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Neither one of them were sure what to expect. Neither of them were sure what they expected to begin with. They found themselves in a strange... dark, location. The lake was cold, as Noelle urged herself and Kris through it. The SOUL worked with her at the time, though it seemed as if it hesitated. Kris would have felt some level of mirth, amused that even it finally found a limit to the insanity it was willing to deal with... had the situation not been so bleak. Noelle was...
They weren't dead, by the looks of it. They were in a Dark World. Kris stood up, the SOUL silently witnessing. Must have been something to with that 'layer' that allowed them control. Kris had control when they were in conversation, inspecting things, or when important things were happening around them... sometimes. There seemed to be no clear rhyme or reason to what decided when the SOUL would have full control or not.
Noelle slowly rose to her feet, disheveled and soaking wet... but alive. She looked like she was calming down a bit after... that. She would no longer be the same Noelle, not after those... Spamton called them [TOTAL JACKASS STUNTS], which was feeling more and more appropriate with every single time that devil within their flesh decided to try something.
Kris heard movement, and drew their sword. "Kris... where are we? We were in the lake, then... is this the other side?" Noelle asked. "No, it can't be. Look around."
Kris didn't even need to look. They knew exactly where they were. Kris wasn't sure how long it had been, or if this was even the 'same' shelter, but it was definitely the Dark World within the Shelter at the south end of town. They had been there too many times, engraved it into their memory. The SOUL spoke for them, simply stating, "It's the Shelter."
Noelle was quiet. She likely had just realized what she'd done, and was now... "How... how did we get here?" Noelle asked. "We were at the lake... in the lake. Not unless we..."
"Careful. Someone's here." Kris said, speaking for themself. It wasn't the Knight, which meant it could be anything. And 'anything' in the Shelter never meant good.
"Oh." Noelle simply breathed, ice magic swirling around her. Kris didn't like this. Before, Noelle was just the SOUL's attack dog. Now, with what she was capable of... well, at least it wasn't anyone they cared for.
The source of the movement got closer, and eventually turned a corner. It was two very familiar faces. "Kris... Noelle? I thought you guys were..." Susie trailed off, glancing back. "I guess you found a different path. No shock, if you already know how to get in."
Kris froze. Susie knew? Susie was here. Ralsei seemed to already know, but he was...
"Susie..." Noelle said. "How did you get here?"
At least Noelle was able to talk. The SOUL was silent once more, but Kris... Kris couldn't find the words. Susie knew... something. The way she was looking at them, it was different. Like the way it was before they entered the Dark World. No, it was worse. This was an uneasy alliance.
"We took the door, remember? Toriel handed over the last code, and we chased the Knight in here. Undyne and Kris' dad are still trapped down here, and I don't know how long we got before the Knight... does whatever it's planning." Susie said.
"Asgore... I saw him this morning." Noelle said. "Before..."
Ralsei took a step forward. Something about him was different, wearing different ribbons more prominently than before, but Kris still couldn't say anything. "Noelle... what day is it?" He asked, voice just a smidge higher.
"It was the Festival." Noelle said. She was calmer, likely... likely disassociating. None of this seemed real any more to her, in all likelihood.
"Interesting." Ralsei said. "Kris,"
The SOUL spoke for them, saying, "Same."
"That was yesterday." Susie said. "So, what, they lost their memories?"
Ralsei shook his head. "I don't think so. I think... I think something took a weird route." Ralsei said. "Kris, can I talk to you in private?"
Kris felt the SOUL pause, considering the decision. Kris was torn between getting some kind of answer and not wanting to allow that devil any more enjoyment.
"It's like Dragon Blazers, isn't it?" Noelle said. "You could skip the flower kingdom and the ice palace if you glitched the ice mage to stay in your party."
Ralsei paused, processing that. "That... sounds about right." Ralsei said. "Whatever happened... you two skipped past a portion of your story. Kris, I really do need to talk to you, though. This is important."
The SOUL took his offer this time, before any interruptions could arise.
Noelle was alone with Susie. Just... just a day ago, she'd have been so happy. But now...
Susie wasn't real. There were only two people in this world who were free. Noelle and Kris. Everyone else was just... a doll. If Kris told her to do something, she could do anything. If she desired it, she could... she could get Kris to tell her to do anything. Everyone who wasn't them was just stuck in their roles. Noelle could freeze her to the bone and it'd be like squashing an ant.
"Noelle... sorry about what happened to your mom." Susie said.
Noelle snapped out of her thoughts. "Wh-what happened to her?" Noelle asked. Trying to convince herself of reality wasn't working. Just because they were dolls didn't mean Noelle could completely close her heart to them.
Susie looked confused for a moment before she realized that Noelle wasn't the Noelle she knew. "Carol... the Knight got her." Susie said.
"The same way the police chief and Asgore were trapped here." Noelle surmised. She wanted to be worried, but she just couldn't will herself to feel anything.
"No. The Knight... got her." Susie repeated, and Noelle understood.
"Oh." Noelle breathed. "Oh. Fuck."
Her mother was dead. Her father... was going to be joining her. If he hasn't already. Dess... was this where she went? Saw too far, tried to escape her track only to crash and burn? Was this Noelle's destined path too, despite all her efforts?
"Do... you want to talk about it?" Susie quietly asked. "We didn't have time to... process, before chasing the Knight here."
"It didn't happen." Noelle said. It didn't snow, not for her. "My mom never died... that happened to a Noelle that isn't me."
She was different. She escaped. That tragedy was not hers. "That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." Susie said. "If there's anything I've learned lately, it's... you gotta care, man. Tryin' to close off your heart and pretend nothing matters just makes it worse."
Noelle was given pause by this. Susie was a doll... an NPC. She was nothing more than a side character in the grand scheme of reality, locked into the same track forever. Noelle was the one with will here, capable of making choices. But Susie wasn't wrong. Noelle ended up just smiling. She wondered if it looked real to Susie. Susie didn't seem to notice. Was that because she didn't want to Noelle to know, or because she couldn't notice at all?
"So... how'd you get here? I know your... world, ain't the same as mine. You and Kris were alone together in the Festival." Susie said.
"We, uh, went for a swim in the lake." Noelle said. She had a rough idea of what 'happened', by now. That there was no 'floor' to the lake once you got deep enough, that something kept one from normally pushing their way through, but Noelle's idea worked. It proved that there was...
There was nothing. Nothing beyond the lake. There was no other side. Noelle wasn't sure what that meant. The obvious answer was... unsettling, even to her new self. She was free, but there was nowhere for her to be free in. It was either Hometown or an endless expanse of nothing.
"Huh. Weird. Didn't think there'd be... a hole, or something, in there." Susie said. "You hear that song, too?"
It... actually wasn't there. She remembered it, when she went to the lake before with Kris, Azzy, and Dess. But, when she went there to see Kris today... a couple days ago, whichever, it wasn't there. That sound was gone. Just the waves and wind. "Once." Noelle ended up saying. "Not when it was me and Kris."
"Wonder what it is. I think I can still hear it now, if I focus." Susie said. "Wonder what it is."
Noelle could only guess. It made her think back to those days trawling forums, chatting about theories on Dragon Blazers with strangers. "Were you and... your Noelle..." Noelle started, half-regretting the question the moment she said it.
"I don't know. We got together in the Festival... but after everything that happened I dunno where we were." Susie said. "Guess we probably won't be finding out."
That Noelle was gone. This Noelle had replaced her. Noelle was no longer Noelle, but she was a Noelle. "Sorry."
"I'm... I got bigger things to think about right now. The Knight, the Prophecy... what happens next." Susie said. "We'll- we'll figure it out."
Susie was right. Again. There was more to think about than a relationship that no longer mattered to Noelle. They were close to the truth of this world... and maybe finding true freedom. She was free, but her world was still a cage. And Noelle would break that cage.
Noelle saw Kris and Ralsei rejoin them, and proceeded onward.