Chapter Text
No one has heard hide nor hair from him since and Tenna was unraveling from the stress of it. So, on a Sunday when he knows Toriel and the family will be at church all day, he makes the journey over to cyber city. It’s not an easy one, especially not for a television his size, but — he makes it out in one piece at the end, and goes in search of the shopping district that Spamton has once told Tenna he used to work in.
He spots an Addison and his heart does a little flutter. Tenna makes a beeline for it.
“Ah — excuse me? Sorry, I was hoping — do you know Spamton G Spamton?”
The addison glances at him and smiles at the customer he was talking to. He was one of many, but eeeeveryone knew about Spamton G Spamton. But this addison was not getting into any drama. Who was he, a pippins? Please. He sniffs, thinking. *Riiiiight.*
"Oh, White?" he points towards a different addison, a blue one who has several customers at the moment, practically bleeding charisma. "That's one of his brother's." The addison says, sounding a tad bit uppity. "I'm busy," and he scurries off to cut off another darkner who was trying to avoid a particular shop. How bloodthirsty.
“Oh! Thank y.. oh.”
He’s gone before Tenna can properly thank him. The tv world Darkner stands there, a little thrown off by how cutthroat this place is. Spamton had taken him here a few times, but never to the shopping district, and never alone. Still! Tenna puffs himself up a little as he heads towards the Addison that had been pointed out to him. Tenna waits patiently for the crowds to thin, though — not too patiently, considering his fidgeting.
He coughs.
“Uhm! Hi there. I’m here to talk about… Spamton? I was told you were one of his brothers. Actually, I had a few things to ask—”
Blue doesn't react, a wide customer service smile still on his face as he stares, and then turns to another busy darkner. "Hello! Are you here for our seasonal BOGO special that's currently through—" he swipes a hand and several ads pop up. "—seven of our amazing shops!"
The darkner is drawn in, seemingly very interested, but she looks uncomfortably at Tenna’s rapidly shrinking form, and thus leaves politely.
Blue's smile disappears.
Tenna’s shrunken quite a bit, though he’s doing his best to hold in his tears at being ignored. He stiffens as the Addison glares at him, before looking quickly down at his feet.
“Sorry, uhm,” he laughs a bit, nervous. “I was told … you knew where he was?”
The blue Addison lights up. "No, don't tell me. Mr. Ant Tenna?" he claps his hands several times. "It's so lovely to meet you! White– sorry, Spamton, raved on and on about you and your, um.” He has an ever widening smile on his face. “What is it, TV Time?"
Tenna perks up at the friendliness. Now this is something he understands! Making up for those lost inches and then some, Tenna beams, offering a hand. “The very same! Spamton means so much to the show, and to me personally, so you can understand how distressed I was when he left without a word—”
He laughs, cutting Tenna off. A hand goes to cover his mouth as he giggles; then almost like a switch went off, his face grows cold. "I could not care less about your relationship with my brother." Blue says, tilting his head slightly. "But from a wild guess? You think you mattered to him." Blue lifts his hand, and a few ads for TV Time pop up with Spamton's face removed. "They’ve all already moved on, thanks to you, my brother is probably dead and gone. Did you ever think about who he would be leaving behind?"
“Wha — what?”
When did they change the ads? When did they take Spamton’s face away? Why did they erase him?
Tenna feels himself shrinking, more and more, screen burning as he gazes up at the ads.
Up at Blue.
He’s the one that's nicest to me
(If Spamton’s nicest brother already looks at him with this sort of contempt, just how angry do Spamton’s other brothers feel? Tenna shivers)
“I — I didn’t do anything,” he says, hating how pleading his voice comes out — like he’s on trial for Spamton’s disappearance. “I was trying to protect him! We would have been big together! I didn’t — he didn’t…”
"Be a bigshot. Oh, I know." he juts a hip, crossing his arms, glaring heavily. "White confided in me many times, I begged him to come home but you and your stupid show had him hypnotised. He thought you cared. But he came very recently and spilled the metaphorical beans. On you; how he was terrified of disappointing you, making you angry." Blue laughs. "He was terrified out of his wits end. I can't see why; you're pathetic."
He snaps his fingers to show advertised ‘missing Darkners’ fliers, and how, to Tenna’s horror, they drift away into nothing. "You wanted to leash him like a dog and make him forget his job, his home, his family—" he rolls his eyes, scoffing. "He was head over heels for a no-good liar. But it doesn't matter, does it?” A flash of sadness on that blue face, as the Addison folds his arms. “It finally happened, and now he's gone."
He leans to be face to face with Tenna. And then, ever so gently…
boops his nose.
“Forever."
Tenna’s nose disappears at the touch, as he shrinks further.
“No — no, that wasn’t, it wasn’t like that at all,” Tenna trembles, shoulders brushing against the bottom of his casing as he takes a step back. “It wasn’t like that! I thought — he just didn’t talk about you, he didn’t — he wanted to… to make it big! I was helping him! I was always…”
The missing posters. Tenna feels the burn of tears, and has to hit against the corner of his casing to make them disappear.
“No!” He grabs at his antennae. Looks up, begging, at Blue. “Please, no, he can’t be gone! He… he’s so scrappy, he’s so sweet, I know he’s out there! Please, anything, I’ll do anything…”
"Why would he talk about us? He was keeping us safe. You'd weasled your way into his life like a disease." He taps his foot. "It's a shame, truly. He was a talented advertiser, I raised him as my own afterall. To think if you'd found your way to my other siblings! You little schemer." Blue steps forward. "You're the reason he's gone. You're the reason he can't be with us." He laughs, and it turns to a sob.
"You're the reason he's probably dead.”
“No!”
Tenna is smaller than Blue, now. He’s shrunken quite a bit. Probably even smaller than Spamton at this point, he thinks dimly. Probably smaller than even a pippins. The tears burn as Tenna tugs at his antennae. “I didn’t mean it! I didn’t mean it!”
Blue covers his mouth with a hand as he stifles a cry, turning away — mostly to hide the grin on his face. Making Tenna, the stupid darkner that stole his precious baby brother from him, hurt, well.. it was fun! A glimmer of manipulation in his eyes before he—
“— I wanted what was best for him! Best for our daughter! Please, y-you have to help me, you have to…I need to know what to do for our daughter!”
wait.
What.
He twirls back around. "What did you just say?”
“Our daughter! Please, she’s just — she’s just a little thing, I don’t know how to take care of her, I don’t know how..” Tenna sniffles. Wipes his screen, desperately, to try and ebb the flow of tears. “I want to make sure she’s safe… I - I want to raise her as best I can. Please…”
If Tenna was watching closely, he could spot the addison’s eye twitching. Blue sucks his teeth as he thinks, then he kneels.
"Give her to me," he says. "I can raise her better than you can."
“Wh… what?”
Tenna flinches. takes a step back. He shakes his screen. “No — I, no. I can’t… she’s the only thing I have left of him, I … I can’t… I need to raise her. She’s ours. He made her for me.”
Blue’s scowl deepens. "He obviously made a mistake. He's gone now, isn't he?"
“No! I have to believe he’s — still out there. He’s in trouble. He needs me.” Tenna hiccups. He feels so small. He feels so helpless. “True love is supposed to conquer everything. I have to find him and bring him home…!”
The Addison stands there, shocked for a moment, before he breaks out laughing.
"True love? Oh, you're delusional. No wonder you liked White!!”.
“His name is Spamton! He — hates going by White. That’s not his name,” Tenna sniffs. Rubs a hand against his screen, and grows a few inches. “I — please. Tell me what I need to do to help our girl. I want her to be big and strong and loved and — and I don’t know any other Addisons, none will help me…”
"Fine. Spamton,” He huffs, standing back up. "I don't have to do anything, not every pipis has to hatch. Now, do you mind? I'm losing customers with you grovelling like that."
“You won’t help me?”
Tenna swallows. He’s looking up at Blue, and his insides grow cold. So, so cold…pushing himself up, Tenna tries to make himself look big. But it doesn’t help that he’s still smaller than Blue is. “You won’t help your niece?”
"Why should I," Blue spits. "Spamton left us, it's his problem- oops. Guess it's your problem now."
“But … she’s family. She’s your family. You won’t help? Not at all?”
Tenna feels his size shifting again — not shrinking out of sadness, but growing in anger. His screen flushes red, hands curled into fists at his sides as he towers over Spamton’s brother.
“How HEARTLESS can you be?! Spamton TRUSTED you! Spamton TRUSTED you’d be able to help if we needed it! But you won’t for — what reason? Because he’s gone? That’s even MORE reason to help! You selfish, ungrateful — you JERK!”
Blue takes several steps back, a horrified expression. Other addisons have pauses in their sales, some customers leaving, some watching too. But then, a smile flashes on Blue’s face; the addison gasps loudly in pain and throws himself to the ground. He holds his cheek as if he's been slapped, and speaks loudly:
"I-I don't know what you mean! Pl-please, leave me alone!"
More spectators are gathering, whispering.
“— What?”
Tenna shrinks back to his normal size. He looks confused, and — scared. Carefully, he hovers, but doesn’t dare touch. “I’m — sorry, I just. I’m so upset about Spamton, and I really need your help… or your brother's help…”
Some other addisons arrive and help Blue up. One makes an angry face at Tenna. Blue makes a sound like he’s crying.
One of the customers stand in between Tenna and Blue. "Go away! Or we'll call someone who'll make you! Stay out of cyber city and leave this Addison alone!”
Blue winks Tenna's way as he's walked off — everyone either following after or continuing their previous business. Tenna watches, flabbergasted, as Blue is escorted away from the store, and the crowd clears. He’s rooted to where he’s standing, unable to move. Dozens and dozens of questions fly through his head.
What just happened? Why had Blue acted so — so terrible? He was supposed to be the one Spamton liked the most.
He was
He was supposed to help. Blue was supposed to be the one to help him. He was the one that didn’t pick on Spamton. He was the one Spamton trusted more than the others, wasn’t he? Isn’t that what Spamton had said?
Tenna sniffles, holding his screen in his hands, as his shoulders hitch. He’s trying to control the flow of his tears, to—to stop crying. Stop crying, Spamton wouldn’t want to see you sobbing like a child, he tells himself in his head.
“… no, no. It’s. It’s fine.”
Tenna moves to adjust his tie. He feels sick. He feels dizzy. The CRT laughs, if only to mask the way his body is shaking.
“He must be under so much stress! Meeting strangers can be scary. Don’t worry! He didn’t mean it. He… I—I’m sure if I come back soon, he’ll… he’ll talk to me.”
Tenna shrinks.
He must be doing something wrong. Right? Surely, he has to be. The smile on his screen trembles as he tries to keep it up. It’s not working. Why is it not working?
“I… I should… go, huh?” He murmurs to himself, softer now. “I must have made a mistake, coming here.”
Tenna turns, and although he tells himself he’ll come back — he’ll look for Spamton’s brothers, hell, maybe he’ll plead with Queen to find someone to help him — he knows he’s lying to himself. This first visit to cyber city on his own will be his last visit to cyber city.
“I didn’t… need their help anyway.”
Tenna turns tail and runs home.