Chapter Text
Time passed differently in the Dark World compared to the Light World, or so Tenna thought. By the way he’d sing to the world about his woes, one would think Spamton had been gone for months, if not an entire year…
It had only been four days at most. His absence did sort of come without warning, in Tenna's defense. Shortly after the fountain to the Dark Sanctuary was opened by the Roaring Knight, Ralsei rushed through Castle Town to collect their armor at once. Being the understanding creature that he was, he allowed Spamton to say goodbye to Tenna, trusting him to meet the rest of the gang in the castle once Kris and Susie arrived. The problem didn’t end up being Spamton, though. In fact, and they really should have seen this coming, Tenna was the one slowing them down. As soon as Spamton broke the news to him mid-shift, it was like the TV’s world came to a complete and total halt. He was suddenly inconsolable, and his clinginess increased twentyfold.
It wasn’t like the CRT was oblivious to the fact that Spamton would have to go with the Lightners again. They had thoroughly and repeatedly discussed that dilemma well before this day had come. Although Tenna was upset at the prospect, he eventually understood. Or, he said he understood. In reality, he carried on with his days in ignorant bliss.
Until that comfort was shattered.
~
“NO! SPAMMY!” Tenna bawled with Spamton snug between his palms. “You CAN’T go! You CAN’T! I won’t LET YOU!”
“[ANGEL] ABOVE, [TRASH HEAP]. WEVE BEEN [Over and out] THIS! THE LIGHT NERS SAID ITS TIME TO [Go go go!] SO I [HALF] TO [Going! Getting! Gone!]” Spamton snarled as he tried to pry his way out of Tenna’s death grip.
“It’s not FAIR! Why can’t they pick SOMEONE ELSE! Why YOU!?”
“BECAUSE I [It’s a deal] TO [Press F1 for help] THEM! AND I AM [A man of many words]!” Tenna opened his palms when Spamton readied himself to bite, allowing the smaller darkner to inhale sharply; the constriction around his diaphragm was finally released. “ILL COME BACK, [CATHODE]… I PROMISE!”
“But…” Tenna shrank down until Spamton had to instead be held in his arms. “What if you don’t…” his voice was soft and sheepish, and his gaze was anywhere but on Spamton.
The little puppet wanted to scream and shout in hysterics at his partner’s gaudy, dramatic display in the middle of the studio. If he were not a better darkner, he would have, too. In contrast to his former, brash self, he let out a heavy, drawn-out sigh and pressed his palm to the TV’s cheek.
“I WILL COME BACK,” he reiterated slowly with firm emphasis on each word. “I WILL COME BACK.”
Tenna shrank again until he and Spamton were the same height. At this point, the puppet was standing on the floor, both hands firmly grasping Tenna’s shoulders. His screen was off. Massive beads dripped from either side of his face. His breathing could be heard hitching and shaking through the speakers.
“[CATHODE]…” Spamton sighed once more, pulling the TV into an embrace with his arms tightly crossed over Tenna's back and his hands gripping either shoulder. “ILL BE FINE… YOULL BE FINE…[We’ll meet again].”
Tenna clutched him around the waist and pressed into Spamton’s shoulder, letting his tears drench his blazer.
“DID U WANT TO COME [SEA] THE KIDS? TO SAY [Goodbye for now!]? IM SURE KRIS AND SUSIE WOULD [Hyperlink Blocked] [3, 2, 1] SEE YOU.”
It took him a moment, but Tenna eventually responded with a nod and a whimpering “mhm.”
“[It’s a deal, then!]. LETS GO.”
Tenna would stay that size as the pair walked to where the Fun Gang was waiting, hand in hand. The closer they came, the more the CRT’s mechanical heartbeat began to race. It felt as if it would literally burst from his chest at any moment.
The kids and accompanying darkners looked on at the pair, puzzled. Ralsei appeared to sympathize; he grasped his chest as if his heart ached. Susie looked mildly annoyed, but not enough to suggest she didn’t expect this outcome. Kris never spoke a word. Their expression was unreadable. Rouxls, Lancer, and Jevil just watched on, indifferent to their puppet traveling companion's situation. They didn’t exactly understand Spamton.
“ALRIGHT, [10/10]…” Spamton strained, turning to face him. “ITS [Time to go!]”
Tenna gripped both of his hands too tightly for Spamton to escape from. The crushing was rather painful, but Spamton didn’t express his discomfort.
“I [Hyperlink Blocked] YOU.”
Tenna winced, his composure quickly slipping. He took in a wet, shaky breath and appeared to be about to speak. But whatever he was about to say died on his tongue. Without warning, Tenna quadrupled in size with Spamton caged in a loose fist. Jevil and Lancer were cackling at the sudden chaos unfolding before them, as if it would be the most entertaining thing they would see for the whole adventure. Rouxls would stand up for Tenna, still hellbent on being someone’s #2, if he didn’t anticipate Spamton giving him shit over it in the inventory.
“WHAT THE [50% OFF]! [TRASH HEAP]!” Spamton shrieked 20 or so feet off the ground.
“YOU CAN’T HAVE HIM! I WON’T LET YOU TAKE HIM!” Tenna boomed at the kids, who stood still in quiet, but visible, aggravation.
“Dude! Tenna! Give him back!” Susie barked up at him, to which Tenna turned his heel to her. “Real mature, man…”
“N-now now! Susie! Mr. Tenna is just upset! We knew this was a… possibility… if they reconciled. And they did!” Ralsei piped up.
“That’s NOT THE POINT! He knew he needed him, and we are going to run out of time!” Susie gruffed before facing Tenna once more. “IF YOU DON’T HAND HIM OVER, WE WILL TAKE HIM FROM THE LIGHT WORLD!” She screamed up at the behemoth of a TV. “ONE WAY OR ANOTHER-“
Kris placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to stop. They didn’t look worried. Although they seldom did.
“Tenna,” they spoke. When a quiet dog barks, everyone turns to listen, including massive 20-foot-tall childhood TVs. “We take care of our equipment and armor.”
Spamton had remained relatively quiet, all things considered. Either that or he was too far away for the kids to hear him. But they did make out his agreement from way up there.
“THEY DO, [TENS]. I REALLY JUST HEAL EM. THEY [Press F1 for help] AND THE [ANGELS] RESPOND! I NEVER GO [Rouge] EXCEPT THAT [$1.99] TIME! YOU REMEMBER. WITH THE [Foam].”
He played a bigger role and may very well intend to go rogue, but Tenna didn’t need the specifics right now.
Heeding the words he spoke, Tenna slowly opened his hand and brought the puppet closer to his screen. He took a deep breath and, as he exhaled, returned to his normal size. Once back to normal, he held Spamton under both of his arms like a doll.
“I’m scared, Spammy,” Tenna mumbled.
“I NO YOU ARE,” Spamton replied with a somber, strained expression.
“I LOVE you. A-and I-“
“I L[Hyperlink Blocked] YOU [TWO]," he interjected before Tenna could spiral again.
Tenna’s breath was taken away when a pair of hands snagged the plastic chassis of his screen and yanked him forward. Spamton pressed his teeth firmly to his lips, kissing him the best he could. Tenna was quick to reciprocate. And when they pulled away, the larger darkner finally set the puppet down.
“Hohoho! Get a room, bozos,” Lancer giggled, earning a chuckle from Susie and a scoff from Ralsei.
“Wha- Hey! Be nice! I-I think it’s sweet they care so much about each other!” Raslei stuttered.
Tenna had all he could do to restrain himself as he watched Spamton hobble over to the group, but he did. Spamton looked back once, waving up at Tenna with an enormous smile before he materialized into his dealmakers. Even while resting over Kris’ eyes, Tenna waved to him specifically before the kids entered the fountain and exited Castle Town.
~
Safe to say, when the Fun Gang returned, Tenna was among the first darkners to greet them.
“HEY! Kris! Susie! Prince of the Dark World!” he chimed the moment he spotted them.
“Hey, Tenna!” Susie boomed, charging at him, pulling him down into a hug in which she lifted both legs off the ground and dangled from the excited larger darkner. “Did you miss us?”
“OF COURSE!” Tenna laughed, hugging her back until he felt his back was going to snap. He wasn’t young anymore. Slowly, he lowered her down and continued, “I always miss you lightners! It’s always a BRILLIANT day when you come around.”
Except when it's not.
“Hey, Mr. Tenna!” Ralsei squeaked. “Did you hold down the fort okay without us?”
“Yes siree! It was like you were NEVER gone!”
Based on the nervous glances exchanged between darkners behind him, that wasn’t the truth.
Susie noticed the exchanges of perplexity among the crowd and bit her own fist to hold back laughter.
Kris, still adorning the dealmakers, greeted the growing crowd with only a wave. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Kris! There you are! How was your trip? What was it like in another world?” Tenna beamed, but his smile looked unstable, shaky. As if it were ripping apart at the seams.
“It was dark,” they replied.
“AHAHA!” Tenna bellowed. “You and your DRY sense of humor. I love that about ya, Kris. Let me tell you!”
None of them bought it, but Susie was still struggling to hold back a snicker. The kids exchanged glances with one another. Without words, they knew they all shared the same thought.
“SOOOoooo…” Tenna dragged out his words and began dancing on the balls of his feet. “Where is he?” As if he didn’t know where Spamton presently was.
“Who?” Susie snorted, desperately holding back the urge to cackle. By the way Kris’ face contorted, they also seemed to be choking back some expression.
“Guys, come on…” Ralsei sighed.
Tenna’s astonished frown, furrowed brow and mouth agape, caught her off guard, though, and everything slipped out all at once. Keeled over, clutching her abdomen, she pounded her fist into the dirt in hysterics over a joke she seemed to keep to herself. As her laughter reverberated through the town, Tenna felt himself shrinking a little.
"I'M SORRY! TENNA!" She wheezed, clutching her ribs. "It was your face, dude! YOUR FACE!" She attempted to mimic his expression, but failed to restrain her immovable laughter.
Kris cracked a smile. Whether that was because of Susie or Tenna was anyone’s guess, though. Without a sound, they removed the dealmakers and held them in their palms, allowing Spamton plenty of space to rematerialize. The instant his code solidified, Tenna snatched the puppet up and pressed the unwilling little darkner to his screen, nuzzling him so rapidly his hair stuck up like that of some mad scientist.
“[CATHODE]!” he shrieked, trying and failing to cease the burning affection by pushing back on his screen. “CALM DOWN! [CATHODE]!”
.
Tenna made sure to absolutely spoil Spamton that evening. He ran him a hot bath, cooked him a warm meal, a damn near feast, and then never let him out of his sight. Those moments in the bath were the last grams of freedom he’d have for at least the rest of the day. And Spamton made sure to soak up all the love and warmth from his staticky captivity.
He sat atop Tenna’s lap at the dinner table, their plates side by side, during dinner. Tenna had lovingly prepared a concoction of things ranging from spaghetti, Salisbury steak, gelatin filled with fruits, and banana pudding… nothing that went well together, but he made do with what Castle Town had in stock. It was all enough to cover most textures he knew Spamton enjoyed. Those textures ranged from soft, to chewy, to “melt in your mouth”, all in anticipation of his cravings.
“DAMN [TENS]. THIS [#$%@] ROCKS! YOU SHOULD [Host your own cooking show] MORE OFTEN!” Spamton complimented with food piled in his mouth.
A flower bloomed on the tip of Tenna’s nose.
“Why THANK YOU, Spammy! I just COULDN’T decide what to make you, so I took a SERIS of guesses!” Tenna rejoiced.
“YOU [Hit the nail on the head] WITH THIS [Banana phone] PUDDING! HAVENT HAD A BANANA SINCE I LEFT THE CYBER [Dump]! WISH I COULD STILL [Taste of home] THEM.”
“Then, by all means, have AS MUCH as you want!” Tenna laughed, pushing the serving bowl of pudding closer to Spamton.
That was exactly what Spamton did. He fixed himself a massive bowl of pudding and focused mainly on that. Normally, he’d go for warmer foods, but Tenna was already plenty warm. And the soft, somewhat gelatinous texture was satisfying for Spamton to listen to.
“And thank you for not eating like a PAPER SHREDDER on me.”
It was true. Spamton wasn’t playing with his food or guzzling it down for once.
“DONT MENTION IT,” Spamton huffed in fake annoyance.
Tenna patted the puppet on the back before he returned to his meal.
“So, Spam! Tell me all about your adventures! What did you see? What did you guys encounter?”
Spamton looked up at Tenna as he gnawed on a glop of pudding and vanilla cookie.
“WANT ME TO [Walk the walk, talk the walk] WITH FOOD IN MY [Shut your mouth!]?” he asked as specs of pudding flew out toward his screen.
Tenna winced in disgust and waved a hand dismissively at the little darkner.
“AHA-Ahem- Later then.”
.
Spamton was not free from dishes. Although, he was not forced to do them. Not today. Tucked behind Tenna’s red dress suit, perched on his chest, Spamton was nestled comfortably against the warmer darkner as he did all of the dishes. He had to cling to his white dress shirt with both hands, but the tightness with which Tenna kept his work clothes did most of the work.
“YOU WANNA [NO] WHAT I [I saw it with my own eyes]?” Spamton asked lazily.
Tenna’s antennas perked up, and he glanced down at the puppet with a radiant smile.
“Yes! YES! Do tell!”
Tenna fixed his gaze back onto the dishes as Spamton relished him with tales of a massive library, mosaics for miles, Kris on the organ…or piano… he didn’t know the difference, singing water spirits, an old man, and The Guardian. He left out mentions of the Roaring Knight, worried it would dampen the TV's mood. Tenna reacted with exaggerated expressions of awe and terror depending on how much danger he assumed Spamton was in. But the little puppet remained proud throughout his entire collection of stories, never wavering when he felt Tenna’s concern rise.
“WOW, Spam. That sounds INTENSE. EXHILARATING, even. It would make for a wild, once-in-a-lifetime journey TV show!” Tenna commented. “Do you think they will build a library here in Castle Town? Just like how I built a studio and your people built that café?”
Spamton hummed in contemplation. “I HOPE SO. IT WOULD BE [GR8] TO HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO DO [Round] [These parts].”
Tenna balked a little at the comment. “Ooooh. IM SORRY. Is the studio’s work and your little Big Shop not enough?” He couldn’t hide his smile, though.
Spamton punched him playfully in the shoulder. “YOU NO WHAT I MEAN!”
“I didn’t think you could read,” Tenna snickered. “What good is a library to you?”
Spamton looked stunned; his entire face grew red. A genuine smile was still readable, though.
“IM A F[$50.99]#$% EMAIL! YES I CAN [Read and write] [BOOB TUBE]! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF [Penny for your thoughts?] IS THAT?!” the puppet squawked, now bombarding Tenna with a wave of punches so light they equated to mere bug bites in pain.
Tenna bellowed an earnest, hearty laugh as the too-easy-to-provoke lover “attacked” him.
“Is that REALLY all you got?” the TV egged on with a smirk.
“YOU REALLY WANNA NO?” Spamton warned with a now deranged smile and visibly cross-eyed over the dealmakers.
Tenna bit his lip.
“Show me what you got, Big Shot~.”
Whatever he assumed Spamton would do was NOT what he did. And he realized it too little too late when the puppet summoned a massive dollar sign and shot it at the side of Tenna’s head. The TV stumbled back, stunned, now grimacing at the little puppet still tucked under his suit, giggling as if he hadn’t just smacked his partner.
“What the hell was THAT!” Tenna cried.
“WHAT?” he laughed. “YOU ASKED. AND I [Free delivery for orders over $35].”
Tenna didn’t look pleased.
“OK OK OK OK OK OK. MAYBE THAT WAS TOO [Long ago, in a far away-].” The puppet snapped his fingers, summoning a tiny clone of himself adorned with angel wings and a halo. “HERE.”
The Spamling flew to the side of Tenna’s head, pecked the wound, and maxed out his HP before poofing into a cloud of fading code. Tenna stared at the little creature in awe; his anger completely washed away by the sight of it.
“BETTER?” Spamton asked.
“Yeah- YES! Yes. Much better,” Tenna muttered as his screen dusted pink.
“GOOD!” Spamton snickered. “[Caution, construction ahead] WHAT YOU [Wishbone] FOR IN THE FUTURE, [BOOB TUBE]!”
Tenna locked eyes with him for a while as he let out a slow breath. By the time his lungs emptied, he came to the realization of how much he missed this. He missed Spamton’s jokes, his banter, his stories, his fleeting affections, his mannerisms, his laugh, his smile, his mere existence by his side. Oh, he didn’t know how good he had it till he was left to spend an eternity equaling a total of four days or so without the little darkner. His little love letter.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he hummed, a sweet reaction Spamton wasn’t at all expecting from him.
He always was the sappy, sentimental type. Perhaps, getting hit upside the head with a dollar sign was, somehow, moving. Spamton didn’t really understand, and he didn’t really need to.
“Anyway,” Tenna chuckled and returned to the dishes. “What are you up to for the next few days? I’m assuming you’ll want to rest after all this EXCITEMENT in the Dark Sanctuaries.”
“EH.” Spamton shrugged. “ILL COME WITH [EWE] TOMORROW TO THE [Luxury studio apartment]. BET THERES A STACK OF PAPERS ON YOUR DESK WITH [Yours truly]’S NAME ON IT.”
“You…” Tenna frowned. “You want to go back to work so soon?”
“YES. [Lucky guess] I DONT LIKE [BRAKING] ROUTINE MUCH ANYMORE. PAST [$4.99] DAYS HAVE BEEN MORE THAN ENOUGH [Endless entertainment] [Four in one] [SPAMTON G. SPAMTON].”
“You always were a workaholic. But, c’mon. Seriously, Spam. Business meetings and making deals isn’t the same as FIGHTING A TITAN.”
“YOU, [CATHODE], SOUND LIKE [EWE] NEED A [Fruit-flavored vacation]. YOUR STRESSIN ABOUT THIS [Buy more! MORE!] THAN [Mii]!”
Tenna turned off the water and dried off his hands with the same somber frown stretched across his screen.
“I just don’t want you to hurt yourself, is all…”
“DO I LOOK [It hurts! It hurts!]?” Spamton grabbed hold of the plastic chassis nearest to his screen and pulled until Tenna looked at him head-on and their noses brushed.
He held him in place until Tenna finally muttered, “No…”
“[EGGS]ACTLY! QUIT YOUR WORRYIN’ [BOOB TUBE]. ITS NOT LIKE YOU WERE [Payment declined] MY [Insurance claim] ABOUT THOSE PAPERS STACKED INTO THE [Heaven]s!”
That egged a grin out of Tenna, who finally seemed more at ease.
“Alright, then. I guess I’ll see you bright and early in the studio tomorrow,” the TV hummed before pressing a kiss on Spamton’s forehead.
The puppet grew flustered, perhaps a little excited, too. If he were still an Addison, he’d be illuminating the room.
“AGAIN!”
“Hm?” Tenna questioned as he walked towards the room with a hand over Spamton, pressing him close, to ensure he didn’t slip out and fall.
“STUPID [CRT]!” Spamton griped, pointing at his own forehead.
Tenna genuinely took a moment to process what he wanted. When the synapses in his boxy head eventually fired, his smile grew so wide it damn near clipped off the screen.
“Awwwwe. Did you want another kiss~?” the larger darkner teased.
“DONT [PATRON]IZE ME!”
Tenna plopped himself down on the bed and sat on the edge. The harsh movement down jostled the puppet a little, gravity forcing him to press further into his chest. As he made the brief descent down, Tenna interrupted the fall and guided him with a finger hooked under his chin. Tenderly, he directs Spamton's forehead into his lips’ trajectory. Before the smaller darkner could truly boil over, head gingerly locked between the TV’s thumb and index finger under the jaw, another kiss was planted against his forehead. This time, it was held there longer, as if draining all that excess energy straight from his overactive little mind. It tingled. The static prickled his skin, and Spamton couldn’t tell if that warmth was from the massive screen before him or all that synthetic blood rushing to his head. Spamton clasped his hands together, eyes wide and starry, savoring the sensation until Tenna withdrew with a faint smack. And as if predicting another complaint, another soft, brief peck was pushed into the puppet’s temple.
“Is that better?” Tenna cooed, his two fingers tracing from under his jaw to the side of his head, brushing the stray hairs drawn out by the static buildup back into place.
“[AFFRIMATIVE],” Spamton replied, his face beet red and his eyes still glimmering.
“Good. NOW. I say we change and hit the hay. How does that sound?”
“DONT GOTTA [Ask again later]!”
Spamton was granted freedom to change. As soon as he was in his pajamas, though, Tenna had managed to ensnare the little darkner in his arms once more. Now buried under the covers, tucked against Tenna’s chest, warm and with just the right amount of pressure, Spamton passed out. There was no mutual “good night.” No final conversations. The moment he was secured, he was out like a light.
Tenna had attempted to chat further. When he received no response, though, his heart melted at the sight. At the fact Spamton trusted him like this. So, turned out the light on the nightstand, pecked one last kiss onto his lover’s cheek, clicked off his screen, and drifted off to sleep.
.
The duo did not awake bright and early as Tenna expected. At some point in the night, Tenna shifted onto his back, and Spamton sprawled out, one arm and one leg on top of Tenna, like a star beside him. Somehow, as small as he was, that left Tenna on the very edge of the bed with insufficient space to himself. The larger darkner did wake up with his alarm. However, seeing as his very comfortable little mailman was unfazed by the noise and that he was essentially pinned, he let it be.
Spamton jolted awake two hours after that alarm went off. He could sense it was later than it ought to be, especially when he looked up at Tenna, propped up, screen on, and a book in one hand and himself cradled in the other. He must have been really asleep to survive being shifted like that. Normally, he awoke at the lightest touch.
“Oh! Good morning, Spammy! How did you sleep? I never heard you wake up in the night. I’m hoping that’s a good sign!” Tenna chimed, shutting the book and now solely focused on his partner.
“WHAT TIME IS IT?” Spamton groaned as he wiggled free and stood up on the mattress to stretch, raising his arms over his head as far as they could go and standing on his tiptoes until the joints in his legs popped and crackled.
“Ten in the morning,” Tenna replied. “What would you like for breakfast?”
Startled, Spamton lurched forward a little, catching himself before he could fall.
“[10/10] IN THE [Rise and shine!]?!” he exclaimed.
“You needed your rest,” Tenna assures. “Those papers aren’t going anywhere.”
“[CATHODE]!”
“MAILMAN!” Tenna interjected. “I’ll get on your ass another day about being late. NOT THE DAY AFTER YOU RETURNED FROM A QUEST WITH THE LIGHTNERS.”
Spamton’s posture looked crooked, posed mid-shock. Much like a cat arching its back.
Slowly, Tenna fully sat up and placed a hand onto the smaller darkner’s back. Under his palm, he could feel the puppet untense and breathe normally again. Several large circles were rubbed into him before he lovingly scooped Spamton up and arose.
“How do pancakes sound?” Tenna inquired as he walked to the kitchen.
“WARM. A [5-Star Meal] IF YOU ASK [#1 RATED SALESMAN1997].”
.
Spamton spent the next few days getting back into routine. Initially, he could barely work normally with constant interruptions from Tenna and the Addisons. It was as if he had been gone for years. Every thirty minutes or so, someone was barging in and either lingering around or dragging the puppet somewhere to chat. Tenna would usually come in and linger, stealing kisses or prying Spamton from the desk to cuddle on the couch. The CRT loved snagging any kind of affection he could. The Addisons sometimes lingered, making themselves at home on Tenna’s vanity or on top of the papers on the desk. Usually, though, they took Spamton to their recording studio to show him something. “Something” ranged from an idea pitch for a commercial to a funny-looking stain. All of which were just excuses to chat about Spamton's adventures.
Spamton was flattered by the attention, truly. But all these breaks didn’t do anything to lessen the still-growing pile of papers.
During his time in the new studio, he acquired tasks around editing scripts. With an entirely new darkner audience lacking quite a bit of knowledge about the Light World, Tenna found himself with less time to make his own quality scripts in the quantity demanded. That’s where Spamton came in. Tenna pumped out script after script, and he would refine them. Furthermore, those [Stupid Ads], as Spamton referred to them as, didn’t know the first thing about writing a commercial. They could certainly sell you something through a flashy, unmoving presentation. But their ability to capture an audience in the video medium was lackluster at best. That’s how Spamton acquired a second set of tasks: writing all the scripts for the Addisons.
He was starting to feel the pressure after a week into the routine. No matter how much he worked, it was never enough. The piles grew with no stopping in sight and deadlines hot on his tail. Mistakes began to appear.
Tenna was understanding. He never brought it up and, instead, either fixed up the tainted scripts himself or tasked a Pippin with refining them. The Addisons, however…
A loud bang startled Spamton out of his chair, kicking him into “fight or flight.” Yellow stood in the entryway with a small stack of papers in hand and a scowl on his face.
“Spam!” he barked. “What the fuck is this?!”
Spamton snapped out of his panic and narrowed his eyes at the other.
“WHAT?!”
“What do you mean WHAT?!” Yellow mocked, shoving the script into Spamton’s face. “Call me illiterate, but this is BARELY readable! And I’m not talking about your chicken scratch!”
Spamton swiped the papers away, grumbling, “HEY. YOU [Try me] WRITING WITH PUPPET HANDS!”
He glared at Yellow before he finally looked at the script. He scanned it over and was horrified to read that it was littered with errors and unnecessary corrections in, yes, barely legible scribbles.
“NO… NO NO THIS CANT BE RIGHT…” Spamton mumbled frantically.
“It is,” Yellow hissed. “We didn’t want to say anything at first, given that you just came back. But it’s been over a week, and we are SICK of this. I thought you were the “big shot producer” here! Since we “stupid ads” can’t write a commercial for shit.”
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ASS ABOUT IT!” Spamton barked, throwing the papers down in a burst of frustration.
“Sometimes that’s the only way you learn!”
“WHATS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? ITS NOT LIKE [EWE] ASKED NICELY!”
“OH PLEASE, Spamton!” Yellow yelled.
“IT WOULDNT [KILL] YOU!”
“But you wouldn’t listen! These scripts are going to kill me if you don’t get it together!”
“[EYE] DONT [Can you hear me?] ANYONE ELSE [File complaint here]! JUST YOU [STUPID ADS]!”
“I bet you 100 Kromer Mr. Tenna has been disregarding your trash for days now!” Yellow sneered with a twisted little smirk.
Spamton felt his heart-shaped object twisting at the idea. Trash? Would Tenna really regard him or his work as such? His synthetic blood felt like it was boiling at this point.
“[DEAL]!” he hissed.
Spamton shoved his way past Yellow and marched to the Green Room to interrupt Tenna on his lunch break. Yellow followed behind with a prideful stride and the same shit-eating grin across his face. The little darkner slammed the doors open with a boom much louder than anticipated. Tenna perked up from whatever he was up to and rushed over.
“Spamton! Hey! What’s going on? Are you ok?”
Tenna knelt down and attempted to cup his cheek, to which Spamton slapped his hand away.
“[CATHODE] TELL [Yours Truly] AND THIS [TRASH]Y, CURT, [STUPID AD] WHAT YOU THINK OF MY WORK! MY [Premium quality] SCRIPTS!”
“Wha- Uhhh” Tenna stumbled, which only contributed to Spamton’s fuming demeanor. “What’s going on?”
“DONT [Tax evasion] MY [Frequently asked questions]!!!” Spamton yelled with such intensity that his entire body was torn through by a glitch.
Yellow snickering behind him continued to escalate his boiling anger.
“I LOVE your scripts, Spammy.”
Something was off about his tone. Who takes the time to “love” a script? A momentary, fleeting item tossed once its purpose is served.
“OH YEAH? W H A T DID YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT THE LAST ONE?”
Tenna tilted his head, his smile growing increasingly nervous.
“[EYE] WROTE YOU A LITTLE MESSAGE IN THERE. A [Love letter] OF SORTS. AT THE BOTTOM. SURLY YOU WOULD HAVE NOTICE SUCH A THING!”
Sweat began to materialize down the sides of Tenna’s screen.
And, suddenly, Spamton felt as if the room was crashing down upon him.
“See? I TOLD you, Spamton,” Yellow jeered. “I expect my 100 kromer by tomorrow! And for you to do your fucking job!”
Tenna bared his fangs, his gaze shooting at Yellow.
“In WHAT universe did you think it was okay to talk to him like THAT?!” Tenna snarled.
Yellow faltered for a moment, but masked with a nonchalant expression.
“What? A deal’s a deal!”
“What was this DEAL?” Tenna growled through his teeth.
“That if you were, in fact, disregarding his scripts, then he owed me 100 kromer. Simple! It goes to show that we, Addisons, are not the only ones fed up with this lacking quality!”
Spamton stood there motionless as they bickered. There was a deafening ringing in his ears, and the world around him seemed to constrict through a dark tunnel. For a couple of seconds, the dealmakers grew hazy until, in the distance, he could hear a familiar voice calling out his name. A massive hand gripped his shoulder, and everything suddenly slammed back into place.
“DOooONT TO UCH MEeeEEeEE!!#$%<!” he screeched through several agonizing whole-body glitches.
Tenna yanked his hand back, raising it up defensively. Before anyone else got a word in, the little puppet exploded into a flurry of insults directed at anyone and everyone in his line of fire. Yellow spectated in amusement until the others heard the commotion and flocked to the scene.
“What the hell… Spamton?” Orange muttered. When he noticed Yellow right there, a subtle smirk on his face, the orange Addison yanked him over by the collar of his shirt. “What did you do?!”
Yellow snickered, “Easy, now. Why do you assume it was me?”
“Why the fuck would it be Tenna if you’re here too?” Pink deadpanned.
“I didn’t do shit! I’m innocent here! I just went to have a WORD with his little ‘love letter’ about the piss poor scripts! It’s not my fault he didn’t take it well! It’s not like anyone else was gonna say anything to him! I did everyone here a favor!”
A pipis found its way across the room and splattered across Yellow’s face. A little bit of blue residue flickered across Orange’s, too, prompting him to “eek” and drop his companion in disgust.
“Whoa! Spamton!” Pink growled, concluding that the attack crossed a line.
“[$%^#] YOU!” Spamton shouted, hyperventilating as tears escaped past the dealmakers. “ALL OF YOU! YOU REALLY THOUGHT IT WAS TRASH AND-”
None of the Addisons dared to lie and deny what Yellow said, despite how frazzled their companion had become. Despite how impolite he had been towards the smaller darkner.
“H-hey! Spam! Please. Let’s just calm down and-“ Tenna attempted to redirect, but felt silent when Spamton glared into his screen so hard one would think he could x-ray and see the ray tube, clear as day, inside his head.
His expression read of something beyond anger. Beyond plain hurt.
Tenna's antennas dropped lower and lower the longer they locked eyes. They fell until they dangled right in front of his screen and obscured his view of Spamton.
Betrayal
That was the look...
“HOW CAN YOU JUST SIT THERE LIKE THAT! HOW-“ he weaved his fingers through his hair and began to pull. There were so many eyes on him now. He tried to focus only on the pain, but there were so many eyes. “HOW COULD YOU-“
…
But he couldn’t choke the words out. Not with them all staring at him like they were. Especially Tenna.
Before anything more vulnerable slipped out, anything more embarrassing than this current outburst, the puppet shoved past the others and bolted to the exit with an arm partly shielding his eyes.
Nobody went after him.
.
“STUPID [ADS]. STUPID [BOOB TUBE]. STUPID [It’s TV Time!]!” Spamton grumbled to himself in a loop the entire walk back to his own apartment.
He hadn’t been there in months. After fully reconciling with Tenna, he sort of moved in with him without anyone asking. However, betrayed by the fact that Tenna didn’t come to his defense, by the fact that he failed to be honest, he refused to share a bed with him, let alone a living space.
The neglected little apartment was blanketed by a thick layer of dust made more visible when the lights clicked on. It didn’t disgust him, though. It hardly fazed him. He had slept in worse.
“STUPID [ADS]. STUPID [BOOB TUBE]. STUPID [It’s TV Time!]!”
Spamton slammed his door closed and paced the living room to the point he figuratively burned tracks into the floor.
“STUPID [ADS]. STUPID [BOOB TUBE]. STUPID [It’s-!]!” he pushed his jaw shut.
Hours passed of the same angry, paranoid echoes, and he felt no sense of relief.
“FINE THEN…”
He redirected his attention to the door.
“IF I'M AS GOOD AS TRASH THEN THEY WOULDN'T MISS ME.”
.
After the fountain in the TV World closed, most of Tenna’s boards did not survive. Those that did had gotten moderately damaged in transit and storage. It was nothing Tenna couldn’t fix himself, but a new life meant a new everything. In a newfound, determined bid to upgrade what he could, a move previously uncharacteristic of the CRT, some newly hired Cyber Darkners were tasked with repairing and upgrading them. The results were cartridges with new, modern code recognizable to any modern Cyber Darkner. That meant they could be edited on cyber devices and immersed in by any darkner with a compatible port.
This “New Era Tenna” was much less of a hawk, too. Previously, nothing got past him…except for the Mikes… Nobody could steal or cheat without being caught and reprimanded.
Spamton found that out the hard way.
Now, though, Spamton could sneak almost anywhere and, as long as he didn’t make a mess, never be caught by anyone who cared. With this freedom, he had stolen one of the blank cartridges and created his own board shortly after updates concluded. It became his paradise. Something that brought him comfort. Something that could be crafted without his joints locking up. A harmless secret. He seldom found the time to work on it, but now felt like a better time than ever. No time like the present.
One uninterrupted heist back to the studio later, Spamton uncovered this contraband from his desk. Nobody was around. There wasn’t much of a need to be sneaky. Tenna might have stayed late, glooby and all. But, then again, he probably expected an angry puppet back at home. Not empty silence…
He would have gone home none the wiser.
Once Spamton slithered back to his apartment, he locked the door, closed the windows, turned out all the lights, and sat on the bed with the plastic item in hand in contemplation. Normally, he used a cyber device to access and edit it. But stealing those would be noticed.
“Let’s hope there’s enough Addison left in me,” he thought as he lifted his shirt and brought the cartridge up to his mid chest.
A slot appeared and opened inward, perfectly tailored to its cubic shape.
Although he hesitated momentarily, he took a deep breath, pushed it in, and lay back as the world around him was encased in colorful lines of code.