This fic is my formal apology to Berdly. Look bro, I'm sorry for doing the Snowgrave Route I really am! Please forgive me!

I challenged myself to write this in a week, so apology in advance for the ending. I'm at my limit, i had to stop writing or else I would never get an ending that satisfied me. Anyway, I hope you have a good read.

Alternate Title: Berdly uses a pro gamer move

The ambient sounds of the cyber city were nonexistent.

The city was silent, like it froze over.

"Where is my dear Noelle and my wondrous Queen? I've looked in every used game store as well as any store with a room temperature below 60 degrees, yet they are nowhere to be found." I said to no one in particular.

How long had I been searching now? I checked my smart scouter one more time. My beak sighed in frustration. It had been 2 hours already! I was starting to get worried about my dear Noelle. She must be so scared, lost in this city all alone. She must be waiting for her knight in glow in the dark armor to save her! I hummed in satisfaction thinking about the grand rescue of Noelle by none other than myself, the ultimate genius/gamer extraordinaire!

Ha ha! I swept a feathered hand over the blue feathers on my head. I'm just too cool!

Suddenly I heard footsteps approaching me from behind. I turned around and was surprised and relieved to see that Noelle had ran into me in this random alleyway. Looks like she didn't need a warrior of brave intelligence to save her after all.

She looked well, swell even.

"Noelle! There you are! Just in time! We can both go back to Queen and-"

Wait, I took a step forward as I noticed that Noelle wasn't alone.

That blue skin.

That stone-faced visage.

That cold stare.

That edgy hairstyle hiding their eyes, and of course that undeniable aura of idiocy.

That... was Kris, and they were standing in front of Noelle.

"..." I awkwardly paused, staring at Noelle and Kris's still figures. Are they in cahoots?

"Noelle?" I try getting Noelle's attention. Apparently she didn't hear me address her the first time.

"Kris, it looks like another enemy. Should I freeze them?" Noelle said with a small smile on her face. Her eyes were closed while she spoke, something was off with my friend.

Maybe she wasn't as well off as she seemed.

"N... Noelle? Noelle, it's me, don't you recognize me!?" I asked again, nervous. I was beginning to get freaked out with Noelle's odd behavior.

"... !?" The girl opened her eyes and her demeanor sputtered upon recognizing me, her intellectual partner-in-crime. Thankfully my words managed to snap Noelle out of whatever trance she was in.

"B... Berdly!?" She exclaimed in shock.

"Noelle, are you okay...?" I ask her, but when she shivered and cowered behind Kris I could no longer ignore the domineering presence that they seemed to bear over Noelle. So instead I asked a better question.

"What... What are you doing with Kris?"

Somehow, Kris' stare become colder when I acknowledged them. Yikes! Was the alley really this cold before?

"I'm just, we're just... getting... stronger." Noelle responded.

"Getting stronger... how?" I DEFINITELY didn't like the sound of that. Noelle wasn't making any sense... what was Kris doing to her?

"Kris, what are you doing!?" I finally deigned to question Kris.

Their answer was simple: "Proceed."

"Wh... what? Proceed... where?" I said, the confusion in my voice palpable. Kris's voice didn't sound normal, for some reason it was unnerving and scary... not scary enough to get through me! That was a lie. I could feel a cold sweat forming on my brow the more I looked at them. Since when was Kris intimidating? This had to be another one of Kris's patented pranks to get back at me!

"Noelle, what are they talking about!?" I asked for clarification from Noelle...

"..." But the girl answered with silence. Grr... the questions were piling up, Kris and Noelle are acting very strange, and I was the only person whose brain was working to find answers like a nerve wracking game of TTT. That's it, I had enough of this! I gathered up my confidence and proceeded to put a stop to whatever Kris was doing to my friend.

"Th-that's it, Kris! I don't know what you're doing... but if you're hurting my friend Noelle..."

DING I raised my right hand and summoned my royal halbird. "Then I have no choice but to stop you by force! Kris, ready yourself!" With bravado, I prepared to fight my classmates. If Kris really was hurting Noelle in any way, shape, or form, then I will go all out! No more playing around, I'm serious!

"W-wait, Berdly, stop! Run away!" Noelle shouted a warning in what was no doubt fear for me, but I couldn't listen to her now. I turned on my smart scouter and switched from recon to combat mode. As the battle started I noticed Noelle's eyes glaze over as she fell back into a trance. Don't worry, my beloved Noelle! I'll save you from this ruffian!

Berdly blocks the way!

Now it was time to fight, and that hostile lifeform, Kris, had the first turn.

"Concentrate." Kris commanded Noelle.

"Concentrate on what?" Noelle had nothing to concentrate on, but she did it anyway.

Her MAGIC increased!

Take this! SPEAR BLAST!

HA! First attack and I already had taken away more than half of Kris's Health Points! That buffoon was not prepared for my speed and strength! Now they will know I won't be holding back!

On their turn Kris told Noelle to defend, and they chose to glare at me.

"Wh... what!?" I yell in abject horror. Oh sweet heavens to yikes, that's terrifying! Fear crept up my back, but I kept my composure. A single glare won't defeat me... multiple glares however... well... they won't try that, right?

"Trying to psyche me out, Kris? W-well... it's not working!" I loudly proclaim with only a minute stutter betraying my true feelings.

Berdly's DEFENSE dropped!

I use my spear attack again but Kris does a better job at dodging my projectiles, taking only one hit. Ah come on! Kris just defended and forced Noelle to heal them back to full HP. I attack again but this time with my tornadoes and I get two hits on Kris. They order Noelle to use 'iceshock', without hesitation she throws her hands out as magic dances around her fingers and before I know it my whole body is struck by ice dealing critical damage. OUCH! How much damage did that do? I look at my scouter's HUD to check my stats and- TH-TH-THAT'S NOT F-FAIR! I only have 13% of my health left! All that damage from one spell from Noelle... how, no, WHY is she so strong!?

I-I-I-I don't stand a chance! Wait, no! I can't think like that... I need to save Noelle. K-Kris is the cause of all of this! I just have to keep attacking Kris until they fall. Then I'll take the chance to convince Noelle to come to me! For the next couple turns I attack Kris with my royal halbird, but that pesky human kept dodging all of my attack patterns. Each time it was Kris's turn a part of me fearfully anticipated them to command Noelle to attack me again and defeat me, but it never happened. They would just pull out their shield and make Noelle summon an ice wall to protect themselves. It was like Kris was waiting for something.

... I got you now, Kris! Yes, this time all of my shots connected and Kris went down. Kris did a horrible job at dodging my Spear Blast attack this time. They just couldn't keep up with me, natural of their #3 status... Anyway, now I must capitalize on this moment and save Noelle.

"N-Noelle, look! Kris is down! Now's your chance to come back over here!"

Noelle didn't even react to me. Looking at my friend I notice that my scouter reads her HP as '55/160', but that doesn't make any sense! I've specifically avoided targeting her this whole fight, so why is she injured!?

"... N...Noelle?" I ask in concern, but she only mumbles incomprehensibly.

("I can... still... hear... their voice...")

To my dismay, Noelle chose to revive Kris instead. I use my tornado attack once more but to no avail. Not even a single hit, grr. Kris brought out their shield to defend-

"Snowgrave."

... Wh-what!?

"S...Snowgrave? I... I don't know that spell." Noelle responds to Kris.

She must as confused as I am. What k-kind of spell is named SNOWGRAVE!?

"Snowgrave." K-Kris orders again in that s-scary voice. I feel an instinctual urge to run for my life, but I beat it down. I am a gamer for heavens sake! True gamers don't leave their party members behind!

"I'm telling you, I... I... I don't know what you're talking about." Noelle says.

"... Snowgrave." Kris orders a third time.

"I'm telling you, stop! I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Noelle repeats herself, noticeably frustrated.

Hm, this is suspicious. If Kris is telling Noelle to use a spell she doesn't know... then... HAH... HAHAHAHA! Kris is bluffing! They're trying to scare me off with a fake threat like I'm a child!

"Kris, you absolute buffoon! You won't trick me with this farce! Trying to force Noelle to cast a spell that doesn't exist, you should be ashamed of yourself! How despicable. Now stop playing around, Kris. You should give up before I smite you down with righteous fury!" I boldly call out Kris's bluff. Kris gives me a glare so cold it could cause hypothermia, but nothing they can do would frighten me. I saw past their deception!

"SNOWGRAVE." Kris commands.

Ah, I see how it is. Well, if they insist on being a fool then I have no choice but to strike both Kris and Noelle down. With the last of my energy, I lift up my royal halbird and start powering it up for my special attack. I hope Noelle forgives me for this.

"... Fine. You want to see what happens so bad?" Out of nowhere Noelle snaps at Kris. What is she doing!? Didn't she hear a word I just said?

"Watch what happens when I cast a spell I don't know!" Noelle yells angrily as she raises her hands toward me.

Then her eyes turn completely white, and then she lifts herself off the ground, floating. I feel my eyes widen in shock. Then Noelle starts flying as ice magic spills out of her hands. I try to say something to her but my voice doesn't work. The temperature rapidly drops and it feels like I'll turn into ice any second. I-I-I can't believe my eyes! Kris wasn't bluffing!? Am I going to die?

Am I going to die?

I stopped charging my halbird. That terrible thought paralyzed me as Noelle kept flying higher and higher. She resembled an angel with that white robe she wore.

An angel of death.

Eventually Noelle just froze in the air, and a moment later a harsh snowstorm blew through the entire alley. At that moment my view of time slowed down as I realized I was going to die. This wasn't a video game where I can respawn! I can't just load my previous save file and I can't use save states to cheat out of this!

I'm really gonna die!

The snow was blinding, but I could still see Noelle floating in my slowed perception of time. I can't die like this! I need to save Noelle, not get killed by her! She's my friend, I can't give up on her when she needs my help! Barely aware of my actions, both of my shaking hands find themselves on my halbird and with all of my strength, I bring it down.

A shockwave of green energy erupts from my weapon and I'm blinded for a few seconds that feel like an eternity. When everything clears up I see the downed forms of both Noelle and Kris on the ground... I... I did it! I'm... alive! YES! Sweet victory has never tasted so good! WHOO-HOO!

Wait, Noelle and Kris are down! I used my special attack on both of them! I desummon my royal halbird and try to walk forward, but I almost fall to the ground. My legs are very stiff. I look at my legs and see that they are frozen in ice! Yikes, imagine if my whole body was encased in ice! Fortunately, my legs are thawing out rapidly now that the temperature has returned to normal. When I have full mobility again I make my way straight to Noelle to check on her. She's on both of her knees with her head tilted down. I put my feathered hand on her shoulder and shake her.

"Noelle, get up! The battle's over! It seems my ultimate move was superior to yours, my dear Noelle." I merely tell her the facts of course... but she doesn't respond. I shake her again, still no response. I try checking her stats but my smart scouter was shut off because of the snow. I try turning it back on, but it doesn't work. It's busted. I try waking her up again until I hear shuffling coming from Kris. I turn to look at them and I see that they're facing away from me and they're on their knee trying to get back up.

"Kris... the battle's over... and I am the winner! You lost, Kris, and now I will rescue Noelle from your devious clutches! Once I get her back up of course." I assert my gamer dominance over Kris, but I'm nervous. Noelle still hasn't got up. Did my special attack... k- no that can't be true. She just needs some healing, but I don't know any healing magic. D-damn it! I look over at Kris still kneeling. Don't they have items in their spacious pants hole- uh I mean- pockets? Well... its worth a shot. Ugh, it seems I must resort to Kris for help. I hope they aren't too mad over losing.

"Uh... pardon me Kris, but I require your assistance. You see, Noelle is in need of healing, I think my attack was more powerful than I thought... Do you have any items that can help her?"

Kris, still facing away from me, remains on their knee for a bit, but then their body lurches and starts jerking around for a few seconds before it suddenly stops with a weird noise. "... Kris? Are you... okay?" I ask them, reasonably freaked out by their actions. Kris stuffs their hand in their pocket and they bring out a minty green crystal. Kris turns toward me and tosses the crystal. I almost fumble it but I catch the item. I look back at Kris and I'm greeted with a surprise.

Kris... is smiling at me, a strained and wobbly smile sure but it was genuine. This sure was a change from the ruthless Kris I was fighting just minutes ago. It looks like there is some red object in Kris's other hand but they quickly stuff it in their pocket before I can get a good look at it. Kris points at my hand:

"Revivemint." This time Kris speaks in their normal voice instead of the terrifying voice from before.

"Oh! I see!" I exclaim in understanding. Yes, this must be a revival item! I immediately head back to Noelle and give her the Revivemint. Green healing magic envelops her and instantly Noelle jumps up to her feet in a panic.

"N-no stop! Where's- huh, Berdly!? You're okay?"

Yes! Noelle is back!

"Do not worry for me, Noelle! I've never felt better after such a well-deserved victory!" I reassure her.

"Well, if you say so. Um... where's Kris?" She asks.

"Oh yeah, Kris!" In my excitement I almost forgot about Kris. I turn around to face them. Interestingly, they are no longer smiling.

"Well, Kris, despite our earlier circumstances it seems I must thank you for your assistance in reviving Noelle." Even a genius like me must recognize when they are indebted. If Kris didn't give me that Revivemint then Noelle would still be in an unresponsive condition.

"Huh! That's what happened just now! Uh... thanks, Kris! Oh, and thank you too, Berdly." Noelle, her face flushed in embarrassment, thanks Kris and I for bringing her back to full health.

"Umm... Kris? You look hurt." Noelle said. She's right, Kris is standing but they're hunched over like they can barely muster the strength to keep themselves upright.

"Do you need to be healed?" She offers to heal Kris, but they take a few unstable steps back and shake their head in the negative.

"... Are you sure? You aren't looking too good, plus... it's the least I can do for our... truce." Noelle pushes her offer.

Wait, Noelle and Kris are in a truce! That's double trucies! I was in a truce with Kris, well actually I broke the truce when we started fighting. Actually this is not the time to even be thinking about this! It seems Kris is adamant about not getting healed, they shook their head again and gave Noelle a thumbs up. Well Kris can do what they want, but now that I've reunited with Noelle that means we must go back to Queen.

"Don't worry, Noelle. If Kris says they're fine then they're fine! But for us, we must hasten and report back to Queen at once!" Noelle swerves to face me. Oh, judging by her exasperated expression she doesn't like what I just said.

"Ugh, Berdly do we really have to see her? We just had a big fight where I almost... almost..." Noelle scrunches her face trying to remember our battle.

"Gods, I don't even remember much of what happened with all of the snow, but can we please take a break?" She gives up and her face adopts a guilty look. I focus on Noelle and I notice that she does look very tired from everything that happened. Maybe I should give her a break.

"... I guess Queen can wait a bit. How about this, my dear Noelle. I saw that there was an ice cream store further up ahead. I can buy us both some treats and we can enjoy some time to ourselves." I suggest to Noelle. She does have an affinity for the cold.

"Wait, you're actually listening to me!? AND you want to take a break!?" Noelle says, shocked by my consideration for some reason. I am considerate... right? Well not all the time but I can be considerate!

"Yes Noelle, I am listening and I'm saying saying we should have a break. You're right Noelle, everything that happened was absurd, so we all need some downtime. Especially you, you must be exhausted from hanging out with Kris for so long! Hahaha!" Aha, another perfectly crafted jab at Kris's IQ-debuffing presence! Although, it seems Noelle didn't like that joke. She was unusually silent and she became a bit stiff. Meanwhile Kris was just watching us looking like they would topple over like a Whomp.

"Fahaha... sure Berdly. Let's go get some ice cream." Noelle awkwardly responded. Then she started walking out of the alley, not bothering to say goodbye to Kris. I guess she really wants to get out of here. I, however, have manners so I say my farewell to Kris.

"I must make haste! Adieu, Kris! Maybe the next time we cross paths will be more... peaceful." With that I begin to follow after Noelle.

"Berdly." Kris says my name before I reach the exit. This is weird, what does Kris want from me? I turn around to find that they are giving me that smile from before.

"Thank you... for knocking some sense into me. I don't know why I was acting like that." Kris unexpectedly thanks me.

My jaw drops as I just blankly stare at Kris. I'm speechless, absolutely flabbergasted. Did Kris really THANK me for beating them? What alternate reality did I get transported to? Ah, I have to get a hold of myself! I regain my composure and I try to formulate some response to Kris when-

Thump

Kris collapses and falls on their back. Before I can ask if they're okay they raise their arm and give another thumbs up. Jeez, I need some ice cream.

"Uhhhh okay Kris! It was my... pleasure? Anyhow, goodbye!" I bid farewell to a fallen Kris and I meet back up with Noelle to go to that ice cream store. Yikes, me and Noelle really need a break from that human. As Noelle and I walk through the still silent cyber city, I ask her a question.

"So Noelle, you said you and Kris were 'getting stronger'. Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Noelle's eyes turn pure white for the smallest of moments, but then her eyes return to normal and she laughs loudly.

"Fahahahaha! Don't worry about that, Berdly. I'll tell you ALL about it while we eat our ice cream." She tells me with a wide smile on her face.

END

Another chapter is planned.

I'm too tired to say anything else, goodnight... and sweet dreams.