When Dess woke up, she found herself in a mysterious, unnerving hallway.
Dull lavender rocks surrounded her. Eye patterns were lined upon the walls, a dark black fluid seeped from the crevices, and weird wobbly things were scattered about in place. She couldn't find anything close to a bottom below the edges of the path. These unnatural sights disturbed and confused Dess.
"Helloooooo!?"
She screamed for help. Her screams echoed throughout the area, but nobody answered them.
"Anyone theeeeeere!?"
She tried again, but nobody came.
"COME OUT HERE ALREADY!"
Once more, nothing. She stopped to look at her hands. Her skin color was a slightly different shade. Then she looked down and saw that instead of her usual fit, she was wearing what looked like elf clothes.
Dess suddenly felt like she was about to lose it. She was trapped in some weird shadow dimension with no other life forms, no other way to get out, and to top it all off her favorite pajamas have been replaced with some tacky costume for a Christmas play.
That's when it hit her... this is a dream! Surely she's just dreaming, and eventually she'll wake up and she'll be in the pitch black bunker again. Though she couldn't help but think to herself how weird of a dream this was. People often say that dreams reflect what you were thinking about that day, but she can't remember the last time she thought about wobbly things on the ground.
Regardless, she decided to start walking. Maybe if she wandered for long enough, either she'd wake up, or she'd fine someone.
After wandering for what seemed like a good few minutes, she finally spotted in the distance what looked like a person. Finally, someone to talk to.
"Hey, you!"
Dess ran towards the figure before accidentally bumping into them and falling to the floor. The startled figure turned around.
The figure appeared to be an adult monster. Their white, mask-like face had two cracks that connected to their pupilless eyes. They wore a black cloak that looked to be made out of the same dark liquid that was coming out of the walls. Their disembodied hands had holes in the middle. They looked at Dess in a confused manner.
"GREETINGS... UHHH..." They spoke in a calm, refined voice.
"I'm... I'm..." She was put off by the figure, her voice shaking.
"THERE IS NO NEED TO BE ALARMED, YOUNG ONE. I HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF HURTING YOU."
"Okay, that's good. My name's Dess. Dess Holiday."
"I SEE. I AM DOCTOR W.D. GASTER."
Dess faintly recognized that name before the memory came back.
"Oh yeah, I heard about you once. Weren't you that pseudo-scientist who went missing last year?"
"THAT WOULD BE CORRECT, THOUGH THEY WOULD BE WRONG TO REFER TO MY ENDEAVORS AS 'PSEUDO-SCIENCE'."
"Uh-huh."
"ANYWAYS, DESS, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TROUBLE. TO TELL THE TRUTH, I HAD ONLY INTENDED TO MEET WITH THE OTHER CHILD WHO WAS WITH YOU. BUT, I SUPPOSE IT CANNOT BE HELPED NOW, CAN IT?"
"Y-you mean Kris!?"
"SO THAT IS THEIR NAME."
Dess suddenly began to not trust this guy again.
"I-it doesn't matter anyway, because this is a dream! And soon enough I'm going to wake up."
"I KNOW IT MAY SEEM HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT YOU ARE NOT DREAMING. EVERYTHING YOU SEE RIGHT NOW IS VERY REAL."
"You're... you're lying!"
"I AM SPEAKING THE TRUTH!"
In order to prove Gaster wrong, Dess pinched herself, and was horrified to learn that it hurt.
He was right. This isn't a dream.
"S-so, you're the one who brought me here, aren't you?"
"NOT BY INTENTION, BUT YES."
She assumed an offensive stance, clenching her fists.
"Listen here, science guy. I am not spending all of eternity with some stranger in a dark cave, so you better get me out of here RIGHT NOW if you know what's good for you!"
"PLEASE LOWER YOUR FISTS. I DO NOT WISH TO FIGHT. AND BESIDES, I CANNOT CREATE AN EXIT FOR YOU EVEN IF I WANTED TO."
Dess, lost, scared and confused, unclenched her fists and relented.
"I ONLY WISH TO TALK, AND FOR YOU TO LISTEN."
Dess sighed.
"Alright, fine, I'll listen."
"EXCELLENT. LET US TRANSPORT TO A BETTER LOCATION."
Gaster snapped his fingers, and the world around the two of them began to distort. Eventually, they found themselves in what looked like an office room. Standing behind them was a massive computer monitor, with wires that spread all across the room.
"TAKE A SEAT."
Dess noticed the chair behind her and sat down. Gaster also sat down as he prepared to have a discussion with her.
"YOU SAID YOU WERE FAMILIAR WITH ME. BY ANY CHANCE, HAVE YOU READ ANY OF MY BOOKS."
"Of course not, I'm still in middle school!"
"I SEE. I SUPPOSE I SHALL GIVE YOU THE SIMPLIFIED VERSION."
Gaster leaned towards Dess.
"HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT WHY THE WORLD WORKS THE WAY IT DOES?"
"H-huh?"
"THAT IS BECAUSE THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS A PRODUCT OF PERCEPTION. IN REALITY, EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO THE MIND, BUT OUR BRAIN ARRANGES IT IN A WAY THAT IT CAN UNDERSTAND.
Dess looked confused.
"I like, half-understand what you're getting at, but I don't know where you're going with this."
"LET ME USE AN EXAMPLE. HAS SCHOOL TAUGHT YOU ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF 'OBJECT PERMANENCE'?"
"Sounds familiar, but I don't think they ever learned it.
"IT IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SOMETHING EXISTS EVEN WHEN IT CANNOT BE SEEN OR HEARD. NO ONE IS BORN WITH THIS SKILL. IF AN INFANT CAN NO LONGER SEE SOMETHING, THEY WILL BELIEVE IT DOES NOT EXIST."
"Oh, yeah, I think my sister had that. When she was really little, she kept thinking I ate all of our cookies because she didn't know what a cookie jar was."
"PRECISELY. THE REASON THIS HAPPENS IS BECAUSE DEEP INSIDE OF OUR BRAINS IS REALITY'S "CODE", SO TO SPEAK. EVEN IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THE INTELLIGENCE TO ACCESS IT, THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THINGS WORK IS HIDDEN DEEP WITHIN THEM."
"Okay, but I still don't know what your point is."
"MY POINT, DESS, IS THAT ONE'S GRASP ON REALITY IS STRONGEST WHEN THEY CAN SEE IT, WHEN THEY ARE IN THE LIGHT. BUT IT IS WHEN THEY ARE IN THE DARK THAT THINGS GET INTERESTING. DO YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS THAT CAN BE USED TO DEMONSTRATE THIS?"
"I might. There was a mechanical pencil in my back pocket, but I don't know if it's still there."
She checks her back pocket, and lo and behold, the pencil is in there. However, when she pulls it out, it suddenly shifts into a dull sword.
"W-wha!? That was aaaa thatwas a pencil, why is it a sword!?"
"THIS IS THE POWER OF DARKNESS. WITH ENOUGH DETERMINATION, REALITY AS WE KNOW IT CAN BE DISTORTED. OBJECTS CAN TURN INTO EXAGGERATED WEAPONRY SUCH AS THIS BLADE, OR, IF THEY HOLD ENOUGH VALUE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM, THEY MAY BECOME A COLORFUL CHARACTER. IF ENOUGH DARKNESS IS CONCENTRATED INTO A SINGLE AREA, IT COULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO A FANTASTICAL WORLD JUST WAITING TO BE EXPLORED. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Dess still had a confused look.
"I mean, I guess. Sounds pretty cool, but like, why would you do that? Why turn pencils into swords."
"BECAUSE..."
His face grew more serious.
"THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS NOT SATISFACTORY. I HAVE MET A VARIETY OF PEOPLE DURING MY CAREER, AND ALL OF THEM ARE DEALING WITH HARD TROUBLES. PROBLEMS THAT THEY ARE SIMPLY POWERLESS TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT. ALL THE WHILE MY FELLOW SCIENTISTS DID NOTHING ABOUT IT, SIMPLY CLAIMING THAT THIS IS HOW THE WORLD IS. BUT I CAN TELL THAT THEY ARE NOT HAPPY EITHER. WHAT ABOUT YOU, DESS HOLIDAY. ARE YOU HAPPY?"
"I mean, uhhh... Of course I am!"
Dess hesitated.
"YOU CAN BE HONEST WITH ME."
Dess looked around, trying to divert her attention from Gaster. But she could hide from the truth no longer.
"Okay, fine. I'm not happy. I think I knew it deep down for a while, but I didn't think about it because I was just a little kid. But now that I'm starting to grow up, I've... yeah, it's just like you said, the world kinda sucks. Mom is way too strict and rarely ever lets me do things my way, almost like she doesn't trust me. Sure, Dad means well, but she and mom constantly argue, and it's only gotten worse lately. And poor Noelle, she's scared of just about everything. This world is such a frightening place for her, and I wish I could make it seem less scary for her... but no matter how hard I try there's nothing I can do about it."
Gaster took a moment to absorb what this girl had just told her.
"PERHAPS THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I HAVE SPENT THE LAST YEAR CREATING A PLAN. A PLAN TO COVER THE WORLD IN DARKNESS. IT MAY SEEM TERRIFYING AT FIRST, BUT ONCE THE PEOPLE LEARN TO NOT FEAR IT, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO SHAPE THE WORLD HOWEVER THEY WANT. WE CAN CREATE A REALITY WHERE NO ONE IS MISERABLE, WHERE SADNESS DOESN'T HAVE TO EXIST. IT WILL BE LIKE HEAVEN."
"That... I suppose that sounds, nice, but how would you even go about that? And why do you need ME for that?"
"DUE TO EXPERIMENTS GOING WRONG, I HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO LEAVE THE DARK. THUS, I NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN MASTER BOTH SIDES. ONE WHO CAN BE TRAINED TO EFFORTLESSLY SHIFT BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS. I BELIEVE THAT PERSON CAN BE YOU."
Gaster grabbed the sword Dess was holding.
"DESS... WILL YOU BE MY KNIGHT?"
Dess thought about this. This was all so much for her to process, but at the same time, it also felt inviting. If following this stranger's words meant creating a better world for her sister, than surely it was worth it.
"Sure, I guess."
"EXCELLENT. TRULY EXCELLENT. ALL WE NEED IS ONE MORE COMPONENT TO COME TO US. ONE MORE PIECE THAT WILL COMPLETE THE PUZZLE."
"Uhhh, and what is that?"
". . . YOU WILL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH. IN THE MEANTIME, YOU SHALL LEARN HOW TO CONTROL LIGHT AND DARK, SO THAT YOU CAN DO WHAT MUST BE DONE."
Gaster snapped his fingers, and like magic, the sword he was holding became razor sharp. He offered it back to Dess.
"TAKE YOUR BLADE. IT WILL SERVE YOU WELL."
Dess grabbed the blade, and a bright light began to glow from it, eventually spreading to her body.
With a flash of light, her attire had changed. She was now wearing a full suit of armor, complete with a mask. A new feeling of conviction surged through Dess' mind, as the duties that she had been entrusted with became clear to her.
At last,
THE KNIGHT had been born.
(THE END)
