A New Dark World?
Hey all! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, one of my longest ones. I added some of my own headcanons about Deltarune in it, and hopefully that won't bite me in the ass when Toby releases the next chapters of the game.
...
As they fell through the blackness, a light washed over them, and Susie watched as her skin and hair changed to its Dark World magenta, and her outfit went back to the awesome black and purple jacket with the gold buckle and the spiked bracelets she had come to love, the outfit that felt absolutely made for her.
Her feet hit the ground, and Frisk fell lightly next to her, wearing her Dark World armor and scarf, grinning beneath her mop of now dark blue hair. Susie grinned back. "C'mon, let's go!"
But as they ran down the path and towards the town, she noticed something worrying.
It was completely empty.
"This isn't good." Frisk said worriedly. "Hello? Anyone?"
"Lancer, Ralsei, get your butts out here! We're back!" Susie yelled to hide her worry, praying that they hadn't all been trapped in that classroom when they sealed the fountain.
And then Ralsei came running out of the castle, bounding down the path, grinning widely. "Frisk! Susie!"
"Ralsei!" Frisk cheered, running over and pulling him into a huge hug.
Ralsei hugged her back, and Susie could see tears coming to his eyes. "It's been ever-so-long!"
"But... it's only been a day. Hasn't it?" Susie asked, now worried this was a Narnia thing and that their day had been several years in the Dark World.
Ralsei nodded sheepishly. "Yeah... but I missed you both. It's just that, I've never had friends before... So I've never waited so long to see them again, either!"
Susie's heart ached a bit, understanding. Until yesterday, she hadn't exactly had friends either. "Fine, guess we'll TRY not to let you die of loneliness." She grinned. "I bet Lancer wants to see us too, right?" She looked around, realizing no small spade shaped ball of energy was rushing out to greet them. "Wait a sec... Where IS Lancer? Where's EVERYBODY? Damn it, they're still in that classroom, aren't they? The toys, the cards, the game pieces..."
Ralsei nodded quietly. "Yes. They're still there. That's them, well, the form they take in your world. When Frisk sealed the fountain, that "Dark World" disappeared, and turned back into a normal classroom. I thought when we sealed it that everyone would simply be brought to Castle Town with me, or our fountain would simply continue to give that Dark World form like it once did, but it seems its power wasn't what it once was."
"This is my fault. We have to unseal the fountain!" Frisk gasped and started to hurry towards the Great Door and Susie was about to both follow her and get it through her thick skull that it wasn't her fault, but Ralsei gently grabbed Frisk's arm before she could.
"Frisk, stop! First, it's not your fault, you did exactly what you needed to, and I was the one who told you to do it, so if anyone was to blame, it'd be me. And even if you could, unsealing the fountain or opening a new one would be a BAD idea. If too many fountains are open, the prophecy will be set in motion and not only your world but ours would be at stake." Ralsei told her gently.
Frisk halted. "But... Lancer, the others..."
"...Will be fine." Ralsei assured her. "All that's needed is for you to go to the classroom, gather everyone, and bring them back here. Our fountain's made of pure darkness; it's the original one, and as such any Darkner can live here, as they all once did long ago."
"What do you mean? Ralsei, what the fuck's going on here?" Susie demanded.
"All the Dark Worlds were once one, connected under this fountain." Ralsei said softly. "But something happened, some sort of catastrophe, and they were ripped apart. Families were separated, lives were torn apart, and all that remains connected to the fountain is this abandoned town.
"Did-Did you lose your family too?" Frisk asked softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. Susie tried to figure out what to say or do to make him feel better, but she never had been good at this type of thing.
"I don't know." Ralsei admitted. "I can't remember much of anything. I don't know if I even HAD a family. I just know I woke up one day and all I knew was my name and my purpose. All I do know about the Great Divide, and about the prophecy, was what I read in books once I found my way here to wait."
"Sorry, dude." was all Susie could think to say. "But... Don't worry. We'll help ya, and you're never gonna be alone again or have to deal with this all by yourself. Right, Frisk?"
"Right." Frisk said with a reassuring smile, giving Ralsei another hug.
Ralsei smiled softly. "Thanks, guys."
"Now, why don't you relax, and I'll get everyone from the classroom." Frisk suggested.
"Need me to come with?" Susie asked.
"Don't worry, I got it." Frisk reassured her. "My backpack's huge; I can fit everyone inside it." She then blinked and looked worried. "That sounded so wrong. I hope that wouldn't be disrespectful."
"It's not." Ralsei told her. "I-I don't think they'll even know. I don't think they even know about..." He hesitated.
"Them being toys in the Light World?" Susie put in.
Ralsei nodded. "So please, Frisk, Susie, don't say anything to them about it. Their realities are different than that of your world, and if you tell them... it could break their reality, and maybe their minds too. And... it would really hurt them to know that without a fountain... Most Lightners can only see them as toys. I...I think I'm one of the few who does know, if not the only."
"Oh, Ralsei. I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell us?" Frisk asked worriedly.
"I...I wasn't sure you'd believe me, and I thought you might run away, or-or think I'm not... real." Ralsei admitted, looking at the ground.
"Well, that's silly, Ralsei. Of course we know you're real!" Susie assured him. "I'm standing right here talking to you, you're clearly real."
Frisk nodded. "Yeah, Rals, knowing this doesn't mean we think you, or anyone else here, is any less real. We know you're real, and you're our friend. You know you can trust us with these things, right?"
Ralsei smiled at her. "Of course I know I can trust you guys!" he said genuinely. Susie still had the feeling he was keeping secrets, but she wouldn't push. Hell, there was still parts of her own life she wasn't ready to info-dump yet; she understood if he didn't want to spill his whole life story to two people who had just become his friends yesterday.
Frisk looked concerned too but like Susie, didn't push, and just smiled. "I'm glad. I'll be right back, okay?" she told them before heading back to where a large patch of light was shining down. She looked at the surface like she was trying to figure out how to get up there, but much to both her and Susie's surprise, she began to float back up, her hair flowing the wind, and disappeared through the doorway.
"That light can beam us up like the teleport pads in Dragon Blazers?! Cool! This whole place is like a video game in real life!" Susie said with a grin.
"I wouldn't know. I've never played one." Ralsei admitted.
"Damn, you missed out HARD. I'll have to find a way to bring one down to ya. Good way to get your dorky butt to finally relax." Susie grinned, then got a better look at him, noticing bags under his eyes and how he didn't seem to have his usual energy. "Shit, dude, you look exhausted. Couldn't you sleep either?"
"Not very much. I was getting everything set up for when everybody joins us." Ralsei admitted.
Susie shook her head. "Geez. You gotta learn to take a break sometimes. Take care of yourself. I swear you and Frisk both are way too bad at doing that. Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"
"I'm doing okay. I mean, the last fight was kind of scary... but yesterday was also the best day, because that's when I met you guys!" Ralsei told her.
Susie felt her cheeks heat up a bit. "Yeah, guess it was cool meeting you too." she muttered, hiding a smile.
Ralsei beamed at this, but then looked concerned. "Are YOU okay? You said you couldn't sleep either."
"Yeah, I'm okay, but... I think Frisk took that last battle hard. I mean, she did nearly die..." Susie said softly. "...And, don't tell her, but I'm kinda worried about her."
Ralsei looked concerned. "Is she okay? What's wrong? Is she having nightmares? Panic attacks? Is there something I can do?"
"No panic attacks, but she's been having these really creepy dreams since she nearly died. She was talking about some guy in the shadows who was talking in hands and keeps trying to get her soul or something and it took me forever to wake her. Maybe if you use your Lullaby it will help her at least get a full night's sleep, and..."
Ralsei flinched like something had struck him. Susie frowned. "Ralsei, what's going on? Do you know anything about this?"
There was a scared expression on Ralsei's face. "Susie, has Frisk been acting weird at all? Like she's not herself? I mean, she seemed fine to me, but you've known her longer..."
Susie shook her head, confused and even more worried. "No, she's spooked, but she's still acting like her normal, dorky Frisk self. Why? What's going on?! Why wouldn't she be herself?" Ralsei didn't answer for a moment, and she shook him. "Ralsei, what the hell's going on?! Is this guy she keeps seeing real?! Tell me!"
"I...I don't know. I can't say anything for sure yet." Ralsei told her shakily.
"Well, tell me what you do know!"
Ralsei looked down. "That I'm not sure these are just normal nightmares. Frisk...her powers involve her tapping into the very fabric of the Dark World and reaching out for its magic. I'm... just worried there's a chance something could be reaching back."
Susie's heart pounded and her legs nearly gave out from under her. She collapsed to a sitting position on the ground. "You think this shadow dude's real, and he's what, trying to possess Frisk? Take her soul? What's this creep trying to do to her?!"
"I don't know for sure, and if he is real, I don't know what his goal is." Ralsei said softly, sitting next to her. "Those words, "man who speaks in hands," they sound like the description of someone I heard about before."
Susie wrapped her arms around herself, trying to control an involuntarily shudder. "This is some "Nightmare On Elm Street" sort of shit. What do we do? What kind of danger is Frisk in?!"
"Like I said, I don't know, not yet." Ralsei told her. "Once Frisk gets back, I'll check her soul. That should give us more answers."
Susie nodded. "Damn, what are we supposed to tell her?"
"...We don't tell her anything. Not yet. We don't need to scare her."
Susie glared at him. "You're worried about SCARING her when some creepy dude might be after her soul?! We need to warn her!"
"We don't even know that's what's happening. We don't even know if it's real yet, or if this "man who speaks in hands," is even dangerous if it is. Telling her might just frighten her and stop her from sleeping, or if it is real and he is dangerous, put her in more danger if he can hear us through her. Look, we WILL tell her. But...I'd rather find more about this first. I don't want to tell her the wrong thing and cause her to get hurt..." Ralsei said softly, his whole body shaking.
Just then, the light flashed and Frisk fell through the air, white stars sparkling around her as she landed in a crouch. The stars floated down after her, drifting around them, and everything went white for a second. When everything came back into focus again, the buildings had become bright and colorful, shops and monsters all around them. And the next thing she knew, Lancer was rushing up to them. "Guess who's back, Clowns!?"
Susie grinned despite her worries, glad to see her bud again and not just as a card. "Lancer!" He rushed up for a fist bump, and she gave him one, though softer than she used to.
He realized this and frowned. "Susie, you okay? You're not acting like your cool Susie self." Frisk was frowning too, and Susie tried to figure out how to calm the two people who knew her so well it was scary.
"Eh, I just didn't get much sleep." she shrugged. "So, anyway, great job, Frisk! Everyone's here! But uh, what happened to, uh, Lancer's castle?"
"Allll gone!" Lancer said, though didn't seem to care.
Susie blinked. "Gone?" And now there was another thing to worry about. "... So where's Lancer gonna live now?"
Lancer grinned. "Don't worry, Susie! We'll conquer Ralsei's castle as our own!" Susie couldn't help but laugh at this. At least Lancer was taking things well. And considering his old castle had been where he had lived with his dick of a father, maybe a new, fresh start would be better for him.
Ralsei just smiled, shrugging at this as he got to his feet. "Anyway, let's look around! We can head north to the castle. I've got a special surprise for you!"
"Ahaha! Not if I surprise myself first! Last one there is a fresh and fragrant egg!" With that Lancer bolted off.
Susie got up and caught hold of Frisk's arm. "C'mon, Frisk."
Frisk looked up at her. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem worried about something."
"Yeah, like I said, just tired." Susie lied. Frisk didn't look like she believed her, but she didn't push, making Susie feel even more guilty. She didn't want to hide things from Frisk, but if Ralsei was right, if frightening Frisk with this crazy crap would put her in more danger, or just end up making her stop sleeping for something that wasn't even real... "C'mon, we gonna just let Lancer beat us?!"
"All right. But you can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?" Frisk asked.
Susie smiled. "Yeah, dork, I know. Now c'mon!"
...
They entered the castle, and Frisk admired it. She hadn't had the chance to see the inside of Ralsei's home before and it was incredibly cool. There were a lot of rooms, and a giant cauldron in the middle of the floor.
"Just wanted to show off your huge house, huh?" Susie asked, though Frisk could still hear that hint of worry in her voice.
"No, what I want to show you is upstairs!" Ralsei said with a smile, though Frisk noticed he too seemed anxious. She didn't want to push though until he was ready to talk, so she and Susie followed him upstairs.
"I have a surprise for you two!" Ralsei told them. "I made rooms for you in the castle!"
Susie blinked in shock. "...Rooms?"
Ralsei smiled. "So you can stay here whenever you want!" He blushed a bit. "Ummm, I'd be happy if this place could be like a second home to you. A place that you can go... no matter what's happening outside." He looked hopeful. "I'd-I'd love to have you stay here. Both of you. Your sister too if you and her both want as well, Frisk."
Susie's face softened. "Heh, well, we'll take a look."
She seemed incredibly eager despite playing it cool, and Frisk smiled. "Let's check out your room first, Susie."
"Well, if you WANT to." Susie said with a smile, and immediately went to the pink door that Ralsei indicated was hers.
And it was indeed a cool room, in a pink and black theme, with a spiked bed, a mini fridge, a closet and a dresser.
"I tried to make it how you liked, but you can put anything else you want in here too!" Ralsei told Susie. "I really hope you like it!"
Susie wandered around the room, taking it in with a near reverent air. "...my own room, huh." she said softly. "I... guess that's pretty cool? My own room... like this." She turned to Ralsei. "... how long did it, uh, take you to do this?"
Ralsei blushed yet again. "Well, er, since I last saw you two, I..."
Susie playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Man, you're a real weenie, y'know that? Heheheh..."
"I think she likes it, Frisk!" Ralsei whispered to Frisk, who laughed and nodded.
Susie eagerly opened the mini fridge. "Damn, there's everything in here! Pinecones, chalk, moss, jars of salsa, pieces of ice, black crumbs from the toaster, jawbreakers... Oh, and like actual food too."
"It's a great room, Susie." Frisk said with a smile as she admired the spike bed.
"Yeah! I got the COOL room!" Susie grinned. "Now let's check out what yours is like!"
They headed out of Susie's room and turned to the first door. Frisk opened it and gasped.
It was beautiful. Done in soft blues and pinks with stars on the wall, it had two beds, one with a blue and pink striped blanket, trophies on a shelf above it, and another one with soft pink covers, piled with cuddly plushies, the kind Tina loved the most. There were two dressers, empty shelves for keepsakes, a closet, and another mini fridge by the door.
"Ralsei, it's perfect..." Frisk breathed. She wandered around, touching everything reverently, expecting it to all disappear in front of her eyes. She opened the fridge, finding it stocked with plenty of good food, fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, stuff for sandwiches, one of Ralsei's cakes... pretty much anything she could imagine, and it was all there.
She headed over to her bed and sat down, looking up at the trophies Ralsei had stacked on the shelves above it. She could see one that read, "Awesome friend," and another read, "Best Party Leader."
It was then that she burst into tears.
"Aww, Frisk..." Ralsei whispered. He sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "It's okay..."
"I'm not sad." she whispered through her tears. "I'm just so happy." She tried to stop crying, though Ralsei just held her close. She buried her face in his shoulder, though felt embarrassed for crying on him. Susie had needed a room of her own, made just for her, even more than Frisk had, and she hadn't started crying...
Susie came over and rubbed her back slightly awkwardly. "Hey... it's okay to cry if you need to, y'know? Um, feelings are valid and all that."
"Thanks. Both of you." Frisk told them gratefully.
"Anytime Frisk. We're always here for you. Both of us." Ralsei reassured her.
"Thanks." Frisk smiled, wiping away her tears.
"Feel better?" Ralsei asked and Frisk nodded. Ralsei then fidgeted his fingers a bit. "Um, one more thing, is it okay if I Check your soul? I wanna make sure you're all healed from yesterday, and-and there's no permanent damage."
"Um, sure, but I'm totally fine." Frisk reassured him. "But I wasn't the only one hurt yesterday, you guys were too."
"I'm fine. Head Hathy already checked me over." Ralsei reassured her. "Though it wouldn't hurt to check you over too, Susie."
"Seriously? I'm FINE." Susie groaned. "You healed me yesterday, remember?" Ralsei gave her a pleading look and Frisk did too, so she relented and plopped down. "Whatever. If it makes you wimps stop nagging me... But Frisk goes first. I wasn't the one who was at 0.0001 HP."
"Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Frisk asked her.
"No, no she was not." Ralsei told her as he summoned Frisk's soul and checked it over. After a few moments, he sighed in relief. "Phew. HP's steady and back to its usual amount, though we need to work on increasing it. No broken bones, no internal injuries, and your soul is strong. Extraordinarily so in fact. Good. Though you're still pretty malnourished, so Frisk...wherever you and your sister were, you, um, might want to leave there, and just stay here. You too, Susie. I, um, saw some things when I checked your soul before..."
Frisk looked at Susie worriedly and the dragon girl glared at Ralsei. "Ralsei, you really need to stop digging up private stuff and saying it out loud during your damn soul checks."
"I'm sorry. I-I just saw it, and I was concerned..."
Susie sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. And thanks, I guess. And...yeah, I'd be cool with staying here. Don't want my cool new room to go to waste."
She let Ralsei check her soul too, and Ralsei pronounced her as being completely healed from the battle.
"See?! I TOLD you guys I was fine!" Susie reminded them, rolling her eyes.
"Can you really blame us for caring?" Ralsei asked dryly.
Susie's cheeks turned slightly red again. "Uh, I guess not."
...
They stopped to see Lancer before they headed off. He was happily sitting in his new room, which looked very much like his old one, digging yet another hole in the floor.
"Lancer, you aren't gonna believe how sick my room is!" Susie boasted.
"A room as sick as you?! Woah, I want to see!" Lancer grinned. "I'll keep digging holes until I reach your room!"
Susie blinked. "Uhh, it's got a door, y'know."
"A door!? Wow, peachboy, you went all out!" Lancer exclaimed. Frisk had no idea if he was being serious or not. "And this room is better than I remember! I even have my own bed now! Now I don't have to sleep in a hole anymore!"
"I thought you... already had a bed." Ralsei asked, confused.
Lancer grinned. "No, that was for the bike."
Frisk grinned. She hoped he never changed.
She then checked the time. "Susie, we need to go pick up Tina and go to the Library."
Susie nodded. "Ralsei, Lancer, we'll be back in a bit. Just gotta grab the kid and some crap for our project, then we'll come back and hang out more."
"We promised to study with Noelle and Berdly at the library too, remember?" Frisk told her.
Susie sighed. "Damn, nearly forgot about that. Well, maybe we can bug out early."
"Susie! School's important!" Ralsei told her.
"All right, fine, we'll be back tonight."
"Bye Rals. Thanks for letting us stay here." Frisk said, giving him a hug, which he happily returned.
"No problem! As soon as you three get back, I'll make us all a giant cauldron cake!" Ralsei promised.
"You cook in a witch's pot?" Susie asked.
"Yes, cauldron cooking is most convenient."
"Huh, well, can't wait." Susie grinned. "Come on, Frisk. Let's go get the short stack and get this study session over with so we can eat cake and I can try out my cool spike bed."
Frisk nodded with a smile and she and Susie headed out of the castle.
Lancer came running downstairs. "Hey, wait! I'll go and help you too!"
"Er, wait, Lancer! Perhaps you shouldn't-" Ralsei started.
"Too late, kindboy! Friendship forme!" Lancer cried triumphantly, running towards Frisk...and then disappearing into nothing.
"Wait, where'd you go?" Susie asked in shock.
"Don't worry, I just entered your inventory! I'll just be hanging out in Frisk's backpack!" Lancer's voice said happily.
"Dunno what that means, but okay!"
Rouxls, having heard the commotion, came running up too. "Feare not! I too, shall Assisteth!"
"Uh, we're good." Susie grimaced.
"Ahah, quite! We, as a Teame- art Good!" Rouxls answered smugly, then the next thing Frisk knew, he was in her inventory too.
Susie groaned. "Alright, enough already. Let's get going."
Ralsei walked them through the town and to the path. "Good luck, guys. See you tonight."
"You too. Thanks again, Ralsei." Frisk said with a smile.
Susie nodded. "See you tonight." They then went to the patch of light and let it teleport them back up as Ralsei waved goodbye.
They didn't see Ralsei's smile drop as soon as they left.
...
It was always said that knowledge was power.
But what Ralsei had come to find out was that knowledge was also dangerous.
He sighed as he slid to his knees beside the patch of light his friends had just left from. There was so much he knew that he couldn't tell Susie or Frisk. So much about the prophecy, about the Dark World... about how he knew so much about them...
Even if getting hit by a flaming bicycle had hurt, he was relieved that it had distracted Frisk from how he had known her and Susie's names before they even talked.
He hated that he had to hide things from them. He hated that he had to lie.
He loved them. They were the best friends he'd ever had, the ONLY friends he ever had besides maybe Lancer or at least that he ever remembered having. And he didn't know if they'd ever forgive him for hiding so much when they inevitably found out.
But prophecies were tricky, as tricky as friendships. They could be self fulfilling, and what if he told Frisk and Susie too much and caused a butterfly effect that led to the Roaring being unstoppable? But what if he told too little and he got them killed?
He wrapped his arms around his knees, shaking. He couldn't bear either thought. And he didn't know what he was supposed to do, how to handle this like the hero he was supposed to be.
He was only fifteen. At least he thought he was fifteen, considering he didn't know the date of his birth, or his creation, or however he had come into the world.
And now Frisk was possibly in danger. Susie's description of Frisk's dreams scared him even more than he had let on. He had read legends of entities from other worlds, those who lurked in the shadows, quietly invading the souls of their chosen vessels and taking over control so they could explore the new world they found themselves in. That their hold was unbreakable. That Star Users like Frisk were the most susceptible to their control, the vast amount of power allowing the entities to reach out and take them, to have a vessel that was almost unbreakable.
These entities weren't necessarily always malevolent, not always understanding what they were doing wrong, that they were making someone suffer. Or maybe they didn't care, seeing it as all a game.
Frisk was fine right now, she wasn't possessed, but what if this entity she was seeing had made a connection? He had seen, maybe through hallucinations at his most loneliest, visions of grey monsters who spoke of a doctor that had fallen into his own creation, torn through time and space.
Dr. Gaster, the man who spoke in hands.
Was this what Frisk was seeing? Was this "doctor" one of those entities spoken of in legend, desperate enough to get back into reality that he would take control of the soul of an innocent girl? He didn't want to think anyone would ever do that, but the last time he had given someone the benefit of the doubt, he had nearly gotten his friends killed. He wasn't going to chance that again. And there was something highly suspicious about the shadow man and his behavior from what he knew from Susie. Did he have anything to do with the Knight? Did this Dr. Gaster just want help? Was it all just some weird coincidence?
Ralsei shivered. He couldn't bear the idea of Frisk getting taken over, her bright brown eyes becoming blank with apathetic curiosity, or clouded with fear at being unable to control her own actions. Her happy voice, full of questions, encouragement and friendliness becoming cold and scripted like her words had been picked from a dialogue box. Her body being forced to do things she would never do.
He prayed this would never happen to her, but what if it did? He had read when these entities latched on, there was no escape but death, and nothing to prevent them from taking hold of unless they chose to let their vessel go.
So if Frisk did get possessed, all he'd be able to do was to be friendly with the entity and hope he could convince it not to use her for harm, to play along with its need for exploration and adventure, and try to divert it so she could be free at least a little while…
But he knew Susie would never do that. Susie was fiercely protective of her friends, and he knew if Frisk did get possessed, if Susie found out…
She would fight the entity to her last breath to free her. But you couldn't kill something that lived in another world, and this would likely just cause the entity to fight Susie back, using Frisk's body, knowing Susie would never kill her friend…
He shook as the thought entered his mind, curling tighter in on himself, remembering the legends he had read. In one, the possessed Star User had been forced to kill their own party member.
In the other, the Star User had managed to break free, only for a moment, then taken their own life to save their friends….
No!
That couldn't happen, it just couldn't! He couldn't lose Frisk or Susie, he couldn't….
He shook his head violently. You're being stupid, Ralsei. Frisk isn't possessed. She's still her. She's still Frisk. You don't even know these entities aren't just legends, or that it's true there's no way to break free from them. You don't even know that Gaster is one of them. Stop overthinking this. All you're doing is working yourself up and scaring Susie. Frisk'll be fine. She and Susie will both be fine. And if something happens...you can stop it.
You have to.
For your friends' sake.
Ralsei got up. He'd head to his own library. He'd research, like he always had, and figure out where to go from here.
But just as he headed towards town, the Fountain flared, flashing bright colors.
Just as it had when the Card Castle fountain appeared… Which only meant one thing.
A new fountain had formed.
And Frisk and Susie needed him. Now.
…
When they arrived back in the Light World, Frisk checked her backpack.
"Are they there?" Susie asked softly.
Frisk nodded, showing her the jack of spades and the rules card with Rouxls's picture on it.
"Do you think they can hear us like this?"
"i don't know. From what Ralsei said, I don't think so." Frisk admitted. She tucked them in the small pocket on the inside of her backpack where her keys and her most valuable stuff was kept, knowing they'd be safe there.
"All right, let's go get Tina, meet with Noelle and Berdly, and get these guys home where they can actually be themselves." Susie told her and Frisk nodded quietly, getting up, and the two headed out the school doors. Realizing how late it probably was, Frisk broke into a run, and Susie chased after her.
"Geez, Frisk, I swear you have only two speeds. Slow and sonic, and nothing in between." the dragon girl complained as she caught up to Frisk near Ebott Elementary, putting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
"Sorry." Frisk said apologetically, then smiled as Tina burst through the school doors and launched herself into her arms. "Hey, Tine. Did you have a good day at school?"
The little girl nodded happily. "Yeah! I got an A on my test! And I made you guys something!" She pulled out two drawings from her backpack, and Frisk grinned and took it, admiring her own before handing the other drawing to a surprised Susie, who took it with supreme gentleness.
While both drawings looked slightly different as Tina had drawn each masterpiece individually, they both were the same subject, the three of them, standing and holding hands, surrounded by a ring of hearts.
At the bottom, Tina had written carefully, "Friends Forever!"
"Heh, looks good, kid." Susie said casually, though Frisk could tell she was touched. She folded the drawing very carefully, tucking it into a pocket inside her jacket, next to her heart.
"They're so awesome, sis." Frisk said happily as she put her own into her backpack. Tina grinned at the praise. "We're gonna head to the Library to work on our school project. Noelle's there with her project partner too, and afterwards, we'll take you to meet Ralsei and Lancer." she then told her.
"So we'll get to meet Susie's friend? The one with the fountain?" Tina asked excitedly.
Frisk nodded with a smile. "Yep!"
"Yay!"
They thankfully were able to get to the Library without incident, but ended up encountering a huge traffic jam, where Undyne was bench-pressing a car. While Susie stayed as far as she could from the police officer, Frisk and Tina talked to Undyne curious about what was going on, and she ended up telling them a dog in a toy car had driven into the road and started doing doughnuts, causing a massive pileup. Frisk hoped it would be gone by the time they got out of the library.
"God dang school project." Susie muttered to Frisk, clearly trying not to swear in front of little Tina. "Could be slacking off in our cool rooms right now and getting to see Tina's face when she sees the you-know-what."
"What?" Tina asked curiously.
Susie grinned. "It's a surprise, kiddo."
They entered the library, finding it completely empty. Susie grimaced. "So where the heck ARE Noelle and Berdly? Noelle was the one who wanted so badly to meet us here!" She clenched her fists. "Don't tell me they ditched us or are pulling some stupid prank on us."
"Noelle wouldn't do that. You know how nice she is. They're probably just late." Frisk reasoned, grabbing some books. "They might have even got caught in that big traffic jam outside. Let's give them a bit."
Tina nodded. "I'm sure they'll be here soon! But there's lots of cool books here to read while we wait!" She looked around. "I wonder if they have any Nancy Drew books?"
"Ugh, hopefully we won't be waiting too long." Susie sighed. "C'mon, let's go to the computer lab and play Space Invaders."
"Aren't we supposed to be working on our project?" Frisk asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Eh, we can do that when Noelle and Berdly get here." Susie shrugged, then grinned. "Don't tell me you wouldn't rather play a video game than do HOMEWORK."
"I don't know. I've, um, never really played one before." Frisk admitted.
"Well, then you gotta do it right now! C'mon, I'll teach you guys how to play!" Susie coaxed.
Frisk smiled. That did sound like fun. "All right, all right. Just let me grab one more thing first."
"I'll get my book too and then we can play the game!" Tina said happily, hurrying off to the children's section.
Frisk looked around a bit, her eyes lighting up as she found the book she was looking for. "Ah, there it is." She walked back to Susie. "Ready!"
Susie glanced at the book on top of Frisk's pile. "A Guide To American Sign Language?" she asked curiously. "What's that have to do with our science project?"
Frisk blushed. "It, um, doesn't. I... well, this is going to sound stupid."
"I once chugged a sixty two ounce slushie in under five seconds. Nothing could be stupider than that." Susie dead-panned. "So what's up with the sign language book?"
"You remember that dream I was having in class?" Frisk asked. Susie nodded, starting to look concerned. "Well, that weird guy that keeps showing up in my dreams kept trying to sign something to me, and I, um, I know it's ridiculous, but I wanted to know if it means anything." she admitted, expecting Susie to laugh.
But Susie didn't laugh. Instead she looked terrified. She grabbed Frisk's shoulders. "Frisk, do NOT try to communicate with that guy! If you meet him in your dreams again...don't talk to him, don't go near him... You stay as far away from him as you can and wake up as quick as you can!"
"Susie, what's going on? Why are you so freaked out? It was just a dumb nightmare." Frisk told her before pausing as the full force of Susie's terror hit her and she remembered how worried Susie and Ralsei had been when she came back to the Dark World. "Wasn't it?"
Susie shook her head. "Ralsei didn't want me to tell you yet because he doesn't know fully what's going on himself and he didn't want to scare you until he figured it out. But..."
But just at that moment, they heard Tina scream. Frisk and Susie whirled around, their conversation utterly forgotten as an all too familiar blackness filled the room from the now open door of the computer lab. They could make out Tina's figure, the tiny girl clinging tight to the library floor as she dangled over the black abyss the computer lab had become.
"Tina!" Frisk gasped as she threw the books she was holding and rushed to her with Susie right behind her, both reaching to grab Tina and pull her up.
But then Tina lost her grip, her and Frisk's fingers barely missing as she plummeted into the blackness. Frisk leapt after her without hesitation, grabbing her sister and holding her protectively to her chest as they fell.
And then a muscular set of arms wrapped around them both; Susie having jumped after them, holding them in her traditional defensive stance, twirling so she landed gracefully on her feet with them safely in her arms.
As Susie gently set Frisk and Tina down, Frisk looked around. The cliff they were standing on was bright teal, and along the walls were glowing lines, and blinking square yellow lights.
It looked… futuristic.
"...This is new." was Susie's first words. She turned to Frisk. "This has GOTTA be a new Dark World. Which means…" She grinned. "We can't work on our school project now! We've got an adventure to take and a fountain to seal!"
"Huh?" Tina's frightened voice asked as she clung to Frisk's shirt. "Dark World? Fountain? Frisk, what's going on? Why do you look so different? Why's your hair and skin blue? Why are you wearing armor? Why's Susie pink?" She waved her little arms for emphasis, then her eyes widened. "Why am I pink?!"
Tina was indeed pink. Her skin was a pale pink, while her hair was a much deeper shade of the same color. And like with Frisk and Susie, her outfit had changed. Like Frisk, she had an armor chest plate, though it was rose colored with pauldrons of the same color over a white short sleeved dress that had trim along the bottom which matched her armor. She had a brown belt around her waist, containing a sheath that held a small sword, silver with pink accents. She trembled as she took in the changes. "Frisk, Susie, what's happening?!"
Frisk knelt beside her sister. "Tine, remember the story we told you yesterday? Well, we were actually going to tell you today once we could bring you to Ralsei's Dark World that it's all real."
"It is?" Tina asked shakily.
"Yep. Frisk, Ralsei, Lancer and I are all the heroes of legend." Susie told her. "Sorry, kid, we didn't want you to find out in a way that was this scary. We weren't expecting anyone to blow open a Fountain in the computer lab." She smiled reassuringly. "But hey, now you get to be a hero with us! And we'll watch out for you, don't worry."
Tina's eyes shone. "So you and Frisk are Sam and Kris?"
"Well, we're still Susie and Frisk, but yes." Susie told her.
"Cool!"
Susie grinned. "Yeah, it is, short stack."
Tina then frowned worriedly. "Does that mean there's a big scary evil king and a scary knight guy?" she asked softly.
"We don't know who's here yet, Tine, but the mean king is all locked up." Frisk reassured her.
"And don't worry, we'll kick the butts of anyone who tries to hurt us!" Susie reassured Tina. "Just stick close to me and Frisk, kid. You know we won't let anything happen to you."
"But I don't want anything to happen to you guys either." Tina whispered.
Frisk hugged her. "We'll be extra, extra careful, okay?"
Susie nodded. "Frisk and I have done this before. We'll all be fine."
Tina nodded and the three girls continued forward, coming to a Save Star at the top of a cliff. Frisk quickly hit it, causing the all too familiar white glow of healing magic to surround them.
"Frisk, why are we all glowy?" Tina asked.
"She's a Star User." Susie explained for Frisk. "That's some sort of magic person. She can see these glowing magic stars no one else can and use them to heal and stuff."
"Oh. Cool!"
They turned their attention to the cliff. Susie slid down first and held out her arms for Frisk and Tina, who slid down to join her.
"There's weird plugs on the ceiling." Tina then pointed out. Her eyes then widened. "What's that monster? They look scared."
Frisk looked and saw a short pudgy monster that looked like a big teddy bear with cat ears. It was curled up in the corner, shaking and muttering to itself.
Frisk held out a hand, silently telling Tina to stay back and Susie to stay with her, then approached cautiously just in case the frightened monster lashed out or it was a trap. Behind her, Susie stood protectively in front of Tuna while watching her back as Frisk, seeing the monster wasn't going to attack, made her way to its side. "Hello?" she asked gently. The monster turned their frightened eyes in her direction. She smiled reassuringly. "What's wrong? Can I help?"
The pink creature squeezed its eyes shut. "The wires… The wires…"
"What wires? The plugs up there? Are you hurt?" Frisk asked, but the monster just curled in on itself, clearly too terrified to answer. Frisk didn't want to traumatize it more by forcing it. She motioned to Tina and Susie, and they continued on.
After sliding down another cliff, the girls found themselves under attack by a series of plugs firing electric bolts. Frisk shielded Tina as they rushed through, thankfully only suffering a small burn on her arm. Susie and Tina were thankfully unharmed.
Tina looked worriedly at the burn. "Frisk, you're hurt!"
"I'm fine. It's just a teeny tiny burn. It doesn't even hurt!" Frisk reassured her.
"Still, let me see if I can heal it." Susie offered. "Here, hold out your arm."
Frisk did so and Susie held her hands over it, her brow furrowing as she concentrated hard.
Nothing happened.
Susie let out a frustrated sound as she tried again. Green sparks came to her fingertips, but nothing else. She tried harder and harder, sweat beading on her forehead, but still the burn remained exactly as it was.
"Susie, stop, you're going to hurt yourself!" Frisk pleaded.
"Damn it, I can do it!" Susie barked, making Tina jump and look at Susie with wide eyes. The dragon girl looked down. "Sorry, shouldn't have yelled." she muttered. She tried to heal Frisk again with no better results, then sighed. "Looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way."
"You don't have to worry. It's tiny, and there's probably a Save Star somewhere…" Frisk started.
"Da- Dang it, Frisk, for once in your life, let someone else take care of you! Now sit!" Susie ordered. Confused, Frisk looked into her eyes, seeing a terror that obviously had to do with something deeper than a little burn, and there was only one way to help Susie with it right now. She obediently sat, and Susie knelt next to her, pulling bandages and antibiotic ointment out of her bag, gently treating and bandaging the small wound like it was something much more serious. Tina helped, handing Susie the bandages when she needed them.
Come to think of it, both Susie and Ralsei had been treating her like she was made of glass since that final battle. She must have really scared them.
And she didn't know how to fix it.
And then there was this whole nightmare thing that Susie had been trying to tell her about before all this happened, and that Ralsei was trying to keep from her. What was going on?!
"All finished. Ready to head off?" Susie asked. Frisk nodded, trying to figure out how to talk to her about it without scaring Tina, though Susie was oblivious to her internal debate and slid down the next cliff, waiting for Frisk and Tina. Frisk picked up Tina and slid down to her, keeping an eye out for more active plugs.
There was none, but at the bottom of the cliff huddled another traumatized pink monster. All it would say was "Everyone was…" before curling into a ball and shaking.
What had happened here?!
The cliff had clearly been damaged, and as the girls continued on, it only got worse. Burn marks littered the area, and two more pink monsters, no less traumatized than the others, huddled together. Frisk, Tina, and Susie tried to help them and ask what happened, but got no answers other than, "... e-everyone else has been…" and "S-Save us, she's going to…"
"Don't worry, we'll help you. Can you tell us who you're talking about?" Frisk asked gently.
The pink monsters just trembled, and before she could figure out what to do, a familiar voice cried out, "Somebody help me…"
"Noelle!" Frisk gasped and ran towards her voice, Susie and Tina hot on her heels.
Noelle was curled up on the ground, dressed in a white robe which made the gentle reindeer monster look even more angelic. "Somebody please…" she pleaded.
The three girls rushed towards her. "Noelle, what happened? Are you all right?" Frisk asked worriedly
"How the hell did you get here? Are you hurt?" Susie reached over to help her up.
Noelle blushed crimson, taking the dragon girl's hand. "Susie… cool that you're here, just…" Her eyes widened and she pushed away from her, her eyes flitting to the distance. "Wait, get out of here before it's too late!"
"Noelle, what's…" Frisk started, but didn't have the chance to finish. An electric cage rushed in out of nowhere, catching Noelle in its grasp, and then vanished into nothingness, all in the span of a few seconds. All Susie and Frisk could do was stand there in shock.
Susie was the first to snap out of it, her expression filled with horror. "NOELLE?"
There was a high pitched taunting laugh, sounding almost like an opera singer's, as someone rose from below the cliff. It was a robotic woman, slender and humanoid, predominately blue and white, just like Lancer and his father. her form elegant and deadly, reclining on a floating blue throne, her painted blue lips smirking at them from underneath the black visor she had for eyes. She summed up this crazy situation in one sentence.
"Hell Of A Study Session"
...
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Queen has now appeared, and the group needs to handle her, all while Ralsei's trying to figure out Gaster's motives and why he's after Frisk. And Ralsei's mind jumped right to the worst case scenario because that's something he's been used to, burdened with knowing the prophecy and what could happen, so what's going on with Gaster has him terrified the worst could happen too. And it doesn't help that he gave King the benefit of the doubt and King betrayed his trust and tried to kill his friends, so, while Ralsei's trying his hardest to stay optimistic, his faith in people has been a little shaken.