Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The room was cold, with the cool crisp air from the air vent cutting through the warmth like butter, as it slowly chilled everything in the room.

I sit on the floor, wrapped up in a light blanket, that drowns out all of the ice running cold through my veins as it slowly defrosts itself from the outside in.

3 AM is never an ideal time to be awake, especially if you haven’t slept the past few days. But, even still, any excuse to play Deltarune is an excuse, even if it is unwise. Hell, I'm not a wise person anyways. More of a hyperfixated lunatic who needs better hobbies. Like sleeping. …Nah. I’m good.

The dusty old Switch lying in my hands is aching to be used anyways. It needs some time off of the shelf. And I need to replay 3 and 4, so it works out.

Powering it on always takes forever, I swear. Such an old thing can’t really handle the years, but who am I to judge if it’s at least somewhat functional, worn in joysticks aside of course.

“New update? The hell?”

Even now I can’t help but murmur things aloud. But, why is there a new update? Because quite frankly, I don’t trust the Deltarune updates ever since they took away the ability to have two Lancers.

Like WHO in their right mind takes away someone’s TWO LANCERS?! It’s criminal! It’s inhumane! It takes away the payoff of Susie wanting two Lancers! Like I want my damn two Lancers back!

What update number is this anyways? Maybe I can search it up and find some documentation on it first. Because if they take away my diagonal facing Susie, I WILL end someone.

…6.66? There aren't even that many updates out yet! I think my Switch is hacked or something. I’ll just say no then.

“ARE YOU SURE YOU DO NOT WISH TO UPDATE NOW?

NOT UPDATING MAY MAKE YOU LOSE NEW FEATURES AND IMPORTANT PATCHES.

SEE HERE FOR THE PATCH LOG:”

…That’s weird, it didn't go away. And I got a pop-up? That never happens???

I open up the patch log, eyes glazing over pages and pages of text. Most of it seems like incomprehensible sciency jargon, and some of it’s even in Wing Dings. I… shouldn’t probably just close this out and say no aga- WAIT. WAIT WAIT WAIT. WAIT.

In the patch log. In bold. No way. NO FREAKING WAY.

“TWO LANCERS IS RE-ADDED INTO THIS UPDATE?! OH MY GOODNESS YESSSS!! …wait, I probably shouldn't be this loud, I have neighbors damn it-”

Ok. So. There’s two Lancers. I don’t care if this hacks me. I want my two Lancers. Sides, this is probably just something to surprise users. Tricky Tony has his mysterious ways, what can I say? And 3 AM AND 6.66? Like COME ON TOBY this HAS to add some Gaster lore. You’re not slick. With your weird update logs too, it’s gonna have to mean something. Like it’s all written like Mr. Royal Scientist himself waltzed in and was like “Hey let me update the game!” or whatever. Gaster Game Dev Theory confirmed?! Woody Theory? PILES OF ASRIEL’S DUST?!! …I’m getting sidetracked.

My Switch just decided to restart or something, which isn’t a good sign. If I had to guess, this’ll probably take a while. Always does.

Oh well, I want to shame eat some cookies. There’s nothing better to do at 3 in the morning anyways.

Man, my floor is messy. Wait, no, not messy. Organized chaos. Jevil but a filing cabinet instead of a playing card. Ha, that’d be a funny miniboss. Or final boss. I don’t know.

What was I doing again? Oh yeah, the pack of chocolate chip cookies on my fridge. Do not burn in despair my messy room, for I shall return with the grand prize! That will probably make it messier. And, maybe it won’t burn in despair because it’s cold as hell in here. Maybe I should turn down the AC. Yeah, I’ll do that.

— — — —

INTERESTING.

VERY… INTERESTING.

IT SEEMS THAT THE CONNECTION…

THE WONDERFUL CONNECTION

IS GETTING STRONGER.

MY DELTARUNE…

YOU, WHATEVER YOU ARE…

THE BARRIER KEEPING THEM APART

IS BREAKING.

OF COURSE. 

IT CAN ONLY MEAN IT WORKED.

BUT…

WHATEVER HAPPENS NEXT…

I CANNOT CONTROL.

BUT… EVEN STILL….

IT WILL BE QUITE THE EXPERIMENT.

I CAN ONLY HOPE

THAT IT YIELDS PROMISING RESULTS.

MAYBE THEN…

I CAN TRY IT ELSEWHERE.

A TEST GROUP CANNOT HURT…

I HOPE.

— — — —

Finally, after all this time an AUDIENCE again! It’s! So! Exciting! Being watched, and having them on my show. A CRT couldn’t ask for more, I tell ya!

The stage is so close yet so far. I can already see the vibrant colors, the blue stars dancing their wonderful patterns gracefully behind the large screen. The stagelights, so warm and comforting, the tile smooth to the touch! And most importantly, people to enjoy the show! That’s the BEST part.

All Kris has to do is say the word and the first board is on! They’re sure taking their time talking to everyone like that, but who can blame them! Every good actor needs to know their cast! Even if! It takes forever! I’m not getting worried, you are! Ha! …ha.

Hey, is it just me, or is everything looking a little GREY in here? No one’s even moving! What is this, an infomercial?

…Those poses have GOT to be uncomfortable. Faces frozen with expressions only meant for in between sentences and short gags. Certainly not a good picture, I’ll tell you that! Shuttah would have a HEART ATTACK. If, that is, Shuttah wasn’t ALSO one of the people frozen.

“...You, ha, can stop now…”

…No response.

“....Hello? … HELLO?”

Waving his arms, dancing, screaming, smiling, NOTHING is getting ANYONE to MOVE. To do ANYTHING.

“I’m RIGHT HERE. RIGHT HERE! COME ON.”

…still. Nothing. NOTHING. …except… the camera.

The camera lies fixed above everything, watching, keeping everything saved on the records. To be rerun again and again to relive the memories held so dear.

Oddly enough, it looks like a mirror now. Even closer up, a window. A window with vague shapes, resembling… something. It almost looks as if he can reach into it.

And when he did, the hand disappeared into it. And then as more was lowered into it, slowly, his entire body was consumed by the window. Until he could see again.

A room.

One with scattered papers on the floor, with haphazardly scrabbled notes with sketches of, wait was that him? The TV head is unmistakable! Why does this room have drawings of him? Obviously he was flattered, but… why?

He could now see his hands on the edge of what seemed like a console. He was so small coming out of it, despite being so big before. After fully pushing himself out of it, he found that the console was surrounded thankfully by a plush fabric of a blanket.

From a distance, a racket could be heard from another room. Rustling of what sounds like plastic, followed by a large “thunk” noise.

“OW OW OW OW OW I FELL ON MY FACE. OWWWWWW. DAMN MINI LADDER-“

After of which, was followed by a string of curse words that would NOT be TV friendly. The censors would kill them!

This would have to be a stealth mission if he wanted to figure out where he was. But first, maybe actually grow to a size where he can actually move in the room. It was a rather small one, but being THIS small would make investigating take forever.

The room was dimly lit, with the lamp slightly flickering, as if the bulb wasn’t changed often. Drawers were stuffed haphazardly with many folders, papers, and even random articles of clothing left unfolded. It seemed like the floor wasn’t the only place that was littered with drawings after all. Speaking of, that reminded him.

Gathering the sheets of paper on the floor had many varying drawings of himself. Many just seemed to be joking, happy, or oddly enough with… the mailman. The grip on the paper tightened, yet not enough to rip any of them. Only slightly crease, which wouldn’t matter as he could notice that there were already many existing straightened out folds. One more wouldn’t be noticeable. He placed them on the desk before 2 things caught his eye.

One being a flatscreen. He couldn’t help but grimace at such a thing, after all, who NEEDS a flatscreen?! Crts are FINE. They have more character than a STUPID FLATSCREEN ever could. Where’s the warming glow of the screen? The life, the character?! None! None at all! Get rid of it! Now!

The second though, being a red suit mirroring his own. In fact, a very poorly stitched TV logo was on it. The fabric was slightly rough, and there were quite a number of differences, but it was intriguing nonetheless. And drawings? This can’t be a coincidence.

However, in being so wrapped up in looking at it, he didn’t notice the steps in the hallway, and the doorknob being turned.

Then suddenly the sound of something being dropped filled the room, cutting through the silence. This singlehandedly made him jump so hard, that if he hadn’t been careful he would have broke the ceiling. A package of chocolate chip cookies lied the floor, with one or two cookies on the floor now.

“Well I knew you said ‘Coming straight to YOUR house', but I didn’t think you meant literally!”

Chapter Text

After almost having the life jolted out of his circuits, Tenna couldn’t help but stare.

Whoever it was, despite their one liner, had a look of shock and horror that betrayed their prior line. Many words looked like they were almost formed but were drowned out by a tightened throat that shut down any words they wanted to say. So he decided to say something, even if it wasn’t technically much words either.

“I- WHA- MAMA MIA, MAMA, WHAT THE HECK?!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT THE HECK? YOU’RE THE ONE WHO BROKE INTO MY HOU- WAIT. HOLD ON A SECOND.”

The figure approached, dodging bits and pieces of the cookies that lay on the floor, and as they emerged from the pitch-black hallway, Tenna could finally see them.

They had messy hair, with a baggy shirt and striped PJ pants, and had twitchy eyes with deep-set eyebags that looked up at his face with an awestruck expression.

“You know what, I don’t care that you broke into my house anymore. HOW did you get your cosplay to do that?”

“My… my what now?”

“EEEE IT HAPPENED AGAIN!” They cleared their throat. “Oh, right, sorry. Your Tenna cosplay! The way you got the mouth to move on it is amazing! I haven’t seen this good of craftsmanship in a cosplay in person in a while! Mainly because it takes a bit for a con to happen, but still!"

“It just looks so canon! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it looks as if you came right out of the game! Ha! Like, I don’t know how you knew Tenna was my favorite character, or why you’re even here, but you’ve got my attention!”

Straight out of the game? Have they played The Legend of Tenna or something? That’s impossible though, I haven’t even DONE the first board yet! I was just about to, but then- WAIT A SECOND DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL DID THEY JUST SAY FAVORITE?!

Calm down, Tenna. They just said you’re their favorite. You can ask about that in a second. CALM. DOWN.

With one hand they picked up the cookie container from the floor and set it on the desk, and with the other picked up the poor chocolate chip soldiers that fell to the floor. The tale of the lost cookies! Now THAT would be something fun to air!

In a slight confusion, they also eyed the papers that lay there, before putting their hand to their face to make one of the most infamous poses in TV to date! The thinking pose, starred in many cartoons over the years! One of my favorite things to display, honestly. I always did love a good Saturday morning cartoon.

“Maybe you’re one of my friends dressed up?”

They started pacing around the room, speeding up and slowing down, with increasingly heavy steps the more they were talking.

“Only close friends really know that I keep my key under the mat. Then again, I can’t really think of any one of them with as good of an impression of yours. Hell, you are now my new Tenna voice headcanon. Congrats, stranger!”

Ok, I’m not gonna get anything out of them if they keep the conversation going like this. It’s not everyday you get to hear unfiltered what someone thinks about yourself, and I’m not missing a SECOND of it. I have to know. I HAVE to.

“Hey, HEY! Hold on a second you’re going too fast for me! (I’m usually the one who talks too fast, hah.) You… just said that I- TENNA is your favorite ‘character’?”

That was close. Almost gave myself away there!

“Oh, yeah! I did say that, didn’t I!” As if a switch was pulled, any bit of shaking and fear seemed to have left them, as their eyes lit up with a spark that could singlehandedly light the world on fire if it were allowed to escape. “You made a mistake of asking about that.”

Well, that’s one way to either make me regret asking or super thankful I did. I’m leaning towards the latter. I’m HOPING it’s the latter. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BE THE LATTER.

“Don’t know why you’re here, but you’re stuck in here with me now. Like it or not, you’re going to get a long rant on why Tenna is the best character. I mean, I don't think you’d mind if you put THAT much effort into your cosplay. Now strap in because WHAT time is it?”

YESYESYES IT’S THE LATTER. YEESSSSS!

His screen donned a loose grin, slightly wobbly on its sides, but a grin nonetheless.

“It’s...” Wait a second. OH MY GOD??? THEY’RE REFRENCING MY SHOW??? YES??? THANK YOU??? “IT’S TV TIME!”

Picking up their alarm clock, they pointed to it before quickly setting it back down. “Wrong! It’s 3 something in the morning! Love the enthusiasm though!”

He couldn’t help but look confused. He was so excited and… Wasn’t that what they were referencin-

“Just kidding! You were right. Now then.”

“There are SO many reasons why he’s my favorite character, so I’ll try and spare you from me talking about this until dawn.”

Till dawn? HOW- HOW MANY REASONS DOES THIS PERSON HAVE?! I’VE NEVER EVEN SEEN THIS PERSON TUNING IN BEFORE?? EVER??? HOW????? WHAT??? WHY???

They cleared their throat, a telltale sign that whatever he had just signed up for was going to be a LONG one. And to be honest? He’s all there for it.

“First off is first impressions, and let me tell you, the guy knows how to make one HELL of an entrance.”

“Like after the design leak and 4 years of only a few pieces of unreliable data, we THOUGHT we knew what Tenna would be like.”

“And that wasssss?”

Please be something good, please be something good, PLEASE.

“A twisted mafia boss who at first had a cheery demeanor but was secretly EVIL! That’s what we expected, because from what we had heard from Spamton, one of the most corrupt characters in the game, we were SURE he had to be worse. And Shadow Guys just give mafia vibes, ok?”

Oh. Well, that’s interesting. Ok. That’s a take. That’s a plot twist. Ok. Wow.

Now that they mentioned it though, they kind of do. Maybe he could do a silent film starring the Shadow Guys as the mob. Too many film ideas, too little runtime, am I right or am I right?

If he could just CONVINCE Kris with this next show, maybe, just maybe, he could run them all. Everything would have to go PERFECT, though.

That Spamton comment, though. He couldn’t freak out, no that would give him away instantly, so he went for a more casual approach. All those years of acting experience weren’t for nothing, you know!

“Well, I guess that’s what you could come to expect from TV's biggest hater! Not reliable, and NEVER listen to them.”

That. That came out more agitated than he thought. They didn’t seem to notice, though. Thankfully.

“EXACTLY! Like, how were we supposed to know about the SpamTenna divorce? We couldn't have! And honestly, with how big Spamton is in the game’s fandom, no wonder people blindly believed that. Especially Tumblr, dear god save that man and any other Toby Fox character that dares exist near it.”

EXCUSE ME THE WHAT. NO. NO NO NO. MIKE, CHANGE THE SCRIPT PLEASE.

“HA. YES! HOW. COULD ANYONE. HAVE. KNOWN. HA. TOTALLY! YES!”

The more the words came out, the more they were laced with the deep-rooted anger and hatred for the mailman that he was trying to hide. The more bitter, the more agitated he sounded.

“BUT! UH. Spamton isn’t even IN The Legend of Tenna? Let alone HIM having a fanbase? Please! That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard all day!”

They looked dumbstruck, mouth agape and an eyebrow raised. …I should have just kept my mouth shut. For a minute they couldn’t help but stutter before finally placing words again.

“Legend of Tenna? You mean the game inside the video game?” There was a forced and awkward laugh, and there was a look. He knew that look. That’s the look someone gives you when you say something trying to look like you know what you’re talking about, but you don’t. Which is bad, because that’s literally EXACTLY the case. “I mean, cool reference, but I’m talking about Deltarune! You know, the game Tenna’s from? Literally the REASON I know about him??”

Deltarune? That’s the game they’re talking about? Isn’t that a religion??? Dear angel, the more answers I get, the more I’m confused.

“Speaking of, I’m replaying the 3rd chapter and about to do the 1st board, so if you wanna watch, you’re welcome to. Was doing that before you came in, actually.”

WAIT WAIT WAIT. I’M ABOUT TO DO THE FIRST BOARD. AND REPLAYING? They’ve done it BEFORE??? WAIT A SECOND THAT COULD ONLY MEAN-

NO, NO! That’s. Insane. That’s implying that YOUR LIFE is literally nothing more than a game to this… this stranger!

HA. NO. NO THIS CAN’T BE RIGHT. But then, WHY did I come out of a CONSOLE? OH GOD, I REALLY AM JUST A GAME CHARACTER TO THEM. No WONDER they thought this was a cosplay, I DON’T EXIST TO THEM.

That explains SO much about the way they’re talking. And WHY they know me and I don’t know them.

“Oh, and I hear your point about Spamton, and funny thing is Toby didn’t think so either, ha! The beta testers HATED him. I think he’s cool, but not better than Tenna in my opinion.”

And of course they would know. Of COURSE they talk about Spamton. Because why not?! It’s just a game for them! To them, I’m just a rando who broke into their house in a cosplay! Which, seeing as they haven’t called the cops, makes me relieved for myself and concerned for their mental health and sanity. I don’t think they have any at this point.

“SPEAKING OF! Weren’t you just talking about him? Your rant was actually getting pretty interesting, and I’d like to hear about that!”

Very subtle conversation redirection Tenna, VERY subtle.

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot. To think I got sidetracked by Spamton in a Tenna conversation! That’s heresy! I’m going to get Z-Rank for this, aren’t I? Ah well, there goes my run going for T-Rank this playthrough.”

“I swear it’s so hard to get T-Rank. Like, as a TV Lover trying my best, I STILL can’t T-Rank Susiezilla! I mean, I know it’s optional, but still! I have to grind points to get in the door because of that stupid Pippins blocking it, and then it’s hard as hell! Like, SERIOUSLY, Tenna needs to nerf it!”

A Pippins is blocking it?! That’s SUPPOSED to just be a free game to play like the rest! I am SOOOO firing that guy when I get back. …And then rehiring him because I’m short staffed-

And the difficulty on the Physical Challenges is JUST FINE thank you very much. I’ll look into it, but I won’t find anything! It’s perfect! The way it is!

“Now where was I again? Oh yeah, Pre-Chapter 3 Tenna!”

“We only had minimal stuff from trailers and teasers, so there wasn’t a lot to go off of. But we could piece a lot together. Or so we thought. Oh god, we were SO wrong.”

“And, the craziest part was that, in reality, the freaking 3D aspect WASN’T just for the trailer. Tenna was TALL as hell and STAYED 3D??? In a 2D game?! That’s CRAZY.”

From there, they ranted feverishly, constantly noting their favorite aspects (which was quite literally EVERYTHING) about him. How he’d wish that Toriel would talk about him like that again. Or Kris. Especially Kris.

It felt so good to finally get the recognition he’d wanted all these years, even if from a stranger who thought he was just a video game character. It was taking him everything he had not to burst through the rooftops and dance and spin happily about it.

The compliments rushed over like a river, zoning out on just how nice it felt, to the point the words themselves didn’t even matter anymore.

Just being appreciated for who HE was? That felt better than anything had.

Until, out of nowhere, they said something funny. Something that took him back to reality, the shore that lined the river of imagination.

“All things considered though, even if there was a chance the game could ever be real, out of thousands of multiverses, I don’t think I’d ever want to meet Tenna.”

That. That hurt in so many different ways.

Chapter Text

“Wh-WHAT?! Why?! Why not? You speak so HIGHLY of m-him, and I would have NEVER thought that to be the case.”

There was a distinct silence, and as the cosplayer looked away, I felt guilt for something I didn’t even know I did.

Faintly, I could barely hear it, “Did… did he do something wrong?”

“Wh-NO! That’s not it AT ALL! HELL NO, HE COULD NEVER- …It’s….”

He turned back, looking as if hanging on whatever words would be muttered.

“...It’s just….”

A face so desperate to know, pleading for answers, as if I was walking on coals, I didn’t want to say anything wrong, but if I stayed silent, I would be burnt by the look of sorrow on their face.

I took in a deep breath, and I couldn’t help but force it out.

“It’s just… it’s just because I feel like Tenna would hate me.”

“I- You think WHAT now?”

An almost goofy look of surprise spread across the cosplayer, as their hands went to their head, and a cartoonly animated agape expression that could put Looney Tunes to shame.

“Why- Why would you think THAT? You’d make such a good contestant with that enthusiasm of yours! Why, he’d be overjoyed to have such a big TV Lover like yourself!”

“Well, I know, but it’s… It’s because…. you know… the Kris thing.”

The screen went dark, with all previous forms of expression completely gone. The black, hollow stare slicing the very air itself, as all previous sense of safety seemed to vanish in an instant.

The voice was no longer showmanlike, but rather hollow and cold. And oddly enough, I coulda swore he looked slightly taller. Maybe it’s just nerves though.

“...What Kris thing.”

“You know! The whole puppetering and controlling them.”

I couldn’t help but fiddle with my hands, with eyes darting from left to right to not be stuck under the increasingly intense gaze.

It felt like it was ripping right through me, like I was going to die if I stayed under it too long.

“It’s not fair. I made my own vessel, and yet still, I got stuck with Kris.”

“Who doesn’t seem to realize I’m as much stuck with them as they are with me.”

“And you know, I THOUGHT Tenna would call me out on my bullshit, but he didn’t. He’s the one that knows the most about Kris, and I thought if anyone would have noticed, it would have been him.”

The man seemed to wince at the comment, and then looked away from me. I gotta say top tier character acting, scary as that… scary as that was for a second. Almost had me fooled there! How long have they been studying Tenna for this cosplay?

My right hand lifted, as I rested the palm on the back of my neck.

“I just… wish that I could play without having to control Kris, you know? Cuz even though it is just a video game, I feel bad. It’s taking away someone’s autonomy. I want to be able to make my own choices, without hurting someone else.”

The words were barely audible, but questioning nonetheless, it came.

“What if you could?”

Lightly I could hear a snap, with the lightbulb then flickering, and I could have swore the room got darker. Man, I must REALLY be losing it. Never again will I stay up for 3 days, like jeez.

Confused and dazed, the only thing there was a simple, “Pardon?”

“What if you COULD play without controlling Kris?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. The idea of finally being able to play without Kris’s suffering, so happy, so fond, that I couldn’t help but humor it.

“Well, I mean I’d take any chance I could get at it, why you ask?”

And then, suddenly the room went dark. The wall dissipated till all there was was a large, open, black void. One filled to the brim with snow, seemingly going on endlessly, stretching on in every direction. The blanket of the snow was almost completely white, aside from some random items from my room being strewn across it. Some even looked like they moved.

In the middle of it all, was a constantly shifting door, with pixels radiating from it, with the form similar to that of the Switch that laid there previously. I couldn’t help but step back, with tremors all up and down my body.

“What- WHAT THE HELL?!”

My voice seemed to echo boundlessly, and yet, somehow, it was still heard. One foot after the other kept going backwards, until it got so irregularly quick that I wasn’t even having to try, as the world seemed to fall in front of me.

I fell hard. Again. Once on the face because of a stupid ladder, and the other now, falling backwards, only barely caught by my hands, with knees setting to a bent position sprawled out in front of me.

Through quickened breaths, I managed to force my head up from looking at the floor. Man, I feel dizzy. I don’t think that’s good.

Where the cosplayer, no, that’s not a cosplayer. That’s actually freaking Tenna because where he stood he was now tripled in height from what he once was. Now that there wasn’t really a ceiling, it seems like he wasn’t worried about that anymore.

Wait, where DID the ceiling go? The walls? ANYTHING?! HELP?!? This is FAR from normal. Did I fall asleep?! Is this some dream turned to a nightmare?

What kind of a fever dream WAS this? I checked the clock, didn’t change randomly. Checked the handmirror on my nightstand, nothing unusual. I looked normal. Well… before that is. My hands are… grey now? Ok gonna worry about that later, for now… WHERE THE HELL AM I?!?

AM I DEAD? DID I ACTUALLY TELL TENNA I SHIP HIM AND HIS EX?! WHAT?!

“I’ll admit, I should have been a bit more up front and honest about the whole thing, but OH you seemed so EXCITED! Why, I haven’t heard anyone talk THAT passionately about TV since…”

He paused for a second, looking off into the distance, before snapping out of it.

“Oh NEVERMIND! What matters now, is that you CAN play without controlling Kris now!”

A clip of rainbow confetti played on his face, before switching back to the elated expression.

“Aren’t you EXCITED?!” He pointed to me as if he were pointing to a camera, “I know I am!”

“H-how d-did you ev-en get he-ere?”

Despite my best efforts, everything coming out was nothing short of choppy.

“DOESN’T. MATTER.”, Despite such a showy switch in demeanor prior, it was obvious something was off. The posture was a lot more rigid, and the smile was unnaturally wide with a glint of fangs piercing through it, with the sound of teeth slightly grating each other echoing across the room. “Now, dear contestant, would you like some help up? There’s SNOW way that fall didn’t hurt (And they said the fall LAST SCENE sounded bad).”

Somehow, despite seemingly ALL ODDS, a laugh track played. How, I DON’T KNOW. WHERE IS IT COMING FROM? HIS HEAD? WHERE???? HUH?! CARTOON LOGIC IS THAT YOU?

As he approached, the more I remembered the OTHER reason I wouldn’t want to meet Tenna. He’s honestly kinda terrifying up close. And just terrifying in general if you think about it. This… this is probably the WORST time for my brain to think about this. Thanks a lot brain! Jerk.

Towering over me, I could finally get a better look. His suit was slightly ruffled on the shoulders, hands slightly shaking, and twitching. Fear runs alongside the blood in my veins.

Involuntarily I stumbled even further back, pushing myself with my hands.

His screen flickered, with the smile becoming more and more strained on the sides, “Hey, you’re supposed to be coming TOWARDS me for me to help you. NOT away.”

He got slightly smaller, and nervously laughed before continuing forward. Pace steady, yet sometimes slightly going slower if I stumbled while going back.

Suddenly, I felt something bumpy in the snow. Like it was second nature, I picked it up and threw it, only to be caught by his left hand. It was a folder that was admittedly filled with Tenna sketches. God the irony.

“Did you just-” I threw something again. Right hand got it. This time it was the cookies.

“HEY! Could you STOP that? I’m TRYING to help.”

He has no more hands left. All I need is one more thing to throw. And I better find it fast, because he’s getting increasingly more tall by the second.

My hand traced over the spine of a book, and this time I threw it harder. Maybe it would knock him back long enough for me to get up and make a break for it.

He… caught it? HE HAS 4 ARMS NOW?! WHAT. THE. HELL?! THAT WAS IN THE FREAKING CONCEPT ART, NO WAY. NO. NONONONONONONONONONO. OH NO. GOD. DAMN IT.

I looked over my shoulder, hoping to see something, ANYTHING. I… don’t see anything else to throw.

“A screenwriting book? Well don’t I feel HONORED!” He keeps getting taller. What the hell is this guy’s height limit? He usually doesn’t go over what I assume to be 15 feet in game, and even THAT’S concerningly tall. THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!

I can’t… I can’t get myself to say anything. The words are stuck in my throat, and left to fade into the silence.

With his last arm, on the bottom right corner, I could see and feel myself being picked off the ground. My feet dangled beneath me helplessly like a ragdoll.

“NOW THEN.” He cleared his throat and placed down the screenwriting book, only to then place me on that hand afterwards. I stumbled a bit, and immediately regretted looking down, the sheer height from the ground being nauseating. “We should REALLY get going now. The show is starting soon, and trust me you DON'T wanna miss it!”

The room looked as if it was doubling and shifting, with my head pounding into my skull. I try to breathe, but it’s rapid and the breaths come randomly.

“I… I c-can’t.”

Even now the little words I can manage barely sound like them.

“Wha- What…? But you just said-“

I took a deep breath. I need to focus.

“I-I mean I said that, not expecting that there’d act-tually be a way. I have no clue how to do physical challenges and stuff and- I didn’t think you were actually g-gonna- I didn’t think I’d actually-“

These are just excuses, aren’t they? I can’t even make a damn excuse correctly right now.

“So what you're saying is, that you’d NOT want to stop controlling Kris.” The tips of his fingers started to curl in, slowly getting closer. His screen is off. Well fuck, I’m screwed.

I shake, eyes darting left and right. I want to get out, I want to leave. I want someone, anyone… b u t n o b o d y c a m e. And now I’m too frozen to move, and it’s too late to try.

“I- Wha- No- That’s not what I-”

The world felt like it was closing in around me, both figuratively and quite literally as sentences start and then cut themselves off, not knowing what to say.

“No, NO that’s EXACTLY what you meant” What started off as a small laugh spiraled into a fit of harsh, and uncontrollable laughter, with the broken laughs slipping through the cracks of the words. “I mean I actually thought for a second you’d WANT for them to be able to live their own life and make their own choices.” Now, his entire hand was around me, tensely gripping me to the point that if it went on any longer, I’d be crushed. Try not to think about it, try not to think about it, TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT. I’M NOT GONNA DIE, STOP THINKING THAT.

“I guess not.” Now, the claws have found their way out of the gloves, and are WAY too close to ripping into my side.

Ok, so maybe I AM gonna die. Ok. I’m doomed. It’s not even the DOOM BOARD yet. Oh god wait I didn’t even think about that. The doom board is terrifying even when I’m NOT being brought into the actual game. …And he still thinks that I want Kris to suffer, huh? I don’t… I… DON’T… I…

“T-that’s…” Tears roll down my face, one after the other, until my entire face was flooded. “I-I don’t WANT Kris to suffer…. I…. I WANT them to make their own choices, I- I just... I just want t-them to b-be ok-”

And then, the claws retracted. His face turned on with a face full of remorse, and the grip faded away. He sighed, and had moved his other lower hand, patting me on the back lightly, like a parent saying ‘there, there’ to their child. Must have learned it from Toriel.

“Here.” He handed me the box of cookies and my folder. “I got a bit carried away there, didn’t I? I’m sorry, I get defensive over Kris, you know? They’re family to me. And family is important, you can get that, right?”

Blinking back tears, I make a small smile, as I grab a cookie. “Y-yeah. Ha. I c-can get that-t.”

“It’s just, could you PLEASE at least come for one round? I promise, I can adjust the difficulty if you need (even if you’ll probably be fine), I just haven’t had almost anyone on my show in a long time, and I got excited and… yeah.”

How… how did I forget? He’s just lonely, that’s WHY he’s sometimes… well like that. He doesn’t want to be abandoned, he wants people to watch, he wants people to just at least try his game.

I feel like shit now.

“F-fine, I’ll come. Even if it’ll a-admitted be brief…”

A look of hope flashed on his screen. A look I… I can’t say no to. I don’t want to break someone that looks so happy like that. And I told myself that guilt tripping wouldn’t work on me-

“You’ll come…? You’re not just saying that to say it?”

God that’s adorable, help. He may be emotionally unstable, but he’s my comfort character dammit. AAA MY FEELSSSSSS-

“Y-yeah. Yeah! I’ll come! And this time, I mean it!” I declared proudly.

“Oh that’s..!” He threw his top two arms up into the air in celebration. “That’s WONDERFUL!”

I jumped a little bit, and it seemed he immediately noticed that MAYBE it’s not a good idea to swing your hands in the air if you're holding someone in your other hands.

“Uh.. here, let me put you down real quick.”

I could hear him mutter a quiet sorry about that.

After setting me down, the bottom two arms disappeared. I’ll just assume he doesn’t want those there for broadcast. Wouldn’t blame him, it kinda freaks me out. Well, not before (I actually used to think it was pretty cool), but MAYBEEE being almost crushed warrants that now. Just MAYBE though.

I think I forgot out of my blind hyperfixation that Tenna can actually be REALLY scary when he wants to be. Note to self to not get on his bad side.

“Much appreciated.”

“Oh there’s SO MUCH to DO! I’m so EXCITED!!! I can FINALLY do the TEAM Physical Challenges!”

He started going off on a tangent on many ideas he was excited for, listing them off all one by one as if pitching them like in a writer’s room as we walked over to the door of pixels that used to be my console.

Finally, we arrived at the door, and he stopped.

“I PROMISE you WON’T regret this!”

He shrunk down a little bit to be able to fit the door, even though it looked pretty similar to his height, it’s probably easier to get in that way.

I nervously stand outside the door, and as he’s halfway through, he leans down and extends a hand, and even if I can only grab a finger, it’s a nice gesture that I’ll take.

And as I enter, the world fades to black.