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The Roaring.
The inevitable, inescapable end of everything.
Both the Light and Dark Worlds were succumbing to the relentless march of pure darkness, the balance between them completely destroyed. Untold horrors were leaving devastation in their wake, as the Lightners battled valiantly on in an attempt to save their world.
And as for the Darkners?
Castle Town was in ruin. This once peaceful hub for the Darkners to reside in had been overrun by the nightmarish Titans and their Spawn. Kris Dreemurr and their friends had been here earlier and, in the midst of the unrelenting mayhem, failed to notice that they'd managed to drop some items along the way.
A pair of pink-and-yellow glasses sat amongst the debris in the main area of the town, next to a jester's tail – the latter of which had begun to glow. It lifted itself into the air and, in a flash of light, the rest of Jevil's form quickly took shape. He paused for a moment, drinking in his surroundings. All this destruction, all this terror...
All this CHAOS.
He threw his head back and laughed in the face of it all. With a manic grin, he glanced down at the glasses on the ground next to him and nudged them with his foot.
“UEE HEE HEE!!” he bellowed, “COME ON, SPAMMY! YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON ALL THE FUN, FUN!!”
The glasses began to glow in response, and Spamton immediately materialised around them. He was sat on the floor, head in his hands and trembling violently.
“WHY SO GLUM, GLUM?” Jevil asked, his head tilted to one side, “WE BOTH ALWAYS KNEW IT WOULD END THIS WAY!! OH, THE CHAOS, CHAOS!!”
Spamton slowly lowered his shaking hands and looked up at the cackling jester in horror.
“YOU RE4LLY [THINK ] THIS IS SOME KIND OF ?[[Fun Games]]?!?!” he yelled incredulously, “IT'S [THE END] OF THE WOrLD!! WE;RE AL L [[Done For]]!!”
“I KNOW, I KNOW!!” Jevil replied gleefully, “BUT WE CAN'T STOP IT, SPAMMY!! IT TRULY IS ALL JUST A GAME IN THE END, THE END!!!” The jester began dancing on the spot, laughing wildly, much to Spamton's dismay. Jevil held a hand out to the salesman, who just looked daggers at him in response.
“NO?! WELL THEN, SUIT YOURSELF, YOURSELF!” Jevil shrugged, “BUH BYE, SPAMMY!!!”
And with that, he joyfully danced away, heading in the direction of one of the few shops in Castle Town that was still standing. The one which the old cat was in charge of, if Spamton remembered correctly.
The salesman dragged himself to his feet, arms folded across his chest. He didn't know what to do. Jevil was right, this was how everything was supposed to end. Except... travelling around with Kris and their friends had filled Spamton's heart with a certain feeling. A feeling that he'd never expected to experience again.
Hope.
Surely, Kris and their friends could fix all this, right? The Lightners would save the day, like they'd done before?
Spamton mulled on this thought as he shuffled through Castle Town's main hub. His mind was a blur and he wasn't watching where he was going – he yelped loudly as his foot collided with something solid. He looked down, and his heart sank.
It was a group of Darkners who resembled small cups, huddled together.
Petrified.
Spamton felt a sudden surge of fear swelling in his chest. Petrification was the eventual destiny of all Darkners during the Roaring, he knew that... but it didn't make it any less terrifying.
He jumped as he felt a presence creeping up on him. His yell must have altered... something.
Slowly, shakily, he turned around. And found himself face-to-face with a group of Titan Spawn.
“[[$!$$]]!! NO!!” he cried. He turned and ran, but they were swiftly surrounding him. There was no way he could fight them off or hope to escape them, not like this. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, until it all became too much to bear. His terror consuming him and his legs feeling as though they were on fire, the salesman sank to his knees before curling into a ball on the floor. He desperately put his arms over his head in a vain attempt to protect himself from his assailants.
Without warning, a bright white light began to shine out above him. Spamton lowered one of his arms to try and see what was happening. The Spawn appeared to have been stunned by the light. Before Spamton could process what was happening, an almighty clap rang out above him – and the Spawn, cleaved neatly in half, fell to the ground around him.
Spamton looked up to see someone very, very familiar indeed.
Mr. Ant Tenna stood above him, hands clasped together, the light emitting from his screen beginning to quickly subside. His smash cut had dealt with the Spawn for the time being, and he gasped when he saw the small salesman curled up on the ground.
Who is that? He thought to himself, Looks like... some sort of puppet?
It didn't matter who, or what, he was looking at. He'd seen that a fellow Darkner was in trouble and knew that he had to help them.
That's why he was out here on the streets, after all. Trying to round up as many people as he could, in order to lead them to safety.
“Are you okay down there?” He asked gently as he crouched down next to the salesman, “Let me help you...”
He held out his hand to Spamton. “Come on, let's get out of here. I can take you to somewhere a bit less dangerous than this...”
Spamton hesitated for a moment. Tenna didn't recognise him, did he? Why did this have to happen now, in the middle of the damn apocalypse?! He swallowed hard, a great sorrow threatening to overtake him. He shakily took Tenna's hand and pulled himself to his feet, before staggering and falling over as soon as he let go.
“Oh my God, are you alright?!” Tenna asked, before noticing something very concerning.
The Titan Spawn that he'd dispatched were beginning to tremble and reform. Of course that wouldn't have been enough to finish them off completely, the CRT had only managed to stun them!
Spamton noticed this too and cried out in alarm. Without hesitation, Tenna unceremoniously scooped the salesman into his arms. His screen emitted a flash of white light again, temporarily stunning the Spawn once more, before he turned and ran.
Spamton gazed up at Tenna, at a loss for words. He'd always wanted the chance to speak to his old partner, to make amends, but it was far too late for any of that now. As futile as it might be though, could he at least try? After all, this might prove to be his last chance.
“[Cathode]”, he began, “DON;T YOU RECOg<nISE ME?”
Tenna briefly glanced down at Spamton, not wanting to let himself get too distracted from navigating the perilous streets. “No, I don't. I'm sorry, I've never seen you before. Are you new around here?”
“I--” Spamton began, before catching a glimpse of something that made his stomach drop.
A stone statue was stood outside the old cat's shop. A stone statue in a horribly familiar shape.
He'd still been laughing, right up until the very end.
Spamton quickly looked away.
“Hold on, we're almost there...” Tenna said, interrupting the thoughts that were now swirling around in Spamton's head.
The CRT sharply turned a corner, before diving into a doorway. Spamton recognised this as Castle Town's main building, which had rooms for many of its residents. With a sigh, Tenna lowered Spamton to the ground.
“We might be safe in here for a while,” Tenna said, his voice laced with uncertainty. He glanced over his shoulder, and shuddered at the sight of two more petrified Darkners – it was King and his son, Lancer.
Spamton looked around, quickly realising why it might be somewhat safer in here than it was outside. The hallway was lit up with a small group of spotlights, cutting through the veil of darkness that was enveloping the town. They looked like stage lights... Tenna must have brought them here from his studio to try and keep the Spawn out of the building. And, by the looks of things, it was working.
Spamton sighed. He found himself staring awkwardly at Tenna now, desperately hoping that his former partner would recognise him.
“ANT...” Spamton said, “PLEASE. PLE4SE [[Say]] YOU RECOGNISE [Me].”
Tenna beheld the small Darkner in front of him. He'd met a lot of people in Castle Town, but he'd never seen this one before! He must be a new recruit that Kris brought in before everything happened, the CRT thought to himself, But... how does he know me?
“I'm sorry, I really don't know who you are, and I don't understand how you know me,” Tenna said with a sigh, “But, I think that's the least of our problems right now, isn't it? Even if... if we survive the Titans...” He cut himself off, not wanting to speak the inevitable into existence.
Tenna looked back at the puppet again, who was now shuffling around on the spot.
“IT'S ME,” Spamton said, “IT'S ME, [Spamton G Spamton]...”
Tenna looked aghast. “Why would you say something like THAT?!” he asked angrily, “I just saved your life, and now you-”
“PLEASE., WE DON;T HAVE [[Lots of Time]] FOR TH1S!” Spamton yelled, “IT'S THE [[Apocalypse Now]], [Cathode]. WHY [would I?] SAY SOMETHING [[JUST LIKE THAT]], UNLEss IT' S TRUE?!”
Tenna didn't know what to say, or what to think. Surely this couldn't be true? But, what reason would this person have to lie to him, right before everyone is about to...
“Spamton?” he asked quietly, kneeling in front of the salesman to get a closer look at him, “Is it you? Is it REALLY you?”
Spamton nodded solemnly, not able to make direct eye contact with the CRT.
Titans were stomping through Castle Town, and their awful Spawn were terrorising everyone who set foot into the darkness. Dark Fountains were popping up everywhere. And all around them, each of the Darkners were slowly turning to stone one-by-one. This puppet being Spamton was hardly the most unbelievable thing that was happening right now. And even if it was, Tenna knew that he didn't have time to question it. Not now. How long would he have before he, too, succumbed to the fateful curse that was taking all of his fellow Darkners?
He had no choice. He had to trust Spamton. After all, there was something strangely comforting about his presence.
Tenna sat down with his back against the wall and crossed his legs, running his hands over his screen. Spamton slowly walked up to him, still extremely unsteady on his feet, and sat next to the CRT.
“How... HOW is it you? What the hell happened, Spammy?” Tenna asked as he lowered his hands to finally get a good look at his old partner.
“NO T1ME TO [explain myself],” Spamton answered, “IT;S [[TOO LATE]] NOW. WE'RE GO<ING TO [[$!$$]]ING D--”
“Hey, come on now!” Tenna quickly interjected, trying desperately to keep both of their spirits up, “We don't know what's going to happen, do we?! We might be okay!”
Oh, Tenna, if only... Spamton thought to himself.
“Y-YEAH. M4YBE.” He forced himself to reply through gritted teeth.
“I... Wow, I... Never thought I'd see you again,” Tenna said after a beat, “And now you're here. You certainly don't know how to pick a good time, do you?!” He let out a hollow laugh.
“[Cathode], LISTEN, I--” Spamton's sentence trailed off, as something horrifying caught his eye.
Tenna's legs were starting to take on a grey hue.
The CRT followed Spamton's eyeline and saw it for himself, swallowing down a gasp. An awful sensation had started to form in his legs, but he'd assumed it was from all the running that he'd had to do. An unbearable cold took over his legs now and, try as he might, he couldn't move them. He watched, frozen in horror, as they became stone.
“Well, maybe we won't be okay after all!!” Tenna exclaimed in a panic, laughing maniacally out of pure fear. His screen turned pitch black as his upper body trembled and he clutched the sides of his head.
Spamton jumped to his feet, which caused Tenna to panic even more.
“No no no NO, don't leave! PLEASE don't leave!! Not again!” he wailed, reaching out to Spamton as best he could.
“TENNA, IT'S [[OK]],” Spamton yelled fretfully, feeling tears burning in his eyes. He slowly clambered into the CRT's lap, the ice cold stone making him wince. “I'M H3RE.”
Tenna took deep breath after deep breath, desperately trying to stay in control of himself. As he began to regain some semblance of calm, his screen returned to normal.
“Th... thank you,” he said shakily.
The duo sat in silence for a few moments, neither one of them entirely sure what to say to the other. They'd both awaited this moment for so many years; but for it to happen now, when they had so little time, made their hearts begin to ache with the dull pain of regret.
“I NEED. TO SAY. SOME THING.” Spamton was the first to speak, slowly and deliberately. “I – I'M SORRY. I'm REALLY. REALLY SOrrY. FOR LE4VING.”
Tenna reached down and cupped Spamton's face in one of his trembling hands.
“It's okay, Spammy,” he replied quietly, his voice still shaking, “I suppose it doesn't really matter now, does it?!”
“WHAT?! YES IT [Does]!” Spamton yelled, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. Tenna softly wiped them away with his thumb. “YE5 [IT] DOES! I [[$!$$]]ED UP!!!! I SHOULD HA<VE [Come Back] SOONER! I- I NEVER SHouLD HAVE [abandoned you] IN THE [[1st Place]]!!”
“But you're here now,” Tenna assured him, “You're here now, and...”
Tenna's gaze moved to Spamton's legs. He hoped that he'd imagined it, that it was just a trick of the light – but no.
Spamton was also beginning to petrify.
The salesman looked down in horror, then back up at Tenna, whose petrification had now reached his hips.
Spamton threw his hands over his mouth, his mind overrun with pure panic. It felt like the whole world was spinning. He may have been fully aware that this was always going to be his fate, but somewhere, deep down, he'd dared to hope that it wasn't.
A foolish hope that had all been for nothing.
Tenna put his other hand on Spamton's back to steady the salesman.
“TENNA, I-” Spamton began, a glitch running through his body while he tried to calm himself, “I [[REALLY ]] AM SORRY. I CAN;T. I CAN'T. I CAN'T [[Die]] WITHOUT [[Telling You]]. WITHOUT EXPL4INING THAT I DIDN;T LEAVE BEC< aUSE OF [YOU]. IT'S. IT'S [Complicated]. BUT It WASN'T [[All YOur fault]]. NONE OF IT WAS [ALL Y0URs] FAULT.”
“Spammy, I...” Tenna began, hesitating for a moment, trying to find the right words, “...Thank you. Thank you for saying it. I always... I always assumed that I'd done something wrong! That you left because of me. That maybe I pushed you too hard to sign that contract, or something. But I shouldn't have just let you run away like that! I should have gone after you, instead of going for that DAMN phone. How... how could I have been so selfish?! Spamton, I'm - I'm sorry...”
He began to lean forwards, inching closer to Spamton, but abruptly stopped. He cried out as that icy chill began to creep up his back, stopping him from moving any further. His screen briefly turned to static as he groaned, his front also beginning to seize up. The sensation made him flinch, withdrawing his hand from Spamton's face.
The salesman looked away from Tenna. He couldn't stand to see this any more. And the weight of a hundred regrets was bearing down on him more and more with every passing second.
“[[$!$!]]., WHY DID IT H4VE TO [[Ending Now!]] LIKE [THIS]?” he wailed, still unable to look the CRT in the face, “[Y]?! WE DON; T HAVE [enough time for ] NOW.”
“I... I don't know,” Tenna replied with a sniffle, “But I'm glad that I was able to see you again before... before the end. I just wish you had come back sooner! We could have talked it all out properly and maybe... maybe we'd have been able to try again. To have a life together again. It could have been great, couldn't it! Really great. Just like the old days...”
“[[I KNOW]],” Spamton replied sorrowfully, “I'M SO SORRY. [All of this] IS MY F4ULT...”
“No, no it's not,” Tenna said, smiling weakly at Spamton, “We BOTH messed up, didn't we?! We both threw it all away. I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...”
Spamton looked back up at his old partner. They'd both caused each other to endure years of agony and heartbreak, and yet – finally, against all the odds – they were back together again. No matter how brief this reunion might be, they were both determined to make the most of it. Despite everything, they had missed each other so much; and now, as they gazed at each other, they both wanted nothing more than to continue from where they had left off before.
Spamton began to carefully lean forward, to reach Tenna's face. Their noses were touching now... but an icy cold sensation in his chest stopped Spamton in his tracks. He cried out, completely immobilised, as his torso began to change. He put a hand to his chest, stifling a sob as his touch was met with icy stone. He tried to move his hand away, to reach out for Tenna that way instead, but it too had stopped moving. He promptly moved his other arm, grabbing ahold of Tenna's free hand in a tight grip.
Tenna grimaced as the hand supporting Spamton's back froze in place. They were running out of time. And now, they'd never get the last kiss that they had both wanted so badly.
“Spamton, I... I just want you to know that I forgive you,” Tenna said earnestly, “I forgive you for running away.”
“I FORG<IVE Y0U TOO...” Spamton responded, desperately trying to mask the panic in his voice.
A look of horror flashed across the salesman's face as he felt his other arm beginning to lock up. He was no longer able to feel Tenna's hand in his own.
“Do you think the Lightners will be able to stop this?” the CRT asked desperately, “Kris and their friends. They'll... they'll help us, right?!”
“I - I DON'T THINK SO, [Cathode],” Spamton grimly answered, the small spark of hope in his heart beginning to extinguish, “I THI< NK THIS Is [[ALL TOO MUCH]] EVEN FOR TH3M. LET'S [Face It]., ANT. [It's Over].”
“M-maybe you're right...” Tenna murmured, tears beginning to flow down his face. He briefly glanced down at the hand that was holding Spamton's, as it too began to petrify. That awful feeling of pure cold was also sneaking up his neck now and into the back of his head...
“NO... NO! NO!!!” Spamton cried as the sides of Tenna's screen began to turn. He knew it was now or never. His final chance to voice the one thought that had haunted him for so many years. The one thought that he wished, more than anything else, that he'd made clear before now.
“TENNA, I... I [[Hyperlink Blocked]] YOU.”
No. No, not like this! Not now!!!
“ I [[Hyperlink Blocked]] YOU. [[Hyperlink Blocked]]!!! I [[Hyperlink Blocked]]!!! I- I- L. O. V-”
Tenna smiled faintly, tears still streaming down his screen.
“It's... It's okay, Spa... Spammy,” he mumbled quietly, struggling to speak now, “I...”
The CRT was unable to complete his sentence, fully succumbing at last to the petrification. Spamton stared at him, physically and mentally unable to do anything else.
He felt utterly defeated, an overwhelming sorrow drowning him. He didn't speak, he didn't weep. This was deeper than that. Worse than that. He felt empty. Like whatever was left of his wretched heart had been ripped out and torn to pieces in front of his very eyes.
He didn't even flinch when he felt that dreaded icy sensation working its way up his own neck.
Maybe the Lightners would help them. Maybe they'd save the day and avert all this tragedy. Maybe this wasn't the end, and he'd get to speak with Tenna again one day.
But then again, who was he kidding? The last, tiny embers of hope that he'd tried so hard to hold onto had finally been put out completely.
He wanted to speak now. He wanted to try one final time to say it, even if there was no-one around to hear him. But fate wouldn't allow him even that, as he felt his jaw lock into place.
He kept his eyes fixed firmly on Tenna, until his face turned ice cold and the world faded into darkness.