Chapter 3: Bluebird of Fortune
"Here we are Noelle! Back at your room. I bet you can feel your bed already!" I triumphantly celebrate our successful adventure.
Queen's mansion was a mess, but the path to Noelle's bedroom(which is on the 4th floor while mine is on the 1st floor) was straightforward. The only real threat along the way was when we both got chased around by a literal wheel of mice! There was also a room which got turned into a maze of blue eggs dubiously named pipis, but the maze was child's play for a gamer of my intellectual caliber!
I didn't get lost at all, don't think otherwise!
Now that we've arrived at the door to Noelle's room, she can rest and no longer be a risk to anyone she sees!
"Yes, mistress Noelle! You have used up all of your energy! You must rest immediately! The Queen highly recommends a nap for your exhaustion!"
Right, Noelle and I did have some help. Tasque Manager saved us from that mouse wheel, and since then she has been kindly escorting us to Noelle's room. She's been worried sick about Noelle's health, and rightly so may I add. She is exhausted in every conceivable way, and those mice scared any remaining coherence out of her brain.
"Yeah… I'll buhmuh sleep for a bit. Mrnruh thanks Berdly guhughh, and you too Ms. Tasque… Master."
Noelle thanks us through a lot of incoherent mumbling for escorting her, and then she enters her room. She forgets to close the door so I go and close it for her like a true gentlegamer. I check on Noelle one last time before I close the door and I see that she has collapsed on her bed face first. I sincerely hope she has a good power nap, Noelle really needs it after today.
I close the door and go back to Tasque Manager.
"How unrefined. She's so tired she said my name wrong! Poor girl." Tasque Manager remarks.
"You can say that again. Noelle is in horrible shape."
I join her in the Noelle pity club.
"Well, I hope she makes a swift recovery and comes back to help me tidy up this mansion! It is so disheveled! How… NOT refined."
I chuckle at the cat lady's complaint. Half of the walk over here was Tasque Manager ranting about how the mansion got turned into a "freak show". She is such a control freak, the current state of the palace has her bursting at the seams. It doesn't help that the way she says 'refined' makes me crack up.
"It's good to see that you are well too, sir Burghley." She says to me, relieved.
Hey that's not my name! I thought I escaped people not remembering my name years ago! I try to correct her politely but I clearly come off as annoyed.
"Uh… It's Berdly, Miss Tasque Manager."
"Oh! Really?! My deepest apologies, sir Berdly!"
She bows her head in shame. Dang, I feel kind of bad for being annoyed with her.
"Queen told me it was 'Burghley'. Hmph! How unrefined of her majesty."
…
Why can Queen never remember my name! Oh well, it isn't Tasque Manager's fault she got my name mixed up.
"Ah, I… I'm sorry! It's okay, Queen does that a lot."
Sometimes I get the feeling she does it on purpose, but I'm pretty sure her memory just sucks. Slightly ashamed, I forgive the tall, whip-bearing cat lady. She breathes a sigh of relief, and then perks up.
"Oh, how refined! I remember, the Queen told me that she is waiting for you at the balcony up ahead. Where the Dark Fountain is at. You best not keep her waiting. As for me…"
*CRACK!*
Tasque Manager cracks her electric-spike-whip threateningly.
"… There are three brats that need to be organized."
Yikes! She can be scary! I feel bad for Ralsei and Susie, but not Kris, they rightly deserve it.
"Wish me luck, sir Berdly!"
Tasque Manager says politely as she leaves to go downstairs. Very different from the control freak vengeance in her previous sentence.
"G-good luck!"
I grant her wish out of a sudden feeling of intimidation. Now then, I have to meet with Queen. I must get going, posthaste!
It has certainly been a while since I've met with my luxurious Queen. I walk across the catwalk-esque path to the large balcony overseeing the Dark Fountain.
Being this close to the Dark Fountain, I realize that it is quite the majestic sight to behold. The darkness roars out of the ground in a beautiful column of black that hypnotically switches between different shades of black as it rises.
I divert my eyes from the fountain and I look for Queen. It seems she isn't here, but when I look further ahead on the narrow metal path at the end of the balcony I see Queen on her throne. She isn't facing me, but instead viewing the sprawling Cyber City in the distance. I close the large gap between us and announce my presence by clearing my throat. Queen turns her head to look at me.
"Oh… You're Ok, Burghley. I Couldn't Find You. I Thought You Alt F4'd On Me Until I Saw You Walking On The High Quality Red Carpet"
Alt F4? Ha!
"Oh please Queen, this isn't a source game! I just got caught up on my search for Noelle. It was wild… but it left Noelle… uh how do I say this? Unhealthy…? Don't worry though, I kept her safe the whole time!"
Definitely! I didn't fail at my duty as a friend at all! I really hope Queen doesn't notice how nervous my face looks.
"She is in her room now and resting, but she'll be out for a while."
I calmly tell Queen that Noelle has crashed out HARD, but the white-and-blue computer woman gives me a knowing look.
"I Know About Noelle. It Is Unfortunate That She Became So Strong. She Saw Too Much And Now She Can't Help Me In My Quest For World Domination! She Was The Most Important Part, Too!"
Queen laments the terrible condition Noelle is in.
"F's In The Chat For My Honey Sweetie Darling Gravy Noelle. She Must Sleep Now, Into A Dark, Darker Dream"
"F" I pay my respects.
Even if twitch chat isn't here right now, I'll give an F. With my respects paid to my friend I speak up.
"My Queen, Noelle might not be with you but you have me, and together we are unstoppable! I'm confident that we can come up with a plan to defeat the other lightners!"
The time to grieve is over! Queen is my fellow party member and we must prepare for our inevitable showdown with the C plus squad!
"U-Uh Hold Up… You See-Um-I Mean… Ahem"
Queen stutters awkwardly for some reason.
"I'm Happy That You Are Fine, Burghley. I Really Am(Kinda Because You're Still Super Annoying), But The Two Of Us… Make A Bad Team. Like A REALLY Bad Team"
Huh? What is she talking about? We are the best team! Me, a genius gamer, and Queen, a literal computer! We are the ultimate duo!
"So Because Of Our (Horrendous) Chemistry... I Am Disbanding Our Party" Queen declares.
WHAT!? NO!
"Disbanded!? You cannot be serious!"
Is she for real?! Th-this is preposterous! Blasphemy even!
"Yes Burgley, I Am Serious. We Are Splitting Up. Like The Popular Boy Band Known As The Beatles''
The audacity of this woman!
"Firstly, the Beatles are not your average human pop boy band! They are an important and culture-defining band of late 1900s music! Secondly, how could you do this to me! You said you were a gamer!"
I scold Queen, and she is quick to respond.
"Oh Berdly…"
Dread crawls up my back.
"Not All Gamers Get Along!"
Immense relief runs through my body like I dodged a bullet.
"Our Gaming Tastes Are Way Too Different. Please, Let's Separate Peacefully. Don't Make Me Kick You…"
"…"
"Are you gonna finish -"
"Did I Stutter, Nerdly?"
… I see. This… this is official. All of my attempts to impress her and be her comrade. It was really all for nothing. That… that hurts.
"F… fine, Queen. Even though you have hurt my feelings… I'll take my leave. May the smarts… NOT be with you! Ha ha ha!"
I'll get the last laugh, Queen! I walk away with the feeling of petty, spiteful(yet sweet) victory in my hands! Before I can get too far, I hear Queen's voice.
"Before You Leave. I Must Tell You Something"
She says mysteriously. Curious, I turn back to hear her out.
I immediately know I've made a mistake when I see Queen doing her royal evil villain smile.
"I Only Play -"
"Queen, Berdly, stop right there!"
A yell from Susie who appeared behind me interrupts Queen's response, saving me from what was undoubtedly a shocking truth that would've destroyed me!
For once I'm thankful that Susie decided to show up unannounced. I turned around, surprised to see that the idiot trio of Kris, Susie, and Ralsei had already caught up with me on the 4th floor of the mansion.
Were they speedrunning?!
"What!? I Haven't Had Enough Time To Prepare My Evil Villain Monologue Program! How Did You Get Through My Mansion So Fast?!"
Queen is even more shocked at their speed than I am. Kris smiles faintly.
"There was only one enemy and it was Tasque Manager, and sparing her is easy. Other than her we just ran through the whole place." They say.
Queen facepalms her face. Hard.
I was right. They did speedrun! Anyway, I'll leave this for Queen to do all by herself! She no longer deserves my help!
Our friendship is over.
"Uhh… I think this is the perfect time for me to leave! Good luck with your 1v3 Queen!"
I begin walking back to the balcony next to the Dark Fountain, but while I'm passing Ralsei he stops me.
"Wait! Why are you leaving Queen? Weren't you in a team with her? Leaving Queen to fight us alone isn't very responsible for a teammate."
"Me and Queen are no longer a team. She split us up like 5 seconds ago!"
"Split? Like the fricking Beatles?" Kris pipes up with that suspiciously timed question.
Shortly after saying that Kris massages their throat and their mouth morphs into a frown for a fraction of a second, and then Kris's face is back to its normal blank stare. Strange, it seems Kris didn't want to say that.
Which Kris am I even looking at right now? Ultimately, I deigned to reply to Kris(?) regardless of my confusion.
"Yes, Kris. Exactly like the Beatles. Now if you all will excuse me. I'll be over here admiring the Dark Fountain."
Susie laughs when I finish talking.
"Ha! Getting rid of your teammate. That's like the worst thing you could've done, Queen! Now we'll all kick your… ass?"
Susie becomes confused as she trash talks Queen.
"Uh guys, she disappeared." She states.
The rest of us look to the right to see that Queen is in fact gone.
Thud
Thud
Thud
A series of loud thuds rock the narrow walkway we are standing on, and we are shocked to see a huge mecha of Queen climb up the rafters below to meet us. In the Giga Queen's eye visor we see the actual Queen inside piloting it.
Crap. I forgot that Queen had a mecha.
"Oh Oh Oh Oh" Queen laughs.
"While Bird Boy Distracted You I Got Into The Awesome Robot Version Of Myself. Now Which One Of You Would Like To Help Me Cover This World In Darkness! Kris, Susie, It Would Be Very Helpful If One Of You Can Take Noelle's Place As My Willing Peon"
Ralsei speaks up first.
"Queen, why… Why do you want to unleash the Roaring so much?!"
…
"What Is That" Queen says cluelessly.
"Um… the Roaring."
"Yeah That What Is That"
I have no idea what that is either.
Ralsei solemnly explains what the Roaring is.
"If too much darkness is released… Titans will emerge from the fountain and destroy everything. All darkners will turn to statues… and all lightners will be lost in eternal chaos."
I am left speechless by the revelation. Queen is surprised as well as her giant robot's face shortly turns to a face full of shock after realizing what she's been trying to do the whole time.
"Holy Circuits Are You Serious"
"You REALLY didn't know that!?"
Ralsei exclaims, almost as surprised as Queen is.
"No"
The Giga-Queen descends out of our sight and Queen shortly reappears via walking in frame right.
"Well My Plans Are Shot. My One Idea To Help Noelle, Failed" Queen bemoans her fate.
"Go Ahead Kris, Seal The Fountain. I Will Not Stay In Your Way Any Longer"
Queen steps to the side and goes back to gazing at the distant Cyber City, but this time with a melancholic spirit about her. Meanwhile, I am still shocked from the Roaring and now I feel kind of confused that the 1v3 showdown between these four just sort of didn't happen.
I feel like I missed out on an epic fight.
Without missing a beat, Kris leads Susie and Ralsei to go to the fountain. However as they walk past Queen Susie stops and turns to look at her. After a moment of deliberation the purple dino goes next to Queen.
"... Uh, hey. Hey, wait. You don't have to… I mean… Uh, it doesn't have to be… goodbye, you know?"
"Error: I Have No Idea What You're Talking About"
"We… have our own Dark World, and you can stay there, you know? Who knows, maybe someday you'll even… Get to meet Noelle again?"
There's another Dark World, and it belongs to them?!
"Really"
Queen asks Susie. The monster girl puts her hand behind her head, embarrassed.
"Uhh, maybe?"
Susie answers uncertainly. Queen isn't fazed by it though and laughs joyously.
"Fatal Exception 'Sweet' In Oh Hell Yeah. EXE! Susie I Knew You Were A Nice Girl"
Susie looks back and forth between Queen and her friends. Clearly caught by surprise by Queen's kindness.
"Hey, uhh, I'm just…" Susie snaps to Kris with a frustrated expression while striking a dumb pose.
"Kris, go seal the fountain!"
She calms down after that, apparently having blown off enough steam.
"I… I'm gonna go… see Noelle before you do."
Susie walks out.
"Move it, nerd." Rushing past me before I can even consider stopping her from disturbing Noelle's sleep. Hmph, she can go visit Noelle if she wants, but not me! I'll happily take some time away from Noelle. Angel knows I've dealt with far too much at this point.
"Umm, Kris, I'll tell Queen about our town! You go up to the fountain!"
I hear Ralsei say to Kris. Queen quickly adds on:
"Kris I Look Forward To Being Your Wacky Roommate"
I look at Kris and I see them nod in response. We end up making eye contact with each other and Kris smiles a very not-Kris smile.
That is to say: wide and toothy.
It doesn't last long though. Fake-Kris's smile quivers for a moment and then it's back to Kris's blank stare.
"See you guys later."
Kris says to us as they walk away to close the Dark Fountain. Still holding their gaze on me all the while before breaking it when they turn around. I watch Kris walk away as my thoughts dwell on their Soul.
The Soul must be getting a kick out of seeing me stand here like an idiot.
"Yeah, I'm not 'supposed' to be here. If what they hinted at earlier has any merit. Tch! Me getting killed by my own friend? That couldn't possibly happen, right?"
It's a scary thought that's for sure, but there's no point thinking about it. I'm alive and more importantly not frozen! Kris eventually leaves my sight when they enter a room with a dark entrance, presumably where they can close the Dark Fountain. I won't meddle with Kris's fountain-closing business because frankly, I'm more interested in listening to what Ralsei has to say about this other Dark World. I go to Ralsei and Queen and insert myself into the conversation.
"Why I would love to hear about this Dark World as well, Ralsei. Care to enlighten me?"
"I'd love to, Berdly! The more the merrier!"
Ralsei delightfully exclaims.
"What Please No I Don't Want To Be Your Roommate"
Man Queen really doesn't like me, huh.
"Hey! That is rude! I would 100 percent make a better roommate than you!" I say, defending my dignity.
"W-wait, calm down you two! Let's take a step back, and how about I start by explaining how our Castle Town works, alright? Then we can move on to discussing rooms, heh heh!"
Ralsei, playing the benevolent mediator, keeps us at bay. Queen and I grumble and agree to quit bickering with each other, and a satisfied goat begins to tell us about his Dark World.
He tells us everything about Castle Town. How it grows when enemies are recruited, the current facilities they have like the cafe and bakery, and how he made rooms for Kris and Susie in his castle. Ralsei's enthusiasm is contagious, me and Queen are enthralled by his vivid description of Castle Town. It sounds like a wonderful place!
"Amazing So I Can Turn Your Castle Into My New Mansion?" Queen asks that self-indulgent question.
"What!? That's not what I'm saying! It's my castle!" The goat boy squeaks out.
"I for one am greatly intrigued by your Castle Town. I would like to visit this place, but where is it exactly?" I ask a more polite and relevant question.
"Oh, right… I forgot that you're a lightner. Well if that's the case then our Dark World is at the school! In the central closet in the north hallway!"
Ralsei is more than happy to tell me where it is. Although, it's location is a bit of a surprise. That empty storage closet at the school…? That's quite the odd place. How does Ralsei know where that is if he's a Darkner? That doesn't make sense unless… Well… If Susie called it, "our Dark World", then she would know where it is and relay it to Ralsei. Although I doubt that Susie would be as precise as Ralsei is if she did tell him. Nevertheless he's confident about the Dark World's location, so that must be where it is…
Doesn't help to be too sure, though.
"Are you sure, Ralsei…? That closet is just an empty room!"
"It's not empty anymore! You can check the closet yourself if you want to. Open it and you'll be able to jump into our Dark World straight into Castle Town."
Well, you don't get a more solid confirmation than that!
"Ok, I suppose I'll take your word for it. Although there's only one way to see if you speak the truth."
I suggest skeptically as I play hard to get, which Ralsei responds with a sly wink and a matching smile possessing the barest hint of mischief.
"I guess there is. I'll be sure to be there when you arrive! I can't wait to see your face once you see my Castle Town!"
Then the green-clad goat extends a white, furry paw.
"Let's shake on it. You can come by later this evening after the fountain is closed. After you get some rest though, I don't want you to go if you're exhausted."
He waits for me expectantly. I don't need to think too hard to make my decision. Even if I didn't want to visit this other Dark World I wouldn't be able to leave Ralsei hanging. I couldn't resist accepting his offer. I can't help but chuckle in amusement at myself for being such a pushover with this fuzzball.
"Heh heh heh… You've got a deal! I'll be sure to arrive in tip-top shape!"
I extend my wing to meet Ralsei's paw, and we firmly shake hands. Sealing the deal. Ralsei keeps a hold on my wing for an extra second longer as he cheekily winks again, and then our hands separate.
"Thank You Burgheley Very Cool, But Now It's My Turn To Ask The Goat Guy Questions. Specifically About His Castle (And If I Can Put My Face On It)"
Queen brings Ralsei's attention back to her, and the both of them get to talking. Usually with Queen asking an absurd question about taking over Ralsei's castle and the goat boy denying her requests. I stand back and idly listen to them while I take a moment to stare at the Dark Fountain behind me.
Ooooh so pretty.
In the midst of my fountain gazing, I see a person moving in my peripheral vision. I center my vision on the person in the distance and… oh! It's Noelle! She's awake, and walking toward me with Susie behind her. I wave at her.
"Oh, hey Noelle, nice to see that you're up and about! I hope you're feeling better after a supreme power nap!"
Ralsei and Queen hear me, and both of them react similarly with waves of their own. Noelle is still a bit far away, but I don't see a reaction from her. Instead Susie gets ahead of Noelle and runs over to us.
"Hey guys! Something's up with Noelle! She's not saying anything!" She shouts at us worriedly.
Queen, Ralsei, and I do a double take and look at Noelle again. Now that she's closer, I see that her face is calm and blank. Other than that, she looks fine from here.
"She doesn't look like she's in bad shape, Susie. What do you mean?" I ask Susie quietly.
"I mean that she's NOT saying anything, dumbass! Noelle woke up when I was visiting and she hasn't talked to me once! She's acting like she's deaf or something." Susie rudely elaborates.
I'll ignore the fact Susie called me a dumbass.
"… Here let me try getting her attention. Ahem, hello there my dear friend Noelle! Where are you going?"
"(I'll Do That Too, Procedurally Raising My Voice) Oh My Honey Sweetie Darling Gravy Noelle! I'm So Happy To See You Again!"
Me and Queen call the deer girl, but she doesn't react at all.
Crap, something ELSE is wrong with her!? WHYYYYYYYY?
She keeps walking and all four of us move out of her way. As much as it pains me to admit, at this point I give up trying to help Noelle. Once again I failed to keep her safe, and this time I can't blame Kris for my screwup. I let her walk by, all of my concern and bravado gone as I abandoned my knightly duties and gave in to the fear of Noelle that had been hovering over me for so long.
Susie, Ralsei, and Queen do the same but for less guilt-ridden reasons such as being too confused and put-off by the doe's uncharacteristic behavior to do anything. Noelle walks by us like we aren't even there, laser focused on reaching her destination. She keeps walking until she enters the same dark room where Kris went to close the fountain.
An awkward silence settles after Noelle leaves my sight. No one wants to be the guy who asks about Noelle. Ralsei shifts uncomfortably and opens his mouth, but he can't think of anything to say and closes it promptly. Susie, who I expected to yell out some expletives, instead continues to stare at the room waiting for something to happen.
And Queen… she's displaying "ERROR" on her visor. Truly the most accurate reaction to our current predicament.
Thankfully, something breaks through the overbearing silence. All of a sudden the dark room begins to emit a white light from its entrance. The light emanates out of the dark room and it spreads out to the point I see nothing but white. When the light takes over I hear Ralsei's voice.
"O-oh! The fountain's closing! Goodbye everyone! See you-"
Ralsei's voice cuts off.
It's dark, and I feel groggy. Ugh, what's going on?
I open my eyes and I see blue. It takes a second for me to realize I feel my own wing on my forehead. I was asleep? To wake myself up I open and close my eyes repeatedly. I lift my head. I'm still in the library's computer lab. I look to my left. Noelle is asleep too?
"H… huh…? What… what happened?"
Noelle wakes up with a jolt after hearing me. She looks at me, surprised.
"A dream…? It was really just a dream."
She quietly reflects. She appears relieved that everything that happened was a dream… Wait…
A… what?
"Huh… A dream? That was all… A DREAM?!" I shout in mild disbelief.
It felt so real, yet it was a dream this whole time!?
… I mean…
A place like the Cyber World, a Dark World… it couldn't really exist… that would be absurd.
"… Y-yes… of course! Such outlandish locations, those powers we had… all those… people… it was a dream, wasn't it?" I say my thoughts aloud.
The more I think about it, the more likely it seems that that's the case. Yet at the same time I can't shake this feeling of certainty… like it really happened. I'm conflicted on what to believe.
"S-Susie!? Susie! What are you doing here?"
Noelle exclaims, disrupting my clashing thoughts. Huh, Susie is here!? Oh, not just Susie, but Kris is here as well! They're standing on the other side of the table, staring at us awkwardly.
"Uhhh… you invited us to study. Remember?" Susie replies.
"O-oh, right, I, err- I did! I-"
No way, Susie… studying with us! That is a disaster waiting to happen! I can't help but blurt out and cut off Noelle.
"What!? Studying with…"
I look at Kris and Susie then back to Noelle.
"THEM? Noelle! Heavens to yikes! They're… they are…"
I trail off as I remember the "dream". I look at Kris, and they stoically stare at me right back. The fight with Kris, and everything that happened with their Soul. It had to mean something. I'll at least give Kris a chance. At least they are academically competent, unlike Susie.
"Well… I guess we could TRY it with Kris, but Susie? That's an… uhh- err…"
I want to say that it's a deathwish, but if I learned anything from that dream it's that I should listen to Noelle more often. Guess I'll be humble for once.
"I mean… Noelle, if you want to try it, then I'll be… open to studying with them."
BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Huh!? My… my alarm?"
Yes, that's my phone alarm! That means it's late, and also…
"Ahh, I'm going to be late for my shift with Ms. Boom!"
Yes! Today I work the evening shift! Wow, falling asleep really makes time fly by, doesn't it?
"Oh no, how is it so late already!?"
Noelle says as she is also shocked at how fast time seemed to pass.
I must get going. Ms. Boom really doesn't like it when people are late.
"Well, adieu, everyone. I must gather my booklongings."
I pick up my books and they fit snugly into the crook of my arm. That feels much better.
"Ahh, how I love the texture of freshly-picked-up books!" I remark as I stand from the table.
Noelle follows suit and picks up her books as well.
"Now, let us hasten, my dear Noelle!"
Noelle and I walk around the main table to exit the room, and we stop when we get to Susie and Kris on the other side. I stare at Kris for a moment, their blank poker face expressing zero emotions. I feel an obligation to tell Kris about what I saw in the Dark World, considering I saw their literal SOUL, but I don't have time for that right now. I have time constraints to beat. For now, a goodbye will do.
"… Good day, Kris… Susie."
I leave the computer lab while Noelle says her goodbyes to Kris and Susie.
I exit the "librarby" and make my way outside to the crisp autumn air. Yikes, it is late, the sun's hanging so low in the sky already! How much time do I have to get to Ms. Boom? Let me get my phone out.
… WHAT 1 MINUTE!?
No time to waste! I gotta skedaddle! I put the pedal to the metal and begin sprinting through town.
Thankfully, I was able to make it on time by the skin of my beak, heh! However, that was the height of my shift. The shift itself was just as mundane as it usually is, but now it's over!
It sure feels good to be a contributing member of society! With my shift over, I can go home and indulge myself by playing video games! As I walk through town, I think of what games I should play. Of course there are the go-to ones: Super Smashing Fighters, Light Souls, Dragon Blazers, Luigi Party… maybe I should continue playing X: Dread. Uhh maybe not the last one. I'll pass on E.B.B.I. - induced anxiety.
I don't need anymore stress, that dream has my stress limit maxed out. Yeah… in spite of my attempts throughout the day to scrub the "dream" out of my head, it still looms over me. Every event replaying, in no particular order, in my mind as clear as day. I still don't know whether to think that the Cyber World was real or not. It could easily be explained away as a dream with all the fantasy elements and the surreal visuals, but at the same time it was so vivid in a way normal dreams aren't. Also the fact I remember almost everything about it makes me think that there might be the slightest chance that it was real.
Normal dreams aren't so memorable. Only flashes of scenery or emotions are the most I can remember from my dreams at least.
Frankly, this analysis I'm doing doesn't even matter. I know exactly how to prove if the "dream" was real.
It's why I'm taking a right turn and going to the school instead of going home to play video games. The conversation with that goat plays in my head again. Ralsei told me everything.
Go to the closet, and open it. Simple and clean. No overthinking required. Concrete proof, and all I have to do is open one door. I walk up to the school's entrance and before I go in I check the time on my phone.
7:35, with the sun setting behind the trees surrounding town. Won't be long before it gets dark. Okay, I have around 30 minutes before mom and dad start wondering where I am.
I entered the school and luckily it wasn't locked. Hah, benefits of living in a small town. People forget to lock doors all the time.
Inside, I walk to the old storage closet, apprehension practically crushing me. My steps get smaller the closer I get.
You know… I- I kinda don't want to open it anymore… AGH no! I'm already here, just have to commit.
I'm in front of the closet now. Just have to open it.
…
I… I'm having a real hard time grabbing the doorknob… heh. I'm sweating profusely from the anxiety. I feel stuck, c-come on! It's one damn door! Why do I have to be so hesitant… So scared? My hands are fidgeting with each other. The door all of a sudden feels much larger than it should be.
Come on! I need to stop thinking about it!
I shut my eyes, and as fast as I can I open the closet door. Now for the moment of truth. I open my eyes.
Th… there's a black void in the open doorway, I can't see anything inside. The apprehension and tension holding me down disappears and is replaced by curiosity.
Is… is this the Dark World? I peak my head into the room, and I see nothing except more blackness. Ralsei's voice speaks in my head again.
"Open it and you'll be able to jump into our Dark World straight into Castle Town."
Jump. I have to… jump…
… I didn't think I would drop the f word twice today, but only an expletive phrase can verbalize this amount of ridiculousness.
Fuck. My. Cloaca.
I grab the edges of the doorframe, and without a second thought I force myself into the room.
I feel myself fall. I keep falling and in a shower of sparks my clothes change. My shirt changes into a familiar set of glow in the dark armor, and a scouter forms over my left eye. Then I land on the ground. Completely fine and without a scratch.
I feel suspended in disbelief. My brain trying to rationalize what's happening to no avail. I let my hands roam over my armor and face as if to confirm this is real. On an impulse, I try summoning my -
DING
Holy halberd…? I stare at the weapon of green energy in my hand, and the suspension of disbelief I'm in finally breaks. Extreme happiness fills my soul.
"HA HA HA Hahaha! It was REAL!"
I swing my halberd wildly like the time I got my first ever toy lightsaber. I swing at nothing for a minute before I get a grip on myself. A cocky smile still engraved into my beak.
Just… WOW! This is so surreal! The Cyber World, Queen, Ralsei, it wasn't all a dream!
Wait a minute… that also includes the Soul… and Noelle.
Noelle actually almost killed me? AND all those things Kris said about their whole Soul in the restroom was true?
There HAD to be a drawback to all of this being real, didn't it? This is so stupidly mind-boggling! I'm not smart enough to keep track of all of this!
At some point my mouth was hanging open in realization as I pondered the implications of my journey through the Cyber World.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
I hear a soft laugh ahead of me. I look up and I spot Ralsei laughing at me a few feet away. I feel my face blush in embarrassment as I rush to put away my weapon. Crap, I forgot that he was waiting for me!
"H-hey! How long have you been standing there?"
Ralsei puts a hand over his muzzle to suppress his giggling. When he's done, he looks at me with apologetic eyes.
"I heard someone yell, so I rushed over here to see what was going on. S-sorry for laughing… it's just… your reaction was very… dramatic. I knew you would have a great reaction, but not like THAT."
Ralsei earnestly apologizes to me a few more times as I try to compose myself after being caught like this.
"Look Ralsei, just don't tell anyone about this please, especially Susie! She'll just make fun of me for it for the rest of time!"
I beg the fluffy goat boy to keep this encounter a secret and save me from Susie's eternal teasing. He nods his head.
"Don't worry about that! I'll keep this between us, heh!"
Oh thank the Angel! Ralsei giggles a bit more, but then he takes on a more quizzical expression.
"Although, I don't understand. Why did you react like that?"
"Uhh… umm… because I thought the other Dark World was a dream…? However! I chose to listen to your directions, and it seems you were telling the truth after all!"
Ralsei shuts his eyes and smiles sagely.
"Ah, I understand! Dark Worlds can be a bit fantastical and over-stimulating for unprepared Lightners. I'm happy I could ease your doubts."
Ralsei approaches me and gestures behind him to the rest of this Dark World.
"Here, let me show you around, Berdly. After all, you haven't even seen the town yet!"
Ralsei leads me up ahead to a clearing and steps aside.
Insert: My Castle Town
By Toby Fox
The marvelous sight of Castle Town greets my eyes. This town, it was everything that Ralsei said and more. It's a wondrous feast for the eyes is what I would say if I wanted to be fancy, but I can only call it charming. At the same time the town was quaint and calm and… homey in a weirdly endearing sense.
Yes, for some reason this place… it felt a lot like home.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Ralsei asks me with a demure wink.
I nod my head and mumble a "yeah". Ralsei laughs good-naturedly.
"There is so much to do! I could show you my castle, or the music shop, anything really! What do you want to do?" He asked me.
"As much as I wish to see all that your town has to offer, I don't have much time tonight. I have to be home before dark. I think I have enough time for at least one stop… hmm."
Where to go? There's many options to pick from.
"I recommend the cafe. It has a relaxing atmosphere. We can enjoy some tea… usually I would offer to make some for you, but today has been hectic. Plus, we deserve it, don't we? We closed the fountain and prevented the Roaring!"
"Sure!"
I found myself agreeing with the goat boy. The cafe sounded great!
So we walked through the town's main plaza and entered the cafe, and we grabbed a table and we sat ourselves down. There were a surprising amount of familiar faces inside. The first person to comment on my arrival is Tasque Manager.
"How refined. Finally, sir Berdly has come to help me turn this place into an animal cafe. "
Swatch also greets me when we order our food, albeit lacking his usual charm. Actually, I've noticed a lack of buff butlers in Castle Town.
"Excuse me Swatch, where are the rest of the Swatchlings?"
"Oh uh you see… we couldn't recruit the Swatchlings. They were trapped in the cafe, so none of them were brought to the town."
Ralsei nervously answers me instead of Swatch. Oh… damn.
"… My bad."
My fellow birdman sighs dejectedly.
"I miss my men. Now, what would you fine gentlemen like to order?" Says Swatch.
After that… unfortunate… exchange me and the goat order tea, while we wait I start some small talk with him. Not anything notable, just talking to pass the time and maybe flex my intellectual prowess. Our drinks arrive and we both take a sip of our tea.
Apparently, these are tailored to our likings according to Swatch. I feel like my tea will have an energy drink put in it. The warm tea flows down my throat. Yum! Definitely tasty and sweet… and surprisingly the taste of energy drinks in this stuff is lacking! How intriguing!
"Ahh, nothing is better than a delicious cup of tea!"
Ralsei remarks after sipping his tea. I nod my head while I continue to down my cup of tea.
"I feel like Susie and Kris would have liked this. A bit of shame, those two left a while ago. It would've been nice to have all of us here together!"
He muses about the missed opportunity while I thank the stars that didn't happen. Although that prompts the question.
"Uhh… do they know that I know about this?"
"Oh, no, not yet at least. I forgot to tell them about you."
"Okay. That's good. You know, I want Kris and Susie to find out about me when they come back here and see for themselves. Their faces will be priceless!"
Ah yeah! They'll be so surprised! My sprightly visage in Castle Town will be too much for their simple brains to handle! Ralsei smiles slyly at my cunning plan.
"Hmph, stealing my ideas now, aren't you?"
"I'm not stealing your plan! It's called inspiration."
I rebuke his accusation. Ralsei rolls his eyes sarcastically at my 'originality'.
"I am curious how Kris and Susie will react to seeing you, so I suppose I won't tell them for now." Ralsei muses.
That's good! Looks like Ralsei will be my aficionado in pranking Susie and Kris. Though sadly, I think I spent enough time in Castle Town. I should really get going before I worry my parents too much. They know I always come back before dark. I'll at least finish up my tea.
"Wonderful, but that plan will have to wait. I'm afraid I must be going back home. It must be dark already."
I say after drinking the last of my tea.
"Oh, that's right! You're free to leave whenever you want. Just go back to where you first arrived to leave the town, a portal will take you back to the Light World. Just a second, I'll walk you there."
Ralsei, the gentleman he is, takes one last sip of his tea and stands up from the table. I stand up as well, and he leads me out of the cafe. It's a brisk walk to the empty clearing where I first embarrassingly arrived in Castle Town, and this time there is a circle of light that goes upward.
Ralsei turns to me.
"Here we are, Berdly. I'm sure you had a good first time visiting our Castle Town. Make sure to come back tomorrow!"
"I appreciate your hospitality, thank you for hosting me, Ralsei. I had a great time, and as for tomorrow, I will definitely stop by!"
I walk up and step into the circle of light to go back to the light world. I rise and begin to float up, and I look at Ralsei again to see him waving goodbye as I fly upwards.
I wave at him in return. He really knows how to make me soft, that gentle goat boy.
Ejecting My Castle Town: Song end-
Brzt!?
*EXPLOSION*
Darn the cassette player broke. Um, please continue reading.
As I fly up a white light takes over my vision, and when I can see again I'm standing in front of the closet door. I'm back at the school, like I wasn't even dressed like an RPG character a minute ago! I turn around and make my way out of the school. It's definitely dark now, the school's hallways are pitch black. I exit the building and stop on the moonlit street to look at the almost full moon. I check the time again.
8:10.
That isn't too bad! It could be worse!
I start walking again, this time to go back home. Reflecting over the day's events.
When I got home my parents asked why I got back later than usual, but I just told them a lie that I went to QC's Diner to get a cup of hot chocolate. They didn't question me any further, they were tired and were already going to sleep. I went to my room, got dressed in my favorite pajamas (and no I'm not saying what type they are!), went to the restroom to brush my beak like any other hygienic monster would do, and then I jumped onto my bed. Laying in bed ready to drift off into sleep, I thought about my visit to Castle Town.
After seeing Castle Town and spending time with Ralsei, I could confidently say that finding out that Dark Worlds were real was a good thing. Sure it meant there were some new problems with Kris and Noelle that I would most likely have to solve, but with everything else it wasn't all bad.
One thing's for sure, these Dark Worlds have made my life a lot more interesting. I wonder what's gonna happen tomorrow.
I just hope that tomorrow doesn't somehow turn into 3 years. Now that would not be an epic gamer moment.
…
Why did I think that?!
CHAPTER 3 END
OBLIGATORY LONG AUTHOR NONSENSE WARNING
AUTHOR NONSENSE: I did the cassette player gag for the only purpose of having a joke that the normally detached music suggestion is actually the author (me, your host, the homie maldron) manually inserting the music into the scene and ejecting it accordingly.
Was it a selfish joke? Y-yeah I guess. Was it worth it? Yes
If you read my other story(VERY UNLIKELY) where I also do this but without the exploding part, then I guess you got an impromptu in-universe explanation. Hopefully we'll have the cassette player fixed soon.
When I said this chapter would be shorter last chapter, I obviously meant it would take less time to finish, not that it would have less words. Duh. This is a blatant lie. I underestimated how long this was gonna be.
I'm glad I finished this so quickly. I would have finished it even faster, but last week I went out of town on a thanksgiving trip. I'll put the time it took for me to write each chapter real quick.
Chapter 1: 1 week
Chapter 2: A month
Chapter 3: 3 weeks
Chapter 3 marks the end of my story. WHOO-HOO! Feels good man.
I honestly thought I was gonna write this Alternate Snowgrave Route in 1 chapter lmao. I should've known that the price to pay to repent of my sins would be more than one measly chapter with a self-given time limit. Now that I am absolved, I can reward myself by watching Dorked's Berdly analysis video which I forced myself to not watch for some reason.
I hope you had a good read, and feel free to leave a review or whatever. I would like to know what people think of my 1st-person take on Berdly. I hope he wasn't too out of character. I found it enjoyable to write like I was Berdly. Being a gamer probably helped with that.
And if you were expecting the funny Spamton guy to appear, sorry to disappoint. It wasn't in the cards for you fellas. I never planned for that, I think that the Snowgrave Spamton Neo fight is reserved as a moment for Kris from a story standpoint so I just left it alone.
As I said before, I hope you had a good time reading this. And remember, Berdly IS the best character. Fluffy goat boys, smelly dinos, buff fish ladies, crazy deer girls, and mischievous humans do not compare to the might of Berdly.
I don't know where that came from but uhh, goodbye, see you around! And don't you dare go hollow.