A Cold New World
It was an ordinary Tuesday evening in Hometown. School had just went out and the students were going about their various after school activities. Some did sports, others decided to hang around the town and a few just simply went home. However for a couple of those students, their day was going to be very different from everyone else's.
The library door opened and Noelle walked through. The warmth of the room was a stark contrast from the Autumn's chilly breeze. In truth she always loved when it was cold outside, it wasn't so much that she liked being cold but rather that it was the perfect excuse to wrap up in a warm thick blanket and relax by the fire. Those old memories, watching the snow slowly fall over Hometown and being with her family… with Dess and her dad…
She held back a small breath and reassured herself that he'll be fine, he said so himself didn't he? She shouldn't think of that, for now she and Berdly had a group project to work on, and what better place to begin than the local … librarby? Perhaps whoever did the sign didn't visit the library as much as they should've. Berdly followed her in, he assured her about how he would easily do all the work.
"Do not worry Noelle for I can easily carry the burden of this project and lead us towards an A"
Despite what people said Berdly wasn't actually that bad. He might talk a bit too much sometimes but she knew inside he did care about her. Once he was done talking they would split the work. She usually ended up with the difficult part but didn't really mind, someone would have to do it and if Berdly wanted to do the more noticeable parts of the project then that was fine.
"- why brawl isn't as bad as people claim." He paused for a moment looking towards the other door in the room.
"Noelle how about we do our project in the computer lab? Don't worry as I can explain easily how to do anything you don't understand since as a gamer I have countless hours of experience on a computer."
"Um… b-but I thought the internet was…" she started to stutter out.
But before she could finish Berdly opened the door to … the computer lab? Inside was not the desks and electronics she remembered but rather nothing, simply nothing, a void blacker than the darkest night. It felt creepy. Just looking into the emptiness, it felt like the very room around her dimmed and darkened. She felt a chill go down her spine… it was strangely familiar…
"It's … um … probably just th-the lights are off."
"Well then fret not Noelle, for I will be the one to risk my intellectual self and head into the dark so that I may flick the switch therefore once again letting light to return to the room allowing us to do our project." Berdly proudly announced to the crowd of people before him! (Noelle) who all cheered at his valiant display of bravery! (mumbled some response)
Berdly proudly walked through the doorway disappearing into the darkness. "Aha! And let there be… no wait that wasn't the switch, it must be further in."
Berdly walk even deeper in. Suddenly his footsteps stopped and an eerie quiet swept over the library.
…
"Berdly…?" Noelle called into the abyss.
…
Not a single sound came from the room. She was starting to feel anxious, her mind was desperately trying to find a reason for lack of reply, there was only one possibility she thought of but she didn't want to accept it.
Another minute longer but still nothing. Could it be a prank? No this was the kind of stunt only Kris would pull. The only way to find out what was happened would be to go in… but should she? Noelle VERY much didn't want to, it was far too similar to before. Maybe get help? But what would she say, Berdly went into a dark room and stopped talking? If he turned out to be fine she might get in trouble, and what if he really was hurt… she might come back and… no, she couldn't let it happen, not again, she had to be brave. Brave like her sister always was.
Taking a deep breath she took a step into the room trying to reach out and feel something but failed to find anything. She felt her heart beating. She took slow small steps going further in, she was already beginning to regret this. Maybe Susie could come here and help? No who was she kidding, Susie wasn't going to come and even if she did why would she help her?
"B-Berdly ca… can you hear m-me?" She called but no one replied.
Everything was black and she couldn't tell where anything was. There was something very weird going on here. Trying to reassuring herself she repeated "this is fine" under her breath. Nothing's wrong, she can just go and get a flashlight from the school before it closes and come back, Berdly will be ok and then she can… she …can. She looked around frantically, where's the door?
She practically spun in circles seeing nothing in every direction. The room was mute, no cars honking, birds singing or neighbours chatting. What was happening? Panic was starting to set in.
"K-Kris … is this y-you?"
The silence was deafening…
She could hear her heart beating louder and louder.
"Th-This isn't one of your p-p-pranks is it?"
…
Suddenly she screamed as the floor gave way beneath her and she fell into a whole new world.
—
Noelle fell hitting the ground hard and felt her eyes starting to water. She heard a taunting laugh from above her coming from the one who had scared her. She couldn't see past their messy hair but she knew full well those red eyes were looking down at her.
She resisted the urge to cry. "Kris, that wasn't funny!"
Dess ran up to make sure her sister was alright. "Hey I told you to stop doing that!"
Noelle didn't like his so called pranks, more often than not it was just an excuse to scare her and this time was no different. She shuddered remembering some of the worse ones… she still checked under her bed every night.
Kris mumbled an apology but was then shoved down themselves by Dess. "You're lucky I didn't bring the bat this time." Noelle grinned a bit, it was always enjoyable seeing Dess get back at Kris for her.
They all stopped hearing a shout from Asriel. "HEY GUYS LOOK AT ME."
Rubbing her eyes she looked over and saw Asriel standing on top of a tall rock proudly waving his arms in the air.
"I am the king of ALL monsters and this is my castle. You are all my peasants now!"
Noelle couldn't help but smile as she saw Dess walking in front of Asriel, she had picked up a stick. "Well then I'm starting a revolution! Give up your highness or we will overthrow you ourselves."
Asriel pretended to be completely shocked. "Betrayal! I am being threatened, Kris I promote you to Super Mega General; deal with these rebellious rapscallions!"
She turned to see Kris was wielding a stick of his own and approached Dess. They both started swinging at each other boldly stating how superior they were, both full of bravado and laughter. Noelle and Asriel watched their friends and shouted words of encouragement.
"Get her Kris!"
"You can do it Dess!"
The two fiercely fought on, stick clashing off of stick. They couldn't actually try to hit each other, last time that happened someone got hurt and their parents had given them the lecture of the century. Even with that though it was battle of the ages, an epic duel between two great warriors. At least to them it was, to an adult it would just be two children flailing around.
Noelle noticed the orange tinted sky and felt her smile drop. "Hey it's getting late, we should go home."
Everyone stopped and sadly gazed up wishing they could've had just a bit longer, but they knew Noelle was right. They all remembered last time Kris and Asriel were a bit late coming home… that was the day they learnt what a missing person report was.
They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways home.
"That was fun, I hope we get to do this again tomorrow."
"Yeah, I just wish Kris would stop always trying to scare you."
"Oh, no, it's fine honestly, I don't mind."
"Really? Then why do you still look under the bed every night?"
"Hey!"
The two sisters laughed. In that moment it felt like nothing could split them apart.
They both continued walking through the forest.
—
She alone continued walking through the cyber fields.
This place was strange, she wasn't sure how she got here, she remembered going into the library but the rest was a blur. She had awoken in a snow white dress instead of her usual festive sweater and skirt, as well as that her fur looked more blue, …colder. It was all so strange.
Her inner thinking were suddenly cut off by a laugh coming from behind her scaring her. She turned to see someone sitting in what looked to be a floating chair.
"W-who are you?"
"I Am Known As Serial Number Q5U4EX7YY2E9N."
Noelle tried saying it but had stopped five letters in. "Uh I-is there anything else I c-can call you?"
"You, Child, May Call Me 'Queen'."
Queen waved her arms and a digital imagine of her face with the word Queen under it appeared.
"Well I'm N-Noelle."
Queen paused for a second. "Ah Yes Noelle Holiday Last Activity One Day(s) And Nineteen Hours Ago. You Visited Four Websites, Played One Game And Searched 25 Christmas Related Subjects."
She started backing away as various images appeared around Queen. How did they know…
"L-look I was just going t-to the computer lab to do s-some schoolwork, m-maybe you c-could just tell me… w-where it…"
"Noelle, You Don't Need To Study When You Have An Entire Day Of Procrastination Ahead Of You. Simply Agree To Become My Peon And I Can Help You."
"A-and if I don't?"
"Then I'll Have To Capture You And Force You To Join Me!"
Noelle froze on the spot.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
"Calculating Probability Of Running Away … 101% Ok Get The Cage."
At that Noelle's brain decided to follow its instincts of, as some might put it, getting the hell out of there. She turned around and started running as fast as she could. She didn't look behind her, if Queen was chasing her she didn't want to know. Her brain had given her a single task for her body to do, run. But the green ground continued on, it was seemingly infinite with only little glows of yellow to break up the monotony.
She ran and ran, how far would she have gone? She wasn't sure, how long would she have ran? Perhaps for 10 minutes possibly for an hour or maybe even forever. Who could be sure? Unfortunately we would never know as her hoof got caught in a small crater and she tripped. Desperately, in panic, she called out.
"Somebody help me…"
Her body hurt and she was scared,
"Somebody, please…"
Footsteps. She gazed up and she couldn't believe her eyes. "Susie!?"
Susie was here? How had she… that didn't matter right now, a small smile started appearing on her face.
"Cool that you're here, just…"
Seeing her there, for a moment she forgot about the pain and everything but unfortunately reality cares little for such pleasantries and it only took a second for it to came back in the form of an electric cage.
"Wait, get out of here before it's too late!"
The strange device trapped her and brought her away, all that she heard was Susie calling her name before a familiar laugh echoed in her ears. As she was brought her to wherever the cage went. If she had any breath left she would've screamed.
—
What… what happened before? She rubbed her head, it still hurt from the impact. She remembered she went on a rollercoaster, which was pretty fun… until it crashed that is. Some good news though, Berdly was fine… and he had joined Queen… she had joined Queen. That was a good thing wasn't it? Queen seemed friendly enough outside of the entire capturing thing… besides it's not like she could've refused…
Walking down the city streets felt exciting. It reminded her of the old days when they'd explore the forests around the town, the times where they'd all have fun messing about, the times before Dess… Noelle stop it, think about the city instead and all the amazing sights here. It was just as striking up close as it was from afar. Though the cars she could do without; she never did like crossing roads.
Turning another corner she continued. Everything here was so unique, the dazzling neon lights everywhere and the smell of machinery. It was strangely chilly, not that she cared. She took a moment, standing still, to listen to the sounds of the city; the cars, the chatter of advertisements and the footsteps of someone behind h- wait what?
She turned around frantically and was relieved to see Kris standing there.
"K-Kris! What are you-" she was suddenly cut off.
"Oh Noelle Sweetie." A robotic voice called out.
Noelle quickly whispered "Don't let her find me…" before diving into the nearby alleyway.
She could feel her heart beating as Queen spoke to Kris. She couldn't make out everything but heard a couple terms including something about a truce. Wait that noise … Berdly was here … in all honestly she really didn't know how to feel about that.
Her feelings soon changed after Queen… jumped… right above her… Berdly could have been saying the secrets of the universe for all she knew because at that moment she heard nothing but her heart beating and heavy breathing. Resisting the urge to scream or panic she calmed herself. Eventually Berdly left and Queen soon followed. The relief was overwhelming. She walked out of the alley and approached Kris.
"Kris, I … um … if it's okay… g-got any room for another truce?"
She had no idea how much those few words would change not only her life, but the fate of the world.
"K… Kris…? Isn't that the wrong way…?"
—
They approached the end of the road. It was a single solitary house in the middle of the garbage dump. Kris tried the door but found it locked.
"Kris…? Wh-why did you bring me here…?" She spoke but got no reaction.
"No one's home… no, no one's around at all."
"It's … it's so creepy…"
Noelle couldn't help but find it … somewhat nostalgic. It was strange, everything was strange. Kris, why did he bring her here? He brought her back to a dead end, there wasn't even anything to do or see… no there were those … creatures or enemies as Kris called them. There were so many of them… but it didn't matter. They all attacked and were all frozen.
It was the right thing to do wasn't it? They attacked her and Kris first so it was justified right? She felt queasy, it was unnerving seeing them frozen solid… but they weren't real people were they? They weren't like the monsters of Hometown, they were just enemies… she had to do this or else she would've… been…
Her thoughts suddenly cut off by another strange creature attacking them. She brought her hands up blocking an incoming attack, it hit her, it hurt a lot. Then she heard the voice.
"Use IceShock"
She shivered a bit, she didn't like it. She always felt nervous and scared but she didn't let her emotions impede her. Almost by instinct she channeled her inner strength and released a powerful magic spell that froze the enemy in ice.
Noelle became stronger.
It was just in self defence… right?
—
She followed Kris as he approached the strange pink person. They didn't seem threatening so maybe she wouldn't be told to … she glanced at Kris, he had a seemingly uncaring face. She had started feeling a bit unsettled by them, the almost clockwork way he walked, their complete lack of emotion and his voice… it sounded so different. She was still creeped out by the ferris wheel, he said he'd ride with her… he said it not as if to ask but instead as if he was stating a fact. No Noelle stop endlessly worrying, you've known him for years he's obviously just pulling a prank of some sort.
The 'person' started speaking to them.
"Ohhon! Two young beings together on a school night…"
It looked at them, it had a smile on its face and a sale to make. "Could I interest you in some brand new Dating Shoes…?"
Dating shoes? "H-huh...? No, no, you've got it totally wrong!"
She quickly muttered out a correction. "Kris and I are just… umm… fr… friends?"
Even if he jokes around sometimes Kris's still been her neighbour practically forever. They've been through so much sometimes it feels like… they know each other better than anyone… yet, somehow, it's hard to say they're exactly friends…?
"We're something else"
?! What does that mean? There's no good interpretation, that's for sure! Did he imply they were… no what was she thinking? This was just part of one of his 'hilarious' pranks. Soon he'd try to scare her or something just for a laugh. But as she followed him away the pink shoe seller spoke again.
"If you're something else, maybe a Dating Shoes isn't right…?"
Keeping its previous charm and confidence it continued, "Maybe I could interest you in a FreezeRing?"
Kris and Noelle once again approached the salesman. "Huh…? A ring…?"
She laughed. "Faha, sorry, I don't think WE need something like that!"
With some exaggerated hand gestures he continued his pitch. "C'mon, angel! You can't get stronger without good equipment! "
"Stronger…? R-right, I guess that's how it works here…" she laughed again, the idea of Kris buying her a ring? Yeah, right! There's no way that'd hap-
"Get it"
That caught her off guard. "H… huh? Kris, you'd… buy it for me…?" she said unbelievingly.
"Sure I guess … we could ask about it." She didn't want to refuse a gift.
She turned back to the seemingly pleased salesman. "How much does it cost?"
They flashed a smile. "Just a small fee of $2,513."
"Huh? S-sorry, we don't have that much money!"
Still, it was nice of Kris to offer…
"Get it"
"Huh? Me…?"
This was going to be the punchline to the joke wasn't it? Well why not go along, this time he wouldn't surprise her.
"You… were asking ME to get it! Kris, c'mon, you know we can't afford that."
"Get it"
"Wh… what?" Were… were they really serious about getting that ring for her? But they didn't have enough for it.
"Kris, I just told you we… we don't have the money." But he just continued staring at her.
"What… what are you asking me to do…?" Suddenly a terrible thought crossed her mind.
"You… you aren't asking me to just…?"
"Get it"
"K-Kris, no, I… not me, I could never…" she felt sweat on her forehead. She saw the pink figure standing there looking none the wiser. He couldn't seriously want her to…
"Get it"
"I…"
She opened her eyes and the salesman was gone… what… what just happened? Did she actually just… no, they … they must have given it to them. The ring…
Besides … it's good to get stronger, isn't it?
"Th… thanks, Kris!" was all she could say as the freezing metal touched her finger.
—
She made her way through the empty streets. Was she really doing the right thing? At first it was in self defence but now… they were running. Despite that Kris chased them and she froze them… and it felt good. It was wrong, she felt sick to her stomach and her brain was telling her to stop, but despite that, there was one part of her… a part saying this was good… that it's natural… but was it really? No she couldn't ponder such questions while another enemy way in sight. It moved back seeing them approach but Kris quickly caught up and she followed.
Another battle begun. She couldn't bring herself to look the creature in the eyes.
"Use IceShock"
—
Noelle brought up her hands concentrating on her target. She felt her power release and strike the target.
A couple icicle appeared on the 'master crafted' dummy which had already half fallen apart.
"Hey it worked this time!" Asriel cheered.
Noelle was still disappointed in herself "It worked? I just made some icicles."
"Hey it's progress, most people have trouble getting anything to happen." Dess said, supportive of her as always.
"But why all this fighting magic anyway? It's not like I'll need to use it."
"I know you want to learn healing magic but it's some of the hardest to do, you need to practice with easier forms first and work your way up."
Noelle sighed "I guess your right.
"Least you have it." Kris, who had been silently watching until now, pointed out.
"Yeah, suppose that's one way to look at it." Noelle felt better about her less than impressive magic and a bit bad for Kris. She remembered before, back when he was going through, as Toriel put it, his 'goat phase'. He was always asking if he could use magic and those horns that he wore were great.
"Actually, you two aren't going to the fair this weekend right? You can practice magic while we're gone." Asriel said still sitting on the rock he claimed the day before before.
"Good idea Azzy. Shame about dad being sick, he's even getting a checkup soon." Noelle said, she was a bit sad about missing the yearly fair but if it was for her dads health it was fine.
"Just keep Kris entertained, without Noelle to prank he might get bored." Dess said with a joking tone.
"I'm NEVER going onto a Ferris wheel with him again." At that they all laughed.
"Mom still gives him shame for that one." Asriel said, still laughing.
"But hey don't worry about us, while your off having fun I'll make sure Noelle has the best magic in town. Her magic may seem weak right now but by the time you're back, I'll make sure she's stronger."
—
Following Kris Noelle found herself blocked by more mice related barriers. "L… Look, Kris! Another puzzle!"
"H… How should we solve it this time?"
"Proceed"
He stepped towards her forcing her back. "H… how?"
"There's nowhere to go."
"Kris, there's… the path is blocked isn't it?
"Proceed"
Once again stepping back getting a bit scared. "Kris… what are you doing?"
Her heart beat louder and louder. "Kris, is … is everything okay?"
"Proceed"
Going even further back. "Kris, there's lightning in the way…"
His face was emotionless. "If… if we move any further… I'll be…"
Her legs tremble. "K… Kris, you didn't really hear what I said earlier, did you?"
She was terrified "You… you wouldn't let me…"
"Proceed"
He once again walked further, she felt the edge of her fur sizzling as it touched the lightning. "K… Kris?"
"Proceed"
The puzzle was frozen over. "Th… there… looks like I … I did it?"
See she just, listened to Kris's command and before she knew it… the puzzle was finished. He wasn't trying to hurt her… he was making her stronger.
—
It was cold… no she was cold. Her finger, her hand, her entire body, her very heart. The city was dead quiet, nothing but her and … Kris's footsteps. Those tiny mice, they tried to run, tried to hide but they were too slow. They were chased, dealt with… and Noelle became stronger.
And the stronger she became… the more that part of her took control… the part she always repressed, the part she never let anyone know about… for too long it had expressed itself through sometimes masochistic desires, but now it wanted more.
Following the path there was yet another puzzle blocking their way.
"I'll … go ahead and do the puzzle!"
But… wasn't it a good thing? She was solving things by herself. Taking new things for herself. Defeating enemies by herself. And every time she did it… she got stronger.
… what did she do when she got that ring? When she solved that puzzle? … it … it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if she can't remember. It doesn't matter if the battles are blurring together.
If Kris tells her to do it… she can do things she could never do before. Isn't it a good thing? … I'm getting stronger.
… as long as she … just does what they say. As long as she…
"All finished, Kris." She said cheerfully. "Should we find some more enemies?"
—
"We should find some more time to practice, your doing great with all this training!"
"R-really? You think so?"
Noelle beamed, she had actually managed to freeze part of the dummy, it took a few hours worth of training but she did it. And Dess was proud of her too!
"I mean every word." Dess smiled.
"Now what?" Noelle asked sitting on the ground, she was too tired from everything to continue practicing.
"Hey let's explore, maybe we'll find something we can show Kris and Azzy when they come back.
"I guess we could, not like we'll find anything inter-" she was interrupted by Dess blocking her mouth.
"Shhhhh wait! Do'u hear that?"
They went perfectly quiet… there was an almost silent noise. It sounded strange… it gave Noelle shivers.
"I think it's coming from that direction." Dess said before running off.
"Hey wait!" Noelle shouted though her message didn't get through.
She sprinted in the same direction as her sister.
—
He heard the sound of the lightness coming to him. The new buyers of his [Commemorative Ring].
"[Angel], [Angel]. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE [Ring] OF [Thorns]."
"Yes"
"THat'll be 1997 KROMER."
"Yes"
HERES YOUR [Ring]! CAREFUL, IT MIGHT [Sting] EAHEAHEAH."
There was a brief gasp of pain before silence for a minute, he heard the sound of them leaving.
Alone he muttered to himself.
"EAHEAH TWO LIGHTNERS TOGETHER, BOTH DANGLED BY THE SAME [Silly Strings]."
The puppet of a puppet, how poetic. Well he didn't have time for that philosophy nonsense, after all, he had a room to reclaim, a form to take and some strings to cut.
—
The world felt so calm, so empty, so cold. Noelle could feel her frozen body, it didn't matter to her. Everything felt numb, numb from the cold, the pain, the violence. The ring of thorns was painful, so so painful, but it didn't hurt. Instead it was as if it made her mind at peace. And as Kris led her through the decrepit streets of a city once filled with life, she was at an equilibrium.
Suddenly they stopped. Ahead there was another enemy, another creature, another opportunity to become stronger. The thing tried to speak, it was trying to cheat its fate wasn't it? But it was too late for that.
"Kris, It looks like another enemy." She knew her place, Kris would order and she would comply.
"Should I freeze them?" She felt a small smile across her face at the idea of becoming stronger.
But then she heard a faint voice, a voice she recognised.
"N… Noelle? Noelle it's me, don't you recognise me!?"
Suddenly she awoke from the pain induced trace. She saw a familiar blue figure in front of her.
"B… Berdly!?"
"Noelle, are you ok…? What… what are you doing with Kris?" Berdly looked and sounded so concerned.
"I'm just, we're just…" She sighed. "Getting …stronger."
"Getting stronger… how? Kris, what are you doing?"
"Proceed"
Noelle's eyes widened while Berdly was confused at those words. "Wh… what? Proceed… where?"
He turned to her "Noelle, what are they talking about!?"
She couldn't bring herself to reply…
"Th-that's it, Kris! I don't know what your doing… but if your hurting my friend Noelle…"
A glowing halberd appeared in his hand.
"Then I have no choice but to stop you by force! Kris, ready yourself!"
"W-wait, Berdly, stop!" Noelle desperately pleaded, she knew what was about to happen.
"Run away!"
But it was in vein as Berdly was already determined to stop them.
"Defend"
She followed Kris's order and threw up a wall of ice to protect her. It was unnecessary as Berdly focused on hitting Kris.
The battle raged but she barely noticed. Despite their best efforts, Kris went down.
"N-Noelle look! Kris is down! Now's your chance to come back over here!"
She wanted to… but instead she didn't move.
"N-Noelle?"
She could still… hear his voice… and it had but a single order.
"Use SnowGrave"
"S-snowgrave? I… I don't know that spell." Snowgrave…
"Use SnowGrave"
"I'm telling you, I… I… I don't know what your talking about," … but why was that name so… familiar.
"Use SnowGrave"
"I'm telling you stop! I… I don't know what your talking about!" The command echoed in her head.
"Use SnowGrave"
His voice only grew louder and louder. "Fine. You want to see what happens so bad? Watch what happens when I cast a spell I don't know!"
"Use SnowGrave"
At that she concentrated all her strength into one action.
Everything was blurry, there was so much snow and wind… what was happening? It was like a blizzard was happening around her body.
She fell to the floor on her knees, the entire alley was freezing cold.
"What… what happened?"
"There was so much snow I couldn't see anything…"
"I…"
"I don't feel so good."
"I think"
"I'm going to go home."
Noelle stood up and slowly walked away.
—
He watched it happen. He had seen it all… why… why him, why her. Even if they had grown apart in the years he still cherished those childhood memories and to see his oldest friend broken down like this… it was horrifying.
He had wanted it to stop, he had wanted to say it was wrong, he had wanted to apologise, to say sorry for this for everything. Why… why was It not satisfied with just him? So much so It had to obtain a new puppet for It's twisted game.
He could resist It, maybe not entirely, but he still had some control. The other girl, his friend, was strong, she could resist It's influence and had at times even completely ignored It. The other one knew… they knew much more than they let on. But her… she couldn't do anything… she was powerless against It's manipulation… and what It had done with that control over her…
He wanted to cry as he saw his friends, he so desperately wanted to tell them… to tell them everything. But he was unable to. He could only watch as his body unwillingly continued into the mansion.
Desperately he screamed in silence… but nobody came.
—
She lay down in the bed. It was so cold. The bed's warm thick blanket doing little to help her. She felt tears on her cheek but instead of the usual warmth they were starting to freeze. She felt sick… so, so sick. If her stomachs was in knots then it would have taken a century to untie. She focused on the pain in her finger, the rings barbs cutting deep into her skin leaving a mark and releasing blood. The pain was her only comfort, it numbed her senses.
She had tried going home but didn't know the way; instead she wandered going somewhere, anywhere which ended up being Queen's mansion. Queen took one look at her before deciding she needed rest. Was this really it for her? She was always weak, too weak to talk to Susie, to weak for Queen, too weak to… to… Kris and Berdly…
Had… had she really… no, no, NO! She didn't kill Berdly, she didn't kill Berdly, she didn't kill Berdly. Her breathing was heavy as she sobbed into the pillow. Everything was overwhelming. What she did… was it really the right thing to do? It had to be right… Kris said it was, he said she needed to become stronger, he said she needed to freeze them. And he wouldn't lie to her… would he?
She was only brought out of her sobbing by a sound, was… was someone speaking? How long had it been, was she going crazy? Or maybe she already had. Finally looking up she saw Susie standing there. She bit back the immediate instinct to use IceShock.
"Noelle! Hey! You uh… you with me now?"
"S-Susie?" She quietly whispered, almost unbelievingly.
"Finally! Been calling your name for a while." She looked relieved.
"I mean… uhhh here I am to save you or something." She struck a supposedly heroic pose.
Noelle just went back to lying down.
"Noelle? Are … are you okay?"
She just sobbed again, if only Susie knew what she did…
"Hey, uhhh, you don't look so good… well uh look, if something happened don't worry! This is uhhh just a dream!"
She suddenly went quiet for a minute processing this. "R…really?"
"Uh yeah this is, uhh, yep it's just a dream. You must've… fallen asleep at the computer lab."
"A-a dream?"
"Pretty much, guess I was sent here by your brain to tell you."
"A dream…" she repeated.
It… it wasn't real… none of it was real. It all made sense now, Kris, the creatures, the world. It was just her imagination. The relief she felt in that moment was beyond compare.
"Guess it makes sense."
"Huh?"
"Why would the real Susie ever want to help me? I'm too weak to be worth noticing, she wouldn't even pick on me."
Susie seemed surprised at her words but that expression quickly went away.
"Also the tail."
Susie immediately tried to hide it. Noelle just started to stare off at nothing in particular.
"… hey, you seem a bit uh … distracted."
"I'm just… a bit tired."
"Guess maybe I should just … leave then… you know to uh give you some piece and quiet right? Well uh, bye."
She just lied down without a word. She heard the door open and close. Despite knowing it wasn't real she still felt cold, pained and exhausted. This was certainly a strange dream. Maybe Susie was right, she could use a rest.
—
"Noelle"
She immediately awoke. Where was she? This was still the dream. She was in the same bed as before.
"Noelle"
At that her body snapped up. Her head didn't care to try answer any questions, instead it focused on the voice in her head.
"Noelle"
She stood up and ran, faster than she had thought possible. Her legs begged her to stop, before she might've but now … she was stronger.
"Noelle"
Turning a corner she saw something, it was huge, huge and threatening. Two great wings, a head with an unhinged jaw and crazed look. She saw Kris on the floor, it had hurt him, she had to help him.
"WHAT'S SHE GONNA DO, MAKE ME AN [Ice Cream]!?"
Noelle felt her magic flow through her, with immense power at her fingertips she unleashed a devastating assault.
"HEY, IS IT COLD IN HERE OR IS IT JUST ME?"
She heard it's final words before she hit her target, she saw its last moments before it's icy end, she saw it freeze in front of her eyes before a wave of feelings hit her. She felt good, powerful, she had saved Kris and defeated a terrible creature. This, this was it, the rush of power, of everything. Her choice to help affected the world.
Looking up she saw a red heart go into the fountain, suddenly everything went black.
—
BEEP BEEP
"H-huh… Berdly's… alarm?" She felt her arms against the wooden table and the warmth of the room.
"A dream…? It was really just a…" she gazed across the table and saw… "Susie!?"
"Susie! What are you doing here?"
"Uhhh… you invited us to study, remember?"
She had completely forgotten. "Oh, right! I did, didn't I! Haha!"
"… uhh, you're in a good mood. Did you, uh, have a good dream?"
"It was a nightmare." She felt so relieved.
"Oh." Susie sounded surprised.
"I'm … just happy I woke up."
There was a brief silence.
"The… end was nice though."
"What happened?"
HAHA, w-well, umm -"
"HAHA, HEY, Berdly time to get up and go!"
Berdly laid there, unmoving.
"…Berdly?" He didn't even flinch… Noelle felt a chill go down her spine.
"Gosh, you've been studying too much, Berdly. Honestly, you deserve a little rest, y'know. Sweet dreams!"
Noelle walked towards the door before turning around to Susie.
"Wh… what are you doing?"
"You don't have a tail, do you, Susie?"
"H-huh?! No way, of course not!"
"Really? That's great!" She said cheerfully. And with that she left the library with a smile.
—
"This is weird" she mumbled nervously. And with that she approached the strange hill.
"Hey, w-wait, isn't this that h-hill with the weird b-bunker everyone's afraid of?" Noelle asked concerned.
"Don't let the stories get to you, they just say that to scare people."
They went around the hill and were surprised to see an open door.
"The door here's open? I thought it was always closed?" Dess said curiously.
Looking inside it was pure black, not a single light in sight.
"This is c-creepy, we should leave." Noelle recommended.
"Are you kidding? And miss out on finally seeing whatever's in there? This is the ultimate opportunity, I wouldn't miss it for all the mince pies in the world." Dess said excitedly before running in.
"Hey!" Noelle said in vain as Dess had already decided to do it.
She stood there for a moment before biting her lip and against her better judgement, her gut and practically every sense of self preservation her body had, she decided to follow Dess.
Noelle walked into the bunker.
—
Noelle walked into the hospital room.
It was quite bleak with most of the room being a plain white, personally she couldn't imagine being stuck in it. She was greeted by the sight of her dad waving her in.
"Hey, here comes my daily source of entertainment."
She gave him a grin. "Dad!"
"Heh, well any news? Hows that group project coming along?"
"No, nothing important, and don't worry about the group project, it's … going well."
"Good, good. Now did you bring the game? This empty canvas of a room doesn't exactly have a lot to do or look at. If it wasn't for you and Asgore's flowers I might have gone crazier than Mrs Dreemurr."
She laughed a bit at that, everyone knew how much of a nut job Toriel could be sometimes. "Don't worry dad, I brought the game this time."
"Well then why are you standing there? We have some enemies to defeat!"
He chuckled but she bit her tongue while continuing to take out the device, she sat on the bed and started playing, all was going well until the boss.
"Hey I don't remember this one."
"Silver Drake, huh? That's a new one. Alright, what's the plan, honey?"
"Hmm… maybe we could try…" she saw one of the choices and instinctively "IceShock?"
"Ice on the Ice Palace boss? Don't you wanna try FireShock or something?"
"H-huh?! Yeah, you're right."
"Here, how about letting me control for a bit?"
She flinched at that. "N-no! I'll… control it myself."
"Not like you to be a controller hog, honey. You feeling alright?"
"Huh? Me? Of course! I'm fine, dad… I just… I fell asleep at the library, and… you know, just had a weird dream. Haha." It was just a nightmare… she shouldn't worry him.
"Noelle… I knew that birdbrain'd put you to sleep! Haha! What did he do, start lecturing you on his theorum… of the inequality in children's fighting games?"
"Hahaha, no, no! He… fell asleep too."
"Wow, he even put himself to sleep? Ha!"
"Haha, yeah I guess so!"
"Well sounds like, you two've been hitting the books too hard. Why don't you go home and hibernate? I'll see you tomorrow at church."
"Dad? Are you gonna be alright to go…?"
"Of course! You take it easy, honey."
"Okay then… yeah, I'll go home and rest."
She stepped off the bed and put away her game.
"See you tomorrow, honey."
"Bye, dad. Love you!"
She turned to leave but she saw who was standing there… her heart skipped a beat.
"Kris?! Kris, what are you doing here?"
"Hell if I know."
"S-SUSIE!?"
"Ohhhhhhh! THIS is Susie! Susie, nice heard a lot about you."
"You, uh… have?"
"COOL, THINK I HAVE TO GO NOW!"
She ran past Kris and out of the room.
She stopped in the room outside. Kris was here, he was the one who… no he didn't do that.
Sighing she reassured herself. Come on, it … it was just a bad dream…
Even so, it was so real, she couldn't get it out of her mind…
… that voice, telling her what to do.
A voice unlike Kris's…
… a terrifying voice…
…
Kris…
Recently, there's been something … different… about them.
Why hasn't anyone else noticed it…?
She… she have to figure it out.
Why Kris is acting so strange
Why they keep coming, to the hospital…
"To see you."
"H-Huh?"
"K-Kris? How long have you been standing there!?"
"Phew you… haha, you really scared me, you know?"
Keep it together Noelle…
There's nothing to be afraid of…
After all, a dream is just a dream, right…?"
"…"
Suddenly her eyes widened.
"Kris…?" She saw a small silver object around his wrist.
" Why are you wearing my watch?"
" Wh… when did you…"
"Hey, Kris! Let's beat it already." Susie came back before Kris could say anything.
"Man, he kept telling me about Noelle, like… her favourite things, places she'd like to go… no idea what the hell that was about." Susie was completely oblivious to the previous conversation.
Noelle didn't dare speak.
"So, uh, the hell were you two doing?"
"O-oh, u-um, n-nothing, Susie! I was… I was just about to go home! U-umm… see you!" She said in a panic.
She left the hospital and quickly looked back over her shoulder before running home.
—
She ran home, as fast as her legs could carry her she ran. With tears in her eyes and dirt on her skirt she ran. She arrived at the gate and fidgeted with the key for a moment before opening it.
She had to tell mom, tell dad, tell anybody.
Running towards the front door, she opened it with haste.
—
She entered her house. Her mother wouldn't be here for a couple hours… she didn't even feel like eating and just went to bed. On the way, she thought about earlier…
It, it was a prank right? Right!? Maybe he just… Berdly was really tired and, and, and then Kris just happened to have taken her watch as some sort of joke. It was a dream! It had to be a dream.
But then she remembered something, slowly she brought her hand up and sure enough there it was. Some strange ring but beneath it and the fur were several small scars… they looked the exact same as the dream. She was horrified. It … it couldn't be …? No, no, NO, no this wasn't real. Maybe she already had it? And the dream was just coincidence? None of it was real. None of it!
She lay down on her bed, hungry, tired and yet again on the verge of tears.
But… if it had been just a dream, … then why, … why did she feel so cold?
—
Because it wasn't a dream… but she doesn't know that yet, let's not ruin the surprise eh?
This is just for extra notes or comments about the chapter/clarity on stuff such as that I will kindly pretend the ending to chapter 2 doesn't exist and that I don't need to create and entire dark world. Also I do know the dark world was made after they were in the computer lab but I realised that afterwards and it's just easier to keep it this way. Outside of that the story should remain the same… for now.
Fortunately for you all I've already practically written the next several chapters and will mostly just have some minor editing/rewriting for them. They will also generally be shorter than this one but considering this ended up being 7.5k words that isn't saying much.
Well anyway look forward to Noelle's life getting darker yet darker.