Author's note: Well now, this has been an interesting week or so.
As I'm sure most of you are aware, chapter 2 for Deltarune has been released while I was writing this chapter. I gave it the chapter a go, and without spoiling much, I have to say, I very much enjoyed it. I might even consider it the best chapter out of the two we've got. I enjoy the new Dark World that we traverse through, I like the new characters present in the chapter and I also very much enjoyed the character development as well, especially when it came to Noelle.
The soundtrack was enjoyable and while I haven't played all the routes in that chapter (not that I want to TBH), I've heard a lot about other things that I won't discuss here, JUST in case a reader out there hasn't yet played Deltarune chapter 2. Overall, I really enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to what else Toby Fox has to offer for the fans.
Unfortunately, since this story is set after Chapter 1, I will not be bringing elements of the newest chapter into the story. I might throw in a reference here and there to it, but I will not set anything in this story in the new story arc that chapter 2 gave us. This will also go for any future chapters that come out during the time I spend writing this story.
Before we begin, I must warn you guys that this chapter in particular will be veering slightly into some NSFW territory. It won't be going into full on M rating areas, but I do feel I should warn you before you proceed.
With that out the way, let's begin
Kris lay on his bed, a small DVD player resting on his lap. Connected to the DVD player was a pair of earphones that led from the device into Kris' ears, while his eyes were focused on the movie playing on the tiny screen. Next to his bed, the case for said movie was rest on the nightstand. The cover art showed a man from the bridge of his nose down, keeping his eyes out of the shot. From what could be seen of him, he was shirtless with what looked like a cyan trench coat with a few diamonds on the collar and a new chain necklaces visible around his neck. The whole shot lit up by what looked like neon lighting, casting various purple and blue lights on this figure.
But what was of note was the fact this figure had an evil smirk on his face, his body being coated with splotches of blood and that he was holding a bright neon throwing knife, the blade dripping of fresh blood. Below all this was the title of the movie, written in bright green neon colors, 'The Phoenix', topped off with an 18+ rating in the corner. Kris knew he was too young to watch the movie, but he didn't really care. He was only a year younger than the age restriction and it wasn't like it was gonna do anything to stop him from watching it. Kris' thoughts drifted away from him as his attention went back to the movie.
The Phoenix. A horror movie that Kris held dear to his heart. One of his all time favourite horror movies. He remembered how he watched it with Asriel for the first time. Toriel was so mad with Asriel for letting the then 15 year old Kris watch it. It used to keep him up at night with horrible nightmares. Even the box art was enough to trigger horrible memories of the movie to the young Kris. But over time, he watched it more and more, losing the fear he once had for the movie. Now whenever he watched it, a different emotion would come up.
Intrigue.
Kris LOVED what this movie did. If it scared him the first time he watched it, then surely that must've meant it did a good job on him. After all, isn't that the point of a horror movie? To scare its viewers? Although the movie didn't scare him any more, he still found the movie enjoyable to watch. The way the script was written, the cinematography, the lighting of certain scenes to evoke various emotions. And even the way the characters were played, written, etc.
The main lead of the movie was a girl named Blair Miller, a new producer who got lucky and struck a deal with a record company named Glitteresque Records. A young beautiful girl that somebody like Kris could fall for easily. The underdog that the viewer can root for. It helped that her actress Kallie Wayy was attractive and a nice person in real life too. Her friend in the industry, and eventual love interest, was a rock star named Trent Moore, the lead singer in an indie rock band. He, much like his actor Paul Silverman, had a enjoyment of playing guitar and was a laid back type of guy, although being in a rock band did give him a bit of an ego. One he'd try and control when off the stage.
These characters were nice and all, but in Kris' eyes, the best character was the movie's antagonist: Lucas Sylva, also know by his stage name, The Phoenix.
This character... well, where could Kris start? First things first, the character is a pop star, originally part of a boy band named Purely Neon. This boy band was successful with their debut album entitled 'Light Show'. However, this came crashing down when a fire broke out at their studio and killed all members of Purely Neon except for Lucas. Deciding to rebuild himself, he came back as the Phoenix, making powerful and bouncy pop songs that would make a fan girl swoon with glee as he graced the stage. Now dear reader, you might be thinking that this sounds like a dream come true for most people. Why would HE of all characters be the antagonist?
Well, you'd understand if you found out what Lucas would do for his music.
You see, Lucas was what could be described as a 'mad artist', a character that would desire the spotlight and would go to drastic extremes to get it through their art, be it painting, photography, or in Lucas' case, music. In this case, Lucas' desire for the spotlight and for attention was so strong, that he'd go as far as to MURDER people and incorporate their screams of pain and begs for mercy into his music. Of course, he wouldn't be so obvious with it; he would mix the screams to sound no different than a synth or a pad, so if you listened to the song without this knowledge, you'd think it was just an instrumental that was part of the software he used.
This character is truly an evil and depraved villain and his actor, Connor Knight, made sure to show this side of the character. He even went as far as to make original music as the Phoenix character he was playing as, which the movie company sold alongside the soundtrack to boost sales. That, and being a well written villain, was what drew him towards that particular character. Kris was such a fanatic of the movie, that he brought both the soundtrack and Connor's pop album as the Phoenix. But he didn't stop there, oh no. He then learned the lyrics to said songs off by heart, making sure every note he hit sounded perfect whenever he sung along to them.
Kris even went as far as to watch Connor / Lucas' music videos and learn the dance choreography in said music videos. Nowadays, if you played any of those songs and told Kris to dance the moves in the music video, he'd do so with ease. He enjoyed doing so, and even danced as the Phoenix while dressed as him the previous Halloween. Kris could only smile as he thought back him tearing up the dance floor at the school Halloween disco. He wished he was allowed to bring his bat to the dance floor, since he even mastered the little spins and motions Phoenix would make with the bat as he danced, but Toriel made sure that he didn't take the bat into the disco for fears that he would-.
Ding!
Kris was pulled out of the movie by the sound of the text alert on his mobile phone, which he had left on the bedside cabinet. He removed an earphone from his ear and paused the movie, placing the DVD player off his lap. He grabbed his phone and read the text message. It was from Susie.
"Yo dude, I spoke with Noelle earlier today and we're gonna head down to the Dark World and see Ralsei. U wanna come with us? Might be sending the night there, so pack some night clothes if you're comin'!"
Kris took in the text message and thought about it, looking back at the DVD player. The screen paused on Lucas holding his phone in one hand and pressing the left ear of his headphones with the other hand, his eyes closed, vibing with the beat before singing. He had seen this movie so many times, he knew exactly what would happen storyline-wise. It would show Lucas about to sing, he'd take a breathe, then the movie would cut to him performing in a dark green room, filled with smoke and the ghosts of his former band mates. This would then be revealed to be the song's music video, as it's also revealed to both Blair and Lucas, now going under the stage name 'The Phoenix', that his mournful comeback single 'Find You in the Smoke' reached the top of the charts. Kris focused his attention back to his phone as he replied back to Susie's text.
"Yeah, sure. I'll grab a few things and then I'll meet you by the school."
With that, Kris placed the phone into his pocket and pressed the stop button on the DVD player. The image of Lucas disappearing, being replaced by the DVD player company logo. He ejected the DVD and placed it back in its case, which he then put, along with the DVD player, under his bed within easy reach. He then jumped off his bed, picking up his house keys from the nightstand and picked up his shoes, which he took off and left beside his bed. Putting them on, he walked through the bedroom into the upstairs corridor. After a pause, he made his way downstairs. Turning into the kitchen, he sees Toriel washing something at the sink. He stands behind her, waiting until she turns around. Toriel, upon suddenly seeing her child behind her, let out a surprised "Oh!" before realizing who it was.
"Goodness my child! You're going to give your mother a heart attack one of these days, the way you sneak up on me like that." Toriel said with a chuckle. Kris smiled a little, his eyes hidden under his hair. "I'm gonna meet up with a friend if that's cool mom. I might even be staying there for the night." Kris explained. Toriel was almost surprised by this. It wasn't often that Kris would go out without Asriel. Most nights, if he wasn't spending time with family, watching a movie or something, he'd spend his time alone in his room. To see Kris going out more often was a rather pleasant surprise for her. "Oh wow Kris, this new friend of yours is making you much more confident. I never knew you to start going out. Well, you have fun, but be careful out there, okay?" Toriel said. She then wrapped her arms around the human, Kris returning the hug. "I will do, mom. I love you." he said, before Toriel let him go.
He proceeded to walk to the front door, stopping at the sight of Asriel on the couch. He was lying sprawled out, wearing a dark green dressing gown, his eyes glued to the television, the remote control in one hand. The only movement was the goat's thumb on the button to change the channel, his eyes lazily half closed as he surfed through the channels. Kris, smirking, took a finger and tickled the back of his brother's ear, snapping him out of his stupor. Asriel turned back to meet eyes with Kris. "Hey bro, I'm gonna head out. I'm meeting up with Noelle and a few friends and I'm gonna stay out the night. I'll be back at some point tomorrow." he explained. Asriel turned back to face the television. "Alright dude, see you later." he said, raising his hand with his palm to the ceiling. Kris brought his hand up and slapped its palm against Asriel's, the high five seeming to echo around the room briefly. Kris then turned and walked towards the door. He took out the front door key and placed it into the door. The key turned and with a click, the door could be opened. The boy pulled it back and walked out of the house, closing the door behind him.
Asriel, his attention now focused back on the TV, continued to flick through channels. At one point, he flicked onto a channel that seemed to show a set of muscles for a brief second before the channel changed. He quickly noticed and went back. Surely enough, the TV channel was on the fitness and onscreen was a group of men in different outfits, mostly in shirts and shorts. A few seconds later, a pair of giant dumbbells were shown. Some sort of weightlifting championship. Asriel's eyes became glued to the screen as he sat up straight, fully invested in what was going on. One of the athletes, his muscles impressively large and clearly visible through the white tank top he was wearing, stepped up to the giant weights. He placed his hands on the bar and prepared himself to lift. Asriel began to lean forward, wondering if this strong man was gonna prove himself worthy of being in this championship.
When the whistle blew, the man strained as he used all of his strength to try and lift the bar, the big, black weights making it harder for him to do said task. After a few seconds of straining, the bar was off the ground and being held at his chest as he began to strain, aiming to lift the bar over his head. Beads of sweat began to pour down Asriel's face as he watched, entranced by this display of raw strength from the human on the television set. Such emotion, such power, such-.
"Asriel sweety?" Toriel's voice called out from the kitchen, breaking him out of his trance like state. Upon hearing foot steps, he panicked, quickly grabbing the remote and changing the channel, the image of the burly man being replaced with a man and woman behind a desk talking to the camera. It was the News, something Toriel would watch all the time at this hour. "Y-yeah?" Asriel answered nervously, trying not to let it show in his voice. Toriel walked in, just in time for the news channel to go into a weather report. In Toriel's hand was a bowl, fitted with various chocolates. "Did you pick a movie for us to watch? I know you liked watching movies with me and Kris when you were younger and I thought it would be nice to do that this evening." she said, sitting down in the armchair. Asriel cleared his throat before answering. "I-I've just been looking through different channels and I couldn't find anything yet. Maybe there's something on the movie channel?" he asked as he handed over the TV remote. Toriel took it and changed it over. As if on cue, a familiar theme played through the television as Toriel became excited.
"Oh wow! I didn't know they were playing Russ Gold! Your father was a huge fan of the film series and we used to watch it all the time!" Toriel said, fangirling over the happy memories. She loved the Russ Gold spy movies. She especially loved the new actor that was playing the lead role Hershely Gershel. She always found him to be such a hunk. His well toned abs, his short blonde hair, his perfect jawline. Heck, even the beach scene from the previous Russ Gold movie where we walked up a beach from the ocean wearing nothing but a pair of short swimming pants got Toriel into hot flushes. After the excitement wore down, Toriel took a look at her son on the couch, who was settling back down into a lying position. It was at that point she frowned, noticing the beads of sweat on Asriel's face. "Asriel, are you okay?" she asked, causing him to look her way. "Hmm?" Asriel asked, not hearing Toriel's question.
"I was asking if you were okay. I just noticed you looked sweaty." Toriel said, leaning forward, getting closer to Asriel. "Uh... I... I'm just a little cold, that's all." Asriel said, trying to find an excuse for the sweat. Immediately after those words escaped his mouth, he mentally kicked himself. "How on EARTH could you get sweaty from being cold?! It sounds like a stupid oxymoron! Oh, you just made yourself sound like an idiot Asriel!" he thought to himself as his thoughts went ballistic. "Oh! in that case, why don't you flick the kettle on and make yourself a hot chocolate, honey? You could make me one too while you're there, my child. We don't want the chills to get to us!" Toriel said with a smile before taking a piece of chocolate from the bowl and placing it into her mouth. Relief washed over Asriel. Thank goodness Toriel didn't point out what Asriel said there. All he could muster up in that moment was a simple "R-right." as he got up to make his way to the kitchen.
The sun was beginning to set as Kris began making his way down the driveway. Once he got to the road, he turned to the gate of Noelle's home and walked towards it. He was about to press the buzzer when he suddenly heard Noelle's voice call him. He looked through the metal bars and saw Noelle running up, the gate slowly opening as she drew closer. The doe slowed down when she got closer to Kris, coming to a stand still when she stood directly in front of him. "Hey Kris, you got Susie's text too?" she asked him. Kris nodded, a smile growing on his face. "Okay, let's go! I think Susie's gonna meet us outside the school." she said, quickly taking off down the street back towards the school. Kris, barely keeping his excitement to himself, ran off after her, the metal gates of the Holiday residence closing behind them.
It took a few minutes of running, until they got to the school. Once they were outside, they looked around. Outside of the orange glows of the street lights, there was plenty of shades of blue around them, but no sign of any purple. Noelle started to grow concerned. "K-Kris? Did she mention anything about meeting outside the school to you?" Noelle asked her human friend. Kris looked back at her and asked "No. Did she mention that to you?", to which he got a response of Noelle shaking her head. A few more minutes had passed and the two were getting impatient. Kris sighed. "Alright, I'm gonna call her and ask where she is." he said as he pulled out his phone. He went through his contact list and found Susie's number. He pressed the call button and held it up to his ear. After a few seconds of silence, the phone began to ring.
Noelle's ears perked up as she suddenly seem to hear something, turning towards a section of trees. As she began to follow the sound, Kris began to notice her friend walking away from him. "N...Noelle? Where are you-?" he began to ask before she quickly shushed him. She listened closely again and realized that her ears were NOT playing tricks on her. "Do you hear that Kris? It's coming from the woods." she whispered to him. Kris listened and hear the noise as well. An ominous sounding music box melody, accompanied with some sort of weird humming. The humming would sound for about a second, then stop, then start again. As for the music box melody, it would play four notes, pause and then play four more, playing in a constant loop. For the two, hearing this music while outside in the open was the most unnerving thing that they could experience. It felt like those moments in horror movies where a character investigates a sound. The usual result of these being the character meeting a horrific demise by whatever monster or threat was in said movie.
Their minds began to run wild as they continued to approach the sound. Eventually, the two wandered into the trees, away from the safety of the street lights. After a few seconds of nothing but the melody, the abrupt silence came through. Kris noticed his phone had stopped ringing and pressed the call button again. Once more, once the phone started ringing, the melody started up. Noelle quickly pointed at a small light not far from them and began to move towards it. "Kris, I see something." she whispered. "Yeah, I... I see it too." Kris whispered back as the two, filled with a sense of dread, approached the sound. They looked down at the ground to the source of the light and sound. It was coming from a mobile phone, lying on the ground, screen up. The call ID showing the name 'Kris' on the screen, the humming made sense to the two. The humming wasn't part of the melody, it was the phone vibrating on the ground. But what was unnerving to the two, was that the phone was covered in what looked like blood.
Kris' blood ran cold and Noelle's eyes went wide. Surely, it couldn't be. "Noelle... that's Susie's phone." Kris whispered. It didn't take much to scare Kris, but he was successfully freaked out by this. Noelle picked up the phone and had a look at it. Aside from the blood, it looked pretty normal. Feeling scared by the ominous melody the phone was generating, she hung up the call. The doe then looked back at Kris, whose face had turned pale from fear and body was trembling. "K...Kris?" Noelle spoke, wondering what was wrong with her friend. Kris, after a few seconds of fearful silence, managed to say a horrifying fact to his friend.
"That's not Susie's ring tone. It's usually a rock song she has."
Now it was Noelle's turn to turn white with fear. She put down the phone and backed away from it. "I think we should get out of here. I really don't feel safe out here." she said, full fear in her voice. Kris quickly nodded. The two turned around to face the street. But they weren't greeted by the sights of orange street lights or the road in front of them. Instead, they were greeted by the sight of a figure looming over them. This figure wore a dirty jacket, complete with a white shirt and ripped black trousers, complete with blood soaked boots. What they noticed almost immediately about this figure was the white hockey mask it was wearing over its face. Before the two could get an idea of who this was, the figure suddenly and quickly threw its arm up over its head. In its hand was a knife, the blade coated in blood.
Noelle screamed in terror and fell back at this sudden figure while Kris jumped back in shock, raising his phone like a club, ready to smack it into the figure's face should it come closer, even if it meant the screen would break in the process. There was then a pause where nobody was moving or making a sound. In that moment, Noelle had noticed the long brunette hair behind the mask and the purple skin. "Wait... Susie?" she asked, realizing who it was. The figure placed its hand under the mask and lifted it up, revealing purple skin and yellow teeth. Once the mask was fully off her face, Susie let out a laugh, the same laugh Kris had heard many times before when they were in the Dark World. "Gotcha both!" The purple monster said through her laughter.
Noelle quickly got herself back up as Susie spoke once again, unable to contain her laughter. "You two should've seen the look on your faces! I never thought I'd see the day I'd ACTUALLY manage to scare Kris Dreemur, the horror movie fanatic of our class!" Kris blushed profusely as he folded his arms. "It wasn't THAT scary Susie." He said, trying very hard to pretend what just happened didn't scare him. Noelle picked Susie's phone back up and handed it over to her. "Ah, the wonders a little fake blood and a ring tone from a horror movie can do." Susie said, proud of her little prank. Noelle, whose heart had began to slow down to a calm rate, was next to speak up. "Hey S-Susie? Did you want us to meet up at the school for this evening?" Susie nodded as the three made their way back to the main road. "Well duh. It's our only way to see Ralsei. I hope you guys brought your night clothes." she explained.
When the three were back on the road, Kris and Noelle stopped, realizing that they completely forgot to pack. Susie took notice of the two suddenly stopping and turned back to face them. "You two forgot, didn't you?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Neither of them responded, although they didn't have to say anything. "Well, I hope you two don't have an issue sleepin' naked." Susie said, before turning back and walking up to the school. Both Noelle and Kris turned to look at each other. It didn't take long until their eyes began trailing up and down each other's bodies, trying to envision the other in nothing but skin. Many questions flooded each other's minds: what body type do they have? Are they as scrawny as they look under all that clothing? What are their bodies like below the belt, especially between their...? When that thought crossed their minds, Kris and Noelle's eyes just so happened to meet. They seemed to know what the other was thinking, as both of their cheeks flushed red and they quickly averted their eyes from each other. "Let's... just catch up with Susie." Noelle said awkwardly, Kris nodding in agreement.
A rattling sound caught their attention as, almost in-sync, they both turned to face the front of the school to see Susie trying in vain to open the door. The purple girl pulled at the door's handle for a few seconds as hard as she could, before ultimately giving up. "Damn it, the door's locked." she muttered to herself. Kris then spoke up with a simple question: "How are we gonna get in? That's the only way into the Dark World as far as we know."
The three were silent for a while before Noelle suddenly perked up. She turned to face Kris as Susie, for some reason, got down onto one knee, so her eyes were level with the door's lock. "Oh! I've got an idea! My mom is the town's mayor as you already know Kris, so she'll more than likely have the key to every building in this town. So what I could do is sneak back home and if my mom finds me, I can tell her that I forgot something. Once she's cleared of suspicions, I can sneak into her workstation, grab the school keys and come back to the school. That way we could-."
"Done!" Susie's voice suddenly called out, catching Noelle's attention. The doe turned back to Susie to find Susie standing back up as she gently pushed the school doors open. "Or we could do... whatever Susie just did. That works too." Noelle said, feeling slightly dispirited, before walking up to the steps and into the school building. Kris followed her behind, briefly looking at Susie, who was checking on her nails and rubbing them against her jacket. "I knew keeping my fingernails long would come in use one day." Susie said to herself, a strong sense of pride ever so present in her voice. Kris walked into the dark corridors of the school, Susie behind him closing the door. Kris took a good look around at his surroundings. The school corridor was just the same as it had been left, only a lot harder to see what was on the walls. Everything seemed to have a dark shade of blue to it, much like that of the Dark World. An eerie silence looking over the three as they observed the dark corridor.
Susie didn't seem all that bothered about breaking and entering into the school. In fact, she had been caught doing so multiple times in previous schools before this one. Noelle and Kris on the other hand, despite wanting to see Ralsei again, both had a looming sense of dread fall over them, as though somebody was gonna come by and catch them. However, hardly any crime happened in this town, thus the security at the school was pretty weak. Possibly due to a small budget, the school didn't hire any security guards to walk the school grounds at night, they didn't install any intruder alarms, the only security counter measure was a locked door, that Susie was able to pick. The school DID however, have security cameras, however they were out of use due to some sort of fault in the school's electrical system.
"Alright, let's move." Kris said, taking the lead. He managed to take a few steps before Noelle stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, Kris... what if somebody saw us go in? Surely, somebody's gonna call the cops if they did!" Noelle said, concerned. Susie then walked up, wrapped her arm around Noelle's shoulders. "Hey Noelle, don't you worry one bit. Look at that camera in the corner." She said, pointing one out for her. "Usually, there would be a red light shining if it was on and recording. Do you see it on?" Sure enough, there was no red light, just a plastic shell with a lens, circuits and other electrical pieces inside it. "N-no." Noelle answered her friend. Susie released her arm with a simple "Exactly. We've got nothing to worry about. I wouldn't break into the school if those camera were working. Now let's get going, the closet is just up ahead."
It took another fall that the three still weren't used to, but they were back in the Dark World once more. They still had no idea how the whole 'clothing changes as they fall into the Dark World' thing worked, but by this point, they decided they weren't going to question it any more. After all, they were back in their familiar outfits; Kris with his armor, Susie with her vest and Noelle with her robe. Noelle had grown used to this new look she had and was, surprisingly to her, starting to like it. To her, the robe kind of matched her hair a little. She wished that she could keep the robe when she went back home though, she felt like it would be a nice costume of sorts if the school had another production.
But for now, the three were walking through... well, actually they didn't know where they were. This was the same area the three both walked through when they first arrived, complete with those weird wobbly things and blob entities that Kris saw the first time he came down here. They didn't attack them this time around, nor the last time. Noelle was still in awe over how the place looked until Susie's laughing snapped her out of her gaze. "But, wait, it gets better..." Kris said, struggling to keep himself from laughing as well. "So, the next thing I knew, Asriel ran into the house, his boxers were over his eyes and one of his socks was over his junk. He ran straight into the sofa, fell onto it, rolled onto the floor and then, as Mom was walking up to him to make sure he was okay, he suddenly got up and screamed in the most slurred way he could 'Jessica, I need more shots, the animals aren't gonna knock themselves out!' and ran into the kitchen, managing to bang his waist against the counter on the way there!" he said. Kris then burst into laughter, which was immediately followed by Susie's. Noelle just smirked at this, trying to hold her own laughter back. Noelle loved it when Kris told that story to anyone. It was just a hilarious moment to recap. Heck, Noelle would even ask Kris to recount it, despite being there when the events happened. Asriel had gone out with some friends and came back sloppy drunk whilst Kris and Noelle were watching TV together. Toriel came into the room upon hearing the front door slam open and seeing Asriel roll off the couch, Kris and Noelle huddled in a corner of said couch so the older goat wouldn't hit them whilst crash landing.
The laughter from her friends slowed to a pause and after a seconds of the two getting their breath back, Kris finished with "So yeah, that's why whenever Asriel comes home drunk, mom makes him go straight to bed. Can't blame her though, after he got into the kitchen, he puked on the floor and then passed out. He felt like shit the following morning, but it was so funny at the time. It scared Noelle, but nowadays, she finds it funny to think about, don't you Noelle?" Kris asked his deer friend. Noelle turned to face him and nodded, before pulling out a book and looking through it. It didn't take long until Susie took notice. "Whoa, what's that book ya got there Noelle?" she asked, catching Noelle off guard a little.
"Huh? Oh! It's... su-supposed to be a journal, but I mostly... use it as a sketchbook of sorts." Noelle explained as she turned the book to face the tough girl. Susie took note of some of the things Noelle drew. A few pictures of birds, some pictures of flowers, the usual stuff a girl like Noelle would draw. One that stuck out the most to her however, was a crude picture of Berdly's head. It looked almost scribbled, as though Noelle didn't give much thought to details, but it was clear who it was meant to be. Next to the head was a closed fist, a few dash lines moving away from the wrist, giving the illusion of the fist making route towards Berdly's face. Susie smirked at this. "Good to know I'm not the only one who wants to deck that smug bird brain in the face." she remarked. Noelle blushed. "Yeah, I... don't think I'd... ever have the courage to do something like that." she added. Kris made no comment about it, he barely could even see the drawing himself.
A few minutes of walking later, they arrived back at the castle town. They made their way up to the castle and found Ralsei. He wasn't wearing his hat and seemed to be in a conversation with Lancer. As the three drew closer, Ralsei's words became more audible to them. "Look, I know you're just a kid, but YOU'RE the king here. YOU should be the one that calls the shots, not Rouxls." he said, gently poking a white, fluffy finger against Lancer's chest on the 'you're' and 'you' for emphasis. As he laid his finger off the young king's chest and let it flop with the rest of his arm, Lancer sighed. "I know, but... I don't know how to run a kingdom. I overthrew my own father and Rouxls seems to be the only one who..." he began, before his attention was taken by the arrival of his three friends. "Ho-ho! Our friends return once again!" he said excitedly before running up to greet them with a hug. Noelle eagerly returned the hug, Kris was hesitant at first, but quickly warmed up to this act and returned the hug also. The only one who didn't get hugged was Susie, instead the two high fived.
"What brings you guys back here?" Lancer asked, his smile ever so gracefully plastered on his face. Susie smiled and replied. "We came back to see our fluffy boy here." she said, referring to Ralsei. The dark prince jumped back slightly and blushed. "M-Me?" he asked surprised, getting a nod from Kris in response. "Oh goodness! If I had known you guys were gonna visit today, I would've gotten some stuff prepared." Ralsei explained, the blush still shining through his cheeks. It was Noelle's turn to speak up. "W-w-we would've let you know in advance, but..." she said, before trailing off, unsure of what to say next. "Well, I'll let you guys have your hang out time. Nice talkin' to ya fluffy boy!" Lancer quickly said, before darting off down the stairs, presumably back to his home castle. Ralsei quickly darted after him with a "Lancer! Wait!" before stopping at the top of the stairs, realizing he was too far away to hear him. The prince could only watch as the blue and white shape faded into the distance. "How on earth does he move so quickly?" he briefly wondered to himself, before remembering the other three were behind him.
"So... what do you guys wanna do? I know you said you wanted to hang out, but I don't have anything we could do at the moment." he said, turning to face them. The group was silent for a few seconds before Susie spoke up. "Hey, I think we should show Noelle more of the Dark World. I especially think she would LOVE the forest we all went through." She added a little wink to Ralsei for good measure. Noelle turned surprised to face the purple girl. "Wait, there's a forest down here?" she asked. Kris quickly answered for her. "Yeah, that forest is beautiful. So many trees, a lot of foliage and the overall setting is nice and peaceful." He said. Noelle smiled at the idea. "Well, what are we waiting for? That sounds lovely." she said. Ralsei smiled as well at this little decision they had made. "Well, it's settled. Kris, would you like to lead the way?" he asked. Kris nodded. Just like with their previous adventures, Susie stood behind Kris, a few feet away from his back. Noelle followed suit and Ralsei took up the back of the line. Once everybody was set, Kris took the first few steps down the flight of stairs, everyone else following behind him.
Just like Kris had said, the forest was beautiful to the deer girl. She couldn't help but take note of how the leaves that had fallen from their perches blew in the gentle winds. How gorgeous the red leaves looked as they clung to the branches of the many trees. The air felt... nice to her. It wasn't too cold, but it wasn't hot either. It was... dare she say, paradise. She couldn't imagine being in a place like this, that gave her such euphoria, just from being there. It was almost like something from those samurai movies her and Kris used to watch all the time. Heck, she could even hear the oriental score from those movies playing in her head as she took in the sights and sounds of this forest. No threat, no worries, nothing. Just lush trees, a gentle breeze to accompany them and an overall pleasant experience.
Kris was still taking the lead, with Susie in front of her and Ralsei behind her, not once changing the order of the line as they walked. Kris, Susie and Ralsei would glance around every now and then, but didn't seem as taken back as Noelle was. But that wasn't a shock really, the three had already seen this area and while it was lovely to walk through, it wasn't as breath-taking as the new girl found it to be. "We're almost there. There's a spot Ralsei made that he thinks would be lovely for us to stay at." Kris said, snapping Noelle out of her wonder of the world around her. Susie then spoke up. "How come you never told me about this place, Kris?" she asked. Kris suddenly stopped, causing Susie to do the same. Noelle didn't notice however and, rather humorously, ended up walking right into Susie's back, pushing the monster forward slightly. Kris turned back, his red eyes facing Susie's behind his hair. "Because... it wasn't there when we first arrived. To be honest, when we first brought Noelle here, Ralsei pulled me aside when we walked through the forest to show it to me. He spent so much time working on it, and the result is gorgeous, to say the least. Even then, you honestly wouldn't have believed me even if I DID tell you about it." he explained, before turning back and walking forward. Susie paused for a second before walking forward. Noelle still stood, rubbing her nose to relieve herself from the impact of Susie's back, when Ralsei walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't you worry Noelle, you're gonna love it there." he reassured her, before standing beside her. He then held out his elbow, making a loop with his arm, big enough for one of her arms to fit through.
Now, it was Noelle's turn to blush. Never had anyone done this gesture of accompaniment towards her. In fact, never had anyone done ANY act of chivalry towards her. This was an invitation to linking her arm with his! She had seen this so many times in movies, but she had NEVER done it in real life, not even with Kris. She glanced at Ralsei, his cute little smile ever so present as he waited for her to accept his offer. After a pause, she smiled too, bringing her own arm through the loop, gently closing her arm around Ralsei's. The two walked side by side together, arms locked together, the blush on Noelle's face slowly fading away into nothing. This very moment felt... even more pleasant to Noelle. The doe's eyes, which were fixed on what was ahead, moved down to look upon the couple's arms, interlocked in an almost amorous manner. She was surprised that under that cloak, Ralsei's arm felt so soft. The two almost seemed to be in sync with each other as they walked. Noelle's eyes trailed from her and her partner's arms to the prince's face. As they walked, she took in every detail on his face. The white fur, the glasses, the cute little pink highlights within said fur. Even the way his eyes, which had a beautiful golden color to them, were locked on what was ahead drew Noelle in. She wasn't sure if it was the setting they were in, the gesture they were doing itself or if it was just how the light reflected against the boy's fur, but there was something almost... romantic about it. She once again felt her cheeks start to burn once again as she looked upon the dear prince's face. After a few seconds, Ralsei turned his head slightly to face Noelle, his eyes shifting from straight ahead to meeting hers. Upon noticing that he was looking her way, she quickly averted her eyes to straight ahead. She didn't want to be rude to her new friend by staring at him. But at the same time, as she continued to walk with him, there was something that compelled her to keep looking at that adorable face of his.
When they eventually caught up to Kris and Susie a few minutes later, the human boy smirked at the sight of the couple. With a chuckle, he said with a slight teasing tone to his voice "Is Ralsei your new boyfriend now, Noelle?" The two stopped, wondering what they meant before looking down at their arms. Realizing they were still interlocked, they quickly released one another. Their cheeks turned pink and red as they quickly got over the shock of the moment. "N-n-no Kris. Ralsei was just... holding my arm. C-Comfort stuff, you know?" Noelle said, stammering over how to explain the situation, Ralsei nodding his head quickly in agreement. Susie smiled as well. "Tss, comfort." She added with a tone that seemed to tell she knew the timid girl was lying, on top of her rolling her eyes with said comment. Ralsei walked forward, that same blush still cursed upon his face. He made his way towards a hole in the trees, light shining through it like a portal to another world. Ralsei stepped through, followed by Kris. Only the girls were left now. Noelle took a timid step forward and tried to look through. "Come on through! It's beautiful here!" she heard Kris' voice call. Noelle glanced over at Susie, who gestured for her to go through. Taking in a deep breath, she walked through the hole and was silent for a few seconds. Susie then heard a faint "Oh... my... God." from Noelle, which made her curiosity peak. When she stepped through the hole, she saw Noelle standing a few feet in front of it, transfixed by the sights she was seeing. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open. If the oriental music Noelle was imagining was playing to accompany the scene, this would've been the point the score hits a crescendo. When Susie turned to see what she was looking at, her facial expression slowly began to match her friend's. A few seconds of stunned silence was broken with her repeating the words Noelle just uttered: "Oh... my... God."
The scene was even more beautiful than the two thought. The trees from which they had walked through had become a sort of wall behind them. A night sky hung over their heads, with a thousand stars and a glowing moon to accompany such an image. The moonlight cast a blue glow onto the red grass, which lay flat against the earth, as though a thousand feet had walked through the area, keeping each blade down to be ever so perfect. The girls were at a loss for words as they took in the sight. Their eyes traveled downwards from the sky to the ground. In front of them was a large elevated mound of earth. Resting at the top was a large tree, red leaves dancing on the branches, some falling with grace to the ground, blown to the side by an invisible wind. Built beside the tree was a statue of Ralsei and Lancer holding up a large sphere, presumably representing the world. At the bottom of this sphere was running water that fell out from the bottom and ran down a little stream, which ended at the bottom in a large stone basin. Beyond this statue and tree was a large lake, the water perfectly still and undisturbed, almost seeming to glow as the moonlight shone down upon it. The group weren't even sure how far this lake stretched, but that didn't matter. What mattered was how it looked, and how it looked... was pulchritudinous. Dotted around the area were several more pieces of foliage. Bushes, flowerbeds, small trees. You name it dear reader, it was there. And it was placed in a way that made the whole area look more... alive.
"Yeah, that was my reaction as well when I first saw this place." Kris added, removing his armor and cape, leaving him with just his bodysuit. "Ralsei put in a lot of work. I believe he mentioned having Clover and Lancer help with it." he added as he sat down at the base of the fountain. Ralsei, who was also getting settled down, nodded. "Yep. It took a good few days to get everything perfect. And I'm absolutely happy with the overall result and presentation." the goat boy said with a smile. Susie and Noelle walked over to the boys and marveled at the fountain's glory. Noelle, the most stunned, spoke up after a few seconds. "Does that water... run on forever? Surely, it can't stay at the bottom all the time, right?" she asked. Ralsei looked at her and answered, walking up to be side by side with Noelle and resting a friendly arm on her shoulder. "It does. You see, I cast a spell on the basin, so that after a while of being inside that basin, the water itself gets teleported all the way back into the sphere that the statue is holding." he explained, pointing at the basin, then trailing his finger back to the statue upon mentioning the water's journey. Noelle could only let out a "Huh." at this information. Ralsei began walking towards the basin with Noelle as he continued, having remembered something. "Oh! One other thing, the water is clear too. My magic is able to get rid of any toxins from the water that flows through this fountain!"
He released his arm from Noelle, as she stepped forward. "So, that means... this water is...?" She began to ask, turning back to face the prince. "The water's completely safe to drink. Go ahead, try it!" Ralsei said with a smile. Noelle turned back to the basin and got onto her knees as Kris and Susie took notice. She took her hands and placed them underneath the water. The water itself felt cold to the touch, which startled Noelle a little, as she wasn't prepared to deal with icy cold water. After a few seconds, she cupped her hands together and raised them out, a small pool of water in her hands. Some of it dripped back into the basin as she turned back to face her friends. Ralsei, still smiling warmly, nodded, silently telling her to go ahead and drink it. Kris had a knowing smile on his face as his eyes were locked onto Noelle behind his hair, while Susie also locked her eyes on the girl, full of burning curiosity. Noelle turned back to the water in her hands and lowered her head towards them. Once her lips met the water, she slowly allowed the water to enter her mouth. To her surprise, the water no longer felt cold to her mouth, but rather... cooler. After a few seconds, she gulped. As she felt the liquid leave her mouth and advance down her throat, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the water she just drank was somehow even more refreshing than the water she was used to on the surface.
Once she had gulped every last of water, she stood up, exhaling. "Wow, I didn't think water could... even more..." she began, but couldn't find the words to speak. "I told you, the water's perfectly safe to drink. And it's SUPER refreshing as well. I usually drink out of it myself whenever I come here to clear my head." Ralsei explained. Susie then noticed something on the dirt. "Hey Ralsei, what's with this... spot right here?" she asked. Ralsei turned around to face Susie and noticed the little spot on the ground. "Oh!" he exclaimed before walking over to her. Noelle stood up and followed her friend over. Kris also walked over to get a good look at the spot. Where there should be grass was just pure dirt in a medium sized circle, big enough for a small bonfire. Mostly a maroon color, but black was also visible in the mud. "This spot, is usually where I practice my fire magic. I don't want to go crazy over it, so at the moment, I only make small campfires on this spot. I made sure no grass grows nearby so that this place doesn't go up in literal flames if I tried it." Ralsei explained.
Ralsei then sat down, crossing his legs and holding out his hands. The others looked at each other confused. Ralsei then looked up at them, inviting them to sit down with him. "Here, I'll show you." he said, looking up at everyone. Kris looked at the girls and shrugged. He made his way to a spot and sat down, next to from Ralsei. Noelle and Susie then sat down, forming a circle of Ralsei at the top, Susie on the right, Noelle at the bottom and Kris on the left when looking from above. Once they were all settled down, Ralsei took Kris and Susie's hands, much to the latter two's surprise. "Okay, we all need to lock hands for the spell to work." he explained. Kris and Susie looked at each other, then to Noelle, before reaching out their hands to her. Noelle, although hesitant, took them both, holding onto them tightly, though not tight enough to hurt them. The four was making a full circle around this spot, their arms becoming the bridges between them. Ralsei then spoke again. "Okay, now I need all of us to close our eyes and focus on that spot in the middle of the circle. Do not talk or open your eyes until I say you can." he explained. He then shut his eyes. The remaining three shared a few more glances at one another before following along, closing their eyes as well.
The four sat there for a few seconds, hands interlocked with each other, eyes closed and their minds focused on the spot in the middle. Kris, Susie and Noelle had no idea what to expect. They had a feeling whatever it was had something to do with fire, but they weren't sure what exactly. But Ralsei seemed to know what he was doing, so the group just went with it. Their lips were sealed as they continued to focus on the spot. Coldness. It was all the four felt at first, but after about 10 seconds or so, they felt a sudden rush of heat and a orange glow through their eyelids. "Okay everyone, you can open your eyes now." Ralsei said. Slowly, each member of the group opened their eyes, their vision being greeted by a small roaring fire. Each member had various reactions; Susie sat bewildered, not thinking the spell would work with the four of them, Noelle could only look around in shock, probably searching for somebody else who could've lit the fire while their eyes were closed, but finding no one and Kris... well, Kris didn't know what to make of it. He was surprised, but at the same time, this was the kind of thing he expected of Ralsei.
"Did... did we really just...?" Noelle stuttered. She couldn't finish the sentence before Susie answered for her. "I think we did." Ralsei clapped his hands for Susie getting the answer right. "You guys did! By locking hands, I've transferred part of my magic into you guys to light the fire. On top of that, the fire got lit much faster because of you guys. Usually, it takes me a good few minutes to do it by myself, but together, we got it lit in around 15 seconds." Ralsei said, a sense of pride for his friends. Kris was silent, still trying to take in what just happened. "Yo, Kris!" Susie said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Can you believe this? We actually used magic to light a fire!"
Kris took note of the wide smile on Susie's face. "Y-Yeah. Very cool." Kris could only say. He still was trying to piece things together in his head. There was NO way him and his friends were able to cast a fire just like that, right? Sure, Ralsei could probably do so all on his own, but him, Susie and Noelle? There was no way that could work... right?
Time had passed, and the group were still sitting by that fire, talking amongst themselves. They shared laughs, they shared jokes and stories and they were having a good time amongst themselves. Eventually, the topic shifted over into memories. A lot of good memories were shared, like the time Asriel came home drunk and made himself look like a dumb-ass in front of Toriel, Kris and Noelle and things were overall perfect. Susie's laughter echoed through the area, having been told a funny memory by one of the other 3. "Oh my god, I gotta say, it's fun being able to share memories that we all loved." she said through her laughter. Once she calmed down, the tone of her voice turned serious for a second. "Although I'm kinda curious, are there any memories you guys... would rather forget?"
The group was silent. It seemed like nobody wanted to share at first. Noelle was the first to share. "I guess I have one." she said. Susie seemed surprised at this. "Y-You? You have a memory you'd rather forget? You're the last person I'd think would have one, since you're usually so upbeat, shy and happy." the purple warrior said to the timid deer. Noelle met eyes with her before responding "There's a lot about me you don't know Susie." in the most serious manner she could. She took a glance at the rest of the group, who were peaked in interest. Behind the fringe however, Noelle noticed Kris seemed to be frowning, showing he knew what memory Noelle was talking about. Sighing, the doe sat up straight as she began to share her painful memory.
"Well, me and my dad used to be quite close. Actually, we still are. We would hang out often, play video games together. He would even help me get back at Kris for all the pranks he pulled on me." She said, a small laugh coming out at the mention of Kris' pranks. But as quickly as the laugh came, it went, as Noelle continued. "But one thing I always remembered was that, he told me that no matter what happened in my life, he would always be there for me. I could just... call him... and he would be there. It didn't matter if I had moved to the other side of the world, he would make sure that he was there for me. But then one December, it all changed." Kris shut his eyes, as if hearing the memory was hurting him as well as it was for Noelle. Susie and Ralsei were both hanging on by their deer friend's words. "I was hanging out with Kris, by the lake, which is just down the road from our houses. We would sit on the sand and watch the sun go down. It made very beautiful looking views as it went down. But then, after a few minutes of total tranquility, my mobile phone rang and snapped us out of our peace. When I answered it, it was from my Mom, and she asked me to come back home. But... there was something off about her voice. It sounded like..."
She paused, wiping away a tear that was brewing in her eye. "Like she was on the verge of crying. So I said my goodbye to Kris and made my way back home. When I got through the door, I saw my Mom, sitting in the kitchen. She was holding the phone in one hand and had the other over her mouth. And her eyes... her eyes were watering. When she saw me, she got up, walked over and hugged me. She then told me that dad had to go into hospital. She never told me why though, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was because of some... complication my dad had. A few months prior, he had a surgery to remove a tumor from his abdomen. And I think the complication had something to do with that surgery. But what hurts the most is that, this happened..." she explained. She paused, as if trying to remember how long ago this was. In the end, she exhaled sharply. "Heck, I don't even remember how long it had been since I rarely bring this memory up. But every night, whenever I go to bed, I always hope and pray that my dad will be okay, and I'm not even religious! I visit him in hospital and he says he'll be back before certain holidays, but... after so many statements like that, you start to worry that maybe he won't come back. Maybe he'll..." Noelle paused once more. The tears in her eyes began to freely fall, making tracks down her cheeks, and this time, Noelle wasn't going to stop them. She sniffed a little, letting the pain of the memory show on her face to a concerned Ralsei and Susie. Kris rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, which she glanced to the side, meeting his gaze, before continuing, her voice still shaky as she spoke. "Maybe he'll pass on in that cold hospital room. You guys know I cry myself to sleep sometimes, just thinking about it. So, when the topic of memories come up, I rarely bring it up, because it hurts so much to reveal. Aside from Kris, you guys are the first ones I've shared this with."
A stunned silence hung over the group, broken every now and then by Noelle's subdued crying. Kris shuffled over to Noelle and opened his arms up, offering Noelle a hug. Upon seeing this, Noelle practically fell into Kris' arms, openly crying into his shoulder as he wrapped her up in his embrace. Ralsei didn't know what to say at this. He removed his glasses and wiped his eyes before speaking. "N-Noelle, I'm... sorry you have to go through that. I wish I could make it all better. I really do, but what CAN I do?" he said, trying to offer some comfort.
Susie was speechless. No way she would've guessed Noelle had THAT sort of weight on her shoulders. "Noelle, I'm... I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I know exactly how that kind of thing feels. I lost my mom many years ago." Susie said, the joy in her voice fully evaporated. Noelle lifted her head from Kris' shoulder to look at her. "Y-... You did?" she managed to get out between sobs. Susie just sadly looked at her and nodded. "Since we're sharing stories, I'll give you guys mine." she added, shuffling to sit comfortably.
"My story starts with... well, my mom, Evelyn Accrue, but me and my family always called her Evie. Me and my mom were close. Probably as close as you are to your dad, Noelle." she began. Noelle's eyes were fixated on her crush, much like Susie's were fixated on the fire. It seemed she was numb to this memory, but still, there seemed to be a strong glint of pain in her eyes as she spoke. "My mom was... you could say, my moral compass. I wasn't always a bad girl. Monsters used to say hi to me, they used to wanna hang out, a lot of things. Nowadays, they see me and the first thing they do is cower in fear, run to the classroom, like I'm gonna murder them if they look at me wrong. A lot of monsters became scared of Susie, the big bad purple reptile girl, the one who would break a kid's neck or- or bite someone's f... fucking face off if they pissed her off!" she ranted, her voice getting shaky and louder as it went on, almost to the point she was shouting. It seemed Susie was on the verge of tears as well, much like she was when she was ranting to her dad.
Susie paused to get her bearings. She took a look at the others. Noelle, still in Kris' arms, was still watching her intrigued, despite still crying about her memory. Kris was also intrigued as well, his eyes glued to Susie as she sat there, breathing heavily. Ralsei seemed more shocked at the outburst she just had, but was still listening. Susie sighed, before she continued. "But nobody asks why she's like that. It was all because of mom. She was the one who would talk me out of doing something stupid. The one who loved me no matter what I did or what I said. I could have a massive argument with my dad, and if I stormed off to my room, about half an hour later, she'd come in and give me a hug, letting me cool off. But then one day, we took a road trip as a family. We were coming home from some resort park. We had a lovely time that day and it was getting dark. I was in the back seat, dad was driving and mom was next to him. I was starting to fall asleep as we were turning a corner and..."
Susie trailed off, the memory becoming too painful for her. Eventually, she stood up. "I'm sorry guys, I... I gotta clear my head." she said. This time, she really DID sound like she was on the verge of crying. She walked off, out of the fire's glow, her hand over her mouth, probably to try and muffle her crying if she started doing so. Noelle was released from Kris' hug to sit up straight and watch Susie leave the make shift camp site. Now it was Ralsei's turn to be speechless. "W...wow. I knew Susie had a lot on her mind, but... I never would've guessed..." he started to say, but the words couldn't come to him. "What about you Kris? Do you have any memories you wanna share?" he asked, turning his attention to the human.
Kris was sitting with his knees against his face, his eyes focused on the fire, watching as it burned away in front of him. His eyes darted over to Ralsei, who was waiting for a response. "I..." the human began, before sighing. "I've got too many to count." Ralsei and Noelle waited for something to be added to that statement, but instead he got nothing else. "Well... do you want to... share one of them with us Kris?" Noelle asked. Kris' eyes darted over to her. "No, I don't." he said matter of factly, his eyes almost seeming to burn bright behind his hair. Ralsei then spoke up. "Th-That's okay Kris. You don't have to share anything if you don't want to." Kris' gaze moved back to the fire, continuing to watch it. "What about you, fluffy boy?" Kris asked the goat prince. "I'm sure you've got some skeletons in your closet, so to speak."
Ralsei, after a stunned pause, sighed. Kris' head raised, clearly not expecting this reaction from the prince. "Well, since you want to know, I used to test the limits of what my magic was capable of." Ralsei began. Now that Kris' eyes were focused on Ralsei, it was his turn to be staring into the fire as he told his tale. "Not a day would go by where I wasn't trying out new spells and magic. Lancer and Rouxls Kaard were by my side as I practiced. I would do wonderful things. I would make it snow for the kids, I would create beautiful star arrangements, some of them you can see up there." Ralsei explained, pointing up at the sky when referring to the arrangements. Kris and Noelle looked up briefly at the stars, before turning their attention back to the prince when he continued. "But then... I came across a certain spell. The spell book called it the 'Snowgrave', and I got curious. With a name like that, you couldn't just say no to trying it out. Rouxls Kaard made a huge deal about it. He warned me about using it, saying that 'not even the most skilledeth sorcerers cast this spelleth'. At the time, I thought he was trying to stop me from learning, so I paid him no mind. I went out to the balcony of my castle and cast the spell. The first thing I felt was the snowstorm. A few snowflakes at first, then it became a blizzard. Then came the blistering cold. It became so heavy, I couldn't even see the town below. Before I knew it, some guards had grabbed me and pulled me back into the castle."
Ralsei stopped briefly. Noelle, who was listening intently, then spoke up. "So, what did the spell do?" Ralsei continued. "Snowgrave was what sorcerers called a 'Spell of Mass Devastation' or an 'SMD' for short, a spell that is SO dangerous that no sorcerer was allowed to cast it. When I cast it myself, it had summoned a dangerous blizzard on the town. It came, lasted for about 5 seconds, then vanished. But in those five seconds... there was so much devastation. When I went outside, I saw monsters with limbs going black, monsters suffering from hypothermia, monsters struggling to get inside the nearest building for warmth. All because of that spell, I took the lives of 9 monsters... in just 5 seconds." Ralsei snapped his fingers, startling Noelle and Kris slightly. "Just. Like. That."
Kris was stunned. "My God... I had no idea Ralsei." he said. Ralsei, still staring at the fire, continued. "Yeah. I made sure nobody cast that spell. I even went as far as to rip the page with that spell out of the book it was in and burn it, making sure no word could be left of it. But even then, I still hear the screaming, the crying and everything that came with that blizzard. And sometimes, when I close my eyes, I still see those 9 monsters, literally frozen in place, ice dripping from their literal cold dead hands. And their faces..." Ralsei said, standing up. "Their faces were the worst part! Have you guys ever seen the look on someone's face, when they realize their own lives are milliseconds away from ending?"
Noelle and Kris looked at each other, before they both turned back and shook their heads. Ralsei held up a finger to make his point clearer. "Trust me, you don't want to. The absolute terror on their faces was enough to give me nightmares for weeks afterward! And the worst part of it all..." Ralsei paused, his eyes beginning to glisten. Kris looked into them and saw that they were tears starting to form. "The worst part of it all was that-."
"Yo Ralsei, what's this plant over here?" Susie's voice suddenly called out, breaking Ralsei from his heartbreaking memory. All three of them turned to face where the voice came from. Through the light reflected off the moon, they could see Susie waving them over to a nearby bush. They got up and walked up to it. As they got closer, the details of the bush became more and more visible to them. It was the same color as the rest of the trees, however there appeared to be a strange fruit growing on it. The group stopped short of the bush and took a good long look at it. "Huh. I don't know. I don't remember planting this bush here. And I certainly don't remember any fruit looking like THAT being grown in the forest." Ralsei said. Kris reached out a hand and picked one piece of fruit up, holding it in his hands, the others taking notice.
This strange fruit felt very similar to a peach to Kris. Rather soft to the touch if he must say so himself. But the skin wasn't the same color as a peach though. Instead, it was a very, VERY strong pink. "It looks weird. It's like a peach, but I've never seen a peach like this before." Kris said, before passing it over to Noelle. Almost immediately, her nose caught a strong odor coming from the fruit. She brought it up to her nose and sniffed it. The smell was very sweet, like you'd be able to make yourself sick if you smelt it for too long. The smell was so strong, Noelle almost gagged on it. "Oh my lord, the smell of this thing!" she exclaimed. Susie stepped up to stand next to her. "What?! Does it smell bad?" she asked. "N... No it doesn't. It just smells... sweet and... strong." Noelle answered.
"Let me have a look at it." Susie said, holding out a hand. Noelle placed the fruit in her palm and the reptile ran her fingers over the surface. "It feels like my dad's face when he doesn't shave." Susie said, the fruit held firm in her hand. Kris ran a hand over the surface. Susie was right; this fruit felt like facial touch to the touch! What a strange piece. And what a strange place for it to grow. Finally, it was Ralsei's turn to hold it. "So it looks pink, smells sweet and feels like hair." Ralsei said, piecing everything together. Susie smirked. "Only thing left to do is eat it. Ya know, to see if it's edible." she said. Ralsei hesitated. It was clear he didn't want to eat it. He looked at Noelle and Kris before holding the fruit out to them.
"Noelle?" he asked, his eyes glancing at his girl friend. Noelle shook her head. "Look, I'll try a lot of things out, but I'm NOT trying that fruit." His eyes moved over to Kris. "Kris?" The human didn't shake his head, just replied with a simple command.
"You try it first."
Ralsei looked back at Susie, who glanced at the fruit then back at him, telling him to eat it. The goat looked at the fruit one last time, before raising it to his mouth and biting into it. The fruit, to Ralsei's surprise, crunched as his teeth cut into the flesh. He chewed on it for a few seconds, before swallowing, the rest eager to hear what he thought. "Ummm, there's no taste behind it." Ralsei said. The rest looked confused at this revelation. "What? That can't be right." Susie said, grabbing a piece of fruit of her own. She bit down into it and chewed, spitting the piece out when she realized that there was indeed NO flavor to the skin. Kris and Noelle followed suit, trying the fruit themselves. Only Noelle swallowed the skin while Kris spat it out. "Well, that was a waste of time for us." Kris said, after getting rid of his piece of fruit skin.
Noelle looked inside the fruit and noticed something. "Hey guys, there looks like something kind of liquid inside the fruit!" she said. The others looked in theirs and found the same thing. Inside the shell of the fruit was a black liquid, freely sloshing about in the tasteless container. "This must be the juice. Anybody wanna-?" Ralsei began, before Kris cut him off. "We drink it at the exact same time." Susie nodded. "I'm down.", she said, Noelle following up with a "Sounds good to me." Ralsei shrugged. "Okay, let's do it." The four lifted up their fruits and prepared themselves. "On three. One. Two. Three!" Kris counted. Upon three, all of them tipped their heads back and held the bite marks to their lips, letting the juices flow into their mouths.
Almost immediately upon hitting their tongues, a sharp bitter taste overloaded their senses, snapping them to their senses. Kris reacted quickly, removing the fruit and spitting the contents out onto the grass behind him. He stood there gagging, his tongue hanging loosely out of his mouth as he tried to rid it of the rancid taste. Noelle and Ralsei reluctantly swallowed the juice, letting it trespass down their throats on the way to invade their stomachs, while Susie slowly lowered the fruit and simply opened her mouth in disgust, allowing the juice to pour back out, into the hollow shell of the vile fruit.
"Oh my God, what the hell is up with that stuff?!" Kris finally said, now having the words to question what the hell they just drank. Noelle wasn't far behind, commenting a simple "It tastes so... disgusting. Why does it need to be so bitter?" as she coughed over the rancid taste. Ralsei was the next to comment, giving a "Well, that's one drink I'm NEVER trying again." as he took a breath. Lastly, Susie, juice still leaking from her mouth, uttered a statement of her own. "I've once drank expired milk, and even that tasted a thousand times better than whatever the hell this is." The group then threw down their fruits in disgust, the shells fizzing as they dissolved into the dirt.
The group took a few seconds to recover from the shocking taste before Noelle pulled back a sleeve on her robe, revealing a small watch, the time reading 12:14 AM. "Hey, you guys? It's getting late. I think it's time we head back to the village." She said. Almost as if on cue, Kris let a yawn, stretching his arms out. "Yeah, I'm getting tired myself. I'm ready to head back." Ralsei looked at Kris and Noelle before turning to face Susie, who was also yawning. "Yeah, I'm beat. I could just crash into bed right now."
"Okay, you guys. I'll take you back to the village. Let me just put the fire out first." Ralsei said. He then turned around to face back to the campsite. "Are we gonna have to hold hands again?" Susie asked. "No, no. I can do this on my own." Ralsei answered. He raised an arm and flicked it at the fire. Despite such a large distance, the fire quickly went out. Once he was satisfied, he turned back to his friends. "Alright, let's get going." he said with a smile. They were about to walk off when Kris suddenly stopped. "Wait, I'm gonna get a drink from the fountain. I need to get the taste out of my mouth." he said, before walking off to the basin. There was another pause before Susie added "Yeah, I could do with another drink as well." as she followed Kris to the fountain.
"You know, aside from trying the fruit in the forest, I really enjoyed my time with you guys." Ralsei said to Kris as they walked into their room for the night. The boy's bedroom was a large spacious area with gray painted walls and a pair of queen sized beds for the two of them. On the floor was a gray rug, lying on top of a white carpet. The far wall had a closet against it and a set of dressers. A window was also present against on of the wall, the night sky being visible through it. Unnoticed to the boys however, was a small hole in the wall. Not big enough to see through, but small enough to be noticeable. "Yeah, I enjoyed my time here too. I feel... we should do it more often." Kris said, sitting himself down on the bed closest to the window, while Ralsei began digging through the dressers, looking for something to sleep in. He started to gaze out of it, taking in the sights of the stars in the sky. Even now, he was surprised. Being that the Dark World was... well, dark, he didn't think a night sky would be possible here, yet here it was. A full starry skyline for all to admire. As he looked, he could've sworn he saw a few shooting stars, zipping downwards across the sky before fading into nothing. It was beautiful, to say the least. It was somehow even more beautiful than the night skies back at home.
Ralsei, not hearing Kris speak for a while, turned to face him. The human's eyes were fixed out the window, out at the stars. Ralsei put down a pair of pyjamas he was holding onto his bed and walked over to Kris, sitting besides him, looking up at the stars. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" the prince asked. Kris didn't answer, too focused on the sights in front of him. "I was... just as transfixed as you are the first time I saw them. I remember I once sat in my little... comfort place we were in earlier, just lying on the grass, looking at the stars. The only sounds that night were the fire and the wind. Heh, I think I fell asleep at one point while I was there, because the next thing I remember was Lancer shaking me awake and walking me back to the castle." Kris smiled and laughed a little at hearing this. "Well, it's peaceful there. I don't blame you for falling asleep." he said.
The two sat there in total silence, just taking in the atmosphere. The room felt nice, homely even. Sure, Ralsei had his castle and Kris had his home back in the real world, but this was a nice place to stay at. Ralsei rested his head against Kris' shoulder and shut his eyes. Kris turned his head to look down at the prince and smirked. "Ralsei, if you're gonna fall asleep on my shoulder, at least get out of your robe." he said, smiling and trying to hold back laughter. The prince immediately jolted awake. "Oh! I'm so sorry Kris, I didn't realize I was falling asleep on you!" He quickly sputtered out, embarrassed. He quickly got up and picked up the pyjamas he was holding. A shirt and leg warmers, which funny enough, had the same color to them as Ralsei's robe. Dotted all over them was a dark green pattern of trees, almost like Christmas trees. Ralsei placed them aside as Kris spoke up.
"Hey Ralsei, I'm a little curious about something, but I don't know if it's appropriate to ask you." he said. The prince stopped what he was doing to look at the human, who was awkwardly grinding his boot against the carpet, his fingers pressed together while his eyes avoided contact with his friend. "What is it Kris?" the goat asked. Kris stumbled a little, trying to find the words. It took a good few seconds for him to find them. "Underneath your robe... are you... are you naked under there?" he asked, his cheeks burning red as the question finally was released. Ralsei went wide eyed at this as his own cheeks turned red as well, equally mortified at such an inappropriate question. "N-No, Kris! I'm never naked under my robe!" Ralsei said. His hand reached down to the bottom of his robe and gently tugged at the fabric. As he quickly lifted it, Kris flinched. He knew Ralsei wouldn't lie to him about something so personal like this, but the idea of being potentially flashed by his friend felt wrong to him.
Kris was relieved however, when instead of white fur and who knows what else, he was greeted by the sight of some gray sack pants, with a tight rope wrapped around the waist as a belt. "I always wear pants under my robe Kris. I don't wear shirts often though. I feel warm enough just wearing my robe. I do own a few shirts, but if I put a shirt on, I feel like I'd just overheat, especially with all my fur." he added, before letting his robe drop, hiding his pants once again. Kris stood there for a few seconds, at a loss for words. The only thing he could say in response was a simple "O..okay." for that explanation. It was all he could say at that point. Ralsei turned back to face the pyjamas and was just about to raise his robe over his head, when he stopped and looked back, realizing Kris was still watching him. His cheeks once again became a bright shade of red as he spoke. "Hey um Kris... I know... this is gonna sound a little... juvenile, but... can you please... turn around and face the wall? I don't like getting changed while monsters are watching me." Kris snapped out of his daze, upon hearing his name. He then smirked at hearing Ralsei's request. "Why? Do you have self esteem problems? I thought Noelle was the one who needed confidence boosts." Kris replied, laughing at the mark.
"Please Kris. I just... don't feel comfortable with my own body. It'll only be a few seconds." Ralsei begged the human. With a sigh, Kris responded with an "Alright, alright. I'll turn around." as he turned his back to the prince. Once he was fully facing the wall, he could hear the fabric of Ralsei's robe being removed from his fur, followed by a soft thump on the floor. He was tempted to peek, but decided against it. He certainly wouldn't want anybody else looking at him, if he ever had self esteem issues like Ralsei apparently does. It was then he thought he heard something. Like... someone talking. And it was coming from the wall. He focused on the sound, until words began to form.
"I don't see what the big deal is. You've gotten changed around me when we're gettin' ready for gym class."
Kris recognized that voice to be Susie's. Another voice then responded, this one belonging to Noelle. "Yeah, but... it's usually into shorts and a t-shirt. I've never gotten changed into sleepwear around others." A softer form of Susie's laughter came through the wall as Kris noticed the hole mentioned earlier. Placing his ear onto it, he could hear the girl's conversation a lot clearer. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Noelle. In fact, in the summertime, it would get hot in me and my dad's apartment. Sometimes, it would be too hot for me to wear PJ's, so I usually ditch the PJ's and just sleep in my underwear. And when THAT'S not enough, I'd sometimes even slip out of my underwear and sleep naked, without the covers." Susie added. Kris' eyes went wide at this disclosure. Who would've thought Susie slept naked sometimes, like he would during the hot summer nights? "Susie!" Noelle suddenly yelled, mortified at this revelation from her crush. Kris sniggered at the reaction, prompting Noelle to say "Don't you start laughing at me! I didn't need to know that about you!".
"I didn't laugh at you." Susie said, catching Kris' attention. Oh shit, if he could hear Susie and Noelle's conversation, that must mean... that THEY could also hear him and Ralsei as well. He smiled, deciding to play a joke on the girls. He removed his ear from the hole and cupped his hand over his mouth, making sure there was an opening for his voice to travel through the hole. He then heard Noelle say "Do... do you think someone's watching us?" Perfect! Kris then took a breath and spoke down the hole, mimicking the smooth voice of the Phoenix from the movie he watched as he spoke. What came out was a menacing "I know everything about you too.", which sounded like it startled them both. "What the-?! Where's that voice coming from?!" Susie's voice said in a slight panic. A few seconds later, he heard Noelle saying "Wait, what's that hole in the wall?" There was the sound of footsteps, that grew louder as one of them walked up to it. Kris had an idea for another prank as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He brought up a sound file labeled 'Phoenix Scream' and held the speaker up to the hole. "K-Kris? Is that you?" Noelle's voice called. In response, Kris pressed play on the audio file. Immediately, the hole's path way was filled with a clear audio file of a woman screaming, taken from the Phoenix movie. He then heard a scream from Noelle back in the other room along with a thud. With that, Kris burst out laughing.
"What's with the scream and laughter Kris?" Ralsei suddenly spoke up, his hand on his chest, having also be startled by the sudden scream sound effect. Kris turned around to face the prince, who was now wearing the pyjamas he had picked out. "I just managed to scare the living shit out of Noelle!" Kris said through his laughter. Through the hole, Noelle's voice could be heard, still recovering from her mini heart attack. "Kris! That isn't funny! You're gonna give me a heart attack one day!" Kris turned back to the hole and spoke through it. "Yeah, but it's funny to mess around with you." he replied. To his surprise, Susie then added "That's... kinda true actually. It was hilarious when I pranked you both earlier this evening." to Kris' statement. Noelle could only mutter "You guys are gonna kill me one of these days, I swear." in response. Ralsei then walked up to the hole and placed his mouth close to it. "Are you girls okay? Aside from the scaring you got?" Ralsei asked, his own voice trying to hold back laughter at the thought of Susie scaring Kris and Noelle. Sure, Ralsei figured Noelle would be very easy to scare, but the idea that Kris Dreemur of all people managed to get scared by Susie playing a prank amused him. Noelle's voice called back with a "Y-Yeah. We're fine."
Susie suddenly spoke up. "Kris, I swear, if you or Ralsei try ANY kind of peeping tom shit with this hole in the wall on me OR Noelle, I swear to God-!" she began, before Kris interrupted her. "Susie, I don't think this hole is big enough to look through." He explained as he pressed his eye to the whole, only to be greeted by nothing but darkness. "Yeah, I'm looking through right now and I can't see anything. You guys are safe from our pervy eyes." Kris teased, removing his eye from the hole. Ralsei then spoke up in a slightly offended tone with a "I'm not pervy.", making Kris look back and reply with "I'm kidding Ralsei, I know you're not.", complete with a reassuring tone. Ralsei then cleared his throat as he walked towards the hole. "Hey Noelle, did you find some clothes to wear to bed? You mentioned earlier that you and Kris didn't have any." the goat asked. There was silence for a few seconds before Noelle answered. "Yeah, I got some things. I'll be okay thanks." Satisfied with the answer he received, Ralsei took a step back and walked further into the bedroom, away from the wall. "Alright girls, I'll see you guys in the morning. C'mon Kris, let's get to our beds." He said to the human. Kris stood there for a second, watching Ralsei walk away before turning back to the hole. "Alright, I'm gonna get my night clothes on, then I'm going to sleep. Goodnight girls." he said, getting a "Good night." from both Susie and Noelle before he walked away, intent on getting ready for bed.
Kris lay in bed, wriggling about restlessly. His eyes were clenched shut as he fidgeted and squirmed under the covers, his head pressed against the pillow. After a few seconds, his eyes shot open, letting the sights of the darkened bedroom into his field of view. The first thing he saw the darkened ceiling, hanging overhead like a swarm of clouds in the sky. He inhaled through his nose, then exhaled out of his mouth, relieved that the nightmare he was having was over. The human rolled over onto his side, his view shifting to the window, the night sky still full of stars, much like how it was back home, with the moon reflecting light onto the empty streets below. It was peaceful to Kris... yet it also felt... unnatural. Back at home, he'd have the same sort of lighting, but there'd be the sounds of distant cars, maybe some people talking. Here in the Dark World however, aside from him and Ralsei's breathing, his ears were greeted by dead silence. Kris felt the urge to go outside and have a good look at the night sky. Sure, he had a good look back at the comfort spot in the forest, but there was something about the sight out the window that drew him in.
Quietly, Kris removed the covers from his body and stood up out of his bed, revealing himself to the world wearing nothing but a white tank top and a pair of boxers, something he picked out since it felt more like something he'd wear sleeping at home. He made his way around the bed and gently walked to the center of the room. When he stopped, he noticed his feet were on the gray rug, which felt quite warm and cozy to the human's bare feet. He turned to face Ralsei's bed, taking in the sound of his slow and relaxed breathing. The prince was lying on his side, facing Kris' bed. His eyes were closed, peaceful even, a very sharp contrast to how Kris spent the last few seconds of his sleep. Kris smirked a little when he noticed Ralsei seemed to be drooling onto the pillow as he slept. Every few seconds or so, Kris would notice Ralsei's body twitch slightly in his sleep. "Heh, Ralsei must be dreaming. Hopefully, it's better than what I was dreaming about." Kris whispered to himself, careful not to wake his friend up
He then proceeded to turn once again, facing the bedroom door. He quietly proceeded to walk over to it, turning the handle and opening it. He then walked through the frame, gently closing the door behind him. He took a moment to glance around the upstairs hallway. The moonlight shone through a window just next to him, bathing the corridor in blue light. In front of him was a wall, along it was a wooden door with the words 'bathroom' painted on it. Next to the door he just came out of (to his right) was a stretch of wall, which gave way to a third door. Continuing further down the corridor would lead to a corner which turned left. Immediately to the left of that corner was the stairs and straight ahead led to another door, although nobody seemed to know what was behind it. Kris walked down the corridor to the door next to the boy's bedroom and gently opened it, peeking inside. It was to another bedroom, much like the one he just walked out of. In fact, it was almost like a flipped version of him and Ralsei's bedroom, like if the room was being viewed through a mirror. In the beds were the girls.
Susie was lying on her back, sprawled out on the bed. One of her arms was dangling off the side of the bed, while the other rested in the girl's pillow, just above where her head was resting. One leg was straight, making a line down the bed to meet her foot, while the other was bent upwards, her foot pressed flat against the soft fabric. Susie's body was visible to the ceiling, revealing her tone stomach and a visible collar bone, while the more personal parts of her body were covered up by the black bra and panties she was wearing. Her arms were covered up by the sleeves of what looked like a red dressing gown Susie was wearing, contrasting her purple skin and flowing hair. Unlike Ralsei, Susie was breathing rather loudly, almost coming close to snoring at points, her mouth wide open as she slept. The image looked... rather cute to Kris, despite Susie's at times intimidating appearance. To the human, watching Susie sleep in that moment was like watching a sleeping dragon. He was so tempted in that moment to walk into the room and kiss her as she slept. Nothing huge or anything; maybe just a quick peck on her cheek or her forehead. Maybe even a peck on her lips if he felt daring enough. But no, Kris decided against it. Who knows how she'd react if she found out he had actually kissed her as she slept? His eyes then focused on Noelle. He couldn't see what Noelle was wearing since her body was completely hidden by the quilt, but he could see her head against the pillow, her hair flowing in all directions as she faced the ceiling like Susie was. Her breathing was quieter than Susie and Ralsei's, almost completely silent. Heck, if Kris couldn't see her chest move with every breathe (and also, if he hadn't been friends with her since childhood), he would've thought the deer had died in her sleep.
There was something adorable about watching Noelle sleep to Kris. He remembered when they were kids, if Kris for whatever reason, woke up during the night and couldn't go back to sleep, he'd lie there, watching his friend sleep and listening to the sounds of her soft breathes. The two used to share the same bed as well when they slept over, but when puberty kicked off in the two, they started doing less and less for fears of... certain thoughts making their bodies do... certain things with each other. They did sleepover, although they'd rarely share the same bed due to those aforementioned reasons. He remembered the last time they did, he woke up to the sound of Noelle whimpering in her sleep, stuck in a horrific nightmare of sorts. So to comfort her, he'd wrap an arm around her body and pull her close to him, hugging her as she panicked. After a few seconds, she'd calm down and smile, wrapping her own arms around Kris, the two not letting go of each other until the following morning. Deep down, Kris couldn't deny it; he felt something for Noelle. In fact, he still did, to some extent. He hoped and dreamed by the time they'd grow older and get to where they are now school-wise, the two would be a thing. And it probably would've been the case... hadn't Susie arrived. When she did, Noelle's attention went from him to her, sparking a little bit of jealousy in Kris. But then... after spending some time with Susie in the Dark World, he finally understood. Why Noelle was attracted to Susie. This bad girl with an 'I don't give a fuck' attitude to things. This girl who preferred to use her fists and not her mouth to solve problems. This girl who-.
Kris was snapped out of his daydream when he heard Noelle groan in her sleep. Fearing she was about to wake up, he quickly closed the door and proceeded down the hallway, moving down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, he took another look around. The front door was straight ahead, the same moonlight casting... well, light onto the marble floors. To the right was a living room and to the left was a kitchen. Kris slowly walked down the hallway towards the front door. He reached out a hand and grabbed the handle. Pushing it down, he pulled it open and stepped outside, lifting the handle so the latch inside the door was open, so he could easily go back inside. The door moved to close by itself as Kris walked down the front path, his eyes fixated on the skies above him. The door's latches thudded against the door frame, but Kris paid it no attention. He reached the front gate and opened it, not once taking his eyes off the stars as he walked through it.
It was even more beautiful seeing it all late at night. It was like looking up at a cosmic Jackson Pollock painting. A big dark blue canvas, stretching as far as the eye could see, completed with a million white dots of various sizes. A smile grew on Kris' face as he remembered the time when Asriel was given a telescope for Christmas by Asgore. When the nights were peaceful and quiet, him and Kris would go out of the house and into the back garden with the telescope. There, they would spend hours, looking through it at the various stars and planets. He remembered how Asriel would speak about how stars were formed and their life cycles as Kris would look through the apparatus. He would look upon various stars or at the moon for most of the time, but if he was lucky, he'd find himself staring up at a planet in the solar system. Very late nights he'd be able to see Mars through the telescope and one time, he was lucky enough to see as far as Jupiter. One planet he really wanted to see through it was Saturn. There was something fascinating about that planet for Kris, but unfortunately, Jupiter was as far as the telescope was able to go in terms of distance between astronomical units of planets. Sometimes, the brothers wouldn't need a telescope. Sometimes, they'd go out into the back garden and lie under the stars, watching them go by together. More often or not, Asriel was able to point out certain star constellations to the human and how to find them while they were out there.
Sometimes, Toriel and Asgore would join them in stargazing, but for the most part, it was just Kris and Asriel that would engage in this wholesome act of astrological observation. Asriel would be able to point out the locations of famous star patterns like Ursa Major, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Hercules and Cepheus to Kris most nights. Sometimes, he'd be able to point out zodiac constellation signs to the human as they lay out there. Quite embarrassingly, he remembered that at times, he would fall asleep in the garden next to Asriel while looking at the stars. Usually, when that happens, Asriel would go inside and get either Toriel or Asgore. They would then walk into the back garden, pick Kris up, being very careful not to wake him, and they would carry him back to his bed, tucking him in when they got there. When his brother left for college, he would lie down in the back garden some nights and try to find them himself, but he wasn't able to remember where in the sky they were. As Kris looked up at the skies, he tried to look out for any familiar constellations or star signs. Sadly, he wasn't able to identify any of them. As he watched the stars, he noticed there were some that were moving, usually at an angle, downwards toward the ground. Ah yes, shooting stars. He was always told that if that you wished upon a shooting star, your dreams would come true. He never believed in that sort of thing though, it was more of a stupid little kids thing. Still, as he watched the stars more and more, catching glimpses of shooting stars every now and then, he felt like he could give it a shot.
Kris kept his eyes peeled as he scanned the night sky. After a while, he noticed a dim streak of light above him. It soared over his head and Kris quickly shut his eyes and made a wish. One wish that he had held onto for so long. One he hoped would come true with this little experiment:
"I wish I could be more happy than I am now."
Having that wish revealed to the sorcerers above known as shooting stars, his eyes opened as he took in the sights. He was amazed, to say the least. How many stars were around at this time of night, compared to earlier. How they seemed to form a giant piece of intergalactic art, just for his eyes only. Combined with those precious memories of him and Asriel in the back garden, these sights elevated his feelings beyond the skies. Maybe the wish was coming true? He did feel happier. A LOT happier, than he was a few seconds ago. Maybe... just maybe... if that wish came true, then if another shooting star came up, he should wish for-.
"Kris?"
A voice from behind him snapped him out of his train of thoughts. He took his eyes from the stars above and turned around, back to the house he had walked out of a few minutes ago. Standing in the doorway was Noelle, fully awake, looking concerned about her friend. Now that she was out of bed, Kris got a good look at what she wearing. Her torso was covered by a small white cotton vest with white straps that went over part of her shoulders, her arms exposed to the world and the outline of a white bra being slightly noticeable behind it. Her legs were covered by a pair of pink pyjama bottoms with red hearts all over them. One hand was resting on the door frame while the other held the door itself open. "Are... are you okay?" she asked him. For a second, Kris seemed confused, like he just snapped out of a trance, but he quickly composed himself. "Uh yeah, I'm fine. I just went outside for some air. What are you doing awake?" Kris answered. Kris began to walk towards her as she answered. "Well, I thought I heard the front door close and I woke up. I felt really thirsty, so I went downstairs to get myself a glass of water and as I was drinking it, I noticed you were outside." Noelle explained. She then took a look up at the stars. "They sure are beautiful tonight." she added, her eyes locked up with the lights and colors above them.
Kris glanced back up at the stars before walking through the door past Noelle, who was still fixated on them. However, the moment the darkness returned to Kris' eyesight, he suddenly felt dizzy. His body slumped against the wall, making a loud bang which snapped Noelle out of her trance. She turned around, just in time to see Kris fall to the floor. "Oh my God Kris! Are you okay?!" she cried in shock, running over to her friend to help him back up. "Noelle, I'm fine! Honestly, I can walk!" Kris quickly reassured as he stood back up, Noelle holding onto his arm. "Geez!" He added, once he was fully standing up right, shaking her arm off his. The human was only able to take a step forward, before completely face planting against the ground. Noelle shook her head with a sigh as she went to stand beside her friend, lifting him back up and practically dragging him up the stairs. "I swear I was able to stand earlier." Kris said, his voice sounding confused. As they reached the top of the stairs, Noelle looked back at her friend and said "Well, you clearly can't now. We'll have to crash in this room here until you feel better." as she turned towards the closed door just left of the stairs. She turned the door handle and pushed the door open. Noelle then flicked on the light switch, both of them groaning in pain as they shielded their eyes from the sudden assault of light on their eyes. After their eyes adjusted, Noelle got a good look at the room that her and Kris walked into.
The room itself was MUCH bigger than the other bedrooms. If Noelle had to guess, it must've been a master bedroom to whoever lived here last. The bed inside this room was a lot bigger. If the bed's inside the other bedrooms were queen sized, then surely this one must've KING sized. On top of the size, it also had banisters at each corner with a frame circling the bed itself. Attached to the frame was a satin curtain, partially concealing a white quilt and pillows on it. Unlike the boy's and girl's bedrooms which had gray painted walls, this one's walls seemed to be painted red, complete with a pink carpet. "Colors representing passion and romance. Hmmm." Noelle muttered to herself at the color choice of the room as she continued to drag Kris into the room by his arm, a scowl plastered on his face as he felt dehumanized, being dragged around by his friend like some cheap luggage. He had to admit, the room looked pretty nice though. Once the two were near the bed, Noelle let the human's arm go.
"Alright, climb up onto the bed and sit down on it." Noelle said. Kris begrudgingly raised an arm, grabbing the side of the bed and hoisted himself up. His legs felt weaker than usual, almost unable to hold his body weight. He had to turn himself around and place himself on the bed, Noelle standing back and watching him, a look of concern on her face. "You know, you don't have to watch over me Noelle. I'm 17, not 7. I'm fully capable of looking after myself." Kris said to his deer friend as he got settled into the bed. Noelle walked around to sit next to Kris, closer to the wall. "Well, at the moment, you can barely walk. I think I should at least look after you until you're better." she said, as she sat down, Kris' eyes glancing at her. An awkward silence hung in the air like an odor as the two took more glances around the room. A large wardrobe was in the corner along with a dresser. There was also a large mirror in one corner and a potted plant in another. On one side of the room was a large window, basking the room in moonlight.
"How much do you reckon it would cost to make your room look like this?" Noelle asked Kris, both of them taking in the sights of how... majestic it all looked. "Probably the same amount of money your mom makes as mayor." Kris replied. "I mean, the bed probably is a few hundred dollars. The amount of money needed to paint the whole room would probably be huge, that plant over there doesn't look local either." he continued, pointing out different things as he brought them up. Noelle looked from the room to Kris, before turning her body to face him, crossing her legs in the process. "So Kris, what happened downstairs? You said you could walk, but then you proceed to fall face first onto the floor. I could swear the impact came close to breaking your nose." Noelle asked. Kris gently placed a finger on his nose. Thankfully, his nose wasn't broken. "I... I don't know. When I stepped into the house, the room felt like it was spinning and my legs... suddenly went weak... and..." Kris began to explain, but his thoughts began to trail elsewhere as he looked upon Noelle's face. Even now, his vision was still in motion, though his body was still. Even his thoughts were jumbled, he couldn't make anything out clearly.
Noelle noticed when Kris suddenly giggled, his mouth forming into a smile. "Heyyyy, No...elllllle?" Kris said, his voice seeming to slur as if he was drunk. "D-D-D-Do you rem...remember when...?" he said, losing his train of thought once again. Noelle tilted her head to the side like a dog. "K-Kris?" she asked, more concerned for her friend now then ever. "When... we went on that walk... through the forest near the gra...graveyard? And you got so scared... that D...D... Oh! What's her name again?" Kris tried to say, before getting lost on the name. "Dess?" Noelle answered. Immediately, Kris snapped his fingers upon hearing that name. "Ah! That's it! Dess! She had to com...fort youuu, because you got sooooo... terrified of being alone." Kris slurred, his body waving slightly from side to side as he spoke. Noelle sat there, nervous. She had NEVER seen Kris like this before. It must've been something in the fruit's juices, she figured. But wait a minute, she DRANK those juices whereas Kris spat them out. Does that mean...?
As if to answer her inner thoughts, suddenly the room began to move and shift slightly in Noelle's eyes. She suddenly felt that same euphoric sense that Kris seemed to be feeling, as she suddenly started giggling as well. "Y-Yeah. I remember that ni... night as well. It was youuu, Dess... me... and Asriel and we went for a walk in the f...forest. It was so f... funny!" Noelle slurred, pressing a finger against Kris' chest on the word 'you'. Kris started to laugh a little. "What?" Noelle asked, her voice starting to sound concerned. Kris held up a hand, waving it as a way to tell Noelle not to worry. "It's... it's nothin'. Ya voice... it sounds f...funny. Like... you're slurrin' ya words 'n' you're swaying too." Kris explained, not helping matters since his voice was just as slurred as Noelle's was at that moment. Noelle raised one of her own hands and placed it against Kris'."Well, you're... one to talk. Your voice is ssslurred as well... K-K-Kris." she said, trying to keep herself together.
Kris smirked for a second, before it suddenly dropped, leaving a dull and upset look on his face, something Noelle immediately noticed. "H-Hey Kris? Why do you... look so upset ssssuddenly?" she asked him. Kris looked her dead in the eyes, revealing his eye color, usually red, now had a visible shade of pink inside it. "Because... have I ever told you... how much I loooove you, Noelle?" Kris slurred. Noelle chuckled. "Of course you have Kris. You're my beeeessst friend. We always tell each other we love each other. Usually... I'm the one doing it." she said, looking the boy in the eyes, the same shade of pink Kris having now visible in her eyes.
"Nah, nah nah. Not like tha'. I mean... how much I LOVE love you."
This answer took Noelle by surprise. Her eyes suddenly went wide as she looked upon Kris who began to ramble. "Ya see... I remember back when you and mee... were ch-ch-children, right? And back in those days, I thought you were really... REALLY adorrrable. Like... the antlers, your personality. The little finger press thing you do when you're talkin' 'bout... Susie. Nothin' serious, just a lil' crush on ya, so to speak. I used to hold ya... whenever you had nightmares and you slept in the same bed as me. It got to the point... where I thought, that maybe... JUST maybe... by the time we got..." he paused, a hiccup interrupting his monologue, before continuing. "We got to high school... you and me could be a thing. I would be your knight... in sh...shining armor, that would walk you hand in hand to class... we'd be the ENVY of every body else in our claasses. But then...!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at his friend. "Then, Susie came along and SUDDENLY... she's all that you started thinkin' about."
Noelle had noticed that Kris' eyes seemed to start watering as he continued. "And there it was. My chances just... poof! Gone. I don't think it's toooo... much to ask. I mean, don't get the wrong idea okay. If you're a lesbian, that's cool. I'll love ya regardless... but at times... I just wish that somebody that I loved, outside of my family, could... you know... love ME back. But then, after spending time with Susie, I-." Noelle placed a finger onto Kris' lips to shut him up. "Kris, I'm... flattered. I really am. But there's something tha'... you got completely wrong about me." Noelle said, trying hard not to slur with her words. Kris' eyes went wide slightly. "Huh? How... how is that so? We've been frien's since we were kids, I mean-." Kris began before Noelle whispered a revelation to him:
"I'm not a lesbian. I'm pansexual."
Upon hearing this, Kris' eyes went even wider, almost to their limits. He was shocked. In all the years that he had known Noelle, how did that simple fact slip through his grasp of her? Wow, there really WERE things he didn't know about his childhood friend. Before he could wonder more about it, Noelle spoke up again. It seemed like now was her time to ramble. "Susie is just... the most recent monster that I have a crush on. I've had many crushes over the years. Both male AND female. At first... when I started becoming attracted to women, as much as I did to men, I thought there was... something wrong with me. Like, my mind wasn't wired properly, so to... speak. But then, I looked it up online and found out abou' pansexuality. The romantic and sexual attraction... to people and monsters, REGARDLESS of their gender. Once I found that out, I was... much more comfortable. To be honest, I never told you about my crushes because... I thought you'd get... jealous." she confessed, rubbing her left hand against her right arm. Despite whatever the juice was doing to her to make her more open about her feelings, Noelle was still the shy doe girl that Kris knew her as.
"J...jealous? Why would I be jealous of you, Noelle? You're my best friend." Kris asked, a tone of hurt in his voice. Noelle looked away, apparently unable to face her male friend now she had unintentionally hurt his feelings. "I was scared... you'd get jealous... that I had more chances of getting a partner than you would. I know... it ssssounds so childish when I say it out loud, but that was how I felt at the time." Noelle admitted. Kris sat in silence for a few seconds, before letting out a small laugh. "Noelle, I... I wouldn't get jealous of that. I mean, look at me... who in their right mind would wanna date a guy like me?" Kris asked, holding out his arms to show himself off more. Noelle was taken aback by this response, turning her head back to face Kris. As she responded, the two couldn't help but notice an almost shocked and offended tone to her voice. "Why would anyone wanna... are you listening to yourself, Kris?! There's plenty of reasons people would want to date you! You're understanding of others! You w-w-w-wanna help people out when they need a hand with stuff! You're funny, you're kind, you're... you're cute even! You Kris Dreemur, are so fuckin' cute to me!" Noelle ranted, quickly snapping a hand against her mouth in shock upon realizing she had swore at Kris, her cheeks flaring up in a red glow.
Kris was taken aback by such a burst of profanity coming from Noelle, who had hated the thought of using profanity in conversation. "N... Noelle, that's the first time I've heard you swear in years." he said, almost shocked at hearing Noelle swear. To him, it was like finding out a dark secret about her when all she did was let out a 'fuck' in her rant. Noelle removed her hand from her mouth. "I'm so sorry Kris, I don't know what came over me. I don't know, maybe it was the juice we tried earlier, but I just..." Noelle began to apologize before Kris placed a finger of his own onto her lips. "Hey, I don't mind you swearing around me. I kind of like hearing it coming from you." he said smiling, giving some comfort to the doe. As he removed his finger, Kris' eyes were fixated on Noelle's as he sat there, a million thoughts running through his mind in that one moment. After a brief pause, Noelle continued, trying to redirect the conversation back to the topic at hand. "A-a-as I was saying... as a matter of fact, you're so cute... that I even wonder if we could ever be... so much more at times. I mean, we've known each other for years, and it all means so... SO much to me." She continued, unaware that Kris' focus was now on her lips. "Heh, it's probably a stretch, but... maybe if Susie hadn't come into our lives, maybe you and me... could've been together. I always wondered what life would be like if... we were boyfriend and girlfriend. But I guess we'll never-."
Noelle was suddenly cut off by a soft pressure on her lips. Her eyes suddenly went wide as she noticed Kris was surprisingly closer to her than before, practically touching her with his eyes closed. There was a brief release accompanied with a quiet little click sound before the pressure returned. Was... was Kris... kissing her?! She pressed her hands against his chest, trying to push him away. Another break came about, giving her time to speak. "K-Kris?! What are you-?!" she began to protest, before she felt a pair of hands on her cheeks and another kiss was commenced, not once did Kris open his eyes. The kisses were quick and hungry, but as the kiss deepened, they become slow and passionate. Even Noelle was starting to find this sudden display of affection quite pleasant, despite how quickly it happened. Suddenly enjoying this strange new euphoria from the moment, Noelle's hands moved from Kris' chest to around his waist, as she shut her eyes and kissed him back. Kris' hands moved from her cheeks to the back of her neck, holding the two in place as they smooched. After a few seconds of passionate lip locking, the two broke their kiss, their eyes opening as they parted. Kris took a moment and seemed to realize what he just did as he suddenly retracted his arms from Noelle and covered his face in shame.
"Noelle! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me! I... I... Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Kris quickly said in a panic, hoping his apology would spare him from whatever Noelle's wrath would bring down upon him. He froze for a few seconds, expecting Noelle to slap him or to shout at him, but nothing came about. Kris removed his hands and faced Noelle, who seemed to be in a sort of afterglow state, her finger pressed against her lips in shock. "I... Oh wow. I've never had anybody... do THAT to me before. I never thought my first kiss would be... with my best friend." She said, still trying to piece everything together. A few seconds passed the two, before Kris spoke with a question. "Wait, you're not mad at me?" Noelle looked at the human and scooted closer to him. "Kris, youuu worry too much. I'm not mad at you. I'm not gonna bite you or anything." she said, wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. She then placed her lips close to Kris. "Unless you want me to." she whispered in a rather dirty tone that was, very uncharacteristic for Noelle. Kris never would've expected such a sentence to come out of her. But before he could question it, Noelle began to kiss him again.
Her lips tasted of an oddly pleasant mix of cinnamon and sugar for the human. The two's eyes closed as they basked in the kiss, Kris' arms becoming enwrapped around Noelle's waist. Noelle was certain that friends don't usually kiss each other like this, but for now, she didn't care. She was too wrapped up in the feeling of Kris' lips against hers while she clung to his back of his neck and he held her waist. It almost reminded her of those overly-dramatic kiss scenes from those romance movies she used to watch. You know, the two leads sharing a passionate kiss in pouring rain, letting their skin and clothes become enveloped in nature's tears? Those sorts of things. For a moment, she kind of wished it was possible to rain indoors. It would've certainly made this moment even more romantic. Before any thoughts like that could continue, Noelle felt something brushed against her bottom lip, from one side to another. There was nothing else inside their mouths that could cause this feeling, aside from... the tongue. Kris seemed eager to let his tongue run into her mouth and Noelle was starting to feel hot and bothered under the collar so to speak, so she allowed him entrance. Almost immediately, Kris' tongue made motions past her lips and began to duel with Noelle's. The two began to moan at this intercourse of tongue play, both clearly enjoying this new experience between them. It felt so wrong, but at the same time, it felt pleasurable. The thought of Noelle Holiday, the good shy girl of the neighbourhood, being French kissed by Kris Dreemur, the boy considered to be the weird kid in the school, gave her such a rush, accompanied by a strong sense of bliss.
It wasn't long until the need to breath overpowered the two. Their lips parted and their tongues fell limp, a small saliva strand between them breaking as they split. The two gazed longingly and lovingly into each other's eyes, which now had a strong hot pink color to them mixed with their usual eye colors. After a few seconds of catching their breath, Kris suddenly pressed on, initiating another kiss. Noelle was caught off guard as her eyes went wide. It broke a few seconds later, but Kris kept pushing forward, forcing Noelle to fall back onto the bed. "Okay, I guess we're doing this." Noelle suddenly thought to herself as she felt her head hit the pillow. Kris landed on top of her, his body interlocking with hers as he pressed his lips back onto hers, fully embracing the passion of such an act. Noelle's arms gained a life of their own as they trailed from Kris' neck down his back and underneath the tank top he was wearing, allowing Noelle to run bare fingers over his soft skin. Her legs began to wrap themselves around Kris' waist, not giving him the chance to get up if he wanted to. Judging how passionately Kris was kissing Noelle, it seemed he didn't want to let up at all. Noelle's eyes shut as she let go of her doubts and insecurities. For that moment alone, nothing else mattered. The room seemed to fade from her senses, leaving nothing but her, the bed and the boy on top of her, furiously locking lips with her at a massive pace.
As quickly as the kisses came, they stopped. So much passionate between the two teens prevented them from opening their eyes. Kris, under the influence of this passion and the juice, made his way down to the base of Noelle's neck. Once there, he began to plant his lips against it, brushing his tongue against the soft skin. Noelle, suddenly struck by a new wave of pleasure, could only moan at this sudden act. "Oh Kris..." she moaned as her partner continued to launch an all out kiss assault on her neck. Her eyes opened finally, although they were still half open, still in awe at how much pleasure she was recieving. This was a new level of Heaven for Noelle. She started wondering if even Susie would've been able to be this good with her, should she be in this situation taking the lead instead of Kris. However, her thoughts were snapped away from her when she suddenly felt some sort of grinding below the belt. Her eyes glanced down from the ceiling to the rest of the bed. Clear as day, she noticed Kris' waist moving in a forward motion, before pulling back slightly and repeating the actions. Was... was Kris... dry humping her?
Normally, under these circumstances, she'd be asking Kris to stop with such lewd actions, but under the influence, it almost added to the pleasure of being kissed by her friend. I guess she was kind of thankful they were in pyjamas. Who knows, if they were naked doing this, there would've been a high chance Kris would be... inside her, to put it in the least vulgar term. Kris was panting like an animal as he continued to relentlessly pepper kisses all over Noelle's skin, mirroring Noelle's to an extent. "I... I love you. I love you so much." Kris said breathlessly as he moved back to Noelle's lips, beads of sweating running down his face as he continued to grind against Noelle's body. This was becoming too much for the deer, as soft moans started to escape from her mouth. Is this what the ultimate passion felt like? Both Kris and Noelle ARE virgins after all, so if this was what simulated sex felt like, they could only imagine what it would be like to engage in the real thing. No, this wasn't gonna do it for Noelle. She might regret it in the morning, but she needed it right now. The two passionately kissed as Noelle's hands trailed off Kris' back and began to make their way to the band of his boxers.
However, before the two could go any further, the door to the bedroom suddenly swung open. "Hey guys, are you both in he-?" Ralsei's voice called out, suddenly stopping in shock. The two lovebird's eyes shot open and broke their kiss, looking back at the doorway. There, holding the door handle, was Ralsei, his eyes wide open and cheeks flushed red in a mix of shock and embarassment as he took in the sight he was seeing. Kris and Noelle pressed against the bed, beads of sweat pouring down their bodies and their hair ruffled up and messy. Next to him was Susie, being held up by Ralsei's arm. The two could only guess she was under the same influence as they were. Susie looked just as surprised at this turn of events as Ralsei was, the latter had let go of the door handle and was now pressing his hand against the wall. Both the human and the deer blushed profusely, having being caught in such an awkward position. Were they being so loud, that they drew the other guy's attention? How were they going to explain this to their friends? Ralsei spoke after an uneasy quiet hung over the room. "Umm, was this a b...bad time to come in here?" he asked, his voice slightly slurred, less so than Noelle and Kris' were, but noticeable none the less. before Susie butted in with her own question, complete with an awkward smirk and an even MORE slurred way of talking. "Were... were you guys about to...?" she asked, unable to finish the sentence. The room went silent once again. Nobody knew what to say or do in that moment. The silence was only broken by Noelle, who said the only thing she COULD say in that single moment:
"Oh shit..."