Work Text:
Jax sat down on his bed, staring at his hands. Why was he suddenly getting his brain cleared out? Why could he suddenly… feel the world around him?
The gang had just returned from an adventure where they had to go through different prank rooms. Jax simply adored the faces of the others as they had to go through a different prank each time. But the more he watched, the more he felt this weird and sudden dread sink into his bones. Luckily, they had ended the adventure quick enough for Jax to run to his room and hide from the others. What was his mind trying to tell him?
That they couldn’t die?
Of course they couldn’t die! They were all stuck here, forced to play for eternity just for entertainment! Why was he panicking now? Was it because he couldn’t feel anything? Was it because he couldn’t feel pain? Maybe he really did want to find an exit. But he wouldn’t want to return back to the real world, he got no one there. Ma basically kicked him out and his own brother ran off to who knows where. Nobody cared for Jax out there so the best choice was to stay here right?
He hadn’t realised that he had been pacing the floors of his room with wide eyes and pupils small.
Hell, he couldn’t even scream. H!s teeth were stuck together and all he ever moved to speak was his lips, 0r what he could 3v3n call lips. His hands slowly went up to his face, then trailed t0 his mouth. He started to yank at his mouth, grunting t0 try and pry his teeth apart. Why were they fused together? Why was he trying t0 do this?! It wasn’t like he needed to eat 0r have his teeth pulled apart! H3 could just leave th3m shut. There was no need for him to do this! There was no n33d to panic! His life in the Circus was perfect! H3 g0t to watch h!s friends flip 0ut with everything and the adventures. He w4s the c00l and c0ll3ct3d purple rabbito!d! Why would h3 panic 0ver such a stupid thing 0<3r th1s!
N0 0ne c4r3d for the r4bbit01d! He didn’t 3<3n c4r3 f0r h1-s3lf.
He stood in the middle of his room, staring at the walls. They were in that stupid shade of lavender with golden spots plastered on. His hands were shaking as he wound his arm up to land a blow on the wall. He needed to numb himself, he couldn’t have himself feeling all over again. He was lucky enough to have Kinger be a nutjob and forget about Jax’s first arrival. Ragatha came in before him, so why did she not-
His yellow gloved hand punched the wall, barely making a dent. It did shake Jax’s whole room to the point even he himself lost balance. Dang, he didn’t realise how strong he actually was. He staggered backwards, breathing heavily through his permanently shut teeth.
0h g0d his shut t33th. H3 h4t3d th3 f33ling of h1s f4ce, let 4lone his own t33th. He h4t3d this face as much 4s Zoobl3 h4ted th3 w4y th3y looked. H3 never compl1an3d th0ugh b3c4use unl1k3 th4t jumbl3 0f Z00ble p4rts, his face was permanent.
H3 always h4ted that word.
P3rm4n3nt.
”Jax?”
The purple rabbitoid turned around to see the doll standing at the doorway, eyes wide. Why was she so stunn3d? It w4s just h1m. Jax looked down at his hands to see it grow fuzzy and black and colored and stretch out and turn jagged and-.
0h g0d.
H3 w4s 4bstr4ct1ng.
He stumbled backwards. H0w d1d h3 n0t r34l1s3 b3f0r3? H3 should’<e b33n 4bl3 t0 n0t1c3 r1ght? H3 w4sn’t numb n0w r1ght?
”G3T 4W4Y!” Jax hissed, or more as so gargled. It f3lt like h3 w4s dr0wn1ng. But h3 w4sn’t dr0wn1ing. That w4s unt1l h3 collapsed t0 th3 fl00r and huck3d up bl4ck gl1tchy g00. It seep3d through h1s y3ll0w t33th, m4k1ng qu1t3 a sh0w w1th h0w m33sy 1t w4s. He slowly st4gg3r3d back t0 h1s f33t. Sudd3nly 1t w4s l1k3 3v3ryth1ng 1ns1d3 h1m st4rt3d burn1ng up int0 flames. 1t w4sn’t like actu4l fl4m3s th0ugh, m0r3 like m0lt3n needl3s st4bb1ng every p4rt 0f h1m. H3 c0uld f33l h1s b0n3s sl0wly try1ng t0 b3nd in ways th4t it sh0uldn’t.
”Jax, you’re abstracting!”
”! KN0W TH4T! N0W G3T TH3 H3CK 4W4Y FR0M M3. 4CTU4LLY, WHY W0ULD Y0U B0TH3R? C41N3 C4N JUST F1X Y0U R1GHT B4CK UP.”
”Jax that’s not the point!”
”1 D0N’T C4R3 D0LL F4C3. L34V3 M3 4L0N3.” Jax growled through glitchy garble.
He could barely keep his words straight, let alone his thoughts. He could feel his face slowly melting into black glitch. His vision started to get blurry. He couldn’t tell if he was crying or not but there was definitely black goo dripping out of his eyes. Jax, once again, collapsed to the floor. He was struggling to breathe, everything was hard to do but breathing? That was nearly impossible for him now. He didn’t even need to breathe!
Ragatha huffed before going up to him slowly. He didn’t seem to pay attention to what she was doing, he was too busy on yanking his ears and stretching them as much as he could.
”We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when. But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day~.” Ragatha sang softly as she sat next to the glitching rabbitoid. He remained lying on the floor. His arm, which had glitched out the most, started to smoothen out. “Keep smiling through, just like you always do. ‘Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds away.”
”S0 w-w1ll Y0U pl34s3 s4y h-h3ll0, t0 th3 f0lks th4t ! Kn0w. T3ll th3m ! W0n’t b3 l0ng.” Jax struggled to sing along, his voice glitching and cracking in between. At least this was distracting him from his abstraction and that’s all Ragatha cared about. “They’ll b3 happy t-t0 know, that 4s you saw m3 g0, I was s-singing this s0ng.”
Ragatha slowly propped his head onto her lap. His half-glitched face was slowly warping back to normal, his other yellow eyes slowly becoming visible again. She gently moved Jax’s hands away from his ears and began to slowly run her hands down his head. Jax’s ears immediately flattened down as a reaction. Ragatha couldn’t help but giggle; she had never seen that reaction from him before.
The two sat in silence for a long while before Ragatha finally spoke up. “Hey… it looks like you’ve stopped abstracting.”
”Y-Yea…”
”Do you feel alright?”
”I think so.”
They fell into silence once again. Jax didn’t feel like talking for once. Talking just felt like it would be impossible to do.
”Do you… need anything?” Ragatha asked once again. “I know we ‘technically’ don’t need anything but-.”
”Can ya just shut up and stay here?’ Jax interrupted.
Ragatha’s mouth tightened into a line, startled by Jax’s sudden request. “Really?”
Jax stuttered, trying to find the right words. “You blab too much to comfort someone at times doll-face. Sometimes silence is appreciated.” He crossed his rubberhose arms together as he stared up at his ceiling.
Ragatha hummed softly. “Alright. I’ll stay quiet and stay in here with you until I know for sure I can leave ya alone. Surprised you even wanted company.”
Jax scowled at the last part. “You’re the only sane person to be company with. Kinger’s a nut-job, Gangle’s a wimp, Zooble just barely tolerates me, Kaufmo… ya know, and Pomni is new so why should I trust her to begin with?” Jax’s hands were animated with how he explained everyone.
Ragatha didn’t realise but Jax did have a point. Ever since Kaufmo abstracted, Jax had no one to talk to anymore. As much as Jax was mean to Kaufmo, he was also just as nice to that clown. He just never showed it in front of the others but the doll could tell what Jax meant.
”I’ll tolerate you if you need me to.” Ragatha shrugged slightly.
”Oh please, you tolerate everyone as a people pleaser.”
”I’m not a people pleaser, I just don’t want anyone hurt or sad!”
”Come on, you never even care for yourself! You just threw yourself at me, who was already abstracting.”
”Okay, that part may be true, but that’s because we all need to work together to not go crazy!”
”Uh huh, sure.”
”Jax I’m serious.” Ragatha huffed, tilting his head up so he made eye contact with her. “As much as you might be a jerk, that doesn’t stop me from caring about you. Sure, you may annoy me or get me riled up, but that doesn’t mean I hate you.”
Jax stared at the doll for a good long while before glancing off to the side.
“You’re too nice for ya own good, ya know that?”
”I’ve been told that many times before.”