Inhuman AU

The Inhuman AU is an alternate universe invented and written by SpacedOut925 (Spacey, They/Them).

### AU details

#### Summary

The Second Coming must come to terms with the fact that they're not human when Alan begins to believe the stick figures aren't real.

#### Character details

TSC - They/He/She, 14

Alan - He/Him, 30

Green - He/Him, 14

Yellow - She/They/He, 14

Blue - They/He/She, 14

Red - He/Him, 14

Purple - They/Them, 14

#### Timing

This takes place after AvLoL without AvA 5 happening, so:

- The King arc never happened

- They're on good terms with Purple

- Sec has never met other hollowheads and doesn't know of Alan's past

- Sec doesn't know of their powers

The Alan in this AU is not the real life Alan and is instead a different version of him.

# Inhuman

### Chapter 1: The Fight

From the day The Second Coming opened their eyes… No, wait. From the moment that Alan reloaded the Sticksfight website, Second and Alan were best friends.

They did everything together. Whenever Alan logged on in the morning, Second jumped up in excitement. They drew together, animated together, watched YouTube together (Although that stopped after a certain incident.)

Of course, Sec spent time with their other friends. It seemed that they, Green, Blue, Red and Yellow were inseparable, and once they had discovered Minecraft, even more so. They had befriended another stick named Purple, and all would hang out at the PC, including Alan, just being friends.

It was perfect. Their world was perfect. Second couldn’t have been happier.

And the world took advantage of that.

It started small. Alan found less and less time to hang out with the gang, but Second just chalked that up to him being a busy man.

But even when Alan did have time to log on, it wouldn’t be for a chat. He went straight to animating, not even bothering to invite Sec to help. They would jump up, do something funny, wave, just generally try to get his attention. Occasionally that would permit a smile or a wave, but not much.

But even those stopped. So Second would just sit and wait. Wait for Alan to say hi, or maybe to ask for animation help. But it never came.

And then one night, after a while of Alan staring at the screen with a case of artist’s block, he stood up and walked toward the edge of his bedroom.

Second looked up at the squeak of the desk chair. Across the room, Alan was bent over a large suitcase on the bed. He was neatly folding up clothes and packing them away. Second jumped up, as this always meant that Alan was going somewhere.

“Where are we going?” Second called out, waving and jumping up. Alan didn’t answer.

Sec thought for a moment. They climbed up to the top of the animation window and jumped down, yelling “Hey! Alan!” This caught Alan’s attention, and he walked toward the computer with a sigh.

“What is it, Second?” His tone wasn’t friendly as it usually was, more tired and annoyed, like how you’d speak to a little sibling that won’t stop pulling your hair.

“Where are we going?” Second was bouncing up and down excitedly. She always loved going on trips, seeing more of the world of the people outside.

“Oh.” Alan stood up and returned to packing. “I’m going to visit my parents.”

TSC smiled. “Oh, WOW! I’ve never met your parents before, wait till I tell the gang! They’ll be so excited, and-”

Alan interrupted their monologue. “I’m. Going to visit my parents. Just me. And Kaori, of course, but… Not you.”

Second looked at Alan with green eyes. “Oh… come on! I promise we won't embarrass you again! You can even turn the volume down on your tablet, we’ll be good!”

Alan sighed. “I'm not bringing the tablet.”

Once again, Second tried to figure out what he was saying. “So your phone? That's kind of small…”

Alan bit his lip in frustration. “Sec, you're not coming.

“... what? But… why?”

Alan put another pair of jeans in the suitcase before turning to her. “Because I think I should be spending more time with my family.”

Second was getting more confused by the second. “But we are your family!”

The animator, however, was getting angrier by the second. “I mean my real family. The people outside of the computer.” TSC’s strange look prompted him to keep going. “You know. Humans.”

Second stood there on the desktop as Alan finished packing his bag and zipped it up. They finally regathered their words. “But I am a human.”

“No, you're not.” Alan seemed ready to get the conversation done with.

“Yes I am! What else would I be?”

“You're not real.”

Second was getting worked up, their breath getting faster. “I am real! I'm a real person! I'm a human, I just live in a different world than you-”

“Second, stop.”

Second ignored this. “I'm a part of your family! I'm human, just like you!”

And then Alan snapped. “Second.”

TSC looked at him from under their orange and green hair. Tears were forming at the edges of their eyes.

“You are The Second Coming. You are a stick figure, an animation, a doodle I was drawing one day that somehow came to life. You are a program, an artificial intelligence that has become self aware and believes it's a human. You are anything but a human.”

Second took in a deep breath. That wasn't true, they knew it wasn't. Alan wasn't like this most of the time. They wouldn't stand for it because they knew it wasn't true. “I am The Second Coming. I am a human, a creature, a person with friends and feelings and creativity that artificial intelligence does not have. I am REAL. I exist. I am a real person.”

Alan stared at the small figure on his screen for a moment. He was shocked. He’d never seen Second get mad before. He bit his lip in anger before getting up and turning his computer into sleep mode.

And Second stomped through the darkness to their room, tears in their glowing green eyes.

### Chapter 2: Human?

The next day, Second woke up later than usual (which was already pretty late). They left their room and instead of joining the table for breakfast, sat down on the desktop and stared at the screen.

Blue noticed this, set down the tray of eggs they were carrying and walked over. When Second was tired, they could often just rest in random places, so Blue had become accustomed to guiding them back to bed or to the table.

“Hey Second, why don’t you come join us at the table?” Blue coaxed.

To their surprise, in a fully awake tone, Second answered. “No, thanks.” They didn’t take their eyes off the screen. Outside, Alan was making sure everything was packed for the trip. Second just stared.

Blue thought for a moment before sitting down next to them. “Is everything alright? We heard some yelling last night…”

Second gave a heavy sigh. “Alan said… He said we’re not real. That we’re not human.”

“But we aren’t humans.”

They jumped back as Sec whipped around, yelling “Yes, we are!” Green flared in their eyes.

Blue hadn’t seen Second get this mad since Red got possessed. They tried to calm their friend down. “We live in the computer. And the humans live outside.”

Second was trying to keep it together. Their breath was shuddery. They were human, weren’t they? “But… I am real. And… I have feelings. I have thoughts, emotions…” At this point, Alan had left the room, the lights off and the curtains closed.

“Of course.” Blue said comfortingly. “You are as real as he is.”

But that just angered Second. “THEN WHY WOULD HE LEAVE ME?!” Their eyes were a burning green now, glowing with their anger at Alan, at the world, at their inhumanity.

Blue jumped back once more. Their friend had never gotten like this. Something was wrong, but they didn’t know what.

Second looked away from them again. “I’m sorry.” They sniffled. “If I’m as real as he is, then why would he ignore us? What did I do wrong?”

Blue sighed. “I’m sure it’s not your fault. It’ll all be back to normal in due time.”

Second bit their lip. They weren’t so sure. They eventually were coaxed to get up and have breakfast with their friends, as Red was now yelling at Blue because they had made bacon.

But despite trying to enjoy the weekend with his friends, every couple of minutes they would glance at the screen to an empty room. They would bite their lip and say to themself, “he’s only on a trip. He'll come back soon… right?”

At night they would lie awake, one window open to stare at the screen as they lay there. They would debate with themself. *I didn't do anything wrong… did I? I'm human, right? But if I'm human, then why would he leave me? He said he left us here because he wanted to spend time with real people. But we are real! So then… it must be my fault. It's my fault he left. When he gets back, I have to apologize. For whatever it is that I did.*

But eventually they couldn't take it any longer.

### Chapter 3: The Wait

It was just three days after the fight. Three days after Alan left on his trip. The sticks woke up to find Second no longer in their room, where they'd been last night. And they went outside to once again see Second looking out at the room beyond.

The closed blinds over the window cast a dry light into the room. Alan had returned from his trip, finally. He was unpacking his things. Second stared out with a blank face, their eyes shimmering green. They seemed to be waiting, patiently, for Alan to come over. To greet them. Apologize for what he'd said. Or at least explain why he had left them behind.

But Alan didn't do any of that.

He just minded his own business. He sat down with a book on the bed, with not so much of a wave to signify he noticed the sticks who stared from the desktop.

“Second?” Yellow bent down next to them. She smiled slightly, hoping they would listen. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, I suppose.” They sighed.

“Do you want to come eat breakfast?” Blue asked.

Second’s pale green eyes looked tired. They had bags under them. It looked like they had been there all night. “Can't I eat it here?”

That hurt blue. They had been insisting the sticks ate together for a while now. “I mean… I guess.” They muttered. They left for the kitchen.

Green put his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “You've been sort of… off lately.” He was worried for them.

They tossed his hand off. “I’m Fine. I’m just… waiting for Alan. He’s gonna come back and animate. You know. He can’t just stop animating, it’s his job.”

Red glanced at Second. “But… you can wait for him while playing with us?” He said hopefully. He bounced a little on his heels, as if trying to beckon his friend.

“I just… want to be here when he comes.”

Blue arrived with a plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice the same shade as Second’s skin. They set them down and then gathered the rest of the sticks up. Once they were out of earshot, they said to them, “Alan will probably come back soon. I’m sure once he apologizes Second will be fine.” They sigh. “If Second wants to wait, we should let them.”

Green sighed in response. “I don’t like this, but I don’t see what else there really is to do.” He strode over to Second, and in one last attempt to coax his friend back to reality, said “We were thinking of having a PVP tournament later if you want to join? Purple is coming over, I’m sure they’ll want to see you…”

Second didn’t even look at him. Their eyes had glazed over as they stared at Alan, who seemed to be lugging a large box into the room. “No.” Their voice was quiet, their mind not even in the room.

Green sighed and turned away.

Alan had finally gotten the large box to where he wanted it to be. He put his hands on his hips, seemingly pleased with himself, and left the room. Second leaned their head into their jeans  with a heavy sigh. Tears were prickling at the back of their eyes, which were once again a sparkly green.

Breath heavy, they looked to the table. Their friends were sitting there, quieter than usual. They knew that Second was always the most chatty one at the table, and without them they were quiet. But although Second was lonely, and cold and bored and everything while waiting for Alan, if they still had a sliver of hope that he would accept them again, they would wait. They turned to the tray blue had left them and took a small bite of pancake before setting it down.

Their anger had made them lose their appetite.

All throughout that day, they waited there. They would perk up the moment Alan came into the room, even when it was just for a few seconds, and when he left, they would collapse, dejected. Occasionally one of the other sticks would come over and try to convince them to hang out. Once even Purple came over, although they usually stuck with Green. Blue kept bringing them their meals, only to frown as they realized Second hadn’t eaten the last one. That night when it got cold, despite their shivering, they wouldn’t get up to get a sweater or a blanket. Even when their lips turned blue and the color left their cheeks, they wouldn’t tear their eyes away from the screen for even a second.

“Second, you’re shivering…” Purple said as they visited to say goodbye for the night.

“I’m-m-m-m-m fi-i-in-ne…” Second replied, grasping their forearms. It was a lie, but they couldn’t bear to get up. Sometimes Alan would check his computer late at night for messages. What if today was one of those days?

Purple bent down to them. “No, you’re not.” They put their hand on Second’s shoulder. They knew there were many problems about what was going on that they could not fix, but they knew that if there was any way to help their friend, they should do it. They glanced around for a second before getting a glint of determination in their eyes. They took off their hoodie, which was a little darker than their skin, and handed it to Second, who was now shivering so hard that their eyes were shining in the limited light with tears.

Second pushed it back. “I-I don’t nee-eed it…” They didn’t want to seem weak, or like they couldn’t do things by themself. They chose to be cold. They wanted this.

…Right?

But Purple insisted. And Second kept their charade while they put it on, saying that Purple didn’t have to, and they were warm and they really didn’t need it. But as soon as Purple left and as soon as the rest of the gang finally gave up trying to coax Second to bed and as soon as they saw the last light in their house go off, they collapsed to the ground and let their tears soak into the hoodie. The shivering was finally gone. They didn’t know why they had chosen to do this, or why Alan had left, or why they were so persistent to stay and wait for him. But if they had done something wrong (Which surely, they must have, because they were human, right?), they ought to fix it. Then they could have Alan back, then they could go back to their friends, then everything would be normal.

Then they could stop hating themself.

Laying there on the darkened desktop, they stared out at the bed in the world outside. The box Alan dragged in lay on the floor in front of the desk, unopened. Second couldn’t explain why, but they felt uneasy looking at it.

The lump beneath the blankets was breathing genty, and Second wondered if tomorrow would be the day Alan logged on again.

Two flames of green glowed from the computer screen, unwavering until the next morning.

### Chapter 4: Comfort and Concerns

And so it went on like this. Second would sit on the desktop with an infinite gaze set on the world outside. Red, Yellow, Green and Blue would try to convince them to come play, or eat at the table or go to bed. Second would reject them every time. They kept the hoodie that Purple gave them on, but rejected any help from their friends. I have to prove myself to Alan. If he knows that I would suffer for him, surely he’ll come back. The rest of Second’s friends tried to have hope, but they feared they were losing them.

Through all of this, Alan didn’t once even glance at the computer. Second told themself he was on a vacation. The computer was what he used to animate, after all, and he couldn’t just stop animating because of Second. So he had to use his computer eventually.

But soon that proved to be all too true.

It had been over a week since the fight, and Second still had not budged from their place on the desktop. Alan came into the room again, wearing an expression of mixed determination and… guilt? As usual, Second perked up the moment they saw their creator. They jumped up from their spot on the desktop, their limbs aching from how long they’d been waiting, and waved to get his attention.

For the first time in what felt like years, Alan turned an eye to Second. He winced, biting his lip, with a look of strange sadness. Second had never seen Alan do that before. What could make him feel so much guilt?

Alan bent down to the box that had been sitting on the floor for days now. He grabbed a pair of scissors and slit the tape keeping the box closed with a “ZWHEEEEP”. Second leaned against the screen so they could see inside. At first, all that was in view was millions of paper strips used as packing, but soon something was visible.

A black plastic corner poked through the stuffing. Alan grabbed it and dislodged the item, revealing Second’s worst fear.

The box was black and tall and had vents on the side. Second could barely breathe as they stared at the new PC in horror.

“No!” They cried, tears slipping from their shining green eyes. Alan pulled a new computer monitor from the box and smiled proudly at his shiny new computer setup. At the sound of Second’s despair, their friends rushed over.

“What’s wrong?” said Green to a shivering Second. With a trembling hand, they pointed toward the contents of the box.

“No…” Red stared in shock.

“It can’t be…” Yellow shook her head.

“He… He got a new PC.” Blue was the first one who could bear to say it.

Second breathed heavily. They turned toward their friends, entangling their fingers in their faded orange and green locks. “I… I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, this is all my fault! I made him mad, I did something wrong and now he’s getting rid of us! I’m so sorry…” They cried. They collapsed to the ground.

Their friends glanced at each other. Yellow bent down to Second, brushing their hair out of their face. “What… are you talking about? This isn’t your fault…”

Second looked into her eyes. “But it is! I… Alan said he had to stop because we weren’t real. Because we weren’t human.” They receded out of Yellow’s reach. “But I am real, I am human, so he must be mad at me.” They looked at all of their friends. “And now, because of me, we’re all going to lose our home.”

Unspoken words were communicated. Green sat by Second. “We don’t know that.” He pointed out at Alan, who was now approaching the desk with the monitor. “Maybe, he’ll keep us around, and just add a new PC.”

Second turned away and pressed their face into their arms. “Maybe.”

Despite Second’s disbelief, Alan had soon set up the new PC next to the old one. Second felt dread rush through their body. If Alan had gotten a new PC… was he ever coming back?

They stayed determined. They knew if they could convince Alan they cared, he would come back. Of course he would. Because they were real. Because they were human.

Days passed. Alan paid no mind to the little orange creature on the desktop. The PC became colder and colder. Eventually the hoodie wasn’t enough for Second. They grabbed one of the green sheets that their friends brought them and tied it around their neck like a cape, so as not to tempt them into sleep. Blue tried to get Second to eat, but they refused. Notifications stopped coming.

The PC became a more and more dangerous place to be, now that Alan was no longer taking care of it. Viruses soon began popping up left and right. Their friends urged Second to go inside at night, but they refused. They had to show Alan their trust, their love. “I’m doing this for all of us.” they told themself.

They felt selfish. Their friends were doing everything for them, and he did nothing back. But she knew that Alan was their friend too. So wouldn’t they want him back as well? Even if it was dangerous, wouldn’t they try too? They had faced strange monsters, deletion, and dragons. Surely they wouldn’t be afraid of a couple viruses, right? If it was for a friend, for a safer future, wouldn’t they brave the time it took?

But the danger became too much.

One day (Second had stopped keeping track ages ago.), after what felt like weeks of waiting, staring at Alan who ignored them completely, shivering through long nights, and feeling the PC glitching out around them, Second felt a strange wave of glitches ripple through them. It felt wrong, disturbing. They tried to ignore the strange tight feeling in their chest that came with it and kept their eyes trained on the screen.

Behind them, Red rushed down the stairs with a frantic look on his face. “Did- Did anyone feel that?”

Green removed his headphones and sat up on the couch. “Yeah… that was weird…”

Blue hopped over to Second. “Did you feel that too?”

Second rubbed their shoulders. They wished it was all a dream. “Y-yeah…” Their breathing got faster. “It almost felt like…”

“A virus.” Yellow stood from her chair, a determined yet scared look on her face. “The PC has been infected. My guess is that Alan’s moved his antivirus to the new PC.”

“A… virus?” Shivered Second. They stood, slowly.

Blue stepped up, taking charge. “Look around for anything out of the ordinary. Unknown apps, strange programs, anything.”

Second watched as their friends rushed off to insect the corners of the PC. They started to go with- but stopped. They winced as they glanced out at Alan, who was working on a new animation, not caring about what was happening to them. Despite this, Second still couldn’t pull away. Instead, they waited for a response from one of the others.

“Hey, guys?” Called red a couple minutes later. He had climbed to the top of the screen and was now holding a red, circular application with the silhouette of a spider on it. “I don’t think this was here earlier.” He slid down the edge of the screen and placed it on a table.

Yellow examined the app. “That’s not one of ours. Unless one of you remembers having an app called ‘Virabot’?” Everyone shook their heads.

Suddenly, the strange red ball started to crack. Everyone jumped back, save Second, who was frozen in place. The sides of the shell fell away to reveal a bright red spider looking creature. It had two, spindly, long back legs and two shorter ones in front. Second’s eyes flashed green at the sight of it.

“What is that?” Blue asked. Their voice was shaky.

Second didn’t say a word. They were locked in a staring contest with this strange virus. This shouldn’t be happening. It almost seemed to hiss at them. It raised its front legs and two spikes of a lighter red hue formed. It sharpened them on each other, and took slow, small steps forward.

“I don’t know,” Said Green, drawing his sword. “But we better get rid of it!” He dashed forward, diamond blade raised high above his head. But while he expected to slice the spider in two, the sword instead met the spike the thing had conjured, and it easily overpowered Green, knocking him back.

Red glanced at Yellow and Blue, before charging at the virus. He tossed dozens of spider spawn eggs at it, grinning. “Fight spider with spider!” he cried.

But before the minecraft spiders could even lay a blocky arm on the virus, something strange and terrifying happened. The virus jumped off the table, lunging at them with its spiked claws. It stabbed each and every one of the spiders through the heart, dissolving them into piercing crimson ones and zeros.

Red stumbled back as the creature edged near to him. “Uhh…”

Second’s heart beat faster and faster. No, no, no no no no no no NO NO NO-

The virus was suddenly pierced by a poison tipped arrow and knocked over. Second whipped in the direction the arrow had come from. Blue stood there, bow drawn. “Are you guys ready?”

Yellow nodded and equipped her shield.. Red grabbed some more spawn eggs. Green heaved himself off the floor and put his hand on Second’s shoulder. “Are you ready?” He said sympathetically.

“I… think so?” Second mumbled.

“Good.” Green smiled. “Charge!”

Four sticks dashed forward at the spider. Diamond met metal, spike met flesh. Second stood watching in horror as their friends battled the virus. They heard a cry and watched as Yellow fell to the ground, gripping her foot. Red ones and zeros poured from the incision like blood. Second gasped and rushed over to her, helping her up.

“Second, can you go in for me?” She whimpered as they placed her down across the desktop.

“I…” Second shuddered. They looked between the creature, which was now moving in on Green, and Alan, who was happily animating across the room, not taking any note of their struggle. Their heart beat quickly. Another shriek came from the battlefield as Green was slashed across the chest. Alan looked up at the sound, rolled his eyes, and went back to drawing.

Second turned back to Yellow with tears in their eyes. “I’m sorry…” They turned away and rushed back to the screen, back to their creator, back to the person who had hurt them so badly but they couldn’t just abandon.

Red stumbled backward as ones and zeroes fell from his arm. “Second!” He called as he watched his big brother walk away. The pain in his heart was more than his arm could ever be.

“What are they doing? We need their help!” Green said, holding back tears as he clutched his chest.

Blue sighed in disbelief as they turned their focus back to the fight. The spider was coming close to them, but that was what they wanted. They chugged a speed potion and ran at the virus. Grabbing it by the leg and did a spin jump off the table, launching the spider creature at the recycling bin. As it left their grip it left a long cut across their palm.

The PC rippled as the virus was deleted. Blue bent over their legs, breathing heavy. They looked up at their injured friends somberly.

They knew what they had to do.

After the cuts had been bandaged and the bags packed, the four sticks approached Second, who had not looked away from Alan the whole time.

Green sighed as he placed his hand on Second’s shoulder. His chest still stung, his breathing fluttery. “Second… we have to say something…”

Second took a minute before they slowly turned their green eyes to their friends. “What is it…?” They said quietly.

Yellow sighed and limped forward. “The PC isn’t safe anymore… I’m sorry, but… We have to leave.”

Second sighed. “Oh…” they knew what was coming next.

Red stimmed gently. He was stressed. “Are you… gonna come with us?”

Tears came to Second’s eyes. “I’m… sorry…” they sniffed, turning away.

Blue bit their lip and sighed gently. They gathered up their friends, who were all crying gently, and led them to the nether portal that would take them to their new home.

Second sobbed softly as they looked out at the darkened room. “I’m so sorry… this is all my fault…”

Each of the sticks took one final look at Second before walking away.