As Kris went to ask their mother for her key into the school, Ralsei took this opportunity to inform Lancer and Susie of his intent to depart for the Dark World. Though disappointment ruled both their emotions, they understood all the same.
"Yeah, I guess it's time for us to go home," Lancer said. "A king can't be away for too long!"
With a cross of her arms, Susie nodded. Thankful for their acceptance, Ralsei then shifted his eyes to the kitchen, and saw Kris approaching with a key ring in their hand. They waved it in the air, and joined the three of them.
"You guys ready?"
Everyone approved. After slipping into their shoes, Kris brought their hand to the door, and propped it open for the others to exit. They all did, and they were the last to step out of the house.
Kris closed the door behind them. Susie and Lancer had begun down the driveway, but Ralsei waited around. "What did you tell your mother, when you asked for the keys?" he asked as Kris approached.
"Um, I told her I wanted to collect the homework I've missed. And that all of you are going home."
Ralsei breathed a sigh of relief, and at this, they raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Kris asked.
A spout of hesitation struck Ralsei, and he needed time to allow his voice to return. "Kris, I still haven't told your mother about the Dark World." He touched the tips of his index fingers together, eyes shifting downward. "I've been putting it off."
"It's okay, Ralsei. You can tell her whenever you're ready."
Kris' tone was considerate, sympathetic to his concerns. Deeply grateful for such, he managed a slight nod, with closure of his eyes to match. "I guess it's rather silly of me... I've already told your brother about the Dark World, but I'm still nervous."
"No, I think I get it," Kris shrugged. "You don't have to rush things. But... my mom might get a little nervous at the 'battle with the king' part. Keep that in mind."
Their tone was intended to be humorous, and such was not lost upon Ralsei. With a slight chuckle, he brought his scarf to his mouth to obscure his growing smile. "I should hope not. Your brother took it well, all things considered."
"He's always been pretty level-headed," Kris said. "For the most part. Not when I would beat him at video games."
Another laugh. Kris couldn't resist a smile as well.
"Man, can you guys pick up the pace a little? It'll be dark by the time we get there."
Susie's call from up ahead, though her back remained turned to them both, shook Kris and Ralsei from their conversation. A bit of an embarrassed blush settling on Kris' face, they both ran to catch up. Lancer was cackling about something, though they couldn't guess what.
The time was mid-afternoon, and the sun was just beginning its descent. Ralsei took inventory of their surroundings: the group had just entered the outskirts of town, and were coming close to the library. From there, he remembered the school was in proximity.
With a glance to Kris, part of him wished hesitation could stay his feet, just a little longer. But his more rational side told him there was no time to waste. Not after that vision Kris suffered. He knew he needed to get to his library, and get cracking on a solution.
Determination swelled his features, and he regained vigor in his march. Kris watched this from the corner of their eye.
"You good, dude?"
Kris blinked, and turned their head. Susie looked to them with a neutral expression, one they couldn't quite place. Though perhaps not entirely truthful, they nodded nevertheless. "Yes. Why?"
"You looked kinda out of it. I was worried you were seeing something else."
"Seeing something else? What do you—" Kris' voice cut on a dime, as the meaning of her statement dawned on them. She referred to their vision of the darkening of the forest, and the memories of such came to a head. "Oh... no, I'm not. Don't worry."
Susie shoved her hands in her pockets, diverting her attention to her shoes. Her eyes narrowed, hidden behind her screen of hair. "Good." She paused. Then, with a bit of uncertainty mixed in her tone, she said "If it happens again, let me know."
Kris tilted their head to the side. They could detect the strangeness of her tone, and she knew they were prying further. She groaned.
"Look, I'm just—I'm worried about you, alright?"
She half-expected them to mock her, though she knew it wasn't Kris' personality to do so. But what happened instead surprised her entirely: Kris closed their eyes, and through their nose, took a deep breath. When they blinked open, a thin smile ran across their expression.
"Susie, you were right. You really have learned how to ACT."
Embarrassment flushed across Susie's face. With a slight sneer, she angled her head away from Kris, but she did so to hide her own smile emerging. "Yeah? What makes you the expert?"
"Um... intuition? I have no idea, honestly." They shrugged. "But still... you're a really good friend. Thanks."
Kris meant every word, their quiet, sincere tone more than ample proof. With a resigned sigh, she turned back to face them, and gave a surrendering smile.
"You too."
Kris grinned.
Their brief conversation at an end, Susie refocused herself to the surroundings. Though she'd kept a subconscious tab on how far the group had traveled, she now knew precisely. The school was just a couple minutes ahead.
She snuck a glance to Ralsei, and Lancer. The two walked side-by-side, and both were entirely quiet. Lancer kept himself obscured by his hood, and Ralsei his hat. Both were slouching in posture, feet made of lead to boot. They weren't in any hurry.
Then, she turned to Kris. They too had taken the time to look at their friends, and it put them in a similar state of mind and appearance. And with good reason.
With a few more minutes of a solemn march, the group reached the front doors. Key in hand, Kris first looked to the others, and their gaze found Ralsei in particular. They discerned a particular sadness in his eyes, something that caused their own feelings to ripple. But Ralsei gave a nod to Kris, and they answered the motion.
Kris stuck the key in the lock, turned, and brought the door open. Without pause, they stepped through the doorframe, and allowed the others to file through.
The school hallways were entirely empty, no students or staff about. Save for a few dim light fixtures, hanging overhead, only natural illumination filled the hallways. The sun's descent was approaching midpoint, and the windows tinted the floors and walls a dull orange. Susie noted how similar it was to the day of the adventure.
A few steps further, and she looked to her left. At the end of the hallway was Ms. Alphys' room, and a set of lockers. One in particular caught her eye, the one Kris stood near when they caught her eating chalk. The memory was mildly amusing to her.
Then, she recalled the feeling of their sweater in her grip. Shoving them against the wall. The scowl spreading across her lips, her teeth bared and mouth open wide, and dilated pupils.
Kris. How do you feel... about losing your face?
She brought her hand to their shoulder. Kris turned, and confusion won over their features at first glance. When they followed her eyes, however, and discovered where she'd been staring, their mouth fell open slightly.
"... I'm sorry, Kris."
Her voice was quiet, uncharacteristically so. Kris brushed her hand away. Their face was persistent, unrelenting.
"It was forever ago, Susie. Things have changed, right?"
Susie gave a firm nod. Her gaze shifted to the forms of Ralsei and Lancer, and sensing such, they both met her halfway. "Things have changed. For all of us, I think."
Needless to say, both the Darkners were puzzled from this exchange. But all the same, discerning her uptick in tone and emotion, Ralsei worked up a wholesome smile, and Lancer couldn't fight off a bit of a sheepish grin.
Neither were for very long. The end of the hallway had arrived.
Quietly, the four stood before the storage closet. Kris and Susie stared quietly, as if to decipher the paint chips and rust adorning the black metal doors. Ralsei furrowed his brows, and he made note of the empty classroom to their right.
"Um, Susie? Isn't it through there?" He pointed to the room in question, but against his expectations, she shook her head.
"No... this is the entrance, right here."
The four of them stared upon the door for a moment longer. Then, with a step over to his side, Ralsei approached Kris, and came to establish eye contact.
"Kris...?"
They put their hand forward, a gesture indicating for him to say no more. They allowed themself a moment to collect their emotions, and in such time a half-smile appeared.
"It's like you said. We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
Ralsei lowered his hat over his eyes. He gave a weak nod, swallowing the tight feeling in his throat. "Yes..."
Then, he felt a shift at his feet. Lancer had moved away from the door, and approached Susie; with his arm held up, he offered a high-five, and after watching him quietly for a moment, she accepted the gesture with a grin.
"See ya later, Susie! It was fun being able to see the Light World."
She reached down, and with a firm hand, ruffled the top of his head. "It won't be the last time."
Ralsei watched their interaction unfold. It brought a warm feeling to him, to see his two close friends be so content in the presence of each other. But from there, he didn't choose to stop: memories rolled in, of the emotional highs and lows of the past twenty four hours. The heartbreak of learning the news of Kris' condition, to the euphoria of their awakening, and everything in between...
There would be more time to reflect later. For now, he had a job to get to.
Without prompting, Ralsei approached the closet door. Reaching forward and taking the handle in his fingers, he felt the rusted metal send a cold feeling to the touch. But he yanked it downward regardless, and the door swung in.
The closet exposed, he took a second to look it over. A few shelves, a mop and bucket in the corner, and loose papers scattered about the floor. He craned his neck to look behind, and from the corner of his eye he found Susie. "Are you sure this is right?"
"When you close the door, you'll fall. Just trust me on this."
He felt a pang of doubt within him, but nodded nevertheless. Recognizing the time was at hand, Lancer came forward to join his side. The two stood quietly within the room, the door open, and Ralsei cast one final look to his friends.
They both stood side-by-side. Ralsei could see a sorrowful glaze in Kris' eyes, but they offered their most manageable smile all the same. Ralsei reciprocated.
"Well... see you guys later."
Susie was the final push. With nothing else to be said, Ralsei reached forward, and with a loud clangor of lock and latch, he shut the door.
Seconds passed. The hallway fell mute, save for the tick of a clock on the wall. And then, in the time of a heartbeat later, Susie grabbed for the handle and tugged the door open once more.
They were gone.
The walk outside the school was shrouded in silence.
After stepping out the front doors, and locking them with their mother's key, Kris directed their attention upward. The sunset had turned quite vibrant, the sky awash with a brilliant mix of orange, red, and purple. A rather nippy autumn wind had also begun, and kicked up a bit of a chill around them. They quietly wished they had their jacket, and cursed their unpreparedness.
All the same, the rustling of leaves from the trees was quite peaceful. They took a moment to gaze upon the treetops lining the roads, and Susie made mental note of this. Her own impatience won out, and she decided to give them a nudge.
"Kris, give me your phone."
They scrunched their brows. "My phone? Why?"
Mildly irritated, but doing her best not to show, she narrowed her gaze. "I want to add my number to it, so I can text you when it's time for us to go tomorrow."
"Go to the Dark World?" Kris said. She nodded, and they felt a stab of regret. "Um, I think they'll have to come here, actually."
At this, she raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"I told Ralsei this already, but... I'm worried entering the Dark World caused my SOUL to act up. I don't think I should try it again, not until he does more research."
She had to admit, it wasn't a ridiculous theory on its face. Choosing to err on the side of caution, she then said: "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I'll have to go and get them, then."
Kris' face fell, angled slightly to avoid Susie's gaze. "Do you mind? I mean, if you don't want to—"
"Man, it's fine," she interrupted. "It's no problem."
Kris came to a slow nod, their slight frown morphing to a thin, lips half-pursed smile. They felt a wave of gratitude, one they hoped they could articulate. "Thanks, Susie."
She decided to continue. "Kris, they're our friends. If we have a chance to see them, we're going to take it. I don't care if it's a little inconvenient."
She paused.
"And... you and Ralsei are damn nerds. Might as well be nerds together."
Kris snickered, bringing their hand to their mouth, and they had to break eye contact. The reaction brought temporary surprise to Susie; she didn't think it was that funny. But before long, she felt a smile emerge all the same.
"Yeah, I guess you're right..."
Kris' voice was rather muted, kept to a near hush. Their smile fading not long after, their expression went stoic, and they took to staring at nothing in the distance. Susie could tell they were deep in thought.
Her mind returned to just a few hours ago, of the problems with the forest. She decided to snap them out of it.
"Kris, let's get going. I'll walk home with you."
"Huh?" Kris blinked, and their gaze swiped away from the distance. "Oh... um, okay. Thanks."
Susie began down the sidewalk, a steady march at her usual speed. Kris had to employ long strides to keep up, but sensing their extra effort, she decided to slow herself a bit. They were grateful for such.
Like the hallways of school, the walk back to Kris' home remained entirely silent. The wind had picked up in fervor, though fortunately not to where it stung their eyes; tree branches swayed in all directions, and stray, fallen leaves kicked up at their feet from time to time. Kris paid little heed, but Susie kept a rather close eye on them.
Kris seems fine now... whatever they saw earlier, I hope Ralsei can figure it out.
Susie shook her head, and pushed such thoughts to the back of her mind. Though she wasn't keen to admit it, there was nothing she could do at the moment. She adopted a rather sulking expression.
Nevertheless, Kris' home was just ahead. Minutes later, they came to the front door, and Kris turned.
"Do you want to come back in? You could probably stay for dinner."
Susie shook her head. "Nah, I think I'll get out of here. I've bothered you guys enough." She'd meant for her statement to be humorous, but discovered Kris was quite serious with a frown.
"Susie, you're not bothering us. You can come here whenever you want, we'll always be happy to have you."
Kris' tone was persistent, unyielding in their sincerity. She freed a gentle sigh from herself, but looking at them, the corner of her lips curved upward.
"Maybe another day. But thanks."
They reflected her smile with one of their own. And for one still, quiet moment, they lingered about the front step, Kris leaning gently against the house, and Susie with her hands in her pockets.
"Listen, Kris. If more shit happens, text me. Got it?"
They nodded. She as well.
"Good... catch you later, I guess."
With an unceremonious goodbye, she turned, began down the driveway, and with a few steps further, she disappeared around the corner and out of sight. Kris watched her the entire way, a slightly amused expression lining their face.
A lone memory came to them.
You have family and friends that care about you. We'll always be here for you.
Kris' smile only grew wider. They found themself distracted, dawdling before they reached for the doorknob, and motioned to step inside. They took a breath.
Thank you, Ralsei. You were right.
With a small turn of their wrist, they pushed the door open, and in one motion slipped through the frame. They closed it behind them.
The walk back to the castle was one of mixed emotions.
Upon first arrival, Lancer expressed a great deal of joy. Without a care for his surroundings, and his arms spread wide, he ran a few steps forward, tripped, and nearly planted his face to the ground. Even so, he burst to his feet with zeal, and spun on his heel to face Ralsei.
"Ralsei, look! We're home!"
A weak grin came across Ralsei's features. Lancer's enthusiasm brought a new appreciation for their return, and they took a longing moment to scan for the environment. Though he hadn't been here in a while, he recognized their drop point as the old pathway, west of the castle. It would be a bit of a journey to get back, and so he rose to his feet.
"Lancer, we should start moving."
He nodded, tongue-out and grin unceasing. Ralsei shifted his scarf, lowering it below his chin, and it was only then he laid eyes on his attire for the first time. His familiar mage's outfit had returned, and to confirm he lifted his hat and glanced it over. Pointy as ever.
His observations complete, Ralsei replaced the hat atop his head, and he and Lancer began to walk side-by-side. Their footsteps echoed in the darkness, with only the pulse and throbs of nearby reservoirs of liquid to fill the space. It was all quite eerie to Ralsei, and he wanted to break the silence.
"What will you do when you get home, Lancer?"
"Get something to eat! Then do some wheelies on my bike." Lancer made no effort to hide his blunt eagerness, and it elicited a chuckle from Ralsei. "Probably king stuff, too. That's not as fun, but New Dad helps me a lot."
Ralsei nodded. "I think those are some good ideas. It would be wise to de-stress a bit."
"What about you? What's your plan?"
Ralsei felt himself gently sigh. He sensed he had little control of himself, his dejected body language, and he cleared this throat to ground himself. "I need to visit the library, in the castle. There's more I need to study about SOUL removal."
At this, Lancer's grin faded a touch. A wave of sympathy came upon him, mixed with his own feelings on the matter, and he felt a need to act on it.
"I hope the Clown will be okay."
Ralsei nodded. He dipped his head, and replaced the scarf over the lower portion of his face. "Me too, Lancer."
Another interval of silence came upon them. But with time to himself to reflect, Ralsei felt his tongue become increasingly anxious; he had no explanation, but he wanted to say more. He needed to say more, for his own sake.
"I'm... I'm scared, Lancer. I'm scared about Kris."
His voice, broken from his normal even temperament and emotion, came as a shock to Lancer. He shifted his head to face them, eyes slightly expanded, and his mouth in an O shape. Ralsei didn't wait for him to formulate a response.
"I'm scared they won't be the same. What if their SOUL only gets worse, not better? I used my strongest healing magic, but Kris is much stronger than I am... if the wound reopens, or there's another one, I might not be able to stop it. No one will be able to stop it. And then..."
The words began to elude Ralsei, and he direly needed to stop for a breath. He did so, and in this time, his face contorted in a deep, overbearing frown. His eyes became glassy, he needed to lower his glasses and bring his hand to them. They had stopped walking long ago.
Lancer could only watch with sorrow, his eyes reflecting his emotions. He brought his hand up to Ralsei's back, and gave a mild rub.
Lancer's attempts to cheer up Ralsei produced a visible effect, and his panicked form entered a brief reprieve. Ralsei chose to sit, and Lancer did the same.
"I... I'm just nervous, Lancer. I don't know what could happen, it frightens me."
Lancer gave a nod, appreciative of Ralsei's concerns. "It's a little scary. I didn't know if we were going to find their SOUL, to begin with."
"And even when we did, it was terribly injured," Ralsei added. "And we still don't know how it was hurt. We don't know why it was in that cage, we don't know if it'll happen again. We don't know anything!"
Frustration punctured Ralsei's voice, plain for himself and Lancer to hear. He balled his hands into tight fists, holding them at his sides. But before long, his fingers sprouted open, and his anger dissipated. He felt his concern well up within him once more; he moved to gently hold the fabric of his shirt.
"You really like the Clown, don't you?"
The question came as a surprise. An indistinguishable noise escaped Ralsei, and from the corner of his eye he looked to Lancer; the other maintained a slight frown, but one of empathy, not judgement. Ralsei took a moment to ponder, but all he managed at first effort was an exhale.
"... I do."
Lancer offered a faint smile, though one with a bit of uncertainty. He planted his hands flat on the ground, and shifted himself to face Ralsei better.
"I think it'll all be okay. When you really care about someone, you'll find a way, right?"
Confidence seeped from his every word. Ralsei found himself lost for words, baffled by his apparent conviction. Rather than muster a meaningful response, he could only mumble: "How? How do you know?"
Lancer shrugged.
"No clue. But I have a feeling."
Ralsei's gaze remained firmly on his friend, mouth slightly ajar. Lancer shared a slight smile, tongue sticking out somewhat, and then he came to his feet.
"But if we're going to do something, there's no point in waiting around. Let's go!"
Regardless of height difference, he stuck his hand forward. Ralsei eyed it, curiosity, wonder, and confusion alike infused within himself. His mind ran.
Part of him couldn't understand Lancer's enthusiasm, his determination in the face of the horizon ahead. Coming before them were not insurmountable odds, but rather, an uncertain future: how could he hold such conviction, when so many things could go wrong, that everything would go right? How could he turn a blind eye?
But Ralsei studied him closer. His wide, toothy smile, extended hand eagerly awaiting his own. There was no doubt in his body language, hesitation or uncertainty entirely absent. He knew what he said would come true.
It reminded Ralsei of something. Of just a day ago, at the end of a long, dark trail. Kris' SOUL hadn't been there, at those doors in the forest, but he didn't give up. Not even in dire straits.
And he wouldn't now.
Ralsei reached for Lancer's hand, and used it for support. He stood, and turned to the pathway ahead.
"You're right, Lancer. Let's keep going."
