Chapter Text
Cover Art by LA_MIKHA (Commission)
— Battat —
Battat woke up in a cold sweat.
He was supposed to wake up in bed with his partners. The light on his face was supposed to be warm, maybe a bit too bright for comfort.
Tenna was supposed to have his strong arms around him, he was supposed to hold him gently and lovingly while his other partners joined in with the embrace.
He reached out for Tenna’s chest, Pluey’s fur, Jongler’s hand. Anything. But his hand touched a wall instead after fishing in emptiness.
The hard, cold surface surprised Battat enough to scare him over the edge. He pushed himself away from the unexpected object, hard and cold to the touch, only to drop onto the floor.
He groaned at the impact, his vision returned slowly, adjusting to the darkness of his surroundings.
The light from the window was cold and dull.
Something didn’t feel right.
This wasn’t Tenna’s bed, this wasn’t even Tenna’s room. This wasn’t the flat he had shared with his fellow Mikes before moving either.
But it seemed familiar. Not nostalgic, only dreadful as if he knew that he wasn’t supposed to be here. Not anymore.
“Are you doing okay, Greenie?” An unfamiliar voice asked.
“What?” He looked up to notice that he fell out of a bunk bed; the die that he shared it with, looked down from the top and smirked. “Where am I?” He had a bad feeling about this.
“Did you hit your head?” The other Pippins asked. “Our room in the studio.”
Battat frowned. “No… nono… is this a dream? I shouldn’t be here anymore. I should be…” He held his head. “Where’s Tenna?”
The Pippins tensed up. “Tenna?” They looked away. “You really hurt your head, wow!”
“Just answer the question.” Battat mumbled.
“Okay… your funeral…” The Pippins told him. “He’s probably in the Green Room or inside his office with Mike.”
Battat nodded. ‘Pluey or Jongler are with him then… good because I need some answers.’ He wondered whether he got drunk, his memory was hazy and nothing else could explain this.
He didn’t know why he came here of all places but his partners were likely worried for him.
Battat got dressed and walked out of the room, noticing the concerned look of his coworker and one-time-roommate. His fellow dice weren’t usually afraid of Tenna, no one was really afraid of him anymore but Pippins played around at the studio without a care in the world at all times.
At this point every employee knew that Tenna’s outbursts were all bark and no bite. He felt too guilty to fire anyone, he barely if ever got physical and especially after escaping his abusive situation, had started to do some serious work on himself.
There was no reason for anyone to be scared of him at this point. He barely even showed his fangs and claws anymore since he had become more relaxed.
Battat felt relieved when he heard Tenna in the other room. He wanted to talk to him and felt a strong urge to get held by him for some reason. He usually wasn’t the most physically affectionate but he’d make an exception and let his partners cuddle him all they wanted.
He sounded serious, more quiet than usual and if he listened closely there was something else to it that he couldn’t decipher without more context.
“…I need all of you to be at your best performance. You know that I can’t have anyone slacking off on the job or you will be fired.” The large TV warned them with a growl to his voice. “You either make the cut or you get cut, got it?”
“Geez… boss, did you get up on the wrong foot?” Battat walked inside and yawned. “No need to get glooby this early in the morning. How about we go to your office? You can tell me what got your wires in a twist and I prepare you a cup of your favourite tea. Deal?” He looked up at him and immediately lost his smile and confidence when he saw the CRT’s aghast expression.
Battat took a quick glance at the other employees. Some Pippins seemed impressed at his attitude, others looked at him as if he was something incomprehensible but most of them appeared terrified. But they weren’t scared of him, they were scared for him. The subtle glances towards Mr. Ant Tenna himself were giving the clear signal that he was the source of their terror.
Tenna seemed to have collected himself on first glance but it was a fallacy. Nothing about him was collected; the signs were subtle but clear to someone who knew Tenna as well as Battat did: he was mad, boiling behind his screen.
A twitching tail, claws poking against his gloves, tension on his antennas, a strained smile and the faint crackling of electricity; his body relaxed and Tenna huffed a half-hearted attempt at a laugh. “Oh! We have a little jokester!” He laughed too exaggeratedly. “Isn’t he funny?!” The TV glared at the other employees that hesitantly laughed along their employers unhinged giggling.
Battat had a really bad feeling about this. Something wasn’t right. ‘Am I dreaming? Is this some kind of nightmare?’ He wondered, feeling as if he really messed up.
“Anthony…” He spoke but his voice was hoarse. ‘Why am I scared?’ This wasn’t right. “What’s going on?”
Tenna leaned down. He felt so small, not in a protected way but instead in a very fragile way. He wanted to run but he had no reason to run from the other man; he was huge and powerful but he was also his friend. So, why was he doubting that? Why would there be that instinctual feeling that Tenna would hurt him if he did so much as make another misstep.
Tenna fell silent as if someone switched the channel mid laugh track. His screen was black now, reflecting Battat’s unnerved expression back to him.
“Am I a joke to you?” The TV asked with a complete lack of emotion. “Everything is a joke to you little nuisances…”
“What?” Battat backed off while Tenna closed in on him. His back touched the wall and his hands reached for a door that had been here only moments ago but he was trapped like a mouse in a maze.
“It’s Lord Tenna, dice boy.” He picked him up by the poncho. A frown appeared on his dark glass surface, turning upside down into the shape of an uncanny smile. “Unless you want to lose your job and the benefits that come with it.” He hissed.
“What did I do?! Why are you acting like this?!” Battat struggled, feeling panic rise inside of him. It had to be a weird nightmare. ‘Wake up.’ He told himself. ‘Wake up, this is just a bad dream again and Tenna will hug you and tell you that he wouldn’t do this. Or this is some elaborate prank, a performance.‘
His thoughts got interrupted when the massive Darkner snapped his fingers in front of him to get his employee’s reaction. “The audacity of some Pippinses…” He scoffed. “Fine… you’re going to my office.”
Elnina panicked and stepped forward. “Boss… wait…!”
Tenna tensed up and glared at her, an electrical charge moved along his antennas, the current flickered between them like an unstable connection. “I’m sorry…” He chuckled with a low growl to his voice. “…since when did I give you permission to speak, my dear?”
The cloudy Darkner flinched back. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying… please have mercy.” She begged. “You know how Pippinses are.”
The TV stared at her before he scoffed and placed Battat down. “Alright… I am nothing if not fair and kind!” He told them. “It would be a shame if I had to… terminate one of my employees this early in the morning. Get out of my sight, I don’t have time for this.” The tall man scoffed and walked off. “Mike!” He called on his way out.
Battat was dumbfounded and stayed unmoving in the corner of the room. His heart was beating quickly in his chest, pounding violently with every heavy breath he took. ‘What’s going on?’ He asked himself and noticed that he was shaking. This was similar to his nightmare but it felt too real. He pinched himself.
“Are you alright?” Elnina asked while the woman and her husband walked up to him.
“I’d call you brave if it wasn’t just stupid and insane.” Lanino frowned. “What were you thinking?”
“You’re lucky he seems to be in a good mood.” The feminine part of the weather duo added.
Battat glared at them. “That was Tenna in a good mood?!” He asked shocked, he usually only acted this way in a really bad mood when times used to be bad in general.
Both panicked. “Not so loud!” The moon Darkner begged in a panic. “It’s Lord if you want to talk about him.”
‘What the hell is going on?’ He bit his tongue and just nodded. Something was clearly not right. He had a bad feeling about all of this and wondered why everyone acted as if this was normal Tenna behaviour.
He could be rough and crazy sometimes but he had long gotten better and besides ranting and complaining, he hadn’t threatened anyone in a long time. This one also didn’t sound empty, he had a feeling he didn’t just say that to get his way like usual.
Something was really wrong and all alarm bells went off in his head, this wasn’t just about Tenna, everything else felt wrong as well.
He had to be smart about this because he already put himself in a bad light with the Lord of Screens. It would be best to retreat and sort his mind but first he needed answers.
“Why is Ten— Lord Tenna in such a bad mood?” He didn’t think he could get used to that, their boss hated formal titles and wasn’t a megalomaniac. At least not as far as he knew and he knew Tenna pretty well. Something was very clearly wrong but he couldn’t think of anything that could have caused this. Things were going amazing between them and for Tenna especially. He should be in the best mood.
There was no way the whole relationship he had with Tenna was a dream. It was going on for months, they were basically raising a child together. He tensed up. ‘The Pipis. Where is she?’
He only noticed now that his memory was very foggy after all and there were a lot of details missing. He only remembered if he really focused but it felt as if there were holes in his mind. His life seemed like a dream, everything between becoming Mike to them moving into the same place and raising Tenna’s kid.
The memories that were furthest away were clearer but everything of the past months was almost gone.
Battat held his head and shook the die violently to give it a spin. This had to be another one of his nightmares, just like the ones about Mike. He grit his teeth, just thinking of that name gave him a headache; either that or spinning too hard.
He never spun his head. Unlike other Pippinses, he hated the sensation. It made him nauseous like taking several loops in a high-speed rollercoaster.
Battat frowned when he was still in this reality; he hit his head even harder, making sure to spin it faster than he ever had before. ‘Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.’ He told himself.
The weather duo wanted to stop him because it seemed uncomfortable but he blacked out before he could even register their concerns.
He woke up.
Part of him was relieved until he realised that he wasn’t back in his flat or Tenna’s home - or even the Mike Room - but instead where he had started his day.
His heart began to race but he didn’t scream or jump or anything.
He was calm, at least on the outside.
He had to assess the situation.
Panicking wouldn’t get him anywhere.
There were three scenarios that immediately came to his mind, some more likely than others.
Firstly, there was the possibility that he was too tired or drunk and went to bed somewhere else but couldn’t remember. Everything else was a nightmare. Unlikely because he didn’t usually drink but Pluey had a way to get him out of his comfort zone at times. They might have celebrated something.
Secondly, he sleep-walked here during his nightmare. He never did that before but it was more likely than getting blackout drunk.
Thirdly, it was a prank. Pluey loved messing with him sometimes and being a little tease. With Tenna’s help he could have easily pulled this off even though it was unlikely that Tenna gave up his morning cuddles for a prank. And April’s Fools was already over.
There was a fourth option that came to mind but even his usually outlandish theories paled in comparison.
He didn’t even consider it outside a fleeting thought. Battat had to approach this situation carefully, so he decided to get l ready for work and head straight for the Mike Room.
“Where are you going, Greenie?” A familiar voice asked.
Battat looked at the other Pippins and it was the same guy from his dream. “To work. You should as well.” He told him.
He rolled his eyes. “Aye-aye, stickler.” He waved him off. “Don’t expect any reward for being punctual.”
The green die ignored him and headed towards the Mike Room. He had no time for this. When he passed the Green Room, he heard the discussion from before.
“…I need all of you to be at your best performance. You know that I can’t have anyone slacking off on the job or you will be fired.” The large TV warned them with a growl to his voice. “You either make the cut or you get cut, got it?”
Battat tensed up. Those were the exact words that Tenna had used before. He felt a pit forming in his stomach because this couldn’t be a coincidence. The feeling of wrongness got stronger.
But despite everything, it could only be a dream because how could it come to this? Was he more delusional than he thought? He couldn’t have possibly imagined everything.
The small Darkner took a tentative step towards the room and peeked around the corner to look inside. It seemed exactly like his not-dream and made him wary. Every moment that passed was confirmation that this was reality. It shouldn’t be possible and part of his brain still denied that fact but just because he wanted to deny it, didn’t make his situation any less dire.
He took another step forward, careful and hesitant, then another and another; each felt as if the weight of the world was tied to them.
He figured that it would be better not to face Tenna for now, not until he figured out what exactly was going on.
His old friend seemed off; extremely off even for his bad days. Something about the way he had acted wasn’t just stress and trauma, there was malice in his words.
He didn’t know why the day restarted again but something about it felt too real. He wouldn’t even attempt facing Tenna for now.
Battat decided to go to the Mike Room, having every intention to get his costume before he even thought about talking to his boss again.
The first thing he noticed were the screens.
They were everywhere.
TV World always had a lot of them but there were clearly more, not only that but they gave him a strange feeling of being watched.
He made his way to the Mike Room, deliberately taking a route that seemed to have less TVs, though that was an impossible task. There were no cameras but he had a feeling that they weren’t needed. If he was being completely honest with himself, he didn’t know the full extend of Tenna’s powers and he didn’t want to find out.
He thought back to the day on which Tenna found out that Mike was fake and he was behind it. He had purposefully provoked him to shield Pluey but that had been the only time he felt genuine reverence and fear towards the Lord of Screens.
He didn’t want that to repeat, especially if Tenna’s mental state was unstable enough to have him dissociative during moments of unadulterated rage.
Battat had to make a plan.
But more importantly, he had to find his other partners. He really hoped they were alright but part of him feared that even they might not recognise him. After all, he had met them a while after becoming Mike.
The dice Darkner reached his destination; to his misfortune, the room wasn’t as he expected it. There was a double door and he was certain that the location was correct but it looked just like the unused storage that he had transformed into his base of operation.
When he entered, there weren’t any sewing materials, no coffee machine, no couch, absolutely nothing. An empty room with some boxes was all he found.
His body tensed up at the horror of the situation. Everything was gone. He could have guessed already with the changes to the studio but this was the final confirmation: this wasn’t his timeline.
Possibly a different universe or maybe something manipulated their world into this; either way this wasn’t his home and he had to find a way to fix it.
Small Bonus Doodle by Punnchi!
