⚹You wish to leave a message for Grit

[save_theworld]

...'Lo.

I'm somewhere else. So you should leave a message.


[⚹There's about a minute of static and light breathing before Grit's message bank cuts in.

⚹Nailed it.]

Comments

[save_theworld]

[They understand more than Isol would ever think they did. They've shared- something, with Buttercup. A mind? A soul? A something. They can't tell Isol that.

And it feels...heavy. It's one more secret they have to keep from Isol; one more secret they have to keep, Grit thinks, to protect him. Like Alphys with the video tapes.

Sometimes you gotta keep things back because they'll hurt more than they'll help.]

I um... I think.

I think Cup's lost, Isol.

[They know they are. Grit knows; they know how angry they are, how scared. How when they giggle most of the time it's not even because it's funny. How and where they hide the knife and what it would take to get them to take it out.

That's way more than they should.]

We just need to save them. Like Sunny.

...Maybe it'll be...a little harder though.

[dreamalittledreem]

[Isol nods. He knows Grit is right, he has a whole bank of memories telling him that much. It's still scary, but-]

I'm going to try my hardest. I want them to be happy.

[There's something else, though. Something he needs to say, even if Isol thinks he already knows what Grit's reply will be.]

If it ever gets too much... I can handle it.

[That's about the only way to put it. Isol doesn't really expect them to take it, but he needs Grit to know there's an opt out. Maybe it's hypocritical of him. He wouldn't even want an opt out of helping Grit.

But there's another good reason for it. He looks down at the steaming chocolate in his hands, and his eyes tear up.]

You look tired.

[save_theworld]

[...Oh.

Grit blinks, straightening up and shaking their head vehemently. This isn't something they're going to leave Isol to deal with, no way! It's um, it's-

It's more complicated than that. Grit can't leave it alone.

They can't. It's a ball of snow rolling down a hill, and every time Grit blinks, it gets bigger. They're pretty sure it's already too big to stop.]

...I'm okay. I'm um, [No. They already have one thing they have to lie to him about. That's enough.] I'm a little tired. Yesterday was...


[...]

Seigi promised to help if I needed it.


[.....]

Serif, too. We've..we've got lots of people to help.

[But no one who can actually know what happened. Grit hums quietly, placing their cup on the floor so they can lean into Isol a little more comfortably. They're right here. They'll always be here. It's okay if he wants to cry.]

*Phonic said she'd be happy to listen if we wanted to talk...

Isol, I think... I think we should tell her. Just in case.

[Just in case Grit can't be here in the way they want to be. Just in case they have to let go.]

[dreamalittledreem]

[These things are only marginally reassuring to hear. There's still something confusing and uncomfortable about Serif, something he can't put his finger on. And Seigi may be very kind to him, but Isol wonders how much she can help without knowing everything.

But *Phonic... That makes him look up.

Initially, it's panic that sweeps over him, quick and cold. The idea of telling anyone what they've been though- what he did- it's terrifying. But Grit needs help. This much is obvious. And Isol... well, maybe he could use some too.]

I think you're right.

[He screws up his nose and leans in close as well, to whisper his next words to Grit.]

Are you scared, too?

[save_theworld]

[Scared? Pfff, Isol, the very idea of it-]

...Yeah.

[They whisper it back to him, so softly it's almost nothing. Are they scared? Yeah. Yeah, they're scared. There's so much that could happen, so much to be scared of. They've been saving so much lately, just in case, but even that's scary because what if they save at the wrong time, what if they can't go back enough, what if-]

I'm scared all the time. How come so many bad things can happen in happy endings?

[dreamalittledreem]

[He's not happy that Grit feels scared, but Isol can't help but be relieved that they feel the same. It's a little less scary, being scared together.]

I don't know. Maybe we still have a little bit further to go before we get there.

[But something he's sure of, something that comes across as determined and stubborn even as he continues to whisper-]

It'll be worth it. We'll stay together.

[Us. The two of us. And all of us.]