Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tenna wasn’t used to change. In fact, over the years, the concept itself had become the bane of his existence. Whether it was those who were always there beginning to drift away, the interest of the general public gravitating toward other forms of entertainment, or now, something he never foresaw happening for better or worse, being placed in an unfamiliar world after decades with the Dreemur family. Even if it was good for him, Tenna and change didn’t mesh well at all no matter how hard he tried to keep up with the times.

By no means was he unappreciative of everything the lightners did for him, and it was kind of the young prince to invite him into this new town, even making a unique room just for him. It was respect and gratitude unlike anything Tenna had experienced in years. Being in a more stable environment was nice too, one that was always alive and bustling as opposed to the usual static and reruns he’d become accustomed to. Yet, still, even though he couldn’t think of anywhere better to be, something felt off in a way that caused him guilt. 

It wasn’t that the room didn’t suit him at all. The bright pastel tile and star wallpaper similar to what he’d had in the old green room made it feel closer to home, but something was still missing. He did note the lack of furniture, for only a small podium and coat rack currently adorned his room. Earlier, he could have sworn a lamp was there, but it seemed to have been taken away when Lanino and Elnina had parted ways from his room earlier after bidding a quick hello. Usually, he’d ask for it back, but something about that lamp freaked him out. He was fine giving it away.

Tenna paced around the semi-empty space for some time, trying to work out something that might make it feel more like home. The last thing he wanted to do was ask for too much from the kind prince and his friends. No, he couldn’t ask for anything elaborate right away. He needed to warm up to that. Something simple that could make a big difference in the room would be a chair, he decided. Sure, there was a podium, but nowhere to sit behind it, and his little tussle with the knight had left his limbs aching, even if he’d been successfully patched up. Allowing himself to smile, he clapped his hands, as if trying to summon someone.

“Mike, could you fetch me a chair, please?”

The silence hit him like a bolt of lightning. His antennae drooped. Tenna made a mental note to ask the young prince for a chair the next time they spoke.

Hoping some exploration would take his mind off everything, Tenna left the confines of his room for a moment to wander the rest of his new place of residence. As he slowly made his way down the hall, he caught the other rooms out of the corner of his vision but didn’t linger. He would come back to introduce himself properly. For now, he needed a brief adjustment period.

Being around so many other darkners again was a step in the right direction. Although he spent time with his crew when he’d previously been, the bleakness that soon enveloped that house had affected the company he did have. As he stepped outside the castle and walked down the carefully crafted pathways of this strange village, he occasionally saw some darkners he knew, most interacting with each other or someone he’d never seen before. While he tried to keep his journey outside as casual and lowkey as possible, Tenna couldn’t help but notice when he caught the eye of someone familiar.

The way they looked at him and pretended to go about their business, not wanting to be seen, hurt, yes, but he couldn’t blame them. Not after the commotion he’d caused. Perhaps that was why he felt so oddly out of place here. Usually all eyes on him was the only thing he wanted, but at that moment, he wanted to shrink down and make his way by without catching anyone’s attention. It wasn’t entirely out of character to need time to himself, Tenna thought. He could recall several moments back in the old studio where the hustle and bustle of everyday show business weighed a little too heavy on him, in which he needed a bit of solitude to recharge. A thought became present in his mind, a sliver of urgency to see if the spot on his mind had somehow been transported to this new world alongside him. The secret room, the place where it was only him, just him alone, nobody else, at least that’s how it would be now.

Tenna almost found it funny. Back then, it had been so easy to pretend someone was actually listening when he’d called the name. And perhaps someone was, but with everything that happened, he didn’t want to delude himself anymore. If Mike was ever here, he was gone now, and if that room existed, he didn’t want to know.

Continuing to wander the streets of this castle town, Tenna tried to take careful note of his surroundings. Everything was toned with dark blues and purples yet so full of light. He’d never seen anything like it. Despite everything, it was breathtaking. Perhaps so much that his system began to overload. One moment he was taking in a few new sights, and the next, he felt a deep aching behind his screen, deep within his circuit boards that caused static to cloud his face for a moment. Thankfully, he was able to shake it off with a quick shudder. An odd sensation, maybe a new one, but that’s what years of wear and tear (and almost being smashed to pieces beyond repair) will do to you. Best to keep moving forward and not think too hard about it right now.

It was just his luck to be stopped by someone the minute he’d finally regained his senses. Shocked, Tenna jolted as he heard his name called, not sure who he was expecting to see. Kris and Susie were long gone, and the prince was back in the tower. He didn’t know who else might be wanting to speak to him, until he finally let his screen fall upon a familiar face he’d almost forgotten, one that was still so small in comparison to him despite how much he’d shrunk himself down to fit in this castle town. Groaning, Tenna hunched over to properly face the small boy who had called to him.

“Hello there, uh…” (Why could he never remember this one!?) “...boy!” 

That seemed to be good enough, as the small darkner smiled, his tongue lolling out from the side of his mouth.

“Mr. TV Guy! How’s it feel to be an official member of Castle Town? Are you happy? Overjoyed? Want a matching jacket?”

Tenna was still feeling rather overwhelmed by everything, and the sudden implication that he was here forever made it ten times worse. But this was a child, and the last thing he wanted to do was wipe a beaming grin off a kid’s face. Something, something, he’d already done that too much earlier, whatever. He took a minute to calm his tone before speaking to the boy again.

“I’m digging it! You got a nice place, a good change of pace from the old days. Everybody did a fantastic job getting it ready for me!” He flashed a forced smile, hoping it was convincing enough. 

“Good! I was gonna ask if you could do me a favor, but I didn’t want you to be all soggy about it.”

Okay, that wasn’t necessary, Tenna thought to himself. Nobody knows how to bring out the painful truths like a kid.

“Haha, well then, what is it you need from me? Schedule’s all clear, kiddo!”

The boy grabbed his legs and idly rocked back and forth as he spoke. “My dad’s been locked in a cage for a few days now, and we used to have this jester who would come by and cheer him up in the case of any cage-related incidents! But I think something happened because I can’t find him and…”

Tenna was very much tuned in to the boy’s story. There was nothing he wanted less than to accidentally get sidetracked. Unfortunately, life had other plans. When he was deep in the tale of how he’d been searching the town far and wide for this mysterious jester, a sliver of something, not much but just enough to catch Tenna’s attention, became apparent in the side of his vision. 

The black v-neck. The green pants. The slicked-back hair, styled almost to a point. The same expression, eyes closed and mouth dropped open in a cheerful yet sleazy grin.
No.

Before he could even react, the shocking sensation gripped him once more, almost sending him on top of the poor boy. Every wire inside him burned for a few seconds, and a whine of agony slipped from his mouth. He luckily managed to get it under control pretty fast, wincing and immediately fixating his vision back on what he’d seen, just fast enough to see the figure walk into an alley to his right.

Why was he here? Did Kris know? Susie? Did they meet him? Where would they have even- well, he was at their house at one point, but the laptop hadn’t been there in ages! On second thought, didn’t Susie mention something about a previous adventure in Cyber City? Damn, should this have been something Tenna saw coming? Why wasn’t he prepared?

Before he could question himself further, he felt a tug at his pants and glanced down. The boy was looking up at him with a concerned expression.

“Mr. TV Guy? Did you sneeze?”

“No! I mean, no, I uh…” He didn’t want to leave the kid hanging, but he also knew that if he didn’t go into that alley right this second, he’d never forgive himself more than he already hadn’t. “Sorry, kiddo, I know I said I was free to chat, but turns out, there is something I gotta do. You know what they say about show biz, right? No business like it, haha, am I right?”

The boy shook his head. 

“I’ll be back quicker than you can say “I love watching TV” a thousand times. Mike, entertain this boy while I’m-” (He’d have to get used to that.) “I mean…see you in a jiffy!”

Before the boy could point out that doing so wouldn’t be quick at all, Tenna was already rushing into the alleyway. He winced, realizing at the worst time that his legs weren’t as quick as they used to be, but he pushed his body as hard as he could. By the time he’d reached his destination, Tenna was overheating from exhaustion. He leaned against a nearby brick wall, clutching at it to keep himself from falling to his knees.

Hiding close to the entranceway of the alley, Tenna peaked his head toward the direction he saw the figure walk. Sure enough, there he was. While there were a few undeniable questions (Was he always so tall? Why was he back in his old clothes? Did he…change color?), it was undeniably the darkner he’d searched far and wide for only to come up with nothing.
Tenna clenched his fists in a silent rage. How could he be standing right there, smiling and humming to himself and setting up a stand to sell his disgusting little products as if nothing happened? After everything they’d been through…?

A tap on Tenna’s shoulder took him by surprise. Whipping around so as to not seem suspicious, he expected to encounter a familiar face, perhaps one of his crew or the boy from earlier, likely being given a boost by his strange father who had somehow freed himself from the mentioned cage (the worm guy was his dad, right?). Instead, he found himself once again greeted by him . He froze in place, feeling his screen go fuzzy, and for a minute, neither of them spoke. It gave him time to look at the face of the darkner who betrayed and hurt him so many years ago and really process a few things that mattered like why there were suddenly two of him, why his hair was so different compared to when they’d last met the length pulled into a sharp ponytail, and why he was…pink?

Then, it all made sense when the other darkner spoke. 

“Sorry to bother you sir, but your name doesn’t happen to be Mr. Ant Tenna, does it?”

The voice. It was similar, yes, but completely different than what he remembered. Tenna’s memory wasn’t perfect, sure, but he’d never forget his voice, not in a million years. Then, another similar voice piped up, from the direction he’d been looking in just seconds ago.

“Wait, Mr. Ant Tenna? As in the Mr. Ant Tenna? Here in Castle Town?”

Not having a chance to answer either, he whipped around and sure enough, after getting a better look at the figure he’d followed into the alley initially, it became very clear to Tenna that this was not him. They looked similar, just as the pink darkner did, but his hair wasn’t styled in the same manner at all, and he was yellow, not white. Before he had time to respond to either, more voices spoke up as two similarly shaped figures seemingly appeared out of thin air.

“Would you look at that! It has to be him; there’s no way it’s not!”

“I think you’re right! The TV head gives it away.”

Along with the initial pink and yellow darkners that too closely resembled a certain someone, two others, one orange and one blue, were not flanked on either side. Tenna gulped, not sure how to process the sudden attention. On one hand, it flattered him to receive it, but on the other, something about this felt a little too close to home in a way he wasn’t sure he was comfortable with. Adjusting his tie, he nodded and tried to put on his best business smile.

“Why, yes, it is I! My pleasure to meet you all. What can I do for you? Autographs? Pictures? Tricks? Kicks? Honestly, I can-”

Tenna’s words were cut off by the orange darkner suddenly spawning a toothpick with a green piece of cloth at the end out of nowhere and practically shoving it in his face.

“May I interest you in a clothes sample? Only $4.99!”

The blue one quickly piped up after. “Hey, this is our guest! You can’t have him pay full price for a sample.” They nudged the other darkner out of the way and held up a pair of green shoes, similar to the ones they had on, to Tenna. “How about you try a sample of my brand new “Big Shot” shoes for a reduced price of $3.99? For big shots and those aspiring to be big shots only!”

The name of the shoes made the seed of unease inside Tenna blossom, and he took a step backwards only to bump into the yellow one, who had somehow left and returned with a small white mannequin. Something about it made him feel even more like he’d been transported into one of the horror movies December would show Kris when their parents weren’t looking.

“Actually, Mr. Tenna, why don’t you take this entire mannequin for a quick and easy payment of an advertising slot on your show!”

One of his antennae raised upwards in curiosity, and suddenly, the blue darkner was leaning on his left shoulder and the orange one on his right.

“Who am I kidding!? Here, take the shoes for free too!” They shoved them in his arms. “Just make sure I get the advertising slot after theirs.”

“Hey, hey, Mr. Tenna!” The orange darkner stacked a round sample plate with multiple pieces of cloth, each stabbed with a toothpick, on top of the shoes in his arms.

Opening his mouth to ask what in the world was happening, Tenna was stopped yet again from another similar voice speaking a bit further away than the rest of these odd darkners. He flipped around to see the pink one, looking at him with an expression that felt more collected than that of the others. “Guys, guys, c’mon! We shouldn’t overcrowd him. He just got here.”

Grumbling to themselves, the other darkners backed off, still leaving the heap of items in Tenna’s arms. He carefully set them down, giving the others a chance to regroup. As he was doing so, the pink darkner approached him, keeping a much calmer air than the others had.

“I apologize. We’re very eager to meet you, Mr. Tenna.”

Something about the way this darkner interacted with him, despite the obvious connection, made Tenna feel even more on edge. While the others were instantly familiar and in his face, they seemed to be keeping their distance, and something told him it was intentional.

“We are the Addisons,” the pink one continued. “Our purpose is to advertise, as I’m sure you’ve figured out.”

They flashed the others a glare before speaking again. “We’ve heard great things about you from an old colleague, and it truly is an honor to be meeting face to face.”

An old colleague, huh? And great things? That couldn’t be right. For a second, Tenna considered playing dumb and asking who, but something about the way this pink Addison was reading him made him feel like they wouldn’t buy it. 

“It’s my pleasure to meet you all.” Tenna posed for an awkward handshake, but the pink Addison only looked at his hand and gave a nod before turning back to the others.

“We have places to be right now, but let’s keep in touch about potential gigs, alright?”

The other Addisons looked disappointed, and the yellow one in particular rolled their eyes in protest. “Are you crazy!? We don’t have anything to-”

“Yes, we do! Don’t you remember the thing? ” the blue one cut them off, causing them to hang their head in solemn agreement. 

Tenna clasped his hands together. “That’s a shame. I’ll see you around! I’m up in the castle if you ever want to stop by and chat. Between you and me, I don’t believe I’ll be doing much these next couple of days.” He laughed as the others either stared at him or looked to their pink colleague in annoyance.

The pink Addison smirked. “Wonderful.”

With a nod, the Addisons collected their belongings and made their way out of the alley, scuttling past him. The pink one was the last to go, and Tenna could have sworn he saw him look back to meet his screen with a suspicious glare before disappearing in the distance. As they filed out, something from deep within him was begging to open his mouth, to ask the question he knew would be gripping him for the rest of the night and possibly even eternity. But he resisted, for it felt much like the Addisons didn’t want to discuss their “old colleague” either. 

The encounter weighing hard on him, Tenna found himself fighting another static fit. He needed sleep. He’d been out for a while, and he now had quite a bit to think about, so no shame in trudging his way back to the castle, he supposed. On his way up the slight hill, he looked for the boy, but couldn’t find him. Perhaps it was past his bedtime. He’d make sure to finish that conversation first thing tomorrow. Even the nightlife seemed to dwindle, and if there were blankets of stars in the sky similar to those in the light world he’d often observe from beyond the Dreemurs’ windows, Tenna had a feeling they’d be making themselves known. 

As he retired to his room, he didn’t see anyone out and about in the castle. In fact, everything was quiet save for the faint buzz of what sounded like a mix between music and noise (not a specific one, the entire concept) next door. Maybe he’d investigate that tomorrow, but for now, it was finally time for the end of an eventful day in what he hoped he’d soon accept as his new home. As he opened the door, however, he quickly realized there had been a quick change of scenery: now, right in the middle of the room, sat a soft black recliner perfect enough for him to lounge in.

His antennae shot upward as he noticed it, and he stepped forward, reaching a hand out to touch it and make sure it was real. Sure enough, he was greeted with the feeling of leather against his palm. Confusion aside, it was nice. Could the prince read minds, he wondered? Perhaps it was a coincidence. Finally having a place to rest his limbs, he almost didn’t care about its mysterious appearance, sitting down and going limp almost instantly, a long sigh leaving his throat as he slunk downward into the cushy seat.

Now that he had a place to rest, he almost wished he could forget about the odd encounter in the alleyway, but his thoughts had other plans. It was all he could focus on. The Addisons had recognized him pretty quickly. He knew the mailman was an Addison, but for some reason, it didn’t cross his mind that he might run into more. During their time together, the others always seemed busy doing whatever it was they did in Cyber City, while the mailman, his Addison as he used to say, spent most of his time away from the others. Perhaps that was why they didn’t seem too fond of him. Tenna wondered if he was somehow back in Cyber City, as far away from anyone he’d ever known as possible. It’d be in character, he assumed, for that little freak to run away and leave everyone who cared about him to fend for themselves.

Ever since that day, he told himself he was better off not letting him ever cross his mind. That being said, Tenna was also aware of his tendency to latch onto those who loved him hard even if they no longer did, and if he tried to wipe his mind clean of all the memories they shared, it would be a disservice to his heart. He couldn’t dream of doing that to the Dreemur family, even though they (with perhaps the exception of Kris) were no longer part of his life. Same goes for the Holidays, Mike and everyone else who had once been there and now wasn’t. Usually, he was an open book when something was bothering him, but for some reason, his mind had been trying to shove all memories of his former partner into a vault, no matter how hard the other part of him fought to keep them alive.

In the midst of his confusion, a soft knock on his door startled him back to the present. For a minute, he felt fear, but it was most likely the prince coming to see if he was settling in okay or maybe Lanino and Elnina stopping by to return that hideous lamp. Feeling his joints crack as he got up from the chair, Tenna made his way over to the door. Once he’d opened it and processed who stood before him, the electricity whirring through his body nearly stopped.

Scowling, arms crossed and openly glaring daggers at him with complete abandon of the hospitality they’d shown earlier, was the pink Addison. Taken aback, Tenna swallowed a hard lump in his throat, attempting to address the darkner in a hospitable tone.

“It’s you again! I didn’t think we’d be discussing matters this soon, but please, come-”

The pink Addison cut him off, almost whispering, “I’m not here for that, and I think we both know.”

Tenna actually had no idea what brought this stranger to his quarters so late at night and would do anything to save himself some confusion and find out without getting socked in the face! But he was skilled at avoiding conflict after so many years of attempting to cheer lightners up during their worst moments. He kept a level head and addressed the Addison calmly.
“I’m sorry, I think I’m a little confused. I don’t know what you want if it’s not a slot on my show. Is there something you’d like to sell me personally?”

“This isn’t about business!” The pink Addison hissed and leaned in threateningly. Tenna almost tripped with how quick he moved backward.

“Look, the others might be playing dumb to avoid the elephant in the room, but I’m not falling for it.” They spit out the words as if it almost pained them to speak. “You know exactly why I’m here.”

Tenna was starting to match their frustration, annoyed they couldn’t say what was bothering them.

“I think you got the wrong idea about something. Before today, I’d never seen you or your friends in my life! If I did something wrong, I’m sorry, I really am, but I don’t think it’s fair of you to barge in here like this and point fingers.”

“What did you do to him?”

The words caused a brief jolt of static to claim him as it had earlier, and the clouds muddling the situation started to clear. Thankfully, he was able to stop it this time, either by willpower or pure shock.

“Excuse me?”

The pink Addison looked both ways, as if checking for eavesdroppers. When they determined the coast was clear, they made a quick motion toward Tenna. “Let me in. Quick. I’m not gonna hurt you, at least not right now.”

That sure wasn’t promising, but the way they were acting, Tenna felt like he didn’t have a choice. He sighed and held the door open, allowing the pink Addison to scutter in. Then, he closed it behind them, breathing in relief as the other didn’t immediately run to strangle him. 

The pink Addison sighed, running a hand through his ruffled hair. “Okay, okay, I get we both hate talking about this as much as the other, but if I really have to spell it out for you, fine: what did you do to…”

“Spamton.” Tenna didn’t even think before the name left his lips for the first time in so many years. “This is about Spamton, isn’t it?

A gasp left the other darkner’s throat, and all the hostility he’d shown earlier came flooding back. “So you do know what happened!”

“If you’re talking about him signing a contract we’d discussed multiple times in advance to properly merge our businesses together and immediately running out on me and never contacting me again the minute he wrote his name, then yes, I know all about it,” Tenna spat, fidgeting with his tie.

The pink Addison bristled. “I don’t believe you! I’m by no means a fan of the guy, but you did something to him, and we all know it.” They looked to the side. “The others are willing to let bygones be bygones, but that’s their decision. I’m smarter than that. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all this weird junk started happening with him the minute you two got in contact, and I’m definitely not about to let the same thing happen to my friends.”

Something about the way the darkner spoke made Tenna flinch, especially the way he’d almost whimpered out the word “friends” as if he didn’t freely use the term around those it referred to. Truth be told, he knew nothing of Spamton’s fate after he’d been cut off by that little scammer. He always assumed he’d gone on to do who-knows-what in Cyber City, leaving their partnership behind without regret. However, when Tenna looked to the darkner in front of him and thought about how he’d come all the way here to confront him about someone he didn’t even seem fond of made everything feel more dire than he’d ever dreamed it to be.

“I don’t know what else to say. I told you everything, honestly, I’ll shake on it!”

“I’m not making any deals with you."

The pink Addison stared at the floor, an awkward silence gripping the room. Tenna hated silence and was always the first to break it. “That day was the last I saw of him, and if it wasn’t, you’d know.”

The other darkner refused to face him as they replied. “And you never tried calling? Seeing if there was anything you could do?”

“Of course I called! I spent days on end trying to get back in contact. Every time, it was the same thing! That noise…” Tenna hated the memory. “That awful noise.”

At the mention of noise, something changed about the way the pink Addison was carrying himself. It was as if he dropped some non-existent item he was carrying, and the pure hatred and tension from earlier seemed to melt away into a shock of recognition as the two words slipped from his mouth.

“Garbage noise…”

Tenna’s circuits stopped for a beat. “You heard it too?”

The pink Addison shook his head. “No. One of us did though. They went into the mansion on his eviction day to snoop around, but Queen had already thrown out all his stuff. The one thing they did mention was picking up that old rotary phone he was always glued to and hearing nothing but…garbage noise, whatever that means.”

A million thoughts were whirring through Tenna’s mind, and he found himself clutching the side of his chair to steady himself. “So, he’s not in the Queen’s mansion anymore?”

They shook their head. “He hasn’t been for years.”

It felt as if everything Tenna thought he knew about his former partner’s whereabouts was being tested. He gripped the chair a bit tighter.

“He got kicked out right after the last time he visited you. He didn’t say a word to us before, so we all assumed it was your doing. But you don’t know about any of this, do you?”

“No, no, no, absolutely not!”

He replied quickly, failing to hide the sudden panic in his voice. What was left of the pink Addison’s guard dropped almost completely, letting Tenna know he was believed.

“It happened out of nowhere. One minute, he was the talk of the town and then, it was like someone flipped a switch to make everyone hate him again. The others don’t like talking about it, and I understand. He wasn’t the best to us, but nobody deserves what happened to him.”

Tenna didn’t want to ask. Perhaps he didn’t have to. He could, theoretically, say he had to turn in for a busy day tomorrow and thank the pink Addison for believing he had nothing to do with whatever was going on with his former partner and delude himself into thinking it was an intentional betrayal that hurt him and him alone. But he knew he couldn’t allow that, even if he desperately wanted to.

“What do you mean by “what happened to him”?”

The pink Addison looked to Tenna with a forlorn expression, letting him know in advance how he’d likely react to what he was about to hear. “I wish I had a better answer for you, but none of us know for sure. We just never saw him again, at least…not as he was.”

“Not as he was…?”

The other darkner heaved a deep sigh. “If he’s still out there, he’s not the same by a long shot. Sometimes, one of us would catch a glimpse of something that looked like him, or at least what was left of him, scuttling into an alleyway or diving in a garbage can. You know how in some advertisements, they show a demonstration where the product looks a million times better than it actually is, but then you buy the thing and it’s an absolute hunk of trash?”

Tenna nodded.

“That in reverse. I think we all collectively decided to ignore it and pretend it wasn’t him, but I don’t know what else it could have been.”

The way the pink Addison spoke made Tenna’s head spin, and for a minute, it felt like he was strapped to a chair, forced to replay the events of the day he left: the conversation, the contract, the phone call, the pale face, the dropped receiver, the sound of his footsteps running out of their room as quickly as possible, that horrible noise, all of it carrying so much more weight than before with this new information.

Before he could speak again, Tenna’s screen erupted into a fit of static and the icy sting from earlier began coursing through his wires again. He lurched forward in pain, almost falling from the chair.

“Mr. Tenna! Are you alright?”

The static came to an abrupt stop when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the pink Addison attempting to steady him. Taking a deep breath, he sat upright, doing his best to clear his head, but that was practically impossible.

Was this why he was so dodgy with whatever it was that helped him, why it took him ages to finalize the contract despite how closely they’d worked together, why he didn’t return any of his calls when all was said and done? Was it all because he was…

How had the pink Addison put it? Not entirely himself? What was left of him? What did it even mean?

There was more silence, but neither of them had the heart to break it until the other darkner stifled a small laugh. Tenna looked at them, trying not to appear too defeated.

“What?”

“Nothing, just…you’re a lot shorter than I imagined.”

He couldn’t help but grin, even if it wasn’t the most genuine. “Yeah, well, I had to make myself a lot smaller to fit in this room, so what you’re seeing now is far from accurate. Come back when I’m plugged in.”

Although that got a hearty chuckle from the other, their small moment of lightheartedness was over as quickly as it had begun. Tenna didn’t think he could handle more questions and answers, but they wouldn’t stop spilling from him before he had a chance to think about what he was saying. “He’s not in Castle Town, is he?”

The pink Addison shook their head. “No. Last we saw of…whatever he became was in Cyber City. I’ve been on the lookout since moving here, but nothing so far.” His expression darkened. “I’m fine ending things here if it’s too much, but if you want to know the full story…there is one more thing.”

Tenna knew he couldn’t handle it. He asked anyway. “What?”

They inhaled, his eyes glossed over. It took a minute before he spoke, almost as if he was trying to decide if he was making the right decision by sharing the final piece of information. “I never told anyone this, but one time, when I saw the thing that could be him, I tried to follow it. Me and the other Addisons agreed never to mess with it, but it was just me and it was late, and for once, I thought maybe I could figure it out. I have no idea why I even wanted to, but I chased him into the darkest corner of the trash zone until I didn’t even know where I was anymore.”

He put their hands inside their pockets, leaning against the chair. “I waited longer than I’d like to admit. I could have turned around and gone home at any time, but part of me was desperate to know if it was him.”

Tenna cocked his head to the side. “Did you see him?”

The pink Addison shook their head. “No. I eventually passed out and woke up back home, funnily enough. The others found me. I think deep down they knew what happened, but they pretended like I had too much battery acid and I played along even though I was completely sober that night. But…” Their fists balled up tight as they continued, pink knuckles turning white. “I noticed a little after I woke up that something was in my pocket. I didn’t remember putting anything in there, so I looked inside and…I have no idea how it got there but there was a ring.”

“A ring?”

“Yeah. A ring. I’d never seen it before in my life. It was made with a type of black metal and in the middle it had this big blue stone that was almost transparent, like something was meant to go inside but nothing was there. And the weirdest thing? It was cold. Not in the normal sense either, it was genuinely freezing to the point where I couldn’t even try to put it on without feeling pain.”

The story made Tenna’s wires twist into knots. “Did you keep it?”

“I did. Part of me thought maybe I could make some money off it, but nobody seemed interested, so I kept it in my pocket for safe-keeping.” He paused again, almost trailing off and taking a deep breath before speaking again. “I almost forgot about it until those lightners showed up. Every time I saw them, especially the blue one and that girl…it was like the ring was talking to me. Telling me to offer it to them for whatever reason, I don’t know why.”

Kris and Susie…he didn’t even need to ask. “Well, did you?”

They shook their head, and Tenna noticed they were wringing their hands, as if their fingers were in pain.

“I wasn’t about to part from it without a hefty bargain, and I knew the kids didn’t have that kind of money. So I kept it under wraps.” He looked straight ahead while speaking, and Tenna got the impression that wasn’t the only reason why the pink Addison refused to put it up for sale.

“The whole thing was creepy. Thankfully, I was able to get it off my person. That shopkeeper? The one in the place that looks like a giant stuffed toy? They took it.” He squinted. “Funny thing is I didn’t even say I had it. They asked out of nowhere, really took me off-guard.” He grinned in relief. “I don’t mind though. It’s their problem now.”

Tenna nodded in agreement. He thought he’d seen the mentioned shop during his venture earlier and for whatever reason, decided to make a mental note of what the pink Addison said in case he ever had a reason to go there.

“I don’t know what it was or what it meant or how it got there, but it can’t be good. The whole thing creeps me out.” They stretched and began to make their way toward the door. “Anyway, enough of that. I should go back before the others start worrying. Are you gonna be okay?”

Tenna gave a brisk nod. “Yeah, I’m peachy. No need to worry, uh…do you have a name?”

“Oh right, I almost forgot!” They turned around, offering a hand to Tenna presumably to make up for earlier. “You can call me Addison.”

“Isn’t that what you’re all- you know what, never mind. Pleasure to make your acquaintance even if it was under not-so-great circumstances.” He returned the handshake, keeping it short and sweet.

“We’ll make the best of it now that you cleared the air,” they replied. “Sorry for the accusations, and hey, just so you know, I sell tea. And it’s to die for. I think your audience would really appreciate some.”

Tenna tried his best to smile. “I’ll keep that in mind. See you around, Addison!”

“Likewise.”

The pink Addison walked out of the door, shutting it behind them and leaving Tenna alone with his thoughts once more.

The unease that gripped him earlier had only slightly loosened its clutch, but breathing was a bit more manageable now. Everything Addison (or well, this one) had said was too elaborate to be a ruse. Never once had he considered there might be more than meets the eye when it came to the sudden end of his partnership with that little mailman. The more he thought about it, he realized, as much as he wished it wasn’t true, the outcome he’d learned of did make a lot more sense.

Oh Spamton, he mused to himself, what did you get yourself into?

Thankfully, his thoughts were so occupied that he didn’t notice the small dots fixated on him through the room’s open window: one pink and one yellow, as well as the toothy smile that formed underneath them.

Chapter Text

“You really think this is a fulfilling purpose for me?”

“Of course! Dad loves you! He hasn’t laughed that hard in days!”

Tenna wasn’t sure if “loves” was entirely accurate, but it was something along those lines. He’d have to take it for now.

“If you say so! Thank you oh so very much for the consideration and if he ever needs my assistance again, you know where to find me!”

“Okie dokie, Mr. Jester Guy!”

Lancer gave a thumbs up before bouncing away. Tenna wondered if he should correct him on the name or if this was his punishment for not being able to remember his until a few minutes ago. After politely waving goodbye to the boy, he made his way up the stairs and out of the basement.

His attempt at resting up in his room had been interrupted by a rather enthusiastic knock on the door. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything as groundbreaking as the previous one and was instead Lancer coming to find him and finish asking his favor, which was unexpected to say the least. Being the new court jester wasn’t something Tenna had in mind when he’d been invited to stay in Castle Town. In fact, part of it felt a little demeaning, but he supposed if he was bringing smiles and laughter to the face of someone, especially someone who seemed to have (or had) such a high status, it was worth it. Even if it didn’t feel as good as performing for the lightners, it would do for now as he adjusted to his new normal. 

As he walked past the large cauldron in the castle’s lobby, Tenna smacked his lips as the smell of baked goods that emitted from it reached his nose. He could go for something, perhaps not a proper meal but a drink sounded nice. Thinking back to his venture outdoors, his mind wandered to a shop he’d seen that looked similar to a cafe. They’d probably have something for him there. Retracing his steps, he walked back outside, a little more confidently than last time, and began his search. As he made his way past the first stretch of businesses, something caught his attention.

Next to what appeared to be some kind of music store was a building labeled “SHOP”. It didn’t say much about what was in it, but the outside had been crafted haphazardly with cloth scraps, sewn together like a homemade plush. An eerie feeling creeped up on Tenna as he remembered the conversation from a few hours ago. Even though his mind desperately wanted to push it to the side, as he had the memories of the darkner it centered around for years, something tempted him closer to this strange establishment. It was almost as if his feet were moving on their own as he inched toward the mysterious shop. 

He stopped himself. Not today. So much had happened in the past day, more than he’d witnessed in years. It was time he allowed himself some proper relaxation. Flipping around as quickly as possible, Tenna trudged down the path, far away from the building that beckoned to him no matter how hard he tried to ignore its call.

Soon, he found himself in front of a cozy blue establishment shaped like a coffee mug, with a teacup and saucer on top, labeled “CAFE”. Humming in delight, he swung open the doors and was immediately greeted with the exact type of atmosphere he’d been seeking. The live music almost made him feel content, as he took in the sight of several smiling darkners, dancing about and chatting amongst one another. It was the first time since coming here that he almost felt at home. If he didn’t know better, Tenna would be comforted. However, as he looked to the front desk of the cafe, something shattered the illusion. 

Standing behind it, naturally, was who he assumed to be the owner. They were a tall angular fellow with broad shoulders, spiked hair, a beak-like snout and a pair of glasses, one lens orange and the other yellow. Their suit was primarily black and white, much like their own color palette, with a few patches of color here and there, including a salmon pink tie. Although Tenna knew he’d never seen this darkner before, something about his appearance struck a familiar chord with him. He felt a small jolt of static as he tried to fish around in his memory for who this might be or at least what they reminded him of, so he decided to put those thoughts to the side for now and focus on getting his beverage. He sauntered to the front desk, adjusting his tie and trying his best to wear the hospitable smile he was known for. The cafe’s owner noticed him immediately, but his neutral expression did not falter.

“Welcome to the cafe,” they spoke, voice deep and refined. “What may I get for you?”

Tenna studied the menu, frowning when nothing immediately stuck out to him. 

“I’m sorry, but do you have any recommendations? I’m new in town.”

He thought he noticed the owner’s expression change for just a second, but it was hard to tell underneath the glasses which practically covered his eyes. “I figured. I have become quite accustomed to those who visit my cafe, and I don’t recall seeing you until now.” They idly picked up a glass and began to clean it with a white cloth. “Would you prefer a snack or beverage?”

Tenna thought for a moment. “A little something to drink is all.”

“I see. Any preferences?”

He drummed a finger against the bottom of his screen. “Something on the sweeter side? But not too sweet…nothing alcoholic…a cola would be nice.”

The owner hummed thoughtfully. “I believe I have just the thing. Give me a moment.” He turned his back and began to craft a drink behind the counter. Tenna curiously watched him fill a glass mug with various liquids, none of which he could identify off the top of his head, and finalize the beverage with whipped cream and a cherry on top. They then handed it to Tenna, the same flat expression on their face, yet something about it seemed warmer.

“A root beer with hints of butterscotch and cinnamon,” he introduced the drink, handing the mug over the counter. “Please let me know if everything is to your liking.”

Tenna took a slow tentative sip of his drink, feeling the high pile of whipped cream on top tickle his nose. Despite the beverage’s cold temperature, the flavors were an explosion of warmth in the darkner’s mouth. He savored the sip, something about the way it lingered on his tongue making him feel the same fuzzy sense of comfort he felt when he first walked into the cafe. A pleased sigh left his throat, and he sat the mug down in front of him, plucking the cherry in his mouth before speaking again.

“It’s marvelous. Perfect,” he congratulated the other darkner. “Thank you! Has anyone ever told you that you got a knack for knowing just what a fella wants?”

“Frequently so,” they responded with a nod, going back to cleaning the same glass from earlier.

Tenna picked the mug back up, watching the liquid in it swirl around before taking another sip, experiencing the same rush of familiarity. He smiled. “What’s your name?”

The owner looked up from the glass. “I am Swatch. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Swatch.” 

Tenna spoke the name aloud, wondering if doing so might make something apparent. Still, nothing. He sat with his drink for a few seconds before speaking again.

“I’m sorry if it’s odd of me to ask, but you know Kris, right?”

Swatch raised his eyebrow. “The human lightner?”

Tenna nodded.

“Though I do not know if I am considered close to them, our paths have crossed before. Why?”

He looked back down at the drink as he continued. “You see, Kris was, in a way, my lightner. Or one of them. I was a part of their home way before the dark fountain opened.” Tenna took another swig. “This drink…you said it was a root beer?”

“The finest we have.”

“Right.” A hearty laugh escaped from somewhere deep in Tenna’s throat. “It reminds me of when Kris was young, or younger than they are now. They used to drink root beer. Someone from school had them convinced the “beer” part of the name meant it was an “adult beverage,” so they thought drinking it made them look like a rebel. Azzy didn’t have the heart to correct them.” He shook his head. “Anyway, I remember one day, they got scared Toriel would catch them drinking it and poured a half-full can in my vents!”

Tenna laughed even harder than before. He wasn’t sure if Swatch was laughing along. 

“Oh, she was very upset when she found out, but luckily, there wasn’t a single electronic trusty ol’ Rudy Holiday couldn’t patch up good as new! It wasn’t the first time I needed a little emergency maintenance or the last for that matter. But throughout the years, no matter how many times I got beaten up, stepped on, shaken up, spit on, messed up, pushed down, stirred around, cracked like an egg, objects thrown at me, my antennas ripped off, licked on the screen, covered in blankets, orange juice poured down my speakers, dropped down the stairs…”

Tenna’s voice trailed away when he noticed Swatch was looking at him with a bit more concern than earlier. He cleared his throat and awkwardly took another sip of the drink.

“What I was trying to say is, no matter how roughed up I got, they stuck around. And this drink you made me, even though it’s different from what lightners have, it…reminded me of where I came from.” 

A dreamy hum left Tenna as he finished the last of his root beer. Once the glass was empty, he saw his reflection in the bottom of the mug and couldn’t help but sit with it. “It’s such a shame it had to end.”

Swatch looked back to their glass for a moment, as if they weren’t sure how to handle the drastic changes in tone. “I am sorry to hear that happened. I do hope your new home in Castle Town is satisfactory.”

“Yeah. Heh. Me too.”

The sudden silence made Tenna’s heart feel heavier than it had since entering the cafe. “Soooo, what am I supposed to pay you around here? I gotta do that, right?”

Swatch pondered for a minute before shaking their head. “For first-time customers, it’s on the house.”

Tenna couldn’t help but wonder if they did that out of pity, but there was no use in asking. “That’s mighty kind of you! Thank you, Swatch. Sorry if I was a little too much there for a second.”

He shook his head. “No need for apologies. You are far from the most unpleasant guest I’ve had in my cafe.” Swatch seemed to narrow their eyes, as if he was thinking a little too hard about whoever had caused him to say that. Then, he went back to cleaning the glass, politely waving to Tenna. “Feel free to come back any time, um…” 

“Oh, where are my manners? You can call me Tenna.”

Swatch’s face suddenly showed the most liveliness Tenna had seen since meeting him minutes ago. Their mouth dropped open, and although they were mostly hidden, he could see how wide it made the other darkner’s eyes. He was a little scared they might drop the glass they were cleaning, but just as quickly as it had happened, Swatch became stoic again, feathers ruffling slightly.

“I don’t believe I’ve heard of you,” he responded, but the way he said it made Tenna feel like it wasn’t true. Part of him wanted to stick around and ask why, but he wasn’t sure he could handle any more revelations right now.

“That’s a first.” Before the moment had a chance to get even more awkward, Tenna turned around quickly.

“Thanks again, Swatch. See you next time!”

The other darkner didn’t reply or at least not loud enough for Tenna to hear. He only murmured something under his breath and focused hard on wiping the glass, even though it should definitely be clean by now. Getting a feeling he might not be as welcome here as previously thought, Tenna took his leave, the taste of the nostalgia still fresh on his tongue.

Once he’d successfully completed his trek back toward the castle, the plan was to immediately recline in his chair and turn himself off for a moment. One of the good things about being a CRT was how easy it was for Tenna to indulge in his own imagination, even if he was the only one watching. He called it “reruns”, and although it had gotten old after the first year or two, all the recent chaos had him longing for it. Drifting off with the chatter of voices vibrating throughout his head was something he’d do often at the Dreemurr household to keep himself occupied. Even though he wasn’t able to broadcast himself to the lightners after being unplugged, he could flip through all the nearby channels in the back of his mind as much as he’d liked. It was his own special version of dreaming and something that kept him comforted as he came to terms with being discarded.

Finally in his room, Tenna swung open the door to find himself staring at that strange chair. He hadn’t seen the young prince around today, he realized. Most likely he was busy the lightners, so he would have to thank him when he returned. Tenna still had no idea how it was so easy for him to come and go as he pleased in so many different dark worlds. If he didn’t know better, Tenna would almost assume the prince was a lightner, especially since he reminded him so much of…

Another bristle of static shook through Tenna, and if he hadn’t been right next to the chair, he probably would have fallen flat on his face. It was definitely time to sit down, relax and have some quality TV time to himself. Tenna was looking forward to being able to shut off his thoughts for a moment and replay hours on end of weather reports, game shows and all kinds of wholesome family entertainment. Once he’d properly settled, it didn’t take him long to power off, entering the state of mind that would usually present himself with several channels for him to choose from. The minute he found himself browsing through what would usually be a mental checklist of everything he could watch, something odd became apparent.

It was gone, replaced by nothing but a black screen. Tenna concentrated harder, trying his best to focus on nothing but the channels, but instead, he was met with an empty screensaver without even a trace of static. The longer he tried, the more he stared into nothingness, desperately waiting for something, anything, to pop up. When he finally got that, he wished he hadn’t.

In the leftmost corner of his screen, a small pink dot came into view. The way it did so was interesting, he noted, opening vertically from the middle almost in the way an eye would. Then, immediately after, the same thing happened in the right corner, except this dot was a slightly pale yellow. Confused, Tenna had no option but to stare into the two spots developing slowly in the back of his mind as if they were actually in front of him. Soon enough, underneath, he began to notice the white sliver, similar to a crescent moon that had been turned over on its back, opening wider and wider until there was no doubt about what he was looking at. Where there should be an option of whether he wanted to watch music videos, monster movies or cooking shows was instead two unblinking eyes of two different colors and a wide toothy grin. Once the black dots making up their pupils developed, all doubts that they weren’t staring straight at Tenna were abandoned.

He didn’t know what to do or say. This had never happened before. In fact, nothing or nobody was able to get this deep into his personal programming except for him. It should be impossible. Tenna tried to slap his head, shake it even, do anything he could to get back to the regularly scheduled programs, but nothing worked. In fact, he came to notice that his physical body appeared to be paralyzed, and he was stuck inside his mindspace, unable to move on his own or even speak to whatever or whoever this was terrorizing his deepest thoughts. It was at that moment he began to hear it.

The noise started as something he brushed off as background conversations, perhaps someone having a loud chat in the castle lobby. Then he began to take note of the repetitive nature of it. Whoever was speaking seemed to be doing so loudly, almost screaming, and although it still sounded too far away from him to make out the words, he could tell it was someone saying the same short phrase over and over and over again. Still unable to look away from the large face staring him down, Tenna could only sit there like a pawn as the voice got closer and closer, as if whoever was speaking began to slowly edge toward him. Soon, it sounded like it was in the same corner of the castle, and before he could even register that, it was outside his door.

The scratching started. It sounded like several knives repeatedly slicing through wood, slow at first but rapidly picking up the pace. The voice remained, but for reasons having to do with either its strange tone or Tenna’s frozen state, he couldn’t make out what was being said. Trying to concentrate with what little power over himself he had, Tenna made his best attempt to drown out the scratching, but it only seemed to get louder, until it was tormenting him. What even was that? Was it all in his head, or was something actually trying to saw through his door?

“The door.”

That was it. The voice repeated the two words while it worked away at the wooden barrier between them.

“The door.”

More scratching. Tenna tried to power back on but couldn’t.

“The door.”

The wood chipped away, something devious awaiting.

“The door.”

His circuits were whirring, trying to make him do anything, move, get up, run away, but nothing worked. He was offered on a silver platter to this thing, and nothing he could do would stop it.

“The door.”

The eyes seemed to narrow, glaring into Tenna.

“The door.”

He couldn’t move, let alone think.

“The door.”

There was the faint sound of creaking hinges.

“The door.

The door.

The door.

Tenna.

Check.

Under.

The door.”

He powered on. Gasping for air as if he’d been underwater, Tenna coughed, flailing his limbs around as soon as he could, as if fighting off an invisible attacker. His gears were grinding against each other so quickly it sounded like a screech, and for a moment, everything was too loud for him to focus on anything but the static in his screen. With time, he slowly came down from whatever had claimed him, chewing on the last few minutes until they were easier to swallow, but nothing his thoughts could muster was enough to explain it.

For all he knew, it was a trick of the mind, similar to a nightmare, but something about the voice, the scratching, the way his body froze, the absence of his channels…it was shockingly real, so much that he couldn’t even feel much relief upon having control of his own body again. Tenna stared at the ceiling, remaining slumped back in the chair as he collected himself. He was scared to look toward the direction he’d heard the voice even if it had been in his head. As much as he desperately wanted to rest more, the encounter had scared him away from the idea of doing so, and he spent minutes avoiding what was right in front of him, hoping that if something was actually there, it would have gotten bored by now and fled the scene.

No matter how freaked out he was, he couldn’t stay a statue forever. Eventually, he braced himself and looked forward, now face-to-face with the door to his bedroom. His body went pleasantly limp when he saw nothing, no scratches or signs of damage to the wooden barrier whatsoever. But that didn’t last when his gaze focused on the floor, where he soon made out something small by the crevice underneath it that definitely hadn’t been there when he powered off earlier. 

That sickening sensation of dread creeping back, Tenna peered closer at the object. The more he looked at it, Tenna realized it appeared to be a small white piece of paper, folded into fourths. For a moment, he wanted to ignore it. The paper was so small it could have easily been missed, so if someone did confront him about it, he had an excuse. But as much as he wanted to deny it, something in the back of his mind kept telling him that no matter what he did, this was going to haunt him. Weak to the temptation, he got to his feet, legs wobbly from distress. 

Tenna slowly made his way toward the piece of paper, sneaking up on it as if he were a cat stalking its prey. The closer he got, he realized it was indeed a white piece of paper, nothing that would cause him harm upon contact, which settled his nerves only for a few seconds. The pattern in which it was folded closely resembled that of a note, and as he stared down at the white slip, he made out shapes of what most certainly were a series of letters on the other side. Looking both ways to confirm he was alone, Tenna bent over and picked up the paper, quickly unfolding it. There was indeed lettering on the paper, but instead of handwriting, it looked as if someone had written it in the style of an old ransom note. There were clippings of letters arranged to form a message, some of them written in black ink on top of a faded piece of paper while the others were blinking and glitching as if they were nothing but holograms. Furrowing his antennae, Tenna read the note to himself:

“MEET BENEATH THE DARKEST PEAK

TO FIND THE ANSWERS THAT YOU SEEK”

Trying hard to keep his body from going into another state of panic-induced overheating, Tenna tried his best to process the phrase. The darkest peak? And what answers was he even looking for? The answer to the second question hit him sooner than he could finish asking himself. He felt sick and concentrated on not letting his body fall limp on the floor in shock.

Tenna had been trying not to think about the conversation with Addison, but no matter how hard he focused on anything else, the mystery forming in his mind was too much for him to look past. He glanced at the note, running his fingers across the text, haphazardly thrown together from parts that shouldn’t have any connection. Bits and pieces of last night’s conversation played in the back of his mind. 

“ Sometimes, one of us would catch a glimpse of something that looked like him, or at least what was left of him, scuttling into an alleyway or diving in a garbage can… ”

“ I think we all collectively decided to ignore it and pretend it wasn’t him, but I don’t know what else it could have been… ”

“ Last we saw of…whatever he became was in Cyber City. I’ve been on the lookout since moving here, but nothing so far… ”

Tenna folded the note back up and nearly broke down his door with how quickly he thrust it open, speeding out of the castle and straight for the alleyway in which he’d first met the Addisons. Hopefully they were out at this time doing whatever it was they did. If they weren’t, he’d look somewhere else. He would uproot the entirety of Castle Town searching for the one darkner who might be able to help.

As if fate decided to be kind to him for once, he turned into the alleyway to see the familiar pink face he’d met the day prior, chatting with the orange Addison who had set up their shop behind the stand. When the two of them saw Tenna approaching, the look on the pink Addison’s face was a bit more shocked than that of the other, who simply grinned wide and waved him over.

“Mr. Tenna! I was just telling my buddy here about a new car advertisement I’ve been cooking up. Care to know the deets?”

Not wanting to be rude but also desperately needing the attention of the other darkner, Tenna flashed a polite smile to the orange Addison.

“Sounds fun, but I can’t stay and chat right now! Sorry.” 

Tenna looked to the pink Addison and motioned to the side, as if signalling he had something to talk to them about. Thankfully, despite his hesitant expression, he nodded, turning back to his friend for a moment. “Just a second, okay?”

The orange Addison sneered, seemingly displeased at the special attention their pink colleague was receiving. “I guess if you think your audiences would be more interested in stale tea than a hot new ride.”

“Ignore him,” the pink Addison hissed under his breath as he gestured for Tenna to follow him out of bounds into an area right of the shop, near a gate he hadn’t seen before. 

Once they were alone, Addison looked left and right a few times before turning to Tenna. “What’s the deal?”

Tenna wasted no time in fishing the note out of his pocket and thrusting it into Addison’s hands a little too enthusiastically. “Look at this. I think we got a lead on our little mystery.”

“Our…” His voice trailed off as he unfolded and studied the note, peering closely at it as if they couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Where did you find this?”

“Under my door,” Tenna replied, pulling at his tie. Perhaps for now he would leave out the strange vision so the other darkner could believe him to have at least some sanity left. “Do you think it’s about…you know?”

Addison sighed, looking away from the note as the hand holding it dropped to their side. “I don’t know. You’re a pretty famous guy, right? This could be someone messing with you.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t call myself famous anymore, but I-”

“You’re too modest.” Addison cut him off, scoffing playfully and handing the note back to Tenna. 

The dismissive response was more of a surprise than it should have been. “I’m serious, Addison. This has to be from him. I can’t think of anyone else who’d do this to me.”

The other darkner shrugged. “It’s a little weird, that’s for sure, but I think we’d have seen more signs of him before he started slipping notes under doors. That’s not really his style.”

Frustration began to boil up inside of Tenna. “We haven’t spoken to him in years! Do we even know what his “style” is at this point?”

Addison clicked their tongue. “Well, first of all, his whole thing was email, and this is a physical letter.”

“How am I supposed to know what an email looks like?” Tenna groaned.

Addison chuckled, elbowing him lightheartedly, until he realized the other was being serious. They coughed. “You really don’t know, do you?”

Tenna balled up his fists, choosing to ignore the question. “Even if you’re not convinced, I am, and the least you could do is help a guy out.

The other darkner’s expression grew a little more serious, no matter how hard he tried to keep up the casual act. “I know we had a chat about stuff last night, but respectfully, Mr. Tenna, you’ve got the wrong guy for this job. I’m not a detective. I sell tea for a living. So if you need advertising, I’m the one, but other than that?” He shrugged, seemingly dismissive. “Sorry.”

It almost felt as if Tenna was speaking to someone who didn’t practically ram down his door last night to threaten him over what they were now writing off as a frivolous thing that didn’t matter. He wanted to keep prying, even if it might be the best idea.

“Addison, please. You know more about whatever’s going on than anyone else I could talk to! All my employees left me, I doubt anyone from here or Cyber City would look my way right now, and I’m not bothering the lightners about business between darkners,” he continued, sounding a little more frantic. “Please, don’t make me do this alone.”

For a moment, concern seemed to gloss over Addison’s face, and Tenna thought maybe they were getting somewhere. Then, they took another deep breath, as if bracing for a reaction before replying. “You want my advice? Fine. I don't think you should worry about it."

The words made Tenna gasp, his antennae shooting upward. “Don’t worry about it? What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Ignore it. You’ll be better off if you do.” Addison patted Tenna’s back, trying to remain friendly despite the verbal blow. “He made this bed. Let him lie in it.”

Addison’s response was not necessarily wrong, but it wasn’t what Tenna wanted, and as always, he was determined to get what he wanted at all costs. He whipped around, slapping the other darkern’s hand from his back and unintentionally baring his fangs. “What about everything we talked about then? With the thing you saw that might be him and the ring? Are you just gonna act like that never happened and go about your merry way?”

The outburst seemed to take Addison off-guard, but despite this, he could tell they were still trying to remain calm. He put his hands up, as if he were surrendering. “I get it! You’re freaked out. That’s reasonable. I got just the thing that’ll calm you. There’s this blend that’s perfect for stress relief! Follow me back to the stand, and I’ll brew you a cup free of charge.”

Tenna stared them down and ignored every word of their phony attempt at cheering him up or selling him something or whatever they were trying to do. “Now's not the time for your stupid advertisements! What’s the matter with you? Why don’t you care all of a sudden?”

The fuse lighting gradually underneath them finally exploded. Addison’s brows furrowed, and the same cold glare they’d wore at Tenna’s door made its way back onto the pink darkner’s face.
They poked a finger toward Tenna, their down-like fur bristling and their own smaller fangs glistening as they spat out the words. “Because he never cared about me! About any of us! I’m not putting myself in harm’s way for someone who wouldn’t do the same for me. That’s crazy.”

“Then why did you even bother with telling me any of this?”

The other darkner seemed to back down slightly. He crossed his arms, taking his eyes off Tenna. “I didn’t do that for him."

They gestured to where the orange Addison stood behind the makeshift stand, now joined by his two other colleagues. The three of them were swarming a couple of pippins, loading their tiny arms with various products, some bigger than they were. The pink darkner’s gaze lingered on the scene as they continued, their tone more sincere than Tenna had ever heard it.

“When everyone’s sales were going down the drain because of him, us Addisons learned to stick together. Wherever he is, that’s none of my business, but I’m not…” He paused, taking a deep, shaky breath before resuming. “I’m not about to lose myself or anyone else."

The pink darkner locked eyes with Tenna once more as he finished speaking. Their pupils were more visible than he’d ever seen, and from just one look, he could sense they meant every word they’d said, a type of genuine emotion he’d never expected to see from an Addison. As much as he wanted to cling to the idea he’d formed in his head, this team-up between him and the only darkner that seemed to want a conversation with him, it was time to back down. Before walking toward his colleagues, Addison’s eyes lingered on the defeated sight of Tenna, a strange sense of sympathy about the way he looked at him. When he spoke one more time, his tone was soft despite the harshness of his words.

“He wouldn’t go out of his way to help anyone like this, you know. Not even you.”

Tenna had no idea how that was supposed to make him feel anything but a sharp pain in his chest where a heart should be. “You know nothing about what we had.”

The words came out involuntarily. Did Tenna even believe them? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t know anything anymore. It was enough to harden Addison’s eyes once more, all sympathy gone as he finally took his leave without another word. He rejoined his colleagues, leaving Tenna by himself, a feeling he’d continue to grow used to. For a minute, he refused to move. He stared at the ground, a light trace of static over his screen like a wintry mix. Then, his body finally decided to work again, and he took his walk of shame out of the alley. He avoided all eye contact with the Addisons as he did so, and thankfully, none of them tried to get his attention.

Some of the best memories of his life aside, he knew Spamton wouldn’t risk anything for him. He’d asked that of him once, and well, look where it got him. It would be so much easier if he could accept some good things aren’t made to last forever and might not have even been there at all, at least not in the way he thought they were. He’d done slightly better at coming to terms with Toriel wanting to throw him out, no longer serving the lightners he held dear for as long as he could remember, which honestly was a much bigger and more recent change. So why did this still eat him up inside?

Deep down, he knew. When he’d had that conversation with Addison and realized there was more than meets the eye to his partner’s disappearance, it worried him, no doubt about it, but worst of all, it sparked a sick sense of hope inside him. He felt, for a moment, that if those fears were right, if he’d actually somehow gotten forcefully cut off rather than abandoned, then maybe if given the chance, Spamton would have stayed. What if this whole time he’d also been torn up and yearning over what was lost when he took that call and ran out the door? What if he was waiting for Tenna to rescue him, overcome by some dark force that neither of them understood but could defeat hand-in-hand once the air was cleared? What if Spamton needed him, and he never realized?

It would be the first time someone missed him as much as he missed them. It was a fantasy. It was too good to ever be true.

As he walked further away from his most recent terrible encounter, Tenna laughed coldly to himself thinking of how many times he’d gone out, attempted interaction with someone in Castle Town and walked away feeling worse than before. He didn’t think badly of the young prince who welcomed him here by any means, but he definitely hadn’t been right when he said Tenna would fit in. Part of him wondered why he even thought for a second it would be different than where he came from. It was becoming more and more apparent that the entire world had changed to no longer allow him, not only the Dreemurrs’ home. He would likely never shake this feeling of being obsolete to everyone he turned to.

Lost in thought and not exactly paying attention to his surroundings, Tenna shouldn’t have been shocked when he found himself tumbling over, foot coming in contact with something that felt much like an out-of-place vine. Thankfully, his hands caught himself so he didn’t suffer any damage to his antennae or screen, but sharp pains shot through his arms, and a yelp exited his throat. He got up as quickly as he could, feeling the ache throughout his body as his metal joints creaked until he was standing upright, rubbing his sore shoulders. While doing so, he looked down to curse whatever had tripped him but confusion struck as he realized he didn’t see anything that resembled a vine at all. Before he could lament about how it was just his luck or question how it even happened, Tenna looked up and felt a shock of electricity throughout his frame when he realized exactly what the fall had plunged him directly in front of.

It was the shop from earlier, the one made of a plush material. For a moment, he considered going back as he’d planned, especially now that he could add “falling on his face more than once in the span of a few hours” to reasons why today sucked, but he felt his feet lurch forward, as if he no longer controlled them. Everything rational still left inside the old CRT was telling him to make peace with his situation. It was over and had been for years. Just as he’d been told time and time again about every aspect of his life, it was time to move on. How often had he been told that, again? It’s time to move on, as if it was something anyone could do. As if it were easy. He wished it was easy.  Perhaps then he wouldn’t have found himself opening the door to the stitched-together shop, a bell signaling his arrival with its brassy ding.