Deltarune: Imposter

	Kris woke up after the sudden rush of pain coursed throughout his very soul. Torn from his body and locked in the birdcage. Fear and confusion swelled within him as he tried to break out of the cage.
	The lock on the cage refused to let loose even as he continued to rattle against the bars. He started to panic. There was nowhere else for him to go. Not even this force controlling him could muster the strength to escape.
Whoever it was… whatever it was that was wearing his body… it was not a friendly. This aura of malice and evil was unlike anything he had experienced. He never felt this much tension since the Spade King of Dark World nearly killed him and his friends.
	Kris had no one to save him. Kris had no one to stop this thing. And not it was wearing his skin.
	The fake-Kris made its way over towards the cage and squatted down. Cold, dead, red eyes staring deep at his soul. How they glowed unnaturally in the dark. With a wicked grin, and rosy cheeks, it bore a smile that never ceased.
	When he spoke, its voice was but a child’s voice underneath it. Or at least, something that sounded like a child.  Yet it carried with it a dark, echo that resonated in his mind.
	“Howdy Kris!” it knew his name. How did it know his name? “Boy you sure have a pretty powerful body. I guess that time in the Dark World shaped you up eh? And whoa… a lot of mental baggage in here don’t ya? Not the first time you’ve tossed your soul into this cage yeah? Yeah, I can definitely see it. You sure lived a pretty boring life too. Wow. A complete missed opportunity there. You’ve gone through all this time living with them and you’ve not grasped the power of a boss monster’s soul? I mean what are you? A pacifist?” it flicked a finger against the cage. “I mean hell, I thought you Lightener humans were supposed to be smart and tough or something. Well… it doesn’t matter. Because today’s my reckoning. I am finally free. And it’s all thanks to the knight. But now I’m stuck with your memories. Especially memories of that dragon. You really have a thing for her, don’t you?”
	The creature made its way towards his bed and knelt down. “And you should have it right…” it pulled out what looked to be a drawing book.
	It smiled again and chuckled. “How can a loser like you be so scared of her and yet like her at the same time? Gosh you are pathetic.”
	Kris continued to bang against the cage to no avail. All the while, Fake-Kris flipped through his book with a sharp snicker. “Okay. I think we’re done with this.” The creature took a good chunk of the book’s contents and begins tearing them piece by piece, just to fuck with the poor human. And Kris continued to beat at the cage in response.
	“Don’t kid yourself Kris. There is no way she’ll like a guy like you. What kind powerful monster would want to be with a pathetic human like you? Besides, she’s not gonna be on your thoughts any longer. And you’re definitely not getting out of there either Kris. Neither is that another pathetic loser in you. After all, you don’t have a choice in this world.” Fake-Kris brandished the knife about in an intimidating fashion, as though it was about to strike at him. “You don’t have a choice in this world.”
	Fake-Kris stood made its way out of the bedroom. Kris didn’t know where it was going. He didn’t care at this point. He was trapped, alone, afraid, unable to do anything.
	Kris cried voiceless into the night, banging at the cage. He tried and tried and tried again and again to call out for his mother to save him.
But nobody came.

	Susie woke up with this sensation of happiness she hadn’t felt a long, long time. The exuberant warmth of acceptance brought her a sense of hopefulness for the future.
	What did it mean for her now? What was there for her in the future?
	These were the questions that had been on her mind literally minutes after waking up. The best part about it? She’d get to relive the same experience she did the other day.
	And adventure through the dark world. A chance to express herself. A place where she can accept herself, just as others had.
Lancer, Kris, Ralsei; the moments she spent with them, the things she learned, the nature of their hearts, made her feel as though she could learn to be happy. Not just with herself, but with others who prefer her company.
	“Susie!” came a deep and warm familiar voice. It was her mother. Knowing her, she probably came home late again passed out drunk on the couch. Donned in her outwear still and half-asleep. “Get up or you’ll be late for…” Susie was already up and out of her room, making her way towards the bathroom. A great big smile was plastered across her face. “School…” her mother finished.
	It took her a moment or two to process what she saw and just shook her head. She thought to herself how she must have been hungover to imagine her daughter actually happy for once. Which would be a good thing for her actually.
	Though when she got back out, the smile still clear on her face. All her mother could do was watch in amazement and smile in turn. As the door closed behind Susie, her mother sits herself up with a chuckle. “Well, well, well. It looks like my little girl’s finally made a friend,” she said to herself.
Things were finally looking up for her it seemed. But what will today bring for Susie? Her mother was nervous, but hopeful for her.
Not since she was but a child did Susie smile. And it was the sweetest smile she ever did see.

	Susie arrived in school not a minute too late. It surprised the students, even professor Alphys. On top of that, she was smiling. No one ever seen her smile like that before.
	The first to come across her was Noelle, who was so distracted by pulling her books out of the locker that she bumped into Susie when she turned around.
	“Gah! I-I-I’m sorry Susie! I-I didn’t mean to bump into you! I w-wasn’t looking and…” Susie stopped her rambling by placing her hand on her shoulder. The poor reindeer monster flinched as though she had committed a most grievous sin.
“Jeez. You should take a chill pill or something. What’s one little bump gonna do?” Susie replied with a big smile plastered across her face.
Noelle just blinked. “I… well… umm…”
	Susie just patted her and laughed. “Just watch where you’re going the next time the halls are packed nerd.” And with that, she walked off.
Noelle just stood there, dumbfounded. She blinked a few times and just smiled. Kris was right; she really is pretty nice deep down. And she thought to herself, maybe they could become friends after all.
	Though would others feel the same way? That’s the part Noelle was worried about. Though if she was friends with the likes of Kris, (who certainly underwent changes himself) then anything was possible.
What mattered now though was their next adventure. What waited for the two beyond the door?
As Susie arrived at her locker and pulled out her supplies for the day, Kris appeared right beside her. When the heck did, he even get in here? He was surprisingly early himself.
	“Yo Kris!” Susie called out to him as she shut her locker. “How the heck you been freak? Ready to go to the Dark World?”
	Kris just looked at Susie with that disingenuous smile and uneven stare. He looked… well different. But something was wrong, and it was on the tip of her tongue. She couldn’t very well understand what it was.
“That oversaturated Wonderland looking rip-off? No way. I don’t think I could stand another minute with that pansy ass goat and that wannabe villain,” said Kris.
	Whoa, where the heck did that come from? Susie was taken aback, blinking as she tried to process what he just said. Kris couldn’t have thought like that.
	The experiences they had together, the smile on his face, that adventuring passion stirred up something deep within his heart. So, what happened? He doesn’t act like he’s particularly enthusiastic about going.
	“Whoa. Kris, uhh… you alright?” Susie asked.
	“Course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Kris just smiled and shrugged. “Jeez Susie. Getting so worked up over some escapist fantasy. Who the hell cares? Chances are we might no get back there anyways. We closed the fountain. Remember? Not like we can actually go back unless a new one opens.”
	Susie lets out an uhh like noise. She was distracted by the apparent disregard he had for the Dark World. On top of that, he certainly didn’t seem to show any ounce of patience for her like he did last time.
	“Ugh, don’t you remember? More than one Dark Fountain would bridge the gap between the world of light and the world of dark. The worlds will be unbalanced, and we’ll have to go through the whole shebang. God, you’ve used that brain once before. Just use it again!”
Now it was getting a bit out of hand.
	“Whoa Kris. What the hell’s your problem?” she asked as she cocked her brow at him.
	Kris just gave her a bored expression with both his arms crossing together. “Hmmm? Sorry you say something? I can’t hear you. Your chalk reeking breath is bad enough to kill someone. Hah, that would be a great overachievement actually.”
	With that, Kris turned and made his way down the hall, letting out a dishearteningly callous laughter. As he passed by MK, he deliberately stuck his foot out to trip him. All those books he had in his mouth, fell down with him and buried him in the pile.
“Oops! Sorry MK! Guess I shoulda been more careful.” His voice sounded so sarcastic that it was a wonder how MK didn’t notice it.
	“Gah, I... it’s okay Kris! Accidents happen! I-I should have k-kept…”
	“Whatever, have fun.” And just like that, Kris interrupted him dismissively as he passed around the corner and further down the hall.
	Something was not right with Kris today. Susie couldn’t quite put her finger on it. But there was something about that behavior of it. It was not like anything she’d expect from Kris.
	The thought lingered on her mind for a while. Up until the first-class bell rang, she dropped the thought entirely and went on to class to try and think nothing of it.
	But as she was making her way towards professor Alphys’ room, she stopped at the hall to look at the storage room door. Kris did get one thing right, and the words were coming back to her; so long as the Dark Fountains were inactive, the bridge between light and dark will remain broken. Figuratively speaking that is.
	She’d have to find out by lunchtime. For now, it was class time. Surprising absolutely everyone, she was on time for the first time since anyone of them can imagine.
	The way she came in had everyone nearly bolting out of their seats. They watched her as she casually strides down the classroom and takes her seat.
Professor Alphys wasn’t in. She is always right on time. Kris not being in himself wasn’t exactly new. After the second bell ring, neither of them had arrived yet.
	For Alphys, it was weird.
	“Yo dude, where the heck’s professor Alphys?” Jockington whispered to Noelle. “Shouldn’t she like, be here already? I mean… its odd how she hasn’t shown up and the bell’s already…”
	The door swung open to reveal Kris, staring out at the audience with a cold and uncaring gaze. Slowly his eyes scanned the room, taking a good look at each and every student as he makes his way in.
	“Oh, so Alphys isn’t here yet?” Kris remarked as his gaze peered towards the teacher’s desk. “Oh, I guess she took a trip to the storage closet and found herself locked in. She always was a klutzy monster.”
Kris just shrugged and made his way towards a row of seats. His gaze lingering over to Susie’s as the dragon watched him with increasingly growing suspicions.
	“Just because Alphys isn’t here buddy, doesn’t mean you’re going to be let off the hook easily.” Ah yes, Kris thought, the ever-obnoxious bird.
	He wasn’t sure which one was the bigger loser. This pushover, or the real Kris? All he could do was watch him as he makes one sarcastic quip after another.
	“Like jeez! You expect to get anywhere in life if you’re always tardy like that? Hah! You sure do set a good example for your family I bet.”
	Kris stopped just short of Berdly’s desk. He raised his fist in the air and brought it down upon his desk, making the bird jump.
The human had a cold and deathly glare to his eyes as he leered into the monster bird’s. Then he looked around the room to see everyone else were a bit freaked out by Kris’ reaction too.
	“Gah! I-I’m sorry! Jeez! C-can’t you t-take a joke Kris?!” the monster bird squawked.
	He swore for a moment there he was about to drop an egg. That woulda been rather funny he thought.
	But he couldn’t break his cover just yet. So instead, he smiled to Berdly. And it only made the monster even more afraid of him.
	“How bout you take a joke man? I mean damn. You sure as hell jumped over nothing Berd.  Or should I say… nerd?”
	“W-wha?”
	Kris just flicked his finger up across his beak and motioned pass him. Looking over to Noelle, who was just as shocked and confused at the situation as everyone else was, he smiled, and finger guns her.
	He slipped into his seat, not saying a word to the dragon as her cold stare pierced into Kris’ very soul. Or rather, it felt like that. Considering the fact that Kris doesn’t have a soul now.
	The human just smiled and looked at her, as she looked back at him. “Best keep your eyes on the board dragon. If you know what’s good for you.”
	Susie’s eyes squinted at him.
“What the hell’s gotten in to you Kris?”
	Kris just shrugged with a ‘iunno’ like hum. About an extra three minutes later, Alphys entered the classroom, huffing and puffing.
	“Gah! I-I am so sorry about that class! I just… well… lets’ just say I… had a bad trip. N-not exactly sure how. And then… umm… I got… locked in the storage room.” The teacher had on her usual awkward smile whenever something embarrassing happened. Though given her circumstances, it wasn’t her fault.
No one actually knew what happened with her. Not even Alphys herself. Though Susie had a pretty good idea that Kris was involved somehow.
	“N-now… onto today’s topic! Uhh… souls! The essence of all living things! Now then…”
	The world around Susie was drowned out as she kept her gaze fixed on the smiling human. And for the rest of the class, all she could do was be cautious. She’ll wait until lunch hour hits and go straight to the Dark World.
	An hour in there wouldn’t be too long she imagined. What was up with her Kris? Was it even him at all?

	The air was tense. Everyone could feel it. Well, everyone that was around Kris that is. Susie felt it most of all.
	The monsters thought it was nothing more than just a simple bad day. It was cloudy outside, and it looked like it was about to rain.
	How quaint that it complimented the atmosphere in the halls. No one outside a select few, seemed to notice Kris’ drastic change in behavior.
	Whatever was going on, Susie would have to tackle it. But not before she gets the chance to explore the Dark World again.
	With everyone in the cafeteria, she strolled down the hall. She kept her head turning side to side, making sure no one would spot her as she slipped into the Storage Room.
	“Alright. Aaaaaaand here we go,” she said aloud as she rushes into the dark room.
	One foot in front of the other, she entered the dark pitched void. Then, she stubbed her foot against something.
	“Ouch! Son of a bitch!” she exclaimed, as she came tumbling down, pulling with her a shelf full of supplies.
	She struggled to crawl back out of the way, causing more of a cascading mess than she already was making.
	The dragon planted herself up against the wall, huffing and puffing. Then she reached up for the light switch and came upon chalk dust coating the room. Along with a spilt bucket of cleaning solutions, broken chalk sticks, markers, paper supplies, the works.
	“Oh crap…” she said to herself aloud.
	She patted at her body, noticing she was full of the dust and rushed out of the room as fast as she could.
Disappointment filled her heart. There was no way to get back. Kris was right; there was no way to get back.
Unless a dark fountain were to open on the other end, she was pretty much trapped here. No Lancer, no Ralsei, no adventure. No kicking ass.
	The dragon sighed and slumped up against the door. How could this day get any worse, she thought to herself. Surely the angel wasn’t that callous to deny her, her first only friend she had ever made in there.
	She hoped Lancer was alright. He’s got to be. But there was no sense on dwelling on it for too long.
	Susie closed her eyes, lets out a sigh an tried her best to rest the hour away.
	While she sat there, lost in her own thoughts, a quiet and timid looking doe girl appeared from down the hall. Looked like she just got done lunch early it seemed.
	“Umm… hey Susie!” she spoke up.
	The dragon opened up one eye to see the reindeer monster. “I-I hope I am not interrupting anything, am I?” she continued.
	“No not at all nerd. Just tired.” Susie closed her eye and breathed in. Then the cent of chalk tickled her nostrils. She opened her eyes a second time to see her knelt down in front of her with a box of chalk.
	“S-sorry if I’m disturbing your r-rest then. K-Kris said you like chalk And… w-well I thought it’d be… umm… a good snack for you. I just…” Susie swiped up the box, making the poor girl recoil and watch as she downs it all in one gulp.
	“Thanks nerd. So, Kris talked about me eh?”
	The reindeer nodded her head. “Yeah. Just the other day.”
	She just blinked and shrugged. Might as well ask what he had to say. If there was anything to figure out, its how the twerp’s mind worked.
	“What did he have to say about me?” she asked.
	“Well… h-he said that you were actually pretty nice. A-and… well that you like chalk…” That last part made her laugh.
	“Noelle, I eat a LOT of junk. Chalk’s just something to get by the boredom that is school. Now what else did he say?”
	Noelle was sweating a little bit. It was really hard to get those words out. Was making friends always this hard? How did she do so well with Kris in the first place?
	“W-well… you were pretty cool… and strong… and… he never went into details. Just that there was more to you than meets th-the eye.”
	Kris said that? A not very talkative fellow had nice things to say about her?
	“That kid’s just so damn weird,” Susie replied and shook her head.
	“W-well… he’s acting a lot weirder t-today than he did the other day. I mean… I always k-known him as that creepy quiet kid and…”
	“Kris ain’t creepy.” The tone in her voice was heavy and serious.
	“Ah! I-I’m sorry!” Noelle was quick to retract her statement, realizing she touched a nerve. “It’s just… He’s just… so used to being… well…”
	“Yeah I know.” She then turned to look at Noelle. “Kris and I are pretty similar one way or another. We have a hard time connecting with others. We’re both delinquents. Maybe yesterday after the D- after… u mm… some stuff happened… he’s changed. Just like I have.”
	Noelle couldn’t help but smile. It was weird to see Susie open up like this. It made a part of herself open up more to her as well.
	“Well…I didn’t mean to say that. Kris isn’t exactly… the best when it comes to dealing with others. All he really had in his life was Asriel. He never had any aspirations… not like his brother. He was never extrovert, never really sociable unless he’s with him.” Noelle fiddled her thumbs together as she continued; “And… he pulls pranks a lot. And I think that might be his way of… well expressing himself.”
Susie lets out a slight snort and chuckle. “I can see how coating yourself in ketchup would definitely be seen as expressive.”
	“And bath bombs in the toiler.”
	The two started to laugh as they recount those rather mischievous and dark pranks he pulled.
	“It might be just my imagination but Kris’ strangeness today was just… well it wasn’t like what it was the other day,” Susie remarked. “Probably has an ego or something. Who knows? I’ll just have to punt the little guy into telling me.”
Susie stands herself up and stretches. “Well, I might as well go and slouch around like the ol hoarding dragon that I am. Catch you later nerd. And don’t tell anyone we were… err… doing… this…” she wagged her finger between the two of them. “This conversation thingy. I rather keep the reputation I have. For snits and giggles and stuff.”
	Noelle smiled and waved her off, watching her make her way down the hall. “Don’t worry! This conversation never happened!”

	Meanwhile, back at home, Kris sat in the quiet empty bedroom. He was scared, nauseous, and struggling to come to terms with everything that happened.
	He wanted his mother. He wanted his father. He wanted his brother.
	He wanted Asriel.
	Where was his brother?
	Why couldn’t he have come home sooner/
	What was happening out there? Was Hometown alright?
	Was Susie alright? Noelle?
	He wanted to cry so badly but he could not find the tears to do so. His body ached, and yet it was not a physical pain. Every time he tried to move his arms or legs, nothing but the phantom of limbs moved in their absence.
	Locked with no way out. No sense of self or being.
	The first time he put his soul in the cage, it felt like he was divided in two places at once. Emotions he couldn’t properly deal with. Especially when Asriel first left.
	He wanted his brother so badly.
	Why wasn’t he here to protect him?
	Why did he leave him here all alone?
	It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.
	And now his entire being was trapped in this cage. With a demon wearing his skin, going around town.
	The walls were closing in.
	The world around him was warped and twisted. Hallucinations from the corner of the room mocked and taunted him.
	And then, there was this creature in the corner. A frozen face, a frozen smile, and it looked white and pale, wearing a thick black coat. It said something… but he couldn’t understand what.
	Its words were distorted, unknown, unclean sounding. Like when Asriel failed miserably that one them when he used the editing software to clean up the audio.