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Gangle was drawing in her notebook when she heard a knock on her door. Startled from the sudden sound, Gangle jumped and quickly hid her notebook under her bed. Then she went over to see who was at her door.
"Um, who's there?", Gangle asked a bit nervously, secretly hoping it wasn't Jax.
"Gangle, it's me Zooble. Can I come in?", Zooble's voice asked from outside the room.
Gangle blushed slightly, but she shook it off and opened the door for them. Right as she opened her mouth to greet Zooble, they entered her room with haste.
"Shut the door, quick", Zooble spoke quickly.
Gangle blinked, but she nodded and shut the door. Then she walked over to Zooble. "So... what's going on?", Gangle asked curiously.
Zooble blew out a breath and sat on Gangle's bed. "Caine expects me to be hiding in my room again, but I'm tricking him. I came in here to hide. He would never find me here", they explained.
Gangle tapped her ribbon hands together. "Doesn't Caine have the ability to go in anyone's room?"
Zooble thought about it for a moment, then face-palmed themself. "Dammit! Of course, why didn't I think of that?"
Gangle chuckled nervously. "Caine can be a bit... annoying sometimes." Realizing what she said, she cleared her throat. "Uh, don't tell Caine I said that!"
Zooble just huffed a laugh, closing their eyes. "He probably already knows that he's annoying. And if he doesn't, that's his problem."
Gangle went to sit beside Zooble on the bed. She blinked once, then turned her head to Zooble. "But it's nice to have you here. I'm... glad you came to see me, even if you weren't really here just to see me."
Zooble's eyes widened slightly as they looked at Gangle. Then they rubbed the back of their neck. "Well, I mean... I did kind of want to see you too. I... like spending time with you."
Gangle made a small noise, her mask turning pink. Then she smiled. "Zooble..."
Zooble looked into Gangle's eyes and started leaning closer to her. Gangle saw them move and leaned in as well. Soon, their faces got closer until they could feel each other's breaths...
"There you are, Zooble! I knew I'd find you eventually!", Caine appeared in Gangle's room suddenly. He turned to Gangle. "Oh, hi Gangle!"
Zooble and Gangle both yelped in surprise, jumping away from each other. Zooble crossed their arms and grumbled. "Ugh, Caine! Seriously?", Zooble complained.
Caine twirled his cane in his hand. "Yes seriously! It's time for another adventure! Everyone else is already waiting!"
Then Caine snapped his fingers, teleporting Zooble and Gangle to the main lobby. When they appeared, the others were already waiting.
Ragatha smiled at the two. "Hey! There you two are. You guys doing well today?"
Jax tsked with a grin. "I bet they were planning to have their own little adventure if you know what I mean", he said, winking at Zooble and Gangle.
Pomni, who stood beside Jax, elbowed the purple bunny. He looked down at Pomni with a smirk, with Pomni smirking back at him. Ragatha had watched the two. After the Favorite Character Awards Show, the two had been... closer. It made Ragatha feel a little worried.
Suddenly, Caine appeared before them. "Hello, everyone! Today's adventure was gratefully suggested by Kinger", he announced.
Kinger smiled with his eyes. "I hope everyone enjoys it. I think it'd be fun."
Zooble crossed their arms and slouched their shoulders slightly. "What is today's adventure?", they asked with little interest.
Caine spun around in the air. "Today's adventure is called: Protect the Princess! It's a medieval adventure were you all will spend the entire day in a castle! Two assassins will try their best to harm the princess of the kingdom. It's the knight's job to protect her at all costs!"
Ragatha smiled. "Oh, that sounds pretty cool. I like the sound of it."
Kinger patted Ragatha's back. "You'd make a wonderful princess, I think."
"Yeah, a princess of boredom and ignorance", Jax remarked.
"Anyway, your adventure begins now!", Caine exclaimed.
Caine snapped his fingers, making everyone in the circus teleport to their adventure.
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Zooble and Gangle teleported outside of a huge grey castle. Both of them were dressed in black cloaks and had a sword attached to their belts.
Zooble examined their weapon. "Guess we're the assassins."
Gangle looked at her weapon with wide eyes. "So, we have to kill the princess?"
Zooble shrugged. "It seems like that, yeah."
Gangle rubbed her ribbon hand along her arm nervously. "I hope Ragatha isn't the princess we have to kill. Though it seems very likely..."
"She probably is the princess. But remember, it's just another silly and pointless adventure", Zooble assured.
Gangle hummed. "I'm not the best at... you know killing..."
Zooble blinked at her in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? You were on fire when you were shooting at Jax and Pomni like a beautiful maniac back when we had guns. You were amazing. Using a sword would be no different for you."
Gangle's face turned pink. "Did... did you say beautiful?"
Zooble's eyes softened. They put a hand on Gangle's shoulder. "I said what I said", was all they responded with.
Gangle swallowed nervously. Zooble's eyes studied Gangle like she was a beautiful piece of artwork. It made Gangle's stomach flip.
"Anyway, let's head inside and get this over with", Zooble said, patting Gangle's shoulder.
As Zooble walked ahead, Gangle shook her head and followed behind them.
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Kinger and Ragatha sat on their thrones, dressed up in fancy clothes. Kinger had already looked like a king, so his outfit didn't change much. He was just given a gold chain that connected his purple coat. Ragatha was dressed in a dark blue dress and wore a silver crown on her head.
Ragatha studied her dress in awe. "Oh wow, I guess I'm the princess."
Kinger nodded. "And I'm your father, the king."
Ragatha smiled sweetly at Kinger. "Aw, Kinger, did you come up with this?"
"Sure did. You're like a daughter to me, Ragatha. I wanted to make you feel important after our last adventure", Kinger stated happily.
Jax stood by Ragatha, dressed up as a silver knight. He lifted his helmet up. "Ugh, great. I have to protect the stupid princess. That's not fun."
Meanwhile, Pomni stood on Kinger's side. She looked down, seeing that nothing changed. She could only guess why. "Guess that makes me the jester... how original."
Jax grinned at Pomni. "At least you get a cool role. I have to protect miss cheerful over here", he said, pointing at Ragatha.
Ragatha, enjoying the new power she had over Jax, crossed her arms and smirked at Jax. "As my knight, you have to do as I say."
Jax rolled his eyes. "I hate this."
Ragatha whipped her hair and turned her head away from Jax. Then she waved a hand. "Knight, go get me a drink."
Jax tsked in annoyance but went along with it. "Yes, your majesty...", Jax seethed through his teeth.
Jax sent Pomni a small smile before heading to the castle's kitchen to get Ragatha a drink.
Kinger clapped his hands together. "Jester, why don't you entertain us?", he asked kindly.
Pomni blinked at Kinger. Then she sighed and shrugged. "Yes, your majesty."
Pomni went to stand in front of Kinger and Ragatha. She wasn't very good at entertaining, but she could give it a try. Pomni lowered herself to the floor and placed her palms on the smooth floor. Then she kicked her legs up and started standing on her hands.
Ragatha clapped. "Whoa, Pomni! I didn't know you could do a handstand!"
"I didn't know I could either", Pomni panted upside down.
"Wonderful job, Pomni!", Kinger complemented.
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Zooble and Gangle snuck around the castle, looking for the princess. They snuck past the guards, which turned out to be pretty easy. For one, the two guards that stood outside the castle gates were frozen, probably a glitch from Caine.
As the two walked around the castle, Zooble pulled out their sword and ran their hand along the blade. "If all the knights here are frozen like those two out there, this is going to be easier than I thought."
Gangle glanced around the castle nervously. "I guess so. Um... are we lost?"
Zooble glanced around them as well. "Um... yeah we are. But it's fine. We'll find the princess soon enough."
Gangle looked down at the ground. "So, after we're done with this adventure, do you... maybe wanna... hang out in my room more?"
Zooble glanced over at Gangle with a curious look on their face. Gangle's eyes met Zooble's.
Gangle felt shy the more Zooble stared at her. "Um, if you want. We don't have to-"
"I'd love that", Zooble cut in softly.
Gangle blinked slowly. "Really?"
Zobble smiled with their eyes. "Yeah. I'd love to hang out with you."
Gangle felt a small shy smile creep up her face. "Okay... cool. Great. Awesome."
Zooble hummed sweetly. "Now I really want to get this adventure done."
Gangle nodded with a determined look on her face. "Yeah. Let's do this thing."
Zooble chuckled softly at Gangle. She was without a doubt pretty cute. Maybe after the adventure, they could tell Gangle how they really felt...
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Jax returned to Ragatha with a small glass of water. "Here's your drink, princess", he said sarcastically.
Ragatha tried not to smile as she took the drink. "Why, thank you, Jax."
Jax folded his arms. "Yeah, whatever", he muttered under his breath.
His eyes soon landed on Pomni, who was currently juggling three red balls. Jax's eyes softened as he watched Pomni. She had no limits when it came to talent, huh?
"Oh, Pomni! You're quite a talented jester!", Kinger exclaimed.
Pomni smiled, her eyes focused on the red balls. "Thanks. I had no idea I could juggle."
"You're an amazing jester, Pomni!", Ragatha added.
Jax glared at Ragatha slightly. He didn't like how Ragatha was staring at Pomni. It made him feel sick.
Suddenly, the door to the throne room was kicked down. Zooble and Gangle appeared, weapons in hand.
"We're here to kill the princess", Zooble claimed.
"Yeah. P-prepare to die, Princess!", Gangle shouted a bit shyly.
Zooble patted Gangle's back in support. "That's pretty good."
Kinger gasped, placing his hands on his cheeks. "Oh no! They're here to kill my precious daughter!"
Jax spaced out a bit but shook his head quickly. "Oh, right. I guess this is the part where I protect the princess or whatever."
"Quick! To the cellar! It has a secret exit!", Kinger exclaimed, pointing a finger to the ceiling. Soon, Kinger, Ragatha, Jax and Pomni ran out back.
Zooble grunted. "Come on! They're getting away!"
Gangle nodded with a determined look. The two assassins ran after the four, hoping they'd catch them on time.
The four got down to the cellar and made their way to the exit door. Kinger frantically tried pulling the door open, but it didn't budge.
"It's not opening!", Kinger panicked.
Pomni blinked up at the door. "Um, there's note on it."
Kinger halted his attempt to pull the door open. He saw a note that read 'Push'.
"Oh, right of course", Kinger muttered.
Kinger pushed the door, and it finally opened. But Zooble and Gangle had gotten down to them.
"You're done for, Princess", Zooble growled.
Kinger yelped. "Quick, escape!"
The four exited the castle, with Zooble and Gangle following close behind. Gangle threw her sword at Ragatha. The ragdoll barely dodged the sword as it missed her head.
Gangle grunted. "Almost had her."
Ragatha glared at Jax who ran beside her. "Um, Jax. You're supposed to protect me, remember?"
Jax rolled his eyes. "Well, kind of hard to do when you're running."
Gangle caught up to her sword on the ground and threw it again. But she completely forgot to aim.
The sword struck Pomni instead, sticking to her side. Pomni cried out in pain and fell to the ground.
Jax heard Pomni cry and whipped his head around. His heart dropped when he saw Pomni on the ground. clutching to herself. He turned back around to pick Pomni up.
Gangle yelped when she realized she hit Pomni instead of Ragatha. "Oops, sorry Pomni."
Jax starred daggers at Gangle. "Go to hell, Gangle", he snarled.
He carried Pomni in his arms and ran to another path into the forest.
Gangle's eyes widened at shock. Jax had never sounded that... angry before.
"Forget Jax and Pomni. Kinger and Ragatha are heading into another part of the woods", Zooble cried out.
Gangle blinked and nodded. The two followed the king and princess into another part of the woods.
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Jax ran with Pomni in his arms. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care. He was more focused on Pomni.
He finally stopped in the middle of the foggy woods. He gently placed Pomni down on the grassy ground.
"Pomni... are you okay?", Jax asked softly.
Pomni groaned in pain as she held her injured side. "I... feel..."
Jax brushed some of Pomni's brown hair away from her face. "Shh, don't talk. It's okay. You're going to be okay..."
His eyes widened with horror when he saw blood pour out of Pomni's side. The sword was still stuck in her side.
"BLOINK. I didn't know we could bleed...", Jax whispered in shock.
Pomni looked up at Jax with weak eyes. "Is that... a bad thing?"
Jax shook his head, shutting his eyes closed. "Let's not worry about that. Maybe it's... part of the adventure or something. At least I hope it is."
Jax placed his hands on the sword. "I need to pull this out. It might hurt."
Pomni tried for a small smile. "Like I'm not hurting already."
Jax scoffed with a small smile. Then he tightened his grip on the handle of the sword. "I'm gonna pull it out as fast as I can."
Jax wasted no time pulling out the sword. Pomni cried out in pain as the sword finally left her body. Jax threw the sword to the side and went to hold Pomni.
"It's out. You're okay", Jax soothed in a soft voice.
Pomni raised a weak hand to hold Jax's face. "Thanks, Jax. I..."
Jax leaned down and pressed his lips against Pomni's. She hummed and quickly melted into the sweet kiss. Their lips moved together slowly and tenderly.
When they pulled back, Jax offered Pomni a grin. "We'll get that wound fixed. Hopefully."
Pomni shrugged weakly. "Like you said, it might be part of the adventure. I think I'll be okay."
Jax pressed his forehead against Pomni's own. "You're not gonna leave me yet, right?"
Pomni nodded slowly, smiling. "Not in a while. I told you that."
Both closed their eyes as they felt their warm foreheads pressed together. And in that moment, both of them forgot that they were in an adventure.
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Kinger and Ragatha ran further into the woods. Kinger held Ragatha's hands as they ran.
"I think there's a powerful prince that lives out here", Kinger assured.
"Are you sure?", Ragatha asked.
"I'm not sure. But it's nice to have hope", Kinger admitted.
But soon, Kinger and Ragatha stopped by a cliff. They were at a dead end.
Zooble and Gangle had them cornered. "This is where your life ends, Princess", Zooble said lowly.
Gangle tapped on Zooble's shoulder. "Um, I don't have my sword, Zooble."
"Don't worry. I'll handle this", Zooble assured.
Zooble then approached Kinger and Ragatha with their sword. Kinger hid Ragatha behind him, shielding her.
Suddenly, a red mannequin jumped out from one of the trees. He wore a fancy hat with a white feather on it and held a sword out in front of him.
Kinger's eyes brightened. "It's the powerful prince. He's come to save us!"
The red mannequin stood in a battle stance. Zooble readied their sword.
"I've come here to st-" The red mannequin disappeared in a flash.
Zooble just stood there, blinking. Kinger and Ragatha looked slightly disappointed.
"Oh, that was disappearing guy. Huh", Kinger said quietly.
Zooble narrowed their eyes like they were smirking. "This is way too easy."
Zooble charged at Ragatha with their sword. Before they could stab Ragatha, Kinger jumped in front of the ragdoll, taking the hit.
Kinger groaned in pain and fell to his knees. Ragatha gasped and went to kneel beside him.
"Kinger! Why... why did you do that?", Ragatha asked with worry and shock.
Kinger squinted up at Ragatha. "Because... I wanted to protect my daugther."
Ragatha's eye and button eye widened. She never really had a parent that cared for her well-being. She felt... seen by Kinger.
Zooble quickly pulled the sword out of Kinger and stabbed Ragatha in the stomach. Ragatha yelped in pain and fell off the cliff.
"And adventure's done. Nice", Zooble stated.
In a flash, everyone teleported back to the digital circus. Jax was still holding Pomni when they teleported back. Trying not to look suspicious, Jax quickly let go of Pomni and helped her up to her feet. Pomni's injury also dissapeared. She glanced at Jax, who just shrugged.
Caine soon hovered over everyone. "Wow, what an amazing adventure! I didn't think it'd end so quickly."
Zooble waved a hand. "Yeah, great. Glad it's over."
Gangle went over to Zooble. "So, you want to go to my room?"
Zooble nodded. "Sure. Let's go."
So, Gangle and Zooble left to go to Gangle's room.
"Bye, losers", Jax called out to them.
Pomni nudged Jax's arm. "Jax, would it kill you to be a little nicer?"
"Nah. That word doesn't exist in my vocab", Jax smirked.
Pomni returned the smirk. "Sure, it doesn't", she whispered so only Jax could hear her.
Jax blinked like he was trying not to blush. "Whatever. Let's go hang out somewhere else."
Pomni nodded and followed Jax to a random part of the digital circus.
Ragatha frowned when she saw Pomni and Jax walk off together. This has happened before, and it made Ragatha feel uneasy.
Kinger put a hand on Ragatha's shoulder. "Are you okay?", he asked softly.
Ragatha shook her head out of her thought and turned to smile at Kinger. "Yeah... I'm fine, Kinger. Um, today was fun, even though we both died."
Kinger chuckled. "That's true. But I'm glad you liked it. It was nice to spend time with you, Raggie."
Ragatha blinked. "Raggie?"
"It's my nickname for you. Is that okay?", Kinger asked.
Ragatha huffed a quiet laugh. "It's totally fine."
Kinger started making his way over to his pillow fort. "Wanna hang out in my fort?", he offered.
Ragatha felt her heart warm up with comfort. "Sure."
So, Kinger and Ragatha crawled into the pillow fort.
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Gangle decided to show Zooble some of her newer drawing in her notebook. Zooble complemented each and every one of Gangle's drawings.
As Gangle was in the middle of explaining one of her drawings, Zooble raised their clawed hand to hold Gangle's face. They stared into Gangle's eyes with warmth.
Without thinking, Gangle leaned into Zooble's touch, inching closer to Zooble's face. She pressed her lips against Zooble's non-existent lips quickly. Gangle quickly pulled away and stared at Zooble, hoping it was alright to kiss them. Zooble's eyes softened and pulled her into a hug. Gangle blushed and hugged Zooble back.
Guess Zooble didn't have to say anything, because Gangle must have read their mind.
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Jax and Pomni sat on top of the balcony that overlooked the whole circus. Jax leaned his head on Pomni's head as she leaned on his shoulder.
Jax let out a content sigh. "What a day."
Pomni hummed. "It wasn't as long as our other adventures, but maybe I like it that way."
Jax moved one of his hands to hold Pomni's hand. "It lets me spend more time with you, so it's definitely good."
Pomni nuzzled her head against Jax's shoulder. "You're such a sap sometimes."
Jax huffed a laugh. "Only for you, PomPom", he whispered tenderly and softly.