Chapter Text
You open your eyes as you view blurs. All you know is that your head hurts. In fact, your head hurts a lot. As your senses return you realize that it’s your whole body that hurts. Around your joints and neck, you feel thin lines of pain. The strings.
It all comes back to you. The battle, the lighteners, NEO, and those god damn strings.
But they saved you, they cut you down, string by string. They saved you while you were trying to murder a child to steal their soul. But they saved you anyway. Why? Why would they save someone as horrible as you? You didn’t deserve it.
You take account of where you are. You’re next to a brightly colored building, you hear people talking and celebrating on the other side. Peaking around the edge you can make out the words “DOJO” on the front of the building you’re sat next to. Before you can take in anything else, you see the Lightners and the Dark Prince.
You panic, you don’t know why but you panic. It hurts like hell to move but your body runs as fast as it can in its current state. There’s a dumpster on the back of the building. All your gut instincts from being on the streets for years are screaming at you to get in.
As the lid lifts a searing pain shoots through your arms. Without thinking you drop your arms as the lid slams shut. You can sense a pair of eyes looking at you. Craning your neck you can see a goat monster in a green dress, immediately recognizing them from the fight.
You’re frozen still as the monster practically runs up to you. As they approach you notice the pink horns and glasses, details you weren’t aware enough while fighting to notice. When they reach you, you can tell that despite the fact they’re very short, they’re still a few inches taller than you.
They open their mouth and the nicest words come out. You’re confused, you don’t deserve any nice words after what you tried to do. Why were they being so nice?
“We never got properly introduced have we? I’m Ralsei, He/They pronouns.” The words cut through your thoughts needing a reply.
“I’M [NUMBER1SALESMAN1997], SPAMTON G. SPAMTON.]” there's a bang as fire ignites in your hand. Looking down at your knuckles you realize you just punched the dumpster.
“Oh, are you ok? Here let me…” he reaches out and grabs your arm. You shrink back but the second they touch you all the pain is magically gone.
You lift the lid and start scurrying into the dumpster. When you’re just about to drop in Ralsei speaks again.
“Mx. Spamton? What- what are you doing?” You hear Ralsei say, concerned.
“I don’t know what else to do.”
Things are going blurry again.
You’re remembering again.
You hate remembering.
A sharp pain hits your cheek snapping you out of things. Things are still blurry, but, from the ground, you look up to see a purple monster. They’re getting chewed out by Ralsei.
“You can’t do that when someone is like that!”
“K, but they're not staticy anymore.”
“I’m sure that solves nothing!”
“ACTUALLY IT WAS [satisfaction guaranteed!]” You kick yourself at the glitch, mentally, of course, heaven knows that Ralsei would yell at you too if you did literally.
Ralsei gives a glare at the Lightner and seeming to know exactly what that meant, groans. They bend down to you, still on the floor.
“I’m…I’m sorry for slapping you.” They say begrudgingly, “Name’s Susie, She/He/Ax” ax adds on.
“HE/HIM, ANY NEOPRONOUN [under the sun.]” You look up expecting a reaction to the glitch, all he gives you is “sick” with a sincere smile.
“Kris told me you were homeless when they met you, if you need a place to stay the castle is always open. I could even make cake!” Ralsei says, smiling.
You quickly shake your head, “NO, NO, I'M [perfectly perfect! NO DEAL.]” A bullshit lie, but how could you accept? You? Living in a palace again? It’s never going to truly happen. Your bond to get kicked out just like last time.
“You found someone to live with already?”
You lie through your teeth
But they both believe it, they leave you there. Once out of sight you silently crawl into the empty dumpster.
That night Ralsei got a knock on his door from you.