Chapter Text
Another 2 months went by for Jazmin. She and Axel had spoken often. Axel sent her memes quite a lot. During their many talks on anime, she had learned they actually liked quite a few similar ones. Axel tended to prefer ones with lots of action, but he had a few more subdued ones he liked.
They had watched a few anime together over Discord. She had never expected to watch anime with her former tormentor, but these days, he was more laid back than he had ever been in the circus. Her parents had asked her about Axel, if he was like a boyfriend. She had assured them that Axel was just a fellow anime friend she had connected with, that it was nothing more. And indeed, that’s how it had been.
They rarely talked about the circus, but sometimes Axel made a snarky comment about her comics. They had continued to be popular, but neither of them had found anyone else yet.
It was oddly simple for Jazmin. But knowing she had at least one throughline to the experiences she had gone through felt nice. One day however, the situation changed. It once again came from a comment on the fan comic. She has written one about the character’s favorite animals. But she had mostly made it up. She had changed the ones she knew. But a comment on it drew her attention. From the account “RaggedyAnnFann”
*Ragatha liking dogs isn’t what I would’ve guessed. She seems more like a horse girl. Probably one who owned and rode them.
Well, surely that was her. Gangle quickly messaged the user.
*R: Ragatha?
*RAF: Gangle, is that you?
*R: Yes! You found me!
*RAF: I took a while, I’m so sorry.
*R: Don’t be. It took a while for Jax to find me.
*RAF: Jax found you already?
*R: Yeah. Just him though. Have you had any leads?
*RAF: No, but I’m glad you found someone. Do you have time to talk?
*R: Yeah, but let’s save it for tonight. Jax and I were gonna talk on discord. We’ve been trying to chat a few times each week at least. That way we can all talk.
*RAF: Sounds good! I’m excited for it!”
Jazmin quickly exchanged Discord information and times with Ragatha, and then sent a message to Axel.
*R: Your favorite rag doll sent me a message.
*JB69420: Really? Ol’ Raggy found it?
*R: Yep. She’s gonna join our call tonight.
*JB69420: Guess we’d better get dressed up for miss rich
*R: Try not to give her a hard time, okay?
Jazmin felt butterflies in her stomach as the time passed slowly until the time came for their call. Finally though, with a new group chat added for them all, Jazmin started the call. After a moment, Axel answered. Then… Ragatha did too.
Jazmin had to gasp as Ragatha turned on her camera. The woman before her was quite pretty. Ragatha looked well put together, wearing a pretty dress and cardigan, and a few various pieces of jewelry. She had auburn hair that was a bit frizzy, but most noticeable of all, she had an eyepatch over her right eye. She smiled. “Hey guys! Nice to finally see you both again! Or, well… for the first time.”
“Well, this is what the dollface looked like?” Axel asked with a grin. “I thought that button eye was just for show.”
“Uh… no.” Ragatha said. “It’s… a long story. But I lost it before I entered the circus.”
An awkward pause followed. “So, uh…. Ragatha. What’s your name? Your real name.” Jazmin asked.
“Oh! Right! I uh, almost forgot. But my name is Sophie. Sophie Ritter.” She said.
“Jazmin Chu.”
“Axel Ortiz.”
Sophie smiled. “It’s… been awhile since I really could get on the internet.” She said. “After I got out, there was… a lot to deal with.”
“What, something with your mom?” Axel asked.
“Well, uh… yeah. She umm… she died. Two years before we escaped.” Sophie said. “Her will said that all her stuff was to be kept by a lawyer until I was either found dead or he died and passed it to whomever he chose. So, even though I had been gone for 12 years… I got our old property. But there was a lot of legal stuff. And uh… I found some messages she left for me if I ever came back. It was… pretty hurtful.” She mumbled sadly.
Jazmin looked at Axel’s expression. He looked somewhat somber as Sophie spoke. “Anyway. I had to spend a lot of time figuring out what I wanted to do. I… just didn’t have the time to really keep the place. So I sold it and moved. Then I had to get my realtor’s license back, and then eventually…” she shook her head. “I started looking for you all only a few weeks ago.”
“Well, sounds like a lot more hassle than it’s worth.” Axel said. “At least it’s all behind you.”
“Yeah.” Sophie agreed. “Ummm… I wanted to ask. Did you… find anything out about the… the people who abstracted? Like… Kaufmo? Or Ribbit?”
Jazmin was about to answer when Axel spoke up.
“I’ve been looking at what I can. But it’s a lot harder than looking for those of us who weren’t. I mean, we don’t even know who they are or where they were. Hell, we don’t know what damn mental state anyone is in. They could’ve been ejected as dead bodies in old buildings no one looks in for all we know.” Axel said with frustration in his voice.
“Or they could be fine. Maybe they have… amnesia?” Sophie suggested.
“Well, we really have no way to know.” Axel said. “I’ve made no progress on that front. I’ve tried volunteering at homeless shelters or hospitals a little to see if I can find anyone. But… no dice.”
“You’ve been volunteering?” Jazmin was surprised. In her time getting to know Axel outside of the circus, she hadn’t heard him mention it, and she wouldn’t have expected it from him. But hearing it… it was like a gut punch. But a good one in a way.
“Turns out volunteering is a good way to meet a bunch of hopeless sad sacks. But… no one who was abstracted. I mean… I can’t say I’m surprised really. Jazmin and I don’t live anywhere near each other. What are the odds anyone would live in the same city?” Axel said.
“I guess that’s true.” Sophie reasoned. “But… it’s still nice you’ve done that. Where are you both located? I’m… in Austin, in Texas.”
“Vegas.”
“Illinois. You being a Texas girl makes a lot of sense.”
Sophie smiled at that. “Born and raised! I like it down here. I uh… still have a nice place. So… if either of you wanna come down here, I’ll have a place for you.”
“Thanks, Sophie.” Jazmin said. There was a slight pause, before Sophie asked.
“How have you guys been coping? You know… with everything that happened?”
The silence stretched for a bit before Jazmin said. “The webcomic, really. I started it mostly as a way to find you guys. But… seeing people get excited for it… it’s been a nice way to… finally live my dream.” Jazmin said. “It’s easier to remember it as just… a dream in my head. A fantasy that didn’t happen. As real as it was… being here in the real world has helped distance me from some of it. What Zooble said back in there… of us… of everything we felt being real… I still believe it. But I try and only focus on the best parts.”
“I uh… started doing a bit of urban exploring. Like Pomni used to.” Axel said. “I thought it was a good way to… connect to something she used to do. I’ve been searching for her channel without much luck. But even just finding other small creators, doing it myself? It feels… good.”
Sophie smiled at all that. “I’m glad you’ve both gotten stuff to do. I guess for me, keeping busy with my real life has mostly distracted me. But… I’ve had a lot of nightmares. I keep dreaming of the circus. I realize I’m back there and… it always takes a moment after I wake up to remember I’m back here.”
“I’ve had dreams like that.” Jazmin admitted. “It’s always terrifying. But honestly I… it’s gotten easier day by day. The dreams fade. They happen less. And… the more I work on my real life, the easier it gets. I’m… planning to move into an apartment again. My parents have been pretty nervous about letting me, but it’s about time.”
“I suppose that’s true.” Sophie said. “I… I’m just glad I found you all, really. I’ve been so worried about everyone. I guess I’m still worried about the others. But if the three of us found each other, I’m sure we can find the others too.”
“Then we can have our anime reunion, right Jaz?” Axel smirked. “The epilogue where we all get together after years of being apart.”
“I’d like that.” Jazmin said. “Nothing wrong with learning to hope a little more.”
“I guess so. Hey, uh… I gotta go. Got some things I promised to do. You two ladies don’t have too much fun without me. See ya.” Axel left the call, leaving Sophie with Jazmin.
“So, Gan- err… Jazmin. Has… has he been good to you? Really?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah. He’s been nicer than he was in the circus. He still makes jokes and says kinda mean stuff sometimes. But… we talked when we first connected. We made peace with it. I… didn’t exactly forgive him for what he put me through. But I moved on from it. I knew there was no point holding onto it.”
“Wow, you’re… you’re really strong.” Sophie said. “I’m not sure fully if I’ve forgiven him. Maybe I will. I guess I’m not sure.”
“Don’t force your feelings.” Jazmin said. “I’ve… I’ve been trying to just be better as much as I can. You know, just… do what I can to live my life.”
“That’s… that’s good of you.” Sophie said, a little awkwardly. “Y-you know, I… I didn’t expect you to be umm… this pretty in person.” She then flushed. “I mean! I didn’t think you would be ugly, I mean I just wasn’t expecting you to be so… so… wow! You’re just like… exceptionally pretty, and I think that you look good, and I-I-I… I just mean… you know, not in a weird way just in a-“
“Sophie?” Jazmin cut across her. “I never asked in the circus but… do you like… women?”
Sophie blushed very deeply and looked away. “Ummm… yeah. I… I figured it out in high school. When I told my mom, she uh… she didn’t take it well. We had a fight. It’s how I lost my eye. She umm… threw things at me. Hit me. When we went to the hospital, she lied. Said it was an accident. I didn’t say otherwise. She spent years trying to… trying to convince me I was brainwashed. I started to believe it for a little while. She made me go on dates with men. Made me dye my hair blonde and… wear certain outfits.”
Jazmin shook her head sympathetically. “I can't imagine having to go through that.”
“I was… engaged before I entered the circus. Some man who was nice. He didn’t know any better. But I didn’t love him. He married someone else after I ended up in the circus. Probably a lot happier.” Sophie said. She fiddled with her hands a little.
“How did you undo what she did?”
“Being in the circus, away from her helped. Even though we were all just… silly avatars, I couldn’t deny the bond I felt to some of the others. The girls especially. It just became… overwhelming to deny it to myself after a while. It’s why… even if Pomni doesn’t feel the same way, no matter what, I have to tell her. I… I really liked her. And I have to make sure I say it.”
Jazmin smiled. “I don’t know if she likes you that way. But I promise to support you, Sophie. I’ll help make sure you have the chance to tell her. If it doesn’t work then… I’m sure I can help you find someone right for you.”
“How… how did you come out to your parents?” Sophie asked. “Was it bad?”
“I told them I was bisexual during my high school graduation party. I had figured it out during high school, like you. They were… more accepting.” Jazmin said. “They didn’t exactly understand at first. But I explained it to them and they didn’t question me past that night.”
“I… I wish my mom could’ve been like that.” Sophie said sadly.
“Well… even if she never learned how to respect you, know that I do. And I know the others will too.”
“Thanks, Jazmin. It feels good to know that someone has my back.”
“Of course. We’re all survivors of what happened. So… we gotta stick together. We’ll find everyone.” Jazmin promised.