She dashed out of the tent, but before Manny followed her he 
paused at the Door they had thrown Fuller through. He thought 
about the Darkness, thought about everything he knew about Fuller, 
thought about everything he didn’t know about Fuller, and knew that 
he wasn't really gone forever. 


"Well, long enough at least," he said to himself with a smirk. He shut 
the Kaleidoscope down, and went to celebrate with the others. 


was escorted into the room in a full-body restraint. Upon 
entering, the subject, who had previously threatened to 
kill AgentS | assoonas he got out of the restraints, 
began apologizing profusely. Before the first five minutes 
elapsed, D-253 began to engage AgentS_ ina 
conversation of asophomoric manner. AgentS was 
escorted out of the room quickly, displaying a headache 
and emotional turmoil upon leaving. Subject D-253 
exhibited the behavior of the previous test subjects, and 
was given the appropriate food and water to last through 
the test. By the second hour, the subject requested to 
use a latrine. The request was denied, but Agent G 

has able to bring the necessary equipment into the room 
without disrupting its effects. By the fifth hour, the 
subject’s behavior deteriorated into repetitive fidgeting 
and incoherent rambling. Subject suspected to be 
hallucinating. Subject fell asleep around six hours 
elapsed time. Subject later awoke twelve hours later, 
having great difficulty standing back up. D-253 spent the 
next six hours laughing and babbling on the floor before 
being escorted out. 


Observed Behavior Upon Exiting SCP-623: Upon 
leaving, Subject D-253 began to convulse, shortly before 
[REDACTED]. The autopsy of Subject D-253's proved 
useless, as [REDACTED]. 


[TEST RESULTS ONLY AVAILABLE TO THOSE OF SECURITY 


Observed Behavior Upon Exiting SCP-623: 
Upon leaving, Subject D-253 began to 
convulse, shortly before collapsing to the 
ground and expelling all bodily fluids. In 
addition, Subject D-253 lost his hair, eyes, 
teeth, finger and toenails. The autopsy of 
Subject D-253's proved useless, as there was 
no organic matter left to study. Studying 
Subject D-253's bodily fluids also proved futile, 
as there was no cell life to be found. 


Addendum 623-2: It is unknown what causes [REDACTED] after 


« Clown Breeding 101 with Prof. Richard C. Normus | Dread & 
Circuses Hub | A Real Humdinger » 


A Real Humdinger 


« Upside-Down Cake | Dread & Circuses Hub | Former Assets » 


Tom screamed as he was swallowed up by the Darkness. The 
Darkness was absolute, utterly devoid of so much as a single 
photon of light. He felt like he was falling, but not really. It was more 
like the feeling of a hypnagogic jerk, only instead of lasting for an 
instant, this sensation went on without end. He could not tell up from 
down, nor could he tell if the air around him was hot or cold, 
tumultuous or still. Was there even air at all? 


He was disoriented to the point of delirium, unable to remember 
where he was or how he had gotten there. Was he even really 
anywhere at all, or was he merely blind and mad like an ancient 
god? 


Desperate to regain any semblance of sanity, he ordered himself to 
focus on the last thing he could remember. 


Clowns. Disgusting, monstrous Clowns had thrown him into the 
Kaleidoscope on the orders of the Man with the Upside-Down Face, 
for no other reason than that he had chosen to side with... 


And then he remembered he wasn’t alone. 


“Oh my god, Fuller? Fuller! FULLER!” 


“ ..What is it Tom?” 


“Fuller? Oh my god. Fuller, where are we?” 


"The Darkness Between Dimensions. A very pretentious name for a 
place that’s almost literally nothing. It is utter void, lacking any native 
substance whatsoever. Here there is no matter, no energy, and very 
nearly no reality at all.” 


“What do you mean there’s nothing? We’re not suffocating, so 
there’s air, isn’t there?” 


“No Tom, there’s just no entropy. We’re perpetual motion machines 
in here, with no need of air, food, water or sleep. Space itself here is 
thick enough to carry our voices, and we could even move through it 
if we tried.” 


“You mean we're going to be living like this, in the Darkness, with 
nothing, forever?” 


“Oh, that we should be so lucky. No Tom, you see we’re the realest 
things in this place, and nature abhors a vacuum. Our reality will 
slowly dissipate out into the infinite void, leaving us to gradually fade 
to nothing. After three years or so we'll have lost enough of 
ourselves that we won’t even be able to survive in the real world, but 
unfortunately it will take much, much longer than that for us to lose 
enough consciousness to achieve anything remotely approaching 
death.” 


“Oh my god!” 


“Fret not Tom, fret not, for there is hope! We just need to finda 
Humdinger!” 


“A what?” 


“It’s not called the Darkness Between Dimensions for nought. We’re 
surrounded by parallel realities, and occasionally they bump into 
each other. When they do they create waves through the Darkness 
that you can hear as a humming sound. All we got to do is get 
ourselves to the epicentre of the collision and we can slip out into 
one of those realities.” 


“How do you know all this?” 


“A little bird told me. Actually, he was a man-sized humanoid crow, 


but he knew everything there was to know about the Multiverse. Met 
him in the Library when | was still allowed in, but no time for that 
now! Now we must listen, listen for the humming sound of our 
liberation.” 


“| don’t hear any -” 


“| said listen Tom!” 


“Damn.” 
“Do we just wait for a Humdinger or -” 


“No! We have no time to waste. We must search for one. It will be in 
the direction that reality is strongest.” 


“And which way is that?” 
“That way!” 


“...L. can’t see which way you’re pointing.” 


“When we get back to the Circus we’re going to kill Manny right?” 
“Oh yes Tom, he’s going straight to The Matinee this time. Icky too.” 
“Her and all the other revolting Clowns!” 


“A great bloody purge, the likes of which travelling carnivals seldom 
see! All of my enemies will be strung up on stage, their cold, 
dancing, bodies a warning to all who may think of defying Herman 
Fuller! Of course, if we dispose of that much talent, we'll have to get 
replacement acts.” 


“| suppose that’s true.” 


“Fortunately | know just the place where we can score some awe- 
inspiring anomalies, a place that has prided itself for nearly a 


century on collecting and containing all that most ferocious and 
fantastical creatures that haunt this world.” 


“Wait, you’re not talking about...” 


“That's right Tom, the Essie P! But I’m not talking about pocketing a 
few magic doodads like those pansies at the Emcee D do, no sir! I’m 
going straight for the big ticket items! The Golden Oldies! All the 
Essie P’s worst kept secrets under my Big Top, their most 
cantankerous Keters drawing in the anomalous community from far 
and wide. We'll start with Able. Everyone loves Able!” 


“Actually, | think he’s a little ridiculous -” 


“. The second Son of Adam murdered by his own kin, resurrected by 
the savage Daevites to slaughter their victims. When the curse of 
Cain denied Able his vengeance he went completely mad! 
Desperate to slake his need for revenge, he murders all before him! 
Will you be next?” 


“...1s that really what happened?” 
“It doesn’t matter Tom, it’s just a pitch to draw in the crowds.” 
“But how do you plan to control Able?” 


“Cotton Candy.” 


“Sir, | think this plan might be a little over-ambitious.” 


“Oh, I’m just getting started Tom. For the Menagerie, we'll get none 
other than Summer’s Exile. Gaoler’s Hubris, The Lost Dragon, Old... 
Scaly.” 


“| have no idea what you’re talking about.” 


“682 Tom. 682. An Elder God of yore cast out of Paradise for crimes 
best left unsaid, his agony only overshadowed by his hatred for all 
living things. For only five Fuller Fun-bucks, you can hack and slash 
at him to your heart’s content. Watch with awe as his flesh morphs 


and grows anew!” 


“You’re going to have guests physically attacking one of the most 
infamous anomalies in the Foundation’s possession? | really don’t 
think you’ve thought this -” 


“- And for the main event, we'll get the creme de /a creme, the 
cream of the crop, the most horrendous, most abominable, most 
despicable monstrosity ever to disgrace this fair earth with its foul 
visage: Doctor Spanko!” 


“...Sir, you've lost your mind, haven’t you?” 


“Just you wait Tom, the new goretastic Circus will completely 
outshine anything we’ve ever done before.” 


“Whatever you say. Also, you pronounced it kee-ter earlier. It’s 
actually supposed to be pronounced ket-ter.” 


“...Shut up Tom.” 


“| think we’re going in circles.” 


“How could you possibly know that? There’s literally nothing here. 
We're in a void of infinite darkness!” 


“Some infinities are greater than others Tom, and this particular 
patch of infinite darkness feels strangely familiar. | think we’re back 
where we started.” 


“You're the one leading us! Said we were moving in the direction 
that felt the most real! That’s where the Humdingers are, you said!” 


“Well our entry point is still the realest place within a thousand miles, 
so obviously | got turned around. We'll need to work out some sort 
of system to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” 


“I’m open to suggestions.” 


“Here’s what we'll do. | got some money on me, and I'll leave it here, 
making this the richest part of the void. My highly sophisticated 


palate will be able to sense that this is the well-to-do Darkness, and 
we'll know to move in the opposite direction towards the, well | 
suppose the polite term is up-and-coming regions. How does that 
sound?” 


“Like utter nonsense, but | can’t think of anything else. Go ahead, 
leave some money here.” 


“...’m sorry, did | actually just say | was going to throw away 
money? | really am losing my marbles.” 


“I’m so tired. | thought you said we don’t need to sleep.” 
“We don’t. Keep moving.” 


“But just because we don’t have to sleep doesn’t mean we can't, 
right? | want to try sleeping.” 


“Why?” 


“Because maybe I'll dream and actually be able to see something. 
Maybe I'll just wake up feeling refreshed. Maybe you’d stop rambling 
about the economic stratification of an empty void if you got some 
sleep!” 


“...Alright, let’s try it.” 

“How do we do this? We can't lie down, there’s no such thing as up 
in this place.” 

“Just let your body go limp Tom, like you're floating in a pool.” 
“Okay, just gotta go limp. Gotta relax. Goodnight Fuller.” 


“Goodnight Tom.” 


“You asleep Fuller?” 


“No Tom.” 

“How long do you think we’ve been floating here?” 
“Two months.” 

“What! ?” 


“I’m kidding, | have no idea. Let’s try a memetic sleep aid. Hush-a-by 
baby -” 


“That’s a lullaby.” 


“... didn’t say it was anomalously memetic.” 


“| spy with my little eye, something that starts with A.” 


“Abyssal darkness, unmatched by even the darkest depths of any 
chasm upon the Earth.” 


“Yes. | spy with my little eye, something that starts with B.” 


“Blackness, a blackness so pervasive and suffocating you forget 
what light ever looked like.” 


“Right. | spy with my little eye, something that starts with C.” 


“Complete and utter void, vacant of any semblance of life, light or 
hope.” 


“...Fuller, | don’t think this game is actually helping with morale.” 
“Would you rather play punch buggy?” 


“...L spy with my little eye...” 


“Percy! Percy, | know you can hear me you arrogant bastard!” 


“Who are you yelling yet?” 


“Percival Darke. He’s a friend of mine. At least we were friends until 


he and his business partners betrayed me and started hunting us 
like animals, when | had done them no wrong!” 


“Sir, you tried to steal the soul-sucker.” 


“Absolutely no wrong! Where was |? Oh yes, Percival. You see Tom, 
Percy’s an odd duck, even by our standards. He’s a Wanderer, like 
myself, only he’s been at it for centuries longer. Oh, he’s found 
himself some strange voodoo, | tell you. Powerful voodoo!” 


“ ..Voodoo?” 


“He knows about the Darkness, he can see the future so he knows 
I’m here, and he’s just leaving me to rot! Goddammit, Percy open a 
Door and get me out of here! | can picture him Tom, sitting in that 
fancy sanctum of his in between worlds, all dignified and mysterious 
in his throne of a study chair while he just spews out all his most 
arcane secrets to that latest brat of his! You’d better not be telling 
her any lies about me, Percy! | put you front and center when | 
opened the Matinee you ingrate! When | reopen it, you’re not even 
invited!” 


“Sir, ranting at Percival Darke isn’t going to get us out of here.” 


“You're right Tom...Marshall, you half-dead sack of shit! Where do 
you get off putting a bounty on my head just for trying to borrow your 
precious little soul-sucker? When | get back to the Light you’re dead, 
do you hear me!” 


“He doesn’t sir.” 

“| Know.” 

“Fuller, do you know why | stayed with the Circus after being 
viciously assaulted by a pack of Clowns?” 


“Because if you ran out on your contract | would have sent Stretchy 
to drag you back by your small intestines?” 


“No. It was because of Eliza. | thought that after she saw what they 
had done to me, after she saw how cruel and wicked the Circus was 


“Thank you.” 


“- she would agree to let me take her away. But she didn’t. She 
didn’t want anything to do with me after that. Everyone around the 
Circus was saying that | had tried to kidnap poor, helpless Eliza and 
that Manny and the others were heroes. She never stood up for me, 
she just fell in line to keep the peace. | was a pariah. But | knew you 
and Manny hated each other, and that it was only a matter of time 
before you tried to get rid of him. | thought that if Manny was gone 
Eliza wouldn't need to pretend to support him and that we could be 
together again. Now, he’s probably the Ringmaster and I’m 
wandering through eternal darkness, all because | was too stupid to 
leave when | had the chance.” 


“Did | ever tell you that Stretchy and Masky were supposed to be the 
first of my own knock-off line of Little Misters? They were originally 
Mr. Stretch and Mr. Mask, but then this rock’em sock’em robot 
shows up to the Circus screaming ‘LITTLE MISTERS IS THE 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF DOCTOR WONDERTAINMENT ’, 
so | had to ease off.” 


“...Herman, were you listening to anything | said?” 


“Yeah, you stayed with the Circus because you wanted a girlfriend 
who could provide oral sex but for whom you would be under no 
obligation to reciprocate. | don’t blame you.” 


“Thanks for listening.” 


“It's ket-ter'” 
“It's kee-ter!” 


“Ket-ter'” 


six hours within SCP-623, but it may be part of the room's effects on 
the body itself. 


« SCP-622 | SCP-623 | SCP-624 » 


“Kee-ter!” 


“Ket-ter is closer to how it’s pronounced in Hebrew. Consult a 
Rabbinic Alchemist!” 


“That my friend is what’s known as an etymological fallacy. If the 
original pronunciation of a word is the only correct one, then we’re 
all butchering the English language!” 


“If you dropped the —er the word would clearly be pronounced with a 
short e sound, therefore it’s ket-terl” 


“The —er isn’t a suffix though since ket isn’t a word by itself, ergo that 
argument is a load of baloney!” 


“All you’re doing is offering counterarguments! Give me one reason 
why it should be pronounced kee-ter?” 


“Because Keter Keter, Euclid eater, Essie caught her, couldn’t keep 
her!” 


“Well, | have no counterargument for that, so | guess you win.” 


“Fuller, | think I’m going insane.” 
“Good. | was starting to get lonely.” 


“| see a little blinking red light in the distance. I’m crazy, right? Tell 
me I’m crazy.” 


“You’re as mad as a march hare mating in a mound of molasses.” 
“So you don't see it?” 
“| didn’t say that. Doesn’t mean you're not crazy.” 


“So, you do see it?”