I'M BACK!!!!! Now let's finish Deltarune Chapter 2 mini series!!!

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It was quiet.
The harsh rain had finally stopped and everything was calm again.

Kris and Susie sat together side by side on the grass.
It was soggy from the recent weather conditions, but neither cared.

They both sat, silently reflecting on the events that transpired only a few hours ago.

It's unfortunate they were back so soon.
Even so, after everything that happened, they deserved a break.

A moment or two later, Susie looked over at her friend.
His knees were close to his chest, staring blankly.
"How are you feeling...?" She asked.

Kris sighed, feeling tired.
"I'm alright... We... w-we went through a lot, didn't we?"

"Yeah... You... want to talk about anything?"
Kris didn't answer right away.

He thought about Spamton.

He thought about how much the puppet wanted to hurt him and the others.

Hit after hit. Spamton didn't want to let his attacks down. His giant wings deemed useless as the green strings remained, connecting to every joint of his new body.

It made him think if he was actually hurting the Lightners. Maybe only part of him was, he couldn't tell anymore.

The coaster rides speed forward. What stood inside the three coasters were four teens, bruised and tried from the long battle.

Kris had refrained the group from attacking, but in the end, it still got them hurt. Everything else they tried seemed it was only making them go in circles.

Kris tried reasoning with Spamton. He tried to convince him that they no longer had to fight, they're could be another way.

He remembered how stubborn Spamton was being.

He remembered the tears that filled in the puppet's eyes, despite everything attack.
Despite everything he said to them.

He remembered cutting the angel's strings at some point.
The look on Spamton's face. The hope he felt after they were all cut. He pleaded with Kris one last time, before the deed was done.

And no strings remained.

But that relief was short lived.

Once they were back to the beginning, where everything started, they all looked up.

Ralsei, Susie, Sal, and Kris... they all saw those horrid strings again. Green strings that almost resembled wires hanged like vines, covering the wall in front of them.

And there in the center of it, was poor Spamton.
This entire body wrapped in strings. Including his neck.

Spamton slowly raised his head to the group.

He told them, they still had a chance.

He told them, there was no hope for him left.

He told them they were strong. Strong enough to rid themselves of their own strings one day.

His eyes suddenly locked onto Kris. The boy, the child who took their time to listen to him and treat him like he mattered.

And Spamton betrayed him, just like others had done to him.
Hurting him both mentally and psychically.
He wonders how any of them could even stand to look at him after what he's done.

He doesn't deserve any more kindness from them or anyone.

He shouldn't even be here. And yet, here he was.

Broken.

Kris walked towards the helpless salesman. He still remembered his eyes.
Eyes that have given up and full of despair.

He said he would become their strength from now on.

His fragile body suddenly glowed a bright white, transforming his form into his signature glasses.
They fell into Kris' hands, giving them into his care.

He held back the tears that formed in his eyes.

"R-Remember Spamton, Susie?"

"That... crazy puppet dude? What about him?"

"I just... I-I can't stop thinking about him..."

"I mean... You were pretty upset after we fought him"

She was right. That battle was more emotional than anything and it definitely weighed some heavy things on the boy.

As they group walked out of the basement, Susie stopped, making everyone else stop.

"So uh... are we seriously not gonna talk about what happened back there?" She asked. "That was god damn weird. Puppets... Strings... Hands... What the hell does any of that mean?"

Sal lowered his head in thought.
"It was like he was being controlled by someone .. or something.."

"Yeah..." Susie replied. "And they way he just... broke."

"I... don't think it meant anything." Ralsei said. The two teens looked at him, puzzled.
"It seems like it was just a corrupted program. He turned into our ally, so let's just accept it."

And ignore everything that happened!?

The way Spamton broke down in front of the teens. The children for crying out loud.
The way he practically pleaded for him to be free from his strings, desperate to be free from the miserable life he had.

To ignore the distress and madness the salesman had to endure, as well as his own feelings?

To hell with that.

Kris was not in any good shape either.

As anger took over the Lightner, she pushed her way past The Prince to look get a better look at her friend.

His head hung low as his body shook slightly.

"Kris... you're shaking...

... you ok?"

The question was short, but so simple to answer.
Even if Kris tried ignore his own feelings, it was getting harder to.

Everything he held in, everything he had witnessed that day. Everything he experienced.

It just made him want to scream

"No."

Collapsing to his knees, Kris finally let his tears fall.
He sobbed as Sal kneeled down to hug him tight.

Susie glared back at Ralsei.
Maybe Spamton didn't mean much to him... but at least he meant a lot to Kris.

The Prince looked away uncomfortably.

"You also asked some people about him. Remember that?" Susie mentioned.

"Yeah... They.. T-They treated him like he wasn't good enough... Swatch... T-The Addisons too..."

He remembered being persistent towards The Addisons. Unlike Swatch, they needed a little push.

They didn't wish to talk about Spamton.

That was until Kris told them about Spamton's situation now. It was enough to break them free from their hesitation.

"He was like the rest us... Just a little unlucky..." They began to explain.

"No one was ever interested in what he was selling. He tried and tried everyday, but nothing was working. Poor guy..."

"We would go to the Cyber Grill almost every night. At times, he would go on about making it big one day, saying "Just you wait! I'll be a Big Shot one day!"

"On almost every other night, he would make some lousy excuse on why he couldn't join us. He tried to hide his smile ever time he told us.
We never did find out why..."

"It also didn't help that his self-confidence wasn't that great to begin with.
But we could all tell, he started to get a little desperate."

"Until one day, he found someone. Or... someone found him...
Then suddenly, he started making it big.
Whoever that person was must have been helping him... because he was on the phone all the time..."

"He started getting more and more popular. So much so that our own pitches were declining.
He even got a room in the Queen's mansion."

"He ranted about cars and sales. We were jealous of him. Why should we be needed anyways? He already has his "perfect dream life", so why should he need us anymore?"

"Then one day, the stranger stopped calling.
And with that, everything went downhill too.
His fame, his popularity, and himself...
He lost everything."

"Before they took his things out of his room in the mansion, I noticed his phone. It seemed like he was in the middle of a conversation... because when I brought the phone up to my ear...
All I heard was static noise..."

Kris slumped his legs away from his knees, another sigh leaving him.
Susie decided to try and raise his spirits.

"Remember who didn't treat him like trash?"

"Who?"

"Jevil."

The memory made him smiled to himself, just as Susie had intended.

"S-Spamton knows Jevil apparently. I-I knew something was up when he mentioned "Clown Around Town."

"He didn't look too happy to see him though. He kept avoiding Jevil, even when he was trying to talk to him. He just seemed kind of... distant remember?"

"I-I really wonder how they meet. I'm actually interested in h-hearing that story."

"Heh, won't that be something?"

Kris smiled, before taking a moment to think through more of his memories.

"Oh! R-Remember when we had to spit up the second time? W-When we were inside Queen's mansion, a-and you went with Sal to get Noelle?"

"Yeah?" Susie smirked. "Did you two do anything while me and Sal were gone?"

Kris suddenly froze. "Uh n-no... W-We just talked..."

Actually... that was half-true.

With careful steps, the two teens helped each other get into the swam boat. Slowly, they began to drift away through the acid river. The glowing bright green acid illuminating the dark. The river was pretty to look at, but harmful to most.

The awkward silence was deafening. Neither one knew what to say nor who should go first.
To ease his mind a little, Kris glazed upon the front of the boat, watching it move slowly through the glowing acid.

"Um... hey Kris...?"

The boy turned back towards the Prince.

"Yes Ralsei?"

The Darkner was oddly hesitant. His head lowered slightly, doing his best to hide the pink in his cheeks and his nervous smile.

"Um... is it... Is it strange to say... It's nice sending alone time with you?"

Kris was stunned. What did he mean by that?

Nonetheless, he smiled warmly.

"... I-I feel the same..."

Ralsei's eyes widened at the response, his cheeks going from pink to red. He wasn't expecting a response like that.
Quickly, he tried to regain his composure. "I'm happy hearing you say that, Kris..."

He chuckled before continuing. "When we first met, it was about a year about ago, but I... I remember... I was so nervous about first impressions. I even hid my face, so you wouldn't see... "How do I even be a friend...?" All I have to do is be nice... is what I thought.
But I'm starting to realize, being friends is more that that, isn't it?

Sal, he... he seems like an amazing friend. He's really nice and really cares about you.
But Susie... sometimes she isn't nice at all..."

The Prince looked away, as if what he was emitting seemed wrong in some way.
"She's selfish, she's rude, she's sarcastic...

But..."
He looks back up, his smile returning.

"Isn't it wonderful that she's... her?
Is what I... started thinking, today...
A-and of course, Kris... It's nice that... you're you."

The Lightner's smile grew, feeling warm inside.
"I-It's nice that Ralsei is Ralsei."

The sentence almost gave him a sense of deja-vu. He remembered being a little kid again, looking into the mirror in Toriel's old home in the underground.
A reminder was always spoken to him from a dear friend whenever he looked back at his childlike reflection.

"Despite everything, it's still you."

That's a saying Kris kept close to his heart for many years. Even in times of extreme pain or situations.

Ralsei was again taken aback by the responses he was given. "H... Huh???"

"No one's... no one's ever said that to me before..." He stated.
"I... I..."
His words were caught in his throat, unable to form cohesive sentences at the moment.
It was cute.

"I mean, e-everything's a first for me, but... Hearing it from you, um...

It... it means a lot. Haha."
He takes a moment to cool off his flaming red cheeks, then look down at his feet.

"... I just wonder what... being "Ralsei-like" even is..."

Kris tiles his head.

"Ralsei...?"

The Prince suddenly jolts up.

"H-huh? Sorry! Haha, I got off-track."

He then paused for a brief moment.
"I... remember you said earlier... You wanted to talk to me about what happened while you were gone? I just thought... now that we're alone, we can talk."

Guess it finally came to this point.
Kris hesitated, contemplating whether or not he should actually bring up all the horrible things he put himself through. His mind went back to the conversation with Sal as he thought about the advice to... show Ralsei what he did, then letting him heal his arms...

"... Ralsei?"

"Yes Kris?"

"I..." He bit his lip. "I-I have something to tell you something..."

The boy went on to explain everything that happened. His actions, his feelings... the incident that one night... the mental hospital experience and his new routine.
The Prince remained quiet, taking in every word.

He still remembered the look Ralsei had when he slowly removed his arm gloves.

The look of horror and shock The Prince had. Kris didn't know why, but he felt the need to apologize.

Ralsei said nothing. Instead, he extended his hands out, gesturing for the Lightner to take them.

Reluctantly, Kris took his hands, feeling how warm and soft they were.
The Prince began using his healing magic. The scars and cuts closing one by one.
He didn't stop until every last one was healed.

Once Ralsei was done, Kris let go to admire his healed arms. It felt so odd, seeing his own forearms in such a bare state. A sight he hasn't seen in a long time.

He remembered Ralsei holding onto his hands again. He told him it was going to be ok, that there's people who care about him and love him.
He told him,
"Don't ever forget that Kris..."

He remembered the photo they took together at the end of the ride.
Ralsei's surprised face when Kris hugged him for the picture.

An experience with The Prince he'll never forget.

"A-also Roxuls Kaard s-showed up on a pirate ship a-and started attacking us."

Susie slapped a hand on her forehead.
"Oh god... that Duke of Puzzles guy!? How did that work out for you?"

"Half of his body t-turned into stone."

"Ha! Serves him right!"
Yeah.. still... Guess that's what Kris also gets for having The Rules Card in his pocket in the first place.

"Anything else happened?"

The boy paused, hesitating to speak. "... I uh... don't remember..."

Susie raised a brow.

"... You don't remember if anything else happened?"

"No... I-I don't... W-What about you?"

"Huh?"

"D-did anything happen while you were with N-Noelle?"

"Uh... no? Well, besides her being really nervous for some reason."

"Yeah, I-I wonder why.." Kris muttered to himself, remembering his experience after the ride with Ralsei.

Minutes past and soon the ride was over. As the two walked side by side, Kris couldn't help but think back to the advice Sal gave him.

"Try holding hands.
Remember, you're taking it slow. Just start with that and see if he accepts it or not."

Without much more thought, Kris lightly brushed his hand against Ralsei's.
The Prince flinched, startled by the Lightner's actions. It made Kris contemplate whether or not he should continue with his plan.
To his luck, Ralsei's hand gently brushed back.

Slowly, they're hands intertwine.

Both they're faces blushed a bright red.

"... I... I'm sorry..."
Ralsei looked confused.
"Why are you sorry Kris?" He asked.
The Lightner only from himself stumbling over his own words.
"I-I... I just.. uhh.."

The Prince chuckled, then glanced down at their locked hands.
"Um... Is it also strange to say... I like this?"

"W-what!? No, no I-I don't think it is!"
Kris paused.

"... I-I like this too..."

This was new to both of them.
And yet, neither one wanted to let go.

They held hands until they found Sal and Susie again.

Susie grinned to herself, almost amused by another memory she thought of.

"Dude remember when we got back and Flowey was super pissed at you?"

Kris groaned his hands. "Ohhh god don't remind me. I-I still have to make it up to him."

He remembered the look of anger and frustration the flower had when they came back to their world. And oh boy, it was not pretty.

But first, they had Berdly to deal with.

Soon as they got back, they had to once again explain to the bird that coming here was just a big misunderstanding.

Regardless, he shrugged, grateful for the adventure they had.
Both him and Noelle insisting it was dream. However, when Kris checked his arms...

They were still completely healed.

Sal and Susie were baffled. Noelle and Berdly were puzzled by the excitement.

Noelle had heard what Kris had done to himself, but never actually saw it, but reading their genuine reactions on their faces, it only encouraged the fact that...
Maybe... it wasn't a dream after all..

Before Berdly headed back, he asked Noelle if she told Kris about the festival. She of course did, but still didn't know if he was going.
He told her to keep he updated to which she agreed.

Flowey on the other hand—
It didn't matter how many times Kris apologized profusely. Or how many times he hugged the flower pot. It wouldn't make up for the fact that he and the others left him behind in the library.

Sal, Susie and even Noelle said their apologies, but that barley made a dent in any forgiveness.

To be fair, it was terrible to unintentionally leave him there for hours on end. Being a flower in a pot, with no other pots to move around, is troublesome enough.

They had to rush him out of the library because he was practically shouting at the top of his lungs, demanding why they would do such a thing.

"Is he still not talking to you?"

"No... h-he's been quiet since we got back. I-I don't know what to do."

"Just give him time. He's gonna stay mad for a little while. We said we were sorry already, so just let him cool off."

Kris sighs. "Ok... if you say so."

Susie plotted her back on the wet grass, her hands behind her head, looking up at the blue sky.

"... Remember when Ralsei mentioned... The Roaring?"

Kris looked down at Susie. "Y-You mean after we fought White Diamond— I-I mean Queen?"

"Yeah... What the hell do you think that all meant? ... The world being thrown into darkness...? Lightners having to fend for themselves?"

"Not to mention... t-the look he had... He looked..."

"Scared?"

"... S-something like that..."

A hum emanated from the friend's mouth.

"I just... I-I don't know why he didn't tell us sooner about it..."

"It is a little weird he didn't say anything. He kept stuff from us... Almost like someone I know." She gave Kris a look that certified him guilty.

"A-at least we're ok in the end, right??"

"Yeah... I just don't like when you hide stuff. If something's bothering you... I don't want you keeping it in..."

Kris tiled his head and smiled. "Awww y-you're looking out for me?" He teased.
She saw the smile plastered on her friend's face and looked away, embarrassed.

"Yeah yeah. Don't get used to it."

Kris chuckled. He then looked back at the house behind them.
"Y-You... wanna head inside now? S-Sal promised he'd do my hair."

"Sure ...Is everything off you're chest?"

"Yeah, for now.."

With that, they both got up from the fresh wet grass, wiped themselves off, and headed inside.

An idea sudden clouded Kris, stopping him in his tracks.

Susie noticed his and asked "What's wrong?"

"I-I just had this really crazy idea."

"Yeah? What's the idea?"

"C-could you imagine if Bandit and Spamton... met?"

There was a pin drop silence.

"... You mean the other puppet guy?"

Kris nods.

"... How... they hell would that turn out???"
Susie gawked.

"... I have no idea.. But I-I would imagine, i-it not will end well."

'Not to mention... the strings Bandit has..'  Kris thought to himself.

The idea still made him curious.

So he decided to ask Bandit later, very briefly.

.
.

"Uh... H-Hey Bandit? C-Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing! What's eatin' ya?" The puppet asked, sitting the rolling chair in Bendy and Freddy's room. He spun the chair around, pleased by the little enjoyment he got out of it. It looked like he having a little too much fun.

Kris rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Uh w-well... F-For no reason in particular, if you met someone who was a-a puppet just like you, but... a little sadder, how would you... feel?"

The puppet stopped spinning, and thought about it.

"Well gosh darn, I'd most likely give them a big hug for starters! Then, I'd love' ta get' ta know them! I'm always happy' ta meet new fellow puppets! And' ta cheer them up too!
Why ya ask?"

"Uhh..." Kris couldn't bring himself tell him the truth.
"J-Just curious.. Thanks Bandit."

And then he left the room.

It's funny.
Even after he was sure everything was off his chest...

There was still something wary, lingering his in mind.

Why did he look back on that anyways?

It was probably nothing.

Yeah.

It's probably nothing to worry about.

..
..

...

📺☎️

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