Chapter Text
An Era’s End
Despite last night’s solace, Dess still needed more time to come to terms with her situation.
It was understandable really. It was a really complicated situation all and all, but Kris seemed to have gotten her out of what could’ve been a massive rut. Which they were happy for. But even then, they couldn’t help but worry for her.
They probably should’ve given her their cell phone number or something, anything so they could check in every now and then, assuming she still even had a phone that is.
Maybe they were overthinking it. She’s strong, she’ll be okay. Right?
Yeah, they were definitely overthinking it, and it certainly didn’t help that these thoughts completely blew them out of focus during class. Noelle especially seemed to be in the same boat, not being able to even focus on her schoolwork, which was not like her in the slightest.
Then again, nobody was being themselves lately. Seems everyone was under that same stress in one way or another.
Once again, it was the same thing at school, students laughing, Alphys trying and failing to teach. Kris didn’t even bother trying to listen in. They just stared down at their desk, wondering how this was going to play out.
They, Susie and Noelle didn’t even bother talking it over lunch. It seemed to have agitated Susie a bit, having her chewing on the cover of her hardcover math book while looking back at the other two.
Everything was just too much right now.
Like their mind triggering a mute button, all noise drowned out as Kris just continued to sit there in their desk, leaving silence in its wake. Their mind was completely clouded with nothing but their own thoughts, desperately trying to piece together what exactly they can do to help Dess just a little more.
Then they started to reminisce over last night. The way she was crying, so regretful. So full of desperation for forgiveness.
It was so heartbreaking, yet also odd.
If they remembered correctly, Dess wasn’t usually the apologetic type. She was always the aggressive, punky girl who was never sorry for anything. Always protective of Noelle, always disciplinary towards Kris, even if said discipline was just a beating with her wiffle bat.
She was brave, adventurous, determined, caring.
They’ve never seen this side of her before, so sorrowful, saying sorry in such a sincere way, the way her voice cracked and shook under her trembling lips. Come to think of it, they don’t think anybody, not even Asriel has seen her in such a state.
Of course, considering everything that has happened, it can really change a person, for better or for worse.
Everything was happening too fast for the poor girl. They wished there was something, anything they could do to help slow it all down.
The thought of having all this weight on one’s shoulders, and all because of something that was completely out of their control.
It was something that Kris was all too familiar with, and the thought of it happening to someone they cared about, whether it be Dess, or even Susie and Noelle. It ate away at their conscience.
But they shouldn’t worry so much about it, not anymore at least. The world was saved, the Roaring was stopped, all Dark Fountains were closed.
Right?
That was when they remembered something. Something important that crossed their mind in the midst of those silent thoughts.
That dream from yesterday.
What even was that? The Knight, that place, being what they would assume to be a Dark World.
They wanted to just brush it off as just a weird dream and have that be the end of that.
But there was something about it. Something that was dragging Kris by the wrist.
It felt so real, TOO real. They could feel the cold black armor wrapped around their body, the tears streaming down their face, the pain in their chest as they said sorry over and over again, the ringing in their ears as the cold wind blew against the both of them.
They couldn’t simply ignore it. Something about that dream made it so much more than just that.
Was it even a dream?
But before Kris could ponder any longer, the annoying sound of the bell rung in their ears. Class was over already? Not that they were complaining anyhow. Anything to get this shithole of a school over and done with. Without question, Kris packed their little to no belongings in their backpack and began walking out.
Or moreso they tried to, before being stopped by Susie in the hallway.
“Hey! Dumbass!!” She called out to them, but not loud enough for everyone else to hear. “What gives?! Are you gonna say how it went with Dess or what?! What happened??”
“Right..sorry.” Kris said softly. “I just..needed to process this a little more. But..” They give a small smile. “She at least seems to be doing better..at least I think she is.”
“Yeah..” Noelle suddenly chimed in behind the both of them. They both turned their focus onto the deer, who continued talking. “She was a lot more talkative to me afterwards, and this morning, we were finally able to catch up a little bit.” She cracked a smile. “I caught her up with as much as I could, I even introduced her to the smart TV in my room, you should’ve see her face, she was awestruck, fahaha!”
“Well, there’s that at least.” Susie sighed. She then turned to Kris. “Hey uh, wanna walk home together? Been a loooong time since we’ve done that.” Susie looked to the side for a brief moment. “That and uh, I wanna ask ya a couple things, if that’s cool.”
Kris nodded their head in response. It has been a good while since they’ve both done anything together in general. Well, if one could count the span of a week a “good while”, but with eventful days as such, it’d tend to feel like years. And with that, the 3 of them made their way down the halls, already noticeably empty, considering how small the whole school was.
They make it to the outside, the natural light of the sun beaming down on poor Kris’s face, augmenting their vision for just a brief moment. As their vision adjusted however, they heard a familiar voice from their direction. All 3 stopped as they were met with a face they all recognized;
Dess was waiting for them.
“Hey guys!!” She eagerly called out to them.
Kris froze in place for a brief moment, Noelle especially. Dess was really out there. In the open. In front of everyone.
It was only a matter of time of course. But this soon??
Then again, she couldn’t be cooped up in that manor forever.
“Dess..!” Noelle whispers out before speed walking over to her sister, a look that was rather a mix of joy and worry plastered on her face. “You’re…you’re out..!”
“Sure am.” Dess remarked. “It was already so boring being alone in that house for hours..so I thought I’d walk you home!”
Dess rubbed the back of her head. “And well..hm.”
“What is it?” Noelle asked. Dess only rubbed more. “Well..I wanna prepare myself, y’know?”
Kris knew exactly what she meant, a frown grew on their face. “For what?” They asked anyhow. Dess looked down at the ground, pondering for a few moments before looking back up, her brows burrowed.
“…Asriel…I have to confront him about..this.” She said, gesturing her hands towards herself. “I’m planning to do it tonight.”
“Already..? Are you sure Dess..?” Noelle said with concern embodying her voice. “If you need someone to be here I could-“ Dess shook her head. “Elly, I’ll be fine, I promise. This is something I have to do myself..besides, he’s going back to college like..tomorrow isn’t he?” She look back from the school, staring off into the distance. “Either I do this now, or I’m gonna be sulking about it for the next several months..” She then looked back at the gang with a small smile on her face. “..And I’ve already done enough sulking for one lifetime.”
In that moment, a feeling surged in Kris’s chest. A familiar feeling that they couldn’t exactly decipher. It felt so similar to how they felt around Susie. Hopeful, safe, like they could do anything. That feeling that they felt, even way back before Dess disappeared.
But what was it? They wondered.
Dess suddenly shifted her gaze towards Susie, who just awkwardly looked at the deer.
“Oh hey, uhh..Susie, right?” Dess asked.
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, that’s me.” She continued awkwardly, not really used to other people greeting her first. “Yeah! Elly told me a lot about you…and I mean a LOT.” Dess said while nudging her sister, who simply responded with an increasingly reddening face. “Dess!! You..you didn’t need to say it like that..”
“Oh! Uhm, uh, well..” Despite her best efforts, it was clear as day that Susie was also completely flustered by that remark. “W-what uh, what did she tell you?”
But before Dess could answer however, she suddenly felt this itch. As if someone was watching her from a distance. She looked past Susie, and was met with other students, simply staring at her, some with confused looks, some with widened eyes as if they recognized her.
“Hey, who’s that girl? Is she new??”
“She looks kind of..familiar..”
“Wait, is that..no hold on-“
“Is that Noelle’s sister??”
“She has a sister??”
“Wait what was her name again??”
Those whispers, they sounded too familiar.
Those quiet whispers that she hated so much.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
Dess shook her head. No. This is necessary. This is okay. It’ll be okay. She took a deep breath and turned the other way. “I’ll..explain everything later, let’s just go.” And so she started walking towards the Holiday House, and the rest followed suit.
—————————————————————————
“Yeah and we totally kicked their asses! Noelle did too!” Susie exclaimed, prompting a small blush from Noelle. As the gang was walking home from school, Dess told Susie a little bit about what Noelle exclaimed, which resulted in the purple reptile going on a ramble about everything that they did together. “Oh, faha! Yeah! I guess I did, a little bit!” Noelle undersold herself.
Susie frowned a bit. “A little bit?? Dude, you totally went nuts on those Titans! And ESPECIALLY that cat, like, holy shit. You should’ve seen it Dess, she was incredible!” Noelle blushed even more. “Uh, well!! I mean! I guess I was uh..pretty riled up-”
“Uh. Yeah, I know it does sound crazy, but-“ Susie started, before Dess cut her off. “Well, I was literally trapped in some other dimension by a cat so…I’m pretty inclined to believe it.”
She then turned to Noelle with a wide, very wide smile. “And YOU. Who woulda thought you’d be such a badass! I’m so proud of you Elly.”
“Oh! Th-thank you..!! …I..really tried.”
Kris in the meantime, was merely observing.
Watching as they all bonded over each other. It was a nice sight to see. They didn’t necessarily want to butt in and be a bother. So they just watched.
And watched. A part of them wished they would join in. But it wasn’t really their story to tell. At least that was their mindset. They just wanted to save Dess. And that was it, they did it. Nothing more to say.
Though they could have sworn for a brief moment, they saw Dess looking back at them with a slightly saddened look, as if SHE wanted them to join in.
But just for a moment.
Must’ve been the wind. Oh well.
As Susie continued to ramble along, Dess was processing everything that was said to her.
The Depths..so that’s where she was all this time..
Dark Worlds…why did those places sound so familiar?
The way Susie described their attires…it was exactly like what she saw in those visions.
And the cat..that damned cat.
So those visions, they weren’t just visions, were they?
It all happened, these Dark Worlds, this Roaring.
All that was left was one last thought.
Herself. Those visions, her black armor, the way she’d feel herself scream and howl, the way she’d feel herself contort, making her question if she was even truly alive.
Why did she feel like 2 separate people in that shelter?
What was she?
That’s when she saw something.
From the corner of her eye.
Something within one of the trees, deep in the forest, she saw a shadow.
A shadow with a familiar, dreadful shape.
And the only source of light in that moment, were that shadow’s eyes.
Eyes that were pink and yellow.
“Dess?”
She turned her head quickly to the direction of the voice, only to be met with Kris.
“Are..you okay?”
Dess looked around, being met by Susie and Noelle wearing worried faces. “Dude, you like, blacked out for a minute, you good?”
Dess looked back at the trees.
The figure was gone.
She then looked down at her hands.
They were trembling. Hard.
She clenched them tightly, looking back up with a smile. “Yeah, I’m..I’m good, sorry. Let’s keep going okay?”
She looked back at Kris, who had a bewildered look on their face. A face of pure terror.
They saw it too. The cat. Hiding. Smiling like it always has. And it was staring directly at Dess. They saw how she froze in place like a deer in headlights. They reached out to her, almost like they were trying to save her.
Dess returned the horrified look as they began walking again.
If Kris saw it too, then it was no coincidence, was it?
Now Noelle and Susie were staring at the both of them with grave concern, wondering now what’s gotten them so worked up. And as the 4 of them walked into the north end of Hometown in dead silence, they were suddenly met with a horrifying shrill, ringing within their ears.
“OH MY GOD!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!”
They all knew that voice all too well. ESPECIALLY Dess.
“Oh no..”
“You like, totally stole my look!!! You, you…thieving thief!!” Catty berated towards Bratty, who just so happened to be wearing the same shirt and pants as her.
“Hey now, I TOTALLY thought up of it first, don’t be so overdramatic.” Bratty retorted. This only made Catty fume even more.
“You have been stealing my style for like, EVER!! Even back then, you’ve been absolutely crapping my style!! I am SO, SO sick of it!! I’m so, SO sick of YOU! I’m gonna go to the police, and they are SO gonna arrest you and stuff- oh hey Kris, hey Dess- And YOU WILL-“
Bratty and Catty suddenly froze in place, their eyes now following the group of friends, mouths completely agape. Dess nervously waved at the both of them. “Hey guuuuyyyss, I’m hooome, hahaaaa..”
The only responses she got were those shocked stares, and Catty dropping her soda can onto the sidewalk.
“Uh…guys..?”
Still nothing.
They decided at that point to speed walk to the Holiday House before it gets even more awkward.
—————————————————————————
The sun was setting, Toriel and Asriel weren’t home yet.
Kris was getting worried again. Hopefully this confrontation thing was going okay at least. They weren’t exactly sure.
They were getting worried a lot lately haven’t they? That wasn’t really like them either.
They remembered Susie and Kris’s talk as they walked to their house earlier. That one question she had.
“So..what was it you wanted to ask me?”
“Huh? ..Oh, right! Well, I was just curious but uh..you alright? You’ve been so..freaked out lately. Even after we saved the world and all..are you okay?”
That was a good question.
A question that Kris couldn’t answer even if they tried.
So they simply answered “I’m fine. Puberty I guess.”
Which resulted in a playful punch from Susie.
“Whatever you say freak.”
But then they wondered..why WERE they so freaked out lately? Even they didn’t understand that.
Perhaps it was because they’ve learned what friendship feels like again, real, genuine friendship.
And now they have this undying need to help in anyway they can, be there for their friends.
Especially Dess.
Kris had plenty of friends, Noelle they’ve known for the longest time.
But Dess. They were so drawn to Dess unlike any other.
As a kid, they always wanted to get her attention, in anyway, even if it meant scaring Noelle in order to do so.
They remembered that one day very vividly.
Kris scared Noelle again, and Dess of course, was pissed as she confronted them with her wiffle bat.
“When will you learn, you little twerp!”
And upon the bat making contact with their head, they howled like dog, flopped on their back and played dead.
After a moment of silence, Dess bursted out into laughter. And that was how they’ve truly met.
Eventually, they just started hanging out. They remembered Dess constantly referring to them as a “little weirdo”, but it was endearing. Much how calling them “bestie” was also some form of endearment. They knew that.
But that’s not how they saw it. Not in the slightest.
They felt they could truly be themself around Dess. Just as adventurous, determined, troublesome.
Those wiffle bat beatings became less aggressive. And more friendly. Like a dog owner with a newspaper. Even exclaiming things like “Bad Kris!”
A smile formed on Kris’s face. Those were the days, weren’t it?
But now, even with Dess home, things only got messier and messier, with no signs of stopping.
They remembered the cat again.
The dream they had.
This was all too stressful. It should’ve been over. Just like that.
The mess kept piling up.
A few more minutes passed as Kris was all alone with their own thoughts. Pondering. Wondering. Thinking. Too much thinking.
Then, they heard something outside. Their thoughts came to a halt once more. And they listened.
Music?
But this wasn’t just any random music. This was something more familiar…something they’ve heard before.
The progressing chords. The soft, gentle strums of an acoustic guitar, letting out a somber melody.
Was that..?
Kris walked outside, the sun was still setting. The sky was a mix of reds, oranges and violets. The autumn leaves were still falling slowly, gently. And the music…
Kris ran towards the direction of the music, not sure how they knew. But they had an idea of where it might be coming from.
So they ran. And they ran more. The music was getting louder. And louder.
Before they realized it, they were at the cemetery. And right there, sitting in front of her father’s grave, was none other than Dess, all by herself.
She was strumming at her red guitar with no sheet, no sense of direction. She just played like it was second nature to her. That familiar tune that they heard time and time again.
The song they first heard from across the lake.
How was Kris able to hear that guitar from blocks away?
Questions later. For now, Dess looked extremely saddened. Not the same kind of sad as yesterday.
This was different. A more peaceful kind of sad, whatever that meant. Kris walked up to the deer slowly, who immediately took notice of them.
She greeted them with a soft smile, almost like she was relieved to see them.
“Kris..didn’t expect to see you here.” She remarked. Kris replied with a semi truth, thinking it’d be too weird to say ‘I heard you playing from across town.’
“I was uh..out for a jog.” This only resulted in Dess snorting. “You? Jogging?? Man, you really have changed.”
Kris didn’t say anything else, they only walked towards her and sat right next to her. Her smile faded and looked down, as if she knew exactly what they were going to say next.
“So…I guess it didn’t go well?” Kris asked.
Dess took a moment and took a deep, slow breath, before turning back to them.
“Well..it went..well, actually.”
Well that was a surprise. They figured Asriel would have freaked out or something.
But then Dess continued.
“He was just coming from a church session with Toriel or something..I ran into him after HOURS of searching…probably wasn’t even hours but it sure felt like it.” She chuckled a bit before she continued. “He..well…he was shocked, I was shocked. He was so damn tall now..he looks like a completely different person..” Kris nodded in agreement. “Yeah..”
Dess took another breath.
“He hugged me. Tight. He was crying so much, and I was crying too. We both missed each other. So much..
Toriel missed me too, of course. She hugged me like no tomorrow.
She left me and Azzy alone, and we..talked.
I don’t want to bore you with all the details.. but..”
“Please..I want to know.” Kris reassured.
A moment of silence.
“…Alright..well..”
Dess then closed her eyes as she began to recount the events of what transpired.
—————————————————————————
“You…haven’t changed..at all..” Asriel said in disbelief. Dess nodded her head slowly.
“Yeah..shocking, I know, you’re not the first one to say it.”
“Sorry..just..what happened..?” Asriel seemed genuinely concerned. Dess only looked up at the older monster. “I was gone for a few weeks..now everyone is older. I can’t really explain it without sounding too crazy.”
Asriel smiled a bit. “Well, to be fair, everything has been pretty crazy lately.”
His smile quickly faltered.
“But..you were gone for so long. I’m so happy you’re back but…this is…just…”
“Awkward now..yeah.” Dess whispered.
“To be honest, I wanted to spare you the pain and just…not show myself to you…but that wouldn’t have been..right.”
There was silence.
“So…now what?” Dess asked.
Asriel stood still for a moment.
As if he was deep in thought.
“..We just go on with our lives…we can stay aquatinted, but nothing more…”
Dess nodded slowly. “Y-yeah…I agree….”
Her ears drooped.
“I’m….glad we’re on the same page…”
She felt a hand suddenly place itself on the top of her head. Asriel’s, as a way to comfort her.
Her eyes started to tear up.
“I’m so happy you’re back Dess. I really am..”
That sentence alone made her break.
She started sobbing loudly. Tears were pouring out like fountains. Asriel rubbed her head some more.
She only started crying harder.
Everyone was staring at her now.
But she didn’t care.
She didn’t care about anything anymore.
She thought she was prepared for the worst.
And yet, her heart that day, was shattered into a million pieces.
—————————————————————————
“And..that’s it. We went our separate ways.” Dess sighed.
“In hindsight, I shouldn’t have cried as much as I did..it was the right thing to do..but…”
She was starting to tear up again. “Goddamnit, I’m sorry..faha, I look like such an idiot right now.”
Kris scooted closer to Dess.
“It’s okay to cry.” They said. “I’d imagine Azzy is..pretty sad about this too…I don’t know how else I can help, I’m sorry..”
Dess looked back at Kris with wet eyes, letting out a small laugh. “You’re already helping, dummy..you’re listening to me right now, aren’t you?” Kris nodded.
“Then it’s enough….thank you, Kris..” Dess looked away for a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes.
“For listening to all my sob stories, for just..being here. Thank you..”
Kris shrugged. “What are best friends for, right?”
“Yeah..yeah..” Dess looked forward to Rudy’s grave. And she stared for a minute. Kris gave her time to process.
“…So much has happened already…but at least I can move forward, knowing I have you and others by my side. At least I still have everyone..for the most part..but I have to move forward..” She smiled at her dad’s grave.
“It’s what Dad would have wanted after all.”
She looked back down at her guitar, giving it a few strokes, and some tuning. Before looking back at Kris. “Oh, sorry, uh…wait what time is it??”
The sky was already a dark shade of blue. Concerningly, Kris pulled out their phone.
“…8:57.”
“Oh SHIT!! I need to go, don’t want my family worrying.” Dess grabbed her stuff and stood herself up, Kris as well. “Yeah, my family’s probably home by now too..are you gonna say bye to Azzy in the morning?”
Dess thought for a moment. “Well…sure, why not? We’re on good terms, I’d like to think..”
Kris smiled. “I’m sure he’d be happy to see you there.”
“Yeah…you have a good night Kris, alright?” She turned to make her way home, only to stop herself for a moment.
“Oh! Actually…it’s a weekend tomorrow right?” She rubbed her arm sheepishly, making Kris tilt their head. “Yeah?”
“After we say goodbye to Azzy..would you…maybe wanna hang out? Someplace, somewhere, we can figure out the details.”
Kris was surprised. Not only was this so sudden, but the fact that she asked them to come and hang. Something she’s never done before to anyone…
Except maybe…
Kris blushed a bit and shook off those thoughts. How absurd.
“Uh..y’know what, screw it, I’m down.”
Dess was beaming now. “Hell yeah! Tomorrow morning then!” She turned to face the pathway to the mansion once more before she turned her head to look at Kris one last time, a smile spread on her face. “I’ll see you then, Kris.”
Kris smiled back. “Yeah..see ya, Dess.”
As they watched Dess walk off into the night, they just stood there, completely silent.
A hangout with Dess. It was going to be their first one in a long time. Kris wasn’t sure if they were ready, in a good way of course.
Perhaps they were worrying for nothing. The whole mess was slowly but surely beginning to sort out, it was gonna be okay…
Dess was home, everyone is shocked, but they’ll come around eventually.
And Kris. They were at peace. For the first time in a long time, they’ve felt a sense of peace.
Everything was going to be okay.
Everything was going to be okay.
But as soon as that sentiment entered their brain, the night suddenly began howling at them.
A faint whisper within a dark abyss. Within the branches of the trees.
Kris’s eyes suddenly darted towards them.
The trees were whispering to them.
Kris started to back up. The pure sense of hope was now replaced with pure dread. This wasn’t happening now, right? Not again, not again, anything but this.
Then they saw something. Something moving in the dark.
From the corner of their eye.
Kris began sprinting home, without a second thought. They were not taking that chance. Not again. They just want to be happy again. Why can’t they just be left alone?
Why can’t IT just leave them alone?
—————————————————————————
Dess was sprinting as fast as she could.
It was following her. That cat was following her.
She can hear the laughs, the shrill humming of shadows closing in on her.
She ran and ran, trying not to have a panic attack in the process.
“No..stop..” She whispered under her heavy breath.
“Not again…not again…not again….”
She was close to the manor now, the front gate was thankfully unlocked. She barged right in and closed the gate, locking it immediately.
The lights from the manor made her feel safe, the laughing was now distant, as were the shadows.
A ringing filled her ears, her hands were trembling again as she clutched the strap of her guitar.
And then all that was left, was silence.