[ 〝 * LITTLE BIRD ... 〞 ]
[ It began to whine, and whine, and whine. As if to appeal to its empathy. ]
[ 〝 * LET ME IN ... 〞 ]
[ 〝 * I'LL EVEN PLAY 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄 WITH YOUR OUTDATED CRT ! 〞 ]
[ ( Tenna has to push down a jolt of indignation at the name-calling. ) ]
[ A distant voice, just on the other side of the door, calling: 〝 * little bird .ᐟ 〞 A terrible, teasing tone of voice. Like it knew exactly the kind of effect it had upon the other Darkner. ]
[ As he stared at the frightened look, the silent plea in Spamton's expression, ]
[ 〝 * AND DID YOU LIKE MY 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓 TO YOU, 𝐌𝐘 LITTLE BIRD? 〞 ]
[ It exclaimed as its claws hooked into the panel, attempting to pierce through its material by sheer force alone. ]
[ 〝 * IT TOOK ME 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 TO CONVINCE HIM TO COME DOWN HERE! 〞 ]
[ Jolting slightly from the thud, his antenna going completely stiff as a frightening scratching followed. Long, deliberate scratches; like something dragging its claws along the panel. ]
[ ( hadn't he seen scratch marks on the door when he had been pulled in here? ) ]
thing, he prayed it would be the last.
It never was.
Pulled out of his thoughts by a sound, footsteps- and then, a thud against the door, The poor bird practically almost jumped, it's wings raising, spread out. Defensive, yet ... ᴛᴇʀʀɪꜰɪᴇᴅ .
[ The scratching continued, and it made every circuit in Tenna buzz with anxiety. Static electricity building between his antenna, his pale face seemingly paler from the frightening audio. ]
* Stay —-
[ Away? Close? ]
[ He didn't know. ]
* What can we do?
[ He asks again, wanting nothing more than to somehow swoop between their apparent captor and Spamton, whisking his not-so-little mailman far away from this place. ]
[ Wishes aren't reality, unfortunately. ]
[ One thing was clear; this labyrinth was the furthest thing from safe for either of them. And part of Tenna, some foolish part of him, wanted to beg Spamton to leave this place. Come back to TV World! ]
[ Far away from this creepy-ass dungeon. ]
[ But, it was an unreasonable request, impossible. ]
[ How could they get out, if there's some hellish thing waiting outside the door for them? How could they be certain it wouldn't just follow them? ]
[ The yearning in his mechanical core only hurt the longer it lingered. ]
[ A hand clasped over his mouth, an attempt to hide such horror that laid upon his expression. Mike warned him — LITERALLY warned him. And he ruined it all. ]
* 𝙒𝙃𝙔 —?! We haven't even seen each other in ... in...!
[ It's a panicked response, unsure of what even to make of such a thing. Big Cat, Hell... ]
[ Was this what he had been warned about? That terrible thing? ]
down to a last option of desperate defence, if it really had to. The only potential positive was the traps it had set in the labyrinth since that day in the form of fake Pipis.
It was desperate, but ... it had worked in the past.
Right .ᐣ
* “The [[Big Cat]] led [YOU] here .”
[ Had it led him here, just to hurt Spamton? ]
[ The thought sickened him, his screen flickering from the sudden wave of emotion. The guilt, the horror. ]
[ He did this. He did this. HE DID THIS. And he's done nothing but HURT Spamton, over and over again! ]
* What are you... hiding from?
[ He dared to ask, expression pulled into that of concern as he reached out a hand again — hesitating, before choosing to put it back down. ]
[ No, he didn't deserve to comfort it. Not after what he's done. Caused. ]
[ Tenna hadn't heard anything — frankly, from his perspective, NEO had quite suddenly begun pacing. Rearranging the lanterns, acting like the caged animal he had seen when he had been initially brought here. ]
[ It frightened——no, worried him. ]
shining bright, but for once, the NEO shifted some from their nested spots and spread them out just a little more.
It would pace, then. Staring at the door, trying to figure out what to do. It didn't know what to do. Why was it so hard to think.ᐣ