Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He woke up cold. That was already strange. The television ran hot, usually, especially with all the fun of a monster movie marathon. Why then, did his body feel like lead? Why was he so cold? Why did he feel wet?

The screen slowly fizzled on, but his nose wouldn’t form. He couldn’t see anything past the color test bars displayed on his screen. He didn’t understand what was happening. He tried to sit up, but he couldn’t feel his arms. He… couldn’t even speak. Anytime Tenna tried, a droning noise filled the air and exhausted him.

So then, this was it then? Tenna didn’t even know why. He didn’t know what happened. He was in his studio, like normal. The lights were off, then they were on. Why were they on again? His processors went through the events and slowly but surely, memories began to trickle in, like a leaky faucet.

Right. He had disobeyed the Knight, and this was his punishment, he supposed. Did anyone even know he was out here? Would anyone be looking for him? Tenna… had been so cruel to everyone. He’d been too pushy. His employees… Whatever happened to them? He couldn’t imagine anyone trudging through the snow to look for him at this point. Tenna certainly wouldn’t.

“Mr. Tenna?” A soft voice sounded through the air, quiet as a maus. He heard the shifting of the snow near him.

‘Ralsei?’ He tried to speak again, but it came out as bursts of static and TV fuzz. He lifted his head, just barely, and even that was a strain for him.

“I’m so sorry,” Ralsei said softly. “I’m so sorry this happened.” The boy’s hand went to his screen. Something surged through the cracks as parts of the glass display mended, but it was only a bandage compared to what he really needed. Still, it gave him a bit more strength to keep in the moment.

Ralsei gave a frustrated huff and sat down beside Tenna.

‘It’s not your fault, promise, ’ he wanted to say, but he decided to save whatever power he had to stay in the moment. He wanted to put a smile on his face. He wanted to entertain again, just as he had done earlier.

The boy moved his hand away, shifting the snow underneath him. “I- I wanted all this to be different. I hoped. I really hoped this wouldn’t happen,” he admitted softly. “But I guess the prophecy has to continue.”

‘Prophecy? What prophecy?’ Tenna could hear the boy’s breath quicken in his chest. A piece of fabric draped along Tenna’s screen. His scarf, if Tenna remembered right. He remembered he’d taken great care to recreate the pink scarf in his Ralsei plushie, only to find when battling that Ralsie’s scarf was surprisingly coarse. 

He could feel the frayed texture even now, as if woven not by yarn, but by fishing wire. It felt plasticy and uncomfortable against his face.

“Even though everything is going along like I know it should, something still feels wrong. I… I’m worried.” He swallowed harshly. “A-and I can’t say anything. I can’t do anything about it.”

‘ Susie. Susie would understand ’, he wanted to say. She understood him. She empathized with him, despite everything.

The scarf moved off his face and dangled around his shoulder. Why could he feel that? Why couldn’t he feel his arms?

Ralsei laughed bitterly. “I don’t know why I’m talking like this. It feels… selfish… to talk to someone like this, especially if you’re still…” He took a breath, calmed himself, then whispered into the cold air. “You aren’t the only one doomed in this story.”

An uneasy silence drifted in the air. He could feel the boy move again. The snow shifted again as Ralsei made a small noise.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Tenna. I’m sorry we didn’t find you in time. I’m sorry that you had to die. We really did have a fun time earlier, promise.” Then, he felt the boy set something along his chest. A scarf, he realized. Ralsei’s scarf. It was the same rough scarf he’d felt earlier, draped gingerly along his shoulders. “Kris might not like me doing this, but…” he trailed off. “It’ll be fine. I don’t do that much damage anyway. Besides… you looked like you needed it.”

He heard the crunch of snow.

‘No!’ He was leaving! ‘Wait! I’m still here! Buddy boy! Ralsei!’ Static crackled through the air as he tried to scream. He was alive! He couldn’t just be discarded like this!

The edges of his screen felt fuzzy. His processors were running out of power and the color bars were dancing.

“I’m sorry, but I have to get back.” His voice was quiet. “I… have to prepare Castletown for any new arrivals.” He said it with a hint of bitterness. Not even he believed that. Tenna had seen how they fought during the boards.

The footprints quieted soon after and he was left alone again.

All he wanted to do was to give Kris hope. He couldn’t even do what Kris asked of them. He slumped back into the snow and settled, nuzzling the strange scarf for comfort. He just… he wished it had been different. He wished he could do something to help Kris. Then, the whole world shifted and he fell, deep and deeper into the dark...

The world around him was fuzzy, like looking through a dirty window. Tenna felt his screen brighten as he blearily looked out into the world of the Lightners. He could see out into the living room! Everything was ok! He was plugged in!

The door opened suddenly with a giggle. Toriel! It was Toriel! She laughed as she walked in out of the rain. She had a small bag in one hand- likely food from the diner- and a larger, brown paper bag on her elbow. He could see the neck of a bottle of wine poking through the straps. Toriel beamed at the door, that wide-mouthed smile she always shared with Asgore, back before everything went so wrong. “Come now, let’s get out of the rain.”

This was a snapshot of his memories. No wonder there was a red haze around his vision. This would be the point that Asgore would walk in, drenched despite holding an umbrella. She would call him a ‘poor dear’ and he would laugh. They would nuzzle noses, despite Toriel’s faux complaints of Asgore being soaked. 

Who walked in ultimately wasn’t Asgore. It wasn’t even Kris. No. There was a strange skeleton monster holding onto a bottle of diner ketchup. 

“thanks for invitin’ me,” he said casually, too casually. “we can ketchup here over a meal.” he shook his little bottle of ketchup with a smirk.

Toriel laughed, laughed in the same way she would when Asgore awkwardly told his jokes. This wasn’t a memory, not at all. 

Well, great. Just what he wanted, to watch Tori flirt with someone new, someone that wasn’t Asgore. Great. He loved this. On the bright side, he was still around after everything that happened during the night. It meant something. 

“So, Mr. Sans…” she said slowly. She brought out the wine bottle and moved to the dining table. “Did you want some?”

Mr. Sans walked past Tenna, chuckling. “sure. not too much though. my boss would hate it if i couldn’t be at the store early tomorrow.” He winked.

Toriel laughed. “Right, right.” There was a history there. Some sort of shared joke. She poured the wine, a dark burgundy liquid into two clear glasses. She swirled her own glass around and sat down in the chair furthest from him, just out of eyeline. 

But he got a good look at Sans. ‘Great.’

“got a nice place,” he insisted. “very cozy.” He eyed the television, eyed Tenna with a slight frown tugging his teeth. 

He hoped the skeleton could feel Tenna’s disapproval. This! This…

‘Smiley Trashbag?’ a phrase echoed in his mind, almost questioningly. 

Yeah! That worked for him! Maybe it was a little harsh, but he was no Asgore, that was for sure. This Sans character didn’t look like he knew how to properly nuzzle noses. He didn’t even have a nose to nuzzle! He didn’t look like he had the energy to keep up with Toriel in the kitchen either. All they had were… puns… it seemed.

“so, i gotta ask.” Sans’s eyes drifted between Tenna and Toriel. “what’s the deal with the broken tv?” He grabbed a french fry from a bag and chewed it.

And now he was calling him broken? ‘ How dare he?!’ He clearly didn’t have any respect for the classics! Sure, he was a little dusty, and maybe he had just a little burn in, but that wasn’t a problem! He wasn’t broken! ‘ Toriel! Tell him! Tell him that I’m not broken,’ he demanded.

Toriel sighed. “Ah, well. Kris had their friend over last night, and they decided to watch the tv last night. When I woke in the morning, it was like you see now. I didn’t want to put it out in the rain, not with how cracked the screen is. That, and I didn’t have the time this morning, not with church.”

No… surely not. They wouldn’t just… throw him out. ‘Susie promised! ’ Something within him laughed bitterly. He couldn’t just be abandoned like this. ‘Susie promised.’ 

Sans glanced back over at Tenna and took a small sip from his glass. “just sad, is all.” He shrugged. “planning on getting a new one?”

No… No! She wasn’t! He was their family TV. He’d been there for everything! He was the one who always displayed the holiday movies, who played those edgy music videos. He practically helped teach the kids how to cook! You can’t just replace that experience!

Toriel sighed. “Perhaps. Not right now, but eventually. It would be nice to get some of those streaming services. Have something besides the same shows while I cook.”

Sans nodded. “i could help you move it when you decide to get rid of it.” He chuckled. “i know it has to weigh a ton.” He smirked and took a sip of his wine. “a skele-ton . wouldn’t want you to deal with it alone.”

Toriel breathed a sigh of relief. “Goodness. Thank you for the offer. I’ve read up on what to do with broken televisions and I haven’t wanted to mess with it myself. They can be pretty dangerous.”

“what are your plans after?” Sans asked. “i mean, we could keep our conversation going, rattle off more puns.”

“That would be delightful! I have so many recipes I can share with you. I know you’ve mentioned your brother. Maybe he’d enjoy them.”

Toriel… sounded so genuinely happy. It had been so long since Tenna had seen her smile like that, had heard her voice like that. Sure, she had always kept a smile, but she seemed genuinely at ease around this man. Tenna… couldn’t fault her for that. 

He curled into himself, even without the pulsing darkness of the Dark Fountain, he still pictured his arms and legs. He pictured himself. He looked the way he did during his last show. The only thing out of place seemed to be the strange green strands poking out from the sleeves of his coat. This was the first time he’d even been aware that he still had a form like this.

And now. he was going to be thrown away. He was unneeded. Even the last person who’d ever watched him was moving on. The pieces of his life he clung to so desperately had all been scattered to the wind. And where did that leave him? Where would that leave him?

He heard another laugh bubble to the surface of his thoughts. A phrase came to mind with it. ‘Trash heap.’ Toriel certainly thought so. He’d been so desperate to prove otherwise, but when push came to shove, here he was. 

Sans would laugh at something, followed by Toriel, and Tenna was forced to watch. Sure, maybe he figured Toriel might date again someday. He just… kinda hoped it would be Asgore. The little voice in his head, the loud and obnoxious one kept laughing as if it were reveling in Tenna’s misery.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Toriel’s voice was bubbly and bright, snapping Tenna from his haze. She stumbled back into view, face flush. “I have an old record player! How about we dance? I feel like I’m in a dancing mood.”

Sans, for his part, didn’t seem as drunk as Toriel did. “sounds fun. i can help ya set it up.” 

As Toriel moved to grab the old record player from a closet, Sans moved closer to Tenna and clicked his teeth. He reached his hands behind the table and yanked the cord out of the wall. ’No! Don’t! I can be good I can-’

Tenna expected to lose vision at that moment, to lose his connection to the Dreamurr household again. But… his vision stayed. He hadn’t felt the cord, in fact. He didn’t feel anything. 

‘ ...be fun?’ Something was wrong. Something was deeply wrong.

Toriel came back, holding a record player. “Ah,” she giggled. “The stop button’s broken,” she said. “That shouldn’t be a problem though.” She dragged a small table in as she moved, then set the record player on top. Together, she and Sans moved the furniture out of the way and turned on the machine. 

The old jitterbug. He remembered that melody. He remembered that dance. She and Asgore would dance together when Asriel and Kris were asleep or on a shared off day, back when everything was happy. When everyone was safe, when there were smiles on everyone’s faces.

She led him in the dance. She sloppily showed him the moves as she took another sip of wine. “Put your feet like this,” she’d say, only to change how she angled them. While it took a bit of time, Sans picked up the dance and stepped in line.

Tenna could feel his non-existent stomach twist. He sighed, then tilted his head. Well, if he could watch out over the living room, he may as well try to look around at everything. He shifted his sight as far as he could, then found he could see further. He twisted himself around and looked at himself.

The television, himself, his body in the Light World, looked absolutely awful. There were large cracks along the screen with his antennae dangling limply. He felt almost hollow looking at himself like this. Tenna really was broken. But if he were this broken, then how was it that he was still around? Why was he here? Was it some sort of punishment? Was he supposed to watch everything move on without him?

The door opened suddenly, prompting Tenna to turn his head. Kris was there, as was Susie. Their hair was wet from the rain and their faces looked just as dour as the weather. Kris’s head tilted away, hiding a grimace on their face. 

‘Oh… Kris.’ He had to do something. Comfort them, anything. Tenna reached his hand out towards Kris, towards Susie. The whole world shifted. The color bars from his time in the snow came back, but he could see through them this time.

Time stopped. Toriel had started to wobble over and collapse, but now laid at an impossible angle. Sans had stopped dancing, and the breeze from the air conditioner had stopped blowing the Lightner’s hair around. He studied their faces, then reached out again. His arm inched closer and closer.

Then he fell forward into the record player. The color bars vanished and time continued on. Susie left, and Kris moved forward past Toriel. 

‘Good going’ , a little voice inside his head taunted. Tenna huffed and reoriented himself. Toriel had picked herself up by this point, and Kris looked like they were examining the record player. 

Maybe… just maybe… he was close enough to try to reach again. He shifted in place and looked at Kris. As he moved his arms closer, he felt a surge of anger. The music playing was too much for him right now. ‘ Turn this thing off!’ He smacked at the record player, jolting alongside Kris as the track sped up. 

‘What?’

Kris’ eyes narrowed on the record player as Sans and Toriel danced quicker. 

“hey, thanks,” Sans said with a grin. 

Kris sighed and pressed the button again, slowing the track back down before trudging back upstairs. That was Tenna’s one big chance, and he blew it. Still, it was strange. He glanced down at the button and hummed. Then, he snapped his finger and watched as the button depressed again. ‘So it’s about will?”

“looks like the machine wants us to dance faster.”

Toriel laughed. “Faster and faster!” she laughed. 

He snapped his fingers, over and over, speeding up and slowing down the records until he was sure it wasn’t a fluke. Sans’ laughter and Toriel’s lovey-dovey attitude made him feel sick. He couldn’t watch this. He wanted to move along now. Tenna reached forward and watched as the color bars reappeared and time stopped again. 

‘So, that wasn’t just a one-time thing.’ Tenna didn’t know where to go, but he knew anywhere had to be better than here. He took a long stride and found himself suddenly in Toriel’s cell phone. 

He thought once about seeing what he could do with it. Then that sense of curiosity morphed violently into fear. Fear of what, he didn’t know. But it struck him. There was a chill in his shoulders, in his chest. ‘ Right.’ He wouldn’t know how to work one of those newer devices anyway. It was for the best that he didn’t try anything. 

‘ No phones. No more phones.’

He stepped forward again, this time into the porch light beyond the door. This time, his sense of curiosity remained unimpeded by fear. He let the color bars fade and snapped his fingers. The porch light turned on with a flash, highlighting the light drizzle. 

Tenna could see Susie not far from the house, staring up at the sky. For a moment, Tenna was transfixed on the night sky too. To see it in person like this was awe-inspiring, even if the cloud cover blocked the stars.

Susie’s voice brought him back into awareness. “We’re not going to let that happen,” Susie insisted, then she started walking away.

Wait! He wanted to see what was going on. He shifted his colors once again as he looked around. Now that he was out here, he noticed something strange about the color bar world. Most things seemed to fade into the background when the world looked like this, but there were certain things that stood out. The porch light he was currently watching from was one of these things, as was a street light in the distance. But the rain faded into the blues, reds, yellows, and greens of his screen, as had the leaves of the trees and most of the house. 

Toriel’s car was there, but Tenna seemed to only be able to access the front. He’d have to figure something out afterward.  He took a long stride towards the front of Toriel’s car, then looked around again. Through the cyan part of his screen, he could see another lamp post, this one shut off. It was close enough, he figured. 

He moved again, then looked around once more, only to find nothing else he could move to. Was he trapped? 

A crackling laugh exploded in his head again. It really was just his luck, wasn’t it? He came all this way and he couldn’t do anything else. Tenna willed the color bars away and let time resume. He leaned back into the lamppost and snapped his fingers. If he was trapped here for now, he at least wanted to know what he could do with the lamp post.

To Tenna’s surprise, the light bulb flashed on, showering the ground and the nearby walls with a bright light. Maybe some wires got crossed and it wasn’t part of the system, or something. 

The sudden light got Susie’s attention, and she drew closer. “What the…?” Tenna could barely hear her. She moved into the spotlight of the lamp post. “This thing wasn’t working before.”

It was everything Tenna needed. He willed the color bars back, moved into something on Susie’s person, then pushed the color away. 

Susie examined it a little longer, then shook her head. “Just heh… a bit jumpy, I guess.” She took a breath, then exhaled loudly through her snout. She stood in the light for a few more moments, before walking slowly down the street. Her shoulders sagged as she walked, bringing a melancholic air with her. “This sucks,” she hissed. “This all sucks. I get why Ralsei…” Her hands clenched into fists. 

She was shaking. ‘No, Susie, it’s okay. Please don’t be upset.’ 

Her feet took them down the street, past a set of houses with their porch lights off. Whatever time it was, the Lightners should be asleep. Susie should be asleep, and yet here she was. “Noelle and Kris are actin’ weird, Ralsei’s been keepin’ quiet, Berdly’s in the hospital, Officer Undyne’s been kidnapped.” Susie huffed. She growled and punched a nearby tree. “It’s all so annoying.” Her voice was low, with a tinge of desperation at the edge of her words. “I just wanted to…have fun with my friends.”

‘Susie, sweetheart, ’ he whispered. ‘ I’m so sorry .’ There was a lot going on behind the scenes, weren’t there? This hero thing was awful work. No wonder Kris wanted Tenna to just… help them all have fun. Tenna laughed. He couldn’t even do that well enough.

Susie took a breath, and began her slow walk again. She took a brief moment to look at a larger building, scrutinizing the windows. “Noelle.” She frowned. “What’s going on with her?” She shook her head, then went to move on.

Well, now that wouldn’t do. If there was something wrong with Noelle, then Tenna wanted to know too. She was one of his best viewers, after all! He took a brief look at what he was looking out from, a small, worn pocket flashlight. He snapped his fingers again and pressed the button down. It clicked and beamed light from the pocket of Susie’s pants. 

Susie cursed as she fumbled around with the flashlight to turn it off. She attempted to put it back in her pocket, but Tenna pressed down the button again as it faced the house. 

‘Come on Susie, let’s shine a spotlight on this problem together.’ 

Susie huffed and clicked the button down again, turning back off the flashlight. Her gaze lingered on the building again. She shrugged, then shoved the little flashlight back in her pocket. “Could be… worth it to check, I guess.”

‘Yes! ’ Oh, Mike was going to be proud of him for his brilliant spotlight work! 

Ah… Right. Mike wasn’t here. Mike wouldn’t be here. There was no one here to tuck him in and tell him a story anymore. No one to organize things for him, to check his scripts. He’d driven them all away.

Another laugh, this one almost exasperated. ‘You made someone tuck you in and tell you stories? How pathetic can you be?’

Hey! In his defense, Mike had a really soothing voice. 

Susie made her way through the gate, then crept slowly around the back of the house. There was an open window, though the room was cast in darkness. Susie looked up, then put her hands on her hip. She smirked and dug her claws into the siding.

‘ Go Susie!’ Tenna cheered. 

She climbed the outside wall, leaving deep holes as she scaled to the window.

‘The great Susiezilla is scaling up the building! Quake in fear evildoers, this TV-loving monster has a one-track mind and a penchant for violence !’ Tenna laughed. ‘ She saved TV, now she’ll save the princess , locked in her tower. ’

She clawed her way onto the windowsill and peeked her head in. 

“Noelle?” Susie asked in a whisper. The lights were all off, making it hard to see. 

Tenna had to look for himself. He shifted his vision and peered into the dark. There was a deer sitting on the bed, curled with her knees against her chest. He allowed time to move and watched as Susie climbed into the room and settled onto a long couch in front of the window.

“Heh, sorry for just… coming by like this, but I wanted to check on you.” She scratched the back of her head and looked at Noelle. “You didn’t look too good earlier.”

Noelle didn’t respond.

Well, that was fine! Tenna would help. He shifted back into the color bars, moved into the light bulb in the ceiling, then willed the color bars away. ‘ Mike! The lights! ’ He snapped his finger and washed the room in light.

Susie looked suddenly at the light, then at the light switch at the entrance of the room. Susie chuckled, almost nervously. “Heh. Kind of feels like there’s some sort of… ghost… playing a trick on me.” Her eyes moved from the light switch back to Noelle, then widened.

Noelle looked awful, in Tenna’s professional opinion, and in his personal opinion. Her hair looked unkept and she looked as if she’d… not been crying… but she looked almost broken. Her face was neutral, devoid of any sort of expression. If she’d shown up to a set like that, Tenna would have sent her home with a gift basket, maybe checked on her after.

But maybe it was just his experience talking. This was a girl he’d seen scream at Kris’ pranks, at the horror movies Dess played on his screen. This was a girl who had always clapped and cheered at the family-friendly gameshows Toriel let them watch, who sang along to the songs in her cartoons. This was not how she was supposed to look.

“Noelle?” Susie asked. “You… okay?”

Noelle looked up from her legs. “Yes,” she said softly, too softly. There was a thorn in her ring finger, something Tenna hadn’t noticed before. 

‘ What happened to you?’ he asked softly. Anger bubbled to the surface. Who did this to her?

“We uh… we didn’t get to hang out earlier,” Susie said awkwardly. “So uh… why don’t we hang out tomorrow?”

Noelle looked down at the thorn. “Kris is taking me,” she answered. 

Susie laughed nervously. “Hey, well. I was thinking…” She sighed, then flashed a wide grin at her. “Like… Why don’t we all group together? There’s all sorts of things to do. I don’t know, could be fun.”

Noelle blinked. “I don’t think so. I’m going with Kris. They were adamant about wanting to take me.”

“You know, you don’t have to do everything Kris says.” Susie huffed. “You can do whatever you want.”

“Kris and I…” She looked down at her comforters and clutched the edges of her Christmas-themed nightgown. “They just want what’s best for me. I have to get stronger. Noelle has to get stronger.” The way she said it was almost like a matra. “I will go with Kris tomorrow,” Noelle insisted. 

Susie’s eyes narrowed. “What happened?” she asked. “Why are you acting like this? What did you and Kris talk about? Wh-Whatever it was, I’m sure it’ll be ok.”

Noelle dangled her legs down, then stood shakily to her feet. “I’m okay, really. You need to go, Susie.” Her eyes darted around the room nervously.

Out of the corner of his screen, Tenna could swear he could almost see something dangling down from the ceiling. Thin, red strings that faded into the air when he focused on them. They dangled along her chest and around the thorn in her finger. 

“Fine then.” Susie let out a frustrated huff. “I’m leaving, I’m leaving. I was just-” She stuck one foot out the window and clutched onto the edge “I’m just a little worried about you, you know. Ever since this morning… no, ever since yesterday, you’ve been acting weird.”

Noelle started to sway to her feet, then she stood up straight, like the strings had drawn her straight. “I don’t need you to check on me. I’m fine,” she asserted. “It would be better if we never saw each other again.”

Susie’s face whipped around “What?” She frowned. “But… aren’t we friends? I really thought that-”

“A friend wouldn’t ask me to abandon my childhood friend when they invited me,” she insisted.

“No, that’s not what I-” Susie stumbled backwards. Her foot slipped suddenly, but she caught herself with her claws. 

‘Susie!’

She was dangling precariously out the window while Noelle looked at her with mute horror. Her posture relaxed as she slowly took a step forward. “Susie?” She moved to the window and kneeled onto the couch. She started to reach her arms out to help, then stopped. “This is for the best, right? This will make me stronger, right? Is that what Kris would say?” It was more of a mutter, but Tenna heard it clearly.

‘It wasn’t true. That’s not what they would want.’ 

‘Ever think that you don’t know them anymore?’

No, Tenna knew Kris wouldn’t want their friend to suffer like this. Kris wanted their friends to have a nice time before the…the Knight arrived.

“Noelle!” Susie shouted. “H-Hey! Can you help me out a little here?”

“This will make me stronger,” she muttered, backing away, almost fearfully. She repeated those cursed words to herself, over and over. “This will make me stronger.” She pressed her hand over her heart. “Just like…just like…” She clutched the fabric between her fingers as her breathing became erratic. 

He couldn’t just watch anymore. ’I’m coming, Susie.’

Tenna shifted the world and rushed to Susie’s aid, but what was he to do? He was a Darkner. Granted, he was a Darkner that could suddenly power electronics, but… there weren’t exactly any that would be of help! There was a clock on the wall that he could maybe get to chime, and he could turn back off the light bulb, flip on the TV, turn on the computer! But other than that, what was there to do?

He let time play out and watched with a grimace, hoping desperately against hope that something would come about, that some sort of miracle would happen.

Susie tried to regain her grip and stuck her claws into the siding, desperate for some kind of holding. Her nails slid into already formed groves. Groves that had already filled with rainwater. As soon as she let go of the window, her claws slipped free and she and Tenna both plummeted down to the ground. 

‘No!’ Something cracked on their landing. As soon as Tenna could right himself, he looked at Susie. Susie, the little starpower that promised him the world, her form was shivering and shaking with bits of red starting to outline her face. ‘Susie!’ The red was getting worse. Lightners needed that, right? ‘ Susie, sweetie, say something. Anything.’ 

She didn’t respond. Her eyes didn’t flutter, she didn’t move a muscle.

Of course she wouldn’t respond. She couldn’t hear the Darkner in the Light World, after all. ‘There has to be something else I can interact with, ’ Tenna muttered. ‘ There has to be something. Maybe a phone? Or… maybe I can get someone’s attention?’ He shifted into the world of the color bars and froze. There was something that stood out against the color bars, something in the center of Susie’s chest.

A small, upside-down heart, starting to fray at the edges, cracking near the middle. Tenna grabbed towards it in the instance he registered it, then recoiled as he was dragged into a torrent of reds, greens, and blues.

Chapter Text

Tenna was disoriented as he came back into awareness. The world around him no longer reflected the Light World, and it didn’t reflect the Dark World either. Instead, it was as if the colors from his screen had begun to swirl together. Reds, greens, and blues that never made a coherent picture. 

And sitting… er… floating in front of him was a cracked, pale heart- a soul. Though notably, it was no longer fraying at the edges. Everything was fine. Whatever he’d done, he kept Susie together. 

“At least there’s that.” He hummed. “But now what? What do I do now?” He tapped his fingers against the side of his face, listening to the soft taps as his gloves hit his plastic frame. 

He couldn’t make anything out here. “Can she even hear me? Is she even there? Nobody gives you an instruction manual for anything.” He began to pace, feeling himself shrink as he saw the soul from the corner of his screen. “She doesn’t look like Susie, and I know Monsters are different when it comes to their souls to Humans.”

The soul made a grumbly noise. “Not now,” she grumbled tiredly. “Fought a Titan yesterday. ‘Least I could do is sleep in a little,” she muttered.

Tenna’s heart caught in his throat. “What?” He didn’t know what that was, but… the name of it sent shivers through his systems and filled him with a dread previously only reserved for being discarded. “What’s a Titan?” 

Susie’s soul sighed, then made a grumble. “It’s like…” She huffed. The soul’s form started to shift. The RGB background filled in the edges, then started to work on the colors as she spoke. “It’s this huge monster… thing,” she started. 

She could hear him! She could actually hear him! He drew closer and sat along the swirling floor to listen to her tale.

Susie’s hands appeared as she measured the beast animatedly. “Way taller than me. We had to actually climb it. It’s like… if you add more darkness to the Dark World, I think. Ralsei would know more, but it only showed up because the Knight added a Dark Fountain to another Dark World. But anyway! The Titan was pretty weird looking. It had a star for a face and it had no color, and it was annoying! ‘Kept healing when we attacked it, and it made these darkness things that attacked us too. Had to use Kris’ soul to make a light. It was an annoying fight, but…” She pointed to herself with a grin. “Me and Kris took it out from the inside. My idea, of course. We jumped into the monster and exploded it from the inside with Kris’ soul!” She acted out the explosion, complete with noises, then fell into laughter. “We were so cool.”

“It sounds like it! What a fantastic story, Susie!” Tenna couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “That was prime TV material!”

Susie shrugged, then beamed Tenna a smile. “Yeah. I guess this is a dream anyway though, since you’re here. I bet you would have loved to watch us in action!” She flexed her bicep with a toothy grin. “Maybe you would’ve made a board or game based on it!”

Tenna cleared his throat. “Susie… You’re not dreaming.” He twirled, then pointed up at his screen. “I’m really here, in the… well, not plastic, but something. The Knight couldn’t keep me down. TV’s too big for that.”

Susie’s face fell. “No… uh. Dude.” She examined the TV’s form, nearly making him shrink with the intensity. “Well, It’s nice to see ya again.” Her voice died down, then started back up, but in a loud whisper.

‘He’s supposed to be dead. I saw it myself. The Knight killed him, and we never found him. What is he doing here? I don’t care what he says, it has to be a dream or something’

Tenna frowned. “Ah… but Ralsei found me. I was pretty out of it, but I remember him talking with me before he left. I’m… not sure what happened after that. I don’t think this is a dream though.” 

‘I wouldn’t dream of the things I’ve seen today.’

“Did you just hear my thoughts?” Susie demanded. “I didn’t say that out loud.”

“You didn’t?” He pressed his hand to his screen. “But I heard you clearly. You said I died.” He chuckled nervously. “And I guess I should be? My Light World form certainly isn’t in the best shape. I think I might need a little more than a smack to fix my picture this time.”

Susie rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t just say that to your face.” She sighed. “I guess today has been a pretty weird day. I don’t think I would be able to dream this up either.”

Tenna jolted back and put his hands in front of him. “I didn’t say that out loud either!”

“You didn’t?” Susie gasped. “We must both be mind readers now.” She smirked. “We have to test this out even more, see what else we can do with this. ”

Tenna pressed his hand to his mouth. “We use the Scientific Method. You need to test things multiple times.” he hummed. “That’s what I learned from that show that Tori was always getting Kris and Asriel to watch.”

Susie snorted. “That sounds lame. Of course Toriel would do that.”

“It wasn’t lame!” Tenna insisted. He crossed his arms and tapped his feet against the ground. “It was informative. Kris and Asriel tested it out for a week before Tori put her foot down.”

Susie raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

Tenna turned away and chuckled. “I’m not telling you.” His antennae bounced excitedly. 

‘But it involved bath bombs and some of that goop that gets stuck to the carpet.’

“You’ve gotta tell me! You can’t just give a hint like that and not say anything!” Susie sighed.

Tenna turned back around and pointed at her. “I didn’t say that either.” He tapped the side of his head. “Seems like we can hear each other’s thoughts, so let's be careful about what we think.” He pressed the side of his hand to his mouth and crouched down beside Susie. “Wouldn’t wanna share anything too juicy. Gotta save that for season two.”

Susie shook her head, then sighed. “So… where is this place? Why am I here?”

“I… don’t know.” Tenna frowned. “I… you fell from the window and I wanted to see if I could help. Then you started…” His hands shook. 

‘Susie was dying, right in front of him. Wait, no that was too loud. No, don’t say that, don’t think that.’

Susie winced. “Too late for that.” She pressed her hand against her head. “Can’t… say I remembered that clearly. Things are a little… fuzzy.”

“Like TV static,” Tenna offered.

“Not everything is related to TV.” Susie looked around the swirling landscape. “So what? I died? Now we stay here forever? Being dead sucks. Sorry that it happened to you.”

He wasn’t dead though… he thought. Maybe he was something else? He couldn’t be just… 

He brushed the feeling off and looked around with her. “Maybe… I can do something about that. They say you can’t teach an old CRT new tricks, but I’ve picked something up in my time here.” He snapped his fingers. If this was the same color bar world, then maybe if he tried to make time flow, they could get somewhere with this.

Multicolored sand filled an hourglass as Tenna’s vision swirled. The ticking of a clock rang out in the open air, then spit the two out on the wet lawn of Noelle’s house, though the world was tinted in reds, blues, and greens.

“Whoa.” Susie stared up. “How’d we get here? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know! But it’s something different, at least.” He looked up at the window and frowned. “Isn’t that you?”

Susie looked up and gasped. “It is! Why am I there?” She narrowed her eyes on Tenna. “Can you lift me up? I wanna see what’s going on.” She already started trying to use his height to scale up when he gently moved her off.

“I don’t think we can get up there like you did before. That’s not how it worked with me, at least. ” He frowned, then tried to raise his head up. Suddenly, his field of vision shifted, almost as if he were connecting to a camera system. “Hold on, I think I can get a picture.”

“I’m getting that same picture. This is…” She grumbled. “This is… weird.”

His vision changed and he was suddenly back in Noelle’s room, watching from a different angle as Susie poked her nose through. “Noelle?”

The deer on the bed looked over, but ultimately stayed where she was.

Susie climbed through and sat on the sofa. “Heh, sorry for just… coming by like this, but I wanted to check on you.” She scratched the back of her head and looked at Noelle. “You didn’t look too good earlier.”

“This is what happened earlier,” Tenna said, with a sinking realization. Of course it had to be, but he didn’t want to see this again.

Susie said nothing, and stared transfixed on the scene playing out before her. 

Tenna from the past turned on the lights as Tenna of the present kept his eye on Susie, the way she reached out for herself. 

Susie of the past recoiled, then laughed nervously, just as she had done earlier. “Heh. Kind of feels like there’s some sort of… ghost… playing a trick on me. ” 

“I think I remember this,” Susie muttered. “I think I remember this now.” She clutched her head. “She was being so…” She growled, her arms went out in front of her as she leaned closer to the Noelle of the past. “So difficult! I just wanted to do something fun with my friends.” She spun around to face Tenna, one hand raised into the air and her claws extended. “Overheard Kris talking to Ralsei that they would go with Noelle, so I thought… maybe we could all just hang out together, especially since we didn’t get a chance this morning!” She kicked at the air. “Kris and Noelle went to talk and that’s when everything just….” Her hands dropped to her side, then she looked back at herself.

They looked back in on the scene. The strings made themselves visible again, just how Tenna remembered. “Do you know what’s up with the thorn?”

“It wasn’t there this morning,” Susie said, glaring down at Noelle’s hand. “It looks painful, yeah?”

There was a sense of cold that began at his shoulder blades again, just as it had been with the phone. ‘It was.’ The thought was bitter with bits of static crackling and mechanics popping laced through them, like the thought was being played through a broken speaker.

Susie furrowed her brow. “I mean, it’s still there. So, it would still be painful. I wouldn’t want a thorn in my finger.”

He flexed his fingers out. The wires beneath his sleeves caught his attention again, threatening to intertwine against his fingers and his hands. He shook them loose only for the cold to intensify. The sudden chill shocked Tenna back. It started in his shoulders, then spread further and further. He was back in the snow with the fiery chill of exposed wires. His shoulders zapped painfully.

“Tenna, are you okay?”

Then, the temperature stabilized. The warmth he had came back to the point where he couldn’t feel the ambient air anymore. Tenna made sure to put a smile back on his face before Susie could get worried. “Aha! I’m…ha… not sure why I thought like that!” He rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off that last little lingering bit of pain. “You’re right, it does look painful , in the current time! I’m mostly metal and plastic, so you can’t exactly stick a thorn in my finger, so I’ll take your word for it!”

Susie in the past stumbled, then gripped the windowsill.

“Susie?” Noelle in the past did what she did then. She approached the window, then wavered.

“Why didn’t she help?” Susie asked quietly. “I mean, I get being mad at me and all, but…” She looked up at Tenna, but he wasn’t sure what to say about it. This was strange behavior for the Noelle he knew, back when everything was bright.

“This is for the best, right? This will make me stronger, right? Is that what Kris would say?”

Susie’s head snapped towards Noelle. “What? What does that-”

“Noelle!” Susie from the past shouted. “H-Hey! Can you help me out a little here?”

“This will make me stronger, ” Noelle of the past insisted. “ This will make me stronger.” She pressed her hand over her heart. “Just like…just like…” Just like before, she didn’t say a name. She muttered something incoherently under her breath.

“Just like what?!” Susie demanded. “What happened?!”

Then, Susie from the past removed her hand from the window and slipped from the grooves she made earlier. Time stopped as soon as she hit the ground, and they found themselves back on the grass near the impact site.

“No! What does that mean!” Susie demanded. Despite Tenna’s explanation, she tried to scale up again, only to find herself stuck in a bubble around Tenna. She clawed at the barrier, but nothing pierced it. “Let me… out!”

Tenna… didn’t want to get in the middle of that. It seemed best not to interrupt her right now. Instead, he looked around at his surroundings. The color bars were back and time was stopped again. If that was the case, then maybe he could treat this like a VCR. They’d clearly rewinded the tape, so to speak, so maybe he could do it again. And this time, maybe he could do something about everything. 

‘ I don’t know what I’m going to do, of course. But hey, I’m great at improvizing .’

He snapped his fingers, both of them this time for flare, and watched as the tape of Susie’s life rewound. Then, he paused the tape. His digitized lips curled around his nose as he pointed towards Susie. “Susie, sweetheart, are you ready to do this?”

Susie looked up from her tirade, face tinted red, claws still extended. “What?” She yelled. “Do what, exactly?”

Tenna grinned. “Just sit back and watch the show! You’ll be back on your feet before you can say ‘I Love TV’ 99 times.”

Susie grimaced. “I’m not doing that.” She looked around, then back up at herself, stuck in time. Slowly adding, “But… if you can save my life, I guess I’ll say it once. That sound fair?”

Maybe a little too quickly, Tenna held out a hand. “You’ve got a deal!” Susie took his hand and shook his arm violently, just as Tenna figured she would. He laughed.. “Then after all this, you can try to figure out what’s going on with Noelle and Kris for me, because I’m concerned too. Kinda like those guys, you know?”

Susie nodded slowly, then focused on the environment around her.

Tenna always did better with someone watching him. This would be easy! Surely! He looked up and frowned. “I don’t think I can get up that way. I can move pretty far, but…”

Susie was already too far up and the pocket flashlight was out of range. He would have to get creative. Tenna cracked his knuckles and peered closer at the wall. There was a fuse box near the far window, then beyond it, there was something strange outlined beneath the red walls of the Holiday household. Tenna took a breath, then stepped through the wall

The environment shifted again. The outside of the house became less clear, as if looking through a camera lens, then focused on the room he stood in now. 

He was in a fairly large kitchen, with appliances and lights perfectly arranged to invoke a cozy, Christmas feeling. Red ribbons draped around the room like bows with little bells dangling from the folded fabric. He stood in a small foot pedal attached to the large Christmas tree in the corner of the room. 

It gave Tenna an idea.“Susie, watch this!”  He unpaused time and snapped his finger at the pedal, causing the lights to flash bright, white light. Then, he paused time to marvel at Susie’s reaction.

Susie’s eyes widened at the display. “You turned the light on,” she said with a gasp. He watched her process something, then narrow her eyes. “It was you! You’re the one who was messing with my flashlight! I thought the stupid thing was broken, but you were just… playing with it!”

“ I swiped that thing fair and square. ” Susie’s thoughts grumbled.  

Tenna laughed sheepishly. “I… I’m sorry!” He smiled. “I… wanted to see what was going on with Noelle. Had to give you that idea, you know?” He felt himself shrink, just a little.

“Hang on,” Susie frowned. “It means you’re the one who turned on the light in Noelle’s room, right?”

Tenna nodded again. “You wanted a closer look, and I obliged.” He bowed. “It’s what a good host does!”

“Right… right. I couldn’t really see her in the dark.” There were gears turning, but Susie didn’t say anything. She shook her head. “You should get back to trying to save me though. Otherwise our deal’s off the table.” She forced herself to laugh, but Tenna could see that her heart wasn’t quite in it.

At least he was good at picking up on subtle clues. He knew when to drop a subject for the good of the other party. He always prided himself on his emotional intelligence.

‘ Are you serious? ’ the voice asked through static-y laughter. 

Susie's face shifted slightly before shrugging. “Yeah, pretty serious.”

Not having privacy in his head was a lot to get used to… not that the thought really sounded like his own. Maybe he was just… guilty for what he did to his employees. That was probably it.

“Look, that’s the deal that was made. You’re gonna have to get to work if you want me to say anything.”

“I wouldn’t dream of breaking our deal!” Tenna’s smile brightened. “Let’s just move past the kitchen! We’ll find something else to turn on, something that will help!”

He strode through the kitchen, bouncing from the lights in the tree, to the overhead lights, then to the kitchen appliances.. For a brief moment, he thought about turning on the stove, only to shake his head. He only wanted to save Susie, not set the house on fire! 

Then from the stove, he moved to a small electronic Santa, broken and forgotten about underneath the kitchen sink. There was a very Kris-shaped hollow under there, filled with cobwebs, dust, and old wrappers of candy Carol didn’t allow in her house. It was very possible the Santa sat there, forgotten, for a while.

Tenna looked around the room. He didn't see anything closer to the door and while he could see the fridge… he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with the cold again.

Plus… he was curious what the Santa did. He decided to try and turn this thing on. A loud voice, droning and warped, echoed through the quiet, empty kitchen.

“Ho-ho-ho…!” It continued on, despite the slow motors and cracking plastic. The voicebox was perfectly fine, much to everyone’s chagrin.

“Tenna! Shut it off!” 

Tenna sputtered as he tried to do just that. But the thing wouldn’t stop. The button had gotten stuck. “It’s not…!”

The door opened softly as Carol entered the room with dark bags under her eyes. She looked older, colder. The loss of Dess obviously took its toll.

The woman grabbed the toy in a firm grip and set it down on a small table by the door. She quickly grabbed a screwdriver from the drawer and unscrewed the back of the Santa. With a tired sigh, she pried the battery out and put it on the table. “I'll deal with it in the morning.”

Susie eyed the battery, then a trash can beneath the counter. “Why not just… throw it away now?”

Tenna didn't quite know that either. He shrugged. “Carol's always done that when she changed the remote’s batteries at Tori's house.”

“Weird…”

But, at least they could move around again. He moved into a strange, dog-like statue outside the door. He let time go and tested out what the thing did, only to have the net swing down, hard. It wobbled slightly, but otherwise nothing. The dog didn’t seem useful for getting up, but he noted what it did anyway. 

The massive room was far larger than back at Tori’s house. Of course, it didn’t compare to TV World, but he also knew TV World better. There was too much house to explore here and he was on a time crunch. “Susie, do you know where Noelle’s room is?”

Susie nodded. “You think I would just climb into a window without knowing where her room was? Noelle invited Kris into her room, so I saw where they went,” she explained. “And I heard Noelle panicking when I was looking around for the code to the bunker.” 

Her voice was quiet, far too quiet for the boisterous Susie he’d met last night.

“It’s up the stairs, last door on the right.” 

Tenna smiled softly at Susie. “Thank you.” He looked at the staircase. “Let’s get this show on the road!” He scanned the walls for anything that seemed out of place in his only to find a Santa by the stairs. It wasn’t his first choice, but it would be fine as long as he didn’t turn it on. 

From the Santa, he moved up the stairs in a smoke detector. He paused briefly, glancing around before catching Susie’s gaze.

“If you turned that on, I would definitely fall out the window again.”

So, Tenna stayed his hand. He moved further down using lights and a battery-powered Santa clock along the wall. A set of doors stood in front of them, a set of bedrooms, if Tenna had to guess. He paused briefly at the dark colored door. He mourned the girl who loved dark colors, rock music, and getting into trouble. He paused briefly for the lost girl, before making his way into an overhead light and into the light switch on the other side of Noelle’s door.

It took them a while to get here, but Susie from the past was still sitting on the couch, and Noelle was still sitting on her bed. Freezing time sure had its advantages! Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard after all!  Luckily for them, Noelle had so many electronic devices he could mess with. Surely something had to wake her from her stupor.

“She… looks worse from this close up,” Susie whispered. She moved as close as the bubble would allow her and turned back to Tenna. “Can we do something about that?”

Tenna glanced between the two of them, sighing softly. “I… I’ll try. Saving your life is the most important thing. But… I think it may have to be something you kids work on.”

Tenna moved again, this time into a TV on a long entertainment center. This TV wasn’t nearly as storied as he was. The thought of Toriel replacing him with one of these… things… was painful to think about. It was deformed! Where was the space, the weight? How were you supposed to keep cool without it? He bet that hunk of junk would blow away in a storm! Not Tenna! He huffed, ‘ Nothing for it, I guess. It should still get their attention. ’ then turned on the TV. ‘ I bet they don’t even have a good picture.’

The television turned on suddenly. A commercial for a car dealership in another city played with a lanky cat monster in a business suit resting their hand on the roof of a red car. 

“And you can finance one, no mon-” 

Noelle’s hand was around the remote on her bed and quickly turned off the offending commercial. She stared at the door momentarily, then breathed a sigh of relief.

‘ Now what, Trash Heap? ’ the little voice asked, almost mockingly.

He was working on that part. It was annoying how crisp the voice and pictures were, but it had gotten Noelle to do something. He paused time again and looked back at the TV when a plan slowly started to form in his head. “Susie, what would you do if Carol came in here?”

“Probably leave out the window,” she answered. “I wouldn’t waste any time trying to talk, I’d just leave. Made her mad earlier and I don’t want to deal with that.” Susie shrugged.

He could work with that. “Would you be more careful?” Tenna asked.

Susie chuckled. “I can’t really tell you. Maybe.”

Well, Tenna would have to work with that. He moved back into the hallway, back into the Santa by the stairs and snapped his finger. The Santa turned on with a hearty “Ho-Ho-Ho!”. He kept time in motion and waited.

“What are you doing?” Susie clenched her hands into fists and waved her hands wildly at the door. “How does this help? If time’s going, then me and Noelle are talking!”

Carol’s door opened softly with a soft grumble. Her usual business attire had changed to a set of icy-blue pajamas with snowflakes dotting the shirt. She held a small cellphone in her hand as she moved to the Santa in the hallway. 

“I don’t know why you’ve let it loose in my house,” she hissed. “But we will have a talk about this tomorrow.” She turned the Santa off and stared at it briefly before she started to walk back to her bedroom.

“Oh! I get it!”

“I knew you would! I’m counting on you to be able to pull this off!” Tenna paused time once more. There was a small, battery-powered Santa clock on the left wall, close to the two bedrooms. He made his way quickly and sped up the motor until the hands moved to the nearest hour. 

“Ho-Ho-Ho!” The Santa clock’s voice sounded like it was being played through an old speaker with a tinny, bitcrushed voice. Then, a sound clip of a Christmas song started playing. Carol sighed and moved over to the clock. The phone beeped again.

“Answer your phone. It’s turning on everything in the house. I know you are getting these messages.”

Tenna stopped time and moved into Noelle’s room. By this point, Noelle had gotten up from her bed and Susie had begun to get up from her spot on the couch. He could see the strings more clearly in this paused time, a bright, yet translucent red against a blue background.

“What’s that about?” 

Susie frowned. “What? You mean Noelle standing like that? It’s a little weird, yeah.”

Tenna frowned. “No I…” He tilted his head and cleared his throat. “I mean the strings around her.”

“Strings?” Susie stared at Noelle. “I don’t see strings. Maybe it’s your screen? I’ve heard TVs can get like… lines on them.”

He crossed his arms. “Maybe some of the newer models, but I’ve never had that problem before. Maybe just a teeny bit of burn-in, but not this.” Tenna sighed. “You really don’t see them?”

Susie got up closer, looked around Noelle, stared up at the red lines, then shrugged. “I really don’t see them.” 

That was… concerning. He could see them clearly. It made her look…

‘Like a puppet.’ a little voice finished.

“That’s…” Susie frowned. “That’s kind of messed up, dude.”

Ah.. yeah. He could see how it would be. Tenna took a final look back at the strings, recording the image in his mind the way the wires clung to her. Then, he looked back at the deformed ‘smart tv’, as the kids would say. At least they were good for one thing. Tenna could solve this whole thing in the single press of a button. He moved into the TV, raised his finger into the air and grinned. “I hope you’re ready! Say it with me folks, beecause…” 

Susie leaned against the bubble and smiled an almost fond smile. 

The sight energized Tenna. His voice was loud and proud.  “ It’s… TV TIME!” With two snaps of his fingers, the sad, pathetic excuse for a television turned on and Noelle scrambled to grab the remote with shaking hands.

“And behind door number 3 is a brand ne-” A human in a black suit gestured towards a large, red door, similar to the style they used in TV World.

There was a knock. “Noelle,” Carol’s voice traveled through the door. “It’s quiet hours and you have a big day tomorrow.”

Susie from the past scrambled out the window as Noelle fiddled around with the remote. Susie dug one set of claws in the building and held the frame with the other.

“ Just… think about it, okay?” Susie from the past asked. “ I’ll see you tomorrow. And uh… sorry again. ” Then, she began her climb back down. 

The television turned off as Carol entered the room. “Noelle, I think it’s time for bed.” She pressed a button on her phone and took a cursory look around the room, while Noelle began to scramble to get ready for bed. “Strange.”

Tenna paused time and moved into the flashlight in Susie’s pocket and let time move. She carefully made her way down, narrowly avoiding landing on a slick set of garden stones, ones he didn’t see earlier. 

The Susie of the present looked at herself, then to Tenna. “I…I’m alive.” She gave Tenna a playful nudge. “You know, you're not too bad. Glad to see ya again.” She swallowed. “I… really did try to find you, tried to talk people into helping us find you, but they… they avoided us. I'm sorry.”

Tenna felt himself shrink. “Ah, haha! It's… It's fine Susie! I know you tried, and it's okay, I'm okay!” He stretched himself as far as he could. “I'm perfectly fine, still feeling as groovy as ever!"

Susie didn't look convinced and looked like she wanted to interject with something, but she didn’t. “I guess.”

Tenna leaned forward and knelt down until he was at her eye level. The plates and gears in his back should have creaked, but they didn’t. “The important thing is that you're alive.” Tenna smiled at her. He stood up straight and cleared his throat. He made the practiced action of clutching onto a microphone, a microphone that didn’t exist here, and pointed at Susie like she was a star. She was one, after all. “You’re alive now, everything’s back on track! Now you can help me figure out what’s going on with my beloved viewers!” 

He could feel something in his chest, something that told him that this was the end of the line. The ticking clock had stopped and the hourglass’s sand had stopped falling. It was time to get her home. “I'll still be here, I promise. Now! Let’s get you to your new, sunnier future!”  He pressed his hand to his mouth and crouched down again, whispering a secret to his audience of one. “Just be careful when climbing any more windows.” He laughed, then stood at his full height. He spread his arms open, jumped into the air, and slammed his arms together, a smash cut.

Chapter Text

When Tenna regained his sight again, he was still nestled in Susie’s pocket flashlight. The rain had become a light mist, and a haze in the lamp light. Susie stopped suddenly and scratched her head. “Did that really happen?” 

‘It did, ’ he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure that she could hear him anymore. It would be nice… if he had someone to talk to. But… but he also knew she needed to have her own space.

She moved her hand toward the siding before shaking her head. “I should leave.” She walked past the gate and back onto the streets of Hometown. The lights were a bit spotty in locations, what with the spread out light posts and most of the town already gone to bed for the night. 

Susie removed her flashlight from her pocket, turning it around in her hand with a slight hum. She clicked on the flashlight, then clicked the button off. “It… was probably nothing,” she whispered. “But… if it wasn’t…” She sighed.  “So uh… I don’t know if… I’m just talking to myself… or whatever… but…” She huffed. “I love TV.” Susie clenched her hands into fists and shoved the flashlight back in her pocket. “That’s the only time I’m saying it, so I hope you heard it!”

He could! He felt his heart swell. He could very nearly feel a flower blooming on his nose. 

She loved TV. She really loved TV. The thought filled him with glee, an unbridled sense of joy, very unlike when he’d trapped them in the prize balls. This time he didn't even have to pressure them with contracts, or refuse to let them leave! She loved TV, she said she loved TV! He giggled to himself. Tenna wondered if he could pretend he wasn’t here so she would say it again, even if she said she was only saying it once.

A little voice in his head scoffed at the thought. ‘Really ?’

But the rest of Tenna was very clear. 'Yeah.'  Susie had always been so nice to him, so… so she cared about his feelings! It wasn’t a stretch that maybe he could have her say it again. Or… maybe she could get one of her friends to say it in her stead. He’d gladly accept Kris or Ralsei saying they loved TV. 

The little voice took a soft breath in, then started yelling in an audio-crushed voice. “OR, SHE’S JUST [honoring] YOUR [Deal or No Deal], [Trash Heap]. NO ONE [Cares] ABOUT [What you see on Television].”

He jumped at the intensity. Those weren’t his thoughts. That wasn’t his voice, and the intrusive audio bites were nothing like his own inserts. There was only one explanation, there was someone else in his head.

“GEE! [Cathode], WHATEVER GAVE YOU THAT [idea!]?! [Get Glad] YOU FINALLY [was caught!] ON!”

He paused time and looked around frantically. There was no way he was going to let that stand. But...He couldn’t see anyone, not even around where he pictured himself. The only thing out of place were those strange, green wires, slowly around in the air around his wrists. “I don’t know where you are or why you’re talking to me like this, but you need to stop!” He knew, he just knew that his fangs were poking from his lips.

The crackly laughter started up again. “[Stop]!? YOU WANT ME TO [reply STOP to opt out]?” The wires around his hands whipped around violently as the stranger yelled. “YOU THINK I [Wanna be a] [funny goop that sticks to the carpet!] WITH YOU?”

He could barely focus. What once was a quiet stream suddenly turned into a roaring river. The voice was hard to parse, especially with how static-filled the voice was. But his own voice was crystal clear. Why did they talk like that?  “And how are you able to use my voice like that?! This is… it’s copyright infringement!” Tenna shouted. “You need to leave my head, immediately! I don’t want you here!”

“YOU AND I ARE [Stuck on] TOGETHER, WHETHER WE [Like it] OR NOT!” The voice laughed. “[Live and Learn] TO LISTEN FOR [1 time payment], [Trash Heap]!" 

Tenna growled and grabbed hold of the green wires from his sleeves and stuck them in one hand. They were annoying him with how frequently they moved, like a stray thread in a tailored suit.  “Listen here! If that’s true, then I don’t want you to insult me! I don’t know you, you don’t know me! I don’t even know what’s going on and you probably don’t either, right?! So we can figure-”

The voice cut in suddenly with manic joy. “I KNOW [ what’s going on] BETTER THAN YOU DO! I KNOW WHAT THAT [Little Sponge] HAS BEEN UP TO.” The voice laughed, then it lowered in pitch, almost as if it were giving a stage whisper. “I KNOW [click here to Learn More] ABOUT THE [Secrets that you keep]! I KNOW YOUR DEEPEST [Stop living your life in fear!]!” The stranger paused as if it were thinking of something before it yelled again, with three little words that Tenna always tried to put out of his mind. “I HATE YOU!”

It was as if a flip switched in that instant. The voice was filled with sputtering, electronic whirring and garbage noises. “I HATE YOU! [Trash heap]! [Trash Heap]!," It taunted. "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU THAT-"

Tenna’s grip on the wires tightened. “Stop talking to me!”

It made a noise of surprise and the whirring subsided. “LET GO, YOU [Piece of Junk]!” it screeched. “LET GO! LET GO!” Tenna bent some of the wires in surprise. “GUHHH-”

Oh, so this stranger was connected to the wires in some way. Tenna loosened his grip, just barely, then squeezed tighter. “This is my head, my rules! If we really are stuck, then let’s try to be civil.”

“CIVIL?” The voice scoffed. “AS IF I WOULD [Ever try] BE CIVIL WITH [is right for you]! YOU'RE THE ONE WH-’

Tenna responded by squeezing the wires even tighter, to the point where his claws nearly went through his gloves. “ Try,” he hissed. 

“EASY, EASY.” Tenna allowed the wires a bit of slack. “FINE, FINE. I WON’T [Like me now!] IT THOUGH!” The voice groaned.

Tenna sighed and released the wires and watched as they slowly snaked back into his jacket sleeve. “...Have you been here the entire time?”

The voice didn’t respond at first, either through thought or words. “...YES,” it eventually spat out. “I CAN [out to sea] WHY YOU LIKE THAT TORI PERSON! SHE HAS GOOD [tastes like chicken]!” It cackled. "SHE KNOWS [What] TO KEEP IN HER LIFE."

Great. Perfect. Everything was really looking up for him lately. For the sake of... whatever situation this was, he elected to ignore that last comment, seeing as he was the bigger person here. “I want to figure out what happened. I need to know what’s going on with…” With Kris, with Noelle, with himself. “I have important things going on, and I don’t want you to mess that up.”

The voice laughed, but said nothing. It was so talkative just moments ago, and now when Tenna expected a response, it was quiet.

“RELAX [Trash Heap]” Tenna could almost picture an eye-roll. “I WON’T MESS WITH YOUR [Important information disclosed] THINGS. I CAN’T [Promises to Keep] THAT I WON’T [think your information is secure?] ANYTHING TOO LOUD. I REALLY DO [H8] YOU!”

Tenna growled. “Fine. That’s fine. At least I know that you’re there.”  He willed the colors away and watched as Susie walked down the streets in the dark. 

The voice didn’t say anything more, something both gratifying and deeply irritating. While the voice wasn’t his first choice, it was almost… relieving that he had someone else to talk to here. 

Eventually, Susie’s feet stopped wandering. Tenna looked up at the large building shrouded in shadow. He… thought it could look like a school, maybe. He’d never been to one, obviously, but it had such an intimidating presence, what with the solid brick exterior and the uniformity of color.

“Ralsei’s gotta know something,” she said softly. “He can tell me if I’m just overthinking things. Plus…” Her voice trailed off. 

She pressed forward through the unlocked door of the school, down a dark hallway, then into a storage closet at the end of an intersection. He could feel the pull of a Dark Fountain, the cool and comforting blanket of darkness. As she dropped down into the inky blackness, her colors shifted to brighter hues of magenta, a more spiky outfit and an axe, similar to a hammer that appeared on her back.

Ah, so this was where Ralsei was from. 

She walked forward into the town. The… uh… somewhat empty town. For some reason, Tenna would have figured that this place would be more lively. There were buildings in the distance that moved to the beat of an unheard melody, and a bright castle in the distance... but the nightlife wasn't here. 

Ralsei made his way forward, stumbling over his own feet. “Susie! I thought- you should be back at your house! It's late!”

Susie chuckled. “I ah, heh. I just wanted to walk around a little here, talk with you a little before I went home for the night.”

Ralsei smiled. “Ah hah! Yeah!” He laughed nervously. “Uh- heh… nothing about the prophecy… right? I… don’t want to talk about it right now.” His voice tapered off at the end as he buried his face into his scarf. Oh, that was a different scarf, wasn't it? It looked softer, somehow.

Susie put a hand on Ralsei’s shoulder. “Nah, nothing about that.  I don’t really wanna mention it either.” 

The goat boy breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh! Okay then! What is it then?”

Susie looked around, then dug around in her pocket. Instead of the little pocket flashlight she had before, she produced a small, metallic axe with a black rubber handle and a crystalline blade, with small bubbles scattered beneath the surface. Susie frowned. “That’s… not helpful.”

Ralsei smiled. “Well, it’s a nice axe! Where did you get it? I don’t think this was in one of the previous Dark Worlds.”

“Oh ah… it’s just a flashlight, been carrying it for a little while now.” Susie put the axe back in her pocket and crossed her arms. “It doesn’t really help right now.” She looked up at the castle. “Can we talk somewhere private?”

Ralsie nodded once. “Of course, Susie!”

Susie chuckled. “Wanna strike a pose first?”

“Yeah!” Ralsei and Susie both struck poses, silly like the ones they made in TV World. Without Kris at the helm, however, it felt off-balanced, awkward, and neither of them seemed to quite know how to fix it.

“I’ll follow behind,” Ralsei insisted. He fell into line right behind Susie with his arms carefully kept behind his back.

Susie nodded and moved deeper into the town. While there were people around in town, they mostly seemed to be the same kind of people, Ruddins, Hathies, and a Pippins he saw by the edge of town. Where were the Shadowguys? the Zappers? He missed the chaos of TV World, the way everyone would run around frantically before a big shoot. 

‘Ask your little sponge,’ the voice thought grumpily. ‘They’re the one making the choices, right? ’

Yeah, Kris was responsible for their own choices, a fact that hit a sour note as he looked around the empty town.

“Did you wanna stop somewhere and get something to snack on?” Ralsei asked as they passed by a bakery. "I'm sure I can get someone to serve us a few pastries."

“It’s really important, but maybe after.” She laughed as she put her arms behind her head, beaming a smile. This was the Susie that Tenna wanted to see. 

There was an abandoned TV studio, something Susie stopped and stared at briefly before walking into the castle. If he could talk, he would have discussed what to do with the building, what to paint the walls, what physical challenges to include! As it was now though, Tenna… couldn’t really look at it.

They moved up a staircase, into a purple-colored door and into a shared bedroom. One side seemed perfectly made for Susie, while the other half seemed to be suited to Kris. In the center of the room, a large table had been set up. Ralsei pulled up a seat and waited for Susie to sit as well.

“I… I hope you don’t mind. I haven’t had the time to change things.” He gingerly set a few teacups aside, especially from Susie’s spot.

Susie chuckled. “After the day we had today? You’re good, man.” She sat back and propped her feet up on the table, tipping back the chair onto two legs.

“I guess it has been a long day.” Ralsei heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “So, what did you wanna talk about?”

Susie sat forward and set the axe down on the table, then clinked the wood with her nails. “Ok, you’re gonna have to follow me here, right. Something weird just happened and I thought it would be best to go to you.”

Ralsei sat up. “W-Well I’m honored to be your first pick Susie! But… shouldn’t we wait for Kris?”

“No.” She took a breath. “No, I think they’re involved in somethin' bad."

Ralsei froze, like a deer caught in headlights. “W-what do you mean by that? Involved in what?” Now, that was an odd reaction to have.

“I hate thinking like this, because sometimes I’ll look at them and we just connect, y’know? They get me, my sense of humor. They’re one of my… my friends here. But other times… it’s weird. They can be so… messed up, say the worst thing to someone.” She took a breath. “I think they did something to Noelle. I don’t know what they did, but they had to have done something,” Susie explained. “This is where I’m gonna need you to follow along with me here.”

“O-of course! Of course.” He put his hands in his lap. “I’ll listen to anything you have to say!” He over corrected his look of shock, smiling just a bit too widely.

Susie nodded. “I… think I might have died… tonight?” Her eyes met Ralsei’s. “It didn’t stick, of course. Still not even sure it was real, but… but if it was real, then I’m really worried for Noelle. She was…” Her hands clenched into fists. “It was like she was in this trance? Or… something. She was acting really weird. Kept sayin’ she would go with Kris tomorrow, which is fine, of course.” She huffed. “But the look on her face was… scary.”

“I… am following along.” Ralsei insisted. His expressions had long since neutralized but the shock of the first statement caught him off guard. “You… you say you died?”

“Maybe?” Susie sighed. “I was super cool, just so you know. Total action movie stunt gone wrong.” Her teeth glistened in the fluorescent-colored room as she tilted her chair back again. “You know, if it even happened. But if it did, then I wanna help Noelle out.”

Ralsei looked down at the table and squeezed his eyes closed. “I… I don’t think Kris should go with Noelle either. I think… it would be a bad choice, but if it’s what they want… then…” He balled his scarf in his hands. “Then there’s nothing that we can do.” He whispered something, something even softer. “There’s nothing any of us can do.”

‘And why couldn’t they? ’ It’s not as if Kris had their friends in a contract. And even then, contracts didn’t ensure that people did what you wanted. He knew that from-

His shoulders were shocked with ice again, briefly, then faded into the background. But the wires weren’t out of his sleeve. He couldn’t retaliate.

‘Fine then.’

Susie sighed. “I… I get that. Kris is pretty weirdly persuasive… but… she didn’t seem excited about the whole thing. She seemed kind of… ” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to describe it. But it wasn’t good.”

“So! About that dream!” Ralsei's voice was sharp, blatant. There was something there he didn't want to talk about. “Can you tell me more about it?” Ralsei asked. “How did you save yourself? I’ve never heard of anything like that before! Was there someone you had to fight, or… what happened in the first place?”

He had to show that he was here somehow, maybe then they could all get some answers.

Susie looked away. “Hehe. Well. It wasn’t me, actually. Don’t get me wrong, I totally helped. I was like… one of the biggest parts of that team up, actually.”

This was his moment. She would refer to him, and Tenna would give just a little sign that he was here. Tenna waited, readied his fingertips and snapped. The axe…

Did nothing. He couldn’t feel the mechanisms connect. There was a battery, sure, but it seemed suited to be a weapon rather than an actual flashlight.

The voice’s crackling laughter filled his head again. “NICE GOING [CATHODE],” it screeched.

Susie’s eyes narrowed, as if she also heard the stranger. “You know what, it was kind of weird.” She let the legs return to their natural place on the floor and removed her legs from the table. “I think I-

Tenna took a breath, then he paused time to look around. Maybe he could grab a light or- Susie stood out prominently against the color bars, like she had been when she fell. The upside-down soul still sat in the middle of her form, but it wasn’t frayed this time. There was a healthy orange glow around it. Tenna hesitantly reached out for her and pulled her back into the strange, swirling RGB world. He could feel time start to pick up as they were dropped back into the void.

“...Saw Tenna there. He was-” Susie looked up and gasped. “It wasn’t a dream!” Her face brightened. “Tenna! You made it here!”

He laughed. “Yep! That’s me! I think you have part of a deal you need to upkeep,” he said lightly, pointing at her with a grin. “Got something to tell the audience?”

Susie snorted. “If you were here, you would have heard it.” She chuckled. “But uh… thank you. I’m talking to Ralsei, if there’s anything you wanna ask.”

Tenna chuckled. “Ah, yeah. I was here. As for the question…” He frowned and tapped the side of his screen. “I would ask what the whole ‘prophecy’ thing is about, but I already heard that you weren’t discussing it. He… mentioned the word when he talked to me and…”

Susie’s eyes widened. “He mentioned the…? Oh back, when you said he found you." She looked down at the swirling void, then clenched her hands into fists. "Yeah, I’m not mentioning anything. But... I’ll explain what he might have been talking about in a little bit. Just give me time, okay.”

Tenna nodded, even if he wasn’t exactly happy about the response, he would respect it. He didn’t really have a choice. “He seems like he's been a little dodgy with the questions. Can you ask about that?”

Susie sighed. “That would probably go into discussions about the prophecy, and neither of us are really up to talking about that right now. Sorry, man. It’s been a long day for both of us.”

His smile wobbled on his screen. Well, one avenue was shot down, but he could shift gears! There was something he was a little curious about. “Could you… could you ask him where he got his scarf? He gave me one before he left.”

Susie snorted. “That’s the question you wanna ask? Really?”

Tenna shrugged. What did she want from him? “There’s… not much else I can ask. But, it’ll prove I’m here.”

“Smart! I’ll ask him then! He’s gotta know about all this, knows pretty much everything, I think.” Susie stared up at his screen, frowning. “And you say he found you? I know you said so earlier, but… he actually found you? I tried looking.”

“He talked to me,” he said. “Made me feel a little less alone. Then, he put this scarf around my shoulders.”

“I'll relay it. Leave it to me.”

Tenna laughed. The world around him shifted as Susie’s head shot up, then lowered.

“Susie?” Ralsei looked up at her with concern. “Is there something wrong? You kinda… cut yourself off and stopped talking.”

She stood to her feet and laughed lightly. “I'm fine, perfectly fine. I’ve got my proof now. I have something I need to ask you though, and I want you to be honest with me.” The monster tapped her claws on the table again. “After we left to seal the fountain, did you go try to find Tenna?”

Ralsie’s eyes bulged. “What? What does that mean? I… I mean…”

“Yes, or no?”

“I…” he rested his head against the table. “Yes. I just… I couldn't put him out of my head. Seeing him…” He looked away. “Be cut down… like that. It was cruel. I don't... know why they did it like that.”

“Right.” She swallowed harshly. “Did you find him?”

Ralsei looked away. “Yes,” he answered softly. “But, you were already sealing the fountain and it was too late to do anything for him. I didn’t want to make you upset, and I tried healing a little, but…” He balled his hands into tiny fists, then sighed. “My magic wasn’t good enough, especially with what I was wearing.”

Susie grabbed the axe, then shoved it into Ralsei’s hands. “Well, I want you to say hi.”

He raised his head. Ralsei’s eyes flashed between Susie and the axe. His face constantly shifted as he tried to pinpoint an expression. Eventually, his brow furrowed. “To the… uh… axe? I don’t… understand… what this has to do with anything.” But still, he tilted his face down and waved. “Hi… uh… axe. How are you?”

“I’m doing just fine !” Tenna shouted. He chuckled and pointed up at the sky. “It’s great to be here folks!” 

Susie reeled her head back. “Dude, you don’t have to be so loud.”

“Oopsie-doodle, didn’t mean to be so loud. Sorry Susie.”

“I wasn’t loud, I don’t think." Ralsei picked up the axe and held it firmly in his hand, shifting it around in the air to balance the weight in both his hands.

“No, you weren’t loud.” Susie rolled her eyes. “No, it’s part of that whole… dream thing I just mentioned. Except it wasn’t a dream.” She gestured towards the axe. “That’s Tenna. I can hear him. He says he’s doing fine, by the way.”

Ralsei’s face fell. “Ah.” He set the axe down gingerly. “I understand.” His eyes were so obviously full of pity. Tenna could practically hear gears turn in the boy’s head as he tried to figure out a way to talk Susie through… this.

Susie ran her claws through her hair and held up a finger at Ralsei’s level. “Before you say anything else! I have a question from him! He asked the dumbest thing.” She snorted. 

Ralsei nodded slowly. “Okay…? Go ahead...?”

“He said it would help you realize he was there, but I think it was a real question. He wanted to know where you got the scarf, ‘cause he said you gave it to him, but I never noticed that you changed your scarf.”

“It was… a nice gesture, even if the scarf wasn’t the most comfortable thing,” Tenna explained.

Ralsei’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t tell anyone that I…” He grabbed the axe again, and held it out in front of him. “Mr. Tenna?!” He blinked. “How?” His face looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

Susie shrugged. “We’re trying to figure that out too, man. Went back to Kris’ place, left, died, then came back to see what you thought. My evening’s been…” She squeezed her eyes shut, pausing briefly before continuing. “It’s been weird.”

Ralsei clutched the axe closer to him, making sure to face the blade away from his face. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” The poor boy was crying.

This was a little uncomfortable. Tenna frowned. “Uh… can you tell him to stop? I mean, it’s a little weird, but it’s not like I’m dead, right?” His antenna bounced on his head. “I’m still here, just uh… different!” 

He hated that the pair of them were treating him like he was already taken to a landfill. He hadn’t! Sure, he was a little injured and he didn’t know how he became separated from his Light World counterpart, but he was-

“Tenna…” Susie took a breath in, then out. “No um… I’m pretty sure you actually died.” She looked over to Ralsei. “He’s sayin’ that you need to stop apologizing.”

A feeling like static settled in his chest. “But I’m… still here.”

“You are in a flashlight that I’m carrying around. I could talk to you in the Light World.” Susie reached her hand into her hair and tugged lightly. “Don’t you think that’s weird? You’re not attached to your Light World form and you’re not even here in the Dark World. I’m talking to a stupid axe. If I could travel with you when I died, why would you think you were alive?”

Tenna felt the world fall from under him. The magic carpet he’d been using to keep himself aloft in his feelings had been forcibly removed, and now he was in a hot pot of boiling water. All the feelings he’d been trying to keep himself from thinking about simmered over and collided, making Tenna feel numb. Ah, he supposed that was right. “I… I guess that’s true.” A deep sorrow leaked through the cracks in his core. He felt himself shrink, further and further down. If he had his Dark World form, it would be minuscule. Although, if he did, he wouldn’t have a reason to be this small.

Ralsei waited a moment to see if Susie responded again while he moved his fingers across the grooves in the crystal. “To… answer your question… I don’t know. Kris had the scarf after we closed Cyber World’s Dark Fountain. They… called it the Puppet Scarf. I don’t think they noticed that I didn’t have it,” he said softly. “So, I’m glad I gave it to you.”

An uncomfortable feeling swept through Tenna, of dread and frustration. He took a breath to calm himself, but it still didn’t feel like he was stable. The crackling, popping, and seething rage didn’t seem to be coming from him. 

He tried to separate himself from those feelings, even if he shared some of them with the previous revelations.  “Well, thank you for giving it to me. It was… comforting, even if it wasn’t very comfortable.” He couldn’t help that his voice had gotten small and mumbly. 

“He said thank you for the scarf,” Susie said.

Ralsie nodded. “I… I’m sorry I left you alone.”

“It’s… It’s okay!” He couldn’t quite put his all into it, but it would be fine. He plastered a smile nobody could see onto his face. “I mean, there’s not much you could have done, right? I was in pretty rough shape! And I mean, my last moments weren’t the greatest. I pushed everyone away so it’s no-”

The sound of a hand hitting the table gave Tenna pause. “Stop. It’s not okay. Nothing about all this is okay. Yeah, you were kind of awful, but I get it. You were turning things around. You were gonna make things better. It wasn’t just you makin’ mistakes either.” She balled her hands into fists, shaking with rage. “We don’t know what’s going on, Kris is doing something weird to Noelle, the prophecy, the Knight, the Roaring? It’s all so much! You, Jack, and the old man… it’s not… fair.”

Everything was quiet for a moment. “Well, maybe I can reverse everything for myself,” Tenna offered. “I’d be okay, right?” He could reverse time for himself, maybe give himself more time to get out of the way or maybe avoid the whole issue in the first pla-

But Susie’s face didn’t change. “And what would you have done differently? We still needed to free Toriel, so you still would have…”

He still would have died. He’d still end up in the snow. 

“What did he say?” Ralsie asked softly.

“Oh, right.” She lifted her head. “So, he undid my death. Reversed time. So he was wondering if he could do that with himself.”

Ralsei’s face fell even further. “We still had to close the fountain. It looked like the Knight was there for Toriel. What would have happened to her if she was kept there? You wouldn’t have wanted anything to happen, right?”

“Of course not.” He felt so, so small. “It was… supposed to keep her safe,” he said lamely. “I didn’t know the Knight would…”

Susie raised an eyebrow before offering Tenna a weak smile. “But, hey. Could always carry you around with me. You could talk to me at any time, and I could translate. Plus… Being able to rewind a death like that seems pretty… cool.”

“I… guess.” He missed his employees though, and he missed his family. Even if they all hated him, Tenna still missed them deeply.

Susie sighed as she rested her head in her hands. “I know it’s not a great solution, but I’m trying, okay? Outside of everything that happened in Cyber World, things have been kind of normal. If we could somehow change things there, I think everything would be fine. But… I don’t know how we can really get there. I don’t even know how you saved me.”

If that was the point that everything went wrong, then he would just need to get to that point. The popping subsided. ‘ If we could get there… ’ The stranger sounded contemplative. ‘ Can we get there? Maybe then…’

“We’ll figure something out,” Susie insisted. “Even if… we can’t, you’re not alone in all this.”

Ralsei nodded. “Yeah! I… I can set up a room here, if you want,” he offered. “We already have something set up for Elnino and Lanina.”

“They’re here?” Tenna asked. “Is there anyone else here?”

Susie winced. “I don’t think anyone else is here… not unless someone snuck in without us knowing.”

Ralsie’s eyes went to the table. “If Kris says we should fight, it’s usually what we do.”

Susie scoffed. “Well, I’m thinking maybe we need to make some choices on our own. I’m not saying we gotta wimp out and do nothing but…  spare things, but maybe it would be less lonely here.”

“But they’re the-”

“I don’t care that they’re the leader,” Susie snarled. “They’ve been doing some weird things! You should have seen Noelle, Ralsei! If you had, you would be agreeing with me. I’ll read your stupid book, I’ll learn how to be nice to things.” Her eyes went to the book behind her, sitting on a nightstand. “I just…” She slammed her fist on the table, then sunk into a chair. “I feel like we could be doin’ better. Don’t you? Isn’t that why you kept tryin’ to get us to spare everything in Card Kingdom?”

“Yes,” he said softly. “I thought… I thought that maybe if we were kind… then everything would be okay. We haven’t been very kind though.”

“Then let’s start now, yeah?” Susie grinned. “We can just warn the enemies, like you did with me.”

Ralsie still didn’t look entirely convinced, but he smiled. “That would be great, Susie!” 

“And we can do our own thing in battle. We don’t have to wait for Kris to bark out orders, you know? I trust them to keep us safe in battle, but maybe we can… act against their choices.”

“I think… that would be lovely. We should… try that in the next Dark World.” 

“And Tenna can come with us!” Susie grinned. “And if we ever die, he can pick us back up! Maybe you could even hear him too!” 

“That’s… true!” Ralsei glanced down at the axe and laughed nervously. “Uh… sorry for leaving you out of the conversation. Did you want a tour? I understand that it’s… not usual… I should’ve offered when I found out, but there’s a lot going on.”

“I’d love a tour of your lovely town, Ralsie! It would be nice to see how Elnina and Lanino are settling in too.”

“He says…,” Susie yawned suddenly. “He says, yeah.” 

Ralsei got up from his chair. “Susie, I think you might have to go home.” He smiled softly. It’s been a long day for all of us, right? Lightners need their sleep.”

Susie frowned. “But…”

“Susie! A star needs their sleep. I’ve kept you up too long, but I’ll be fine here until you get back.”

Susie stared at the axe. “Are you sure?”

“Of course! Ralsei can just take me around! Won’t feel so lonely with him around, anyway. Who knows, maybe I’ll figure out something in the meantime.”

Susie stood back up and chuckled, “Alright, alright. I’ll trust Tenna to you, Ralsei. I’ll be back after I’ve gotten some shuteye and something to eat.” She stood up from her chair turned the doorknob, with a slight wave, she was gone.

She was gone, and Tenna was alone with Ralsei. There was a language barrier here, but it was something at least. Someone knew he was there, and that's what really mattered at this point.

Chapter Text

I… understand this is a bit strange, but… I still want to make you feel included, if I can.” Ralsei had an awkward edge to his voice. He was still processing everything, just as Tenna was. 

Who would believe a story like this? A man didn’t die, lingered on, and could treat time like a VHS player. It sounded like the plot to one of the shows Toriel would flip past when trying to find her cooking shows or home design channels. It would be something Asgore might watch when he came home late from work and needed something to wind down, only to accidentally stay up. It was a show with a single season, something experimental, doomed to end on an unsatisfactory cliffhanger.

This was not a normal occurrence. It was not something Tenna would have imagined either, and he was TV personified. 

And yet, Ralsei believed it. ‘You’re doing great!’ Ralsei couldn’t hear him, of course, but he hoped the sentiment would come across somehow. ‘It’s a little weird, but you’re doing well!’

Ralsei stood up from the table and showed the axe around the room, pressing the blade close to each individualized piece of furniture excitedly. There were hand-made awards, written to reflect Ralsei’s friendship with both Kris and Susie. It… was sweet. No side took more space than the other, no biases. 

Each side of the room corresponded to Susie and Kris’ personal tastes, including a strange ICE-E cube lying on the floor. “Usually people I show around don’t get to see this! I’ll show you around the rest of the castle, then I’ll show you the town itself!”

Out of curiosity, before Ralsei left, Tenna flipped back into the world of color bars and looked around the room. There wasn’t a whole lot to it, not without Susie, but the refrigerator could still be moved into, as could the lights in the ceiling. Neither he really wanted to explore right now. He shifted time back and sat back in the axe.

Ralsei moved quickly down to the next room, one shaped like a spade. Ralsei poked his head into the room and smiled softly. The strange blue boy… Lancer, if the quiz show was correct, was fast asleep on the bed, snoring softly into the pillow. 

What a sweet-looking boy. He knew how much trouble some of his stagehands had with him. Mike kept having to replace his controllers, and one of the pippins complained about being scammed, but he seemed like such a nice kid.

Ralsei quickly moved from the door and moved up a set of stairs. “This is where some of our other friends are staying. I’m sure Queen’s still awake.”

‘Queen?’ Tenna asked. ‘She’s here?’ Ah, it would have been nice to talk with her. They knew each other from that time, anyway. It would have been nice to find out what happened in Cyber City after she was returned to the library.

As they drew closer to the metallic door at the start of the hallway, Tenna could hear booming music from the other side of the walls. Ralsie knocked on the door, then shortly let himself in.

Queen was leaning against the wall, sipping a glass of battery acid, while nodding along to the music. 

She looked the same as Tenna remembered her, from back when they briefly met in Cyber City after Tenna was done with shows for the evening. Queen still had the habit of clicking her nails against the glass of her cup, as if she were waiting for a reason to throw the glass against the ground. She still made whirring noises from an old DVD drive, whose hinges got stuck one day so the button never worked again. 

And yet, there was a newness about her too. The word on her visor looked like another language to Tenna, a language that seemed too daunting to learn. It was that newness that made someone overlook the stickers peeling from her arm, or that some of the letters she added to her visor took longer to appear than others.

She looked happy as she heartily drank the neon green liquid in her cup. She looked over at Ralsei and smiled. “Hello Ralsei. Did You Come To Hear My Mixtape? Or Maybe You Are Here To Tell Me How Good I Am At Everything. That Weird Lamp Does That Sometimes.” She made a face and took a sip of her battery acid.

Ralsei chuckled. “Ah… not exactly! I’m here to… to uh…give this axe a tour of… everything.” His enthusiasm waned with every word he said, as if he realized in real time what he was saying.

“Oh! That’s Cool!” Her visor displayed the word, “TRUE,” in big, bright red letters. “I Love Showing Off Cool Things To Other Cool Things. That Is A Cool Axe. Does It Have A Good Sense Of Music?”

Ralsei looked at the axe, then at Queen. “Y..yes? He… does.”

Tenna would certainly hope so! Music was a big part of TV! You had to know how to balance environmental sounds with the more notable scores. A sweeping melody would be out of place for a weather broadcast, a game show’s bouncy, upbeat music couldn’t be overlaid on a western. And cooking shows needed a light touch, just enough to fill the silence. And that wasn’t including channels that were all about the new, hit songs coming onto the radio stations. TV was all about music! ‘ Ralsei! You were our main vocalist during my last show, ’ he chided lightly. ‘You should know it well! ’ 

Queen nodded sagely. “That’s Very Cool. Does He Respect Pottery?”

“Yes.” Ralsei answered, a little more confidently. Why was that the confident answer? He gave the children pots to throw during their board!

“I Think I Will Get Along With Your Axe Well.” She took a sip of her acid and laughed. “It Is Nice To Have More Loyal Peons.”

Tenna flipped his view again and looked around the room. The speakers could be grabbed onto, but… so could Queen.

It made sense, he supposed. In theory, she was a laptop and as such, she adhered to the same rules he followed. But… what did that mean? Would he just be pressing buttons on her Light World body? Or… 

“THERE’S A GOOD WAY [$2.99] CHECK, [Trash heap]” The wires danced around his hands. “WHAT’S THE [Cheddarworste] THAT [It could happen to you]?”

Tenna wasn’t sure, but he wanted to check the speakers first. He didn’t quite trust this voice, especially since it was so aggressive earlier. 

The voice huffed, then faded into a small, droning noise, almost like a dialtone. If the voice was pouting, this was a strange way to show that. The phone noises were easy to ignore, he’d been ignoring the phone for years at this point.

Tenna moved into the speaker system and snapped his finger, causing the music to abruptly change in the middle of the song. 

Queen and Ralsei both looked over in alarm. “How Did That Happen? I Had At Least Three More Loops Before The Music Was Supposed To Switch.”

Ralsei glanced between the axe and the speaker, almost in disbelief, then laughed nervously. “W-What a mystery! Maybe the… axe… wanted to listen to more of your mixtape!”

An exclamation point appeared on her visor. “Oh Snap! That’s True. I Could Let Your Cool Axe Listen To More Of My Music.” 

He kind of liked the music. Some of it was too chaotic and noisy for his usual tastes, but he appreciated how much effort she put into it. Queen fiddled with a cassette tape and player and played through her list quickly, pausing after each song played a single loop. She would play the song, then look over expectantly at Ralsei to ask his opinion.

Ralsei, of course, gave a similar answer each time. “The axe likes it.” Whether Tenna did or not, the answer was always the same. Queen always laughed heartily and skipped to the next track. 

Nobody knew how long this list was. Tenna wasn’t sure even Queen knew. 

“YOU KNOW SHE’LL KEEP [Going, going, gone!] YOU’RE STUCK HERE, MIGHT AS WELL [Find out more!]. IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GOING [anytime, anywhere].” The voice was oddly inquisitive about this one subject. They dropped their volume, ever so slightly with a bit of strain on their speakers. “DON’T YOU [Visit this Wonder of the World] WHAT IT MEANS?”

He… he really did. Tenna had a sick sense of curiosity, of apprehension. It wasn’t enough for him to move at present, but he had a lingering thought as he glanced between his fingertips and Queen. ‘I mean… I could?” Then he dismissed it. ‘Nah.’

‘ Maybe you’ll be more present in the world.’ There was a familiar voice echoing his thoughts, likely brought on from his own memory banks. ‘ Maybe you could talk to Ralsei, to Elnina and Lanino. ’

But, then some other part of his head spoke back. He could… but he didn't know what it would do to Queen. 

‘It probably wouldn't be so bad. You're overthinkin’ it, Cathode.” 

The thought sounded like the kind of advice his old partner would give when Tenna would pour over scripts, desperate for anything to get the Dreamurrs’ attention back on him. When the little mailman would grab the papers with a coy smile, and fling them behind him, scattering the unstapled papers across the floor. They always had back-ups, but it was a way of getting Tenna’s attention in the moment. To draw Tenna’s own attention to the mailman, because even negative attention was good. And usually, Tenna did feel better when he looked back at the script late, after he dug himself out of his own head.

It was that same cadence, that smarmy, nonchalant attitude, though a bit worn from time. Nostalgic, bittersweet, painful. The old nickname on top of that was a bit of cruelly from his mind.

‘ If anything, you probably won't be able to do anything. So then, what's the harm in seeing? ’

Tenna’s thoughts swirled around like a maelstrom, similar to when a pippins would mess with the watercooler. If he couldn’t do anything, then what was the point of trying? But if he could, then it was a breach of trust. It’d be a psychological thriller, not his usual TV Time broadcast. His answer was firm, it had to be firm. He didn’t even know how these powers really worked. It wasn’t innate to him like his own magic was.

‘She was friendly with you, yeah? So then, wouldn't she be happy you're still around?’

She was friendly with him. As two leaders of their respective Dark Worlds, they had something of an understanding with each other. They didn’t get to hang out that often, not when his own show was the center of his world and when she could only be around when Noelle brought the laptop home. But he still thought of her as a friend, at least a friendly face.

‘Wouldn’t it put her cores at ease to know that you’re still here? After all, wouldn’t you want to know what happened to-’

‘I can’t do this.’ The thoughts stopped in an instant. There was an awful, churning feeling, like water in his circuits. Dread, anger, fear, guilt. He wasn’t sure what it was, not really. He couldn’t do this. He moved back into the axe, as far away from Queen as he could, and willed the color bars away. 

They sat through a few more songs before Ralsei cleared his throat. “A-as fun as this is, I've got to show our… our guest around more.”

Queen nodded. “Of Course. I Forgot You Were Leading A Tour LOL.” Her visor changed accordingly. She walked up to Ralsei and smiled at the axe. “He Is Always Welcome To Listen To More Music Or Ask About Funny Videos. And Also If You Could Find More People, I Would Love That. It Is Fun To Share.”

Ralsei smiled. “I'm sure he'd love to join you again.” He looked down at the axe. “Er… right?” He pressed his hand to his ear and nodded.”Yes. He… ah… said he would love to.”

“Fantastic! I Will See Him Later Then!”

He could absolutely not join her again, not how he was now. Tenna’s hands shook, as did the wires along his palm. Maybe the stranger also felt his anxiety.

Ralsei left the room, offering Queen a friendly wave, then closed the door behind him. Ralsei sighed, then looked down at the axe in his hands, to Tenna. 

“I… If I didn’t believe Susie, I would now!” He immediately went to correct himself as soon as the words left his lips.. “Oh! Not that I didn’t before… It’s just… It’s different between hearing it from Susie and seeing something happen, you know?” He moved slowly to the next door, this one with part of the TV Time logo emblazoned on the front. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Ralsei knocked on the door once more and entered the room. 

Tenna put his worry aside for the moment. His second in commands were there! The pair were off in a far corner, staring at the other with their hands interlaced. Lanino sighed dreamily at Elnina before she spoke up.

“Oh, Moonbright! We have a visitor!” Elnina said with a smile. She and Lanino both moved into the center of the room, disconnecting their hands to grab their batons. 

“What did you need?” Lanino asked. “Are you here to…” his baton went to a strangely pathetic looking lamp in the closest corner to the door. “He’s been here all day.” He crossed his arms and sighed.

“Rouxls, you have your own room,” Ralsei said, a little irritated. 

Rouxls said nothing, but when Ralsei’s eyes were off him, Tenna could see him start to shift silently to the open door. 

Ralsei shook his head. “I’m not here about Rouxls, I came by to see how you two were settling. The pair of you are some of our newer recruits, after all.”

“It’s been good,” Lanino insisted. “My Dewdrop and I, well, we’re starting to make new friends here.” 

“Well, mainly just one. Swatch is nice, and he kinda gets what it’s like to directly work for the leader of a Dark World,” Elnino insisted. “And some of his stories are pretty interesting.” Her storm cloud hair crackled to life as she giggled maniacally. “Who would have thought that-”

Lanino grabbed hold of her hands. “I’m sure Prince Ralsei doesn’t want to listen to gossip, my Stormshower.”

“It’s fine!” Ralsei blushed and clutched the axe tighter. “It’s true that I…don’t typically listen to rumors. Not that there’s anything wrong, of course. I’m just always a little busy.”

“That’s true.” Elnina sighed. “I’m sorry, my Sunnydew.” Her clouds simmered back as she nuzzled her head underneath the crook of Lanino’s moon head. “But if you do want to listen, both of us would love to talk! The Pippins here aren’t as… easy to talk to like the ones back in TV World.”

“You could always find a face back in TV World who’d gossip about anything! The Pippins there really adapted, you know? They really only care about their games here.” Lanino clicked his tongue. “You’re more likely to find one that’ll scam you here.”

Wait, what were they gossiping about back in TV World? What was there to gossip about? How many of his employees had been gossiping when they should have been working?

“Hathies sort of remind me of the Shadowguys, but…” She sighed. “It’s not quite the same. They’re not the sort to search out for drama. And the rest of the folk from Card Kingdom either got the information when Swatch got here, or they don’t care enough to talk about it with us.”

“It’s fun sometimes to talk.” Lanino rested his head on Elnina’s head. “And… some of the stories involve someone who… well…” He laughed dryly. “Let’s just say, I’m glad to know what happened to him.”

‘ Happened to him?’ What was that about? Who were they talking about? 

Elnina clenched her fists and moved her head, but Lanino found her hands again. “He sucked! And if I find him again, I’ll wring his neck!” She pulled her hands from Lanino’s and clutched the open air. “It’d be easy! That arrogant, self-absorbed, lying, cheating, slimy excuse for a Darkner wouldn't see me coming, especially if I set out a mirror for him!” She looked up at her fellow member of the weather duo after sneezing and calming the clouds. “Right, Lanino?”

Lanino laughed. “Of course, my Raincloud.” He brushed some of the fog from around her eyes. “And if you couldn’t get to him, I’d go after him too. If your brilliant mirror plan doesn’t work, we can always track him down the old fashion way. He’s got plenty of people who’d help, after all.”

“...What?” Ralsei asked.

Lanino looked back at Ralsei and sighed. “Ah… this was a person who caused us a lot of trouble back in TV World. Believe me when I say; all of TV World suffered because of him. Just by how…” He trailed off. “Well, his actions really made things difficult. Lot of overtime after a while.”

“Yeah…” Elnina’s smile had drifted down, and her storm clouds looked a bit more droopy. “I’m sorry to ask, and it might be a little selfish, but… could you try to recruit more people in the future? Or at least ask? There’s not a lot of people around here. There’s no one around to share the joys from our world, or to explain the horrors of our contracts.”

Ah… his contracts. He'd… gotten pretty strict about them in the past few years, hadn't he? Especially there at the end. No wonder they seemed to talk around him like this. They never once brought up his name.

“We’ve gotten into a few spats with some of the Card Kingdom citizens,” Lanino said quietly. “It’s not as if we’re trying to compare our bosses, but it ends up feeling like that. Tenna had his moments, of course. He wasn’t that great of a boss, but he was a friend. So, it feels almost wrong to… talk too bad about him. And… And King is still around…”

And Tenna wasn’t, at least not in any meaningful sense. He could mess with the lights in the room, but then what?

“We'd be like, ‘Hey, did your boss ever hold you over your allotted time until he felt good about a shoot, only to scrap the whole thing the next day?’,” Elnina said with a weak laugh. “And some of them are like, ‘We were almost locked away in cages”. Where do you go from there? And when you try to talk about the good times, how bright your boss made your Dark World, those same people assume that you hated the guy.” She sniffled and snuggled against Lanino. “But… I didn't. We didn't.”

“Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy your town,” Lanino ran his fingers through Elnina’s wispy clouds.”But… we’d like a few friends who maybe understand us.”

Ralsei’s voice was thick.“I… I can try. But, I’m glad to see that you’re settling in.” He backed away slowly, then shut the door behind. Once he was sure that Rouxls was out of earshot, Ralsei looked at the axe, “I… am glad that it seems like they’re getting settled in. I hope we can find them friends.”

He did too. “I wish I could apologize. And.. maybe ask them what they mean too, about the rumors.” He chuckled and adjusted his tie. “Not that I really go out of my way to find rumors, of course.”

“YOU’RE A [Game Show Host], YOU LOVE RUMORS!” The stranger accused. He seemed angrier, somehow. 

Somewhere along the way, the popping in Tenna’s speakers had started up again.

“W-Well, it’s not really like that, you know! Sometimes you have to put your antenna to the beat and scope out the news! It’s what a good host would do.”

The voice scoffed, but said nothing more. Tenna wasn’t really making a good impression on this guy, huh. Well, the voice wasn’t making a good impression on Tenna either. Well, that gave him an idea. He wanted to get something ironed out before it went further.

“Voice,” he started, “I know you don’t like me. You’ve made that very clear.”

The voice sighed. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

Tenna recoiled from the intensity, but recovered quickly. He pointed into the air, just in a random direction since he couldn’t see the other person. “I want what I’ve always wanted, to be a lovely host for an incredible audience! And right now, I’m a host of one ! But we can change that! What do you say the two of us form a partnership? I’ll just need to know who you are for the cameras!”

The wires around his wrists twitched and Tenna held back the urge to grab and pull them again. 

“YOU WANT TO KNOW MY NAME? YOU WANT…” The voice hissed and popped. ”NO.”

“What?” He took a breath. “Yes! I would like to have a name to call you. If we’re stuck together, like you said earlier, then we should at least know that. I can go first. My name is-”

“I KNOW YOU. YOU DON’T HAVE TO [introduce ourselves!] TO ME. IF YOU DON’T KNOW MY [Name], THEN YOU DON’T GET TO [Say it loud].”

Tenna felt his antenna fall. “Work with me here, okay? Otherwise, I have to give you a name,”

The voice laughed. “LIKE WHAT?”

Tenna looked along his wrist, to the wriggling green wires that had started to trace patterns around his fingers. This was the only thing he’s really seen of the voice… so…

“NO.”

“You’ve gotta give me something, then.” Tenna huffed. “Either give me something, or trust me with a name. Both are pretty good options, I figure.”

He was pretty good with naming things. It was easy! You just put TV-

“WAIT, WAIT. GIVE ME A [moment of your time].” The voice was suddenly frantic. “LET ME [Thinking of switching] OF SOMETHING.”

It was quiet for a moment before the voice piped up again. “ROOTKIT. YOU CAN CALL ME THAT.”

Tenna chuckled. “A good pseudonym! I was going to call you Cord, which I think would have-” 

A sense of cold stuck Tenna’s shoulders, then spread along his chest. With a frustrated huff, he grabbed the wires at his left hand and squeezed. “ Stop,” he hissed. 

“YOU CAN USE ROOTKIT,  [Trash Heap], NOT CORD.” The cold dissipated as quickly as it came, Rootkit’s piercing voice fading into the background as well.

That could have gone better, but… whatever. 

He looked back out to Ralsei as the boy began to move quickly out of the castle. Tenna had already missed Ralsei pointing at different architectural features he added in, or what was in the dungeons. 

He stepped out into the open city of Castle Town. “I know it’s not much of a tour, but it’s a quaint little place. There’s a bakery here,” Ralsei moved to a building, shaped like a mustachioed Darkner, then pointed through the windows. “Top Chef makes a pretty good cake, and Lancer sells cookies there. I think they have other stuff there too, but I don’t visit too often.”

It looked closed for the night, a shame. 

…Well, maybe not. It wasn’t as if he could eat. That fact made him feel miserable. He’d always loved when Toriel watched the baking shows. Gave him an excuse to eat sweets with her. Now that there was finally a bakery he didn’t have to go to another city for, Tenna couldn’t eat anything. This was the worst!

“AGREED.” Rootkit’s harsh voice pulled him from his musings, if only because Tenna forgot he was there in the first place. 

Ralsei moved on, this time to a larger cafe, with blue walls and a cup of coffee at the top of the building, notably also closed for the evening. “This is a central hub for the Darkners we’ve recruited. The folks from Card Kingdom love the atmosphere. A Darkner named Swatch runs it now. He was… one of the few Darkners we managed to find in Cyber World.”

‘One of the few? What happened there?’ That was… a little sad. Cyber World was such a large place. Surely others could have moved through too. What about the little ad guys? Trashy? Nubert?

Man… having Nubert around would be the coolest, would have made for the best guest star.

Rootkit mumbled an agreement with his own thoughts. At least they shared that common thread. 

He put the thought out of mind as Ralsei walked on. There was another closed building, a colorful red and yellow building with a fist punching a disco ball. This was… a dojo, if what the sign said was correct.

He loved the colors, very flashy.

“This is where people can fight. Sometimes, there’s special challenges. Right now… I think it’s the Love Dojo? Elnina and Lanino are at the helm right now.” He chuckled. “It’s a little funny. They’ve completely taken over. But they’re also one of the few stable couples here in Castle Town.” He hummed. “Maybe we’ll find another pair, but…”

He was glad that they were settled in, even if it wasn’t a perfect fit.

Then, he moved along again, this time to the abandoned studio. Ralsei stood in front of it and sighed up at the boards. “Elnina and Lanino wanted to have this here, you know? I said yes, but… but nothing’s gotten done with it. They got overwhelmed with all the decision making, said you should be here to make them.” He pressed his hand against the boarded door. “So, you could think of it like a memorial.”

There it was again, that reminder. He was dead, he had been lost to the snow, murdered because he went against the Knight. And this was supposed to be a memorial, huh? Lanino and Elnina made this place happen?

Tenna paused time and looked around. He needed to see the inside. He needed to know what choices they did make, how full or empty it was. Tenna jumped to a stage light and made his way inside. 

It was emptier than Tenna could have even imagined. There was a skeleton of a set, partially started and built. Hammers and nails scattered across the floor, planks of unfinished wood stood against the back wall, just waiting to be carved and sanded down. They had already started the process of building a stage. He could see the outlines of the cube-like structure and where the planks would eventually slot in. But… it was just that, an outline, unfinished. 

Logically speaking, it made perfect sense. With his full crew at the helm, work like this was easy! A months-long project could have a two day turnaround depending on paint and details. He supposed more impressive structures would take weeks, but those were for the Christmas productions. Right now though, all Tenna had in town were Lanino and Elnina. As capable as they were, he couldn’t expect them to shoulder all this.

He moved further in, along the recessed lighting. There were boards put up along a set of doors, but left unpainted aside from blocking out a square. These would have been where the kiddos could have done more zany physical challenges. 

Another door, one without a sign, was a bit more finished but still felt empty. The space had been planned out, but the only thing beyond it was a cork board with half-scribbled, teardrop marked papers. Scrawlings of nonsensical information, put together by a madman in an almost illegible script. Yarn dangled limply from pushpins, untethered and unused. And the mystery at the helm, the mad scribblings were all directed to a single question at the top of the board, ‘Who is Mike? ’

A strange question for a strange room. Mike… was… well, Mike! They were delightful, enough to dedicate an entire room to them, apparently. But something was still off.  Whoever planned this space left in a hurry, what with the scattered, empty papers along the unfinished tile floor and the door having been left ajar. 

This wasn’t Tenna’s space though, so he elected to move back into the main rooms. Even though he got a look at everything, he needed an even closer examination. 

Tenna needed to know the entirety of what got done. He needed to see the welding marks along the metal, he needed to see the paint swatches taped against the wall, the boards of a stage being slowly put together. He needed… he needed. He…could feel himself shrinking again. Tenna grabbed at his arms and dug his fingers into the soft jacket.

This was the entirety of his life, a stage where he could bring smiles to the people he loved. And now, it was reduced to building scraps and unfinished ideas. He hadn’t just been abandoned, his very being had been too. 

“[Quit Game]. DON’T DIG.” Rootkit protested. Tenna moved his hands from his arms, noting that his claws had started to form. “I’M HERE [2 for the price of one!]!” he grumbled.

“O-oh, right.” He took a few breaths to recenter himself. Well! They did put it here, right? It could always be finished in the future when Susie relayed to everyone that he was still there! It was just… a work in progress! Yeah! “Sorry Rootkit!”

He still couldn’t look at it, especially knowing that the boards were in place for a reason. Tenna fled the building and made his way back to Ralsei, grief weighing heavy in his chest. If Tenna weren’t dead, he might have thrown up.

There was one last shop in the square. This one, unlike the other shops, was open. It was patchwork, made of tent scraps in dusty pinks and faded oranges. Buttons and bobby pins decorated the outside, making it feel like a sewing project. ”This is our last stop before I take you back to the castle. We can figure out a room for you then.” Ralsei walked to the door and turned the knob carefully.

Seam was there, sitting in the back of his store, drinking something from a small cup. Tenna knew Seam, not well of course, but he certainly knew the old cat from when Asriel would drag them along. They and Jevil were always such a pair. Now, the old cat looked wistful and tired.

“Hey,” Ralsei said softly. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Seam smiled wide. “Not at all, hee hee.” They grabbed an additional cup and set it on a table. “You’re very welcome to join. I was winding down for bed.”

Ralsei approached, then sat down in front of Seam’s chair, setting the axe down by the side of the table.

“What brings you to my shop, little prince?” They grabbed a teapot and began to pour a dark liquid into Ralsei’s cup. 

Ralsie gripped the cup, then chuckled. “I… suppose it’s been a long day. I needed a cup of tea.”

Seam laughed. “I’m sure it has been for the three heroes.” They sat down in their own chair and sipped from his cup. Have you been finding the Shadow Crystals? The three of you don’t visit anymore.”

“I’m… not sure,” Ralsei answered. “I’m not the one who keeps track of our inventory.” He drank from the cup.

“Hee hee!” They laughed heartily. “They may come by later, when they’ve amassed them all.” Seam took a sip of their tea. “After all, I’ve seen the three of you walk through town with some very interesting items.” Their eyes went down to the axe. “Like this.” They set their cup down and lifted the weapon up.

“Oh! I- could you put it-”

Seam chuckled. “Relax, I only want a closer look. You’ll get it back.” Their gaze was intense as they combed over each groove, every nick in the rubber.

Tenna paused. It was as if the button eye of the cat shopkeeper could see him. 

“It’s brimming with magic.” They set it down on the table. “These are some interesting times, wouldn’t you say? You may not be able to get the rest of the shadow crystals, not the way things seem to be heading now. But, perhaps everything will be fine. The world will end anyway, may as well try something new, yes?”

“W-what do you mean?” Ralsei stammered. “Something new?” he squeaked.

“There’s a very interesting power in place, the hopes and dreams of a Lightner, the power of a shadow crystal, and…” They studied the axe again. Their face shifted ever-so-slightly, then beamed. “Interesting! Interesting! I don’t know that power!”

Ralsei put down his cup and clasped his hands together. “Seam, do you know what’s going on with-”

“No,” Seam answered, sporting a yet wider smile. “And isn’t that the best part of this? I don’t know what you are doing. I can sense Darkner magic from that axe, but I can’t pinpoint the source. I can only give you the barest hint of what the magic says. No premonitions, no predictions. What goes on from here on out is up to the…” they trailed off. “Well, it’s up to the heroes of this tale.”

“NO [predictions]?” Rootkit asked. “AM I FINALLY…?” There was a crackly undercurrent of his normal speaking pattern, but it seemed… almost muted, … almost familiar. If Tenna could just hear a bit more, maybe he could pinpoint it. Of course, the moment Tenna thought that, the static returned. “…NO.  THE [silly strings] ARE STILL HERE.” 

Ralsei’s face fell. “The… heroes of this tale.” He took a sip of his tea. His expression soured.

“Could be heroes, I should say,” Seam corrected. “But, they could just as easily be pawns. Or, they could be something else. There’s no way to know, just as there’s no way to know if this is the better path or if it brings the world closer to ruin.” They laughed. “My old friend would be delighted, and maybe he is.”

Ralsei grimaced. “Seam, I’m sure he-”

“I’m sure he’ll be watching from his own seat. It wouldn’t be like him to miss all the chaos. Who knows, Jevil may even be watching now.” 

They grinned and got up from their chair. They moved around the room, moving bowls and tea plates out of the way to find another teacup. Seam looked up, then dragged another chair through before prepping another place at their table.

It seemed strange, why set out another teacup, unless they were expecting another visitor.

“Don’t just stand there, why not join us?” Their eyes focused on the front of the shop, where a blue-tinted Human stood, red eyes peeking out from beneath their bangs.

Kris hopped over the counter shakily, not at all like the practiced motions Tenna was used to seeing with them. It seemed more like they were an injured animal vs the Kris that Tenna knew.

They sat down harshly in the seat and placed a quivering hand on the teacup. They took a breath in, then out, then straightened themselves out. “Hey,” they muttered. It was that same raspy quality they’d had before when they made a deal with Tenna.

“K-Kris!” Ralsei looked down at the axe, then to Kris. “Ah! Have you come here to talk too?”

Kris shrugged. “Maybe. Wanted to get a chance to talk alone.” They stressed the last word as they tapped the rim of the cup, then took a sip of tea. “This is… good tea,” they said softly.

“Glad to hear that!” Seam took their own teacup and sipped. “We were talking about something strange. It would seem that fate has shifted, and I can’t predict where that will go now. You’ve been collecting the Shadow Crystals, yes?”

Kris shifted uncomfortably in their seat before bringing out three shards of glass, almost not even visible to the eye. The only thing Tenna could even see was the shadow the objects gave off. With a frown, they searched their pockets again, then again. “I lost one,” they muttered. “I know we got four. There was… Jevil’s, that… weird S-?”

“SO! [Trash Heap],” Rootkit’s voice was loud, sudden. It caught Tenna off guard and drew his eyes to the wires trembling around his wrists. “THOSE [crystal’s power] SURE ARE STRANGE, [Right angle]?”

Tenna huffed. “Yeah, I guess.” But he wanted to continue listening in. “Is there a purpose in asking?” he bit out, irritated.

“[No problemo!]! JUST WANTED [$2.99] POINT IT [Out loud!]!”

“And Gerson’s,” Kris finished with a grimace.  

Ugh, Tenna missed it. “Well, they’re weird. Anything else?”

“NOPE!”

Seams eyes gleamed in the low light. “Perhaps it might be at the edge of town, or maybe it was lost alongside something else,” they purred. “Hee Hee Hee. If it’s really lost, then I can’t do what I said, but something tells me it won’t matter in the first place.”

Kris’ hands shook. “So then, it was for nothing?” They asked in disbelief. “And what does that mean?”

“It might be in a special place, by the edge of town, a spot where lost things can become found. Or, perhaps it’s become something else. Who can say? Not me.” They laughed again. “I can’t say anything anymore.” They picked up their teacup and got up from their own chair. “I think I’ll turn in now. Take your time, drink your tea. You kids have given me some things to think about.” They grinned. “Keep your shadow crystals. You won’t get enough of them for what I was planning. Maybe they’ll let you see into the heart of the matter.”

Once Seam was out of earshot, or at least far enough away for their liking, Kris set the teacup down, slumped forward, and grabbed the edges of the tablecloth. “I hate them,” they growled. “I hate them, so, so much.”

Who? Hate who? What was wrong with them?

Ralsei laughed nervously. “I… I get that! Maybe this conversation would be better served… somewhere else?” 

“This isn’t going to be much of a conversation, Ralsei.” They released the crumpled sheet that had been draped over the tea table. “I’m just.. I’m tired. I’m so tired Ralsei.” They put their hand over their chest, their nails stabbing at the metal armor. “I tried… so hard to-”

Ralsei abruptly reached over the table and shoved his hand onto Kris’ mouth. “Not here!” He laughed nervously. “What if… what if someone were listening?”

Kris jolted suddenly, then looked around. There was panic in their eyes of something unseen. That wasn’t like the Kris he knew either. When they couldn’t find what they were looking for, they squeezed their hands around their teacup. “And that means?”

‘Ralsei doesn’t want you to know. ’ Rootkit’s thoughts insisted with Tenna’s own voice. ‘Isn’t that interesting, Trash Heap?’

It was awful, but Tenna had to agree. There was something that Ralsei knew, that Kris knew, that none of them were allowed to know. 

Ralsei winced. “J-Just a thought. I… I get what you’re going through! M…Maybe not everything… but…. Hey! M… maybe everything will be alright! Susie said she would-“

“You were talking with her, right?” Kris asked. “I saw her leaving when I got here. What did she say? Was it…”

Ralsei’s hands trembled. “It’s not good, Kris. There’s… something strange going on.” 

“Is it to do with-”

“No! It’s nothing to do with that. Not about the prophecy.” He looked up at Kris and smiled. “Maybe… it would be better to explain in the morning. I’ll explain everything then, but I have to move some stuff around first. …Figure out how to tell you, figure out what it all means. I don’t know anything about this.”

Kris’s face fell even further, somehow. “I hate this,” they grumbled as they stood up. Kris eyed Ralsei, then their eyes fell on the axe at the side of the table. “Where’d that come from? I don’t recognize that axe.”

‘I’m here!’ Tenna shouted. ‘Tell them I’m here!’

“Oh, Susie’s keeping this here for the night.” Ralsei smiled as he clasped his hand round his cup, then sipped. “She said it was a flashlight, and she wanted me to keep it safe.” He chuckled. “I’ve… uh… been taking it around, giving it a little tour, you know, just so that I can practice.”

Why wouldn’t Ralsei just tell them? Tenna understood about not telling Queen or the Weather Duo, but this was Kris! This was his Lightner! 

They nodded, then took a breath. “Can I see it for a moment?”

Ralsei handed the axe off with a tight smile. “Yeah. I don’t think she’s named it.”

Kris stared at it, sighed, then set it back down to the side. “It doesn’t look that sharp,” they muttered. “What about the Light Axe? Although…” They looked around the handle and frowned. “I don’t see a button. I wonder how it lights up. I think it can, otherwise what’s the point? It’d be stupid.”

“I think it’s a fine weapon.” Ralsei laughed nervously. “And… I think that’s a good name.” Ralsei insisted. “You’ll have to talk to Susie about the name. She’s gone home for the night though, it’s pretty late.”

Kris sighed. “Yeah. I… should also head out too.” Their voice was wavering and their hands shook. “I’ve been out too late. But… I’ll see you tomorrow, alone.” They muttered an “I hope,” under their breath as they moved to their feet. 

“Yes… I hope we’ll be alone.” Ralsei cupped his hands around his own teacup and looked at the axe pointedly.

‘Very subtle, Ralsei.’

“ARE YOU JUST GOING TO [Go] A[Long Vacation] WITH THIS? YOU COULD [Follow my social media for] KRIS AND GET SOME [Sweet, Sweet] [Answers.mp3].”

No, he wasn’t going to just… go along with this! For as much as Ralsei was nice, Tenna needed answers. He needed to know what was going on. With a frustrated huff, he moved back into the color bar world and shifted to something on Kris’ person, then he set time into motion.

Kris blinked, then rubbed their eyes. “It’s so late, but I guess I’ll be here early tomorrow. Can’t get to sleep anyway, might as well walk around until I get tired.” They tilted their head back and drank the rest of the tea in one gulp, then rose from the table. “M’ sorry, about…”

“I… know.” Ralsei also moved to his feet, then grabbed the axe in his hand. “I’ll… see you later, then.”

Kris nodded stiffly. Once they made it past the threshold of the door, Kris’s posture changed. They didn’t walk as they did in the Dark World. It was as if they were unsure of their own movements. With shaking legs and shuffly footsteps, it was a wonder Kris didn’t trip over their own feet. 

They moved to the edge of town first and moved to a set of holes in the wall. With a grimace, they stuck their hands in. Pause. They felt around for something, but their efforts came up empty-handed.  “Where did it…?” They took a breath, pinched their eyebrows together, then made their way to the pillar of light, mumbling something under their breath.

The blue faded from their skin, but the eye-bags didn’t. Kris really needed sleep. Why were they even here? They went into their room after they got home, after all.

Kris pulled something out of their pocket, the thing Tenna was currently stuck to. It was… a phone. A surge of fear gripped Tenna once again, but it was strange. The first time he’d felt that fear, he hadn’t known Rootkit was there. Now that he did, he could pick around that feeling, set it aside briefly.

It wasn’t Tenna’s fear, it was Rootkit’s. It wasn’t just fear, either. There was something desperate, something angry. It was a wild mix of emotions that flooded through his processors.

“It’s okay,” Tenna tried to assure. “You’ll be fine. I won’t do anything to it. No tricks, no anything. There’s… nothing else right now, but if I find something else to move through, I’ll take it.”

But it was as if Rootkit couldn’t hear. The droning noises started back up, cracking voices, unintelligible garbage noises. The wires along his wrist were eerily still.

He tried not to think about how awful the noises were, or how it sounded like the phone after Spamton left that day, and instead tried to look at his surroundings.

It was a long walk, far longer than the route Susie took.  Every so often, Kris looked over their shoulders, as if they were looking for an unseen foe. They were jumpy. Every shifting noise drew Kris’ eyes and stopped their walk as they searched through bushes and around trash cans. The library was closed, but Kris made an effort to circle around the building before moving back onto the path. 

‘What’s happened to you, Kris?’

Eventually, they made it to the first intersection. Ahead of them at a further building, grey in the low light of the night, was a growing crowd of cars lined along the street. Bird-shaped monsters stood outside the building anxiously, trying to look for something through the glass doors. Something was happening tonight, and he hoped Kris would move him there.

Kris froze in place and slowly walked forward. Their entire body shook as they approached the building, muttering soft pleas beneath their breath. “No… no no no,” It was soft at first, then grew more frantic. “No, please… I… I took him here. I tried. I really tried.” Words tumbled out of their mouth like a faucet in that same rough, scratchy voice. 

Kris’s eyes fell on one of the bird folk, a bright bluebird with bright orange bowtie, whose face was pressed against the door and whose claws tugged at the feathers running along the arm-like wings. They took a singular step back, paused, then another. It felt like they were going to bolt.

Tenna decided that this would be the moment he’d leave Kris for a while. He’d leave the phone and grant both Kris and Rootkit a commercial break. The line of cars helped immensely. It meant he wouldn’t have to get creative for a solution this time. 

The phone noises were gone and the wires had retreated. It allowed him to pay attention more to his surroundings. The closer he got, the more chaotic the scene seemed, but there was no noise. 

In your typical hospital drama, nurses and doctors would all be crowded around a gurney. Strange machines would make sharp but short beeping noises, a mechanical heartbeat that steadily pulsed through the shouting. They pulled the audience through the perspective of a low-level nurse. The cameras bounced as they wheeled the patient through a too-cramped hallway into a small room, where the scene would change. 

The doctors and nurses would have their drama, their flings established through the B plot long before this point, something to keep the audience hooked, something to explore character dynamics. But when the A plot beckoned, when there was a life to save, those same people would put aside their differences to protect their patient. 

Sometimes there was tragedy, of course. Couldn't save everyone, but through the haze and the chaos, the patient would usually make it. Tenna always saw hospitals like that, noisy and chaotic, but ultimately a place of hope, of life. 

Even outside of the TV dramas, the hospital is where Kris went for a broken arm, was where Asriel went when his horns were giving him pains, was where Asgore went after a particularly bad case of pneumonia. From what Tenna always saw, the people who went there got treatment and got better.

This scene was not that. It wasn't quiet, not really. Even through paused time, Tenna could see the paused forms of people shouting, angry frustrated yells, with accusatory fingers. Medical staff standing behind the desk looked horrified, concerned, and afraid. Yet more people looked shocked and sad. 

Tenna unpaused time for a brief moment to let the cacophony play out.

“-in here!” one of the bluebirds spat.

“We don't know how it could have happened, and we're just as upset,” the monster behind the counter insisted. They were mostly mouth and teeth in a nurse’s outfit.

On the other side of the room, there was another bluebird softly sniffling as a small ghost monster floated in front of her. 

“um… i’m sorry. i’ll… try to find them for you. we can always… check the cameras. maybe something caught them?”

She wailed, causing the ghost to flinch back.

“oh… sorry. i’m sorry.”

There was a sudden tapping at the glass door that got Tenna’s attention. It was that bird with the bowtie, yelling,”You can’t just keep me out here! I have a right to be there!” Though his voice was muffled by the glass. 

There was a small monster in the far corner, dressed in a nurse’s outfit. “Why did this have to happen on my shift?” The small mousey sort asked, quivering. “What if the person comes back? Or… maybe one of us did it? What if one of us did this?!”

It was all so overwhelming, all this negativity. Everyone was working themselves up into a frenzy. Nothing was stable, no romance, no real drama to pull from. It wasn’t like the shows at all!  The voices all combined in on themselves, so much so that he couldn’t focus on just one. 

Tenna’s antennas drooped as he felt himself shrinking. Why wouldn’t they stop yelling? Everyone was yelling so loudly. Please. He wanted everyone to be happy. Couldn’t they just stop yelling? He’d do anything, he’d play anything for them!

“[Trash Heap].” Rootkit’s audiobite cut through the noise. “JUST [your video has been paused] TIME.” He sounded irritated, adding “DON’T YOU [want to be a] TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING [Clap on!]?” with a huff

Oh right. Right. Right Right. He'd almost forgotten that part. He was no longer forced to sit and listen to the Light World. Tenna shifted his view and breathed a sigh of relief as the noise stopped. “Thank you.” 

There was a small electrical hum, the buzzing of static. “JUST [Move along little doggie!].” The voice was almost fond, almost.

Tenna took one last look around the room, then moved into a light switch, then into a small flat screen TV in the top corner of the room. For a brief moment, he felt a sick sense of superiority. He could go wherever he wanted, he had a loving set of Lightners. This TV had nobody, not really.

Tenna moved into the lights, then past the shaky nurse and into the hallway. The rest of the hospital staff looked like honeybees, all crowding around a single room. ‘So that’s where the problem is.’ It was an easy thing to do. He bounced from doctor to doctor, from small hospital machines and watches, and small cameras they held in their hands, then entered the room through a light switch on the wall.

The scene… shocked Tenna. He didn’t know what to expect, but… 

There were scattered pieces of broken machines strewn across the floor. A small dresser in the corner of the room had its door wrenched open, creating a dent in the wall, but the contents of it was empty. 

Shards of a mostly-intact plastic tub were mixed with a strange liquid and bits of a heart monitor laid crumpled, its screen destroyed and the metal bent at odd angles. Near the bed, there was an overturned oil heater with dents in the metal fins. 

Finally, and the thing Tenna didn’t want to look at, was the bed. There should have been someone there. He could tell from the wet towel on the floor and the bedding that there should have been someone in that spot. But… there wasn’t. Instead, there was a thin layer of dust along the pillow and a small, almost miniscule heart that floated above the bedding. If Tenna gave it much more in unpaused time, he was sure it would vanish.

Tenna couldn’t move along the broken tech, but he could move through the doctor’s own watch, purposefully avoiding the easier-to-reach phone. He reached towards the heart, whatever was left of it, and pulled it close to him.

The swirls of reds, blues, and greens filled his vision again, but he was prepared this time. It didn’t surprise him like it had with Susie, nor did it surprise him to find himself in that swirling void. 

The soul floated there, intact, unlike how it looked back in the real world. But unlike last time, Tenna didn’t know this person. 

He tapped his finger against his screen. Mike wasn’t here, so he couldn’t use his introductory tape. He wasn’t even sure how he’d be able to play it. He knew the words, of course, but he didn’t have access to any of his special effects. There wasn’t even a stage light here. He could always recreate it as best he could, maybe…

An idea suddenly struck. “Rootkit, how would you fee-”

“[No money down, no financing!]”

Tenna huffed. “You don’t even let me finish.” He tapped his foot against the ground. “You could help introduce me! And we can introduce you, perhaps this can be a temporary partnership, or a sort of deal.”

The droning of a phone picked up instantly. Static and the cold crackled along the wires 

“[NO!] - D0N’T W4NT - [-and we’ll have a deal]!!” he shouted, the audio becoming more and more unintelligible and choppy.”YOU [slime]! NO SCR1PTS, N0 [This is my partner-]SHIP, NO [This video is sponsored by]SHIPS!”

Tenna jolted back, but the voice was all around him. “Okay! Okay! No partnership! I… I guess I must have misread something! Haha! Thought we were… ” Becoming some sort of weird friends? Maybe acquaintances? The kind of people on a sitcom, where they seemed like they hated each other, but they didn’t.

The droning slowly faded, the buzzing stopped but the chill remained. “WE ARE NOT [Friend request], [Trash Heap]!”

Tenna felt a hollow feeling in his chest. Ha… yup! This is what he deserved. He was the one who pushed everyone away! He was the reason that he only had one person to talk to. He already said that he didn’t like Tenna, why would he have changed his mind? It hadn’t even been a day and he was stupid to think it would have made a difference. He pressed his nails into his glove. Right, okay. He took a breath, just like Mike would have had him do on his bad days. On the days where he’d think too much about that little mailman.

He’d deal with that later. There was someone here after all! Couldn’t make a bad impression, couldn’t spend the time moping! So what? He didn’t have special effects, or a budget, or even someone who’d help make introductions! There was nothing with the old fashion way, a firm handshake and a smile. They were classics for a reason!

He walked over to the soul and knelt down. “ Good morning!” Tenna waited for anything to happen. A moment passed, then another, but the soul didn’t stir.  He frowned and poked at the small heart. “Ah! Pardon me, but you’ve gotta get up now!” 

But again, it didn’t stir. The background didn’t fill in the soul like it had with Susie. No, it seemed to just hover

Tenna winced and stood back up. “Maybe I took too long to get here.” It would be unfortunate, especially considering the state of the room. Something had clearly happened here, something untoward. “Maybe I can see what’s happened even without them.” He took a breath and snapped his fingers.

And like last time, the background RGB noise filled an hourglass and rewound time.

Chapter Text

The room was dark, but not pitch black. The machines in the room gave off a soft light, clashing with the sickly white light pouring in from the nearby hallway. He could finally see the person he was trying to save, a nerdy-looking bluebird laying asleep on the hospital bed. His glasses were set on a corner table beside a small tub of water and the oil heater had been set up next to the bed.

It was… weird. “Why would this be the treatment?”

“[Frozen Chicken].” Rootkit answered. “ASK YOUR [Little sponge].”

Tenna crossed his arms. “What about you? Do you know anything?”

“YES.” He sounded so gleeful. “I [Know where your children are?] MANY [Things happen].”

“Do you want to tell me?” Tenna asked, annoyed. 

“NO!” He laughed, bordering on cackling. “YOU’RE NOT [Cursed] WITH [know anything?]!”

“Fine. Don’t tell me anything. I don’t care. Just let me work.” Tenna resisted the urge to grab the strings and sighed as the clock ticked down. There was nothing going on right now, no-

The light from the hallway faded as a figure blocked the window. The person’s appearance was blocked, but could it have been a doctor? More light filled the room as the door slowly opened and revealed a nightmare in the doorway.

Kris was here. For some reason, Kris was here. Tenna’s attention was drawn to the glimmering, metallic rod first, then his sight went up. There were wires encircled around Kris’s hands, their legs, their chest. Red, dark, pulsing, in tune to the beating of a heart, burrowing beneath the skin. They looked almost akin to a marionette, though there was no hand guiding their actions. 

Kris tilted their head up, then made their way into the room. Their bangs covered their eyes, but the rest of their face seemed flat. There wasn’t even that small frown they had back in TV World. No… it was as if they were in a trance.

They moved to the heater first and raised the metal pipe over their head, then slammed it down. The heater tipped over and crashed onto the floor. They swung at the extension cord. One hit, two hits, three hits. Each clang of the metal pipe echoed through the too-quiet room. The cord tines had been bent, the oil from the heater started to leak, and the metal fins were dented. It was durable, yes, but unless you could fix it, the heater couldn’t be used again.

There was no satisfaction on their face, no grief, only that same empty expression. Kris then moved along, dragging the metal pipe behind them, then swinging at the heart monitor. 

Where were the doctors? The nurses? He didn’t want Kris to get into trouble, but this was ridiculous!

The heart monitor took a beating, as did the plastic tote on the table. Water spilled and mixed in the oil, but Kris made no effort to step around the puddles or plastic as they made their way over to the bed. 

It looked for a moment that Kris faltered. A small rumbling sound, almost like a growl or a snore, then they swung at the head of the bed. Then, time stopped.

“What do we do about this?” Tenna asked. His screen had turned off, his face wouldn’t form, couldn’t form. This was horrific, the drawn strings, the metal pipe, the… destruction of the room.

“...Was that me?” a squeaky, nasally voice asked from behind Tenna. “Why is Kris…?” Tenna turned on his heel. The soul was awake and had formed his own body. He pressed a wing to his head and shook his head, staring in disbelief at the scene. Then, his attention fell on Tenna. 

“Oh! You’re awake!” Tenna’s screen flickered back to life. “Hello there!” He stretched himself taller. “It’s wonderful to be here folks! I’m your host, Mr. Ant Tenna , and this is a new season of TV Time !” He knelt down to the bluebird’s level and whispered next to him, facing an invisible camera that didn’t exist. “Oh, but call me Tenna. The long name’s just for the title card.” He stood back up and flashed him a smile. “What’s your name, contestant ?”

“Berdly,” he answered, almost blandly. Hmm. They’d have to work on that. Berdly’s eyes shifted back to the scene. “Well, I know what’s going on here, obviously. But… since you’re the host, why don’t you tell me?” His eyes shifted nervously between himself and Kris. ‘What happened? What happened? What happened? What’s going on? Why am I here?’

‘ Oh, the poor kid.’ Tenna cleared his throat. “Ah! Of course! As our newest contestant on this new season of TV Time , I have to explain the rules.” Or the rules as he knew them. “Let me say this as simply as I can, you died.”

Berdly flinched back and squawked. His wings started to shake. “What? But I…”

“It’s tragic, and I’m sorry. That little show you just watched is what actually happened, no camera magic, no green screen.” He paused for dramatics. “ But… that's why I’m here.” He pointed up at the sky. “I’m here to save your life! And you get to watch this taping live ! Not just watch, either! This season of ‘TV Time’ is all about audience participation! That means, you can have a say in your own fate! Isn’t that marvelous , folks?” He clapped for himself and Berdly, feeling somewhat humiliated. Someone should be backstage to press the applause button. Otherwise it makes him look self-absorbed.

Berdly still looked a bit off-guard, especially when he looked at his attacker. “W-well! You wouldn’t have a better contestant! I’m the smartest one in my class, after all.” He puffed out his chest in pride. 

Tenna hummed. “Well, it’s a bit hard to beat our last contestant.” He grinned. He didn’t think Berdly could ever really beat Susie for that title, but he shouldn’t crush the poor guy’s spirit. “But feel free to try! A little friendly competition never hurt anyone!”

‘ Last contestant? I’m not the first? ’

Tenna shook his head. “Sorry, this is episode two!”

Berdly gripped his beak and looked up at Tenna in alarm. ‘ Did he hear my thoughts? Can he read my mind? This is just like that anime where- ’

Tenna laughed. “Sorry, forgot to mention the other rules!” He tapped his gloved hand against his plastic casing, imitating where the temple was. “If you think too loud, I can hear you, but the same goes for me too. Additionally, you can’t move too far away from me, and you can’t touch anything.”

Berdly nodded slowly. ”Why is your head a TV? Is it real? And as a bonus question, can you play anything on it?” He narrowed his eyes on the screen, but the bluebird was out of range to feel the TV static he gave off.

Tenna laughed. “You’re looking at a genuine,  state-of-the-art, Cathode Ray Television ! I can play loads of things on my screen! TV, movies, video games! Just last night, I was used to marathon monster movies, and I’ve been used to play several matches of Smashing Fighters!” He paused, then pointed at Berdly. “Say, what do you know about the Darkners and the Dark World?”

Berdly’s face scrunched up before making a self-assured smile. “I think that’s where Queen said we were! Is that what this is too?”

“Queen? You know Queen?” That was weird. “How do you know her?”

Berdly puffed out his chest again.”I’m her second-in-command! I was helping her with her plan. We would have ruled the world, in a new world based on merit! Queen, Noelle, and I would have ruled over that as the uncontested smart leaders!” He laughed. “Said something about a ‘Light Nerd’s’ power!” 

‘What? ’ Tenna’s screen couldn’t hide his bewilderment. There was no way that was right. Tenna knew Queen. Not to look down on Berdly, but Queen always favored Noelle. He quickly reset his screen and grinned an uneasy smile.  “Ha! Well! To answer our contestant, ah… no. We are not in a Dark World, but you can think of me like Queen. Just as she’s a laptop-”

“She’s a laptop?!” Berdly screeched. “What??! But she was going to usher in an era of brilliance, a Scientocracy!”

Tenna took a breath. “Ah- yes. Darkners are objects in your world,” he explained lightly. “But just as she’s a laptop, I’m a TV, a pretty good TV, if I might add. So yes, I’ve been used to play all sorts of games .” A wobbly smile appeared on his screen, something more genuine. He could feel a pressure start to build in his nose as he thought about the old days. “In fact, back when Kris and Asriel-”

Berdly’s body stiffened. “Kris…” He looked over at himself. “They just killed me,” he squeaked. “I don’t even know what I did.”

‘Ah, right.’ He’d almost let himself forget that part of this “Haha! I…” he swallowed harshly. “I did see that. … And I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on with them either. B-But that’s where you come in, dear viewer ! “ He brightened his screen and pointed. “I’m going to save your life, then you can look into everything! There’s mysteries abound , Berdly! Are you going to let them stay unexplored?”

Berdly crossed his wings together. “And just how are you going to do that? It just happened, right? It would take time travel, and while time travel is theoretically possible, it’s-”

Tenna chuckled. “Why don’t you sit back and relax ? Stop thinking so hard about it.” He snapped his fingers and let the VHS tape rewind.

When they came to, they were back in the small hospital room where none of the equipment was damaged, nothing was spilled on the floor, and Berdly was still alive. Tenna paused time so the clock wouldn’t run out as he thought.

Berdly squawked. “What was that?” He looked down on himself, trying to peer through the red color bar. “Why do I look like that?” He looked around. “Why does everything look like that?”

“Oh, you mean the colors?” Tenna shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” He took his own look around the room. Despite having so much technology around, there wasn’t a real way to get across. He could move into the lamp along the ceiling, the heart monitor, along some of the smaller machines connected to the bed. But… he couldn’t get to the door, the switch. He couldn’t leave this isolated location. Tenna stamped his feet along the ground as he thought. “Berdly, do you know what anything here does?”

Berdly laughed. “Of course, my cathode companion!” Tenna involuntarily recoiled. “Those little buttons are… for…” His eyes narrowed as he made his way to the edge of the bubble.”Uh… moving the bed!” He pointed up, grinning. “Yes! You can move the bed with it! Fold it and unfurl it, like a… futon.” He laughed haughtily. “You know what a futon is, surely.”

“I know what a futon is.” He wasn’t completely sure that Berdly knew what the buttons were for, though. There was only one thing for it. Tenna reached out for the buttons along the hospital bed and anchored himself to it. Berdly wobbled as the surroundings changed, albeit ever so slightly.

Tenna moved the color bars out of his sight and snapped his fingers. The button clicked down, and just like Berdly suggested, the bed moved. The top suddenly shifted up, propping Berdly in a sitting position, though he still seemed to be slumped to the side.

“I don’t know what that did for us,” Tenna muttered, “but maybe it might be useful to know for later.”

Berdly nodded. “Indeed! Perhaps you might be able to smack the metal instrument from Kris’ hands!”

Tenna made an incredulous frown. “Kid, I think they would just find something else to kill you with.” He snapped his fingers and set the bed back to its usual position. “But… we don’t have a lot to go on. I can’t really move until they get here.”

So. they sat there with time going.

“What all can you do?” Berdly asked. 

Tenna chuckled. “Well, you’ll have to forgive me, I’m pretty new to this set-up, but… it seems like I can reverse death and control electronic devices. I’m not sure if there’s anything else.”

He would have waited patiently for his cue, but he hated waiting. He hated dead air. “So, Berdly, how do you know Noelle?” He mentioned her in passing, and nobody had talked about her with him before. “I knew her from when she’d visit Kris’ family, so it’s been a shock to see her so… tall now.”

Berdly smirked. “We’re the smartest students in our class, and we do all of our assignments together.” He chuckled. “And it’s obvious that she’s got feelings for me. She’s just very shy about them, but I can tell by the way she talks to me.” He scratched his face. ‘ Why else would she be so nice to me? Why else would she agree to those study sessions?’

Noelle? And… Berdly. Something about that seemed off. “I think you might have a bit of competition with that. I think there’s two other people vying for her affection.” Susie certainly seemed like she thought about her a lot.

“Oh, Kris is into me too,” Berdly insisted. “They’re yandere now, and they feel like they have to kill me so no one else can have me.” He sighed. “This is the problem with being desirable. I’m glad others don’t have to feel like this. It’s a harsh burden, but it’s one I must carry.”

Tenna didn’t know what that meant, and he didn’t want to know. “And what abou-”

The door opened as the past version of Kris stalked their way in. “Nevermind, it’s go time.” The red wires dangled ominously from the ceiling, just as they did before, bright red, like that of freshly-drawn blood. It seemed like whenever he saw those wires, it always meant trouble.

“Berdly, do you see anything strange about them?” Tenna asked.

“They have a metal pipe in their hands in a hospital.” Berdly chuckled nervously. “They… look tired and… maybe like they could fall asleep at any point. What’s the point of this question though?!”

Tenna watched as they bashed the oil heater with a wince. “No strings? You don’t see any strings?”

Berdly looked closer through the bubble. “I think they’ve got a loose thread on the cuff of their sweater,” he answered. He blinked up at Tenna. “But why are you asking about their clothes?! They’re going to kill me again!”

Kris made their way to the heart monitor, bludgeoning it with the dented metal, before making their way to Berdly’s bedside. The metal pipe gleamed in the low light. Then, the strings became loose. They paused once again, making the grumbling noise. Then, the strings were taut again.

Tenna had one chance at this. They dragged the metal pipe through the air, intertwining it with the cords, before slamming it down. In the instance before it could strike, however, Tenna snapped his fingers together and launched the head of the bed up.

The pipe tumbled out of Kris’ hands and clattered against the tile floor. They looked… not stunned, but contemplative. They padded over across the room and picked up Their weapon again as Tenna reset the bed back to normal. If they wanted to try the same tactic again, he’d be ready. 

Kris didn’t say anything, their face didn’t change. Their posture was straight and clear. They moved over to grab the weapon, paying little heed to the shards of plastic that they crunched underfoot. Instead of walking to the head of the bed, they moved where the heater previously stood and grabbed Berdly’s foot, then pulled him to the floor. 

“What are they doing? I thought it would help!” 

Tenna paused time and looked desperately around the room. Kris had a phone in their pocket, but that was it. They weren’t close enough to the light switch to do anything, nor did it seem like they were going to move. Tenna couldn’t do anything. “I- technical difficulties , folks!” 

‘ There has to be something, ’ he thought desperately. The heart monitor was destroyed, the heater was on its last legs. He wasn’t close enough to get to the light switch or get to another room. 

‘ Sorry about this!’ He moved into the phone. It was important. He snapped his finger and braced himself.

Time pressed forward, but the phone did nothing. No dialing, no sounds.  Kris raised the metal pipe in the air, letting it hang for a moment more. There was another noise, a fitful squeak, then wires pulsed again, like an eerie heartbeat. They slammed the metal pipe down once again.

Tenna winced at the sight. “I’m so sorry.” He didn’t want to see the aftermath, so he turned away from the sight and focused on Berdly. “There… wasn’t a lot I could do.”

Berdly kept his eyes on the scene. “It’s stopped.” 

“It… stopped?”

He pointed. “Time stopped! Did you stop it?”

Tenna frowned, then looked back behind him. It was as Berdly said, time had, indeed, stopped. It wasn’t the usual color bars that he saw, but there was a bright hourglass, the same hourglass he saw when he went to help.  “I… didn’t do this.” He reached for the hourglass and felt the weight of the sand, of the glass, then hesitantly flipped it over.

The multicolored sand stayed there, but the scene changed. The room was back to its previous state. Everything was where it should have been. It was… as if time reset. 

Then, the sand began to fall again. Tenna quickly paused time and looked back over the room. “Okay!” He clapped. “We can figure this out, you and me!”

Berdly grinned. “This is a timeloop! We can have as many tries to figure it out! It’s not my favorite genre of storytelling, but I know the tropes!” Berdly rambled on. “Is there anything you can control other than the bed?”

Tenna moved into the heater and snapped his fingers. Once time unpaused, the heater clicked off and the faint red light around the fins faded. “This doesn't look like it’ll be useful.” He snapped his fingers and turned the heater back on. “What do you think?” It was a shot in the dark, but if Berdly was as smart as he said he was, maybe he could give some insight.

Berdly’s face shifted slightly. “I- well! It’s obvious!” He peered around with “W-We just have to keep going until we get the timing right! Smack the pipe out of Kris’ hands… then…” He pressed a wing to his beak as he slowly looked around the room. “Then…”

‘I don’t know,” Berdly’s thoughts whispered into the air. ‘ This is above my skill level. I don’t know what’s going on. ’ He kept that same self-assured smile on his face, peeking through his claws as his thoughts betrayed him. ‘ Noelle would know what to do. She would know.’

Oh… Tenna ignored the thoughts, ignored the way they made his circuits churn, then moved into the heart monitor. There had to be something he could do. He snapped his fingers and watched as the heart monitor gave off a sharp beep, louder than it had been with its rhythmic heartbeat. Then, it settled back to normal.

How would that help? It… it seemed useless. 

Kris entered the room, took the metal pipe to the heater. Tenna snapped his fingers when Kris approached the heart monitor and watched as the strings faded momentarily. Then, their destruction progressed as normal.

No… not normal. It was more ferocious. The dents in the metal were more caved in, the glass display had been shattered into smaller pieces. Wires and chips of electric boards flew through the air from the intensity, and the noise was almost too much to listen to.

SLAM!

SLAM!

SLAM!

Tenna paused to look at his surroundings, to escape from the broken machine and into the bed. He paused to take a closer look at the wires. The ugly, red, too-bright cords. Then he shifted time back into place and waited.

Kris’s arms didn’t shake from the intensity, the wires wrapping around their arms shone with the light of a thousand spotlights, intense like the Lightner’s sun. Tenna could only watch on in horror as the thing he was occupying broke, as Kris’ arms became red, as their face never changed. Despite the apparent rage, their face never shifted. 

Then, the fit of anger subsided. Kris moved over to the bed, stepping through the glass and water. Perhaps the effort exerted on the monitor would make Kris more lethargic and less likely to retrieve their weapon. That was the hope, at least.They raised the pipe above their head, then lowered it. The wires stayed their same shade of red. They never faded.

It felt like the world held its breath for a moment before they walked calmly around to the foot and dragged Berdly down to the floor

“Wait! That’s not-”

“This wasn’t part of the loop!” Berdly cried.

The metal pipe crashed down and sent the both of them scrambling back to the beginning. 

Berdly heaved a shuddering breath and pressed his claw to his beak. “They… why did they do that? Wh- why did they do that?”

“The wires,” Tenna muttered. “There’s…” He looked at Berdly. “You don’t see them, right? You didn’t see the red wires around them? That’s what you said, right?”

“Wires?” Berdly’s voice cracked. “N-No. I didn’t see anything like that!”

There was something at play here, something he wasn’t quite getting. Those wires were suspicious. That was a given, but what did they do? Tenna looked down at his hands, at the small bits of green wire poking out from the sleeves. What did that make his situation? W-Well! You said you knew the tropes of this, right kid?”

Berdly nodded. “Yes! Maybe it’s just that… we changed something slightly, so their actions also changed! The butterfly effect!” He took a shaky breath. “S-So maybe we need to be mindful of that. Keep testing things?”

Kris entered the room again. Tenna had forgotten to pause time in his previous shock. But that was fine. He had the time. Kris would go to the heater first and destroy the cord on it, then the heart monitor, then Berdly. Those were the things that mattered to him in the room. 

Kris dragged the pipe behind them, then past the heater. 

They didn’t stop to destroy it this time. They went directly to the monitor, crashing both the monitor and the tote of water to the floor. They thrashed the thing, pummeled it into a mess of wires, dented metal, and broken glass, then moved along.

Berdly stepped back away from the edge of the bubble. “Th-They’re in the same loop,” he whispered. “That’s the only explanation. You haven’t done anything yet.”

Tenna was stunned into silence. It took a lot to get him to that point, but what could he even do here? 

Kris beat the heater, then moved to the end of the bed and pulled Berdly down. The world reset again.

Back to the beginning, back to end. The world looped on and on as Tenna peeked through the haze of colors.

Turn on the light to jolt Kris momentarily, nothing happened. Kris just flipped the light switch on in the next loop.

Turn on the heart monitor before they enter the room, try to draw someone’s attention.

Nobody ever came. Nobody who could help ever heard.

Move the bed while Kris was in the room, try to get their attention away from the heart monitor, only for Kris to blatantly ignore the bed. They didn’t care if the bed thrashed unless it messed with their plan.

The world looped once more, back to the beginning. Loops continued with little changing between them. Berdly had long since gone quiet and sat himself down in the bubble.

Tenna paused time and took his own breather. He was fraying at the edges here. Nothing was working, he didn’t have anything to work with and both of them knew it. “Well! That was a bit rough, let’s figure it out this time!” He wasn’t glooby, no. He wasn’t glooby. He could do this. He could do this. ‘I just had to figure out one thing, just one little thing.’

“You… don’t have to continue,” Berdly said, dejected. His eyes flicked back over at himself as he rested his head in his claws. “If they’re in this loop, then… what can we really do?”

“We have to do something,” Tenna insisted. There had to be something, there always had to be something. Desperation clawed at his processors. 

“It’s okay, really. I…” He looked at Tenna, and Tenna’s heart broke. “I can tell when something isn’t working.” He was resigned to it all. That was a look meant for Ramb’s sockets, not this little bluebird. “Sometimes… things just don’t work out.”

“I can’t just leave you here. Don’t you want to get back? You have friends, family. They’ll want to see you.”

Berdly snorted as his shoulders slumped forward. “My friends got me here, I think.” He gestured out into the room. “One moment I was looking for Noelle for Queen’s sake…” He clenched his claws. “So… we could make a place where Noelle could be happy. The next, Noelle’s with Kris and they're controlling her. They’re telling her weird commands, and then it was cold. Now… I'm here.”

Tenna… couldn’t argue with that. “What about your family? They were here when I got here. They seemed upset!”

He stared down at the floor. “Yeah…” His voice was small. ‘ But probably only because they had to be.’  His thoughts were sad, but to the point. ‘I have the best grades in my class and nobody cares. ’

Oh. Tenna didn’t want to draw attention to the bluebird’s thoughts. They were supposed to be private, but this was a world of no secrets. 

Tenna was quiet as he looked around the room. There had to be something he could do. He didn’t want to just abandon Berdly here. Tenna looked down at the wires along his wrist and sighed. “Rootkit, do you know anything?” He spoke softly, as if trying to coax a stray tasque from an alleyway.

The wires swayed to and fro, almost tauntingly so. 

“Please.” He couldn't put this out of his head. He wouldn't. “You've been lording over me with this knowledge you have. Well, now I need it.”

“YOU [[NEED]] IT?” Rootkit’s voice echoed through their little bubble, eliciting a squawk of alarm from Berdly.

“Yes.” The admission made his stomach churn. “You hate me. You’ve made that point clear. But, I don’t know what to do right now.”

The wires became more active at his fingertips, curling around them like ivy. He laughed, louder and more forcefully than Tenna had ever heard. “EHEAHEAHEAHEA!” he cackled, an ugly, crackle-laden laugh. “[Now that’s what I call] A [[Doctors hate this one shocking trick!]]! TO SEE YOU [[CRAWLING]] BACK TO !”

Berdly looked around the bubble wildly.“Mr. Tenna?” Berdly asked nervously. “Wh-who is that?”

“Ah! One moment, my delightful viewer!” He held out his index finger and tilted his head to the side, then stared back down at the wires. Tenna tapped his feet angrily against the ground. “Yes, yes. It’s a shock,” he hissed. ”A very successful TV host , leader of his own Dark World , needs the help of a bunch of scattered wires. It’s very shocking .” He bared his claws and teeth. “Can’t you tell me anything useful ?”

“SLOW YOUR [Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipes! Click here!]. WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME?”

“Do for you?” Tenna asked, “What can I do for you ?” He had to be hearing that wrong. There was no way these piles of wires were actually trying to get something out of him. “I’ve been trying my hardest to be nice to you. The least you could do is actually help instead of berating me!”

“MY [[Generosity]]? YOU WANT MY [[Generosity]] NO [Silly strings] ATTACHED? YOU [[NO]] THAT DOESN’T WORK. YOU WORK IN [That’s showbiz, kid!].” He laughed mockingly before it all faded into static. “I CAN [[Puzzle solutions]] YOUR [Mess]. MAKE A [Learn how to deal with bugs and pests!] BUT [This time] I CONTROL THE [Terms and Conditions].”

“You really don’t have to, Mr. Tenna,” Birdly insisted. “Maybe you can figure something else out! I-I’m sure everything will be fine! I’m smart! I can help! Maybe we just… need to try again! Kris’ll get tired! Or… you could leave! Figure something out to help me later! I’m not going anywhere!”

“No one gets abandoned. No one gets thrown away,” Tenna insisted. “Susie said so.”

Berdly’s eyes widened. “Susan??? She…” He pressed a claw to his beak. “She really said that? Her?”

Tenna nodded. “Of course she did! She’s nice!” He flicked his vision back to his wrist and stared at the wires with a huff. Though the creature’s words were sometimes hard to parse, he could pick out the important words this time. “A deal. You want a deal . Isn’t this going against what you said earlier? No deals, no partnerships, no sponsorships.”

“THINGS CHANGE. SO, [[Ant]], WHAT WILL IT BE?”

Tenna clenched his fists. “What do you want?”

“NOTHING [[Major Savings!]], I WANT TO BE [[F R E E]]. YOU CAN [Press F1 for help!].”

Tenna frowned. “What?” The anger fizzled away. “How can I help with that? We’re both stuck in the same situation. How do I help you when I can’t help myself?”

Rootkit laughed. “[Trash Heap], YOU [[Thinking]] I DON'T KNOW [What?] I CAN DO? YOU JUST TRUST YOUR [Ol’ pal] [S- ]” The audiobite abruptly cut off with a KA-THUNK and a frustrated huff. ‘No, don’t say that. Not right now.’ He cleared his throat and laughed. “ROOTKIT, THAT’S [[It’s me!]]! JUST [The name you can trust] ME. YOU DID BE[4].”

“I… did?” Tenna pressed his hand to his face. “I… don’t remember your voice, but with the way you hate me, I must have.” He sighed. “I want stipulations. I’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty bad deals lately, and I don’t want to go into a situation in the dark again.” Kris and the Knight, they were supposed to have helped. Clearly, that deal didn’t pan out. Neither did his old deal with his little mailman. “You want your own freedom. Fine . More than fine, actually. I don’t want you here either. But I want to get to the bottom of everything, and I want to help the kids. There’s something wrong here and they’re all caught in the middle.”

There was an electrical hum. “AN YTHING ELSE?”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something that I missed later,” he grumbled. “But that’s the main thing. Those are my stipulations.”

There was a pleased hum, then a laugh. “I [know now] YOU LIKE CONTRACTS, BUT THE [paper products] DON’T EXIST HERE. HOW [about our financing plans!] A HANDSHAKE TO [[Flexseal™]] IT?”

“A handsha-”

The wires wound their way around and around, pooling from beneath his cuff, moving out of small holes in his tailcoat’s shoulders, emerging from the collar of his shirt. They filled the air with their own neon green hues, glowing dimly in the bubble they found themselves in. A surge of panic swept through his processors. He knew there were wires, he knew he was talking to wires, but the sight nauseated him. 

The wire placements, the way they danced through the air, it made him feel like he’d be taking another bad deal. It made him look like Kris did, the way Noelle did. 

Then, they coalesced. There were wires still around him, but a large bundle had begun to tangle together and pulse. A small, white hand with segmented fingers clawed its way out of the wires. Then, an arm. Stray wires exited the gaps in the ball joints at the wrist. Two arms emerged, then a leg. The creature was wearing a black polo shirt with a deep v-cut at the collar.

Finally, the head of the creature pushed through the mass. It looked to be puppet-like, with a glossy face, plastic hair, a long, thin nose, and an almost skeletal mouth. Rosy cheeks were painted on in fading acrylic, and a pair of ugly, cheap yellow and pink glasses sat along its sharp cheekbones. 

Once its head was out, it turned to the wire mass and shook its other leg free and allowed the green wires to enter the cracks in its skin. Despite that though, there were still several green wires that connected the creature to Tenna, as if they’d been tied together. It huffed, then turned around to face Tenna with an eerie grin plastered on its face. 

“LIKE WHAT U SEE?” The creature batted its eyes and pressed its small hands against its face as if posing for a camera. “THAT’S THE [Good] LOOKS [[You’ve come to expect]] FROM A REAL !’ A huff, then the rolling of eyes. ‘Can’t say that either. That’s too close. I need to savor this a bit longer.’ 

Berdly screamed. “This is just like that horror game I saw clips about online.” He re-positioned himself squarely behind Tenna, whispering, “It’s going to wear you like a skin suit,” He quivered. “Or… maybe it already is!”

This creature was small, Tenna could probably take it in a fight. Tenna put his panic aside for a moment, shove it in a box. “Are you… Rootkit?” Tenna asked warily. 

“TO YOU, Y ES,” 

Tenna felt the surge of fear leave, leaving an undercurrent of anxiety and dread. “Berdly, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’ll be fine. We’re acquainted, you could say. I asked for his help.” He frowned. “I just… didn’t know he could do that.”

Berdly hesitantly stepped around Tenna’s legs and stared at Rootkit. “You sure you’re not…?”

“KID! THIS [Hot body] OF MINE IS ALL” He paused. “...ROOTKIT. THE [Wires] ARE AN [Additional parts sold separately.]”

Berdly’s face scrunched up. “That doesn’t make things better,” he insisted, pressing his claws against his hips. “How do I know that you’re not lying about it so I let my guard down and you use me for your own twisted means?” He huffed. “I see through your lies, fiend!”

“YOU’RE [Killing] ME HERE. YOU’LL BE FINE. I’M AN [HonestMan].” The puppet glared at Berdly. “BESIDES, WE [Good for sharing] SOMETHING IN COMMON, [Frozen Chicken]. WE BOTH [Got Milk?] HERE THE SAME [Have it your way].”

Berdly went quiet and his claws went to his side. “You… got here the same way? Did Noelle also-”

“SO! [Trash Heap]!” Rootkit stepped closer to Tenna and sneered. “A NEW [Deal or No Dea]! I [press F1 for help] YOU, AND YOU GET ME MY [FREEDOM]. I [Sinserly] PROMISE THAT I’LL [Limited Time Offer] M Y [[Tips and Tricks]] FOR YO UR [Marvelous Mystery Board!] AND  [Helping the little guys]. IN RETURN, YOU JUST [[Follow my instructions to the letter. You must always answer]]! SOUND LIKE A DEAL?” He held out his hand. ‘YOU CAN’T DO THIS WITHOUT ME. YOU JUST HAVE TO TRUST ME.”

Tenna took a breath and knelt down, shifting his size to make himself smaller. “I… accept the terms.” He grabbed the puppet’s hands and shook.

There wasn’t a flash of anything, or a piece of paper binding his actions. No ringing of the phone, or threat of nonpayment. But something shifted along Tenna’s shoulders. Something slithered. 

Somehow, the puppet’s permanent grin grew wider. “NO [Takesies-backsies!], [Trash Heap]! NO [[Ragrets]], NO [Top Ten Anime Betrayals]” He let go of Tenna’s hands and skittered over to the edge of the bubble. “I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING [[$59.95]] ATTEMPTS AGO!”

“You did?” He took a breath and straightened himself out, willing a wobbly smile onto his screen. “Looks like we have a surprise guest , folks! And aren’t we glad to see him now? We were on a cliffhanger last time we broadcasted, and aren’t those just the worst?! Might be time to resolve that, don’t you think, contestant?”

Berdy jolted, then nodded. “I-Indeed! Let’s change the genre!” He pointed out to the room, then flicked his eyes up to gauge Tenna’s reaction.

Tenna beamed. “Yes! Change the genre! I like that!” 

Berdly grinned. “F-From a horror to slice-of-life, NO, Shoenen!” 

Tenna chuckled and looked over to Rootkit. “So! What do you have in mind?”

“GO TO THE [[LIGHT]] AND I ‘LL [Works like Magic!]”

Tenna did as Rootkit said and went from the bed, to the heater, to the lights. He stayed there in paused time and looked at the puppet. “So, what now?”

The creature pressed his face against the bubble and cackled. In the unpaused word of the color test bars, long, thick cords like an old rotary phone popped into view from the bubble and wrapped themselves around the heater. Time unpaused as the heater was yanked closer and it skidded across the tile floor. 

Then the cord faded and Tenna paused time again. He stared momentarily at the new heater location. “You… affected the Light World.”

“YEAH! WE ‘RE [Connected at the hip]. Y DID YOU [Think about switching?] YOU WERE [[SPECIL]]?” His eyes narrowed beneath the glasses. 

“So, you’ve been able to do this the entire time?” Tenna asked, his screen flickering slightly. 

Rootkit huffed. “I SAID I [What Would]N’T MESS WITH UR [Business Transaction], NOT THAT I WOULD HELP. WE HAVE A [[DEAL]] NOW. BESIDES, [Ask your doctor] THE ONE WITH [Burning feeling in your Legs]. ALREADY TRIED WHEN U WERE [Died] AND [[Sleepy]]. NOW [Do not Consume] YOU WANT TO [[Save]] [Burghley] OR NOT?”

“That was Queen’s voice!” Berdly insisted. “You know her too?”

Rootkit didn’t look like a Cyber World Darkner, not at all, but it was still her voice. Perhaps they met when the Card Kingdom Darkners came by.

“OF COURSE [KID]. I WAS [Lived] IN HER [Walls]!” He beamed. “[VIP] TREATMENT, [Big] LIVING, [Big] PERKS. ONLY THE [[BIGGEST]] THINGS 4 A [BIG SH-]]” The audio cut off again, but this time, Tenna could see Rootkit’s face, how the puppet mouth drooped and how the glasses darkened in color. Then, he snapped back to attention.  “...I HAD MY OWN [Roller Coaster] IN THE WORKS!”

“I saw the coaster! I had my own car!” Berdly preened. “As her loyal peon, it was just something given to me. Noelle got her own coaster car too, and.. I guess Susie, Kris and the guy they were traveling with also got their own cars too.” He laughed. “But my car was so much cooler than their cars.”

In the short time they were talking here, Tenna learned so much more about the former mess of wires. He didn’t know how to feel about that. He tried to pry information out of him before, but now he was talkative. He gazed out into the paused world to see what changed.

He could move now. The heater had been dragged far enough and had enough slack that he could reach the light switch. There was hope, that little bright spot in the darkness. 

“We have a way through, contestant! ” 

Berdly blinked in disbelief. “We… do?”

Rootkit grinned. “YOU NEEDED A WAY [[FWRD]]. YOU JUST N33D TO [Beleive] ME.”

That was true, he supposed. Rootkit had helped. He could have his suspicions, but he helped. Tenna moved into the light switch and out into the hallway. It was a quiet place, eerie, a sharp contrast from the earlier… or rather the later hustle and bustle. He moved into a clock on the ceiling, then through the wall into the receptionist’s computer. 

He could see the problem. There was a single person at the front, the receptionist, snoozing at their desk. The front door was left open, likely for the nurses who stepped out. Tenna knew this was a place that didn’t have a lot of crime. This was a town where you could leave your windows open, where you could leave your door unlocked.  A sleepy, quiet town like this was the perfect place for things to go wrong.

And, things were going wrong. Kris was already inside. The strings were bright overhead, but there was nothing in their hand. Perhaps they got it on their walk to Berdly’s room, maybe in a storage closet, or maybe in the other patient’s room.

“Why is there only one person here?” Berdly demanded. “And why are they asleep?”

He pointed to Berdly. “That’s a fantastic question! I’m sure I saw more of them earlier, maybe they’re outside.” 

In Berdly’s room, there were so few things he could interact with. Now, there were so many. The TV was within reach, as was the computer. There was a large clock on the wall, a small piano in the corner. 

“We can try to wake up the nurse. Maybe it’ll keep Kris from doing anything,” Berdly suggested.

“The piano would probably be the loudest thing here.” He moved to the piano and snapped his fingers. He heard a small thunk and the light noise of feedback. But there weren’t noises from the piano. Kris hadn’t even turned their head, didn’t even notice. Tenna quickly paused time and moved back into the computer. 

He snapped his fingers there, but the computer just shut off. The clock would be next, but Kris was already starting to move away. He was losing the advantage here.

Rootkit laughed, “FEELING [Lost]? I HAVE [One simple trick for] TO SOLVE THIS.” 

“Really? One trick?”

Rootkit smirked and brushed his hair back with his hand. “OF COURSE, [Trash Heap]. GET TO THE [Free Piano lessons] AGAIN.”

He did so, then hummed. Well, if that was true, there was only one thing for it.“Do you want to say it then?” Tenna asked. “After all, it’s with your help that we got this far.”

“SAY… IT?”

Maybe he could make a better impression, slowly wear down the wall. Tenna nodded. “You know, my catchphrase! If you’re the star this time, you might as well say it, yeah?” He looked over at Berdly. “And you! Our lovely contestant shouldn’t be left in the dark either! This show has a catchphrase, one that I’ve used for years. Something simple, something perfect!” He grinned, then pointed to Berdly and Rootkit. “ It’s TV Time! That’s all you have to say!” Then put his hands behind his back. “Of course, if you don’t want to, I can say it. What do you say, Rootkit?”

Rootkit’s glasses glazed over as static filled the lenses. His permanent smile drifted to something… Tenna couldn’t pinpoint. Sad? Bitter? Pensive? He wasn’t sure. “It’s… TV Time.” Rootkit’s voice was soft, almost clear for the first time Tenna had known him. Something about the words struck his processors, but he didn’t have time to think about it now.

Berdly joined in, shortly after Rootkit. “It’s TV Time!” He shouted, more enthusiastically. 

Tenna threw his own voice behind that, a bit softer than his usual voice. “It’s TV Time.” He didn’t push it through the speakers as a bit of a gift for the man who he’d gotten off on the wrong foot with.

Rootkit’s glasses faded back into color, a smirk appeared on his face. He did his own snap, though with a bit more strain, as if he couldn’t quite get muscle memory to work properly. But, he got one, a good snap with a clink of plastic.

The telephone cords appeared one more time and grabbed a mug from the table. Time unpaused as the mug was pulled off the table. The speakers made a sharp, low noise as the mug hit the keys. 

The nurse jolted awake, and Kris’ body stiffened. The wires were still there, but not as visible.

“Wha!” The nurse at the front snorted, then moved their face up. Their mouth moved slowly as they spoke. “What are you doing here so late?”

Kris frowned and their posture relaxed. Their face scrunched up, as if they were confused, as if they didn’t know why they were there. The strings faded more into the background as they pressed their hand to their face. “I…” Words died on their lips, then they took a breath. “I wanted to check on…”

“The guy you brought in yesterday, right? Berdly?”

Berdly’s eyes locked on Kris as he gripped his wing with his claws.

Their face softened, they sighed in relief. “Yeah. How is he?” They brought their arms to their chest and lightly squeezed their wrist.

“He’s doing okay,” the nurse insisted. “We’re just glad you found him in time. It might take him a little time, but we’re confident that he’ll recover.”

Kris nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Thank you.” They looked around the room and took a breath. “I… should really be going, sorry that I came by so late. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Then, they walked out of the door and time stopped. The three of them, Tenna, Berdly, and Rootkit found themselves back in the swirling void. Berdly looked a little unnerved, and Tenna didn’t blame him.

“They… brought me here?” Berdly asked softly. “Why would they do that?” His claws shook. “Why have Noelle attack me, then bring me here and try to kill me?” He ran his claws through his face feathers. “It’s illogical! I’m the only one who volunteers at the library! Nobody would have found me, except maybe Noelle. But…”

“This is part of that mystery,” Tenna said softly. “The Kris I know wouldn’t have wanted to do this.”

Rootkit laughed bitterly. “YEAH, [RITE]”

“They helped Berdly, didn’t they?” Tenna asked, pointing to the bluebird, slowly moving away from the Darkners. “And, there’s those wires! I think there’s something going on there! They didn’t want this to happen!”

“TH3Y D1DN’T [want to save] TO DO TH1S?’ Rootkit huffed and crossed his own arms. “THAT [Little Slime],” he snarled. “TH3Y WERE THE 0NES WH0 DID 4LL THIS.” His hands shook. “FACE IT [Trash Heap], YOUR LIG HTNER [treats mites!] NOT BE WH0 U REMEMBER.”

Tenna’s screen dimmed. “You don’t know them like I do. I talked to them. They made a deal with me. They plugged me back in, they asked me to help give their friends some fun! They had to have remembered the fun times they had! They must have! Otherwise why would they ask for help?”

“I… think there’s something wrong here too,” Berdly insisted. “O-otherwise, why would anyone bring me here? A-and they really did seem confused.”

Tenna’s shoulders slacked, he looked at Rootkit, shot him a look. ‘Please, let’s just table this discussion for now.’ He took a breath. “Sorry, folks! Tensions are a bit high right now!” He walked over to Birdly and knelt down to his level. “I’m sorry this happened, and I’m glad you’ll be okay now.”

“I’m… glad to know who brought me here,” he admitted softly. “It’s enlightening. To think that the number 3 of class would be so… multifaceted. It’s no wonder they don’t try harder if they have to plot and scheme.” His facade dropped, the false confidence. “I just wish I knew why.”

“Maybe you and Susie could find out,” Tenna offered.

Berdly made a face. “Susie? You mentioned her before. You know that beast?”

Tenna nodded enthusiastically. “She was my first contestant for this season, and she was in the last episode of my last season too. She was,,, so kind to me, even after I trapped her in a plastic ball.” He felt his antenna droop. “She… wanted to help me find a new home before…” He sighed. “She wants to get to the bottom of this too, help Noelle. Just… think about it, okay?”

Berdly looked up at Tenna’s screen and smiled softly. “To think, I would be on the same side as Susan. The tides really have shifted. But… I’m heartened to have such a powerful ally.”

Tenna stood up to his feet. “She really is a powerful ally. I hated to be on her bad side.” He pointed at Birdly. ”Now, I hope you recover soon. When you do, we’ll have lots to talk about!” 

“You’ll still be around?” Berdly asked. “I thought you were a TV.”

Tenna laughed. “I am still one! My channel’s been switched, but that doesn’t matter now!” He pressed his hand to his screen, mouth facing Berdly. “You’ll have to try harder to get rid of me now.” Then, he smiled. “Let’s get you back now. Back to letting you recover!” He spread his arms wide and jumped into the air, then clapped beneath him as he performed his Smash Cut. 

The screen split and the time wound back, back to the present time, back to Berdly’s hospital room.

Chapter Text

He had it. He had his opportunity in the palm of his hands. His freedom was in reach, his reward.

He’d stumbled along the way, of course. Everyone did. No one was perfect, not even him.

But he took over the castle, just as he always knew he would. He made it to NEO, he found his little piece of Heaven locked away in a dank, dark basement.

His puppet strings would be cut, he’d be free again, free from the burden of his words, his actions. He could get revenge on those who wronged him. He would tear the castle apart, brick by brick, destroy those Addison nobodies, and force that bird to watch him thrive in the body he kept away.

And once Cyber World was his, he would move on. He would make his way to TV World and have his fun there too. Make him see what he did, force him to recognize his actions. Make him see how disposable he really was before the Prophecy took its course.

But… Kris… that little sponge. They stopped him. They stopped him alongside the girl they gave the ring to. They’d gotten tangled in their own wires and roped the girl alongside them.

Everything he’d worked for fell in an instant of snow and frost. Neo was gone, his own form vanished.

And yet… 

He’d been gifted a second chance. He tugged the gloves up his arms and sat back, relishing the opportunity at hand, the new form he’d been given. He brushed his hand against his head, chuckling when he didn’t feel coarse, greasy hair, but instead met thin metal rods. 

He stared out over the living room, willing a smile to his face as he watched Kris and their friend eat. 

Yes, things would be just fine.

The dark of the room seemed almost peaceful now. Berdly laid in bed, the soft rising and falling of his chest let Tenna know that his plan had worked. He quickly shifted over into the color bar world and looked at Berdly. Just like Susie before, Berdly also stood out against the test colors.

Tenna reached out, then fell into the RGB void. But… Berdly was asleep and there was a chill in the air around them. 

“Hey, Berdly, are you doing okay?”

The bluebird grumbled softly, but otherwise didn’t speak.

Tenna pulled away from the RGB world and sighed. Well, at least he was alright. “He should probably get some sleep, right?” He looked over to where the puppet had been before, expecting to not see anything. But, no, the puppet was there. 

The puppet was there, and already looked like he was waiting for a chance to continue his conversation.

“I know we should talk,” Tenna started, “But… can we get somewhere else first? I think I could use a change of scenery.”

Rootkit nodded slightly. “SURE. MA YBE I’LL EVEN [[Gift]] YOU AN ANSWER.”

An answer, huh? Tenna made use of the pulled away heater and moved back into the lights, then back into the hallway.

He paused a moment before leaving, though. There was still the other patient’s room. He never checked that room, never checked a storage closet at the end of the hall, either. Sure, it may have been a tangent, but Tenna was known for being thorough! 

“NO, YOU WEREN’T.” Rootkit’s voice snapped him from his thoughts. ”THE [Horrible guys] HAD AN [Over and Under][Ground use only] CASINO.”

They had a what? Well, who let them have that?! Tenna huffed. “I didn’t think I was thinking that loudly.”

Rootkit looked at him incredulously. “WE ‘RE [CONNECTED]. YOUR [The volume of a shape] IS [[$2.99]] LOUD.”

“So what? You can think quietly?” Tenna asked. “You’re the loudest one here!”

Rootkit was quiet a moment before laughing. “MUST BE MY [Natural, farm fresh] CHARM AND THE [Burning pain] AND THE STRINGS.”

He didn’t make much sense. Or at least, it took too much energy to try to make sense of that particular statement. “So, are you going to go back to being wires or are you sticking around like that?”

Rootkit stuck his hand to his head and smoothed down the tufts that poked up. “Y? DON’T TELL ME [Your version of Java] SCREEN IS BUSTED.” He flashed a smile at Tenna. “DON’T LIKE MY [Smokin-hot] BODY?”

Tenna rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Look, I just wanted to know. I’m not saying anything outside of that.”

Rootkit’s face shifted. “I… DON’T WANT TO BE WIRES.”

Tenna nodded. “Alright. And that’s fine. I don’t mind talking with you like this, you know. It’s good to have a face to a voice.”

The puppet gave a small smile, as small a smile as his mouth could manage, and fell into silence.

Well then, it was his time to actually explore. He moved into the next patient's room and froze. “Oh.”

Tenna had an idea now why Rudy hadn’t been at gatherings lately, why he didn’t seem to be at home. He, too, was in the hospital. Rudy looked pale, sickly. There was a light wheeze as Rudy breathed and a steady heart monitor that beeped steadily. Judging by the wilted flowers in the trash and the check marked calendar on the wall, he’d been in there for a while 

Chairs were set out, games were scattered around. This was a room that felt lived-in compared to the otherwise sanitized room Berdly was kept in. He was receiving long term care for… something.

But you know what, that was fine! That was okay. Everything was okay! Sometimes hospital stays just went a while. It didn’t mean anything. Rudy would be perfectly fine!

He moved out of the room quickly, putting Rudy's state out of his head, and made his way to the reception desk. 

This time, there were more than one member of staff around, though they all looked tired. 

“Did you find out what was making that noise?” the Monster at the desk asked wearily.

The mousey nurse shook her head. “No, sorry. But… it was loud. I’m glad everyone seems alright. What if… what if something bad happened?”

There were murmurs of agreement. “Maybe… we were all just tired. Let’s… get a coffee maker for the hospital.” Another nurse insisted. “Less people’ll have to leave for a run, and maybe we won’t… group hallucinate a noise?”

They probably should have had one to begin with. 

“Or… maybe it was an animal getting into the trash cans.” 

He moved along after that into the dark night. He didn’t need to sit and listen to the gossip. 

He didn’t move too far, just around the back of the building using small AC units and an employee car. It wasn’t the greatest view, but… it was something. The dumpsters were safely behind a locked, green, wooden fence and there was a nice seating area nearby. Likely an employee area or somewhere for patients to walk around. There was a phone booth also nearby, with a black phone and grey receiver, but Tenna was trying not to pay attention to it

Rootkit, however, kept glancing over, as if he was waiting for it to ring.

Well, this was as good a place as any, and as good a time as any. “I’m not going to push,” Tenna insisted. “Mostly because, well, I can’t. But I have questions if you wouldn’t mind answering.”

Rootkit tore his eyes away from the phone. “I’M [Pick and choose] WHAT I [Free Test Answers!].”

He nodded. “That’s fair. What do you know about the wires?” Tenna asked. “I know you see them too. You were the one to say that Noelle looked like a puppet, right?”

Rootkit’s eyes sharpened. “NOT [Answer me] THAT! CAN’T.” His eyes flicked down to his own wires, then he met Tenna’s screen. “ASK ANOTHER [Have any Questions?].”

One area of questioning was gone, might as well try another angle. “So, you said you were around since I woke up… or… you said you were there before that point. How did you get here?”

He looked pensively. “NOT SURE. I JUST… WOKE UP.” He twirled a wire around his finger. “[But wait! There’s more!], I COULDN’T MOVE. I SAW YOUR HANDS, BUT NOT [My new product!] OWN. THEN… STRINGS.” The puppet’s hands clenched tightly. “THEN YOU [[Awake]] UP.”

He looked at the wires, looked at the way they connected him to Rootkit, how terrifying it would be to see his hands as Rootkit’s segmented fingers. Tenna took a breath. “That sounds… terrifying. I wouldn’t want that to happen either.” He relaxed his hands. “What’s your favorite color?”

Rootkit frowned at him. “WHY?”

Tenna shrugged. “Think of it like an ice breaker! We don’t know that much about each other, right? What better way to change that? We can get to tougher questions later. That sound fair?”

Rootkit shrugged. “SURE. MY [Color] PREFERENCE IS [Free Gold! Visit]!”

Gold, huh? Tenna supposed it made sense, especially with the yellow frame in his glasses. “Mine is red, if you didn’t know. It’s a good pop of color, really draws the eyes.”

The puppet laughed, but it seemed more good natured this time. “IT SURE DOES! ESPECIALLY WITH YOU.”

“Now what does that mean?” Tenna kneeled to really look at Rootkit.

“YOU JUST [[Stand out with]]. WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS [Little], ALL YOU CAN SEE IS [Burning red]. YOU’RE VERY TALL.”

Tenna chuckled. “Well, I’m a pretty big TV. It’s only fitting that I’m a taller Darkner. Where else is the personality going to go?”

“YOU MEAN… WHERE IS THE [You’ve got such a big ego] GOING TO GO.” The smaller Darkner laughed again.

“Hey!” Tenna shook his head lightly. “Like you can really talk! I wasn’t the one bragging about living in Queen’s walls, or having VIP service. If I have an ego, what do you have?”

“IT’S NOT EGO IF IT’S [True!].” The puppet’s eyes narrowed as his smile shifted. A smirk.

Tenna laughed. “Alright, alright. Next question then, since you worked with me before, which of our productions was your favorite? Any shows or programs catch your fancy?”

Rootkit looked at him from over the glasses. “REALLY?”

“I mean, you don’t have to answer it, I guess,” Tenna couldn’t help but pout. “But… it would help for the future! I’d like to know what worked and what didn’t... If we ever get out of this situation.”

The puppet closed his eyes, the plastic jaw clicked closed. He squeezed the joints of his segmented hand with his other hand as he thought. “...I CAN’T [Remember more with].” He admitted, slowly. “IT’S BEEN… A [Live longer] TIME.”

He… didn’t remember a show? Tenna frowned. “Ah, that’s a bit sad.” His antenna went up. “Oh, but what if I remind you? I don’t know when you worked for me, but I assume you were around when Cyber World was available. In that case…” He pressed a finger to his screen, then snapped. “We did so many cooking shows back then. Toriel was always trying to figure out something new to cook for the Holiday family, after all.”

Rootkit nodded. “OH YEAH! SOMETIMES THE [Join our Newsletter for new recipes!] WERE STRANGE.” He chuckled. “WHO PUTS [Hot Deals!] PEPPERS IN A CAKE?”

“Right!” Tenna snapped. He remembered that episode! He giggled to himself just remembering. The cooking show wasn’t one of Toriel’s normal shows, but it was a compromise. Kris and Asriel got some sort of entertainment and Toriel could glean some of the cooking techniques. The studio smelled heavily of pepper.

As it turned out, capsaicin can aerosolize. That wasn’t something Tenna knew, or anyone else in the studio for that matter. He remembered walking into the studio with his screen in a dish cloth as he tried not to breathe in the fumes. While he could remove his nose at will, his employees couldn’t. His- the little mailman couldn’t either. 

“We had to evacuate the cooking set.” Tenna laughed. “I don’t think we ever figured out what happened. It shouldn’t have been that strong.”  

“IT WAS ONE OF THE PIPPINS,” Rootkit explained, waving his hand through the air. “THEY WERE [DARE] TO [What a throw!] [1 Time Payment] OF THE PEPPERS INTO A [[BOILING]] OIL.” He rubbed his nose. “THEN EAT IT.” He chuckled. “WORST DARE OF MY [[LIFE]]! THEY TURNED OFF THE VENTS.”

Tenna gasped. “Why would you do that?” He covered his smile with his hand. “You have a nose! And it doesn’t look like yours is removable.”

The puppet raised his hands in the air with a half scoff. “I DIDN’T [Did you know?] THAT IT WOULD BE THAT [Have a bad back?]!” He covered his own nose. “BUT, I DID LEARN.”

“So! You remember the cooking shows?”

“EHH?” Rootkit shook his hand at the wrist. “MOSTLY, NO. YOU [Give me a Reminder] ME.” He wringed his hands together at the admission. “MY NOSE REMEMBERED.”

Tenna would take that! “We also did a couple of concerts, classical and rock. Those were always fun shows! Oooh! And there was that time when Asgore was really into noir movies and crime dramas!” He sighed. “That was a fun few days. The costumes were great, and the set designers did a fantastic job.”

Rootkit hummed, lightly tapping his knuckle against the hard plastic of his face. “DESCRIBE IT. I [Turn your can’ts into cans!] REMEMBER.”

Tenna beamed. “Right! Well, the set dressings were kind of experimental for TV Time. Most of our colors are pretty saturated, but you can’t have that with a noir!” He waggled his finger. “So it was a pretty dreary-looking set. Long trenchcoats, moody lighting, and a script that made me feel so… so COOL!” He sighed. “As the face of TV, I was always pretty well in the spotlight, you know? I was the head chef, I was the game show host, I was the one talking about sharks. So a larger-scale production was fun!”

Rootkit frowned. “[Treat your eyes]…THINK I REMEMBER A [[Little]] NOW.” He looked at Tenna’s screen. “CONTINUE.”

“Okay!” Tenna snapped his fingers. “So, there weren’t a lot of people who actually had speaking roles. Don’t get me wrong, our crew can act, but some of them are better suited for background work or stage-setting. It meant we had to double up on acts sometimes. Do you remember that?”

“VAGUELY.”

“Well…”

“During this time, Asgore was working on an important case, so he’d be out of the house at weird hours. Sometimes, he couldn’t fall asleep, so he watched things first. One of these nights, he watched something on one of the black and white channels.”

The set was dark, the lighting even darker. Asgore had recently come back from his job, watched a movie, and had turned off the TV as he curled up on the couch. Tenna could hear rain falling from the Light World, pitterpattering against the siding and the windows. But there was something about the dreary, cold fall night, something that sparked Tenna’s creativity.

“Script time!” Tenna entered the room like a whirlwind with bundles of papers underneath his arms, each of the scripts detailed and highlighted for each person.

“Sometimes, when I liked a concept. I kind of took it for my own. I was already entertaining the Lightners, after all, so why not also entertain the Darkners? So, I decided to make a script based on one of the movies he watched.”

Several of his employees sat around the backstage green room, a little space patterned after the Dreemurr living room, complete with the cozy sofas and drifting smell of cinnamon sugar. Though notably, with his own additions. The bar was new, as were the decorations. A show host had to make things flashier than a living room, after all!

His two second in command sat on their own loveseat, cuddling as they whispered things to each other. A couple of Shadowguys stood near the bar, leaning against the counter as they made light saxophone noises to each other.

Ramb was there too, but he seemed content to clean glasses and listen in on conversations. An odd group sat in front of him. A Zapper, a Shadowguy, and a Pippins spoke to each other animatedly. Or.. rather, it seemed that the odd-colored Pippins was speaking animatedly while the other two tried to placate him.

Finally, his co-host, a small, white Addison with black hair, lingered at the end of the room on the other couch, resting his head in his hands as his eyes flicked between the doors. He jolted as soon as Tenna entered.

Elnina looked up first and laughed. “What do we have this time?” She grabbed her own script from his hand, a hefty stack of papers highlighted with blue marker. 

“Well! Asgore was watching something earlier, and it’s a little different from his normal shows! So, I thought we could do something similar! It’s a crime movie, a bit different than our usual sets. We’ll have to completely build a new one.” 

Spamton looked over, his eyebrows knit together. “What’s going on?”

Lanino accepted his script, a stack of papers with orange markings along the pages, with a smile and a snort. “Ah right, you haven’t been here long, have you?” 

Spamton crossed his arms. “I thought the studio was there to put on shows for the Lightners.”

“It’s more complicated than that.” Tenna smiled as he handed off a script with words and characters blocked out by yellow highlighter. “The studio’s used for our normal broadcasts, yes. I can show the Lightners what they want to see, but the stage productions are for us. We can influence things, but they still control the remote. Did you think we’re always making new sets and learning new scripts?”

“It’s best not to think about it.” Elnina insisted as she scanned over the documents.

Spamton took the script and shifted on the sofa, sitting up instead of draping himself across the arms like he had been. “So… what? We’re doing this just for staff?”

“For the employees, yes. But it’ll be broadcasted to other nearby Dark Worlds too.”

“So… Cyber World included?” 

“And the others. Sometimes it’s fun to show up King.” Tenna grinned.

Spamton hummed. “And… that stupid jester…” A self-assured smile flashed on his face. “Alright! I’m in.”

Tenna beamed as he handed off more scripts to the Shadowguys with stage directions carefully listed. “That’s what I hoped you’d say!” 

Spamton’s smile shifted wider as he held the script, then he started to skim the pages for the highlighted sections. “So, Cathode, what am I working with?”

“Unfortunately, you’re being relegated to a few bit parts for now,” Tenna said with a slight frown. “But, there’s always more roles in the future! The plot is a little… darker than our usual fare. It’s about crime, and romance!”

“A woman shot her husband and sought help from her new paramour, a detective that watched the crime take place.”

Spamton’s face fell slightly, but he kept that smile of his in place. “Nah, that makes sense. I’m new here, after all. So, who gets top billing then? You?”

Tenna finished handing off the scripts and sat down beside Spamton. “Well, I’m one of them! But I figured we could do something a little different today.” His eyes flicked over to the weather duo. “How do the two of you feel about that?”

“We thought it would be a perfect opportunity for Elnina and Lanino to shine. They threw us for a loop though- they didn’t want to perform the roles they were given.” 

Elnina’s face scrunched together. Her lips pursed together. “Ah… Tenna! It’s very sweet that you want to give us the spotlight!”

“It is!” Tenna grinned. “You do so much around here, so I wanted you to be able to shine this time!”

Lanino frowned. “I… really appreciate being considered for the main role, really I do… but…”

“I don’t think we can do this,” Elnina muttered, “It’s…” She shared a glance with Lanino. “It's a bit much, you know? Me and Lanino, we’re just… made for each other! I don’t think we can pretend to be otherwise! And... I don’t want to play a character like this.”

“I.. have a problem with it too,” Lanino admitted quietly. “Maybe we’re just in the lovey-dovey part of our relationship… but… it would kill me to see her flirt with someone that wasn’t me.”

Tenna’s mouth vanished from the screen. “I… I see.”

“They had a problem with depicting cheating, especially during that time. So the actions of the leading lady were a problem. It was baked into the script, too. Couldn’t really change it without completely overhauling the story. If we changed the husband's angle even a little, it would throw off the tone.”

“[The weather… always sticks together!]” Elnina and Lanino’s voices echoed out of Rootkit’s voice box.

Lanino sighed. “It’s not a bad script, really. But I think someone else should do it.”

Tenna could feel himself shrinking. “Oh… sorry, I… didn’t think.”

“We can still put on the production, we just… need to think about who can actually play what character,” Elnina insisted. “I mean, why waste the paper?!” She laughed. “So don’t feel too bad.”

“If it were just the one time, I think they would have pushed through it, but the leading lady was desperate in the script at the end too, wanted to do anything to get out of trouble. The beginning and the end were both important. Because of this, a lot of the roles got swapped.” 

Without a word, Spamton got up from the chair and grabbed all the scripts from everyone’s hands, grabbing Tenna’s last. He scanned them over for the markers. “How about this? Lanino can take your role. I know you usually try to be the ‘good guy’, Tens, but I think you could pull this off.” He smirked and leaned in forward, crumpling the scripts lightly as he pressed his hands against his hip. “Unless you can only act as the ‘good guy’. Are you going to typecast yourself, Cathode?”

Tenna huffed. “I can play any role I want. The thing about being in this business is that you have to know all the parts.” He crossed his arms. “And I do. I wrote the scripts.”

“That’s what I thought.” He turned on his heel and strode over to the other loveseat and handed over a pair of scripts.. “Lanino, you’ve got Tenna’s role. And Elnina can be the wife character. That work for you?”

“It does!” Elnina grinned. She looked over at Tenna, waiting for his slight nod, before accepting the stack of papers. “Thank you!”

He had a few scripts still left in his hands. “Now… as far as these other roles…” He scanned the other Darkners in the room and separated a few stacks of paper. He looked up at Tenna. “So, how do you wanna distribute these, Tens?”

Tenna got up from the couch and walked over. There were a few of the bit roles left, as well as the main duo. He grabbed some of the scripts and handed them off to a nearby Zapper to share with his strange friends, then circled back to the script problem.

“But then we had a problem, the two leading roles were the ones left. I could have taken anything, of course.  Gender didn’t matter, we could rewrite everything. The costume department didn’t start on anything yet.”

Spamton frowned at the scripts, then handed off the orange highlighted copy. “Here you go, Cathode. The leading role.” He flashed the television an award-winning smile with pearly whites nearly as shiny as his pixelated skin. “Looks like I got an upgrade, yeah?”

Tenna laughed. “Now how’d you weasel your way into the spotlight?” He playfully jabbed the man with his elbow, careful not to push the poor guy over.

Spamton shrugged, then tilted his head back and laughed. “Well, Cathode, Doesn’t that seem like your issue! I mean, relegating a big shot like me to a bit role was already crazy. If anything, I’m just resetting things to how it should have been.” He brushed his hair back and flashed Tenna a sly smile. “We’re partners, yeah? And we already agreed to work with each other. This just cements it.”

“As long as you think you can handle the pressure.” Tenna lightly chided. He and Spamton sat down at the bar and got their own drinks, then went to pour over the scripts. “You and I will have to do some adjusting with your character, but it should be fine. Congrats, looks like you’re getting a trial run sooner than we all thought!”

“Sooner than you thought, maybe,” Spamton said with a scoff. He shook his head and looked at Tenna from the corner of his eyes, with a smile.“I always knew my moment would come.” He said it with confidence, like he truly believed his own words. Or, like there was something Tenna didn’t know. 

“So… me and… a mailman we had at the time, took up the roles. The costume department worked overtime on this, and the set builders started as soon as their feet left the green room.”

In a black and white movie, you needed to know what color values came across as on film. Either that, or you could cheat by using as little color as possible. The painted sets took that concept to heart. They’d probably used all of their black and white paints trying to get everything right. They’d fashioned fake lampposts, grungy building skeletons, a fake bridge, complete with a roiling water bank.

Their setting, a larger place than Hometown, one with narrow, dimly-lit streets and a grime that seemed to permeate every nook and cranny. 

But for being such a dreary, moody set, it only made the stars stand out better. 

Lanino had on a light grey suit, with a black undershirt and a bright, white bow tie. The fire along Lanino’s shoulders would have to be adjusted in post, but they gave off bright, white light. The naivety, the newness of the detective he played was on full display in the color choices. White shoes, lighter colors. This was a man who hadn’t yet seen how dark the world could be.

Elnina, similarly, wore light colors to match Lanino. She had a long, white dress that ended past her knees. The waist was cinched in, tied together with a dark-colored ribbon and blocked off the solid part of the dress from the raindrop-patterned skirt. Her hair, usually a wild storm cloud, had been pressed back into white, fluffy cumulus clouds trailing like a ponytail.

Tenna, himself, felt spectacular in his outfit. The long, grey billowing overcoat caught the wind, the black suit underneath made himself blend into the darkness of the scene if it weren’t for the white undershirt. A black bow tie matched the suit, as did a black fedora he’d gotten specially made to allow his antenna to fit through

“We looked great! All of us! It was a fun time to dress up and see how others looked. Everyone could try out a different style! I… don’t usually wear a lot of dark colors, you know?”

Then…his co-host. The light glow of his skin made his own black suit pop exceptionally well, as if black were a color meant for him. He didn’t wear a white undershirt, instead opting for a grey middle tone and a tie. He opted out of the optional hat, citing his hair as the key factor. Didn’t want to mess it up, he said with that signature, toothy smile of his. But it worked. His dark hair made his face pop more than the grey hat would have. 

Spamton was like a star, plucked from the Lightner’s skies and placed along their little wooden stage, gleaming through the dim, moody lighting. The stage seemed almost built around him in the way that everything complimented him, like he was made for drawing attention. He certainly had Tenna’s.

“We played our roles well! It was one of the few times we really experimented. Instead of just playing good and evil people, the characters all had depth to them, especially mine and the mailman’s.”

“Don’t you worry,” his character said as Tenna wrapped his arms around Spamton’s shoulders. “We’ll fix this. I’ll take care of this.”

The prop gun was still smoking in his hands. The Shadowguy laid limp on the stage.

“They both made mistakes, some worse than others. My character couldn’t see the truth in front of him. He was a lofty figure in their police force, so surely it meant he could easily hide a body and a weapon, then pin the blame on another. The arrogance, the blind affection, He never stood a chance.”

Spamton pressed his head into Tenna’s chest. “I love you,” his character said softly. “I’m sorry.” He held Tenna’s hands and planted a small kiss against his plastic frame. 

For a moment, he could almost delude himself into thinking this was Spamton, he could almost convince himself that he wasn’t playing a character, but then Tenna had to say his own lines, to ignore the way the stage kiss made his screen feel hot. “Run, you have to make it. I’ll catch up.”

Then, they were forced to separate. Spamton moved a bit further down on the stage, shared one last glance, then moved completely out of frame, off-screen.

A Zapper came to talk with him, and Tenna was forced to remember the scene.

The mailman’s character, meanwhile, had a different problem. He was short-sighted, selfish, couldn’t stay out of trouble to save his life. He needed someone to sort out his messes, to clean up his act. He was the star, the person the production was built around. 

They were standing at the edge of the set, hands backed against the wooden skeleton of a building. On the other, was the rushing water, helpfully churned by the Water Cooler. 

“It’s over” Lanino said, sadly. “There’s nowhere left to run.”

Spamton clenched his hands into fists. “You don’t understand.” He grabbed Tenna’s hands and held them tightly.

Tenna frowned, taking a short intake of breath. “Sorry. I…-” He curled his mouth into a soft smile and tilted his head. “Looks like it’s up to the judge, now.”

“He was like the ocean during a storm. His decisions swept several others into a riptide. And yet, the story ends in a bubble. There’s no payoff, no justice, only betrayal. He never really cared for the main character, all he cared was that he had what he wanted.”

They were in a more well-lit courthouse set, still in soft greys, but there was an abundance of lighting now. Spotlights, wall sconces. They stood in a lobby with a Pippins talking with Spamton and a Shadowguy near Tenna.

“If you can help…,” Spamton smiled as he leaned forward, wrapping the Pippins playing the lawyer character into a hug, then faced the camera. “I would do anything for you.” He ran his finger along the edge of the green die’s face, then backed away slowly into a more neutral position.

Tenna looked over, catching Spamton’s eyes in his screen. They shared a glance before the curtains fell, then they reset themselves, all of them. The Pippins took a breath and moved away with a light blush while Spamton flashed Tenna a smile, something genuine. 

“Good work out there, Ant,” he whispered.

“Good work to you too.” He wasn’t lying either. For a first production, Spamton was a natural. He learned his lines quickly, got the blocking down, and even suggested changes to make the pacing feel better. As much as it was Tenna’s production, along the way it had also become Spamton’s. 

Every actor, every mover, everyone who had a hand in anything made their way to the stage and formed a semicircle around the edge. Tenna was center stage, with Spamton standing right beside him. All they had to do now was stay for their final bow, but Tenna could hear something echoing through the backstage. Something shrill.

Spamton jolted, sweating a bit before laughing nervously. “Ah… sorry, Cathode. I have to take that. You know how it is.” 

“Wha- but we’re about to do our bow.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “But I have to. It’s nothing serious, and I’ll be back to mingle with the crowd, promise.” He stayed in place briefly, waved casually before he ran stage left, just as the curtains opened, just as the applause started up, just as Tenna started his bow. Spamton left to follow an unknown benefactor.

“And in the end,... ”

And Tenna was forced to ignore the empty spot beside him.

Tenna’s face powered off as he sighed. “In the end, our characters seemed to connect to ourselves pretty well.”

Rootkit stared silently at the ground, then his eyes drifted up. “SOUNDS LIKE YOU [having fun!].”

He put his screen in his hands and sat along the edge of the bubble. “Yeah. It was a nice time.” But he hated the way the memory felt. There was a fondness to it, how excited he was, and how popular the weather duo got for a while after. But it was also shared with memories of the mailman, how easily he weaseled his way into a bigger role, then left Tenna in the dark.

Rootkit’s eyes narrowed. His hands brushed through his hair absentmindedly, curling plastic strands, then brushing them back. Despite how attentive he seemed, how excited he’d been with the cooking show, Rootkit looked strangely upset now, sad.

Tenna took a breath and lifted his head. “Favorite food?”

The puppet didn’t look up. “DON’T [Have a good day!] ONE” He ground out. “KROMER IS DELICIS, BUT [Favorite food?]” He shrugged. “NOT A [lot of money] OF [Select Options for more] LIVING IN A [GARBAGE CAN]!” The shift in tone was so abrupt from earlier.

The little bit of rapport he had seemed to be gone now, like the puppet remembered that he should hate Tenna. While he could try to ask more lighthearted questions, he didn’t figure it would go anywhere. No, he had one question that lingered in his mind most. “So then, final question. You said you knew me, yeah? What did I ever do to you?” Tenna’s screen flickered slowly.

“ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO KNOW?” It sounded like bait with his overly-sweet tone. The puppet’s grin widened, though he still wasn’t looking at Tenna. “YOU MAY NOT [[LIKE]] THE ANSWER!”

“Yes.” Tenna frowned. “I… don’t know that I’ve ever seen you before. And… you seem like you’re the one who hates me the most. I want to know what I did.”

Rootkit looked up, stared directly into Tenna’s screen as his glasses switched colors, back and forth, back and forth. Then, he laughed, bitter and cruelly. He stood up and padded over with his hands on his hip. “YOU RUINED ME. YOU [ripped] ME OFF, YOU [Cut] ME OFF, YOU [Just aim and throw] ME AWAY.” Though it seemed like he was trying to whisper, it came out like harsh feedback from a microphone. 

“But I don’t remember that.” Tenna insisted. “Sure, my contracts weren’t the best, but I’d never just throw someone away! For all of my faults, I never get rid of people. After the cards were taken back, the Pippins were welcomed, given roles, trusted! There was nobody worse than the Pippins and yet I kept them around!” His hands clenched and his mouth formed a grimace. “Well, actually. There was one person worse than them. At least the Pippins stuck around.” It came out a bit more bitterly than he meant.

“OH? WELL, DID ANY OF THEM [Sticky] AROUND NOW?” The puppet’s hands shook with rage. “WHERE ARE THEY? [Look!] LIKE UR THE [common rarity] [Ties]. NOT HIM.” He laughed. “HOW DID YOU LOSE A [[BIG SHOT]] LIKE HIM ANYWAY?”

Tenna growled. “Are you really trying to defend Spamton to me?!” The name felt like poison coating his tongue. Slimy, oily. The overwhelmingly bitter taste was like a cyanide capsule between his teeth. It felt wrong to even think about him, much less utter his name after this long. If someone were to put a wasp nest in his head, it would feel the same. The buzzing static, the angry swarming, the nesting insects taking up more and more space until he overheated.

Tenna took a breath, anything to try to stabilize himself, to try to get the upper hand again. “They’re completely different! My crew left because I pushed them away. He left because he was selfish. We had a deal in place! I poured my time and energy into making sure it was fair! But did he care?” His screen powered back to life, but his nose was gone. “No!” He stood to his feet. “He didn’t want to share his secrets with me, used me for my own popularity and my advice, and left when he saw the writing on the wall!” He could feel his whole body start to get hot with rage. “You were probably a lower-level employee, right? Probably came in for an internship, or something. You probably wouldn’t know our history. If you did, you wouldn’t DARE take his side in everything.”

The puppet trembled. “YOU DIDN’T CARE, SO WHY WOULD HE? I [Sports betting has never been easier!] HE DOESN’T EVEN THINK OF [Only you can prevent] AN YMORE!”

He… didn’t care? Tenna didn’t care? Tenna’s claws sharpened to points, his screen turned black, leaving only his fangs emitting a white glow. “How DARE you?! I'm the one who didn't care?! REALLY?!” He grew larger, towering over the puppet. “I did EVERYTHING I could! I boosted him up! I took his suggestions, FUDGED his game scores! I put him on a higher pedestal than my longest friends! We were PARTNERS, We were FRIENDS! We were…” 

…’What were they? We're they anything more? Was I just deluded?’

‘He would never have cared about you.’ Spamton’s voice mocked. ‘You were always a means to an end.’ 

His mind was being cruel again, telling him the thing he always feared.

The image of his teeth on screen faded. The emotion stemmed to a dull roar, still there under the surface, but more numb. He straightened himself out, felt himself shrink. “I’m done with this conversation. I refuse to explain myself to you. Obviously, you’ve gotten your information from a poisoned well.”

“YOU ASKED,” Rootkit hissed. “AND [FLASH SALE, STARTING NOW!], YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWER. WHAT NOW?”

So then, there really wasn’t a way to reach through this. They were at an impasse. The moment Tenna mentioned a word about the mailman, that’s when Tenna lost. The fact that even now the little freak was still messing things up for him fanned the flame of that fire.

Rootkit laughed his ugly laugh. “THE [[TRUTH]] HURTS, DOESN’T IT?” The puppet’s mouth pressed back into a sneer. “EVERYONE IS [Going dancing?] AROUND ON [Put eggshells beneath the soil] AROUND YOU. I’LL [[GIFT] YOU ONE LAST [PRESENT].”

The puppet leapt up and grabbed Tenna's tie, then clambered up his shoulders. Although Tenna tried to knock him off, every time he tried, a surge of cold burst through his shoulders. “Stop!”

Rootkit’s grin only widened. “YOU WANT TO KNOW? YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE [kiddos!] ARE HIDING?”

“Why tell me?” Tenna demanded. “They can tell me themselves! They said they would!”

The puppet laughed. “THAT [[Clown Around Town]] WAS RIGHT ABOUT ONE THING. EVERYONE CAN USE A LITTLE [Chaos, Chaos!].” He sat along Tenna’s shoulder, digging his hand into his suit. “RALSEI KNEW, OF [Coursework for a new semester] HE KNOWS. HE’S KNOWN ALL [Live longer with].”

Tenna reached for Rootkit, only for him to scurry to the other side of his back. “I want to be-” He caught the air. “Left alone!”

“SUSIE KNOWS [It’s now time for our], AND SHE WON’T [Tell your doctor] YOU.” He laughed. “KRIS [[NO]], BUT WHAT ALL DO THEY KNOW? WHAT ALL ARE THEY INVOLVED IN? WHAT ARE YOUR [[Little Sponge]] AND [ANGEL] DOING?”

There was a sound that started in the air, quiet at first. So quiet that Tenna didn’t immediately notice it. 

“THEY MATTER! BUT U… YOU [Donut]!” He said it as a point of pride. “YOUR [New Roller coaster] IS ALREADY ENDED.” Then, his sneer widened. He clutched at Tenna’s suit and got in his face.  “YOU ASKED ABOUT THE [Silly Strings!]. SO, WHY DON’T I TELL YOU?”

The noise grew louder with each of Rootkit’s words, as if someone were turning a dial. But… that wasn’t the noise of a television. As soon as he mentioned the strings, the telephone burst into high-pitched ringing. 

The puppet stopped talking, seemed to almost stop existing. His glasses fogged up with static as he reached out from the bubble. At first, the phone sparked an overwhelming amount of fear, coursing through the connection between Tenna and Rootkit. That primal fear was back, the roiling, churning feeling that lapped at the wires in his chest. The same emotion that froze the electricity pulsing beneath his fingertips. He wanted to flee back inside. At least there, he wouldn’t have to face what monster lurked in the receiver.

He swapped into the color bar world, ready to move back, when he noticed something odd. Even in this world of paused time, the phone was still ringing. The phone was making the same noises he heard in the studio, day after day. 

Static crackled along Rootkit’s glasses as his smile widened, manic. The feeling of dread and fear still simmered, but a new emotion burst forth through the shared wires. 

Elation. A bubbly feeling of excitement. 

“ANSWER IT.” Rootkit climbed down from Tenna's shoulders and moved to the edge of the bubble. “ANSWER IT!” He clawed at the edge, desperate to reach the transceiver.

“Answer… it?” Tenna sputtered. “But we’re-!”

Rootkit looked back briefly. His glasses flickered its colors back and forth. “GO, [Cathode]! TAKE IT! TAKE IT! TAKE IT!” He looked desperate, more desperate than Tenna had ever seen before. “PLEASE!”

Tenna reached out for the phone and fell into the receiver. The line clicked off, then the world fell away. Color faded from view, the hospital broke off in chunks of orange and purple numbers, then the light vanished. The bottom fell beneath their feet and they fell, 

Deeper

Deeper

And deeper still into the dark, their only light being the neon green wires along their wrists.

-

-

Chapter Text

The entire world buzzed around him, revolving around them. Numbers, colored in orange and red quickly passed them by, then vanished just as quickly.

Their feet found no purchase, no solid ground, but they stopped falling, at least. The strings connecting Tenna to Rootkit dangled in the air, making them both look like puppets in a black box. They didn’t know where they were, or… at least Tenna didn’t. Rootkit’s glasses were filled with static again, but his grin had stayed ever-present on his face. The wide grin was unnerving, especially without knowing the creature’s emotions through his eyes.

He didn’t want to stay here. While he didn’t know if there was a point, Tenna decided he would try to see what his powers did here. He instinctually grabbed for the color bars, only to find that they wouldn’t form. The bright lights of the test bars didn’t suddenly flare to life, and didn't highlight the area. His snaps did nothing. They barely even made a noise. 

He could move and jostle the wires, but it did little for him, except to pull Rootkit closer and bring some sort of awareness to the puppet.

Once again, answering the phone had been the wrong move. “Do you know where we are?”

Rootkit’s glasses cleared enough that Tenna could see the yellow and pink frames peaking through white and black noise. “EHEAHEAHEAHEA! [Cathode]! HE DIDN’T [Leave, fly the coop, go!]! DON’T U [Take a trip to the sea!]?”

“What do you mean by that?” Tenna asked with a hiss. “I can’t see anything.”

He was babbling. The static faded more as the puppet looked at Tenna. “THE PHONE! THE PHONE! HE [[Halt]] TALKING [2] ME AFTER A [Missed][Take 3!]! BUT NOW THEY’RE BACK!” He laughed to himself, either unaware or uncaring of Tenna’s rising dread. His grin widened. “I CAN [Make a deal] AGAIN! He can [Press F1 to Help] US! HE USED [Two-timing!] GIVE ME EVERYTHING I WANTED! THIS IS WHAT [How did you hear about this job?] WANTED!”

Make another deal? What he wanted? Tenna’s hands clenched into fists. They were alone here. What deals were there to make here? What could Tenna want besides being able to leave? “I don’t know what your relationship with the phone was before, but I don’t think we’re here because they’re taking you back.” He wanted to throw something, to scream. But he didn’t have anything here. “I don’t think he’s going to give us anything or do anything for us.” He brushed back his antenna and just screamed. “WE’RE STUCK, THANKS TO YOU!”

He hated that phone. He hated everything that phone ever stood for. He should never have installed one. He should never have answered one. 

Then, a voice draped in feedback and static crackled through the air, speaking a language Tenna had never heard before. Beneath its words, a noise, almost like mechanical screaming. It was the same garbage noise Tenna heard the day Spamton left, a fact that made his non-existent heart drop into his stomach and made acid rise through his throat.

“YOU ARE NOT STUCK.” The words echoed around them. “THOUGH I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERNS, LORD OF SCREENS.” Despite the unclear words, the noise, Tenna understood it perfectly. 

“Lord of…?” The name was a title, one that hung heavy on his heart. There was a power there, a purpose, even if he’d never heard it before. Tenna looked around wildly in the dark. ”Who’s there? Where are you?”

A laugh. “IT IS OF NO IMPORTANCE. I WOULD TALK WITH YOU AND THE SALESMAN A MOMENT. IT IS OF DEEP IMPORT REGARDING YOUR RECENT ACTIVITIES. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE TWO OF YOU CLOSELY, AS OF LATE.”

Rootkit, or… the Salesman, looked like he was holding himself back from screaming. He looked delighted and horrified at the same time.

“And then what?” Tenna demanded. If he was a Lord of Screens, then he would be treated as such. He adjusted his tie and pressed a stern look on his face. “What then? Will you just lea-”

“AHAHAHA!” Rootkit elbowed Tenna in the arm. “YOU KNOW THE [[CATHODE]]. EHEHE!” He was sweating. “YOU [Want to buy and sell a used car?] TO TALK?”

Was this the creature that prompted such fear?

‘Shut up, Tenna. For the love of Heaven, shut up. You don’t know who you’re talking to.’

Huh.

…

That voice was familiar, familiar in the way that a family video was. The places and the people  on the film always sounded the same, static. It was a snapshot in time away, crisp and clear, a voice that he’d been hearing for a long time now.

That was the same tone he used in arguments when he wanted Tenna to drop a subject, especially when it came to the contract or his benefactor. 

‘Stop it, Tenna,’ he’d say. ‘I’m not ready for this kind of thing right now. I have to run it by some people first. You know that, I’ve told you that.’ But Tenna kept proding, kept poking. It was just to keep him close!

It was that tone he used when talking about his past. ‘I don’t like this topic of conversation. I don’t like talking about where I came from. I don’t want to discuss it.’ But Tenna was entranced! He just wanted to know more about his new co-star!

In some of his darker moments, it was that tone that mocked him, that told him, ‘This is why I left.’ Or, ‘Nobody would ever stick around you’. Because Tenna knew he was cruel. Even as he tried to play the happy-go-lucky boss, he was an awful man. 

He heard that voice as he tightened the strings around his employee’s wrists, when he demanded more and more from them. He heard the voice when he was unplugged and spent time in his room crying for his Lightners. He heard that voice during his shock therapy sessions with Mike, even as they tried to piece together the fragments of his crumbling psyche.

But this wasn’t one of those times. He didn't have the luxury of thoughts. That little voice clip he heard wasn’t mocking him. It wasn’t repeating back clips of an argument Tenna tried to win in his head. It was a warning, a warning about the creature.

The voice wasn’t him, not this time, but he couldn’t think about that topic too long, not with what lurked in the dark.

The noises around them grew more intense, the garbage noise became louder. “THE TWO OF YOU HAVE DAMAGED SOMETHING. NAY, THE THREE OF YOU HAVE.”

“There’s another one in my head?!” Tenna blurted in an instant. The puppet glared at him from underneath his glasses.

‘Shut up!’ The voice reprimanded with disdain. ‘He’s a friend, but he’s not friendly, got it? Don’t push it.’

“NO.” The voice answered with humor in their voice. “TAKE SOLACE IN THAT FACT. IT IS ONLY YOU AND THE SALESMAN. BUT, YOU TWO ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MESS. THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS ALSO HAS A HAND TO PLAY IN THIS FARCE.” The shadows became more oppressive, thicker. He… thought he could see something through the haze. Pink and yellow, like Rootkit’s glasses. Something stalking them at the edge. “THUS I TELL YOU THIS, CEASE THIS. CEASE YOUR ACTIVITIES. YOUR ROLES IN THIS TALE ARE OVER.”

Tenna’s face flickered off. Well, what was he supposed to do? Just step aside while people are killed? Disappear? Both?

“My… role too?” the puppet asked quietly. “BUT I- I DID [Whatever, whenever.] YOU [Demands.]! THERE WAS THAT [The one..!] TIME BUT-”

“SALESMAN, YOU HAVE FULFILLED YOUR ROLE. YOU HAVE DONE ALL YOU CAN.” The voice sounded almost sad. “IT IS NOT YOUR WILL THAT MATTERS, AS YOU SHOULD KNOW. YOU WERE TOLD AS MUCH.”

The puppet’s head lowered, his hands clenched by his sides.

“And what are we supposed to do then?” Tenna asked, his voice strained. “So, someone messed up along the way. We’re here now. What then?”

The shadows grew closer and closer. “THERE IS MUCH ALREADY OFF THE RAILS,” they admitted, “BUT I CAN SOLVE THAT ISSUE, IF YOU TWO CAN ONLY GIVE UP THE POWER YOU HOLD NOW.” 

Two hands reached forward through the darkness, one to each person. Stark white, bleached bones with a hole in the center of the palms. Darkness curled around the holes like a serpent made of fog. There was something unnatural, unstable about this entity, even seeing the little bit of a form told Tenna that much. 

The shadows shifted ever so slightly, enough that Tenna almost saw more of the entity. “BY YOUR VERY PRESENCE HERE, YOU HAVE SHIFTED THIS TALE INTO SOMETHING ODD. AND SO I OFFER ONE LAST DEAL. SALESMAN, YOU WILL BE GIVEN YOUR FREEDOM.”

Then, Tenna felt a set of eyes peering at him. He had their full attention. “LORD OF SCREENS, YOUR LIGHTNERS WILL CEASE THEIR SUFFERING. YOU MUST ONLY TRUST ME. I CAN RESET IT BACK TO THE POINT WHERE EVERYTHING WENT WRONG.”

To the point everything went wrong? Did that mean where it went wrong on Tenna’s end or…

Tenna tried to back away, but he continued to dangle in place. The puppet, however, seemed a bit more complacent. He reached for the hand as his body shook. The neon wires guided him forward, closer and closer.

“FINE! AS [[Longest]] AS I GET WHAT I [Want to buy a new car?]”  His palm fit snuggly inside the entity’s hand within the joints of bone.

“YOU WERE ALWAYS A FAVORITE, SALESMAN. IT’S A SHAME, THEN, THAT YOU ULTIMATELY BROKE THE TERMS OF YOUR DEAL.” They grabbed hold of the puppet’s hand. “NOW, LET US BREAK THIS CONNECTION AND YOU MAY RETURN TO HOW YOU SHOULD BE.”

There was a crackle of static. The puppet’s glasses powered off and his head slumped forward. “IT IS GOOD, THEN, THAT YOU WILL NOT BE CONSCIOUS THIS TIME.” He dangled in the creature’s grasp as the plastic skin glowed and began to peel away in incomprehensible strings of numbers and words. Fear claimed a hold over his processors.

No… no! He needed the little puppet. He had things left to explain! Tenna grabbed at the strings at his wrists, then pulled as tight as he could. The neon green wires curled around his hand and tightened. They dug in through the gloves as he tried to yank the puppet back. “I don’t accept your deal.” He turned his screen back on and smiled with long, flat teeth. The little puppet was pulled, but only as much as the hand allowed. “You’re not taking him.” He was dangling limply in the creature’s grasp.

Another laugh. The shadows were lapping at Tenna’s feet. “YOU ARE FRAGMENTING THIS TALE, LORD OF SCREENS. YOU HAVE TAKEN A POWER THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. WILL YOU BE RESPONSIBLE, THEN, FOR ITS DOWNFALL?”

“I’m going to help my Lightners, just as I always wanted. I’m going to make them laugh, smile. I’ll see another smile on Kris’ face. I’m going to get to the bottom of everything.”

“BUT FROM THAT DESIRE, YOU HAVE WARPED YOUR OWN PURPOSE. YOU HAVE STRIPPED THE ANGEL OF THEIR POWER, FORCING THEM TO TAKE UP OTHER MEASURES OF CONTROL.”

The shadows were knee-high now. The wires continued to dig into his hands, denting the thin metal beneath his gloves. If the puppet was still around, he was fighting to stay around;

“The Angel? I don’t know who that is! But… if this is their power, then they should have been using it better!” His antenna leaned in closer. He tugged harder on the wires to try to free his little puppet. 

“WHAT THEY DECIDE TO DO WITH THEIR POWER IS NOT YOUR CONCERN.” The voice chided. “WHAT MATTERS, IS THAT THEY REGAIN WHAT THEY LOST. OTHERWISE, A DIFFERENT CALAMITY MAY OCCUR.”

He tugged harder and harder on the wire. “Well, I’m not giving it back. Not yet.”

CRACK!

The wire snapped and launched the puppet into the darkness. His hand wrenched back and his shoulders flared in pain, as if they’d been cleaved from his body again. The white-hot crackle of electricity that faded into cold. He let out a crackly cry, then tried to reach for the darkness, reach for the puppet.

His puppet, his head unhelpfully supplied. His little mailman, he couldn’t lose him again. Not again. The sentiment echoed through the pain. He had to reach further and further, grab the little mailman, his little mailman. Pull him back, hold him tight. 

“LORD OF SCREENS…” The hand reached forward and grabbed Tenna’s wrist. “I’M AFRAID, YOU DON’T HAVE A CHOICE.”

His screen powered off, and his body too, collapsed beneath him. His feet finally found purchase as the wires slowly moved him down.

No… it couldn’t… just end like this. He was in reach of everything he’d ever wanted. He just wanted to help. He just wanted to have his partner back. He wanted to see his Lightner smile again, to get to the bottom of the reasons why! This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He wouldn’t accept it, that’s not good for pacing, wouldn’t make for good TV. If he had control, then he would exert it, change the narrative.

He heard the ticking of a clock as the last little bits of his consciousness slipped from him.

He jolted back into awareness. Tenna was standing in his bubble, yelling at the little rat. He could feel the strain in his speakers. “We were…” He frowned, then took a breath. The words he was going to say died on his lips as a feeling like deja vu hit him in a wave. “Give me a minute.” 

He felt nauseous, even though he had no stomach. He felt a feeling of overwhelming dread that made Tenna’s legs shake.

Rootkit allowed him that much as he stood by the edge. He looked startled too as he fidgeted with the joints on his hands. The argument, whatever it was about, died right there. His glasses went dark, and his hands started shaking.

He was behind the hospital. The dumpster was behind the green fence, the light post flickered through the night, the phone… still stood off to the side. 

The phone! He remembered the phone, how it rang for him, even in his color bar world. How the line clicked as soon as he moved into it. He remembered the strange, dark void they’d been in before. He could still feel the creature’s hands on his wrist, even if they weren’t there anymore.

He remembered how the creature’s words reverberated against the empty, and how there seemed to be something stalking the edges, like something from a nightmare. He could hear the screaming beneath the creature’s tone in the otherwise eerie silence. 

He could remember losing Rootkit to the darkness, then passing out. But he and the puppet were still dead. They shouldn’t be able to affect them. So…how? How had they done that? How had they… deactivated him? How had they...?

Tenna didn’t wait for Rootkit to interject or comment. He willed the color bars back, laughing in relief as he saw the bright lights, then pushed past the hospital and into a newly-parked car, then even further down the road. He could hear a phantom ringing in his head, beckoning him to pick up the phone again.

Tenna moved as far as he could from that phone, down several alleys, around a few bends, and past several run-down houses, and found himself in a lamp post with no phones in sight. With a sigh, he unpaused time and slunk down against the edge of the bubble. 

Light had started to emerge from the towering pine trees. He… couldn’t help but look. The Lightner’s world was so bright, so vibrant! He’d seen glimpses through his screen, when Asriel and Kris would push him to make him watch for strangers outside their window. But this… this was different.

The colors were brighter, yet darker too. The contrast between the pale green oaks and the dark green pines were staggering. He’d kept a tree around, yes, but it was made of plastic and kept in the dark. The needles were something to behold here. The green-yellow grass was nothing like it was in the movies. It looked more real, more life-like. He could trace where the soil line started, could pick out where rocks jutted out from the dirt. 

The puppet made a buzzing noise, a gasp with static. “That’s…” Something got caught in his throat, so Tenna followed the puppet’s eyes. 

It was a sunrise. They were a little late, but it was a sunrise all the same. The puppet stared out in awe, softly smiling at the distance. He, too, took a seat in their little bubble and they both watched the sky transform from bright reds and oranges, to pinks shifting into blues.

It wasn’t a perfect view, not by any stretch. He’d seen better cinematography and depictions of a sunrise in some of the romance films Tori and Asgore would watch on their date nights, or when a movie wanted to show the beauty of a scenic location. There were too many clouds to properly capture the moment. They weren’t at a high enough angle. Some of the taller apartment buildings blocked their sight. 

But… there was something different about seeing it for yourself. Some things just couldn’t be captured by cameras or by the TV.

He sat there in the warm, yellow glow for a little while, watching the leaves, the wind, the sun and the clouds. It was a comfortable silence, despite everything. Tenna didn’t have to think right now. Eventually though, he had to address the elephant in the room, the puppet in the bubble. 

“Did you see all that too?” He finally asked, his eyes still locked onto a tree in the distance.

The puppet was quiet, at least verbally, but the sound of a dial tone filled the air. He would take that as an answer.

Tenna nodded. “So then, that was him?” He looked up at the sky again, tracing a cloud with his screen. “That was your mysterious benefactor?”

He heard the puppet shift uncomfortably. “HOW… DID YOU [Get up] BACK? I [Did not know that] GET MY [[FREEDOM]],” he said instead. “HE… HE [Uueeheehee!! I didn’t cheat, cheat!] ME!” 

A fair question. Tenna looked at the puppet, watched as he ground his teeth together. “I don’t know. He…” Tenna frowned. His freedom, he wanted his freedom. How would he have- oh. “I think you need to focus on the wording there. Didn’t you… have experience in reading contracts?”

The puppet glared at him from beneath his glasses. “I [Reading is Power!] PLENTY, [Trash Heap].” With a growl, he added, “MAYBE YOU [You missed that one! Try another!] IT UP AGAIN!” His face turned red. “YOU RUINED MY [Exciting Deals enclosed!] AGAIN!”

“I didn’t ruin anything,” he insisted, with a bit of a huff. Tenna took a breath and ran his hand down his screen. “He… did something. Your… skin was starting to peel away,” The thought made him recoil. It hadn’t been a gory sight, but there was something deeply horrifying about watching a man start to unravel. “Somehow… I don’t think his definition of freedom is the same as what you were thinking. He was… probably trying to get rid of us. But, it didn’t stick.”

“OH.” The puppet face paled as he grabbed his hand, the same hand he used to make the deal, then ran his hand across his face, as if he were trying to find some proof of the action. He traced his finger over the creases in his jaw, along his neck and his wrists where the joints were segmented. It was… a bit strange that his hands would automatically go there. 

Well, he supposed there was some chipped paint there, yes, but there was no proof. He didn’t have grooves in the plastic.

And it wasn’t like Tenna knew what happened. He heard the clock, then Tenna was back here. It was like when Kris would press the reset button on Asriel’s Human Town game.

Reset.. Button. His screen brightened and he snapped his finger. The bulb of the lamp turned on in a flash. “Wait! That’s it! I still had my time travel power! I just couldn’t access it there, but something worked! Something had to work! Does your power still work?”

The puppet tilted his head. The world shifted into the colorful world, then shifted back. Telephone chords wrapped around a rickety step-ladder and pulled it forward. Then, they watched as it tipped over and cracked along the ground. The rickety metal joints snapped off, leaving two halves of a ladder.

Tenna winced as the ground rumbled underneath. “Well, it works.”

“WE RESUME OUR PREVIOUS DEAL, [Trash Heap],” he said, staring at his own hand. “WE [Hero’s Forge] OUR OWN [[FREEDOM]].”

Tenna nodded. “Of course.” He studied the smaller Darkner, then sighed. “And for what it’s worth, I’m glad to see you’re okay… relatively speaking. We’ve still got a lot to talk about, but I think it can be shelved for now.” He paused, it was make or break. He could be wrong, he could be talking to an entirely different person. And if that was the case, he’d go back to the other name.

But… if it was him…

“Spamton.”

The puppet looked up, though he didn’t look shocked to hear the name. He was quiet, as if there was nothing to say about it.

If this was Spamton, then he was almost unrecognizable. He didn’t have his fitted suits, or his dazzling smile. He didn’t give off that entrancing glow. His face was no longer slightly rounded at his cheeks. He no longer looked as well-fed as he had been before, when he was living the life of luxury in two different Dark Worlds. In fact, he looked practically like a skeleton. Somehow, he’d lost inches of his height, and his hair didn’t have that almost feather-like texture.

For all that was different, though, he kept his sharp chin and cheekbones. It came at a cost, however. He had no lips and his teeth formed a permanent smile.

His words were strange, his voice was off. If this was Spamton, then his voice had suffered almost as much as his appearance did. There was so much expression before. He was always loud and blunt with his words, a bit sarcastic, but it was different now. Any tone shifts he had before were gone, drowned underneath feedback. Even as he tried to actively listen for it, the static was too thick to break through. 

Then, there were the ads. The ad breaks and line pulls happened from time to time in the past, yes. While Spamton always played it off, he kind of knew it was something the little Darkner was self-conscious about. Now, it happened every other sentence. And from how he acted, it had been like that for a while, a long while. He no longer looked sheepish, just tired.

Ultimately, it felt like he was mocking the already bittersweet memory of his former partner. It was like someone made a caricature of his mailman, then gave it life, memories, and feelings. A Darkner of a Darkner.

If this was Spamton… if he truly was who Tenna feared he was, then something deeply wrong had happened between their last meetings, other than the obvious situation that got them both here in a lamp post. 

It meant that the man had panicked for a reason other than cold feet. It meant that Tenna had failed a former friend, former partner, former… whatever they were. It meant that the regrets he had about Spamton had to shift. He couldn’t just dwell in how badly he hurt Tenna, right? He couldn’t just hold a grudge, right? Even if he stewed in those feelings for years at this point, even if the emotions weren’t quite settled. 

He took a breath, afraid to ask what he would ask next. “That is your name, right?” Tenna asked. “It’s you, right?”

The puppet sighed. “YES.” Nonchalant, unbothered. He looked back along the treeline to watch the birds.

…And Tenna was supposed to continue on like it was normal. 

He was here now. No, actually. He’d been here the entire night! He’d been there for Tenna’s retelling, he’d been there when he helped Berdly. He made a deal with him! They had a deal again! He was there even further back when Tenna didn’t notice anything was wrong. 

Tenna wanted to question the man again, now armed with knowledge of his own. What happened to him? Why did he leave? He was confused, angry, upset, and… drained. It had been such a long night, and he would be lying if he said he was really ready for this conversation. Ultimately, a smarter part of himself, the less rash and impulsive part of himself he rarely listened to, told him just to settle for a bit. 

So, Tenna watched the birds along with Spamton in a somewhat cozy silence. There was far too much to say right now, too much to think about. He would rather just watch the world go on for a little while.

Eventually, a figure came out of the building down below, a purple dragon-like monster with her hair covering her eyes.

“Susie!” Tenna grinned down from the light, then willed the colors back into place. Then, he moved back into the base of the lamp post along the pedestrian walk buttons. He couldn’t quite reach her now, so he let time continue to flow.

Susie stepped around and looked at the ladder. “I know this thing was secure against the house,” she grumbled. “This sucks. Dad’s going to know that…” She sighed, then stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “Well, I don’t have to deal with that right no-” As she walked up to the lamp, Tenna paused time and reached for Susie.

The first thing Susie did when she was pulled into the RGB world was groan. She pressed her fingers into her brow and looked up at Tenna. “I thought you were going to stay at Castle Town.”

Tenna smiled sheepishly. “I got the tour! Ralsei is very good at making someone feel included.”

“How did you even get out?” Susie asked. “Not that I’m not happy to see you and…” She looked at Spamton and narrowed her eyes. “Whoever that guy is.”

“[SPAMTON G. SPAMTON],” he introduced with a strained smile and an outstretched hand. “YOU MIGHT KNOW ME FROM-”

“Oh yeah, your face was all over Queen’s castle, right?” Susie looked back at Tenna.

Spamton’s jaw clamped shut. “... YES! I LIVED THERE!” He was sweating.

Susie crossed her arms. “I don’t think Queen’s the type to hang pictures of other people in her castle. And the… eggs? I don’t think those were hers, somehow.”

Spamton, surprisingly, let the ‘egg’ comment go. Usually he was more outspoken about people not calling them that. “WHAT’S A LITTLE [PIPIS] BETWEEN [Friend Request] AND [Neighboring Cities]?” He waved up at Tenna “HE HAD A [PIPIS] TOO!”

“Oh yeah,” Susie rolled her eyes, then looked up at Tenna. “Do you know this guy or something?”

He looked down at the smaller Darkner, then down at Susie. “Yes,” he admitted with a sigh. “Though I… didn’t know about whatever happened at Queen’s castle!” That would be something for him to explain later, too! “We… worked together a while back.” 

He still had the pipis, too. She was locked securely away in a cabinet, until she was suddenly on the floor. He bet one of the Pippins opened it. He… was ashamed that he left her alone like that, but he was so wrapped up in his deal, and the Knight, and the threat of everyone leaving.

“Huh.” Susie tilted her head at the Darkner, then at Tenna. Her face shifted to a smirk. “Well, alright then. So, do you want a ride? I’d use the flashlight, but it’s in Castle Town. I’ll have to find something else before I leave. But, I’m going there anyway.”

Tenna nodded. “I’d love a ride back, as long as it doesn’t involve phones!” He laughed nervously.

Susie snorted. “No problem. I’ll be back.”

Tenna let the world shift back and watched Susie move away from the lamp. Then, he looked at Spamton. “You took over her castle?” He demanded with a hiss. “Why would you do that?!”

Spamton shrugged. “I WAS JUST [Pick Up] SOMETHING, AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE [[FUN]]. THROW A FEW [PIPIS] AROUND, CHANGE A [LIMITED TIME ONLY!] PAINTINGS.”

He wasn’t sure he believed that, but he didn’t want to get into that now. There was so much wrapped up in that topic, too much to get into now. He threw up his hands. “Sure. Makes sense.” He plastered a smile on his face. “But we can talk more about it later, haha!”

Susie came back with an old, worn-looking remote. “I hope this thing works. We don’t know what it’s for anymore. Shouldn’t be a problem for me to just take it.” She held out the remote to the lamp, then waited a moment. Tenna took that chance and moved into the remote and let time pass by.

Susie stuck the remote in her pocket and put her hands behind her head. “Ugh, didn’t get that much sleep last night. I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday, you know?”

“But you did get some, right?” Tenna asked. “Even the most terrifying Monster needs their sleep! Susiezillas are no exception!”

Susie grinned. “I got some. So, what have you been doing?”

“Well, I got a tour, for one. Then I followed along with Kris when they showed up.”

“Kris showed up? What did they want?”

Tenna nodded. “It was after you left. They wanted to talk to Ralsei too.” He could feel static in his mouth. They must have shown up after they murdered Berdly. No wonder they looked so nervous. “They didn’t really say much, but they seemed kind of upset. They said they’d be showing up early to talk alone, because Ralsei didn’t want me listening in. He didn’t even tell them I was there.” He pouted. 

“Maybe… that’s best.” She buried her hands deep into her pockets. “Cause obviously, there’s something going on with them. A secret for a secret, yeah? If they’re not telling us what’s going on, then we shouldn’t tell them about this. I’m… not saying we’ll never tell em’ just… maybe not now.”

‘There is something going on with them.’ Tenna tried to quash down the worry and anger he felt about them. “I guess. But… Ralsei knowing things like this and not telling anyone is also concerning.”

Susie nodded softly. “I’ll talk to him. We… we’re supposed to be more honest with each other. I don’t want to jump to anything right now. I just hope it’s something stupid, like he’s trying to solve it all by himself… not that….” She stopped at a crosswalk and took a breath, then crossed the road. “And what about you… Spamton?”

“OH I’VE BEEN [Here and there]!” The puppet grinned. “SAW YOUR [total action movie stunt]!” He laughed to himself.

Susie growled. “So, what? What about it?”

“JUST THAT… [HOOCHI MAMA] OF YOURS SEEMED [Ice Shock]. EVEN [Cut through the haze!].” He leaned back in the bubble. “[LOVE FINDS ITS WAY TO THE GIRL], AFTER ALL.”

The words Spamton recited echoed with that same cadence as the entity did, with the same garbage noise beneath. Susie froze, like a deer caught in headlights. “Wait how do you-”

“I KNOW THINGS [2 For $4].” He shrugged. “MAYBE YOU CAN GET THROUGH TO [Find Her], OR MAYBE YOU CAN’T.”

“Where did you pick up this guy, anyway?” Susie asked in a grumble, “Why even tell me this?”

Tenna pressed his hand against his face. “He said he was around since I woke up. I already asked him that question earlier.”

“I didn’t see him earlier.” Susie furrowed her brow. “I saw you but I didn’t see him.”

“There’s a lot to explain,” he said with a sigh. How do you even explain that your former business partner had been trapped in your head the whole time, that he’d been mocking you the entire time, and that you recently went through something so harrowing that you were putting aside differences. You just kind of don’t! Not well, at least in Tenna’s opinion. But… some of it still had to be talked about. 

“ME AND [CATHODE] HAVE A DEAL. HE [Help Wanted!] TO HELP THE LIGHT nERS. SO! I am [Services offered].”

Tenna nodded. He was glad Spamton remembered that part. ”I do, and we all want to get to the bottom of everything. To do that… I’d like to get everyone’s thoughts on what’s been going on.” Kris seemed to be the center of everything, right now. 

“I get it.” Susie nodded. “Ralsei’s pretty smart. I bet that nerd’ll come up with something.”

“HE DOES [Know] ABOUT EVERYTHING.” Spamton’s teeth tugged down. “BUT… MAYBE NOT ALL THIS.”

Tenna… couldn’t help but agree, especially given what they’d experienced just a little while ago.

“We’ll figure it out,” Susie insisted. “We have to.” Her teeth ground together as she continued to press on, determined.

It was a longer walk from Susie’s house to the school, but it was more populated this time. There was excitement in the air for the upcoming festival. Signs were posted, traffic cones were set up. The ghost from the previous night was doing their best to try to direct traffic, but they seemed overwhelmed at the amount of cars, especially as they all piled up around them. 

People were around in the early morning, setting up and getting everything done before the big event. People walked by with pastries wrapped in small napkins and drank coffee as they talked excitedly about the ferris wheel. Others talked about the various prize booths, wondering if they could win anything this year or if it was rigged again.

It was… nice. It made Tenna feel almost part of the hustle and bustle, instead of being left alone while his family had fun. Of course, he'd much rather walk through the towns with everyone, but he was just a big box plugged into the wall!

… or rather, he was. He wasn’t sure what he was now. He would come back to that later too. There was too much to think about. 

Through the crowd, he could see familiar people waving through the growing number of Monsters. Asgore’s taller stature made his horns prevalent, while Carol’s ice-blue antlers simply stood out by themselves. They looked to be walking somewhere together, but they were out of sight soon after Tenna saw them.

That was probably fine. He was just glad that they remained friends, even if their personalities seemed to clash. Did Toriel stay friends with Carol? Did either of them visit Rudy? Everything just changed so quickly, too quickly to keep track of.

Susie was at the school now. She lightly pushed the front door open and walked inside the empty hallway, then into the closet Dark World.

Chapter Text

Tenna could feel the comforting pull of this darkness wash over him. It felt… like an old friend, like a cozy blanket. He fell from Susie’s pocket as she transformed.

The remote he was sitting in also transformed in the darkness, shifting into a smaller Zapper with worn, red buttons along his chest. He looked around, a bit confused, but eager. 

Susie finally fell to the ground and eyed the Zapper warily. “Oh… right.”

“Heyya boss!” The Zapper bounced in place. “I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t youse worry! I can keep a secret! I was hearin’ you talkin’ to someone.” 

“Can you follow me?” Susie asked. “I can… have Ralsei show you around later, if you want.”

The Zapper nodded. “Youse can leave it to me!” He saluted.

“And uh…” Susie looked around. “Just… don’t mention anything about this.” Her focus fell squarely on the Zapper. “Hey Tenna, you still there?”

“Ye-” Tenna's surroundings stuttered and shuddered. The colors flashed in, then flickered back out. It was like there was static from a TV Channel. He felt his sense of gravity shift around. He wasn’t centered in the core of the object anymore, and seemed somewhat taller than he’d been prior moments. Tenna’s head felt lighter than it normally did, and he felt more drained than usual too, as if he'd been disconnected from the wall.

He pressed his hand against his face, only to find a smooth, plastic surface instead of glossy glass. His gloves were missing, replaced by a set of bright blue hands. He froze in place.

“...Tenna? Everything okay, man?” 

Tenna looked down at her, looked at the way her nonchalant smile shifted to something more worried. 

He studied his hand, looked down at his chest. There were buttons there. Why were there buttons there? Where was his screen? Where was his suit? And Spamton was gone again. He was just gone! 

“Uh… Zapper… are you okay too? You… look kind of… freaked out?” She huffed. “I’m not good at this kind of thing. But uh… It’ll be fine. You’re gonna like this town.”

Oh! And now the Zapper was freaking out too! They were usually the most level-headed employees Tenna had! 

“[Trash Heap], YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN.”

He could still hear him. He couldn’t see Spamton, but he could still hear him. “I don’t know what’s going on,” Tenna said. His voice didn’t sound like his own voice anymore. 

“Yeah, we’ll explain things later.” Susie sounded mad. “But you can’t tell anyone, got it?” she snarled.

‘JUST KEEP TALKING.’

Talking? Talking?! “Haha! Well! Alright! Talking, I do love talking!” If he had teeth, he would have grit them together, but he couldn’t find his own face. He looked away from Susie, waved his hands through the air. “Guess we can gloss this over too! We can add this to the Marvelous Mystery Board, along with everything else! That’s just fine!” 

“...Tenna?” Susie walked around and looked up at him. “Is that you?”

Why was that in question? Of course it was him! “My dear viewer! I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m glad to hear that you don’t need the title card!”

“That's pretty weird.” Susie narrowed her eyes up at him. “It must be… one of your ghost powers!” She snapped. “I’ve heard that old Humans used to think Ghost Monsters could actually possess people.” She rolled her eyes lightly, scoffing at the idea. “But… maybe there’s some truth in it here.”

“What?! What does that mean?” He pressed the buttons on his chest and watched as magic formed around to increase the volume, then he pressed a different button and decreased the volume. His hands shot to his head, or the Zapper’s head. He didn’t want this. He should be himself! This was as much of a gross overreach as he feared it would.  “I can’t just-”

Susie just pushed him forward. “Come on, let’s go see Ralsei. We’ll get you somewhere else to hang out.” Then, she took the lead.

His balance was shot, totally and fully. It took him a moment before he could really move. Each action had to be specifically thought of, then planned out. He tripped over the Zapper’s foot and fell forward the first few times trying to walk. The humiliation took him out of his head, as did Spamton’s laughter every time he face-planted. Susie tried to hide a laugh, making little snorting noises and the beginnings of her deep laugh before she cut herself off.

“I’m not-” he fell over again. “Used to walking on one foot.” How did the Zappers do this and still drag things around?

“This is taking forever.” Susie eyed the castle, eyed Tenna, then she lifted him above her head. “JUST GO WITH ME ON THIS!”

“Wh- Susie!”

The Monster ran through the small town, laughing as she held the Zapper above her head. It was a bit mortifying to watch the Darkners all come out of the buildings, all the shops and small homes built on the outskirts.

“Relax dude! I do this with Lancer ALL THE TIME!” She grinned. 

He saw Lanino and Elnina come out of the Dojo and just stare at him. In the brief moment he saw them, he traced their expressions into his head. He wouldn’t forget the shock as long as he stuck around.

Susie dropped him off in front of the castle gates with a grin. “Do you think you can manage from here? Or do I have to carry you up?”

Tenna took a few hops, trying to figure out the way he was supposed to move before giving a thumbs up. “I’lll… be okay!”

“Good, because I don’t want to carry you up the stairs.”

Oh for the love of sitcoms, he forgot about the stairs! He followed behind Susie, putting his entire focus on trying to hop correctly. It was slow and methodical. Susie held the door open and he hopped through the castle’s door. He noticed Ralsei was already at the top of the staircase, axe in hand and watching curiously as Susie led him through. Then… he got to the stairs.

“Who’s your new friend?” Ralsei asked, with a bit of cheer in his voice.

Susie put her arms behind her back, then walked up. “I think he can tell you himself. Brought a remote from home, don’t use it for anything.”

“Oh! Lanino and Elnina wanted a friend! Maybe this’ll remind them of home!”

“I don’t want to think about talking to them like this right now,” he grumbled. He left their relationship on a sour note, the last thing he wanted was to hop into their lives and trip on his face. Tenna looked up, sighed. “Well! I will get to my lovely introduction card as soon as I figure out how to climb!” He gripped the banister with both of his hands and jumped lightly. 

“Uh… what?”  Ralsei sounded confused. And… that seemed fair.Tenna didn’t really know either.

He hopped up the stairs, one by one. Each stair climbed made Tenna more and more aware of just how much he appreciated his Zappers. When he got up to the stop, he couldn’t help but puff out his chest. “Did you see that?” He asked. 

“Maybe we should have made a ramp,” Ralsei said softly. “Are we meeting in your room, Susie?”

“Yup!” She put her hands behind her back, then moved through into the hallway.

There was an awkward look shared between Tenna and Ralsie as they both walked along the landing, then in through the doors, then even further down into the hallway. Ralsie pressed forward and moved to a pink door and held it open for Susie and Tenna.

“Thank you.” 

Then, they made their way inside. In the time since they were there last, Ralsei had put a wall up again and set up a few chairs around the floor. Susie immediately moved to her bed and fell back against the bed, wrapping her claws around the soft covers. Then, she sat up. Tenna took a seat as Ralsei closed the door behind them. Then, he sat as well. 

“So…” Ralsie’s tone was stilted as he looked at Tenna. “What… what’s your name? And… why did Susie lead you here?”

Tenna leaned back in the chair. “Well, this is where I would play my VHS tape if I could, but something tells me that someone as smart as you can figure it out just fine! Did you get back to your room okay after tea? I would have stuck around, but I had things to investigate. They could never get me to stand still, you know!” He pressed his hand against his face, looked at Susie and chuckled. “And believe me, Mike’s sure tried.” Man, he missed his word art.

Ralsei clasped his hands together in front of his snout, then looked at Susie. “Is this…?”

Susie nodded. “We’re all as surprised as you are.”

“Okay.” Ralsei took a breath. “Okay.” He rubbed his face with his paw. “Tenna, right?”

“Yup! Though, we’ve got a few guests now. The poor Zapper, for one, and my previous partner. Thought he was a voice in my head for a little while there, but nope!” His voice was straining. “Nope! He’s just there now!”

‘YOU DON’T HAVE TO INTRODUCE ME,’ Spamton insisted. His voice sounded strained. ‘JUST TALK.’

“Ah, but he’s feeling a bit shy, it seems.” Which was… strange. Spamton was always so outgoing, boisterous. But… he guessed it was fine. “Didn’t mean to leave you high and dry there, Ralsei, but I wanted to follow Kris and check something out for myself. Loved the tour though! What a magnificent town you have! And it was so nice to see how Lanino and Elnina were doing!”

Ralsie nodded softly, then looked down at the floor, pressing back the fur on his hand. “So… what did you find out when you went with Kris?”

There was a certain skill to telling stories, especially in his industry. Tenna tilted his head to the side. Draw them in. “Nothing much. It was a cool night, very quiet, except for the rain, of course.” Then, he tapped his face with his hand. “Ah, but there was something strange. The hospital was pretty busy. It’s a bit sad to say, but I had to work my magic again. The poor little bluebird.” Then drop the bait. 

Susie’s attention was fully on Tenna now. “Berdly?! He died?! He knows now?”

Tenna nodded. “Well, I couldn’t just let him stay murdered, now could I?” Another hint, some little speck of information. If Ralsei wouldn’t lay all his cards on the table, then Tenna would stack his cards one at a time. “So, yes. He knows now.”

Susie and Ralsei both covered their faces. “I mean…” Susie shook her head. “Murdered? Really?”

“Saw it with my own screen. Saw who it was too, and it was the strangest thing. Looked kind of… like a friend.” He looked at Ralsei and pressed his face into his hands. “You know something, right? There’s something going on with them.”

“...You’re saying that… Kris did that?” Susie asked, her voice strained. “They…?”

Tenna looked at her. “Sorry, but yes. I’m not happy about it either.” His head turned back to Ralsei. “But… I know there’s something wrong with them. I don’t think they wanted to do that. Please… can you tell me something? Because sometimes I see them and they’re just… wrapped up in wires. Or… they’re doing something against their nature. They didn’t even know their favorite food! They don’t seem happy.”

Ralsie tilted his head to the side and looked at the wall. “They’re… not. You saw them last night, how upset they seemed.” He took a breath and squeezed his hands around the edges of his scarf. “Susie, do you remember how the prophecy addressed Kris?”

Susie scoffed. “Yeah.” She waved her hand in the air. “The First Hero, a Cage with Human Soul and Parts. And yeah, they do have a cage in their room, but it seems a bit weird to address them like that.”

He wrung his hands together. “Well… what if it’s a bit more literal than you think? You saw the Soul, yeah?”

Susie nodded slowly. “You mean… that heart thing that was… giving off all that light?”

“Yeah. Kris is being used as a cage to hold the Soul so they can enact their own will.” He closed his eyes. “There’s… a lot of time where it’s not them in control. I knew this. I’ve known this, but it’s… hard to put into words. It’s not my secret to tell. Kris should have been the one to tell you, Susie.”

Tenna felt his stomach lurch. “So… it wasn’t them? It was… someone else?”

Susie gripped the bed covers with tense claws. “How long?”

“Since at least the first Dark World” Ralsei answered. “I’m sorry, I don’t know more than that.”

Suddenly things made a little more sense. No wonder they didn’t remember their favorite food, or what character Asriel played. It made sense why they seemed so passive.

“Were we even friends then?” Susie asked, voice shaky. She snorted, then barked a laugh. “Of course!” It lowered to a growl. “Stupid… stupid. It was just that stupid heart.”

That didn’t make any sense. “Kris wanted the both of you to have a fun time,” he insisted. “Back in TV World. When the Dark Fountain was opened, they asked me to make sure their friends had fun. I don’t think that was the Soul.” Thinking now, he could differentiate the raspy, low voice Kris used and the almost monotonous, sarcastic voice they started using.

Ralsei looked a little relieved. “We’re all friends, Susie! Even if… the Soul doesn’t seem to treat us like it.” He chuckled softly. “You know… having a title like the Angel would make you think they were nice! But…”

Tenna’s head turned sharply. “Angel?” There was that word again. It couldn’t have been just a coincidence.

Ralsei looked away. “Yeah. From what I could tell, that’s their title. Everyone part of the prophecy has one. It’s… like a story. I’m the Prince, Kris is the Cage, and Susie is the Girl.”

The words buzzed through his head. Titles and story beats enshrined in glass flashed to the forefront of his head. There was a man lurking in the darkness, waiting to spill secrets to a select few. “You have stripped the Angel of their power,” he repeated to himself softly. He opened his hands, then closed them, watching as his fingers curled. Then, he looked up. “Did I have a title?” He could feel the weight of the information pressing down on him. He knew the answer already.

Susie and Ralsei both looked away. “Yes,” Susie answered, unhappily. There was tension in the air.

He could feel the static build up in his throat, he could hear the screaming in his ear. It must have been the strange phrase that hung heavy on his soul. He held his hand up. “You don’t have to tell me right now. There’s something a little more important right now; I think the Soul’s feeling pretty glooby right now!” He waggled his finger. ”Apparently, I’ve taken their power. I’ve broken something.” He couldn’t help the smile in his voice. If the Soul were responsible for this madness, then what’s the harm in a little mayhem? He would take a page out of the Pippins’ book.

Ralsei seemed concerned. He messed with the edges of his scarf as he thought. “Maybe… that’s what Seam meant? Maybe that’s the power they couldn’t identify.” He looked up at Tenna. “How do you know this?”

He could feel the plastic limbs of the Zapper constrict. His arms shook, his hands clenched into fists. Moving felt sluggish as he tried to make an overly cheery facade. He didn’t mean to do that, must have been involuntary. 

Eventually, his limbs cooperated and they went above his head. “Oh! Why, just a simple phone call, of course. Haha!” But even his words betrayed him. There was the sound of a dial as he spoke, of garbled noise and static. He tried to push that aside. “Got a call before talking to Susie.” He put his hands in his lap and tilted his head. “Wouldn’t rank high on the Fun-O-Meter,” he admitted softly.

The cold darkness felt colder, and he could feel sparks of a phantom pain in his shoulders again, dull but still present.

“What’d you steal?” Susie asked with a sly grin. “It had to be something cool, yeah?”

Tenna shrugged. “I’m really not sure. All I was told was that I took something, so now they were using other methods to control, or something.”

Susie nodded. “Well good on you! It makes you a little cool, not fully. You’re still…” She narrowed her eyes, then laughed. “But this is sick! Maybe we can use your powers to help Kris out, then we can both get some real answers from them.”

Then, they could all be better friends. He hated to see how fractured Susie and Kris seemed right now.

“So, you met Berdly, huh?” Susie raised an eyebrow. “How’d that go?”

Tenna shrugged. “He was fine.”

Susie stared. “You don’t have to sugarcoat it. He’s pretty annoying in class. And that’s without having to hear his thoughts.”

He may have been slightly arrogant, but compared to Spamton’s hayday, it was nothing. “He’s really not bad. I think he’s dealing with things badly, but he seemed to be concerned about Noelle, genuinely concerned, especially with how things ended off in Cyber World.” He wouldn’t delve further with that. Berdly could keep his feelings, they weren’t Tenna’s to share.

“... So what did Kris do?” Ralsei asked, hesitantly. “I am… trying to wrap my head around everything. As far as I know, the Angel is only supposed to have limited control. It’s what Kris said when I asked them. So… to hear that they killed someone is a bit… unnerving.”

Tenna looked down at the floor. “They came into the hospital room and clubbed Berdly with a metal pipe after smashing everything in the room. It wasn’t a pretty sight,” he admitted. “So, we went back in time and tried to help as much as we could. But… it was strange.” He looked at Susie. “You know how when I saved you, I mentioned something about wires?”

Susie nodded. “And something about a puppet, right? I mean… it kind of sounded like your voice.”

He wasn’t even sure that was him at this point, wasn’t sure how many of his thoughts at that time were actually Spamton, but he decided to let it go. “Well, I mentioned there were red wires around Noelle’s arms and chest. They were kind of faded, but they were there. Kris had those same wires, but they were… worse. They didn’t have them when they were talking in Seam’s shop, and they didn’t have them when they came back home.” Or at least, he didn’t notice them then.

“Maybe it’s the Soul,” Susie said with a frown and a claw pressed to her face, “But that would mean that Noelle’s…”

Also under the same thing Kris was. It was a hard pill to swallow. Everything had been too big of a pill, bitter against his tongue.

“Why can you see them?” Susie asked. “I mean, I didn’t see anything and we were in the same place.”

It was a gut feeling he had, nothing concrete, but the wires that tied him to Spamton seemed too coincidental to throw away. “I don’t think it’s my own power. I mentioned there was another person with me, yes?”

Susie’s face scrunched up. “You think it’s that weird dude in your head?” She narrowed her eyes, tilted her head and looked at the ceiling. “I mean… I guess you guys did have like… wires and stuff. But I thought that was just like… robot things. Especially since your arms were…”

“Oh, my wires aren’t all green. Actually, they’re mostly red, yellow, and white.” He counted the colors on his hand. “They have to be color-coordinated so they’re easy to fix later.“ He chuckled. “After all, I wouldn't want to connect my video input to my sound. Not a pretty picture, or a good sound. That being said, neon green is a new color for me.”

Ralsie touched his scarf. “Neon green? Like the scarf I gave you?”

The… the scarf? Tenna didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t even made the connection, but Ralsei kept talking.

“So, the Puppet Scarf might have come across as the wires the both of you saw. And considering you said there was another person, he might have been the Puppet Scarf, just as Jevil is currently the Devils Knife. There’s a precedent there, after all.”

‘I THOUGHT I HEARD THAT [Clown] LAUGHING,’ Spamton grumbled. Tenna felt his foot tap against the floor, then willed himself to stop. He didn’t mean to do that either.

“That makes sense,” Tenna said. “I… just didn’t know he was there.” He wished he did, maybe it would have made the beginning of the night less lonely. “But ah!” He laughed and waved off the negative feelings that hung around him like fog, “I want to talk with them, maybe see if we can figure all this out! If Kris’ been dealing with this for this long, maybe we can all figure something out!”

Susie smirked. “Well, I have a couple ideas.” She held her clawed hand out. “Wanna hear them?”

Ralsei’s voice was light, but stern. “Do not kill them.”

Susie sighed and sank back into the mattress. “Well, there goes my first idea.” But the smile on her face didn't leave. It wasn't a real suggestion, at any rate.

“What was your other idea?” Tenna asked. 

“I… bring them back here, and we could all talk like this. Tenna, if you can see what’s going on with them, you'll know when we need to stop talking about things, yeah?” She nodded at him, then looked at Ralsei. “Then after, we’ll figure out what we have to do.”

Ralsei nodded. “I still need to talk to them, at any rate. They wanted to talk earlier but they didn’t check back in,” he carefully reminded. “Just…”

Susie lifted herself off the bed and shook her head. “Relax, man. I’ll be as calm as I can,” Her smile twitched. “It’s just stupid, you know, all this stuff.”

She walked to the door frame, shot a look at Tenna and Ralsei, then beckoned them over. “Come on. We’ll walk a little before. Besides, I’m taking you with me Tenna. Ralsei, can you give me my flashlight?”

Ralsei jolted out of his seat, then gingerly laid the axe in her hands. “Yup!”

Susie grinned. “Nice. I’m going to get something to eat first, then we’ll leave.” 

Tenna rose from his own seat and followed behind slowly. “I don’t suppose you can help me around?”

Susie snorted. “Nope! I’m holding something.”

Ralsei offered him a patent smile. “You can hold my hand and I can help you down.” This was all a bit embarrassing, but he took Ralsei’s hand and hopped steadily alongside him. They made it to the banister and watched Susie walk first,

“Are you ready?” 

Tenna nodded. “Of course,”

Ralsei chuckled politely, then he led Tenna down the stairs, using his body as a second railing so Tenna could make sure he hopped in shorter jumps. Practice made perfect, after all. 

It got easier and easier with each step. Trying to not think about it seemed to be working better than overthinking each movement. He just had to trust in himself, trust that he wouldn’t fall.

Susie snorted. “Took you long enough.” She pushed her way forward and held the door of the castle open for Ralsei and Tenna, then they began their trek through town. 

During the early daylight hours, it seemed that this small town was a bit more populated, with jigsaw, heart, and diamond-shaped Darkners lining up for a pastry at the local bakery, or coffee at the cafe. Along the edges of town, he could see people living their lives without a care in the world. Though, even now it felt a bit lonely, like the streets could use more Darkners. 

Susie went into the cafe, skipping past the line going out the door of to-go orders, then moved up to the counter as Ralsei and Tenna entered.

Hmm. 

He didn’t know if he could taste things like this, but he felt a bit guilty for overriding the Zapper’s control like this. Even if he couldn’t, at least the Zapper would be fed. He glanced at Ralsei, then stared at a sign by the window. 

He vaguely remembered Spamton bringing home a box of macarons in flavors he thought Tenna would like, filled with vibrant hues and colors. Of course, this was back when the worst thing Tenna had to think about was how to hook a child to TV shows, before the divorce, before Spamton left, and before he was murdered in the snow. It was early on in their partnership, and they weren’t necessary on even ground, but Tenna found it sweet to see how much the little Addison cared. 

And when the little cookie sandwiches were a hit, Spamton would bring more of them on special days. Then of course, it stopped. He never had another macaron after Spamton left. 

It would be nice to feel that feeling again, to go back to that time. He’d use his debit card to pay, of course, but he’d lost that along with TV World… and slightly before it vanished too.

“Mind if I get something too?” Tenna asked, a bit softly. He looked back at the prince to gauge his expressions.

Ralsei nodded. “Of course.” He removed a sleek, plastic card from his sleeve. “Get anything you want. Anything you don’t eat, I’ll put away.” Then, they walked up to the counter, where someone was wiping down a coffee mug with a hand towel. 

He recognized him! “Swatch!” The name left his mouth without him thinking. 

The avian-like Darkner was just as colorful as Tenna remembered from their brief interactions in the past, with a black and white suit, with a color wheel on one side and a set of different-colored squares on the other, and a colorful set of shades along the brim of his beak.

He looked up from the cup he was wringing out, then his beak twisted. “Ah, hello.” His brow furrowed as he examined Tenna, carefully tracing his eyes and trying to take in every detail. “Do I… know you? I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before, but I could be wrong.”

His heart clenched. He laughed. “Ah! Haha! Sorry! No, you don’t. Haha.” His voice tapered off as he tried to fight back a deluge of emotions, sadness, anger, shock. “But I’ve heard about you.”

Swatch eyed Tenna warily before carefully resetting his expression. “Right. “ He looked at the rest of their little group. “So, what would you like?”

Ralsei smiled. “I’d like to get a CD Bagel.” He eyed Susie, then smiled at Swatch. “And a couple of MP3fins.” He tapped his chin and looked at the sign. “What flavor do you like, Susie?”

“Anything’s good!”

“A chocolate and a blueberry,” Ralsei finished. Then, he looked at Tenna. “And his order, of course. He’s with us too.”

“Is that how you’ve heard of me?” Swatch asked.

Ralsei took the reins. “I might have mentioned how good the food was.”

Swatch’s expression softened. “Well, then. I’m delighted to have a new customer. Did you want any recommendations?”

Tenna chuckled. “Ah, I think I know what I want.” He looked up at the sign and thought briefly back to the flavors from that day, how nervous Spamton seemed when he opened the little box. “I’d like a small box of macarons, if you have them.”

“We do, though I’m a bit surprised. We don’t have that on the sign right now as our stock is a bit limited at the moment.” Swatch smiled. “But I make small batches for some of my oldest customers or those who’ve figured out the menu. What flavors would you like?”

“Do you have butterscotch-cinnamon?” It was a shot in the dark, but… it was a regular flavor he got.

Swatch shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we haven’t carried that flavor for a few years now.”

Well! He had a back-up choice! They didn’t always have that flavor after all. “Aha! It’s no problem. What about raspberry?”

Swatch nodded and grabbed a small, black piece of cardboard from below the counter, then pulled at the edges. Suddenly, it was box-shaped. “Is that all you want?”

Tenna looked up at the sign. “If you have them, I want an even split of raspberry, salted caramel, espresso, and dark chocolate.” Two flavors for Tenna, two for Spamton. If what Tenna remembered was right, Spamton always preferred the deeper flavors, while Tenna couldn't stand the overly bitter notes.

A hint of recognition flashed behind Swatch’s glasses. “An interesting selection, especially after asking about a discontinued flavor.”

“What can I say? It must be a coincidence.” He shrugged.

Swatch nodded stiffly, “Must be.” then moved to the back with the box and a pair of tongs.

“Hey, what are macarons?” Susie asked.

Tenna chuckled. “They’re little cookie sandwiches made with almonds,” he explained lightly. “You’re not allergic to nuts, right?”

Susie scoffed. “Me? Nah. I can eat anything.” She bared her teeth with a smile, then chomped at the air. “So are they like… fancy?”

Tenna shrugged. ”Kinda? We’d only ever get them on special occasions.” He sighed and pressed his hand to his face, then recoiled at the strange texture. Right, that wasn’t his face. He knelt down by Susie’s face and pressed his hand to his face to whisper, “These are the flavors we got, actually. I’ve kind of missed them.” He stood up straight. “But I’ll be happy to share. I’m not even sure I can taste them anymore.”

Susie looked at him oddly, then quickly pinched Tenna’s arm.

“Ow!” Tenna rubbed his arm. A small growl, then a word indecipherable and filled with static left his mouth. “[Watch the merchandise, pal!]” Oh he didn’t say that. Could Spamton also talk? If he could, why wasn’t he?

Susie smirked. “Looks like you can feel things. Shouldn’t you be able to taste things too?” She crossed her arms. “But if you can’t, I’ll eat your part for you.”

Swatch came back from the back, holding the box in his hands. “You’re in luck, we had enough to fill the box.” He eyed the little group, then smiled. “It’s nice to serve these particular pastries, reminds me of a simpler time.” He cleared his throat, gave the total, then swiped Ralsei’s card down the machine and handed it back. “I do hope to see you again.” Then, he handed off a small paper bag to Ralsei and moved onto the next customer.

Tenna took the box, eyed it warily, then handed it to Ralsei. “For safekeeping, just until we sit down.”

Ralsei stifled a small laugh, while Susie barked out a loud rumbly chortle. 

“They’re delicate!” Tenna insisted. ”Normally I would just keep them somewhere safe, but I can’t do that right now.”

“It’s okay. Let’s just go sit down.”

Despite the line, the tables were pretty sparse. It meant they could grab a seat anywhere, so they chose to sit near the back. It was far enough away that they had the illusion of privacy, at least until someone took the table nearest them. As long as Tenna could keep his voice down, it would be fine!

They sat in their chairs, with Susie taking the extra chair to prop her feet up, then pulled out their breakfast. The MP3fins went straight to Susie without a second thought as Ralsei took the CD Bagel for himself. 

Then, the goat Darkner bit into it. He didn’t spread anything along the inside, nor did he get a CD Bagel with anything in it! It was just a bagel!

“I… you know kid, they give you little packets of honey or something. You can get cream cheese.” Tenna suggested. “It would really make it taste better.”

Ralsei shrugged. “It’s fine.”

Tenna would have to make sure this kid ate better than this. For as much as he shared characteristics with the Dreemurrs, he sure didn’t share their palate. 

Meanwhile, Susie had taken the blueberry MP3fin in her hand and was studying it for a moment. Then, she chomped down on the entire thing, paper and all. 

This was horrific. Why was this happening?

“S-Susie! You know you don’t have to eat the paper!”

Susie laughed. “Dude! Can’t waste good paper!”

What kind of home life did she have?!

Tenna wrenched his head away from the sight and looked down at his own breakfast, though it wasn’t much of one if he was honest. He hoped the Zapper didn’t mind that fact as he opened the pristine-looking box. 

There were a dozen perfect little macarons, each sectioned off by their flavors and in different, bright colors. A bright pink for raspberry, a light orange for caramel, a deep brown for chocolate, and a more dusty brown for the espresso flavor. He picked up one of the raspberry macarons and sighed. 

It had been so long.

Susie whistled. “That’s a fancy-lookin’ cookie. What’s it got in it?”

“I think it’s white chocolate.”

‘IT’S [white chocolate ganache, Spamton. Not buttercream.],’ Spamton piped up, with a voice decidedly not Spamton’s. ‘[EASEL] WOULDN’T LET ME [Don’t forget] IT.’

“A white chocolate ganache,” Tenna clarified. 

Susie’s eyebrows scrunched. “That’s a made up word. Ganache isn’t a real word.”

“No, actually. It’s a real word. It’s French,” Ralsei explained.

“... Huh.” She scratched her face with her claw. “I know French now. Cool.” She looked at the cookie, then up at Tenna. “Well, aren’t you going to eat it?”

Right. With one of his hands, he traced his face until he located what could have been the mouth, or at least what the Zappers used to eat. “I’m… going to eat it then.” He felt the vibrations, felt movement along his face. Then, he lifted the cookie up and bit into it.

The flavor was dull at first, like the sensation of putting on a glove. The sour raspberry taste was there, in theory, but numb. Disappointing, but there was a part of him that felt satisfied with it, almost nostalgic. Then, the taste intensified. He could taste the sweetness of the white chocolate, the sugar in the raspberries. The tart flavor was like TV snow as it buzzed pleasantly in his mouth.

This was what he remembered. He could almost picture himself back in TV World, sitting along one of the couches as he and Spamton celebrated a successful show, sipping wine and eating celebratory pastries until they were sick.

“How is it?” Susie asked, eying the box. 

Oh, Tenna could cry. “It’s…good.” He couldn’t be getting this emotional over a cookie! He took a breath and chuckled. “It’s pretty good. Did you want one?”

Susie greedily snatched a raspberry cookie and popped it into her mouth.”Whoa. That’s like nothing. Didn’t take much to chew through it. Think I’d eat more than just one. Pretty good though.”

Tenna laughed. “It’s pretty easy to eat more than you should.” Spamton’s laugh rumbled inside his head. Clearly, he agreed too. He picked up a different flavor, this time the dark chocolate. “This one’s not sweet.”

Susie frowned. “Then what’s the point of it? They should be sweet. Otherwise it’s just… food.”

Tenna laughed. “Well, I think it’s a way-” he felt his mouth move on his own as his voice cut out. “NOT ALL [Worst Desert stages] HAVE TO BE [Don’t miss out on these sweet deals!]! THE SWEET [Halloween Masks for sale!] SOME OF THE FLAVOR. YOU [set him loose] THE FRUITY [Notice of Eviction] WITH [Got Milk?] CHOCOLATE.”

‘-that people can eat a dessert without really feeling like they are. Maybe a guilt thing.’ Oh. His words didn’t go through.

The pair shifted from the sudden volume, and people had turned their attention to their little table. “What?” Ralsei’s voice came out in a soft, shocked clip. 

Susie leaned in forward. “Must be the other guy,” she whispered. “So, you like these things too?”

He felt his body move on its own as he nodded stiffly. Then he felt himself become more present and felt Spamton take the backseat again. Tenna shook his head. “Ah, sorry folks,” he whispered. “Guess he had something to say about that. I… could have translated,” he hissed, “But it’s fine. But to answer, yes. He did like these things.”

He looked at the macaron fondly, then bit into it. He tasted the overly-bitter chocolate, then recoiled. They used a pretty dark chocolate for this, huh? But the chocolate taste faded, then a sense of joy flooded their shared system. 

‘Ah. It’s been too long since I’ve had something like this,’ Spamton muttered contentedly. 

So they could both taste. Tenna handed one of the macarons over to Susie, then looked at Ralsei. “You can have some too, you’re the one who bought them.”

Susie chomped into the cookie. Her snout twisted in disgust. “Ugh. That’s bitter. Why is it so bitter?”

“Not as much sugar,” Tenna explained. “I wasn’t fond of the flavor either, but my partner was.” He chuckled, then pressed his head against his hand. “He was always so adamant that the deeper flavors were better, but I don’t know. I think I’d rather taste something a little sweeter.”

Ralsei curiously nibbled into his own macaron, blinked at it, then continued nibbling. “It’s… I’m not sure how I feel about it.” But it didn’t seem like he hated it. That was good! Tenna wasn’t sure he could eat all of these by himself anyway. 

The other two flavors fell in a similar role. The sweet and salty caramel was a favorite of Tenna’s while the deeper, bitter espresso and chocolate was a preferred Spamton flavor. Despite that, Tenna enjoyed eating the espresso, if only because Spamton did. And he could feel that Spamton liked the caramel, even if he would have protested it in the past. 

The conversations were light, mainly focusing on the snacks in front of them and rehashing things about food preferences, but it was a comfortable pace. They continued to eat from the box, and Susie had polished off the other muffin.

His head buzzed with a happy hum as he ate, as their tastes shifted from one to the other. Tenna didn’t have to taste the bitter, but Spamton would linger a little longer with the sweet tastes before giving him back the reins. It was a strange way of sharing, if Tenna was honest, but it felt intimate and sweet. He dug at the edge of the box to pull another, only to find a scrap of paper along the side, tucked between the box flap. 

Strange. 

He unfolded the note and stared at the elegant, swoopy lettering. It was a simple note, not even a few lines.

‘I’m not sure what’s going on, Spamton, but I am glad to see you made it out, especially when so many others didn’t.’

A cold sense, something akin to anger, or guilt weighed heavy in the Zapper’s chest. He looked back at the counter where Swatch was working. They locked gazes, then Swatch offered a small smile and went back to tending to customers.

Tenna tucked the note back into the box and took a bite of another dark chocolate macaron. “So, how am I going to follow you? I can travel in the axe if you prefer. That way this guy can have his life back.”

“I’ll have to ask him to keep a secret,” Ralsei muttered. “But, I think that would be a good idea. As much as it’s nice to talk like this, it would be awful to just…”

Tenna nodded. “I’ve been… a bit uncomfortable with this. After I leave with Susie, could you let him know that I appreciated it, and that I’m sorry? I’m not even sure how this happened, actually.”

Ralsei nodded. “I’ll tell him what I can.”

Their little outing was winding down, and they really had to start heading out soon. There was a shift in the air, and everyone could feel it. Susie got up first and grabbed the axe from Ralsei’s side. “Works for me. Did you want to talk to anyone before you left?”

Tenna shook his head. “I think… I would give myself away if I talked to Elnina and Lanino now. And… we don’t want that, right?” He laughed in an attempt to clear the bad feelings. “Ah but! I’m sure I’ll talk to them again, just… not now, obviously.”

“...Right.”

It was better to keep his whole deal a secret for now. Why shake up the status quo when there wasn’t a point? He stood up next and grabbed the box of sweets, then popped one of the macarons in his mouth for the road. The sweet was like a blanket as he tried to press the negative feelings back down into their box. 

He would think of them later, once he had the time. 

Then they left the cafe and moved down the road. Once they made it to the light of the outside world, Tenna looked at Ralsei and tried to smile, though he wasn’t sure if the Zapper’s body allowed for that. “It was nice to talk with you. I’ll see you in a bit.” He snapped his fingers. Time paused and he could see the world shift around him. He could feel himself be disconnected from the Zapper, feel his gravity shift back to the bubble instead of being restrained by limbs. 

With a sigh, he moved back into the axe and let time move forward.

The Zapper’s shoulders slumped, then he caught himself. He shook his head and looked at Susie. “That was weird, boss. Wasn’t youse standin’ closer to the light?” He swiveled his head, “and where’d youse come from?”

“We… did you not remember what happened?”

Susie looked past the Zapper. “Well, looks like you’re explaining it to him. I’ve gotta go get Kris.”

“N- Susie! Can you help me with this?”

But Susie went into the light and grinned. “See ya later, Rals!”

He heard a soft sigh before they were spit back out into the Light World. 

“Alright.” She cracked her knuckles. “Let’s get a few answers around here.”

Chapter Text

There was a new Zapper in town. 

Those words rattled around Battat’s head like dice in a tower.

There was a new Zapper in town, one that wasn’t connected to TV World. It was obvious that they couldn’t have been. The Zappers back in TV World always polished the buttons on their chest, made sure that the light on the top of their heads stayed bright, and knew how to modulate their voices so they weren’t too loud or too soft.

This Zapper did not.

Battat crept to his corkboard and moved around the pieces of his Mike conspiracy to make room for a new oddity. He scratched out the image of the offending Zapper onto a loose piece of paper, something the builders were using but had abandoned, then stuck it on the board.

“Is he related to Mike?” he wondered aloud, before shelving the idea. “No, no, probably not. Wasn't even there. I would remember him.”

The first time Battat had personally seen the guy was as he first made it into town, when Battat was lingering near the outskirts and staring at the edge of the world. He heard a thud, then several thuds and spied the Zapper from a distance, stumbling over his foot like a newly manufactured remote. But the buttons were too worn for that. All the while, the Lightner, Susie if he remembered right, kept laughing. 

He drew a picture of Susie and put it on the board, then looped a bit of green yarn around his fingertips. 

“They’re connected.” They had to be connected, after all they were talking to each other as if they knew each other! So, a Zapper knew a Lightner. That wasn’t very out of the norm. They all knew Lightners, but what made this one special? What made this Zapper special enough to lead around town?

He needed more. He set pins into the board and snuck out of the building through an unfinished window along the side. 

It wasn’t as early now. The morning rush had long since ended. If Battat wanted any sort of information, he would have to get it before the lunch rush. He pressed open the door to the cafe and strode in. Lanino and Elnina were there already. Elnina pressed her elbows on the table with an inquisitive stare, while Lanino sipped from a styrofoam cup. 

“...You’re sure about that?” Lanino asked hesitantly.

The Darkner at the counter nodded. “It’s not a normal order,” he said softly, wringing a towel. “Even with my usual crowd, there’s not many who order those specific flavors. The crowds here usually stick to fruit flavors or things with jams. But the Zapper asked about butterscotch-cinnamon.”

Battat moved a bit closer. That was a specific flavor, one he hadn’t heard of until he moved to TV World. “Who asked for that flavor?” Battat asked. “Who else has asked for that flavor?”

“Oh!” Lanino turned around, then the fire along his shoulder brightened. “A Pippins!” 

Elnina looked over too, then beamed. “Oh! It’s that little green guy! Battat, right?” She looked at Lanino and beamed. “Starshine! We’re not the only ones!” Her expressions were brighter than even the brightest star. “Where have you been?”

Battat looked around with a shifty gaze, making sure nobody else could listen in, then he leaned forward. “Well, I’m here on behalf of Mike.” Which, technically, was himself. Jongler and Pluey decided to stay behind to wait for a better Dark World. 

He got it. Really, he did. He was always more drawn to the Mike mystery, even… even if he wished the others were here too. “And I’ve been staying with some of the other Pippins.”

“Ah.” There was a soft chuckle from Lanino, an arch of his eyebrows. “Right, Mike. Well, I’m glad to see you.” He looked over at the owner of the cafe and smiled. “It’s fine, Swatch. He’s with us, always asks… questions.”

Elnina grinned. “He sure does!” She sighed. “Pretty… important ones too. The… ah… person he ‘works for’…” she put the words in air quotes, “was always by his side, essentially one of Tenna’s right-hand men.”

Swatch’s eyes lit up. “Ah, another, then.” 

Battat’s eyes narrowed. “Have you known about Mike-”

“Being fake, yeah?” Elnina shrugged. She laughed. “I mean, we were always by Tenna’s side! It’d be kind of weird if we didn’t know! You changed your costume, but let’s be honest here, Motormouth Mike talks a lot, and when you talked you kind of sounded the same.”

But… but Tenna didn’t know! How didn’t he know?! Who was Mike that he could so easily fool Tenna? 

Ah… but… did that matter anymore?

His shoulders slumped. “I… I guess that makes sense.” He looked back at Swatch. “So, who else ordered that? And what was it?”

Swatch’s eyes darted to the back. “Macarons,” he answered. “As for who would always order them, I believe you’ve met him before. Does the name Spamton ring any bells?”

Any lingering sense of grief vanished in an instant. “The mailman?!” Battat asked in a hiss. 

Swatch nodded. “He’s an Addison. It means that his data is software, not hardware. I’ve heard tales of programs being placed in other odd objects, such as calculators with Virovirokuns or odd games. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think he could have transferred himself to a new body. He already did it once this week, after all.” There was a bit of a grumble at the end. The feathers along his hand fluffed, then smoothed back down. 

“You’d help us get a little revenge, right?” Lanino asked in a whisper, “I think Elnina’s already planning something.”

He…would think about it. He was a Pippins, after all. While he didn’t usually give into the same tendencies, he could make an exception every once in a while. “Maybe.” But he had to gather more information. “Did you talk to him? Are you sure it’s Spamton?”

Swatch’s face shifted. “I did speak with him, yes. He knew me before he ordered, said my name as if talking to an old friend, but then acted as if it was the first he met me. The Zapper spoke with his hands and his words. He was… very animated, and laughed a bit too often. I gave him a note, but I was unable to read his expression, especially considering I don’t have much experience with reading Zappers.” He sighed. “If it is him, then I am glad to know we are not the only ones. We… would need to have a talk, of course. The incident with the castle can’t be just swept under the rug so easily, but it would mean there are three of us.”

Battat filed that information away. He was nervous, animated, spoke with his hands, and laughed too much. “Thank you. Is there anything else you can tell me?” 

Swach studied the counter, then looked at Battat. “He… didn’t sound as he did before. But, there were two moments that I could recognize his manner of speaking. To be blunt, the last time I saw him, he was having trouble with ads intruding into his speech. But there was a moment where the Zapper got loud and spoke the same way Spamton did. I believe that’s what truly convinced me, even if I had an inkling before.” He looked around his cafe, then shook his head. “You might be able to find some Darkners that heard him more clearly, seeing as they were sitting and eating for a while. Maybe they'll have more information.” 

Battat nodded. “That’s a lot of information. Usually my sources are…” Dubious. He looked up at the Weather Duo. “What about you, did you speak with him?”

“No,” Elnina answered immediately. “We saw him when he came into town though! We were exiting the dojo, and Susie was carrying him on her back.”

“He was screaming,” Lanino helpfully supplied. He looked down at Battat, then grinned. “Ah, is this a mystery you’re interested in?”

Battat huffed. “And what? You’re not? That’s why you’re here, right?”

The pair looked at each other, then smiled. “Ah, maybe.” Elnina sighed. “I mean, a mysterious Zapper we’ve never seen before? That’s pretty interesting for us, especially since there were only two of us. Now there may be four of us.”

“Three if it’s just Spamton,” Battat argued. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m on the case. I’ll let you know what I uncover.” He could feel the manic energy thrum beneath his skin. Jongler always said he should sleep more, but he found the less he slept the more energy he had. Besides, who could sleep with such a big case? And! He could actually ask people this time! He walked up to the counter and slammed a few dark dollars, his last ones from Card Kingdom, down onto the table. “I’ll take a large coffee to go, extra shots of espresso.”

Swatch’s brow furrowed. “How… many?”

“As many as you are legally allowed to give me.” He had a purpose now, no more wallowing in the abandoned TV Studio. ”Do you know where they might have gone after leaving the cafe?”

“I… believe that Susie was leaving, perhaps Prince Ralsei and the Zapper followed her to the edge.”

“Great! Perfect!” He ignored the looks the Weather Duo shot him, ignored the way Swatch made his coffee with a hesitant hand, then ignored the three of them as they yelled that he left his change behind. He took a sip of the coffee, allowed the miracle drink to pulse even more energy into his veins, then pressed forward. 

First things first, he wanted to speak to the Darkner himself. Or… maybe just watch him from afar.

He crept along the outside of the town, careful to duck behind buildings and slink through the darkness. He knew where the pillar of light was. The problem was staying out of sight. 

From the distance, Battat could see the Zapper and Ralsei standing near the edge. Ralsei looked… tired. His voice was too light to carry, but maybe the Zapper’s wasn’t. He would just have to wait for him to speak.

“So dats why I don’t remember nothin’?” his voice was soft from this far away, but Battat was used to being able to pick up Jongler’s lowest volume when they had to deal with Tenna. 

Ralsei said something, but the goat kid’s face was buried in his scarf. Whatever it was, he was having a hard time saying it.

“Well, I don’t mind, as long as I get a little warnin’ next time. I appreciate the apology though!”

Ralsei’s shoulders sagged in relief and he released his scarf from his face. He mouthed words. Oh, Battat was pretty good at reading lips. 

‘His maintained Nah, Andy is a friend.’ 

Battat frowned, tapping a pen to his face. Okay. So, maybe he wasn’t actually good at reading lips, either that or they were talking in code. … Maybe with a bit of sleep he’d be better? 

Nah. That was crazy.

“Glad know. Maybe next time dat guy comes back, i can talk wid im’ too.” But the Zapper nodded along. “And he ordered some fancy cookie things. Dat guy ain’t too bad.”

He was talking like a Zapper usually did, with the same mannerisms and bouncy movements. 

Ralsei said something again, though he looked a bit more guilty.

“Yeah! I want to see the town.”

Battat took a sip of his coffee and slunk back further, He had to at least try to look inconspicuous. He made motions to walk alongside the main path, keeping a slow pace while keeping track of Ralsei and the Zapper in his peripheral. 

Unlike when Battat had watched the man earlier, he actually seemed practiced at walking. There wasn’t a step out of place

“Wasn’t like dat, really. Dey a little hazy, yeah. But if da guy is as nice as you say, den it ain’t a problem. I’m just glad I ain’t back at da Boss’ place.”

More information to be stored away. There were several things missing, something obvious, something abstract. He could continue to follow along the Zapper and Ralsei, but he was missing an integral secret, something that probably wouldn’t be said the further they got into town. 

That, and Battat had to put this information on his board before it leaked from his mind when the coffee wore off. 

He made his way back to the TV Studio and crawled in through the window, brushing off stray wood shavings from his poncho before moving to his board. He scribbled notes down on more scattered papers and sketched more faces, then pinned them up. 

The Zapper was connected somehow to Swatch, he knew that for certain. The green yarn looped around the push pins. Butterscotch-cinnamon was important, why else would it come up outside of TV World. He drew an image of what came to mind with that, a custard-filled pie with steam rising at the top, then pressed the picture into the board and looped it to the Zapper with string. 

“Spamton.” The name made Battat wince. “Why is he popping up again?” He scrawled an approximation of what Battat remembered from the paper-mache depiction Tenna had them build, then stuck it on the board. This time though, he didn’t loop the yarn. Not yet. He had to check something. 

On a different sheet of paper, he listed all the traits on a list, one from earlier in the morning and now that he’d done basic observations. What seemed different? What was the same?

From his observations, the Zapper seemed to have his bearings this time, with no need for Susie to apparently guide him through town. And he spoke in a Zapper’s usual accent.

But the conversation was weird too. He wrote down phrases along the side, ones that popped out in particular. Hazy, memories, pastries. 

“If the guy is as nice as you say…” Battat tapped the pen against his head. “Spamton wasn’t really all that nice though.” He scribbled that quote onto a different piece of paper and pinned it to the board. Then, he drew Ralsei and stuck the prince onto the board as well. 

Whoever this was, Ralsei was connected too. He looped them together with the green string, then stepped back to examine his work from afar.

He still had basically nothing, but the madness of his work was starting to take hold, slowly but surely. Battat took another sip of his coffee, then climbed back through the window. “I’d take the door, but they boarded it up already! I think I might put in a request to Ralsei.” Battat pressed a hand to his face. “Maybe he’d go for that. The Lightners seemed to like Tenna alright, wouldn’t be too hard to convince them to start construction again,” he mused.

But for now, the window would have to do. 

He stepped out into the town and wandered. If there was a new, strange face in town, there was sure to be gossip. In which case, all he had to do was find the loudest mouths.

Nestled deep into the town and off the beaten path, there was a little known den where Pippins often gathered. It was where Battat went when he wanted to eat something, and the Pippins were good about keeping him secret.

That was another little known fact, they could keep secrets just fine, as long as it suited them. After all, only one other person had figured out the underground gambling ring in TV World, even with a Pippins putting an advertisement out on the big screens. He maneuvered his way through a barely tall enough doorway nestled behind a board carefully painted to match the walls.

The sounds of excitement were the first thing that Battat could register. Even in these early hours, the Pippins were getting started on their day. This place, essentially a tavern, had soft wooden features, hastily painted with reds and white, though Battat put his own influence in too, with a small green stripe along one of the white pillars. The chaotic, noisy bar was far away from the general public in a section of town that was clearly meant for when new residents would visit. But, seeing as the Lightners didn’t seem to learn from Lancer’s mercy, it was unused. 

He sighed, then strode up to the bar. “Oh! Battat! Finally done messing around with that silly board? You’ve been gone all morning!”

All Battat had to do was look at the Pippins, let the barkeep look at the bags beneath his eyes, then they backed off. 

Battat sipped his coffee, then chuckled. “I’m here for information.”

The barkeep laughed. “You’re so funny, Battat.” They traced the rim of one of the glasses with their finger. “Did you want anything to drink?”

They were mocking him.

“What do you know of the Zapper who appeared earlier?” He rested his arm on the counter. “I know you’ve heard of it.”

The barkeep grinned. “Oh! That’s the latest gossip! There was a Pippins there at the cafe! She heard it all.” They looked over Battat, then waved their red hand at the crowd. “Hey! Can you bring Midnight here?”

The Pippins looked over, pausing their cheering for a moment, then they erupted in hoots and hollers. “It’s Battat!” one shouted.

“Hey Battat! Wanna show us the board?”

“Love the green poncho! Nobody wears green like you do!”

Ugh. They always did this, always picking at what made him different from the rest. But, that was okay. He would just deal with it. Anything in the pursuit of information.

Then, a smaller red Pippins with black, glossy eyes came from the crowd and approached the bar. The rest of the Pippins gathered too, but at a further distance, as if they didn’t want to overwhelm Battat this time.

“You asked for me?” she tilted her head up at Battat, then grinned. “What’d you want?”

Battat set the coffee down on the bar and interlaced his fingers together. “Barkeep here says you were at the cafe this morning, right?”

Midnight nodded. “I was on a coffee run for the den!” She bounced on her heels. “Are you interested in the gossip too?”

Battat nodded. “It’s important.”

“Important, huh?” Her eyes gleamed in the light. “Is my gossip going on the board?”

“Yes,” he answered in a short clip. “I’m investigating that Zapper. So, how nosey are you?”

She gave a playful huff. “That’s a mean way of describing it. I would say I’ve got a natural investigative flair.” She spun the dice on her head and winked, waving one hand in the air.

Battat raised an eyebrow, as if to ask the question again.

Midnight laughed. “Okay, okay. Well, I think I managed to listen in pretty well.” She smiled sweetly. “They tend to ignore me! It means I can get as much information as I want!

Battat pulled out a stool from the bar and sat down, prompting Midnight to do the same. “Well, tell me anything you can.” Of course, when dealing with a Pippins, you had to keep them on track. Their stories tended to wander sometimes

The barstool squeaked as Midnight pulled it from the bar and sat down. “So, what specifically do you want to know about?”

“What were they talking about?” At the very least, these Pippins were unattached to the happenings of TV World. They wouldn’t know what details to manufacture.

“Ok! So, they were mostly just talking about food.” She tapped her face with her hand. “He was all like, ‘oh my partner liked dark chocolate,’ and, ‘I think there should be sugar in food.’ Oh, but he was worried at first that he couldn’t eat anything, then the purple girl pinched him and he yelled.”

Ah… that didn’t really help. “Did they use any names for him?”

“Nope!” Her feet dangled and her head bobbed from side to side. “But speaking of yelling, he was talking about dark chocolate at some point, and it seemed like it completely derailed! He started yelling, and his voice was really weird. 

That was something. “Weird… how?”

“Hmm… well, it’s like there were several different voices. He started with one voice, then he was interrupted by another. But even that voice had interruptions too.” She shrugged. “Like… talking about deals? And milk? I don’t know. But he was suddenly really loud. I didn’t have to try to listen in. I’m pretty sure everyone heard him.”

Battat reached for a napkin from behind the bar and pulled a pen from an inside pocket, then wrote down a few words. He pointed the pen at Midnight. “That’s interesting. I’m looking for the weird things, ways of speaking and words he used. Got anything else?”

“Well, after he yelled, he got really quiet and whispery.” Then, she pressed her hand against the back of her head and exaggerated tipping her head forward. “He said… ‘sorry folks,’ Then said the ‘other guy had something to say.’ I kinda had to get closer, so I couldn’t catch everything, especially since they were all whispering at this point. It was still about how his partner or whatever liked chocolate. So, it wasn’t all that interesting.”

That… there was a nagging in his head. There was something deeper there. “What else?”

The Pippins stuck her tongue out. “Well, they really mostly just talked about food. Kind of boring, especially since I wasn’t eating what they were eating. But then they were gonna leave. He asked how he should follow the purple girl.”

Which would explain why Ralsei and the Zapper were by the edge of town. 

“Said something about an axe.” She shrugged. “Wanted to apologize or something. Then he was asked if he wanted to talk to anyone before he left.”

Before he left? But he hadn’t left. Battat blinked. “And did he?”

She shifted in her chair with a smug smile. “I remembered that part best, because he said two new names! And well, it’s always good to widen my net a bit! I don’t know everyone yet, but when I do, that’s when I can start my business.” She giggled. “Anyway, he said he would give himself away if he talked to Elnina and Lanino, then he started swatting at the air. Kind of like…” She mimicked the motions with an exaggerated laugh, then she sat back up and put her hands in her lap. “Kind of like that. Then he said, ‘But I’m sure I’ll talk to them again, just not now.’ And then they left.”

“He-” Battat’s hands gripped the pen tighter. “W-what?”

“Oh, do you know those names?” Midnight asked. “I was gonna see if I could figure that part out when I got here.”

He had to talk to Elnina and Lanino. They were part of this too, somehow. He grabbed the napkin and stuffed it into his poncho. “You’ve been a big help, I think I have another lead.” His voice cracked as he spoke. “I do know who they are, they came from TV World when I did. They’re in the dojo pretty often, can’t miss them.”

Midnight grinned. “Thanks Batty!”

Battat stood up from his chair, glanced at the crowd, then moved to the door. 

Though he was careful to keep the Pippin Den a secret, the rest of his trip back was a blur as he ran down the streets. He emerged back through the cafe doors and looked around. The Weather wasn’t there anymore, but Swatch still was. “Do you know where-?”

Swatch looked out the window. “I believe they said they were going back to their room.”

Then Battat was off again.

Elnina and Lanino. There was something about that pair, something that wasn’t quite clicking in his head. He ran past Clover and Lancer before making his way to the square where he realized something.

He didn’t… exactly know where the Weather Duo were staying.

“Do you… need help?” 

Battat yelled, then looked behind him. Ralsei was standing off to the side, arms tucked behind his back as he looked at Battat with a smile. “I’ve never seen you around before.”

Battat blinked. “I…” He frowned. “Do you know where Elnina and Lanino are staying?”

Ralsei nodded. “They’ve got a room in the castle. Do you… know them?” He furrowed his brow and examined Battat. 

“Yes.” He answered immediately. He studied the goat’s expression, then sighed. “Ok, I came along with them. They know me too.” He paused. “You know, I was helping Mike backstage.”

Ralsei’s expression brightened. “Oh! I can take you to them, then. I’m sorry we haven’t gotten you a room before now, but I’ll make sure to get started with that.”

“I haven’t been around much, so it’s fine. I’ve mostly been…” sleeping in front of his conspiracy board, “hanging out with other Pippins.”

Ralsei started moving, though slowly. “Ah, so were you originally from Card Kingdom?”

“Yeah. So, all of the Pippins who came from there still remembered me.”

“I’m sure Elnina and Lanino will be happy to see a familiar face,” Ralsei said with a hum. “Did you want a tour?”

“Nah.” Battat shook his head. “I’ve gotten around already, just didn’t know where they were.”

The castle grew closer and closer as they walked. He realized he left his coffee back with the other Pippins

That was fine. That was ok. He needed to get out of there and find the Weather. They were the ones who could tie up this mystery neatly. 

Ralsei took him into the castle, then led him up a flight of stairs and through a doorway. Then, he moved down the hallway and stopped in front of a steel door with a red frame and TV antennas.

“They’re in there. They have their own separate room too, but this is where they go to hang out.”

“Thank you.” He pressed open the door and walked in, closing it behind him.

The room was sparsely decorated, but it looked like some work had begun. Elnina looked at the front as she repositioned a small chair along the wall. “Oh! I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

Lanino looked up from moving a small table.”We had a running guess how long it would take you to find something out, and we figured it would be another day at least.”

Battat laughed and pressed forward. “You underestimate my commitment.” The Pippins grinned widely. “I have information and I have questions.” He looked around the room, making sure there was nobody else around, but there was only furniture, then he pulled out his napkin. “I spoke to someone who was there at the cafe and actively spying on the strange Zapper.” He grabbed his pen from his pocket and clicked the top. 

“Spying?” Elnina asked.

“It’s an anonymous source, so I’m looking to verify some of the claims, but this person wouldn’t know certain character traits.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll give some of the baseline information right now. It seems like the Zapper you saw earlier and the Zapper currently going around town now are two different people. Or at least, they talk and act like two different people. It could be something different, of course, but I’m stating the facts here.”

Lanino sighed. “Is it Spamton?”

“Not sure,” Battat admitted. Swatch was sure of it, and there was evidence pointing that way, but something wasn’t adding up. “How well would you be able to point out if someone was Spamton, do you think?”

The Weather Duo shared a look. “Well, we knew him, of course. And we were friends at one point, but I’m not sure we could just… pick him out, you know? And if what Swatch said was true, I’m not sure many people could pick him out. It seems like he really let himself go.” Elnina huffed. “Guess being a Big Shot doesn’t keep you from hitting rock bottom.”

Battat tapped the pen against the side of his head, then looked down at his napkin. “According to my source, he claimed that he couldn’t speak with the two of you because otherwise you would know something. Obvious question, have you met that Zapper before?”

“No,” Lanino answered immediately. “Not at all.”

Elnina frowned. “He mentioned us? Why us?”

“Don’t know. But it’s clear he knows you somehow. Has anything weird gone on in the past few days other than the Zapper?”

The Weather Duo shared a look. “Kind of? I’m not sure it’s relevant though,” Lanino insisted. He grabbed Elnina’s hand.” Why don’t you tell him, my Spring Shower?”

“Well, I was talking to Queen this morning, since we were up at the same time. Apparently, Prince Ralsei was acting strange late last night. I figured it was because of everything that’s happened so far. Apparently the last Dark World they visited hasn’t been a good one. But, Queen said that Ralsei brought an axe along with him and led it around.”

“And Ralsei did show up last night with an axe in his hands, though he didn’t say anything about it. I figured he was just holding onto it for Susie.”

Battat clicked the pen, then pointed it. “An axe you say? Interesting. The Zapper apparently mentioned something about one.” But his source didn’t catch what was said. Ugh.

Lanino’s brow knit together. “This is getting to be a strange set of coincidences.”

It… was. “I’ll go and put this information on my board, then I’ll ask around about an axe.” He didn’t know who he would even talk to, but hey! He’s started projects with less information than this. If anything, the overwhelming amount of evidence, strange though it was, was a breath of fresh air compared to the Mike conspiracy.

“Keep us in the loop, won’t you Battat? And I think Swatch would like to know too.”

“Of course.” He had no intention of just leaving them in the dark. Of course, it was always possible that discretion would be needed and that whatever he discovered would have to be kept a secret. But he’d already looped others into his conspiracies before and they kept the secret. As long as they could keep a secret half as well as Pluey could, everything would be fine. 

He looked down at his napkin and traced his eyes over the shorthand. “I’ve set myself up in the abandoned TV Studio.” He admitted softly. “My board is there.”

The pair looked away. “We… really intended to finish it, but it got too much.”

Battat understood that perfectly. He had to take a break sometimes, visit the other Pippins, just as he’d done last night. “If you want, I can bring all the information here instead. I work better when I can physically connect things together.

“We can go gather it,” Lanino insisted. “Maybe we’ll be able to glean something from your work. Go ahead and ask around. When you’re done, everything’ll be set up here.”

“It’s in the back room.” He looked around the room again, taking note of all the furniture. “Well, I’ll go ask around.”

Then Battat was off again. First things first, he needed something to as Queen about the axe. Luckily, her room was right next door, and it looked to be open already.

Queen was pretty… intimidating, but Battat made his way inside anyway. Queen was talking with Lancer while casually tossing the child through the air.

“And It Was Very Weird.” She looked by the door and she beamed. Words flashed on her screen ‘New Person’ as she practically ran to the door. “Whoa I Have Never Seen You Before. (True!) Where Did You Come From Little Guy?”

Battat took a breath. “I came from TV World,” he introduced, extending his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Wow! I Thought I Met Everyone.” She shook his hand. “Say, You Look Like A Funny Guy.”

“He is!” Lancer said with a grin. “He’s the funny guy who gave me all those controllers! And then he made faces when I said I lost the controller.” He laughed, then bounced around the dice. “So what are you doing here?”

“Games?” Queen asked. “Do You Have Any Fun Games Still?”

“No.” He folded his hands together. “That was Tenna’s game, I was just in charge of making sure everyone had a controller.”

“That’s Sad.” Queen sighed. “I Am Sorry. I Genuinely Feel Bad, Actually.”

That was fine. “I may not have a game, but I did want to ask something.”

Queen’s expression brightened. “A Query? You Want To Ask Something? I Love Answering Questions. I Am So Good At It. Ask Away, Small Green Guy.”

“Ralsei came here yesterday, right?”

The text on Queen’s visor shined bright with bold red letters. “YES,” it said. “He Was Giving A Tour. I Thought It Was Weird At First. Like? It Is An Inanimate Weapon.” Her visor filled with question marks. “But Then The Speaker Did Something. I Just Told Lancer About It, Actually.”

The boy beamed. “She did!” He bounced along on his heels. “You wanna know, Greenie?”

Battat nodded. “I'm looking into that axe, actually. Anything you can tell me would be great.”

“Ooh!” She moved to the side of her room where a small table sat, poured herself a strange green liquid, then came back. “So That Speaker Skipped A Song When It Wasn’t Supposed To. It Was Weird LOL.”

“...Couldn’t it have just been the technology?”

Queen hummed. “You See, I Thought It Could Be After The Fact, But Ralsei Said It Was The Axe. And Unless He Lost His Mind, I Don’t Think He Would Lie. So, I Humored Him. I Was Analysing Him And He Really Seemed To Believe It. So, Either That Axe Really Is Alive Or Whatever, or Ralsei Has Totally Lost It.”

Usually Battat would think that someone just didn’t get enough sleep. It’s what Pluey would infer with slow hand movements when Battat kept himself awake too long. But given everything, there might legitimately be something special about that axe. “I think that’s what I needed. Thank you.”

“You Are Welcome, Strange Green Guy.” She walked over to her little table. “Would You Like Some Battery Acid?”

Battat looked at the neon green liquid swirling around in Queen’s cup. “No,” he answered slowly. “I think… that would be bad for me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Nobody Else Wants To Drink With Me. Oh Well. More For Me.” She topped off her glass and laughed heartily. 

Battat waved slowly, then left Queen’s room. As he walked out, he could feel his stomach rumble. Oh yeah. He needed to eat something. His friends were always saying as much. Well, it would give him time to mull over everything, look at things a different way, maybe get more coffee. And, perhaps he could talk to Swatch again, see if he heard anything more about that axe.

So, for the third time that day, he walked into the town’s cafe and moved up to the counter. Thankfully, there was nobody there. They were either gathered in the Love Dojo or doing their own things. “Do you take points?” he asked.

Swatch hid a small chuckle with his wing. “I’ll take your points this time, but then you’ll have to get with Prince Ralsei to make an exchange.”

“What’s filling here?” 

“We have Spaghetti Code,” Swatch offered. “Or RAM Sandwiches.”

Battat put some coins down onto the counter. “Spaghetti Code, please. And another coffee.”

Swatch looked like he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. 

“After that, I’d like to talk to you again. I’ve got a question, and I’m sure you do too.”

Swatch eyed the cafe doors, then walked around the counter and flipped the sign around. “Its a good time for me to go on break too.”

Good, good. It seemed Swatch understood discretion. But why would he be talking to the Weather about Spamton if that was the case?

Either way, he grabbed a stack of napkins from the counter and fell into one of the cafe chairs.

An axe. Somehow it had come back to something violent. It always did with these sets of Lightners. He heard from the Pippins in town that they’d been violent enough to need a pardon from the newly crowned Lancer, then he’d seen the way the Lightners treated everyone back in TV World. 

All of them had practically fawned over Kris before the night started, and had all been pushed away. And then… they’d…

Battat pinched his arm. He had to focus on the task at hand, not about whatever feeling he had. This mystery was more important than that. 

Swatch walked around the counter and dropped off a plate and a coffee in front of Battat, right on the napkin he was working on, then sat in front of him with a plate of his own. 

“There’s no shots of espresso this time,” Swatch warned. 

Ugh. He twirled his fork around the jumbled code and stuck it in his mouth. The pair ate in silence for a while as Battat tried to focus on just eating, and not what was eating at him.

But his mind wandered, as it usually did. At least this time, it was productive. He kept thinking about the pose Midnight did, the way she laughed and swatted at the air, the casual use of the word ‘folks’, like she were on a TV show, the request for butterscotch cinnamon.

“You said you had questions,” Swatch said, pulling Battat from his head. “Feel free to ask.”

Battat set down his fork. “I’ve talked to someone who was listening in earlier, and she mentioned that they mentioned an axe. Do you remember that?”

Swatch shook his head. “I’m afraid things got rather busy after that, so I couldn’t catch what was said.”

Well, that struck down a lot of his questions. 

“But perhaps that old cat might know something,” Swatch offered. “If anyone knows anything about that kind of thing, it would be them.”

A shot in the dark, but he’s worked with worse. “Is there anything you can tell me about Spamton?”

Swatch looked out the window with a sigh, then brushed his hand through the feathers on his head. “You knew him too, but things for him have… changed as of recently.”

“How recent?”

Swatch’s eyes closed. He took a breath and sighed. “When was it that he left TV World?”

It had been years at this point, enough time that Battat couldn’t place an exact time, but not enough to mark a milestone. “Has it really been that long?” It wasn’t recent then, the man had been having problems for a long time now.

“He made it to Cyber World in the middle of the night,” he started to explain as he pressed the glasses against his face. “He was pale, shaky. We thought something terrible must have happened between him and Mr. Tenna, but we weren’t sure what. Then… he hid himself away in his room.” Swatch winced. “We got noise complaints from his neighbors. He was begging with someone, praying loudly. One night, someone said there was a phone call, and then silence. His sales had fallen dramatically overnight, and he could no longer pay his rent, so we had to evict him.”

Swatch reached over to the stack of napkins and grabbed the pen. “He looked different when we entered his room,” he explained as he sketched, scribbling furiously with the black ink. “I’m not sure whose favor he gained, but whoever they were, they had taken it back and repaid his devotion with cruelty.” He set the pen down and handed the napkin over.

Battat hadn’t known what to expect, but the face on the napkin looked almost unlike the mailman they worked with on TV Time. The eyes had been filled in, leaving hollow voids, his joints looked segmented, and he looked frail, even just in the pen sketch. The only thing that he could point to that was distinctly Spamton was the large nose and the hairstyle.

“After that point, his actions were more desperate, less thought out. He was angry and took everything as a slight. He destroyed what few relationships he had left.” He rubbed his face. “He kept trying to break into the basement, even tried to impersonate people to do so. Which, of course, brings us to the actions of a few days ago. He successfully took over when Queen went to look for the Lightners.”  

“Then why are you treating him like a friend?” Battat asked. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned? If he’s as unstable as he sounds, it seems like something to talk to Ralsei about.”

He sighed. “I’m not happy about that fact, of course. It makes me angry to think he would go that far, but I also thought he died when I didn’t see him here. And… despite everything, we were friendly in the past. It was unnerving to watch him spiral like that. Despite what he’s like now. it would make me happy to know that he survived somehow. We could wipe the slate clean, perhaps start afresh in a new world.”

It… made sense. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course.”

Battat took a sip of his coffee, savoring the bitter taste before looking at Swatch. “I do think there’s something strange about that Zapper. The way he talked was different from when he was here and when he came back with Ralsei. So, I think you might be onto something. But… I also don’t know if it’s Spamton. There are things that fit, but many things that don’t.”

Swatch took a bite of his own Spaghetti Code. “Do you think it sounds like someone else?”

“Maybe.”

Because even listening to someone tell the story, that wasn’t the way he spoke or acted. It sounded like he was too animated for Spamton. That wasn’t how Spamton would dismiss concerns about him. Even in Battat’s limited interactions with Spamton, he knew how the former Big Shot usually spoke to people.

He clenched his fists. He could feel tears prick in the corner of his eyes as he slammed a fist onto the table.

It sounded like Tenna. 

He was noisy, he was annoying. Tenna had an easier time making conversations sound light with his natural charisma. He wore his heart on his sleeve for better or for worse, but he always tried to make sure everything seemed fine. The way the Pippins waved, the laugh she mimicked, it was how he used to try and hide how he was feeling.

He did it all the time in therapy for crying out loud! The man would schedule sessions and spend half the time crying and the other half trying to downplay everything!

Tenna was dead. So why was any of this coming up now?! 

His other hand held onto his fork so tightly that the points of his hands were starting to dig through the green gloves he wore. 

Tenna was gone.

Maybe he wouldn’t have been if Battat had just stuck it out longer as Mike. Or if Battat had convinced everyone to try and help him. Mike could have had that power. Mike was a respected figure in TV World, a man who could get anything done on any timetable. But instead of using the Mike persona, Battat had tried to go out on his lonesome to look only to come up empty handed.

“Are you okay?”

Battat couldn’t answer. He stuck his fork back into the pasta and hastily stuck some code in his mouth, carefully facing away from Swatch. He wouldn't let the Darkner see him.

“What are you thinking?” Swatch asked, his voice soft.

“I don’t know.” His response was short. ”That’s why I’m looking for information,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing. His hands shook. Strange behaviors, machines doing what they wanted, and an unknown person claiming to know three people. It all felt like a ghost story. 

Only fitting then, that it seemed that the ghost of his former boss seemed to cling to his mind.

Swatch stood up from his chair and walked to the counter, then into the back. He came back quickly holding a small brown paper bag, then set it near Battat. “You overpaid earlier, only fair to give you something for the road. I’m sure you have other things to look into, right?”

Battat nodded. He didn’t think he could finish the Spaghetti Code right now, not with the weight of everything. “Thank you.” He sighed. “I’ll be back when I can piece everything together. For your sake, I hope he’s alive.”

“And for your sake,” Swatch said softly, “I hope…” He stopped talking for a moment, then smiled. “I hope you’ll come by again. Perhaps drink some tea and get a good night's sleep.”

Battat chuckled. Ah, that was a funny joke. He picked up the napkin notes and put them away, then grabbed his coffee and the little bag Swatch gave him. 

Again, he walked down the dusty road, but the streets were a little busier now. He had a cat to find. 

Near the edge of town, there was a strange patchwork shop with buttons and stitches along the side. He knew of Seam, even if he’d never talked to them back in Card Kingdom. Battat was too low on the totem pole to have access to the Royal Magician and their jester. Then he was removed from the storage closet and released into Kris’ home with some of the other Pippins. 

All in all, this was another first meeting. He pressed forward into the tent and waited. The air was oddly oppressive, with warm, almost damp air weighing on him. It felt… almost wrong to stand here, especially with nobody behind the shop’s counter.

But… he might as well poke around the shop while he waited. His hands needed to do something right now and he didn’t know if it was from nerves or his innate nature as a Pippins.

The things in the shop were mostly kitschy nicknacks, something that even a Pippins wouldn’t look at. It was junk, some piled along the wall while some were labeled and had a price tag. 

There was a small bag with star candies in them. A bit nostalgic, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to haggle over points. 

A small metallic trinket, a key, laid on a different shelf. A small spade was engraved in the bow. Interesting. Why did they have that? He was pretty sure that was to the dungeons.

A worn sword with a strange engraving carved into the blade stood along the wall with a collection of other worn blades. The engraving was a cool design, Battat thought, almost like a sign for money, but more jagged. He still wouldn’t pay for it, of course. 

Then he moved along to the other side. A tin of tea, one decorated with yellow flowers, sat empty on the counter. But why sell that? 

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a new face in my shop.” Battat dropped the tin back in its place and looked at the counter. Seam was there now, wearing their usual smile. “What are you looking for, little Pippins? I fear there’s nothing shiny enough for your liking.”

“I’m not here to buy anything,” Battat insisted. It was like Seam said, most of this stuff was just junk and Battat had no desire to look through it all to find the diamond in the rough. “I’ve come to talk.”

The cat’s button eye gleamed in the light of a flickering lamp. “To talk? How very interesting!” The stitches in their mouth drew up. “I warn you, little Pippins, I tend to win little games.”

Battat sputtered. “I don’t-” He shook his head. “I’m not here to play games either. I’m investigating something and I heard you were the one to talk to if there was something odd around.”

“Odd? Oh yes, there’s quite a lot of things that are odd. Could you be specific?”

Battat stepped closer, ignoring the increasing pressure. “Do you know anything about a strange axe?”

“I know many things about a number of things. I fear you’ll have to be even more specific. What does it look like? Who had it last?”

“I don’t know,” Battat answered, his lip twitching. “And I think Ralsei had it last. I don’t know, I just know that it was apparently weird and may have done something to a speaker.”

The cat smirked. “Relax, little Pippins.” They laughed. “I believe you mean the Light Axe, named yesterday by Kris themselves. It’s a strange weapon, for sure. It shouldn’t exist, not in the way it does now.”

Battat nodded. “I’m following. So, it really is special?”

“Special? I suppose you could call it that.” They grinned. “Would you claim the power to rewrite fate to be special? Would you claim the power to affect the Light World to be special?”

He nodded again. “That… sounds pretty powerful.” To change fate and affect the Light World? That was what most Darkners dreamed of.

Seam laughed again. “Before you get any ideas, Little Pippins, this magic is not attached to the weapon itself. It is a trick. Usurpers have claimed their role in the story now, weaving a fate I can’t predict. Little Pippins, what would you do with such a power?”

“I…” Battat frowned. “I would rewrite everything to make things better, then I would go back to figuring out a mystery I’ve been-” An idea struck his sleep-deprived brain. He grinned and waved his hands through the air. “I’d go back and I would find the source of this mystery! Mike wouldn’t be an enigma anymore!”

The cat laughed. “And that is your freedom, then? To be able to search for the truth, to bring order to chaos. How unusual. Your lot are as fickle and as random as chance. Let me ask you this then, would you claim this power for yourself?”

“Yes,” Battat answered immediately. 

“Even to your own detriment?” Seam eyed the Pippins warily. 

“Yes.” Battat was no stranger to pushing his body to the limit. He took a sip of coffee as he shook off the jitters.

Seam’s face grew stern. “A sad answer, little Pippins. I have known those who have claimed power from an outside source, only to lose themselves in the end. My little jester, for one, and the unfortunate salesman for another.” They eyed the Pippins, then smiled. “I believe you know their fates, do you not? It is no secret what I had to do to Jevil, and it is no secret how far Spamton fell. And, there is the matter of the one who wanted such a power, only to be betrayed by that ill-gotten mantle.”

Battat had no words. Wh-what could he say? Jevil? Spamton? What was the tie there? The phone? Did they both share the phone? Did the phone also drive Jevil insane?

They took the silence in stride, making their way around the counter to Battat. “Hmm. Let me redo that question then. Would you die for such a power, little Pippins?”

It felt like a threat. Battat couldn’t move. His limbs felt like lead, and even his head felt stuck in place. His chest was tight, like he was in too constricting a costume, like he was being pressed against glass. Fear hammered at his mind, telling him that this Darkner was dangerous, telling him that he had to run. But… he couldn’t.

Seam studied Battat with a hum. “You would not. Not at this moment, and that is perfectly fine.” They backed away, and Battat could breathe again. “This board has no need for more than two knocked off pieces. Though, tell me, what rank would you give the dethroned pieces in a game of chess?”

“Ah, um.” Battat stuttered. “Pawns? B-because they were willing to sacrifice themselves, right?”

The cat laughed. “An interesting answer! I quite like this conversation! To your point though, if they were pawns, what would that make you? A pawn following yet another pawn, blind leading the blind. A group of fools, the lot of your little studio.” The cat laughed once more with a short, mirthless smile. “To put it in as plain a term as I can, little Pippins, if it is not the weapon that is the source of that power, then it must be the pawns you claimed.”

“And… how do you know that?” Batttat asked, unable to keep the fear from his voice.

Seam grinned widely. “I am known for my premonitions and for my abilities. Why else, little Pippins, would I have been in the King’s Court? There are many things I have shared with the Lightners, and still many I have not and will not.”

Battat could feel his hand shake. “And… when you say they were… knocked off, you don’t mean…?”

“I’m afraid so, little Pippins. The power is not of normal Darkner make, nor is it of Lightner creation. Rather, it is but a ghost trick. And a trick I am sure will not happen twice, lest you get any ideas, little Pippins. I, myself, am still trying to figure out the details, but unless we could ask the spirits, it’s all lost information.”  They tilted their head. “Does this satisfy your curiosity, little Pippins? Did you get the answers you sought?”

He didn’t know what to say. His mind was reeling with the possibilities. “W-why tell me all of this?” Battat asked.

“Perhaps I wished to help you find your freedom, perhaps I wished to stir a bit of good chaos. Perhaps you reminded me of a time past. Perhaps, I enjoyed our conversation enough to tell you. Does it matter in the end if the result is the same? You have all the pieces of this puzzle, bring order to this chaos, won’t you?”

It was like the spell keeping Battat there had been lifted. He bowed to the cat, then he fled the patchwork shop

The answers tumbled along in his head as he pushed past the afternoon crowd. He didn’t care that there were Hathies in the way, or that he passed the Zapper along the way. He didn’t know what it meant, not until he could see it with his own eyes. Not until he could link the answers himself with green yarn. 

He ran through the castle doors, past Ralsei and a party of Darkners standing near the entrance. He ran up the stairs, uncaring if the coffee spilled onto the floor. He ran down the hallway, past Queen’s closed door as it blared music. Then, he stopped in front of the TV door.

He took a moment to get his bearings, then borrowed a bit of confidence from his Mike persona and entered. 

Just as Elnina and Lanino said, his collection of papers and notes were dragged into the room, including the cork board and his materials. 

“Battat, how have you been getting in and out of that building?” Lanino asked as soon as Battat entered the room. “It’s boarded up.”

“Window.” He walked up to the board without looking at either Elnina and Lanino. But before he began his work, he tipped the mostly full cup of coffee back against his lips and chugged the lukewarm brew, then he threw it in a nearby wastebasket. He set the small bag Swatch gave him onto a table, grabbed sheets of paper and his pen from his pocket and sat on the floor.

Ghosts, pawns, and the Light Axe. People who sacrificed or were sacrificed and received power for it.

He wrote down names and objects and character traits. He wrote down the cryptic musings of Seam and the pointed questions that were seared into his mind, then he stood back up.

The Weather Duo were standing close to him. He could see them in his peripheral vision as he turned his attention to his evidence board. “Are you… okay?” Elnina asked with a wince.

“Trust the process.” He cleared the Mike evidence from the board temporarily. It would go back, of course, but he had bigger things. And… perhaps some of this was tied to Mike. He’d circle back later! 

Battat reconnected the green yarn from the Zapper to Elnina and Lanino, then added Swatch to the list. These were a given, just as it was a given to connect the Zapper to the Lightners, even if Kris hadn’t been here today. He pressed a card for TV World and Cyber World onto the board, then looped them as well. 

He pressed the Spamton picture against the board and looped him into the mystery, with shocked cries from Elnina and Lanino for good measure.

“That’s what he looked like?”

“Yeesh.”

Tenna went to the board and Battat looped him in. 

Then, it was time to put things on that seemed a bit of a stretch if someone were to only have singular pieces of evidence, things such as personality traits and observed actions. He included anecdotes about the speakers and about Ralsei giving a tour. Then, he put the axe on the board.

“Is this… all actual information?” Lanino asked.

Before he moved onto the next stage, he carefully wove the green yarn from the axe to any tim

it was mentioned. Then he paused and looked at his work. “Before I start any of this,” he warned, “I want you to know that all information I have is second-hand. I can’t prove any of this. I don’t even know where it’s going yet. But it’s not a practical joke.” He didn’t do practical jokes about his board.

He took a pair of scissors and began to cut some of the yarn. Things that were previously attached to the Zapper were cleaved and allowed to dangle. He looped previous connections to the axe instead. The only connection that remained attached to the Zapper were to the Lightners, Ralsei, and his observed behavior.

The Zapper did not know Swatch, did not know the Weather Duo, and had never been to TV World or Cyber World. He set the scissors down.

He pushed some of Seam’s statements in. A willingness to die for power, pawns knocked from the board, and the insistence that the power didn’t come from the axe. He looped the green yarn around the three statements He stood back a moment, taking in his work, then he grabbed the scissors once more

More connections were severed as an understanding flared in Battat’s mind. The axe’s connections were removed, all except a connection to the listed events and to the Lightners and Ralsei.

Battat looked back at Lanino and Elnina, curled green yarn around his fingers, then began to reconnect the yarn again. This time, to the pawns knocked from the board. 

Then, he added the final piece. He pressed the word ‘Ghost’ down, off to the side with the names.

“Ghosts?” Elnina demanded. “You can’t be serious here? That’s your big reveal?”

Battat looked at Elnina. “I’m very serious. Have you ever known me to joke like this?” 

“He’s got a point, Snowydew,” Lanino soothed. “He’s always been kind of… high strung.”

“I am still wrapping my head around all of this,” Battat grumbled. He looked back at the board. Pluey and Jongler weren’t this judgemental about his theories. He sighed. But… maybe it was because they weren’t used to him yet. He’d give them a chance, but he still missed Jongler and Pluey. 

With hesitant hands, he attached the pawn statement to the ghost paper. Then, he went back. “Who all has died?” he asked softly.

The obvious answer was Tenna, but nobody wanted to say his name. It was too obvious at this point. 

“I… believe there was a Darkner who died from their most recent adventure,” Lanino muttered. “Ralsei seemed down, then started making preparations for a little placard.”

“But they wouldn’t know us,” Elnina pointed out. “So we need to look at Cyber World and TV World.”

Battat moved to the traits category and the way Swatch and Midnight had described the Zapper, then he connected the pieces. He snipped pieces of yarn and pressed pushpins into the board. 

His hands moved automatically. The Zapper was loud with strange, interspliced voices, it went to Spamton. The Zapper made strange hand movements, it went to Tenna. He was described as nice by Ralsei, he hesitantly dragged the yarn to Tenna. The Zapper mentioned a partner, Tenna. Butterscotch-cinnamon, also Tenna.

He stepped backwards, set the scissors and yarn back down, and just stared. “I don’t know if you’ve met Seam,” Battat muttered, “but they’re rarely wrong about things like this. They’re the one who said this was the work of ghosts.” 

But seeing everything laid out like this? Battat wasn’t sure what to make of it. 

“They were clear, at least in their own way.” While he didn’t know if Spamton was dead, the way Swatch spoke led Battat to believe that many from Cyber World were. 

And of course, it could be someone unrelated, someone from another Dark World that Battat didn’t know about. But those Darkners wouldn’t share a connection to Lanino and Elnina. It wouldn’t matter if the ghost spoke to the pair. 

Elnina pressed her hands in front of her face. “If this is true then…”

“Then… of course we would recognize him if he talked to us,” Lanino muttered. “We were his closest friends.”

“And the reason why Ralsei was taking the axe everywhere was to show Tenna around! No wonder he came in just to check on us.” She scoffed. “Should have figured something was up, especially with how late it was!” The storm clouds that made up her hair fell like fog. “And… we just… talked about how he sucked.”

“And that we missed him,” Lanino reminded. “Which any good friend should, right? We haven’t been giving him enough criticism.”

Elnina rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah. The times we did, he would hide in his dressing room and say that we hated him. It was easier not to deal with that. But… we did say we didn’t hate him. I hope he heard that part.” 

“I’m sure he did,” Lanino soothed, running his fingers through the clouds.

She smiled, her hair flashing back into place. Then her face dropped, her eyes widened, and her hair crackled with lightning. “WAIT! Lanino! Lanino!”

“Yes? Yes? What is-”

Elnina grabbed Lanino’s arms. “Spamton heard us talking about him. He had to have, right? If he’s there? He heard us gossiping about him!”

“You were goss-” Battat’s head whipped around. “Why would you do that?! Why would you try to share gossip with the prince of this Dark World?”

Elnina yelled. “How am I supposed to face him?! He knows about the mirror trap!” She shook Lanino as she yelled. “My brilliant plan! My way to get revenge! It’s all vanished in the fog!”

Lanino sighed, then stroked Elnina’s chin. “I’m… not sure the mirror trap would work if Spamton is dead.”

This was all so messed up. He still felt that gnawing feeling of guilt, but then the logistics of it all started to drift into his head. He looked at the board, then looked at the Mike evidence on the floor. “Do I still have a job? Do I even want that job anymore?” He pressed his hand to his face. “Actually, would Tenna know more or less about Mike now? Would Spamton answer questions about Mike?”

It was a cacophony of noise as the reality of everything started to settle in.

His boss was dead, he knew this. But to think he could also be around was equal parts frightening and relieving. And the same went for Spamton. The strange mailman that plagued their entire world was suddenly back, but worse, and haunted by something.

What did this mean for the future? What did-

“Um. Pardone mine interuptionse.” A voice cut through the noise, drawing attention to a strange piece of furniture in the far corner of the room, unnoticed until now.  The lamp’s hand moved and picked the lampshade off of their head. “I… don’tst think I was supposeth to listene to this.” He pressed his hands together with an awkward smile.

“ROUXLS?!” Elnina and Lanino demanded. “You’re not supposed to be here!” They looked between themselves, as if silently blaming the other for not catching the man.

The man chuckled. “Ah haha! Yes! I… believeth thou maye be righte. But… dare I sayeth, I am gladst to be in the knowe.” His lip curled upward. “For now, there mayest be a chance to be at TV Guye’s side againe. Mine desire to be a powerful Duke of Puzzles shallst be fulfillede, and at the side of mine former loverse. What couldst be better?”

Battat sighed, the strode over. His shoes hit the tile floor harshly. Then, he gripped Rouxls’ shirt and dragged him down to his eye level. “Listen here, I am running on two hours of sleep at most. My blood is mostly coffee right now, I’ve been running around all day, and I was just threatened by the Royal Magician. If you try to use this as some sort of advantage to get Tenna’s attention, I promise I will not hesitate to make your stay here miserable.” His eye twitched. 

“Thoust worme cannot threatene me.” Rouxls laughed. “I am Lesser Dad, thus I am a permanente feature. And thoust are just a die, merely a lesser member of Carde Kingdome. I rememberst your kinde.”

“You’re gonna be lesser when I’m done with you,” Battat growled. “I don’t play. Do you see that board?” He shoved his finger towards his Mike board. “You see what I did in a single day? Imagine what I can do over time. It’ll be easy, especially compared to what I had to do for Tenna.”

Elnina snorted. “He actually has been staying in the abandoned studio for at least a day. At this point I wouldn’t push it.”

Lanino nodded. “And back in TV World, he was responsible for making sure everything ran smoothly. He can really get things done if he sets his mind to it.”

Rouxls’ eyes darted between everyone, then sighed. “Okaye, okaye. I knowst when I amst overuled. Mine former Loverse’ words also carry weight. But… doest this meane I can be parte of these meetings? Since I amst in the knowe?”

Battat released Rouxls’ shirt. “Yeah. Sure! Whatever! Might as well!” He threw his hands up in the air. “I’ll go tell Swatch now, like I said I would.” He fetched his little pastry from the table and dug through the bag as he walked out of the room.

His little angry march only lasted until he made it outside of the castle, then everything started to hit him again. Like a wave, the emotions ebbed and flowed, pulling and pushing everything around. 

The mystery was solved, so why did it feel like a hollow victory?

For the last time that day, he walked into Swatch’s cafe and up to the counter. There were people here now, only a few, but enough that Battat didn’t want to share his findings quite yet. “The mystery was solved,” he said quietly, tracing his finger along the edge of the counter. 

“Well, why don’t you come in. I’ve got an office space if you want to let me know how the deliveries have been. I’m expecting a shipment soon.” 

Battat looked up. The Darkner’s eyes drifted between him and the back room. “Yep. Just lead the way. He moved behind the counter, then through the open doorway. There was a host area for making beverages and storing pastries, with everything in their place. Coolers and freezers buzzed and hummed, and an ice machine near the back clattered as more ice filled the basin. 

Swatch led him further and further in, past heavy machinery and mixers. “You can’t touch anything, especially not without washing your hands.”

Battat scoffed. “I wouldn’t just do that.” Although, if Swatch had to deal with Pippins in his time here, maybe the warning wasn’t too out of place. Or… maybe he gave that warning to everyone. 

Swatch made a turn and led Battat into a cramped office, complete with a small computer, filing cabinets, and a desk. There were a few chairs, one for Swatch and a selection of smaller chairs stacked against the wall. Swatch grabbed one for Battat and set it down on the floor, then sat in his own chair behind the desk.

Battat closed the door, glanced around the interior of the shop, then sat in his own chair. He leaned forward against the desk and intertwined his fingers together. “Thank you for the excuse.”

Swatch smiled. “Of course. And I really am expecting a delivery, especially given the new guest walking around. So, what have you found out about our newest visitor?”

Battat rubbed his face. “Well, good news. You were partially right.”

Swatch raised an eyebrow. “Partially?”

Battat nodded. “Yeah, partially. It’s not that Spamton is downloaded onto the Zapper, or anything. If what the evidence I’ve collected is true, then it’s much more complicated.” He took a breath. “Zappers don’t talk nervously. And while they do make some exaggerated hand movements, it’s different. They’re enforcers, or the ones in TV World were, so their hand movements are in line with telling people where to go or to stop. They have a distinct accent too, or at least most of them do. The one I overheard earlier had an accent, at least.”

“I trust you with that. You were part of TV World, after all. But, what are you trying to imply?”

Right, he had to rip the bandage off. He clapped his hands together and tried to summon as much of Mike’s courage as he could. “That Zapper was being possessed,” he insisted. “By two ghosts.”

“Is this… a joke?” Swatch asked, hurt lacing his voice. “I’m not fond of pranks, especially when it comes to the people I’ve counted as friends.” His voice raised, his feathers ruffled. “It would be a cruel joke indeed to come and claim he’s dead.”

Battat clenched his hands into fists. “No. I wish it were,” he muttered. Then he looked up. “Look, I know you don’t know me, but I was Tenna’s right-hand man for a reason. This sounds like nonsense. I know that, and I’m reeling from it too.”

Swatch’s stare grew intense underneath the glasses. “Let’s say for a moment that I believe this, who would the other ghost be? Who else was I talking to, then?”

“Tenna,” he muttered. “That’s my theory, anyway. It makes sense with what he was like, you know? I’m sure you’ve met him.”

“Once or twice, but usually it was Spamton who was the go-between.” He pressed his glasses against his face, cramming them further up his beak.

Battat nodded. “You said he was nervous, that he was waving his hands around, and that he called you by your name as soon as he saw you.” He pointed at the Darkner. “You said he ordered butterscotch-cinnamon, and that’s a flavor that was everywhere in TV World. Big guy couldn’t get enough of it. Always made him feel like he was part of the family as he shoved pieces of pie into the food we all ate.”

Swatch was quiet. “And where are you pulling your information from?”

“I have a board,” he explained. “And… information from Seam tied the whole thing together. If you want, I can show you later. Maybe you’ll come up with something else? I’m just…” He was upset, and he was tired. “It’s been a long day. No, it’s been a long few days.”

They sat silently and stared at each other. It wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy. There were feelings on both ends of that desk, unspoken but present. Battat didn’t need to hear Swatch say he was grieving a friend, and Swatch didn’t need to hear Battat say it either. 

While the Weather felt every emotion and expressed them like a rainstorm, Battat’s emotions were like a dam; fine until something pierced that concrete barrier. And unfortunately, there was a hurricane on the horizon. He could see the damage coming. 

Eventually, Swatch broke the silence with a sigh. “I… can’t say I fully believe you, but I will believe that you think it’s true.” He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just…”

“A lot,” Battat answered quickly. “I know. And I’m sorry to have to tell you and…” He wrung his hands together. “I’m sorry that he’s dead. He didn’t deserve whatever that guy did to him.”

“You do know. You would know better than most.” That admission made Battat feel seen. This was a crazy situation and someone was reacting to it like Battat was. The Weather made him feel better, yes. Their little comments had swept him into a lull in the storm, but it only served to delay the rainfall. “I’m sorry for your own loss here. He was always kind to me, and I was saddened to hear what happened in TV World. It’s not easy to lose someone.”

The dam burst. Swatch’s little words of genuine empathy made his form shudder. He pressed his head against the desk to avoid the Darkner’s eyes and sobbed. The stray tear marks he left on his Mike evidence was nothing compared to what would happen to Swatch’s ordering list. 

He missed his friends, he missed his job, he missed his boss. Everything he thought, everything he felt, it all fell from his lips in an incomprehensible stream of barely-formed sentences. If he had the power Seam claimed, he’d go back to when everything was better. He’d warn Tenna, he’d let him know about the Knight. He’d warn everyone that the Lightners weren’t nice. Or at least he would warn everyone to dodge the Lightner’s attacks.

Battat rubbed his eyes as he tried to stop crying. He hated it. He hated that he was doing this, especially in front of someone he didn’t know. He would hate to do this in front of Pluey and Jongler too, of course, but they weren’t here. He was alone. 

He felt something being draped around his shoulders and raised his head. There was a soft, electric blue blanket that briefly held the tears back.

Swatch was standing over him. At some point during his blubbering, the Darkner had gotten up and grabbed something to comfort Battat. 

Which just made him feel worse. He was supposed to be breaking the news to Swach, maybe help him deal with everything if he needed it. Instead, he was being comforted. Battat knew Tenna was dead, but Swatch didn’t know Spamton was dead. If anything, the roles should have been reversed.

“It’s alright.” Swatch patted the Pippins on the shoulder. “It’s… a heavy topic. Perfectly understandable that you would be so upset, especially seeing how close you seemed to be. If… anything happened to My Lady Grace, I fear I would also be in the same state. Especially with how little sleep you seem to get.” He sighed. “I am unsure of my own thoughts on the matter, and I cannot help with everything. But, if you would like to do something to help around here, I would be willing to hire you on.”

Battat blinked. “What?” The emotions still bubbled, but they took a brief pause as he tried to wrap his head around Swatch’s words.

“If what your fellow coworkers said before is true, you seem like a rather organized person.”

His board begged to differ, but he let Swach continue talking, wiping back tears.

“While I can handle how the cafe runs, I will admit that I would like the time to focus on crafting a better experience for the customer, perhaps begin adding more flavors and food to our menu. To that point, I would have you manage some of the work around here. It seems to be your strong suit, and if you can spend a day solving a mystery, you can track down shipping labels and figure out vendor information.”

Battat… could do that. And it would give him a steady income, or at least a place to get coffee from. “Anything else?”

“You’ll likely also work the front sometimes, which will allow you to listen in on our Zapper friend if he comes back in.” Swatch smiled. “And since I plan to reintroduce new recipes, I don’t see why he wouldn’t.”

“I… could do that.” He still felt awful, but at least there was something he could do to confirm his theories in the future. Perhaps he could glean more information about Mike. 

“Great. I’ll make up a contract soon and have you sign it. In the meantime, feel free to stay here and rest. I’ve got to get back to the front.”

Swatch gave Battat’s shoulders one last squeeze, then he left the office.

While Battat didn’t really think he could sleep, he was content with having somewhere quiet to relax. He grabbed another chair from the stack, placed it in front of his chair and just… sat back. He reached his hand into the bag and pulled out the treat Swatch packed him earlier; a little cookie filled with marshmallow fluff. 

It was nostalgic from his time in Card Kingdom. He took a nibble and sighed.

Things were still weird, probably would always be weird. But… at least he had a direction now.

Chapter Text

When they were spit back out in the Light World, the first thing that Tenna registered was just how bright it was outside. Light spilled in from the windows, even through the dark hallways of the school. 

It was something he was realizing again and again. The soft light of TV World couldn’t hold a candle to how warm it felt. Susie’s hand reached into her pocket to pick up the flashlight, grinning as she tapped down at the soft rubber button. “You still there?”

“Yep!” 

Susie chuckled, then she started walking. “So, how are we going to convince Kris?”

“Maybe it’s good to pretend nothing’s wrong,” Tenna offered. “Although… I guess they know something’s up. Ralsei said as much.”

Susie shrugged and slipped the flashlight back in her pocket. “Guess I won’t know until then.”

The hustle and bustle of the crowd had only grown in the time they were in Castle Town with parked cars lined across the streets and children yelling excitedly about a ferris wheel just past the trees. Tenna didn’t see Asgore or Carol in the crowd, nor did he see Asriel or Toriel. The faces they passed were all new. New Lightners for him to gawk at.

They passed the closed library and made it to the intersection Tenna remembered from last night. And, just like last night, he saw some familiar characters standing around. He remembered the nurses distinctively, he remembered the sorrowful bluebird woman, and he remembered the smug-looking bluebird sitting off to the side, chatting with the woman who looked just like him.

“He… woke up,” Tenna said, a bit stunned. He wasn’t sure that was supposed to happen so soon.

Susie’s wide stare met Berdly’s gaze and his face shifted from disbelief to apprehension. He stood on shaky feet before being gently pushed back on the bench by the bluebird woman. 

“You only just woke up. Rest.”

Susie made her way over instead, walking along at a casual pace with her hands in her pocket.

“Susan,” Berdly stated. His eyes flicked between his mom and Susie. “It’s… good to see you this morning.”

“Oh, is this one of your friends?” the woman asked.

Susie grinned. “We’re in the same class together,” she answered, decidedly not saying whether they were friends or not. “Know a couple of the same people.” Her eyes drifted down to Berdly. “It’s nice to see you up, been a bit weird not seeing your face in the library windows.”

“Oh, so you’ve noticed me before?” He smirked. 

“Uh… yeah.” She frowned. “We… share the same class. And I just saw you at the library a couple of days ago.”

Berdly cringed. “...Right. The… library.” 

“So, they let you out?” Susie asked. “Gonna go to the festival?”

His mother shook his head. “It’s a bit too crowded and he only just woke up. They’re letting him get some sunlight for a moment and letting me sit with him before I have to get back to work.”

Berdly chuckled softly. “Yeah. I… don’t have plans to go. But they’re hopeful that I’ll be let out soon. You’ll see my face in class in a few weeks.” The smile sharpened. “Hope you won’t miss me too much.”

Susie glanced between him and the other bluebird hesitantly. “So, any cool dreams?” she asked pointedly. “Or… weird ones?”

Berdly frowned. “I… guess. There were a few weird dreams.” His gaze also shifted between person to person as he messed with the feathers along his wings. “It was… an enlightening experience, you could say.”

This was sad, this… dance they were both trying to do. It was like an awkward scene from a children’s show. If he could talk to Susie… could he also…? Well, may as well try to pull everyone he could. Tenna paused time and reached forward, grabbing Berdly and dragging him back into the swirling RGB World. 

Berdly looked around in fright, then his eyes went to Tenna, then down to Spamton. He breathed a sigh of relief. “I… thought at first it might have been a dream until I saw Susie. I… am alive right?” His eyes narrowed at the screen.

“Yep!” Tenna grinned. “No rerun needed here. Just wanted to give you the space to talk privately. Some things shouldn’t be aired for the general public, after all.”

“But she’s not-”

Just as Tenna sought to fix that little issue, Susie forcefully shoved herself into the RGB World too, crossing her arms as she appeared off to the side. “Huh, so you really weren’t kidding.” She sneered. “Looks like you’re on the team.” She leaned in close with her lips pressed back. “Just don’t tell anyone.”

Berdly swallowed harshly, then nodded. “O-of course! What kind of person do you take me for? I’m not someone who would just…- This has to be all kept secret.” He grinned as he pressed his glasses up. “I understand discretion.”

“Great.” She winced. “And that goes for the Dark World too, not just the ghost thing. There’s a lot going on here, things the normal person shouldn’t know about.

“There’s a conspiracy, you say?” He looked up at Tenna. “It would seem that the genre change was to a mystery instead.”

Tenna chuckled. “It’s been a mystery the entire time, sorry to say. That’s part of the draw of TV Time, even in this new season. Where else would we get the Mystery part for the Marvelous Mystery Board?”

“Where are you getting the board from?” Susie fired back with a smile.

“WE COULD [Claim your Prize!!!!] THE [board] FROM [[CATHODE CREW]].” Spamton offered. He laughed his terrible, crackly laugh. “THAT [LITTLE GREEN MAN SPOTTED IN…] ALWAYS HAD [Haha! One!]” 

“Little green…?” Oh! “You mean the green Pippins! Yeah! He was always a bit strange, wasn’t he? Stopped really seeing him after a while.” He smiled fondly. Of course, Mike appeared soon after he stopped seeing the green Pippins around. A coincidence, surely.

“NOT A [Normal] PIPPINS, NO.”

Tenna sighed. “Ah, he was really the only Pippins I didn’t have to argue with. He just… did his work.” He hummed. “He wasn’t a very good actor usually, but he was always pretty good with managing the other Pippins. Maybe I should have hired him on for that specifically.”

Spamton shrugged. “TOO LATE [4] THAT, [CATHODE].”

“Yeah… you’re right about that. At least right now. But we still have that deal, you know. Maybe we really can make it back.” If he could go back in time, he would make changes in his studio, make things more fair. ‘Maybe then, nobody will leave me again.’

Berdly looked between the two of them, a bit confused, a bit uncomfortable. “Did they… know each other?” He asked in a whisper, but the words reverberated through the world. “They didn’t act like this earlier.”

Susie shrugged. “Don’t know that ‘know each other’ is really the right way to say it. But yeah. I guess they knew each other for a long time.” Her little smirk told a story. “They’ve been bantering like this since they came back to find me.”

Berdly’s eyes narrowed. “Interesting.” He pressed his wing against his face and looked up at Tenna. “Perhaps I was wrong about others not knowing my pain. Were you in a rela-”

Nope, had to nip this in the bud. “My apologies for the interruption.” Tenna’s antenna twitched, but he kept his face cheerful. “We really shouldn’t have made this about us. Why don’t the two of you catch up, then we can go see about talking to Kris.”

“Fine, fine.” Susie snorted. “Berdly, you’re kind of annoying.” 

Berdly rolled his eyes. “Susan, your lack of effort in anything irritates me.” He sighed, then crossed his wings. “That aside though, I have the same desire you do, to free our friend Noelle from her confines.”

“Kris too,” Susie insisted. “I… heard that they killed you, and I’m sorry that happened. But there’s something going on here.”

“I… I know.” Berdly looked to the side. “They didn’t seem like themself. The Kris I know is more… impish. If they are trapped, I want them free too.”

“Right on, dude.” She held up her fist. “So it’s settled then? Both of us try to fix everything in our own ways. You do your smart things, and I’ll break things down.”

Berdly smirked, then pressed his glasses against his face again, like he was mimicking a pose from a TV show. “To think, we would agree on something.” He met her first with clenched claws. “I’m in no state currently to run after anyone. So I would leave that to you.”

“Yeah dude I…” She winced. “The way you looked in the library when the Dark World vanished was kind of rough. I’m not sure you’re even supposed to be awake.”

‘Yeah. I… probably should be dead from that spell.’ Berdly’s face was dour as the thought echoed.

“Spell?” 

Berdly looked up. “Oh, right.”

“This world has little privacy,” Tenna reminded. “So be careful.”

Berdly wrung his hands together. “You know how we… get magic in the Dark Worlds? Well… it… was Noelle,” he explained softly. “But… Kris was there, urging her on.” He sighed. “Susie, be very careful with how you approach.”

Susie snorted. “Right. Well, you don’t have to worry. I’ve got Tenna in case anything goes wrong. Don’t worry too much, featherhead.”

Berdly frowned. “Putting the issue aside, I think that appealing to both of them could work, at least to distract them. And when you see Kris, could you thank them for bringing me here in time?”

Susie’s face softened. “Of course. Anything you want to say to Noelle?”

He smirked. “Well, I can’t be the only one doing the work. Remind her we’ve got a project coming up and the sooner we can finish, the sooner we can play Dragon Blazers on the library computers.” Berdly laughed, shaking his head. “I would invite you as well, Susan, but we both know you haven’t started coming up with even a concept yet. Perhaps next time.”

“And if I drop by anyway? What are you going to do about it?” She grinned. “Who knows, maybe me and Kris will just so happen to need to use the computers too. Maybe I’ll get Noelle to help me with my work.”

Berdly’s feathers ruffled. “You would?! But she-” He squawked. “But who would I play with then?”

Susie shrugged. “Kris maybe? Or you could do my work for me too. Your choice man.” She laughed, then looked back at Tenna. “I think we’re ready to go now. We’ll keep you in the loop as much as we can. But remember, you can’t tell anyone.” 

“I won’t tell anyone.” Berdly pulled an invisible zipper across his beak. Then, he frowned. “Be careful, okay?”

“You too, man.”

“Get better soon, Berdly,” Tenna said. “We’ll make things right.”

The RGB world fell away and time started again. 

Susie and Berdly blinked. Their faces shifted from their awkward grimaces to genuine smiles. “I’ve gotta get going,” Susie said. “But, it was nice talkin’.”

“And you too, Susan. Remember that you’ve got a project due.”

Susie snorted. “Yeah, yeah.” She waved dismissively, then set her feet in motion. “Bye, Berdly.”

“Goodbye, Susie.”

She shook her head and moved down the road, stuffing her hands back into her hoodie. “Glad he’s doing better.”

“Me too.” He hadn’t known the bluebird long, but he was alright. 

Parking was crowded, even around here, with cars lined along the outside of traffic cones and tape. Even now though, you still had the occasional car careening down the road, looking for a close parking spot. 

Susie growled as one drove too close to her, and Tenna had to really keep himself from pausing time and messing with the radio inside. They made it to the next junction where they could finally see the festival in the distance. There were concession stands set up alongside the benches and a short walk from the lake. A myriad of food was on display, from pretzels, popcorn, and shaved ice.

Importantly, Tenna could see Carol again, though Asgore wasn’t with her. She was walking through the crowd, leading Kris away from the festival grounds with a stern look on her face.

“Why is she leaving?” Susie asked in a hiss. “Shouldn’t she be… I don’t know, running it?”

“I’m going to go get closer,” Tenna insisted. He paused time once more and traveled along the line of parked cars. At least there were places to move this time, but the amount of things he could mess with limited his sight. It was… hard to pinpoint where Kris was. He unpaused, looked through the crowd, then continued on. 

It went like this for a little while. He would move into a car, look around while time was flowing, then pivot. There were plenty of places to go, but it felt like he could step on a landmine at any time. The amount of phones around them was staggering. And while they didn’t ring, Tenna couldn’t help but hear a phantom dialtone. He couldn’t help but see gleaming yellow and purple eyes in the center of each rectangular device. 

Eventually, through careful footwork, he managed to catch up to Carol and Kris and follow along in a battery-powered Santa watch in Carol’s suit pocket.

She moved them along with gentle nudges and an icy demeanor before they finally walked into an alleyway. “Kris,” she said, her voice like ice. “Have you retrieved it again?”

Kris’ eyes narrowed. “I got your message last night, but I didn’t leave it in your house,” they insisted. “I had it in its cage, but it must’ve escaped somehow.  I couldn’t find it for a while, but I have it back now.”

“Good, we can’t very well complete our plans without it. She’s really counting on you.”

Kris’ hands clenched. “I know.” Their voice was mumbly. “I promised. I remember.” They turned their head away. “This is for Dess. It’s to help Dess.”

Dess? Tenna frowned. For December? Had she been found? Did this mean that things could return to normal? But… how had they found her? Why did Carol need Kris? Why did Dess?

Kris chewed on their lip as their hands trembled. “Tonight is Flower King, right? Am I making the fountain or…?”

“You don’t have to worry about making the fountain this time. I want you to focus on having fun with Noelle before tonight.” She smiled fondly. “She was asking about you. I mentioned as such last night. I’m glad to see that you’ve mended things.”

Kris didn’t say anything, but their body tensed. “Yeah,” they grit out. “It’s good for everyone, right?”

“You know how much she’s struggled with Dess’ disappearance. It’s good that she has support.” Her eyes focused on Kris' hair. She reached her hands over and carefully brushed strands and fixed the parting. “I’m glad to see that you’re accepting responsibility, and I’m thankful for you and your father’s help.”

“Is it…?” Kris said suddenly. They looked at the ground, seemingly trying to ponder something before continuing. “Is it normal to not remember how you got somewhere?”

Carol’s eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t know personally, but I suppose if the Soul takes control forcefully, maybe. Where did you find yourself?”

“The hospital,” they growled.

“You said they seemed to take an interest in Rudy, yes? What if it was just trying to visit?”

Kris didn’t say anything

Carol sighed. “Kris, I know it’s hard. And trust me, I have plans to make up for this in the future, but try to stick it out. Have a nice day with Noelle, eat some of the food. Then, we can get back to our plans.”

“...Okay,” they mumbled. 

Carol gave one final pat on Kris’ shoulder and left. Before she did, however, Tenna paused time and moved into a nearby light, carefully avoiding Kris’ cell phone. Then they watched Carol leave.

“I don’t get it,” Tenna admitted softly.

“[Getting over it] WHAT?”

There was such a staggering difference with Carol now. She used to be warmer, brighter. She would go with Toriel into the kitchen to watch the children play in the living room, their voices low but still audible. They would share drinks while the children were asleep and Toriel packed lunches for the next day. The pair were like best friends at one point, close enough friends that both sets of children had an open-door policy to each other’s houses. 

Now…? It was like there was a different person wearing Carol’s skin. On the outside, she still treated Kris kindly, but there was a certain… way she phrased things that left Tenna shaken. Even though he was dead, he could feel the cold she brought with her. 

Grief had changed her, maybe not overnight, but over the past several years it built and built and built.

And this was the result. “She wasn’t like this before.”

Spamton stared down the alleyway. “THAT’S JUST [What do you] HAPPENS. THINGS CHANGE, [CATHODE].”

Tenna looked at Spamton and sighed. “Right.” There were too many things changing around him.

Kris lingered in that alley for a moment, as if they were trying to collect their bearings. With one last frustrated huff, they kicked a trash can and left, prompting Tenna to follow along the porch lights and air conditioning units hanging outside of windows.

They ducked behind a car as soon as they were out of the alleyway, then hunched down. It was like… they were avoiding someone.

Tenna looked past the cars and saw Susie along the road. It made sense, Tenna supposed, to avoid a conversation with someone you knew might be mad. Especially after the night Kris had.

Tenna could empathise and under normal circumstances even help! But… this wasn’t normal.

“FRONT [Windows and Doors need replacement?] THERE’S AN [Alarms save lives] THERE.”

Oh yeah! He was really good with cars! Tenna went into the car Kris was hiding behind and snapped his finger in a mechanism around the front door.

The noise blared, drawing the attention of everyone in the area. Kris jolted, then took off like a frightened animal.

“Kris, wait!” Susie ran after, leaving just enough time for Tenna to move back into the flashlight and unpause time.

They ran through the streets, with Susie hot on Kris’ trail. “Kris! We have to talk!” 

Kris’ pace slowed, then stopped as they neared their house, prompting Susie to do the same. “Talk about what?”

Susie ran her claws through her hair. “Stuff. There’s… a lot going on.” Her eyes narrowed. “With you and with… everything else. It would be better to talk in private.”

“So what? So you can yell at me? You seem angry.”

Susie scoffed. “Well, yeah. I am mad. Wouldn’t you be? You’re literally running from me.”

“Maybe ease back the tone there, Susie,” Tenna muttered. “They’re-”

Kris pressed their nails into their palms. “I don’t want to do this right now,” they growled. “Okay? I don’t want to get into this.”

“And you think I do?” Susie demanded. “I didn’t even come here to yell at you. I just want to-”

“To do what? You said it yourself that you hate it when people don’t tell you everything.” They laughed, running their hand through their hair. “I’m not telling you everything. Did you know that? Is that why you tracked me down? Ralsei said something was bad, is that what it was?”

Susie growled. “Shut up. There’s something serious going on here.”

Kris’s lips curled back to a sneer. “Yeah, there is. We know that. So, why is it so important to talk about it now? Can’t I have a moment to myself for once? Can’t I just rest for a little while before I have to think about any of this?!” Their voice rose in pitch.

He had to break this up somehow. “Susie they’re-”

“I’m not happy about any of this either!” Susie shouted back. “I’d like to go back to bed too! I had a pretty sucky night, Kris! You’re not the only one with problems.”

Kris rolled their eyes. “Wow, you had a bad night? I didn’t even get back to bed until the sun was up, but you had a bad night?”

“Well, I didn’t do that! Look- I’m not even trying to yell!”

“You’re not?” Well you’re doing a pretty good job at it!” They huffed. “A for effort, Susie! 

Susie shouted in frustration. “You’re the one who started it! I was just trying-”

“Susie!” Tenna clicked the flashlight on, letting the thin beam of light hit Susie’s eye. 

“Ack! Dude!” Susie winced, then took the flashlight from her pocket and clicked it off.  “I’m just trying to explain.” Her nails clicked the soft rubber, turning it on and off. “I know a little more than you think I do about the whole heart… thing.”

Kris’ expression didn’t change, but they didn’t respond either. Maybe it was progress. 

“But,” she continued. “That’s only part of what I wanted to say. I want to talk about what happened to me last night, and what almost happened to Berdly.”

Kris’ eyes widened. “Berdly? He’s… he’s fine. I know he’s fine. I took him to the… hospital

Their eyes narrowed. “You… you said you knew more than I thought you did. I don’t remember walking to the hospital last night. I’m guessing Ralsei also knows more than we thought. Did he mention anything about memory issues?”

“Didn’t know you didn’t remember things, but we can probably figure it out if you just… talked to us.” She sighed. “Please, Kris.”

Kris nodded slightly. “I just… I don’t want you to-”

“Be mad? Yell at you?” Susie crossed her arms. “Look, there’s a lot of awful things going on, and I’ve had a little more time to talk to people before coming here to find you. And I get it, I was kind of awful to you before all this, but we’re friends now, yeah? Why don’t we come up with something?”

Kris’ eyes widened. “Friends? We’re still…?”

Susie snorted and walked closer, shoving them slightly. “Dude, which of you was it to drink the juice with me like that?”

“Me,” they answered.

“And who was it who protected me from King? You or that heart?”

Kris was quiet, as if they were pondering the answer to that very question.

“Look, I know you, Kris. You’re witty, sarcastic, and…” She smirked. “You’ve got great taste in shampoo.”

Kris snorted. They cracked a rare smile, one Tenna hadn’t seen in years. He committed that frame to memory as he listened. 

“The point is, I know you. It’s been a little confusing, but I can separate you from that stupid heart now. I can tell when it’s you. And right now? This conversation? It’s been all you, yeah?”

Kris nodded. “Yeah. I… don’t feel its pull right now.” They pressed their chest.

“There’s no visible wires,” Tenna confirmed. “Would’ve said so if there were.”

Susie’s smirk softened. “Glad to hear it.” She sighed. “I don’t understand everything, but I understand that much. You’re my friend. My.. uh… first friend here. And maybe it’s stupid since it’s only been a few days but… I don’t know. I don’t want to lose that.”

“I don’t either,” they whispered. Their hand clutched at the fabric on their chest, just like when they-

Oh. That’s what they were doing that night. The faint glimmer of light before they made the Dark Fountain must have been the Soul, then. 

“You good man?”

Kris released hold of their sweater. “I know you have things to ask. But…can I take some time first?” Kris asked, their voice quiet. “I don’t know how to phrase everything. And… I want to try to fix something one last time.”

Susie frowned. “I mean, you can if you want, but I’m willing to try and help.”

“This is…” Kris stared at the ground. “It's something only I can do.”

Susie rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She looked them over. “What do you have in your pockets?”

Kris’ eyebrows pressed together, and their head tilted slightly. “What?”

“What do you have in your pockets? You’re always carrying a bunch of junk, right?”

With hesitant hands, Kris reached into their pocket. They pulled out their phone, a small top, pieces of hard candy, a black shard, their knife, and several scraps of ribbons in a range of colors. They blinked. “That’s… a lot more than I thought I had.”

Susie laughed. “Of course it is, you’re always carrying our stuff.” She shook her head and fished her flashlight from her own pocket. “Mind holding onto this too?”

“Wait, don’t you need-” Tenna started.

“I think…” Susie stressed. “It would be better in your hands right now.”

Kris grabbed the flashlight and frowned at it. “Why do I need this?”

Susie grinned. “For all the crimes you’re going to get up to. Come on, I’ve heard the stories. Kris, local menace! You’re telling me a flashlight wouldn’t be useful if you find yourself searching in the dark?”

A soft smile spread across their face as they pocketed the flashlight. “I’ll do so many crimes. Don’t worry. Maybe I’ll even let you join in.”

“I’d hope so! That’s my flashlight!”

They sighed. “We’ll talk again later, I promise.”

Susie nodded. “Just… make sure to keep that thing safe. I’ll need it for later, okay?!”

Tenna paused time before Kris left and pulled Susie back into the RGB World, just for a moment. Susie didn’t look phased to be there, and offered Tenna a small smile. “Sorry for not telling you, but.. I’m worried about them.”

Tenna… was worried too. 

“Keep them safe, okay? I’ll be fine for a bit.” Susie grinned. “I’ll take the time to get something real to eat and check into something for myself. Nothing dangerous, of course.”

“I… I will. I’ll keep them safe.” Tenna would do what he could to keep Kris safe, after all, they were his Lightner. 

He let that world fall away and settled into the flashlight. Though they followed the same trail for a brief moment, Susie turned and Kris continued on their way back to the festival grounds. In some ways, he was happy about this arrangement. Kris was… well, Kris was part of what made Tenna… Tenna! There wasn’t a clean label to describe what Kris was to Tenna.

Just that they were his family. 

But he also couldn’t shake the worry he felt for Susie, even though she claimed there’d be nothing dangerous. There was a gut feeling he had, telling him that he needed to stay alert. 

Or maybe it was paranoia. It had been a stressful couple of days, after all. Susie should be safer, right? Kris was walking away from her. 

“[CATHODE] EVEN IF SHE [Kick the bucket] AGAIN, YOU [straight from a can!] [do anything!]. STOP [Don’t worry, be happy!] AND JUST FOCUS.”

And that was true too. If anything happened to her, he could always step back in and fix it. And he would, gladly, but it shouldn’t be like this. These were children, teenagers, yes, but still small and new to the world. Their main focus should be on their school and their friends. They should be watching TV and playing video games, not dying or being puppeted by an otherworldly being. 

They should fall in love, make new friends, find out what they want to be in life. 

But, that’s not what was in the cards. 

Kris’ feet led them into the park by the lake. This was the first time Tenna had actually seen the area, at least outside of family pictures captured by disposable cameras. The grainy film did nothing to capture the beauty of the shining blue-green water, or how the wind let loose leaves and guided them along the wind.

The Lightners didn’t seem as invested in the scenery they got everyday. Instead, they raced and clamored for attractions set up along the tree line. More food stalls, more games. There was a dunk tank set up, a bouncy castle. 

And past all of it, sitting on the edge of the lake, was the ferris wheel. It stood dout against the green landscape in bright oranges and yellows and spun along, carrying buckets of ants to the sky.  

For some, that landmark would have been a source of joy. It was a lovely activity for the whole family, provided you weren’t scared of heights. But Kris didn’t seem to share that sentiment. They looked up at the wheel, then tore their face away from the sight.

They moved through the crowded pathways, around tall and small Monsters alike as they looked around. Clearly, they were looking for someone or something, but without a word from Kris, Tenna wasn’t sure what to look for. 

Instead, he allowed his eyes to wander to the crowd. This was the kind of festival that really drew a crowd, or at least it drew the people who had an attachment to this town. He saw mostly Monsters, but there was a familiar face in the crowd; Asriel. His tall stature and stark-white fur made him stand out among the guests as he leaned forward against the edge of one of the booths, trying but failing to pop balloons. Two strangers, a pair of humans, stood by. One  in a green cardigan laughing, the other in a blue sweater staring pensively at the display. 

At least someone was having a nice time in his family. At least one of the Dreemurr children was happy. 

Kris made no move to go to them, and instead walked directly to a booth somewhat nearby, but far enough away that Asriel didn’t see them.

Noelle was waiting at a table, playing something on a portable game system of some kind. She sighed, then looked around. Her eyes fell on Kris, and she jumped up and put her device away.

“Kris!” Her eyes darted back and forth between Kris and the front of the festival. “How have you been?” Her usually energetic voice was back, but with a strange… tone. Her hands ruffled the sleeve of her holiday sweater. “You… said you wanted to go with me to the festival.”

Kris’ face fell. “Noelle,” they said quietly. “Everything is alright,” they insisted. “You don’t have to. Wouldn't you rather go with Susie?”

“Su-...?” Noelle’s face flushed, then her smile faded. “But you… asked me,” she mumbled. 

“I… know.” They grimaced. “But… 

“Its been so long since you talked to me, Kris. I missed you. Y-you wanted to go with me. So, I-I’m glad we’re going to hang out now!” She covered her mouth with her hands. “Fahaha! This… this must be one of your pranks! O-or a test! Kris, you don’t have to test me, you’re my best friend, always will be!” She grabbed hold of their hand.

“Noelle,” they pleaded. “I think it would be best if-” Their shoulders stiffened and their posture straightened. Tenna could hear a pop from their lower back from how abrupt it was. Red, translucent wires appeared around Kris’ chest. “...We go and ride the ferris wheel.” Though they said that, Tenna could see how Kris’ mouth struggled to form the words. Their tone was different as the Soul took control once more.

“Wh-what about everything else?” She laughed. “I mean, we haven’t eaten yet, we could get something and make our way there! Y-Yknow?”

“Noelle.” The voice they used made Tenna shudder. “Will go with Kris. I have something I want to say there.”

“S-something to…?” Noelle’s eyes widened. “Wh- what would you…?” Her voice trailed off before she hesitantly smiled at Kris. “O-okay! If that’s what you want! I would love to join you!”

They led the charge as Tenna stared, horrified. It wasn’t as cut and dry back in TV World. Or… if it had, Tenna hadn’t been paying close enough attention. He was starting to think maybe he should have tried harder, examined things more thoroughly.

He had to do something. Kris very clearly didn’t want to do this, and what was Tenna if not someone there to help? This time, he had the power to affect the Light World, and he was going to use that power now.

He paused time and scanned the crowd. With vendors set up, it was fairly easy to traverse without having to step into a phone. He moved along through digital sales systems and induction stovetops, from popcorn makers to candy spinners. Large, burly Monsters carried large boxes with electrical components, likely to set up a booth of their own or to power something near the entrance. Whatever the case, these people were invaluable. His prize, of course, laid behind the counter of the balloon popping game.

The same game Asriel and his friends seemed to be set up at.

Last time the Soul took control like this, Kris had been able to fight back when there was a loud enough noise. So, he was hoping the same would happen now. 

He moved into an electrical air pump set up behind the booth then let time go forward. Luckily, there was already a balloon attached to the front. With a snap, Tenna forced the pump to start. In a matter of a few seconds, the balloon was already at a comfortable size. If Tenna was working at this booth, he’d remove it at this point.

A dart flew at the board with a groan from Asriel.

“One left!” one of the humans, a taller human with bright hazel eyes and short strawberry blond hair insisted. “Make it count!” They had a Cheshire Cat’s smile plastered on their face

Asriel moved the dart to his eye level, stuck out his tongue as he focused on his target, then began his throw. In this moment, several things happened. The balloon popped and Asriel jumped back. The dart left his hand and hit the edge of the sign.

That dart bounced off the board and hit the ground pitifully, but the sudden noise also startled a nearby Monster. This Monster, a bull-like Lightner with shaggy brown fur and dog-like limbs, howled and bolted through the crowd. People scrambled to move out of their way. 

The Monster ran past the electrical equipment, ran through stalls, and jumped over fences.

In the chaos, the red strings loosened their hold on Kris, allowing them to let go of Noelle’s arm and run.

For a moment, Tenna allowed himself to feel a bit of pride. He did it! He helped. He let the feeling pass over and paused time to move through the carnage, back into the flashlight. Then he let everything resume and sat back.

Time continued on. Kris moved through the crowd and made their way back to the booths and attractions, then breathed a sigh of relief. But the relief was short-lived. They wiped their head with their hand just as the nearest wooden booth toppled forward, dropping a large wooden sign on Kris’ head. 

Plumes of dust and dirt erupted from the festival grounds as the chaos died down, then picked back up with a roar.

“Someone help them”

“What happened?!”

“Isn’t that the Dreemurr kid?!”

Tenna was stunned.“Wh-what?” Tenna couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything. Had… had he caused this? He didn’t know this would… He clutched his screen, letting his face flicker off and his form shrunk. “Kris?” They didn’t move. Despite someone removing the sign from them, they didn’t move. There was no rise and fall of their chest, no steady twitches. There was blood, and a small light that began to emerge from their chest.

“CHECK ON THEM. [Switch providers] UP YOUR [Point of View!]” He rolled his eyes.

Tenna quickly changed his view and gasped lightly at the sight. Kris’ silhouette stood out against the rubble in the green part of the world, just like Susie did, just like Berdly did. Unlike them, though, it was in a different orientation from those of their peers.

“THEIR… [HEARTSHAPEDOBJECT.],”

It… wasn’t as bright red as it was in TV World during their battles. It wasn’t as vivid as when they would throw it around to have their friends dodge bullet patterns or when they would use its power to fire shots at socks, hats, and at Tenna.

But… it was scarred. Deep bluish-red finger marks curled around this reddish-purple soul like unhealed bruises. And maybe, they were bruises from how tight Kris’ fingers curled around it when they removed it. Or maybe it was a sign of whatever the Soul was doing to them. He didn’t know.

He couldn’t focus on that, not right now. “I’m so sorry,” he muttered, moving closer to Kris. He could feel liquid starting to form on his screen. He had to fix this, to set this wrong to a right. He grabbed the soul and let the sands sweep them into the world of red, blues, and greens.