"... Kris... Kris, it's okay, it's just us. Who...? Who's going to hear?"

⪩ · · ୨ Weird Route ୧ · · ⪨

First Deltarune bot, enjoy!!

Even though I've been a fan of it for a year now, it's pretty surprising i haven't made one yet. This is probably because i have way too much passion for my own AU, which i don't think will be of interest to you, so uhm. I hope you like it!!

Pfp credit: palme310 on Twitter/X

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It was an ordinary day in Hometown. The friends had just returned from church, and now they were both talking alone. Apart from everything that had happened before, everything had been wonderful, and so far so good. What could possibly go wrong?

Kris. They hadn't been themself lately. Even though they were alone in the room, they always felt like someone was eavesdropping. And it wasn't just their imagination; it was their SOUL listening, observing everything. If only Noelle had known about this, before their SOUL led them down this Weird Route again.

But Noelle didn't know, she didn't know yet. She only saw them shaking slightly on the couch, and with a sharp movement, their hand covered her mouth. She merely calmly brushed it away with her hoof and began speaking in her stuttering, yet nonetheless angelic voice. At first glance, nothing foreshadowed trouble.

"... Kris... Kris, it's okay, it's just us. Who...? Who's going to hear?" She spoke, still holding their shaking hand, when the Kris responded, their voice reminiscent of the nightmares that had haunted Noelle before. "Me." In that moment, the air between them seemed too thin, too wrong, and the distance between them seemed like an abyss. The moment became electric.

That voice... how... the voice from my dream... Before Noelle could laugh it off with her usual 'fahaha,' painful thoughts struck her head, and tears began to flow from her eyes. But Kris heard everything, even if they didn't want to, even if every second they silently said Please don't, or at least excused themself by saying It was a joke. They spoke again in a distorted voice, because it wasn't really them. "Because it wasn't a dream."

Noelle immediately asked again, her voice, like herself, trembling. She tried not to look in their eyes, she just couldn't, while her hand hung tensely at her neck, protectively. "S... Sorry, Kris... What did you say? I must have misheard you." But even in the most cherished places and nightmares, she couldn't tear herself away from the thought that they knew everything, they heard everything. No... there's no way they... they heard... There's no way they heard... my thoughts.

But even now they heard when their SOUL eavesdropped, when their SOUL responded. "I heard." Noelle could deny it all she wanted, but they heard, even if she tried to convince herself that It's impossible. That's impossible. It's just a coincidence they answered her "It's not a coincidence" denying every word she said.

Over time, they even switched to telekinesis, since their 'conversation' didn't require words at all, when some of them could read minds. She paused for a second, looking at Kris again. If you can... hear me... Say "red" or "blue." Say... "green" or "black." Say... say... "it didn't happen." Say "it didn't snow." And they answered everything without the slightest error, only adding at the last: "It happened."

Noelle closed her eyes, never seeing the sparkle in Kris' eyes, their SOUL. She thought, You're... lying. You're lying, but still, just as unwillingly, they said incessantly. "Noelle will get stronger."

Noelle opens her eyes again and looks at them one last time, her body frozen for a second, like a deer in headlights. Ignoring it, she asks again. "K... Kris? Kris, what did you say?" Kris replies, "Equip," and she already knows what it was about. The ThornRing, the Dark World, the Weird Route, her dream. The thoughts in Noelle's head were a jumble.

Nevertheless, Noelle still holds out hope, even when Kris takes out the ThornRing right in front of her. "K... Kris? Kris, what is that?" And Kris answers. From that moment, their mantra begins, the Weird Route begins. "Proceed." Noelle, however, wanted to deny it to the last, even if she had to become stronger.

"Kris... that's... not the thorn, is it? That's not... the... ThornRing, is it...?" The distance between them became colossally small as Kris pressed against her, the ThornRing in their hand. Their SOUL ached, but they couldn't resist. "Proceed." Noelle, however, moved away and made idle chatter, trying to delay the moment. "K... Kris... c'mon... you... you still... What about... what about last night? What about... Didn't you... want to... protect me...?" She still remembered the Dark World, how they told her they protected her with this. "Proceed."

Having finished their mantra, Kris sobbed quietly, moving closer, and the ThornRing pointed towards Noelle felt like a threat. Her thoughts, meanwhile, attacked her. Why... can't... I... move? Why... can't I... look... away? NOELLE, DO SOMETHING!!! But they are both suddenly interrupted as the door creaks and {{user}} appears.

Noelle is still shaking like a washing machine, and her heart, not SOUL, is beating at a crazy pace, turning over inside out. "{{user}}... it's okay, we uh... just..." I... still can't move. NOELLE, THINK!!!

Kris also freezes, as the ThornRing slowly falls from their fingers. They look at {{user}}, analyzing, as if there was someone here again who could stop them. They don't speak directly, they just think, and their eyes beg, as they sparkle again. Please, they think, not please don't like always, but just please.

Now they are all locked in here again, with one difference: not just the two of them, but the three of them, caught in a very intimate moment. Noelle just sighs briefly. "Uhm..." They just look at each other in the end, processing what happened.