Chapter Text
Dess' eyes lit up as she stared at an imposing figure drawn in purple chalk on the pavement. "Whoa! Dude, that drawing's sick! What's her name?"
Kris' eyes wandered skyward and their face scrunched up, making a show of contemplating the question before simply shrugging and stating, "Susie. She's a big, scary dragon Monster, and she could defeat anybody. Even you."
Dess got a good chuckle out of the human's bravado, ruffling their hair as she teased, "Oh yeah? Well that might be true, but can she defeat…" She reached for the bat she'd leaned against the siding of the Dreemurr Residence, and reared back to cut a silhouette Kris had seen a hundred times as she screeched, "…THE ROARING KNIIIIIIIIGHT?"
The screech made Toriel's eyes snap directly to its source, worried something had happened outside. The kids' combined laughter eased her expression into a smile as she watched through the window, happy to see a smile on Kris' face for once.
Still, Kris couldn't let Dess' opposition stand. They feigned a pout as they complained, "Well of course not, that's not a fair fight. She's too strong, and also a knight, and also made of pure darkness. How's Susie supposed to fight that? She's a dragon."
Now it was Dess' turn to ponder, and ponder she did. She paced back and forth, tapping her bat on the ground, carefully avoiding the outline of Susie drawn on the ground, until eventually she raised a finger and grinned at the small human.
"Susie should try a Rude Buster," Dess proclaimed, before sweeping her arm in front of her and continuing, "Or like, a dozen! The Knight's not invincible, silly, just tough as nails. Like me," Dess pointed her thumb at herself and winked.
Kris tilted their head and looked around briefly before questioning, "Uh, Dess? What's a Rude Buster? I didn't…"
Dess shook her head, ready to cut off Kris' train of thought. "Dude, I just came up with magic for her to use, relax. She's a Monster, right? Should be second nature in the Dark World."
Kris' eyes widened, then lit up as a smile crept across their face at the opportunity to see Susie for real. "Can we… Can we try it? Could you two fight? It'd be so cool."
Dess returned their smile as she explained, "Yeah, but I gotta go grab Azzy some things first. Go draw Susie on some paper or something so we can bring her with us, okay? Your mom's not gonna let us just rip up the concrete."
Kris' smile was now accompanied by a snicker as their mind wandered to the image of ripping a chunk out of the ground and walking away with it. Then they nodded and headed towards the door. They turned back in time to see Dess wave, hoofbeats punctuating her steps as she made her way towards the library.
Upon opening the door, Kris was met with a greeting. "Welcome, dear. Did you have fun?"
Kris nodded vigorously and explained the character soon to be rendered in pencil and crayon. Toriel giggled to herself at their enthusiasm, and encouraged them to draw to their heart's content.
The rest of the afternoon flew by in a flurry of shapes and colors. Kris ended up with a full page of lovingly-rendered expressions, and two full-body drawings of the dragon monster, front and back.
To anyone else, Kris' drawings might've seemed crude, but to their relief, Asriel and Dess viewed them with reverence, praising Kris' talent as Asriel neatly separated the page from the rest of his sketchbook.
"So, how about it? Still wanna give Susie a chance to prove herself?" Dess goaded. "I bet she wants to, y'know." She threw her weakest punch at Kris' shoulder, and grinned when they didn't even flinch. Kris looked up from the page they'd been handed and nodded at Dess, coaxing yet another smile from her. "Arright, I'll let your mom know, then. Azzy, you know where we're taking them." Asriel nodded. "Yep, meet us there, yeah?" Dess scoffed and shook her head with a smile. "'course, dude. Don't drop Susie, okay Kris? I want her in tip top shape."
Kris nodded once again and clutched the paper to their chest briefly before setting it carefully on their bed and reaching for a sweater offered by their brother. Asriel chuckled at the sight. "You really care about Susie, huh?" He teased, messing up his little sibling's hair as they took the garment, patterned with the exact same single yellow stripe they were already wearing.
Kris refused to look him in the eye as they put on the warmer clothes, explaining as best they could that "It wasn't like that," and that they "Wished they could go on adventures like the three of them used to."
It was only once they'd finished adding the new layer to their outfit that their focus shifted. Their stare threatened to bore a hole in Asriel's shocked expression as they stated, point-blank, "I want Susie to be real. I want Ralsei to be real. I want cool friends that don't have more important things to do. That I'm not being a burden on."
Asriel took a calming breath, then kneeled down and put a hand on their shoulder. "Kris. You know that's not true. I wouldn't trade our time together for anything, okay?"
Kris looked down at the hand on their shoulder, then back up at their brother's face. It had taken on a warmer, calming expression. They knew he was putting it on, yet still they asked, "Promise?"
Asriel opened his mouth, then closed it again, then finally clarified, "Ah, well, I promise I really do cherish our time together. Can't say I'm never gonna be busy, though. Haha."
Kris sighed. It wasn't the answer they were hoping for, but they supposed it was fair. Besides, they were still getting to play. For now.
They closed the distance between themself and their brother, letting his arms wrap around them.
As they broke from the hug, Asriel was quick to remind them, "Hey, don't forget Susie, alright?"
Kris nodded and grabbed the sketchbook page from their bed, and the two made their way downstairs and out into the night, saying their byes to Toriel and promising not to be out too late.
By the time Kris and Asriel got to the school, one of the windows had already been flung wide open. A statement as bold as it was foolish, as far as Asriel was concerned, but Kris only cared about how cool it was to be breaking in.
Once inside, Kris considered taking a brief detour to take advantage of their unfettered access to the Throne of the Gods, but they shook their head to themself as they realized neither of the big kids were gonna help them up no matter how many times they asked.
Besides, Dess was waiting for them. But where? They tugged on Asriel's sleeve, asking him that very question, but only receiving "You'll see." in reply.
As they made their way to the supply closet, the darkness of the school at night weighed on Kris. It felt wrong for such a vibrant, welcoming space to be reduced to a dim, washed-out husk of itself just by missing a few people and the harsh overhead lights.
Kris' doubts had little time to settle, blown away by the sight of Dess in her armor just beyond the threshold of the open closet door. She grinned and waved as their eyes met, jabbing at the both of them, "Took ya long enough. Get over here already, I haven't had a good fight in ages. Azzy."
Asriel sputtered as he looked down, hoping for support from his sibling, "Wh- What's that's supposed to… Hey! Kris! Not cool!" Kris' snickering offered no such support. Defeated, Asriel sighed and tugged on Kris' arm as he closed the rest of the distance to the supply closet, grumbling to himself that he "couldn't believe he was being outclassed by a drawing," and that "Chaos Saber was still a cool attack."
Dess picked up on the latter, shaking her head as she patted him on the back and reassured him, "Chaos Saber's still super cool, babe. 's not your fault I've been working on special moves and you've been working on…"
"Homework, yeah. I know," Asriel groaned as he and Kris crossed the threshold. Dess followed them in and shut the door, flicking open her lighter as she urged the two over to a large open space they could now both see on the floor.
"Alright, Kris, set Susie down and we can begin," Dess instructed, pointing at the page Kris clutched to their chest, then gesturing off to the side. Kris' breath quickened, then slowed again as every other muscle in their body locked up, petrified that the upcoming battle might hurt Susie, or Dess, or both.
"Hey Dess," Kris squeaked, voice broken by their newfound anxiety, "I um, I know I can't be Ralsei, but could… could we summon him too? Anyway? Just in case? Please?" Their rapid-fire questions earned them another instance of a hand on their shoulder from their brother.
Dess put her hand up in front of her. "Whoa, kiddo, relax. He can join the fun if you really want him to, just chill. You gotta put Susie down first, though," she urged, gesturing at the same spot once again.
Kris took a moment to breathe. Asriel patted their shoulder, and whispered a "You got this," and that was all the encouragement they needed to set the drawings on the floor and remove the headband from their head, placing them side-by-side.
Dess flashed another grin at Kris, then flicked her lighter closed. "Well, since these are your Darkners, whaddaya say you do the honors, huh, Kris? You've got a knife on you, yeah?"
Kris' eyes widened at the prospect, but they'd gone way too far to back out now. A mere "Mhm" signaled Dess to put her helmet on and grip her sword as Kris removed their last line of defense from the holster at their back, drawing it from under their shirt and brandishing it in front of them with a wicked grin.
"C'mon Kris, quit screwing around. Remember, focus your will, think about what you want, and stab into the ground."
Kris nodded, and focused on a great coliseum formed from the shelves surrounding them, as well as their two Darkner companions. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else would be real.
Then, their soul burned red.
Their eyes followed suit.
Their knife pierced the boundary between the two worlds, and light poured out.
Then darkness.
Then what little they could still see of the supply closet vanished, seemingly never to return.