Chapter Text
Tenna honest to Heaven really doesn't recognize him at first.
But can anyone really blame him? He's got a lot on his mind. The Lightners, as well as his whole crew, are only moments away from completely abandoning him. Tenna just knows. Knows that his time is running out. It's been running out for a while now. He just didn't want to face the reality of his situation.
Now he's spiralling, screen flickering as he holds his TV head between his hands. Tenna is truly at his lowest. It's been years since he's felt this kind of panic crawl its way up his metallic spine. For once, the pipis he holds dear to his heart doesn't comfort him, only serving as a bitter reminder for what once was. It sits there almost taunting him. A memory turned sour.
A crushing sense of desperation overwhelms him. Through a static sob, Tenna murmurs: "I'm at my limit. If only anyone was here for me....."
And, unable to help himself-
"I'd even take that little mailman....."
It's said in a moment of vulnerability. After all, Tenna assumes that he's completely alone in the abandoned hallway. But almost as soon as the confession leaves his voice box, something starts to move in the corner of his vision. Tenna watches bewildered as a pair of.....floating glasses appear from Heaven knows where. He's frozen in place, still on the floor like some pathetic bug, antennas rigid with fright. Tenna's lips subconsciously mouth around a swear but no sound comes out. The TV has become so hyper aware of the censors that he honestly doesn't even remember how to cuss anymore.
The glasses get uncomfortably close before eventually coming to a halt. The CRT's antennas twitch violently, startled when there's a sudden flash of white. To Tenna's absolute befuddlement, a Darkner(?) pops out of thin air like some kind of Jack in a box. He can only stare. Really, he just can't look away. Tenna can't possibly comprehend this entire thing. It's too bizarre. Like something out of a cartoon he'd put on for Kris.
The.....thing, whatever it is, throws its hands up in visible delight, a huge grin seemingly stuck on that chalk white face. What Tenna assumes is its voice box crackles strangely as it speaks.
"[Trash heap]!!!"
Uhm. Rude?
The harsh words feel like being dunked into ice cold water, snapping Tenna out of his trance. Irritation quickly bubbles up to the surface. In just mere seconds, Tenna's forgotten all about why he was breaking down in the first place. Completely distracted by this mean little Darkner that looks way too happy to see him.
The creature barrels on, oblivious to Tenna's annoyance. "YOU KEPT IT!! YOU REALLY DO CARE!!!"
Like switching TV channels, Tenna grows confused instead. What the heck is this thing talking about?
"What the...." He mumbles out loud, slowly getting to his feet, looking down at the little guy disapprovingly. "What the HECK are you??"
He's not even too concerned about the thing's cryptic voice lines, too distracted by how weird it looks. Tenna can't quite place it. Something about this Darkner seems weirdly familiar but also deeply wrong. It's uncanny. Why does it look like that?
"Some kind of rat?" Tenna guesses, tries to make sense of the incomprehensible entity before him. "Some kind of creature?"
A micro expression passes on the creature's face. Its large smile falters just an inch. It gets closer to Tenna, and by extent his dear pipis, automatically triggering a fight response from the large Darkner. Absolutely not.
"DON'T YOU RECOGNIZE-" It doesn't even get the chance to finish its sentence before Tenna freaks out and goes on the offense. He can't help it. Any good father would do this when some weird creature is sliding towards his daughter at an alarming speed.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER, you FIEND!" Tenna demands with what he hopes is a booming voice. While the creature does stop moving, it isn't getting away from the pipis either, which essentially leaves Tenna no other choice but to neutralize the threat.
He produces a can of foam from beneath his suit, bending over to get a good shot at the target.
This should do.
Tenna doesn't hesitate to press down. A cloud of foam emerges from the can, slowly but steadily covering the little Darkner in sticky white. Only its pink and yellow glasses remain visible. Satisfied, Tenna tosses the now empty can backwards. He sighs with effort. If he could sweat, he'd surely be drenched by now. Can't even break down in peace anymore nowadays....
Remembering what's important, the TV whips around to scoop up his beloved pipis. "Oh, my little darling!" He coos. "Are you okay??"
"Did that overly small weird unidentifiable thing hurt you?" Tenna murmurs to the pipis, cradling her in his hands. She doesn't react much. Tenna's pretty sure that she's unharmed. Physically, at least. Maybe this whole confrontation has left mental scars on her. He really hopes not.
"Don't worry!" He reassures the pipis. "You're gonna go someplace safe. Somewhere without rats....."
Tenna fully intends on leaving, not especially concerned with the living pile of foam now grumbling to itself. But it's just when he's about to exit the hallway that his antennas pick up on some of the creature's mumblings. One thing in particular makes him stop dead in his tracks.
"[Holy Cungadero!] YOU ARE SUCH A....."
Tenna filters out the garbage noise that might be an attempt at a swear, laser focused on that first voice line. It played for only seconds and yet the line gets immediately stuck on repeat inside his head, like a broken record. Tenna can feel something stir deep within him. His fingers twitch at his sides as he frantically tries to decipher what he's hearing.
Holy Cungadero. Holy Cungadero. Holy Cungadero. Take a ride around town in our special-
"Say that again." Tenna interrupts the Darkner's ongoing rant.
The creature pauses. It gazes up at Tenna from behind its flashy glasses, hand hovering mid-air from where it's been removing some of the foam. "WHAT?"
"Say that again." The TV host repeats. He wants, no, needs to hear that line again. Needs it more than anything. "That line about the Cungadero."
The Darkner scoffs, turning away from Tenna's intense stare, crossing its arms over its chest. "THIS ISN'T A [free audio samples] YOU KNOW....."
Tenna's lips twitch in frustration. He sub-consciously bares his fangs, unable to mask his increasing desperation to hear the creature repeat itself. "Say it."
It doesn't look too convinced until Tenna takes a threatening step forwards, the bared fangs and claws making it reconsider. The Darkner seems noticeably put off by the suddenly tense atmosphere but does obey. Though not without slicking its jet black hair back and puffing out a sigh like doing this one little thing is a huge inconvenience. The movement is so familiar and reminiscent of him that Tenna can feel his mind short-circuit.
"FINE, FINE. [Holy Cungadero!] YOU ARE SUCH A-"
This time, the Darkner doesn't even get the chance to repeat its garbage noise. In one swift movement, Tenna has wrapped his hand around the little guy's body and slammed it into the hallway wall. It squeaks, surprised by the sudden assault. Tenna grips the creature tight but holds back just enough. Just enough not to hurt. As if his body remembers exactly how rough he can be. Tenna looks it right in the eyes, looks past the yellow and pink to stare into the frightened gaze of the man in his hold.
His eyes dart back and forth, desperately attempting to avoid eyecontact. The same way he always did whenever Tenna confronted him.
"Spamton." Tenna whispers. He hasn't said that name in well over a decade. It sounds like a secret coming from him.
He can feel his screen go black as Spamton squirms in the grip he has on him. The little salesman tries but to no avail. Tenna has no intentions on letting him go. Not until he's confirmed for sure that this is who he thinks it is.
It has to be.
His antennas extend a little in order to rub themselves all over Spamton's head and face. The mailman seems flustered at being blatantly smelled. Speaking of which, he absolutely reeks of something Tenna can't possibly begin to identify. The smell should disgust him but there's another scent in there somewhere that makes him completely block out the rest. He remembers that scent all too well. That mixture of cigars, laundry detergent and that sweet cologne every Addison wears.
Spamton doesn't really look like an Addison anymore. Doesn't look like the big shot Tenna has been losing his mind over. He almost looks like a parody of what he used to be. Someone's poor attempt at a copy. But Tenna knows deep in his heart shaped object that this has to be him.
He just needs to make sure.
Tenna leans in close to the man's face. Spamton seizes his wiggling, alarmed by his captor's proximity. A static tongue darts out, finding its way against the salesman's red cheek. Tenna holds Spamton firmly in place as he starts to lick away the remnants of foam, tongue gliding over the familiar yet not quite shape of his old partner's face. Spamton is stiff as a ruler for the first few seconds. Simply lets the onslaught happen. But all too soon he starts to freak out, glitches popping up like ads as his pale face goes completely red.
Cute. He still gets as red as he used to.
There's another flash of white. Out of nowhere, Spamton's body slips right from between Tenna's fingers and the glasses clatter to the floor. Tenna's screen remains dimmed as he simply stares down at the offending item. He's so overloaded with information that he doesn't even know where to begin with this. There's a million questions he wants to ask Spamton but there's one in particular that bugs him in this very moment.
How and why can he turn into glasses now???
Tenna's fans kick on, noisy as the room is filled with the sound of his TV head overheating. He's almost in an off state as static lines run across his screen. Tenna stands there like a statue, trying to process everything. He's so out of it that he doesn't even react when there's footsteps scurrying behind him and hushed whispers. Tenna doesn't even flinch when Kris kneels down right in front of him in order to retrieve the fallen glasses. Their piercing red eyes focus on him for a moment, as if looking right through him, before ultimately turning away and following after their friends.
Logically, Tenna knows that he should chase them down. He needs to stop the Lightners, keep them busy, fulfill his end of the deal.....
But SPAMTON.
Tenna is feeling a hurricane of emotions. Rage, joy and confusion all mix themselves into a sickening cocktail of insanity. Tenna is almost worried that his screen might crack with the intensity of his feelings. How do you react when the person you once loved most, who betrayed you, suddenly appears out of nowhere again? What is he supposed to do now? He's spent so many nights awake, crying, sobbing, wondering if he would ever see Spamton again. And now he's back, just like that?
He looks over at the pipis, listens to her soft chirping sounds. It's the one thing Spamton left for him. Tenna thought he'd never come back.
And now that he is, Tenna can't just let him leave again.