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Something interesting Susie had learned about Castle Town was that time passed weirdly. She was sure a few days had passed here even though it couldn't have been the same timespan in the Light World.
A few (Light World) days ago she might have been happy to stay in this little bubble forever and never consider the life she should live. Now, the time in Castle Town was a much-needed breather before she, Kris and Ralsei continued figuring out how to stop the Roaring.
For now, she trained. She tested her sparring, and she took the Old Man's guidance to heart and practiced her healing. Others relied on her now. She needed to protect them.
"There she is, folks! Susiezilla, hard at work!"
Susie spun around in time to see a familiar TV star making his way toward her, standing at his full height rather than his usual half-size that was still taller than her. She despawned her weapon so she could make her way over to him. Before she could open her mouth, Tenna had crouched down and pulled into a tight hug.
"Hey! C'mon, be careful, man. I don't wanna go at your arms with the duct tape again!" Her argument was hardly worth the bite when Tenna laughed and opted to hold her tighter.
"You aren't gonna deny me this, young lady. I haven't seen you around all day. The last thing we need is one of our leading characters to disappear off-set!" However, Tenna did heed her words and let go, choosing to stay kneeling. "Besides, if anyone knows the dangers of working too hard, it's me."
Susie looked over her shoulder. The training dummies were certainly looking more battered and flimsy than they had when she started. "Yeah, I know… I just, y'know, wanna do right by everyone. I'm always the one who screws up. Now that I've got a chance to prove myself…"
"You wanna make your mark."
"Yeah…"
"You know," Tenna shifted his position to sit cross-legged on the ground, "You've got the same drive as Spamton, back when I was first getting to know him before he became a puppet."
"Really?"
"Mhmm. He was the worst when it came to making a healthy work schedule and sticking to it. I couldn't tell you exactly how many times I'd find him asleep at his desk, or so worn out that he could barely stand on his own two feet."
"Okay, I'm not that bad!" laughed Susie, moving to mirror Tenna's sitting position. "I like sleep. Wish I could sleep more instead of going to school."
"You can learn things on TV and stay in bed. Win-win!" As he said it, the words 'Win-win!' appeared overhead in bold, golden letters. "But I'm sure Ralsei would try and stop that."
"Probably. But why are you here? Shouldn't you be getting ready to perform?"
"Actually, that's why I'm here. I need your help. See how I'm at my full size, and how Ralsei has forbidden me from doing this all the time until I'm fully healed? If I shrink, I'll be a traitor. Look." Slowly, he opened his jacket and pushed the tie aside so he could tug the opening of his shirt pocket. Susie took the hint and stood up to peer in.
To her surprise… Spamton was inside, curled up around the larger-than-average pipis that was apparently their daughter.
"He couldn't sleep last night. I'm not sure how long he couldn't, but he was already awake by the time I woke up. I managed to reach a compromise of letting him sit in my pocket, and he finally fell asleep." Fixing himself so his outfit was back to normal, Tenna continued, "Which leaves me in a bit of a pickle. I can't cancel the show, but if I keep him here all the movement and noise will wake him. But if I take him out and leave him in the dressing room, he'll eventually wake and insist on helping. That's where you come in!"
"Me?"
"Yes! I need you to keep him company in the dressing room."
Susie arched an eyebrow. "You want me to babysit a grown-ass adult."
"Yes."
Susie had been in Tenna's dressing room in the smaller studio just off the Town Square a few times with Ralsei as part of the Prince's routine of checking in on everyone. The room was surprisingly modest compared to the TV Dark World's decor. The wallpaper was pale with faint green stars, drawing the eye toward the plush, dark red couch that Tenna was walking toward. He tugged off his jacket and tucked it into the shape of a circle that was propped against a cushion. Next, both Spamton and the egg were taken out.
After seeing Tenna douse the puppet in foam, Susie was still adjusting to the idea of these two somehow reconciling since arriving in Castle Town. Perhaps that was another benefit of the time distortion. If two individuals who had deemed the other to be the bane of their existence had found love, would that mean she and Noelle might actually have a chance?
She shook her head, snapping herself back to the present just in time to see Tenna looming over her. Both hands reached down and suddenly she was in the air.
"Whoa! Hey! What's the big deal??" Her attempts to flail were thwarted by the simple reality of Tenna being too large to escape from.
"Simple. I'm asking you for a favour, but I'm not having you be cold in the process. You'll never beat the high score in Super Tenna Racing otherwise!" Tenna gently dropped her into the makeshift bundle, and a blanket was pulled out of thin air to drape over everyone. Then, as promised, a controller was lifted off the couch and handed to her. "I should only be two hours at most. I really appreciate your help."
Teenage girls were supposed to babysit. From what Susie had seen on TV, it was some sort of rite of passage. She always turned her snout up at the idea. Leave her with kids, and she'd threaten to eat them.
Yet here she was, sitting in Tenna's dressing room, playing a video game and babysitting an egg… And the egg's parent.
Somehow, despite all the noise and the clatter from the screen as she progressed through the different TV-themed racing cups, neither of them woke up. It was honestly impressive. At most, there was a shuffle as Spamton adjusted himself in his sleep while keeping the egg that was almost half his size close. Apparently, the egg would actually hatch one day into a little girl. She wasn't even aware different Darkners could have kids. Would they need to find a brand new item for her to become, or would she be something electrical like Spamton or the Weather Duo?
That wasn't really something she had the answers to. Until she could ask someone who would know, she would simply have to come up with ideas on her own. The game was paused and the volume was lowered so she could take a break and think of the possibilities.
Tenna was able to wrap up production earlier than planned and hurry back to the dressing room. It was only as he was on the stage he realised he'd made a mistake. Why did he leave Susie with a video game? That would be loud enough to wake anyone up, and that was before considering her own enthusiasm!
But as he quietly clicked open the door into his dressing room, he was greeted by silence. He peered in.
The makeshift nest was almost exactly how he had left it. The difference was that Susie had slumped over, softly snoring as she dozed. The TV smiled softly to himself. In another world, another lifetime, maybe Susie would have been part of their little family from the start.
Despite the impulse to go join them, he instead carefully closed the door. Let them rest a little longer. He would go buy some juice and snacks from Swatch for them all.