Horror Night (KronFau)

Fauna stared blankly at her TV screen. It was turned on, showing a series of Youtube videos she searched for. She sighed and leaned back on the sofa. She looked at the ceiling.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Kronii?” She asked.

She heard tumbling in her kitchen.

“Of course I’m sure!” She could hear some shakiness in the clock’s voice. “I’m not gonna be the one who puts on the maid outfit!”

Fauna slowly closed her eyes.

“…But I don’t want to watch this again…” She whimpered.

She recalled the last Council meeting that lead to this…

---

“You wanna do a horror movie night?”

Mumei chimed in when they were getting ready to leave the office. Bae noticed her staring at her.

“…Why are you looking at me?” She shakily asked.

The owl smiled.

“It’ll be fun!” She answered.

Bae slowly moved away. “I… don’t think so…” She hid behind Sana.

“Meimei, why do you want to kill Bae?” Sana asked.

Mumei tried to run up to grab Bae, but they ended up running in circles around Sana.

“Aww c’mon!” Mumei said, “She’s not gonna die!”

“Why me?!” Bae kept dodging the owl. “You have other victims!”

Mumei stopped her assault and sharply turned her head around. The other girls who were enjoying their antics quickly looked away. Fauna, IRyS and Kronii tried to avoid her gaze to no avail.

“Ooh! We could to a sleepover!” Mumei exclaimed.

Fauna sighed as she made a pained face, accepting her fate.

“…Can the movie not be super scary…?” She tried asking.

Mumei smiled at her.

“I’ll consider it.”

Fauna sighed again. She went to Kronii’s armchair and sat down, waiting for the response of the other girls.

Mumei turned to IRyS.

“…You’re going to tell me the movie title if you want me to watch it.” She told her.

“I’m not letting you spoil yourself, IRyS.” Mumei replied.

The nephilim frowned.

“Why not?!” She pointed at the warden. “Kronii would do it too!”

“How dare you include me in this.” Kronii grabbed her finger and pulled it down. “I’m not watching anything.”

“What’s wrong, Kroninii?” Sana smirked at her. “Are you scared?”

Kronii angrily smiled at her. She knew full well Sana was just teasing her but somehow her tone of voice managed to tick her off a little. She shook her head and tried to move on, but—

“Yeah, Kronii!” Bae egged her on. “Ya chicken?”

“Excuse me???” Bae’s interjection didn’t help with Kronii’s mood. She walked towards the rat. “You’ll literally cry, Bae.”

“HUH?!” Bae finally decided to stop hiding behind Sana. “NO I WON’T!”

Fauna got up to grab Kronii. Sana did the same with Bae. Fortunately, neither of them had to put much strength to stop them. Meanwhile, Mumei calmly walked to her throne and sat down. She quietly watched them like this was all part of her plan.

“—Do I need to remind you how you actually cried with Outlast?!” Kronii yelled at her.

“Kronii, you weren’t even there!” Bae almost pounced at her. Sana had to lift the rat to stop her. “You don’t even play horror games!”

“What?! Yes I do!” Kronii shot back. “And I don’t even get scared!”

Meanwhile, Fauna pulled on Kronii’s sleeve.

“Yeah, that lady with the baby carriage in that Chilla’s Art game was so not—” Fauna stopped when Kronii glared at her. “…Sorry.”

IRyS slowly moved to Mumei’s throne.

“Don’t include me in this fight…” She hid behind it. “I just wanted the support of my comrade-in-wiki-pages…”

“Okay, then how about this?!” Bae spoke up. “Let’s make a bet!”

Everyone listening to the fight suddenly got more interested. Sana and Fauna looked at each other. They lightly nodded and let go of them. It seemed that was enough to calm Kronii down so Space and Nature went to sit down to watch the rest of their argument.

“Okay, sure!” Kronii smirked . “Let’s say… whoever screams the most loses.”

Fauna and Mumei immediately turned away from her.

“Pffft…” They had to try really hard to stop themselves from laughing.

Kronii glared at the both of them.

“HEY!”

“No, no… I’m sorry.” Still laughing, Fauna tried to cover her face. “Don’t mind me…”

“I’m just…” Mumei tried to do the same. “IRyS told me a really, really good joke…”

The warden slowly turned to the poor nephilim, her eyes glowing with killing intent. IRyS simply smiled, trying to avoid the worst outcome.

“Y-yeah… haha…” IRyS told her sweating buckets. “You know me… the VComedian…”

Kronii shook her head.

“…I’ll deal with you later.”

As Kronii directed her attention back to Bae, IRyS stared at her with her mouth open. She turned to Mumei and poked her cheek. The owl was still trying to hold back her laughter.

“…I’m sorry.” She said.

The poking turned into pinching.

“Now you have to tell me the title.” IRyS told her.

“Ohkhaaaayyyy…” Mumei tried to make her let go. “Shusht don’t thell Kwonii…”

“She’ll be too focused on stabbing me to ask…” IRyS sighed. “Can’t I switch places with Fauna…?”

Mumei giggled a little bit more as they turned their attention back to the fight.

“Bruh. You really think I’ll scream more?” Bae gave Kronii a smug smile. “I bet you’ll lose it with every little sound.”

“…But you do the same thing, Bae.” Sana pointed out.

Bae’s smile quivered after hearing Sana. She waved her hand at her, trying to make her shut up.

“See?” Kronii laughed. “No one thinks you’ll win!”

“…You know, I feel the both of you will scream just as much but—” The both of them turned to look at Sana. “—Never mind, keep goin’."

“…ANYWAYS.” Bae attempted to continue. “Loser has to…” Her eyes slowly turned to the side while she’s coming up with a punishment. “Uh…”

Fauna noticed her struggles and got up. She walked behind Kronii and started gesturing towards Bae. Once she caught her attention she started acting. She bowed and lifted her skirt a little. Bae tilted her head in response. Fauna continued by mimicking a broom and sweeping the floor, then cleaning the furniture.

“…Be a maid for a… week…?” Bae squinted her eyes, barely understanding what Fauna did. “Wait, won’t I have to do that if I lo—”

“Fine!” Kronii accepted without thinking. “You’ll have to wear an outfit, too!”

Fauna smiled at Kronii’s back, glad that her warden mentioned the punishment she actually wanted. She made a fist pump, whispering a “Yeah!”

Hearing what just happened made everyone else smile. They imagined the possibilities with Kronii or Bae in their new outfits.

“Win, win…” Mumei whispered to herself.

“…Yeah.” IRyS whispered back.

“Can we order you around?” Sana chimed in. “Like, do chores and stuff?”

Kronii smirked.

“Obviously!” She walked over to Bae and pat her head. “I hope you have proper training~.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?!” Bae shook her off, her face now flushed because of the sudden pampering.

Kronii quickly poked the rat’s cheek then walked to sit down on Fauna’s rocking chair.

“Well I’m not gonna teach you anything ~.” She said.

She rocked back and forth a few times before realizing what just happened. Her eyes widened. “W-wait a minute.” She looked at Fauna who’s staring at her with a pained smile. “Did I just—”

“So it’ll be at your place, Meimei?” Sana quickly interjected while Kronii started regretting everything.

They owl crossed her arms.

“What? Why in my place?”

“Well if we’re gonna torture ourselves for your entertainment, you could at least invite us over!” Sana replied.

“And make us food!” IRyS added. “I want some of that seafood pasta you keep raving about!”

“Hrrrrnnn…”

Mumei tilted her head and mumbled a list of things she’d have to do to make sure everyone’s comfortable.

“You don’t have to do everything by yourself, Mumei.” Fauna reassured her while reaching her arms out towards Kronii, trying to calm her down. “We can all pitch in.”

Mumei slightly smiled at her.

“…Alright, fine.” She conceded.

“…But only if the movie isn’t too scary.” Fauna quickly added.

The owl giggled. Everyone stared at her with pleading eyes. Everyone except for Kronii, who was still coming to terms with the consequences of her actions.

“Now that’s asking for too much.” Mumei told them.

“Pleaaaaaaase?” They all said.

Mumei couldn’t handle their cute faces. She giggled some more and covers her face.

“Okaaaaaay…”

The girls celebrated their victory and started scheduling their pajama party. Different ideas were thrown around: bringing themed pajamas, making it a marathon, everyone bringing the snacks they like the most to share….

Once they set a date and finished planning, they finally left the office for the day. They all said their goodbyes and started walking outside. Mumei left with Sana and Bae after getting interested in the snacks they mentioned during the emergency meeting.

“Ooh, can we go pick up Ina at her place?” Sana asked. “I remember she said she wanted to try some snacks too.”

“By pick up I hope you don’t mean having to wake her up and carry her.” Bae told her.

“Don’t worry, I can do that myself!” Sana responded.

“That sounds like kidnapping.” Mumei said while looking for her car keys. “Not that I mind.”

“Mumeeeeiiii, don’t forget to tell me the movieeeee.” IRyS called out to her.

“I will if I decide on oooone.” Mumei looked at the nephilim, she had puppy eyes. “I promise!”

“I’m gonna haunt your dreams if you don’t!” IRyS threatened her.

“That doesn’t sound bad!” Mumei turned around and kept walking.

“Grrrr…” IRyS growled and pulled out her phone.

“Heyne… Reine, I need some helpne…” She immediately started blushing after saying that. “Oh shut up, you already said HiRyS… Can I come over?”

Fauna watched everyone leave with a smile on her face, very relieved she managed to convince Mumei to tone down the torture. She slowly got up from the armchair to grab her bag. Just then, she felt something tugging at her sleeve.

“Hm?”

She looked to her side. She found a meek warden stealing glances at her. Fauna noticed she even had a slight blush on her face. She gave her a warm smile.

“Hey…” Kronii started.

“Kroniichiwa, Kronii.” She replied.

Kronii pouted.

“What’s wrong, sugar?” Fauna asked.

“Don’t call me that!” Kronii pulled on her sleeve some more. “…And, there’s nothing wrong, but…” The warden looked away.

Fauna moved closer to her and pat her head.

“What is it then, honey?”

“You freakin’—!” Kronii glared at her, she’s turned beet red now. “I was just… wondering if you could… we could…”

Fauna noticed her fidgeting. What could she need that she’d act this way? She tilted her head while staring at her. Was there anything she’d be embarrassed to tell her girlfriend? The smile didn’t leave Fauna’s face.

Cuuuuute… She thought.

“It’s a bit too late to go on a date, Kronii.” She told her.

“WHAT?!” Kronii’s face couldn’t get any redder. “I- I KNOW, JUST—!”

She quickly let go of Fauna so she could grab her bag. The kirin could only giggle watching how Kronii struggled explaining herself.

“Why can’t I just—?” She sighed. She walked back to Fauna with her shoulders slumped. She took a deep breath, then tried to put on airs.

“You come here often?” She asked.

Fauna stared at her. Her smile turned dry making Kronii look away, full of regret.

“…What is it, Kronii?” She coldly asked.

Completely defeated, Kronii made a pleading face.

“…Could we… watch something together?” She finally asked.

Fauna blinked, then tilted her head.

“You mean like, something scary?”

Kronii nodded.

“You know who you’re asking this to, right?!” Fauna continued.

Kronii suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders.

“I can’t ask anyone else!!!” She pleaded.

Fauna tried to shake her off, but Kronii simply grabbed her arm or held her face instead.

“Uuuuuu!!!” Kronii’s desperation slowly whittled down Fauna’s defense. “I’m not watching two scary movies, Kronii!”

“It doesn’t have to be a movie!!!” Kronii moved to block the exit when Fauna escaped her clutches. “I know you watched other stuff with Reine!”

Fauna frowned at her.

“Stop stalking me!!!”

“Stalking?! I would never!” Kronii scoffed in response. “And t-that’s beside the point!!!”

“Uh-huh.” Fauna crossed her arms. “But I’m preeeeetty sure I remember someone saying she doesn’t get scared.”

“Pfft…” Kronii continued scoffing. “Of course! I just… you know…” She laughed . “I’d like to guarantee my win!”

Fauna lips slowly curled into an evil grin.

“…Alright.” She grabbed Kronii’s hand. “Let’s go.”

“R-right now?”

“Yeah!” She walked alongside Kronii as they exit the office. “It’s better to start your training early, right?”

Kronii slowly nodded.

“I know exactly what to watch…”

---

Fauna leaned in while she sat on the couch. She put her hands on her face as she shook her head.

“I know I said all that, but…” She slowly looked up to her TV. “But I really don’t want to watch this again…”

She scrolled all the way down in Alex Kister’s uploads to the start of The Mandela Catalogue. All those faces in the thumbnails staring back at her filled her with dread.

“…Where were you supposed to start…?” Her eyes moved to the second video. “Oh, wait… there’s a playlist…”

She clicked around to reach the first season’s playlist.

“Uuu…” She whimpered.

“Faunaaaa.”

Kronii’s voice made her jump.

“W-what is it?”

She turned to the kitchen and watched Kronii as she was searching for something.

“Where’s the cereal…?” She asked.

Fauna stares at her.

“Kronii you’re not eating cereal for this.” She told her.

“Huh?!” Kronii turned around with a frown on her face. “Why not?!”

“You’re going to make a mess!” Fauna fired back. “Just get normal snacks!”

“Cereal is normal!” Kronii said.

“If you spill anything you’re sleeping on the couch!” Fauna threatened her. “And I’m taking the cats with me!”

Kronii pouted. “…Fiiiine…”

She ended up bringing cookies, fruit and some tea.

“…Are you eating breakfast?” Fauna asked.

“Nah, I already ate my subway.” She told her with a grin.

Fauna winced in pain. “Oh my god…”

“What?!”

“Nothing…” Fauna just shook her head.

Kronii put the snacks on the table and sat down next to the kirin.

“…So, what are we watchi— what is that."

Kronii’s eyes widened while she stared at the TV. The screen showed the thumbnail of the first video with a man and a… another… man… staring back at her.

“That’s going to be your practice for today.” Fauna told her with a small smile.

“…You know what?” Kronii smiled and started to get up. “I’m good. I’m going to bed.”

“No, no, no.” Fauna grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the couch. “You can’t just ask for help and then not accept the help!”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Kronii let herself be dragged back to purgatory.

“Believe me, I won’t in a bit.”

Fauna shakily grabbed the controller to start the video after the both of them took a few minutes to mentally prepare themselves. Kronii quickly slid her hand to hold Fauna’s to help her calm down more.

And then the self-harm content warning appeared.

“YEAH MAYBE I’M GOOD, FAUNA.” Kronii squeezed Fauna’s hand.

“TOO LATE.” She pressed play.

The video started and Kronii could already feel death approaching. She then started giggling when she heard the robotic voice as the video showed a presentation on an Unforeseen Threat.

“Couldn’t they have hired Cortana?” She joked.

Fauna giggled.

Well at least her humor’s still there. She thought.

They kept watching feeling a little better after the joke. The video kept explaining the alternates to them.

“Wait, alternate…” Kronii tilted her head. “I think I remember a meme about that…”

“I think I know what you’re talking about.” Fauna grabbed a cookie. “Since it’s a meme you’ll be fine, right Kronii?”

“…Yeaaahhh…” Kronii grabbed a handful of blueberries. “Sure…”

Kronii winced when the video got interrupted with VHS static.

“Oh that’s not gonna be a thing, right?” She asked.

“I… don’t think I should answer that.” Fauna replied.

Kronii slightly laughed at the slowed down music playing with the T.H.I.N.K principle video.

“Hinder… with a bat…” She read out loud. “Neutralize… with a gun… ki—"

She stopped at the last slide.

“…not enough room for the two of us…? “ She shakily said.

“…Fun, right?.” Fauna confirmed.

Kronii slowly leaned more and more onto Fauna while she learned more about the enemy.

“Fauna I don’t like these pictu— GWAK!” She screamed and held Fauna close when the third type started appearing. “Fauna, I REALLY DON’T LIKE THESE PICTURES.”

“I don’t either!” Fauna wrapped her arms around her.

“WHERE’D HER FACE GO?!” She almost buried her head in Fauna’s chest after seeing one of them lacking a face and the other completely blacked out with just his eyes staring back. “AHHH IT’S THAT GUY FROMT THE THUMBNAIL!”

They were both quivering in fear while the next part started. They tried to eat a bit more as the two victims, Mark and Cesar, talked in the video.

“I hate that there’s no background music.” Kronii pointed out.

“I don’t think that would help.” Fauna said. “Not even the best music ever would help.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Kronii nodded and kept watching, she got slightly annoyed as the conversation they were listening to kept going. “…Bro, yeah, why ask for the cameras ? This guy on the left is actually thinking.”

“…Uh-huh.” Fauna’s voice trembled as she slowly started to look away.

“GWAAAK!” Kronii screamed again when the video glitched.

“WAIT, THAT’S A TROLLFACE.” She blurted out at the face smiling at them.

“PFFFT.” Fauna almost choked on the cookie she was eating. “Oh my gooood.”

“Am I wrong?!” She pulled on Fauna’s sleeve.

“You’re not, you’re not.” Fauna’s smile slowly disappeared when the video showed something else. “Awww I hate the dashcam footage…”

Kronii didn’t let go of Fauna’s sleeve and pulled the kirin close to her. They both winced at whatever sounds they heard.

“Oh no why more camera— was that a scream." She hid behind Fauna.

They both stared silently as the video kept switching between cameras. Closing their eyes whenever they thought something was going to happen.

“AAAAAAAHH” Fauna screamed.

“WHAT? WHAT? WHAT???” Kronii hugged her, still cowering behind her back.

“THE DOOR OPEEEEENED!” Fauna slapped Kronii’s legs.

“OW!” Kronii grabbed Fauna’s hand to stop her. “I THOUGHT YOU WATCHED THIS ALREA—”

”Who are you?!” They suddenly heard a woman talking.

“AAAAAAAHHH!” They both screamed from the unexpected voice. The screaming continued with the glitches that followed.

Kronii’s hug could not get any tighter when they heard the glitched voice taunting Mark.

“Don’t open that door, don’t open THAT DOOR, DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR.” Kronii kept repeating. “Aaaahhhhahahhaheeee!” She hid behind her kirin when she couldn’t take it anymore.

“I DON’T WANT YOUR PRESENT, BRO.” She yelled after listening to the voice. Then she read the text on the screen. “…I DON’T WANT TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE EITHER, MAN, DON’T FREAKIN’ OPEN THAT DOOR.”

They stared in silence at the screen.

“…This isn’t a jumpscare, right Fauna?” Kronii trembled.

Fauna slowly turned around and hit her face in Kronii’s stomach.

“What.” Kronii tried to move her, but she didn’t budge. “W-what’s going o—”

Kronii froze when she heard the door open. She stared at the date on the screen, trying to brace herself for whatever was about to happen. The laughter made her regret ever asking Fauna for help.

Then Mark took a shot.

Kronii quickly shut her eyes as the screen turned red. Fauna was whimpering. The warden opened them just a little bit when she heard a beeping noise. Her blood ran cold when managed to read the words on the screen:

uh oh!
bad decision, mark!

“…What?”

Kronii opened her eyes stared in silence as the screen showed nothing but the camera UI. The static she heard filled her with dread. She could feel Fauna’s hands tugging at her sweater, as if she was trying to warn her.

Then she heard footsteps approaching.

“What? What?! WHAT?! WHAT?!” She leaned in to try to cover herself with her kirin. “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” She immediately shut her eyes and hugged Fauna the instant she saw the face appear on screen.

“I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” She screamed at the face. “I’M GONNA FREAKING KILL YOU!”

They slowly calmed down and returned to their seats when the face disappeared, and they heard an answering machine.

“Fauna I don’t think Mumei’s movie will be like this.” Kronii told her, still trembling.

“I sure hope not!” Fauna replied.

They both winced at the photo with the text saying nobody came for me.

“…We’re not going to sleep tonight, are we?” Kronii asked.

Fauna just shook her head. “There’s still more.”

Kronii’s regrets kept piling on when she noticed there were still 6 minutes remaining in the video.

“You know…” Kronii tugged at Fauna’s sleeve. “We could just stop it here.”

The video switched into a police training video.

“Why?” Fauna gave her a pained laughter. “This is my favorite part.”

“Fauna I swear if it’s another jumpscare.” Kronii almost looked like she was about to cry. “You’re sleeping alone and I’m staying with the cats.”

“I swear it’s not a jumpscare.” Fauna reassured her.

They watched as the video explained what emergency call operators should do. Kronii giggled a little again when she heard the robotic narration.

“You wouldn’t be giggling if this was your job!” Fauna ribbed her.

“I would never have this kind of job.” Kronii shook her head. “I’d just leave that place.”

Kronii breathed a small sigh of relief while the explanation kept going normally, well, as normally as it could with that voice narrating it.

“I’m happy if the rest of the video is like thi—”

ERROR

She almost felt like she should be angry after that perfectly timed glitch in the video. She sighed when the narration got interrupted at the end of the instructional video. She couldn’t stop herself from reading whatever text popped up after the encounter word appeared.

“…Oh!” Kronii made a worried face. “You’re not supposed to help…? Oh good, screams!”

Kronii couldn’t stop the feeling of dread rising as she kept reading. Don’t help the caller, assure them help is coming then end the call when they stop responding. She felt a shiver run down her spine after reading the last line and listening to the robotic narration.

“Okay that’s an awful place to live at.” Kronii bluntly said.

“Yeah it sucks.” Fauna agreed.

The video changed to the last segment of the volume, the Toddler Assessment Video.

“…I don’t have a kid.” Kronii said to the TV screen.

Fauna started giggling. “Yeah, I… I’d be surprised if you did.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kronii asked.

“Nothing, nothing…” Fauna grabbed another cookie. “I’d just be more worried about you than the alterna— OW!"

Kronii hit Fauna with a pillow a few times.

“We’re almost done, c’mon!” Fauna tried to calm her down.

“It’s not like anything interesting is happening.” Kronii put the pillow down and turned to the screen again.

“…It’s just some noises.” She said. “I can already tell it’s going to change into something wors—”

daddy didnt tuck me in

“Yeah, yep, knew it.” She took sip of her tea. “Wow Kronii you’re so amazing at predicting things, you should just stop watching this, you’re good enough now.”

Kronii’s tone of voice managed to make Fauna laugh a bit.

“Ahahaha!!!! Why is there a man in the closet???” Kronii started losing it. “Oh man, why is it called The Scary Night, Mark why would you call it th… Mark?”

Fauna felt proud that Kronii recognized the name.

“Oh, I hate this!” Kronii brought her kirin close to her again to hug her.

Fauna happily accepted the hug. “Me too!”

Kronii braced herself as the story kept going.

“Mark’s a great writer.” Kronii said, trembling once more. “Too bad that… you know.”

“Nobody came for him.” Fauna continued.

“Uh-huh…” Kronii started hiding herself again when she felt like something would appear. “Oh, hi Man in the Corner! What a great smile.”

Kronii looked defeated when she read the words Section Two.

“It’s not over…?” She leaned on Fauna’s shoulder.

“Almost.” Fauna patted her back.

Kronii jumped when she heard the beep.

“I’ve never been so afraid of a cat.” She whimpered. “Why do you need that noise?!”

Fauna didn’t respond as she started to brace herself.

“What does a balloon have to do with anythi… Oh… the… dark room…” It almost sounded like she was about to cry.

knock, knock, knock, knock, knock

“GWAK!” She held Fauna tight and closed her eyes. She slowly opened them to see one more face.

“…Wait.” She slowly moved to get a better look. “THAT’S THE GUY FROM A MEME!” She said. “The Intruder! YEAHH!!!”

Fauna couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Of course memes were the one thing keeping Kronii from getting scared.

“Oh, what a great way to end this video.” Kronii said as the credits started rolling. “That wasn’t bad at all!”

She let Fauna go so she could stretch.

“Really?” Fauna stared at her. “Wanna watch the next one?”

Kronii froze mid-stretch.

“…There’s another one?” She asked.

“A lot more!” Fauna happily responded. “Since that wasn’t bad at all you can handle one more, right?”

Kronii once again realized her actions had consequences. It was too late to turn back.

“…Yeaaah!” Kronii smiled at her. “Of course!”

Kronii bit her lip out of anxiety and fear while Fauna started the next video, overthrone.

“…Wait.” Kronii got confused as she watched. “Why is this a religious cartoo—”

Another glitch.

“Hmmm!!!! Oh, yeah, got it. Sure.” It took quite a bit out of Kronii to not scream at the glitch and at the sudden robotic voice.

She could barely understand the narration but got curious as to why it suddenly censored itself.

“Fauna, what is this.” She asked.

Fauna didn’t respond as she once again looked away from the screen.

“W-what now, wh—" Kronii ducked her head when the angel flew in with a horribly distorted face alongside another dose of static and glitches. “Fauna I hate this.”

“Yeah I know!” The kirin sounded muffled.

“STOP WHISPERING.” She yelled at the screen. “I’LL KILL YOU!”

“Kronii you can’t say that!” Fauna started to laugh.

“WELL HE SHOULD STOP WHISPERING, THEN.” Kronii tried to defend herself.

They watched in silence as the cartoon continued. Fauna’s smile didn’t last long when the sky in the screen turned black.

“No, that’s not.” Kronii shook her head, looking at the angel with a black square censoring his face. “That’s not cool at all.”

“Come here.” Fauna brought Kronii close, she had to at least help her once.

“Stop.” Kronii told the angel. “Stop getting closer.”

”Do not be afraid my dear shepherds.” He said.

“I’m very much not afraid.” Kronii started making herself smaller. “Not afraid at all.”

The angel revealed his face. Kronii refused to believe it would just be a normal face.

”…I know what you dread.”

She whimpered and clung to Fauna. Her fear was justified when the angel’s face got distorted with a maniacal smile and huge eyes.

“WHY IS THAT SO LOUD?” She cried.

They kept trembling reading whatever text appeared. Kronii never let go of Fauna, fearing another jumpscare would happen. Fauna stroked her back to try to calm her down, not realizing her own extremely fast heartbeat wasn’t helping Kronii at all.

“…I’d like some help too.” She muttered at the end of the video.

“I think that’s enough for today.” Fauna put on a stream of one of their senpai to distract themselves.

They were too engrossed in watching those videos they didn’t notice it started raining.

“That’s just perfect.” Kronii sighed. “At least the neighbors didn’t hear our screams thanks to the rain.”

“And they won’t hear anything when an alternate shows u— Ow…"

Kronii elbowed Fauna’s side.

“Uuu… I was jooookiiing…” Fauna recoiled from the pain.

Kronii embraced her cat side and refused to let her kirin go. After struggling for a little while, Fauna managed to pull herself away from Catronii. They sat together and stared at the ceiling, listening to their senpai scream in pain after a zenloss and the rain falling.

“…Hey, Fauna?” Kronii asked.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think that helped at all.” She said with a slight chuckle.

Fauna slid her hand to hold Kronii’s.

“I’m sorry.” Fauna responded.

Kronii was about to use her other hand to pinch Fauna’s cheek, but she noticed Snail was next to her. She decided to pet him instead.

“Well…” She scratched the cat’s ear. “At least Mumei might hold back thanks to your guy’s begging back at the office.”

“I kinda doubt that.” Fauna once again resigned herself to her fate. “Hopefully Sana and Bae kept bugging her.”

“Oh yeahhh, they left together for… snacks, right?” Kronii tried to remember what happened.

“Mm-hmm… yawn…” Fauna leaned on Kronii’s shoulder. “I bet Mumei just wanted more Tim Tams.”

“Haha, probably.” Kronii let go of Fauna’s hand to scratch her head. “Or maybe she got to experience Vegemite.”

“Uuu…” Fauna shuddered thinking about it.

After chatting for another while. Fauna turned to look at Kronii.

Maybe she’s fine now. She thought.

Fauna felt pity when she saw her face. The poor warden was still worried and scared, the videos did a number on her. Her eyes constantly darted at the corners of the room, expecting something to run at them.

“It’s okay, Kronii…” She tried stroking Kronii’s hair. “It’s oka—"

They flinched as the living room got illuminated for an instant and then…

BOOM

It took a few seconds for the lightning to reach their ears.

“Oh. Good.” Kronii laughed. “Just what I needed, more sudden lights and noises.”

Kronii heavily sighed and reached out for a pillow to hug. She grabbed a kronie Fauna had bought and hugged it.

“…I need to lie down.”

She slowly slid down the couch and let her body rest on the floor. Snail watched her until she stopped moving then went to sit down on her back.

“…I’m not your bed, Snail.”

“Wanna go to bed?” Fauna offered.

Kronii stared back at her. She slowly nodded and they got up. While walking to Fauna’s room, Kronii held the kirin’s hand and kept looking at all the dark corners of Fauna’s place. She jumped and screamed whenever she felt one of the cats walk by her. Even though it was still pretty scary for her too, Fauna didn’t regret watching those videos with Kronii. Those reactions made it worth it.

“Faunaaaa…” Kronii looked at her kirin while she was clearing up all the plushies in her bed so they could go to sleep.

“Suuugaaarr…” She answered.

“Would you tell me if you’re an alternate?” She asked.

Fauna covered her face, trying to hold back her laughter.

“I dunno, Kronii.” She finally said. “I think you’d be able to tell.”

“…I’m not sure.” Kronii crossed her arms. “Well, I think I could unless the neck changed…”

“Excuse you?!” Fauna snapped at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Realizing her mistake, Kronii turned red.

“…Nothing…” She looked away.

“Oh my gosh just get in the bed.” Fauna got behind her and pushed her.

“Noooo…” Kronii didn’t resist and let herself fall. She fidgeted a little before asking, “…Can you check your closet?”

“…Cuuuute.”

Fauna went and opened the closet for her. Once Kronii looked inside and made sure no one was there, she felt slightly safer. While Fauna closed her closet and checked other spots for Kronii, the warden moved the blankets aside.

“Um…” Kronii
Fauna went to put her cats on their beds and was surprised they were calm. They didn’t have any problems dealing with the screams of their owners.

“I’m sorry we’re so loud.” She pet their heads and let them sleep.

Lightning fell again when Fauna returned to her room. She found Kronii covering herself with the sheets, still scared of something jumping at her.

“Kronii?” She almost wanted to giggle.

Kronii frowned noticing the smile on Fauna’s face. She started pouting.

“I’m sorryyyyy.” Fauna apologized.

The kirin turned off the lantern and the lights on the bedframe, leaving only the dim fairy lights on the wooden beams near the ceiling.

As she approached the bed, Fauna realized that Kronii was stealing glances at the windows.

“Is something wrong?” She asked her warden.

Kronii made herself smaller and avoided to turn the windows behind her.

“…What if he shows up…?” She trembled.

“Oh my goodness…” Fauna had to cover her face to stop looking at such a cute sight. “Let me put some curtains up.”

“Come heeere~.” Kronii opened her arms inviting her for a hug in bed, probably trying to return the favor from earlier.

Fauna happily accepted and got in bed with her. Just as she was about to embrace her warden, Kronii got on top of her.

“Wh— Mmf!” Fauna couldn’t talk.

“Oh, wait. Let me just—”

Fauna was almost suffocated by Kronii’s chest until she moved under her face.

“Yeah, this is perfect.” Kronii snuggled Fauna, rubbing her face against her like a cat.

As much as Fauna loved this display of affection, she wasn’t able to move.

“You wanna explain why you became a weighted blanket?” Fauna asked.

“Ummm…” Kronii looked up at her. “I, uh, don’t want you scurrying off in the middle of the night?”

“Sugar, I’m not going to scare you.” She stroked her hair. “And you shouldn’t worry about me, worry about—”

Kronii screamed when she heard something moving outside. She immediately brought Fauna down to her chest to cover her.

“Worry about the cats moving something, yeah…” Fauna kept patting Kronii’s head.

It took a while before Fauna could breathe again while she tried to calm Kronii down.

“Wait.” Fauna smiled at her. “Are you trying to protect me?”

“…Nooo…?” Kronii moved a little bit to the side, but she still remained on top of Fauna.

“Awwww, Sugar~.” Fauna used both of her hands to pamper Kronii.

“Fauna just because I’m having a moment doesn’t mean you can just call me Sugar now!” Kronii pinched her cheek.

“Hehe, why not? It’s cute!” She said as she scratched behind Kronii’s ear.

“Uuugggghhhh…” Kronii groaned but never moved Fauna’s hand away.

Fauna tried to Kronii to sleep humming a few songs and stroking her hair. As Kronii laid her head on Fauna’s chest she realized her heart was beating really fast.

Is it because of me or the videos…?She thought.

She decided it was the former to feel a little bit proud of herself after everything she let Fauna witness that night.

…So embarrassing… She started to blush.

Fauna giggled after noticing Kronii trying to hide herself.

After another while, they slowly got over their fear by forcing themselves to stop looking at the corners of Fauna’s room and at any shadows formed by the dim lights above… Which basically meant closing their eyes or just staring at each other.

The clock ticked past 3am and they weren’t able to fall asleep. The thunderstorm didn’t help much either.

“Hey, Kronii?” Fauna asked during another staring contest.

“Yeah?” Kronii tried to poke the kirin’s nose to make her blink.

“Are you even comfortable at this point?”

“Not at all.” Kronii laughed. “Aren’t you numb?”

“I haven’t been able to feel my body for an hour now.” Fauna responded.

“Ehhh, you’ll manage.” The clock smirked at her.

“Just—” Fauna got over the tingling sensation from moving and dragged Kronii to her side. “There.”

“Awww…” Kronii sounded disappointed. “But what if something happens…?”

“Nothing has happened other than some noises.” Fauna turned around, showing her back to Kronii. “You’ll manage.”

“Faunaaaaaa…” Kronii reached out to move her finger around Fauna’s back.

“Uuu…” Fauna felt ticklish. “You’re not even scared anymore.”

“I was never scared.” Kronii started drawing circles.

“Oh yeah?” Fauna tried to swat away Kronii’s hand. “Then maybe we should watch the rest of the series~.”

“…N-no, man.” Kronii whimpered. “Sleep is a better idea.”

Fauna turned around, facing Kronii with an incredibly smug smile.

“You suuuuuure~?” She asked. “You’ll be able to make an imaginary friend in one of them!”

Kronii briefly considered the idea.

“Is the friend going to be as distorted as those things?” She asked.

“Only if you imagine it that way!” Fauna answered.

Kronii buried her face into the pillow.

“…I’ll pass.”

“Hehehe…” Fauna started stroking Kronii’s hair again.

Kronii slowly turned her head to stare at Fauna. Her gentle touch made Kronii slowly close her eyes.

Yawwwn…

“Finally feeling sleepy?” Fauna whispered.

“Mmm, I dunno…” Kronii lightly smiled. “I guess my previous bed wasn’t very comfortable.”

Fauna just pouted; she was too tired to do anything else.

“Well my blanket was too heavy.” She fired back.

A frown appeared in Kronii’s face.

“…It’s the muscles.” She said.

“Ooooh maybe your alternate is super buff.” Fauna thought about the examples they saw earlier.

“She would be hot no matter what.” Kronii blurted out.

“…Really?” Fauna gave her a wry smile.

Kronii made a face full of regret.

“You know what? I don’t really want to think about it” She shook her head, trying to get rid of that thought. “Man why do they even have different forms? Imagine if you had a ton of them on yo—"

She suddenly froze.

“Wait…” She looked at Fauna straight in the eyes. “Are Smol Ames… alternates…?”

They stared at each other dumbfoundedly, not even the lightning managed to make them move.

“…You know like… the different types and shapes and, and… the voices… and—"

Fauna put a finger on Kronii’s lips.

“Stop, stop, stop talking.” She told her. “I thought you said you didn’t want to think…”

“It just happened, okay?!” Kronii moved Fauna’s hand back to her head. “Let’s just… let’s just sleep.”

“Yes, please.” Fauna agreed and closed her eyes.

She felt a certain clock scoot closer to her.

“…But what if—”

Fauna slowly opened her eyes to find Kronii right next to her face.

“Kronii I’m not staying up to discuss this with you for the rest of the night—”

---

“—eeeyyyy lovebirds!"

Kronii felt something tapping her cheek. The voice sounded like Mumei was yelling at her.

“Heeeeyyy idiot couple!!!”

The tapping turned into slapping.

“What, what, WHAT?!”

Without getting up, she instinctively summoned Tock and slashed around. Mumei barely managed to dodge her.

“Wow, calm down, murderer.” The owl said.

“Said the freakin’ war criminal…” Kronii grumbled.

“Waking someone up isn’t a war crime.” She responded.

“It should be… yawn…”

Kronii lifted her head off the table trying to stop the slaps. She looked around and found herself surrounded by her friends.

Oh, right. She thought. We’re in a meeting.

She tried to rub her eyes, but she couldn’t lift her other hand. She realized Fauna was sleeping next to her, holding it.

“Faunaaaaa…” She stroked her hair. “Wake up.”

“Uuu…” The kirin squeezed her hand. “What time is it?”

“It’s meeting o’ clock, Fauna.” Bae responded. “This is like the third time you’ve passed out.”

“Is it…?” Kronii asked.

“Yeah, but don’t worry.” Sana approached them to serve them tea and bread. “This meeting isn’t life-threatening.”

“It absolutely is life-threatening!” Bae raised her voice. “Everyone needs to have a taste of vegemite!”

“Denied.” Everyone told her.

“Okay, Bae…” Mumei told her, “Just because Sana and I don’t mind it doesn’t mean everyone will like it.”

“Hmph.” Bae crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. “They’re missing out.”

“You didn’t mind it?” Fauna turned to Mumei. “Did… yawn… sorry… Did she force feed you?”

“No…” Mumei looked to her side, like it was a painful experience. “Well… I mean…”

“Ina was dying watching them.” Sana told them after going back to her seat in front of Kronii.

“—So you did kidnap her?” Fauna made an incredulous face.

“She was a little confused when she fully woke up at Bae’s place, but she didn’t mind!” Sana explained with a giggle. “But I never thought Bae could overpower Mumei.”

“I was TIRED, okay?.” Mumei tried to find an excuse. “And I was already willing to eat it.”

“Hahaha.” Kronii laughed imagining the situation. “I would’ve loved to see that.”

“AHEM Anyways, what did you guys do last night?” Mumei asked them after taking her seat next to Sana. “It looks like you didn’t sleep at all.”

Kronii and Fauna looked at each other. They reached a mutual agreement without speaking.

“We just… watched some stuff and talked about it.” Kronii explained.

“…All night?” Bae tilted her head. “Did IRyS force you to watch another anime?”

“Tsk.” IRyS clicked her tongue. “I did no such thing…”

“Yeah, we just watched a… series I told Kronii about.” Fauna quickly dismissed them. “And what happened with you, IRyS?”

Kronii turned to her right to look at the nephilim. She realized IRyS was wearing a completely different outfit. After squinting her eyes, she noticed a name and a peafowl patch.

“Wait…” Kronii raised her eyebrows. “Is that Reine’s jacket?”

“Um…” IRyS looked away. “I uh… I was outside with Reine when the storm started…” She started to blush. “And I didn’t have a change of clothes…”

IRyS tried to zip up Reine’s jacket all the way. Fauna still managed to see a bruise on the nephilim’s neck.

“Well, if you wanted something spicy keep asking IRyS.” The kirin giggled at her.

“What?!” IRyS shook her head. “Nononononono it’s fine, nothing happened.” She put the hood on and hid her face. “L-let’s talk about the sleepover instead!”

“Is there anything left to talk about?” Mumei rested her head on her hand. “We already went through everything.”

“The movie?!” IRyS reached out trying to slap her. “You know?! Like you promised?!”

“OOoooohhhhh I didn’t decide on anything.” Mumei dismissed her, the nephilim was too far away to get her, anyways. “It’s okay, I’ll find something before the sleepover.”

“Uuuuaaaaaagggghhhh.” IRyS slumped on her seat. “I don’t wanna watch it…”

Hearing them mention the movie made Kronii’s heart sink. She slowly turned her head to the left to look at Fauna. She was laying her head on the table, about to fall asleep again. Kronii nudged her a little.

Fauna smiled and held her hand.

“Yawn… You didn’t even scream that much… you’ll be fine.” She told her.

Kronii glanced to the right of Fauna. Bae had a worried face before she realized the warden had her eyes on her. She quickly made a smug smile to hide her fear.

“Man…” Kronii leaned back on her seat. “If I lose, could you at least make me stay at your office…?” She asked Fauna.

“Hehehe…” Fauna squeezed Kronii’s hand. “That’s the plan~.”

Kronii slightly smiled. “Yaaayyyy…”

“But I’ll still let the girls see you.” Fauna smirked at her.

“Maaaaannn…” The smile was gone.

“What’s wrong?” Fauna giggled. “Don’t you wanna show off how beautiful you are in a maid outfit?”

“That…” Kronii put her hand on her chin. “Hm…”

“Don’t tell me that’s convincing you.”

“I meaaan…” Kronii’s eyes trailed off, imagining herself using those clothes. “I would look nice.”

“Oh my god…” Fauna facepalmed. “Then what was the point of last night?!”

“To uh… yawn.” Kronii couldn’t cover her mouth on time, clearly showing her fangs. “To ruin our sleep schedule!”

“Fun!” Fauna reached out to slap her warden. “Wanna watch the rest of the series, then?”

“Hard pass!” Kronii laughed. “Absolutely not!”

The other girls observed as the keeper and the warden kept bickering. Once they started arguing about whatever they watched, they decided the topic was too confusing to follow.

“Sounds like Kroniinii was training?” Sana told the others.

“Doesn’t seem like it worked with the face she’s making.” Mumei responded, giggling at the warden’s pained face.

Bae stretched her arms and got comfortable in her seat. “Imagine needing training to stop screaming. Brrrruh.”

IRyS stared at her.

“Bae, you’d have a heart attack if you tried training.” The nephilim pointed out.

“…No I wouldn’t…” Bae pouted.

“Well, hope Kroniinii’s willing to turn back time before you die.” Sana giggled as she reached out to grab a piece of bread Kronii was too distracted to eat.

“Why are you guys assuming I’m going to lose?!” Bae yelled at them.

“It’s not like you’re going to lose, but…” IRyS told her. “We know your heartbeat.”

Bae frowned and crossed her arms.

“…Fair enough.” She turned to her left and whimpered at Mumei. “Not too scary…”

“If you keep begging I’m getting the scariest one.” Mumei grabbed Bae’s tail and pulled it.

Fauna and Kronii’s hearts froze for a second after hearing that.

“Sorryyyy…” Bae quickly retracted her tail.

As the meeting moved on to other topics, Kronii’s worry never left her face. Fauna softly rubbed her hand.

“Sooooooo about that trainiiiing~.” The kirin started.

“Sigh…” Kronii intertwined her fingers with Fauna’s. “I guess…”

Fauna giggled as she squeezed the warden’s hand. The kirin quickly joined the conversation the other CouncilRyS members were having, letting Kronii deal with her thoughts. Now another worry plagued the warden’s mind.

Could she even survive this ordeal?

Just stop screaming. She thought. Not a big deal.

She sighed again.

Why do I do this to myself…? She asked herself.

She looked down. She had been holding Fauna’s hand the entire time. A slight smile escaped her.

I guess it’ll be fine with her… After mulling it over for a bit, she shook her head. How much do maid outfits cost again…?

t. Name