Dungeons and Darkners
Part 2
"Since we all literally have the name Frisk, I just got the idea that we should maybe call each other something else," Francisca suggested. "Y'know, to avoid confusion."
The three of them were now placing down cards and fancy figures and models pieces on the strange, seemingly endlessly expanding table. The cards resembled playing cards and the models consisted of a few building pieces, some things resembling trees and foliage, and some blank miniature models, mostly resembling plain stick figures.
"Like by our last names?" Bergman asked her as he placed down a model that looked like a chess piece.
"Ooohhh, what about nicknames?" Kikiyama suggested.
Francisca shrugged lightly.
"Sure, why not?" she said. "Might be fun."
"Alright," Kikiyama said cheerfully.
"Well I think we've already decided that you are just Francisca," Bergman said. "Since you're the only one who is not actually named Frisk."
"That's fine by me," Francisca said. "Also the first time my nickname is… well, my name."
"Cool," Kikiyama said and turned towards Bergman. "Well, then your nickname should be… umm… Emmet."
"Why Emmet?" the boy asked. "I mean I like it, but it sounds kinda random."
"Because you look like that construction man from the lego movie," the girl said.
"Is it because I'm yellow?" the boy asked, sounding mildly insulted. "I have a rare skin condition you know?"
"Wait, are talking about the lego movie that's old as f- I mean old as… uhh… heck?" Francisca asked the girl. "Huh. Didn't know kids these days watched or had even heard of antique flicks."
"What do you mean by antique?" the boy asked, finding her usage of words peculiar.
"I mean, aren't you two talking about the lego movies from like a hundred years ago," Francisca answered simply. "Because those are the one that had Emmet I think."
"No, the ones that had Emmet are from about 60 years ago," Bergman said.
"Nah, I am pretty sure the Emmet ones are over a century old," Francisca said.
The boy looked at her, looking about as confused as if she just confessed to being into cows or goats.
"Was there even a lego movie back then?" he muttered to himself
"If you want us to call you something else," Kikiyama said to the boy. "Then I'm sure we can find another nickname for you."
"Nah, Emmet is fine," the boy said. "It's just… yeah, it's fine."
"Oh cool!" Kikiyama said cheerfully.
"Well, I think you should be called… umm, Bambi," Francisca said to her.
"Alright!" the girl said cheerily.
"Why Bambi though?" the boy now called Emmet asked.
Francisca opened her mouth to speak, only to suddenly seemed to forget what she was going to say immediately.
"I… I dunno," she then confessed. "It just somehow felt… natural I guess."
"Well, I like it," Bambi said.
"Great," Francisca said. "So I guess that's part is done with."
As soon as she finished saying that, all the models and other contents of the box were finally put on the strange table. It was only once they were all placed that the group realized the magnitude of what lay inside. Large stacks of cards were laying in multiple sets, each stack reaching higher than Bambi, there were dozens of plain-looking stick figures, but the most impressive of all were the miniature buildings. They took the form of dark castles, houses and even food stands, and some of them even bent in an unnatural, gravity-defying matter. No-one in the trio ever remembered setting it up yet all were sure one or both of the others did so.
"Woah," Francisca said simply as she looked at the table.
"How the… how did all of that fit in that tiny box?" Emmet asked.
"I dunno," Bambi answered. "Magic I guess."
"Well let's just say its dream logic," Francisca said.
"Yeah that makes sense," Emmet said softly. "Or doesn't I guess. I don't know. This is all just so weird and confusing."
"You can say that again," Francisca replied.
The trio stood thoughtfully around the table, admiring their craft. Before any of them realized it, the silence in the room was immense. There were no rustling or sounds of life besides their breathing. In fact, perhaps the most silent place any of them had been in, so much so that they could hear their own heartbeats.
"So… what do we do now?" Emmet asked.
"I guess we should… create our characters now I guess?" Francisca said.
"Is that gonna take a while?" Emmet asked.
"I think it depends," Francisca said. "Mostly on how detailed we wanna go with it. Oh, and also on how long we have to wait until this… mystery guy or gal arrives."
"Well we are not in a hurry," Bambi said.
"Hey speaking of which, how long are we waiting for this… person exactly?" Emmet asked Bambi.
"I dunno," Bambi replied. "All I know is that they will arrive precisely on time."
"Umm, do you have anything clearer than that?" Francisca asked.
"Nope," Bambi said.
"Hmm, well in that case," Francisca began. "Let's not spend much time dallying and get started with the character creation."
"Already done with mine," Bambi said cheerfully.
The other two Frisks looked at Bambi with a tinge of disbelief.
"Uhhh, that quick?" Emmet asked in confusion.
"Yep," Bambi replied.
"Even with the backstory, traits and everything?" Francisca added.
"Yep," Bambi replied.
"Wait, are DMs even supposed to make their own character as well?" Emmet asked.
"I dunno," Bambi said.
"I mean," Francisca began. "We've already decided that we are making up some rules as we go along."
"Ok, that's fair, I guess," Emmet said and turned back to Bambi. "Also, did you like… plan your character from the start or something?"
"Nope," Bambi said. "It just came to me a second ago."
"All of it?" Emmet asked, finding this hard to believe.
"Yep," Bambi said simply.
Francisca and Emmet stared at each other for a brief moment of confusion before shrugging.
"Well I guess that saves us some time," Francisca said. "Gotta say. You're one creative kid."
"Thanks," Bambi sweetly.
"So should we get on with it or what?" Emmet asked.
"Oh yeah, let's," Francisca said.
About a half an hour later(or maybe longer or sooner since no one in the trio was certain if this "dream" even had the same, real-life concept of time), Emmet, long done with his character, and Bambi were still waiting after Francisca. Bambi was cheerfully humming a song, while Emmet began to grow a little bit impatient. Not by much, but it was hard not to grow any in the silent dullness of this room.
On the character sheets that suddenly popped up in front of them at the same time, Francisca was still busy scribbling in hers. Besides Bambi's humming, the loud, frantic scribbling was the only audible sound as Emmet watched in uncomfortable silence.
"Are you almost done?" he asked her.
"Just a minute," Francisca said without looking up.
"You said that a few minutes ago," Emmet said. "No offence, but I don't think I wanna spend the rest of the dream waiting for someone."
"Almost done," Francisca said, focusing much more now. "Aaannnddd… done!"
"Phew, finally," Emmet said and gave a tired sigh.
Francisca placed her pens to the side, clearly happy with her work.
"So who should start?" Francisca asked, sounding somewhat excited. "With showing our characters I mean."
"I'll start," Emmet said. "Mostly because… I didn't write much."
"That's alright," Francisca said. "This is your first time. Well, my first as well technically, but we all gotta start somewhere. I mean, Tolkien didn't start writing the Lord of the Rings novels just as soon as he came from the womb."
"Hmm, good point," Emmet said.
"So who's your character?" Bambi asked enthusiastically.
Almost silently, Emmet picked up his character's sheet and showed the other two what he wrote and draw. Inside a large empty frame taking over half the page, was a decent drawing of a what looked like a blue-skinned androgynous person in a suit of armour, complete with a cape, a sword and a shield.
"This is, uh, Kris," Emmet said. "Not the most original name, I know. So anyways-"
"Is that a boy or a girl," Bambi said. "Oh, sorry for interrupting."
"I don't know," Emmet answered simply. "Neither I guess? I haven't thought of it."
"Then let's just call Kris they until then," Francisca said.
"Yeah, whatever, that's fine by me," Emmet answered.
"Ok, what is their backstory," Bambi asked.
"I was getting to that," Emmet said. "So, umm… they are a teen. An older teen, like around 14, or maybe older like Francisca."
"Thanks," Francisca said.
"And throughout their whole life," Emmet continued. "They were raised by a kind family of… monsters in a… a town inhabited by monsters, which is why they are so… quiet. Yeah, I don't have much else than that."
"It was fine enough, don't worry," Francisca said.
"Hmm, thanks," Emmet said.
"Alright, so who's your character, Francisca?" Bambi asked the older teen.
"Oh," Francisca said, and then smiled. "So my character… god, my character. Are you ready for this? Because I am like super proud of this one."
"Uh-huh," Emmet replied.
"Show us, I'm so excited!" Bambi said, a bit hyper.
"So this," Francisca began and picked up her sheet. "...is Susie, The violent Axe."
She excitedly showed her sheet to the rest of the group.
Just at first glance, it was a bit more clear why she took so long. Turns out she didn't write as much detail about the characters backstory or personality as Emmet and Bambi assumed, although there was still a bit more written than perhaps necessary in some parts. But the thing that clearly had the most effort put in was the drawing. It portrayed a large, brutish lizard looking creature, with purple scales, long and dirty, brown human-like hair, torn biker clothing, and an axe that was larger than practical.
"So, what do you think of this beaut, eh?" Francisca said, looking like an excited little kid showing off her drawing.
This was perhaps the most childlike she had appeared so far, making Emmet and Bambi feel slightly uncomfortable at her seemingly abrupt change of character.
"Uhhh," was all Bambi said now, as she was unsure what to feel or even say.
"Umm, what else can I say but… edgy much?" responded Emmet.
"She looks… nice I guess," Bambi said, clearly a bit undecided. "So… what is Susie's… story?"
"Well," Francisca began. "She is loud, rebellious, and strong as F. I made her a dragon because dragons are like my spirit animals. Also, she has this huge axe because why not?"
"Ok, but what is her story?" Emmet asked. "Like, I think, uh, Bambi over there was asking for your character's backstory, not their… well, character."
"Oh, uhh…" Francisca began, sounding almost stunned now. "She is uhh… from a town… and like a loner. No friends I think? I don't know… her backstory is mostly just… like uh… edgy shirts like… oh sorry, I-"
She stopped herself as if she just realized something.
"Wait, what?" she said. "Did I just say shirt? Why did I…? Wait. Shirt. Oh, shirt. I can't say shirt?"
"What the heck are you going on about Francisca?" Emmet said confused, before turning even more confused quickly afterwards. "Umm, did I just say heck?"
"Ok, pardon my language kiddos," Francisca began. "But this is forking weird. Wait. I can't say fork either? Why can't I say shirt or fork? Also, what the fork is forking?"
"Eh, I think that's because of me," Bambi said. "I don't really like swear words."
"Wait, so we can't say things like fork or shirt here?" Francisca asked. "Well, great. That's like half my vocabulary just gone now."
"Yeah, sorry," Bambi said and smiled apologetically. "I dunno how to stop this."
"Hmm, it's ok, I think I can live," Francisca said. "Can I still say something like… I don't know, dance it or-? Oh come on, I can't even say dance? That's like the diet soda of curse words."
"Umm, shirt?" Emmet began, clearly experimenting. "Ok, that's weird. What about… birth? Ask? Askhole?"
"Court?" Francisca said. "Motherforker? Son of a birth? Shirtfaced court? The shirtfaced court of a forking mother forking son of a forking birth? Umm… shirt? Oh, dance it. I can't even say it in Spanish either."
"Alright, that might make things a bit confusing," Emmet said.
"Yeah, let's just continue on and… worry about this later I guess," Francisca suggested. "So anyway, so my Susie's backstory is just… just stuff I guess. Her family is or was… probably not good to her? Maybe they were… neglectful, which could explain her… I dunno, edginess?"
"Ooh," Bambi began excitedly as if she just thought of something. "Or maybe Susie's family was mostly good, but not great. Maybe his father is a cheery goofball who loves doughnuts, but his mother is sadly depressed and unable to care much for her. Oh, and maybe Susie got her rebellious attitude from her punk rock uncle, who Susie's idolizes and wants to replicate."
"Holy…" Emmet began stunned.
"Woah…" Francisca said, stunned as well. "Gotta say. That's like… incredibly detailed and well said for a toddler."
"Aww, thanks," Bambi said and smiled.
"Not sure I agree with this interpretation," Francisca continued. "But man, am I like out of touch with kids or something? Or have I, like, extremely underestimated preschoolers?"
"Aww, you're too kind," Bambi said and gave out a huge smile. "I don't even remember what we are talking about, but thank you."
"Uh, yeah," Francisca said back. "Always knew I didn't have the greatest imagination, but it's at least nice to hear that it's now confirmed to be worse than a toddler's."
"No, no, no, you were fine miss Francisca," Bambi said reassuringly.
"Yeah it was alright," Emmet said. "Not the best but, like you said, first time for everyone."
"Hmm, thanks guys," Francisca said. "So umm… yeah, that's that. That's Susie. My character. Also, I just realized that I kinda have this weird feeling like I based her on someone, but I'm not sure who."
"Strange, I also feel something like that," Emmet said. "About my Kris that is."
"Huh," Francisca said.
"Think there's be a connection or something?" Emmet asked.
"Feels like it," Francisca said analytically. "What do you think about it, Bambi?"
"Nah, I'm sure you two are just imagining things," the little girl replied.
"Hmm, maybe," Francisca said. "Anyway, who's your character, Bambi?"
"Uhh, what?" Bambi asked surprisingly.
"Didn't you just say a while ago that you made a character as well?" Emmet asked her.
"Oh right!" Bambi exclaimed. "Yeah, I have one. But he doesn't appear or join you two until later so I want to keep him a surprise."
"Well… ok then," Emmet said. "So… I guess we can start playing now right?"
"Yes," Bambi said. "Alright, you two. Grab your dices and imagination, for we are about to enter the world of… Dungeons and Darkners!"
"You… uh... find yourself in a dark, scary place," Bambi began. "It's really dark and you can barely see in front of yourself."
As the little girl told the story, the table in front of them began to grow darker and darker. Eventually, all the castles and models vanished like they were consumed by a pitch-black mist. Despite it happening literally in front of all of them, no-one in the trio found themselves able to find it weird, even if all of them had a slight feeling they should.
"I pick up my phone and turn on its flashlight," Francisca suggested.
"You don't have a phone," Bambi answered. "In fact, you soon realize you don't have any modern technology in this world."
"Eh, it was worth a shot," Francisca said and shrugged.
"So we are gonna play through this whole game without being able to see?" Emmet asked.
"No, no, you can see some things," Bambi answered. "Like the rocks and also the road in front of you."
As Bambi said that, one part of the table began to clear itself of the dark mist, and a miniature road manifested, alongside a few stones with alien runes carved on them. Then, there sprang up in the middle of it one of the stick figure models from the box, except it was now dressed in tiny armour with a cape and holding a sword and shield, resembling toys. It also began to slowly but assuredly resemble Emmet's drawing of his character. Once again, no one was particularly weirded out by this display.
"Well, then I go down the road," Emmet answered.
"And I come along, obviously," Francisca said.
"Oh, forgot to mention," Bambi began. "But you two are separated from each other."
"Wait, really?" Francisca asked.
"That's a weird choice," Emmet said. "I just assumed we started at the same place in this game."
"Eh, whatever," Francisca said. "So… where am I exactly?"
"Well…" Bambi began, thinking. "You are in another dark place, not far away from Emmet, or Kris rather, and around you are a bunch of weird completely white things resembling bushes."
Another part of the table was now also cleared of mist, this one showing a small area littered with what looked like white cotton balls. Out of it sprung another stick figure, this one taller and more hulking, and like the previous one, it began to resemble Francisca's drawing.
"Hmm, I'm gonna punch one of the white bush thingies," Francisca said.
"Umm, ok then," Bambi said, slightly surprised.
"Why?" Emmet asked curiously.
"They seem weird and I don't trust them," Francisca said.
"Alright, then roll," Bambi said.
And so Francisca did. With her strong palms, she grasped the tiny 20 sided die and shook and shook with great determination as all watched in anticipation before she rolled. The first roll of the game. But it was a lousy one. In fact, it turned out to just be one. On the dice, that is.
"Aww, too bad," Bambi said. "Looks like you punched so softly that you are… sucked into one of the white things."
As she said that, the figure on the table proceeded to do exactly that. It was like watching a toy come to life or a miniature robot following some weird command.
"Wait, so I'm stuck now?" Francisca asked.
"Only for a while," Bambi reassured. "I think. I… haven't really figure out this part, because I didn't really think of it."
"Mm, that's fine," Francisca said. "I'll just… wait a turn."
"Alright," Bambi said. "Emmet? What will Kris do?"
"Oh, uh, I'll go down the road like I said," Emmet said. "Should I roll a dice for that or…?"
"Nah, there is no need," Bambi said. "So you head down the road. It's dark, but you can manage. On the road, you see a bunch of white things similar to what Francisca, or Susie, encountered, but you don't know that she's inside any of them."
As she finished that saying, the two visible spots on the otherwise dark covered table were combined together into one bigger area.
"I'll uh, examine them," Emmet suggest.
"Good idea," Bambi said. "You need to roll for this by the way."
"Oh," Emmet expressed.
With that said he rolled the die and looked at the number that appeared.
"Got 11," he said, reading the die. "What does that mean? Is that good?"
"Yes, it is," Bambi said.
"Ok cool," Emmet said. "So what do I find?"
"Nothing at first," Bambi said. "But as you check and check, you eventually find the one holding Francisca. Or Susie rather, and you save her."
"Wait, so the whole separation was for nothing?" Emmet asked. "Like, why did you even go with that if we were just gonna end up together quickly after all?"
"Umm, I dunno," Bambi said. "I just… felt it was natural."
"Hmm, ok then," Emmet said.
"So what do you do now?" Bambi asked. "Francisca, it's your turn."
"Oh, well I guess I'll… thank Emmet or something," Francisca said. "I dunno if my character is the thanking type, honestly. Then I'll just head down the road, possibly dragging Emmet with me."
"Alright," Bambi began and there seemed to be a clear sign of excitement on her expression.
It was the type of excitement she showed that was as if something she had been waiting for for a long time was about to finally happen, something big and hyper. Francisca recognized it immediately.
"Oh boy," Francisca said to herself softly.
"Did you say something?" Emmet asked.
"Nothing special," Francisca said. "I just have this feeling that's something's about to happen."
"That's weird," Emmet said.
"What isn't weird here?" Francisca asked.
"Then," Bambi began, clearly building some sort of anticipation. "You head down the road… and then… SURPRISE ATTACK!"
"Wha-?" Francisca began.
"Huh-?" Emmet expressed.
"You two are suddenly attacked by a mysterious, unknown figure throwing pointy spades at you!" Bambi said, somewhat loudly.
"Why are they spa-?" Emmet began.
"NO TIME TO ASK, IT'S TIME TO RUN!" Bambi exclaimed with incredible hyperactivity.
Suddenly, the table began to shake a bit as a red outline seem to appear around it. The visible area shifted into a long dark road with bottomless pits on each end.
Then, it was as if the entire room was somehow under her spell, for now not just the table, but the entire room seemed to shake like the insides of an uneven Jenga tower, and everyone in the trio felt a sudden rush of adrenaline in their system.
"Oh shirt!" Francisca said. "I'll forking run then!"
"Crab, me too!" Emmet said.
"THEN GRAB YOUR DICES AND ROLL!" Bambi exclaimed.
"Geez!" Francisca said as she and Emmet grabbed their die.
Neither of them spent even a moment dallying or even acknowledging the sudden intensity of the room or table, as they rolled and threw their dices as if their lives depended on it.
"WOAH, 20 FOR FRANCISCA!" Bambi yelled excitedly. "YOU, MY GIRL, RUN LIKE SUPER FAST DOWN THE ROAD AND DOWN THE UPCOMING SLIDE!"
"Holy crab!" Francisca expressed as she suddenly got a sensation as if she was sliding down something very fast
Suddenly as she turned towards Emmet, her voice became calmer as if a switch was turned.
"You Emmet, meanwhile," she said. "Rolled a 12, so you are slightly behind."
"Ok that's-" Emmet began.
"NOW RUN!" Bambi yelled.
"Ok geez!" Emmet said.
The room shook between wildly and softly like a wave, following a rhythm of Bambi's wavering hyperactivity as if it was connected to her by some cosmic linkage.
"You run and run as FAST AS YOU CAN!" Bambi exclaimed. "You run as countless spades try to hit you! Then, you arrive at a cliff and SLIDE DOWN!"
As she said that, Emmet began to feel the same sensation in his stomach of sliding down something steep as Francisca did.
"What in the world is happening?!" he expressed.
"You slide down and down, deeper and DEEPER into the darkness!" Bambi continued. "And then… you finally reach the bottom, and escaped the attack of the hidden figure."
As smoothly as turning off the power, the room suddenly stopped shaking and became quiet and calm again. On the dark mist covered table, the red hue vanished and a model of a small dark hallway was formed with the two figures standing on it close by.
While Bambi was now smiling in clear amusement, her two companions weren't in as good as status as she was in. Both Emmet and Francisca felt incredibly dizzy from the intensity a moment ago, with Francisca grasping the table with her hands to keep her balance. Both of them also breathed hard and heavily while the adrenaline slowly left their veins as if both of them had just run through a marathon.
"What in the forking fork just happened?" Francisca said as she caught her breath.
"Ho-holy crab," Emmet said while breathing very hard. "This… felt so real I… I'm not sure if we are dreaming anymore."
"Yeah…" Francisca said.
"Umm, we can stop this game now if you'd like," Bambi suggested.
"Oh no, no, no," Francisca said. "That was… awesome! Exhilarating! I haven't felt this excited while not putting in much effort since… I don't know. I'm definitely up for some more."
"Alright good," Bambi said. "What about you Emmet? Do you want to quit or…"
"I… uhh…" Emmet began, breathing heavily and speaking with a thoughtful tone. "I… I don't know."
"I mean…" Francisca began. "If you don't want to continue its fine. I'm sure Bambi and I can continue this game with just the two of us. You can just… watch I guess."
Emmet looked at the two girls thoughtfully.
"Nah, I can continue playing," he said after a while. "Just uh, let us know before you… do something like this again."
"Alright, I'll keep it in mind," Bambi said and smiled.
"Ok," Emmet said. "So… what happens now."
"Now," Bambi begins. "Here is where the story properly starts."
"Oh," Francisca expressed with surprise. "Well, in that case, that was a very… intense prologue, to say the least."
"As you both come to," Bambi began. "You come across a strange dark town with a towering castle with a large geyser spewing from."
The dark fog dissipated again, and on the table, dozens of model houses, ones that the group recognized as models they picked up from Bambi's weird box, appeared in a neat arrangement and then one of the large dark castle models rose up at Bambi's end, and what seemed to be a long reverse waterfall was spewing from the top of it.
"Woah," Emmet said.
"As you explore this place," Bambi continued. "You both see a strange hooded figure standing, waiting, at the front of the large castle."
"So a mysterious, hooded figure standing alone in a dark, eerie place we've apparently never been to?" Francisca stated. "Sounds trustworthy."
"I'll, uh, talk to them," Emmet suggested.
"You two go up to the figure and ask him what's up," Bambi began. "The figure reveals then that they are a prince of the darkness, and have been waiting for you for a long time."
"A prince of darkness eh?" Francisca began. "Yep, definitely a bad guy. We should go."
"He's not…" Bambi stated. "He's a good guy actually, like the sweetest and fluffiest boy you know. He likes to bake cakes and make everyone happy."
"Hmm, alrighty then," Francisca said, still with a hint of suspicion. "So what does this dark prince say?"
"He says that he has been waiting for you two to arrive," Bambi continues. "That you two are the Deltawarriors. Heroes of an old prophecy. He then says that he wishes to tell you the story of Darkners and Lightners."
"I guess we'll listen," Emmet suggested.
"Well, ain't no harm in it, apparently," Francisca said.
"Good," Bambi said. "Because I have worked on this part for a long while."
"Wait, you've been working on this story for a while now?" Francisca asked.
"That… that somehow explains a lot," stated Emmet. "I just assumed you were making up as we went along."
"Eh, not exactly," Bambi said. "It's a… sorry, I don't know how to explain it. Sorry."
"Oh, no need to apologize," Emmet said.
"Good to hear," Bambi said. "Now as I was saying… the prince tells you there exist two worlds with two lifeforms, the Light World, where you, Lightners, are from, and the Dark World, where the Darkners live. The prince says that the two worlds were separated thanks to what's known as The Fountain, and-"
"Hang on," Emmet began. "Is it just me or this story and our characters starting to sound very familiar? Like incredibly so?"
The girls looked at each other as if Emmet just made a great point that made them rethink everything. Then they just shook their heads and smiled as if he was speaking nonsense.
"Nah," Bambi said.
"Yeah Nah, I'm pretty sure it's just you," Francisca added.
"Yeah…" Emmet said thoughtfully. "Yeah, maybe it's just me."
"Well anyway," Francisca said. "Continue the story kiddo."
"Ok, so where was I?" Bambi asked herself. "Oh right. So just recently, a new fountain emerged out of nowhere, creating a rift in the balance of the two worlds, hence why you two were suddenly transported to this world."
As Francisca and Emmet watched the little girl with the sweet, sugary voice tell the tale, they both realized that something felt different. Something, which kept them two and even Bambi herself enthralled by her own tale as if by a spell. As they soon realized, it was the little girl, Bambi, who seemed to be the source of this change, as despite still sharing the body and voice of a toddler, she now suddenly spoke with the maturity and knowledge of an older seasoned storyteller. Yet, she somehow kept the same tone of the young girl they come to know. It was more like she had been mentally replaced by a much older version of herself.
"But that is not the only thing that happens," Bambi says. "Now the two worlds are in mortal peril from ending. Calamity will strike, the earth will sunder, chaos… will rise. But there is a prophecy, the prophecy of the Deltarune. It says that a human, a monster, and a prince of the dark will come together and destroy that second fountain and banish the angel's heaven."
"So now that you two you have heard his story," Bambi continued. "Of the foretold prophecy, and your role in restoring the balance of light and dark. Now, the prince asks you, will you accept your destiny?"
As that was said, it was like the spell lifted and all the trio were sent back into their own reality, yet a part of the spell still lingered. The part lingered in their minds as an incredible sense of awe and surprise, even within Bambi herself, who expressed a surprised yet joyful expression from her own tale.
"So what did you think?" she politely asked the other two.
"That was… good," Emmet answered.
"Man for a toddler, that was…" Francisca began. "How old are you again kiddo?"
"I'm 37," Bambi said without irony.
"WAIT, WHAT!?" Francisca and Emmet exclaimed almost in unison.
"I said I'm 7," Bambi said, taken a bit back by their loud voices. "Why? Is that…"
"You… you just said you were 37," Francisca said, befuddled. "I could've sworn it."
"Well, maybe you misheard," Bambi suggested.
"No, no, I heard that as well," Emmet said, confused as well.
"Alright well… maybe I misspoke then," Bambi said. "Sorry."
Francisca and Emmet looked at each other with a look of bafflement, a common habit that seemed to be starting to form between them. Then Francisca shrugged and said:
"Whatever."
"Yeah," Emmet said.
"So any questions?" Bambi asked.
"Uhh, yeah, I have one," Emmet began. "What's up with the whole Angel's Heaven thing? Like, what does that even mean?"
"I dunno," Bambi answered. "I just felt like I had to mention it for some reason."
"So I'm guessing we two are the people from the prophecy?" Francisca asked.
"Maybe," Bambi answered. "That's what I believe."
"Wait, what do you mean by believe?" Emmet asked, confused. "I thought you created this story."
"I'm… not sure I did," Bambi confessed. "As I said, I just got this idea. I'm not even sure I made it myself. I dunno. It feels kinda like someone planted it in my mind."
"I can buy it," Francisca said. "I mean, it's not the weirdest thing that happened here. Heck, that wouldn't be the weirdest thing that could happen in a dream. Just recently, I had a nightmare about some guy I had never met or even heard before, only to find out by pure chance that he was an actual person in real life only a few hours after I woke up. If you ask me, dreams are weird, and… and maybe even unnatural."
"So… you are suggesting this weird story we are playing through could actually happen?" Emmet asked.
Francisca looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. Then she grinned and shook her head.
"Nah, that sounds kinda… ridiculous," Francisca said. "But now that I think about, I dunno. A bunch of weird shirts has been happening to me in the last few hours so… maybe?"
"Hmm," Emmet expressed.
"Guess we'll see when we wake up," Francisca said and turned towards the little girl with the possible mind of an adult. "Bambi, what happens next?"
"Oh," Bambi said, having forgotten herself in thoughts. "So yeah. The little prince has finished telling you the story, and now comes the big question. How will you answer your call?"
The other two Frisks stared at her for an awkward moment before considering that they perhaps needed to give their own input.
"Are we supposed to say something now or…?" Francisca asked.
"Yeah," Bambi said. "You can start."
"Umm, ok," Francisca said and began to think.
And think she did, for a good moment. In the midst of it, she unzipped her hoodie, seemingly by habit, showing the plain blue t-shirt underneath.
"Hmmm," Francisca began.
She stared down at the table, pressed both her arms on the edge and followed with a thoughtful expression like gears were turning in her head. Bambi, and Emmet to some extent, began to look confused, as they expected her to come to an answer to this seemingly simple question much sooner. Then, a moment later, she finally gave her answer.
"Yeah, I'm gonna ditch this new guy," Francisca answered.
Author's note:
I don't know why, but I am starting to imagine that Emmet looks like Finn Wolfhard from Strangers Things, or maybe even as Noah Schnapp, also from Stranger Things. I guess I am just thinking about it considering the whole D&D thing going on.
Anyways, it's back. The crossover fic is back, to those that care. So yeah, last time I kinda picked a terrible time to write it. Turns out you have a lot of shirts to do in the last months of a decade, who knew? But here it is, just two whole months behind schedule. I expected to be done with this in November, but then life called.
In good news, I actually started playing D&D for the first time this month. So far, I've enjoyed it, and it also means that I have a clearer understanding of how Roleplaying game works (Yes, I started writing a fic themed around D&D Roleplaying Games without having ever tried one before. Maybe not the smartest move).
But for now, it's back, and I'll see you in chapter 3 (2?) in... I dunno, two months from now? I hope not. And I'll try not to but... I can't promise since... life's a birth.