Chapter Text
The sky was bright blue and the clouds had perfect curves in them, almost like they came out of a cartoon. A leaf flew by. Its green looked so vivid it was almost unnatural. When X sat up, they saw that the grass was the same color.
Their head hurt. They were a little dizzy, but most of all, confused.
In front of them was a person with blue skin and hair. They had weird nubs sticking out of their head and they stared at X with an unreadable expression.
“Are you okay?” The stranger asked. They looked on edge. Their words sounded forced, though they extended their hand, offering to help X up.
“Um…,” X faltered. They took the stranger's hand but let go once they were on their feet. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the Algebrallien Playground. There’s been a lot of people appearing here without any memories.”
“Oh…” It was only then they realized they didn’t remember anything.
“I’m Four. And you’re…” they looked at X’s hair. “Uhm… well, everyone else is a number, and we were spawning in order until something happened between Fourteen and Fifteen’s appearance.” They paused. “Your hairclip has an X on it. I thought you’d be sixteen, but I guess not.”
X shifted their weight from one foot to another uncomfortably.
Someone ran to Four’s side. “Another one? Gosh, the cabins are filling up.” Their hair and skin was green. They wore a pink bow that held their ponytail together. Their outfit was clearly more thought out than Four’s. They had a white frilly top with a second bow, a pink skirt, and layered legwarmers on. As they scooted closer to Four’s side, Four’s expression softened.
“Oh, sorry…,” X apologized. Despite not knowing what the other was talking about, they didn’t want to be a bother.
“Don’t worry about it! I’m sure we’ll figure something out. My name’s Two! What about you?” The new person asked.
Four sighed. “They don’t know their name yet.”
“Right, my bad!” Two examined X for a couple seconds. “That’s weird… an X? I thought we were all numbers around here. I guess we’re getting letters now!”
“It’s probably a variable. It’s called Arithmetic, not Alphabet.”
“Well maybe it should be called Alphabet!”
“That’s stupid!”
X watched as the two bickered back and forth. Their dynamic almost reminded X of siblings. “Um… so I’m X? They queried.
“I guess so,” Two remarked. “...Alphabet X,” they added with a grin.
Four huffed. “It’s not Alphabet! Why would it be called Alphabet if we’re all from math concepts except X?”
“So you admit X isn’t from math?”
“No! I just meant- ugh!” They sighed. “Okay, okay, whatever. X, do you think you’re a variable or a letter?”
“Um…” If X was being honest, they didn’t care which they were. Either way, their name was still X. Though, they knew they needed to settle this somehow, so they just decided, "Variable?"
“I told you so,” Four teased.
“...Whatever.” Two crossed their arms and turned away from them.
For seemingly no reason, X’s head began to throb. They groaned as they brought their hand to their head.
Four rushed to their side. “Are you okay?” They asked the same phrase they said earlier, but their words sounded more… real, in a way. They seemed almost scared.
“I’m okay, it’s just a headache.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Four looked unconvinced. Two patted them on the shoulder. “It’s fine, Four. Doesn’t that happen to everyone when they first spawn in?”
“...Right.”
X laughed awkwardly. “What do you guys normally do around here?” Any information about the mysterious palace they awoke in would be appreciated.
“Well, we also got here not too long ago. A couple months, maybe? I usually just bake or hang out with my friends,” Two shared.
“Are there a lot of people here?”
“I dunno what you consider a lot, but there's uh…” They stopped to think. “Four, how many people are here?”
Four didn’t respond. They were still and staring at the floor.
“Four?” Two called.
“Yeah?” Four asked.
“How many other numbers are in the playground?”
“Ten not including us,” Four stated almost immediately. “Well, nine I guess, since Fifteen left.”
“Oh, okay.” X noted that Four seemed a little strange. They couldn’t put their finger on how, but they were different from Two, who seemed friendlier, almost.
“...We should probably find somewhere for you to stay,” Two commented. “We have some cabins, but only twelve, and we aren’t sure how many other people are going to appear.”
“Maybe X can stay with us,” Four suggested. “Y’know, so we can save cabins in case others come.”
“Oh, uh, X, are you okay with that? If not, it’s alright to have your own cabin or stay with someone else. Or you could just venture off. That’s what Fifteen did.”
X hummed. Staying with Four and Two didn’t seem that bad, despite Four’s weird energy. Plus, they didn’t know anyone else, and venturing off sounded dangerous.
“I can stay with you guys for now.”
“Okay! It’s settled!” Four decided. “Follow me, I’ll show you our house.”
—----
X was sitting on a rough purple carpet. They were sharing a room with Four, since Two’s had a small bed. Four sat next to them, finding a show on their TV with a bright smile on their face.
“This is my favorite show ever!” They shared. “It’s a reality TV show from another planet. Pretty cool, right?”
“Another planet? What do you mean?”
“Just what it sounds like! It’s aired from another planet!”
“...Woah.” Was seeing television from that far normal? It sounded mindblowing to X, but they supposed they knew nothing about this place. They wondered if wherever they came from had inter-planet communication technology, if they even came from somewhere else. They could’ve been just born for all they knew.
Pulling them out of their thoughts, Four booted up the show. It started with two people talking about bugs. Their voices were a little odd, or maybe it was just the quality of the audio that made them sound that way. The background seemed unnatural, but X had to admit, all their surroundings seemed to as well.
“Isn’t it great?” Four asked.
X winced as they watched one of the characters die and get recovered, just for everyone to treat it as a normal occurrence. They weren’t sure if “great” was how they would describe it, but they didn’t want to hurt Four’s feelings.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” X lied.
Four looked almost mesmerized by the show. They stared at it without blinking or moving. Maybe not even breathing.
The two watched about ten episodes before X started to get hungry. “Do you have anything to eat?” they asked.
“Two’s probably making dinner.”
“Oh, that’s nice of them. What do you guys usually eat?”
Four paused the show. “Ninety percent of the time we have pasta. All different types, but Two really likes their pasta for some reason.”
“Do they cook a lot?”
It took Four a hot second to reply.
“...Yeah. They make most of the meals, but they like baking better than cooking.”
X hummed. They broke out of their painfully long eye contact with Four and looked at their hands instead. They had a lot of questions, like where they came from or what this place even was.
Watching the show only made them more confused as to what the morals of this world were. The people on TV were very violent, but it was filmed in a different society, and neither Four or Two seemed that hostile. Although, the people on television didn’t look mean and they still committed crimes left and right.
But what even were crimes? Why were they questioning the laws of society if this was the only society they’d ever been in? Were they somewhere else before they lost their memories, were they always here, or had they just been born? Why did everything feel wrong if they didn’t even know what right was? And why did the tone of Four’s voice and the smell of Two’s cooking feel distant yet so familiar?
“...Do you know how we were made?” X wondered aloud.
“No.”
“Oh, okay…”
They turned away from Four, who had frozen.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound mad. It’s just, everyone always asks me that, and it gets kind of annoying, y’know?”
X looked back at them. They were wearing a polite smile. “Oh, yeah, I get that.”
“Four! X! Dinner is ready!” Two’s voice was coming from the floor below them.
Four got up and led X downstairs, where an aroma of tomatoes and wheat lingered. The table was set with napkins, cups, forks, plates, and a bowl of delicious pasta in the center. Two took a seat facing the window. Four sat next to them, and X across.
“Wow, it looks really good!” X appreciated.
“Thanks!” Two smiled. “You guys can start- oh! Actually, I have something to show you!
X tuned in, watching Two relax. Two took a deep breath, then lifted their hand and waved their fingers around. “Okay, trust me, I got it this time!”
“Uh oh,” Four remarked.
X furrowed their eyebrows. “Got what?”
“Just watch!”
A green aura surrounded the tongs sitting in the bowl of pasta. X gasped as the kitchen tool started flying, taking a handful of pasta with it. Two squinted, moving their hand a little to the left, watching the tongs glide over to X’s plate and drop pasta on it.
“Woah!” X exclaimed. “How are you doing that?!”
“That’s the thing, I don’t really know! Me and Four found out these cool magic things we could do a while back, and we’ve been practicing.” They moved their hand again, using the tongs to scoop up more pasta and holding it above Four’s plate this time. “Four’s a lot better at it than me though,” they muttered.
As a more solemn look took over their face, the tongs slipped and fell onto Four’s plate with a clang.
“Ah! Sorry!” Two apologized.
“It’s fine,” Four stated. They held their hand up and a blue glow encapsulated the tongs. They moved it back to the bowl with ease, much smoother than Two’s movements were.
Two sighed. “Gosh, I’m not great at that, am I?”
“Don’t worry! There’s always room for improvement, and it’s pretty cool that you can do that in the first place,” X pitched in.
Two’s grin returned. “Thanks X!”
Four started eating their food. Two and X did the same. It tasted almost heavenly, like every piece was cooked with love and care.
“This is great, Two!” X complemented.
“Hooray! I put a lot of effort into it since it’s going to be your first impression of my cooking.”
“Well, it’s a good first impression!”
Two smiled. “Thanks!”
“Want us to give you a tour of the playground tomorrow?” Four suggested. “I’m sure everyone would want to meet you.”
“Sure! What’s everyone like?”
“They’re all good people,” Two claimed. “I think you’ll get along well with One.”
“Wow, everyone really is named after numbers, huh? I feel left out,” X joked.
“Don’t worry X, you’ll fit right in since you’re a variable.” Four gave Two a look, to which Two rolled their eyes.
Despite how offputting it felt at first, X felt they could get used to this way of life. Two and Four seemed nice, and by the way they described it, their daily life seemed relaxing. X was excited to meet everyone else and make new friends. Maybe they could get to uncovering why everyone was here and without memories later.
“So, what did you do today, Four? I didn’t see you out of your room much,” Two commented.
“Oh, I was just watching BFDI.”
“...For the whole day?”
“I must’ve lost track of time. It’s a really good show though, right X?”
“Yeah, it's nice.” The show wasn’t terrible, but X certainly wouldn’t watch it as long as Four did. They didn’t know if there was anything they could watch for that long.
“You know, X, you don’t have to watch BFDI if you don’t want to,” Two reassured them.
“No, no, It’s good!” They were somewhat telling the truth. BFDI did have some interesting aspects.
“...If you say so.”
X finished their food, putting their fork on their napkin. “So, you guys just talk to your friends every day? That sounds nice.”
“Yeah, it is,” Two agreed. “But it does get boring sometimes.”
“Very boring,” Four added.
“You just stay in your room, you can’t be talking,” Two accused.
“Yeah yeah, whatever.”
X didn’t understand why someone would want to stay inside all the time when they had a whole “new” world to explore. It seemed like Two and Four hadn’t been here for long, and X knew they themself certainly wanted to see what life was like outside. But they supposed, if that was how Four wanted to live, that wasn’t their problem.
Four seemed done with their pasta, leaving Two the last one eating.
“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow,” X shared.
Two did a motion with their hand, a fist with their pinkie and thumb sticking out, indicating they felt the same. “I’m excited for you to meet them!” They related through a mouthful of food.
“Where should we start?” X asked. “There’s like ten people, right?”
“I guess we’ll just see who’s out at the playground,” Two answered.
“Okay! Sounds good.” X fiddled with the edge of their napkin. “Oh, I forgot to say, thanks for taking me in! And showing me around. And offering to introduce me to everyone tomorrow. Oh, and for the food! Wow, you guys are like saints!” They laughed.
Two chuckled. “Of course! It’s really no problem. We’re all in the same boat here. Everyone’s figuring out what their life is going to be like.”
Four stood up and started walking towards the sink, taking their plate and fork with them. “I’m going to go back to my room.” They put their dishes in the dishwasher.
“Oh, okay, bye Four,” Two farewelled
X waved goodbye as Four left the kitchen.
“Sorry about them,” Two whispered. “I’m sure they’re not trying to be rude, they’re just not great at meeting new people.”
“Oh no, it’s fine. I get it.”
Two finished their plate. “I should probably excuse myself as well. It was nice getting to know you!”
X nodded, scooting back in their chair and standing up. “See you tomorrow!”
“See you!”
They took care of their plate and walked back upstairs to them and Four’s room. Four was in their pajamas, laying in bed and staring at the ceiling.
“Hey Four!”
Four turned over to face them. “Oh, hi X.” They sat up. “I have some pajamas if you want. Oh, and I have some other clothes for tomorrow too." They walked over to their dresser and pulled out a pair of pink pajamas. They handed them to X.
“Thanks!” X took them and went into the bathroom to change.
Inside was a shower in the corner, a toilet, and a sink separating the two. It was a wide bathroom, but wasn’t very long. The area was a little cramped, but X found a comfortable enough place to remove their old clothes and put their new ones on.
When they were done, they looked at themself in the mirror. They had yellow skin and fluffy short hair in a similar color. Something about it felt uncanny, but they know what.
When they came back into the bedroom, the lights were off.
“I’m going to bed,” Four explained.
“Oh, okay. I probably should too.” X folded their clothes and placed them on a counter. They climbed in their bed and turned onto their side, facing the wall.
Their life sounded pretty easy.
But, they had a gut feeling.
Something was bound to go wrong.