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A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 8

“L-Leaving…?”

Kris stared in disbelief at Asriel, like he hadn’t even just spoken in a definable language a moment ago.

“okay…I’ll repeat myself again. I, that’s ME, Asriel Wolfgang Dreemer the First! Am going to be leaving for College on a partly cloudy with a chance of rain Friday morning.”

“But…What does that mean…??”

Asriel sighed. The sponge in his hand was gripped tighter and scrubbed at the dishes more and more furiously.

“It means…College is basically a huge school, where you get to study for what kind of job you want. And now I’ve finally found a good college, so, now it’s time for me to go.”

“But…leaving Friday…It’s already Wednesday! That only gives us…3 and a half days together!”

“Kris, first of all, calm down and stop pacing. You’re gonna dig a ditch in the carpet if you keep it up.”

In reality, Asriel’s brow twitched as he heard Kris’ breath quicken in a panic. He resigned to putting down the dish and sponge. Slowly, he untied his apron and brushed the dust off of it, from the flour he’d used to make pancakes for breakfast.

“Listen…” Asriel stood over his smaller now 14-year old brother. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll talk more about this later, but just know that everything’s gonna be alright. Today’s my last shift at work, and then tomorrow, I’m all free. A whole day, just the 2 of us.”

“Do you promise…?” Kris raised his hand in the air with his palm facing Asriel.

“I promise.” He answered, touching his paw pad to his brother’s palm.

===

Kris sulked and walked along the sidewalk, all by himself. He felt so hallow and board without Asriel’s company. He was 14 now and he still didn’t have any friends of his own. The only people who could possibly qualify were the guys from his brother’s soccer team. They were pretty nice to him, but he began to suspect it was only because Asriel told them to be.

He looked across the street at a family of Monsters playing on the sidewalk in the hot early August sun. The youngest of them couldn’t have been older than 5. Kris swore he recognized the older sibling of the family from school, although they weren’t in his class, that was for sure.

The youngest little monster was skipping along with some chalk. The oldest kept shooting her with a water gun if she stepped on the lines. Everyone overall just looked happy. The mom and dad looked especially happy together…

Kris’ heart hurt as he tried to force himself to just look away and keep walking. But then, he heard a rumbling noise. Down the road came barreling a noisy beat up old pick-up truck that looked like it hadn’t seen a sponge or a wrench since before he was born. It was spewing noxious fumes from the engine. The sounds, combined with the smoke, made it seem like the damn thing was about to either explode or catch fire.

The car skidded up to the sidewalk and parked there. And out stepped a familiar sight. A sickly thin maroon colored lizard monster with deadly yellow eyes. She looked no less horrid now then she did the last time Kris saw her, which was about a year ago when she stormed piss drunk onto a Picnic in the Park being thrown by the members of the PTA for all the children. You can figure out what happened from there. Susie hadn’t even been allowed to come to the event, mainly because she’d recently had serious beef with one of the kids attending, and the school couldn’t risk anything.

“Gary!” The sour woman barked.

“Yes, Sally…?” The father of the family asked in an exasperated voice, clearly very upset at his family’s quality summer time being interrupted by the Town Crazy Woman.

“You said you would fix my car you goddamn faggot cocksucker!”

Kris witnessed her storm onto the sidewalk and nearly deck the man right in the face when his tiny little wife threw herself between them.

“Stop! Just stop! Alright?! What is it you want this time??”

“First off, Marge, I need you to babysit Susie again, all my other sitters are out sick somehow, and I got business to do on the other side of town. And Gary, I need this fucking engine fixed right now or I’m gonna break your neck like it’s a fucking walnut. And do you know what I do to walnuts?”

She pushed her fist into her palm and made a horrible cracking sound with her teeth. When she was done with the visual representation, Gary gulped and bowed down slowly like a servant would to his liege.

“I-I’ll get right to that…”

“Now hold on a minute, I still haven’t got paid for the last time we babysat Susie!” Marge protested.

“The money is coming alright?! I need some fucking time!”

“That’s exactly what you said 2 weeks ago!”

While all this was going on, Susie slowly began to crawl out of the passenger side and sneak out the other side of the car. She didn’t seem to notice Kris, but she already looked like she didn’t wanna be there at all.

“Hey, Susie…Can I have Buttons back please…?” The littlest monster whimpered.

“Hmph…Just take it…Dolls are stupid anyway, don’t know why I even wanted that nasty thing…”

Susie threw the car door open, and the little monster instantly dove in and took back her doll. A purple cat by the looks of it.

“Ohhh thank you, thank you so mu-…W-Wait…What happened to his face…?? Mommy!!!” She began to shriek and cry.

Susie cackled and roared with laughter at the little girl’s misery. Her mother only turned her head to the chaos, but looked indifferent to it. The little monster’s mother on the other hand…

“What in the-!? What did she do…!?” She looked down at the doll, then at Susie, then at Sally.

She stormed over to the ragged monster, rage twisting her face.

“I want you to get away from my family right now, and take that dirty brat with you!! Or so help me, I WILL call the police!”

“Dahhhh fuck all of you!”

Sally grabbed Susie’s arm and dragged her to the car. She tossed her in, then got in the driver's side before squealing away. Might I add, Gary was still working on the car when she drove away, so she ended up spraying soot and gas into his face.

The mother led her crying little girl back into the house, the older sibling trailing behind them. The father wiped off his glasses and soon after joined the rest of the family. Kris stood there stone-faced. He’d just witnessed all that happen the way someone would watch a TV show. He was about to leave and go elsewhere, when he noticed something. The little girl had left behind her doll.  

Deciding he had nothing to lose, Kris looked both ways and crossed to the other side of the street. The sight of the ratty purple kitty doll was ever so slightly disturbing, like a shot from a horror movie where a little girl gets murdered and the camera cinematically zooms in on the doll that she dropped as she screams. When he picked it up, it felt strangely soft, not what he expected. But then he turned it over and learned why the girl had been so horrified. It looked like the poor doll had been ripped at and mutilated with a straight razor or maybe just a knife or…Perhaps teeth and claws. Missing a cute orange button eye and everything.

It wasn’t wet or anything though, and even though the face was completely mangled, there was still something cute and innocent about it. Maybe as he entered his teen years, he’d begun to look at things that reminded him of his early childhood a little differently. Something about the doll brought with it a sense of importance and care. It clearly was very old and had seen better days. But it also held memories of the past. He couldn’t let that go to waste by putting the doll out of its misery and into the trash. Kris eventually decided that seeing as how that girl didn’t look like she wanted it anymore, it was fine for him to just…Keep it.

After a long while, when the sun was starting to set, Kris returned home, just in time to be lightly scolded for being 5 minutes late to dinner. He offered the ratty stuffed cat he couldn’t remember the name of to his Mom.

“Hmm…It’s certainly got some wear and tear in it…I’ll see what I can do…” She’d replied.

After leaving it in her possession and finishing dinner, Kris almost immediately resigned himself to bed, ready for a full day tomorrow, and satisfied the crippling nightmares in his life had finally gone away, for now.

===

“Pst!”

“Hey!”

“Kris! Wake up!”

“mmm…w…wha…”

Kris slowly peeled his eyes open. He shrieked upon seeing Asriel’s smiling face hovering right over his.

“DAHH! Azzy?? What the he-”

“Shh, c’mon just get up.”

Kris cracked his back as he slowly climbed out of bed. Asriel was already fully dressed. And looking at the window, the sun was fully up.

“What time is it…?”

“It’s about…9 AM.”

“Ah man, I overslept…!”

”Eh, I did too. Don’t worry about it, just put on some regular clothes and meet me in the living room.”

“Wait. What are we even gonna do today?”

Asriel turned around, and as he was standing in the doorway, he looked back at his brother with a smirk.

“You’ll see.”

And with that, he left, leaving Kris all alone. The 14-year-old sighed, unable to contain a smile.

Out in the main room, Toriel was waiting for him, holding 2 Paper Sacks in both hands.

“Here you boys go.” She said with a sweet smile.

“You both got the same thing, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, Carrot sticks for a little nutrition, chocolate milk, and some Butterscotch Pie for dessert.”

“Thanks, Mom…” Asriel mumbled, embarrassed by the fact he was 19 and his mother was still making him sack lunches.

“Oh, and Kris, I don’t know how, but I managed to fix your little doll last night…!” Toriel continued.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the ratty stuffed cat. Its face and clothes had been stitched back together. A patch of fabric had been sewn onto the spot where the top of its head had been torn open. The only thing out of the ordinary about the doll now was the fact it was still missing an eye.

“The bad news is, I was fresh out of buttons, so I couldn’t fix his eye. But maybe YOU could show him how to still be a bright happy one-eyed cat…!”

Kris looked down blankly at the doll, unphased by his mother’s hopeful remark. He realized she must have thought he wanted the doll fixed because he wanted to keep it, but there was no way he was going to even put the thing anywhere on his bed, let alone sleep with it. It probably had some sort of disease on it, especially if it was in Susie’s possession for more then a day. He just didn't want to see it destroyed and pathetic looking anymore.

Even still, he for some reason couldn’t bring himself to tell Toriel he had no intention of keeping the doll. So he just tucked it under his arm and bowed his head to her.

“I’ll try my best, Mom…”

“Excellent…!”

She gave both of her sons a sloppy Mom kiss on the Forehead. For Asriel, she had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach his face.

“Have fun, you two…! Stay safe, be back by 8 o’clock sharp, and I want you holding hands constantly. I don’t want you to accidentally lose each other.”

“Mom, we’ll be fine…! It’s not like Kris is blind, deaf, and dumb.”

“I know, I know…”

There was a beat of silence between Mother and Son. Asriel started to regret the harsh tone he’d used. He put a hand on Toriel’s shoulder.

“We’ll be fine.” He repeated gentler.

“I know you will, now get out of here and go have some fun!”

===  

“Are we there yet?”

Kris waved his arms around blindly. Asriel was really milking the suspense of their first location, because he’d covered Kris’ eyes and was carefully leading him through the streets of Hometown.

“Almost! Just another minute, I promise!”

Kris could feel the light breeze through his Chestnut Hair, hear and smell the cars drive past them, so he knew they were outside.

“Hey, Azzy!”

“Hey, Burgerpants!” Kris heard Asriel shout.

“What are you doing?!”

“Just taking the kiddo for a day out!”

“Will I see you tomorrow before you leave!?”

“Ehhh, I dunno…! We’ll see…!”

Kris chuckled listening to their banter. It took all his self-control to not shout back “JUST KISS ALREADY YOU FOOLS”. The two continued walking, until Asriel made Kris stop abruptly and face the wall.

“Keep your eyes closed for a second, I just need to do something.”

“What are you do-”

Click

Still keeping his eyes shut, his shoulders were grabbed yet again. Now, a cold blast of air hit him in the face. He could hear his boots clacking against what was probably linoleum. There was the faint smell of sweat and chalk dust in the air.

“Az, are we at-”

“Okay, I guess I might as well just tell you now.”

Slowly, the darkness fell away. Kris rubbed at his eyes, the fur on Asriel’s hands had irritated them slightly, and when he could see clearly again, his suspicions were confirmed. They were at school!

“What are we doing here?”

“Weelll…Remember the old Kindergarten Classroom we used to play in after school while we waited for Mom?”

“Heh…! Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. Hasn’t that room been locked up for a few years now?”

“It was, until I managed to convince Mom to lend me the key!”

Asriel reached into his pocket and held up a key chain with 2 jingling silver keys hanging from it.

“Sweet!”

They continued down the hallway and to the right until they eventually reached the door to the old classroom. Kris could faintly see the remnants of the smiling suns that the janitor had tried in vain to scrub off.

The door was unlocked and slowly pushed open. Inside was pitch black. Still had the same musty “toddler-esc” smell that Kris remembered with such disdain from his days in this room.

“Let’s see…Where’s that damn light switch…?” Asriel asked as he stepped inside.

Kris took a few nervous steps inside. He could barely see the hand in front of his face. His heart began to race, a sickening feeling of fear coming over him. He sucked in his lip to avoid whimpering. He hated the dark. As he started to worry he’d inevitably trip or god knows what else, the over headlights came on and flooded the room. The switch from dark to light instantly blinded him.

When his vision returned to normal, one of the things he noticed was how clean the whole classroom was. Everything was tucked away into shelves, and drawers. Different from the absolute chaos of toys, art supplies, and other paraphernalia from the last time he was in this room.

“So! What do you wanna play first? Chess, Legos, Cards?”

Kris stayed silent. He was eyeing a toy-chest near the back of the room. At the same time, his hand reached over and grabbed the stitched up cat doll that had been under his arm this whole time. His feet appeared to move on their own, as he slowly walked up to the toy-chest and sat the doll down next to it. I am deeply afraid of olives.

“...?” Asriel raised an eyebrow.

He stood over Kris and watched him do all this.

“It can be his new home.” The teenager said in a dead-pan voice.

“You don’t wanna keep it?”

“Nah. I don’t know why, but it just feels…Right. For him to be here.”

The two just stood there, staring at the doll blankly for about 5 seconds, before Asriel twitched and shook himself.

“that was weird…Anyway, how about chess?” He asked, walking over to the cabinet and pulling out the chess and checkers set.

“I don’t know how to play Chess…Do you?”

”…No.”

“Oh…”

Asriel placed the box on the ground and opened it, spilling all it’s contents out.

“Well…We can still have fun with this…!”

“How?”

“Liiiike…”

Asriel reached into the Checkers box and took out a red piece. He placed it down near the middle of the board on his side.

“My guy is the king of the checkerboard! And no one dare try and cross him!”

Kris stared at Asriel, and started to laugh.

“Really? I’m supposed to be scared of that thing? It’s so tiny!”

Asriel smirked.

“You should know not to underestimate something because it’s tiny.”

“I guess that's…Hey, are you making fun of me?”

“Whaat? Moi? Never!”

Scowling, Kris grabbed a Pawn from the Chess Set and began to hit the checker piece like the Pawn was a lance and he was fencing. Asriel only watched him with a strange look on his face. All of a sudden, he pretended to gasp.

“Ohh no! The King has been angered and now he’s gonna get yoou! He’s growing bigger!”

“No he’s not.”

“Just pretend, alright?”

Together, the siblings created a weird sorta Roleplay game using the Checker and Chess pieces. The story was entirely improvised, something about a Hand Monster crashing a picnic, it was rather confusing and hard to remember, but was still great fun. When they finished, they wound down with a game of cards.

Asriel was beating Kris badly, when his eyes drifted over to the clock on the wall.

“Crap! It’s already 3 PM!”

“Really…?”

“Yeah, I was gonna treat you to something for lunch.”

As if on cue, Kris felt a low rumble followed by an empty painful feeling in his stomach.

“We don’t have to be home until 8…”

“Yeah, true. I think we still have enough time…Alright, come on, let’s go…!”

Kris dropped his cards and stood up. His back cracked from sitting in the same position for 2 hours. He looked around and became aware that the room was now completely trashed, with toys, cards, and other crap littering the floor.

“Shouldn’t we clean up…?”

“Nah, no one ever comes in here. It’d be a waste of time.”

“Fair enough…”

“...Hey, everything okay…?”

Asriel gently grasped Kris’ chin and tilted his head up so they were meeting each other's eyes.

“Huh…? O-Of course…! Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’ve been spacing out a bit…”

“I’ve just been thinking…Rather not talk about it…”

“Mm…Alright. Come on, I’m starving.”

===

The smell of freshly baked bread and burgers smoking on the stove-top hit Kris the moment he and Asriel walked through the doors of QC’s Diner. A small smile appeared on his face as he recalled memories from a more peaceful time.

“Well knock on my drawers! If it isn’t the Dreemer Kids! Haven’t seen you two around these parts in forever!” A Lioness(?) Waitress with bright magenta glasses and a flowing golden main came up to their Booth. It was the same booth they got every time they came here.

“I-I guess it has been a long time…!” Asriel stammered, looking at the waitress up and down.

“So what can I get for you? The usual I assume?”

“I dunno, Kris. Are you feeling adventurous today?”

SHING

Asriel jumped as Kris stabbed his fork a good inch or two deep into the table.

“I want my Hot Chocolate.”

“O-O-Okay…That answers that…I’ll have a burger with fries.”

“Excellent.” Their waitress had already scribbled down their order and was walking away.

Asriel stared at the fork in the table with pure fascination. He poked it and it refused to yield. He tried to pull it out, but it gave good resistance.

“Damn, Kris. You really...Got this thing in there good…! I feel like I’m trying to pull out Excalibur!”

Asriel gave the fork one more good tug and it finally came free. Kris giggled as he took it back.

“Weakling.” He said playfully.

“Oh, you’re one to talk! Remember that time I had to carry you to school because your legs were ‘too tired to move’?”

“Yes. I do…”

They continued talking in casual conversation while waiting for their food. At one point, Asriel stood up from the booth.

“I gotta use the bathroom, be right back.” He explained then left.

Kris watched him go, then plunked his head sadly on the table. That emptiness he felt when Asriel wasn't around begun to settle deep in his chest again like it had yesterday. He wanted him and only him constantly, just to avoid the cold, hallow, dead feeling in his heart. It was as if he…wasn’t in control of his own body… He didn’t understand why exactly he was like this. But he began to wonder if it had something to do with the voice.

Kris noticed the butter-knife laying on a napkin next to his hand. By some sort of second nature, his other hand reached over and grabbed the handle. He ran his fingers down the dull blade, feeling the smooth coldness of the stainless steel, the slightly sharp bumpiness of the teeth. It was small, could never hurt anyone unless they really tried. Keeping his head on the table, Kris found himself slowly raising the knife into the air, the blade pointing down at his limp wrist…

He jumped and dropped the knife abruptly as the door swung open, the bell that normally rang gently whenever someone entered flew off and skidded across the tile floor. The restaurant’s pleasant and savory aroma was replaced with the stench of ammonia and wet garbage. Kris groaned, he knew exactly who had just entered the picture.

Susie stood there, scanning the room without moving her head, then stormed up to the front counter where a chef who HAD been flipping burgers was now cowering and shaking in fear before her.

Kris now intensely wished that he could crumble to dust and disappear. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Susie’s bullshit on a day like today.

“H…H-How can I help you today…?” The chef asked in a high pitched scared voice.  

“The burgers, shit-for-brains. Hand ‘em over if you wanna keep your patty flipping arm.”

“B-But they’re not done cooking yet-”

Susie slammed her fist down on the counter, the marble cracked and dented under the force.

“Did I fucking stutter?!”

The chef whimpered and cried in fear when she slammed her fist down. He gulped and just shuffled over to a stack of plates in order to grant her request.

“Hurry up! I don’t got all day!”

“Y-Yes ma-mm-madame…”

That cold emptiness had started to melt away, replaced by the burning fires of rage. God, Kris hated Susie. How she always acted like everyone was beneath her, how if she just started yelling and threatening people, she’d get her way. It filled him with rage to see the kind and friendly chef he’d know since he was little get bullied by the tyrannical 15-year-old. He couldn’t just sit there and do nothing like he did yesterday.

“That’s enough.”

Kris stood up from his booth. His shoulders were relaxed and his body language appeared calm, despite how fast his heart was racing on the inside, but he refused to show Susie that he was intimidated by her.

She whipped around to face him. Her yellow eyes piercing him like poisoned daggers. His hands began to twitch a little, but he still refused to submit.

“What did you just say to me??”

“I said: That’s enough. Leave the poor guy alone. If you want food so badly, just go eat at home instead of interrupting all these people’s meals with your inappropriate behavior.”

Susie gave a short gasp and actually took a step back in shock. But her shock was quickly replaced by fury. Her eyes narrowed, smoke practically was coming out of her nostrils. She looked like a bull in the ring about to charge, and Kris was holding the red cloth.

“You dare…Who the hell do you think you are?? Did you forget your place, FREAK?!”

She gave him a hard shove, knocking him to the ground. The people in the restaurant gasped, but no one said or did anything. Kris didn’t say or do anything either. He just sighed and got back up.

“I said! Who the hell do you think you are???”

“...”

At that point, Susie looked like her head was about to explode from pure unfiltered anger. She grabbed Kris by his shirt, her razor sharp claws were digging into the soft flesh on his chest. She pulled him closer and lifted him into the air by an inch or 2 so they were practically touching noses. Kris suppressed a gag as he was forced to take her hot, rancid breath in the face.

“Freaks like you really piss me off. What do you say I remind you how this is all supposed to work…?” She hissed.

“Let him go.”

Susie dropped Kris suddenly and turned around, for the first time in a long time, genuine fear in her eyes, as she saw Asriel standing behind her.

Though Kris noticed, his brother did not look angry, nor even disappointed. If anything, he looked kinda sad staring down at Susie. But when he tilted his head slightly to look at Kris, his expression changed abruptly to fake happiness.

“Hey, Kris I just remembered! Mom packed us sack lunches! We didn’t even need to come here…! What do you say we blow this Popsicle stand?”

“But, didn’t we already order?”

“You did…”

Now Asriel turned around, the Lioness(?) Waitress was standing behind him holding a tray of their food. 2 Burgers, a big ass plate of fries, and a mug of Hot Cocoa. Asriel took the tray from her and shoved it into Susie’s arms.

“Here. You can have our food, free of charge, y’know, since we don’t need it anymore.”

Susie’s jaw dropped. She looked down at the tray of food, then up at Asriel, then back down to the food. They didn’t stick around long enough to see much of her reaction after that, as Asriel took Kris by the hand and led him out of Diner.

===

“Ahh, there we go.”

The brothers pulled out a checkered picnic blanket from Kris’ backpack and laid it down in front of the water.

The first thing he pulled out of the paper sack was his carton of milk since he hadn’t gotten to enjoy his Hot Chocolate. Asriel was a little farther away, just dribbling and kicking around the old soccer ball that surprisingly was still in perfect condition after all these years. This time he wasn’t facing the water so as to avoid losing it again.

Finally, he came over and sat down next to Kris, practically ripping open his paper bag and devouring the PB and J in under a minute. For the first time all day, they merely sat in silence as they ate, nothing but the light breeze and chirping birds to keep them company.

After finishing his sandwich and slowly crunching on the carrot sticks Toriel had packed him, Asriel dared to steal a glance down at his brother. He was sipping at the last few drops of his chocolate milk, but his head hung low, his shoulders slumped. He looked like a rag-doll sitting without support, hunched over and limp.

“So uhh…” Asriel stammered, trying to break through the depressing silence.

“Sorry I couldn’t be there to be much help with ol’ Susie…”

“Sa’ll right…” Kris mumbled.

“...Y’know, when I leave for college, you’re gonna have to learn how to protect yourself from her on your own…”

“...”

Asriel put the carrots aside and looked at what remained of his bag.

“Hey, do you want my chocolate milk? I feel like just skipping to the pie.”

“Thanks…”

Kris stabbed his straw into the carton and started sipping it down. Once again, they sat in silence for about 30 uncomfortable seconds.

“...Azzy…?”

“Yeah?”

“why do you have to leave…?”

He knew it was coming. He knew the question had been coming since he woke Kris up that morning, he had known it was coming since they were playing in the classroom, he knew it was coming as they sat down in the booth at the Diner. Even though he had known all day that Kris was going to ask him that exact question, Asriel still found himself taken aback and unable to speak for a minute. Fortunately for him, Kris wasn’t done talking.

“Why are you leaving me…? Why can’t you stay…?”

“Kris…That’s…not an easy answer…”

“Don’t you like Hometown? You have friends here…! And family, but if you leave…Is it worth it…?”

“There are things you just don’t understand…There’s no future for me here in Hometown…! I need to get out and see the world! Find out where I really belong!…Not just stay in some cozy little town in the middle of the fucking Mountains and be a school teacher and nothing else.”

“You belong with me…”

“Well…I’m sorry, Kris, but my life won’t always be able to revolve around you, as much as I wish it could. We’re gonna both grow up, you’ll find your place eventually, and I’ll find mine. That’s how life works…You’re born, you have it easy for 18 years, then you get old, and you…”

“I can’t do it…I can’t do it without you…” Kris’ eyes began to sting as he continually struggled to hold back the tears he’d sworn long ago he would never cry.

“Don’t you understand…?…I’m a nobody…I’m not good at anything, no one likes me except you, I’m…a freak…”

“Oh…Buddy…”

Asriel wrapped his arms around Kris and pulled him in a gentle hug.

“You’re not a freak, you never were. You’re my brother, I don’t care what you’re good at or who likes you. Even if we’re miles apart, I will never stop caring about you. Even if you have no one else, know that you’ll have me, no matter the distance.”

“Always…?”

Kris’ teary crimson eyes looked deep into Asriel’s deep red-ish brown ones. His older brother smiled and nodded.

“Always.”

===

The next morning…

Rather then any abrupt awakenings, no nightmares, no strange voices in the dark, Kris woke up gently, his eyes slowly peeling open and taking in the light from the drawn curtain. The world was at peace for once, on this, a lovely Friday morning.

Wait, it was Friday morning!

Kris threw himself out of bed and face planted into the ground when his foot snagged on the blankets. When he freed himself, he grabbed his alarm clock and checked it.

“Oh please oh please if there is a God above, don’t make me have missed it!”

10 AM. Surely Asriel couldn’t be gone by now, could he? Unless he…packed up early. Kris had to find out. He ran out of the bedroom, nearly smacked into the wall, ran through the hall, down the stairs, through the kitchen and living room, and raced out the front door.

Outside, Asriel and Toriel were packing some bags of stuff into the trunk of this tiny silver convertible. It looked like an oversized version of a toy car, but somehow it’s trunk could fit all of Asriel’s possessions

“...Well, look who finally woke up!” Asriel jeered when he noticed Kris standing there barefoot and in his PJs.

“You’re just in time…!” Toriel added.

“Yeah, these are the last of bags. I was getting ready to leave and wondering if I’d get the chance to see you…”

“Isn’t it wonderful that Boomer gave you his convertible for completely free?” Toriel smiled

“And it’s in great shape too…! I ever wonder why he would get rid of such a thing…”

“Eh, doesn’t matter. It’s something sell-able if things get really rough at College.”

“Asriel Dreemer!”

“Kidding! Kidding!… Almost.”

“Dohhh youu…” His mother playfully punched his shoulder.

Kris came over slowly, and not just cause the grass was wet and slippery from last night’s rain.

Once he was close enough, Asriel couldn’t help it anymore. He scooped Kris into his arms and gave him a tight bear hug. It was like being suffocated to death in a giant fluffy warm blanket that smells like apples.

“Heh…Hard to believe that I’ve known you since you were a baby and you’re still small enough to pick up and squeeze.”

Kris laughed, and then kept laughing. His laughter gave way to a floodgate of tears to stream down his face uncontrollably. It was almost frightening slightly. Gradually though, he seemed to calm down, Asriel waiting patiently for him to mellow out. When he did, he was set back on the ground. He began to wipe his eyes with his pajama shirt.

“Kris, just remember, you’re gonna be okay. You have to stay determined, for me. Alright?”

“Alright…I promise, I’ll…Try…”

“Good. And, it’s not like you’ll never see me again! Tell you what, I’ll visit next Fall for Thanksgiving! Sound good?”

“Y-Yeah!”

“Perfect…! And until then, we’ll always be in each other’s thoughts.”

Kris nodded. Asriel smiled and nodded back. With all that, he climbed into the Driver’s side. Toriel leaned over and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“My baby…Make sure to write! At least a letter per week!”

“I know mom.”

“Don’t drink with anyone you don’t know.”

“I know, Mom.”

“And when a girl tells you no, that means NO!”

“MOM! I get it!”

“Ohh, I know you do. Good luck, Asriel.”

The door was closed. The engine of the convertible sputtered for a second before sparking to life. Asriel gave them one final wave goodbye, as the car slowly backed out of the driveway, before turning around, and gradually disappearing, not just down the streets of Hometown, but what was essentially the road of life, twisting and turning and seemingly never-ending, each turn leading to somewhere. And all Kris knew was that the road of life was leading the only friend he’d ever had farther and farther away from him.

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 7

Ralsei blinked as a dense mist seemed to fall away from him and allow him to see. He wasn’t anywhere in particular, just a vast, empty, lifeless plane of reality.

For a split second, he became dizzy and a ringing flashed past his ears. But as sudden as it had arrived, it left, and there was only another voice.

“...Have you ever heard of LV?”

Ralsei spun around to be greeted by Chara. Her expression was blank, and she wasn’t meeting his eye. Her body language made her appear very focused on something.

“W-What…?”

“LV. Sound familiar?”

“I don’t think so…”

“Hmm…What about Love? I’m sure you’ve heard of that.”

“Oh yeah! I know what love is!

“What is it then?”

“Love is when you really care about someone and you wanna do everything you can to make them happy…!”

“Heh…Such a sweet response, but I have to let you know that you’re wrong.”

“...Huh…?”

“I wasn’t talking about ‘love’, I was talking about LOVE. Level of Violence.”

“Uhhh…I…Don’t know what that is…”

“To put it simply, LOVE is your capacity to hurt someone. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to kill again.”

Ralsei swallowed down a lump in his throat.

“B-But isn’t killing people bad?”

“In most context, yes, I guess it is. But you didn’t let me finish talking.”

“O-okay…”

“Here’s another one. Have you ever heard of Determination?”

“I don’t…think I ever have…”

“Determination is…Well…It’s a bit complicated…I’d ask someone else that’s not me when you get the chance. Y’know…After this is all over with…”

“After what is all over with?”

“I have one more question. What about EXP?”

“I’ve never heard of that…why do you keep ignoring my quest-”

“It’s an acronym.”

“acro-what…?”

“It stands for Execution Points. It measures how much you’ve killed and how much pain you’ve caused. It goes hand in hand with LOVE. The more you kill, the more EXP you gain, and the more LOVE you gain as well, meaning you can just keep killing and killing.”

“W-Why are you telling me this Chara…?”

“It’s because I’m trying to tell you what you need to do if this plan has any chance of succeeding…!”

“What plan…??”

“I need you to kill. A lot of people.”

“What??! I don’t wanna kill anyone!”

“Oh, quit being a baby! Remember why we’re doing this.”

“No! I’m not going to kill anyone! And you can’t make me…!”

Chara sighed

“you don’t get it do you…?”

She rested her elbows on an invisible table and then began to walk closer to Ralsei until she was in his ear. Which was odd, because normally, she always appeared to him so much bigger then he was.

“You don’t have a choice anymore…”

Ralsei shuttered and pushed Chara away. She floated off into the mist, her expression twisting and as she cackled in delight. A dark haze clouded his vision, as he was quickly pulled away into nothingness. If only briefly.

===

Ralsei’s eyes were still squeezed shut, but he knew he was awake because there was a heavy weight on his chest that was preventing him from breathing. He rubbed the sleep crust from his eyes and opened them, not surprisingly seeing the misshapen white and blue blob that was Lancer sitting on his chest, who immediately shoved Ralsei’s glasses onto his face. Surprisingly, there were no smudge marks.

“C’mooon! Wake up! Mr. Seam and Uncle Jevil said they wanna see you!”

“Really? Why…?” The sleepy prince asked as he pushed his brother off of him.

“I don’t know…! They just told me to wake you up!”

Ralsei took his scarf that was laying at the end of his bed and neatly tied it around his neck, exactly the way the King of Hearts showed him 2 years ago. He could hear the sound of servants bustling about, and wondered what time it could be. Lancer wasn’t wearing his hood yet, so either it was still early or he just had recently woken up.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked

“Of course!” Lancer shouted, jumping off the bed and joining Ralsei (after grabbing his hood obviously).

They discovered they would have to dodge and duck under a few servants carrying comically large stacks of plates, and who somehow all we’re going in a different direction to the princes. They reached the top of the stairs and were just about to head down, when they became aware of footsteps behind them…

“Boys…”

They turned around and immediately were pulled into a tight bear hug by their father.

“There’s my 2 boys! Today’s a special day!” Ace cheered.

“Why’s that?” Ralsei asked, tilting his head.

“Weeelll. Lancer, you’re gonna get to spend the day with your old man, and get to learn about all the stuff a king needs to do every day! Ralsei, you’ll…Doh, just go see Seam and Jevil downstairs. They’ll tell you and they’ll appreciate the company.”

The King put his son on the ground and ushered him back in the direction of the stairs, while Lancer stayed behind.

Seam and Jevil were the only ones in the entrance hall, chatting casually. As Ralsei was coming down the stairs, Jevil pushed himself into the air using Seam’s head as a platform.

“Hey! Speak of the devil, and he doth appear…!” He jeered, flying over and scooping the Prince into his arms.

“Sleep well?” Seam asked, giving Ralsei’s cheek a little scritch when Jevil brought him over.

“Mhm…!…why’d you wanna see me…?”

“Well…I was just going to go to the market to pick up a few things, but Jevil thought it would be fun if we took you to see the rest of the kingdom.”

Ralsei gasped

“Really…??”

He’d never gotten to see the whole Kingdom of Darkness for himself aside from looking out the window and seeing photographs. He always wanted to know what trees felt like to the touch and if you could eat the huge pink and purple leaves that hung off them. Ralsei wished longingly that Lancer could come along with them, but surely he’d get to see the Kingdom himself soon. Maybe they’d even get to do it together.

“Sure! No time like the present!” Jevil answered.

“There was…um…also something else I would like to show you both, Jevil in particular.”

The jester’s expression changed, as he sank to the ground.

“O-Okay…”

“Well. No more stalling. Shall we get going?”

===

The party walked in a single file line sort of deal. With Seam at the front, Jevil in the middle, and Ralsei trailing behind at the back, all of them linked together with holding hands.

Ralsei was immediately fascinated with the outside, the colors, the sounds, the wind in his fur. The sky was a lovely gradient of black and pink, perfect color for a good day, at least, according to superstitions Ralsei had read about. When his attention wasn’t on the sky above, it was somewhere on the ground below.

At one point, Ralsei suddenly let go of Jevil’s hand and ran off, stopping and inspecting a log of mossy wood.

“Y-Young prince, please try not to get your clothes too dirty…” Seam fretted.

“Mr. Seam, what’s this? I think I saw it in a book once, but I can’t remember what it was called…!”

“It’s a log…”

“Log…” He repeated.

As if his eyes couldn’t get any wider, something started inching its way out of the hole in the top of the log.

“What’s that?”

“Hmm. That looks like a Lumbricina. Can you say that?”

“Lum-bri-sin-ah…” Ralsei struggled only a little to repeat.

“Also known as, the common Earthworm!” Jevil added.

“Earthworm? Those are what Lancer likes to put in jars, right?”

“You got it kiddo!”

“Whooa! Cool!” The little prince gave the worm a poke, as it squirmed back down into its hole.

“Alright, come on. We can’t spend all day out here looking at bugs.” Seam said. He took Ralsei’s hand and led him away from the log.

It wasn’t a very long walk until they reached something truly perplexing. It looked like a door, in the middle of nowhere with no wall around it. But when Seam opened it, inside there was no room. Rather a dizzying swirl of color and light that couldn’t be seen very deep into. It was like looking into deep, cloudy water.  

“whoa…W-What’s that…?” The prince asked.

“It’s Fast Travel is what it is. There used to be a bunch of these, but since we’ve been stuck down here, most of them have been knocked out. Save for this one and its twin that’s conveniently right by where we need to be. Careful now, it’s fragile.” Seam explained.

All 3 party members in tow, they walked into the strange void. Ralsei briefly lost complete vision, but it swiftly returned and he realized they were now somewhere completely different. How far away from where they once were, he had no clue. But there were many Darkners surrounding this area, they all seemed rather happy. Many were carrying wicker baskets full of food.

That’s when Ralsei’s attention was turned to something in the area that looked out of place. A small building that, from the outside, looked more appropriately compared to a camping tent. Only it appeared to be made out of a paper bag with a big hole cut out in the front. No lights were on inside, no nothing. Ralsei didn’t get much time to think about it though, because Jevil retook his hand and started walking again. They’d made it to the Marketplace.

Seam took 3 baskets and handed each out to Jevil and Ralsei.

“Alright, we’re just picking up some fruits and vegetables. You can grab 1 or 2 treats, but be mindful I only have so many Dark Dollars on me right now.”

“You got it!” Jevil gave a thumbs up and started inspecting the stands carrying gallons of fruit.

He then noticed something, a barrel carrying a bunch of large star-shaped candies. Taking one out, he quickly realized what it was and grinned.

“Hey Ralsei, think fast!” Jevil tossed the item over to Ralsei, who just barely managed to jump in the air and catch it.

“Try it, it’s Dark Candy! Good stuff.”

He nervously gave it a small nibble at first, then, took a bigger bite out of the top after having tasted it.

“Whoa, slow down there killer, we still gotta pay for this.” Jevil said, taking away the rest of the candy.

Ralsei whined and tried to take it back, but the Jester pushed him away with his foot.

“Go bother Seam…!”

Begrudgingly, he backed off and went to go join the Magician by the vegetable cart. He’d already put many in his one basket, and plenty more were being carried in his other arm.

“Ah, just in time. Could you hold this basket for me please?” Seam asked, pushing one of the baskets into Ralsei’s hands.

He just had to stand there holding the basket out while Seam piled vegetables in there. In his boredom, his mind began to wander, and he remembered a little thing he’d heard earlier, somehow…

“Mr. Seam?”

“Huh? Yes, little prince?”

“What is ‘Determination’?”

Instantly, the whole market went quiet. The atmosphere turned from friendly and safe to cold and untrusting. Seam’s face dropped, his ears hung flat to his head, as he struggled and stammered to answer the question.

“Well…Um…That’s a bit of a tricky one…It’s the belief that there is a…power that allows one to-”

“Now, now, now.”

A large dark figure intervened between Seam and Ralsei. They seemed to be facing the prince, but he couldn’t see their face, for it was obscured by some sort of large hat,

“With all due respect, your highness, you should be careful what you say around others…You don’t want people thinking you know more than you actually do…”

“u-uhhh…O-Okay…I’ll be more c-careful…”

Seam gently grabbed Ralsei’s shoulders and pulled him away from the strange man, who walked off into the distance to god knows where without another word.

“Well…that was rather odd…What do you say we just pay for our items and move on…?” He suggested, looking down at the small goat. He gave a little nod and held out the basket of vegetables.

They very quickly checked out. Jevil had picked up 3 Dark Candies, one for each of them. As they were walking out of the Marketplace, Seam made them all stop.

“Do you remember what I said earlier about wanting to show you something?” He asked.

“Yeah…?” Jevil replied, confused.

“Well, it’s…In here…” Seam began redirecting the party into the small little out of place bag hut that Ralsei had noticed earlier.

It was then they found out that it was MUCH bigger on the inside, big enough to be a comfy little house. And in the very first room, there was what looked like a shop front. Only with empty shelves and display cases begging to be filled up.

Seam held his paw in the air, a spark ignited, then a bright flame appeared in his palm, that he used to start a lantern on the wall that promptly filled the whole room with light.

“So…Where’s this ‘thing’ you wanna show off?” Jevil asked.

“The thing is, to put it bluntly, all this!” Seam looked around the little shop/house with a proud smile.

He lit a candle with the lantern and sat down in one of the few chairs there was.

“I am going to be retiring…!”

“What??!” Jevil shrieked, surprising both Seam and Ralsei.

“I’m not repeating myself, Jevil. And don’t yell so loud, for goodness sake…”

“So…You’re going to be leaving the castle?”

“That’s the plan. I’ll finally be able to relax without the hustle and bustle of Castle life.”

“Oh no…nononono…Y-You can’t…! I-I…”

“And why can’t I…??” Seam slammed the candle down, it thankfully staying in place.

“I-I’m not ready…! I don’t know what to do…!”

“Feh. Nonsense. You’re going to do great.”

“No way! I’m nowhere near as good a Magician as you! I can’t heal people the way you can…! I can’t do that crazy sleeping spell you do! I’m…I’m just a clown with a few tired old tricks…”

Seam sighed through his nose. He slowly stood up from the chair. His back made an awful cracking sound that caused him to double over in pain, but he still straightened himself out and walked over to Jevil in order to put a hand on his shoulder.

“I need you to do one thing for me. I need you to stop all that self-doubt talk. You have more power in you than you even realize. Stop focusing on what you cannot do, and focus on what you can do! Remember, you can do-”

“No! I can’t just ‘do anything’! I’m a stupid kid, and I don’t even know how I landed this job but it’s been the source of the best damn past few years of my life…! And that’s all partly been on you!”

“You shouldn’t be so sentimental. You had to have known this day would come. My body is old and just biding time until the inevitable…I deserve to spend my golden years in peace. And, it’s not as if you’ll never see me again…! Our visits will just be rather infrequent as you continue to figure out the limits of your abilities.”

“I can’t…I can’t do it…Not on my own…I need someone to help me and show me the way…”

“What do you want me to do?? Work myself into dust because you are too incompetent and childish to learn on your own??!” Seam hissed.

He turned away from Jevil and stomped over towards the front door.

“Children…You have so much potential and hope going for you, but you so much rather prefer to just throw it all away for the sake of convenience…”

“Seam? Seam, wait…! This isn’t over…!”

But Seam already turned around and left. Jevil looked through the curtains of the shop, but the Cat Magician was already gone somehow.

Jevil huffed in exhaustion, and then turned around, remembering Ralsei was still there. The little prince stared on in utter shock and dismay.

“uh…D-Don’t worry about that for now, kiddo. How’s about we just head home and we’ll sort this out later…?”

Ralsei nervously came closer, holding Jevil’s hand partly to keep up with him, and also because he’d felt a sudden overall dread coming over him like a wave of nausea…

Jevil was leading him down to where the Fast Travel was, when they both heard a noise and saw movement coming from the darkness near alleyway the shop.

“Pst…Over here…”

He didn’t really think on it long, he just decided to follow the voice with the little 6-year-old right behind him.

“Hello? Who’s there?”

“Me…”

Jevil inched closer to the darkness. The shape of something vaguely monster looking becoming visible soon. Then the full figure stepped out of the shadows. Ralsei squeaked in terror as he realized it was the same weird guy from the market, only now his hat was discarded, allowing his all white, hallow face to be seen. A huge crack was in the side of his head like it had been caved in by a battle ax, his mouth was leeking a viscous fluid. His face was perfectly still, and his smile so wide it almost didn’t seem real. It was as if he was wearing a mask, an uncanny facade to conceal what was within.

“But…Who are you…?” Jevil said, voice still not cracked by fear yet.

“Hmm…I am many things…I could be your greatest ally, your closest friend, or your worst nightmare, your greatest fear…”

“...Prince Ralsei, I need you to go back to the castle and wait, now.”

“But I wanna sta-”

“Just go…! I promise I’ll catch up, I just gotta deal with this loser…”

Ralsei hesitated, then scampered off. But he did not go to the castle, he only watched in secret from behind the wall.

“You’re weird, pal. I’ve deduced that much.” Jevil spouted.

“You look at me as though I speak nonsense?”

“Pfft. Basically.”

“Well…I think you’ll be interested to hear what I have to tell you…”

“Okay…Know what? I’ll go along.”

“Excellent…Truly…Excellent..”

“So what is it that the edgy alley leech wants to tell me?”

“It is a secret only meant for certain ears…But I presume we are alone now that the boy has left?

“That should be the case”

The dark figure went silent for a second, and it’s head shot up, turning until it happened to be looking at the spot the prince was hiding in. Ralsei felt as though earthworms were crawling up his back. Like this stranger was staring into his very soul.

“Interesting…”

“So what is it you wanna tell me?”

“I must inform you that this world you know, the life you’ve lived, it is all a game…”

“...PFFFFTAHAHAHA! Are you serious???”

“Your amusement is apparent…I take it you don’t believe me?”

“Uhh. No. I mean, what the hell kinda game is this exactly? O stranger from the ally?”

“I am no mere voice in the wind dear boy…I know things, things that would shake you to the core and break you from within…”

“Oh yeah? Do you know anything about me?”

“Oh, Jevil, I know so much about you…”

“...H…How do you know my name…?”

He’d never once seen this loon at any Magic Shows, birthday parties, Balls, etc. There was no way he could have known who Jevil was, unless he had a friend who was telling him about the Jester. But then again, that wouldn’t explain what the stranger said next.

“I know so much more than that, boy. You were orphaned at the age of 13, your dear mother and father were attacked in the night by a creature you could not see. But it spared you and took them. You lived the rest of your life on the streets, performing mediocre stunts for a crowd that had no love or caring for you…”

Jevil’s stomach dropped. He fell to the ground, his knees shaking in terror as he gave the figure in the shadows a new look. A look of caution and fear.

“t…there’s no way you could know that…who are…WHAT are you…?”

“This world betrayed you, my boy, this world left you with nothing because that it how the game was supposed to be played. You were put in your situation to become another pawn in the game.”

“No…N-No…My parents…It was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time…I don’t know how you know this, but there’s no way…”

“My boy…I think it is time I opened your eyes to everything you’ve been blind to…It is time for you to become free…”

A deathly hush sound echoed through the alleyway. Ralsei backed up as a cold mist began to cover the ground. But Jevil stayed where he was. His head was hung low, his tail laying limp behind him. Without warning, his head swung back, like a Jack-in-the-Box with some wonky springs. His jaw hung open, a horrible death rattle like gasp escaped his lips, it was like a ghost was being sucked into his body. All the while, he’d risen higher and higher into the air.

“Everything alright, kid?” A random bystander asked, noticing Ralsei’s horrified body language.

Jevil dropped to the ground. The death rattle became a terrifying high pitched screech. He sounded like he was in pain. Some black ooze possibly the same as the one running down the lip of the mysterious stranger, began to leek and spill from Jevil’s mouth and eyes. His once pearly yellow gremlin eyes were now black soulless abysses. But gradually, he seemed to choke down the substance that was forming in his mouth like saliva. He finally dropped completely limp.

Ralsei’s hands and knees were trembling, but he still stepped a bit closer to Jevil, just to make sure he was alright and didn’t need any healing…Big mistake.

Jevil opened his now empty black and white eyes. Raising his head and looked around, a terrifying if gleeful smile now painted on his face, showing off rows of sharp yellow teeth. He began to giggle. Standing up, he raised his arms in the air and summoned a massive yellow and purple scythe out of thin air.

“Ueeheehee! Greetings world! How’d you ever live without me?!”

His voice had gained a chilling echo effect to it, unlike anything that had ever been heard before, it couldn’t even be easily described.

Ralsei could no longer hold back anymore. He shrieked and ran out of the ally, past the bystander who was almost certainly attacked by Jevil while he had his back turned, but he only had one priority now. He had to tell Seam what happened.

Ralsei raced over to the fast travel door. He could hear whooshing from behind him, and knew Jevil was closing in on him.

“Little Prince, little Prince! Why do you run, run, run? For we can have so much fun, FUN, FUN!!”

Throwing the door open, Ralsei jumped through. Enduring the brief vision loss and coming out the other side in the middle of the field. He looked into the portal, and realized that Jevil could easily go through the portal by the shop. And then what would happen?

Ralsei only had a couple of seconds to think. He looked down at his paw. He feared for his life, but he wanted so hard to keep himself and everyone back at the castle safe. He just had to summon one little spell, one little spell…

SHOOM

The prince was thrown backwards into the dirt. He whimpered and slowly rose from the ground. He wiped the dust from his outfit and glasses. When he could see properly again, he realized he’d destroyed the portal! There was nothing but inky darkness inside. A tiny bit of smoke still hung in the air from the fireball he’d formed.

“Woohoo!” Ralsei cheered, then continued in the direction of the castle. “Mr. Seam! Mr. Seam!!”“Calm down, little one…! What’s the matter…?”“Mr. Jevil…He…Mysterious stranger…! World is game…On his way…!”“Slow down, just take a deep breath and tell me what’s going on…!”“There’s no time! He’s coming! He’s got a big knife!”“Who does??!” ”JEVIL!”Seam looked at the doorway. They both became aware of an intense rumbling shaking the ground. There was not a moment to react before-BOOM! The door exploded open, bits and pieces of wood flew everywhere.Seam braced himself and shoved Ralsei behind him to protect him. When the dust and ash cleared, there were only 2 things to behold for them. Jevil and the Mysterious Stranger, both overly giddy considering the destruction that they were causing.“Jevil! What is the meaning of this…??!”“Seam-y! Seam-y! Such great, great news I bring! For I’m finally free!” “What are you talking about??”“I am free! Free I tell you! For this world is locked away, and now I want the rest of the world to be free with me!” “...Ralsei, get out of here.”“No…! I wanna stay and help…!”“It’s not safe here! Just go!”“No, no. The child is quite allowed to stay! Everyone should be able to partake in my glorious freedom! Everyone should be allowed to play my little game!”“He will have no such part of your games, Jevil.” Seam took a step closer, shoving Ralsei away.“GO!” He shouted. But Ralsei didn’t go.“You’re going to run out of air if you stay in your gilded cage much longer, dear friend!”“You are no friend. I don’t know who you are, or what you’ve done with the Jevil I know, but just stop this.”“I have done nothing with the ‘Jevil you know’, I am right here! And I have been freed! Don’t you want to be free too?!” “...I’m not interested in whatever you view as ‘freedom’…”“Is that so…” Jevil raised his scythe.“Is it a fight you’re asking for? Because a fight is what you’ll get, and I don’t think you’re ready to try and take me down.”“...CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!” Doing a few somersaults in the process, Jevil flew into the air, the scythe spinning with him.Seam stood his ground, multicolored fire spawning in his paws. As Jevil’s scythe advanced closer, he nimbly tumbled out of the way. Less than a second after though, before he could anticipate it, the scythe changed direction and fired right at him. Seam tried to jump out of the way, but it was too late. His torso was sliced open, stuffing immediately began spilling out like entrails.Ralsei covered his mouth and muffled a horrified shriek. He wanted so bad to run, to tell the Kings and Lancer, get everyone somewhere safer. But he couldn’t move his feet. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the gruesome scene going on in front of him.Despite all that, Seam desperately kept trying to stay on his feet, despite how much pain it was clearly causing him. Jevil lowered himself so the former friends were face to face.“Seam-y, Seam-y, you can’t keep running from me forever! You can’t abandon me now! So! What do you say? Will you join us and live?…Or refuse and die on the floor like the pathetic maggot you are?”Seam said nothing. He just shuttered and looked up at Jevil, defiance in his shining button eyes.“I’m not dying tonight, Jevil…”“...Suit yourself! Let’s play again!”The scythe in his hands began to grow bigger, the tip seemingly glistening with magic. He pulled back, twirling it in his hand as if trying to intimidate the indifferent magician, who was under the impression he’d already done his worst. Jevil bellowed one final mad cackle as the scythe swung down. Ralsei could feel his heart sink as he witnessed Seam collapse to the ground. The world seemed to freeze, blood and stuffing danced in a hypnotic, esoteric sort of horrific beauty in the still air. There was a plonk plonk sound, then something touched his foot. Looking down, he saw it, an orange button that had been cut in half. It quickly crumbled to dust at his feet and blew away in the wind.Jevil lowered back down only slightly, still suspended in the air. He gave Seam’s body a light kick. Nothing.“Hmmm, pity pity. I was hoping we could have a little more fun…”“Is…Is he…?” Ralsei whimpered.Seam took in a labored heavy breath. Both sides of his face were slashed open and spilling stuffing. His right eye, an empty socket. The left eye thankfully unharmed.“Look at that Seam-y! You’re one step closer to being able to see the truth! UEEHEHEHEE!”He wheezed and looked up at Jevil. There was no hatred, no anger, no bitterness in his gaze. Only pure sorrow. His entire body went limp a and rolled over so his remaining eye could look at Ralsei. He could choke out only one word. “go…”The prince began backing up, preparing to turn around and book it, when he heard thundering footsteps coming down the stairs.“What is going on in here??!” The King of Spades roared.He stopped dead in his tracks seeing the scene before him. Blood, stuffing, Seam’s body, and Jevil hovering over it with a Scythe.“W…What in god’s name…”“King of Spades, King of Spades, such lovely timing for you to arrive! You’re just in time to join the fun!” “You will pay the highest sentence for what you have done if you do not explain yourself!”“Pardon me…”Jevil moved aside, the scary mysterious figure took his place.“Who are you?!”“I am THE Knight. You will come to know me as your Knight…” “You seem to be conspiring to take down my castle staff, and then what? You’ve left my son unharmed by the looks of it.”“The child is unimportant for now. What matters is what I have to offer you…” “Daddy, I’m scared…!” Ralsei cried from where he stood, too scared to move.“Come here…” The king gestured for him to come closer, without taking his eyes off of the Knight.“Get behind me, everything is going to be okay…”“You appear so loving and protective of the boy, like a father would love a son…” “...He is my son, for your information.”“Hmmm, really…?” “Yes…!”“Mm, two children so different in personality and appearance, and no mother in the picture. I ever wonder why she had to go and disappear.” “You know more then you let on…”“Ohh, really…? Excellent, that’s what I was trying to get across…Anyway…Enough stalling. It is time you bow down to your Knight, and earn back the respect of your people!” The Knight’s hand drifted out from his overcoat. It appeared as if it was disconnected from his body. It moved like it was disconnected from his body too. It moved like a rat in the light and shoved the King. When it made contact with his body, a brilliant bright light burst from between him and the hand, and it grew until it enveloped the entire room. Ralsei jumped back and tried in vain to cover his eyes with his sleeves, as everything went white, and then black. === ... ..…. “No…” “No…nonono…” “This is all wrong” “This…" “This can’t be…”Ralsei’s throat closed, he struggled to look away from the sight before him.Chara was laying limp at his feet. Her mouth hung open, dark blood spilling from her lips. Her eyes were sunken in, glazed over and unfocused. Her skin was ghostly pale. She was dead. Ralsei had never seen a dead body with his own 2 eyes before, but somehow he knew just looking down at her, he was staring into the face of death.  “No…Chara…P-Please, wake up…!”He gave her a desperate shake, but she made no response. There was a scent on her. It was sweet, but also sour and bitter. It was the stench of death and sickness, he knew it even though he’d never once smelled it in his waking life. He looked up with tears in his eyes, as the darkness that surrounded him began to fall away, turning into a grassy field. Bright, blinding light beat down on him. The trees looked so different…It was almost serene and beautiful for a second. But then, Ralsei’s ears began to fill with the sound. The sound of shouting.He blinked rapidly at a sudden pain in his head, and when he reopened his eyes, an angry mob had circled around him, the sky had gone from a calm blue, to a dark gradient of crimson and black, as if the night sky running red with blood. An angry mob of shapeless figures he didn’t recognize, but somehow he didn’t think they were normal monsters. They were shouting something clear as day, however.“KILLER!” “MONSTER!” “CHILD MURDERER!” “DESTROY IT!” Ralsei looked down again at Chara, and understood what the problem was.“W-What? No! Th-This was some sort of…Accident..? I didn’t do it!”But the mob didn’t seem to hear. They just kept shouting.“No…! I’m not a murderer…!!”Then, searing white hot pain wreaked his midsection, unlike anything he had ever, or thought he would ever experience. His body locked up and collapsed into the grass, with Chara laying right beside him.He wasn’t even allowed a word to say before the world around him melted away into nothingness, and the void swallowed him whole…"Ralsei...!" "Ralsei...!!" “RALSEI!!”Ralsei jumped awake with a deep gasp. He thought for a second he was back in the room with Jevil, but he realized it was just some dark area where he couldn’t see. He could smell though. He smelled the sweet if slightly sickening smell of his brother, Lancer.“W…W-What happened…?”“I don’t know! I was with all the other kings hanging out, and we heard this large BOOM! Then we saw this creepy guy wandering the hall, and Uncle Jevil was with him. The guards took Uncle Jevil away, but for some reason, they didn’t do anything about the creepy guy. I came downstairs, and the ceiling was all cracked and caved in, and I carried you somewhere safer, and…”“Daddy…??”Ralsei managed to find his way out of the darkness, only to find sprawled in the middle of the entrance hall was his father. Not but a twitch of visible life in him. Coming out more, he found some Hathy’s inspecting Seam. 2 were working together to carry him away, and some others were preparing to look over the King.As if on cue, the other 3 Kings rushed down.“AGH! What in the name of-!?” Cried the King of Diamonds.“He’s not dead is he…??” Fretted the King of Hearts.“Be careful, bits of the ceiling could still be loose.” Advised one of the King of Club’s heads.As they carefully checked on their friend, something happened that once again caused chaos for all involved.A loud explosion shook the entire Castle, a deafening roar nearly shattering the walls. Ralsei fell to his knees and covered his ears, his eyes instinctively closed. He thought the explosion would be brief, like when the door burst open. But no, the castle just kept shaking and trembling without stop. Most everyone in the room was too scared to move, but at the same time recognized the need for safe shelter. But how can you find shelter when your own home is being destroyed?“Ralsei, move!!”Ralsei felt something grab the back of his scarf and yank back with as much force as it could muster, the shock nearly choking him out. He fell on his rump and realized he was now under a piece of rubble that had fallen earlier, with Lancer right behind him. Immediately after, a piece of the ceiling crashed into the ground right in front of his face. The impact was so great, the chunk of ceiling fell through the floor and into the basement below. Ralsei shuttered thinking of what could have happened to him if he stayed where he was standing.Finally, after what felt like forever, the shaking began to subside, and everything once again went silent. But not for long.A spine chilling cackle arrived. The princes both looked up at the same time, The Knight and Jevil were now at the top of the stairs. Jevil stayed where he was, but the Knight began to float down. He moved almost like gelatin, only his body was somehow even looser in shape.Then, the King of Spades arose. His mouth hung open with his tongue lolling out, but you could see all his attention was on The Knight.“Your Dark Fountain has been created, I expect a thank you for that.”The King stood up and then bowed down on one knee.“Thank you, my Knight…”“With this fountain, this world shall seek freedom and revenge upon those who abandoned you. But…There is a prophecy set, that three ‘heroes’ will arrive one day soon and try to seal our beautiful Fountain. You must not let them. You must not let the Lighteners take everything from you again!” “It shall be done, my Knight. I swear, I will not fail you…”“You’ve done excellent already…I will be taking my leave for now, and until we meet again, I will ALWAYS be watching…So don’t screw this up…” In a flash of brilliant white light, the Knight disappeared instantly. Ace bellowed out a low moan, then sunk to the ground.The other 3 kings went back to their panicking and fretting, when they remembered the Jester still at the top of the stairs.“Well! I suppose it’s time we get to causing a little Chaos, Chaos!”“SEIZE HIM!” The King of Hearts shouted.The remaining Hathy’s raised their spears and charged at Jevil. He smirked, clearly amused by their attempts to stop him.“This should be fun, fun, FUN!”He bounced into the air. His scythe raised in the air and swung. With a might slash, the 4 Hathys fell to the ground like bowling pins.“Anyone else wanna play??!”The kings huddled together in fear. Lancer whimpered and scurried off deeper into the safety of the rubble pile. But Ralsei stayed where he was. He could see Jevil preparing his scythe for the Kings, not just royalty, but his family. He couldn’t just stand there and let him hurt them. He had to…Ralsei only heard Lancer shout some incomprehensible plea, as he ran out of cover and threw himself between Jevil and the Kings.For a moment, everything froze. He nearly expected to be cut in half, or maybe lose an eye like Seam. But instead, nothing.Jevil stood there, with his scythe raised in the air. His facial expression was twitching, his lip was jittering in the vague form of words that couldn’t be heard. Until they could.“...I see…You wish for the boy to be spared? Hm. Very well. I shall not object to you, my Knight…” The scythe lowered.“Little Prince, little Prince, would you be so kind as to get out of the way?” “No!”“ueheehee…maybe you misunderstood…I was not making a suggestion…”“I-I don’t care…! You’re a bully and a meanie…! I don’t care what you tell me! I want the old Mr. Jevil back…!”“Dear child, nothing has changed! I’m simply wiser and far more capable now! For as truly ignorant as Seam is, he was right! I am more powerful than I ever realized! I am the one! I can do it!! I can do anything!!!”Ralsei continued to stand his ground, though he said nothing.“...Mmm…You must be so brave to put yourself between a man with a weapon, and the ones you love so dearly…Or…Are you foolish?”“Y-You’re never getting through me, Jevil…!”Jevil paused, looking rather annoyed.“...Alright, let’s get this over with. I have plenty of ways I can dispose of you without outright killing you.” The Jester flew higher into the air. The scythe raised, an evil devilish smile growing wider and wider on his face. But then…What happened next, Ralsei could not describe with mere words, but he was sure it would be a memory that would last for the rest of his life. For the whole world fell on pause. All the sounds muffled. The feeling inside him, could not be explained easily. It was warm, safe, but also motivating. And just a little intoxicating. He swore, the world and the scene before him began to blur, until he could see through to the distant past, a memory so faded, but never forgotten.…….… “You look parched, I’ll go get you a drink. I may take a while, so remember: Whatever you do, DON’T look at it!” Through darkness and fuzziness, you can see there are 2 blurry hazy white figures. Without blinking, suddenly there’s only one. You feel so cold, and wet. You’re scared. You can feel her fear too, and it only makes you feel more afraid. You can’t seem to control the movement of your body, you can only cry out into the cold darkness, in vain hopes someone will help you. But her voice…Her voice is so clear, its as if you’d been hearing it for your entire life...   “I know it’s so wrong, but…I can’t resist just one look…Or else it’s screaming will drive me mad…” As your vision clears up slightly more, you can see hints of red peeking at you. Like paint smears on a white canvas. “oh…!…My precious, beautiful boy…” You suddenly begin to feel a warm softness press itself against you. It’s then you start to feel safe again, it’s just you and her. “It’s so unfair isn’t it…How I wish the winds of fate could have blown different for us…” … “But maybe, it’s better this way…” You begin to hear a gentle rhythmic thumping sound, as your eyelids start to fall. “Should this be the last time we meet, I would like to make the most of it…” … “Would you care for a song my mother used to sing me when I was a wee babe…? This will be difficult without the music box she always had, alright here we go…” “Darling oh won’t you please calm your heart Just close your eyes And hear your heartache wisp away Let sleep embrace you Don’t be afraid of the Dark … Please allow me to pacify your mind Just rest, oh rest and, feel your pain be blown away And no harm done Oh, no pain shall come For now, place your worries aside Hush now, hush now No one can hurt you now See all that you’ve accomplished Now take a bow … Everyone has their own battles Inside their hearts so please be Gentle…” “You never have to fight your battles alone…”Ralsei sighed, as the darkness settled away from him, he realized he was back in the real world. Everything was the same as it had been, only there was one key difference. Jevil was laying on the ground, unconscious!“Well…That just happened…” The King of Diamonds whimpered.Lancer ran out from cover and threw his arms around Ralsei, nearly tackling him to the ground.“Dooon’t ever scare me like that ever again…!!”“I-I’m okay…” He could still feel the slightly intoxicating effect he’d experienced as he was…Dreaming?“Your eyes went all funny for a while and then you just randomly started singing some song!”“I-I…I had…some sort of…strange dream…”“Whoa, really?? I thought you couldn’t dream without a bed! What was it about?”“can’t…remember…”“Rudinns! Take this Madman to the dungeons and lock him up tight! We’ll deal with him later…” King Opulent commanded some nearby Rudinn Guards.The compiled and carried Jevil’s limp body away.“Can someone PLEASE explain what in the name of Light and Dark just happened???” The King of Hearts pleaded.“U-Uhh…W-Well it all started…” Ralsei began, Lancer still hooked around his neck. But then they began to hear a great moan.The King of Spades slowly sat upright. The King of Clubs had taken his hood off earlier to check him over, so you could see his eyes unfocused and twitching, as he just woke up from whatever crazy spell that Knight had put on him.“H-Hey daddy!” Lancer smiled innocently.A heart-stopping beat of silence…“Lightner Scum! Get it away!” The king’s face became disgusted, as he swatted at and backed away from the princes.“Uhhh…King, that’s your son you’re talking about!” Opulent said through gritted teeth“I’ll have it nowhere near me, let alone have it for a son.”“W-Who’s he talking about…?” Ralsei asked. “No one, dear prince, he’s just…uhh…a little out of it…We’ll sort this out…”“You keep away from me! I must attend to my duties…”“With all due respect friend, you took quite a nasty fall, and it might be in your best interest to-”“SILENCE!”Everyone instantly shut up. Ace began to storm towards the stairs.“D…Daddy…?” Ralsei began toddling towards the King.“Ralsei? Wait no! Get away from him!!” Opulent tried to stop him, but it was too late.The King spun around and delivered a sharp kick to the 6-year-old’s stomach. He spat at his feet then continued upstairs.The other kings shrieked as Ralsei fell to his knees, and then collapsed on his side. His whole tiny body was immobile with pain, the breath having been knocked out of him. The shock of what had just happened did not dull the pain, but intensify it. He instantly started having flashbacks to his last nightmare. The one where Chara was…He rolled onto his back, his vision turning spotty. He struggled to breathe as each inhale brought with it another stab of pain. Although he tried to lift his hand to put it on his abdomen and heal it, he was already too weak. Accepting his fate, Ralsei allowed his head to fall back, and his body to go limp…   ===“This is…Sorta new…”The world he was in now was a starry and bright hill area. A giant circle thing hung in the sky, it sort of looked like a huge rock. Only much more round and much, MUCH bigger. It was also glowing, illuminating the world in light. It was a strangely comforting, beautiful place.“So this must be what Stars look like…”Ralsei heard a cough behind him. Turning around, he saw a sight that frankly was less horrifying than the other stuff he’d seen that day.Chara was sitting on the grass. Her knees were up to her chest. She gave Ralsei a look that caused him to jump. Blood and black fluid were streaming from her nose and mouth.“C-Chara! Are you alright…?? What happened…??” Ralsei asked, getting on his knees in the grass.Chara coughed again, blood splattered her hand this time, which she shook off like it was nothing.“L-Listen…I don’t have a lot of time left…I…I…Don’t know where I’m gonna go…But I’m sorry to tell you this, I don’t think we’re going to the same place together…”“What are you talking about? Where is here?”She looked around with a glassy film on her eyes.“I do̴n̸'̶t̸ know…He̷aven I guess…? Sŏ̶̬m̶̪͒e sort of bridge betwe̶̝͊en worlds?”Chara shuttered, her eyes squeezed shut. When she opened them again, they were starting to bleed, and the whites were turning black, like marbles. Ralsei saw her hands and feet were beginning to…glitch? Was that the proper word?“Did̴̜͑ ̷̧̊ỷ̵͍ou learn what deẗ̵͉́e̸̪̓r̷͎͆mination is̴͕̄?”“Sorta…? It’s some sort of power, but that’s about all I managed to learn…”“Well, I thi̷n̴k̶ I̶̠͛ ̶̣̀f̶̣͐i̸͚͑gured out a̶ ̶w̵ay to ex̶p̶l̸a̷i̷n it.”“Yeah…?”“De̴t̶e̸r̴m̵i̵n̸a̵t̴ion is the po̷w̷e̶r to con̵t̷r̷o̶l the fa̶b̶r̷i̶c of time and re̶̳͌̀͐a̴̱͊ḻ̶̌̇̿į̸̭̹̋̽̄t̸̡̲̀̍y by cr̷e̵a̴ting Sà̵͕̦͝v̴̩̈́̓es, thereby allowing a hu̶m̸a̵n̶ ̷t̶o̶ ̸p̷e̷r̷s̶i̴st a̶̹͂f̴͈̐ṯ̸͝e̸̟̊r̵͓͠ ̸͉̈́d̴͚̕ẽ̴̝ã̸̱t̵̻͑h̶̙͊. It’s al̵̥̣̻̽l̴̹̠̈́ͅl̷̠͍͐́l̶̤̔͜l̷̡͍͐ part of tḥ̵͕͔̅ę̴̎̀ ̷͍̾͛g̴̼̻̓̐̽á̷̬̺̌̽me…”Ralsei gulped.“Game…?”“Yeah, gạ̸̈́͒͌m̵̙͊̐e.”“I heard…I…I heard from…someone…that the world was a video game…whatever a video game is.”“Well, sorta. It’s go̴̭͂t̴̯͊ ̴͍́s̵̤̎a̷̞͋v̶̟̄ê̵̝ş̷̍,̶̤͗ ̴͎̍ĭ̶̟ť̸͖’̷̨̊s̷̘͌ ̸̊ͅg̶̡̓ot that we̷i̶r̵d̶ ̸h̷e̵a̶l̴i̷n̴g foo̵d̷,̴ ̵i̴t̵’̷s̷ ̸g̵o̶t̴ ̵t̵h̴e̷ ̵m̷a̸g̵i̶c̷ ̸e̸n̴c̶h̴a̵n̸t̴e̶d̶ ̴c̶l̸o̷t̴h̶e̸s̴…̵I̶ ̶w̵o̴u̸l̷d̷n̶’̶t̴ ̷s̴a̷y̴ ̵i̷t̵’̶s̵ ̶l̸i̴k̵e̴ ̴a̶ ga̵̭̔m̷̙͑e with a pĺ̵͉a̷̝͊y̸̰̌ḛ̵̕r, but there are thi̸n̵g̴s̵ ̷i̵n̷ ̶t̵h̸i̴s̴ ̴w̵o̴r̴l̸d̷ ̸t̶h̴a̸t̶ ̶m̵a̸ke you stop and think…”  “...Chara, what’s going on?”“...I dọ̴̈́n̵̦̋’̶̙̍t̴̪̅ ̷͔̎h̸̤̀a̶̪̎ve ä̸̺͝ so̶̥̓_̵̬̀l̸͚̉ ̶̤͘a̸̗̿'̴̺̂y̶̰̒more…I̸͍̎ ̴̫̄u̶̡̍s̴̮͑ed it up̴͇̐ ̷̖͛o̵̟͂n̶̔͜ ̷̯̅ẗ̶̟́ḩ̵͝i̶̠̾s̵̪͌ S̵͕̈́̃̀̉̓͝͠T̴̙̠̎͂́̈́̾͋̽͊̓̾̋̔͒͌̚͝͠͠U̴̢̧̨̢̬̳̬͙͖̞͚̳͉̰̩̇̀̌̌̽͑̆̌̏̿͊͗̐̃̚͝͠P̴͈͙͕̼̔͝Į̵͎͈̰̺̖͌͌̒́̒͘D̶̢͊̿͋̽͐̇̈́́́̊͆͒̉̉͛͛̕͘͝ ̵̨̛͎̗͂̋̔͝P̶̘̺͓͕͇̯͖̺͓̏̾̄̇͆̀̋̓͘L̵̛͕͋̍Ȧ̵͉̳̋͘Ň̷̟͎̼͈̣̠̠̊̀̂̄͜ͅ…!̸̦͚͚̠̰̞̗̗̑!̷̢̝̞̤̱̼̔͊͛̉̀̋̓̆́͛͛̕͘͘͝+̴̗͔̹̣̂̿̂̋́̔̚͝͝ͅI̸̜̖̹̹̦̤̭̲̬̅̔̆̾͗͂̔͌̿͗̈́̕͜ͅ/̴̪̞̱̹͈͖̳̎̈̿͑̅͊̍̉̐̋̅̈́̊̂͆̕͘͠ͅ?̴̜̠̤͙͇̻̱͚̦͎̞͍̙̟̼̞̗̈̒̎̐̍́͆̅͂̏̑͝ͅ“Dah! Okay, okay! Just please don’t yell anymore…”“.̶̧͓̳͚͌̌̚.̷̅̽̎͜͠.̴̤̓̉͝I̵͓̞͓̾̆̐̆̌’̵͎͙́̈͛ḿ̶̨̳͉͉ ̸̡̥̲́̎̏͒̌͝s̷̼̲̪̳͑̓́̀̽̕ö̵̦̺̙̫͎̩̽̆̔̽͝-̵͔̲̦̖̬̫́͛̕͝r̶̪̫͎͌̏ṟ̶͖͙͒͒́7̷̙͉̥͇̮̆̒́̌̄͘…̸̢̣͓͓̳̻̍̀̐̊̋͊Ị̴̓̾’̸̦̘̪̘̇̊͐͒͑̕ͅ ̷͚̞̃͌͝ş̸̛̫̽̈́͝o̴̡͂ ̵̼͕̈̆̀ş̷͙͖̌̿̋͗̓͝ǫ̴̢̦̺́̅̔̂_̴̱͐͘͝r̵̳͉̈͘ͅỳ̷̧͚̎̋ͅ ̴̀̽̎́̔̈́͜f̴̫̩̤̐̒̄̈́͂͝ó̷̮̥͕̖̤̟̿̑̌͘r̵̪̦͂̈́͜͜ ̶͎̥̩̃̂̚e̶͓̿͑̓v̷̱̗̺͑̾͌̈̕e̷̛͙͔̔̅͑̌͘_̷͉̝͇͕̂y̷͉̜̬̪̅̅t̷̰̄͗h̴̰̓͌̃̑͝ì̸̞̠͚͔n̸̼̘͓̭̿̓g̶͚͆́̀́̕…̵̥͑̓̈́́̕”She began to cry, the tears mixing with the blood running down her face to just give the impression she had even more blood. Her mouth curled in a smile, but it was transparent. Ralsei could see, practically feel the sorrow and anger she truly felt inside. Her face was starting to glitch now too. Her voice grew a heavy reverb electronic vibe to it, like what Jevil’s voice had become. Wait. Electronic?“H-Hey, don’t be…There’s no way you could have seen this coming…”“B̵̠̞̬̻͔̦̄͛͐u̸̢͎͉̥͈̐͜t̵̺̟̥͇̂̏̎̒̿ ̵̨̳̻͉̼͔̉́Í̸̤͍͙͍ ̴̧͙͇͔͚̝̑̀͂C̸̩̝͉̱̏̈́̈́̿͌̕͜O̷͖͚̩͔̮̍̀ ̸̧̧̰̊̋U̸̺̜̍͊̿̒͜͠L̸͎͊̓D̷̞̘͐̉ ̶͎̫̯͓̦͂̀͆͗̅h̸̼̘͔̐́͝á̸̝̣̈́̿̍̿͠v̷̛̮̭̗̭̎̇̑̏̒é̷̲̝̫̥͎̩͂̉̑ ̶̢̨̢̨̛̯̥̈́͝t̵̡̝͉̝̓̇̐͛̕ͅh̴̩̥̮̉̈́_̶͓͚͎̟̞̂̆̄͝ģ̴̰͎͚̀͑̒̾͝h̵̢̻̫̞̔̎̅̈!̴̡̯͎̘̮͌̈͆͠ ̴̫̰͚̰̑̓͛̇T̷͇̞̲͈̑͝h̶̰̻̘̀̒̎͊̐͘į̵̫͉̞̐ṣ̴̞͔̐̋ ̴̞̖̥́̽͒w̷̛̞̤͕̄̕ͅh̶̺̖̮̔́̓̏0̷̺͓̦͙̬̈́̌l̶̠̲̜̉͂̒̀͠ȩ̵̨̩͔̂ ̴̢̨̤̺̰͈̐̕͘p̶̻̪̠̿̎͆l̷̙͊́̈́͆͝͝ͅ'̵̩̦̩̟̂̓͋̍̓̂n̶̲̱͍͌̊̕͜ ̷̲͔͐̇̚͜w̴̝̜̣͎̋̂_̷̤̑̌̍͘ͅș̵̩̺̣̜̓̌ ̵̣̦̲̾ő̴͚̭̣̜̙̲n̶͓͎͕̽͒ ̷͔̲̠̦̪͎̍̾͝͠M̷̯̥̭̓̓Ë̴̡́͑̏!̵̡̣̣̟̺̣̆̕͝ ̸͚́A̸̡̛̬̙̖̝͋̑̈́̚͠n̴͙̞̖̠̱̄́̔̒͝ḑ̶̥͇̊̈́́͋ ̵̧̱͚̭̺̌̓̓͠Í̶̙͒ ̴̼̓̈f̶̰͙̘̥̎͘͜_̶̯͋͋͜k̷̢̺̣̑̒͆͌ȩ̴̦̝͖̟͗͌͑͛͝ḑ̸͉̫̮̝̰̇̊ ̷͕̆̾̑͂ǐ̸̛̳̮̬̗͋̃̎̚t̴̢͓̩͔̮̓̅̐̄͜ ̴͉̞̐̌ú̶̗̝̗̙̜p̷͔̖̘̂̅̀̐̏…̴̖̮͙͕͑͒̄̇̔̐”“Will…Will we ever see each other again, Chara…? I’m scared…So much is happening, what with Jevil, and now Dad is acting different, and-”“I̷̩̯̝͝ ̷̤̹͆̂̆d̷̻͐̀ͅȍ̴̠̎ń̶̨̚’̴̢͊ẗ̴̹̤́ ̴̛̩̈́͑͜k̶͎͔͘_̷̣̈w̴̤̖̣̾́͝ ̶̭̖̾̉̄i̴̮̘̤͘f̴̬̭̅ ̸̥̩̫̀̑̂y̸̢̑͝ö̷̙͓́̀ȗ̴̠̮̣́͝’̵̮͐l̷̢̜̺̈́͛̃l̷̰̥̊ ̸͍̣͌e̷͚̒̄ͅv̶̰̥͉͂̽̕e̷̳̩̭̊ŕ̴̫ͅ ̷̜͓̹͗̈́s̵̯̘̓ͅę̸̔ȩ̸͈̩͐̕ ̸̮̰̏͗M̴̯̓̓͠ͅE̴̦͋͒̃ ̴̡̱̃ä̷̢̬̝́̑͌g̴͙͋͠ͅ]̵̡̀̃i̵̳̾̍̓ñ̴͎̹͍…̴̮͍̎͌B̷͎͕͔̽̔̄u̷͖͂t̴̝͋̋̕…̸̰̠̘́̕M̴͈̞̾͒͜a̷̤̖͋̐y̸͍̬̥͑b̵̹̭̊͗̚ẹ̷̳̖̍̌͑ ̶̭̩̣̌̕̚s̴̢̛̍̈́ȏ̷͕́͆m̷̮̠̍é̶͇́ͅ ̴̭̩̥̓̚d̵̢͉̐a̷̗̾͋͋y̴͎͋̊̂,̷̺͊ ̷̠̘͠s̷̙̓̐_̸̫͗̈́͐è̶̺͓͓͝ ̷̨̱̞͗̓ḥ̷͎̅̅͠o̵̢̟̺̎̈́w̶͕̹̰͘,̷͍̭͈́̕ ̶̨̛͓͍̈́̈́ý̸̭̚o̵̢̖̫̚u̴̖̠̹͂͛’̵͍̭͈͑l̷͎̒͘l̵̙̄ ̴͚̽́͒f̷̼͙̆̈́i̷̘̳͌́͌_̸̱̻̱̀́͝d̴͕̿͗̚ ̵͇͆s̶̨̺̣̉̍͝ǫ̴̧̬͝-̴̬͉̗͊̃o̴̹̓̆n̷̥̝̅e̴͕̘͋̿͝ ̷͚͐͝͠l̶̛̮̯̔̕i̶͚̒k̴̢̈́e̸̗͉̩͒ ̶̭̘̲̐m̴̤͆̈́̈e̸̬͚̿.̶̪̪̆̐̉ͅ ̶̳̓͝ͅA̶̟̦͉͑̍͌ḽ̸̈́̌͠t̴̡͖̆̓̈h̴̛͖̉͊o̷̲̔u̴̫͐̊g̸̻͗h̸̘͐…̷̛̊̈͜͜Ẇ̴̫̀h̶̛̭̅̄ạ̵́͂̿t̷̰͈͒͒̂ ̷̯̱͋͑̿a̵̱͍̘̾ ̷̛͔̞ŕ̷͇̾ ̷̲̼̒͒̕ĕ̷̯̩͔̋ ̸̮̜̘͊͂͆ ̴̀��̦t̷̰̗̘͛̂ ̴͖͉̼̽́h̶͈̗͕̐̆ ̴͎͛̐́ë̴̥̙̭́̿ ̴̛̘͐͐ ̸̟͂̚ç̷̱̬̄͒ ̴̼̻̆ḧ̷̝̟̥̀́ ̸̻̞̯̃â̷̧̦ ̸̍̉͜ń̵̰̽ ̶̢͓̤̾̓͊c̷̜̱̓ ̶͕͋̀ȩ̷̠̮͐ ̸͖͠s̷̩̋͊ ̴̜̾͠͝ ̷̩̈o̶̳̰̟͑͝ ̴͙̙̦͗f̷̲͚̤̅̽ ̶͇̖̙̃̑͘ ̴̛̹̍͑t̴̜̐ ̴͕͚̎̒̚h̴̲́͌̓ ̵̛̜̭̄̉å̸̪͓͖ ̴̹͋̋t̵͓͎̑̒̚ͅ ̴̬͝ ̷̘̊̅̓ẖ̶̯͎͑͘ ̸̡̨̱̎̂̍a̸͈̱͖̓ ̵̦́p̴̭̤̀ ̴̩̯̾́̀ͅp̸̘̳͛ ̸̩̏̈́ẽ̸̗́̑ ̵̖̪̜̈̓n̴͉͈̜̔ ̶̬͚̹̿̑̐ĭ̶͔͚̳̋ ̴͇͍͆n̸͔̆̍͝ ̶̛̜͗g̴̹͉̰̊̚ ̴̺̘̻̓.̵͉̰͌ ̸̖̭̍.̵̝̋ ̶͙̩̖̊͘.̵̯̺̫̊̑̃ ̶̦̳̓͐̎?̵͇̳̇̏͠”Ralsei blinked sadly as Chara’s body began to go opaque, and then, like a puff of smoke in the wind, she disappeared entirely. Her laugh still echoed before fading out with the rest of her. Ralsei stood up, staring at the spot where she’d been sitting. There was still an indent in the grass. He closed his eyes and mourned her. He did not know where she’d go, but he somehow knew this would be the last time he ever talked to her, and he just hoped she would find peace.With that, he turned around. The starry field fading out, as he was gently lifted into consciousness.Ralsei’s eyes opened slowly. In the darkness of his bedroom, he could see the pudgy shadow of Lancer snoring in bed. There was some sort of shouting coming from above the room, but he would deal with that as it came. His midsection was incredibly sore and tender, but as long as he didn’t move much, he felt fine. He suspected it had been bandaged up, but didn’t feel like checking. Sighing, Ralsei yawned and gazed up at the ceiling.“I have a bad feeling things are going to start changing for the worst…”

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

I’m sorry that I never uploaded Chapter 7 to Tumblr. My internet has been really shitty while I’m on vacation, and Tumblr wouldn't let me upload the damn thing. I’m currently in the process of working on Chapter 8, and once I finish that, I’ll upload that AND Chapter 7 to make it up to y’all.

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 6

The nightmares were getting worse.

Even 3 years after the first incident, Kris continued to have strange episodes of twitching and mumbling in his sleep, followed by painful. coughing fits that ended with him hacking up more of that horrible gunk. After it had happened for the 3rd time in a row, Toriel rushed Kris to the ER in the middle of the night. But jarringly, the doctors found nothing wrong with him, nor did the small town Clinic have the resources or machines necessary to test the gunk he was coughing up. Ultimately, the Dreemer family went home with 3 hours wasted, and a bottle of useless pills.            

Asriel started singing his lullaby to Kris every night to lull him to sleep, as that seemed to be the only way to guarantee that he wouldn’t have an episode for that night. But then one day, Asriel had been out until past midnight, doing…Whatever it was Teenagers snuck out of the house to do past midnight. Meaning Kris went without his lullaby, and thus quietly endured the torture of his dreams. And after that night, Azzy gradually became more busy with late night stuff, and Kris gradually learned to suffer in silence. And even when Asriel was around to sing him to sleep, it had stopped working so effectively…  

The coughing up gunk eventually stopped happening quite so frequently. Only once or twice a week, Kris would get out of bed and hobble into the bathroom to throw up without waking his mother. One time, the gag-inducing smell that the gunk left behind was way too obvious after the fact. Desperate to not let Toriel find out, he found some scented bath bombs they’d been holding onto since Christmas. In his exhausted, mentally drained state, Kris thought the best course of action was to just dump all the bath-bombs in the toilet, flush, and call it a night. When his mother inevitably confronted him the next morning, he said he’d just gotten bored and “wanted to see what would happen”. On the bright side, the stench of 6 Orange Vanilla bath-bombs did, in fact, overpower the stench of metal and battery acid. It overpowered it for a whole month.  

With Kris’ nightly fits seemingly a thing of the past, Asriel being approached with multiple scholarships, winning tons of awards in Soccer, and being voted the most charming Choir Boy, life in the Dreemer household was finally starting to become normal again.

Then, only a couple days after Asriel’s 15th birthday, Kris got really sick.

He had heard Toriel mumble something about a Flu virus going around, and he let her just believe that. But he knew this wasn’t “just a flu”. Not that he knew what it was, but it sure as hell wasn’t as simple as that.

The few times he’d let himself fall asleep, whatever entity in his dreams was somehow even more hostile. It screamed and shook him, trying to smother him to death in the cold endless void he could never escape from unless he woke up. Somehow, he’d managed to kick himself awake the first few times, and then proceed to vomit like he’d just been breathing in river water. Only instead of water, it was more of that filthy sludge. Even with his lower body so weak, he could barely stand, Kris still managed to get to the bathroom and dispose of it without Toriel ever knowing. Now, he was doing every possible thing he could to keep himself awake while he battled whatever affliction this was. He didn’t want to find out what would happen if he let himself slip again.

A week into this sickness, the day had been average and uneventful. Toriel kept him home from school (obviously) and moved him onto the couch so she could watch him better. Too bad there weren’t any good cartoons playing at 11 AM on a Friday, just the kiddie preschooler ones he lost interest in years ago.

The hours merged into each other, as Kris laid there in a zombie-like state. The sound of some TV Program about antiques being auctioned started to fade into just a low buzz in his ears, as his tired, sleep deprived eyelids started to fall…

Kris snapped awake when the door slammed open, the world all coming back to him in a dizzy swirl as voices began to shout.

“I cannot BELIEVE you!”

“Asriel, what did I do that hurt you so bad…?? Want you to look presentable in front of your friends?? Want to supervise you while you drive the car for the first time??”

“First off, it’s not the first time and you know that! Second of all, you were embarrassing me! I mean seriously! ‘Azzy-wazzy’??? Give me a break, Mom!”

“Hmph. Well if they have such a problem with that, maybe they shouldn’t be your friends.”

“Oh shut up!”

“Don’t tell ME to shut up! How about you just sit there and do your homework quietly thank you very much, young man. Oh, and I’m going to need you to watch Kris tonight while I go to my PTA Meeting.”

“What?! I watched him yesterday! I have my last Choir Recital of the school year tonight!”

“Well I’m sorry, but your brother is still very sick, he should take priority over some Recital. Now stop arguing, Asriel, and do your homework.”

Asriel growled deeply

“It’s always “do this, Asriel”, “stop complaining, Asriel”, “Shut up and do this, Asriel.”, “I know this might inconvenience you but can you do this for me, Asriel”. I’m so sick of it!”

“Well, I’m so sorry I need you to actually step up and give a damn about your brother for once!”

“OH, will you just shut the fuck up!?”  

Kris winced as Toriel gasped in utter shock, followed by a harsh SMACK.

“Don’t you dare use that language with me, young man! Who do you think you’re talking to?!”

“...”

“Well!? Who are you talking to?!”

“I’M TALKING TO A CUNT!”

Bags rustled, footsteps stomped on the wooden floors, and finally, the door slammed.

Kris gripped at his chest, perfectly stiff and still. The bickering reminded him way too painfully of the argument he overheard between his parents so many years ago…

“Mom…” He whimpered, daring to lift his head from the couch.

“What…just happened…?”

Toriel huffed, steam practically coming from her nose.

“Nothing, my dear. Your brother is just going through this wonderful thing called Puberty, and I must remind myself that I knew this would happen eventually…You just go back to sleep, Kris.”

She walked out to the hallway with a heavy sigh, leaving Kris all alone there with his thoughts.

He didn’t think he could relax after hearing all of that. He’d never heard his brother so angry before. As much as his body felt like just laying there, in his mind he desperately wanted to go after Asriel and make sure he was alright.

Then, as if a switch in his brain just suddenly flicked on, he just swung his legs over the side of the couch, and managed to stand up. Though he was a bit slower then he would have probably been otherwise, he walked over to the coat rack and donned a simple lime and yellow zip-up jacket, despite the fact it was almost Summer. He decided to go without shoes for some reason and just wore socks. Then, just like that, Kris left the house.

===

The streets of Hometown became rather active around this time of day when most kids were already out of school for the day, so when Kris put his hood up, it was somewhat easy to sneak under the radar, scanning an area for any signs of his brother.

The sun was beating down nearly cloudless in the sky. His hood provided good shade for his face, with the consequence of the rest of his jacket acting as a sauna. Still though, he tried to just suck it down. He’d take the hood off once there were fewer people.

Soon he reached a crossroads. Go in the direction of the school, or go in the direction of the woods. The woods brought the prospect of passing by his father’s home and flower shop. But…It wasn’t a good idea for him to see his father when he was like this.

Still, the woods had a spot in it where Kris and Asriel used to play in the water when they were younger. There was always a chance he could be there. So Kris took the path to the left.

It must have been at least a year or 2 since Kris had last seen the shop. The last time Kris saw his father, it had been with Asriel for a weekend. They’d mainly just gone bird-watching and flower picking, never staying inside for very long. When they were at the shop, all they could really eat were eggs and sandwiches. There also was only one bed, so it was either all crowd together on it, or break out the sleeping bags. Overall, it was a rather mundane experience. Asriel had angrily told their mother about the conditions their father was living in, but she seemed to not hear it. Or maybe, she didn’t want to hear it.

Seeing the shop before him sparked a small twinge of guilt and longing now. For as bad an experience staying at his place was, Kris still found himself missing his dad’s company. He decided no harm would come from just peeking into the window and checking on him. But, when he did, it was completely pitch black in there. So either the curtains were drawn, or the windows were boarded up from the inside. Kris was starting to be tempted to knock or check if the door was locked, when he heard a sound from behind him.

Footsteps, that’s what it sounded like. He turned around, in just enough time to see a dark figure swoop away into the thick forest. In his fever-addled brain, Kris could only come to one conclusion.

“Asriel…? Hey, wait!” He yelled, running after to try and catch up with the figure.

He could see it running back and forth in between the trees, but it was hard enough for him to see where he himself was going without smacking into stuff. He was running for about 2 minutes before he suddenly just needed to stop. The figure quickly running into the distance ahead of him to god knows where. Kris’ head was spinning wildly. He was struggling to catch his breath. He got on his knees, leaning against a tree for support, but not feeling strong enough to get back up. Maybe it was a bad idea to come out here…

“Kris?? What in the hel- What are you doing out here??”

Kris looked up, the not so shadowy figure of his brother in the distance coming towards him.

“What the hell are you doing in the woods…?? I thought you were-”

Kris had somehow gotten back to his feet and latched onto Asriel’s midsection (it was about at high as he could reach on the kid).

Asriel blinked in confusion, but like he could read Kris’ mind, he seemed to understand exactly what the problem was.

“Hey, I’m okay. I just…Had to get out for a little bit…Certainly didn’t expect you to follow me.”

“mm…Where’d you go?”

“I’ve just been by the lake this whole time.”

Kris’ stomach dropped.

“T-Then…Who was... I just following…?” His voice shook as he pointed ahead to where he’d seen the figure disappear.

Asriel followed where he was pointing, looking ahead for a few moments. The conclusion he came to was predictable, however.

“Uh…I think you might just be seeing things, Kris…You should be at home. Although…I’m gonna get an earful from Mom no matter what I do…Hm…How do you feel right now?”

“I-I feel fine, sorta…”

“Hmm…” Asriel thought about it for about 5 seconds.

“Wanna check out this thing I saw while I was at the lake?”

“Um…sure…”

“Cool, let’s go.”

===

It probably would have been only about a 10 minute walk from where they’d been standing and where the lake was, had it not been for the fact that for the entire walk, Kris kept scanning the whole area rather then focusing on following his brother, so needless to say, he kept falling behind a bit. Asriel eventually got tired of constantly having to stop and shout Kris’ name to get his attention, so he just started holding his hand the rest of the way.

With great difficulty and an extra 5 minutes, the two boys made it to the lake. Kris sat down on a log conveniently right by the water, while Asriel stayed behind near the trees doing something.

Kris noticed something on the ground. A little green and white box. He opened it and a dreadful smell immediate came out of it. He swore he remembered smelling it on Susie and/or Susie’s mom.

“Hey, Azzy, what’s this?” He asked innocently enough.

“What's what…? OH! Uhh…Those…Aren’t for little kids, so you should just put them down…”

“Are they yours?”

“...It does not matter whether they are mine or ever one practically were not...!”

“...what?”

“Nevermind! Let’s um…talk about something else…” Asriel proceeded to walk away to the trees again, taking the green and white box with him.

“Let’s see…is it still here…? It is!” He pulled something out of the tree trunk. A seemingly newly bought soccer ball!

“I think maybe some kids from the opposing soccer team were practicing and one of them forgot their ball in a tree. Somehow…”

“Oh…” Kris mumbled.

“You doing alright over there?”

“Huh? Y-Yeah! I’m fine.”

“Okay…Just remember that if you start to feel sick again, let me know so I can take you home.”

“I’ll be alright…!”

“Okay! In the meantime, wanna play ball with me?”

“uhh…I don’t know…I’ve never played before…”

“Well, can’t hurt giving it a shot, right?”

“Are you sure…?”

“Go ahead!”

Asriel placed the ball on the ground and stepped away from it.

“Give it a kick!”

Kris apprehensively stood up from the log and walked over to the ball. He looked down at it with indifference and gave it a weak kick akin to how one would kick a can on a sidewalk. It rolled over to Asriel’s feet, and he proceeded to kick it into the air and then back to Kris. He wasn’t expecting that to happen, however, so it flew right over his head and into the water.

“Aw man!” Asriel shouted. He ran over and looked into the lake. It ended up in a place too deep for him to see. Kris joined him by that spot, although he definitely couldn’t see in.

“Dammit…I don’t think we’re getting that ba-”

The water started to shake and foam, while a dark shadow on the surface could be seen a bit in the distance. Asriel backed up a little as something began to emerge, that something being…A strange beige colored Sea Monster with huge shiny eyes.

“UUUH! Hello! Is this your ball??” The Monster yelled in a child-like but still very grating voice.

One of its tentacles rose from the water, it was wrapped around a now slightly muddy soccer ball.

“Um…Well it’s technically not ours I guess…But if you could give it back, that would be cool…”

“Oh okay! Here you go!”

It tried to toss the ball to Asriel, but in a bit of irony, the ball sailed over his head and bounced a few more feet away.

“I got it!” He yelled, chasing after it.

“Wait! Don’t go! Wanna chat??”

“Huh?” Asriel asked as he picked up the ball.

“I-I don’t get to see many people these days…”

“How long have you been here?”

“I dunno…”

“Hmph. I suppose we’ve got time. My name’s Asriel, this is my little brother, K-”

“AZZY! What a lovely name! I can’t remember my name…! No one’s talked to me in long enough to tell me…!”

“Uhhh…okay…? As I was saying…”

As Kris watched them banter, he began to feel…strange…Not necessarily ill, just strange. He looked up at the cloudless sky, the sun beating mercilessly down, somehow he got the idea that putting his hood on would help in some way. It didn’t, but after he put it on his ears started to ring and his heart was racing for no reason in particular, and he knew he had to tell Asriel.

Kris stumbled over and grabbed Asriel’s sleeve. The world was starting to blur…

“And in that case-Ah hold on, what’s up Kris?…Kris…? H-Hey, slow down, what wrong…? I can’t understand what you’re trying to tell me when you talk like that… Kris…??”

Everything began to go dark as Kris sank like a stone in a bathtub, only rather than water, he fell down into an icy cold void.

===

…

Are you there?

Are you alright?

Do not worry!

Do not give up!

For all of this

This feeling you have now

It is all a game

I will do what I can to not hurt you

To not intervene

But I, like many things

Will come to pass

All will come to pass eventually

I need you to be ready

Do not give into them

Do not answer the call of the void

All your questions will come to be answered soon enough.

Stay patient.

Stay Determined.

…

We will be seeing each other again soon

I can feel it.

===

Asriel tossed and turned in his bed. The sting on his cheek from where his mother had slapped him had not faded since he’d carried his unconscious brother home to her horror. He’d endured her lecture, listened and mulled over every word. But he didn’t have the energy anymore to keep focusing on what ultimately was his fault…

He rolled over and stole a glance at Kris’ bed. Asleep, with a jittery twitching coming from under the blankets that must have been his hand, but the steady rise and fall of his chest indicated the presence of life. Asriel sighed and rolled back over, his anxiety quelled, for now, he could go back to sleep.

What had to have been 2 or 3 hours at the very least passed, when Asriel was awoken by a sudden slamming noise from behind him. But he was exhausted and half asleep, and assumed at first that Kris’ foot hit the wall. As his eyelids began to close again, he heard another noise. It sort of sounded like…Footsteps?

Asriel groaned and rolled over to face the other bed, wiping sleep crust from his eyes, he opened them fully, only to be greeted with a horrifying sight.

Kris was towering over his bedside. An unnatural smile was plastered on his face. It twisted up and practically touched his ears. His cold, red eyes stared down directly at Asriel, piercing through the darkness of the bedroom. But the most jarring thing of all, was the silver glint of a large kitchen knife hovering over his head.

“Heheheheh, howdy Asriel. Why the long face? Aren’t you happy to see your BEST FRIEND?”

Asriel muffled a girly scream and immediately rose from bed, easily pushing the 10-year-old onto the ground and ripping the knife from his hand in the process.

Upon making impact with the ground, Kris immediately went limp for about 2 seconds, then started seizing up. Asriel got down on his knees and sat there rigid. He tried to recall what he’d learned in CPR Class on what to do when someone has a seizure, but he'd taken that class nearly 2 years ago, how was he supposed to remember everything in such a tense moment. Looking around, he supposed the only thing he needed to do was to roll Kris onto his side and check the clock on the wall.

It was about 30 seconds until he fell limp once more, taking in a wheezy breath and then breathing normally. It only took a couple seconds for it to appear as if nothing had ever happened. Asriel struggled to process everything that had just gone down. He tried picking Kris up and gently shaking him awake. This got a moan and some squirming from him, but it probably was better to just let him rest.

There was one big question hanging in the air that couldn’t be easily answered. Kris had tried to attack him, with a knife. That evil look in his eyes…He had the intention to kill…Was he even aware of what he’d been doing…? What would happen if Toriel found out? Would Kris be considered too dangerous to live with them…? Asriel felt on the verge of making himself sick from worry. Ultimately, looking down at his now peacefully sleeping brother, he came to a decision. If something like this happened again (and permitting he survived the next episode), then he’d tell Mom. And whatever happened next would just have to happen.

He lifted Kris up and gently laid him back in bed. He casually pressed a paw on his head and noted how he felt cooler, so his fever must have gone down. That was at least something good. Asriel glared at the kitchen knife on the ground, for roughly 5 seconds before he opened the bedroom window and chucked it outside. He then proceeded to resign himself back to bed, and just wait to see what was to come next…

===

…

……

I told you that you needed to be ready

But…

You didn’t…

…

This is going to take some practice

But it’s okay

You and me will get through this together

While I still have the time, I will do what I can to protect you

To protect the people you

The people I

The people WE care about

Sweet dreams

For now

#undertale #deltarune #deltarune kris #undertale toriel #undertale asriel #fanfiction #deltaruneralsei #deltarune ralsei #deltarune susie #whump

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 5

A/N I feel obligated to disappoint you with the news that this chapter is largely for filler and the only really important things happen near the end. That being said, if you wanna see Jevil as an incompetent Baby-sitter, then I guess this for you. If not, well so sorry but you're gonna have to wait another week.

“Let’s try this one more time…”

Seam sighed, giving Ralsei a reassuring pat on the head.

“Remember your defense technique. Your TP will be your most valuable asset for a long time while you’re still young. You can never build up too much.”

Nodding, Ralsei took a bow-legged stance. One hand had been gripping the tails of his scarf. When he let go, the scarf appeared to grow a mind of its own and wrapped itself around his tiny body, leaving a gap just big enough for him to see out of.

In response, Seam held a paw out to the training dummy on the other side of the courtyard. Wisps of white magic formed a few feet in the air and began firing rapidly at the prince. Still peeking through the gap in his scarf, he ran around and dodged them. Only one caught him by surprise and knocked him onto his rump, but the scarf offered great protection since he only took 1 HP of damage. As the attack ended, it unwound itself around him.

“Excellent…!” Seam smiled almost a bit nervously, as now came the hard part.

“Focus your energy on one specific point, envision what you want to happen, all of your hopes and dreams are now physical, and just allow it to happen, with no holding back. Then, put out something for your magic to exit through, like this.”

He raised his hand with his index finger pointing into the sky, then took a single step forward with 1 foot, his hand shot down and pointed at the dummy on the other side of the courtyard. Magic Fire spawned in the air above it and launched at the Dummy, knocking it to the ground but not damaging it. He raised his other hand, a glowing blue light appeared on the Dummy’s chest, lifting it back onto it’s stand.

“Just like that. See…?”

Ralsei stared down at his own paw. After nearly a full year of training with Seam as his mentor, he was determined to make SOMETHING, ANYTHING happen. He sucked in a huge breath, holding his hand in the air the way the old Magician had.

“No no no! How many times must I tell you? Keep your shoulders down and your body relaxed! Magic will never work properly if you force it!” Seam shouted, pushing down on the prince’s shoulders. His hand dropped and fell limply at his side, he looked crestfallen. Seam groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“How about we take a break for now…? I bet Jevil isn’t having much better luck with Lancer.”

He put his paw on Ralsei’s back and led him out of the courtyard. As soon as they were inside, the young goat started to run from him. Seam was confused until he heard the joyful squeals he knew could only belong to Lancer as his brother ran up and tackle-hugged him. Jevil trailed right behind him, floating an inch or 2 off the ground.

“Go on, kiddos…! Lunch is waiting for you in the Banquet Hall…!” The Court Jester said playfully, and like that the boys sped off, allowing for him and Seam to have a more private conversation.

“So…Good news and bad news.” Jevil began.

“I’m all ears.”

“Good news? Lancer actually managed to summon a couple spade attacks!”

“That’s wonderful…!”

“Bad news, that’s about all he could do. Still, I guess it’s better than nothing. What about your's?”

“Nothing from Ralsei. I don’t know what else to do anymore…He’s very inquisitive and eager to learn, but something’s holding him back…”

“Could it be their age?”

“Possibly…? But they’re only 6 months apart. If Lancer’s magic is just starting to manifest, Ralsei’s should be too. My only other theory is simply the size of his SOUL…” Seam explained as they walked alongside each other to their shared Basement Bedroom.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

"SOULs, due to being one's own vital essence, the size of a SOUL is often directly linked to one's own power, magic included, meaning a smaller SOUL tends to yield very little in the way of mystical properties."

“.…..English please, Seam.”

“Sorry. Allow me to simplify it. Because SOULs are the culmination of your whole being, the smaller one is, the less magical energy it can give to its host. Does that make more sense?”

“I…Guess so…Gee, Seam. You sure know a lot about SOULs.”

Seam chuckled in response to that.

“I wouldn’t say I know a lot. There are many things about the SOUL that no one knows about, and we probably never will know about. It’s difficult to study a SOUL, since you can’t just make one artificially. It needs to come from a donor, preferably one that just died so their soul doesn’t have the chance to disintegrate…”

The two continued in casual conversation, making their way down the long staircase. But then…

“Aghh!!”

On the very last step at the bottom, Seam’s right leg made a horrible cracking sound akin to that time Lancer accidentally ran over a glow stick with his bike. His knee buckled as he fell to his hands.

“Seam?? Seam!?? Are you alright!??”

“Y…Yeah, I'm fine, just this…damn old leg acting up again…”

The old cat struggled to push himself back to his own feet. But as soon as he tried to take another step, the same leg buckled again. Rather than face planting into the floor however, he looked down and saw the small Court Jester leaning against his chest, trying to support him.

Jevil led Seam down the hall to their bedroom (only 3 working legs did not make things easier) and allowed him to sit down on his old spring mattress.

“Thank you…” He mumbled tiredly.

“A-Are you sure you want to continue with training for the day…?”

“I…I just need a minute to rest…”

“If you’d like…I could take over for both of them…!”

Seam chuckled wheezily.

“With all due respect, I had to break you out of a wall when you only teleported half-way and got yourself stuck. Forgive me for thinking you won’t be able to handle 2 rambunctious 4-year-olds.”

“Pshhh! I can handle Lancer by himself. How would both of them be any different?”

“You haven’t tried to get shit done with the two of them together. Why do you think I suggested they have separate mentors?”

At that point, Jevil got on his knees to beg.

“Oh pleeassee let me at least try…!” Just for added dramatic effect, he put on a pouty lip.

“Alright, alright…! Stop with the waterworks…! Just, don’t say I didn’t warn you…” Seam grumbled and laid back down in bed.

Jevil stood up, his hand flew to his head in a salute.

“You can count on me, Seamy…! I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

===

An hour passed. The princes should have been done with lunch right about now. Jevil was just floating along the pathway of the courtyard, admiring the bushes of spade-shaped flowers.

Without warning, something small and sturdy slammed into his back, pushing his face into the dirt. Less than a second later, 2 pairs of feet trampled over his back. His long ears twitched as he soon picked up the sound of children laughing and screaming.

Jevil shakily lifted himself to his feet, only to notice Lancer chasing Ralsei around the courtyard, with something on the end of his finger. On any other day he would have chased them down to figure out what the problem was, but he probably would have had an easier time following a moth in a snowstorm.

His head almost literally spun as he tried to think of a way to get them to stop, then he got an idea. He reached out a gloved hand, summoning a dense wall of Spades right in Ralsei’s path. The little goat smacked face first into it, and subsequently, his brother slammed into his back, the added weight was enough to shatter the wall, as the princes tumbled to the ground.

“There we go.” Said Jevil, dusting off his hands.

He had to pick them up and manually untangle them. Lancer shook a freshly dug up earthworm off his finger as it crawled away to safety.    

“Listen up kiddos! I’ll be your teacher for the rest of the day…!”

“Awesome!” Lancer shouted in excitement.

Ralsei looked at Jevil with wide salmon colored eyes, as the Jester could immediately tell exactly what he was thinking.

“Don’t worry…! Seam just took a bit of a fall, so while he’s downstairs snoozing, let’s get to some learning…! Lancer, Why don’t you show me that little trick you did this morning?”

“Heck yeah!” Lancer shouted, his head whipped back and forth, as his expression shifted to confused.

Jevil also seemed puzzled, until after a minute he finally remembered what the beautiful courtyard was missing for this training session.

“The dummy!! I completely forgot about the dummy! Stay right here, kiddos…! I’ll be right back!!” And like that, he sped off into the castle, leaving the children unsupervised.

Jevil was hoisting the surely doomed Dummy on his back, humming a bouncy tune to himself. Surely in the 5 minutes he’d gone off to look for it, the princes couldn’t have gotten into any trouble, right?

“Ohh Kiddos…! Guess what Uncle Jevil found…!” He cheered, setting down the Dummy in the middle of the courtyard.

He looked around. They weren’t anywhere in sight. His ears twitched and spun like satellites. He couldn’t hear them nearby either. Jevil swallowed down a lump in his throat, surely they couldn’t have…

“Ch-Children! You’ve had your fun…! Come on out for your dear Uncle Jevil…!” He called out, uneasiness and dread crawling up his voice.

He soon came to the conclusion they weren’t in the courtyard anymore. Now it was panic time. He burst through one of the doors that led into the hallway.

“Boys! Where’d you go??” He shouted, no longer caring if his complete lack of foresight was found out.

They weren’t anywhere in the hallways near the courtyard. Jevil was starting to seriously freak out, when his ears twitched at the distant squeals of a child. 2 Children actually. Which was odd, because the only sounds he’d ever heard Ralsei make were long bleating cries, quiet laughter, or occasional cooing, nothing like the screaming that accompanied Lancer’s shouts.

“AAHH!! Take it! Just take it and leave-eth me in peace!”

Jevil covered his mouth to stifle a loud cackle, realizing that shrill little girl scream was coming from Roulxs Kaard. And it wasn’t that far away.

He easily found Ralsei hiding behind a wall, the young prince looked toward him for some kinda help or guidance, but when he saw what the problem was, he no longer could hold back his laughter.

Roulxs Kaard was cowering in the corner near the door to the Banquet Hall, using a tiny stool to fend off a chattering Lancer in the same way a cowardly housewife would use a broom to fend off a pack of rats. All the while throwing what appeared to be mini individually wrapped chocolates and candies at him, which the prince gobbled up without a second thought, foil and everything.

As much as Jevil wanted to keep watching this little stunt, something told him that Seam wouldn’t find that the ‘responsible decision’.

“Alright, alright, little prince, you had your fun, leave poor Roulxs Kaard alo-” Jevil’s face dropped.

Lancer was peeking at him through his hood, beady black eyes twitching with building up energy, like dropping Mentos into a bottle of diet coke, closing the bottle, and shaking it. His attention drew to the chocolate and sugar powder on his lips and cheeks.

“Oh no…Tell me it’s not…”

“it is…” Roulxs Kaard whimpered in a deathly hushed tone.

“The curse-ed sugar rush…”

Jevil’s hands trembled with terror as he backed away from the prince, who was starting to giggle and bounce up and down in place. Before another word could be said, Lancer shot past him like a bullet in the direction of the stairs, fast and strong enough to blow away the Jester’s hat.

“Oh god…I am so fired…” Jevil looked towards Roulxs Kaard.

“What are you standing around for?!”

“I shall not risk thy life for thy snot-nosed little worm. This is YOUR problem now!”

Growling in suppressed rage, Jevil picked up his hat, prepared to go off on his own, when something gently tugged on his cape. Standing behind him with his other arm held shyly behind his back was Ralsei.

“Ohh little prince, little prince, I’m afraid that this task is too dangerous for someone like you…I can take it from here…!”

He still kept the cape held tightly in his paw. For a split second, Jevil swore he saw his lips part slightly. Not a syllable of sound was made before both of their attention was stolen by a series of crashing and shouting from the floor right above them. Freeing himself from the little goat’s grasp, Jevil raced off towards the elevators.

The first thing he found was a gaggle of Rudinns lying confused and dazed on the ground. Broken china and plates were littering the floors that he could thankfully float over.

“What happened here…?”

“A-A…A whirlwind of destruction suddenly came barreling down the hallways…! We couldn’t stop it if we tried…!” A Rudinn laying helplessly on the ground called out.

“Did you see which way it went?”

“T-T-THAT WAY…!” A different Rudinn shouted, pointing in the only other direction there was, down the hallway. The crashing and bashing traveling down it.

Jevil was starting to regret not bringing something like a butterfly net with him. As he floated along through the dark hallway, half wondering if Lancer was even still on this floor (for as little sense as that would make). Just then, one final series of crashing, glass breaking, and an ear-splitting shrill cry of pain.

After searching the whole floor, gradually following the sound of crying, Jevil found Lancer at the end of the hallway, right in front of the elevator. A pillar stand that was once holding a vase and flowers was knocked over. The prince lay spread-eagled on the ground crying. Broken clay and dirt was covering his back, with the flower sitting on top of his head like the cherry on the pathetic yet hilarious cake.

“That was fast…” The Jester thought to himself, picking up the sniveling Spade Prince and brushing dirt off of him.

“There, there, little guy. No need to cry, cry…!” He cooed

Lancer reached up and tore his hood off. Something he was only allowed to do either in moments of weakness, or when it was bedtime. Dull, shining black and white eyes looking into Jevil’s yellow ones gave him an idea that he wanted the latter.

He was about to press the button to open the elevator, when his ears began twitching. He had picked up the faint sounds of claws scraping the stone tiles, a moment of silence, followed by a tiny sneeze. Setting Lancer on the ground, Jevil tauntingly sauntered slowly to the end of that corridor.

“Gee, that’s some funny sounding wind…Was not even made aware that there could be wind in a castle!”

He’d stopped at the end and turned around, his tail swished back and forth before “accidentally” knocking down a pillar stand. As he’d expected, Ralsei was there crouched behind it.

“What is the little prince doing up here, here?…And, how’d you even get past all those broken plates?” Jevil knew it was foolish to ask Ralsei anything, yet he still did for some reason.

Similar to back downstairs a moment ago, the goat’s lips parted, his eyes drifted to ground as if in deep thought. Jevil raised a curious eyebrow. Just then, Ralsei gasped and pushed past the Jester, noticing Lancer just standing there, swaying back and forth tiredly with little cuts and scrapes all over his arms and legs.

Taking hold of his brother’s shoulders, Jevil witnessed him press his lips into Lancer’s ear. There was a beat of silence, then Lancer answered back.

“I-I don’t wanna go to bed…I wanna keep training with you and Uncle Jevil…”

Ralsei pulled his face away, his eyes narrowing in a very judging manner. They then closed, his shoulders relaxing but his paws still holding on tightly to Lancer’s shoulders.

+15 HP

Jevil’s eyes widened. He almost refused to believe what he’d just seen, but there it was. Lancer’s cuts and scraps started to close up until he was completely healed. His face perked up, as he wiped away a tear that had rolled down his cheek. Still holding onto his shoulders, Ralsei smiled warmly, like he didn’t even realize the significance of what exactly he’d just done.

Jevil was already in utter shock, he didn’t think anything else could surprise him. That’s when he was proven wrong.

“Darling won’t you please calm your heart

Just close your eyes, and hear your heartache wisp away.

Let sleep embrace you

Don’t be afraid of the dark~

Please allow me to pacify your mind

Just rest oh rest and feel your pain be blown away…

And no harm done, oh no pain shall come

For now place your worries aside~

Hush now, hush now, no one can hurt you now…

See all that you’ve accomplished

Now take a bow”

Ralsei gently fell to his knees like a delicate leaf, Lancer came down with him, the young Spade’s head fell into his brother’s lap, as he drifted into a deep sleep.

“H…! H-How in the world…??”  

Ralsei turned his head around to face him, as if he just remembered the Court Jester was there.

“You…You can talk…?? AND do magic…?? All of a sudden just now…??”

“U-Uhh…” The skin under his white fur was turning a rosy pink, becoming flustered by the Jester’s shock and confusion.

“I-I…I guess so…?” He squeaked.

“Oh god, what do I do, what do I do…?? I gotta tell someone, but who do I tell first…?? Uhh, certainly not the king with how busy he’s been lately…Uh, Seam! Seam will definitely wanna know…!”

Ralsei looked down at the snoozing Lancer in his lap. ”W…W-What about brother…?”

He spoke with a high pitched soft and shy voice, that was unfortunately hampered by a slight lisp and stutter.

“Huh…? O-Oh yeah…He can come with us to…! I’m sure he’ll be out for a while.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah, c’mon kiddo…!”

Jevil got down on one knee in front of the Prince, gently picking Lancer up and slinging the tubby toddler over his skinny shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He then helped Ralsei up to his feet, walking alongside each-other with his free arm around him.

“Uhh…By the way, if you don’t mind telling me, how’d you know that song? Doesn’t sound like any lullaby I’ve ever heard…”

“uhh…I…I don’t really know…b-but, I hear it when I go to sleep sometimes…”

“I see, interesting…”

“...Mister Jevil, what do you see when you go to sleep…?”

“You mean, like, dreams?”

“Is that what they’re called…?”

“Yeah…! Why do you wanna know what The Jevil dreams about?” The Jester spoke with a bit of dramatic flair

“I-I just wanna know…”

“Mmm…I don’t really dream much, kid. Not now at least. I believe dreams are just your brain trying to tell you what it really wants. Or, trying to warn you that something’s wrong with you. Either way, I have all I ever wanted, there’s nothing else I can dream about. So, now I’m curious, what does the Prince of Spades dream of?”

Ralsei stopped in his tracks, looking at the ground, trying to search his memory deeply. Finally, he looked back up.

“W-Well…I have dreams where I’m in this dark room, and it’s really cold, but I’m not scared. Because that song is playing, and I get to listen to it until I wake up.”

“Sounds…About right…Sort of but not really…”

“...But, it’s usually these dreams where I’m in this tiny house, and it’s just me, and my other best friend…!”

“Oh, cute, cu-…Wait, other best friend?”

“Yeah! She’s super funny and nice to me, even if she gets a little angry sometimes…It’s okay because she likes me…!”

“Uh…huh…And…what’s this…"other best friends" name…?”

“Oh, her name is Cha-RAAUGHH!”

They all had finally reached the stairs (The Rudinns must have quickly cleaned up and scurried off). Ralsei wasn’t watching where he was going and nearly tripped on the very first step. Thank the stars for Jevil who immediately jumped into the air and grabbed the little goat by the back of his shirt before he landed on his face.

“Whoa-! I gotcha there Eager Mcbeaver!” He jeered, hovering and carrying him all the way to the bottom under his arm.  

“We’ll uh…We’ll pick this conversation back up later, later, okay? For now, let’s go pay Uncle Seam a visit…!”

===

“Seam-ey! Oh Seam-ey~!”

Jevil burst through the door of the bedroom, waving one hand in the air excitedly. Seam grunted and sat up in bed.

“W-What in the…Jevil? What’s wrong…??”

“There’s nothing wrong, dear friend!”

“Then why are you yelling? Where are the children…??”

“Calm down, old timer! I bring nothing but great news! Ralsei can talk! And sing! And do magic! And-”

“Okay! Slow down for a second! WHAT?!”

Inferring that conversation was useless now, Jevil pushed the door open and ran out, coming back in a second later with Lancer being held like a baby, and Ralsei holding his other free hand.

“Go on, kiddo, show him what you can do…!”

Ralsei just stood there, mouth agape. His other hand was fidgety and playing with the scarf on his neck. Seam sat there, waiting patiently. But the prince just froze up.

“Jevil, this better not be some kind of joke…”

“I-I swear it’s not…! C’mon kid, don’t embarrass me like this…”

“Hmm…Let me take a look myse-AGHH!” Seam tried to stand out of bed, but the same troubled leg gave out under him.

Jevil froze instantly, having no idea what he was supposed to do in this particular situation with Lancer a useless lump in his arms and Ralsei holding his hand for comfort.

Then, he felt Ralsei slip from his grasp. He slowly started approaching the old cat, hand outstretched. Seam raised an eyebrow, instinctively his tail curled around the injured leg for protection.

A point was reached where Prince and Magician were only a foot apart. Ralsei’s hand eventually brushed Seam’s paw, causing the goat to instantly recoil, but reach back a second time after only a moment. On this second touch, he winced like he could feel the older Darkner’s pain. Slowly, his eyelids lowered, his little paw gripped Seam’s wrist…

+10 HP

“I-I know it’s not much, but I hope it helps…”

Seam’s jaw fell open. Using the nightstand, he got back onto his 2 feet with no problems, no pain.

“...well I’ll be…” He began to smile warmly.

“Good job, little fella…!” He jeered, picking Ralsei up and tossing him in the air

“The kid is 4 years old and just learned to talk, and all you can say is ‘Good Job’?”

“Well, why praise what he should have been able to do all along?”

“That…Doesn’t really make sense…”

Seam frowned, putting Ralsei back on the ground, he sat on his bed.

“The king must be over the moon about this…!”

“...Oh, yeah…um…I didn’t…tell the king yet…?”

Seam’s head whipped around to stare at Jevil, the holes in his button eyes narrowed like he was glaring…

“Y-Yet…! I haven’t done it yet! But I’ll…Go do that right now!” Jevil smiled an uncomfortable smile before quickly exiting the room, depositing Lancer onto his bed.

===

“Oh, I guess we’re back here again…”

That’s what Ralsei thought as he opened his eyes, the darkness of his bedroom replaced with dim light that seemed to be coming from no source in particular. The warmth he’d felt when he fell asleep with Lancer snuggled next to him was gone, instead, a cold feeling of unease and dread was crawling up his neck. The fireplace was put out. There was no smell of sweet spice, none of the friendliness and safety he felt when he was in these kinds of dreams. It was as if…someone had died, or was dying…

The atmosphere brought back memories from only a few months ago. Seam had been unable to train with him for a week. He wasn’t allowed to know why, until he’d accidentally overheard a conversation between his father and Roulxs Kaard. They talked about how a Hathy Guard who worked in the castle for many years had suddenly “fallen down”. The very next day, he and Lancer witnessed the Castle Guards carrying a wooden box out of the castle and into the Scarlet Forest. When Lancer asked the King what they were carrying, he sat them both down in the throne room, and explained a thing called “Death”.

“When…When someone dies, they stop breathing, their eyes close, they can’t talk or move, and slowly, they start to…Disappear from this world and they go somewhere else, never to be seen again.”

Even now, Ralsei couldn’t begin to wrap his head around what it meant exactly. But judging by the quiet, somber mood that filled the castle for the next few weeks, it was not something that would be pleasant to experience.

His father’s words echoed in his mind. Ralsei was starting to worry where his friend was, when he felt a sharp tap from behind him. Turning around, she was standing there! Her rosy cheeks looked out of place on her sad, mournful-looking face.

Realizing that he could now speak in his dreams, he opened his mouth to greet her.

“Hi there, Char-!”

“I wanna get out of here for a little…Mom’s still really mad at us…”

Without skipping a beat, she wandered over to the front door, standing there, clearly waiting for Ralsei to join her.

“What’s a mom…?” He asked innocently.

“Stop being stupid and just come on, A̶̛͎̦̱̯͐͒̽͌̐̋̌͛̈͗͝ͅ$̵̰̲͎̦͕̥̎̒̑̉̈́̍̒̂͌̈́̈́͒̇͜͠ͅ;̷̖̝̠̲̝̝̖͕͖̰̘̜̈͒͋͂̇́̈́̅̎͠ͅ{̸̭̒͗̅͑͒͋͘͘͝͠ë̶͓͍̣̻̫̻͈̪͑̾̚͠`̶̨̧̳̬̥͚͇͚̭̯͌`̷̢̛̬̻͒͐̏̇̐̎́̆͋̋͘͜ͅ.̴̙̰͉̹̩̰̪͙̬̻̱̥̈́̑̓̅.̷̨̨̜̻̗͖̗͓̣̭͙̐̋͋̓̑̑̽͂̋̐͂̎̊̚͝.̷̡͍̳͖̬͙̭̟͉̫̻̊͊̀͑̾̅̊́͂͝”…”

Ralsei’s ears were filled with a deafening buzz so intense, his head felt like it was going to burst. He ripped off his glasses so as to rub his eyes. As the pain slowly ebbed away and the ringing died down, it was soon replaced by the gentle gurgle of flowing water that reminded him warmly of the fountains in the courtyard.

He put his glasses back on. He was no longer standing in the cold living room, but sitting on a large, smooth, slippery stone, in what was close to total darkness. The main light source was to his right, a body of shimmering water flowing freely down into a dark abyss, and bright teal flowers scattered around the area like toys scattered his bedroom. A subtle scent of metal and salt clung to the air. But the true beauty of this place was up above. Ralsei craned his neck to look upwards, witnessing what had to be at least a thousand or maybe even a million glittering little lights, some twinkling brighter than others, but they all worked together to create a breathtaking mosaic of light.

“It’s…So pretty…!” He gasped out.

“Yeah, it’s nice I guess. But it’s nothing like the stars we have on the surface…”

Ralsei became aware of Chara sitting right next to him. Her knees were up to her chest, and she was staring at the sky with a dreamy, albeit longing look in her eyes.

“Stars…? The surface…?” He repeated, the new words sounding foreign on his tongue.

“You betcha…”

“What is ‘the surface’?”

“When it’s nighttime on the surface, most people go inside to sleep. But I always liked to climb the tallest tree I could find and watch the stars…At least until someone yelled at me to get down…Every night, you never know how many you’re gonna see, which ones are gonna be the brightest. Here, it’s always the same. All the time. There’s nothing…Special about it, I guess you could say…”

“Whoa...I wanna see the stars…!”

“Heh…I wish you could, pal…Sometimes if you’re lucky, you’ll see a star zoom right past your dumb face…! They say if you make a wish soon as you see one, it’ll come true. But mine never did…”

“Well…What did you wish for…?”

“...I always wished that the humans would start caring about anyone other than themselves…”

“I-I…I’m sure the humans aren’t that bad…”

“Whoever the humans are…” Ralsei thought to himself.

“Tch. Of course you would say that. Just trust me on this. Humans are selfish, territorial, spineless, uncaring pricks. They don’t give a damn about anyone who’s weaker than them, and as soon as they meet someone, or something, that could be more powerful then them, they either cower in fear, or try to destroy it.”

“But…you’re a human, aren’t you…?” He guessed, recalling how he’d heard her describe humans in the past.

“You’re really nice and fun…!”

“I haven’t seen myself as a human since I fell down here…I know there’s nothing you can do to change where you came from or who you’ll always be…But at least you can lie to yourself…!”

“But…But isn’t lying wrong…?”

Chara laid down, her hands resting behind her head.

“Hmm…”

Just then, her red eyes lit up. She shot back up into a sitting position.

“I have an idea.”

“Huh?”

“I. Have. An. Idea.”

“W-What kind of idea…?” Ralsei asked, suddenly becoming nervous.

“I’ll…I’ll explain later. Just trust me, I’m gonna set us all free, and you’ll get to see the stars…”

Chara stood up and hugged Ralsei tightly, just as that painful loud buzz started to return with a vengeance. Not only deafening him, but clouding his eyes with static. The world around him was quickly degrading, like oil running down a concrete wall, the only thing remaining the same was his friend. And even then, he started to feel her slip away from his embrace, her body losing more and more shape like she was turning to dust. Ralsei wanted to cry, scream at her to stay with him, but it was already tö̷̪́ŏ̵̥ ̶̛̜l̶̙̿a̸̰̍t̷͓̄ẻ̶͖ ̵͈͖͍̖̉Î̵̥̐t̸̺͎̹̠͌͒͠ ̶͖̣̗͋͝w̶̩̖̓̔a̴̘̰͂̋͝s̵̹̚ ̸̖̘͋t̶̟͔͙̘̃̄̿̀o̷͚͍̽o̷͈͍͕̽̀̎ͅ ̷̨̦̙̚͝l̷��̝̘̭̩ä̶̠̘͚͎́̑t̸̹̙͋̏͜ȅ̵̡̊͆ ̸̬͛t̸̳̞̊͌͒o̷̼̠̅͝ ̶̰̤̹̤͑̋c̴̩̮̥̈́̏̊h̴̨͂̅̈́a̵̡͉͍͂̉n̷̟̤̦̒̄̒̄g̵̪̕e̵͓̿̒̂͠ ̷̮̌̃̊ṯ̵̖̽̽͊͘h̴͎̩̩͑̈̍ě̴̯̼̼͑͐ ̶͚̍ṕ̸̣̣̇̿̅a̵̖̔ṣ̵͂͘t̵͓̿.̷̙͍͎̘̏̏̾͝ ̵̡̨̛̛̪̟̝̘͉͓͇̖̮̃͊̊̒̆̀̅̑̿ͅĮ̴̛̖̬̼̞̖͉͙͔͓̮͚̙̤͍͌̊̏̐̈́͌̽̔͋̀̍̕͝͝t̵̨̨̛̪̦̫̘̘̘̲͓̟͒͛́̎͛̾̇̆̔̒̅̅͝ ̷̨̳̩̱̮͉̣̤̬̝̠̙̤̹̎̌̀̽͊̎̉̀̆͘͘͝w̴̢͚̗̰̠̞̱̪͕̜̼̗͉͓͆̀̓͐͂̌̍̓̀̄͒͋͘͘ͅå̵̢̪͚͓̈́́̆͑͑͛͗̕s̷̛̤̘̹̲͚̝̬̣̻̯̼̥̾̾̎͜ ̸̖̜͓̪̞̝͕̥̱̗͚͓͎̟̃͒̃̂̓̂̋̚t̵͎͉͖͉̺͔̝̃̓̄̚̕͝͝o̸̢͉̼͉̖͖͙͉̼̬͙̮̐o̷̧̜̣̱̘̫̓͛͘̕ ̶̡̬̤͔͎͇͔͕̣̙̠̩̺͍͊ļ̴̡̗̳͙͔͇͇̬̠̖͔͖̝̐̓̄̈͑̉a̵͍͎̣̦̓ͅţ̴̢̛̮̈̃̈́͌̏̆͌̍̍͋́͜͝͠e̵̡̡͔̹͕̖̥̗̜̫̞̙̤͙̹̿̍̍͂͠ ̸̢͇̬̓̄̇̑͒͊f̴̧̛̯͖̥̬͉̘͕͎̤̅̈́̈́̐̋̊͂́̐͌̿͘ơ̷̼͖̺̜̺͒̄͛̀̓r̴̨̧̝̮̭͍͖̬̦̟̱̃̍͜ͅ ̵̡̯̘̯̬͕͍̙̹̺̲̝̝̜̫́́à̷̧͙̍̒̿̀̀͋ļ̴̫͔̫̼̳̲͙̮͑̈́̀͂̌͊̅̉̄̚͝l̶̦͕̻̩̰̰̲͇̓ ̶̛̺̀̄̒̄̆̌͊̕ͅo̶̧̧̢̯͕̥̰͓͇̜͈͂̌́͆̈́̈́̌͌̏̚ͅf̸̡̧͈̲͙̠͍̻̩͕̑̈́̀ͅͅ ̶̢̫̜͉̯̬̭̟̥̗̩̥̮̔̓̎̈́̄̿̈́̂t̸̢̻̻̬̰̗̤̮͐͂͗͂̎̂̈́̂͊͌͒̈̏̕͜͠ͅḩ̴̦̩̠̪͈̮͈̌e̸̱͕̞̅̓̌͝m̴̛͔͓͖̪̾̑̂͑̌…̸̨̢̛̜͈̜̘̦͎̩̖̜̘̝͖̂̅͆̄̋̃͂̂

With a rattling gasp, Ralsei sat up in bed. His breath caught in his throat a couple of times, like he couldn’t breathe properly for a few seconds. He just sat there panting, the terror he’d felt in his dreams slowly washing away like a bucket of warm bath water poured over his head. He looked to his right, Lancer was still asleep, right where he had been. Having not been stirred at all by his brother’s abrupt awakening.

Ralsei eventually laid back down, wrapping his arms around Lancer’s shoulders. He almost thought he was too scared to go back to sleep. But in the end, his eyelids gradually fell, until sleep overtook him. This time, he drempt of nothing but darkness, and that old familiar lullaby.

#deltarune #deltarune ralsei #deltaruneralsei #deltarune spoilers #deltarunelancer #deltarune lancer #deltarune seam #deltarune jevil #deltarune king of spades

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

Me on June 10th

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

Fuck you. I'm giving Chara female pronouns in the next chapter and there's nothing you can do about it.

#hahahahahahaha #tis a joke post #i'm almost done with chapter 5 #but i will give her female pronouns #and you can just cry about it :)

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

Chapter 5 is nearly finished!

I know it's taken me forever, but I have good news. I'm in the home stretch of almost finishing this chapter, and after it's finished, all following chapters should not take me much longer.

I've just been a little overwhelmed with life and all that. My family recently moved into a new apartment, I have a flight to Rhode Island on the 4th, and today is actually my birthday!!

I'm glad everyone has stayed patient with me, and I hope I never disappoint you.

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

AMA + Drawing Suggestions

Well, seeing as how I’m still struggling to write Chapter 5, I might as well still try and keep up with the fans and let them know I’m still alive (barely). So while I desperately try to get something down, I’ll be answering most of any ask or drawing suggestion, preferably as long as it’s related to the AU, but I will gladly take questions about myself or what have you. And I say drawing suggestions because these aren’t the same as Requests, similarly, I’d prefer drawing requests relate to Deltarune, Undertale, or the AU. With all that said, have at you.

Rules are simple:

-Don’t ask me for personal information (Adress, phone number, ect)

-I may draw gore but only light to moderate amounts

-No fetish art

-Obviously, don’t ask questions that would require me to spoil the plots of future chapters

Have fun and happy Sunday 

#ask me anything #ama #i wonder how many people will actually ask me stuff #a tale of 2 souls

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

Update

Progress is coming slow and steady. Figured I'd let you guys know so that no one gets the impression that I've abandoned this series

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

Hiatus Notice

Currently having difficulty getting down anything for Chapter 5, so until further notice, the series will be on Hiatus. I promise once I'm in a better place and mood, and actually have an idea for what to put down for this spesific Chapter, I'll be back and better than ever. Until then, adios amigo

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 4

Dark

Darker

Yet darker it becomes

It’s so cold

It beckons to you

It wants you

But

It’s trying to strangle you

You feel it push it’s cold breath into your ear

You don’t understand a word of what it’s saying

But you know whatever it is isn’t friendly

It just keeps getting louder

You feel cold and nauseous

You want to cry out for someone, anyone, to save you

But you can’t find your voice

You start to accept your fate.

You swear you’ll do anything to escape this torture

As you start to feel yourself drift away…

“Kris! H-Hey! Wh-Wake up!”

Kris snapped awake in bed with a deep desperate gasp for air. His hands were gripping the blankets to the point where he was at risk of ripping it.

Looking a little bit up, Kris saw the slightly terrified expression on brother Asriel’s face, he was just sitting on the bed. His hand was outstretched like he wasn’t sure if Kris wanted to be touched or not.

His body started to shake and tremble uncontrollably, tears threatened to spill from his eyes. The back of his neck and pajama shirt was soaked in a cold sweat. He felt as sick now as he had felt in his nightmare.

“Kris…!! A-Are you okay…? I woke up to you thrashing and making weird noises in your sleep…I…I was kinda scared you were having some kinda seizure, then I noticed you looked like you weren’t breathing, s-so I started to get really scared…and…” Asriel started to explain until his voice failed him. He all of a sudden reached out and pulled his 7-year-old brother into a tight hug, which he very gratefully allowed.

Then, Kris started to feel a deep burn in his lungs and the pit of his stomach, like fire or battery acid. His stomach heaved as he pushed Asriel away and covered his mouth with his hands to retch. He watched him do this just like a deer in the headlights. Kris coughed and retched for a solid 3 seconds, before spitting up into his hands a strange thick black gunk that was more disgusting then could be accurately described. Not to mention, it left a sour, metallic-like taste in his mouth, like an old dirty penny.

“Oh…! Oh god…! Uhhh…Hold still, I’ll go get Mom…!” Asriel panicked and rushed out of the room.

Kris just laid there, unable to do much, with that disgusting sludge in his hands. On the bright side, he immediately felt better after coughing it up.

A minute passed, and Toriel entered with Asriel, wearing a light purple bathrobe. She didn’t look entirely too pleased with being dragged out of bed.

“Kris, dear, what’s the matter…?” She asked, sitting on the bed. Kris looked down at the substance sitting in his hands. Toriel cringed as she too noticed. Gently, she pressed her paw into his forehead to take his temperature.

“You don’t seem like you have any kinda fever. How do you feel right now…?”

“I…I feel fine now…”

Toriel made a face like she wasn’t entirely convinced. With a sigh, she removed her hand.

“If you say so…Come get cleaned up, and be sure to let me know how you feel in the morning. Alright…?”

As Toriel carried Kris out of the bedroom, Asriel stayed behind and watched them go. He sat back down on his own bed to think.

This wasn’t the first time Kris had had one of these strange nightmares. It was just the first time he’d suddenly become physically ill after having one. Asriel tried a couple of times to get Kris to open up about what these nightmares were about, but all he ever said was “It’s dark”. Any attempts to pry more information led to him randomly starting to cry and walk away, so gradually, he had stopped asking questions.

All he wanted at this point was to see his little brother smile for once. He barely got to spend time with him alone lately, between school work and extracurricular activities he’d joined, he had wondered lately if Kris was feeling more and more neglected. Surely, there had to be a way to make him feel better.

As Asriel’s eyes drifted to some Arts and Crafts supplies on his desk, the door squeaked open, and Toriel came back in with a sleeping Kris slung over her shoulder. She gently laid him back into bed and tucked him in.

“Mom…Is Kris gonna be alright…?” Asriel asked.

“Of course, Azzy. I’m sure it was just something he ate, nothing to worry over.”

“I…I guess…I’m talking about the nightmares…”

“Oh…that…well, I suppose there isn’t much you or I can do about that…All you can do, my child, is to be there for him, and help him out when he needs it. I understand things may have been difficult for you both these past few years…” Toriel sighed, getting on one knee in front of Asriel.

“But I need you to stay determined, for yourself, for him, and for me…Can you do that…?”

“...Okay…Okay…!”

“Thank you, my dear…” She gave him a kiss on the head and stood back up to leave, when Asriel hopped out of bed and took hold of her sleeve.

“Hey Mom, if…You want me to do whatever I can to cheer Kris up, I might have an idea…”

===

Morning sunshine slipped through the cracks of the curtain. Kris stirred awake, as the light hit his eyelids, he knew he’d be forced to wake up at some point. But he was okay with sleeping until either Asriel or Toriel came to wake him up.

He rolled over to face the wall, which was when he felt something hard shift on his head. For a second, he hesitated, then reached out his hand and patted his hair. Something spiky and coarse was protruding from them

Instantly, Kris sprung out of bed and raced down the hallway, down the stairs, and into the bathroom. He used the toilet as a stepping stool to get on top of the sink so he could get a good look at himself in the mirror. Poking out from his thick brunette hair were 2 spiky red horns.

“Mom! Mommy…!!” Kris started to yell, then realizing his mom was at the kitchen table.

“Good morning, Kris. You seem much better today.” She said with a smile.

“It finally happened…! I finally got my horns…!”

“Oh…? Let me see…You’re right!” Toriel felt the point of Kris’ ‘horns’

“Congratulations, Kris…! I told you that you would get your horns someday…! Doh…! I need to find my camera…!” She stood up from the table and shuffled into the hallway.

At that point, Asriel came out, still in his Pajamas, rubbing his sleep-encrusted eyes. Kris dashed up to his big brother and threw himself around him in a huge hug.

“Azzy! Azzy! Looklooklook!!” He squealed, bouncing up and down.

“Calm down, slugger…! What am I looking for…?” Asriel asked, trying and failing to hide the smirk on his face.

“I got my horns, just like you…!”

“Ehh…? Let me see…!” He said, repeating what Toriel had said.

“Wow! You did! Good job, Kris…!” The 12-year-old scooped up his brother into a tight, warm hug.

Click

Their heads both cocked in the direction of the stairs, Toriel was standing there with her Camera.

“Come along, children. Let’s go into the living room where there’s better lighting.”

After a little mini photo shoot in the living room, during which Toriel probably used up a nice chunk of the old Camera’s memory, she soon realized they were going to be late. She feverishly shoved the backpacks on her children and shuffled Kris outside to the car first. Before she pushed Asriel outside, she looked at him and smiled, giving a thumbs up. He winked at her and returned the thumbs up.

The squeaky clean minivan soon squealed out of the driveway. Kris’ legs bounced and his head bobbed to an invisible beat, as they drove through the small town, friendly happy faces smiled and waved at them.

Even if he really had no friends to show off his new horns to (Besides Noelle maybe), he finally had something connecting him and Asriel just a little closer, and that was good enough for him to get excited about.

HOONK

BEEP

The car all of a sudden stopped and lurched forward, nearly throwing the kids out of their seats.

“Ugh…You have got to be kidding me…” Toriel mumbled. She stuck her head out the window.

“Hey!! What’s the holdup???” She yelled.

The driver of the car in front of them stuck out her head and shouted back.

“I don’t know! But the new Police Officer won’t let anyone pass!”

“For God’s sake…We’re all going to be late at this rate…Children…?” Toriel called to the backseat.

“Yeah, Mom?” Answered Asriel

“Do you think you can make it to school safely on your own and wait for Mommy…?”  

“Of course we can…!”

“You won’t get distracted or lose track of your little brother…?”

“Come on, Mom. You know I’m more responsible than that…!”

“Ugh…Alright. Be careful, I love you.”

Asriel grabbed Kris’s hand and raced out of the car onto the sidewalk. Stepping out of the car in front of them, was a Cat Monster child, close to around Asriel’s age by the looks of it, with rust-colored short fur and a red sweater.

“Heyy! If it isn’t ol’ Burgerpants!”

“Azz, I thought I told you to stop calling me that…My name is Tom.” Burgerpants whined as all 3 of them walked together.

“Hey, you gotta admit, that was pretty funny yesterday when you tried to smuggle all those burgers out of the cafeteria.”

“I forgot my belt alright…?? I thought my pants would yield, but I guess burgers are heavier then I expected…”

“What are you talking about…” Kris suddenly butted in.

“This nutcase over here thought he could sneak out of the Cafeteria with 6 Cheeseburgers stuffed into his pants!” Asriel explained through hysterical laughter.

“I was getting them for a girl…!!” Tom continued to yell, the skin under his fur was flushing red from embarrassment.

“Was she impressed?”

“.…no…”

“Didn’t think so.”

They soon reached the school (didn’t take long, considering it was only about a 5-minute walk from where the car had been). Tom and Asriel parted ways so that he could say goodbye to Kris.

“Be good, alright? Just wait for Mom.”

“...Why can’t I just stay with you…? I bet the older kids won’t stare at me…”

Asriel couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I’m pretty sure the 6th graders would indeed stare at a 1st grader who suddenly decided to tag along? And don’t mind if the kids in your class stare. Let them stare.”

“Fine…”

“Remember, you’ve got Horns today. You’re just the same as the rest of them. Can’t I see a smile…?” Asriel smiled back at his brother as if to show him how it’s done.

Kris looked him with an unsure look in his eyes, then finally smiled back.

“Okay…”

“There we go. How about, assuming Mom has extra work to do, you and I meet up at the Diner for some Hot Coco? Sound fun…?”

“Yeah…!!”

“Great, I’ll see ya then buddy.”

He pushed Kris into the classroom and shut the door, leaving him at the mercy of the rest of the class who, like clockwork, all collectively turned their heads to look at the human. But, Azzy’s words reminded him that he’d gotten used to it. And now he had horns, so it was okay if they stared at him!

With a shred of confidence in his step, Kris marched passed them to his desk near the back. The monster children’s eyes followed him, but then he noticed, they were all smiling…! A small group crowded around his desk in order to inspect and touch his new “horns”.

“Whoa, Kris…! You got horns…!”

“Radical…! Wish I had hands so I could feel um…!”

“I didn’t know humans could get horns…!”

“Awawawa!! Such prett!!”

“...Neat.”

Kris was a little overwhelmed, receiving so much attention from these kids that previously just gave him weird looks. Still, he smiled and looked at the ground shyly. It felt strangely nice to not be completely ignored for once. He almost felt…Happy at school…! It was such an alien feeling, he didn’t want it to end. Nothing could spoil this for him. Nothing except…

BOOM

The door swung open and slammed into the drywall, creating a sort of dent. Standing there towering was a familiar grey-ish purple skinned Lizard girl, with misleading cute white ribbons tying her hair into pigtails. Everyone instantly stopped paying attention to Kris, their heads turned to Susie, unmasked fear in their eyes.

“...What’s everyone standing around for?” She barked.

No one said a word. They all clearly wanted to rush back to their seats, but they didn’t, as if any sudden movement would cause her to grab them in her jaws and eat them alive.

After 5 uncomfortable seconds, Noelle was the first and only one to step forward.

“K-Kris finally got his horns…! Aren’t they pretty…? I never knew Humans could grow horns until now…!” She smiled brightly.

Everyone parted ways to reveal Kris. For once, he wasn’t that intimidated by Susie. Sure she was scary, yelled a lot, refused to do literally anything Miss Toriel (even if it was as simple as picking up a piece of paper) asked of her, and stole his Lunch every single day without fail. But…Actually, those were great reasons to be intimidated by her. But with this crowd of kids around him, he strangely felt safe from her wrath for the day.

Susie huffed through her nose.

“Really now?”

She stormed up to Kris’s desk. As she got closer, all the other kids started to back away from him like he was slowly emanating a toxic gas. Until she was finally close enough to him that he could feel her hot, stinky breath in his face. Yuck. Smelled like wet garbage and glue.

She reached a clawed hand out and poked the red sparkling horns. They shifted a little on his head. She chuffed.

“Those aren’t horns. Who are you trying to fool?”

“T…They are horns…! I got them just this morning…!” Kris tried to defend himself.

Susie looked at him blankly, a smile creeping its way on her face. Before he could react at all, she reached over and snatched the horns right off of his head.

Kris’ stomach dropped. What she was holding was a red headband with glittery realistic looking red horns super glued on.

“H-Hey!! Give them back…!” Kris started to whine, trying his best to choke back tears.

“You want your ‘horns’ back…?” Susie asked, almost condescendingly.

“Yes…!”

She looked him dead in the eye, held out the horns in the palm of her hand, then crushed them in her fist.

Kris almost screamed as she dropped the now destroyed arts and crafts project on the ground with all the caring one would use to drop a wet paper towel.

“You think you’re one of us…” Susie hissed in his ear, getting real close.

“But you’re not. Wanna know what you are…?”

Kris’s throat burned as he desperately tried to hold back his devastated tears.

“...A freak...!!” So much hatred spilled from that one word. Freak. That’s all she’d ever called him. That was all he’d ever be to her, that was all he’d ever be to the rest of these kids. Hot tears finally started to spill from his eyes uncontrollably no matter how hard he tried to hold them back.

“Aww! The wittle fweak-a-zoid is gonna cwyyy…!” Susie taunted.

“Do you need Mommy or Daddy to hold your hand…?? Or maybe that Freak #2 of a brother you have!? I bet he’s the only one who’d be willing to touch your disgusting hands.”

What Kris did next was all done with no thinking. Bubbling anger swelled up inside him so hot and so quickly, he COULDN’T think. He started screaming, standing up from where he’d fallen to her knees, and socked Susie dead in the face.

The entire classroom gasped in horror, as Susie stumbled back a little. She felt her eye, looking down at her hand in utter shock. Like she couldn’t believe Kris of all people had the balls to stand up to her like that. Then, she started to laugh.

“So that’s how you wanna play it, huh…??”

Kris took a step back as if even he couldn’t believe he’d just done that. He was about to try and spout out the word ‘sorry’. But by then it was too late.

Blinding, intense pain wracked the middle of his face. He couldn’t see anything through the tears forming in his eyes. All he knew was he felt an intense pressure on his shoulders he couldn’t fight against if he tried, pushing him down onto the hard carpeted floors.

Everything after that was a complete and total blur. Ripping sounds could be heard over the blood roaring in his ears, as searing white hot pain took hold of his left arm. Blow, after blow, after blow hit him over and over in both eyes. He tried a little bit to fight back by flailing his arms, eventually grabbing onto and pulling on something soft, probably one of her ribbons, but he couldn’t see a thing anymore. Something warm and sticky was flowing down his face that he knew was nose blood.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” The entire class chanted.

Kris wanted nothing more than to fade into nonexistence. Was this where his short little life was going to end? Beaten to death, pinned under the weight a rabid 8-year-old? Honestly. Wasn’t the worst way one could go.

“KRIS!!!” A familiar female voice suddenly shrieked.

Though his swollen black eyes, he saw Susie’s purple face start to get farther away, the weight on his chest lifted. He thought for a moment he had finally died and was being taken to Heaven.

“How…!! How dare you…!!” He finally recognized the voice of Toriel shrieking.

It was at this point he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. Whatever happened to him now. He accepted his fate…

===

K̶̨̧̢̛̗̳̘̩̞̟̅̀̔͌̏́̈́̌͒̔͒̃̈̌̋̑̌̍̿̍͒̅̆͌͋̊͜͝ͅR̶̨̩̩̠͙̭̪͔̙̼̥͕̲͇̈́̋̀̽̍̈́͋̆͌͊̂́̂̾̃͗̄̕̚̚͘͜͝I̸̪͙̥̤̹͖͆͗͜S̴͍̹̟͍͙̻͐͌̎̽͒͒̾̓͊͂́̀́̓͝

K̶̞͓̄͐̏́͂̚R̴̡̳̀̀̀͐̍̈́̎̕̚Ì̸̢̙̤̭̐̈̿͒͂̉̑ͅS̸̩̟̯̫̱͖̪̗̣̒̓̀

“Kris…!”

Kris was slowly lifted out the black void that consistently haunted his dreams. He could see out his eyes much better than before, but there was still a swollen, stabbing pain in multiple spots on his face. When he moved his upper lip, he could still feel the blood flowing freely from his nose. Though it seemed to be drying now. After a moment, he realized he was being suspended in the air, in the large, warm, fluffy arms of his mother, Toriel.

“Oh thank the stars, Kris…!” She exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

“What…Happened…?” He slurred, starting to become more and more coherent of the world. He realized they were back in the School’s hallway. Where exactly in the hallway, he wasn’t sure.

“That…Abysmal child, Susie, happened…I’ll…I’ll explain later. We’re waiting for her mother right now. She has a lot of explaining to do…”

It was at this point, Kris realized they were right outside the Principle’s office. He also could hear a male voice from within.

“-Completely unacceptable behavior! There is absolutely no excuse…!”

Toriel set him on the ground. His legs thankfully were fine, it was just his face that was in agony.

Inside, the Principal had his head in his hands, exacerbated from chewing out Susie, who was just looking at the ground, not meeting anyone’s eye and refusing to speak.

“Ah, Kris. Glad to see you’re awake.” He said.

“Do you…Think you could give us your side of the story…?”

Kris tried his best to explain what he could remember. Including the part about how he struck Susie first. Everything after Susie destroying his horns was hazy at best.

Just as he started to finish his story, the door slammed open in a disturbingly familiar way. Standing there was a young(?) reptilian Monster, a bit shorter then Toriel by a few inches. Her gray tank-top and ripped jeans were baggy and had a few stains that Kris naively hoped were from food. She also was incredibly thin, the bones on her maroon freckled shoulders were poking through her skin like a cardboard box in a garbage bag. The baggy tank-top only served to highlight how sickly she looked.

She glared at everyone in the room through sunken, honey colored eyes. And the moment she walked in, the room was filled with the bitter stench of something akin to a mix of Window Cleaner and B.O. Kris recognized had her from a couple of years ago when he’d witnessed her dragging Susie to their dirty beat-up pickup truck.

“Okay. What do you assholes want from me now?”

“Miss Stark, please have a seat.”

Miss Stark did nothing of the sort. She stood behind Susie, who was still looking at the ground, not even acknowledging the presence of her mother.

“You were called because your daughter was caught today brutally assaulting another student.” The Principle explained in his best calm manner, gesturing towards Kris.

Miss Stark then finally noticed the human child. Instantly, she visibly recoiled in disgust.

“Ugh…! What the hell is THAT thing doing here…??”

“Ex-CUSE me???” Toriel shouted, putting her hands on Kris protectively.

“Look what your child has done to mine…!” She gestured to Kris’s swollen and bloody face. He casually waved back.            

“What’s a human doing in a monster school anyway…?? It deserves whatever comes to it if it wants to tread on our territory. I can’t believe you called me here for this bullshit!”

Never in his life had Kris seen Toriel look that ready to deck someone. He felt her claws grip and dig slightly into his shoulders.

“Miss Stark, your behavior right now is completely inappropriate…! Control yourself or I will have to have you removed…!”

“You’re the one who called me here! So what’s gonna happen to the fucking thing? It’s not like she killed it.”

“Susie will be suspended for 1 month, and Kris will be suspended for 2 days since he technically hit first.”

“It did what???” Miss Stark screamed, turning towards Kris.

“This thing punched MY daughter…???” Then she turned to Toriel.

Toriel was about to bite back an angry response, when the door burst open again. Standing there, dressed in a Soccer game jersey, fur caked with mud and dust, was Asriel!

“Kris!!” He ran up and threw his arms around his little brother.

“I-I heard what happened…! I’m so sorry…! I shouldn’t have let you go in there alone…! I should have…I should’ve…”

“shh…I’m okay…”

“Ugghh. Yuck!” Miss Stark hissed upon seeing Asriel hug Kris. “And you call ME a bad mother! Your the one raising your kids to get killed by humans one day, and your little pet punched her first, so logically, it deserved to get the crap beaten out of it!”

The next thing Kris knew, the Principle had to get between Toriel and Miss Stark, the latter of whom he had to slam against the wall to restrain her. Asriel took Kris from behind and pulled him back, holding onto him tightly. A minute passed of the 2 furious mothers spitting venom at each other, before she suddenly snatched Susie up by her arm and stormed out.

A heavy uncomfortable silence stood in the air for a few seconds, until finally, the Principle wiped his hands on his jacket, cleared his throat, and spoke in a low voice.

“You…You may go now, Miss Dreemer…”

===

Turns out, after Susie had been forcibly restrained and dragged kicking and screaming out of the classroom, the rest of Toriel’s class had been free to go. And furthermore, apparently, Kris had been out-cold for a solid few hours.

Asriel still had Soccer Practice, and he insisted that Kris not be alone, so their mother very reluctantly allowed him to go outside to the field with him (After healing as much of the external injuries she could).

It was a beautiful day outside. Kris sat quietly on the bleachers, watching the older kids run back and forth across the field. No one was taking it that seriously. The majority of the time, the team would chat, mess around with the ball a little, then practice things like goal-keeping or kicking. Kris could tell his brother was quite well liked by the team. The way kids laughed and joked with him, the number asking for his help or advice. He was a good player too. He was the fastest, the most agile. The goalie couldn’t block a single shot from him.

He was glad his brother was so happy. But…At the same time, he yearned for what he had. Friends. Everyone liked Asriel. Asriel was the cool guy, the model student, the sports star. But who was he? Just Asriel’s weird little brother. No one had said that to him, but he’d felt it over the past 2 years, watching how popular he was and how he made it look so easy. It wasn’t like Kris hadn’t tried. It was just that everyone ignored him. At best, people would just pass him by with a weird stare. And it wasn’t like he could just force them to be his friend…

A bolt of electricity shot through Kris, akin to a bullet. His small body forcefully took in a deep gasp of air, as a cold, nauseating dread gripped at his chest and spread like poison. That was when he saw something at the edge of the woods that made his blood run like ice.

Outside the forest that wasn’t far behind the soccer field, was a hunched over, dark figure. Its body was gelatinous-like and lacking shape like it was slowly melting into the grass. Its pale head was looking down, preventing Kris from seeing its face clearly. Though in hindsight, that might have been for the better.

Kris couldn’t tear his eyes away from this strange figure he’d never seen before, yet the more he looked, the more he felt like he was in immediate danger. The more he looked, the more the blood roared in his ears, like a drum was beating louder and louder. The weirdest part was that no one else on the field seemed to be reacting the way he was, or even noticed or acknowledged the figure. That was when it snapped it’s head up, staring straight ahead into the young human’s SOUL.

Kris wailed aloud, he jumped off his place on the bleachers and onto the field where Asriel was just playing keepy-uppy with the ball and threw his short arms around his brother.

“W-Whoa! Kris…?? What’s the matter, buddy…??” He asked, half confused and half concerned. He ignored the stares of the other players and the coach, who were very bewildered by the random 7-year-old who ran onto their field and interrupted their practice.

Now crying and sniveling, Kris pointed in the direction of the forest, too terrified for words. Asriel looked in the direction he was pointing. Kris expected his expression to become as mortified as his was, but instead, Asriel just stared ahead, his lip hung open as he tried to find the proper way to say what he was about to say.

“.…Kris…There’s…Nothing there…?”

Turning his head to where he himself was pointing, Kris’s heart lurched, when he realized his brother was right. The figure he’d seen a minute ago was gone. Vanished into thin air. Like it never existed at all. He looked at Asriel desperately. He was terrified and crying, and Asriel was now incredibly concerned. He looked around at the rest of his teammates, who just seemed annoyed at this point.

“Uhh…I’m…I’m sorry fellas, but uh…I think that’s enough practice for me today. Me and Kris here should really be getting home for dinner…!” he smiled uncomfortably, trying and failing to hide his inner embarrassment.

He put his hands on Kris’s back, and slowly started to usher him off the field…

===

It turned out that Toriel had apparently a lot of paperwork to catch up on with her class dismissed for the day, so she told her children to go home without her and that she’d be home sometime after they went to bed.

The entire walk home, Asriel kept stealing glances at Kris, who was just…Staring at the ground. Not saying anything, not looking at his older brother. Just holding his hands and allowing himself to be led home.

“So…I’m sorry about what happened to your horns…”

“...”

“If…If you want, I could make some new ones. Some better ones…! That mean ol bully Susie’s been suspended for a while, right…?”

“...” Kris nodded.

“That’s good to hear…I’m sorry about what happened earlier…I wish there was something I could have done to prevent it…But I guess, it’s not like I could just punch an 8-year-old in the face for you…!” Asriel smiled, trying his best to make conversation. But Kris clearly wasn’t in the mood for it. So they just walked in silence back home, together.

Later that night…

After a lovely dinner of leftover pizza, pie, and Cola. Asriel had helped Kris get cleaned up and dressed. Although Toriel had healed him all up as best she could, there was still some dried blood on his lip and his sweater had some bloodstains on it.

He was tucking Kris in, assuming at first that he’d fallen asleep instantly (With his hair covering his face half the time, it was hard to tell). But as he was preparing to stand up and go to his own bed, he felt a small trembling hand tug on his Pajama Sleeve and hold on tight.

“Huh…? What’s wr-”

“p…p-please don’t leave me…” Kris begged.

He was oddly not very surprised. After all he’d gone through (And supposedly went through) today, it sorta made sense he’d be scared of being alone at a time like this. It was then Asriel remembered something. He took both of his brother’s hands and squeezed them gently.

“If you’d like, I could sing you a lullaby…I…I-I wrote one earlier today in class…It’s not that good, but y-you may like it, I dunno…”

“lullaby…?” Asked the 7-year-old, like he’d never heard the word before.

“Yeah…! I just gotta get my guitar real quick, be right back…”

Asriel left the room and came back 1 minute later with his Guitar that he took home from the Church Choir, and a sheet of notebook paper. He placed the paper next to Kris’s leg, sat down at the end of the bed (making sure Kris was nice and tucked in), and started to sing…

…When the light is running low

And the shadows start to grow

And the places that you know

Seem like fantasy…

…

There’s a light inside your soul

That’s still shining in the cold

With the truth

The promise in our hearts…

Don’t forget

I’m with you in the dark…

And for the first time in nearly 3 years, Kris slept that night with only peaceful dreams to welcome him.

#deltarune #deltarunekris #deltarune kris #deltarune susie #deltarunesusie #undertale asriel #undertaleasriel #fanfiction #a tale of 2 souls #have fun translating those text boxes

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 3

Huge thanks to @thechadslayer for foregoing sleep and editing this for me!

=====================

Ralsei was sitting at the kitchen table, staring straight ahead. Only…Was this the kitchen table? It was startlingly smaller in comparison to the grand dining table he was used to. But at the same time, it had an odd warmth of familiarity to it. Or perhaps that warmth was coming from the lit fireplace nearby. On the other side of the table, however, was a sight that was alien to him.

A creature most strange sat before him, the likes of which he had never seen before. They didn’t look like they had any fur. Just bare, pink, squishy looking skin. Hanging from their head and draping in front of their face was long, tangled locks of brown hair. That must have been where all their fur went. Through their thick bangs, Ralsei could see piercing reddish eyes that practically gleamed like the finest of rubies. He didn’t know who this creature was, but like the table, they seemed to bring him an unusual sense of comfort - joy, even. They were drawing something on a piece of paper. Ralsei wished he could speak to them, but he just hadn’t found his voice yet.

The creature snapped up and glared at him, brushing its bangs out of its face. The two made eye contact, the once prevalent sense of comfort, melting into a gripping sense of dread, like the gangly claws of a demon slowly rising up your back.

“...What are you staring at?”

Ralsei wanted to reply “You”. But when he opened his mouth, he heard no noise come out. So wherever he was, he still didn’t know how to speak. Still, the strange creature stared at him, then looked back down at their drawing.

“I know you’re worried about Dad, but you don’t need to give me the silent treatment…”

Now Ralsei was simply confused. Who’s dad were they talking about? They weren’t talking about his dad, were they? What would he be worried about?

“I know I’m the one who misread the recipe, but…” Their voice faded. They were visibly trembling in anger. He didn’t understand what had them so upset, but he wanted to help them anyway. Then, they randomly started to chuckle, which served to deepen the sense of unease.

“I guess we really messed up this time, huh?” They stared at him, their scarlet eyes glistening with tears, despite the slightly terrifying smile plastered on their face. “Dad is going to die, isn’t he?”

Ralsei felt his heart sink like a stone in the water. No, no, his dad couldn’t be dying! The last time he remembered seeing him, he was perfectly fine! Hands trembling, he nervously reached out and placed a comforting hand on the creature’s shoulder, which proved to be quite an instant mistake.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!!!” They shrieked at him, quickly standing up from the table. They slammed their chair down onto the ground. They turned to face Ralsei. Burning, unchained rage had twisted their expression, and shadowed their eyes, giving the impression they had none. Before he even got a chance to respond, they raised their fist to him. Before it made contact, something had sent Ralsei hurtling into a dense blackness. ===

Ralsei was abruptly awakened by something comparatively softer than a fist smacking him in the face; a pillow. He sprung up in bed with a high pitched bleat of shock. He soon realized that he was back in the real world, in his bed. The real world that looked like a strange blend of colors, shadows, and misshapen blobs.

When he looked to his right, he saw the blue and white misshapen blob he had learned to recognize as his brother, Lancer.

“Walsei! Why are you cwying?” Lancer asked, the concern in his voice was palpable. The little goat brought a hesitant hand to his face to find that his cheek fur was, in fact, damp with tears he didn’t realize he’d been crying until now.

His shoulders relaxed for a minute, before a detail from his strange dream came back to him. Ralsei sprung out of bed and dashed to the door. At least, he tried. Instead, his face made direct contact with the wall right next to the door. He had to grope around for a minute to find the doorknob.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” Lancer yelled as he chased after his brother.

Despite the strange incoherent mess his world had looked like for his entire life, Ralsei had learned over time to navigate the hallways of the castle. He knew that right down the hallway and to the left of his bedroom, was an elevator; and on one of the elevator walls, was a series of weird white blobs, and if he pressed the top one, it would take him to where his father’s bedroom was.

“Hey!” Lancer shouted again, holding the doors to the elevator open. “I wanna come with you!”

As much as he preferred Lancer just stayed behind for once, he could never tell him that even if he had the ability. So he just stepped aside, signaling he was allowed to come in.

As soon as the elevator opened upon reaching the top floor, Ralsei dashed out before Lancer could continue to follow him, all the way to the throne room, and then a sharp left that led to the master bedroom with a giant Spade on the door.

Inside, was a giant lump hidden under a large comforter. The lump rose and fell consistently, each rise punctuated by a long, rattling snore akin to a hibernating bear. Ralsei took a running start and threw himself onto the bed, soon crawling over and jumping on top of his father’s large gut.

With a sudden startled snort, the King sprung up. Causing the little goat to lose his balance and almost tumble right off the bed onto his skull. Thankfully, he felt a large gloved hand grab him by the feet and yank him back up.

“Ralsei?! What is the meaning of-…” Ace began to shout, but he looked down and saw his son trying to wrap his tiny arms around him. Delicate sobs and hiccoughing shook his small body. The King’s eyes softened, as he picked him up and held him close to his chest.

“Hey, it’s alright… There’s no need to cry, I’m right here…” He whispered softly, assuming the prince had simply experienced a bad dream. Of course, he’d never had a nightmare so bad that he came to the King for comfort. Then again, Ace never knew when Ralsei had nightmares or not; It wasn’t like he could just ask him.

“Daddy?” Lancer pushed the door open and called out.

“Hey, there’s my other handsome boy…! Come over here, and sit with your old man…!” Ace smiled and waved his hand, signaling for his son to join him and Ralsei. Lancer grew an ear-to-ear grin and jumped up on the bed.

Ralsei had finally started to stop crying. The King wiped away his tears, then noticed the bruise right between his eyes where he’d ran head first into the wall earlier (the fur there was thin enough that a swollen bump was easy to spot).

“What happened to your face?” Ace asked, before remembering the boy couldn’t speak. It was at that point he realized the kid wasn’t meeting his eye.

“Hmm…” As a test, he placed his index finger right in front of Ralsei’s face. He looked up slightly confused for a second, then his eyes slowly drifted down and squinted, as if trying to focus on the object right in front of him. Ace then started to move his finger back and forth at a steady pace. Instead of following it with his eyes, they only looked in a different direction by the time the finger had moved to the other side.

The King raised an eyebrow in slight alarm. He had noticed for a while now the strange blank way that Ralsei looked at everything; how he always seemed to be tripping over something, and how he never went anywhere he couldn’t follow Lancer, as if he was supposed to be his guide.

Even if the issue wasn’t very severe as of yet, it could cause problems in the future. As such, Ace made the educated decision to ask Seam for advice.

===

“Now. I want you to raise either your left or right hand, depending on which side you see the light, okay?” The scruffy cat instructed.

In the darkness of the basement bedroom where Seam slept and worked, he had sat Ralsei down on a stool, and brought out an old lantern. With about a foot of distance between him and the young prince, he was standing just off to the side, where logically, he should be able to see the light in his peripheral vision.

Seam held his paw near the mantle of the Lantern, a spark of fire magic emerged and gave it a weak glow. Being a cat, he could easily see in dark even without the lantern. Patiently, he waited for Ralsei to raise his left hand. But instead, the kid stared straight ahead, blinking a few times with an innocent smile plastered on his face. Seam thought for a moment and looked to the right.

“My King? Would you try now…?”

Ace nodded in acknowledgment. Though he wasn’t exactly skilled in Fire Magic, he did have a match he was able to strike on the gritty stone walls, igniting it for the lantern. Once again, they waited for Ralsei to make any sort of indication that he could see either light. But again, nothing aside from a confused head tilt. Sighing, Seam put out his lantern and turned the lights back on.

“So, what’s the diagnosis?” Ace asked, putting out his own lantern.

“Nothing dangerous, thankfully. Farsightedness with some peripheral vision problems. Nothing too unheard of.”

“Anything you can fix…? Why can’t you just heal it like you did with the bruise on his head?”

“I’m afraid it’s not the simple…Healing Magic and Healing Prayers are best suited for external injuries and pain. They can’t cure things like illness, or in this case, what’s most likely a genetic condition that’s been present since birth.” Seam explained as he walked over to a small ornate chest on his bedside.

“Although it can’t be cured, it can be remedied!” He proclaimed, opening the chest, pulling out a golden key. He took that key to a much larger chest at the foot of his bed. Upon being opened, the King saw a treasure-trove of various paraphernalia that had been collected over the course of many years. Many of it was stuff he remembered from his own childhood. But the item of note that Seam pulled out was something he didn’t recognize at all: A pair of wire-framed mint green glasses, with round thick lenses.

“Those seem inappropriately large for him, don’t you think?”

“Worry not, your majesty.” Seam said. He approached Ralsei, helped him off the stool, and then without warning, shoved the glasses onto his small head.

The kid stumbled a little and nearly fell down from the force, not surprising, considering he barely weighed more than the stool behind him. But once he regained his bearings, he opened his eyes. The otherwise over-sized glasses began to shrink, until they were the perfect size for him. The thick lenses magnified the size of his eyes, highlighting the bright pastel pink of his irises. As he looked around the room, he grew a wide ear to ear smile that got wider the more he looked around. Until his eyes finally settled on the Spade King. He giggled and ran up to him, giving his father a tight hug around the legs. Smiling nearly as wide as Ralsei was, Ace scooped him up to return the hug.

Seam watched the tender Father and Son moment, when a knock came to his door.

“Who’s there?” He asked annoyed, opening it. Standing there was a common Rudinn, looking a little embarrassed to be there.

“UUhh…Your Majesty? The rest of the staff and I need your help supervising the decorating for the Prince’s Birthday Party.”

Ace stared at the Rudinn like he had a stack of Scratch-n-Wins for a head, when as if the cogs in his head began moving, you could see his expression shift from confused to suddenly terrified.

“Oh God, I forgot that was today!!” Dropping his son harshly on the ground, the King raced out of the bedroom faster then anyone had seen him run in a few years. Leaving behind a confused Seam, a startled Rudinn, and crestfallen Ralsei.

===

The banquet hall was decorated like a full-blown Ball was going on, instead of a 4-year-old’s birthday party. But that is to be expected when you’re royalty.

The King was just walking around, admiring the lovely work the Rudinns were doing. Paper banners with all the 4 Kings’ Emblems were strung up around the ceiling. Red Hearts, Green Diamonds, Blue Spades, and White Clubs. On top of that, balloons in similar shapes were strategically placed around the banquet hall, as well as filled the rest of the ceiling not obscured by the banners.

After ordering a pair of Hathys to watch Lancer and Ralsei while they were still setting up the party, Ace occasionally stopped a catastrophe by holding an unstable ladder in place or acting as an extra hand when carrying the huge naked Birthday Cake into the kitchen. There wasn’t a whole lot for him to do. Opulent was talking to his Rudinn Guards about the guest list and where they’d be stationed during the party (He made special note that they guard the one room in the basement where he stored his treasure). Amare was “sampling” some of the frosting his Hathys were going to decorate the cake with. Clubs was helping to hang up the last of the banners.        

Everything seemed to be going well. He thought for a moment he could relax about this whole Birthday Party Business, when he felt a gentle tug on his cape. Turning around, he noticed Seam standing behind him. He’d changed from his slightly tattered old blue robes into a pair of more formal glittery red ones.

“I’ must say, I think they’ve outdone themselves this year…!” Ace said with a proud smile.

“So…I take it you’re adamant about telling the boys they’re supposed to be twins?” Seam said, snuffing out any form of joy the King was feeling and replacing it with a pang of heavy guilt.

“They’re still young! Kids will believe anything, I chose to have the party on Lancer’s birthday, as I would much rather forget about that day. Blood relation or lack thereof, Ralsei is still my son.”

“You realize there will come a time they’ll both figure the truth out on their own? Have fun having to explain yourself to them then…”

“I know. All too well. But enough of this; let’s enjoy the festivities, shall we?” The King smiled an uncomfortable smile. Seam met his eye for a moment, then sighed through his nose.

“Do not say I didn’t warn you…”

He was about to walk away, when the doors to the banquet hall burst open, and a frantic looking Rudinn slithered up to the King of Spades. Though he looked around so as to address all 4 of the Kings

“Your Majesties! Your Majesties!! We have a situation going on in the Entrance Hall that requires your immediate attention!”

===

The 4 Kings (along with Seam) all followed the Rudinn, the sounds of yelling and struggling becoming clearer the closer they got.

“I said! LET! GO! OF! ME!” An unfamiliar voice pleaded.

“Thou pathetic whelp will have fun answering to thine Royal Authority-!!”

“I have a right to speak to the King on my own! No need to be alarmed! Now stop before you break my-AAHHGGHH!!”

When they reached the entrance hall, they were all met with the sight of Roulxs Kaard towering over a much smaller peasant looking creature. He had them in a choke-hold, and their left arm bent in a twisted unnatural position. The young boy he was trying to hold down was crying out in pain.

“Roulxs, that’s enough!” Ace roared. He would have pulled the boy away from him, but he worried about injuring him further.

“Your majesty! Thou hast arrived just in time! This petulant little worm somehow snuck into the castle right under thy guard’s noses and thought thou could getteth away with stealing from ME of all people!!”

The Kings all looked down at the peasant boy, hot streaming tears of pain running down his blue-ish lilac face.

“Is this true?” Opulent asked.

“No!! I was only trying to get his attention! …Which coincidentally happened to involve me tapping near his back pocket! That’s when this gangly madman grabbed me! I was merely going to ask if the position of entertainer was open or not!”

It was at that point, Ace noticed a forlorn piece of paper on the ground a few feet away. Picking it up, he realized it was one of the fliers he had put up nearly a month ago, advising they needed a magician for the Party.

“Roulxs. Let him go…” Seam pushed his way to the front of the small crowd.

“Not until I am certain he wilt be punished for his attempted crime! Besides, dost thou really want such a foul and dirty drifter performing for the princes? ”

“Do not make me repeat myself.” Seam stated, seething.

Roulxs Kaard stared at him, then the rest of the Kings. His lip dangled open as though he had more to say, but reluctantly, he dropped the boy on the ground. His arm dangled limply as he held it tight.

As the Kings yelled and argued with Roulxs, Seam got down on one knee in front of the boy.

“Might I see your arm please…?”

He glared at the old cat. Any more pissed off and he might have started hissing. Although, the pain must have been bad enough that he let go of the injured arm so Seam could inspect it.

“Hmm…Looks like just a sprain. Here.” Gently, he wrapped a paw around the elbow, green magic swirled around the affected area. After a moment, he let go. The arm fell, as the boy stared down in utter shock and disbelief. He was able to lift and bend it with no pain at all.

“How… How? How did you do that??”

“It’s quite simple, a child could do it, really.”

“I am not a child, yet I couldn’t do that!”

Seam narrowed his eyes (which was impressive for buttons), then stood up.

“Come with me.” He motioned for the boy to follow him. He used his long tail to push himself onto his feet, and began floating in midair. Seam was intrigued by this alone.

“Tell me, what’s your name…?”

“My name is Jevil.” He said smugly crossing his arms and floating along with the old magician.

“Jevil, eh? That’s an interesting name. You said you were here to ask if the Entertainment position was still open?”

===

Seam was preparing to lead Jevil down to his room in the basement to show him something, when they randomly started to hear whining and murmuring, not too far away.

“Walsei! Stop it! You’re gonna get us in trouble! I just wanna twy them on!”

Seam paused then quickly realized what was happening.

“Alright, boys. The jig is up, come on out.”

“Aww man!” Pouting, Lancer stepped out from behind a stone pillar, wearing the green frame glasses that had been gifted to Ralsei earlier.

“Lancer, give your brother his glasses back. He needs them, you do not.”

Lancer’s mouth opened like he wanted to argue, but Seam was thankfully one of the only monsters he showed any respect to. As such, he very reluctantly handed the glasses back to Ralsei, who was just behind him holding onto his shoulders.

“Those are the princes?” Jevil asked with a trembling voice.

“They don’t act like it, but yes, indeed they are.”

As if a switch turned on, Jevil stopped in his tracks and bowed his head down to the tiny princes, much to their confusion. Lancer stared at him with his lip hanging open, while Ralsei stared for a couple seconds, then bowed back to the peasant.

“Wow, such a Gentleman! Yes, a little Gentleman indeed!” Jevil complimented.

“He is, isn’t he?” Seam smiled.

“It’s just that they should know they’re not supposed to be down here…” He added, crossing his arms.

Lancer cowered under his judgemental gaze.

“I’m sowwy. We’ll go back upstairs.” Lancer sulked.

“No. If someone spots you, all four of us will get into trouble. Since you both are so curious, why don’t you help me get our friend here into some more performance-ready clothes?” Seam proposed.

“Come again?” Jevil’s jaw dropped - literally. He had to pick it back up and reattach it.

“Sure!” Chimed Lancer.

“Of course, you’re not only the only person who showed up, I have a feeling you’ll do better than anyone else who COULD have showed up.” Seam explained.

“H…How do you know that? You don’t know me.” Jevil asked.

“I know there’s great power inside you. I think you just need the right setting to let it shine through. That starts with some more… Mmm… ‘Presentable’ clothing.” Seam continued.

“I suppose I’m alright. My parents taught me all they could about Magic before…” Jevil lowered his head, looking away from Seam shyly… ”Come now.” The old cat said gently, placing a comforting paw on the young boy’s shoulder.

“Let’s not focus on that. I think I have just the right outfit for you!”

===

With Ralsei and Lancer in tow, Seam led them and Jevil all the way to the bottom floor. At the end of the hallway was his bedroom.

Inside, he asked the boys to sit the small twin sized bed and give their opinion on the outfit he’d chosen for Jevil.

The very first thing he pulled out, was a long dark blue and black glittery cape, with a white Spade pattern on the outside, along with a pair of yellow and lime green Jester Shoes, and a purple and black Jester Hat.

“The uh…The cape is from my younger days when I was little more than a novice magician, who somehow scraped up a job cleaning windows at the Castle. The then King of Spades, your Grandfather,” Seam explained, turning to the princes for that last bit.

“He noticed my ability to heal most any small wound I was presented with. Bought me a bunch of Spell Books, appointed me as Resident Healer, and gave me this fancy-schmancy cape for whenever company was over so I could entertain them…As for the shoes and hat, I’m not positive on wherever THEY came from, but, they’re yours now.” He finished his story, handing the items to Jevil.

Although nervous, Jevil untied his burlap cloak, dropping it to the ground (Thankfully he had a laced leather body suit underneath). When he’d finally adorned the cloak, shoes, and hat, he looked like a true Court Jester for the Court of Spades.

“Alright, children, how do I look?” Jevil asked.

Lancer studied Jevil up and down, before giggling and giving 2 thumbs up, his little blue tongue poking out through his smile.

“You wook awesome!” Lancer cheerily answered.

Ralsei looked to Jevil, then to Lancer, then copied what he was doing and gave 2 thumbs up.

“I think they approve.” Seam said with a pleased smile.

“And you’re positive I’m ready? I don’t want to mess things up!” Jevil asked nervously.

“You won’t, as long as you remember what I told you earlier.” Seam began, getting on one knee so he was level with the boy.

“Within you is great power, begging to burst forward. You’re a natural born performer, aren’t you?”

“I do street performances every day so I make enough to eat.”

“How do others react to you there?”

“They actually think I’m pretty good. They always stop and watch, they always applaud. But not all of them leave money, however.”

“Well, think of it like that, only it’s on a stage and there are many, many more people to watch you and applaud.”

Jevil’s yellow eyes met Seam’s button eyes. After a second, he smiled like he finally got it.

“Alright… Alright! I can do this! Let’s go!” Jevil’s tail pushed onto the ground and lifted him into the air like a weak helium balloon.

“Of course you can do it!” Seam cheered, watching him.

“You can do anything!”

“I can do anything!!”

===

Seam had told Jevil to go up first to the Banquet Hall and wait behind the stage, while he snuck the Children in. Judging from the cacophony of footsteps marching upstairs, the guests to the party were beginning to arrive. It was only polite for the guests of honor to arrive after everyone else already had. Luckily, it was easy to hide under the radar with the two tiny 4-year-olds hitching a ride on his back with the huge crowd of Monsters all filing into the castle.

Seam watched as the last Monster who’d fallen a little behind with the rest shuffled into the huge Banquet Hall, then made a motioning signal towards the hallway where the Elevator was.

“You two can go in now! You know where to find your father, right?” He asked them. They nodded yes.

Anyone else trying to navigate the huge hall to find 1 specific person would find it nigh impossible, but Ralsei and Lancer were used to this. Every year on their birthday, their father always threw these huge balls. Although they struggled slightly to find him at 2 Years and 3 Years, this year they were ready and remembered he was almost always; the front of the room where the stage was, talking with the other Kings.

“Daddyyy!” Lancer squealed, throwing himself onto Ace’s leg. He looked down at the 4-year-old shocked at first, but his face softened seeing him and his brother.

“There’s my two birthday boys!” He bellowed, scooping the two of them up.

“How would you like to open 2 of your presents early���?”

“Hecking yeah!!”

“Love, why don’t you give Ralsei your present first?” Ace asked, turning towards The King of Hearts. He blushed a little and scowled at his old hated nickname, but still pulled out a medium sized box wrapped in green and pink wrapping paper.

Setting Ralsei on the ground, he gave him a pat on the head as if to say “You know what to do”. The little goat got on his knees, and began to tear away at the wrapping paper, getting to a cardboard box. When he took off the lid and pulled out the contents, revealing a beautiful long magenta scarf. His large magnified eyes lit up with excitement seeing the scarf, he held it tight to his chest, feeling the soft wool. Although he couldn’t speak, Ace could tell he was quite pleased with his birthday present.

The King felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. Roulxs Kaard was standing there, his face a bit twisted in thought.

“Is that not the same-eth scarf thy Prince was discovered wrapped up in as a wee babe…?” He asked. The sounds of voices chatting thankfully covered up his words so only Ace could hear them. He nodded.

“Yes, it is. But, I asked Love to patch up some of the holes, make it bigger, clean it up, and then I asked Seam if he could apply some sort of enchantment. It’s now enchanted with a powerful warding enchantment.” He explained, watching as Amare showed him the best way to wrap it around his little neck.

Clubs pushed his way to the front, carrying on his head a much larger wrapped up box.

“I’ve got something much cooler than a scarf!” His 1st head shouted, dropping the box at Lancer’s feet. Eagerly, he ripped and tore at the paper and nearly tore chunks away from the box. When all the wrapping paper was cast away, a box for a brand new Bicycle!

“Whoooa!! Thank youuu!!” Lancer squealed, running up to the Club King and opening his arms, beckoning for a hug. They obliged, all 4 heads lowering and wrapping themselves around the Spade Prince.

Just then, all the lights in the Banquet Hall shut off at the same time. For a moment, everyone started to panic, locked in total darkness. Until 3 spotlights collectively illuminated the stage. Standing there, or should I say, balancing on his tail with his legs crossed, was Jevil! The show had begun.

“Haha, ladies and gentlemen! Gentlemen! Witness in his glory, performing for the first time in front of a large live audience, the power of The Jevil!” He introduced himself.

With that intro and final shout of his name, his - now gloved - hand shot into the air, sparks erupted from his palm first, then, bubbles the shapes of the 4 King’s Emblem rose along with the sparks. Red Hearts, Green Diamonds, Blue Spades, and White Clubs. As the bubbles fell to the ground and popped, wisps of magic rose.

“Pip pip! Who would like to ride the Carousel??”

Slightly translucent apparitions of large Ducks and Horses appeared around the room. They began to bob up and down and race through the Banquet Hall, pacing through the guests like a hologram. That is, until 1 Duck and 1 Horse got to the Princes. They each dived down and scooped them up so they were now on their backs.

Ralsei and Lancer’s squeals of joy and laughter echoed through the hall, somehow being able to be heard over the festive Carnival Music playing in the background. A minute of this passed. The translucent Carousels began to disappear, while the ones carrying the Birthday Boys’ began to slow down, stopping right in front of the King, and vanishing, allowing the boys to drop to the ground gently.

“Yes, such fun, such fun! Was it not?” Jevil chimed, jumping up and floating in the air.

“For my next act, I will need a very special, special volunteer!”  

“Oh! Oh! Me, me, me, me!” Lancer began to shout, running up to the stage and bouncing his arm in the air.

“My dearest apologies, sweet Prince of Spades! This game, I’m afraid, is not like your average game of pogs! This game’s not for kids who should be in school, for I challenge someone to a one-on-one duel!!” Jevil casually flipped upside down in the air and put his hands behind his head (somehow his hat wasn’t falling off).  

The crowd all collectively gasped, some scared murmurs followed, as Jevil’s challenge sunk in. The King was about to start yelling, but it was then a certain tall blue-skinned Nanny with flowing white hair stepped onto the stage. Roulxs Kaard had torn away his apron he had been wearing while offering tea to the party guests.

“If thou dost desire a duel, thou impudent wretch, then a duel, thou shalt receive!” Roulxs proclaims.

“Ahh, haha! Roulx, Roulx! Such a familiar face you are! I can see your intellect has not grown since we last met!” Jevil once again flipped over mid-air, now facing the ground. He seemed to put his elbows on an invisible table and hold his face in a very taunting manner.

“What is this mad drivel spouting from thy mouth?”

“Do you not remember? Remember? It was I, whose arm you had broken earlier this morning. Not only that, but I was once the poor boy you had taunted and scorned. That was many years ago, yes; for we were still but mere children, But alas, it seems some things never change; for you are still far from being the sharpest knife in the drawer!”

Roulxs Kaard’s face twisted in rage. You could see the muscles in his hand spasm as he clenched them in a fist.

“Thou taketh me for a fool, when it is thou that is dressed so plainly in the garb of a merryman! Thou shalt come to regret your mockery, worm; for this day, thou hast angered Roulxs Kaard!” Roulxs spouts off.

“Perfect, yes! Challenge accepted! Let the games begin! Don’t worry, children! This is all in a controlled environment! Roulxs Kaard will not be allowed a weapon, and my attacks will not hurt him at all!”

“Wait…I beg thy pardon?” He was about to ask, when Jevil suddenly disappeared and reappeared, much higher from above.

“Roulxs Kaard! Meet Devilsknife!”

Before Roulxs even got a chance to prepare himself, Jevil’s body quickly collapsed in on itself and then came back, in the form of a giant Scythe spinning rapidly in circles then starting to hurl itself directly at his face!

The Nanny’s reflexes were thankfully quick. He fell to the ground and rolled away, barely getting hit by Devilsknife, which disappeared upon nearly hitting the ground. and reappeared farther away, again in Roulxs’ direct path.

He very quickly had to change direction and go the other way, but once again, Devilsknife somehow knew exactly where he was going and adjusted itself accordingly. This process repeated until he’d done almost an entire lap around the stage. As he was completing the lap, he was beginning to get exhausted, slowing down. This allowed Devilsknife to catch up, and as Roulx was just starting to get out of the way, it quickly launched at his back, scraping it and putting a nasty deep gash in it. Roulxs bellowed out a guttural shout of pain and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, this scream was drowned out by the sounds of the audience cheering and clapping. Devilsknife disappeared and in its place was Jevil again, bowing before the audience.

“Haha, thank you all! And thank you, Roulxs Kaard for being such a delightful, delightful volunteer!” Jevil playfully applauded Roulxs.

As the Nanny stood up weakly, blood soaking the back his shirt, a low rumbling chuckle began in his throat, that slowly morphed into a creepy wide smile growing across his face. Jevil jolted upon hearing this chuckle, he turned around to look at Roulxs, a little unnerved.

“Thou hast made a grave error, fool. Verily, a sorely made error, thou shalt come to regret.” He began.

“I hath inherited a fantastic power from those who came before me. The power of the Rules Card. You see…When the rules aren’t going how I want…” He raised his palm. Green magic sparked around him, a long sword appeared in his hands.

“...I make my own rules…”

“Ohohoho! So Roulxs Kaard is ready for Round 2, is he?? Fine! Let’s boogie, bogeyman!”

Jevil flew into the air, higher again, for a brief second, he held his hand to his heart, then threw it out the way an Opera singer would for a long, loud note. A shower of large Clubs in clusters of 3 rained down in the direction of Roulxs Kaard.

Kaard performed an impressive series of flips, spins, and occasionally slicing right through a club to avoid getting a single scratch. He even deflected a Club so it instead flew back at Jevil and nearly knocked him out of the air.

Occasionally one would smash into his back or crash into his head, but as soon as he was in a semi-safe spot, he would raise his palm and immediately go back to full HP. Jevil wasn’t exactly happy about this.

“DAAGH! Stop cheating, cheating!!”

“But I am not cheating, for it’s par of the rules, thou see: The player known as Roulxs Kaard may be allowed to heal himself to full Health an indefinite amount of times at any point during battle. The player known as Jevil, will not be granted such a privilege.”

“URGGHHH! NO FUN! NO FUN! NO FUN!!” Jevil screamed over and over again. Each time he shouted “No Fun”, he reappeared in a different spot around the Stage, faster and stronger showers of Clubs shot from him faster and faster. Each and every single one, Roulxs Kaard dodged expertly.

Finally, Jevil began to lower to the ground. His hands were shaking with rage and exhaustion.

“Well, well…It seems that Roulxs Kaard has bested me, bested me…Congratulations. I hope the victory was satisfying…” Jevil hissed, venom spilling and oozing from his words.

“Well…THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You have been a wonderful Audience! I hope you’ll be seeing me again!” With that said, Jevil marched off stage. He nearly tripped and fell down on the last step. But then, he was out of sight.

For a chilling 3 seconds, the room was dead quiet. Then, the crowd began to erupt into cheers and whoops as applause filled the whole Banquet Hall. Roulxs Kaard stared at everyone, flustered and embarrassed instead of soaking up the victory. The sword disappeared from his hands, and he kinda just…Shuffled off the stage…

===

The rest of the party went off without a hitch. After the lights came back on, the Cake was served, the Princes opened the rest of their presents.

It was near the end of the party, as the Kings were seeing guests off, who were just starting to leave. Ace left the boys sitting at a table to finish the last of their cake and play with their new toys.

Lancer waited until his Father had walked away, then turned to Ralsei and shushed him. He then crawled out of his chair and ran away, leaving Ralsei all alone there, to watch him escape to the stage…And then behind the curtain.

Behind the curtain, as one might expect, was a sort of Dressing Room. Only it was nearly completely empty, except for 2 people in the corner. One of them speaking in a rather concerned motherly tone of voice.

“This is why Magicians don’t get cocky…” Seam said gently.

“I…*yawn* I was just trying to have a little bit of fun!” Jevil whined.

“Hope it was worth it…I can let you have my bed for the night if one of the Guards can’t find a second one for you soon.”

“Heyy!” Lancer said running up to the Magician and his newly appointed apprentice.

“What do you - Prince Lancer? What are you doing back here, little one?” Seam asked.

Sizing himself up, Lancer took a deep breath, pointed to Jevil, and yelled,

“I wanna be just like you!”

They stared at the prince like he was insane, then Jevil started to chuckle.

”You really want to be like me? Hm, why would that be?”

“Uhh, I don’t know, But you’re super cool! I wish I could do magic like you!” Lancer replied nigh instantly.

Seam covered his mouth to conceal a smile.

“Oh, but Lancer, surely one day you’ll be able to do impressive feats of magic yourself!”

Lancer’s sad expression lifted.

“R-Really…?”

“Of course! You are a descendant of The Court of Spades! Very impressive strength and power comes from them. You just need a little more time for your magic to manifest…!”

Lancer tilted his head in confusion, all these big huge words were making his head spin.

“If you feel lost, allow me to simplify for Seam;” Jevil began

“Your daddy and his daddy are really, really great at magic! So you will be too! You just need a little more time…!”

“Okay!... Can you teach me…??”

Seam and Jevil both flinched a little, taken by surprise from the little Spade’s question. The old cat was about to say “No”, when Jevil interrupted him before he could even speak.

“Of course we can…! What fool would say no…??”

He gave Lancer a content pat on the head, causing him to unconsciously stick out his tongue in happiness. It was a strange trait he’d inherited from his father, most likely caused by some kinda under-bite.

“Lancer? Lancer?! Where are you? I know you’re in here!” An angry booming voice seemed to rattle the walls of the dressing room.

“Right here, daddy…!” Nonchalantly Lancer trotted over to his very disgruntled father, who snatched him up by the scruff of the back of his outfit. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and Ace sighed, putting Lancer under his arm.

“You nearly gave Daddy a heart attack…! Why didn’t you stay where I asked you too??”

“Daddy! Guess what!? Mr. Seam and The Jevil is going to teach me magic…!!”

“Really?” The King asked, forgetting why he’d been mad a second ago. “That’s fantastic…!”

As much as Seam wanted to point out that Lancer was still too young for his magic to be working properly, but he couldn’t bare the thought of killing his happy mood. So he had to just bite his tongue…

“When do I start?” Lancer asked, looking towards Seam.

“Um, I suppose tomorrow is always fine…?”

“Horrayyy!”

“Now…Let’s get you and Ralsei cleaned up and ready for bed.” Ace cooed, preparing to carry out his Son.

“But I’m not sleepy…!!” Lancer whined

“Oh, you will be…” He replied, glancing at Seam and winking. He winked back.

===

Ralsei was found still where The King had left him, his eyes were drooping and his head was slowly falling down on the table. Ace lightly tapped his shoulder, and he shot back up, making an adorable shocked bleat noise.

He would have put the boys straight to bed but their faces were a sticky mess of frosting, glitter, and stickers. And for Ralsei in particular, it was more imperative he was cleaned up before the sticky frosting could mat his fur.

Carrying the boys in each of his arms, Ace was trying to squeeze through the last of the crowd leaving and get to the elevators. He was a bit more focused on the task at hand than anything else, but he did notice Ralsei sit up straight and give a sleepy wave and a drowsy smile to someone farther away.

The King looked in the direction his son was looking in. There was a group of 3 Monsters, a family by the looks of it, with a mother and her 2 young kids. They were walking alongside the King, but all of their eyes were on Ralsei. He could understand how it might have been hard to read their expression for him, but he recognized it. It was a look of shock and minor disgust. When they realized Ace had noticed them, the Mother hurriedly put her hands on her children’s shoulders and started walking faster. He quietly sighed

From the first day he’d adopted Ralsei as his own son, he was fully aware of the fact his appearance would cause problems for everyone. You see, although white Darkeners were possible, they always had a trademark “Mark of Darkness” on them. This could be black stripes on their body, or black eyes with white pupils, the latter was the tell-tale sign that distinguished White Darkeners from Lighteners. But Ralsei. He had no Mark of Darkness. His eyes were a lovely coral color and his ears, forehead fur, and budding horns were accented with pink. He was clearly of Lightener Heritage. And the majority of Darkeners weren’t exactly comfortable with this. There was a very clear stigma against his kind. The King suspected that, if he wasn’t a part of the Royal Family, this stigma would become a much bigger problem for him…

Glaring at the Mother as she left, Ace held his sons tighter and continued towards the elevator.

===  

“Daddy…I can’t sleep…Can you tell us a story…?” Lancer squeaked, just as his father had finished tucking in Ralsei and was about to turn off the lights.

“Huh? Seriously?”

“Yeah!” He nodded.

“You tell best stories! Even though I’ve never heard one, I bet they’re the best…!”

Ace’s heart swelled in his chest. How could he say no after being told something that sweet?

“Hmm…” He thought about it for a moment

“Well, if it’s a story you want, I’ll tell you a story!”

He bypassed the bookshelf on the wall and sat on the end of Ralsei’s Spade shaped Bed (Identical to Lancer’s).

“Aren’t you gonna pick out a book, daddy…?”

“I would, but I think this story is better then any of those namby-pamby kiddie books.” He explained.

Lancer’s interest was immediately peeked. Ace stole a glance at Ralsei, his eyelids were drooping but he clearly was trying his best to stay awake for the story. With that, The Spade King began his tale.

….

…

..

Many years ago

Darkeners lived in harmony alongside the Lighteners

They worshiped the Lighteners, for it was the Lighteners who had brought them into existence, and gave them a purpose.

Lighteners had created their own Fountain of Light. They called it “Sun”

And in return, they gave Darkeners their own Fountain of Darkness. They called it “Moon”.

One Dark Fountain was all that was needed

For if more then one existed, the balance between Light and Dark would shift, and the world would be torn apart by chaos.

For hundreds of years, they served their creators, fulfilling their purpose quietly in peace

One day

4 Darkeners were born within the walls of the castle

Great power and a glorious future were laid out before them, thus all 4 were made Royalty and were destined to rule together as Kings

But the Lightener King was not happy about this

He did not want to have 4 Kings holding power over the Darkeners

He feared they would become too powerful and take over

Despite the Darkener King’s reassurance

The Lightener King grew more and more bitter as the years went by

He started to command his people to distance themselves from the Darkeners

Until one day

The Lighteners suddenly left.

They locked the Darkeners away, and cursed them to fade to dust if they ever tried to enter their world.

The Darkeners were left lost, lacking a purpose, lacking any direction, stripped of their meaning.

But, there is a legend

That one day, 2 Heroes will come from the Lightener World

They will free us, break our curse, and restore balance to the world.

Ace finished his story with a deep sigh. Looking down, he noticed Ralsei had fallen into a deep sleep. Lancer, on the other hand, was staring with wide eyes full of fascination and wonder.

“Well…I think that will suffice for a bedtime story.” He said, getting up and tucking Lancer back in.

“Daddy…”

“Yes, my son…?”

“Lightners sound really mean…Why would they come back and wanna help us…?”

“Oh, don’t worry too much about that, Lancer. It’s just a silly old story. But, keep in mind…Just because someone does something bad, it doesn’t mean that everyone who’s similar to them is also bad. Everyone has a choice of who they can become in this world. You can choose to be good or mean, just like a Lightner can choose to be good or mean. Here’s to hoping you make the right choice.”

#deltarune #deltarune ralsei #deltaruneralsei #deltarunelancer #deltarune lancer #deltarune spade king #deltaruneseam #deltarunejevil #deltarune seam #deltarune jevil #fanfiction #a tale of 2 souls

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

Bit of an update: Chapter 3 will either be coming out tonight, sometime tomorrow or possibly Tuesday. My Editor has yet to get back to me on his progress and he makes it sound like he’ll be busy all day today, so the next chapter may or may not be a little delayed. Will keep you posted 

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

y̴̜͗̏́̃̈́̌͒̀̚͘͘̚̕͠ơ̶̛̛̛̟̜̣͙̮͈͓͍͓̞͍̆̈͂̽̑̒̓͋͛̾̊̑̑͂͐̔͗̍̕͘͘͠u̸̘̙͆̊͌̉̒̓̐̒͒͜͝'̶̧̛͉͎̫̺̪͇͈̘̝̪͈̻̙̹̺̜͇͈̰͎̹̣̞͕̪͓͖͒̔̀̓̈̓̈́͘̚͘ͅr̵͇̜̩̠̞͕̰͙͇̤̩̫̩̥̾̀̈̆͠ͅͅe̸̛̫͗̔̄́̋̏̾́͂̈́̃̄͛͘͝͝ ̵̡̧̱̹͈̻̤̯̝̗̥̻̩̞̱͎͉͖̬̜͔͈̠̦͓̦̫͎̤́̿̈́̍̈́̄͌̽̽́̾̐͜͜͝͝͝g̶̢̱̗̻̘̼̻̘͒̑̈́͐̐̀͊̌̿͂͒͌ͅͅơ̵̝͕̦͇̳͙͕̼̼̯͖̺̞̥̹̱͒͋̐̎̄̋̀͊̀̂̽͑̐̾̒͌̈̕͠͝͠͝ḯ̵̢̡̬̰̱͔̜̪̪̪͍̼̘̫͎̥̜͔͇̰̭͕̅͒̐̉͝͠n̷̩̣͈̼̪̟͎͇̩̞̫͍͈̫̺̪͈͉̳͇͍̲̞͚̰̮̝͙͂ĝ̴̛̰͖̱̻̰͕̤̜͓̰͖̱̦̮͈̘̝̰̫̝̦̲̆̈͆͊͝ ̵̭̈́̿̆͆͆̌̓̍̍͌̃̎͊̇̅̎͑̂̓͒̿̈́̉͌͆̍̑͂̈̒̃ṫ̶̡̡̨̗̘̹̩̰̯͎͚̬̫̹̠͙̭̮̞̟̰͇̭̉͂̉̌͐̄̔̐͐̈́̾̓͆͘͘ͅọ̵͚̮̋̃͐͠͝ ̷̨̧̧̢̦̦͓͎̠̬̳̜̙̘̻̠̥̞̫̖͖̱͖̗̘͍̹̝̘̺̞̉̔̇̒̌̔̕b̷̧̪̭͖̹̠̠̘̬͕̮̙̟̘̺͓͔̺̞̲̮̟̙͇̭͒͌̊̓͋̈̈́̓̀̿̉͗͌̾͌̕̕̕ę̵̧̡̛̘̦̦̠̻̝̲̜͖͕̙̤͓̞̱͎͎̩̹͓̯̥̒̀̎̎͒͐̄̑̾̇̆̅̔̄̔̈́́̊̓̌̈́̚̚͜͜ͅͅ ̷̡̡̧̧̛̛̣̭̺̱͓̲̞̬̟̹̜͉̺͚̠̩̭͎̞̺̰͉͔͍̄̊̂͆͂͑͑͗̂͂̃͑͛̈́̄̄̿̾̃̉́̿̕͝͝͝ͅͅf̸̧̨̼̙̣̪̦͇̱̣͚̖̳͈̱͍̳̬͔͇̥̮̈́͜͜r̴̨̨̛̛̛̛̜̙͎̟̙̲̱̣̖͖̥̣͓̯̻̰̦̓̎͒̉̿͒́̿̊̆̈͐́̍̒͗̈́͑̈́̌̋̀̚̚͠͝͝ȇ̸̡̛̛͎̩͈̭̦̺̂̅̆̄̎̊̋̽̎̋͐̊̉̓̉́̅̇̿̈́̑͘̚͜͝͠͝ȩ̵͉̲͍̮͖̳̥̐̅͒̑͑̋̔̃̅̅͜͝

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 2

“Asriel! Hold…Still!” “I can’t help it…It tingles…!” “Well would you rather it tingle or would you rather it be sore?” Toriel had her 10-year-old son in a tight chokehold as she pressed her hand into the top of his head where little white horns covered in peach fuzz were starting to sharpen to a point. Green magic swirled around her hand and seemed to be slowly seeping into his head in a similar way that liquid seeps through a coffee filter. The poor boy’s horns had been killing him lately as they began to grow bigger and bigger. So his mother had been performing this sort of healing ritual twice a week that managed to take the pain away for a few days. Slowly, Toriel removed her hand. The green healing magic dissipating until it was just a few faint wisps floating in the air. “Better…?” Asked the older monster. Asriel nodded slowly, embarrassed. “Good. Now, go wake up your brother. He’s going to be late for his first day if he stays asleep much longer.” Perking up suddenly like he’d forgotten what just happened, Asriel jumped out of his mother’s lap and ran down the hallway, up to where his little brother Kris and him shared a bedroom. First, as he’d been taught, he knocked. “Kriiis! Come on, knucklehead! Wake up!” No answer. "Kris! If you don't open this door, I'm gonna kick it down!" Still no answer “Alright! You asked for it!” He backed up all the way to the wall, charging up like he was a bull in an arena. He began to scream and ran straight at the door with his shoulder prepared to break it down. But what he didn’t expect, was the door suddenly opening, and him falling right on his face and skidding across the carpet. Kris was standing right by the door holding onto the doorknob. Dressed in his favorite leaf green and pastel yellow turtleneck. Long stringy chestnut-colored bangs falling in front on his pale face, masking gleaming crimson eyes. “Oh, there you are, Kris!” Asriel said casually, scrambling up from the floor. “Are you ready for your first day of school…??” “...” The 5-year-old stared at his much bigger brother, and then just smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Kris didn’t say much, even when he did speak, it was never more than a few words. “Great! Let’s go, or Mom will kill both of us!” Asriel gently grasped Kris’ hand as they both ran out of the bedroom and into the Living Room, where Toriel was just packing the last of the supplies into Kris’ backpack. She’d gone over the list multiple times over the past few weeks, checking, re-checking, and dumping everything out to make sure it was all accounted for. She was finally confident that he had everything he needed for a successful first day at Kindergarten. “Kris, my child, are you sure you do not want me to trim your bangs back a little…?” She asked as she handed the two their lunch-boxes. Kris nodded. She sighed. No point in trying to argue when they were already five minutes away from being late… “Mom, if we see him on the way, can we say hi to Daddy…?” Asriel questioned Toriel. Toriel sighed through her nose. “We shall see…” === Unfortunately, they didn’t see Asgore on the drive to School. Made sense, since the Shop he’d been spending more and more time at was on the other side of town. The Dreemurr’s little red car was soon pulling up to the massive School. Seeing as how it was the only School in Hometown, it had to double as a Daycare, Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, and Highschool all at the same time. The Kindergarten was in the North-East wing while the Elementary Students generally stuck to the regular East wing. Kris’ red eyes could be seen practically shimmering from behind his bangs, his smile only growing wider and wider as Toriel led him and Asriel inside. She kindly asked her eldest to go wait in her classroom while she showed Kris where he was. “I won’t be staying with you, Mommy…?” Kris finally spoke in a quiet timid tone. They had stopped right outside the Door with butterflies and Smiling Suns drawn all over it.   “I’m afraid not just yet, my child…But in only a year or two, I promise you’ll be in my Classroom just like Asriel!” She reassured him, getting down on one knee so she was at his level. “Now, be good for me, alright…? I know you’ll do great…!” Giving him one final tight hug goodbye, Toriel ushered Kris inside and shut the door. Kris’ wide bright smile slowly began to sink, as all the little kids in his new class turned their head collectively to him. The room went dead quiet as soon as he'd stepped in. At a desk in the corner was a sort of Reindeer Monster, only with an unconvincing Toupee and dark circles under his eyes from stress and lack of sleep. “Hello there! You must be Kris…!” The Teacher greeted. “We’re all…Very excited to have you here! Please find yourself a seat…!” Kris’s smile only dropped more, as he walked through the classroom looking for an unoccupied desk. His ears were able to pick up every single murmur and whisper. “what is that?” “is that a human…?” “my mommy told me about humans…!” "It's so weird looking, where's the rest of its fur?" “they have big long sticks that shoot metal and fire…!” “do you think it’ll show us where it keeps its blood…?” “my mommy told me that humans are mean…!” “whatever it is, I don’t want it sitting with us. It smells funny…” Kris cringed. He tried his best to block out their words but finding a table with both an empty seat and kids who weren't giving him dirty looks was hard. The teacher must have realized how much attention he’d drawn from his presence alone. “U-Uhh…Hey, Kris! How about you sit over there with Noelle and Catty!” He said, pointing to the table closest to his own desk. A chubby white kitten with yellow eyes and black hair in a ponytail, and a little Reindeer girl who looked very similar to the Teacher (only with blond hair in two tiny pigtails) were sitting there. When Kris came near their table, they seemed to be the only kids in class who didn’t visibly flinch when he looked at them. And it wasn’t like he had any other choices. This was his seat now I guess. “Okay, class! Now that we're all here and accounted for, why don’t we get started with introductions? You say your name, and then something you like! I’ll start! My name is Mr. Holiday, and I like Christmas Lights!” Hands of varying shapes, sizes, and colors shot into the air. Some answers were rather mediocre if you asked Kris. Actually, all of them were pretty unrelatable to him. There was this odd tight sensation in his chest. He couldn’t understand what it was or what was causing it. But for whatever reason, it made him keep his hand down. His head was down, staring at the table. He could feel a burning feeling in his eyes that he recognized as tears. He didn't wanna have to raise his hand and answer to a class of Monsters who made it very clear there was something…Different about him. Something…wrong with him… “Anybody else?” Mr. Holiday asked after the majority of the class had introduced themselves, and then repeated. His eyes drifting down to Kris as if he believed he couldn’t see him. Still, Kris kept his hand down. After a moment, Mr. Holiday just sighed. “Alright then. Get out a piece of paper, we’re going to practice the basic rules of math!” Kris reached into his book bag and pulled out a blank sheet of notebook paper. But as he looked deeper and deeper, he realized something. He couldn’t find any pencils! He just kept digging and digging through all the crap Toriel had shoved in there, but… no pencils! Noelle must have noticed Kris’s increased frantic sifting. “Do you need any help…?” She asked in a sweet voice that rang like a brand new bell. After fruitlessly looking for a third time, Kris nodded. “I-I can’t find my pencil…” He muttered, so only Catty and Noelle could hear. “Oh! That’s okay! My daddy got me way too many…!” Noelle reached into her book bag and dropped an entire case of Christmas Themed Pencils on the desk. Reindeers, Santa Clauses, Elves, Candy Canes. If you can think it, she had a pencil that had it printed on. Kris eventually settled on a red and white striped pencil since he wanted to leave her with all the pretty pencils. “You know…I actually think humans are really cool…! I always wanted to know what one actually looked like…!” Noelle smiled at Kris, clearly recognizing his discomfort in a classroom of monsters and trying to make him feel better. But the irony was, what she just said might have only made him feel worse…Was that what he was to these kids? A strange never before seen animal to gawk and stare at…? === After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang, indicating it was Lunchtime. Mr. Holiday ushered the room of Kindergartners to the large playground just outside. Off to the side of the play equipment were benches for all the kids to sit, eat, and chat at. Kris took the only completely empty bench left and opened his lunchbox. A ham and cheese sandwich, a bottle of milk, some sliced apples, and a leftover slice of Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie for dessert. As much as he wanted to dig into the pie first, Toriel had always told him that sweets would spoil the rest of his meal if they had dessert first. So, reluctantly he took a few bites out of his sandwich. He wasn’t really paying much attention to anyone else around. Suddenly all the other kids began to scream, their footsteps indicating some were running away. Kris looked up for a moment (assuming for a moment they were running from him.) That’s when he saw her. A Lizard Monster girl dressed in a cute purple and white jumper, not much bigger than him. She had light violet scales and dark brown hair with bangs that were covering her face in a similar way to Kris’s bangs. Only he could still see golden yellow eyes glowing from behind them. She scanned the entire playground, like a crazed T-Rex looking for its prey.  When her eyes locked onto Kris. He tried to move but something kept him pinned to his seat. Before he could barely react, she ran up and shoved him harshly off of the bench. “Give me your lunch, freak!!” She barked. Kris stayed silent. Just hugging the paper bag closer to his chest and shaking his head. “Give it now or I’ll take it myself!” Again, Kris said nothing. “What’s wrong with you?? Can’t you speak??” “...” “...That’s it!” The little girl grabbed Kris by his sleeve and yanked his arms away from the bag, forcing him to release it. She easily snatched it and just sauntered away. “And don’t bother telling the Teacher. He’ll never believe a freak like you.” She growled over her shoulder. Kris just laid there on the ground in shock, watching her go. He looked around at all the other kids, who were just standing there. Contempt and pity in their eyes. But no one even attempted to help him. His chest heaved as he bit back tears. His lunch was gone. His arms were sore. And that bully had made a point he couldn’t help considering was true. Would the teacher really take his word over one of his own…? Was it worth risking? Or would it just get him in more trouble…? The kids all eventually shuffled back to the benches to finish their lunch, and then played. But Kris stayed behind on the bench. No one would probably want to play with a freak like him anyway. He’d never felt more lonely in his short life than right then… === Before he knew it. The day was over. Toriel and Asriel were waiting at the door of the Kindergarten for him. He came out sulking. The wide smile he’d entered with was long gone. How long until Toriel realized something was off? “Hello, Kris…!” She said with a beaming smile, bending down and giving him a great big hug. “How was your first day?” “...” “C’mon, Kris! Mom’s gonna take us to QC’s Diner!” Said Asriel, not noticing the sad expression on his sibling either. Toriel led her children out of the School the same way she led them in. Both on parallel sides of her, holding her hand. She looked down at them, smiling through her reading glasses. “So…How was your first day, Kris…?” She repeated. Kris thought about it for a moment. Should he lie, or tell her the truth of what actually happened…? “well…” “M-Mom! You’re hurting me!” Kris heard a familiar gruff and scary voice begin to fuss and cry. “I don’t GIVE a shit! Get your ass in the car and shut your damn mouth!” Another woman slurred. Kris looked in the direction the voices were coming from. As he’d guessed, it was that same bully who stole her lunch earlier. Another monster, her mother by the sounds of it, was roughly dragging her by her arm to a dirty beat up old pick-up truck parked on the curb. “Rotten…” Toriel muttered, standing and watching as the mother threw open the door of the car and shoved her daughter inside. For a brief second, the bully and Kris made eye contact, before the door was slammed shut. The mother got in the driver’s side, before squealing away. “Poor child, having such a nasty woman for a mother…Oh well, nothing can be done about it…” Toriel said, sounding half uncertain. But it was already too late now. She ushered Asriel and Kris into the backseat of their squeaky clean red minivan. === -Later that night- Toriel tucked in Asriel first, and Kris second. “Mommy…” Kris began as Toriel tucked the blankets up to his neck. “Hm? Yes, my child…?” “When will I get my horns like Asriel…?” She paused, trying to think of a proper answer to give. “I-I…I’m sure it won’t be much longer…!” She tried to reassure him. “...Mommy…” Kris said again, voice lower and shakier. “Am I…different…?” Toriel was taken aback. Never would she expect such a question to come from a child. Though in hindsight, she realized it was only a matter of time before Kris realized they weren’t like any of the Monsters in town… “What makes you say that…?” “a-at school today…Everyone wouldn’t stop staring at me…I heard them call me ‘weird’, or ‘a freak’…did…did I do something wrong, Mommy…?" Her heart ached as she listened to her child hold back tears. “Oh, sweetie…You know there’s nothing wrong with you, nor did you yourself do anything wrong…Yes, you may be different, very different, but do you want to know something…?” “What…?” “You’re the most special kind of different they come by…! You are the future of humans and monsters everywhere. I know things may be hard, but just give everyone some time to come around. And even if they don’t, know that we will always love you no matter who you are or what you become…” Toriel brushed Kris’ hair out of his face, wiping away his tears and giving him a tender kiss on the forehead. “Sleep well, my-” A loud knock on the door interrupted her. Toriel sighed as if she knew exactly who was there. “I’ll be right back…” Of course, she should have expected Kris of all children to disrespect a simple order. As soon as Toriel was out of the room, he waited for a minute, and then slowly crept out of bed and out the door. Once in the hallway, he pressed his back to the wall, able to hear every word that was being said. “Asgore, what are you doing here?” “Please, Tori…I just want to see my children…” “They’re asleep. And even if they weren’t, you really think I’d let them stay with you in that rundown shithole you call a shop?” “B-Business hasn’t been doing so great, but I can clean up…! I-I can-” “Business was never doing great. You’re the one who quit your job and made the very impulsive decision to open a business using most of the family’s savings, and as I expected, it was doomed to fail. Now I’m left as the sole provider for our children. You made your bed, Asgore. Now lie in it…!” “I’ll find a way…! I’ll fix this…! I’ll make it up to you…!” “Face it, Asgore…We’re just not the same we used to be…The spark we felt when we first met is gone…I...I think it’s time we…” “Tori, y-you can’t be serious…! Think of our kids…! How will they feel about this? You’re really going to put them through that…?” “...How dare you label me as the bad guy here…!! I have done nothing but the best for our children and I will continue to from here until the end of time…! And I personally think you are the least best thing for them…You are childish, impulsive, and reckless…! And I refuse to have them influenced by you…” “T-Tori…Please…Don’t do this…!” “Asgore…Just…Leave…Leave and don’t bother coming back…” A moment passed of uncomfortable silence before the door slammed. Kris held a hand to his mouth, trying to choke back tears that couldn’t be held down. He’d never before heard his two loving parents speak to each other like that. So this was the reason Toriel never let him or Asriel see their own father…But…They couldn’t be over…! Parents were supposed to love each other no matter what…! To always be there for each other, and to always be in agreement…Right…? Toriel huffed and walked back into the hallway, immediately noticing Kris sitting there, crying and hiccoughing. She stared at him horrified, realizing he’d just heard everything. “K-Kris…I…” “You and daddy are going to stay together, right…?” He asked. "Kris...Sweetie..." "Right!?" They made eye contact. Small red-ish brown eyes meeting large crimson ones swimming with tears. “.…Darling, please...just...go back to bed…”

#deltarune #deltarune kris #deltarunesusie #deltarune susie #fanfic #a tale of 2 souls