DEAD RUNE [A Deltarune AU]

Chapter 3

Closing the door behind them, Kris began wandering down the hallway before reaching the stairs. They made their way from the down to the bottom floor. Along the way, they were greeted by several staff members of the building, as well as individuals called "Stalkers." These people work for necessities and extra cash, like scavenging supplies, hunting animals, and eliminating unwanted criminals.

In simple terms, your average joe in a post-apocalyptic world.

"Yo, Dreemurr," one of the Stalkers greeted as he smoked from his cigar. "Heard ya made it back."

"Hi, Frank," Kris waved to the man. "Nice to see you too."

"Hey, uh, your little nurse friend's been waiting for ya in the medbay," Frank chuckled. "Don't keep her waiting, mate. You know how women are."

Flipping the bird to the man, to which Frank and his friends responded with a hearty chuckle, Kris continued their way down until they made it into the receptionist area and exited the building.

Looking at the streets in front of them, Kris reminisced the first time stepping into the heavily guarded town. They've been here for years to the point where they knew certain spots and locations at heart.

Shaking off the nostalgia, Kris began jogging their way through the derelict streets of Homebase, with many civilians, soldiers, and more minding their own business.

A few minutes of jogging later, they reached a small building with signs indicating that it's a medical center. Unlike the large hospital buildings within cities, the medbay was used for quick patches as well as treating minor injuries to intermediate ones.

Useful for treating civilians, soldiers, and Stalkers roaming outside the walls of the town.

Entering the building, Kris was mildly surprised to see the waiting area almost empty, save for two soldiers talking to each other. They then moved down to the hallway before stopping in front of an open room.

They knocked on the wooden door a few times.

"Hello?" they spoke.

They heard a small "eep" followed by sounds of shuffling objects. A few minutes later, the noise stopped.

"E-enter!" the voice called out from the inside.

When Kris entered, they'd met with a sight they could never get over with.

Standing near a table full of medical supplies, a female reindeer monster glanced at the human in surprise. She had tied-up blonde hair, short brown fur, a rosy-red nose, a set of horns, and prominent front teeth that somehow still have its pearly-white sheen. She wore a simple button-up shirt with a black vest and cargo pants.

"Kris!" she called out, a smile plastered on her face.

"Hey, Noelle," Kris greeted before being engulfed in a tight hug by the monster.

"Angels, I'm so happy to see you again," she said as her face was on the nook of Kris's neck.

She let's go of the hug before taking a few steps back.

"So, what happened in the mission and..." Noelle paused as she glanced behind Kris. "Where's everyone?"

"That's, uh, one of the reasons why I'm here," Kris said. "And it's a long story."

"Well, settle down then," Noelle said, patting a medical bed beside her. "We got some time to talk."

Nodding, Kris settled down on the bed as Noelle sat beside them. They then told her the events from the labs all the way to their escape, including the deaths of the Scepter members.