The Endless Night

"Without Fire, all shall be a frigid and frightful Dark."

-Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight (Dark Souls)

Chapter 1: The Usurper

"We are in command here."

-Russian team announcer (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare)

The Rudinn Ranger watched in horror as his last remaining comrades were brutally cut down. He was backed into a corner, with seemingly no way out of this situation. How had this happened so fast? These mysterious soldiers came out of nowhere and stormed Card Castle, mercilessly slaughtering anyone who got in their way. What were they after? Who even were they?

"Your allies are all dead," spoke the hostile army's commander. He towered over his subordinates, clothed in a long black coat that obscured most of his form. "There's no help coming for you. Ready to give up now?"

The Rudinn Ranger kept his blade firmly in hand. Indeed, this looked like the end for him. He stared into the shrouded visage of the invaders' commander and grit his teeth. With any luck, King Lancer was able to get out of the castle. The Ranger accepted his inevitable fate, resolved to go down fighting.

He pointed his blade at his attackers defiantly. "By my honor as a defender of the kingdom, I will not yield."

"Is that so…" their commander stepped forth menacingly, hoisting his scythe over his shoulder. "Well, I trust you know what's coming next, then."

The Ranger charged forth. "Long live the king!"

In one swift motion, the invaders' commander swung his scythe upward, impaling the Ranger on its blackened blade. He sneered at the Ranger, pulling his hood back.

"Consider this a learning experience," he said coldly. "The lesson is, don't interfere with me."

He slammed the Ranger into the ground, violently pulling his scythe free and bisecting his victim. He did not even give a sideways glance as his two halves crumbled to dust.

From the other end of the room, a robed figure with a feathered cap approached his commander, a small squad of ironclad knights following behind him.

"Master Helsing," he said, giving a quick bow.

"Alric," he greeted his advisor. "So, has your team swept the castle?"

"Yes, sir. All of the king's troops have been captured or killed. We have full reign over Card Castle."

"And the king himself?"

Alric lowered his head slightly. "Unfortunately, we found no sign of him. He must have left the castle. Where he went, we still don't know. We did find this guy, though."

The knights behind him shoved their captive toward Helsing.

"Unhandeth me at once, scoundrels!" Rouxls Kaard protested, trying and failing to pull himself free.

"Right, the Duke of Puzzles," Helsing acknowledged. "I'm sure I can find some use for you. Maybe as a secondary advisor."

Rouxls scoffed. "Vile fiend! The valiant Rouxls Kaard wouldst never serve someone such as thou!"

Helsing's eyes – merely icy blue orbs of light – narrowed. He brought his scythe up just below Rouxls' chin. "I urge you to reconsider."

"On second thought," Rouxls' voice shook a little, "perhaps the role of secondary advisor wouldst fitteth me quite well."

"That's what I thought." Helsing withdrew his scythe. He turned to Alric, "Have your team secure the area around the castle. Lock down the dark fountain in Castle Town. We'll hunt the king where he hides."

"At once, sir." Alric gestured to his team of knights. "You heard the master! Move out!"

Helsing watched as Alric and his team moved out. He turned to the rest of his troops, "Alright, the rest of you, set up a perimeter around the castle. I have some business to take care of myself."

Without another word, he stalked over to the elevator, descending to the basement. When he arrived, he pulled his hood over his head and sheathed his scythe. He took note of all the empty cells as he walked; the king seemed quite carefree with the release of the old prisoners. He hoped the one he was after was still here.

He wasn't let down. At the end of the hall was a modestly sized cell – the only occupied one in the entire dungeon. Inside was the former King of Spades, who was currently brooding in the corner in silence.

With a quick strike, he cut the door's lock in two and stepped inside. The former king seemed unbothered by his presence.

Helsing leaned against the wall. "Chaos King."

The King barely looked up at him. "And just who are you?"

"You can call me Helsing, the new monarch of the dark world."

"'New monarch'?" the King scoffed. "Thought my son was the king."

"Since when were you one to care about your son?" A tone of contempt crept into Helsing's voice. "Regardless, I'm not here just to tell you that I'm the new ruler."

"Well, then why are you here?"

"Oh, I just have a single question to ask. And, I'm not a very patient man, so I suggest you answer." He stepped away from the wall. "The Knight. I know he had the power to create dark fountains. How did he acquire this power?"

The King chuckled humorlessly. "Couldn't even begin to tell you. I wasn't involved in his creation. You'd have to ask the royal scientist."

"Alright, then. Where might I find the royal scientist?"

"Assuming he hasn't moved, his lab should be all the way to the east, past the Seventh Region. You'll know it when you see it."

Helsing cracked a slight grin. "Well, this was easier than I thought. Thanks for your cooperation."

The King shrugged. "Well, it's not like I have anything else to do."

"Yes, I suppose so…" Helsing reached for his scythe. "Unfortunately for you, this was all I needed you for."

"What do you think you're—"

He was cut off when Helsing's scythe embedded itself in his chest. He pulled his weapon free, accompanied by a spray of bluish blood.

"You have no value to me anymore," Helsing stated. "Can't risk you suddenly developing a conscience and trying to stop me, can I?"

He left the area as the King's body dissolved to dust.

Later…

Only the howling wind could be heard as Helsing approached the former lab of the royal scientist. He shook his head at the sorry state it was in; the walls were crumbling, the inside was in a state of complete disarray, and there was no one to be seen – not even the royal scientist.

As he approached, he spotted something beside the front door. It was a silver sword, covered in dust. At a single glance, he recognized that famed sword.

"Ah, the Knight," Helsing commented. "Finally met a greater opponent, did you?" He reached out to touch the dusty blade. "I always respected you. It only seems right that I inherit your powers."

The door to the lab fell off its hinges as he entered. He rolled his eyes and started to look around. His eyes were drawn to a staggeringly large and disorganized mess of papers.

'There's gotta be something worthwhile in here…'

He began sifting through the papers, taking a cursory glance at their contents. Talk about entering the dark world, something about a demon named Chara, talk about the scientist's sons…

Helsing's eyes lit up as he found several notes discussing the Knight. He quickly thumbed through the papers.

'The Knight's body and soul were created from the dark fountain. The power of the dark world literally courses through his veins. Hm…'

He tucked the papers into his coat and turned to leave. He gave the Knight's memorial one last nod of respect as he departed.

'Let's find out exactly what the dark fountain can do.'

Meanwhile, in the light world…

"Alright, here we are," Asriel said with a smile, "scenic my house. You ready to meet the family?"

"Yeah, I guess," Frisk said. "I'm just a little nervous. What if they don't like me?"

"C'mon, you're the most likable person I know." He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "They're gonna love you."

"I hope so."

"You've got nothing to worry about." He knocked on the door. After a brief moment, it swung open.

"Hey, Asriel!" Kris greeted his brother. "Good to see you again."

"I'm glad to be back." He turned to Frisk, "This is my brother, Kris. Kris, this is my girlfriend, Frisk."

"Nice to meet you," she waved.

Kris' eyes quickly scanned over her. She was just a bit shorter than him, and was dressed in the same sweater/jeans outfit he was wearing, though her sweater was pink and purple. She had fair skin and shoulder-length brown hair that framed her face. She had a light scar on her left cheek, and a pair of striking golden eyes.

Kris waved back at her. "Asriel's told me a lot about you, so I'm glad to finally meet you."

"Likewise," she smiled slightly. "I've heard a lot of things about you too."

"Really? You haven't been slandering me, have you?"

Asriel chuckled. "C'mon, you know I'd never do that to my little brother."

"'Little brother'? Dude, I'm like, two months younger than you."

"The keyword here being 'younger'."

"Eh, whatever. Come on in."

The two stepped inside and were greeted by the sight of Ralsei, Susie, and Noelle gathered together. Ralsei quickly jumped up to welcome them.

"Good to see you again, Asriel," Ralsei smiled. "Nice to meet you too, miss, um…?"

"I'm Frisk," she said. "I'm his girlfriend."

"So, you brought the girlfriend over, huh?" Susie sat up. "That's a pretty big step, brother."

"Yeah, I know," Asriel said. "Haven't you and Noelle met each other's parents?"

"Mmhm."

"Is everyone here part of your family?" Frisk asked.

"No, they're not," Asriel said. "That's Ralsei, Kris' boyfriend. The big scary one is Susie, and that's her girlfriend, Noelle. They're some of Kris' friends."

"Well, I'm glad to meet you all." She and Asriel took a seat on the couch.

"So, Frisk," Kris tried to start a conversation, "how'd you and Asriel meet?"

"Basically in the most mundane way possible," she said. "We're in the same magic class, we just got to talking one day, and we really hit it off."

"You're learning magic?" Noelle said.

"Yep. I know it's real hard for humans to learn magic, but it's something I've always wanted to do. And not just for the practical uses, either. A big reason I'm doing this is for the spectacle. I want to be some kind of performance artist eventually, and I think knowing magic will give me a nice edge."

"That's pretty cool," Susie leaned back in her seat. "How's that going for you so far?"

"Not very well, actually," Frisk chuckled. "We're starting simple with magic barriers, but I can't really keep them up for very long."

She held her hands out and began to focus her magic power. After a moment, a pink magic field flickered in front of her, but it quickly dissipated into nothing.

"I've still got a long way to go."

Ralsei spoke, "If you need some help, I'd be happy to teach you a few things. I'm pretty good at healing and defensive magic, and I know a bit of pyromancy, too."

"Oh, I'd really appreciate that. As long as it wouldn't be too much trouble…"

"It won't be a problem at all. It might be kinda fun to teach someone."

"You can definitely learn a lot from him," Kris chimed in. He gestured to Susie and Noelle, "His magic carried all of us through some really hellish times, so I can tell you he knows his stuff."

"What kind of hellish times?" Frisk raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that's a really long and convoluted story that's pretty hard to believe."

"Ooh, now you've got me intrigued. I gotta know. You know, if you're willing to share."

"Sure, why not." Kris sat up. "Settle in, though, 'cause it's a wild ride."

Before he could say anything else, there suddenly came a knock on the door.

"Mom's back already?" Kris stood up and opened the door, and was taken aback by who was there.

"Lancer?"

Lancer, stained with dirt and looking quite disheveled, met his eyes with a look of genuine fear.

"Guys, I need your help with something."