what they don’t tell you about online relationships is how easy it is to ruin them by simply having nothing to say. i like you so much but i don’t know how to hang out with you in silence. i don’t know how to text like a person so now you think i hate you. aaaaaaaaa
What if: Spamton didn't take that last phonecall and stayed with Tenna, which then resulted in him petrifying not long after?
Some lil' details for this AU I guess:
This AU goes off of the theory that the thing Spamton was told in that last phonecall was about how he was going to get deleted, resulting in him running back to Cyber World to at least have a chance at surviving said deletion. But here, since Spamton doesn't take that phone call (even tho' he really, really, really wants to take it), he doesn't get the message. Thus, while he and Tenna try and relax a bit by celebrating their newly signed contracts, Spamton- after suddenly feeling an odd coldness that left him confused at first, then terrified- petrifies right in front of Tenna.
When Tenna eventually snaps out of his shocked state, he tries his best to figure out how to unpetrify Spamton, but there's nothing he can do. Especially when he finds out they can't bring Spamton back to Cyber World anymore- the laptop no longer in the Dreemurr's household.
Spamton got petrified out in the Green Room, but Tenna went and moved Spamton into his personal dressing room instead. Every now and then, the TV World Darkners will hear Tenna having a one-sided conversation with Spamton in there.
Since Spamton hadn't gotten the opportunity to actually tell Tenna about his big secret and whatnot, Tenna doesn't know it was his benefactor that did this. Thus, Tenna tend to blame himself for what happened to Spamton- thinking it was him signing Tenna's contract that did it. Doesn't help that Spamton permanently looks terrified at him.
A while later, Tenna decides to bring their pipis daughter so she could be there while he "chatted" with Spamton- placing her on Spamton's frozen lap. The moment he did tho', she began chirping insistently for her still father, making Tenna feel even worse. He doesn't bring her back there after that moment.
It's much harder for Tenna to maintain his pointy-nosed face on, but tries his best to keep it on during shows. The moment they're done for the day tho', it goes right into being just static.
When the Fun Gang is in TV World, they can find and visit Tenna's dressing room after escaping the gacha balls. "Glowing Snow" will play in the background, and when Kris interacts with Spamton, it'll say "A petrified Darkner sits on the couch, eyes filled with terror looking through you. It looks like he has been here for a while."
The only way I can see him getting unpetrified is if the Fun Gang brings everyone from TV World back to Castle Town. When Spamton gets brought there, he will still undergo the transformation he did from Big Shot to Puppet once he unpetrifies, but he won't be as scraggly looking as he does in canon. Also, he has trouble moving around due to being stuck as a statue for years, so he often lets Tenna carry him (while telling the ol' Cathode to stop apologizing for the millionth time and how he still loves him).