Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a land darker than dark, a place of only ruins and twistedness where even darkners were not safe, a titan, a being of unfathomable destruction walked the earth.

The titan was surrounded by odd creatures of different shapes and sizes. Titan spawn, beasts made of darkness. Simple creatures, made by the titan to be their hands and feet, to fulfill their twisted, destructive desires.

The terrible creature turned to the sky it darkened. Cranes of paper soared throughout, a small leftover of what this dark world once was… and this angered the titan.

It roared and more of its spawn manifested, hunting any being foolish enough to exist in its presence; except for one. One fetus shaped spawn stared up at the darkner paper cranes and had a thought.

What’s that? The answer came in the form of a vision. A paper crane. It could see the hands of a young child folding one into shape with happiness seeping into their bones.

What’s paper? What’s crane? It asked more questions and more answers it got in the form of visions. Where did these visions come from? It has never seen or even comprehended these things before. How did these things enter its mind? And what even is a mind, anyway? Pondering these questions, the spawn looked around it. The scenery and even its own body gave it a sense of unfamiliarity, the opposite of deja vu.

So what was familiar? It was grass! A computer! A human. But it wasn’t human, nor had it ever seen one; it was only just born, after all. No visions sprung up to swallow the question, no explanation for why they were there.

If don’t know, ask! It turned to it’s brethren, perhaps they knew some answers. But the mindless manifestations of darkness were all chasing after the cranes. Not a single one was free to answer.

Maybe crane know! Its brethren were all chasing the cranes, so perhaps they knew something. The spawn floated upwards, it’s blank white eyes locked onto the nearest crane flapping its wings. The air it generated smacked into the spawn as it could only muster one word in its mind. Majestic.

It liked those wings. It approached the creature with curiosity gleaming in its awed eyes before charging its whole body at it with the intent to kill. The crane swiftly dodged, leaving the spawn confused by what just happened.

It didn’t want to attack the crane, so why did it do just that? It recalled what just happened. It felt as if a presence, something, had told it to do destroy and it had to obey.

The spawn thought that perhaps it wouldn’t happen twice.

It wanted to apologize to the crane for its mistake, it didn’t want to hurt it, so it approached again and sent a magic ball of spikes at the darkner.

The crane couldn’t dodge and was torn apart by the attack. It’s body, now empty of life, fell to the ground. The titan spawn stared down at the motionless paper with shaking eyes. It was that presence again. It made it do this. The spawn realized what this presence was and why it couldn’t disobey.

Titan.

The spawn whimpered. It didn’t want this. Why did the titan want this? The cranes were so pretty! They shouldn’t get destroyed like this! The spawn looked around, finding another crane flying nearby. It had to see one up close. The titan couldn’t force it to destroy all the time, right?

I approached another crane with hope guiding its mind. It was so careful, wary of even slightly disturbing the creature before lunging for its neck.

The spawn growled in frustration. Next time for sure, it thought. It turned to the next crane and floated closer. Not too close, just enough to blast it to bits.

The spawn shook with agitation. Just once. It only had to not hurt one. Just one. It turned to the next crane before the poor thing was torn apart by its brethren. The cranes were killed whether the spawn approached or not, the titan made sure of that.

The titan was always there, always watching, always forcing the spawn to destroy. It was unceasing, always there to destroy.

The spawn stared blankly at the earth beneath it, but underneath that blank expression boiled rage. For the first time in its short existence, the spawn felt anger. The control the titan had on it and its siblings’ actions and the meaningless destruction that beast caused spurred fury from the spawn.

It wanted to attack it, to take it down and tear it apart with spikes. It wanted the titan gone, destroyed the same way it destroys all. It wanted the horrid creature to suffer.

But how?

It couldn’t defeat the titan, it made the spawn and had thousands upon thousands of similar spawn around it. The spawn turned to the visions. They almost always had the answer. Perhaps there was a way to slay the titan.

Suddenly, another vision unfolded before its eyes. It was the same child from before, now a teen. They were playing a game where they fought the titan. The teen had won the battle using a red heart.

A SOUL.

The spawn paused as it thought about what it had just seen. It needed a SOUL to slay the titan. But where could it find such a thing? All that was in these lands was darkness and the remains of the darkners that once lived here.

What SOUL? What was a SOUL? The visions gave multiple answers. This brought the spawn to the ground with pain. It was too much information for a creature never meant to think.

After minutes or hours or days, not that it knew what those were, the spawn managed to sift through the information. But the common denominator was that it existed in living beings.

But I alive? Where SOUL? The spawn looked inside itself, there was only darkness. It then turned to the dead cranes around it and even the few living ones still flying around. No SOUL was in sight. The darkners, the titan and the spawn all lived supported by darkness, not a SOUL. Then it struck the little spawn.

If darkness and SOULS fulfill a similar purpose, according to the visions, is it possible to make a SOUL out of darkness?

The titan spawn immediately got to work. It created a ball of spikes made of darkness floating in the air and started stabbing and scratching into the ground using it. Sounds of scratching echoed in the air as the spawn carved something into the earth with surprising intricacy. It was focused, undisturbed by the roars of titans or the sound of the cranes. It was determined. And from that determination, it carved a heart.

A mold for its SOUL.

The spawn stared at the mold, intently eyeing its work. It was a perfectly carved in a heart shape. The spawn felt… something looking back at its sudden display of dexterity, yet its feeble mind failed to comprehend it.

All it knew was to continue. And to continue, it needed darkness. And where best to find such darkness than…titan spawn.

The little spawn turned to its nearest one of its brethren, one chasing wandering about due to the lack of cranes. Another fetus shaped one like itself. One of the Titan’s puppets, a puppet spawn.

It attacked.

The mindless spawn had no chance against its sibling’s ambush. It was swiftly pinned against the soul mold before it was impaled through the neck by a spike protruding from its more intelligent kin.

The puppet spawn let out a quiet screech warped by glitch noises before it succumbed to the damage and fell apart. The darkness making up the puppet spawn began oozing out, floating into the sky.

The spawn froze, its mind hurdling into a panic. The darkness it needed was escaping from its grasp, and it didn’t have anything to grab it with.

It then tried the only thing it knew, darkness. It shaped a cup from darkness and held it over the leaking substance.

It was awkward at first. The substance seemed to allude capture as if a cloud. But then, a drop condensed onto the inside of the cup.

The spawn blinked. It did it. It worked. Slowly, but surely, it gathered the darkness of its fallen kin until all traces of it’s existence disappeared.

It didn’t pay the puppet spawn it killed any mind, as if they weren’t of the same species. Instead, it escorted what little darkness it collected to the mold and poured it. It was not enough to fill the mold, not even nearly.

The spawn felt like a child opening a present. It was ever so slightly closer to filling up the mold. It didn’t even think about what to do after filling it up.

The spawn turned to its nearest kin, another fetus, one floating nearby staring right at it. Without thought or a semblance of a plan, it rushed to tackle its sibling.

The puppet spawn retaliated with a spike that tore through its side. But the spawn remained undeterred. It tackled the puppet spawn and impaled it through the neck. Right as it was about to go collect the darkness, it felt a sharp pain in its side. The injury it gained had made itself known.

A vision appeared in its mind, showing the child from before injured and being bandaged. The spawn dismissed the idea, believing the wound could be tended to at a later time. The darkness leaking from the puppet spawn on the other hand would disappear soon.

It collected the leaking the darkness with glee, like a child playing arts and crafts, managing to gather more now that it knew what to do. It quickly rushed back and poured the liquid darkness into the mold. It was a little over halfway done. One or two more would do it.

The thought was intoxicating. It was so close to having its own SOUL and it could only focus on that. So much so that it didn’t notice the fish shaped titan spawn eyeing it from behind.

The fish spawn charged silently, biting into the spawn’s back. The spawn screeched in pain. It turned around to fight back, but found its movements too sluggish. The fish spawn bit once again as it pushed the betrayer into the mold it made.

The betrayer tried to fight back, but another fetus spawn arrived and pinned it down. The betrayer spawn was confused, but more than that, it was scared. It couldn’t ask questions, all it wanted was to survive.

It extended a spike towards the fish spawn… only to be stabbed in the neck by the second spawn. Like a balloon, the spawn deflated. It leaked darkness in droves. It was dying.

It didn’t want to die and, from that desire, it felt a new emotion. FEAR. Visions assaulted its mind haphazardly, as if an entire life was flashing before its eyes, making it panic even further. It was scared, afraid of disappearing. That fear made its grip onto life ever tighter. Every fiber of its being refused to die.

It grabbed all the darkness it could and began to pull it closer, trying to patch itself up. Its brethren saw this and started tearing it apart with sharpened teeth and pointed spikes.

But it refused to die.

It pulled together its darkness even as it lost its shape, becoming only darkness vapor. The vapor condensed itself into the mold, fusing with the darkness left within.

The spawn watching stared blankly at the scene of what once was one of them becoming a pitch black heart. It became a SOUL. Sensing that their target has yet to die, the two spawn rushed it down like crazed animals. But the moment they touched the SOUL, they were sucked inside like dust into a vacuum cleaner; eaten by the newborn entity.

Now alone, the SOUL floated upwards before stopping a meter or so off the ground. Suddenly, darkness shot out of the soul and began to coalesce around the SOUL in the shape of a child. A vessel.

It had no face nor features, it was a person shaped blob of pure darkness. Suddenly, a mouth appeared amongst the dark. A big smile. Pale white hair followed next. Then, a small pair of pale feathery white wings sprouted from the sides of its head, covering where its eyes should be. After it, another similarly small pair of wings sprouted from its heels.

And lastly, a pair of wings large enough to cover the vessel like a blanket sprouted from its back.

The being tilted their head, their gaze locked onto their hands, and had one reaction. “AAAAAAAAAAH!” They screamed. “I’M ALIVE! WOHOOO!” They exclaimed before abruptly pausing and scratching their cheek. “Uhh, what’s a wohoo? Who am I? What even am I? Thinking feels so smooth now. It’s like butter, whatever that is. It rolls of tongue good though. Butter. Butter. Butt-er. B-b-b-butter! Buttersticks!”

*ROAAAAAR*

“Oh, right. Titan.” They muttered with a deep frown. They crossed their arms as they turned to the direction of the titan and grinned. “Fear me, jerk! Soon, they’ll called me Blank the Titanslayer! I-” The being froze, taking in what it had just said. “Blank? Is that my name?”

Blank ruffled the feathers of one of their head wings as they tried to recall any name from their mind. Their cheeks puffed as nothing came up. Blank was merely that, an empty placeholder for a real name. “I don’t wanna be Blank. I want a real name.” They grumbled before flinching as an idea wormed its way into their mind. “I can pick a name later, I don’t wanna pick a bad one.” Their body shivered at the thought. “Blank will do for now.” They muttered, unknowingly making the choice they feared.

Finished with that dilemma, Blank turned to the titan in the distance, its size and presence domineering even from this distance to the point of shaking Blank to the core. Their mission to slay the titan, somehow, had only just begun.

Chapter Text

Blank’s large back wings spread out as far as they can stretch, the sound of their ruffling feathers softer than a pillow after a hard day before flapping them once. With a single flap, the wings generated enough lift to send Blank far into the air.

The dark angel looked at the world from this new angle and their jaw went slack with awe. “Woah!” They said instinctively. The mind of a titan spawn truly could never comprehend the beauty of its own flight, the beauty Blank beheld at that very moment. The wind ruffling through their hair, wings and body like a soft blanket of air and seeing so much at once from that angle. It was all so small, yet so much larger than they had ever known.

The scene was enthralling for dark angel that they didn’t notice that very scene was rapidly approaching. “Huh? Why is it getting big- AAAAAAH, I’M FALLING!!!” They screamed in a panic before flapping their back wings again, shooting themselves up and avoiding a crash. Once again far above the ground, Blank paused. It didn’t feel optimal to keep flying by shooting themselves upwards every time. But they didn’t know how. After all, they had been floating via some odd power before this and not wings.

Suddenly, something caught their vision. One of the paper cranes flying past them. “They’re still alive!” Blank exclaimed with a smile of pure happiness before it noticed something. The way the crane was flying, it wasn’t constantly flapping its wings for to keep afloat. It merely spread its wings and glided when it didn’t need lift.

Blank replicated its movements, finding themselves stable in the air as an immediate result with playing with angles and posture, leading to varying outcomes. A proud smile made its way onto their face before they turned to the darkner. “Thanks, paper crane! I knew you guys were smart!”

*ROOAAAAAR*

Blank turned to the source of the roar only to find a swarm of titan spawn heading their way from the direction of the titan. Blank’s gaze snapped onto the paper crane, the one that had just taught them how to fly. They dashed toward it with a flap of their wings, floating between the crane and the swarm.

Instinctively, the dark angel locked their wings together in front of them to create a barrier of feathers. The swarm slammed full force into Blank’s wings, but nothing happened. The spawn bit into the wings, sent spikes into them and tried all they could to break through. But all attempts failed to even faze the wing barrier.

Blank sighed in relief. “Okay, looks like they can’t break through. This is fine.” They muttered, their confidence rising, throwing away the question of how they were still floating. They only had to defeat the swarm now and Blank froze, not having the slightest idea how to defeat their siblings. In their time of need, they turned to the wisest person they knew. “Paper crane, do you have any idea-”

But the paper crane was already flying away from the fight. Blank sweatdropped. “F-fair, I guess.” They muttered, meek disappointment clear in their tone. They turned back to the swarm, still trying to break through their wings to no avail without so much as acknowledging the possibility of going around the wings. But the dark angel acknowledged the possibility and quickly snapped their wings open, knocking the swarm away before adjusting the wings from a shield to a cocoon that protected them from all sides.

They were still floating and not falling, something they wanted to ask the crane about later, but that was not the main issue. They still didn’t know how to defeat the swarm. They eyed, not that they had eyes in the traditional sense, the swarm through their defensive bunker. Looking at all those spawn, all that darkness concentrate, it made them feel something they had never felt before.

I’m hungry. They didn’t exactly know what ‘hungry’ meant or entailed, only the word itself and that it described its current feeling. And like a baby eyeing a possible morsel, however edible, their mouth opened. A door- no, a vacuum to their SOUL.

Like a black hole, Blank began voraciously absorbing its kin through their wings and into their soul. And the mindless spawn, with no awareness or sense of danger, eagerly dove into their maw.

In a few seconds, fhe swarm which had been so grand and overwhelming was reduced to nothing. And the perpetrator could only pat their chest, right over where their SOUL was located, as if patting their full belly after a full course meal. “I feel full which is weird since I’m not a cup. It did feel good, though. So, I’m not complaining.”

The dark angel shrugged with a smile before flapping their white wings to send themselves flying towards the titan. Everything can be pushed to after beating it, especially now that they had a way to defeat it.

Rushing through the air, they made it to the titan in seconds. Blank marveled at the sight of the being, it was truly enormous and all encompassing. It exuded enough power and presence to send a shiver down the Blank’s spine and simply floating near it planted a seed of doubt into the young dark angel. Can I really do this?

They paused before shaking their head. They had to win. The titan was already after them, wanting to end and destroy the dark angel like everything else. And for all Blank knew, this world was all that is and ever was. They had to fight.

The titan started by extending a clawed hand towards the dark angel. Blank dashed to the side before swiping their hand through one of the fingers, absorbing the darkness through their arm. The finger was cleanly cut off, but the titan did not react. It merely swiped again only to have another finger cut off.

The titan did not react. Blank frowned, knowing they were doing nothing. “I have to hurt it somewhere else.” They muttered. Almost as if responding to their words, a swarm of spawn appeared from the titan to rush them down.

Blank felt no danger from the swarm. They simply dashed through the swarm, absorbing all it touched on the way to the titan’s head. The dark angel sped up and broke through the star shaped shield protecting the titan’s face before piercing its head and breaking out from the other side in one move. “That oughtta-”

Before Blank could finish their words, wings much like their own covered the titan’s head it began absorbing spawn in droves. “What is it doing? Is it hungry?” Blank muttered, fearing to get close and be absorbed as well. Once the wings were retracted, it revealed an unharmed titan. It healed completely. “Hey! That’s not fair!” They yelled, puffing their cheeks. “You destroy everything, but can’t just be destroyed?”

Blank didn’t rush back into the fight, fearing being absorbed by the titan. They paused, thinking about what to do before the titan opened its palm and aimed it at the dark angel. Blank instinctively knew something dangerous was coming and locked their wings in front of them to block.

A second later, a beam of bright blue energy shot out of the titan’s palm. Blank braced themselves before the beam made contact with their wings. It felt hot, burning. It was an unfamiliar sensation, an uncomfortable one. A couple seconds later and the beam died down.

The moment Blank unlocked their wing barrier, they froze. They messed up. The attack had yet to end. The titan’s hand was rushing towards them, already too close to dodge or block.

The titan’s spear-like nail stabbed cleanly through the dark angel’s abdomen, shoulder and left leg, thankfully missing their SOUL before being thoughtlessly pulled out.

Not that it mattered much for a creature whose body was purely an extension of their own SOUL. Darkness was their blood. Losing enough would cripple them, or worse. And no matter the kind of creature, losing something so vital for its life will cause PAIN.

The dark angel grunted as they held their abdomen with their forearm, the worst of the injuries. Their body shivered in fear. It hurt. It was horrible. They didn’t want to feel this again. They FEARED pain.

Darkness was leaking from them quickly. They had to find a way to heal, to fix themselves before it was too late. They put up their wings to block as they looked for anything to help. The answer, ironically, came from their opponent, the titan.

It sent a plentiful swarm of spawn towards the dark angel. Blank flashed a hope filled smile. They could still win this. They could fulfill their dream of getting rid of that evil creature.

Quickly, they began absorbing all spawn that approached and healed to perfect health. And this gave them an idea. “Since it can heal, I need to hurt it more than it can heal. I just…have to not get hit. But if I do, I can always still heal. I can… I can take risks.” They muttered, their tone unsure.

With renewed health and shaky resolve as well as a battle plan, Blank got to work. They rushed through one of the titan’s arms, absorbing as they flew through to cut it off. The titan responded by sending its other hand towards Blank.

The dark angel wanted to take out the other arm. Thus, instead of making huge distance, they flapped a meter upwards away from where they thought the attack would land. However, the titan’s attack moved upwards with it by instinct. Blank tensed as the titan’s sharp finger sliced off one of their leg.

Now both thoroughly injured, with enough titan spawn around them, the two locked themselves in their wings and healed. And when the wings were unlocked, the battle was back to the beginning.

It was futile. An endless battle. But Blank didn’t give up, not on their dream of ridding themselves and this world of the titan.

And so they fought. For hours, for days or for weeks, who knew? Time had long lost its meaning in this world. Blank took out limbs, blasted through its head, did all they could. The titan simply wouldn’t die. They were not like THEM, like the red soul from their visions. And they were beginning to falter, that scared them.

Unlike a mindless creature such as the titan, Blank could be worn out mentally, no matter how long it takes. Soon enough, their movements became sluggish, more rough and slow. Until all the accumulated fatigue culminated at one pivotal moment. The titan stabbed into their chest, barely missing their SOUL. But that didn’t matter. It was over.

Blank fell to the ground in a cocoon of their wings like a puppet that had lost its strings. They could no longer muster the will to fight. “No. No, I don’t want it to end like this.” They muttered as their wing cocoon unfurled, their tone exhausted. They turned to the titan surrounded by titan spawn from the ground instead of the air. “I- I shouldn’t have fought it. There’s no winning this.” They said before the spawn rushed them down. Blank prepared to absorb them and fly away before the spawn abruptly stopped. “What are they doing?”

It wasn’t a figure of speech. They froze mid air as if time had stopped for them. And it wasn’t as if they were far, they were close enough to attack. Confused, he looked up towards the titan and found it also standing still. But not like the spawn as there were some secondary motions. It was not frozen, simply standing still. And it was staring right at Blank, watching them.

It didn’t take long for the dark angel to realize what was happening and it chilled them to the core. It’s waiting. It waiting for me to heal. It’s sending them to heal me.

The titan was happy with this fight. It liked this arrangement. It wanted this to continue FOREVER.

The titan did not have any malicious intent, it did not have the capacity for it. It merely wanted to destroy. And in front of it was an ever regenerating toy. An undying object to subject to endless destruction.

There was no twisted mind behind this, no grand purpose nor sadistic desire. It was all merely instinct. Like a pigeon knowing its own feeding time from the sound its owner plays every time, the titan learned that any destruction it caused to Blank will be undone by giving them titan spawn.

“P-please no.” Blank begged as their injury continued to leak darkness. They had to heal. They didn’t want to die. They FEARED it. With their body, breath and mind all shaking in terror, the dark angel absorbed the spawn and their injury healed. “D-don’t-”

And titan moved in response, stabbing its claws into the earth where Blank laid helpless. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

To dare dream of overcoming their own creator?

*CRASH*

“P-PLEASE!” They begged.

To reach beyond their post?

*BLAST*

“STOP! IT HURTS!” They screamed, sobbing.

How foolish. Dreams are made to be crushed.

Once Blank’s body had suffered enough damage from claws and blasts, the titan sent another wave of spawn and watched. Blank cried, trembling in fear and pain as the titan watched before they absorbed the spawn.

The moment the titan moved, Blank flapped their wings as hard as possible. They flew away from the titan, as far as they can go, as fast as they can get there.

Once sufficient distance was made, they hid behind a large enough rock, panting for breath. Their body didn’t stop trembling, it couldn’t, not with endless suffering watching around the corner. “S-s-tupid. Stupid. I sh-sh-shouldn’t have fought-t-t it.” The child muttered, hugging themselves tightly as their body refused to calm down. Tears fell down from under the wings covering where its eyes would be as the sounds of sobbing was all that could be heard.

*RRROOOAAAARRR*

The sound of its roar made Blank tense up. “W-what-t-t is it d-d-doing?” They asked before taking a peek at what was happening behind their rock. “No. No. No, please no.” Thousands of titan spawn spread out in every direction, probing everything in sight for any sign of the dark angel.

And a few of them succeeded.

The tiny angel quickly absorbed the spawn before they could alert the titan before realizing their mistake.

*BLAST*

“AAAAAH!!” They screamed as a beam of energy burned through their back after evaporating the rock they hid behind.

The attack sent them flying. They tried to take control of this flight, but found themselves unable to flap them properly. The wings themselves, however remained in pristine condition.

Unable to take flight, the little angel crash lands near an empty cave. Their body hurt, every motion brought its own flavor of suffering and their mind was exhausted and tired, they could net move.

But FEAR forced them to stand up. FEAR forced them to walk into the cave. FEAR forced them to hide inside.

*ROOOOOAAAAAR*

The titan roared. It sent its spawn to find Blank, but they never did. The young dark angel hid, abstaining from even the thought of healing their injuries. Even when the spawn scouted the cave, Blank remained unseen, always watching for any sign that they needed to move.

They kept on hiding, not knowing how much time had passed. There was no way to measure it in this world. It was a prison, but Blank FEARED the titan more. There was no where to escape. Nowhere to go where the titan wouldn’t go after.

That was until someone new appeared. Blank watched them from within the cave, holding their breath in fear. They looked somewhat like the spawn and titan, except they had antlers and a sword. They also felt… intelligent compared to them.

Blank’s visions knew this person and their body began to shake. What if they’re like the titan? They thought, unable to contain their fear. Did they come here to take me to it? Where did they even come from?

Then, they froze. That last question. Their visions responded to it, showibg this entity going out of a world and into another. This person knows a way out of this world. A place where the titan can’t reach me. Hope was rekindled in their heart. There was a way out. And so, they did what they knew best after fighting the titan.

They hid and watched.

The entity stared at the titan from afar before clicking their tongue, clearly displeased. Blank tensed up, silently praying that displeasure wouldn’t ever be directed at them.

The entity shook their head before turning around and morphing into a floating orb. Blank tilted their head at the sight before the orb began floating away at high speed.

The dark angel desperately tried to follow them, to not let the being out of their sight. But the moment they tried to fly, their wings failed to flap once again and they fell on their face.

*choke*

Maybe I’ll be able to fly again in the other world. They thought wiping their cheeks before staring in the direction the orb headed. It was close. So close Blank could see it from where they were.

*SLAM*

Did they close it off? The thought made the young angel panic. They ran to where the orb had went, for once not caring if they were seen by the titan or not. Luckily for Blank, there didn’t seem to be any on the path.

When they finally made it, they saw a giant door adorned with a familiar symbol. An orb with wings above three triangles. Deltarune. their visions told them before their heart sunk into their stomach.

The door was closed and there was no handle or key to open it from where Blank was. It was over. There was no escape.

Blank fell to their knees, their limbs going limp as hope fled from their body. Tears streamed down their cheeks from under their eye-covering wings. “Please.” They pleaded, their hands on the door, for any kind of miracle. Of any way to escape this hell. “There has to be a way. It can’t just all be this for me. P-please.”

*Trickle*

“Huh?” Blank turned to the source of the sound only to find water trickling down from under the door. They had never seen water before, but water wasn’t what got their attention. The water was coming from outside. There was enough space for water to pass through under the door. I can pass through. The thought, this final hope filled them with strength.

Blank knew they can control darkness and by extension their body, but they had never tried it or anything for that matter. They only hoped this would work.

They sucked the darkness out of their body back into their SOUL, leaving themselves as just that. A SOUL. With the extra darkness, they made two small limbs and began squeezing itself through the opening.

They pushed as hard as they could, not caring for lost darkness until-

*pop*

-they popped out in another world. A titanless world.

A world poisonous to their kind.

Chapter Text

In the woods near the largest home in hometown, a young reindeer monster girl with an umbrella wandered in the rain alongside a police officer fish monster. “T-this is where the screech came from.” Said the girl, Noelle Holiday, nervously.

“Well, THERE’S NOTHING HERE! I GOT EXCITED OVER NOTHING!” The officer, Undyne, yelled in frustration. In front of the two was the wet woods of hometown, nothing strange or unusual. “Probably one of the dogs found a nice stick or someth-.”

“Ugh, it huuuurts.” The two suddenly heard a young pained voice say. Noelle jumped back in fear while Undyne raised a brow. The officer walked forwards a few steps before leaning to the ground and picking something up. “AAAAAAAH! P-P-PLEASE DON’T H-HURT MEEEE!” The voice screamed in terror. “Y-y-your hold is- is soft. If that helps.”

“Uhh, I didn’t know monsters could come heart shaped.” Undyne remarked as she softly cradled a pitch black heart in front of Noelle. The girl flinched at the sight of the pitch black talking bodiless heart.

“I- I can change shape if you d-don’t like it, miss titan lady.” The heart replied, shaking uncontrollably in Undyne’s grasp.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, I’m trying to help.” Undyne replied, deflating slightly as the heart continued to shiver in fear.

“You said you were hurt and I think I heard you screaming.” Noelle said, sweating worriedly. “Are you okay? Should we be taking you to the hospital?”

The heart’s shivering slowly stopped, prompting a frown from the police officer. Deflated further, she turned to Noelle and extended her hand: making the conversation between the heart and the deer smoother. “W-well, this ‘light’…stuff hurts and it’s…everywhere. Do you have any….thing for that?” They said, carefully eyeing the two’s expressions.

Noelle and Undyne went dead silent, leaving only the the sound of raindrops falling upon leaves to fill the area. The two stared at the jet black heart with enough shock and confused to give an elderly person a heart attack.

“Like s-sunlight or in general?” Noelle asked, staring at the heart with widened eyes as if they’re about to disappear any second.

“In general, I think.” The heart replied, earning horrified looks from the two.

“YOU THINK?!” Yelled Undyne angrily, squeezing the heart and shaking them vigorously. “HOW THE HECK ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?! Don’t get me wrong, that’s badass. BUT HOW?!”

“M-miss Undyne! I think you’re shaking them a bit too hard.” Noelle said and Undyne froze.

“Oh. Right.” Replied Undyne, sweat dropping as the little heart quivered almost enough to escape Undyne’s grasp. Almost, as she managed to get her grip on them once again. “Uhh, kid. I sorta need light to do my job and you’ve got an umbrella. Can you take the heart…monster to your place until I figure something out?”

Noelle immediately started sweating. “O-okay.” She said before Undyne put the heart in her hands. The deer girl looked at the heart and smiled nervously. “H-hi.”

The heart paused, staring intently at Noelle’s face as they slowly started shivering. “P-please don’t bite me with those teeth.” They said with a voice bordering tears. “I’m- I’m sorry for bringing you trouble. Please.”

Noelle’s eyes shot open as her body refused to move a muscle before she burst into a stammering mess trying to dissuade the heart’s worries. On the other hand, Undyne had one thought.

Man, that thing’s right. Those teeth look they’d hurt.

Blank was terrified. They did not know what to do. Not only did this new world have no darkness for them to heal, but it was actively damaging them; the brighter it was, the more it hurt. Not to mention their currently meager supply of darkness. They couldn’t heal, fly, transform very well and not only that.

THERE ARE TITANS EVERYWHERE?!

Granted, they were smarter, sentient and were likely of the same size as their old form. But the little angel, now heart, couldn’t help but see the domineering figure of a titan in anything much larger than them.

Even now as this innocent girl placed them in a box under an umbrella in her room, protecting them from light, they could only see creatures of darkness flashing into their vision. One clad in dark armor with those very same antlers.

They’re here! They followed me!

The entity. The creature they followed to escape their dark world, it must be this girl before them. They jumped into the darkest, farthest corner from the girl and hid. Not even letting themselves shiver, they stayed completely still as if dead. They were in a prison of invisible chains with FEAR as their warden.

“So, w-what’s your name?” The titaness asked nervously, her tone soft. “I’ve never seen you around town before, or any talking heart for that matter.” Blank refused to answer; that would give away their hiding spot. “I’m Noelle Holiday.”

Noelle Holiday. That name felt familiar to Blank in a way they couldn’t put their finger on it. Regardless, they refused to come out. A familiar name meant nothing in front of being at the wrong end of a large sword.

“A-are you okay? Wait- is it too bright?” Noelle’s eyes almost burst out of their sockets. In a panic, she stuck her hand into the box and Blank immediately jumped out before dashing under the table like a mouse to the safety of darkness. “EEEK!”

“I’m sorry I followed you out of the dark world!” They screamed, their tone seemingly determined. These giants were sentient, unlike the titan. They could be reasoned with. Noelle blinked in confusion. “I just couldn’t take it there anymore! The titan wanted to torture me and it wouldn’t let go, I’m sorry!”

Noelle blinked. “Uhm, what?” She asked nervously. The following her part creeped her out, but she knew nothing of of a ‘Dark World’ or a ‘Titan’. “What are you talking about?”

“I-is this some kind of test?” Asked the shivering heart and Noelle tilted her head. Blank paused. In their mind, one wrong decision would lead to doom. Not answering was not necessarily safe either.

Mustering their will, darkness coalesced next to Blank in the shape of The Knight clad in darkness before the heart nudged it slightly. Noelle scanned the figure and blinked. Was this who they thought she was? Aside from the antlers, it looked a dragon blazers character. She was almost about to laugh it off before a realization crashed into her like a truck.

“H-how are you doing that?” This was a hyper realistic looking figure that just appeared out of nowhere and it was big enough that there was no way for the heart to hide it anywhere. Noelle’s eyes were as wide open as the curtains on a nice day and her jaw was nigh unhinged. If her eyes hadn’t deceived her, this was magic. Real magic.

“It’s…darkness.” Blank answered hesitantly. “It’s what makes dark worlds and darkners and all their magic happen. You were in a dark world a while ago before I left.”

“No, I wasn’t!” Noelle argued shaking her head. “I don’t look anything like this.” She added pointing to the entity’s figure.

“So?” Blank asked in confusion. This was either an elaborate test or she really didn’t know anything. “People can look very different inside a dark world, but they keep a good bit of their original appearance. So I thought the antlers were…”

Blank paused when he saw an odd expression flash upon Noelle’s face, a mix of realization, hope and horror. “C-can someone…like me get stuck in a dark world and survive there for, hypothetically, multiple years?”

“I don’t see why not. Darkness can do anything.” Blank replied, realizing that Noelle truly knew nothing. Relief was clear in their lack of shivering.

“How do you get into a dark world?” Blank froze. Was she trying to get into one?

“Do you know how dangerous dark worlds are?!” Blank snapped. Titans and their spawn roaming around causing mass destruction and havoc. They did have visions of titanless dark worlds, but it wasn’t worth the risk no matter what; the risk of seeing it again. “I just got out of one!”

Noelle opened her mouth to speak before stopping. Nervousness clear on her face. “U-uhm, you m-misundestand. I just…w-want to know how to a-avoid going into one.” She lied as poorly as can be. Her face was sweating, her tone unsure and her eyes shaking. Anyone over a week old would know she was lying. “It- it sounds really scary.”

Blank was not over a week old.

“That is a valid concern.” Blank muttered loudly. “Okay. To make a dark world, you first grab something sharp and pointy. Then, you concentrate on what you truly want before stabbing into the ground.” Blank explained in a serious tone. “So just never do th- what are you doing with that pencil?”

Noelle had already grabbed one of the sharpened pencils in the jar on the desk Blank was under and closed her eyes, concentrating on what she truly wanted. “No no NO NO! GET ME OUT FIRST! I DON’T WANNA GO BACK! PLEASE! I-”

The girl raised the pencil into the air, already not listening to what the heart had to say, before stabbing it into the earth with her entire will.

And nothing happened.

“Oh.” Muttered Noelle despondently as Blank sighed in relief. “I guess it was too good to be tr-”

*BEEEEEAAAAM*

“EEEEK!” Noelle exclaimed in a panic as a beam of light engulfed her room. “W-what’s happening? What’s going on?!”

Blank couldn’t answer as they shivered as if in the middle of a snow storm. “No. No, not again. Please. Not again!” They repeated over and over and over, FEAR swallowing them whole.

And the final nail in the coffin, as darkness began to stream into the room from the newly born fountain, a voice echoed through the air. “Oh, DEER! I see two new names on the NAUGHTY LIST!”

And so, the two fell into the terrible result of their combined lack of foresight.

Chapter Text

Beautiful fanart by @hyplex0826 on discord ❤️.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

In darkest depths of the newly formed dark world, a young reindeer girl stirred in her sleep. Her last memories were of a bright light and unfathomable darkness, yet when she opened her eyes: she was met with a rocky pinkish earth instead of the familiar floor of her room.

This caused her eyes to burst open; she checked the ground again, yet the sight did not change. She leapt onto her feet in a panic. “W-where am I? What is this p-place?” She asked looking left and right, yet only darkness greeted her aside from the relatively thin path ahead. She noticed her clothes were also replaced by a white robe that felt mage like.

“It’s the dark world that YOU MADE!” Noelle heard a familiar voice yell from behind her. The heart shaped monster was here with her. She turned around and saw not a heart, but a child roughly her age with wings covering their eyes, sprouting from their heels and ones larger than her body spreading out from their back. It was a figure she recognized easily.

An angel.

“Woah.” Noelle was immediately enthralled. She always liked the concept, she had even made angel dolls before. She always liked wearing fake angel wings as a child and even wished she had real ones to fly with. She was almost obsessed with the idea, but never in her life did she think she’d be standing in front of a real angel with real wings.

Perhaps if she had known sooner, she wouldn’t have made the mistake of lying to them. “DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT YOU LIAR!” The angel snapped and Noelle shrunk under their seemingly eyeless glare. “YOU TRICKED ME!”

The deer girl sweat dropped. “O-okay. Yes, I did that. I…had to.” She replied dejectedly. She didn’t want to lie to them, but this was her first and only real lead on… “I’m really really sorry.” She apologized and the angel only frowned and turned away in response. An angel, a real one.

Noelle couldn’t help but marvel at the majesty of those wings, though the back wings looked oddly stiff to her. She instinctively approached the angel and ran her hand through the soft wings as the being froze. “So soft.” She blurted out with a blush before she noticed something. On the back of their neck peeking from under those clothes that seemed to be made from the same thing as their body, a dark purple streak could be seen.

It looked like a scar.

The angel jumped back and away from Noelle. “AND YOU’RE A PERVERT!?” They yelled in disgust and it was Noelle’s turn to freeze. The girl stuttered and stammered to defend herself, but failed to string together anything coherent.

If this were a video game, Noelle’s title would’ve changed to “Angel Pervert”.

Noelle fell to her knees in dismay. Her first interaction with an angel was an absolute disaster. And just as she thought it couldn’t get any worse…

“HO HO HO! KRISMAS HAS COME EARLY THIS YEAR!” A rough voice beckoned Noelle and Blank to turn around to find a giant green Santa with a beard of pink bellflowers, spikes all over his body and a sled made of clay and dirt.

“S-s- SANTA CLAUS?!” Noelle asked, shivering as if an in the middle of earthquake. And she wasn’t the only one.

“T-TITAN!” Blank screamed in fear before they and Noelle both started running away. But just as they started running, they were ensnared in vines too tough to break out of.

“Oh, sillies! I’m neither of those! I’m Krismas, ruler of the ever festive desert!” Exclaimed Krismas cheerfully with a bright smile, causing Noelle to freeze. She scanned Krismas thoroughly, recognition gleaming in her eyes.

“Wait- Krismas? The c-cactus?!” She asked, her eyes as wide as apples. This was the very cactus next to her TV. The holiday cactus she took care of.

“Oh! You recognize me! I knew you-” Krismas exclaimed happily before abruptly freezing. The cactus cleared his throat before adorning a frown and a glare. “I mean, you two were very naughty and I must punish you. You two shall be put through the trial of the festive gauntlet where you prove your niceness through gladiatorial combat! HO HO HO!”

“B-but why? I always made sure to take good care of you!” Noelle asked, her heart tightening as she looked up to the cactus santa.

Krismas froze, his eyes widening as his body hesitated. However, his hesitation was only momentary as he grabbed Blank and Noelle with his hands a second later. “N-NO REASON! NOW COMBAT YOU NAUGHTY CHILDREN!” The two tensed up, expecting to be stabbed a few dozen times by cactus spikes, but were surprised by the gentle grip of Krismas.

Without waiting for a reply, the giant sled the cactus was standing on floated upwards and rushed through the sky.

Noelle’s eyes widened as she saw their destination. A desert decorated with all kinds of Christmas decorations, from lights wrapped around the tower like buildings to the candy canes embedded in the sand to the prickly cactus mistletoes over the doors and the snowflakes made of sand falling from the sky.

And in the middle of that desert was a giant pillar of flowing darkness that filled her with awe.

She turned to Blank, seeing if they had the same reaction only to find them looking… miserable. A sad and angry frown on their face as their body faintly quivered. She blinked and checked again, but it was still there. Sadness, anger and FEAR, all three emotions clear to see and she was to blame for the angel’s plight. “Hey, I-”

*SCREEECH*

Noelle went silent at Blank’s screech. She averted her eyes as the angel scowled at her. “This is your fault! I HATE YOU!” Blank snapped at the girl, a tear falling down their cheek.

“Now, now, there’s no need to fight.” Krismas’ soft, grandpa like voice cut in before he heard a sound that made him freeze. A sob.

“You just said you gonna make us fight stuff! What do you want from me?!” The angel snapped once more, tears running down their face like twin waterfalls. Noelle gripped her chest as she heard the angel’s words. Every word and every tear was like an invisible knife stabbing into her brain, reminding her that this was her fault. “I didn’t do anything wrong…did I?”

Both Noelle and Krismas went silent. Both feeling the weight of their actions. But I had to. Noelle thought, wincing as if in pain. I didn’t mean to hurt them. It was just the only lead I had. I- I don’t know. Am I really so desperate to get her back I’d hurt someone innocent? I mean, yeah. But it still feels horrible, especially since I lied to them. The thought sickened the girl. Hurting someone who only told her what she wanted to protect her from it, it wasn’t right.

Maybe I can make it up to them somehow, make it better. Yeah, yeah! I’ll do that. And things will be better. And maybe they won’t hate me as much.

Blank hated this, everything about this. Not only were they lied to, they were kidnapped and forced into a punishment they didn’t deserve.

No.

I deserve this. They thought. I overstepped again. They lamented. They shouldn’t have expected more, shouldn’t have dreamed of a world of peace. This room, this prison was their punishment for daring to dream again.

“H-hey, this room is pretty great. It’s…big, festive and they even have a TV screen and a shop ran by who I’m pretty sure is my computer.” Noelle said with forced cheer, but Blank didn’t reply. They didn’t want a TV screen or a shop, they wanted to be free, to not be in a cage to kicked around and to be able to fly again. “A-at least we don’t have to fight the g-gauntlet without a good rest. And they gave us money to buy stuff so I bought you this angel doll they had since…you’re an angel too!”

This begrudgingly got their attention. Something like me? When they turned around, they found Noelle holding a small angel doll with a star for a face.

It looked like the titan.

It scared them.

But didn’t that make it all the more like them? Did it also have its own titan?

Had it also tried to escape? Had it also dared to dream?

Sympathy filled the dark angel as they stared at the poor doll in Noelle’s hands. Do you want to be free too? They thought, hoping the doll would hear and answer somehow. But it did not.

Blank carefully grabbed the doll from Noelle’s hands as the girl clasped her hands together in anticipation before the dark angel reared their arm-

-and threw the angel doll through the nearest window as far away as they possibly could.

Noelle’s eyes burst open in shock. “W-w-why did you do that? D-did you hate it that much?” She asked, sweating nervously. “Did I offend them again? Maybe I shouldn’t have spent all the money Krismas gave us on angel dolls.” She wondered under her breath.

Blank didn’t answer, they looked at the ground and slinked into the shadows under the couch. They hid, going deathly silent and Noelle followed them desperately. “Wait!” She yelled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I-I’m sorry. Please tell me something, anything! I- I just… I just wanted to see Dess again.”

She has a dream too. Blank thought. They admired that, but it was hopeless. They had seen what happens to dreams in this world, the NIGHTMARES they bring.

It isn’t worth it.

*sob*

So stop trying.

“I miss her so much.” Noelle muttered in between sobs and sniffs. The genuine and raw emotions made Blank freeze.

“Enough to risk your life, to risk everything?” Blank asked before their mind could catch up. They silently berated themselves. What’s the point of hiding if they were going to expose themselves? And for what? A pointless question?

“YES!” Noelle screamed. No, it isn’t. “I’d do anything to find her!” You don’t even know what you’ll be doing! You’re just saying things! “Don’t you have something you want like that too?”

Blank thoughts came to a screeching halt. They did have one. They really did. But they knew what happens to lofty dreams. They experienced it themselves.

Will this happen to her too? The thought made them nauseous. But before they could process that feeling, a cheerful announcer voice suddenly echoed from the TV.

“Noelle! Angel! You’re up for the first round of the trial in 5 minutes. Get ready!”

Noelle and Blank both went silent as their bodies shook in unison. They were both afraid, terrified even. “O-okay. I’ll go th-through the t-trial and you can stay here until I’m done.” She said with a nervous smile that quickly faltered. “It’s the l-least I can do after dragging you into this mess.”

Blank watched as the girl shuffled out of the room hesitantly with mixed feelings brewing in their heart. On one hand, they were angry at Noelle for putting them back in a cage. On the other, she had a dream just like them. A dream soon to be crushed. Blank didn’t want that, didn’t want another person to go through the consequences.

Could she even survive the results of this dream?

The thought made Blank flinch; they began feeling FEAR once more. But it was different this time: it was FEAR for another. The scene of that hopeful girl’s bloodied corpse in that titan’s hand burned itself into their mind. The thought made their back feel as if it was on scorched by fire, the scar made by the titan a painful reminder of what happens to those who overstep...and what will happen to Noelle sooner or later should she continue.

Blank frowned as they turned to the door. Their body shivered in FEAR, every instinct engraved in their body told them not to. Not to go after Noelle and to hide here where it's safe...and against those very instincts, they slunk under the door to follow the girl. They had to stop her before it’s too late.

Before her dream could become a nightmare.

Chapter Text

Blank dashed through the festive corridors as their life depended on it. Through twists, turns and hallways they explored, trying to catch a glimpse of the deer girl before it was too late.

“I think I’m going in circles.” They muttered dejectedly as they looked around. Didn’t they pass that same candy cane filled corner four times by now? Blank groaned. But just as the despair was about to set in, they found their salvation.

A window!

Well, there have been countless windows and even balconies passed by Blank. But only now did they consider it an option.

They leaped through the window, ready to fly down to Noelle, forgetting that their wings are still broken. Blank screeched in a panic, flailing around wildly before landing on something soft. “HO HO HO! Caught you!” The jolly sound of Krismas’ voice made its way into their ears. They looked down to find themselves on a bed of soft bellflowers.

The bed of flowers descended into the arena with Blank on top before disappearing into the ground. Blank looked around to find themselves in a makeshift arena that looked hastily made with even the edge of the arena being a simple wooden fence. A festive one too.

“Y-you actually came back.” Noelle remarked with widened eyes before the dark angel immediately got back on their feet. “T-thanks. I really didn’t want to do this alone.” Blank opened their mouth, to beg Noelle to stop before it was too late, but froze when their eyes landed on Krismas. Their body began shaking in FEAR.

“HO HO…no. They can’t enter the gauntlet.” Krismas coughed awkwardly. Noelle flinched as Blank almost sighed in relief before Krismas elaborated. “Uhm, you don’t…have a weapon.”

Blank tilted their head before turning to Noelle. She didn’t have a weapon either. “B-but Noelle doesn’t have one.” They noted nervously, hoping Krismas would let her go too.

Krismas chuckled. “Well, you see, she’s a mage. Magic is her weapon.” He explained softly and Blank’s shoulders dropped. The easy route was denied and all that was left was to join Noelle somehow.

“I- I can do magic.” Blank stuttered. Their visions showed what qualified as magic and many of those could be replicated with darkness.

“Yes, and I understand your point, but you’re not a mage.” The enormous cactus Santa countered softly. “Even if you can do magic, I cannot in good wi- I mean, bad will let you fight without a weapon and all we have are swords that are a tad too big for you.”

Blank was stumped. How were they meant to get Noelle out of this now? If only they knew how to make a weapon out of darkness. I only know how to shift my body arou- that’s it!

In an instant, Blank’s large back wings disappeared from sight. Everyone’s eyes widened as an item manifested in the angel’s hands, a large shield. A circular shield covered by two wings, leaving a diagonal eye shaped pit of darkness in the middle. It was large enough to cover most of Blank’s body at once and aesthetically pleasing which made the angel oddly happy.

“Prickle bells! Looks like you can join after all!” Krismas exclaimed cheerfully before they leapt up with their sled into the makeshift audience seats with surprising grace. “Candy Canight No.1 attack!”

Blank and Noelle froze in unison as a small knight, barely tall enough to reach their knees, in candy cane patterned armor entered the arena. “Aww.” Noelle’s gaze softened the moment her eyes laid upon the tiny knight. Even Blank had to admit, the little knight was adorable.

“En garde!” The candy cane knight exclaimed in a feminine voice before dashing forwards with a jingle blade in hand. Blank panicked and hurriedly put their shield up.

The attack was deflected with a quiet clink. “Uhm, so… how do we get out of this?” Noelle asked with a nervous smile as she and Blank huddled behind their shield. Blank scowled at her with clear displeasure.

*clink*

“This is your fault.” Blank deadpanned, causing the deer girl to deflate. “I hate you.” Noelle deflated even more. “But I don’t want you getting hurt.” Noelle’s ears perked up before her eyes focused solely on the angel. “So I want you to give up. Give up on trying to find this Dess person before you get hurt badly.” Noelle’s eyes widened in shock.

*clink*

“No.” She replied firmly. “I can’t.”

*clink*

“You might die… or worse.” Blank countered with a frown, a shiver crawling down their spine as familiar images flashed in their mind. “I can’t use my wings anymore because I wanted to be free. You might have it worse.”

*clink*

“…if it happens, it happens.” Noelle said with grim determination, her body visibly quaking in fear.

*clink*

“Hey, Canight? You can go around the shield!” The sound of Krismas suddenly echoed throughout the arena and the duo froze as the candy canight walked behind them.

The two screamed in panic before dashing away. “Fight me!” Canight exclaimed cheerfully in an adorable tone.

“But you’re so cute and adorable!” Noelle exclaimed in a panic as Blank held up their shield before the candy canight stopped abruptly.

“I am?” She asked, her face blushing madly. Both Blank and Noelle were shook by this sudden change in attitude, but the former refused to put down their shield while the latter smiled. “For realsies?”

“Yeah! You’re so tiny and huggable.” Noelle added with a smile before the candy knight blushed even harder. “I don’t wanna fight you.”

The little knight hummed. “I don’t wanna fight you either.” She said dejectedly. “I forfeit.” Noelle’s eyes went bloodshot as she and Blank had the same thought. THAT WORKED?????

The two quickly turned to Krismas for confirmation and the giant cactus looked just as surprised as they were. “Uhm, I suppose this is your win.” He said scratching his head. “You can go back to your room now.”

Not knowing what else to do, Noelle and Blank silently headed back into the hallways. The dark angel already having ideas about beating the gauntlet without getting hurt. But Noelle had other ideas; she grabbed Blank’s arm, prompting them to stop. “You already helped me by teaching about the dark world. I’ll help you be free in return. I know a way. Just tell me…is there a way to get your wings working again?”

Blank doubted her words; she was as just scared and confused as they were. But was there any demerit in telling her? It was not as if she could block off the fountain. Blank nodded silently before pointing towards the dark fountain in the distance. It should have plenty of darkness to consume. “How are we gonna leave?” Blank asked dejectedly, already expecting disappointment.

Noelle gestured for the dark angel to follow. Noelle led them through halls and corridors until the two reached a massive door, easily ten times Blank’s size, decorated with a mistletoe. The front door. Blank could only wonder how Noelle would break through such a mighty looking door without alerting Krismas and she just opened it and they walked through.

Huh??? Blank could only gawk at the door behind them that they passed so easily.

“Yeah, all the doors in here are sorta…open. I noticed that after I got lost trying to find the arena.” Noelle explained with a chuckle. “I think they just never expected me to be go out on my own.”

“Pfft!” Blank snorted in barely contained laughter. Watching an angel laugh filled the angel fan with joy until she too began to giggle.

And without further ado, they rushed to the fountain.

Meanwhile with Krismas, the giant Christmas cactus stood in front of a group of candy canights with a pout. “Okay, so, you can’t forfeit next time. It goes against the whole plan!” He exclaimed softly.

“Even if she calls me super cute?” One of the tiny knights asked, tilting her head.

“Unfortunately so.” Replied Krismas with a heavy sigh before another one of the knights raised their hand. “What is it Candy Canight No.12?”

“What if she calls me super super cute?” She asked in a serious tone and the other tiny knights gasped in shock as of shaken to the core. Krismas’ expression turned grim as he pondered their words.

“That is a valid concern.” He muttered, running his hand through his flowery beard. “But we must resist the temptation, for the greater good!”

The tiny knights cheered and Krismas nodded in approval. “Perhaps turning the candy cane girls into knights was not the best idea.” Krismas turned to the source of the robotic voice to find a computer in a fancy butler outfit approaching him.

“Nonsense! Look at them!” Krismas retorted, gesturing towards the little knights who were cheerfully swinging their swords at the air. “Aww, they’re so adorable.”

“That’s part of the issue.” Replied the computer with a sigh as they shook their head in disappointment. “Also, knights in a desert? That doesn’t make any sense. There’s no coherent theme here!”

“There is! A festive theme!” Krismas exclaimed in response, gesturing towards the holiday decoration all over the giant connected towers surrounding them.

The computer sighed. “Tsuntsun-” They said teasingly.

“Don’t ever call me that again.” Krismas interjected with a frown. He hated that name with a passion. If only he could do something about it. “Once I get my hands on that bird.” The cactus grumbled before his eyes widened as they realized something. “Sebby? Why are you here? You should be running the shop! How else would Noelle get necessary items?”

The computer cleared their throat. “She’s not here.” They said bluntly. Krismas froze before slowly turning to their computer friend.

“What?” Krismas asked with bulging eyes. Then where was she? Was she safe? Was she hungry?

Sebby scratched their screen as they started sweating. “So you know how all our doors are just for decoration?” They asked with a weak smile.

“Of course!” Krismas replied proudly. Where else would they put all those decorations? “What does that have to do with this? We need to find her, fast!” He asked grumpily.

“Well, they just walked out.” Sebby replied, fidgeting with their fingers. Krismas went silent, speechless at what he just heard. The decorative doors were… a mistake? “They’re heading for the fountain if you want to go stop them or complete your plan.”

Krismas fell into thought. He could find them and take them back or out speed them to the fountain and act as the final boss. A safe option, or a final stand. The latter made more sense looking at the knights. Krismas didn’t want to do this, but he had to. For Noelle’s sake, he must fight.

“…thank you, old friend.” Krismas said solemnly as his sled shot upwards into the sky before dashing towards the fountain with a thunderous sound.

In a few seconds, the cactus reached the fountain and landed beside it. They stared at the pillar of darkness breathing life into this realm. Whether Noelle was attempting to close it or not was none of his business.

His business was to make her fight. “Noelle, angel,” Krismas said softly as the sound of footsteps on sand ceased. He turned around to find Noelle and an angel huddled together behind the latter’s shield. “I’m sorry for this. But I can’t let you through.”

Enormous spikes shot out from Krismas towards Noelle and Blank. The two panicked before the spikes landed behind them, cutting off any hope of escape. “Not without a fight.”

And so, the final battle with the Christmas cactus began.

Chapter Text

Amazing fanart by GoodOldCyan ❤️

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

Blank and Noelle were terrified. Standing before the threatening figure of Krismas, knowing a battle had begun was nothing short of nerve-wracking. The silence didn’t make it any better. “K-Krismas, we don’t need to do this. We don’t wanna fight you.” Noelle said, staring Krismas in the eyes with a nervous expression.

Krismas sighed. “And that is exactly the problem, Noelle.” He replied solemnly, looking at the sandy ground as the spikes all over his body protruded ever so slightly more. “You’re weak.”

Noelle’s eyes widened before spikes shot towards her and Blank from every direction. The angel put up their shield almost immediately. Once the first spike collided with the shield, Blank felt their arms shake like a bell being rung.

Blocking all of them would be impossible. “I knew this was a bad idea! We shouldn’t have come here!” They yelled before noticing one of the spikes circling around behind them. “Run run run RUN!” Noelle quickly noticed the spikes and the two jumped in opposite directions.

The spikes barely avoided the two as they panted for breath. “You always were there for me, Noelle; protecting me, giving me the water and sun I need.” Krismas remarked solemnly as he stared at the floor. Seeing this, Blank took a few steps towards the barrier of spikes trapping them in while Noelle stared at the cactus Santa with widened eyes. “But I can’t be there for you in the same way.”

“S-so that’s why-” Noelle muttered dejectedly before taking a step forwards. She sheepishly gulped before speaking. “Then… please let the angel through. They need to use the fountain to heal their wings and they don’t have anything to do with this.”

Blank froze. What was she doing? They had the shield! Without them, Noelle would die in seconds! “Very well.” Krismas replied calmly before turning to Blank. “Angel, you can go. I will not attack you.” Finishing his words, he turned to Noelle and his spikes protruded further.

“Go.” Noelle said, her body quivering in fear. “I- I’ll be fine!” She tried to flash a smile which came out wobbly and shaky.

Stupid! Blank thought. It was utterly illogical, yet this deer girl was sacrificing everything for them to fix their wings. Why? Spikes shot out from Krismas’ body, all of them homing in directly on Noelle’s location. Blank watched the spikes dash towards her for what felt like hours, as if time had slowed down to a snail’s pace.

Why would she do this? Blank consulted their visions. Friendship, love and other concepts entered their mind, but none of them felt… right. But regardless of the reason, Blank couldn’t- no, did not want Noelle to get hurt here.

In a reckless move, they dashed between Noelle and the spikes. But then they remembered how strong those spikes were. They definitely could not block them all. But just as all hope seemed lost, an unknown instinct surged through their body: a feeling similar to their visions.

Instead of blocking, they pulled their shield back and just as the spiked closed in…they parried.

The spikes and their magic condensed itself upon contact into six tiny white pellets that flew back at Krismas with enough speed to leave a trail of light behind them, blowing six visible holes in the cactus’ body.

Noelle stood wide eyed at the sudden display of power. “S-since when could you do that?!” Noelle exclaimed in shock.

“I don’t know!” Blank exclaimed, similarly stunned and confused. “B-but I’m not leaving you to die here!” Noelle went wide eyes silent as Krismas nodded in approval.

“It is your turn, Noelle. What will you do?” The cactus asked with a frown as he prepared his next attack. “Are you going to let your friend fight alone?”

“I, uh-” Noelle looked around her nervously, taking in everything at once and it was overwhelming: like a deer in headlights, she froze. “I don’t know!”

“WRONG ANSWER!” Krismas exclaimed before his arm grew massively, becoming almost a mace of cactus spikes. He dashed forwards towards Noelle, but Blank stood between them. Noelle’s expression darkened. The dark angel reared their shield, feeling as if a mistake would spell their end, before parrying the attack.

As if by spell, the damage appeared as tears through Krismas’ arm. Blank could only wonder how that worked beyond that darkness is doing it. “I can’t keep this up forever.” Blank blurted out, their expression strained as they kept their shield up. Noelle’s expression darkened.

“What will you do, Noelle?!” Krismas snapped angrily as he prepared more spikes. Noelle’s expression darkened. “Will you let them go like Dess?!”

Noelle grit her teeth.

“STOP!!!” Noelle snapped before unleashing a blast of ice at the cactus, freezing his shoulder and part of his face solid. Silence filled the frigid air with all mouths agape at the display before Krismas fell to his knees amidst the cold vapor.

Blank turned to Noelle with an expression of awe. So many questions ran through their mind alongside a twinge of FEAR of being hit by one of those attacks.

“Oh no, what did I do?!” She exclaimed in a panic as her eyes scanned what she’d done to Krismas.

“W-what you had to.” Krismas replied in a strained voice as he used his sled to support himself. He looked pale and his flowered seemed to welt. “Ironic, isn’t it? A christmas cactus weak to the cold.” He looked to be dying just from that one attack.

Noelle didn’t bother waiting to rush towards the cactus to check their injuries. “No. No. Please don’t die!” She exclaimed in a panic, tears welling up in her eyes. Blank quickly followed after her, shield still up and at the ready.

FEAR held them by the neck, telling them to keep their guard up as Krismas chuckled. “Oh, prickle bells. Y-you’re too sweet.” He said joyfully with a bright smile that soon became regretful. “If only your sister hadn’t disappeared, You wouldn’t have had to go through this. You would’ve had someone to protect you.”

Blank couldn’t hear any of this, they could only hear the sound of their beating heart telling them to do something, anything, to ease their FEAR. Everything happened so fast. It couldn’t be so simple, right? This had to be a trick.

They turned to Noelle. She was shaking, horrified by what she’d done. She clasped her hands together, praying for any miracle. And their body tensed up as they feld said miracle start to take place.

They wanted to stop her, to let the cactus perish before it could it attack them again. But in their hesitation, the opportunity passed them and a heal prayer fell upon the festive cactus.

Blank immediately pulled Noelle back by her white robes and put their shield up as the ice on Krismas melted away. The cactus inspected his body, finding it in tip top shape.

“Y-you’re okay!” Noelle exclaimed happily and Krismas blinked.

“Prickle bells! I’m alive!” He exclaimed cheerfully before rushing towards Noelle and Blank with stretched arms, preparing to hug them.

“Stay back!” Blank snapped as they reared their shield back, preparing to parry. They could not see the jolly cactus before them, they could only see a heartless titan wishing to cause them pain, wanting to torture them forever and ever and they had to stop it.

Ｅｖｅｎ  ｉｆ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｗｅｒｅ  ｑｕｉｖｅｒｉｎｇ  ｌｉｋｅ  ａ  ｍｏｕｓｅ．

“Hey, it’s okay.” Noelle said with a smile, placing a hand on Blank’s shoulder. The angel quickly shrugged her hand off as they kept their focus on Krismas.

The festive cactus’s steps came to a screeching halt. His eyes scanned the two children before him before they moved to the ground. “I- no. You’re right. I… should go.” He said dejectedly before his sled floated upwards. “Just, tell Berdly to stop calling me tsuntsun. It’s… uncomfortable.”

“Wait!” Noelle exclaimed hurriedly, attempting to stop Krismas. But it was already too late. The sled had shot into the sky, leaving the two alone beside the fountain. Blank let out a sigh of relief as their body relaxed. It was over. “Why did you do that? He wasn’t going to hurt us.” Blank didn’t answer. The words seemed to get stuck in their throat. As the silence drew longer, Noelle cleared her throat. “L- let’s just go fix your wings.”

Blank nodded and two walked together to the fountain. The angel stole a glance at Noelle. She looked… unsure. Did I do something wrong? They felt as if that was the case.

As they made it to the fountain and stood before the enormous pillar of darkness, Blank recognized this was the end of this adventure. They turned to Noelle and thought about what they’d been through. Then, at that very moment, they remembered something important.

“Blank.” They said and Noelle blinked in confusion. They had never told her their name. “That’s… my name. It’s just a p-placeholder until I find a better one though.” Blank felt embarrassed mentioning that until Noelle smiled.

“It’s a cool name.” She replied cheerfully. Somehow, despite believing this to be another lie, hearing this made them feel glad.

Turning to the fountain, they felt a familiar hunger in their SOUL. They absorbed their shield back into their body. Soon enough, their wings regrew and Noelle stared at them with starry eyes.

Blank took a deep breath before their chest receded into nothing to uncover their very SOUL. Noelle blinked at the sight of the familiar heart as it became a torrential vacuum sucking up the darkness supporting this realm like a black hole with a nigh insatiable appetite.

Noelle looked around nervously as the world itself seemed to collapse upon itself. She closed her eyes in fear before a familiar light lit up her eye lids. She opened her eyes to find her room, no fountain in sight and only the familiar angel.

“OW! IT BURNS!” Blank screamed in pain, covering themselves in their wings and reminding Noelle of their nature. The deer girl rushed to her bed, grabbing the blanket before throwing it on top of Blank. “It burns…less.” The angel said in relief.

“I’ll go grab you an umbrella and then some of my clothes. Just hold on a minute!” Noelle exclaimed before rushing out of the room in a panic, closing the light behind her and leaving the angel alone in a blanket and… sand?

Blank inspected the ground to indeed find some sand from the dark world had survived with them. But the moment they pushed it away far enough, it turned to mere nothingness. Did I bring it here?

They gazed around the room, looking for anything else that might’ve followed them. But there was nothing else.

They breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. Wait. It was over? Were they… free? Of the dark worlds? Of the titans? Of being in a cage kicked around by someone else? The thought almost brought them to tears. They did it. Even if it hurt, they could live here.

Happily, they looked out of the window and at their new world. Their new reality.

Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅｉｒ  ｈｅａｒｔ  ｓａｎｋ ｆｒｏｍ  ｗｈａｔ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｓａｗ．

A square. A giant pitch black square floating high above the world. It was as if it was in its own dimension. Instinctively and even through their visions, they knew what this square was.

Tears streamed down their face as they chuckled. Them? Free? How hilarious. It was like calling someone who climbed out of a moderately sized pit a mountain climber.

Ｔｈｉｓ  ｗｏｒｌｄ  ｗａｓ  ｂｕｔ  ａｎｏｔｈｅｒ  ｃａｇｅ  ｔｏ  ｂｅ  ｋｉｃｋｅｄ  ａｒｏｕｎｄ  ｂｙ  ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ  ｍｕｃｈ  ｇｒｅａｔｅｒ．

Ａ  ｐｌａｙｇｒｏｕｎｄ  ｗａｉｔｉｎｇ  ｆｏｒ  ａ  ｐｌａｙｅｒ．

ＴＨＥＲＥ  ＩＳ  ＮＯ  ＥＳＣＡＰＥ．

“S-sorry! I couldn’t find the umbrella for a second.” Noelle exclaimed as she dashed back into the room with a golden colored umbrella. “A-are you crying? Is there something wrong? Was it the window?”

Blank shook their head. Does she know? Does she know how pointless her existence is? How powerless she and they truly are? “D- do you see that big square in the sky?” They asked in a shaky tone. Noelle’s eyes burst open in a panic before she looked outside.

“I don’t see anything.” She replied, quickly calming down. Blank flinched. She didn’t know. She couldn’t see it. Should they tell her? Would she be devastated? Hurt? Broken?

The answer they arrived to was no. No, they shouldn’t. Letting her dreams live on a little longer was not so bad. “I- It was just a joke.” They remarked and Noelle chuckled.

“Don’t scare me like that.”

Chapter Text

Undyne frowned as she stood in front of the Holiday mansion’s massive gate. She was meant to handle a small heart shaped monster, find their nearest family or help them settle somewhere.

So why was there a weird kid in front of her instead of a heart? They looked like Asgore’s kid, human, if they were on a crappy colorless TV. Pitch black skin with white hair and… wings. The wings that clearly defined this kid as not human. They had four: two covering their eyes, which made Undyne wonder how the kid could see, and two protruding from their heels.

They were wearing an ugly Christmas sweater and pants combo while holding a black umbrella.

“Uhm, who is that?” She asked the mayor’s kid, Noelle, with a glare as she pointed at the clearly not heart shaped monster.

Noelle and the new kid both started sweating. “Uh, they became like this after eating. Turns out they were just hungry.” Noelle explained like a well practiced alibi. Undyne’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, causing the two to sweat further. “I also gave them a black umbrella since mine was…brighter.”

Undyne shrugged. “So, what’s your name?” She asked crossing her arms.

“B- Blank.” The weird kid responded nervously and one of Undyne’s eyes twitched. It felt like she was being pranked. She did hear of monsters that can change shape, however. “Address or name of one of your parents?”

Blank froze almost as if someone dropped an ice bucket on their head. It was visible enough for even Undyne to recognize the impending disaster. The kid immediately lowered themselves into a fetal position, hiding beneath their umbrella still as a statue.

It happened so fast that both Noelle and Undyne were taken aback. The two shared a glance before the police officer tapped on the umbrella, prompting it to start trembling. “Hey. If you come out from under there, I promise to kick your parents’ asses.” Undyne declared, earning an odd look from Noelle. “What? How else am I supposed to comfort them?”

Just as she said that, Blank took a peek from their hiding spot. Prompting the officer to take the chance. “Do you, uhm, have any… friends you can stay with?” The police officer asked awkwardly.

Blank pointed at Noelle and Undyne’s shoulders dropped. “Okay, we definitely can’t do that. Even I know the mayor won’t agree.” She groaned with a frown. “This is the first time I’ve had to deal with something like this…follow me. We can ask around. Maybe see if someone is willing to take care of you until we find you a more permanent home.”

The umbrella’s quivering stopped as Blank paused, taking in her words before slowly getting back on their feet and nodding even slower. Undyne walked away from the Holiday home and towards the middle of town with Blank in tow.

Who, in this calm and quiet place, would willing to take care of a kid?

An answer appeared in front of her eyed before she could even consider it. A familiar turtle wearing a robe with the deltarune symbol. “Father Alvin!” She exclaimed with a grin before she lifted up Blank by the scruff of the neck. “You have father as your title, you should totally take this kid I found in the woods.”

“P-please put me down.” Blank croaked out and Undyne blinked. “The light hurts.” The officer froze before quickly placing them back on the ground.

“Oh yeah. They’re also allergic to possibly all forms of visible light.” Undyne added nonchalantly.

Father Alvin stared at Undyne silently for a few seconds before his mouth opened. “Uhm… pardon?” He asked. “Officer Undyne, I doubt I have what it takes to care for a child. My lifestyle is devoted to the church; I wouldn’t be able to give them the happiness they deserve. I am truly sorry.”

Undyne groaned. “Alright, kid. Let’s go find someone else.” She gestured for Blank to follow and they began heading somewhere else. “Who would-” she muttered before noticing something odd. Blank was looking at the sky. Wouldn’t that hurt? she wondered before shrugging.

It wasn’t her job. Her job was to find a home for the damn kid. And she will do it so damn well, they’ll find 20 houses… however that’d work!

She found nothing.

Not a single soul in Hometown wants this random kid who gets hurt by light. It did make sense: no one wanted to be responsible for a kid that could die from a flashlight. But- BUT “DAMN IT!” Undyne yelled before turning to the kid, expecting them to be devastated only to find them staring at the evening sky with a distant expression still under their umbrella. At least she thought they were staring at it; it’s hard to tell with wings over their eyes. “Uhh, why do you keep staring at the sky like that? Aren’t you upset?”

Blank shook their head, keeping their umbrella up as they and Undyne sat on the sidewalk. “It’s fine. I can manage alone.” They said dejectedly. “Besides, it’s not like anything matters anymore.”

“Hey, don’t give up like that!” Undyne snapped, grabbing their shoulder to no response. “W-we can figure something out. Just don’t give up.”

“There’s no point-”

“THERE IS A POINT AND I WILL PROVE IT JUST GIVE ME A SECOND!” Undyne yelled in frustration, but she had nothing. She didn’t know where to put the kid or even where they’ll sleep tonight.

The first time something serious actually happens in town and she couldn’t do anything about it. She felt awful.

The old chief was better at this than I am. Not so much now.

Asgore wasn’t…the same as he used to be and he even wasn’t in the police anymore. But she couldn’t help but wonder what he would’ve done in this situation. “Heh, he’d probably just take the kid to his ho-” She muttered before the idea struck her.

She could just take them in herself.

But she didn’t know a single thing about taking care of a brat. Heck, she could barely cook for herself without burning down her house! “I’ll just go now. I’ll find something.” Blank suddenly remarked as they stood up. “Thanks for trying and… not being scary the whole time.”

Blank began walking away and as she watched their back get further and further away, Undyne felt a conflict in her soul. She really didn’t think she could take care of someone, but- “UGH, FINE!” She screamed before dashing towards the brat and grabbing them by the skull. “STOP RIGHT THERE, BRAT! YOU’RE COMING WITH ME!”

Blank froze. “What?” They asked, utterly bewildered before Undyne brought them right to her face.

“IF NO ONE’S GONNA TAKE YOU IN, I’M GONNA DO IT MYSELF!” She screamed with a toothy grin before letting out a maniacal laugh.

To say Blank was scared would be an understatement. The crazy fish monster dashed through streets, her laugh echoing through Hometown like a witch’s cackle. It was enough to spark a horror folk tale amongst the young teens of the town.

The two made it to Undyne’s home so fast Blank couldn’t even see the outside of the building from the sheer speed at which they arrived and entered.

“Alright, kid. Here it is.” Undyne declared with a grin. “Your new temporary home.” Blank stared at the interior and was shocked to find it quite normal. They’d been expecting hellfire or sharks, but it was a normal house with the kitchen being part of the living room. Blank also noted that Undyne did not flip the light switch, something they were thankful for. “Now go on! Explore!”

Blank had no choice, but to do so considering he’d been essentially kidnapped. They looked around, checking the couch, opening and closing sink and eventually reaching the fridge.

Opening it, Blank was assaulted by a cold breeze before their eyes feasted upon the scenery of shelves full of limes, wrapped fast meals, some veggies and butter. Their gaze landed upon the last item, butter.

It was one of the first things they thought about after their transformation into what Noelle called an angel. They only knew it was butter because of the writing on the wrapping and thus, they were naturally curious about this item.

They grabbed the whole sandwich sized stick from the fridge and shut the door. “Are you interested in the butter? I’ll have you know…that’s the best brand they got at the grocery store.” Undyne declared with a smug grin. “They only have one brand of butter, but still.”

Blank tilted their head, not understanding words like “brand” or “grocery”. Regardless, the butter sounded good enough. They opened their mouth and took a large bite out of the butter stick.

Blank froze as the butter slid into their mouth. “Wait! You’re not supposed to do that! Spit it o-” Undyne exclaimed before Blank took another large bite. The officer’s jaw fell as she watched the brat she decided to take in eat through a whole large stick of butter in less than a minute including the plastic wrapping.

Undyne was shocked by how the brat was smiling with their butter covered mouth and cheeks. She almost felt bad when Blank realized the butter was gone and their shoulders dropped dejectedly.

“I’ll…get you more later.” Undyne remarked with a weak smile as she avoided eye contact, not that eye contact with Blank was possible in the first place with the wings in the way. “Now we have to decide where you’ll sleep. I’ve only got one bed for now so you take it and I’ll sleep on the couch until I buy a mattress we can make into a bed or something.”

Blank, who had no need for sleep, nodded without knowing what a bed even was. They were simply glad to have this delicious snack.

Meanwhile, Undyne was already exhausted and overwhelmed by all the things she’ll have to do as their guardian, including school and a steady supply of butter.

Chapter Text

“Alright, brat!” Undyne, wearing a blank tank top, exclaimed stomping the floor with a grin. “What do you do when a bully approaches you?”

Blank hummed as they pondered the question. They were wearing soft-blue overalls with a white turtleneck sweater and black shoes, clothes Undyne gave to them. “I hide and go dead silent.” They replied in a genuine tone. They knew what a bully was. Their visions showed a few examples.

It reminded them of the titan.

Undyne’s eye twitched as she kept up her strained grin by pure force. “Any plan B?” She asked, lightly nudging the little angel with her elbow.

Blank looked down at the ground. They thought about the titan and what they would do should they be found while hiding from it. The mere idea made their body tense up. “Run away and hide again!” They exclaimed without thinking.

Undyne paused, blinking at the brat before her. “Great answer!” She exclaimed cheerfully with a giant grin before grabbing Blank by the skull. “IF YOU WANNA GET YOUR ASS BEAT!” She suddenly snapped in their face before punching the wall with enough force to break through it like a twig. “THIS is what you do to a bully! HAHAHAHAHA-”

Blank let out a loud whimper that made Undyne freeze. Her mind only then caught up with what she was implying. “Don’t…actually punch a hole in anyone.” She added awkwardly as she began sweating. “That’s, like, really bad. Just punch them hard enough to knock out a tooth or something.”

“But I don’t wanna fight.” They remarked with a visible wince. The idea of fighting hadn’t even crossed their mind. It felt as if it came down to it, fighting would make things worse and they didn’t want a repeat of that.

“Kid, brats your age are ruthless.” Undyne remarked with a grim expressions. “You gotta be ready to fight back. Because today is your first day at school.”

Blank nodded. Somehow, despite never taking a single step inside it in their life, they already hated school. “Why do I have to go to school?” They asked in a tired tone as Undyne put on her police outfit and grabbed Blank’s umbrella.

Undyne grumbled, thinking of how she could explain this before an idea popped into her head. “So you can get a job which gets you money that you can use to buy butter.” She said with a grin as Blank already began drooling… dark stuff. “Stop drooling or no snacks. The carpet is still drying from yesterday.” She said, covering their mouth with her hand.

Undyne frowned as she remembered the incident. How did one brat’s drool drench an entire carpet in water? It was salt water too, not sticky drool. It was as if a part of the ocean just teleported into her house. She swore to never let that dark stuff slip on her floor ever again.

Undyne handed Blank the umbrella and headed outside with the brat in tow. “Ready, brat?” Blank shook their head and Undyne smiled. “Too bad, you’re still going.”

To say Blank was nervous would be understatement. They were terrified. Standing in front of this unknown building of strangers filled them with FEAR before they felt a tap on their shoulder. The little angel leaped in fear like a cat taken off guard as they turned around to find… Noelle.

“Oh, Noelle!” They said, their mood immediately improving at the sight of a familiar face.

“Hi, Blank.” The deer girl greeted them with a smile. “I was waiting for you to get here so I can show you around. I doubt angels go to a regular school like this…do angels even go to school?” Blank shrugged. They only knew about the concept of school for a couple days.

“I’m scared.” Blank muttered dejectedly with a frown. “What if I meet a bully? Undyne said I need to fight, but…” It’s daunting.

“Hey, everyone here is super nice. You’ll do great!” Noelle exclaimed cheerfully before grabbing Blank’s hand. “C’mon, before we’re late!” She exclaimed before softly pulling them by the hand as she headed inside.

Having someone by their side made this stressful experience just a little more comfortable.

Blank scanned the school as Noelle guided them. They saw lockers, note boards and a sink. “Why’s there a sink in the hallways?” They asked tilting their head. Undyne’s house only had them in the kitchen and the bathroom.

Noelle’s ears perked up. “The bubbler?” She asked with a playful chuckle that made the angel pout silently. “That’s for drinking, silly.”

Blank nodded before Noelle dragged them directly to the classroom where they immediately froze. All eyes were on them and three in particular showed hostility.

A blue bird monster, a goth cat monster and a human glared at them. Three people immediately hated them, making them think Undyne might have been correct about school.

“E-ehm.” A yellow dinosaur with glasses that looked perpetually hunched cleared her throat. The teacher Undyne talked about, Blank assumed. “Class, welcome our new student: Blank. They recently moved in from…I don’t actually know. But they’re allergic to…light.” The teacher went silent as if only now understanding what she’d said. “How are you still alive?” Blank froze, not knowing how to answer. There was no way they could talk about the dark world.

The thought of so many dark fountains made them nauseous. Even if nothing truly mattered, they didn’t want it to be worse. They turned to Noelle with quivering lips, hoping she had an answer.

Noelle froze as she was put on the spot, her brain going. into overdrive. She began sweating nervously as her mind scrambled for a coherent answer until she remembered something: the dark fountain. “Uhh, t- they use a special medicine.” She blurted out, turning to the equally nervous Blank with a hopeful gaze.

“O-okay.” The teacher said in a slightly disappointed tone, clearly hoping for more information. “T-tell us about yourself.”

They beamed. Finally, something they could answer properly. “I like butter, Noelle’s my friend and I live with Officer Undyne.” They answered calmly, they rehearsed this answer plenty of times with Undyne and felt confident in their act.

“W-well, you c-can sit down now.” The teacher said and Noelle pulled them to their seat. Blank let it happen as they felt the glares from before get sharper. They sat down diagonally from Noelle, keeping their umbrella up.

Their other classmates greeted them as they sat down. They particularly liked the ones calling themselves Monster Kid and Temmie.

Then, their mind drifted back to the three still glaring classmates. What was so important that they’d hate them so much? Was there even a reason? Blank decided to ask Noelle later only to remember her reaction to their last question and change their mind.

I don’t want her to laugh at me again.

The class ended with the sound of the bell. The rest of the students left aside from Blank, Noelle and the blue bird monster.

Blank stood up before walking to Noelle, not wanting to go alone. But just as they took one step forwards, a familiar bird stood in their way. “Stop right there, normie scum!” He said with a smug smirk as he adjusted his glasses. “Noelle and I refuse to associate with beings of lesser intelligence.”

Huh??? Blank was supremely taken aback. Was there a separation by intelligence rule that they knew nothing about? They turned to Noelle who tensed up nervously, unable to answer. There is one, huh.

They lowered their umbrella down, hiding their face in shame. It’s not like it matters. It was nice while it lasted. As they began to miserably back away from the deer girl.

Noelle’s eyes widened. “W-wait! You think Berdly’s serious?” She asked in shock and Blank tilted their head in confusion.

“He isn’t?” “I’m not?” Blank and Berdly asked in unison. What? But you’re-

“I mean, I am serious.” Berdly insisted with a smirk. “I’m the only feathery partner for Noelle. The number one and number two. You’re just a newcomer with plebian intelligence vying for a nonexistent number 3.” He added before laughing with the smuggest of smirks.

“A-actually, Berdly, they’re a good friend of mine.” Noelle interjected nervously, but her voice was drowned by the laughs of Berdly. The deer girl turned to Blank and whispered in their ear in a desperate voice. “I swear I don’t agree with anything he’s saying. Please believe me.”

Blank decided to believe her. Berdly felt like a lot. “Maybe we can leave while he isn’t looking?” Blank suggested with a shrug. Noelle paused, thinking the proposal over before nodding. They turned to Berdly, finding him monologuing and two took this chance to advance towards the classroom door.

But just two steps in, they heard a gasp. “Noelle, how could you? You two are… leaving without me? I’m hurt.” He said with a dramatic tear falling down his cheek.

“Berdly, you’re both my friends.” Noelle remarked with a forced smile. “Why can’t you two be friends too?”

Berdly scoffed. “I refuse to befriend someone I don’t acknowledge.” He remarked, glaring at Blank. The angel shrunk as the bird monster continued. “So, very well. Blank, if that is your real name, I shall test your abilities myself. To gain my acknowledgment you must prove your smarts or show me you’re a TRUE gamer.”

For some odd reason, the last word resonated with Blank’s visions. “I don’t know about smarts, but I like the sound of games.” They replied immediately. It sounded highly appealing.

“It appears we are on the same wave length!” Berdly exclaimed with a smirk as he pushed his glasses to his forehead with one finger. “Super smashing fighters, now. I’ll go prepare the victory ambrosia that I’ll revel in shortly.” Berdly laughed loudly, already imagining his glorious victory. “We battle at Noelle’s.”

With his final declaration said, Berdly left the classroom with a smirk. Blank themselves were also smiling. The though of playing a game excited them and they didn’t know why, defeating Berdly was a plus. They turned to Noelle who looked… worried. “Why do you look like that? Did I do something bad?”

“No, but…” Noelle remarked with a sigh. She could only imagine what Berdly would do after winning against Blank. “Blank, no offense, but Berdly has touched a video game before. You haven’t. You’ll be thrashed. We gotta deal with him somehow. Maybe if I just… tell him really hard?”

Somehow, Blank did not feel worried in the slightest.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

At Noelle’s place, Berdly and Blank sat on the floor of the deer girl’s room with controllers in their hands as Noelle sitting beside Blank, holding up their umbrella over them with a worried expression.

“May the better gamer win.” Berdly declared smugly. “ME, of course!” He added before starting the game. “I’ll give you the first hit, as a freebie.”

Blank nodded. “Okay.” They said as they began moving their character. The controller felt natural in their hands, like a reunion with an old friend. They rushed their character towards Berdly’s before landing their first hit.

And seeing the enemy stunned for a split second, they landed the second and third and so on. Before Berdly even knew it, his character was stuck in an inescapable combo leaving him unable to do anything but watch as Blank slammed his character off the stage.

Berdly and Noelle’s eyes widened in shock as their jaws fell. What they did not know was Blank’s visions fueling them with thousands upon thousands of hours of muscle memory for games they’ve never played.

Not only that, the angel was also a creature that can fight and fly at high speeds without trouble. Their perception and reaction times were far more advanced than Berdly or Noelle could ever imagine.

Berdly thought he challenged a worm, and only at that moment did he realize he had been looking at the mere tip of the beast’s tail.

“This is fun!” Blank exclaimed cheerfully as Berdly and Noelle looked them as if looking at a horrifying beast.

“I- I admit, you have skill.” Berdly said with a smile as a bead of sweat fell down his forehead. “I will fight for real this time.”

“Oh, that’s good. I just got a good handle on the controls so I think I can do better.” They said innocently as they remembered Undyne's words about punching and Berdly couldn’t help but start sweating intensely.

Chapter Text

“How are you so good at this?” Noelle asked incredulously as a controller slipped out of her hands. So many games against the dark angel and zero won. “I didn’t even land a hit that time.”

“I don’t know. It just feels right.” Blank replied with a shrug as they smiled. They’ve never had so much fun before, it was exhilarating. Perhaps as much as flying. “Can we do this more, please?”

Noelle eyed the angel’s genuinely happy face and knew her mind was already set. “Sure.” She replied with a smile before Blank beamed.

“Every day?” The angel asked Noelle’s heart sank to her stomach. The mere thought of being so utterly demolished in video games every day sounded equal parts horrifying and exhausting.

“M- maybe we- I, uhm,” She didn’t know what to say and dared not let the word ‘no’ even cross her mind. “I don’t think Berdly would be fine after hearing that.” She could only hope Berdly’s pride was crushed enough for him to refuse in her place.

“I am fine!” The bluebird monster in question exclaimed with a grin as nervous sweat dripped from his forehead. “I was simply… out of my element! Indeed, I am best at platformers.”

“Cool!” Blank exclaimed immediately, making Noelle wonder how they know about the genre. “Maybe we can race to the finish and compare times.”

Berdly’s body stiffened like a statue. “D-did I say platformers?” He said with bulging eyes, sweating bullets. “I meant RPGs! I’m an RPG gamer! Stat points and crafting perfect minmaxed builds, the truly smart gaming.”

“That’s not… what we were talking about.” Noelle muttered quietly, half hoping she wasn’t heard.

“Yes. Yes. I know what we all really want.” Berdly declared confidently. Hope rose in Noelle’s heart right as the bluebird continued. “We want to trade gamer tips and tricks. Mine are usually trade secret, but just this once I’ll let you suckle upon my teat of wisdom.”

Noelle’s eyes bulged and twitched. “Berdly, please-” she said with a smile devoid of any joy. “please never say that again.”

“At least he doesn’t hate me anymore.” Blank interjected as they started up a one player match. “I wonder if this’ll be possible with the other two.”

Noelle tilted her head, ignoring Berdly’s ramblings. “Other two?” She asked in confusion. She had noticed Berdly former dislike for Blank, it was hard not to, but she hadn’t seen another two.

“The ones who glared at me with Berdly.” Blank explained as they played a round of super smashin’ fighters. “The cat girl and the human.”

Catti and Kris. Noelle immediately realized who Blank was talking about. Catti was understandable. “Catti is… well, she just looks like that. All the time. Yknow, I never actually thought about how constantly angry she looks until now.” But there was Kris. Noelle had no clue as to why they’d hate a new classmate. Are they jealous? She almost gagged at the thought. It was impossible and even if it was, Berdly wouldn’t have been safe had it been the case. “Kris on the other hand…they’re not bad, just… weird. They also like pranks, so you might be the victim of one soon.”

Blank pouted. “Any way to make them unhate me?” They asked, winning against the CPU while barely looking. They could always hide, but that didn’t mean they wanted it to happen.

Noelle paused with a hesitant expression. She was not the best at pacifying others and she knew it. There was no advice she could give. “Just…try being super nice?” She said with a shrug.

Blank did not feel reassured. They decided they needed an expert’s opinion.

“Hey, Undyne.” Blank called as they headed towards the main couch, their body wrapped in a giant towel as if a robe and their hair and feathers dripping with water. It was night time, the perfect time to ask odd questions.

“Yes, brat?” Undyne replied absentmindedly as she laid comfortably on the couch.

“How do I get a classmate to unhate me?” Blank asked bluntly, causing Undyne’s eyes to widen.

“Huh? You got an enemy on day one?” She asked in disbelief. She eyed Blank strangely, wondering what could’ve happened as she kept Blank’s strangeness in mind. “What did you do?”

“Walked into class.” The angel replied as their shoulder dropped with shame.

Undyne went silent, leaving the living room in awkward silence until she cleared her throat. “I, uhm, wasn’t scolding you. You don’t, uhh, need to feel bad and uhh-” she said, pausing occasionally to try and find the right words until she couldn’t. “Well, if you ask me, I say KICK THEIR ASS AND ASSERT DOMINANCE!”

Blank went silent as they took in the advice. It was… the same advice they got earlier today. “That… seems like your solution to everything.” They remarked in disappointment as Undyne got off the couch.

“Hey, when everything is a nail and you have a hammer and…how does that saying go again?” She asked as she got off the couch and headed for the bathroom. “Whatever, I know what works for me. If you don’t want my advice, do what you’re good at.”

“Hiding?” Blank asked sheepishly, earning an unamused look from their caretaker.

“We’ll have to change that.” She deadpanned as she stepped into the bathroom only freeze in place. “BLANK! WHY IS THE BATHROOM COVERED IN WEIRD ALGAE?!”

Blank tilted their head. They didn’t know what algae was, but the bathroom was covered in something. “Do you mean the green stuff?” They asked, trying to confirm.

“YES, I MEAN THE GREEN STUFF!” Undyne yelled in frustration with a twitching eye.

Blank shrugged. “I don’t know. It just appeared.” The police officer heard a lot of dumb things in her life, especially on the job, but this was something new.

“What do you mean ‘it just appeared’?!” She asked, her voice getting quieter. “Explain the process! That’s an order!”

“Well, I was taking a shower and the green stuff just started appearing all over the place.” Blank explained calmly as they caressed their authentic towel robes. That had been what happened, but Blank really didn’t know why it happened. They pondered the problem and recalled a certain detail. “A lot more appeared next to me than away. Maybe there was something in the soapy water splashing around.”

Undyne was speechless. She had nothing she could even say at that point. It felt as if all the words evaporated off her tongue in front of the insanity in front of her. But she did know one thing, she did not want to clean this up; especially if it was going to become a common occurrence. “Well, it smells good, like my lime soap for some reason, and cleaning it up sounds straight up boring. You okay showering with them around?” She asked, sweat falling down her forehead.

Blank nodded before heading to bed, their mind focused on their imminent confrontation with Kris. They pondered their three options.

To fight, to be kind or to flee.

The next day, Blank headed for school under the shade of their umbrella and the surrounding trees. Undyne was not with them that day and thus they chose to walk on the grass under the trees. A path few eye and fewer walk.

They silently hoped to see Noelle waiting for them again, but just as the school entered their view they saw not Noelle, but an arm blocking their path. Blank froze, recognizing the sleeve colors.

It was Kris.

Blank’s body went tense. This was it, the moment they were preparing for yesterday and their mind had already been made.

They crouched, ready to slip from underneath the human’s arm before running away. But just they were about to move forwards, Kris pointed something at their face, something that made Blank’s SOUL tremble with FEAR. “Uhm, w-what are you doing with that flash…light”

Kris did not answer. They simply held their position silently as their red eyes remained firmly locked onto the dark angel.

Blank tried to escape once again, but the slightest movement made Kris’ finger twitch above the flashlight switch.

Blank began to tremble and quiver. They were cornered, there was no escape and there was no hiding; the mere realization filled them with FEAR. “K-Kris?”

The human remained silent. They did not talk, they did not act and they did not attack. They simply watched vigilantly, as if waiting for the angel’s reaction.

Blank did not why Kris was doing this, but they realized they had to do something.

Like an angel and devil on their shoulders, they heard Noelle and Undyne’s voices: each yelling the advice each told them. To fight or to be kind. And in front of this difficult choice, they panicked.

They stretched their hand upwards and towards Kris before smacking Kris’ head with… minimal strength and before Kris could process what happened, Blank repeated the gesture over and over.

The two both stood frozen in confusion and shock at what just happened. In their panic, Blank combined both being nice and asserting dominance into…awkward petting!

“S-sorry?” Blank apologized, retracting their hand in fear before Kris grabbed the angel’s wrist with a frown. This was it. They were going to die here. Their body couldn’t stop shaking. “P-please don’t kill me.” They pleaded as Kris moved Blank’s hand…

…to their head.

“Huh?” Blank could only watch in confusion as Kris used their hand to pat their head. “Y-you want me to… pet you again?”

“Yes!” the human exclaimed enthusiastically with a vigorous nod. Between the flashlight and the petting, Blank chose the latter.

It was super effective!

“Weren’t you trying to kill me just a second ago?” Blank asked in equal parts fear and confusion as they pet Kris’ head.

Kris shook their head. “Noelle.” They said in a quiet mumbly voice. “Are you going to hurt her?”

“Why would I do that? Noelle’s my friend.” Blank asked in genuine confusion. Where did Kris get the impression they’d do that? “Do I look threatening?”

Kris snorted. “More like cute.” They said, causing to Blank to blush white. Being called cute felt nice. But that didn’t answer the question. Before Blank could ask Kris about it, the human already started walking away with a satisfied smile.

Blank could now see why Noelle called Kris weird. It might have been enjoyable were they not essential being held at gunpoint.

Alas, with the interaction over, Blank turned to the school where they saw Noelle and Berdly waiting for them at the entrance.

“Welcome, Blank. It seems I’ve been invited to play you and Noelle’s favorite game.” The bluebird remarked and Blank tilted their head in confusion. They only learned about games yesterday. “You’ve been playing the game without me, truly a tragedy, but I trust Noelle has been keeping my controller warm. I hope you are ready to be dethroned because at the end of today, I shall be the king of Dark World.”

Blank turned to Noelle, who could only nervously avoid eye contact, with horror on their face. “I should’ve just let Kris kill me.”

Chapter Text

At the end of the school day, Noelle, Berdly and Blank sat in their empty classroom silently. Each one of them held a different kind of expression. Blank, a look of contempt; Noelle, a nervous and meek smile; and Berdly, smugness unseen before by monster kind.

“You’re dragging me back to the dark world.” Blank stated in a cold tone. It was not a question, but a statement. Noelle shrunk down more into her desk.

“Y-yes.” She stuttered, prompting the dark angel to sigh. Blank turned to Berdly and their frown deepened. Berdly, seeing said frown, somehow became even more smug.

“And you told Berdly.” The angel continued, causing Noelle to shrink further into her desk and Berdly just a little more smug.

“I-it would be dangerous with just the t-two of us,” she remarked, avoiding eye contact. “so i thought… we needed a third. Kinda like dragon blazers…oh, right, you don’t know dragon bla-”

“I hate you.” Blank cut her off bluntly. Noelle was not taken aback by this response, she almost expected it.

“That’s…understandable.” Noelle replied dejectedly, her nervous smile falling apart. “But I need you for this and, if you help, you can play video games at my place whenever you want. I’ll even prepare some butter snacks.”

Blank went silent, digesting what they’d just been told. The choice was difficult, them being upset at just being told this was not helping. To distance themselves, leaving Noelle to doom both herself and Berdly or go with her and face the horrors of the dark world.

Either way, FEAR remained.

But snacks and video games tipped the scales enough. “…fine.” They grumbled before Berdly chuckled.

“Seems like this is serious.” He said with a smile. “Very well, book me a trip to the hospital in advance. My back will hurt after I hard carry us to victory.” He added with a smug chuckle.

Blank stared at Berdly silently for a few long seconds, taking in the sight before turning to Noelle. “He’s gonna die first, isn’t he?”

“D-don’t say that!” The deer girl exclaimed in a half panicked, half scolding tone before sighing. She wondered if this was really the right choice even as they started heading back to her home.

Inside the festive desert, three adventurers admired the scenery. Three adventurers whose story had only just begun.

The first, a blonde deer girl wearing white robes radiating a blue aura of frost.

The second, a bluebird boy in glow in the dark armor and a battle scouter.

The third, an angel of darkness wearing a white bodysuit with a beautiful blue capelet and matching blue boots and gloves.

“So you’re telling me that in this world, regular items come to life and we can fight or spare them just like dragon blazers?” Berdly asked, his jaw threatening to kiss the sand under his feet. “Do you know what this means?”

“That it’s dangerous and will kill us all?” Asked Blank with a deep frown.

“That it’s my one hope for finding my lost sister?” Asked Noelle with a hopeful expression.

“We can build a smartopia!” Exclaimed Berdly with an enormous grin before going silent and turning to Noelle with widened eyes. “You have a sister?” He asked calmly, recalling a certain room in Noelle’s home he was forbidden from entering.

“Right, it just… never came up.” Noelle replied dejectedly, her hand awkwardly caressing her other arm.

“Hmm. I understand the situation. A princess trapped in another castle takes precedence.” He said with all the flair his glow in the dark armor could earn him. “Only after can we create our smartopia! A place where we’d be able to achieve all our dreams, no longer held back by the protozoans of our old world! Just imagine it, world peace, time travel, a nipple transplant machine! We will spread it into the world one fountain at a time!”

Blank froze, a trickle of information from their vision made their heart skip. A tiny warning. “DON’T DO THAT! Do you wanna make a titan?! Cause that is how you get a titan!” They snapped angrily, their body starting to quiver at the memory of their creator. They didn’t even realize Berdly didn’t know how to open a fountain in the first place But before anyone could ask any questions, Blank continued. “No, if we’re doing this we need to set some rules. No one makes a dark world unless we’re all there and agree to open it AND no making fountains inside dark worlds. If you can’t accept this, I’m out!”

Blank glared at Berdly, waiting for him to say something stupid… yet he never did. Blank looked in his eyes to find an odd emotion within. “O-of course! Uhm…that is what a team does. I can’t hard carry all the time.” He said with an awkward smile, not even arguing. “Now, I need to check my equipment. I must’ve arrived here with a weapon befitting my status.”

Before Blank could even wonder about Berdly’s status, Noelle chirped in. “Actually, neither of us got here with any weapons. I got here with this ring.” She remarked softly, holding her hand up to show the snow ring. “So, don’t be disappointed-”

*NYOOOM*

“Aha! My holy armament of glowing intelligence!” Berdly remarked, holding a glowing green halberd with a happy smile on his face. “I shall name you Halbird!”

Blank stared at Berdly kissing his weapon enviously, despite the lackluster name. “I want a cool weapon too. Why do I have to lose my wings for a weapon?” They pouted dejectedly, their shoulders dropping. Noelle placed her hand Blank’s shoulder, ready to console them before a booming voice echoed through the area.

“HO HO HO! Did someone say GIFTS?” Krismas exclaimed, dashing into the scene on his giant festive sled with cheerful smile that quickly faltered when he noticed Blank hiding behind Noelle. Noelle gave her festive cactus an apologetic smile.

Silence filled the area as Krismas turned around to leave. But just as his sled began floating upwards, Berdly gasped. “Tsun-tsun, is that you?” The cactus Santa’s gaze snapped 180 degrees to land directly onto Berdly. “Why are you an old man? You’re meant to be a gamer girl, preferably of the anime variety.”

Berdly did not notice that, as he spoke, Krismas got closer and closer until the festive cactus’s large, intimidating figure cast its shadow upon the bluebird. “BERDLYYYYYYYY!!!!” Finally, Berdly noticed Krismas…just as the battle was initiated.

“Should we…stop them?” Asked Noelle worriedly before going silent. She waited for Blank to answer as the Berdly and Krismas began to fight, but the angel never answered. “By we, I mean…please you.” She added in desperate tone.

“I’m not getting involved.” Deadpanned Blank as the sound of cactus being cut and pained bird screamed echoed through the air.

“Ugh, I’m fine. Victorious as ever.” Remarked Berdly with a grin, laying on the sand with enough cactus spikes in his body to call him a porcupine.

Krismas groaned beside him, his body riddled with cuts and tears from Berdly’s weapon which left him heavily injured.

The battle had ended with a tie and all Noelle could do was look at the ground with a sigh. “I don’t think we’ll be able to go to another dark world today.” She remarked dejectedly. “I wanted to start looking today.”

“S-sorry.” Krismas apologized as Berdly loudly laughed.

“Worry not, dearest Noelle!” The bluebird exclaimed with a grin. “An injury of this magnitude cannot possibly hold me down!” He added before trying to push himself onto his feet with his hands. “CAAAW!” He screamed in pain.

Noelle winced before rushing to check on the bluebird’s injuries in a panic. Blank sighed as they watched the whole scene unfold. “Noelle, you have a healing spell.” They reminded their friend grumpily.

Noelle’s eyes widened before proceeding to cast Heal Prayer on both Berdly and Krismas. Their injuries healed in real time, causing the deer girl enough relief to fall to her knees.

“We’re gonna die if we keep going like this.” Blank grumbled before anyone else could speak, gathering the attention of everyone. Noelle opened her mouth to retort, but Blank continued. “Berdly’s reckless and annoying, you can barely do anything without help and I’m not any better. We’re just a bunch of losers.”

“Blank…” Noelle muttered dejectedly as she stared at her friend’s somber expression.

“Oh please! I have simply yet to use my true power!” Berdly exclaimed with a grin, getting up from the sand. “Worry not, little Blank, I will carry you-”

“I don’t wanna be carried! I can fly!” Snapped Blank in frustration. Why did this guy want to carry them anyways?! “And we don’t even know where to start looking for Noelle’s sister! We’re hopeless!”

“That is where you’re wrong, he he! Super Lord Berdly here knows where to look!” Berdly exclaimed, earning cringes from everyone around him as he continued. “The land of the smart! The heart of knowledge! The pecs of wisdom. The thighs of civilization. The triceps of-”

“WE GET IT! WHAT IS THE PLACE?!” Blank snapped out of frustration and Berdly let out a hearty chuckle.

“Follow me.”

During the heart of night time and after telling Undyne about a sleepover, Blank stood beside Noelle and Berdly before the building the latter led them to. “What’s a librarby?” They asked, staring at the sign above the door. All their visions had to say was a mysterious laugh. It felt ominous.

“T-that’s a typo.” Berdly admitted with an awkward smile as sweat fell down his forehead. Blank stared at him incredulously before turning to their other teammate.

“I-it’s supposed to be library.” Noelle added hesitantly and Blank’s faith in both their visions and Berdly immediately decreased despite not knowing what a library was either.

Shrugging off the typo reveal, Berdly pulled out a key from their breast pocket and opened the locked library door. Once inside, Berdly locked the door behind them and Noelle turned on the lights after Blank opened their umbrella.

With everyone ready, Berdly spoke. “Now, let’s open that dark fountain!”

“WAIT!” Blank yelled, causing everyone to freeze and turn to them. “Let’s close that door. I don’t want this dark world to be bigger than it needs to be.” They said, pointing at a door leading to a small room at the end of the library with a laptop on the table.

Noelle nodded before thoroughly closing the door to the inner section of the library, eliminating the chance of it becoming a dark world. She returned seconds later with a small kitchen knife in hand.

“Alright then, dearest Noelle.” Berdly spoke as smugly as ever. “OPEN THE FOUNTAIN!”

And without further interruption, Noelle stabbed into the earth, unleashing a fountain in outer layer of the library.

Chapter Text

Blank’s face scrunched up as their vision returned, expecting the light to hurt as usual. But nothing happened, reminding them that this was a dark world and danger was afoot.

The dark angel looked around for friend or for only to find themselves in a land of turquoise bricks and patches of wood brown grass beneath a starry night sky alongside an unconscious Noelle and Berdly.

There was nothing else in sight. Blank rushed towards their teammates. They shook Noelle, waking her up before approaching Berdly. They were tempted to smack him awake, but the possibility of danger made them annoyingly tap his face until he woke up.

“Ugh, maybe Berdly should make the next fountain.” Noelle grumbled as she held her head.

“No.” Blank deadpanned as Berdly jumped on his feet and looked around in awe. The dark angel couldn’t help but frown at his happiness; FEAR was more appropriate than awe.

“This is it, utopia!” Berdly exclaimed with a happy smile before noticing a wizard looking darkner strolling by. “Gasp! A wise elder of this fair land!” He remarked in awe before rushing towards the darkner.

“Should we… follow him?” Noelle asked hesitantly. Blank grabbed her hand and followed Berdly.

“No, no we shouldn’t.” Blank deadpanned. “But at least we’ll have a chance to run away when he inevitably dies first.” Noelle immediately unleashed a poor attempt at scolding Blank that they ignored as they focused on Berdly.

“Wise elder of this dark realm, bestow your wisdom upon me!” Berdly exclaimed excitedly and darkner stared at him silently. The bluebird watched, wondering about the inner machinations of this enigmatic master of old.

“I know 20 different ways to make potato stew.” The darkner replied calmly.

Berdly went silent as a tear fell down his cheek. “Such wisdom.” He whispered in a heartfelt tone before he and the darkner both noticed the looks Blank and Noelle were giving them.

“I am the bibliox of potato recipes.” The bibliox explained cheerfully.

“They’re a potato recipe book.” Berdly elaborated without missing a beat. “Gracious elder, we are on an noble quest to rescue a lost princess-”

“I- I don’t think she would’ve agreed with that” Noelle cut in, only to be ignored by Berdly.

“-from the jaws of darkness.” The bluebird continued dramatically, causing Noelle’s shoulders to drop dejectedly as she frowned. “We lust for your knowledge and guidance! Which direction should we traverse to find a lead to our epic goal?”

The bibliox hummed curiously. “The City of Towers is where most of us biblioxes live, it is the hub of our knowledge.” They replied calmly before their hat pointed in a certain direction. “Head in that direction. May delicious crinkle cut fries be with you.”

Berdly waved to the bibliox, unaffected by the odd words, as he headed in the direction of the city. “How did that… work?” Blank asked in confusion, Noelle nodded in agreement.

“Did you forget who I am? I’m the number one library volunteer.” Berdly boasted with a grin. “I bet I’m a celebrity in the City of Towers.”

Noelle let out a bitter chuckle. “Are we sure you didn’t open the fountain?” She remarked dejectedly, causing Blank to freeze. This dark world was made by Noelle’s wish, not Berdly’s, yet it matched his wishes a little too well.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Blank thought, shaking their head as they followed Berdly to the city of Towers.

The road was neatly laid, yet held a crack or two from repeated use. It felt somewhat cozy for the trio. Yet, they moved onwards: each having a different goal in mind. But all of that came to a halt when an ominous dark figure stood in their path.

The trio stopped in their tracks before the dark figure rushed towards them. Blank immediately pulled out their shield as the dark figure leaped atop it. “YOU!” The menacing dark figure spoke harshly.

“Me?” Blank asked in a panic as the dark figure transformed into the shape of an adorable bunny. They oddly wished to pet it.

“Obviously, they meant yours tru-” Berdly spoke confidently, prompting the dark figure to turn to him.

“Silence, glowing knave!” It said firmly as it transformed into a dark purple robed bibliox. Berdly dramatically shed a tear as the bibliox continued. “I’m speaking to a potential disciple here!” Everyone went silent in confusion before the bibliox continued. I am the bibliox of shadow puppetry! You may call me Darcover the Great! And I sense immense potential in you for my art, shadow puppetry!"

“Oh, it’s like a character exclusive skill.” Berdly remarked in realization. “Blank, you must learn under this wise elder of mighty magic.”

“Uhm, no?” Blank countered with a frown. “I don’t listen to you.” They turned around to leave before hearing Noelle’s voice.

“Actually, Blank, I think Berdly’s right.” the deer girl remarked in a serious tone with a hand on her chin. “A character exclusive power is usually really strong.”

“He’s a crazy old man on the streets!” Blank countered incredulously before Berdly put his hand over their shoulder.

“Yes, but tell me this,” He spoke calmly, gesturing towards Darcover. “have you ever seen a wise old man in a video game or movie that hasn’t been on the streets?”

Blank opened their mouth to retort, but despite not knowing what a movie was or even consulting their visions, they felt that he was correct. They saw no fault in Berdly’s logic.

“Listen to the leader of your team.” Darcover remarked before Blank could answer, sparking a light in Berdly’s eyes and horror in Noelle and Blank’s.

Before Berdly could even utter a word, Noelle cut in. “We’re friends, we don’t need a leader just to be a team.” She said with a forced smile, watching the glow in Berdly’s eyes vanish in real time. Relief washed over her, the thought of Berdly becoming team leader was far more horrifying than any kind of social anxiety.

In fact, to her, it felt as if it would be a disaster if any of them became leader. Blank would just have them leave and never come back, Berdly is Berdly and her…that was not happening.

“Oh, then what’s your team name?” Darcover suddenly asked, causing the trio to freeze. All of them knew what was about to happen, a war with everything on the line.

Choosing a name for their team.

“I propose Smart Gamer Friends.” Berdly suggests with a grin, earning disappointed looks from his team. “It encapsulates all that we are perfectly.”

“Maybe it should be wing related. We all have wings, even if Noelle’s are…in a closet.” Blank added with a shrug, sounding unsure. “Like, maybe, Team Dark Wings?”

“Preposterous!” Berdly exclaimed with a frown. “This is not an accurate representation of any of our wings! I’m blue, not dark.”

“How about Dragon Blazers?” Noelle suddenly suggested and all eyes fell on her. She tensed up for a second, gulping before continuing. “Dark world fights follow the same rules as Dragon Blazers. And we all enjoy the game-”

“I still haven’t played that game.” Blank chirped in. And Noelle blinked.

“Then I’ll lend you my copy after this is over, you’ll love it.” She said with a smile. “And if you don’t, we can always change the team name.”

Blank went silent. It was a great proposition and a cool name. He turned to Berdly, expecting him to agree to some extent or even reject it only to find him with a scrunched up expression. As if he had eaten a whole lemon, whatever a lemon was.

“Peak naming aside, we might get into copyright issues if we ever meet a dragon blazers cartridge darkner.” He explained with a frown, his expression darkening. “I’d prefer to avoid fantasy legal disputes.”

Blank stared at Berdly in shock. This was the smartest thing he said all day. Their visions gave them enough information to know that they did not want copyright trouble. “He’s right.” They remarked dejectedly.

“Hmm, I think we can make a darkner lawyer team.” Noelle suggested nonchalantly with a hand on her chin. “My mom has a lot of legal papers. I think we can win the case that way.”

Blank and Berdly stared at her silently for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. And thus, the name Dragon Blazers was- “How about Shadow Blazers?” Darcover suddenly chirped in, earning everyone’s attention. “It adds your friend who hasn’t played that dragon blazers game thing and you won’t have to ruin a poor darkner’s life.”

“That’s actually a really cool name.” Noelle remarked with a smile.

“I agree.” Blank added with a smile.

“It’s not as good as Smart Gamer Friends, but I suppose the world isn’t ready for such greatness.” Berdly added with a scoff as he looked away, hiding a smile from sight. “Shadow Blazers will do.”

Darcover let out a sigh of relief knowing that he saved a darkner’s life before turning to Blank. “Now, step forwards. I shall impart my knowledge!”

Noelle and Berdly turned to Blank, urging them forward with their expressions. Sighing, Blank stepped forwards before promptly being zapped by Darcover.

They almost got ready to fight before noticing unfamiliar information in their mind. It was not too dissimilar to their visions. It was the instructions for the technique. “Neat, huh? All biblioxes have the ability to impart knowledge this way.” Darcover remarked cheerfully. “Now, onto the lesson. Shadow Puppetry is the weapon of the pacifist. By transforming yourself into other forms, you can induce various effects.”

“What?!” Berdly exclaimed in shock. “Pacifism? I thought it’d be a cool gamer move. This is a scam!”

Darcover went silent as he turned to Berdly before transforming into a disappointed shadow bird ten times his size that looked oddly like Berdly. The bluebird immediately went pale as a sense of fear overtook him. Without even knowing why, Berdly ran away. “T-tactical retreat!”

“This is the power of Shadow Puppetry!” Darcover remarked as he transformed back into a purple wearing bibliox. “It is transforming into a certain shape to evoke an emotion out of the target. It can induce mercy, sleep or even fleeing if necessary. All you need is the appropriate transformation. It is a powerful skill. Now, use it on me to end this battle.”

Blank nodded, the power appealing to them. The ability to avoid fighting just by choosing the right transformation was invaluable. And now was the time to test it. But which effect did they want to achieve?

They eventually chose tiredness. Their body, made of darkness, contorted and shifted into that of a sort of ferris wheel of sheep jumping over a fence.

Darcover yawned tiredly. “V…very good.” He remarked drowsily before turning to Noelle. “Now, girl, cast you pacifying spell to spare.”

“My what?” Noelle asked, her eyes bulging in both shock and confusion.

“A spell to spare tired enemies.” Darcover explained grumpily. “How can you be a mage without one?!”

Noelle froze, not knowing the spell in question. Having no choice but to do something, she closed her eyes and extended her hands forward and casting as she thought of something sleepy.

The result appeared a second later as sleep inducing clouds swirled around Darcover, pacifying him and ending the fight. “Well done, children.” The bibliox said proudly. “Now, I shall wait around this corner on the street for my next potential disciple. May my name spread far and wide!”

Noelle and Blank stared at the bibliox incredulously. “Y-you just stand here around the corner waiting for students?” Noelle asked, clearly taken aback.

“You’ve seen the results.” Darcover countered. “Now go! My next student awaits!”

Neither Noelle nor Blank could argue with his logic. And thus, they went back for Berdly before continuing their journey.

Chapter Text

Walking side by side through the paved roads leading to the city of towers, The Shadow Blazers were met face to face with an odd mural across the walls depicting three featureless figures.

“Oh, these are pretty.” Noelle remarked with a smile only for Berdly to smirk.

“As expected of the land of smartness. Let me read out the exquisite text.” He said eyeing the murals and the text beneath them that Blank and Noelle only just noticed. “Heroes a three, a prince, a girl and a cage not free. Together against obstruction, they face the worlds’ destruction.”

Noelle’s brows quirked. “Heroes? Like the prophecy heroes?” She asked curiously. Blank tilted their head at that word: prophecy. It tickled their brain in an odd way.

“Likely. The library has many books on the prophecy.” Berdly chirped in proudly before he took up a smug pose. “Among other smart things. Hahaha!”

Noelle sighed at Berdly being himself and turned to her other friend, hoping they’d share the similar kind of awe she had. But that’s not what she saw. What she saw in Blank’s expression was a frown.

She wondered if they had something to do with the prophecy. Blank was an angel, after all. But did that mean anything? There could be multiple angels. It’s not like being a monster immediately makes me the one in the prophecy either.

“Watch out!” Berdly exclaimed, jumping in front of his friends and slashing the word shaped bullets that were about to hit them. Noelle and Blank turned to the attack and consequently their assailants.

A bibliox and a darkner that looked like a medieval bard with a quill poking out of her dark blue hat. “Lightners, we feel the likeness of books on you.” The medieval bard remarked threateningly and Blank grit their teeth, angry they were not vigilant enough to block that attack instead of Berdly. “Surrender your knowledge or face the wrath of Bandits Bardapen and Bibliox!”

The Shadow Blazers did not bend to their threats. Mostly because they didn’t know what was going on. The bandit duo took this defiance with scowls and began a battle, preparing their attacks immediately.

“Knowledge bandits.” Berdly realized far too late. “It seems even the bandits here have class. Worry not, depraved robbers of knowledge, my fountain of pure intelligence is rich enough for all!”

“Maybe we can spare them if we act smart enough.” Noelle suggested with a serious expression. “Or say smart things?”

Blank nodded as Berdly smirked. The dark angel took first action, transforming into a nerdy figure with glasses. “Butter is… slippery.” They mustered the information from their limited pool of knowledge.

“The mitochondria-” Berdly added in a voice as if unlocking a new transformation of great power. “-IS THE POWER OF THE CEEEEEEELL!”

“Uhm, I a-actually didn’t think this through.” Noelle added, not knowing what to say. “W-what should I talk about?” She asked herself nervously.

The bardapen and bibliox paused, staring at the Shadow Blazers in complete silence. “Oh, sorry. W-we don’t steal from the poor.” The bardapen said, throwing away her prepared attack.

“Yeah, we have standards.” Added the bibliox with a nod.

“Here,” Bardapen said, throwing a bag of dark dollars at the three teens. “with this money, you should be able to pay a bibliox to teach you something useful.”

“We wish you a bright future.” Added the bibliox before the pair disappeared into a puff of smoke from whence they came.

Despite winning the fight and even earning some money, two members of the Shadow Blazers couldn’t help but feel a certain wound from the vicious battle, a wound no healing spell could mend. Noelle and Berdly stared at the ground with widened eyes full of shame as Blank tilted their head. “Was she calling us stupid?” They asked in a confused tone. Those words brought Noelle and Berdly to their knees. “Did I say something wrong?”

Blank stared at them in confusion before the Bluebird spoke. “It was merely a tactical decision on our part,” Berdly explained, his body shaking and his eyes bloodshot. “Blank, a true gamer such as you should know these things.” Noelle almost wanted to agree with him. “Lock in, my friends! We have more opportunities to prove our intelligence!”

Not wanting to acknowledge their new emotional wounds for too long, the shadow blazers rushed towards the city of towers. On the way, they met more of the native darkners and even fought some battles. Blank blocked and spared, Noelle healed and pacified and Berdly gyrated his hips seductively at a married bibliox.

Soon enough, the three made it to a magical city full of wizard towers built into enormous trees that pierced the sky. Whirlwinds, alphanumerical symbols and even the occasional fireball were thrown around like basketballs to no hoops. And just next to the lively city, stood the massive dark fountain of their creation.

“““Woah.””” The shadow blazers stared at the majestic city in awe.

“Now this is a smartopia!” Berdly exclaimed with a smug grin, crossing his arms.

“And maybe, somewhere in here we’ll find a clue to finding Dess.” Added Noelle in a hopeful tone, prompting Berdly to nod.

“And it doesn’t look like there’s anything that wants us dead.” Blank added with a smile, their shoulders relaxing slightly. “…probably. Wouldn’t hurt to keep the shield up.” Their shoulders tensed up once again as they held their shield tightly.

Berdly scoffed. “Relax. This is a place of high class!” He remarked with a smirk before turning to the nearest bibliox. “Greetings, fellow smart. We are on a magnificent quest to find a damsel in distress. We humbly ask you to point us to where we can find a clue to our noble goal.”

The bibliox stared at Berdly for a few seconds before groaning in disgust. “Ugh, a cyber city knave. A lighter too.” They said, causing Berdly to go silent. “Finally realized books are the true well of knowledge, did you? Where’s your internet now?”

“What’s cyber city?” Berdly asked, an excited smile creeping onto his face.

“The city beyond the great gate. Though, the gate was shut tight recently. I wonder what happened.” Another bibliox explained, their tone dripping with disdain.

“They’re talking about the computer lab we closed.” Noelle realized with widened eyes. This realization made her see the dark world in a different light.

This was not a simply makeshift reality. These people have history. She wondered if she could possibly learn more about it, about what darkners know and the other worlds they recognize.

“If you want real knowledge,” the first bibliox said haughtily. “go to the tower of souls in the section upstairs. It has a heart carved on its walls, you can’t miss it. All answers may be questioned there.”

“Uhm, don’t you mean questions be answered?” Berdly asked narrowing his eyes in confusion and the biblioxes laughed. Blank and Noelle frowned at the sight, feeling uncomfortable, before Berdly spoke. “I apologize, but I seem unfamiliar with your inside jokes.”

“Berdly, I think we should just go.” Blank cut in, not wanting to aggravate the biblioxes.

“But-”

“Let’s. Go.” Blank insisted through grit teeth, pulling Berdly behind them by the arm as they headed to the tower. Berdly tried to pull his hand away, but couldn’t match the grip of the dark angel. He begrudgingly accepted his fate with a grunt, letting himself be dragged to the stairs leading to the higher section. Stairs that horrified the whole team.

“That’s a lot of stairs.” Berdly gulped as Noelle frowned. “I- I definitely can h-handle the climb, but I don’t know about you two.”

“Yeah, this might take forever.” Noelle added before tuning to Blank. “Blank, mind flying us up there?”

Berdly raised a brow as Blank pondered the question. It would be flashy, but it would be fast and it would be fun. They hadn’t flown around in a while on account of being under the light world’s two massive orbs of light.

The dark angel nodded with their first smile inside this dark world as their shield sunk into their arms and body before massive white angel wings sprouted from their back. Berdly stared at the angel with widened eyes before they grabbed him and Noelle under their arms.

“Uhm…we’re not heavy, are we?” Noelle asked as Berdly processed the appearance of the angel before him.

Blank shook their head before spreading their wings wide, their blue capelet fluttering in the wind generated by the motion. And without hesitation, they flapped their wings.

Noelle and Berdly felt as if their faces were about to slide off their heads from the speed, unable to even scream. Meanwhile, Blank was smiling ear to ear, having the time of their life. Reaching the peak of their height, Blank’s smile brightened as they watched the scenery while their teammates struggled to keep their hearts from exploding in fear.

Blank could see the tower of souls from here. Happily, they flapped their wings again. This time, towards the tower. In a split second, they stopped in front of the tower; Blank adjusting their wings to stop them just in time.

“That was so fun!” They exclaimed happily as they put down their teammates. “I wanna do it agai-” the dark angel paused upon seeing Noelle and Berdly’s faces. It was as if someone squished their faces and struck them with lightning enough to make their hair stand up in the shape of an explosion. "Pfft-"Blank stared at their faces, trying their hardest not to giggle and laugh.

“We can hear you trying not to laugh.” Berdly remarked with their still ruined face, causing Blank to burst into laughter.

“Never again.” Noelle whispered under her breath as she struggled to put her hair back to normal.

After a long enough session of Blank laughing at Noelle and Berdly’s admittedly hilarious misery, the three got their wits together, putting away wings and tidying hair and feather, and finally headed to the tower of souls.

Inside, they were met with a long hallway full of murals etched into the walls. All depictions of the prophecy and its heroes. “Woah. Whoever lives here must be a big fan of the heroes.” Noelle remarked, staring at one of the murals depicting the human hero standing before a trash bin in a dark alleyway.

“I sure do.” A voice whispered into her ear and Noelle jumped back in fear. Everyone turned to the source of the voice to find a witch wearing red decorated with hearts. Her face made of paper with eyes and a mouth made of ink. A different kind of bibliox. “Be at ease, children. I-” the witch said before her ink eyes burst open as they stared at Noelle. “Noelle? And Berdly and some weird new kid? What are you all doing here?”

Berdly raised a brow at how taken aback the witch seemed. “What do you mean? This is a library. We’re here to learn!” He replied cheerfully. The witch blinked.

“O-of course.” She remarked with a blink. “But I meant the dark world. How did you get… were you the ones that made the fountain?” She asked tilting her head. Noelle nodded in affirmation. “I…see. What answers do you seek here?”

Silence filled the area as Noelle gathered up her courage. This could be the moment she was waiting for. She turned to her friends who gave her two thumbs ups of encouragement. Turning to the witch, Noelle finally spoke. “I wanna know where my sister, Dess, went.”

The witch went silent. “Let me ask you a question, do you wish to learn more about the prophecy governing our worlds?” She suddenly asked after a pause.

Noelle blinked. “Is…that relevant to my question?” She asked carefully.

“In some capacity.” The witch nodded, gesturing for the Shadow Blazers to follow. “The prophecy, if you haven’t guessed already, is talking about the light and dark worlds. Specifically, the place you know as hometown.”

Blank tilted their head in confusion, still unaware of the prophecy. Noelle paused with a shocked expression. And Berdly smiled. “Does that mean we’re…the heroes of the prophe-”

“No.” The witch deadpanned. “Do you see a human amongst you? Or a prince?”

Noelle froze at that word. Human. In hometown, there’s only one human. The prophecy has a human. That meant that Kris, the same weird neighbor she knew, was a hero.

The thought felt unreal.

“No, you are much more important than the heroes now.” The witch spoke in a serious tone. “According to the prophecy, you shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t know right now. You’ve… defied fate.”

Noelle turned to Blank immediately. They were the reason things changed. “We didn’t really do anything. If it wasn’t for Blank, we wouldn’t have known about the dark world at all.”

“Yes, I can…see that.” The witch remarked, her eyes gleaming as she stared at Blank. “You don’t appear in prophecy at all. Did you know about that?”

Blank shook their. “I only just learned that it’s a thing today.” They said with a shrug. The witch smiled, turning to Noelle.

“I will help you find your sister and I will even gleam into your souls to find you ways to become stronger to help you on your quest.” The witch said, earning smiles from the Shadow Blazers. “I simply need Blank in exchange.”

The smiles continued until the Shadow Blazers realized what the witch had said. “What?” Blank asked in confusion and shock.

“I require your soul.” The witch elaborated and Berdly and Blank pulled out their weapons. “Noelle, you’re the voice of reason. You won’t be able to find December without me. Make the right choice.”

Noelle froze. She was being given a choice: Blank or her sister. Merely thinking about this question made her heart pound painfully. The choice chocked her tightly by neck. She could feel the pressure of every bead of sweat on her body.

The thought of seeing her again was too tantalizing.

“Noelle, I have played enough Dragon Blazers and watched enough anime to know that you should not accept that.” Berdly remarked, gripping his halbird tightly. “So many red flags.”

Noelle turned to Blank, almost as if to ask what to do only to find them standing terrified behind their shield like usual, ready to protect them despite that like always.

*SLAP*

Noelle slapped herself as hard as she could. What is wrong with me?! I can’t just sacrifice my friend who came here to help me! “NO!” She yelled, mostly at herself.

“The prophecy does not have a happy ending, Noelle.” The witch remarked, her smile turning into a frown. “They have defied the prophecy unknowingly. They are a weapon that can change that ending. That can give us the happy result we want.” Noelle shook her head as she started backing away and the witch sighed. “Wrong choice.”

Suddenly, Noelle felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and all the air in her lungs escaped forcefully as an enormous fist made of stacks upon stacks of paper made contact with her body before launching into one of murals on the wall.

Berdly and Blank turned to Noelle with horror etched into their faces. Their friend laid on the ground spasming in pain and drooling on the floor.

“There are none who know as much about souls as I. And yours are far too weak to match me.”

Chapter Text

This is fantasy. This is what Berdly first thought upon entering his first dark world. This was the world of dreams, where the games he played and the stories he admired became reality. A world where they were were the protagonists.

It was a dream come true.

But at that moment, staring at Noelle’s helpless body spas king on the wooden floor, all those thoughts and feelings were washed away by the torrential scene before his eyes.

And dreams are made to be broken.

“S-stop!” Berdly screamed, readying his halberd with shaking arms. “Don’t take another step forward!” He ordered, unable to hide the fear in his voice.

“Or what, Berdly?” The bibliox of souls asked rolling her inky eyes with a cold, cold smile as paper coalesced around her body to create a giant body in the vague shape of a human with her as the heart. “We all know who you really are, even Noelle. She’s just too nice to say no and you can’t even tell you parasite. You’re just stupid, desperate for recognition you don’t deserve and playing an act everyone can see through. There’s nothing smart about you. C’mon, think about it for once.”

Berdly froze, those words hitting him harder than any attack. For the first time in his life, he looked back at every action he made. He looked for any moment to refute her words, but could only see how he really looked like. The fool.

“You’re not even worth the effort, so do Noelle one favor in your life and step aside.” She added, venom in her voice. Berdly paused, his mind stretched thin before gritting his teeth. The blue bird lowered his weapon. “Good boy.” The witch said before turning to Blank with a sinister smile, her new body’s fingers morphing into needles ready to grab their souls with the utmost precision.

Blank would’ve felt betrayed had they not been so terrified. Their gaze remained fully on the bibliox of souls, her hand creeping towards them with malicious intent. Their shoulders tensed up as they held their shield up.

Blank once again learned the consequences of overstepping their boundaries, of dreaming for more-

*CHOP*

-until a glowing halberd embedded itself deep in the witch’s true body’s.

Blank could hardly believe what they were seeing as the pain finally assaulted the bibliox of souls’ senses, sending her into fit of screams. The suddenness of the situation left Blank frozen before they felt someone shaking their shoulders. It was Berdly. “FLY, NOW!” He screamed while the witch was distracted by the pain.

Not needing to be told twice, Blank absorbed their shield and unfurled their wings before grabbing Berdly under their arm. They ran as fast as they could towards the entrance before their eyes fell on Noelle.

With a dash and a scoop, Blank grabbed before flapping his wings. In the blink of an eye, they were in the sky outside the tower of souls. “The fountain that keeps this place together, how fast can you close it?” Berdly asked, constantly checking on the tower in anxious panic. Before Blank could answer, the tower of souls burst open to reveal a titan sized human with a sword and a scarf made out of paper. “Not fast enough, got it.”

Berdly turned to Noelle next to him and shook her vigorously. The deer girl whimpered as she slowly came to. She immediately held her stomach in pain as her breathing quickened. She was clearly still in pain.

“I’m sorry to wake you up while you’re still so beat up, but we might die soon.” Berdly remarked glancing towards the giant paper human heading their way. “Uhm, help.”

Noelle’s eyes shot open. “Eeek!” She squeaked in fear. “What are we supposed to do?!”

“Don’t worry, friends.” Berdly reassured them with a weak smile as his weapon manifested in his hands. “I’ve played enough games to know that this should be an aerial battle. Blank will dodge with us while we try to hit her with ranged attacks.”

Noelle looked at Berdly incredulously before turning to the giant paper human rapidly approaching them. It wasn’t as if she had another choice. She readied an ice shock as Berdly’s weapon transformed from a halberd into a spear.

“Everyone ready?” Berdly asked with a weak smile. “Because this is a bad time to not be.” Blank and Noelle nodded despite not being ready at all.

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING, CHILDREN! YOU THINK THE PROPHECY WILL LET YOU BE?!” The bibliox of souls roared angrily. “GET BACK HERE OR ELSE!”

“FIRE FIRE FIRE!” Berdly screamed, sending his spear blast towards the witch, a trail of projectiles dashing towards her. Noelle followed him with ice shock.

The two attacks landed, tearing through her giant body’s shoulder and hip. The witch growled before dashing towards Blank with her hand stretched towards the sky where they flew.

Blank furled their wings, letting them and their team to fall rapidly towards the ground before the witch’s hand passed above them. With the attack avoided, they spread their wings again, making a u-turn back up into the sky.

“I think I’m gonna puke.” Noelle remarked in a sickly tone, holding her still injured stomach. The pain did not help with flying.

“Blank?” Berdly called out, shaking his head out of a flight induced shock. “Maybe take it down a notch with the aerial maneuvers.”

“No, she’d know where we’d go.” Blank frowned and Berdly shrugged before he and Noelle got back to attacking.

Ice shocks and and spear blasts covered the sky as Noelle and Berdly fired as rapidly as they could as Blank weaved through the air without stop, for stopping meant death.

Several ice shocks landed onto the giant paper human’s thigh and the moment the witch stopped to remove the ice, a spear blast pierced through her other leg sending her to her knees. Just as she tried to stand, an ice shock met her head. It was unceasing barrage fueled by desperation, by survival.

The witch growled, paper coalescing around the shadow blazers threateningly. “ENOUGH” she snapped, the paper wrapping around the shadow blazers like a net catching bugs.

“Let me!” Noelle exclaimed, placing her hand atop the paper before it all started to freeze. Without waiting for a signal, Blank spread their wings and broke through the frozen paper-

-only to be caught in the witch’s giant grip.

“It’s over.” The witch said, her tone anything but happy before Berdly raised his weapon, ready to unleash a spear blast towards her heart where her real body laid. But before he could move, the witch grabbed him separately, tearing him away from the rest of his team.

Berdly raised his halberd to desperately attack, but the bibliox of souls simply put her thumb over his head and CLENCHED HER FIST.

*CRACK*

Blank and Noelle froze, their gazes firmly locked onto the first holding Berdly with horror written upon their faces. He couldn’t even scream. “What’s one or two children in the face of the greater good?” The witch said, dropping Berdly as if throwing litter and grabbing Noelle.

“No no NO! STOP!” Blank yelled at the witch before she threw the girl to the ground from the sky. Noelle screamed and struggled to do something, but there was nothing to do. Only pain.

*CRASH*

“Hah hah hah hah.” Noelle heaved in pain with widened eyes, somehow still alive. Blank almost sighed in relief.

“Never do a job halfheartedly.” The witch remarked, raising her foot before stomping on Noelle’s body as if an insect. Blank watched in horror as the witch removed her foot to reveal an unmoving Noelle with her eyes rolled back into her head.

Are they dead? Blank couldn’t help but ask. There was no movement from either Noelle or Berdly. Nothing to indicate life.

*sob*

Tears began to stream down Blank’s cheeks as they stared at their friends laying motionless on the ground below, beaten to the point of Blank not knowing if they were alive or not. They were scared, they were horrified, they were sad. They were in so much pain, they could feel their soul hurt even before the witch did anything.

“Now, for you.” The witch spoke calmly, the fingers of her giant human body morphing into thin, precise needles. She unfurled her hand barring two fingers to hold the angel in place and without hesitation, she stabbed her fingers into Blank’s chest in an instant.

Blank screamed. They screamed so loud, their throat began to hurt and tears streaming down their face seeped into their mouth. It was torturous. Needles uncaringly tearing through their chest and grabbing their SOUL, their very being.

The witch tugged and Blank screamed, tears covering their face. There was nothing they could do, not even endure for any struggle made the witch pull harder. She continued to tug on their very being, their one vital organ, trying to tear it out without remorse. And Blank was awake through every moment of it until suddenly, everything went black.

Their SOUL was finally torn out and their body immediately disintegrated. In an instant, their mind fell unconscious. The witch had won.

“Finally,” the bibliox of souls spoke with a smile. This was it, the world’s greatest hope in her hand. The power to defy fate, to deny destiny, to defeat the prophecy. This pitch black SOUL of darkness. “with this, the prophecy will be denied. I-” she froze mid sentence, noticing that part of her finger had turned pitch black. The spot that held the SOUL.

It was darkness, ever corrupting and ever changing. The witch cut off her hand immediately as pitch black smoke rose from the SOUL. “Darkness. Deeply concentrated too. I see. But how is it sentient?” She muttered before her eyes fell on her arm and the rest of her body. Splotches of darkness spreading all over. “No. NO!”

FEAR welled up in the witch’s body. This was not something she could fight, she realized this very quickly. By destroying Blank’s body, she had destroyed the buffer keeping the darkness of that SOUL from leaking out.

In the light world where darkness was weakened, this was not an issue. But in a dark world, already so saturated by darkness? It was poison, changing and twisting the world.

And so high up in the air, she was the only place that darkness could go.

She quickly leaped outside her creation, revealing her original witch like form. She ran away from the SOUL, attempting to avoid its ever encroaching darkness. But one look at her hand showed the futility of her actions. Darkness staining her body.

It was already far too late for her. The darkness had already spread to deep. “Damn it. DAMN IT! I was there. I could’ve saved it all.” She muttered regretfully before the darkness covered her mouth. She could not scream nor struggle until she was fully consumed and everything went dark… and then it was normal again.

The darkness suddenly disappeared off of the bibliox as if it hadn’t been there from the start.

But where a mighty bibliox once stood, there remained a red kitten with a book for a head. A complete transformation.

The book kitten gazed upon the world with no eyes and found three things. A blue bird, a deer and a lonely pitch black heart floating high in the air as it leaked darkness into the air.

The book cat, feeling danger emanating from the SOUL, nudged the unconscious bodies in an attempt to wake them up. But nothing happened. The bodies did not move.

The creature whimpered in FEAR, not knowing what to do before the worst could happen. But lucky for everyone, all that happened was a thud.

Hearing the sound, the cat turned to its source only to find an angel of darkness laying unmoving on the ground under their wings.

Now with three unconscious bodies rather than two, the cat did not know what to do. Thus, it did the only thing it could. It hissed and meowed loudly. The sound may not have been the loudest, yet it was loud enough to be heard. And the ever curious biblioxes stumbled upon the scene.

Chapter Text

A tower carved into a tree with a medical symbol. The place the biblioxes call their hospital. A building grand and majestic for proper reason.

Inside this building, three teens laid on three beds side by side with bandaged bodies and widened eyes. The adrenaline of what happened refused to leave them. Their minds stretched to their limits as they failed comprehend safety.

The fact that they were rescued, that the danger was over, that they could go home, could not be registered in their minds despite being awake for so long.

“We’re alive.” Noelle said as a matter of fact, heaving for breath. It had been a while since they woke up, yet it still felt impossible. They lived. “Y- you’re alive… Berdly. You’re alive.”

“It would… seem so.” Berdly replied with a gulp, his feathers nervously standing on end. “Uhm, you too.”

Blank added nothing, tears still streaming down their cheeks as they quietly sobbed under the covers.

“You’re lucky we found ya when we did.” A bibliox with a medical symbol on their clothes said calmly. It was the doctor taking care of them. “You might not have made it otherwise. You have your cool cat to thank for that.”

Blank, Berdly and Noelle all turned to the cat in question. They knew who it was, who it used to be. Even in this new non threatening form, they could not help but feel as if they were in the middle of combat once again. Their limbs tensed, their teeth grit, their eyes focused, and their breath quickened.

“Uhm, I sense some tension.” The bibliox remarked, heading for the door. “I will give you some privacy.” They finished, leaving the trio alone, alone with the very entity that almost killed them. They stared at it silently as it stared back.

The atmosphere felt so thick, one could drown in it.

“Get away.” Noelle said instinctively as Blank went as still as a statue under their covers. “Please.” The cat tilted its head in confusion. Had she not been so terrified, Noelle would’ve thought it adorable.

Blank peeked out from under the blanket, the creature’s shape endeared to them heavily. But they knew better than to trust it.

“M-maybe she doesn’t want to hurt us.” Berdly said, not taking his eyes off the cat. “Or it. Whatever happened changed her.” Berdly stole the shortest glance at Blank frozen under their blanket, remembering their strength. “Maybe we can d-d-defeat her this time.”

“We can’t.” Noelle replied, her tone as defeated as can be. There was not an ounce of hope in her voice. There was only a husk of what she sounded like before. “We’re not strong enough.”

“We can-” Berdly suggested before Noelle cut him off.

“HOW?! HOW, BERDLY?! WE’RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH!” She screamed, desperation, fear and horror dripping from her voice, the dam holding back the torrent of emotions cracking violently. Hearing this, the cat finally acted. It meowed and approached Noelle’s bed. “Get away. GET AWAY!” She screamed as she crawled back away from it.

For whatever reason, the cat stopped right in front of her bed and its book head opened to reveal some words. Noelle did not react, she merely watched and waited in fear. “I think… it wants you to read it.” Berdly remarked nervously, his eyes firmly locked onto the cat. Noelle looked at him as if he was insane and for once in his life, he took the hint. “I suppose I can read it instead.”

Both Blank and Noelle almost leaped to stop him, to cover his beak before he could utter whatever cursed words the cat had written down. But they far too late.

“Hints athree, strength for thee. A guide from your souls, a path to your goals. Three rhymes by rule, the saint, the bringer and the fool.”

Silence filled the room as all three digested what had been said. To say they were not interested would be a lie, to say they were not terrified to go forwards would also be a lie.

Berdly flipped the page, finding two passages in the next pages. Berdly turned to his companions as if asking for confirmation to continue.

Neither Noelle nor Blank said anything.

Taking this as a sign to continue, Berdly recited the first rhyme. “If you can endure its lash, beyond the door, check the trash. The path you wish to gain, is paved to the end with pain. Seek the thorn of woe. Make it snow, make it snow, make it snow.”

Blank and Berdly turned to Noelle, causing her to flinch. Her breathing was rapid as she took in the words. Her strength was to be paid for with pain.

Berdly cleared his throat before reciting the second rhyme. “Hear here, embrace your FEAR. Let it hatch, DETERMINATION’s match. One darker than night, behold the angel’s light.” He said with a raised brow. “Why are fear and determination in all caps?” He added before noticing Blank out of their blanket in a daze. “I suppose the angel talk is about… yknow.” He added gesturing generally towards Blank having their wings out.

Blank frowned, their visions providing vague trickles of information. How it knew so much, they could only wonder. How to follow those instructions, they were even more stumped.

Berdly smiled. “I believe it is my turn next.” He said, slight mirth in his voice. “How do I, Super Lord Berdly, get stronger than I alr-” he added before clearing his throat so suddenly. Calling himself strong felt inappropriate at the moment. He turned the page and read his rhyme. “Strength comes in more than one form, but yours is one of dance and storm! Already off to a great start.” He said, his smile widening. “You’ve always played cool, but we all see…the fool… When you finally become true, you won’t be the only one who’s blue. I see…”

Seeing the dejection on Berdly’s face, Blank and Noelle opened their mouths to console their teammate. But Berdly was quicker.

“I must learn how to defeat my enemies using dance dance revenge tactics.” He said, firing waves of psychic damage at his companions.

“I don’t think that’s what they-” Noelle remarked hesitantly before shaking her head. “W-we’re not listening to these, are we? It just sounds…wrong, right? And it’s from her. She just nearly killed us!”

Blank nodded slowly in agreement, but Berdly hesitated to reply. “I…yes, she is not to be…trusted.” He said with a frown.

Awkward silence filled the room. The three’s gazes switched between each other like a pendulum, each unable to say a word.

“…we should close the fountain, correct?” Berdly asked narrowing his eyes as he held back a small smile. Blank slowly nodded.

“Y-yeah.” Noelle added avoiding eye contact. “Wait- where did it go?”

Silence filled room once again as the shadow blazers finally noticed the lack of cats in the room. Their eyes bulged one by one in realization. Without Hesitation, Blank grabbed their teammates and leaped out of the window with their wings spread out.

They flapped their wings, dashing through the air towards the fountain. In an instant, they stood before the fountain with panicked faces.

Blank’s ribcage opened hurriedly to reveal their SOUL. The pitch black heart, flashing with hunger, greedily started pulling in darkness from the fountain like an insatiable black hole.

Noelle and Berdly closed their eyes as the world collapsed around them into the SOUL, feeling the wooden smell of the land and the mystic wind disappear.

And when they opened their eyes, they were back in the library as if nothing had happened. It was a beautiful noon on a weekend where most teens like them would be still in bed.

Blank opened their umbrella as Noelle spoke. “I b-brought you guys here. I can lock up.” She said with a weak smile. “I-…you go get some rest.” Berdly gave a thumbs up while Blank already started leaving.

Noelle waited with faltering smile as Berdly finally exited the library, leaving her alone inside. Her expression turned grim as her gaze fell to the floor. She turned not to the exit, but to the computer lab.

She stared at the door silently. It beckoned her, tempted her like a demon with a silver tongue that spoke words made of honey. She could almost see an older female deer through the tiny foggy windows.

Noelle opened the door.

Noelle took a deep breath.

Noelle leaped towards the trash and held it with trembling hands.

Noelle flipped the trash and violently emptied it on the floor before throwing the trash can at the wall.

Noelle ignored the loud crash of the trashcan hitting the wall and scanned the mess on the floor.

Noelle noticed a thorn on the ground.

Noelle picked up the thorn. It stung, drawing a few drops of blood.

Noelle stared at the wound.

Noelle caressed the wound.

Noelle admired the wound.

Noelle became stronger.

Noelle put the thorn in her pocket.

Berdly frowned as he walked into his home. His eyes fell on the trophies and number 1 prizes displayed for all to see. Looking at them made his expression sour.

He could not see an accomplishment. He could not see a winner. He could only think of the witch’s words. A parasite. A fool.

He felt empty. These prizes meant nothing. He meant nothing.

Berdly went up the stairs and walked to his room.

Berdly opened the door, only to find more trophies. Somehow, despite always knowing it, these trophies felt as if they were mockery.

Berdly turned to his computer and paused.

…

Berdly opened his computer and looked up dance tutorials.

Berdly started dancing to a video.

Berdly grabbed a broom and imagined it was a weapon.

Berdly danced with his weapon.

Berdly gained a new ability.

“How was the sleepover?” Undyne asked with a grin as she laid on the couch in the dark unlit living room. Blank turned to her with a frown. “Did something happen?”

“No, it’s…n-nothing.” Blank said, walking up to the couch. They stared at her silently, their body shaking as if in the middle of an earthquake.

“You’re doing that thing again. Shaking when you’re scared.” Undyne remarked with a frown, changing her posture to sit upright. “Who do I have to punch? Was it the blue nerd?”

Blank immediately shook their head vigorously. “No! No! He didn’t do anything.” They explained, their body shaking even more.

“Then what happened?” The officer asked worriedly before feeling something grab her by the waist. One glance showed Blank hugging her tightly.

*sniff*

“I’m scared.” Blank replied, tears staining Undyne’s shirt from their eyes. The police officer stared at Blank with widened eyes as they continued. “It hurt. It hurt so much. I can still feel it. I’m scared. I don’t want it to happen again.”

Undyne stared at Blank silently. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. The town was so peaceful, her job never actually gave her any experience with comforting someone hurt. But at least she knew something that can help.

“There are some sticks of butters in the fridge.” She said with a hopeful smile. “Wanna… keep hugging while eating one?”

Blank nodded into Undyne’s shirt.

Blank followed Undyne to the kitchen.

Blank was given a snack by Undyne.

Blank ate the snack as Undyne gave them a step by step guide on how to suplex a bully.

Blank felt comforted.

Chapter Text

“Blank, Berdly, how was the weekend?” Noelle asked with a cheerful smile as she and her friends stood in front of the school.

Blank and Berdly stared at the girl and her odd smile. “You look… oddly happier, almost as if a foreshadowing scene in an anime.” The latter said with a hand on his chin. Blank stared at the blue bird incredulously before the latter shrugged. “Do you wish to see my new dance moves…which I learned for reasons unrelated to any recent incidents?”

Blank facepalmed before opening their mouth and closing it when they saw a scar on Noelle’s hand. A scar that was not there before, nor had any reason to be there. But before they could so much as ask about it, the bell rung loudly to signify the start of the school day.

“Let’s go before we’re late!” Noelle exclaimed cheerfully before walking into the school. Blank couldn’t help but feel something was off. Looking at Berdly following Noelle silently, it seemed they were the only one with the feeling.

They sighed and followed Berdly to class where they sat down in their usual seat behind Berdly and diagonal to Noelle, noticing a new empty seat in the classroom.

They wondered its purpose before the teacher spoke up. “C-class, we have a new student today… again. First t-time so close to one another, huh?” She asked nervously, taking a glance at Blank. The angel couldn’t help but imagine who this new classmate is. They had seen many kinds of monsters in Hometown, after all. “Anyways, class, please welcome our new student: S-Susie.”

The door slammed open so loudly, Blank almost fell out of their seat. The monster to blame walked into the room with a grin. A purple dinosaur girl wearing a purple jacket and blue jeans. Something about her felt… familiar.

No one said a word as Susie walked into class and headed towards monster kid before shoving them out of their seat and sitting in their place. Monster kid looked at Susie as she grinned. “What? Got anything to say?” She said, putting her feet on the desk. Monster kid turned to the teacher and Alphys responded.

“Uhm, S-Susie?” Alphys called out nervously, causing Susie to grin.

“What?” The girl asks and the teacher flinches.

“…n-nothing.” Alphys stammered after a pause and Monster Kid went to the new seat in defeat.

Not even a minute and Blank already did not like their new classmate. They turned to their friends to find Berdly frowning disapprovingly and Noelle… in a daze of sort, staring at the new student.

Blank sighed before remembering the incident in the dark world, their body tensing up at the memory. This was better, much better.

The moment the bell rang, Blank slumped into their chair as every other student beside their friends left. They watched as Berdly huffed and spoke. “What a brutish protozoan!” He exclaimed with a frown. “The school’s IQ level must’ve dropped by at least a magnitude today. Right, Noelle?”

“She’s not listening.” Blank replied, staring at Noelle. Her eyes hadn’t separated from the door since Susie left the room. “She’s been giving the new student that weird look for a while now. I feel like I know what this is, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Obviously, she is repulsed by Susie’s savage acts.” Berdly explained with enough drama in his voice to match a theater. “Fear not, Noelle. I shall-”

“Do you wanna put your lips on hers?” Blank asked nonchalantly, causing Noelle’s eyes to finally unstick from the door. She stared at the dark angel with widened eyes, pure shock on written on her face. “I don’t get what the point of it is, though.”

“W-W-WHAT?!” The deer girl asked in a panic, her face turning red with embarrassment. “B-Blank, you’re missing a lot of steps!”

“So you do want to put your lips together.” Blank put their hand on their chin. They couldn’t understand the point of said action, but it wasn’t their choice to make.

“Stop saying it like that! Why are you-” Noelle asked only to realize the answer mid way. Blank did not know the word. “Right, you don’t know. The word is kissing. And kissing is just one step of-”

“Wait, hold on, I have several questions here.” Berdly cut in with narrowed eyes, one finger held up inquisitively. He was confused, baffled, befuddled even. “Don’t you have a crush on me?”

Noelle stared at Berdly as if he suddenly posed shirtless on her desk. “Berdly, no.” She said bluntly and Blank almost felt a shiver go down their spine.

Noelle was different, more assertive. Even at the start of the day she began leading them. Something happened and Blank could only feel worry.

“Y-you don’t?” Berdly asked, his body stiffening like stone. He was utterly taken aback. Almost every single moment and interaction he believed he had with Noelle were rewritten in an instant; it almost felt like an uppercut to the chin. “I m-mean. I- you- we- next question! Uhm, Blank, what are you?” Blank snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Berdly in confusion. “I know about the angel thing, but you seem to have… holes in some areas of information and… the opposite of holes in others.”

“Oh, it’s because most of my information comes from these visions I have.” Blank explained calmly. “I don’t know why I have them, but they tell me a lot of useful stuff.”

“And these visions are telling you Noelle wants to kiss Susie?” Berdly asked with narrowed eyes and pursed… beak. He turned to Noelle. “Noelle, for science, do you want to kiss Susie?”

“Huh?” Noelle was shaken by the sudden question, prompting Berdly to continue.

“Yes, yes, Susie is a deplorable temptress who swooned your innocent soul.” Berdly remarked offhandedly. “More importantly, Blank perhaps might have future vision.”

Noelle went silent, the implications of Berdly’s words seeping into her head like water to a sponge. The two turned to their friend with eyes expecting answers, but Blank could only shrug. “It’s nonsense most of the time.” They replied, only intensifying their friends’ desires.

“Well then, what nonsense do those visions say about me?” Berdly asked with a grin. Blank could only sigh at what they had to say.

“Gyrating hips and frozen chicken.” The angel explained, earning a half confused, half impressed look from the blue bird.

“What about me?” Noelle asked expectantly. Her eyes wishing for specific words more than anything.

Blank hummed with a frown. “A lot of snow, enough to drown a giant mecha makeup wearing salesman.” They said, not even understanding what they themselves are talking about. “What’s makeup and is a salesman just someone who sells stuff?”

Noelle went silent, digesting the words. Nothing about Susie, yet it still struck her oddly deep. To her, it was undoubtedly a dark world event. It meant they’d be back there sooner or later.

“I think this confirms it. Blank, you can see the future.” Berdly remarked with a grin. “We can use this power to change the world and-”

“I don’t wanna do that so can we please talk about something else? This is making me uncomfortable.” Blank cut in, hugging themselves with a frown, causing Berdly to deflate like a balloon before they turned to Noelle. “Also, you should probably not kiss that girl. She’s scary… and bites.”

“Yes! I also do not approve of this. Release yourself from her bewitchment!” Berdly added with a clear frown. “She is like a barbarian, the stupid class. She would push you to the ground with her brute strength and laugh as you writhe in the mu- are you blushing?”

His observation was correct, the deer girl was blushing as she thought about her friends’ words becoming reality. It made her heart beat like a drum, how assertive and free Susie was.

“Hey, what does that mean?” Blank asked, pointing at the madly blushing Noelle. Berdly placed his hand on Blank’s shoulder and shook his head with a lamenting sigh.

“It means Noelle is far too deep in Susie’s bewitchment, that unworthy barbarian.” The bluebird replied, looking away from Noelle as if avoiding the shame. “I am disappointed in you, Noelle. Take this as an example, Blank. Do not stray into the dark side… or light side. Whichever side you’re not on as of now. Point is, we must defeat Susie and free our friend once and for all!”

“Berdly, if you mess up my chances with Susie: I will ice shock you.” Noelle said with the fervor of a gambling addict at the thought of losing their dice as she grabbed Berdly by the collar.

Berdly, recalling Blank’s vision about frozen chicken, makes the correct decision. “Noted.” He remarked dejectedly, prompting Noelle to let him. The bluebird cleared his throat and slumped to the door. “I suppose its time we head out, then? I’ve been honing my skills to reclaim my honor as truest gamer.” He said with a key lack of enthusiasm.

“Yeah… let’s do that.” Noelle added before heading to the door as well. Blank, on the other hand, hesitated. FEAR gripping their SOUL as they kept in mind the change in Noelle’s personality. “Blank?”

The dark angel slowly nodded before following their friends to the door. They couldn’t leave their friend when something could be wrong, even if it was terrifying. And so the three left, leaving the classroom dark and empty.

There is nobody in the classroom.

It is empty.

It is dark.

Very dark. Very empty.

Yes, very very empty. Very very dark.

It was so empty, it was happy.

It was so dark, it could grin.

Very very smile.

But still too bright.

Not enough smile. Not enough grin.

Such a waste, such a pain.

But little longer, it can wait.

Chapter Text

“My dear friends, I have discovered the single greatest school club illuminated by the visible light spectrum!” Berdly exclaimed, entering Noelle’s room with a fabulous twirl and pose, a dazzling purple poster in hand. “Behold! The club of romantic dancing! They’re offering free dance lessons!”

Blank and Noelle, who were playing Dragon Blazers together, turned to the blue bird with confused expressions. Berdly sighed at his uncultured friends and shook his head.

“You don’t understand. With this, our dreams will come true.” Berdly remarked dramatically. “I will finally achieve top score on Dance Dance Revenge’s local leaderboards and Noelle can learn how to woo in… hopefully someone other than Susie.” He whispered the last part, but Noelle heard enough to frown.

Blank, on the other hand, sighed and turned back to their game under their taped down umbrella. This kind of talk has become common amongst their little group. Berdly disapproved of Susie while Noelle was enamored. Blank could only want to be away from the tiring topic of their newest classmate. Dragon Blazers being a fun game did nothing but enforce that desire.

“…ank. Blank! BLANK!” Blank’s body went stiff as they turned to Berdly. “Will you join us through a delightful day of passionate dance?”

Blank did not know what he meant nor were they particularly thrilled. They sighed, ready to shake their head before Noelle chirped in. “Of course they’re coming along.” Blank almost thought they had feathers in their ears hearing that. “Right, Blank?”

The dark angel was so taken aback they couldn’t offer an objection. Noelle was not supposed to be doing this? Why was she doing this? It scared Blank. They didn’t like it one bit. Even more so when Noelle grabbed them by the hand gently started to pull them away.

And Blank did not resist, could not resist. They were too scared. “It’s time to luxuriate ourselves in the elegant act of dance!” Berdly exclaimed nonchalantly, unable to notice the distraught in Blank’s expression.

As they were pulled towards school, Blank kept their gaze on the deer girl before them. Their heart almost beat its way out of their chest. Noelle was always dragging them into problems, but this? This was different. Deliberate. Blank’s mind raced, they had to find a way out of this.

As they pondered escape plans and hiding locations, they were already standing before the school alongside Noelle and Berdly. “I bet they’re waiting with bated breath for our splendid arrival. How generous.” Berdly remarked with a fake tear rolling down his feathery cheek. The three entered the building only to be met with… silence, contrary to Berdly’s expectations. “Perhaps the celebrations are limited to the club room.”

“Anyone else think it feels a bit… creepy in here?” Noelle asked, worry dripping from her voice. Blank felt almost glad to hear her being normal before her tone turned confident again. “Let’s check it out.”

Blank debated running away at that moment. They could only wonder what caused this drastic change as Noelle softly dragged them towards the club room door.

It was a small dusty door hidden out of sight at the end of one of the hallways, as if the ones making it didn’t want anyone to lay eyes upon it. It was covered in posters similar to the one Berdly had. From a top down angle, you wouldn’t even get a glimpse of it nor the posters.

“Hmm, has this door always been here?” Berdly asked, placing a hand on his chin and raising a brow curiously. “I pride myself on my knowledge of school, but I can’t ever recall having seen this door.” Noelle didn’t listen to him as her hand reached for the knob. “Noelle, I think this might have been a prank. This is obviously a newly constructed room, no chance of it being a valid club headquarters.”

Noelle didn’t reply. She was smart enough to deduce something was off, but she was stronger now. The faint aches in her body from that day a constant reminder of what weakness brought. The pain in her bones, her chest and her stomach, all of it. She opened the door to find something the shadow blazers all recognized.

Darkness of a dark fountain.

“No.” Blank immediately said aloud. “I’m NOT going in there.”

“I must agree.” Berdly added with a frown. “We are heavily under-equipped for a mysterious dark world at the moment.”

“We’re never going to be equipped if we don’t take risks. Besides, there might be someone stuck inside.” Noelle said calmly as she stared at her friends. Blank and Berdly started sweating under gaze, her eyes so calm yet holding so much madness. “Let’s go.”

Without waiting for a reply, Noelle walked into the dark world. Blank and Berdly turned to one another with horrified expressions. “I believe Noelle has gone yandere.” Berdly remarked with a wince.

“She’s gone insane!” Blank exclaimed, grabbing Berdly by the arm. “We need to stop her!” Berdly paused before nodding slowly.

“That does mean we must go inside.” Berdly remarked with a frown. “Ready yourself, Blank. We could face anything in there.” Blank nodded in acknowledgement and got ready. Berdly took a step back before twirling his body and leaping in the position of a flying swan into the dark world.

His entrance held the grace of an amateur ballet dancer. Blank raised a brow at the blue bird’s dramatic entrance before shaking their head. There were more important scary things to focus on.

They stared at the darkness, hesitant to jump inside. They frowned, thinking of Noelle. Worry for the deer girl slowly turned to resentment as they leaped inside.

The world shifted around them erratically as they fell down through the darkness. Going into a dark world felt different from being there when it was made, less dizzying.

Soon enough, Blank landed on solid purple ground next to the rest of their team. “Gosh, what took you so long? C’mon!” Noelle exclaimed cheerfully as Berdly winced even more. Blank couldn’t help but frown at her nonchalance at this dangerous situation. “Let’s proceed!”

Filled with discomfort and FEAR, Blank spoke. “No, we go back.” They said with a frown. “This is all crazy! YOU’RE crazy!”

Noelle frowned for a second before a smile overtook her face like a plague. “I just want us to get stronger, all of us.” She said so calmly, it sent shivers down her teammates’ spines. “And to do that, we must proceed.”

Blank took a step back as Berdly opened his mouth to speak before being interrupted by two dazzling voices.

“And proceed-”

“-you shall!”

Blank pulled out their shield in a panic as Berdly pulled out his halberd. But Noelle merely waited, as if not threatened one bit as trickles of red ran over her hand like tiny rivers.

Before any combat could commence, two figures burst out of the darkness in unison. A dancer made of pink ribbons and a bipedal rose made of velvet ribbons wearing a suit.

“Welcome to Dan and Roman’s-”

“-land of Dance and Romance.”

The shadow blazers stared at the two brothers with varying expressions. “Huh, at least the posters weren’t lying.” Berdly remarked with a raised brow. “I do wonder how they got the posters out of the dark world, though. Unless they’re actually lightners and the dark world is the club headquarters.”

Blank wanted to berate the blue bird, but instead turned to the bigger issue: Noelle. She was smiling even as blood covered her hand. They did not know if monsters bled or not, but this was not a good sign regardless. But as worry filled their mind, Noelle had only one word circling her brain.

PROCEED.