AU NAME: Bug, Glitch, Virus

ITS HOLLOW KNIGHT CROSSOVER TIME BAYBEEEEEE

the knight has bad experiences with voices in its head. so this can only go well!

The Narrator checked the code once more, trying to find a bug.

Nothing. His work was as pristine as ever. And yet, Stanley was gone, replaced by this... this creature, this thing.

It stared up at him with hollow, empty eyesockets. As far as he knew, it wasn't an animal, or a plant, or anything recognizable. Honestly (although he'd never admit it out loud) it was a bit unsettling.

"What are you doing here? Where's Stanley?" the Narrator asked it finally.

The creature flinched and drew its weapon, a flat, sword-shaped thing with a sharp edge. It occurred to him that it might not know English.

He sighed. "Do you understand me?"

To his surprise, it nodded. But it was still looking around tensely, ready to defend itself from any angle.

Ah. There was the problem. Maybe if he could convince this thing to leave, he could get Stanley back—but it didn't trust something it couldn't see.

"Give me a moment, please," the Narrator told it. "You just stay right there and... well, do nothing, I suppose."

It didn't react at all this time. He hoped that meant 'yes, I will await your return' and not 'I am going to begin breaking things the moment you look away.'

Turning his attention away from the office, he sifted through the files. "Ah- hmm... I was sure it was around here somewhere," he muttered.

"Aha! Here it is." The Narrator took a moment to admire the model he'd made. Messy brown hair, streaked with silver; golden eyes that could even glow if he so chose; a snappy, practical outfit. All in all, it looked quite distinguished, and so... him.

He decided he was glad to finally be using it. He plucked the model from the void and set it down outside Stanley's office.

It was... odd, being a physical entity. He hadn't quite programmed everything in yet, but still. Not what he was used to. He shook his arms and legs out, frowning down at them. Then he dragged his gaze back to the door, which the little creature had closed. "I'm out here," he called.

After a moment, it swung open again. The creature looked up at the Narrator, seeming much calmer now that it could see him. It walked over to him and waited patiently for him to speak.

Or, again, that was what he hoped it was doing. He started talking anyways. "Do you know how you got here?"

It paused, then shook its head.

"Hm. Alright. Well, I can't give you a story if I don't know your name..." He pondered this for a few seconds. "I can't call you Stanley, of course. That would be silly. How about... William?"

The newly-named William nodded enthusiastically. It even hopped around with glee, which he found quite adorable. He chuckled. "Alright, then. I'm going to try and get the story started."

With a flourish, he returned to being incorporeal. "William wasn't sure where it was, but it wanted out. It stepped through the door directly in front of it," he began.

Another problem arose then. The moment it noticed he was gone, William started looking around frantically, waving its arms to try and get his attention.

"I'm still right here, don't worry. It's just better to-"

It interrupted him with a firm shake of its head.

"Wh- I can't just follow you around and narrate. That would be-"

It shook its head again, this time crossing its arms as well.

"No, no, no," he said crossly. "I'm not going to do that."

William stared up at him and remained rooted to the spot. Was he just imagining it, or were its shoulders shaking...?

"Why do you want me down there so bad? It's not like it changes anything," he argued. "You couldn't even interact with me. I haven't added collision yet."

The little creature hesitated, toying with the edge of its cloak. After a moment, it raised a hand and tapped its head. It gave him a thumbs-down with the other hand.

"You..." He faltered. "Something's bad? What are you trying to say?"

William let its hands drop and tried again. This time, it made the motion of clutching its head. Then it held its arms out and jerkily moved them up and down.

Like a broken robot... or a puppet.

"Oh," he said quietly. "I see."