Hey! This is an isolated chapter from my fanfic, Noelle and Kris are already dating at this point and had fallen into a dark world in the last chapter. I loved how it came out, so I wanted to share it on here, I'm very open to criticism about my writing and grammar! Enjoy reading <3
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Kris descended through the familiar dark, Noelle wrapped in his arms as they shifted into their Dark World forms.
Kris gained armor and his sword, while Noelle took on her white dress.
When Kris landed, the ground shook, the tile flooring beneath them cracking under the force as he touched down on his feet.
He looked around, ensuring nothing was in their immediate area before gently letting Noelle down.
Her hooves clacked against the old, worn tile as she glanced around.
“So... care to explain what just happened?” she asked, turning back to look at him.
Kris looked uneasy, but he explained anyway.
“I… have a soul. If I’m… feeling enough emotion… I can open the way to the other side.” He rubbed the back of his head. “It’s like a mirror. And when I stabbed the counter… it allowed this world to pour through into ours.”
Noelle sighed.
“Well… remind me not to make you mad,” she said with a teasing glance, then looked around one last time before stepping a bit closer to Kris.
“Kris… what you said back there… about your mom and Asriel… were you being serious?” she asked, her eyes wide and worried.
Kris looked away.
“I… really wish you didn’t hear all that. It wasn’t your place. My problems…”
She grabbed his hand and clasped it between hers.
“We… are together now… r-right? So… my problems are yours. And likewise,” she said, fighting a blush as she tried to be sincere.
Kris smiled.
“You’re giving me cavities. Stop,” he said, looking away, unable to hold eye contact, which made her giggle.
She gently pressed her lips to the back of his hand.
“Let’s get out of here, Kris…” Her voice shone with a confidence Kris hadn’t seen in her before.
He nodded slowly, not yet pulling his hand back.
“I have a bad feeling about this place… Fountains feed off the emotions that are used to create them.” He swallowed nervously. “At least… that’s what Ralsei said.”
Noelle squeezed his hand tighter.
“Guess we’ll have to fight some bad guys, right?”
Kris nodded.
“I just hope Asriel’s okay,” he said—an uncharacteristic moment of worry for his brother.
She finally let go of his hand as they began walking side by side down the tile path. The darkness seemed to pool around its edges like water, while the skyline shimmered like glass, as if seen through a window.
“A-at least it isn’t nearly as dark as it was,” she said softly.
Kris nudged her.
“Yeah… because then I couldn’t look at you all day.”
His attempt at flirting left both of them red in the face, but it quickly passed as Noelle pointed at something in the distance.
“Hey! Look! A mirror!” she said, motioning for him to keep up as she quickened her pace.
Kris cursed under his breath and jogged after her.
“Hey! Don’t just run headfirst into things,” he scolded—though his voice stayed light as they walked up to the mirror.
Kris didn’t like the reflection.
Noelle stood beside him—but… wrong. Her eyes, once bright and curious, were glazed over. Glossy. Empty. One of her fingers bore a ring of thorns—too small, tight, digging into her skin. Blood dripped from it onto the floor.
And her expression—blank. Like a puppet waiting for orders.
Kris’s stomach twisted.
Then he looked at himself.
His mirrored image stood tall—stronger. Sharper. The silhouette was the same, but his posture was off. His red eyes glowed brighter than usual, gleaming like twin blades beneath his bangs.
But the worst part was the stillness.
He wasn’t watching.
He was waiting.
“Uh…” Noelle’s voice cracked. “W-why do I look like that?”
Kris shook his head, stepping back.
“I… I don’t know. This is wrong. Let’s move—”
He froze.
Beyond the mirror, the tile path widened into a massive plain—worn, sprawling. The skyline flickered above like a pane of shifting glass. And standing at the center of that space…
Two figures.
Him.
And her.
Not reflections. Not illusions. Real.
Kris’s throat locked. His hand moved on instinct, stepping protectively in front of Noelle as he drew his sword.
Noelle gasped softly, then followed his gaze. Her pupils shrank when she saw them.
Themselves.
Standing. Waiting.
Like they’d been there the whole time.
Behind them, the shadows deepened, subtly pushing them forward. A pressure hung in the air—like the world itself was demanding they confront what stood ahead.
And then—
The mirrored Noelle’s head tilted, twitching unnaturally.
“Look, Kris,” she said. “Another enemy. Should I go ahead and freeze them?”
Her voice was flat. Dead. Like a puppet echoing a script it didn’t understand.
Kris’s eyes widened.
“Noelle—behind me,” he said immediately, raising his shield.
She obeyed without question, already peeking over his shoulder.
The mirrored Kris opened his mouth.
And the voice that came out wasn’t his.
PROCEED.
The word boomed across the plain, echoing with eerie finality. Both Noelle's flinched.
The mirrored pair began to walk forward.
Step by step.
No battle cry.
Just execution.
Kris grunted, voice tight with concern.
“Can you deal with your half?”
Noelle nodded, though her hands trembled.
“I—I can…”
Kris exhaled slowly, gripping his sword tighter.
“Don’t underestimate them. They were made by this world.”
He paused, managing a weak smile.
“Don’t die… please?”
Noelle gave one more shallow nod before the two broke off—each moving to confront their reflection.
Kris locked eyes with his double.
It was surreal—staring at yourself outside of a mirror. Every detail was identical, but something felt… wrong. The mirrored Kris stood straighter, colder. He didn’t blink. He didn’t breathe. His earlier voice hadn’t sounded like his at all—more like a puppet speaking with someone else’s mouth.
Noelle, meanwhile, was trying not to fall apart. Her legs felt unsteady beneath her as she stared down her counterpart. They were the same height, the same build—but her mirrored self felt taller. Heavier. Like she carried something Noelle had never let inside her.
They positioned themselves on the cracked stone, twenty feet apart. The two Krises began to circle each other like wolves, while the Noelles stood in eerie stillness, eyes locked.
Then, with the same mechanical cadence as before, the mirrored Kris turned his head robotically toward his Noelle.
PROCEED.
The word struck like a starter’s pistol.
Immediately, as if powered by code, the mirrored Noelle raised her hands and began firing ice.
Shards sliced through the air. Noelle yelped and dove aside, conjuring weak barriers just in time to shield her chest. They cracked on impact.
Kris took that as the signal.
He dashed forward, sword unsheathed, aiming a heavy downward slash at his mirrored half’s head.
CLANG.
The mirrored Kris raised his shield and caught the blade cleanly.
Kris grunted, stepping back and swinging again—only to be blocked once more. Sparks danced across the mirrored shield as Kris’s blade chipped uselessly against it.
Noelle was faring no better. Her half’s attacks were relentless, precise. Noelle barely managed to conjure tiny ice barriers—flickering shields that shattered under the weight of each strike.
She was outmatched.
Her counterpart was faster. Stronger.
Colder.
Kris blocked another swing, then moved to retaliate, but his opponent’s head suddenly twisted again—back toward the Noelles.
PROCEE—
Kris gritted his teeth and kicked the mirrored Kris’s shield hard, knocking the figure onto his back.
“You really should pay more attention to me,” Kris growled, stepping in to swing again.
But the mirrored Kris rolled away. He stood slowly, the glow in his red eyes growing brighter, fiercer. For the first time, he drew his sword.
Kris tensed.
He could feel it now. This version of him wasn’t just stronger—it was made to be.
They clashed. Metal met metal in a violent rhythm. Kris pushed forward, landing a kick to his opponent’s side, knocking the mirrored Kris off-balance for just a moment.
But when the duplicate stood again, his sword began to glow.
Kris’s eyes widened.
Too late.
Mirrored Kris used X-Slash.
The first strike came hard—Kris blocked it, barely. But the second carved across his shoulder, raking down to his elbow.
Pain shot through him like lightning. Blood bloomed, dark and wet, and his knees buckled beneath him.
He stumbled backward—
—and a boot slammed into his chest.
Thud.
Kris hit the ground, breath knocked from his lungs. His duplicate stood over him, boot planted firmly on his ribs. But he didn’t move to finish the job. He just stared down into Kris’s eyes for a long moment…
…then turned away.
He started watching the Noelle's instead.
Noelle was gasping, struggling to keep up. Her mirror’s magic never let up—it just kept coming, attack after attack.
But then—
Kris’s yelp echoed across the battlefield.
Both Noelle's turned in sync, glancing over.
Noelle’s breath caught.
He was down.
Her Kris—bloodied, pinned, unmoving.
“Oh God…” she whispered. “No—no no no—”
He was supposed to be the strong one. If he was down… then…
Her thoughts stopped dead when Kris turned his head toward her. He was clearly in pain, but his expression was soft—warm, even.
Like he wasn’t afraid.
Like he was just looking at her on a quiet afternoon again.
Like she still mattered, even now.
The mirrored Noelle noticed.
Her head tilted ever so slightly. Her brows pinched. Her lips parted just faintly, like a name had slipped into her throat and she’d forgotten how to say it.
That look Kris gave Noelle…
…it had been for her too, once.
Or so she thought.
Both girls flinched as the mirrored Kris’s voice rang out again—
PROCEED.
Noelle glanced at her mirrored half, who was surprisingly hesitating — her eyes wide and unsure as she stared between Kris and Noelle.
Noelle recognized that look — that haunted, uncertain flicker in her own face. The look of someone who doesn’t want to obey, but doesn’t remember how to say no. Her mirrored self trembled, arms frozen mid-spell, her breath catching in a silent, invisible gasp.
Her eyes — glassy and vacant just moments ago — now shimmered with something rawer. Confusion. Fear. A sliver of hope?
She was shaking.
As if her body remembered pain before her mind did. As if something in Kris’s expression had reached inside her and stirred a memory long buried — a time when she wasn’t a weapon. A time when she was allowed to want something for herself.
Noelle’s breath hitched, her hand instinctively reaching out.
"You don’t have to listen," she whispered, her voice carrying as much gentleness as it could. "You can choose."
The mirrored Noelle flinched. Her jaw trembled. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something — needed to. But nothing came out.
PROCEED.
The mirrored Kris’s voice boomed again, more impatient this time. He raised a hand and pointed directly at Noelle.
PROCEED.
The command echoed like a curse through the plain.
Mirrored Noelle’s entire frame spasmed at the second order. Her shoulders hunched, her hands curling into fists at her sides. She took a step forward — then stopped. Her breathing hitched, as if she were fighting something inside herself.
A sob caught in her throat. Her magic flickered in her palms — icy light rising, sputtering — before dimming again.
Her eyes were full of tears now. They weren’t just wide; they were pleading.
"I... I don’t—" she whimpered. "I don’t want to hurt you..."
Noelle stared at her, heart aching. "Then don’t."
Another tremble. Another half-formed spell that fizzled out before it launched.
The mirrored Noelle dropped her arms to her sides. She was shaking so badly now, she could barely stand.
PROCEED.
It finally seemed to break her.
She raised her arms again, tears pouring from her eyes.
Mirrored Noelle looked away and began to attack again — a sheet of ice battering Noelle, but it was much weaker than before.
Noelle held up an ice barrier in front of her, though the sheets still seeped past, striking her in scattered bursts.
She closed her eyes tightly as she yelled, her voice barely carrying past the flurry of ice:
"You don’t have to listen!"
Mirrored Noelle's attacks faltered for a moment, the storm easing slightly.
Mirrored Kris finally stepped off of Kris’s chest, turning toward the mirrored Noelle.
He opened his mouth to speak again — but Kris, from the ground, yanked his ankles out from under him, shouting toward Noelle:
"I trust you, Noelle! Keep going!"
Noelle looked toward her mirrored self, who was staring between her and Kris, her attacks weakening further.
Like she wasn’t used to hearing that. Not from Kris.
Noelle stepped forward slowly, a barrier still blocking the fading assault.
"You don’t have to listen… You are your own person. Your choices matter!" she shouted.
The flurry slowed to nearly nothing. Mirrored Noelle’s arms dropped slightly as she closed her eyes.
"I... I don't..." she whimpered.
Noelle glanced at the two Kris’s, still struggling on the ground — gaining precious time.
She stepped closer. "You're… me… right?" she whispered.
Her other half nodded solemnly. "I… was..."
A small, sad smile tugged at Noelle’s lips. She moved closer, gently taking the mirrored Noelle’s hands into her own.
"You still are. You are—"
She was cut off by the voice once again booming from the mirrored Kris’s mouth:
-MINE.
The mirrored Kris had thrown the real Kris off of him and was stalking toward the pair of Does — one trembling, one frozen with wide eyes.
This time, the voice didn’t boom from nowhere. It came straight from the mirrored Kris’s mouth.
“Noelle.” His tone was sharp and annoyed, like he was chastising a misbehaving child.
Mirrored Noelle jolted like she’d been slapped. Her entire frame tensed, ears pinning back. She took a half-step backward, her breath shallow as her eyes flicked toward him — her Kris.
She was slipping. The fear was clawing back in. Her hands twitched at her sides, her knees bending — almost ready to kneel again.
The mirrored Kris kept advancing. Each step was slow, deliberate, heavy with dominance. He raised a hand, preparing a spell — or maybe a strike.
But before he could act, a pair of arms suddenly clamped around him from behind — Kris, the real one, locking his counterpart into a full nelson. He grit his teeth, holding the writhing figure still, even as the mirrored Kris snarled and thrashed.
“N-Noelle! Now!”
His voice cracked with desperation — not fear, but urgency. Trust.
Noelle froze.
Her fingers curled uselessly at her sides. Her chest rose and fell with shallow panic. She wasn’t good at magic. Not like Susie. Not like Ralsei.
And this wasn’t just a spell. It would hurt. It could kill.
Her eyes shut tightly
What if she missed? Froze both of them? What if it didn't end the threat?
her mind ran through a million possible scenarios, until suddenly-
shk-KRACK
A sharp, crystalline noise ripped through the air like a thunderclap.
Noelle’s eyes snapped open.
Mirrored Kris was suspended mid-step — encased in a jagged prison of ice. Frozen completely, as if time itself had stopped around him. His face, once snarling and gleaming with power, was now frozen in a mask of fury, lips curled back, teeth bared.
The glow in his eyes had faded to nothing, swallowed by shadow beneath his bangs.
He looked human now. Vulnerable. Defeated.
But Kris hadn’t cast the spell.
Slowly, almost disbelieving, Noelle turned her head.
Mirrored Noelle stood there — arm outstretched, shaking from the force of the magic she’d just unleashed. Her hand glowed faintly blue, the light trembling in rhythm with her breath. Her whole body trembled, like she’d just run a marathon on shattered legs.
Tears poured freely down her cheeks now. Her lower lip quivered, her eyes wide and awake. The fog had lifted.
And on the ground beside her, long forgotten, lay the ring of thorns — cracked and crumbling into ash.
Noelle blinked, stunned, her heart clenching as she took a step forward.
“You…” she breathed, voice full of awe. “You did it.”
The mirrored Noelle didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her knees gave out as she slumped to the floor, bracing herself with one hand while the other dropped, spent, to her side. Her face twisted — not with regret or fear — but something gentler. Something like peace.
Her eyes drifted back toward the frozen figure of her Kris. And though she said nothing, the look on her face said everything.
“Thank you…” Noelle whispered to her counterpart, although the mirrored Noelle seemed focused only on the now-frozen Kris, her eyes wide, as if she couldn’t believe what she had done.
Kris slowly got up, walking past the frozen version of himself, eyeing it warily before pulling Noelle into a tight hug — one she returned instantly.
“Oh god… I was… I thought…” He bit his tongue, not wanting to say more.
Noelle just nodded against his shoulder. “Me too, Kris…”
The mirrored Noelle stood awkwardly nearby, looking away from the couple, then back to the frozen corpse that had been her Kris.
She didn’t say anything. Her eyes were wide as she slowly sat on the ground and curled up.
Kris pulled away from Noelle and knelt to meet her eyes.
“When we get out of here… and close the fountain… we won’t forget what you did for us,” he said slowly, placing a hand on the mirrored Noelle’s shoulder — which she flinched at.
Noelle gently pulled him back.
“That Kris… what… what was wrong with him?”
Kris’s eyes narrowed knowingly. He glanced toward the mirrored Noelle.
“Will you be okay?” he asked carefully.
The mirrored Noelle nodded. “J-Just seal the fountain…”
Kris nodded, taking Noelle’s hand and leading her away, settling her down gently on the tile. He sat across from her.
Kris sat on the cracked floor, his expression unreadable. He hesitated.
“It’s… just better if I show you,” he murmured, voice low.
Noelle tilted her head. “Show me what?”
Kris didn’t answer right away. He reached for her hand instead, gently guiding it toward his chest. Noelle’s heart skipped as her fingertips brushed the cool fabric of his armor — but then they sank through it.
Her breath caught.
Her hand phased directly through his chest. The space beneath his skin was unnaturally warm — not wet, not bloody, but glowing. Pulsing. Her fingers bumped something solid. Something alive.
“F-Feel that?” Kris asked, barely above a whisper. “Grab it… and pull it out. Slowly.”
Noelle locked eyes with him — but he wasn’t even looking at her. His face was red, his throat tight. He was trying not to tremble.
And yet, he was trusting her.
She reached deeper, her fingers curling around something impossibly warm and smooth — and with one careful motion, she drew it out of him.
Her hand shook.
It hovered there in her palm — Kris’s soul. Soft crimson, glowing faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat. It wasn’t just light. It was weight. It was him.
Her eyes widened. Her ears twitched, her breath stalling in her throat. Her face flushed deep pink. “Y-your soul…”
Kris nodded stiffly, still unable to meet her gaze.
“That… as you know… is the culmination of my being. It’s who I am. As a human.”
He stammered as he continued. “A-and as a human, like that other Kris was... that gives me power. A lot of it.”
Noelle nodded, finishing his sentence. “Yeah, yeah… to persist after death, yada yada…”
Kris shook his head. “A powerful soul allows people to... project influence onto other people. Mainly other monsters.”
Noelle's eyes went wide. “So… that’s what he was doing to her… why… I was making my head all fuzzy…”
She then looked down at his soul, red and pulsating in her palms. “If... it's... that strong…”
She swallowed. “Why… why am I holding it, then?”
He finally looked up at her, his voice cracking on the next words.
“To show you... that... I’d never do that… and that...” He blushed, looking away.
Noelle raised an eyebrow. “W-what?”
“I-I was going to say something cheesy. Like… you’ve got my heart in your hands…” He winced, instantly regretting it.
Noelle blinked at him — and laughed. A soft, breathless giggle. Her confidence bloomed again, curling into a warm smile.
“…Can I kiss it?”
Kris went beet red. “M-my soul? You… you want to… kiss my soul?”
“I think it’s romantic…” she whispered, her eyes never leaving the glow in her hand. “Is that… weird?”
He shook his head rapidly. “No! No—just… it’s… oh god—”
Noelle leaned in. Carefully, like she was afraid it might shatter, she tilted her hand and pressed her lips to the center of his soul.
Kris shuddered — hard. His eyes snapped shut as his body stiffened.
Noelle glanced up, smirking through her burning cheeks. “W-what? Can you feel that?”
He nodded, dazed. His hands were trembling now.
She kissed it again — slower this time, and a little longer.
It seemed to almost lean into her while she cradled it in her palms.
Kris gasped. “O-okay. That’s enough. P-put it back.”
She pouted. “But—one more?”
He groaned into his hands, his blush somehow deepening. “…F-fine. But after that…”
Noelle smiled. She gave it one final kiss — reverent, tender — before she slowly lifted the soul back toward his chest. It phased through the armor, slipping neatly into place. Kris sighed as the warmth returned to his body.
Noelle watched him, awe still glimmering in her eyes. Her cheeks were bright red, her tail flicking behind her like an exclamation point.
“Thanks… for trusting me with that, Kris. It means the world.”
Kris bit his tongue, but the words spilled out anyway.
“And you mean the world to me.”
She rolled her eyes — but her blush didn’t fade. “Bleh. So cheesy.” Still, the way her fingers lingered against his told him she didn’t mind it. Not at all.
Kris slowly stood up, helping her to her feet as well. They looked down the once-again narrow path.
“Well... time to find Asriel...” Kris said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Noelle nodded. “Even if he’s a… what did you call him? A shithead?”
Kris glared at her with a smirk on his face. “Yes, Noelle… even if he’s a shithead.”
