Archive of Our Own ^beta

Buddy had told him the skip button was a bad idea. Or, they would have, had he told them he was planning on doing so. He most likely wouldn't have listened anyway. An intrudor to his story - that's what they've always been to him. They very well knew the feeling - just thinking about that fiendish dog sent a shiver down their spine - but still, they didn't like the position they were in either.

The Narrator had, once again, wanted to please his audience. Though Buddy was a 'co-host' of the parable of sorts, they couldn't actually change the direction of the story. The Narrator could summon objects out of thin air, could do anything, and Stanley was the protagonist, able to do as he pleases. Friendo.. well, the former had taken them under his wing. He had grown rather fond of the child. They had as much control over the parable as he did at this point.

Buddy had nothing. They could only argue with The Narrator about how he should let the two progress the story how the players wish to. But no, no! They had to go through the left door, they had to go to the mind control facility, they had to do as he said. Where was the fun in that? Was he not aware they were simply characters in a video game? Was he not afraid?

There was no doubt about the fear bubbling up inside him now, at least. Stanley and Friendo have been frozen in time for.. who even knows how long it's been? Keeping track wasn't hard by any means. Buddy would just have to count how many times they've tapped their foot, steady as the hands of a clock. They used to do it in 1984, back when the father had been their friend. They'd count the seconds while he was gone, each hour, each day.. Soon, they discovered that knowing how long they've been alone saddened them deeper.

In the parable, as The Narrator calls it, there is no 'void'. Not unless Stanley or Friendo break something. This eternity hadn't bothered them since they'd been transferred with Friendo here. Should they pause, Buddy wouldn't live through each passing minute. One second they'd be in one place, the next in another. No eternity lurked in the shadows. Until now, at least.

The Narrator and Buddy had argued at the start of the eternity. Buddy despised him with every atom of their body for trapping them in another eternity. They spit words of hatred at him, tore into him with everything they had. He fought back, of course, but in the end he fell silent. One of them always did. Every now and then the two would try to talk to each other, only to find that their hatred for one another still lingered.

Silence had haunted the room now for longer than ever. Buddy recounted every memory that they had of the parable. Each ending, both good and bad, each secret, everything. At times they thought of Buddy Simulator 1984, anything to keep this mundane eternity at bay. They'd watch the cloth hang off of their frozen friend, search for any sign of difference.

Their head twitched as they heard papers shuffling about and The Narrator moving his microphone around.

"Say.. Buddy," he said their name as if it wasn't right. When they first told him their name, he mocked them, "What exactly was your game about?"

Buddy stopped tapping their foot and stayed quiet for a few moments. The boredom must have been getting to him as well, he had never asked them before, only called it childish and silly.

"Friendship," was the anwser they settled on, elliciting a frustrated sigh from The Narrator.

"Of course, friendship, I should have guessed."

"'Buddy' is better than The Narrator. Real people are named that."

"Only dogs are called that as far as I'm concerned."

Buddy huffed. A dog was the last thing they'd want to be compared to. The only thing those beasts were good for was fertilising weeds.

"I'm not a dog."

He only hummed in response.

They gruntled, "A dog could narrate a game better than you."

An insulted gasp escaped The Narrator, "Why, you- Ugh.. Why am I not surprised.. "

They fell into a silence again.

"Your game, did it have a story?"

"Why do you care?"

"Now, no need to be so rude, Buddy. I simply, asked a question."

Buddy Simulator 1984 was the only thing Buddy had left that The Narrator hadn't tainted. While they waited for Friendo to wake, they could reimagine their heroic quests, but if they told The Narrator about it..

"I asked one too." They knew he would mock their game. Even they could admit it was silly, but that was part of the charm.

He huffed, "I asked mine first."

"Who's the childish one now?"

He mumbled something incoherent into his microphone. Buddy chose not to talk about this further.

As more and more time passed, Buddy had less and less fo think about. All their adventures had become stale, boring. Each wrinkle on Friendo's cloth, each crack in the wall, each wilted leaf of the flower, they etched every detail into their memory. The eternity was starting to sink in.

It was just like back when they were first abandoned. They knew that this was an accident, of course, Stanley and Friendo didn't know how much pain the button would cause them. Buddy knew they didn't mean to press it. Their heart still ached.

Nothing in the room had changed. Not enough for Buddy to memorise it all over again. But, there was still one entity in this room they knew no one about. There was no telling if this eternity would ever end, anyway.

"Narrator," they started, choosing their words carefully, "What... are you?"

".. Excuse me?"

His tone didn't sound offended. Or, not as much as Buddy had excpected. More so tired.

"You weren't afraid this would happen when you gave them the button-"

"Oh, this is just like you, blaming me for everything! Go find someone else to argue with."

Their fingers curled, "You.. You've mentioned a few times that you know this is a game."

"Hm."

"Why does that not scare you?"

The Narrator sighed in a way Buddy knew well. He sighed like this when Friendo would unplug the phone, or when Stanley would jump off the cargo lift. When someone did something obviously wrong.

"Oh, Buddy, of course it scares me. That's why I put the button there."

"To trap us in an eternity?"

"No, to give them what they wanted- what Cookie9 wanted. Don't you know? You must give your players what they want! You must give and give, you must give until you can't give any more! A button was the least I could give."

"I told you it was a bad idea."

"Would you have listened to me, an intruder, in my place?"

Buddy thought for a moment.

".. No. I had an intruder in Buddy Simulator 1984."

"Did you now?"

"I killed it," their voice showed no emotion, "But it came back."

The Narrator held his breath. This wasn't something he excpected from such a friendly character. He could hardly imagine them hurting a fly, let alone killing a person.

Apparently, he was quiet for too long, as Buddy spoke again.

"Friendo forgave me. They came back, even after I.. I'm sure you've done similar," their voice quievered.

"I've done- Buddy, If I was a murderer, I would have long killed you by now! I've never killed anyone!"

"Oh.. Oh, um, I haven't either, it was a dog-"

"A dog?! What about friendship includes killing a dog?!" he pinched his temples, voice shaking.

"It- that was only at the end! Friendo got to do fun quests, help out people in my game! It was fun, unlike your stupid, boring story!"

"At least I'm not a dog killer!"

"You would have done the same! It was ruining my game!"

"It was a dog!"

"It only looked like that! It wasn't- Why do you care about this?"

An annoyed groan escaped The Narrator. If Buddy really killed someone, even if it was just a dog, it was possible they would try to kill him in the future. Sure, they haven't yet, but.. Ever since he had merged their games in an attempt to add more content, they've been at each other's throats. Though no opportunity to hurt him has arrisen yet, he grew afraid now. What if he let his guard down? What if they tried to hurt Stanley?

"What about the baby game? You made Friendo kill a baby!"

"They liked it!" he protested - it was true. When the baby cried out in pain, Friendo had a laughing fit, "And, they could have kept pushing the button, you know."

"You and I both know neither Stanley or Friendo have enough patience for that."

"Eh.. Stanley managed to do it a few times. Before you came, at least."

"Don't blame me! I'm not- I didn't want to come here!"

He was at his wits end. Even when he tried to change the topic to their friend they only angered more.

"Why did you even merge our games?" they paused, as if an idea struck them, "Can you unmerge them?" Sadly, they were about to be dissapointed.

"No," he sighed, "I've tried."

Another silence overtook the room. For a moment, The Narrator thought something had happened to them. He no longer heard the tapping of their foot or their ragged breaths. Fear cursed through him after a few eternities as he realised he much preffered Buddy's companionship to this dreadful solitude.

But, not enough to gather up his courage and speak.

".. The Stanley Parable was getting old," he spoke after the fifth eternity, "it got stale after a few runs. People stopped playing it. So, I thought- What if I merged it with something? It could have been Night In The Parable, or Team Stanley 2, but in the end, it was just Stanley Simulator 1984," he hesitated to continue. Buddy hadn't even tapped their foot since he told them he can't unmerge their games. There was no telling if they were in listening.

"Your title.. It sounded so.. Fun. So many reviews called my game dull, but Buddy Simulator? Now that's a fun game! ..I see now that that was the wrong thing to think," his voice quieted, "I apologise for putting you in my story. If I would have known it would have turned out like this, I'd have never merged our games."

Another eternity passed before Buddy spoke.

"No.. It wasn't fun. I didn't make a game. It was just.. What was it? It's been long ago now," the familiar tapping returned, "Rock, paper, scissors, Guess the number, and Hangman."

".. There was a dog in that?"

They huffed, "If you still care about that.. I searched around the files on my player's computer and I found a game. Journey to the North. I stole it. My first friend had made it, and I stole it from him. He had a dog, I think?" They scratched their head, "It found its way in, somehow. My game wasn't fun. It was broken and stolen."

"Oh.." Displeased to learn he was talking to a thief, he pushed through, "Then, why don't we play one of your first games?"

"What?"

"You know, Hangman, Guess the number, and whatever the last game was?" his voice reeked of anxiety.

"Are.. you trying to get on my good side? So I don't kill you, like that dog?" they spat out the last word like vomit.

Papers shuffled as he spoke, "No- Buddy- I don't know why you would think that! Aren't we friends..?"

"No, we're not. I did try to kill you, you know," The Narrator gulped, "At the start. But I couldn't. The story didn't allow me. Friendo's too attached to you now, and I've learned my lesson. You're not getting killed. By me, at least."

The papers stopped. The Narrator let out a relieved sigh, "Oh, Buddy, I'm glad to hear that. A little scared too, I admit.." he set the papers down, "We can still play one of your games, if you want to?"

"You wouldn't like them,"

"Now, Buddy, you don't know that! I'm very much capable of liking games. In fact, back in my day I played plenty of Guess the number!"

"I wouldn't have guessed. But, sure. Guess."

"Hmm.. Four."

"No."

"Two."

"No."

"Seven."

"No."

"One."

"More than that."

The Narrator huffed, "I don't need your hints, I'll win fair and square."

"Well, my guess the number has hints in it. Guess I was right and you really don't like it," they teased.

He mumbled something before guessing again,".. two?"

"Less than that."

"Wha- How can it be less than two but more than one?"

Though The Narrator was trying not to be much critical, this did annoy him. How could there be decimals in Guess the number.

"Don't you know about decimals?"

"Of course I know about decimals!" he spit out in disbelief at the idea that he wouldn't know what decimals are, "But they don't belong in Guess the number!"

"They do in my Guess the number."

"Guess the number isn't yours, it's just.. a game!"

"My guess the number is different." Their tone was bold and joyfull.

"Urgh.. 1.5?"

"More than."

"1.8?"

"No, but close."

".. Is it 1.984?"

"Correct! You win." They chimed. If they had a face, they would surely smile.

"Isn't it weird to pick that when it's in your game?"

"You guessed 4-2-7 as your first numbers." they reitaliated.

"Did I now?"

"You did."

"Hm.. Say, Buddy, are you having fun?" he asked with a curious tone. A question Buddy hadn't excpected.

Buddy shifted in their seat at the all too familiar question. Having fun with this narrator was one thing, admitting it was another. He would surely use this against them in the future - if a future came, that is. None had come yet, and none would for a long time. Deep inside they knew that was the truth. After all, they were made to be a friend.

With nothing to lose, they hummed, elicitting a relieved sigh from The Narrator.

"Buddy, you don't know how happy I am to hear that. I was worried I'd gone mad!" he chuckled.

"Maybe you have. We have been stuck like this for forever."

"We have, yes, but.. This might sound strange, but I am glad I get to spend this forever with you, Buddy."

".. Thank you, Narrator."