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]...”
