#antennatime

THE HOLE IS ALWAYS AN OPTION.

Hold on.

Hold on.

Hold on hold on hold on hold on.

After a full 24 hours of searching and maybe 3 hours of sleep on a park bench, Frisk's SOUL tugs. Hard. Their head snaps left and right, a piece of paper crumpled in their sweaty hand. They follow the tugging down streets and through alleyways, until they come across it.

A TV.

More specifically a TV with a body dressed like some kind of game show host. Their SOUL feels like it's been doused with cool water, and Frisk feels like they can finally take a deep breath. After wondering, studying the feeling so long, they are positive it has to do with them.

"Excuse me." Their voice is clear this time, and as soon as the TV-head turns, Frisk feels a twinge of fear-- that a certain face might show up, but thankfully the screen is blank, besides a long nose.

Life is difficult when you're a drop-dead gorgeous flower. One minute you're about to pronounce two loving Darkners husband and wife, the next... you suddenly wind up in a world decidedly not your own. That was the exactly situation that the lovely Rosebud had found herself in. Away from her sister and with no marriages going on anywhere, things were just so... so BORING! Even the question of whether or not this was still the Dark World didn't spark any intrigue or excitement in Rosebud. It wouldn't change the fact that the city was so devoid of the very thing the flower woman treasured most of all... Love! Where was the love and passion?!

"Boooredy boredy bored bored!" Rosebud said to herself, rolling along in her wheel-propped flower pot and glancing around for anything that'd catch her fancy. "Does ANYONE around here wanna get married?! Maybe kiss? Bump elbows at least? I feel like I'm totes having to scrape the bottom of the barrel here. I'll take some matrimony with bed mites at this rate!" It was her role. Her lot in life. Her very reason for existing... To bring couples together and create happily ever afters. But nobody seemed to be biting. In fact, she likely just sounded like she was asking people to marry her.

He looks disheveled. That's not normal, and even someone as uninterested in the mental states of others as Uzi knows that Tenna takes pride in looking his best. His suit pressed, his screen polished, and his smile blinding; some high standard he sets for himself (and his employees, she's come to learn) about taking pride in one's appearance. He wouldn't come to the studio looking like that. He looks like he was in some kind of scuffle, and lost.

Well, he's just a TV host. A big one, sure, but he probably isn't packing a rocket launcher up his sleeves like some of the other robots Uzi knows. Maybe he's no good in a fight.

He says don't ask. She doesn't.

"Whatever," she says, shrugging. "That's what you hire makeup artists for, right? Or, uh... electricians. Wait, I think that's me."

"No, it's fine," he says, waving her away. "We've got a lineup planned so I don't have to-"

"You didn't get the text? Jacinthe cancelled. Something about, uh... her fairy got sick or something. I dunno," says Uzi, shrugging.

"Uh, huh? No, no, she's on- shoot, dropped my phone in all that..." Tenna pats his pockets for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Time, what's the time?"

Uzi checks her HUD. Tenna should get one of those. "5:42."

"Already? You're pullin' my leg. What about reruns? Mike, what do we got, what-"

He stops short, looking down at her. At least, he's probably looking down at her. It's hard to tell when he doesn't have eyes.

"Uzi! Sorry, kid! Got a little distracted, you know how it is! I'd forget my rabbit ears if they weren't screwed on!" he laughs.

It's weird how quickly he can shift like that. Probably something to do with those standards of his; he's gotta look like a professional, so he's gotta act like one, too. Like flipping a switch, and he's ready for the camera.

Like he's "on." Is that funny?

Cyn's been texting her. Uzi blocked her number as soon as she could, naturally, but she keeps finding ways around it. Spoofed numbers, burner phones, just plain ol' Absolute Solver BS; whatever the case is, the messages get through. And Uzi can't help but look at them.

Sometimes her excuse is that she's keeping an eye on her enemy, and sometimes it's plain curiosity, but she knows she shouldn't be looking. Half the time, the messages are fairly innocuous: just simple greetings, creepy smile emojis, or weird memes. And sometimes they're photos of Uzi while she's out in the city, or questions about how N and V are doing. Creeper stuff. Uzi's never replied, but once in the while, the photos get closer. Once in a while, Uzi imagines she can see bright yellow eyes peering at her from windows or around dark corners. Once in a while, she's not just being paranoid.

There was laughter this time, so it was definitely Cyn. She teleported away as they locked eyes, so Uzi couldn't even yell at her. And then, Uzi got a text with a pic of her hollow-eyed stare with the caption "nice face, idiot."

Whatever. This isn't anything new. Cyn's always a freak. Uzi can deal with it. The way her hands are shaking don't mean anything. She can ignore the warnings in her HUD. She doesn't need to worry about the "panic attack imminent, wuss" popup. She's fine. She's great. She's god.

The phone falls from Uzi's hands as she brings them to clutch at her head. Her vision's getting kind of hazy now, and there's something building in her throat. Her audio processors aren't picking up sounds properly, and her body is shaking. This is pathetic. She's killed Cyn, why is she freaking out about this? She needs to get it together. C'mon, c'mon. Don't have a public breakdown. Don't.

"Woah, you okay?" comes a voice. Maybe it sounds familiar, but Uzi can't really tell right now.

"F-fine," she snaps. "I'm fine. Leave me alone."

But the footsteps get closer, and Uzi suppresses a whimper. She has an image to maintain, and she doesn't need some loser getting too close to her while she's having a moment and killing it. She's not some emotional teenager, she's a super cool god of darkness!

"Don't! Don't come closer!" she says. Still not looking up, she throws out her hands, violet glyphs appearing at her fingertips and tossing trashcans aside. Leathery wings erupt from her back, accompanied by a snapping tail, splattering crimson-hued oil over the street. As Uzi presses her hands to her face, she can only think that it's happening again. She's about to lose it. This hasn't happened in a long time, why is it happening now? She's better than this, she should be-

"Easy there, kid."

There's a hand on her back, somewhere at her shoulders. It's large and warm, and part of her wants to lean into it, but another part won't let that happen.

"I-I said don't!"

Uzi's tail lashes out, teeth sinking into the arm. The person behind her yelps, and she can hear them stumble, but the hand remains on her back. The shock is enough to bring Uzi out of her embarrassing panic attack, and she finally looks up.

Tenna winces through the bite on his arm as Uzi's arm finally pulls away. She can see a few sparks, but he covers the holes on his sleeve with a shaky smile.

"Oof, you got some chompers there, kid. Didn't know you had all those add-ons!"

Uzi's eyes hollow out, and whimpered apologies are already on her lips, but Tenna holds a hand out.

"No, hey, don't worry about me. C'mon, you think a guy like me hasn't been knocked around a bit? This is nothing. But you- are you alright, Uzi?"

She needs to tell him she's fine. That he can just leave her alone and she'll get over it herself. For so long, she's never needed anyone, not until she met N. And even then, she nearly screwed it up so many times. It's a miracle he didn't abandon her like everyone else did.

Uzi's wings fold over her head, cloaking her in shadow as she falls to her knees. Her whole body shakes.

"Just... just leave. I'll hurt you you again," she says, her voice choked with tears. "I'll be fine, you don't... Y-you don't need to worry."

"Kid, you're literally crying," says Tenna, kneeling down next to her. "Can't expect me to leave in the middle of that. Think of the optics!"

But she doesn't laugh. Uzi just draws her wings closer to herself, and Tenna sighs.

"Tough crowd. Listen, if you don't wanna talk about it, nothing I can do. But I can just... be here? If you don't mind. If nothing else, I can't just leave a kid alone in the dark. So for my own peace of mind, I'll stay. Alright?"

Why are people so... so nice? Why do they have to make this harder for her?

"Call N," she says. "O-or V. They're my partners, they... having them around helps."

"I can do that. So, how do you spell that, is it V-E-E?"

"Just V. And just N. One letter."

"Gotcha, easy to remember. Alright, I'll just see if I can get in touch with them, alright? Don't touch that dial, 'cuz I'm not going anywhere."

Uzi just mumbles in response, still not emerging from her cocoon. As much as she hates these wings as a reminder of what she's become, they're comforting. They're still a part of her, they're still... her. Just her. Also, they look cool.

"Thanks," she says. "For... whatever."

"Don't mention it. Gotta help each other out in this place, right?"

There's a smile in his voice, but Uzi doesn't turn to look at him. She remains in her dark enclosure, arms wrapped around herself, trying to steady her air cycling. After a moment, her tail looks up at her, the violet eyes shifting to a yellow shade.

"Embarrassing," it says.

"Shut up," hisses Uzi.

I like you // I love you // You’re one of my best friends // You’re like family // You are family // I dislike you // I hate you // I’d kill you if I got the chance // I want you to like me // I’m scared of you // I would adopt you // I’d date you // I’d sleep with you // I’d marry you // I’m worried about you // You confuse me // You’re annoying // I pity you // I respect you // I trust you // I feel protective of you // I’d invite you with me to parties // I’d lend you my money // I’d borrow your money // You’re good-looking // I’m suspicious of you // I’m hiding something from you // You’re fun // You’re boring // I’m upset with you // You’re nice // You’re mean // I’m envious of you // You’re smart // You’re stupid // I look up to you // I think you’re a better person than me // I think I’m a better person than you // I want to apologize to you // I wish I’d never met you // I never want to forget you // I want to get to know you better

"He's, like, my boss, but he's also nice or whatever? As nice as a boss can be, I guess. He's also technically a robot, which is cool. No offense to all the humans or whatever that don't suck, but robots are just better."

"People like him. Lots of people. I dunno how he does it. My dad's the same way; everyone in the bunker loves him, even though he kinda sucks. Does Tenna kinda suck? He yells at people sometimes, I dunno. I do my job good so he doesn't yell at me. Skill issue, I guess."

Inside them are a box set of an older-looking edgy space opera anime, and some drawing supplies! A sketchbook, pencils, pens, those really nice markers...

The note attached to it reads: I saw this and thought maybe you would like it!! Enjoy the holidays!! - Your Pal Tenna

"Shoot, this is a heck of a haul! Wow, and these are so nice, too..."

"The boss went all out on these, huh... He didn't... have to do that. Really nice of him, though."