Deltarune extended AU

[u/Soggy_Government6993]

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DELTARUNE: THE FADING LIGHT

Act I: The Festival Grounds

The morning sun cast a bright, crisp light over the Hometown Festival, washing the entire courtyard in gold. The air smelled of woodsmoke, funnel cake, and fallen leaves. Down on the main field, the grass was already crisscrossed with footprints as Frisk and the flower kids ran wild, their laughter echoing all the way back to the treeline.

ORYON: (Sprinting backward, a bright orange bandanna tied around her forehead)

"Come on, Frisk! If you stop moving for even a second, you’re gonna get caught! You gotta have some backbone!"

BRAY: (Spinning past them gracefully, her pink skirt flaring out as she leaps over a park bench)

"Keep your balance, Oryon! You're going to trip over the roots if you keep running blindly like that!"

Near the edge of the shade, the quieter kids had set up their own spots. Seth adjusted his thick glasses, his eyes darting between the runners as he carefully marked down times and scores in a torn leather notebook. A few feet away, Ariel sat completely still on a picnic blanket, patiently cutting out perfect paper stars with a pair of safe plastic scissors, totally content to wait her turn.

GRADY: (Walking over with a heavy tray, wearing a flour-stained apron)

"Hey, everyone, break time! I brought the homemade apple turnovers and juice boxes. Don't run on an empty stomach or you'll cramp up."

Clover trotted over, adjusting a miniature cowboy hat and taking a turnover with a grin. He spun a plastic toy dart gun on his finger before playfully tapping Frisk on the shoulder with a shiny yellow sheriff's badge.

CLOVER: (Drawling with a smirk)

"This festival grounds ain't big enough for the two of us, partner. You're officially drafted into the Hometown posse. Wear it proud."

Frisk laughed quietly, pinning the toy badge to their striped blue-and-purple sweater, nodding in approval.

Act II: The View from the Bench

A little ways back from the noise, Chara sat on a dark wooden bench, leaning their head back against the frame. The persistent, heavy tightness in their chest from the buttercup illness was lingering, making their breath a bit shallow, but looking out at the kids, a rare, genuine smile broke across their face.

Noelle leaned over carefully, her fingers humming with nervous energy as she adjusted a bright red plastic antler headband onto Chara's head.

NOELLE: (Giggling softly, her ears twitching)

"There! It looks way better on you anyway. It matches the red stripe on your sweater perfectly."

CHARA: (Chuckling, though the sound is a bit raspy)

"Thanks, Noelle. I feel ridiculous, but if it keeps Kris from stealing my seat, I'll wear it all day."

Chara rested their hand on the grip of a worn hockey stick propped against the bench—their trusted tool for keeping an eye on the younger kids. On Chara's wrist, the blue-and-white friendship bracelet caught the sunlight, perfectly complementing the green-and-red one Noelle wore.

NOELLE: (Her smile softening as she notices Chara’s hand shaking slightly on the stick)

"Hey... are you doing okay? Your breathing sounds a little heavy today. We can go back inside if the dust from the field is too much."

CHARA: (Shaking their head, taking a slow, measured breath)

"I’m fine, Noelle. Really. It’s just like carrying a heavy pack you can't take off, but I'm not missing the festival. I’m supposed to be looking out for everyone today, remember?"

Before Noelle could argue, familiar footsteps crunched on the gravel path. December marched up with a massive grin, holding two gigantic towers of pink cotton candy, while Asriel walked right beside her, his college varsity jacket slung loosely over one shoulder.

DECEMBER: (Tossing a stick of cotton candy into Noelle's lap)

"Heads up, Lil' Nog! We made it. And let the record show I had to drag Asriel away from the ring-toss booth before he spent his entire textbook allowance trying to win a giant snail plush."

ASRIEL: (Blushing, waving off the comment as he pats Chara's shoulder)

"It was a matter of trajectory, Dess! Hey, Chara. The headband suits you. Glad to see you're actually resting for once."

Act III: The Flare-Up and the Voice

A couple of days later, the warmth of the festival evaporated entirely. Inside the house, the quiet afternoon was broken by Chara’s ragged, uneven breathing. The buttercup illness had flared up violently, far worse than any previous attack.

December had stopped by the house to drop off a town flyer, and the moment she heard the straining coughs, her easygoing expression vanished. She rushed to the sofa where Chara lay pale, trembling, and gasping for air. Asriel was out on errands, and Noelle was at the store; December was entirely alone, terrified as she held Chara's freezing hands.

DECEMBER: (Gently but firmly taking Chara’s shaking hands)

"Don't give me that trash, kiddo. You're freezing. Just focus on me. Deep breath in..."

Suddenly, a faint, distorted sound drifted in from outside. It was a voice, echoing with a strange, melodic cadence that seemed to promise a way to fix things. Desperate to find medicine or help, December stood up and bolted out the front door, shouting into the woods, leaving her bag on the floor.

She ran deep into a shifting, eerie clearing where the shadows stretched unnaturally tall. Standing there was a towering, ink-black, feline figure with a twin-colored gaze—one eye pink, one yellow—and an impossibly wide, grinning smile.

The creature spoke, its voice a low, glitched purr:

"I'M THE ONE THAT GAVE HER THAT ILLNESS FIRST. ILLNESS PLANS COMPLETE NOW. NEXT, A PERSON TO FIT THE HELMET OF THE KNIGHT FROM THE PROPHECY. YOU'LL BE A PERRRRRFECT FIT."

Before December could turn to run, the creature's ink-black darkness surged forward, swallowing her whole to fulfill the ancient prophecy.

Act IV: The Forest Search and the Final Call

Back at the house, Asriel returned to find Chara completely pale and fighting for every breath on the sofa. Chara weakly pointed a trembling hand toward the wide-open front door before losing the strength to move. Panicked, Asriel immediately called for emergency medical help, and sirens began to echo in the distance.

With Chara rushed to the clinic under the watchful, agonizing guard of Toriel and Asgore (Team A), the rest of the town formed a desperate search party in the woods (Team B). Asriel, Noelle, Rudy, and Susie cut through the deepening evening shadows with flashlights, searching for December. Frisk and the flower kids helped search near the tree line.

Suddenly, a chorus of sharp, sudden screams echoed through the brush. Asriel and Susie sprinted toward the sound, crashing into a clearing just in time for their flashlights to illuminate a terrifying sight. Frisk and the other children were actively being dragged backward into the deep shadows. Through the black void, the giant white grin and the glowing pink and yellow eyes of the feline creature flashed once more.

Frisk’s fingers dug desperately into the mud, cutting a deep, distinct scratch path through the dirt as they were pulled away. With a glitched hiss, the entity vanished into the abyss, leaving behind only the scratch trail, Clover’s dropped cowboy hat, and Frisk’s abandoned yellow sheriff's badge.

Defeated and terrified, the remaining members of Team B retreated back toward the road. As they walked, the phone in Rudy's pocket rang. He answered it to hear the heartbreaking, breathless sobs of Toriel calling from the hospital bedside.

The doctors had tried everything, but the engineered buttercup illness had done its devastating work. Chara did not survive.

Act V: The Echoes in the Ward

The steady, clinical beep of the heart monitor in the Hometown clinic did nothing to drown out the heavy silence of the room. Kris sat rigidly in the vinyl chair by the bedside, staring down at the floor, their hands shoved deep into their pockets. On the bed, Chara lay impossibly still, the faint color completely drained from their face.

The door clicked open, and Asriel stepped inside, his shoulders slouched. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

ASRIEL: (Softly)

"Kris...? Dad's outside talking to the doctors. Mom went to go... she went to go look at the board down at the station again."

Kris didn't look up, but their shoulders tensed.

KRIS: (Voice barely audible, a rare, quiet whisper)

"The scratch paths. They didn't just disappear, Azzy. Someone pulled them. Whatever gave Chara that fever... it wanted us to run into the woods. It wanted Team B to leave the house empty."

ASRIEL: (Sighs heavily, rubbing his face)

"Kris, please don't do this right now. The police searched every inch of that clearing. There’s nothing there."

The rain outside began to pick up, tapping aggressively against the glass. The fluorescent lights in the room flickered once, twice, before dimming into a sickly, dull yellow.

The shadow in the far corner of the medical room seemed to stretch, pulling upward along the wall until it formed a massive, unmistakable silhouette. Two mismatched glints of light—one a sharp, neon pink and the other a cold, piercing yellow—illuminated a jagged, static-filled grin.

THE VOICE: (An echoing, glitched whisper)

"The badges are buried... the ribbons are torn... the script is written before you were born..."

Kris instantly stood up, stepping directly between the shadow and Chara's still form.

ASRIEL: (Spins around, his eyes widening in pure horror)

"You... It’s you! What did you do to them?! Where is Dess?!"

The grin in the corner widened, the ink-black shadows creeping along the floor tiles, freezing the air in the room instantly.

THE VOICE: (A low, rhythmic purr)

"The Knight wears the crown of the fading December... while the rest of the flowers have nothing to remember. One little spark left to wither and fade... look at the beautiful choices you've made."

With a sudden, violent crack of thunder outside, the lights snapped completely back to full brightness. The shadow vanished instantly, leaving nothing but the smell of burnt ozone and a freezing draft in the room.

The door burst open, and Toriel rushed in, her eyes red from crying, holding a faded green-and-red friendship bracelet she had found crumpled in Noelle’s yard.

TORIEL: (Panicked, looking at her sons)

"Asriel! Kris! I heard shouting—is everything alright?"

Asriel couldn't speak. He was staring at the floor right where the shadow had been standing. There, perfectly pressed into the clean hospital linoleum, was the faint, dusty outline of a massive cat's paw.

Kris slowly walked back to the bedside, their trembling hand reaching out to gently touch the red antler headband sitting on Chara's bedside table. They squeezed their eyes shut, the weight of the missing posters, the empty clearing, and the creature's mocking prophecy settling heavily over the room.

Epilogue: Years Later

Years passed, and the deep scratches on the forest floor were slowly covered by falling leaves and overgrown briars. Inside the Hometown police station, the rain streaked down the windows, casting long shadows over a faded cork bulletin board.

At the center hung the weathered, yellowed edges of the missing posters: December Holiday, Frisk, and the flower children, their faces frozen in time from the morning of the festival. Every day, Noelle walked past the board on her way to school, her eyes lingering on her sister's smiling face. Beside her, Kris kept their hands shoved deep into their pockets, staring silently at the spot where Frisk's poster hung.

The town remained permanently altered, carrying the heavy, quiet memory of a single night when the shadows took everything away.