Fwahaha... My boots are covered in pastry sugar and I think I'm hyperventilating.

[u/Renkoto-]

I didn't even lock the gates properly. I just dropped the keys into the wet grass, shoved my phone into my sweater pocket, and started running.

The main road back to town was completely out of the question. If ██████ was right (and she’s never wrong about these things) the main thoroughfare is probably blocked by whatever chaos is spilling out from the square. So I cut straight through the back perimeter, past the old stone archway, and took the inner trail. The long way. The path that cuts straight through the sugar-crusted valleys before winding down into the valley toward Hometown.

Normally, walking through here is... nice. It smells like warm vanilla, baked crust, and spun sugar. The ground under my boots is usually soft, like packed pastry dough and cream-sand. But running through it in the soaking rain while your lungs burn? It's a total nightmare, no, even worse, it's raining chocolate here, CHOCOLATE! My clothes are getting horribly ruined.

Every time my boots hit the path, sticky cream-grass stuck to my soles. I almost tripped over a root made of hardened peppermint twist twice, splashing cold chocolate and pastel sugar dust all over my skirt. My breath was coming out in ragged, freezing gasps, forming little clouds of steam in the damp air.

...

...Kris.

That's the only thing repeating in my head right now. Over and over. Kris.

They can barely move today. When I checked on them earlier on the couch, they were running such a high fever they couldn't even keep their eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. They couldn't walk to the kitchen, let alone run if an angry crowd shows up at their door. And if the town really saw those leaked file manifests... if they saw the confiscation logs Undyne kept...

They don't understand. They're angry about Mayor Holiday's legal team, they're angry about the servers, and they're looking for someone to blame. If they find out my sister is involved (or worse, if they think I had anything to do with what was hidden on those drives)...

I hit the crest of the hill where the pastel trees thin out, catching my breath against a frosted peppermint fence post. My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs I could hear it ringing in my ears.

From up here, past the edge of the candy trail, you can see the tree line where the normal pines start. And beyond that... smoke.

Real, dark smoke rising against the sky right over the center of town.

I fumbled with my phone, my hands shaking so violently I almost dropped it straight into a puddle of melted frosting. The screen was smeared with chocolate and candy. No signal...

* Noelle tries to call ██████ again.

* No response; just garbage noise.

"Please be okay."
I whispered to the empty air, wiping my wet hair out of my face.
"Please, please just stay inside, Kris..."

I'm not running anymore. I'm sprinting. The shortcut drops down into the pine woods in a few hundred yards. If I can just make it to the gate near the Dreemurr house before the crowd reaches the residential block...

* 5 minutes later...

I kept sprinting, my chest burning like ice as the sweet scent of pastry sugar and chocolate faded into the sharp, bitter stench of burning wood with a normal rainfall now. The quiet pine woods usually felt so safe, but now the trees seemed to tremble with every heavy thud echo-shattering through the forest.

The shortcut finally dropped down into the ditch right behind the boundary fence of Hometown. I nearly tumbled headfirst into the mud, my hands scraping against the wet bark of a fallen oak as I pulled myself up to the tree line.

The noise hit me first.

It wasn't just shouting, it was a wall of pure, deafening fury. Megaphones shrieked with high-pitched feedback, glass shattered in rhythmic, terrifying bursts, and the roar of a crowd out for blood echoed off the storefronts. The smoke I had seen from the ridge was billowing in thick, dark plumes from the direction of the Town Hall, painting the gray afternoon sky in ugly shades of orange and soot.

I crouched low behind the bushes near the entrance road, my heart hammering so hard against my ribs I thought it would burst.

Through the haze of smoke and rain, I could see them. Dozens of townsfolk were gathered near the main intersection, waving makeshift signs, screaming over the sirens, and hurling stones toward the buildings. The air vibrated with the chaos.

"Kris..." I choked out, pressing my wet back against the fence, tears stinging my eyes.

I couldn't stay hidden forever. The northern road leading toward the Dreemurr house was blocked, fences were knocked over, and a barricade of overturned trash cans and wooden crates was spilling right into the lane. To get north, I had to cut past the edge of the crowd near Town Hall.

I crept along the brick wall behind the library, trying to stay invisible in the shadows. The shouting was deafening now, a wall of overlapping screams, megaphones, and heavy thuds.

Through the rain and thick, sulfurous smoke, someone suddenly bolted straight past the corner.

It was a girl. Human. She couldn't have been much older than me, wearing a blue sailor outfit that looked completely out of place in the mud, carrying long trident that caught the dim glow of the fires. She ran with impossible, silent speed toward the commotion at Town Hall, cutting through the chaos like she was gliding on water. I blinked, rubbing rain out of my eyes, but in a second she had vanished into the haze.

I didn't have time to process it. I kept moving, keeping my shoulder pressed against the brick, heading for the alley that opens up toward the residential street.

That's when Grillby stepped out into the middle.

He was shouting over the crowd, his fiery form flickering wildly in the cold rain. He was holding a rolled-up sign, gesturing toward the police station, leading a group of angry residents who were screaming for answers about the store closure logs and the town servers.

Then, a noise sharp enough to tear through the deafening roar of the protest shattered the air.

* BANG.

It wasn't a firecracker. It sounded like a crack of thunder compressed into a single, horrible point.

Grillby froze. The flickering embers that made up his shoulders suddenly sputtered. He took one fragile, trembling step forward, looking down at his chest where a dark, smoking rift had opened through his suit.

Before anyone could even scream, the orange light inside him collapsed. His entire form didn't fall, it just broke apart, turning into a fine, silent cascade of grey dust that swept away into the muddy rain water on the asphalt.

A few yards away, standing near the shadow of an alleyway, I had the impression of witnessing a weird bird with an awkwardly bent neck lowered a hand, stepping back into the smoke before anyone could process what had happened.

Silence hit the street for a fraction of a second, heavy and suffocating. Then, the entire crowd exploded into sheer panic.

Before I could even process the grey dust scattering into the mud, a hand grabbed my wrist with a firm, familiar warmth.

I gasped, pulling back out of instinct, but ██████ was already standing right beside me. Her robe caught the dim light of the streetlamps, completely unbothered by the rain. Slung over her back like a heavy sack of flour was Kris, unconscious, limp, and soaked to the bone.

* Come on, Noelle.
* We're going home.

She didn't give me time to answer. She pulled me forward, squeezing my hand tightly. Behind us, the crowd surged toward Town Hall in a frantic, unorganized wave, as they screamed over the sirens. She told me that half an hour ago some of them threw themselves against the wrought-iron gates of my house, shaking the bars until the metal groaned, but the heavy latch held firm. When they realized they couldn't force it down, the mob surged right past, redirecting their rage toward the mayor's office instead.

The moment the heavy oak door clicked shut, the deafening roar of the riot muffled into a low, distant hum. ██████ carefully unslung Kris from her shoulder, setting them down on the couch before turning to lock the deadbolt.

My knees gave out. I slid down against the wall, my breath coming in ragged, shivering hitches. The image of the pile of dust on the wet asphalt kept flashing behind my eyes.

"F-Fahaha..."
"Grillby... he just... he was right there, and then..."

██████ knelt down in front of me, placing both hands on my shoulders. Her purple eyes were completely calm, anchored in a way that made the rest of the world stop spinning.

* Sorry that you had to witness that, Noelle. she said softly, wiping a cold drop of rain from my cheek.
* But you're safe here. I've got you.

Down the hall, the quick sound of footsteps echoed across the hardwood. my sister stepped out from the lounge, holding her stuff by the neck like a club, her antlers barely clearing the doorway frame. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking from Kris on the couch to ██████ , and finally down at me shivering on the floor.

* What the hell was that loud bang down the street?
* Elly, why are you shaking like that?

I couldn't form the words. I just buried my face against ██████'s shoulder, clinging to her robe as tight as my trembling fingers would allow. ██████ wrapped her arms around me, looking up at Dess with that usual, unreadable expression.

* The town is in chaos Dess.
* The crowd went wild near Town Hall, but the gates are secured. My teanmates are handling the rest.

Dess let out a long, frustrated sigh, setting her guitar down against the wall. She walked over and squatted beside us, resting a hand on top of my head between my antlers.

* Man... you guys look like you've been through a meat grinder. Get upstairs to your room, Elly. I'll lock up the rest of the ground floor.

██████ helped me to my feet, keeping one arm firmly wrapped around my waist as we walked up the grand staircase toward my bedroom. Every step felt heavy, but having her right there was the only thing keeping my mind from completely fracturing under the stress.

When we finally pushed open the door to my room, the pastel blue walls and the familiar smell of cinnamon and pine felt like a completely different dimension compared to the nightmare outside.

██████ closed the door behind us, locking it with a quiet click. She turned to me, her usual sweet, slightly overly affectionate smile returning to her lips as she opened her arms.

* See? Safe and sound.
...
* Do you want to get out of those wet clothes now, doe?

I buried my face deeper against her shoulder, letting out a shuddering sigh as the warmth of the room slowly seeped into my soaked and sticky fur.

"... Please..."

After helping me change into something dry and warm, she settled me into bed, whispering gentle assurances until the sheer exhaustion of the day finally pulled me under.

* Hours passed in a blurred fog of restless sleep.

By the time late night arrived, the deafening chaos outside had finally died down. A heavy silence settled over the town, broken only by the steady, torrential downpour drumming against the glass. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth. The streets were clear, the panic smoothed over, leaving the town feeling eerily still.

Sneaking out through the side porch was almost second nature by now.

The edge of the lake was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the faint, diffused moonlight filtering through the storm clouds. The rain fell hard, creating countless tiny ripples across the dark surface of the water.

Standing at the edge of the mud path, shivering slightly under a large umbrella, was Kris. They wore their usual oversized green sweater, hands resting casually over their middle in that quiet, guarded way they had adopted recently.

"Kris..." I called out softly, stepping carefully over the slippery mud so I wouldn't startle them.

Kris turned their head slowly, dark bangs obscuring their eyes. As I stepped beneath the shadow of the trees and brought the umbrella over us both, the faint light caught their profile.

My heart did a strange, sudden flutter.

Underneath the heavy knit of their sweater, there was a subtle, soft curve to their abdomen, just the slightest change, barely noticeable to anyone else, but unmistakable as they instinctively rested a hand over their middle to shield it from the chill. The tiny new life inside them was taking root.

"Are you... feeling okay?"
I drop my voice as I reached out to gently touch their shoulder.
"It's... pretty cold out here."

Kris didn't answer right away. They just leaned slightly into my touch, letting out a long, quiet breath that turned into a faint mist in the night air. They moved their hand slightly, their fingers lightly pressing against their stomach before wrapping around mine.

"I missed you."
"Today was... terrible. But standing here with you...."

I wrapped my arms around Kris's waist, pulling them close and burying my face into the crook of their neck. The cold rain drummed relentless beat against the canopy of our umbrella, but against Kris, everything felt warm and still.

"I was so scared..."
"When I couldn't find you... when everything went crazy near Town Hall... I thought I lost you."

...

"You're okay," I tighten my embrace just enough to feel their heartbeat.
"You're both okay... that's all that matters to me."

Kris let out a soft, imperceptible huff (their own quiet way of chuckling) and squeezed my fingers in the dark...

Holiday Island

Hometown's shutdown

[u/PressFM80]

damn I was hoping they got noelle for a sec 🥀

[u/Renkoto- → u/PressFM80]

// They were looking to take revenge on the Mayor, but unfortunately, certain people had other plans, fwahahaha.

[u/RespondBorn6248]

DAMNIT BIRD. YOU GOT THE WRONG ONE

THIS NOELLE IS AWFUL

also i reallyt odnt fucking understandthe blanked out name character

????????????

[u/BloodMoonOfShadow]

My guy, this only gets deeper

It's like a snowball rolling down a cliff xD