apparently I like to torment Null. eh, he deserves it throws him in the pear wiggler
The Pippins crowded around one of the green room tables catches your attention as you're walking by. Null's running a news segment, so you wander over.
"Oh, hey, [name]!" One sees you and waves you to one of the seats. You do so, and he grins widely at you. "We're making bets on who has the loudest shriek."
You repress a giggle. They come up with the oddest things to bet on sometimes. "What's the score?" Not like you'd tell Null, some of the betting you'd seen was insane. You're pretty sure a different Pippins is still paying off his debt to a Shadowman over who had the squeakiest fart. You'd rolled your eyes and stayed out of that one.
"Oh, there's several options." He rattles them off to you. A variety, and the bets at various levels. A good spread, all told.
"No one on Tenna?" You ask.
"Nah. His voice is too deep and growly to be like that." Others, a mix of Pippins, Shadowmen, and Zappers, all pipe up agreement.
"Call it a hunch, but I'm going with him."
"As you wish. I'd ask how much, but..."
"I know, I know. If my points start jumping around everyone's fun ends." You're certain Null knows about the betting, and that you join in, but the crew's refusing to let you bet your points was a safety measure.
"Oh, we got the results of the card throwing, I know you didn't get to watch that."
"Tell me." While they're all considered dishonest thieves and lying scum by Null, you found a long time ago that they weren't really that bad. Sure, he was right, but you treated them with some decency and they returned it.
After you were caught up on the prior bets, you got up and went to the bar. You doubted that any of you would ever learn who had the highest pitched shriek in the studio.
《□》
"Get it!"
"Catch it!"
"Watch out!"
You're in the green room again, part of a mixed pile. Somehow, a Maus had managed to get in, and everyone was trying to catch it before it escaped. Null took pride in having a clean studio, and a Maus would just make a mess.
"Got it!" You shout, successfully grabbing the mouse-like Darkner. You hold the tiny creature in your hands, admiring how cute it is. The others crowd around you, all focused on it and trying to figure out how it got in.
"What should we do with it, though? Not like any of us want to return it to Cyber City." A Zapper asks.
"Find somewhere to let it turn to stone? I'm surprised it hasn't yet." A Pippins points out.
The Maus jerks in your hand, and bites a finger. Yelping, you instinctively jerk your hand away, sending the creature away from you. You focus on your hand, rather than where the thing went flying off to, more concerned about being injured.
You don't have time to see more than the fact that you are bleeding slightly when the highest shriek you have ever heard was let out. Startled, you look up and see that the Maus had landed right on Null's long nose, and the normally incredibly intimidating TV-man was in full panic mode.
"Get it off get it off getitoffgetitoffgetitoff-!!!" Several immediately try to go to his rescue, but between his flailing to get it off himself and his height, no one was having much luck.
"Tenna!" You shout, hoping he can hear you. "Turn your screen off!"
With a quiet click that you only hear from experience, he does so, and the Maus drops to the floor. Null jumps onto a table, looking much like a spooked cat, still yelling, as the rest get back to dogpiling the Maus.
You turn to focus on your hand. Yes, the bite had cut through skin. Hissing, you try and block out the commotion going on, and focus. Slowly, green shimmers pop up, and the cut stops bleeding. The bartender gives you a rag to clean off the blood once the shimmers fade. It still stings, but you're pretty sure that the small ache you have is nothing to the ego shatter you had unintentionally given Null.
A Shadowman eventually ends up catching the Maus, and this time there's no discussion on what to do with it. A small cage is brought out, and the creature gets deposited into it. You weren't able to catch if the creature would be returned to the proper Dark World or be culled, but at least it was caught.
You grab the green Pippins. "Hey, as Mike, get a search out to see if that was the only one. Back home, with similar, if there's one, there's several." You quietly order.
"Got it." He replies, before scurrying off.
"Well, I hate to say it, [name], but you won that bet." The Pippins who had told you of the bet said.
"I do believe so. I am going to find him, and let him know that things are being taken care of." You reply.
"Got it."
You trot to Null's office, guessing him to be hiding there. On your way, you get a call from one of the Mike trio, informing you that the search to see if there were others was in progress.
You slide into Null's office, finding him curled up on the couch. He was shivering, and muttering to himself.
"Hey." You shut the door behind you. "We got a search out to see if there's others."
"I-is it still loose?" Null's voice is small, and incredibly uncharacteristic of him.
"No, that one is caged now."
"Good." He doesn't move though, and you hop onto the couch to sit next to him. He shrinks, ending up just about your height, and leans into you. You wrap an arm around him, and the two of you remain like that for a while.
"[Name], that's the only Maus." You hear in your head later. You're still not sure how they can give you a transmission like you have antenna like Null, but the direct access to the Mikes was nice.
"Okay, thank you." You respond, holding your hand like a phone. That had the strongest 'signal' for you.
"Hm?" Null tilts his head towards you.
"The one that got caught is the only one."
"Good." You figured that Null would grow and get back to work, but he didn't move. Accepting that he was going to cling for a bit, you look at your hand again. It still stings from the bite, cut closed over or not. Might as well get more practice in.
"You still suck at that." Null says a bit later, taking your hand in his and easily finishing the healing.
"Only because some jerk won't let me practice." You retort, though not without pecking the side of his frame.
"Me? A jerk? How dare you accuse me of such a thing?! I am far too classy for that!"
You fail to stifle the giggle. "You? Classy? I know what comes out of that mouth!" While you weren't really expecting to end up in a banter of an argument, at least it meant Null was recovering from the ego shot. The two of you banter, and Null returns to his regular height. You quietly wished he had stayed small, you liked it when he was around your height or smaller.
