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In a small town, inside of a small house, one may find a TV that hasn’t been plugged in for a long time. This TV wasn’t just an ordinary TV- In fact; it had many secrets that most monsters wouldn’t expect at first glance.
One of these secrets was that there was a whole world of entertainment inside of the screen.
Another one of these secrets was that the TV itself ran the world. His name was Mr. “Anthony” Ant Tenna. Although most of his co-workers and employees just called him Tenna.
Tenna was a TV show host that strived to keep his audience members and contestants happy and satisfied with the way that he performed his shows. Alongside his fellow companions, such as Mike, Elnina, and Lanino, they were able to create shows that brought smiles and laughter to the darkeners that truly needed it in their lives, as well as hope, love, and acceptance.
Even while Tenna wasn’t hosting his own shows, he was still keeping his family in the world above safe and sound. His owner, Toriel, was the mother to a child named Kris. Kris wasn’t like other people in their world, in fact, they were a human child- and in a world inhabited by monsters of all different shapes and sizes, Kris was bound to be lonely and scared.
Not to mention, Kris wasn’t like most other kids. They were an introverted child that didn’t have much to say, as well as a prankster among the small group of friends that they had. One time, Kris dropped various items down the toilet that they clogged up the pipes and had to get them removed and replaced with new ones. While Tenna wasn’t able to see it for himself, as his lightener form didn’t allow him to do so, he was able to hear the conversation that Toriel had with her kid.
She seemed . . . Stern. But not once was she ever hateful. She was only doing what was best for her kid.
Tenna wished that he could have been there by Kris instead.
But now was not the time to think about the past. This was the present. Now, Kris was almost grown up, and wasn’t the sweet little one that they used to be. And as for Tenna, he was unplugged. No one wanted to use him anymore, not even Kris. This was a new era- an era for mobile games, consoles, and other gadgets.
TV was starting to become obsolete.
Inside of the TV World, Tenna could be heard inside of his room, sulking and crying over his lost family. The family that treated him with so much love and care. His hands were on his face, covered with many tears to the point that they got on his bed.
‘Kris! How I miss you! I wish that you and I were here together right now… You were sitting on your father’s lap while all of us watched those good ole cowboy movies… Reenacting those cooking shows that you used to watch with your mother… I want you back… All to myself….”
Tenna got a tissue and wiped his tears from his face. As soon as he did so, a light sneeze came from his mouth, and his nose started to blossom into an adorable, bright, red flower. Since he was a TV, his snot was more so petals than anything else, so he had to wipe them from his body and throw them away. It was even weird that a TV even had to do that to begin with, but he got used to it in no time.
Outside of the door, Elnina and Lanino were hearing their boss sniffle, cry, and talk about his previous relationship with Kris.
“I feel really bad for the big guy.” Elnina said with concern in her tone of voice. “Do you think that we should even make him something?”
Lanino nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not even sure what we should even do for Tenna… He’s been our good friend for many years, so this gift of ours should be meaningful for him. We can’t just bring Kris to our world…”
Lanino put his head on Elnina’s shoulder. “I love him as much as you do, but I understand his feelings… We aren’t as active as we used to be.”
In the corner of her eye, Elnina spotted something left on the floor just a few feet away from her. It was a VHS tape of all things. Strange… This wasn’t here just a moment ago, and she knew that. So… What in the world was it doing here?
She picked up the VHS tape after brushing her husband aside. As she looked closer, there was a label on the tape that said “For my dearest Kris” written in black marker. An idea popped into her head.
“Hey! Honey? I found this lying on the floor… Should we give this to our boss?”
Lanino took a closer look at the VHS tape and gave thumbs up. “Sure- Why wouldn’t we? Anything to cheer Tenna up.” He grabbed the tape from Elnina’s hands and knocked on Tenna’s door, hoping that he would answer.
“Tenna! We have something for you! Come on out!”
As soon as Tenna heard the call, he speed-walked to the door and opened it. When he did, the smiling faces of two of his most trusted friends greeted him. He waved shyly back, not knowing what to say or do at that very moment. Being caught in a personal moment like this… Made Tenna nervous about what they were going to say to him.
“Hey big guy! We found this VHS tape just for you! We know that things have been hard for you recently, so we just wanted to help an old pal of ours out.” Elnina proclaimed happily.
Lanino handed Tenna the tape. “We’re not so sure where this even came from, or if you even made this tape, but just know that we got it to ya, safe and sound.”
Tenna looked at the tape and gasped in amazement- He was looking for this for ages!
Tenna was going to hand it over to Kris the next time that he saw them, but it seemed like that it dropped out of his pockets at one point and was passed around by many of his employees until one of them dropped it and didn’t notice.
“Y- you all found this? For me? I have wanted to have this in my hands for so long. Thank you both!!! I love my kind, wonderful friends!!!”
He held his arms out and the weather duo began to hug their life long pal and companion.
“Anything to help our boss out!” They both said in unison.
“Well, I must be watching this now- for old times sake. Maybe this can make me feel all better. Thanks a lot you two!” Tenna grinned as another flower was blooming on his nose.
“Bye, Tenna! See you soon!”
The weather duo left Tenna alone, chatting and flirting with each other as they went back to the Green Room to play some video games. Tenna was alone now, thank goodness- He was finally able to play the tape that he wanted for so long. With how much he’s been busy lately, he didn’t have a chance to rediscover what he recorded from the outside world; so taking a look back would help out his memory immensely.
He closed the door behind him and sat on his chair, pressing a button on his chest to open the tape slot that resided in that very same space, and then proceeding to place the tape inside- Tenna hasn’t done stuff like this in a hot minute.
As the tape played, Tenna could see someone watching him from a distance while two people were in the background. Was it who he thought it was? Was it by any chance, his darling, beloved Kris?
It was, which was great! But something felt off about Kris and how they sat on the floor… Were they crying?
Oh no. This wasn’t good at all.
Tenna didn’t like it when people feel sad for any reason. It made him want to cry too. He was wondering why Kris was crying, until he overheard the conversation that Toriel and her husband had in the background… What was his name again? Tenna didn’t remember all that much.
“Come on Toriel, please. I’ll be better next time, for both of you… For all four of us.” A man pleaded with his wife off in the distance.
“Asgore, I’ve had enough of all of this! Why are you still focused about that case? It’s all you ever talk about! You don’t even want to see me anymore! Am I just not that important to you? Is this how it’s supposed to be?” Toriel said as she sternly told her honest feelings to her husband.
“No! I love you three! I swear! But Dess is missing, and we have to find her and-“
“She’s gone, Honey. Gone. She’ll never come back, even if by miracle that we do find her for any reason… I don’t think that she will be alive at all.”
Kris looked back at their parents, and then stared at the floor, crying once more. Why did this happen to her- Dess was like an older figure to Kris, someone that they considered to be cool, and one of Asirel’s best friends… This has to be just a sick joke, right?
But it was not a sick joke. This was reality.
While Kris was crying, a voice could be heard from the TV. It was the TV saying their name, calling them. The TV wanted to help.
“Kris! Kris!” The TV shouted to get their attention. “I’m right here! Come closer now, will you?”
First, Dess is supposedly missing, and now the TV is speaking to them? Either they were hallucinating due to how stressful and horrible this situation was… Or this was the start of a bond that will blossom.
Kris looked at the TV. It wasn’t actually speaking to them the way that normal humans would speak to each other- rather it was using its signal to find broadcasts and switch between the channels in order for it to speak to them. They walked closer, staring at the screen.
“You seem to be in trouble. I want you to focus on me, okay?” The TV comforted Kris with its smooth, comforting words. “My name is Mr. “Ant” Tenna, but please, call me Tenna, my dearest Kris!”
Tenna knew their name… That freaked Kris out a little bit, but he didn’t seem to be a bad person at all. No ill intentions here.
“Now, I want you to place your hand on my screen. Feel the static fuzz on your hands and in your fingertips, okay kiddo?”
Kris placed their right hand on Tenna’s screen, and it felt… Euphoric. Who knew that a sign of warmth was what Kris needed in a long time. They closed their eyes, as they felt secure with Tenna, zoning out the argument that was happening in the background. It was like that it never even happened in the first place.
Everything was okay for a few moments.
Kris felt like they were truly loved again.
In the present, Tenna took the VHS tape out from his chest when it finished. He looked at it for a few seconds, then smiled as his fears were starting to fade away.
“I could have sworn that you were smiling there for a second Kris. Maybe… You do still care for me after all, deep down in that little heart of yours.” Tenna thought to himself.
As he placed the tape on his shelf and walked out of his room to see his friends, Tenna felt a twitch in his body. It was almost like he was being plugged in up above. He rushed to the Green Room to see if any of his friends and employees could feel it too.
“Boss! You just came!” One of Tenna’s employees yelped excitedly. It was one of the Shadowguys that helped out Tenna with his shows. All of them were very dear to him, and it seemed like this one had to tell their boss the big news of the day.
“I’ve heard voices not from this world. Could it be from above?” The Shadowguy asked him.
A red Pippins walked over and started to bother his boss about it too. “Come on Mr. Tenna! Who is it? Who is it?”
And soon, almost everyone started to ask Tenna about the noise. It was getting too much for him, so he snapped his finger, commanding everyone to stop talking without saying a single word, in which they did.
“Give me a moment, everyone. We can see it all through my screen. Let me see what I can find.”
Tenna scanned around the Dreemurr living room to see if he could find anybody that he recognized, but all he saw was some sort of purple monster creature. Who was this girl anyways? Tenna never saw her in the household at all, so why would she even be in there in the first place?
“Kris? Are you finally done setting up the TV?” Susie asked them. Kris gave her a thumbs up in response. They were never really much of a talker, so they ended up using sign language to communicate with their friends most of the time. Susie smiled. “Hell yeah! Let’s go binge that movie marathon that we’ve been wanting to see! This food that your mom made is wicked cool.”
Tenna’s eyes began to water up. Kris was still here. They even brought a friend alongside them! They weren’t alone! They seemed to be doing great after all of these years…He missed his precious little one immensely. A flower bloomed on Tenna’s face again, and this time, it contained all seven colors that one might find in a rainbow. Everyone else was cheering, crying, and hugging one another.
“My wonderful Kris! It is so nice to see you. May we be together forever once again! I only wish that you feel the same about me too.” Tenna declared as he put his words on an advertisement. Susie didn’t see it, but Kris definitely did. They blushed as they switched the channel out of embarrassment, not wanting to see the TV’s ever so bold love confession.
“Woah, Kris. Are you good? It seemed like to me that something caught your eye.” Susie teased her friend. “Was there an attractive person on TV that you like?”
Kris nodded their head no, but inside, they were sweating bullets. Susie doesn’t need to know about this at all. This is one of the secrets that they will keep in their grace for a long time.
“Okay… Weirdo… But hey! That’s why you’re my friend! Now come on! Let’s go watch that movie marathon.” Susie said as she pumped herself up.
Kris looked at their TV once before changing the channel.
In the corner of Tenna’s eye, he knew for a fact that Kris blushed, smiled, and mouthed four simple words.
“Thank you for everything.”