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…”
