[Thank god he's handling well so far. Though Max is still obviously tense, her voice hesitant, at least until she's gotten it all off her chest.]
Chara asked me to show them some pictures one time, and... Uhh, I showed one of the Mystery Mansion ones. [Slight pause here as she tries to keep her voice calm.]
Durng the tour... with you in it. And, uhh, I said we were friends, so... they know who you are.
No. All they know is your name and how you look. [She's trying so much to make her voice sound ecnouraging, but it's hard. The effort is clear, though.]
I really don't think they're... you know, actually evil or anything. Just... creepy.
Right? [The question is almost quiet, and hesistant out of fear of the answer. But there's a tinge of hopefulness as well.]
[There's a brief pause while Alex massages at the bridge of his nose with his knuckles, eyes shut tight. Right. Okay. This could be worse. There are tons of people in Wonderland, and he's not particularly striking compared to a lot of them. The creepy kid would have to be actively looking for him to raise any ruckus.
'Course, there's no way of knowing whether they are or not. Time to lay low, maybe. That's all right. That's fine. That's second nature to him.
He sighs, his next words fringed with the quiet hum of static.]
You saw that last post. I don't think they came here to make daisy-chains.
[Okay. Not the answer she was hoping for. Max is not exactly good at holding back tears, and she can already feel them welling up in her eyes out of sheer frustration, though she doesn't make a sound.
It's not even frustration at Chara.
Why do I always fuck things up so badly, she thinks, angrily wiping at her eyes. On the other end of the line it merely sounds like she's fumbling with the phone, and when she speaks her voice is slightly thick.]
[There's some...horrible ideas beginning to curl away at Alex's mind. He sets his jaw, expression locking down. He's done worse than this.
He thumbs at the device without switching the call off and starts punching out a text.]
Look, it's - it's gonna be okay, all right? You couldn't've known.
[Shit, how does he deal with this. He knows that lapse in tone, maybe not specifically in relation to Max but he knows what it is and he knows it's bad and he knows that it usually signals an impending breakdown.]
Their first broadcast - they just seemed like a normal kid. That's probably what they wanted. They tricked everyone.
[Including him. He just chose not to get involved right away.]
[He stops texting as his brow furrows sharply, a flare of mingled outrage and disbelief lining up eerily well with the spike of static that echoes through the feed.]
People die here so often that Wonderland has a rule about it. Couple years ago there was even this killing spree -
[And then Alex has to cut himself off. That's probably not going to help the situation, not when Max is already piling the blame on herself. He takes a moment to tamp down everything, breathe, focus.]
[This is not quite how she imagined the conversation to go. She felt like talking about it would help her get a better grasp of things, and get Alex safe at the same time. But now it feels more like it's spinning out of her hands.]
What... What do you mean handle it? I'm just going to shoot off a few texts, and... and...
[And what? Everything will be okay?
But she has to believe that. She has to believe she can make it okay. Otherwise people might die.]
Don't you dare do anything stupid, Alex-... You just mean you'll stay safe? Right?
[Fired off distractedly while he engages Sans in some not-so-witty repartee. Just tell him how to kill the little shit, boneman, and stop dancing around the issue.
He only hesitates a second before forging ahead.]
Look, it's like I said. I've dealt with some weird shit. Chances are this kid's got nothing on what I've had to -
[He clips the sentence oddly. Max doesn't need to know that.]
[She doesn't 100% believe him, but Alex is just adding on layers of complication to an issue that she barely feels in control of already. And she'd notice that clipped sentence if she wasn't so distracted by much more distressing things.]
Yeah. Just texts.
I should... I should start on those. To Sans and Chara.
[She is honestly not looking forward to either of those conversations and the hesitation is strong in her tone. But after practically challenging Chara to prove how bad they are (which seemed okay at the time, but after a while of incessant worrying seems a lot worse) she needs to get this all straightened out.]
Seriously just... don't do anything extreme. Okay?
If things get squirrelly, I'm serious - just - [Just what? Don't panic? Don't worry? He'll handle it?] Just get out. Who knows what it'll take to get rid of this thing.
[Sure, he likes Sans. That doesn't mean he trusts him completely. There's something a little off about his totally radical laid-back persona, like he knows more than he's letting on.]
It'll be fine. Sans probably knows how to keep a leash on them.
Okay... Okay. [She's half agreeing, half calming herself down. Texting Chara and Sans seems like a good place to start. She's starting to feel a little bit more like she has a chance to correct things.]
I should go and send out those texts. [A big sigh.] Sorry again.
[She knows how unkind Alex can be about certain things, and she knows how hard it is for him to be sympathetic. So she must be a real mess if he's going out of his way to calm her down, despite the static, which she is just starting to really notice.]
Right. [There's sarcasm in her tone, but it's gone a moment later. No need to be frustrated at him, too.] I'll... try to keep that in mind.
[Diverting the blame off someone else's shoulders isn't a talent that comes naturally to him, nor does being at all consoling. But he's dealt with worse, or so he's set on believing, and he's not about to just sit and let Max tear herself up about this. He's not that heartless.]
Sans'll work it out, okay?
[And Alex will take some...ill-advised action, if necessary.]
God I hope so. I hope Chara's just... crazy or something, but not murder-crazy.
[Seriously, how does she always get involved in all the insane stuff? She wants to curl up in some corner and just... let the emotions wrack her for a while, then fade away. But she can't even stand still.]
You too. [Maybe it'll all come out okay - weeks of paranoia and lack of sleep have probably just set her on edge. Alex could be feeling the same way. Maybe it's all just some overreaction.
She's not sure she has the privilege to believe in things like that anymore, but at least it's comforting.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[Voice]
Chara asked me to show them some pictures one time, and... Uhh, I showed one of the Mystery Mansion ones. [Slight pause here as she tries to keep her voice calm.]
Durng the tour... with you in it. And, uhh, I said we were friends, so... they know who you are.
[Voice]
Okay... [He draws out the word a syllable or two longer than he should as he struggles to keep his tone steady.] That - uh, that could be a problem.
[Putting it mildly.]
[Voice]
I know. I'm so, so sorry, Alex. I swear, I had no idea. They had this whole... orphan kid story. Maybe it's true, I don't know.
[The breath she was holding in comes out as a groan.] I'm sorry.
[Voice]
...No, yeah, no. This is actually pretty bad.]
It's okay, it's - we can fix this, they don't know where I am, right?
[The urgency in his voice tumbles forward. It's not like room 44, floor 4 is all that hard to remember.]
They don't, right?
[Voice]
I really don't think they're... you know, actually evil or anything. Just... creepy.
Right? [The question is almost quiet, and hesistant out of fear of the answer. But there's a tinge of hopefulness as well.]
[Voice]
'Course, there's no way of knowing whether they are or not. Time to lay low, maybe. That's all right. That's fine. That's second nature to him.
He sighs, his next words fringed with the quiet hum of static.]
You saw that last post. I don't think they came here to make daisy-chains.
[Voice]
It's not even frustration at Chara.
Why do I always fuck things up so badly, she thinks, angrily wiping at her eyes. On the other end of the line it merely sounds like she's fumbling with the phone, and when she speaks her voice is slightly thick.]
God, I'm so dumb.
[Voice]
He thumbs at the device without switching the call off and starts punching out a text.]
Look, it's - it's gonna be okay, all right? You couldn't've known.
[Shit, how does he deal with this. He knows that lapse in tone, maybe not specifically in relation to Max but he knows what it is and he knows it's bad and he knows that it usually signals an impending breakdown.]
Their first broadcast - they just seemed like a normal kid. That's probably what they wanted. They tricked everyone.
[Including him. He just chose not to get involved right away.]
[Voice]
[There's the frustration now, showing through, an edge to her voice.]
I can... I'll try to talk some sense into them. Apologize or something.
[She sniffs, trying to think straight despite all the emotions rolling through.]
They won't start a fight... not here. They can't.
[Voice]
[He stops texting as his brow furrows sharply, a flare of mingled outrage and disbelief lining up eerily well with the spike of static that echoes through the feed.]
People die here so often that Wonderland has a rule about it. Couple years ago there was even this killing spree -
[And then Alex has to cut himself off. That's probably not going to help the situation, not when Max is already piling the blame on herself. He takes a moment to tamp down everything, breathe, focus.]
Look. I can handle it. Okay?
[Voice]
What... What do you mean handle it? I'm just going to shoot off a few texts, and... and...
[And what? Everything will be okay?
But she has to believe that. She has to believe she can make it okay. Otherwise people might die.]
Don't you dare do anything stupid, Alex-... You just mean you'll stay safe? Right?
[Voice]
[Fired off distractedly while he engages Sans in some not-so-witty repartee. Just tell him how to kill the little shit, boneman, and stop dancing around the issue.
He only hesitates a second before forging ahead.]
Look, it's like I said. I've dealt with some weird shit. Chances are this kid's got nothing on what I've had to -
[He clips the sentence oddly. Max doesn't need to know that.]
Are you gonna stay safe?
[Voice]
Yeah. Just texts.
I should... I should start on those. To Sans and Chara.
[She is honestly not looking forward to either of those conversations and the hesitation is strong in her tone. But after practically challenging Chara to prove how bad they are (which seemed okay at the time, but after a while of incessant worrying seems a lot worse) she needs to get this all straightened out.]
Seriously just... don't do anything extreme. Okay?
[Voice]
If things get squirrelly, I'm serious - just - [Just what? Don't panic? Don't worry? He'll handle it?] Just get out. Who knows what it'll take to get rid of this thing.
[Sure, he likes Sans. That doesn't mean he trusts him completely. There's something a little off about his totally radical laid-back persona, like he knows more than he's letting on.]
It'll be fine. Sans probably knows how to keep a leash on them.
[Voice]
I should go and send out those texts. [A big sigh.] Sorry again.
[Voice]
[Well, no. He can't just keep saying it'll be okay when he has no guarantee of that. He chews on his lip for a moment, internally debating.]
You were being strung along. S'not your fault.
[Voice]
Right. [There's sarcasm in her tone, but it's gone a moment later. No need to be frustrated at him, too.] I'll... try to keep that in mind.
[Voice]
Sans'll work it out, okay?
[And Alex will take some...ill-advised action, if necessary.]
[Voice]
[Seriously, how does she always get involved in all the insane stuff? She wants to curl up in some corner and just... let the emotions wrack her for a while, then fade away. But she can't even stand still.]
I'll text him.
[Voice]
[He says, darkly, glaring at the opposite wall like it's spited him in recent memory. He flexes his fingers in distaste.]
They might look like a kid, but they might be something else. So just - remember that. And stay out of their line of fire.
[Voice]
She's not sure she has the privilege to believe in things like that anymore, but at least it's comforting.]
I'll talk to you later.
[Voice]
'Kay. Watch your back.
[He hangs up with the faint crackle of distortion, then rakes fingers through his hair.
Looks like things just got interesting in the worst way possible.]