Chapter Text
…ring…
…ring…
A white mass of fur lays awkwardly on a couch not quite big enough to comfortably hold it. The room it sits in is dark and dusty, the only source of light is an old CRT TV. The faint audio of a cooking show blends with the white pile’s snores.
…ring…
…ring…
The snoring is cut off by a deep, pitiful groan. The figure begins to move, knocking over a glass bottle, which rolls off the couch and into more glass bottles in a small pile on the floor.
…ring…
…crck…
“H- hello?” The figure speaks. His voice is deep and resonant, but his tone is gentle and sweet, and tired. His face, white and dog-like, framed by a mane of yellow hair, takes on a worried expression as he processes the quiet mumbles coming through the phone speaker.
“...Kris? Kris what’s wrong?” He is brought out of his grogginess, the hot sensation of adrenaline replacing it. “Is she bothering you again?”
He stands up, stumbling a bit as he finds his balance. “Kris… you know I can’t… when I’ve been…” The mumbling grows louder and more frantic. “I… Of course I…”
“No, I don’t know where your mother is.”
“Maybe if you weren’t so hard on Noelle… no, I know… It was just a prank. But you know how she is…”
He lets out a long, worried sigh. “Alright, I’ll come pick you up.”
-
It is a quiet night. The stars show clearly in the sky, the moon well into its trek through their sparkling fields. Now is a moment of quiet, an eye of the storm of sorts.
A small human stands alone in a dark wood just past the cemetery. They are the only human for miles and miles. They are holding their phone like a life raft in turbulent water, the contacts folder open to the number labeled “Dad”. There are tears around their eyes and quiet sniffling, deadened by the trees. No wind will drift through this small town tonight. No leaves will whisper in its wake.
The sound of running through the undergrowth fades in as something approaches. The small human tenses, then relaxes as a white figure comes into view.
“Kris! There you are! I was worried about you, what happened?”
A lanky teenage boy, his face taking more after his mother’s than his father’s, wraps Kris in his long furry arms. His voice is light and soothing, tinged with brotherly worry. The child remains silent, burying their face into him.
“It’s alright, I understand.” He says in a compassionate, yet knowing tone.
Distant shouting echoes toward the two, and Asriel steps back, straightening up and smiling. “Boy, she sure is mad this time, isn’t she?” He gives a half-hearted chuckle. “We better get back home quick.”
He turns back toward the way he came, grasping Kris’ hand in his own. They begin to move forward, but stop as the shouting grows closer and clearer.
“KRIS! I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!” The girl's voice is raspy and strained. She has been shouting for a while now, and it’s beginning to take a toll on her throat. This does not stop her from continuing to yell as loud as she can into the night.
“Maybe we should take a detour…” Asriel says, voice growing more worried. He turns around and brings Kris the other way, leaving the cemetery behind and travelling deeper into the woods.
It’s dark, and neither of them can see very well. The distant shouting fades in and out as they trek slowly through brambles and fallen branches. Cricket chirps and the hoots of owls fill the silence in between them when it finally disappears. Asriel looks at Kris with a face they know all too well.
“...Kris, why can’t you just leave Noelle alone? You know she doesn’t like your pranks.”
They say nothing. Their head is turned toward the ground, their shaggy hair covering their face in shadow.
“How is she supposed to be more confident when you’re scaring her all the time?”
Kris mumbles something under their breath.
“She’ll face her fears when she’s ready to.” Asriel snaps back at them, and they shrink a little at the change in attitude. He frowns but says nothing more. They continue walking.
After what feels like hours, they finally make it back to the forest path. They creep forward, stopping just at the wood’s edge, checking to make sure there’s nobody nearby to see them before they step back out onto the road. The moon is beginning to set by now, its low angle casting long, crooked shadows across the landscape as they walk back towards town. They can see the church coming into view, faint reflections of the lunar light dappled across its stained glass windows.
Asriel releases Kris’ hand, and turns towards them. “You should apologize to her tomorrow.” His eyes still hold that same compassion in them, even after all this time.
They nod their head silently. They don’t say how angry it makes them that he still chooses to forgive them, even after all this time.
Asriel turns back to the road, and his eyes grow wide with fear as he spots a dark figure standing outside the church.
“Shit! Kris, we gotta hide!” Asriel hisses as he grabs their hand again, dragging them with him back into the woods. He jumps underneath a bush, pulling Kris in with him. They try to stifle their heavy breathing as they hear footsteps running toward them.
“ASRIEL DO YOU THINK I’M STUPID?! STOP- S-” Dess stops, kneeling over in a coughing fit, her breathing ragged. “STop h idING THEM FROM ME!” Her voice is worn away from over-use. She squints her eyes as she scans the woods around them. She attempts to growl, coughing hoarsely instead.
Several minutes pass, her face looking more and more defeated and angry. She sighs, beginning to turn to walk away.
…ring…
…ring…
She whips back towards them, eyes piercing into them through the cover. Kris curses loudly.
“RUN!” Asriel shouts, still clutching their hand tightly, making a break for it through the woods.
Dess lunges in after them, her shouting obscured by the two siblings' heavy breathing and the crunching of twigs and leaves beneath their feet.
Suddenly, Asriel pivots and jumps back out onto the path, still running in the same direction. The shadow of a large hill comes into view, blocking out the sky behind it as they approach.
They run around its base to the other side, and set into the earth is a large concrete tunnel, its entrance guarded by a great red door. Without hesitation, Asriel grabs the door’s handle and tugs hard on it. It squeaks and grinds through rusty hinges as he pulls it open. The two take a step back.
Its entrance is so dark it seems to absorb light from the air around it. Kris takes another step back and squeezes Asriel’s hand. Asriel kneels down and puts his hands on Kris’ shoulders.
“I know it’s scary in there, but it’ll just be for a few minutes. I’ll come get you as soon as Dess leaves. I promise.” His smile is wholesome and reassuring, but the fear glinting in his eye is still plain as day.
Kris shakes their head and tries to step back farther, but Asriel stops them.
“Remember when we used to play pretend, Kris? It’s just like that.”
“Just close your eyes, and imagine you’re somewhere else. Imagine Ramb is there, and we’re playing just like old times, okay?”
“J u s t p r e t e n d y o u ’ r e i n a n o t h e r w o r l d .”
-
Asriel comes out from behind the large mound of earth just as Dess crashes through the undergrowth and back out onto the forest path.
“Where did you hide them, asshole?” She rasps angrily through coughs and wheezes
“Dess… I think we should all just go home and get some rest.” Asriel tries diplomatically, but it just pisses her off even more.
“NO! TH-” She coughs again. “They aren’t getting away with this again! I won’t let them!”
“Dess…”
“NO! SHUT UP! This has gone on WAY too fucking long, and someone needs to put a stop to it. Cough up the human already, Asriel!” She takes a step closer and clenches her fist. She’s menacing on the best of days, but tonight she looks like a wild animal. Her eyes are bloodshot with rage, and deep bags underscore them. Her hair is a tangled mess around her antlers, and her clothes are ragged and torn up from running through the woods. Her dark fur has patches of blood, some are old and some from tonight’s sharp branches.
“No.” Asriel stands his ground. He hasn’t been afraid of this girl in a long time.
“That’s it? No?” She spits out. She steps forward and shoves him toward a gnarled tree, its roots creeping onto the path and tripping him. He falls to the ground at its base.
“How is Kris ever gonna learn anything if you’re always bailing them out?”
She grabs his collar and drags him against the tree bark, back up to his feet.
The distant hums of a truck engine drift by, unnoticed by the two in their heated argument.
She holds up her fist, as if preparing to punch him in the face.
Headlights stretch out across the path, illuminating them as the truck gets closer.
“I’m not gonna let your damn dad save you this time, Asriel.” She pulls back.
Asriel is looking toward the truck, now recognizable as Asgore’s, as it rushes down the path toward them.
“Dess… Dess I think we should g-”
“SHUT THE HELL UP!”
The sound of brakes screeching and tires slipping against dirt is deafening. The headlights dip down, then turn toward the woods, then overcorrect in the opposite direction. The truck spins.
Dess’ body is sent several feet into the air as it collides with the side of the truck bed. The crunching sound of metal makes Asriel's stomach sick. There is a moment of silence after the truck comes to a halt and before Dess’ body does the same. It stretches into eternity.
Asriel screams out when he hears the cracking of her bones against the earth.