Deltarune: An Innocent Wish
Chapter 4: Vs Susie
Noelle, Ralsei, and Kris travel east and pass through a busted down giant golden door.
"This is terrible…" Noelle states. Ralsei responds with a sad face.
"When the original two Lightners- your friends, came here, I tried to prevent them from leaving because, instead of following the prophesy or even ignoring it, the one with the red soul actively went against my wishes and made a promise to unleash the full potential of the dark fountain." Ralsei explains, causing Kris to look over.
"W-Wait, did you say… red soul?"
"Yes, Ves I think he said his name was, using powers I can't even fully explain, he broke the great door in a fell swoop, and the girl with him followed him in… since then I waited here for the true heroes to arrive, but before you could get here, the foreign kingdom invaded through the door. I'm glad you guys saved me, though." Ralsei explains further. Kris stands still as the other two walk onwards. Noelle looks back.
"Kris?"
"It… can't be…" He says to himself. He looks over at Noelle, and before she can ask again he runs up to her.
"Sorry, let's go."
They pass into a field and the smell of candy hits their noses. Noelle closes her eyes and her small nose twitches. However, she's not amused.
"There's lots of… enemies here." She says, once more failing to identify what it is they're facing.
"Noelle, they and I are called Darkners. We were created a long time ago in the image of the original Lightners, which is what you are. The prophesy foretold that a human and a monster would appear with a Prince from the Dark, and together we would seal the second fountain and restore the balance." He says as they move on, the grass crunching beneath their boots.
"And you said that Ves and Susie went against this?" Noelle asks. Ralsei nods and frowns.
"Yes, Ves especially. Susie was happy to just ignore me and travel ahead, but Ves had other plans entirely, as if he already knew the nature of the fountain, and for some reason- though it benefits none, himself least of all, he would travel east and form an alliance with the King and drown the Lightner world in darkness!" Ralsei groans. Kris looks over.
"That's what happened to the school, then! Our world is being flooded by the dark!"
"Your world is already being changed…?" Ralsei asks. Noelle nods.
"Yeah. I guess we better hurry up." She explains. They both agree, and they march forward. The soldiers upon the road see them and scamper for cover, apparently wanting to avoid a fight. The soldiers from last time must have warned them all of how strong they are.
Before long, they pass by a cave with a lantern burning in the opening. They walk inside to be greeted by its owner, a cat man with a button eye.
"Ah, welcome… my name is Seam, pronounced shawm. Welcome to my little seap." (Pronounced shop) He says. They look around and decide to instead ask him some questions. Kris steps forward.
"Hey, Seam. Have you seen any other Lightners pass by several hours ago?"
"Ah, you mean the heralds of darkness… yes, I saw them." Seam smiles wickedly, but Noelle responds.
"What do you mean?"
"The girl was normal enough, but the boy… there was an intense darkness inside of him, masked by a radiating light. It's as if he was a child of the cosmos, destined to bring light to the darkness… and darkness to the light." He laughs, beckoning curiosity from even Ralsei.
"Wait, I'm prince Ralsei, of the Delta Rune kingdom to the west… I've never heard anything about a herald of darkness."
"Ah, young prince… the herald was a wish the King made on a passing star, wishing for a way to maintain his kingdom, and protect the well. A wish of revenge against the Lightners. While many of us were content to fulfill our purpose, it was a great surprise that his wish came true… in the form of the herald, Ves." Seam explains in finality. Kris gulps. There's no denying what Ves is.
Yesterday, before he went to sleep, Kris made a wish upon that very same star… he wished for a friend, he wished for someone who understood and wanted the best for him. But this seems so wrong, this can't be the same person he made a wish for.
Satisfied with their answers, the group leaves the shop, but are followed by one final message from Seam.
"Don't fear the dark, Lightners, it's not so bad."
They move further along the path, finding themselves on a checkerboard patterned hallway of sorts, only to, at all of their surprise, be met by someone at the end of the long hall. At first, none of them can make out who it is, but they walk closer and Kris and Noelle can make it out as Susie.
"Susie! There you are, we were looking for you!" She says, dropping her guard and walking over to Susie. Noelle, however, slows down and eventually stops approaching her. Susie is staring at her with… extreme intensity.
"S-Susie?" Noelle asks. Susie merely shakes her head.
"What are you guys doing here?" Susie asks. Standing a good few inches above Noelle and over a foot above Kris and Ralsei, she's truly imposing. Kris steps forward to give Noelle support.
"The school is being eaten by the darkness, Susie. We have to seal the fountain." Kris explains.
"HA HA HA!" Susie covers her face and bellows in sheer sarcastic glee. She looks back over to them with a smile that quickly vanishes. She steps forward with a stomp, causing them to flinch backwards. She smirks again and shakes her head.
"You two have no idea what you're up against. Back in school, back with my so-called friends, I was aimless, nothing. Here? I have a purpose, I have respect, I have POWER… and two friends I can rely on. Ves, and Lancer. I don't need you. I don't need ANY of you! Let our world be destroyed, I don't give a damn!" She roars, drawing a glowing purple magic axe!
"Susie, you don't mean that!" Noelle lets out, but Susie only shakes her head and smiles.
"I've never been more serious in my life, Lancer GETS me, Ves NEEDS me, I have more purpose here than anywhere, once I kill you guys, then the king will give me a dukedom. What's a dukedom? Hell if I know, but all I know is I like it here and I'm never leaving!" Susie says, her axe glowing. Noelle, Kris, and Ralsei look to each other. Unsure, but realizing they have no choice.
Seeing them gird themselves, Susie licks her teeth.
Susie draws first blood, launching a barrage of magical axes at them! Kris materializes his shield, but the axe hits him and blows him back! He's not hurt, but he slides along the checkerboard below! Noelle knocks a few arrows, but Susie's Rude Buster blows them all up in mid-air causing shrapnel to rain down! Noelle covers her eyes but Susie closes the distance extremely fast and punches her in the stomach, causing her to lose her breath and be knocked back, tumbling into Kris who catches her but only barely manages to keep standing!
Ralsei runs up to Susie.
"Susie, I can feel, deep… deep down, you don't want to do this!" Ralsei begs, but Susie shakes her head.
"You're wrong. I've never wanted anything more in my life!" She roars, cutting down with her axe! Ralsei protects himself with his magical scarf, but the blunt trauma still causes him to tumble backwards!
"You're all so weak and pathetic! What do ANY of you know about being alone?! I've gone my entire life as an outcast, and now I finally belong! I won't let you TAKE THIS FROM ME!" She roars, sliding her axe along the ground, summoning a Rude Buster! All 3 of them jump to their feet and block it at the same time, splitting the brunt of the attack among 3 surfaces, but it still singes Noelle's fur and cuts Kris's skin. They wince and shake their head.
Ralsei summons a gentle breeze of magic to heal their wounds before Kris charges at Susie. Susie, in no mood for simple posturing, dematerializes her axe and brandishes her reptilian claws and opens her wide maw and engages him as a predator! He slashes at her with his sword and she dodges deftly as she bites down! Kris barely dodges that attack before rolling between her legs and utilizing her flank to bash her back with his shield! She falls to her knee, but quickly spins around with her leg, tripping Kris! She stomps on his chest, causing him to cough up blood and she materializes her axe.
"TIME TO DIE, FREAK!" She yells as she chops down with her axe, only to have her hand get blown back by one of Noelle's magical arrows! Kris manages enough strength to draw his sword and slash her leg, causing her to recoil off of him and he rolls away, grasping his weakened chest. Ralsei slowly begins recovering Kris's wounds before Susie realizes this 3 on 1 won't be as easy as she initially thought.
"Grr… you guys are starting to piss me off. I'll let you off with a warning, turn back. Enjoy the darkness. It's really not so bad once you get used to it." Susie turns around to leave, but Kris is cutting her off.
"What the?"
"You're not going anywhere, Susie!" Kris says, with a strange new wellspring of confidence! He engages her in close combat, his sword sparking against her sharp claws. Noelle tries to line up a shot but they're moving too much and she might hit Kris. All she can do is watch.
"Ngh, you're pretty good!" Susie admits, before headbutting him! He gets knocked off balance and she draws her magical axe! She chops at him, but he ducks and it barely misses his head, causing him to leap up and bash the side of her head with the hilt of his sword! She shakes her head, dizzy, before slashing wildly at Kris, who deftly side steps her delirious attacks and trips her with his sword, causing her to fall over! Susie begins gasping and wheezing, tired out, before Ralsei uses his Pacify magic!
Suddenly and unceremoniously, the battle is over, Susie's snoring now filling the checkerboard.
Kris, Noelle, and Ralsei fall to their knees and take a breath. Susie was so strong, but at least for now, they've won… though, secretly, Kris wonders to himself where he learned how to fight like this. The influence from the soul… has it left a lasting impression on him?
"NGAHHHHH! The darkness keeps growing, it's already eaten the driveway, and it's slowly expanding… soon the apartments and church will be eaten too! What IS this?!" Undyne growls, watching the tendrils of darkness slowly drain all color from the world. The town has already been evacuated except for a few worried parents that are being kept a safe distance away. The clouds above have turned from a sickly brown to an ominous black, as if the very light is being devoured. The school, or rather, where the school WAS… is completely eclipsed, a fountain of darkness shooting into the sky and blocking out the sun.
Asgore and Toriel are with the police. Rather strong monsters in their own right, they halt the spread whenever they have the energy to spare, preventing it from creeping any closer to the houses, but they know this is merely holding off the inevitable.
"I've called for help from the army, they'll be here in a few hours… but I fear our town won't be at this rate!" Undyne alerts them. They have no idea the nature of this enemy they face.
"This… this is insane… we aren't doing anything!" Asgore groans, his muscles giving way and he collapses to the street below. Toriel too, begins to sweat and pant. The darkness still slowly creeps over to them, as if sentient. Other monsters blast it with magic and cause it to pause for a short moment, but it's not long before it starts moving again. One monster throws a rock inside of it, but the rock vanishes beyond the blackness, they don't even hear it land. It just completely disappears. It's as if it's an all-consuming abyss…
"Ngah… civilians, I am giving the order."
"What…?" Toriel looks over.
"Fall back. ABANDON THE TOWN! We can't stay here any longer, it's too dangerous! Gather your families and possessions!" She commands. Most of the monsters oblige and run to their homes to quickly gather what they can, but Toriel and Asgore run up to Undyne.
"MY SON IS IN THERE!"
"MY SON IS IN THERE!" They both yell at the same time! Undyne looks back with a look of defeat on her face. She closes her eyes and sighs.
"There's nothing I can do…" She admits. She runs over to the other civilians and helps them evacuate as Toriel and Asgore look at the darkness as it slowly creeps along the road, getting closer, inch by inch.
"… Kris is in there." Toriel says. Asgore looks over.
"Tori?"
"If… Kris is subject to this abject terror, then… then…" She balls her fists.
"Toriel? What are you- WOAH!" He yelps as Toriel jumps into the darkness!
"TORIEL!" He yells out as she completely vanishes from sight. Asgore growls and shakes his head.
"What am I doing? She's right!" He growls before jumping in. From far away, Undyne can see what they did.
"…" She says nothing, and helps the others evacuate.
