INTERMISSION 1
It was dark.
Too dark.
Something is wrong, he thought.
It's not even pitch black. It's...something else.
Fred Galesworth had an average life — always in the shadow of someone greater, he spent his childhood running back and forth between teachers, parents and friends, getting all his work done in the least effective way possible. Eventually, as he grew older, and his friends left for college, he found himself in a second-rate engineering job. Work was stable, but low-paying, and although his rent was low, so was his lifestyle, rarely even going out for fast food. Often when his more successful friends were out on a cruise, sending him taunting pictures of faraway lands and picturesque views, he would find himself rewiring some undergraduate's shoddy DIY circuit-rigging. Today was one of those days.
Clambering up the creaking wooden steps, he thrusted open the attic door. He found the circuitboard with unremarkable ease, and quickly identified the problem. But as he turned around, he couldn't find the exit.
The door had shut.
His flashlight battery was dead.
And he was scared of the dark.
Taking careful steps, he tripped spectacuarly backwards, and fell straight into the creaky floorboards, anticipating a heavy impact.
But no impact came, and he fell right through.
Through the floor...and into another world.
Gradually, he woke...
It was dark.
Darker than dark.
The darkness kept growing.
But he was still alive.
I can't use audio files @school...
What kind of a school are you going to that doesn't allow you to play audio files?
No, they do, it's just I don't have headphones and the kids are judgy
...
Excuse me but where are you right now?
It's an audio file of GLaDOS playing an audio file of someone clapping.
All his life, Fred never expected to run this fast.
Then again, he never expected to be hunted by a giant dust monster.
Sprinting across the blurry landscape, he peered over at his assailant. Instantly, he regretted this action, his eyes misting over, forcing him to look away. The thing chasing him was huge, and unlike any creature he had ever seen, not in real life, not on the internet, not in his wildest dreams. Some walloping cross between a rabbit and a lion, all made out of everchanging, shifting dust. It had already shot at him with what he assumed to be magic. Nothing made sense anymore anyways. One moment he was in an attic, trying to fix some guy's lousy wiring, the next, he was in some strange cavern made from the same stuff as warehouses. There was no sun, but instead light creeped down through eerie holes in the lofty ceiling. Where they led to, he had no idea. But that wasn't his focus when he was literally being hunted by a literal beast made of dust. Luckily for him, he seemed to be outrunning it. It was slowing down, like it was catching its breath. It seemed he might escape it after al —
A sharp, searing pain splintered across his right thigh. Glancing down, he saw that he'd punctured it on some sharp nail the size of a bush. He crumpled to the floor, and looked up one last time. The thing was approaching.
The light above shone. It hurt his eyes.
A sickening crunch fell over him, and his vision grew sparse. The thing had caught up to him.
He strained to see the light one last time, even if it were an illusion.
But he didn't. All that he saw was
Pure, unwavering darkness.
I think you can guess what it was
almost all the characters are pre-existing deltarune characters btw
except for the human
Dark.
Darker than dark.
The darkness kept growing.
There was a man there.
...But was there really?
Exiting that alien room, he felt his head throbbing. He could hardly remember anything from the encounter, save for the outcome.
Taking a deep breath, he worked up the courage to peek at his hand. Instantly, he wished that he hadn't. While his palm was still there, it had a gaping hole inside it.
He does this to everyone he signs a deal with. It's normal. Plenty of others have dealt with worse.
Still, he felt like a part of his soul was missing.
Beside him strode the little pale Rundinn, in a somewhat arrogant I-told-you-so manner. But they both knew how shaken they were, in reality.
Don't think about what happened.
Think about where he led us.
He gripped inside his pocket, and pulled out the device he'd been given by the doctor. A pale key, faded in tone, said to unlock the furtherest of doors. To arrive there, though, he would first need to get past another door; the great door. And that was guarded.
Just my luck. I never liked violence, but if it comes to it...
Eventually, he reached the ground floor. The mayor greeted him, and after some minor briefing, the mayor handed him a sabre, the shade of the moonlit sea.
"This here's an ancient thing we kept here for a while. Take it, it'll keep you safe in maybe more ways than one. They called it "Jarona's Tear""
He flinched at that name, by impulse.
"Something the matter?"
"No...It's just, the name reminded me of someone."
"Ah. I can see why that'd leave a mark..."
The Mayor nodded in understanding. How he knew, was anyone's guess, but some said he had a way of finding things out.
"...Well, best of luck to you."
"Thanks. I'll need it."
And so, he was off, and left once more on his journey.
"W -- wait!"
A pale-cloaked avian approached him.
"I heard it all...sounds like you're heading to that door? I've been waiting for a chance like this. Mind if I accompany you?"
Looking at this eager lad, he was reminded of older times, when he and his friends would...
...
No, he couldn't trust this eager one to survive the journey.
"I'm sorry. You can't come; it's highly dangerous."
To this they snorted in bemusement.
""Highly dangerous"?! Let me tell you, I was the 049th of my kind here. It was I who cured the pestilance, I the doctor! Surely I will be of use to you."
To this he was taken aback. He had not expected such credentials from this stranger. Reluctantly, he accepted, under the condition that they tell him their name.
"Me? I'm Swift. Colaris Swift."
You have given me so many strokes in this topic. Please just let me go.
You can mute it if you want to leave yk