Work Text:
It had been a week since The Showdown with Dark, Alan had been encouraging Second to take a break after that but today Alan let Second animate with him again. Second hummed peacefully helping Alan to touch up the frames with the little drawn stickfigures they’d made jumping around helping as well. The two had finished up the sketch of the animation and Second recalled their little drawn helpers. Second paused for a moment when they went to put their pencil back on the toolbar. They looked up hearing the familiar sound of Alan typing on his keyboard. ‘Are you alright, Second?’ The black text was visible against the white canvas and the thin grey sketch. “Yeah, just still thinking about, well everything that happened.”
Second said the orange text appearing above them as they spoke. They could see Alan frown from beyond the computer screen before typing again. ‘Want to talk about it?’ Second read the text before nodding slowly “It’s just that you created Chosen and…Dark, right?” Alan visibly winced before typing out ‘Yeah, not my best moments at all.’ Alan looked off to the side a guilty look on his face. Second tilted their head and they saw Alan sigh before typing again. ‘Back then I truly didn’t realize the consequences of what I was doing, just toying around with them like dolls.’ Second frowned at the wording Alan used, he seemed upset not at them but rather at himself. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Second asked finally putting their pen back into the toolbar.
‘I was worried at how you’d react.’ Alan answered and Second nodded. “Uh if I can ask, what made you not delete me…back then?” Second asked and the text changed sizes reflecting how they were speaking more quietly. Alan paused for a moment before typing, ‘I’m still not completely sure, though I believe it was partly because I saw how sad and angered you were when I deleted the others. It was raw unfiltered grief in that moment.’ Alan explained having to pause before typing the last sentence. Second was about to ask another question before Alan started typing again.
‘After that day when I saw you and the others playing around, I saw how much more alive you were unlike how I’d originally thought. I started feeling really terrible about Chosen and Dark a̶n̶d̶.’ Alan backspaced and Second wondered what that was about for a moment. ‘I guess I realized the past wasn’t going to change, but the future could. In a way, you taught me that.’ Alan continued and Second smiled. ‘Even despite that I still feel like I can’t handle coming to terms with the past. I still feel horrible about it despite I know that I shouldn’t anymore.’ Alan took his hands off the keyboard resting his head in his hand and looking away.
Second looked at Alan slowly walking forward resting their hand on the screen separating the real and digital worlds. Second perked up tapping the screen and getting Alan’s attention. Alan looked back as Second said the text appearing just above them, “Across the web..?” Alan smiled moving back to the keyboard. ‘And across the Earth.’ Second beamed as Alan continued. ‘Creator and’ “and Creation” Despite Second not being able to hear anything on Alan’s side of the screen they could see him saying the next line outloud as well as typing it at the same time Second said it. “Intertwined!”