Welcome to the Garden (An AVA AU)

Five

"Help me defeat him!!"

    "We got him cornered! He can't escape now!"

    "N-No! Please don't delete us!!!"

    "Run!!!"

    "Guys wait!!!"

    The grey stick gasped as they woke up, immediately jolting into an upright position. They panted, looking around to see the forest they fell asleep in. The grey hollow head calmed their racing heart, shaking away the remains of the nightmare they just had.

    "Stupid nightmares." The stick cursed. They sat there contemplating. These visions from their past pained them. Remembering their "friends", the way they fought and the way they died. It was like agony to the poor soul. They gladly would have gone back to the days where they just simply existed as a ghost. Oblivious and ignorant about their past. But those days will never return. Their own face reminded them of their death. For two tar black streaks came from their eyes, never to be removed. It saddened the hollow head.

    "Can't I just cease to exist?" They muttered to themself. The stick buried their face into their knees, trying to keep from crying more inky tears. They suddenly heard footsteps coming towards them. Instinctively, the hollowhead jumped to their feet and hid behind a tree. They took a shaky breath as the foot steps drew closer. Fear and anxiety gripped their heart, making his chest feel tight.

    "Excuse me." The hollowhead yelped and jumped back in fear. The stick fell to the floor, scooting away from the owner of the voice. But as they looked into the face of the voice, they felt calm. A beautiful nude pink stick stood before them.

    "I appologize. I didn't mean to startle you." She said, holding a hand out to the fallen hollow head. They carefully took the stick's hand, being hoisted to their feet.

    "You arent hurt are you?" She asked, her voice was soft and smooth, it was comforting to the confused hollow head.

    "N-No. I'm fine... Thank you for asking." They said as they pulled their hand away. The stick chuckled as she pulled her hands in as well.

    "That's good to hear. On, my name is Momo. It's nice to meet you." Momo said with a soft smile. The grey hollow head watched the pink stick. She didn't seem to want to harm her. Maybe she was nice? But that was too hard to tell with her calming demeanor and motherly aura.

"Um, what's your name?" Momo suddenly asked, getting the stick's attention once again. They jumped a bit, taken aback by her question. Their name, it was a horrible name. They never wanted to say it ever again.

"I... I don't have one..." They lied. Momo tilted her head.

"No name? I've never heard of a stick that doesnt have a name." Momo said. The hollow head looked away from her. They felt bad for lying to her. But letting someone know your name sounds like you can be easily manipulated isn't exactly the best. Another memory then popped into their head.

"Welcome to the team Five! Grab the ninja star and use it on the arrow thing there!"

"Yes sir!!!"

"Actually," The grey hollow head looked back up at Momo. "I think I do have a name."

"That's great! Do you remember your name then?"

"Yes.. I do."

"What would you like me to call you then?"

"You... Can call me Five..."

**********

    "Welcome to the garden Five." Five gasped as they saw the beautifully lush courtyard. They've never seen anything like it before. The vibrant colors were welcoming to the lost stick. They were so caught up in the scenery, they didn't notice that Momo was talking to another pastel yellow stick.

    "Five." Five's attention was quickly directed to the end of the pathway, where they could see Momo waving them over. Five quickly made their way to the Momo and the new stick.

    "Dandi, this is Five. They already remembers their death, but they seem to be struggling with it." Momo said as Five approached them. The pastel stick bowed and introduced herself.

    "Greeting lost soul. My name is Dandi, creator of the garden. I hope you will enjoy your stay here." Dandi said formally.

    "Um, thank you." Five said awkwardly. Dandi then stood straight and smiled.

    "We're about to have lunch. Won't you please join us?" Dandi asked. Five stared at her blankly.

    "Lunch...?" They asked. Momo and Dandi glanced at each other before turning their attention back to the hollow head before them.

    'Have you never eaten before?" Momo then asked. Five shrugged.

    "I-I don't know? I mean, I wasn't alive long enough to really... know anything." Five stuttered. Dandi put her hand over her mouth. Her normally calm demeanor faltering slightly.

    "You're a created stick..." She gasped.

    "I guess so, whatever that means." Five said as they rubbed their arm.

    "Oh my darling." Dandi said as she held Five's free hand.

    "I am so sorry for what happened to you. Please, come. Allow us to make the garden your home." Dandi said as she and Momo led Five up to the house.

**********

As Five stepped into the house, they were amazed by the bustling life within. There were many sticks like the ones they've seen in the city. But they all seemed different from those city sticks as well. Five then noticed that the white noise of children laughing and sticks talking had suddenly disappeared. As Five looked around, they realized that all attention was immediately on them. That scared them. Five simply wished to hide away from the sight of the crowd. Dandi then led Five to the front of the living room.

    "Ladies, gentleman, and those who have no affiliation with gender, I'd like for all of you to welcome our latest arrival." Dandi said as she stood slightly in front of Five. As she turned to face him, she could see that they were trembling. She took a step back and placed a hand on their shoulder. Five's head snapped in her direction. Dandi could see that he was terrified.

    "Do you want to try introducing yourself?" She softly whispered to the terrified hollow head. Five shook their head. They didn't want to be seen by so many. It made them feel vulnerable. Dandi nodded and turned to Momo. Momo nodded and took Five to the empty Family room. As Momo led Five away, they could hear as Dandi spoke to the rest of the sticks.

    "Apologies, friends. Our newest recruit is not ready to speak just yet. So please be gentle with them if you do happen to run into them on their own." Five was embarrassed. They froze up in front of all those people. They surely will hate them now.

    "Five, please, calm down." Momo said as she sat them down. Five looked up at her, terror and embarrassment lingered in his eyes.

    "I-I made a fool of myself! I shouldn't be here! I need to get outta here!" Five was about to stand but Momo caught them by the shoulders.

    "Hey, hey." She softly said, making Five sit once more. Momo then kneeled and took Five's hand.

    "Look, look. Breathe with me Five. In and out." Momo said. As she breathed in and out, Five copied her. Once Five was calm, Momo spoke again.

    "It's ok Five. A lot of sticks weren't ready to speak at first either." Momo said as she Looked up at them with a comforting smile.

    "There's nothing to be afraid or embarrassed of. Everyone here has some sort of past that they are ashamed of. So you're not alone, Love." Momo explained as she stood and released Five's hand.

    "Are you feeling better now?" Momo asked. Five took a shaky breath.

    "Y-Yeah. I think I'm ok now..." Five shakily replied. Momo chuckled and placed a hand on Five's shoulder.

    "You're gonna be just fine here."

    "Momo! Momo! Help, they're ambushing me!" A purple stick suddenly yelped from the other room. Momo giggled and stood straight, removing her hand from Five's shoulder.

"I'll be right back." Momo said as she left the room. Leaving Five alone with his thoughts.