Chapter Text
As the silence filled the car, Mr. Puzzles stared at the bullet shell in his hands, the options that lied before him. Turning back to what was comfortable, what was right, turning back and going for what kept him sane all those months before or...
“Forks comin’ up fast... Better pick a lane before Jesus picks one for ya.”
As Mr. WPNZ spoke, the edge grew sharper as the options timeframe dwindled, he only had a mere split second before he had to choose.. Before he had to choose Meggy, or... His new.. Friends...
He stared at WPNZ and Toomp, the two happily entertaining each other, WPNZ lightly petting the creature. Babying him just like how he babied his own children. It was something.. Special. Would he classify Toomp as a friend? He’s moreso.. A pet... Rather than someone he could actually relate to. But that didn’t matter much to him.
He had what he so desperately craved, what he aimed for this whole time, what drove him insane in the first place.. He finally had a friend, the friend that he didn’t need to pretend to have anymore..
WPNZ was real, and he was his friend forever now. He would never leave him, not like Meggy did, not like Leggy 2.0 did.
Mr. Puzzles grinned, the options now getting clearer, only one mattered, he only needed one. His thin hands gripped onto the steering wheel as tightly as possible as he broke into what could only be described as maniacal laughter, turning the wheel harshly, the car’s tires screeching against the concrete pathing underneath it as he swerved, forcing WPNZ and Toomp to hold onto something or be flung around with the car.
Mr. WPNZ held onto the grab handle of the car, following along with Mr. Puzzle’s laughter before he spoke.
“Wo-hoah! Livin’ life on the edge! I like it!”
The praise excited him, he was finally being appreciated, being liked , not something fabricated by his own world domination, something real . And real... Felt amazing .
“Yes.. Life will be just like this from now on!” Mr. Puzzles exclaimed, placing his hand on his chest and leaning back in his seat, his smile never fading away.
As the car steadied, looking behind was no longer necessary. Mr. Puzzles knew where he was going, he knew what was important now, life was
much
clearer than it used to be.
“Oh, and by the way... Forget the kidnapping.”
Mr. Puzzles started, glancing over at WPNZ to watch his reaction, to see how his face changed ever so slightly, how his eyes just barely widened, how his head tilted to listen..
A beautiful performance indeed.
“Your words have inspired me, My Good Man! I think moving on is a good idea, a fresh start... New memories to make! New shows to perform in! New fans to create!”
He grinned, his eyes going starry as his hands moved dramatically.. That was when he noticed.. Mr. WPNZ, was he reaching for him? His hands moved so delicately that..
“Great words, but KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE DAMN WHEEL !!!!!” WPNZ shouted at him as they swerved again, his hands gripping the wheel to try and keep the two of them steady.
Ah! That’s what he was reaching for! The steering wheel... For a second, he thought WPNZ would grab him and hold him... Why would he think that anyways? Such a foolish thought.
“Right, right! Apologies, friend.” Puzzles laughed loudly, drowning out his thoughts as he grabbed the wheel, taking the car back into his control.
As the car steadied, the road to the Showgrounds grew farther and farther away, his choice to go to the Border settling in harder than he thought it would. This was the right choice, right?
“How about.. We have a final performance instead? An
encore
for our loving fans!”
“
Fans??
” “YES! To show them our dedication, our
appreciation
for their undying support! We send off with one last performance, taking the stage and bringing them to
TEARS!
”
Mr. Puzzles laid out the plan, his hand sweeping across the air.
WPNZ raised an eyebrow, squinting at his newfound partner in crime.. He glanced at Toomp, then back at Puzzles, in a moreso motion of ‘Is this guy for real right now?’ Toomp squeaked, deciding he didn’t want to be involved in whatever this was and going back to his activities. Said activities involved ransacking whatever was in the back of their stolen vehicle, and eating what he definitely shouldn’t be eating.
“What does this ‘Encore’ have in store for us then?” WPNZ questioned, deciding to entertain the thought of playing a final show for their apparent fans.
“Something to get us off the radar, something large, something like... Faking our deaths!! ”
A large performance indeed, something people will talk about for decades, eons , they’ll always have this final performance in the back of their mind!
“Faking our deaths.. That’s a large feat, we’d need to prepare for that, get materials..”
Mr. WPNZ hummed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot against the van’s floor. Puzzles scoffed, waving his hand at WPNZ. “That’s all simple stuff, it’s nothing we can’t pull off together!” He hummed in excitement, grabbing back onto the wheel.
“With my brains and your brutish nature we’ll have this pulled off in no time!” He stated proudly, drumming against the wheel with his fingers.
WPNZ smiled lightly, staring off out of the front window of the van.
“Yeah, I think we’ve got this.” He nodded. “Do you have a plan on where we’re going? It looks like you’re just driving aimlessly..”
Mr. Puzzles opened his mouth to speak, but promptly shut it again as he realized he..
Didn’t
know where they were headed.. Maybe he should’ve planned farther out, there’s not many places he could think of to take them to.. Puzzle Park was destroyed, his secret base was..
Embarrassing
to say the least, and he definitely couldn’t take over the showgrounds, they just went the opposite direction!
WPNZ stared at Puzzles for a moment before sighing. “I’ve got a place we could stay for the time being.. It’s where I used to live with my ex wife before she decided to disappear with the kids.” He explained. Mr. Puzzles looked at him, just.. Staring, almost examining him, trying to read him, before he smiled.
“Alright! Lead the way, pal!” Puzzles smiled, pressing down on the accelerator pedal, pushing the van past the speed limits as WPNZ called out directions towards his home, which would from this point onward be their home.
⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
As the hours ticked by, Meggy grew more and more hopeless at the idea of Mr. Puzzle’s coming back, coming to the showgrounds like he promised he would. She was sat down quietly in the middle of the castle’s floor, waiting with the turrets that everyone else assembled.
She leaned backwards, laying down on the ground and staring at the ceiling of the castle, she knew by now that believing any longer that Mr. Puzzles would come back, that he would change, was pointless, she knew he wouldn’t show up. Maybe she should’ve listened to SMG4, to Mario, to everyone who told her this wouldn’t work out. But it still hurt her, it hurt her badly knowing that after all she tried to do for him, he didn’t show up.
She turned onto her side, curling up into herself on the ground, letting her hair spill around her as it all set in. She tried to get him help, she tried to prevent him from being killed, but he never showed up. Would this mean he’d die? Would this mean despite everything, she couldn’t keep her promise to Leggy? That hurt her more for some reason, knowing she couldn’t even keep a promise to herself.
Footsteps approaching her made her sit up, looking around, only to see Mario walking towards her with a smallish tub of ice cream and a spoon, he sat down next to her and handed it over to her. Meggy smiled, taking the tub and setting it in her lap.
“Thanks Mario.. I appreciate this..” She said softly, staring at the swirled chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
“I know this is upsetting, Mr. TV Man never showing up.. He’s a criminal after all, criminals don’t keep their word.” Mario said lightly patting Meggy’s back. “I just.. I thought he had changed, he said he was changing..” She frowned, opening up the tub of ice cream and digging in. “ I really thought he’d come. ” She said as she ate the ice cream. Mario nodded, placing his hands on the ground and looking up at the ceiling.
“It’s disappointing that he didn’t, but it’s safer for everyone.” He hummed, tapping against the ground.
“It’s not safe for him .. He’s been sentenced to the death cube, he’s.. Not going to make it out of that.” She sucked in a breath, her head growing colder as she ate the ice cream
“...Meggy, despite everything, he hurt us, on purpose !” Mario frowned, crossing his arms and leaning forward slightly. “If anything, he deserves this, what he did to us is unforgivable. Taking away TV.. How rude.” Meggy blanked, glancing at Mario with a confused expression.
“ What ??” “Nothing nothing just- I want you to understand that you don’t have to feel bad for what he did, for him not showing up.” Mario sighed. “It’s not your fault.”
Meggy frowned, going back to staring at the ice cream in her lap.. ‘It's not her fault’.. Something she knew was true, but something at the back of her mind made her still feel guilty . She sniffled, tears starting to fall from her eyes as she put the ice cream down on the ground, feeling Mario pull her close made her break, she buried her face in his shoulder and cried, letting out all the disappointment and guilt she felt, how she felt so so hurt by Puzzle’s betrayal.
All Mario could do was lightly hold her, helping her try to process all of this.
The ice cream slowly melted as Mario held Meggy, her sobs dying down gradually as she eventually pulled away from Mario, rubbing her eyes.
“I think I’m gonna go home, Mario.. Can you tell Four to let me know if Puzzles shows up? I think I just.. Need a break.” She said, standing up, holding her arms. Mario stood up as well, nodding. “I will, stay safe, okay, Meggy?” Mario smiled, Meggy smiled back, nodding, before turning around and leaving the Showgrounds castle.
As she headed home, taking a taxi, Meggy was left alone with her thoughts, thoughts of how she could’ve maybe changed this, how she could’ve gotten Puzzles the help he needed.
The thoughts worsened her guilt, making her realize there was so much she could’ve done, and how it was possibly too late to save him now.
She arrived home, unlocking the door and stepping inside, being greeted by her cat, Loaf, at the door. She smiled, petting him and heading to the kitchen to fill up his food and water bowl for the night, before heading to the living room and laying down on the couch. She picked up the TV remote and turned on the TV, picking a random channel before she put it back down. She just wanted some background noise, something to not focus on-
“-Criminals still out at large, if you see these people do not intervene, they are highly dangerous, call the police immediately.”
The words faded in, catching her attention as she stared at the screen, three pictures coming up. The first two she recognized, the people who robbed her and her friends, and the last one was..
“Mr. Puzzles..”
⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
After around a few hours of driving, Mr. Puzzles and Mr. WPNZ arrived at WPNZ house. They decided to take the van somewhere else, instead of parking it in the driveway which would surely get them caught, they hid it away inside of an alleyway. They took Toomp out of the back, who had fallen asleep after eating a big meal that consisted of scrap metal and cardboard boxes, then blew up the van and escaped the scene, heading back to the house to hide away for a bit and plot out their final performance.
Mr. Puzzles had to kneel down to step inside of the house, his uncanny height suddenly starting to become very noticeable.
“What a nice little home you have here!” Puzzles exclaimed, clasping his hands together and staring at Mr. WPNZ as they walked inside, WPNZ carried Toomp to the couch and put him down on it, letting him sleep away there.
“Thanks, it’s ours now I guess, we’re both gonna be here for a while.”
He sat down on the couch, petting Toomp as he slept and gesturing for Puzzles to come sit with them.
Puzzles hummed, walking over to the couch and plopping himself down onto it, his legs were a bit long, so he had to bring them more up to his chest.
“This is a nice break from everything.. That prison escape was cool, but I’m exhausted .” WPNZ sighed leaning back onto the couch, sinking into it.
“Exhausted? This is just the start of our takeover of the world!” Puzzles exclaimed, waving his arms around.
“Yeah, well our start was big, bold, and tiring , I think a break is in order before we start our ‘final performance’.” WPNZ sighed. “How about I take you to the guest room.. And then tomorrow when we’re all well rested, we can start drawing out our big final act.” He suggested, looking up at Puzzles.
Mr. Puzzles stared back for a moment before looking away. “Okay, you’re right..” He hummed, before shooting up, standing tall and proud. “A good actor always takes time to rest! That way they’re ready and refreshed for their next performance!” He grinned, making bigger gestures with his hands to accent his words.
WPNZ smiled, getting up as well. “Yeah, sounds great, come on Boxhead, let’s go see your room.” He gestured for Mr. Puzzles to follow him up the stairs.
As the two walked up the stairs, this situation began to dawn on Puzzles.. Had he really given up everything he was working towards? All for a man who looked at him like he belonged, like he wasn’t the villain, did he really just leave everything behind? Leave Leggy behind?
It did seem that way, and he couldn’t just.. Go back, could he? This isn’t his world, he can’t turn the time backwards, he can’t reload another save. This was permanent, and he still wasn’t sure if it was the right choice.
WPNZ stopped moving and Puzzles had to attempt to not topple over him, holding onto the wall as he was snapped out of his own thoughts again.
“Here we are, here’s your room, you can just.. Chill here for the night, and tomorrow we can start planning.” Mr. WPNZ smiled, looking up at Puzzles with those same eyes, those same eyes that confused Puzzles, that made him want to grab him and strangle him for some unknown reason. He shook his head, tapping the side of his screen. “Okay! Thank you very much, pal!” He laughed nervously, opening the door to his newfound room. “I’ll just go ahead and go to bed! No need to check on me any more tonight! I’ll be sleeping! GOODNIGHT!!” He rapidly spoke before entering the room and shutting the door loudly...
He grabbed onto his antennae and- First he lowered his volume until he was completely muted, then he tugged onto his antennae and screamed. He was so confused all of a sudden, what was all of this?? Why was he-
“ Goodnight, Puzzles. ” He could hear WPNZ say, listening to his heavy footsteps as he walked away from the door and down the stairs...
Puzzles turned his volume back up to its normal spot, he headed to the bed that was in the middle of the room and laid down onto it, wrapping his arms around himself....
He screeched, getting back up and beginning to rip off the orange jumpsuit, luckily right underneath was his pristine outfit, the unforgettable pants and suit he wore, that calmed him down, he was now able to think about something else!
Something like.. Resting..
Yes, an actor needs to rest, an actor always has to be refreshed and prepared, and if he wasn’t refreshed, he wouldn’t be able to perform as well as he always did!
Before he laid down as he planned, a loud noise startled him, clashing of pans? What could be happening down there...
“
TOOMP! SPIT THAT OUT! YOU CAN’T EAT MY FUCKIN’ CUPS!
”
...Ah, that’s what's happening.
He laid back down on the bed, chuckling to himself and staring up at the ceiling as he thought to himself, thinking about everything that had happened today, everything that could’ve gone differently, everything that could’ve gone worse ...
He grabbed onto his arms, sighing softly, the crashes as background noise preventing him from thinking too hard on anything that would lower his self esteem, why would he need to think about any of that anyways?
Today went as well as it could’ve, performers always have off days, and today was one of those days! Tomorrow will be a good day, tomorrow won't disappoint.
Mr. Puzzles won't disappoint.