"No pie for breakfast, Kris."

Shoot. Sneaking pie at 5:30 wasn't early enough to avoid his early bird mother. Should've known.

"You are up early, are you not?"

Kris planned on going back to sleep after sneaking a piece of pie but he wasn't going to tell his mother that. She was proud of him every time he woke up early. He didn't want to see the disappointed look in her eyes if he was truthful in saying he wanted to sleep until noon. Kris just nodded.

Toriel smiled. "Would you like me to make you a healthy breakfast?" She knew Kris was hungry so she continued without him answering. "How would you like your eggs?"

He thought for a moment. "Scrambled, please."

He sat down on the oversized chair at the dining table as he patiently watched his mother take out a cooking pan. But he wasn't paying attention to her, the Loox and that weird bunny wouldn't leave his mind. It ate away at him, more so than his grumbling stomach.

He wasn't able to get anymore information from the timid reindeer girl yesterday and when he had told Susie about it earlier, she didn't seem to care much. Scratch that, she seemed a little concerned, but not concerned enough. Maybe he should've been more urgent about it over the phone? It was his fault for hanging up so soon because he was so eager to go to the movies with his brother.

For now, however, he wanted to focus on what he would do today if he saw the Loox and/or the bunny man. It was unlikely he would be able to get close enough to them to hear any of their conversations, and that was only if he caught them together. Maybe he could ask Noelle to speak with them more about what they were doing in town since she thought they were so cool with their business suits and all.

Who was he kidding? Noelle was way too timid. He would have to do something himself.

...but there was no way he was going to approach them either.

Maybe Asriel could-

No! Kris cut his internal thoughts off. I'm not putting him in danger.

"Here you are, my child." His caring mother set down a steaming plate of scrambled eggs and wheat toast in front of him. She sat down next to him with eggs and toast of her own, as well as placing butter in front of the two of them. "Don't you put too much of that on your toast. It's not good for you."

Kris nodded again as he reached over for it.

"You know," She continued as he spread more butter than she would've preferred on his wheat toast. "I am just so proud of you. I could not be happier that you are opening up to other people this year."

Kris unintentionally scrunched up his face. He hated when she brought this up. Whether she noticed his expression or not, she didn't say anything.

It was no lie he was being more social this year because of Susie. And he was always very talkative around Asriel. Not to mention being around Asriel helped him speak with other people because it was like his brother was emergency back up. But that didn't mean he was willing to open up to everyone around town. Talking to Noelle yesterday was very painful, but he was so desperate to get information about the two mysterious "businessmen" that he powered through it.

Now his mother was getting the wrong idea. He didn't want her to think he was changing for good. That would just disappoint everybody. He was starting to worry that Asriel was getting the wrong idea as well.

Kris would talk to him about it later.

"On the way back from the store, Catty's father told me that you were hanging out with Noelle yesterday. What did the two of you do?" She smiled warmly as she asked.

Everyone in this small town couldn't mind their own business.

"It was good." He lied. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good. "We just hung out by the lake for a bit." And that they did. And boy oh boy was it awkward. It was mainly silence between them. Noelle asking questions about Susie every once in a while, and him countering with his own questions about the businessmen. The two of them had separate goals for the hangout and the two of them did not meet either.

Noelle was sweet, but he was very confused about her fascination for Susie. Maybe she liked her? Like… "liked liked" her? ...oh.

Toriel clasped her hands together. "How wonderful. Noelle is just a sweet young lady. I hope the two of you hang out more this summer, she's a wonderful influence."

Ouch. Did his mother think he needed a good influence?

He nodded his reply once again.

"What are your plans for today?"

Shrugging, Kris finished his meal and reached for his orange juice. "I'm not sure. I'll ask Asriel what he wants to do when he wakes up." The fact early bird Asriel wasn't awake yet was surprising. He would be up any minute by now. The sun rising at 6 am was his personal alarm clock.

"Perhaps you should invite Noelle to hang with the two of you? Don't tell her I said this, but I have a feeling she doesn't enjoy hanging around your other classmate much."

Kris knew she was referring to Berdly. Based on the conversation he heard between Noelle and her father awhile back, she surely did not enjoy Berdly's company.

"I dunno." His answer was honest. Noelle hanging with Asriel and himself felt like a bit of an invasion.

A large paw landed on his shoulder, the weight causing him to slump sideways a tad. "Do me a favor, won't you? Noelle enjoys your company. It would be very nice of you to invite her out with you and Asriel."

Knowing Toriel as well as a son could meant he knew that tone of voice. It was more of a demand rather than a polite request. He held back a groan. "Alright." But anxiety started to build up in his chest now that realization dawned on him about her crush on Susie.

He was stupid to not have noticed it sooner.

"Good morning, Asriel. Kris and I just finished our breakfast, would you like me to make you some."

Asriel wiped his eyes as he entered the room. "No, it's alright. I plan on just having cereal."

"If you say so." Toriel collected Kris' dishes along with her own and headed over to sink to begin rinsing them. She patted Asriel on the shoulder as she walked by. "What do you and Kris plan on doing today."

Kris noticed the look on Asriel's face when he realized the only cereal they had was Bran Flakes. He took it anyway. "Oh, well BP really wants Kris to come fishing with us. He called it 'bro time'." He laughed after that. "I know it's a stupid name, but that's BP for you. What do you say, Kris?"

Kris raised a brow. "BP?" He asked. Asriel was here so Kris was in the mood to talk.

"Burger Pants."

"Oh." Kris frowned, not because that new acronym was stupid, but because yesterday Asriel was hanging with friends as well. "BP" was alright, he supposed, compared to Asriel's other friends (like Catty and Bratty). He sometimes gave him free pizza… but Kris still didn't like hanging with him either. He felt out of place.

Kris wanted to hang out with Asriel alone, like they did the other day.

"It'll be fun, promise." Asriel reassured with a soft smile. He sounded apologetic with his offer. He probably knew how Kris felt.

Shaking his head, Kris tried to respond confidently. "No, it's fine. You need time to catch up with Burger Pants." That didn't sound too confident.

But Asriel beamed. "Wow, that's really mature of you Kris."

He must've sounded confident enough if Asriel trusted him.

Toriel, on the other hand, wasn't quite as convinced. Kris may have fooled her into thinking he was more social, but he couldn't fool over all the time. His life wasn't that big of a lie.

Or maybe it was and his mother just knew Burger Pants freaked him out. Burger Pants freaked a lot of people out.

She raised a brow at him. "If you say so, Kris. I think it would still be a good idea to ask Noelle if she would like to do something with you."

Kris nodded and excused himself to go take a morning shower.


"Coming!"

Noelle's hooves clicked loudly on the hardwood floor as she scattered to the front door. She wanted to seem as punctual and polite to visitors as possible. When Kris had called this morning asking if she wanted to "hang out", she was rather caught in surprise. Their hang out yesterday was uncomfortable for the both of them, she wasn't stupid.

She wanted information on Susie which she didn't acquire for whatever reason, and he wanted information on the businessmen for whatever reason which she couldn't give. Even if she wanted to, she didn't know anything about them. His interest in them was almost as confusing as the fact he wanted to hang out today.

Kris was only open with Asriel, and as of this year, Susie. Was he really trying to get closer to her? Or was it just for the reason she believed it to be. The businessmen.

That was most likely the reason. Noelle decided to not be offended, Kris was just weird like that it seemed. She'd take his company over Berdly anyday. And she had to give Kris credit, him showing up prior to 11 was rather polite of him, especially when he barely made it to class on time during the school year.

An uncomfortably fake smile strained on her face, her cheeks starting to tickle just a bit, as she opened the door. "H-hi, Kris. I appreciate you asking me to hang-"

"Oh, I'm very sorry. I see you were expecting someone else." The loox, one of the businessmen, stood on the other side of the door. His smile was almost as fake as her own.

Noelle kept her strained smile, to be well mannered as per usual. "It's alright," She said. "If- if you're looking for my mom, she's still at work for the day. I'm sure she's willing to put aside her other meetings for you." She assumed he was a man of high standing so her mom would definitely suck up.

The loox shook his head. "No worries. Your mother is meeting me here after her current meeting."

A strange feeling began to stir in her stomach. "Oh okay. Um- do you want to come in?" Noelle offered. She really didn't feel like hosting a guest, especially an intimidating adult while she was waiting for Kris. Be well mannered, civil, and polite. She repeated in her head. Mom will thank you for it later.

"That would be nice. Thank you…"

"Noelle."

"Thank you, Noelle." He nodded in appreciation as she stepped aside, allowing him to enter. The loox strutted in, the fake smile on his face changing to one of intrigue. "You have a very nice home."

Noelle's chest became tight, joining her uncomfortable stomach. She didn't like being viewed as a rich spoiled brat. The size and quality of their home was the first thing everyone noticed when they visited for the first time. Her awkward smile stretched. "Thank you, um, yeah… it's nice."

"Very nice."

"Yep."

"Uh-huh."

"..."

"..."

If it was genetically possible for Noelle to sweat, she would be. "Would you like some tea or some coffee?"

"Hm?" The loox turned his attention to her in a hurry. He must've drifted away in thought for a moment. "Oh, coffee would be nice, thank you."

Noelle waited for him to continue. He picked up on that.

"Black is fine."

She nodded and headed to the kitchen to begin the brew. To her discomfort, he followed closely behind her. She would've preferred if he just went to the living room or stayed in the foyer, but that wouldn't be being a good houseguest. She could keep a better eye on him this way, she supposed.

Luckily he decided to sit at the kitchen table instead of standing beside her.

The conversation didn't continue. Instead of starting it up again, anxiety induced Noelle decided to nervously stare at the brewing coffee. Angel willing, her mother would be home soon to end her misery. Or even Kris. She just didn't want to be alone with him anymore and she just begged for the feeling in her stomach to vanish.

"When do you, uh, think my mom will be done with her meeting?" Noelle decided to ask regrettably. How would he know?

Before he could answer, which he probably wouldn't based on his deep-in-thought mixed with confused expression, the doorbell rang.

Kris. Thank goodness.

"Thatsmyfriendsoillberightback." Noelle frantically spat out as she made a b-line for the kitchen exit. Again, the loox did not reply. She didn't care about keeping an eye on him anymore. That goal was only there to make her feel better.

Sure enough, Kris was waiting patiently on the other side of the door. His face was blank but changed to a fake smile (like everyone else's today) as the door opened. "Hi, Noelle." He greeted softly.

"Hi, Kris!" She waved him in. "Um, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but whatever you want to do today will have to stay on hold for a bit."

He raised a brow at her, hinting at her to continue.

"I currently have a guest over waiting for my mom, but I'm sure she'll be home soon so we'll only have to wait for a bit."

A guest? Great. Kris thought, but he said the opposite. "I don't mind. I didn't really have a plan on what to do anyway so I can think about it while we wait." He wasn't going to think about it. Noelle could decide. She probably just wanted to sniff flowers and talk about Susie.

"The guest is…" Noelle suddenly realized this was going to oddly peak Kris' interest. "One of the businessmen. The loox. Maybe you can talk to him since you're so fascinated with him?" That sounded rude too, didn't it?

Off-puttingly, Kris frowned.

"Oh… I thought you would be interested in speaking to him. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's fine."

Noelle left for the kitchen once again, Kris following behind as she expected.

"Y'know," He started. "I wouldn't mind talking to him for a bit." Kris really didn't want to. Whichever businessman it was, he was convinced they must've been dangerous. But this was his only chance to get information on behalf of Susie. He had to do it for Susie. Even if he would die doing so, but that was a great stretch, even he knew that. A stupid stretch.

Noelle smiled. "Oh okay!" She piped up. Kris wasn't aware, but Noelle was ecstatic he was willing to converse with the loox. That way he could keep him occupied while waiting for her mother, rather than herself. She really needed release from the feeling turned painful in her chest and stomach and maybe this way she could find some relief from the anxiety build up.

She gestured to the loox as they walked into the kitchen. "Kris, this is…" Oh wow, she didn't know his name.

"Ennis." He generously answered.

This "Ennis" guy smirked while he mentally took notes of Kris' expression. He probably was expecting his partner in crime rather than himself.

"You must be Kris."

The human didn't miss a beat in responding. "How'd you know that?" His tone was full of fear, despite his efforts in trying to cover it up. Ennis had plenty of experiencing picking up on peoples' emotions and Kris' monotone voice was wavering ever so slightly. The kid was skillful enough to trick the average person on what he was feeling, but he wasn't discreet enough for Ennis.

Ennis chuckled. "Calm down, Kris. It's hard to not overhear residents talking about the only human in town. You may have grown up here, but you come up in conversations more than you think." That was a lie, he already knew everything about Kris before he even showed up to Hometown. It was just another tactic to make him paranoid about those around him. That and Kris' expressions were very entertaining to observe.

Needless to say, Ennis needed to stop toying and get down to business now that the kid was in a closed, private setting with himself. The girl was there too, but at the end of the day she was just a tiny monster that couldn't ever be considered a threat.

"While we're waiting for your mother, Noelle," The girl nodded to acknowledge Ennis. "Why don't we get to know each other a bit?"

"Um, s-sure." Noelle glanced at Kris nervously, who seemed to stiffen. He didn't seem to notice her concerned glance. Her mother really needed to hurry up.

Leaning forward on the table, Ennis smiled and looked Kris in the eyes. Where is assumed they were, ignoring the mess of hair covering most of his face. "When I was a young man in college, I was really into astronomy and natural resources. I ended up dropping out, but a lot of what I studied stuck with me. Hell, I think my interest in it is what led me to meet Rys. Befriending him is what led me to my current career so having weird hobbies tend to pay off, don't you think?"

Kris tilted in his head. Wherever he was going with this didn't feel right, but he was interested nonetheless. Perhaps Noelle felt the same way because she stayed silent as well.

"I wasn't so much into the proven, set and stone science in astronomy and natural resources, but rather the profound theories. That's what led my mother to stop paying for my tuition. She claimed I couldn't get a career studying such things." He chuckled. "Are you two into that sort of thing? The weird and strange in science that just can't be proven. Or just isn't known to the public."

Noelle looked at Kris once again with a confused look. Kris' expression remained neutral as he shook his "no" head toward the loox.

She put a hoof on her chin, thinking deeply on what he meant. "Well, I'm not sure." She wasn't sure where Ennis was going with this either. "I do enjoy academics, but I don't study theories. I'm more of the type to study Shakespeare."

"Human novels. Interesting." He leaned in further, uncomfortably. "You don't seem like the type to be into that, but I suppose I was wrong."

"Well…" She began to dwindle her hooves together. "I think all literature is important no matter who wrote it."

"The doesn't that mean all science is important?"

"O-of course! I never said that! But theories aren't 'set and stone' science, like you said."

"Gravity is but a theory, you know. Everyone believes in it despite that. You studied it in school, didn't you?"

She nodded her head and it was Kris' turn to look at her with slight concern. But his hair hid his knitted together eyebrows as per usual.

"What- what theories are you so interested in?" Noelle squeaked out.

"Ah, yes. I was straying away from the root of the conversation as I usually do. It may be strange, but I find the concept of other dimensions very intriguing. One reality seems a bit ridiculous. Same as us being the only life in the entire universe with millions and millions of galaxies out there. I believe that there are more realities that keep this one in tact. As if there is a balance between realities. The same amount of each on either side of the scale. I met a man not too long ago that was speaking to me about the reality scale just as I am to you. And we started discussing what would happen if one hops to another reality on the other side of the scale. Would it cause some sort of butterfly effect, would things stay the same, or would everything fall apart?"

"That's rather interesting."

Ennis picked up on Noelle's terrible lie but moved passed it. He wasn't trying to convince them after all. He was just trying to get to a point. With Kris.

"Enough of my rambling. What do you two think about such a theory? A deep conversation such as this seems to pass time well."

Kris realized the question was intensely directed toward him if Ennis' harsh stare was anything to go by. His nails dug into the palm of his hand in a sorry attempt to calm his nerves. It wasn't working, but he didn't stop. The terrible feeling he had grew. Kris was no genius, but maybe the two "businessmen" were onto something when it came to the Dark World. That could be considered another dimension couldn't it? Is that what Ennis wanted Kris to connect this conversation with?

What if "Rys" was looking for Susie because of that…

...and what if Ennis had already found his target?

Oh no.

Kris couldn't convince himself that theory was far fetched. It made too much sense for this conversation. He may not be able to dig himself out of this, but he had to try. For Susie's sake. Maybe he could make the two of them look less suspicious somehow.

"I mean no offense," Kris began, professionally at that. He was walking on eggshells here. "But a theory like that… seems a bit odd. If there are other realities, it would be bound to overlap with someone at some point right? And if the scale is so sensitive when realities are combined then the universe would have gone into chaos a long time ago."

"Perhaps you're right. But maybe it's happened tons of times and someone has figured out how to stop it."

Kris bit his bottom lip. It seemed he was still onto him. "If there's someone out there figuring it out and preventing it from everyday people, like us," He quickly added. "Then it doesn't need to be worried about, right?" Man, he just could not be convincing today.

"Maybe we aren't the everyday people." A gun was pulled out, pointed directly at Kris' head. How did he hide that so easily?

Noelle screeched, jumping back. "Don't move, deer girl." Ennis didn't even need to look at her to scare her into staying still. The gun could turn to her direction easily and she knew that. She was fast but not that fast. "Everyday people like you are what cause the chaos, and everyday people like me need to stop it. Get my drift?"

Kris could only frown. This all happened too quickly.