The Demon, that is Selectively Mute

"He looks nervous, don't you think?"

"Yeah. I was hoping you noticed it as well."

Hushed Whispers were exchanged between the Weather Duo standing off to the Sidelines of the Stage, their Eyes aimed at a specific Darkner with a long Nose and black Hair who occasionally took a Peek behind the big, red Curtain leading to the main Stage before hurriedly going back to pacing in Circles while fidgeting with his Hands, this Pattern carried out like Clockwork as if having memorized a personal Rhythm.

That very Darkner in Question was none other than Spamton G. Spamton himself, the very Salesman who joined the Crew of TV World not too long ago and was about to experience his very first Gig on the big Stage himself, right in front of all the Cameras.

Yet, it was rather apparent that such an exciting Opportunity did provide one or the other Emotion along with it, one of which was quite obvious: Stage Fright.

Empathetic Glances were shared between Lanino and Elnina as they witnessed the Nervousness of the small Darkner, before both decided to approach him.

"Heya, Mister Spamton!", Lanino was the first to call out as they stopped next to him with a warm Smile on his Face.

"You seem to be quite excited for your first Appearance on the big Screen!", Elnina followed next, making sure to keep a cheery yet calm Tone in her Voice.

In turn, a surprised but still rather tense Smile stretched across the Face of the E-Mail Guy, one Hand slicking back Strands of black Hair out of Habit.

"O-oh, uh-", Spamton stumbled over his Words, though tried not to let it visibly bother him, "Y-yeah! That I sure am! I can already picture the Cheers of Joy and Excitement of the Crowd once I show what amazing Advertisements I got in Stock! Along with the many Eyes on me! Definitely excited for that! Haha!".

... Yeeeah, the Stage Fright is hitting hard. Poor Guy.

"It's okay, Mister Spamton.", the Cloud Darkner removed their Sunglasses from her Face to show a sympathetic Expression, settling said Shades on top of her fluffy white Hair, "We understand how Nerve-wracking this must be to you."

"Yeah, Mister Spamton.", the Moon-shaped Darkner, too, removed his Sunglasses so that their Eyes were visible, "It's understandable that you are nervous, seeing how this is your first Gig in a TV Time Segment."

"Me?! Nervous?!" Now, Spamton attempted to put on a brave Facade by changing the Tone in his Voice into an arrogant one while his Hands gestured towards himself. "Pfft, I-I ain't nervous! This is THE Spamton G. Spamton you're talking to! If anyone got this in the Bag, it's me! Capiche?"

Both Lanino and Elnina exchanged a Glance at each other like before. None of the two were convinced of his frantic Response, that much was clear.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with being nervous.", Lanino tapped the pointed index Finger of their Staff against his Chin, "It's natural. Nothing shameful about it."

"Yep! Lanino's right!", Elnina chimed in, "Believe it or not, when my Ray of a Sunshine and I had our very first Gig together as the Weather Duo on the big Screen, we were really nervous too!"

Some of the Tension within the small Darkner noticeable vanished, even if just a little bit of it, however his Demeanor from before did not change. "L-like I said, I ain't nervous! Heck, if ya looked for the Word "nervous" and my Name inside a Lexicon, they would never appear beside each other! There's no need to worry, really!"

The Weather Duo looked at each other again, especially since Spamton's last Response sounded more like something he said to himself out of Denial instead of towards the two of them.

"... Suuure. Hey, excuse us for just one, small Moment. We will be right back." Lanino gestured for Elnina to take a few Steps off to the Side together with him, away from the Salesman so that he couldn't hear the Conversation between the Duo.

"Elnina, my sweet Cloud o' Nine.", he whispered, "Remember what helped us back then? When we almost got icy cold Feet right before our first, big Performance?"

Similar to Lanino, Elnina tapped against her Chin with her Staff in a pondering Motion, before recalling something within her Mind, her Eyes widening slightly. "Right! To ease up some of our Tension, we decided to make each other laugh by telling each other cheesy Puns!... Yours were much cheesier, though."

A fond Smile crossed over the Face of the Sun Darkner upon remembering those sweet Memories. "Hmhm, yeah~... You think it might work on Mister Spamton? I'd feel bad if we just let him step onto the big Stage in this State without at least trying to help him, y'know?"

"Are you sure cheesy Puns are his Type of Humor, though? What if he doesn't laugh?"

Fidgeting with their Staff, Lanino thought deeply about the Words of his Partner. However, when his Eyes landed on the Item in his Hand, a Lightbulb appeared over his Head, something which the Cloud Darkner caught onto.

"... You think what I'm thinking?"

"If it doesn't work, we can still try the cheesy Puns as Plan B."

"Agreed."

Stepping back towards the short Darkner, the Duo flashed him kind yet slightly sly Smiles.

"Mister Spamton! Thank you for your Patience!", Lanino positioned themself to Spamton's right, not trying to make it obvious that they were up to something, "I think we finally know how to take care of that Problem of yours!"

"Problem? What- what Problem?", Spamton's own wide Grin twitched, as if getting hesitant and unsure of himself due to that very Word being mentioned.

"Your Problem, silly!", Elnina followed suit by discreetly positioning themself to the left of Spamton, "The one that's located riiiight... here!"

"AH-!"

A surprised Squeak left the small Salesman as the index Finger of the gloved Staff suddenly poked into his Side. ... Jackpot.

"Exactly! My pretty Raindew's right!", the gloved Staff of the Moon-shaped Darkner quickly poked against Spamton's other Side, as if pointing something very important out, "You're awfully tense right here! It'd be a Shame to let you step onto the Stage in such Condition!"

"N-nohow hohold on!" With another Poke to the lower Ribs, Spamton jolted into himself, some suppressed giggling slipping past his Throat as his Grin turned twitchy and one Arm wrapped around himself to protect himself. "I-Ihim nahat tense! I'm fine as cahan behe!"

"Hmm, I disagree, Mister Spamton. Look, your Tension and Anxiety is trapped around here, like a chilly Snowstorm building up!", another Poke to his Torso from Elnina drew a high-pitched Yelp out of the smaller Darkner, "So we need to help getting it out of you like this!" The index Finger of the gloved Staff trailed from Spamton's Side all the way up towards his Armpit with one gradual Swoop to which the giggly Darkner weakly swatted at it with one Hand.

"I- eaHAha- I don't neheed no Hehelp! Reahahlly!"

More and more Pokes were added to his Core, slowly coaxing squeaky laughs out of the Salesman, one Hand now smacked over his Mouth to muffle the silly Noises sounding from him so that the other nearby Darkners which were busy running around and setting Things up behind the Stage wouldn't hear him. Though, as he was distracted for just a Moment due to Elnina targeting his Neck which he tried to defend with both Arms...

"Eaheahaehae- AYHE! C'moHOHON! D-DOhohon't- NaHAhat therehe!! You twoho are goHONNA CRIHinkle my SUHUIT- eHAEHAheha!!"

... Lanino seized the Opportunity to swiftly poke and prod at his now exposed Stomach, resulting in Spamton squealing loudly and giddily backing away until his Back pressed against the Wall right behind him.

Of course, that didn't deter the Weather Duo, who instantly sprung back into Action by surrounding the shorter Darkner once more and tracing their Staffs against his Belly and Ribs in circular Patterns, the red Fabric only doing so much to lessen the ticklish Sensation those Motions produced.

If one Hand concentrated on lightly batting one gloved Staff away, the other Staff would not hesitate to swoop in and poke at the exposed Armpit, to which Spamton reacted by jolting and cackling like he seemingly just remembered something really funny. And everytime he attempted to curl into a Ball to defend himself, the playful Duo would just respond by targeting Spamton's Neck, Collarbone and Hips instead, something that caused him to straighten out his Spine without fail. Once he did so, it was promptly taken Advantage of by tickly Pokes and Prods being applied directly against his Stomach and lower Ribs, making him snort funnily a few Times.

"TWOHO TEheamiHING UP A-ehaHEHAHA-AGahainst one i-is cheHEHEATIHING!!"

"But Mister Spamton-", Elnina couldn't help the mischievous Smirk on her Face, "You must certainly know by now..."

"... that the Weather always sticks together!", Lanino finished her Sentence with a Smirk of his own.

"The- thEHE WEAHATHER'S AHawfuhully mehehean- eEHEK!!" The small Darkner retorted with a Hint of Sarcasm in his Tone, to which he earned even more Pokes against his upper Belly, tearing some goofy Squeaks right out of him.

"Now, now. Certainly, you don't actually mean that, Mister Spamton.", Elnina's Response felt kind of warning, as if she was testing him to see if he dared to make any other Remarks like that towards them.

"Or do we have to take your Response as you still being nervous?", Lanino, too, joined in on the warning Gesture, exemplified by how he decided to let the gloved index Pointer specifically linger near the Stomach of the cackling Darkner, close to were a Bellybutton would be located.

Seeing how Spamton's Cheeks tinged themselves ever so slightly in even more of a deeper Shade of Pink, their Threats appeared to be working against him. "No-nonoNOHO! I-ihi didn't- I dihidn't saHAHAY ANYTHIHIhing!! ReheAHALLYHY!! Y-EAHAEHAEHAE-YAha must'vehehe mihisheard meHEhe!!", he threw his Hands up in Surrender, his Eyes squeezed shut as he continued to laugh out loudly.

Honestly, with how adorable and endearing the Salesman looked like right now, it would come as a huge Surprise to the Weather Duo if his first ever Appearance on TV Time turned out to be a huge Flop. And if it did, they would seriously question themselves what kind of Viewers are being invited into the Crowd of TV Time, that's for sure.

For a Minute or two more, they carried on with tickling Spamton everywhere they could reach, from lightly prodding his Neck to playfully poking his Palms when he held up his open Hands to faintly tracing against his Sides and more. They knew they had to stop eventually, lest the giggly E-Mail Guy would end up stepping onto the Stage looking like a blushy Tomato, so Lanino decided to speak up once more.

"I can see it clearly as a sunny Sky on a beautiful Day now!", the Moon-shaped Darkner smiled brightly while guiding the pointed Finger around in 8-Patterns, "I forecast that lots of Smiles and Cheers are on the way, Mister Spamton! And not just only from you, but from the Audience as well!"

"And not only that!", the cloudy Darkner focused on gently running the index Finger of the Staff up and down on Spamton's Ribs like a Xylophone, "The Forecast predicts lots of happy Tears flowing during your grand Debut, Mister Spamton!"

The Salesman, who at this point was in complete Stitches, forced an Eye open to look at the yellow and blue Darkners. "YAHA BOhoth- eHAEHEhae- reahally think sohoho?"

In Response, Expressions of Confidence and Assurance formed on the Faces of the Weather Duo, just so that there was no Room for Doubt. "We don't think so. We know it!", both spoke up in Tandem, their Pokes and Prods slowing down ever so slightly.

A few more Pokes were given just for good Measure, before finally both Elnina and Lanino stopped with the ticklish Antics, their Hands reaching out to pat Spamton's Shoulder each while he was recovering his Breath.

"There. You should feel much better now."

"We believe you will do a good Job out there, Mister Spamton!"

"I-ahehe-ihi swehear if ya crinkled my Suit, I won't forgive you both for thihis.", Spamton aimed a pouty Glare at the two Weather Darkners, though it was clear that there was no actual Malice behind it, rather it was one an annoyed Friend would give upon being teased by someone else.

Before the three could converse any further, they suddenly got interrupted by another Voice.

"Mister Spamton! You and Mister Tenna are on in 5!", a Pippins with a Clipboard called out from nearby as a Heads-up before hurrying away towards somewhere else, leaving the Trio behind once more.

Brushing off his red Jacket and smoothing down his black Hair, Spamton took a few Steps forwards and glanced back towards Lanino and Elnina. "Welp, seems like that's my Cue. Still gotta talk with the big Boss himself for the last few Preparations, ya know?", with his Head, he nodded towards the tall TV Darkner in the Distance who could be seen discussing some Stuff with some Employees.

As the Weather Duo stared at Spamton, they noticed that compared to much earlier, his Demeanor now showed to be much more relaxed with the most noticeable Changes being his calm facial Features and loose Shoulders.

Seems like their Plan worked as intended!

"Of course, Mister Spamton! Don't let us hold you up any longer! We should also go to prepare for our own Appearance in TV Time!", nodding, Elnina retrieved their Pair of Sunglasses from the top of her Head to set them back onto her Face.

"Yeah, we wish you lots of Luck!", Lanino, too, grabbed their Sunglasses from the top of his Head and put them back onto his Face, "Go break a Leg out there!"

"Heh! Thanks! Good Luck to ya both, too!"

With that, the small Salesman hurried off to go meet Tenna, the two of them immediately falling into a Conversation once he got there.

Meanwhile, Elnina and Lanino happily gave a tiny high-Five to each other for their Plan succeeding.

"So- ah!", Lanino yelped and curled into himself when they felt the index Finger of the Cloud Darkner's Staff connect with his Side, afterwards shooting her a playful Glare, "Hey, I'm not nervous!".

"Hmm, you sure- eek!", Elnina reacted the same way when Lanino poked them into her Side with his Staff, her Hand being held up quickly in Defense, "W-wait, hold on, Truce! Truce! Like we said earlier, we gotta get ready, too!"

Lanino thought for a Moment, his Eyes behind his Sunglasses narrowing - before placing a warm Kiss on Elnina's Cheek to which her Expression melted into a heartfelt one.

"Fine, fine. But no Shenanigans while we're on-Air, got it? Tenna wants us to act professional."

Round Thumbs pressed away on the Buttons of a pink-and-yellow Controller, making the purple and pixelated Character move in vertical and horizontal Directions on the big, lit-up Screen.

Currently, Ramb was working on coding and modifying all kinds of Things here and there within the Game running on the Console in the Backstage Area of the Green Room, as per Tenna's Request. Seeing that the small Lightners have recently become really enamoured with playing Video Games in their free Time, the large TV Darkner got the brilliant Idea of wanting to implement a physical Challenge in Form of a Video Game into his TV Time Segments, though as he himself didn't possess any Knowledge about how Codes, Spriteworks and everything else revolving about the Creation of Video Games worked, that Task obviously fell onto the small Plugboy Darkner who originated from Cyber World and thus possessed more Knowledge on such technological Matters. "The Legend of Tenna", he thinks his Boss planned on calling the ROM Hack- erm... "totally original and definitely not ripped-off Game", as he recalled.

With a Stretch of his Legs, Ramb repositioned himself to sit more comfortably on the Floor before carrying on with pressing various Button Combinations on the off-coloured Controller in his Hands, just to activate some Cheat Codes so that he could fly over the Collision of the Palm Trees to check if certain Areas have been properly sealed off. Settling down by the Starting Point of the Island Board, another Cheat Code was input so that now Ramb's Sprite wielded a Sword in his Hands which he then thoughtlessly swung around in random Directions.

"Why chuck the Sword, Tenna?... The young un's are already fighting Pixels about. Wouldn't that be more of a laugh?", the purple Plugboy wondered out loud to himself as Thumbs pressed Buttons to deactivate the active Cheat Codes. He has seen little Kris and Azzy play Fighting Games against each other plenty of Times now, so why remove the Sword Part out of the Game? Welp, if he didn't want any Points getting docked off his Pay along with an angry Scolding from the large TV Boss for "attempting to instill harmful and violent Behaviours into the small, innocent Lightners", then he supposed he would need to carry out the latter's Demand to a T anyhow.

Closing his Eyes, a Sigh escaped Ramb, though once he opened them up again...

"...?"

Did he... just see something dash across the Screen? ... No, no, he just must be tired from all the staring at the big, bright Screen, that's it.

Ramb raised a closed Fist to rub at his Eyelids-

"... Ah!-"

- only to almost drop the Controller in his other Hand from Surprise as he felt something lightly graze against his right Side. Immediately, he whipped his Head around to spot whoever did it, expecting to come Face-to-Face with a Pippins trying to mess with him, knowing their mischievious Tendencies... but nobody was there. Confused, the purple Plugboy glanced towards every Direction he could think of, from left to right, up and down, even standing up and turning around to look behind him.

... He hasn't gotten that tired from all the playtesting he just did to have simply imagined it, has he?

For a Moment, Ramb considered going towards the Door leading out of the Room to check if the supposed Prankster in Question was hiding behind it-

"?!"

- but a shrill, bitcrushed Laugh reverberating right behind him tore his Attention directly back towards the giant, illuminated Screen.

On it, his wide Eyes could see some sort of a dark, floating Sprite which hovered very close right next to his own Avatar. Weird, did he accidentally activate a Cheat Code and not notice beforehand? Or was it an Enemy from the Original Game that appeared just because he did something specific with his Character previously? Or was it because-

"EhaHA?!"

Ramb's Thoughts were instantly cut short as the shadowy Sprite swooshed right over his purple Avatar which somehow caused a ticklish Sensation to appear in his left Side, his Hand dropping the Controller to clutch at it. To him, it felt like and could best be described as a light Jolt of tickly Electricity zapping and prickling directly against his Nerves, something akin to touching the staticy Fuzz on Tenna's Screen.

No wonder, considering that whatever seemed to be messing with him appeared to be of electrical Nature itself.

"H-hey, wha-hahaHA?!", another cackle got plucked out of the Mouth of the bewildered Plugboy as the shadowy Sprite nudged against the pixelated Avatar on the Screen once more, more ticklish Jolts prickling against his Skin which his Palm tried to fruitlessly rub away.

"Whahat- ehehehe- whahahat givehes?!"

He smacked a Palm over his Mouth in an Attempt to muffle the giggling and tittering flowing right out of him, somehow hoping that that would make him regain his Senses quicker, though that Plan fell into flat Water as little Zaps against his Spine yanked his Concentration straight away from him. At least, there was still Hope that the Walls of this Room were soundproof, else a lot of Darkners just heard a really goofy Squeal coming from the Plugboy himself.

"Luv', wh- Luhuhuv'! Why ahare ya dohoihing thihihis, ehehaha?!" Maybe if he acknowledged the strange Being on the Screen in a direct manner would he get an Answer from it?

"E-eAHAHA! LUhuhuHUV'! Not the- haHAha- nohot the StohomaHAHACH!!", a loud Snort left Ramb as his Knees buckled underneath him, finally giving out under him after a few Seconds and hitting the Ground followed by him thumping his Foot against the Floor like an excited Puppy receiving Belly Scritches.

Okay, that didn't work out as planned.

Not only that, but there are two Things which Ramb took Note of, two Things which he realized made the Situation much more worse for him. One, since there wasn't a physical Manifestation of the mischievous Creature which was antagonizing him in front of him, there was no feasible way for him to defend himself nor fight back, lest he looked like someone wildly waving their Arms around in the Air in an Attempt to push something invisible away. And two, as the pixelated Characters on the Screen consisted of very simplified Designs, it meant that any Chances of predicting what the shadowy Creature would do let alone which Spots on his Avatar it would target and aim for next were completely nullified, leaving him in the Dark about it. There was nothing to work with, no Animations, no Textboxes, no Details, nothing. Just it floating over and nudging against his pixelated Mini Version over and over again.

"EhehoHOHOho, Luhuhuv'!!", the purple Plugboy wrapped his shaky Arms around his Stomach, his Foot continuing to thump against the Floor, "ThaHAhat's nahat fair, ihinnihit- aHAHAHAhaha!".

All he got as an Answer was a bitcrushed Laugh from the pixelated Mantle Figure like the one he heard previously, as if it was taking a playful kind of Enjoyment out of Ramb's Predicament.

Think, Ramb, think! If it couldn't be retaliated against in this World, then... Wait, that's right, the Controller!

Leaning towards it, he attempted to reach for the strangely coloured Device...

"-Kch- pfahAAHAHEHEHAHA!!!"

... only for his jittery Hands to reflexively latch onto his floppy Ears instead all of the sudden, thus effectively halting him in that small Endeavour. Seems like the shadowy Gremlin on Screen caught onto that little Scheme of his swiftly enough to enact a Countermeasure to it.

"P-PlehEHEAhase!! I'm- I'm saHAHAHARRYhihiHI!!", the giddy Plugboy Darkner babbled out an Apology, mostly out of Reflex but also in the Hopes that the Mantle Creature would take some Form of Mercy on him.

And indeed, that appeared to work as the small, ticklish Jolts of Energy relocated to prickle and buzz against underneath his Armpits instead. It was an Improvement from getting his sensitive Ears targeted at, yes, but Heavens did it still tickle a lot!

"Oho nono-noHOhoHO! Come oHOHohon! Cut- ehiHIhi- cuhut it ouhut, will yaHAHAha?!"

Now, with both Arms clutched around his upper Body in order to protect it from the devious Tickles, it would certainly be a much harder Task for the chuckling Plugboy to try to make a reach for the weirdly coloured Controller lying a bit further away from him, especially with the Revelation that the Mantle Creature is actually keeping a close Eye on him. Yet, that didn't deter Ramb in the slightest to make up his Mind and go for another Attempt, his open Hand already extending out towards the Controller as best as he could, Consequences be damned!

"- eAHAEHA!! NohOHOHoHO!!"

But like before, the Reflexes of his Body had other Plans as this Time, light and fluttery Zaps manifested both around his Neck and his Hips simultaneously, causing his Palms to grasp at those Areas instead as Ramb curled up into a guffawing and hysterical Ball of Laughter.

Yeah, he should've seen that one coming, fair enough.

"Y-yohou're aha cheEHEheky littlehe FeHEhellaHAHA, AHAIhin't yahaha?"

A deep Belly-Laugh sounded from the purple Darkner as his Palms pressed against his Mouth once more to muffle the goofy yet adorable Noises escaping his Vocal Cords, his Eyes squeezing shut. Taking into Consideration of the weird Circumstances he is currently facing, it's not like he needed to keep his Sight on the pixelated Figure anyway, rather putting his Focus into his Thoughts appeared to be the much better Choice at Hand. Maybe, third Time's a Charm and this Time, reaching for the Controller would be successful. But that was rather risky, so perhaps the better Option was to wait for someone, anyone, be it a Pippins or even Tenna, to simply walk in on him laughing his Sides off and help him-

"-eAAAHAHAHA!!! BLIHIMEHEY, DON'T- AHAHIHIHI- DOHON'T DO THAHAHAT!!!"

All of the sudden, a staticy Raspberry was planted directly against Ramb's pudgy Belly, effectively cutting his Thoughts short in an instant as he smacked his right Hand against his Forehead and threw his Head back with loud guffawing while his left Hand frantically pounded against the Floor. If that was not enough, what followed was what somehow felt like round, pointy Fangs gently nibbling against the soft Pudge of his Tummy, causing Ramb to wildly kick his Legs around and for his Laughter to turn wheezy for a Moment, Tears of Mirth forming in the Corners his Eyes.

Let's hope that whoever stumbles upon him first gets to pick out a nice Tombstone for him, because at this point, he's sure that his Soul is being tickled straight out of his Body!... Okay, that might've been an Exaggeration, but it still felt like that to him anyway.

"OHOhoHOho p-pleHEAHAHAAhahaHA!!!"

The shadowy Sprite continued to tickle the hysterical Plugboy for a Minute or two more, though noticeably slowed down when the latter's babbling gradually turned incoherent and nonsensical. Instead, faint little Zaps of Electricity shifted over towards his flushed Cheeks and under his Chin, finally granting Ramb to replenish his Lungs with much needed huge Gulps of Oxygen-filled Air.

"Ohoho bohohoyhy..."

He tried to aim his Eyes back towards the giant Screen, there where he could see what the mischievous Prankster of a Sprite was up to, but that proved to be a Challenge as he fought a losing Battle of keeping his suddenly heavy Eyelids open. Ramb realized that the hourly-long Quest of modifying a Game inside a dark Room as well as the one-sided Tickle Fight he experienced just now must have tired him out a lot and the Exhaustion was now catching up to him.

A sleepy Sigh left him, it being prompted by him feeling the Sensation of something draping over him, something that shared similar Properties to that of a Blanket. Huh, was that the...? Whatever it was, Ramb supposed a small Nap couldn't hurt as he decided not to dwell on these Thoughts for too long.