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Spamton doesn’t pay much attention to what's going on with the kids. He’s sure that Tenna is treating them well.
He’s more focused on the warmth that has spread through his body, pressed against the tv. She’s given up use of one of her arms to hold him close to her body. He can hear her mechanics wiring softly, pressing his ear against the soft padding of her chest.
Occasionally he’s jostled when Tenna moves too quickly, posing for the audience. But she always apologies with a gentle brush through his greasy hair. Her claws scratch the porcelain underneath in a way that makes him relax every time.
That is until…
“Leave? Why would you want to leave?”
Spamton blinks as Tenna begins to shrink. He reaches up and pokes a finger in one of her air vents.
Tenna yelps and her size once again returns to normal. “Spammy!” She scolds.
“GIVE THE [[Litttle Sponge]] A [[Big Break]] [[10]].”
Tenna shakes her head quickly. “You don’t understand. You left me and-”
“YOU'RE SCARING THEM.”
Tenna looks past Spamton and stares at the worried expressions on the teens faces. “Oh,” she mumbles. “I never…”
Spamton grabs the sides of Tenna’s head. “HOW ABOUT YOU LET THEM [[Going Going GONE]] AND WE CAN [[Talking Dog]] IT OUT. THEN [[Go Go Go]] TO [[Castle In The Sky]] TOWN. THEIR’S A WHOLE [[New Deals]] AUDIENCE JUST 4 YOU!”
Spamton's eyes zero in on how Tenna’s tail begins to wag. If he had lips he would smirk.
Abruptly her tail stops and her screen turns black. “Oh I wish I could Spamton,” she whispers.
Spamton loses the grip on Tenna's head as she places him on the ground. “But some of us have jobs to do. And unlike you, I can’t abandon mine.”
Spamton takes a step back and Tenna snaps her fingers.
He finds himself encased in a hard plastic ball. Tenna picks him up and grins down at the lighteners. “Isn’t he a prize?” Her smile stretches to show her fangs. “Play another round and I’ll give him back.”
“Hey jerkface, what's the big idea?” Susie growls. “Put him down!”
Tenna smiles. “Like I said you get him back. Just play my game.” Her claws scrape the outside of the ball Spamton is trapped in. “Just a little longer.”
Spamton smacks the side of the ball angrily. “LET ME [[Strike Out]] [[Boobtube]], THIS ISN’T [[Laughter.mp3]]!”
Tenna doesn’t even spare him a glance and Spamton suddenly finds himself in a gumball machine. Heaven does he hate the TV’s set changing.
He curls himself up and settles in the ball. He should have known she was the same old tv he left. Manipulative and self serving. He scoffs. He doesn’t know why he let himself get cozied up with her again.
Old habits die hard.
He doesn’t know how long he sits there, not sleeping. The plastic casing is too uncomfortable and he keeps sliding when the balls shift with his weight.
He jolts when the door to the room slams open.
The fun gang walks inside and catches his eyes. Susie grins, pumping her fist in the air. “Finally we found him!”
Kris approaches the machine and begins to put points in for the capsules. After five capsules and Spamton being shaken around, Susie gets impatient.
She raises the axe and brings it down onto the glass casing. Spamton and the rest of the capsules spill across the floor, one narrowly missing Ralsei's head. Susie quickly checks to make sure the prince is ok.
The capsule opens with a pop and Spamton stumbles to his feet. “HEY HEY HEY THANKS FOR THE [[Save On Deals!]] KIDS! WHERE'S THE [[Trash Heap]]?”
Susie checks over her shoulder. “No idea, we got away and went looking for you. She’s looking for us but we’ve stayed out of sight.”
“[[Good Deals]]. LET’S KEEP IT THAT WAY. THAT [[Hunk Of Junk]] WON’T BE [[Sunshine And Lollipops]] IF SHE FINDS YOU [[Freedom]] ME. SHE’LL MAKE YOU PLAY PLAY PLAY [[Till You Drop]] AND LOCK ME IN A [[Heavy Duty Pet Crate]].”
He shudders as a stray thought enters his mind that he wouldn’t mind being trapped with her.
Heaven he’s depraved.
“Any idea where we need to go?”
Spamton scratches his head. “IF I KNOW HER LIKE [[Somebody That I used to Know]] THEN WHATEVER SHE WANTS [[Out Of Sight Out Of Mind]] IS HIDDEN BEHIND THE [[Mom Or Dad]] LOCKS. YOUR [[Fountain]] WILL BE THERE. KRIS DID YOUR [[Mother Dearest]] EVER [[Pocket Change Bringing You Down]] THE PASSWORD?”
Kris shakes their head. Spamton really hopes that that was Kris’s response and not the souls. “[[Alright Alright]] PICK ME UP AND LET’S GO GO GO!”
Spamton puts his arms up and Susie raises her eyebrow. “Dude, just walk.”
Spamton looks pleadingly at Kris who sighs reluctantly and nods. They’ve seen the damage done to his body and how difficult it is for him to move sometimes. Especially after a TV locks him in a ball.
Spamton jumps in the air and transforms into the dealmakers. Kris catches him and places him on their head. They strike a pose and the other two giggle. Kris smiles for a moment before they start to forcefully walk again.
The smile disappears after that.
The gang walk out of the room and quickly duck a corner as two zappers come running and check the room they were just in. The two glance at each other and run back the way they came.
Spamton tilts to the left and Kris leads the gang where he shifts. This continues until the gang is led down a dark hallway. It’s dusty, the only footprints being Tenna’s heels, sharply outlined in the dust.
The gang finally reach a locked door and Spamton speaks up. “IT’S 213 KID.”
Kris dutifully presses the code in and then continues to a new door. “1225. I’M [[Shock And Awe]] THAT NEIGHBOR [[Friend Request]] NEVER TOLD YOU THIS. SHE [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] TURNING THE CONTROLS [[Off Switch]].”
Kris shudders so Spamton stops speaking.
The door opens and they all step into a snowy wasteland. Spamton goes quiet. He never liked the static filled outside of the studio. It reminded him too much of his phone calls.
Now after all he’s been put through he quickly tries to stabilize himself on Kris’s head, fearing the snow touching him.
Kris stops in their tracks, staring at Tenna in the distance, kneeling down and talking to a capsule.
A capsule that holds their mother.
The thing that jumpstarts Kris into moving again isn’t the soul but is Susie gently placing her claw on their shoulder. “We’ll stop her and get your mom back.”
Tenna’s whispering something to Toriel, seemingly lost in her own world as they approach.
Susie points her Axe at the tv. “Give us back Kris’s mom!”
Tenna jumps and turns towards them. “How did you get here?” She notices Spamton and her hands twitch, claws appearing for a second. “Do you want to play another game?” she asks looking hopeful.
“*no never again.”
Tenna’s screen turns black. “Oh don’t say that!” She laughs, the sound is manic. “How about it? This time we’ll play until you like it!”
Spamton finds himself encased in a plastic ball again but this time it’s not just him but Kris, Susie and Ralsei. He’s just an accessory.
Tenna runs through a multitude of minigames between her star attacks.
Spamton mostly just tries to block out the fight. He doesn’t want to see either side hurt. He’s too attached to both parties to see either in pain.
Eventually the gang wins and Tenna hunches over and sighs in defeat.
Just like everyone they have met before the party gives the TV a second chance.
When Susie offers to get her an audience again it's as if Tenna got new life in her old circuits.
For a second Spamton is hopeful.
He’s hopeful she’ll get better, and join him in his own recovery.
They could finally be together without the pressure.
He sees himself spending everyday in the CRTs embrace.
And then she raises her arms and they fall to the floor as two slashes go straight through her.
Spamton watches her collapse and feels Kris and the gang running towards the knight.
He feels himself jump off Kris’s head, hitting the snow he was fearful of only minutes ago, and running to Tenna.
When he reaches her the screen is off and cracked. One arm has fallen a foot away from her while the other is out of sight. “[[Cathode]]!” he shouts, jumping onto her chest and grabbing the sides of her screen.
The screen flickers in response and Spamton places a soothing hand on the pixels. “HEY YOU CAN’T LEAVE YOU CRIMINAL! YOU CAN’T [[Shut Down]]. YOU’VE BEEN A REAL [[Peice of work]]!”
Tenna jolts weakly. “I DON’T WANT YOU TO GO GO GO. [[Boobtube]] JUST HANG IN THERE, YOUR [[Number 1 Rated Salesman1997]] WILL FIX YOU RIGHT UP.”
“JUST GO TO [[Sleep Mode]].”
If Tenna hears him she doesn’t respond.
It takes Spamton longer than he’d like to connect Tenna's wires, with what little magic he has. He doesn’t bother looking for the other arm after he finishes with one.
Instead he sits, pressed against her side, sapping the warmth from her.
Because if there's still warmth she’s still functional.
Spamton starts to drift off when the lighteners return. Susie comes dragging Tenna’s over arm. Spamton jumps up and rushes over to them. “[[Let Me At ‘em Let Me At ‘em]]!” He shouts, rushing over to grapple at the arm. “GO GO GO GET [[10]]’S [[Employee Discounts]]! I NEED [[Hellfire]]!”
Kris runs off while Susie holds Tenna’s arm up to her shoulder. Spamton gently connects several wires using green string while Ralsei uses his fire magic to solder the wires using the string. Susie dutifully keeps the arm steady even if Spamton can see her arms are shaking in exhaustion.
It takes him quicker to reattach the wires in Tenna's arm this time with the two teenagers' help. By the time he reattaches the last one and Ralsei begins to solder it, Tenna's employees have found them.
“[[Alright Alright That’s What I’m talking About]] LET’S GET WELDING.”
Spamton jumps to try and help the zappers and shadow men with the arm he had finished first. It still needed the wires to be truly attached.
He finds himself being held aloft and struggles against Susie's claws. “Calm down man you’re exhausted, you won’t be able to help if you go cross eyed.”
Spamton struggles for a few more seconds before he goes limp. “JUST [[5.99]] MINUTES,” he mutters and falls asleep.
Spamton blinks awake. He’s no longer in TV world. He squints at the ceiling and sighs.
He must be back in Castle Town.
“You fixed me.”
Spamton jumps away and looks up to see Tenna sitting next to him. Her arms are reattached and the sleeves are stitched back on with the same green thread Spamton used to reattach some of her wires. One of her antennas is bent and wrapped in a yellow bow. Spamton knows under the accessory is tape holding her together.
“YOU’RE OK,” he whispers to himself.
Tenna shrinks to just above Spamton's height. “I’m sorry. I know you might not forgive me. I just thought if I made that deal I could have an audience again.”
“YOU MADE A [[Bad Deal]] WITH THE [[Nighty Night]].”
“All I had to do was keep the lightners distracted,” Tenna shrinks again. “It used to be so easy to make everyone happy.”
Spamton sighs and scooches over to lean against Tenna. “WE BOTH ###### [[Up Up And Away]]. WE CAN [[Fix It Felix]] TOGETHER?”
“Really?” Tenna asks, growing a few inches, Spamton goes from leaning against her side to leaning against her thigh. He doesn’t mind at all.
“HAVING A [[Hot Singles In Your Area]] MIGHT HELP WITH MY HEALING [[Central Processing Unit]].”
Tenna blushes and turns away from Spamton. “What if we don’t make it?”
“WE CAN TRY.”
Tenna turns her screen back to Spamton. Her smile is beautiful.
“How do we start?” she asks.
Spamton shudders. “I CAN’T [[Belive In Steve]] I’M SAYING THIS BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO [[Walkie Talkie]].”
Tenna rolls her eyes. “Talking won’t kill you.”
Spamton's glasses shine. “IT MIGHT.”
Tenna giggles. Spamton buzzes in excitement at the sound. “LET’S GET [[15.99 Family Meal]] 1ST. FIXING YOU [[UP UP DOWN DOWN]] WASN’T EASY.”
Tenna tilts her screen. “Are you avoiding our talk?”
“NOPE JUST WANT TO TAKE A [[Pretty Lady]] ON A DATE.”
“Charmer,” Tenna scoffs as she stands up.
She stretches her arms gently before she leans down to offer to carry Spamton. Spamton ignores her arm and grabs Tenna’s shirt collar to haul himself up. He maneuvers himself to lay on the top of Tenna's head. “GIVE YOUR ARMS A [[Breaking News]].”
Tenna stands up and begins her way outside. “You’ll have to show me the best place to eat.”
“ANYTHING FOR YOU.”