Chapter Text
There was not much Mr. Puzzles could do in the confines of his cell. Yes, he couldn’t move, bound with rope, but somehow his restricted movement also restricted him from retreating into his own head. Still, he could think, and ponder exactly how he ended up here.
Mr. Puzzles tried to think back… but his thoughts kept falling to Leggy – probably because the only other “person” in his cell was Leggy 2.0. He had a vastly superior Leggy with him right here! He didn’t need the old one at all! And yet… for some reason, the first Leggy looked up to him, in a way that didn’t require brainwashing to accomplish.
Leggy was like a little sister to Mr. Puzzles.
Sister…
He had a little sister, once. And a mother, too. How could he have forgotten them, and not his unsupportive father?
Dad wasn’t always there, anyway. Most of the time, he was away at work, or on a business trip. When he was home, Puzzles felt Dad’s only purpose was to destroy his ideas in person.
Mom didn’t stop Dad from stomping on little Puzzles’s dreams, but there were a few good things about her. She would cook his favorite meal after a long day of school and homework. She always made sure he did his homework before he enjoyed the TV.
But before the… incident, Puzzles’s sister was the closest relationship he had. He would tell her about the plots of shows and movies, even when she was too young to understand. At least she appeared attentive, unlike the other children his age Puzzles talked to.
As they got older, his sister proved to be the more responsible one in every way. She went outside to explore the world, make friends, and have adventures. She even got a job at nine years old! She got whatever love Puzzles’s parents provided, while he stuck to his shows and movies.
He was forced outside, because it was the only place his parents could put him for a timeout that wouldn’t have him trying to look at any TV. The only times he was in timeout were when he refused to leave the television’s watchful gaze. While outside, the other kids would come by and ask him if they wanted to play. He didn’t like their games – he’d rather reenact his favorite shows - so he always said no.
Still, Puzzles’s sister encouraged him. She said she’d only gotten the job to help fund her brother’s dreams. She used most of the money on stuff she wanted, like a normal child would an allowance, but she always set aside a piggy bank for him.
In high school, Puzzles became a theater kid, surprising no one. He tried out for the play as soon as he heard about auditions, and got a small part. He admitted to himself he never was leading man material. He got along just fine with his fellow actors and the director, but he never got close enough to consider them friends.
When the performance nights finally came, Puzzles’s parents never showed. They always had a “date night” or “other plans” – how convenient, Puzzles thought. However, he always saw his sister in the audience. She never missed a performance, and she always got him flowers.
One night, after Puzzles graduated from school, something snapped within him. He had watched so many TV shows and movies, and never had the chance to make his own. There had to be some way for him… to get into television, as they said. He took the piggy bank from his sister’s room, and he took the television from his room.
Then Puzzles drove to a place in the middle of nowhere to cut off his head. He went someplace secluded so… no one sister could find him. In the black mirror of the television screen, he looked at his reflection one last time. In the pale moonlight, he only saw a silhouetted head and the same light shining off his eyes. Probably an appropriate way to remember his past self: he was a nobody before replacing his head.
Puzzles picked up the saw, hands shaking. There would be no going back from this. He sliced his head from his neck in one clean stroke. He only had mere seconds to put the TV in its place.
Somehow, she still found Mr. Puzzles. She was barely able to drive, but she had managed to talk their parents into letting her borrow their car. When she saw him, she reacted exactly how he anticipated.
She screamed, called Mr. Puzzles a monster, and fled. He was still recovering from cutting off his own head, so he could not give chase. Did he even want to try and reason with her?
Oh yeah, he had to do something with his decapitated human head. Ugh, it was hard to look at. Maybe… if he left it here, and the rest of his family found it, they’d believe he was dead.
Oh, what a twist! And it would get rid of any loose ends. Mr. Puzzles could start a new life, far away from anyone who ever knew him.
With that new life, he created a new channel, new shows, and… he even made a new friend. Then the SMG4 Crew took ALL of that away from him! At least Leggy 2.0 was still here…
But now he missed his sister.
Tracy…