It'd been however many hours at this point. Being dragged into classrooms with people claiming you're new students wasn't exactly the funnest experience but it certainly happened.
"One of my classmates was this small angry pink girl who randomly started screaming when someone took a glance at her!" Susie rambled, words spitting out at any possible second. "She started arguing with some rando about if Manga is literature, which, I agree with her argument."
"It isn't, by the way." Berdly interjected even though no one asked. Susie gave a dumbfounded look and responded.
"You know, she actually raised a good point. Aren't they all just books?"
"Actually…you may be ri- Where's Noelle?" The sudden change in topic caused the two monsters to look around frantically at the realisation that Noelle…was not with them, darting their heads around everywhere in almost sync. The cafeteria that they'd been skipping classes in was empty, with no sight of the deer. Until the two heard her voice, that was.
"I found Kris!" Noelle called out to the other two, who looked at her and saw what they'd hoped would happen. Noelle running up to them and pulling Kris along for the ride.
"I've already been dragged around today, thanks." Kris smiled, if only internally. Everyone could still tell because of just…knowing them. "Well, we have problems." Their smile dropped a little.
Everyone's gaze on the human shifted to one of curiosity as the air slowed down by a small fraction, answers were wanted.
Kris began to explain, their face becoming slightly more serious, if it even could. "We could still be in a Dark World but for the most part, we've been transported to a video game." As much as the other three wanted to ask obvious questions, they waited. "And I've been put into the protagonist's spot so we might need to en-ACT and stop the plot.." Kris took a moment and signalled that they were done speaking for now.
As a result, Susie, Berdly and Noelle started pouring out questions automatically.
"What game is it?"
"Are we different characters in it as well?"
"Oh Angel's sake, how'd this happen?"
"What's the plot?"
"How do we persist through?"
"Is it a cool action game?!"
"Right, calm down. I'll answer you all." Kris put their hands up for a second just to signal to everyone to shut up. "First off, it's not an action game."
"Then what is it?" Susie questioned in a disappointed tone and Kris went as red as they possibly could in that second. They hesitated before squeaking out the answer….almost.
"...A V.N." Susie and Noelle's faces just went to one of complete and utter confusion as Kris said that.
"The hell is a V.N.?" Susie took a more offensive stance than usual, which didn't say much to be honest.
"Nothi-"
"A Visual Novel, these games most commonly have it where someone must romance a person that is in a selection of all romancable Non Playable Entities but that is not all of them." Words proceeded to start pouring out of Berdly's mouth….or beak…or something, no idea which to say, a less than simple explanation of Visual Novels, more reasons for Susie to semi-jokingly poke fun at him.
"Cringe." Susie smiled in a smug manner. "Tell us the name of this damn thing so we can use the plot to get out of here."
"The name is really…something, so I'm not risking saying it because you'd bully me." Kris bluntly stated.
"Please..?" Noelle sighed. "We kind of need it for our survival over here."
"Only if you don't laugh. The name is purposefully ridiculous."
"Just say it." Noelle and Susie yelled at the same time before giving each other a thumbs up.
"Doki Doki Literature Club…" Kris sputtered out, hiding their already not-so visible face with their hands at the pure embarrassment of having to say the title. Unsurprisingly, Susie completely bursted out into laughter while Noelle tried –and failed– to hold hers in. While Kris was slowly dying of embarrassment, Berdly grabbed them and pulled them aside as he let show a completely bewildered expression.
"Kristmas Dreemur, you have to be joking, right?" He was almost pleading. "Out of all the games for this Dark World to be based off of, it chose that psychological show of disturbance?"
Yes, it was.
Kris shook their head to the first question and nodded at the second. They recollected something that happened a while ago, the two of them met up somewhere and over the course of one day, played the game. Kris did not sleep well that night and it wasn't just because it was 5 in the morning when the two finished. Kris reminisced about how they both were trying to voice act for the hell of it and Berdly completely died trying to voice some of the characters. It went something along the lines of…
"You're voicing her, right now." Kris demanded of their comrade.
As the image of a character –apparently called Natsuki, according to the duo's research before they started playing– appeared, Berdly got defensive at the suggestion. "I am NOT voicing Natsuki!"
"It's not Nat-Sue-Key, it's almost like…Nats-Ki." Kris decided that they could be the nerd this time.
"Point still stands. I am not voicing someone who appears to have such low intellect."
"I doubt that-"
"She called you a boy." Berdly interrupted, his defence seeming to grow.
"The playable character is a boy, the game doesn't know what I am."
"Whatever. Still not doing it."
"Come on, I'm voicing Sayori." Kris negotiated.
"Fine, K-"
"-RISTMAS…or whatever your name is short for!"
Kris was snapped out of the trance they were in as they returned to reality and saw all three of their friends…looking at them. Susie had lifted them up and been shaking them by the collar.
"Sorry. Tried to think of the game's plot." Kris croaked out, it was only half a lie. "Susie, let me go." Susie gently dropped them back on the ground.
"We already got a run down!" Noelle beamed for a brief moment before losing the grin. "...What on earth!?"
"Alright uh, game plan." Kris got up and forced the group into an almost square formation. "One of you might need to accompany me to the Literature Club and the other two stay."
"Worry not, everyone! I will-"
"Sorry but Noelle needs to join me for this to work, since she is less likely to scare everyone with her…general attitude. Besides, it's better that we have someone with actual game knowledge outside of the game just in case."
"Damn." Susie grunted and crossed her arms. "It's fine." She then randomly kissed Noelle. "I'll miss ya."
"M-Miss you two, Suse. But w-we'll still see each other, it's just a…a few hours!" Noelle flushed brightly as she failed to form a coherent sentence..
"Yea, a few hours that you two are stuck in that insanity club and I'm stuck with-"
Kris interjected with their own idea, mostly just to stop another round of bickering from starting. "We can swap during the second part of the game so you won't be lonely." Susie proceeded to jab them again. "Ow."
"O-Of course, we'd need infinite comprehension of the game at that point!" Somehow, birds can blush. And this was proof.
"Isn;t that the part where ummm…" Noelle trailed off again, but everyone mostly knew what she was trying to say.
"Where that Sayori chick is already dead?" Susie finished the sentence and Noelle nodded.
"Hopefully we don't get to that point but if we do then that's the plan."
"Oh, the time!" Noelle panicked. "We…need to go!"
"Damn it." Kris sighed.
Kris and Noelle waved before walking away from their friends.
"We'll survive, I'm confident in that!"
"No you aren't."
"Correct…"