Chapter Text
Puzzles ran frantically. He had betrayed WPNZ and Toomp to go after Le-Meggy, but she had also abandoned him. Now, all he did was wander the city streets, avoiding places where he knew WPNZ might be. But that night, the Death Cube found him. He ran as fast as he could; the cube was faster than he remembered. Puzzles wanted nothing more than to escape this, until he remembered the small detail that WPNZ and Toomp were also on the Death Cube's list because of him—another thing to add to the list of reasons he was a horrible person.
Puzzles didn't want to hurt WPNZ any more than he already had, so he came up with an idea. If no one else was going to stop the cube, why couldn't he? So he turned to face the cube of death head-on. He narrowly dodged being run over and started shooting at it, trying to damage it, but nothing worked. Then he remembered its weak point was inside. If he could somehow keep the cube's mouth open, he could charge a powerful shot that might destroy it. It was a risky plan, but Puzzles loved the extravagant.
He let himself be caught by the cube's tongue, and with his long limbs, he managed to prevent it from closing its mouth and swallowing him. He began charging the shot in his left hand, though it was difficult with the cube trying to close its mouth and eat him. When the shot was ready, Puzzles jumped... spun... fired... and... it worked! The cube shut down completely due to the damage, but Puzzles hadn't moved far enough away, so the arm he'd used to fire it was trapped in the cube's mouth, which slammed shut when it went out. It would probably be impossible to open it. After much struggling, the arm was finally ripped off, causing Puzzles to scream in pain. He knew he had to get out of there before it shut down completely, since that shot had used up all his energy and it would soon shut down. He also needed to flee the crime scene, as he didn't want any more charges on his record. After a long walk, he pulled out a notebook with only one page left; the others were apparently torn out. Puzzles usually wrote script ideas there, and if he didn't like something, he'd tear out the page. He also had a pen with him.
He hadn't thought it would be so difficult to write with a missing arm. It wasn't that he was left-handed, but it was still strange. He wrote a letter in case wpnz and toomp somehow found him someday. He went into a run-down alley, the kind of place wpnz would probably only go if he was hiding from the police. To his dismay, he sat down on the dirty, trash-strewn ground near some boxes. He grabbed a dirty tarp from there and partially covered himself to avoid being noticed. He gripped his notebook tightly and, with his last bit of energy, said, "I'm so sorry, toomp. I'm so sorry, Meggy. I'm so sorry, wpnz. I'm going to miss you." And with that, he finally shut down. His screen went black, showing the low battery for a few seconds. His body would probably stay there for a long time, but he believed it was for the best for everyone, including himself.
Puzzles woke up, but not in the alley. He seemed to be in a place where everything was static. He quickly recognized this place as his subconscious. It had been a long time since he'd been there, to be honest. He hadn't been inside a television or his own mind since he'd been imprisoned. He got up, confused, dusting himself off. He walked aimlessly until he saw a small, dark figure in the distance. As he got closer, he saw it was a boy, but not just any boy. It was him. It seemed like he'd been waiting for him because as soon as Puzzles approached, the boy gestured for him to follow and ran off. Puzzles quickly followed until they reached a large television. The boy sat down and clapped his hands on the ground next to him, inviting Puzzles to sit with him. Puzzles hesitated but agreed. He looked at the remote control in front of him and, just like when he was a child, turned on the television to escape the problems around him. One of the series that Puzzles loved began to play. At least he would have something entertaining to do for eternity. He could change the channel and another series or movie he loved would come on. His subconscious... He was considered, at least that way he wouldn't cause any more trouble around him.
The little puzzle boy turned his head to look at his adult self, then looked back at the television, but a sweet voice, one that Puzzles had forgotten, spoke to him—"Puzzles… are we so bad that we always end up alone?"—the question hung in the air. Puzzles continued watching TV, but his face showed weariness and a clear sadness until, with a rather melancholic voice, he answered the little boy—"Sometimes you're destined for a life that isn't what you want, even if you try to change, you'll always end up as you started… alone." The words came out brokenly. For Puzzles, his destiny was loneliness; it wasn't for nothing that even his father didn't love him, and his mother had abandoned him as soon as she had the chance. Perhaps that's why his only company was whatever series or movie was on television; some habits don't change with time, it seems.
Puzzles felt like he was being stared at. It was his younger self, who clearly saw him looking sad, tears threatening to fall. "I don't want to be alone..." Puzzles felt a lump in his throat. He'd forgotten it was his younger self. He smiled and placed a hand on the little boy's head, ruffling his hair. "Don't worry, little one, I'm here, right? So you're not alone. Besides, we have the TV to watch whatever you or I want. Is that okay?" It seemed to work, as the little boy's eyes lit up with excitement and a big smile spread across his face. "Yes!! I want to watch cartoons! Can we watch cartoons? Pleeease!" the little boy exclaimed, clearly thrilled. Puzzles, with a big smile, simply nodded, putting the cartoon on the TV. The boy almost jumped for joy as he watched the screen intently. Puzzles chuckled softly and also paid attention to the cartoon. Maybe his subconscious wasn't so bad after all; he could get used to it.