UnderInsanity // II au

[CHAPTER FIVE: Back on our Feet ]

[A/N: i wrote this at 1am ignore any awkward wording kthanks]

[[*LIGHTBULBS perspective]]

I sat up with a jolt as I awoke, my head pounding terribly. I shook it off, looking around to find myself sitting next to the warm four pointed star from before, and I took a moment to bask in its cozy glow, still feeling pretty hazy. Once I collected myself, I noticed the cherries ahead of me,  cheering and doing loopdeloops in the air, praising themselves for something. I smiled to myself and shakily stood up, leaning on the table next to me.

"So, whats all the festivities for?" I joked. As soon as the two saw me, they darted to be right in front of me.

"Lightbulb! It worked! We did it!" They were almost shouting, with a proud expression on their face. I blinked.

"I'd say good job, but I dont really know what you've done yet." I chuckled. They took a breath in and out slowly, then sat midair.

"Dont you remember? We saved a bit of your soul, so you should have... What happened with dough?"

I shuddered as memories of shattering to pieces flooded my mind.

"But! Its alright, because we figured out a way to come back and revive you! With a red soul, you can SAVE and RESET at these special little stars! For a moment, we were a bit worried it wouldnt work..."

A giddy smile spread across my face. "So, what your saying is... I can die up as many times as I want down here with no consequences?! Sweet!" The cherries started to say something, but I got too excited and drowned them out. I stood and practically danced to the doorway.

Before I could step in, the cherries yelped and tried to grab my arm to get me to stop, and I froze. Obviously, they had gone though me, but something about the slight windy force they had felt different. It was subtle, almost fading, but it was there. If they hadn't caught me through the floor before, I might not have noticed it.

They felt weaker.

I pulled away, turning to look at them. When I payed more attention, I noticed that they were clearer and foggier than normal in color. They frowned and looked at the ground.

"That reset took a lot from us in this state... Over time, it should get better, but you can't just die over and over again." They said, a bit sad and a bit sardonic. "You have to take this more seriously. What if we hadn't been able to reset there?!"

The atmosphere was tense, and an uncomfortable silence covered the room. I sighed and sat down.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to be more serious in fights." I uttered. "What do you think we should do?"

The cherries looked a little taken aback but smiled widely. "I say we start with a plan."

---♥💚♥---

I walked into the next room, glaring at the ghost blocking the path. He spotted the cherries and I almost immediately.

"Oh. It's you." He muttered bitterly. I rolled my eyes.

"Can we skip the whole spiel and get on with it?" I rolled my eyes. The vengeful ghost looked confused for a second, but didn't object and instead began the fight.

This time, I was ready and pulled out the branch I had gotten from the cherries. As his first round of attacks came at me, I used the stick as a makeshift bat to get them away. Luckily, he reused most of his attacks from the last time, so I knew what to expect.

"Come on doughy, you can do better than that!" The cherries taunted. He snarled at them, and I noticed his attacks get faster over the next few turns.

After a few minutes, we had a good rhythm going. Dodge, run, taunt, repeat. At some point, I noticed one of doughs burger attacks sitting on the ground, having not de-spawned yet. I nodded to the cherries, who flew in front of me, facing dough.

"Pfft, you've only got, like, two hits on lightbulb! If your plan is revenge, your doing really bad at it! You won't even fight us!" They mocked. The dough-ball had fire in his eyes, his face red as he lunged viciously for the cherries. They sidestepped out of the way, and I held the burger up as dough flew in and ended up accidentally possessing it. I threw it and ran, Ignoring the dark dusty room in front of me and heading left through the ruins. The cherries were cheering and I laughed.

"He won't be stuck like that, right? I think I'd feel a bit guilty..." I asked. The cherries shook their heads. "That guy's monotone-ness should even out all the anger. I don't believe he could ever get completely stuck in an object!" They giggled.

"I'm, uh.. sorry, for not taking it seriously before and dying. I don't know what I was thinking." I muttered, a bit ashamed. The cherries smiled and punched me lightly in the arm.

"Don't worry about it! It's all okay now, we're making good pace and we're back on our feet!" They grinned. I smiled right back

We walked through the room, ignoring the three frogs, but I paused when I saw the next one.

"Oh come on, more puzzles?!"

---♥💚♥---

I practically collapsed when we got to another fork in the road. "My legs hurt! Cant we stop somewhere already?" I groaned. The cherries rolled their eyes.

"We're almost there! Come on." They said, leading me forward. "You've just gotta see this view!"

As I turned the corner, I gasped. The room was a balcony, and over the side I saw a grand city of violets and lilac hues. The slight breeze made me think for a minute I wasn't underground. The sky twinkled with gemstones that replicated stars. Objects wandered the streets, and it felt so lively and breathtaking.

"Our siblings would come down here with us and pull pranks on townspeople or get groceries... I always liked going down there. The one in new home was even better! You'll see later. Our siblings said it was too bland and they preferred this one, though." The cherries ranted happily, before going silent. "We miss them."

I smiled at them.

"I'm sure we'll find them! Don't worry! I'm by your side, and I won't rest until we do." I grinned. The cherries laughed.

"Thanks, Lightbulb."