Acid Rivers and Ferris Wheels
We have finally reached the chapter everyone's probably been waiting for, the acid river and Ferris Wheel scenes, changed a bit due to a vocal protagonist slightly altering things. I hope you guys enjoy!
...
Before leaving the area, Frisk and Ralsei checked out the rooms, trying to figure out where they were supposed to go. The first one they walked into had three Swatchlings, one in yellow, one in red, and one in orange, watching a film of what seemed to be some sort of geyser of light shooting into the air, swirls of darkness running through it. The Swatchlings glanced to them, but were relaxed and didn't attack.
However, even though THEY were relaxed, Ralsei sure wasn't. His eyes widened as he looked at the image on the screen.
"Ralsei? What's wrong?" Frisk asked worriedly.
"I've seen that before. That appeared right before the Card Castle fountain began flowing." Ralsei told her, his voice shaky.
"Oh, are you interested in the movie too?" the yellow suited Swatchling asked, making them jump. "This is today's dinner entertainment. I've heard it's called "The Birth Of A Fountain."
The red suited Swatchling nodded. "The Queen has been very interested in this video recently. Where the Knight creates the Fountain by its own hand... Well, it's that and Cyber City's Funniest Home Videos."
"The Knight created the Fountain, and this world." the orange suited Swatchling explained. "It might be even more powerful than Queen. ...For now."
Frisk hurried over to the screen, gazing into the pillar of light and darkness as she tried to look for the Knight to hopefully identify who they were. But there was so much smoke it was impossible to tell.
She glanced to Ralsei worriedly, then thanked the Swatchlings before leaving with Ralsei. "Were you able to get any clues from the video on who the Knight might be?" she asked once they were out of range.
He shook his head sadly. "No. You?"
She shook her head. "No. But...I'm sure we'll be able to find them soon. We have to."
Ralsei took her hand. "I know."
Still holding hands as they walked into the next room, the two were immediately greeted with a giant pool filled with a sickly yellowish green liquid.
Ralsei jumped backwards in surprise, nearly pulling Frisk with him. "A... A giant lake of acid!?"
The computer screen above the lake immediately switched on and Queen grinned down at them. "Oh You Mean The Free Pool. You Will Learn To Love It Like Family."
"Why do you have this!?" Ralsei asked in shock.
"It Is My Mansion's Energy Source And Fun To Drink" Queen answered matter of factly, "True," flashing on her visor. "Bye Ha Ha Ha." The computer screen turned off, leaving Frisk and Ralsei to blankly stare at each other.
"How... should we pass this!?" Ralsei asked Frisk.
Frisk looked around to see if there was another way, then spotted a switch. "Maybe we should try pulling this." Cautiously, she went over to the switch and pulled it. A swan boat immediately floated sideways up to them.
"I suppose... this... works. Haha." Ralsei chuckled, though the poor guy still looked bamboozled.
"A ride down the acid river... Of course. It looks like Tina was right about Queen's true intentions." Frisk sighed in relief, glad Queen at least had no intention of killing Berdly and hadn't meant to threaten them. Thinking back to her casual tone, it all made sense now. Queen thought she was just revoking a privilege, not making a threat. She didn't even understand her acid river could be dangerous.
Frisk helped Ralsei into the boat and they set sail. It was actually pretty peaceful going down the acid river and looking at the tiny little houses. Frisk was coming to understand why Queen thought Noelle would have been upset about giving up this ride.
"Now, we have to think of some way to distract Queen." Ralsei reminded her.
"Ralsei, don't say that so loud." Frisk whispered, casting a nervous glance at the computer screen they were approaching. "Queen might..."
Queen's face popped up on the screen. "Oooh Wow I'm So Distracted Right Now"
"...Hear." Frisk sighed, not sure if Queen had been sarcastic with her statement or not. Considering some of the crazy stuff she believed though, she very well may not have been. Still she hoped Susie, Noelle, and Berdly would be okay.
They bumped into a little red house and it turned blue. Frisk then had to steer the boat around the obstacle before it could continue on and she and Ralsei watched the tiny, mouse sized houses with little trees and backyards as they passed.
"What are these... little houses?" Ralsei asked.
"Just Tropical Villas For My Guests Isn't That Thoughtful" Queen asked, appearing on yet another screen.
Ralsei asked the obvious. "...How would anybody fit inside?"
"Shrink From The Acid" Queen answered casually like she didn't understand that that was both scientifically impossible and terrifying. But before Frisk could point that out, Queen got excited about something else. "Frisk Get The Banana."
Frisk looked to see a banana floating in the acid river. Hell no.
"Fr...Frisk isn't going to do what you say!" Ralsei yelled and Frisk proved him right by turning the boat the opposite way.
"Frisk You're Going To Get Sick" Queen pouted.
"Queen, battery acid is deadly to humans, and that banana is floating in it. If I ate that, my organs would probably melt and I'd die." Frisk pointed out.
Queen's visor developed swirlies on it as she looked horrified. "Oh That's Not Good."
"Definitely not. But, um, I have the bananas you put in my room. If there's no battery acid in them, I can just eat those." Frisk said, finding herself wanting to make Queen feel better for some reason.
Queen smiled. "Don't Worry Frisk They're One Hundred Percent Battery Acid Free And Perfectly Safe For Human Consumption. Make Sure You Eat Them Dear. They'll Make You Feel Better." Frisk saw "True," flash on Queen's visor before the computer screen turned back off. Frisk shrugged and pulled the bunch of bananas out of her bag, breaking two off. She Checked them both just to be safe, then handed one to Ralsei with a smile before unpeeling her own. Queen was right about one thing; a little more potassium would be good for her.
Frisk and Ralsei sat back, eating their snacks and enjoying the sights as the swan boat floated down the river among all the tiny houses and miniature forests and mountains. After a few minutes, Ralsei spoke up. "...Looks like we're coming up on a tunnel!"
But the way was blocked by a giant hand, and the swan boat slammed right into it, nearly knocking Frisk into Ralsei's lap.
"What the heck?" Frisk asked and tried to steer the boat out of the way of the hand, but there was no place to go. But thankfully they had stopped in front of a room, which Frisk guessed had the solution to the problem.
Freaking puzzles.
She got out of the boat, helping Ralsei out as well, and they walked into the new room, finding themselves in a maze of tiles, acid, and tiny houses that changed colors and opened new tile pathways if they were pressed. They made their way through the puzzle and entered the second room, where they freed a poor Swatchling that had gotten stuck on the puzzle.
"Thanks for your help." the Swatchling said gratefully as they hurried off the section they were trapped on. "I had gone up there to do a little house cleaning and got stuck."
"No problem." Frisk smiled and continued to work on the puzzle. But as they tried to make their way back, one of Queen's stupid vases fell right in front of her, causing her to trip. Ralsei caught her before she could fall in the acid, though she ended up shattering the vase.
The Swatchling looked upset for a second, but then shook their head with a smile. "I suppose we'll have to let it go this once." they said with a wink and headed off. Frisk wondered if those stupid vases that seemed to WANT to get broken annoyed them too.
They made their way back to the first room and managed to hit the right houses to go north where a treasure box was. Two Werewires swung in to attack, but Frisk removed the first one's wire and Ralsei quickly soothed the other with Pacify. For their troubles they received ReviveDust, an item that upon checking it revealed that it could heal any downed party members.
After manipulating some more houses and opening the right pathway, they headed up once again and found yet another mouse puzzle. Four red and blue houses rested in front of the puzzle, and the pattern they were pressed in directed the mice either to go in one of two houses and two treasure chests. After making the mice rich by accidentally sending them into the treasure chests, Frisk finally got them to go into each house, turning the houses their proper colors and raising the bridge, allowing them to go west and flip the switch that finally got the hand out of their way.
Frisk sighed in relief as they returned to the boat and it continued on its way. They drifted peacefully down the tunnel and she finally got the chance to relax. Ralsei smiled to her and she smiled back as they rode quietly together. The silence was comfortable though, not awkward. Despite that she had only known Ralsei for two days, she felt completely comfortable and safe around him.
It was as if she had known him for years.
"Frisk... Hey, Frisk?" Ralsei then asked quietly, breaking the silence. "...Is it s-strange to say... It's nice spending time alone with you like this?"
"It's not." Frisk reassured him, scooting a bit closer with a smile. "I feel the same."
Ralsei blushed but smiled widely. "It's, um, really nice hearing you say that, Frisk." He fidgeted his fingers a bit. "When we met in Castletown yesterday, I... I was so nervous about first impressions. I even hid my face so you wouldn't see... "How do I even be a friend...?" All I have to do is be nice... Is what I thought. But I'm starting to realize, being friends... Is more than that, isn't it? Susie... I like her a lot; she's one of my best friends besides you, but sometimes she isn't nice at all. She can be selfish, rude, sarcastic..." He held up his hand when Frisk tensed, about to jump to her friend's defense. "But... Isn't it wonderful that she's... her? She cares, a lot, she just shows it in a different way than the way I thought you were supposed to. She shows it in her own Susie way, and it's wonderful." He then blushed, looking shy. "And of course, Frisk, it's nice that you're...you."
"And it's nice that Ralsei is Ralsei." Frisk told him with a smile, taking his hand in hers.
Ralsei's blush got even deeper. "Hearing it from you, um, it means a lot." He looked down. "I just wonder what being "Ralsei-like" even is...? I've tried so hard to be whatever gets people to like me...and I've been in that castle alone so long...eight years...that I...I just don't want to be alone any more." he admitted very softly.
Frisk gave him a hug. "Ralsei... You'll never be alone again. I'll always be here for you, and so will Susie, Lancer, and Tine. And all I want is for you to be yourself. That's the Ralsei I like. You don't have to be perfect. I just want you to be...you."
Ralsei hugged her back. "That's all I want for you too. You're my best friend, Frisk." He held her a little tighter, like he was afraid of losing her. His eyes closed as he buried his face in her shoulder. "I never want you to not be you..."
Frisk held him close, not even noticing as the tunnel opened into a bigger room. "Ralsei... I-I know something's bothering you. That something's been bothering you ever since this morning. Susie mentioned you were frightened about that weird guy that showed up in my dream. I want to help you. To be there for you. Can you tell me what's going on?"
Ralsei pulled back from the hug, his face clearly worried. He looked around like he was afraid someone was watching. Looking to her, he sighed softly. "Frisk, I..."
"Ge hahahahaha... Thoust WORMS really thoughtest... They'd seen the last of ME!" a familiar and very annoying voice crowed, making Ralsei and Frisk jump about a mile and focus on their surroundings. Dramatic music played just as a large pirate ship teleported in, Rouxls Kaard at the helm, parking right behind the mass of houses that stood between them. Frisk wasn't sure whether to be pissed he betrayed them or just relieved he wasn't a stone statue like Lancer.
When he grinned evilly and started speaking in a terrible pirate accent, she decided to compromise on annoyed.
"Chips Ahoyeth, Landlubbers!" Rouxls crowed, striking a dramatic pose. "Arrrrrr-t thou ready-eth to visiteth Davith Jones' Lockre?!"
Ralsei rolled his eyes and summarized what Frisk was feeling in one question. "Could... Could you not speak with more than one accent?"
"Yeaheth, alright." Rouxls agreed. Apparently it was getting difficult for him too.
"Actually, we've got bigger problems." Frisk put in, wanting to tell him about Lancer.
Ralsei nodded. "Lancer... he's not well."
Rouxls looked worried. "O dear. Didst thou, erm, tryeth Burpinge him? Perhapsth give him a sip of Medieval Ginger Ale?" He then brushed it off. "...Waite! I hath NOT time to spare on such Frivolitese!"
"It's NOT a frivolity! Lancer doesn't have a stomachache, he's REALLY sick!" Frisk yelled.
This stopped Rouxls in his tracks. "W-What? What's wrongeth withe him?"
"Mr. Rouxls... Lancer's not compatible with this fountain or this world. He...He turned to stone." Ralsei said quietly.
Rouxls stumbled back in horror. "This-This is just a joke, right?! You two are sicketh!"
"It's not." Frisk said quietly. "We would never lie about something as important as Lancer's health. It...It's all true, but he'll be okay if we get him out of this world and back to the Grand Fountain in Castletown. But to do that we need to seal this fountain. Only then can we get Lancer out of here."
"And... we need to get you home too, Mr. Rouxls. We don't know if you're compatible with this world either." Ralsei added worriedly. "How long have you been out of Frisk's inventory?"
Rouxls looked at their faces, clearly realizing they were serious. "I hath been out for hours. I feelst fine." He looked determined. "But it doth not matter. I muste Warne the Queene right away! Lancer is NOT a price we're willing-eth to pay for Worlde Domination. You sayeth Lancer will-eth be safe when we returne to Castletown?"
"Yes. Any Darkner can thrive under the Grand Fountain as it's the one our world began from." Ralsei explained. "Lancer will be fine when we get him home."
"Then my Beauteous Queene shall simply take over Castletown instead, with ME as her lefte hand man, the ultimate minion!" Rouxls announced proudly. "See thoust later, worms!" With that his boat shot off, the Duke only pausing to pose dramatically for the camera at the end of the ride.
Ralsei and Frisk looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay then." was all Ralsei could say about the whole scenario. "Looks like the ride's almost over, Frisk. Should we, um, pose for the camera too?"
"Sure." Frisk agreed with a smile. She wrapped an arm around Ralsei and made a peace sign at the camera. He blushed, but wrapped his arm around her too and gave the camera his signature wide smile as it took their picture.
The boat completed its journey, letting them off at the end of the river. "That was a nice boat ride. We'll have to get that picture before we leave and make copies for our rooms!" Ralsei said cheerfully as they got out of the boat.
"Definitely." Frisk agreed, grinning.
"Now let's go find Mr. Rouxls before he..." Ralsei started but was immediately cut off by an agonized yell.
"GOD DAMN IT!"
Frisk and Ralsei exchanged a concerned glance before racing down the hall. Immediately they saw Rouxls, frozen mid stride, turned to stone from the neck down.
"Heroes! You Muste helpeth me!" Rouxls called to them.
"Mr. Rouxls... there's nothing we can do but seal the fountain." Ralsei explained sadly.
"Then sealeth it!"
"That's exactly what we're trying to do." Frisk explained, understanding he was probably in a lot of distress right now and feeling a bit distressed herself at yet another Darkner that had been in her care turning to stone. "Just hang on. You'll be fine. So will Lancer. Here, maybe if I get you into my inventory again, it'll stop the progression of the stone."
She tried to pick him up, but was only met with the realization that lifting a grown man who was both mostly stone statue and much bigger than she was was pretty much impossible. Ralsei tried to help her, but even the two of them lifting together could only get him like half an inch off the ground.
"Um, just wait here. We'll seal the fountain and bring you back to Castletown." Frisk told him.
"You're just going to leaveth me here alone in this hallway?" Rouxls asked in horror.
"Here, I'll see if I can find a Swatchling. They might be able to help. "Maybe they have one of those luggage cart things." Frisk said and ran off to find one.
She hoped Susie was having an easier time than they were.
...
Susie hurried to the room Berdly had told her was Noelle's. Looking around, she opened the door, just in time to see two Werewires land in front of the shocked deer girl, who was sitting on her bed.
"W-wait, what are you..." Noelle gasped. "H-Hey, you can't capture someone who's already been captured! L-Leave me alone!" She held out her hands, a white mist forming.
Susie hurried to help her, throwing her axe and severing the wires, breaking the Plugboys free. The pink creatures took their normal form and hurried off.
"S... Susie!?" Noelle asked in shock, turning to her. "You... you saved me...?"
Susie put away her ax and dusted off her hands. "Don't get used to it." she said with a small smile, not showing that it hurt a little bit that Noelle clearly thought she wouldn't be the type to save anyone.
"Umm, OK... I... I won't," Noelle said nervously. She seemed to be so freaked out that she was having trouble even LOOKING at Susie, instead glancing out the window at the oddly baseball shaped moon.
Wait, that WAS a baseball.
Susie tried to figure out what to say to the clearly nervous Noelle. Should she talk about the baseball moon? No, that might just be awkward. Maybe if she made a joke or something, lightened the mood a bit? Frisk always relaxed more when someone made her laugh, maybe it would work on Noelle too.
"Now c'mon. I'm here to spring you. Come with me if you want to live." Susie said with a grin, holding out her hand for Noelle. Damn, she had always wanted to use that line.
But Noelle just squeaked, her cheeks turning red as she stared at Susie's hand like it was some sort of alien being. Susie wanted to face-palm. "Good going, Susie, you scared the crap out of her!" She sighed. "Relax, it was just a stupid Terminator reference. Now get up, let's get the hell out of here. Berdly's waiting on the roof to take you to safety."
"He's okay?" Noelle asked in both worry and relief.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's with us." Susie told her. "Now, c'mon, hurry up."
""R-Right. Coming!" Noelle stammered as she got off the bed, her cheeks still bright red. Susie inwardly sighed. Why couldn't Frisk have been here to do this? Or Ralsei? Or even Berdly? Hell, any of them would have been better at this "comforting people," crap than she was.
"Good." Susie said, trying to smile, though it probably looked demented. "All we gotta do is head right over to this..." Susie then realized what the means to their escape looked like. "Uh... over here, on this, uh... Heart. Covered. Ferris Wheel."
She stared up at the giant, overly mushy monstrosity awkwardly, then looked over to Noelle, who had absolutely frozen in shock, her face bright red. She was obviously mortified at going on a heart covered ride with the school bully and it made Susie feel even worse. Why couldn't this damn thing have showed up when she was with Frisk, Ralsei, and Tina instead?! If she was with them, it wouldn't have been so awkward. And they wouldn't have been freaked out about riding it with her.
But neither she or Noelle had a choice, considering it was the only way out. She glared at Noelle, showing her teeth. "What's the goddamn holdup!? Get ON already!"
"S-Sorry!" Noelle gasped, getting even redder as she scrambled aboard it. Susie got on with her, guilt immediately replacing annoyance. Noelle was already scared of her and instead of being kind and sympathetic like Frisk would have been, she had yelled and scared the other girl even more. What the hell was she supposed to do now? Frisk would have known what to do!
But Frisk wasn't here. It was just her.
Awkwardly, she tried to make conversation. "So, uh... Ferris wheels, huh." She grinned a bit. "Kinda makes you wonder what car they were built for."
Noelle didn't reply, but she did smile a little. Still, she was shaking like a leaf.
Susie sighed. "Look, I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I've never picked on you before. I'm not gonna start now." she said quietly, looking out the Ferris's Wheel's window.
"R-Right... You never have." Noelle said softly. Susie felt her shift next to her and turned to see Noelle looking at her in nervous curiosity. "But, um, why haven't you..."
"Picked on you?" Susie asked.
Noelle nodded, her face bright red. "I've always, um, wondered about that."
Susie sighed. It was time to do what Frisk would do. Be honest and share part of her heart with someone. "MAYBE it's 'cause, when I first came to class... You lent me one of your pencils." She smiled. "Like, a dumb, uh, candycane-looking one or something. And even though it DIDN'T actually taste like candy, I, uh, remembered your smile, and, uh... Decided to spare you. Y'know." She felt her stomach tie in knots, though she tried to not to show it. She wondered if Frisk had felt that same exact way yesterday in the hallway, when she told an angry dragon monster that she would never get her expelled because she knew how it felt to have everyone against her too, and that she too was on her last chance.
"That's, um, really nice." Noelle said softly. Her cheeks were still red, but she was smiling now.
Susie scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, still feeling freaking awkward but better that she had done SOMETHING right. "Well, uh..."
Noelle then grinned. "...wait, did you say you ATE the pencil!?"
"I MEAN, LOOK!" Susie protested, showing her jagged teeth, but for once Noelle, like Frisk, Ralsei, and Lancer, no longer seemed afraid of her, instead just giggling. Susie sighed but couldn't help but smile. "So you don't have to be scared I'm going to bite your face off, okay?"
"I, um, I wasn't. I'm not scared of you, Susie... I mean, not in that way." Noelle said softly. She grinned a bit. "I mean, well, I guess you're a little scary, but... But that's... what's... NICE about you, y'know?"
Susie blinked in confusion. "Nice!? The hell does that mean?"
Noelle smiled up at her. "You're the... good kind of scary. You aren't afraid to... break the rules, y'know? ...I wish I could do crazy stuff like you."
Susie couldn't do anything for a second other than stare at her in shock. Noelle didn't fear or dislike her? She wanted to be like her, just like Lancer did?
She finally managed to recover and smiled a little. "So, if YOU could do something crazy right now, what would you do?"
"You..." Noelle started, then turned bright red. "YOU KNOW...I'm not sure." She chuckled a bit nervously. "Probably tell Queen off for being a big jerk. Or skip class so I can get tickets for Blood And Guts IV."
Susie had no clue what she was embarrassed about, but figured it was just because Noelle wasn't used to doing "bad" things. "Hey, I can get behind either of those. So you're into horror movies too?"
"Yeah, I love them." Noelle admitted. "When we were little, me and my sister would stay up past our bedtime to watch them. At first I cried, but now... It's like...watching them... Makes me feel...comforted..?
"Comforted?" Susie asked.
"Yeah, they're scary, but if I get too scared I can just turn them off." Noelle replied.
"I just like the blood and slime and stuff." Susie shrugged. "So what's your favorite kind of horror movie? I love the giant monster movies; they're awesome." She laughed a bit. "When I was a kid, I used to dream of getting hit by a radioactive meteorite so I could become Susiezilla and CRUSH everything!"
Noelle laughed. "Hahahaha! Susie!"
"Heh, what?" Susie asked playfully.
Noelle looked at her curiously. "...Is being Susiezilla something you still think about? I mean, in this Dark World where it seems almost anything is possible?"
"No." Susie lied though her traitorous stubby tail swished, making a thumping sound as it hit the back of the car.
Noelle peeked over and Susie blushed as she caught sight of her tail before she could hide it. Noelle grinned. "Does your tail always do that when you lie?"
"H... hey! Don't look at that!" Susie yelled, showing her teeth as she pushed her tail back under her jacket.
"S-Sorry, but, um, you don't have to be embarrassed! I've got a tail too." Noelle said shyly, wagging her own tufted tail. "A-Actually, I think everyone in our class has a tail...except Frisk, I mean, since she's human."
"I just don't like it, okay?!" Susie protested.
"Why? I think it's... a nice tail." Noelle told her.
"Whatever." Susie muttered, feeling her cheeks heat up. "Just don't tell anyone about it, got that?"
"Got it." Noelle agreed.
Susie felt a little better at this, and something else she noticed helped a lot too. "...You stopped shaking."
"Guess I got comfortable." Noelle told her with a smile.
Susie smiled back. "...Me too."
...
"Well, that wasn't too bad." Susie said casually, putting her arms behind her head as she got out of the ride. Though inwardly she had to admit that was putting it mildly. She had actually found herself having fun with Noelle when Noelle had loosened up a bit.
It was...nice making another friend. If Noelle even considered them that.
Thankfully Noelle seemed to agree. "Y... yeah." She twisted a strand of her long blond hair, looking shy. "Hey, um, Susie... When we get out of the Dark World, do you think, um, maybe we could..."
And that's when Berdly fluttered down from the sky, holding a rose in his beak and posing dramatically. "Noelle! My lady! The Calvary has arrived to rescue you!" Noelle jumped, startled, and Berdly looked a bit deflated. "It...It isn't like last time. Frisk and Susan brought to my attention what...you really wanted."
"Look, I'll, um, leave you guys to talk." Susie said awkwardly before grinning. "I gotta go save the day now."
"Good luck, Susie!" Noelle told her.
Susie grinned a bit and turned to Berdly. "Alright, nugget boy, it's up to you now."
"Leave it to me, my dear Susan." Berdly grinned.
"Yeah, whatever. May the smarts be with you." With that, she jumped down, looking for Frisk and Ralsei. After leaping from pillar to pillar, she noticed them walking on the floor below her, talking to each other. She grinned, deciding to surprise them.
"Geronimo!" she called. Frisk and Ralsei looked up and she ended up landing right on Ralsei's shoulders, knocking the poor guy to the ground. Oops...
She quickly got off him and helped him to his feet. "Heh, miss me?" she asked her friends.
Frisk smiled at her. "Of course."
"Of course not!" Ralsei yelled, but then laughed. "Just kidding! That was sarcasm! I missed you!"
Susie shook her head. "Man, we need to work on your delivery."
"You have to admit; he is getting better." Frisk said, still smiling though Susie noticed she seemed the slightest bit troubled.
Susie was about to ask what was wrong when two Swatchlings came by, carting Rouxls on a luggage cart. To her shock, he was stone up to his neck, though this crazy thing he was going through didn't change his personality at all. He was still trying to give the Swatchlings orders as "Butler Supremeth," though they just ignored him.
"We'll take him to the bottom floor to wait for you, Princess. You and your friends don't need to worry about a thing." a blue suited Swatching told Frisk as they passed her.
"Thank you." Frisk told them gratefully. "Both of you. We really appreciate the help."
"The weird Duke dude got hit with the fountain issue too?" Susie asked Frisk.
Frisk nodded. "Yeah." she said quietly. "He was fine and talking to us one minute and the next...this."
"He'll be fine as soon as we get him back to Castletown, just like Lancer." Ralsei said soothingly, patting Frisk's shoulder.
"Do not fear, Princess, he's in good hands." a green suited Swatchling told Frisk. "And here's something that may cheer you up a little. I was fishing for lost pottery in the acid when I found this photo. I think it's yours. I made copies for both of you." He held out two photos.
"Hey, it's our boat ride photo!" Ralsei said with a smile, clearly trying to cheer everyone up.
"Boat ride?" Susie asked as Frisk and Susie thanked the Swatchling and took their photos.
"Yeah, Queen wasn't lying about the whole acid river boat ride thing. Ralsei and I literally had to take a ride down the acid river to get here." Frisk told her as Ralsei handed Susie the photo so she could see it. Susie took a look. Ralsei and Frisk had their arms around each other's shoulders and Frisk was shooting a peace sign at the camera. Both were smiling, and Susie couldn't help but let out a small smile too.
"Susie, you want that one for your room?" Ralsei offered. "I can copy the one Frisk has for mine as soon as we get back to Castletown."
"The hell would I want this for?!" Susie growled, just to preserve her reputation.
Ralsei grinned, clearly seeing right through her. "Well, if you DON'T want it..." He reached for the photo.
"Hey, I didn't say I didn't!" Susie protested, pulling it back to her chest protectively. Her cheeks turned red when she saw Frisk and Ralsei trying to hide their smiles. Thankfully, they knew her well enough to not say anything and turned back around. Susie took another look at the picture of her two freaking dorks and then tucked it into her pocket, next to her heart. Frisk went to and hit the nearby Save Point, healing them all, and they headed up the stairs against the howling of the wind.
The Fun Gang was almost fully together, and the one missing would be back as soon as they passed their final obstacle.
This filled Susie with determination.
...
I hope you guys liked the chapter! Sorry about the lack of the Rouxls boss battle, but my friend and I were talking it over and we both felt that despite Rouxls's desire to be an evil minion, he'd delay his plans for Lancer's sake(though he still intends to help Queen take over Castletown. :D )) I wanted to show that he could be a good guy and a good Lesser Dad to Lancer, and that Lancer means a lot to him.
Please review and let me know what you think!