Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 Dark, yet darker.

 Kris was in a dull, shadowy space where the walls were covered in vines. They stood in the center of a dusty hallway, with their hands at their sides as their feet marched forward on their own accord.

 They felt it burn inside of their chest. Determined to know. To see what would happen next. It walked them down the corridor, caring not for how their heart pattered fearfully, or for how their hands trembled as it dragged them deeper, yet deeper, into the depths.

 Then, a face loomed out of the shadows. A glossy white skull with a long, pointed nose.

 It stopped, and made them tilt their head to meet the creature’s gaze. They saw their reflection in the pink-yellow lenses, and watched as their cyan blue face twisted into an expression of sheer, utter horror.

 “KRIS! You [little sponge], you!”

 Harsh, gravelly. His smile was wide. His smile was hungry.

 “HAH HAH HAH HAH, Kris! Kris! Kris! Now you can [pay for your sins] and [payback, payback] my [generous donation]. Now we can be [BIG]...TOGETHER!”

 A claw came down. They wanted to run. It held them to the spot. It let him snatch them up. It just sat there, quiet and content, as he squeezed and lifted them closer to that wide, smiling mouth and those glossy, hungry eyes.

 “You [agree to the terms and conditions], Kris! Don’t get [cold feet], now.”

 Sharp, sharp white fingers dug into their ribs. The heat exploded out from their chest and flooded their veins. Their blood boiled. Their nerves burned. The skin of their chest bubbled as they seized and thrashed against the pain, all while he laughed, and it just…kept…watching…

 Red hot strings burrowed into their skin. They were dangled midair by the wrists, while his claws worked away and slowly pried their chest open. More of the strings shot out from the dark HEAVEN above and found their way into their neck, their shoulders, their spine. Each one wormed into their flesh and set the tissue ablaze with fresh, scarlet agony.

 “HEH HAH HAH HAH! Kris!! Look at [the mess you’ve made]! [Spill on aisle-] [you rotten brat].”

 Their blood glowed. Bright and red, just like it. Their blood gushed out from the wound and onto his hands, down his wrists, and then in thick, vibrant streams that spilled down, down, down onto the floor that was so, so, so far below.

 “[Little sponge],” he said, cackling, “[but don’t stop now]. Look at what you did.” He grabbed their face and forced them to look down into the rising crimson tide. “Aren’t [little sponges] supposed to clean up messes like these? Look at what you did.”

 They saw a body rise out from the pool. A mangled, broken thing. Damaged beyond repair. A hand took hold of their left arm. Below, sparks hissed from exposed wires. A cracked screen caught the soul’s glow. It boiled in their chest, even now.

 He scolded them as the excuses bubbled up in their throat. “‘You didn’t want to do it’. ‘You were [forced between a rock and a hard place] to’. [Liar, liar], Kris.”

 His fingers crushed tightly around their left hand. He pulled their arm out, and they saw a glint in the corner of their eye. A cathodic death rattle rang below.

 The black knife came down with a heavy swing.

 He took what he wanted, and laughed as they fell. He dropped them like a broken toy. Like the leftover bones from a prime cut. Like a dirtied tissue, or some other worthless, filthy thing.

 Used up, they screamed.

 Their own blood gargled in their throat.

—

 Tenna booted up with a start. He powered on the instant he felt Kris start shaking, and didn’t even have to look to tell that they were having a nightmare.

 Third one this week…

 He sat up and gently took the human into his palm. They’d be laying on his chest, fast asleep, swaddled amidst the silk of his robe. Safe. His antennas wilted as he cradled them and watched them shiver with their hand balled tightly near their chest.

 “Kris? Sweetheart…?”

 They whimpered. They curled up on themself into a perfect little ball of terror. Tenna’s hand hovered over them. His fingers twitched while the star-soul in his chest hammered restlessly. If one baby in distress wasn’t enough, it seemed that his other little one was beginning to stir. His empty hand flew to his middle as the kicks started up, and he sucked a heavy breath in through his vents.

 “It’s okay,” he whispered to both of them, “everything is alright…ssh…sssh…everything is alright, sweethearts. Everything is alright…”

 The baby settled down after a moment. Kris, meanwhile, seized, and suddenly shot upright into a rigid sitting position. They gasped once, but then immediately doubled over. They grasped at their hair with their right hand, while their left arm curled over their legs as they hugged their knees against their chest.

 A thick, wet sound rattled in their throat. Tenna carefully brought his hand back up towards them. “Kris? Kris, it’s okay…it’s alright, hon…it was just a nightmare, Kris. You’re here. I’m here. You’re alright, sweetie.”

 They flinched away. He quickly pulled back.

 Kris only pulled away when they had a nightmare about the mailman.

 He felt his soul spin about violently. Steeling himself, he brought Kris near his chest, and held them there so they could soak in the warmth and hear the thrum of his internals. He tentatively rubbed a finger against their back. When they sighed shakily, he continued, and rubbed smooth, easy circles between their shoulderblades. Their hand fell away. Their arms dangled.

 He felt them pull air into their lungs. His screen dimmed when he lifted them up slightly and bowed his head towards them.

 “Kris,” he whispered, “hon? Can you hear me?”

 They answered by lifting their arm to press their hand against his screen. Tenna melted at the touch. His fingers curled in around them. He was bent over over his stomach with Kris cradled between his palms.

 His babies…his sweet little stars…safe and close…oh, he’d cry if he thought about it for too long. Kris needed him, though. Knowing that let him hold the tide of emotions at bay as Kris leaned into his screen’s gray-white glow, until their forehead rested against the glass.

 Kris’ voice came out in a thin little whisper, “had a n’mare…’n you were there…”

 There was some tiny piece of him that was strangely warmed by knowing that his loved ones cared for him enough that he showed up in their dreams, good and bad. That was the part of him that was still broken up out in the snow. It was that piece of him that would do anything for an ounce of attention from the people he felt abandoned and scorned by.

 It was a small, small part of him. He had enough sense in his cathode yet to push it down and focus on the matter at hand: comforting his baby.

 “Oh, starshine…what happened?”

 They whimpered through trembling lips, “was dark…an’ the…guy…creepy guy…had me, a-and he…started to go for the…and- and then there was a lotta blood-”

 A fan kicked on. The warmth in his belly shifted. Last he checked, at about four months along, they could hear stuff in there, couldn’t they? Were they worried about Kris, too? They couldn’t understand or make any sense of what was going on around them. It was a lovely thought, though.

 You already love them so, so much…

 “-and I saw you ah- and…and y-you were all broken-” Kris’ voice broke off into a tiny, feeble whine. Their hand balled up where it was pressed against his screen. They moved to pull away, but he held them in place with his fingers, rubbing at their back as they sniffled and their chest heaved with a strained, pained rasp.

 “‘N then the Knight took my…”

 “Oh…my poor baby…”

 “I-I’m…’m s-sorry, I-”

 Tenna shook his head once. “No, no…deep breaths, hon. Deep breaths…I’m not mad, remember? It wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault.”

 He held them against his screen, where he nuzzled at them gently. Between hiccups and sniffles, he heard a few giggles as their hair was frizzled by his static. He was back in a dimly lit living room…rain on the windows…and tiny hands on his screen…

 Kris sniffled wetly. He wiped their eyes and cherished the tiny smile that stretched against their rosy-red, glossy cheeks.

 They opened their mouth. A thin whistle came out. Frustrated, they huffed, and bonked their forehead against where a smile stretched across his display.

 “My poor baby,” Tenna cooed. ‘Baby’ was spelled in glossy pink and blue letters that appeared with a high-pitched squeak above his head. Kris frowned at this, while he just chuckled quietly. “Let’s get you some water, hm? How’s that sound?”

 They nodded. Tenna set them on his shoulder, and slipped out from beneath the bed covers. The blue torchlight of the castle’s halls flickered silently as he made his way towards the kitchen, with one hand over his stomach, and another busy brushing at Kris’ hair. They leaned into the touch, and yawned softly.

 He pinched the tiny (well, compared to him) glass between his fingers as he filled it. He then passed it up to Kris, who rasped an airy ‘thank you’ before they took it eagerly. 

 As they drank, Tenna settled his hands over his baby bump and leaned back against the counter. There was something so…domestic about it all. He was brought back yet again to the dimly lit living room. This was before Kris. Before Asriel, even. He remembered how Toriel would shuffle in and sit down with a weary huff. She’d either have a glass of water or a steamy mug of tea, which she’d sip at gingerly as she watched him with soft, sleepy eyes, and rubbed her paws against her swollen belly.

 He wasn’t quite himself, back in those days.

 He was fuzzy on the details.

 He’d ‘woken up’ the moment he was out of the box. But it was a good few years before he was himself.

 Kris was the one who named him. Kris made him ‘Mr. Ant Tenna’. Before Kris, he was just a nameless TV. But even back then, as the nameless idea of a person he was, he understood on some level that sometimes you just needed to sit and have some time with yourself, and with your little bundle of joy.

 Mr. Tenna considered himself quite lucky in this regard. That he had so many little darlings, and with another on the way. That the child who had given him name and life and form, his little Kris, was doing so well, even after all that they had endured…and, of course, he was glad that he’d made it through everything, too!

 He looked down at his belly. We all made it. I’m so glad we all made it, so you get to be here, too.

 Kris tapped the side of his head lightly. He took the glass and set it down in the sink. Kris crawled into his open palm when he offered it, and was already halfway asleep by the time he reached his bedroom. He laid down and set them on his chest.

 The way they curled up when he pulled the quilt over them both made Tenna chuckle. Like some kind of little critter getting all cozy in their burrow. He let his hand rest over their huddled form, and sighed as his head sank into the pillow. His other hand found its place on his stomach.

 Before he powered down, he snuck a little kiss onto the top of Kris’ head. Their hair flared out with a static fizzle.

 They ducked their head away. They whined, but couldn’t hide their face before he saw the little blushies fade onto their cheeks. Tenna grinned and considered it a victory as he leaned back, and his screen went dark.

Chapter Text

 He booted up to find himself somewhere bright, warm, and lush. Tenna’s screen blinked on, and he looked around to get his bearings.

 “What…the hell?”

 He smiled a bit as he tilted his head. He was dreaming, that much was for certain. The overgrown leaves and oversized foliage that surrounded him on all sides, combined with the teal-green tint of the sky gave that away right out the gate. Unless he’d somehow booked a ticket for some tropical vacay in his sleep, that is.

 Birdsong filled the air. Not the tweets and chirps of the sparrows and songbirds of Home Town. These calls were strange. Whimsical. Exotic. The ferns around him buzzed with the shrill, high whine of insects that dwelled in the lush green shade. All around him he saw flowers of all shapes and shades, from near-white pink lilies to clumps of petals a shade of purple so deep, they were practically black. 

 He was sitting on the earthen floor of some grand tropical rainforest. With his back pressed against a warm mound of soil, he went to get up, only to find that he couldn’t move his legs. 

 “Why can’t I-”

 He looked down.

 “...ah…”

 Turns out, he didn’t have legs! The forest, it would seem, had claimed him as part of itself. Instead of legs, everything below his hips had been replaced by thick, green-brown tree roots that burrowed into the soft, damp soil, anchoring him to the spot.

 Not only that, but it would seem that he wasn’t exactly alone in this predicament.

 Softly, he chuckled and brought a hand onto his stomach. “Hey…”

 The roots coiled around the bump in such a way that sort of framed the baby. They bobbed inside of his transparent womb in the form of a yellowish star, the points of which stretched out when he laughed. Was this the real baby, or just part of the dream? 

 With him being a Darkner, it really could go either way.

 “I’m gonna act like you’re real. Chances are you ain’t, but well, it’s my dream, so…”

 He caught a glimpse of his antennas when they drooped over his screen. The usual metal balls at the tips had been replaced by a pair of sunny yellow daisies. He lightly pinched one between his fingers to study it more closely. His gaze drifted from his hand down the length of his arm. He reached his shoulder, and upon seeing the leafy shoots that jutted out from beneath his shirt, he looked back down at his belly and snickered.

 “I mean,” he said aloud slowly, “this is probably some funky symbolism thing, ain’t it? Some kind of hidden message from my subconscious? Hm…what could it mean…?”

 He tilted his head the other way and tapped the bottom of his display. Some bird or another went off in the branches overhead. 

 “I feel a bit…trapped? A bit stuck in my ways, maybe?”

 Tenna slid his hand towards the roots that encircled his see-through belly. When he grazed the wood, it shivered. A couple of offshoots stretched out from the main coil, and soon started to sprout a dozen or so fresh, green leaves that matched the ones on his shoulders. Even in a dream, he still had the scars: twin bands of mottled, welded red-black that marked where the Knight’s blade had struck him.

 “...yeah…I guess I’ve been a tad cooped up inside since you came along. I haven’t gone out and about as much as I usually do…”

 The star pulsed steadily. The leaves stretched to drink in the golden sunshine.

 The ones of his shoulders grew larger when he sighed and leaned back. “There’s probably something here about me bein’ a bit…not scared. But maybe a bit surprised by how you’re changing my body.”

 All the books and webpages that Queen, Toriel, and Carol had helped him through had warned of what kinds of changes he might come to live with. He’d gone into this expecting soreness, itchiness, cramps, some swelling, maybe. Hard to say with him being made of metal and abstraction. But he hadn’t expected that his stomach would be see-through after a certain point. And he had his suspicions this wasn’t exactly a temporary adjustment, courtesy of their little up and coming star.

 Even by just thinking it, he watched the roots tense and swell. More branches sprouted, bringing with them fresh leaves and a few tiny, delicate white flowers. He smiled when the baby twinkled and spun to the side.

 “It’s not a bad thing,” he said, “just…not quite what I expected. You’re just full of surprises already, ain’t ya?”

 They glowed. He grew. The flowers blossomed, and the forest rippled peacefully.

 “I'll get used to it.”

 Ironic, wasn't it?

 For a guy who got bent out of shape if things didn’t stay just as they were to be alright with the unpredictability that came with carrying a pregnancy. What had changed that made him so alright with change?

 I’ve got people to go through it with me, he figured. The thought felt light and easy where it settled inside of his chest. I’ve got Queen, Tori, Carol. I’ve got the kids. I’ve got the Mikes. I’m not stuck in the living room or the studio. If something goes wrong, I have people to help me get it sorted…I’m not alone anymore.

 Tenna’s hands came together over his middle. He settled into the strange, leafy serenity, content to mesh into the undergrowth until morning came and brought him back to twilight-lit reality. 

 He was just about to power off his screen when he heard something next to him. He thought it was just a bug at first, but it was too…processed. It was some kind of weird, gross gargled garbage noise that made his antennae tense, while his brow furrowed.

 He looked down and to the side.

 Next to him, there stood a blob of a man. A man in a black robe, with a white skull and two frail, bony hands that had holes in each palm. A skeleton? Here? In his weird surreal plant body horror pregnancy dream? At this time of year?

 One of his sockets drooped. His other was opened wide, and grew a tad larger when Tenna tilted his head, and stared at him in confusion.

 “...hello?”

 A pinprick, white pupil appeared in the man’s eye-socket. “Ah…you can…perceive me?”

 “I…can? Who the hell’re you?” Tenna leaned in towards the little weirdo. Well. Little compared to him. By the looks of it, he’d be about Asgore’s height, though there was a slouch to his shoulders, so he was probably a head taller. “And what are you doing in my dream?”

 The man shuffled and circled him. There were a pair of black cracks in his skull: one that went up over his forehead, and another that linked to his wide, smiling mouth. His jaw clicked when he spoke oh-so quaintly. “I am…an outsider. I apologize for the…intrusion. I merely wish to observe. It is…best for all…this way…”

 “Observe…what exactly?” Tenna bristled. He brought a hand up near his chest, while his other arm wrapped around his belly.

 “Ah,” the man stopped once he was standing directly in front of him. He, too, brought a hand to his chest. He dipped his head and performed a quick, polite bow. “Again…this is far from a proper introduction, and I do apologize most immensely, Lord of Screens. You must understand, though, that for me, you and your…”

 How could a skull twist into such a soft, tender smile? The man looked down at his stomach, and then back up towards his screen.

 “...prodigy…are something of an…enigmatic miracle…”

 Tenna would blink if he had eyes. Instead, one of his antennae just twitched. “Uh. What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

 “I mean no unkindness. I am…pleased…by the state of yourself, the queen, and am…curious…as to what comes of such a union. It is simply a fact that as per this world’s intended course, you were not exactly intended to… reach such a…milestone…”

 The birdsong died. The bugs fell silent.

 “...what do you know about all of that?” He pulled away from the man as much as he could. The leaves on his shoulders flared outwards as he bristled defensively.

 When his fangs emerged, the roots that had replaced his legs began to shift. Sharp, black thorns grew as the tangle churned and urged the man back by several paces.

 He held his hands up, almost fearfully. Somewhat pleadingly, he said, “I must insist that I mean no harm. I understand this to be…most understandably…a sensitive topic for you…”

 Sensitive…

 …SENSITIVE?

 Tenna laughed. His chest bounced. His static rippled through the now still, stagnant branches. “Hah…haha…yeah you could say that.”

 “I hold no ill intent,” said the man calmly, “it is…merely a rather fascinating outcome…one that I am eager to observe and…record…you are, as you are currently…a truly remarkable subject of study…”

 Tenna saw the white of his pupil flicker briefly. He paused, looked down, and then attempted to amend himself. “Which is to say…that you remain…functional…that you have survived…and not merely that, but have proceeded to sire offspring…it is all simply rather…remarkable…truly remarkable…”

 “What do you want with me? What do you want with me, or with my kid?”

 The thorns jabbed. The black faded to a rich, crimson red.

 The man, unphased, merely stepped away from the writhing bramble.

 “I will simply observe as I always have,” he said, “...certain…occasions…notwistanding.”

 Tenna thought back to what Kris had told him once. It was shortly after they saved the world with their friends, right as they were all getting settled into the whole "post-apocalyptic but also the world didn’t really end so does it REALLY count as that, like by definition” twilight following the Roaring. Kris had told him a bit about what went down at world’s edge…and they mentioned a man…a man with holes in his hands who had directed the Knight (December, though in his deepest heart, he knew she wasn’t herself when it happened) to…

 …

 …ah.

 …

 …ah!

 The sky flickered to black. 

 Ah…hah…haha…HA!

 “You…you hurt Kris, didn’t you?”

 Ohhh, if guilt had a face…!

 “I am sensing that this, too, is a…delicate subject…for you…and I would very much hate to cause you any undue stress during such a…delicate time.” His eye brightened into a solid, steady shine. He gestured, and started to fade into the undergrowth. Strange symbols blinked around him. Hands and sigils and smiles…

 Tenna snarled. The roots lashed. “DON’T YOU RUN OFF, I AM TALKING TO YOU GET THE HELL BACK H-”

 “Good Morning Tennie Wenny My Cutesie Silly- Hey Are You: Good?”

 And just like that, he was awake. His screen flicked on, and the first thing he saw was Queen on her throne. His fans were going at full blast. He was in bed. In Castle Town. Queen was hovering over him on the throne, acid glass in hand, though from the worried look on her face, she’d probably lost interest in it. He felt a bit bad about that.

 “Heh…yup! Just had a bit of a wacky dream.” ‘Wacky’ wobbled as he sat up and rubbed a hand over his screen. His other hand remained cupped protectively over Kris, who was still fast asleep on top of his chest.

 Kris was here. Kris was safe. A little twitch told him his other baby was alright, too.

 His fans began to settle as the dream faded, and reality took its place.

 “Define ‘Wacky’,” Queen said.

 “Well, I was a plant, for starters!”

 Queen’s mouth curled into a tentative smile. “You Were A Plant? Ohhhhh Like Your Flower (Nose Flower)(Because You Get A Flower On Your Nose When Happy)(Very Whimsy)(Much Cutes)?”

 Tenna’s shoulders bounced with hush laughter. “Heheh, kinda, yeah! I was out in some forest, chillin’ with the leaves…it was nice…and then uh…it gets kind of fuzzy from there, but some guy showed up, and he got on my nerves, so I woke up. Because he made me mad, I guess.”

 “Man Screw That Guy. What The Hell. Cringe Of Him.”

 He had to agree. “Cringe, indeed. Ah!” Queen snickered into her acid as she went to take a sip. Tenna looked down when Kris began to stir. He cupped the human between his palms, so they could stretch and he could coo as they yawned and grumbly sleepily. “Morning, starshine…”

 Kris’ eyes opened partway. They squinted at him while they scratched at their cheek, and stretched out their legs again. They were okay…they were doing just fine. His sweet, strong Kris…

 “Dang Dude,” Queen said from above, “Yo Cat Is Nonbinary Swag A-F.”

 “I’m puppy,” Kris corrected. Their voice creaked slightly. 

 “Running Sick As Hell Joke Protocol With Latest Patch Update. Dang Dude,” Queen said, “Yo Dog Is Nonbinary Swag A-F.”

 Pleased by this, Kris smiled, and rolled onto their side. Tenna brought a claw out to rub their back while Queen drifted down on her throne to hover at screen-level next to him.

 “Anyway I Have Come To Make An Announcement,” she said, “Today I Will Be Heading Out On An Excursion To A Neighboring Town With Tasque Manager. 

As she spoke, Queen pulled up a few screens that Tenna peered at curiously. She tapped one, and a picture appeared of a poster that bore the title “CYBER QUEEN MEET-GREET Q & A” in a blocky, cyan-teal 8bit-style font. “We Are Gonna Basically Go And Like Help Some People Understand Darkners And Stuff, LMAO. So Like. Do You Need Anything While I Am Here?”

 Carol had mentioned something about this sort of thing, hadn’t she? As the mayor, she had all kinds of connections, and she’d been a big help in helping Lightners and Darkners get situated with each other not only in Home Town, but in many of the neighboring towns and cities.

 It was just one of the many things she was doing to…make amends…

 …in so many words…

 Tenna appreciated her initiative. She was family. He didn’t hate her for any of it…it was all just…a lot. Too much to think about first thing in the morning. He pushed the thought aside and hummed and tapped his screen. “Uhmm…I don’t think so? I think we’re alright.”

 Queen’s screen blinked out of view. She finished her acid, and it too vanished in a cloud of zeros and ones. “You Sure?” She propped her hands ‘neath her chin.

 She was cute like that. Kicking her legs out, all worried and sweet.

 Tenna shifted Kris over so he had a hand free to brush his fingers across her crest. “I’m positive, dear. You go and have fun helpin’ folks, yeah? I think today, I’m gonna go into town and have some fun of my own. I’m gonna go shopping!”

 Her visor displayed a row of exclamation marks. Queen’s face lit up. “Oh Really Like For What? Baby Stuff?”

 “Yeah! I think it might be nice to pick out some clothes or whatever.”

 “Yo Maybe Toriel Would Like To Come With?”

 Toriel! Well, if she wasn’t busy, oh, it’d be lovely to see her. This gave him an excuse to use that phone Susie had helped him set up the other day! It wasn’t quite like his antennas, but it let him ring people up, and, AND: he could use that ‘so-so media’ that Kris and the other kids were into on it. Susie said he was very good at the so-so media. He could click buttons and look at things and apparently that was what it took to be good at the so-so media.

 “OHHHH, I’ll give her a call! Oh,” Tenna snickered when Kris dangled their arm off the edge of his hand and made a vague grasping gesture towards the floor, “sorry, hon. There ya go.”

 He set them down. While he stretched, Queen circled him on her throne. 

 “Okay But You Are Sure You Do Not Need Anything?”

 “I’m sure, Queenie.”

 Tenna snapped to get the door for Kris. They slipped out into the hallway, probably off to go find Susie and Ralsei. The door shut softly behind them. Tenna rolled his shoulders and carefully moved with the dull phantom sting, allowing it to run its course rather than tensing against it. He then pinched the throne between his fingers and lightly tapped the top of her head.

 “All I need is for you to let yourself have some fun, and to quit worryin’ so much about me. M’kay? Can you do that for me?”

 Beneath the blue gloss of her crest, he saw a series of yellow-white lights blink and flicker rapidly. “I Can Do That Yeah Tots. No Prob. But Also You Will ‘Give Me A Call’ If You Do Need Anything: Correct?”

 “Queen…did you have another nightmare…?”

 One half of her visor twitched slightly. “Man You Are So Mean: To Me. And Yeah Maybe. I Am Fine, Though.”

 “A day out with Tasque Manager is just what you need to take your mind off of it, then!” And a day out of this castle will take my mind off of freaky weird blobby skeleton guys and also that time that I died and it hurt and was really, really scary.

 “True,” she agreed, “Okay Then Bye Love You.”

 Tenna waved her off as she zipped through the door. A fresh glass of acid appeared in her hand as she left. He sighed, stood there for a moment, and then finally mustered the will to get changed out of his official TV Time branded pajamas, and into something fit for a trip into town.

 It was going to be a TV-riffic day!