Chapter 3: Friends and Foes
"Strong alone, stronger together."
-Freelancer motto (Anthem)
"...so then he says, 'When your HP drops to 0, you lose,' and then all hell breaks loose," Susie said. She and Kris had been informing Noelle of their previous exploits in the dark world. Their retelling was mostly accurate, though Susie had greatly exaggerated her efficacy as a villain.
"I'm pretty sure that's the closest we ever came to actually dying," Kris mentioned. "There were bullets coming at us from every direction imaginable. And that cursed carousel..." he shuddered. "It didn't help that he didn't seem interested in killing anyone other than Ralsei."
"How did you survive?" Noelle asked.
"Luck, willpower, and furious pirouetting," Kris spun in a circle to emphasize that last point.
"It was a goddamn nightmare, but we got out of it with our lives," Susie added. "Sanity too, I think."
"I'm not so sure about that," Kris refuted. "I still hear circus music when it's quiet."
After a few more moments of slightly embellished tales of heroism, the trio arrived at Castle Town. Not much had changed; it was still completely empty, save for its prince.
"This is where we met Ralsei," Kris explained. "He's the prince of this town, even though no one lives here except for him. Apparently, he's been all alone here for his entire life, just waiting for Susie and I to show up."
"That's sad..." Noelle commented. Kris nodded silently in response before leading his companions through the empty town, up to Ralsei's castle.
He couldn't help but wonder just why Ralsei had been alone here. It wasn't a very large town, but it certainly wasn't small either. What had happened to this place that left Ralsei as the only resident? Could the old King have had something to do with it?
Kris decided to worry about it later. Those were questions for another day. Knocking on the castle door, he turned to Noelle.
"I think you're gonna like Ralsei," he said. "He's probably the nicest person I've ever met." He began to smile just thinking about him.
"It sure seems like it, from the way you talked about him," Noelle responded.
Despite the circumstances, Kris found himself eager to see Ralsei again. Even if he wasn't able to help, his presence alone would be greatly comforting. Kris wasn't quite sure why, but he had developed a very strong attachment to Ralsei in the short time he knew him.
Suddenly, the castle door opened just a crack, and Ralsei poked his head through the small opening.
"Hello?" he said, his voice soft.
"Hey, Ralsei," Kris greeted, a smile still on his face. Ralsei's expression brightened when he saw who was standing before him.
"Kris? Susie? It's great to see you two again!" Ralsei immediately wrapped his arms around Kris, who returned the embrace without hesitation.
Susie leaned close to Noelle and whispered, "Yeah, I forgot to mention. I'm pretty sure they're in love."
"I can hear you," Kris said, turning back to Susie. "And no, we're not." No one seemed to notice the light blush on his cheeks.
"Oh, I see you brought a friend," Ralsei commented.
"Yep. This is Noelle. She's been a friend of mine for a few years."
"It's nice to meet you, Ralsei," Noelle said. "Kris and Susie told me a lot about you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Ralsei replied. "I hope we can be good friends, Noelle." He beckoned for everyone to enter the castle, "So what brings you back here? Not that I don't appreciate the company or anything."
"Well, I was hoping you could help me with a, er... complicated issue," Kris said.
"What is it?"
"You might not believe this, but-"
"He's possessed," Susie cut him off.
"...Yeah."
"Huh...?" Ralsei was visibly confused.
"It's a long story," Kris said as he sat in a nearby chair. "Let me start from the beginning..."
Ralsei listened as Kris explained his experiences with Chara. The first time she forcibly removed his soul, her recent resurgence, and her insatiable bloodthirst were all recounted in vivid detail. Several times throughout Kris' tale, Ralsei had stopped to refer to the comically large stack of books he gathered in preparation, but still found himself with remarkably little useful information.
"...And that's basically everything," Kris concluded. "We came here hoping you'd be able to help us."
Ralsei was busy flipping through the pages of a remarkably thick book, muttering to himself, "No good... not relevant... too many inconsistencies..."
"There's really nothing helpful in that entire stack?" Susie asked in disbelief.
Ralsei let out a defeated sigh, "No... All these books, and I can't find anything helpful..." he set the book down on the stack, making it officially taller than him.
"Your magic's no good?"
"I'm afraid not. All I can do with it is heal physical wounds. I'm sorry..."
Kris placed a reassuring hand on Ralsei's shoulder, "You tried your best. I appreciate the attempt, at least."
"There's really nothing in that giant stack of literature?" Susie asked.
"Nothing that could help in this situation," Ralsei said. "I've never heard of anything like this before. I don't think I'd be much help with possessions anyway, much less one like this. If Chara really is from another timeline, I wouldn't even know where to start..."
Noelle spoke, "Is there anyone else that might know something?"
"Maybe, I don't know."
"You think Lancer knows someone who can help?" Susie chimed in. "He's the king, after all."
"He just became king yesterday, though," Ralsei reminded her.
"I mean, it's worth a shot, right?" Kris said. "We're just grasping at straws here."
"You're right," Ralsei conceded. "What could go wrong, anyway?"
"Then it's settled," Kris stood up. "Let's go see Lancer. And if he can't help, I guess we'll have to go through with Susie's 'decapitate me' plan."
"Okay, then," Ralsei said as he donned his hat, cloaking his face in shadow. "I have a feeling that this isn't going to be as easy as we think, though..."
"The Fun Gang is unstoppable, Ralsei," Kris declared. "If we can beat Jevil the nightmare factory, we can beat anybody."
"You call yourselves the Fun Gang?" Noelle asked.
"The original name was worse, believe me," Susie commented.
"We can worry about our team name later," Kris said. "Let's go."
He hated to admit it, but Chara was right. Things weren't going to be as easy as he hoped. Once again he and his companions found themselves on a quest to eliminate a great evil, with his own life at stake, likely along with the fate of the entire world. Despite the circumstances, however, Kris found himself contented. Somehow, this felt right.
He led the Fun Gang out of the castle. They were all surprised to see another person standing before them.
The ominous figure was tall, even towering over Susie. He was clad in gleaming silver armor, adorned with intricate patterns of gold. He wore a short, torn cloak over his right shoulder, much like Kris', though it was green and yellow. He wore a similarly colored hood over his head, and concealed his face with an iron mask. His eyes were barely visible, and shone with fury.
"Hey, Kris, I thought there was only one of you," Susie whispered.
"Ralsei, I thought you were the only one here," Kris said.
"S-so did I..." A sudden look of horror flashed across Ralsei's face, "Unless... it's you...?"
The figure spoke, his voice deep and resonating, "Yes, it is I."
"You're the Knight!"
"How very observant of you."
"Ralsei, how do you know the Knight?" Kris asked.
"In a very bad way, Kris!"
Noelle seemed confused, "Wait, who's the Knight?"
"Long story with a lot of blanks," Susie answered.
The Knight spoke again, "I see even the lightners know my reputation."
"What do you want with us?" Ralsei questioned, his stance defensive.
"I will make my purpose very clear." He pointed at Kris, "The human harbors a damnable evil. The four of you seem too ignorant to understand the danger her presence brings. I am here to terminate her, through any means necessary."
"I know exactly what 'any means necessary' means," Ralsei retorted with venom in his voice. "I'm not letting you near him!"
The Knight let out a noise that could be considered a laugh, "Once again you fail to understand. You were never willing to do what was necessary. This is not your decision to make, Ralsei. Stand aside."
"No."
"You're not laying a hand on him," Susie stepped forward threateningly.
"Very well," the Knight sighed as he drew his sword. His left hand began to glow with some sort of magical power. Kris and Susie drew their weapons in response.
"Kris, I don't think we can get out of this without fighting," Ralsei called out.
"I choose to interpret that as a challenge," Kris replied.
"Ralsei speaks the truth, human," the Knight said, pointing his blade at Kris. "Blood shall be spilled on this day due to your ignorance."
"Well, it sure as hell ain't going to be ours," Susie growled.
Behind his mask, the Knight smirked, "I admire your fighting spirit, lightner. Come forth, then. Die for what you believe is right."
The Knight charged toward Kris, his blade shining bright in the darkness.