Virtual Insanity

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"If you beep all the time, I won't know when there's an emergency." Mob's voice was passive -- not at all angry -- when he spoke down at the small virtual pet he held in his hands.

Inside was not your standard digital creation; a spirit was inside of it. And so far, Mob had been unable to find a way to exorcise it from its plastic shell. He wasn't even sure what would happen if he did because the spirit stuck inside the small plastic shell was technically still alive.

Maybe that was why he couldn't free him.

"So try to be quiet unless you really need my help."

Comments

[fate_crtdiva]

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Tenna had been desperately trying to communicate from the second the kid had plucked him out of the dusty train's storage cabin. But--

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

His friendliest greeting had been answered with a bowl of rice. Then another bowl of rice. Then a piece of candy. Then a number guessing game. Then a light scolding for beeping so much when he wasn't hungry.

Still -- at least this kid new he wasn't just a keychain -- unlike the rest of the passengers on this godforsaken train. Especially the conductor. He'd been poked and swung around before being shoved under an old tarp. With the luggage. Not even the nice luggage. He was pretty sure he had caught a glimpse of a coffin at some point.

BEEP ... BEEP ...

His beeping slowed as he began to feel more tentatively certain he wasn't going to be shoved back in as soon as this kid got bored. Still, it was unbearable not to be even able to do so much as introduce himself.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"There. Are you feeling better now?" Mob's tone was neutral, but he wasn't entirely unconcerned, either.

[fate_crtdiva]

Tenna didn't answer. Somehow, being directly asked how he felt was enough to render his beeping silent for once. Or maybe it was the post-feeding drowsiness. That was new. Since when could he get drowsy, or hungry, for that matter?

But then--

The dim cabin lights flickered as the train dipped. They were entering a tunnel again, but what wasn't on the other side wasn't the end of it. It was down into the dark.

And Tenna could feel it instinctively. The drowsiness vanished in an instant as the darkness swallowed the cabin. Even if it only lasted moments, it was enough.

"WHOA!!!"

Suddenly, the sensation of floating in some changing and tiny space gave way to heaviness and limbs and ow when his head bonked something.

The screen of the plastic shell in Mob's hand was blank now. The beeping had stopped, and it was replaced by the groan of Tenna's voice in the aisle. He had manifested and tumbled messily away, and he was now lying in a heap, face-down, his own screen blinking with the effort of calibrating to his own form.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob had no idea what was going on, but it seemed like the spirit was okay. At least he seemed to have a little more energy than he did before.

"I'm Mob. How did you get in there?"

Always straight to the point.

[fate_crtdiva]

Tenna's bulky head shot up. As soon as he registered Mob's stare, the rest of him also shot up.

"BEEEEEE--AUTIFUL!" He swallowed the despicable urge to do nothing but beep again. "A beeeautiful view isn't it~?" Tenna gestured with a mic he didn't have towards the window that currently had an endless expanse of dark beyond it. In it, he caught a glimpse of himself, and he nearly fell over again. His body felt fine, but his coat was tattered at the edges. That was no doubt because of the encounter he'd had before this, but--

"I guess that, um, egg was a little small for the wardrobe," he laughed, quickly shedding the coat and tossing it with a flourish over a chair. "Whew, is it a little hot in here? Aha. Mob, was it? Well, kid! I really owe you giving Mr. Ant Tenna a little TLC!"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob watched passively as Tenna went on. He probably needed to get it all out of his system.

"You're welcome," Mob says. Then: "You didn't answer my question."

[fate_crtdiva]

"Ha. Ha! It's called a proper intro, kid..." And after God-knows-how-long he'd been trapped in that thing, he was rhapsodic about the sound of his own voice. He touched the bottom of his head's frame, then the sides, keeping it quick so it wasn't too conspicuous. He felt all in one piece. His head was there, and his hands--

His hands?

He looked down at them. They felt like they always did, but the gloves were gone. So were the sleeves from his button-up, for that matter. And his coat.

The question became a sudden recollection and his antenna snapped ramrod straight.

'I still have my arms?'

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob gently tapped the screen.

"Are you okay?" What did he say his name was again? Oh, right. "Mr. Tenna."

[fate_crtdiva]

Mob's gentle tap jolted him out of the memory, and his expression flickered back to life on his screen. It was one of the brightest sources of light in the dim aisle -- they were still traveling somewhere deep underground, after all.

"Oh! Uh. Gimme five, kid. Let me sort out this unsightly wardrobe malfunction and then we can shoot the breeze! Chew the fat. Give the straight dope."

Before Mob could say anything else, Tenna had vanished into the same storage cabin the boy had dug him out of.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob didn't notice Tenna's disappearance. As soon as the strange, TV-headed man mentioned fixing a wardrobe malfunction, Mob looked away purposefully.

"Let me know when it's okay to look."

[fate_crtdiva]

Mob's statement was answered by a bauble rolling out of the ajar door.

Minutes later, Tenna emerged, now clad in a much more travel-ready ensemble with a flannel trousers and a raglan-sleeved overcoat layered over a knit cardigan.

"Well, folks! This is more W2XAB than CRT, but..." He didn't sound--or feel--at all unpleased, though. He felt put-together for the first time in a long time, even if the colors were plain. He wasn't his full height, but he was a respectable height for a man of his bearing.

"Oh, but this won't fit the ol' noggin'. Here you go, kid!" He plopped a woven Panama-style hat on Mob's head. Then he paused. Then he took it back off and tossed it back into the closet. "Doesn't really mesh with the, uh, camping gear you've got on. We'll workshop it."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I'm fine the way I am, but thank you." Mob took the hat off and sat it down on the nearest raised object.

These clothes were some of the few onboard the train that fit him. They were not particularly fancy, but that fitted Mob better than something more elaborate. Elaborate clothes were more for guys like Teru.

[fate_crtdiva]

Waiting for Mob to take a seat, Tenna took the center seat across from him and crossed one knee over the other, making himself comfortable. He glanced towards the window. Still dark. He took in the rest of the cabin. Still empty. He hadn't seen many people pass by in the time he'd spent in that...plastic egg contraption still in Mob's hand. How long had that been? It was all a blur.

But, more importantly, he also got the sense that the boy sitting in front of him was on his own in wherever this was. Not that he seemed terribly...distraught. But still, he was a kid. Kids had a lot going on under the surface.

"So, kid. Where are ya from?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Seasoning City. It's in Japan." Mob figured it wouldn't hurt to answer Tenna, even though he was very strange. It wasn't as though he would be able to find it.

[fate_crtdiva]

"Seasoning City, huh? Un-bay-leaf-able, folks!" Tenna had fully perked up now. "Japan is on the cutting edge with the doo-dads and whatsits, aren't they? That explains how you were so clever with interpreting my, uh--" Beep-speak. "Well, let's just say it was mint to be. I'm from a place called Hometown myself."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Never heard of it."

[fate_crtdiva]

“It’s quaint,” Tenna supplied. “Not one of your usual destination locations.”

Suddenly, the cabin shifted and a bright blue sky greeted them outside the window. Tenna suppressed a sigh of relief at the darkness melting away. The glass misted from a light rain.

“Ah, a sun shower, huh?”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob gazed out the window.

"You will see it a lot... the weather patterns change frequently. The train is always going different places."

But not in a normal way. Not at all.

[fate_crtdiva]

"Is that so..."

Tenna trailed off for the first time. Seeing the sun and the rain together made him painfully nostalgic, and he sat in silence as they watched the scenery go by. It was really like no place he recognized even slightly.

'I wonder how those two are doing.' Elnina. Lanino. They had seemingly made up. But the last time he saw them together was when--

The memory was cut off when, in the midst of the watery expanse, a...thing with a lot of teeth was hunched over some other kind of animal. Feeding. It looked up at the train as it passed then went back to its meal.

"...Well! Kid, uh, are you hungry or what?" Tenna laughed weakly.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Not really," Mob said honestly. "But if you want to go to the meal cart, I can take you there."

He would have to give him the tour eventually.

[fate_crtdiva]

He was ready to say no, but the truth was that he was starving somehow. In fact, he had never felt so hungry in his life - even after the kid had tried to placate him with three bowls of rice.

'Not enough pixels, maybe?'

"W-well, I wouldn't say no to stretching these legs!"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Well, it's this way," Mob says, turning to take Tenna to the next car. "That's where Green works. They are always there, so if you ever want someone to talk to at strange hours, they're a good listener."

They pass through to the next car. It will still be another before they reach the dining car.

[fate_crtdiva]

The name sounded familiar, but Tenna had been too trapped until this point to claim anything more than that. "How long have you been on this train, anyway?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"About three months," Mob answered. "But the others have been here longer."

[fate_crtdiva]

“Three months?”

Was that how long he had been…?

Tenna couldn’t tell whatsoever.

“Well! That’s…certainly enough time to discover a favorite dish here, I imagine. What do you recommend, kid?”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I like Green's curry." That's it, nothing about the curry or how it tasted.

They cross the berth into the dining cart. When Mob enters, a familiar green person is behind the counter. There are no other guests, so she notices the pair immediately and offers them a wave.

[fate_crtdiva]

Tenna immediately waved back, fully animating once more at the sight of a fresh passenger. Something about this one felt immediately familiar, though he couldn’t place how.

“Chef Green! Folks are dying to know - in your own words, what makes your curry so beloved?”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Green formed a heart with their hands.

"They say it is made with love," Mob translated.

[fate_crtdiva]

“Love! Did you hear that, folks?”

Tenna clasped his hands together as sentimental music begin playing from his speakers.

Then after a few seconds of it, it was cut off from a nagging rumble from his stomach.

“…Ahem!” In one movement, he slid into a seat. “Let’s spice things up! We’ll take one dish, please.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Green tilted their head slightly to one side.

"Oh, this is Mr. Tenna." Mob clearly was well-practiced in translating Green.

Green smiled and started getting to work, the clatter of Green gathering pots and utensils briefly the only sound in the dining car.

"Do you like apple in your curry?" Mob asked.

[fate_crtdiva]

“Apple in curry? I’ve seen apple in fritters and in pies, but that’s a first.” Tenna was intrigued — more than intrigued. Green could have plopped a plate of fresh (or frozen) raw meat in front of him at that moment and he wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"It's good. I never had it before Green's," Mob said. "Are you sure you can eat it?" After all, Mob had fed him earlier and it wasn't anything like this.

[fate_crtdiva]

“Huh? I can handle spice like a champ!” Tenna asserted, missing the likely point of Mob’s question.

Then, when Green placed the hot plate before him, all thoughts fled his brain he and took up the nearest fork with lightning speed. It stabbed the meal with more force than he intended, and he opened his mouth with the intention of making commentary — but his hand had other intentions, shoving the curry past his teeth.

First, he inhaled it. Then he clawed back his manners and chewed the next bite properly.

“…Superb,” he said honestly. “The best thing I’ve had in months.”

He paused.

“No offense to the plain rice, kid.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"None taken," Mob said, looking across the counter at Green. They looked pleased.

"How long were you in there?" With the way Tenna was eating, he looked absolutely starved.

[fate_crtdiva]

“I was—“ Suddenly, Tenna’s screen turned red and he covered his mouth. “H-HOT—!”

The heat of the food had lagged behind the ravenous hunger, but it had caught up now.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob was suddenly hit with a powerful wave of deja vu. Though the two of them were different, Tenna's response reminded him of Reigen.

Mob missed Reigen. He missed his brother, his parents, the Body Improvement Club and his other friends, too.

"You should probably slow down," Mob suggested helpfully. It was as if he was channeling his mother himself. Except she'd be way more direct than he was.

[fate_crtdiva]

Steam trickled out of Tenna’s vents - and to his credit, he listened.

The train rolled to a stop. When he craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the outside, it was still bright and sunny. He had been on the train long enough to know it stopped on occasion, but the outside called to him, what with his regained legs.

“Phew! I think I’m gonna take a walk outside to, uh, digest. Wanna go together, kid?”