Chapter Text
"I think he's onto us."
Jongler and Pluey both turned to Battat, confusion clear on their faces.
"What's you mean by that, boss?" Jongler asked.
<Yeah.> Pluey agreed in its musical voice.
"Back there, y'know, when Kris showed up and GAVE US QUITE A SCARE!" Battat cleared his throat. "Tenna… kept going on about his ex, again. And then he started talking about everything not being real, and how 'Mike' has been different since that day, and…" he swallowed. "I- I just have a really bad feeling that he's going to find out, and when that happens, it's not going to be good at all."
The other two Darkners exchanged glances.
<If what you say is true, then we're in biiiiig trouble, yes sir.> Pluey whispered.
Jongler crossed their arms. "Does this mean we ain't Mike anymore?"
Battat frowned. "I think it's best for our safety if we hold off on Mike's duties until he stabilizes." He said. "I mean, Tenna's harmless no matter what, but…"
"But youse still got dat bad feeling?"
"Yes, which is weird because this never happens!" He threw his arms out. "I feel like I'm being haunted!"
"..maybe it's da real Mike giving you a warning."
"Don't be stupid, Jongler. Mike isn't a ghost."
"Just tryna be helpful, boss."
He stole a look at Pluey, who was still in its Cat Mike costume. Its tail drooped onto the floor.
<This sucks.> It slumped, sighing heavily and pouting. <I really like being a kitty cat…>
Battat could feel their disappointment, it was infectious and brought from his own feelings. Don't get him wrong, being Mike was a lot of work, but he also liked it. He felt powerful and important, and he knew that his partners felt a similar way when it was their turn. It made them feel like something more than a pippins, a shadowguy, and a zapper.
"Tell you what…" he said. "I'll make you a cat costume, raindrop. No Mike-correlation included!"
Pluey perked up immediately, and shot itself at him, yowling, <YIPPEE!!!>
"H-hey! W-"
Battat was tackled onto the floor, skidding a little, but he wasn't hurt. He didn't bother struggling as he was nuzzled and purred into by his favorite shadowguy. He grinned bashfully, blushing as his heart swelled. He thanked it by petting the back of its head, his fingers running through their hair. Then it licked his face. Yuck.
Jongler towered above the two, laughing gently. "Heheh, that puss loves you… there's no reason I's can't keep my hat, can't I?"
Battat sighed heavily. "As long as you don't look like your Mike while we're on break, then you're probably fine."
"Okay. Yay."
He giggled, only to cringe as he was licked again. And again. And again, and he put his hand on Pluey's face to get them to stop, but he ended up with its spit on his palm. As revenge he wiped its costume's face with it, which ended up making it go limp. On his entire body. And Pluey was still purring, and Jongler was still laughing.
"You guys suck." Battat mused.
Soon enough did Pluey get up, freeing the pippins… and then said pippins was scooped up by strong arms. Pluey disappeared for a little while, only to return out of costume, a resigned expression on its face. It was for a good cause, and hopefully it wouldn't be that long before they returned to their duties as Mike.
Together, the three left the Room. The minigames were shut off, the costumes were tucked away. To anyone near, which there definitely wasn't, it just looked like Mike's grunts were going off on break.
The plan was simple: they'd not be Mike for a little bit, and see what happened. Now, this wasn't a very good idea, considering that Tenna didn't function that well without his Mike, but this was a matter of personal safety. As pathetic and whimpy as he was, this was a Darkner with great power, and an extremely unstable mental state.
After all, he narrowly missed his death by the Knight.
..this was something they had to do. Battat couldn't just keep pretending that everything was fine, he didn't want to explode and do something he'd regret.
A dream he had the other night gave him the idea, and today, well, it prompted the idea further.
He was visited by a strange cat-like creature, with many legs and a wide grin, and eyes that matched Pluey's costume. It whispered the idea into his ears, and then left, its segmented tail disappearing into the shadows.
Battat couldn't help but glance at his own tail. It flopped over Jongler's arms, twitching from the breeze. It was made from circular chains, the same material as his body. Only, his didn't end in an arrow, just a modified chain that could open and latch onto another chain or item.
That's what he was in the Light World. A green die that was never meant for play, merely an accessory. The only thing he remembered hanging on was a baseball bat, before that Kris stole him one day, and forgot him.
It was eerie, how the Lightner that cherished him disappeared, and how the real Mike did too (whoever they were, nobody but Tenna and Spamton knew 'em).
It was eerie that he shared the tail of a mysterious creature in his dreams.
Hours had passed.
Night was here, and while Pluey and Jongler were asleep, Battat was not.
He couldn't whisk himself away into dreamland, for his mind was wide awake. He had been up late at night for so long that it was almost instinct to stay up past eleven. He also did not want to risk seeing that creature in his subconscious again.
He stole a long glance at his partners. Pluey was purring gently in its sleep, and Jongler had one of their arms wrapped around its body. He had been part of the tangle, but he had slipped away. He was small and quiet enough to make it seem like he was never there at all.
"I'll be back." He whispered to them.
The two kept on sleeping. He smiled a little, and he felt his tail rise a bit in admiration. They were so cute, you know, when they weren't being a pain in the ass. But it was normal for poly-'couples' to fight.
Still in his pajamas, Battat left the room, and the flat they shared together. He walked down the hallway and soon left the apartment altogether.
Castletown was… quiet. Too quiet.
A few nocturnal Darkners were out, but they merely acknowledged him and continued with their own business. Somewhere around here was a casino, hidden from the prying eyes of the prince… but Battat wasn't going there. He was taking a different gamble.
The truth was, he forgot something. Or maybe he was acting on habit, he wasn't entirely sure. But he needed to get into the Mike Room. His board and theories were still in there, and if Tenna was going to go snooping around, because, eventually, he was, because he just loved his Cat Mike so much and bared his teeth when it wasn't there when he wanted it to be………… well, Tenna seeing those theories was going to trigger a chain of horrible events.
Battat sneaked in through the back entrance of the studio, and closed the door behind himself. The hallways were very dark, but his presence caused them to light up, one by one.
He shook his head. He was fine, he wasn't breaking in! He worked here! And there were a few maus around too, they could've turned them on!
So he made his way through the halls, his steps as quiet as possible. Wearing socks without shoes helped with that. The lights continued shining for him, showing him the way. His tail remained above the floor and his hands into neat fists.
And soon enough, he was at the double doors of the Mike Room. The password had been changed, as to not allow that pesky Kris or anyone else from breaking in unprompted again. Now, all Battat needed to do was input the numbers, go in, move the more sensitive information, and hide the rest—
Suddenly, he heard a whoosh, and a claw hooked around the tip of his tail. He screamed and flapped his arms as he was swept off the floor, swinging upside-down from side to side.
"SCOUNDREL!" Boomed Tenna's voice.
Damn it.
Battat was lifted up, up, until he was turned around. He was met with the fizzing, near-static screen of his boss, the former head of the long-abandoned TV World. Wonder what would become of it… not that it mattered. Right now, he had to deal with an angry Tenna! And he was angry, even if he looked like he was grinning weirdly upside-down.
"Boss-! You scared me!" Battat peeped, accidentally slipping into a pseudo-Mike accent. He quickly bit his lip. "Wh-"
"What do YOU think you're doing here?!" Tenna demanded. The word 'you' was in green, sharp letters. Don't ask. "It's after-hours and my dear friend Mike would not appreciate a THIEF in his midst! Even more, his very own costume designer!" He frowned. "Or they. A thief in their midst… but you get the point!"
Battat tried to control his breathing and his swinging. He hadn't been held like this before, not by his chain-tail! It was nauseating too. It was a good thing that he didn't have any dinner to throw up should it come to that.
Thankfully, Tenna seemed to realize the pippins's silent suffering, and Battat was moved so he was rightside-up, in the grasp of two hands. Kind of like he was a hamburger, or a duck.
He could've sworn he saw the creature from his dreams, staring at him in the corner of his eye. When he looked, nothing was there.
"Eyes on me, mister!" Tenna snapped.
Battat quickly returned his attention. He smiled awry. "Aheh, Tenna! It's not what it-"
"YOU are here after-hours!" Tenna repeated. "Now, I've seen you in that room with that zapper, but I should've known that you had ulterior motives concerning MY MIKE!"
Fuck this. "Don't yell at me!"
"DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP!" Tenna hissed.
Battat's eyes briefly narrowed. "How am I gonna do that, you're holding me."
"STOP WITH THE SASS! I- I'll squeeze you until your eyes pop out!"
"You wouldn't." I almost sounded confident there… where did that thought come from?
As he predicted, nothing happened. There was silence for around fifteen seconds, before Tenna's screen darkened and his nose disappeared.
"Oh, I see what's going on. You all think I'm a pushover, is that it?" Tenna growled. "You think I'm a big softie whose only means of a threat come from contracts? Don't think I'm not aware of what's said around here, dice boy!"
Battat's heart sank. So he knew. He knew the entire time that everyone shit-talked behind his back, about how he was harmless. What else did he hear? That no one cared about that stupid mailman? That they were concerned that he'd hurt himself one of these days? Did he hear Battat talking to his partners earlier..?
Did Tenna know. Did he know that his beloved Mike(s) was a fraud. Did he.
"No, that's not-" Battat stammered. "That's not what I-"
"I'm not a pushover!" Tenna spat. "I'm not pathetic! And I will not take these SHENANIGANS any longer, you liar! You swindler! You fake!" He laughed. "Just watch what happens when you poke the bear, you cheater!"
Battat had a feeling he messed up. Badly.
Tenna laughed again, like he was on the verge of losing his mind, and then he brought the pippins even closer to his screen. Instead of his mouth closing when the laughter ended, it stayed open. It allowed Battat to get a good view, and he didn't like it at all. Sharp fangs reached out with teeth glistening, and strings of saliva connected the top to the bottom. In the very back was a pit of darkness, pulsing as a blast of hot air hit the pippins.
……oh.
Oh fuck.
Battat's eyes widened. "NO, WAIT!"
He had no time to react before he was shoved in, headfirst. His upper half grazed against a wet, warm, rubbery surface, while his lower half was still outside. That sticky fluid dripped around him, and he found himself being soaked with it.
It was at this moment that his body decided to unfreeze, and he kicked and flailed, his tail lashed. "D-don't eat me! Please—!"
He flinched as Tenna's hands pushed against his feet, forcing the rest of him inside. He backed away, but the jaws had already snapped shut, trapping him.
It was dark. Humid. Wet. Sticky. Warm.
…Tenna wasn't serious, was he? He wouldn't actually do this, right?
Battat's brief interlude was interrupted by his floor rippling and brushing against him. If he thought Pluey licking him was bad, this was ten times worse. He was literally laying on a tongue like a piece of candy or meat, and it was licking his entire body, all at once. He was helpless as it tossed him around, rolling him from side to side. Getting him wet, but not chewing. Hopefully this was just a threat! A really bad joke of a threat!
"Tenna-" he coughed. "Stop! You're making a mis-take!"
As if he commanded it, the tongue stopped fiddling with him. He flopped on his side, then his back. His breathing had quickened, but he wasn't hyperventilating yet. His limbs felt like jelly. His skin was moist and coated with saliva. Part of him wondered if Tenna liked how he tasted… hopefully not. He didn't want to be a late night snack.
Just then, Battat heard a faint rumbling below. His blood ran cold, knowing what it was, and what it meant. If he didn't act fast, then he would become a late night snack! He… just needed to say the right things! ..but he sucked at that!
"G-good…" he managed to say. "Now can you let me out? Please? S-so we can talk? I can explain… I- I'm not a thief, and I'd never betray your- Mike's trust!"
Tenna didn't say anything. The tongue twitched a little, but no words were spoken. Maybe that was a good thing, considering he had someone on his tongue.
"Please, boss, you don't have to do this… I- I won't tell anyone, I swear! I'll do anything you ask of me, just… please, please don't eat me! Please don't kill me…"
Still nothing. Was he thinking, or reconsidering? Did he even hear the pippins in his mouth? Surely, he did!
Suddenly, the world tilted, and Battat squeaked as he quickly slid backwards.
"Nonononono- what are you doing?! Stop! Stop it!" He cried out.
The tongue curled underneath him, and he shrieked as his face was pressed against the roof of Tenna's mouth, restricting his movement.
"Please don't do this…" he begged.
Battat barely had a moment to plan his next steps before the world became vertical. He was hanging upside down, and he didn't know if this was worse than if he was going foot-first.
"Pl-"
The tongue shifted, and he watched in horror as he was forced into the entrance of Tenna's throat. The muscles opened and held onto his head and arms, almost as if they were eager to have him.
Another shift pulled his chest into the tunnel, and a final push sent the rest of him in.
He was being swallowed. Shit.
Battat couldn't move at all. Or, rather, he couldn't move himself. The throat was agonizingly tight, and even with him being coated in saliva, it struggled to get him down smoothly. He couldn't fight. He couldn't scream. He could barely breathe.
Something pressed into him from the outside, and he shivered when he realized it was Tenna, feeling the little pippins slip down his throat. In fact, Tenna seemed to be helping move Battat along.
Another swallow pulled Battat deeper, and the outside pressure disappeared. He guessed he was somewhere in Tenna's chest… had he been in the hallway this entire time? There was no way to tell.
An irregular beat thrummed throughout his insides. A strange humming noise started to make itself known, not that it mattered that much. The rumble from before was much louder, hungrier. Closer.
Battat's hands and head were forced through an almost leathery mechanism, and with a subtle fanfare of gurgling, he was freed from the tunnel strangling him. He fell onto something soft and squishy.
He didn't get to process very much before the lack of air got to him.
Everything faded to darkness, darker than anything he'd been witness to.