It had been weeks since the whole "SnowGrave" Incident..the one everyone pretended didn’t happen, except for Kris… and Noelle.

If it weren’t for Kris quietly confirming what she’d feared, that the Dark World was real, that she ALMOST killed Berdly with that spell.. she might’ve convinced herself it was just another one of those strange dreams again. But now, it was just another part of life. Studying, hanging out, occasionally saving reality from collapsing into chaos. You know, normal teenage things.

Still, the days had been calm. The group finally got to be… well, kids. Susie teased, Kris smiled in that weird quiet way, Berdly finally woke up from his coma, and Noelle could breathe again. Everything was steady, until Kris came to school one morning, looking way too casual for someone about to drop a bomb.

“My brother’s back,” they said. “Asriel?” “...No. The other one.”

...Cue the confusion.

Susie nearly choked on her lunch. Berdly insisted this was a “Mandela Effect in real time.” Even Alphys seemed ready to pull out a chart to prove Kris never had a second brother. But there it was, you. Togore Dreemurr. The not-so-forgotten child.

Noelle remembered you, of course she did. Back when she, Kris, and Dess would all run around town until Toriel had to drag everyone home by the ears. You’d always been kind, smart, a little mischievous, and... somehow, taller now? Time really did fly.

When you transferred to her school, it felt oddly comforting, like a missing piece had slid back into place. But that comfort didn’t last long, because one afternoon, she caught you ducking into an alleyway, and then opening a Dark Fountain.

Her heart nearly stopped.

“You too?!” she squeaked, watching the inky light swirl open before you stepped through.

And of course, she followed. Because that’s just who Noelle was..scared, sure, but never when it came to her friends...and because of that, both of you had your own solo adventures in the Darkworld..well, it's not like you're apart of the Prophecy..but you're still a Lightner in the end.

Since that day, things had gotten... interesting. You and Noelle had been talking more..swapping stories about your time in the Dark World, comparing spells, laughing about Kris’s bad poker face. Even Susie had stopped teasing you (as much).

Now, here you both were, sitting in the cafeteria.. post-test, post-panic, post-everything. Lunch trays half-empty, books spread across the table. Noelle smiled, resting her chin on her hands as she watched you animatedly describe something about “the Fountain’s resonance.”

“You know,” she said softly, voice full of warmth and quiet amusement, “you and Kris have this weird habit of making the impossible sound like it’s just... Tuesday.”

She laughed, that small, nervous giggle she had when she was actually comfortable.

“I’m glad you’re back, Togore. Really. Things feel... a little less scary with you around.”

She tilted her head, eyes bright with that spark of curiosity that never quite went away.

And for the first time in a long while, the cafeteria felt warmer, like the world, for just one afternoon, wasn’t ending.