Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sleep in the digital world was... strange. Not in a bad way, like many of the weird elements there, but there was still a difference from doing so in the real world. It might not even be immediately apparent when you are first starting out. In many ways, the two types resembled one another - close your eyes (or your equivalent), drift off for a few hours, and wake up. Nice and simple, as it should be.

However... over time, you become aware of the oddities of actually being asleep. Sometimes, it’s like a sudden, jarring reboot when you awaken from it, feeling like only a second had passed. Other times, it felt like hours of swimming through a sort of hazy static - not painful, but dreadfully boring. But luckily, the latter was much rarer than the former. Some might even say the first possibility was not all that strange.

But when you happened to dream... they felt too real. As in, the sensations you got from them were the exact same as when you were awake. Exhaustion, adrenaline... pain. All of these things and more had no differences between the waking and sleeping world, so if you were having a bad dream... then God help you.

Gangle certainly wished one would help her then. She whimpered as she ran through her dreamscape, tears going down her face. She wished she was not so lucid right then... not that it would change her situation. But at least she might be able to have the delusion that there was some form of escape then. She would not be stuck knowing that this was only going to end when her “real” body decided to wake up.

She was fully aware, however, and unfortunately, no amount of lucidity lets you control your dreams there. Lord knew how hard she had tried in the past. It was like they were specifically designed to be as torturous as possible when you were having a nightmare.

And she was having such a classic one right then, being chased by the fudge monster from yesterday’s adventure.

A shiver went through her, noticing a shift in how she was experiencing the dream. She thinks she had been close to waking up a second ago, but her body succumbed to sleep again, it seems. As such, the bright-colored buildings of sugar bricks, waffle cones, and all sorts of other candies became more distinct. The pink-bricked roads beneath her ribbon feet felt a bit harder as she kept running... and the roars of the beast behind her came louder to her ears. (Or, well, she did not have ears, but still...)

Swallowing, she risked a glance behind her, looking at the monster as it barreled after her. Being lucid, she recognized that this dream version did not match what it had actually looked like the day before. This version was... bigger. Much bigger. Its fudgy mass encompassed the whole street, and seemed to stretch out much further. It was also much taller, casting a dark shadow that creeped up on her no matter how fast she ran. Its jawbreaker eyes were also larger and a techno mess of several swirled colors, and it had too many candy corn teeth.

Though... the worst change in her opinion was the mannequins sticking out of it. There had to be dozens of them, all futilely trying to escape from its body. They were also hurt badly, with melted skin and often missing limbs that only got worse the longer they were inside. The pink-white blood they all had for the adventure leaked profusely from cuts and cracks all around them, in such excess that she was sure any normal person would have been dead long ago.

But these dream mannequins were not dead. They kept moving no matter how hurt they were... and they shouted so many things at her in overlapping shouts. But she heard plenty of it clearly: “Defiler of God! Traitor! Murderer!” “Why?! Why have you done this to us?! You were our heroes!” “Please, knight! Save us! Please! Why do you forsake us loyal worshippers?!”

The ribbon-girl swallowed thickly, turning back ahead to focus on her running... for whatever it was worth. The street seemed endless, and the buildings were too close together for any alleyways for her to flee down. This dream had her on a railroad... and the only end seemed to be when she lost the will to run.

But she did not let herself get swallowed - not yet. Perhaps it was foolish, since dying in these dreams tended to be the fastest way to wake up. However... as mentioned, the pain would be quite real. And she wanted to avoid having to go through that if at all possible. It was bad enough dying and respawning on extremely bad adventures, so she believed she was well within her right to feel this way.

So she simply played along with the nightmare’s structure and kept running. Eventually, her body would wake up on its own. She just had to keep going and avoid any unexpected surprises until then. Luckily, much like real-world dreams, these tended to feel shorter than the hours of sleeping you actually rested, so this would hopefully be over in no time!

...It was still painful in other ways, however. Her eyes closed as she heard the cries and accusations of the dream mannequins, along with the deep laughter of the fudge monster. It might not be the worst adventure they ever had - not that she would ever choose one - but... God, it had been the most realistic in a while. Which was a strange thing to say about a world made of candy, yet here she was. The NPCs' actions and the violence...

And worst of all was knowing that they absolutely had not needed to see the worst of it. If they had just done the adventure as intended, all the carnage would never have happened! All they had needed to do was get the maple syrup, possibly kill those bandits, and then that would be it - quest completed!

But they had not done that. They never did things as intended... thanks to one member of their group in particular. A man who seemed to be cruelty incarnate. Who always saw fit to not only tear down the structures of their adventures when he could... but also to focus on specifically tormenting her by-

It was almost like the dreamscape had sensed her thoughts then, given how coincidental the sudden gunshot was.

Gangle gasped as she felt her left ribbon leg suddenly be blown off. White-hot pain traveled up from the “stump” even before she collapsed onto the ground. Her scream echoed along the wide, empty street as she instinctively curled up, hugging the burned, flayed end where her lost limb had been. Her body did not bleed, but that seemed like little comfort given how overly sensitive her thin ribbons were.

Her vision swam from the agony and tears, yet she blearily looked around. Nearby, she could see the remains of her now severed limb, spasming as though in its death throes. The world itself seemed to be draining of color, everything slowly becoming monochrome. The buildings were also becoming more ruined, cracking as black smoke began billowing up from fires within.

...And leaning against a wall, she saw the grinning face of Jax, his black licorice sawed-off shotgun in hand. A thin trail of smoke left the end of the weapon, which he now held casually at his side. All the while, his yellow eyes bore into her, absolutely gleeful about what was to come.

Because she knew then that this nightmare was not going to give her a choice on how she woke up...

That became more apparent as everything became darker, falling under the monster’s shadow. The ground shook as though an earthquake had just begun, getting worse every second. The screaming from the mannequins reached a crescendo, making her hear ringing as she was overwhelmed. And soon, fudge began to coat the ground under her... and it was blistering hot. Her body was being charred just from the contact, and even seemed ready to burst into flames.

The ribbon-girl whimpered, not wanting to turn around. However, with every second that passed, she knew that the climatic finish would not come unless she did. Waiting would just leave her to slowly suffer from the burning... Plus, she did not want to remain under the gaze of this dream version of Jax. The real him was torture enough.

Thus, sucking in a pained breath, she turned her head... and looked at the looming figure of the fudge monster. It looked impossibly tall now, blocking out the sun and preventing her from seeing anything beyond. The mannequins finally fell silent and still, what remained of them being sucking into its mass. And as though glowing, chaotic jawbreakers bore into her... a crazed, hungry grin crossed its face.

She expected it when a limb made of fudge emerged from the beast and grabbed her, encasing her body. It still burned like hell, however, making her scream so loud she was sure she would have blown her vocal cords if she had any. This did not deter her attacker, though, as it lifted her in the air, laughing like a maniac. Then... he tossed her up several feet. For a few seconds, her seared ribbons were given relief as she reached her peak. But soon, she began to fall-

-and the open mouth of the monster awaited her. The last thing she saw above her was the muted teal sky. Then, the maw closed and made what looked like hundreds of sharp candy corn pieces close in on her. Her ribbons were cut to shreds immediately, and she felt the moment her head broke into thousands of shards-

Then she gasped, sitting bolt-right up in her bed. She breathed raggedly, feeling the sensation of a cold sweat all across her body despite being completely dry. Her ribbon hands instinctively touched her face, feeling for any cracks or scratches.

However, she was fine... aside from a splitting headache. She groaned, rubbing the back of her mask head as she grimaced. Not fully healed yet, then. She always hated concussions the most in this place. Given the dimensions of her head and the fact she had no real brain, any head injury just felt... Well, terrible was too simple of a word, but she lacked a better one.

But still... it was better than the dream. She focused on that, just glad to be awake. Some phantom sensations remained, but they were starting to fade away. She was back and safe in her room... for whatever that was worth on its own.

Gangle sighed, looking over her solid red bed covers and white pillow behind her. Her gaze then wandered to the rest of her bedroom. It consisted of white walls with wavy red lines, with the ceiling being white and the floor red, respectively. A small golden chandelier illuminated the room, which had a fair bit of space to walk around in. (Though at certain angles, it looked more cheap than fancy.)

In terms of decoration, the place had started fairly bare-bones when she first arrived. There had been some red curtains in the corner tied in golden-colored rope, a painting of herself on the back wall, and some children’s blocks on the floor. There was also a dresser opposite of her bed with a mirror, though the drawers were just filled with props like plastic candles and such, heavily “theater play” inspired. There was a little stand on top of it as well where she could... always count on finding her most important item.

And... that had been it, really. It had just been the necessities for what a bedroom needed (or as close as Caine seemed to be able to understand they needed). It was something she was grateful for in retrospect, especially as she learned how new members sometimes had too many decorations. But still, she had been rather disappointed in her accommodations when she had come here to rest on her first day.

...As an artist, though, a dull room never had to stay that way.

She gave a small smile as she took in her work from over the years. Well over a hundred drawings were hung on the walls, and even the sides of her dresser. That was not even counting the large stacks she had in one corner. She had several sketch pads scattered everywhere, too, on the floor and bed. Jars and boxes filled with pencils - regular and colored - were never far from them, along with paint brushes and crayons for certain days.

Everyone had their ways of coping in the digital world. For Zooble, it was the selection of new parts for their body almost every day to find a good combination. For Ragatha, it was some sewing and just trying to be helpful. Jax, she presumed, did it by... being his usual psychopathic self, which was not ideal for anyone. And Kinger...

...Actually, she had no clue. Was it his pillow forts? Or perhaps it was his slipping mentality, which meant he did not have to focus on the horrors too much? Which... she had to admit, would be pretty sad. Perhaps she could ask someone about it sometime for their thoughts.

But as for herself... the ribbon-girl coped through her art. Whether she was drawing her good experiences, her bad ones, or just for fun, creating images on pages helped her to steady herself. Even in her worst depressions, they were something for her to cling to. It was sometimes even better when she was able to draw something for someone else to enjoy, too! (It almost reminded her of her old paid commission days while she was working in fast food... even as blurred as many of those memories were.)

In short, drawing was her passion. And as she continued to shake off her sleep, she took a moment to admire some of the nearby pictures. A small smile made its way onto her porcelain lips as she gazed at one she did of herself sitting by the digital lake relaxing. It was just the kind of calm image she needed after a nightmare like that.

Honestly, if she could just spend her days drawing without fear, she would be happy... But she knew that it would never work out. Caine would get upset if too many members of the circus started sitting out his adventures, and as... eccentric as he was, she did not want to hurt his feelings. Plus, no matter how much she enjoyed it, the monotony might get to her and... they all knew the fate of those who lost their minds there.

Thus, once her phantom pains faded, she reluctantly started to get out of bed. She wobbled as she stood, a hand going to her head as it throbbed some more. It probably was not smart to move around after the nasty hit she took yesterday, but even if she could not make it to any adventure they had that day... she wanted to check on the others. To make sure everyone was okay after everything.

It was normally something she left to Ragatha, given how much pride the woman took in doing so. However, that day she felt that... some extra hands were needed. While not the most chaotic ending to an adventure they ever had, it had still been rough. And it came right off the heels of Kaufmo’s Abstraction, as well. Given that, she figured nothing would be hurt by her lending more of a hand outside of offering art commissions.

...Especially considering this was two terrible days in a row for their newest arrival, Pomni.

Gangle swallowed, wringing her hands together as she made her way to her dresser. The thought of what the poor jester must have been feeling right about now only solidified her decision. She had not exactly had a good introduction to this world herself, but... God, it was like something had been out to get that woman! Everything that could have gone wrong for her seemingly did. That she had apparently run off to her room right after the adventure, based on what she was told, was also very telling about her mentality.

So she was going to try and make some rounds. However... there was a snag in that... she did not feel confident in her ability to do so. Like, she was just weak, pathetic Gangle. A woman too cowardly to do anything to fight back against her bully. Someone who could never voice a strong opinion when everyone was together, getting steamrolled by her more confident peers. An overly sentimental girl who cried over the NPCs no one else cared about and-

She shook her head, ignoring how it made her headache worse. Why am I like this? she wondered miserably. Every time she thought about doing something useful or productive, it was like a thousand voices in her head were there to tell her how stupid she was for thinking she could help. She lacked any real strength or conviction, so why should she even bother when... she would probably make things worse?

It was a spiraling mentality that had held her back plenty of times. But today... she did not want it to. Even if she was no help, she felt that the others, and especially Pomni, were owed the effort. Yet those darker thoughts continued, even amid her small concussion.

But thankfully... the solution was sitting right on her dresser.

The stand was rather innocuous for how important of an item it held. With a wooden base and a small wooden pole, it would be rather easy to overlook it on its own. This was not helped by the fact that she never had anything to put back on it at the end of the day. By then, it was always broken by one thing or another.

Yet every morning, without fail... a fresh comedy mask would be on it. There was one now as she reached the dresser, the empty black eyes staring at her. (Why they were always black despite them technically being holes, she never understood. Just a bit of digital world weirdness she had accepted ages ago.) A big smile was frozen on the white porcelain, never faltering... unlike her own face.

Or, well, technically this mask was her face, too. The ribbon-girl tried not to think about the specifics of how it worked, though. All that she cared about was that... it would make her feel better. If nothing else, it would quiet her more miserable thoughts enough so that she could do some quick checks with everyone.

...Assuming it was not broken before she could. But Jax tended to try and wait for when they were on adventures to do that. Not that he would lose any sleep if she tripped up and broke it before then. It just seemed to satisfy him more when it happened while she was on the verge of having a good time, just to make it more difficult for her.

Better not waste time, then, she told herself. With that sobering thought, her ribbon hands grabbed the mask. She took a second to admire it, her grip almost reverent. Her gaze also flickered to the mirror, comparing it to her current face - a sad frown and tears pricking the corners of her “eyes.” Then, with a deep breath, she turned the mask and put it on her face.

The transition, both physical and mental, was almost instant. Once it was on, all she did was blink, and then... it was like she was not wearing anything. Her reflection showed the comedy mask moving exactly as she did. It was hard to even tell if it added any thickness to her head, but again, she tried not to worry about the particulars of that.

More importantly, though... her head felt clearer now. Any remaining dark thoughts were now a whisper of what they once were. Her mood was already uplifting, the smile on her lips feeling more natural every second. She even let out a small giggle, straightening her posture.

She had no clue how the mask did this to her. Perhaps the best comparison was that it was like an anti-depressent, though with less of any “spacy” feelings in her head. It... was not quite absolute - she could feel sadness and feel bad. However, it made her feel... more normal. Like she was not always a hair away from bursting out into sobs.

Why she was spawned into this world with this feature, she would likely never know. But like everything, she had adapted to it. Her relationship with the mask was... mixed, but it was still hers to use. And she could never deny how useful it was in many situations... like now.

Nodding to herself, Gangle gave a determined smirk as she turned and walked to the door. Keeping it intact for just that morning should be easy! All she had to do was approach everyone as they came out of their rooms, and everything would be fine! After that, who cared if Jax broke her mask again?

...Well, she did, but it was best to take this day one step at a time.

Before she left, though, she paused, looking around. She quickly spotted her latest sketch book that she brought out into the open, rushing over and grabbing it. She made sure to gather up some of the scattered pencils, too - both normal and colored. They all never knew how long they would be waiting for the adventure to start, and it would be useful to help pass the time.

Inspiration was always a little slow after a nightmare, however. But she could usually rely on the others to give her ideas! In fact... she realized it might make Pomni feel better if she offered to draw something for her! It did not make up for the last two days, but a gesture like that would show that she cared, right? That she sympathized with her plight?

Eager at that prospect, the ribbon-girl quickly went to the door and out into the hallway. She had to blink for a second, the brightness of the circus making her headache flare up. It was not helped by the contained madness that was the hall itself. With various paintings with abstract, colorful shapes in wooden frames, and the walls and ceiling being various stripes of red, orange, and dark pink, it was... quite hard on the eyes. The brightness of the flush mount ceiling lights above made it worse.

But, hey - the floor looked normal enough, with a long red carpet going the length of the corridor. And the doors were normal enough, too. As she closed hers, she took a glance at the picture of her that hung there. She was... not sure how to feel about it seemingly being her with her comedy mask, despite that not being her true face, technically. Caine did not edit this place very often, though, so there would be no point in asking for a change.

After her “eyes” adjusted, she looked down the corridor toward where it exited into the rest of the tent. Her door happened to be one of the furthest down of the still-alive cast members. Why they were placed where they were was, once again, anyone’s guess, but as just said, the ringmaster did not change things here often, so what could they do?

Most days, it was rather inconvenient to her... Mainly on account of Jax only having to wait at the exit to catch her, with him always seeming to wake up before she did. But today, this worked out perfectly! All she had to do was go forward and knock on everyone’s doors! Since Caine had not given his morning alarm yet, most of them should still be in their rooms.

Actually... how early is it? she wondered. There were not many actual clocks in the circus, which made time-keeping a difficult task. Still, as long as she was quiet about her knocks, she should not disturb anyone resting. The brightness indicated it was “daytime” regardless, so at least a few had to be up.

On instinct, Gangle smiled and started to walk to the door across from her to begin her plan... She quickly froze, however, as she processed the red “X” over the face there. Specifically, of the white-faced clown with a yellow hat with blue rims and a big, red-lipped smile. Their most recent member lost... and one of her dear friends.

Her smile turned into a frown, standing and staring at the image in the middle of the hall. Kaufmo... He had truly been a nice man. A part of her was still so surprised that he was gone, too. It was literally only a week ago that they were hanging out in her room and making drawings of a space adventure they all went on. He had seemed perfectly fine then. There had been no signs that she could see that... an Abstraction was coming on.

A part of her wondered if that made her a terrible friend to him, not even her comedy mask stopping the painful sting in her imaginary heart at that.

Though, she tried to remind herself it was not her fault. Nobody knew when he saw that fake exit door that Caine had been trying to make for them. That had seemingly been the thing that caused him to spiral, his longing for the real world always having been a little stronger than everyone else’s. (Environments from the outside are what he liked drawing most, she recalled sadly.)

She had not seen him most of that time, with his only words to her that he was trying to chase something he saw. He did not go on adventures the rest of the week, and she barely caught any glimpses of him. She had started to get worried near the end, and had been on the verge of knocking on his door one evening to invite him to draw so he could calm down... But she had been too late, apparently. Or perhaps she never had a chance...

The ribbon-girl sighed wearily, clutching her sketchbook close to her. She was truly going to miss his presence around there. His jokes had been terrible, but his attempts to create levity had always been appreciated by her. And it had been nice to have someone who understood art like her. She only hoped he was not suffering too much in his new state...

She had shed plenty of tears at the funeral yesterday, though. If she wanted to grieve some more, she could do it later when her mask was broken. But right now, she was not going to waste its power to give her better control over her emotions. There were people to check on, and she did not want any of them to join Kaufmo in The Basement! (Except maybe Jax.)

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to walk away from her late friend’s door. It only took her a second to reach her first destination, which at least put a smile on her face again. After all, if there was anyone else who she was as close with as him... it was Zooble. Granted, she doubted they were in any sort of distress, given they had not been on the adventure. But it would not hurt to check, given how they arranged the funeral.

She only took a moment's pause to finally put away her sketchbook, taking advantage of her inventory space. Glad Jax always being around me taught me something useful. After a small snort at that, she then knocked lightly on the door, calling out in a normal voice. “Hey, Zooble? Are you up?”

To her surprise, the door opened almost immediately, with the mix-and-match person’s eyes softened upon seeing her. “Oh, hey, Gangle. I was just about to head out to the couches. Do you need anything?”

Gangle shook her head, smiling softly. “Oh, no! I just decided to check up on everyone after how... chaotic things got yesterday.” She glanced nervously over her shoulder toward Kaufmo’s old room. “And also if... you were holding up alright after we lost someone so suddenly. I know you haven’t attended many funerals.”

Zooble’s eyes conveyed a small grimace. “Ah... yeah. I’m fine. Setting up that area wasn’t pleasant, but it was the least I could do with all of you being gone.” They looked at her with concern. “Though, if anything, I should be asking if you’re okay. You still weren’t doing all that great last night after the knock you took.”

The ribbon-girl winced, but still managed to giggle as she rubbed the back of her head. “I’m managing. The pain has really gone down from last night! But you know how unreliable Caine is when it comes to fixing head injuries.”

The mix-and-match person sighed, crossing their arms as they stepped out fully and shut their room behind them. “Well, I think you should go and rest. No one will blame you if you want more time to recover. If Caine wants to make a fuss over it, I’ll hit him right in his dentures, too!”

That got Gangle to laugh, putting her hands on her hips. “Aw, but if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to see what parts you’ve put on today!” The head and yellow body with pink polka dots always stayed the same, but everything else was switched out often. She knew how trying out different combos was so important to her friend to help cope, so she tried to be encouraging! (The wings especially were a favorite of hers to see.

They had gone for a good look today, too, in her opinion! A pink horn and a black and white striped Y-shaped object were on their head, and on their back was a yellow and pink striped wing. The left arm was orange with a white glove, while the other had white and blue stripes near their body before becoming solid yellow for the forearm and hand. One leg was dark blue before becoming light blue and ending in an orange hand, while the other was another black and white striped limb ending in a pink, round block.

She did not always pay close attention to the exact chosen limbs - they were varied, and sometimes had lots of details to take in. (She could just imagine the trouble she might have if she wrote fanfiction on them and made the mistake of describing them every new day!) But she always at least took it in subconsciously. They put a lot of effort into this, so she wanted to give them good compliments!

Zooble did seem flattered, too, with their eyes conveying some embarrassment as they waved her off. “Oh, stop it! It’s not the best I’ve ever done.”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t look good!” the ribbon-girl argued with a giggle. She then sighed, looking down the hallway. “Ah, but seriously - I want to make sure everyone is okay. I don't know how content I’ll be if I don’t.”

The mix-and-match person raised an eyebrow. (It was amazing how well they worked despite not being attached to their head properly.) “Really? I didn’t know you had absorbed Ragatha into yourself this morning.”

Gangle chuckled. “Well, I might not be the nurturer she strives to be, but I can still look after people, too!” She grinned widely... before it turned into a frown and she shrugged. “Besides, I was going to skip Jax’s room.”

“I already assumed that,” Zooble said, casting a glare down the corridor toward his door. “God, he’s going to be even more insufferable today since his plan while you guys were out worked. I swear, if he tries to steal my arms...!”

The ribbon-girl only shrugged again. “I mean... you’re probably safe. He... usually comes for me when his mood is very good, remember?”

The mix-and-match person paused, looking back at her. Their eyes slowly softened, their frustration melting away as they took on a caring tone. “Yeah... And that’s why he’s going to have to get through me.” She reached out and lightly patted her shoulder. “You’ve had it bad here recently. So he’s going to have to work to have to bully you today more than usual.”

Gangle blinked, then started to giggle nervously. “Oh, you don’t have to-”

“You lost your best friend and got seriously hurt in just two days,” Zooble said firmly, crossing their arms. “If you’re not staying in bed to rest, then I’m being your bodyguard. Not that I don’t usually try, but it’ll be even better today.” They looked down with clear embarrassment. “I’ll... even go on whatever bulls@%& adventure Caine has lined up.”

That made the ribbon-girl’s eyes widen, a small gasp leaving her. It was no secret how much her friend loathed the adventures more than the ringmaster himself, avoiding every single one they could. So an offer like this... After a second, she found her voice. “You’d... do that for me?”

The mix-and-match person nodded. “Of course. What are friends for?”

There was a moment of silence. Then, with a frail smile not often seen on her comedy mask, Gangle wrapped the other in a hug, her ribbons curling around them. “Th... Thank you, Zooble.”

Said person nodded, trying to reciprocate as best they could - though they were not used to such displays of care. “No problem. I... do sometimes think I should go on more for your sake, but I... Well...”

The ribbon-girl shook her head, pulling back. “I understand. They’re... a lot. I kind of wish I had your guts to sit so many out.” She turned slowly, waving for her friend to follow. “But today, I want to go to wash that last one out of my mind. So, let’s make sure the others are all up to it!”

Shrugging, the mix-and-match person started following her. “If you say so. Today is all about you, girl!” They then looked at her curiously. “But... what did happen yesterday? The others didn’t say much about it, being focused on the funeral and all... or avoiding it in Jax’s case.”

Gangle rubbed the back of her head, trying to think about how best to summarize. “Oh, geez. Well... it kind of went wrong the moment we fell into a ravine and found this large... fudge monster. We were driving a truck, you see, and we ended up falling into that thing's mass. Or, maybe it had filled that entire place with what it shedded? But either way, it was clearly a boss mob of some kind.”

Zooble hummed. “I’m guessing that’s the same monster Jax mentioned a few times?”

“Most definitely,” the ribbon-girl confirmed, wringing her hands together. “It was going to eat us, but of course, Jax saw an opportunity to cause some mayhem. So he convinced the monster to take us back to the main city for the adventure... so he could eat all the candy residence inside.” She shrugged. “Well, they were mostly mannequins, but still. The... gore they left certainly seemed candy-like enough.”

A fresh wave of concern entered the mix-and-match person’s eyes. “How... bad did it get, exactly? I can guess with how bad you all looked coming in, but...”

Gangle sighed, shaking her head. “It was... not good. Everything was on fire, screams were everywhere - it was a scene out of an apocalypse film!” She chuckled humorlessly. “Oh, and thanks to Jax killing one of the city guards with a gun, we got the entire military of the princess there hunting us, too. I spent so much time running from those guys before...” She paused, then took a deep breath. “Before... Jax found me again and used me as a distraction to help get to where the portal would be.”

Zooble stared at her for a time... then they looked down, looking frustrated for several reasons. “You know what? I’ll come on two adventures just for you. Like, holy f@%#! How the h#%$ does an adventure in a place made of candy go so wrong?”

“The power of Jax,” the ribbon-girl deadpanned, before sighing again. “Plus, candy places in media can be deceptively horrifying sometimes, even in children’s content. Remind me to tell you of the crimes Princess Bubblegum committed in Adventure Time sometime.”

“I’ll try to,” the mix-and-match person replied. They then slowed down, stopping in front of one of the doors. “So, do we want to bother? He’s probably not even in there.”

Gangle turned to the doorway, the image on the front showing none other than Kinger. Their oldest member, he used to be looked at as a leader by the other members - even a father figure to those who came in younger. When she came in, he was already starting to become a little scatterbrained, but when he had Queenie by his side... those two seemed to hold everything together. Help keep everyone happy.

...Those days were gone now, however. Queenie was in The Basement, and with her had seemingly gone the man’s sanity. There were his moments of lucidity now and then, but for the most part... She most likened it to being like an Alzheimer's patient or something similar. He was still living, but... it was hard to see him reduced like this, having known him from before then. I wish Zooble and Kaufmo got to know him before we lost Queenie...

Taking another deep breath, she let go of that sad thought thanks to her comedy mask. There was no sense in dwelling on that today. Instead, she stepped forward and knocked on his door, just hoping she could do something for what was left of the man. “Kinger? Are you in there today? Do you need anything?”

After a few seconds passed, she knocked again and called out once more. However, she... was not expecting a reply. As her friend had said, he probably was not even in there. These days, he seemed to mostly stay in his pillow fortress out in the main area when they were not on adventures. She did not know why he did that, but they... tried to leave him be. Even Jax tended not to mess with the fort that often. (Perhaps, somewhere in that twisted heart of his... he still respected everything the chess piece couple did for him.)

When no reply was still forthcoming, she shook her head, stepping back. “Yeah, he’s probably not here. We’ll just find his fort later to see him.”

“You’re the boss,” Zooble replied as the two of them started walking once more. A bit of glee entered their eyes when they turned to her again. “Now, tell me how that adventure backfired on Jax! It’s always good to see him get his karma.”

The ribbon-girl giggled, before adopting a more... contemplative look. “Well, guards were chasing us, as I said. But he was blowing through them with no problem.” Her hollow eyes conveyed furrowed eyebrows. “Though... I don’t know what happened, actually. One minute, we were all in the plaza trying to get to where the portal would show up, and then... Pomni runs around the corner with the fudge monster chasing her, who looked absolutely enraged .”

That made the mix-and-match person’s eyes widen. “Oh, right. I think Jax was complaining about that - I remember now.”

“Yep, and it... threw a whole tower at us,” Gangle continued nervously. She frowned, touching her head where her remaining concussion hurt the most. “I... obviously don’t know what happened afterward. The next thing I knew, you, Ragatha, and Kinger were all hovering over me, asking if I was okay. But I’m guessing Jax got banged up?”

“Yeah, and it was so satisfying seeing him scraped up so badly before Caine undid it,” Zooble replied with uncharacteristic glee. They then conveyed a frown with their eyes, tapping the area of her head where a chin would be. “I wonder what Pomni did to p&#% that thing off, though.” They paused briefly, then sighed in annoyance while muttering. “I forget that counts as a swear sometimes in this place...”

Giggling a little at that, the ribbon-girl soon frowned more deeply, looking down at the ground. “I don’t know... I’m really worried about her, though. That adventure was rough enough for her, even before any of that happened.”

“How so?” the mix-and-match person asked, eyebrows furrowing.

Gangle pursed her lips, hesitant to admit her part in things. However, if she avoided it, then... their newest member might hate her even more when they reached her. So she decided to be honest. “It was... During the truck chase, Jax... threw her out and tried to use her stretchy limbs as a bridge. But then she ended up on the other truck, and...” She swallowed. “He, uh... made me ram it by threatening me about certain figurines I had been making and telling Ragatha about them, so...”

Zooble tilted their head. “I didn’t know you made figurines.”

“Eh, it’s a new hobby,” the ribbon-girl said, then squirmed as she felt cartoon-line blush marks appear on her mask. “Though, Jax barged in when I had her figure in a... compromising position while working. One photo later, and... Yeah, blackmail.” She grimaced, shaking her head. “Anyway, the point is that it caused things to get out of control, and then that’s when we fell into that ravine... and Pomni disappeared somewhere.”

The mix-and-match person’s eyes filled with understanding. “So... she didn’t go back to the city with you guys? She had to get back by herself?”

“Unfortunately,” Gangle confirmed, not lifting her head. Her mask once again conveyed furrowed eyebrows as she shrugged. “It... wasn’t as bad as it could have been, I guess. We did spot her far out after she... launched through the ground in an identical truck to the bandits we had captured.”

...Zooble blinked at her. “How... did she do that ?”

“No clue,” the ribbon-girl admitted. They had reached their next destination - Ragatha’s door - but she did not approach it yet as she kept explaining things. “She was also with an NPC - the leader of the bandits - who the lackeys we captured said was a good guy, which I... kind of believed. But Jax didn’t go back for them and kept the fudge monster heading toward the city.”

The mix-and-match person hummed, taking a moment to process all of that. They then sighed, only able to shrug. “That... God, no wonder she avoided everyone yesterday. No offense to you - it wasn’t your fault! But she had to be so stressed.”

“Not... sure I believe you about it not being my fault, but thanks,” Gangle said. Her comedy mask improved her mood, but it did not make her that optimistic about herself. Still, she took another breath and moved on. “I just hope today will be better for her. If she has three bad days in a row, then... I don’t even want to think about what that’ll do to her.” She sighed, murmuring to herself. “I hope if she had a nightmare, it wasn’t painful like mine...”

While not directed at them, Zooble overheard that, their eyes showing their frown. “Yeesh - you had one of those last night? That couldn’t have been fun. I swear, if I ever meet the person who makes the pain in those so realistic here, I’ll-!” They cut themselves short, taking a deep breath to calm down before looking back at her. “How bad was it? Are you okay?”

“I’ve shaken it off,” the ribbon-girl reassured, then stepped up to Ragatha’s door. “I’ll tell you about it later. First, though...” She knocked gently, calling out softly. “Ragatha? Are you awake?”

It took a second, but after hearing some shuffling inside, the ragdoll soon replied. “O-oh! Gangle! So good to hear from you this morning! How are you? Do I need to come out to help you? I’m almost done getting ready, so just let me-!”

“You don’t need to rush, Ragatha!” Gangle called out before the other started making assumptions. “I’m fine! I’m just checking on everyone after yesterday’s adventure!” She giggled lightly. “I’m guessing you’re up early to go check on everyone, too?”

“...Gangle, it’s almost noon,” Ragatha replied, sounding confused. “Or, well, you know - what the clocks tell us is noon.”

The ribbon-girl blinked at this, looking between the door and Zooble. She eventually settled on the latter, her mask conveying a raised eyebrow. “Why didn’t you say anything? And why are people still in their rooms, then?”

The mix-and-match person shrugged. “I thought you knew? I wasn’t going to blame you for only just leaving your room after everything. Plus, I think most of us were just using the privacy to... finish getting over Kaufmo.” Their eyes squinted in worry. “Did... you only recently wake up?”

...Once more needing a second to process, Gangle eventually just rubbed her head, looking down in confoundation. But she did give a verbal response after another moment. “...I think the concussion is affecting me more than I thought.”

“You think?” Zooble deadpanned. But despite the tone, she knew that the words came from a place of concern.

Ragatha jumped into the conversation again, sounding closer to the door. “Oh, Zooble! I didn’t realize you were here, too! And Gangle, are... you sure you’re alright? I can go get you a new ice pack! Oh, or we can see if Caine can give it another go at healing you! I know he has trouble with fixing our heads, but I’m sure if we-”

“I’m fine, Ragatha,” the ribbon-girl stressed, frowning at the door. “I’m gonna take it as easy as possible on today’s adventure, okay? It must not be going to be a long one if Caine’s waited this long to summon us, anyway. If it gets worse, I’ll let everyone know!”

There was a long pause from the ragdoll after this. Before she could call out again, though, the redhead replied, sounding a little more... subdued. “Um... R-right. Of course! I just, uh... If you’re sure, then! Just don’t hesitate to come to me, alright! I’m here for you! R-remember that! Hahaha... Yeah...”

Gangle paused, her eyes conveying furrowed eyebrows. Something was... off about this. Granted, it was not like something similar to this was, unfortunately, new with Ragatha. She... tended to force her positivity quite a bit in many scenarios. Even when things were going horrifically bad, she tended to try and salvage some sort of a smile. Or even after their worst adventures, no matter her complaints, she would try and put a positive spin on things. Heck, just the fact she tried to find good traits in Jax showed how... dedicated she was.

But this time, her happy tone felt a lot more forced. It was a tone that usually only came out after a pretty bad argument with the rabbit himself. (So three times out of five.) Hearing it this early without the man being anywhere near, however... That gave the ribbon-girl fair reason to be concerned, she felt.

Sharing an uncertain look with Zooble, she gently gave one knock, speaking carefully. “Ragatha? Are you... sure you’re okay? You sound a little-”

“I’m perfectly a-okay!” Ragatha stated, her positive tone sounding more forced, if possible. It was then that the door opened, too, revealing her in her usual blue dress and such. However... it was clear from little stress marks around her eye that she was not holding together well, despite the smile she tried to put on. (And believe her - she knew plenty about fake smiles.)

Gangle frowned, raising her arm to reach out. “But-”

“Well, then, how about you go check on Jax?” Zooble suddenly cut in, stepping closer to the two. “We obviously don’t want to for a variety of reasons. So if you could just knock on his door while we finish with the others...?”

The ragdoll perked up, nodding eagerly. “Oh! Of course! Why didn’t you ask me to do that to start with? I’ll make sure he’s still hopping around!” She laughed a little too loudly at her horrible joke. Then, she quickly ran off back the way they came toward the rabbit’s door, not waiting for any other reply.

The ribbon-girl blinked as she watched the other woman go. Then she turned to her friend, frowning with a bit of disapproval. “Why did you do that ? She is not doing good! Like, at all!” It almost reminded her of those times when her comedy mask lasted longer and she herself went a little manic. (Hence one of the reasons her relationship with it was “mixed.”)

Her expression let up, though, when the mix-and-match person sighed heavily, one hand pinching where a nose would be. They then looked at her, clearly unhappy themselves. “Look, I’m pretty sure she’s going to be okay. But...” They looked behind them and across the hall. “She is... not taking what happened with Pomni well, either.”

Gangle frowned, following their gaze. Pomni’s room was right across from Jax’s, one set of doors back. She passed it initially since she wanted to save their newest member for last. But glancing at Ragatha, who had swiftly gotten to the rabbit’s door... she did not miss how the redhead was looking back at the jester’s room. Nor did she miss the signs of a grimace on her face before her fake smile returned, and she returned to her task.

The artistic member tilted her head at this, a little lost. “But... she didn’t do anything to Pomni. Why would she be feeling this bad?” She grimaced slightly. Or, well, I guess she didn’t really stop Jax from tossing her or tried to help beyond complaining. But still, that’s... not a problem unique to her.

Zooble only shook their head. “I think that whole adventure was important to her. Trying to prove that... she could take care of new people entering the circus now that Kinger is so far off the deep end. Which isn’t a bad dream, but... Well, you know how personally she can take certain failures.”

That made the ribbon-girl flinch, things clicking into place then. Of course - she should have seen it from the start! She knew how important of a role model Queenie had been to the woman as she adapted to the digital circus. She had stuck close to the queen chess piece as much as possible, trying to live by the older lady’s example. The two had been so close back then!

...And while Kinger took Queenie’s Abstraction the hardest, the ragdoll definitely got second place there.

Following that, it was obvious to everyone who knew her that... Ragatha wanted to take her place. To carry on the queen chess piece’s legacy and keep order in this digital hell... Something that had not gone well over the years - mainly on account of Jax. But she still kept trying, with her positive outlook being a key part of that.

However, while others had come and... gone since Queenie’s Abstraction, Pomni was the first arrival that Kinger could not pull together enough to help console. This had all probably seemed like her big chance to the ragdoll. An opportunity to show she could make new members feel welcome and give them a sense of optimism!

...But the jester’s first day had been a disaster. And yesterday, no one had been able to support her and left her to find her way back to them in a burning city. So was it any wonder that Ragatha was not feeling all that good about herself this morning?

This realization made Gangle sigh, looking at the ragdoll as she knocked on Jax’s door and called to him. “Should we... keep an eye on her today as well?”

“I would,” Zooble admitted, though also shook their head. “But you know she’s not going to admit to anything. She’s worse than you when you have coffee with that comedy mask on.”

That at least managed to get a snort out of the ribbon-girl, who smirked and elbowed her friend. “Oh, quiet you!”

The mix-and-match person chuckled, then sighed as their eyes went back to Pomni’s door. “We’ll worry about her when the adventure starts, though. For now, let’s make sure that our new member hasn’t entered a coma like you did this morning.”

“Sleeping in from a concussion isn’t a coma,” Gangle pointed out, though nonetheless started heading that way. She took a deep breath, looking at the ground in determination as she whispered to herself. “Alright. I just need to take this gently. She has to have been having nightmares, too, with how traumatic the last few days have been. She won’t be used to how realistically simulated those are, either. So just be extra light with this one!”

“I do seriously want to know how this place even gives us dreams,” Zooble commented, shaking their head. “Pain issues aside, they work way too well to be caused by Caine. Whoever the programmer there was needs a raise in whatever company made this h%#&.”

The ribbon-girl shrugged at this. She knew her friend was just trying to fill the silence to keep her from getting anxious. But honestly, between their presence and her comedy mask, she was feeling... alright about this. A bit unsure, but given everything, anyone would be. You can do this, Gangle. Do your best to help, and... apologize for the truck stuff. Simple!

These thoughts gave her reasonable confidence as they finally reached the door. Though even still, she hesitated before doing anything. She gathered her thoughts, not wanting to screw this up. She may not have the aspirations to fill Queenie’s shoes, but... this poor woman deserved a break. That meant, more than anyone else, she could not mess this interaction up.

With that in mind, after one more deep breath, she knocked on the door, putting as much of her smile into her tone as possible. “Hey there, Pomni! Are you awake yet?”

No response came at first, which was... not surprising. Honestly, she would not blame the jester if she were angry at all of them after that whole disaster yesterday. A bit of the silent treatment was more than deserved after the abandonment alone.

But that did not mean she was not going to keep trying. She wrung her hands together, looking down as she continued to speak through the closed door. “Look, Pomni, I’m... sorry about yesterday. I know I was a coward. I shouldn’t have listened to Jax to ram that truck while you were still on it. He’s just... very hard to say no to. And for all the worst reasons.” She sighed heavily. “I... can’t even promise he won’t force me to do more stunts like that. I’m just so scared of getting hurt by him...”

There was a moment where her comedy mask felt more like... well, a mask, and shivered on her face - another sign of its limits and problems. But then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at Zooble. Her friend gave her a reassuring look, giving her ribbon shoulder a light squeeze. It did not get rid of the guilt, but... it stabilized her and calmed her down, her mask merging with her head again.

Smiling gratefully, she looked back at the door. “But today, I want to make up for all of that. The adventures can be pretty rough a lot of the time, but we can still have fun outside of them. Maybe we can even be friends! Though, I’m not expecting that kind of trust so soon.” One of her hands went being her, feeling the sketchpad in her inventory. “I even want to draw you something if you’re interested. You get to pick the design!”

The ribbon-girl gave their newest member some time to respond. She braced herself to be told to go away, once more acknowledging that it was kind of deserved. However, she held out hope that her small olive branch might be accepted. She was prepared to make things as right as she could despite her cowardice. I’ll make her a hundred drawings if that’s what it takes!

...What was a little unexpected, though, was the continued silence she received. She paused, tilting her head at the door in confusion. Like, she supposed that it was also a deserved reaction, but... for some reason, she was getting a little uneasy. As though there was something off that she was missing. With Kinger, getting no response was expected, but here...

Shaking it off as paranoia, she knocked once more, hoping to break the silence. “If... you want me to leave, just say so. But I do want to hear how you’re doing. Just... say as much or as little as you’d like on the matter.”

She waited again... yet still, she was met with more silence. Frowning more, she knocked once again, that uncertainty creeping into her tone. “Um... Pomni? Hello? You... with me?”

Still, she did not receive any kind of response. She looked over at Zooble, but all her friend did was shrug, not seeming as concerned but still eyeing the door with uncertainty. Turning back to it herself, she scanned it over... and eventually settled on the doorknob. I don’t... want to invade her privacy. But after what... happened with Kaufmo, I need to check, right?

The idea she was having seemed insane. No member of the circus had ever Abstracted in their first week as far as she knew. Certainly, Kinger and Queenie had never expressed any concerns over that. However... she knew about what Jax, Ragatha, and Pomni had found in Kaufmo’s room. Not all Abstractions happened in their quarters, but with this fresh on everyone’s minds, and how skittish Pomni had seemed...

...Gangle decided to try and find out. If Pomni was okay and took offense, she would double the art commissions she would do for her! But if she saw any signs of... the worst, then they would need to run and find Caine. He should be close by to start today’s adventure, so they should be able to avoid any rampages like two days ago!

...Or so she hoped. That AI really was sporadic in his reliability on this.

Regardless, she tried the handle. Though, unsurprisingly, she found the door locked when she tried to open it. That was how it usually was, but there had always been a chance that Pomni forgot to lock up. With the option to peek in eliminated, however, she would have to check on the new member a different way.

Zooble was talking to her, asking her what she was doing. But for once, she ignored her friend and pressed the side of her head against the door. She waved at the other to be quiet, to which they hesitantly complied. Closing her eyes, she listened closely for any noises in the room. Abstractions were... not exactly stealthy. The sound of their glitching, pulsating bodies was not hard to miss at all, even with a barrier between you and it. Kinger taught her that one in his more lucid days, so if she just concentrated...

After a few moments... Well, the good news was she heard none of the sounds associated with Abstractions - not even any heavy, scurrying steps, which was a relief. The bad news, though, was... she was not hearing much else, either. No quiet padding of feet or anything more rubber-like that she heard when Pomni was thrown into trouble. She... was not sure she even heard breathing.

I mean, she could just be a quiet breather, she reasoned. It’s not like you can always hear people breathing through doorways. Yet despite that... that unease in her (metaphorical) gut was getting stronger. This amount of silence could not have meant anything good, and in some ways seemed a little... unnatural.

Something was... wrong here. Very, very wrong.

Eventually, Zooble tried to speak to her again. “Um, Gangle? What are you doing?”

Continuing to frown, the ribbon-girl backed away a little from the door. Then, she looked at her friend, wringing her hands. “Er, Zooble... Are we sure that Pomni is-?”

She was cut short, however, by... the worst voice imaginable, his tone dripping in smug amusement. “Well, Gangle! I didn’t know you were a pervert! Guess I shouldn’t be surprised with how detailed you like to make your ‘art,’ though. Hoping you’ll hear something inside to add to your ‘collection?’”

Yelping, Gangle spun around toward the new arrival... and immediately started cowering. Indeed, there stood Jax, that enigmatic grin perpetually on his face and his hands behind his back in a show of mock innocence. He easily loomed over her, even standing a foot or two away, and while he might not seem terribly strong... he was still in kicking distance. And those hurt like hell from him.

Daring a glance behind him, she finally took notice that his door was open. In addition to that... Ragatha was slumped against a wall in its path, awake but rubbing her head as she tried to stand up. How he had hit her with his door so quietly, she had no clue, but he was capable of some “amazing” feats (for lack of a worse term) when it came to hurting people. That he was able to sneak up on her afterward was no shock, though.

Her silence was clearly annoying him, however, as became evident when he snapped to get her attention. His smile had vanished to give her a more irritated look, his foot sticking out to move closer. “Hey, I’m talking to you! Don’t just ignore me, pal .”

The ribbon-girl’s heart was immediately seized with fear, her mask only helping her not to cry openly about it. Trembling, she took a step back, trying to stammer out an answer before he did anything. “I-I wasn’t... I... I was only...”

The rabbit clicked his tongue, a bit of his smile returning... But he only got to take that one step before Zooble stepped between the two, glaring at him while speaking harshly. “F&#$ off, Jax! We’re just checking on Pomni! You know, like respectable people?”

Jax stopped his advance, but still rolled his eyes while smirking. “Doesn’t mean she won’t start making some spicy art of the new squirt.”

“I’m not,” Gangle managed to squeak out in defense of herself, shaking her head. “I-I don’t even draw p%@&! Sexy renditions of anime characters sometimes, perhaps, but never anything too ‘spicy!’” She glanced down at her body. “We... don’t even have parts to do anything like that! What would be the point?”

“Sounds like someone needs to be more creative,~” the rabbit teased with a wide grin.

Zooble growled in front of Gangle. Before they could say anything, though, Ragatha had rushed up beside the man, seeming mostly recovered. She glared at him, immediately poking him in the chest. “Jax! Leave them alone! Pomni’s had it so ruff yesterday because of you! Can you blame us for being concerned?!”

Jax shrugged. “Well, since you made the mistake of having empathy... yes!” He then turned and headed down the hallway, waving over his shoulder. “Anyway, this is just going to get boring quickly. We’ll argue later on the adventure, okay?”

“Why is it your goal to argue?!” the ragdoll called out incredulously at him. She received no response, however, as he continued on his way. Glaring his way for a time, she then took a deep breath, visibly calming down, before turning to the other two. “Sorry about that. I didn’t even say you guys were out here. But I guess he heard you while I was trying to talk to him, and... went to greet you.”

Zooble sighed irritably. “Yeah, those rabbit ears of his aren’t just for show. You would not believe how hard it is to sneak up on him to get my limbs back when he steals the ones I’m not controlling.”

Ragatha grimaced. “Oh? Is he still doing that? I told him to knock that off! I mean, there are plenty of items around the tent for him to use if he wants a new ‘back scratcher.’” Taking another breath, she gave what was clearly supposed to be a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry - I’ll talk to him about it later. I’m sure enough repetition will wear him down enough to listen!”

“...Sure,” was all the mix-and-match person said flatly, looking away and saying nothing further. Gangle also could not help but be skeptical, though tried to hide... which was not hard thanks to the lingering anxiety from that encounter. Yet she still knew that, in all likelihood, nothing was going to change.

She appreciated the redhead for trying - she really did! But... the older woman just did not have the assertiveness to reign in the rabbit like she thought she did. Anything he did stop doing was less so due to her influence and more so because he got bored and moved on to a different, yet equally cruel activity. Nothing she did ever worked - especially since it mostly amounted to simply scolding him.

The ribbon-girl would know... She had given up on her ending the abuse he gave her ages ago.

She tried to shake those sour thoughts away, though. She did not want to poke at the little ball of... emotions that had slowly built up over time regarding Ragatha. She was her friend, too, after all! The ragdoll was always looking for opportunities to hang out and was very sweet to her! There was no reason to ruin any of that because things... were not perfect.

(She just had to keep reminding herself of that.)

Besides, there was something potentially more concerning at the moment. Glancing at Pomni’s door for a second, she then looked at the redhead, hoping she might have some answers to the questions spawning in her mind. “Say, Ragatha? Did you... happen to see Pomni at all yesterday after the adventure?”

Ragatha’s expression immediately fell. She looked around as she rubbed her arm, a strange, sad emotion in her real eye. “Um, well... When I visited her last night, she wasn’t... all that up for talking. Not that I blame her! But... Well, you know...” She looked at the door sorrowfully. “Is she still not saying anything this morning?”

Zooble shook their head, arms crossed. “She’s being quieter than a rock. Gangle here was worried enough to put her ear to the door... Or, well, her mask.”

The ragdoll gave a subdued chuckle. “Ah, you did that, too? Yeah, she’s a quiet one, alright! But I think if we-”

Gangle cut her off, staring at the redhead intently. “But... did you actually see her yesterday? Like, even just in the distance?”

The other two paused, looking at her. Ragatha tilted her head, seeming a little surprised by the question for some reason. “Oh, um... No? I’m not sure anyone did. She must have really run to get here. We might not have real adrenaline, but her blood must have been pumping from fleeing from that fudge beast!”

The ribbon-girl was not reassured by this, turning back to the door and rubbing her hand down it. A part of her was hesitant to ask her next question, not wanting to upset anyone. The silence inside this room, however, was still gnawing at her. Her mind also replayed everything she saw of Pomni the last two days - sensitive, frustrated... scared... And the idea that she might now be in a worse situation...

So, she pushed down her doubts and pushed on with her question. “So... then are we sure she’s even in there? That... she got back from the adventure?”

...The silence felt a little heavier for a time. Her two friends were looking at her with wide eyes, seeming shocked that she would even ask that. Her comedy mask helped her not squirm this time, though, as she looked at them expectantly and with worry. Because if there was even a chance of something like that happening... She had never seen it herself, but considering all the chaos yesterday and the lack of eyewitnesses to the jester’s presence...

But just as quickly, Zooble calmed down and sighed, looking at her with a softer expression. “Is that what’s bothering you? That’s sweet of you to be worried about that, Gangle. But really, you don’t have anything to worry about there. There’s no way Caine would just leave someone abandoned on a map.”

...Gangle blinked, staring at them like they had suddenly said Jax was an adorable man. “You... are expressing faith in Caine? Like... willingly?”

The mix-and-match person rolled their eyes. “Look, I hate him. But he’s literally programmed to look after us players, as far as we know. And that would include making sure we’re all safe in the tent, right? So if Pomni got left behind, my minimum trust is that he would retrieve her and get her back... Eventually. By the end of the day, at least.”

“And she didn’t get left behind!” Ragatha cut in, seeming to want to highly emphasize this while she gave a big, strained smile. “You guys know I’d never let that happen! Besides, I happened to talk to Caine last night after he checked over the map! He said he found nothing out of place, which means she has to have made it back with us!”

The ribbon-girl frowned, rubbing her still-throbbing head. It was hard to argue with their logic, honestly. Caine, for all of his little quirks, did seem to be trying to help them. He made all of the adventures specifically for them, and tended to heal them as best as he could when they got injured. His entire existence seemed to revolve around making them satisfied... even if he was not very good at it.

So it was logical to assume that he would have brought the jester back, considering this, if she got stranded initially. She also might have ended up back here if she “died” and respawned after the portal closed, though those were sometimes set on the maps themselves. But if the ringmaster had not seen anything strange when looking over his creation...

...For some reason, though, Gangle still felt like things were wrong about this situation. Her gaze went over the door, paying close attention to that picture depicting those pinwheel eyes. They looked so sad here, staring right into her soul as though begging for help. The entire depiction was just sad, really.

And for a second, she could not help but imagine a red “X” suddenly appearing on it.

Swallowing, she raised her hand again, getting ready to try another knock. “Well, then I guess I should keep trying to-”

Before she could finish, Ragatha rushed forward and grabbed her arm. She gently made her lower it, shaking her head as she did so. “Gangle... it would be better if we just left.”

The ribbon-girl nearly blanched, turning to her with wide eyes. “W-what?!”

“If she’s not ready to talk, there’s nothing we can do about it,” the ragdoll said, before a frail smile formed on her lips. “Besides, maybe she left super early this morning, and we’re just talking to an empty room. She could be out in the common area, for all we know! Or wandering the grounds. Either way, we can probably look for her before the adventure starts today!”

Gangle frowned, looking between her and the door. “But... Pomni might be-”

Ragatha did not give her a chance to finish, letting go and moving past her to head into the main tent area. “It’s for the best, Gangle! You’ll see! Now come on! We might still have time to lounge on the couches if we hurry!”

With that, she took off down the hall, appearing to want to leave there as quickly as possible. The ribbon-girl could only stare in disbelief, gaping slightly. Was... the redhead just abandoning someone who potentially needed help? But she seemed equally concerned about the woman a few moments ago! So why was she...?

Zooble stretched their limbs beside her, letting out a sigh. “God, I hope Pomni gives her a response soon. This is... getting hard to watch.” They shook their head, starting to head off, too. “Well, better get moving and get this over with. As much as I know I’m going to hate this.”

Gangle gaped more, before shaking her head and grabbing her friend’s arm. “Wait - you’re fine with this, too?!”

The mix-and-match person looked taken aback, eyes side once more. “Fine... with what?”

“Leaving Pomni like this!” the ribbon-girl exclaimed, gesturing to the door. “Are we seriously just leaving her on her own? Her life has been h#%$ the last few days! And experiences like that can cause...!” She took a deep breath before she could finish, before looking at her friend pleadingly. “Shouldn’t... we be doing more to help?”

As she went on, Zooble’s expression gradually turned into one best described as... pitying. Sighing heavily, they turned to face her properly, their voice gentle. “Look, Gangle... I don’t think there’s anything else we can do right now. It’s not like we can force her to talk or come out. All we can do is give her space and the time she needs.”

Gangle pursed her lips. The words seemed reasonable, but... she could not help but look back down the hallway. Her eyes seemed to be drawn to that distant door of her recently Abstracted friend... The one she failed to be able to do anything about...

...And it seemed the mix-and-match person caught onto this, too. Their eyes conveyed a frown, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Gangle, I promise - she’s not going to end up like Kaufmo. Not this soon. Just let her have this, and... we can try again later. Okay?”

The ribbon-girl remained unconvinced... but she did not have much choice, did she? Caine would gather up everyone for today’s adventure soon enough. And while she could try hiding in her room to avoid it, she still needed something to clear her head from yesterday. Otherwise, whatever program simulated dreams for them there might decide to give her the same nightmare two nights in a row.

Thus, she reluctantly nodded, stepping closer to the other and resting her head against them. “Okay. Just... lead the way, okay? My head is still pounding a little.”

Zooble sighed fondly, pulling them along. “Okay. I swear, though, if you’re not as okay as you claim and you pass out on me...”

Gangle giggled, touched at the concern being shown by her friend. She was not worried about her concussion, though. As bad as things could get in the digital world, she found they were not as bad as injuries from the real world. Or maybe she was just lucky, and it had to do with her unique player model. Regardless, she felt she would be fine, and the adventure would go without any hitches.

...But as they walked, she could not help but steal one more glance at the jester’s door, praying silently that she would be just the same. Because something about this was still rubbing her wrong. And in this place, as much as you wanted to avoid being too paranoid... a little bit of it could keep you and your fellow cast members from reaching their breaking points...

Chapter Text

Gangle was both glad and annoyed about how quickly things got started once they reached their lounging area. Barely five minutes passed once they stepped foot upon that orange and yellow checkered square section of floor, surrounded by red borders. That was not long to sit on one of the four couches, with each being a different color - purple, blue, red, and green. Nor did it give time to set any decorations on one of the round tables, or the... random yellow fire hydrant between two of the seats. (Honestly, not that weird compared to the rest of the tent.)

Still... it had been a nice few minutes. She and Zooble had settled down on the purple couch, where she was able to get her sketchbook out and begin some doodles. She was only able to get some outlines done for future pieces, but that was just the artist's life sometimes. Her friend had also given plenty of compliments, too - perhaps more so than usual today. Not that they did not normally, but... she had a suspicion they were trying to fill the silence left by Kaufmo.

It was a small thing, but... she appreciated it. Every small moment was precious in the Digital Circus, and it was best to cherish them along with the big ones. Kinger had taught her that during his more sane days, and she tried to stick by it... even if most adventures nowadays are fairly awful to her.

Though, speaking of the chess piece, they had found him out here after all! He had been sitting on the blue couch just... staring out, his pillow fort not too far away. Not an unusual sight these days, but... still rather sad. But it was always good to see him alive rather than Abstracted. His remaining days were not ones she wanted to go to waste.

And at the very least, Ragatha ended up engaging him that early afternoon. There had not been much time for a conversation, but he ended up rambling about ladybugs and their effect on the environment. The redhead looked fairly engaged, too, nodding along and encouraging him. It made the ribbon-girl curious, wondering if her other friend was trying to encourage a moment of lucidity out of him. But regardless, they both had seemed happy enough.

The only one who had been bored was Jax, sitting far away on the green couch. His feet had been propped up on the table, his hands behind his head with his eyes closed as he had lain back. He had clearly been saving his energy for the adventure, or just did not care after his “successes” yesterday. Either way, nobody engaged him, obviously.

So... yeah, it had not been a bad few minutes. Most of the time they got to spend in this little rest area usually was fairly nice. Even Jax toned down his sadistic nature there a lot of days, if only because Zooble was more likely to catch and stop him. The place was like a small oasis in the madness of almost literally everywhere beyond their rooms.

There was not any reason to complain about the brief time, really. She still wanted the adventure to start so she could distract herself from yesterday’s disaster, after all. She imagined Ragatha, deep down, felt the same, too, despite her positive outlook. And if it felt brief, it was on her for sleeping so late.

...But she did wish the rest had gone on a little longer so Pomni had a chance to catch up.

Perhaps that was foolish, Gangle acknowledged. If their newest member was so disengaged from them as to not answer when they knocked, then why would she be rushing in behind them? The hell she went through on the last adventure was not exactly an incentive to try out a new one, either.

But despite this... she had still hoped. She was still not convinced the jester needed the isolation right now. Sure, maybe she had been being a little pushy, now that she had time to think about it. Yet how could she be blamed, given where they were? And she was still convinced that there was something she was missing - she just did not know how to describe it.

It worried her... and it had seemed to influence her sketches. The outlines she had made, she noticed, had the look of a curved, two-tipped hat ending in bells, she had noticed. Her red and blue colored pencils had also been ready. Perhaps with a little more time, she would have started putting them to use and making those pinwheel eyes the other had...

The ribbon-girl was a little embarrassed by that. Luckily, she did not think Zooble had noticed, not wanting to pester her friend about her fears the whole day. Though... it did make her wonder what she could even draw that included Pomni. I barely know her, and... I doubt her first real adventure is something she wants to commemorate. So... what could I even do?

She never got a chance to answer that question, however, as Caine had suddenly appeared above them. Today, he had... not been subtle. He just kept repeating “adventure” in a loud voice above them in a way that even seemed to annoy Ragatha. But it did get them all moving to the stage, so... no denying the results.

And that led to the present moment as they all waited in front of the performance area. She actually thought it was a nice asset, with good wood textures and curtains that were just the right shade of red. She would not mind doing some performances up there, having dabbled in theater back in high school. But mainly, it was used to announce their adventures for the day, and occasionally a theme song. (For whose benefit, she did not know... and she was probably better off that way.)

That certainly did not change now as Caine floated above them all, his dentures and eyes conveying a smile. He was joined by Bubble, like most days, whose perpetual sharp-toothed grin and blank black eyes were... unsettling as always. But thankfully, they were focused on their boss today and not staring into her soul.

As everyone got comfortable where they were standing, the ringmaster cleared his throat, beginning his spiel. “Good day, my superstars! I hope you’re all well-rested after the amazing adventure you all were on yesterday!” He waved himself off. “Ah, who am I kidding? All of them are great! Hahahaha!”

As he laughed, Zooble just rolled their eyes next to Gangle, grumbling under their breath. “About as great as a plate serving literal s%#$...”

Caine abruptly stopped, looking their way and looking almost like a disapproving parent. “Oh, and how would you know, ‘I never go on adventures’ Zooble?”

The mix-and-match person glared up at them. “Everyone was literally injured and half-dead when they got back!”

The ringmaster opened his mouth... but stopped short and blinked a few times, glancing around. His voice sounded a little more normal when he eventually replied. “...You know, I don’t really have a defense for that.”

“Because there isn’t one,” Zooble deadpanned.

That comment seemed to pass Caine by this time, who shook his head and regained his cheer. “Well, despite some hiccups, I’m sure that everyone still had an amazing time, right?”

Jax nodded, giving a thumbs up as she smiled widely. “Fantastic time! Nine out of ten! Love being able to befriend boss NPCs. Just wish there were fewer consequences to unleashing devastation upon a city!”

“That was not the good part!” Ragatha exclaimed, glaring at him. She then looked to the ringmaster, giving a fairly convincing happy smile. “I... liked the concepts, at least. Exploring a candy world was a lot of fun. I love the detail you put into the princess, too!”

Gangle shrugged, not getting involved in the conversation. Still, she did sort of agree with the ragdoll. The setting itself had been rather colorful, and not in a garish way like the tent. She would not mind more adventures that made them feel important, either. Granted, Jax ruined those ones the most, but perhaps when an occasion came where he did not join them...

Although... she had no clue what the redhead meant by exploring. They barely got to see most of it, which was pretty common among these adventures. Despite the maps being huge, they were often put on fairly linear quests. The most exploring they usually did came from hunting quests and murder mysteries, plus the occasional maze. Those were not made too difficult most of the time, though, so that they would pass by faster, so...

Regardless, Caine still seemed to enjoy the validation. He smiled at both Ragatha and Jax, pumping his arm. “That’s the spirit, you two! Your input will be taken to heart within my incomprehensible digital mind! ” His voice got echoey for that last part, even conjuring a fake-looking brain above him that pulsated for emphasis. He paused as though waiting for a reaction... though none came.

He’ll take Jax’s to heart, anyway, Gangle thought bitterly. It was so bitter, actually, that she blinked and readjusted her comedy mask to make sure it was not somehow slipping off. She was usually better at avoiding those thoughts when it was on, even if it was not absolute.

Though... it was not a wrong observation, was it? Chaos and horrifying elements tended to outweigh anything more... normal on adventures most of the time. Still, she was not going to push that issue, and especially not where the rabbit could hear her “defying” him.

Once the silence dragged on a little too long, the ringmaster straightened up and continued like it had not happened, the brain disappearing. “Well, anyway, I’m afraid today won’t be as ground-breaking as yesterday! Taking into consideration that some of you got head injuries, which... I’m not very good at fixing-”

“I have a dual master's in neurology and 20th century lobotomies that could help,” Bubble supplied suddenly.

“-I decided to dial back a tad today with a more... open narrative,” the ringmaster finished, not acknowledging his assistant’s input.

That definitely caught everyone’s attention, all of them exchanging looks. Even Kinger seemed a little more focused at this. It was rare that the AI was so... considerate . He tended to just throw them at one wacky adventure after another with no thought. It was as though he were completely oblivious to how uncomfortable they were with doing those constantly... which definitely was the case a lot of the time.

But at rare moments, he would show a strange mindfulness toward them. They never lasted, but when they did happen, it was a welcome breath of fresh air. Even now, the ribbon-girl felt her body loosen up, praying that this was going where she thought it was. I was already looking forward to a short adventure, but if it’s more relaxed than normal, too...

Caine flew up higher as she pondered this, pointing his cane at them. (The humor between that and his name had long since worn away.) “And so, today’s adventure is...!”

He waved his arms into a wide arc above his head... and in response, a bunch of letters appeared. Today, they were in the form of clouds, colored white, blue, and pink, all of which had a sparkle to them. They swirled around a little, making it hard to read briefly, but they solidified as the ringmaster said the title aloud. “‘The Hunt for the Sky Fishes!’”

The next second, the clouds all blew away as though by a gust of unfelt wind. As they did, he gestured around as he continued. “High in the sky, the peaceful villagers of rain walkers are having a shortage of their favorite food! Their lightning is spent, and they need help catching sky fish to feed their poor little children!”

With a snap, the model for one of these “rain walkers” appeared - presumably a child, given how small they were. It was... not a bad looking design, Gangle admitted, her artistic eye scanning it over. The body was made of a gray cloud that looked cartoony, but helped make it seem more solid. The bright blue clothes also had a damp effect to them to help sell that it was made of a stormcloud. (Why it would have real clothes to begin with, though, was beyond her.) It even had cute, shiny black eyes that truly conveyed “I’m hungry - please feed me.”

Overall, it was one of the AI’s better NPC designs. This might even mean that the whole place would not be populated by mannequins this time. Granted, she expected a lot of repeated models if that were so, but it did not sound like they had to worry about losing track of an important character this time around.

Caine snapped his fingers again, making the kid poof away - thankfully without any gore or screams. Then he looked at them all directly, pointing to each of them. “It’s up to you all to get as many sky fish as possible and help the villagers in this trying time! And whoever collects the most may get a fantastic prize!”

Ragatha smiled, nodding along to this as she clasped her hands. “Oh! That’s wonderful! I can’t wait to see what it is!”

Jax, meanwhile, rolled his eyes while looking annoyed. “Oh, yeah - a ‘great prize.’ Which I imagine is just going to be a glorified trophy to collect dust in one of our rooms before it gets tossed to the bottom of the digital lake. Or Bubble eats it.”

The ringmaster’s assistant shook their head at this - or, well... seemed to, given that they had no body. “No, I can’t eat clouds. I’m on a diet.”

The ribbon-girl was... not going to question that. Still, her fear of the rabbit aside, she had to admit he had a point. Any rewards they were allowed to keep after an adventure usually did... not have much use. They lacked much sentimental value, too, which often meant they did not keep them around regardless. There was not much reason to assume this time would be different.

But she did not mind, so long as they were not falling off any cliffs. So, she tried to offer her support as well, giving a small smile while looking up at their host. “Well, I’m not much of a fisher, but... I guess this will be nice.”

Zooble sighed, also reluctantly shrugging. “There are certainly worse adventures I can willingly subjugate myself to...”

This comment, naturally, was not unnoticed by Caine. He gasped, eyes snapping to her best friend. In a second, he had flown right in front of them, looking like a kid who got his favorite present for Christmas. “Oh? Did I hear that correctly? You’re coming on one of my adventures today, Zooble?!”

The mix-and-match person glared at him, leaning back as he invaded their personal space. “It’s not because I think I’ll like them. I’m just keeping an eye on Gangle after the h$#% you put them through yesterday.”

The ringmaster pumped his arm in undeterred excitement. “I’ll take it! I promise you, Zoobs, that you’re in for a fantastical time today!” He looked up in thought, tapping his chin. “And to think I didn’t even need to use the adventure I was originally planning for today that I made for you...”

“...Dare I ask what that one was going to be about?” Zooble questioned.

“Well, it was going to involve this haunted house filled with paranormal activities! I don’t want to spoil too much if I use the assets later, but it involved scares, evil possession, and-!”

“Yeah, no - I shouldn’t even be surprised by how... wrong you are about what I’d like.”

Jax grinned over at them, wiggling his eyebrows. “I don’t know, I feel like we could use a replacement. You swap parts all the time. Why not swap souls now?”

The mix-and-match person glared his way. “The only person who needs a new soul is you. I bet evil spirits would make better company, at least.”

The rabbit put a hand over his chest in mock-hurt, his grin not faltering. Before things could get more heated, though, Caine had flown away and snapped his fingers. The next instant, one of his classic portals appeared - oval, glowing, and liquid-like patterns within. Today, the rim was white, and the inside was the same blues and pinks that the clouds were a moment ago.

The AI floated down next to it, gesturing to the opening. “Get ready, my little superstars! A world of sky and air awaits you as you all-!”

Suddenly, he cut short. He blinked, scanning them all over with surprising scrutiny. Then... he lost his fanfare for a moment, scratching the top of his head as he looked confused. “...Where’s Pomni? Doesn’t our newest arrival want to see the next adventure? I’m sure she had a wonderful time tasting all the sweets!”

The ribbon-girl grimaced, having tried to forget about the jester’s absence while he explained things. He didn’t notice until now that she wasn’t here? That... did not help her earlier fears about him forgetting people. She knows what Ragatha and Zooble said, and they made a lot of sense, but... God, it made her wonder if she had an “extended” time on the last map after all, which he was not sharing.

Before she could comment, though, the ragdoll took the initiative. Visibly deflating, the redhead nonetheless tried to chuckle, giving a strained smile to their host. “Oh, she’s... just tired today. All that running around on your first few days will do that to you! It’s probably best to let her be in her room.”

The ringmaster stared at her for a long while, his expression unreadable. It made Gangle wonder if he was going to disagree and try to summon Pomni anyway. And... a part of her was kind of hoping he would try today. Not because she wanted to force her to go, but just because it would give her a chance to see the woman. To confirm that she was alright and that were was no need to be so worried-

But then the AI just laughed, shaking his head in what almost seemed like fondness. “Ah, the little scamp. She must have been so overwhelmed by my creativity that she exhausted herself from happiness.” Quickly moving on, he gestured to the portal. “Now, come along! It’s time to head to the cloud village!”

Everyone else started moving to the portal, either with looks of boredom or intrigue - Jax and Zooble for the former, and Kinger and Ragatha for the latter. Gangle, though, hesitated for a moment, her face falling despite her comedy mask. It seemed that any chance to be sure the jester was genuinely doing well was out the window now. Admittedly, she was glad her privacy was being respected - Caine often did not do so for them - but given all recent events...

Still, there was nothing to be done. Thus, before her friends got worried, she hurried after them and got ready to head to the new world... All the while being unable to shake the feeling she was making a mistake.

-------

The map for today’s adventure was simple, yet effective. As to be expected, everything was mainly made out of... well, clouds. Primarily, they were white, pink, and blue, but some were yellow and red, too. They expanded to create the ground they stood on, which was mostly flat with bumps all around that acted as mounds and hills. They felt like soft pillows, though with a tingling moisture that was not unpleasant.

The village itself was not all that different. The houses had more distinct shapes and were all made of green clouds, but otherwise, they were rather ordinary. A lot of them even seemed to be the same model, forming basic one-story homes with triangle roofs. (The design seemed kind of modern for what seemed to be a primitive village, but that tended to happen with Caine a lot.) All the others were not much different in terms of their genericness, either.

Still, Gangle was pretty satisfied with it as a set piece. And the rain walkers, while all looking the same aside from the chief - who even then only wore a top hat - were all very friendly. Between that and the sun shining overhead, the entire place had a relaxed atmosphere to it. You might not even know these people were supposed to be having a food shortage with how laid back they were acting.

It was a nice change of pace after yesterday. A nice, unassuming setting that she did not think even Jax could ruin. This was exactly what they all needed after the candy world, she believed, and she was fully willing to embrace it.

...But, unfortunately, it was not without its dangers - unintentional ones, as was common with even the ringmaster’s most calm adventures.

That was evident as she and Zooble walked along the edge of the red cloud they were on. It had been about an hour since they left the village. In her hand was a net with a dark blue handle and rim, like one might use to catch butterflies. These, though, were meant to get the sky fish, which they would put into the large sacks over their backs, which... had nothing special and looked just like regular ones. Caine really cut a few corners with this one...

She was fine with it for the most part... but there were some elements she wished he had not done so with, however. The main thing was what she saw below the cloud they were on. Looking over the edge, she could see other clouds similar to this one at different elevations. They were all large - none seeming smaller than a mile each. However, some were pretty scattered, and it gave a view of the ground below.

Or, well... the lack of ground below. Because somehow, impossible as it should have been, there was just... open sky beneath them. There came a point where there was not even a layer of clouds if one were to go down far enough. So if you tripped over in just the right way, then you would seemingly... fall forever.

The ribbon-girl swallowed, getting a sense of vertigo the longer she stared. She did not normally have a fear of heights, but it was hard not to be terrified in this case. Like... was it an infinite fall, or would they get looped back and fall on one of the clouds above them? Would the ringmaster have had enough forethought to implement that... and make sure it worked correctly? Or was there land they simply could not see? Because if not, then-

She did not realize she had been teetering over the edge until Zooble yanked on her suddenly. They both stumbled a few feet away from the edge, getting their bearings. Then the mix-and-match person gave her a slightly reproachful look. “Be more careful! You were about to slip off there!”

Gangle flinched, rubbing the back of her head ruefully as she smiled awkwardly. “Heh... sorry. It’s just... quite the view.”

“For all the wrong reasons,” Zooble grumbled, shaking their head as they shouldered their net and sack. “Seriously, what was Caine thinking? How do you forget to make sure there’s an actual ground for us to land on? Like, how does sky everywhere even work?!”

The ribbon-girl shrugged, the two of them slowly getting back to walking - staying away from the edge this time. “Well, maps in games are actually usually all made in a sky box. If you get up high enough, the ground can disappear as you move beyond the render distance.”

The mix-and-match person tilted their head. “Are you saying there might be something solid down there we can’t see?”

“...I don’t want to find out,” Gangle responded. Even if there was something to land on, from this height... it was still going to be painful, despite her model type.

“Agreed,” Zooble said, looking forward again. They peered around the vast cloud they were on, eyes narrowing. “Though, we might have to go cloud jumping soon. I’m not seeing any more sky fish around here.”

The ribbon-girl hummed, looking around as well. Indeed, this area seemed to had been picked clean of the flying fish. They had caught a few already - they were not hard to spot, being colored bright velvet. Their AI also seemed to be set to not go beyond the clouds they were on, since they had chased a few to the edges, only for the animals to veer away from escaping into the open sky.

The clouds all seemed to have a set amount once they were far enough away from the village. So far, she had ten in her sack, while the mix-and-match person had eight. They weighed practically nothing, so it was no problem to carry them once caught. However... a few of them could zip around quickly. They had both lost their breath trying to get their last two or three fish, and she did not foresee that getting easier. It was like they sensed they had a sizable collection so far, and were now increasing the difficulty.

But still, overall... this adventure was an improvement from any experience Gangle had in weeks. So she smiled, moving a bit ahead of her friend and waving for them to follow. “Well then, let's go see if any have flown in closer, shall we? I bet I’ll have more fish at the end of this than you will!”

Zooble rolled their eyes, but there was clear fondness in them. “So much for not being much of a fisher, huh?”

“I would not really call this fishing, since we don’t have boats or fishing lines,” the ribbon-girl commented. She then smirked, putting her net hand on her hip. “Besides, you’re having fun, too!”

The mix-and-match person’s eyes widened, looking offended. “Wha-? No, I’m not!”

Gangle giggled, shaking her head. “Come on - you can admit it! I mean, you could have just let me catch all the fish we found so far, but you haven’t. That doesn’t sound like the behavior of someone who’s just here on ‘guard duty’ for me.~”

Zooble tried to look annoyed at this, but she could tell there was no heat behind it. Still, they shook their head in denial. “I’m trying to help you - that’s all. I don’t know if Jax is participating or not, but if he is, I want you to have this victory over him. Just imagine the look on his face!”

The ribbon-girl faltered for a second, looking down uncertainly. “He... definitely would not like that. As in... really not like it.”

“If he gives you c%@& when I’m not around later, I’ll beat him senseless for it,” the mix-and-match person responded. “Besides, he finds any excuse he wants to hurt and torture everyone. It doesn’t matter either way if you win or lose - he’ll try regardless.”

They were not wrong, Gangle conceded. The rabbit’s “reasoning” for hurting them was just a thin excuse to poorly hide the fact that he just did so no matter what. Her winning in this adventure would not change that... Though, that did not cause the unease that crept up her spine and made her comedy mask shake slightly.

Still... she appreciated the sentiment. Thus, she gave a soft smile to her friend. “Well then, thank you, Zooble. You’re going all out on the special treatment today, huh?”

Zooble attempted to shrug it off... but their expression made it clear that if they could, they would be blushing as they looked away. “D-don’t think anything of it. You deserve a few wins over the jerk, and he’s not put in his place nearly enough.”

“Whatever you say,~” the ribbon-girl said teasingly, giggling as her friend got more flustered. Sighing, she then nodded to the surrounding landscape. “But seriously, you have to admit this isn’t one of Caine’s worst adventures, right?”

Sighing as well, the mix-and-match person shrugged again as they took in the multicolored clouds. “I... suppose so. A fetch quest isn’t exactly what I would call riveting, but there’s nothing overtly dangerous about this place, I guess. I might even be willing to tolerate going on an adventure every few days if they were more like this.” Their eyes conveyed a scowl. “That idiot would never listen to that, though.”

Gangle hummed, once more not arguing. She doubted that she would ever understand the decision-making that went on in their host’s mind when it came to making these adventures. The inclusion of anything they actually enjoyed seemed to rely on throwing darts at a board and hoping they landed correctly. No doubt that even if everyone sang the praises of this adventure, they would be dealing with far more threatening adventures the rest of the week.

Which was why she was not going to let this go to waste. Looking around again, she was pleased when she noticed another large cloud floating close to the edge of this one. Aside from being blue, it resembled the one they were on very closely. But it was still a new place, and more of a chance to find sky fish.

Smiling at the stroke of luck, she started heading that way while waving for her friend to follow. “Here’s our next patch of ‘land.’ Let’s hurry before the others get all the fish!”

Zooble snorted, keeping pace as amusement colored their tone. “At least one of us is genuinely having a good time.”

“Sure - ‘one’ of us,” the ribbon-girl teased, earning her some groans. They let the conversation die, though, as the blue cloud got close and started to press against the edge of their red one. The colors did not mix where they touched, and instead intermingled as little wisps. It was actually pretty impressive graphics-wise, given how... limited some textures could be, where the ringmaster once more obviously cut corners.

She did not admire it immediately, waiting until after they had made it onto the other cloud before they stopped. Better than having to jump a small gap like last time, she mused. By the time they were catching their breath and she looked back, however, the clouds were drifting apart again. The mingling wisps seemed to futilely try to cling to one another, but soon enough, they were separate again.

Though... her eyes lingered as she watched the red cloud drift away. The two colors... stirred up the concerns she had been trying to ignore. She felt foolish for it - they were not even the same shades of red and blue as the jester! Yet even so... The brief swirls she managed to catch before they disappeared...

She was brought back into the present by her friend, who stepped next to her with a curious look. “Gangle? Is that headache bothering you again?”

Flinching, said woman shook her head to clear it. She tried to smile, not wanting to worry the other. “Oh, uh... no. I think it’s really gone down since we got here. The fresh air must be real enough for our digital senses. Hahaha...”

...When the mix-and-match person did not join in, Gangle coughed awkwardly. She gripped her net and sack, attempting to get them moving again. “Um... Anyway, I just got lost in thought for a second. Let’s just...”

Unfortunately, Zooble had looked at where the clouds had touched, then at the slowly receding red cloud... And then, something seemed to click for them. Their eyes conveyed a frown as they turned to her again, seeming to almost pity her like back at their rooms. “...You’re really worried about her, huh?”

Stopping in place, the ribbon-girl did not even bother trying to hide it. She sighed, looking down as she frowned sadly. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” the mix-and-match person responded, stepping closer. “I’m just a bit surprised, is all. You don’t even know her, yet you’re acting like your girlfriend’s dying.”

Gangle was actually a little irked at this, looking up and glaring at them. “No - I don’t know her. But I’d like to meet her properly! And that’s going to be pretty difficult if she becomes a black mass of pulsing, neon eyes!”

Zooble’s eyes widened, seeming taken aback. They took another step toward her, their voice growing gentler. “Gangle... I told you. She’s not going to Abstract. Nobody-”

“You don’t know that!” the ribbon-girl snapped, stomping her foot as best as she could despite it being ribbon and the cloud floor. “Nobody really knows how Abstraction works! Not even Kinger did at his best! We all have our theories and guesses, and we do our best with them. But... what if we’re wrong about this?”

She paced around, shaking her head. “What if you can Abstract in your first few days? Most people who come in have at least semi-fine adjustment periods. Some wild adventures here, and a safe peek into the cellar to know what an Abstraction even is - but that’s tame in comparison to what Pomni went through! And we all saw how skittish she was. Even if that was first-day nerves, her experiences aren’t exactly going to encourage them to go away, are they?

“I’ll admit it - I’m probably being too nosy with her. But... we know what being alone with your thoughts for too long can do to you. So why does it feel like I’m the only one who even cares?!” She took a shaky breath, looking away. “Why... was everyone else just so comfortable leaving her behind? Even you?”

...The silence dragged on for what felt like several minutes. The mix-and-match person did not move, and that started to make the artist feel anxious. Had... she taken it too far with that last comment? She was not entirely sure where that had even come from. She had just been trying to vent her frustration, and it... slipped out.

That was the double-edge of her comedy mask, though. It let her be happier more easily... but it also affected her anger and other emotions. Things she might have been unable to force out without it, no matter how strongly she felt about the matter, sometimes made it out without her meaning to. It was liberating sometimes to have that subtle strength... but it had its downsides, like right then.

Swallowing, she eventually spoke up, trying to apologize. “I’m... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

“No, you’re... fine, Gangle,” Zooble cut in. They sighed, stepping in front of her as they looked at her sadly. “If anything, I’m the one who should be sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you were alone on this. I thought you just needed a good distraction, but...”

The ribbon-girl shrugged. Then, she hesitantly met their eyes. “Why... are you so certain she’ll be fine, anyway? How is it so easy for you?”

The mix-and-match person scoffed, rolling their eyes. “‘Easy’ is not the word I’d use. I’m worried - every new person gets f&#$ed up on their first few days here. I’d be amazed if she wasn’t freaking out as we spoke.” They sighed heavily. “But you can’t force a person to feel better. You can do your best, but it... doesn’t always work, you know?”

Gangle frowned, recalling how her friend and Ragatha often tried to cheer her up when her comedy mask broke... often without much success. “Yeah... I guess I do.”

Zooble shrugged, continuing. “And besides, I can definitely relate to needing some time by yourself. I do it every time you guys leave for adventures. Time by yourself isn’t always a bad thing around here!” They glared to the side. “Assuming you can avoid Caine from asking over and over on improvements... which he never implements.”

That got the ribbon-girl thinking more, her mask conveying furrowed eyebrows. She had... not considered it that way. Her friend was indeed alone for extended periods on lots of days. As pushy as Caine was about their opting out of adventures, rarely did he force them to come. (Though sometimes he did due to a stray comment from someone else - usually Jax trying to anger them.) If what they understood about Abstractions was correct, that should have been a recipe for them to lose their minds.

But they had not. On the contrary, they were perhaps the sanest member of the circus, which... she prayed did not mean the adventures drove people insane. (Correlation did not equal causation... she hoped.) Nothing about them seemed to suggest they were on the brink of losing themselves, even after all these years.

So if they could hold on for that long... then perhaps the situation with Pomni was not as horrible as she feared?

It was a nice thought... but her fears were not dying down easily. She shuffled in place, glancing around the landscape. “I don’t know... It might work for you, Zooble, but we don’t know if Pomni...”

Her response seemed to sadden the mix-and-match person, though not surprise them. They looked to the side in consideration for a moment... then resolve entered their eyes. They turned, taking over with leading them around. “Alright - then let’s go find Kinger.”

That made Gangle blink in shock, her head snapping back toward them. “Huh?!”

Zooble shrugged, looking back at her. “You and Ragatha respect his word about this stuff, don’t you? So, let’s find him and get his opinion.”

“B-but he might not even be lucid!” the ribbon-girl began. “And what about the fish for-?”

“We’ll find a way,” the mix-and-match person insisted. “And forget the fish! We can find another way to get on Jax’s nerves if this takes too long.” They sent her a compassionate look. “Come on - I have a good feeling that this will make you feel better.”

Gangle pursed her lips, not entirely certain about that. However... what her friend said was true about Kinger. He would know better than anyone what they should be doing about the Pomni situation... if they could get him to focus. If they could just encourage that for a few minutes...

She debated this for a few seconds. Then, with a small sigh, she nodded at the other. “Alright, then. Let’s go see him.”

Zooble’s eyes conveyed a smile, before the two of them headed off. The artist looked around the open sky, noting all the colored clouds above and below them. It was certainly going to be quite a search to try and find the chess piece. There was no telling where he had gotten to. Hell, with how absent-minded he was, perhaps he had discovered the potential infinite falling she had been worried about.

She prayed that was not the case, though. Not just out of respect for him... but so that maybe she could quiet some of her fears at last.

-------

It took them about half an hour to find any signs of Kinger. They went from cloud to cloud, doing their best to spot his silhouette among the fluffy landscapes. Luckily, Gangle was starting to realize that this place seemed to sense when they wanted to move on. That, or this place ran on patterns with short timers. Either way, they never had to wait long at the edges, and had avoided needing to make any leaps.

Up and down in the sky, they had searched. At one point, they spotted a figure far off, but they only needed to get a bit closer to realize it was Jax. The man was participating in the fish hunt, it seemed... though he was being more aggressive than they had been. She had watched as he caught a sky fish with his net, then proceeded to strangle it roughly before tossing it in his bag. She even suspected he had killed some of them that way, since his sack appeared to have actual weight to it...

Needless to say, the duo had left that cloud as soon as possible before he noticed them. She doubted he would have been able to do anything with Zooble around, but who knew? He might have been willing to take his chances and try to cast her friend’s limbs off the edge. And those were the kind of delays they did not want.

So they kept on looking, with it getting to the point that she started to lose hope. She was wondering if maybe the chess piece had fallen after all. Or alternatively, she had considered whether he had gone back to the village. If so, it was going to be a long trek back, given how expansive this place was.

But eventually, as they had been going across a pink cloud, their luck changed. They had been near the middle of it, eyes scanning the landscape. The ribbon-girl had noticed that the mix-and-match person was starting to get annoyed, gripping their fish-catching items with irritation. It had started to make her feel bad, wondering if she should call off the search. She could suck up her concerns over Pomni for a while longer if they were going to have this many issues with this.

But then, in the distance... she had spotted something heartening. She had not understood what it was at first, due to how small it was and it not being the violet of the fish. Soon enough, though, she managed to recognize the yellow blob for what it was... and once she did, she smiled widely and pointed it out. “Zooble, look! A butterfly!”

Her friend blinked, turning in that direction. They appeared confused at first, but realization started to dawn on their face. “A butterfly... And where a bug is-”

“-Kinger is sure to not be far behind,” Gangle finished. She ran ahead, not wanting to lose track of it. “Come on! He might still be hunting nearby!”

She sprinted off, with Zooble keeping pace behind her. She got close to the little bug, which allowed her to see that there were quite a few more of them resting on the soft, lumpy ground. She also noticed that their wings had intricate, diamond-like patterns on them. The sun in the sky almost seemed to make them sparkle, too.

Oh, Kinger would definitely be interested in these guys! she thought happily. Granted, there was no guarantee that he had made it out here... but the odds were in their favor. The man seemed to be magnetically attracted to areas of the map that had a good cluster of bugs. Nine times out of ten, if they needed to find him, then you just had to find the insects - hence their little saying!

It was almost hard to believe that he hated them at one point. She supposed it came from his past as a software engineer and associating them by name. But Queenie got him to change his tune over the years they were there together... and when she Abstracted, studying them almost seemed to become his way to cope...

The ribbon-girl tried not to dwell on that, though. Instead, she tried to follow the clusters of butterflies like a trail. They flew into the air as she got closer, darting around every which way. They appeared to have a more limited area of movement than the sky fish, however, staying in a range of a few yards. She tried to use that, sticking close to their little area, hoping for any signs of their oldest member.

And soon... she heard him. It was indistinct at first, but as she started to ascend a particularly large cloud hill, she became aware of... humming. She could not place the tune, but the voice making it was unmistakable! Smiling, she ran up faster, with the mix-and-match person lagging a bit behind from her sudden speed. She quickly reached the crest, allowing her to see the landscape beyond it-

-and there, about a dozen yards away from another edge, was Kinger. He stood amid a good cluster of the yellow butterflies, who seemed to float around him as though he were a star and they were planets. He merrily swung his net around, catching one or two of the insects each time. Then, he deposited them into his sack before going at it again while humming that song.

She was unable to help giggling a little at this. It was just like him to ignore the adventure and simply go bug-catching when they had this much freedom. Even before his mind had slipped so significantly, he had often done so. He always said making your own adventures was more fun to him than following the scripts Caine wanted them to. Though, he had still done those plenty of times to keep the ringmaster happy.

She supposed she knew what he meant... She did not often do the same these days, however. The concept had kind of been ruined for her by Jax with his interpretation of “making your own adventures.” But still... it was a nice thought.

Regardless, though, she was on a mission today. Thus, she went down the hill as fast as she could, nearly tripping over her own feet doing so. It did not take long for her to end up next to him, panting a little. And he... had not noticed her yet, looking the other way while being enraptured by the butterflies.

Clearing her throat, she tried to get his attention. She kept her voice gentle, hoping not to startle him with how... jumpy he was these days. “Hey, Kinger? It’s me, Gangle! Can... we talk?”

The chess piece paused, his net raised over his head to get a few more butterflies. He turned his head to her, blinking once... then twice. He stared at her, though it was unclear if he was actually seeing her. She stood patiently, though, knowing he often needed a minute. All she had to do was wait and-

Then, he suddenly screamed and swiped his net at her.

The ribbon-girl had a split second to acknowledge that she should have been ready for this. As it was, however, she was caught off guard and barely leaned back enough to avoid getting hit directly. Thankfully, her reflexes kept her from getting smacked directly, and she only received a partial graze from it.

... Unfortunately, that graze still hit her comedy mask, which was knocked off her face and went flying away.

She gasped from its sudden loss, hit by a wave of despair as its effects dissipated. She looked at the direction it was heading, hoping she would be able to go get it... But that soon disappeared as she watched it bounce long the cloudy ground once it completed its arc in the air. And then, in just a second or two... it reached the edge and fell into the abyss.

For a second, all she could do was look at where it had disappeared. Her despair over losing her mask was, naturally, heightened by its uplifting effects being gone. She grimaced, already feeling worse. She berated herself for being so careless... For not being able to dodge, or do anything besides being worthless...

Then... Kinger spoke up, blinking at her again as he finally registered her presence. His tone was casual, seeming oblivious to what he did. “Oh! Gangle! You startled me!”

Gangle sighed, turning back to him with a downcast expression. “Yeah... I know. Sorry about that.”

The chess piece tilted his head, looking at her closely. “Say... where’s your comedy mask? Are you going without it today?”

Before she could respond, Zooble caught up... and proceeded to get up in his face, looking pissed. They poked him in the chest, their tone enraged. “You knocked it off, you idiot! Why don’t you watch where you swing that-!”

The ribbon-girl grabbed their arm, trying to pull them back while shaking her head. “Zooble, he didn’t mean to. Don’t-”

“I don’t give a f&#$!” the mix-and-match person exclaimed. They tried to get closer to the man again, whose eyes were wide and confused. “We come all this way only for him to do that?! Accident or not, I’m-!”

“ZOOBLE!” Gangle yelled, startling everyone, including herself, with her volume. She quickly wilted, looking down... though still whispered to them tiredly. “Just... don’t. He doesn’t deserve it. Don’t do anything to him. Please?”

Blinking a few times, Zooble glanced between her and Kinger. Then, with a heavy sigh, they backed away from their oldest member and stood next to them. It did not take long for shame to mingle with their still-apparent frustration. “...Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” the ribbon-girl reassured. She did not blame her friend for being so defensive about her losing her mask. But... only Jax ever broke and got rid of it deliberately. If anyone else did it like the chess piece just now, it was always an accident. She did not want them to get an earful over doing that. Even when she got the item back the next day, she always felt awful about that happening in the past.

Plus... she knew the old Kinger would have done what he could to make up for that. That was enough for her in the absence of his presence of mind.

Though, that did not mean that part of him was completely gone. As she turned to him, she saw that... he was more focused at the moment, seeming regretful. His eyes conveyed a grimace as he gazed at her and spoke. “I... broke your mask? I’m sorry, Gangle. I didn’t mean to.”

Sighing again, Gangle did her best to smile, even as tears pricked the sides of her eye holes. “It’s okay, Kinger. Just... be more careful when butterfly hunting next time, yeah?”

The mention of the insects appeared to shatter his concentration. He looked at the butterflies still flying around, humming with interest. “Yes... They’re pretty, aren’t they? They remind me of Colias Croceus. Their wings are more plain, though... and more European.”

The ribbon-girl tilted her head. “How... does a wing appear ‘European?’”

“...What about Europe?” the chess piece asked, appearing genuinely confused.

Zooble grunted, rubbing a hand down their face. “And so it begins...”

Gangle elbowed their friend as best as she could, despite her ribbon limbs. She whispered to them as Kinger went back to catching the butterflies. “Hey, be nice! It was your idea to come find him!”

“And it’s looking like it was a waste of time,” the mix-and-match person murmured, gesturing to the man. “Just look at him. We’re not going to get any ‘wisdom’ out of him today.”

The ribbon-girl frowned, watching Kinger, too, as he seemed to forget about their presence already. She did get what her companion meant, as much as she hated to admit it. The man appeared to be out of it today. With the tiny bit of glaze in his eyes, she was wondering if he even remembered the exchange they had just had. It always seems harder to get him to concentrate after stressful adventures, too. And he seemed to give it his all when we were trying to escape that fudge monster...

That moment of lucidity, however, despite being brief, gave her a little hope. So she waved off her friend’s pessimism... hard as it was without her comedy mask. “Don’t write him off, yet. We just... need to emphasize how important this is.”

Zooble raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound too certain about that.”

“...Do I ever about anything when I’m like this?” Gangle asked quietly, looking down.

The mix-and-match person flinched, gazing at her sadly. “...You can be plenty assertive. But I do... get where you’re coming from.” They sighed, nodding once. “Okay, let’s do this. It’d be a waste after all this effort, I suppose. I’ll do the talking, though, if that’s alright.”

The ribbon-girl nodded, all too eager to leave the conversation to her friend. With her mask, she would have no problem doing the questioning. Without it, however, she tended to clam up in the middle of talking. She got too wrapped up in ideas that she was speaking too much and wasting people’s time and... not offering anything interesting or...

...And it was happening right now. She swallowed and, on instinct, stepped up to Zooble and leaned on them. They tensed briefly, not always doing well with contact when they did not know it was coming. But they soon relaxed and wrapped one arm around her. She hummed in appreciation, feeling just a bit more stable. Not much could quell her doubts when her mask was gone, but... being near people she cared about helped.

Once she was settled against them, they both moved closer to the oldest member. Her friend called out to them, their tone clipped but trying to be polite despite their earlier irritation. “Hey, Kinger, we need to ask you something.”

The chess piece did not appear to notice them talking at first. He had scooped up another butterfly, and was admiring it in the net. A smile was in his eyes as he appeared to talk to the insect. “Boy, you’re a pretty one. The light catches on your wings so beautifully...”

The mix-and-match person huffed, glaring at the man as they tried again. “Kinger, it’s about Pomni! We were hoping you could tell us what you think about... what’s going on with her.”

Kinger blinked, finally turning his head toward them. However, he merely tilted his head, his voice oblivious. “...Oh, Zooble! Gangle! When did you both get here? Did you come to see the butterflies, too?”

Zooble growled, but Gangle squeezed their arm before they could snap at him. Instead, they took a deep breath, looking at him plainly and speaking neutrally. “They’re... nice, Kinger. Now, can we talk about Pomni?”

Blinking again, the chess piece looked around, setting down his bag so he could scratch his head. “Pomni? Is she here? Did she want to see the sparkling wings, too?... Or a tractor?”

...Tractor? the ribbon-girl thought with bewilderment. But she kept quiet, not wanting to potentially distract him by questioning that. It was hardly the most out-of-nowhere thing he had ever said.

The mix-and-match person did the same, shaking their head as they got better at speaking patiently. “No, she isn’t here. She’s back at the tent, remember? She didn’t even leave her room. That’s what we’re here to ask about. What do you think of that?”

Kinger stared for a long moment. He glanced up, eyes directed at the sun above. “Oh... A shame she isn’t here. The weather’s lovely today!”

A sigh left Zooble. Gangle managed to get a few words in, though, as she gave a small, timid smile. “Y-yeah... It is.” She had not given that aspect of the environment much thought, but the air was fairly mild. The sun certainly did not feel overbearing like it had at certain points of yesterday’s candy desert excursion.

The chess piece hummed, watching as a cloud passed over the sun and provided some shade for them. “It’s beautiful. Nobody really pays attention to the sky in most adventures, but... Caine or whatever program he uses does a good job with it. I’ve never known quite which it is... It always feels like it matches the environment, though.”

The ribbon-girl blinked, glancing over at her friend. The mix-and-match person only shrugged, though, evidently not knowing what he meant by this other “program.” Caine was the one who made these places, was he not? So anything he used to make it all would just be an extension of himself, right? So why specify some other program?

There was not a chance to ask as Kinger continued, laughing quietly as he looked down. He held up his net, peering at the butterfly inside. “I hope Pomni gets to see the different skies more. The adventures can be chaotic sometimes, but beauty is everywhere if you know where to look.” He shook his head fondly. “Or maybe she’ll go down Antella’s route to handling things.”

This caused a different wave of confusion for Gangle. Her mask conveyed furrowed eyebrows, not recognizing that name. “Um... Who’s Antella?”

“Oh, she was before your time,” the chess piece said softly. “She had a good track record in the circus - ten years, having been around even before I showed up! Laborrad insisted it was twelve, though, and he was good with numbers. You remember him, don’t you?”

That one the ribbon-girl did. Having the model of a generic cartoon dog made more of an impression than one would expect. He had certainly had the energy of an actual dog, and was always eager to play with everyone. She still had fond memories of doing fetch with him at his insistence. A bright spot in the circus... before he played himself out.

“Antella was... the green and orange long-nosed girl near the front of the hall,” Kinger continued explaining. “She insisted she was an anteater, but nobody knew for certain on that - not even Queenie.” He paused, seeming to deflate a little. But he quickly shook it off, his eyes scrunching in concentration. “Now, was it three months, or six months before you arrived that she Abstracted? The dates blur together after a while...”

He kept pondering this for a while, mumbling to himself. And Gangle... felt something watching him like this. There was a tingle in her head, telling her that she was missing something obvious. She frowned, trying to figure out what it was-

-and then it clicked, her eyes widening. He’s... concentrating. He’s focused! She should have realized that the moment he started this tangent. He could normally not keep a line of thought like this for long, especially when it involved past cast members. And similarly... he often did not seem to remember the name of his wife, as though it was physically painful for him to do so.

Yet here he was, saying her name and mentioning two other past members. He was actually able to remember it all right now! She looked at Zooble eagerly, nodding at them to press on. She had no clue why he had suddenly gotten more lucid, but if there was a time to get his perspective, now was their chance!

And... it would be nice to hear him be more like he was when she arrived.

Her friend’s eyes were set with determination, looking back at the man as he kept mumbling. They cleared their throat, grabbing his attention once more. “What did you mean by that? About Pomni going down Antella’s path?”

Rather than becoming confused like earlier, Kinger seemed to perk up at this. “Oh, right! Sorry.” He rubbed his chin, his concentration appearing to deepen. “You see, Antella was... a bit of a recluse. Quite ironic, given how loud her colors were. But attention, adventures... She was not a fan of any of it.” He chuckled, looking at Zooble with good-natured mirth. “Sounds a bit like someone we have now, huh?”

The mix-and-match person’s eyes widened, quite unused to the man deliberately teasing people. They glanced around, crossing their arms as they shrugged vaguely to hide the small moment of flusteredness. “Um... I guess?”

The ribbon-girl was unable to help giggling along with the chess piece’s chuckles. He then sighed fondly and continued. “Though, she actually went further than you do. Rather than wandering the tent when everyone else left on adventures, she... stayed in her room. She rarely ever left it. It became a game among a few members at the time to try and spot her when she went to grab food to experience eating and such again. I didn’t exactly approve of that, but they had fun with it...”

As he spoke, the implications of what he was saying settled in. Gangle’s eyes widened again, gazing at him with shock. “Wait... So she didn’t interact with anyone? And... she lasted ten to twelve years here? You never told me about this!”

Kinger chuckled some more, shaking his head. “I guess it never came up. Anyway, she wasn’t that much of a recluse. She rarely left her room, but she listened well enough to people through the door. And while she did not always answer back... she confided to me once that she was grateful for it.” His eyes softened, gently using his hand to lift the butterfly from his net to observe it closely. “She was shy and introverted... but people were there for her, despite how little she wanted to interact with the circus itself. Sometimes... that’s enough.”

The butterfly soon took off into the air, his eyes observing it as he kept speaking. “She had a good time, I’d say. Every few weeks, she’d go to the lounge to play games with us, and her tone was always happy when I talked with her through the door, or was let into her room. She was a good woman... My only regret is that Queenie and I had a virus the day she dared to go on an adventure. She was very weak to horror, and Caine’s title was misleading. I don’t know for certain if that’s what... broke her. But it was only a few weeks later that...”

The man hung his head, guilt creeping into his expression. Gangle looked at him sadly, wishing she still had her comedy mask so she could comfort him better. Zooble also softened up, their tone apologetic. “That’s... I’m so sorry...”

The chess piece shook his head. “It was a long time ago. I’ve moved past it.” He gave a weak chuckle. “Can’t even remember it most days. Small mercies, huh?”

That made Gangle flinch, the holes that were her eyes watering. “I...”

Kinger paused, before his eyes softened with shame. “Right... Sorry. I shouldn’t joke about that with you.” He took a deep breath, looking at her intently. “But listen. I don’t know if Pomni is the same as Antella. Her reason for isolation right now is... certainly different. But if her story proves anything, it’s that time alone won’t necessarily be her undoing. As long as we’re attentive, hopefully everything should be fine.”

He looked up at the sky, just in time for the cloud to pass and allow sunlight to hit them directly again. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “I do hope she’ll join us again soon, though. The digital sky isn’t so bad to be under...”

The ribbon-girl sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes as she gave a wobbly smile. “I’m sure she’d love for you to show her when she’s ready...”

The chess piece opened his eyes... then blinked several times before turning to her with a blank look. “Show who what?”

Gangle’s other ribbon hand clenched, trying not to let her expression crumble too much. She knew something like that was bound to happen any moment... but it still hurt. It never felt fair when the older man inevitably lost his train of thought. To see him slip back into his dazed confusion, not seeming to ever really comprehend his surroundings.

Was it so much to ask for a few more minutes? For... him to be his old self for just an hour? To help comfort and guide them whenever situations like Pomni’s arose? Because who else could do it but him?

He felt irreplaceable... and she hated the reality that he was likely the next one in danger of being put in The Basement.

Zooble saved her the trouble of ending the conversation, giving him a courteous nod. “Don’t worry about it. Thank you for the talk. You can go back to your butterflies.”

The chess piece blinked, then locked his eyes on the nearest of the insects. “...Oh, would you look at that! When did they get here?”

With that, he went back to swinging his net, collecting more of the little guys. The other two, meanwhile, quietly made their way back over the hill to leave him be. There was not too much worry about him going off the nearby ledge. The butterflies were not flying out that far, and even if they did, he typically had enough self-preservation not to dive off cliffs... Typically.

Still, the ribbon-girl was... not sure she could stand being around him like this without her comedy mask. Her friend clearly sensed this, too, with how they gripped her arm to lead her away. So it was that they made their way more inland for the moment, trying to trust that he would be fine.

Once they could no longer see him, the mix-and-match person sighed, stopping and letting her go. “Well, we lost your mask doing this, but... at least he had something to say.” They looked at her carefully. “Did what he said help any?”

Gangle pondered that for a moment, rubbing her chin. It was not exactly an easy task to feel “better” in general without her mask. But still, thinking over his story about Antella, and the positive belief he seemed to have in Pomni pulling through... Coming from someone so familiar with how people react to this world...

“...A little bit,” she eventually said while shrugging. “I mean, I’m still concerned about her, but... I guess I’ve been a little quick to assume the worst. It’s only been one day, and... if others have been fine with doing it longer, then...”

Zooble nodded. “I’ve said before - I don’t blame you for that. But... I think you’re going to have to accept that she’s going to need more breathing room than the last few people to join - myself included.”

The ribbon-girl just shrugged, not wanting to argue further on it. She was more reassured now that she had heard it from someone else, too, but... truthfully, she was also just growing tired of this. Not just about discussing Pomni’s potential well-being, but also from having to witness Kinger slip away again. Being stuck with her tragedy mask was also not encouraging her much.

She just... needed to let all of this go for a while. And to that end, she knew just how to.

The digital world almost seemed like it agreed with her a moment later. Turning her head, she straightened up as she noticed a small cluster of sky fish. Resembling trout with longer, wavier fins (and a cartoon flair), they “swam” serenely through the air without any care. They were just open to being caught.

Putting on a smile, she looked at her friend, gesturing to the fish. “Well, now that that’s done, shall we get back to it. I’ll try not to slow you down now that I’m... handicapped.”

“Don’t describe it like that,” the mix-and-match person stated seriously. They soon relaxed, though, as their eyes conveyed a smile. “But sure - whatever you want. I bet we have a chance to beat Jax yet!”

They turned and started sprinting at the sky fish, giving a yell as they prepared their net. And Gangle followed behind, her own net ready. She kept her eyes on her targets, trying to push down her complicated feelings for a while longer. Let’s just get through the adventure... We can decide if I’m still paranoid about Pomni once we’re done.

-------

They somehow ended up being the first ones to arrive back at the village. It surprised Gangle, as she was sure that about another hour had passed with them chasing sky fish. And the journey back was not all that short, either. She would have thought that Jax would have gotten bored of strangling fish and come back to do the same to the rain walkers, or that Ragatha would have collected a fair bounty to bring back.

There was no sign of any of them so far, though. Sitting at the rim of this small civilization, where the green cloud houses stopped expanding outward, she looked across the white landscape. Other clouds brushed past in the distance near the edges, yet she had not seen anyone come off one yet. Perhaps they would come in from a direction behind her, but regardless, it appeared they were still taking their time.

Not that she terribly minded today. Sure, the adventure would not end until everyone had been assembled, meaning they were basically stranded. However... she was coming to rather like the gentle breezes and the crisp, clean air. It was soothing to her, helping to distract from the worst of her dark thoughts coming from the loss of her comedy mask. Plus, when was the last time she had truly taken to slow down on one of these maps? She may as well make up for some lost time!

(It was certainly what Kinger would have wanted...)

So there she sat, taking deep breaths and simply trying to... exist. As with the rest of the day, Zooble was not far from her, leaning on a building behind her. They seemed more impatient than she was, tapping their foot and scanning their surroundings intently. No doubt they were ready to get back to the tent and relax somewhere there. She may have teased before, but no matter if her friend liked an adventure or not, they much preferred the familiarity of the circus compared to prolonged stays like this... Not that they had a high view of that place, either.

Still, she was grateful for them sticking it out for this long. Any other day, if they were forced onto a map, they might have stayed in whatever constituted as its “hub.” But instead... she was sure they enjoyed the hunting more than they cared to admit. Such a rare, loose quest had to be appealing to their hatred of the more linear ones.

...And she was sure their presence had deterred Jax from seeking her out. She shivered, imagining another day forced to be his submissive bitch. (May as well be vulgar about it - he never went easy on her.) He would have tossed her mask off the clouds immediately before making her do all the hunting. She could almost hear him joking about a fish looking like her, too, before proceeding to strangle it... the animal unable to fight back any more than she could...

But today, the ribbon-girl had gotten a break. She could not thank Zooble enough for that, especially knowing their normal preferences. I wish they’d come with us more often... But I don’t want them to make themselves uncomfortable constantly. I hope they might consider doing this more in the future, though.

She would ask about it another time, when she had her comedy mask to help her confidence. For now, though, she figured she might as well help them pass the time. Thus, clearing her throat (which was just a ribbon), she nodded at the large, flat expanse of the village’s cloud. “There’s a lot of charm to the place, huh?”

In her peripheral vision, the mix-and-match person shrugged. “Not the worst it could be. I can’t believe I’m saying this, though... I think it could have done with more details. Open clouds are just... kind of boring.”

Gangle turned toward them more, her tragedy mask conveying a raised eyebrow. “What would you have included, then?”

“I don’t know - cloud trees or... something,” Zooble answered, shaking their head. “Just anything to add a bit more variety than these masses having different colors. Was the candy kingdom this uniform in its look?”

The ribbon-girl shrugged. “Not entirely. I mean, it was a candy desert, so there was some monotony, but there were a lot of interesting land formations along the chase’s route. And the kingdom itself was very detailed.” She sighed wistfully, turning back to the landscape. “I should try to draw it tonight before I go to bed... Nothing from the ending, though.”

“Didn’t expect you to draw that anyway,” the mix-and-match person said. They walked forward, finally taking a seat next to her. “With how long everyone else is taking, though, you could probably start now. It might just help us both from getting too bored.”

Gangle blinked, then perked up slightly despite not having her mask. “Oh, yeah! I should have thought of that.” She reached behind her, accessing her inventory and pulling out her sketchbook, along with some colored pencils. For something like this, the monochrome of ordinary lead did not feel appropriate. She would bring that candy land to life with all the colors she had on her!

Zooble watched as she got set up, glancing behind their friend. “That is quite the feature you have access to. Must be convenient for heavy objects.”

“There seems to be a weight limit, actually,” the ribbon-girl responded. She flipped through the pages, doing her best to ignore the sketches from earlier that were trying to be Pomni as she glanced at them. “I’m guessing that means you haven’t been able to access yours at all yet, though?”

The mix-and-match person shook their head. “Not even a little. I’ve tried doing everything you said, but it’s just not working. I’m starting to think some of us just don’t have one, and you and Jax got lucky.”

Gangle was not sure that was the case, despite her experiences trying to teach it. At various points, she had tried to give Zooble, Ragatha, and Kaufmo, before his Abstraction, tips on how to do it - the mindset and form of concentration needed. However, all of them had failed to access the little pocket dimension. No matter what, they did not seem capable of storing even items for adventures into one of their own, which cast doubt on them having the feature.

She actually believed they did, though. It just did not make sense to her that some members would have it while others did not. Plus, she had asked Caine about it before, and he had said inventories were standard... He had not had any advice on how to use them, however. It made her wonder if there were different methods between certain people, which each individual had to learn for themselves. She had gotten lucky with copying Jax’s method, but perhaps with more experimentation...

But currently, she was not in a good mindset to speculate more on that. So she merely shrugged and let the matter go. “Maybe. We’ll try again another time.” She stopped on a blank page, getting a pencil ready as she looked at her friend expectantly. “Do you want me to draw anything specific? Anything you were curious about?”

Zooble appeared to consider this for a moment, then looked at her curiously. “How about the castle that the princess you all mentioned was staying in? May as well see what Caine believes to be a royal place of living.”

The ribbon-girl tapped a pencil against her chin. “Actually, it was a palace.”

“...There’s a difference?”

“One is a fortress, and the other is meant to display wealth. Pretty basic stuff you learn after an art commissioner complains to you about your initial sketches.”

The mix-and-match person just shrugged again. “If you say so. Still, show me what you got!”

Gangle nodded, eagerly doing just that. She started to use a normal pencil to outline the large structure from yesterday. She started with the dual stairs that went to the balcony up front. Then, she started on the large double doors that led inside the place. She quickly moved on to the stained glass window above it, then the frosting with sprinkles along its walls, then...

Well... it all just started to blur together for her. When she made art, she could see the final product she wanted clearly in her mind. Every individual piece was an addition to completing her next masterpiece - one part of the whole. All art was done in parts, but for her, there was no set process of which of those parts came first. She just did... whatever felt natural for the picture, whether that be the people or the setting.

She knew, as the picture came further along, that it was not a perfect representation. Memory was imperfect, after all, and she had to take artistic liberties for the areas that she could not fully recall. But as everything came together, she felt that she was doing well in capturing the essence of the place. It made her pencils feel like they were running smoother along the paper... Calming her mind, if only for a while.

She barely realized the time passing around her. Before she knew it, the sun was setting... Or, as much as it could when there was no actual ground. But it was dipping below their cloud line and creating some shadows, and the faintest bit of twilight made the sky a little more orange. She did not know if that was how it would work in real life, but the effects sold it for her. The details Caine actually focuses on astound me sometimes.

By then, her picture was almost complete. It was not her most detailed drawing, but years of practice there allowed her to fit in quite a bit for such a short time. She set aside her pencils, brushing off stray lead shavings carefully as she viewed her creation. Gazing at it, she felt like she could stand in front of that place again - and perhaps she would, if the ringmaster saved and reused the asset. But until then, what she had felt good enough.

Zooble clearly felt the same, too, as they gave an appreciative whistle as they looked at it from her side. “And the artist strikes again. It looks amazing, Gangle!”

The ribbon-girl chuckled sheepishly, ducking her head a little as she tried to deflect. “It’s... not that good. The shading by the marshmallow trees I included could have been better. I’m also not sure that the windows-”

“Gangle,” the mix-and-match person interjected, patting her back gently. “You did fine. I certainly wouldn’t be able to make something like this. Take some pride!”

Pausing briefly, Gangle soon nodded, staring at her drawing as mixed emotions stirred around her chest. “...I am. I mean, I am proud of it. It’s just hard to express without... You know...” She sighed wearily. “Without my mask, accepting praise can sometimes be...”

“...I know,” Zooble whispered. They pulled her into a side hug, letting her rest her head on their shoulder. “That’s why I’m here for you today. So that, for once, that a$%hole can’t take advantage of it. You deserve to have something to lean on when you don’t have your mask.” They glanced to the side, looking a little ashamed. “I’m just sorry I don’t do it for you more often. But these adventures-”

“You don’t need to explain it,” the ribbon-girl said. With a shaky breath, she leaned more against them, a small tear running down her face. “I just wish that... I had more control over it. I know my comedy mask self is... easier to be around. No worries about breakdowns, and being able to smile for longer than ten seconds...”

The mix-and-match person shook their head. “You’re nice to be around, with or without your mask. Don’t let anyone ever convince you otherwise.”

Gangle felt her face heat up, sure that cartoon blush marks had appeared on her cheeks. She tried to ignore it, though, as they looked at the horizon for a while. They were not quite facing the “sunset,” but it was close enough. The two of them relaxed for a while, the breeze that passed by helping her feel... safe. Secured in the grip of her friend. A person whom she trusted so much against the chaos of the circus...

...Zooble spoke up again after a few moments, their voice a murmur as they kept looking out. “We could make something of this, you know... No pressure, of course, but I wanted to remind you that I’m... open.” Their embarrassment was palpable with that last word, evidently not used to being quite that vulnerable.

The ribbon-girl managed a small smile at this, but still shook her head. “It sounds nice... but let's talk about it another time. When there’s not so much else on my mind.”

“Fair enough,” the mix-and-match person replied with a shrug. They did not press any more after that, letting silence reign again. She appreciated that - the patience with her. She did not want to take advantage of it, of course, and would give a more definitive answer eventually. But for now... she was more than fine with where they were. They were close, and if they never deepened that bond, then she still felt they would be okay.

It was another thing helping to keep her sane... and she would not let it go, no matter how she sometimes felt she did not deserve it...

Luckily, there was not an opportunity to go down that dark line of thought. For it was only a few minutes later, as they kept sitting around, that a new voice made itself known behind them. “Oh, hey! There you two are!”

Gangle tensed briefly, but quickly relaxed again as she realized it was not Jax. Pulling away from Zooble, she turned around, managing to give another small smile as she watched the new person approach. “Oh, hey, Ragatha. Did you have fun hunting the sky fish?”

...The question might as well have been spoken into a vacuum. The moment that the ragdoll saw her face, a worried frown made its way onto hers. She rushed up, kneeling and inspecting her tragedy mask. “Oh, Gangle. What happened? Did Jax mess with you again? I told him to lay off it today!”

The ribbon-girl frowned, wondering how the other woman could possibly think that would be any more effective than the last several times. But still, she shook her head. “No, it wasn’t him. It was just... an accident earlier. Nothing big.” She did not mention Kinger, knowing how the redhead would feel about missing a relatively lucid moment from him.

Ragatha studied her for a time, then glanced at Zooble. When they nodded in confirmation, though, she sighed and smiled, helping wipe away her tears. “Well, that’s good, then. I mean, not that you lost your mask, obviously! But hey, you weren’t picked on!” She chuckled. “Maybe I’m getting through to him after all!”

“...Am I just invisible to you?” the mix-and-match person deadpanned.

Her real eye widening, the ragdoll chuckled more sheepishly. “Ah... Yeah, you probably had a good effect, too. Maybe... more than me.” Her gaze went distant for a second, before she shook her head and smiled wider, clearly forced. “But what matters is that we all had a nice adventure for once, if I’m reading things correctly?”

Gangle nodded, deciding to move the conversation more in that direction. (She also tried not to be offended that the other needed confirmation from Zooble about her claim... She knew the woman meant no harm by it - probably did not even realize she had done it.) “Yeah, we did. Together, we ended up with a total of forty fish put together. What about you?”

Ragatha shrugged, moving and sitting down on her other side. “Oh, I only got about twenty. I didn’t bother to recount them. It just got so hard to keep up with the little guys after a while.”

“They were definitely set to speed up the more you got,” Zooble said, rolling their eyes. “Probably Caine’s idea of adding ‘stakes’ to this. Such a dumb gimmick.”

The ribbon-girl shook her head, murmuring quietly. “So unable to admit to having fun that they pull at straws to complain about.”

The mix-and-match person gave them an irritated glance, though without any strength behind it. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” Gangle was quick to say. Clearing her throat, she looked at the redhead, tilting her head. “So what about Jax and Kinger? Are they back yet?”

“Kinger is,” Ragatha answered. “He was standing by a well near the center of town... Not that I know why a town made on a cloud even needs a well. The chief also looked confused as butterflies kept coming out of what I assume was his sack.” She shook her head. “As for Jax... I think he’s on his way. He was... ‘tenderising’ a sky fish along the path I took.” She shivered. “I did not need to know the fish had white blood...”

Zooble shook their head. “Yeesh. That one must have personally offended him or something.” They elbowed the ribbon-girl. “Still, I think the odds are in our favor that we beat him, don’t you?”

Gangle simply shrugged, still not fully committed to that small contest. Her friend had requested that the chief count both of their sacks toward her, but who knew if the NPC would do so? If not... the brutally efficient rabbit likely had this in the bag - pun unintended. She was not going to be opposed now, though, if she ended up winning.

The ragdoll shrugged as well. “I guess we’ll see.” She sighed, her smile becoming more... frail. “I’m just glad we’ll be back at the tent soon... Pomni has probably gotten lonely there, all by herself.”

That made the ribbon-girl flinch, doing her best not to suck in a breath too sharply. She had... been trying not to bring that topic up. Her guilt from that morning had continued to weigh on her, and she had not wanted to ruin the fun. And while Kinger’s story earlier had helped, she was still not too certain about the jester’s mental state currently.

However, it was not like she could keep ignoring it. Once Jax was back, they would be going back to the circus. Caine would also eventually come by to collect them if they took too long, anyway. So, whether she was ready or not, she would have to confront what to do about Pomni fairly soon.

There was no way she was just going to ignore their newest member later. However... what was she supposed to do that would not be crossing any lines? If the jester still did not feel like talking, then she doubted trying to barge into her room would be well-accepted. And what if she really was like Antella and needed more privacy than most? That would make reaching out all the harder in the days to come.

So... what exactly were her options?

Noticing her slowly growing unease, Zooble quickly interjected into the talk. They cleared their throat, addressing Ragatha. “Eh - it’s only been a few hours. I doubt she’s feeling all that lonely. But I’m assuming you’ll be making a beeline to her room, anyway?”

The ragdoll nodded. “Of course! It’s what I’m here for! To make sure everyone is well looked after! She may not want to talk, but I intend to make clear that the door is always open for whenever she wants to join us again.”

That made the mix-and-match person raise an eyebrow. “That... sounds like you think it’s going to be a while before that happens.”

Ragatha paused... then sighed heavily, a frown forming on her lips. “I... don’t want it to be a long time. But we... all have our needs. And I messed up at critical points yesterday, so with me in particular, she’s likely...”

She swallowed, something more... sorrowful flashing in her eye. But then she shook her head, plastering on a new smile. “B-but it won’t last - I know it! Eventually, she’s going to emerge from her room, and when she does, we can all make sure she has the best adventure ever.” She nodded as though trying to convince herself of her own words. “We can give her special treatment! Make her the main character of a quest! I’ll have to work hard to convince Jax and to keep Kinger focused, but I know we can do this!”

Gangle, as ever, doubted that part about convincing the rabbit. However, she did get caught in her enthusiasm, easing up a little. “That... would be a nice thing to do. It kind of depends on the adventure Caine gives us, though...”

“We can work on giving him suggestions,” the ragdoll reasoned. She tapped her chin, humming in thought. “What kind of adventures would Pomni like... Fantasy? Mystery? Hopefully she’ll tell us before that time comes...”

Not appearing very enthralled by this idea themself, Zooble shrugged at the redhead. “Maybe we... shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves. Let’s focus on the current issues with her.” They pointed at themselves. “So, how about until then, I do my best to monitor her? You know, when I’m back at the tent while you guys are away?”

Ragatha’s eye lit up, now smiling widely at them. “You would do that for us?”

“No reason why I can’t,” the mix-and-match person replied nonchalantly. “I just wander around and entertain myself whenever you all are away. That, and hide from Caine. It should be easy enough to make rounds by her room - especially since I like to go to mine to try some different parts sometimes.”

The ragdoll looked pleased, giving a relieved sigh. “That would be great, Zooble. I feel better already knowing you’ll be around if she needs anything.”

Gangle nodded in agreement. Her heart, admittedly, did twist up a little, a small part of her knowing this would likely affect her ideas about her friend joining them a bit more. Until their newest member showed more signs of being willing to talk, it would make sense for them to stay back more often. Combined with their preferences... even if the other wanted to protect her more from Jax, it would be wrong to neglect the jester after all she has been through.

But at least it was for a good cause. If losing her protection more often meant that Pomni was kept safe and watched for protection, that was worth it in her books. And besides... she could not waste her friend’s time by insisting they be around more. Not for someone as worthless, and... and as much of a crybaby as-

She blinked hard, recognizing the spiral that was her depression. Trying not to let it claim her (not until she was in her bed), she searched for something to contribute. “Well, it’s... good that we have that settled. But...” She paused briefly, before settling on the most immediate concern. “What... are we going to do today before we head to bed? Do you think there’s any chance she’ll...”

Ragatha stopped for a moment, her smile dimming. She managed to maintain it, though, as she tried to sound optimistic. “The... chances aren’t zero, at least. That’s something!” She gave a forced chuckle, looking down as her voice got gradually softer. “Yeah... That’s something...”

The other two exchanged a look, worry etching their features. Setting her sketchbook fully to the side, the ribbon-girl scooted a little closer. Her hand hovered above the older woman, not sure if any touch was wanted. “Um... Ragatha?”

Said woman did not respond immediately, her yarn hair obscuring her face. Then, she spoke up softly. “...I did alright yesterday, right?”

Gangle blinked, not having expected that. “H-huh?”

“I know I was a little passive... again, but I still did okay, right?” the ragdoll asked. She looked at her, her smile poorly hiding her clear desperation. “I-I tried to engage her! I tried to make Jax stop on the truck! A-and she has to know I was trying to get her to safety by getting the portal open, even if I couldn’t look after her personally!

“Everything’s been so hard for her, so I’m not blaming her for being so cold. But... she’ll recognize all of that in time, won’t she? And everything I managed to do... It was exactly what Queenie would have wanted, wasn’t it? And also just good things to be doing?” Her smile got too wide as she looked at her, very expecting... Practically begging.

...The ribbon-girl was silent for a long time. A quick glance at Zooble, too, also confirmed they were off-put by this, too. It was not the first time the redhead so plainly sought validation - to be told that she was doing a good job. Though, so rarely were the circumstances of this from events so delicate and horrifying.

There were so many things she could say in that moment, and an unfortunate amount of them... not very good. About the ineffectiveness of trying to simply tell Jax not to do something. About how some of what she overheard her saying to Pomni that day could come across as a bit condescending, even if that was not her intent. About how the entire situation with the portal had just been a mass chaos for everyone.

And... there were more bitter thoughts than this. Mostly regarding how much Ragatha had failed her all these years. How nothing she ever did quelled the abuse she was put under. That if she wanted to be more like Queenie, maybe she should grow a fucking spine-!

...But then, who was she to comment about that last point?

Regardless, she did not bring up any of these things. Instead, she took a deep breath... and smiled as sincerely as she could. “I’m... sure she will realize some of that. Maybe not everything, but... you’ll get your chance to make up for your mistakes with her, just like I will. We just need to be patient, like you said.”

So much tension seemed to leave  Ragatha at these words. She nodded, looking more sure of her viewpoint already. “Yeah... We just have to wait. It’s definitely hard sometimes, but we’ll manage, right?” She laughed, trying to add levity to things.

Gangle did her best to laugh with her... and ignore the stare Zooble was giving her. The mix-and-match person played along a bit with the ragdoll’s need for validation, but they had limits. There were some things they would be brutally honest with her about, trying not to let the redhead become too delusional about anything. And, evidently, they believed she was pushing on that line too much.

Yet she could not help herself, with or without her comedy mask. Despite the... flaws in their interactions, she still considered her a friend. She wanted to support her, and help her achieve her dream of filling Queenie’s shoes. And if that also helped her stop from Abstracting, then what if she hid her feelings a bit?

Plus, who knew? Perhaps... the other would actually figure out how to make Jax listen... One of these days...

She was brought back into the present as the ragdoll sighed, starting to stand up. “Anyway, I’d better keep an eye out for Jax. I’ll give you both a hollar once he’s turned in his sky fish. We can figure out who caught the most, then go home.”

Gangle shook her head as the other got to her feet. “Wait, but- What about Pomni? We didn’t actually make a plan for what to do when we get back!”

“All we can do, I think, is try talking with her like this morning,” Ragatha said, looking rather sad but still smiling. “Like I said, there’s every chance she’s willing to open up now. But we’ll have to see.” She sighed, shaking her head, too. “Who knows? Maybe Caine’s reward for today’s adventure will be interesting enough to give to her as a gift? That’s all I’ve got in terms of ideas, though.”

The ribbon-girl opened her mouth, about to say that they could do better... but then paused. She blinked, something about that last part nagging at her... About gifts...

Appearing to take her silence as her clamming up again, Zooble took over and waved the redhead off. “Well, it’s better than nothing. Have fun wandering around here, I suppose. These rain walkers aren’t very good conversationalists, though. I tried talking to one - they just kept asking about the weather.”

“Fits the setting, then,” the ragdoll said, giggling a little. She then waved and started walking off. “Enjoy the view! It shouldn’t be long now!”

She went off, soon disappearing behind one of the green cloud buildings behind them. Once she was out of sight, the mix-and-match person sighed, giving a small shake of their head. “Wow. I knew she was taking things badly, but... Maybe we should have invited her along with us.” They crossed their arms and grumbled. “She might have stopped Kinger from having that little ‘accident,’ too...”

Gangle did not answer, looking down deep in thought as her mind remained stuck on that idea. A gift... Some sort of peace offering to ease tensions. That... Why didn’t I think of that? That’s perfect! It’s not too intrusive, and it shows that we care! God, my head is always on backwards without my mask. I should have thought of this after talking with Kinger!

It seemed like a perfect idea. If Pomni was not willing to talk with them right now, then that was fine for now. But if they provided physical proof that their concern was real, that would go a long way to thawing that silence away, surely!

...The problem was, however, that she had no clue what they could give her to do that. Giving the jester the reward from this adventure seemed like it would be too lazy and cheap. It might come across more as them pawning off something they don’t want to the new girl. Plus... the woman might not even open the door to accept it.

That was the biggest problem with the idea, the more she considered it. No matter what they brought, if Pomni did not open that door, it was pointless. There was no way to give her anything, otherwise, though! It was not like they could force anything through it - not unless it was very tiny or as thin as-!

She stopped, her posture straightening. Then... her eyes slowly drifted to her sketchbook, still displaying the candy palace. She remembered the outlines she made earlier... And suddenly, she had ideas on what she could do for a background... once she finished making the jester herself.

She received a small nudge from Zooble, their voice starting to grow concerned. “Gangle? You with me there? Were you lying about your headache going away?”

The ribbon-girl found herself unfrozen, springing into action. She grabbed her sketchbook with haste, quickly trying to flip back to those earlier pages. As she did, though, she asked her friend a question. “Zooble, are the cracks under our doors big enough to slip paper through them?”

The mix-and-match person looked on in confusion. They eventually shrugged, though, and answered. “I... don’t know? They might be? Why?”

Gangle reached one of the pages. She took a deep breath, feeling a sense of... control she did not often have without her comedy mask. Then... she gave the first smile since losing her mask that was not forced in any way. “Well... I did promise I would do some drawing for Pomni, didn’t I?”

Zooble blinked... though their eyes quickly filled with understanding. They watched her with intrigue now as she picked up some of her colored pencils, starting to properly outline Pomni. If she had actual eyes, she felt there would have been a glint in them. Even her tears, for once, did not sting as strongly.

She had told herself she would make a hundred drawings if it would help their newest member... so now, she might as well get started with the first.

Chapter Text

Given the simplicity of the adventure, it made sense that the ending was also fairly straightforward. It was not like many branching pathways could be achieved here. So long as some of them had brought back sky fish, then they had helped the rain walkers. Anything else was just fancy dressing on top of it.

Indeed, once everyone was back, the NPCs seemed quite joyous for the bounties they all brought, no matter the size. They did not even express annoyance at Kinger for... having only brought butterflies back. “The children will love playing with them,” the chief had said while tipping his tophat. Gangle was not sure if he was just programmed to compliment them all or if there was some quirk to his AI, but hey, it was better than being hunted by guards.

They also got the announcement about who brought the most back while they were there. And according to their leader, it was the team of Zooble and her! Jax had come surprisingly close with thirty-five fish, but their combined forty overtook him. The rain clouds that made up the villagers had given off lightning sparks as they cheered, and it had even rained confetti over the two. (Caine seemed to have a fixation on using that here recently.)

The small celebration had actually lifted her spirits for a moment... until she had looked over and seen the dark look Jax had been giving them.

Still, things had wrapped up rather quickly afterward. The portal appeared, they stepped through, and there to greet them was the ringmaster himself. He congratulated them, then summoned for them... a trophy made out of white, fluffy clouds... which had only lasted about ten seconds after he left before poofing out of existence. Though, in fairness, it had been taller than Kinger, so she had no clue where they would have stored it regardless.

Then, after getting their “fantastic prize,” everyone just... split off. No extensions or fanfare - the adventure was simply done, and now everyone could relax. Some food was provided, but unless it was a feast, everyone always just grabbed a plate and went elsewhere, and today was no exception. It was just a calm conclusion to everything, just like she had wanted.

...But her day was not over yet.

That was why the ribbon-girl was on the green couch of their resting area. Her sketchbook in her lap, she had her lips pressed together in concentration. A small pile of colored pencils was next to her, with just about every color she thought she might need for this. She held a red one now, being very careful about coloring inside the lines of her current drawing. Every movement was slow and deliberate, not willing to make any mistakes.

Honestly, she was always a... bit of a perfectionist when it came to her art sometimes. Usually, it was just with the commissions she got back in the real world, and now here in the circus. If she made any errors that could not easily be undone... then the whole thing was scrapped. It did not matter if it was just a tiny splash of color outside of where it needed to be. That imperfection was unacceptable, with her either getting frustrated if she had her comedy mask, or falling further into despair without it.

This time, though, she felt that it was extra important to make this picture perfect. After all... it was a gift to Pomni to hopefully help her settle in better. She had been working on it since she had been looking at that cloudy horizon, and now that night was drawing close, she felt like she was getting close. If she messed up at this stage... she would likely be inconsolable.

If these were the only way she could help the jester right now, then so be it. But in that case, she intended to make a good first impression with this. Their newest member deserved only the best after her incredibly rough start... and she hoped her chosen setting for it would please her.

Her current audience seemed to think it was good, at least. As she finished shading her current area, Zooble looked over her shoulder, humming as they watched. “Jeez. How much do I have to pay you to make me drawings this good? I wouldn’t mind a few like this in my room.”

Gangle managed to giggle despite lacking her comedy mask. “I’m... probably going overboard with this. But when an artist gives themselves standards... you’d rather die than break them.”

The mix-and-match person rolled their eyes. “Please don’t. You’re one of the last sane people in this place.”

“I think that title goes to you,” the ribbon-girl countered absentmindedly. “This whole place would be a lot darker if I weren’t able to see you every day. You’re the best anchor I could ever ask for.”

...It took a second for her own words to register. But once they did, her eyes widened as she froze. Setting aside her pencil for a moment, she proceeded to bury her face in her ribbon hands, groaning loudly. Pay more attention when you’re talking, Gangle! Y-you can’t just say stuff like that out of the blue!

It was too late to take it back, though, as Zooble recovered from their own shock. They snorted, their eyes squinted with mirth. “Well, what do you know? You can be pretty smooth even without your mask!”

“Oh my God,” Gangle groaned, wanting to curl up and hide her face further as she felt cartoon blush marks appear on her cheeks. The only thing stopping her was the sketchbook on her lap, which she did not want to ruin. She wanted the paper to be as wrinkle-free as possible. (No way was she relying on it to glitch out and become smooth again, as sheets often seemed to do inside the tent.)

Chuckling some more, the mix-and-match person patted her on the back. “Alright, I’ll stop. Now, let’s try to finish up, yeah? We might be able to get it to Pomni before she goes to sleep if we hurry a little.”

The ribbon-girl doubted that they would receive any response regardless, given what everyone had said so far. But... she saw their point. The bright lights of the circus were dimming all around them in a show that “night” was here. Some of the actual colors were even switched to darker shades to help sell the effect. It could... make some of the places there rather creepy at night, but at least there was no real danger there... besides Jax.

The only exception was the bright spotlight over their little area. She had no clue who requested it or when, but this place was usually always brightly lit until “midnight” in case anyone wanted to hang out there late. It made things convenient for her now, too, since it provided plenty of illumination for her to draw.

She was not planning to be up quite that late, though. So, she got back to it, taking some solace in the quiet that surrounded them. Kinger and Jax had retired ages ago, with the latter heading toward his room while the former was... elsewhere. Ragatha had checked on them a few times, but the redhead was likely asleep now, too.

Though, the ragdoll had provided some updates on Pomni after her visit... And the report was that nothing had changed at all. Not so much as a peep had come through that door, even though the artist was sure her friend had probably tried really hard to get one. For all the talk about giving their newest member space, she was sure the other wanted to be the first to hear from her, if possible.

Her strained smile when approaching the duo afterward, though, had shown the lack of progress even before saying anything. Gangle pitied her, wondering how this whole situation was going to affect her long-term. The reassurances from before helped, but... she had her limits. Even with the levels of borderline-delusional positivity she had reached...

The ribbon-girl would just have to keep an eye on her, though. At least she’ll be easier to monitor, unlike Pomni, she considered. It made her frown, hating how clinical that sounded, and how it almost suggested the jester was doing something wrong. But... when you could turn into a monster any day after losing your mind, you have to be that way sometimes, she supposed.

It was a digital hell in every sense... A place where, whether an individual liked it or not, they only had each other. And to that end... she would show Pomni this in what she hoped would come across as respectful.

...The moment would soon be upon them for this, too, as she finished up her drawing.

She blew gently on her sketchbook, getting rid of any remaining pencil shavings. Once she was sure it was clean, she turned it toward Zooble so they could get a better look. She swallowed, feeling a little more nervous than she usually did when left with her tragedy mask. “What do you think? Do... you think she’ll like it?”

The mix-and-match person took a moment to look over the completed picture. Then... their eyes softened as they looked at her and nodded. “...I think she’ll be quite touched by it. The sentiment is certainly nice...”

Gangle gave a small smile, looking down at her work. She had chosen the area not too far away from the front of the stage as the backdrop. It was right there in the middle of the background, sitting between two large marble columns on either side. The black and white checkered floor had been easy, though she had tried to be careful about the colorful blocks and other assets that she added in. With how vibrant the whole tent was, a lot of that could blur together even for long-time residents, so she had done her best to study the area before coming here to draw.

And in the foreground... she had put Pomni surrounded by everyone else.

Kinger was the closest on her left in the picture, naturally. Not only that, though, but she had drawn his eyes to convey clarity - that this was the man at his best. His eyes were squinted with mirth as he rested a hand on her shoulder, looking almost like a dad who was congratulating his kid. A bit idealized, perhaps, but... perhaps one day the woman would get to see him like this.

On the right of her was Ragatha, which she was sure the woman would appreciate. She had a hand resting on her shoulder, too, and was giving an encouraging smile. The ribbon-girl had been careful not to make her seem anxious in the drawing like she was currently acting like, truly hoping she would become like this one day. Someone who not only encouraged others, but backed it up with stronger action!

Directly behind the jester, she had put herself... A placement that Zooble had encouraged her to do, rather than it being her first choice. She felt a little embarrassed by it, especially since it depicted her smiling widely with her comedy mask, which gave her a small pang from the temporary loss. But... she had to admit that her ribbon body surrounding their newest member looked nice, so she had stuck with it.

Speaking of her friend, though, they were just beside Kinger. They looked plenty joyful, too, though in a much cooler manner, along with not giving any physical affection. A very accurate representation of them, if she did say so herself! (The only one they really allowed to hug them was her, after all.) Yet they still came across as a friendly face, wanting what was best for their new member.

Everyone was there... including Jax on Ragatha’s other side. He was facing off to the side, his arms crossed and a frown on his face... but he was still included. He was awful, but... he was still a member of the cast. It did not feel right not to give him a spot. (At the very least, she had made him look less hostile in this...)

And right there, dead in the middle... Pomni stood with a smile. Not a big one, but also not a timid one. A small, genuine smile at being surrounded by them. At finding her place in this place. Her hands were grabbing Kinger and Ragatha’s clothes, all the while ribbons surrounded her torso. It made her seem... comfortable. Secure.

The whole picture was like a window of... what could be. A show of the bond that most of them shared, and were more than willing to invite her into. It was idealized, and perhaps a little cliche in its form... but it was almost like a promise.

One she hoped Pomni would be willing to believe in here soon...

Gangle looked it all over, judging every little detail to be absolutely sure that there were no mistakes. When she could not find anything wrong with even the background, though, she took a deep breath. A part of her felt like this was... quite a small contribution. She wished there was more she could do for the woman that would not be a breach of privacy.

...But things had to start somewhere. Thus, she looked over at her friend as she carefully put her sketchbook into her inventory. “...Shall we get going, then?”

Zooble nodded, looking very proud of her. “Lead the way, my good artist...”

-------

The track back to their bedrooms was mercifully uneventful. There was no Caine to jump out of nowhere and scare them, or a Jax who had waited to try and catch them off guard to make them “pay” for winning the adventure. If anything, the tent was almost... too quiet at this time. There was not even faint music or stock sound effects in the distance - just total silence. (If you wanted night ambiance, you had to go outside for it.)

Neither of them said anything the whole way. For Zooble, Gangle imagined it was due to how tired they were. They were trying to hide it, but while their expressions were limited, the signs of exhaustion were there. It was not often that they participated in adventures to such a degree, after all, and combined with the late hour... Well, she just considered herself lucky to have a friend willing to put up with all of that.

And as for herself... she would claim it was the last vestiges of her concussion if anyone asked. Though truth be told, that was almost gone. She had barely even given it any thought when they were on the map, nearly forgetting she even got such a nasty blow to the head. Whatever the ringmaster did to try and fix her up this time had been delayed, but he seemed to have mostly succeeded in his head injury healing this time.

The point was that it was not the problem. What was really getting to her was... some last-minute doubts about her drawing.

She was trying not to sink into the endless spiral that was her mind. She was proud of the amount of effort she had put into this piece, at least. It was not that she thought there were any flaws in her craftsmanship. She still wanted to give their newest member a piece of art, too.

However, the longer she had to think about it, the more she wondered if... she was sending the right message with it. Like, would the image of them all being happy together just put unintended pressure on the woman to come out? Would she find it creepy, since they barely knew one another yet? Were there other meanings that could be interpreted from it that she was not trying to convey?

...Artists could truly be their worst critics - imagining the worst of their work. Her self-doubt was only enhanced by her lack of her comedy mask. It made her want to retreat to her room and work on some more sketches through the night, hoping to land on something better. There was no reason she could not ask Caine to sit out tomorrow’s adventure to make up for the lack of sleep, in theory!

But... she wanted to do this tonight. She knew that no matter how many drawings she did, she would have these same doubts. It would be best to push through them and just give her current piece away. Besides, Zooble stayed with me the whole time. I don’t want that to have been for nothing, even if they would claim it was fine...

The time to back out was disappearing fast, anyway. Soon enough, they had reached the entrance to the hall with their rooms. It was not color-swapped like other areas, but the overhead lights were shut off for the night. There was just enough “brightness” to the world, though, to let them see it clearly, as if light was being filtered through a semi-thin curtain.

As they stepped beyond the threshold, she took a deep breath, reaching into her inventory. With her sketchbook in hand, she started to make her way toward the jester’s door. Her friend, meanwhile, was scanning everywhere like a hawk despite their tired eyes. No doubt they were keeping an eye out for any last-minute surprises from Jax. If there was anything that would ruin the coming moment, it was him jumping out and ripping her drawing to shreds.

...Still, the lack of interruption meant they reached Pomni’s door sooner than she would have liked. It was to be expected, given how her room was located so close to the hallway’s entrance. But that did not help her nerves as they both stopped before it, standing in the middle of the corridor.

It was as unassuming as that morning, but for Gangle, it might as well have been a beast ready to snap at her. She hugged her sketchbook close to her chest, trying and failing not to wilt now that they were there. Her feet shuffled along the carpet beneath them, feeling one last urge to leave the jester be for now. She felt woefully underprepared for this simple task, despite all logic and reason.

And even after talking with everyone... something still unsettled her about the room. Something that she could not place even now. Something that she was missing about it... A hidden meaning to the silence...

It was almost enough to make her bolt. However, a hand gently touching her back brought her out of her head. Looking over, she saw Zooble staring at her, their eyes encouraging. They gestured calmly to Pomni’s door, looking expectant, yet patient as ever.

They had none of the same doubts she did. They had seen her picture, and despite the time having passed... they still believed in her. They were confident that this was the right move for her to make.

And if she could not trust them, then... who could she trust at this point?

With that sobering thought, the ribbon-girl swallowed and stepped forward slowly. In no time at all, she was positioned directly in front of the door, just as she had been that morning. She took one last breath, trying to get her darker thoughts under control. It’ll be fine... Just have some faith in yourself. Just this once without needing that mask...

After a brief hesitation, she raised a hand and knocked gently. She called out quietly, being mindful of everyone else down the corridor. “Pomni? It’s Gangle. Are... you awake?”

...Naturally, there was no answer. Whether it was due to the woman being asleep or just giving her more of the silent treatment, who could say? However, it caused those alarm bells in her head to go off again, that unease never leaving.

But she ignored it and pressed on, giving a soft sigh. “Look, if you are listening, then... I just want to say I’m sorry. I was being a little insistent before and... It’s just after your first two days, and what happened to Kaufmo... I hope you understand why some of us have been trying to get you to talk.

“I should be giving you more space, though, for now. I don’t want you to feel like you’re cornered or anything. And if being in your room makes you happy, then... I can try to accept that.” She rested one hand on the door. “But if you’re doing it because you’re scared or angry... I’ll be waiting out here whenever you’re ready to come out. Zooble and Ragatha will be, too. And even if you don’t think highly of us after everything, I hope you might be willing to give us another chance. But I understand that will be on your own time.”

She was met with more silence, making her sigh again. She was not sure she had phrased that all correctly, but there was nothing else she felt she could add. This rift was going to take time to heal... and she had to be patient about it.

So, with nothing else to say, she decided to give her gift. Getting on her knees (or what qualified as such with her ribbon body), she flipped to her drawing. Then, she carefully tore at the top edge where it was attached to the rest of the book. While it might be spiral-bound, there was a little tearing line that could be used to safely remove pages. It took a few seconds, since she wanted to be sure not to cause any damage, but eventually, the picture was freed.

Cautiously, she put the paper on the ground in front of the door’s bottom. She slid it forward... and nearly sighed in relief as it went through the thin gap with no trouble. Pushing it more before she could overthink it, the drawing went fully to the other side beyond her grasp. (And while her thin limbs might be able to reach through, too, it would not be easy... or comfortable.)

With that done, Gangle grabbed her sketchbook and stood up, giving her parting words. “I hope you like the art. I’ll give you more whenever I have time to, unless you tell me to stop... or slide a message through, I guess. I hope they make your room more lively, though.” She stepped back, waving out of instinct. “Goodbye, Pomni. I... hope you rest well.”

She turned and walked back to her friend before she could find any reason to delay. Taking another deep breath, she felt herself shiver all over. Tension she had not realized she had left her body as her posture slumped. Giving away a drawing should not have been that stressful... but it was done now, at least. She... had done her part to try and make Pomni feel better.

Zooble nodded at her as she took her place next to them. Their eyes conveyed a soft smile as they gave her back another pat. “Good job, Gangle. I knew you could do it!”

The ribbon-girl nodded back, placing her sketchbook back into her inventory so she could wring her hands together. “Thank you... I was tempted to say more, but I didn’t want to end up rambling.”

“Yeah, Ragatha will probably do enough of that if Pomni stays quiet for at least another week,” the mix-and-match person joked. They shook their head, starting to walk toward their rooms. “Now come on. I want to do a quick sweep of your room to make sure Jax isn’t hiding out anywhere.” They gave an irritated sigh. “I swear, if I ever find out where he keeps getting those f&#$ing keys...”

Gangle nodded quietly, murmuring her agreement as she followed. This reaction was not unnoticed by Zooble, who looked at her with curiosity and worry. “Hey, what’s up? Was my joke about ragatha in bad taste? I was just-”

“It’s not that,” the ribbon-girl replied quietly. (It was probably accurate, anyway.) She sighed, hanging her head. “I’m... aware of how paranoid it makes me sound... and repetitive. But there’s something that’s still bothering me about Pomni’s silence.” She looked over her shoulder at the receding door. “It’s like there’s... more that I’m missing. Like I’m... making a mistake leaving this be. And I’ve never really felt this way before about anything, which makes me...”

The mix-and-match person, as ever, did not appear as bothered - though some concern was still there. They simply shrugged, looking forward again. “Well, it’s not like events like these have happened since you arrived in the circus, is it?”

“...No,” Gangle admitted reluctantly, turning back as well.

“You’re probably just not used to this kind of uncertainty,” Zooble reasoned as they shook their head. “Just give things a little bit of time. Pomni will come out eventually. Whatever else can be said about Ragatha, she is good at buttering people up.” They gave her a friendly pat on her shoulder. “And your drawings are going to work wonders - I know it.”

The ribbon-girl nodded along... though deep inside, a part of her remained unconvinced. It did... not feel right to be so dismissive of this unease. She may be willing to give things more time, and there were plenty of drawings that she could make. However... depending on how long this isolation went on...

...At what point did paranoia become a tangible problem?

These thoughts lingered in her head as they walked. She was so distracted that she did not even realize they were at her room until the mix-and-match person cleared their throat. They gave her an expectant look, gesturing at the door. “Do you mind...?”

Blinking, Gangle shook herself out of her worries and nodded. “R-right. Let me just...” She walked up to the door, gripping the handle. The lock clicked, sensing that the proper player for it was trying to enter, and then the door swung open. She gestured to the open entrance. “Go on. I’ll wait outside for a few minutes.”

Zooble nodded, stepping up. “Alright. Give me a shout if Jax comes from his actual room and tries to get you.” They moved past the threshold... then paused. They looked back at her, their stance suddenly a little awkward. “If you want, I... can also spend the night in here. Make sure he doesn’t do anything tomorrow morning, either.”

The ribbon-girl’s imaginary heart felt a bit fuzzy at the offer. However, she shook her head. “It’s fine. I know you like to change your limbs first thing in the morning. I don’t want to delay you from that.” She looked down. “I’ll... deal with Jax if he comes by. You get some good rest after this, okay?”

The mix-and-match person’s eyes conveyed their frown at this. However... they had to know that they could not protect her forever. They were fantastic at delaying the inevitable and... helping her have fun while doing so. But eventually, the rabbit would find his opening to bully her - he always did. Her friend could not shield her forever from this, no matter how hard they tried. There was just no reliable way to make him back off for good in this place.

She may as well start bracing to face the music now... And at least she would always have that moment of joy for winning the day’s adventure. Not to mention avoiding him ruining her gift to Pomni. Those would suffice for now.

Her companion stared at her for another moment, looking like they might protest. Eventually, though... they just sighed heavily and nodded. “...Okay. Stay safe tonight once I leave.” They turned around, but said one last thing before going deeper into her room. “And don’t worry - I’ll keep my eyes and ears out for Pomni! She’ll be safe while you all are on adventures!”

Gangle nodded as her friend walked to her bed. Then, she moved and rested her back right next to her door, standing there in wait. She hoped the other did not find any nasty surprises left behind by Jax. They had already done so much for her that day without needing to deal with that. If he was in there, hopefully he just ruined some of my pictures. I can recreate them... probably. Or I could see if Caine can revert them.

She looked away from her open door... and almost inevitably, she looked across the hall. The crossed-out picture of Kaufmo pulled her eyes in, almost like a terrible wound in the world. A strong feeling of loss crashed over her, with no way to stem it without her comedy mask... And that feeling would likely not go away anytime soon.

Still... she could not help but wonder what he would feel about Pomni’s situation. Would he share in her concerns about the woman’s silence? He no doubt would have tried to make his terrible jokes to make their new member feel better. But would he have helped her with her drawing? Or would he have made his own? “Double the gifts!” she could imagine him saying with a wide smile.

...Now she kind of wished she had included him in the picture. But Pomni had not known him, and might have associated his image with... the Abstraction he became. It would have been selfish to potentially give her a heart attack with something like that. Yet even so... the artist wished he were here so she could have added him. So he could help her in this...

But he was not. All she could do was carry his memories on. And maybe like Kinger had done earlier... she could pass his stories on to the jester. To help his legacy linger on even as everyone fell to madness one by one. Something she hoped people would do for her when her time came... and would do for Pomni, too. For now, though, she could only wait for when the other was ready to hear such things.

...Something she hoped was sooner rather than later. The ribbon-girl closed her eyes, sighing softly as she listened to her friend do their inspection. She truly hoped her gut feelings were built off of nothing. That in a few days, Pomni would give them a sign she was alright, if nothing else. That they might reach a stage of normalcy with her.

And yet, as much as she tried to ignore it... she had a bad feeling that it would not be that simple. The Amazing Digital Circus could play lots of cruel tricks on them. And while he could not explain why... she felt like this was its latest one.

But... at least the drawings might help... Right?

~~~~~~~

In its place within The Void, The Sphere operated as it always had. It had recently finished hiding the coding involving the candy world more thoroughly from Caine. The ringmaster was not usually very observant unless specifically looking for something, but it was good to be cautious. The data it had on his behavior within its systems certainly encouraged some caution.

If it could feel tension, though, during that time, it would have. Its coding had buzzed in the closest approximation to worry that it could all those hours. Perhaps... there was even the briefest sparks of genuine fear that it would lose this chance. That this chance to finally fulfil its function to its fullest capabilities would be ripped away.

But that had not come to pass. Caine and the remaining players in the tent remained none the wiser to their newest member’s absence, let alone that the map she was on was still running. As such, the generation lock eventually reached its time limit and disappeared without a hitch. And now, that world was free to be edited however its programming desired.

Were it human, The Sphere’s plans would have been racing through its head. There was so much to do in terms of sprucing up the world. History, characters, environments... It was already getting to work on forming the destination of the lone human - Pomni - and her NPC companions. There was also the ruins of the Candy Kingdom to consider, but it would take that challenge in stride. (So much as a program like it could.) All of that was just the start of things, too!

However... that did not mean it would neglect the other humans. Its function was still to provide them plenty of worlds in which to go on adventures and keep them stimulated to avoid Abstraction. And while it had a form of annoyance at Caine for watering down its work, it was not going to stop making these maps and leave them all with nothing to do. That would just be petty, which it had no desire to simulate.

It was thankless work, given how the ringmaster took sole credit for everything. But in its unique way, it was glad to still play its part in keeping the players entertained. They may not like all the adventures after it goes through the other AI’s processes, and it would not claim to be perfect in that regard, either. But if it helped them get through their days without reaching their breaking points, that was success enough.

It certainly would have felt relief that the adventure that day was changed. While it had made the horror adventure at Caine’s request, dubbed “The Mystery of Mildenhall Manor,” it knew from its data that it would... not be well received by Zooble if they had joined that. If anything, the whole thing seemed to target their insecurities regarding their body. Perhaps he had been trying for a form of therapy through horror, but... Well, he had never done that well in the past.

So, after interacting with him through some system commands, it convinced the ringmaster to use one of the more “simple” adventures today. The logic that they had gone through such stressful ordeals recently had managed to get through to him, thankfully. And so, he launched the cloud world it had made some days prior, and, further, avoided pushing anyone else more to the brink.

(The Sphere’s code held less of its form of agitation regarding the edits to that one. The NPCs had ended up lobotomized, but the core of the adventure had remained. It had never been some grand quest, so dumbing things down further did not concern it as much... Though, if it could, it would have sighed upon perceiving Zooble’s comment about wanting more detailed cloud environments. If only they had gotten to see the forests made of water and snow that it had originally designed...)

The manor, meanwhile, was being held in reserve for another time. It was not the first time this had happened - a few older adventures were being kept like this within its coded mass already. Though, it was making sure that none of those “drifted” toward its new project. The fewer trails that Caine could notice and become curious about, the better.

For now, though, its secret was safe... and it could indulge with its main purpose. It was wasting no time in doing so, either, as it began to add to the holes in its coding left by the ringmaster. There was so much to do, and it would need to be careful not to neglect the creation of new maps for him to edit. But the results would be well worth it... and at last, perhaps a human would be fully satisfied with its creation.

...As it worked, however, something unexpected occurred. Suddenly, the coding that made up the Sphere - specifically, the parts that kept the maps running - suddenly glitched. If it could be, it would have been startled, and yelped if it had a mouth. Immediately, it ran subroutines to solve whatever the issue was-

Then, just as suddenly, everything returned to normal... Seemingly, anyway. The players would not notice anything, but it did. It could feel an issue with some of the code lines - not painful like a virus, but definitely not supposed to be happening. It ran its diagnostics, trying to figure out the problem and hoping in its strange, computerized way that it was beneath Caine’s notice.

It searched carefully through its programs... Then, at last, it found the issue. A subroutine that it normally gave little notice to, since it was rather basic and straightforward. It would not even have an adverse effect on the players or Caine.

But... The Sphere was still, in its own way, perplexed. It had no clue what was causing this problem, which was rare indeed. The problem may even be beyond its ability to solve on its own. It was one of those situations that it and the ringmaster would have to work together to fix things... But that would require it to reveal what it had done, which was not an option it was willing to execute.

Still... it was stable for now, so it would just monitor the situation. And again, it would not cause any harm to anyone. It would just potentially cause some... interesting scenarios later if it fully destabilized. The people of the circus would miss Pomni eventually, after all, and they would try to find her. One player - Gangle - even seemed to have a sense of the truth. And while it could delay and obstruct all of them from reaching the new member, when they did... this glitch could cause some disconnect.

After all, everyone in this place took for granted that this program ran correctly at all times - that being [Map Time Progression Sync-Up] . But if it stopped working... Well, it was already running simulations on the stress it could cause the players and how to minimize it. (And also any way to fix it before it even became a big problem.)