Deceitfully nice

@deceitanon 143

Null stays silent for a while again.

...

"I suppose it would be rather fascinating... I do believe most people only see a few dead bodies in their life time though, and usually it tends to be people they know."

Null would be referring to funerals...

"... I actually have not seen a dead body. I do not particularly wish to either."

--

They look at Remy when he frowns and pause again.

"Are you okay?"

{Remus jumps over and on to the couch laying himself along Null’s lap}

——

@deceitanon 142

As Remy teleports there's a flicker in everything around him, a feeling of being torn from the plane he was in, and suddenly he's in a... Space. It's hard to put into words what the fuck this is.

... It feels endless, uncanny, and yet familiar. There's items Remy may have felt were important from the distant past, or even the present. Items that feel important, and yet he's never seen. There's segments of these uneven and disorganized rooms that look like the bar, the loft, the cherry grove, the river, the void... There's hints, fragments, of everything Remy has ever seen. Everything feels... Wrong. Soso wrong.

They look like what Remy has seem, but they have an extreme feel of them still not being accurate. Like this space disorderly pulled memories from his mind and threw them around in a desperation to make it feel like home.

...

Lights flicker dully where there is no source, water trickles in the walls that aren't hollow...

Familiar sounds of people Remy knows are in the distant, with no obvious direction, but they have no realism to them. Parrots and echos of memories put into here wrong.

...

{Remy picks up a ball and chucks it over to where he hears the humming}

When Remy chucks the ball to the humming it suddenly stops. Deafening silence fills the space immediately.

...

"HelL-o?" The voice is broken, muffled and stuffed with static.

Slow someone peaks around the corner. A extremely tall lanky figure, only their head visible right now. A thin hand gloves in black velvet holds the wall near them.

Their head is a small black tv box, a very only one. It glows dully with flickers of visual static, and a subtle ringing of static piercings the air. Ever so slightly glowing white eyes that flicker like screen tearing are visible behind the screen. Those eyes are barely visible, yet so unsettling piercing.

... No heart beat. No warmth. No breathing. Not even any subtle electrical current of nerves, brain, or even a computer. Like they are nothing at all.

{Remy says like meeting someone like him is normal}

They stand at 7'9. They are unnaturally slim, limbs just slightly long enough to be uncanny. The way their clothes lay so perfectly and beautifully feels unnatural. They wear a long black layered dress with ruffles, and black velvet gloves covering their whole arms. Black flats with white frilly socks. Adorned on top of their head is a veil made of smooth lightweight black feathers.

They stare for a while.

"... I h-Ave noT..."

"I don-T hAve a nAme fOr thIs place... JuSt minE."

They radiate unease and uncanny feelings. They mean no harm.

"Int-rEstIng... Ho-w A-rE you hEre?"

“Oh like the backrooom”

{He said with a snap}

“How are you even alive here?- you’re very uncanny- but that’s hot nowadays”

They seem flabbergasted, even with no face that feeling isn't seen but felt from them to Remy.

"nOt alivE..."

"I hAve no NamE..." They pause. "NulL." It's a word meaning nothing afterall.

"HavE n-ot been callEd 'hot' bEfoRe."

They step closer and hesitantly poke Remy from the top of his head. They small touch feel cold, a split second of nausea given too.

"... You arE reAl..." They seem even more confused.

"I s-uppose oUt of reAlity w-Ould be dEcent as a WorDing."

They sit on the ground, now eye level to Remy.

“Ouch, it’s like you don’t even want me here! I’m hurt”

{he says with a hand on his chest}

“I mean I got nothing important to do, just came back from altering time itself so.. this is kinda nice”

{Remy doesn’t know why he’s spilling all of this}

“Null? That’s a sick name, why.. are you here though? You look alive to me”

They stare and tilt their head again. When they do some 'skin' on their neck is visible briefly. It looks less like skin and more like a void made of millions of writhing larva. Constantly moving in a sickly way.

"altEriNg tIme?.."

...

"hErE is Home... My spAce. ConCepT of the liminal... UnCannY ties in-tO it."

"alivE... N-oT alive, bUt stiLl con-scious."

“…:does it hurt?”

"Larva... I suppose it could be comparable to that? They're void maggots. They are unique to this place."

They carefully scoop out a small few of the void maggots. They wiggle around for a moment, small like usual maggots, and then Null puts them back.

"Hurt...?"

They pause at that as well.

"Yes... But not in your sense. I do not feel it that same way. It is a constant feeling, but I am not bothered by it."

...

{he said jokingly}

"I do believe there is no one else to tell... Unless you mean the illusions, but I believe they do not count."

They pauses and then nod.

"You are beautiful... May I pet y--"

They cut themself off.

"I should not touch... It makes people ill."

They stare regardless. A yearning for touch is blatantly radiating of them now.

"I could show you how I shapeshift?... It is not pretty though."

They run their hands along his bone armor, his head mostly.

"Warm..."

They move closer and lay their tv head onto his. The sound of tv static feels sharp, but not too overburdening.

{he slowly shifts back, but offers his hand for Null to fidget with}

"..."

"I can return... I do not have much control over how I warp spaces. I do try to not use abilities when I am in the existing planes, but I am unpredictable. I carry unease everywhere I go, I cannot choose a form that is not uncanny, I cannot create spaces that are not uncanny... Emotions are not something I understand, but I do know they contribute to mistaken use of my abilities."

They stare at Remy's hand as they talk. Quiet sparking crying is heard, though it is only black blood that drips from under the screen of their head. Smelling strongly of rot and iron.

"I do not wish to cause trouble. So I do not leave often, and when I do I do not leave with my body... I simply look, and memorize..."

{Remy Chuckles, before pauses, he tries to summon a cloth, but his whole body glitches- and he falls forward against them, but he gets the cloth

“Imma… just ignore what happened to me for now”

{Remy murmurs to himself before gently cleaning off the rot and iron liquid}

"Be careful in here. Your abilities will not work easily. I do not wish for you to harm yourself."

It leans into Remy wiping off the liquid.

"... Could I go home with you?"

They pauses to think, and then summon a black rotary phone with blood red rubies chaotically placed.

"Do you come from a time with phones?... This should work if so."

“I promise it’s not as crazy as it seems”

They speak after a while of silence.

"Okay..."

They don't believe Remy will be able to come back, but they don't argue regardless. Remy has to go back either way.

"I will see you when you return." They say with hidden disbelief.

{he blinks slowly, he feels like he needs to puke}

"Where-- What happened???" He sounds confused and concerned. "I lost all sense of you for a few minutes."

'Fee minutes' it felt like almost an hour passed down there... How does time work in that space?

“Got stuck in a weird space when I teleported….. few mins? It felt like I was there for hours”

“No… that’s not what I need to focus on.. there is someone trapped.. they are… uncanny more so than Remus but.. they wish to have a home”

"What do you mean 'weird space??'"

He seems utterly confused.

"I--"

He looks at Remy's eyes and sighs after a moment with a lighthearted eye roll.

"Okay... Fine... I'm lucky Starie can create so much space where there shouldn't even be room, you know?"

{Remy nuzzles up against Eddie with a happy purr}

"Oh, fuck off..." He playfully scoffs out without any actually annoyance. He clears his throat after a moment before replying, and nuzzling Remy back.

"Is there a chance you can't?"

“It… hurts to do it but I’ll only need to do it once.. so it won’t be that bad right?”

{Remy murmurs to himself}

{Remy kisses Eddie’s cheek before taking a deep breath, glitching and teleporting at the same time- and he lands back into the space.. but is on his hands and knees groaning, and coughing up more bile}

----

Null startles and squeaks out shrieking static when they see Remy again.

"Remy...?"

They walk over and stare at him and the bile.

"How-- Are you okay?..."

“Hurts…”

{His ears folded down- he hates when he glitches..}

“Don’t.. look”

They sit nearby with their back to Remy.

"I am sorry that I cannot help... I am not a healing type... Do let me know if you cannot settle your body though, I can understand the glitching. It is one reason I do not leave with my body anymore... It tends to cause some of the void maggots to burst."

“Tel… tell me more… void maggots.. what do they do?”

“I… can control the void.. it’s how I can manipulate dreams”

They sound uncertain on what they are.

"They allow me to shapeshift, as they have no solid form either... I am unsure if they would be the same as the void you describe, but you can try manipulating them if you wish to test that? I do not mind."

Null is suggesting Remy manipulate their body itself.

They stare for a while... Look around... They stand up slowly, and with focus to not make Remy ill, they pick him up.

They wander further into the space until it shifts out of Remy's memories and into a space Null made themself.

It's made to be a cottage, but it feels like an uncanny mimic of one, even more so than Remy's memories.

They place him on a bed, pulling a blanket over him, and then move to make coffee... They get a feeling he likes coffee. The bed feels oddly comfortable compared to the rest of this place.

“Eddie?”

{he said sleepy, nuzzling into the blanket before opening his eyes… and sees the uncanny house}

They look around the corner... Looking around corners before walking past them seems like a habit of theirs.

"Are you okay now, Remy?"

They slowly walk closer, they also tend to walk slowly.

They carry a mug of coffee, setting it on the warped nightstand.

“You were talking about the void things?”

The coffee is almost right. Almost how Remy likes it. It's off still. Anything Null makes seems to be off.

"I was..."

They watch Remy drink the coffee for a moment, also staring at the bed... They don't say what they want, and it is difficult to tell without a face to show it.

"The void maggots are more of an essence of this space... I believe..."

They think for a moment.

"You mentioned dreamscapes being voids. I believe the void maggots grow up into them. Though they form in here, and make me, I would guess they grow up into something?"

They are larva after all.

"Perhaps that is what they grow into?"

...

"I believe you could, yes... I am unsure what you could do with them though."

They think for a moment, still staring at Remy. The longer they stare the more unsettling it feels...

"Maybe you could have control over what they form into?... I do not always understand where I learn what I do, but I suppose that is part of who I am... I believe they form dreamscapes, but also mindscapes and pocket dimensions."

"If they have multiple paths, maybe there could be more with artificial influence?"

As Remy tries to manipulate the maggots they writhe more, then start to bubble, and then they melt into a black goo... Then, suddenly, Remy can feel a new pocket dimension as the maggot goo disappears. It feels different from ones he may have created before.

{Remy groans- he’s not a scientist or a doctor like him}

“I have no idea what this could mean.. hmmm”

“When I altered the lil guys.. they disappeared but I felt a pocket dimension open up, a new one- how is that even possible.. it wasn’t a lot of em”

“Can you tell me more about yourself Null? How’d you get here? How are you made up of these Void Bugs”

{he wants to stop calling them maggots.. it feels rude because Null is made out of these lil buggers}

___

They fall silent for several minutes at being asked about themself.

...

"I... Do not know how I got here. I just remember nothing... And then I was here... Or--"

Their screen glitches violently for a minute before they talk again.

"As for being made of the bugs--" They talk as if that glitching never happened. "I believe I made out of them as... As..."

They fall silent again.

"I don't think about what I am."

They don't know. They don't like that they don't know.

They can't remember how they got here...

"I like creating things... They always come out warped though."

They summon a fox plush, and while it looks like a fox it is unsettling not a fox at the same time.

----

The note ends up slightly clipped into the bar counter near Eddie. It's enough to read at least, but part of the note is in the counter.

{Remy pauses when he watches their screen glitch, he frowns in worry, everything about this place looks and feels fine- but it’s more like an uncanny feeling, he looks at the fox with a head tilt}

{Plus the whole time weirdness is throwing him off as well}

{he rubs his head as he thinks}

“I don’t know what to make of you babes, and I’d like to try and understand as much as I can before I introduce you to a whole new realm- or space.. don’t get me wrong- I’ve dealt with crazy stuff so this is just precarious, because who knows what could happen-“

"... What does it feel like to breathe?... Or... Just... How does your body feel to you?"

“Breathing feels awesome.. definitely something everyone takes for granted”

...

"I... Do not breathe. I always feel cold, I think numb is the other word... I like that you felt warm, I don't feel that often."

They fall silent again before there's a smaller and calmer glitch on their screen.

"... Breathing... I miss that. I took it for granted too it seems."

They remember breathing... There had to be something before they became this then, right?

“Fear… is the worst thing to feel.. your body your mind all send these signals that you will die, get hurt.. and you can’t do anything about it”

{Remy looks away for a moment} “though there is a scale to how much a person can feel fear.. like it can be something small like a spider and they just avoid spiders.. or it can be a big fear like.. water itself- or loud sounds where it can affect your day to day life”

...

"I don't feel... Things in a way I can place."

"Fear... I--"

They look at their hand and fall silent again.

"I do remember fear though... Fear and... And... Pain."

"Most feelings are dull... Now..."

They fidget with their gloves.

...

"... What does it feel like to die?"

“Why.. do you ask?”

{Remy frowns with worry}

They lean against the wall and pick at their gloves now.

"I don't know if I died... I"

They slowly slide down the wall to sit on the floor.

"I wasn't this... What was I?"

They're really wracking their mind now.

"I remember feeling tired... Then cool grass and dirt before falling asleep."

...

"Then an endless void. Thought it was a dream... There was a box. Nothing else... So I... Walked over to it."

They take their glove off and stare at all the writhing larva.

"I opened it... They spilled out, couldn't even guess how many..."

...

"Body was gone... Then I was this."

{Remy frowns as he listens while nodding along}

{Remy slowly gets up and sits next to them}

“You aren’t alone anymore.. I can’t- I don’t want to promise anything that I’m not confident in.. but I’ll try my best to help you.. I know what it’s like.. losing your body.. being thrown into the void”

"..."

They stay silent for a while longer.

"I don't... Mind what I am now. I think I was human... I can feel things coming back to me too. I don't think I was from your dimension or time period..."

...

"Is it weird... That I like being this?"

They don't like how unsettling they always are, but they still like what they are.

{Remy smiles as he holds their hand}

"... Hard to explain... But it's not difficult for me."

They've just always been too scared to leave, being able to isn't a problem.

In another disorientating, nauseating blink they're back in the bar. It doesn't seem as bad with Null active in the process.

Though as Null teleports them back there's a dull wet popping sound of several of the larva in their body. Some black goo drips from them, but is quick to disappear.

They stumble a little and sit on the ground as their tv head glitches for a moment. It seems similar to a headache for them.

"... Hngg just a moment..."

----

He brings him into a hug.

"It does..."

He stares at Null behind Remy as they slowly stand back up.

"This era makes sense..." They mumble to themself as they look around and then at Eddie.

"... Ah, greetings... You must be Eddie?"

Their wording is similar to Logan's, but their voice has that static muffled through a tv feel... And the general uncanny nature of them.

"I am... It's nice to meet you, Null."

This is the second time Remy has mentioned Remus and how they're rather curious about him.

"It is nice to meet you as well..."

Null looks around before answering.

"I am..." They pause, unsure. "Fine I believe."

They walk closer to Eddie now, looking down at him. They are well over two feet taller than him.

"... Would you like to go upstairs? Everyone is typically up there."

He smiles softly, though still getting used to the uneasiness. He does pause and warn Virgil with a text, knowing he might not handle it well.

——

{Upstairs, Logan is talking to Remus on the touch.. Patton is making lunch for everyone, Ethos is reading a book as best he can on the love seat}

{Logan pauses, invisible to Null}

“Eddie? Remy? Who is that?”

—

{Remus turns and perks up with a wicked smile}

“Well look at you! Tall and Mysterious~”

"This is Null... Oh-- They can't see you right now..."

--

Ella is sitting with Ethos if he doesn't mind right now.

--

Null stares at Remus and tilts their head slightly. They actually stay silent as they slowly walk over.

...

"Hello..." They almost seem to be analyzing Remus.

...

"You have a familiarity."

Concept of the liminal and uncanny... Concept of intrusive thoughts... Could be something with that, but Null doesn't seem to understand.

——

{Remus stares back and giggles}

“Well I used to look slightly different and yknow been around”

“Oooo Maggots! I love the look”

----

"It is nice to meet you, Remus."

They pause again.

"I... Do not believe I was from this dimension or era... My space exists between all that, but I am never sure."

They move around the couch to sit next to him.

...

They just stare more. Then they offer their hand with no explantion.

Given Remus probably would take their hand without questioning...

He gets no nausea either. Something about who Null was before is what is familiar, hidden what they are now.

...

They were a scientist at the same lab-- They vanished around the same time Remus got the radiation poisoning. Null does not remember much though.

"..." They don't say anything, just analyzing what any of that means.

{then blinks}

{stares}

“Dr…Rhinestone- no”

“That’s not possible- the lab was empty when-“

Though they gather themself well enough.

"Apologies... Dr. Rhinestone?-- I--"

They stare at Remus more.

"... What happened?"

They don't know the answer themself.

"..."

They pick at their gloves again, seeming to be a stressed habit.

"... The lab-- Wait--" They look directly st Remus now, white eyes behind the screen more visible now.

"Dr. Eckhard."

They remember more.

"Shit." They don't like what they remember.

"Fuck. I--"

...

"I worked in a lab near yours. I was supposed to be monitoring the radiation--"

They messed that up. They know they did.

"I didn't-- I got it wrong-- I-I... What happened to me..."

They look at their hands again, their speech sounding more coherent in wording, more tone coming through.

"I just... I remember passing out. I felt dizzy, fell, and I hit my head... Hard... I felt so cold."

They swear they feel the pain again.

"Woke up in a field of grass... Just one peach tree. I was so tired... I felt like I shouldn't sleep, but I did... Then the void, the box-- the maggots."

“Holy…holy shit”

{he stares and starts laughing.. his form glitches- as if almost returning back to how Remus was before.. maybe the death of Dr. Rhinestone is what made him go insane faster- the puzzle piece is bending again}

“It was my fault- you-“

"No. No! I-I was supposed to be monitoring it! I... Fuck. I miscalculated things. If I just-- Fuck."

They are shown genuine visible stress by now. Their uneasiness affect gets stronger with this.

"God I was a fucking idiot!"

They remembered something again.

"Fuck. Why..."

"It was my fault!! Fuck-- Remus--"

They force themself to say the words stuck in their non existent throat.

"I fucked up because I was-- I-I was-- high... I was a fucking idiot!"

They grab the sides of their head, self loathing.

"What the fuck was wrong with me?!"

...

"I was a well regarded scientist, I had access to pretty much anything I wanted, and i fucking abused that?!"

They tear up too, that rot and iron leaking through the screen.

{Remus whispered}

“I knew about the radiation and still decided to take the risk to study it…”

"I knew the risk too... I was suppose to be helping minimize the risk, and be the first to know when it was becoming too high of a risk."

...

"Please don't be sorry... I probably would have been fired or worse even if I did live..."

They look back up at him after a moment.

"But... Still here now, y-yeah?... Suppose you still can't get r-rid of me that easily?"

They try to make a joke to lighten the mood, though their words are still choked.

"Don't beat yourself up about it... Would say I'm not the same person, and I think I gather why I wouldn't want to be now."

They offer their hand again.

"I don't hold anything against you..."

{Remus laughs before nodding}

“I don’t hold anything against you either…”

——-

"... Thank you."

Their head feels all buzzy right now... They aren't sure why, but thinking of themself as human causes their entire body to ache. Like they aren't allowed to feel that.

"..."

"Please only call me Null as well..." Their human tone retreats a little now. Tone returning to more uncanny.

----

Eddie looks over at Remy as well. He seems very confused.

"I... Do not remember there being a Dr. Rhinestone...?"

Though with the nature of what Null is it may be impossible to see them in the past. Ethos wouldn't have detected any lies either.

“Looks like we both were changed heavily after the accident..”

——

{Remy nods in agreement}

"I suppose so, yes... I became the concept of the liminal and uncanny feeling. Does not make people particularly enjoy being around me."

The eyes behind their screen shift slightly to look at Remus past his hand.

"How were you changed?"

----

Eddie sighs and thinks for a moment. He catches what Null says about their concept--

"Ah, I uh I do not think it is..."

... Why does he say it like he knows something...?

"I was wondering when they would show up." He mumbles very quietly--

“I wasn’t all this sane, but thanks to everyone here I’m semi back to normal… now I’m growing plants thanks to the basement downstairs- I swear I feel like it’s alive sometimes”

——

{Remy blinks slowly}

"... Alive... How?"

They ask as if they know something.

----

Eddie pauses briefly.

"I uh... You know how the basement is always shifting and responding to what living things need, but it isn't technically alive?"

He looks at Remy with a look of "please don't be mad"

“Babes….. what did you do?”

{he gives him a stern look but one that says he won’t be fully mad}

——

“I dunno.. it just responded to me in ways that I didn’t even know I needed.. it learned- I swore it was teasing and sarcastic to me at one point”

{Remus shrugs}

...

"I may have stolen a part of their domain somehow--"

How the actual fuck does someone steal part of someone else's domain?!

----

Null pauses in thought...

"How the..."

They look at Eddie.

They stare.

"You... You stole part of my domain?!"

Eddie chuckles nervously and looks away.

"I was wondering what that went!! You ass!! I was working on that for so long!"

Oh dear--

{Remy glares at Null as he steps in front of Eddie, the chill and soft look is gone once the room became tense}

“Eddie did you know that the domain belonged to someone?”

"Apologies..."

Eddie speaks up after.

"I did not until it was there, and I didn't know how to return it... I also forgot all recollection of obtaining it briefly after."

He looks over at Null.

"I am sorry-- I-I didn't know what I was doing..."

There's silence for a while before Null speaks again, their voice quieter now.

"... It's okay-- I... Honestly that project was frustrating me a lot."

...

"Can I see it?"

They still don't step closer right now.

——

{Remus perks up}

"I am sorry for getting upset..."

They speak quietly still... If Remy looks at the floor below when Null was standing when they got upset; the carpet is warped now. The pattern on it looks unsettling yet eerily similar to how it was before.

They did mention they have a harder time controlling their abilities with emotions.

----

Eddie looks over at Remus.

"I... I do remember. They were triggered by an electrical shock though. They are dormant otherwise."

He tries to reassure Remus, also walking over to him.

"I'll be fine... I'll avoid that room too. Is that okay?"

——

“I.. okay, I will make sure the room will close the area off before you get in there”

"I do understand your reaction... I apologize as well."

They do seem lost in thought for a moment.

...

"... I do not think I have expressed emotions that blatantly in a long time."

They are a little unsure on how to handle them, but also unsure what to do when emotions not only cause issues with control, but also body aches. They don't mention the last part.

It's not just conflicting in letting themself express them, but also conflicting in getting their curse to let them.

--

Eddie looks up at Remus and gently takes his hands.

"It'll be okay... Thank you for being concerned, and I will leave if anything goes wrong, okay?"

{Remy chuckles}

——

"I seem to struggle feeling them, and controlling them when I do... I suppose I perhaps forgot my own curse after so long of being alone."

Null pulls away from the hug after a moment more.

"Are you planning to come to the basement with Eddie and I?"

Their tone is now neutral again, back to the uncanny feeling it was before the emotions talking to Remus and then the blow up.

----

Eddie smiles softly and pulls himself up a little to kiss Remus with a purr.

"I love you..."

He takes a deep breath and sighs contently.

{Remy smiles}

“I’m far to interested in all of this to quit now”

——

“Duh! I’m not letting your wires get too curious. If you wanna get shocky. Shock me”

"I would like for you to come with, yes."

They look back over at Eddie and Remus.

--

Eddie chuckles slightly and rests his face into Remus's chest briefly.

"I'll take note of that, though I don't think Strife appreciates electricity... I'll be careful though, I promise."

After a moment he looks back over at Null and Remy.

“Ready as always babes~”

____

"Sounds good, spark~"

He looks over at Null as well, who is fidgeting with their gloves slightly. They don't really remember much about their project... Just that they wanted something normal for once.

"Null? You coming?" They had zoned out briefly and didn't notice Eddie started leading them to the basement.

"Oh... Yes, I am coming."

Eddie stares for a moment before continuing down the basement. Null follows slowly and silently.

——

The basement does start to change a bit... Items start to have that uncanny feel they did in Null's space, as if Null's presence is messing up their own project... And Null does immediately notice.

They stay silent and begin to run one of their hands along the wall, doing... Something. They've seem to have made a decision with something.

----

Eddie chuckles a little, watching Remus run ahead.

{Remy whispers softly to Null}

___

"Yes."

They continue running their hand on the walls before they stop at a certain part of the house like space. It'd feel more like the center of the space now.

They hum softly as they took around and then walk over towards the living room area. They run their hand along the texture of the couch and stare at the tv.

They tap their foot on the floor once, and then all of the uncanny feelings that had formed when Null entered leave completely. It feels surprisingly normal now. Even more so than before Null was here.

If Remy can tell; Null disregarded any of their attachment to the basement and gave it to Eddie.

----

Eddie watches Null curiously as he relaxes into Remus's hold, his own purring following.

He wraps one of his tails around Remus and sighs contently.

"Gave Eddie ownership of this space. I realized that me being here with owning it was causing the uncanny effect of it all... Which explains why I was never able to get it to work; I was the problem."

They move to sit on the couch now... They really can't make anything that feels human, can they?

--

Eddie shakes off the feeling, turning to Remy and nodding.

He overhears what Null says, furrows his brows, and tries something. He summons a cup of his favorite tea. It seems to work similar to a mindscape with the combination of Null making it, and a more normal person owning it.

"Oh... Huh..." He sips it, it's normal.

"Wha...?"

“Are… you okay with that? I didn’t wish for you to lose a part of your domain when I brought you here”

{Remy sits next to Null}

——

{Remus drapes himself over the back of the couch}

“Well I like the uncanny ability thingy! Normal stuff is boringgggg”

"It has been gone for a while, and it seems I was not going to be able to create what I wanted with it... I believe it would be of better use to Eddie."

They... Don't actually answer the question.

--

Null slowly turns to look at Remus when he says that.

"..."

"How would one like that? It's a type of feeling in people meant to cause fear. It isn't completely understood why the uncanny valley feeling evolved, but the most likely explanation is to make people weary of dead bodies... So it tends to be an instinctual fear."

“Because it cool! It’s evolution! It’s an unsolved concept and feeling that just itches my brain the right way!”

{Remus seems excited by the thought} “plus who hasn’t seen a few dead bodies here and there”

——-

@deceitanon 142

As Remy teleports there's a flicker in everything around him, a feeling of being torn from the plane he was in, and suddenly he's in a... Space. It's hard to put into words what the fuck this is.

... It feels endless, uncanny, and yet familiar. There's items Remy may have felt were important from the distant past, or even the present. Items that feel important, and yet he's never seen. There's segments of these uneven and disorganized rooms that look like the bar, the loft, the cherry grove, the river, the void... There's hints, fragments, of everything Remy has ever seen. Everything feels... Wrong. Soso wrong.

They look like what Remy has seem, but they have an extreme feel of them still not being accurate. Like this space disorderly pulled memories from his mind and threw them around in a desperation to make it feel like home.

...

Lights flicker dully where there is no source, water trickles in the walls that aren't hollow...

Familiar sounds of people Remy knows are in the distant, with no obvious direction, but they have no realism to them. Parrots and echos of memories put into here wrong.

...

{Remy picks up a ball and chucks it over to where he hears the humming}

When Remy chucks the ball to the humming it suddenly stops. Deafening silence fills the space immediately.

...

"HelL-o?" The voice is broken, muffled and stuffed with static.

Slow someone peaks around the corner. A extremely tall lanky figure, only their head visible right now. A thin hand gloves in black velvet holds the wall near them.

Their head is a small black tv box, a very only one. It glows dully with flickers of visual static, and a subtle ringing of static piercings the air. Ever so slightly glowing white eyes that flicker like screen tearing are visible behind the screen. Those eyes are barely visible, yet so unsettling piercing.

... No heart beat. No warmth. No breathing. Not even any subtle electrical current of nerves, brain, or even a computer. Like they are nothing at all.

{Remy says like meeting someone like him is normal}

They stand at 7'9. They are unnaturally slim, limbs just slightly long enough to be uncanny. The way their clothes lay so perfectly and beautifully feels unnatural. They wear a long black layered dress with ruffles, and black velvet gloves covering their whole arms. Black flats with white frilly socks. Adorned on top of their head is a veil made of smooth lightweight black feathers.

They stare for a while.

"... I h-Ave noT..."

"I don-T hAve a nAme fOr thIs place... JuSt minE."

They radiate unease and uncanny feelings. They mean no harm.

"Int-rEstIng... Ho-w A-rE you hEre?"

“Oh like the backrooom”

{He said with a snap}

“How are you even alive here?- you’re very uncanny- but that’s hot nowadays”

They seem flabbergasted, even with no face that feeling isn't seen but felt from them to Remy.

"nOt alivE..."

"I hAve no NamE..." They pause. "NulL." It's a word meaning nothing afterall.

"HavE n-ot been callEd 'hot' bEfoRe."

They step closer and hesitantly poke Remy from the top of his head. They small touch feel cold, a split second of nausea given too.

"... You arE reAl..." They seem even more confused.

"I s-uppose oUt of reAlity w-Ould be dEcent as a WorDing."

They sit on the ground, now eye level to Remy.

“Ouch, it’s like you don’t even want me here! I’m hurt”

{he says with a hand on his chest}

“I mean I got nothing important to do, just came back from altering time itself so.. this is kinda nice”

{Remy doesn’t know why he’s spilling all of this}

“Null? That’s a sick name, why.. are you here though? You look alive to me”

They stare and tilt their head again. When they do some 'skin' on their neck is visible briefly. It looks less like skin and more like a void made of millions of writhing larva. Constantly moving in a sickly way.

"altEriNg tIme?.."

...

"hErE is Home... My spAce. ConCepT of the liminal... UnCannY ties in-tO it."

"alivE... N-oT alive, bUt stiLl con-scious."

“…:does it hurt?”

"Larva... I suppose it could be comparable to that? They're void maggots. They are unique to this place."

They carefully scoop out a small few of the void maggots. They wiggle around for a moment, small like usual maggots, and then Null puts them back.

"Hurt...?"

They pause at that as well.

"Yes... But not in your sense. I do not feel it that same way. It is a constant feeling, but I am not bothered by it."

...

{he said jokingly}

"I do believe there is no one else to tell... Unless you mean the illusions, but I believe they do not count."

They pauses and then nod.

"You are beautiful... May I pet y--"

They cut themself off.

"I should not touch... It makes people ill."

They stare regardless. A yearning for touch is blatantly radiating of them now.

"I could show you how I shapeshift?... It is not pretty though."

They run their hands along his bone armor, his head mostly.

"Warm..."

They move closer and lay their tv head onto his. The sound of tv static feels sharp, but not too overburdening.

{he slowly shifts back, but offers his hand for Null to fidget with}

"..."

"I can return... I do not have much control over how I warp spaces. I do try to not use abilities when I am in the existing planes, but I am unpredictable. I carry unease everywhere I go, I cannot choose a form that is not uncanny, I cannot create spaces that are not uncanny... Emotions are not something I understand, but I do know they contribute to mistaken use of my abilities."

They stare at Remy's hand as they talk. Quiet sparking crying is heard, though it is only black blood that drips from under the screen of their head. Smelling strongly of rot and iron.

"I do not wish to cause trouble. So I do not leave often, and when I do I do not leave with my body... I simply look, and memorize..."

{Remy Chuckles, before pauses, he tries to summon a cloth, but his whole body glitches- and he falls forward against them, but he gets the cloth

“Imma… just ignore what happened to me for now”

{Remy murmurs to himself before gently cleaning off the rot and iron liquid}

"Be careful in here. Your abilities will not work easily. I do not wish for you to harm yourself."

It leans into Remy wiping off the liquid.

"... Could I go home with you?"

They pauses to think, and then summon a black rotary phone with blood red rubies chaotically placed.

"Do you come from a time with phones?... This should work if so."

“I promise it’s not as crazy as it seems”

They speak after a while of silence.

"Okay..."

They don't believe Remy will be able to come back, but they don't argue regardless. Remy has to go back either way.

"I will see you when you return." They say with hidden disbelief.

{he blinks slowly, he feels like he needs to puke}

"Where-- What happened???" He sounds confused and concerned. "I lost all sense of you for a few minutes."

'Fee minutes' it felt like almost an hour passed down there... How does time work in that space?

“Got stuck in a weird space when I teleported….. few mins? It felt like I was there for hours”

“No… that’s not what I need to focus on.. there is someone trapped.. they are… uncanny more so than Remus but.. they wish to have a home”

"What do you mean 'weird space??'"

He seems utterly confused.

"I--"

He looks at Remy's eyes and sighs after a moment with a lighthearted eye roll.

"Okay... Fine... I'm lucky Starie can create so much space where there shouldn't even be room, you know?"

{Remy nuzzles up against Eddie with a happy purr}

"Oh, fuck off..." He playfully scoffs out without any actually annoyance. He clears his throat after a moment before replying, and nuzzling Remy back.

"Is there a chance you can't?"

“It… hurts to do it but I’ll only need to do it once.. so it won’t be that bad right?”

{Remy murmurs to himself}

{Remy kisses Eddie’s cheek before taking a deep breath, glitching and teleporting at the same time- and he lands back into the space.. but is on his hands and knees groaning, and coughing up more bile}

----

Null startles and squeaks out shrieking static when they see Remy again.

"Remy...?"

They walk over and stare at him and the bile.

"How-- Are you okay?..."

“Hurts…”

{His ears folded down- he hates when he glitches..}

“Don’t.. look”

They sit nearby with their back to Remy.

"I am sorry that I cannot help... I am not a healing type... Do let me know if you cannot settle your body though, I can understand the glitching. It is one reason I do not leave with my body anymore... It tends to cause some of the void maggots to burst."

“Tel… tell me more… void maggots.. what do they do?”

“I… can control the void.. it’s how I can manipulate dreams”

They sound uncertain on what they are.

"They allow me to shapeshift, as they have no solid form either... I am unsure if they would be the same as the void you describe, but you can try manipulating them if you wish to test that? I do not mind."

Null is suggesting Remy manipulate their body itself.

They stare for a while... Look around... They stand up slowly, and with focus to not make Remy ill, they pick him up.

They wander further into the space until it shifts out of Remy's memories and into a space Null made themself.

It's made to be a cottage, but it feels like an uncanny mimic of one, even more so than Remy's memories.

They place him on a bed, pulling a blanket over him, and then move to make coffee... They get a feeling he likes coffee. The bed feels oddly comfortable compared to the rest of this place.

“Eddie?”

{he said sleepy, nuzzling into the blanket before opening his eyes… and sees the uncanny house}

They look around the corner... Looking around corners before walking past them seems like a habit of theirs.

"Are you okay now, Remy?"

They slowly walk closer, they also tend to walk slowly.

They carry a mug of coffee, setting it on the warped nightstand.

“You were talking about the void things?”

The coffee is almost right. Almost how Remy likes it. It's off still. Anything Null makes seems to be off.

"I was..."

They watch Remy drink the coffee for a moment, also staring at the bed... They don't say what they want, and it is difficult to tell without a face to show it.

"The void maggots are more of an essence of this space... I believe..."

They think for a moment.

"You mentioned dreamscapes being voids. I believe the void maggots grow up into them. Though they form in here, and make me, I would guess they grow up into something?"

They are larva after all.

"Perhaps that is what they grow into?"

...

"I believe you could, yes... I am unsure what you could do with them though."

They think for a moment, still staring at Remy. The longer they stare the more unsettling it feels...

"Maybe you could have control over what they form into?... I do not always understand where I learn what I do, but I suppose that is part of who I am... I believe they form dreamscapes, but also mindscapes and pocket dimensions."

"If they have multiple paths, maybe there could be more with artificial influence?"

As Remy tries to manipulate the maggots they writhe more, then start to bubble, and then they melt into a black goo... Then, suddenly, Remy can feel a new pocket dimension as the maggot goo disappears. It feels different from ones he may have created before.

{Remy groans- he’s not a scientist or a doctor like him}

“I have no idea what this could mean.. hmmm”

“When I altered the lil guys.. they disappeared but I felt a pocket dimension open up, a new one- how is that even possible.. it wasn’t a lot of em”

“Can you tell me more about yourself Null? How’d you get here? How are you made up of these Void Bugs”

{he wants to stop calling them maggots.. it feels rude because Null is made out of these lil buggers}

___

They fall silent for several minutes at being asked about themself.

...

"I... Do not know how I got here. I just remember nothing... And then I was here... Or--"

Their screen glitches violently for a minute before they talk again.

"As for being made of the bugs--" They talk as if that glitching never happened. "I believe I made out of them as... As..."

They fall silent again.

"I don't think about what I am."

They don't know. They don't like that they don't know.

They can't remember how they got here...

"I like creating things... They always come out warped though."

They summon a fox plush, and while it looks like a fox it is unsettling not a fox at the same time.

----

The note ends up slightly clipped into the bar counter near Eddie. It's enough to read at least, but part of the note is in the counter.

{Remy pauses when he watches their screen glitch, he frowns in worry, everything about this place looks and feels fine- but it’s more like an uncanny feeling, he looks at the fox with a head tilt}

{Plus the whole time weirdness is throwing him off as well}

{he rubs his head as he thinks}

“I don’t know what to make of you babes, and I’d like to try and understand as much as I can before I introduce you to a whole new realm- or space.. don’t get me wrong- I’ve dealt with crazy stuff so this is just precarious, because who knows what could happen-“

"... What does it feel like to breathe?... Or... Just... How does your body feel to you?"

“Breathing feels awesome.. definitely something everyone takes for granted”

...

"I... Do not breathe. I always feel cold, I think numb is the other word... I like that you felt warm, I don't feel that often."

They fall silent again before there's a smaller and calmer glitch on their screen.

"... Breathing... I miss that. I took it for granted too it seems."

They remember breathing... There had to be something before they became this then, right?

“Fear… is the worst thing to feel.. your body your mind all send these signals that you will die, get hurt.. and you can’t do anything about it”

{Remy looks away for a moment} “though there is a scale to how much a person can feel fear.. like it can be something small like a spider and they just avoid spiders.. or it can be a big fear like.. water itself- or loud sounds where it can affect your day to day life”

...

"I don't feel... Things in a way I can place."

"Fear... I--"

They look at their hand and fall silent again.

"I do remember fear though... Fear and... And... Pain."

"Most feelings are dull... Now..."

They fidget with their gloves.

...

"... What does it feel like to die?"

“Why.. do you ask?”

{Remy frowns with worry}

They lean against the wall and pick at their gloves now.

"I don't know if I died... I"

They slowly slide down the wall to sit on the floor.

"I wasn't this... What was I?"

They're really wracking their mind now.

"I remember feeling tired... Then cool grass and dirt before falling asleep."

...

"Then an endless void. Thought it was a dream... There was a box. Nothing else... So I... Walked over to it."

They take their glove off and stare at all the writhing larva.

"I opened it... They spilled out, couldn't even guess how many..."

...

"Body was gone... Then I was this."

{Remy frowns as he listens while nodding along}

{Remy slowly gets up and sits next to them}

“You aren’t alone anymore.. I can’t- I don’t want to promise anything that I’m not confident in.. but I’ll try my best to help you.. I know what it’s like.. losing your body.. being thrown into the void”

"..."

They stay silent for a while longer.

"I don't... Mind what I am now. I think I was human... I can feel things coming back to me too. I don't think I was from your dimension or time period..."

...

"Is it weird... That I like being this?"

They don't like how unsettling they always are, but they still like what they are.

{Remy smiles as he holds their hand}

"... Hard to explain... But it's not difficult for me."

They've just always been too scared to leave, being able to isn't a problem.

In another disorientating, nauseating blink they're back in the bar. It doesn't seem as bad with Null active in the process.

Though as Null teleports them back there's a dull wet popping sound of several of the larva in their body. Some black goo drips from them, but is quick to disappear.

They stumble a little and sit on the ground as their tv head glitches for a moment. It seems similar to a headache for them.

"... Hngg just a moment..."

----

He brings him into a hug.

"It does..."

He stares at Null behind Remy as they slowly stand back up.

"This era makes sense..." They mumble to themself as they look around and then at Eddie.

"... Ah, greetings... You must be Eddie?"

Their wording is similar to Logan's, but their voice has that static muffled through a tv feel... And the general uncanny nature of them.

"I am... It's nice to meet you, Null."

This is the second time Remy has mentioned Remus and how they're rather curious about him.

"It is nice to meet you as well..."

Null looks around before answering.

"I am..." They pause, unsure. "Fine I believe."

They walk closer to Eddie now, looking down at him. They are well over two feet taller than him.

"... Would you like to go upstairs? Everyone is typically up there."

He smiles softly, though still getting used to the uneasiness. He does pause and warn Virgil with a text, knowing he might not handle it well.

——

{Upstairs, Logan is talking to Remus on the touch.. Patton is making lunch for everyone, Ethos is reading a book as best he can on the love seat}

{Logan pauses, invisible to Null}

“Eddie? Remy? Who is that?”

—

{Remus turns and perks up with a wicked smile}

“Well look at you! Tall and Mysterious~”

"This is Null... Oh-- They can't see you right now..."

--

Ella is sitting with Ethos if he doesn't mind right now.

--

Null stares at Remus and tilts their head slightly. They actually stay silent as they slowly walk over.

...

"Hello..." They almost seem to be analyzing Remus.

...

"You have a familiarity."

Concept of the liminal and uncanny... Concept of intrusive thoughts... Could be something with that, but Null doesn't seem to understand.

——

{Remus stares back and giggles}

“Well I used to look slightly different and yknow been around”

“Oooo Maggots! I love the look”

----

"It is nice to meet you, Remus."

They pause again.

"I... Do not believe I was from this dimension or era... My space exists between all that, but I am never sure."

They move around the couch to sit next to him.

...

They just stare more. Then they offer their hand with no explantion.

Given Remus probably would take their hand without questioning...

He gets no nausea either. Something about who Null was before is what is familiar, hidden what they are now.

...

They were a scientist at the same lab-- They vanished around the same time Remus got the radiation poisoning. Null does not remember much though.

"..." They don't say anything, just analyzing what any of that means.

{then blinks}

{stares}

“Dr…Rhinestone- no”

“That’s not possible- the lab was empty when-“

Though they gather themself well enough.

"Apologies... Dr. Rhinestone?-- I--"

They stare at Remus more.

"... What happened?"

They don't know the answer themself.

"..."

They pick at their gloves again, seeming to be a stressed habit.

"... The lab-- Wait--" They look directly st Remus now, white eyes behind the screen more visible now.

"Dr. Eckhard."

They remember more.

"Shit." They don't like what they remember.

"Fuck. I--"

...

"I worked in a lab near yours. I was supposed to be monitoring the radiation--"

They messed that up. They know they did.

"I didn't-- I got it wrong-- I-I... What happened to me..."

They look at their hands again, their speech sounding more coherent in wording, more tone coming through.

"I just... I remember passing out. I felt dizzy, fell, and I hit my head... Hard... I felt so cold."

They swear they feel the pain again.

"Woke up in a field of grass... Just one peach tree. I was so tired... I felt like I shouldn't sleep, but I did... Then the void, the box-- the maggots."

“Holy…holy shit”

{he stares and starts laughing.. his form glitches- as if almost returning back to how Remus was before.. maybe the death of Dr. Rhinestone is what made him go insane faster- the puzzle piece is bending again}

“It was my fault- you-“

"No. No! I-I was supposed to be monitoring it! I... Fuck. I miscalculated things. If I just-- Fuck."

They are shown genuine visible stress by now. Their uneasiness affect gets stronger with this.

"God I was a fucking idiot!"

They remembered something again.

"Fuck. Why..."

"It was my fault!! Fuck-- Remus--"

They force themself to say the words stuck in their non existent throat.

"I fucked up because I was-- I-I was-- high... I was a fucking idiot!"

They grab the sides of their head, self loathing.

"What the fuck was wrong with me?!"

...

"I was a well regarded scientist, I had access to pretty much anything I wanted, and i fucking abused that?!"

They tear up too, that rot and iron leaking through the screen.

{Remus whispered}

“I knew about the radiation and still decided to take the risk to study it…”

"I knew the risk too... I was suppose to be helping minimize the risk, and be the first to know when it was becoming too high of a risk."

...

"Please don't be sorry... I probably would have been fired or worse even if I did live..."

They look back up at him after a moment.

"But... Still here now, y-yeah?... Suppose you still can't get r-rid of me that easily?"

They try to make a joke to lighten the mood, though their words are still choked.

"Don't beat yourself up about it... Would say I'm not the same person, and I think I gather why I wouldn't want to be now."

They offer their hand again.

"I don't hold anything against you..."

{Remus laughs before nodding}

“I don’t hold anything against you either…”

——-

"... Thank you."

Their head feels all buzzy right now... They aren't sure why, but thinking of themself as human causes their entire body to ache. Like they aren't allowed to feel that.

"..."

"Please only call me Null as well..." Their human tone retreats a little now. Tone returning to more uncanny.

----

Eddie looks over at Remy as well. He seems very confused.

"I... Do not remember there being a Dr. Rhinestone...?"

Though with the nature of what Null is it may be impossible to see them in the past. Ethos wouldn't have detected any lies either.

“Looks like we both were changed heavily after the accident..”

——

{Remy nods in agreement}

"I suppose so, yes... I became the concept of the liminal and uncanny feeling. Does not make people particularly enjoy being around me."

The eyes behind their screen shift slightly to look at Remus past his hand.

"How were you changed?"

----

Eddie sighs and thinks for a moment. He catches what Null says about their concept--

"Ah, I uh I do not think it is..."

... Why does he say it like he knows something...?

"I was wondering when they would show up." He mumbles very quietly--

“I wasn’t all this sane, but thanks to everyone here I’m semi back to normal… now I’m growing plants thanks to the basement downstairs- I swear I feel like it’s alive sometimes”

——

{Remy blinks slowly}

"... Alive... How?"

They ask as if they know something.

----

Eddie pauses briefly.

"I uh... You know how the basement is always shifting and responding to what living things need, but it isn't technically alive?"

He looks at Remy with a look of "please don't be mad"

“Babes….. what did you do?”

{he gives him a stern look but one that says he won’t be fully mad}

——

“I dunno.. it just responded to me in ways that I didn’t even know I needed.. it learned- I swore it was teasing and sarcastic to me at one point”

{Remus shrugs}

...

"I may have stolen a part of their domain somehow--"

How the actual fuck does someone steal part of someone else's domain?!

----

Null pauses in thought...

"How the..."

They look at Eddie.

They stare.

"You... You stole part of my domain?!"

Eddie chuckles nervously and looks away.

"I was wondering what that went!! You ass!! I was working on that for so long!"

Oh dear--

{Remy glares at Null as he steps in front of Eddie, the chill and soft look is gone once the room became tense}

“Eddie did you know that the domain belonged to someone?”

"Apologies..."

Eddie speaks up after.

"I did not until it was there, and I didn't know how to return it... I also forgot all recollection of obtaining it briefly after."

He looks over at Null.

"I am sorry-- I-I didn't know what I was doing..."

There's silence for a while before Null speaks again, their voice quieter now.

"... It's okay-- I... Honestly that project was frustrating me a lot."

...

"Can I see it?"

They still don't step closer right now.

——

{Remus perks up}

"I am sorry for getting upset..."

They speak quietly still... If Remy looks at the floor below when Null was standing when they got upset; the carpet is warped now. The pattern on it looks unsettling yet eerily similar to how it was before.

They did mention they have a harder time controlling their abilities with emotions.

----

Eddie looks over at Remus.

"I... I do remember. They were triggered by an electrical shock though. They are dormant otherwise."

He tries to reassure Remus, also walking over to him.

"I'll be fine... I'll avoid that room too. Is that okay?"

——

“I.. okay, I will make sure the room will close the area off before you get in there”

"I do understand your reaction... I apologize as well."

They do seem lost in thought for a moment.

...

"... I do not think I have expressed emotions that blatantly in a long time."

They are a little unsure on how to handle them, but also unsure what to do when emotions not only cause issues with control, but also body aches. They don't mention the last part.

It's not just conflicting in letting themself express them, but also conflicting in getting their curse to let them.

--

Eddie looks up at Remus and gently takes his hands.

"It'll be okay... Thank you for being concerned, and I will leave if anything goes wrong, okay?"

{Remy chuckles}

——

"I seem to struggle feeling them, and controlling them when I do... I suppose I perhaps forgot my own curse after so long of being alone."

Null pulls away from the hug after a moment more.

"Are you planning to come to the basement with Eddie and I?"

Their tone is now neutral again, back to the uncanny feeling it was before the emotions talking to Remus and then the blow up.

----

Eddie smiles softly and pulls himself up a little to kiss Remus with a purr.

"I love you..."

He takes a deep breath and sighs contently.

{Remy smiles}

“I’m far to interested in all of this to quit now”

——

“Duh! I’m not letting your wires get too curious. If you wanna get shocky. Shock me”

"I would like for you to come with, yes."

They look back over at Eddie and Remus.

--

Eddie chuckles slightly and rests his face into Remus's chest briefly.

"I'll take note of that, though I don't think Strife appreciates electricity... I'll be careful though, I promise."

After a moment he looks back over at Null and Remy.

“Ready as always babes~”

____

"Sounds good, spark~"

He looks over at Null as well, who is fidgeting with their gloves slightly. They don't really remember much about their project... Just that they wanted something normal for once.

"Null? You coming?" They had zoned out briefly and didn't notice Eddie started leading them to the basement.

"Oh... Yes, I am coming."

Eddie stares for a moment before continuing down the basement. Null follows slowly and silently.

——

The basement does start to change a bit... Items start to have that uncanny feel they did in Null's space, as if Null's presence is messing up their own project... And Null does immediately notice.

They stay silent and begin to run one of their hands along the wall, doing... Something. They've seem to have made a decision with something.

----

Eddie chuckles a little, watching Remus run ahead.

{Remy whispers softly to Null}

___

"Yes."

They continue running their hand on the walls before they stop at a certain part of the house like space. It'd feel more like the center of the space now.

They hum softly as they took around and then walk over towards the living room area. They run their hand along the texture of the couch and stare at the tv.

They tap their foot on the floor once, and then all of the uncanny feelings that had formed when Null entered leave completely. It feels surprisingly normal now. Even more so than before Null was here.

If Remy can tell; Null disregarded any of their attachment to the basement and gave it to Eddie.

----

Eddie watches Null curiously as he relaxes into Remus's hold, his own purring following.

He wraps one of his tails around Remus and sighs contently.

"Gave Eddie ownership of this space. I realized that me being here with owning it was causing the uncanny effect of it all... Which explains why I was never able to get it to work; I was the problem."

They move to sit on the couch now... They really can't make anything that feels human, can they?

--

Eddie shakes off the feeling, turning to Remy and nodding.

He overhears what Null says, furrows his brows, and tries something. He summons a cup of his favorite tea. It seems to work similar to a mindscape with the combination of Null making it, and a more normal person owning it.

"Oh... Huh..." He sips it, it's normal.

"Wha...?"

“Are… you okay with that? I didn’t wish for you to lose a part of your domain when I brought you here”

{Remy sits next to Null}

——

{Remus drapes himself over the back of the couch}

“Well I like the uncanny ability thingy! Normal stuff is boringgggg”

@deceitanon 142

As Remy teleports there's a flicker in everything around him, a feeling of being torn from the plane he was in, and suddenly he's in a... Space. It's hard to put into words what the fuck this is.

... It feels endless, uncanny, and yet familiar. There's items Remy may have felt were important from the distant past, or even the present. Items that feel important, and yet he's never seen. There's segments of these uneven and disorganized rooms that look like the bar, the loft, the cherry grove, the river, the void... There's hints, fragments, of everything Remy has ever seen. Everything feels... Wrong. Soso wrong.

They look like what Remy has seem, but they have an extreme feel of them still not being accurate. Like this space disorderly pulled memories from his mind and threw them around in a desperation to make it feel like home.

...

Lights flicker dully where there is no source, water trickles in the walls that aren't hollow...

Familiar sounds of people Remy knows are in the distant, with no obvious direction, but they have no realism to them. Parrots and echos of memories put into here wrong.

...

{Remy picks up a ball and chucks it over to where he hears the humming}

When Remy chucks the ball to the humming it suddenly stops. Deafening silence fills the space immediately.

...

"HelL-o?" The voice is broken, muffled and stuffed with static.

Slow someone peaks around the corner. A extremely tall lanky figure, only their head visible right now. A thin hand gloves in black velvet holds the wall near them.

Their head is a small black tv box, a very only one. It glows dully with flickers of visual static, and a subtle ringing of static piercings the air. Ever so slightly glowing white eyes that flicker like screen tearing are visible behind the screen. Those eyes are barely visible, yet so unsettling piercing.

... No heart beat. No warmth. No breathing. Not even any subtle electrical current of nerves, brain, or even a computer. Like they are nothing at all.

{Remy says like meeting someone like him is normal}

They stand at 7'9. They are unnaturally slim, limbs just slightly long enough to be uncanny. The way their clothes lay so perfectly and beautifully feels unnatural. They wear a long black layered dress with ruffles, and black velvet gloves covering their whole arms. Black flats with white frilly socks. Adorned on top of their head is a veil made of smooth lightweight black feathers.

They stare for a while.

"... I h-Ave noT..."

"I don-T hAve a nAme fOr thIs place... JuSt minE."

They radiate unease and uncanny feelings. They mean no harm.

"Int-rEstIng... Ho-w A-rE you hEre?"

“Oh like the backrooom”

{He said with a snap}

“How are you even alive here?- you’re very uncanny- but that’s hot nowadays”

They seem flabbergasted, even with no face that feeling isn't seen but felt from them to Remy.

"nOt alivE..."

"I hAve no NamE..." They pause. "NulL." It's a word meaning nothing afterall.

"HavE n-ot been callEd 'hot' bEfoRe."

They step closer and hesitantly poke Remy from the top of his head. They small touch feel cold, a split second of nausea given too.

"... You arE reAl..." They seem even more confused.

"I s-uppose oUt of reAlity w-Ould be dEcent as a WorDing."

They sit on the ground, now eye level to Remy.

“Ouch, it’s like you don’t even want me here! I’m hurt”

{he says with a hand on his chest}

“I mean I got nothing important to do, just came back from altering time itself so.. this is kinda nice”

{Remy doesn’t know why he’s spilling all of this}

“Null? That’s a sick name, why.. are you here though? You look alive to me”

They stare and tilt their head again. When they do some 'skin' on their neck is visible briefly. It looks less like skin and more like a void made of millions of writhing larva. Constantly moving in a sickly way.

"altEriNg tIme?.."

...

"hErE is Home... My spAce. ConCepT of the liminal... UnCannY ties in-tO it."

"alivE... N-oT alive, bUt stiLl con-scious."

“…:does it hurt?”

"Larva... I suppose it could be comparable to that? They're void maggots. They are unique to this place."

They carefully scoop out a small few of the void maggots. They wiggle around for a moment, small like usual maggots, and then Null puts them back.

"Hurt...?"

They pause at that as well.

"Yes... But not in your sense. I do not feel it that same way. It is a constant feeling, but I am not bothered by it."

...

{he said jokingly}

"I do believe there is no one else to tell... Unless you mean the illusions, but I believe they do not count."

They pauses and then nod.

"You are beautiful... May I pet y--"

They cut themself off.

"I should not touch... It makes people ill."

They stare regardless. A yearning for touch is blatantly radiating of them now.

"I could show you how I shapeshift?... It is not pretty though."

They run their hands along his bone armor, his head mostly.

"Warm..."

They move closer and lay their tv head onto his. The sound of tv static feels sharp, but not too overburdening.

{he slowly shifts back, but offers his hand for Null to fidget with}

"..."

"I can return... I do not have much control over how I warp spaces. I do try to not use abilities when I am in the existing planes, but I am unpredictable. I carry unease everywhere I go, I cannot choose a form that is not uncanny, I cannot create spaces that are not uncanny... Emotions are not something I understand, but I do know they contribute to mistaken use of my abilities."

They stare at Remy's hand as they talk. Quiet sparking crying is heard, though it is only black blood that drips from under the screen of their head. Smelling strongly of rot and iron.

"I do not wish to cause trouble. So I do not leave often, and when I do I do not leave with my body... I simply look, and memorize..."

{Remy Chuckles, before pauses, he tries to summon a cloth, but his whole body glitches- and he falls forward against them, but he gets the cloth

“Imma… just ignore what happened to me for now”

{Remy murmurs to himself before gently cleaning off the rot and iron liquid}

"Be careful in here. Your abilities will not work easily. I do not wish for you to harm yourself."

It leans into Remy wiping off the liquid.

"... Could I go home with you?"

They pauses to think, and then summon a black rotary phone with blood red rubies chaotically placed.

"Do you come from a time with phones?... This should work if so."

“I promise it’s not as crazy as it seems”

They speak after a while of silence.

"Okay..."

They don't believe Remy will be able to come back, but they don't argue regardless. Remy has to go back either way.

"I will see you when you return." They say with hidden disbelief.

{he blinks slowly, he feels like he needs to puke}

"Where-- What happened???" He sounds confused and concerned. "I lost all sense of you for a few minutes."

'Fee minutes' it felt like almost an hour passed down there... How does time work in that space?

“Got stuck in a weird space when I teleported….. few mins? It felt like I was there for hours”

“No… that’s not what I need to focus on.. there is someone trapped.. they are… uncanny more so than Remus but.. they wish to have a home”

"What do you mean 'weird space??'"

He seems utterly confused.

"I--"

He looks at Remy's eyes and sighs after a moment with a lighthearted eye roll.

"Okay... Fine... I'm lucky Starie can create so much space where there shouldn't even be room, you know?"

{Remy nuzzles up against Eddie with a happy purr}

"Oh, fuck off..." He playfully scoffs out without any actually annoyance. He clears his throat after a moment before replying, and nuzzling Remy back.

"Is there a chance you can't?"

“It… hurts to do it but I’ll only need to do it once.. so it won’t be that bad right?”

{Remy murmurs to himself}

{Remy kisses Eddie’s cheek before taking a deep breath, glitching and teleporting at the same time- and he lands back into the space.. but is on his hands and knees groaning, and coughing up more bile}

----

Null startles and squeaks out shrieking static when they see Remy again.

"Remy...?"

They walk over and stare at him and the bile.

"How-- Are you okay?..."

“Hurts…”

{His ears folded down- he hates when he glitches..}

“Don’t.. look”

They sit nearby with their back to Remy.

"I am sorry that I cannot help... I am not a healing type... Do let me know if you cannot settle your body though, I can understand the glitching. It is one reason I do not leave with my body anymore... It tends to cause some of the void maggots to burst."

“Tel… tell me more… void maggots.. what do they do?”

“I… can control the void.. it’s how I can manipulate dreams”

They sound uncertain on what they are.

"They allow me to shapeshift, as they have no solid form either... I am unsure if they would be the same as the void you describe, but you can try manipulating them if you wish to test that? I do not mind."

Null is suggesting Remy manipulate their body itself.

They stare for a while... Look around... They stand up slowly, and with focus to not make Remy ill, they pick him up.

They wander further into the space until it shifts out of Remy's memories and into a space Null made themself.

It's made to be a cottage, but it feels like an uncanny mimic of one, even more so than Remy's memories.

They place him on a bed, pulling a blanket over him, and then move to make coffee... They get a feeling he likes coffee. The bed feels oddly comfortable compared to the rest of this place.

“Eddie?”

{he said sleepy, nuzzling into the blanket before opening his eyes… and sees the uncanny house}

They look around the corner... Looking around corners before walking past them seems like a habit of theirs.

"Are you okay now, Remy?"

They slowly walk closer, they also tend to walk slowly.

They carry a mug of coffee, setting it on the warped nightstand.

“You were talking about the void things?”

The coffee is almost right. Almost how Remy likes it. It's off still. Anything Null makes seems to be off.

"I was..."

They watch Remy drink the coffee for a moment, also staring at the bed... They don't say what they want, and it is difficult to tell without a face to show it.

"The void maggots are more of an essence of this space... I believe..."

They think for a moment.

"You mentioned dreamscapes being voids. I believe the void maggots grow up into them. Though they form in here, and make me, I would guess they grow up into something?"

They are larva after all.

"Perhaps that is what they grow into?"

...

"I believe you could, yes... I am unsure what you could do with them though."

They think for a moment, still staring at Remy. The longer they stare the more unsettling it feels...

"Maybe you could have control over what they form into?... I do not always understand where I learn what I do, but I suppose that is part of who I am... I believe they form dreamscapes, but also mindscapes and pocket dimensions."

"If they have multiple paths, maybe there could be more with artificial influence?"

As Remy tries to manipulate the maggots they writhe more, then start to bubble, and then they melt into a black goo... Then, suddenly, Remy can feel a new pocket dimension as the maggot goo disappears. It feels different from ones he may have created before.

{Remy groans- he’s not a scientist or a doctor like him}

“I have no idea what this could mean.. hmmm”

“When I altered the lil guys.. they disappeared but I felt a pocket dimension open up, a new one- how is that even possible.. it wasn’t a lot of em”

“Can you tell me more about yourself Null? How’d you get here? How are you made up of these Void Bugs”

{he wants to stop calling them maggots.. it feels rude because Null is made out of these lil buggers}

___

They fall silent for several minutes at being asked about themself.

...

"I... Do not know how I got here. I just remember nothing... And then I was here... Or--"

Their screen glitches violently for a minute before they talk again.

"As for being made of the bugs--" They talk as if that glitching never happened. "I believe I made out of them as... As..."

They fall silent again.

"I don't think about what I am."

They don't know. They don't like that they don't know.

They can't remember how they got here...

"I like creating things... They always come out warped though."

They summon a fox plush, and while it looks like a fox it is unsettling not a fox at the same time.

----

The note ends up slightly clipped into the bar counter near Eddie. It's enough to read at least, but part of the note is in the counter.

{Remy pauses when he watches their screen glitch, he frowns in worry, everything about this place looks and feels fine- but it’s more like an uncanny feeling, he looks at the fox with a head tilt}

{Plus the whole time weirdness is throwing him off as well}

{he rubs his head as he thinks}

“I don’t know what to make of you babes, and I’d like to try and understand as much as I can before I introduce you to a whole new realm- or space.. don’t get me wrong- I’ve dealt with crazy stuff so this is just precarious, because who knows what could happen-“

"... What does it feel like to breathe?... Or... Just... How does your body feel to you?"

“Breathing feels awesome.. definitely something everyone takes for granted”

...

"I... Do not breathe. I always feel cold, I think numb is the other word... I like that you felt warm, I don't feel that often."

They fall silent again before there's a smaller and calmer glitch on their screen.

"... Breathing... I miss that. I took it for granted too it seems."

They remember breathing... There had to be something before they became this then, right?

“Fear… is the worst thing to feel.. your body your mind all send these signals that you will die, get hurt.. and you can’t do anything about it”

{Remy looks away for a moment} “though there is a scale to how much a person can feel fear.. like it can be something small like a spider and they just avoid spiders.. or it can be a big fear like.. water itself- or loud sounds where it can affect your day to day life”

...

"I don't feel... Things in a way I can place."

"Fear... I--"

They look at their hand and fall silent again.

"I do remember fear though... Fear and... And... Pain."

"Most feelings are dull... Now..."

They fidget with their gloves.

...

"... What does it feel like to die?"

“Why.. do you ask?”

{Remy frowns with worry}

They lean against the wall and pick at their gloves now.

"I don't know if I died... I"

They slowly slide down the wall to sit on the floor.

"I wasn't this... What was I?"

They're really wracking their mind now.

"I remember feeling tired... Then cool grass and dirt before falling asleep."

...

"Then an endless void. Thought it was a dream... There was a box. Nothing else... So I... Walked over to it."

They take their glove off and stare at all the writhing larva.

"I opened it... They spilled out, couldn't even guess how many..."

...

"Body was gone... Then I was this."

{Remy frowns as he listens while nodding along}

{Remy slowly gets up and sits next to them}

“You aren’t alone anymore.. I can’t- I don’t want to promise anything that I’m not confident in.. but I’ll try my best to help you.. I know what it’s like.. losing your body.. being thrown into the void”

"..."

They stay silent for a while longer.

"I don't... Mind what I am now. I think I was human... I can feel things coming back to me too. I don't think I was from your dimension or time period..."

...

"Is it weird... That I like being this?"

They don't like how unsettling they always are, but they still like what they are.

{Remy smiles as he holds their hand}

"... Hard to explain... But it's not difficult for me."

They've just always been too scared to leave, being able to isn't a problem.

In another disorientating, nauseating blink they're back in the bar. It doesn't seem as bad with Null active in the process.

Though as Null teleports them back there's a dull wet popping sound of several of the larva in their body. Some black goo drips from them, but is quick to disappear.

They stumble a little and sit on the ground as their tv head glitches for a moment. It seems similar to a headache for them.

"... Hngg just a moment..."

----

He brings him into a hug.

"It does..."

He stares at Null behind Remy as they slowly stand back up.

"This era makes sense..." They mumble to themself as they look around and then at Eddie.

"... Ah, greetings... You must be Eddie?"

Their wording is similar to Logan's, but their voice has that static muffled through a tv feel... And the general uncanny nature of them.

"I am... It's nice to meet you, Null."

This is the second time Remy has mentioned Remus and how they're rather curious about him.

"It is nice to meet you as well..."

Null looks around before answering.

"I am..." They pause, unsure. "Fine I believe."

They walk closer to Eddie now, looking down at him. They are well over two feet taller than him.

"... Would you like to go upstairs? Everyone is typically up there."

He smiles softly, though still getting used to the uneasiness. He does pause and warn Virgil with a text, knowing he might not handle it well.

——

{Upstairs, Logan is talking to Remus on the touch.. Patton is making lunch for everyone, Ethos is reading a book as best he can on the love seat}

{Logan pauses, invisible to Null}

“Eddie? Remy? Who is that?”

—

{Remus turns and perks up with a wicked smile}

“Well look at you! Tall and Mysterious~”

"This is Null... Oh-- They can't see you right now..."

--

Ella is sitting with Ethos if he doesn't mind right now.

--

Null stares at Remus and tilts their head slightly. They actually stay silent as they slowly walk over.

...

"Hello..." They almost seem to be analyzing Remus.

...

"You have a familiarity."

Concept of the liminal and uncanny... Concept of intrusive thoughts... Could be something with that, but Null doesn't seem to understand.

——

{Remus stares back and giggles}

“Well I used to look slightly different and yknow been around”

“Oooo Maggots! I love the look”

----

"It is nice to meet you, Remus."

They pause again.

"I... Do not believe I was from this dimension or era... My space exists between all that, but I am never sure."

They move around the couch to sit next to him.

...

They just stare more. Then they offer their hand with no explantion.

Given Remus probably would take their hand without questioning...

He gets no nausea either. Something about who Null was before is what is familiar, hidden what they are now.

...

They were a scientist at the same lab-- They vanished around the same time Remus got the radiation poisoning. Null does not remember much though.

"..." They don't say anything, just analyzing what any of that means.

{then blinks}

{stares}

“Dr…Rhinestone- no”

“That’s not possible- the lab was empty when-“

Though they gather themself well enough.

"Apologies... Dr. Rhinestone?-- I--"

They stare at Remus more.

"... What happened?"

They don't know the answer themself.

"..."

They pick at their gloves again, seeming to be a stressed habit.

"... The lab-- Wait--" They look directly st Remus now, white eyes behind the screen more visible now.

"Dr. Eckhard."

They remember more.

"Shit." They don't like what they remember.

"Fuck. I--"

...

"I worked in a lab near yours. I was supposed to be monitoring the radiation--"

They messed that up. They know they did.

"I didn't-- I got it wrong-- I-I... What happened to me..."

They look at their hands again, their speech sounding more coherent in wording, more tone coming through.

"I just... I remember passing out. I felt dizzy, fell, and I hit my head... Hard... I felt so cold."

They swear they feel the pain again.

"Woke up in a field of grass... Just one peach tree. I was so tired... I felt like I shouldn't sleep, but I did... Then the void, the box-- the maggots."

“Holy…holy shit”

{he stares and starts laughing.. his form glitches- as if almost returning back to how Remus was before.. maybe the death of Dr. Rhinestone is what made him go insane faster- the puzzle piece is bending again}

“It was my fault- you-“

"No. No! I-I was supposed to be monitoring it! I... Fuck. I miscalculated things. If I just-- Fuck."

They are shown genuine visible stress by now. Their uneasiness affect gets stronger with this.

"God I was a fucking idiot!"

They remembered something again.

"Fuck. Why..."

"It was my fault!! Fuck-- Remus--"

They force themself to say the words stuck in their non existent throat.

"I fucked up because I was-- I-I was-- high... I was a fucking idiot!"

They grab the sides of their head, self loathing.

"What the fuck was wrong with me?!"

...

"I was a well regarded scientist, I had access to pretty much anything I wanted, and i fucking abused that?!"

They tear up too, that rot and iron leaking through the screen.

{Remus whispered}

“I knew about the radiation and still decided to take the risk to study it…”

"I knew the risk too... I was suppose to be helping minimize the risk, and be the first to know when it was becoming too high of a risk."

...

"Please don't be sorry... I probably would have been fired or worse even if I did live..."

They look back up at him after a moment.

"But... Still here now, y-yeah?... Suppose you still can't get r-rid of me that easily?"

They try to make a joke to lighten the mood, though their words are still choked.

"Don't beat yourself up about it... Would say I'm not the same person, and I think I gather why I wouldn't want to be now."

They offer their hand again.

"I don't hold anything against you..."

{Remus laughs before nodding}

“I don’t hold anything against you either…”

——-

"... Thank you."

Their head feels all buzzy right now... They aren't sure why, but thinking of themself as human causes their entire body to ache. Like they aren't allowed to feel that.

"..."

"Please only call me Null as well..." Their human tone retreats a little now. Tone returning to more uncanny.

----

Eddie looks over at Remy as well. He seems very confused.

"I... Do not remember there being a Dr. Rhinestone...?"

Though with the nature of what Null is it may be impossible to see them in the past. Ethos wouldn't have detected any lies either.

“Looks like we both were changed heavily after the accident..”

——

{Remy nods in agreement}

"I suppose so, yes... I became the concept of the liminal and uncanny feeling. Does not make people particularly enjoy being around me."

The eyes behind their screen shift slightly to look at Remus past his hand.

"How were you changed?"

----

Eddie sighs and thinks for a moment. He catches what Null says about their concept--

"Ah, I uh I do not think it is..."

... Why does he say it like he knows something...?

"I was wondering when they would show up." He mumbles very quietly--

“I wasn’t all this sane, but thanks to everyone here I’m semi back to normal… now I’m growing plants thanks to the basement downstairs- I swear I feel like it’s alive sometimes”

——

{Remy blinks slowly}