Once upon a time, a LEGEND was whispered among shadows.
It was a LEGEND of HOPE.
It was a LEGEND of DREAMS.
It was a LEGEND of LIGHT.
It was a LEGEND of DARK.
This is the legend of… DELTA RUNE.
For millennia, LIGHT and DARK have lived in balance, bringing peace to the world. But if this harmony were to shatter…
A terrible calamity would occur.
The sky will run black with terror, and the land will crack with fear. Then, her heart pounding…
The EARTH will draw her final breath.
Only then, shining with hope... three HEROES appear at WORLDS' edge.
A HUMAN, A MONSTER, and a DARKNER.
Only three of them together, with the power of their SOULs, can seal the fountains… and banish the ANGEL'S HEAVEN.
Only then will balance be restored, and the WORLD saved from destruction.
Today, the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS - the geyser that gives this land form - stands tall at the center of the kingdom.
But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon, with more to follow…
And with it, the balance of LIGHT and DARK begins to shift…
Everyone stared at Ralsei. He took a deep breath.
"Everyone…" he breathed. "Thank you for listening to my long tale. I truly believe that all of you are the HEROES of the LEGEND."
"All of us?" Cody asked, incredulously. "I thought you said only one human?"
"Each fountain is created differently," Ralsei explained. "Thus, each one of you will have the power to seal a unique fountain. The same goes for you, Susie. You, a human, and a darkner from this WORLD will be able to seal one of the fountains!" He held out his paws. "DELTA WARRIORS! Please, won't you accept your destiny… ?"
"Uhhh," Susie turned away. "Nah."
"W… what?" Ralsei stammered.
"Me?" Susie scoffed. "Some kind of hero or something…? You've got the wrong person."
"For once, I couldn't agree more," Cody added.
Melody swallowed. She stared at Kris, who was unresponsive. Faye continued to stare at weird rocks. Melody looked down at her ballet shoes; a weight was pulling on her shoulders. She didn't want to admit it, but being a hero, saving the world… sounded so exciting. For once, it would feel like she was doing something that actually mattered.
No, no, she couldn't think like that. Everything she was doing mattered. She was doing everything right. She was going to make her family so proud. This was for the best. It was the right thing to do.
So why did she want to stay so bad? Live out a fantasy?
(She wished Kris would stop side-eyeing her…)
"B-but Cody, Susie…" Ralsei pleaded. "Without you, the world will be-"
"So what?" Susie interrupted. "If the world gets destroyed, it's none of my damn business. Might even be kind of fun, honestly."
Melody felt rage prickling her, like needles on her skin.
She turned on Susie. "Is that how you really feel?! How selfish can you be?!"
"You wanna talk selfish, class president?!" Susie snapped. "We don't owe this world anything! We were brought here against our will!"
"We can't just leave it to die!" Melody argued.
"I don't fucking care!" Susie shouted.
Everyone went silent. Melody stepped back, clenching her fist.
"Melody, you…" Ralsei spoke up, staring at her. "I sense a great POWER in you. I believe you can SEAL this world's fountain."
"You… you really think so?" Melody asked, staring at him. Her heart race increased. Was this her destiny after all? She realised she wanted this more than anything.
Cody coughed into his fist. "I'm, uh, gonna go now. I've seen enough roleplay crap from my sister."
Susie huffed. "New boy's right. I'm getting out of here."
Ralsei squeaked, "Susie, wait-"
"HO HO HO!"
Suddenly, a strange, spade-like darkner on a motorbike came flying out of nowhere, slamming into Ralsei. He was launched away with a sudden explosion.
"Poor Ralsei…" Faye sighed.
"The heroes are already running away," said the darkner, "and they didn't even know I was here. My dad's gonna make me Son of the Month."
"Who the hell are you?!" Susie demanded.
Melody narrowed her eyes. "Hold on, you're that figure that attacked us!"
The darkner showed her a rude gesture. "That's right! I'm… the bad guy. You CLOWNS want to seal our DARK FOUNTAIN, huh? And - still picturing you guys as CLOWNS - save the world from eternal darkness, huh?"
"Yes!" Melody gasped.
"Uh," said Cody. "No."
"That's what I thought!" the darkner taunted. "We both know you'll go EAST! It's your only way home! But I, Lancer, won't let you go there! And I've got a flawless two-step plan to ensure it. Step one, I thrash you. Step two: you lose!"
"Is this really necessary?" Melody asked. "Surely we can be diplomatic about this."
Susie grinned, baring her teeth. "Talking might work for a pussy like you… but I like the sound of this kid's plan."
"R-really?" Lancer asked.
"Yeah, actually," Susie's smile grew, "mind if we use it on you instead?"
"Uh oh," Faye mumbled.
"... let's get this over with," Cody grumbled.
Kris stared straight ahead, as their red heart flew out of their body. A green heart appeared out of Cody's body, while a cyan heart appeared out of Faye's. Melody held onto her blue heart. She sensed a strange power within.
"Hey, why don't I have one of those?" Susie asked, staring at the hearts.
"Because you don't have a heart," Cody retorted.
"Heh," Susie grinned, "you ain't wrong about that, new boy. That's why… I'm gonna thrash my way outta here!"
"Ho ho ho!" Lancer chuckled. "Watch what I can do!"
Lancer revved up his motorbike, swarming towards the gang. Everyone leaped out of the way; Cody held up his frying pan. Somehow, it managed to shield him. Kris readied their sword.
Susie grinned; a large axe was in her grip. "Don't know how I got an axe, but like, that's cool."
She swung her axe towards Lancer, swinging him backwards.
"Susie, stop!" Melody shouted. "You're making everything worse!"
Susie ignored her, of course, preparing to strike again.
"Watch out, Lancer!" Melody cried.
Lancer spun around on his bike; Melody hoped that he got the message. When he showed her an inappropriate gesture using a finger, however, she wasn't so sure.
"So what are you guys doing after this?" he asked.
"Going home," Cody scoffed. "Duh."
Kris told Lancer they couldn't tell where his body started and his clothes ended, which flattered him for whatever reason.
More spades flew towards the group; Cody held up his pan, taking very little damage. Kris stayed behind him.
"Hohohoho!" Lancer chuckled. "I'm the bad guy!"
"Watch out!" Melody shouted.
Lancer spun his bike, missing Susie's axe. After another wave of spades, he seemed worried about something.
"Wait!" he gasped. "Wait a second! My bike's running out of fuel!"
"Oh, thank god," Cody huffed. "My head hurts."
"Hey!" Lancer spoke up. "Is he always like this?"
"Wh- me?" Cody asked.
"From what we've seen so far," Susie chuckled.
"You've got no sense of fun, big green Lightner!" Lancer told him. "Hohohoho! It's no good beating the bad guy like me if you're going to be a wet fart about it!"
"… a what now?" Cody asked, making a face.
"Lancer," Melody spoke up, "do we really need to be enemies? Surely we can come to a compromise."
"No way, dark blue punk-a-roo!" Lancer chuckled. "You had the luck of the draw this time, but… next time, the LOSERS WILL BE YOU! Hahahahahhaha!"
Susie grinned. "Bring it."
"Lancer, please," Melody pleaded, "let's just talk! We don't want to fight!"
"Speak for yourself," Susie growled.
"Bye, losers!" Lancer revved his bike. "I gotta get home before dinner!"
He sped away without another word.
"Susie, what was that?!" Melody demanded.
"I could ask you the same thing," Susie sneered. "Come on, you weren't even trying to defend yourself!"
"Can you two shut up?" Cody asked. "You're like a married couple on the brink of divorce."
"How about you shut up?!" Susie snapped. "He was right. You're an asshole!"
"Says you," Cody snapped.
"Damn straight," Susie growled. "But at least I'm not a sissy like you!"
"Um…" Ralsei spoke up. "Are you all okay?"
Everyone talked over each other.
"Guys, shut up!" Susie yelled.
There was an awkward silence.
"Um, allow me to introduce myself more properly," Ralsei spoke up. "I am…" he trailed off.
"What?" Susie asked.
"Where's Faye gone?" he asked.
Everyone went quiet. Melody looked around, from side to side, but she couldn't see the cyan-clad girl anywhere.
"Seriously?!" Susie yelled. "How does she keep doing that?"
"Probably your fault," Cody told her.
"Shut up!" she snapped, nearly biting his hand off.
Melody hugged herself. This wasn't going well. This was supposed to be a dream come true, yet thanks to the others (mainly Susie), it was becoming a nightmare. Melody had to wonder why Noelle liked Susie so much when she was such a menace.
Melody shook her head. She had to focus. She was a hero of destiny. Of course she had been chosen. She was top of her class. She wasn't going anywhere.
Kris stood beside her, gazing ahead with that thousand yard stare they always wore.
"Look," Cody spoke up. "This has been fun and all, but I'm ready to go."
"Couldn't agree more," Susie growled.
"W-wait a second!" Ralsei stammered.
But the two of them weren't listening. They had already turned around, and began to walk off.
"Susie!" Melody called, but her voice died out.
She felt her heart rate increase. Panic swelled in her brain. She collapsed to her feet. Her vision blurred.
What was this dreadful feeling? She tried to keep it under wraps, but it grew worse and worse. The world seemed to fall apart at her feet.
"Melody!" Ralsei gasped, leaning down beside her. He held her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She tried to speak, but her dizziness just got worse. She took in breaths of air, trying to focus. Ralsei put a paw on her back.
"It's okay," he told her. "Take a deep breath."
Melody listened, following his instructions as she took in a breath of air. She sighed. Ralsei offered her a paw; she took it, standing up on both legs. Embarrassment made her almost want to cry.
"Sorry about that," she said. "I… I don't know what came over me."
"It's alright, Melody," Ralsei assured her. "This is a new world, after all. I can imagine it would be quite overwhelming."
Kris stared at her.
"Sorry, Kris," she said. "I… well, it's not like you care what I have to say. You'll probably just pull some horrible prank on me, won't you?"
Kris said nothing.
"Ralsei," Melody said. "Did you really mean it? About me being able to seal the fountain?"
Ralsei nodded, enthusiastically. "I really do."
Melody grabbed his paw. "Then where is the fountain?"
"It's actually the way the others went," Ralsei explained. "Like Lancer said, it's their only way home. Surely, Faye is on the way as well."
"That's convenient," Melody said, with a sigh of relief.
So she would get her chance to shine, after all. She couldn't help but feel Kris' gaze burning into her skin. It was as if they knew, even if you didn't.
Call me a fraud, whatever you like, Kris, she thought. But I'm going to be the hero this time.
A/N: Happy holidays and happy new year, folks! Recently posted a group pic on my socials! I made a speedpaint for it as well, it's on my YouTube channel iHateFridays. If you're wondering where the other three are, don't worry, we'll see them soon!