After a half-hour-long bath in dark greyish-purple, glittery water from a unique bath bomb, Kris sighed in full relaxation once they found themself in their sleepwear, which consisted of simple dark green track pants and a black, oversized Orange Lloyd T-shirt.
They dried their hair once more before brushing it well and leaving the bathroom, locking its secret entrance behind them.
When Kris came into the hallway of the first floor, Susie happened to come there, too, her hair still moist from the half-hour-long shower she just had.
"Feeling more relaxed, Kris?" Susie asked. "Because I definitely am."
The silent teenager nodded and smiled a little, joining their friend as they made their way back downstairs.
It was 7:55 p.m. by now, and the main room felt very homely with everyone present now.
"Hi, guys" Ralsei greeted Kris and Susie with a kind smile, only just having finished another round of goose game with Berdly and Noelle the other minute.
"Casual board game night, I see?" Susie said. "I'd say we play truth or dare instead."
At the same time, Rouxls and Lancer, who were dressed in their leisurewear now, came into the living room, followed by Swatch, who carried a large platter of several snacks.
Those snacks were Hearts Doughnuts, Choco Diamonds, little Clubs Sandwiches, some Dark Candies, Tension Bits and Gems, fried Pipis, but also the more familiar Light World-based snacks, such as potato crisps, chocolate-covered pretzels and green olives.
"Truth or dare, huh?" Lancer said. "I'm in!"
"I Might Not Join That Game Soon" Queen said, "But I Do Have A Little Something That's Necessary To Play It With." She grabbed an empty glass bottle of battery acid from behind the sofa on which she sat, and handed it to Lancer. "Be Careful Though Lancey-Pancey-Spider As This Is Glass, Also Known As: Fragile." She then petted his head and kissed his forehead.
"Yes, Girldad." With a sweet smile, the young spadeling gave his mother a little kiss back on her cheek, making her smile back at him endearingly.
In the background, Noelle chuckled a little at the cutesy nickname with which Queen just addressed her son.
"Where should I put the snacks?" Swatch asked.
"Over here" Ralsei replied as he had a seat in the middle of the main room and pointed at a specific spot. "If anyone wants something specific, all they have to do is ask."
"I'll go and grab some plates and drinks for everyone."
Kris, Susie, Berdly, Noelle and Lancer joined Ralsei on the floor and made sure they sat in a nice, as-good-as-symmetrical circle for the upcoming game.
Lancer carefully placed the glass bottle in the middle of the circle and made sure its neck did not point at anyone just yet.
"Oh, my…!" Noelle said. "I'm r-reminded about 6th grade camp once again…!"
"Ah, of course!" Susie said. "We indeed played truth or dare there, too, but those lame teachers didn't allow us to say or do anything embarrassing back then. Well, in this game, we'll apply the opposite rule: when it has been my own turn beforehand, the next person is mandatory to say or do anything embarrassing, no matter what! Anything at all!"
Berdly and Lancer, both having their own embarrassing truth each, immediately blushed upon hearing that new rule, and when they saw one another blush, they immediately burst out in nervous and coincidental laughter.
"Looks like the two of you are in for that very rule!"
"N-no!" Berdly nervously chuckled, "not at all!"
"No, purple girl!" Lancer added.
"Oh dear…" Noelle said. "Hopefully nothing too bad…"
"That's right, I'm challenging you all. Prepare yourselves." Susie made the 'I'll be keeping my eyes on you' gesture and smirked confidently.
'But it'd better not be your turn at first' Kris signed with a smirk and a side-eye.
"We'll see about that. You spin that bottle first, Kris."
While Swatch made sure that everyone had a plate for their snacks and a little box of Butler Juice, Queen turned the volume of the nearby radio up to make the atmosphere a little more casual and lively.
"This is Dark World FM with the Radio Request Round!" the radio announcer said. "One of our first requests has been made by, um, Barry Jig, and he requested Mama Miba by Yabba-Dabba… you've got an amazing music taste there, Barry… hey, what's this? Dear listeners, it seems like Ellie Chantillon has apparently requested a brand-spanking-new single by the Sweet Cap'n Cakes! Alright, bring it in for Pipis, the newest single by the Sweet Cap'n Cakes that only just released an hour ago!" And with that, the first few lyrics, as sung by Sweet, waved themselves out of the speakers. "A cold wind blows through the Cyber World, our crazy Queen is shivering like crazy…"
Meanwhile, Kris spun the bottle, and its neck pointed at Noelle.
"M-me?" Noelle quietly asked. "Oh my…"
'Truth or dare?' the silent teenager signed.
"Dare…"
'I dare you to balance your box of Butler Juice on one single finger for 10 seconds.'
"Oh d-dear… well, here goes n-nothing…" Noelle grabbed her juice box, stood up, took some deep breaths and subsequently balanced said box on her index finger.
"One" Susie, Ralsei, Berdly and Lancer said out loud, "two, three, four, five…"
The guaracha-like music in the background seemed to make the dare even more anticipating, but the teenage doe didn't dare to get distracted by it. Just focus on the juice box…
"Six, seven, eight, nine…"
Will it last?
"Ten!"
"Oh my gosh!" Noelle gasped as she sat back down and put the Butler Juice back next to herself. "I-I actually managed it! It's m-my turn now, isn't it?" She spun the bottle, of which the neck soon pointed at Ralsei. "T-truth or dare?"
"Truth" Ralsei said.
"Okay… what is s-something you absolutely c-cannot live without?"
"Ooh, that's a tricky one…"
All of the eyes were immediately aimed at the fluffy boy as he pondered in his own silence.
"Well… m-my friends, of course. You guys. This honest enough?"
"I can't see why not" Susie said.
"Aww, that's too sweet, peachboy!" Lancer said.
Kris simply chuckled for a bit at Ralsei's sweet honesty.
"Well, it's my turn now." Ralsei spun the bottle, but gasped once he saw that its neck pointed at Susie. "Oh my… truth or dare, Susie?"
"You're on, Ralsei" the teenage purple crocodile said. "Dare."
"I dare you to try to wear my glasses for two minutes straight. Longer than back when Kris was in that basement at Queen's Mansion. It's indeed on." The boss-monster-like teenager grabbed a stopwatch from his pocket, took his glasses off and handed the latter to Susie.
"Ah, I've always wanted to do that with your consent! Neato!" Susie carefully adjusted the glasses onto her eyes and nose bridge.
"And we begin." Ralsei activated his stopwatch with a nod and a mischievous smile.
"Now what?"
"Well… just go do stuff, I guess? Listen to the music in the background? This one's a pretty nice song, if I may say so myself."
"The Sweet Cap'n Cakes indeed slap big-time with this song that's not just 4 seconds long for a change." The 'violent ax' carefully listened to the radio playing in the background. "Ooh, there comes the chorus again, the best part!"
"Heck yeah!" Lancer added as he bobbed his head to the rhythm of the music as well.
"Here at Queen's invaded mansion" the Sweet Cap'n Cakes sang in unison, "Spamton and the Swatchlings are all high on Pipis!" They repeated this verse once more until a brief synthesiser-only part indirectly announced the next post-chorus.
Susie and Lancer naturally sang along again, despite this song being totally new to them (and everyone else as well, really).
"What A Silly Song This Is" Queen chuckled from the sofa. "Why Do They Mention My Mansion In An Invaded State While That Never Even Happened?"
"Probably some sort of alternative reality?" Berdly said, "or perhaps their imagination? I mean, as far as I have eaten those Pipis, I haven't been 'high' on those so far, whatever that means." He grabbed a fried Pipis from the snack platter and ate it. "See? No side effects."
"Unless The Pipis Have Been Deep-Fried In Battery Acid Or Something To Name Something Big Stupid."
"Interesting theory, even if I never directly consumed battery acid beforehand."
"I Would Not: Recommend It. It's Highly Addictive."
Before anyone knew it, Ralsei stopped his stopwatch with a loud click.
"It's over" he announced. "I'd like to have my glasses back now, please."
"Thank God" Susie said as she took the glasses off and handed them back to Ralsei. "You've made me dizzy with those, Ralsei! The world looks so weird right now…"
"That's what you get for wearing them for one minute straight while not being used to them." The fluffy boy smirked in a somewhat endearing fashion.
"Well, I guess it's my turn now… whoever gets pointed at by the bottleneck is mandatory to do anything embarrassing! Mark my words!" The mean girl spun the bottle, and carefully looked since her vision was still a little in a dizzy state.
Everyone was silent while the bottle spun, and especially when it gradually spun slower…
"Lancer! Truth or dare?"
"Truth" Lancer said as confidently as possible. From the inside, he questioned whether he had made the correct choice.
"What is something that has been bugging you for years, and is still bugging you nowadays?"
The young spadeling swallowed, and thought deeply. Was it King himself? No, but it was something that King indirectly caused him with his consistent abuse and tyrannical demeanour… something that had been part of Lancer's entire life, really…
"Difficult question, I see? Be honest, though."
"You've asked for it, purple girl. You asked me for something that has bugged me for my whole life. Everyone, listen closely, and don't laugh at me, okay?"
"Why would I laugh at you?"
"Susan, you're not helping!" Berdly whisper-yelled with a glare.
"Relax, nugget boy, I'm not blaming him for anything."
"One, two, three…" Lancer whispered before taking a deep breath and raising his voice a little to speak up. "I still wet the bed!" He immediately blushed after having made his confession.
Complete silence immediately fell among the five others.
"There, I said it, and while I initially hated to say it, I simultaneously feel relieved to have said so, on the other hand."
"But th-that's only a good thing t-to have said it still!" Noelle said. "Did you know th-that I used to do the s-same until I was nearly 10? It b-bugged me just as much!"
"And I did the same until I was 12" Susie confessed with a slight blush, "and it was especially embarrassing because neither of my parents were supportive about it, if that makes you feel any better." She put a hand on Lancer's shoulder and kindly rubbed it.
"Thank spades I'm not alone with this…" Lancer sighed, "you guys are too kind…!" He hugged Susie tightly and smiled at her.
"Nobody's alone with nothing, Lancer, mark my words."
"Sounds legit enough to me. Well, it's my turn now, isn't it?" The young spadeling let go of his friend and spun the bottle, of which the neck soon pointed at Berdly. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth" Berdly said.
"Okay, this is a personal question. Answer it or do a dare. Do you still sleep with a plushie?"
"Well…"
"Ooooh…" Kris, Susie, Ralsei and Noelle said as they perked their ears.
"Not quite a plushie, but…" The teenage blue bird blushed for a bit as he took some deep breaths. "I've had this little terry cloth ever since I was just a hatchling, and it feels very soft and comfortable in the palm of my hand. I'd take it everywhere when I was a toddler because the outside world was just too stressful for me back then, and the cloth was even there during the toughest of times, such as when my parents split up when I was 6. My mother, whom I never spoke to again ever since, most likely still disapproves of this, whereas my Dad, on the other hand, still encourages me to sleep with it, since he's one of the few ones to know that the cloth has always made me feel comfortable, and especially during the toughest of times."
"Why should that be a bad thing?" Lancer said. "I still sleep with my baby blanket as well!"
"Well… d-during 6th grade camp, I never dared to show the cloth to any of my classmates with whom I shared the dorm, because I was very scared to be laughed at, for they knew me as the smartest student in class, and of course, I didn't want to lose that status…!"
'I wouldn't have laughed at you for still sleeping with it' Kris signed. 'I mean, people can sleep with whatever they want, right? If it makes them feel comfortable, so be it.'
"Exactly" Noelle said. "Temmie and I d-didn't laugh at one another's t-teddy bears either back then, b-because there's no reason why th-those should be laughed at in the f-first place."
"You guys are too thoughtful…!" Berdly said before bursting out in nervous chuckling. "I never even knew that having such friends would be so nice! I shouldn't have underestimated you all, really!" He then spun the bottle in the middle of the circle. "I promise you all that the next one won't be as embarrassing!"
"If you insist" Susie chuckled.
"Well, unless it's you, Susan."
Kris, Ralsei, Noelle and Lancer burst out in laughter.
"Look At Those Youngsters Having Such Fun With One Another" Queen said in an endearing tone. "We Should Most Likely Play Along Next Time, I Somewhat Regret Not Doing So Right Now."
"I second thy opinion" Rouxls said. "And Lancer hast been very brave to haveth shared something he never usually shareth!"
"I Would Never Force You To Share Something Embarrassing Rouxls, That's Wherefore I Have My Stepsibling Instead. Right Swatch?"
Swatch burst out in loud laughter. They remembered the many times in which they played truth or dare with Queen, a few fellow Swatchlings and Tasque Manager when they were all still teenagers. During Christmas Eve while waiting for the grand dinner, during any birthday party, or whenever all of the grown-ups would have a royal meeting that took too long.
"You'd always make me do the embarrassing truths and dares, Queen" Swatch chuckled, "and nobody else. I mean, you could've easily asked Tasque Manager about her first kiss whenever she said 'truth', because you always initially already knew about mine."
"That Was Because You Never Even Dared To Tell Anyone About It Yourself Outside Of Those Games!"
"Oh, you!" The glasses-donning Swatchling playfully poked Queen in her side, making her laugh heartily, and Rouxls just joined in to tease her more.
A/N: In case you hadn't noticed, the song called Pipis is, in fact, a parody on Pepas by Farruko, which means that the shown lyrics to Pipis are sung to the melody of Pepas! ;)