DELTAREI: A Deltarune AU. [16+] (NOW COMPLETED)

Chapter 12: A Strange Moment

-WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18TH, 2023.-

The next day, after school as usual, we returned to the cliffs and entered the Dark World once more. Ralsei waited for us outside his castle, a serious expression on his face.

Ralsei- "I have another task for you all," he began. "There is an item that needs to be retrieved urgently. It holds the power to revive someone."

Ralsei stood by his castle's entrance, a serious expression on his face.

Ralsei- "The item you need to retrieve is located deep within the Scarlet Forest, how you will find it is up to you, as it can be hidden anywhere in the Forest, but it has the power to revive someone, so just know that it is very valuable."

We exchanged glances, ready to accept the challenge.

"We're in," I said, the others nodding in agreement.

"Good," Ralsei replied. "The forest can be dangerous, so be careful out there." We set off towards the Scarlet Forest. The trees grew denser as we progressed further into the woods. The sunlight barely filtered through the tangled branches above. Up ahead, we spotted Susie standing in our path. Her appearance was different – adorned with "metal"-like clothing and sporting what looked like a fake scar running down her face, probably made of makeup. Susie turned around upon hearing our approach. Her eyes flickered from Noelle to me and Risk, a look of surprise crossing her face. For a moment, it looked like she was about to get angry, but she seemed to reign in her emotions when she noticed Noelle.

Susie- "What are you all doing here?" she demanded, her voice gruff.

Noelle-"We're on a mission from Ralsei," she explained. "There's an item we need to retrieve, and we were told it's hidden in the forest."

Susie- "And why are you with them?"

Noelle- "They helped me out a lot during our last adventure, they're actually pretty cool, once you get to know them."

Susie- "Whatever. I found it lying on the ground," she said, pulling a small, glowing bottle from her pocket. "It looked cool, so I picked it up."

Susie handed the glowing bottle to Noelle. "Here," she said gruffly. "This is what you're looking for, right?" Noelle took the bottle carefully. "Yeah, thanks," she said, giving Susie a small smile. "And you know, they're actually pretty nice once you get to know them. They're not as bad as you think." Susie merely shrugged, wrapping her tail around her ankle. She turned away, clearly unconvinced by Noelle's words. With the item in hand, we returned to Ralsei's castle. He thanked us for our effort as Noelle handed over the glowing bottle.

Ralsei- "Thank you, I'm glad you were able to get this for me. Now, let's get you back to your world."

He opened a portal to the Light World, its glow filling the room, as we then stepped through the portal, emerging once again in our own world. The sky outside was dark, the time around 8:30 PM. It was colder than before, with patches of snow on the ground and the temperature sitting at 15 degrees Fahrenheit. As the portal began to close, Noelle turned back to wave at us. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Risk had already grabbed my sleeve, pulling me along. "Let's go," he muttered, his voice a rare sound on the cold night air. Noelle just sighed, watching us retreat in the dim glow of the streetlights. She turned and walked away, back home as always.