Chapter Text
Eternity.
A powerful concept.
Not many ever want to hear the truth about how much time they truly have left. It's easy to ignore, to not think about what might happen after they pass. It's easy to refuse the possibility. It's just how humans are. But what is it that peers back at you from beyond the shadows? Nobody has survived to share the story. And even if they did, would they want to?
Well.
For some, it's peaceful.
And for some, it's painful.
And when she woke up, that's all she felt. Pain.
God – God, the pain.
Grisly. Torturous. Maddening. Even in its brief moments, it felt like it lasted seven lifetimes.
She couldn't speak. And she could hardly remember much before this. It was nothing but a distant memory.
She saw darkness. Where she should have felt tranquility was replaced with nausea, something cold pulling her through the vast emptiness. There was nothing elss. Just the silence pressing down on her ears like she was submerged in water.
And then, there was a light.
Agonizingly bright after being engulfed in the darkness for so, so long – blinding and searing like the sun. The light circle expands and smothers everything it comes into contact with and she hates it hates it hates it because it burns it burns so badly-
-and then all of a sudden she's being dragged backwards - a gigantic bulb of infinite light pressing into her senses in all directions and making her skin crawl like bugs pulling her back back back-
There's a grasp somewhere on her neck, tight as a vice, her skin feels like it might catch on fire and – her ears are ringing and popping and – at last she is shouting–
Her mouth is hanging open, but nothing comes out.
Her hands are reaching up, yearning to be pulled back forward, please PLEASE pull her back forward but nothing could stop the unending fall that lies behind her
what had been stern and unyielding was gradually transforming into this heat and life and an unwelcome act of mercy and and an d
a n d
a n d –
WAKE UP.
WAKE. UP.
.
.
.
Her screams continued, after she woke up.
It rings around her, an endless circle of sound, bouncing off walls-
Tiktiktiktiktik-I CAN'T SEE
Her body is so heavy that she can barely move other than the jolting– like an electric shock to jumpstart a heart– this overwhelming feeling crushing at her apparently mortal shape–
Primal fear sharpens her senses- a cornered prey filled with dread.
She was suspended– her feet not even close to touching the ground, with her arms nowhere near her sides. Something presses deep within her back, somewhere in the arch, further keeping her away from the surface-W h a t –W h e r e–
She quickly tries to raise her hand to clutch onto her head, inhaling sharply and feeling resistance from some sort of– of attachment that she could not see. Like it was trying to pull her arm back; meanwhile her other hand grabs onto one side of her chest as her faint pulse races (clicks???) quickly beneath the skin–
She trembles. The only sound in the room was ticking– like a bomb setting off in her head, and the huff of her quick pants, shallow and shaly and pointless. It all started to flood in, every so slowly…
She had no idea where she was now.
Exposed. Defenseless, with the blazing anguish having stopped thankfully but she was so small and the room was so big and was it always like this and why is she here and why did she feel like something was wrong wrong wrong
Reflexily, she moves her fingers, pressing them into her skin and feeling just how…hard her chest was.
….?
Confused, she brushes her palm up and down, steadily, against it – feeling the rise and fall but not the cool and crisp air going down her throat, or filling her lungs. No burn, no ice, nothing.
Terror lights up in her like a match. She was almost gasping, more restriction nearly forced her arms away when she attempted to hug herself. Yanked back away from her torso.What– why did –!
….
She looks where her arms were and the blood she couldn't feel runs cold.
Tubes.
Tubes were connected to her.
Oh god, oh god there were tubes all over her body-
They were filled with this strange, iridescent, viscous liquid. Suddenly, she knows where the ache is coming from, feeling it just under her skin.
Her skin.
She could wail.
No clothing, but smoothed all over like some sadistic looking doll- a body so corpse pale, snow white and smooth and small and her arms and legs are so thin-
Was- was she a corpse –
She quickly looks around, wild eyed and confused, despite the blurriness in her vision.
The entire space was illuminating and yet somehow, gloomy. A few spots were completely pitch black, and the entire room had a muted gray hue. An artificially lit monochromatic chamber, like an abandoned hospital from an old horror film. The cot nearby does not help.
On her left was a table holding strange items and objects she hardly recognized, but also several syringes, boxes, and blood-stained gauze-
She immediately turned her head away, and realized there was a fan above her.
Spinning slowly.
To her right looked to be giant glass pods, red and blinking with a few broken lights, casting a few shadows against the floor. Each pod had the same kind of tubes, connected to nothing. Dangling there.
And that's when it hit her.
That she, too, was in one of these pods. The only thing keeping her up being these tubes.
Still panicking at an all time high, she quickly looks inside of the one she resides in. The glass on it was broken, pieces scattered all over the floor. But she sees more and more tubes, wrapping and intertwining around each other as they press into her skin. Right in her arms, legs, back, hips, stomach, even her face-
One on the top of her head, and a thinner one in the center of her chest.
A breath catches in her throat.
She's trapped.
God please no no no –
N o
M o v e .
M O V E .
NOW
GET OUT
Instinctively, she tried yanking her arm.
The pull was excruciating.
Her skin feels like it's on fire again, but she suppresses a cry of pain. Her teeth were grit, and her eyes were tightly closed-
And so she tries again. Yanking her arm. Both of them. Her legs. Her whole body.
And it feels like molten against her skin, the hair on her head, in her eyes. White hot agony flooding through her as tears pour endlessly, thrashing around with her mouth agape-
The tubes begin to pop out of her, hollow snapping noises. She anticipated to feel the heat of blood as she felt them leave, but...didn’t. All she feels is the pain of having heavy tubes tugged from her.
She presses her palms against the wall of the pod behind her, and pushes, the final tube in her back being pulled right off before gravity takes over.
Her body near lifelessly falling outside of the pod, and onto the smooth floor beneath her.
She curled up and felt the misery devour her like raw flesh.
It was harrowing, feeling the sting and ghostly pain from the tubes, and the forced and sudden landing on the floor making her feel the potent confusion pounding inside of her head like a drum –
where am I.
For what seemed like five minutes—or maybe only five seconds, she didn't know—she didn’t move. She trembles from the chill, but the buzz of unwanted energy and the panic are still scorching inside of her. She groans and puts her (four-fingered???) hands on the ground. She tries to push herself up on her knees, seeing just how skinny they really are.
Like- like- cartoon proportions.
She keeps herself from hyperventilating.
She needed to leave.
Immediately, despite feeling so dizzy, she presses her foot against the floor and pushes herself up- and begins to rush towards the first door she sees.
Step. Step. Step.
It's hard to move.
It's hard to think.
Getting the door open was…difficult. But it was open nonetheless. Her hand clinked against the knob. Her breath was the only thing she could hear as she found herself pushing through the even darker hallway. She was sure she knocked something over. She didn't bother to look to see what it was.
She still continues to drag herself along. But there was no wall to lean against anymore, she couldn't see well from how dark it was becoming- and she fell straight onto the floor with a loud–
CLANG!
“!!!!!!”Why does her body sound like this?!?!
…
Only the silence of the night. No one in this empty house to see. No one to hear. The loneliness setting in makes her want to curl up and hide and rot. But she couldn't. She had to keep going. She couldn't stay here– so she tries to weakly push her upper body up, hair falling around her face as she tries catching air.
Her mind was…foggy. Like trying to remember something. Anything. She knows – deep within, in every primal push she forces herself to think of…something.
And yet, she couldn't.
Just. Try to stay calm.
go go go this is not your place.
push. push. push.
With a groan, she manages.
Standing up again.
…
Her legs moved like a newborn calf. How long has it been since she used them? Why was she so small, so thin, so defenseless? But she also felt heavy when she should be feeling like a feather.
Focus.
Just find the exit.
It’ll be okay.
…
This hall didn't show anything she could recognize, nor were there really any doors around. But she kept going regardless, properly hugging herself, trying to give herself just- some sort of decency-
“MY, MY! LOOK AT WHO WE HAVE HERE!”
OH GOD-
That lower, grandiose, playful voice that pierces her ears like a metal spoon on a skillet. She bites back a scream, jumping and backing away from the noise that sounded like it was close. Was there someone here?! She wasn't hallucinating, was she?! She still couldn't see!
….She tries her hardest to look around anyway–
And suddenly, all the lights turn on.
Loud booms on the ceiling that continue down the path whence she came.
Compared to the one she just left, this was not nearly the same.
It hits her all at once- overly vivid and brilliant with strong reds and blues and greens and oranges and yellows and her mind was practically begging her to close her eyes-
But she finds them wider open, along with her mouth.
Seeing a mouth, of sorts, right in front of her.
“WELL! OUR NEWEST MEMBER HAS RISEN SO EARLY! THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS INDEED!”
A large, head-sized pair of teeth.
With mismatched eyes- a top hat- a red suit complete with a tie and black pants, with shoes to match– and large cartoony gloved hands. It wasn't even standing on the ground. This- this thing was floating a few feet above her, playfully twirling a golden staff in its hand. It was vivid and upbeat but for all the horrible wrong reasons that made her-
CHRIST, WHAT IS THAT THING AND WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT-
“Oh g-god- oh GOD–!” Run away was the first she thought of. Her legs felt like they could collapse under her, but she backs up, ready to make a break for it, prying her eyes away from such a horrific SIGHT-
….But she's stopped, something grabbing her.
A hand.
Its hand.
She swiftly turns her head and looks down at it.
Seeing the arm, how stretched out it was given she ran some distance, and how it started to pull her back to the teeth-stranger nonononoNONONO-
“HOLD ON A MOMENT, YOUNG LADY! I CAN'T LET YOU GO DOWN THERE JUST YET! NOT UNTIL YOU'RE PROPERLY PREPARED!”
She could almost hear the smile in its loud voice.
It releases its hold on her, the arm snapping back like a rubber band, back to its original length.
“This can't be r-real, y-you – You can’t be real, I-I have to be d-dreaming this- Wh-Who are you- who ARE you, WHAT are you-- wh-where AM I?!”
It taps its ‘chin.’ “AH, IT SEEMS THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF!”
Unexpectedly, it- he- flies close to her (which immediately makes her jump back, afraid he would attack her-), pointing a thumb at himself as he announces loudly, “MY NAME IS CAINE! I AM THE RINGMASTER OF THIS CIRCUS! AND YOU, AS I SAID EARLIER, ARE OUR NEWEST MEMBER! CONGRATULATIONS!”
Huh?
Newest member?
“C-Circus–?”
“YES, THE CIRCUS! DOESN'T IT SOUND EXCITING? BEYOND THE PERFORMANCES, THERE ARE COUNTLESS ACTIVITIES TO ENJOY! IF YOU'D LIKE, I COULD GIVE YOU A TOUR LATER—I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!”
This-
this-
This couldn't be real-
Someone had to have snuck something in her drink, right? The circus—this colorful hallway after she had just left the gloomiest room she had ever seen—filled her with a terrible sensation of fear and anxiety, and this was meant to be enjoyable—? No, God, she couldn't be here- why would she want to be here???
“W-Wait, wait, wait! N-No, you’ve got it all w-wrong!” She shakes her hands at him in refusal. “I-I’m not here to be a new member, I-I’m not even cut out for th-that sort of thing! L-Listen, I-I’m just trying to find my way out of here, get home, a-and–!”
He points his cane at her.
“I AM AFRAID THAT SIMPLY WILL NOT DO, MY DEAR! THERE ARE VERY FEW PLACES FOR YOU TO EXPLORE ANYWAY! REGARDLESS, WE CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO WANDER ABOUT IN SUCH AN INDECENT STATE, NOW CAN WE?”
When he points his cane slightly below her chin, she instantly remembers that she still doesn't have- oh christ on a kebab-
How EMBARRASSING!! She couldn't even feel the heat in her cheeks but could very well feel the shame– covering herself by throwing her hands over her front and biting back a scream. Crap– how could she have forgotten she was walking around like this?!?!
“B-But–!”
He flies behind her, pressing a hand to her back to steer her back down the hall, back down to the hell she had just escaped- “LET'S FIND YOU SOMETHING TO WEAR!”
“Wait! WAIT! W-Wait–!”
It took every ounce of power to try and tear herself away and run, but he would only reach out and grab her again, wouldn't he?? She was stuck with him, taken back and for what? Some clothes– but then what? Was she going to be put in a cage, and to sit there for the rest of her days?
No, anything but that–
A million and one questions ran through her mind. Why her? Why here and why now in a place like this? Why does this hall and it's colors have such a terrifying tonal shift than the room she had started in–?
The room that they had just passed. It looks like they were going somewhere else….
She felt at least a little relieved. She was staring ahead, feet planted against the ground, and she felt Caine constantly pushing her from behind in complete silence.
.
.
.
It was just a changing room. All there is to it.
The door flies open with a snap of Caine’s fingers (how many powers does he have-???), and he pushes her inside. She was….reluctant to look at what she saw when she opened her eyes, but it was just what someone would usually expect from a changing room. This time, it's too vivid, three times as vibrant, and unsettling. Her head felt like it would dissolve; like cotton candy in water.
From the corner of her eye was a blanket, dark blue and covered with many stars, laid over a racket. She didn't care if Caine didn't seem to react to her bare form- she is not going to stand here like this while she waits. So she approaches it and yanks it off, covering herself.
“OH!” Caine shouts suddenly, making her yelp. “THAT REMINDS ME! TELL ME! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?”
…..Her….Her name…?
…..Cautiously, she turns her head to gaze at him before turning her whole body around to face him correctly. Grasping the blanket firmly, she feels almost…..
Her name….
“My name? W-Well- I-It’s- It’s…”
She knew.
She- She had to have known–
r-right?
Maybe that name is there, somewhere, and she's just adjusting, and it will eventually find its way back to her!
“I-It's – u-um–”
…She tries again, her lips trembling, but what does she try to say? What name could she really have, out of those hundreds of thousands of options and possibilities and—
Oh.
Oh, god-
Nothing, just a burning black hole at the core of her mind– filling her with nothing but distress, the world spinning on its hinges, her breath weak and her heart thundering–
“I….I d-don’t know. I-I-” She croaked, “I-I don’t know! W-Wait….Wait- wh-why can't I remember my name?! What h-happened to me…?!” She grabs onto her head, blanket almost slipping off.
She almost stumbles backwards.
“Wh-Why can’t I–!”
Caine floats around the room, barely even reacting to her panic. “I WOULDN’T WORRY TOO MUCH! IT'S ALL A PART OF THE PROCESS!”
“P-Process?!”
“NO ONE REMEMBERS, AND THAT'S A-OKAY! IT JUST LOOKS LIKE WE'LL HAVE TO FISH YOU A NEW ONE!”
A new name–?
Just in time, a massive machine drops out of the sky, causing the ground underneath them to tremble–
She yells and falls into the ground.
There is a red lever with large, bold black letters on the front of this invention. Each slot rotating in all directions. Finally, arriving at…
“HOW ABOUT XDDCC?” Caine asks.
…….
She gives him a confused but displeased look.
He stares back quietly, clapping his hands together. “RIGHT, OKAY, I’M SENSING A REROLL! GOT IT– LET'S TRY AGAIN!”
He smacks the lever, and round and round the letters go.
Until finally, five more appeared, none of them were the same as the previous ones.
…It sticks out more than the others.
Pomni.
“POMNI!” He says, proudly. “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”
….It's….A name.
It wasn't horrible.
But....her old one--
……How could she just forget??? And how long would she have to carry this one until she can remember again? Days? Weeks? Years? Her throat(?) felt dry.
“.....S-Su-”
“SPLENDID! I AM CERTAIN THAT EVERYONE WILL LOVE IT!”
Everyone–? As if she was going to stay here! No! She finally gets her footing back as she stands up. “B-But, I– I don't want to be here! This – This isn't my home, I-I already have a p-place to stay! I-I’m sure of it! I need to go- I–”
Pain zips through her mind, like an awful headache coming on oh so suddenly–
She reaches up and grabs for it, gripping through each stand of her hair, feeling her heart drop into her stomach-
“Hhhh–! Wh-Why-...!! What’s – What's my name–.....???”
He reaches down, patting the top of her head. She flinches with each touch – keep your hands away from me please.
“DON'T WORRY YOUR LITTLE HEAD, POMNI! I ASSURE YOU THAT YOU WILL GROW FOND OF YOUR NEW NAME IN DUE TIME! HEARING THE AUDIENCE CHEER IT WILL SURELY IGNITE SOME CONFIDENCE WITHIN YOU!”
He moves back, thank god, going to another door.
“NOW! THE LAST STEP IS TO GET YOU SOMETHING TO WEAR! SOMETHING COLORFUL, BRILLIANT, AND SHOW-STOPPING!”
The door opens by itself, revealing hundreds of more clothes inside. “I WON’T BE A MOMENT!”
And he zips in, the door slamming shut.
Thus, leaving….Pomni. In silence.
And in her own thoughts.
….This truly was a nightmare. One minute she was ripping herself free from tubes and trying to escape what felt like hell, and the next her senses are assaulted with eye bleedingly bright colors, pulled around by a pair of dentures who's throwing a whole name and wardrobe at her. Her brain feels hollowed out for everything it was worth. Drilled. Even after death, she couldn't recall anything. And that was fear she could not swallow.
She's in a circus. A circus. This felt like anything but – or some sick and twisted purgatory at the very least.
She needed to figure this out and- and carefully. She needed to escape. And as much as the idea terrifies her- she needed to survive.
In here. Out there.
Caine was keeping her here as a prisoner. She cannot, and will not, adapt.
…..Shaking, hearing the tiktiktik in her ears again, Pomni pulls the blanket further over herself, and starts to walk. Past the racks, the clothes, seeing if there was anything else here, seeing if, perhaps-
…She stops.
And turns her head. Catching a glint of...
A mirror.
She could cry.
A golden-edged mirror that displayed every detail of her face—and she was unable to look away
She had short, blunt midnight black hair that perfectly framed her face and….her rather large head. Thin dark eyebrows and big and oh so round eyes, surrounded by black eyeliner. She even had mismatched lashes, and was sure that the pink markings just underneath her eyes were false blush marks.
Her irises were vivid red and blue, forming a pinwheel-like pattern as they grew and shrank in response to her shock.
What….???
Her hands were trembling, touching all over her face, rubbing at the smooth and round shape that was chilly to the touch, not a buzz on her fingertips. No nose. No ears. She pressed against them to see. And there was nothing.
She was hideous. Disgusting and alien and it leaves her mouth hanging open, hard to breathe --hard to accept looking so horrendous!
It feels like a punch in the gut, because she's seen the thin arms and legs and the the the everything about her, but never at such a clear angle-
With a deep breath (how???? she has no nose-), she drops the blanket.
It's horrible.
God– god it's so horrible-
More pure white skin, creases where the joints can bend, arms and legs so skinny she was astonished they didn't break. She makes little, frightened noises as she cautiously leans over, as if she fears splitting in two. Creases around her hips, around her fingers and knuckles on those big hands of hers. Creases just above her abdomen, stomach, feet that were only slightly smaller than her body and hands. Like this- this life sized toy that has perfect articulation-
She brushes her four fingered hands over herself, this desperate caress, not any real skin to feel. And then she carefully turns herself around to get a look at her back, and the two bold black numbers that stood between her shoulder blades.
07.
She was revolting. Ugly, wretched looking thing.
A body like this- in a place like this–?
She was a freakshow.
She wanted to vomit-
What was she?
What w a s she?
…..A shadow casts over her, and she swallows thickly- looking up to see-
Caine.
Holding…
No.
Ohhh, no, no, no, absolutely not--
“I am not going to wear th-that!”
She could not believe she was wearing this.
Did she really have much of a choice? God, she wanted to throw herself against the wall and shout and scream, ripping out her hair because this was beyond absurd–! But instead she and Caine walked (and floated) down the corridor as she simmered in this horror. Silence filled the space between them.
She moves awkwardly, very conscious of how her hips and joints move, how her arm bends as she clings to the other, and how she looks down in embarrassment.
She wore a full on jester costume.
Complete with a two-armed hat and all. A jumpsuit, poofy sleeves and shorts, big gloves and shoes. She wore only three colors, primarily thick stripes of blue and red, the same as her eyes, and yellow accents that bind it all together.
And she looked just like that. A fool. An idiot.
A clown.
She wanted to disappear.
Caine, ever the jovial, finally speaks up. That same smiley sound in his voice despite the fact that Pomni felt laughably numb. “NEW BODIES CAN ALWAYS COME AS A SURPRISE TO NEW PEOPLE. BUT, OVERTIME, YOU LEARN TO EMBRACE IT!”
What does that even MEAN.
How can she learn to love a body as abominable as this? And– why was she in it?
“AND BESIDES, YOU’RE NOT ALONE EITHER! YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF FRIENDS TO MAKE HERE!!”
She blinks hard, realizing something.
“F-Friends–?”
She stops walking. Caine floating further ahead until he noticed she was barely a few feet behind him.
So. So – it wasn't just her.
Newest member- why didn't she fully realize what those words meant earlier????? There were others, others who probably looked just like her and – and maybe even worse off. But they were all. Like. Her.
In this circus, at the same time, doing their own performances and probably feeling that exact same fear and shame. She looks at her hand, lifting it to eye level, and feels her heart jump in her throat.
“L-Like me? Like- Oh, god-” She whimpers. “So- th-the rest aren't human- r-right? N-None of us are…?”
Caine taps a chin that isn't there, with his…cane. It takes him a few seconds. “HM. THAT'S A COMPLICATED QUESTION. I SUPPOSE NOT! HAHA!”
O h–
“YOU ARE ALL HERE THANKS TO OUR NEW PROGRAMMING AND DURABLE MATERIALS! ISN'T THAT FANTASTIC?!”
“W-Wait– What do you m-mean by that? S-Saved what – Saved wh-what-”
Wait.
Wait.
He couldn't possibly mean-
Oh.
It hits Pomni like a freight train, hoping it to be a dream because there was no POSSIBLE WAY she could have consciousness in this body, not of flesh and bone but something that was fully metal and wires and–
Metal. Metal. Shelled up forever. Barely flesh. Eternal life of components and parts she knew she was never meant to be.
Was–
“What the- Wh-What-”
Was she–
a robot?
“WHAT THE [%$!#]?!”
A loud, boinking sound, replaces her swear.
“Wh-Wh-”
“CAREFUL, POMNI!” He says, but his voice doesn't sound nowhere near as stern, with that same level of humor to it. “WE WOULDN’T WANT YOU GOING PAST THE PG RATING OUT ON OUR SHOW, NOW WOULD WE?”
Okay– swearing- she can't….she can't SWEAR-
It was a program wasn't it--?
What EVEN–
She was actually hyperventilating now, but it didn't matter because she couldn't even feel the burn in her lungs or the deep race of her heartbeat because she didn't have that either! She had nothing in the cold empty space of her bosom–!
“Oh my god-! L-Listen! I don't want to be here- I don't even know where I came from and- god, it's-!” She grabs onto her head, wanting to rip the jester hat off, and she starts pacing- Caine’s eyes following her every move- “I just woke up- I thought- I thought I was dead! B-But I’m not! I-I’m…I’m here in this- this body I don't even know!"
She quickly turns to look at him, hugging herself, these pencil-thin arms. “You CAN'T just sit here and tell me I was a r-robot all th-this–!”
"OH!"
Caine looked straight down at a watch that wasn't even there before.
"IF WE DON'T GET IN THERE NOW, WE'LL BE LATE FOR THE SHOW!"
Did he just IGNORE her?!
A show?! No! She's not doing any of it! She isn't going out there, she needed to know why it felt as though this wasn't it, the undeniable feeling that she was dead only to be in a robot's body does NOT add up unless something awful had come of it before–
She is not a program! She is NOT-
“This is n-nuts! YOU CAN'T BE SE–”
He's already grabbing her arm.
Pulling her forward fast. A very slow tug from before was starting to become too overbearing, the wind sweeping on by the further down they go. Increasing in crazy speeds down this colorful hall until it all becomes a blur, colors and colors just brushing on by like a blurred streak of paint- whipping by her hair.
“H-HEY–!”
She wants to scream and pull back and run but she couldn't–
“CAINE- PLEASE–!”
“I’LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANYMORE QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE LATER! NOW, HURRY ALONG NOW, IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR YOUR PERFORMANCE!”
It's jaw-dropping- heart stopping- it's mind bending-
And Pomni finally lets out a long yell.
Suddenly, thick, colorful curtains were closing in on them from a distance. And without any holdups, Caine comes up behind Pomni and gives her a firm shove.
She staggers through the curtains at a pace she's not used to, the heavy fabric virtually encircling her as soon as she enters in complete disorientation.
Her yells stopped. And suddenly, there's loud cheering-
And boisterous circus music.
.
.
.
Pomni did stop stumbling, but almost tripped over before correcting her balance. She shakes her head, her hat stubbornly in place, remembering all the searing sensations coursing through her veins that she just no longer has.
A realization that hurts more than anything now.
Much more so than the noises of people cheering, screaming, whistling, and the enormous spotlights moving around.
Too loud. Too LOUD-
Pomni gasps and stumbles back, nearly curling up on herself as she bumps into the large, wooden structure behind her. Still feeling the click and subtle whirr of her new joints.
When she looks up, she is met with confetti, starlight and sparkles, and more spotlights moving across the stadium. At the distance right in front of her, down the stairs, she can see it all.
Fire hoops and trapeze. Giant pools and jack-in-a-boxes, so many giant toys and wooden swords on the ground, trampolines, hula hoops, fake comical looking guns.
And, the sight of others who did not at all look like her- holding hands and lowering themselves into a bow.
A tall purple rabbit in overalls.
A ragdoll with brilliant red hair.
A king chess piece in purple robes.
A smiling theater mask with red ribbons.
And a strange mix of colorful, toylike shapes, forming a body.
Pomni was rendered speechless.
None of them looked like her, but-
She knew.
She was stunned, seeing stars. It took her a moment to realize something shifted in the air, the slight gale of wind–
Caine leaps high into the air, above the audience, and the other performers glance up to see him. His loud voice rings out.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS! I HAVE AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: WE HAVE YET ANOTHER MEMBER TO BRING INTO THIS SPECTACLE!”
NONONONO-
RUN.
She tries, tries taking the first few steps-
But a spotlight shines right over her, and the crowd roars.
“INTRODUCING, POMNI!”
She is struck squarely in the gut by the announcement, and she is unable to muster the will to cry out. She turns around promptly, feeling her breath become shallow and more tightly drawn than before.
A crowd full of thousands of people, thousands of eyes, piercing her soul.
They were all looking at her.
eyes eyes so many eyes there's too many eyes and she can't stop noticing them and the cheering and the lights and and a n d-
Caine floats back, above the other performers, who watch her as well.
Caine raises his arms, as fireworks pop off once again.
“WELCOME TO THE AMAZING MECHANICAL CIRCUS!”
Mechanical...
Caine removes his hat and all of a sudden a bubble pops out. Floating all the way up and around his body, as the crowd crescendos in cheer once again.
It starts moving down.
A bubble with two black eyes and sharp teeth, floating its way towards the new jester with its permanent smile.
“Come on, Pomni!” It says. “Show us what you got!”
Pomni feels the chills across her skin, and freezes up.