Chapter Text
You have no idea how you got here.
You were walking back from the lake. Despite the beauty of your surroundings, staring at the tranquil water had done nothing to settle your thoughts. So you decided to traipse back to the Diner – where the hare Monster who owned the establishment had kindly offered you a room to rent above it.
A temporary place to stay. Until you could sort yourself out.
It was late. Too late to still be up, too late to be wandering alone down the streets, no matter how safe they may appear. But just as you were approaching the back of the Diner, key in hand to let yourself in, you had glanced up the road. And a strange chill crept down your spine.
You had slowly approached the house at the other end, a pocket flashlight gripped in your fist. As you got closer, that’s when you saw two things. Two small details which bristled ice between your shoulders.
The red family car was low in the driveway, as though it had sunk. Rubber spread out underneath the tires across the asphalt. When you aimed the flashlight at them, you saw large slash marks had gouged through all four tires.
But it was the second detail, however, that added a new level of fear to the scene before you: the front door was slightly ajar. A slither of darkness gathered beyond it.
And in that split-second, without thought – another bad decision on top of a lifetime’s worth of bad, stupid, and carelessly made decisions – you had hurried towards the door. Pushing it open. A concerned call prepared on your lips, ready to call out to whoever lived in there, to check they were okay, or to scream bloody murder at a possible intruder –
But you never got that far.
One moment you were standing outside of the house… and then the next, you remember a sensation of falling… and then you woke up in this world. Blinking, dazed, discombobulated, and sprawled on top of a dusty wooden walkway.
You had sat up with a groan, only to discover you were no longer dressed in your own clothes. Soft leggings covered your legs. A short-sleeved tunic; long in the front and back with high silts running up to the top of your thighs. Strange symbols embroidered the hem and neckline, gleams of dusky blue and orange present in the black thread, barely standing out against the dark fabrics. Dark enough to blend into the shadows. Boots wrapped around your feet and shins. A belt sat on your waist, just loose enough to breath but in no danger of slipping.
Then you turned your head… and your jaw slackened. Wide-eyed you gazed at the network of wooden walkways criss-crossing above a pitch-black abyss, snaking their way towards a cluster of huge buildings at the epicenter. Beams of light swept in a wide arches, illuminating the red exterior walls, glinting off golden trims. The muffled sound of loud bass and excitable noise stretched across the distance and reached your ears.
And your immediate thought slipped out, unfiltered, from your mouth.
“Where the fuck am I?”
That had been bad enou-
Red light flashes on top of the Zapper’s head. A split-second warning.
You throw yourself to the left, narrowly avoiding the white burst of light which zips past you, searing against the black space you’re trapped in – where a red, plush carpeted hallway had once been minutes ago – and briefly obliterating the thin magenta squares sliding up the space beyond the invisible walls caging you in. There’s no time to catch your breath before another shot is fired at you, then another, forcing you to swivel and lunge from side to side.
But you misjudged the trajectory of one projectile, failing to account for the ricochet. It grazes past the pixelated heart floating in front of you, brushing against the edge.
You hiss in shock as the heart flinches back. Fiery orange flares in an incensed pulse. ‘22 HP’ flashes in your vision, then the green line inside you HP bar drops, a decent chunk gone. Points you didn’t have to spare.
You’ve already lost over half your health.
Mercifully, however, the latest barrage comes to an end.
The Zapper bounces on the spot, its expression seemingly blank. You lean over, hands pressed against your thighs, fighting to gather your breath – then you receive your enthusiastic commentary.
“Wow, GREAT dodging!! You were really light on your toes there!!”
Panting, you lift your head up and aim a venomous glare at the TV host.
Even standing on the other side of the enclosed arena, a short distance next to the Zapper, Tenna manages to tower over you. Bold and confident. His microphone raised to his mouth, where unnaturally malleable glass pulls back like lips to display two perfect rows of teeth. There are no eyes above his long pointy nose… but there is no mistaking the amused wiggle in the antenna atop his trapezium-shaped head.
That had been bad enough – and then this CRT shithead showed up. In his stupid shiny red suit with his garish canary-yellow tie, a ‘TV’ pin gleaming on his lapel, and patent yellow dress shoes.
Once he discovered you, he promptly whisked you away. Another smash cut on top of another smash cut when you had barely recovered from the first; an impossible leap between locations. Until all of a sudden, you were on Mr. Ant Tenna’s TV Show, shoved behind a podium, squinting in the glare of the studio lights and flinching at the uproarious cheer from the crowd.
That’s when your troubles really began.
Clearly unbothered and entertained by the sharp, scorching look you give him, Tenna’s grin twitches up. He extends his other hand out towards you, gloved fingers curling in and out in invitation. “But time’s a-ticking!! So why don’t you make this easier for all of us and use those twinkle toes to mosey on over here, eh?!”
“Shut up!” you snap, frantically running your gaze over the options hovering in front of you in burnt-orange:
[FIGHT] [ACT] [ITEM] [SPARE] [DEFEND]
“I’ll even make you a TV Dinner! And I’ll throw in a slice of your favorite pie! Just one more round, I promise!”
You slam your hand down on [SPARE]. “That’s what you said eight rounds ago!”
“HAHA whoops!” Tenna lifts his arms up in an unapologetic shrug. “Who’s counting?!”
You slap the [Zapper] option.
“You are! I mean –, you’re supposed to –, are you kidding me?!” you shout out incredulously, ready to pull out your hair when a line of text floats above the Zapper. “What the hell does that even mean?!”
‘but its name is not YELLOW…’
The Zapper give a small hop (looking, perhaps, a little rueful). But nothing happens.
Completely unperturbed by your outburst, Tenna continues, “Why put a limit on entertainment?! Or let some arbitrary number spoil a good time? Why stop there? We can just keep going and going and going, across episodes, across seasons! THAT’S the magic of TV!” Almost as an afterthought, he adds, “We can always cut to commercial if you’re tired!”
Tenna tilts his head at you, a beckoning grin on his face. “So there’s no need to run away! Let’s go back to the studio! C’monnnnn, it will be fun!”
Your hands clench into fists by your sides, legs tense and ready to spring into action. The orange light inside your heart-shaped object glows hotter in response.
“No,” you snarl.
“Wrong answer!!” Tenna cheerfully replies, giving the order with his hand.
You sprint to the right, opening up more space for yourself, as the Zapper starts his next wave of attacks. Larger, closer than before. You feel the heat of the light beams as they skim by your limbs, barely missing the heart bobbing in front of you. Pushing off the floor to lunge back in the opposite direction to evade the next shot, you nearly topple over, only just managing to keep your balance.
Tenna calls out, “Nice recovery!”
“Go fuck yourself!”
“Woah, easy there,” Tenna laughs, “this ain’t that kind of channel! I’m only trying to help!”
“WHAT?! BY SHOOTING BULLETS AT ME?!” you screech back, twisting out of the way of another light beam.
“They’re not bullets!! Not really!! Just think of them as ‘night-night’ projectiles!! They’re not going to kill you! They’ll just make you swoon, that’s all! You’ll be good as new after a little rest! Promise!”
The start of a biting reply is clenched between your teeth when the Zapper suddenly fires two shots in rapid succession. Close together. Blocking you in between them and the invisible barrier on your left. With a curse you press yourself against the wall and brace yourself.
The first shot flies past you. You’re not so lucky with the second. Hot light blasts past your right arm and clips the curved edge of the cartoon heart.
You yelp as a sharp shudder jolts through your chest. ‘35 HP’ flashes in front of your eyes then disappears.
The Zapper straightens up, a quick wriggle darting up his legs, and stops attacking.
Instinctively you check your arm, even though you already know there won’t be any burn marks on your skin. Just like all the previous times the Zapper’s attacks have clipped you. Pushing yourself away from the invisible barrier, your gaze darts up to your HP bar. The green line is hovering close to the last third left.
‘Shit.’
You scowl at it for a moment, then your gaze snaps back to Tenna. Misreading your look, his free hand darts up in a placating gesture, head tilting to one side in a tiny, carefree shrug.
“I’m not mad about the lights, if that’s what you’re worried about! Who doesn’t love a bit of pyrotechnics?! The audience sure did HAHA!! Mike’s gonna kill me later over the paperwork but it was worth it!” His smile twitches. “Could’ve done without the disappearing act though...”
Your scowl deepens, chest rising high and fast with each labored breath you take.
Hurling your controller at the studio lights had bought you a little time, enough of a head-start to crash through the wings, out of the TV studio, and into the corridors. Unfortunately this place is a goddamn maze; a maze made up of endless hallways of red carpet and flashing screens and golden statues and TV posters. You didn’t get far before Tenna quickly caught up to you, blocking your way and recruiting a passing Zapper.
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you disappear instead?” you bite back as you press the [ACT] button.
Tenna leans back and laughs. “There’s that spark we all love!! That feisty personality!! I keep telling you, you’re a natural for TV! A bona-fide star in the making!!”
Gritting your teeth, you glare at the white text before you. The same options. Just as useless to you as last time.
[Check] [Volume Up] [Volume Down] [Give Up]
“Don’t you see? The camera LOVES you!! The ratings are through the roof!! And didn’t you hear that crowd? They can’t get enough of you!! They’re all tuning in to see you!! So c’mon! Come back to the studio!! Think of the merchandise!! Think of the TV we could make together!!”
“Oh my God, will you please shut up!” you snap between breaths. You move your hand, hovering it above [Volume Down]. Yellow text appears alongside it, explaining: ‘Bullets give smaller TP…’
The tip of Tenna’s finger taps an impatient beat against the handle of his microphone. If you didn’t know any better, you might’ve thought it was a nervous tic.
“Tell you what! If you give up now, I’ll let you rest in the Green Room! I’ll get you your own dressing room! You can put your feet, take it easy, enjoy an amazing Executive Dinner and relax! We’ll fix you up, and get you bright and ready for the next round! You can even have first choice of which game you want to play, my treat!! C’mon, hot-shot! What d’you say, huh?!”
You slowly raise your gaze over the row of actions to stare at him. This towering figure who had scooped you off the floor the instant he saw you. Disorientating you with his games and quizzes, firing jokes and laughter in equal measure, announcing prizes, spinning you around for the audience to admire, holding you up to the insatiable thirst of the cameras. And no matter how much your patience began to thin, no matter how much bite and sarcasm you threw back in his glass face – anything to push him away – it bounced off him like a tiny pebble bouncing off the side of a tank.
He’s not going to let you go.
Dread begins to curl inside your chest, the first signs of fear starting to take root… and you despise it.
You pause, as if contemplating his words. One of his antennas perks up at the sight.
“Any game I want?” you ask.
Tenna straightens up with a dazzling, award-winning smile on his face. Every inch of his 15-foot height ready and eager to please. “Yes!! Any board you like!! Dealer’s choice!! Just pick your poison and we’ll make it work!!”
You summon up the most innocent look you can muster.
“Is there a game where I can kick your ass?”
Tenna’s expression freezes. Both antenna twitch down by a fraction as he falls silent for a moment… then, like someone had just hit ‘play’ on a remote, suddenly broad laughter booms out of him. Delighted by your reaction.
“HAHAHA! Loooooooving that enthusiasm!”
Tenna leans forward, one fist planted on his hip, and he wags his finger at you, a mischievous grin on his face.
“But sorry, no can do!! Besides,” – his head dips to the right, the same slight nod as someone winking at a friend – “you couldn’t reach that high!!!”
You give him a saccharine smile, lips peeling back to show off your bared teeth. “Then I’m going to pass!”
You slam your hand against the [Volume Down] option. Tenna shakes his head with playful weariness as the Zapper lurches into action.
“Oh well! Can’t say I didn’t try!”
The bullets are smaller this time. Easier to dodge or to let them fly underneath a raised arm. But there’s a lot more of them. In your panic, you try to cradle the orange heart closer to your chest as you run and twist from left to right, but it continues to bob and weave in front of you, refusing to be contained between your hands.
It’s a numbers game and it’s impossible to avoid them all.
Th-ump. Th-ump. Th-ump.
13 HP.
17 HP.
12 HP.
Then the white light beams fade. It’s your turn again.
You stumble to a standstill. Fatigue pulls at your limbs. A glance at your HP bar confirms the worst: you’re barely above a third of your health left. Your head swims as you gasp in air; it feels heavy, like someone’s stuffed bricks in your skull. You can feel your eyelids sinking a little lower, struggling to stay fully open, as you watch the squares sliding along the walls.
Maybe it would be nice to sit down, just for a second…
Your head jerks up. Realizing your near-miss, you immediately bite down on the inside of your bottom lip until you taste blood, jolting yourself awake.
1 HP.
“Hey, hey, take it easy there!! No need to damage yourself!!” Tenna chastises.
You scoff bitterly, wiping your thumb across your bloodied lip. “Oh, now you’re worried about my HP.”
Tenna sighs. “Do you think I want to do this? If you just quit, we can end this now! I told you several times already that I would! I wish you would stop and listen to me!”
“I wish I still had a knife left,” you mumble as your sour gaze drifts to the [FIGHT] option.
Five throwing knives had appeared on your belt when you got dragged into this… ‘Physical Challenge’. A mystic yellow glow adorned the tips of the thin blades, jagged and sharp like broken glass. You had thrown them at Tenna, aiming for his feet in the hope of scaring him into backing off. Unfortunately, it turned out actually throwing knives was a lot harder than it looks in the movies. Unused to the weight distribution, your initial attempts went wild, either embedding themselves several feet away from your intended target or landing on their handles and bouncing across the floor. You quickly ran out. The scattered knives glimmered on the floor and then faded away. And no more reappeared on your belt.
‘Look at where trying to do the right thing has got you,’ a little voice mocks in your head.
Your vision starts to blur; floating text blends together into lines and wiggles, a strange mosaic. You hiss in a breath and whip your head violently from side to side, blinking rapidly to clear your vision.
“Sure you do!! But they didn’t suit you!! Leave the knives to the magicians next time!!” Tenna teases.
Frustration and anger clamps around your chest as you glare at the options. It squeezes like an iron band wrapped around your ribcage. It’s getting harder to breathe. That little thorn of fear you tried to pluck out is beginning to spread; an infection seeping through your veins.
You can’t [FIGHT] and you can’t [SPARE]. There’s nothing useful in your [ITEMS]. Choosing [DEFEND] will turn you into an easy target.
All you can do is [ACT].
Incensed, your nails dig into your palms, burning new crescents into the flesh.
Tenna chimes in, tone a bit less boisterous this time, “You’re not looking so hot, hot-shot. Why don’t you come over here, hmm? There’s no need to burn yourself out like this!”
Tension seizes your body, so tight you can feel your bones creak under the strain of your anger.
‘What am I supposed to do?! This isn’t fair! I didn’t ask for this!’
The skin starts to break underneath your nails. ‘1 HP’ flashes in the corner of your eye but you barely heed the warning.
‘I just want to get away! Is that too much to ask?! ’
You lash out your fist and crash it down on [ACT]. Then your frantic gaze races across the options. Hoping for something different.
[Check] [Volume Up] [Volume Down] [Give Up]
They’re still the same.
“Come on, come on, come on,” you mutter. “Show me something else!”
The options continue to glow steadily, unmoving, seemingly impervious to your wish. Your knuckles become stark underneath your taut skin. Your frustration threatens to boil over. The glow inside the cartoon heart suddenly surges forth, brighter, stronger: the angry flare of a sunset struggling to stay above the horizon.
Something has to change. It has to!
Tenna’s incessant chattering speeds up, “Seriously!! You’re gonna burst something if you keep this up!! –”
“FOR FUCK’S SAKE!”
It explodes out of you, startling both Tenna and the Zapper, as you rear back and slam both fists against the [ACT] symbol.
Hard enough that, for the first time, it actually shudders underneath your fists. A crack suddenly spikes through the symbol; a jagged line darting up its center and almost cleaving the ‘C’ in two.
The force judders through your wrists, sending a jolt of pain into your bones, but you ignore it, yelling down at the button, “JUST GIVE ME A WAY TO GET OUT OF HERE!”
You pant. Muscles coiled up, enraged and ready to snap, your tremulous gaze lock on the stupid, useless options.
For a moment nothing happens. The words stay as they are… then they start to flicker.
Your eyes widen as the white text shudders in and out of existence. Both [ACT] and the options underneath disappear completely for a few seconds, a blank space left beneath your fists… then you hear a small tsst, the static-y sound of a TV channel switching over, and the buttons blink back to life.
Gone are the volume options. Instead a new option awaits.
[Check] [Adjust Picture Size] [Give Up]
Amazed, your shoulders slump down. Your anger and frustration melts away at the astonishing sight your gaze drinks in. So overtaken by a sense of wonder and childlike elation, you almost forget to breathe. And then a giddy laugh bubbles up in your throat.
You… you did it!
Tilting back your head, you let loose the gleeful laughter as your fists slide off the [ACT] button. It changed! It changed for you! Just like magic! Like real magic!
Meanwhile the Zapper’s hand has darted up to his chest, pressing over the buttons, and his tall head has dipped down, as though in a languid daze. Tenna straightens up in shock, as rigid as one of his gaudy golden statues, grin slipping into an uncertain squiggle across his screen. His left antenna flicks nervously.
“…Umm, what the HECK was that?!” Tenna turns to the Zapper. “What did she do?! What was that sound?! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!”
On hearing his confusion you begin to cackle, delighted by the revelation.
‘He doesn’t know! He hasn’t realized yet!’
A teal color glows faintly on the side of the Zapper’s cheeks, like a sickly flush. He groans. Slurring slightly through a thick city accent he complains, “Mr. Tenna, ‘m feeling kinda funny.”
Tenna throws his hands up in the air. “Huh?! What d’you mean? Your HP is fine!! Not a ding or scratch on it!!”
“I know, boss. It’s like… it feels like my buttons been scrambled or somethin’.” The Zapper casts what appears to be a confused look down at his torso. “But it’s easin’ up now...” He brushes his fingers over the buttons on his chest, as though testing them or searching for something. “I’m –, I’m still trying to figure it out, boss”
Tenna swivels in your direction. You feel his stunned gaze zip up and down your frame, grip tightening on his microphone. As your laughter fades, your smile morphs into a triumphant grin.
In a stiff, abrupt motion, Tenna promptly yeets the microphone over his shoulder in favor of clasping his palms together in front of his chest. An upbeat tone strains through his tight throat (or speakers or whatever he has).
“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey there, buddy! You, err, mind telling us what’s going on? Just so we’re all on the same script here, huh, amigo?”
Your grin widens. After all the shit he’s put you through, you’re going to revel in this change of fortunes “What’s the matter? Not feeling so confident now?”
Tenna chuckles nervously. “Oh, I can improvise!! I just like to –, umm, know which direction we’re going in!! We wouldn’t want to mess up the continuity, would we?!”
“Noooo, of course not,” you reply in mock concern as you eagerly lift your hand and hover it over [Adjust Picture Size].
A piece of text underneath it says: ‘See the world differently’.
Adrenaline and excitement rushes through your heartbeat as you read the information. Neither you or the Zapper have a screen, so it must mean that this action will affect Tenna.
Maybe it will screw up his vision, a distraction long enough for you to get out of this place! Or maybe it will mess with his aspect ratio and put blinders on his sight? It doesn’t matter. Whatever it does, this is your ticket out of here!
It must be. It’s what you asked for, isn’t it?
All of a sudden you hear a choked gasp. You look up just as the Zapper whips his head in your direction. Light-blue sweat springs up on his long forehead. The red cap on the top of his head flashes in alarm.
“H-Hey, lady! Don’t push that button!” the Zapper exclaims.
That’s all the confirmation you need.
“What?” you ask sweetly, pointing at [Adjust Picture Size], “You mean this one?”
Tenna whirls on the Zapper, panicked. “HUH?! WHAT BUTTON?! TELL ME!!”
The Zapper cringes back from the TV host. His head twists between you and Tenna. His voice becomes shifty, nerves trembling through his accent – reluctant to be the bearer of bad news.
“Err, well , ya see, Mr. Tenna, on da one hand it’s not terrible. But on da other it’s not… good.”
You feel a pang of sympathy for the poor guy – well, as much sympathy as you can feel towards anyone who’s been trying to shoot you. However, more importantly, you take this as your cue.
Time to go.
“Show’s over, boys!” you shout out to the pair. Both heads swivel in your direction, their eyeless focus completely on you. “I’d say ‘thanks for having me’ but honestly?”
Grinning, you lock your gaze on the space above Tenna’s nose and lift one shoulder up in a light shrug. “It fucking sucked. And I’m so, so, so glad I’m never going to see your stupid, arrogant, ugly, over-sized face ever again.”
“HAHAHA don’t say everything at once!!” Tenna jokes, the corner of his smile twisting anxiously.
The orange heart lets out a bright, sharp pulse.
Your fingers flex, ready to slap your hand down on the option. You feel Tenna’s attention dart to your hand, curiosity and alarm mixed in equal measure, then back to your face.
The Zapper calls out urgently, “W-Wait, miss –!”
Unable to resist getting one last insult in, however, you whip up your free hand and give a sarcastic salute. You wink at Tenna. “Sayonara, dickhead.”
“WAIT–!!”
“Lady, no –!”
Your hand lashes forward like lightning and you hit [Adjust Picture Size].
The button thrums underneath your palm. And the instant you touch it, energy surges up your arm, raising the hairs on your skin, and through your body in a fast whoosh, like a wind whipping through branches, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
After the strange surge disappears, there’s a seconds pause where nothing else happens. You narrow your eyes at Tenna, a confused frown lining your forehead, but you see nothing different about him. If anything he looks just as confused as you do, albeit more apprehensively.
But then suddenly you hear an odd sound. Your eyebrows twitch together as a tiny whine begins to collect in your ears. The same white noise that gathers at the back of a TV when it’s switched on.
‘…Huh?’
It starts to build. Louder and louder and louder. Then something electric buzzes underneath your skin, jolting you on the spot, and you glance down, aghast, at your hands, turning them over to inspect. The sensation charges up like static, humming between tendons and vibrates against bone, and spreading through the entirety of your body.
And the whine continues to get louder.
When your gaze darts back up, the Zapper’s navy-blue face has taken on an ashen hue.
You hear a ping! Then the word ‘SPARED’ flashes in front of you in bright yellow, lasting two seconds before blinking out of sight.
Suddenly the Zapper turns around and books it, breaking out into a frantic, loping stride, leg pumping hard to get away.
“I d-didn’t do it, Mr. Tenna, I swears it! It –, it ain’t my fault! I-I tried to warn her!” he yells over his shoulder, abandoning the fight.
“Do what?! What’s happen–?! HEY!!!” Tenna whirls around, panicked hands flailing in the air, his back turned to you, and he shouts after him, “GET BACK HERE!!! TELL ME WHAT’S GO-!!!”
But the Zapper continues his one-legged sprint, dashing off into the distance, and the rest of Tenna’s sentence is drowned out by the static snow in your ears. The whine engulfs your skull. Filling it to the brim. Every inch of your body sizzles with energy, too hot, too tight, too much, pressing against the very limits of your corporeal form. Like you’re either going to explode or implode. The last piece of air in your lungs wheezes out of you with your choked gasp.
…And that’s when you realize you might have just made a huge mistake.
VHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Your heart lights up like an alarm, one last warning before –
It all happens almost too quickly for you to follow.
The colors in your vision suddenly snaps. Vivid lines of hue stretch out from the once-distinct shapes of your surroundings, elongating and converging to a pinpoint in the far distance of your sight, like perspective lines racing towards a vanishing point.
Something else inside you snaps too; the harsh snap of a rubber band snapping back into place, or the sudden crack when glass becomes too hot. Suddenly an overwhelming pressure seizes your body, contracting around sinew and skin and bones, and you arch back, a noiseless scream searing in your throat, painless but terrified –
But then the squeezing suddenly dissipates and the whine in your ears stops. And you gasp. A desperate heave of beautiful, wonderful air sucking into your lungs. You can breathe again.
However, you get no chance to enjoy it.
Because in that split-second of release the colors shift and then you suddenly feel yourself falling.
Too stunned by the whiplash of your fate, you forget to scream as you hurtle down into the darkness. Purple squares whip past you. Air whistles past your ears. The tunic flaps wildly about your torso, useless wings fluttering in vain against gravity. The orange pixel heart dives with you, shimmering by your chest, like a hummingbird plunging into the undergrowth. Moving slowly, as though in a dream, your hands reach out towards the heart, ready to cradle it, to protect it from harm…
The heart merrily zips past your fingers and smashes into your sternum, disappearing out of view. But, before you can even blink in surprise, light suddenly sears your eyes. Instinctively your eyelids squeeze shut from the intense yellow glare –
And three seconds later, your back crashes into something soft. You bounce off the surface, yelping in shock as the impact judders through your spine, and then the rest of your body lands with a heavy thwump onto the cushioned ground: in a nice dignified sprawl.
You pant softly, brain still working overtime to process what the hell just happened… and then you sink your head deeper into the ground and let out a groan. You press your palm against your eyelids, blocking out the harsh light still trying to pry its way underneath them.
You’re still alive. Great.
Don’t get it wrong, it’s not that you’re ungrateful, but God what a night it’s been…
A headache throbs in the back of your eyeballs. “Note to self: don’t ever fuck around with magic again,” you mutter.
You have no intention of doing so. All you want is your bed, a bucket full of the most calorific, sugary, over-processed snacks known to man, and to sleep for 14 hours.
…Luckily it doesn’t feel like you’ve got any injuries or broken any bones, nothing apart from a sore back and a hell of a bruise – at least that spares you another trip to the ER.
With another groan, you force yourself to roll over on your side, hands sinking a little into the soft (yet slightly scratchy) fabric underneath you. ‘Maybe I’m already back in my world?’ you wonder, bracing yourself, then pushing yourself up into a sitting position.
You slowly your eyelids open, still feeling a little bleary –
But when you register the sight before you, they snap open, shocked, astounded and horrified by what you see.
You’re back in the backstage corridor. The same one you had tried to escape down earlier: but with two major differences.
One. A strange black fog is hanging in the center of the hallway, blocking the way forward. Too dense for your sight to penetrate except for the occasional glimpse of shadow moving within.
However, that is a minor detail, a mere blip, in comparison to the second difference.
Everything has changed size.
The red carpet has become a wide, perfectly straight river flowing into the distance, banked in by that black-and-white checkboard trim. You can see the tops of the individual strands packed together to create the soft surface you’ve landed on. Yellow lights burn like trapped hot air ballons in the far-flung ceiling. Huge movie posters hang on the gigantic scarlet walls, more akin to the billboards which dominate Times Square. Tenna’s face grins from one such poster, close in size to a kaiju from a Godzilla movie.
Hurriedly you pinch yourself. When that doesn’t work, you bite your lip. Then you slap yourself on the cheek. The scene in front of you doesn’t change.
‘No… wait… it can’t be…’
Then a dreadful realization surges within you, causing the pit of your stomach to drop to the bottom of your feet.
[Adjust Picture Size]
You lift up your hand, darting your feverish gaze between your fingers and the nestled carpet strands you’re sat upon.
‘No, that’s impossible! This isn’t right!’
But what else could explain it? You had felt it. You felt the squeeze around your body, you saw the colors morphing and stretching in front of you. The crackle of energy surging through every atom of your body, brimming and overflowing with the possibility of change. Just like magic.
You’ve shrunk.
…
You’ve shrunk.
The realization echoes in your head as you stare down at your own body.
It’s undeniable. That magic has coursed through you.
And now, if you had to make a quick guess, you’re about five or six inches tall.
…
…
You draw in a deep breath… then you leap to your feet, throwing up your hands in half-clenched claws towards the ceiling, infuriation and disbelief bursting out of you in a banshee-like screech.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!”
Of course this would happen to you! What else did you expect with your luck?! With your consistent talent for everything you touch to blow up in your face?!
Once your furious screech vanishes, however, panic sets in. Your breaths come thick and fast, heaving into your chest, aware of the new perilous gravity to your current predicament.
‘Holy Mother of Fuck, this is bad!’
Tenna is still out there somewhere. You barely managed to get away from him once at your normal size. If he finds you like this, you’ve got no chance of escaping him. If he sees you, it’s game over.
You whirl away from the fog and start to sprint down the corridor. The carpet springs underneath your frenzied strides, lending an extra bounce to each step, pushing you forward. Adrenaline pounds through your veins.
You’ve gotta get out of here! Find somewhere to run to, or somewhere to hide, until it’s safe for you to –
Then you hear a muffled shout behind you. “…Eh?” It repeats again; louder, clearer, and distinctly alarmed. “EH?!?!”
Surprised, you glance over your shoulder –
Only to stumble to a shocked halt when the black fog suddenly vanishes, as though sucked up into an invisible vacuum.
But you don’t get a chance to process that before the universe decides to play another magic trick on you. One as welcome as a rabies-infested rabbit lunging out of a top hat.
Because – out from the same space the fog had just occupied just a split-second before – Tenna suddenly leaps into the corridor. Soaring out of nowhere. Like a giant demon summoned straight out of cheesy light-entertainment hell.
You freeze, incredulity bulging out of your eyes, arms still locked in your running pose, as you watch the long tails of his jacket fly out behind him.
‘You have got to be shitting me–’
Tenna lands with a ‘THUMP!’ further along down the hallway, knees bent in a slight crouch. The floor shudders from the force, rocking you where you stand, forcing you to pinwheel your arms to stay upright.
Fear surges up your throat as you gawp at him. If he had been big before, and that was putting it lightly, compared to your new diminutive size, he was massive. Now your head would only just reach the top of his shoes or his ankle, by your guess. And with one misstep, he could crush you underneath the sole of his clownishly yellow shoe.
Both his gloved hands are gripping the sides of his head, on the verge of tearing out non-existent hair. His antennas swivel around erratically. The expansive width of his back (mercifully) faces you.
“No, no, no, no!! How could she just VANISH?!” Tenna cries out, worry spiking through his indignant tone. “This wasn’t in the script!!”
He trembles, like a live, frayed wire is touching the inside of his frame, as he frets to himself, “What am I going to do?! My contestants are slipping away like worms!! T-There’s n-no TV without contestants! N-No contestants without TV!!” Metal creaks underneath his palms. “This can’t be happening! Not now! Not when I’m so close!!”
‘Shit!’ While he continues to rant, you take a risk and throw a desperate glance in the direction you were heading in, trying to gauge how far the next corner is. Your stomach twists when you see the vast distance between yourself and the other end of the corridor. Impossible to make it there in time, even if you sprinted, without Tenna noticing. ‘Shit, shit, shit!’
But then suddenly your eyes alight on something else, and a hopeful inhale catches in your throat. Up ahead and on your right, maybe 200, 250 feet away from you, a dark splotch mars the foot of the bright-red wall.
A hole.
A small one bordered by cracks. Accidently created by a stray toe or clipped by a piece of stage equipment or perhaps chewed through by a mouse. It would be easy to miss at your normal height. But at your new height, it looks large enough for you to squeeze into, to hide away in.
Your heart thunders in your chest, hope and anxiety drumming inside it. There’s your chance –
Suddenly Tenna falls quiet.
Fear bristling down your spine, you swiftly look over your shoulder, wide eyes glued on the TV titan behind your back. But Tenna is still turned away from you. His head is tilted down, staring at the floor, as though struck by a horrible thought.
His voice sinks to a stunned whisper, “Doesn’t anyone appreciate TV anymore…?”
‘Move, move, move! Come on, move!’ you chant furiously to yourself.
Your eyes remain glued on Tenna as you begin to sneak away. Arms out by your sides, you ease yourself forward with long yet soft steps, wincing at the sound of fabric lightly crushing beneath your boots. Angling yourself at a diagonal, you start to cross the wide, carpeted stretch, aiming for the cracked hole on the other side.
Tenna’s trembling increases, more frayed wires brushing copper strands against thin metal. Then suddenly –
“ARRRRGH!!!” He frantically whips his head back and forth, furious in denial, and digs his fingertips into the casing. “NO!! They MUST!! They WILL do!!”
Frustration and apprehension plucks at your nerves in a high-pitch staccato. ‘Come on, come on!’ However, your legs refuse to work any faster, too afraid of making a sudden noise that will give you away.
“I-I just need to find them!! Show them how much FUN they’re missing out on!! Everybody LOVES TV!! There’s a channel for everyone!! A song, a game, a film, a TV show for everybody, for every watcher!!”
Your teeth clench together at the agonizingly slow progress you make. Only twenty steps taken, if even that. You cast another anxious glance at your goal, then back to Tenna.
“I n-need to find her! Find her before she gets hurt and fix up that HP!! T-Then she’ll be screen-ready!! And once I’ve rounded up Kris and the others, we can get back to our regularly scheduled program!!”
Abruptly Tenna straightens up, like a rooster puffing out its chest, and smacks his fist into his other palm. Confidence perks up in his tone. “HAHA!! That’s right!! It, it’ll be fine!! I can s-still fix this!! Smooth it all over in post!!”
Then it happens. The worst possible thing that could happen happens.
Time crawls into slow-motion in front of your very eyes, and fear clamps around your limbs as – in a swish of looming red, yellow tie fluttering by his torso – Tenna turns on his heel and spins around.
“Nothing a little editing can’t –!!”
The weight of his gaze falls on you; a conspicuous dark blob against the vibrant scarlet carpet. With a jolt, his arms and legs suddenly stiffen into rigid struts. His antennas bolt upright, squeaking back, as a static crackle chokes out of him. Wide invisible eyes locked on you.
Then Tenna freezes into a perfect statue of shock. You freeze too. Stuck in your dumb stealth pose. Your heart stops, blood turning into cold sludge in your veins.
“…fix,” he finishes lamely.