Btw this chapter is a mess I'm so sorry..
Also sorry for the lack of art in this chapter, my drawing hands are not doing it for me right now, I only drew a few things...

I have also made some more Spamton art above👆🪺💽
(Because I gave up on the main chapter art for this one)

———————————————

The room was bright, filled with items and mechanics Kris didn't understand, along with other various objects and things that gave the boy a sense of familiarity. A giant screen displayed on the wall behind him. And the green cage remained over his head.

His hands reached out, gripping the bars. With effect, he attempted to pull them apart. In the end, it did nothing, he couldn't even squeeze through if he tried. He was stuck and alone in a room he had no recollection of.

The giant computer screen behind him suddenly turned on. Queen grinned, satisfied at her capture.

"How Do You Like Your New Room Units. As You Can See They Are Perfectly Suited To Your Interests (Which I Gleaned From Your Internet Search Results)"

She... What!?

"I Estimate You Will Have No Desire To Leave. Please Tantilize Yourself With Your Surroundings" Queen satisfied grin suddenly turned menacing.

"And Wait Patiently While I Dominate The World. Toodles"

The computer switched off, leaving Kris with the items and the green cage that still secured him to one single spot.

Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from the talk tube across from his cage.

"K... Kris!? Hey!! Can you hear me!?"

He gripped the bars tightly. "S-Susie!?"

"Yeah! Looks like there's some way to communicate between rooms."

The remark made Kris remember something. He recalled the same thing happening the first time they both came to the Dark World. Getting locked in some sort of prison in a big fancy place. He hoped this wasn't gonna be a pattern.

The computer shot on again. "Convenient Isn't It I Really Thought Of Everything" Queen says. "Shut up!!" Susie spouted, just as the computer turned off.

"Anyway, let's think of some way to get out of here!! Ralsei, you got any bright ideas...?"

No response from The Prince.
"Hey... where the hell's Ralsei!? Sal, what about you?"

No response from Sal either.
"Sal!? Where the hell are they!?"

Ralsei and Sal aren't here!? Where could be? Did Queen do something to them!?

As Kris' mind continually thought of the worst, a scream was heard from somewhere nearby. It was... an oddly soft scream.

"Damn, that soft-yet-tender screaming— Kris, that's gotta be Ralsei!! Quick, we gotta think of some way to get out!! Anything you smuggled in that might help us!?"

Anything... Kris smuggled in that might help...? He thought about it, then remembered.

That's right! Maybe Kris could bring Jevil to help!

He quickly searched through his pocket to find him. Instead, he ended up hearing another voice.

"Hoho! Blue person! It's me, Lancer! Release me and I will release you!"

... Oh crap... That's right. Kris couldn't believe he forgot about Lancer. And now that he recalled, he did indeed, smuggle a Jack of Spades card in his pocket earlier.

Kris smiled, deciding if Lancer really wanted to help, he wasn't gonna let him not be included.

Taking out the Jack of Spades from his pocket, Kris watched as the card floated in from of the cage and spun around until the card itself transformed into the small blue Darkner. His smile was as cheerful as it was the first Kris first met him.

"Missed me???" Lancer asked. "Because I missed you!! Nu-Ha ha ha!!"

Kris couldn't help but smile back. "I-it's great to see you again, Lancer."

"Lancer!?" Susie exclaimed from the talk tube. "That you!? I thought you ditched us!"

The Darkner shock his head. "No!! I love ditches but I would never ditch you!! I was simply relaxing in Kris' spacious Pants Hole with Uncle Jevil."

"Uhh, "pocket—" W-Wait!! "Uncle Jevil!!??"

The smaller being shrugs and smiles. "He's not actually my uncle. I just love calling that!! And he doesn't mind at all!!

"We even saw that other Lightner with blue pigtails!! Uncle Jevil was telling me how much he loved them!!"

Susie suddenly beamed. "Hey wait, didn't you see us on the roller coaster!?"

"Yes!!! It was amazing!!" Lancer exclaimed as he spun around and laughed. "My first coaster ride!!! Ha ha!! I love getting nauseous with friends!! Too bad uncle Jevil was sleeping at the time!! He would of LOVED it!!"

Kris chuckled, amused at the idea of both Darkeners screaming with joy on an epic roller coaster ride. The Darkner Fun Committee they would be.

"Hey you should probably, uh, free us." Susie stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh right!! Yes!! You can always rely on a friendly Me... To make you free!!!"

Lancer runs over the computer as it turns on and looks down at the giant keyboard. "Haha!! I have no idea how to use this!!" He gets on top of the keyboard, and does a doggy style pose, for some strange reason that Kris couldn't understand. "Request... new item for room"?? That sounds good." Lancer remains in his doggy style position as he typing on the giant keyboard.

The blue Lightner would say this adds to the list of one of the weirdest experiences he's seen today... but if he really thought it, this was normal, especially for Lancer.

"Item request: Shovel. Quantity: Let's say... 999." He jumps off the keyboard. The giant computer screen turns red, displaying the warning: "QUANTITY OVERLOAD"

Suddenly the top of Kris' cage flew off, along with the bars that surrendered him helpless. Lancer laughed, feeling proud.

"Hoho!! It worked!!" He happily skips over to Kris and smiles once more. "Let's go, blue person whose name I know!"

"I-it's uh... it's Kris."

"Yeah! Let's go!!"

^^^^^^^

The moment Kris stepped out of the room, he was greeted with dozens and dozens of fancy purple doors with Queen's face on it. Red carpet replaced the floor and plants that were made from wires and other computer bits were planted as unique decoration throughout the hall.

He then noticed Susie talking with Lancer. It was nice, seeing them together again after their last visit to the Dark World.

"Kris, hey!!!" Susie motioned the boy over, in which he happily complied.
She then smiled down at Lancer.
"Man... Lancer...! You're the best, dude!!"

An epic HIGH FIVE!! was exchanged between the two former "Bad Guys."
It really was nice seeing these two together again.

"C'mon, Noelle, Sal and Ralsei are waiting!! Susie exclaimed as she started to walk with Lancer by her side.
"Yes...! Let's put the pedal on the metal—!!

*Cough... cough*"

There was paused in the air. A moment to realize that the cough Lancer just had, didn't sound like a light, passing one. It sounded ruff, almost like he was getting sick.

"L-Lancer... A-are you ok?" Kris asked obviously concerned. Susie looked just as worried as Kris.
"I... I'm fine! Just... very...

Cold..."

Suddenly he falls to the floor, his color growing more sickly pale, shivering a little.
"H... hey, what the hell!?" Susie exclaims. "Hey, are you OK dude...? Here, lemme heal you...!"

A Dragon Ball style release of a small amount of healing magic later— and Lancer still didn't look well.
The healing did nothing to help..

Feeling devastated, Susie walks over the shivering Darkner on the floor. His colors continue to gradually get more pale.
"... th-thanks, Susie... but.."

The purple Lightner's eyes sadden. "D... darn, it's not strong enough, huh..." She urgently turns her attention to Kris.
"Quick, Kris, let's find Ralsei! Maybe he can heal him!"

Carefully picking up the cold Lancer, Susie carried him on her back. She gestured Kris to get a move on with a tilt of her head. Quickly, they make their way down the hall.

They stopped when they heard one of the doors open behind them.
"Wait!!! WAIT!!!" Berdly cried as he ran put of the room.
"Y-you two aren't going to leave without ME, are you!?"

Susie and Kris spared each other a skeptical look.

"Uhhh... yeah we are." Susie claimed.

The bird looked flabbergasted. "But Noelle— my damsel in distress— she must be... in distress!"
He hangs his head low, feeling disappointed in himself.
"And if I cannot help her, then...!"

"Okay FINE you can come if you shut up."
Berdly's face suddenly lights up, despite Susie and Kris' original decision.

Before they moved forward, Kris told them to wait right there as he forgot to do something.
Quickly, he backtracked to a SAVE POINT.

"You have escape from your second personalized room of the day.

You are filled with...

—the power of vacation homes."

SAVE❤️

^^^^^^^

It was only a matter of time before more puzzles needed to be that dealt with. This time, with spotlights! Kris couldn't have been more excited. More puzzles meant more fun for him.

Berdly smirked, feeling cocky about solving it himself.
"Calm your skinless, boneless, thighs everyone. I'll think of a solution!"

Susie rolled her eyes. "Kris, just ignore him. You got this. I'll just be over here where I can't hear you."

"And I'll be here, away from your IQ-debuffing aura!" Berdly said.

The puzzle was simple enough. Rearrange the bright dark bulbs to match with the picture on the floor, which turned out to be Queen's face in the end.
In all honesty, there was really no surprise there.
The picture on the floor glowed once completed. Susie smiled.
"Yeah!! We got it!!"

Berdly one the other hand, was flabbergasted.
"Wh... What!? Hey!, wait a second— How'd you... How'd you solve it without me!?" He exclaimed, shooting an angered glare at Kris. The boy quickly shied away, feeling uncomfortable. Thankfully Susie stood up for him, laughing mocking.
"Hahaha!! Kris figured it out before you!! Jealous?"

The bird recoiled angrily. "Well I..." He breathed in, putting on a confident smile.
"I knew the answer, I just wanted to see Kris try, first! It's called SUSPENSE, Susan!! DRAMATIC suspense!!"

"Then YOU do the next one."
"Fine! Watch me!!" The bird Lightner marched off to the next room as Susie muttered something about her name not being Susan, making Kris chuckle slightly.
His eyes lit up upon seeing the next puzzle.

"Ha. Child's Play. Couldn't you give me a harder one?
For example, if anyone had a 4x4 Puzzle Cube..." The bird mocked.

Susie didn't want to hear any of his nerdy math right now.
"Just tell us the solution."
Berdly smirked once more, crossing his arms.
"Well, hahah— ah, you see—
...
First you
...
You align the shadows... with the lines on the floor."

Susie sighs. "Alright. What do we move first."
Berdly was sweating bullets.
"Um..."

Ok this is getting ridiculous. Susie turned to Kris, adjusting Lancer on her back, making sure he didn't fall.
"Kris, just do the puzzle."
"J... Just give me a moment!!" Berdly protested.
"It's not like Kris could solve it anyway!!"

On the contrary, he's been doing better than Berdly so far when it came to puzzles, but Kris wasn't going to say that out loud. Instead, Susie made sure they both stepped aside for Kris to try and solve. Luckily, it was the same kind like the last one, except the picture was a triangle.

A minute or two later, it was complete!
—Much to Berdly's surprise once again.

"H-huh!? W... wait!! Wait just a second!! You can't have—"
His brows furrowed angrily. "You just got lucky! It's just trial and error! The brute force method! Ha! A caveman could do it! Except cavemen died OUT, because they're STUPID!
I'M solving the next one, so— Just STAY HERE until I'm done!!"

He ran off into the next room.
The bird was stubborn, that's for sure. And neither Susie, nor Kris really knew why.
The purple Lightner smiled, feeling stubborn herself.
"Yeah, like we're gonna wait that long."

They enter the room, finding a very stumped Berdly. His eyes widened, seeing the other two not being able to follow simple directions.
"What are you two doing here!? This one's MINE! It'll be over in a second, so why don't you just, relax in your mind palace, which PROBABLY doesn't even have anything in it!"

He laughed, before catching a glance of Kris.
There was no hint of anger, disappointment or even anxiousness in his expression.
Instead, it was one of... pleading. Almost desperately.
It disgusted the bird, yet it also made him... soften a little.

He turned away from the two. Clenching his fist with furrowed brows.
"I just need to figure out... why... The shapes don't go together..."

Susie thought about it, then suddenly had an idea of putting all the shapes in the square picture, kind of like a hole— at least from what Lancer weakly referenced it to.
Kris decided to try it out. Minutes later, and...

"S-SUSIE's idea worked!? There's... there's no way!!" Berdly exclaimed. "It's a computer bug!! It's a glitch!! You're cheating!! J... just like when you w-wavedash!"

Susie laughed loudly. "HAHAHA!! How's it taste, idiot!? Man, I'm gonna relish this FOREVER!
All those times you acted so high and mighty...
Well, guess what? You're not!!
Face it! You're just as big a dumbass as the rest of us!!
Hahahaha!!"

The reality hit. And it hit hard.
Berdly turned away from the Lightner and bowed his head in defeat.
Despite all the hurt he did to Kris in the past, it hurt him too, seeing him down like that.

"... fine.
I admit it.
I... I'm not that smart.
I never was.
THERE, are you happy!?"

Berdly stopped, calming himself. "I... I... I just..."

Berdly points accusingly at Kris who recoiled in surprised.
"You! You used to be cool! What happened!? You used to be the talk of the town! Everyone's crown child! The savior of monsters!! ... But now..."
He pauses, catching his breath.
"It's like everything that happened was just a fantasy! Like it wasn't even real at all..."

His head lows slightly.
"And everything in town either ignored or treated you badly... including me..."
Susie remained silent, for she was also guilty of those actions as well.

Kris didn't know how to respond, so he continued to listen to Berdly's ramblings.

"... Remember that Spelling Bee all those years ago...? Me and Noelle studied all night for that day... She was so nervous, but she knew the words better than me... Until she messed up on one... and in the end, I was crowned a genius." He stated.

"I realized how much I enjoyed the attention, the praise, the adoration.
It felt great... It made me wonder if this what you felt all this time..."
Berdly raised his head, his eyes staring deeply into Kris.

"... However, it was Noelle whose's the genius. She's the real smart kid...
And since I'm being honest, I would also like to say something else..."
The bird hesitates.

"I... I envy you! There I ADMIT IT! I envy you Kris!! I-I'm just...! ... Jealous of you.
... You used to get all the praise in the world and even did more work than me and Noelle combined! You freed us monsters from the underground for crying out loud!
How can I top doing something amazing like that!!?"
The bird sighs tiredly.
... What am I going to do even I need to leave Noelle? All these expectations everyone has on me... it's getting worse when I get older..."
He pauses.

"You both deserve the praise... Maybe...I'm the real idiot..."

Silence was the only respond Susie and Kris could give in that moment.

The human Lightner wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right words.
He didn't know this was how the monster bird felt, but now that he knew... he felt a powerful urge to apologize. Though... he didn't do anything, thinking it wasn't the right thing to do right now.

Lancer on the other hand, who had no idea what's going on smiles.

"Cheer up chicken nugget man! We're all idiots too! You might not be the real smart one or the one who deserves praise, but you still got some awesomeness of your own to be proud of! Heck, we're all not that smart and we praise each other!"

"Yeah he's right." Susie says. "I mean... I don't know about everyone else being an idiot. But I don't think you should beat yourself down just because someone else accomplished more or seems smarter than you.
But whether you're the smart kid or not. We couldn't care less. Screw up as you much as you want, honestly. It's not like our opinion can do much through—"

Suddenly, she remembered a question she had desperately been wanting to clear up.
And now's the time to ask it again.
"Actually... You gonna tell us how you got here in the first place?"

Berdly perked up. Maybe it would be better to finally answer them now.
"Fine." He says, taking out a folded note from his pocket.

"Noelle generously wrote me a letter to join you. She said to "meet at the library." The one library we were at. And being the loyal friend I am, I took the bus here."

Susie looked absolutely confused.

".... Dude...

... Noelle didn't say she was including you in anything...
It was just me and her, visiting Kris... That's it..."

Berdly paused.

"Wh-what are you talking about? Of course she wrote me a note! She even signed it right here!"

".... Dude.... That's not her... she didn't write that..."

"... ... T-then who did!?"

More silence emanated from the teens. Kris, who was mostly quiet throughout all of this, felt speechless.

Berdly received a note that told him to meet them at library where Kris was at? Not to mention it being sighed by someone who tried to trick Berdly into thinking it was Noelle?
Why would someone do that? Who the hell wrote that letter? It didn't make any sense...

Susie smiled nervously.
"I...don't know. But proving my point, your really an idiot for believing that was Noelle!"

"Maybe you're right..." The bird Lightner says. He then sighs, giving a confident smile.
"It seems I've underestimated you! Both of you! But! Worry not!! I have decided!!!
I will turn a new leaf from now on!!"
Berdly states proudly.
"From this day forward! I will fight for the side! OF IGNORANCE!!!"

"WE'RE NOT TELLING YOU TO BE STUPID!"

"It's ok to make mistakes sometimes." Lancer adds.

Berdly laughs. "—And make mistakes I will!!!

He turns to Susie. "I appreciate you for helping me realize this, Susie!"
She glanced at Kris, who shrugged in response.
"And Kris...!"
The boy tenses up.

"We shall meet again! ... Later!"
The bird turns and walks away.

Susie tiredly rubs her temples with one of her hands as the other continues to hold up Lancer.

"Ugh, why couldn't Ralsei be here to teach you the mortal lesson...?"

^^^^^^^^^

Talk about elegant.
Long fancy tables were arranged evenly on top of red clean carpet. Shining silverware was neatly placed just right near each open chair as two candlelights adorn the table for a little mood lighting and a giant glistening chandelier hung beautifully above each table.

The sight made Kris think of Ralsei's castle.
With him being alone for so long, he wondered if his castle was super fancy like this inside. Maybe Kris should ask him at some point— bet he had some really cool things he took care of living there.

In between the long aligned tables were the giant birds in a elaborate red suit and the other, a yellow suit and white pants. Both of their big hands folded neatly together.

"This downstairs table will be for our special guests." The first one said. "There's a dinner party on the 2nd floor for everyone else."

Kris smiled understandably, then suddenly heard a high pitched scream.
He ran to catch up with Susie who also heard it.

She held onto Lancer a little tighter, protectively.
"Th... that screaming... Ralsei...!?" Susie exclaimed.

The two hastily walked, stopping once they found the source of the noise.

It was Ralsei and Sal!
However, neither of them were the one screaming.
More giant birds with the red suits were baffled, flustered, amazed, and of course, screaming at the beautiful sight before them as they gazed upon the teens boys.

The birds screamed with absolute joy one more time, before walking off to their duties.

"R-Ralsei, Sal!" Kris called. The boys turned around, giving the other Lightners a better look at their fancy suits.
Kris was suddenly frozen.

Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Kris, I swear if you scream—
Don't scream. I know they both look cute—but don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't you dare scream! Don't scream! Don't scream! Don't scream!

"O-oh!! Kris, Susie!!" Ralsei did his best to response appropriately.
"Umm, how may we serve you...?"

"The hell are you both doing!?" Susie asked almost accusingly.
"Queen didn't want to put me in a room and she didn't have one for Ralsei so... She made us into her butlers, instead." Sal explained, placing a strand of his loose hair back in place.

"Whatever!! Ralsei!"Susie quickly gets in front of The Prince, taking Lancer off her back and holding him out so The Prince could see. "Can you heal Lancer!?"

Ralsei notices the boy's pale, sickly complexion. Immediately, he started to worry.
"Haha... it's... cold..." Lancer spoke through a raspy voice.

Ralsei took a step closer, examining the pale boy from top to bottom. His expression saddened once he understood the results of his sickness.

"... Susie..." Ralsei spoke, hesitating.
"I'm afraid... This is something I can't heal." He informed solemnly.

Susie was shocked. "Wh-what?"

"Lancer is..."

Before he explained further, Susie felt something off about the boy's body. She let go of him just in time as the body immediately turned into stone.
His cobblestone body stood perfectly. Like a perfect positioned statue.

"Holy shit..." Sal exclaimed in disbelief.
Susie began shaking Lancer frantically.
"Lancer!? Lancer hey...!!!"

She couldn't lose him. She couldn't! Not here! Not ever!
He had to wake up and turn back! He had to!!

Susie continued to shake and desperately try to wake Lancer.
Kris and Sal looked towards Ralsei for answers.
He got the memo quickly, not being able to face them while explaining, he turned his back on this friends and explained.

"You see, each Dark Fountain creates a different "world." A "world" whose Darkners reflect the will of its fountain. But, though those Darkners can exist in their own worlds... They might not "belong" if they go to another one."

The information slowly bled into all three of them. As Kris took it in, he suddenly had a realization that made his eyes widen slightly with confusion.

"S-so then... w-why didn't Jevil turn into stone?"

Ralsei turned back around, slightly taken aback by the question. Regardless, he answered.

"It's possible that because he now exists as one of your DEFENSE items, he can go anywhere with you. However, it's seems that he can exist with his psychical form outside of your pocket as well."

As much as Kris hated the word "item" or "object" used on the imp, he figured it made sense.
In a weird way, he was just glad he didn't turned into stone too.

"S-so... is there anyway t-to fix Lancer?" Kris asks.

"Yes. There is a way.
Castle Town's Grand Fountain is made of pure darkness. As long as it stays flowing any Darkner can live there." Ralsei explains.
"He'll be ok once we seal the fountain in this world."

"So we just need to get out of here?" Sal asks. The Prince nods. "Right."

"... alright." Susie replied, looking back at statue Lancer.
"Lancer, we'll be back for you, buddy..."

"Your friend, if we defeat Queen, we can save him?"
The group spun around to see Berdly walk in.

"Uh, yeah." Susie replied.

"With me out of the way, Queen... is going to force Noelle to do her bidding. And if Noelle doesn't want to..." His expression saddens. "... She might make her face into a robot one."

Berdly walks up to Susie. He feels hesitant for a moment, then builds some more of his confidence. "...Susie... Could you... assist me in saving Noelle?"

The Lightner was surprised by the request. Coming from the chicken nugget man who likes to figure things out on his own. "... huh...? M-me?"

"I... just can't do it by myself. But if you can help me... I have a plan."

"A plan" he says? This is about to be interesting.

"I remember from Queen's tour of this place... There's secret shortcut on the third floor."
Berdly explains. "While Kris is distracting Queen, Susie will take the shortcut to reach Noelle, and transfer her to me on the roof. From there, I'll bring her to a safe hiding spot...
And together, we can all defeat Queen!"

.... That... wasn't a bad plan... It was possibly the first actually "smart" thing he ever said. Everyone made a quick glance at each other as they all approved of the plan.

"Alright, sure. We'll give it a shot." Susie said. She wasn't too confident about it, but she was willing to give it a try at least.
With that, the bird Lightner laughed feeling all the more confident.
"Haha! Most excellent!! Then... See you on the roof, fellow agent!"
He then finally runs off to start their plan.

Susie grinned. "Alright, let's go!"

Before they started walking, she realized Sal and Ralsei they were still in their suits
(much to Kris' deight.)

".... Would you take those off already!?"

"S-sorry!" The Prince apologized.

Sal pouts, disappointed. "Alright..."

They both spin around, quick-changing out of their fancy outfits
(much to Kris' dismay.)

"Awww..." He muttered out loud. "—I-I mean WHAT!?? I-I-Ididn'tsayanything!!!"

^^^^^^

Minutes later, The Fun Gang stumbled across a cafe, filled with those same big birds with fancy suits.

The main worker of the cafe greeted the group.

Something about the bird's appearance made Kris' head tit in curiosity. He decided to ask who this well dressed gentleman was.

"Ah, forgive me for not introducing myself sooner, young masters.
I am Swatch, Our Lady Grace's head butler." He introduced.

"When we are not attending to her needs, I and the Queen's other staff, use this room as our humble yet colorful gift shop-slash-café. Please, shop to your heart's content. We are eager to serve your any wish."

The man spoke politely as if every word he spoke was carefully crafted.
"The head butler" huh?
That sounded a little familiar to Kris. Who was it again that was similar to a butler—
Oh yeah that's right!

The one, the only, the obnoxious yet extraordinary, one of a kind, (possibly) far and wide with the terrible rhymes and accent,
Roxuls Kaard.

Being more curious, Kris decided to ask about him to Swatch.

"Roxuls? I am afraid I am not familiar with a guest of that moniker..."
He thinks for a moment. Then his face lights up as he remembers. But just as he brightens, his expression turns sour.

"Ah, wait. Are you perchance referring to that unbearable—" He stops himself.
"Err, UNIQUE Man who barged in here, and demanded to be made "Butler Supremeth?"
I am afraid that person... is now banned from this establishment.
—And may have suffered injuries as a result of his, err... rather swift ejection." Swatch states.

"Please do not mention him again. We are still cleaning up the worms he left on the floor."

Oh...
Yeah that sounds like him all right..

Kris' eyes return to what stood out to him first.
Swatch's outfit.
It reminded him so much of Spamton.

"Ah, my outfit?" The bird asks once Kris mentions it. " The monochrome look is quite suitable, isn't it? Black suit, color glasses. Many people have failed to imitate this look." He says.

"Some even going, as far as to attempt to impersonate me... In order to get the..." He stops himself once again, brushing off what he was going to say next.
"Oh nevermind. Macaron?"

.....

It was like some weird déjà vu. The mansion looked as big as Card Castle was— with the addition of possibly more rooms and more Darkners roaming the place.

The walls contained dozens of portraits of Mona Lisa, but instead with Queen's face painted in. What an odd choice. Not to mention all the statues of her place ideally around almost every corner.
The mansion was Queen's and it contained nothing but Queen.

*

Fight after fight with Darkners and conversation after conversation, the group heard music blasting out from one of the rooms. They walked in to find more art pieces of Queen and a nice radio placed on a small table.

The audio that came from it's speakers was a male's voice. Soft and clear. It was... mesmerizing.
It grasps The Fun Gang's ears as the lyrics gracefully glided out of the speakers.

"A day like this, I never dreamed.
You're gone and now, there's no one, but me.

With this life I have, I can't join you.
In my dreams, there we are, a world of two."

"You must be wondering about the music choice. It was Queen's idea (and ours too actually.)"
The Darkner in the room said as the music continued to play.

"Through the darkness ahead, I don't know where to go.
It's just me, lost in the stars, so far from home.

I can't lie to them. I miss you..
Tell me where do I turn."

"Honestly, it was a blissful change from her disk's tracks and luckily she loves him as much as the rest of us.
His voice truly is something special."

As the singer in the radio hit a particularly high note, he held it.
Strong and powerful, yet light as a angel's feather.

Everyone in the room was in total disbelief.
No wonder Queen loved this person so much. Damn he could sing.

"Even in this fantasy, I can't hold onto to reality.

But it seems, I have no choice.

I'm lost and alone, with no where to go."

"Wow..." Ralsei gawked in amazement.

"Who's singing?" Sal asked, just as intrigued.

"Oh! I'm so glad you ask! It's—"

The radio suddenly crackled, distorting the audio.
The Darkner quickly rushed to fix it. "I'm sorry, I have to fix this! Queen will get upset if it's not working right!"

Much to Sal's and the rest of the group's disappointment, they felt the Darkner alone.
Their raging curiosity still burns in them.
Who's voice was that?

^^^^^^

'Mansion... Basement... Mansion... Basement...'
Those were the words that echoed in Kris' head as he looked for the entrance.

It wasn't long before he found it. The basement entrance was just on the other side of the laser force field. On the floor, he noticed... a keyhole.

Over a hunch, Kris tried the KeyGen on the hole. There was a click! and the laser turned off, opening their way though.

Before Kris went in, he told the rest of the group to wait here. Despite the hesitation and the skepticism, Susie and the other two complied.

They waited in silence for the Lightner to return.

....

....

It's been about 15 minutes and Kris still hasn't come back.
"What do you think Kris is doing, anyways...?" Susie asked, secretly getting a little worried.

Ralsei smiles weakly. "I'm not sure... Hopefully, he's ok."

Susie nods, then realized Sal was quiet.

"You ok Sal?"

"Huh? Yeah... yeah I'm alright."
In all honesty, he kind of wasn't. Sal was still on the idea that... well... this was a bad idea. He didn't so much as trust that Spamton guy, not even a little. Something still felt... off.

Call it a hunch, but despite that, Sal didn't want to be right.

Susie sighs. "Hm... hope Kris doesn't take long either."

She suddenly smirks. ".... Hey Sal, you got uh... hair ties?"
"Um I think I do..." He rummaged though his pockets. "Oh hey! You're in luck." He takes out two simple black black hair ties and hands them to Susie. She grabs them, then snatches Ralsei's glasses off his face.
"Huh!? S-Susie!" He exclaimed in confusion.
She puts on the glasses, then ties her hair into two pigtails. She then put on her best silly impression.
"Look at me! I'm a mix of the two biggest dweebs who looooooooves math and nerdy stuff!"
"Well uh-err uhh ugh dang I'm sorry!"
"S-Susie please give me back my glasses I can't see!"

"W-What the heck are you guys doing?"

The three quick turn their attention to the voice. Kris had come back from doing... something.
He looked absolutely confused.

"Oh Kris!" Sal exclaimed.
"K-Kris!? Uh Susie? I need to see!" Ralsei requested.
"Fine fine whatever."
Susie gives Ralsei back his glasses, adjusting them above his nose.

She then begins to take the hair tie out from one of her pigtails.
"W-Wait no! K-Keep the pigtails! You look so cute!" Kris pleads.
"Over my dead body!"
She takes the second hair tie out and hands them back to Sal.

"Let's just go..."
"Uhh actually...c-could we go back to the Trash Zone?"
"You want to go back there? Why?"

"U-um... I-I have to meet with someone again."

"Are you talking about the shop from the Trash Zone?" Ralsei asks.
Kris nods. "S-someone's excepting me, so I... I-I got to go back."

The Prince smiles, understanding the Lightner's intentions.
"Ok then! We'll stop by there again."

Sal was still hesitant, but what can you do now?
Kris was already deep into this and Sal knew he wasn't going to stop.

So he remained quiet the rest of the way.

^^^^^^^

"KRIS!! KRIS!! YOU DID IT!!! YOU [[Funky]] LITTLE [[Worm]]!
YOU BROUGHT ME THE DISK!!"
Spamton smiled, jumping a little from excitement in his seat like a little kid.
"HOCHI MAMA!!!! I CAN FEEL THAT [Smooth Taste] ALREADY!!"

Kris responded by giving a small anxious smile. Still wasn't used to the guy's crazy energy.

"... NOW KRIS. DON' T BE GREEDY. HAND OVER. THE DISK.
THEN WE WILL TRANSFER.
MY [[Hyperlink Blocked]].
THEN. KRIS. AFTER. THIS IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
GO BACK. AND PUT. THE DISK. BACK. WHERE YOU GOT IT."
The salesman explained.

"DO THAT... AND YPU HAVE MY [Specil Guaranttee] I WILL [[Pass My Savings Onto You!]]
EVERY [Big],
EVERY [Shot],
EVERY [Hyperlink Blocked],
ALL YOURS, KRIS.

SO WHAT DO YOU SAY? BIG SHOT..."

Before Kris could answer, Spamton alerts him of the consequences if he says yes.
[[ Warning! If you consent to the terms and agreements,]]
[[OUR STORE is PERMANENTLY Closing Down!!]]

The store... will permanently close down...?
... At least he won't be desperate to try and sell anything that would get him off the streets. Better yet, he won't be homeless anymore.
But what exactly did he mean by "transfer?"

Guess Kris was gonna find out as he agreed to give Spamton the disk.

And as soon as he gave his answer... My god...
Spamton has never smiled, so wide before.

"FINALLY!!! I KNEW YOU WOULD [[Request Accepted]]
KRIS!!! HERE I GO!!! BEGIN THE [[Transfer]]"

Once those words left him, Spamton and everything in the shop loaded into the desk right before the very boy's eyes. Everything, including the mural, was literally being transferred into the item.
What was left was an empty, depressing, black and white shop that no longer had a value.

It was a little disheartening to see, but Kris had no time to feel that way.

He still have one more thing to do after all.

.....

Down the dark basement.
In Queen's mansion.
Lies an armored suit, rusted, dusty, abandoned and tangled in wires.
Wires that almost resembled vines.

Inside this armor, there's a slot disc.

Being careful, Kris put the disk into the down mechanism.

....

But nothing happened.

The Lightner was left stumped. This was what Spamton had asked him to do right?
So why didn't anything happen?

He didn't know the answer, nor did he want to stay down there for too long. He's really overstayed his time there. If he doesn't leave now, the rest of them will start to worry.

Hesitantly, Kris left the room.
The rusty train tracks on the floor, was the way out of the basement. All he had to do was follow them.

And maybe then, he'll be done with—

Kris screamed as something big landed right in front of him. His breathing hitched as he stumbled back onto the train tracks, falling down a little harder than he'd liked.
Kris winced, slightly in pain as he slowly looked up to see what...

No... who was on... green strings??

Their head twitched a few times, then their eyes shot brightly.

One pink. One yellow.

"HOLY [[Cungadero]] DO I FEEL GOOD..."

It was Spamton.
And he was taller, bigger than before.
And his appearance was horrifying.

But he didn't see it that way. Not at all.

"HERE I AM!! KRIS!!" His voice echoed, his head growing as he repeated
"BIG
BIG
[[BIGGER AND BETTER THAT EVER]]"

His crooked, twisted smile was nothing like what it was before. He wore a magenta robe he wore and giant colorful wings.
In his eyes, he was beautiful.

He was happy.

For the first time in eight years.

"HA HA HA... THIS POWER IS

FREEDOM.

I WON'T HAVE TO BE
JUST A PUPPET
ANY MORE!!!"

He exclaimed with joy.

But paused.

He looked up, and saw the strings.

Those horrid, awful strings.

"OR... so... I... thought.

WHAT ARE THESE STRINGS!?
WHY AM I NOT [BIG] ENOUGH!?

It's still DARK... SO DARK!"

His eyes suddenly shot towards Kris, who was luckily able to pick himself back up from the track.

Spamton moved closer to the boy who took a few steps back.

"KRIS."

He moved closer and Kris drew back further.

"KRIS.
KRIS.
KRIS.

THAT'S RIGHT.
YOU.
I NEED YOU."

Spamton moved even closer, backing Kris to the end of the track.
He had nowhere to go..

"TO BE BIG.
WITH ME.

VERY VERY BIG

SO BIG WE'LL STAND UP TALL SEE PAST THE DARK
STAND UP WITH OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUDS AND LOOK INTO

H E A V E N

I
JUST NEED
THAT LITTLE,
[[SOUL]]
Y O U HAVE]"

Kris shivered in fear.

...!
He was... shivering...!?

He was... scared..

For the first time, in a LONG time.... Kris was scared to die..

Spamton's laugher howled loud and clear. Clear as his violent intentions were.

He'd do anything to be free.

Even through all the pain,

all the loneliness,

all the tears,

all the screams,

all the pleads and cries,

all the protests...

He, was SO CLOSE.

And he'd do anything if it means cutting loose of these strings.
Anything.

Anything.

A n y t h i n g...

A blast from a strong attack knocked the giant salesman away. His strings raising him up, out of reach.

"Kris!"

Susie and the rest of the gang ran over to the boy's aid.

"The hell was that weirdo!?" The purple Lightner exclaimed.

"I knew this was a bad idea! Are you hurt anywhere!?" Sal asked in a frenzy.

Kris shook his head.

"Wait... You both know that guy!? Why didn't you tell us!?"

"Well-we—!"

"I-It's because... I-I was worried.." Kris spoke. His voice slightly shaky.
"I-I was worried that y-you wouldn't want to l-let me help him. He... he said t-to come alone to his shop, so I did. I-I want to know more about him...

He was... he's in so much pain... I-I tried to help him and then..."

Kris stopped, knowing the group knew the rest of the story.
The three of them fell speechless.

"Kris... we didn't know... We were worried about you..." Ralsei said softly.

"I-I know... I-I'm sorry for not telling you..."

The Prince smiled.
"It's ok..."

"KRIS...!!! YOU HAVE [[Friends]]!?"

Spamton voice echoed down the other side of the train tracks. Where the tracks supposedly ended, were more tracks. And there, only a few feet away, was Spamton, still above ground by his green strings in total disbelief.

"WHY DON'T YOU TELL THEM ABOUT MY [3 for One Specil]!
TODAY, THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN TAKE A LITTLE [Ride Around Town]..."

Out of nowhere, three ride carts shot out onto the tracks, lifting the Lighteners onto them.
The carts... they had Spamton's face on them..

"[Attention customers! Clean up on aisle 3!]

SOMEONE LEFT [There] SOULS [Lyeing Around.........]"

As the demented puppet hovered in front of them, he looked up, his face full of glee.

"[Heaven], are you WATCHING?

IT'S TIME TO MAKE A VERY [Specil] DEAL..."

To be continued...