## Preface

Kiss the Stranger
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at https://archiveofourown.org/works/63452563.

Rating:
  Mature
Archive Warning:
  No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories:
  F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Fandom:
  Slay the Princess (Visual Novel)
Relationships:
  The Long Quiet/The Princess (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet/The Stranger (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Princess (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Stranger (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Contrarian/Voice of the Hero (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Contrarian/The Stranger (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Contrarian/The Princess (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Contrarian/The Long Quiet (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Hero/The Princess (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Hero/The Stranger (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Hero/The Long Quiet, The Stranger/The Stranger (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet/Voice of the Hero/Voice of the Contrarian (Slay the Princess)
Characters:
  The Stranger (Slay the Princess), The Princess (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Hero (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Contrarian (Slay the Princess), The Narrator (Slay the Princess)
Additional Tags:
  Adventure up the stairs, Glitch dimension, Hero and Contrarian get heads of their own, They/them pronouns for the Stranger, They/Them Pronouns for the Long Quiet, But she/her for individual aspects, and he/him for the Voices and Quiet himself, Multiplicity/Plurality, Kissing, Romance, Polyamory, polycule, Eight person polyamory, Love between aspects of the Stranger, Love between the Voices, Contrarian is a massive flirt, Contrarian feels a lot of guilt over what happened, Humour, Narrator tries to use the power of perception against them, absolute chaos, Names for the Stranger's aspects:, Cipher(neutral) Sunshine(gentle) Destructica(scary) Winona(sad) Her Royal Highness(grumpy), Sillyness abounds, Cheek Kisses, Self-Love, Contrarian/Destructica freak4freak, Underwater kisses, upside-down kisses, Construct-warping shenanigans, Fun in two dimensions, Non-Explicit Sex
Language:
  English
Series:
  Part 16 of Kiss the Princess
Stats:
  Published: 2025-02-27 Completed: 2025-03-16 Words: 31,331 Chapters: 4/4

# Kiss the Stranger

by Vickysaurus

Summary

> When the five aspects of the Stranger merge into one, the Slayer and his voices promise them they'll help them leave the basement. But the journey up the stairs is long, chaotic, and fraught with twists and turns. Can two amalgamated, multi-headed beings find their way through this vast labyrinth?

> (What if you could kiss the Stranger?)

## Chapter 1: To Be Everything

Chapter Notes

> This one starts after all five aspects of the Stranger appear and you are forced to choose the glitched option.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The Narrator: “Five versions of the Princess all stare at you at odd angles, their expressions ranging from cold anger to tearful pleading to coy intimidation to hopeful friendliness to curious neutrality. This is reaching its breaking point. If you don’t act now, there will be nothing in here but her. Take a deep breath and focus up. You can do this.”

· “There’s something incredibly wrong here. What’s happening to you? What’s happening to me?”

The Princess: “I was about to ask you the same. Why would I know what’s going on if you don’t?”

The Princess: “Do you need help? Not that there’s much I can do chained up like this, but if you need anything I’ll do my best!”

The Princess: “It must be fear creeping into your heart. You know you don’t stand a chance.”

The Princess: “But you have to know what’s going on... You’re the only other person I’ve ever seen, or at least the only one I can remember. Don’t give me false hope. Please just end this already… One way or another, just do it.”

The Princess: “What, do you need me to hold your hand and tell you everything’s okay? You’re not really cut out for this, are you? Why are you even here?”

Voice of the Hero: ‘How do we decide what to do? Can there be a right choice when all of them are so different?’

The Narrator: “Stop overthinking it. Your drifting thoughts have clearly been part of the reason this situation has gotten out of hand. If you’re trying to do the right thing, there’s only ever been the one option, and that option is slaying her.”

Voice of the Contrarian: ‘Just do something! Do anything! Do all of it if that’s what you want. This place is hell and it’s only getting worse.’

· “I’m getting you out of here.” [Try and free her.] · “I don’t know what you are, but I can’t trust you. I can’t trust anything here.” [Leave her in the basement.] · [Regretfully think about that time you threw the blade out the window.]

The Narrator: “Wait… that’s not right.”

Contrarian: ‘Go on?’

The Narrator: “You take a step forward. Your foot lands, but it lands… different. You experience a firm footfall, a gentle tread, a confident stride. You can feel yourself rupture. The room spins, your perception multiplying in a sickening kaleidoscope as your very self is pulled in incomprehensibly many directions. You find the blade suddenly in your hands. All at once you use it to strike at her bindings as you remain upstairs and slay her and leave her to languish alone. Is this what the end of the world looks like? What an unbearable mess…”

Contrarian: ‘But this- we can’t-’

Hero: ‘Do you not have anything witty to say? I could use a good bit of wit right now.’

Contrarian: ‘No, I don’t. Because this isn’t fun. How are we supposed to have fun if everything is happening at the same time? It’s the same as nothing happening, and nothing is excruciating!’

The Narrator: “Luckily for all of us, nothing, and everything, doesn’t go on forever. The world, and the Princess, collapse in on themselves before it all falls apart.”

Hero: ‘We were never going to salvage this, were we?’

The Princess: “What happened to us?/What are we? There are parts of us that are dead, and others… that just don’t fit!/fit./they just don’t fit… We can feel them moving around in spaces they don’t belong. It’s all so uncomfortable!/uncomfortable… Did you do this? Did we do this? Can… can you pull us back apart? Can you fix us?”

Contrarian: ‘We should help them. I think… we did this.’

Hero: ‘How… surprisingly sincere.’

Contrarian: ‘I didn’t actually think our actions had consequences!’

Hero: ‘It’s a little late for regret, isn’t it?’

The Princess: “Please?/Please./Please!/Please…/Please…?”

· “It’s going to be okay…” · “I’ll do my best.” · “I don’t think you’re supposed to be fixed.” · “No.” · “You just destroyed everything. I’m not going to fix you.” · [Say nothing.]

The Princess: “What? I don’t understand/understand!/understand you?”

The Narrator: “As a jumble of words leaves your mouth, the world once again shifts and spins around you, the Princess’s five heads melting in and out of one another. Sometimes you can see two, sometimes three, and sometimes, impossibly, all five, and as your vision swims and doubles, then triples, you briefly even glimpse fifteen. Voices sound off in your mind, far more than the two that have been talking before, spewing their jumbled nonsense. You need to get a grip on yourself and slay her! There’s a blade in one of their chests… Or maybe two? Or is it in your hand? Or… (sigh)”

Hero: “How can we think like this? How can we even move like this?”

Contrarian: “Just make it stop!”

· [Close your eyes and try to make it stop. Shut it all out. Deep breaths.] “Okay, let’s try to get a grip. What do we still know? I’m a person, and I’m in a place. There’s time, and it moves forward. I can take actions, and they have consequences. There are three voices in my head. There’s a Princess…”

The Narrator: “You’re here to slay her.”

· “Is what the Narrator tells me. I tried to avoid her, but the world went all weird and that’s how I got here, in the basement of a cabin. And then things went even weirder. There are stairs up behind me. There is a door there, the only way out of here.”

The Narrator: “You slowly open your eyes – only a single set of lids this time. You are faced with the Princess, or five of them, melted into one another like candies on a hot summer day. They look at you as if you grew another head. Which, as it happens, is exactly what you did. Twice.”

Hero: “What do you mean we did?”

The Narrator: “The little Voice’s voice, which previously came from inside your mind without direction, now distinctly comes from your left side. You turn your head and find yourself beak to beak with a second head, a falcon-esque one with a white beak and soft eyes.”

· “AAAH!”

Hero: “AAAAH!”

The Narrator: “You try to jump back, but the second head is attached to your shoulders and comes right with you as you scream together.”

Contrarian: “Oh, are we doing a screaming contest? Bet I can beat you both: AAAA-”

The Narrator: “Your hand quickly shoots up to the magenta beak of the cockatoo face on your right side and forcibly closes it after just a moment of his piercing screech. It would appear you have grown two additional heads housing your Voices. In spite of this development, you do at least seem to be doing a single thing at a time now, which means your actions might have meaning again. The basement, too, has stopped spinning and warping. And while the Princess still has five bodies melted into one another, that does seem to be the way she’s staying for now. Most importantly, there is only a single pristine blade currently on the scene, buried in the chest of the angriest-looking aspect of the Princess. Take it and use it on the others, before things get worse again.”

· “What’s going on? Why do I have three heads now?”

The Princess: “I… Do you really expect us to answer that?”

The Princess: “What’s happening to you? Talk to us, please?”

The Princess: “There were so many of you, but now only one is left… Are you gonna vanish too and leave us all alone?”

The Princess: “No way, this one’s a special treat we’re going to savour. And what a juicy bonbon they are...”

The Princess: “Did you just say you did this? Tell me more about that, is this is all your fault, then?!”

Contrarian: “...Yeah. Yeah, it was our fault. Or mine, really. Don’t think we can fix it either, sorry.”

The Narrator: “The Princess sharply rises to their ten feet, a bit ungainly. The aspect with the blade in her chest balls her fist and glares at you.”

The Princess: “Why?!”

Contrarian: “...I think I just thought it’d be a bit of a laugh. I didn’t think my actions would have consequences.”

· “It was actually me, not him. I’m the one who made the decisions.”

Contrarian: “But it was my idea. My oh so funny idea.”

Hero: “C’mon, it wasn’t like that. We didn’t even hear you yet when we first turned away. You can’t be responsible.”

· “I’m the one who chooses, no matter what ideas you two give me. I’m so sorry, Princess, this is on me.”

The Narrator: “The Princess’s faces are marked by anger, betrayal, and pain as they ball their fists. You can see two fingers merge into one as they’re pressed together.”

The Princess: “So you really did this to us on a lark?”

The Princess: “Impressively callous!”

The Princess: “It hurts so much… Just existing hurts…”

The Princess: “How very thoughtful of you. I say we return the favour, girls.”

The Narrator: “With a chaotic cross-patter of feet, the Princess half-dashes and half-flings themself at you, their quintupled weight hitting you like a battering ram and knocking you to the ground. Gooey flesh still melting and trying to find a form twists in rage and pain as three of their aspects - the angry, neutral, and sad ones – strike at you, punching and kicking and scratching. And you barely even defend yourself. The blade is right there in the angriest one’s chest, take it and use it already!”

Contrarian: “Nah. They deserve this, and so do we.”

Hero: “Okay, I’ve been with you so far, but just letting them beat us is too much. We gotta get them off us at least.”

The Narrator: “But their bodies are far too heavy together for you to budge or throw them off you. And even clumsy, uncoordinated, spongy fists flung by a Princess foreign to their own body can still deal damage. Pain blossoms as the three that can reach you beat you down. One of the aspects at the back flails her arm about uselessly, trying to get you too, while the other tries to interfere with and restrain her neighbour’s left arm.”

The Princess: “Stop it, don’t hurt them! They just made a mistake, they didn’t mean to do this!”

The Princess: “C’moooon, let me have a look! I want to see! I want to drink in the terror and pain in their eyes! Turn around! Why do you get to have all the fun?!”

· “Ow - I’m so sorry! I’ll do- oof!- anything I can to make up for it!”

Hero: “Yeah! We’ll do anything for you, just stop hitting us!”

The Narrator: “Two of the aspects wailing on you pause, while the grumpy one continues to scratch and claw at you with her one hand, your Hero directing your own to block her strikes.”

The Princess: “Then let us out of here!/please let us out?”

· “We will, I promise, though-oof!”

The Princess: “Too little, too late! We can take care of ourselves! We don’t need them!”

The Princess: “But what if we can’t…? What if we’re lost all alone…?”

The Princess: “What’s the point of beating them up if they can help us instead? C’mon, lay off them.”

Hero: “The path up the stairs is very long and weird, it might be hard without a- Ow, stop it!”

The Narrator: “Is nothing that you’ve seen here enough evidence for you that releasing her will be the end of the world? Even aside from all the horrible things that have been happening, you now know the Princess’s cruelty knows no bounds. Even now that the other two have backed off, the angry one is still trying to hurt you. You’ve caught her arm in yours, cold eyes glaring at you from close by while she tries to knee you. The neutral one next to her, the only two-handed one, lays a hand on her shoulder.”

The Princess: “Let’s have a truce, okay? They hurt us, but they can help too.”

The Narrator: “The angry aspect of the Princess narrows her eyes at you a bit more, then you feel the strength in her arm loosen up. You let go and receive a parting scratch to the face, to the delighted cackle of one of the ones at the back, as she gets off you and stands up with surprising elegance for an only partially solidified blob of a five-headed abomination.”

The Princess: “Fine. I’ll lay off you for now if you help us escape. But know that I’m watching you!”

The Princess: “Yeah! We’ve got eyes in the back of our head!”

Contrarian: ‘Hey, did you catch Miss Grumpypants actually cracking a little smile at that joke?’

The Narrator: “The Princess turns, and the one with soft, tender eyes reaches out for you and pulls you to your feet and into a hug. Unsure where to put your hands with four rather less friendly aspects attached to her, you just let them hang at your side.”

The Princess: “I’m so sorry about them, they’ve been through a lot.”

The Princess: “So much…”

The Princess: “And it was his fault.”

The Princess: “Are you hurt?”

Hero: “Ah, uh, no worries, we’re fine.”

Contrarian: “Yeah! We had some teeth knocked loose, but we’ve got plenty of spares.”

The Narrator: “As you lay your bleeding chin on the shoulder of the soft one, you find yourself and the Contrarian looking into the dark, baggy eyes and manic grin of the one beside her. As the soft one lets go for a moment to smile at you, the scary one just about elbows her away, rotating them and shoving you against the wall, her arm on your throat with a soft, yet threatening pressure.”

The Princess: “Oh, but you’re bleeding, you little snack! Excellent! It’ll be good practice for you! You got so lucky I didn’t get my hand on you, but that luck won’t last forever…”

Hero: “D-don’t hurt us please!”

The Princess: “Ohoh, but I will! When we get out there you’ll be my appetiser, the first to know the terror I bring!”

Contrarian: “Is that a promise?”

The Princess: “Please, I don’t make promises I intend to keep. Think of it more as a prophecy of doom.”

Hero: ‘Uhhh, okay, this one worries me. Are we sure letting them out is a good idea?’

Contrarian: ‘We did swear we would. We hurt them, we should make up for it.’

Hero: ‘I agree, but this one’s scary.’

Contrarian: ‘Really? I think she’s an absolute riot.’

The Narrator: “And here I thought you learned that your actions have consequences last time you thought something would be a good laugh. How can you even think of releasing the Princess when she herself gives away the game so obviously?”

The Princess: “What, lost your tongue? That’s a real shame, I was looking forward to removing it myself! Guess I’ll have to find different ways to torment you, my juicy box of bonbons… I wonder which of you I’ll start with? Maybe… the soft one!”

The Narrator: “The Princess grabs the Hero by the face and turns you to make him look at her.”

Contrarian: “Aww, no fair, why does he get to have all the fun?”

Hero: “Aah! P-Princess, you don’t need to hurt me, I’m already going to help you. We called a truce, remember?”

The Princess: “Ohoh, but this has nothing to do with needing and everything with wanting! So what are you gonna do about it?”

Hero: ‘Her teeth are so sharp…’

Contrarian: ‘Lucky you, wish I was getting such a good view.’

The Princess: “Hey, lay off them, they’ve already promised to let us out.”

The Princess: “You’re scaring them. Now they’ll probably keep us imprisoned after all…”

The Narrator: “The Princess rapidly turns around again, freeing you from the wall and leaving you to face the neutral aspect, her face calm as always.”

The Princess: “Well? Are you gonna let us out already?”

Hero: ‘Maybe there’s some other solution? What if we just stayed here with them?’

The Narrator: “That is a terrible idea, the Princess will escape one way or another and then there will be hell to pay.”

Contrarian: ‘We promised. All they want is their freedom, how can we refuse them?’

· “Okay. But you should know the stairs really are quite the experience. And if we’re gonna be teaming up, I’m gonna give you nicknames, because this is confusing as hell.”

The Princess: “What do you mean? We told you what to call us.”

· “Yeah, but your answers weren’t very useful. I can call you Princess collectively, but I’m gonna need something else to call your aspects. Is that okay?”

The Princess: “Yep!/Okay.../Groovy!/Sure./I told you how you may address me.”

Contrarian: “Ooh, ooh, I have ideas! Good ideas too! We should start with you, and what if we called you-”

· “Yes, great ideas I’m sure but let’s discuss them with our inside voices.”

Contrarian: ‘Of course! You know it’s not like me to start blurting out the first thing that comes to my mind right in front of the Princess, what kind of clod would do that?’

The Narrator: “You look into the eyes of the neutral Princess as she raises a single eyebrow. She doesn’t say anything.”

Hero: ‘This one’s so hard to read… I have no idea who she is. Jane Doe?’

Contrarian: ‘That’s what makes her fun! She’s like a puzzle to figure out. Ooh, what about… Puzzly? Mark? As in, question mark?’

· “How about… Cipher?”

Cipher: “Okay.”

The Narrator: “You move to the right, the friendly Princess giving you a little wave and smile with her melty lips.”

The Princess: “Hii! What about me?”

Hero: ‘She’s such a sweet ray of sunshine.’

Contrarian: ‘Yeah, this one’s easy.’

· “Sunshine!”

Sunshine: “Awww! That’s so sweet, I love it! Thank you!”

The Narrator: “She gives your shoulder a friendly squeeze as you move on to her neighbour with the scary eyes and the big grin.”

The Princess: “You’d better come up with something worthy of your destroyer, or you’ll taste of my bitter fruits a lot sooner than expected…”

Hero: ‘Yeah, this one still scares me… Do you think she’d approve of Miss Blood-and-Destruction?’

Contrarian: ‘I think so. But we could upgrade it to be a little more to her tastes.’

· Like what?

Contrarian: “What about Destructica, the Doombringer?”

Destructica: “YESSS! A name that will be whispered in terror across the land!”

The Narrator: “Ignoring yet another obvious confession, you move on to the mopey one next to her.”

The Princess: “What’s the point of giving me a name? I’m barely even a person any more… You probably don’t wanna talk to me…”

Hero: ‘Poor thing. Wish she’d express her sadness in a different way.’

Contrarian: ‘Yeah, she’s so whiny. Hehehe, hey what about Whine-nona?’

Hero: ‘Okay, that’s definitely just gonna hurt her. But without the pun it’s not a bad name.’

· “Of course I wanna talk to you, Winona.”

Winona: “Oh… That’s kinda nice…”

The Narrator: “With an encouraging smile, you move on to the final one, the one that has the pristine blade stuck in her chest. She greets you with a glower.”

Hero: ‘She’s-’

The Princess: “I told you. You may address me as ‘Your Royal Highness’.”

Contrarian: ‘Someone got out of bed on the wrong side. And it’s Miss Grumpypants here.’

Hero: ‘Heh. You know she’s probably gonna throw hands again for that one.’

Contrarian: ‘Yeah, but have you considered it would be really funny?’

The Narrator: “Her glare deepens.”

Hero: ‘O-okay, but seriously, we need a name for her. M-maybe just something nice and normal like Nichole? She couldn’t possibly object to that.’

Contrarian: ‘How about PriMceSs?’

Hero: ‘’Cause she’s all prim and proper?’

Contrarian: ‘Hehe, sure, but we’re capitalising the P, the M, and the S.’

The Narrator: “The Princess’s glare deepens further.”

· “...Your Royal Highness it is.”

Her Royal Highness: “Good. Now if you’re done wasting our time, let us out already.”

· “Alright, but I should warn you again the stairs are-”

The Narrator: “The Princess pushes past you impatiently to get to the stairs.”

Cipher: “Please, how hard could climbing stairs b-eee?”

The Narrator: “The Princess stands at the bottom of the stairs, mouths agape.”

Cipher: “What? What is this?”

Sunshine: “Did you have to climb down all of this just to be with us?”

Her Royal Highness: “Seriously? One thing after another, is this place trying to get under my skin?”

Winona: “We’re never getting out of here, are we?”

Destructica: “Some measly stairs won’t be enough to stop the destroyer of worlds! If this cabin tries to keep us prisoner we’ll rip it apart!”

The Narrator: “The stairs up blossom into a vast web of geometry suspended in a gigantic void. Confusing as it was to see from above, from below it’s even worse. There are disconnected stairs dissolving into random sequences of geometry as they go up, while others twist around in helices and spirals, flipping upside-down and defying gravity. Many of them don’t resemble stairs at all but flat paths going through the space at all angles, sometimes featureless, sometimes paved, sometimes earthy, and sometimes overgrown with plants. There are strange things here, things from other places; plants, water, pieces of architecture, all mixed in with the stairs.”

· “They’re quite something, aren’t they? We got all the way down, but it was like being torn apart along the way.”

Contrarian: “Stopped being fun pretty quick.”

Hero: “Yeah. But it won’t stop us getting you out of here.”

The Princess: “Thanks/Thank you./you…

Her Royal Highness: “Hmpf.”

The Narrator: “Sunshine reaches a six-fingered hand for yours and gives it an encouraging squeeze.”

Sunshine: “It’s terrifying… but at least we’re together. If you could make it through on your own, we can definitely do it if we help each other.”

Winona: “Only if we’re not a burden…”

Destructica: “Ohoh, now there’s an idea… What if we caused problems on purpose?”

Her Royal Highness: “That seems to be their expertise, I’d rather we don’t pick it up.”

Cipher: “One way or another, we won’t get anywhere just standing here. Let’s just take it one step at a time. Can you show us the way?”

· “We don’t really remember it...”

Hero: “But you’re right. Just gotta keep moving and we’ll get there eventually. Is that the door all the way up there?”

Contrarian: “Looks like it! Only what, a few kilometres up? EZ PZ!”

The Narrator: “Several of the Princesses, as well as the Hero, giggle.”

Cipher: “...Did you just say ‘ea zed pea zed?’”

Contrarian: “Nah, that sounds like something only a clod would say. Hey, maybe we could throw you through the door?”

Cipher: “Using what, your big loud beak?”

Contrarian: “Ooh, yeah, what if I screamed really loud and it made like, a sonic wave that you could ride up? A-”

· [Hold the Contrarian’s beak shut] “That’s alright, we can keep that in store as like, plan Z. Come along, Princess. I… think this is the way? It looks a bit more coherent than the others.”

The Narrator: “Walking up the stairs, you let your hand slip out of Sunshine’s and lead them out into the vast empty space. A shiver goes through you as you become enveloped by the emptiness, exposed on bare steps leading you through the void. You throw a glance back at the Princess, various expressions of nervousness on all of their faces. Behind them, you can see right into the basement, as if the ceiling isn’t even there. It soon vanishes far behind you. The stairs move and undulate in waves. The Princess comes up next to you, Sunshine giving Hero a sticky-lipped smile.”

Sunshine: “Hey, so we’ve told you our names, and you gave us some really sweet ones, but what about you? What should we call you?”

Hero: “Well, I used to be the Voice of the Hero, but ever since growing a whole head of my own and all I guess my name’s just Hero. Nice to meet you.”

Sunshine: “A real hero here to save a Princess! It’s just perfect.”

Hero: “Ah, heh, I’ll do my best, y’know? I mostly just try to help out the one in the middle. He’s the real hero.”

· “Don’t be so modest, you deserve your name.”

Contrarian: “Yeah, you’re the heroic moral compass! You’re like his little shoulder angel now.”

Hero: “Aww, y-you guys, stop it. What does that make you, anyway?”

Contrarian: “Exactly what you’d think, angel-boy.”

The Narrator: “The Hero tries to formulate a response, but all that seems to come out are inarticulate mumbles.”

Winona: “A real hero… the only thing that could give us any hope at all…”

Destructica: “Ohoh, a hero, eh? Can’t wait to see you blood-soaked in a moment of despair, forced to make a choice that forever tarnishes and twists your heroism into something much darker!”

Sunshine: “Shut up, ‘Structy! He never would, would you?”

Hero: “How do you mean?”

Sunshine: “You’d never compromise your morals, would you? You’ll always be a brave and heroic knight who saves Princesses?”

Hero: “Oh. Yeah. Of course, always.”

Hero: ‘Does she have something stuck in her eye? She keeps fluttering her eyelids.’

· I think her eyes are just fine. But maybe you should take a closer look at them to be sure. [Walk closer to the Princess.]

Sunshine: “Why, hello there, cutie.”

Hero: “Uh, hey. So are you-”

Her Royal Highness: “Never compromise your morals, huh? So you wouldn’t ever, say, just goof around and permanently hurt someone?”

The Narrator: “Or aid in the escape of a prisoner who repeatedly admits she’ll end the world. Oh look, an awkward silence descends over your group, isn’t that a real shame? And they didn’t even hear my much more important words.”

Contrarian: “Aaaaand I am called the Charmer, also previously Voice of the, but now I guess I’m the Head of the Charmer. Delighted to meet you all.”

The Narrator: “The lying little Voice makes your body stoop down and grab the hands of Cipher and Sunshine, bringing them both up for a kiss. Except instead of kissing their hands, he presses his beak to them and blows a mouth fart, before winking up at the giggling Princesses.”

Contrarian: “Did I say Charmer? Sorry, I get my words starting with C mixed up. It’s actually Contrarian.”

Her Royal Highness: “I can think of a couple other C-words to call you.”

The Narrator: “Cipher elbows her grumpy neighbour.”

Cipher: “Such as comedian.”

Sunshine: “Or charismatic!”

Winona: “(Sigh) I’ll never get a handkiss…”

Contrarian: “Well, I don’t know about handkisses, but I should have just enough handfarts in store for all the pretty Princesses!”

The Narrator: “You spin around the Princess in a flamboyant manoeuvre that’s both silly and, on the railingless stairs suspended in the void, rather dangerous. The Contrarian blows raspberries on the hands of both Destructica and Winona, who react with a sultry purr and a high-pitched squeak. Only when reaching Her Royal Highness does he pause. She glares at him and doesn’t offer her hand.”

Contrarian: “Ah, uh, what a shame, looks like I’m fresh out of those.”

Her Royal Highness: “Good.”

Cipher: “Oh, that is a shame. Well, I could always try and make up for the shortage.”

Her Royal Highness: “Hmm?”

Cipher: “Wouldn’t want such a pretty Princess to feel left out. Let me give it a try.”

The Narrator: “Her Royal Highness rolls her mismatched eyes, yet offers up a four-fingered hand to her neighbour, who brings it to her lips and plants a kiss on it, letting it linger for a long time before letting go.”

Cipher: “Oh, that’s not much of a handfart. Guess I did it wrong...”

The Narrator: “Her Royal Highness tries to huff indignantly, but the smile she can’t keep off her face rather ruins the effect.”

Her Royal Highness: “Hmpf, another joker... Anyway, what about the one in the middle? What are you called?”

· “I don’t know. I don’t think I have a name.”

Cipher: “Then I guess we get to name you. Turnabout’s fair play.”

The Narrator: “May I suggest Slayer as both a name and a title for you to live up to?”

Winona: “It’s hard to think of a name… He’s so quiet, we don’t know much about him…”

Destructica: “Quiet like a little creature hiding in terror from its doom.”

· Quiet? ...Why does something about that ring a bell?

The Narrator: “Absolutely no reason, it’s just a random adjective being thrown about.”

Sunshine: “Hardly in terror. He’s like the strong silent type. All cool and mysterious.”

Cipher: “True, but he is pretty quiet. What if we called you…”

The Princess: “Silent!/Silent?/Silent.../Silent.”

· “Oh. Yeah, that sounds about right. Silent it is.”

The Narrator: “Oh. Yes, Silent is fine. And silent you are as you continue your long climb. The Princess occasionally switches the direction they walk to divide the effort. At first, Cipher is in front, then Her Royal Highness, then Winona, etcetera. The voids gapes emptily beneath you, and all that there is in any other direction is the strange collection of distant geometry that makes up the other stairs. And as you go, yours too starts to be less of a solid staircase and more of a haphazard arrangement of geometry in space. It’s barely even going up any more, turning mostly horizontal. Sometimes, there are gaps where you have to hop from one piece to the other. And then the path, because it can hardly be called stairs at this point, develops an unfortunate habit of tilting its surface left and right, leaving you on slopes precariously angled to tip you into the void. The Princess seems to navigate these spots more easily than you, standing and walking on them comfortably even at considerable angles after some initial caution. They’re even capable of standing straight up while the path goes fully diagonal, as if gravity works differently for them. Seeing them standing upright, you try to imitate the feat, only to almost fall off into the void. It’s only the Princess’s quick lunge and catch that saves you. Her Royal Highness grumpily stares at you, her arm and Winona’s each wrapped around you, their quintuple weight firmly anchoring you to the diagonal platform.”

· “Woah, thanks.”

Winona: “Y-You almost fell… You almost left us all alone in this place.”

Her Royal Highness: “Oh, what a crying shame that would’ve been.”

The Narrator: “You plant your feet more firmly on the sloped surface, the Princess pulling you closer and helping you regain your footing. Her Royal Highness gives a little sneer as she lets go.”

Winona: “Why are you so mean? It would’ve been awful to watch them fall into the void…”

Destructica: “Ohoh, I wonder for how long we could hear their screams...”

Her Royal Highness: “Why am I so mean? It’s their fault we’re like this, their fault we’re in constant pain!”

The Narrator: “An awkward silence settles over your group of two as you hop from platform to platform.”

· “Is it that bad?”

Sunshine: “Well…”

Winona: “It hurts so much to exist…”

Her Royal Highness: “Yes. It is that bad.”

Sunshine: “Hey, at least we have each other, right?”

Her Royal Highness: “Great, we get to deal with each other all the time. We never get to take a break from each other, we can’t be alone, can’t have any privacy.”

The Narrator: “Cipher lays her hand on Her Royal Highness’s tightly balled fist and strokes it softly, making it relax a bit.”

Cipher: “...Well, I enjoy being next to you.”

Her Royal Highness: “Sure. See how much you still enjoy it ten years from now.”

Cipher: “What, you’re telling I get to wake up next to you every day ten years from now? Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Her Royal Highness: “Cipher, stop joking around.”

Cipher: “I mean it.”

Sunshine: “Aww...”

Cipher: “You’re me… but you’re also so different from me. I don’t even know who I am, but you’re teaching me so much about myself. You’re so sharp and direct and bold. A real proper Princess. It’s… like looking at myself through a different lens and it’s fascinating and beautiful.”

Her Royal Highness: “Cipher…”

Cipher: “Also your hair does tickle my ear and shoulder very nicely.”

The Narrator: “A frown plays around Her Royal Highness’s sour face, yet it never quite manages to take. She doesn’t reply, just staring at Cipher’s hand holding hers. The Princess is silent, even Destructica letting the moment between the aspects behind her breathe with uncharacteristic silence and a soft smile.”

Winona: “No-one likes being stuck with me, I’m sure… I just bring the whole mood down…”

Sunshine: “’Nona, don’t talk about yourself like that.”

Cipher: “Actually, I think you’re all fascinating, and you’re all insights into me, and I love what you’re teaching me. So don’t be so hard on yourself, you too are a part of a beautiful whole. We’re all in this together.”

The Princess: “Together...”

The Narrator: “All five of them take each other’s hands, just existing in each other’s presence for a moment.”

Hero: ‘They look so happy. It’s beautiful.’

Contrarian: ‘Feels almost intrusive for us to be here.’

The Narrator: “What you should be concerned about is this unity making the Princess more dangerous than ever. If they’re all united, well, you’ve heard the scary one – I can’t believe you’re actually calling her Destructica – repeatedly admit her plans. If you had any doubt the others were less destructive, this should banish them.”

Contrarian: ‘Aww, are you feeling threatened by a bit of harmonious self-love?’

The Narrator: “No, the entire world is feeling threatened by the prospect of you releasing an abomination upon it.”

Hero: ‘C’mon, they’re no abomination. They’re pretty cute, actually.’

Contrarian: ‘Hey, boys and birds, wanna annoy Him with some more self-love?”

Hero: ‘Uh, how, uh, do you mean?’

Contrarian: ‘Well, we’ve ended up with these heads, which means we get to try out new stuff with them! Either of you up for a smooch?’

Hero: ‘Whuh, I, um… Hehe, quit joking around.’

· Sounds nice. Maybe later, little buddy.

The Narrator: “You run your fingers through the soft feathers at his and the Hero’s necks. Ugh, why do you keep wasting your time with these obnoxious little voices?”

Contrarian: ‘Don’t mind Him, I think He’s just jealous He’s the only one who doesn’t get a head.’

The Narrator: “I can assure you, my head is in far better condition than that of any of you numbskulls. Anyway, to return to reality for a moment, you have reached a dead end. The path goes diagonal, then vertical, before finally turning upside down. There is another path that begins several metres away, but between you and it there is nothing but a yawning chasm over the void.”

Winona: “Oh no, we’ll never get across… Do we have to walk all the way back to the basement?”

Her Royal Highness: “Actually, we can continue easily enough. If we can walk on a diagonal surface, we can walk on one that’s upside-down.”

Sunshine: “Okay, but Silent and the boys can’t do that. We’re not leaving them behind.”

Her Royal Highness: “I thought you wanted to get out of here. We don’t owe them anything.”

Cipher: “Calm yourselves, arguing with ourself doesn’t help anyone.”

Sunshine: “Just because they made a mistake doesn’t mean we just abandon them! They’ve already apologised and they’re doing their best to help us!”

Her Royal Highness: “Fat load of good their help’s been.”

Contrarian: “Princesses, it’s okay, no-one’s getting left behind, we can make it across.”

Cipher: “How?”

· “How?”

The Narrator: “The Contrarian proudly spreads your wings and your tail feathers.”

Contrarian: “You didn’t think these were just for show, right?”

Sunshine: “You’re gonna fly?”

· “Uh, I don’t think we can fly…”

Contrarian: “We don’t need to fly, we just need to fall with style! Or take a running start and glide over, anyway. Ea zed pea zed.”

Destructica: “Ohoh, I’d love to see you try! This will be spectacular one way or another!”

Contrarian: “It sure will, just you wait, you’re gonna see us soar across that gap with ease!”

Sunshine: “Are you sure? It’s a lot safer to turn back...”

Winona: “Be careful! What if you fall?”

Destructica: “Do a flip!”

Cipher: “Can you actually make that leap?”

Hero: “I mean, these wings are pretty big…”

· [Spread your wings and show them off.]

Sunshine: “They are really impressive… Such silky feathers too. But have you ever done this before?”

· “I don’t think so.”

Contrarian: “But how hard could it be? It’s only, what, five metres?”

Cipher: “Looks more like ten…”

Contrarian: “Eight at most! Don’t you worry your pretty heads over us, Princess.”

Hero: “Are we sure about this?”

· “...Yeah. Yeah, we can make it. Probably.” [Move away from the edge so you can get a running start]

The Narrator: “You look over the large gap once more before stepping back a few metres. It would be such a shame if you fell and left the Princess stuck in here by herself, unable to get out… That gap really is very long, isn’t it? And let’s face it, your wings are mostly decorative. More for dazzling than-”

Contrarian: ‘And dazzling they are! Let’s casually show them off to the Princess a bit more while we stretch.’

Hero: ‘They are very nice, and the Princess does really seem to like looking at them. Even Her Royal Highness is throwing glances over her shoulder when she thinks we’re not looking. But uh, He has a point, what if we can’t make it? We could just back off and find a different path, it’s fi-’

The Narrator: “The Princess comes up close and, a blush on her face, Sunshine gives Hero a kiss on the cheek, and then one to you too. Yuck.”

Sunshine: “For good luck.”

Hero: ‘We can make it.’

The Narrator: “Destructica, faced with Contrarian, flashes him a sly smirk, before kissing his cheek too.”

Destructica: “For bad luck.”

Sunshine: “What?! Structy, no, don’t do that! Good luck!”

The Narrator: “She gives the flustered Hero another cheek kiss.”

Destructica: “What are you gonna do about it? Bad luck!”

The Narrator: “The Contrarian gets another cheek kiss.”

Sunshine: “No, good luck!”

Destructica: “Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck!”

The Narrator: “They pepper all three of your heads in a frenzy of kisses, trying to outrace each other, your own head catching smooches from both of them. You giggle like three fools in a single body.”

Hero: “Hehe, Sunshine, I’m sure it’s okay, nothing could ever outweigh all the good luck of getting your kisses.”

Sunshine: “But she’s being mean and you don’t deserve that!”

Contrarian: “Oh nooo, what a cruel fate to be cursed by your soft apoca-lips. Have mercy, please.”

Destructica: “Yesss, suffer your doom, my juicy little coquelet! There will be no mercy for you!”

· “O-okay, Princesses, this is lovely, but-”

The Narrator: “They interrupt you by each planting a kiss on the side of your beak at the same time.”

· [Mumble inarticulately.]

Cipher: “Come on, lay off them, you two, you’re gonna make them so dizzy they’ll miss their jump.”

The Narrator: “With the other Princesses all taking a step back, Sunshine and Destructica are forcibly dragged away from you.”

Sunshine: “She started it!”

The Narrator: “Destructica blows a raspberry at her.”

Contrarian: ‘They’re so wonderfully silly.’

Hero: ‘Reality wasn’t made to handle this kind of cuteness.’

Contrarian: ‘Ohh, is that why they’re a threat to the world, mr. The Narrator?’

The Narrator: “I should not dignify that with a response, but if you can convince yourself of it and actually slay them, then sure.”

Hero: ‘Anyone else feel like we’re already floating?’

· Yeah, this is gonna be easy.

The Narrator: “Oh, for crying out loud, can’t you see the size of that gap?”

Cipher: “Sorry about those two. You don’t have to do this unless you’re sure. We can find another way.”

· “Don’t worry, I’m quite sure. Let’s fly!” [Blow a kiss at the Princess and jump.]

Winona: “He’s gonna fall, I can’t watch this!”

Destructica: “I wanna watch, don’t you dare turn us away!”

The Narrator: “You run over the platform as fast as you can, spreading your wings and tail feathers. You can already feel a bit of lift tugging at them, the wind blowing through your feathers making you lighter. And then, you reach the edge and-”

Contrarian: “JUUUUUUUMP!”

The Narrator: “Yes, I was about to say that, thank you. With a mighty leap at full speed you launch yourself forward over the endless abyss, flapping your wings as fast as you can. And the air… almost carries you as you sweep through it. You still fall, but every flap makes the fall a little slower, gets you a bit closer to solid ground. And then… your feet just barely hit the edge.”

Contrarian: “We did it!”

The Narrator: “You are so caught up in the euphoria of making it that you forget about your momentum, don’t take another step, and fall flat on your faces.”

· “Oww.”

The Narrator: “The pitter-patter of ten feet comes towards you, first from the side, then from overhead. The Princess does indeed seem to be fully capable of walking upside down on her own path.”

The Princess: “Are you alright?!/alright?/alright…?”

Contrarian: “Princess, you sound like two and a half horses. I like that about you.”

Sunshine: “Oh no, did they hit their heads too hard?”

Hero: “I think he was always like this, don’t worry.”

Contrarian: “And that’s why you love me!”

· [Nudge the Contrarian’s head with your own.] “We really do, buddy.”

Contrarian: “Heh. Yeah. Sure. Well, hello up there!”

The Narrator: “As you turn around to look up at the Princess, you see them walking a few metres above you on the upside-down path, standing on it quite firmly. Ten eyes curiously gaze up at you.”

The Princess: “Hello down there!/there.”

Her Royal Highness: “Nice leap. Didn’t think you were gonna make it.”

· “We’re not that easy to get rid of.”

Her Royal Highness: “Like weeds in a garden.”

Sunshine: “C’mon, don’t be like that.”

Winona: “That’s mean…”

Hero: ‘It might just be because her face is upside down, but I could’ve sworn she smirked there.’

The Princess: “Anyway,/Anyway. Wanna get up?/get up already? Or are you just gonna lie around down there?/there…?”

· “I dunno. It’s kind of comfy, and the view is very good.”

Hero: “It’s like stargazing, but the stars are five pretty Princesses.”

The Princess: “Aww.../Aww, that’s sweet/so sweet!”

Contrarian: “Bless you all for wearing dresses rocking so much clea-”

· [Hold the Contrarian’s beak shut.] “Ahem, as I said you look very beautiful, Princess.”

Sunshine: “Eheh, thank you, cutie.”

Destructica: “You appreciate the beauty in destruction! Very good, you’ll like what comes next, then.”

Winona: “...You said five pretty Princesses. Does that include…?”

Hero: “Of course it includes you!”

Winona: “...Eeeh.”

Her Royal Highness: “What’d you expect? You look the same as the rest of us.”

Contrarian: ‘They really do look alike, don’t they? The melting and deforming seems to have settled down a bit. Their faces are still a little wonky, but they look a lot more harmonious.’

Cipher: “You are too sweet. Nice though it is to look at you too, the infinite abyss hanging over our heads is actually a bit concerning.”

· “Better get used to that, that’s how it is outside too.”

Cipher: “Hmm. Never thought of the sky that wa- What’s happening to your path?”

The Narrator: “You prop yourself up to take a look, and your hands push into its loose sand. You realise now why the path you’re lying on has slowly become more comfortable; it’s no longer stone, but crumbling into sand, which is rapidly falling into the depths. You get up and start walking, but it appears the rest of the path is crumbling too.”

Hero: “Uh oh, we’d better run!”

The Narrator: “You start to run over the sandy path, and it isn’t long before the place you lay moments earlier crumbles into the depths. Sand is falling everywhere as you run through the void, the Princess following you as fast as they can on their twisting path overhead.”

· “Can you see any safe spots ahead?!”

Cipher: “Not sure! It all looks very crumbly!”

Destructica: “Nowhere is safe for you, not while I-”

The Princess: “Shut up,/up,/ SHUT UP, Structy!”

Chapter End Notes

> This one turned out very long, so there's two more chapters yet to come! Let me know what you think of this one in the comments, comments are a writer's lifeblood!

## Chapter 2: To Be Nothing

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The Narrator: “You run for your life across the sandy path as it crumbles into the depths, but the tide of its cascade comes up closer and closer behind you. Above you, the Princess’s upside-down path twists and turns as they run to keep up.”

Hero: “I don’t suppose our wings could save us here.”

The Princess: “Jump! Take our hand!/hands!”

Hero: “But what if we pull you off and we both fall?”

Cipher: “We’re much heavier, it’ll be fine, just jump!”

Sunshine: “Please, let us save you!”

Contrarian: “You know me, I always jump when someone says jump!”

· [Jump]

The Narrator: “You take a running leap and high-five the Princess, but slip from their grasp. You keep running, your path going up and down in waves, the ground under your feet unsteady and already crumbling as you walk on it. A second leap misses entirely.”

Her Royal Highness: “Come on, how bloody hard can it be?!”

Winona: “They’re gonna fall, and all we can do is watch in horror…”

Destructica: “Oh, I don’t think so, they’re meant for a much more gruesome fate! You hear that? You live and die by our whims and we say you live!”

The Narrator: “Despair claws at you as you feel the sand vanish beneath your ankles at the end of every step. You get ready for a final leap-”

Cipher: “Wait for my signal! Just keep running for now!”

The Narrator: “The depths beckon, you can see nothing but falling sand ahead, cascades of it pouring into the depths as far as you can see. Every footfall is less stable, encounters less resistance from the ground, and-”

Cipher: “NOW!”

The Narrator: “The Princess leaps at the same moment you do, closing the gap between you. Two hands meet six in mid-air, all grasping for one another. With a firm grip closing around your wrists, you grab a hold of theirs. For a moment, gravity is unsure which way to pull you. Then the Princess’s feet land back on their upside-down path, their hands still reaching up for you as your entire weight dangles from them. They gently halt their momentum, panting as their free hands find other spots to grab your arms, wrapping around your elbows.”

· “Th-thank you…”

Sunshine: “Got you! We’ll never let you fall, cuties! Just hold on to us, and we’ll get you back to solid ground.”

Destructica: “Mmm, just look at that delicious terror in your eyes! Oh, I’m savouring you lot, you’re far too amusing to just let the depths claim you.”

Winona: “Th-they- You- Y-you almost f-fell! Y-you still could if you slipped out of our weak little hands…”

Hero: “Hey, c’mon, don’t cry, it’s gonna be okay. We’re right here, see? Your hands are strong.”

Her Royal Highness: “Ugh, yes, stop the snivelling already, you’re showering them in tears.”

Winona: “S-sorry…”

Hero: “It’s okay, we can use a wash honestly.”

Destructica: “Yeah, ‘cause you’re a STINKY BIRD!”

Contrarian: “Says the Princess with six armpits!”

Cipher: “C’mon, don’t you two clowns make us laugh while we need to hold on.”

· “I’d shut his beak again, but my hands are a little busy.”

Contrarian: “Freedom at last! Now you will all hear what I have to say! Nobody can stop me!”

The Narrator: “Cipher smirks upside-down.”

Cipher: “And what sort of terrible things do you have to say that he’s been saving our poor ears from?”

Contrarian: “Uhhh, well, swears for one! Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits! And funny noises like bweep! and oöhga! and zooty-zooty! and hitzlschliplotschletzwangnappnappy! And also the truth! Like… Hero is a sappy loveable goof!”

Hero: “Whah?”

Contrarian: “And it’s fun to fluster him! He’s adorable!”

Hero: “Oh, c- come on- I-”

Contrarian: “Silent should talk more cause he has a lovely voice! Having a head of my own is fun! We are awesome for having made that jump! Princess pretty!”

· “You’ve unleashed a monster.”

Cipher: “So it would seem. Maybe I have a way to shut up that foul beak of his. Girls, pull them in a little closer?”

Her Royal Highness: “Please don’t tell me you’re about to do what I think you’ll do.”

The Narrator: “They tug on your arms, pulling you up. Their faces are tense or nervous with anticipation. Some look away, others’ eyes go wide and sparkly as they grin in disbelief.”

Hero: ‘Uh, what’s she up to?’

Contrarian: “The Narrator is a grumpy jerk and we were made for pissing him off! I want Destructica to bite me! Cipher’s clever and hot and- mmp!”

The Narrator: “Ugh, do I have to narrate this part?”

· Yeah you do.

Hero: ‘Isn’t that like, your only job?’

The Narrator: “Fine... As the Princess lifts you up, Cipher narrows her eyes at the Contrarian, a little smirk tugging at her mouth. Her head angled up, she takes the opportunity to kiss him. With powerful, visceral joy, you feel the sensation of her soft lips caressing his, and the Princess’s other aspects feel it too, judging by the various gasps and blushes that blossom on three of their other faces. A shudder goes through the hands holding you, dropping you just a little and briefly breaking the two lovers apart. They hoist you up higher again and let Cipher and Contrarian kiss each other with their faces horizontal, except one of them is upside-down. You’re filled by bliss, your eyes closing almost involuntarily and a warm sigh leaving your body.”

Winona: “Oh? This is nice…”

Sunshine: “Aww, look at miss ‘calm yourself, you’ll make them dizzy’ get some.”

Destructica: “Yess, get him! Drink him in, devour all that he is! Ahh, this is bliss like only true evil can bring.”

Her Royal Highness: “Really, Cipher? That’s the one you pick?”

The Narrator: “Cipher and the Contrarian part with a happy gasp. She tilts her head and smirks at him.”

Cipher: “Yep, he’s the one. So, got anything else to say, loudmouth?”

Contrarian: “Uhhh, umm… (inarticulate mumbling)”

Cipher: “That’s what I thought.”

The Narrator: “A chorus of giggles and whoops and congratulations greets the blushing Cipher.”

Cipher: “Ahem, anyway, we should get going and find some horizontal ground to put you down.”

Sunshine: “You’re just saying that because you wanna hog all the cute bird smooches for yourself, you little minx.”

Cipher: “As if you’re lacking in them! It’s not my fault if you didn’t go for the bull’s eye.”

Winona: “I didn’t get any kisses…”

The Princess: “We know!/know.”

Contrarian: “Hey, it’s okay, there’s plenty of us to go around!”

Hero: “And he’s back.”

Cipher: “Can’t shut you up for very long, can I?”

Contrarian: “Guess you’ll just have to do it again! I’m sure it’ll work this time!”

Cipher: “Y’know, maybe I will…”

Her Royal Highness: “No, we’re not wasting more energy pulling them down… or up? First we find a place to get them back on their feet, then you can waste time playing tonsil hockey.”

Destructica: “Mmm, envy is a beautiful emotion, let it all out!”

Her Royal Highness: “Shut up, Structy. I assure you I have no interest in the obnoxious loudmouth.”

Destructica: “I never said it was her you’re jealous of.”

Her Royal Highness: “I said shut up, Structy.”

Cipher: “Ohh? Why, Royal, if you’d like to be shut up some time, I’m sure that could be arranged.”

Her Royal Highness: “Hmpf. Stuck upside down with seven fools…”

· “Alright, alright, let’s not waste any more energy goofing around. I’d rather have solid ground under my feet again as soon as possible.”

Her Royal Highness: “Thank you. And I’d rather put my arm down, this is not exactly a comfortable pose.”

Winona: “My arm hurts… We’re already so tired.”

Sunshine: “Nona, our arms are fine, stop complaining. We’ll find a safe spot in no time.”

Winona: “But they really hurt…”

Cipher: “Take a break, we can take turns. I’m sure we can hold on to them with five.”

The Narrator: “Winona lets go, shaking her lanky arm out. Destructica smirks down at you, a dark look in her heavily shadowed eyes.”

Destructica: “Look at that, you’re fine with just five hands, I wonder if only four could hold you?”

The Narrator: “Destructica briefly lets go of your arm before grabbing you by the wrist again, a small shock going through the Princess’s grip on you.”

Hero: “I-I don’t think now’s a good time to start messing around.”

Cipher: “Structy, you’ll get your turn to rest later.”

Destructica: “Oh, but this isn’t about resting, this is about letting them taste a bit of terror! I wonder how many we could let go before they fall… Six is fine, five is fine, four seems to be fine… What if we let go of another?”

Sunshine: “You can keep wondering, because none of us are letting go. So stop it.”

Contrarian: “You know, if you wanted to run an experiment, you could tickle them.”

Hero: “Now’s really not the time to encourage her!”

Destructica: “Brilliant! Here-”

Cipher: “Structy-”

Her Royal Highness: “Stop it!”

Destructica: “Sounds like someone’s volunteering to be tickled!”

Her Royal Highness: “If you lay a hand on me, I will take the blade from my chest and cut myself out from the rest of you.”

Destructica: “Sounds like you know you're ticklish.”

Sunshine: “Okay, hahaha, this is very silly but you really need to stop playing-”

Her Royal Highness: “I’m not fucking playing. Remember what happened last time some idiot decided to goof around without thinking of the consequences? Oh that’s right, we became locked into a tormented shambling existence and I caught a blade in the chest!”

Destructica: “Well, a little torment-”

Her Royal Highness: “No, shut your mouth, I am so sick of your stupid edgy teasing shtick! This is a dangerous situation, and you and your loudmouth of a boyfriend just keep on fucking around. I am very serious, Destructica. I will use the blade to cut myself out if you keep it up.”

Winona: “...I’m sorry I started this with my whining… I always mess it up… You can rest now, I’ll hold them.”

Her Royal Highness: “And I am sick of you wallowing in self-pity too, don’t you have any pride or backbone in you? You’re a bloody Princess, stick up for yourself and stop apologising and moping around for once in your life!”

Sunshine: “Hey, come on, stop being so mean-”

Her Royal Highness: “The world is mean, Sunshine, this situation is mean, what they did to us is mean, and I will most certainly get mean if anyone hurts anyone by being ‘funny’ again. Just because you’re wilfully blind so you can pretend to live out your romantic fantasy with the ones who hurt us doesn’t mean the rest of us have to join in your delusions.”

Cipher: “Stop it, all of you! What happened to us being in this together? No more goofing around, no more blaming each other, and no more threats to hurt ourselves. What are you thinking?”

Her Royal Highness: “Hmpf.”

Cipher: “What, do you have something to say about me too?”

Her Royal Highness: “Maybe I do. You try so hard to keep us all together, Cipher, but we’re not meant to be together. Can’t you feel it? The pain of being wrong, of being an abomination?”

Cipher: “Of course I can feel the pain, but it doesn’t have to define us! Haven’t you noticed it gets better when we’re more harmonious? We are what we are, so why not try to enjoy this experience, why not just be a weirdo rather than an abomination? Please, Royal, stick with us. We are all in this together.”

Destructica: “...Sorry.”

The Princess: “Sorry?/Sorry?!”

Destructica: “I just wanted to have some evil clean fun and play with them a bit, I didn’t mean to start a fight or nothing. Didn’t mean to hurt the rest of us. Sorry.”

The Narrator: “The entire conversation has gone by within a minute, the Princesses talking over themselves yet quite capable of understanding one another. As they argue, their faces lose their structure and return to their melty and discordant state, and you can feel even the hands you’re grasping shift, skin becoming sticky while the bones inside turn soft and bendy. But now, some semblance of peace and harmony starts to come over them again.”

Cipher: “Thank you, Structy. Royal, she apologised and she’s gonna stop. I can’t take away your pain, but can you at least live with the rest of us?”

Her Royal Highness: “...Yeah.”

Cipher: “Okay, good. Does anyone else have anything that can’t wait until we can put Silent and the boys down?”

The Narrator: “Dumbstruck with the rapid crosstalk of all five Princesses, you’ve been paying little attention to your Voices, but now you realise the Contrarian is crying.”

· “Hey, are you okay, my Contrarian?”

Contrarian: “Who cares about me? I made their fight worse with my idiotic idea...”

Hero: “We care about you.”

The Narrator: “Destructica tries to smile softly instead of grin, and it goes horribly wrong. It’s more of an awkward baring of the teeth than a smile.”

Destructica: “Hey, uh, I would’ve come up with that idiotic idea myself, you know. You just sped the process up a little, shortcut the evil little gears in my head. I like a man who can make me worse.”

Contrarian: “I… I just don’t think I’m in the mood right now, sorry Structy.”

Destructica: “Okay.”

· “Your Royal Highness? I’m so sorry for the pain I caused you and the rest of you. I know that doesn’t change what I did, but I really am.”

Her Royal Highness: “Yeah, well… (Sighs) ”

The Narrator: “She looks a bit uncomfortable, her eyes shifting and her hand twitching around your wrist.”

· “But maybe we should have that conversation later.”

Her Royal Highness: “Yes. Thank you. It’s good to see you’ve grown a bit more sensible now at least. Guess I should take it as an example… Cipher, I’m sorry. I kind of flew off the handle there myself. I shouldn’t have threatened to- I wasn’t actually gonna harm us. Thank you for talking sense into me. You’re a good leader, y’know.”

Cipher: “Me? I’m no leader!”

Her Royal Highness: “You are. Certainly none of the rest of us are capable of it, and besides, you’re the one with two arms.”

Cipher: “What do my arms have to do with it?”

Her Royal Highness: “...I dunno. I just mean you’re, like, special. Ugh, forget it.”

The Narrator: “You continue on your upside-down path in near-silence, the Princesses taking turns to rest their arms. And as you go, the path changes. What was once a bare stone path turns into one made of dirt, with upside-down plants growing at its verges. Then it widens into a little grassy area complete with an upside-down pond of water.”

Hero: “Now there’s something you don’t see every day.”

The Princess: “Actually, it looks almost/seems pretty normal to us. You’re the one who’s hanging into the sky./sky!”

Cipher: “There’s a lot of light coming through the water. I wonder… Hey, if we move to the edge of the void, can you see what’s under… uh, above it?”

The Narrator: “The Princess walks to the very edge of the floating area. From your vantage point below them, you can see past the edge. There’s a large grey cube of water extending far below, er, above this place, rising up high before finally meeting the earthy underside of some other place. The cube of water is reasonably clear, but plant growth inside it still blocks your vision.”

· “Weird, the water is just hovering there in a giant cube. Can water just float around like that?”

Cipher: “I dunno, can Princesses walk around all topsy-turvy?”

· “Okay, point taken.”

Cipher: “Things are strange on these stairs. It’s almost as if there’s stuff from other kinds of places leaking through into here. Clearly some rules just work differently here.”

Contrarian: “The water connects to another piece of land, quite a big one too! Hey Princess, can you swim?”

Hero: “Can… we swim?”

Destructica: “Hah! You know every respectable monster is at least semi-aquatic. We can lurk in the dark depths and drag you down to your doom with the best of them!”

Sunshine: “Or maybe we could picture ourselves as a beautiful quintuple mermaid instead?”

Destructica: “Yes, a beguiling siren luring sailors to their watery grave! With an anglerfish tail!”

Winona: “I like to think of myself as a whelk.”

Her Royal Highness: “Okay. Thank you for your contributions. Anyway, I’m up for a swim, it’d be nice to let our legs do the work for a while.”

Cipher: “Sounds like we’re in agreement. How ‘bout the rest of you? Fancy getting those pretty feathers wet?”

Contrarian: “Of course! Let’s race, last one up to whatever that other place is is a Narrator!”

The Narrator: “None of you could ever hope to match me.”

Cipher: “Hihi, I was talking to your friends, sweetheart. I already know you’re up for anything.”

Hero: “I guess it’s just a bit of water. Yeah, let’s take the shortcut.”

· “I think we’re kind of a bird, and birds can swim. Like penguins, and ducks! Yeah, let’s do it. But how are you gonna get us into the water? It’s above us.”

The Princess: “Like this./this!/this... CANNONBALL!”

The Narrator: “The Princess gets a running start and leaps up, tucking all ten of their legs in mid-air. Their weight pulls you both down and they breach the pond with a massive splash that leaves you soaked before you even hit the broken surface. The impact drags them under, pulling you to the water. There is a single moment where it seems your weight, no longer compensated by the Princess’s, might stop you, but then your upper body hits the water. The Princess, still holding your hands, kicks out a couple times, pulling your legs and tail in too, your weight finally compensated by the water. They cautiously let go of you, floating before you and seeing if anything strange will happen. You rub your wrists and elbows, the joints popping painfully after being stretched for so long.”

Hero: ‘Feels so good to move differently at last…’

Contrarian: ‘Wa-hey, look at the Princess go! They’re no mermaid or monster or whelk, they’re like an octopus! Or a decapus?”

The Narrator: “The Princess, after trying a few different things, ends up swimming by kicking all ten legs at once in an undulating motion that is indeed very reminiscent of an octopus. They shoot back and forth elegantly, throwing you five smiles as they watch your own awkward plodding.”

Contrarian: ‘Hey now, you take that back, we’re moving like a penguin! A penguin on land, that is.”

Hero: ‘I think we’re doing fine, but we can hardly be expected to match the grace of the Princess. Look at them go, they’re beautiful...’

Contrarian: ‘Aww, does someone have a crush on the pretty Princess?’

Hero: ‘I-I mean, you know, they’re just- Hang on, you’re the one who just made out with them!’

Contrarian: ‘Heh. Never said I didn’t.’

The Narrator: “As you start swimming up, the Princess teasingly swims circles around you, casually brushing against you a few times. You ignore the challenge and keep on swimming, only to feel a sudden pull on your tail.”

· Rude! Which one of them was that?

Hero: ‘No idea, they’re going too fast and they’re rolling to make it even harder to see.’

Contrarian: ‘Well, boys and birds, are we gonna just let them get away with that?’

· Of course not, let’s get them.

The Narrator: “You try to swipe at the Princess, but underwater they are far faster than you and can easily dodge. As much as all their legs can get in their own way on land, they seem perfectly adapted to the water. You try to give chase, but they can literally swim circles around you. You feel teasing touches and pokes, but every time you think you’ve got them they have already slipped away, a pale blur in the water. A sharp pinch in your right, er, cheek jolts you.”

Contrarian: ‘Our ass!’

The Narrator: “Can we have a little decorum, please?”

Hero: ‘That was definitely Destructica.’

Contrarian: ‘Hey now, don’t you baselessly accuse my little devil. It could’ve just as easily been Sunshine.’

Hero: ‘She wouldn’t! She’s sweet.’

Contrarian: ‘Lots of sweet things are also spicy.’

· Honestly, it could’ve been any of them. Or most of them any- GOTCHA!

The Narrator: “As the Princess dashes past in yet another sneak attack, you manage to grab a fistful of the hem of their dress. They try their best to swim away, but only succeed in dragging you along at great speed as you climb your way up their dress, before throwing your arms around their waists. Together, you softly spin in the water as their momentum carries you up even now they’re at rest.”

Hero: ‘They’re beautiful! Look at those flustered smiles, the way their hair loosely drifts in the water like a great anemone.”

Contrarian: ‘The way their dress is fighting for its life…’

The Narrator: “Yuck, yes, fine, the Princess is smiling a lot and their hair does look rather impressive flowing freely in the water, illuminated by the light from behind shining through, and you pulling on her dress combined with the effect of the water has left it in a rather dishevelled state. That’s why it’s all the more important to remind you their charms are all part of the deception, and you have been allowing them to completely corrupt your judgement. And… Ugh, Sunshine cups the Hero’s cheek and makes him look up at her, her eyelids fluttering rapidly as if the water stings them, a rosy blush on her cheeks.”

Hero: ‘Uh, Silent? I mean, you’re the decider, wh-what should we do?’

· She’s all yours, buddy. Your head, your choice.

Hero: ‘But I’m nervous...’

Contrarian: ‘Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't be shy, you gotta give it a try, go on and kiss the girl!’

The Narrator: “As if this situation isn’t horrible enough, now I have to deal with your singing.”

Contrarian: ‘Aww, don’t you like singing? But I made up another song just for you, it goes-’

· Shhh, let our Hero have some space to think.

The Narrator: “Sunshine cocks her head questioningly at his hesitation. Hero’s waterlogged feathers are raised shyly, making him look extra fluffy. Her legs rub lightly against yours as you both kick a little to stay in place. Hero is nervously still as Sunshine’s hand rubs his cheek, the confidence in her eyes starting to fade. And then he reaches out for the Princess, squeezes their waists, and pulls himself forward to kiss her.”

Contrarian: ‘Woooooo! Get some, Hero! Aaaand?’

The Narrator: “And? For one thing, it’s wet. You’re underwater, of course it is.”

· You know you can do better than that. You know this is a very unique situation to unleash your narrative skills on.

The Narrator: “Yes, I suppose it is, point taken. Drifting in their embrace, the two lovers gaze into each other’s shimmering eyes as Hero approaches. Sunshine’s hair and that of her neighbours forms a radiant corona of light around her smiling face, and Hero’s beak is slightly parted in anticipation as he nervously gathers his courage. And then, he steels himself and kisses her. The sweet sensory music echoes in all of you as the two of them kiss tenderly in their weightless underwater suspension, not a care in the world. Sunshine’s body is tightly pressed against you, her soaked-through dress and your similarly soaked feathers doing very little to mask the sensation of her soft curves against you. As the Princess too experiences it, Cipher giggles fondly and rests her head against Her Royal Highness’s. Destructica, faced with the Contrarian, bites her lip with sharp teeth, staring deep into his eyes as she wiggles her brows. And then, with little warning, she falls upon him with ravenous appetite, kissing him with wild passion. You are left facing the Princesses’ ears, feeling both kisses, one sweet and tender and the other raucous and steamy and bitey, and since participants in both also share their senses they each fire up the other, beautifully mixing in a maelstrom of emotion and sensation.”

· Thanks for the excellent narration.

The Narrator: “Yes, well, if you truly wanted to thank me, you’d save my world from the abomination instead of letting your freaky side-heads make out with them.”

· They’re no abomination. They’re just different. And beautiful.

The Narrator: “Let me be perfectly clear that it is not the Princess’s appearance that makes me call them an abomination, but their actions.”

· Okay, good for you. I’m just gonna enjoy this moment. [Kiss the Princess’s ears.]

The Narrator: “Fine. Spurred on by the passions of the kisses to your left and right, you bring your beak to the Princess’s half-fused earlobes and kiss them. They are soft and pliant, and you can feel a shudder of joy go through both Sunshine and Destructica. At last, the two… five? of you part. But not before both Sunshine and Destructica each turn inward as much as possible and give you too a quick kiss, Destructica on your cheek and Sunshine on your beak.”

Contrarian: ‘That was amazing! Let’s rub their boobs next!’

Hero: ‘Don’t you think that’s going a bit too fast?’

Contrarian: ‘Aww, but they’re just about spilling out of their dresses… Don’t you think their funbags deserve to have some fun too?’

· Let’s save that for later. We’ve got a lot of swimming to do.

The Narrator: “All rosy cheeks and giggles, Cipher pokes Sunshine in the side and points up. With a bit of regret, you let go of each other and continue your swim. The Princess lays off you for now, shooting through the water at their own speed but then circling around in an elegant underwater display to wait for you.”

Hero: ‘That was… amazing.’

Contrarian: ‘Yeah… can’t believe they like us after what we did to them.’

Hero: ‘C’mon, you’re very likeable most of the time. Even got kisses from two Princesses!’

Contrarian: ‘Heh, yeah. And they’re so different.’

· Are you sure that wasn’t just because Cipher kissed you upside-down?

Contrarian: ‘Ohhh! That must be it.’

Hero: ‘Hehe. But hey, that does make me think… There’s five of them, and three of us, right.’

Contrarian: ‘Something like that. A lot, anyway!’

Hero: ‘And like, it seems like they’ve got no problem, uh, sharing. Do we? Are we okay with having things be open and messy?’

Contrarian: ‘I am! Messy is fun! And more love also means more fun. That simultaneous kiss was amazing, just imagine how it felt for them with Silent here also going for the earlobe, the old bandit.”

· There’s three of us, but there’s also only one. I would’ve been happy to have us share in their love when you two were just voices in my head, and now that you can get involved yourselves, well, I’m so happy for you guys to experience it yourself too. I figure the Princess can like lots of different things and love each as much as the other, so why couldn’t she love more than one person too? What about you, my Hero?

Hero: ‘Me? Oh, yeah, I’m totally into it. I figure if you and me both like Sunshine, she gets all the more love, and she deserves so much of it. And I just adore seeing her happy. I just wanted to make sure we were all okay with it.’

· Thanks for looking out for us.

The Narrator: “You take a moment to scratch Hero’s soft neck feathers as you watch the Princess swim higher and higher towards the light up above. Towards, eventually, the exit, and the end of the world. How unfortunate, then, that you have been underwater without breathing for a long time.”

Hero: ‘What do you mean?’

The Narrator: “Well, as it turns out, living beings need to breathe to survive. And there is no air to breathe underwater. Surely you can feel that burning in your lungs, the rapid approach of drowning?”

Hero: ‘I hadn’t noticed yet, but… he’s right. We have to get air!’

· [Resist the urge to inhale water and swim faster.]

Contrarian: ‘What’s happening? This wasn’t a problem before!’

The Narrator: “Yes, because you had air in your lungs before, but now it has run out so it became a problem. Oh, and would you look at that, it seems you’re not the only one about to drown, judging by the Princess’s suddenly alarmed looks and the way they reach for their throats. What a pity you decided to waste your breath canoodling around underwater instead of doing the sensible thing of just swimming as fast as you can, but your foolishness might have actually saved the world. As you swim for your life, you watch the Princess flit about in apparently random panic, swimming up first before suddenly changing their course and dashing off to the side. You have no time to worry about them as darkness starts to creep in on the edges of your vision, your lungs on fire, begging you to please inhale already. And with three mouths and three noses, it’s thrice as hard to resist.”

Contrarian: ‘Air… air…’

Hero: ‘Hold on… Keep swimming…’

· [Just. Hold. Your. Breath.]

The Narrator: “Your eyes remain fixated on the light above, begging it to come closer, even as you lose control of your oxygen-starved limbs. Darkness closes in as you try to squeeze a last few desperate upward strokes out of your body. Then something in the dark grabs you, and you are roughly yanked to the side.”

· [Struggle. Save yourself.]

The Narrator: “You struggle weakly against its grip, but it resolutely pulls you away from your upward course. Your will gives out and your lungs draw in a desperate breath at the very moment you breach air. Oxygen floods back into your system, but your brain is still too foggy to understand what happened or what you’re looking at, so you continue to paddle wildly and struggle against whatever is gripping you in an animalistic attempt to save yourself.”

The Princess: “Calm down!/Stop it! This is a dangerous situation, stop trashing about./about!/freaking out!”

The Narrator: “They restrain your hands and you force yourself to take deep breaths and try to parse what you’re looking at. Your collective eight heads are poking out of the water’s surface, but something very strange is going on. The Princess’s massive cluster of wet hair doesn’t hang down over their faces, but off to the side, parallel to the water’s surface. And though your instincts tell you to kick up to stay out of the water, it’s not needed, as the gravity on your heads pulls you sideways, rather than back down into the water. Like an optical illusion changing from a vase to two faces in your mind, you suddenly understand what’s going on.”

· “We’re at the side of the water cube!”

The Princess: “Yeah!/Yeah, we suddenly ran out of breath/oxygen, and the top surface was too far away./away…/distant.”

· “I didn’t think of the side! Clever Princess, you saved us!”

The Narrator: “A chorus of giggles and squees goes through the Princess. It makes your stomach flip, though perhaps that’s due to the glance you throw down the sheer wall of water you’re sticking out of.”

Hero: “Did we both suddenly run out of breath when He brought it up?”

The Narrator: “A coincidence. You must have similar lung capacity.”

Cipher: “He?”

Contrarian: “The Narrator, pain in our ass telling us to slay you who’s stuck in our heads. Utterly boring guy, but it’s real funny when you wind him up.”

Cipher: “And you think He made us run out of breath somehow?”

The Narrator: “I simply warned you. Correlation is no evidence of causation.”

· “I don’t know. He’s being cagey as always.”

Cipher: “Then let’s keep swimming and get back on dry land as soon as we can. Stick near the edge in case we need to breathe again.”

The Narrator: “You dive back into the cube. This time, both of you stick to careful, straightforward swimming, no more fooling around under water. It takes another two breathing pauses at the cube’s edge before you reach the top. Here, the water meets land again, its underside to be precise. The ends of gnarled roots stick out of the dirt and into the water, leaving particles of mud floating around. It’s dark in the shadow, but there’s a round spot of light you swim towards. You surface in a pool in a pleasant little clearing in the middle of the void. There are trees growing here, a handful of them scattered around. As you drag yourselves out of the water and onto the earthy, grass-covered ground, you spot a circle of stones around a small ashy area covered in extinguished embers. A campfire. You also find some chopped wood lying around the clearing in a neat little stack.”

· “Someone else has been here.”

Cipher: “Maybe… But I find it a little hard to believe. You’ve never seen a trace of anyone else, right?”

Contrarian: “Just us strangers.”

Cipher: “Maybe they haven’t been here here then. I’ve said before it feels like there’s stuff coming through from other places somehow. Maybe they were here before it came here? Maybe that’s why the water suddenly cuts off with an edge too. That could just be the edge of the area that appeared here.”

The Narrator: “As Cipher ponders the riddle, the droplets of water soaking your feathers and dripping between them tickle you, and you reflexively shake out your entire body, sending a salvo of water flying all over. The Princess shrieks and laughs as she is showered.”

The Princess: “Eee!/Eep!/Eww!/Great idea!”

The Narrator: “The Princess copies you, huge mop of messy hair helicoptering all around her and spraying her surroundings once more. You shriek and laugh as it hits you too.”

Her Royal Highness: “Much better. Well, better, anyway. Hmm, I think I see the path onward. We’ve got a… long way still to go.”

Winona: “But I’m tired, and our dress is wet…”

Sunshine: “Yeah, we’re soaked, it’d be nice to dry up by the- oh, um, heh. B-by the campfire.”

The Narrator: “Throwing a glance down, she realises the state their dress is in and, with four faces ablush, they quickly fix their bodices and cross their arms at chest height.”

Contrarian: “Aww, show’s over.”

· “I think it would be nice to take a break here. Surely we all need a rest?”

Destructica: “Evil never sleeps, but… it’d be nice to get some rest for the wicked.”

Her Royal Highness: “No, we need to get out of here, I know it’s really tempting, but…”

The Narrator: “Even as she speaks, there’s an intense weariness and reluctance in her voice. She looks like her knees are about to give in, only the connection with her other selves keeping her standing.”

· “Your Royal Highness, I’m sorry, but I’m so tired I know I can’t make it all the way up to the door today. If we don’t rest here, we’ll have to rest elsewhere, so why not do it by a nice fire?”

Her Royal Highness: “But… No, you’re right, we do need a rest. Let’s sit down then.”

The Narrator: “The Princess practically drops, sitting down by the campfire with a big poof. You throw some logs on the pile before joining them.”

Cipher: “Structy? You’re all about the fire and brimstone, think you could light a campfire?”

Destructica: “With pleasure!”

The Narrator: “Destructica plucks some grass, makes a pile out of it, takes one of the straighter, sharper sticks, and pokes it into the pile, rolling it around to make sparks.”

Contrarian: “Oh, is this how the destroyer of all starts her worldfire? The apocalyptic scale of your powers is truly terrifying to witness.”

The Narrator: “She throws him a dark glance past sharp eyebrows, yet can’t keep herself from grinning.”

Destructica: “Different goals, different methods. I’d hardly want to incinerate this entire clearing when we wish to take a break here.”

Contrarian: “Aww, you care about preserving your surroundings instead of traipsing through their smouldering remains! Never thought you’d go soft.”

Destructica: “Come a little closer, and I’ll show you just how ‘soft’ I’ve gone…”

· “Sorry to interrupt whatever this is, but there’s someone else I gotta talk to before I let you two have your fun.”

Contrarian: “Aww. Good luck with the fire, my little devil.”

Destructica: “Good luck with existence, my juicy coquelet. Try not to die before I can sink my teeth into you.”

Hero: ‘Quite a character that one, isn’t she?’

Contrarian: ‘Don’t worry, I can take her.’

Hero: ‘In a fight, right?’

Contrarian: ‘Heh. Not a chance, she’d rip me apart.’

The Narrator: “You walk around the Princess, sitting down opposite Her Royal Highness. She throws you a glance and Winona’s face lights up.”

Winona: “You actually wanna talk to me? I thought you were having too much fun with the others and didn’t like me much, oh I was so hoping you’d come talk to me!”

· “Uh… Oh, well, um, you see, I was-”

Hero: “Yeah, I’ve been hoping to have a chat with you soon! Why don’t you and I catch up while Silent here has a talk with Her Royal Highness?”

Winona: “I… I’d like that.”

The Narrator: “With Winona distracted chatting to Hero, you turn your attention to Her Royal Highness.”

· “Hey.”

Her Royal Highness: “Hey. You wanna chat, then?”

· “Yeah, I think there’s some things for you and me to talk out.”

Her Royal Highness: “Sure. But first: hey loudmouth, are you gonna interrupt us with puerile jokes, screaming, or some other nonsense?”

Contrarian: “Uh, I-I wasn’t...”

· “His name is Contrarian.”

Her Royal Highness: “I know. And I’d rather he either shut his beak or go talk to someone else. Cipher is right there, she finds his nonsense charming, so he can go bother her instead.”

Contrarian: “Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll just… shut up then.”

· “Look, he’s a part of me. You don’t have to like him, just like you don’t have to like me, but I like him and I’d rather you don’t talk about him like that.”

Her Royal Highness: “Well, isn’t that a crying shame, I guess we...”

The Narrator: “She trails off and covers her face with her hand, groaning.”

Her Royal Highness: “I’m being a humongous bitch, aren’t I?”

· “I wouldn’t call it that.”

Her Royal Highness: “Heh. But I would. Listen, Contrarian? I’m sorry about the snippyness, I’m just very tired and I’d like to talk to Silent alone, okay?”

Contrarian: “That’s A-okay, Your Royal Highness! Maybe I will just go chat with the lovely Cipher, then.”

Cipher: “Flatterer.”

The Narrator: “She doesn’t say it with the joy you’d expect, throwing a concerned glance at her neighbour to the right as the campfire lights up behind them with a cheerful cackle from Destructica. Her Royal Highness’s eyelids look heavy, her eyes cast down.”

· “Hey, are you okay?”

Her Royal Highness: “No. I’m really not.”

· “I’m sorry, it’s because of what I did to you, isn’t it?”

Her Royal Highness: “More or less, yeah. Why did you do it? Why did you stab me?”

· “I don’t know. It’s like I was doing everything all at once, all possibilities simultaneously. I don’t really remember what I was thinking or why that version of me stabbed you, I think one of me would always have done it just because it was possible I’d do it, if that makes sense.”

Her Royal Highness: “But why me? Destructica was right there! Uh, no offence meant, Structy.”

Destructica: “None taken! They should’ve tried to stab me, if they wanted any chance of saving the world! I would’ve welcomed the challenge.”

Her Royal Highness: “So why… why me? What did I ever do to you? Other than being quicker to frown than to smile.”

· “Nothing. You did nothing that deserved it. I think… in some of the possibilities I’m just not a good person. I’m so-”

Her Royal Highness: “Look, I don’t want an apology, you’ve already made plenty and they don’t really help in the end.”

· “What would help you?”

Her Royal Highness: “I don’t know. (Sighs) Probably nothing. I wish there was something you could do but… there isn’t.”

· “All this affects you a lot more than the rest of them, doesn’t it?”

Her Royal Highness: “Yeah. I wish I could be like them, but I just can’t. I’m… different. Forever.”

· “What do you mean, different? You’re all different.”

Her Royal Highness: “Because- You know, because of… I’m just- Ugh, just feel for yourself!”

The Narrator: “The Princess tries to get an explanation off the ground with increasing frustration, until finally, she just grabs your hand and lays it on her chest, her eyes piercing into yours. You freeze. The blade’s sharp, cold metal is a harsh contrast to the soft warmth of her skin.”

· That’s not all I feel though, is it?

The Narrator: “If you’re talking about her bosom, then let me tell you I’ve had just about enough of you. All you had to do was slay the Princess, but no, you are more interested in canoodling the abomination than saving the-”

· I’m not talking about her tits. I mean there’s something very wrong here. “Your heart… I don’t feel it beating.”

Her Royal Highness: “That’s because it doesn’t.”

· “Because I stabbed you.”

Her Royal Highness: “Yeah. Turns out that did exactly what you’d expect.”

· [Say nothing.]

Her Royal Highness: “You look aghast. Did you think we were exaggerating when we said parts of us are dead and parts of us just don’t fit? I’m dead. The only reason I’m still moving and talking is because I'm connected to four other hearts, and I’m draining them like a vampire, making them waste their energy pumping warm blood through my veins.”

The Narrator: “Cipher reaches out tenderly for her bitter neighbour’s hand, only to be batted away.”

Cipher: “Royal…”

Her Royal Highness: “What’s that tone for? I’m not looking for your pity, Cipher.”

Cipher: “You don’t drain us. Don’t say things like that about yourself.”

Her Royal Highness: “But I do. Without me, you wouldn’t have struggled to carry Silent, or almost drowned, and if my own heart worked I wouldn’t be so damn tired right now.”

The Narrator: “Her sharp eyes turn back to you.”

Her Royal Highness: “Before you say it, I still don’t want your apology. I don’t even think I’m really mad at you any more. It just… sucks. So if I seem cranky and mean and heartless, now you know why.”

Cipher: “You’re not heartless.”

Her Royal Highness: “I literally am.”

· “But you’re not in the ways that matter. You’re sharp, and fiery, and you have so much heart! I know you care about the rest of you a lot, you do so much to keep them all safe. And you even care about me, after all I did to you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

The Narrator: “Her Royal Highness tries to speak, but words don’t leave her mouth. Her harsh eyes soften.”

· “May I give you a hug?”

Her Royal Highness: “...Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”

The Narrator: “You throw your arms around them, only barely managing to close them around all five of them. Cipher joins you, hugging Her Royal Highness and laying her head on her shoulder. Winona too throws an arm around her shoulder, resting it on yours. Finally, Sunshine’s comes in from overhead to pat her head, while Destructica’s blindly flops around like a fish on dry land, lightly slapping her shoulder and cheek before you guide it to just stroke her neck. You can feel her exhale further than ever before, deflating and relaxing.”

Winona: “You’re so strong. I feel terrible all the time too but you just… power through it. You defend us and keep us focused instead of moping around.”

Destructica: “Yeah! You keep your eyes on the prize and keep us moving to our destiny outside. Don’t you feel down, together nothing can stop us!”

Sunshine: “Royal, you’re tough as nails. I... wish you didn’t have to be. Let’s turn around, everyone, I think it’s her turn at the fire now.”

Destructica: “What?! But it’s my fi… Our fire. Yeah, okay, I can just warm myself with happy thoughts of doom and destruction.”

The Narrator: “You let go as the Princess turns around, still hugging and cuddling Her Royal Highness and letting her and Winona sit by the fire. You sit down next to them, its lovely heat quickly warming your dark feathers. Her Royal Highness looks softer, with a tension somewhere between a dawning smile and tears about to fall.”

Royal: “You’re all far too sweet. And that includes the birds.”

· “Even my Voices?”

The Narrator: “She rolls her eyes.”

Royal: “Yes. They are, though I still prefer them in low dosages.”

Cipher: “We love you, Royal. If my heart is beating to keep you alive, I can’t think of a better reason for it to beat.”

Royal: “I’m still forcing all of yours to beat faster.”

Cipher: “Royal… I already knew you made my heart beat faster. I don’t mind an additional reason.”

Her Royal Highness: “Cipher…”

Cipher: “I mean it. There’s no-one I’d rather have speak her sweet tones in my right ear.”

Contrarian: ‘Aww. You know, I think she can’t blush, or she surely would.’

Royal: “Heh, you really are a consummate flirt, aren’t you?”

Cipher: “Only because I’m absolutely surrounded by sweeties.”

Royal: “Too bad for you you can’t kiss me like you kissed that lou- Contrarian.”

Cipher: “Is that a challenge?”

Royal: “I’m just pointing out it’s physically impossible. We can’t turn our heads toward each other.”

Cipher: “I think I could find a way.”

Royal: “I’d love to see you pull that off.”

Cipher: “Would you now?”

Royal: “...Yeah. Yeah, I really would.”

Cipher: “As you wish, Your Royal Highness.”

The Narrator: “I don’t quite know what she expects to happen. The Princesses, especially now that their form has settled down into a semblance of sanity and order, are very clearly incapable of kissing one another. And yet, Cipher strains her face in intense focus. And then, the horrible meltiness and warping of flesh starts again. Wincing and bubbling, her neck grows longer and longer while her face shifts to the side of her head. Royal watches the whole thing from the corner of her eye, Cipher’s unsettlingly long neck, branching off from the thicker stem of their collective neck, brings her increasingly into her line of sight. And finally, with a neck bordering on the serpentine and a face placement rarely seen outside of cubist art, she can bring her head forward far enough while turning it to look a very impressed Royal straight in the eye.”

Cipher: “Like so.”

Royal: “You, um, you weren’t bluffing.”

The Narrator: “Cipher raises an eyebrow shifted to her temple.”

Cipher: “I wasn’t.”

The Narrator: “The two Princesses look into each other’s misplaced eyes in silence for a long moment before they come together. It is abhorrent, an abomination deforming herself-”

Contrarian: ‘Meepmeepmeepmeep, I’m the Narrator and I’m jealous I don’t get a head and no-one would even think of smooching me if I did.’

Hero: ‘Yeah, it’s actually really beautiful and sweet. If a bit freaky. I gotta admit I don’t enjoy how Cipher’s neck looks.’

· It is a beautiful bit of self-love, isn’t it?

The Narrator: “Self-love? I think you mean a gross masturbatory act of self-deformation.”

Contrarian: ‘Hey, remember that great idea I had about snapping this sourpuss out of his hating? Oh Hero? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Hero: ‘Whuh- Oh. Heh, yeah, let’s do it.”

· What are you-?

The Narrator: “Ugh, you find yourself kissed on one cheek each by the Hero and the Contrarian, cutting you off as you gasp.”

· Y-you guys, why?

Hero: ‘Ah, y’know, you deserve it. Always taking good care of everyone, both us and the Princess.’

Contrarian: ‘Just a bit of fun. Get absolutely cherished, you big bird.’

The Narrator: “You hear Winona sniff loudly and find her face stained with tears, her eyebrows contracted sharply.”

Hero: “Hey. Hey, Nona, you okay?”

Winona: “Y-yeah! Yes, of-of course. It’s just, um, all this love is b-beautiful, isn’t it?”

Hero: “Heh, yeah. Just had to show some appreciation to Silent here. Oh, those two are still going at it, can you see them?”

The Narrator: “Winona taps the side of her head with a sad smile.”

Winona: “I can see through their eyes. (Sigh) I’m so happy f-for them.”

Hero: “Ah, good, I was a little worried about you.”

Winona: “No, d-don’t worry about me! I’m fine, I’ll be fine… They’re really going at it, huh?”

Hero: “Yeah. Good to see Royal having a good time. She deserves it.”

Winona: “She does. She’s been through so much… Even more than the rest of us…”

The Narrator: “Though the kissing Princesses break apart, their soft-voiced, whispered conversation is clearly far too personal to listen in on. You focus on Winona, her large eyes swimming with more tears.”

Hero: “Are you sure you’re-”

Winona: “I wish I was like her! She’s so cool and sharp in the face of her pain. She doesn’t mope and whine, she gets angry and fights back and… (Sighs) No wonder she gets kisses...”

Hero: ‘Oh I see. She likes Cipher too. Or maybe Royal?’ “Yeah, she’s wonderful, isn’t she? All you Princesses are.”

Winona: “You’re the experts, I guess. All three of you… love one of us. Kissed one of us. And then there’s Cipher and Royal also kissing each other… So much love all around…”

Hero: ‘’But not for me’, is the part that goes unsaid.’

The Narrator: “You shuffle closer to Winona, sitting next to her facing the fire so Hero can have a conversation with her quietly, though it seems like Royal’s attention is very much on her other side. Hero gently pats Winona’s hand.”

Hero: “Come on, you’ll find someone. I can’t imagine you staying single for long.”

Winona: “And yet I did.”

Hero: “Hey now, you’re literally joined at the hip with them already.”

Winona: “I know. And I know it’s on me, and I’m happy for you all, I really am. It’s beautiful to see and I can feel it too so I guess I can vicariously live through them… But…”

Hero: “But you feel lonely?”

Winona: (Sniff) “Yes! Isn’t that ridiculous? I’m surrounded by love everywhere, I’m literally the same being as the rest of them, I can’t even be alone… And yet I feel lonely…”

Destructica: “Get used to it, sister, it’s lonely at the top! Especially when you’ve destroyed everything else. Just imagine it, just us, standing atop a broken reality, the world crushed under our feet!”

The Narrator: “Destructica’s honesty does not seem to cheer up her neighbour, who if anything looks more tearful and snotty than before.”

Hero: “Hey, it’s okay, I’ll be your friend.”

Winona: “Yeah. Friend. Thanks.”

Hero: “And don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find someone. One of them’s gotta like you.”

Winona: “Fat chance when everyone’s already taken.”

Hero: “Well, y’know, there’s always other people. And, y’know, just ‘cause someone has a lover doesn’t mean they might not want another.”

Winona: (Sighs) “I know, but… what are the odds? The actual real life odds? I know it sometimes happens and works out, but… Can you imagine me going up to someone and just… confessing? Asking to be let in? Surely that’s just gonna get really awkward real fast. I know it exists, but it’s so rare…”

Hero: “I mean, Contrarian’s right there on our other side. He’s got two lovers now, I guess. It’s, uh, actually kind of distracting.”

The Narrator: “Yes, I suppose it would be, since Destructica has taken the opportunity of his proximity to put an arm around him and nibble his neck, temple, and your shared shoulder with her sharp teeth. Each lovebite reverberates through all three of you.”

Contrarian: “Don’t mind us, you’re doing great.”

Hero: “Little hard not to mind Destructica using you as a chew toy.”

Contrarian: “Would it be easier if I made chew toy noises too? Squee-o! Squee-o!”

Hero: “You’re incorrigible.”

Contrarian: “If you wanna correct me, you’re welcome to try, angel-boy.”

Hero: “I- b- Are you trying to get a complete collection and date everyone here?”

Contrarian: “Well, everyone’s hot and I’m into it. How ‘bout you? We’ve got pretty long necks, we don’t even need to do Cipher’s trick if Silent gets out of the way. Or he could join in too!”

Hero: “Heh, you really are a devil, you, uh, sure know how to tempt someone. See what I mean, Winona? I’m just saying it’s not as rare as you think if a silly prat like Contra’s up to his beak in it.”

Winona: “Yeah… But he’s funny and charming, and good at talking to people…”

Hero: “He is, isn’t he?”

Contrarian: “Don’t forget good-looking!”

Destructica: “And delicious.”

The Narrator: “Your attention starts to drift from the quiet conversation Hero and Winona are having to the louder and more distracting one between Contrarian and Destructica as you rest against her shoulder.”

Contrarian: “Delicious, huh? Is cannibalism on your list of vices now too?”

Destructica: “Please, every vice is on my list. But that one’s not because of you, my juicy coquelet, since we’re definitely not the same species. It would hardly be cannibalism for an almighty bringer of destruction to sink her teeth into a meek little birdie. So helpless… I can take my time with you, can’t I?”

The Narrator: “The Contrarian wiggles in her grip.”

Contrarian: “So, almighty bringer of destruction… Tell me more about the end you bring.”

Destructica: “I can’t go giving away all my secrets. Wouldn’t wanna spoil the surprise.”

Contrarian: “Aww, can’t you give me a little glimpse behind the veil? A little tease of your evil plans?”

Destructica: “Mmm, what’s it worth to you?”

Contrarian: “I hear you take payment in souls. I’ll be happy to let you have mine.”

Destructica: “Oh yes, your lovely little soul will do nicely. Hmm, well, there’ll be fire, of course. Fire raining from the sky, fire erupting from the ground, fire everywhere!”

Contrarian: “And you’re starting all that with sticks and grass? Very impressive.”

Destructica: “Watch it. It’d be very inefficient for me to start it all myself. No, I’ll just… pull the Moon out of the sky!”

Cipher: “The Moon?”

The Narrator: “Cipher’s unnaturally long and bendy neck rises behind Destructica, looking at her incredulously as she delivers her confession like it’s pillow talk.”

Destructica: “Yes, the Moon! In little pieces that rain down all over the world and wreak havoc on it all! And… they make earthquakes that split the ground and deliver the hellfire from below! And then… darkness eternal will set in!”

Contrarian: “Oh, why’s that?”

Destructica: “Because I’m snuffing out the Sun, of course. Can’t be having that wretched orb of sweat and sunburns around while I commence my reign of terror.”

· Is that what you were talking about, how she's gonna destroy the world?

The Narrator: “Yes, that among others. I'm sure the Princess is not short on ways to bring about the end.”

· So why does she sound like she's making it up as she goes along then?

The Narrator: “I fail to see what that has to do with anything. An improvised apocalypse is still an apocalypse.”

Cipher: “Structy, where are you even getting all this?”

Destructica: “It’s a truth written deep in our soul, can’t you feel it?”

Cipher: “Not really? The only thing I feel like that is that we have to get out of this cabin and be free.”

Destructica: “That’s alright, I can just enjoy the feeling myself. We are meant to be the end of all, and isn’t that an absolutely delightful thing to be?”

Contrarian: “Tell me, queen of darkness, will you have a throne?”

Destructica: “Of course. A throne made of the bones of the fallen. And you’ll get to kneel before it and beg me for mercy.”

Contrarian: “Mercy, huh? ...What about forgiveness?”

Destructica: “Forgiveness? That’s not really my style. What do I have to forgive you for anyway?”

Contrarian: “You know. The whole thing down there. You getting merged. Your pain.”

Destructica: “Pah, don’t imagine the pain hurts that much! If it did, you know I’d hound you with my revengeance."

Contrarian: "I... guess you would. You did wanna hit me at first."

Destructica: "Yeah, 'cause violence is fun. Wasn't anything personal, I just wanted to get in on the action. Ah, uh, there there. C'mon, chin up, quit being so sad, action and fun are what you and I are all about, so let's have more of that! It'll make you feel better."

Contrarian: "Are you really not mad at me?"

Destructica: "No, ugh, I'm not, obviously. I might be kind of mad about you, if it helps. Why would I carry a grudge for you making me much cooler and stranger, all five horseprincesses of the apocalypse in one? I’m into it.”

Contrarian: “Ah, heh. That’s just like you. You sure?”

Destructica: “Yes. So stop kicking yourself around already. I’m someone you beg for mercy, not forgiveness.”

The Narrator: “They lean their heads into each other, her hold on him soft and almost comforting as she just embraces and gently strokes instead of biting. Contrarian closes his eyes for a moment.”

Contrarian: “What if I don’t want mercy? What if I’d rather you ravage me just like the world?”

Destructica: “Ohoh, that can very much be arranged…”

The Narrator: “As her hands drift down and she bites the Contrarian’s neck with increasing sensuality, Cipher giggles and clears her throat, her neck no longer quite as long and capable of looking back over herself now.”

Cipher: “Don’t have too much fun now, you two. Royal’s gone to sleep and I think Winona’s drifting off too. They need their rest uninterrupted by whatever acts of unspeakable evil you’re about to inflict on our boyfriend, Structy.”

Destructica: “Boytoy.”

Contrarian: “Hey now, if you’re feeling left out, there’s plenty of Contra to go around. Why don’t you grow that neck back out and maybe some extra elbows and get in on the action?”

Cipher: “Extremely tempting, but they really do need their rest.”

Destructica: “I suppose you’re right. While the forces of evil never rest, they can be considerate of those who do.”

· “So are you gonna sleep sitting up?”

Cipher: “Much more comfy than lying down with at least one of us down in the dirt. It’s alright, they’re nice to lean upon.”

Sunshine: “Sooo, what about you cuties? How are you gonna sleep?”

· “Probably on the ground, I guess. The foot of the trees looks comfy.”

Sunshine: “Oh, but you’ll need a soft pillow. And you know, the three of us are still awake. I’m sure both Structy and Cipher would like to have you within arm’s reach. Aaaand I’m in the middle and I’d like to think I’d make a real good pillow…”

The Narrator: “She drums on her lap invitingly.”

Sunshine: “Saved a spot for you right here.”

Destructica: “Or you could sleep on my lap of evil.”

The Narrator: “Sunshine pouts an exaggerated pout.”

Sunshine: “But think of poor Cipher. No cute birds to pet before she goes asleep. How could you do that to her, Structy?”

Cipher: “Nice one, Sunny. Very subtle.”

Destructica: “I can do this thing called ‘whatever the hell I want.’”

· What do we think, boys?

Contrarian: ‘Destructica’s would be real nice. But being in range of both her and Cipher… hmmm. Difficult choice.’

Hero: ‘Sunshine’s lap does seem very nice and soft. Hehe, can you believe we’re having this discussion at all? This is amazing.’

· “I’m afraid your lap of doom would just give me nightmares.” [Lie down on Sunshine’s lap.]

Destructica: “Understandable, it is very powerful and scary. If you can’t handle the heat, best stay away from the nuclear reactor.”

The Narrator: “Lying down with your head on Sunshine’s soft lap, you find yourself facing three Princesses looking down on you, Contrarian facing Cipher and Hero facing Destructica, Sunshine smiling down at the three of you.”

Sunshine: “Why hello there, cuties. Come here often?”

Hero: “No, but, uh, I’d like to.”

Contrarian: “Ooh! Nice one, dr. Smooth!”

· “Shush, you.”

Cipher and Sunshine: “Shush, you.”

The Narrator: “The three of you all giggle as you simultaneously admonish the Contrarian, brushing hands as you all teasingly flick his beak.”

Sunshine: “Don’t listen to his mockery, you are smooth. And really sweet.”

Hero: “Heh, uh, then at least I fit in well with you, luv. You’re the sweetest thing I’ve known.”

Sunshine: “Awww. Do you like sweet things?”

Hero: “Love ‘em. Like… you. And ice cream. At least I think. I’ve never had it, but I think the concept of ice cream is really nice.”

Destructica: “I scream. You scream. We all scream.”

Sunshine: “...For ice cream?”

Destructica: “No.”

Sunshine: “Um, anyway, if you like ice cream we should go try it together once we’re out of here! It’ll be a nice date.”

Hero: “Oh! Uh, yeah! That, that sounds wonderful. Just you and me… Well, and everyone else too.”

Sunshine: “Hihi, that’s just how it is to be us, cutie. All dates are also hangouts with friends, and isn’t that wonderful?”

The Narrator: “She bends forward a bit and whispers at him, as if the rest of you couldn’t hear anyway.”

Sunshine: “Don’t expect them to hold me back either. If things get spicy, they get spicy, and the rest of them just get to be along for the ride.”

Hero: [Flustered mumbling]

· “So uh, Cipher, Royal’s gone to sleep then?”

Cipher: “Yeah, she’s completely tuckered out, the poor thing. Didn’t mean to barge in and take over quite as much as I ended up doing there, by the way. Sorry about that.”

· “It’s fine, I think the way you went about it really cheered her up.”

Cipher: “Heh, true. Still, she really appreciated your approach too. She does like you, you know. I think that’s why she opened up about her heart to you, not us.”

· “Easier to confront me than to confess to you what she felt was her holding you down, I think.”

Cipher: “Sure, that too, but she also wanted to confide in you specifically. It was her way of forgiving you and showing what was bothering her, I think.”

· “Yeah, that’s what it felt like. Good thing she got it off her chest. You really didn’t know, huh?”

Cipher: “I felt her suffering, but pain is a thing we all have. That thing I did with my neck was far from painless itself. Worth it, though.”

The Narrator: “She cracks her neck and then yawns and stretches with a little ‘mmm’ noise.”

Contrarian: “You’re so incredibly lovely…”

Cipher: “Ooh, a non tongue-in-cheek compliment, you must be getting tired.”

Contrarian: “Me? Never! I can keep on squawking all through the night.”

Cipher: “But how about you snore all through the night instead?”

Contrarian: “Great idea, I bet I can get off such obnoxiously loud snores.”

The Narrator: “Destructica chooses this moment to let out a snore that can only be described as sounding like the primeval bellow of some sort of chained up hellbeast. Your eyes, half-closed by this point, shoot wide-open.”

Contrarian: “Hehe, good one, Structy. Gimme some more.”

The Narrator: “But she does not answer, just mumbles a bit and emits some less impressive snores.”

Sunshine: “...I think she’s actually asleep. Geez, I hope she doesn’t do that again, it’ll scare the living daylights out of me if she does it while I sleep.”

Hero: “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you.”

Sunshine: “With earplugs, right? Or just your dashing courage and good looks?”

Hero: “Uh, I was thinking more of the second.”

Sunshine: “Those probably won’t help much against my neighbour snoring like the demon she is, but I greatly appreciate them anyway, cutie.”

Hero: “Thanks, luv. You’re so soft… And I don’t just mean physically, mind you.”

Sunshine: “Appreciate your pillow, do you?”

Hero: “Heh, I sure do, Your Royal Thighness.”

The Narrator: “You are already half asleep as you feel Hero direct your arms underneath your head and give your, er, pillow a squeeze.”

Sunshine: “Hehe, you’d be wise to only use that one while Royal’s asleep… Though you could always whisper it very softly in my ear.”

Hero: “Got it, Your Thighness…”

The Narrator: “Your mind is drifting off, your eyes already shut and your thoughts muting in your warm, comfortable rest. Contrarian is already gone, and you just hear Hero’s soft conversation start up again after some comfortable silence.”

Hero: “How do you stay so sweet and positive? I mean, you’re all kinda going through it and I can kind of see that struggle on all of them. But then there’s you.”

Sunshine: “Well yeah, there’s been a lot of rotten stuff and pain. And it’s just like, I could sit around all sad and focus on the bad stuff. Because it is a lot, and it does hurt. But why would I, when there’s also been a ton of fun adventures and cute birds? And four other me’s to be friends with! This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms. It’s always gonna be a mixed bag, so why not focus on the good stuff? And tomorrow we’ll get to go outside, and I just can’t wait! Oh, I know something wonderful’s gonna happen.”

The Narrator: “Even this one can’t wait to destroy the world. Do you need any more proof that the Princess is a monster? But no, you’re just drifting off to sleep instead, tuning out my admonitions and the Hero and Sunshine’s flirty babble. You let yourself drift off in the soft, warm comfort of the Princess’s presence and touch, your ears filling with a pleasant mixture of Sunshine’s chatter, the other Princesses’ various snores, and the campfire’s crackle. Everything goes dark, and you sleep.”

Chapter End Notes

> Two more chapters remain after naptime! In the meantime, tell me what you think of this one in the comments!

## Chapter 3: To Be Something

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The Narrator: “You are submerged in deep sleep, a dreamless unconsciousness enveloping you. All is dark, your thoughts are at peace. And yet somewhere deep in this restful void, you can hear a voice. My voice. My words are just meaningless noise to your dormant consciousness, and yet something inside still processes them, lets them affect your slumbering thoughts. There are few sensations these depths of your mind can feel, but one you’re vaguely aware of is a comfortable warmth. The warmth of the proximity of the Princess’s quintuple body, yes, but also that of the campfire. And just as you can hear my voice without truly understanding it, you can hear the crackling of the fire. What a lovely, comfortable fire it is. But even the nicest campfire is a slumbering hazard, and yours burns all alone and unattended next to your sleeping forms. Unfortunately it is quite bright and hot, and the circle of stones around it is only small, with grass just beyond them waiting to catch alight. A dangerous situation to leave unattended. The risk of something going terribly wrong is high. What a shame that neither of you thought to extinguish it before you slept, nor stayed awake to watch it. Surely a very reckless way to treat fire, it can’t be long before…

Aha! And as the heat and my words induce vague dreams of smoke and fire spreading in the dark, the grass catches alight. It's just a single blade that happened to grow into the stone circle at first, but as little sparks dance down its length, they jump over to its neighbours. A second blade catches fire, then a third and a fourth, and so on. No-one comes to extinguish it, to nip the disaster in the bud. You are sound asleep, stumbling through dusty darkness in your dreams, bone-dry wood surrounding you and a distant, deep orange light far behind you. And as your dream-fire spreads, so too does the real one. Grass and flowers and all the little plants between them catch one by one as it spills recklessly. And with every plant that lights up, the heat increases and the flames blaze higher, more uncontrollably. And even though your body has an awareness that it’s getting hotter, your mind sees a basement ablaze, so it doesn’t suspect anything is amiss. You break out in cold sweat that rapidly warms up, but you are still too far under to truly understand anything I’m saying, aren’t you?

Fire spreads fast. Fire is deadly. And sleep makes you numb to all the things it will do to you. Both to you and the Princess. Oh? Hmm, yes, that is her in your dream I suppose, though she seems to have only a single head and body, difficult though it is to see past her white veil. As the developing inferno begins to lick at your body in dream and reality alike, you run for her, as if she would offer you safety. The dream Princess takes your hands as the fire spreads throughout the basement and the clearing, igniting the hems of the real Princess’s dress. It does the same to your feathers, but that can’t be helped, I’m afraid. And as the pain and the heat mesh so well with your dream, the dream Princess leads you into a grim waltz through the conflagration.”

· “Princess, we have to get out… We’re gonna burn.”

The Princess: “Oh, beloved, there is no way out. You know the flames devour all. That’s always been us.”

· “Not this time… It’s different this time. We can be better.”

The Princess: “...So you say. And yet we burn, beloved.”

· "We don't have to. I've changed."

The Princess: "And yet you hurt them as you hurt me.”

· "No, not like you. I never meant to harm them."

The Princess: "And yet you did."

· “Yes, I did, but it was through neglect, not ill will. I know I started this by trying to abandon them, but if we burn, I can’t fix my mistake.”

The Princess: “...Do you really believe things can be better? Do you really believe this place, the worm in your heart, will let you save us?”

· “Yes. I have to believe that. They think I can be better. You owe me nothing, but please, I beg you, help me save us.”

The Narrator: “The Princess stands still as your dance comes to an end. She doesn’t move at all. Until, as the flames take hold and dance across your body, she parts her veil. A horribly burned skull greets you, remnants of charred flesh still clinging to her. You scream and – oh no- startle awake, finding yourself and the Princess in a sea of flame licking at you.”

· “PRINCESS! PRINCESS, WAKE UP, FIRE!”

The Princess: “What?/Huh?/Fire!/AAH!/Run!”

Contrarian: “Oh fuck, what happened?!”

Hero: “No time, just get out of here!”

The Narrator: “With a few steps you burst out of the sea of flame, your bodies alight and fire trailing behind you. You more trip than intentionally drop to the ground, rolling around and extinguishing yourselves. You groan in pain, but your hand is grabbed and you’re yanked to your feet by the Princess, their faces and bodies covered in char and mud with little red burns poking through.”

The Princess: “No time to rest, it’ll spread here within seconds. Let’s go!/run!”

The Narrator: “You race up the path away from the burning clearing and back up the strange twisting pathways of this vast void. Above you, closer than yesterday but still distant, the doorway looms. You pass a plantless section of the path, and the two of you come to a rest, panting and carefully brushing yourselves and each other off.”

Destructica: “Witness the incredible destructive power of fire! Burn, baby, burn!”

The Princess: “Shut up, Structy./Structy…”

Sunshine: “How… how is everyone? Are you all okay?”

Hero: “Our feathers got scorched, but I think we’re fine.”

Contrarian: “I feel hot as hell!”

Destructica: “I’ll show you hot as hell…”

Royal: “Now’s really not the time. I’m fine. It's just one more disaster we barely escaped.”

Cipher: “What happened? Guess the campfire spread. Ugh, we’re supposed to be smarter than this…”

Winona: “It-it was horrible… We won’t survive next time something happens, I-I just know it…”

Sunshine: “None of that, no-one got seriously hurt, it’s all fine. We’re all good.”

The Narrator: “Winona sniffs and bawls, and Destructica puts her arm around her shoulder and squeezes her with surprising gentleness.”

Destructica: “C’mon, cheer up. Look at the fire go down there, isn’t it beautiful?”

Winona: “It-it hurt so much, and my nose has a burn… It was terrifying…”

Destructica: “And exhilarating! We got out, and we left that dump to become ashes, isn’t that cool?”

Winona: “Is- is it?”

Destructica: “Enjoy it, sister, you know there’s beauty in destruction!”

Winona: “R-really?”

Destructica: “Yeah. We’re okay now. Just relax and watch the fire with me, and then tell me it isn’t beautiful.”

The Narrator: “The Princess’s far side is quiet for a bit, but then Winona starts sniffing and crying again.”

Winona: “It is beautiful, b-but all I can think of is how horrible it is and how scary it was to wake up like that… I’m sorry, Structy.”

Destructica: “Hey, it’s okay.”

Winona: “N-no, it’s not, you’re trying to cheer me up and it’s actually really sweet and here I go b-being all upset again.”

Destructica: “Whatever, you’re sensitive, nothing wrong with that. Gotta be nice to feel everything so strongly, so genuinely. Maybe you can find beauty in your own tears too?”

Winona: “I never thought of it like that…”

Destructica: “Not like I have much experience with this, but isn’t it cathartic to cry? To let all your pain out in a river of emotion?”

Winona: “...Yeah. Yeah, actually, it is.”

Destructica: “So cry, if you don’t wanna cackle with me. But make sure to pause and catch the way the flame shimmies in your own tears!”

Winona: “Didn’t take you for a poet…”

The Narrator: “Cipher, Royal, and Sunshine are all quiet, listening to the conversation behind them with curiosity and affection as you help each other brush the soot and mud off and check each other’s burns.”

· “Before we woke up, I had a… very strange dream. Everything was on fire, and you were there, but not like you are. You were you, but also a stranger.”

Cipher: “What, stranger than us?”

· “Hardly. I don’t remember everything, but we talked as if we had a lot of history, different history than in reality. And then she startled me awake, saved us. She felt so familiar, yet I felt so guilty about her. But… before that, the Narrator was talking a lot about how dangerous fire is and how it can spread easily if unattended… And then it did.”

The Narrator: “Yes, I wanted to warn you of the hazard. My warnings came true because they were sensible. Unfortunately you only awoke at the last moment.”

Cipher: “Just like when we were underwater.”

The Narrator: “Yes, I tried to warn you of the impending-”

Contrarian: “’YeS, I trIEd tO warN You of thE ImpEnding…’”

The Narrator: “What do you think you’re doing?”

Contrarian: “’wHAT do yOu thINK you’re dOIng?’ Oh don’t mind me, I’m just making sure the Princess can hear the whole conversation, no need to thank me.”

The Narrator: “Thank you?!”

Contrarian: “You’re welcome!”

The Narrator: “No- you- stop doing that! The Princess is not meant to hear my words!”

Contrarian: “tO heAr mY worDS!’ Aww, but they’re enjoying it, look at them giggle!”

The Narrator: “I do not want to make the Princess giggle- argh, stop it! At least imitate my voice right, I sound way more dignified than that!”

Contrarian: “Alright, alright… ‘Ahem, hat least himitate my vwoice right, hI sound hway more dignified than that!”

The Narrator: “(Sighs) All of you rotters share a laugh at my expense. And now he’s doing that stupid voice.”

Cipher: “Hehe, but seriously, do you think the drowning and the fire are connected to Him?”

Hero: “First time we disobeyed him, tons of cabins started appearing everywhere and then we… died? I think? He said it was because you ended the world but it was really difficult to figure out what was actually going on.”

Contrarian: “It makes sense that as our nemesis, he’d have some kind of powers to stop us.”

Royal: “If he does have powers, we’re still in great danger.”

Winona: “Oh no, what if he makes the stairs vanish again...”

The Princess: “Could/Can he do that?”

Hero: “Y-you can’t, right?”

The Narrator: “Well now, let’s see. It would stop you. But you probably shouldn’t think of me doing things like that to you. Please don’t imagine the path you’re on vanishing and you and the Princess falling into the void. It would be such a shame if such things got in the way of your apocalyptic plan to set her free. Don’t think about it.”

Hero: “D-don’t think about Him vanishing the path, don’t think about it…”

Royal: “What? Is he actually gonna vanish the path?”

The Princess: “The path!/The path?”

Contrarian: “We’re thinking of other things! Uh, pink polar bear! A waterfall of goo! Cipher’s smile!”

· “Why does it matter if I think about you vanishing the path? Does thinking about it let it happen? I-I’m not thinking about it, I’m not. [Definitely don’t think of the path vanishing.]”

The Narrator: “Unfortunately, a thought cannot be unthought. And since you seem to be convinced that the path is about to disappear… Yes, there it goes! It doesn’t crumble like last time. Instead, it simply ceases to exist. One moment, you are standing on solid, loamy earth, the next you’re falling through the void.”

Hero: “Put the path back, please put it back!”

The Narrator: “Even if I had that power, little Voice, I don’t think I would. While I’d much rather you survive this, beggars can’t be choosers and you pledging yourself to the Princess has made the entire world a beggar. (Sigh) And even now that obnoxious little Voice will not stop parroting my words. Don’t you have better things to do?”

Cipher: “Wait, ‘Even if I had that power’? But… He does? Surely He has no reason to lie about that? Oh, does that mean He wasn’t what made the path disappear?”

Royal: “Does it matter? We’re falling one way or another!”

Cipher: “It matters! If there’s a different cause-”

Sunshine: “-There might yet be a way to save us! Ohhh, you’re so smart!”

Winona: “But we’re falling… We're doomed…”

Destructica: “Have faith in us, we’re invincible!”

Royal: “Shut up, everyone, and let her think!”

Cipher: “Silent, if it wasn’t the Narrator that made the path vanish, what could’ve done it?”

· “You’re right, He never actually said He was making the path vanish. He just made sure we thought about it.”

Hero: “Just like with the drowning! And maybe the fire?”

The Narrator: “No. No, your thoughts definitely do not have any power over this place. I do. I simply didn’t feel the need to toot my own horn and spell it out, but I very much made the path disappear.”

Contrarian: “I think we do have mind powers! Uhhh we can fly! We can fly and carry ourselves and the Princess to safety.”

Hero: “Uh, sure? Yeah, we could fly…”

· [Try to fly.]

The Narrator: “You are quite unsuccessful, only succeeding in altering the course of your trajectory.”

Cipher: “Try something easier, we already established that you can’t fly but only extend your jumps!”

· “Uhh uhh, Princess, do those things down there look like balloons to you?”

The Narrator: “What? Those are obviously just some swollen round platforms broken off from the soft staircase.”

Sunshine: “Oh, they could be! Yeah, totally, lovely pretty jolly balloons!”

Destructica: “Large ones too, great big hot air balloons I’m sure!”

Hero: “Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. They look big, they’re pretty close already.”

The Narrator: “No, those are small and far-off.”

Cipher: “They’ll be very soft too! Big and soft and bouncy, perfect place to land on!”

Contrarian: “Y’know, Princess, there’s something else that’s big and soft and-”

Cipher: “Now’s really not the time, sweetheart! Just flap those wings and get us to land on there!”

· [Glide to the balloon.]

The Narrator: “No, it isn’t a balloon, it’s just… Ugh, yes, it does appear to be a large hot-air balloon now. You spread your wings and dive towards it. By all rights, the Princess’s weight and air resistance should be a problem, but… they just crawl onto your back in freefall, leaning forward to help you control your angle, and so you soar through the void together at high speed.”

Contrarian: “Wheeeee!”

Hero: “Whoaaaaaah!”

The Princess: “Woooo!/Waaaaa!/Yayyyy!/Eeeeeep!/Yeaaaaaah!”

· “Here we goooooo! Get ready for the landing!”

The Narrator: “And then you don’t get ready for the landing. Not adequately, anyway. At the high speed at which you plummet to the massive balloon, your feet just sink pointlessly into its soft surface, and then your momentum and the Princess’s weight slams your face into it. You bounce off, once, twice, first her on top, then you, and then you finally come to a stop on your back. Just when you think you got off with only some mild battering, the Princess lands on top of you. You are pressed into the balloon’s soft, warm surface by their weight as it wobbles around you from the force of the impact.”

The Princess: “Oof/Ugh/Oww/Hnnrngh/Guh...”

Sunshine: “Where did they go? Th-they didn’t bounce off, did they?”

The Narrator: “Your battered body groans and you try to escape from your soft prison, pushing Sunshine's breast out of your face.”

· “Urgh… Right here, Princess.”

Sunshine: “Oh no! Are you alright, cuties? Did we hurt you? Did-”

Royal: “I’m sure shaking their flattened body like that doesn’t help, Sunny.”

Sunshine: “Ah! Sorry! Cuties, speak to me!”

Hero: “We’re okay, luv… More or less. Little bit smooshed.”

Contrarian: “It was very soft at least! Who knew hot air balloons were this soft and jiggly?”

Destructica: “You look like you need ironing.”

The Narrator: “Sunshine continues to cuddle you as the Princess raises themselves up a bit to allow you to breathe.”

Sunshine: “Are you really okay? Sorry we crashed down on top of you.”

Hero: “It’s okay, luv, the cuddles make up for a lot. How are you feeling?”

Sunshine: “No worse for wear! And your quick thinking saved us all!”

Cipher: “I mean, I was involved too.”

· “Yeah, we would never have figured it out without clever Cipher here.”

Hero: “So it really was a balloon, I can barely believe it but we’re slowly floating up.”

Cipher: “You’d better believe it, apparently your beliefs have power.”

The Narrator: “You hear Winona sob somewhere on the Princess’s back.”

Destructica: “Hey, what are you crying about now?”

Winona: “We’re never gonna make it out…”

Destructica: “Pah! Nothing can stop us!”

Winona: “But we almost died… again!”

Destructica: “Almost died is survived! Hey now, don’t be too sad, wasn’t that thrilling? We woke up on fire and then we almost fell to our doom! I wonder what fresh disaster will happen next!”

Winona: “N-no, I can’t handle another…”

Destructica: “Don’t you get it? We can handle anything ! We’re strong, we’re unstoppable, we’re by far the scariest thing in this cabin or anywhere else!”

Winona: “Not me… Just you.”

Destructica: “Nonsense, sister! You are part of us, part of the destroyer of worlds, didn’t you hear us when we said we’re all in this together? You’re like our heart or some other nice and soft part that feels a lot. And wasn’t it exhilarating to fall, to be weightless, and then to soar over here? The air rushing past us, the thrill of almost dying?”

Winona: “...I wish I could see the world through your eyes.”

Destructica: “Then I’ll just have to help you see it. This time is all we get, all there is, why not enjoy the hell out of it while it lasts? It’s all going to end in flame either way, so why not laugh as we burn together?”

Sunshine: “She’s right, you know, in her own, twisted way. Everything is so much nicer when you look on the bright side. And there’s always a bright side.”

Destructica: “Or you celebrate the dark side! Or maybe you go have a cry about it, but isn’t that celebrating the dark side in its own way?”

Winona: “Y-yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I should make the best of it. I shouldn’t just… be afraid all the time. I-I can be like you!”

Destructica: “Yeah! Yeah, go get ‘em, sister! Take what you want and give nothing back! Dance in the inferno! If you’re afraid then let the fear burn with you!”

Winona: “Yeah! Yeah, I will! ...Everyone, I’d like us to turn around now.”

Sunshine: “Woah, Structy, can’t believe I’m saying this, but you might actually be a good influence. Good luck, Nona!”

The Narrator: “Before Sunshine lets you go, she gives Hero a quick kiss. Then she lets them turn around, leaving you facing Winona sitting primly in front of you, her face stern and determined but her eyes darting around and reddened, her hand trembling and clutched into a fist.”

Winona: “Hey, Hero, can we talk about something?”

The Narrator: “You turn your heads to let Hero face her, Royal giving you a curious little eyebrow raise.”

Hero: “Sure, what’s on your mind?”

Winona: “Ah, well- I, uh- Hmm. You, you know-”

Destructica: “Go for it, Nona!”

The Narrator: “She elbows her in the side. Winona takes a deep breath and steels herself, looking Hero straight in the eye.”

Winona: “Ah, uh, there’s no easy way to say this. Hero... I really really like you. You’re sweet, and you’re funny, and you make me feel better, and look, I know how much you love Sunshine and I know you’re probably not polyamorous b-but I just have to tell you and when you reject me at least I’ll have clarity and I then can let go of these feelings and…”

The Narrator: “Hero begins giggling softly even as Winona still speaks.”

Hero: “Winona… Hey, it’s alright, that’s really nice even. I… think I like you too. I-I mean, you’re sweet, and you’re attractive, and I was thinking just last night about how much I’d love to dry your tears. Looks like Destructica got there first, though.”

Destructica: “Bleh!”

The Narrator: “She sticks her tongue out even as fresh tears spring into Winona’s eyes.”

Winona: “R-really?! I-I didn’t think- b-but what about Sunshine?”

The Narrator: “A hand comes in from overhead and pats her head.”

Sunshine: “What about me? He can pick his own lovers, me being one of them doesn’t change that.”

The Narrator: “Hero reaches for her head too and affectionately hooks a thumb with Sunshine as he ruffles and brushes through Winona’s hair. She shivers in joy as a smile begins to spread on her tearful face, the realisation starting to hit.”

Hero: “Yeah, I think we’re open? Uh, guess we should’ve talked about that before.”

Sunshine: “Heh, guess so. We’ve both smooched Silent already, be a bit awkward if we weren’t supposed to do that.”

Hero: “Anyway, point is, Nona, I’m into you too!”

Winona: “Y-you really do…? I didn’t think- Wait, m-me?!”

The Narrator: “Destructica elbows her.”

Winona: “I mean, I just thought it was unlikely. I just thought your rejection would let me get on with mourning- you really like me? Eeee!”

Hero: “Yeah! And look at you, you’re so bold and daring, telling me your feelings even when you thought I was gonna reject you. Gotta say, I really like seeing you this way.”

Winona: “Oh, you do? Um, well, I could always… N-no, that’s silly.”

The Narrator: “Destructica elbows her again.”

Winona: “No, c’mon, I can’t just do that.”

The Narrator: “And then Royal too elbows her.”

Winona: “You too? Really?”

Destructica and Royal: “Go for it!”

Winona: “O-okay.”

Hero: “G-go for what?”

The Narrator: “She takes a breath so deep it must have involved the others’ lungs too, her eyes widening as she looks deep into Hero’s. And then she suddenly shoots forward and kisses him, her wet lips finding his with a little tremble going through them at their initial touch. It’s as if she didn’t expect this to actually happen herself as a result of her actions, judging by the tension and lack of motion in her lips to begin. Only after a moment or two does she start to melt into the kiss, making a happy little overwhelmed noise. Destructica and Royal raise their hands above her head and give each other a wordless high five. Winona’s hand never touches him, but you feel Hero’s joy to finally make her happy, to find pleasure with her. Royal flashes you a little smirk. You smile at each other, each enjoying the sweet, soft, tender kiss next to you, until Cipher interrupts the moment by giving her a poke in the side.”

Cipher: “Soooo what about you, hmm?”

Royal: “What? What about me?”

Cipher: “When are you gonna make your move?”

Royal: "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Cipher: "Sure you don't, sweetheart. Just saying that's an awfully cute bird you're smirking at."

Royal: "Cipher! Stop that! Ugh, don’t pay her any mind, please."

· "It's okay, I won’t.”

Royal: “Suppose I have you to thank for being attached to these four busybodies too.”

Cipher: “Oh, as if you didn’t enjoy it when this body kept you busy.”

The Narrator: “Royal shoves her away with a grumble, though a hint of a smile tugs at the far corner of her mouth.”

Royal: “See what I have to deal with all the time? An absolute menace, that one.”

· “Don’t worry, I’ll help you deal with her.”

The Narrator: “To your left, Winona and Hero have broken apart. She doesn’t know what to say and nervously looks down at her hand. He takes it and brings it to his lips, giving it too a kiss, and she turns a deep red.”

Royal: “Heh, thanks. All I know is someone needs to distract her.”

Cipher: “Can’t say I’d mind. But what if it wasn’t me he was distract-”

· “Ahem, my Contrarian? How about you take care of the Cipher-distracting business?”

Contrarian: “On it! Hey baby, ever noticed just how distracting I can be?”

Cipher: “No, never, wanna give me an example?”

Royal: “Good idea, sending one nuisance to deal with the other. Listen to me, always complaining about these four when you’re stuck between two clowns yourself.”

· “Oh, I’m used to it, these two were here in my head before they popped out with ones of their own. All that’s changed is you lot are along for the experience now.”

Royal: “Ohh, and you decided to share the fun, what a great idea.”

· “Can’t say it was a conscious choice. I think this just happened to both of us.”

Royal: “I know, I’m just having a grumble, it’s fun sometimes.”

· “Do you really mind your other selves?”

Royal: “Nah, not really. They’re pretty cool, I guess. All that stuff Cipher said about seeing myself through a different lens is true. They’re just a bit yappy for my tastes sometimes, just like your Voices. Nothing personal, but I like my peace and quiet. There’s nothing quite like silence.”

The Narrator: “She gives you a friendly nod as she speaks, reaches out for your shoulder, then quickly pulls her hand back before she makes contact and instead settles for a slow blink.”

· [Enjoy the silence with her.]

The Narrator: “The two of you speak no more, enjoying each other’s company in silence. Or as near a silence as you can have with both Hero and Contrarian yapping to their respective aspects of the Princess on either side of you, Contrarian and Cipher appearing to have gotten into a pulling-silly-faces competition while Hero and Winona are having a heartfelt conversation of their own featuring a lot of shy giggles back and forth. The lovely moment ends when Royal’s brows suddenly contract, looking over your head.”

Royal: “Fun’s over, we’re nearing our stop.”

The Narrator: “You stand up, Hero offering Winona his hand. The balloon has carried you far up, a little bit away from a staircase that leads right to the door, now much closer by.”

Contrarian: “Looks like we’re gonna have to jump.”

Winona: “It’s never easy, is it? ...Bring it on.”

Hero: “So proud of you…”

The Narrator: “You dash back and forth on the balloon’s soft, pliant surface a few times to practice. Then, hand in hand, you nod at each other, start your sprint as you pass the stairs, leap, and let yourselves bounce off the balloon’s diagonal side. Your bounce launches you to the stairs, which immediately scrape and harm you with their harsh surface and sharp edges. The balloon that carried you here flies off into the endless void above.”

Sunshine: “Thank you! Bye-bye!”

Hero: “Look there, we’re almost to the way out! Just gotta climb this final staircase and you’ll finally be free!”

The Princess: “Then what are we waiting for?/for?! Let’s go!/get out of here!/climb!”

The Narrator: “Holding you by the hand, they dash upstairs with a quintuple laugh, not allowing either of you to catch your breath as you climb the stairs lightly. And yet your mutual joy soon peters out, only to be replaced with struggle, exhaustion, and pain. The harsh texture of the stairs take their toll on you with every step. A heavy silence falls, broken by ragged breaths as you both struggle.”

Royal: “Urgh, they’re so… awful. How can just climbing stairs be this heavy?”

Sunshine: “Oh, it’s not so bad! We just have to get past this last bit and then we’ll finally be free!”

Royal: “Yeah, but… ugh.”

Sunshine: “I know it’s heavy for you, but we’ve got you. Just think of all the flowers that grow outside!”

The Narrator: “The increasingly sharp edges of the stairs feel like they mercilessly slice into you by their mere proximity.”

Winona: “It’s like every step is as difficult as all the ones that came before put together… We’re already slowing down.”

Sunshine: “Slowing down is okay, we can take it easy. It’s nice to take some time to smell the roses.”

Winona: “I guess…”

Royal: “There’s thorns, but I don’t see any roses...”

Sunshine: “But every thorn has its rose! They might just be metaphorical roses, but that doesn’t make them smell less sweet.”

Hero: “...Yeah. Yeah, we can make it. We just need to think like my sweet Sunny does.”

Winona: “She is very inspiring…”

The Narrator: “Sunshine smiles warmly, though there is a hint of exhaustion around even her eyes. As you ascend, the stairs only get harsher. Even the Princess’s boundless desire for destruction can’t keep them going, step by painful step, the stairs making it almost impossible to stand, let alone walk. Suddenly, the door doesn’t seem so close at all, an unbridgeable distance away with every step this heavy. The wall running alongside the stairs looms over you threateningly.”

Cipher: “This can’t possibly be the right way to go. There must be another solution.”

Sunshine: “It- it isn’t that bad.”

Royal: “I get what you’re trying to do, but how is it not that bad?”

Sunshine: “Well… Uh… we have each other! The eight of us are held together with bonds of friendship and love, and no stairs can ever pull those apart.”

Royal: “And how does that help us get upstairs?”

· “I warned you the climb would be tough…”

Contrarian: “The way down wasn’t like this, though… Cause we took another staircase.”

Hero: “And still we lost ourselves.”

The Narrator: “Sunshine gives your hand a squeeze, but hers is trembling.”

Sunshine: “You won’t get lost as long as I hold on to you.”

Hero: “Yeah… We have you to show us the way.”

The Narrator: “Every step up feels like climbing a mountain, your trembling legs struggling to lift your body at all.”

Destructica: “These stairs will chew us right up! Unless of course we get them first…”

Sunshine: “Y-yeah. That’s the spirit. I know you… you’ll chew the stairs up… Right Structy?”

Destructica: “...Maybe.”

Sunshine: “Maybe? Come on, that doesn’t sound like the destroyer of worlds I know. You know these are nothing to a villain like you.”

Destructica: “...I wouldn’t say that. I don’t think- Maybe these stairs are my downfall.”

The Narrator: “The Contrarian sends your other hand to grab Destructica’s shoulder as Sunshine goes pale.”

Contrarian: “Hey now, my queen of darkness, don’t you know you’re invincible?”

Destructica: “I don’t feel so invincible right now… Sorry.”

Contrarian: “Hey, what if we climbed ahead of you and you chased us? Wouldn’t that cheer you up? ...Oh, who am I kidding? As if we have any energy left to get ahead of you…”

Destructica: “It’s okay. Not your fault.”

Contrarian: “Ye-”

Sunshine: “W-well, then the forces of evil have been defeated and good triumphs again, i-isn’t that lovely, isn’t that cool, come on everyone, we can make it...”

The Narrator: “An exhausted, sweat-drenched Cipher experimentally lays a finger on one of the many spikes the stairs’ edges have blossomed into. Blood springs from it instantly.”

Cipher: “There’s gotta be another way. What if you tried to believe this is an easy climb?”

Sunshine: “Yeah! I mean, the door is right there!”

· “Yeah, it’s easy.”

Contrarian: “So… ea zed pea zed. Absolute breeze.”

Hero: “Yeah… Not arduous at all. Just love this…”

Sunshine: “C’mon, boys, you can do better than that! I believe in you, so you can believe in you too.”

The Narrator: “But when the effects of climbing the stairs are so very evident and present, you can’t deceive yourself into believing they’re an easy climb. Every single step aches deep in your joints, your skin feels sliced open by the mighty jaws of these oh so sharp stairs.”

Cipher: “It’s no use… We have to rest…”

Royal: “But will we ever get up again if we rest here?”

Winona: “It doesn’t matter… We can’t make it without pausing.”

Destructica: “It’s rest or die.”

Sunshine: “No! We’re so close, we can make it! We-we just have to think positive thoughts.”

Royal: “Keep going. It’s just one more step. And then just one more after that. Always just one more step. Don’t think past that. Just… just… (Sighs) It’s no use. This is it.”

Sunshine: “Nonono, we can make it. We… we can… we can’t make it…”

The Narrator: “The Princess collapses a few steps above you, as far as Royal and Sunshine were able to drag them by sheer force of will. Blood immediately seeps from their hands and knees where they touch the stairs. Sunshine is weeping.”

Sunshine: “D-damn it! We were so close, but… but it doesn’t matter, does it? We’ve lost.”

Hero: “Hey. Hey, this isn’t like you. Think about all the happy things, look at it from the bright side.”

Sunshine: “Th-there is no bright side, these stairs are just horrible and awful and miserable!”

Hero: “Well… At least we’re here with you, luv. Isn’t that a bright side?”

Sunshine: “Th-that just means you have to suffer these stairs with us…”

Hero: “Shared sorrow is half the sorrow.”

Sunshine: “B-but I hate seeing you suffer and I hate these stairs and I hate the door just… taunting us! D-don’t try to cheer me up, everything here is horrible!”

Hero: “...Yeah. Yeah, it is. But we can’t change that now, and if we were gonna be here I’m glad we’ve at least got each other for some solace. Hey, it’s gonna be okay, don’t cry.”

Sunshine: “It’s n-not… It’s not going to be okay…”

Winona: “I know how you feel… I think I feel like that all the time. If even you lost your hope, maybe there is none… But then again, all of you have taught me there’s always so much more hope than I thought. So I’m probably wrong, and then, so are you, r-right?”

· “Just rest for now. Maybe if next time we just take it slow...”

Sunshine: “No, we already took it slow, and we’re getting cut up from resting! These stairs won’t even let us rest...”

· “There’s gotta be a better way than pushing ourselves way past our limits. Some smarter way to get there…”

Royal: “Cipher?”

Cipher: “Why ask me?”

Royal: “You’re smart. If anyone can figure out another way, it’ll be you… Otherwise we have to climb.”

Cipher: “Um, uhh, what about the wall? Maybe we could walk on it…”

Sunshine: “But it looks like a wall, not a floor… We can’t walk on walls...”

Royal: “Did you really have to point that out? Ugh, let’s give it a shot anyway.”

The Narrator: “The Princess tries to stand up, but they’re simply too overexerted to manage it on their own. Royal swears under her breath and you slowly, with heavy exertion, take the two steps that separate you, taking her hand and helping pull them up. Royal leans an arm on you to prevent them from stumbling, whispering thanks from dry, chapped lips. Slowly, with your help, they move to the side, wiggling around the murderous spikes poking out from their step. Cipher raises both her feet, bracing against the other four, puts them on the wall besides the stairs, and… nothing. It’s just a wall. Gravity does not shift for them.”

Sunshine: “Great, now what?”

Hero: “I think… we just need to take it slowly, one step at a time, and take it together.”

Sunshine: “Together, huh?”

Hero: “Yeah, remember the bonds of friendship and l-love you talked about?”

Sunshine: “...Do you really think that can save us, my Hero?”

Hero: “I dunno, luv. But it feels so strong. It feels like something that should be able to save us. Like it should be able to move mountains and bust us out of here.”

Sunshine: “But it can’t… I’m sorry...”

The Narrator: “Her normally jolly voice sounds utterly deflated as you all look up the remaining stairs to the door. What seemed so close now has become an impossible mountain to climb. You just stand there, unable to bring yourselves to commit to continuing your futile journey.”

Chapter End Notes

> Surprise, we're doing a fourth chapter! The third ended up simply being too long, so I decided to split it. The final chapter to this adventure will be up in a couple days. Until then, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

## Chapter 4: To Be Anything

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The Narrator: “Stuck on the razor-sharp harsh stairs that drain you and beat you down with every step you take, you stare hopelessly at the door to the cabin, so close, yet so far away. Royal’s angry, ragged breaths and Sunshine’s sobs are the only sounds to be heard. You embrace the Princess, throwing your arms wide to envelop them all. Sunshine’s cries soften just a little.”

Contrarian: “Hey, don’t you cry, I know it’s a rather sharp turn of fortunes, but stairly there’s another way out of tear.”

The Narrator: “Royal groans and a little giggle breaks Sunshine’s sobs. Both seem just a little less tense.”

Cipher: “Other than horrid puns, does anyone have an idea? Anything at all?”

Hero: “Destructica… Are you sure you can’t do it?”

Destructica: “Do what?”

Hero: “Get us out of here. Bend the stairs to your will, just… destroy them, pulverise them, something. Please.”

Destructica: “Ah, uh, but I’m so tired… And if I destroyed the stairs, we’d be falling again.”

Hero: “If that happens, we can figure it out like we did last time. Falling wasn’t nearly as bad as this. Please, Destructica, I beg you to use your powers for good…”

The Narrator: “Destructica pulls back as if she’s trying to withdraw into her other aspects, her eyes darting away and her mouth a firm, tight-lipped line. Is that fear on her face or regret? Either way, it’s an emotion you haven’t seen on her before.”

Destructica: “Uh… I… Ohoh, but-”

Contrarian: “But we don’t need to waste Her Malignancy’s powers on these measly stairs! We can find another way. Like… plan Z! I could scream you a path up! Or! Or… what if we can walk on the wall, just not how you were doing it? Like, obviously you can’t stand on the wall, that would make it a floor. But we could still walk along it.”

Cipher: “Without a floor?”

Contrarian: “Yeah, what if we were on the wall? Like not on top, but on it like markings. Where it goes, we go. Seems to me like it would be easy if we just didn’t have all this pesky three-dimensionality. We should just become two-dimensional.”

Cipher: “Just... become two-dimensional?”

Contrarian: “Yeah! We’ve never tried it before, and things change all the time in this place. The stairs changed from three to I-don’t-know-how-many. There was one of you, and then there were five! And suddenly there were three of us! If huge numbers like five can change here, why can’t three dimensions become two? Don’t answer that, because you know they can!”

Hero: “Uhh?”

The Princess: “That’s... wild/brilliant/insane/scary/not what I expected?”

· “So we just… Step into the wall? Well, we haven’t tried it yet. Gotta be easier than the stairs.”

Cipher: “Definitely, it’s- it’s brilliant. We can just… bypass them on the wall.”

Destructica: “Reality will bow before us!”

Sunshine: “D-do you really think…?”

· “Let’s give it a shot. Together?”

The Princess: “Together!”

The Narrator: “I don’t know what you think you can accomplish with this ridiculous fantasy when you are very clearly three-dimensional beings. It is simply in your nature, impossible to change. And yet, holding hands, you step into the wall, and… (Groan)”

Contrarian: “And we get rid of that pesky third dimension!”

The Narrator: “...And this time, when your legs touch it, it is as if they become drawings on said wall. But you still feel sensation from your perfectly flat limb, which shifts on the wall as you move it. You look at each other, shrug, and take the plunge, fully stepping in. Your bodies become flat, existing only in height and width, no depth. The change feels remarkably natural, despite it being impossible to hold your arms in front and behind you now. You are no longer able to see outside the wall. Your vision consist entirely of three straight vertical lines with various markings, yet this too seems curiously natural and you find it easy to interpret what you see. Through the Hero’s eyes, you see the pale lines of the Princess, two of her now flattened faces looking back at you with curiosity. Through your own eyes, you mostly see the back of Hero’s head, and through Contrarian’s you can see the area of wall behind you.”

Cipher: “Curiouser and curiouser...”

Sunshine: “It… it worked?! It actually worked, there really was still hope! Oh, I should never have doubted, I’m so sorry I dragged you all down…”

Hero: “Hey, you wouldn’t ever drag me down, luv. If anything, you being down just encouraged me want to find a way to lift you up.”

Sunshine: “R-really? But still...”

Winona: “You can’t always be the cheerful one. It’s okay to not be okay.”

Cipher: “Yeah, we’ve all got your back. Can’t expect you to always be the one smiling.”

Royal: “If I’m allowed to crack a smile, you’re allowed to be every bit as sad and grumpy as you want.”

· “You’re all good. I’d offer you a hug, but I don’t think we can do that in two dimensions.”

Sunshine: “...I’d like to try anyway. Even if I can’t even see you; how do we turn our heads here anyway?”

Cipher: “I don’t think we do. Let Structy and Winona guide us.”

The Narrator: “You try to hug the Princess, but as expected, there’s no way to get your arms past each other, nor even to move them out of the way of your bodies. You just bump into each other.”

Sunshine: “Huh, guess that doesn’t work. Still, thank you. You’re all so sweet to me...”

Contrarian: “We should never have gone into two dimensions, it’s awful!”

Cipher: “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

Contrarian: “I’m looking the wrong way, can’t see my pretty Princesses any more. Oh, what cruel fate hath my foolish cunning wroughteth upon me?”

Destructica: “Drat, your own cunning has brought about your downfall! A classic way for a downfall to go, really.”

Contrarian: “Experienced many of those, have you? Been defeated by many a dashing Hero?”

Hero: “Hey, leave me out of this!”

Cipher: “Let’s just make sure your torment is short-lived. Let’s get going, everyone!”

The Narrator: “There are only two directions to go, forward and backward. Since the Princess is in front of you, there’s no way to see past them, so you can only blindly follow. Oh, and the disgusting handholding is obviously impossible with no way to intertwine your fingers, one of the few good things about this ridiculous situation. It takes a few steps to fall into a somewhat usable walk cycle, with your rear leg always bumping into your front whenever you try to cross them, but you manage to move forward even with one leg always in front of the other. And so you move, and keep moving until the Princess stops.”

Cipher: “I think the wall ends here.”

Sunshine: “Are you sure? It’s kind of hard to tell what we’re looking at…”

Winona: “I hope there’s something to stand on outside…”

The Narrator: “Unfortunately, you have no way of telling, nor any way of extending your vision outside your two-dimensional world.”

· “Good thing I’ve got someone who’s always been going off in strange directions. Oh my Contrarian?”

Contrarian: “Me? Oh, yeah, I can totally go stick my head into another world, gimme a moment.”

The Narrator: “The Contrarian makes an utterly unnecessary ‘Hnnnnn!’ sound before ripping his head out of the wall and back into the third dimension. It is an utter sensory assault, even after just a little while of only seeing the world as lines. You can barely process this vast field of vision.”

Contrarian: “It’s safe! Pop on out!”

The Narrator: “With a bit of effort and twisting your mind around the foreign concept of depth, you and the Princess do so, stepping out onto a broad arrangement of platforms at the top of the many spiralling, chaotic stairs. One of them, the one you just took a shortcut around, has gone completely thorny like a briar patch. You’re standing on one of the larger platforms here. There are smaller ones scattered around, some of them at odd angles or spinning around by themselves. The door to the cabin stands before you, mere metres away now. Though you feel queasy, the Princess twirls happily and laughs.”

The Princess: “We made it! Ohh,/Ah, is there anything better than this freedom of movement?”

Contrarian: “Hey, there might be. What if I stuck my head into a fourth dimension next?”

Hero: “P-please don’t, I think I might hurl…”

· “Yeah, little buddy, let’s save that trick for later maybe.”

Contrarian: “Aww, okay. Well, then lemme just use my third dimension to…”

The Narrator: “He suddenly turns to you, but you’re wise to his goofs by now and duck your head out of the way. Instead his kiss catches a startled Hero right on the beak.”

Hero: “Mmp! C-Contra, what’s that for?”

Contrarian: “Well, it was sort of a spur of the moment thing and an accident too, but a happy one! It’s for getting us in and out of the basement and being a really brave cutie pie, I suppose!”

Hero: “Hehe, th-thanks. Hey, don’t you go back yet, I’ve got one of those for you too.”

Contrarian: “Oh, great, you know I’m always up for a- mmp!”

The Narrator: “The Hero’s kiss is not like Contrarian’s. Instead of being so quick about it, he kisses him slowly, full of tenderness, piloting your arm to stroke his cheek and crest. As you look down sharply at the ground and your chest to give them space, you feel both sides of the kiss, Hero’s tender affection and Contrarian’s nervous, initially stiff surprise melting into giving himself over to it. Your other arm gets hijacked too, one caressing each of them. You let them enjoy themselves for all the time it takes before they finally break apart, Hero still petting Contrarian and giving him an affectionate little smile.”

Hero: “You are the most delightful and fun pain in the neck I can imagine. Literally in Silent’s case.”

Contrarian: “A kiss and a pun? Why don’t you just take my heart already, angel-boy?”

The Narrator: “You feel the Contrarian and the Hero kiss again behind you before they finally part and let you come back up. And of course, you immediately get a kiss on each cheek yourself. The Princess giggles as they watch the entire sordid display.”

Cipher: “You guys are so wonderfully silly.”

· “Right back at you.”

The Narrator: “The Princess shuffles their feet before Sunshine reaches out and drags you along by the hand.”

Sunshine: “Before we leave, we saw something fun and there’s a little game we wanted to play…”

The Narrator: “The Princess guides you to a little spinning platform. It rotates rapidly for a while, then stops for a few seconds, then starts spinning again, and so on. They let your hand go and flash you a series of smirks and blushes.”

The Princess: “You’ve heard of spin the bottle./bottle?/bottle, now get ready for spin the Princess!”

Hero: “Whuh?”

Contrarian: “Wah?”

· “Oh! R-right on it!”

The Narrator: “The Princess steps onto the platform and, hands clasped, waits for it to spin. They don’t have to wait long, and a quintuplet of delighted shrieks meets your ears as they turn into a blur.”

Hero: ‘Uh, so when it stops spinning, are we supposed to…?’

The Narrator: “The platform stops, and you are faced with Destructica.”

Destructica: “Well? Better not keep your destroyer wai-”

Contrarian: “Don’t worry, I got this!”

The Narrator: “The Contrarian darts forward and kisses her right on the lips. It’s salty and sharp, shockingly sensual, all tongue and biting at his lower lip. The platform spins again and they’re ripped apart, her sharp teeth dragging over his lip as he pulls back.”

Contrarian: “And that’s how you play spin the Princess, boys and birds! Heehee!”

Hero: “Did she take a bite out of you?”

Contrarian: “Heh, tried to.”

The Narrator: “The spinning comes to an end, and you are met with a deeply blushing Sunshine, her face lowered as she looks past a thick lock of hair.”

Sunshine: “Oh, hiii cutie!”

Hero: “H-hey. You, um-”

The Narrator: “You’re about to scold Hero for taking his time and making eyes at Sunshine instead of going for it when Sunshine goes for it instead. She darts forward and kisses Hero. She’s soft and flowery, tasting of strawberries and smelling of honey as thick, warm lips caress Hero’s with tender passion. All too soon, the platform spins again, centrifugal force making their hair and dresses billow around. Then it stops, once again facing you with Sunshine.”

Sunshine: “Ohhh, I must be the luckiest Princess in the world!”

The Princess: “Hey, no fair!/when is it my turn?”

The Narrator: “Sunshine’s smile widens even more as her eyes dart between Hero and you. And then she chooses you for a kiss. It feels even better with your own lips, though she’s less passionate and more exploratory. It’s gentle and lingers softly, and Hero joins in with a kiss to her cheek through the hair that centrifugal force made fall over the side of her face. Speaking of, it starts again, breaking you apart, their hair whipping you in the face. You back off a little more for your own safety until it stops and you find yourself facing Winona. For once, the tears in her eyes appear to be tears of laughter and joy. With barely any hesitation this time, Hero shoots forth and kisses her. It is wet and warm, slightly sour breath and thick, cool lips caressing him with the gentleness of someone who wants to hold on to this memory for a long time. They giggle and take a moment to touch foreheads.”

Winona: “Hehehe, look at me getting such sweet kisses. Me.”

Hero: “You deserve them all, don’t say it like that.”

The Narrator: “Before she can answer, she is pulled away by the spinning.”

Hero: “I love this game.”

Contrarian: “Sure you do, you keep getting smooches! If my darlings don’t come up soon I won’t be responsible for the consequences, which will be me smooching you guys instead.”

Hero: “Heh, wouldn’t that be a real shame?”

The Narrator: “The rotation stops and you are faced with a rather woozy-looking Royal, hair falling over half her face. She dizzily orients herself as all three of you freeze.”

- “Oh. Uh, hey. You, uh, don’t have to-”

The Narrator: “With sudden sharp, laser-focused movements, she advances and catches you right on the mouth. Shocked, you let her take the lead. She tastes bitter and earthy like black coffee, her lips chapped, yet pleasantly rough on yours. She smells of the campfire, her calloused hand gently scraping over your cheek. Her sharp little nose bumps into your beak and her loosened hair tangles most pleasantly with your feathers. You finally break apart and she gives you a cocky little smirk.”

Royal: “That is how the game goes, right? Did I win?”

The Narrator: “As she spins away, the other Princesses whoop and congratulate her. So do your Voices, right next to your ears. Loudly. Then the spinning stops and you’re faced with Sunshine again.”

Cipher and Contrarian: “Again?!”

The Narrator: “Laughing loudly, Sunshine and Hero kiss each other. It’s not much of a kiss, more of a mouth-to-mouth exchange of giggles. And as they break apart, Sunshine sees fit to taunt Cipher and Contrarian’s grumbling.”

Sunshine: “You two are just grumpy because my lovely little Hero is getting all the kisses he deserves!”

The Narrator: “The Princess becomes a blur again before finally stopping with Cipher facing you.”

Contrarian: “Finally! Last, but the very opposite of least!”

Cipher: “Cheers, sweetie. Now how about you stop wasting time and kiss me before we lose our turn?”

The Narrator: “She says it with a saucy little headcock, her tongue practically wagging in her mouth. And Contrarian obliges. Her kisses are smooth and playful, all little breaks and returns and bits of tongue poking around. And as they break up, just before the spinning starts again, Cipher simply blows a strand of hair out of her face and winks at him. Royal comes up next, her kiss less surprising this time but all the nicer in its curious, yet affectionate coolness. Then Destructica, and then Cipher twice. And on that third turn, to your surprise, she goes for you rather than Contrarian. You didn’t expect that and you stand there stiff and overwhelmed while she caresses your lips. Contrarian shrugging your shoulders and going for a cheek kiss on you doesn’t make you any less surprised. But you become capable of thought again and start getting into it and reciprocating when Cipher pulls back and gives you a blushy smirk.”

Cipher: “What’s the surprise for? I’ve been waiting to do that for a while now.”

The Narrator: “Winona comes up next, then Destructica, and so the game goes on for a happy while. One kiss after the other, you’d think you lot would get tired of it, but what eventually ends it is not boredom, but dizziness as the Princess stumbles off their platform.”

Winona: “Sorry, sorry, I really can’t stay on there any longer! AaAaaaAaAaa so dizzy...”

Sunshine: “I think you guys got me all lightheaded…”

Destructica: “Ohhh, the world is spinning… Is it gonna spin itself apart?”

Royal: “That… might have been too much fun…”

Cipher: “Ohhh, feels like we all swapped places… I’d walk, but I don’t think I can tell my arms and legs apart.”

The Narrator: “You rush to support them, letting three arms flop over your shoulders as you help them stand. They are quite the sight, all dishevelled and dizzy, wobbling around, fluffed up hair flopping over faces and tiaras all askew. So you help them. With many a giggle and little stolen kiss, you tenderly brush hair back behind reddened ears. You straighten tiaras and sleeves and support the giggling, wobbly mess that is the Princess. The way they’re touching you is rather excessive, they definitely don’t need that many hands to keep their balance, and some of those hands are hardly supporting them.”

The Princess: “We should go~ooo!/leave already!”

Hero: “Heh, don’t you think you should be capable of standing on your own legs first?”

The Narrator: “Destructica and Sunshine exchange a conspiratorial glance even as they trip over each other’s feet, only the Princess’s multitude of others and your support keeping them standing.”

Destructica: “Nahh… Standing on your own legs is overrated.”

Sunshine: “They’ll be up in the air soon enough!”

Contrarian: “Oh-oh?”

Hero: “Ah, uh, r-right.”

· “Buh. I m-mean, that sounds fantastic actually.”

Cipher: “Oh, you little minxes. Look at that, you’ve gone and flustered Silent and the boys. Such a shame. I like this plan.”

Winona: “Y-yeah! Me too! Hehe. We should get out of here now.”

Royal: “We don’t even have our freedom yet, and you lot are already deciding to use it on this? Heh, good.”

The Narrator: “With the three of you too flustered to talk, you stumble through the door together, arm in arm, while all the rest of their arms twiddle, caress, and stroke you. The cabin is- Um, don’t you want to hear about the cabin again? No, you just cross this extremely unusual space without a second thought, eager as you are to destroy the world. You are a pair of abominations, you know that? You step outside, leaning on each other.”

Hero: ‘Oh, look at their faces glow and light up… It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

The Narrator: “As you step into the world, half breaking into a kind of dance pace to celebrate your mutual joy, the Princess draws a breath to say something. Only for one too many feet to hook behind one another on the hill's slope.”

The Princess: “Waaah!/Ohhh no!/Eeeep!”

The Narrator: “You try to support them, but they are already barrelling down the flowery hillside, dragging you along. You roll and bounce, past the pristine blade lying amidst glass shards, picking up speed as you go.”

· “Good thing we’re falling towards the forest! We’ll definitely land in a soft, thick, and comfy bed of moss there!”

The Narrator: “You bounce a few times, the world spins, and your momentum keeps you going even into the woods, where you ultimately land, with a big soft leafy poof, in a large, thick bank of moss that must once have been some sort of stack of decaying logs. All things considered, you are surprisingly unhurt, in part thanks to the moss and in part thanks to you, for once, landing on top of the Princess, all entangled in their multitude of legs.”

· “Woah, are you okay?”

Cipher: “Liiittle dizzy, but real good… We’re finally free!”

Sunshine: “Ohh perfect idea with the moss bed, now I’ve got you right where I want you.”

The Narrator: “She gives you a coquettish little wave as she looks up at you through her eyelashes.”

Hero: “Gosh, you’re lovely…”

Cipher: “Don’t rush ahead too fast now, how’s everyone else? Nona? How are you doing down there in the moss, sweetie?”

Winona: “’m good, it’s real nice and soft…”

The Narrator: “Winona, who’s on the bottom, raises her head a bit, a smile on her stained, mossy face, hair full of twigs and bits of dry moss.”

Royal: “Oh, you’re a mess.”

Winona: “Could’ve been worse. It can always be worse. This is nice.”

Royal: “Just so long as you don’t think we’re leaving you down there the whole time.”

Destructica: “Yeah, you’re getting a turn with the birds while one of us eats moss too! Or maybe we’ll just ram them into the moss! Ahh, so many possibilities, freedom at last!”

Royal: “Is this freedom, though? What about the walls?”

Destructica: “Walls?”

The Narrator: “She snaps her fingers and the walls surrounding the woods… crumble into ruin. It begins… She smiles her sharp teeth bare.”

Destructica: “What walls?”

The Narrator: “Fourteen eyes stare out in surprise.”

The Princess: “How did you/Have you always been able to do that?”

Destructica: “You underestimate my power, that was ea zed pea zed.”

Contrarian: “Hey, that’s my line!”

Cipher: “They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, sweetheart.”

Contrarian: “Aww, does that mean you like meeee?”

The Narrator: “Destructica hisses affectionately and pulls Contrarian closer to her, sharp nails digging into plumage.”

Destructica: “If I bite you real hard as an answer, will you take that as a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?”

Sunshine: “Hey now, if you’re gonna bite him real hard, do it on his head or neck, just make sure you don’t harm my darlings.”

Destructica: “What, you expect me not to bite them?”

Winona: “...I- I think I’d like my-”

Sunshine: “Nibbles are one thing, just don’t rip a chunk out of them or anything while we’re doing this.”

Hero: “D-doing what?”

The Narrator: “Sunshine bats her eyelids at you, a blush on her cheeks, while Destructica bites her lip and stares a hole in your soul and Cipher winks and smirks. A pair of legs, you’re not sure whose, wraps around your waist.”

Cipher: “You, basically.”

Hero: “Oh, r-right. We, uh, figured.”

Sunshine: “Ehehe, nervous, cuties?”

Contrarian: “Not me! I can’t wait to be the first part of the world to be ravaged by Structy!”

Destructica: “Too late, already did the wall.”

Contrarian: “Aww. I thought I was your first.”

Destructica: “Firsts are overrated anyway.”

Hero: “I… I am nervous, but y’know, excited.”

· “Yeah, this feels right.”

The Narrator: “You are drawn into a tight embrace by their multitude of arms, stroking and holding you, your legs getting tangled up in yet more of theirs. You are touched in so many places at once, and you find yourself wiggling involuntarily at the wonderful, tingly feeling suffusing you as they run their fingers through your feathers. You have never experienced just how many limbs they have quite this viscerally, with so many of them caressing you and driving your excitement, already built high from the kissing game and the many lingering touches along the way out, to a fever pitch. The heat their bodies produce together is powerful and overwhelming in your intimate embrace. Anywhere you can look, anywhere you can touch, there is Princess. You rub your own body against theirs with happy, crooning sounds, you and your voices stealing plenty of kisses.”

Hero: “So we’re all, um, feeling this, right?”

Cipher: “What, horny? Yeah.”

Sunshine: “Cipher, you cad! But she’s not wrong, cutie…”

Winona: “I-I do feel it, I think I’d like-”

Destructica: “Hell yeah!”

Royal: “Not me, but you go ahead.”

The Narrator: “Everyone comes to a stop, you shuffle off to the side past Cipher to talk to Royal. There’s a little smile tugging at her face.”

Royal: “Hey now, I just said you lot don’t need to stop on my account. I’m fine being along for the ride, I just don’t think I’m really interested in joining in.”

Cipher: “Are you sure?”

Royal: “Yeah. They’re fun and all, and like, I get it. They seem like very attractive birds, and I’m kind of into at least one of them. Look, I’m on board, I just don’t feel the need to be part of it myself. You lot have fun now.”

· “Are you really okay with it, then? Like, isn’t it gonna be weird for you?”

The Narrator: “She gives you a quick little kiss and the tight-lipped, yet warm smile you’ve only started seeing so recently.”

Royal: “What, I get to experience all the fun second-hand while not having to get involved myself? Sounds like a great time honestly. Seriously, enjoy yourselves. I’ll take my turn in the moss, Winona, you go have fun.”

Winona: “Oh, thanks! It is comfy, you know, but I’d like to, heh, well, you know…”

The Narrator: “They roll over towards you, Royal folding her arms to comfortably lie at the bottom, Cipher just about rolling on top of you.”

Cipher: “Good thing your quick thinking got us a real nice bed. Now, how about we- mmp!”

The Narrator: “Ugh, and then you cut her off with a big, sensual kiss, caressing her cheeks and catching her gasp in you.”

Cipher: “W-woah. I wasn’t expecting that.”

· “Wanted to make up for that spin the Princess kiss being a bit stiff. This one better?”

Cipher: “Much…”

Contrarian: “My turn now! Hey, there’s an idea. Let’s take turns, big bird!”

Cipher: “T-turns?”

The Narrator: “Before she can process what he said, he kisses her, full of playful salaciousness and little hair pulls. And then as soon as they break apart, you fill in, and so you and the Contrarian take turns kissing Cipher with tantalising intensity, letting your hands run over her body and that of the others, as far as you can reach. Three hands, belonging to Cipher and Sunshine, love you back with at least as much intensity, stroking and massaging down your back and sides. You can tell which ones are Cipher’s by the tremors that go through them. Having to keep up with both of you, your kisses leave her utterly red in the face, out of breath, and soaked with sweat. She tries to mumble something but you cut her off with yet another passionate kiss, leaving the clever, chatty Princess completely thoughtless and out of words, her hands just twitching in place while Sunshine grabs you around the waist, finding a soft roll under your feathers and lovingly letting her fingers grope and roll it. You really are all in on this disgusting train, aren’t you?”

Contrarian: “Yeah! All aboard the disgusting train to Bangville!”

The Narrator: “Ugh. You realise the world is about to end, right, and this is how you’re choosing to spend it? Just look at Destructica’s smug grin.”

Contrarian: “Thanks for the suggestion, I’m gonna go look at it from much closer by!”

The Narrator: “Aaaand he directs you to just about leap at her, leaving the utterly spent and barely responsive Cipher to catch her breath. You flop across Sunshine’s lap and hit Destructica a bit too hard, with less of a kiss and more of an impact reverberating in Contrarian’s teeth.”

Sunshine: “Ow! Hey now, be careful with her!”

Destructica: “I -mmp!- don’t mind at all. I like it rough!”

Sunshine: “Of course you do, but not all of us were poured from invincible evil juice… Hmpf, they’re not listening to me. Too busy having evil makeouts. Do you think he actually enjoys having her hand clutched around his throat like that? Oh well, looks like I get the good bits.”

Hero: “You mean me, ri- eep!”

The Narrator: “(Sighs) And with that, she slaps your butt, which has ended up on her lap, and then proceeds to squeeze and fondle it and its general area, while pulling it even closer onto her.”

Sunshine: “Ehehe, of course I mean you, cutie. Both you and Silent. But don’t forget the goodies.”

The Narrator: “Ugh, and she kisses Hero while continuing to fondle you in increasingly lascivious ways, while there’s an absolutely disgusting snogfest going on on your other side. Hmpf, and… of course neither of them leaves you out of it. And when they do give you some space to yourself, you use it to nibble on their ears.”

Contrarian: ‘You sound so upset, mr. the Narrator, but we’re finally gonna do what you’ve been telling us all along and lay the Princess. Sorry it took so long.’

The Narrator: “Slay. I said slay- Ugh, why am I even humouring you?

Contrarian: ‘Can we rub their boobs now? Pretty please?’

· You should ask them, not me.

Contrarian: “Oh right. Uh, h-hey, Structy, babe?”

Destructica: “Is that any way to address your conqueror, my little bonbon?”

Contrarian: “Heh, alright, so, Your Majesty-”

Royal: “She’s a highness, not a majesty. Your majesty is used for kings and queens only.”

Contrarian: “I mean, Your Malevolence. I, uh, wanted to ask you something.”

Destructica: “Yes? Out with it!”

Contrarian: “Heh, uh, it’s funny you should put it like that-”

Cipher: “Aww, are you feeling shy?”

Contrarian: “No! I wouldn’t, that’s not me at-”

Hero: “Hey, luv? Would it, uh, be okay if we rubbed your boobs?”

The Narrator: “It would not! How hard is it to understand that the only reason your hand should find itself near the chest of a Princess is to stick a blade in there?”

The Princess: “Yes!/Please do…”

Sunshine: “I’ve been waiting for you to do so! C’mere, you!”

Contrarian: “What? How are you the one bold enough to ask?”

· “I mean, he is called Hero for a reason.”

Hero: “Heh, thanks, I just thought it would be really funny if I said it first.”

Contrarian: “Ohh, you’re starting to learn. Not bad, angel-boy!”

The Narrator: “Sunshine, holding your hand, brings it to her bodice, and stuffs it in there unceremoniously, dimples creasing at the edges of her mouth and her cheeks gleaming red. Before your other hand can do anything, Contrarian takes it over and sends it to Destructica’s chest. I will not describe what either of you are doing there.”

Contrarian: ‘Are you having trouble finding words? I could provide some: ‘Soft’, ‘Heavy’, ‘Groping’, ‘Bouncy’, ‘Ample’, ‘Squeeze’, ‘Tweak’, -’

The Narrator: “I assure you, I am far more capable of finding the right words than you are. My skills are simply wasted on the actions of you… you harlots! It’s absolutely scandalous, and I...”

· “The Narrator says we’re harlots.”

Sunshine: “You do have your hand down two of our tops, y’know.”

Winona: “Hey, um, haha, speaking of, I-I think I’d like my-”

Contrarian: “Ohh, well, if that’s the problem, we can fix it by just taking down their tops. Tadaa! Hehe, much better.”

Destructica: “Ohoh, a clever and innovative solution, I do like a pro-active henchman.”

Hero: “Shh, you guys are interrupting Winona. What’s up, dear?”

Winona: “Oh? I… I thought you’d forgotten about me...”

Hero: “I’m sorry, Nona, I promise I could never forget about you, I’ll be on my way as soon as possible, alright?”

Royal: “Good. I was about to start calling attention to her. You really gotta project your voice more, you know.”

Sunshine: “Oh, you’re not going anywhere quite yet, hehe.”

Destructica: “Yeah, you’d better do some more of that first.”

Hero: ‘They do feel fantastic, don’t they?’

Contrarian: “Amazing… And… and that thing with the knee… Ahhh I love you all… Destructica, Cipher, and the rest of you too, just feels like I haven’t had as much time with you!”

· “Shame the Narrator’s not here any more to describe this. Would’ve been fun to hear his conniptions.”

Contrarian: “Yeah, imagine how much he’d have to dance around the word ‘boob’.”

Cipher: “Enjoying yourselves, huh?”

· “Yeah. Shame we only have two hands…”

Sunshine: “We’ve got plenty, we can take very good care of you with them.”

· “Believe me, I’m well aware.”

Destructica: “Good thing you have three beaks too. Best put them to work!”

Hero: “We’d love to, but first I wanna be with Winona.”

Sunshine: “Aww. Do you have to go?”

Cipher: “Girls. Everyone gets to have a turn.”

Royal: “Yeah, don’t be selfish.”

Sunshine: “Yeah, you’re right. Go get her, cutie!”

Destructica: “Well, you’ll find I don’t give up my prey so easily.”

Contrarian: “I know, but you can still easily dig your claws into us when we’re with Winona. We’ll be right next to you.”

Destructica: “But how are you gonna get there when I do this?”

· “That does make things harder, but-”

Winona: “...Hey, what happened to the Destructica who supported me so sweetly? Guess it’s back to talking-over-me Structy, always-louder-and-more-attention-drawing-than-me Structy, and interrupting-me Structy…”

Destructica: “Oh. Huh. Yeah, guess I do do that a bit. Sorry, Winona. Uh, be on your way then, I guess.”

Winona: “Thank you.”

Sunshine: “You really aren’t the monster you pretend to be, are you?”

Destructica: “Am too!”

Cipher: “It’s a fun mask you wear, I’ll say that.”

With a hiss at her counterparts, Destructica lets go of her three-limbed vicegrip on your body and lets you roll off to the side, landing with a poof in the soft moss bed next to Winona. She’s lying on her side, eyes wide and shifty, face flustered and still carrying moss stains. Below her you once again see Royal, half sunk into the moss, lying with her head sideways on a folded arm. A nervous little smile and a lip bite flash over Winona’s face when you join her and embrace her tightly. You start preening the bits of plant out of her long, flowing hair.

Winona: “Oh, finally.”

Hero: “Sorry, they were being very distracting. I promise you you were always on my mind.”

· “Sorry, we haven’t paid you enough attention. Not now and not during any part of the journey, really.”

Winona’s smile is a little sad.

Winona: “It’s okay, I’m used to it. I’m a bit of an afterthought by nature. The rest of me doesn’t pay me that much attention either. I get it, I’m like the worst of us.”

Royal: “Hey no, don’t you talk like that!”

Cipher: “That’s not true, Nona, you’re no afterthought.”

Sunshine: “You’re a part of a beautiful whole, there is no worst of us.”

Destructica: “I’m proud to be the worst of us, and if you want to take that title you’d best be ready to fight for it, sister.”

Contrarian: “Look, I know what the worst of someone looks like, and it sure isn’t you.”

· “You deserve as much attention as the rest of you. You matter to us all, Winona.”

The Princess: “Yeah!/You do!”

Hero: “And now we’re gonna give you all you’re owed.”

Winona: “Aww, th-that’s so… Thank you… I-I… You g-got me crying again…”

Hero gently dries her tears.

Hero: “Hey, it’s okay.”

Winona: “I know… Structy taught me that. Mmmm, you know, that thing you’re doing with your leg makes me feel a lot more loved already…”

Hero: “Excellent. How ‘bout this?”

He kisses a Winona humming with joy as you caress a body trembling with love, while the other aspects of the Princess brush their hands through her hair. Yet despite all the tender touches you give her, she never seems to touch you back, her hand curled up nervously somewhere around her stomach. But it’s not for lack of enjoyment: it’s rare that you’ve seen a smile this unconstrained on her face.

Winona: “Mmm, much better…”

Hero: “You sounded like you had a plan, though. Or an idea maybe?”

Winona: “Ehehe, well… Yes…”

Hero: “Alright, I’m all ears. What do you want us to do?”

Winona: “It’s… it’s just a silly little thought I had...”

Hero: “Wanna drop a hint?”

Winona: “Well, uh, m-maybe it’s a bit much…”

Hero: “Nah, c’mon, I wanna know. I wanna make you feel right.”

Destructica: “Out with it, sister! Make him do your bidding!”

Winona: “I, I, I… want you to eat my pussy! I-I really need it ate right now, okay?”

Hero: “O-oh! I see!”

Winona: “P-please?”

The Princess’s other voices whoop and giggle and pat Winona on the shoulder and head. Contrarian starts to say something but you quickly hold his beak shut.

Hero: “With pleasure, your Majesty.”

Winona flusters as you start slowly drifting down her body, teasing and caressing it, Hero smiling up at her the whole time.

Winona: “I-I’m not a-”

Hero: “Nah, you are a queen, and I’m gonna treat you like one.”

Winona: “Eeeee…”

Soon, Winona is screaming in delight as he does exactly as she wishes. She finds herself in pure bliss as she is loved by all those around her, Destructica joining in, kissing and caressing her upper body with precious softness, while you and Contrarian kiss her thigh. The beautiful music of her oh-so-rare joy that the rest of you help him bring her to only encourages Hero. When she finally comes, the exhilaration of it clearly goes through the other aspects of the Princess too, but to them it is not quite a climax. Rather, you find yourself faced with three very love-hungry aspects all over you immediately, while Royal gives Winona a gentle handkiss and headpat and dries her forehead with a piece of moss. And so your lovemaking in your soft bed continues in a long, happy daze. You don’t stay on top for long, with the needy Princess eager to have fun of their own, and they keep you very busy, except when Royal calls a time-out to give you time to catch your breath. Even then, the always tactile Sunshine continues to caress you. Although Royal doesn’t get directly involved herself, she has a good time butting in with the occasional commentary and kissing many a hand or forehead after someone is absolutely spent. The Princess, for all the strange surprises and shapes you discover as you explore more of them, is truly beautiful. In the end, all of you lie tangled together in your bed of moss. Tired hands lovingly stroke any feathers or skin they can find. Resting your head on Cipher's sweaty chest, you softly smile up at her.

· “That was… amazing.”

Contrarian: “And absolutely chaotic!

Winona: “Thank you… I’ve never felt so good before.”

Sunshine: “It’s cold… but not where you touch us. More of that, please.”

Destructica: “Look, the world is vanishing. Hm. I thought it would be a lot more intense and explosive…”

Hero: “That felt plenty intense and explosive to me.”

Royal: “Maybe… this isn’t the end, but something else. Something’s gotta end for something else to begin. Maybe you’ll get to destroy things later.”

Destructica: “Yeah. I like that idea. No sense in ending the world just once, we’d get so bored.”

Cipher: “I think… it’s time to go. Thank you, my darlings, for all you gave us…”

She gives you one final soft, tender kiss, and then something takes them away, leaving only the memory to linger on you.

Chapter End Notes

> And with that we come to the end of this grand adventure. This was a really heavy one to write, it grew a lot in the telling, so I'm delighted it's finally all out there. Please remember to leave me a comment telling me what you think of it! It's all I ask in return.

> Many thanks to GettingMetaphysical, and ASpooky, who essentially beta read the last two chapters with me live on call. Extra special thanks go to GettingMetaphysical, whose fantastic Stranger kissing animation inspired the spin the Princess scene.

## Afterword

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