shimii26

[shimii26]

The line art is done! Now, should it be colored?… 👀

[shimii26]

You know the rule; no getting up when a cat lies on you!

Hoping to finish this weird ass doodle dump of Pluey and Tenna soon! ^w^

[shimii26]

Another scene from my SpamTenna gachapon vore story, computer is still down, hopefully it can be fixed soon so I don’t have to buy a new computer yet!

[shimii26]

Your Television Has A Virus?

“Oh boy oh boy, I can’t wait for later today!” Tenna giggled to himself, waiting for time to pass. “Kris and Susie are going to be back here after their church service, pick me up, and find me a new forever home!”

It was the morning after the events that took place in Tenna’s TV World, Kris, Susie, and Ralsei were able to stop his desperate determination to keep them playing his Marvelous Mystery Board forever, and managed to repair him along with his stage crew after the Roaring Knight had attacked them all. He couldn’t thank them all enough, if it wasn’t for their ingenious thinking to recruit all of his Darkner employees to join them after the Dark Fountain was sealed back up, Tenna might not have made it out of there alive. Susie was impressively good at mechanical repair, the Pippins and Shadowguys gave her the instructions to how Tenna worked, and she managed to fix him up almost to good as new, just a bit of antenna damage and some scuff marks remained. He could still function as normally as before, but it seemed like Toriel wasn’t satisfied enough with the repairs done by Susie, basically just sort of let her tinker with it if she wanted to as she was planning to toss him away regardless. However, she did tell the two of them that they were welcome to find someone else to take him that afternoon after church service until they had to work on their projects. With Kris and Susie agreeing on the proposed plan, they set off with Toriel to church after some breakfast, and made sure to let Tenna know the situation before they left the house.

It had been a few hours since the three of them had left for church, and Tenna was growing more and more eager waiting for their plan to take place. As he waited for the two of them to return, he decided to take a look around Toriel’s living room once last time. While he was excited to move to a new home and entertain someone new, he couldn’t help but reminisce on his past with the family. It was like a tradition, every Saturday night, Toriel, Asgore, their children, and the neighbors would get together and watch his evening programming. They always looked so happy together, chowing down on their family meals or snacks on the couch, laughing at any comedy’s jokes, crying at wholesome moments of dramatic series, sometimes the children falling asleep before the movie was over… And Tenna got to witness it all…

The good moments…

And the bad…

He also couldn’t stop the memory of the family’s awful arguments flooding back into his mind. Poor Kris and Asriel were only children when the fights between Toriel and Asgore began, it scared them both half to death seeing their parents in a darker light. They’d often huddle together for comfort behind the couch if the screaming got too intense, but typically they would try to drown out all of the negative noise with the help of Tenna. He always had age-appropriate cartoons at the ready whenever the sounds of another fight echoed through the house. Without Kris and Asriel noticing, he would gradually increase the cartoon’s volume, not wanting the two of them to be subjected to listening in on their parent’s arguments. Over time, the tradition slowly manifested from the family enjoying their company around the TV, to the TV being used to forget about the family, even if just for a little while. And for many years, it stayed like that, until the final straw that occurred between Toriel and Asgore while Asriel was away at college, their marriage was over, and everything was never the same again for Kris, except the comfort Tenna was able to give them in their time of need. But now that Kris has befriended a new source of comfort in the form of Susie, Tenna’s responsibility of keeping them safe from family conflict was over, and it was time for him to find a new audience.

The time was now 3:00, the three of them should’ve been back by now from church service. Tenna was growing concerned something happened to them along their way home, were they in trouble, or just running extra errands together? Surely this was just a fluke, right? After all, Susie promised that she and Kris would be back right after to grab him…

‘They must’ve gone to Noelle’s to work on their project, yes, that’s all this is…’ Tenna thought to himself. “There’s no way they could’ve forgotten me, Susie spent so much time this morning repairing me before breakfast!’

It was then that the front door knob began to jiggle and turned after a few seconds. In walked Toriel, carrying some grocery bags with her. She was only at the grocery store, good, that means the three of them didn’t run into any trouble after church. But then, when were Susie and Kris meant to be done working on their project with Noelle? Toriel told them to be back before the street lights turned on, which didn’t occur for another two hours, but even so, homework shouldn’t take this long to finish. He watched Toriel carry her grocery bags into the kitchen and place them down on the counter, pulling out items she had purchased one by one and putting them away. Then, once everything was stored where they belong, she pulled out one last item from the bags; it appeared to be some kind of old dusty tarp, probably from the garage…

What was that for?

. . .

She was stepping closer to Tenna…

. . .

Without warning, Tenna’s vision was blinded by the tarp, and he couldn’t see anything anymore. What was Toriel doing with him? Was she preparing him for transport? Maybe it was just an easier way for Kris and Susie to carry him when they return to find him his new home, y’know, a layer of protection. Still, not being able to see what was going on was a little unnerving, darkness wasn’t comforting to Tenna. In fact, sometimes it frightened him, because darkness often meant no one was watching his programming, and he was terrified of being alone again. He could hear Toriel shuffling around in the living room, it sounded like furniture was also being moved around. Then after a few seconds of silence, the footsteps approached him, and he felt her paws slide under the bottom of the TV. She was picking him up! Maybe she saw Kris and Susie at the door! He grew excited once more, it was time to find his new forever home! He could hear her open the front door again and step outside with him in her grasp. She seemed to take a few steps forward onto the grass nearby the pavement of the road, and set Tenna down, wiping her hands clean of dust.

“There, that’s taken care of.” Toriel mumbled to herself before turning back the way she came.

. . .

Wait, where’s Kris and Susie, are they not right there?

. . .

He couldn’t hear them nearby, no other footsteps, no conversations, no laughter…

. . .

There was no one around him.

. . .

N-No… No, it couldn’t be… Toriel didn’t just… throw him away, just like that, did she?

She told Kris and Susie they could give Tenna to anyone in town who wanted a TV after church and before dark. It wasn’t dark yet! At least the time indicated that it wasn’t dark yet, then why did Toriel place him outside with a tarp over his head? Surely it was just to make it easier for the two of them to pick him up, right?

. . .

Right?

. . .

‘T-There’s no way Kris and Susie forgot about their promise, there’s just no way! They’re just running late, yeah!’ Tenna tried to reassure himself. ‘Just, a little late is all… Nothing to worry about, you’re going to be fine…’

You’re going to be fine…

You’re going to be fine…

You’re going to be-

Drip…

Drip drip drip…

. . .

What was that?

Drip drip drip drip drip!

Is that… rain!?

‘N-No, it’s starting to RAIN!?’ Tenna panicked, unable to move. ‘Toriel put me outside in the rain, on purpose!? She can’t not know TV’s and water don’t mix! She-’

. . .

‘She did throw me out…’

. . .

‘But Kris and Susie promised that we’d…’

. . .

Drip pat drip pat drip pat!

Tenna could just about feel the rain finding its way through the old tarp’s more worn out sections, beginning to coat his exterior. It was cold, so cold, much colder than his old winter stage. He had never felt something so cold. The rain that landed on the floor began to seep under the grass he was placed over, it felt like dunking your feet in ice water without protective boots, he couldn’t get away from it. You wouldn’t notice it from the outside, but Tenna was starting to shiver, but it didn’t help warm him up. The old tarp did nothing to keep him warm either, it was just as cold as he was, but it was all he could rely on right now to protect him from getting soaked quickly. As long as the rain didn’t come down any-

CRAAACK KOOOWWW!!!

‘T-Thunder!?’

PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT!

The rain picked up after the thunderous noise dissipated, practically flooding the grass with water, and effectively soaking Tenna to his core. He could just about feel the water entering through some of his outer scuffs. It was touching his wires now… It covered his circuits, infiltrated his cathode ray tubes, and even coated the inside side of his screen when the drops splashed the puddle that pooled at the bottom of his head. He couldn’t escape it, it was there to stay for a long time, and he had no idea how long that would be, hours? Days? F-Forever?...

. . .

He could slowly feel his sight starting to fade as the water kept coming in, his backup battery power becoming compromised by the water. Perhaps…

. . .

This is just what happens when you’re no longer needed… Those around you forget about you… Used you up until you were obsolete… Broken, unwanted, and just a reminder of what used to be…

. . .

Tenna was so scared of shutting down for good, but he had no choice… Kris and Susie hadn’t come back for him… He hoped the two of them would look out for each other…

. . .

Without him…

. . .

. . .

. . .

“Kris! Tenna’s getting wet! Wait here, I’ll bring him to school!” Susie told Kris, running over to the TV in Toriel’s front yard.

- - -

“ . . . “

“ T e n n a . . .”

“Tenna? Are you there?”

“...Mmnnrrrgghhh…” Tenna groaned, slightly groggy from his shutdown and running only on his backup battery.

“Oh Tenna, you’re still alive!” Susie sighed in major relief and gave him a hug. “I thought the rain had dusted you for good!”

Susie helped Tenna sit up while he collected his bearings, wherever she had brought him was a lot drier, but he was still soaked inside and out. He began to shiver once more now that his mind caught up to his situation. He pulled the tarp tightly around himself like a blanket, it wasn’t a functional blanket, but at the moment, he had nothing else to keep in any heat he was losing. Tenna took a look at his surroundings, there seemed to be a little town nearby a vast castle with its own dark fountain illuminating this land, it was a complete contrast to what he was used to, but he wasn’t an absolute sore thumb looking character. There were others living there that also functioned mechanically, but none had anything to do with TV.

“...Wh-Where a-are w-we, S-Susie?” Tenna’s teeth chattered at Susie.

“This is Ralsei’s dark world, Castle Town.” She explained to him as she helped him stand up. “It was the only place I knew where you would be safe and in good hands. We uhh, got a little caught up at Noelle’s…”

Susie put her hands in her pockets and kept her head down.

“We’re so sorry we came to get you so late in the day…” she apologized. “It’s our fault you got left in the rain like that…”

“N-No S-Susie, d-don’t b-blame y-yourself f-for t-this…” Tenna reassured her. “I-I k-knew t-this d-day w-would b-be c-coming f-for m-me e-eventually… O-Once e-every L-Lightner d-doesn’t n-need y-you a-anymore f-for c-comfort, t-they j-just-”

“Hey.” She cut him off. “Don’t you dare… Finish that sentence, look at me.”

He turned to face her, and she grabbed the sides of his head.

“...You are needed by someone out there, we just need to find them.” Susie bluntly told him. “Don’t push aside just how much good you brought to Kris’s family when they needed you most. You were there for anyone in that house, you need to acknowledge that. You’re a good TV, and you always will be, it’s just time for you to go somewhere new is all.”

“...T-Thanks S-Susie…” Tenna sniffled. “I-I r-really n-needed t-to h-hear t-that…”

“...We should get you to Castle Town, Ralsei can set up a room for you while we get you cleaned up and dry.” Susie told him, taking his hand.

“O-Oh, okay- ah- ahh- ACHOOOO!” Tenna sneezed, and a bolt of static shot out of his nose.

He also grew a bit in size.

“W-Whoa, you okay?” Susie asked him.

“I-I d-don’t- ahh- ACHOOOO!!!” he sneezed again, this time bolts of static shot out of the vents on the sides of his head.

He grew a bit more.

“Oh jeez, you must’ve caught some kind of cold being out in the rain too long. We gotta hurry to Swatch before you get any bigger, he knows a little bit about machinery, c’mon!”

“-ACHOOOO!!!” he sneezed once more, his screen flickering in brightness as he grew another foot tall.

Susie and Tenna made haste into Castle Town, practically bombarding through the crowd of various Darkners to get to the Cafe as quickly as they could. He stumbled a bit trying to keep up with her since he didn’t have much power to keep him running, but she made sure he wasn’t left behind once she noticed he couldn’t run as fast.

“Wait out here, I’ll get Swatch for you!” Susie told Tenna as she let go of his hand.

“O-Okay…” Tenna nodded, shivering just outside the cafe.

Susie then shoulder dashed through the door, startling everyone in there that was enjoying the little jazz concert in the corner of the cafe. She turned to the counter where Swatch was tending to one of the customers.

“Swatch, I need your help!” Susie shouted across the Cafe.

Swatch took a moment to process what was going on, quickly realizing that if Susie was asking for help, it had to be serious. He stepped out from behind the Cafe’s counter once he was finished helping the customer by his counter and approached her, giving her a bow.

“What can we do for you, Master Susie?” Swatch spoke calmly.

“I-It’s my friend, h-he got ill from being outside in the rain too long!” She told him in a panic. “He’s completely soaked, he keeps sneezing and growing in size, a-and I don’t know enough about robotics to fix him... C-Can you help him?”

Swatch took a peek out the window to see what Susie’s friend looked like; he was still sneezing out there.

“Easy Master Susie, let’s handle this issue one step at a time.” He nodded. “Bring him in and my Swatchling team and I can take it from there. Let Master Ralsei know that you brought him here and that we’ll let them know if we need anything for him.”

He noticed that she seemed to be shaking and had her hands balled up into fists. Swatch placed a wing on Susie’s shoulder before she turned to grab Tenna.

“Do not worry Master Susie, your friend is in good hands.” Swatch told her. “We have the finest staff that will cater to his every need.”

Susie soon relaxed and smiled. “...Thanks Swatch.” She then made her way out the door to grab Tenna, who was waiting patiently, but had now grown almost too big to squeeze his way through the door.

Everyone in the Cafe gasped as a giant TV headed figure covered in soaking wet clothes gingerly crawled through the door, carrying in one hand a tarp that no longer fit around him and in the other he held Susie’s hand. They instinctually cleared from one corner of the room to allow him enough space to fit sort of comfortably, and picked up their stuff so that the water dripping from him wouldn’t soil any of their belongings. Some of the Cafe guests immediately recognized him and ran over to give him a quick side hug as they were worried where he was all this time, but eventually joined the rest of the crowd as they were instructed to leave by the Swatchlings.

“Apologies to everyone, but the Cafe will be closed until further notice due to… This emergency.” Swatch announced to the leaving Cafe guests. “I will personally let you all know when we are open once again, thank you.”

The crowd groaned, but knew it was probably for the best, so they gathered their belongings and made their way towards the exit. Once the crowd had left the vicinity, Swatch turned to Susie and gave her a nod, which she took as her sign to make her way to Ralsei and inform them about Tenna’s arrival. Swatch made sure Susie made it to the entrance of the castle before turning back to reenter the Cafe and turn his attention to his sickly guest. He shut the door behind him and made his way over to Tenna’s front left side, and gave him a bow.

“My name is Swatch, Master Susie has requested for my Swatchling team and I to help you feel better.” He introduced himself. “May I ask for your name?”

“M-My n-name?” Tenna answered with a shiver. “I-It’s T-Tenna, s-sir…”

“It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Tenna.” Swatch nodded. “I am to assume you’ve come from the same dark world as the Pippins and Shadowguys Master Kris has recruited back to the castle?”

“Y-Yes, t-they w-were m-my -ah -ahh -ACHOOO!” Tenna sneezed as his head lurched forward from the pressure and his legs quickly retracting into the corner of the cafe, the force blowing away some of the napkins on the nearby tables.

He unfortunately caused more sparks to shoot from his nose and he grew another few inches, his head now bumped the ceiling.

“Ohh, you poor thing…” Swatch told him comfortingly. “We need to get you dry and warmed up as quickly as possible.”

Swatch then proceeded to turn around and clap his wings twice, a line of five Swatchlings appeared before him at attention.

“Bring Mr. Tenna, a couple of space heaters and as many dry towels as you can find, and fast.” Swatch ordered the Swatchlings.

“Yes sir!” The Swatchlings saluted, making their way to the employee areas to gather the requested items.

With one part of the problem being worked on, Swatch then turned to Tenna for additional guidance on anything else that needed immediate attention.

“Is there anything we can get you in the meantime to help you warm up?” Swatch asked him.

“U-Umm, w-well I-” Tenna started to say, but then…

GRROOOWWRRRLLLL…

His stomach let out a loud and hollow noise, which echoed off of the walls of the cafe. All of the nearby Swatchlings screeched from the jumpscare, and every one of their heads turned to face Tenna, whose screen was now bright staticy pink in embarrassment. He brought his hands to his stomach and winced from the terrible achy feeling inside. His body must’ve used up most of his backup battery power running with Susie to this Cafe, and now, not only was he freezing, he was starving too.

“...U-Uhh…” Tenna nervously stuttered, barely able to get a word out at first. “S-Sorry, I h-haven’t c-charged f-for a w-while, a-and…”

Swatch took a couple steps towards Tenna and gave their shoe a pat.

“Don’t apologize, I suppose something warm to eat and drink should’ve been the first order I’d give to the Swatchlings for you.” Swatch reassured him. “We can’t warm you up properly from just the outside after all. Let’s brew you a fresh pot of coffee and some tea.”

Swatch clapped his wings a second time, and a new group of five swatchlings lined up in front of him at attention.

“You two, bring Mr. Tenna some coffee and tea, make sure it’s nice and hot. And you three, fetch him a bowl of our soup of the day, some pastries, and an order of our specialty spaghetti code.” Swatch ordered the Swatchlings.

“Yes sir!” The Swatchlings saluted and made their way into the kitchen to grab Tenna’s order.

“I hope you don’t mind minestrone soup, Mr. Tenna.” Swatch advised him. “It’s the only type we cooked today.”

“N-No, n-not a-at a-all!” Tenna shook his head. “I-In f-fact, i-it s-sounds d-delicious, i-it’s a f-favorite o-of m-mine o-on r-rainy d-days…”

“Glad to hear.” Swatch bowed to him. “Perhaps you should shrink down to a more reasonable size so you’re more comfortable while you eat.”

“O-Oh y-yeah, h-heh h-heh…” Tenna nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “T-That w-would m-make m-more s-sense, f-food i-isn’t a-as f-filling w-when I-I’m t-this t-tall.”

Tenna positioned himself and clicked his internal resizer button…

BBBZZRRRTTT! POOF!

He jolted from the sudden shock, and a small puff of smoke escaped through the vents on the back of his head. The wires connecting Tenna’s buttons to his motherboards were too soaked from the rain, and were short circuiting. That’s when it occurred to him. If this sudden illness was making him grow without will, then he had no control over what size he wanted to be. He couldn’t shrink; he was stuck at this height or taller until he was completely dry. How was he supposed to wrap himself up in the towels they were going to bring him? How was he meant to fill his belly up with warmth and goodness if the food they were about to serve him was miniscule compared to his size? He wouldn’t have to wait to find out, because the Swatchlings all began to return with the requested items. The ones with the space heaters plugged them in nearby and positioned them on both of his sides. The ones with the towels were a little confused as to where to apply them first, there weren’t exactly enough to dry him off properly. And the ones who were tasked to provide him something warm to eat and drink arrived, placing the plates on a nearby table within Tenna’s reach.

Swatch was already picking up that something was malfunctioning within Tenna, he should’ve been smaller at this point and ready to warm up quicker. It would probably be insulting if he told Tenna to try and enjoy such a tiny portion for him at this size, so for now, he kept silent to see if his suspicions were correct. Tenna tilted his head to one side, and his smile became crooked, he was unsure on how to admit he couldn’t shrink down. He had so many eyes on him, which normally he would be used to, but being in such a vulnerable state, it felt judgemental. He gave the body shrinking another try and he clicked the resize button once again…

KKKZZZRRTTT POP!

Another jolt and a puff of smoke emerged from his vents, he was still the same size, not an inch shorter. Tenna looked down at Swatch, his screen turning pinker than before and struggled to admit that he couldn’t get smaller. Swatch looked away with his wings behind his back.

“Hrmmm, I was afraid this might have been one of the issues we would have to face, Mr. Tenna.” Swatch admitted. “The rain must’ve blocked your ability to shrink, we’ll have to warm you up in this condition, which unfortunately will take a lot longer. I apologize, but I must alert the staff in the castle about what we will need to do in order to accommodate you properly. I will return as soon as I can.”

And with that, Swatch made his way towards the exit, opened the door and disappeared. Tenna felt very self conscious about being left alone with a meal the size of a piece of cereal to his proportions, the Swatchlings who brought him the concessions and towels wouldn’t keep their eyes off of him. Not wanting to appear ungrateful to them all, he carefully picked up the tray of food they had brought out for him up to his face, and delicately poured out each individual item onto his stretched out tongue. The food barely touched the sides, and it all quickly cooled from his overwhelming colder temperature. He placed the tray back down and swallowed the tiny mouthful offered to him…

. . .

It felt like he hadn’t eaten a thing…

. . .

GRRRROOAAAWWWRRRLLL…

And his stomach agreed with him, becoming louder and angrier at the laughable serving, Tenna clutched his abdomen and whined as the empty and painful feeling clawed through his inner workings. The Swatchlings screeched in unison again at Tenna, they seemed confused on what they should do now, because so far their plan to help him wasn’t working. Tenna’s screen changed to static, he was mortified by this whole experience, not only was he abandoned by Toriel and left to rot in the rain, but he couldn’t help himself get any better since he was at the mercy of his circuitry not functioning. He was so cold, so exhausted, so hungry, it made him want to just curl up into a ball and disappear from the limelight forever. No one would really miss him, right? After all, he was dumped out into the street with a thin raggedy tarp like old garbage.

Useless…

Obsolete…

Unhelpful…

Boring…

A pitiful excuse for a friend…

. . .

The doors to the Cafe flung open, and Swatch marched his way back inside with a team of three Swatchlings. In their mitted wings were several large pots of the soup they had made for that day, as well as several trays of pastries, and cloches with spaghetti code underneath them. In Swatch’s wings were two oversized ladders, ones that you would lean up against a wall for support. They made their way over to Tenna, and bowed with respect.

“Apologies for keeping you waiting Mr. Tenna, but the castle staff and I have come up with a solution to your predicament.” Swatch told him. “Master Ralsei was informed that you had arrived in Castle Town, and knew you would have a large appetite to fill in your current condition, so they have provided us with a unique spell to conjure up an unlimited amount of food. The catch is that the food we conjure up will remain the same size that it is, but we’re prepared to ensure each mouthful we provide you is substantial, hence these new large pots and full trays.”

“Y-You m-mean, I w-won’t h-have t-to b-be s-starving u-until I c-completely d-dry?” Tenna hoped, not wanting to endure this empty feeling anymore.

“That is correct, warming you up from the inside will make the drying process faster, and allow you to return to your normal height.” Swatch confirmed. “However, it will require a bit of assistance from you, would you mind lying down flat on your back?”

Tenna’s head tilted to one side, unsure what Swatch was getting at, but if it would help him feel better…

“U-Umm, o-okay?” Tenna agreed, slowly assuming the position Swatch wanted him to be in, being careful not to accidentally sit on or kick someone in the process.

Being in a more open position caused his stomach to ache again, he tried not to curl up from the pain and remain still. He whimpered a bit as Swatch approached him, but soon stopped when he felt each ladder leaning on his head, curiosity piqued on what Swatch’s plan was. Once the ladders were placed, Swatch gave the all clear to the Swatchling staff that were holding the new batch of food and they began to climb up the ladders. Upon reaching the bottom of Tenna’s face, one gave him a verbal cue to open his mouth, which he obliged. The three of them then proceeded to pour the pots of soup into his awaiting gaped maw, and toss the pastries and spaghetti code inside.

With the size of the new portions being an actual mouthful to Tenna, he could now taste just how savory and delicious the minestrone soup was, the steam rose up through his teeth. The pastries on the other hand were a lovely contrast of sweetness, the smell of freshly baked bread was intoxicating and tickled his nose above. The spaghetti code chaser was a great palette cleanser from the sweet taste of the pastries, leaving him with a warm and comforting feeling like he was back at home. With his mouth full of a few dozen Darkner portions of food, he happily chewed and swallowed, the warmth travelling down his throat and warming his interior along its way. Soon the dozens of meals reached the empty pit of his stomach, and his body quickly got to work processing it. He still felt very hungry, but the pain was no longer there as a more calmer and satisfied gurgle rose up from his belly. Tenna sighed in relief as he began to feel a little more charged and warmer.

“Mmmmm, that’s hitting the spot…” He hummed, resting his hands on his chest.

“Good, now we can commence the next phase.” Swatch bowed, then snapped his fingers, turning to face the now lined up crowd of Swatchlings he called over, ready to heed their orders. “Everyone will form a single file line from the castle, through the Cafe doors, and to the right ladder on Tenna, this will be a team effort, so I want every single one of you on your game today! Every batch and tray of soup, pastries, and spaghetti code conjured by Master Ralsei are to be brought from there to Mr. Tenna, where you will then climb the right ladder and proceed to feed him. Once you have done so, climb down the left ladder and make your way back to the castle for another serving and reenter the line in the back, is that clear!?”

YES SIR!” All of the Swathlings saluted in unison, all making their way to the castle to grab their offerings for Tenna.

“I hope you don’t mind if I take a seat at the top of your screen, Mr. Tenna.” Swatch asked for permission from him, making his way up the ladder. “I’d like to make sure the Swatchlings don’t cause you to choke or accidentally toss the food at you when your mouth is closed to chew.”

“O-Oh, not at all, thank you Swatch.” Tenna told him, watching Swatch make his way over to where Tenna’s forehead would’ve been if he had a normal face.

The line of food delivering Swatchlings soon began to make their way over to the ladders leaning on Tenna, forming a single file like they were ordered. The ones first in the line climbed up, stepped down onto Tenna’s face and walked around the bottom perimeter of his open mouth. Each tossed the contents of their trays or pots of soup inside one by one, making their way over to the exit ladder and proceeding back towards the castle. Tenna made a count alongside Swatch of how many Swatchlings it took to fill his mouth to capacity, and he gave Swatch a signal that he was ready to chew.

“Halt the line!” Swatch held his wing out at the Swatchling standing at the top of the ladder. “Go on, Mr. Tenna.”

Tenna gave him a little smile and proceeded to chew the massive mouthful he had, swallowing with quite a loud gulp. More steam rose up through his teeth as he licked his supposed lips clean of the sauce from the spaghetti code, not wanting any of the Swatchling to trip on it. It took about thirty servings total of what they were feeding him in order to fill his mouth to max capacity, so with this in mind, Swatch took it upon himself to make the counting easier.

“You, you’re number one, and everyone behind you is the next number up and so on.” Swatch instructed the next Swatchling in line. “Every thirty of you, start back at one and go up again from there.”

“YES SIR!” The Swatchlings saluted, restarting their process of feeding Tenna again after assigning themselves their number.

He was so relieved that Swatch and Ralsei were quick at coming up with this solution, he felt like he couldn’t wait another minute to eat something properly sized for him, and now he was being hand fed by every single Swatchling in the cafe one tray or pot at a time. Another thirty counted, and Tenna happily chewed the next meal and swallowed, he could feel his stomach filling up with sweet and savory treats made with love, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Little by little, he was warming back up, and eventually stopped his shivering altogether. While he was still a bit cold from the water covering his exterior and clothes, his interior was emanating warmth from the food piling up in his belly to the rest of his body, slowly evaporating the water that was covering his wiring. Bits of steam escaped through various screw holes that lined his body too, a sign to Swatch that what they were doing was working. His stomach continued its chorus of appreciation with each delivery of food, the feeling of his aching hunger was now a distant memory. With one problem currently being taken care of, he stepped down from Tenna’s face and made his way outside and over to the crowd of Shadowguys and Pippins who were watching this whole conglomerate of teamwork to feed their old boss through the windows. Despite not really being in charge of them all, Swatch knew he most likely would have some kind of ordering authority over them since he was the one helping Tenna get better.

“Now then, I’d like to ask for your assistance in helping with your old boss.” Swatch extended a wing to them. “Mr, Tenna is still quite cold from soaking in the rain, and needs to be dried off so he can return to normal size. I’d appreciate it if you would all help the remaining three Swatchlings dry him off, the towels are right on that table over there, you would know the ins and outs of his inner workings more than I do.”

“U-Uhh, yes sir!” several of the Pippins replied, hastily grabbing the warmed up dry towels one by one and heading over to Tenna, the Shadowguys also following suit.

The Pippins knew Tenna’s outside the best, and got to work using the towels to dry him and his clothes, scattered evenly to ensure every nook and cranny went unwiped. The Shadowguys often were assigned to assist Tenna in wiring repairs, they knew the layout of his body with precise detail, so they climbed in through various hatches they could easily access since they were two-dimensional and made sure to wipe down any spots the heat generating from the inside might’ve missed. They took care not to be too gentle so they wouldn’t tickle him, yet not too firm to where they might damage a wire. Tenna hadn’t noticed his ex-employees were helping him too until he could feel one of the Shadowguys drying some of his more sensitive wiring.

“H-Hey! Wh-What are you doing!? Hahahaha!” Tenna giggled, trying not to move. “Th-That tickles!

The Swatchlings on the ladders started to rock back and forth, almost losing their balance from Tenna’s laughter. The three Swatchlings who were assisting the Pippins and Shadowguys dry Tenna off screeched to warn them all to stop as it was becoming dangerous for the ones feeding him. The crew on the inside instantly stopped drying him once they heard the warning, and Tenna managed to compose himself again.

“Heh heh, s-sorry about that!” Tenna apologized, relaxing once more. “Uhh, who’s in there, by the way?”

“Ahh, that would be your former employees.” Swatch explained. “They’re helping you dry faster while the Swatchlings are preoccupied with taking care of your meal. I hope that’s alright with you.”

“M-My employees?” Tenna realized, trying to peek without knocking over those on his face.

“Mr. Tenna, you should stay still until you’re properly warmed up and fed.” Swatch warned him. “I don’t want one of my Swatchlings to sustain an injury. You’ll be able to speak with them once we’re finished.”

“O-Oh sorry, yeah you’re right.” Tenna acknowledged Swatch, opening his mouth again for the Swatchlings. “I guess I’m still a bit hungry, after all.”

“Then we’ll make sure you’re nice and full before sending you on your way to Master Ralsei.” Swatch bowed, and then nodded to the Pippins to continue drying him.

- - -

Pot after pot of warm minestrone soup, trays after trays of delicious confections, and several dozen plates of spaghetti code later, Tenna had finally eaten his fill, and gulped down his last helping before giving Swatch a signal that he was full.

“Swatchlings, cease!” Swatch called out, holding one wing up. “Tenna is finished eating, now let’s help him up, together!”

With a cooperative heave, Tenna was able to sit back up again thanks to the Swatchlings, the hundreds of meals in his stomach settling down to create a bit of a bump against his shirt. Now that he was completely dry and full, it was probably time for him to shrink back into a more reasonable size, so he clicked his internal resizer button. Finally, the resizing button worked, and he began to shrink down, but his stomach dramatically stretched as the food inside remained the same size, so he quickly pressed it again.

“-Yeoowwch!” Tenna yelped, clutching his stuffed and strained belly. “U-Uhh, I guess I can’t revert back to ‘normal’ size after that meal, but my head doesn’t hit your ceiling anymore, heh heh…”

“Well, so long as you have the ability to shrink back in your control, that’s what matters.” Swatch chuckled.

It was then that a note was passed to Swatch from an incoming Swatchling from the castle who entered the cafe just a few moments later.

“…Master Ralsei has completed your temporary room, Mr. Tenna.” Swatch informed him. “You should make your way there and get some rest, you’ll want to fully charge electrically so you don’t overuse your backup battery.”

“Oh, how lovely of them to do for me~” Tenna smiled, then letting out quite a wide yawn. “I guess I am a little tired after all that…”

“Then I hope you enjoyed our services, and I wish you a good night's sleep.” Swatch bowed to Tenna, opening the door for him.

As Tenna made his way through the door of the Cafe, the Swatchlings inside gave him one last goodbye screech as they watched him leave. Tenna couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at their more sound based communication, it was like they were some kind of bird or something…

Reminded him of someone he used to work with…

Making his way towards the castle, he caught sight of Ralsei stirring their cauldron and collecting the last of the food from the duplication spell they conjured earlier, sending it back to the cafe to feed the other customers. Ralsei noticed Tenna approaching, finally at a bit of a smaller height than they were before, and appearing much brighter and… fuller to say the least. They approached him with their hands behind their back once they were finished with their cauldron stirring.

“Oh Mr. Tenna, you look a whole lot better!” Ralsei smiled. “Swatch must’ve been on his top game today to send you to me like this!”

“Well, Susie did say that she would leave me in good hands.” Tenna nodded, rubbing the back of his head. “He and his crew were very nice, thanks for coming up with a solution to warm me back up so quickly!”

He suddenly hiccuped from being so full, and Ralsei chuckled, giving Tenna’s belly a pat.

“It’s no trouble at all! But it looks like you ran into a little trouble yourself!” Ralsei joked. “I guess I conjured up too much food for you, huh?”

“Heh heh, I may have overestimated my appetite…” Tenna blushed and turned his face away. “Cause it didn’t all shrink along with my resizing…”

“It’s alright, Tenna.” Ralsei reassured him, leading him into the castle. “You can get plenty of rest in your new room. Lancer will help you guarantee your recovery with the tanning bed he’s setting up for you just down the hall after you’ve finished with your nap.”

“Yeah, I could use a recharge…” Tenna yawned again, following Ralsei’s lead.

Passing by Queen and Lancer’s rooms, Tenna and Ralsei soon found their way to Tenna’s new room. The doors were lined with red and had antennas sticking out the top, the letters painted on each door read “TV”. They both smiled and stepped inside, it was decorated just like his old green room back in TV World, complete with the hanging wires on the ceiling, one of the podiums from his Mystery Board Game, and the addition of a large king size bed for him to sleep in. Tenna couldn’t believe his eyes that Ralsei went out of their way to make sure he felt right at home, it’s like he never even left home with how accurate the detailing was! He waddled closer to the bed and lay down, resting his feet and back from the strain of carrying so much weight of the food he ate earlier.

“Ahhhh, so comfy…” Tenna sighed in relief, turning to his side as he got in a comfortable position. “I could get used to this…”

“Well, you’re surely welcome to!” Ralsei proposed. “Kris and Susie and I agreed that we would guarantee a permanent residence for you if they didn’t manage to find you a new home. And this room could be that residence if you so choose!”

“Why would I choose anything different to stay in?” Tenna pointed out. “This room is absolutely perfect! I would just need to add… a couple of touch ups… after… my nap…”

Ralsei noticed that Tenna was starting to quiet his voice and settle down.

“-Oh, lemme get that for you then!” Ralsei took over and took Tenna’s tail plug over to the nearby outlet to plug him into the electrical grid, then tucked what they could of him under the covers. “Welp, you’re all set for your rest, don’t be afraid to ask for anything you might need, I’ll be just down the hall in Susie’s room. I’ll let her know that you’re feeling much better too.”

“Thank you… Ralsei…” Tenna mumbled, slowly drifting his TV screen from his face, to calm static.

Ralsei flipped the light switch off and softly stepped out of the room, slowly shutting the door behind them. Tenna soon switched from his calm static to a black screen, and entered into sleep mode. As the electricity from his plug entered his body, it started to charge his battery, which then caused the energy to transfer to the mechanisms that powered his inner workings, which got to work themselves breaking down the hundreds of meals he ate earlier. Tenna slowly began to revert back to his original size as his stomach decreased in size as his meal was digested and converted into even more energy, now he finally fit properly in his bed. He rolled over in his sleep onto his back, his arms sprawled out on the bed, almost longing for something to hold onto while he slept. He wasn’t exactly provided with anything to cuddle with, so being used to snuggling with a pillow in his arms, his stomach was full, but his subconscious felt a little empty in his sleep…

. . .

Creeeeeaaakkk…

A small figure peeked into Tenna’s room from the open door and looked over at the large tantalizing comfy bed. On top was an old friend of his, and they looked a bit lonely, so the figure tiptoed over and climbed up the leg of the bedframe up to the top. There they met the sight of a resting and slightly chubby TV headed Darkner, charging after their rainy ordeal. Their arms opened wide for the introduction of a comforting presence, the figure took this as a sign that they were welcome to join in the nap and warmth, so they crawled over to the middle of Tenna’s chest and settled in. Immediately they were slowly embraced by Tenna’s arms, quickly warming up under his palms and the heat emitting from his body. They removed their glasses and placed them nearby, slowly shutting their eyes as the warmth lulled them to join Tenna in the moment of rest.

“...Good night, [TRASH HEAP]...”

[shimii26]

This’ll be uploaded again later when I can scan it, but right now my computer is busted.

A scene from my Spamtenna vore fanfic, feast you devious demons…

[shimii26]

A Surprise Inside

“Finally, an actual [BREAKTIME] where I can get something to [EAT]…” Spamton sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked through the green room halls.

It was the first break in-between shows, and Spamton wanted to spend his break time in one of the ranked rooms. He was particularly interested in the gachapon machine Tenna had set up in the B-Rank room. For a minimum of a hundred TV Time points, it would dispense a random item inside a large plastic capsule, typically housing some useful items and foodstuffs like TV Dinners, revive mints, dog dollars, ginger guardwear, and even little statues of Tenna himself. Spamton decided to get himself some grub, and stepped inside to try and buy himself a TV Dinner from the machine. However, when he inserted his first hundred points to the machine, it didn’t dispense what he initially wanted. Assuming it was probably just a fluke, he tossed the massive gachapon ball aside and inserted another hundred points, and again, it didn’t dispense a TV Dinner. He grew frustrated and tossed that one aside and put in more, the same result kept happening; no TV Dinner. He was having a string of bad luck as he kept inserting more and more points, only receiving revive mints and other useless garbage items to him, yet it didn’t stop him from trying. He was determined to get what he desired…

“Arghh, c’mon!” Spamton shouted as he pounded the machine’s dome, quite cross with his luck. “Gimme some [REAL FOOD] already!”

He tossed another capsule to the left of the room, about a dozen or so piled up in the corner now. Spamton opened his inventory with a huff and pulled out another hundred TV Time points, depositing the currency into the machine. But before he pressed the button to activate it, he was curious about why the machine could take more than a hundred points. Didn’t Tenna mention something about this machine having statistical odds of getting better items? Did putting more than a hundred in increase the odds of getting the item you want? He was already twelve hundred points in, but he could make that in just a couple hours with the sweet gig he and Tenna have going on. What's another couple hundred to him anyway?

He shrugged and took out another hundred points and deposited it into the machine, totaling two hundred, and pressed the activation button. The gachapon machine suddenly began to shake violently, the capsules inside jostling uncontrollably. Spamton backed up a couple steps and watched as the machine spiraled into chaotic shuffles and movements, he was unsure if he had overloaded it by adding in more points than he should’ve. But after a few moments, the gachapon machine finally clicked, and a plastic capsule containing a ready to eat, warmed up TV Dinner was dispensed.

“Finally!” Spamton celebrated with irritated joy. “I thought I was gonna run out of [TV POINTS] trying to get this thing!

He struggled a bit to open the capsule up, but managed to click the tabs apart after a couple tries. There it was in all its TV Dinner glory, one of the best meals Tenna’s crew had to offer; the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, steamed greens, and pie meal! Spamton’s mouth was drooling, he couldn’t wait to dig into it! He took the TV Dinner out of the capsule and peeled back the plastic film over the food, inhaling the intoxicating aroma that emanated from it. Realizing that he was going to need some utensils to eat it with, he remembered that there were wrapped packages of cutlery over where the other gachapon balls were tossed. He was about to make his way towards them, when part of the capsule half he had opened got stuck around his foot, causing him to trip.

“W-Whoa hey yo!” Spamton panicked, trying to keep the tray upright in his hands. “Alright, just don’t [STEP] like- whoa! Aghhh!”

It was then that Spamton’s grip slipped, and the TV Dinner that he had wanted all this time, flew into the air and landed straight on the gachapon machine’s point depositor, while he fell straight into the open gachapon ball. Landing right where the crease of the two halves were connected, the plastic ball snapped shut from the force of his fall, essentially trapping Spamton inside its interior.

“Wh- H-HEY! LEMME [OUT]!” Spamton shouted, banging on the plastic walls and trying to pry it open at the edges. “Dammit, there’s gotta be [SOMETHING] I can do…”

He took a moment to collect his bearings and rolled over to the point depositor, checking for any kind of instructions on how the gachapon balls worked, but all he could find was a reminder to recycle the plastic ball once you were done with it.

“Oh great, no [INSTRUCTION MANUAL] on how to [GET OUT]...” He rolled his eyes and sighed, he needed to think outside the box, or capsule in his case…

. . .

“Hrmmm… Maybe I don’t [NEED] instructions!” He smiled, a bright idea popping into his head. “Maybe this [GACHA BALL] is weak to [PIPIS] explosions!”

It was a good thing Spamton always carried around a few spares in his inventory; you never know when you’ll need to chuck a hot load of pipis in somebody’s face! He pulled one out of his inventory and triggered its exploding mechanic. He placed it down next to where the two plastic halves met, and covered his ears, awaiting for it to blow…

. . .

BOOM!!!

The pipis exploded with a burst of glitter, which coated Spamton completely, along with the entire surface of the interior of the gachapon ball. He shook his head and spit out any glitter that got into his mouth.

“Blech, welp, that was [POINTLESS]...” he huffed, wiping his mouth clean. “What else can I think of to-”

CREEAAK… CRICK… SQUEAK…

Spamton paused mid sentence and looked around for where that noise was coming from.

“...Hello?-”

CRACK! SQUEAK! CREAK! CRICK!

Spamton noticed the room around him began to look a little taller than he remembered, and the gachapon ball seemed a tad bigger earlier… Or was it…

Oh no…

“...N-No… No no no no! That was the [WRONG] kind of [PIPIS!] No, stop [SHRINKING]!” Spamton cried out, frantically trying to wipe the glitter off of him.

But it was too late, the glitter soon vanished like magic before he could get enough off, and once completely gone, him and the gachapon ball shrunk down rapidly, floating for a split second mid-air right above the TV Dinner he had dropped earlier. He and the gachapon ball soon fell rapidly down, and the ball landed with a splat, submerging itself into the pile of mashed potatoes of the TV Dinner. Spamton was a little jarred and fainted from the sudden g-force his body went through, the light around him dimming as he was essentially buried in starchy goodness inside the ball…

- - -

Grrroooowwwrrrllll… “Gee, I must’ve lost track of time, it really flies by when you’re busy…” Tenna mumbled to himself while making his way down the green room hall. “Haven’t eaten anything since this morning, don't want Spamton to grow any more concerned about me, he already knows I have a habit of skipping lunch to perform in more shows…”

He entered the B-Rank room himself where the gachapon machine was located, looking forward to receiving a yummy pre-packaged TV Dinner for his next meal. As he nonchalantly ignored the pile of a dozen plastic balls in the corner, he placed a hundred point coin into the gachapon machine coin slot. But, a peculiar sight caught his eye and he stopped. He noticed on top of the machine was what appeared to be an abandoned TV Dinner item, mostly untouched besides just the plastic wrap peeled back slightly. It was still warm to the touch, so it wasn’t purchased that long ago. He tilted his head, giving it a confused scratch, who would just leave this behind? They were practically irresistible!... Well, at least to him, Tenna tended to stick to more simple tasting and easier to prepare foods, not always having the time to sit down and eat a proper meal. Perhaps something was wrong with it then?

“...Hrmm, that’s odd, who left this TV Dinner item here?” Tenna wondered, picking it up to inspect it, even taking a sniff at its aroma. “...Doesn’t appear to be damaged or spoiled, no note left on it of whose it is either…”

It was then that Spamton began to reawaken from the jostling of Tenna picking up the TV Dinner that he and the gachapon ball were stuck in. He couldn’t see much since the ball was covered in mashed potatoes, but he could just make out through the uncovered plastic that Tenna was hungrily eyeballing the TV Dinner. Could Tenna see him? Maybe he could hear him and get him out of this thing!

“H-HEY! T-TENNA, I’M [DOWN] HERE!” Spamton shouted as loud as he could. “I’M IN THE MASHED POTATOES, GET ME [OUT]! HEY! HEY!!!”

. . .

But Tenna didn’t notice Spamton’s yelling…

“TENNA! TENNA!!!” he kept shouting, waving his arms even to make as much of a commotion as he could.

But no response in return…

. . .

He couldn’t hear him through the gachapon ball…

Grrrruuummbllleee…

As Tenna thought about who could’ve possibly left this food in the B-Rank room, his stomach gave him another reminder that he had come into this room to get a TV Dinner for himself to eat. Spamton jolted from the thunderous roar coming from Tenna’s belly and covered his ears. Everything around him was so much louder at this size, even with the volume being muffled through the ball’s plastic. He looked up to see Tenna giving his belly a quick pat and shrugging.

“Hrmm… Welp, I guess if they come looking for it, I’ll give them a point refund. No point in letting this food go to waste!” Tenna reassured himself, happily heading towards the B-Rank room’s exit with the TV Dinner in hand.

While Tenna was making his way towards his office, Spamton couldn’t stay on his feet inside the gachapon ball. It felt like a literal earthquake was below him with each step taken by Tenna, anytime he managed to get some kind of footing, he fell back down again. The vibration never felt this harsh walking next to him down the hallways at his normal size, Spamton felt like he was in one of those teacup rides back home; intense and nauseating. Tenna wandered over to his desk chair once he entered his office and took a seat, crossing his legs over each other and lying his feet on top of the desk. He grabbed the plastic film corner that covered the TV Dinner and peeled it off, revealing the goodness inside; ketchup glazed meatloaf, buttery mashed potatoes, dark leafy greens, and some butterscotch cinnamon pie dessert. There were several different TV Dinner types, but this one in particular was Tenna’s all-time favorite since it reminded him of the good old days before the family began their fights. He inhaled the savory aroma that wafted up from the meal, the scent triggering his hunger to sound off again. 

“Hey now, patience!” Tenna chuckled as he took out a fork from his desk drawer. “I’m just as hungry as you are!”

Spamton covered his ears from the sudden noise, he was running out of time to get Tenna’s attention. He knew what was going to happen if he failed to. He had to act, NOW.

“TENNA! [BLUE STOP SIGN]! D-DON’T [CONSUME] ME! I DON’T WANNA [DIE] IN THERE!”

Spamton screamed as loud as he could, he banged on the gachapon ball’s walls, he even attempted to try and wriggle his fingers in between the two halves of the ball…

. . .

But it was no use…

Tenna couldn’t hear him still, and the tray was being lifted towards Tenna’s mouth. With the TV Dinner food resting in shallow trays, it was quite easy for Tenna to simply tip the tray towards his mouth and scrape all of the food down at once. It was a bit of a mouthful, but one he could handle. Spamton started to hyperventilate, he was just shoved into Tenna’s mouth! Was he going to be chewed to bits!? Crushed!?... Or WORSE…

“N-NO P-PLEASE!” Spamton begged, scooting himself away from Tenna’s throat inside the ball. “NOT THAT, [ANYTHING] BUT THAT! [ANTENNA] PLEASE! I’M IN [HERE], DON’T SWALLOW!”

  With the entirety of the TV Dinner contents scraped into his mouth, Tenna moved the food closer to his throat with his tongue and swallowed his meal down in just two short gulps, sealing Spamton’s fate. He did however cough a bit since it took a second longer than usual to go down, but nevertheless he didn’t suspect anything of it. Normally Tenna required a dozen TV Dinners or so to really satisfy his appetite, but one was enough to keep his stomach quiet until he had enough time for an actual meal.

Spamton shrieked as Tenna’s throat muscles pushed him violently down the hole, engulfing the entire gachapon ball in its metallic yet silicone-like hybrid interior. The world around Spamton quickly grew dark as the light coming in through Tenna’s teeth vanished from sight as the muscles up top closed behind him, now slowly pushing him down his tract. Spamton curled up in the middle of the gachapon ball, shaking with fear, but not from the temperature. In fact, it became incredibly warm and stuffy now that he was contained in this environment, so his shaking didn’t help him in this situation. He was shaking, because he knew where he was heading next…

And it was his worst nightmare…

Spamton covered his eyes once he could hear the gurgling of Tenna’s awaiting stomach approaching, he was inching ever so closer to his doom. He didn’t want to watch himself die, why make this death more worse than it was!? He soon could feel the muscles below him contract and widen, the gachapon ball slowly making its way down into the acidic chamber. Spamton couldn’t help but countdown the inevitable…

Three…

Two…

One…

SPLAAAASSSH!

The gachapon ball fell right into Tenna’s stomach acid, the mashed potatoes stuck to its exterior sizzled from the immediate chemical reaction. Spamton yelped when he felt the sudden drop, and braced for a burning impact…

. . .

. . .

. . .

But he felt nothing happening to him.

Was he already dead? Is this what death felt like? It felt like nothing had really changed besides the sickly noises around him. He was so scared to take a peek, worried that the digestion of himself just wasn’t immediate since Tenna would have to first digest the gachapon ball that sealed him up. But after a couple minutes of nothing but the noises of the TV Dinner breaking down into smaller bits, he built up the courage to take a look…

. . .

It was dark, but there were some red lights shining in from Tenna’s interior wiring that illuminated the area up around him. The gachapon ball appeared to be floating at the top of the pool of stomach acid while the food slowly sank below. He quickly looked at the seal between the two ball halves to check for any signs of damage or leakage. But there was nothing, the ball appeared to be withstanding the strength of the acid, perhaps not even Tenna could digest something inedible too? Spamton took a moment to sigh a little bit in relief, he wasn’t immediately dead, he still had time remaining to find a way out of this mess, but had no idea how long he would have to do so. For all he knew, Tenna could’ve recently just taken an antacid, and that this current acid he was floating above wasn’t at its peak strength, and could be in trouble later on. Or if somehow he ran out of air to breathe in this ball, the acid wouldn’t kill him, but asphyxiation would shut him down. He did as best as he could to slow his hyperventilating down to a steady breath to buy himself more time, just in case he was correct about his theory. Since he was limited to the interior of the ball and couldn’t very well move around much inside Tenna, nor could Tenna even hear him, he was at the mercy of what Tenna’s body would do next with him. Or atleast, what his mind could come up with to find a way to get his attention from the inside…

- - -

Tenna took the empty TV Dinner tray and fork and placed it in the trash, wiping his mouth clean with a napkin. He gave a quick sigh and smiled as he felt the food he just ate settle in, relieving himself of that annoying gnawing feeling of hunger for now. However, something about his snack felt a bit different. It was a bit heftier than usual, and a bit harder to swallow. He could also feel a bit of extra weight pushing down in his stomach, like if one were to eat a bowling ball size equivalent of food. Maybe the quantity was just a bit higher? Packaging by weight wasn’t always perfect. He stopped in his tracks and tilted his head when his stomach let out an unusually long and bubbly gurgle, something that really only ever occurred when he had a form of indigestion.

“That’s strange, I don’t think a TV Dinner’s ever caused that before…” Tenna mumbled to himself as he brought his hands up to his belly. “...Maybe it was left out longer than it should’ve been?...”

He wasn’t quite sure what the real answer was, but figured so long as his stomach wasn’t hurting or he wasn’t feeling nauseous, he should be fine to continue onto his next show. He stepped over to the exit of his office and opened the door, making his way back out into the green room where he was greeted by Mike, the microphone head guy. Or, wasn’t he a cat once? Or maybe, he was a cowboy sometimes? All three? Tenna could never keep track of what hobby Mike was into these days, always changing without any kind of notice, always being in three locations at once. It seemed like today he was dressed up in his simple grey tux, red bowtie, and his hair slicked back as usual. He seemed busy double checking the scripts for the next show, so Tenna gave him a wave once Mike noticed him entering the room.

“There you are Tenna, we’ve been lookin’ all over for ya!” Motormouth Mike yelled up to him since he was only a sixth of Tenna’s height. “Your next show is ready to roll when you are, you have enough time to catch your breath on your break? Do you remember your lines?”

“Of course I do, it’s one of my favorite games to host after all!” Tenna nodded with a smile. “Tell the camera crew that I'll be ready to roll in five.”

“Sure thing, Boss.” Mike responded as he wrote down some notes on the clipboard in his hands. “Oh yeah, one more thing, remind me to-” Grrroowwwrrrlll…

The two of them were startled at such a sudden interruption coming from Tenna’s stomach. His screen blushed a bright pink and his antennas curled as he looked down to see Mike had lost his train of thought, only mindlessly staring at him. Eventually Mike managed to snap out of his pause and remade eye contact with Tenna, who had proceeded to cover up his belly with his hands in embarrassment.

“...Remind me to order a refill for the gachapon machine in the B-Rank room, looks like someone ransacked the whole thing.” Mike told him, then poked Tenna’s belly with his pen. “And get that noisy gut of yours under control before you get on camera, we can’t have it being picked up on the sound booms when you’re live!”

“...R-Right yeah, on it, Mike.” Tenna stuttered, twiddling his thumbs as Mike walked away.

‘What is going on with my stomach today? It’s never been this noisy and uncomfortable before…’ He thought to himself as he made his way towards the main stage.

- - -

Meanwhile, Spamton was still trapped inside the gachapon ball that was also trapped inside Tenna, so far it didn’t seem like the acid within could break down the plastic material. For now Spamton was safe, and so long as he kept his breathing down, he would have more time to find a way to get Tenna’s attention. His options were a bit limited since he couldn’t be heard from within, and the ball could only float on top of the acid. However, he was able to control which direction the gachapon ball could roll. He began to theorize that with any force from his hands or feet, he could punch or kick against the gachapon ball if it floated right up against the walls of the stomach, and push himself to the other side. Perhaps if this force was enough to push him from side to side, it was enough to get Tenna’s stomach to send a signal up to his mind that something was bothering it. It would be a risk to take since punching and kicking in that kind of rhythm would require more breathable air to be used up, but he really didn’t have much else of a choice. If he did nothing, Tenna would most likely not even notice him before he’d run out of air, and then the gachapon ball with him inside would begin to make its way down to…

. . .

‘Eugh, better not think about that…’ Spamton shuddered at the thought.

The plastic ball soon rested itself against one of the stomach walls after coaxing its movements, this was Spamton’s moment to start his attention grabbing rhythm. With one good roundhouse kick with his leg, he and the gachapon ball went ricocheting across the pool of acid to the other side, where he timed another punch, and flew in the opposite direction again. With his speed picking up a bit, he had to time his punches earlier to keep up with the g-force he was experiencing with changing directions so quickly, and not breathe too hard with each reel back. Soon he got into a steady rhythm that hopefully wouldn’t go unnoticed by Tenna’s body, and it seemed like he wouldn’t have to wait to find out. Above and below him, the walls began to contract, swishing the acid around and causing the air inside to mix with it, causing the environment to become much louder and more irritated.

‘C’mon Tenna, you can’t ignore this!’ Spamton thought to himself as he carried on with the punching rhythm.

- - -

“And we’re live in three, two, one!” A Pippins director shouted to Tenna as they pointed to the camera Pippins to start the live feed.

The lights on the main stage turned on, revealing the Marvelous Mystery Board logo lit up by the stage lights. A Shadowguy and two Pippins from the backstage crew seemed to be the three contestants today as they stood patiently for Tenna to initiate the start of the game. Tenna made his way out to the right of the stage, microphone in hand, and with his genuine best camera smile…

“Welcome folks, to another episode of Mr. Ant Tenna’s Marvelous Mystery Board! Today, we have some very special contestants this time, it’s our monthly ‘Bring Your Employees To Stage Day’!” Tenna announced to the crowd. “And this time, we have our lovely makeup crew taking to the stage for the first time! Appearance is important folks, and I couldn’t keep this look up without their help!”

The crowd cheered as the Shadowguy and two Pippins on stage nervously waved to them all, slightly not wanting to be contestants of the show since they only ever did backstage work, but they knew it was mandatory to perform if Tenna assigned them to do so, so there they stood. Tenna then pointed towards the crowd up into the supposed electronic control room where the three Mikes typically occupied themselves to change various settings of the stage when ordered.

“Mike!-”

Guuurrrrgglll…

“-Miiiaayykee, t-the board p-please!” Tenna stuttered as he felt a sharply painful jolt in his abdomen.

The pain caused Tenna to bend over slightly, teeth grit and his fangs showing, but he managed to hold enough of his act together to continue with the explanation of the game. The Pippins camera crew turned to each other, confused as to what was going on with Tenna.

“Hey, he’s not supposed to show his fangs to the crowd, right?” One Pippin asked the director.

“Yeah, something’s not right with him…” The Pippin director nodded. “He never makes mistakes this big on set, this isn’t like him at all…”

“Uhh, director?” A boom operating Pippins alerted them. “I’m picking up some strange noises coming from the stage…”

After Tenna managed to regain composure, he stood straight up tall again and pointed towards the sky with his free hand.

“Ahem… Now then contestants! Today, you will be playing on our lovely-”

Grrrooowwwrrlll…

“-TCH! L-Lovely TV C-City board!” Tenna strained to get his words out, overcome with yet more jolts of abdominal pain. “Y-You’ll be -AGHH! C-Cooperating together to -OWWW! To Fiiiiind the center of the City’s -AYYEEOOWCH!”

Everyone in the crowd fell silent as Tenna seemed to be losing the battle of keeping himself stage friendly, his fangs were in full view, and his claws were beginning to show as he struggled to surpass the pain. Even the stage crew were a bit hesitant to ask what was going on with him.

“U-Uhh, sir?...” One of the Pippins behind the contestant podiums finally spoke up. “A-Are you, okay-” “YEESSS, I’M FINE!” Tenna snapped angrily through his grit teeth at the Pippins. “EVERYTHING’S JUST -AGHH! HUNKY-DOODY!”

His makeup crew slowly backed away, whimpering in fear, they had never seen Tenna this upset before, and they were worried what he might do to them if provoked enough. The director knew that the show couldn’t go on with Tenna in this condition, and since it was their responsibility to ensure the show’s reputation wouldn’t be tainted from any kind of stage mishap, they quickly jumped on stage to stop the live feed before anything else major happened.

“-Ahhh HAHAHAHA! Uhh folks, we’re going to cut to a short break while we make sure our host is ‘hunky doody’!” The director Pippins announced to the closest camera, waving their arms. “Heh heh, a-and now a word from our sponsor!”

. . .

W O R D.

. . .

“Tenna, what has gotten into you!?” The director Pippins stepped over to him. “You’re scaring everyone who’s watching AND our makeup crew half to death with your outburst!”

Once he realized the camera’s footage was cut, Tenna slowly allowed himself to phase out of his ‘stage mode’ mentality, which caused his knees to buckle underneath him, bringing himself timbering down to the floor in agony. He curled up on the floor, legs tightly pulled in, and his arms wrapped around his abdomen. A pained and whiny groan escaped his mouth as he writhed side to side on the floor, the pain was unbearable.

“Oouurggghhh…” Tenna dramatically moaned. “I-I don’t feel so gooood…”

“I’ll say, you nearly gave all of us a soul attack back there!” The director pointed out. “What’s wrong with you this time?”

The makeup crew slowly peeked over their podiums to see if Tenna was still angry at them, but luckily, he was too preoccupied dealing with the pain to notice. They then started to tip-toe away from the stage and immediately bolt for the green room, not wanting to stay another minute near him. The three Mikes came running down from the electronic control room over to where Tenna was lying down, all surrounding him with the director.

“-Mmmrggghh!...” Tenna whined. “M-My stomach’s killing meee…”

“You didn’t skip lunch again by drinking a ton of coffee, did you?” Motormouth Mike asked him.

“N-No, I ate an actual lunch this t-time…” Tenna shook his head. “Though, it w-wasn’t very big…”

“Maybe your lunch went bad before you ate it?” Cat Mike wondered.

“I-I don’t think so…” Tenna disagreed. “It smelled f-fine when I found it…”

“Perhaps there’s a deeper problem that we’re missing, like a broken wire?” Cowboy Mike theorized.

“C-Could be, I haven’t had a tune-up in-” Tenna stated before doubling back over in pain. “Aghh, not again-!”

Grruuurrrwwll…

“Yeeoowwch…”

“Okay Tenna, you can’t continue the Mystery Board segment in this condition.” The director Pippins confronted him. “We need to figure out what’s going on with you, the Mikes will bring you over to our mechanic, they’ll know your inner workings better than any of us.”

“Th-Thank you, I’ll… I’ll see if I can-” Tenna began to try and stand up, but fell to his knees in agony. “-Aaaooowch!”

“Yeesh, this is really bad…” Motormouth Mike inhaled sharply. “Hey, can we get a couple Zappers over here to help Tenna move!?”

Moments later, two Zappers lined up before them all and picked Tenna up by the undersides of his shoulders, getting him back on his feet. They stepped in unison with Tenna to assist him offstage and back into the green room, where they shuffled him over to one of the video game couches.

“That should be good right there, you two.” Cowboy Mike instructed the Zappers. “Just lie him down, and we’ll take it from here. Pluey, you go find the mechanic.”

“On it.” Cat Mike nodded, turning their attention to the backstage crew of Shadowguys who were on break and sitting idly by around the TV used for videogames. “Alright, which one of you Shadowguys is our mechanic!?”

Several of them turned to look at each other, wondering which one was the secret mechanic.

. . .

After a couple of seconds, one Shadowguy removed their hat to reveal a conductor’s cap underneath and stepped over to the bar to fetch a simple toolbox behind the counter. They then made their way over to Tenna, who was now gingerly trying to lie down flat on the couch.

“-Aghh! Ooough, oww…” Tenna whimpered as he attempted to relax enough for the Shadowguy mechanic to do their job.

“Tenna’s in rough shape, he couldn’t even perform on stage without losing his cool.” Motormouth Mike explained to the Shadowguy mechanic. “We ain’t got a clue what could be wrong with him, other than the clue that his stomach hurts. Figured we’d bring him to you for an actual answer.”

“🎵” The Shadowguy mechanic responded, taking out a couple of tools from their toolbox.

To get a baseline of information, the Shadowguy mechanic took Tenna’s monitor temperature and checked that his screen and antennas were functioning correctly. Once those readings came back normal, they then moved down to where the problem was centered and took out a small microphone and a pair of headphones from their toolbox. It was almost reminiscent of one of those spy tools lighteners often played with when pretending to be secret agents, but it was an effective tool for the Shadowguy mechanic to get a better listen to what was happening on the inside of Tenna…

- - -

Meanwhile, Spamton was struggling to keep pace anymore, he had used up too much of his breathable air and now he couldn’t get much of a breath in. After about ten minutes of continuous punching back and forth in Tenna’s stomach within the gachapon ball, Spamton was tapped out of energy, and running out of time. He slowly slid down the wall of the ball once he couldn’t throw another punch, his chest heaving from the lack of air left. He hoped he did enough to alert Tenna that something was wrong and that he was missing. For now, all he could was wait and try to conserve what little air remained, which didn’t feel like much. What he could feel though was Tenna seemed to be more active in his movements, and changed angles several times anytime the stomach walls around Spamton contracted. And at one point, he seemed to lay completely horizontal since the acid shifted to pool in a different direction than before… Then his movements went stagnant…

Did he really not notice him? Were all of his efforts to escape in vain?...

He wasn’t anywhere closer to escaping his plastic prison, let alone escaping Tenna’s stomach…

. . .

Maybe…

. . .

Maybe this was the way he was always meant to go, trapped in the belly of the beast as they say… Spamton wasn’t destined for making it big, he seemed destined to make someone else bigger in size after he would be digested. And if he wasn’t? He would still be forgotten somehow, especially once Tenna figures out how to remove him from his system through-

‘Nope, don’t think about that…’ Spamton shuddered again, softly whimpering as his remaining time passed.

. . .

His eyes slowly began to close…

. . .

“I don’t want to die here…”

- - -

“🎶???”

The Shadowguy mechanic tilted their head as they picked up an unusual sound coming from Tenna’s middle. It didn’t sound like something was broken, rather it was a uniquely high pitched squeaky noise. Once they removed their headphones, Tenna went back to groaning and curled back up from the pain.

“Well, what do you think is wrong with him?” Cat Mike asked. “A frayed wire? A loose screw? Just too much coffee?”

“🎵!!!” The Shadowguy mechanic informed them all of their findings.

“...Squeaking?” Motormouth Mike seemed confused. “That’s weird, Tenna’s never had a troubleshoot in his past where something was squeaking.”

“Guess we’ll have to open ‘em up to get a better look.” Cowboy Mike shrugged as the Shadowguy mechanic pulled out a screwdriver from the toolbox.

Tenna gulped as the mechanic unscrewed the metal plate on his front after his suit and shirt were unbuttoned. Once all of the screws were removed, Cowboy Mike moved the plate out of their way and they all took a peek inside Tenna’s inner workings. The Shadowguy mechanic shined a flashlight inside for a clearer view, looking for anything they could find out of place.

“...W-Well?” Tenna curiously peeked over his chest. “See anything?...”

“Not right away?” Motormouth Mike replied, tilting his head. “I’m sure the problem’s here somewhere…”

. . .

“...Wait a second...” Cat Mike pondered, noticing something suspicious.

He took a closer look at an unusually round bulge poking through Tenna’s stomach. It seemed a bit out of place since the other side didn’t have the same shape. He slowly brought one of their mic paws over to touch it…

. . .

“YYYEEEOOOOOWWWW!!!” Tenna hollered, immediately sitting up harshly and clutched his middle.

The group stepped back a bit, surprised by the sudden reaction.

“OOWWW OWW OWW! W-Whatever that was, that was it! What was that!?”

“Hold on, big guy, lay back down so I can check.” Cat Mike ordered him, then observed again once Tenna laid down. “...Hrmm, that’s odd, you guys seein’ what I’m seein’?”

The other three peeked in at where Cat Mike was pointing.

“...Is it me, or does that look like a round ball?” Motormouth Mike brought up.

“That’s because it IS, but not just any ball…” Cowboy Mike added. “There’s only one kind of ball we have plenty of just lying around, it’s gotta be one of them gachapon balls!”

“One of the prize balls?” Tenna questioned. “Did I accidentally eat one?”

“You must’ve, maybe one of them shrunk down too small for you to notice in your lunch earlier!” Cat Mike theorized.

Suddenly, Tenna’s odd moment with his lunch made much more sense.

“-That must’ve been why I coughed after eating it!” Tenna added in. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it!...But, now what? How do we get it out? It hurts just from touching it…”

“Hrmm…”

The five of them put their heads together to think. Tenna was correct about the sensitivity, it would be impossible for one of them to remove it without having to shut Tenna down so he wouldn’t feel it. And even then, it would be risky to remove it by hand, there was the matter of his stomach acid to deal with. One drop could easily cause some nasty burns for either of them if they went in unprepared. They knew the ginger guardwear wasn’t strong enough to withstand any kind of acid, let alone one this strong. Not wanting to take that route, the Shadowguy mechanic finally came up with a possible solution.

“🎶!” They piped in.

“You think it’ll work?” Cat Mike inquired.

“Oh yeah, Tenna’s a lightweight, for sure!” Motormouth Mike nodded in agreement with the Shadowguy mechanic.

“Very well then, I’ll grab one.” Cowboy Mike sighed and stepped over to the bar, reaching behind the counter.

Tenna sat back up after the mechanic screwed his panel back on.

“-Wait, what did you guys come up with?” Tenna wondered.

. . .

A large bottle of one hundred and ninety proof straight battery acid was held out for him to take.

“Go on, boss.” Cowboy Mike gestured with the bottle. “Bottoms up.”

“I’m… I’m supposed to drink myself stupid?” Tenna worryingly asked. “B-But I can’t drink this much, it’s gonna make me-”

“Exactly.” Cowboy Mike interjected. “Only way to remove it safely.”

“I-I…”

. . .

“...Okay, I’ll do it…” Tenna agreed, taking the bottle from Cowboy Mike.

He nervously stared at the bottle of concentrated battery acid in his grip. Even just a shot of this stuff was enough to get Tenna completely tipsy, let alone try and chug the whole thing to try and vomit. But like Cowboy Mike pointed out earlier, if no one wanted to get burned trying to take him apart to try and remove it, having the gachapon ball come back out the way it went in was the safest option, if a little gross. He realized he was going to have to do this fast if he wanted to ensure it would work. He didn’t want to have to get plastered to fix himself, it was so contradictory in his mind; alcohol is supposed to be for fun, not medicine that can hurt you even more! With a heavy sigh, he popped the cork of the bottle and hesitantly put the tip of the neck of the bottle to his mouth. He looked down at the Mikes for moral support, because he was already wanting to tap out, and he hadn’t even started drinking it.

“...GO!” The three Mikes yelled in unison.

Tenna tipped the bottle upward, the caustic concentrated liquid glugging its way from the glass to the back of Tenna’s throat, where he proceeded to change his TV screen from his face to static from the severe acidity. He held his tongue as far away from the liquid as possible, not wanting to gag from the wretched flavor, plus if he tasted it, he might end up spitting up just the alcohol in his mouth. His throat muscles spasmed a bit, but eventually opened up to let the battery acid flow down towards his stomach. One gulp, two, three, four, the bottle becoming ever less full and Tenna becoming ever more bloated…

- - -

Zzzzzzzzzz…

Spamton had passed out from the lack of breathable air, his face cheeks slowly turning pale and blue toned by the minute. He was about minutes away from succumbing to asphyxiation and shutting down, when…

.

.

.

Splaaaaash!!!

The concentrated battery acid flooded the stomach’s interior around him, submerging the gachapon ball underneath. The two acids chemically reacted violently together, causing a high level of hydrochloric gas to form, effectively stretching Tenna’s stomach outward to accommodate the newly taken up space. The stomach walls around the gachapon ball contracted harshly, clearly irritated by the sudden introduction to such a massive level of alcohol…

It began to push the gachapon ball upwards…

- - -

“C-C’mon Tenna, y-you can do it!” Motor Mike shouted, holding a large trash can out in front of him in an attempt to spare the floor of all of the mess that was about to happen.

“Y-You’re halfway through the bottle already!?” Cat Mike encouraged, hiding behind the couch.

“Alright Tenna, keep it together, we’re here for you if you crash.” Cowboy Mike reassured him.

Gulp… Glp… Glurp… Ulp…

Grrroooaaawwrrrlll…

The panel on Tenna’s front began to creak and bend a bit from the built up pressure, his accordion-like sides bellowing from the chemical reaction happening from within. He could sense the build up of toxic gas was now actively looking for a way out, now he just had to wait to get nauseous enough to throw up the gachapon ball. But the alcohol was quickly beginning to affect his mind and judgement, becoming unable to stand up straight anymore. He stopped drinking at about seventy-percent of the bottle to catch his breath, and to figure out where his feet were below him.

“...Heh heh heh, you guyz wan see magic trick?...” Tenna drunkenly chuckled, his voice slurred.

“What? Tenna we don’t have time for magic!” Motormouth Mike tried to remind him.

“You gotta finish the bottle, Tenna!” Cat Mike told him.

“It’s gotta be enough to ensure it comes out.” Cowboy Mike explained. “Keep drinking!”

“I’m gon’ make this bottle… disappeeeeaaarrr!” Tenna announced, waving his other arm around in a circle.

“Yeah great, make it disappear in your mouth, Tenna!” Cat Mike sarcastically suggested.

“What!? Great ideeeaaa!” Tenna giggled, as he proceeded to shove the bottle deep into his throat.

“WAIT NO!!!” All three shouted, trying to reach for the bottle in Tenna’s mouth.

As hard as he tried to in his drunken state, shoving the bottle into his throat only caused him to gag, which was probably in a way the next step they needed to have happen. He fell to his knees, the sudden nausea overwhelming his mind and body, and he began to breathe heavier. His stomach loudly churned as the chemical reaction within was complete, and he was ready to pop like the cork from before.

“Oh shit, I think this is it…” Motormouth Mike cringed, shakily holding the trash can closer to Tenna’s face.

“Look away Mike…” Cat Mike said, covering his eyes.

“...I’m scared you guys…” Tenna drunkenly whimpered as the drool began to drip from his mouth.

“C’mon Tenna, just one and done, you’ll be alright...” Cowboy Mike reassured him, patting his back.

The three Mikes waited along with Tenna, unsure just how violent he was about to be sick. But they knew from the amount he drank, how much of a lightweight he was when it came to drinking, and how caustic a reaction battery acid can create, it was going to be bad. But they had to be there for Tenna, he was their boss, and they knew deep down he cared for them, now it was their turn to help him. Tenna’s abdominal muscles began to contract as his body was getting ready to expel everything out, he groaned as a painful gurgle reverberated out of his body and up his throat. His screen turned to static as he felt something large was being pushed out through his throat and into his mouth. When he opened his mouth, the gachapon ball was visible in the back of his throat!

“H-Hey, there it is!” Motormouth Mike exclaimed. “Don’t panic, I’ll pull it out for you, Tenna!”

“MIKE NO!” The other two Mikes shouted-

POP!!!

The moment Motormouth Mike popped the makeshift cork, everything else behind the gachapon ball rocketed out at breakneck speed, effectively blasting Mike across the room and onto the opposite wall by a constant violent stream of vomit.

BLLUUUURURUUUUGRGGGHHHH!!!...

. . .

“...Welp, that could’ve gone better.” Cowboy Mike inhaled sharply.

“🎵?” The Shadowguy mechanic asked Tenna.

“...Bluurrgghh… Y-Yeah… I’m okay…” Tenna huffed, slowly picking himself back up and wiping his mouth once the vomit stopped coming out.

“You okay, Mike!?” Cat Mike called out to Motormouth Mike who was slowly peeling off the wall and onto the floor.

“...No.” Motormouth Mike raspily answered, seemingly still in shock about what just happened.

“🎶?” The Shadowguy mechanic offered Tenna before taking their leave.

“Huh?... Oh sure, yeah, you can double check that...” Tenna agreed, sitting back down on the couch to allow them to check on his health again.

While Tenna was getting a post check-up, Motormouth Mike eventually got up and took a closer look at the gachapon ball in their hand. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be something inside.

“...Huh, what’s that?…” Motormouth Mike mumbled to himself before opening it up.

. . .

GAAAAASSSSP!

Spamton took an instinctive deep breath in once the gachapon ball was opened, the red color on his cheeks instantly coming back. Motormouth Mike jolted from the jumpscare, and looked closer at what made that noise.

“-Whoa! Wait a second… Spamton!?” he realized. “Is that you!? What the hell were you doin’ in there!? You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

“Wha- I’m [OUT]!?... Hey! It’s not my [FAULT]!” Spamton answered once he caught his breath. “Mr. Cathode Ray over there didn’t [SEE] me before it was [TOO LATE]!”

“Well, you certainly managed to do a number to him in there.” Motormouth Mike chuckled. “I’ve never seen him freak out in the middle of a live show before, you must’ve made some crazy ruckus to get him to stop!”

“Nor have I ever seen him drink an entire bottle of battery acid, he only ever sticks to soda that he leaves out to get rid of the fizz!” Cat Mike added in.

“Just, try to be more careful around those prize balls next time, okay Spamton?” Cowboy Mike warned him. “We don’t want any more accidents on set, might drive the backstage crew away from ever participating in Tenna’s games again.”

“Y-Yeah, I will…” Spamton sighed. “Alright, if I’m to [RETURN] back to my regular [HEIGHT], I’ll need-”

“Way ahead of you, Spammy.” Tenna butted in, now feeling much better after the ordeal and stepping forward to where the Mikes were conversing. “I’ll bring you with me to my office, we’ll sort it out there.”

“Really?” Motormouth Mike shrugged as he handed Spamton and the gachapon ball over to Tenna. “If you say so. We’ll uhh… Have the show ready to restart when you’re finished with him, okay?”

“Great, thanks Mikes. You’re always there for me whenever I need a hand.” Tenna smiled, turning away and making his way towards his office.

“Take care, you two.” Cowboy Mike waved goodbye to them.

- - -

Spamton couldn’t help but notice as Tenna carried him back to their office, he was also carrying quite the stern look on his face, and the hand holding him was slightly shaking. Was he mad at him? He only did what he did in order to not die! He could understand that, right? Spamton hesitated a bit before piping up about it.

“So uhh, we can just [FORGET] any of that happened, [RIGHT]?” Spamton nervously twiddled his thumbs.

. . .

Tenna narrowed his expression at Spamton and slowly brought him closer to his face once he closed the door to his office behind them.

. . .

“...Leave a note on your lunch next time you leave it out.” Tenna giggled as he changed his expression to a cheeky smile.

…What?

“W-Wait, s-so you’re not [MAD] at me?” Spamton asked.

“Spamton, how can I be mad…”

Tenna’s voice began to crack as his body started to shrink in size.

“...When I almost killed you!” he cried and bawled his screen out. “Oh Spamton, I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were in there! I didn’t even double check that TV Dinner to see if something was wrong about it, and it put your life in danger!”

Once Tenna reached Spamton’s small height, he gave him such a tight hug, his screen displayed a massive thunderstorm, indicating how upset he truly was. Spamton didn’t want Tenna to feel guilty about an accident he caused to himself by trying to get out of the gachapon ball without asking for help and using the wrong kind of pipis. He eventually returned the hug, letting out a relieved sigh.

“...It’s okay Tenna, I’m still [HERE]...” Spamton comforted him. “...You should probably get back to your [SHOW], I’m sure the audience have been waiting [LONG] enough for your return… Don’t worry about [ME], I’ll be alright, I just need a [QUICK] bite and I’ll be [GOOD] to go.”

“N-No, I can’t face the audience after that…” Tenna hitched his breath. “I can’t forgive myself that quickly! Plus… I’m a bit too small now to be on camera…”

. . .

Spamton deviously smiled, he knew just what to do...

“Oh c’mon Tenna, [DON’T] put yourself on such a [TALL] pedestal, you’re [IMPERFECT], sure, but [NO] one’s really [PERFECT], are they?” He tried cheering Tenna up. “...Now, who’s my [FAVORITE] TV, huh? Show me that [SMILE].”

“Spamton, stop it…” Tenna shook his head. “I can’t be your favorite TV right now, I really could’ve hurt you!” “C’mon now, [THIS] is my favorite TV!” He poked his nose. “I [LOVE] TV!”

“Spamton please!” Tenna tried not to smile, but he couldn’t resist the praise.

He started to grow a bit in size.

“I [LOVE] TV!” Spamton repeated. “I [LOVE] TV!”

“Oh Spamton, do you really mean it!?” Tenna began to giggle as he grew a bit more bigger.

“Of course I do! I. LOVE. TV!” He shouted, holding his arms out and waved them.

“YIPPEE!” Tenna shrieked as he had a massive growth spurt and banged his head on the ceiling. “-Owww!”

“Oops, too much…” Spamton sharply inhaled. “Uhh, you okay up there?” “H-Huh?... Y-Yeah, I’m okay.” Tenna informed him, rubbing the back of his head. “Just got a little carried away is all…”

It was then that a knock on Tenna’s office door alerted the two of them that someone was near. He squatted down enough to be able to reach the door handle and pull the door open. It was Motormouth Mike, holding a revive mint in his hand.

“Hey, I found out that these mints do more than just increase your hit points if you’ve fallen down, they can also reset some stats if they apply.” Mike explained. “Figured it might be a way to revert Spamton back to his original size.”

“Thanks Mike, we’ll give it a shot, and I’ll be back out on stage in just a minute, okay?” Tenna took the revive mint and slowly shut the door. He then carefully picked Spamton back up and placed him on his desk, along with the revive mint. “I’m afraid your ‘quick bite to eat’ will have to be this mint first, see if it reverts you back to your original size while I hold down the show fort, alright?”

Spamton rolled his eyes, slightly disappointed that he would have to eat this massive mint in order to determine if it can reserve his shrunken state, it wasn’t his favorite, plus, it was almost the size of him, it was going to take him forever to eat it if it didn’t actively make him larger as he ate it and only after he finished it! But, as long as it wasn’t going to explode in his face like that incorrect pipis did, he supposed he couldn’t complain about finally getting the help he needed.

“...Okay, I will.” He sighed, breaking off a piece and stuffing it into his mouth.

“Great, I'll be back in an hour. If it hasn’t reverted you back by the time I return… we’ll come up with something.” Tenna nervously shrugged, hoping it wouldn’t come down to that choice.

“Yeah, sure.” Spamton yawned, not realizing until now just how tired he was from this whole experience.

“...Oh uhh, you should probably rest too, I don’t want you working once you’re normal size again if you’re exhausted.” Tenna noticed, quietly placing a small Ralsei plush on the desk for Spamton to cuddle with. “Here, this should keep you warm until then.”

Spamton couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath, Tenna wasn’t really one to keep any of the grand prizes that Lightners could win on his show, but perhaps this plush meant something more than just being a prize. Whichever the case, he could feel the aura of sleep slowly overcoming his tiny frame, the scent of the revive mint calming him, and the Ralsei plush was indeed, quite warm as Tenna described it. He slowly made his way over to where its scarf lay on the desk, and pulled them over himself. His eyes slowly shut, watching Tenna silently gush at how adorable Spamton was sleeping next to this Ralsei plush before leaving the room to host the Marvelous Mystery Board once again. Eventually, he succumbed to his exhaustion and fell asleep, but not before mumbling one last remark…

“I want… my point [REFUND]... when you get [BACK], Tenna…”

[shimii26]

At the end of the day, his friends really care about him.

[shimii26]

Gourmet Race

Grrooorrwwllll…

“Urrrgghhhh…” Click groaned, leaning his head back on the couch and rubbing his belly. “I’m gonna starve to death waiting for Banner to finish with dinner!”

Grruumbbllle…

“You wouldn’t [KNOWLEDGE] what a [REAL-LIFE] starved [10 DAYS WITHOUT AN ACCIDENT] is like in your [RAPIDLY SHRINKING] life, [CLICK HERE!]…” Spamton grumbled, also trying his best to keep his hunger quiet too on the couch across from Click.

“Oh, will you two calm down already!?” Banner shouted from the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes, you can afford to wait…”

“Awww, but I hate [ESTIMATED TIME LEFT: FIVE MINUTES] to eat…” Spamton whined.

“At least you GOT to eat today, I had to skip lunch to attend an urgent meeting at work!” Click pointed out.

. . .

It had been two weeks since Click had gone through his life-changing experience of living life like Spamton out in the streets without food, money, and his apartment. He was now back home and had just about recovered from all of his injuries he received during his experience, only needing to gain a bit of the weight back that he had lost. Luckily, the other Addisons in the group had gone out of their way to treat Spamton and Click to larger portions to help them both regain their strength, and tonight was no exception. Banner had decided to make a feast for everyone in the apartment since this was a special anniversary day for the five of them; a smorgasbord of various expensive meats, hefty side dishes, and creamy desserts. There were several favorite foods of Spamton’s and Click’s, including lobster, cornbread, mac and cheese, seared sirloin, strawberry shortcake, and cookie dough ice cream. The other Addisons didn’t mind making most of the dishes the favorites of Click’s and Spamtons, they ate most of those dishes as well, they were more focused on the significance of what this day meant for them all…

This was the anniversary of Spamton’s first ever sale after joining the group, and the night they celebrated at the Cyber Grill together as a complete team of five for the first and last time. With the group now back together after rescuing Spamton from the dumpsters, they wanted to make sure that the anniversary day those many years ago wouldn’t be the last time, and chose to celebrate together once again. However, the tension was unfortunately still there between Spamton and Click, despite the two of them forgiving each other for all of the harsh words and actions they carried out between one another all those years ago, they still had a habit of bickering and exchanging hurtful insults. ‘Some old habits just never die.’ The other Addisons thought to shrug the responsibility of helping the two of them maintain their ‘get-along progress’, in a way it wasn’t their business, but it surely threw a wrench in the system of how the five of them communicated with each other.

Since it would only be the five of them celebrating at home, they didn’t feel the need to dress up formally, so they decided it would be comfier to put on a bit of a pajama party. That way, once the feast was over, they could relax with a nice movie they used to watch together in their past, then retire to bed. Spamton wore a blue sports team t-shirt and some simple black basketball shorts, Click wore a hot pink crop top and some short green pajama bottoms, Banner wore their favorite periwinkle robe, Vid wore a long sleeved patterned yellow pajama set, and Survey wore a white tank top with a pair of long black striped pajama bottoms. It was all of their favorite outfits to make the occasion even better, the more everyone was comfy, the better time they would have…

Atleast that’s what Banner hoped…

- - -

“Alright everyone, dinner is ready!” Banner announced, pulling the mac and cheese out of the oven. “Come help set the table!”

“Yes! Dibs on the first servings!” Click chastised Spamton, pushing him out of the way as he got up from the couch and towards the kitchen.

“HEY! Watch the [PREMIUM MERCHANDISE]!” Spamton barked, getting up from his unexpected position and trailing behind Click.

“Oh boy, time to eat!” Vid cheered, running into the kitchen from his room.

“Heh heh, slow down guys, it’s not going anywhere.” Survey reassured them, taking the lobsters out of the boiling water.

One by one, the five of them created a line in order to pass the dishes from the kitchen from one another to the one on the end who then placed the food on the table according to the  properly labeled hot pan mats. The line went from Survey, to Banner, to Click, to Spamton, and to Vid, all working in unison, just like old times. Despite having done this for years, it was still a bit awkward to execute with precision due to Spamton’s height difference, but there wasn’t a rush for them to get everything set up. Once all of the food was plated, the five took their designated seats, Spamton and Click opposite one another, Survey and Vid also opposite, and Banner at one of the table ends. Raising their glass of wine, Banner stood up and proposed a toast.

“Well, the crew is back together, something I had hoped would come true once again.” Banner stated. “And I hope it can stay like this for many years to come… To the one who twenty years ago made his first ever sale, and completed our group’s success… To Spamton!”

“To Spamton!” Everyone but Click cheered, clinking glasses together.

Banner could see it in Click’s eyes and the scowl on his face, he wanted to start trouble…

“...Click.” Banner narrowed their eyes at him. “...Somethin you wanna say?”

Click took a moment to exhale with annoyance, then stood up.

“Actually… Yeah, I do. Why the hell is every single celebration we commemorate about Spamton’s achievements!?” Click complained. “Can’t any of them ever be about any one of us? Let’s say, me for example?”

Spamton balled his fists up, he tried to hold his anger back, but his temper fuse was too short. He immediately slammed the table and stood up on his chair.

“What’s your [99 PROBLEMS BUT A @#&$@ AIN’T ONE]!? Why can’t you just [DON’T WORRY BE HAPPY] for me for [ONCE IN A LIFETIME]!?” Spamton angrily shouted.

“You wanna know why, huh!?” Click rebutted, getting closer to Spamton’s face. “You really wanna know!? It’s because YOU don’t deserve all this praise! When was the last time you’ve really ever made another sale since then!? I bet NEVER!”

“How [TRIPLE DOG DARE] you!” Spamton gasped. “I had to scrape by with selling [DVDS OF ANY MOVIE AT HALF PRICE] out there just to [ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET] and not [SNOOZE] in [GODDAMN GARBAGE CANS] every night!”

“Yeah!? And that’s NOTHING to celebrate about, let alone the one time you legitimately did decades ago!” Click shamed Spamton. “Celebrations are for REAL achievements, like my own, cause guess who just reached their hundred thousandth sale this week!? ME! AND NO ONE SAID A GODDAMN THING TO ME ABOUT IT! THEY ONLY CARED ABOUT YOU!!!”

. . .

“That’s enough outta you two!” Banner growled, standing up and slamming their hands on the table. “I don’t want to hear another word from both of you about each other’s sales! You know the rules about business at the dinner table, we are celebrating being back together and eating dinner, nothing more. Any mention about comparing business progress or any malicious insult from any of you, and I’ll see to it that you won’t be able to partake in any of the festivities, including dinner, is that understood?”

The apartment was silent for a few seconds as the tension peaked. Vid and Survey kept their heads down and gazed away from Banner, but eventually nodded in agreement to the rules. Click and Spamton stared each other down with daggers in their eyes, not wanting to let the other win. However, the two of them really wanted to celebrate tonight for their own reasons, especially since it involved a feast with many of their favorites. Banner was typically serious about their threats, so not wanting to be sent to their rooms without supper, they narrowed their eyes and nodded, slowly sitting back down in their chairs.

“Good, now then…” Banner continued. “Everyone dig in before it gets cold.”

One by one, each of the Addisons grabbed their desired first helpings from the table, both Spamton and Click starting with the same thing; the lobsters. They didn’t take their eyes off each other, staring angrily, imitating the same movements, cracking the same parts of the shells, eating the same bites, and swallowing said bites at the same time. Banner had noticed their peculiar behavior, but decided not to intervene, the tension at the table was already too high. Spamton took the imitation a step further, beginning to eat the shell of the lobster as well to see if Click would do the same. Click tried to copy Spamton, but his body just wouldn’t allow him to eat the shell, and he had to quietly spit out the crunchy mouthful into his napkin. He snarled when Spamton gave him a sleazy chuckle, and he decided to outdo his small victory by grabbing a large slice of the cornbread and shoving the whole piece into his mouth. His cheeks swelled from the absurd amount of cornbread he chose to eat, and turned to Spamton to see if he would copy him. Spamton saw this counter and tried to do the same, but he didn’t have similar cheek dexterity as the other Addisons, and ended up choking on the cornbread when a couple stray crumbs fell down to his throat.

“-ACk! COUGH COUGH!”

“HAHAHAHA!” Click stood up and busted out laughing across the table. “Can’t even hold your own-”

“Click!” Banner angrily cut them off with a bang to the table with their fist. “That’s it, you’re done for the night!”

“What!? But I didn’t even-”

“Out!”

“...Fine! It wasn’t my celebration to begin with anyway!” Click yelled arrogantly, pushing himself away from the table and storming off to the guest room, slamming the door behind him.

“Yeah [MEOWTH, THAT’S RIGHT], stomp away like [I’M JUST A BABY]! [HIT THE HAY], Click!” Spamton mockingly laughed, also banging his fists on the table.

“Spamton!” Banner also angrily cut them off too. “You’re done too! I’m sorry, but you also broke the rules…”

“What!? You can’t [BE FOR REAL] right now!” Spamton complained. “What about my-”

“Out!” Banner stood their ground. “And you’re going to stay in the same room as Click until you two can apologize to each other!”

“This is [BULL HONKEY]!” Spamton swore, also storming off to the same room and slamming the door.

The rest of the Addisons at the table were a bit silent…

“Umm, that could’ve gone better…” Survey mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

“A-Are you really going to go through with this, Banner?” Vid wondered, cracking open a second lobster.

“Yes… No, I… Probably not…” Banner answered, sitting back down with a huff. “I just… I just want us all to get along, but I can’t make them, all I can do is keep reminding them… But maybe a moment away from us will get those two to think…”

“Please do consider it, cause there’s no way just the three of us can finish everything here, I’m already getting a bit full.” Survey noted, loosening the string ties on his pants.

“What!? But we haven’t even had dessert yet!” Vid reminded Survey. “C’mon bucko, find some room for that shortcake!”

“Anyway, let’s just continue with dinner. It’ll give them some time to cool off and work it out, I’ll start prepping dessert for everyone.” Banner told them, stepping away to get the ice cream from the freezer with a slice of cornbread in their hand. “Knowing Spamton’s food anxiety and what Click just went through weeks ago, I’m sure their hunger will help them come to their senses quickly.”

“Hoo boy, I’m putting extra strawberries on mine!” Vid boasted, finishing up his meal. “Bring it on, Banner!”

- - -

Guuuurrgglll…

“Dammit Banner, you’re really gonna make me starve again?...” Click grumbled, lying down on the bed in the guest room with his hand on his still hungry belly. “I didn’t even get a chance to taste that sirloin…”

Grroooaannn…

“Will you [BLUE STOP SIGN] saying that you’re [EMPTY] to [DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT]!? You’ve got [NEW IDEA] what it’s really [LIKE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE] to starve!” Spamton barked at Click, leaning forward in the chair he was sitting in. “Plus, I’m [JUSTICE FOR ALL] as hungry as [YOU DID IT]!”

“Well at least you got the praise you wanted today, didn’t you!?” Click yelled back, sitting up on the bed. “Meanwhile I didn’t get so much as a ‘Congrats on your achievement’ from the others! It was always about you! How you were gonna be a BIG SHOT! How you were gonna top ALL OF US! And now!? You’re just leeching off of OUR success and taking ALL the credit for it!”

“Do you [QUICK THINKING] that I [ENJOY THE SHOW] having to [LIFETIME SUPPLY] off of you all!?” Spamton pointed out, getting up from the chair. “[YES OR NO] I wanna be a [BIG SHOT] still, so I’m not a [BEAST OF BURDEN] to others, I wanna be [SELF SUFFICIENT], [DOWN THE ROAD], and [HE’S A JOLLY FELLOW] with my [CAREER FAIR], but I CAN’T, [CANDY] I!? CAUSE I’M [NOTHING]!!!”

. . .

. . .

. . .

…Spamton’s voice grew softer.

“...I’m [nothing], without you guys…” Spamton sniffly admitted, his glasses fading to static. “...Just a [burden] who can’t even [buy sell buy sell buy sell] to [save a life]...”

. . .

“...You… You don’t like mooching off of us?...” Click asked after a brief pause, sitting closer to the end of the bed. “But, I thought you hated work…”

“...No…” Spamton shook his head. “Why would I?... [Minnie the Moocher]  just reminds me of [what the #$&%] I can’t [do your job]... That I’m just a [failure]...I hate it…”

. . .

Click looked down to see Spamton who had his head in his hands in shame. He looked away for a second, feeling a bit of guilt for assuming Spamton found enjoyment in his free loading. But eventually he turned back to him, patting the corner of the bed next to himself, encouraging Spamton to sit with him. Spamton noticed Click’s gesture and got closer, climbing up to sit next to him. The two sat in silence for a moment, just being in each other’s company.

“...Y’know… Maybe I have been a little greedy for attention lately… I mean, we did have a celebration last month when I reached ninety thousand sales…” Click admitted, twiddling his thumbs. “And as far as I could remember… You never made more than a hundred sales before you spoke to that guy on the phone… And yet, you’ve managed to survive all these years…”

Spamton let out a long sigh, looking up at Click and staring into his eyes.

“It wasn’t [easy as pie] to [pull tab] off… I had a few [close call]s over the [year of the dragon]...” Spamton revealed. “But… I’m [happy happy joy joy] to be home, and can start over.”

. . .

“Do you… want to start over?” Click proposed, holding out his hand for Spamton to shake.

. . .

“You’ve got yourself a [DEAL], [CLICK HERE]...” Spamton smiled, taking Click’s hand and shaking it. 

After the handshake, they slowly paused before inching closer to one another. Their hands were hesitant, but eventually the two slowly embraced in a hug, forgiving each other physically.

. . .

GRROOOOWWWRRLLL…

The two of them blushed in embarrassment as their hunger sounded off in unison, reminding them both that despite their forgiveness to each other, they still had some apologizing to do to the others for interrupting the celebration dinner. They let their hug go and turned away and tended to their stomachs in their own mannerisms.

“I hope Banner isn’t actually serious about punishing us, I’m starving…” Click griped, wincing a bit from the hunger pangs.

“[PLACARD] wasn’t ever [WHY SO SERIOUS?] about any [DISCIPLINE] given to me if [I DID A BAD THING] years ago…” Spamton remembered as he patted his belly. “Maybe if we just [REPENT] to them, they’ll let us [NOM NOM NOM] tonight.”

“Ughhhhh, fiiiiiiine…” Click groaned, rolling his eyes. “I’ll do anything at this point to shut it up…”

. . .

The two of them peeked out from the guest room door, checking to see if the others were still eating. It still smelled like the food was still plated, maybe they weren’t in the room for very long, there wasn’t exactly a clock to give them the time in there. They slowly opened the door and tiptoed out, trying not to alert Banner that they’ve left the room, but…

“Going somewhere you two?” Banner confronted them with crossed arms, causing the two of them to jolt.

“-Agh, [THE JIG IS UP]!” Spamton yelped, hiding behind Click’s back. “Show [MERCY] on us!”

“Uhh, we umm… L-Look, what Spamton’s trying to say is, that… we’re sorry about fighting with each other at dinner…” Click apologized to Banner. “We were both just a bit heated and jealous, but… We worked it out and it won’t happen again...”

. . .

“You’re not saying all of that to me just so we'll forgive you and allow you to eat dinner tonight, are you?” Banner replied, narrowing their eyes, unconvinced of Click’s half-assed apology.

“Ummm…” The two of them stuttered, unsure on how to answer...

Grrrummblllee…

So their stomachs answered for them. Click and Spamton simultaneously shrugged with their arms up, nervously smiling as their cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“...No?” They said at the same time.

Banner rolled their eyes and smirked, having predicted correctly Click and Spamton’s reasoning for getting along now.

“...Fine, I’ll let you two off easy since this is a holiday for all of us.” Banner sighed, uncrossing their arms. “Go on, eat what you want so we can put the dishes in the sink when you’re done.”

As soon as Banner let them off the hook, Click and Spamton looked at each other then hastily made their way to the dining room table, immediately taking their seats again and partaking in the feast once more. They picked up their forks and began to grab the most delicious bites that remained after the other Addisons had their fill. It seemed to Banner that Click and Spamton were going to improve their relationship with each other…

That is, until their forks touched on the same morsel.

“Uhh, Spamton?” Click chuckled, tapping Spamton’s fork. “That’s my bite of cornbread.”

“Huh? [NO NO NO], this is [MY SANDWICH]!” Spamton countered, pushing Click’s fork away.

“Hey, don’t push me out of the way!” Click shouted, pushing Spamton’s fork back.

“I’ll [PUSH THE BUTTON] you whenever [I WANT IT]!” Spamton snarled, jabbing his fork into the piece of cornbread and shoving the forkful into his jaws.

“You son of a bitch!” Click yelled at him, stabbing his fork into the other untouched side of the cornbread and shoving the forkful into his mouth.

‘HEY! I was gonna [CONSUME] that!” Spamton complained. “Don’t [STEAL] all the [GOOD STUFF] when you can’t even [PUT AWAY INVENTORY] that much!”

“You tellin’ me that I can’t eat just as much as you!?” Click challenged. “I bet I could eat every single one of these lobsters before you finished chewing one bite of that sirloin!”

“What? You think you can [OUTRUN] me!?” Spamton remarked, shoving in another mouthful. “You couldn’t [EATING CONTEST] me if [YOUR HEART SHAPED OBJECT] depended on it!”

“Oh yeah!? How about we put that to the test then!?” Click dared as another mouthful went in. “First one to put their fork down loses, deal!?”

“Oh, [A DEAL’S A DEAL]!” Spamton accepted, grabbing his plate.

“Then let the war begin…” Click announced, readying his fork.

. . .

“GO!”

Their makeshift contest began, Click and Spamton quickly filling up their plates with as much of the food left out as they could, not even sparing the space above. Vid and Survey soon noticed what the two of them were doing, and now couldn’t keep their eyes away from the action. Click wasted no time stuffing his cheeks with the seared sirloin, he was pretty good with his canine teeth and could eat steak pretty efficiently. Spamton started with the mac and cheese, it was easy for him to swallow it down without the need to chew it, saving him time and kept pace with Click. The food quickly began to pile up in both of their stomachs, weighing their bodies down little by little since most of the food was on the hefty side, but not stopping them from continuing. Spamton was more efficient in speed, being able to scarf down food at a quicker rate than Click, but efficiency was where Click shined, being able to chew more thoroughly to ensure more empty space was filled, leaving no air pockets inside.

In just a few minutes, both of their first plates were gone, and they moved onto their next serving, Click with the cornbread, and Spamton with the remainder of the lobster. Spamton didn’t even bother shucking the meat out of the lobster, and just threw the whole thing into his mouth and chewed it down. Click was able to compact the cornbread and keep stray crumbs from tickling his throat, allowing him to gulp down several mouthfuls one after the other. Underneath Spamton’s shirt, his belly began to extend outward as more food was consumed, the stitches that kept him together tightening a bit. Click’s fullness wasn’t as obvious at first since he was much taller than Spamton and was compacting his food tighter in his stomach, but it still caused the same amount of discomfort once it did start to appear. The brick wall of fullness was approaching the two of them, but onward they ate. Vid and Survey turned off the tv and got up from the couch, stepping closer to Banner, who was watching the whole thing.

“They’re going to make themselves sick at this rate…” Survey sighed, rubbing the back of his neck again.

“Uhh, should we stop them?” Vid asked Banner.

“...No.” Banner answered. “...I wanna see where this goes…”

Halfway through their second plates is where things began to turn for the two of them. Spamton’s jaws were growing tired from all the chewing, and his tiny frame started to poke out from underneath his shirt. Click was a bit out of breath, and his gut strained against the elastic waistband of his pajama bottoms. They looked up at each other, both sweating from the struggle.

“[GIVE UP] yet, [CLICKHOLD]?...” Spamton mocked, polishing off another forkful.

“In your dreams, little mailman…” Click sleazily replied with confidence. “I could eat all that dessert next… Before you could finish that last lobster…”

“You wouldn’t [DOUBLE DARE]...” Spamton mumbled, but then was shocked when Click went ahead and gulped down the remaining butter for the cornbread in one bite.

“Oh, I would~” Click cheekily smiled, a bit of sauce from the earlier sirloin dripping down from the side of his mouth.

“[YOU DID IT], [IT’S ON]!” Spamton shouted, increasing his speed eating the last lobster.

It was the last round, the two of them switched to dessert now that the remainder of the main feast was gone. Spamton took the cookie dough ice cream and Click took the strawberry shortcake. Since a good amount of time passed while they were in the guest room, the ice cream had almost melted into a thick liquid and the shortcake grew moist from the whipped cream and was easier to eat. With each gulp of the melted cookie dough ice cream, Spamton’s belly stretched out more and more, his shirt riding up towards his check, it looked like a white beach ball. His stomach churned when the sweet ice cream mixed together with the salty main course and filled in the empty space he had created earlier, allowing him to swallow  at a steady rate. The shortcake was light and fluffy, Click didn’t even need to chew it, just swallow each forkful down, and have the next forkful ready before he even finished swallowing. Without any stray empty space left, his only option to fit more in was to stretch his stomach past it’s usual limit, which really began to show below his crop top shirt. Every slice of shortcake Click shoveled in, his pajama bottom elastic waistband tightened more and more, until…

PING!

The rubber in the elastic waistband snapped, releasing Click’s swollen gut outward for all to see. He groaned as a wave of discomfort slowed him down to a snail’s pace, finally hitting the dreaded brick wall. He stopped eating and put his fork down to tend to the pain and rub his belly.

“HAAEHAHEAHEHAHEHAE!” Spamton laughed maniacally. “I knew [YOUTUBE] couldn’t-

RIIIIIIP!

He had spoken too soon, because the moment he had leaned forward to mock Click, his shirt had ripped a tad in the front from the pressure his belly caused it. With it distended all the way outward, the brick wall from overeating kicked in, and Spamton whined from the ache. He dropped his fork and hiccupped, which caused even more pain since his stitching was so taut. They both leaned back in their chairs in unison and raised a white napkin in defeat… Or tied since they gave up at the same time. The two were truly as full as they could be, no room for either of them to fit another morsel in. The table was basically wiped clean of food, guess that meant no leftovers, much to the surprise of Vid and Survey.

“...Wow, that was awesome…” Vid whispered, astonished by the sight.

“Guess they’re even now?” Survey shrugged, unsure of what to do about the situation.

‘Huh, guess I didn’t even have to punish them in the first place, they did it for me anyway…’ Banner thought to themselves.

Spamton wailed as he realized that he could no longer sit up to look over the horizon of his belly, he was too heavy to lean forward to an upright position. His stomach let out a painful gurgle as it struggled to digest everything he ate in order to try and outwin against Click, but to no avail since it was a tie. He rubbed gentle circles in the center of his belly, trying to quell the chaos happening inside.

“Ooorrfff… my [BREAD BASKET] hurts…” Spamton softly whimpered .

Click shut his eyes and took a moment to catch his breath now that his stomach was free of the strain of his shorts. It hurt so much, he had never eaten this much before, let alone against another Addison in an eating contest. He couldn’t take the incoming pain coming from his overly stretched gut, he wanted to lie down so badly and rest off his meal.

“Ooowww… I’m never eating again for as long as I’m not obsolete…” Click moaned, stifling a burp.

. . .

“Did you two have fun?” Banner finally interrupted, stepping into the dining room. “I hope you did, because your fun’s over…”

“it’s your turn to clean the dishes if you recall…”

DISHES!?

“[WHAT THE #$&@ IS A KILOMETER!?]!? Nooooo…” Spamton whined, his head leaning farther back.

“Y-You can’t be serious, Banner…” Click grimaced. “We can’t even get up from our chairs…”

“I can see that.” Banner chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m just pulling your leg. I won’t make you two do them tonight, you deserve to celebrate just as much as we did, probably more if we think about Spamton’s anniversary and your record sales numbers. Plus, I think your upcoming stomach aches will be enough punishment for tonight for ruining the mood at the table.”

“Yes Banner…” Click and Spamton grumbled, nodding in unison.

“...I wanna [SNOOZE] so badly…” Spamton sharply yawned, struggling to get back up.

“Honestly yeah, I should get in bed before it kicks in…” Click sighed, hoisting himself onto his feet.

“Well atleast join us for a bit for movie night!” Vid offered. “We’re watching an old favorite comedy of ours!”

“...Well [OKEY DOKEY ARTICHOKEY], maybe just for [IT’S BEEN A WHILE].” Spamton agreed, finally getting up and waddled towards the couch.

“Fine, but a half hour only.” Click compromised, making his way to his usual spot on the couch.

“Alright, let’s do this!” Vid cheered, turning the TV back on.

- - -

ZZZZZZZZZZ…

It wasn’t even ten minutes into the movie, Click and Spamton were already passed out from their food coma. They had sat next to each other, and were using their sides as leverage to hold themselves up so they didn’t fall off the couch. If it wasn’t for their constant bickering, the rest of the group might have found that a tad adorable. They didn’t exactly want to wake the two of them up, but it was difficult to hear the movie over the noises their stomachs were making while trying to digest the entirety of the rest of the buffet, so they had the TV’s volume up a bit.

“Do you think they’ll ever get along, Banner?” Survey asked them, keeping his eyes on the movie.

“Probably not…” Banner shook their head. “Some old habits just never die, but… I think so long as we keep a friendly competition available for the two of them, they’ll forget all about their sales numbers and create some sportsmanship through it all.”

“Sure, but uhh, maybe not another eating contest…” Vid chimed in. “It got way out of hand, and now I can’t even hear the movie over their belly’s noises!”

“Heh, yeah…” Banner chuckled, brushing Spamton’s black hair out of his face and around their finger. “Don’t worry…”

. . .

“We’ll think of something else…”

[shimii26]

Walking in Spamton's Shoes: Chapter 7 (END)

Sniff sniff sniff sniff…

“Mmmmrggghhh…” Click groaned, trying to open his eyes. “...Uuurghhh…”

His head throbbed from the double impact he had happened to him last night in the darkness. He could barely even remember what occurred after his bout of steam blowing; it was such a blur. And now having a bit of a head injury didn’t make the remembering any easier to do. All he could recall was trying to get back to the dumpster he was staying in during the thunderstorm, and then it all went to black. So if that was the case, where was he now? Was he still in the alleyway? It certainly didn’t sound like the streets, in fact, it was pretty quiet, only the sound of the occasional fly buzzing around the room. As well as-

Sniff sniff sniff…

“...Huh?” Click mumbled, his eyes finally fluttering open. “What the-”

“-Aaaghhh!” Click yelped, his body jolting up upon seeing an unusual creature staring at him in the darkness.

“Wrrorrf!” The creature woofed, jumping back and raising its behind in a playful bow.

He crawled backwards until he hit a wall, shaking from the sudden rush of adrenaline. His breath quickened as his mind flooded into a fight or flight mode, unsure of what this creature was or how to handle getting away from it. Was it going to attack him? Eat him!? He could only see its silhouette from a ceiling light in the darkness, it had long pointed ears and a lot of shaggy fur… Was it a Werewire? If it was, it was definitely on the shorter side. He didn’t have anything in his inventory besides his lighter to use as a weapon, and without hair spray, the flame wouldn’t exactly reach far enough to do any damage to them if need be. Maybe this creature wasn’t going to attack since it hasn’t so far, it could just be a pushover and be scared of the fire in his hand. He quickly grabbed the lighter from the floor and flicked it on, holding it out towards the creature. It immediately took notice of the new light and tilted its head in curiosity, slowly lumbering towards him.

“S-Stay back!” Click shouted. “D-Don’t touch me!”

It grew closer, sniffing the smoke in the air that was coming from the lighter. Click squinted his eyes and tried his best to see what this creature was before he would try to slip away from it if it got too close. He could now see the creature had quite the long nose like an Addison, and it appeared to be…

Wearing a red flannel?

. . .

“Wait… W-Who are you?” Click confusingly asked, completely taken aback by the unusual detail.

The creature approached, finally lit up by the light from Click’s lighter.

“Wrrorrf!” The creature barked, happily panting in Click’s face.

. . .

LOUIE!?

. . .

“L-Louie!?” Click gasped. “Wh-What? H-How? How are you here!?”

“Rrruuufff!” Louie bellowed, jumping around in excitement upon hearing his name.

Click was baffled, Louie had somehow found him outside in the rain and brought him to safety! He looked down to see most of his inventory had been brought along with him, which included his mover blanket, and the dented can of food. At first, he was quite happy to see some sort of a familiar face again, but then the information from what he remembered about Louie came rushing back. He shouldn’t have been able to get out of that hostel, he had a firewall installed into his code. Did he manage to break through the code? But where would they have placed it? It was then that Click noticed a small trail of blood on the floor where the ceiling light beamed down, and it led towards where the two of them were sitting. Click got up and stepped over to the beam of light, and Louie followed behind him. Once Louie was visible in the light, the problem showed itself. His left paw had a deep hole on his backhand, and it was leaking quite severely. They must’ve put his firewall code in a physical chip so they didn’t have to interfere with his corrupted data, and he managed to figure out where it was located.

“Oh shit Louie, y-you’re really bleeding…” Click inhaled sharply. “L-Let’s get that wrapped up, okay?”

Louie didn’t answer, he just carried on following behind him, pausing every now and then to lick the open wound.

“H-Hey, don’t lick that.” Click ordered, picking up his mover blanket and removing some of the inner lining. “You’re going to make it worse. Here, let me handle it.”

Click bent down and held out his hand for Louie to take. At first, Louie didn’t seem to understand what Click wanted, but eventually got the message, and presented his wounded paw. Click proceeded to use the inner lining of his mover blanket as gauze and wrapping, making sure to keep it tight enough that it wouldn’t unfurl, but not too tight to where it would be uncomfortable for him. Immediately Louie expressed his dislike for the itchy material wrapped around his paw, and he tried to shake it off.

“Leave it on, that’s what’s stopping the bleeding.” Click warned him, then bent down to his level. “...I don’t understand why you’re here, why did you leave your home to find me? Did something bad happen at your home?”

“Grrooowrrff…” Louie grunted, scratching the back of his ear with his leg.

“Well, that’s not an answer…” Click sighed, forgetting that he was trying to ask questions to a literal Werewire Addison hybrid. “...Whatever, I’m sure we’ll figure out the reason once we walk out of…”

It occurred to Click that he still had absolutely no idea where the two of them were, only that the room they were in was dark with one beam of light from the ceiling, and what appeared to be a knocked over bedside table hidden in the shadows. He was curious about why that beam of light was the only light working, and how it didn’t light up the rest of the room at all, so he picked up everything he owned and stepped closer. Louie seemed to be eyeing something next to the table, bearing his teeth at whatever the object was.

“What is it?” Click wondered, stepping in front of him to see what he was staring at.

He bent down and picked up a black cord that was connected to a broken off rotary phone, the base shattered into pieces, presumably by Louie. It was difficult to hear, but there was a very faint hum of a busy phone signal coming through the receiver piece. Click assumed it was probably just a noise Louie wasn’t too fond of, he did have much larger ears than he did, and left the questioning at that. He dropped the cord and continued to step forward into the darkness, eventually discovering another room with more light in it. Louie hopped alongside Click, now content with his company. Click frowned when he looked back at Louie; it was a little weird to see something that was once an Addison reduced to such an animal-like state, sad, yet a bit endearing. At least his old self wasn’t completely gone, he maintained enough of an Addison look to probably not scare anyone away, especially if he was affectionate towards them. It was a puzzling situation for sure, but Louie seemed to be happy where he currently was. Part of him wanted to help Louie return to his former self when his homeless ordeal was over, but something else was troubled with that thought. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea for his coding to be reworked on by an Ambyu-lance; he might lose more than what he still had left.

Click dropped that deep thought and entered the next room with Louie. A brick wall with an opening on the right side lined the connections between the two rooms, they were painted a nice light blue. A desk was parallel to the brick wall, and inside the drawers seemed to be a few glitching artifacts with no real use to Click. He let the inventory inside the desk remain, continuing to observe the details of the room. There appeared to be some kind of yellow flower and piles of flying circles painted on the sky blue brick wall, much to Click’s confusion. He wasn’t sure who would draw flying flowers and circles, perhaps it was metaphorical? Louie didn’t seem amused by it either, he was busy sniffing Click’s back end.

“Would you stop that?” Click scolded him, swatting him away. “I forgot how little you remember about what personal space is…”

Click noticed the desk had a knocked over stool underneath it, and he fixed it back up so he could sit down. He took out his inventory and placed them in a line on the desk; the mover blanket, the lighter, the dented can, and…

Oh, his socks were left back in the dumpster, Louie must’ve assumed that they weren’t worth going back for, and only brought him what they thought would be needed most; warmth and food. But the ‘food’ wouldn’t be of use to him if he couldn’t get it open, which he had already attempted multiple times and failed at. Click sighed, putting away his inventory except for the can. But the moment he took his hands away from the can, Louie leaned over and snatched it off the table.

“H-Hey, that’s mine!” Click yelled. “Gimme that-”

Crick! Crack! POP!

With one swift clamped bite, Louie managed to finally break the can open, and he laid down, beginning to lick the juices that were pouring out of it.

“-The fuck, you got it open!?” Click was gobsmacked. “Holy shit! O-Okay, gimme the can-” “Rrrrrrrrr…” Louie growled, the hairs on his neck stiffened as he cradled the can between his paws.

“Wh-hey! Don’t growl at me!” Click confronted him. “Drop it, now!”

He was about to reach for the can, but-

SNAP!

Louie quickly stopped him in his tracks with a snap of his teeth in his direction. Click retracted his hand, not expecting such a violent reaction from Louie over a can. Despite how starving he felt, it wasn’t worth losing his hand to a Werewire hybrid’s bite, so he scooted back and let Louie have the mystery contents of the can. Click’s stomach disapproved with his decision and let out a long, empty, and hollow rumble that echoed throughout the room. He miserably sighed and rubbed his belly, trying not to watch Louie eating the rest of his food. It was then that Louie’s ears flickered, he looked over at Click for a couple moments, and then began to gnaw at the can, slowly prying it into roughly two equal parts, the mystery contents settling inside both of them slightly equally. He nudged one half away from the desk and laid down facing away from him, continuing to lick the juices that spilled out onto his paws. Click didn’t know what to make of this random unusual behavior, did Louie just like to gnaw on objects, or was he… offering to share? He didn’t want to just a minute ago, what’s to say this wasn’t a trap?…

Guurrruurgglll…

But Click couldn’t take the hunger any longer; at this point, if it was a trap and his arm was going to be bitten, then he was going to risk it for at least one sip. He hesitantly reached for the can half closer to him, keeping watch to make sure Louie didn’t turn around. Once his hand made contact with the metal, he swiped the can half up to the desk, and he flinched, expecting Louie to turn and bite. But to his surprise, he was left to his own devices, and allowed to eat along with him! He wasted no time slurping down the mystery canned food that Louie had left for him, making sure to lick the inside rim of the can to get all the little bits out. God, It tasted like heavenly sweetness, starch, and butter, so silky and luscious. He was a bit heartbroken when he had finished it all, but was so grateful that Louie was there to lend him a hand and keep him somewhat safe from the dangers of wherever the two were.

That was a good question to answer next, where were they anyway?

With his hunger taken care of and Louie content with entertaining himself with his can half, Click stood up and scanned the room for some kind of exit. As far as he could tell, wherever they were inside only consisted of those two rooms, almost like this was someone’s temporary dwelling, long enough to give at least one of the walls a paint job. Were they in some kind of abandoned small apartment? It certainly didn’t smell like it, or perhaps the stench was just emanating from Click’s trash stained clothes or Louie’s body odor…

…Nope, definitely all three stunk.

The smell was beginning to overwhelm him, so once he located the exit of the painted desk room, he opened the door and peeked outside, cautious about barging right through it in case there was someone unwanted nearby. But to his surprise, they weren’t in an abandoned apartment complex. In fact, something felt slightly familiar out here, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Once he determined the coast was clear, he pushed the door all the way open and stepped outside, Louie nudging his way past Click and strolling into the open to play with his can half.

Upon first glance, he noticed the door he had just exited from had a path that led to another area, and the path was lined with several broken down vehicles. They weren’t the typical cars with legs that roamed the city’s highways and most Addisons rode, they seemed to be a completely manual stick shift, the one inside would control by themselves where the vehicle would go. It wasn’t a common way to drive, let alone learn how to actually drive it, only very rich Addisons really got to drive around their own vehicles and compete on the streets with the cars with legs. It was almost a little disappointing that such an expensive and complicated line of cars would end up trashed in a place like this. Click would’ve loved to learn how to drive one and take it for a joy ride. He walked right up to one of them and ran his hand across the hood, the trash dust that had settled on top long ago now clung to the fuzz on his hand. They had been there for so long, they were beginning to become buried and forgotten, just like Spamton was before they found him…

Another detail about the area Click noticed was that the boxes of deleted files were lined up like a makeshift fence, separating the small building from the walls of the maze of latticed wooden beams that held up some kind of road or structure about them. The discarded litter in the area was compacted to surround the small building in a way it looked like it created a protective layer from the elements. Dozens of caution signs and circle-backslash symbols detailed the outside, giving the appearance of artificial decorations one would see on a fancy bird’s nest near an unkempt park. Whoever lived here sure knew how to keep themselves entertained with the upkeep, or at minimum maintained it to prevent further insanity, the area was insane enough on its own. He concluded with the amount of spam emails, deleted files, and miscellaneous junk scattered everywhere, they were in some part of the Trash Zone, not too far from the edge of Cyber City. His apartment complex that he shared with his Addison coworkers when they needed to travel together was decently close by, so he figured the walk back to retrieve his wallet and keys from Banner wouldn’t be too strenuous.

That is, if he could remember the path to take back home, there were quite a few highways the two of them would have to pass to get away from the Trash Zone, and hopefully not take the wrong turn, the area was a bit of a maze if you didn’t know where you were heading, and stray dogs in cars were reported to be driving haphazardly down dead ends last week. He didn’t exactly have a map anymore to confirm they would be heading in the correct direction, it had disintegrated from the acid pond he swam through two days ago. Louie seemed to have finished playing with his can half and trotted back to Click, eyeing him with curiosity like he was waiting for Click to make the next call on what the two would do next.

“...Why are you looking at me like that?” Click questioned him. “I have no idea where to go with you from here… Well, besides home I suppose… But, I have no idea where YOUR home even is, or MY home for that matter… Welp, any start is better than standing here, let’s go.”

Making his way down the path lined by the broken cars, the pair came across an opening in the latticed wooden beams, which lead to the main area of the Trash Zone. It seemed the little building Louie had dragged him to was secluded in a secret area of the Trash Zone where most wouldn’t be able to find whoever used to live there. Click stepped through the beams and covered his face from the incoming sunrise, it must’ve been early in the morning right after the storm ended, the streets were covered in several puddles, trash bags and a dense fog that hung low to the ground. The path turned to their left, with no other option of direction, they decided to follow it, observing the glitched pop up windows that lined the air around them. Click could just about see his reflection in one they passed by, he barely recognized himself. Louie didn’t seem bothered by his appearance, not even noticing his own reflection and instead sniffed the path they walked along.

. . .

GRRRRR… The two of them froze in place when a sudden spark of electricity in the fog tickled their faces.

“Tell me that was your stomach…” Click nervously asked Louie for reassurance, but got no answer from him.

GRRRRRRRRR…

The deleted file boxes on either side of them began to shuffle and spread apart.

‘I-It couldn’t be… N-No!’ Click’s mind raced as he tried to find any way to deny what was approaching them.

But then, he slowly realized the surrounding air began to reek of ozone, which meant only one thing...

. . .

WEREWIRES!? HERE!?!?

Through the spaces between the deleted file boxes emerged an aggravated pack of Werewires, half on Click’s side, and half on Louie’s side. There were several of them- no, worse; a dozen of them lined up! There was even an alpha Werewerewire among them, it not only towered Click and Louie, but the other Werewires as well. The plugs on their faces pulsed with various neon colors with each snarl that came out of their hidden mouths. All of them were sharpening their claws, stepping ever so slowly towards the pair, the ones on the ends of the lineup moving quicker to the sides to enclose them inside their pack circle. Click and Louie got closer to each other to be back to back, not wanting to take their eyes off of any of them in case one decided to hide and ambush them during a brawl. They were outnumbered twelve to two, even if Louie could FIGHT more than one at a time, there was no way either of them were going to survive one encounter after another after another without healing items or an energy drink deterrent to get away from them all. Werewires had incredible range thanks to their freakishly long arms and could easily shoot down enemies with their bullet and laser attacks from far away, the two of them were trapped.

. . .

‘I-Is this how I die!?...’ Click thought while whimpering.

. . .

“RRRrrrrr…” Louie growled, the fur on the back of his neck standing up straight.

Click turned to him in shock.

“Y-You seriously can’t believe we can take ALL of them on! Are you mad!?” he shouted, trying to keep an eye on every single one of them.

“RRRAAAWWWRRR!”

It was then that Louie suddenly chose to make the first move and lunged for the neck of one of the Werewires, and the FIGHT between them all began. The Werewire pack wasted no time and quickly focused on Louie, pushing Click out of the way and baring their claws, going in for the attack. They worked like cogs, taking turns to slash and swipe him without mercy, the Werewerewire keeping watch to make sure things were going well with the attack. Click was horrified that Louie was making such a sacrifice to defend them, he didn’t deserve to be beaten senseless for trying to save Click. Despite being completely bombarded and outnumbered, Louie kept up the fight, returning slashes with bites to some of their fluffy necks, and managing to dodge a couple of laser attacks. He kept a few from advancing further into their attack, but wasn’t able to escape unscathed, their claws were ruthless. He was bleeding quite heavily from the slash wounds to his sides and received a black eye from a stray bullet striking his face, but the pain wasn’t stopping him.

After a few minutes of the FIGHT, half of the Werewires grew tired and scampered back a bit, giving Louie a chance to get ahead of the assault and drive more of them away. However, the alpha Werewerewire’s attention was suddenly drawn from keeping Louie in check, to Click cowering in the corner, and began to float towards him.

“-Oh shit!” Click screamed, stumbling to get up and take off. “ No no no no no no no!”

RRROOOOAAARRR!

Click had only made it a few steps before unfortunately tripping on an error message sticking out from the ground, and tumbled forward, rolling a few times before coming to a stop. He flipped himself onto his back just as the Werewerewire caught up to him, he raised a fist to try and strike the beast. The Werewerewire quickly saw Click’s attempt to attack, and pinned his arm down, and then pinned the other when he tried to throw a second punch. Click couldn’t fight the sheer strength of the alpha, he couldn’t even manage to kick their behind since they were too tall to reach. He watched in horror as a teeth filled mandible appeared from underneath its pointed plug, dripping hot and slimy saliva as it slowly descended towards his neck.

It was about to BITE him! AND CORRUPT HIM INTO A WEREWIRE!!!

“NOOOOO!” Click cried out, legs desperately trying to kick the beast off of him.

He felt their teeth just about graze his neck…

. . .

“RRRAAAWWWRRRR!” Louie ran up from behind the Werewerewire and tackled it from behind, managing to pull them off of Click. He clamped his teeth down hard into the beast’s neck and tightened his arms and legs to try and restrict the Werewerewire’s movements long enough for Click to crawl away. He was weakened from the fight with the main pack, so it wasn’t long before the Werewerewire broke free of his grip. It was one on one now, but it was still an unfair advantage as Louie was injured and exhausted from the first fight and the beast was still at full health. The FIGHT began again as the two of them lunged at each other, exchanging slashes and swipes.

But this FIGHT wasn’t as long as before…

The Werewerewire easily evaded most of Louie’s attacks and took advantage of his previous wounds, slashing specifically at those areas again to slow him down. Once Louie was reduced to only being able to crawl, it soon performed the same restriction of movement as it did to Click, pinning his arms and body down to hold him still. It didn’t take its time and immediately went in for the bite, sinking its teeth straight into Louie’s throat.

“AAAAAAHHHWWOOOOO!!!” Louie screamed in agony as his legs flailed from the extreme pain.

“LOUIE NOOOOO!!!” Click shouted, pulling the error message that tripped him from the ground and chucked it at the Werewerewire’s head. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!”

Click managed to nail the Werewerewire with the error message right in the head, knocking their face away from Louie’s neck and causing it to stumble backwards. In the distance, there were sounds of approaching sirens of Ambyu-lances, did someone nearby call for an emergency? The Werewerewire shook its head to stave off the sudden dizziness it felt from the blow. It turned to the direction of the siren noises and slowly decided that the FIGHT was finished. It softly floated off the ground and confidently turned away from the two of them and followed the trail that the Werewires left behind, effectively choosing not to run nor spare them, but ending the FIGHT on its own terms. Once the Werewerewire disappeared into the Trash Zone darkness, Click shuffled over to Louie in a panic, unsure of whether or not he had even survived the FIGHT.

“Louie, are you okay!?” Click shouted, giving Louie a shake. “Say something- or, do something!”

. . .

“RRRrrrrr…” Louie softly growled under his hitched breath.

“Oh thank god you’re not dead…” Click sighed in relief. “...W-We need to get you to where that Amybu-lance siren is coming from, they’ll fix you up and-” SNAP!

“-Whoa!” Click yelped, pulling his hand back when Louie tried to bite him. “L-Louie?...”

. . .

“GRRRRRR…” Louie snarled and began twitching violently.

“Louie, w-what’s happening to you!?” Click stuttered, shuffling back.

It was then that Louie started to foam at the mouth, his fingers contorting and sharpening into points. His limbs cracked and bent in many different directions, lengthening with each jerking motion that he forcefully had to endure. His body violently glitched and spasmed, he screamed in agony as his body was going through a new corruption. The colors on his ears darkened from pink and yellow to purple and light blue, along with his hands and feet. The teeth in his mouth doubled and sharpened, the foam turning from an opaque white to a slimy green. Eventually, Louie stopped glitching and collapsed motionless onto the floor. Everything changing about him looked like…

“...L-Louie?” Click whispered, slowly leaning toward him. “...A-Are you-” GGRRRAAWWWRRRRLLL!!!

“AAAAAGGHHHHHH!” Click screamed, pulling himself backwards. “LOUIE!”

Louie rose up from the ground, now double the height of what he used to be. He bared his teeth at Click, saliva dripping onto the floor, it looked like a dark green fleshy meat grinder ready to tear him apart. He sharpened his claws, taking a few steps towards his ‘friend’. Click trembled in fear, in shock from his horrific appearance.

…It’s like Louie was completely gone after that attack, he was no longer there, and instead stood a monster in his place…

Louie lunged for Click, running on all fours to reach him quickly. He didn’t even have a chance to get away from him, being pinned down again immediately. Hot, dark green, and slimy drool dripped down onto Click’s face as he stared at his neck, Louie’s eyes were lifeless, cold, empty, and hungering for a bite. Click shut his eyes, not wanting to witness his inevitable demise…

.

.

.

BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG BANG!!!

.

.

.

Click suddenly felt the weight of Louie collapse onto his chest, he peeked one eye open, only to find Louie was bleeding heavily from his head. He quickly sat up and looked around to see what had caused him to bleed…

“...H-Hello!?” Click stuttered. “L-Louie… W-Who are you!?” It was then from around the corner, a familiar face appeared… Abigail, the Addison who ran the hostel that Louie had stayed in… She was holding a shotgun in her hands…

“...I’m… so sorry Louie…” she sniffly apologized, stepping up to the two of them and kneeling down to pet Louie’s fur. “...I wish we could have protected you better…”

“M-Miss Abigail?” Click confusingly asked. “L-Louie, he’s-” “...Gone...He ran away from the hostel two days ago, we found the firewall chip we installed in his hand on his bed…”  Abigail answered, holding back some tears. “...We knew those Werewires who changed him would find him again, infect him more, and take him… away from us… It’s… not your fault, this was something we knew would happen one day if we didn’t do more to protect him… but… We didn’t know he had planned to protect you from them…” . . .

Louie, he sacrificed himself for Click to live…

. . .

Others began to arrive where the two of them were, a group of Ambyu-lances who’s sirens warded away the Werewires, Swatch with a team of Swatchling police, Click’s Addison coworkers, and…

Spamton…

“Click, is that you!?” Banner yelled from across the way. “Oh my god, you’re alive!”

Click jolted from the sudden hug Banner gave them when they ran up to him, along with a few back pats from Vid and Survey. “Holy shit Click, we thought you were going to get eaten up by those Werewires!” Vid told Click. “You didn’t get bit, did you!?” “N-No, I-I’m okay…” Click reassured them. “Louie- uhh, this guy, saved my life… I uhh, met him a few days ago in a hostel run by her… But, he got… infected…” “...And I had no choice but to put him down... Left to roam, Louie would’ve gone on to infect more innocent Darkners and Addisons like yourself…” Abigail explained, sniffling and holding Louie’s paw. “...But, at least he got to help one more person again…”

The four of them knelt down to be silent with Abigail, if for just a moment…

“I’m… So sorry for your loss, ma’am…” Survey comforted her. “If there’s anything we can do to help you-” “No, that’s alright...” she answered, cutting Survey off and lifting Louie’s arm up into her own arms. “...I will take it from here, and prepare him a proper funeral at the hostel…”

“...If you’re sure…” Survey nodded. “...We’ll be sure to come by and pay our respects this week when we can…”

. . .

Spamton stepped forward to face Click, despite wearing his DEALMAKER glasses, Click could tell that even Spamton was worried about their safety. They both paused for a few seconds before slowly embracing each other in a hug. It was then that Spamton began to silently cry, Click realized and they held each other close.

“...I’m so sorry Spamton… I was such an asshole to you in your most vulnerable time of need…” Click apologized. “...What I did was selfish and cruel, you… didn’t deserve that garbage from me…”

. . .

“... I [FORGIVE AND FORGET] you, [CLICK HERE!]... I’m just [HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY] that you’re [ALIVE AND KICKING] and [WELL DONE]...” Spamton sobbed in Click’s arms.

Click was so relieved that Spamton actually cared about him…

. . .

“Will you four be alright taking Click home?” Swatch asked the group. “My colleagues and I can arrange a ride back home for you all if you wish.” “Y-Yeah, that would be great, Swatch, thank you.” Banner accepted. “It’ll be the safest way home for all of us, especially Click.” “Very well, it’ll just be a moment.” Swatch bowed, then ordered the Swatchlings to hail a cab with legs for them.

The four of them all helped Click to stand up then escorted him into the cab once it arrived. Swatch closed the door after everyone settled in and buckled up, waving goodbye for now to them, and then walking over to Abigail to assist her in transporting Louie back to the hostel. Click immediately felt so warm inside the cab, something he hasn’t felt in days, he lowered his head, exhausted. His mind began to disassociate from his environment now that he didn’t have to remain in fight or flight mode, which caused the voices around him to muffle.

“Click, you gotta tell us what happened to you out there!” Vid pointed out. “You almost died, man!”

“Vid, give Click some space.” Banner warned him, tears in their eyes. “He’s been through too much, and… It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have done that, this could’ve turned out so much worse…”

“No, don’t blame yourself, Banner.” Survey comforted them. “This isn’t anybody’s fault, but… I don’t think it’s our place to be putting blame on what happened. It’s between Click and Spamton afterall…”

“...You’re right, Survey.” Banner sniffled, wiping away their tears. “Spamton… You and Click should have the main talk when we get back home.” “Very well, [BLUEBIRD].” Spamton nodded, turning to Click. “I’ll prepare the [VERDICT] while we’re [GO HOMETEAM]. [CLICK HERE!], clean up [FIRST AND FOREMOST], then we’ll [WALKIE TALKIE $16.99] in the [ALIVE AND WELL] room.”

. . .

“Click, you there?” Banner nudged Click’s shoulder.

“-Huh, what?...” Click responded, snapping out of his disassociation. “...Oh, y-yeah, sure…”

“Hrmm, he must still be in shock…” Vid mumbled to Survey.

“Not now, Vid…” Survey rolled their eyes. “Let’s just get him comfortable again, that’s the first step.”

- - -

Their cab ride finally arrived at their apartment complex, and the five of them stepped out, two of them supporting Click by his arms to help him back inside. Banner opened the door to let them all in, using Click’s keys to do so. They gripped the keys tightly, the guilt of what they did a week ago still looming over their head. They hoped Click wasn’t too furious at them for kicking him out of his apartment, especially since it almost cost him his life. They followed at the end of the group line and closed the door behind them all. Survey opened their shared apartment door and they stepped in one at a time, Click and those holding him first, then Spamton, and finally Banner.

“Alright bud, you need to get out of your clothes and get in the shower.” Survey instructed Click, letting him go once he had his balance. “I don’t think those clothes are going to be salvageable, so just put on some pajamas for now.”

“Y’know, I expected you to be a bit more muddy than you are...” Vid teased, tugging on Click’s sleeve.

“Vid, shut it, not now…” Survey growled under their breath. “We’ll prepare something for you to eat when you finish cleaning up.”

Click nodded, shuffling towards the bathroom and unbuttoning whatever buttons hadn’t fallen off of his shirt. Slipping off his pants and boxers, it was then he realized just how little remained on him after just one week; just three parts of an outfit, he lost his watch, his shoes, his socks… How much did Spamton lose over the years? When they first found him in the dumpster, he only had on a dusty sweater, a torn up overcoat, muddy slacks, and a pair of aged sneakers. None of them remembered Spamton having an outfit like that before or after his time in the spotlight, must’ve been an outfit he salvaged overtime. As he turned on the hot water and stepped in, he couldn’t help but imagine awful scenarios Spamton might’ve gone through in the past twenty years. If Click ran into a Werewire pack once during his time, how many times did Spamton run into them? How many Poppups? Virovirokuns? God, how many Ambyu-lances tried to delete him!?...

. . .

Click barely even went through a fraction of monster attacks than what Spamton went through…

. . .

Once he finished cleaning off all of the dirt and debris out of his fur, he took out all of the knots in his hair, the last of the hairs pulled out from his near-death experience with the train flowing down the drain. How much hair did Spamton lose over two decades? It’s certainly thinner than what they all remembered when they used to style each other’s hair at Banner’s friend’s hair salon. Click used to style Banner’s, Survey did Vid’s, vice versa, and Banner’s friend did Spamton’s since he had sensitivity issues and didn’t trust many to touch his hair. He probably hadn’t had his hair styled at all the entire time he was homeless, Click felt his heart drop at that thought. It was then that he realized that he had been standing in the shower with his thoughts for almost half an hour. He didn’t want to leave the soothing warmth, he had only just gotten it back, but his feet were killing him and he wanted to sit down. He turned the water off and dried himself off once he stepped out. He noticed a pair of his pajamas were laid out for him on his bed, probably by Survey, and he slipped into them once he was dry enough. He missed the silky feeling of those pajamas so much, he felt a tear beginning to develop in his eye. He sat on the bed for a moment, his head facing the floor. He felt his heart sink to his feet, because now that he was clean, it was time to talk with the group. How could he possibly face Spamton after everything he had said to him? After everything he had done to him? There was no way he was really serious about accepting his earlier apology.

. . .

“Hey Click, are you decent in there?” Survey asked, knocking on their door and peeking in. “We’ve made you some spaghetti code, you should eat some before it gets cold.”

“-Wha?... Oh, sure just, gimme a moment…” Click nodded, keeping his head down.

“Alright, we’ll be out here when you’re ready.” Survey told him, slowly shutting the door.

Spaghetti code, that was Spamton’s favorite at the Cyber Grill. He loved their recipe so much that Banner managed to replicate it enough for him at home to stop him from going there every time he wanted it. After everything Click had gone through today, he was in no mood to eat, but the nauseous and empty feeling building in his stomach said otherwise. Man, how much sickness did Spamton go through while he lived out there?... Click knew dwelling on it anymore was going to make it impossible for him to talk about it, so he shook the thought out of his mind and left the bedroom.

He entered the living room where the gang was sitting on their usual spots on the couches, all with their own bowl of spaghetti code. Spamton was still stuffing it down his gullet like he hadn’t eaten in days, except the reality was almost the complete opposite for the two of them. Click sat down between Spamton and Banner, a plate of his own spaghetti code was placed in his lap by Survey before they also sat down to join them all. The smell made Click want to throw up, it was so savory yet overpowering. His body craved the energy, yet revolted against eating until his guilty feeling was gone. If he was going to earn his freedom from this awful emotion, he was going to have to talk to all of them…

“...Click, who do you want to talk to first?” Banner piped up. “It’s up to you, take your time…”

“...I think… I should start with you, Banner…” Click decided. “...I’m… relieved to be home, but… it feels like I don’t deserve to be back here after everything I did… I thought you guys didn’t want anything to do with me this week…”

“Oh Click, I wanted you back home the minute you left…” Banner confessed. “I was so scared that something terrible was going to happen to you, I tried to keep at least one eye on your whereabouts everyday, but then, we hadn’t heard from you after you left the Color Cafe, we thought… we thought you were…”

It was then that Banner broke down into tears, crying into Survey’s shoulders. Fuck, he didn’t want them to feel responsible for his punishment, he got what he deserved, it was just they were the one to enforce it.

“Banner please, don’t do this to yourself…” Click reassured them. “I think… you did the right thing, because it’s true… I don’t know what Spamton had gone through…”

Click gave Banner a pat on their leg.

“I’m not dead, I’m still here, and I’m not mad, in fact… I agree with what you did… It… opened my eyes to my own hubris…”

Click then turned to Vid after taking a bite of his spaghetti code.

“What happened to you after you left the Queen's mansion?” Vid wondered. “Swatch told us you snuck in there and he set you up in a hotel, we hadn’t heard any other updates about you since then.”

“...Well, I uhh…” Click hesitated. “...I ended up in jail-”

“YOU [SAY WHAT!?]” Spamton shouted. “The [TWEETS] locked you [UPSIDE DOWN]!?”

“Y-Yeah, I was arrested for resisting arrest and theft, so they took all the money I had earned at the time…” Click explained. “And then, I had to train hop in order to escape some thugs and get myself over to where my work was…” “You train hopped to work? Why were you trying to go there?” Survey questioned. “Banner made it so you didn’t have to work that week.”

“Well, I tried to see if I could get my paycheck from last week’s work in check form so I could use it for the last couple days…” Click mentioned. “But… I was too late, and I had nowhere else to go but to take shelter from the rain in…”

He shuddered.

“...A dumpster.”

“HAAHAEHEEHAEHAHAE!” Spamton chuckled. “Just like [YE OLDEN TIMES]! Did you [LIKE SHARE SUBSCRIBE] it in there!?”

“Spamton…” Banner mumbled peeking out from Survey’s shoulders. “Don’t laugh at his… N-Nevermind, you did that a lot yourself…”

“N-No, it just made me realize more and more just how horrible you must’ve felt out there, cold, hungry, and alone…” Click admitted. “And then when I saw that my body changed, I got so furious at you all that I took it out on anything around me, which led to karma knocking me out…”

“And that’s when those Werewires came in?” Vid pointed out.

“Not exactly… I ran into someone else first.” Click clarified.

“That [DOG MAN] Were-[MR. HYDE] thing?” Spamton asked.

“Y-Yeah, that was Louie…” Click recounted. “He was, a nice guy before his first run-in with those Werewires… But then he changed, and that Abigail and everyone in that hostel were taking care of him… He left his home to make sure I was safe… and then…”

Click sniffled a bit.

“It happened…”

. . .

“And then Swatch told us his police team got a call about a FIGHT that broke out between something and those Werewires.” Banner recalled. “The Ambyu-lances were dispatched there to take care of the problem, but I guess she took care of the problem before we could all get there…”

. . .

“...I don’t even know where to begin making it up to Abigail for her loss.” Click shook his head. “It was my fault he knew about me in the first place and felt like he needed to protect me… He’d still be alive if I hadn’t entered that hostel…”

. . .

“...Well, we did tell her we’d visit another day to pay our respects at his memorial.” Survey proposed. “You can start there, I guess…”

“And you can [READY SET GO] by letting us [KNOWLEDGE] if you’ve learned your [LESSON LEARNED]!” Spamton butted in. “Do you [NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC] know how [DIFFICULTY LEVEL SELECT] it was for [ME ME ME] to [LIVE ON TV] out there!?”

“I suppose that’s a good question, Spamton.” Survey confirmed. “...Did you learn your lesson, Click?”

He thought about it for a moment…

.

.

.

“...No…”

“...W-What? N-No!? What do you mean!?” Vid asked in disbelief. “B-But you must’ve, you just went through a week of hell!”

“...That’s the point, Vid…” Click sighed. “...I only went through a WEEK of homelessness… Spamton went through twenty YEARS of it…”

. . .

“From the very get-go, I knew that I was only going to be going through this punishment for a short amount of time… Spamton never knew where the end to his torment was every single day…

Right at the start, I managed to make enough money to stay at a motel with the sale of my watch… Spamton wouldn’t have had anything nice enough out there to make that many Dark Dollars for that kind of luxury…

I was given permission to stay at that hostel even though I shouldn’t have since I made too many sales, but they let me in anyway… Spamton probably never got privilege like that, maybe even worse since he’s considered a higher class of color than I am…

I managed not to get kicked out of the Queen’s mansion, and Swatch gave me a hand with something to eat and a night at another hotel… Spamton would’ve been deleted had he stepped anywhere close to that mansion…

I only stayed in jail for a few hours… Spamton must’ve been arrested so many times out there for who knows how long…

I managed to ride the trains without getting killed by some monster or the train itself… I have no idea how many close calls Spamton must’ve had if he also rode the trains to get around different places…

I don’t think I ever went a day without food, sure I was starving, but… Not like Spamton did, I have no idea how many days he went without a single bite to eat over and over again for decades…

I didn’t lose that many clothes, I didn’t have to sleep in the garbage every night, I didn’t receive any marks on my criminal record, so much I didn’t experience… Because I was privileged… and Spamton wasn’t… I’ll never really know what Spamton truly went through… I don’t think I can say that I really learned my lesson because of that… Our experiences were not the same, and I don’t deserve to claim that I went through the same thing…”

. . .

“Click…” Banner hung their head down. “...I…You’re… You’re right… You didn’t exactly go through what Spamton went through-”

“But you certainly [ENTERTAINMENT] me with your [BEDTIME STORIES], Click! You may haven’t [GONE WITH THE WIND] through [EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING] I had to [ENDURE], but you sure did [FIGHT] your way [INSIDE AND OUTSIDE] of it!” Spamton encouraged, giving him a pat on the back. “I [FORGIVE] what you said to [MOI] a [WEEKND] ago!”

…So he really was forgiving him.

“Spamton, are you sure you’re forgiving Click just like that?” Vid confronted him. “He just said that he-”

“Yes, I [ACCEPT] his [TURMOIL], under one [TERMS AND CONDITIONS]!” Spamton proposed, holding out his hand towards Click.

“...Y-You would?” Click confusingly replied. “...What’s the condition?” “You take your [PINKY TOE] keister down to that [ANIMAL SHELTER] tomorrow and [SIGN HERE] to [GENEROSITY] some of your [KROMER] to that [HOCHI MAMA] every month! Make sure those [LITTLE SPONGES] don’t go [FAMINE] in honor of that [BARK BARK BARK]!” Spamton relayed out to Click. “Once that’s [DONE AND DUSTED], you [COME BACK] to me and [LET ME GO] slap you [IN YOUR FACE] really hard once! Then we’ll call it [EVEN AND ODD], okay?”

“...You just want me to donate to that hostel monthly?” Click repeated back to him. “...Well sure but- wait, what was that last-”

“Then you’ve got yourself [A DEAL’S A DEAL]!” Spamton shouted, taking Click’s hand and shook it. “Now let’s enjoy some [FAMILY FRIENDLY PROGRAMMING] on the [TEL AVIV], shall we!?”

“W-What? But I...If you say so…” Click huffed, taking another bite of his spaghetti code.

“Well, if you’re done talking to Click, Spamton… I guess we can take a break to let Click settle back home.” Banner nodded, picking up the TV remote. “But… I’m happy you two are going to work things out between each other…”

“Happy as a [HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS], Banner!” Spamton chuckled, leaning his head against Click.

And with that, the five of them turned their attention to the screen and watched the news together, eating their TV dinners like they used to many years ago. On the news was a story of the Werewire attack, with one dead and one injured reported on the scene. Down below the story title was a small phone number anyone could call to give a donation or sign up for a monthly donation to the hostel Click stayed at.

“You know [WHAT IN TARNATION] you can also do [CLICK CLACK MOO] to better [AYUDAME] at that hostel?” Spamton told Click, looking up at him.

“...What’s that, Spamton?” Click tilted his head, wondering what Spamton had on his mind.

. . .

“You can [UTILIZE] your [POWERPUFF] privilege to [SPREAD THE WORD] about that [NO TELL MOTEL], Addisons will listen to a [TERTIARY] like you, which means [MORE DESSERT] for that [ABBY HAYES]!” Spamton suggested. “It’s a [FIRST STEP] to get her to [LET GO] of the [FACTS] that you-”

. . .

Spamton’s glasses faded into static…

. . .

[killed her dog]...”

. . .

Click slowly backed away from him.

“I’ll uhh… Make sure to do that too…” Click mumbled, a bit unnerved about Spamton’s sudden guilt trip. “P-Please just, go back to watching the TV… I’ll sort everything out tomorrow…”

“...Very well, [CLICK HERE].” Spamton yawned, placing his plate down and cuddling closer to Click.

…Y’know, maybe just this once… he’ll let Spamton cuddle… It was… nice.

.

.

.

YOU GOT 237 EMAILS! “W-What?” Abigail stuttered as she checked her work email at the hostel’s office a week later. “Who would… Oh my god…”

. . .

Every. Single. Email, was a notification of a donation in honor of Louie’s memory and sacrifice, and each letter was signed by an anonymous organizer… The only signature provided on every donation was just the letter ‘C’. And when Abigail clicked on the link provided in each email, it led her to a website she had never seen before; A gateway to dozens of links that allowed those who wished to donate to any cause they chose, especially her business. She couldn’t help but silently break down in tears…

“...Thank you, Click…”

[shimii26]

PLUSH TOY GIVEAWAY!!! TWO WINNERS. TWO MEN.

GIVEAWAYYYYYYY ENDS JUNE 25TH (the same day preorders on ko-fi will open)!!! READ UNDER THE CUT FOR THE RULES!

One week until preorders open! I’m practically solidified with fear! But [[HERE’S YOUR CHANCE]] to get a free plushie of your choosing… willing we meet the minimums!

RULES:

1. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER PLATFORM, however you can get two entries if you share this on both instagram and tumblr. If I suspect you are using dupe accounts I’ll kick you, but there’s nothing against having your friends help.

2. You should be following me even though I get scared when I gain followers at a rapid rate. BE FOLLOWING @SWAGLIOSTRO

3. Share this to your story if using instagram (I must be able to see it) or reblog it (ONCE) on tumblr.

4. Celebrate your completing of this rule list by commenting “ENTERED”!!! Tumblr users must comment “ENTERED” on THIS POST, they cannot comment it in the tags of their reblog.

GIVEAWAY WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THE 25TH WITH THE OPENING OF PREORDERS!!! ONLY ONE OF EACH PLUSHIE WILL BE GIVEN, FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!!!

Secret Rule Number Five: Give Me A Dinosaur Toy Now And You Can Have A Treat.

[shimii26]

Deltarune Chapter 3 Spoilers Technically?

.

.

.

Spamton and Tenna eating each other for fun, idfk, I'm gonna crawl back into my deviant hole now... Deltarune characters belong to Toby Fox ^w^

[shimii26]

Walking in Spamton's Shoes: Chapter 6

CRRAACKK KOOWWWW! “Aaagghhh!” Click screamed, jolting out of his sleep and bumping his head on the lid of the dumpster. “Ahhh- fuck!...”

He moaned in pain as the hit spot on his head pulsed, giving it a quick rub to try and dull the pain. It was dark, really dark where he was. But where was he? What time was it? And why did it reek of old cheese and tasque litter? He shuffled around where he had been laying down, and the familiar texture of the wet plastic quickly alerted him to the answer.

He had SLEPT… IN A DUMPSTER!

“N-No! W-Why am I here!?” Click panicked, trying to feel his way out of there. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME!?”

He finally managed to lift the lid of the dumpster open and stood up, only to be showered by intense downpour of rain. It was almost pitch black outside, presumably still in the early morning of the next day. He figured he must’ve passed out for the whole day after his ordeal, but woke up halfway through the night from some loud noise. The street lights were so dim in the fog, he couldn’t make out any landmarks around him, which meant it would be impossible for him to navigate around town. But no way in hell was he going to stay in that dumpster anymore! He climbed out from the top and stepped into a puddle, his socks immediately getting soaked.

“-Fuck staying in that filth, I’m going to find an open diner and stay the night there-” CRRAAAACK BOOOOOOM!

The lightning struck a nearby pole to him, causing it to spark and spray exhaust into the air.

“AAAAHHHHH! NOPE!” Click shouted, and proceeded to climb back quickly into the dumpster.

It was too dangerous to walk around outside, he would be an easy target for lightning to attract towards him and strike the ground where he stood since he would be conductible enough after being soaked from the rain. He had no choice but to stay inside until the storm ceased, or atleast the thunder passed him. He shivered in the pile of trash bags, both from fear and the sudden drop in his temperature from being exposed to the rain. Click reached down and slipped his socks off, keeping them on might cause his feet to be vulnerable to an infection from whatever diseases lurked in this metal prison. He kept the rest of his clothes on, trying his best to adjust to the uncomfortable feeling they inflicted upon him. He crossed his arms, shaking violently, it was difficult for his body to produce any warmth.

He was going to need some help.

Opening up his inventory, he took out the torn up mover blanket and started to wrap himself in it. There were quite a few holes in it, but it was something dry, and something that could hold in enough heat for him to feel a little better. He pulled the edges tight in the front, keeping his head down to seal up the hole in the front of the blanket, and continued to shake. The movement eventually began to produce a bit of heat, and the water in his clothes soon adjusted to his body temperature. It wasn’t a perfect system, he could still feel some of the plastic from the trash bags poking in through the holes of the blanket, and the plastic was a terrible heat holding material. He lifted his head up and took some breaths, noticing he could just about see his breath in front of him. It must’ve been cold enough tonight to chill the air that came out of him quick enough to see it happen, which usually only occurred in the winter time.

‘H-H-How i-is it t-this c-c-cold t-tonight?...’ Click worried, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. ‘I-I can’t f-freeze i-in this t-temperature, r-right?...”

He managed to produce enough heat to bring his shaking down to a shiver, still quite cold from the downpour. There was still a lot of time left in the night, but after such a long sleep, there was no way he was going to get back to sleep easily. Plus, there were a lot of other issues hindering him from resting; the fact that he was in a literal dumpster, the rain hitting the lid of the dumpster was too loud, lightning kept striking randomly nearby, the cold, and of course…

He was starving…

Click held some tears back when the empty and painful feeling returned, he felt like he was cursed, the victim of a sick prank. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning, and had exerted most of his energy from train hopping and running. The only items he had to eat were the contents inside the dented can from the train, and the egg sandwich he had gotten for free five days ago. Not wanting to face the idea of trying to eat eggs, let alone eggs THAT old, he took out the dented can from his inventory and inspected the outside of it. There weren’t any severe creases in the metal, meaning it would take a lot of force to get the can to open. But what could he even use this time? No train wheels to run over the can, no can opener to remove the lid, he couldn’t even go outside to try and find something stronger to use than what he currently had; he was out of ideas. Frustrated with the never-ending struggle of hunger of his situation, he angrily slammed the can against the floor of the dumpster as hard as he could, which wasn’t really that hard to begin with, desperate to open it.

“-C’mon, dammit!... Break!… Open!” Click wailed, his voice beginning to crack. “Break, you stupid can!... Do it!... Please!... Please…”

. . .

He had barely made a scratch to it…

“P-Please…”

. . .

“...I… I just wanna go home…” he whimpered, letting the can drop from his hand.

. . .

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

. . .

He leaned back against the trash bags, pulling his legs and arms up close to his body and rolled onto his side, his emotions suddenly letting go. His eyes began to drain a stream of tears, his breath hitched as his throat clenched and spasmed. Each exhale he let out a small whine, he couldn’t stop. Everything hurts. The burns, the exhaustion, the starvation, his mental health, his physical health, all deteriorated.

How often did Spamton feel this way?

Was it worse for him?

Did he experience this nonstop?

. . .

Twenty years, outside and alone, and if Click was going through this much in just five days…

. . .

‘O-Oh god…’ Click shuddered in his mind. ‘...This is NOTHING compared to what Spamton had gone through…’

. . .

Grroooorrwwrrlll…

Click snapped out of his existential thought. Fuck. His ordeal tonight wasn’t over yet. He slowly sat back up and reached back over to the dented can. He had to find a way to get it open, he couldn’t take the discomfort coming from his stomach any more. Either that, or…

. . .

Consume the five day old egg sandwich…

‘...Do I dare?’ Click questioned what he was thinking of doing. ‘I’ve carried it around for five days… T-There’s no way it’s still safe to eat… But…’

Hesitatingly, Click removed the egg sandwich from his inventory and slowly inspected the outside. There wasn’t any visible mold on it as far as he could tell, and the bread hadn’t disintegrated from the moisture. The real evaluation to see if it was unsafe to eat would be to open it from its plastic wrapping and check for any mold on the inside. His hands had a slight tremor to them, probably his mind’s way of screaming at him to not do it. He grabbed the tip of the plastic wrapping and ever so slowly pulled it away from the sandwich, which released a sudden burst of stench into his nostrils. The fur on the back of his neck stood straight out and his face crumpled up, jerking his head violently as far away from the smell as possible.

“H-Holy shit! I-It reeks!” Click wailed, shaking his head back and forth. “N-No, I can’t do this, I can’t do this!”

It was at this moment that more sudden signals coming from his stomach began to counter his mind’s signals of self-preservation, the empty feeling grew more intense, and he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Doubling over onto his knees, he kept his arm with the egg sandwich raised so it wouldn’t touch the dumpster floor. It felt like an invisible force was twisting his insides into knots, unknotting them, then knotting them harder over and over again. A harsh whimper escaped through his teeth as he fought through the pain, but after about a minute of this severe feeling, it eventually subsided for now. He only had a bit of time left before his body would likely trigger another hunger pang attack like that, so his decision about whether or not he could eat it had to happen now.

“...I-I have to do this…” Click gulped, not looking forward to the taste if he concluded it was okay enough to eat.

Once he was able to sit back up again, he lifted the slices of bread and checked the inside; no mold or rot to be seen, it just smelled incredibly questionable. Eggs no matter what to him reeked, fresh or old; he had never gotten used to the sulfur scent. It just wasn’t a food Addisons ate regularly, or even at all, especially him. He dry-heaved a bit when he lifted each piece of bread from the eggs and the smell wafted towards his nose, taking a moment to wait for the scent to subside long enough for him to finish the inspection. He hated to admit it, but despite how badly the sandwich smelled, it was most likely safe enough to eat IF he could heat it up and kill any bacteria that may have been festering on it. The only heat hot enough to achieve that kind of preparation would be the lighter he managed to find yesterday. It would take a while since it could only make a small flame, but he knew this was his best bet on getting his mind to accept eating something he deemed incredibly horrendous and rotten.

He held the sandwich with one hand and snapped the lighter on with the other, carefully keeping the flame close enough to reheat it, but not too close to where it might catch on fire. Moments in, the section he was heating up began to emit a much more pleasant smell of eggs, it was still a vile smell to him. But his body begged to differ, now completely impatient waiting for its next warm meal.

GRRRGRGLLL…

“Shhhhh, enough -ough… please…” Click shushed, taking a moment to stop reheating the sandwich to tend to stopping his dry-heaving. “Just calm down… Gimme -urgh… a minute…”

As he continued to try and reheat what he could of the rest of the sandwich, drool began to pool in his mouth, much to his dismay. He REALLY didn’t want to admit this, but now that the food was sort of cooked, it began to look appetizing again. His eyes gleamed a bit when he gazed at the now completely reheated egg sandwich, his mouth hung slightly open with a bead of drool leaking from each corner. He couldn’t wait any longer, he wanted to- no, he NEEDED to eat it now. Closing his eyes and plugging his nose to prevent his mind from intervening with the ludicrous decision he was about to make, He hesitatingly opened his mouth and prepared to shove the sandwich in.

‘Don’t overthink it, don’t overthink it, don’t overthink it…’ Click reminded himself. ‘Just bite, chew, swallow, and get it over with… three, two-’’

CHOMP!

The texture immediately caused his tongue to press the food up into his palate, trying to prevent this abomination from entering or going near his throat. The taste was dulled since he plugged his nose, but he could still taste the sulfur, it was slightly nauseating. His cheeks swelled as his tongue split the sandwich in half and shoved them away from the middle of his mouth. His teeth shut tightly, locking the contents in place, he dared not to open them until he could manage to swallow the contents quickly enough. Once he gathered his bearings, he squished the sandwich halves into smaller globs of food using the muscles in his cheeks. Luckily the eggs and the bread softened significantly from being wrapped up at room temperature for days, so he didn’t need his teeth to break the mouthful down into swallowable size bites. Now that the mouthful he had was broken down enough, he prepared himself mentally for the moment his body was waiting for. He rapidly opened his teeth and squished the contents back into the middle of his mouth, and his tongue slicked backwards as fast as he could to push the food towards his throat. One final move with the back of his throat, and-

“Gulp! -OOMPH!”

Click unexpectedly felt his throat try to eject the sandwich back out of his mouth and ended up dry-heaving again, his breath hitched a bit in the process. His eyes shot open and he quickly covered the front of his mouth with his hands to prevent himself from coughing it up, which also caused the stench to rise up into his nasal cavity. All of his senses swamped with the overwhelming sulfur, his pupils shrunk from enduring the smell. He kept one hand over his mouth and went back to plugging his nose, which prevented another dry heave. And finally after taking a few moments to prepare himself…

”...Guuulllp guuuullllp… orffgghhh…”

He managed to do it.

“Hoo, man…” he sighed in relief, leaning back against the trash bags in the dumpster. “...I did it…”

He felt the empty aching feeling in his stomach slowly fade away, shutting his eyes to relax a bit. It wouldn’t be long before it returned, but he was content to enjoy the moment while it lasted. For now, he focused on reassessing what he was going to have to do to make it till the end of tomorrow. It was only very early in the morning of day six, so there were still over forty hours left to go until he could return home. He hoped Banner was serious about letting him back in tomorrow, he didn’t know if he could manage another couple days out here, he was already beyond exhausted. When he scooted himself back up to a seated position, he noticed his pants were a tad bit looser on his waist. His eyebrows raised, when did that happen? Were they snagged on something and got stretched out? He felt the hem to check for any sign of damage, but there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

“...W-Wait…” Click mumbled, slightly confused. “...T-They weren’t like this the other day… D-Did I… lose weight!?...”

The realization hit him right then and there; he had dropped a pants size from his ordeal! He could wrap both his hands around his legs and touch his fingers together, which meant he had lost an inch or two on each leg. Slight fear began to creep up on his face as he began to check the rest of his body for anything else that felt different. It was then that he also realized his shirt also felt a tad loose on his chest and shoulders, and he could feel his cheekbones easier. The bones in his hands and feet were slightly more prominent than they were before, and he could just about feel a couple of his ribs through his tummy without putting any pressure in. Click’s breath quickened as the panic about his body shape flooded his mind; he really WAS starving to death!

“I-I-I’m… I-I’M HIDEOUS!” Click wailed as tears started to well up in his eyes. “All my good looks are GONE! My clothes, my hair, and now MY BODY!?... Are you HAPPY, Banner!? IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED!?”

…No answer.

“Of course THIS is what Banner WANTS…” Click growled under his breath. “It’s always been what they’ve WANTED, for ME to be taken down a peg… They were ALL jealous of MY success, just piggybacking off of MY hard work and accomplishments, and THIS is how they repay ME!? They took Spamton BACK in, and SENT ME TO STARVE TO DEATH!?”

A tiny red hot flame of anger began to burn inside of Click, and he started to punch the walls of the dumpster, not even caring about the blunt pain that shot through his bare knuckles. The flame of anger kept growing bigger and bigger until it was a furious blaze of no rational thought, and he took out his immense frustrations on the trash bags in the dumpster, ripping open half of them and chucking the other half out through the lid. He climbed out into the pouring rain when he threw enough bags outside, and began to stomp through the alleyway, kicking over any trash can that got in his way. Click kept going, turning down another alleyway and destroying every bag he could find in the dark. He looked up where the rain was coming from and laughed maniacally.

“YOU LIKE THIS, HUH!? HUH!?” Click shouted in the air. “YOU LIKE WATCHING ME SUFFER!? WELL HERE I AM, TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT ME!”

CRASH! CLANG! BAM! CRAACK KOOOWWW!

Click’s violent outrage timed with a lightning strike nearby perfectly, causing a loud eruption of noise. The soundwaves backhanded his eardrums harshly, and he snapped out of his episode. The torrential wildfire within him slowly simmered down to a small ember as the pouring rain snuck under his fur and iced his skin. He then stood still, staring into the foggy darkness, trying to take in any kind of shape in his environment. He couldn’t see a thing, and had no idea where he even ended up. How long were his eyes blinded by the fire?...

“...U-Umm… here I am… Wh-Where am I?...” He whispered in the pitch black night.

This wasn’t good, nothing around him looked familiar, he couldn’t see any of the trash cans he had knocked over to retrace his steps back to the dumpster he was staying in. The cold from the rain set in further, trailing down his spine and saturated his clothes. He pulled his arms close and slightly bent over, the shivers settling back in.

He couldn’t let himself freeze now, he didn’t want to die, he wanted to go home, back to Banner, back to the gang, back to Spamton…

. . .

And apologize to them all…

. . .

Turning around to where he felt like he was going backwards from where he traveled, he started to walk blindly into the night, taking his time to navigate around any trash he felt on the floor. Tripping now might cause him to lose his bearings and become even further lost, so he made sure not to move as quickly. The motivation to be back inside the dry dumpster fueled his fire this time, and he tried really hard to adjust to the darkness. Eventually, he felt the metal of a large trash can knock against his feet. Was this one of the trash cans he knocked over? He stepped over it and kept feeling around with his feet for another. To his surprise, there was another a couple feet away, he WAS on the right path back to the dumpster! He kept checking the floor for more trash cans, zigzagging his way through the next alleyway over, and could see in the distance the faint light of the electric pole that lit up the street. That was near the dumpster he was staying in! His face beamed with joyous relief as he picked up his speed and ran straight for the dumpster-

WHAAAAAAMMM!

A deep and heavy pain pounded into Click’s stomach as he had collided with a parking barrier pole that was hidden in the dark. He completely lost his balance and tumbled forward, his body scraping against the concrete and left him with more cuts. He quickly brought himself onto his hands and knees as he struggled to inhale the wind back in that was knocked out of him. A massive cylindrical bruise had begun to develop on Click’s stomach where he was hit the hardest, it pulsed with blunt pain and heat from all of the traumatized blood in that area.

“...Owww… Orrghhh, fuck…” Click groaned, catching his breath. “The fuck was that?...”

. . .

Severe nausea suddenly engulfed his whole body…

GRROOOWWRLLRLLL…

‘Noo!’ Click’s eyes shot open. ‘Not now!!!’

He bent over and held his stomach tight, keeping his head down to try and reduce the sensory input of everything around him and concentrate instead on keeping the nausea down. It felt like a nasty chemical reaction was brewing inside his guts, the contents inside churning and roiling around unpredictably. The muscles in his abdomen contracted slowly as his body was deciding if everything inside needed to come out. He could feel his stomach tensing and shriveling as the liquid inside bubbled with a sickening gurgling noise.

GRRGGGLLGRLL…

The contractions became faster, and his throat tightened, it was inevitable…

‘I don’t wanna do this, I just got it in there!’ Click begged in his mind, whimpering in agony. ‘I’ll do anything just don’t make me-’

His abdomen clenched and his throat opened wide.

BLLUUURRUUUURGHHH!!!

. . .

As quick as it came, it was all over. Click’s hopes of any amount of relief today were now splattered all over the concrete in various size chunks of dark green and yellow vomit. Saliva dripped from his gaping mouth as he stared at the disappointing and grim pile in front of him. The pouring rain mixed with his expelled stomach contents in a small puddle and slowly drained down the alleyway towards the sewer drain, effectively erasing most of his failure from the view of anyone who might pass by in the morning. It wouldn’t matter anyway; anyone seeing it if it stayed wouldn’t know the tragedy of what happened to Click tonight. Would they even care? Why would they care? They didn’t know him, and he didn’t know them…

. . .

His eyes grew heavy as his body began to shut down again…

“...I want to sleep…” Click rasped, and he shakily brought himself back onto his feet.

Wiping his mouth of the remaining vomit on his face, he turned to the dumpster’s silhouette illuminated in the distance, and began to step towards it. He wanted to be warm again, full again, loved again, praised again. He would get all those things after tomorrow, right? So long as Banner kept to their word, that is. He closed his eyes and began to imagine what feast awaited him when he returned, maybe a lovely surf and turf, or a bottomless mimosa brunch? He could phantom sense the silk sheets that lined his bed back in his apartment, they kept him nice and comfortable at any season of the year, cool in the summer, snuggly in the winter. What outfit would he wear once he got back? Maybe something comfy, like the pink puffy pajamas he would wear during movie night! Or perhaps some kind of-

BOOOONNNKk!

His thoughts were cut off when his face had collided with the ladder of the fire escape that hung close by the dumpster. His head vibrated from the suspended metal frame and he lost his equilibrium, falling backwards and hitting his head against a knocked over trash can. His consciousness slowly slipped away, but not before sensing some kind of creature approach him from the other end of the alleyway. It stepped up to him and gave him a few sniffs before it grabbed his shirt collar with its teeth, and began to drag him away to wherever it came from…

Six days down…

[shimii26]

Walking in Spamton's Shoes: Chapter 5

RUMBLE RUMBLE

FFFSHHHHHH

CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA

Click slowly awoke to the sound of the train above him becoming active again, and was beginning to move towards the intersection. He didn’t want to get out from underneath the train while it was moving as he could easily get snagged on something and run over, so he decided to wait for the train to move completely over him before getting up. He wasn’t sure what time it was as he no longer had his watch, but could tell it was still late in the night based on how dark outside it was. Perhaps once he got up, he could check to see if there was a wall clock at the train stop he was nearby. After a couple of minutes, Click heard the railroad crossing siren activate, which he was surprised it hadn’t activated earlier when the train above him was moving. Eventually the train had finally passed over him to the other railroad tracks, and he sat up to stretch and crack his neck from sleeping so stiff.

“Urghh, too many rocks in that spot…” Click groaned, managing to crack his back too. “...What time is it?...”

RUMBLE RUMBLE

Click could feel the tracks vibrating underneath him, but the train he was sleeping under was no longer moving. It had made its way over to another track before it came to a complete halt, much to Click’s confusion.

“What the…” Click mumbled before noticing there were very bright lights approaching him rapidly. “Wait- OOHHH SHIT!!!”

CHHOOOOOO CHHOOOOOO Click quickly laid back down on the track as fast and as flat as he could, narrowly missing being decapitated, the unexpected train shaking the ground violently as it began to pass by above him. His pupils shrunk as adrenaline coursed through his veins, causing him to hug the ground tightly to keep as far away from the bottom of the train as possible. He held his breath as he felt dust and debris hit his face, tons of it was tossed into the air from the train wheel’s collision on the ground where the dirt and metal met. Suddenly Click felt a few hairs on the side of his head sharply tear off, but then…

RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPP!

‘AAAAHHHOOOWWW!- AAAAHHHHHH!!!” Click screamed in pain and terror.

The train kicked up more dust and rocks, showering Click’s eyes, nose, and mouth with debris. It shook the ground with such force, he could feel his nose just grazing the bottom pipes of some of the train’s carts as he was being practically levitated off the ground from the vibration. After just a few short seconds but what felt like forever, the passing train was gone, disappearing into the darkness, leaving Click covered up by its wake. He slowly sat back up, his body shivering from the adrenaline and fear. He coughed up the dust and debris, pounding one side of his head to get the dust out of one ear, then the other ear.

“I-I’m… a-alive… wh-what h-happened t-t-to-” He stuttered.

A theory about what the pain on top of his head popped into his thoughts, and he hoped that he was wrong about it. Hesitant to find out, one of his hands shakily reached up to where the spot on his head throbbed with pain to find part of his ponytail missing. His pupils dilated as panic flooded his mind, he looked to his left to find clumps of his hair stuck to the tracks a few feet away.

“N-No… No, No! NO NO NO, MY HAIR!!! IT FUCKING RIPPED MY PONYTAIL OFF!!!” Click cried, holding the clumps of hair in his fists, trying to put them back in the elastic. “MY BEAUTY, IT'S GOOOONE!!!”

But it was too late…

The wind picked up and blew away the ripped hairs, leaving him with a wolf tail haircut, courtesy of the passing train. But there was no time to mourn about his hair, he had to get up, dust himself off, and make his way to work, he only had until noon to get his paycheck before it went into direct deposit. He shuffled his way off of the green line tracks and made his way to the train stop where the red line train would make its rounds and eventually arrive where he was. Since he didn’t want to be caught by the conductor, he stayed below the concrete platform, and simply bided his time. He still had a bit of time before the digital sun was to rise and for the red line to reactivate, so all he could do was rest and fix what was left of his ponytail. There wasn’t too much long hair left to be able to tie it securely, but he did manage to keep most of it out of his face. After that jumpscare of a train, there was no way he was going to be able to take a nap, his heart was still racing in his chest. After some deep breaths, his anxiety soon calmed down, which caused the rest of his body to wake up for the day, including his appetite. His stomach wasted no time telling him it was time for breakfast with a loud growl.

“Shhhh, shut the fuck up, I swear I’m gonna get caught by the conductor cause of you…” Click shushed, giving his belly a pat.

He checked to make sure the coast was clear before he reached into his inventory and pulled out two of the three canned goods he picked up yesterday, and went to open them. But then he remembered the issue he was about to have with the cans; they had no pull tabs, and required a can opener or a church key to retrieve the contents inside.

“Oh… Dammit, how am I supposed to open this?” Pink complained, double checking both sides of each can.

He picked up a rock from the train tracks and tried to smack the lids open with it, but the cans resisted being busted, the rocks simply weren’t strong enough to even put a dent into them. He took one of the cans and smacked it into the other can, hoping the material they were made of was strong enough to dent each other, but to no avail. After a few more swings with no luck of getting them open, Click grew so frustrated that he placed one of the cans into his jaws and tried to gnaw it open, which only made his teeth hurt. There wasn’t anything else he could think to do with the tools he had in front of him, all he could do was wait for the train and stare at the cans with hunger fueled envy, wishing that he could reap the filling rewards inside. He had no idea what was even inside the cans, probably some kind of salted vegetables or soup as they were the most common canned food. At least whatever was inside is assumed to be fully cooked, although the taste would be stranger since the food would be at room temperature. His mouth watered at the predictions of what was inside the cans his mind was conjuring, surely the wait to get them open to eat would be worth it, right? So far every food he had eaten in his ordeal had tasted better than the last, hunger really was a spice maker.

RUMBLE RUMBLE

The ground underneath him began to shake as he felt another train approaching, it was the one he had been waiting all morning for. Click sighed and picked up the cans, about to put them back in his inventory, when an idea popped into his head... If the train’s wheels were strong enough to crush an Addison to death, they should be strong enough to crush open a can too! He chuckled deviously and quickly placed the two canned goods he had on the tracks and waited for the train to arrive. He rubbed his hands together, excited for breakfast to finally be granted to him for his genius problem solving.

CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA

The train got closer and closer, Click having to reposition the can since it kept vibrating off of the center of the tracks. Once the train got about twenty feet from the train stop, Click had to move his hands away to avoid them getting run over. Unfortunately the cans didn’t stay directly in the middle of the tracks, and when they were run over, the can end opposite of Click busted open, and the contents practically exploded all over the gravel floor.

“ARGHH, DAMMIT-!” Click rage yelled, but quickly covered his mouth as he might’ve accidentally alerted the conductor.

The train came to a complete stop, the wheel just stopping after crushing the can, leaving the metal trapped underneath. Click watched as the conductor got out of the train and made their rounds by each train cart. When they was getting close, he hid underneath the cart to avoid being seen. While he was underneath, he shuffled over to the pile of the mystery food that exploded from the can, and scooped the top layers of what he could and into his mouth, trying to avoid getting any of the gravel, which ended up only being a mouthful. He still had no idea what food was even in that can, even after it had opened; the taste was definitely a bit gritty, cold, and metallic, but it was better than nothing for now. Click heard the conductor call to the driver that the train was clear and they were ready to begin moving, so he crawled out from under the train and climbed onto the open train cart like he was on yesterday night. The food cargo from before was missing and replaced with new cargo, presumably it had made it to its final destination in the late part of the night. He walked toward the back of the train cart and sat down, waiting for his ride to begin moving again.

Click pulled out his map to double check what train lines he would need to take in order to get to his work, and noticed that while the red line he was currently on does cross the orange line’s path, the train that he needed to take next, but it doesn’t stop at the station where the two rails cross, so he would have to hop off the red line while it was still moving to be able to change paths onto the orange line. Click was concerned about having to get off the train while it was moving, typically stunts like that lead to injury, and he wasn’t trained in any way on how to prevent himself from getting hurt. The safest way he could think to get off the train would be to simply get off when it reaches the closest stop and walk from there to the next train line, but checking the red line’s closest destination, that wasn’t going to bode well on his time limit. With the speed he’s able to walk or even run, he would be risking not making it to work on time, so he had no choice but to take the risk of trying a quick tuck and roll when he arrives at the track cross, despite not knowing how to execute it properly.

Suddenly he felt himself jerk from his seat sideways and the train horn blew, which meant his ride was finally moving towards its next stop. Click got back into a seated position and scooted over to the cart’s open door, watching the environment around him slowly pass by, then quickly accelerating in seconds. He held onto the cart’s door rail and took his hair elastic out, letting the wind blow through his cut ponytail, a few more stray hairs he hadn’t brushed out blew into the open air. He watched as the city’s bright neon lights grew brighter for the day, businesses were starting up, and the Addison residents were getting ready for work. One building he immediately recognized in the far distance stood tallest through the electric concrete jungle; it was the perfume department with a large billboard on top that was just a couple miles from his work. Since he knew which direction he could walk from that building to his destination, he decided once he got off the blue rail, he could use it as a compass to make his way to work. It was still quite a long distance from him, another twenty miles he had to ride until then.

The red line would take him about nine miles of the distance he needed, the orange line would take off another seven, and the blue line would finish the remaining four, and at the speed he was currently going, each mile would take about fifteen minutes, so if each train is on time for him to hop onto and kept this same speed, he should be about half a mile from his work in about five and a half hours. Since it was just about sunrise when he hopped on, it was most likely around 6:00, which meant if he wanted to make it to work on time, he would need each train to be perfectly timed, AND walk half a mile to his work building, scan himself in, find his manager, and request his physical paycheck in under twenty minutes, which was a tall order for not only his body to endure, but he needed some major luck timing each train line transfer correctly. For now, he was going to be on the red line for a couple hours, so all he could do was watch the city’s buildings and attractions whiz by him.

“...I wonder what Banner and the others are doing…” Click mumbled. “...Are they thinking about me?... Spamton’s never gonna forgive me for what I said to him.”

Click took the moment to evaluate what was left of his hair. There was still enough to make a wolf tail knot, but it was quite choppy and uneven. More strands were falling out now that they were free from the elastic and the wind was blowing… He sighed at the sight. Click took a lot of pride in his hair, it was something that made him stand out from most Addisons, typically hair styles of his kind trended towards wearing their hair down and cut short, longer hair was seen as a higher status symbol, especially since it was harder to maintain and keep it healthy. Now that it was gone, he looked just like any other Addison, or rather more like he had just rolled out of bed, mangled and ragged. He brushed the remaining hair with his hands as best he could, then tied it back into the wolf knot; it would probably be best to keep it tied up when he had to train hop, he didn’t want to lose the rest of it in another freak accident.

Click scooted over to the door of the train cart, letting his feet dangle out into the open air. He took in his surroundings, the hills that lined Cyber City were beautiful and remained barely touched by land development. Windflowers bloomed as far as his eyes could see, adding a splash of color to the environment which would just be green if they weren’t there. It wasn’t a sight he got to see often, he preferred to stay in the city, which was starting to look bleak compared to a life out here. But looks can be deceiving, it may look pretty, but where would Click even stay, or eat, or sleep? Poppups and Virovirokuns probably roamed the area, they’d surely try to FIGHT with him and take whatever dark dollars he had left on him at the end of the day. Perhaps beauty outside of Cyber City was only skin deep too, just like how the inside had been treating him for the past four days.

“...Did you ever… Sleep out here, Spamton?” Click asked himself. “...Werewires don’t live out here… Do they?...”

He shook that scary thought out of his head when he felt the train begin to slow down. He guessed they were close to their first stop after an hour had passed, which meant he was going to need to hide while the train conductor helped unload the first round of cargo to its destination. Click brought his legs back into the train and made his way over to the far corner where the boxes stacked higher and created a small hidey hole underneath them. If the first round of cargo were the crates in the front, he would have no problem hiding himself long enough to make it to his next train hop. It was a bit cramped, but he managed to squeeze himself into the small space and sit comfortably enough to be able to remain there for a while if needed. He could hear the steps of the conductor approaching, so he kept his breathing low.

“Alright Porky, get them crates outta here!” The conductor yelled at a supposed loading dock worker.

“Don’t get your hat twisted in a knot, we’re on it!” The worker replied, presumably the one being called ‘Porky’, stepping up into the train cart where Click was hiding.

He could hear another worker approach with some kind of truck, probably an easier way for them to load everything they ordered into the building. The one who climbed into the train cart began to push crates towards the truck’s edge and they worked together to transport them from the train cart one at a time. Luckily none of the crates that kept Click hidden were taken, just a couple dozen in the front. He was just within earshot of the two loading dock workers to pick up on what they were discussing with each other.

“So, how’s life treatin’ ya?” “Can’t complain, I made some decent money doin’ some overtime' last week, I’m thinkin’ of makin’ that a routine so I can buy myself some new digs.” “Sweet, hell maybe I should do the same!”

“Wouldn’t be opposed to workin’ alongside you, so long as you don’t eat the cargo like the last rookie!”

‘Are there… others on this train like me, eating the cargo?’ Click pondered.

. . .

Eventually, the two workers finished both their conversation and loading the cargo the company had ordered and got off the train cart and into their truck, hauling it off into the building.

“All yours conductor, nice doin’ business with ya!” one worker shouted.

“About fucking time you two, you’re gonna make me late with the rest of the delivery!” the conductor scolded.

‘Late!? N-No, if this train arrives late to the crossing tracks, I won’t make it into work on time!’ Click thought to himself in a panic.

Once he felt the train begin to move again, he climbed out of his hiding spot and checked his surroundings. It seemed like a good amount of time had passed while the train was parked, the digital sun had appeared in the sky and illuminated the interior of the train cart, as well as Click’s unprepared eyes. He kept his vision shaded enough to where he could still see where he was located, and predicted that they had about two miles left until the train reached the crossing tracks. He knew he would have to be absolutely ready to make the stunt of jumping off of the red train safely and climbing aboard the orange train, or risk injuring himself badly enough to miss his chance of getting to work, or getting caught by the Swatchling police force again. With this in mind, Click began to practice some tuck and rolls in the train cart open space, using the train’s momentum to better simulate what he might go through attempting this maneuver. With much of the cargo removed, he had enough room to really practice multiple versions of the tuck and roll technique, it was probably best to try and get used to different kind of distances and landings as he had no idea what the actual jump was going to feel like, or what kind of ground he was going to land on. Plus, the failed tuck and rolls were giving him some unwanted bruises, and he dreaded what might happen to him if he didn’t manage to get it right when the time came.

After fifty minutes of practice, he managed to safely pull off some decent tuck and rolls without causing more bruises to himself. It was nowhere near perfect, but it would have to do as he was running out of time on this train and his next train was approaching. He decided to take the rest of the time on this train to double check the cargo for any useful items he could take with him, he had enough room in his inventory for a couple smaller items. The crates were much more secure in this shipment, but he did locate a couple with loose tops, and inside the first crate were packages of lighters. He wasn’t sure what he could possibly need with them, he didn’t smoke, nor could that small amount of flame provide any kind of warmth, but still, a tool was a tool, so he pocketed a few of them. The second crate he checked contained several small blankets movers use to keep furniture from damage when being transported. With the possibility of Click making it to work and getting his paycheck fresh in his mind, he was hesitant about taking one of the mover blankets, would he really need it if that was the case?

CHHOOOOOO CHHOOOOOO!

The orange train was approaching, it was time. Click looked out the train car door to see how close it was to the crossing tracks…

It was about to pass them!? He had no time to spare, he needed to leave the red train now!

His mind made the decision for him, and he quickly packed one of the mover blankets in his inventory without thinking. He took a couple quick breaths before leaning out of the train cart, and prepping for his dismount.

“Okay okay okay, one… two… three!” Click shouted to himself and began the tuck and roll. “Ohhh SHIII-”

BOOM BAM CRUNCH SPLAT!

Unfortunately Click’s feet jolted from the sudden pain of gravel since he no longer had shoes, and had tucked and rolled incorrectly, causing him to trip and fall face first into the gravel road. His inventory had glitched in his fall and his items spilled out in front of him, taking some damage in the process. He felt his health bar tick down a couple notches when he came to a stop.

“...Ooowww…” Click groaned into the gravel, slowly lifting himself back up. “So much for the practice…”

He looked over to see his inventory on the ground in pieces.

“N-No no no, my stuff!” he cried, shuffling over to assess what had broken. “Dammit, I just got that, and it’s already ripped?...”

The mover blanket had gotten cut up from the sharp gravel, his last food can dented, the cologne bottle shattered, all but one lighter smashed, the sandwich was unharmed, but his forty Dark Dollars were in tatters.

‘Great, I sold my shoes for nothing…’ Click complained in his head, holding the pieces of Dark Dollar paper.

Knowing that the orange train was about to pass him, he scrambled to pick up what was left of his inventory and began to run towards the other side of the tracks. The front of the train had already passed the crossing tracks, so he had to hurry to reach one of the open cargo train carts. There were only two open, so he had to time his arrival right or be left behind. The sharp gravel dug into his toes with each step, slowing him down enough to keep him just shy of lining up with the two open train carts once he got close enough. He reached his arms as far as he could to try and reach the guardrail of the open door, but couldn’t quite grab it. The train was starting to pick up the pace.

“HEY YOU! HEY STOP RUNNING!” The conductor of the red train shouted at Click when he caught sight of him trying to train hop. “STOWAWAYS ARE FORBIDDEN ON THE TRAINS!”

Click looked back to see the conductor had begun to chase after him, carrying a wooden bat, presumably to beat him if he managed to catch him. He reached out for the guardrail again, inching away ever so closer from it.

‘I’ve come too far to lose!’ Click motivated himself. ‘Do it now, for Spamton!’

With a sudden rush of second wind adrenaline, he pushed himself to run faster, completely ignoring the searing pain in his feet from running on gravel, and managed to grab the train cart guardrail. The train whistle blew, and the engine roared from the front cart as it grew faster and faster, completely unexpected by him since he thought all the trains traveled at the same speed.

“-WHOA WHOA WHOA, SHIT!” he panicked, now at a sudden new pace with the sped up train, his feet barely touching the ground as the momentum carried him forward.

Fighting against the force pulling him back, he slowly pulled himself up into the train cart, and rolled to the back where the cargo lay. His back smacked against one of the crates, and the wind in his lungs was knocked out, causing him to gasp harshly. It took him a moment to collect his breath again, and he struggled a bit to stand up in the train cart, not used to the speed it was travelling. It seemed like he wouldn’t be on the train for as long as he first predicted, he estimated the original time would be cut in half if this speed was maintained. Probably for the best, the red train took longer than he predicted, so the orange train would make up for the lost time, maybe even surpass the time he had left to make it to work. For now, he had some time to kill before his next train hop, so he checked the cargo to see if any of the crates were broken open…

‘...Damn, nothing…’ Click rolled his eyes in his mind. ‘Just my luck…’

With nothing else to add to his inventory, he took the time to sit down and relax, the exhaustion of running after the orange train catching up to him. He assumed if the train was going this fast, it wouldn’t make any stops before it crosses paths with the blue train, so he decided he would take advantage of this moment and take a quick nap so he would be more rested for the next stunt. It wouldn’t be a very comfortable nap since all he had to lie down on was the floor of the train cart and a torn up mover blanket, but any amount of sleep he could get in would help. He took the blanket out of his inventory and placed it down in the corner between the cargo and the train cart wall, not wanting to nap on top of the crates and risk rolling off from a high distance. This way, he would be protected from most sight with the train cart wall on one side of him, and the crates on the other. He laid down and faced his head towards the open end side of the corner, listening to the sounds of the train chugging along, which weren’t lulling him to sleep at all. He just kept his eyes shut, hoping his body would just get the message and go down for a rest. After a couple tosses and turns, he eventually fell asleep…

- - -

“OOOUUGHH!” Click belted, jolting out of his rest.

The cargo had shifted from the train suddenly slowing down and pinned Click to the wall, with no way of moving his arms or legs. His eyes darted around, trying to find some way to wiggle out of being pinned, but the weight of the crate pile greatly outmatched any chance he would’ve had to push them away one by one. His lungs were also put under pressure, he couldn’t take in a deep breath from the force, so he struggled to breathe. He was trapped, and the orange train was about to reach its stop at the crossing tracks.

‘Fuck fuck, what do I do!? He panicked. ‘I’m gonna get caught like this if I don’t suffocate first!’

. . .

“Alright unload the cargo, Mac!” The orange train conductor shouted to a loading dock worker.

“You got it, boss!” the worker replied back, backing a truck up to take the crates.

About a half dozen workers soon climbed up into the train cart where Click was located and began to push the crates in the front to the train cart door, passing them to each other in order to load the crates in an orderly and brisk paced fashion. They were only feet away from Click, and it seemed like they were planning on removing all or most of the cargo at this location, which meant they were guaranteed to find him. He tried to think of how he was going to get away from them, it would be pointless to try and outrun them, he was already out of breath from being crushed, and the blue train wasn’t there yet for him to train hop. The only way he could think to get out of this situation was to play dead, surely they wouldn’t try to detain an Addison who looked hurt or dead, right?. Maybe if they found him while he pretended to be unconscious or dead, they would put him outside the train cart in the open, and he could gain his breath back in time to make a run for it when the blue train did come! With that plan in mind, he kept his head down and went limp, awaiting for them to discover him.

. . .

“...The fuck?... Hey boss, there’s someone in the cargo!” one worker shouted.

“Not another stowaway… A-Are they dead?” Another asked, kneeling down to take a closer look.

“I don’t know…” The third worker mumbled, poking Click with a pencil. “Looks like it, the crates are crushing them…” “Ugh, this stowaway issue just keeps getting worse and worse…” The supposed boss sighed. “L-Let’s just get them off the train and call an Ambyu-Lance, they can take it from there for us so we can finish. I’ll grab ‘em.”

“Y-Yes boss!” the workers answered back, moving the crates around Click away.

The immense pressure from the crates was lifted from Click’s lungs, and his body desperately tried to take in a deep breath. But if he inhaled too quickly, it might give away his facade, so he repressed his breath to a snail’s pace as hard as he could. The boss of the loading dock workers then lifted Click up and over their shoulders, picking up the mover blanket and kept him wrapped up in it. They stepped down from the train cart and walked over to a nearby deck chair that they typically sat in while they waited for the trains to arrive and placed Click down to seat him in place. Click made sure to keep limp to be convincing to everyone around him.

“Poor fucker, must’ve had some kind of major fall in his career to end up a stowaway as a tertiary…” The boss of the loading dock told the conductor who joined them in watching over Click.

“It’s a damn shame, you called for that Ambyu-Lance yet?” The conductor asked the loading dock boss.

“Yeah, they’re on their way.” The boss updated them. “We’ll know if we have to send them to the ER to scrap them, either answer is gonna look like shit on our performance reviews…”

“True… Alright, let’s finish the job while we wait.” The conductor suggested, stepping back over to the train cart where they were halfway done loading the crates onto their truck.

After a couple minutes, Click let his breathing slow down to a regular pace, and peeked one eye open to see if the coast was clear. Looks like they left him alone for now, he could make his escape once he hears blue train-

CHHOOOOOOO CHHOOOOOOO!

-Arriving!

There it was, right on time! Click quickly sat up and stuffed the torn mover blanket back into his inventory and got onto his feet. The familiar sharp pain in his toes from the gravelled floor came back as he stood, but he had no time to tend to them now. Once he was certain no one was looking at him, he began to make a break for the blue train, which unfortunately caused a lot of noise, and immediately drew the attention of the workers to him.

“H-HEY! THEY’RE AWAKE!” the conductor angrily announced. “THEY WERE FAKING IT, GET THEM!”

Once again, Click was in a chase from the train workers to escape onto his next ride, but there was an immediate issue… The blue train was moving too slowly, they would easily catch him if he boarded now, there might not be any cargo on the train to hide behind. And even if there were, they’d surely find him within seconds. He had to make another decision, and quickly, they were gaining on his tail since they were faster running on the gravel floor. He hastily looked around for any kind of place to bide his time and wait out their search, and his eyes met with the sight of a small pond nearby. The outskirts of Cyber City were lined with various bodies of water and acid, and bridges allowed vehicles like cars and trains to pass over them safely. The only issue was that there was no way to tell if the pond was water or acid based, they always looked the same color. Click had about a fifty-fifty chance that the pond was safe or dangerous, and decided to take that risk; he had enough health points to take any damage he might take if the pond turned out to be acid.

He prepared himself to jump in, just as they were about to reach him…

‘One more leap of faith…’ Click thought to himself, plugging his nose. ‘One… two… three!’

. . .

SPLAAAAASSSHHH!

The workers came to a screeching halt just before they all tripped into the pond. They gasped in horror as they witnessed Click completely emerge in the liquid and disappear out of sight.

“-Holy shit, they jumped in!” The conductor screamed. “Now they’re really gonna be dead!”

“You mean that’s an acid pond!?” One worker hesitantly asked, praying their answer was wrong.

“W-What have we done?...” The loading dock boss stuttered. “...A-Are we… responsible for this?...”

“...I-I’m not sure…” The conductor responded, sounding quite nauseous. “...W-We should report this to the Swatchling police… I don’t wanna see them recover their body from the pond…”

“C’mon, let’s get you inside…” The boss suggested. “You look like you’re about to faint…”

. . .

“GAAAASSSSP!” Click choked from having to hold his breath under the intense burning to his body. “FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK OWWW OWWW OWWW OWWW OWWW!!!”

Pulling himself out of the acid by grabbing the vegetation that lined the pond’s edge, Click managed to traverse back onto land and quickly removed most of his clothes off of his body to get the acid away from his skin. For the sake of his dignity, he left his boxers on despite the fact they were soaked in acid and continued to slightly burn him. They weren’t disintegrating and disappearing from his inventory, but both his shirt and pants took some damage from the acid, they had quite a few small holes in them now. He checked his health bar and saw his health points were cut in half from being underacid for so long. He winced and whimpered from the pain coursing through his body, especially his groin since he kept his boxers on.

CHHOOOOO CHHOOOOOO!

-Fuck, the train! He had to pull himself together to make it aboard, or risk not making it to work! Shoving his acid soaked clothes into his inventory for now, Click shook off as much acid as he could from his body fur and began to make his way up the small hill to the train tracks. Luckily the train hadn’t picked up any more speed since leaving the loading dock, so he was able to reach it easily. Once aboard, His legs gave out and he collapsed on the train cart floor, writhing in pain from all the burns inflicted on his skin.

“O-Ooowwww… oww oww…” Click whined, trying to lie still. “Oh god, w-why did I do t-that?... It hurts, it hurts… Is… Is this what you went through, Spamton?...”

. . .

“I… miss you, Spamton… B-Banner… I’m s-so sorry…”

The pain from the acid slowly began to subside, leaving Click with several minor burns on his extremities and more sensitive areas. The fur on his body was singed, now at a much shorter length, even some bare spots where his clothes clung to him the hardest. The wind that blew through the train cart was now much sharper as the temperature pierced through his coat, causing him to shiver. He would have to put his clothes back on if he wanted to stay warm, so he took them out of his inventory and began to wring the remaining acid out of them. It stung the palms of his hands a bit to do so, but it was the only way he could dry them out effectively, the train wasn’t moving fast enough to use the wind as a dryer. Once he couldn’t wring out any more drips of acid, he slowly put his clothes back on, taking his time to avoid rubbing the fabric against his more sensitive burns. They felt stiff and uncomfortable on his body, it made his skin crawl having to get used to the damp feeling, but they blocked the wind from creeping under his blunted fur. For now, all he could do was wait and hope the pain would completely go away while the blue train made its way into Cyber City and towards the stop he needed to get off. He checked his health bar again to see if it was going back up at all, but it remained stagnant. He was too weak to regenerate health on his own and would need to eat something for it to rise back up, which he was reminded to do once again via a low growl from his stomach.

“...No, not again…” Click groaned, covering his face with his arm. “...How much more do I have to feed you to get you to shut up?...”

He slowly sat back up and took out the remaining food can from his inventory. No tab, dammit. There was no way a lighter was going to get the can open, it would only burn the contents inside or cause the can to explode. It was slightly dented however, which meant probably just a few good blows to something hard enough might crack it open. But he was in no condition to be smashing it open, his strength was sapped from swimming in the acid for so long, he could only stare hungrily at the can until he arrived at his last stop, which wasn’t that long since he spent most of the time tending to his burn pain.

CHHOOOOOO CHHOOOOOO!

He felt the train shift in speed after a few minutes of staring, and he sat up to look out the train cart window. There it was, his work’s blue train stop, he had made it back! A relieved smile creeped onto Click’s face as tears of joy streamed down his cheeks, he was going to make it. Once the train slowed down enough for him to step down safely, he got down from the cart and suddenly fell to his knees when his burnt feet hit the gravel floor.

“AAAAHHHHOOWWW!” Click howled, falling over onto his rear end and holding his feet tightly.

The pain was so much worse than he expected, every move he made hurt, like he had just finished cooking off of a rotisserie spit and tried to run away from the chef. His breath sharpened through his teeth as he grit his jaw to distract from the stinging, he tried to sit still to let the pain go down. But it wasn’t fading fast enough, Click had no idea how much time he had left to make it into work, and he still had half a mile to walk in order to get there, he had no choice but to bear it. Pushing himself back onto his feet, he began his trudge from the train yard to the streets of Cyber City’s business center.

Every step was like fire to his heels, every shift his body made feel like it was going to fall apart, he wanted to stop moving so badly.

Two blocks away…

His mind screamed at him to stop, begged for him to stop, tried to stop him with more pain signals, but onward he shuffled.

One block away…

He was starting to get stares from those he passed, they looked at him like he was some kind of freakshow, but he didn’t care, his appearance wasn’t important to him right now…

. . .

There were the steps to his office building…

- - -

Weakly shuffling his way in, he approached the front desk to speak with someone who could let him into his department. Mikey was the Addison who worked the front desk the most, it would probably be him that would be there today. To say Click looked like a mess was putting it lightly, to them, he looked almost unrecognizable, completely disheveled.

“Hey Click- Holy shit, what happened to you mate?” The Addison at the front desk asked him with concern. “Did someone mug you?”

“N-No time… for chitchat, Mikey...I need… my paycheck…” Click huffed, flopping his head on the front desk, trying to catch his breath from all of the running.

“W-What? Your paycheck? Don’t you normally get that sent to your account?” Mikey mumbled as they typed Click’s information into their computer.

“Different… Circumstances this week… I need my pay in check form…” Click explained, slowly standing back up. “Please tell me… I made it on time to pick it up…”

. . .

Mikey paused.

“Click…” He eventually spoke up, looking at him with worry.

“What Mikey?...” Click asked, awaiting to be answered.

. . .

“Paychecks in your office are dispensed at 11:30 on Fridays, it’s about noon now. Sorry but… it’s not gonna be here anymore.” Mikey regretfully informed him. “I-I can still let you into your department if you needed something in the-”

“-W-What?...” Click stuttered.

. . .

His eyes widened with realization that he was just too late to get his money…

. . .

He was out of time… There was no escaping the rest of his punishment.

. . .

“...Y-You mean… to tell me… that I just spent… five days in the fucking streets… struggling to make any kind of money to survive… just to be told… that I’m TOO LATE TO GET MY MONEY!?” Click barked, his tone aggressively rising.

“Click, calm down-” Mikey started, but Click interrupted him.

“Calm down!? CALM DOWN!?” Click shouted, grabbing Mikey by the shirt collar. “I’VE BEEN SLEEPING IN THE DIRT, STARVED OF ANY REAL FOOD, AND TREATED LIKE SOME KIND OF VIROVIROKUN! I’M STUCK OUTSIDE MY APARTMENT WITH NO MONEY AND NO PHONE, AND YOU WANT ME TO ‘CALM DOWN’!?”

“S-Stop, you’re scaring me! There’s nothing I can do right now!” Mikey whimpered, holding Click’s arms back to try and restrain the amount of grip he had on him.

“WELL DO SOMETHING!” Click screamed, foam practically coming out of his mouth as he shook Mikey. “I DID NOT COME HERE TO LOSE MY ONE CHANCE TO ESCAPE THIS HELL!!!”

“AAAHHHH!!! SECURITY!” Mikey yelled, tears streaming down his face. “LET GO, CLICK!”

“NOT UNTIL YOU GET ME OUT OF THIS-” Click threatened, but was stopped by security running over to the two of them from the front door.

“Alright pal, that’s enough!” one massive Swatchling guard informed him, grabbing Click under his arms and lifting him up.

“LET ME GO!” Click grunted, letting Mikey go and flailing his arms and legs around, trying to get out of the Swatchling’s grip.

“Are you alright, sir?” The chief Swatchling guard consoled Mikey.

“Y-Yeah, t-thank you…” he responded, his voice still a bit shaken.

Click’s massive hissy fit was attracting a lot of attention from his coworkers and other associates in the building, many that were walking by stopped to stare, others were in the middle of a smoke break and walked back inside to watch the chaos, and several heads peeked up from the lounge corner. The silence in the room was so loud besides Click, you could hear a fountain pen drop onto the tiled flooring. From the other side of the lobby, a manager who was on break made their way through the crowd and up to where Click was.

“Alright, what’s going on-” they began, and paused when they saw who was causing a commotion. “C-Click? What are you doing here? I thought you called out sick this week.”

Click paused his struggling long enough to notice that was HIS manager’s voice. This wasn’t good, he looked like a damn fool in front of them…

“O-Oh, h-hey boss… Uhh, this isn’t what it looks like…” he stuttered, his nervousness rising now that he was in full view of his manager.

“Well, you look like shit, I can see that much.” his boss confirmed, taking in Click's appearance fully. “Alright, here’s the deal, you can’t be in here like this, you’re going to stir up social media trouble for the company if the wrong Addison catches wind of your anger and decides to record it for views. I’m sorry, but you gotta go, we’ll… see you on Monday, clean yourself up before you return, we’ll discuss your disciplinary task when you come back.”

“W-WHAT!? Y-YOU AREN’T GOING TO HELP ME!? YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH!” Click stirred up again, flailing like a Werewire. “I’M NOT LEAVING HERE WITHOUT MY MONEY!”

“Yes you are, take him out the building please.” His manager instructed the chief Swatchling guard. “And don’t let him back in until Monday morning.”

“Yes ma’am.” The Chief Swatchling guard nodded before they started to head for the door, carrying Click under their wing. “Now you stay out or you’ll be trespassed forever!”

The Swatchling gave a quick heave and tossed Click down the office building steps and he landed on his side on the concrete sidewalk. He sharply groaned from the returning pains of his burns scraping against the ground, curling up into a ball. He didn’t want to move anymore, what would be the point? No more escaping the hell he was in, no money to his name, and now he was further back from square one. Addisons walking by him on the street kept their gazes away, not wanting to make eye contact with him. He was thrown back into the public, yet he was alone…

. . .

Was this how Spamton felt?...

. . .

Drip… drip… drip drip drip drip

. . .

It started to rain.

Addisons around him noticed the weather change and hurried to their destinations, leaving Click by himself on the street. He didn’t want to move anymore, but his clothes began to grow soaked again, bringing his body temperature down enough to shiver. He didn’t want to move anymore, but the rain soon penetrated his fur, chilling him to the bone. He didn’t want to move anymore…

But he had to…

Click eventually got ahold of himself and shakily stood up, holding his arms close to his body to try and preserve any body heat he had. One foot forward, he walked away from his office, not really looking which direction he was going, it didn’t matter anyway at this point. He didn’t have any money for shelter, food, or a way to stay dry, he just needed to keep moving, so he followed the sidewalk’s path. With the way he appeared, no business would let him take shelter until the rain cleared, and who knows how long that would be? The only thing he knew right now was that it was past noon, and the rain started just now. Wet. Cold. Hungry. Alone. Click’s needs boiled and broken down to such simple necessities, he never had to experience them all at once for so long…

. . .

He bumped into a dumpster in an alleyway during his unguided walk…

. . .

His stomach churned at the thought of what kind of diseases and mold could be lurking in the dumpster, but fate had brought him here for a reason…

. . .

It was the dumpster, or nothing.

. . .

Click lifted the lid of the dumpster, a bit relieved that there wasn’t much inside, and it wasn’t as grimy as he expected. He hesitated to climb in, every ounce of his being fighting against the choice he was about to make. To him before this week, it was a place for garbage to be thrown away, never to be seen again, never to be used again, never to return, and he was now seeing it in a new light.

It was a shelter from the rain.

And so, Click stepped one leg at a time into the dumpster. His body violently shuddered at the texture his feet were now feeling from stepping on one of the trash bags. He forced himself further in, a soft whimper escaping his mouth as the reality of what he was doing hit him over and over again like a brick. Soon, he was far enough inside to close the lid, and he slowly settled into the nestle of garbage bags that surrounded him. He was so scared to move in there, he didn’t want to touch anything, but the choice was being made for him this time. His body had gone through so much exercise with no real food to fuel it and sustained numerous injuries today, it was beginning to shut him down. Click let himself lean backwards until his head and back rested against the garbage bag pile, and his eyelids began to close. He fought as hard as he could to stay awake, but it was a battle he wasn’t going to win. His body slumped into the pile and his eyelids closed.

Five days down…

[shimii26]

Faz-Pocket Shenanigans: Chapter 2

“Goodbye friends, we can’t wait to see you all tomorrow!” Sun squealed, waving to the last of the children leaving the daycare.

“Nice job today Sun, you almost went the whole day without tripping over a kid!” Moon chastised, chuckling as he went to clean up a pile of noisemaker barrels.

“Hey! I can’t always see where I’m going when I’m six feet taller than the kids, Moon!” Sun pouted, crossing his arms.

It had been four weeks since Sun and Moon’s most recent upgrade of being able to convert food into usable energy. The Pizza Plex has yet to make any progress with convincing the city to provide them the necessary power they need to power their robots with electricity only, so all of the animatronics have had to adapt their schedules in order to be able to eat on time. Sun and Moon’s schedule in particular was the easiest to transition since they work in a night and day manner already, and they need to refuel at least once every twelve hours. The Glamrocks however took a bit longer to adapt; with their numerous concerts and birthday parties they needed to attend everyday, it was difficult at first to implement breaks for them to be able to refuel. Luckily, the staff found it was easier to have the Glamrocks partake in some of the party food when they got the chance, that way, they wouldn’t have to leave their post and continue entertaining the kids. Sometimes the children in the daycare would bring extra snacks that Sun could partake in if he was offered during his shift, but not every kid brings in a ‘clean’ snack, so it’s not always feasible for him to get ahead on his eating schedule. Since Moon handles naptime and the sleepover nights, the kids aren’t sharing snacks since they’re meant to be sleeping, so it’s very rare for Moon to have a bite to eat during his shift, but he doesn’t seem to mind much, especially when the only things the kids bring in tend to be on the messy side. As long as they remember to eat after their shifts, the artificial hunger didn’t seem to bother them.

Sun even managed to gain an appreciation of all the new flavors he’s never had before and learn about different cultures from whatever snacks the kids bring in to share. Sometimes if he was lucky, he’d take a sample with him and give it to Moon once he was done with his shift (If he didn’t eat the rest of it himself that is…). But now that they have been running on this new schedule for a month, it was time for the staff to check in on everyone. A Parts and Service technician walked in on the closing daycare door as the last parent and child duo had left, and he walked up to the two of them. “Alright you two, come with me. It’s time for your monthly check-up, gotta make sure your new upgrades are running properly.” the technician told them, tapping on their clipboard.

“A check-up?” Sun wondered, tilting his head. “But, aren’t we in charge of the maintenance of our new upgrades?”

“I don’t think they’re talking about the cleaning part, Sun.” Moon informed him. “Shouldn’t we spruce up the daycare first?” “Don’t worry, we’re going to have staff do that tonight, you two will be staying overnight in Parts and Service while we go through your calibrations and downloading some new updates to your software.” the technician explained.

“Overnight?” Sun mumbled, it was the first time he had heard of this kind of Parts and Service option. “Is that why the sleepover was canceled tonight?”

“Yes, it was to make sure we could work on you two at the same time in order to avoid a possible emergency malfunction and prevent the daycare from being unattended while the kids were here. Now c’mon.” they confirmed, heading towards the door.

“Okay.” Sun and Moon nodded, following the technician to Parts and Services.

Despite knowing that this was only a check-up, Sun was still a bit nervous. Ever since the threat of decommissioning the two of them when Moon had his virus, he had been wary of being anywhere near this place. He shuddered and held onto Moon’s shoulders for comfort.

“Relax Sunny, it won’t hurt a bit.” Moon reassured him, placing one of his hands on Sun’s as they walked.

“I-If you say so…” Sun replied, keeping his head behind Moon’s.

- - -

“Alright, we’re here, stay put until the mechanic is ready for you two. They should be almost finished with Monty.” they instructed them, shutting the door behind them.

Moon could feel Sun’s hands increase their shuddering the longer the two waited.

“...Sun, you alright?” Moon turned to Sun, bringing his gaze towards his.

“...I-I know we didn’t do a-anything wrong, but… I just d-don’t like being i-in here…” Sun stuttered, starting to shake a bit more.

“Easy Sun, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ll make sure of it, okay?” Moon comforted him, pulling him in for a hug.

“...T-Thank you…” Sun sniffled, leaning into the hug.

Suddenly the door behind them creaked open, it was the mechanic and an assistant. Their outfits were stained with various oils and dust patches, presumably from working on all of the other animatronics from earlier today. Sun jolted when he heard the door and hid behind Moon.

“Okay boys, we’ll need one of you to come with me and the other stays in here. We’ll shut one of you down to do the updates and talk with the other about any issues, then switch once the updates are done downloading, okay?” The mechanic informed them. “So, who’s updating first?”

Sun gulped. He hated the idea of being shut down for the updates, any lack of control put him at unease. Moon took quick notice of this and stepped forward.

“-I’ll update first, just… Want to get it over with, y’know?” Moon shrugged, turning to Sun and giving him a wink to show him his kindness.

“Alright Moon, come with me. Sun, you stay here with Miss Farnes and talk about any issues you may be having.” The mechanic nodded, leading Moon through the door. “I’ll be back, Sun, don’t worry.” Moon warmly smiled, stepping through to head to the other room.

Sun nodded, watching Moon head out the door. He turned to Miss Farnes, who smiled and patted the table next to her, encouraging him to sit on it. He hesitated, but did so, gripping the table as his feet barely dangled off the edge. Even though he was one of the tallest animatronics in the Pizza Plex, the table was still quite high for his height. Despite her friendliness towards him and Moon’s support, he remained a bit uneasy.

“Now Sun, let’s go over some of the issues you’ve been facing with this new upgrade first and go from there, okay?” she asked him.

“Well… Okay.” Sun replied, rubbing his neck. “It was a bit… challenging to figure out what I could and couldn’t eat. I had hoped the instructions were a bit more clear and precise, but some of the do’s and don’ts were a bit vague to say the least.”

“Oh, I see. Well, we can certainly get someone to give you a more extensive guide on what’s allowed and what’s not, does that seem reasonable?” she offered.

“...Yeah, I’d like that.” Sun smiled, relaxing a bit now that he was distracted. “A-And I think the new additions to our rooms have been really helpful… But I think we could use stronger utensils, Moon has a habit of snapping the plastic ones before he can use them.”

The two of them chuckled at that fact.

“Sure, we can get you two some silverware, but we’ll need to provide you with access to a nearby sink so you can wash them properly. We don’t want mold developing in your rooms afterall.” she nodded, taking down some notes about needed changes. “You two are able to clean the daycare by yourselves, some real silverware shouldn’t be an issue for you to learn.”

“Oh yeah, we’ve already had lots of practice in the play kitchen with the little ones in the daycare! They’re so smart, they even showed me how to use the play 'DishWasher’!” Sun giggled.

“Great, that’s good to know. Anything else we should know about?” She wondered.

“Hrmm…” Sun pondered. “...Do you think we can get some more unique foods in our fridge to eat? One of the little ones introduced me to Dim Sum, and it’s an absolutely delightful tasting treat! I’d like to eat more of it on my breaks!”

“Well, the pizzeria doesn’t sell Dim Sum, and I’m not sure if we can convince inventory to purchase food items that are only consumed by the animatronics, but I can put in a word for you!” she told him, taking down his food order.

“Thank you!” Sun squealed, excited for the chance to try more new foods.

“Okay, I think we’re all set with the questions, now we can get into the examination.” she told him.

“E-Examination?” Sun asked, his rays drooping a bit. “You mean, like, a tune-up?”

“Yes, I just need to check some of your internal parts for damage and make sure you’re cleaning yourself up properly, okay?” she informs him, reaching for his chest plate.

“W-Wait, don’t open-!” Sun tried to stop her, but-

FOOOOOOSH!

A massive cloud of black soot poured out from Sun’s chest cavity, covering Miss Farnes from head to toe. They coughed from the sudden dust cloud, both fanning the air to try and improve the visual field. “-that…” Sun groaned. “I uh… I haven't had a chance to clean that yet…”

“Oof, Sun…” she cleared her throat. “When was the last time you cleaned out your waste container?”

“U-Um…” Sun stuttered, twiddling his thumbs. “...Gosh, I-I don’t remember, maybe… fourteen days ago?” “Sun, you need to be more on top of cleaning yourself out.” she warned him. “We don’t want you trailing soot on the kids, or causing your body to overheat. If this can’t regulate your temperature properly, you might shut down during your shift.” “W-What!? Oh gosh, I-I don’t want to do that to the kids!” Sun panicked, locking his hands together. “I-I’ll make sure I clean up more often, I-I promise!” “That’s good to hear, now let’s get you cleaned up.” she smiled, taking his waste container out and placing it in the sink. “Would you mind lying down for me?” “Oh uh, okay…” Sun agreed and lied down, watching curiously at what she was going to do next.

She turned around and set up a brush tip vacuum, turning it on and began to clean Sun out. He giggled at the funny feeling the vacuum gave him, and was relieved that he wasn’t in much trouble for the mess he created.

- - -

“Alright Moon, lay down on the table and we’ll get the update going.” The mechanic instructed him when the two of them entered the computer room.

“Fine.” Moon grumbled, not looking forward to being shut down. “...Look, when you get to Sun… Can you try and be a bit nice to him? He’s not very thrilled about being back in Parts and Service, especially after you guys dragged him here to repair his neck weeks ago.”

“We did what we had to do to repair him, the least he can do is let us do the updates without a fight.” they glared at Moon, the two sharing an equal dislike of each other. “Just lie down and turn your head away from me.”

“As you wish, your majesty~” Moon mocked, putting on his best snotty servant impression as he bowed then lied down.

“Don’t call me that... Hold still, this’ll only take a few hours.” they told him, strapping Moon onto the table and taking out a USB cable to plug him into the mainframe.

“Damn, good thing I’m not going to be awake that long…” Moon yawned, beginning the shut down process.

“Yeah yeah, whatever…” the mechanic sighed, shutting Moon down and setting the computer up for the download once he was plugged in.

- - -

“Hehehehee, that tickles!” Sun laughed as Miss Farnes worked on his internal wiring.

“Hold still Sun, I just have to replace a couple more cables!” she chuckled, trying to keep her hands steady and pull out the right wires.

“S-Sorry, it’s just s-so sensitive there, hahahaha!” he continued, trying not to kick his feet.

“...Alright, that should do it! You’re all set for the update, then you’ll be ready for tomorrow!” she smiled, closing him up.

“Yeah! I-” he paused, remembering that this was only part one of his check-up. “...Oh yeah, t-the update…” “Don’t worry Sun, you won’t feel a thing. It’ll be just like playing hide-and-seek when you’re it, just close your eyes, count to ten, and you’re back! Nothing to worry about!” she reassured him.

“...O-Okay, I think I’m ready...” he nodded.

“Oh, but first, we should get you out of those soot stained clothes, we’ll wash them for you while you update.” she told him, giving his pants a tug. “Can you take ‘em off for me?” “Heh, oh yeah, can’t have them dirty for tomorrow!” Sun agreed, standing up and took them off. “Can I keep my wrist bells on though?” “Sure, they don’t appear to have gotten soot on them.” she shrugged.

Suddenly the door behind them opened up, Moon entering first looking a bit tired from being shut down for so long. The mechanic followed behind him, looking equally enthusiastic.

“Oh Moon, you’re back! Are you okay? Did it hurt!?” Sun concerningly asked, giving Moon a sudden hug.

“Heh, Sun I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about. Now c’mon, the sooner it’s done, the sooner we can get back to work.” Moon reassured him, patting him on the back.

“Let’s go Sun, the computer’s ready.” the mechanic instructed.

“O-Okay…” Sun groaned, rubbing the side of his arm and following the mechanic to the computer room.

“Alright, and while you're here Moon, we can go over any issues you two have been having with your newest upgrade.” Farnes told him.

“Fineeee, I guess we do have a couple complaints…” Moon shrugged, shutting the door and sitting down on the table.

“Great, why don’t we go over some of the points Sun brought up?” she suggested to him.

“Aight, shoot.” Moon chuckled while crossing his arms and legs.

“Okay, Sun was hoping for a better instruction booklet that’s much more specific to help you two better learn what’s okay to eat and what’s not, he’s asked for stronger utensils in your room to use, and he’d like more new foods to eat, like Dim Sum.” she said going down the list.

“Yeah, I keep holding the forks too hard and the plastic snaps.” Moon explained. “..And I wouldn’t mind something new to eat, pizza does get a bit old once you’ve tried every topping…”

“Okay great, do you have concerns for yourself?” she asked.

“Hrmm…” Moon pondered. “...I want to try tacos.” Moon requested. “And I want more fruit snacks.”

“...Okayyy, anything else?” she asked, trying to redirect back to her question with one eyebrow raised.

“...Whole milk, not skim.” Moon responded.

“Any actual problems?...” she redirected again.

…He didn’t answer.

“Look, you don’t have to give me attitude.” she sighed, getting up from her chair. “I’m just here to help you two through this temporary upgrade… let’s just get to the tune-up.”

“Hey, this is just me at my best, I dunno what you’re talking about.” Moon mocked.

“Sure, just, shut up and let me work.” she rolled her eyes, opening up Moon’s chest cavity and examining inside. “...Okay, nice and clean so far, been keeping up with your maintenance.”

“Why thank you, Miss Farnes~” Moon chuckled with a toothy grin. “I do try my hardest afterall~”

“Moon stop it, I need to focus.” she remarked, taking out her stethoscope. “Let’s make sure your gears aren’t squeaking.”

“Umm…” Moon was about to say something, but...

CLICK CREAAK WHIIIIRRRR…

. . .

“Mooooon?…” she sighed and looked up at his face.

“Yeah?” he replied back.

“...Did you eat today?” she confronted him.

“...If I say yes, will you shut up?” Moon sleazily smiled.

…She gave Moon quite the staredown.

“Fine, no…” he grumbled, giving his stomach a pat. “I didn’t have time to eat…” “Moon, you should have plenty of time to eat while Sun is caring for the kids in the morning.” She scolded as she began to look through some of the cabinets nearby. “What could you have possibly been doing that whole time?”

“Duh, sleeping. It’s important to me.” Moon answered back, putting his arms and legs back in a criss-cross and turning his head away in a pout.

“Moon, you need to eat; plain and simple. Your gears are going to hurt you the longer you wait.” she explained, holding out a bag of cookies for him to take. “Here, eat this. We can check to see if your converter is working this way.” “Urgghh, cookies, really?” Moon groaned, taking the bag and opening it up.

“Eat it.” she demanded, bringing her voice tone lower.

- - -

Sun and the mechanic soon arrived at the computer room for his update. Taking everything in, Sun’s nerves started to get the better of him, and he began to shudder again. Shutting himself down made him uncomfortable since he lacked control in this state, just like when Moon had his virus in the past. But despite being in his own body and having full control of what he can do during the night, it still filled him with fear of the unknown.

“Alright, lay down and turn your head away from me, let’s get this over with.” the mechanic instructed.

“W-Wait! C-Can’t we just do this another way? W-We don’t need to s-shut myself down to-” Sun started, but was cut off.

“Sun, lay down. You will be shutting down for this update, no alternatives or excuses.” they ordered him.

“Y-Yes sir…” Sun stuttered, doing as he said.

As the cold table touched his back, he shivered a bit, keeping his head faced away from the mechanic. He felt their hands grip the back of his face plate, placing the USB cable into one of his ports. Sun gulped and turned to face him once the plug was in. “...I…I will… wake up, r-right?...” Sun whimpered.

The mechanic sighed, they didn’t have much choice but to comfort Sun just a bit.

“...Yes, you’re going to wake up in a few hours. Just relax already.” they sarcastically reassured him, switching one of Sun’s power switches.

“O-Okay…” Sun whispered, slowly shutting his eyes as he powered down.

“...Finally…” they rolled their eyes. “What a baby…”

- - -

“Aaaand that should be the last wire. Okay Moon, you’re good to head back to your room and get ready for today.” Farnes told him, closing up his chest cavity. “It’ll be a couple hours before Sun finishes, so you can take a nap beforehand if you want.”

“About time, I’ve been up all night…” Moon yawned as he sat up. “...Thanks for the tune-up, and don’t forget to let the staff know about our requests.”

“Don’t worry, I will. Take care!” she nodded, waving goodbye to him as he stepped out of the room.

. . .

Moon walked by himself towards the daycare, getting in a few stretches along the way. Despite being shut down for a few hours, he was still quite tired from the ordeal, and decided he would take advantage of the free time and have a nice long nap. Once he entered through the daycare’s double doors and stepped over to the play area, he hooked himself up to the fly rig that hung in place by the ball pit’s edge and lifted himself up to their room. Once he reached the wall stage, he then proceeded to unhook himself to store it on their own hook, and made his way inside, flopping right into his bed once he got to it. He rolled himself up with his blanket and grabbed a few pillows to snuggle up with. Soon his exhaustion combined with the warmth he began to generate overtook him and he fell straight to sleep, faintly snoring a bit.

- - -

“...Mnnnrgghh, wh- huh?...” Sun groaned, stirring awake from his shut down.

“Oh good, you’re up. You’re all set with your update, take your pants and head back to the daycare.” the mechanic told him while he unlocked Sun’s straps and handed him his freshly washed trousers.

“Oh, I’m… back awake. Whew, glad that’s over…” Sun sighed in relief, taking his trousers in hand. “Thank you for the work you do here.” “Mhmm yeah, just go, it’s almost time for your shift.” they said as they unplugged him. “Hurry on out.” “Oh my gosh! It’s already time for my shift!? I-I gotta go!” Sun panicked, jumping onto his feet and heading towards the exit as he tried to put his pants on at the same time.

. . .

Tying his tutu back into place, he rushed towards the daycare, seeing some of the kids already beginning to line up at the check-in. To avoid any of the kids running after him, he took the employees only path that led to the main door, luckily he had the code remembered in order to even use this pathway. As he sprinted down the corridor, he suddenly felt an odd twinge in his stomach…

CREEAAK CLICK CLICK VRRRRR…

“-Huh? What the?”

Sun slowed down to check what might have been causing the noise, along with the uncomfortable feeling. It had only occurred to him now just how much time had passed during his and Moon’s tune-up. Neither of them as far as he could recall were given a time reset with a snack, so he was due for a refueling.

“Oh that’s right! I’ve been at Parts and Services all night, I didn’t eat anything!... I-I can’t do my shift on an empty stomach!“ Sun told himself. “...I should have enough time to eat something quick before the kids come in…”

He eventually made it to the end of the employee path corridor and opened the metal door, heading for the main entrance of the daycare. He pushed the right door of the large double doors open just a crack to enter, stepping over to the ballpit’s edge where their fly rig is typically hung…

But the fly rig wasn’t there.

The fly rig is gone…” Sun gasped with concern. “Hopefully Moon is awake to throw me down the hook…”

It was 7:59, he only had one minute left to get upstairs and refuel. He stepped on the tallest play structure near their room entrance and called out to Moon.

“MOON!? YOU AWAKE!? I NEED OUR FLY RIG TO GET-” WOOOOSH!

The double doors flung open, and the morning daycare kids flooded in with excitement. Some kids jumped into the ballpit right away to join Sun, others began to crawl in the jungle gym, and a few began to create in the arts and crafts corner. It was immediately overwhelming to him since he wasn’t at the front to direct everyone to first put away their backpacks and shoes, as well as his focus was still on getting himself the fly rig so he could eat. If he couldn’t eat at any point during his shift, he could be in for a long day…

“-C’mon Mr. Sun, let’s play!” One child yelled to Sun, grabbing his attention.

“-Huh? O-Oh, y-yes of course! It’s uh, time to play, starlights!” Sun announced, his smile clearly on the artificial side today.

It was at this point he had no choice; with Moon unable to hear him in his sleep, there was going to be no fly rig to help him get back to his room to eat. He would have to wait until he could find the right opportunity to alert one of the guards to grab him a snack, but that was easier said than done. It seemed like the kids were riled up today, already looking like they want to play a very physically demanding game with Sun, hopefully he wouldn’t have to move as much as they were wanting to, the more he played in this condition, the more uncomfortable he would feel, and would soon be noticeable by the children. Always wanting to make sure the kids would never worry about him, he would have to be on top of masking his discomfort, and finding ways to distract them from the noise his body will inevitably make.

“So uh, what game do you kids wanna play first? That is, after we have you remove your-” Sun started, but was quickly cut off.

“We wanna play Color Tag, and we want you to be ‘it’ first!” One kid explained the rules, making sure everyone was on board, which they seemed to be. “If we call out a color before you tag us, we’re safe for 10 seconds, and you have to tag all of us out to win! We can only call out each color once, that makes it harder as we play!”

Great, Sun was it first? That amount of movement was surely going to put him through his paces. He would just have to bide his time and go along with the ordeal, hopefully the kids weren’t very creative with their colors besides the basics. Luckily since he towered over the kids in height, he didn’t have to run as fast to catch up with them.

“Ready!? Gooooo!” another kid shouted, causing everyone to scatter.

Sun got to work and began to chase the kids who were closest to him. Already his first attempts to catch even a single kid were futile, they knew their basic colors quite well thanks to all of the creative lessons he had given them over the months they’d been coming there. Soon they started to use more uncommon colors to escape being tagged, some colors he had no idea where they even learned their names, but luckily the younger ones weren’t as familiar, so they were the first to be tagged out. The strain of the physicality of the game was beginning to affect him as the hunger became more frequent and got louder with each kid he managed to tag out. Eventually there were no more colors the kids could think of, so this was Sun’s chance to finish up and alert a guard of his situation.

“I’m gonna get you!” Sun cheered as he got closer to the last child. “Aaaand, gotcha! Hahaha, I won!” “Yaaaayyy, Sun wins! Again, again!” many of the older kids shouted. “Again, again, again!”

Again!? No way was he about to play Color Tag again in this condition, but how to direct their attention away just long enough for him to slip away?

“U-Uhhh, ooooo new game! H-How about we play- um… Hide-and-Seek!? I’ll hide, and you all count to twenty! Cover your eyes now, cmon!” Sun cheekily smiled, thinking himself clever of his idea; if they couldn’t see where he went, he could get himself a snack from one of the security guards.

“Okay! One, two, three…” The kids in unison began to count.

Sun quickly scurried over to the front desk, where one of the employees was under the desk organizing which plugs should be connected to the only power outlet they had. He peeked over the edge and tried to get the worker’s attention.

“Pssst! Hey, I need your help…” Sun whispered, causing the technician to bump their head on the roof of the desk.

“-Aghh! Shit, that hurts…”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you…” Sun apologized. “L-Listen, I need to take a break, I didn’t-”

“TWENTY!” The kids shouted out loud. “READY OR NOT, HERE WE COME!”

They were already done counting!? Sun stuttered a bit trying to get his request for help out before the kids noticed he wasn’t really hiding, and sure enough, before he could ask, they ran to him.

‘Nuts, should’ve picked a higher number than twenty…’ Sun thought to himself before being dogpiled on by all the kids.

“FOUND YOU!” They all giggled, climbing over each other and tumbling off of him.

Sun knew he couldn’t just try to sit up when they were using him as a hill, he’d probably cause one of them to slip and hurt themselves, so he had to wait until they were done with the dogpile. But before he could notice…

CLICK CREEAAAK WHIIRRRRR…

His eyes grew wide as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, he couldn’t even try to comfort the sore spot since there were about a dozen children stepping on him. But suddenly, the kids also grew aware of the strange noise, and shrieked in surprise and confusion, tumbling off of him and gathering in a group a few feet away from Sun. He managed to finally sit himself up, but now there was a problem. Every single kid was looking at him like one would look at an angry dog staring them down. They were scared, scared of what came out of Sun. He really didn’t want the children to be terrified of him, so a quick white lie was thought up.

��Mr. Sun, w-what was that?” One kid hesitantly asked.

“-Oh sorry about that! Don’t you worry, it was uh-” Sun fumbled his words together. “M-My bear impression, yeah! Like a mean teddy bear, and I’m gonna get you all and eat you up! Raaawwrr!”

“AHHHH, RUN! HE’S GONNA GET US!” The children playfully screamed and scattered, buying Sun some time to slip away.

While the children were distracted, Sun quickly darted back over to the guard’s station desk and pulled down one of the guard’s newspapers to face them.

“J-Jim! You gotta help me, I need to get upstairs for a break!” Sun begged. “I was in Parts and Service last night, and they forgot to-” “GET THE BEAR!” The kids shouted, carrying pool noodles and charging after Sun. “MAKE HIS HEAD A TROPHY!”

“Nooooo!” Sun whined, unable to get help again and was taken down to the ground by the rain of pool noodles smacking his back. “Owww, darn it…”

“YAAAYYYY!” The kids cheered, waving their pool noodles around in celebration. “WE GOT THE BEAR! NOW LET’S STUFF HIM!” Sun’s eyes widened. Stuff him? He could only guess what they meant by that as he was dragged away from the security guard’s table and back over to the play area.

There was no escaping it, today was going to be rough…

- - -

CREEAAAK VRRRR CLICK CLICK WHIIIIRRRR…

Game after mindlessly long game, and several agonizing moments of being pulled and tugged by the children, Sun was being pushed to his limits. His back ached from the strain of endlessly bending down to pick up kids over and over again, his neck was stiff from having to constantly dart around for any chance of escaping to refuel, he couldn’t catch his breath despite not needing to breathe in the first place, and worst of all, his stomach wouldn’t stop it’s stabbing pain and constantly alerting him to eat. Sun laid face up and sprawled himself out in the ballpit, he stared up at the ceiling, trying not to move much, every single movement he made caused his body to ache more. It was driving him up a wall, and it seemed like there wouldn't be an end to his shift. Until…

“Alright kids, snack time!” One security guard announced as others set up tables and chairs. "Grab your snacks from your backpacks and find a seat!” “YAAAAYYYY, SNACKTIME!” The kids squealed as they dropped their current toys and ran over to the cubbies.

“H-Huh, what?...” Sun groaned as he slowly sat up from within the middle of the ballpit. “S-Snacktime?... Ughhh, finally…”

He was grateful his schedule always included lunch, or ‘Snack Time’ as the kids called it, at the halfway point, so with most of the children distracted with their meals, now was the perfect time to slip away. As the security guards guided each kid to their designated spots for lunch, Sun stood up and slowly tiptoed over to their station desk, hoping to luck out and be escorted back to his room so he could relieve himself of the pain. But the instant he made it to the desk, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Sun grit his teeth before he turned his head to face whoever was trying to grab his attention.

“...What?” Sun snapped back at the guard before they could talk to him.

“-Jesus Sun, turn your volume down, you’re gonna freak the kids out with that attitude.” The guard warned him. “Listen, the kids have requested that you join them during Snack Time. You can try anything they offer you, ONLY if they offer anything to you.”

Sun’s teeth gritting stopped and he softly gasped. That’s right! The kids were always so generous with their treats! Cheesy animal crackers, fudgy brownies with sprinkles, mini blueberry muffins, shoestring chips, and those fruit snacks with the jelly inside, how could he resist? He quickly made his way over to the snack table and sat at the end, where they had reserved him a special seat. Since he towered over the children and the chairs were meant for them to sit in, his legs bowed out to the side when he sat down. His eyes immediately were drawn to the lunch bag of the children who sat next to him, staring hungrily at their food as they removed each item one by one from their bags.

CLICK CLICK…

Sun resisted the temptation to grab any of the food he saw, knowing that he wasn’t allowed to eat anything unless the kids gave him permission. But the pain he felt was practically unbearable to hide from the children, his smile slowly twitching from its highest position downward. He swore he could feel drool beginning to form at the corners of his mouth, like a dog waiting to be told to eat. His pupils shrunk as all of his attention was drawn to the food, his hands shaking in his lap, trying to keep them from touching anything.

CREEEAAKK…

It was becoming too much.

The pain was too much.

The headache was too much.

The back pain was too much.

. . .

“Mr. Sun?” One kid tried to get his attention by tapping him on the arm.

Sun turned his head rigidly and his pupils dilated as he turned his focus on what they were holding out for him. His expression lightened a bit as he noticed they were a little surprised at his appearance, and calmly tilted his head.

“We made this snack plate for you!” The kid offered Sun, smiling as all of the other children nodded and clapped. “Join us!”

He was in disbelief, a whole plate, just for him! Sun couldn’t help but smile warmly as he gently took the plate from the child and placed it right next to him. Finally, he could stop the pain once and for all and have enough energy to finish his shift! He scanned the plate to see what the kids had prepared for him; a little bit of everything, like every child had contributed to preparing his plate. He decided to start with the cheesy animal crackers, and he reached down to grab a couple, when…

“I WANNA TRY SOME!” one whiny child sitting next to him yelled, reaching over the table without much care, and smacked their hand on Sun’s snack plate. “GIMME GIMME!”

Someone touching HIS FOOD!? HIS. FOOD!?

Sun’s eyes darkened and his pupils glowed a dark red, his teeth curling into a snarl, a sharp scowl blanketing over his face as his programming tried desperately to override his actions, but his hunger was too severe to succumb to the override. With a swift and aggressive motion, he snatched the hand of the whiny child with his right hand and gripped it tight, causing their joints to crack.

“OWWWW!” the whiny kid cried out. “YOU’RE HURTING MEEEEE!”

“That’s MY plate- MY PLATE! DON’T TOUCH MY PLATE, OR YOU’RE IN TIME-OUT!” Sun barked. “I NEED TO EAT, YOU GOT THAT, RULEBREAKER!?”

. . .

“...Waaaahhhh!” the kid began to sob, pulling their hand away from Sun once he let go and holding it in their other hand. “You’re a meanie!” “SUN!” One of the security guards alerted him, the others quickly taking over chaperoning the lunch tables. “Come with me!”

Suddenly Sun was jerked from his seat by the head security guard by one of his sun rays, he stumbled standing up and struggled to keep his balance when his head was held so much lower than the rest of his body, like one would drag a child by their ear when they were in trouble. The child who he had grabbed was also led away to a nearby first-aid station in the daycare to make sure the injury to their arm wasn’t bleeding or didn’t leave a mark.

“Ooooo, Mr. Sun’s in trouble!” The other kids mocked, returning to their lunches once he was out of the area.

- - -

“-AGGHH -OOWWW! You’re pulling too hard!” Sun whimpered, the additional pain on top of the pain he was already in was too overwhelming to resist being dragged along.

“Are you out of your fucking mind!?” The guard scolded him, letting go of his sun ray once they had reached Parts and Service. “Do you have any idea what kind of lawsuit we could face if that child goes home and tells their parents that they don’t want to come to the Pizza Plex anymore because you hurt them!?”

“I-I-I didn’t mean to…” Sun stuttered, twiddling his thumbs. “I-I was just stressed, t-that’s all… I just couldn’t help it, I was so hungry I-”

“No fucking excuses, Sun!” The guard cut off his sentence. “I don’t get paid nearly enough to deal with your bullshit, okay? You HAVE to refuel at least once before your shift!... Look, if you’re really having trouble keeping yourself fed, we can just start cutting your work time short or even change the naptime schedule to start before your shift ends-”

‘-NO! No please!” Sun begged, even getting down on his knees and clasping his hands together. “Please please please don’t cut my hours! I don’t think I could stand spending even a minute less with those little angels! I-I’ll refuel on time, I’ll speak up for myself, I promise, PLEASE!”

. . .

CREEAAK WHIIIRRR CLICK CLICK!

Sun’s face glowed red with embarrassment.

“...Umm, heh heh, ouch… Mind giving me a hand now?...”

“...Urgghhh, fine…” the guard grumbled, finding a pack of cookies in a cabinet nearby and handing them to Sun. “Eat. We’ll sort out that kid’s incident report paperwork once your shift is over and the parents come to pick them up.”

Without hesitation, Sun snatched the cookie pack from their hands and ripped it open, wasting no time in shoving a few into his awaiting jaws. The cookie crumbs coated his tongue, and the brown sugar and the semi-sweet chocolate inside the cookies wrapped Sun’s whole head around the absolute ecstasy of delicious flavors he had been dying for. He couldn’t help but let out a small moan of pleasure as his motherboard translated the taste information in his mouth into emotional stimulation in his head, much to the dismay of the security guard. Once the cookies were sufficiently chewed, he swallowed the mouthful down to let the rest of his body take over processing the nutrients into fuel, which took no time at all since the demand for the refueling was quite high. In moments he felt an instant boost of energy, a lightening of his mood, and best of all, the fading away of the pain in his stomach.

“Mmmmm, oh man… I really needed that…” Sun sighed deeply, relaxing his shoulders. “...Thanks for helping me out, I… I should go say sorry to the child I hurt, I don’t want them to think I meant to do that…” “Yeah, probably for the best, but you should maybe refuel a bit more before returning to work.” The guard advised Sun. “You’ve probably burned through more energy than you should’ve, so the energy from that snack might not last the whole twelve hours.” “Ohh, good point.” Sun agreed. “Alright then, whatever you’ve got to offer, I’ll eat.”

- - -

After a bit under an hour, Sun and the security guard returned to the daycare through the massive double doors, where they saw one daycare substitute playing ‘Parachute’ with the kids. Once he was in their line of sight, they were pretty excited to see him return as most of them quickly dropped their corners of the parachute and ran over to give him a hug.

“SUN SUN SUN!” the children cheered. “Did you miss us!?” “Where did you go!?” “Did you die!?” “You missed snack time!”

“Hey everyone!” Sun answered back with glee. “Sorry about leaving you like that, I just got a little out of control and went to time-out, but I feel better now!”

“And now that you do, there’s someone here that is waiting for their apology.” One security guard announced, leading the child that Sun had injured, over to him. “Go on, Sun.”

Oh no…

Sun could see how crushed the kid’s face looked; they didn’t want to make eye contact with him, and were still sniffling from crying earlier. They had a band-aid on their arm where he had grabbed them, so it was obvious whatever damage he had done left a mark of some kind. The kid was clearly traumatized to an extent, and it was all Sun’s fault. He bent down to meet the eye level of the kid and held out his hands for the kid to take.

“I’m… I’m sorry I lost control and hurt you…” Sun apologized. “I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you, it wasn’t fair, and you didn’t deserve that… Can you… forgive me?...”

The child paused before giving Sun a hug back.

“...Okay.” the kid softly chuckled. “Wanna play house now?” Sun smiled wide. He was relieved that everything between them had been forgiven. He just hoped any future confrontation with this child’s parents once they read the incident report would go as smoothly as this apology. But for now, he had a job to do.

“House!? My favorite, sure!” he chuckled, taking their hand and skipping with everyone towards the playhouses. “Who wants to play the mommy and daddy?” “ME! ME! ME!” several children shouted, raising their hands for the part.

“Okay, this group will be the mommies and daddies, and this group will be their little angels!” Sun instructed. “And who should I be?”

The children took a moment to talk amongst themselves to come up with an answer.

“THE DOG!” they giggled, one of them pushing Sun down onto the floor, then on all fours. “-Whoa!” he stumbled, picking himself back up. “Umm, okay, I can play as the dog! Uhh, woof woof!”

“FEED THE DOG!” all the kids playing the children of the playhouses shouted, grabbing various snack pieces they had saved from Snack Time and ran over to Sun with them. “FEED HIM!” “-Wait, what-” Sun started before several pretzels were shoved into his mouth. “-Ommph!”

It was absolutely precious to him, the children had felt so bad for Sun that they worked together during Snack Time to make him a new snack plate, a little something from everyone. He had already eaten his fill in Parts and Service, but the children went out of their way to make it up to him, how could he say no?...

He couldn’t, he was playing the house dog, and the rules of house dog?

Eat anything they fed him.

- - -

The clock struck 7pm, it was time for the children who weren’t staying the night to head home, which today was surprisingly everyone, giving the boys the night off. Sun sighed in relief that his shift was over, which meant he could take the break his body needed, especially after going through such a tough few hours on low battery. He guided the children back to the backpack cubbies with a ‘Goodbye’ song, and got them ready to head home, the security guards handling the checkouts with incoming parents there to pick up their kids. One by one, each child met back up with their parents, many of them eager to relay the day they had to them, and hopefully keeping quiet about any trouble Sun caused one of them. Once every child was accounted for exiting, he made his way over to the ballpit, stepping into it a couple paces before turning around and letting himself fall flat backwards into the plastic balls. He let out a groan and shut his eyes, remembering that just because his time with daycare duty was over, his time of cleanup and maintenance began. But luckily he wouldn’t be doing this task alone. 

When his eyes reopened a couple minutes later, his gaze was met with Moon’s, who had just awoken from his sleep and descended from their room via the fly rig he had kept upstairs the whole time. Moon smiled cheekily at Sun’s expense as he hung upside down in front of him. He sometimes took a bit of pleasure seeing his sunny work partner in disarray as it was completely out of his character. He knew Sun had quite the stamina for handling the stress of a long day of caring for children, but even he had a limit, and seeing him cross that limit was amusing to him. Sun replied to Moon’s smile with a scowl, unimpressed with his lack of consideration with access to the fly rig.

“Y’know you could’ve done me a solid before my shift began, Moon.” Sun grumbled, lifting his head up to address him better.

“It’s not my fault they didn’t feed you during your tune-up~” Moon chastised. “You should’ve spoken up and told them you were low.”

“I forgot, okay!?” Sun barked, plastic balls scattering around him when he lunged up and forward to be face to face with Moon. “Just- Help me with cleaning the daycare up for tomorrow, please? I’m… tired…”

“Hehehehe… Very well~” Moon chuckled, fiddling with Sun’s face rays. “Just give me a moment to prepare.”

“...Alright.” Sun sighed, standing back up and removing any plastic balls stuck in his pockets. “...Wait, you’ve had all day to yourself! What could you possibly need to do NOW to prepare!?”

CREEEAAK CLICK CLICK!

Sun stared at him in disbelief. No, he didn’t!

“I need to refuel!~” Moon sang as he ascended back up to their room via the fly rig attached to his back.

“MOOOOON!” Sun angrily yelled and stomped his feet. “GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND DO YOUR JOB!”

[shimii26]

Sugary Temptations

126 days after the crash…

“Leeeet’s paaartaaayy!” shouted Daisuke in his drunken state.

“That’s right kid, get your dance on, hahaha!” Swansea agreed with him and boogied in place.

“Guys c’mon, I think you’ve had enough today…” Anya sighed, watching them from afar.

It had been two months since the crew of the Tulpar discovered the cargo they were instructed to deliver for over a year turned out to be nothing but an ocean of alcoholic Dragonbreath brand mouthwash. Since it was quite clear to most of the crew that there would most likely never be a rescue team coming out to save them as they’ve been off course for months, Swansea and Daisuke decided that the Pony Express’s threat of docking pay for participating in what was being shipped was now worthless words, so they started to dip into the cargo and enjoy a taste.

Or two.

Or a few dozen bottles…

Despite her desperate need to distract her thoughts of their impending doom, Anya had decided not to partake in the mouthwash for numerous reasons, and Jimmy wanted to focus on ‘fixing’ everything that was going on around them. Curly was in no condition to be consuming any amount of alcohol, he was currently taking constant painkillers, which could be very damaging to his body. He could only have water and easy to swallow foods, so it was mainly just a two-man party on the ship. Daisuke had been brainstorming today about something else fun they could do together, and he stepped over to Swansea with a sudden plan brewing in his head, dancing over to him in the process.

“Heeeyy Swansea, I gots a plan I think you’re gonna liiiike!” he proposed with a tune in his voice.

“Aww yeah? Whatcha got for me, boy?” Swansea wondered with a smile towards him.

“I think Jimmy left the code scanner, next to his bed!” Daisuke giggled. “Let’s borrow it and find the code to the sweetener supply!” “...Y’know, that ain’t a baaaad idea, kiddo!” he nodded. “Hahaha, let’s do it, we can make another cake with it, why not?”

“-What? Guys, no we-”

Anya overheard their conversation, but figured this wouldn’t be an argument she’d probably win. Afterall, what else would the crew use the packs of sweetener and gelatin for?

She sighed. “...Oh forget it..”

“Let’s do iiiiittt!” Daisuke sang and skipped over to Jimmy’s sleeping bag, picking up the code scanner from the floor. “Got it!”

“The code should be on this page!” Swansea showed Daisuke, flipping through the provided Pony Express cookbook. “...Here it iiiiis, go on, scan it!” Daisuke checked for the code and Swansea punched the numbers into the packet machine several times, withdrawing multiple packs at once. Then Swansea prepared the cake as Daisuke withdrew the water and gelatin from the packet machine and handed it to him, eventually making another subpar birthday cake for them to feast on. Anya watched from afar, almost astounded that the two of them somehow didn’t fuck the recipe up. The nostalgic birthday music played once their delicious treat was created, further tickling the drunken excitement in their heads.

“Hell yeah, let’s eat!” Daisuke woohooed out loud, taking the waxy birthday candles out of the cake and sucking the white frosting off of them.

“Aaaalright alright, lemme cut us some slices!” Swansea chuckled, grabbing a nearby butter knife from the kitchen drawers and began to cut the pastry.

Daisuke sat on top of the counter and kicked his feet while he watched Swansea do his thing. Once the cake was cut into several triangle slices, the two of them clinked their mouthwash bottles together in a toast.

“Hear hear!” they shouted at the same time.

They took a bite of their slices, getting frosting all over their faces and clothes. Anya cringes in disgust, her nausea reemerging and occupying her full attention. Swansea finished his slice in almost record time as the Pony Express cake was one of his favorite work foods, and decided he was satisfied and returned to his dancing by the main lounge screen with his axe. Daisuke soon after finished his piece, but decided he wanted more than one, so after getting down from the counter and placing his mouthwash bottle in his back pocket, he grabbed another slice of cake in each hand and began to groove and walk towards the hallway.

“Oooo yeah! Feel the music in yah, Swansea! Hahahaha!” Daisuke cheered, shimmying his hips back and forth. “Imma go see if Jimmy wants a slice!”

“Okay kiddo, you do that!” Swansea answered back, using his axe as a dancing cane. Opening the hallway door, he shuffled his way towards the medical ward, not exactly paying attention to where he was going. Humming his favorite musical tune, he opened the medical ward door and moonwalked his way in, not even realizing where he just entered.

Curly snapped out of his disassociation and looked over at Daisuke, confused as to what had been going on in the other room without him. His vision was a bit blurred due to the fact that he couldn’t blink, but deduced based upon the sickly sweet smell of cheap frosting he could detect, the crew had made another cake. Not surprising since the code for the sweetener would have only been so complicated to decipher when there were only four buttons on the packet machine, but there really wasn’t much else to use the sweetener for besides maybe in a coffee.

Unable to get up and calm Daisuke down, he could only watch as Daisuke cut the rug next to him in his drunken state, getting frosting bits all over the floor and his clothes. Curly was hoping Anya would’ve noticed that he was missing and come to rescue the both of them, but it was clear he was on his own. He tried instead to call out to Daisuke, but his throat was still quite irritated and only some grunting noises could come out. They weren’t loud enough for those in the lounge to hear either.

It was then that Daisuke suddenly lost his footing underneath him and he tripped towards Curly’s gurney, smacking his face against the fabric and then onto the floor. A piece of cake from one of the slices broke off and landed next to Curly’s right arm, staining the sheet with a bright neon pink dye. He flinched when Daisuke’s face hit his gurney, and he tried to lift his head up to check and see if he was okay. Unfortunately he couldn’t lift it high enough to see, so he had no idea how bad the damage was.

“Arrggghhh… my face…” Daisuke groaned, rolling over onto his back. “...That hurt…”

He abandoned a piece of cake onto the ground to rub his nose, effectively getting frosting all over his face. He sat up and shook his head, trying to shake the pain off, somehow thinking it might work. After a minute of struggle to get back onto his feet, he looked back at Curly and drunkenly giggled, wiping the nosebleed he had developed from the fall.

“Soooorry Curly, I didn’t see you there!” Daisuke sniffled a bit. “Go back to your nap, Imma find Jimmy for yoooouuu!~”

. . .

Curly’s eye widened and he gulped.

. . .

N-No…

N-Not Jimmy…

. . .

With another disoriented moonwalk, Daisuke groggily picked up his second cake slice and stepped out of the medical ward and headed down towards the utility, where he hoped to find Jimmy working on his plan to ‘fix’ everything. Curly’s breath quickened a bit as it was sinking in what Daisuke meant with that comment. Jimmy was in charge of feeding him today as Anya had done so the past couple of times, the two of them took turns doing so as he guessed Jimmy felt like he needed to feel superior to everyone around him, hence why he took half of the tasks needed to care for Curly.

He had already done a horrendous job this morning with the fact that he tried to feed him something that wasn’t even close to slippery enough to slide down his throat, causing him to choke quite severely. Because he struggled so much, Jimmy lost his patience and took his frustration out on him, grabbing him by the neck and slamming his head against the cot multiple times. He was still recovering from the ordeal, his breathing hoarse from the damage and the back of his head aching, he was going to struggle harder because of the abuse, which meant if Jimmy was going to feed him again, it was going to be another horrific round of pain and torture. A small tear began to slide down Curly’s face, flashbacks of each time Jimmy had abused him fading in and out, he thought back to how he had treated Anya and placed too much trust in his friend.

He felt like this was the world’s ironic punishment for him…

But suddenly he was brought out of his distress when he felt something unusual touch the side of his right arm. He slightly lifted his head high enough to look at what it was, the piece of cake from Daisuke.

. . .

…it was within reach.

Something to protect himself from having to face the entire feeding ordeal of Jimmy! If he could just manage to eat some of it, he might be able to get away with not being force-fed his entire meal tonight. Jimmy and Anya could tell when Curly was full and would stop when he gets to that point, so if he could alter the time it takes for him to get full, he could escape another round or abuse.

But this plan came without major risk…

This was a thick textured cake, similar to a poke cake that would’ve been left out on a kitchen counter for hours, practically borderline dry as a bone. With his inability to swallow thick foods safely, the cake would be extremely dangerous to eat alone without Anya or Jimmy to either save him by unclogging his throat. Considering the fact that Jimmy would most likely feed him something too thick anyway, Curly decided to take that risk, anything to avoid more abuse from Jimmy.

Using the tip of his right arm, he began to slowly maneuver the cake piece’s position to his right side, his eye straining from watching his actions. Every little move he made with his arm shot lightning bolts of pain down his spine and stabbing pain seared in the crease of his elbow. His eye started to water from staring so long. The frosting dragged along the cot, leaving a pink streak in its path. Once he managed to move the piece of cake all the way to his side, he let his head fall back down to rest his vision, taking a couple breaths once the sharp pains subsided.

He looked over at the door and listened to make sure no one was approaching…

So far so good.

After a minute of rest, he grit his teeth and began to move his arm again, sliding the piece slowly up his waist. The pain screamed at his mind to stop, it was completely unbearable, but he knew he couldn’t stop or risk losing progress on getting the cake closer to his mouth. His forearm shook violently as he shifted it up more and more, so tempted to stop and give up. He panted through his grit teeth and pushed some more, finally getting the piece up onto his chest. He released the pressure he was putting on his arm, letting it fall back down too fast to lie on the cot, another jolt of pain down his spine. He yelped and bit his tongue to try and muffle the noise. He whined softly, more tears streaming down his face, it was taking longer to recover from this attempt. He struggled to lift his head back up to check his progress, only about a foot and a half away from his mouth, it was a bit farther than he hoped.

. . .

Step, step, step, step…

. . .

…Oh no, it sounded like someone was nearby. He was running out of time.

Grrooowwrrlrll…

Fuck, this wasn’t good, if he didn’t manage to eat this piece of cake, Jimmy would be able to tell that he was absolutely starving, and he was going to be fed his whole meal. He had no more time to waste, it was now or never!

Fueled by the sudden rush of fear and desperation overpowering his mind, he pushed through the worst pain he’s ever felt and lifted his right arm back up to his chest, his forearm’s remaining exposed nerves on fire from the slightest movements. Fighting back against the fierce strength of every instinct to stop moving, his forearm shifted little by little, guiding the piece of cake ever so much closer to his face. His head shivering from the pain jackhammering his brain from every angle, he slowly lifted it back up once more, sticking his tongue out to barely touch his chest and being an angled platform to guide the piece into his mouth.

Inch by inch…

Ever so closer…

Just a bit more…

The frosting beginning to glide across his tongue now…

Almost there…

. . .

Anya stepped into the medical ward to see why Curly had been making so much noise. She immediately saw he was straining to insert a piece of Daisuke’s cake into his mouth, and she quickly panicked, running over to his bedside.

“Curly? Are you- wha- no no no no no Curly! Don’t eat that!” she nervously told him, quickly taking the piece out his mouth. “Y-You’re going to choke from that!... Jeez, It’s all over your gown too…”

. . .

It was over for him.

. . .

Curly stopped moving and stared at the piece of cake in her hand. His saving grace of tonight’s torture stolen right from his mouth.

All that he worked for, gone in a flash.

His teeth quivered in fear, reality setting in for him. A cracked whine escaped his throat as his emotions flooded him, he couldn’t hold back his pain from her anymore. He broke out in a full blown panic, his eye’s vision blurred from the immense amount of tears and his senses shutting down a bit. He was so afraid of what Jimmy would do to him next, he just wished this nightmare was just a nightmare, but his wish seemed impossible to come true now.

. . .

It was hopeless.

He was stuck.

. . .

Anya looked down to see Curly in the middle of his panic attack, she knelt down to his face level and rubbed the top of his head.

“Curly, hey Curly, shhhh shhhh, it’s okay. I’m here, please relax, you’re okay, I’m not leaving you…” Anya reassured him. “...I don’t understand… What were you trying to do?...”

It was no use, her comfort wasn’t working, he wasn’t showing signs of stopping his meltdown. She was confused, racing through various reasons in her head, trying to piece together what might’ve spooked Curly so much. What would he possibly have been trying to do with the piece of-

Grrruuumble…

Cake. Jimmy hadn’t fed Curly yet…

He was trying to feed himself, but why?...

. . .

“...Oh my god…” Anya whispered, and turned to face Curly. “...Curly… Has Jimmy been… hurting you too?...”

. . .

…Curly paused his crying before giving her a tiny nod.

. . .

Anya froze.

Jimmy…

He took away Anya’s innocence, but he wasn’t satisfied with just her, he wanted revenge. Revenge from Curly, and this is how he was carrying it out. She covered her mouth with one hand and the other dropped the piece of cake onto the floor.

“...I’m… I’m so sorry, Curly…” she nervously apologized to him, giving him a hug. “...You must’ve been so scared to feel like you needed to do such a thing like this…”

She stood up and wiped away his tears with his hospital gown.

“...I won’t let him near you again when I’m with you…” she promised Curly. “...Let’s get something safer in you, alright?...”

He nodded and tried to control his breathing, feeling a bit of relief that he managed to inform Anya of what had been happening to him behind closed doors. She headed through the hallway and into the lounge, where the rest of the cake lay on the counter in the kitchen. There weren’t many cans of rations left for the crew, probably about less than a month’s worth, but food cans with easy to swallow foods were running very low. She had considered opening up another can of the peaches and juice he seemed to enjoy the most, but after seeing the immense struggle Curly went through so much pain to try and eat the slice of cake, she figured it wouldn’t be fair to completely exclude him from something nice to eat while the opportunity was there. Feeding him a slice in its current state wouldn’t be ideal, so some prep work would have to be dealt with first.

She took a slice and one of the water packets that sat next to their food rations, opening and emptying it out into a large cup that was in the sink. Adding in bits of the cake and mixing it a little at a time, she managed to make a slushed cake concoction, one that would be easier for Curly to swallow without struggle. It definitely wasn’t in any way a ‘meal’, or barely ‘food’ for that matter, but Curly probably needed a bit of cheering up after his meltdown, so one night of dessert wouldn’t hurt. She hurried back to the medical ward, where she sat next to him and bent down to his eye level.

“I’m back, are you doing any better?...” Anya asked him. “...I’m sorry you had to go through Jimmy’s abuse too, I’ll make sure he never tries anything else while I’m with you… Now, would you like some cake?” Curly sniffled and looked at the cup she was holding, confused from what she meant by ‘cake’.

“See? I made it safe for you to eat.” She warmly smiled and showed him the cake smoothie. “It probably won’t be as sweet since I had to water it down, but you deserve to eat the same foods as everyone else here. Ready to eat?” His teeth formed what could probably be interpreted as a little smile, and he opened his mouth to receive the first spoonful. While the sweetness was definitely dialed back quite a bit, he couldn’t deny that the flavor of the frosting was one he missed, despite it coming from a shitty work cake. His eye looked up and fluttered a bit from the reaction his brain was feeling when tasting the sweetener, the dopamine flooding his mind with better emotions. He let the moisture of the mouthful coat his throat a bit before gulping it down, feeling so much relief when he felt the weight of the food reach his stomach.

One bite down.

Anya prepared another scoop and placed it upon Curly’s tongue cake side down, letting him take control of how quickly he wanted to taste and swallow each bite. Little bits of pink dyed crystallized sweetener clung to his teeth, staining them a bright neon pink, he licked them up with absolute pleasure, oh how he missed this guilty flavor. Two bites, three, four, five, each one enjoyed better than the last by Curly, the cake smoothie slowly filling his belly and fading the hunger into temporary obscurity. Anya eventually scooped up the last bits of the smoothie from the bottom of the cup and placed it in Curly’s mouth.

“Last bite, okay?” Anya told him. “Let me know if you’re still hungry when I’m done washing out the cup and I can make you another. Not like Daisuke and Swansea are going to eat more of it now that they’re so drunk…”

While she got up and washed the cup in the sink, Curly savored the last bite’s taste, sliding it to each side of his cheeks over and over in his mouth. Once he was satisfied with getting his sweet tasting fix, he finally gulped the last mouthful down, where it joined the rest of his meal in his belly. With how thick the cake smoothie was, it was quite filling, so he felt he would be okay with the amount she made for him, so he shook his head when she turned to him for a response to her question. Anya chuckled when she saw him experience a hiccup, it looked like it might’ve stung his chest a bit, but it was something she rarely saw him do, even before the crash. She sat back down next to him and gave his belly a pat.

“Heheh, you okay?” she asked him.

He nodded, probably a bit embarrassed from that.

“We should probably get you your painkiller before you settle down for the night, hmm?”

Once he answered back with a soft grunt, she turned her swivel chair around to face the table and slid herself over, grabbing one of the bottles from the desk. She opened it up and reached two of her fingers inside to grab a pill.

. . .

It was empty.

“Huh?...”

She opened another bottle up.

. . .

Also empty.

“Wh-What?...”

She frantically opened the rest of them.

. . .

Completely empty.

. . .

“O-Oh no…”

She slowly got up from her chair in silence, turning to look at Curly, who was now staring at her, worry looming in his eye. What could she even say to him, ‘Sorry, but we’re out of painkillers, guess you gotta suffer after I just said I would protect you from Jimmy’?... N-No, there had to be more, there had to be! She quickly stepped over to the counter by the wall and searched behind every book she had, underneath her medical equipment, inside the first-aid kit…

. . .

Nothing.

Anya nervously huffed and tried to hold her composure, but her mind was overwhelmed with panic. Jimmy was going to be fuming when she had to break the bad news to him, he was already on edge constantly whenever Curly was coming off of painkillers and squirmed in his cot while making noise. She scanned through her guesses of every other place that a stray pill could possibly be, under the beds? In the vents? Hidden away in a cabinet-

The storage locker?

The storage locker! Anya had completely forgotten about that thing, there were some emergency supplies in there that she had packed! It was covered in foam however, it would have to be cleared in order to access it. But that came with a risk, if too much foam was removed or a weak spot struck, the ship might crumble from the vacuum pressure of space and open up, killing them all in an instant. It would have to be carried out with the axe, it was the only tool they had that could break through the mess, currently Swansea was ‘in charge’ of the axe. In the state he was probably still in, it would be unwise to ask him to hand it over, but Curly was going to need something soon to hold him over before retiring later tonight. For now he wasn’t in excruciating pain, and could tolerate what he was dealing with at the moment, especially after his cake smoothie meal, so she took the moment to check on the storage locker and assess how deep into the foam it was. Stepping out into the hallway, she checked the corner where the locker was located and analyzed its position.

…It wasn’t that far in. Good.

Maybe if Swansea was sober enough, she could get the axe and break the locker door free. She entered the lounge and turned her attention to the lounge sunset screen.

Great, Swansea was still drunk and dancing, she would have to wait.

Walking over to the kitchen table, she sat down and tried to clear her head, which was now beginning to throb. She was suddenly so consumed by the fear of the unknown of what Jimmy was doing to Curly, she prayed that the same thing that happened to her, wasn’t happening to him when she was away. Looking over to her left side, she noticed an unopened bottle of mouthwash was next to their food can rations. Reaching over to grab it, she attempted to distract her concerned thoughts about Curly by reading the ingredients label on the back. As she had stated weeks ago, there was quite a lot of sugar in the mouthwash, and more than your typical amount of cheap alcohol mixed within its filler components. Probably a way for the company to sell as much as they can for dirt cheap materials.

Anya suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Anya.” Jimmy uttered to her.

She quickly jumped in her seat and covered her mouth.

‘Ahh! Oh, you startled me. “She stuttered.

“...Sorry.” Jimmy half-assed apologized.

“N-No worries!” she nervously reassured him.

. . .

“You thinkin about drinking that too?” Jimmy wondered.

Mouthwashing characters belong to Wrong Organ ^w^

[shimii26]

Not Always Peaches And Cream

61 days after the crash…

“F-Four months of food left?” Anya repeated back to Jimmy who had relayed out the reality of the situation to each of the crew members.

“Yeah, Daisuke double counted what we’ve got left minus what’s probably left in the vending machines.” Jimmy confirmed. “If we have the discipline, it should last us the same amount of time as our remaining air supply.”

“I suppose that means no more mocktails by Daisuke on the weekends…” Anya mumbled under her breath.

The Pony Express crew had been under emergency protocol and off course from their original travel path for the past two months, with a distress signal seemingly being sent out to hopefully nearby rescue stations everyday, the team had gone through what could be extracted initially from the foam without tools and evaluated what wasn’t damaged from the blast. While their ship wasn’t prepared enough for emergencies as is, a good half of the supplies they did have were either destroyed or hidden under the foam, and most likely wouldn’t be accessible as it would be too risky to remove too much of the foam for the chance there could be another foam trigger. It was clear for all of them that while they were waiting for rescue, they would have to make do with using any supply sparingly and with thought, or risk starving to death before help arrived.

Curly was already causing quite a bit of conflict in how medical supplies were used, he required round the clock care of new dressings, painkillers, and a lingering sense of doom for the crew, considering everyone besides Jimmy was under the impression that this whole situation was his fault. Nevertheless, the team agreed to keep him alive and do what they could to reduce some of his suffering, but it wasn’t an easy task given the fact that Curly was basically completely helpless. With no appendages on his limbs and barely any skin left, he was at the mercy of the crew’s help, and couldn’t even communicate to them anything he needed. So due to the unusual language barrier, it was mostly guesswork by Anya and Jimmy who would take turns giving him his painkillers, food rations, water, and maintenance everyday. Anya handled most of the task as she was the crew’s onboard nurse, but lately administering Curly’s painkillers had been difficult for her, the noises he made when she had to insert the pill down his throat was gut-wrenching to put it lightly, each round made her stomach turn worse and worse, which meant Jimmy sometimes had to take her place and take care of it. It wasn’t an easy ask from him after he inserted himself as the new captain, along with Anya having to walk on eggshells around him after he had assaulted her before the crash. She was taken out of her looming deep thoughts about where the crew’s plans would go from here when Jimmy asked her a question she dreaded hearing.

“By the way, have you given Curly his medication today?” Jimmy sternly asked her, knowing he would most likely be the one to do so again.

“...I, w-well u-um…” Anya stuttered, not wanting to upset him with a ‘no’ answer.

He wasn’t in the mood to negotiate with, it was clear he was on edge about a conversation he must’ve had with Swansea about checking the cargo they were hauling all this time. She knew damn well that if she didn’t muster up the courage to bear through the nausea and give Curly his painkillers today, Jimmy would surely take his irritation out on him and further worsen his injuries. He let out a frustrated sigh and took a step forward.

“...I’ll take care of-” Jimmy started, but was cut off by Anya.

“N-No, I-I got it this time…” she interjected, trying to improvise her answer. “...Afterall, ‘People have to be worth their titles’, right?...”

. . .

Jimmy paused before answering. She flinched as he stepped back from her.

. . .

“...Fine, just get on with it. I’d like to sleep tonight without his interruption.” he huffed and turned away, heading for the door back to the lounge. “Keep an eye on Curly while I’m searching for the code scanner.”

“...Y-Yes, Captain…” Anya managed to squeak out, swallowing hard.

Once Jimmy had left the room to look for the code scanner, Anya released the tension in her shoulders and sighed in relief, any chance to take a break from dealing with him was welcome in her book. She had always been wary about her actions around Jimmy ever since he had assaulted her months ago, of course none of it was her fault, but she felt it necessary not to get on his bad side anymore. She leaned against the gurney, turning her head to face Curly, who was now staring at her with concern, he wasn’t shy about the conversation that just happened, he knew what was about to happen now was going to hurt.

“I’m… sorry you had to see me like that, Captain… Let’s get you feeling a bit better, okay?” she whispered to him.

Curly responded with a soft grunt.

After a couple moments of awkward silence and staring, Anya got up and stepped over to the counter where the remaining painkillers lied and she grabbed a bottle, taking out one of the pills inside. Taking a prepared breath, she sanitized one of her hands with the remaining hand sanitizer on her desk and got closer to Curly, trying not to make too much eye contact. She slowly tilted his head back and opened his mouth, readying her hand with the painkiller in it. Squinting her eyes a bit, she quickly inserted her hand into his mouth and hesitated from the slimy yet burnt texture of his tongue. The nausea wasted no time filling the pit of her stomach with its presence, but she knew she had to persevere, so she extended her hand further. Curly’s eyes watered and he began to choke, but attempted to hold it together, knowing that the pain would be over before he knew it. Finally, Anya stuck the pill far enough for Curly to be able to take care of it from there and swallow the painkiller down. Once she knew the pill was gone from her hand, she retracted it without as much care as before due to her panic and foggy mindset from the nausea. Curly flinched and coughed quite hard from the hand removal, gasping a bit for breath. Her hand had quite a bit of blood on it from irritating the more sensitive parts of his throat, a bit of guilt washing over her, she didn’t want to hurt Curly, but she had no other choice of pill administration since he couldn’t swallow properly. She took a couple breaths of relief as she closed his mouth and tilted his head back into its original position.

“...Sorry Curly, but… At least you won’t have to deal with Jimmy tonight now…” Anya reassured him as she wiped his tears away with his hospital gown.

Curly groaned in agreement and settled down a bit.

Anya stepped over to the sink and washed Curly’s blood off her hand, the sickly texture of his mouth still lingering in her mind as the nausea took its usual course. She decided to take a moment to try and settle the feeling and talk to Curly, so she slid her nearby office chair over to his face and bent over slightly to be closer to his eye level.

“...Y’know, despite the fact that I’ve yet to earn my nursing degree from my university, I’m surprised how well my lessons of emergency treatment were retained…” Anya began to trail off in conversation. “I mean, it’s very difficult now to keep the standards all the way given the fact that we’re out of most of the supplies we need to keep you the most comfortable, but we’ve managed to get by so far, right?”

Curly didn’t respond back, his stare giving her no reassurance about her explanation. She took the hint that despite the care she was giving him, he was still in a lot of pain and she sighed.

“...Okay, maybe ‘most comfortable’ isn’t the best description for your situation. But, at least we can keep your pain under control for a little while with the painkillers… But then… I’m unsure where to go from there with your care, pain isn’t easy to ignore without some kind of medical help once they run out…”

Anya placed her hand on Curly’s head, giving it a little pet.

“...But in any case, I won’t abandon you… not with Jimmy around…” she whispered to him, letting her eyes slowly close if just for a moment.

He responded with a little huff, putting all his trust in her better judgement.

Suddenly, Curly’s head jolted up from feeling a sharp pain in his abdomen, his limbs curling up in response too. A harsh, raspy barrage of grunts erupted from his throat as he tried to fight through the pain, the painkiller hadn’t kicked in yet, so he could feel the entirety of what was happening to him.

“C-Curly? Wh-What’s wrong!?...” Anya nervously asked him, getting up from her chair. “Where does it hurt?”

Grrooowwrrlwll…

Curly’s stomach let out an uncomfortably pained and empty noise, the painkiller hadn’t been taken with food, so it’s coating was causing some inside irritation within him.

“...Oh, that’s right…” Anya realized, looking at Curly’s strained expression. “When was the last time you were given something to eat?”

She knew Jimmy was the last person to feed Curly his rations, and he typically never wrote down the times he did so, but it was clear it had been quite some time given Curly’s current predicament. She had to feed him something as quick as possible with the minimum amount of viscosity since he had trouble swallowing and didn’t want to risk choking him. Plus, she couldn’t waste time feeding him slowly as his stomach needed help digesting the painkiller right away, and the more food in immediately, the better the outcome. Anya remembered one of the groups of cans of various foods they had stockpiled after the crash included cans of peaches with their juice, something that Curly should be able to swallow without much struggle. Despite the fact that the whole crew had to make four months worth of rations last six months, he was included in the crew’s calculations, so it wouldn’t be a total loss if a whole can was cracked open for him to eat. Anya gently rubbed his head and tried to softly shush him into a calmer state, eventually he managed to get ahold of himself long enough to listen to her.

“I’ll be right back with something for you Curly, try to breathe deep while I’m away, it should help subside the pain a bit.” Anya reassured him. “I won’t leave you like this, okay?” His exposed eye kept eye contact with her and he nodded, it was clear he was holding a bit of tears back from the pain.

Wasting no time to get back to Curly as quickly as she could, she ran out of the room and into the lounge, stepping into the kitchen area where the majority of their canned food rations lay. Following her finger to guide her eyes to quickly scan the labels of the cans, she managed to find one of the cans of peaches with the fruit juice on the counter. It was much larger in size compared to the other cans of the same product, but right now that didn’t matter to her, Curly needed her help right away, and she wasn’t going to disappoint him and Jimmy about her care for him. A clean enough spoon lay on the counter next to the cans, not the most ideal since it was on the smaller side, but it would do, so she took that with her back through the hallway. Daisuke sat nearby the kitchen and watched silently as Anya panic grabbed one of their ration cans and rushed it to the medical ward. He knew it probably wasn’t a good sign considering the whole crew was just made aware of their need to conserve rations, but he decided to trust her better judgement and didn’t get involved with what was going on. Ripping the top of the can open once she returned to the medical ward, she sat back down in her chair and prepared a scoop of peaches and juice on the spoon and scooted her chair next to Curly, her arms approaching his mouth.

“Relax Curly, this should help you settle back down, okay?” Anya softly whispered, trying to keep her nerves together. “Open up.” He turned his head to face her direction, taking notice of the spoonful of peaches next to his mouth. It wasn’t exactly a meal for someone struggling to heal from an almost complete third degree body burn, let alone balanced and nutritious, but it was clear there was thought put into his current swallowing obstacle. Peaches in a can were quite soft and moist, they could easily slide down his throat with minimal effort, and would be alkalizing enough to speed up the process of the digestion of the painkiller. Curly took a couple of rough breaths before uncurling his body and slowly opening his mouth to receive the food Anya was feeding him, the juice first coating every bit of surface in his throat. Most of his taste buds were destroyed from the blast, but enough remained that he could detect the syrupy goodness of the subpar peach juice, it was almost intoxicating to him. Once his throat was thoroughly lubricated with juice, the peach slice easily slid to the back of his throat without resistance, and he eagerly gulped it down, feeling almost instant relief from finally having something that didn’t taste like cardboard or charcoal. His tongue licked the remaining juice off his teeth, making sure not to miss a single drop. Anya seemed to relax in her seat, knowing Curly was now in a much calmer state of mind. She warmly smiled as she prepared another scoop from the can.

“Heh, you look like you enjoyed that. Haven’t seen you so excited for any of the Pony Express food.” Anya chuckled. “...But I guess any food would taste good if you’re hungry enough for it…Ready for another?”

Curly panted with anticipation, he couldn’t wait for another taste of temporary freedom.

. . .

Freedom from hunger, freedom from pain, freedom from his own personal hell…

. . .

If only just for a little while…

. . .

She spoon fed him another slice, this one almost tasting better than the first, sweeter and juicier, he happily took down the helping, and another, and another. The empty void in his belly fading as it was now filled with the sweet nectar of the Pony Express can ration Anya provided for him, the irritating pain subsiding as the painkiller soon took effect, rushing to his brain and giving him an instant euphoric high. The joy-filled experience for him intensified, he needed more mouthfuls of peaches and their juice, so her administration of each spoonful got a bit faster overtime. Spoonful by spoonful, the can of peaches slowly emptied to about half filled before Curly’s consciousness dwindled and it became harder for him to swallow effectively without coughing a bit. Anya soon realized that his painkillers had taken full effect, so he would most likely be in no condition to continue eating safely, so she decided to call off serving him another peach slice. The can she chose was quite large, so given that Curly managed to consume about half of its contents, he had probably eaten about a pound of peaches and drank a good half liter of the juice, probably a bit much of a portion for someone who hadn’t been able to eat much since the accident, but at least he hadn’t thrown it up like the last couple of feedings he had in the past.

For now, Curly was taken care of, medically distracted from the agonizing pain, and given a hefty meal of sweet bliss. Anya couldn’t hold back a chuckle as a bead of drool rolled down Curly’s mouth and a little snore escaped through his teeth. She could almost hear his stomach softly gurgle with contentment as it got to work extracting whatever nutrients it could from the meal to use towards further healing. If he wasn’t now just an almost inhuman looking pile of unsettling muscle, bone, and memories, the sight of him in this content state would’ve probably been kinda cute. She gave his belly a soft pat after she wiped away the drool off his face, it was one of the only parts of him that wasn’t completely burnt clean off, so she didn’t worry about injuring him with the pat.

‘...You’re not the greatest captain, you’ve let all of us down by not standing up for what’s right, but…’ she shuddered. ‘...Compared to Jimmy… You’ll always be the captain in my eyes… Captain Curly…’ she thought to herself.

Anya looked down into the can of peaches, the smell of them was actually a bit pleasing, enough to pique her appetite as well. She was pulled from her daydreaming and realized that she hadn’t eaten much today herself, and with the fridge in the kitchen no longer operationable from the foam’s impact, it wouldn’t be worth trying to preserve what was left in the can and eat something different. She shrugged and figured it was better to just finish them off for her ‘meal’ and call it a day, unless Jimmy managed to find the code scanner tonight. She stood up and took the spoon over to the sink and gave it a quick rinse before using it to scoop out a slice for herself. It still felt a bit odd eating food straight from a can, but nevertheless, it was technically edible in this manner, so she gave one a taste. To her surprise, the peaches were almost reminiscent of the fruit cups one might pack into the lunch bag of a child, nostalgic in their flavor, and decently seasoned in their own juices. No wonder Curly was so excited to eat them, it was one of the best tasting food can rations the Pony Express probably offered, and the two of them got to share the experience together, albeit not as together right now since he was a bit incapacitated with his painkiller high.

She sat on the edge of the gurney and watched over him as she took her time polishing off the other half of the peaches and juice, making sure not to let any little bits on the side go to waste. If they were going to be sparingly eating their rations to stretch their supply out for an extra two months, every bit from the can might as well be eaten to ensure they were all getting enough to eat when they did. Once all of the peach slices were gone, Anya sipped on the remaining juice and got up, giving Curly a once over check before deciding to step out for a break to maybe speak with Daisuke for a bit. However, once she entered the lounge area, she noticed that he was no longer in his original seat. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to jolt a bit, quickly turning around to see who it was. Luckily it was just Daisuke and not Jimmy, but she was now quite irritated with him for scaring her like that.

“Anya?-” Daisuke started, but was cut off from Anya’s yelp.

“-Don’t scare me like that!” she scolded him, keeping the can of peach juice close to her body. “...What’s wrong?”

It was clear that Daisuke was on edge about something, having one hand holding his other elbow as he spoke.

“...Jimmy found the code scanner, and managed to find the combination to our cargo hold… He wants all of us to be there when he opens it.” Daisuke explained.

The cargo hold. The Pony Express didn’t allow the crew to utilize anything from the cargo they were hauling without some kind of reprimand for breaking the rules. But what other choice did the crew have? If anything, it could be of use to them somehow. It’s not like after their possible rescue they were going to finish their transport mission, but then again, The Pony Express wasn’t very kind to those who had just gone through work trauma.

“...Oh, I see.” Anya nodded, keeping her eye contact minimal. “Whatever’s in there, I hope we’re doing the right thing by checking it… Let it be medicine, food, or water. Any of those will be a major help for our situation…”

“I’m keeping my hopes up that that’s the case, and if not… I can’t imagine what we could possibly be transporting for over a year like this.” Daisuke agreed, beginning to make his way down to the cargo hold.

“...I just hope it isn’t dangerous…” Anya mumbled under her breath, not wanting another reason to keep away from Jimmy. “...I’ll be right down.”

“Alright, but don’t take too long, he wants to open the cargo hold tonight.” he said as he turned back around to head down the steps.

She slowly shut her eyes and tried to clear her head, worried about the unknown outcome all of them were about to face by discovering what they had been hauling all this time. If it was survival supplies, then it could be a complete game changer, if it was something completely useless, then the panic would surely wash over them like an overpowering minty teeth cleaner after a serious dental procedure. All they could do was find out now. She opened her eyes back up and gulped down the rest of the peach juice before placing the empty can into the recycling bin nearby in the kitchen, and following not too far behind from Daisuke to meet with the rest of the crew.

It was time to find out what The Pony Express had them transporting all this time…

Mouthwashing characters belong to Wrong Organ ^w^

[shimii26]

"He knew the snack corner had been cleared of everything edible, so there wasn’t anything in the vicinity he could eat to stop the noise. Sun had also stepped out of the daycare, so it wasn’t like he could call on him to take over his shift so he could grab something to eat. And with the daycare guards away on surveillance duty through the pizzaplex, he couldn’t ask them for help either. He was at an impasse.

*WHIIRRR CLICK CLICK CREEAAKK*

‘S-Shut up, shut up!’ Moon shushed, holding his stomach tight to try and muffle the noise. ‘I… I gotta make this quick, one snack, in and out…’" -    -    - A scene from my most recent FNAF fanfic where Sun and Moon were given an upgrade to be able to eat. But with barely any instructions and guides, the two find themselves struggling to adapt to their new routine. https://www.tumblr.com/shimii26/739072420492804096/faz-pocket-shenanigans?source=share Five Nights At Freddy's belongs to Scott Cawthon ^w^