managed a faint smile, but it fell from his lips almost as soon as it had arrived.
With a full range of motion, Asgore sheepishly stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yes?"
"When did you get here?"
"Um, about ten minutes ago. I was told by the station there probably wouldn't be anything new tonight."
Ms. Toriel sighed. "I understand. Are you going in again?"
"Soon," Asgore said. Sadness dripped from his voice, face to match. "I wanted to make sure you two were okay first."
Ms. Toriel said nothing. To Susie's surprise, she instead turned her attention to the three. She felt a rush to return to herself, as if she'd been a fly on the wall the whole time.
"Will you three need rides home? I imagine your parents are starting to worry."
Susie blinked. Yet again, she needed to come in the clutch with an excuse, but this one mercifully proved easier: "I think we'll be alright. We all live in town."
She nodded. "In that case, I think I'm going to stay a little longer." Shifting her head to Asriel, she then said: "Asriel, will you be going home?"
"Yeah... I think I'm ready to-"
"Wait!"
Every pair of eyes darted to the source of the outburst. Ralsei immediately bit his lower lip, his knees suddenly on unstable ground. He felt a sudden, nearly irresistible pressure to curl in a ball, to wither under the gazes of so many.
But he knew there was a job to do. He steadied his emotions with a long pause, a chance to breathe in, breathe out.
"... Asriel, don't go yet. I need to tell you all something."
Tilted heads and furrowed brows followed. But he had firmly captured the attention of everyone in the room, and they all settled where they were.
Ralsei had prepared for this moment. Summoning all the courage he could muster in his voice, he said:
"Ms. Toriel, what have the doctors told you about Kris' condition?"
She was caught entirely off-guard by this question. She allowed herself time to collect everything she could remember, but there wasn't much to be done. "Um, not much... they're not sure why they're unresponsive yet. After a few more tests, they'll know more."
Ralsei had nothing to add with speech. Rather, he reached his arm forward, and pointed his palm to the ceiling. The same spell he'd cast at the doors, the crimson red orb, transfixed above his hand for all to see.
Asriel nearly choked on his own words.
"Is-is that... you know healing magic?!"
Susie raised an eyebrow. "So? What's so special?"
"What's so special? It takes years to master," Asriel said. "There aren't many that can control magic anymore, and even fewer can use it for recovery. My school had to drop their magic program. Where did you learn it?"
Ralsei tugged at his scarf. "I, um, think it'd be better to save that for later."
Asriel shrugged. He admired the spell for a moment longer, and Ralsei felt himself a touch flattered at his amazement; at the same time, he recognized what he had to do next, and so he dissipated the spell.
"What do you know about SOULs? Human SOULs, in particular?"
The question was addressed to no one in particular. But with interest generated from the prior demonstration, Asriel took the initiative. "Um, a few things? I've done some research before, but I'm kinda rusty. Why?"
Ralsei dipped his head, and he lowered his face into his scarf. He could already tell making eye contact would prove to be a mistake.
"A SOUL is, in a sense, what makes a person a person. It's a physical manifestation of themselves, everything they are. But a SOUL isn't invincible, it can be attacked, or damaged, or even worse..."
A long, tense silence enveloped the room. Ralsei could feel his nervousness rise, but he had to press on.
"... I tried to use my magic on Kris today, to check for what's wrong. I can only heal damage to SOULs, but I wanted to see if they were hurt."
His voice proved fleeting in the final portion of his speech. Ms. Toriel, hand to mouth, watched him with rapt attention, and Asriel and Asgore maintained similar anticipation. He felt his gut twist in a knot, his chest rising and falling with shallow breath. Fear stayed his voice.
"Please tell me what happened."
It was Asriel that spoke. Ralsei's eyes, against his own volition, made contact with Asriel's, and in that moment he gripped the hem of his sweater.
"I-I couldn't do anything because they don't have their SOUL with them." His breathing quickened, panic rising in his voice. "That's why they're unconscious... that's why they can't wake up, that's why the doctors don't know anything, their SOUL is missing!"
The words erupted from his mouth like a geyser. Deep within himself, he knew he was right to tell the truth.
With every fiber of his being, he also wished could take it back.
The news exploded like a bombshell to Kris' family. He felt himself aghast at the scene: confusion, terror, disbelief, everything merged in a concoction he had created. Panic and worry swept across their faces, with desperate side conversations sprouting. He exhaled. He couldn't, no, wouldn't leave things like this. But Asriel beat him to the punch:
"Missing? What do you mean missing?"
He made no effort to hide the brunt of his confusion. In no uncertain terms, Susie came rushing in for clarity.
"Guys, it's as simple as this: Kris' SOUL is missing from their body. Not gone forever, but missing. Somehow it was separated from them, and we have to find it and bring it back. That's how they wake up, and that's how we fix this damn mess."
Ralsei stared at his friend with wide eyes, mouth agape. Her words burst through like a battering ram. But it was exactly what needed to be said, and he chose to withhold his own remarks, panicked and jumbled as they would've been.
Asriel, try as he might, couldn't hide his state of shock from his eyes. But he managed to collect himself a bit, and calm down to find his voice. "But... but how? What can we do? Where do we even start?!"
"We already have. We went to the doors in the forest, where Kris were found this morning," Susie said. "Wasn't there. Do you guys know where else Kris likes to hang out? We need to check other places."
Perhaps instinctively, Susie's eyes redirected to Ms. Toriel. Her countenance mirrored that of her son, but her hand was brought to her chin, and her posture spoke to her as deep in thought. "There's a few places, off the top of my head. School, home, the lake, the diner... the flower shop." She shot Asgore a glare at the mention of the shop, but she dropped it quickly: it wasn't the time, nor the place. Regardless, Asriel nodded in full agreement of the list.
"We would always go to those places after school. Those are probably the best bets."
"We'll need to look in all of them, then," Susie said. "I don't care it's a blind goose chase, that's all we can do right now. Can we meet back here in an hour?"
More nods spread across the room. Susie turned to march out the hospital doors, Lancer fast on her heels, and with a bit of spring in their steps they were gone. Ralsei watched them leave, then turned to those remaining in the room.
"... If you find their SOUL, please don't touch it. I might need to use my magic on it."
With that, Ralsei ran out the doors to rejoin his companions. Asriel turned to his father.
"Dad, has Kris come to see you at the shop recently?"
"They came a few days ago, but they didn't stay long," Asgore said. "I'll check the lake, too."
Shifting his gaze to his mother, Asriel prepared himself to speak, but a firmly raised hand on her behalf ushered silence. She carried a new air of confidence, one he found a welcome contrast to just hours before.
"I will go to the school. If I find it, I will let you all know by text."
Asriel nodded. Like Susie moments before, he went to the doors with vigor. It was only with one foot out, however, that a sobering thought crossed his mind, and he turned over his shoulder to speak it aloud.
"Crap... we never got their numbers."
"Hey, Susie?"
From the corner of her eye, Susie's gaze trickled to the form of Lancer, who kept pace with her as she walked. "Yeah?"
"Are we actually gonna find it here?"
Lancer's question was blunt, almost comically so. But she knew it carried a fair point, and she had a few thoughts on the matter:
"No, probably not. We need to look to be sure, but why the hell would they lose their SOUL at a diner?"
"I don't know, maybe they got food poisoning. Or a fight. Anything, really."
At this, Ralsei couldn't resist interjecting. "Lancer, in our entire adventure to the Eastern Fountain, Kris never used an attack. Why would they now?"
"Well, who said they started it? Maybe they got suckered in, after-"
"We're here."
Quietly, Susie was very grateful the diner was reasonably close to the hospital. Eager to bring the conversation to a halt, and to step out of the chilly night air, she pushed the doors open and stepped inside. Ralsei and Lancer followed her closely.
To her mild surprise (and heavy annoyance), the diner was almost entirely full. A plethora of laughter and conversation bounced from the walls, with families and friends alike congregated at tables and the counter; a single booth remained open in the corner. The awkwardness of walking around and looking for a little red heart was not lost upon her.
"Hi, and welcome to QC's Diner! If you'll follow me, we'll get you seated right away."
The introduction from the server startled Susie from her thoughts. By the time she opened her mouth to refute (though she had no clue what to say), Lancer was halfway to the table. She stared blankly, and she could sense a similar reaction from Ralsei.
He waved for the two to join him. Now she stepped into the dining area and approached the table.
"Dude, what are you doing?"
"I haven't eaten for hours, and we didn't even get to have the cakes this afternoon! Come on, let's get a quick bite."
"Man, we're just here for a few minutes. I don't think we have time-"
Susie found herself interrupted by a distinct growl of her stomach. Behind her curtain of hair, a faint blush settled in.
"... Fine. But you're paying."
Susie slid into the booth's bench opposite Lancer, and Ralsei took a seat next to her. With a big, tongue-out grin, Lancer reached for his drawstring bag and pried it open. He pulled out a fistful of silver and gold coins.
"They accept these in the Light World, right?"
"Uh... yeah, sure."
Lancer's hand returned to the bag and put the coins back in place. Susie straightened her posture within the booth, and she craned her neck to look behind her; her eyes danced around the corners of the room. Occasionally people rose from their seats, and footsteps cascaded through the aisles on a regular basis. "Y'know, I really hope Kris didn't lose it here," she said as she slid back into place.
"Huh? Why?" Lancer said.
"It's cramped. Someone would've found it already." She pressed her hands flat to the table. "But just to be sure, I'm gonna take a quick walk around."
"It's not here."
It was Ralsei that spoke, his first utterance since they'd entered the diner. Susie gave him a quizzical look, and he responded by lifting his hand. A tint of red lingered in his palm, and she knew he'd used the tracking spell. "I kept my hands in my pockets, so we didn't draw attention. Kris' SOUL isn't near the building."
Susie had expected the outcome from the beginning, but contrary to her earlier remarks, she couldn't help but feel a flicker of disappointment. "Damn... did you see anything else?"
Ralsei shifted his scarf. "It's the same as it was at the doors. I can tell they've been here in the past few days, but the SOUL is somewhere else."
"Kris has been here, too?" Susie scratched the top of her head. "Can you, like, put a date on it?"
"Um, maybe three or four days?" Ralsei replied. "Why?"
Susie crossed her arms, and leaned back into the booth. "It's strange. I don't know what happened before they were hospitalized, but where'd they find the time to go everywhere in town? Why did they?"
"Who knows?" Lancer said with a shrug. He'd been looking over the menu, but with his entrance to the conversation he set it flat on the table. "It just makes more places for us to look, right?"
"I guess. It's just..." She interrupted herself with a sigh. "Something doesn't feel right. I don't know how to explain it."
"You all ready to order?"
The server from earlier had returned, towering over the three at the table. She never heard them approach. She hadn't even bothered to look at the menu.
"... I'll need a couple minutes."
With house key in hand, Asriel turned the lock. With his thumb on the lever, he pushed down, and opened the door to step inside his home. Muscle memory guided every step, steps he'd done two million times before in his life.
This one time was a little different.
Inside the house, it was impossible to see. Again summoning his memory for guidance, he reached for the light switch on the nearby wall: with a flick of his finger, the room flooded with light. Still standing in the open doorframe, he couldn't help but take inventory.
The kitchen was immaculate, as he expected. The living room bore similar care and attention to detail, with Chairiel particularly spotless, but well-used all the same. The sight brought a smile to his face. Memories rolled in, of all the fun and laughter he and Kris shared in this room. With their years growing up together, he had a million and one memories he could look back on.
The smile wasn't long for him. This horrible day wasn't over.
Asriel closed the door behind him. With no further attention spared, he walked through the ground level of his home, and climbed the stairs two at a time. When he reached the top, the bedroom door was within eyesight.
Okay...
Asriel came to the door. He turned the doorknob and let himself inside.
Like the living room downstairs, their shared bedroom was dark. Only light streaming from the hallway gave form to the objects inside, and using this, he looked around.
His side of the room remained untouched. His old computer monitor sat on his desk, a thin coat of dust covering the surface. All his trophies and awards stocked the shelves above his bed, and his collection of CDs and video games in boxes below.
Kris' side was as empty as when he left. Empty, except for one oddity he could never explain why they kept: an old red wagon from years and years ago, with a rusty birdcage stuck to the top. If he so much as looked at it the wrong way, it was bound to fall apart.
But Asriel couldn't look. He could hardly breathe. The red glow emanating from within the cage made the room heavy, and his lungs and throat felt like they filled with hot lead.
It was unbearable.
Asriel ran out the room. In the hallway, he collapsed to the floor, but with a desperate lunge he reached for the doorknob and yanked it shut. He sat back pressed firmly to the wall, panting deeply. Sweat accumulated in his fur, and he held his hand to his heart: a rapid, throbbing heart rate sent his senses into overdrive.
Minutes passed. In time, his breathing slowed, and his wide eyes and frantic body language calmed. What he could perhaps describe as a normal expression returned to his face. He took stock of himself, and his nerves. He breathed a deep sigh of relief, cherishing the coolness of the air around him.
Then his eyes darted to the door.
Slowly, Asriel came to his feet. His hand returned to the knob. With perhaps a quarter of the force of the first time, he opened it a crack, and no more. His line of sight pointed directly to Kris' corner of the room.
The wagon and birdcage remained, still as ever. And behind those rusted bars, pulsing sporadically with a deep red glow, was a very small heart. Even from this distance, he was able to judge he could fit it in his palm.
Asriel reached into his pocket. His phone in hand, he opened his texts and prepared to send word.
